Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Has it been tw-… twenty-five minutes yet?”

Amelia’s body was aching. Her breaths were coming short and sharp. Her lungs were burning, her throat was dry and tight, there was a twinging pain in her side, and her leg muscles were greatly objecting to the torture she was putting herself through.

Or rather, the torture Loki was putting her through.

Amelia had lost count of how many laps she had ran around the training room; the steel floor was hard and unforgiving, sapping her energy and providing little to no bounce-back as she attempted to push herself onward in a bid to reach her goal - twenty-five minutes of non-stop jogging.

It had been the same almost every day for the past four months, ever since Amelia had expressed the desire to become fitter in order to help her self-defense lessons along; she’d started off with baby steps - five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes - and had steadily built up the strength and lung capacity to jog for twenty minutes straight. It was no small feat for somebody who had barely ever ran a day in her life before that point.

It wasn’t that Amelia didn’t want to run. She did. It was just that within the duration of her runs, Amelia would rather be doing literally anything else in the world. It was difficult, but it did pay off; Amelia found that her self-defense lessons with Natasha were generally easier on her body, she didn’t get all wheezy after just a few simple moves, and after the hard part was said and done, Amelia did feel a sense of accomplishment.

Loki had been supportive, encouraging her to pick herself up on the days where she would preferably have lazed around on the couch all day instead, even if it meant that she was pouty with him for hours after. In all honesty, Amelia would have probably given up running a while back if it hadn’t been for her boyfriend’s constant rallying throughout the activity.

“There’s still more time to go, Amelia. You’re doing well, keep going.”

The God of Mischief himself was following along beside her, stopwatch in hand, no evidence of effort or exertion on his face, and there was an inscrutable curl to the side of his mouth that Amelia wasn’t sure she appreciated in her current state. She couldn’t help but find herself interpreting the smile as some weird variation of smugness or amusement, despite the fact that Loki was not one to find entertainment in her struggling. It made her very grumpy to think he would laugh at her.

She quickly stopped herself from looking too far into it - it was more beneficial to put her focus into something else in that moment, like how exactly she was going to continue to breathe when it felt like her lungs were about to explode.

“Loki, I… I can’t… ah… I can’t breathe”, Amelia gasped, trying to hold her head up despite how much her body wanted her to slump forwards and come to a stop.

“Yes, you can. The problem is that your breaths are fast and shallow. Deep breaths, Amelia, and stop talking.”

“It’s… alright for you… and your godly stamina! ...Twenty-five minutes… is so unreasonable”, Amelia protested, shaking her head as she continued to press on. She wanted to stop more than anything, but at the same time her eagerness to prove her worth and run the full twenty-five minutes was hovering in the back of her head, propelling her onwards.

“I remember you said the same thing when I first challenged you to run for ten minutes.”

Amelia let out a grunt, slowing to an abrupt stop and leaning heavily against the wall as she huffed and puffed in a desperate attempt to catch her breath. The relief was immediate, her legs no longer straining to continue, and she slid down to sit with her back against the wall, looking up at Loki with a disgruntled, exhausted look.

“Shouldn’t even... have to run today… on my birthday of all days…” Amelia grumbled, wiping her sleeve across her face to rid herself of the damp perspiration on her skin. She had hoped when she awoke that morning that Loki would be lenient, but the god did not deem a birthday to be a good enough reason to skip a workout, incidentally.

Then again, Amelia specifically recalled the time she had told Loki not to let her make excuses. She wanted to stay determined, but in case her determination waned some days, she made Loki promise to pick her up and throw her into the training room whether she liked it or not.

“If you miss a day, you might miss two. And then you might miss three”, Loki pointed out, and Amelia sighed, her head hanging down against her chest.

“Yeah, yeah. I get it… so how long did I manage to run?” Even without reaching her goal, she was sure she had still managed a good amount of run time, though if the answer was anything less than twenty minutes, it would likely put her in a bad mood.

“Thirty minutes and fourteen seconds”, the god responded with a widening smirk.

“What? You said the goal was twenty-five minutes!” Amelia snapped, glaring up at Loki with a look of indignation.

“And you managed over thirty! Well done.”

So that’s what the little curl of his lip had been about. Loki had been up to a little mischief by letting Amelia think she hadn’t yet reached her jogging goal; she was pleased to know that it hadn’t been a result of him finding amusement in her wheezing predicament, but she was still bubbling with annoyance over the fact he’d let her run over her goal.

She felt horrendously achy. It was as if her body had been completely purged of energy in the thirty minutes of exercise she had performed, and that even standing up would be a chore. If she chose to lay down on the hard, steel floor, Amelia was sure it wouldn’t be entirely too difficult to just drift off to sleep.

Sleep seemed like a good solution.

“Amelia?” Loki’s voice pulled her from her sleepy thoughts, and she let out a sigh, meeting Loki’s gaze with exhausted eyes. “Are you alright?” A note of concern overtook the amusement in his tone.

Amelia shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know… I just feel tired… and my muscles are hurting”, she matched the sourness of her words with an unhappy pout, to which Loki tilted his head and smiled faintly.

“And you call me dramatic”, Loki quipped, a quiet chuckle escaping him until he noticed the incandescent look on Amelia’s red, sweaty face.

“I’m not kidding, Loki!” Amelia exclaimed, her exasperation culminating in an irascible outburst, “I don’t feel well and it’s because you made me run longer!” She wasn’t sure where exactly the irritation had come from, but she knew as the words left her mouth that her shouting was undeniably childish. After all, she had been free to slow down at any time if she felt she was overdoing it. Loki would not have shamed her for it.

“Alright”, Loki stated softly in the face of her displeasure, “I apologise for neglecting to inform you that you had reached your goal. Next time, I will tell you immediately.” He held out his hand to help her up, “But, you did manage to run half an hour. You’re improving, Amelia, you should be proud of yourself.”

Amelia held his gaze for a moment before she felt herself smile, nodding her head in agreement; it didn’t matter that she had been crabby and ill-tempered just a few moments prior, Loki’s warm encouragement always managed to perk her up.

She took his hand, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet, but stumbled slightly with a wince as the pang in her leg muscles became evident again. Loki caught her, steadying her with a hold on her arms, and inspected her with an inquisitive look.

“Perhaps you have not yet fully recovered from your illness”, Loki remarked, brushing aside a strand of Amelia’s mousy brown hair and tilting her head back with a finger below her chin.

“Mm…” Amelia hummed. She had had an intermittent sickness for over a week, having a few bouts of very unpleasant vomiting, and a whole lot of nausea; it had become less frequent, but Amelia had still inexplicably been feeling quite nauseous in the early hours of the day.

“Maybe you should go and see Banner again”, Loki suggested.

Amelia shrugged, “I guess”, she blinked tiredly, practically asleep on her feet. She didn’t understand why she was feeling so listless all of a sudden - she had gotten a full ten hours sleep, if anything she should’ve felt refreshed and alert, even after a long run.

“Go see him.” Loki restated firmly, “Ensure you are healthy enough for your party tonight-”, there was a coy undertone in his voice that Amelia’s ears latched onto, and she pinned him with a dubious look just in time for him to lean a little closer and whisper, “-and for what comes after.”

Amelia felt her skin prickle with anticipation, because Loki’s intonation indicated anything but innocence. She licked her lips, her mind conjuring up images of all the possible things that would be happening when she and Loki eventually crawled into bed that night; she really hoped her current state of lethargy would be long gone by then.

“Okay”, she assented.

Loki’s thumb brushed her cheek, he leant down and gave her lips a meaningful peck, which urged a grin onto Amelia’s face, “Off you go, then. I’ll continue my workout, and then we can have lunch.”

Amelia gave a consoled sigh, “Good, I’m starving.”

“I don’t know what could be wrong with me. I hardly ever get sick, and now I’ve got this illness that feels like it’s lasted two weeks”, Amelia mumbled, playing with the Newton’s Cradle that Bruce kept on his desk; the doctor himself stood just across from her, leaning against the wall, forever tapping away at his digital data pad that he never seemed to be without. What was he always doing on it anyway? Solving scientific equations, responding to emails, or something that involved putting his seven PHD’s to good use?

Amelia pouted. She knew he was a busy man, and it wasn’t as if she had made an appointment to discuss her medical problems - she had just sort of walked in on short notice - but she still felt a tad vexed that he was tapping away at his tablet instead of listening to her; she didn’t voice her displeasure, waiting for Bruce to finish what he was doing before speaking up again.

“Do stomach viruses usually last so long?”

“Stomach viruses that last more than a few days always include other unpleasant symptoms. If you’re experiencing just vomiting and nausea alone, it’s probably not a virus”, Bruce explained, which only served to confuse Amelia further.

“Then what’s wrong with me?”

“When did you last experience vomiting?”

Amelia shrugged her shoulders, “Like… four days ago, but…”

“But?”

“But I’ve still been feeling sick. On and off. Like I’m going to throw up. But eventually the feeling passes”, Amelia answered.

Bruce looked thoughtful for a moment, pushes his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, “And you said you’re feeling fatigued?”

Amelia nodded, “Yeah, but it was after I went running, so it might just be… that…”

“Do you usually get so tired after your runs?”

“Not really”, Amelia replied. Throughout the odd week and a half that she’d been frequently vomiting, Loki had not pushed Amelia to take up her daily jog, but before the affliction had begun, she hadn’t really been experiencing such huge drops in energy. The odd period of weariness, but nothing beyond that.

Bruce tilted his head back, staring at Amelia for a moment, and the look he was giving her made her feel a tad embarrassed that she had come back to see him over what was probably nothing - she didn’t want to waste his time. Before she could tell him to forget it, the doctor spoke up.

“Are there any other unusual symptoms you’ve been facing?”

Amelia frowned, taking a moment to contemplate the question before slowly shaking her head, “Uh, no? I don’t think so.”

“Have you been feeling irritable or easily angered?”

Nothing really angered Amelia all that much, she was definitely a very placid person generally, but the more she thought about Bruce’s seemingly trivial enquiry, the more Amelia realised that she had in fact been getting annoyed over some otherwise insignificant things. The way she had become flustered when she thought Loki was laughing at her, the way she had immediately pinned the blame on him when she all but collapsed after her jog.

“Maybe a little”, Amelia said tentatively.

“Any headaches, lightheadedness, or stiffness in your lower back?”

The question came immediately and Amelia had to force herself to think about it, squinting her eyes as she pondered the doctor’s enquiry. Headaches - yes, every couple of nights before laying down to bed, lightheadedness - no, except for a quick period after vomiting. Stiffness in her back - she was feeling that right now as she shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

“What are you getting at, Bruce?” Amelia asked, a hint of worry lacing her words.

“Amelia”, Bruce pursed his lips, his eyes full of kind concern, “Is there any chance you might be pregnant?”

A few beats of silence occurred, and then Amelia snorted, a bubble of laughter escaping her throat at the sheer ridiculousness of Bruce’s suggestion; she shook her head, amusement shining in her eyes as she stared at the doctor, whose face retained utter earnestness.

Amelia’s face fell, “Oh. You’re serious?”

Bruce’s eyebrows rose as he awaited an answer.

“I’m not pregnant”, Amelia asserted, “Are you kidding me? I have the contraceptive implant, so there’s no way.”

“Ah.”

“Ah?”

“You and Loki don’t use condoms?”

Amelia felt her face burn red; she could never understand how doctors could keep their cool when talking about such embarrassing subjects - it was a skill that only some people possessed, “No, but I have the implant!” She reiterated, completely sure of herself.

Bruce’s face grew apologetic, a rueful curl to his lips, “The contraceptive implant is definitely one of the most reliable forms of contraception, but no contraceptive is one-hundred percent effective. Based on the symptoms you’ve told me about, I think you might need to consider the possibility that you may be pregnant.”

Amelia’s mouth hung open in shock, the prospect penetrating her mind like an arrow of distress. She couldn’t be pregnant. She couldn’t. She didn’t know the first thing about being a mother, she didn’t know anything about dealing with pregnancy.

Her eyes fell to her abdomen, still the same size as it had always been. No signs that she was carrying an unborn baby inside her womb. How far along was she? How long did she have to figure everything out?

Oh god. How was she going to tell Loki?

She and Loki had never even spoken about the idea of having children, especially after Loki had had such an adverse reaction the last time she had jokingly brought up the subject of kids. As far as she knew, he had no interest in having children. He’d never given Amelia any clues about it, and he didn’t exactly seem like the type of guy to settle down in that way.

What if he didn’t want children at all? What was she going to do?

“Amelia, relax. I said there may be a chance. There’s no use fretting until you know for sure. I suggest you take a pregnancy test as soon as you can.” It must have been evident on her face that she was having a silent freak out, Bruce could probably see the thoughts whirring behind her eyes, and she wouldn’t have been surprised if the blood had drained instantly from her face.

“R-right. But… if I am pregnant… what do I do?” This was not Amelia’s area of expertise, without any form of guidance, she felt lost and panicked. She had always wanted children, but the thought of being a parent was terrifying, and the thought of Loki reacting negatively was even more so.

“Just stay calm, alright?” Bruce instructed kindly, “If the test is positive, we can discuss your options. I could put you in touch with a midwife, and they’ll be able to give you all the information you need if you decide to go ahead with the pregnancy. Whatever you choose to do, I can get you all the support you need.”

Amelia hadn’t even entertained the idea that she could choose not to go ahead with the pregnancy. But she didn’t want to think about that either.

She looked down at her shaky hands, finding that her eyes were growing blurry with gathering tears. She was scared, unsure of what to do or how she would break the news to Loki.

“Bruce”, Amelia murmured, her voice quiet as a whisper as she blinked to banish the moisture in her eyes, “You won’t tell Loki, will you?”

“Of course not”, Bruce reassured without a hint of hesitation, “Doctor-patient confidentiality, remember?” He smiled, his clear gaze bordered with concern, “But I already said you shouldn’t worry about this until after you know for sure.”

Amelia heaved a deep breath, his reminder enough to damper her tears, and she nodded, “Okay… thanks, Bruce.” She pushed herself up out of the chair, pulling nervously on the hem of her shirt as she turned around to leave the room.

“Amelia.”

She glanced back over her shoulder, noting the doctor’s sheepish smile.

“Happy birthday, by the way.”

Amelia let out a soft laugh of sardonic amusement, shaking her head as she left.

She could not wait even a moment to find out for sure. The first thing Amelia did when she left Bruce’s office was to leave the tower and head to the nearest pharmacy to pick up a pregnancy test. She wasn’t sure whether or not she was dooming herself by endeavouring to find out sooner rather than later, because on the one hand - if it turned out she was pregnant, it would be on her mind incessantly and probably take all the fun out of her party later in the day, but if she chose to wait, the need to know would nag her just as ceaselessly, churning her stomach with anxiety-induced nausea.

As if she hadn’t thrown up enough in the past week.

Amelia when straight to her bedroom, checking that Loki was not present as she rushed into the bathroom. She pulled the little box out from the nondescript shopping bag and opened it up, taking the pregnancy test stick out of the packaging. The instructions were clear.

One vertical line was a negative result, two vertical lines was a positive result. There was just one thing she had to do.

She peed on the strip.

After that, it was just a matter of waiting.

Placing the test stick down on top of the sink, Amelia turned and began to pace, neurotic in her movements and stiff footsteps. She tried to settle her mind and think, tried to deliberate on how fun her party would be tonight, tried to imagine what kind of things would happen after under Loki’s promise, but her thoughts turned again and again to what symbol could be gradually appearing on the test strip just beside her.

What if she was just overreacting for no reason?

She probably wasn’t even pregnant. Bruce probably just made a mistake in his diagnosis - he was a good doctor, but even good doctors made errors every now and then. Amelia had never wished more desperately that a doctor had made a huge error.

Amelia fidgeted with her hands for several long minutes. It felt as though it was taking far too long. Who knew five minutes could feel like an hour? Had the test formed a result yet? There was one way to find out.

She took a deep breathe and approached the sink tentatively, keeping her gaze firmly on her reflection in the mirror above. Amelia’s heart pounded behind her ribcage as she held the edge of the sink with a white-knuckled grasp, but she knew she couldn’t put it off forever.

Amelia picked up the pregnancy test and looked down, eyes snapping straight to the result displayed on the white strip. One… two…

Two vertical lines.

Oh.

“Fuck!” Amelia screeched, dropping the test stick into the sink as a rush of panic flooded through her, but it was nothing compared to the heightened terror of hearing Loki call out to her from the bedroom and knock rapidly on the door.

“Are you okay in there, Amelia?”

“FINE, I’m fine! Don’t come in!” Amelia practically dived to the floor to grab the cardboard packaging that clearly displayed the words pregnancy test in bold lettering, moving immediately to shove it into the small rubbish bin around the edge of the sink’s base, before she jumped up just in time to adopt an unsuspicious look as Loki opened the door.

“I said don’t come in”, Amelia forced the words out tightly between her teeth, her head still reeling from finding out the truth that she was really, genuinely pregnant.

“You sounded panicked”, Loki pointed out, scanning the room slowly for any signs for the cause of Amelia’s alarm, “have you been sick again? You look… unwell.” When his stare finally settled on her, Amelia could see his scrutiny of her face. The way his eyes narrowed, the way his eyebrows twitched, the way his lips curled downwards with concern, they were all such open and honest reactions full of empathy and consideration, often reserved only for her.

It made Amelia want to spout out the truth - to tell him what exactly had brought her such alarm. Because surely anybody with a face so full of compassion and worry would not react so negatively.

But she said nothing, her lips clamped shut. Amelia could not predict what Loki’s behaviour would be like if she revealed her little secret; what if he became upset and neglectful? Anxious and quiet? Or angry and loud? Any one of the possible negative reactions would do nothing to quell Amelia’s nerves. She needed reassurance and comfort in that moment, but she would rather keep her secret to herself than risk receiving a dismissive or antipathetic reaction from her lover.

She needed to tell Bruce. Yes, that is what she needed to do.

Amelia walked rigidly to the door, but Loki stopped her.

“Hey”, he said, stepping in her way and laying his hands on her upper arms, “Talk to me. What’s wrong?” He was unwilling to let her walk away, tilting her head back so that she had to look him in the eye, and Amelia put up zero fight, thankful for even the slightest soft touch. “I got worried when I couldn’t find you. Stark told me that he saw you leave the tower”, he frowned, “You know I don’t like it when you leave without telling me.”

Amelia’s eyes slipped shut when his hand cupped her face, and she leaned into the affectionate gesture, “I know… I’m sorry. I had to go to the shop… we can go have lunch now, if you want.” She was so quick to dismiss the moment and tear Loki’s attention away from her current state of shakiness, but the god did not so easily let it go.

“Something is bothering you. What is it? Why did I hear you shout just a moment ago?” His gaze flitted around the room again, searching for the source of Amelia’s distress.

“Nothing. Just being dramatic. It’s nothing.”

The answer did not satisfy Loki. He straightened up when he noticed the item Amelia had carelessly forgotten to discard, sitting in the centre of the sink. “What’s that?” He asked, moving to pick it up and inspect it.

“It- it’s nothing!” Amelia wanted to slap herself for not throwing the test stick away. Instead, she swiped it from Loki’s hands before he had a chance to get a good look and threw it down in the trash without a moment of hesitation, “-it’s just, um, a pen.” It looked nothing like a pen. Amelia had no talent for lying.

“A pen?”

“Yeah.”

“Why was it in the sink?”

“I dropped it.”

“Well, why did you throw it away?” Loki’s eyes fell to the trash can again and Amelia frantically tried to shoo him back, keeping his gaze away from the contents of the bin.

“Because it ran out of ink, will you quit it with the interrogation?” Amelia responded snappily, pushing Loki with firm nudges towards the exit of the bathroom.

Loki halted suddenly, and Amelia was powerless to move him any further. The god pinned her with a look of suspicion, probably knowing full well that she was spouting fibs - he was the God of Lies after all, and he very much had the ability to poke holes in the fabrications of others.

“You’re acting strange”, Loki stated, unquestionably exasperated by Amelia’s display, “I want to know what’s going on. Tell me.” There was an edge of command to his tone, a promise that if Amelia didn’t come out and say it, then Loki would get to the bottom of it by force.

The mix of heightened fear from finding out she was carrying an unborn baby and the virtually admonishing tone Amelia was receiving from her lover had her on the verge of tears in almost an instant. Her shallow breaths quickened as anxiety bubbled up in her stomach, causing faint stabbing pains that only made her more apprehensive, and she quickly clinged to the god, desperate for something to help soothe her.

“I’m sorry”, Amelia whimpered, “I just… I don’t feel good. And I’m- just feeling… over-emotional…”

“I noticed.”

“I’m sorry.”

Loki pushed her back a little to look her in the eyes and wipe her tears away with his thumb; he was clearly still mindful of Amelia’s lies and the fact that she was covering up something, but his solicitude won out over his curiosity.

“We’ll talk about this later. Shall I ask Stark to postpone your birthday celebration?”

Amelia felt a faint wave of relief at Loki’s show of patience, the thankfulness showing on her face in the form of a watery smile, but she shook her head in response to his question, “No, I’ll be okay”, she answered quietly, and the need to cling to some sort of reassurance overcame her, “Loki, um… you… you’ll always be with me, right?”

She knew as soon as she spoke the words that it was such a dumb question; she shouldn’t have asked it, because she was expecting a fanciful response full of loving promises, and that wasn’t exactly Loki’s way of communicating. The god’s lips parted, his eyebrow quirking up just a little, and then he removed a strand of hair from Amelia’s face, his gaze fond as he gave a vague smile.

“Your hair is particularly chaotic, today.” The god spoke, drawing his fingers through Amelia’s locks with the intent to mess it up further, and Amelia gave a breathy huff of amusement as she rolled her eyes.

“I’ve been meaning to get it cut.”

“Hm”, Loki murmured, and fell silent.

Amelia met his gaze as he cradled her face, tilting her head back to press a kiss to her lips - velvety and sensual, in a way that was radiating desire. Amelia’s eyes slipped closed, and she pressed ever so slightly forward to pour a little boldness into the gesture, welcoming the affection with open arms and an open heart.

“You know I love you”, Loki breathed as soon as they parted, “more than anything, I do.”

Amelia nodded slowly. She knew, of course, but she loved to be reminded.

“And to answer your question, I don’t think there’s anything you could do or say to get rid of me at this point”, Loki’s growing smile stretched across his lips, full of playful mischief - the sight of which made Amelia’s heart soar. It was the answer Amelia had pined for, but worded differently, in a more Loki-like fashion. “My apologies, but you’re stuck with me.”

“Hah!” Amelia giggled, a reformed spark of optimism in her mind, “As if the thought of being stuck with you isn’t entirely wonderful.” She felt somewhat soothed, a little more at ease despite the shocking revelation she had received minutes prior; the anxiousness whittled slightly as she resolved to telling Loki about her predicament after the party. But that didn’t mean the new life in her belly wasn’t still constantly going to hang in the forefront of her mind until then.

“What about you?” The god spoke.

“What about me?” Amelia murmured dumbly.

“Will you stay with me always?” The candid tone of Loki’s question made Amelia’s heart flutter, and she blinked up at him, lips quivering at the significant look in his deep green eyes.

“Yes… of course, I would never leave you”, Amelia answered, a fuzzy warmth in her stomach giving her a temporary respite from the anxious flutters; Loki’s mouth twitched into a shadow of a smile at her response, and he nodded faintly.

“Good… good.”

Loki licked his lips and pressed a kiss to Amelia’s forehead, enjoying the embrace for a moment longer before straightening up, “I’ve got a gift for you”, he spoke, and pulled away to enter the bedroom.

Amelia followed tentatively after him, “I thought you were going to give me your gift later”, her mouth curled at the euphemism, and she spied the smirk on Loki’s lips as he opened up one of the dresser drawers to pull something out.

“Oh, don’t worry, you can still look forward to that. But for now, I have another gift I would like to give you.” He turned to face her, holding in his hands an actual wrapped birthday present.

Amelia tilted her head curiously, inspecting the neatly wrapped present, spying the shiny purple gift-wrap and wondering if Loki wrapped it himself or if he had had somebody else do it; it was a rectangular box, narrow and longer than a foot, and a simple glance at the shape didn’t reveal all that much.

“Well, go on then. Open it”, Loki said, holding it out for her.

Amelia smiled, taking the mysterious item. It was somewhat weighty, removing the possibility of it being some sort of jewellery - well, unless it was a real heavy piece of jewellery - but instead of spending several minutes trying to guess what it was, she quickly got to work on peeling back the decorative paper.

An elegantly carved wooden box was unveiled, and Amelia examined it quizzically before lifting the latch and opening it; she stared at the contents for a few full seconds before her lips parted in surprise.

It was a dagger, or a knife, or… something. Certainly a weapon not unlike the kind that Loki could conjure with his magic. It was bound in a leather sheath that had been dyed a dark green, a tough and hardened material, while the hilt was black with golden serpentine engravings.

“Oh… wow”, Amelia murmured, quite speechless at the sight of the gift. She hadn’t expected anything like it.

“You like it?” Loki asked. He took the box, plucking the dagger out with nimble fingers and placing the intricately carved container on the top of the dresser. He slowly unsheathed the weapon, revealing the silvery blade and its incredibly sharp edge. “I had it custom made for you by the blacksmith in New Asgard, it’s made of Asgardian steel and it’s well balanced”, the light glinted off of the burnished metal, drawing Amelia’s gaze to the point.

“It’s beautiful”, Amelia stated. If anybody had given her a blade as a birthday gift several years prior, she would’ve called them crazy, but staring at the weapon in Loki’s trusted grip made her think just how much exquisite work had gone into the details of creating such an item, and she was oddly flattered that Loki would have one especially made for her.

“Take it. Feel the weight of it in your hand”, Loki instructed, twirling the blade in his grasp in order to offer Amelia the hilt, which she took tentatively, “Careful. It’s sharp.”

Amelia held the weapon away from her body in a tight grip, tense from the knowledge that the blade in her hand was incredibly dangerous if used carelessly; it made Amelia nervous. She had been at ease with the dagger when Loki was holding it, but now that it was in her possession, her hand was beginning to shake.

“You don’t need to hold it so tightly”, Loki said, carefully prying her fingers off the hilt until her grip lessened, “A gentle but firm hold is fine. How does it feel?”

“Kinda scary”, Amelia answered immediately.

Loki smiled, “You’ll become more comfortable with it once I start teaching you how to use it.”

“Teaching me?” Amelia repeated questioningly, and the god nodded. Amelia blinked, her eyes going back to the blade; she inspected the hilt patterning, spying the little snake-like engravings, “You’re gonna teach me how to stab people?”

Loki snorted, “Only in the interest of protecting yourself. Romanoff teaches you to defend yourself by utilising your body, and I will teach you to protect yourself with the use of the skills I learnt as a boy.”

There was something oddly endearing about the god’s proclamation. Amelia had always admired Loki’s skills with small blades, finding that his defensive and offensive moves with his conjured daggers always seemed so graceful and dexterous; it felt significant that Loki wanted to put his time into teaching Amelia the abilities his mother had taught him.

“Let’s hope I don’t accidentally stick myself with this thing, huh?” Amelia trailed off with anxious laughter, trying to play her very real fear off as a joke. She felt overly paranoid, and it could have been because she was pregnant, but the idea of playing with blades in her state seemed quite foolish.

“I wouldn’t let that happen”, Loki promised, and Amelia believed him. She trusted the god more than anything, and knew that he wouldn’t have had this dagger made for her if he didn’t think she could learn the skill to wield it.

“Thank you, Loki”, Amelia spoke gratefully, a soft smile on her face. Something about holding the blade in her hand made her feel strangely powerful, it was probably going to do wonders for her confidence.

Chapter Text

The air was comfortably warm, even at the higher altitude of the special garden secreted partway up the side of Avengers Tower; Amelia lay reclined against the cushioned wicker bench, contentedly absorbing the light of the sun and feeling the warmth on her face as she watched Loki dutifully water a few of the potted plants in the corner that were looking a little thirsty.

His actions resulted in a smile on Amelia’s face; she hadn’t asked him to water the plants, he’d simply done so of his own volition when he’d noticed they hadn’t got as much water as some of the other flowers.

The garden looked beautiful this time of year, bright and vivid with its many Summer blooms; when Spring had begun towards the beginning of the year, Amelia and Loki had completely cleared out the mess atop the old helipad and started anew on the cultivation of blossoms and florets, making the small plot beautiful again.

A few extra things had been added, too. Amelia had been insistent on hanging up a line of fairy lights and a few lanterns here and there to give the garden a softer mood, plus the illuminations were quite pretty at night, especially lighting up all the different colourful hues from the plants.

Loki himself had whipped up a special magical barrier that kept out the harsher weather; it was invisible - no one could tell it was there - and light rain could still freely pass through it, but it repelled the wind, and kept storms from disturbing the peace, creating a more durable environment that wasn’t so easily destroyed.

It had thrived for months now, and it was the perfect place to relax.

It was also the perfect place for picnics, as Amelia had recently discovered. The remains of their lunch, a few flavourful sandwiches and some sultana scones, sat on the low table beside the bench, and Amelia was left very happy at the satiated feeling in her stomach.

With her hunger dealt with, Amelia was left with only one thing on her mind - her pregnancy, and exactly what it meant for her and Loki’s relationship.

Amelia glanced up, taking note of the way Loki reached for the petals and leaves of the flowers he was watering, rubbing them gently between his thumb and forefinger as if comforting or apologising to the plant for letting it become dehydrated. It was endearing, even if that wasn’t his reasoning for doing so, it was still a sweet little gesture that seemed to convey a sense of understanding that the flowers were alive and in need of care.

Amelia’s thoughts rumbled through her head, one hand moving subconsciously to rest over her belly, as she pondered the idea of Loki being a father. He would make a good one, was her immediate thought, because despite what the world saw him as, he was truly very considerate and gentle - with her at least. But the more she thought about it, the more her head filled with doubt. Loki’s patience had improved since the beginning of their relationship, but there was still times where he grew visibly frustrated and it revealed exactly what he was thinking on the inside.

Raising a child would most certainly require a lot of patience.

Then there was the most important thing to consider. Did Loki even want children? He was good with kids, if a little awkward when they sometimes padded up to him in the street, pointing at him and staring in awe, but he always made an effort to tolerate them, and the children always seemed happy to talk to him.

The potential was there, Amelia felt, but it was a matter of whether Loki would be willing to go through the no-doubt trying experience of bringing up a child. If that question was answered positively, then she was certain she could face her pregnancy with a little more confidence.

Amelia had spent the last few hours focusing on whether Loki would be a good parent that she hadn’t even pondered over her own aptitude to take on the test of becoming a good mother.

She wanted to believe the answer was yes. Amelia had always assumed that upon meeting somebody she fell in love with, children would follow as an inevitable thing, but she supposed in that fantasy that her partner was more than happy for their relationship to head in that direction. She had never considered the possibility of falling so deeply in love with somebody before having any clue of their thoughts on raising children.

Now that it was so terribly relevant, Amelia was too afraid to ask. Too afraid the answer would be anything but yes.

Amelia had always believed that she would end up having children, and she was happy with that idea, but upon taking the time to think about how difficult raising children would be, her happy little predeveloped fantasy was just dust in the wind.

There were so many things to take into consideration. She had suffered from depression and anxiety for most of her life, she knew the grief of losing loved ones, she often let stress too easily get the better of her, and children were tremendously unpredictable. There were all sorts of variables that required contemplation - what if the child was born with a birth defect? Blind? Deaf? What if they had a developmental disorder? What if they were born unhealthy and required serious medical care throughout their entire life? Raising a perfectly healthy child with no physical or mental health defects was enough of a challenge, but there were many things that could make it even more difficult, and Amelia had to understand that they were all possibilities.

Having a child meant loving them and taking care of them regardless of any of those variables; it was a learning process that she would have to stick to and remain determined with, because once the child was born, there was no going back.

Did Amelia feel she could, despite all her struggles in life, stay resolute and strong in this endeavour? Could she look unfaltering in the face of motherhood and push through all the difficult trials ahead of her, and come out on the other side - not necessarily unscathed - but triumphant in her efforts?

Alone, she most certainly could not. But with Loki’s help, Amelia felt it was possible.

Now she just needed to figure out how to build up the confidence to tell Loki.

Speaking of which, Amelia was pulled from her flood of thoughts when a shadow blotted out the sun; she gazed up from her relaxed position to find Loki looming over her, his hand held out above her head as he slowly tipped the cup that housed the water he’d used to for the plants.

“No!” Amelia screeched with a flinch, sitting up immediately and covering her head with her arms to avoid getting splashed. Loki began laughing immediately, placing the cup by the remains of their little picnic.

“It’s empty”, Loki revealed, sitting down beside her and propping his feet up on the low table.

Amelia pouted, crossing her arms over her chest, “That was mean.”

“It was funny.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Nope.” Amelia shook her head, raising her chin with indignation.

“How are you feeling, anyway?” Loki enquired, shifting closer and wrapping his arm around her, hand resting at her waist. Of course, it was a very Loki-like tactic to immediately turn on the charmed concern when he knew he had made Amelia grumbly.

Not that it didn’t always work. Amelia immediately forgot about the little prank and leaned against Loki’s side, making herself comfortable yet again in the heat of the sun.

“I’m feeling alright. Better than I was”, the initial shock of discovering her pregnancy had passed, but she still had an underlying feeling of constant butterflies in her stomach, which was not at all fun. “I need to go talk to Bruce, though.”

“Why?”

Amelia grew momentarily tense. She needed to go speak to Bruce to confirm his diagnosis, but Loki couldn’t know that, and now she had to come up with an excuse on the spot.

“Uhhm… just… he said he had something to help with the, uh, the nausea… because I still get a sicky feeling occasionally…” She kept her gaze on the flowers to her left - a beautiful mix of white and yellow daffodils - and wondered whether or not Loki believed her.

His extended silence seemed to indicate that he did not.

“Is there something wrong with you, Amelia?” Loki enquired after a while, his voice swathed in concern, and Amelia tore her gaze from the daffodils to meet his eyes and shake her head reassuringly.

“No. No, I’m fine”, she said, “Bruce says it’s just a bug. I’ll be fine in a couple weeks”, Loki’s green gaze eased up slightly, the creases in his forehead becoming a little less defined, and he nodded faintly, so Amelia continued, “but I should probably take it easy with the running, y’know? Try not to exert myself so much…”

“Oh, did Banner say that? Or are you just trying to get out of your training?” The god wondered, a hint of amusement coming back to his face, and the hand on Amelia’s waist prodded her in a very ticklish area.

“Gah-! Don’t! Do not tickle me”, Amelia warned, grabbing his hand and squeezing it to keep it at bay, “I’m just repeating the doctor’s orders, so there.”

Loki huffed a laugh, shaking his head fondly, “If you say so.”

Amelia found Bruce in the main living quarters, in the process of finishing off his lunch; she moved tentatively towards where he sat at the kitchen’s centre island, noting that Thor was sitting on the couch watching something on the television. The entire room had been subtly changed, the furniture moved slightly aside to make room for the party floor that would become lively later in the day, and there was a long buffet table that would soon be filled with all sorts of food. The thought made Amelia’s stomach rumble and her mouth water despite the fact she had only just eaten lunch - well, pregnancy did cause increased appetite, she supposed.

She gave Thor a brief wave as she passed him, receiving a greeting smile in return, and approached Bruce with a very resigned look; she took a seat beside him and heaved a very heavy sigh.

“I took the test”, she proclaimed quietly, and Bruce looked up from his food, a knowing look passing over his face.

“I’m going to assume from that loud sigh that the result was positive”, he spoke with a small smile, and Amelia nodded her head, puckering her lips in a pout. “Alright, how about this - I’m going to head down to the lab in a minute, but if you come by soon, we can talk about your options in the privacy of my office, okay?”

Amelia nodded. It was definitely for the best that they headed somewhere in which nobody could accidentally walk in on their conversation about her pregnancy - especially Loki, because Amelia really didn’t want him to find out like that.

“Yeah, sounds good”, Amelia agreed, casting a glance over her shoulder at Thor, wondering if his advanced hearing was picking up anything they were saying or whether his attention was wholly on the television. A thought occurred to Amelia after a moment - perhaps she could ask Thor about Loki’s inclinations towards starting a family, if anyone knew the answer, it would probably be the god who grew up with him. “Yeah, I’ll… I’ll come down in a little while then”, Amelia said, “I’m gonna ask Thor something…”

Bruce finished up his lunch, cleaned up and left the room, flashing her an assuring thumbs-up gesture that didn’t really have the desired effect, but Amelia managed to give him a smile before turning back to Thor, searching her brain for a way to not be entirely obvious in her questioning.

She had to be completely inconspicuous if she didn’t want Thor to find out the truth.

“Amelia! Are you excited for the party Stark is throwing you?” The God of Thunder spoke up as she wandered towards him, “I heard there’s going to be a lot of food”, he licked his lips subconsciously, and Amelia gave a soft laugh - she could certainly relate.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun”, Amelia nodded, but her enthusiasm for a party had strongly declined since she’d awoken that morning, the stirring butterflies in the pit of her stomach left her devoid of gusto, but she was sure that after she’d had a good talk with Bruce, her anxieties would be settled at least somewhat, and she would be able to enjoy her party as she should. “Thor, there’s something I need to ask you…”

Thor heard the hesitant note in her voice, grabbed the remote to mute the show he had been watching, and then leaned forward slightly in his seat, “Is there something the matter, Amelia?”

Amelia smiled weakly. She couldn’t help but notice the way Thor’s concern for her matched Loki’s so closely; they were both so perceptive of her feelings, and knew that her anxious and hesitant tones of voice always meant something more, that there was a hidden layer of worry she was trying to cover up.

“I’m fine”, she assured him, “I was just wondering… this might seem like a random question, but… when you and Loki were younger, did your parents ever expect either of you to… uh, produce heirs?” Her wording was particular, and very unusual on her tongue, but she didn’t want to be too transparent in her line of questioning.

Thor cocked an eyebrow, probably thrown off by the question, but then tilted his head in contemplation, “Well, we were always told that either of us could become King, and that whoever did become King would have to continue the royal bloodline. It was certainly expected of us.”

Amelia acknowledged the answer with a faint nod, “I see… and did that ever, like, frighten either of you?”

“Frighten?” Thor chuckled, “Of course not! The thought of having children is exciting! Oh, the things I could teach them…” His face fell slightly, “I don’t think I would be having children any time soon, however.” His response did not entirely answer Amelia’s question - it was clear that Thor found happiness in the idea of having a family, but Amelia wasn’t so sure the same could be said for Loki.

“Still can’t find a date, huh?” Amelia spoke apologetically. It was no secret that Thor often found himself feeling lonely, and even after so long, the god still hadn’t met somebody who wasn’t swayed by his status as an Asgardian king and member of the Avengers.

“No, no, I can find many dates, but none I would describe as successful”, a sheepish looked passed over his face and his shoulders rose and fell as he sighed.

“You’ll find someone”, Amelia gave him an assuring pat on the bicep, “but, ah, has Loki ever expressed any desire to… to have children?” She hoped her pressing of the subject wasn’t as suspicious as it sounded in her head, but the twitch in Thor’s brow suggested otherwise.

The God of Thunder looked pensive for a moment, not letting his eyes stray from Amelia’s face, and she became fidgety below his scrutinising gaze, curling in on herself without her permission. A plethora of microexpressions flickered over Thor’s face, namely a countenance of musing, curiosity, and studiousness that eventually culminated in one thing - a look of staggered surprise.

Thor jumped up from the couch, “Are you with chil-!?” His sharp exclamation was quickly silenced as Amelia’s hand clamped tightly over his mouth, muffling the rest of his enquiry. The god’s eyes were wide and he blinked rapidly as he realised his supposition had to be true if it garnered such a response from her.

“Do you want to shout that a little louder, Thor? I think a few people in Australia still might not have heard you!” Amelia snapped swiftly between her gritted teeth, her eyes conveying a serious warning - that speaking so loudly about the subject would not be a good idea. Thor’s facial hair tickled her palm, a startling sensation that made her quickly retract her hand, but she just as hastily wagged a finger in his face. “You be quiet, okay? Nobody can know, not yet.”

Thor blinked sheepishly, but his mouth was already stretching into the widest grin she had ever seen on his face, “So it is true? You are with child?” Thor enquired with hushed excitement, “I’m going to be an uncle?” The concept brought a sparkling shine to his mismatched eyes, and then it seemed to impossibly go a step further, “Loki’s going to be a father?”

“Will you slow down? Someone could walk in!” Amelia shushed him abruptly, and quickly covered her stomach with her arms when she noticed Thor was gawping at her, “Quit looking at my belly! I’m not even showing yet.” She was already annoyed that Thor had figured it out, she didn’t want anybody else to get an accidental clue, and speaking so openly about it in the goddamn communal living quarters was not going to help.

“Amelia, why are you looking so down? You should be beaming, this is wonderful”, Thor insisted, clearly a whole lot more excited about the revelation than she was.

“Because, Thor, it’s fucking terrifying!” Amelia hissed, and then quickly peered back over her shoulder worriedly toward the door. There was nobody there, they were alone in the room, but Amelia couldn’t shake the feeling that somebody was going to walk in at any moment. She sighed, motioning for Thor to sit back down on the sofa so she could sit beside him and speak more quietly.

“I’ve always wanted a baby, don’t get me wrong, but, I don’t know if that’s what Loki wants”, Amelia whispered softly, “So I’ve been freaking out for a few hours, not knowing how I’m gonna break it to him.”

Thor looked as though he was about to say one thing, but then performed a double take and said something else instead, “Loki doesn’t know yet?”

“No! I only just found out this morning”, Amelia chewed at her bottom lip, “I just don’t know how to tell him.”

Thor squinted with confusion, “What do you mean, Amelia? You can just tell him-”

“No, I can’t”, Amelia gave an exasperated sigh, running her hands down over her face, “What if he doesn’t want children? What if the thought of having kids is scary to him and he reacts badly and panics and decide he doesn’t want to be with me anymore and-”

“Amelia.” Thor firmly spoke her name, cutting her hysteric rant short, and Amelia felt her face flush at how quickly her emotions had spiralled off and dreamt up anxiety-inducing scenarios, “Do you truly think Loki would leave you just like that? After what you’ve been through together?”

Amelia wrung her hands in her lap, gazing at the floor below her feet, “...No, but-”

“But nothing”, the god declared, his smile warm and reassuring, “Loki loves you. He wouldn’t abandon you, but I feel you must tell him the truth as soon as possible. Don’t wait too long.”

Amelia sighed, giving a weak nod of her head in acknowledgement of his words, which she knew in her heart were true, but she couldn’t help but feel wary - the weight of her own doubts didn’t help. Being pregnant was a scary thing. She didn’t know if she was ready.

“I guess you’re right”, Amelia murmured, “I’ll… I’ll tell him tonight, after the party ends”, she nibbled at the inside of her cheek for a few moments before pinning Thor with a fierce stare, “If you tell anyone, I swear to god-”

“I won’t!” Thor threw his hands up in defense, lips curling in amusement, “I promise, I won’t tell anyone”, his grin grew three sizes, the excitement still twinkling in his gaze, “Have you thought about names yet? What will you call the child? Do you know the gender?”

“Thor, I don’t even know how far along I am”, Amelia said curtly, rather bushed by the onslaught of questions she couldn’t possibly know the answer to, “I’ve known for a couple hours at most. Thinking of baby names really hasn’t been the most pressing matter in my mind.” She stood up, exhaling loudly, trying to rid the wobbly feeling in her stomach with a groan, but it just didn’t work. Nothing was going to quell her nerves.

Her muscles were still aching from her run earlier, but she pushed herself to move, deciding she would speak to Bruce in private, “I need to go speak to Bruce about it, see if he can give me some advice to stop me from feeling so anxious-” She sucked in a breath quickly as Loki swept into the room, catching his gaze and feeling her stomach immediately drop with the fear that he had heard her conversation with Thor.

“Anxious about what?” Loki enquired, eyebrows narrowing inquisitively.

Amelia stared with her mouth agape, shaking her head dumbly as her brain struggled to generate some sort of excuse that would make sense in context and give nothing away, but no such evasion occurred.

“Anxious about turning thirty!” Thor exclaimed, saving her from blundering silence, “Amelia was just telling me that she is nervous about growing older, and how much different her life will be now that she’s out of her twenties and into her thirties”, the god smiled, his tone incredibly believable, and Amelia was utterly grateful that he had saved her from her awkwardness. She would have to thank him later.

“Yeah”, Amelia finally confirmed, “Yeah, I’m just getting butterflies about it, y’know? About what will change... heh…” She rubbed the back of her neck, her gaze twitchy and unable to hold Loki’s stare for too long.

One of Loki’s eyebrows held a fine arch. “Nothing has to change”, the god stated, his voice bland in his response, suggesting he did not understand Amelia’s anxiety over the fact, and Amelia shrugged her shoulders, giving him a nervous smile.

“It’s uh… it’s a mortal thing…” It was a phrase she usually used when she didn’t know how to explain a quirk or fascination that was entirely normal for a human to experience, but seemed utterly ridiculous in Loki’s eyes, but this time, Amelia hoped it would dissuade Loki from asking anymore questions.

Loki performed his hallmark ‘humans are weird’ slow eye roll, but blessedly did not ask Amelia to elaborate; instead, he stepped aside to let Amelia move past him. She did so, this time with a more genuine smile, and brushed her fingers affectionately against his hand as she stepped out of the room.

Amelia took a breath as she continued on down the hall, heading for the elevator that would take her to the lab. It had been a close call - if Loki had arrived in the room just a few moments prior, he would have gotten an earful of Amelia’s dilemma, and her secret would’ve been discovered. She didn’t want to think about how the god could’ve reacted, especially given that Thor knew the truth before him - that would probably bother Loki to an extent; but in her own defense, she hadn’t told the God of Thunder, he had figured it out on his own.

Nevertheless, she needed to be careful about the things she said out loud, especially when there were sharp ears about.

Amelia found herself before the lab entrance before she knew it, peering through the clear glass to find Tony and Bruce hunched over a table showing holographic imagery of something or other - she wasn’t a big technology whiz, and to her, it just looked like random shapes and symbols and letters and numbers. Amelia smiled and tapped the button to alert them to her presence outside; Tony and Bruce liked to keep their work private, and as such, nobody but the two of them had unconditional access to the room, plus there were sometimes dangerous experiments happening within the walls of the lab, so really it was more of a safety precaution to ensure that someone didn’t just walk into the room amid some awry testing of electrical equipment.

The two men were pulled from their work. Tony waved to her while Bruce moved to authorise her access at the control panel on one of the desks, and once she was given the thumbs up, she placed her hand against the scanner, which identified her handprint and granted her entry.

Two door slid open and she walked in, smiling at Tony in greeting; she waved her hands in the general direction of the holographic image between them and said, “What’re you guys working on?”

“Just analysing the calculated equations for propulsion on our new intergalactic ship”, Tony responded, “Wanna make sure everything’s solid for the first test-flight next week.” He twiddled a pen in his hand and then tapped something on the holographic table.

“That’s great!” Amelia exclaimed, only partially understanding what that meant - something about making the ship go - but eager to respond supportively regardless.

“I’ll be over in just a minute, Amelia. You can wait in my office if you want”, Bruce spoke, turning to a monitor to do a few final things so that when he came to speak with Amelia, he could give her his undivided attention.

“Sure”, Amelia responded, catching the look of curiosity on Tony’s face, but the CEO didn’t voice his inquisitiveness, clearly understanding the matter was private. Amelia was grateful, she didn’t want to have to lie to anyone else, and if Tony found out, well, she felt that the man would make a big deal out of it, which would lead to certain individuals becoming aware of her secret.

He would find out eventually, of course, but Amelia hoped it would be amidst a happy announcement from both herself and Loki - and only when they were ready to tell everybody else. It both irritated and warmed her that Thor had discovered her secret by himself, though perhaps she hadn’t been as subtle as she thought; the look of utter delight in Thor’s eyes had been… sweet. It was clear the God of Thunder was elated at the idea of having a little niece or nephew around - he would be a good uncle.

If only Loki were to react similarly to his brother - to see his eyes swimming with excitement over the news, that would be a pleasure to witness, and it would placate each and every one of her fears.

Partway through ambling towards Bruce’s office, a soft gleam caught the left edge of Amelia’s peripheral vision, and she blinked a few times fast, her gaze settling on a table of weird-looking scrap metal and flashy, other-worldly trinkets. It was an odd collection of strange things, presumably something to do with Tony and Bruce’s work - perhaps they were using the materials to build their new ship?

Regardless, the glow was exuding from a round object that seemed to have fallen from the table. It looked like a glow-in-the-dark bouncy ball, radiating a green luminous light, and was small in size, just enough that she could probably grip it in the palm of her hand.

Before she knew what she was doing, she was bending down to pick it up.

And then, she was lying down, staring up at a white ceiling, her mind foggy and struggling to connect the pieces of what had just happened. It was unnerving and confusing, to suddenly go from standing to a reclined position in a split second, with no knowledge of how it happened.

Hold on. The lab ceiling wasn’t white. It was grey.

Where was she?

“Amelia, can you hear me?” Bruce appeared so suddenly in her vision that Amelia practically flinched, scrambling to sit up in alarm as her brain seemed to catch up with her that something wasn’t entirely right.

“What? What happened?” She stammered, perturbed and twitchy.

The first thing she noticed was that there were others in the room - Tony, Thor and Loki - and the second thing she noticed was that she was in the infirmary, lying in a hospital bed, which only further rattled her already muddled thoughts.

“You passed out”, Bruce helpfully supplied, “about half an hour ago.” There was a knit in his eyebrows, and Amelia couldn’t tell if it was concern, or that he was trying desperately to figure something out. Or both.

Loki and the others were clearly concerned; the God of Mischief hadn’t taken his eyes off of her since she’d sat up, and matched with his unblinking gaze and crossed arms, not to mention the stern countenance he was displaying, Amelia couldn’t help but worriedly think that Bruce had perhaps let slip some sensitive information about her… condition.

She halted that thought immediately. Bruce was a professional, he wouldn’t break his promise of confidentiality just because she fainted.

