The Infinity Stones

Ch. 8

   I wake to a knock on my door. Slowly, I get up and open it. Thor stands there, in a dark cloak. "Come. We have a lot to do." I give him a questioningly look, but grab a cloak of my own and follow, fixing myself up as we walk. We come to a tavern, where I see Heimdall, Sif, Volstagg, and Fandrall. We sit and Azul comes in, sitting next to me. "What I'm about to ask you to do is treason of the highest order. Success will bring us in exile and failure shall mean our death." I look up at Thor. "Malekith knew the Aether was here, he can sense it's power. If we do nothing he will come for it again, but this time lay waster to all of Asgard. We must move Jane off world." Thor explains. "The Bifrost has been shut down." Sif mentions. "And I can't move so many people." Azul comments. Thor nods. "I know." "But there are other paths off Asgard, ways known only to a few." Heimdall says. "One, actually." I shake my head. "No." Volstagg says. "You don't mean..." I place my head in my hands. Loki is the only one who could though. "He will betray you." Fandral warns. "He will try." Thor says. "Well then what? Your lovely mortal is being guarded by a legion of our Einherjar who will see you coming from miles away." Fandral argues. "I won't be the one who comes for her." Thor says, looking at Sif. I bite my tongue. Blind when it comes to jealousy, aren't you Thor. "And what of the All-Father?" Sif asks. "It my sworn duty to notify him of crimes against the throne." Heimdall says. "Assuming you can get Loki's help, and you can free this mortal, what good would it do? We'd all be dead the minute we step one foot outside the palace." Volstagg asks. "That, my friend, is why we won't be leaving by foot." Thor looks at me. I let out a small laugh. "I can try, but it'll take sometime to figure out." I say. Thor nods. "That is all I ask."

    I follow Thor to the prison, waiting to get to Loki. As we enter, I see him standing there in his cell. I narrow my eyes. Something's not right. "Thor, after all this time and now you come to visit. Why? Have you come to gloat? To mock?" Loki asks, almost sneering. "Loki, enough. No more illusions." Loki looks at Thor in surprise. He closes his eyes and a ripple of green spreads through the cell. Loki is now on the floor, his hair a mess, in simple clothing instead of his armor. The whole cell is now trashed. "Now you see me brother." Loki almost whispers. I step into the light, my face reveling nothing. "Artemis." Loki says. Thor walks next to the cell and I follow. "Did she suffer?" Loki asks. Frigga. I close my eyes, fighting away tears. My fault. Thor places a hand on my shoulder. "I did not come here to share our grief. Instead I offer you the chance of a far richer sacrament." Thor says. I open my eyes as Loki tilts his head. "Go on." "I know you seek vengeance as much as we do. You help us escape Asgard and I will grant it to you, vengeance. And afterward, this cell." We, us? They sound foreign to me. Loki lets out a small laugh. "You must be truly desperate to come to me for help. What makes you think you can trust me?" Loki asks. "I don't. Mother did. You should know that when we fought each other in the past, I did so with a glimmer of hope that my brother was still in there somewhere. That hope no longer exists to protect you. You betray me and I will kill you." Thor warns. Loki smiles. "When do we start?" Thor looks at me and I place my hand on the shield. The barrier ripples and weakens. "Hurry up and get through. I can't hold it that long." I grumble. Loki stands and fixes himself up and he walks through. "It's good to see you again, Artemis." Loki whispers. I only look away. "Lets go." Thor says. We began to walk through the halls, keeping an eye out for any Einherjar. "This is so unlike you, brother. So clandestine. Are you sure you wouldn't rather just punch your way out?" Loki asks, back to his normal self. "If you keep speaking I just might." Thor says, looking around. "Do I get the honor of strangling him?" I ask, looking behind us. "Fine. As you wish. I'm not even here." Loki casts an illusion, making himself a guard. "Is this better?" "Better company. Artemis, can you head for the ship? Give you a head start." Thor asks. I nod. "Why not? I'll meet you there." I grab Loki's arm and place him against the pillar. "You betray him, and I will let Azul have his fun. He still remembers. Then, I'll kill you." I whisper. Loki smiles. "As you wish, Lady Artemis." I push him back to Thor and shadow travel to the Dark Elf ship. "Okay, this shouldn't be too hard." I place my hands on the controls and get to work.

   "It's about time." I say, not looking up. "Sorry." Thor says. I hum and start up the ship. I smile. "You guys might want to hold on." I spin the ship around and aim it at the opening in the wall. "I think you missed a column." Loki comments. "Loki, I swear on my mother, if you don't shut up, I will throw you off this ship!" I growl. I command the ship forward and we burst through the wall and into Asgard. Suddenly, Jane falls, only for Thor to catch her. "Is she alright?" I ask, not taking my eyes off the sky. "Oh dear, is she dead?" Loki asks. "Thor, I get to push him off, okay." I say, missing a building. Multiple Asgardian ships start to follow us and I curse, spinning to avoid them. "Now there following us." Loki says. One manages to fire at us. "Now there firing at us!" Loki comments, moving from my right to my left. "Yes, thank you for the commentary Loki, it totally isn't distracting!" I yell. Azul appears in the ship, his hand on his side. "Sorry I'm late, I ran into trouble." He gasps, obviously out of breath. "No problem, just don't die." I say, approaching our check point. "You know, this is wonderful. This a tremendous idea. Let's steal the biggest, most obvious ship in the universe and escape in that. Flying around the city, smashing into everything in sight so everyone can see us. It's brilliant, Artemis! It's truly brilliant!" Loki rants as Azul, Thor , and Jane jump out. I roll my eyes and push him out. I aim the ship away and follow. As I land, Loki is staring at Thor. "You lied to me." Loki admits. Thor lays Jane on the boat. "I'm impressed." Loki admits. I sit, exhausted from steering the ship. "I'm glad your pleased. Now, do as you promised. Take us tot your secret pathway." Thor demands. Loki places himself at the handle of the ship, smiling slightly. Other Asgardian ships catch up to us. "Fandral." Thor says. Fandral gives me a wink. "Right. For Asgard." He says, taking a rope and jumping off. I let out a sigh. Why must everyone flirt with me? Loki aims for a mountain side. "Loki?" I question. "If it were easy, everyone would do it." Loki almost whispers. Thor places himself over Jane. "Are you mad?" Thor asks. "Possibly." Azul sits next to me. A light blue, almost clear, shimmer covers the ship. A shield. We enter a sliver and go through the portal to Svartalfheim, reminding me of the Bifrost. Then, we're there, bouncing off the ground a bit. "Ta da." Loki says dramatically.