The Old Gods | Book 2

Twenty Nine: Resurgence

The dust of the recent battle settled, leaving behind a city scarred but standing. As the Avengers regrouped and tended to the aftermath, a quieter scene unfolded in the shadow of the once-raging conflict. Sigyn, Loki's steadfast wife, moved forward, her hands never letting go of the scepter. Loki sat on the steps of the bar, still nursing the wounds of the confrontation.

His eyes, usually dancing with mischief, met hers, and in that silent exchange, a myriad of emotions played out. There was relief in her eyes, mingled with concern and a touch of sorrow for the toll the battle had taken on him.

Loki attempted a weary smile, acknowledging her presence. "Sigyn, my love, you always manage to find me in the midst of chaos."

Sigyn knelt beside him, her touch gentle as she traced the contours of his bruised face. "It seems chaos has a way of leading me to you," she replied, a softness in her voice that belied the strength beneath. Perhaps, she thought, she finally has her husband back.

The Avengers, having noticed the reunion, discreetly gave the couple their space. Clint lowered his bow, a silent agreement among the team to grant the god and his wife a moment of respite.

The silence between them spoke volumes, a language of shared battles and unspoken understanding. Sigyn's presence was a calming force, a reminder that even gods needed solace in the aftermath of conflict.

Loki leaned into Sigyn's touch, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten. They sat together, a god and his devoted partner, amidst the echoes of battle, finding solace in the quietude that followed the storm.

In that moment, as the city breathed a sigh of relief and the Avengers worked to rebuild what was broken, Loki and Sigyn shared a silent promise — a commitment to weather the storms together, finding strength in the quiet moments of healing that followed the tumultuous clashes of gods and heroes.

"You do know what happens now?" she asked. Of course. They have only been through this similar situation a thousand times before. He does something stupid enough to create powerful enemies, he loses the fight, and is then arrested or thrown into a dungeon to rot. And where is Princess Sigyn in all of this? Right at his side.

"When do I not?" he replied to her.

Princess Sigyn felt a looming shadow behind her, and as she turned, Thor's heavy and upset presence was unmistakable. His anger was directed toward his beloved little brother. Determined, the Princess manifested Asgardian cuffs. Without hesitation, Loki held out his hands, and she swiftly cuffed him.

Loki smirked a little. "Never had I imagined you would cuff me in a different situation."

She shot him a withering glare. The thunder god yanked Loki to his feet with an unyielding grip, unwilling to tolerate any more of his crude comments, especially after the city's desolation. Loki's assured arrest dispersed the unlikely group of heroes. Iron Man turns away inviting his new friends to "Feel free to clean up."

Black Widow stepped forward, confronting the silver goddess. "Who gets the magic wand?"

"Loki's weapon will rest assured in my hands," Sigyn asserted confidently. "And safety secured on Asgard."

"It's actually property of Shield." Black Widow remarked. "This is our planet he tried to destroy. Unless you would like to make an enemy of Nick Fury."

Reluctant, Sigyn handed her the weapon.

"Strike teams coming to secure." Captain America said, referring to the scepter.

"Always the one to be bossed around." remarked Loki. Sigyn tells her husband to remain quiet should she silence him for good.

A team of intimidating men in black suits shortly enter the penthouse via the elevator. They swarm the room, acquiring the scepter. "All yours." Black Widow casually handed it off. "Be careful with that thing." she warned, when the man who took it touched the blade. 

"Unless you want your mind erased." Clint Barton said, making himself a drink over the bar. "And not in a fun way."

"We promise to be careful." assured one of the men.

Captain America, speaking to someone over his intercoms, marches by quickly. "On my way down to coordinate search and rescue." he valiantly walked on by with shield in hand.

Loki's form shifted and he took on Captain America's form and mocked, "On my way down to coordinate search and rescue." and then shifted back to his original form. "I mean honestly. How do you keep your..."

Thor slapped a mouthguard over Loki's mouth. "Shut up."

The team moved Loki into the elevator, the tesseract secured in a case, which Tony Stark, now out of suit, used as a chair to sit on. The Hulk sauntered over the open doors with an elevator full of people. "Whoa!" Thor stopped him.

"Hey, Hey." said Tony, holding up his hands. "Buddy. What'd you think? Maximum occupancy has been reached." The doors began to close in his face.

"Take the stairs." said Thor.

Loki gave a cheeky wave to the Hulk as the doors closed him out. "Stop! Stop!" warned Tony.

The Hulk roared and punched the door as it closed. Denting it. "Take the stairs." complained the Hulk. "Hate the stairs."

The group of Thor, Loki, Sigyn and Tony escorted by armed men reached the ground floor and continued to walk Loki intending to carry on to some lunch and then finally face judgment on Asgard. On the ground floor, an even larger group of men in black suits awaited them. Alexander Pearce, an older gentleman, questioned their destination.

"May I ask you where your going?"

"To lunch and then to Asgard." said Thor. "I'm sorry, you are?"

"Alexander Pearce." answered Tony. "He's above the man behind the folks behind Nick Fury." he explains to the thunder god.

"My friends call me Mr. Secretary." said Alexander Pearce. "I'm gonna have to ask you to hand that prisoner over."

Sigyn stepped in. "Loki will be answering to Odin himself."

"Loki can answer to us. Odin can have what's left. And I'm gonna need that case. It's been Shield property for over seventy years."

Did this earthly man just insult an almighty Being? An overbearing god of all gods? Sigyn laughed, stopping a man from reaching out and taking the case from Tony. "Hand over the case, Stark."

Sigyn shoved the man back, stumbling him. "The tesseract has been Odin's treasure since his reign as the All-father began EONS ago. Before your first ancestors knew how to even speak. The tesseract is the property of Asgard and deserves a secure place to keep it so that none may ever be tempted by its power again. 

And the last time I was on Earth, I allowed the Tesseract to sink to the bottom of your oceans in hopes of it staying out of your reach and I was severely wrong for thinking it would stay there. I was also wrong in trusting your foundation in protecting it as you promised me and that trust has been broken. 

I will not, however, make that mistake again. The Tesseract will be returning to Asgard along with Loki as our prisoner! And any man who should dare to stand in my way will suffer the wrath of not only Asgard's armies, Vanaheim's army, but the wrath of Odin himself. And the damage the Chitauri did here today will merely look like child's play. So again, gentlemen, threaten me and my companions again. Please, allow me the pleasure of calling my banners to war as they so desperately pray for."

Silence.

Crash. The Hulk barraged through the stairwell screaming "No stairs!" and punched the wall. People and medics screamed and scattered from the reception of the lobby. He roars again pounding his chest.

Sigyn stepped toward the man called Alexander Pearce taking the commotion as her opportunity. "Asgard stands with Midgard and you have us as our ally. If you do not let us leave here today with Loki and the tesseract, you will instead have us as an enemy. A world with warriors who have laid waste to other worlds before."

Alexander Pearce stares at the goddess looming over him. He scoffed at her. "Fine." and he let them go. The most powerful man in the country and he stepped aside to allow a goddess to push past him affirmably travelling with Thor dragging Loki along with them. The God of Mischief gave Alexander Pearce a cheeky shrug of his shoulders and wiggled his brow knowing he had the full protection of Asgard and his wife's army. And the case still in Tony Stark's safe hands.