Amelia felt an uncomfortable sensation trail down her spine as she looked back to Bruce, “Is everything okay? -I mean, am I okay?” She hoped he would glean from the tone of her enquiry that she was more concerned about what was going on inside her rather than sustaining a few inconsequential bruises.

“It would seem so”, Bruce responded, his lip twisting as he scrutinised her, “But there is no reason for you to have passed out. You’re not dehydrated, your blood pressure is normal…”

Amelia frowned, her eyes finding Thor, who looked uneasy, glancing between her and Loki; there was perhaps an extra layer of concern marring his features given his knowledge of her condition.

“Did you see something flash?” Tony finally spoke up, his hands positioned on his hips, but Loki interjected before Amelia could speak.

“You keep talking about a flash as if that would have anything to do with Amelia’s health”, the god sounded agitated, his statement implying that Tony had been nattering on about it for the past half hour.

“Well, it might”, Tony faced Amelia again, “we saw a flash of light- we thought something had short-circuited… we hardly had time to turn around before we heard you thud against the floor. Did you touch something in the lab?”

Amelia blinked, her mind still frazzled. A flash of light? She didn’t remember anything of the sort. She’d simply been walking towards Bruce’s office, passing by the electrical equipment without making contact, and then she’d walked past the table full of strange materials, and-

“Oh.” She murmured, and then shook her head when everybody’s faces perked up expectantly, “I did touch something, but it was just a ball- or… something… I don’t know, it looked like a little green bouncy ball. It was on the floor”, she frowned, hoping she hadn’t inadvertently destroyed some important experiment that Tony or Bruce had been working on.

Judging by the very blank looks she was receiving, Amelia deduced that none of them men knew what she was talking about. She didn’t know whether to feel relieved or unnerved about that fact.

Bruce gave a sigh, lips twinging with a troubled look, “I think it’s best we postpone the party later”, he spoke regrettably, and Amelia was immediately filled with disappointment. Despite her nerves that day, she had very much been looking forward to a fun gathering with herself and all the Avengers.

“No”, Amelia quickly protested, shaking her head, “I feel fine, I swear. I’m-” she cut herself off suddenly, realising at once that she did, in fact, feel fine. Perfectly fine. There were no aches in her muscles or joints as there had been before she’d visited the lab, there was no mild ebbing in the back of head that foretold a throbbing headache, no tiredness or exhaustion clouding her mind. “-Actually, I feel great. Like, really good”, she clenched the muscles in her legs and thighs, but was met with no discomfort. It was as if every slight ailment troubling her had just evaporated into nothingness.

Loki stepped forward then, approaching the edge of her bed and cupping her face to draw her attention directly to him. He looked into her eyes with his ever-intense stare, his gaze flickering tentatively over her face in a silent examination, before his eyebrows pinched in an unsettling way.

“I sense… something has changed within you…” The God of Mischief spoke apprehensively, and Amelia’s eyes shifted quickly to Bruce, and then to Thor - the two of which also set their sights briefly on each other. Loki did not miss the motion, turning his head to stare heavily at the other men in the room.

Tony was completely out of the loop, his face narrowing in suspicion at everybody, “Is there some sort of telepathic conversation going on here that I can’t seem to understand?” He pitched the question with a twirl of his fingers and a jesting tone, but was met with stone-cold silence.

Loki ignored Tony’s words, pinning Bruce with his glare, “Why do I get the feeling some important information is being kept from me?”

Amelia felt her body tighten with unpleasant anticipation, expecting the doctor to reveal her secret, but instead Bruce’s eyebrows rose up, an irreproachable expression settling on his face before he offhandedly stated, “Paranoia, perhaps? Should I pen you in for a mental health evaluation?”

“Shouldn’t we be discussing Amelia’s health? Have you discovered the reasoning behind her sudden fainting spell, doctor?” Loki’s words were swathed with contemptuousness and anger, and Amelia placed a hand soothingly over the god’s by way of calming him down.

“Loki, I feel fine. I still want this party”, Amelia pleaded gently, “I’ve never felt better. Besides, it’s not like I’ll be by myself at any point this evening. If I start feeling unwell, I’ll tell you.” Her light words were carefully crafted to appeal, and to sweep Loki’s suspicion under the rug.

The god surveyed her for a moment more, before looking pointedly at Bruce.

Bruce shrugged, “If you truly feel fine, then I see no reason to postpone the celebration. But if you feel ill - even the slightest bit odd - at any point in the evening, please let me know immediately.”

Amelia smiled and nodded, happiness swelling within her, “You got it, doc.”

The clothing Amelia had picked out for her party was a beautiful, purple rockabilly dress - the kind that accentuated her bust and flowed nicely to the middle of her knees with a flared skirt; it was the classic Audrey Hepburn dress that made her feel fancy and old-fashioned - in a good way, of course - and the best part was that Loki had yet to see her in the dress.

The bad part was that Amelia was having second thoughts as she stared at herself in the bathroom mirror.

She had tried the dress on before and it had looked perfectly fine then, it had even caused her to buzz with excitement just at the thought of Loki seeing her in it, but now she stood sideways, staring at her stomach which looked inexplicably bigger than it had before. She knew deep down that it was likely just a psychological result of being in possession of the knowledge that she was pregnant, and that she was seeing too much into it, but she felt vexed about it regardless.

She tried to squash those thoughts down. Loki had never made an insensitive comment about her weight, never expressed anything but desire when he looked upon her body, so her mind needed to shut up and quit trying to sabotage itself. She looked fine. She was fine.

She repeated those thoughts in her head as she slipped on her matching purple flats, but that didn’t stop her from running her palm down over her belly self-consciously as she finally exited the bathroom.

“Took you long enou-” Loki promptly trailed off the moment he caught sight of Amelia, and she quickly felt that spark of excitement returning as his eyes widened minutely.

Amelia smiled, playing with the sides of her flowing dress as she gave the god a slight half-turn in both directions, showing off her more striking assets. “You like it?” She enquired, pinching the material between her fingers, “I saw it in a shop a month ago and knew I needed it for a special occasion, and plus the colour - well, you’re always saying that purple is my colour, so I thought-”

“Shh.”

Amelia blinked, eyes widening as Loki approached and pressed a silencing finger to her mouth; she stared up at him questioningly, catching the increased dilation of his pupils and the slight parting of his lips from which he breathed quickened breaths. It was safe to assume he did like it.

“I don’t think words can describe how exquisite you look.”

Amelia’s lip curled shyly, her cheeks growing warm from the compliment; Loki’s finger brushed her lip, moving down to tilt her head back the way he always did whenever he was about to lean down and kiss her. Amelia took the few suspended moments to admire the god’s formal attire.

Loki had ditched the all-black suit a long while back, choosing instead to wear traditional Asgardian regalia, and it never failed to make Amelia weak at the knees. He looked so handsome, with the leather, the green and gold, the beautiful sewing work; Amelia wished that one day she could wear an Asgardian gown - it would no doubt be extravagant, and make her feel like a rich noble of sorts.

The god before her certainly looked the part of a prince, with his flawless skin, silky black hair, immaculate and beautiful clothes.

She was so smitten.

Amelia’s thoughts, without her permission, went back to the unborn baby in her belly; she wondered if it would be a boy or a girl, if they would have Loki’s striking green eyes or her more common brown ones, whether their hair would be mostly straight but sometimes wavy like Loki’s, or whether their little head of hair would be constantly in utter disarray like her own. Would the baby have Loki’s otherworldly gorgeous features, or would they have Amelia’s pudgy human face?

When Loki’s lips finally pressed to her’s, it was sudden and surprising, since her mind had been drifting, but she quickly and urgently kissed back, sighing blissfully from her nose before drinking in the god’s subtly minty scent.

Her choice of garb had clearly affected the god, because his kisses were unrelenting and full of imploration for more; his hands explored her body, making her shiver at the heated contact, and tightened on her waist, pulling her closer so his fingers could travel further still. The promise of his touches were tempting, but there wasn’t time to mess about right now - they were already late to the party thanks to Amelia’s indecisiveness.

Loki’s palms dragged down across her hip, roaming lower to her thigh, the thin material of the dress hardly a worthy barrier when it came to keeping the pleasing, ticklish sensations at bay, and Amelia remembered what was hidden there in the same moment Loki discovered it - the Asgardian dagger he had gifted her was sitting innocuous in the sheath against her thigh.

He wasn’t supposed to find it until after the party.

“Is that what I think it is?” Loki asked, low and breathy against her lips, and Amelia hummed softly, her mouth curling into a coy smile.

“Mmm. I’d hoped I could surprise you with it later, but you’re clearly too eager to put your hands on me”, Amelia responded, biting her lip.

“How could I not when you’re dressed like this?” The God slowly pulled up the side of her dress, revealing the dark, dangerous weapon against Amelia’s creamy skin - a sharp contrast that Loki found particularly delectable, if the hungry look in his eyes was any indication - and he let out a long exhale, holding Amelia’s gaze with blatant carnality in his eyes.

“This is incredibly sexy.”

Amelia grinned at Loki’s admission, “That was the idea, love.”

Loki gently bit his own tongue, his gaze flicking to the clock which displayed that they were very much still wasting time and needed to be on their way if they wanted to make a ‘fashionably late’ entrance to the party instead of a ‘rudely late’ entrance.

“We don’t have time for a quick fuck”, the God stated ruefully, and Amelia laughed - a loud, squawking giggle - followed by what she deemed as an unattractive snort. She covered her mouth quickly, her face warming with embarrassment.

“It’s fine, I didn’t want to get my dress dirty at all anyway. Plus, there will be plenty of time after the party, remember?” Amelia smiled, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of how the night would go on once she and Loki retired to bed, but a sudden thought struck her, pulling the smile from her face at once as she remembered that she was supposed to be telling Loki her secret that evening, preferably as soon as they were alone together.

It would probably have an effect on how the night would play out. She still feared that Loki would not react positively to the news, and her heart palpitated in her chest with anxiety, leaving her somewhat breathless for no visible reason.

The provocative smirk on Loki’s face promptly washed away, “Are you alright? Do you feel faint again?” He hands went immediately to her arms to steady her, but Amelia forced a shaky smile, fighting to take control of her emotions, and shook her head.

“No, I’m- I’m fine, really. I don’t feel dizzy or anything, I just…” She cleared her throat, “We should head down to the main room now… I’m hungry. I want to eat birthday cake.” It wasn’t a complete lie, she was feeling rather hungry.

Loki kept a close eye on her as they journeyed out of the room, down in the elevator, and through the corridor that led to the communal room where the celebration was being held; when they walked through the arch into the room, Amelia almost jumped out of her skin as the rest of the Avengers simultaneously exclaimed a loud “Happy birthday!” which forced a squeak of shock from her mouth. Loki was unaffected - it was unclear whether he had known it was going to happen, or if it was simply that difficult to surprise him.

“Thanks for the goddamn heart-attack everyone!” Amelia shouted, but she was laughing all at once, “Did you really have to scare me? This isn’t a surprise party!” The edges of the room were lit with neon blue lights, highlighting the gift table - which was piled rather high, to Amelia’s amazement - and the buffet table, which was covered with a delightful spread.

Everyone was there, already breaking out the alcohol, it seemed, and they were all smartly dressed. Suits and ties, except for Thor, who was dressed similarly to Loki, save from his colour scheme which was more reds and silvers, while Natasha and Pepper wore a pretty dresses and had their hair done up nicely. There was something utterly wonderful about it - everyone relaxed and ready to party instead of worrying about saving the world one way or another.

Loki brushed his hand against Amelia’s arm - a simple gesture of affection - as he wandered to the bar to pick up a drink; everyone else began mingling and doing their thing while Tony got the music started and Bruce approached with sheepish look on his face.

“Sorry about the surprise, I tried to convince them not to do it, but… you know. How are you feeling anyway?” The doctor enquired.

“Pretty good”, Amelia responded, “Still great. I think I could dance all night, to be honest”, she smiled, certain that Loki would steal her away before she could even think about doing that, “But only after I devour that entire buffet over there.”

“Increased appetite?” Bruce remarked quietly, though loud enough to be heard over the music, “That generally doesn’t begin until the second trimester, but you’re not showing yet”, his eyes flickered curiously down to Amelia’s stomach, and she shifted her weight between her feet subconsciously.

“Is that… weird?” Amelia frowned.

“Not unheard of, but I think the kicker is that we can’t expect this to be like any regular human pregnancy”, Bruce murmured, his gaze switching to Loki, “Ah, but, we can talk about that tomorrow”, he smiled with undertones of regret, “Just enjoy yourself tonight.”

The doctor knew of Amelia’s tendency to become overwhelmed by her nerves from time to time, and the last thing he wanted to do was make her worry. Too bad it was too late for that - Amelia was already thinking about Bruce’s words and what they could mean. It hadn’t really occurred to her before then that her unborn child would be half-Jotun - not that that changed anything regarding how much she would adore the child.

Bruce’s uncertainty on how the pregnancy would progress was what caused tension to settle into her muscles.

“What would you like to drink, Amelia?” Loki called across the room over the music, taking back her attention.

“Oh, uh, I’ll have a-” She paused half-way through her response, a sudden disappointment befalling her as she remembered that she could not consume alcohol in her condition, “Uh. Just a soda is good.” Extremely sugary carbonated beverages probably weren’t a good substitute, on second thought, “-Wait, uh, just… fuck. An orange juice? Orange juice is fine.”

Bruce looked amused, to Amelia’s dismay, but the subsequent reaction from the rest of the group is what really put her in an awkward place.

“No alcohol? What? On your birthday?” Clint was the first to speak up, “You’ve gotta have alcohol. You’re thirty.” The furrow of his eyebrow made Amelia pout, as if there was something wrong with her for refusing to drink alcohol during a party.

“I’m just not in the mood for it, that’s all”, Amelia shrugged.

“Of all the occasions to choose to drink, you turn your nose up at it today”, Steve chuckled, “Who’s not in the mood to drink on their birthday?”

“Says the guy who can’t get drunk”, Tony interjected with one quirked brow.

“On regular booze, I can’t get drunk. But with Asgardian booze? That’s a whole different level, Tony”, the captain revealed, shooting Thor a knowing look.

“Hold on. Stars and Stripes gets to drink Asgardian booze, but you don’t offer me any?” Tony turned to Thor with an utterly appalled look, “What’s the big idea?”

“Trust me, Tony”, Amelia spoke up, “It’s not that great.” Her comment wasn’t quite heard, which she didn’t mind, because it took the spotlight off of her regarding the mystery as to why she didn’t want to drink alcohol while the others bickered about themselves. Amelia smiled at Natasha, who was giving her an odd look as she sipped from her champagne glass, and shrugged it off.

Loki drew near with a glass of orange juice for her, and she took it with a look of gratitude; the god was more enlightened concerning Amelia’s history with alcohol, and knew that she only drank sparingly. He most likely attributed her refusal of it to that very fact, and had no reason to question it, luckily. The last thing she needed was Loki growing even more suspicious about her odd behaviour earlier in the day.

The evening began quickly. With the amount of food resting nearby on the table, it wasn’t long before everybody hovered over and started picking from the dishes, bowls and platters; Amelia didn’t hold back - she grabbed her own plate and piled it with sweet and savoury treats to fill her empty stomach. The pepper poppers were particularly good, though Loki’s nose scrunched up in disgust over them - still not a big fan of anything spicy - but he seemed oddly concerned about the amount Amelia was seizing from the dish.

“You better chase that down with a drink, because I’m not going to kiss you until you do”, he spoke coolly, and Amelia bit her lip with flagrant amusement.

“Really? What if I don’t drink anything for the rest of the night?”

“That would be irresponsible considering you fainted earlier.”

“Hey, that wasn’t from dehydration”, Amelia argued, picking up another pepper popper and popping it into her mouth, “Mmm, delicious!”

Loki’s lips twisted with displeasure, “That’s repulsive. How can you eat them?”

“They’re not that spicy”, Amelia laughed, “I’m sure even you could comfortably eat one. Go on, try one”, she picked one up and held it up to Loki’s face, but the god grabbed her wrist firmly and held it at bay.

“Don’t you dare.”

Amelia laughed, “Okay, okay”, she relented, and Loki released her hand, “But I’m still gonna eat them, because they’re yummy.”

Loki pursed his lips, “And what would you rather do? Eat those sickening peppers all evening, or kiss me?”

Amelia blinked, pausing mid-chew. She looked down at the colourful plate of pepper poppers, then back to Loki, then down to the plate again.

“It can’t be that difficult a decision!” Loki protested, frowning at the length of time it was taking Amelia to answer, but she swallowed her mouthful before breaking into a fit of giggles.

Loki was cute when he was affronted over something so trivial.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to wash these down with something more to your tastes”, Amelia licked her lips, “Oh look, pizza rolls.” She hid her grin when Loki rolled his eyes, but shrugged his shoulders in acceptance, and Amelia plucked a few up to place on her plate. “Well, aren’t you gonna have some?”

Loki scanned the table of food incisively, before picking up a pizza roll and examining it curiously, “These better taste as good as actual pizza.” He took a bite, chewing momentarily, before his eyebrows rose up subtly.

“That’s the face of a man who has discovered the joy of pizza rolls right there”, Amelia tittered in amusement, watching as the god grabbed his own dish and added a few more, along with some of the other party foods, to his plate.

“Mm”, Loki voiced his muffled agreement as he proceeded to stuff his face.

When it came to dancing, Amelia knew Loki was still somewhat… well, shy would probably be the wrong word, but the god was definitely unwilling to show that more vulnerable and playful side of himself around the other Avengers. As such, he refused to cavort to any of the faster songs for fear it would made him look foolish or silly.

Thor had no such problem letting loose, however, so Amelia happily threw herself into an enthusiastic jig to the sound of ‘Radio Ga Ga’ by Queen, with the God of Thunder as her willing dance partner. And yes, she felt silly and embarrassed, but she also felt undeniably happy and full of joy. Loki truly didn’t know what he was missing, if only he could drop the cool, calm and collective front and show everybody that he did know how to have fun.

For a blissful few hours, Amelia forgot about her worries. It would come back once the party finished, but for now Amelia enjoyed herself, watching Tony and Pepper dance together, the sight of Natasha and Bruce enjoying a drink together - not quite here for the dancing scene - and Clint and Steve laughing about something or other by the buffet table.

Loki watched Amelia dance from the sidelines, his arms crossed as he waited impatiently for a slower song to begin so that he could sweep Amelia off her feet and twirl her around and sway in a way that was more his style. Who knew when that would be, though? It was Tony’s playlist, and he was a guy who favoured the more upbeat and loud tunes.

“You’ve been dancing for a while, Amelia. I’m surprised you haven’t worn yourself out yet”, Thor spoke, and then his eyes flickered down to her stomach, “Especially considering-”

“Shh!” Amelia quickly shushed him, giving him a pointed warning look, and the god smiled sheepishly. “I’m feeling great, honestly”, she answered his statement, “I’m only feeling a little outta breath, but I’m not tired at all!”

“Really? Are you sure you don’t need a refreshment? Perhaps a drink?”

Amelia blinked, her wild dancing coming to a stop, and she breathed moderately, sending a glance toward the drinks table, “Mmm, yeah, you’re right. I’ll be back in a minute.” She’d been so focused on tearing it up on the dance floor that she hadn’t really been paying attention to how thirsty she was - and she didn’t want to get dehydrated after her random fainting spell earlier that day.

“You looked like you were having fun out there”, Natasha remarked as Amelia approached.

“Hehe”, Amelia chuckled bashfully, pushing a few strands of her hair out of the way of her eyes, “Yeah, I guess I was feeling it.” She grabbed a glass and the jug of water, pouring herself a drink before downing it in just a few moments.

“You’re looking a lot better than last week”, Natasha remarked, “Beaming, in fact. Perhaps we’ll be able to resume your self-defense lessons this Friday? I think it’s time we moved on to some more advanced techniques.”

The idea was exciting, because the self-defense lessons Natasha taught her were both fun and educating, and of course beneficial in the long run in case she ever ran into any trouble and nobody was around to get her out of it. The fact that Nat thought she was ready to proceed to more advanced training was also wonderful to hear, but one small misgiving left her unsure.

Amelia needed to talk to Bruce about what kind of exercise she should and shouldn’t be doing - she didn’t want to do something that could potentially cause harm to her unborn baby, and while it was probably wasn’t as big a problem early on in her pregnancy, she didn’t want to risk anything.

“Oh! Um… we’ll see. Perhaps”, Amelia’s lip curled as she covertly gnawed it from inside her mouth, praying that she didn’t sound stilted, and Natasha returned it with a smile, nodding her head ever so gently.

“Amelia.”

Amelia looked up as Loki approached, and she realised with a start that the song had changed. It was ‘Rocket Man’ by Elton John, and the god clearly approved of its melody enough that he would allow himself to dance to it.

Loki offered his hand, palm facing up, as a determined little smirk appeared on his face, and Amelia felt her cheeks redden with anticipation. She always loved to dance with him - it was one of the most amorous things that Loki often did, especially given that he was wilfully offering the dance within view of all the other Avengers.

It was almost as intimate as a public display of affection, and there was something proprietorial about it that made Amelia’s heart beat faster.

She took his hand without hesitation, mouth stretching into a grin as she let him lead her back to the dance floor, and he took position immediately with a hand on her waist, his eyes on her - and her alone - instead of the curious gazes from all around them. They were the only two that mattered in that moment.

‘She packed my bags last night pre-flight, zero hour nine AM, and I’m gonna be high as a kite by then’, the vocals rang out, and Amelia performed well-practised steps, moving her feet in time with Loki’s in the way he had taught her many times before. She still hadn’t kicked the habit of staring down at her feet. ‘I miss the earth so much, I miss my wife. It’s lonely out in space, on such a timeless flight…’

“Eyes up, love”, Loki whispered, and Amelia gazed at him sheepishly.

He moved with such grace, as always, and in his princely Asgardian attire, he looked simply stunning - a breathtaking sight to behold. Whenever they danced, Amelia felt as though she was falling in love all over again.

‘And I think it’s gonna be a long long time, till touchdown brings me round again to find, I’m not the man they think I am at home, oh no, no, no.’ Amelia felt light, as though her feet were stepping on clouds, and there was this euphoric feeling running through her veins. Loki loved her, and she loved him, and the resolve to tell the man her profound secret grew stronger. ‘I’m a rocket man. Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone.’

The god was smiling, his eyes wrinkled with genuine happiness.

“Loki”, Amelia whispered, “There’s something I need to tell you.” The words trickled from her lips before she could override her brain’s desire to spill the truth, “S-something important.”

Loki frowned, his eyes scanning her face, and his movements faltered for just a moment, “What is it, Amelia?”

Amelia opened her mouth, her lips quivering as the words hung on the tip of her tongue, but her throat closed reflexively when she realised this probably wasn’t the best place to divulge the fact that she was pregnant. Not with everybody else around. Not now. She had to wait.

An aborted sound escaped her and she clamped her mouth shut, trying to cover the distress on her face behind a very false smile, but Loki stopped dancing, and his expression fell completely.

“Amelia-” Whatever Loki was going to say was cut short when the dim light of the room was suddenly replaced by a sharp green glow.

Amelia shielded her eyes, looking towards the windows where the strange illumination was emanating from; for a moment it was completely infeasible for her to discern what she was looking at, but when Tony hastily demanded that F.R.I.D.A.Y cut out the music, the underlying noise from vibrations became evident.

It was a vessel of some sort, hovering in the air.

“Stark, please tell me this part of Amelia’s birthday celebration plan”, Thor spoke, his voice loud and full of tension.

“Or that we’re expecting... visitors”, Bruce interjected.

“Unfortunately not”, Tony stated, vigilant, and more than a little on edge at the sudden strange company, “F.R.I.D.A.Y, scan the exterior of the tower and tell me what the hell we’re looking at.”

Loki pulled Amelia closer, urging her back behind him as everybody backed slowly away from the undesignated ship; a feeling of dread overcame Amelia as she wondered who could possibly be interfering with the Avengers in the middle of a harmless party. What were the chances that it was a completely innocuous guest who only wanted to join the fun? Slim.

“The vessel is unable to be identified. Scanners are offline”, the Tower’s female A.I responded.

“Why is it offline?” Clint enquired.

“I don’t know, I didn’t turn them off”, Tony replied tautly, “I think it’s time to suit up-”

No later had he spoken those words did the windows come smashing down, with several figures leaping into the room; Amelia didn’t get a good look at them before Loki had whisked her up and carried her away, hastily placing her behind the large music speakers where she could hide out of sight.

“Stay here!” Loki ordered among the loud crashes of chaos that ensued, but in her fright, Amelia clung to his arm, muscles locked up and shaky - the god extricated her hands from him and pushed her down again, repeating his words with no room for argument, before he zipped back out from behind the speakers to face whoever had vaulted through the glass.

Amelia’s instinctual response was to block out the noises. She covered her ears tightly with her hands, squeezing her eyes shut and willing the new and apparent foes to disappear from existence, but of course that did not happen. The sounds of collisions and violent impacts echoed throughout the room and pierced through her head, causing her to flinch every time.

“Pepper, get out!” She heard Tony shout, his voice veiled with the slight robotic filter of the Iron Man suit, which explained the surging noises Amelia heard - the repulsors of his suit as he fought the mysterious beings. Amelia thanked the stars that Tony always had a swift trick to hop into his superhero persona, but that still left Natasha and Clint vulnerable - they were dressed only in their clothes that offered little protection against assault.

Amelia curled up, hugging her knees tightly. She removed her hands from her ears and chose to listen, trying to locate any clues as to who the covert villains were, and why they had come, but nothing was clear. She tried to remain calm. Thor and Loki could handle them - they didn’t know who they were messing with. The Asgardian gods would make short work of them, they had to. They had to.

And suddenly, like some strange nightmare coming to a sudden stop, the noise in the room fell completely silent - not one indication of movement or motion. It felt as though everyone in the room had promptly vanished.

It left Amelia boggled. Perhaps the enemies had been dealt with?

But then why was nobody speaking? Why was everyone as quiet as a mouse?

An unfamiliar voice permeated the air, “Find the host.” The hard, steely tone sent an icy trail down Amelia’s spine, and she didn’t move, holding her breath for fear that it would give away her position.

‘The host’? Did they mean Tony? He was hosting the party - was that what they were referring to? It was so difficult being unable to see what was going on. What had happened? Why couldn’t she hear Loki? Why couldn’t she hear anyone?

Her throat was tight, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She needed to look - needed to take a small peek, just to check what had happened.

“No matches with these eight, General Ularis”, came another voice Amelia had never heard.

She clenched her hands into tight fists, mentally counting how many other people had been in the room - Loki, Thor, Tony, Pepper, Bruce, Nat, Clint and Steve. That was everyone - eight people, which meant they were all still present in the room. But what did they mean ‘no matches’? And who the fuck was General Ularis?

And more importantly, why had all the fighting ceased?

They couldn’t have lost - not with Thor and Loki on their side. Were they hurt? Were they all knocked out, or- or worse?

Amelia couldn’t take it anymore. With her back pressed straight against the back of the large speaker, she leaned slowly to one side, peering around the edge of the sound equipment to come face to face with a scene that left her bewildered and terrified. Everybody was still there, Thor and Loki included, and they were all on their feet, seemingly unharmed.

But they weren’t moving. Not budging an inch.

It was like they were completely frozen in place.

Pepper was near the door, seemingly halfway through a rush to safety, while Steve had grouped together with Clint and Natasha, all poised to fight. Bruce was further back behind them, looking tense with his fists clenched - Amelia couldn’t see from the distance she was at, but it was possible there were green veins popping at the sides of his forehead.

Tony was in the suit, but again unmoving, one arm raised to aim a repulsor in the direction of the windows where the gatecrashers supposedly were; Thor’s arm was halfway elevated, as if attempting to call his weapon - Stormbreaker - to hand.

And Loki. His stance was that of somebody who wouldn’t hesitate to attack, and it appeared that he had already called upon his magic to conjure blades to his hands - the sight reminded Amelia of her own concealed weapon, and she subconsciously traced her fingers over her thigh through the silk material of her dress.

She had a means of self-defense, but how many enemies were there? She’d only gotten a glance - not enough to perceive what the beings looked like, but enough to count at least three, and if they’d managed to stop the Avengers in their tracks, how could Amelia ever hope to come out alive?

“Scanners indicated nine lifeforms on this floor. Find the missing lifeform, it has to be the one we’re after.”

Amelia’s stomach lurched with fear at the sound of the order spoken by the being who was presumably General Ularis. They were after her? Why!? What could they possibly want with her? She wasn’t someone of note - just a human trying to live her life. What did they want?

Lost in her wildly buzzing thoughts, Amelia did not realise that her shaky breathing had become so audible. It only occurred to her when a figure stepped into her peripheral vision and located her hiding spot behind the speakers.

They wore some sort of body armour space suit, face covered with a helmet, but Amelia could hear the smirk behind the next few words they spoke, “Found it.”

Amelia kicked her leg out abruptly, swooping it across the floor against the being’s ankles, and spun her body around, pushing herself up to her feet in one move. One thing was clear - she needed to run.

Although the armoured individual staggered from Amelia’s effort to trip them, they were not deflected for long, because she heard the footsteps chasing after her as she rushed across the main room - putting those running muscles to good use - and her body was flooded with adrenaline. Amelia weaved between Tony and Bruce, her breaths escaping her frantically, but she was tackled long before she made it anywhere near the door.

She didn’t make it easy for the being to subdue her, kicking and wriggling and scratching and hitting, just as Natasha had taught her whenever she found herself in such a position, and she screamed as well. Her cries were loud and distraught. Her arms were pinned to the ground - she couldn’t reach the blade at her thigh, and even if she could, she didn’t think it would help her prevail over this creature that was hell-bent on taking her.

“GET OFF! Get the fuck off me!” Amelia roared, writhing as the being pulled her briskly up and over their shoulder, leaving her hanging helplessly with no way to defend herself or escape the hold - Nat definitely hadn’t shown her what to do if she was hoisted over somebody's shoulder. But she didn’t give up so easily, pounding her hand’s against the being’s armoured back, though it seemed to have little effect.

Amelia was hyperventilating, an uncomfortable buzzing feeling growing rapidly in her stomach. Was she going to throw up? She felt both hot and cold all at once, and the unusual sensation inside her fluctuated rapidly from discomfort to pain; she tried to push it down, swallowing tightly, and worked on attempting to wriggle out of the firm hold.

Her hand shot out as they passed by Loki, and she clung to his arm which was suspended mid-way through a defensive manoeuvre, hoping to rouse him from his strange worrying state of motionlessness. Her grip tightened on him when the being tried to pull her away.

“Loki”, Amelia cried, searching his face for any sign of cognizance. Up close, Amelia could see that his eyes were wide, his pupils were contracted, and his jaw was locked, teeth gritting together - he looked like he was fighting whatever magical or mystical hold the unidentified beings had on everyone. “Loki, help me!” She bawled again, hoping that her powerless pleas would be able to break him out of it.

She was yanked forcefully, her grip having slipped in just a moment of weakness, and Amelia floundered, her arm outstretched, as if she could still reach him even as she was being dragged away. “No, no! Loki! Loki, help me! Loki!” Amelia shrieked, her eyes wet with tears.

Loki’s leg twitched, and then his body trembled. He appeared as though he was vibrating with rage, and then his neck bowed slightly with a shudder, and he took a convulsive step forward.

“Hurry up, I can’t hold them forever!” Amelia heard one of the foes shout from behind, and her struggles resumed anew, with double the strength. There was a chance - Loki could break free, he was staggering slowly after them, he just needed one last shove.

“Loki!” Amelia cried breathlessly. She felt as though she could hardly breath, like there was a crushing pressure in her body that was itching to pierce through her and tear her apart, but she forced herself to ignore the pain and keep it held in. “Don’t let them take me! Don’t let them-”

A sharp pain tore through her head, and the world went dark.

Chapter Text

It all happened so fast.

The windows shattered, unidentified creatures leapt into the room, and Loki barely had time to place Amelia in a corner out of harm’s way before springing into action, the entire team gearing up to face the clearly malicious force opposing them.

But then he couldn’t move.

He tried to force his muscles into action but was met with unbearable pain, like something was zapping him into compliance; it reminded him somewhat of the obedience disks used by the Grandmaster on Sakaar, but this was different. This involved magic. Magic that he couldn’t contest in his immobile state. If only he could flick his wrist, just a little, he could create an illusion to throw the rival spellcaster off.

But agony flooded through him, and his body couldn’t even react. He was stuck, unable to move or use his magic, and unable to speak.

So he did what he could do. He watched and listened.

There were four creatures clad in armoured space suits, their faces concealed behind sleek helmets; one of them stood poised and equable ahead of the rest, arms outstretched toward the Avengers with flat palms - the sorcerer, Loki assumed - while the other three gazed around the room, evidently searching for something.

If he could force the muscles in his throat to cooperate with him, he would have asked them what they were after, but as that was not an option, he remained vigilant and attentive to their actions.

“Find the host.” One of them spoke. A feminine voice. The one whose armour had an alternate colour pattern; she sounded sharp and commanding, spouting the order with authority and the expectation that the directive would be obeyed without question.

Loki probed his mind for any clue as to what the order meant exactly. What host were they referring to? The Asgardian prince yearned to turn his head and check that Amelia was still safely hidden away - there was no knowing what these beings would do to her if she inadvertently got in the way of their mysterious mission.

“No matches with these eight, General Ularis.” Another feminine voice, higher pitched. Her tone was softer, it seemed, and there was less of a bite behind her words. But apart from that, Loki couldn’t analyse anything about her - not without seeing her face, her expressions. If he knew what species she was or what planet she was from, perhaps he could formulate some sort of idea of how to take them down. Loki had extensive knowledge of many species, after all, as he had read through the entirety of the Asgardian library over the last thousand or so years.

“Scanners indicated nine lifeforms on this floor. Find the missing lifeform, it has to be the one we’re after.” General Ularis spoke again, and Loki’s heart sank to the floor.

No. There had to be some mistake. ‘The missing lifeform’ - they couldn’t be talking about Amelia, could they? No. Why would they be looking for her? Loki wracked his brain for an explanation, for a hope that they could be referring to any other person in the room, but there were eight of them visible, Amelia was the ninth, hidden out of sight for the moment. The realisation made his heart beat faster in his chest, flooding him with nerves.

Loki wanted to speak, wanted to contend against these apparent foes. If he had the ability to do so, he would warn them not to step any closer. Because if they advanced any nearer to Amelia’s hiding place, he would promise them an excruciating and slow demise.

For a few moments, there was silence. One of the beings had stepped out of Loki’s line of sight, and it did nothing to ease his fears. He needed the fourth being to step back into his peripheral, just so Loki could be sure of their location.

But then, straining his ears throughout the silence of the room, Loki heard fretful breathing; he knew immediately who it was, and that Amelia’s hiding place was compromised. The being that was missing from Loki’s vision could be heard from their focused footsteps, followed by the smug words that filled the Asgardian prince with terror.

“Found it.”

There was a crash, and the sound of bodies scrambling across the room behind him, before finally Loki heard Amelia scream for the foe to get away from her and leave her be; the noise was muffled, and accompanied with frantic gasps and grunts of protest. His body was suffused with pain in an instant as he tried to fight the spell that was laid upon him and everybody else. He didn’t care that it felt as though he was being stabbed from the inside out, that he was expelling innumerable amounts of frenetic energy in his attempt to merely break free, he had to help her.

He had to help Amelia.

They succeeded in capturing her, Loki could tell from the way her screams grew louder as the being passed through the room back towards the broken windows; goosebumps broke out over his skin at the sound of Amelia’s cries came closer. He just needed to break free. His head was splitting with a terrible ache from the toil he was undergoing, but he did not give up, he only fought harder.

He felt his finger twitch on the grip of his conjured blade, but even that slightest movement was like an impossible struggle. It wouldn’t do. Fighting the spell brought unbearing pain - if only he knew how to break from it completely, to leave the sorcerer’s magic useless. If he could summon his own magical energy, even just for a second, he could overcome the foe and wipe them all out. Without mercy.

They wouldn’t have time to rue their mistakes, unless they would be doing so from the fiery clutches of Hel.

Amelia was there at the edge of his vision suddenly, clinging desperately to his arm as she shouted for his help. She was so close, so close, if he could only reach out and pull her back, but the foe whose shoulder she was slung over was nothing if not persistent, and expressed clear irritation over Amelia’s refusal to come quietly.

Loki’s gaze bore into his lover’s eyes, the ineffable agony grasping his body in an unrelenting hold, and his right foot twitched as determination prickled up his spine; Amelia was begging him to do something, both with her words and her eyes, and he tried, more than anything, he tried to move, but his body felt as though it was buckling under the pain and pressure.

Tears stained Amelia’s face, and it tore Loki apart to see her so terrified. He needed her to know that he was trying everything he could to shatter through the cruel spell he was trapped under. A moment passed, and then the foe wrenched Amelia back, her desperate fingers reaching out hopelessly as they slipped from Loki’s arm, and the pain in Loki’s body was replaced with utter dread.

“No, no! Loki! Loki, help me! Loki!”

The muscles in Loki’s leg gave a shudder, and despite the severe cramping pain, he managed to shift his weight, a convulsive shiver breaking through him, and he took one step forward.

“Hurry up! I can’t hold them forever!” The sorcerer, the one holding them still, shouted wildly; their voice was young but an octave deeper, which suggested they were male, and it was drowned with panic, something that gave Loki an ounce of hope that he could overpower the fool and take back what was his.

Another step, and Loki lowered as if in prelude to a pounce, his spasmodic movements difficult but resolute. He was so close to forcing through the cracking barrier of magic holding him tightly in place, just one last shove was all he needed.

“Loki!” Amelia cried, wriggling in a way that was implacable, “Don’t let them take me! Don’t let them-”

It all came crashing down like an intransigent wave of wrath when the fourth and final foe stepped forward and struck the side of Amelia’s head, knocking her out cleanly with ease; watching his lover slump silently as the fourth being took it upon themselves to swipe her up out of the other’s grip, impatience obvious in their actions, was the final thrust into unwavering fury for Loki.

The spell was broken, and instantaneously he was staggering to rush them, a battle cry of pure outrage tearing from his lips.

“Run!” He heard one of them shout as they doubled back and charged towards the broken windows where their ship remained. They were fast, and Loki’s speed was sabotaged by the stabbing pains still flooding him in waves; he wasn’t able to reach the one that had Amelia in their arms, not before they leapt back onto their ship.

But he did tackle the one that had found her in the first place, slamming them to the ground and pinning them below his body, but his eyes weren’t on the enemy he’d crushed against the ground. His eyes were on the skies - watching as the rest of the beings escaped with Amelia, their ship soaring higher and higher until it was out of sight.

Gone.

Amelia was gone.

He’d failed to protect her, and now she was in the hands of strange beings whose intentions were clearly not pure.

Loki let out a raging shout, his wrath growing stronger still, and he turned his gaze to the being pinned beneath him, bringing his balled fist down promptly to shatter the visor of their helmet. They flinched, struggling in his grip, but he held them firmly down with his other hand around their neck; the presence of fear in their wide, yellow eyes was a pleasure to witness and Loki’s lips stretched into a manic grin as he conjured a blade to his hand and held it high, poised to strike.

“Loki!”

A strong hand encompassed his wrist, holding his blade at bay. It was Thor, denying him a kill he rightfully deserved, and Loki tried to tear his arm away so that he might drive his dagger deep into the foe’s heart, but the God of Thunder was adamant that Loki refrain.

“Let me kill them!” Loki roared.

“But Loki-”

“Let me kill them! They took her from me!”

“Loki! If we want to get Amelia back, we’ll need to know where they’ve taken her!” His brother exclaimed, the implications of his words hanging in the air, and the hand Loki was clasping the dagger in trembled.

He sucked in a shuddering breath. Right. They needed to torture information out of the creature. He couldn’t kill them - yet.

That didn’t stop Loki from squeezing their windpipe till they grappled and gurgled, pleading for breath, which he only allowed them after their struggles began to weaken.

“I will get information out of them”, Loki decided, excited at the thought of making this fool heavily regret their actions.

“I don’t think so”, Clint interjected from behind.

“Leave it to me”, Natasha added, voice unwavering and purposeful, “I’ll get the information we need, and once we have a decisive plan, then you can kill them.” Her expression was controlled, but Loki could sense her anger - and it was only from that mutual understanding of rage that he trusted her to carry out the task. At least she knew the right to kill their new captive when the time came belonged to him.

They took the armoured being away, but Loki remained where he was, at the edge of the shattered panels, kneeling in glass as he stared up at the night sky, wondering why this had to happen. Why did it have to be Amelia? Why couldn’t it have been anybody else?

Loki clenched his fists.

He should have tried harder, he had broken out of the spell in the end, which meant he’d had the power to do so before - his attempts had been foiled by the pain that had coursed through him, but if only he’d tried harder and endured the agony from the beginning.

He shouldn’t have just listened. He should have acted. Why did he let himself rest from the pain? If only he had fought from the moment he found himself unable to move, perhaps Amelia would have been by his side right now, instead of lost somewhere in the reaches of space.

Loki sucked in a breath.

And when she woke to find herself surrounded by strange beings, without Loki or any familiar face in sight, what was she going to think? Would she assume she’d been abandoned? That Loki gave up trying to save her and allowed her to be taken?

Loki thought about what he should have done. Instead of tackling the foe to the ground, he should have dived for the ship - perhaps he would have made it, or perhaps he would have missed his mark and fallen all the way to the ground as the ship swerved away from the Tower.

At least if that had happened, he could say that he really tried to pursue Amelia’s kidnappers, the downside would be that he likely would’ve broken quite a few bones in his body. Though, after his failure, perhaps he deserved that kind of pain. Amelia was going to end up suffering because of his lack of success, because he could hardly handle a little pain.

What if they hurt her? Experimented on her? What if the Avengers failed to find her and Loki never saw her again?

It was difficult to control the tears of frustration that pricked the corners of his eyes, but Loki just about managed to keep his composure. He wasn’t sure how long he’d knelt before the broken window, but eventually he became aware of Stark and Rogers, who were standing nearby, also peering out at the stars above.

“Your ship is good to go, right? It’s ready for flight?” Rogers asked, and those words alone had Loki’s full attention.

“I don’t know”, Stark returned grimly, “I haven’t run any test flights. There’s no knowing what could go wrong without first checking how it fares unmanned.”

Loki rose quickly to his feet, regretting it immediately as a wave of dizziness overcame him - fighting that magical trap had left him mostly exhausted - but he remained upright, regaining balance after just a few moments.

“Stark”, Loki spoke, tone fixed with intent, “You better get to work on checking your vessel at once. We’ll need to leave as soon as we have a destination.”

He expected the billionaire to comeback with a snappy comment and perhaps a lacklustre nickname, but Tony simply became downcast, head moving in a very subtle nod, “I’ll get to it…”

Loki nodded tightly in acknowledgement, finally turning away from the windows to face the rest of the room. His gaze zeroed in on Thor and Banner who were conversing with suspiciously low tones; Loki could make out the muffle of their voices but not their words, and when Thor’s eyes flitted up to him before quickly diverting away, he knew it was something to do with Amelia. Something they didn’t want him to know.

That would not do. If there was something wrong with Amelia, he needed to know now. Any information could help them find her; plus, Loki did not take well to his supposed friends keeping secrets from him.

Loki approached Thor, watching as Banner quickly left the room with a purposeful stride, and pinned his brother with a heavy, weary-eyed stare. “Tell me what you are hiding from me, brother.”

Thor frowned, a dire look in his mismatched gaze, “I’m not hiding anything from you”, his words were stiff and clear but he could not fool Loki, the god was born to sniff out lies, and even when Thor was trying his hardest to sound inconspicuous, there was no exception.

“Bullshit”, Loki snapped, using a word he had picked up from Amelia’s extensive, colourful vocabulary - it certainly worked well to display his feelings at the current time - “You and Banner know something I don’t, I saw you talking to each other. Your face was full of guilt when you realised I was watching you”, he drew a deep breath to try and calm his growing resentment.

“Loki…”

“Is there something… something wrong with her? Is she sick?” Loki’s jaw was clenched as he spoke, another wave of dizziness causing his vision to wobble, and he blinked his eyes until the whited out spots began to dissipate.

“She’s not sick”, Thor stated firmly, and this time he spoke genuinely, “You should get some rest while you can, we’ll need to replenish our strength and wits if we want to find Amelia and bring her home. You look… like Hel, brother.” Loki was not surprised by Thor’s remark - he didn’t exactly feel like a ray of sunshine - and it was all because of that unyielding spell.

He’d fought as hard as he could, and it still wasn’t enough. He had clearly suffered the effects of the spell more so than any of the others, which meant they had not struggled half as hard as he had to break out of the spell. The mortals, he could understand, but Thor? He supposed Thor looked a little ragged, but Loki couldn’t help but think that Amelia hadn’t been his first priority.

“You didn’t… you didn’t even try”, Loki hissed, his head bowing slightly with fatigue, “you didn’t even try to save her…”

“Loki, I wanted to break free more than anything, but I couldn’t. Whoever cast that spell was powerful. I promise you, brother, I tried”, he seemed offended that Loki would accuse him of anything less, “This isn’t the time to turn against me, Loki. Romanoff is going to interrogate our prisoner, Stark will hopefully get his ship up and running, and Banner is going to search the lab - he believes these unexpected guests may have something to do with what happened earlier, when Amelia fainted, remember?”

Loki’s brow furrowed, “When she fainted?” He had assumed that her passing out had to do with the apparent secret Thor was keeping from him.

“She said she touched something in the lab, and”, his mouth twisted into something that resembled guilt, “I fear it may have something to do with the heap of scrap and alien tech that I recovered during my last mission.”

Loki blinked, his tongue burning with the need to accuse Thor of being at fault, but his brother was right about one thing - turning on each other now was not a good idea. They all needed to put their minds and skills together collectively in order to think of a plan to recover Amelia.

“Get some rest”, Thor murmured, his hand coming to squeeze Loki’s shoulder in an attempt at comfort, “You will need it.”

Loki’s shoulders fell, “I don’t think I can.” He couldn’t lay down and sleep with the knowledge that Amelia was out there somewhere in the vast reaches of space with no allies around to help her - she was lost and alone, and Loki knew Amelia well enough to know that she would be terrified.

Sleep was, as expected, impossible. Loki could not lie still, not while his mind refused to think about anything other than Amelia.

Instead, he tried meditation. It was a good way to slowly replenish his energy while allowing his mind to trail through his consciousness and simply think, and there was one thing in particular he needed to set his focus on.

Loki had to dissect the magic that was used against him if he wanted to find any chance of countering it. He had extensive knowledge of many different types of spellcraft and sorcery, as he had spent most of his life reading about it - and somewhere in his memory, he knew he could find a significant piece of information that could help him formulate a plan against it.

He laid still in the centre of his bed, eyes closed and limbs straight, and fell easily into a state of trance-like contemplation; once he felt like he was floating, he conjured up imagery of the library that once flourished on Asgard - his favourite place to be - and wandered throughout the many shelves of books, searching pointedly for the section on time-freezing magic.

His initial perusal did not gift him with any solutions, and it frustrated him. His patience could not become thinner, and every minute he spent without an answer was a minute wasted; he ruminated for some time, until he entertained the possibility that perhaps he had misidentified the type of sorcery.

They hadn’t exactly frozen time - time had still moved freely around them. It was only their bodies that were stuck in place.

Loki turned on his heel and began browsing the other possibly categories of spellcraft, and simultaneously thought back to what exactly he had witnessed - anything that could give a clue. He had gathered little intel from the experience, but what he had noticed was that the sorcerer performing the spell had hardly made a movement, and just when Loki had been moments from breaking free, they had stated that they could not hold everybody for long.

So the spell must have required intense focus, perhaps even direct eye contact to perform, which gave Loki pause; he peered over his shoulder, finding the book of telekinetic abilities hovering right before his eyes.

Of course. It had to be some sort of telekinetic paralysis magic that held him and the rest of the Avengers in place. It was certainly a more powerful strain of magic, which explains why it took a lot to shatter through it, but Loki did not allow this to excuse his failure; he had let Amelia down by allowing her to be taken, and he knew he had to do better.

He would do better. He would bring her home. Unscathed.

“Loki…”

Loki clutched the tome to his chest, a shudder wracking through him at the sound of Amelia’s voice trickling through his consciousness.

“I’m sorry”, Loki spoke, his voice low and quiet, before he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. Even deep in meditation, his thoughts could not escape his lover.

He looked down, flipping open the book in his arms - it was a publication on telekinesis that Loki had read several times over in his younger years. The ability to move objects at a distance with mental power alone was something that had piqued his interest long ago, and so he had trained himself to push and repel objects away with concentrated waves of invisible energy, but pulling objects towards himself was a tad more difficult. He knew that if he put his mind to it, he could probably succeed in drawing an object closer, but he hadn’t been half as eager to train himself in the same regard he gave forcing objects away.

Holding objects - or people, in this case - in one solid position required forcing magical energy in the direction of the opposing force. For example, levitating an object in mid-air was a battle against gravity - one of the easier feats to pull off, given that gravity was consistent in its pressure.

A living being, however, was much more difficult to hold at bay. People were unpredictable in their struggling movements, so keeping them still required a constant alteration in the direction one’s magical energy was moving, to force back against the target’s floundering.

Loki flickered through the pages quickly as he read, and stopped when he found the illustration he was searching for - paralysis through telekinesis - which depicted one sorcerer trapping another by the use of such magic.

He knew he had read about it somewhere.

Loki poured over the chapter, discovering that he had been correct in his assumption - the spell required consistent eye contact and deep focus. Noise and movement were the plight of the spellcaster, a distraction could foil it with ease.

The more Loki read, the more clear it was that the sorcerer had simply been lucky - the fact that the Avengers had pooled together instead of spreading out was what had ultimately thwarted them. If they faced the foe again, at least this time they would know to fight from all angles instead of just one.

Loki knew the weakness of one of their enemies, but that left at least two more - two more whose abilities and skills remained a mystery to him. He would have to formulate a strategy as they went along, unless Natasha was lucky enough to get some information out of their captive regarding their teammate’s prowess.

He quietly shut the ancient book, slotting it back into place on the shelf, before turning around and coming face to face with the woman he loved.

