Loki's Bride

Chapter 1- Foiled Again

Loki:

I ran.

What a predictable outcome this turned out to be. The plan didn't work and Mangog was after us. Thor swore it would work. That fool. I'd sworn never to listen to him and his ridiculous plans again, but here I was, waiting on the Bifröst to open as we all ran for it. Typical.

"Heimdall!" Thor shouted for a second time. "Open the Bifröst!"

We'd been overpowered before, but Mangog was always a challenge. As long as those negative psychic energies of the old race still manifested itself in him, he was unstoppable. We had yet to find a way to destroy him, and this time was no different then the thirty other times we tried to put an end to him. This was proving to be difficult indeed.

As I ran, with still no Bifröst in sight, I started to feel somewhat alarmed we wouldn't outrun our foe in time. "What's taking him so long?" I yelled at Thor.

"Perhaps he's taking a nap?" Volstagg shouted back facetiously, running behind us.

"Yes, our dear Heimdall, overlooking trillions of souls at once, watching over every one of us while guarding the Bifröst, is taking a nice little break from his job." Sif said, radiating sarcasm in her tone as we continued to make haste.

As I ran full speed, the roar of Mangog echoed vehemently behind us.

"HEIM—" Thor began to bellow as we sprinted faster, but was suddenly disrupted by the familiar rainbow glow of the portal's opening.

"Finally," I said, breathing relief, as we simultaneously got teleported back to the Rainbow Bridge on Asgard.

"Apologies for the delay," Heimdall said in his deep monotone voice as we landed back at the Bifröst station safely. "But the All-Father was here. He wanted me to relay you the message of meeting him in the throne room."

"Ugh. This can't be good." Thor groaned.

"I wonder what he'll scold you for this time?" I said derisively while dusting myself off.

"I have no time for your torment, brother," Thor snapped before marching off in the palace's direction.

I watched him walk away before turning to the rest of the group. "I wonder what's gotten into him?" I muttered.

"What do you think?" Volstagg said dryly as we followed suit. "You ruined the plan by coming in too late with your disappearing act. Instead, he waisted time saving you. And now, the All-Father is probably angry that we didn't succeed again."

"Honestly, Loki, we'd be better off without you there next time," Fandral chimed in.

"Exactly!" Sif added. "You always make a mess of things when you join the fight."

Their words cut deep. It's nothing I haven't heard them say before, but this time, I knew they were right and I hated it. It was my fault that I hadn't quite perfected my disappearing trick and hadn't gotten out of the way as the "bait" in time. It was their usual plan as I, being the youngest, could usually outmaneuver myself from most situations involving great monsters due to my stature. But this time I had failed. I had all but practiced my other magic for that moment except for this. This was still one of my enchantments I hadn't quite polished yet. But to be fair, this was all Thor's idea.

"I promise it won't happen again. Next time I'll get it right." I said indignantly.

"If there is a next time." Sif scoffed. "Our plan to use you as a distraction might not be sufficient enough anymore. Mangog has already destroyed most of Asgard's underground. Now having banished it to Midgard's core, it's found its way above ground onto one of their Azores islands in the Atlantic. We're going to need a better plan."

"But we must stop it before it's too late. Otherwise it'll find its way back to Asgard in no time," Fandral said with slight worry in his voice.

"Not to mention destroying everything in its path getting here," Volstagg added.

"We have to protect those innocent people. They've done nothing to deserve this," Hogan finally chimed in.

"Yes yes. We all know that humanity on Midgard is doomed without our help," I said annoyed, "But is Mangog honestly after them? He's mad at our people, not theirs. They shouldn't lose that many casualties."

"Did you see the destruction he caused on that campus? Who knows how many people were inside," Hogan said with his typical concern towards Midgardians.

"Besides, now that he's above ground, he'll feed himself on their negative energy and become stronger," Volstagg interjected. "And then we won't have any chance at all."

"Not like we've had a chance all along," I mumbled under my breath.

Sif turned to me abruptly. "Better to try and defeat him then to sit here and do nothing," she snarked.

"Exactly why I should join you in this worthy cause." I urged.

She rolled her eyes as she picked up the pace to avoid walking back alongside me.

It never failed to annoy Sif. She'd always had it out for me anyway. Always trying to compete with Thor's affection and treating me as if I'm nothing more then a worm stuck under her shoe. Aside from her handsome features and her fierce bravery, I found her rather daunting and prudish. So our distaste for one another was mutual.

As they all quickened their pace to join up with Thor, I was left on my own to contemplate how I could have avoided this whole fiasco. This wasn't the first time I was the cause of a foiled plan. But I could have succeeded this time had Thor not come just before I was intended to disappear. I just needed a few more seconds of concentration. I could have done it. I'm sure of it.

With the gang wholly ahead of me, voices inside the Bifröst station caught my attention.  As I turned back towards the happenings, I noticed Heimdall not at his usual post. Curious, I made my way to the dome to see the commotion and my telepathy picked up on a female voice inside.

"Wha-what's happened?" She said shakily.

"You're in Asgard," Heimdall responded. "Are you alright? You seem to be hurt."

Typically, I wouldn't continue to pry on Heimdall, as his powers of telepathy far exceeded mine and would usually block me out, but this time was different. I sensed distress. And from the sound of it, whoever was in the station wasn't supposed to be there.

Once I reached the doorway, I stared at the scene before me disconcertingly as Heimdall was holding a woman in his arms on the ground, bleeding. He immediately sensed my presence and faced me, his distinct yellow eyes penetrating straight through me, and growled, "Get the healers. Now!"