Stars Have Fallen - A Loki Love Story (Marvel/Avengers)

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• December 6, 2012 •

It had been six months since Loki led an initial attack on New York. Since then, he'd been imprisoned in a new SHIELD compound, not far from the new Avengers tower. Clean up teams were recruited to fix up the giant mess the aliens had left behind. As for the Avengers, they were scattered all over the globe, taking their much deserved breaks. Until they were needed yet again, much sooner than expected.

Tony, Steve, and Thor had remained in New York to oversee the rebuilding and guard the prisoner. The three took turns daily watching over Loki in his cell at the compound, Tony often making excuses as to why he had to miss his days. But on this day, the prisoner was guarded by other SHIELD agents, for a much more pressing matter was at hand.

"What do you mean? You have no idea what's going on?" Tony asked in disbelief. He stood with Steve and Thor on one of the top floors of the Avengers tower.

"I didn't hear any explosions, Tony," Steve defended himself.

"Well I didn't either," Tony retorted, "but did you look at the news?"

Both Steve and Thor exchanged an awkward look; no, they hadn't looked at the news. All at once, Tony pulled out his phone, projecting the screen into the air. A reporter immediately showed up, mid-sentence as she explained the disaster shown in pictures behind her.

"--what we can only assume was a nuclear explosion. Thankfully small in size, the tragedy only reached a quarter-mile in diameter. Many are reasonably suspicious that the cause may be linked to the recent encounter the city has had with extraterrestrial beings--"

The channel changed.

"--the silence of the explosion is what has the people of New York on edge most; how many more undetectable disasters will follow?" Another news reporter asked rhetorically.

And it changed again.

"--you were just outside of the crater when it happened; what was it like?" A reporter asked a very shaken woman.

The woman hesitated before speaking into the microphone. "It was terrifying. I mean, it wasn't just a silent explosion," she began, pausing to take a breath. "I screamed--or, tried to scream...nothing came out. Buildings crumbled to the ground without a sound. Everything, was silent."

"As someone who's studied and worked with chemical science for well over twenty years, can you guess what may have caused this sudden eruption?" The reporter questioned again.

The woman shook her head, speechless for a moment. "It wasn't like anything I've ever studied before, and it sure as hell wasn't nuclear," she assured. She paused to think, then spoke again, "whatever it was, it's not something people should be anywhere near...this is a job for the Avengers."

Tony turned the screen off and looked to the other two men for a reaction. Both Steve and Thor wore looks of astonishment. "You two are oblivious to public media," he insulted dryly. Then began to walk away.

Thor shouted after Tony, "are we going to act on this?"

Tony stopped and turned back around. From across the room, he gave the demigod a deadpan look. He turned his gaze to the amused captain, then continued to walk away.

"..He didn't answer me," Thor stated in a slightly confused voice.

Steve patted Thor's shoulder, trying to hide his chuckle. "Come on," he beckoned, "let's go."

• • •

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you to pass," a man in a neat uniform stopped the three Avengers, all in their suits. Around the giant crater the explosion had left, a fence of caution tape and gaurds was already assembled. "With the possibility of this being nuclear," he went on in a grave voice, "no one can go past this point without full gear--"

"Well, lucky for us, we have--" Tony began to interupt, but was quickly cut off in turn.

"--And 100% government cleared certification."

Tony shut his mouth and frowned. Steve, noticing a sarcastic remark building up in the rich man's expression, jumped in quickly. "Listen, we understand the risks," he assured firmly, "and if we can't prove the source as something non-nuclear, we'll willingly go to whatever quarantine section I'm sure you have set up for this."

It wasn't something that had been released to the public, but Steve was smart. He knew that the survivers would be kept somewhere safe and enclosed until this could be figured out. The man in uniform looked awestruck for a moment, hesitating to speak.

Tony and Thor gave their friend a wide-eyed, 'what are you thinking?!' look. But before they could object, the man stepped aside. "I hope you understand what you're doing," he warned.

"Of course," Steve insisted with a head nod of respect. He then led Tony and Thor in past the caution lines. Once inside, they were met with a sudden dip into the ground. The crater was nearly twenty feet deep from the lowest point. The air was thick, polluted by dust and ashes. Clouds covered the blue sky, turning the world dull and tasteless. Piles of rubble and crumbled buildings were everywhere, giving off the illusion of a concrete ocean.

"This reminds me of Svartalfheim," Thor muttered, looking around as they walked with care.

"No one knows what that means," Tony reminded, also taking in the up-close looks of the disaster. It looked as though they'd entered a whole other world.

"It is one of the nine realms," Thor explained slowly, "the world of stone and darkness."

Steve raised his eyebrows, walking in toward the center of the crater. "Sounds about right," he admitted, climbing over a large pile of rubble. "Hey, Tony," he began, "what else could you find out about this explosion?"

"From the media? Nothing; they're not releasing much yet, other than the fact that it happened," Tony answered bluntly. "But the witness reports are pretty informative."