Loki breathed deeply, gazing at Amelia remorsefully, but with a returned sense of determination. No matter what, the woman was always on his mind; he cupped her face with one hand, wishing she was not there just as a figment of his memory, and she tilted her head against his palm, her face marred with a frown.

“I will find you”, Loki spoke quietly, though he knew deep down it was only reassurance for himself. Amelia could not hear him, for she was far away.

The images around Loki dissolved suddenly as he pulled out of his meditative trance, and the sight of his lonely room greeted him. He blinked slowly, pushing away the melancholic feeling that threatened to overcome him and instead sat up, rubbing his eyes - there obviously hadn’t been any news yet, because Thor had promised he would be the first to know, but there was no way he could continue to sit still and wait for progress to just happen.

Loki left the room, heading straight for the lab to check and see if Stark had made any headway with the ship. He trusted Tony was doing his best to ensure his ship was up and running for their imminent mission; the CEO was a workaholic at the best of times, which meant the added resolution of a dear friend being in danger would motivate him further.

It was approaching 2:00am, and Amelia had been gone for almost five hours; the sooner Loki knew the motive behind the abduction, the better. Not knowing was a very agonising thing.

When Loki entered the lab, Stark looked briefly up from his monitor, and then continued his work without so much as a blink; he looked tired and harrowed, most likely tormented by the burden of knowing he had to figure out his equations if he wanted Amelia back safely, but it didn’t put a dent in his tenacity to succeed.

Loki chose not to ask questions. It was clear Stark was still working - if he was any closer to ensuring his ship’s unquestionable safety in a space mission, he would have stated so when the god walked in.

Across the lab, Banner seemed preoccupied with something, bustling around his workstation, looking between a microscope and something on his computer monitor; this wouldn’t have seemed noteworthy to Loki, but the mystified expression on the scientist’s face was what fed his curiosity.

“What are you doing?” Loki asked as he came to a halt in front of the man’s desk, a slight spike of acidity to the god’s tone - he was still bitter that Thor and Banner were withholding important information from him. He was without a doubt that it was the case, but there was a time and place to coerce said information from either of the two, and it was after Amelia was back home and safe in his arms.

Either Banner did not catch the sharpness in Loki’s voice, or he did not care. The scientist looked up, placing one palm firmly on the table as he leant over, his shoulders tense with keen purpose, and he spoke as though he had discovered the secret of the universe, “Amelia found something in here earlier, remember? She picked up a glowing ball, that’s what she said- well, I didn’t find a glowing ball, but I found this-” He indicated a small spherical object placed in a container on the surface of his desk. It was smooth and transparent, and looked to be made of glass, “-I had dismissed Amelia’s words as disoriented mumblings, but after she was taken, I felt that perhaps there could possibly be a connection here that we were missing-”

“Enough rambling”, Loki shook his head, gaze hardened, “Get to the point.”

Banner sighed, motioning with a hand to his microscope, “I found this ball, swabbed it and discovered traces of an unknown element. I observed it under the microscope and found this-” He pointed to the monitor, and Loki moved around the table to view what the man was pointing out. It was a peculiar recording of what looked like green electricity, to put it simply - it acted jaggedly, moving unpredictably, in very thin streaks. The god did not know what he was looking at.

“It’s like this element has a mind of its own”, Banner spoke, and it further frustrated Loki.

“Yes, and? How does this connect with Amelia?” He had exercised enough patience in the past five or so hours, but he refused to endure a game of Twenty Questions when there were much more important matters at hand.

Banner sent Loki a grim look, before tapping a button on the monitor, and the image on screen changed, revealing another recording with an abundance of pinkish-red shapes interweaved with the same green electrical veins.

“I took Amelia’s blood earlier when she passed out. This is what it looks like below the microscope”, Banner stated, “Whatever was stored in this sphere… is now in Amelia.”

Loki felt his teeth grind together as he tried to discern what exactly this meant. He stared hard at the unremarkable, transparent ball within the clear container, and let out an exasperated sigh.

“And what exactly is this? Where did it come from? How did it get in here?”

Banner’s mouth went crooked, a troublesome look upon his countenance, “I believe it came from there”, he pointed to the pile of odd looking scrap metal and other unusual materials sitting on an adjacent table, “I think it’s some sort of alien tech. Thor investigated the site of a presumed meteor crash last week, but it wasn’t a meteor that fell. It was-” he motioned to the table, “all of this. We weren’t sure what it was, but if it was some sort of container, it may have been carrying this inside”, he looked once again to the strange clear sphere.

Loki swallowed tightly, pushing down his immediate impulse to reprimand Banner and Stark for keeping unclassified alien technology lying around on a table for anybody to touch, and exhaled calmly, “And what do you know of this? Have you discovered anything about it? Is it- dangerous- some sort of weapon?” There were many more questions on the tip of his tongue, and the more he thought this new mystery, the more worried he became. “What is this stuff doing to Amelia?”

This strange element Banner spoke of could have been hurting her, poisoning her, killing her - whatever it was, it wasn’t native to Earth. Amelia was never meant to come into contact with it, and that was terrifying.

Banner shook his head apologetically, “I don’t know. All I know is that it behaves erratically, however…”

“However?”

“This is just an observation, but when Amelia woke up in the infirmary, she appeared to be in prime health concerning all areas. She’d been feeling unwell, right? And she was complaining about sore muscles earlier, but after she came in contact with this stuff, it all disappeared. What if it… healed her?” The words seemed uncomfortable on Banner’s tongue, and there was a flutter of uncertainty in his tone, but his hypothesis appeared to make some sense.

Loki frowned, cynical as always, and shook his head. “We need to find her. As quick as possible.”

Banner nodded in agreement, “You should see if Natasha is making any progress?”

Loki’s expression darkened significantly the moment his mind settled on their captive; he wanted to cause them unimaginable pain for what their team had done, but he had to be patient and wait until they revealed destination coordinates at the very least.

As the god turned to exit the room, Stark stood quickly, staring hard at his screen.

“I think I’ve done what I can”, Stark spoke aloud, “Still, we’ll be rolling the dice either way. We can only go for so long in this thing, so we better hope they’re not halfway across the universe already.”

Loki felt a pulse of adrenaline rush through him, and nodded, turning to flee the lab at once; there was no more need for waiting now, they were ready to leave the planet, the only thing that stood in their way was obtaining the knowledge of where Amelia was being taken - and Loki intended to acquire that information as quickly as possibly.

The captive was being kept in an isolation cell, a room that was sturdy enough to imprison the strongest of stubborn individuals. When Loki arrived in the connected observation room, he was pleased with what he saw.

The captive’s armour had been removed, leaving her vulnerable in the thin material of her grey space suit, she was bound to a chair and slumped in pained exhaustion. Her light blue skin was covered with lacerations, thanks to the skillful hand of the Black Widow and her knife, and there were purple smears - presumably the captive’s blood - all over her.

Natasha had been tastefully torturing the prisoners steadily over the past few hours in an effort to retrieve information, and was still in there currently, sitting on the edge of a table and watching the foe with deep consideration.

“What do we know?” Loki asked Clint and Steve, who were quietly watching the proceedings from beyond the one-way viewing window.

“Her name is Lexir, she’s part of an alien species called the Yica…” Clint began.

“And she says they had orders to retrieve Amelia because she was the ‘host’, and that they tracked her through several jump points in space”, Steve’s lips twisted in frustration, “She has yet to explain exactly what that means.”

“By jump points, she likely refers to wormholes - doorways in space that allow you to travel vast distances in mere moments”, Loki explained, “Stark is hoping to utilize these jump points with the technology in his new ship… but I wish to know what she means when she calls Amelia ‘the host’.”

“Natasha is trying to get that out of her.” Clint supplied, sending Loki a jaded look, it was the expression of somebody who was infuriated at the lack of information they were obtaining, “She’s not telling us anything, only one-word answers, and inflicting pain isn’t getting us far.”

“She will break eventually. She has already given us small pieces of insight, which means it’s just a matter of forcing the rest out of her.” Loki spoke tightly, “Perhaps you should allow me to try.”

“With all due respect, Loki, we don’t want her dead before she can speak.” Steve interjected with a sigh.

“You think I am a fool?” Loki seethed, his temper rising suddenly, “We have wasted enough time! The longer we wait, the further away Amelia will be, and you think I would kill the only chance we have of finding her?” He may have been enraged and desperate for revenge, but he was no moron.

“You almost killed her earlier, before Thor intervened”, Clint pointed out, annoyingly complacent in his statement, and Loki’s jaw tightened.

His judgement had been clouded with hysteria, fear brought on by Amelia’s abduction, and the only thing he’d been able to think about was making the person responsible pay for their actions with blood. His head was much clearer now, and he knew what was important.

“That was then, this is now. Romanoff is skilled in torturing information out of people, but her methods only work on a physical level. With my magic, I may be able to coerce what we need out of her mind.” Loki remained insistent, and if either of the two men continued to protest, it did not matter. He would barge into the room either way.

Steve and Clint looked at each other, the latter clearly having a few more misgivings than the former, if the dismayed downturn of his lips had anything to do with it, but ultimately Steve nodded his head and pressed the button down on the intercom.

“Nat, I think we should let Loki try”, Steve suggested, and Natasha gazed back through the viewing window in his vague direction, her eyebrows furrowed with doubt. She did retreat, however, after a moment, which indicated to Loki that she too was frustrated with how difficult the captive was to crack.

He would not encounter the same problems.

Loki passed Romanoff as he entered the isolation room, coming to a stop several feet before the captive as the door slid closed and locked with a hiss.

The captive, Lexir, returned his stony stare. She truly seemed to have impressive self-control if she had so far refrained from giving Natasha significant information, but she would soon crumble and succumb to Loki’s magic.

“You are going to tell me where Amelia is being taken.”

Lexir’s yellow gaze did not falter in the slightest, there was no involuntary movement in the muscles of her face, nor was there any quiver to her pursed lips. She had a good poker face, for the moment.

It had been some time since he had last used his magic to probe another’s mind. The last time he had done so forcefully was upon meeting Valkyrie on Sakaar, and he had forced his way into her mind to bring forth painful memories. He had dabbled with the ability a tad more recently in a much more ethical way - it was the kind of magic he used on to soothe Amelia’s occasional nightmare. Whenever her distressed tossing and turning woke him up, his immediate actions were to reach gently into Amelia’s mind and turn the darkness into light.

He would not be reaching so gently into Lexir’s mind.

Ordinarily, he would perhaps give the captive a chance to offer the important information willingly as the experience would certainly not be fun for her, but fuck it. Loki’s patience had long since run dry.

He stepped forward and pressed the palm of his hand to the captive’s forehead, clenching his fingers in her short, black hair for extra measure, and forced his way viciously into her mind; her screams rang out at once as Loki attacked her mental barriers without any irresolution - the method was savage, but necessary. It wasn’t as simple as reading the thoughts of the victim’s mind, but more of a torture method to push the victim into offering those thoughts willingly in the hope that the affliction would end.

“Show me where Amelia is being taken”, Loki ordered calmly, and Lexir howled, attempting to fight the onslaught and trying to wrestle her body away from him, but he had the upper hand, there was no escape for her, and Loki would remain persistent for as long as he needed to.

Lexir hid her thoughts and memories behind the fractured blockades in her mind that refused to buckle. Loki was impressed by how well she was holding herself together, but he knew it would not last forever. He would break through.

He tried to throw her off by asking for other pieces of information, “Show me your teammates”, the god commanded, after all, it would make the forthcoming journey a lot easier if Loki knew what to prepare for when it came to fighting his way through whatever stood between him and his lover.

Loki was greeted with shapes and colours that formed slowly into images of the foes that had caught him off guard earlier that evening. He saw a female with reddish-pink skin and short white hair with stoic eyes of orange - Alzill was her name, and she must have been the one to knock Amelia out before taking off with her. The next form that became clear belonged to that of the sorcerer - male, light greyish skin, short stature and pointy ears - his name was Dhox. And then Loki saw another female, reddish skin, long white hair and the same orange eyes as the first - this was General Ularis, the leader of their little crew.

With the images of Ularis, there came fresh knowledge of emotions, and Loki learnt of the relationship Lexir and Ularis shared. They were more than teammates, far more than friends, they were lovers - Loki could tell from the whirls of compassion and tenderness seeping through the mental connection - and Loki knew at once that he could use this to his advantage.

Perhaps he could bargain with Ularis. He could trade Lexir for Amelia. It would mean that he would be unable to experience the pleasure of killing her, but if it meant having Amelia back safely, then he could accept it.

Loki doubled his efforts, waves of invasive, potent magic flowed out of him and into Lexir, coaxing none-too-gently. “Show me where they are taking her”, he repeated. He would not play games any longer.

Lexir screams had grown hoarse - she was clearly not equipped to stand up to psychogenic abilities. Her will was strong, but not strong enough. Loki saw through her barriers, a world of outstanding information becoming available at his fingertips.

The image sharpened in his mind and he saw Lexir’s memories clearly, drinking in the sight that would become Amelia’s new home if he were to fail in recovering her, and his whole body grew icy and tense.

He retracted his hand, the captive’s head falling forward in exhaustion, and turned to the mirror that acted as a viewing window from the observation room. All he saw was the tangible consternation on his pale face.

“We need to go, now.”

He had to save her.

There was no slow meander into consciousness. It was an instantaneous wall of alarm that slammed into Amelia like a raging tsunami the moment her awareness tickled the edges of her mind. She sucked in a sharp breath, eyes flying open - she’d been taken by space aliens, she didn’t know where she was, and she didn’t know what had happened to Loki or the others.

The table Amelia awoke upon was cold. She was strapped down with sturdy bindings that made it impossible for her to wriggle or even move her head to take in her surroundings, but from what she could see, she realised very quickly that it was an environment she did not like.

There were bright lights above, shining off every unblemished and dustless surface, and a wide variety of machines and equipment that was utterly foreign in its appearance. The sight sent her into a blind panic, and immediately she began breathing hard and fast, trying everything she could to escape the trap she had found herself in.

A loud, frightening noise began emitting from a machine adjacent to her, a high-pitched, shrieking beep that only provoked Amelia’s panic; it was no use, she couldn’t make the bindings budge even an inch, and in her fit of trepidation, she realised that she was wearing something entirely different to the purple party dress she remembered.

Which meant somebody had stripped her.

Somebody had taken off her clothes and redressed her in what felt like spandex - a grey material that covered her completely from her ankles to her neck, and hugged her body firmly in a way that made her feel self-conscious and exposed. She hated it. She hated the clothing she had been forced to wear and she hated that somebody had seen her nude body.

Amelia began to sob, the clamour of the beeping machinery making it impossible for her to calm down and think straight.

Quite quickly, a person appeared in her peripheral vision, approaching too hastily to the dismay of Amelia’s wildly beating heart; she let out a fearful screech, flinching away from what Amelia immediately identified as a ridiculously beautiful woman.

The strange woman held up her palms, the universal symbol of ‘I am not a threat to you’, but in Amelia’s state, it did nothing to calm her - she was far too worked up, and that goddamn machine was still beeping.

As if reading her mind, the woman regarded the machine and pressed a few buttons, muting it suddenly; the absence of noise brought a small semblance of relief, but Amelia continued to cry, just shy of hyperventilating, and watched the woman with nothing but trembling distrust.

“Sorry, this machine was monitoring your heart rate, that’s all. I’m not going to hurt you”, she said, her voice so soft and melodic that Amelia likened it to the tune of a gentle harp; it was shocking enough to bewilder her and bring her out of her state of intense panic. Amelia stared at the woman, her mouth hanging open as she continued to take unstable breaths, and absorbed her appearance carefully.

Long blonde hair that looked softer than silk, her eyes wonderfully viridescent, skin fair and pale, and cheeks warm and rosy - she looked like an elf who had walked straight out of a Tolkien novel, minus the pointy ears. Although, the woman was dressed similarly to Amelia in that moment, with a little more patterns and interesting designs to her outfit, so she was more like an ethereal space-explorer of sorts.

“I’m here to help you. I’m a healer, you see”, the woman revealed, her voice crystal clear and endlessly lovely. She appeared sympathetic to Amelia’s situation, but at the same time she was just standing there while Amelia was strapped tightly to a cold table.

“W-who are you?” Amelia whimpered, speaking the first question that came to her mind.

“I am Inga, daughter of Ingirid. I am the appointed healer of this ship, and I’ve been asked to give you a physical check to ensure that you are healthy and everything is working properly.”

There was an odd familiarity in her voice, but Amelia was too frazzled to pin-point exactly what it was.

“But- why? Why? I need to go home, I can’t be here, please- I need to go home”, Amelia stammered, her diaphragm quivering with each breath, “Mm- my friends, my partner- they’ll be so worried, please, I need to go…”

Inga frowned apologetically, genuine sadness evident in her green gaze, and she released a sigh, “I know. I am sorry, but I cannot help you there.”

Amelia slumped against the table, shutting her eyes tightly. She was trapped on a ship, presumably flying through space, terrified and alone, and with no knowledge of what had happened to her friends, or what had happened to Loki. Were they alright? Were they on their way to rescue her? Or were they…?

She didn’t want to think about it, but it was all that whirled through her mind.

“Do you… know anything about my friends? What happened to them?” Amelia asked, tentative and hopeful.

Inga looked contemplative for a moment, “Eruk’s squad returned with you and nobody else, but one of the squad members were left behind. This is all I know.”

Amelia blinked rapidly, “Eruk?”

“Lord Eruk Vaskaar”, Inga clarified, her voice somewhat terse, “He is a collector, of sorts. Very wealthy and influential. He is the owner of the ship we currently reside on.”

It was difficult for Amelia to swallow, her throat had tightened considerably, but she tried to nonetheless. There were so many questions zipping through her mind and she did not know what to ask first, or whether her voice would be strong enough to even form the words.

She picked a question and asked aloud, “W-why me? Why did he take me?”

Inga patiently explained, “You were the first female human to come into contact with the Alcamax compound. It is a chemical composite designed to meld with the host and produces many health benefits, including cell regeneration, increased strength and stamina, and longevity. It is also easy to track over vast distances, thus it is used as a sort of homing beacon. That is why you were taken.”

Amelia struggled to assimilate the information that was being offered. Her mind was abuzz with white noise, and within a few moments her stomach was burning from the inside out, her skin clammy with sweat, and her head aching unbearably.

“Oh, mm… please… I’m gonna be sick…” She tried to take steady breaths, attempting to steel herself back to calmness, but it was pointless.

Inga quickly released the straps that were holding Amelia down, and less than a moment later, she was vomiting off the edge of the table, the acidic contents of her stomach searing her throat as it went. It was mostly the pepper poppers. She should’ve fucking listened to Loki, but she just had to go and eat half a fucking plateful.

Amelia continued to wretch for a few moments, dry heaves that left her gagging as her mouth was filled with a disgustingly bitter taste, and she groaned, the next few words leaving her before she could actually think about it, “I can’t be here, I’m pregnant.”

Inga, who had not been terribly concerned at the sight of Amelia vomiting, seemed to perk up, and Amelia froze immediately, wondering why she had revealed such a precarious truth. To think she could so easily blab to a stranger, but was so full of uncertainty when it came to telling Loki.

“Pregnant?” Inga gasped, “That is not something I checked for. Lay back.” Gentle hands pressed Amelia back down, and the woman quickly pressed a bunch of buttons in succession, which prompted an odd golden light to encompass the table, sort of like a visible forcefield, and Amelia’s eyes widened with worry.

“Wait, what are you do-”

“Hush, it is all well and good. I am merely scanning your body for the presence of another lifeform”, she licked her lips, and seemed to enliven when an image formed within the golden light above Amelia’s stomach, “Oh. Look at that… you are pregnant.”

Amelia blinked, staring dumbly at what appeared to be the result of some sort of high-tech ultrasound - it was just as grainy and unclear as the type that existed on Earth, but Inga seemed quite excited, so Amelia could only infer that the healer knew which ill-defined shape was her unborn child.

“Mmm”, Amelia hummed, a blanket of sorrow befalling her. She needed to get home. Loki had to know - she had to tell him, before anybody else did - Amelia did not want him to find out any other way. He deserved to hear the truth from her, and her alone.

“This complicates things”, Inga murmured after a moment, “perhaps I could appeal to Lord Eruk, and maybe he would let you go…” Despite her words, she did not seem convinced, “Where we are going is no place for an infant to be raised…”

Chapter Text

Amelia’s hand rolled over her stomach subconsciously as she laid back against the metal table. When she had initially woken up, the cold surface below her had felt terribly uncomfortable, but now she tilted her head to the side and pressed her cheek against it, absorbing the cool temperature - her skin was intolerably warm, and it may have been that her mind was catching up with her entire situation and causing a panic, but at the same something about her body just felt wrong.

She felt itchy.

“I’m scared”, Amelia whispered softly. She was deathly afraid of what would become of her and her unborn child, and her fear only excelled at the thought of Loki. What if they weren’t coming for her? What if they had no way of finding her? The thought of having to endure her pregnancy alone, without Loki, was the most frightening notion - and what then? What if they never found her? She would have to raise her child, care for the child and ensure its safety all on her own, in an unfamiliar and ostensibly dreadful environment.

She still did not know where they were going.

“I know”, Inga murmured softly, and her response was telling. It appeared she had spoken the same words many times before, “I am sorry you were chosen.”

Amelia sniffed, “I still don’t know why I was chosen. You said it’s because this weird Alcamax thing is inside me, but- but why- I don’t understand”, tears pricked at her eyes again - an automatic response that she could not control. She didn’t want to cry and show weakness. She was on her own now and she needed to toughen up.

Inga’s profound gaze lowered slowly, and Amelia assumed the woman was quietly contemplating to herself. The silence was unnerving, and Amelia wished she had mind-reading powers, any clue in to what the beautiful healer was mulling over in her mind.

“Okay”, Inga finally spoke with a sigh, and Amelia watched her, eagerly awaiting some sort of explanation, “I will start from the beginning.”

Amelia perked up and nodded, prompting the woman to speak on. She needed to know what she was dealing with - if she at least knew that, then maybe she could come up with some type of plan to get herself out of her current situation. That was how the Avengers worked, right? Obtain intel and work from there? It was all she could really do.

Inga waved her hand and the indistinct three-dimensional image of Amelia’s unborn child vanished at once; a pang of upset fluttered through her - she wished she’d given the ultrasound a more thorough inspection, or at least asked the healer to point out the shape that would slowly grow into her baby. She wanted to see - wanted to be able to find excitement in being shown a glimpse into what was essentially her future, but all that seemed to be washing through her was terror. Terror for her predicament. Amelia hoped she would get another chance to look upon the unborn child more closely.

“Eruk Vaskaar, or Lord Eruk as he prefers to be called, is a criminal”, Inga began strongly, and there was clear discontent in her voice - she evidently did not like the man she spoke of, “He is somebody who takes what he wants with no regard for other living beings, believes himself superior to others just because of his aristocratic status. He is… eccentric, and eloquent, and dangerous while his, ah... acolytes are nearby.” Her mouth twisted with abhorrence as she lowered her gaze.

“Sounds like a real asshole”, Amelia mumbled, prompting a look of surprise from the woman before her. Inga blinked her wide eyes, mouth parting tentatively.

“Yes. Yes, I suppose that is an apt description of him.” There was a ghost of a smile on her lips for the very briefest of moments before her expression once again turned solemn. “As I mentioned before, he is a collector of sorts. The nature of his collection is living beings. He takes aliens from planets beyond his homeworld’s solar system and displays them in a sort of… exhibition…”

Amelia swallowed, and nervously chimed in, “You mean like a zoo? A zoo for aliens? Or like a freak show?”

“Something like that, yes”, Inga confirmed quietly, “Now, the Alcamax compound is a form of technology used by Eruk to locate new lifeforms for his exhibition. Small amounts of the chemical are launched into unfamiliar territories and can be programmed to attach itself to beings that are not yet a part of his collection. It sort of… reads your DNA upon physical contact, and since you were the first to touch it, it attached itself to you, and sent traceable signals back to the ship. That is when Eruk’s underlings brought you back here.”

“...But I wasn’t the first to touch it. Tony or Bruce must have touched it at some point”, Amelia spoke in puzzlement, “It was in their lab!”

Inga’s lips parted introspectively, “Are either Tony or Bruce female?”

Amelia blinked, the sinking feeling in her stomach becoming heavier by the moment, “What? No. They’re guys. Why? What does that have to do with it?”

Inga paused for a moment, looking somewhat unwilling to continue, “Well, you see, Eruk’s collection consists of the female sex of each species - for no other reason except that he has a fascination with those like us”, her lips pulled back in disgust, “He is a repulsive individual for what he does - abducting the host of the Alcamax compound, to be taken back to his exhibition and placed on display like an object.”

Amelia’s throat felt uncomfortably tight. She felt constricted, as if bottled into a tight space with no hope of escaping - though she figured very soon that might literally be the case; she sat up quickly upon the table, her legs swinging off the side, and Inga held up her hands as if asking her not to move, but Amelia had no intention of getting up to move around - she still didn’t trust that her legs wouldn’t give out.

“This is fucked up”, she hissed under her breath, and then let out a soft groan as her stomach began to feel off once again - she really didn’t want to throw up a second time, the unpleasant taste still lingered on the back of her tongue and she desperately needed to clean her teeth. Did they even have toothbrushes in space?

Inga nodded in agreement, “I am sorry.”

Amelia felt her teeth grind together, and the palm of her hand began to itch. This woman continued to apologise and express clear dislike for this Lord Eruk, but at the same time, she worked for him as a healer - it wasn’t like she was jumping at the chance to help Amelia escape and get back to safety. 

She scratched at her hand absentmindedly as her thoughts simmered in her head, agitation slowly building within her. Amelia wanted out - she was hungry, thirsty, tired and desperately needed Loki’s strong arms to encompass her and keep her safe. At the same time, she was angry that her only supposed chance of escaping the alien ship was to wait for the Avengers to rescue her. It made her feel useless.

All the many months of Natasha’s self-defense lessons, and for what? She couldn’t even run away or escape the foe’s unyielding hold on her when it came to it. The moment she was faced with a scenario in which she needed to use the skills she’d been taught, panic had taken over and left her incapable of any sort of resistance.

Amelia dug her fingernails incessantly into her palm, still trying to relieve the uncomfortable itch.

“This isn’t fair”, she lamented, her voice cracking. She couldn’t even speak with confidence, how was she going to fight her way out of anything?

A flicker of light in the bottom of her peripheral vision pulled her attention down to her unusually itchy hand, and Amelia blinked, finding her right hand surrounded with translucent, green wisps. She let out a shriek, holding her hand far away from her body as she attempted to shake it free of the mysterious tendrils.

“Please, calm down-”

“My hand! What’s wrong with my hand!?” Amelia cried. The green strands dispersed rather quickly and she pulled her hand back, cradling it protectively as she inspected it for any sign of abnormalities. The only thing out of the ordinary was the raw skin of her palm where she had been furiously scratching it, now red and slightly welted, “Wha- What the hell? What was that? Inga, what was that?” 

Amelia assumed it was just some unfortunate side effect to the alien compound the woman had told her about, but Inga took her hand, carefully examining it, before quietly hypothesizing, “It is possible the Alcamax chemical in your blood is causing a reaction with your magical energy and making it somewhat unstable-”

“Whoa, whoa, what did you say?” Amelia interjected hastily, her jaw hanging open in utter confusion.

Inga blinked, lips still parted from being rudely interrupted, “I said that it is… becoming unstable?”

“No, before that! You said something about magical energy?” Amelia was quick to question the woman’s conjecture, figuring the healer was just completely mistaken. “You’re wrong. I don’t have any magic or anything like that. I’m just a regular, unexceptional human being.”

Inga ruminated in silence upon hearing Amelia’s declaration, her perfectly shaped eyebrows arching to give her a puzzled look. “If you don’t employ the use of magical abilities…” she trailed off, eyes falling once again to Amelia’s hand, “Then why do I sense magical energy within you? Why did I see it with my own eyes just moments ago?”

Amelia’s mouth tumbled open, but she was unable to offer an explanation.

Silence ensued, which brought Amelia great discomfort - the lack of conversation left her with only the scrambling thoughts within her head. Even as she watched Inga wander to a desk and examine something on a nearby monitor, all Amelia could think about was how she could have possibly come to possess some sort of mystical energy.

She supposed it wasn’t technically impossible for her to have such powers - after all, Doctor Strange was a human with incredible abilities over the Mystic Arts, but why would this power have suddenly come about now? Was it to do with the Alcamax? It was all too surreal to think about, Amelia felt like she was dreaming. She wished she was.

A squeaky little beeping noise sounded, not as alarming as the one that had permeated the air from the machine when she had awoken, and Amelia peered down at the floor where she found… a little robot? A small, dome-shaped robot. It appeared to be cleaning the tiles where Amelia had heaved out the contents of her stomach several minutes prior. Wow. So aliens had Roombas too? Fascinating. The intrigue surrounding the helpful little robot was enough to distract Amelia from her worrisome thoughts for a few moments, but she quickly pulled her attention back to the matter at hand - now was not the time to be riveted by the oddities of space.

Inga seemed noiselessly frustrated, because she glared down at her monitor as if it had betrayed her, and immediately hopped up to pick a few books off of her shelf - and yet, even though she appeared to have a lack of patience for whatever she was looking for, she somehow displayed graceful movements as she went about it.

Amelia still could not shake the feeling that something about her was familiar. There were intimations in the way she spoke and the way she moved, her soft-spoken tone and elegant steps - but what was it? She’d never met this woman before.

“May I ask”, Inga suddenly uttered after several soundless minutes, “does your partner possess any magical energy?”

“Yes”, Amelia answered, “Yes, my partner- he’s a sorcerer! A powerful one, too.” There was an echo of pride in her tone as she spoke the words.

Inga nodded finally, a knowing smile forming on her lips, “I see. In that case, I may be able to offer a potential clarification. It is a very uncommon occurrence, but it seems to be the only feasible explanation from what I understand. When your partner impregnated you, he may very well have imbued you with a tiny fraction of his magic. Involuntarily, of course. Does that sound likely?”

Amelia blinked, “Um… I mean, I don’t know anything about how magic works, but I guess?” She wasn’t exactly the expert in all things magical.

Inga seemed curious, “Your partner is a powerful sorcerer but you know nothing of magical workings?”

Amelia felt her cheeks heat up slightly at the fairly critical tone of Inga’s voice, “Well, I’m sorry, but humans do not typically have magic, except in a few rare cases, so it’s not like he jumped at the chance to sit me down and teach me everything there is to know about it.”

Inga in turn seemed a little sheepish that her question had sparked such a reaction, “No, I suppose you are right. My apologies.”

Amelia sighed, looking back down to her hand. Could it be possible that Loki had transferred a trace of his power into her without his knowledge? If that was the case, then that meant that Amelia perhaps wasn’t entirely useless. If she could do what Loki could do, then maybe she could get herself out of her sticky situation?

But… how exactly does one use magic? It can’t be as simple as waving her hand and making things happen, could it?

Before she could test the theory, a hissing noise sounded from behind, and Amelia spun her head towards where the door to the room had slid open. A clearly inhuman looking creature stood at the entrance, their gaze plastered on Amelia, to her utmost dismay.

“Oh good, she’s awake.” They spoke, and their voice was deceptively soft, words honeyed, but Amelia wasn’t buying it. Not with the darkened expression on their face. She wouldn’t have trusted them anyway, they didn’t exactly look approachable.

The creature’s skin was a dark shade of purple and looked squid-like in texture. Their face appeared masculine, with a very defined jawline and pointy cheekbones - quite regal, in a way - and instead of hair, the creature had weird protrusions that Amelia could only describe as tentacles that followed the back curve of their scalp. Their clothes were simply robes of black, and their eyes were the most unnerving - piercing orange irises - and if that wasn’t intimidating enough, the area where the white of his eyes would usually be were instead just inky blackness.

An alien. Amelia was looking at an alien.

Sure, her lover was technically an alien, but this was the first time she had seen one so other-worldly in appearance.

“Lord Eruk”, Inga greeted, bowing her head as he drew nearer.

Amelia could do nothing but stare at his face. This was Lord Eruk - the criminal who loved to steal people from their home planets just so he could add them to his sick little collection. He certainly looked evil. It was all in the strength of his brow.

“And how is the newest addition to my universal expo feeling? I do hope that bump on your head is all healed up by now, hm? My most sincerest apologies for the rough treatment. I did instruct my aides to fetch you without bringing you harm, but I’m afraid Alzill has quite the temper on her.” He proceeded to chortle like it was simply the funniest thing in the universe.

Amelia goggled at the man, rendered outright speechless as he rambled on in such an artless way. He was far from what she had expected. Never had she imagined he would sound so... fruity.

He appeared to find her silence unwonted, turning partially to Inga without taking his striking eyes off of Amelia. “She does speak, doesn’t she?”

“Yes, my Lord”, said Inga, “I believe she is just upset over her situation.”

“Is that so?” Eruk enquired, and Amelia did not know whether it was rhetorical or not - nevertheless, she nodded meekly in response, and the alien continued to speak, “You needn’t be so worried, my dear human, I, Lord Eruk Vaskaar, will take good care of you.”

Amelia swallowed, pursing her lips together as her eyes darted between his. The bad feeling in her chest grew even more adverse at his duplicitous promise, she would be a fool to believe him.

“Well, aren’t you going to introduce yourself?” Eruk prompted, arching one brow. Amelia was certain there was a malicious glint in his orange eyes, and it made her terribly afraid to give the man an answer.

“Oh, um… I’m Amelia”, she mumbled tautly, ever vigilant in her relentless gawking.

“Ah-mee-lee-uh?” the man sounded out, his expression thoughtful, as if he were trying the name out on his tongue, before his nose wrinkled distastefully. The almost melodic edge in his voice dropped immediately in favour of a sharper, more sketchy tone, “That’s not a very exotic sounding name, is it?”

Amelia blinked rapidly, her mouth opening and closing like a fish, before a baffled apology tumbled from her throat. Obviously, she wasn’t actually apologetic over her name not sounding exotic enough for the space alien before her, but she truly did not know what else to say. Quite frankly, her current scenario was not something she had ever imagined facing, and all in all, it froze her.

“Never mind, my dear little Amelia. It’s not about the name, it’s about what you can do. Do you have any special talents?”

Again, Amelia struggled to compose a verbal response. She shook her head.

“No? Well, what do you do in your life?” Lord Eruk sounded unimpressed and agitated that he had to press for more information.

“I arrange flowers.”

“Flowers?” Eruk stared her down, the orange of his eyes appearing to glow. He squinted at her, rolling his lower lip pensively between his teeth, before addressing Inga, “What are flowers?”

Amelia might have laughed if it wasn’t for the fact that this alien was some sort of lunatic and would probably have her culled for even allowing her lips to twitch into an amused smile.

“Colourful flora, my Lord”, Inga advised, but Eruk was not at all roused by the disclosure.

“How boring. Hm”, the man rubbed his chin reflectively, before giving a casual shrug of his shoulders, “I’m sure we’ll be able to teach you a flashy talent in time for your debut in my delightful expo, so no worries.” He smiled complacently.

Amelia’s stomach felt like it was clenching and unclenching in a painfully rhythmic fashion as waves of anxiety assaulted her. What was this son of a bitch implying? That she was going to be his dancing monkey and put on a show? That she was going to do whatever he wanted whenever it was his whim? 

“Um. Look, this isn’t gonna work out”, Amelia’s anger fueled her boldness, “I need to go home.”

Eruk’s eyes widened minutely before the alien began to cackle. The tendrils rolling down the back of his head appeared to twitch in time with his laughter - it was most disconcerting.

“Oh. You poor, naive creature”, Eruk mocked, “You think you have a choice?”

The muscles in Amelia’s throat tightened with perturbation; she felt it was genuinely a miracle that she hadn’t broken down in frantic tears sooner, but she held on, keeping her head high and her pride in tact. If she were to cry, it would make her seem even more of a weakling, and Eruk would probably find that more amusing.

Amelia looked to Inga, unsure whether she was managing to contain the panic in her eyes, and the healer looked hesitant for a few moments before speaking tentatively.

“My Lord. There’s something you should know. Amelia is pregnant, and I believe the Alcamax compound in her blood could be-” her gaze flickered briefly to Amelia, “-detrimental to the pregnancy.”

Amelia’s heart skipped a beat. Were Inga’s words genuine or was she just making it up to sway Eruk’s decision of keeping her? She hoped it was the latter, and that her unborn baby was not in any danger because of the damn chemical running through her veins.

Eruk’s face fell, his head-tendrils twitching seemingly with annoyance. “Pregnant? How infuriating”, he glared at Amelia as if she was nothing but a nuisance, “We don’t allow babies in our exhibit…”

Amelia felt a swell of hope within her. Perhaps this Eruk did have a shred of decency-

“Babies are much too inconvenient to look after. They have needs, ugh”, he groused, “We’ll just have to ship it away once it’s born, or hopefully it’ll die before then, in which case it won’t be my problem.”

“No!” Amelia snapped, her hands covering her stomach protectively. Scratch her previous thought - this alien was a tyrant with zero compassion. 

Eruk’s lips pulled back and he bared his teeth, revealing sharp fangs that shone white - very pointy, very dangerous - as he stared Amelia down, clearly unappreciative of her outburst. Amelia felt sick again, but she didn’t want to think about at that moment - the only thing crossing her mind repeatedly was that she needed to figure out a way to escape this monster.

“My Lord, if I may make a suggestion. I believe it would be more beneficial to take Amelia back to Earth and select a different host, preferably one who is not pregnant. I can schedule a partial extraction of the compound immediately, and-”

“Partial extraction?” Up until those words, it appeared Eruk had been ignoring every word Inga had spoken in favour of scowling in Amelia’s direction. “And why would it be a partial extraction?”

Inga swallowed, noticeably tense, “As damaging as the Alcamax could be, it would likely do more harm than good to fully extract it from Amelia’s body. The strain it would put her through could cause a lot of stress and- and form unwanted results.”

“What do I care for the life of some random human’s unborn child?” Eruk enquired rhetorically, and in that moment, Amelia imagined how sensational it would be for Loki to tear this monster apart piece by piece - she would most certainly cheer her lover on while he did so. “A partial extraction would be a waste of resources. This human will be a part of my expo, whatever happens to the parasite you call an unborn child will not be of my concern.”

With that, Eruk pivoted and began moving towards the door.

“You won’t get away with this!” Amelia exclaimed before it could occur to her that she probably should’ve kept her mouth shut.

Eruk halted. Inga became even more rigid. Amelia’s throat felt very dry all of a sudden, a tremor creeping through her, but she didn’t tear her eyes away from the purple alien, keeping her back straight and hands clenched against the edge of the table she sat upon - trying to appear bigger than she was.

The man turned back to face her and stepped towards her slowly, “And why is that?”

Every instinct Amelia felt was telling her to back down, look away, apologise - anything to yield to the monster and let him believe he was in control, because Amelia had more than just herself to protect, but her mind was screaming at her to put the man in his place and let him know that his grotesque ideology would not stand. She wanted to be strong, because the more she thought about it, the more she felt confident that Loki was on his way to rescue her.

Not just Loki, but everyone else. They would come for her, and they would overthrow this creep.

“Because”, Amelia began, a tad croaky, “my boyfriend is the God of Mischief and he’s gonna kick your ass as soon as he comes to take me back home.”

In the corner of her peripheral, Amelia saw Inga’s head turn her way, taut and fretful.

Eruk’s orange eyes seemed to perforate Amelia’s skull, his gaze so full of outrage and entitlement - Amelia wondered when the last time had been that somebody stood up to the man. It must not have happened often if it derived such an affronted look.

The alien struck her hard across the face.

It happened quicker than Amelia had time to prepare for, and resulted in her head snapping swiftly to one side, the fresh ache breaking out across her jaw. She made a noise akin to a short yelp, one hand coming up to cradle her stinging cheek loosely, and she flinched away when Eruk took yet another step closer.

“That is what you get for threatening me.” Eruk spoke, low and calm, far too close for Amelia’s liking.

Amelia blinked back tears, shifting her jaw to alleviate the pain, and quietly stated, “I wasn’t threatening you. It was a warning. I promise that if you don’t let me go, this won’t end well for you.” She was surprised that she mustered up enough nerve to offer her retort with precisely zero instances of a stutter.

Eruk squinted, his eyes almost flashing in response, and then he smiled.

“We will see about that”, he said, and left the room.

Banner was confident that Stark’s ship would be able to withstand the force applied to it when commencing the journey through the jump points scattered throughout their trajectory, citing his involuntary adventure to Sakaar as one encouraging example - the Hulk had taken a quinjet and it had survived being pulled through a wormhole into a separate part of the universe - which meant that a ship designed for space travel would surely stand an even greater chance at surviving their mission. The journey would take them on the same flight path as the ship owned by Lexir’s superior - Eruk - the name had been but a flicker in their captive’s mind; Loki had been far more focused on the foe’s destination instead.

They were taking Amelia to a planet called Vercain, upon which a large menagerie was established - a heinous museum of sorts that housed thousands of individual species from across the universe. It was run by a criminal who went to shameless lengths to make money - kidnapping people and forcing them to live in small cells, where paying visitors would then press their gawking faces in, awarding the living exhibits little to no privacy.

It was a hellish place, from what Loki could tell of the images he pulled from Lexir’s mind, more like a prison if anything. He would not allow Amelia to be forced to live in a tiny room, under constant observation, and made to perform for the guests in any way possible. He would do anything it took to stop them and get Amelia back.

Loki scanned the inside of Stark’s ship from where he stood at the very back of the vessel, pressed against one of the windows that offered a view to the vast emptiness of space; staring out at the distant stars only fueled his worries, so he kept his gaze inward, observing everybody within.

Stark and Banner were piloting the ship, keeping their eyes dutifully ahead and on the monitors before them while Steve appeared to be asleep in his seat - his head was hanging slightly and he hadn’t moved or spoken a word for at least an hour. Natasha and Clint were enamoured with the opposite viewing window, staring out and talking quietly between themselves.

Thor was sitting stiffly in one of the seats provided, arms crossed, back straight, with Stormbreaker propped up beside him. He was watching their captive, Lexir, with eagle eyes, ready to take action if their foe was to attempt any tricks. The captive herself, tied up and immobile, was quiet, alternating between staring Thor down and glaring at Loki.

It had been the same for a while now, but Loki expected things to change up sooner rather than later. They were approaching their first jump point. The first of three wormholes placed throughout their trajectory, and it would be decisive in the crucial question - would Stark’s technology survive it?

It wasn’t going to be pleasant, that much Loki knew. Especially in a ship that had never traversed a wormhole before - still, it would be a learning experience for Stark at least.

Loki hoped they would catch up to the ship they were chasing before they came anywhere close to Vercain - he couldn’t bear the thought of Amelia being kept there even for just one day. The image of Amelia curled up in the corner of a tiny room, all the light and joy missing from her face as she tried to hide herself from frightening, prying eyes, forced to eat scraps of food that could make her ill - Loki had to dispose of the notion from his mind lest his temper reached its boiling point.

And if they did catch up to the ship, what then?

The plan was to bargain. To make a deal - they would return Lexir to her teammates if Amelia was returned to them, safe and unharmed, but Loki didn’t think it was going to be as easy as that. In a way, he hoped it wasn’t as easy as that, because then he would be able to make those fools pay for their transgressions. He’d already imagined cutting into them and watching the life drain from their eyes.

Nothing but dark thoughts circled his mind. He was anxious and fidgety, desperate to lash out, but he managed himself and remained calm, knowing that anything less would be careless.

He hoped Amelia was okay. If there was even one mark on her, it would not end well for Lexir’s superiors.

Amelia let out a sigh as she nursed the purpling bruise on her jaw with an ice pack, noting the way Inga kept looking up at her from her monitors with quite an odd look on her face.

“What is it?” Amelia asked, too skittish in that moment to put up with the long silence and obvious glances.

Inga looked as though she wanted to speak but was refraining for some unknown reason, she shook her head dismissively, which served only to irritate Amelia. The woman was difficult to read - she seemed to find disgust in Lord Eruk’s actions, but if that was the case then why did she work for him and appear loyal to him? Amelia was missing something.

She decided to voice her question, “Why do you work for Eruk if you’re repulsed with what he does?” Her jaw twinged with each movement as she spoke, but the cold of the ice pack pressed against it seemed to help a little.

Inga’s lips pulled into a deep frown and she scrutinised Amelia again, perhaps inwardly considering whether she wanted to reveal her excuses. Eventually though, she nodded subtly, a soft sigh escaping her nose, “Eruk has my sister in his exhibit. If I don’t do as he says, he will hurt her.”

Amelia’s eyes widened. She hadn’t entertained the possibility that Inga was working for Eruk against her will due to blackmail, but it certainly explained a lot. “I’m sorry”, Amelia murmured, realising that Inga was just as much a prisoner as herself, and then paused momentarily, “Hey… my friends are gonna come for me, I just know it. Perhaps they’ll help save your sister too”, it wasn’t an empty promise. The Avengers were good, honourable people - there was no way they’d let Eruk continue his vile plans of abducting innocent beings for his alien zoo. They’d find a way to free everyone, Amelia was convinced.

Inga didn’t looked persuaded. In fact, there was a prickle of annoyance in her gaze that surprised Amelia, but before she could ask about it, the woman chose to reveal what was on her mind.

“You mentioned the God of Mischief.”

Amelia blinked at the snipped tone. “Yeah, that’s right. Loki.”

“You’re lying.” Inga was confident in her supposition, crossing her arms and watching Amelia with a narrow look. Even with a face full of distrust, she was still beautiful and refined.

“I… I’m not lying”, Amelia frowned perplexedly, “Loki is my partner… we’ve been together for over a year now.”

Inga shook her head, confusion also painting her expression. Her thoughts appeared to spiral through her mind, forming a troubled look on her face - Amelia couldn’t tell why the woman had immediately pinned her a liar, but furthermore, Amelia was curious as to how Inga knew the god.

“Look, I don’t know what you’re thinking, I’m not a mind reader, so please tell me why you think I’m a liar”, Amelia grumbled. She’d gone through too much in the past few hours, and now she was being perceived as deceptive by the only person around who could potentially be an ally.

“Loki of Asgard is dead”, Inga stated assuredly.

“He most certainly is not!” Amelia snapped back at once, repelled by the very idea, “He’s alive and he’s coming to rescue me from this god-awful ship, along with the other Avengers!”

Inga’s eyes widened at Amelia’s proclamation, but there were still signs of perturbation on her fair face, a clear window of suspicion and doubt coating her gaze. “What you say is not possible… even if he were still alive, he would not settle down with a mortal”, her words were not spoken unkindly, but Amelia still managed to be offended by her statement.

“Oh, really? You clearly don’t know him as well as I do then”, Amelia’s retort was rich with sarcasm.

Inga was silent for a moment, carefully surveying Amelia’s face, her fingers pulling gently at the material of her clothing, “Loki tried to conquer the human race years ago. After that, he was imprisoned, but fought alongside Prince Thor when Asgard was menaced by the dark elf Malekith. He died on Svartalfheim. I know these are facts, because I am Asgardian.”

Amelia’s mouth dropped open at the revelation, “You’re Asgardian!?” she all but screeched, utterly astonished. In an instant, the puzzle pieces in Amelia’s mind found their places - Inga was Asgardian. It made complete sense. It explained why Inga had felt so strangely familiar in all her words and actions - her accent, her graceful and sure movements - it had all reminded her of Loki and Thor.

“Inga”, Amelia said quietly, “How long have you been stuck on this dreadful ship?”

The woman breathed a sigh of resignation, “I don’t know. It is difficult to track time here”, she replied tightly, “Definitely years. It was several months after Malekith’s onslaught that my sister and I were taken by Eruk.”

Amelia felt sickened. Inga had been stuck in this ship for years, forced to help Lord Eruk essentially enslave women from different races under the promise that should she disobey, her sister would pay the price. Nobody had helped her. The Asgardians must not have known she was gone.

“I’m so sorry”, Amelia whispered. Not only had she been kidnapped, but she also likely knew nothing of what had happened since - she was blissfully unaware of the destruction of Asgard; Amelia didn’t want to be the one to tell her that her homeworld had perished and been forced to immigrate to Earth, but she felt that if she wanted to convince Inga that she was being truthful, the subject would unfortunately pop up at some point. 

“Look”, Amelia began, “I know you don’t believe me, but I am telling you the truth. Loki did not die - he escaped with his life, and he’s changed. He’s changed so much”, Amelia nodded softly in agreeance with her own statement, “and he and Thor are going to come for me… they’ll come for us.”

Chapter Text

“There’s got to be something I can do to prove I’m telling the truth”, Amelia spoke exasperatedly, equal parts tired and hopeful, as she tried for the seventh time to convince Inga that her story was not a fabrication, and that Loki and Thor were likely on their way there now, amongst the other Avengers, to retrieve her.

“I’m sorry, but I am quite sure of my own memory. It was Thor himself who confirmed Loki’s death to Asgard’s Court.” Inga, on the other hand, did not sound tired or antagonised by Amelia’s consistent attempts to persuade her. She continued to answer in a very calm, unprovoked manner, gently repudiating each and every time, with the utmost patience - something that Amelia found incredibly admirable.

“Thor was mistaken!” Amelia tried.

“Thor would not have been so flippant in verifying Loki’s living status before returning to the realm. He would not have reported Loki’s death unless he was absolutely sure.”

“Look, I don’t know how, but Loki survived-”

“If you truly were his partner, wouldn’t you know the specifics of such a story?”

Amelia let out a groan of frustration, pressing her hands against her face to hide the rising displeasure that was surely visible - and it was at that moment that Amelia realised her glasses were missing.

“Huh?” She patted her upper face several times just to be sure she wasn’t going crazy, and established that, yes, her glasses had been missing all this time.

The true conundrum was concerning her vision, and how she was able to see with perfect clarity without them. “I can see”, Amelia mumbled perplexedly.

Inga looked up from the digital notes she had been taking, her brow creased, “You can see what?”

“Everything!” 

Inga frowned, “I’m sorry, am I missing something here?”

Amelia blinked, recognising the lack of understanding in what she had been exclaiming about, “I wear prescription glasses to help my vision. Everything should be slightly blurry without them, but I’m not wearing them and I can see fine”, she explained.

Inga raised an eyebrow, “Oh. That is likely due to the regenerative effects of the Alcamax.”

Amelia’s mouth slipped open. This strange Alcamax chemical running through her blood had cured her awful eyesight? It sounded like quite an incredible drug; Amelia wondered what would happen if the people of Earth got their hands on it - it could probably cure cancer, from what she understood of the stuff.

“So, uh. Where are my glasses now? They get launched into space through some trash shoot, or something?” There was a slight hint of dejection in her voice. While it was pretty cool that she could see so clearly without the aid of her glasses, she had grown fully accustomed to wearing them and felt they framed her face wonderfully. Her reflection just wouldn’t feel right without them.

On second thought, she didn’t know why she was worrying about her appearance in that moment - there were bigger things at stake, really.

“They were probably taken to the personal effects locker. Anything that was left over on your person before you were put into that bodysuit will be evaluated for value or incinerated.”

Amelia felt her lip twist. She still wasn’t over the fact that she had been stripped completely by some strange alien - either way, she hoped it wasn’t a creep who also took a good look - but she also felt saddened that her pretty purple dress would be sold or disposed of. She looked good in that dress, damnit.

A thought occurred to her, then.

“Oh my god”, Amelia said.

Inga rose an eyebrow, looking expectantly at her.

“I know how I can prove I’m telling the truth!”

“And how would that be?” The Asgardian woman’s brow creased with dubiety.

“My dagger!”

“Hm?”

“I- I had a dagger on me, when I was taken, so it must be with the rest of my stuff! It was a gift from Loki for my birthday, he literally just gave it to me today- or I suppose it would be yesterday by now…”

Inga raised her head, pinning Amelia with a speculative look, “How would that prove your words?”

“Because”, Amelia began, almost childishly, “It’s made of Asgardian steel! He had it made especially for me, and it’s got, like, snake engravings on it. That’s totally Loki’s deal. That proves it, right?”

Inga was quiet for a few moments, her blank expression causing Amelia’s hope to dwindle somewhat, before she gave a shrug of her shoulders, “I would be able to identify if it was Asgardian steel, but I don’t know how you expect to retrieve it.”

“Wha-” Amelia blinked, “With your help, of course!”

Inga tilted her head, a frown marring her fair face, “I cannot help you. If I was caught aiding you, Eruk would torture my sister more than he already has. I’m sorry”, she swallowed, clearly troubled by her decision, but she was faced with no other choice, “You are to be escorted to a holding cell now. I have done everything I can, but I cannot help you further without endangering my sister.”

Amelia rubbed her hands down over her face as she sighed. There had to be some way to coax Inga into helping her out; Amelia understood her hesitance - the life of her sister was at stake - but if only the Asgardian woman stopped doubting her.

“Listen to me, please… you help me, and we can help you. Thor and Loki will help save your sister, and everyone else in that prison.” Amelia spoke imploringly, her voice a touch quieter all of a sudden in case anyone might have been listening in. “I need you to trust me. Go find my dagger, you’ll know for sure then!”

Inga was silent. She looked down at her hands, fiddling with her thumb, and let out a sigh.

Before the Asgardian woman could speak, there was a high-pitched beep and the door slid open with a hiss. There stood a woman with an angry looking face, her skin a vibrant red and her eyes a matching orange - similar to Eruk’s, but different, not as sharp - but her hair stood out, pure white tresses that seemed almost blinding in comparison to the rest of her. She was clad in an armoured, black bodysuit that covered her arms and legs, and looked as though she could jump into a fight at a moment’s notice.

“General Ularis”, Inga stated in acknowledgement, and Amelia shuddered at the name. This was one of the aliens who had kidnapped her.

Ularis stepped into the room with a purposeful stride, her gaze burning into Amelia with a cool and calculating look.

“I’m here to take Eruk’s newest addition to a holding cell.”

Amelia’s skin prickled with discomfort as she turned back to Inga with a desperate look, “Inga, please.” Inga appeared shameful, but did not make a stand to confront Eruk’s minion; her eyes fell and Ularis grabbed Amelia by the arm and dragged her towards the door. “Inga! Inga, please! Please!”

“Shut your mouth!” Ularis snapped, yanking on her arm in a cautionary way as the door slid shut behind them. Amelia grunted, resisting initially at the tight grip on her arm, but when Ularis began to squeeze her forearm, the pain forced her to comply, and she stumbled along, trying to get a good look at her surroundings as the alien woman hauled her down the futuristic-looking hallway.

She hoped more than anything that Inga would come around, because she did not want to spend the rest of her semi-freedom in a holding cell on a creepy spaceship. Plus, she was getting hungry. She hadn’t eaten since before she’d been abducted and that was at least several hours ago.

Amelia hissed slightly as Ularis jerked her arm again; she really did not appreciate the alien woman being so careless and rough with her. She was pregnant, god damnit. Pregnant women weren’t supposed to be hauled around like a misbehaving dog on a leash.

“Hey, can you, uh, be a bit more careful?” She stammered tentatively.

“I said quiet!” Ularis bellowed, far too loud than necessary, and Amelia shrunk away, flinching at the sharp tone. 

Perhaps it was best to just do as she was told, for the moment. It probably wouldn’t do her well to try and fight back or escape without first knowing she had an ally in the whole endeavour - she couldn’t do this without Inga’s help.

Amelia wasn’t expecting to be trailed around for more than a few minutes, so when it became apparent that this journey to her holding cell was taking suspiciously long, she began to wonder just how big the ship she was situated on actually was. She’d gotten just a hint of a glance at the ship her four kidnappers had used to travel to Earth, but it had been small, probably around the size of a quinjet - she was definitely on something far, far larger.

She wasn’t sure if the realisation was daunting or relieving. 

On one hand, the notion of being on a huge alien ship was quite scary - what if she tried to escape and got lost, or injured - but on the other hand, perhaps it would be easier for Loki to find her. Comparatively, a big ship in the vastness of space would still be clearer to spot than a small ship.

The route Ularis took her was dizzying. Every hallway and elevator looked the same, and Amelia didn’t know how she was going to differentiate between directions if she had to escape through the winding pathways on her own. Not only that, but the gravity of the situation was beginning to catch up with her - being in a ship with no windows to the outside was making her feel a little claustrophobic, but then again, she was sure that seeing the outside would be enough in and of itself to make her wretch.

Remain calm, she told herself. Loki would come, and he was going to bring the wrath of a God along with him.

They reached an imposing door with something that looked like a sensor beside it - not entirely dissimilar to the ones in Avengers Tower - and Ularis held up her arm, prompting the sensor to scan the black band around her wrist. The light above the scanner flickered green and the door slid open.

The room that greeted Amelia was just awful.

Holding cells. A lot of them. Rows upon rows, columns upon columns of small one-room prisons; Amelia could see movement in some of them - how many living beings did they have stowed away in this sickening cargo hold?

If they were transporting this many creatures, how large was the ‘museum’ itself?

Amelia gave a shuddering sigh of terror. She wasn’t allotted much time to gawp in fear, because Ularis gave her arm another wrench and shoved her down one of the aisles, refusing Amelia even a moment to adjust to what would soon be her new, temporary home. About halfway down the passage, Ularis stopped at one of the cells and opened the door in much the same way as before, and shoved Amelia into it, ensuring the only exit was secured.

Amelia could do nothing but stare at Ularis, her expression a desperate plea for a little compassion, but the woman glared back at her, orange eyes shining with driven contempt.

“Why are you doing this?” Amelia decided to ask, now that there was a barrier between herself and the peppery alien woman, and she hated how meek her voice sounded, “Why do you serve Eruk? He’s destroying lives!”

“I don’t care what he does as long as we get paid, honey.” Ularis sneered, condescension dripping from her words, “Don’t bother getting used to this cell, it’ll only be your home for twenty-four hours. There’s food over there on your cot, eat up and rest. Wouldn’t want you to be sick when we arrive”, her eyes narrowed as she spoke.

Amelia blanched as Ularis walked away. 

Twenty-four hours. That was all the time she had before they reached Eruk’s expo.

“Loki”, Amelia whispered, “Where are you?”

Stark’s ship had survived the first jump point, and the second, but the mortal crew within were quite clearly nauseated from the crossing. Thor and Loki took it better than anybody else, but then, they were used to travelling similarly with the use of the Bifrost. The captive looked miserable, all of her scathing looks had been reduced to a more queasy sulk, but Loki did not care for the comfort of Lexir.

There was just one jump left, which would bring them within flight range of the planet Vercain, the destination of the foe’s ship, and the location of the deplorable menagerie owned by this Lord Eruk. Loki had never heard the name before delving into Lexir’s mind, but he would happily see the man’s head excised from his body.

And he would happily be the one to volunteer to do it.

The only noise murmuring throughout the ship was the sound of the engine and Stark conversing quietly with Banner. Everybody else was utterly silent, and this meant the only thing keeping Loki occupied was his own thoughts.

His thoughts went innately to Amelia and where she could have been, or what state she was in at that moment. He prayed to every God he knew that Amelia had remained hopeful for a rescue, because nothing ailed him more than the idea that Amelia believed herself lost with no chance of return.

He wanted her back, safe in his arms, so that he could assure her that he would never let her fall into danger, ever again. The more his mind wandered on the image of Amelia petrified and hopeless, the more enraged he grew - he needed Amelia to remain strong, whatever she was going through. They had to find her soon, and then Eruk would pay.

Loki’s fist clenched so hard that he felt the prick of his nails against his palm, and his brother must have sensed his rising fury because Thor’s gaze turned in his direction, mismatched eyes narrowing concernedly.

“We’ll find her, Loki”, said Thor, below his breath, so that only Loki could hear him.

At least, he thought only Loki could hear him. The captive perked up, eyeing Loki with a pensive stare, which Loki met with the outpour of intense rage that had been bubbling inside him.

Lexir smirked. “The woman. She’s your’s, isn’t she?” 

There was nothing more infuriating than the way the woman’s lips curled upwards into that smug little smile, it made Loki want to put his fists to good use. “Be silent”, Loki warned, his words a promise of pain.

“You love her though, right?”

“I said quiet. Do you have a death wish?” 

Thor had to touch Loki’s arm to pacify him, though it did not work well, and Loki shot his brother an irritable look, to which his Thor gave a patient stare.

“Don’t take the bait, Loki. Ignore her goading. She might say something useful”, the Asgardian King offered quietly, and Loki could only sneer. He hated Thor in that moment for trying to quell his anger, even if he was right - Loki needed to let it out and diffuse it, not sit silently and soak in it.

“Killing me would be a mistake, trust me. If you want her to live, you ought to let me live”, the blue-skinned woman spoke.

“Trust you?” Thor parroted satirically, “Why should we trust you?”

“Because”, Lexir said simply, “I want to live.”

Loki’s jaw clenched, his form growing rigid as the negative waves rolling within him reached a boiling point. “You… you’re a spineless coward”, he pushed Thor aside and took two long strides across the floor to grab the captive around the throat and lift her high till her legs were off the ground. “You come to Earth and abduct my- abduct Amelia, and then beg for your life when things don’t go as planned?”

Thor’s hand was on his shoulder again, “Loki.”

Loki exhaled an audible breath through his teeth and lowered the wheezing captive to the ground, but did not release her completely, “Give me a reason not to tear open your throat.”

“I’m not begging for anything”, Lexir hissed, her voice hoarse as she wriggled in Loki’s grip, “I’m just informing you that the best chance you have of getting your precious Amelia back is to ensure I am not harmed.”

“Brother, let her go”, Thor told him, “She is right, we must stick to our plan.”

“Hey, uh, you might wanna get back to your seats”, Banner called from the cockpit, “We’re approaching the final jump point.”

After a moment, Loki shoved Lexir back down into her seat and shrugged Thor’s hand from his shoulder; he reluctantly sat in his seat and buckled the safety belt, sending one last glance to his brother adjacent to him.

Thor’s gaze bore into his, and he tilted his head ever so slightly. It was a silent message, a very clear communication that said a lot more than words; Thor did not trust the captive in the slightest, and the look on his face expressed two words. Stay vigilant.

Loki did not need his brother to tell him that. He had already preconstructed several scenarios in which the initial plan could fail. Luckily, Loki was nothing if not resourceful.

That was why he always had a backup plan.

The food that had been left for Amelia had not looked appetising in the slightest; from afar it had looked like a bowl of cobwebs and bugs, and Amelia had stayed well away from it for the first thirty minutes she was stuck sitting in her cell. 

At one point, her stomach rumbled quite audibly, and she remembered that refusing to eat would be harmful to more than just herself. Her unborn child needed nourishment just as much as she did, which meant she had to grow up and shift closer to the mysterious alien food to inspect what she would soon be forced to consume.

Amelia shuffled across the uncomfortable cot which was covered with an itchy blanket, and dragged the tray on the other end closer towards herself, before leaning over it to examine the contents of the bowl more clearly. 

It wasn’t a bowl of spiders in webs, thank goodness, but it still didn’t look anymore tasty with the knowledge of that fact. It was a white, jelly-like substance which wiggled with each slight movement, and the black spots within looked more like tiny pips close up. The realisation led Amelia to believe that it was derived from some type of alien plant.

“Ugh”, she mumbled, picking up the spoon-like utensil to prod at it. The spoon went straight through, and Amelia had to make a strong effort not to gag, “Why can’t I get a cheeseburger instead?”

There probably wasn’t any fast food in space, at least not the kind Amelia was used to. 

Her stomach growled at her again and she let out a soft whine before picking the bowl up and giving the mysterious cuisine a tentative sniff. It didn’t have a very defined scent, and it didn’t tell her anything about what she was seriously considering putting into her mouth.

Amelia breathed a sigh. What else could she do? She didn’t want to wait until she was literally starving, because it would not be good for her unborn child; and even though Inga was hesitant to help her escape, Amelia was sure the woman would have said something if she knew the aliens were going to feed her something that could put the unborn child in danger.

The only thing she had to fear was the taste.

Amelia gave a muffled noise of regret, before scooping up a spoonful of the apparently edible substance, pinching her nose, and taking a bite. 

There was a brief moment where Amelia could not taste anything, and then sweetness bloomed on her tongue; it shocked her enough to release the pinch on her nose, and then it hit her even more strongly. There was a sweet-sourness to the taste, and just like jelly, it came apart and melted easily in her mouth. Fruit jelly. It was just like fruit jelly.

Pleasantly surprised, Amelia began shovelling the sweet nourishment into her mouth until the bowl was empty. She placed the bowl down, licking her lips, and turned to observe her surroundings.

Now that she’d solved the hunger problem, she just needed to figure out how exactly to get out of her cell. If Inga wasn’t going to help her, she needed to help herself, but Amelia couldn’t see an easy way out of her predicament, especially with her severe lack of a skillset.

It wasn’t a typical looking jail cell - instead of bars, there was a clear barrier that was presumably made of glass, so she could see out into the aisle of other cell rooms, and peer down the corner. The angle made it difficult to make out whether any of the cells down her aisle were occupied - the one adjacent was empty at least. Perhaps it was for the better to have as fewer eyes on her as possible while she endeavoured to escape.

The entry door into the cell appeared to be electronically locked as it had taken just a swipe of that bracelet-like device on Ularis’s wrist for it to ping open - but Amelia didn’t have one of those, so she attempted to push and pull the door, naturally failing both tries. Obviously, it wasn’t going to budge from the pressure of a human’s pitiful strength.

Next, she tried kicking it in one of the many ways Natasha had shown her before during her lessons. The action did nothing but generate a rumbling noise from the metal surface - it was a sturdy door, and it looked as though it would refuse to give under anything except extreme brawn.

Amelia didn’t have extreme brawn. One reason she wished Thor was present.

Banging on the door wouldn’t yield positive results, and would probably only serve to annoy the other reluctant residents in the neighbouring cells; Amelia didn’t want to make enemies out of others who were in her situation, so she decided against causing an uproar.

What did that leave? She was useless. Amelia was one hundred percent sure that if Natasha was in her situation, the woman would already have broken out of the cell already. Amelia just didn’t know how to make a plan.

“Fuck.” Amelia whispered to herself, burying her head in her hands. “What the fuck do I do? What do I do?” She resorted to asking herself aloud, tired of the unceasing silence.

If Loki was there, he could use his magic to unlock the cell door.

Then, in that moment, it was as if a lightbulb had pinged on in Amelia’s head. She was imbued with some of Loki’s magic, wasn’t she? So perhaps she could use Loki’s magic to unlock the door. 

The sudden development filled her with excitement, not only due to the fact that she might be able to escape, but also - using actual magic sounded incredibly exhilarating.

Amelia raced back to the door, knelt beside the locking mechanism, and faltered.

How exactly did Loki use his magic? He’d never once described how he called upon those familiar green tendrils of energy and manipulated them into doing his bidding, and Amelia hadn’t quite been cognizant of her inadvertent magic usage in the healer’s room shortly after she’d awoken.

Nobody had ever explained it to her, so how was she supposed to know? It couldn’t be as simple as concentrating and willing it to happen, could it?

There was no harm in trying. Amelia pressed her palm over the lock, imitating the way she remembered Loki had done when he’d opened the safe in her childhood home; she let her eyes slip closed and firmly envisioned the door opening under her coaxing. She let out a soft hum, relaxing her body, and in her mind, she saw the wispy green magic spiraling out of her hand and into the mechanism of the door.

Nothing happened.

Amelia opened her eyes, lips forming a pout. It seemed she was really good at imagining the door opening, but reality was a different story.

Loki had always made it look so easy! Though, Amelia supposed, he had studied the use of magic for over a thousand years, so it really wasn’t a surprise that a couple of hours wasn’t enough to become an expert sorceress.

“Uh. Open sesame?” Amelia tried, giving her hand an inelegant wave.

Obviously, nothing happened again.

“What do I need to do and say to get you to open, huh?” Amelia asked the door, as if it would care to give her an answer. Amelia wasn’t sure how much longer she could take before she truly went insane.

Nevertheless, she tried again. There was too much at stake to just give up.

“Please open?” She implored, trying yet again to direct the magical energy into the mechanism - but it was far easier said than done. She didn’t even know how it felt to control magical energy; the only experience she had was when it had crawled around her fingers without her intent, and that had just felt like odd, tingly panic.

It wasn’t going to work. She couldn’t do it. She wouldn’t be able to save herself, she’d just have to wait until somebody saved her, and it made her angry. It wasn’t fair of the universe to give her a smidgen of hope and then take it away from her. It wasn’t fair.

Amelia clenched the hand pressed again the door, letting out a harsh shout, “Well fuck you, then!” 

A clamorous noise of compressing metal and a blinding flash caused Amelia to practically leap away from the exit and dive towards the bed, a cry of terror caught in her throat; it was so sudden and thunderous that her heart was left hammering in her chest. For a moment, she thought someone outside the cell had caused the vicious sound, but after a few seconds of building bravery, Amelia peered up from her spot on the bed where she’d instinctively curled into a ball, and found herself staring at the cell door.

The lock mechanism was torn apart, cracked and misshapen as if it had been attacked relentlessly with a mallet.

Amelia mouth fell open as she sat up upon the bed, and her gaze fell to her right hand - the one that had been pressed against that very lock.

Had she done that?

Had she done that?

Amelia could hardly believe it, there was absolutely no way. 

How?

She had felt a rising pressure inside her, but she had assumed it was just her resentment of the situation building. Apparently not.

Amelia sprung up from the cot, and stumbled immediately, a sudden wave of tiredness coming over her; she caught herself with a hand against the wall, and couldn’t help but wonder if the unanticipated ripple of exhaustion was a result of her pregnancy, or the Alcamax.

Either way, it was probably bad news.

It was time for her to take her rescue into her own hands.

Amelia crept towards the door and slid it sideways, ecstatic when it came open with little effort; she stepped out into the aisle, looking left and right, and then began to move furtively in the direction Ularis had brought her from.

Chapter Text

Tony’s ship lurched through the final jump point without fail, the force of coming to a sudden stop causing the occupants to let out a simultaneous groan of dismay. While everybody else was concentrated on recovering from the turbulent journey, Loki’s eyes were dead ahead, searching through the viewing window for an inkling on where to travel next.

Distantly, Loki set his sights on a deep red globe, one that could only be Vercain, according to what he had prised from Lexir’s memories. The planet exuded malevolence and just the sight of it bloomed thoughts of loathing; Loki wasn’t surprised by its waning appearance, for it housed nothing but suffering.

It was a dying planet. Loki had retracted the fact from their captive’s mind. Eruk had only chosen the planet for the location of his malicious museum because it was sparsely populated by any indigenous species, and growing from below the land, there was a valuable resource that he’d used to build his territory. 

He’d sucked the planet dry of the resource, and left it a withering shell where beings would visit only for the chance to see rare, unseen species from other galaxies. It was a black market tourist attraction, in other words, and looking upon it now, Loki felt nothing but abhorrence.

Vercain was not too far away, perhaps twenty-four hours at most. There was a chance, however slim, that the ship they were pursuing had not yet reached its destination, and their own vessel was smaller and faster. Paired with the fact that Stark and Banner had been pushing it to its limits, it was entirely possible that they were incredibly close to catching up with it.

But it was difficult to see anything before the black seas of space, speckled only with faraway twinkling stars that were too faint and scattered to backlight the silhouette of the ship they were searching for.

“Banner, turn on the radar!” Loki ordered in the same moment Bruce reached to flip the switch.

“Yeah, I got it”, Banner tersely rejoined, still irritable from the buckling voyage through the wormhole, and set the scanner to scavenge for any hint of the element he had extracted from Amelia’s blood sample before leaving Earth.

It pinged to life in an instant, revealing strong, crystal clear signals that emanated from ahead - from the surface of the red planet. Bruce twisted a dial, and the signature warped slightly, but never revealed anything but the fervid manifestation of the element presumably radiating from within the cursed menagerie.

“The trace of the element from the planet is too strong, we’re not picking up anything else. It’s going to be impossible to pinpoint any one place in the surrounding area while that signal is as strong as it is”, Bruce explained grimly, running a hand over his face.

“Can you try retracting the range of the scanner?” Stark enquired.

“I can try it, but I can’t confirm that it’ll make it any easier to locate a second source for the element, especially one of such small mass.” Bruce sighed, turning his attention to the monitor as he began fiddling with the settings.

Loki cast a glance back through the small ship, finding that Steve and Natasha were each looking out the side windows while Clint was slightly hunched over against the wall, a hand on his stomach - it was an inconvenient time to be travel sick, and if he was going to be useful at all, he needed to get over it. Thor, on the other hand, had not taken his eyes off the captive, despite the commotion from the front of the craft - he was being diligent as he said he would, and Loki was glad he could trust his brother on this mission. It was their most important one in a long time, after all.

“How long is this going to take, Banner?” Loki questioned. Each minute spent twiddling with the equipment was a minute wasted, especially when no positive results were achieved.

“Give me a moment”, Bruce responded calmly, “I’m almost done. I need to get the border of the range in the optimum position. You know, there’s a big chance this won’t work, in fact, in order for the scanner to locate the ship we’re after, it’d probably have to be flying right beside us.”

The monitor gave a melodic, indicative beeping noise the moment Bruce was successful in limiting the range of the radar, and all eyes turned curiously to the screen, revealing that the element they were tracking appeared to be emanating right on top of them.

“Or above us”, Steve chimed in response to Bruce, and Loki turned back to him, finding him knelt by the viewing window at a low angle, peering up at something high above.

“Shit. It is on top of us”, Natasha confirmed from her window, “And it’s big.”

“Looks like the StarkCraft Mark II will have overhead viewing windows”, Tony murmured under his breath quietly, always one to break the tension with a little humour, not that Loki was paying too much attention to him. He was too exhilarated over the fact they had actually located the enemy ship before it had reached its mark.

“This is good”, Loki stated, “Now how do we infiltrate it?”

“You won’t be getting in there unnoticed”, Lexir chimed in wearily, “Actually, they probably already know you’re here…”

Before Loki could swing around and backhand the captive for opening her mouth, an unfamiliar jingle perforated the air, and all eyes were again steered towards the cockpit.

“What is that?” Thor enquired curiously.

“I… don’t know?” Banner responded.

“I do”, Stark said tightly, “It means there’s a request to open a communications link… and there’s only one thing close enough to transmit to us. We’re being hailed.” He pointed a finger upwards.

“Well, shall we answer it?” Steve spoke up, stepping away from the viewing window.

“Do we have a choice?” said Clint.

Thor piped up. “Answer it, Stark. This may be our only way to courteously request Amelia is returned to us without the need for bloodshed.”

“Without bloodshed?” It was Loki’s time to interject, “If you think we’re just going to let them get away with this-”

“And what if Amelia gets caught in the crossfire? She shouldn’t be anywhere near a battle, especially not in her condition.” Thor returned, and then promptly went pale.

Loki ground his teeth together, “What do you mean her condition?”  

“Alright, I’m answering it!” Banner quickly declared, hitting the comms switch before anyone could voice another question.

A large, ugly purple face appeared upon the monitors, drawing everybody’s gaze. It was Eruk, and his voice was somehow even more unpleasant than his appearance, deceptively light, as if they were friends. “Oh, good! You picked up. Hello, there. I just wanted to inform you that you’re flying ever so close to my vessel and if you wish not to be disintegrated by the propulsion of my far superior ship, you should probably get a move on”, he shook his hand in an ‘off you go’ gesture, and Loki was surprised that his hatred of the creature could grow even more.

“We’re here for Amelia.”

It was Steve who spoke, loud and clear, moving to the centre of the screen and harnessing his intimidation factor, not that Loki felt it would make much of a difference.

“Ah-mee-lee-uh?” For a brief moment, the creature’s tendrils twitched and his face bore a look of spurned confusion, and then it all seemed to come back to him, “Oh, that human I took? Yes, she said somebody would come to save her”, his face twisted into an amused smile, “and what do you have to offer me in return?”

“One of your subordinates”, Natasha spoke, grabbing Lexir by the collar and pulling her into frame. Eruk’s brow arched, and somebody else stepped up beside him - General Ularis, if Loki wasn’t mistaken, the one who was Lexir’s lover. Indeed, Ularis’s face was filled with rigid concern.

“I see”, said Eruk, and then paused.

Loki took his eyes off the screen and looked to Lexir, who was doing a good job of keeping her expression flat; her eyes were plastered to Ularis, however, and it was as if Loki could feel them wordlessly communicating through the transmission itself. The lull in the live broadcast filled Loki with unease - there was an extra layer of nerves now vibrating below his skin from the words Thor had inadvertently spoken moments ago.

What had he meant? Amelia’s condition? What was wrong with her? Was she sick?

The questions flooded his mind, threatening to distract him from the current situation; he wrenched his focus back, pinning Eruk with a deep glare as those thick tendrils fluttered hideously against the back of his unsightly head.

“Well. Why don’t you come and land in the hangar of my ship so we can discuss in person, and perhaps come to an arrangement?” His smile was empty, devoid of authenticity, and he turned to his general and another person off camera, “Dhox, Ularis, why don’t you go and see to our guests?” He didn’t wait for a response before shutting down the communication link.

Not a second past before Clint spoke, “Well, that’s obviously a trap.”

“Obviously”, Loki agreed, “But we’re still going to do as he requested.”

A few cynical pairs of eyes turned his way, but Banner, Thor and Stark were not among them; it was clear what needed to be done, there was no other way to enter the ship while Eruk had the upper hand.

“If you can deal with their sorcerer, I feel like this whole thing will be easier than expected”, Banner began, “I don’t really wanna turn into the Hulk on a ship floating through space, so if that’s avoidable…”

“Don’t assume retrieving Amelia will be easy”, Loki offered cautionarily, “When this bargaining plan fails, we must be ready to fight. We can only presume that Eruk would have some backup defense, so you mustn’t let your guard down even when that damned magic-user is dealt with.”

“You’re all speaking as if taking out Dhox will be uncomplicated”, Lexir intervened with a quirked eyebrow.

“If you have anything of value to say, then by all means, say it”, Thor told the captive, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Dhox is the best of the best”, Lexir claimed, “His ability to stop people in their tracks is incredibly gruelling to overcome, that’s why Eruk hired him. And believe me… Ularis won’t make the same mistake letting all of you live again… as soon as you’re all frozen in place, she’ll eliminate each of you before you gather the strength to even try to resist-”

Loki knocked her out with a swift blow to the head, satisfied at the sight of her body collapsing back against her seat, “Thanks for the information.”

“Loki!” Clint grumbled, “I doubt injuring her is going to get us into Eruk’s good graces.” The rest of the group did not seem surprised in the slightest at Loki’s sudden display of aggression, as though they had expected it.

“Keep up, you fool. We’re not trying to get into Eruk’s good graces.” Loki turned back to the cockpit, eyeing Banner, “Take us into the hangar.”

It was unsettling, to say the least, for Amelia to creep quietly down past several cells much like her own, finding them to be all filled with aliens who were seemingly either sleeping, depressed, or just indifferent to where she was headed. They all looked different, some humanoid, some far from it, some with very feminine attributes, and some that didn’t look feminine at all - at least in Amelia’s interpretation.

Then again, she couldn’t have expected that all female species of aliens would look like human women. She tried to keep her eyes forward the operation at hand, because just looking at them was saddening for her, knowing she couldn’t break them all out to join her in an escape - no, she had to wait until the Avengers were there to aid in that endeavour.

Hang tight, she wanted to tell them, but was too anxious to say anything at all.

It wasn’t until Amelia found the solidly shut exit door that she realised she did not have the special wristband that Ularis used to enter. It was no problem, though, because Amelia had a little newly discovered witchcraft to utilise; she pressed both hands confidently to the door, palms flat and fingers outstretched and closed her eyes with a clear mind.

Ka-boom!

Despite Amelia’s inward exclamation and magnificent credence, it wasn’t quite enough to harness the magical energy flowing through her veins. Nothing happened, and she became deflated, searching for any other means of escape. A brief perusal of the immediate area revealed a sort of vent that she could potentially fit through, however it was rather high up near the top of the wall, and Amelia wasn’t totally certain of her climbing abilities.

It was within reach, but upper body strength just wasn’t something Amelia had, and it was definitely needed for climbing.

“Mmm…” Amelia hummed to herself, scratching her chin thoughtfully as she tried to inspire herself into concluding whether or not it would be a good idea to try and climb up to the vent grate that was at least a good five metres off the ground. She glanced around.

There was nothing else she could try.

Amelia let out a soft noise of anxiousness, but moved to the base of the wall, blinking up at her destination. There was a couple of crates she could hop onto, a shelving unit that would only get her so high off the ground, and then if she could balance on a lighting fixture that protruded from the wall, she could theoretically then yank the vent cover off and climb up into the aperture.

Well, what was she waiting for?

Amelia awkwardly pulled herself up onto the smaller crate with thankfully few issues, then stepped onto the larger crate. She prayed that the shelves would hold her weight as she endeavoured to use them like a stepladder, growing more and more nervous the higher she ascended. Transferring herself from the shelves to the light fixture should have been an ordeal, but Amelia kept her gaze up and stepped onto it, remaining stabilised with almost no wobbling. She thanked the architect of the ship for using sturdy materials, and promptly reached for the vent cover, prying it open with a few well-poised tugs.

She managed to pull herself up with her arms and shuffle easily into the vent, before giving a few minutes of pause.

That was far, far easier than she had expected. Amelia looked down at her hands in wonder - the Alcamax compound must’ve done something for her strength, because it had been a while since she had attempted to climb anything, and the last time she did, it required rather a lot of exertion on her part.

Neato.

She was beginning to think she could punch out the enemies, commandeer a little space craft and find her own way back to Earth without any assistance.

Resuming her sneaky mission, Amelia turned and began shimmying down the vent channel on her front - it was just a little wider than her body, giving her enough room to maneuver at an acceptable pace. It was a good thing she wasn’t more than a few months pregnant, or she definitely wouldn’t have been having such an easy time dragging herself through the dark tunnel.

She had no clue where she was going, but being out of sight was her best chance of protecting. The duct she was crawling through was thankfully clean, not dusty or grimy in the slightest, for which she was thankful, but it was very dark, and even her improved eyesight was no good for discerning the shapes in the blackness before her.

She shuffled onward, desperate to pop out of the first exit she found, and let the thoughts of her handsome lover keep her motivated and brave. She’d had to have been gone for almost twenty-four hours now - not that she was exceptional in keeping time - and the notion of a reunion brought a sweet taste to her mouth.

Loki would gather her in his arms, no doubt, and she would refuse to let go of him for a good few hours - but of course, she would let slip her secret the moment she was able to. He deserved to know. Loki deserved to know he would be a father.

A hint of light was visible up ahead, and Amelia excitedly moved quicker, crawling to the end of the tunnel and turning the corner, where everything was suddenly a lot more perceptible. There was a dim light peering through the slits of a vent just ahead, so Amelia made for it, keeping careful and cautious with the knowledge that there could be people below her with sensitive hearing.

The vent unhinged easily below Amelia’s newfound strength, and she let it swing down gently as to not create a clamour. It did not seem so effortless to escape the vent without possibly falling on her head; she peered out, finding that she was in some hallway that just looked the same as everything else Amelia had seen up until that point. Grey, clean walls. 

The drop from the vent to the floor was not such a massive height, but the only way out was headfirst - Amelia did not have room to turn around, and slamming face first into the tiles was not a thought that put her at ease.

“Ahh, fuck”, she mumbled quietly, “Well… there’s no other way.”

She found that talking to herself was almost a comfort. It gave her the feeling that somebody was there to listen and cheer her on. She knew it was not the case, but if it helped to soothe the rattling anxiety in her chest, then it was fine.

“Okay, Amelia”, she told herself, “Just… push yourself out the vent. It won’t hurt too bad, maybe.”

She made an attempt to slip forward out of the vent, but her hands instinctively gripped the underside. With a squeak, she somersaulted out over herself and smacked her butt against the wall, her grasp weakening and dropping her down in a more preferable position.

It didn’t stop her from stumbling and scrambling, grunting as fell to her arms and knees when she collided with the floor. The force had her almost headbutting the ground, but due to the lucky positioning of her elbow, she merely knocked her jaw against her arm and tensed when she remembered the purpling bruise that Eruk had given her earlier.

Overall, she was left quite undignified.

A humiliated moan escaped her, but at least there wasn’t anybody around to witness her lack of grace. “Ugh, I’m so stupid…”

“What are you doing here!?” A shrill voice interjected her moment of self-deprecation, and before Amelia knew it, a strong hand had attached itself to her elbow and was dragging her up to her feet and down the hallway.

It was, luckily, Inga.

And in her hand, the elegantly crafted piece of weaponry that Loki had gifted Amelia.

“My dagger! You found it!” Amelia cried out in excitement, before sealing her lips shut at the sharp hush that came from the Asgardian woman.

“Quiet!” Inga hissed, a far-cry from the patient, composed woman she had been before, “You need to be silent, there’s guards everywhere!” It threw Amelia off for a few moments, but then she realised this new moody Inga was likely the result of her shock upon finding that Amelia had been telling her the truth.

Also, there were guards about.

Amelia was shoved unceremoniously back behind a wall after catching a brief glance at two armed guards, dressed in very similar attire to Ularis and her gang when they had arrived to abduct her. Their faces were concealed behind helmets, and luckily they had not noticed her.

Inga waited a few moments as the guards padded away from them, down an adjacent corridor, and then proceeded to yank Amelia’s arm, moving swiftly to a series of pod-like doors. Inga tapped in a security code for one of them, and it hissed open, revealing a small room with a bed and a few other amenities.

The Asgardian woman dragged her in, closing the door behind her, and then breathed a sigh of relief. Amelia watched as Inga pushed her blonde tresses back behind her ears and peered down at the dagger in her hand, lips pursed as she scrutinised it wordlessly; it was difficult to estimate what was going through the woman’s mind while she kept her face so blank and unreadable.

Several silent moments passed, and Amelia decided to speak.

“You believe me now, right?” Her tone was hopeful, “You’ll help me escape?”

Inga looked up, piercing green eyes settling on Amelia. “Loki is alive”, she stated, “This dagger is definitely made from Asgardian steel, and given the sharpness and polished quality, I can assume it was crafted recently, but above all, it bears the prince’s insignia.”

Amelia blinked, she hadn’t previously noticed such a thing, “His insignia?”

Inga’s gaze narrowed suspiciously, “You haven’t seen it?”

Amelia gave the woman a dry look, “What with everything that’s happened in the past day or so, I haven’t really had time to give it a hard look, okay?”

Inga’s stare softened ever so slightly, and she breathed another audible sigh, handing the dagger over to Amelia, who took it eagerly and unsheathed it, mindful of the blade as she turned it over and examined the hilt.

It wasn’t until that moment that she discerned the serpent-like, golden engravings actually formed the visage of Loki’s horned helmet that he only ever wore into battle. Amelia bit her lip, her grip on the dagger tightening slightly - it was the only thing she had at that moment that linked her to her partner, and she didn’t know what she would do if she misplaced it again.

Having it in her possession again was almost enough to make her tear up, but she wiped her eyes with her sleeve quickly - it was not the time to get emotional.

“I don’t have long”, Inga said, “I have to be back at my station soon, or my absence will arouse suspicion. Tell me, how did Loki survive, and how did he end up with you, a mortal?” Her words were not spoken with any sort of malice, just interest and curiosity.

Amelia swallowed, “Well… I really don’t know how he survived. But from what he has told me, I know that he remained hidden for several years - nobody but himself knew he was alive”, she paused, giving a shrug, “I guess he knew he’d caused a lot of trouble, and didn’t really want to jump back into the spotlight…”

“But how did he end up on Earth?” Inga questioned.

“Oh, well, he had to, um, he and Thor…” Amelia nibbled on her lower lip as she tried to think of a way to tell Inga the truth without also having to tell her about Asgard’s destruction, but her brain refused to cooperate, and she was not near as good a liar as her lover. There was nothing she could do except tell the whole truth, “...I don’t quite know how to say this, but you’ve missed a lot, and… well, Loki and Thor saved the Asgardian people from the Goddess of Death, but in the process, their home was consumed in the flames of Surtur.” It was the simplest form of what Loki had told her, though he hadn’t elaborated all that much when it came to the details.

Inga’s gaze grew wide, and the shock was palpable in her eyes. Tears threatened to arise, but she blinked them back, taking a shaky breath to quell the heartbreak of the revelation. Her home was gone, Amelia couldn’t blame her for wanting to cry.

“Ragnarok?” Inga whispered, her voice barely audible.

Amelia nodded, her face full of empathy, “After that, Loki and Thor relocated the Asgardians to Earth. They rebuilt their kingdom in Norway, but Loki and I live in New York… with the other Avengers.”

Inga took a moment to compose herself, swallowing tightly and steeling her expression, “You have not mentioned the Allfather, Odin, so I can only assume…”

“Yes. Odin is… gone.”

Inga nodded rigidly, “I see. So, does that mean prince Thor has taken the throne?”

“That’s correct. Thor is the king”, said Amelia. The weight of the conversation had made her feel somewhat awful, so she tried to steer it away to more hopeful things, “-and he’s a good king at that. He travels back and forth between New Asgard and Avengers Tower, doing everything he can for both his kingdom, and the rest of the world. He’s also kind of a goofball.”

Amelia forced a smile as Inga regarded her with surprise.

“Forgive me”, Inga began, “but this is a lot to take in… it seems so much really has changed, and it saddens me that I have not been with my people throughout the trials Asgard has faced.” She closed her eyes, the shiny film of tears once again visible at the corners of her eyes, “I just want to save my sister and return home.”

“And we will”, Amelia told her assuredly, “We will save her, I promise. Neither Thor nor Loki would abandon one of their own.”

Inga appeared to soak in the reassuring words, taking a deep breath before pulling herself back together. She nodded, and her lips curled up ever so faintly, “I believe you.”

The rush of relief Amelia felt was staggering, and she sheathed her dagger, clutching it firmly in both hands, “Thank all the gods. With your help, I feel like we could kick some serious ass.”

A soft giggle escaped the Asgardian woman, and Amelia felt her cheeks turn red.

“What is it?”

Inga shook her head, “I am still curious as to how you managed to, ah, domesticate the God of Mischief.” Amelia could tell the woman was speaking lightly and in jest, “Prince Loki has always seemed the type that is averse to romantic relationships, though I admit that I did not know him very well. It was just the air he gave off.”

Amelia smiled, “We have a lot in common. We’ve both been through hard times, and we’ve both been there for each other… I can’t imagine myself loving anybody else.” It was the honest truth. Without Loki, her life would not have been nearly as bright, or interesting for that matter.

Inga seemed soothed by Amelia’s words; perhaps it was because the last Inga had known of Loki was a man filled with anger and resentment, with little chance of redemption, or maybe it was because the Asgardian woman had been alone for so long, with no wholesome or pure interactions to keep her from sinking into depression. Amelia knew the feeling all too well.

“Attention, this is a ship-wide alert: will all members of security make their way swiftly down to the hangar, be prepared to deal with some unwanted guests.” Eruk’s voice came over the tannoy, shrill and lined with an edge of sinister promises. It made Amelia jump, and Inga’s expression hardened once again.

“I need to return to the infirmary”, Inga said suddenly, “If I’m gone any longer, Eruk will not be happy. Plus, I may actually be needed if there’s going to be injuries...”

“Wait!” Amelia squeaked, quickly grabbing her arm. There was a feeling of building elation inside her, “W-what if… what if that’s them?” There was every chance that whoever was landing in the ship’s hangar was just some fleeting annoyance to Eruk, and that maybe the ship just experienced that kind of thing often, given his trade, but something in Amelia hoped desperately that it wasn’t just some space-pirates trying to cause some trouble.

It had to be the Avengers. It had to be.

Amelia bit back her excitement, almost tripping over her own feet. Loki was coming for her - of course he was - and he was going to punch Eruk into next Tuesday.

“You think it might be… them? Thor and Loki?” Inga tentatively enquired, clearly swayed by the thought of being rescued from the evil ship they were on. “In that case… perhaps we could stop this ship before it gets close to Vercain. It’ll make things easier for them to take Eruk down, because otherwise he’ll be able to call for backup-” she blinked, pausing momentarily with a troubled look, “I need to return to the infirmary to confirm I am at my station, once Eruk believes me to be working, I can track King Thor down, and ask him for help…”

“I’ll come with you!” Amelia exclaimed, body tense with the anticipation of being reunited with her friends and her lover.

“Absolutely not”, Inga repudiated, sounding very much as though she thought Amelia’s eagerness was laughable in their current situation, “You’re staying here, where you will be safe.”

Amelia blinked once. “You are kidding, right? I can use magic, it’s how I escaped my cell!”

“Amelia”, Inga began heavily, “You are vulnerable. You need to remain here, out of harm’s way, where your stress levels are unlikely to rise and trigger a reaction with the Alcamax, especially due to your pregnancy.”

Amelia frustratedly shook her head, “I don’t understand what you mean when you say that. What danger does it pose to my pregnancy?” She insisted on a better explanation.

Inga nibbled briefly on her bottom lip, closing her eyes with a sigh, “If the Alcamax is not partially extracted, it could be harmful due to the reaction of magical energy. If the tension in your body were to snap, the resulting discharge of magic could consume all your energy, and be fatal under the most unlucky circumstances. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Amelia’s eyes fell to the floor. Inga was telling her that marching into a stressful situation could result in the death of her unborn child, and possibly herself, if she wasn’t careful. Which meant that Amelia couldn’t do anything to help herself; she needed to remain cooped up in a tiny room and wait for Loki to come to her.

“I know. You want to see him, don’t you? But surely he would rather see you safe than rushing into danger?”

Inga was right, obviously. She was a clever Asgardian and Amelia was just a dumb human.

“Mm… I understand…” Amelia breathed dejectedly, “But… you’ll find Loki for me, right? And you’ll bring him back here?”

“As soon as I am able to, yes”, Inga confirmed, nodding her head promisingly. Her hand rested comfortingly over Amelia’s own for a brief few moments, and then the Asgardian took a step towards the door, “Remain here, and you will be safe. There is no reason for anybody to enter this room if it is locked. It is a resting station for injured crew members, so just make yourself comfortable, and I will return with Loki.”

She sounded so sure of herself as she flashed one last consoling smile before leaving the room and marking it as occupied.

Amelia was alone again, and while her current location wasn’t a cell, it was much smaller than the one she had been thrown into. A dispirited murmur escaped her throat as she lay on the bed, pressing her head back into the cushiony pillow, and held up the dagger, turning it back and forth as it reflected the one light coming from the bulb above.

The room didn’t even have a window. Why didn’t this ship have any damn windows?

Despite how little sleep Amelia had had since being abducted, she just wasn’t tired, and even if she was, there was no way she’d be able to sleep at a time like this. There was just too much anxiety in her body, with no way to escape.

She sat up on the bed, glancing around the room. There was a thin door that led to what Amelia imagined was a bathroom, and a few cupboards, and what looked vaguely like a coffee-maker, though she wasn’t entirely sure about that last thing; she stood up and fiddled with it for a few minutes, but ultimately couldn’t figure out just what in the world it was.

A quick glance through the thin door showed just what Amelia had expected - a small bathroom with a toilet, sink and shower. Fantastic. They had running water on this spaceship, and what a perfect moment for Amelia to discover it - the pressing need to empty her bladder had just started to make itself known.

After a quick potty-break, Amelia resumed her perusal of the room, opening drawers and finding nothing of note, until eventually she pulled open a tall cupboard, and was greeted with the sight of what Amelia could only assume was the armour that the guards wore. It was, much like the armour of the aliens who had taken her, simple yet all-encompassing of everything science fiction. She dragged her eyes across it curiously, and reached out to touch the armour plating, finding it cool and hard upon contact.

It was at that moment that Amelia was struck with a precarious idea.

If she wore the armour before her, nobody would know she was the human they had snatched from Earth. She would be able to sneak way more easily around the ship, without having to squeeze into tight, dark vents, and maybe even make it to the hangar where the Avengers would soon land.

She could make their rescue mission a whole lot easier and faster by just… being there, ready to be retrieved. Not only that, but it would be fun to prove to them that she could be bad-ass when she had to be; Amelia could only imagine the look on Loki’s face.

That was the notion that powered her next decision. The look of relief and excitement on Loki’s face would be practically heartening, and if Amelia’s memory served, Loki had remarked on how sexy he thought it was when he learned that she had her dagger strapped to her thigh below her dress.

The only problem was: how was she going to conceal the dagger on her person without it being completely obvious. She couldn’t have it below the armour because it needed to be something she could grab at a moment’s notice, but having it above the armour would make it extremely obvious that she wasn’t one of the ship’s guards.

She pulled the armour out of the cupboard, placing it down on the bed so that she could inspect it more easily. 

It reminded her partly of the stormtroopers from the Star Wars movies, due to the polished white sheen of the plating, but there were a lot of differences when compared to the fictional armour. The attire in front of her left parts of her body exposed with nothing but the spandex bodysuit to cover them.

“Hmm”, Amelia hummed, picking up the bodysuit.

The armour plating was detached from the bodysuit, meaning that she could perhaps strap the dagger to her arm over the spandex, and then secure the arm-plating on over to conceal the blade. Granted, it would take a couple seconds for her to unfasten the plating and brandish her weapon.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best idea she could come up with.

“Alright”, she murmured quietly to herself, “Now I just need to get all this damn armour on me…”

It took a good fifteen minutes for her to slip into the bodysuit and then attach all of the armour, and once it was on, it was quite weighted. She hoped she looked like one of the guards and that it wasn’t blatantly obvious she wasn’t one of them.

She secured the helmet on her head, pulling down the visor to cover her face, and took a breath, trying to settle her quickened heartbeat. It may have been easier for her to stay put as Inga had said, but despite the danger… Amelia couldn’t just sit there. She needed to do something. She wasn’t sure where the desperate drive had come from, but she needed to prove to herself that she could protect what was hers. 

Perhaps it was some sort or premature maternal instinct.

Whatever it was, it was far more powerful than the thought of sitting the action out.

Amelia exited the room, looking up and down the hall, before glancing to her arm where she had secured the dagger. She wasn’t sure whether her pulsing heart was doing so out of fear or excitement, but she needed to calm herself. If her cover was blown, she had a way to defend herself.

She’d been training in self-defense for months now, surely it was time to face up against a real opponent.

Amelia picked a direction and moved, walking stiffly down a corridor. She wasn’t certain what she was looking for, or how to get to the hangar, but Eruk’s disembodied voice had said it was down, so she resorted to searching for an elevator.

The ship was horribly designed, in Amelia’s opinion. There weren’t even any signs anywhere; even Avengers Tower had each floor labelled and gave directions to the closest elevators. 

“Don’t even get me started on the lack of windows…” she mumbled to herself, glaring this way and that. She followed her intuition, heading in the direction she would presume to find the elevators, and made a noise of irritation every time she came to a dead end.

She absolutely took back what she said about the ship’s architect being good at their job earlier; if she’d known the ship was like a maze, she wouldn’t have thought it at all. 

Just before her patience could evaporate into nothing, she was met with a set of metal doors that looked very much like the elevator she had ridden in with Ularis. Success. She pressed the button on the wall and waited awkwardly, twiddling her thumbs and shifting her weight from each foot, growing more and more antsy the longer she was forced to stand there.

“Guess slow lifts are a universal thing, huh?” She observed quietly, quipping as if somebody could hear her. She wished the ship’s architect could hear her, they deserved a damn critique in Amelia’s mind.

The elevator arrived with a ding, and the doors opened. Amelia hopped in with no time to waste, turning her attention to the countless buttons that were marked with indistinguishable symbols.

“Oh, fuck you, you dumb elevator”, she grumbled, and hit the switch at the very bottom of the configuration, figuring it would only be logical that the button so far down would take her to the bottom of the ship.

The ride down thankfully did not take nearly as long as it had reaching her initially, which could only mean that she was closer to the bottom of the ship than the top of it. Upon exiting, the sound of commotion could be heard from down the hall, and she made her way in what she hoped was a guard-like fashion towards the uproar. 

Upon turning the corner, she found hordes of armoured soldiers storming quickly down another corridor, and figured they could only be headed for the hangar. She swallowed her nerves and raced to join them, jogging alongside them and following the crowd.

“Soldier!” A sudden, deep voice screeched, and Amelia flinched, looking back over her shoulder to find one individual’s eyes on her - at least she assumed his eyes were on her, it was quite hard to tell below the helmet, but he was most certainly looking in her direction. “Where is your weapon!?”

Amelia almost froze up under the scrutiny, and quickly put on the deepest voice she could, “Oh, sorry sir, I forgot it!” She would’ve hit herself if it weren’t for the fact that a beat passed, and then the other soldier reached for the spare handgun-esque weapon at his belt and handed it to her.

“You ought to remember next time, soldier! What kind of guard forgets their weapon?”

Amelia was glad the visor was covering her face, because she couldn’t contain her mirth at how easy it was to deceive the man. “S-sorry sir. Will do better next time!”

The armoured guard nodded his head in approval and continued on, and Amelia peered down at the gun she’d been gifted out of foolish stupidity. It wasn’t as big as the blasters that all the other soldiers were wielding, but it was definitely better than nothing, not that she expected to use it against anybody but the oblivious guards around her, if the need arose.

It wasn’t long before they reached the hangar, and just outside it, Amelia was greeted with the sight of Ularis, hands on her hips, standing beside a mysterious alien she did not recognise. He looked to be male, his skin a light grey, with pointy ears and a bald head; Amelia quirked a curious eyebrow as she and the soldiers came to a stop before them, poised in a very military-like formation.

“The plan is simple. You are not to fire until we have Lexir back, safely with us. Dhox will ensure our guests will be rendered immobile; once Lexir is clear of the area, feel free to terminate those nerks however you see fit”, Ularis explained, her voice loud and clear.

Nerk? What the hell was a nerk?

“File in”, Ularis instructed as the large hangar doors opened, revealing a huge room in which a small ship was already parked, though it did not look like a ship designed by Tony Stark, so it had to be owned by Eruk. The room had several large shipping containers in the corners, but other than that it was quite a wide space, with even larger doors on the opposite side.

The soldiers filed in on Ularis’s command, and Amelia shuffled in along with them, looking left and right with a hint of paranoia, and once everybody was stationed, the General spoke again.

“Gravity barrier enabled. Hangar doors opening.”

The floor-to ceiling doors on the opposite end of the room opened up and Amelia held her breath in anticipation, watching as the big hunks of metal slowly parted to reveal inky blackness and nothing else. 

Was that space? Was she staring into space?

A ship promptly appeared, and Amelia’s heart gave another lurch, because even from this distance, Amelia recognised Tony Stark’s tech design in an instant. It was them. It was really them.

The ship slowly entered the large room, moving almost tentatively, for which Amelia did not blame them, and finally settled on the ground, engines powering down.

From the angle she was looking up at, it was impossible to peer through the front windows, so Amelia waited with bated breath for a sign of movement.

How were they going to fight Dhox’s ability of freezing them all in place? She’d already seen it happen, the horror in Loki’s eyes when she’d been taken, and yet he had been unable to break out of it. They must have had a plan. Amelia told herself that the Avengers knew exactly what they were doing, because the notion that they’d all come after her unprepared was quite daunting.

The door on the side of the ship opened, a stair extending from the aperture to the ground, and out popped Tony Stark in a crisp, handsome suit, no sight of his Iron Man armour.

“Wow, look at that. A warm welcome”, the billionaire quipped, and Amelia had never been so happy to hear his voice.

The others hesitantly exited the craft after him; Bruce and Natasha were next, then Steve and Clint, both stepping lightly down the stairs, keeping their gazes solidly on Ularis and the soldiers. Bruce seemed nervous - he probably didn’t want to Hulk out on a spaceship, just in case something went horrendously wrong, while Clint, Natasha and Steve all looked battle-ready.

Thor stepped out next, carrying an unconscious, blue-skinned woman in his arms. This must have been Lexir, the woman Ularis had spoken briefly of, and the one whom Inga had stated had been left behind. Ularis visibly stiffened at the sight of her.

Amelia felt her fists clench. Each pump of her heart felt as though it spanned a thousand years. Her eyes remained glued to the exit of the craft, waiting.

And then he stepped out. 

Loki.

Amelia sucked in a breath, trying to still the shake of her hands.

He looked pissed.

Chapter Text

At the beginning of July, there had been a day where the temperature had notably rose, and as such, Amelia had chosen to switch from a blouse and pants to a dress. It was the first day in a long time where Amelia felt the temperature was comfortable enough to wear something looser and more revealing outside of the Tower.

She had begged Loki to join her for a stroll through Central Park instead of spending the morning in the training room like they always did, and given that Loki was particularly susceptible to Amelia’s large, pleading eyes, he gave in to her request, like he always did. 

The walk had been wonderful and refreshing, and after an hour of absorbing the warmth of the sunlight peering through the sparse clouds, Amelia had left Loki sitting on a bench in favour of purchasing a cold treat from the ice cream vendor just down the path. It had all been well and good, until Amelia had been intercepted on her way back from the vendor by two men who looked to be in their early twenties.

They’d been talking and snickering among themselves as they approached, and wore unappealing smirks on their faces when they blocked Amelia’s way, dragging their eyes from her legs to her chest in a way that made Amelia terribly uncomfortable. When she’d tried to move past them, they had insistently obstructed her path, which was quite infuriating given that she had two cherry flavoured ice lollies in her hands that were receptive to melting in the hot weather.

They’d boxed her in as they drank her up with covetous gazes, making her feel very unpleasant, but not fearful, because in the corner of her eye, she saw her very strong and intimidating Asgardian boyfriend shoot up from his seat and begin marching over.

Loki had yanked the two men away with enough force to throw them to the ground, and promptly taken his place beside her, calmly enquiring with a threateningly low voice, “Are these lowlifes bothering you, Amelia?”

The god’s hand had rested upon her waist, secure and proprietorial, as he proceeded to pull her gently closer, until she was pressed against his side. 

There had always been something particularly alluring about Loki’s possessive streak, namely his cautionary stare that he pinned on those who dared mess with Amelia, stabbing terror into their hearts with eyes that promised danger, all for the sake of keeping her from harm. It always made Amelia’s stomach flutter whenever his face took on that distinct look, and it had been no different that day.

It was no different now. Loki’s face that day had held only a fraction of the hostility it held now as he fastened his murderous expression on the irascible General Ularis and the pale sorcerer named Dhox.

Tony took a casual step forward, at which point all the other guards around Amelia raised their weapons, pointing them straight at the defenseless man, and she quickly fumbled to follow their positions in order to maintain her disguise. She, of course, had no intention of firing her weapon, unlike those around her who all seemed to be one order away from pulling the trigger.

“General Ularis, was it? My name is Tony Stark. Hi. We’re here to make a trade”, he moved with utmost confidence for somebody who wasn’t wearing his usual suit armour, “You return Amelia to us, and you can have your teammate back.” He motioned the unconscious woman slumped in Thor’s arms. “What do you say? Sounds like a fair deal, right?”

“Hm”, General Ularis hummed, arms crossed over her chest, “Bring Lexir to me first, and then I will consider returning your human woman to you.”

This human woman has a name, Amelia mused irritably. Not to mention, Ularis was most certainly not going to consider returning her to her friends, and Amelia was pretty sure Tony was smart enough to realise that.

“I don’t think that’ll work out for us. How about we go with my original offer?” There was a hint of sass underlying Tony’s words that Amelia found heavily amusing.

“How about you hand over Lexir, or I kill every last one of you?” Ularis retorted, uncrossing her arms as she took a minute step forwards and clenched her fists at her sides.

“Or”, Tony countered, “we can do this without bloodshed, and we can all be happy.”

“I don’t think so”, Ularis hissed.

Amelia’s heart thumped in her chest, adrenaline pumping through her and making her feel like her body was being charged with electricity. Her gaze was predominantly on Loki, watching how he remained shockingly calm despite his expression. The impulse to reveal herself was strong, but her understanding of the situation was stronger - as if she wasn’t in a dangerous enough situation already, taking her helmet off and unveiling her identity would probably cause chaos, and as long as that sorcerer Dhox was in the room, Ularis sadly had the advantage.

“Dhox.” 

Ularis tipped her head to the sorcerer, and Amelia felt her chest tighten as a sinister smile appeared on Dhox’s face.

“With pleasure”, the pale sorcerer responded, raising his hands, outstretched before him, and all at once, the Avengers stiffened, gripped again by Dhox’s strange freezing magic. A million thoughts ran through Amelia’s mind as she struggled to think of what she could possibly do to break her friends free. 

The way she saw it, any action would put herself in danger. The moment Ularis noticed one of her guards straying from the rest, she’d blow Amelia’s cover and set her straight, but to stand there and not do a single thing to help them, to help Loki, felt absolutely awful.

Ularis moved immediately as soon as Dhox confirmed the Avengers were trapped in their bodies. She crossed the hangar and approached Thor, lifting Lexir from his arms, and then returned at once.

She passed the guards as she made for the hangar exit. “I’m leaving you in Dhox’s command”, she told all of the armoured beings, “fire only on his signal”, and swiftly left, carrying the blue-skinned woman to her chest as she went.

Amelia swallowed, glancing around at all the soldiers, who held their guns at the ready but obediently awaited further instructions, and took a careful step back, trying to move subtly to the back of the group. There were few things she could do, but she had a weapon, and Ularis had scrambled away, which meant that if she was careful enough, she could shoot Dhox to hopefully throw off his concentration, and optimistically, give the Avengers a chance to go to town on the sorcerer.

Dhox laughed, causing Amelia to shiver as her skin prickled unpleasantly, and he barked and taunted his enemies as though he felt there was no way he could possibly lose control of the situation. “You useless fools! What made you think a second attempt at overpowering us would work?”

Amelia looked back to the Avengers, her eyes falling on Loki and his furious stare, and she felt bravery flood through her. With a solid, deep breath, she took another step back, moving away from the crowd of soldiers, and slowly raised her alien handgun in Dhox’s direction where he stood beside the group of guards.

“I promise you all, you’re about to experience a very painful death, and there’s nothing you can do to change that.” The sorcerer cackled.

Amelia’s hands shook, and she had to put extra effort in to keep her gun steady. She didn’t know how much damage her the blast from her weapon would do, if it would even put a dent in the sorcerer, but she did know she was taking a huge risk with the actions she intended to carry out, so it had to work. It had to.

“Though, there wouldn’t be much fun in executing you all at the same time, so… who’s going to die first?” Dhox hummed in an overly enthusiastic way, exaggerating it as though he was having trouble deciding, but also thoroughly enjoying himself.

Amelia bit her lip, finger trembling on the trigger. You can rot in hell, monster.

She did not get a chance to shoot him, because suddenly, in a flicker of green light, Loki was situated behind Dhox, his sharp, conjured blade lodged firmly in the sorcerer’s back. The next few moments passed in what felt like slow motion. The audible gasp that escaped Amelia felt loud within her helmet, and in the corner of her eye, she saw the frozen Loki disappear in the same viridescent glimmer.

An illusion. Loki had cast an illusion of himself, and then made himself invisible.

Choked noises escaped Dhox as he flailed, unprepared for such an attack, and he quickly lost control of his power over the Avengers, evident when they all broke free from the magical trap; the soldiers were notably shocked, all backing away in panicked confusion, taking just a little too long to remember they were all in possession of alien blasters. Clearly their strategy relied too much on the commands of their superiors.

“You should’ve learnt a new trick.” Loki mocked, his voice stone cold as he jerked the blade out of Dhox’s body, and Amelia watched as blood spurted from the wound. Loki easily pushed the sputtering sorcerer to the ground and sunk his blade into the side of the Dhox’s head, killing him instantly.

A wave of dizziness fell briefly over Amelia, but she didn’t have time to think about it, because one of the soldiers recovered their nerve and fired off their blaster in Loki’s direction. Thankfully, it missed, but it triggered a sudden barrage as all the guards lifted their guns and began firing in an attempt to neutralise the Avengers, who jumped swiftly into action.

That was the moment everything sped up into overdrive. 

Amelia shrieked, practically diving to the floor in order to evade one of Tony’s hand blasters; he must’ve been carrying his nanobot armour because he had been so subtle that she hadn’t even caught the moment he’d suited up. It was bright and obvious now, his vivid red armour clear as day through the crowd of chaos, reflecting the light of the enemy shots.

Crawling across the floor quickly, Amelia dragged herself swiftly to one of the corners of the room, placing herself safely behind the large shipping container that seemed sturdy enough to divert any blasts and gunfire away from her. The noise was intense and terrifying, the battlecry shouts loud enough even at her distance, and Amelia curled up with her back to the metal container, wishing the fight to be over quickly with no casualties on where her friends were concerned.

Amelia didn’t dare risk a peek. She’d dropped her gun in the initial scramble to escape the danger zone, and she didn’t want to draw the attention of any of the armoured soldiers, just in case she was unable to continue her facade. 

The unanticipated sound of the Hulk roaring penetrated the air, and Amelia flinched at the loudness. She had never seen the Hulk up close, nor had she ever heard the clamour of his war cry in person. It was hair-raising. Amelia was quite nervous, not because she feared the Hulk, but because she was dressed very much like one of the soldiers.

The thought of removing her helmet did occur to her, but she wasn’t sure exactly how many of the guards were still standing. There had to have been at least fifty of them, against seven of her friends, and if even one of the guards noticed her, they could unapologetically shoot her dead.

All she could hear was the fierce battle. She had never been so close to the action, and she wished it had stayed that way. As attractive as Loki was when he was kicking the asses of bad guys, the sounds of people getting flung into walls, pained screams and shouts, bones being broken - it just wasn’t the kind of atmosphere Amelia needed in that moment.

While the sight of Loki outsmarting the sorcerer had been fantastic, it was just enough brutality to witness for one day.

The sight of a figure appearing suddenly in Amelia’s peripheral matched with a loud crash made her startle, pressing her back hard against the shipping container as her poor heart tried to recover from the scare. A body had been flung over the top of where she was hiding, and come crashing down in front of her; it was one of the guards, no doubt hurled across the room by the Hulk, and he was still twitching, still alive despite the vicious attack. 

The soldier moved, an audible groan escaping him as he rolled onto his front and struggle to push himself up. Amelia went still for all of five seconds before she realised he was crawling towards his gun a few feet away, which had been tossed with him, at which point she scrambled forward, reaching it just before him.

Amelia turned the blaster on the soldier, barely giving him enough time to even realise what she was doing before pulling the trigger. The blaster fired twice in succession, breaking through the soldier’s armour and taking his life, leaving him a singed corpse, limp on the cool metal ground.

Breath caught in her throat, Amelia stared at the smoking carcass that remained of the guard, the gun slipping from her hands as a horrible feeling tore through her. He had been a living being, Amelia knew nothing of the creature below the armour, but she’d just killed him. What if he’d had a family? Children? She hadn’t even hesitated.

No. No. If she hadn’t killed him, he would’ve killed her, at least that’s what she told herself. Amelia wasn’t just protecting herself, she was protecting her unborn baby. It was justified.

Doubt loomed heavily in her mind. She didn’t know for sure that the soldier was going to kill her. She may very well have just murdered him in cold blood.

Amelia whimpered, swallowing the guilt, feeling the prick of tears in the corners of her eyes. She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to be a badass anymore - there was no way she could cause another being to lose their life, not again. It was obvious there was going to be some bloodshed throughout the whole operation, Amelia just wished it wasn’t her that had to do any of the killing. It was a mystery to her as to how the Avengers managed do it so effortlessly.

The shaded corner she crouched in was becoming less and less pleasant to occupy; with the limp body lying just across from her, Amelia found herself wanting to slip away, but the sounds of carnage continued to perforate the air, though at a far more sporadic rate. It was possible the fight was slowly coming to an end. Was it safe for her to reveal herself yet?

Crawling rigidly towards the edge of the shipping container, Amelia peered around, growing tense at the piles of guard bodies littered across the floor. She couldn’t see much from the angle, but her line of sight showed none of her friend’s bodies, so that was a plus.

She swallowed. The Hulk’s grumbling had grown quiet, which led Amelia to believe he may have transformed back into Bruce, but she could still hear the noises of Tony’s hand-blasters firing, and several grunts as the fight went on. 

Amelia flinched back instinctively when movement appeared before her. Loki and Thor were rushing to the hangar doors, intent to make their way into the rest of the ship, and Amelia felt her heart leap at the sight. Loki was so close, but he was fast.

“Split up, find Eruk, but don’t kill him. That privilege is reserved for me. I’m going to find Amelia.” 

Amelia sprung shakily to her feet with the help of her hand on the shipping container, and wobbly took a few steps, “Loki! Hey, Loki!” She called out, but her voice was too quiet below her helmet and the raucous commotion of the room. Loki and Thor zipped out hastily, even as Amelia chased after them, nowhere near as fast.

She tripped, blessedly, just as a stray blast from Tony’s Iron Man suit went hurtling over her head, missing her by just a few inches at best, and clambered quickly back to her feet as she ducked out of the hangar, hurrying down the corridor she was sure Loki had headed. 

She hoped she could find him quickly. The ship was like a damn maze.

“Damnit. Missed one.” Stark lowered his hand and descended from his elevated position, dropping gently to the ground where he gave the field of armoured corpses an exasperated look. He couldn’t say he was surprised by the outcome of their plan, but he had been hoping there was a small chance they could simply swap hostages and be on their merry way.

The billionaire cast a glance back to his teammates, who looked momentarily winded by the large cluster of guards they’d had to deal with, “Alright, team, stay alert. That was like the first wave of Stormtroopers, everything from this point on is gonna be more difficult. Thor and Loki are on their way to scour this ship top to bottom. You three-” he pointed to Nat, Clint and Steve, “stick together, we don’t know what we could encounter on this alien ship.”

“Hey. Can’t be worse than Thanos, can they?” Steve quipped with a shrug as he caught his breath.

Tony retracted his helmet to reveal his wearied, satirical expression, “Who knows? What if Thanos was just the mini-boss at the end of Level One?”

“Don’t say that”, Clint grumbled as he retrieved his arrows from the skulls of his kills, “Don’t you dare even say that.”

“We’re wasting time”, Natasha interjected, offering a hand to Banner who was sitting on the floor, his energy somewhat depleted after his transformation, “You good?”

“Yeah”, Bruce sighed, “Yeah, I’m good”, he lifted himself off the floor with Natasha’s help, feeling relieved that he had chosen to wear his Hulk-proof attire. It would’ve been quite embarrassing to lose his clothes aboard an alien spaceship.

“Bruce, you’re with me. I’m already scanning for a spot to set up a communications link with the Guardians”, said Tony. The plan was to contact Peter Quill and his gang of misfits for assistance, as they were a little more equipped for interstellar rescue missions, and as Loki had previously explained, there were quite a few alien species trapped on Vercain that needed help. Backup was the clearest solution. “You three assist Loki in locating Amelia”, he tapped his ear, “update me with your progress.”

“Likewise”, Steve nodded.

The Avengers split into two groups, both going separate ways out of the hanger. For Steve, Clint and Natasha, there was no intuitive path to take, as every turn brought them to a dead end or another endless corridor. It was surprisingly quiet, too, leading Steve to believe that Eruk was waiting for them to walk themselves into a corner before dropping an ambush on them. He made his concerns known.

“Are you really sure about that?” Clint asked, “I get the idea that this guy has never had to deal with someone standing up to him. I think he’s running around like a headless chicken with no idea what to do.”

“Well, I don’t think we should assume that…” Steve responded quietly, peering around a corner before moving forward.

“His guards all seemed completely inept and far too easy to take out. I think the only ones we have to watch out for are those who took Amelia to begin with.” Natasha suggested.

“One of which is now dead”, Clint pointed out, “One down, three to go.”

“Four to go, if we’re counting Eruk”, Steve corrected.

“Didn’t you hear? Loki staked his claim on Eruk”, said Natasha, “We don’t have to worry about-” she cut herself off suddenly upon hearing quiet murmurs from down the hall. Pressing herself against the wall, along with Steve and Clint, she sidled along to the next corner before casting a brief glance down the way, spying two more armoured individuals who were lacking helmets and appeared to be - waiting for an elevator?

Natasha shared a look with Clint and Steve, a small knowing smile on her face, and they both nodded in return, simultaneously understanding just how the plan of action needed to unfold; with perfected grace and impressive speed, Natasha zipped around the corner, approaching fast with a particular purpose.

The two alien individuals turn their heads just a little too late. The first one, something entirely non-humanoid, was quickly disposed of with a sharp kick to the abdomen and finished off with a chop to the neck. It crumpled to the floor in a groaning mess, and before the second more humanoid alien could react, Steve tackled it to the wall, winding the alien with ease and causing it to drop the weapon in its hands.

It scrambled up against the wall when Steve stepped away, hands up as it sucked in air, showing a clear intent to surrender, and did nothing but whimper when Clint nocked an arrow and drew the bowstring back, aiming straight for its head.

“Where do you keep those you capture for Eruk’s zoo?” Steve asked, loudly and clearly.

The alien’s hands shook as it stared down the point of the arrow, “D-d-deck five! Holding cells are in the Eastern sector of deck five!” Its voice was nasally and accented, but still possible to understand, “T-take the lift up and turn right!”

Natasha smiled sweetly, “Thank you. You’ve been very helpful.”

Steve struck the alien with a solid punch, knocking it out so it could join its friend in blissful unconsciousness as Clint placed the arrow back in his quiver.

“Nicely done”, Clint remarked, “That was easier than expected.”

“Shall we move them out of sight?” Steve asked, turning his head to look down the end of the hallway. It did not seem very busy.

“Attention, all remaining guards.” A familiar voice buzzed over the ship’s speaker system. “Be on high alert. Take prisoner all intruders and bring them to the main control room.” 

“Don’t bother”, Natasha answered in response to Steve’s question, “They know we’re here anyway.”

They filtered into the elevator - which just so conveniently reached them at the right time - and pressed the button for deck five, preparing themselves for the inevitable second wave of soldiers that would most likely be just as easy to dispose of as the first wave. Steve stepped forward, holding his shield up before him, and when the elevator reached its floor, the doors opened to an immediate barrage of blasts that subsided within seconds as the bursts of projectiles reflected off the shield and took out the group of guards that had been waiting for them.

“Good thing all his guards are incompetent”, Clint remarked as he stepped out over the writhing bodies and turned right, as the alien had instructed, finding one very notable pathway to a door that seemed tightly locked. It wasn’t a problem for Hawkeye. He whipped out a bomb arrow and blasted the door open, nocking another in case there was anybody waiting for them.

Stepping carefully into the large room, Natasha was the first to spot the long array of cells; rows and rows of beings locked up against their will, all of them probably stolen from their worlds. Alone, afraid, most likely thinking they would never be returning to their families.

“Should we free them?” Clint asked quietly, stepping cautiously down one row and looking into the small cells at the fearful creatures within.

“With all these guards roaming the ship?” Steve shook his head, “I hate to say it, but the safest place for them right now is in these cells.”

“Once we’ve got Amelia to safety, we’ll come back for them”, said Natasha, “Let’s split up, this is a big place, and we need to find her before more guards show up.”

The other two agreed, and went their separate ways down to opposing ends of the room while Natasha perused down the middle rows, scrutinising each and every cell carefully. The more Nat saw, the more sickly she felt. The compartments were so small, barely enough room to stretch, and Eruk had shoved these poor creatures into these tiny spaces for god-knows how long. It was disgusting.

Some of the creatures were curled under blankets, which made it difficult for her to immediately identify whether or not it was Amelia. Calling her name grabbed the attention of the beings, and they all looked timorous and terror-stricken, but they weren’t Amelia; Natasha moved on regrettably, reminding herself that they would not let these creatures meet the fate Eruk had in mind for them.

Moving around into the next row, Natasha was met with a strange scene.

One of the doors of the containment cells was torn from its place, lying crumpled against the floor before it. The cell itself was empty, completely devoid of any life, and Natasha squinted, gaze flicking over the scene as she tried to decipher what it meant.

She was soon joined by Steve and Clint, who had circled round and appeared to have little luck in locating Amelia, and as they approached, they stared at the broken cell, both met with the same air of strangeness and the belief that something peculiar had most certainly gone down.

After a while of silent deliberation, Steve spoke up, “You don’t think…?”

“That this was Amelia’s cell?” Clint finished, “If it is, then Loki must’ve gotten here first. Look at the state of the door.”

“But why wouldn’t he contact any of us?”

“Because he’s an idiot with a one-track mind.”

“Guys”, Natasha interrupted, pointing down at the door, “This door is dented outwards, meaning whatever blasted it came from inside the cell.”

That brought the two men to silence as they again contemplated the state of the thick metal slab.

“What are you saying? That Amelia did this? And she’s traipsing around this ship by herself?” Steve questioned, both eyebrows arched high on his forehead, “There’s no way. Look at this thing.”

“Do you see her anywhere else in here?” Clint challenged, casting a glance back down the way he had come, “Either this is her cell and she managed to escape, or she was never being kept here at all.”

Natasha breathed an inaudible sigh, pressing the tip of her finger to the communicator in her ear, “Tony, do you hear me?”

After a beat, she heard Stark’s voice respond quietly, “Yeah, any news?”

“We found the containment cells, but Amelia isn’t here.”

There was a clear moment in which Tony was clearly considering her words, “What d’you mean she’s not there?”

“There’s no sign of her. We found an empty cell that looks like somebody broke their way out, but…”

“She’s got to be somewhere on this ship. Keep looking, we need to find her quickly.”

“Roger that.” The communication link dropped and Natasha put her hands on her hips, “I was sure we’d find her here with everybody else Eruk has kidnapped. Any ideas on where we go next?”

“Oh, I have an idea.” The three of them swung around at the sound of a sinister voice, catching only a glimpse of General Ularis before they were struck with a discharge of red hot energy that sent them flying.

Loki’s footsteps were loud as he stormed through the endless hallways and corridors of the ship, the sharp pace echoing down each path, serving as a warning for any soldiers who may have thought to chase after him. He would not hesitate to plunge his daggers through their feeble armour to take them down, and he would do so without a shred of remorse; they were helping to keep him from finding his woman, and they would pay the fair price for getting in his way.

He’d been searching for at least half an hour, with no luck as of yet. He’d killed several more guards that had come at him with weapons blazing, but naturally he’d been faster and more adept, killing them with ease. He’d even tried threatening one or two of them into giving him answers, but they’d shaken their heads cluelessly as they cowered and whimpered. It did nothing but infuriate him further, so he simply killed them and moved on.

Slowing at a crossroad of corridors, Loki looked right, left and up ahead. All the paths looked identical, there was no way to tell which direction would lead him to Amelia.

The sound of a door hissing open to his right put him on immediate alert, and he raised his dagger menacingly at the blonde woman who stepped out into the hallway.

“You”, Loki began rigidly, watching as the woman flinched and spun quickly to face him with a gasp, and faltered at the strange familiarity she gave off, “You’re-”

“Prince Loki!”

“-Asgardian?” Loki blinked a few times fast, his wrath dissipating somewhat to make way for confusion as looked the woman up and down. There was no doubt about it, she most definitely hailed from Asgard, and her outburst proved it.

“Your highness!” Her hands were up defensively, most likely due to the fact he was still holding his blade with the intent to attack. He lowered it, pinning the woman with a penetrating stare.

“What are you doing aboard this vessel?” Loki questioned her, a touch of accusation in his tone. To think that an Asgardian would work under the scum that is Eruk and his minions, it was outrageous, and if it was the case, she would atone for her disloyalty.

“Your highness”, she repeated, a slight wobble in her voice, “I am not here willingly. It is a long story, but Eruk has my sister in his awful exhibition and has forced me to work here on his ship”, the woman paused briefly, her eyes scanning his face with what seemed like incredulity, “I almost did not believe Amelia when she told me you were coming-”

Loki’s ears perked up at the mention of Amelia’s name, and he was quick to interrupt the woman, “You’ve seen her? You’ve seen Amelia? Where is she? Take me to her!”

The woman’s eyes widened at the onslaught of questions, “A-as the only healer on this ship, I was appointed to check her over when she first came aboard. She was taken to the containment area, but somehow managed to escape, so I- well, I put her in a resting pod, unbeknownst to Eruk or his underlings. She is safe. I will take you to her”, the woman paused, a slight twinge in her brow, “I am Inga, by the way. If you cared to know, my prince.” 

Loki did not miss the prickle of sourness in her last statement, but he did not admonish her for it. Instead he nodded, eager to find his misplaced partner. “Good. Take me to her, Inga.”

Inga turned and began a fast pace, leading Loki down one of the many winding hallways that bared no differentiation.

“Once I bring you to her, we must find a way to halt this ship before it gets any closer to its destination”, Inga warned as they went, “Eruk has reinforcements on Vercain that could prove to be difficult.”

“Stark is working to call in assistance on our end”, Loki responded, “We will ensure the safety of your sister, and everybody else in that godforsaken place, but Amelia is my priority at this moment.”

Inga looked back curiously over her shoulder for a moment, blinking her eyes as she absorbed his words, and then spoke, “I promise you, she is out of harm’s way. Though she may soon require medical assistance, as the tracking chemical Eruk planted in her appeared to react strangely to her pregnancy.”

Loki halted suddenly, staring at the back of Inga’s head. He had to have misheard her.

“What did you say?”

Inga came to a slow stop, turning around to face Loki with an ultimately faultless expression, “I said, the chemical Eruk has implanted in all his specimens has had an unusual effect as a result of Amelia’s pregnancy.”

Loki was atypically speechless. He continued to stare at Inga as if she’d grown a second head, an unsettling feeling stemming from the pit of his stomach and emerging slowly throughout all his limbs. Low temperatures did not affect Loki, but the feeling of his blood running cold was as staggering as the revelation he had just heard.

A frown grew steadily on Inga’s face as she surveyed Loki’s reaction, “...She hasn’t told you she’s pregnant, has she?”

Chapter Text

Loki felt as though his heart was just a few stray jumps from escaping out of his throat, the violent pumps causing a horrifically uncomfortable pressure to creep up his esophagus. His mind reeled, and he shook his head, blinking away the encroaching fogginess. Pregnant? Amelia wasn’t pregnant. Loki remembered very clearly that she had told him about the contraceptive implant, the little object in her arm that protected her from conceiving a child, and she absolutely would’ve mentioned having the implant removed.

He stared at Inga, his eyes flitting over her face, though he wasn’t truly seeing her. His thoughts were wild and impulsive as he jumped from assumption to assumption, conclusion to conclusion, which only served to make his heart beat faster and faster. He closed his eyes, intent on calming his racing pulse, and shook his head again. Inga was wrong, Amelia was not pregnant. She couldn’t be pregnant, after all the time he had known her, no, Inga was chasing down a false trail. She was entirely incorrect.

“You are mistaken.” Loki said, after sufficiently reacquiring his compose, convincing himself that the words Inga had spoken were untrue, erroneous, inaccurate, and in no way authentic.

Inga tilted her head, crossing her arms while closely scrutinising him, and cooly responded, “I am certainly not mistaken.” There was an edge of something in her voice, something that wordlessly reprimanded him for daring to tell her she had made an error. But any other supposition just didn’t make sense.

If Amelia was pregnant, why hadn’t she told him? Inga’s surprise at Loki’s missing knowledge on the subject suggested Amelia had known before coming aboard the vessel they were currently on, so why would she keep her mouth shut? It was completely unlike Amelia. She never stopped talking, she was an awful liar, and she rarely kept worrying thoughts to herself, which could only propose that Amelia wasn’t pregnant, because by the Gods, she would have told him so.

“No,” Loki repudiated once again, “you are mistaken.” He remained tenacious in his denial of the woman’s statement, his hands clenching and unclenching rhythmically by his sides as a result of the irritation he was experiencing from having the conversation in the first place, instead of finding Amelia.

“So you would rather assume I made an oversight because the reality of the situation scares you, regardless of the fact that I was one of the best healers in Asgard before I was taken?” Inga retorted with indignation.

Loki balked, “I am not scared. I just know for a fact that you are wrong!” 

“For a fact? Clearly not,” Inga quipped, growing increasingly exasperated his lack of acceptance of her words, “and why would I lie to you, Prince Loki? What would I stand to gain from telling you that your partner is pregnant?” She posed the question with her hands on her hips, and a challenging expression on her face.

Loki didn’t like it one bit, namely because he didn’t have a satisfactory answer to her question; the Asgardian woman had no reason to lie if all she wanted was for herself and her sister to be removed from Eruk’s clutches. Loki had already promised her safety just as soon as Amelia was accounted for. Inga stood to gain nothing from proceeding to make up a lie about Amelia being with child.

Loki’s mouth opened, closed, and fell open again, “Well, why would she keep such a thing from me?” While he posed the question aloud, he was not expecting an answer from the woman before him as much as he was hoping to prompt an explanation from his own mind. It didn’t make sense to him that Amelia would not confide in him immediately upon finding out she was pregnant.

It was for this exact reason that Loki just couldn’t bring himself to believe Inga. He needed proof, he needed to hear from Amelia herself, or something.

Inga shook her head, breathing a sigh, and gently shrugged her shoulders, “I’m sure she had her reasons, my prince. Perhaps she simply hadn’t found the right moment to tell you. It can be a worrying thing, and- your partner, she… she seems to have a lot of anxious thoughts, from what I have observed.”

Loki considered the Asgardian woman’s speculation. Inga was right in her surmise that Amelia was a very anxious person, but for Loki, that only served to make the mystery of Amelia’s secrecy even more unusual. When something bothered Amelia, she would reach out for reassurance, not keep it bottled up to take root and grow. She knew better than to do that, after everything she and Loki had been through.

And if Inga’s conjecture was true, what would have been the right moment for Amelia to tell Loki the news? There were plenty of times they had been alone together, plenty of times she’d had the chance to reveal the truth, so what would have caused her to be so reticent on the matter?

Just then, Loki recalled the last words Amelia had spoken before she had been seized forcibly from him. ‘Loki. There’s something I need to tell you. S-something important.’ She had been anxious to the point where she’d begun to shake. Loki had forgotten about it until now, the... excitement of the events that followed having easily taken control of any thoughts about what Amelia had been very close to sharing.

Come to think of it, it hadn’t just been those last few moments before she was taken. Amelia had been exhibiting strange behaviour since the morning of her birthday; quite clearly, Loki remembered that she’d been hiding something from him, tip-toeing around him and looking for any way to postpone the conversation they kept almost having. Loki had just assumed it was something minor at that time.

It wasn’t until Banner and Thor started acting strange that Loki began to believe there was something wrong with Amelia, that an illness had befallen her.

‘She shouldn’t be anywhere near a battle, especially not in her condition.’ 

Those were the words Thor had unthinkingly divulged, the words that led Loki to believe he’d been right in thinking Amelia was fighting some sort of sickness that could threaten to consume her were she not to receive aid. Loki had misinterpreted over and over again, when in fact the reality of Amelia’s secret was quite different.

It all made sense now. Loki had assumed wrong. Amelia was pregnant.

His mouth fell open and he blinked, too tongue-tied to form any words. Inga watched him, inferring the reasoning behind his lack of diction and complete silence.

“You know now that I’m not lying to you?” Inga asked gently.

Loki closed his eyes, steeling his outward expression, and dipped his head in a curt nod. “Take me to her,” he forced out between his teeth, “I need to see that she’s alright.”

Inga resumed a fast-paced walk, this time staying completely silent as she lead Loki to the room she had placed Amelia in, and Loki followed just as briskly, every step forced; on the outside, Loki appeared calm and focused, determined to locate Amelia as soon as possible, but on the inside his mind was like a lively, bustling factory of negative thoughts.

The knowledge that Amelia was pregnant with his child was daunting for a number of reasons, and the fact that Amelia had kept it from him filled him with agitation as he tried to fathom a motive for her lack of announcement. Was Amelia even happy that she was pregnant? Did she even want the child?

If she did want the child, what was she afraid of? Loki did not know what to think. They had never actually talked about the possibilities of having children, whether it was something Amelia explicitly wanted, and what it would mean for the future of their relationship if they did choose to have them.

The thought of having a child, while flustering, was something Loki had considered. Before meeting Amelia, it wasn’t something he had ever given a moment of deliberation, but since forming their relationship, there had been a few times where he’d simply gazed at Amelia and pondered their future together. He couldn’t imagine himself with anybody else. Loki always believed Amelia would make a good mother - she had many qualities that reminded him of Frigga, and for that reason alone, he knew there was nobody more qualified for such a job.

Amelia held an abundance of kindness in her heart. Patience, understanding, compassion, everything that Frigga had blessed him with as he’d grown into the person he was, not to mention Amelia had the innate gift of helping people to overcome bad thoughts and experiences, often with just her presence alone.

The problem was that Loki wasn’t quite sure whether he would make a good father.

Loki wholeheartedly believed that Odin had not been a good father. The old king had shown favouritism amongst his sons, had not spread his love equally between them, and it had always been far too obvious for Loki. Odin had been foolish, hypocritical, and had only ever had his own best interests in mind. He had not gone out of his way to put his children ahead of his desires and the realms he ruled.

So what exactly was a good father like? Loki did not know, how could he? And now, it seemed there was such little time to prepare.

Loki had always known his time with Amelia was limited, and that if they did both want to have children, it would have happened within the next few years or so, but he always assumed a conversation about it would precede actually having the baby.

That was another thing. Babies. They were so fragile, especially ones that had mortal blood flowing through their veins. Loki did not want to think about what could potentially happen if his attention on the baby were to slip for even a second. He didn’t even know how to look after an infant, and the idea of having yet another being to protect was staggering. What if he failed to protect the baby? What would Amelia think of him if something happened to their child? If he ended up being an inadequate father, Amelia would hate him.

There was too much to think about, and every moment he spent away from Amelia allowed another slew of distressing notions to take hold of him. He needed to find her, there was so much he needed to talk to her about. As if he hadn’t been stressed enough over the fact he had failed to keep his partner safe, Loki now had to deal with the fact that he’d let his pregnant partner fall into nefarious clutches.

“This way.” Inga stated after several minutes of winding corridors and long stretches of hallway, and she sped up the closer she got to their destination. Loki followed impatiently, nervous at the prospect of seeing Amelia again after discovering the truth.

Inga came to a sudden stop along a hallway of entrances to small rooms, noiselessly counting the numbers above the doors.

“Number twenty-three.” She declared confidently, quickly fiddling with the keypad. It felt like it took far too long for her to find the correct combination to open it up, but when Loki heard the hiss of the door, he immediately pushed past the Asgardian healer, stepping into the compact room ahead of her.

“Amelia?” He called, and was greeted with nobody. He pulled open the door to the small toilet facility, finding it was also empty. He turned back to Inga, far more impatient than before, “It’s the wrong pod. She’s not in here.”

Inga blinked, stepping back to look up at the pod number above the door, before frowning, “No. It was twenty-three,” she swallowed, her face paling, “It was. I’m not mistaken. It was twenty-three.”

Loki felt his throat tighten. “Where is she then?” He asked through gritted teeth, and he felt his pulse begin to quicken for entirely different reasons from before. “Somebody found her?”

Inga shuffled past Loki into the room, wide-eyed as she scanned the empty pod searchingly, before gently pulling open one of the ajar cupboards. The Asgardian woman peered into the empty cupboard, and then turned back to Loki with a grim expression, “I don’t think anybody found her.”

“What do you mean? She isn’t here.”

Inga clasped her hands together firmly, her posture rigid, “I think Amelia may have left the pod, disguised as one of Eruk’s guards.”

“You didn’t lock her in?” Loki snapped accusedly.

“What? No, of course not!” Inga returned outrageously, “It’s not my fault you chose somebody just as mischievous as you! How was I to know she would leave a safe room?”

A fresh wave of trepidation engulfed Loki, and he shifted his weight, drawing in a deep breath, “Why would she do that?”

“She wanted to meet you in the hangar,” Inga told him with a sigh, dropping her gaze to the floor, “clearly she did not want to wait.”

Loki stepped back, “In the hangar? She went to the hangar?”

“Presumably.” Inga responded with a light shrug.

The satisfying sight of the many lifeless bodies Loki had left lying in puddles of their own blood within the hangar was suddenly not so satisfying. In fact, dread was rapidly replacing the emotion. “No.” He mouthed the word, shaking his head, trying to persuade himself that every single one of the soldiers he had killed had been trying to kill him first. But in his mind, he knew that wasn’t true. Some of them had been running for their lives.

There was every chance one of them could have been Amelia.

“No.” He spoke again, a little less quietly, and promptly turned on his foot, rushing out of the room and sprinting back the way he had come, ignoring Inga’s shouts for him to come back.

“I’ve managed to intercept the comms link,” whispered Tony, “now I just need to find the right frequency, and theoretically I should be able to contact the Benetar.”

Bruce glanced back from his poised position near the door to the room they’d taken refuge within; with a stroke of luck, their aimless wandering had brought them close enough to the control room of the ship, within range of the communications signal, at which point they’d decided to situate themselves in the closest vacant room, one that just so happened to be a sort of broom closet, so as to avoid any passing guards.

“Good. Get to it then, I’m a little claustrophobic over here.”

“How do we know the Guardians will even come?” Tony asked after a moment, “We’re not exactly best buddies. What if they rip us off?” It was true that the Guardians had fought Thanos alongside them, but would the group of oddballs come flying to their support at the Avenger’s request?

“Just remind them that we’re Thor’s friends. Rocket and Groot love him.” Bruce responded with a quiet snort, “Look, from what I know, they’re an honourable bunch. There’s potentially thousands of souls on that planet in need of help, I doubt they’d turn a blind eye.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Tony nodded, “But if you’re wrong-”

“Shh.” Bruce rose a silencing finger, quickly hushing his friend at the sound of footsteps passing by outside. When the noise had diminished, Bruce turned back to Tony, “You were saying?”

“If you’re wrong, I’ll just tell Quill he’s a moron and hopefully he’ll come racing over to throw hands.”

Bruce laughed, “Maybe.”

Tony straightened after a few minutes of silence, “Wait, I think I got it. Sending a communications request now.”

Bruce waited with bated breath for somebody on the other end of the comms link to answer, while simultaneously pressing his ear to the door to listen out for any approaching soldiers. It felt very much like speaking at any volume above a whisper would instantly draw anyone on their side of the ship straight to their hiding place.

A telltale beep followed by a somewhat disgruntled voice was heard. “Hey, who’s this? How’d you get this number? If you’re tryin’ tah sell us somethin’, save your breath-”

“Rocket, is that you?” Tony asked in a hushed tone. He could recognise that raccoon’s acute voice anywhere.

“Yeah, it’s me. Who the hell’s this? And why’re you whisperin’?”

“It’s Tony Stark, from Earth.”

“Ehhhhh…” Rocket made a noise of equivocation, drawing out the syllable to an annoying extent, enough to the point that Tony believed Rocket knew exactly who he was and that he was just messing around, “I’m not sure I remember ya, buddy. Have I stolen somethin’ from you before?”

“Rocket, let me speak to Quill. This is urgent.”

“Quill? Why’d ya wanna speak to Quill? I’m the captain here-”

Another voice, although faint, became apparent in the background, “Hey! Outta my chair, you overgrown rat. Are you prank-calling people or something?” It was most certainly Peter Quill, and Tony sent Bruce a weary look as he wondered why he had to put up with this nonsense.

“Quill, you there? It’s Tony Stark.”

There was some grumbling in the background, probably from Rocket, and then the noise of somebody shuffling grumpily. “Tony Stark? What’s up? Need my help saving the universe again?”

“Not quite,” Tony began, a note of sarcasm underlying his words, before he resumed a more serious demeanour, “Amelia’s been taken by some dick in a spaceship, and-”

“Whoa, hold up. Who’s Amelia?”

Tony rolled his eyes, “Amelia. I think you met her briefly in Wakanda. She’s got a mousy face. Messy brown hair, glasses?”

A beat of silence followed, and then Quill responded with some recognition, “Oh, oh yeah, I think I remember. The one who looked like she totally wasn’t meant to be there.”

“Right,” Tony confirmed, “Anyway, we infiltrated this guy’s ship to try and get her back, but this is way bigger than we initially thought. We’ve hijacked his communications link to contact you. This guy- Eruk, he’s got a whole planet full of kidnapped aliens and he keeps them locked up like it’s a damn zoo. We need backup if we’re gonna save them all. Think you can lend us a hand?”

“Holy cow,” Quill mumbled and breathed a sigh. A few clicking noises and a beep sounded, and then he continued to say, “I’ve got a lock on your signal… ah, gimme a couple hours and I’ll see what we can do.”

Tony felt his jaw tighten with irritation, “We might not have a couple hours.” 

He was met with silence, “Quill? Hey?” Tony blinked, straining his ears for any indication that the connection was still in progress, but all he could hear was the very subtle presence of static. “Unbelievable. He hung up.”

Bruce gave an almost exasperated exhale, taking a moment to think about their backup plan in the event that the Guardians didn’t turn up, “Well. See if you can disable the ships comms. Might stop Eruk from contacting anyone who might come to his aid.”

“Good idea,” Tony nodded and set about doing just that. Given that it wasn’t too difficult to jump onto the ships main comms unit, it probably wouldn’t be too complicated to deactivate it entirely. Eruk seemed shockingly unprepared for somebody in his line of business; it was as if he relied on the same four individuals to do his bidding and had never encountered a problem up until now.

To think, if Eruk hadn’t chosen to pick out Amelia, the Avengers wouldn’t be on the ship thwarting his plans at that very moment, and Eruk would have blissfully continued his kidnapping scheme to own an interstellar zoo. How very lucky that Eruk had messed with the wrong group of people.

Tony hoped that one of the others had already located Amelia and taken her out of the hostile environment the ship posed. There was a layer of guilt just below that hope. Of all the people Eruk could have taken, it had to be Amelia. The last thing Tony had ever wanted was for Amelia to be drawn into anything like this.

The HUD of his iron man helmet gave an indicative beep of success, and Tony realised F.R.I.D.A.Y had completed his request, triumphant in having blocked Eruk’s comms network; his lips curved upwards at the minor victory.

“Done. We should assist in finding Amelia.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Bruce once again listened for movement outside the door before opening it and stepping out, Tony hot on his trail, “but which way do we go?”

“Haven’t a clue,” Tony responded, “this ship was not built intuitively, it’s all over the place. We’ll have to pick a direction and stick to it.” As an afterthought, he pinged Natasha’s communicator in order to check for an update on her situation. “Hey Nat, how’s the search party going?”

There was no response, so he tried again and was once again met with nothing.

“Uh… try Steve or Clint?” Bruce suggested warily, and Tony did so, only to be greeted by the same continued silence. “Optimistically, I would say that frying the ships comms unit somehow interrupted the link between our own communicators, but-”

“But they’re not running on the same frequency,” Tony finished with concern underlying his voice, “so, pessimistically, something’s happened to ‘em.”

Bruce gave a hum of deliberation, “That ship-wide alert from Eruk asked for intruders to be taken to the main control room. How about we search for that?”

Before Tony could speak, something small hit him between the shoulder blades, attaching itself to the metal and sending an electromagnetic pulse throughout his suit, disrupting all of its primary operations and rendering it temporarily useless. Tony deduced this all in several seconds as he fell to his knees with a panicked grunt and hastily escaped the suit with emergency ejection.

“No need to search, I’ll take you straight to your friends.”

Lexir stood several metres behind them, one hand on her hip and the other clutching another strange device tightly, her face was marred in a deep scowl and there was a bandage covering the side of her forehead where Loki had struck her. Tony scrambled to his feet, looking to Bruce who was already preparing to transform into the Hulk. His fists were clenched and the patches of green on his skin were becoming more prominent by the second.

With unpredictable speed, Lexir launched the second device toward Bruce; it caught him around the neck, closing like a collar, and was immediately effective in whatever it was doing to him, because he fell to the floor, unable to recover from his interrupted transformation, and spasmed as if experiencing a seizure.

“Bruce!” Tony exclaimed, before directing his anger toward the blue-skinned woman, “Whatever you’re doing to him, stop right now! We’ll come quietly!”

Lexir gave a foul smile as Bruce continued to writhe on the ground, “Well of course you’ll come quietly. You won’t be making any noise after I knock you out.”

Amelia was lost again. 

She trudged through the winding corridors of the ship, having been far too slow to catch up with the two Asgardian gods who had taken off from the hangar what seemed like ages ago; it didn’t matter that Amelia had been training for months to work on her speed and stamina, there was no way a mortal could outrun either Thor or Loki.

And now she was too lost to remember the way back to the hangar, so it wasn’t like she could simply head back to the rest of the Avengers, waltzing in like ‘hey guys, I was here the whole time but I’m an impulsive, clingy dumbass so I decided to chase after my boyfriend instead of staying put in a safer place.’ Instead, she was moping, back to square one, it seemed.

She let out a sigh, slumping down to sit with her back to the wall in order to give herself a moment of introspection and reprieve from the frustration of wandering aimlessly. 

She shouldn’t have left that damn little room Inga had put her in. Getting caught in the middle of a battle between her friends and her kidnappers, while dressed as one of her kidnappers, would’ve been an absolutely mindless way to die. Amelia got very lucky. She could’ve been dead now if the stars were just a little less in her favour, but she would count her blessings.

Amelia realised now just how wreckless her decision to jump into the action had been; she felt tremendously guilty, not only because she had impetuously killed one of the soldiers, but because she had willingly placed her unborn child in danger with her actions. It was inexcusable. She just hadn’t considered the fact that her death wouldn’t just mean the loss of one, but of two. Despite the fear she had felt at the thought of being a mother, she wanted her baby to be born, she wanted to have a family with Loki, and she wanted to gift him the pleasure of being a good father.

She was going to be more careful from now on, instead of rushing foolhardy into danger. She would take the time to think through the consequences of her actions, she would put the life of her baby before her own selfish notions that she could be a hero, and she wouldn’t, under any circumstances, kill anybody ever again.

Amelia gave an uncomfortable groan as her stomach grumbled loudly. Great. She was goddamn hungry again.

A rush of gloom fell over her as she ascertained her predicament; she felt hungry enough that she could eat a horse, no doubt due to the effects of her pregnancy, and was probably a few too many lightyears away from her favourite restaurant. The guilt of her previous actions was agitating her into a fluster, and the fact that she was now once again lost and had no idea where she could find help was basically the icing on the cake.

“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Amelia snapped eloquently, and slammed her balled fist into the wall beside her. The ensuing smash made her jump, and Amelia quickly scuttered away on her hands and knees, crawling quickly to the other side of the hallway and looking back to witness the very prominent crack that the impact of her strike had caused.

She looked down at her palm which was still crackling with electrical green energy that slowly simmered away under her scrutiny; swallowing tightly, Amelia pushed herself up off the floor, walking sheepishly away from the destruction she had caused. Clearly, she needed to be more careful.

The sound of footsteps drew Amelia’s attention, and she looked up, moving tentatively to look around the corner of the corridor that dispersed into three separate directions. She saw Inga, a very unhappy expression on her face as her footsteps, no longer light and graceful, echoed loudly down the hall every time she brought her foot down. Her pace was quick and grumpy, and upon looking up and catching sight of Amelia, she instantly became tense and slowed her pace to something more placid.

“Uh, I’m on my way back to medical. No need to make a scene, soldier.” She sounded defensive, waving her hand dismissively, as if trying to diffuse the matter, and that’s when Amelia realised Inga couldn’t possibly know it was her.

Amelia lifted her visor, “It’s me.”

Inga blinked, coming to a stop, and then her apprehensive expression immediately transformed into anger. “You!” The Asgardian woman grabbed Amelia by the arm and began dragging her along, “By the Gods, you are a pain in my rear-end, if you’ll pardon the expression. Why couldn’t you just stay where I left you? Putting yourself in danger like that, what an absolutely foolish thing to do!”

“Whoa- ah, hey! I’m sorry, okay? I know it was stupid”, Amelia frowned, her head filling with shame, “I understand that now. I’m sorry.”

Inga continued to pout, grumbling under her breath. She must have truly been upset to lose her patience - a huge contrast from the quiet, forbearing healer she had met before.

“You made me look like an imbecile in front of Prince Loki-”

Amelia froze, almost tripping up as Inga pulled her along, “Wait, you saw him?”

Inga came to a stop, thankfully releasing Amelia’s arm from her harsh grip, “We bumped into each other, he ordered me to lead him to you, and I did, and then he-” she cut herself off, a brief flicker of guilt passing over her face before she fixed it, “I brought him to the pod where I left you, but you weren’t there, and I realised what you must have done. You stole the spare soldier’s uniform from the cupboard and left the room. You should have seen the Prince’s face. He looked distraught.”

Amelia drew in a gentle gasp, the remorse in her heart multiplying tenfold. If she’d done as she was told, she and Loki would have been reunited by now, but her lack of rationality meant that her partner was still searching for her, worried for her safety.

“I… I’m sorry,” Amelia murmured.

Inga looked hard at her, and it felt like the Asgardian woman was staring into her soul. Eventually, Inga sighed, and her expression softened ever so slightly.

“You really have the prince wrapped around your finger, don’t you?”

“Huh?”

“He didn’t waste a single second asking me to bring him to you,” she began, “and I don’t think I have ever seen him looking so discomposed before. He only ever sported a look of cool self-control whenever I happened to pass him in the halls of Asgard.”

A feeling a warmth rippled through Amelia. The knowledge that Loki was driving himself half mad in search for her was oddly comforting, but at the same time, she hated that she was the cause for his distress.

“But where is he now?” Amelia questioned, turning to look back the way Inga had come.

“He raced off to find you…” Inga gave a frustrated sigh, “I tried to tell him to stick with me - I think I have a plan to help stop Eruk, but I can’t do it alone.”

Amelia wanted to ask more about Loki, but she restrained herself, fearing her line of questioning would seem selfish, “What’s your plan? Can I help?”

Inga shook her head, “I would rather not place you in any more danger, Amelia, and I’m not just saying that because I think Loki would ensure my everlasting pain were anything to happen to you. You are in a delicate state, with both your pregnancy and the unforeseen side effect of the Alcamax running through your blood. You need to be kept safe.”

Amelia frowned, but nodded her head, “I understand. So are you gonna put me back in one of those resting pods?”

Inga huffed, “Certainly not. I’m not making the same mistake again. You’re not leaving my side,” she lowered Amelia’s visor and held up a stern finger, “if any of Eruk’s soldiers come our way, you’re a patient of mine and you’re concussed. So just let me do the talking, understand?”

Amelia nodded her head, “Got it.”

“Good. Follow me closely, please.” Inga said, resuming her assured pace, so much so that Amelia almost had to jog to keep up. The woman’s legs were long and her strides were powerful. Were all Asgardians so sturdy and nimble, regardless of their body types?

“This place is honestly a maze,” Amelia remarked after some time of walking through hallways that looked far too much like all the others. If she didn’t know any better, she would assume they were walking in circles.

“I know,” Inga responded gravely, “Just another thing that makes you feel lost and locked in forever. The only time I ever see the outside world is when we alight on Vercain, and even then it is not for long. I would rather spend that down-time visiting my sister in her cell rather than wandering the dead planet.”

Amelia frowned, falling silent for a few minutes, “We will rescue your sister, and you will both be free,” she asserted carefully, “you would like it on Earth, I think. New Asgard is located in Norway, and Norway has some beautiful scenery. Not to mention, you can see the Aurora Borealis in the night sky at certain times of the year. I’ve never seen it for myself, but I’ve seen pictures… it’s supposed to be breathtaking.” Suddenly, the thought of herself and Loki curled up beside each other, cosy in a blanket as they watched the Northern Lights sweep through the darkness of the night sky, fluttered through her mind. 

After what she had been through, she yearned for the peace of such a scenario.

“Maybe when we go back to Earth, I can take some time off work and I can vacation in Norway with Loki,” Amelia murmured, drifting into full daydreaming mode at the notion, “-and we could, like, stay in a cabin by a lake, breathe in the smell of nature every morning, maybe go swimming or something. I just wanna get away from the city for a while and have some time with Loki… just the two of us. I think he would like that too.”

Inga was quiet for a while, and Amelia thought that perhaps she had drowned out Amelia’s mindless fantasizing, until the Asgardian woman spoke again, “It is astounding.”

“Hmm?” Amelia articulately mumbled, “What’s astounding?”

“It is difficult for me to imagine the prince settling in such a way. You have changed him… for the better, I believe.”

Amelia’s face warmed behind her visor, and a genuine smile formed on her face, “That’s sweet of you to say. But… well, I think Loki always had the potential to be gentle and compassionate… he just needed someone to persuade him to show that side of himself.”

The silence between Amelia’s words and Inga’s response was even longer this time.

“You and Prince Loki… I think, together, you will create a wonderful family.” Her words were gentle and undisputed, and it filled Amelia with hope and determination. Although overflowing with gratitude from Inga’s blessing, Amelia did not quite know how to respond, but she was sure the Asgardian woman could sense her appreciation all the same.

After another few identical corridors, Amelia couldn’t help but break the sound of silence with another curious question.

“So what is your plan, then?” Amelia enquired. If there was a way to help to Avengers, even if Amelia wasn’t a part of the plan, she wanted to know exactly what it entailed.

Inga cast a glance over her shoulder, looking past Amelia prudently to check they were alone, before lowering her voice, “The engine room is at the rear end of this ship. If we get too close to Vercain, Eruk would easily be able to signal for more backup soldiers and shift the balance of power in his favour. I think suspending or event destroying the ship’s engine would be the most logical plan of action at this time. That way, we would be able to retain an advantage,” she paused, glancing back at Amelia with an arched eyebrow, “if you believe your friends are able to deal with Lord Eruk on their own, that is.”

Amelia smiled mischievously, though Inga could not see her expression, “What? You don’t have faith in King Thor and Prince Loki to get the job done?” Not to mention, the rest of the Avengers, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the clique that brought down the Mad Titan Thanos. They were all incredibly capable of taking Eruk down, Amelia was sure of it.

Inga visibly blushed, “What? No, of course I have faith in them! I was just saying- I mean, I haven’t even seen King Thor yet, and Prince Loki was too captivated with searching for you, and-”

“Relax, Inga,” Amelia giggled, “I didn’t mean anything by it.” It was amusing to see the composed healer so ruffled by Amelia’s playful comment. She amended her assurance by adding, “Thor and Loki will be victorious, they’ve dealt with villains far more threatening than that purple squid who calls himself a Lord.”

At this, Inga let out a subdued chuckle. 

The seemingly endless walk continued; Amelia wasn’t sure if they were headed to the engine room or whether Inga wanted to take her somewhere safe before going about her plan, or whether she was searching for Loki in order to help put her plan into action. Amelia wasn’t sure where the other Avengers were; after rushing out of the hangar, she hadn’t seen any one of them, but then again the ship was huge, and expecting to bump into them out of all the areas they could be on the ship was some rather wishful thinking.

They crossed an intersection of more winding hallways, and a noise caught Amelia’s attention. She slowed, glancing down one direction searchingly, and came to a stop at the sight of movement. One soldier crawled shakily from around a corner, scrambling to escape something, and then another soldier was thrown through the air, slamming into the opposing wall before sliding to the floor, unconscious.

Thor stepped out from around the same corner, his face a display of annoyance and impatience. Amelia felt a swell of excitement and relief, and quickly called out to the Asgardian woman, “Inga, wait! Come back!” and she took off without waiting for Inga’s response, rushing towards Thor with her arms outstretched, forgetting once again that her face was completely covered.

Instead of greeting her with a powerful hug, Thor’s large hand grasped her throat and lifted her off the ground with no effort whatsoever; immediately Amelia felt her heart jumping into her throat, her legs swinging uselessly as she tried in vain to loosen the god’s firm hand on her esophagus. Amelia understood her mistake far too late.

“Where is Eruk?” Thor asked, his voice authoritative, and booming as loud as a crack of thunder and lightning. 

“Th… or…” Amelia could barely expel the name from her throat. There was no way the god could hear it over her choked noises behind the helmet she wore. Her shaky fingers fumbled across the edge of her visor, searching for the button that would make it rise as she continued to squeeze retching sounds from her throat.

After what felt like an extraordinary amount of time, she managed to press in the button, and the darkened visor lifted, revealing her face. Amelia knew the moment Thor recognised who he was strangling, because she saw the way his eyes widened to the size of saucers, and felt his hand twitch and release her, but in the same fraction of a second, a dainty foot came into contact with the god’s handsome face, and he was propelled to the floor at break-neck speed.

Amelia was on her feet again, though buckled and gasping for air, and she comprehended after a few rigid moments that Inga had hook-kicked Thor in the jaw, and in a dress, no less.

“Do not touch her, you brute!” Inga all but screamed, rushing to pull Amelia back out of Thor’s reach, adopting a defensive stance. That was when Amelia realised that, wow, Inga could really fight.

“I- iss okay-” Amelia stammered as she rushed to take in breath, “Inga- it’s okay… it’s Thor.”

Upon recovering partially from having her throat squeezed by a very huge, intimidating hand, Amelia took a moment to examine Thor, who still hand his ass planted on the floor, rubbing his face as he stared up in shock.

“Wait,” Inga whispered tightly, “What?” The look on her face was that of extreme mortification, but Amelia was more amused by the look of utter dread on Thor’s face.

“Amelia? Oh Gods, Amelia, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know- oh Gods, are you okay?” He rose quickly to his feet, stepping forward to cup Amelia’s face affectionately while also looking her over for any sign of injury, “Please, forgive me. Are you okay, Amelia?”

Amelia gasped out a soft laugh, resting her hand on Thor’s arm, “I’m fine… really, I’m okay… I forgot I was still wearing a disguise,” her face turned sheepish, still slightly red from the strain, “Um, this is Inga, she…” Amelia trailed off when Thor turned his attention to the woman who had kicked him off his feet.

“You have a strong kick, caught me off guard,” Thor told Inga after blinking rapidly for a few seconds, “and you’re… Asgardian, aren’t you?” A hint of wonder was clear in his voice.

Inga audibly swallowed, her face filled with bashful regret, “Your majesty! I am so sorry! I truly did not recognise you! Your appearance has changed so much! If I’d known it was you, I would never have-”

Thor rose a silencing hand, which quickly had Inga sealing her lips shut, and he gave a faint smile to show he was not offended, “Please, do not apologise. If it was not for you, I may have hurt Amelia even more than I did,” he cast Amelia an apologetic look before turning his attention back to Inga, staring at her with a dumbstruck expression.

Inga returned the stare, her mouth just as agape, and her eyelashes fluttering as she struggle to find the words to respond, “Oh- oh, but I must apologise! It was quite uncouth of me to, ah, greet you, in such a way,” she looked to the floor, appearing to cringe at her own words, before once again meeting Thor’s gaze. She curtsied, “My name is Inga, your majesty.”

“Do not worry about it,” Thor advised, his smile even stronger than before, “It did not hurt too badly. It is a pleasure to meet you, Inga.”

Amelia glanced between the heavily blatant, besotted looks Inga and Thor were sharing, a knowing smirk curling at the sides of her lips, for she knew exactly what those stares meant.

Chapter Text

Loki stood before the sea of lifeless corpses, slowly scanning the bodies for any grim hint or possibility that one might be his lover. The rest of the Avengers were long gone, set out upon their individual missions, leaving behind the husks of the remaining armoured guards - the ones Loki hadn’t slaughtered without hesitation - with their blood painting the tiled flooring.

He’d tried to recall whether he’d spotted any strange behaviour from any of them, but it was no use. He had been far more focused on thrusting his blade through Dhox’s heart to spare even a glance toward the soldiers, especially given that they had all been so little of a threat.

And after he’d killed Dhox... well, no doubt Amelia’s behaviour would have been indistinguishable from the screams of the erratic, flailing guards. Nothing had stood out, there had been no indication that Amelia was present. 

But that wasn’t enough for Loki to be sure of himself that Amelia was safely situated somewhere else on the ship. He would not be satisfied unless he saw her alive with his own two eyes.

Tentatively, he stepped forward and squatted beside the closest cadaver, pushing the visor of the helmet up to reveal the dead eyes of an alien. Good. Not Amelia. That was one down, and at a guess, about fifty more to go, so he moved to check the next closest body, and the next, and the next after that. He knew that with every deceased soldier he discovered, the more likely it became that Amelia’s body would be the next one to find, and the thought loomed, ever present in his mind. While he had grown more frantic as he examined the bodies, his movements began to lessen their haste as the number of remaining carcasses grew thin.

He knelt by the forty-eight body, and his hands froze before reaching their mark. A tremor burrowed through his long fingers and caused his digits to lock up. What if this one was Amelia? His eyes darted across the unmoving corpse as he tried to discern whether the shape of the soldier’s body was similar to Amelia’s. It was difficult to perceive from the positioning of the armour, but they definitely had a more effeminate build, with curves that mirrored that of Amelia’s.

A chill ran up Loki’s spine and he forced himself to move, pushing the visor up from its downward position.

It wasn’t Amelia.

But relief did not sink in, because there was one more body to check.

Loki stepped over the soldiers he had already identified, his boots leaving sticky red footprints as he went; the blood had stained his legs from where he had knelt in the setting puddles, and his fingers were smudged with it from where he had opened the helmets, leaving scarlet fingerprints on whatever he touched. 

He dropped to one knee beside the concluding, perished soldier - at least Loki hoped it was just another soldier, because then he could take a moment to allay his fears - but until he mustered the courage to raise the final visor, he would persistently dwell on the notion that if he or one of the other Avengers killed Amelia in the hangar, the unidentified soldier lying upon the ground before him was her. It was too terrible a thought to bare.

Loki hated how frozen he felt, paralysed with the fear that he would soon see the deceased face of the only woman he ever loved. The soldier had bled out from their neck, which meant it was Loki himself who had killed them - slit their throat without a second thought. He probably hadn’t even glanced at them as he did it.

His hands were shaking again.

It was stupid - how vulnerable Loki felt in that moment. What was the probability that out of almost fifty soldiers, he would discover Amelia last? It was probably such a small chance, and yet he was wavering. Whether Amelia was dead or alive, his hesitance wouldn’t change the outcome. He had to control his trepidation and tilt back the visor.

He reached for the visor, his fingers barely brushing the helmet before the sound of very subtle movement caught his sensitive ears. Loki rose up in an instant to a more guarded position, turning sharply and conjuring a dagger in the very same motion; he launched the blade towards the newcomer, having discerned from their detrimental aura that they were not friendly long before physically recognising who it was that stood before him.

They avoided the sharp projectile like it was nothing, side-stepping it with impressive speed and deft manoeuvres. It was Alzill. She was General Ularis’s teammate, and the one who struck Amelia before she was taken from him. The mere sight of her fuelled his fury and had him gritting his teeth - he would surely teach her a lesson for her brutish actions against Amelia.

Loki remained still, studying her manner and the precise motions of her body as she stepped almost noiselessly into the hangar. She eyed him coldly, the iciness of her stare a huge contrast to the fiery orange of her eyes and the red-pink colour of her skin. She was very similar in appearance to Ularis. Loki suspected they were part of the same race, possibly even related, the only bodily difference between them was the slight deviations of their facial structures, plus Alzill’s hair was quite a bit shorter.

“Have you come to die?” Loki asked coolly, his eyes flicking briefly to where his dagger had embedded itself into the wall beyond the hangar door. His attack had missed because Alzill possessed great speed - she was not too fast for his eyes, however. His senses were far superior to that of a mortal, he was an Asgardian god, and she was nothing - just another disposable being intent on messing with the wrong group of people.

Alzill did not speak. She kept her expression neutral and her eyes unblinking as she stepped slowly over the bodies, curving around Loki to an area that would allow her better footing - and Loki permitted it - for neither of them could afford to slip in a puddle of blood and relinquish their balance. Loki followed the woman’s steps intently, waiting for her to make any sudden moves, but she too was remaining cautious, considering Loki’s strength and skill just as attentively.

Her silence was beyond agitating.

If the thought of ripping the woman apart was so cathartic, then surely the action itself would be even more so.

Alzill had circled Loki almost 180 degrees before she came to a stop, the scrutiny in her eyes completely unchanged. Slowly, her mouth pulled into a smug smirk, which served only to boil Loki’s blood. Without giving any indication of his intent, Loki furtively conjured another blade, concealing it from view in his hand, and waited for the woman to make her move.

The woman rushed forward suddenly, but Loki’s preserving vigilance ensured he was not taken off-guard. He jammed the blade forward, missing her by only an inch as she managed to evade, but was nonetheless satisfied by the brief widening of her eyes - the microexpression betrayed her surprise. Loki swung his dagger back the other way to slash her once more, but again she arched herself away from the impact. Perhaps she was faster than Loki originally surmised, but Loki had more stamina beyond a shadow of a doubt - he could come at her endlessly, but she would tire eventually.

She brought her fist forward to deliver a vicious strike, but Loki caught the punch in his palm, this time delighting in the way her eyes narrowed with agitation. Unfortunately, she pulled back before Loki’s blade could embed itself between her ribs.

Backing off somewhat, Alzill leered at Loki from below her brow and raised her hand, palm flat and facing towards him, and after a beat, a fiery projectile ignited in the centre of her hand, building in size and brightness by the second. Loki felt a flutter of trepidation at the sight - he had to be mindful, fire was his weakness.

Of all the things, why did this woman have the ability to manipulate fire?

She hurled the scorching blast his way, but Loki was quick and sure-footed, avoiding the resulting explosion that occurred just milliseconds after the blast bypassed his head, but he felt the heat travel across his skin, sinking through his leather attire and leaving the air around him uncomfortably stifling. If one of Alzill’s blazing blasts was to hit him head on, it would likely cause perilous injuries, or in a worst case scenario, death.

Another wave of searing flames was thrown towards him, and naturally he leapt aside in a bid to escape the heat, but did not consider the splash of wet blood on the underside of his boot as he landed. He slipped, managing to elude the licking flames by mere inches, but dropped his blade in the process.

For a fleeting moment, he was trapped in the torment he once thought forgotten, the heat triggering a painful recollection of the haunting, artificial images Thanos had implanted in his mind. He saw a white-hot firestorm raging before him, the destruction eating away at everything and everyone he was supposed to keep safe.

Loki blinked himself out of it. To think, even more than half a year later, he was still faltering in the face of an old nightmare. He couldn’t let himself lose focus. Amelia was not burning alive, no. She was there, somewhere on the large ship, looking for him, and within her there was a growing life - a growing life that would mold their future together. Their future as a family.

He pushed himself to his feet, feeling the drops of sweat roll down his neck; if he couldn’t fight fire with fire, he could at least fight fire with magic. With a swell of wrathful determination, he stopped trying to evade and let his magic surge through him, culminating in the palms of his hands in the form of familiar green static.

Loki wouldn’t let his fear of fire dictate the outcome of his battle with Alzill. He could deal with a few awry flames, all he needed to do was summon the power to extinguish them, and he knew just how to do that.

As a being of ice, his weakness was fire, so perhaps for Alzill the reverse was correct.

And if he was wrong, it would likely cause him a whole lot of pain - but it was a risk he was willing to take.

He released a torrent of pure magical energy, almost sweeping Alzill off her feet. The attack interrupted her balance, causing her to stagger as she tried not to fall, and Loki stole the opportunity away and took the brief period in which Alzill was distracted to begin his transformation and convert into his Jotun form.

It was the only course of action that made sense if he wanted to douse the woman’s fiery magic and give it no chance to reignite before he could slay her. While Loki despised the form, he could not deny that it’s power over the element of ice was rather handy in his current situation, and plus, the only person who had to look upon it would very soon be dead.

A feeling of utmost relief overcame him when the air in the room significantly cooled, and he was no longer sweltering from the awful heat; with his Jotun form came a wonderful breeze, rapidly soothing him from the previous onslaught - it was like a whirlwind of icy fragments kicked up, a sort of small blizzard, and he let the power rise higher and higher, reaching out like freezing tendrils to whip at his foe.

Alzill had backed away, a delightful look of irate frustration upon her previously aloof face - she appeared unwilling to step anywhere close to him for fear the windborne frost would perforate her skin and allow the dreadful cold to set in.

Good. It was fun to see his opponent looking so lost and apprehensive after putting up such an austere facade for the first half of their fight. This time, it was Loki’s turns to show off his power, and by the looks of it, it would spell the end for the fire-wielding alien. 

Loki revelled in the metaphorical blanket of ice that had fallen upon the room, watching as the dark blue bled through his skin, consuming any pale patches that remained. From the look on Alzill’s face, she was taken completely off-guard, fearful at the pernicious sight of his deep red eyes. Loki let the cold flow out of his body, sending a jarring wave of microscopic ice shards in Alzill’s direction.

She threw her arms up to block the assault, and finally released a noise of pain as the brunt of it embedded into her limbs. She scrambled back again to avoid further afflictions, and raised her arms, her boldness returning as she summoned forth more fire to her hands, readying herself in a rigid stance, but Loki merely took another step forward, his icy magic extending and extinguishing the flames like they were nothing.

Loki smiled. The look on Alzill’s face was exquisite. She really thought she could stand up to the power of a god. It did not matter that fire held a natural advantage over the element of ice, because his raw, numbing power was far more dominant than her pitiful control over heat. He innately triumphed over weak creatures, Alzill included.

“And now,” Loki spoke, “you die.”

Then, without a hint of intimation that it was coming, Alzill flung her arm and something clamped tightly around his throat within the same few moments, breaking his train of thought immediately and filling him with alarm. He was on the floor in seconds, writhing and choking - a collar - and his power was withdrawing back into him, refusing to abide to his will. He tried to remove it, pull it apart, but it was somehow unyielding to his strength.

Despite his might, the collar did not budge, and his skin began to return to its usual pale hue; Loki did not know what was happening, but he certainly did not like it. It felt as though his energy was draining at a distressingly swift rate, and it left him scrabbling at the accessory to no avail. It was tight around his neck, leaving him little room to breathe, and to make matters worse, his body was beginning to feel disturbingly hot again.

Alzill moved to stand over him, and though she was not smiling, she infuriatingly exuded complacency.

“What… what is this?” Loki coughed out, trying to wriggle himself into a position that allowed him more leverage to pull at and loosen the collar, but with each attempt he was left more feeble and exhausted than the last.

Finally, Alzill spoke for the first time, but her voice was clipped and her explanation was brief, “The device around your neck neutralises not just your magical energy, but your natural strength, leaving you as frail as a newborn.”

Unwilling to believe the woman could possess such a device, Loki kicked out his leg, trying to sweep below Alzill in order to knock her off balance, but instead she grabbed him tightly by the shin and began to drag him across the tiled floor in a tremendously undignified way. In response, Loki clawed at the ground, summoning all his might to pull away from the woman, but it was of no use. His strength was somehow suppressed, and there was nothing he could do.

It was humiliating enough to be pulled about by the leg while grappling for any kind of control over the situation, but then the woman continued to drag him through the bloodied field of lifeless bodies, staining his clothing further; he let out a garbled obscenity, hissing out a promise of death the moment he was free of the cursed collar, but there was no way for him to appear intimidating in his current predicament.

Loki was hauled out of the hangar, no doubt to be brought before Eruk himself.

He never did get to check that final body.

If the mortification of being incapacitated hadn’t been painful enough, Loki was thrown into a containment cage in front of almost every other member of the Avengers, who were all similarly trapped in their own enclosures.

Loki didn’t stay down for long. He pulled himself up by the thick metal bars of his cell, casting the others a sardonic glance, before absorbing his surroundings. Alzill had locked him up in the main control room, as made evident by the wall of monitors and control panels adjacent, but it was large and grand, as if imitating the splendour of a throne room in a glorious palace.

And Loki thought he was ostentatious, this fool Eruk was both pretentious and incredibly full of himself. The man himself was seated in a fancy swivel chair, from which he could review all the many screens displaying real-time camera footage from around the ship. The collar around Loki’s neck was still very much nullifying his powers, leaving him a little hazy in the process, but he could still tell from where he stood that Thor was nowhere in the room, nor anywhere on the screen.

Which meant they still had a fighting chance.

Alzill had joined Ularis and Lexir at the sides of Eruk’s control modules, awaiting orders, while the self-proclaimed Lord sat comfortably in his chair, processing something upon one of his monitors.

Banner and Steve were in the same state as Loki, collared and enervated, while Stark, Clint and Natasha all looked beaten down and weary - they didn’t need to have their strength contained, the brawn of regular humans was manageable for Eruk, it seemed. 

The others didn’t say anything to him, but from the looks they were giving him, they weren’t exactly glad to have Loki join their company. Stark was sat against the bars, resting his head in his palm, probably going over calculations in his head to try and determine what the percentage for their mission success was, which meant they had probably been trapped for a while.

Loki bit back his anger. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t stop himself from visualising Amelia’s body, still lying undiscovered on the red-stained floor of the hangar. He had no reason to enthusiastically believe she was still alive. Nobody knew where she was, and Loki had to admit, even he had no idea where she would choose to hide or what she would choose to do when left alone in a frightening place.

He just wanted to know she was safe. It enraged him to know that he couldn’t just break out of the cell and destroy Eruk and his underlings in one distinct twist of his hand. He should’ve been quicker in his fight with Alzill. He should’ve seen something like this coming.

Loki leaned back against the bars and brushed his fingers against the tough, tight band around his neck. He could sense the potency of it humming below his fingertips, it was working hard to restrain his strength - it had to be reinforced with some sort of cosmic energy to be able to temporarily subdue a god such as himself. He would break out of it sooner or later. He would not be controlled forever.

Turning his head, he eyed Stark who was sitting close by in the cell right beside his own, and then spoke in hushed tones so that Eruk or his henchmen would not pick up on their whispering, “Tell me you at least managed to contact Quill and the others.”

Stark exhaled from his nose a huff of ironic amusement and turned his head fully towards Loki, allowing the god to see the ripe, purpling bruise around his left eye. He’d taken a good punch down, and by the state of his bloody knuckles, it seemed he’d gotten a few good ones in himself. “I contacted them. Whether or not they show up is another story.”

Loki chewed the inside of his cheek, “Where’s your suit?”

“Confiscated.”

“And Thor?”

“Haven’t heard from him.”

Loki nodded, giving the room another once-over for anything useful. The cells they occupied were electronically locked, which meant the control panel for them had to be around somewhere. In the corner of his eye, Loki noticed the ridge travelling from the set of cells up the wall, around the edge of the room, and down again on the left-side wall, coming to a solid stop at a board of switches. It was safe to assume it housed the electronics that powered their current containment.

The only problem was, there was no way to reach it.

They were severely low on options.

Loki’s gaze zeroed in on Eruk when he rose from his chair and approached his cell, puffed up and self-satisfied at having managed to contain almost all of the unwelcome visitors on his ship. The disgusting, slimy tentacles that protruded from the back of his head seemed to squirm and writhe in a skittish sort of way, almost as if they were mirroring his excitement.

The purple monstrosity came to a stop before his cell, looking down at him with a smirk.

“Nice of you to join us.” Eruk drawled, and Loki noticed that Alzill had disappeared from the room, while Lexir had followed along behind Eruk like a good little pet.

Loki said nothing, allowing his face to show something akin to boredom as he stared at his captor, even if all he was thinking about within his mind was slowly tearing each individual tentacle from the man’s head.

The lack of response made Eruk irritated, as Loki had rightfully predicted, but it didn’t stop him from trying to rile Loki up further.

“Do you like your new choker? Truly, a fantastic device. You see, sometimes the lifeforms I take from various planets are a little, shall we say, temperamental. Therefore my researchers saw fit to invent this stylish implement. It harnesses energy from the Alcamax compound, an element of my own discovery, and uses it to suppress the strength and abilities of whoever wears it.”

Loki rose his eyebrows in a mockery of interest, followed by a few dull blinks of his eyes.

Eruk hummed, knowing full well that Loki was playing him, so he decided to bring up a subject he knew would invoke some level of distress.

“You are really quite persistent in trying to reclaim your human, aren’t you? It’s almost adorable how hard you all tried,” he grinned, revealing his sharp teeth, “too bad you failed, hmm?”

The indifferent expression slipped from Loki’s face, and his eyes pierced through Eruk’s, wishing death upon the fool.

“What an utter shame, indeed. You know, if you’d all just come and asked nicely instead of tearing my soldiers apart, I might have offered you a free pass to my expo! Maybe even a private viewing of the human’s chamber. Wouldn’t that have been nice?” 

The fiend’s orange eyes twinkled as it was clear he’d hit a nerve.

“When I break free from this cage, I promise a painful death will be awaiting you,” Loki murmured darkly.

Eruk threw his head back as a laugh erupted from his throat, “Well, aren’t you a ray of sunshine. Perhaps you will realise soon that you will not break free from this cage,” he paused, straightening himself up, and smiled condescendingly, “you know, I’ve had a change of heart. I don’t think I will lock your precious Ah-mee-li-ah up in my expo after all.”

Loki’s stared narrowed suspiciously. He wasn’t so naive as to believe Eruk’s resolution was entirely true.

“No. I think instead, I’ll bring her here, right in front of you. But not close enough for you to touch,” his teeth clamped together and his lips pulled back, forming a barely restrained snarl, “I’ll hurt her. I’ll start off subtle, and gradually make it worse. I’ll knock her around a bit, and then I’ll spill her blood. That way, her cries and pleas will slowly become more and more desperate, and finally, when she’s begging me to make the pain stop, I’ll have mercy and snap her neck.”

It was difficult for Loki to keep his breathing steady as Eruk revealed his sick plans, but it was impossible for him to sit and listen to man’s morbid pledge. A bleak mist seemed to settle upon Eruk’s final syllable, and Loki briefly wondered if the bastard could sense his rage, or whether he was oblivious to just how urgently Loki wanted to tear him apart.

He didn’t wonder for long, because he was instantly on his feet, reaching through the metal bars and grasping at Eruk’s collar. Loki pulled him flush against the cage with as much force as he could muster, and revelled in the sound of the man’s stunned yelp, before quickly aiming a swift jab of his hand into the fiend’s right eyeball.

It was so wonderfully satisfying to feel the squish as his pointed fingers made contact, but Eruk’s pained cry was even more so. The purple man clamoured away from the cage, holding his hands against his eye as he hissed and groaned.

“Uhm! My Lord Eruk, are you okay?” Lexir stepped towards her employer, the concern in her voice sounding more obligatory rather than out of actual care, but she did not hover too closely, instead turning back to glare at Loki, who was gripping the bars of his cage with a white-knuckled grip.

“Lexir,” Eruk growled, turning slowly back around, and Loki was all too pleased to see the fiend’s assaulted eye was tearful and inflamed, “put our guest in his place.”

The blue-skinned girl nodded in acknowledgement, and smiled at Loki in a predatory way; Loki watched her closely as she stepped around the cage and grabbed something that had been hanging from a hook on the wall - some sort of black stick, Loki couldn’t identify exactly what it was - and she moved almost impishly back around to the front of the cage as Eruk staggered off back to his chair.

Lexir glanced back over her shoulder at Ularis, perhaps checking to see that her lover was watching, and then gave Loki all of her attention. “You’re going to suffer dearly for your indiscretion against Lord Eruk,” she stated matter-of-factly.

“Oh, am I?” Loki returned in a deadpan manner. In the next moment, he was roaring in pain, his body spasming as he crumpled to the floor within his enclosure. Lexir had jammed the end of the stick into his abdomen, sending a flurry of stabbing sensations across his body, causing him to twist and turn in an effort to escape it.

Loki was all too familiar with the sensation of electrocution - growing up with Thor, it was difficult to avoid - but this was constant and agonising as opposed to the brief stinging and numbing he’d received in typical sparring matches with his brother, and then there was the fact that he’d never had to endure it for more than a few moments.

Lexir retracted the torture device that acted similarly to a cattle prod, and Loki sucked in a harsh breath, going limp from the sudden retreat of intense pain, and in the corner of his eye his saw the fuming yet bridled expressions of the other Avengers and speculated that they had all likely received the same treatment. It was only a blissful few moments before he was struck again, this time in the chest.

He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t scream, he was trapped in a loop of overwhelming agony, and there was no way to escape it. 

Loki resolved to simply withstanding the torture, and grasped the half-hearted hopes that he would find a way out of this.

But more importantly, he enthusiastically wished for the safety of his lover.

Lexir drew back the shock-rod and playfully asked, “Have you had enough yet, sweetheart?”

Loki knew what this was - it was partially payback for the way he had treated her during the journey in Stark’s ship, but it was also very clear what she was after with her patronising tone - submission.

He drew in a deep breath while he was afforded the privilege, and mustered a sarcastic smile, “Hardly.” His voice was a rasp, but he answered truthfully - it would take so much more than a few electric shocks to make him yield, no matter how much it hurt him physically.

“Very well.” Lexir seemed more than happy to deliver so much more.

It was quite obvious to Amelia, and surely anybody else who managed to catch a glimpse of the two walking ahead of her, that Thor and Inga were hitting it off nicely. In fact, Amelia herself was beginning to feel like a major third wheel, as if the two Asgardians were on their first date, taking a nice stroll through the halls of an alien spaceship, sightseeing the bodies of fallen guards strewn about near and afar.

Neither of them had said a word to Amelia for a while, and it had certainly been long enough that she was beginning to believe they had forgotten all about her. It wasn’t too upsetting though, as she was more than a little content to just listen to them speak to each other.

“You have my deepest apologies. I was not aware of your imprisonment here - if I’d have known two of our own had been taken from Asgard, I would have-”

“Please, your majesty, it was no fault of your own that my sister and I were kidnapped. Asgard was going through a few changes, you were off-world for significant reasons, the kingdom was a bit of a disarray after Queen Frigga was-” Inga stopped herself before she could continue, a rueful look coming over her face, and then quietly resumed, “It is not surprising that our absence went unnoticed.”

“I hope that I could make it up to you,” Thor began, exactly doing much to hide his overt ogling, “You will have a home in New Asgard… Norway is a beautiful place.”

“Yes, Amelia was just talking about it a while ago.” Both Inga and Thor glanced back over their shoulders as if they had remembered for the first time in a while that Amelia was pursuing behind them.

“Yah, I’m still here,” Amelia laughed, “don’t worry. Haven’t wandered off again.”

Inga smiled, looking back to Thor, “Amelia also told me that you have not yet invited her to over to New Asgard since establishing there. A little bit rude, if you ask me.” Her voice was entirely playful, so clearly that even a brainless person could understand that she was not being serious.

Thor looked sheepish, though he returned the smile just as gently, “Well. I’m sure she’ll have reason to visit soon enough.”

“Huh?” Amelia mumbled, waiting for the God of Thunder to elaborate, but he just shrugged his shoulders and hid a significant smile. Inga also quirked an eyebrow, evidently expressing that even she didn’t know what the king had meant. “Thor, what-?”

“So, tell me again about this plan of yours, Inga?” Thor interrupted, hiding his little smirk well behind genuine interest for the subsequent plan of action.

Inga stared at him for a moment longer before her manner grew more serious; her back straightened and her gait increased somewhat - enough so that Amelia had to skip forward a little to catch up - and she nodded her head gravely, “I’m taking you to the engine room. Once we’re there, I want you to shut down the engine - destroy it if you must, just make sure this ship comes to a stop.”

“What does Eruk have on his planet that makes you so anxious?” Thor enquired.

“It is… his base of operations. He protects his expo so desperately, and goes to maximal lengths to ensure his business flourishes. He has an army of trigger-happy soldiers - more than you’ve already dealt with, and ones that are far more lethal - not to mention his insidious inventions. The way he has harnessed the Alcamax - I know you are strong, your majesty, but you must still be careful. He has ways to subdue even the most powerful of individuals.”

Thor nodded, showing his acknowledgement of Inga’s warning, “Please, call me Thor.”

Inga frowned, coming to a slow stop, “Your majesty… Thor, I need to know that you understand just how awful Eruk and his henchmen are. They are the type to find pleasure in the misfortune of others, and when something stands in the way of their plans, they have to qualms squashing it. Please, if you encounter any of them, do not let yourself hesitate…”

The unspoken words hung in the air, ‘...to kill them’, and Amelia swallowed tightly. She was worried, afraid of what would happen in the next few hours. Would Thor and the others defeat Eruk and free all those he had kidnapped over the years? Or would they all fall? Amelia could not imagine seeing Loki or any of her friends defeated, it was a concept that she did not want to entertain - and she knew Loki well enough to know that defeat for him meant death.

“Do not worry, Inga,” Thor spoke assuringly, “I understand the danger of hesitation, and I will not let them get one over on me. Now, lead the way.” His smile was convincing, and though his words were not directed at Amelia, she still felt the relief of his vow.

“We’re here.” Inga responded, motioning the door behind Thor - the one they’d been stood in front of for minutes now.

“Oh.” Thor chuckled. He took a glance at the securely locked door and placed his fingers between the panels, and then promptly pushed the doors open with one strong shove, revealing the room beyond. As he stepped in, Inga glanced back to Amelia with an impressed look of excitement clouding her eyes; Amelia had to laugh at that. After all this time alone on the ship, Inga must have been thrilled to have the king of her people sweeping in to carry out her plan and save her, along with everybody else.

Amelia followed the two of them in, a little hesitant to stand outside the room on her own, but the moment she set foot within, she let out a groan of dismay. The engine room looked like something out of a Star Wars movie - the walkway spanned across from one side of the room to the opposing side, where another entrance was situated, and the space itself was like a long vertical cylinder. Glancing down, Amelia found that the floor below the guarded walkway was quite far away, which prompted the tickle of anxiety within her. If anybody was to lose their balance and topple over the railing, well, it would be a painful fall.

In the centre of the round room, there was a glass casing that housed a green, glowing crystal-like substance, and below that there was a control panel.

“The Alcamax,” Inga explained, pointing to the enclosed, glowing stone, “is used to power the ship. What you see is just a small percentage of what Eruk has harvested from Vercain.”

What didn’t the Alcamax compound power? It seemed to be useful for almost anything. Fuel for the ship, an element for Eruk’s wicked inventions, a chemical used to promote rapid healing in lifeforms, as well as improve their overall strength. It must’ve been a very versatile material, of which Eruk was heavily reliant on.

Amelia could almost feel the substance enclosed in the glass casing, it seemed to resonate subtly, and the closer she stepped, the more she could feel it vibrating the walkway below her feet. She shook her head, taking a few steps back so that she was closer to the door. She didn’t like it. Amelia didn’t want to risk losing her balance from such a height.

“I’m gonna stay over here, uh… you do your thing.” She called out, trying to hide the tremor in her voice.

“It probably is for the best that you keep your distance,” Thor confirmed, before looking to Inga, “that goes for you as well. I’m not sure how this substance will react to my power.”

Inga took a few steps back, but was too stubborn to retreat completely. Thor deemed it permissible, and observed the glass casing, searching for the best way to tackle the matter at hand. The Alcamax crystal pulsed rhythmically, Amelia noted, coincidentally in sync with her heartbeat, and it was the only form of soothing in that moment as she gripped the metal railing tightly, trying not to look down.

“Alright. Brace yourselves.” Thor didn’t have to tell Amelia twice. He placed his palms flat against the control panel and stared down the green crystal, his gaze intense and purposeful, and after a few tense moments, his eyes began to glow as electricity built up in his body. Inga took a minute step back, her mouth hanging open in wonder as she watched Thor summon his power.

The sparks were visible as they travelled in super fast succession down Thor’s arms and into the panel that managed the engine, and very quickly, the lights in the room began to flicker as Thor’s ministrations interrupted the circuitry. The bolts of electric blue fluttered over the switches and buttons, causing havoc within the wiring, and then all at once it seemed to step up a notch. 

There was a judder, and Amelia wondered if the engine had been successfully disrupted, but before she could theorise further, she heard a voice from across the room.

“Step back!” 

It was one of Eruk’s subordinates - not Ularis, not Lexir, the other one - Alzill, Inga had mentioned her name earlier, and she looked angry. Her hand was outstretched and there was a fiery ball growing in the palm of her hand, a warning.

“Step back,” she repeated when Thor simply stared at her and continued to cause a failure within the power supply, “I’ll take you to the control room and you can join the others.”

The others? Amelia frowned. Had everyone else been captured? Had Loki been captured? It didn’t sound plausible.

Everything that happened in the next few moments felt almost surreal, like a dream, as if it was occurring in slow motion. Thor raised his hand, whether to attack or defend, Amelia wasn’t sure, but Alzill interpreted it as the former, and launched her fiery projectile without thought.

There was a loud noise, and then the grid in the centre exploded, casting a fleeting wave of awful heat. Amelia screamed as she was knocked off her feet, but managed to remain safe on the edge of the walkway, clutching the railing for dear life. Thor and Inga weren’t so lucky - the path directly below their feet gave way, and they both fell below with a shout - Amelia could barely see them through the cloud of smoke, but she did notice Thor’s quick thinking. The Asgardian God managed to grab Inga as they plummeted, and twist them around so that he took the brunt of the fall.

Amelia was frozen briefly in fear for the period in which she could not see movement from them, and a million thoughts flew through her mind. Had Thor and Inga survived? Was she alone again with no form of guidance to see her through the terrible predicament that was her life at that moment? Was it up to her to find Loki or the others? Was she going to die?

But blessedly, a voice cut through her hysteria. It was Thor, though his voice was hoarse and pained, “Run, Amelia! We’ll find you!”

Amelia looked up, seeing Alzill on the other side of the broken walkway with her piercing gaze almost carnivorous, and scuttered to her feet in a panic.

“I have located the human.” Alzill spoke into her communicated, and Amelia felt dread encapsulate her.

“Amelia, run!” 

On Thor’s second shout, Amelia came back to her senses. Run? She could do that. She’d been running every day for the past four months, it was practically second nature to her now; she bolted from the room, remaining hopeful that Thor would deal with Alzill and find her quickly as he had vowed.

It would be okay, she told herself as she ran and ran down the endless corridors and hallways that all looked the same. They’d succeeded in stalling the ship - the engine was thoroughly damaged and there was no way Eruk would be going anywhere any time soon. 

But she was once again by herself, and the thought alone filled her with trepidation.

Chapter Text

A jarring shudder befell the ship, and the electricals stalled briefly from the influence of an unidentified source, causing the lights in the main control room to flicker for just a moment; Eruk looked up, and then to the prisoners still trapped in their cells, orange eyes narrowing as he fastened them each with a look of abhorrence. Was this their doing? One of their teammates was still running around the ship causing a disruption, so it was very plausible.

The human he had taken had caused quite a stir. He still didn’t know how the woman had escaped her cell, and proceeded to make her way around the ship unnoticed, but she would be found, and once Eruk had her in his grasp, he would make her suffer - and in doing so, he would make her so-called saviours suffer.

They would rue their decision to ever step foot on his ship, he would make sure of it. And it would set an example for others who would dare to thwart his precious expo - the fact that anybody even tried to stop him in the first place was laughable.

The control panel before him lit up in a blitz of flickering buttons and irritating beeps, knocking Eruk from his delightful rumination and pushing him into a state of vexation as he scrambled to figure out why his ship was telling him something had gone awry. The monitor to his left warned him of a fault with the engine, before immediate informing him that the ship had lost its fuel source in the blink of an eye.

Eruk slammed his fist into the console as he tried to restrain himself from releasing all his frustrations in a bellowing shout. What in the world was going on in the engine room? If the fuel supply was gone, that meant the ship was now drifting through space with no extra propulsion.

The communicator before him buzzed to life, and Alzill’s clipped tone sounded from the other end of the line, ‘I have located the human.’

At least there was some good news. 

“Bring her to me immediately,” Eruk ordered, tapping his foot impatiently. He rubbed absently at his closed eye, still sore from the prodding it had received.

‘I can’t. I have to deal with the remaining intruder. You might want to know that the healer has unified with him.’

“What?” Eruk hissed, his tentacles squirming against his head. He knew that woman was looking to cause trouble. “Fine. Bring Inga and her new friend to me. I’ll have Ularis retrieve the human.” He barely had to turn his head to the General before she was standing poised and ready to carry out the order.

“My lord,” Ularis nodded her head, a dark smirk coming upon her face, “don’t worry about the human, I will take care of her.”

“I want her brought to me alive,” Eruk stated, having sensed the bloodlust in his general’s tone, “once she is here within sight of the others, then you my harm her all you like.”

“With pleasure.” Ularis inclined her head and then departed with purpose, leaving Eruk with Lexir, who continued to poke and prod one of the prisoner’s with a look of utter joy on her face.

Eruk quietly seethed over the condition of his ship’s engine, deliberating on his options. There was a lot of living cargo on board, and after having to deal with a slew of unwelcome guests on his ship, almost all of the crew soldiers had been butchered, leaving only a select few who were no doubt running around like they’d lost their heads. The only conceivable option was to call in backup.

He fired up the external comms to send a message to his troops on Vercain, but for some reason he was met with errors from the system. Eruk tried over and over to successfully construct a network frequency to the established planet, but each attempt failed miserably; he knew that this had to be the doing of one of the caged intruders.

Eruk clenched his fists tightly, sitting back in his chair and taking a deep breath to calm himself. He turned in the chair, facing the lineup of cells against the far wall where the vermin were all busy sulking in their individual cages, and called out to his underling, “Lexir, make sure they all receive equal treatment.”

Lexir cast him a glance back over her shoulder, smiling maliciously, “Of course, my Lord.” She dipped her head respectfully, before turning back to her confined victim, leaning in slightly and whispering, “Have you had enough yet?” As long as the smug fool continued to stand up to her, she would not let up on her torture.

The collared man was paler than before and his breathing was laborious. One of his hands was clenched tightly around one bar of the cage, clutching so hard that his knuckles had turned white; while Lexir had to admit that she was impressed by his pain threshold, she was also somewhat pissed that he had not yet yielded to the persistent abuse. The others had taken a fair handful of shocks, but this one was infuriatingly tenacious.

All Lexir received in response was a hoarse laugh, which was enough to highlight his answer - he was practically inviting more pain.

“Alright, as you wish,” Lexir scoffed rather snappily, unable to keep her irritation in check, and tightened her grip on the shock stick, bringing it harshly down into the prisoner’s stomach. The resulting noises he made were like music to her ears.

“Stop.” Tony Stark’s words cut through the air like a sharp knife. He was up on his feet, his scowl burning holes into the blue-skinned woman - he couldn’t continue to just stand by and watch Loki take the needless abuse he was facing. Something, anything, needed to be done.

Lexir turned away from Loki, who shifted on the floor of his cage into a more upright position the moment the pain was no longer constant, and set her yellow eyes on the human with pinprick pupils. “Excuse me?” She spoke lowly, as if the very thought of Tony daring to raise his voice was a horrendously grave offense.

“He’s had enough,” Tony said exasperatedly, “you can stop now.”

Lexir straightened, took two steps away from Loki’s cell to stand before Tony, and smiled condescendingly, “Someone’s too eager to wait their turn.” With that, she jabbed the electrical prod through the bars into Tony’s chest, causing him to crumple immediately with a rough groan.

“Tony-” Banner was swiftly cut off when Lexir turned sharply to face him.

Her yellow gaze bore over the other trapped Avengers, her eyebrows narrowing at each and every one of them, “Does anyone else want a go?” 

They were wise to stay silent, even if all they wanted to do was retort. Seeing their teammates subdued so brutally was enraging, but in order to potentially find a way out of their situation, they had to be clear headed and able to figure out some sort of solution.

Natasha looked to Steve in the cell beside her, and Clint in the cell past him, “Do either of you see a way out of this?” She spoke in hushed tones, quiet enough that she didn’t draw Lexir’s attention a few cells down.

Steve shook his head grimly, casting a glance up and around the entrapment, “The metal of these cages are reinforced,” he paused, his fingers brushing against the black ring around his neck, “plus, in my current state, I can’t see myself able to bust out of here very easily. I’m too weak.”

Clint made a noise of sarcastic amusement, and sardonically replied, “Must suck being normal for once, huh?” 

Steve’s lips parted as though he was going to respond, but he faltered, closing his mouth and inclining his head in ironic agreement.

“Tony, are you okay?” Bruce whispered, kneeling in the corner of his cell as close as he could get to his friend; the man in question was breathing raggedly, his muscles tense as his pain began to fade.

Tony shook his head, “I’m fine… I’m fine,” he sucked in a deep breath and grunted as he shimmied against the back of the cell, “this is usually the point where we’ve come up with a plan and made a miraculous escape, but we’re still here in these cages. Thor is who-knows-where, Amelia is still somewhere on this ship all alone, I don’t know where my suit has been taken-”

“Tony,” Bruce said firmly, cutting the man off part way through his anxious rant, “we’ll find a way out of this. We always do. We dealt with Thanos, we can deal with these guys.” Although quieted, Tony did not appear pacified with Bruce’s attempt to reassure. All they could do was wait for an opportunity to arise.

Tony’s eyes flickered back to the panel on the adjacent wall that connected to the cells, knowing with much frustration that the answer to their freedom was so near yet so far. He turned to Loki, whose face was the perfect picture of a prominent glower, and it wasn’t at all surprising how utterly pissed he looked.

Lexir continued to hover nearby, too closely that Tony did not want to risk speaking to the Asgardian, lest either of them face the alien-style cattle prod again. He knew it was only a matter of time before Lexir continued her needless torture.

Loki was nowhere near defeated. After being captured by Thanos and surviving his torture, brainwashing, and his invasion, enduring a shock from a little metal stick was nothing. It was a walk in the park, and he would not be subdued by the insignificant pain or the numbing in his limbs. His determination was ever persistent when it came to saving Amelia, nobody and nothing could put a damper on that resolve.

Lexir was angry, it was quite clear. Loki supposed it was because their kidnapped victims always gave in after a while, she’d never had to stand and poke a captive for so long before. It was funny. It was actually hilarious. Loki wondered how long the blue-skinned woman would keep it up before inevitably storming away in a strop.

It didn’t matter that his strength and magic had been contained for now, it would still be a struggle for them to kill him. He would not go down easily, in fact, he would be sure to make it as difficult as possible. 

Loki leaned against the back of the cell, staring up at the observation window above Eruk’s control station. He could see the bright red planet Vercain, larger than it was before they had stepped foot on Eruk’s ship, but he could also sense very clearly that the subtle vibrations of the ship’s engine had ceased. They were drifting without propulsion, which meant Inga had somehow followed through on the plans she had briefly mentioned. It was unlikely she had accomplished it on her own, which led Loki to believe that she had to have gotten help from the only one of them that hadn’t already been captured in such a stupid, ridiculous, unforgiving way.

Alzill and Ularis had both left the control room at some point; Loki could only assume it was so that they could capture his brother - and Loki hoped, prayed to any god that may listen, that his brother wouldn’t let his guard down and fall victim to their debilitating device. If Thor ended up being dragged in, Loki would be fresh out of ideas and hope.

What would happen to Amelia, then? Who would save her?

Loki let his eyes slip closed.

It was often in times of pain, anxiety and fear that Loki let himself be calmed by thoughts of Amelia. Some nights, very rarely, he would wake from nightmares and Amelia would still be sound asleep, and instead of rousing her from her slumber, he would lie beside her, listening to her breathing, inhaling her scent, and it would provide him respite.

Now, all Loki could think about was the baby. His baby. His and Amelia’s baby. It felt weird even thinking about the notion of being a father. It was just so strange and inscrutable to ponder what their life would be like less than nine months down the road - would they raise the child in Avengers Tower, or would Amelia want to move out of the city? Loki wasn’t sure what he himself would want. The Tower seemed to be both the safest and most dangerous place to live - safe because it was well protected by Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and most dangerous because it would no doubt be targeted by those who wished to do harm.

But the idea of living anywhere else only served to remind him of the dark months he had spent comatosed after Thanos’s attack. The beautiful cabin on the edge of a wood in which they had lived, in his mind, doomed to burn to the ground.

He cut that train of thought short, reaching for more virtuous things to ponder.

His child. What would his and Amelia’s child look like? He and his lover were so different in looks that it seemed almost absurd to imagine a mix of their genetics rolled into one tiny being, there were so many things to consider. Firstly, would it be a boy or a girl? Loki wasn’t sure he had a preference, but what did Amelia want?

Would the child have sharp features like himself, or soft and rounded features like Amelia? Black, wavy hair or pretty brown curls? Amelia’s beautiful copper-coloured eyes or Loki’s mischievous green ones? 

Was Loki to expect a quiet child who would grow to have a passion for learning, a loud and clamorous infant with a drive to irritate anybody and everybody, a happy and squeaky little thing who found fun in absolutely everything, or would his child be someone else entirely?

Was he even supposed to deliberate on such things so early in the pregnancy? Loki did not know. He didn’t know if it was normal to worry about whether he would be a good parent after less than an hour of knowing he was going to be one at all. Who could he ask? Who could he relate to?

Loki turned his head, looking over the other Avengers before his gaze fell on Clint Barton.

Ugh. Was he really considering the possibility that he would have to ask Clint for advice? Barton was the only father out of all of them, he had already gone through fatherhood several times, from Loki’s understanding. If any of them knew anything about parenting, it would obviously be him. But did Loki really want to swallow his pride and ask Barton for help? Would the man even have anything to offer him? They still weren’t exactly on great terms.

A sharp, jolting shock of white-hot agony tore through Loki’s chest. In his absent-mindedness, he hadn’t kept himself aware of Lexir’s location, and thus hadn’t been paying attention when she jammed her cattle prod into his ribcage. She laughed as his jaw seized up and he gritted his teeth with so much pressure that the sound of grinding bones seemed to vibrate in his head.

“Couldn’t have you falling asleep on me!” She chortled merrily. Her voice was quite clearly strained.

Loki’s breathing quivered along with his chest and sore muscles; he looked up at her through bleary eyes and sighed, “Are you even having fun anymore?”

“What?” Lexir’s eyes narrowed at his conversational tone.

“Your joy sounds far from genuine. You keep prodding me because you’re restless, not because you think I’m going to give in to this, quite frankly, abysmal method of torture. You’d rather be doing something worthwhile, like searching for my brother, right?” Loki guessed, his eyes flicking towards the doors, “That’s what the other two are doing, aren’t they?” It was an attempt to both stall and gain information.

Lexir’s brow twitched, “How dare you presume to know what I’m thinking,” she hissed, “it is my pleasure to deliver torture to whomever Lord Eruk tells me to.”

“Yes, but you could do it in a far more satisfying way, couldn’t you?” Loki continued on, “Instead of jabbing me through the bars of a cell, you could be inflicting pain in far more personal ways. Or maybe I’m wrong, perhaps you aren’t strong enough to hurt me with your own two hands?” His lips quirked up in a provocative smirk, and Loki knew by the way her jaw locked in place that she was aggravated by his words.

“I could strangle the life out of you very easily.” 

“I don’t believe you.” Loki shot back confidently.

Lexir regarded him furiously for several long seconds, before casting Eruk a glance over her shoulder. She scoffed, eyeing Loki with all the vexation she could muster, before snootily responding, “I don’t have to prove it to you. Unless Lord Eruk demands it, I won’t get the chance to show you, anyway.”

Loki deflated and prepared to endure more boring torture. It seemed Lexir’s stupidity left her immune to his manipulation.

Each twist and turn brought Amelia further from the engine room, into new and previously unseen areas of the ship. She found a stairwell, which had her both relieved and aggrieved, because while she was happy not to box herself into another elevator, her legs woefully protested. It felt as though everything was finally catching up to her, the stress and weight of the situations she kept finding herself in were only adding to her tiredness. How long had it been since she’d slept? She didn’t really think being knocked out counted as restful slumber.

She’d woken up early on the morning of her birthday, and it was late evening by the time she was taken, after that an undetermined amount of time passed until she awoke in Inga’s infirmary, and it had been several hours since then. Either way, it was definitely way past her bedtime. 

The lack of rest matched with the adrenaline pumping heavily through her veins alongside that god awful Alcamax chemical was beginning to affect her; she wanted to find a comfy little cubby hole and go to sleep for a good few hours, but she knew that while her friends were in danger, that would never happen.

Inga had said that the Alcamax compound would increase her strength and stamina, but maybe even the chemical - which seemed so adaptable and useful - had its limits. She couldn’t stay feeling great forever, its benefits were sure to fade over some time if things like sleeping and eating were avoided. 

Speaking of which, Amelia was both tired and hungry, and if she wasn’t afraid of being caught again by the monsters that owned this ship, she would most certainly be furious at the fact. The whole kidnapping fiasco and everything that had come from it could not be good for her baby.

She rounded a corner, trying to quell her loud, arduous breaths as she glanced back over her shoulder, stumbling blindly for a few fleeting moments before turning to face the long corridor she had stepped foot into, and froze.

The entire wall along the left side was… not wall. It was glass. Some sort of viewing window - and on the other side… it was like nothing Amelia had ever seen.

She could hardly comprehend what she was looking at, and just how boundless the sight before her truly was. It was remarkable, it was phenomenal, it was utterly and unequivocally terrifying. Space. Amelia did not expect the sight to induce some vertigo-inspired fear, but she was already scuttling back against the right-hand wall in an attempt to ground her mind, and remind herself that she wasn’t, in fact, floating through space all alone. 

The ship’s airtight walls were the only thing stopping her from succumbing to an awful, terrible fate that she had often seen in movies and never thought twice about. The harsh vacuum would kill her within several seconds - and that was the merciful way to go, in her opinion. She didn’t want to think about drifting endlessly in an astronaut suit, waiting for asphyxiation, starvation or dehydration to kill her.

She needed to push those thoughts down. Amelia wasn’t in danger of any of those possible demises, she had other things to worry about - like being caught by Alzill or one of the others.

Amelia gulped, stepping away from the wall and towards the viewing window; her legs shook and her hands flailed with the need to reach out and hang on to something, lest she somehow phased through the window and floated away. With her palms pressed to the glass, she knelt down and stared out, eyes searching - for what? She didn’t know. She just wanted to absorb the sight of something that wasn’t inky nothingness.

Lifting the visor of the helmet and cupping her hands around her eyes made it easier to catch sight of the faint, glinting stars in the distance, and her gaze lingered on them in childlike wonder. It usually wasn’t so easy to see stars in Manhattan; it wasn’t often that the skies were so clear, and mixed with the light pollution, it made it almost impossible.

However, even if it was so easy, it was one thing to look up at the night sky and be greeted with stars, but it was another thing entirely to look out a window in any direction and find yourself completely surrounded with the little twinkly lights.

Amelia frowned, releasing a long sigh. It was beautiful, but it looked the same in all directions - she would never understand how some people were able to navigate it. How far away were they from Earth? How far away were the beady stars she could see? She had no clue whether they were closer or further than they looked. Who could tell?

Subconsciously, Amelia’s hand fell to her stomach, as if the gesture could bridge the gap between herself and her unborn baby, and allow a miraculous means of communication. “I hope we survive this,” she whispered aloud, “I hope all this crazy shit comes to an end, and we go back to Earth and everything is okay, and- and I hope your daddy is happy when he finds out you’re on the way.” She knew she was just talking to herself, but to even pretend she was talking to her future son or daughter was a comfort to her in that moment.

The sound of nearby footsteps caused Amelia to jump up from her spot by the window; she looked around quickly for the source of the noise and a potential exit route should she determine the approaching person was unfriendly. She didn’t want to take the risk that it could be Thor and Inga, especially given that it sounded like there was only one set of footsteps, and they seemed to be coming from the opposite direction. 

Amelia practically dived into the nearby room, cringing at the very apparent sound that the hissing door made upon opening and closing behind her, and she scanned madly for a hiding spot. The room she’d hopped into seemed to be some sort of locker room, or at least, a room that housed a long row of lockers. Was this supposed to be some sort of changing room for all the guards? Amelia didn’t have time to ponder it, and instead slipped into the first unlocked locker unit she came across.

She held her breath, raising the visor over her face when she heard the door hiss open again several seconds later.

“I know you’re around here,” came the voice, unmistakably belonging to General Ularis, “I can hear you. I can smell your fear, human.”

Amelia squeezed her eyes shut at the flicker of red passing by the locker door, as if not being able to see Ularis meant that the woman could not possibly see her. It was a childish response, but a natural one, and it left Amelia feeling very paranoid. Despite holding her breath, was she somehow being loud? Was the sound of blood rushing past Amelia’s ears also loud for the woman hunting for her?

Ularis’s footsteps slowed to a stop, and there was no sound for a long while. Amelia released the air from her lungs as quietly as possible before taking a breath, hoping more than anything that she was being quiet enough to avoid detection. 

The sound of something slamming into metal made Amelia jump, her heartbeat so rapid that it made her slightly dizzy. Ularis had punched one of the lockers across the room, Amelia could feel the vibrations of it where she sat.

“Last chance, human. Show yourself now, and I will bring you to your friends in the control room without harming you. You have my word…” She trailed off, and Amelia swallowed, refusing to believe such a promise. Loki had taught her well enough what a lie sounded like.

“Don’t you want to see him? Your mate. Tall, white, raven-haired?” The smile in Ularis’s voice was palpable, “My dear Lexir is teaching him a lesson, you know. Showing him the result of trying to sabotage Lord Eruk’s plans. You should hear his screams.”

Amelia’s jaw clenched hard. Was Ularis bluffing? She had to be, there was no way Loki had been detained and tortured - there was no way he had fallen into their traps and become vulnerable. She didn’t want to believe it, but the tone in the woman’s voice - she didn’t appear to be deceiving.

Tears sprang to her eyes, but she remained vehemently quiet, afraid to make even the slightest sound.

A few beats passed, and then an irritated sigh.

“Where did that little bitch go?” Ularis huffed, stomping her way out of the room, but Amelia did not relax. Perhaps Ularis really hadn’t seen or heard her enter the room, and was just hoping she’d gotten lucky, but then again maybe she was standing just outside the door, waiting for Amelia to exit naively.

It was at least five minutes before Amelia even dared to move.

Leaving the locker shakily, Amelia moved carefully towards the door, flinching when it hissed open - but there was nobody on the other side waiting for her. Amelia stepped back out onto the viewing deck, casting a glance to the vast emptiness outside, before breaking into a run, heading in the way she thought the main control room might be.

Of course, there was no easy way to know, but as Amelia turned a corner and found a few dead or unconscious guards lying limp beside their weapons, she figured there was one way she could find answers, even if it was a little risky.

She armed herself, grabbing one of the big guns and moving onward as swiftly and silently as she was able in the direction she had heard Ularis come from. It was a start to move in the right direction, now she just needed to find somebody willing to blab the location of the control room in exchange for not receiving a blast to the face.

Not that Amelia wanted to shoot anybody again - she was hoping she could muster up a little intimidation in order to get what she wanted. She didn’t know where she was going to muster it up from, but her boyfriend was Loki, and he was really quite good at intimidation, so perhaps there was a possibility that she had subconsciously picked up a little something from him, at least that was what she hoped.

It wasn’t long before she found somebody traipsing down a hallway. They were facing away from her, moving with long strides, which meant Amelia barely had a moment to consider her approach lest the guard disappeared around a corner.

“Hey!” Amelia snapped, quickly jumping out into the path behind them. They spun around fast, and it was then that Amelia noticed the gun resting at their hip, which sent another pulse of adrenaline buzzing through her. “Don’t you dare fucking move!” She yelled as fiercely as she could before the soldier thought to pull out their weapon, “Put your hands above your head.” It was truly a miracle that her voice didn’t break part way through her exclamation.

The guard did as they were told, slowly raising their hands up without a word, but the fact that Amelia could not see their face beyond their visor was nerve-wracking to a point. If she was able to see their face, she could deduce from their expression whether they were afraid of having a gun shoved in their face.

“Tell me how to get to the main control room,” Amelia calmly stated, and then added as an afterthought, “and be quick about it!”

The guard was quiet for a worryingly long moment, and then a deep voice responded, “You’re the escaped subject.” Unfortunately, they didn’t sound afraid, so Amelia tried again.

“I haven’t got all day, asshole, so I suggest you tell me what I want to know, right now, or you will regret it.” She lifted the gun briefly to make a point that she was ready to pull the trigger if need be, and was relieved when the guard’s head tilted back apprehensively.

“Why should I tell you?”

Amelia wanted to scream on the inside, but she kept her cool and spoke clearly and rigidly, “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because I have a gun pointed to your goddamn head?” For extra measure, she added in a very low voice, “Do you really want to test me right now?” Her heart was once again beating rapidly, causing the sound of blood rushing through her ears to appear awfully loud. Amelia could hardly believe how stringent her tone of voice became - she wondered vaguely if Loki would be proud.

Another pause, and then, “Fine, fine. The control room is on deck ten, northern sector.” He gestured slowly down the hall to point her in the right direction, and sarcastically added, “Good luck.”

Relieved, Amelia almost snorted over the fact that sarcasm was clearly a universal language - even for aliens - but she kept a straight face behind her visor, and stepped forward, hissing a sharp and just as sarcastic, “Thanks.” in return, before slamming the end of the alien blaster into the soldier’s head with all her might. 

They fell to the floor in a flop, and Amelia let out a sigh, her fears allayed for the moment. She wasted no time hightailing in the direction the guard had flimsily pointed her, even if her legs were still somewhat jellified from the encounter she’d just had.

Amelia wasn’t sure who she was going to find in the control room, but if Alzill was fighting Thor, and Ularis was trudging about the ship searching for her, then at least she only had to worry about two potential assholes to deal with. Lexir, and Eruk himself.

But what was she going to do once she got to the control room? Even with her borrowed magic, she didn’t think she would be able to utilise it in a way that would benefit her - it was far too frenetic for that. Unreliable.

She wasn’t left with many options, after all. She wasn’t Thor, she wasn’t Loki, she wasn’t Captain America or Iron Man, the Hulk, Black Widow, or Hawkeye. She was just Amelia, and she was very much in a state of vulnerability that her superhero friends did not tend to show on the surface. The only reason she had succeeded in escaping Eruk’s clutches since being taken on to the ship was pure luck.

The question was - was she still feeling lucky enough to attempt her next endeavour?

The elevator ride up several levels was suspenseful, Amelia kept shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she pondered what her plan of action was. She could run in guns blazing- no, that probably wouldn’t end well. She could execute some stealth and make her way over to her friends while avoiding enemy detection- fuck, no, this wasn’t a video game or a movie, and she was not a stealthy person.

The elevator reached its stop and Amelia stepped out, looking tentatively up the hall; the control room was obvious to stop with its large doors and colourful signage. Amelia swallowed and took a few hesitant steps, unsure whether to proceed so distinctly, or whether to find a more furtive entrance. But was there even any way in that wouldn’t draw immediate attention to her?

She looked up and down the hall, becoming more and more anxious as time went on. Her friends were beyond the wide entrance to the control room, Loki was just through the doors, if what Ularis and Alzill had both said was genuine. Her legs faltered as she moved, and Amelia glanced across the hall, noting the positioning of a small vent on the far wall. A small vent that was just large enough for her to fit through.

It was a safer point of access, in Amelia’s opinion. She moved with a little more confidence, slipping past the doors at a reasonable distance, lest there were to open automatically from proximity and blow her cover, and pulled the vent cover from the wall with an optimistic yank.

Hopping into the vent was the easy part, but shuffling around the metal hollow without making a racket was the hard part, especially on her hands and knees with her blaster tucked under one arm. She followed her intuition, moving slowly and delicately through the vent, and found the connecting outlet into the control room after a minute or two of unceremonious shambling.

Her heart was in her throat as she peered through the thin gaps in the covering, getting a relatively good observation point of one side of the room. The cages were the first thing she saw, along with Lexir prowling around them back and forth, like a guard on patrol, and then the bigger picture became clear.

Her friends were locked in those cages. Each of them with a look of frustration or defeat as they sat on the ground or leaned against the bars, searching for a way out of their situation, and Loki - oh, Loki - he was there, his head lowered with his hair hiding his face. The sight of him caused Amelia’s heart to skip a beat, simply seeing him again filled her with hope and determination.

But the more she looked, the more worried she became. Loki was just sitting there unmoving, leaning back against the bars, as if subdued. Surely he could use his magic to escape? Amelia had seen him unlock doors with just a flick of his wrist, she couldn’t see how the cage would be any different.

Come to think of it, the same could be said for Steve and Bruce. Steve could easily summon the strength to rip the metal bars apart, and Bruce could just turn into the Hulk, effectively exploding the cage as it would be unable to contain him after his transformation. Why hadn’t they? Was it part of some sort of plan? Were they hoping to manipulate Eruk into thinking they were powerless when they actually had the upper hand the whole time and were waiting for the opportune moment to bust out and fight?

It was the only way their current states could make any sense to her. It had to be a trick.

Amelia remained silent and still, her eyes pinned to Loki, watching and waiting for a sign that he was totally okay. He didn’t look okay, and it caused a twinge of pain in Amelia’s chest. She didn’t want to see him down. She wanted him and all her friends to be safe at home, and she wanted to damn well tell him her secret and have it be out and over with.

Lexir came to a stop before the cage Loki was situated in. Amelia couldn’t see her face, but she appeared to stare at him for several moments, before twirling the long stick in her hand and jabbing the pointy end into Loki’s leg.

Amelia’s heart raced when Loki flinched, retracted his leg, and let out a low growl, clearly pained by the gesture. Lexir didn’t stop there; she took the stick in both hands and jammed it hard into Loki’s side, eliciting a similar reaction, but this time, Lexir didn’t step back. The sounds of restrained agony ensued, growing more and more feverish by the moment. The noises he made were awful, and stabbed deep into Amelia’s heart - Loki had a high pain tolerance, which meant for him to be making such noises, he would have to have reached his limit.

She was hurting him. She was hurting Loki, and he was just sitting there taking it. Why wasn’t he retaliating? Why wasn’t he bursting free from his confines and beating the woman to a pulp? Why were the others just watching with grim expressions?

Lexir’s torture of Loki continued, and Amelia clamped her mouth shut to stop herself from crying out in horror as his body convulsed helplessly under the torment. There were already tears springing to her eyes, causing her vision to blur. She quickly realised that she couldn’t just sit in the vent and watch the abuse of her lover unfold - she couldn’t watch him groan and gasp and squirm, it was too dreadful to witness.

Amelia’s body moved of its own accord, and before she could stop herself, she had shifted around, moving her legs in front of her, and kicked the vent cover clean off its hinges. Empowered by anger, Amelia slipped from the crawl-space, the gun held up purposefully in her hands, and before Lexir could even discern what was going on, Amelia had already pulled the trigger.

The blast hit Lexir square in the chest, and she shrieked on impact, falling back against the floor with an audible thump. Her body spasmed, her blue skin seemingly badly burned from the blast - it was purpling along her arms and part of her face, and the projectile had seared through her armour, leaving blotchy scorches across her front. Amelia’s hands shook from waning adrenaline, but this time she did not feel guilty for almost offing somebody. Lexir damn well deserved it for hurting Loki.

Speaking of, Loki appeared to have recovered quickly from the torture. He was reaching through the bars with his long arms, pawing at the stick - Lexir’s weapon - which had fallen near her feet. He nudged it with his fingers, and then managed to find a grip on its handle; in a flash, he thrust the dangerous end of the stick down into Lexir’s chest, producing a strained howl from the woman. He didn’t let up, his expression furious as he pinned her down with the torture tool.

Amelia watched as Lexir shook her head, silently begging him to stop, but he did not, and Amelia did not blame him, after what she had seen. Loki didn’t cease his brutal vengeance until Tony reached through the metal bars and laid a hand on his shoulder, telling him, “Loki, stop. She’s dead.”

Lexir had stopped screaming at some point, and the only reason her body was still twitching was due to the effects of the electrocution torture. 

Loki listened, his grip loosening on the tool, and it fell to the floor beside what was now Lexir’s lifeless body.

Amelia stood frozen in place throughout the whole ordeal, her shock still prevalent, and it slowly became clear that each of the Avengers were staring at her with looks of apprehension and confusion - of course, they didn’t know that she was Amelia. Loki was looking up at her from below his arched brow, suspicion and wariness evident.

Before Amelia could voice his name, the sound of Eruk’s laughter echoed behind her, and she flung round, her blaster at the ready once more, except this time she wasn’t afforded the brief nanoseconds it took for her finger to pull back on the trigger. Eruk had his own blaster, and he shot her’s out of her grip, causing a sting to radiate over her hands - the blast having only just missed skin contact by a hair’s breadth.

Amelia flailed, staggering back, raising her hands immediately, whether to protect herself somehow, or to plead with Eruk not to hurt her, she wasn’t entirely sure, it was an involuntary gesture as she recoiled away.

She was afraid, because now she had to way to defend herself.

“Oh, how wonderful of you to finally join us,” Eruk laughed, “I was wondering where you had scampered off to, you know. We were all wondering,” he motioned the Avengers with the blaster in his hands, “Turn around.”

Amelia drew in a shaky breath, and did as she was told, turning to face her friends on unstable legs.

“Take off the helmet.”

Amelia obeyed that order too, taking the helmet in both hands and slowly lifting it off her head.

She clutched it in her hands, hearing the moment of audible recognition in the form of subtle gasps, Amelia blinked away the sting in her eyes as she looked upon all of her friends, her gaze falling on Loki. She gave him a weak smile, glad to be reunited with him after the extensive trials she had dealt with, and mouthed a soft hey in greeting.

And in Loki’s eyes, she saw unbridled terror.

Chapter Text

There was a generally unnoticeable tremor in Loki’s fingers as he wrapped his hands around the metal bars and pulled himself up to stand at his full height. Amelia noticed. She noticed a lot of things about Loki that other people often did not. To anybody else, Loki probably appeared composed, his expression controlled with a clear mind, readily thinking up a plan to escape the situation, but to Amelia, it was evidently a carefully constructed guise.

His knuckles were white from his unwavering grip. His eyes were open wide, his stare unblinking. Mouth straight, lips stretched and tense. Posture rigid. He was afraid, and that’s how Amelia knew for certain that she was in serious danger.

She had hoped that there was still a chance Loki would be able to break out of the cage and kick Eruk’s ass, but looking upon him now, she realised that for some reason, that wasn’t a possibility.

Amelia’s lip quivered. She hadn’t taken her eyes off Loki’s pale face since her gaze had fallen upon him; usually when she let her eyes settle on the man she loved, she was filled with warmth and comfort, but there was no comfort now. There was nothing but fear and nerves.

She was almost certain she’d be able to see his rapid heartbeat pulsing at his neck if it wasn’t for the strange black band around it. Amelia faltered. What was that around his neck? Some sort of collar? Why was he wearing a collar? Was this one of Eruk’s humiliation techniques?

Loki didn’t belong in a collar. Collars were for dogs, a way to show that they belonged to somebody. The mere implication that Loki was someone’s property was simply disgusting, it made Amelia angry.

Amelia’s thoughts were interrupted when Eruk gave a dark chuckle, sending uncomfortable chills up her spine. “Well, well, well,” Eruk began, the amusement in his obnoxious voice loud and clear, “what’s going to happen now, hmm?” The way he spoke was unnerving, but it unsettled Amelia more to know that his weapon was still pointed at the back of her head and she had no way of knowing when the horrible, purple man would pull the trigger.

Eruk’s voice pulled Loki’s gaze away from Amelia, he peered over her shoulder, his eyes growing ferocious when he set his sights upon the monster behind her.

“Eruk. Don’t.” Two words. One chilling command. A warning, like the rattle of a rattlesnake’s tail. Eruk did not want to go down this route, it could only end in his death, and there was no coming back from it, Loki would make sure of that.

Loki’s generous forewarning only prompted more laughter from the fiend, and while this time it was authentic, it was still just as menacing and vile.

“Eruk,” Loki spat his name sharply, raising his voice to contest with the tyrant’s evil mirth, “don’t you hurt her. Don’t you even touch her.” Hearing Loki’s vicious attempt to intimidate Eruk into backing off caused tears to spring to Amelia’s eyes, partly out of gratitude for her lover, but mainly over the fact that she knew it probably would not work. Eruk didn’t seem like the type to be easily intimidated.

The other Avengers were silent, too nervous to speak up and potentially anger Eruk into pulling the trigger of his blaster.

“You’re not really in the place to be making demands,” Eruk drawled in an almost sing-song voice, “and I’m very much eager to get to torturing your precious little human as I promised before - unless there's anything you want to say to try and convince me otherwise?” The tyrant’s tone was playful, and it made Amelia feel sick. She could hear the smile on his face as he spoke, finding delight in emotionally tormenting them.

“Eruk,” Loki’s voice was oddly phlegmatic now, as if he had devised a plan and was now taking on a role, whether he was poised to manipulate, cause mischief or reason with the fiend, Amelia trusted him no matter what, “Let’s make a deal.”

“A deal?” Eruk huffed with amusement, “As if you could offer me anything in your current position!” The rumble of his laughter permeated the room, and Amelia was beginning to wish she could shut the asshole up.

“Let Amelia and the others go, and you can have me instead. I’ll be an exhibit in your expo, but only if you free them, unharmed,” his green eyes shifted briefly to Tony, who stared back at him in surprise for a few moments before appearing to warm to the idea. Amelia swallowed tightly. There was no way there were all going to take off and leave Loki in Eruk’s clutches.

“And what makes you think I want you in my expo, hmm?” Eruk retorted calmly.

“You’re a man of business. You’re in this to make money and please your clients. If you accept my offer, I guarantee you will be all the more richer. You see, I am the prince of Asgard, and there I many things I can do to entertain your guests. I’m quite a rare find.” His words were incredibly convincing, to the point that for a few moments, Amelia actually believed Loki intended to perform this trade, to give up his own freedom in return for hers.

But with a few more seconds of thought, Amelia knew better. Loki would not allow himself to be forever caged and forced to perform like a dancing monkey. Whatever his intentions, he was not going to do exactly as he was promising. It was a trick, exactly Loki’s speciality.

Eruk paused, and then clicked his tongue, “My expo is for female exhibits, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“Why restrict your zoo? You could have so many more rare species. Simply expand your expo with a new showcase - an Asgardian prince. What do you say? If that’s not enough, I can offer insight and advice on how to develop and diversify your magnificent menagerie. Think of what you could have.”

Loki was trying everything he could think of to persuade Eruk, even placing himself in a sticky situation in exchange for Amelia’s freedom. The difference between them was that Loki had a better chance of escaping Eruk’s clutches unaided, especially if Amelia was out of harm’s way, then there wouldn’t be anything holding him back from going all out against the fiend.

She was beginning to realise just how idiotic her spur of the moment decision to reveal herself really was - but Loki had been in pain, and Amelia simply couldn’t bare to watch.

“I remain unconvinced.” Eruk was just playing a game, waiting to see what length Loki would go to, to see what he could come up with on the spot. Amelia wondered if Loki believed there was anything he could say to persuade Eruk, or if it was just a matter of stalling until Thor appeared. How long would Eruk allow himself to be stalled until he made good on his promise to hurt her?

Loki’s jaw clicked, teeth grinding together, “Do you have a Frost Giant in your expo?”

Amelia’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, faltering at the implication of Loki’s enquiry. She knew he was sensitive about his Jotun heritage, and was stunned that he would broach the subject to try and gain an advantage in his coaxing.

Eruk was silent for a beat. “No, I do not. Why, do you know where I can find one?”

“I am one.” Was Loki’s simple response.

Eruk found Loki’s words somewhat hilarious, “Oh? You don’t look like one. I thought Frost Giants were supposed to be blue with bloody-red eyes. That is what I have heard.”

Amelia resisted the urge to say ‘he’s not lying, it’s true!’ but she knew that attempting to assist Loki in his persuasion would probably only put her in a more horrible situation, and she’d quite clearly done enough to endanger herself.

“In order to take on my Frost Giant form, I need access to my magic. If you take off this collar, I can show you.”

While is was true Amelia’s mind wasn’t always the sharpest in the room while under pressure, she was able to put two and two together, and the realisation had her stomach dropping. It was obvious now, why the Avengers were seemingly helpless in their confinement; it wasn’t just Loki whose power had somehow been contained, it was Bruce and Steve too, Amelia confirmed with a rigid glance towards them. Eruk had stolen their strength, he’d taken it from them and locked them up like mice in cages.

It was bad. It was really bad. If Loki was unable to persuade Eruk with his silvertongue, she was pretty much done for. 

Amelia’s heart pulsed. She tried to think of a way out, but her brain refused to offer any ideas; a harrowing thought echoed in her mind over and over. You’re going to die, her mind told her, you and your baby are going to die, and it’s your fault.

“Amelia,” Loki spoke her name gently, drawing her from her nauseating thoughts, “I’m going to get you out of this.” His words were comforting and welcomed, he must have noticed the fearful glint of tears in her eyes, and Amelia clung to his reassurance. The longer Loki’s green eyes flickered across her face, the more she believed his hopeful words.

The moment was broken by Eruk’s laughter, once again, “I don’t know how you expect to escape me, you insignificant creature, because I will not be swayed by your lies! You want me to free your magic, so you can kill more of my underlings? I think not!” Amelia jumped when Eruk took a step closer behind her as he motioned the lifeless body of Lexir on the ground several steps away.

Amelia was incredibly aware of the tickle at the top of her spine that seemed to indicate the blaster was just close enough to brush the hairs standing on end on her neck. She suppressed a shiver, looking down at Lexir’s body, and cringed anyway. She hadn’t thought to cast the body a glance until now, but the look of horror burned into Lexir’s face was something from nightmares; Loki truly hadn’t hesitated to repay her for the needless torture she had inflicted upon him. He was the kind of person that always did what needed to be done.

What needed to be done in that moment? Eruk needed his ass kicked, that was one thing, and the other was that those cages needed to be opened. It needed to be done fast, because Amelia wasn’t sure how much longer she had left. It was surprising that Eruk hadn’t shot her yet with how eagerly he had talked about hurting her.

“Eruk,” Loki spoke, “don’t do this.”

“Are you going to beg me now? Hmm? Hah! Go ahead then, beg me not to shoot her and I might consider your plea!”

It was almost as though Eruk was all talk and no action - he’d just been pointing a blaster at her head for several minutes while he laughed at Loki’s attempts to convince him not to do it; perhaps he had no intent to kill Amelia, and after the entertainment wore away, he was going to put her back into a cage and get the ship going again towards the threatening planet looming nearby.

Or perhaps he was waiting for Ularis or Alzill to return because he felt somehow threatened. 

Amelia wasn’t so sure about that last thought, but as she spared the fresh corpse to her left another glance, she wondered if there may have been some truth to it. Eruk was so insistent on having others do the dirty work - he had four evil minions carrying out his orders in return for payment. Well, now he only had two. Maybe he was getting a tad nervous, and maybe he wasn’t used to getting into the nitty gritty of it all.

Ularis, Dhox, Lexir and Alzill had done all the fighting and the kidnapping. Eruk was the glorified curator of a gruesome museum, and Amelia for one had not witnessed any kind of impressive powers or otherworldly strength from the fiend pointing a gun at her head. But was Amelia willing to take that risk and face the challenge head on?

“Go on,” Eruk hissed, “beg me not to hurt her!”

Thor still hadn’t turned up, which meant there may have been a possibility that even he had been captured as well. If she didn’t act now, she probably wouldn’t get another chance - was she ready to fight Eruk and put the skills she had learnt to the test?

Loki’s lip twitched, his hands squeezing so hard on the metal bars that there was no colour left to them; Amelia didn’t want to see Loki be humiliated, especially not in front of all the other Avengers, but he looked ready to drop his pride and obey Eruk if it meant Amelia would be safe. 

“Eruk…” Loki seethed through gritted teeth.

For her friends, for Loki, and for her unborn baby, Amelia would do anything it took.

Amelia turned around, briefly catching sight of Loki’s eyes widening at her sudden movement, and faced Eruk, who quirked an eyebrow up as if to silently ask what she thought she was doing. She was by no means a brave person, but as she stared down the end of Eruk’s blaster, she found herself feeling vaguely like the protagonist in an action movie - now if only she could pull off her loosely formulated plan without a problem.

It was a shame she wasn’t feeling witty enough to come up with a one-liner to solidify her upcoming heroic moment.

She swallowed, eyeing the fiend’s gruesome, ugly face, tightened her grip on the helmet clenched between her hands, and then thrust it forwards as quickly and cleanly as she could, throwing the object into Eruk’s face before he could even register the movement. He jumped back, affronted that Amelia had caught him off-guard, and she took the moment to rush forward and grab the wrist of the hand that held the blaster in a rather pitiful attempt to wrestle it off of him.

She faintly heard Loki and the others yelling out, but she was running immediately off adrenaline and it was difficult to concentrate on what they were saying as she pushed and shoved Eruk while keeping a definitive cling on his arm.

Amelia flinched when the blaster went off, a flash of white and a rush of heat zipping past her head, and this time she heard Loki shout her name for certain - his exclamation filled with frenzied alarm - but she didn’t dwell on it as she was somewhat preoccupied.

“You- you stupid fucking human!” Eruk snapped with fiery agitation; Amelia could see the tentacles running down the back of his head twitching creepily, it was enough to make her skin crawl with disgust, but she persisted. It was in Amelia’s nature to fight through and survive whatever was thrown at her, she had been through so much in the past - if she believed she could overcome Eruk, then it would damn well happen.

Eruk growled, his other arm reeling back to throw a stray punch into Amelia’s face, and she went tumbling down, her back hitting the floor hard as she winced, her jaw stinging from the impact.

“No!” Loki’s enraged shout pulled Amelia back to reality very quickly, and she moved her head within a fraction of the second she spotted the blaster aimed directly at her face. The shot seared into the floor beside her and she shivered from the discomfort of almost becoming a charred piece of meat. “Stop this, Eruk!”

Before the trigger could be pulled again, Amelia kicked her leg out wildly, sweeping it below Eruk and knocking his legs out from under him so that he too went plummeting to the floor.

Despite being still partially-blinded by the light of the blast that had burned temporarily into her vision, Amelia pulled herself onto her hands and knees, crawling across the floor to where the blaster had slipped from Eruk’s hands and skidded away. She heard Loki roar again, and heard Eruk scrambling behind her, which was terrifying enough to shock her into speeding up.

She reached the blaster, pawing at it several times before attaining a solid grip, and spun around, unapologetically aiming the blaster between the fiend’s piercing orange eyes as she slowly rose to her feet - of course, by this time, Eruk was still, baring his teeth in a hideous grimace, not so content to have the tables turned on him.

He was too far away to try anything sneaky. She could easily pull the trigger the moment he made any sort of sudden movement. Amelia had the edge, and it felt great.

“Yeah, that’s right…” Amelia hissed, her chest rising and falling as he caught her breath, “this stupid, fucking human is gonna teach you a lesson.” Heroic one-liner achieved.

“Amelia, shoot him!” Loki cried, his shriek startled Amelia; her outstretched arms wobbled, she wanted to look back at him, but she wasn’t foolish enough to take her eyes off of Eruk for even a fraction of a moment.

“Open the cages,” Amelia ordered, tightening her grip on the gun to try and avoid advertising the fact that she was trembling like a scared child, “Let my friends out.”

Eruk’s eyes narrowed.

“Amelia,” Loki sounded beyond angry, “don’t try reasoning! You can’t trust him, just shoot him!” Amelia flinched at his words. She didn’t want to kill anyone else if she could help it, even if Eruk probably deserved it - she’d already made the choice, she wasn’t a killer - but the desperation in Loki’s voice made her reconsider what she was doing.

If she didn’t kill him and remove the threat, she was putting herself at risk. She was putting her baby at risk. Her hesitation could mean life and death.

She made her demand clear just one more time.

“Open. The. Cages.” Explicit and concise.

Eruk had the audacity to smirk, “No.”

Amelia’s lips twisted into an aggrieved pout; she didn’t care at all for Eruk’s life, but for some reason, the thought of taking it away was still so terribly difficult, and she hated herself for it.

Come on, Amelia, she told herself, think about your baby. 

Amelia’s finger twitched. Loki was right, if she didn’t act now, she left herself open and vulnerable - and she had to power to not let that happen. If Eruk had to die to ensure her baby lived, then so be it.

She pulled the trigger, flinching as she did so.

But nothing happened.

Amelia’s eyes zipped to the blaster in her hands, eyebrows raised in confusion. She pulled the trigger again, met with the exact same response. Nothing. The blaster refused to fire.

“It’s out of rounds,” Eruk explained plainly and condescendingly.

“Shit.” Loki’s voice echoed across the room.

Thinking fast amidst the next pump of adrenaline that rushed through her veins, Amelia threw the gun at the purple monster before her and made a run for it, rushing towards the panel on the wall with the switches to open the cages.

Eruk tripped her up - she was a fool to think she could zip past him in time - and she fell hard, hitting her head on the firm floor. It immediately left her dazed, so much so that she wasn’t able to shimmy away before Eruk grabbed her securely and dragged her across the room, back to the cages in a choke hold.

She was hauled into Loki’s presence once again, and she just about caught sight of the faces of the others, all alarmed and fuming, as one would expect, before Eruk tightened his hold into something more deadly. Amelia’s oxygen was cut off; her mouth fell open and she pulled desperately at Eruk’s arm, trying to loosen the unyielding pressure to no avail. She was choking, panicking, and she didn’t know what to do.

“Let her go!” Bruce shouted, but was ignored by Eruk as if he wasn’t even present. It was Loki’s reaction the fiend was waiting on.

Loki was white as a sheet, his fists twitching around the metal bars as if he was trying to pull them apart, but without his strength it was pointless. “No, no, no,” he chanted, his wide eyes flicking from Amelia’s to Eruk’s, “stop, stop!” Eruk’s only response was to increase the pressure, causing Amelia’s legs to flail as she was lifted off the ground.

Tears squeezed from the corners of Amelia’s eyes, and Loki pressed his forehead against the bars, posture slumping. “Please,” he finally begged, “Eruk, please stop…”

But Eruk would not stop. He was enjoying his power trip far too much.

The building strain, and grainy dark clouds that began to encroach from the corners of Amelia’s vision signalled her rapidly decreasing levels of consciousness; she couldn’t think of the ways Natasha had taught her to combat such a situation - she couldn’t think of anything, other than the belief that she was going to die staring into Loki’s eyes with no way out.

And without having told him her secret.

With no way to defend herself, there was surely no way out.

Just then, a stray thought jumped into her mind. She wasn’t defenseless.

A burst of liveliness jolted through her body, and she rushed into action before the intruding darkness swallowed her whole. Amelia pawed blindly at the armour on her left arm, poking and prodding to unclasp the latch, so she could reach for what was secreted beneath it. 

Her dagger.

The armour clattered against the floor and Amelia’s hand clenched around the hilt, unsheathing it from its leather scabbard. She impulsively jammed the weapon backwards into Eruk’s body, wasting no time with accuracy while her life was in immediate danger.

She was released as a brutish wail escaped Eruk’s throat, and collapsed to the floor, sucking in raspy breaths to fill her lungs as she tried to keep her wits about her. Her vision wavered as she dragged herself forwards - away from Eruk - and flinched when pale hands reached for her. The moment she realised it was Loki pulling her closer, she felt herself relax, though it was still quite a chore to take in oxygen.

What she wanted more than anything was to just slump against the bars of the cage and succumb to the exhaustion she felt, because part of her brain was telling her ‘you’re in Loki’s arms, you’re safe’, but the rational side was still prevalent enough to remind her that that wasn’t wholly true. She was far from safe, and Loki knew that too.

“Are you alright? Amelia, are you alright?” Loki frantically enquired, maneuvering his arms through the bars to hold onto her and cup her face. His hands were shaking, clearly perturbed from having to watch his lover being choked.

Amelia nodded, not quite trusting her voice. She was okay - she wasn’t dead - but she was still in danger. Glancing back over her shoulder, Amelia spied Eruk desperately clutching his side to quell the bleeding as he spat out obscenities under his breath; he’d put some serious distance between himself and Amelia, and it wasn’t something that went unnoticed.

She stuttered through her laborious breaths, still recovering from the strangulation, “I’m... okay… I’m o-okay,” but in truth she was shaken up, her anxiety boiling over to a ridiculously high point, because she knew her fight with Eruk wasn’t over. Amelia looked into Loki’s eyes, seeing the fear laid so bare, and pressed her hand over his where it rested at her cheek.

Amelia almost wanted to whisper her secret to Loki then and there. To reveal that she was pregnant, but more so she wanted the reveal to be as light-hearted as possible, and there was no way divulging that information would bring anything positive to the moment - it could even have the opposite effect and terrorise Loki all the more.

Instead, Amelia whispered, “I love you.”

Loki’s eyes widened and subtly glistened. He did not say the words back, but Amelia hadn’t expected him to. He always saved those words for just the right moment, and refrained from using them too frivolously - unlike Amelia, who preferred to remind Loki every single day that he was forever the object of her affections.

A deranged roar from Eruk pulled Amelia out of the moment, and prompted her to scramble away from Loki’s arms, despite his protests and attempts to pull her back, and rush to grab the dagger that had fallen to the floor when she had initially collapsed. She hurried up, staggering to her feet, holding the dagger aloft before her in a manner that said ‘I may not know how to use this thing, but I know it’s damn well sharp.’

“I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you! Stupid human bitch!” The fiend spluttered from across the room, stray drops of saliva flying from his mouth, and stray drops of blood dripping from the wound in his side. It wasn’t red blood, it was purple, almost looking black in low light, but Amelia could tell, because it stained the blade she gripped in her hand.

Eruk looked like he was contemplating whether to charge, and Amelia remained alert, shifting from side to side. For the love of God, this all could’ve gone so much easier if her temporary magic wasn’t so damn selective.

“Just run, don’t fight-” Loki instructed from behind her, his voice laced with panic, “you can outrun him-”

“No,” Amelia responded quietly but firmly, her throat still croaky from the prior attack, “I need to stop him…” She was too exhausted to run, and even if she did manage to outrun him, it wouldn’t solve the problem they were currently facing - and Eruk could retaliate by hurting Loki or any of the others. Amelia didn’t want to give him that chance.

“Look at him, Amelia,” Natasha spoke, and Amelia struggled for a moment to figure out whether she meant Eruk or Loki, but given that Nat had always taught her never to take her eyes off her opponent for even a moment, Amelia had to assume she meant the purple monster staggering back and forth across the room. “Actually look at him.”

Amelia frowned, staring ahead, her eyes flickering across Eruk’s disgusting form with the intent to weed out what Natasha was trying to hint at. He was slumped, one hand clamped over the bleeding wound on his side, shifting from one foot to the other with angry, frantic movements. He was enraged, there was nothing to suggest he wanted to play around and emotionally torture Loki anymore, he was ready to kill her, heck, he’d even said it out loud, his words promising a painful death.

The tentacles on his head seemed to scuttle like crazy in response to his pain. Gross.

But what was Natasha trying to tell her? Obviously it was something that would agitate Eruk if she said it aloud, otherwise she would’ve just told Amelia outright.

Amelia’s eyes narrowed. She may not have been a genius like Tony or Bruce, but there was definitely something of note about Eruk’s behaviour.

Apprehension.

Of course. The fact that Eruk was still skulking on the other side of the room told Amelia everything she needed to know.

He was afraid. 

The scumbag curator of a definitely illegal museum in which he put living beings on display for the entertainment of others, with no regard for those he stole away, or their families, was afraid of Amelia. He was a huge fucking coward. All this time, he had hidden behind his lackies, ordering them to do his bidding while he sat back and watched, putting on a facade that he was some almighty being to be feared, but in reality he was nothing, and that gave Amelia a whole universe of confidence.

Amelia stalked forward, moving with purposeful yet cautious strides towards the purple fiend; she knew what she had to do, and she wasn’t afraid if she took a few hits in the process. She was the one with the dagger, after all, and her unrelenting grip on the hilt would make sure it stayed that way.

Empowered by the knowledge that her opponent was more than wary of her, Amelia used her newfound self-assurance to her advantage. She wasn’t going to recklessly charge headfirst into a potentially dangerous situation and lose her lead, or her life; now that she wasn’t panicking so much, it wasn’t too difficult to recall her training with Nat. While she’d let fear control her, it was as if her brain had just let go of all those handy defense lessons she’d received, but not now. In fact, as she looked upon the fiend she was slowly approaching, she could pick out several different ways in which to incapacitate him.

Amelia took another step closer, and Eruk flinched, forcing himself not to take another step back.

It was amazing how intimidating one could appear with determination and a dangerous weapon on hand. 

One more step on Amelia’s part had Eruk springing forward, but luckily for Amelia, the adrenaline rushing through her, and her prediction of his decision to lash out meant that evading Eruk’s rush to grab her was all too easy. Extending her arm in the form of a slash was almost instinctual now that she trusted in her ability to defend herself.

Eruk cried out again, quickly putting space between them as he cradled his arm, the new laceration across his hand only adding to his trepidation, and Amelia felt the shock of her own actions. She had done that. She had actually done that.

As it happened, getting distracted by the strength of one’s own self-preservation was a quick road to losing the upper hand.

Eruk struck her round the side of the head, throwing her balance and causing her to stagger as her head filled with an incessant, annoying ringing sound. She managed to keep herself upright, but the effort was in vain because Eruk was quick to kick her legs out from below her and send her tumbling to the hard, cold floor.

Despite being briefly stunned, Amelia was quick to roll out of the way when Eruk’s foot came stomping down. She dragged herself to her feet, keeping at a distance; Eruk’s expression was psychotic, but it didn’t scare her. Not anymore.

Amelia moved the dagger from her right hand to her left, and then lunged forward, raising the blade up as if to stab, but faked Eruk out by delivering a mean right-hook instead. The wounded bellow the fiend gave was satisfying, and Amelia ducked as he tried to blindly hit her; the more she observed, the more she felt that Eruk was not at all trained in any sort of fighting techniques. He really was just a terrible creature who preferred to pay others to do his dirty work.

She put space between them, and steadied herself before lifting her knee and swinging her body to land a round kick directly to Eruk’s face. It was even more fulfilling to watch Eruk collapse as he expelled a whine, and Amelia scampered after him when she saw the opportunity arise.

Amelia pinned Eruk down with her own body, trapping his arms to his sides with her legs, and at once she held the dagger up high between both hands, her intentions all too clear.

But she didn’t perform the killing blow.

Eruk flinched, shutting his eyes as the tentacles on his head squirmed, and he tried to wriggle free, but Amelia wasn’t going to let that happen - this had to end now.

“Do it, Amelia!” Loki snapped, the cage door rattling as he shook it eagerly.

Amelia clenched the dagger’s hilt hard in her hands, her eyes growing bleary with tears as she grit her teeth together. She glared at the son of a bitch, her gaze filled with all the anger she felt, and chose not to plunge the blade through his eye socket.

“I’m not going to kill you.” Amelia spoke lowly as she lowered her dagger, and Eruk opened his eyes wide in surprise. She sniffed, drawing in a terse breath, shaking her head and clenching her fist, which clicked with the sound of popping joints, “But Loki probably will.”

With that, she slammed her fist into the fiend’s ugly face, blissfully knocking him out. When he lay unresponsive for more than a few moments, Amelia released a long sigh, slumping with relief. He was unconscious, no longer a threat, and the consolation of that fact was more than reassuring.

“Amelia,” Tony called out, “get us out of here.”

At the sound of Tony’s voice, Amelia’s head snapped up and she grunted, crawling off of Eruk’s motionless body. It was difficult to stand after exerting herself, and by fucking god, she was so damn hungry and tired - the desire to collapse and fall asleep was definitely present, but Amelia knew she couldn’t rest until her friends were out of their cells.

“Jus’ a moment, I got it,” Amelia slurred, “ugh, I don’t think I’m cut out for this fighting business.” She chuckled as she spoke, a little delirious to have knocked a bad guy out, and she looked up as she stumbled, her eyes going straight back to Loki.

He didn’t look as proud as Amelia hoped he would look. Loki stared at her with broken, tired eyes. It was the face of a man who’d been helpless to intervene as he watched the woman he loved get hurt, ashamed that he’d been unable to defend her himself.

Amelia knew it wasn’t Loki’s fault, it wasn’t his fault she’d been taken in the first place and it certainly wasn’t his fault that she was covered in bruises with aching muscles. Though he was always the first to blame himself, Amelia knew all too well. But it was okay - it was going to be fine now. Eruk was down for the count. All would be well.

The entryway to the control room hissed as the doors parted, and all eyes zipped to the entrance with mixed apprehension and unease.

It was Ularis.

Chapter Text

Thor could have dealt with Alzill in the blink of an eye if it weren’t for the fact that he was stuck in place protecting Inga from the fray. The very bottom of the engine room had no easy-to-access exits - if they wanted to escape in one piece, they’d have to deal with Eruk’s persistent underling first.

She’d been showering them with a torrent of fiery doom, quite literally, for an inordinate amount of time, and while Thor was able to use his electrical power to divert the searing flames away from his body, Inga was not able to construct the same cover on her own, so thus he was knelt above her curled up body, waiting for what seemed like far too long for a chance to break out of the monotonous trap he’d fallen into.

“Do you have a plan?” Inga asked, voice raised above the harsh noise of crackling fire and faint juddering from the struggling equipment around them. There was a muted desperation to her voice that Thor yearned to soothe.

“Fear not, my lady,” Thor began, strong and steady, “I am simply waiting for the most opportune moment to put my plan into action.” It was a lie, he didn’t have a plan. But that didn’t mean he was completely clueless about how he was going to triumph over the vile woman overhead.

Squinting up into the unrelenting hell-fire, Thor spied Alzill’s face through the falling flames; she looked amused at the fact she had trapped him, and it was quite irritating indeed. She seemed content as she expelled the harmful fire-storm upon them, purposely keeping them caught in the cylindrical snare that was the engine room. Her intent was to stall them, disallow them from escaping and finding Amelia or the others.

Thor hoped Amelia had found somewhere safe to hide, but more so he hoped she had the common sense to stay put rather than seek out Loki or any of the other Avengers. He knew Amelia well enough to know that she didn’t always think before acting, and that notion worried him.

An object fell from above and landed with a crash just inches away from Thor and Inga, prompting a startled yelp from the latter, and Thor peered at the slab of metal curiously - it had been ripped from the remnants of the suspended walkway under the duress of Alzill’s attack.

Thor frowned, and then blinked.

An idea popped into his mind. That’s it, he thought. 

“Stay close to the wall, Inga,” Thor instructed, raising ever so slightly from his crouched position. He reached for the thick sheet of metal, examining it briefly to check its weight and potential durability.

And then he jammed it into the wall above Inga’s head, creating a cover for her from the blaze above. Thor acted quickly, sliding out into the open area of the room as he repelled the inferno with his magic, and with exceptional precision, he used one outstretched arm to deliver a bolt of lightning to the fried walkway below her feet.

She reacted fast, gripping a concavity in the wall to keep from falling to their level, and climbed back up. Her irritation was apparent in her expression, and she retaliated by summoning a larger blazing blast, which she launched in Thor’s direction.

Thor jumped aside, the expanded blast missing him by inches, and he felt the heat of it as it passed and struck the wall behind him, singing a few hairs of his beard in the process. Thor grouched, “Are you going to stand up there all day attacking from afar like a coward, or are you going to come down and fight me face to face?”

The intent was to get the woman on his level so that he didn’t have to worry about missing targets with his volatile lightning abilities. He didn’t want to hit anything combustible and end up causing a devastating explosion, which would no doubt end up endangering all the innocent lives on board, and since they were in the engine room, Thor could only imagine it might happen all too easily.

Alzill did not entertain Thor’s provocative question with a response, but instead continued to fling bursts of heated energy at him.

Thor immediately fired another bolt of lightning, being a little less forgiving with it this time, and it connected with her legs, causing her body to spasm and for her to stumble forward over the edge. She fell, but maneuvered mid-air and landed on her feet like a graceful cat, staggering only slightly from the effect of the electricity.

Without hesitating for even a moment, Alzill discharged another barrage of white hot blasts, her face a picture of overconfidence as she did so, and Thor could tell from the look in her eyes that she expected to somehow win this fight. It was quite unlikely that the battle would fall in her favour; while she was strong and skilled in her use of fire magic, the summation of her power was still nothing in comparison to that of a god.

Her flames fizzled in the aura of his expanding, electrical energy, barely reaching Thor at all, and for those few fiery, stray projectiles that did manage to grapple through, they brought only reddened marks to his skin and no real damage was done.

And yet, despite Thor’s total control over the skirmish thus far, Alzill seemed smug.

Alzill smiled, “It’s just a matter of time until you’re locked up with your friends. They were all shockingly easy to overpower,” her laughter was incredibly fake and quite irksome, “the raven-haired one put up a good fight, but in the end, it was easy to outplay him.”

Thor’s eyes narrowed at the woman’s taunts. All of his friends had been captured? Loki had been captured? How in oblivion had Loki been captured? Dhox had been dealt with very early on, and by Thor’s understanding, he had been the only one of them with a concerning ability, while the rest appeared only moderately powerful.

What exactly had happened?

“You know, if I were you, I’d give it up and offer yourself over. Otherwise, you may not get the chance to see your friends again before we execute them. Oh, and that human girl - she will experience what it means to be tortured for her impertinence.” Her mouth pulled into a malevolent grin.

Thor didn’t know what Alzill intended to accomplish with her goading, for it only served to make his energy spike from anger. His electric aura buzzed through the air and pulsed through his veins, and he was sure his opponent could feel it resonate throughout the room like a warning signal.

Alzill rubbed her hands together slowly in front of her, and between her palms, a deep orange glow began to form; it appeared gradually, and then grew all at once as she stretched her arms apart. A huge flaming ball, the heat of which Thor could feel from where he stood. Wonderful.

She launched it his way, and seemed to thrive when Thor’s electrical energy swelled to compensate. The crackling lightning encompassed it, wrenching it apart, the scalding heat sputtering as it struggled to stay whole, and Thor overcame it easily with the brawn of his own power. 

His eyes shined white-blue from the electricity flooding his veins, and Alzill gave a hysterical laugh, reaching behind her back for something.

“Thor, look out!” Inga cried, and Thor frowned at the heavy apprehension in her warning.

Alzill hurled something his way, something small and black - a band of sorts. It zipped through the air towards him, and he had only a fraction of a second to decide what he was supposed to do with it.

He caught the band with ease.

Thor cocked an eyebrow, turning the band in his solid grip to examine it. He hated to admit it, but he was utterly confused by the object that had been thrown his way; it was some sort of collar, it seemed, now that he could inspect it up close, but what was it supposed to do? Serve as a distraction?

Alzill seemed ashen all of a sudden, having taken a step back, and a look of alarm settled over her face.

“Thor! Throw it back!” Inga exclaimed, even more overwrought than before, waving her arms to strengthen the significance of her instruction.

Thor didn’t have a moment to dwell on just what was going on, because Alzill actually turned to run in an effort to escape, but his trust in Inga was firm, so he did as he was told, and flung the collar right back with an easy flick of his wrist. It somehow gravitated towards Alzill’s neck, clamping around it tightly just nanoseconds after leaving his hand.

Alzill tripped over her own feet, screeching as she fell and slammed into the hard base of the engine room, and all at once, the heated atmosphere dissipated and returned to normal. She scrambled across the floor, exhaling panicked noises as she went, and Thor decided she had stalled him long enough.

He used the opportunity to power up, zips and zaps of electricity travelling through the air, his white-blue radiance flashing across the room as he struck Alzill with a bolt of lightning, silencing her immediately. 

Her body twitched for a few moments before flopping down, unmoving.

Thor gazed down at the woman, a perplexed look on his face. He was bewildered, still completely unsure what had occurred to cause Alzill to go from self-satisfied to cowardly in no time at all. He turned to Inga, who was crawling out from below her makeshift safety barrier, and quickly approached her, offering his hand to help her to her feet.

“Are you alright, Lady Inga?”

She let out a long sigh of relief, and nodded, a small smile appearing on her lips, “I’m okay, just… that was well handled.” She sounded impressed, and the notion brought a warm feeling to Thor’s chest. He couldn’t help but match Inga’s meaningful beam.

Thor was well aware of the fact that Inga continued to clutch his hand even after being helped to her feet, but he didn’t draw attention to it, simply squeezing her hand and letting it sit there in return. He glanced back over his shoulder, “So, would you mind explaining what exactly happened a moment ago? I’m a bit lost.”

Inga’s expression fell to a frown when she locked eyes with Alzill’s body, “It’s a good thing you caught it. If it had clasped around your neck, you may have lost this fight. The collar is an invention of Eruk’s, it’s used to subdue an opponent by absorbing and locking in the wearer’s life energy,” she pursed her lips, “Alzill goads her opponents into showing their true power, and the collar auto-calibrates to contain their energy, at least, that is my understanding of it…”

That explained a lot. In fact, it was enough to explain why Loki had been captured. Things were beginning to make a lot more sense.

“We need to move. I have a bad feeling that Amelia is in danger.” The sensation grew in the pit of Thor’s stomach and he felt his heart drop. Amelia was already vulnerable enough. He only hoped he wouldn’t be too late.

Amelia’s legs were frozen to the spot.

Ularis’s eyes were wide and hostile as her gaze settled on Amelia, then switched to Eruk’s motionless body, before finally falling upon Lexir’s corpse, and her vibrant red skin seemed to dull to something more ashen at the sight laid out before her.

“Amelia, quickly!”

It took Amelia more than a moment to realise Loki was roaring for her to move and free them, but the moment she kicked off the ground in an attempt to sprint to the panel, something zipped into her vision and collided at her feet, culminating in a shock-wave of light and heat and hard, uncomfortable pressure which carried her violently to the ground some distance away.

Amelia was on her back, gasping and coughing for the air that had been forcefully knocked out of her, and the world around her was vaguely hazy, but she could still make out the upset in Loki’s voice as he called her name desperately.

She tilted her head, following his voice, and watched Ularis make her way over to Lexir’s body with a frighteningly calm composure before kneeling. The woman wasn’t holding a blaster - the projectile had come from her hands, which didn’t give Amelia much hope for surviving the imminent battle.

Her body hurt all over, she was already sore from fighting that prick, Eruk, and the worst thing was that Eruk didn’t even appear to be superpowered. There was no way she could compare to Ularis, who had already proved that her powers were too hot to handle.

Amelia almost sobbed as she forced herself up on her elbows, her muscles shaking at the strain, and she had to squeeze her eyes tightly shut to avoid spilling tears that were more than ready to flow. She met Loki’s gaze across the room, and the nightmare was a reality once again.

Loki’s knuckles were white as a sheet as he gripped the metal bars, his face pallid, and his intense stare full of anguish. Amelia somehow managed to roll over and push herself to her hands and knees, remaining low to the floor as if it would help keep Ularis’s attention off of her.

It was in vain, because Amelia saw the woman’s expression turn bloodthirsty and fierce, her pain of loss channeled into her anger. She tilted her head up slowly, eyes pinned on Amelia, and fear flushed through her body, causing her already struggling limbs to tremble all the more.

“It wasn’t her,” Loki spoke up quickly, rattling the cage as he did so, “It was me. I killed Lexir.” He admitted without hesitation, clearly aware of the assumptions running through Ularis’s mind.

The woman’s breathing was audibly irregular as she tried to contain her heartache and replace it with rising fury; she didn’t bother to look at Loki. Instead, she held aggressive eye contact with Amelia, and scathingly hissed, “Then I suppose it’s only fair I take from you what you took from me.”

“No,” Loki breathed as his hands released the metal bars to clutch at the collar around his neck; he pulled at it, trying his hardest to rip it away from himself, but it was fruitless, “No.” 

Ularis began to approach, slow but significant steps, like a big cat stalking its prey, and Amelia mustered every bit of strength and courage in her body to rise precariously to her feet, stumbling back. She was panicking, but in the corner of her peripheral vision, she noticed her dagger glinting on the ground where it had fallen when she’d flown through the air not too long ago.

It was several metres away, and there was no chance Amelia would reach it before Ularis caught up with her, but what kind of honorary Avenger would she be if she didn’t try?

Although slow and unsteady, Amelia staggered towards the blade, inwardly praying to any merciful God that may or may not exist that she might reach the dagger in time, but to her dismay, it was not meant to be. She felt Ularis’s hand clench around the collar of her armoured suit, and she was spun back around moments before the red woman’s hand collided with the side of her face. The resulting pain that spread throughout her cheekbone and eye was dreadful, and forced a plea from Amelia’s mouth.

“Please, don’t-”

It was a pathetic whimper, and Amelia hated that she’d resorted to begging for her life, but she felt so helpless and she didn’t want to die, she didn’t want her baby to die, so what choice did she have? Ularis knew she was pregnant, and if there was any single shred of decency, any speck of potential redemption inside her, this would be the moment to utilise it.

She was lifted from the ground and thrown down to the hard steel floor, the impact once again violently knocking the breath from her lungs, causing her to wheeze and rasp for a few blissful moments before the ability to do so was taken from her. Ularis’s fingers clamped around her windpipe, cutting off her air supply.

Amelia pawed at Ularis’s hand, trying to loosen the firm, unyielding grip, but she couldn’t summon the strength to pry her away, and her lungs were burning with desperation; Amelia’s eyes widened at the venomous glare Ularis was pinning her down with - she had been wrong to think there was a scrap of virtue within the red woman.

Ularis bared her teeth, raising her other hand. A small blade with a bright orange sheen appeared, materialising with her power, clenched in her fist with the wavering intent to bring it down hard through Amelia’s eye socket, but she held it there threateningly as though she was unsure about it, “I don’t know whether to end it quickly for you, or just watch with satisfaction as the life leaves your eyes slowly,” she hissed, “you’re the reason my Lexir is dead… I’m going to make you all suffer.”

Loki’s despairing shouts pierced the air, “Ularis, stop! Please! ULARIS!” and Amelia managed to tilt her head and catch him in her peripheral. He wasn’t letting up on his attempts to prise the collar from his neck, and the other Avengers looked on in horror. She saw Tony cover his mouth as he watched on helplessly.

It seemed Amelia was going to die, but the thought that sprung tears to her eyes was the knowledge that her baby would die with her. Her baby would never get a chance to live, all because a disgusting alien man needed another exhibit in his monstrous zoo.

The darkness encroached, black tendrils of unconsciousness pouring in, threatening to engulf her - and then, just when Amelia was about let her mind drift off, a gleam of crackling green ignited in the edge of her vision.

“What-” Ularis couldn’t get another word out before the mysterious green light grew more vibrant and intense, and in the blink of an eye, it expanded out like an explosion. Ularis was thrown across the room by an invisible force, and Amelia was finally able to draw in a deep breath, her hands flying to her throat as she gasped out a whimper.

The green dissipated slowly, growing more and more dim, until it faded, and Amelia fell limp on the floor.

It must have been a good few moments before Amelia seemed to grapple herself back to reality, and it was the noise of her friend’s voices that reminded her of where she was and what had just happened.

“Loki! How did you do that?” Bruce exclaimed.

“It… it wasn’t me…” Loki croaked, his voice a mesh of distress and confusion.

“What do you mean it wasn’t you? Who did that?” Tony questioned.

Amelia blinked slowly up at the ceiling, inwardly telling herself that she needed to get up and go open those damn cages before a third villain turned up, but the floor seemed so comfortable in her current condition. She had thought she’d had no energy before, but now her body was barely hanging on.

Getting to her feet seemed like an achievement akin to climbing Mount Everest. She could barely move, not after what had just happened - that severe discharge of magical energy, was that from her? It had to be, Loki was the only other person with wispy green magic, and his powers were still contained.

She’d actually managed to defend herself with the magic Loki had unknowingly gifted her, even if it had been inadvertent and unwitting, she still felt a slither of pride in knowing that even though she thought she had given up, there was still fight left in her body.

At least, there had been. She wasn’t so sure now.

“Amelia?” Loki called out hesitantly, and then called out again a little louder. “Amelia?”

The edge of fear in his voice encouraged Amelia to turn her head towards him, and that alone seemed to bring a remnant of relief to his face. 

Was it over? Was she safe? She wasn’t sure how lethal the blast of magic had been, but she couldn’t hear any movement to indicate that Ularis was still kicking. Still, she didn’t let herself relax just yet. She wouldn’t relax again until she was safe in Loki’s arms and back on Earth.

Despite the fact that every single muscle in her body was protesting any sort of movement, Amelia pushed herself up, very slowly, letting out pained grunts and whimpers as she did so; her body was not cut out to be battered around like a pi ñ ata. 

Amelia staggered, practically falling into each step. It was a miracle she was able to keep herself on two feet as she moved towards the panel once again on the wall across the room from the cages.

She was only a few long strides away when she heard Loki draw in a sharp breath, and the weird, distorted noise of one of Ularis’s fiery projectiles charging up. Amelia turned, her face stricken with terror, and had only a fraction of a second to protect her stomach from the energy blast that detonated at her feet with enough force to lift her off the ground and repel her roughly into the wall.

She crumpled to the floor then, curling in on herself and fully devoid of any fight. Amelia was pained enough, if the projectile had hit her dead on, she was sure she wouldn’t have survived - she could at least be glad that her magic had kicked Ularis off her A-game, but what did it matter if it had only delayed her fate.

“You- I’m going to kill you!” Ularis shrieked, palm outstretched as another blazing ball materialised in her hand.

This was it. There was really no surviving this now.

Amelia huddled in on herself, turning her back to the woman and burying her face in her arms, waiting for her inevitable demise, utterly exhausted and fearful.

Something fell over her, covering her entire body, and she flinched as she felt the warmth of Ularis’s blast - except, she wasn’t burning alive from the impact like she imagined she would, and she was stunned in a mix of panic and puzzlement until she heard a very familiar and very agonised grunt.

A tremor past through her body and she tentatively lifted her head and gazed over her shoulder.

Loki was crouched above her, and Amelia was sure her heart almost stopped at the sight of him outside the cage, so close to her. She let out a sob, and Loki turned his gaze away from Ularis, peering down at Amelia with a very grave, pained look, and then she saw his arm. His arm, which had borne the brunt of Ularis’s fiery attack, his arm which was shaking and singed from the flames.

He’d protected her, using himself as a shield.

Another sob, this time louder, left Amelia’s throat, and her whole chest quivered as she fought the urge to break down and cry her heart out.

Loki’s uninjured hand rested upon her head, “Stay down.” Gentle and firm at once - Amelia almost wanted to hold on to him as he rose to his feet and faced Ularis, stepping aside to draw the fight away from her. But she didn’t exactly need to be told twice - Amelia was completely spent, she wasn’t sure she could get back up if she wanted to.

How had Loki escaped the cage? Amelia blinked slowly, glancing back at the cage door which was swung open. He hadn’t broken it off its hinges then. Amelia frowned, looking up at the wall she had crashed into, and it clicked - she must have hit the switch to Loki’s cage when she’d collided against the panel on the wall. 

Was it perhaps the best luck she had ever had in her life?

Amelia gazed over at Loki, watching him closely, and then another pulse of fearful anxiety rushed through her. He was still wearing the collar. How was he going to fight Ularis with that damn power-containing collar around his neck?

Her hard gaze went to Ularis, and she squinted, wincing from the pain around her eye socket; the red-skinned woman wasn’t so spritely as she had been at the beginning of their little fight - it seemed Amelia’s unexpected magical attack had done a number on her. But was it enough to weaken her so that Loki could finish her off?

Amelia’s body felt heavy. It was almost too much for her to lift her head and watch Loki like a hawk as he strode towards his opponent, giving off an air of intense fury and unbridled confidence despite his hindrance, and the damage done to his arm. She didn’t think she could ever be as self-possessed and poised as Loki, and Amelia was almost convinced from his manner alone that he had a fool-proof plan to take Ularis down.

But that collar left her with a world of doubt, and she was scared.

Her mind was so foggy that it took her a few seconds to become cognizant of the fact that Loki had charged Ularis. It was clear from the first few blows between them that Ularis had been severely weakened by Amelia’s borrowed magic, but it was difficult to discern whether or not they were on equal ground.

Even without his magic, his godly strength and his daggers, Loki was beyond graceful and still a force to be reckoned with. When he was knocked down, he barely hesitated in getting back up on his feet; his determination was immense, and that alone was powerful enough to fuel his assault on Ularis.

Amelia wished she had half as much determination.

Her body felt cold now, and she curled further in on herself, shivering a she fought to keep a close eye on the ensuing battle.

“You can do this, Loki.” She whispered below her breath, praying that he could get a good hit in and overcome his opponent.

He was struck hard, and plummeted to the ground, and Amelia flinched as if the pain was her own. Loki dragged himself back to avoid getting kicked in the stomach, and winced as he rose slowly to his feet, this time with a shockingly calm look on his face.

“You really have a death wish, don’t you?” Ularis drawled, bracing herself to dodge another flurry of fists, and as she predicted, Loki bolted towards her again, silent and resolute in his onslaught.

His blow never reached Ularis, and as Amelia anxiously pondered why he had frozen and staggered against his opponent, her eyes caught sight of the magical blade Ularis had summoned once again, and thrust into Loki’s abdomen. The realisation had Amelia’s stomach churning, and she let out an impulsive cry of dread, tears leaking down her face as she shook.

Loki’s pain was audible in his harsh grunts and wheezing breaths, but not a moment later, he returned the favour.

Before Ularis could even register, Loki had plunged a hidden dagger through the side of her head, and Amelia let out a choked gasp, her eyes flickering frantically to the floor where she had dropped the dagger Loki had gifted her.

It was gone. Which meant the one in Ularis’s skull was the very same dagger.

Loki had managed to snag the blade without anybody noticing. He may have been sapped of his powers, but his sneaky tricks were blessedly still present, and that very fact had won him the fight.

Ularis dropped, dead, to the floor, and Loki reeled to his knees, his hand quivering as he grabbed Ularis’s dagger and pulled it from his body, immediately lurching over as a shout escaped him.

“Loki, Loki…” Amelia sputtered, both relief and alarm encompassing her. Was he going to be alright? Was the stab wound lethal? She needed to know he would be okay.

At that moment, Thor and Inga rushed in. A bit too late, if you asked Amelia, but she was grateful to see them nonetheless. Thor rushed first to his brother, intent on aiding him, but as Thor put a hand on Loki’s shoulder, Loki shrugged it off, hissing as he rejected his brother’s help and pushed himself wobbly to his feet, one hand clamped over the wound in his abdomen.

The fact that Loki was insistent on acting independent was a good thing in Amelia’s books - he was able to stand, even if he did look worryingly pale and ready to keel over at any moment. Loki motioned Thor towards her, and the God of Thunder then rushed to her side in an instant, not having seen her at first, repeating her name over and over.

“Amelia? Amelia? Are you okay? Amelia?” Thor looked positively mortified as he scanned her body, his gaze lingering on all the bruises and cuts, but Amelia was too busy staring at Loki to respond to Thor’s frantic questioning.

Loki had yet to return to her. Instead, he pulled the dagger from Ularis’s head and stomped - or, rather, floundered - towards Eruk who was still swimming in the blissful unaware known as unconsciousness. He knelt above him, and from the angle, Amelia could not see what Loki was doing, but she had a good idea. Eruk still needed to pay for what he had done, and Amelia had warned the purple alien that Loki would come for him.

Her suspicions were confirmed when Eruk suddenly jerked, and she heard the fiend begin to scream as he received his just desserts. Amelia couldn’t tell which creative way Loki had chosen to enact his revenge, but the sight of one of Eruk’s tentacles flopping down to one side, completely detached from his head and spurting purple blood, was enough to give Amelia a clear picture - and to remind her that she was feeling very sick.

Amelia gagged, tightly shutting her eyes, and groaned, letting out a distraught shudder - she felt very unwell in general. Her head was aching, her muscles were overdone, her stomach felt like it was trying to escape her body through vigorous squirming, and she was ready to start heaving - not that she expected to throw anything up, she hadn’t eaten anything in quite some time.

It would’ve been a nice time to pass out and let her body recover, but she didn’t want to alarm her friends, who had all, at some point, left their cages - Inga or Thor must’ve hit the switches and let them all out - and were now crowding around her with perturbed expressions.

“Holy shit, kid, are you okay?” Tony asked, crouching down by her head, his tone a mixture of distressed and remorseful, “I’m sorry. This should never have happened to you. I’m sorry.”

Amelia didn’t quite trust herself to speak just yet, so she gently patted the hand he had placed on her shoulder, hoping it would express how much she didn’t blame him for all that had occurred. It was nobody's fault but Eruk and his cronies.

“Is she going to be alright?” Steve asked Bruce, who was assessing her injuries closely, but it was Inga who spoke up.

“I will need to examine her in my infirmary. I will be able to heal any minor to moderate injuries she may have.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Clint snapped, “Come on.”

“Wait,” Amelia gasped out, “wait… Loki- he’s hurt-”

“I’m here.” All of a sudden, Loki was there, practically shoving the others aside so he could kneel by Amelia’s side, “I’m here.” His hands were stained purple and red, and there were splashes of it on his face too - it didn’t help Amelia’s restless stomach, but just seeing his face and having him close did wonders for her mental state.

“Loki…” Amelia breathed, and in a fit of spontaneous relief, she told him, “I’m pregnant.” Her heart fired off in her chest, beating like it was going to explode, and she held her breath waiting for a response.

Loki’s eyes glistened. He laid his uninjured hand on her head and his lip quivered. “I know.”

Amelia stared up at Loki with her jaw hanging open. She blinked rapidly, confusion running rife through her mind.

“I’m sorry, what did she just say?” Tony’s voice echoed from behind Loki, and he looked between everyone present, visibly flustered, “Did she just say what I think she said? Why does nobody else look surprised? Am I the only one who didn’t know?”

“I didn’t know,” said Clint bluntly, “But I’m not shocked.”

“I didn’t know for certain,” Natasha added with a small smirk, “But I made an educated guess early on. She refused alcohol at her party, remember?”

“Huh,” Steve hummed, and then looked pointedly at Tony, “You’re gonna have to baby-proof the Tower.”

Amelia sniffed as she gazed up at Loki through blurry eyes, swallowing the sting in the back of her throat. She had so many questions, but her head was pounding, and every time she opened her mouth to speak, her throat tightened in refusal; she scrunched her eyes shut tightly, willing herself not to cry - she told herself that Loki clearly didn’t look upset over the knowledge she was pregnant, which could only be a good thing, and there would be time to talk about it later.

“I don’t feel well,” she whispered, her breathing growing somewhat laboured, “I wanna go home, Loki.”

Loki threaded his fingers through her hair, “We will. Soon, I promise. Inga needs to take a look at you first.” He moved to lift Amelia, but gave a strained cry when he attempted to pick her up.

“You’re hurt!” Amelia gasped, and rushed to push herself up on her elbows, but regretted it immediately. Her head swam and her vision spiralled, and then she passed out.

When she awoke, she was being carried by Thor and they were headed - presumably - to the infirmary to get her checked out. Natasha was walking across from them, and Loki was there beside her, still clutching the wound in his abdomen.

“Are you feeling okay, Amelia?” Thor asked when he noticed her squirming.

“No,” Amelia sniffed, “I’m hungry and thirsty, and I wanna go home.” She realised she probably sounded a lot like a petulant child, but she believed she’d earned the right to have a good moan after everything she had been through.

“Once we reach the infirmary, I’ll have something I can give you that should help your hunger and aid in returning your strength.” Inga spoke up from ahead.

With that, Amelia turned to Loki once more, “What about you- are you okay? She… she stabbed you- and- your arm.”

“Do not worry about me, Amelia. Thor removed that damned collar, my strength is back and my advanced healing is beginning to kick in.” Loki explained, but even Amelia could see that he was still in pain - he looked like he was only just keeping himself from wincing with each step.

“But it was bad…” Amelia grimaced, her eyes flickering down to his wound, but Loki shook his head.

“I told you, I’ll be fine. It’s you I’m concerned for, and the-” he cut himself off, his voice hushing just a tad, “-the, the...” His stammering suggested that he was struggling immensely to say the word, but Amelia gathered what he was referring to from just the look on his face alone.

At the reminder of her own condition, and potentially that of the baby’s, Amelia stilled and grew alarmed. The baby, was the baby okay? She’d been knocked about quite a bit, and she didn’t know anything about how much of a battering her body could take before it became critical for an unborn child. Especially given that Amelia had no idea what stage of the pregnancy she was in - Bruce had pondered that before she had been taken, but hadn’t come to any conclusion. Oh god, what if- what if she had a miscarriage? The thought made her blood run cold, and she felt about ready to cry her eyes out.

“Calm down, Amelia.” Loki soothed, placing his unharmed hand on her shoulder. Had her inward freakout really been that obvious? She didn’t care - she just knew that Loki’s hand gently squeezing her was the most comforting thing she had received in the past… however long she had been trapped on the alien ship.

Amelia tilted her head back and gazed at Loki as they continued down the hall of the alien ship. Tony, Steve and Clint were not present, and Amelia figured that perhaps they went to go and collect the things Eruk had taken from them - the Iron Man suit, Captain America’s shield, Clint’s bow and arrows - and Bruce walked along behind. It was good to have Bruce present, just in case Inga didn’t know all there was to know about the human body, but Amelia did feel a little bit smothered. What she wanted most in that moment was to be alone with Loki. There were so many things they needed to discuss, and it was eating away at Amelia’s already decaying patience.

She wanted to know what Loki was thinking. About the baby. How long had he known? And was he happy at the prospect of becoming a parent?

It was difficult to tell from just a glance what was going through Loki’s mind. Usually she had a good read on him, but there were all manner of things thrown into the mix that made it hard to predict. He looked… well, he looked apprehensive, but that could easily have been excess emotions after having to fight a strenuous battle, or he could be worried about the baby just like she was.

Or perhaps he was mad that Amelia had kept it a secret from him.

In her defense, she had planned to tell him the same day she found out, but he probably didn’t know that. Maybe he thought she had known for a while. She hoped that wasn’t the case, and she felt eager to tell him so, but she didn’t want to talk about it with everyone else around.

She was stressing herself out over it and beginning to feel dizzy again.

“Hey, Nat,” Amelia said, figuring she needed to take her mind off of it, “did I do good? In the fight?”

Natasha surveyed her for a moment and then smiled, “I’d give you a B minus overall.”

“Hey, that’s a pass.” Amelia gave a breathless laugh, and then coughed, which in turn caused her to wince.

“Settle down,” Loki spoke from beside her, “you don’t want to agitate your injuries even more.” His scolding was gentle, and Amelia gave another weak, raspy laugh. He was already in dad-mode.

They reached the infirmary a few minutes later, and Thor carefully placed Amelia on the cool, padded table before stepping back to allow Inga to switch on her fancy alien-tech that she had utilised back when Amelia had awoken originally on the ship.

“Before I scan you,” Inga spoke, retrieving something from a drawer, “you can drink this, it’ll boost your healing factor.” She held out a pouch that look similar to a Capri-Sun, “Also, it will help with your thirst and hunger.”

She helped Amelia sit up and pulled the cap off, offering the supposed food item that Amelia eagerly took - she drank it down fast, but was careful not to choke. It had the taste and consistency of a sweet yoghurt drink, and after going a while without eating much, it was simply delicious.

“Thank you.” Upon finishing it, Amelia laid back down, already noting that her throat was feeling a lot better - no longer dry and raspy - and nervously awaited the scan that would soon come.

There was too much beeping and not enough talking, but Amelia kept silent, worried that speaking up to try and diminish the tension would somehow skew the results of the medical examination, so she swallowed it and tried to focus on something a little less daunting. She looked to Loki for comfort, but he was staring pointedly at Inga, his patience wavering - he was too pale, slightly slumped over, and his breathing was irregular, not to mention he still had his singed hand held tightly over his stomach. Amelia could see the stains of red seeping through his burned fingers.

She was about to ask if he was really okay when Inga spoke up, looking mostly contented, “You’ve sustained some minor to moderate bruising and abrasions all over your body, plus some minor burns on your legs. Nothing I can’t handle,” she smiled, “and no injuries around your abdomen, strangely enough. Everything appears to be fine.”

Amelia smiled, letting out a sigh of absolute relief, and her eyes welled up ever so slightly as her fears flew out the window. She looked to Loki, searching for the consolation on his face, but his face was still creased with unease.

“Can you check the…” Loki trailed off, looking pointedly at Amelia’s stomach, and Amelia felt an etch of worry ingrain itself in her mind. Loki seemed unwilling to even say the word ‘baby’, was that because he wasn’t thrilled at the idea of being a father? Amelia hoped that wasn’t the case, she hoped beyond anything that he wanted this baby.

“Of course,” Inga said, returning to her machine. She tapped a few buttons, and that same golden light from before swirled into place, forming an ultrasound-esque image of the baby in her belly. Still so small. And this time, Amelia drank in the grainy depiction now that she was truly able to bask in the moment without too much worry or fear, not that she was able to make much sense out of what she was looking at, and then she glanced again at Loki.

There was a perplexed sort of wonder on his face as he stared at the gravelly, golden image, clearly trying to process it, “That’s… that’s our… baby?”

Amelia felt a swell of happiness at the subtle buzz in his voice - he’d mustered up the courage to say the word, at least, and his eyes were a bit brighter as he looked on.

“Yes,” Amelia squeaked, unable to control the grin on her face.

The others present looked just as elated and excited as Amelia felt, until Inga gave a slightly nervous laugh and covered her mouth, her cheeks growing a little pink.

“Oh dear. There’s something you need to know, Amelia. I’m not sure you’re aware…”

The anxiety returned all at once, and Amelia took a deep breath, bracing herself for some bad news.

“You’re not having a baby,” Inga paused, “you’re having two.”

Oh.

Oh shit.

Twins.

Amelia blinked, the realisation rolling over her body in waves. It was so shocking that she wasn’t entirely sure how to categorise the feeling. It was like when she’d found out initially that she was pregnant, except the sensation carried a lot more weight than before. It was a good thing she was already lying down this time.

The stunned silence in the room was broken by a hard thud as Loki fell to the floor in a dead faint.

Chapter Text

“Loki fainted?” 

Barton’s dreadfully dull voice rang through the room, filled with so much abhorrent joy and wonderment that Loki almost wished the pesky human had perished midway through their mission to rescue Amelia - at least then Loki wouldn’t have had another thing vexing his exasperated mind.

“You mean he actually fainted? As in, hit the floor? Because he found out he was having twins?”

Loki tried to ignore him, and by his standards, that was definitely worth something, but Barton had a particular knack for getting on his last nerve.

“I know you humans are exceedingly dim-witted, but perhaps you hadn’t noticed the searing stab wound in my abdomen that was causing me to bleed out?” Loki’s voice cut the atmosphere like a knife, sharp and deadly, but everybody in the room knew there was hardly any real bite to it. Not while Loki was lying on the infirmary operating table, with Inga hovering over him as she tended to his injuries.

He’d woken up several minutes prior to find himself in that position, stripped free of the upper half of his Asgardian leathers, with Inga applying her talents in healing, and a very worried Amelia lingering at his side, clasping his uninjured hand in both of hers.

Barton laughed.

“Come on. We all know why you really passed out. It’s shocking news, after all-”

“Barton, if you value your life-” Loki began, but was promptly interrupted by his brother, who clearly just wanted to look like the calm, level-headed one in front of his new infatuation.

“Alright, settle down, the both of you,” Thor said, “we’re all still recovering from what has just occurred, we don’t need any quarrels right now.”

“Oh, you’re recovering, are you? Where were you when I was facing that fire-witch with precisely none of my strength? When she was using Amelia as a punching bag?” There was an edge to his voice now, his anger rejuvenating as his strength slowly returned, and he felt Amelia squeeze his hand as if silently asking him to refrain from being argumentative.

Thor seemed vaguely appalled at having the blame pinned on him, “I was fighting Alzill. You know, the one that managed to capture you?” He quirked up an eyebrow, “If you’d been a little more observant, you would’ve seen through her strategy and Amelia wouldn’t have felt the need to put herself in a dangerous situation to save you.”

Amelia let out a tired sigh as Loki felt his frustrations begin to boil over, teeth gritting to contain himself, taking laboured breaths in response to the pain Inga was trying to treat, and the desire to have a shouting match with his brother arose in the back of his throat, but before he could expel it, it turned into a hacking cough that had him wincing and hissing in agony.

Amelia stepped up and leaned over him, blocking Thor and the others from sight, and she gently shushed him, cupping his face with a gentle touch, and although he didn’t appreciate being quieted down as if he were a child having a tantrum, it was certainly soothing to feel that contact after everything that had happened. It seemed Amelia knew exactly what she was doing, because there was a patient, warm smile on her face.

“Alright, I’m going to have to ask the lot of you to leave,” Inga spoke, her voice authoritative and demanding, with just a tinge of pique in her words, “at least until I have seen to Prince Loki’s injuries.” She motioned an ushering hand to the door and everybody but Amelia slowly filtered out to wait in the hall.

Loki did catch a glimpse of Thor’s disappointed look - probably ashamed that he’d made a bad impression on Inga and had to be told off. Thor did look apologetic though, when he cast his eyes down to his brother before leaving.

A sigh escaped him, and he laid his head back, intent on staying still and quiet while Inga worked her magic; Amelia’s fingertips were still pressed to his face, moving gently back and forth in a comforting gesture, and while she looked very much like she wanted to strike up a serious talk about the newfound knowledge that they would be parents to not one child, but two, she remained blessedly silent on the matter, allowing Loki time to process it.

Two children. Twice the joy, right? Loki wasn’t so sure. He’d already mulled over his doubts in his ability to raise one child, surely there was no way somebody like him could do a good job in raising two of them.

Amelia looked frazzled, but some of her strength had returned since Inga had given her that pouch of sustenance, and it allayed Loki’s fears somewhat. Inga seemed sure that no harm had come to the unborn children, but after witnessing Amelia being kicked and struck and thrown across the room, Loki found it hard to believe.

It ate away at him - the thought that it would soon become clear the assault she had endured would have a terrible impact on the health of their unborn children, and it was just a matter of time before the bombshell dropped. If everything turned out okay - if the babies were entirely unscathed, then Loki would only be able to see it as a miracle.

But if something did happen, if the children did not survive… the notion filled Loki with a tidal wave of panicked grief, forcing tears to gather in his eyes. He squeezed them shut and hissed again, playing off his bubbling emotions as a reaction to the pain, and Amelia’s hand went to his hair, threading through his dark tresses

“Is he going to be okay?” Amelia asked Inga, and Loki expelled a huff of amusement, answering the question for her, though his voice was still rather gritty from his negative train of thought.

“I’m fine. Just a stab wound, I’m used to it.”

“His body is having an adverse reaction to Ularis’s fire magic,” Inga responded, shaking her head slightly, “honestly, my prince, you should have said something.”

Loki scoffed, “Amelia was more important. I’m a god, I’ve gone through worse.” He didn’t miss the way Amelia’s lips pulled down at the corners, a sad little frown on her face.

“Well, the effects of Ularis’s attacks have slowed your body’s natural healing factor, but it will heal fully in time. A week or two, perhaps. I have sealed the laceration, although it will still be sore, and there will be a scar, of course,” she paused, “I need to have a look at your hand.” She motioned to his left hand, which was lying limp at his side, not very pretty to look at.

Amelia looked somberly at his chest which was littered with blemishes of battles past, “Another scar to add to the collection.”

Loki gazed up at Amelia, scrutinising her face for a moment while Inga inspected his hand, “Do the scars bother you?” He wouldn’t have been surprised if the flaws on his skin were one of the few things Amelia didn’t think was so attractive on him; scars did not hold the same connotations in human cultures as they did in Asgardian culture. For him, the more scars a person had determined how much respect they deserved - a marked body implied many good battles had been had.

For humans, scars were just ugly things.

“No,” Amelia responded, surprising him, “not at all. I think the scars are sexy.” There was a coy little smile on her face, one that Loki couldn’t help but return.

“Is that so? Even if I had a big scar on my face? Would you still think that was sexy?” Loki definitely noticed Inga roll her eyes.

“Yes,” Amelia replied, her smile growing, “perhaps even more so!”

“Ah, duly noted,” Loki snorted, “next time somebody comes at me with a sharp object, I’ll offer up my face before anything else.”

His jest succeeded in prompting a laugh from Amelia, and the sound was reassuring to him, bringing a smile to his face, but soon his eyes fell to Amelia’s stomach, and the smile slowly diminished as negative, plaguing thoughts filled his mind once again.

“Inga, are you sure the babies are alright?” Loki asked. He held a burning hatred for the uncertainty in his voice, so unused to allowing himself to be vulnerable in front of anybody but Amelia.

“Quite sure, my prince. All their vitals are fine, I made sure to check while you were passed out.”

“But… human bodies are not durable,” he grimaced as Inga bent one of his fingers, “and Amelia took a heavy beating…” He scanned his lover as he spoke, admittedly surprised that she did not appear as battered as he imagined she would be. The things he had witnessed Eruk and Ularis do to her... he had expected broken bones at least, but when Inga announced that her injuries were minor, it had brought him nothing but confusion.

Inga paused in her work, blinking her eyes as she surveyed Loki for a moment, “Ah. You are not aware of the effects of the alcamax chemical in Amelia’s blood.”

Loki’s gaze hardened with worry, but Amelia squeezed his hand and gently reminded him, “I’m okay, Loki.”

“Nor do you know about Amelia’s temporary abilities to utilise misplaced magic.” Inga went on to say, and Loki’s eyes fluttered in a rapid blink.

“What?” He looked to Amelia, his stare burrowing into her as if he would find the answer in her somewhat sheepish expression.

“Well,” Inga began, “when the two of you conceived, you unknowingly implanted a fraction of your magic within Amelia. The introduction of the Alcamax chemical in her blood sort of… stimulated that magical energy, and it has manifested in a few different ways, mostly in a destructive way - the residual energy has to leave her body somehow.”

Loki’s mouth hung open as he looked from Inga to Amelia, and then an understanding seemed to click, “That… that eruption of magic when Ularis had you pinned. That was you?”

Amelia scratched her head, “I think so. I… I didn’t do it on purpose, but I’m glad it happened.” She sounded wholly unconfident about what had actually happened, but Inga seemed to think that it was a possibility, and there was no other explanation for it. 

When the magic energy had discharged and sent Ularis flying, there had been a few moments where Loki believed he had, through sheer willpower, overcome the limitations of the energy-locking collar and delivered a massive blow to Ularis, but it became apparent quite quickly that it was not so.

“I think it might be possible that Amelia did not sustain any injuries that could compromise her pregnancy, because she was subconsciously diverting that energy towards protecting her unborn children, up until she desperately needed it to protect herself.” Inga explained.

It made sense, and the notion made Loki oddly emotional.

“You were able to protect yourself, when I was powerless to do so…” He felt inadequate after having been ineffectual during the first half of Amelia’s unfortunate confrontation with Eruk and Ularis. It was excruciating having to watch from behind the bars of his cage, flinching with every strike Amelia had to endure, his hands aching from how tightly he gripped the metal of his confinement.

And who was to say something like this couldn’t happen again? What if one day Amelia and their children were in grave danger, and Loki couldn’t do a single thing to save them? Would Amelia blame him and call him a bad father if anything happened to the babies?

“Hey.” Amelia gave his cheek a pat, bringing his whirling thoughts back into the present, and there was this look on her face - a look that had Loki thinking that perhaps she knew where his mind had taken him. “It was your magic that saved me, Loki. Do you think I know how to make all that cool flashy green stuff happen? Nope. I’m not a sorcerer, I barely know how to protect myself - especially against evil aliens - the only reason I got this far was because somehow, you gave me that magic, with the sole intent to keep me safe, whether you did it knowingly or not. Do you get what I’m saying? Even when you weren’t there, you were still there, I mean, like, sort of. I’m tired.”

She wasn’t very eloquent with how she worded it, and given the circumstances it was no surprise, but in a way, Loki was able to piece together the purpose behind her little speech, and though Loki was still very much devastated that he hadn’t saved Amelia sooner, it did help calm his mind.

Loki sat up, not caring whether Inga had finished repairing the skin on his hand or not. She made a little noise of annoyance, which seemed to indicate that she was not yet done, but Loki’s attention was on Amelia. He hung his legs off the edge of the bed and pulled Amelia close to his chest, gathering her up in his arms. It felt like an eternity since he’d last held her.

Amelia sank into his embrace, a soft sigh escaping her.

“How do you feel?” Loki asked her. He could feel her breath tickling his ear. He wanted so badly to kiss her, but preferred to wait until they were completely alone.

“I’m okay… I think…” She took a deep breath and sighed again, “a bit tired… mm-” a sound of discomfort escaped her, and Loki pushed her back to examine her face. She was paler than normal with dark marks beneath her eyes, and her forehead was dotted with sweat.

“Amelia?” Loki grabbed her by the shoulders, giving her a shake when her eyes seemed to wander. She didn’t seem so well all of a sudden, and while it would have been easier to blame it on the needless adventure she had been on, it appeared to be something more than that. “Inga, what’s wrong with her?”

“I’m… I’m fine, just-” Partway through her insistence, her legs gave out and she collapsed forward. Loki was quick to catch her, he stood and swept her up to carry in his arms, his gaze darting over her face as his nerves began to blossom once more.

He laid Amelia on the bed as Inga looked her over, and it was his turn to clutch and caress her hand.

“Now that you are well enough, Prince Loki, I must insist on carrying out the Alcamax extraction procedure on Amelia. She is not in immediate danger, but the longer we leave it, the more discomfort she will be in,” Inga explained, “can you pick her up and follow me?”

“Extraction procedure? Why didn’t you say anything about this before now?” A touch of frustration lined his words as his fear picked up again, though he practically raced to do as she asked, picking Amelia up again with just a slight wince. 

“Please don’t panic, my prince. She will be fine, right this way.” 

Loki followed quickly, ignoring the others who were standing outside as they passed them by; luckily Inga offered an explanation as they went, which provided Loki a more concrete understanding of Amelia’s condition. His magic had laid dormant in her until the Alcamax had caused a reaction, making it unstable within her body, which if left unresolved could cause her health to deteriorate rapidly - but Inga made it very clear that Amelia was not at that level of poor health.

The most it was currently doing was sapping her strength, making her tired and leaving her a little bit woozy.

“Was’ going on?” Amelia slurred as she roused, her arms going naturally around Loki’s neck to steady herself, “Did I fall asleep?”

“We’re taking you to get that damned chemical removed from your body.”

“Loki?” She murmured tiredly.

“Yes?”

“I’m glad we’re together again.”

Loki smiled, tilting his head as she tucked her face into his shoulder and clung to him more tightly. He was glad too, and it would be a challenge for anybody to pry them apart now. He wasn’t letting her go any time soon.

They arrived in the extraction chamber, a somewhat intimidating circular room with a gurney in the centre and a strange device hanging above it which connected to a tube, which led somewhere else. Inga instructed him to place Amelia on the bed, and he hesitantly stepped forward, but his lover’s arms tightened around his neck.

“Is it going to hurt?” There was a tremor in Amelia’s voice.

“You may feel some discomfort, but I’m going to give you a mild sedative that will ease it,” Inga told her, “believe me, its best we perform this procedure sooner rather than later.”

Amelia swallowed audibly, and nodded her head, though she seemed very reluctant to continue. She was scared, it was obvious. Loki placed her down and took her hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“You’ll be okay,” he told her, “and once this is done, we’ll head back to Stark’s ship, save the prisoner’s on Vercain, and then head home.”

Amelia appeared slightly placated, tilting her head back to look up at the apparatus above that seemed to loom over in a menacing way. Loki was reluctant to step away from her, he wouldn’t leave her side until Inga deemed it necessary.

“I need to explain now exactly what kind of effect this will have on you, Amelia,” Inga powered the machine on but stepped away from the control panel to make sure Amelia was paying attention to her words, “because you might not be as lucid after this procedure. It’ll probably make you a bit loopy afterwards with the combined effect of the sedative I’m going to administer.”

“So it’s gonna be like I’m high on laughing gas or something?” Amelia blinked, eyes widening ever so slightly before she addressed Loki with an abashed look, “Don’t let me say or do anything embarrassing, please.”

Loki had to let out a chuckle, “I can’t promise anything.”

“This extraction is only a partial removal of the Alcamax. It has three important elements to it - the advanced regeneration of cells in the body, the increase in strength, and the growth in stamina. To remove these all at once would be lethal for your body now that you have acclimated to it. Instead, we’re going to remove the elements that increase your strength and stamina, and leave the fraction that controls cell regeneration behind.”

“Ah, okay,” Amelia nodded, “so does that mean my body will still be able to heal really quickly?” 

“Indeed. But that is not all…” Inga trailed off, lips parted as though hesitant to say more.