Above All Shadows [Loki Timetravel fic - Completed]

40. Midgard

Loki fumbled through his clothes until he found the flask he was looking for. His standard policy for any event on the Grandmaster's social calendar was to arrive with no fewer than two antidotes for the aphrodisiacs and any other mind-altering substances on offer to the party guests. He pulled the cap off the flask and tipped its contents into his mouth.

'Fine, take me to Midgard, Heimdall,' he said once the warm buzz at the edges of his mind began to recede.

If the antidote hadn't fully yet done its job, the force of the dark energy Heimdall had wrapped around Loki tore the last vestiges of the celebratory air he had been enjoying. The Bifrost was always an experience, but the architects of the rainbow bridge had done what they could to channel and contain its raw energy. Since he was not coming from or journeying to Asgard, Loki couldn't make use of the Bifrost, so once more he had to endure the primordial magic of the universe that Heimdall had only a modicum of control over.

He crashed more than landed on Midgard. The ground beneath him was uneven — all bits of crumbling concrete coated in dust. When Loki flipped over to his side and began to clamber up, he realised he had narrowly avoided landing atop remnants of an inch-thick steel pole that tapered gracelessly to a jagged end. In Loki's mind, here was more proof that Heimdall deserved to have his hide stripped for insubordination.

A light beam swivelled towards him. He threw up his hand over his eyes.

'Loki?' Thor's voice boomed from the distance. 'My friends, do not be alarmed! He's an ally.'

By the rustles that followed, a couple of rifles seemed to have been lowered and several people were approaching. Their boots slipped and their movements were uneven. But with the boom light still rigged up to shine directly in Loki's face, he couldn't make out even the silhouettes. Irritated, he moved a few steps to the side. The boom didn't follow him, but the echo of the light had burned a great red sphere into the centre of his vision.

'Brother!' Thor exclaimed, all but tackling Loki as he drew Loki into a hug. 'Is it really you? Have you any idea about how much I've missed you?'

'And I missed you too,' Loki replied. In a well-practised manoeuvre, he extricated himself out of his brother's grasp before he began to suffocate. 'Who are the people you are with? Care to make the introductions?'

The Midgardians had caught up to Thor by now. The bulk of them had formed a semi-circle of stiff-backed, uniformed men, but two stood within that semi-circle and theirs were the only names Loki caught in the list Thor rattled off. Phil Coulson. Natasha Romanoff. Coulson smiled pleasantly at the two brothers. It was the insipid smile of a middle-ranking bureaucrat who knew better than to make his opinions too clear. Romanov, on the other hand, was still on alert, her finger half an inch from the trigger.

'I'm Loki,' he said, 'of Asgard. How do you do?'

'Huh. Well, nice to meet you,' Coulson replied, offering his hand out to Loki, who took it and did his best not to think about his last interaction with the man. 'Should we be expecting the giant snake to pop his head out of the Atlantic next?'

'Maybe. There's a lot of water on this world. Who am I to say where that beastie chooses to make his nest?' Loki chuckled when a few of the SHIELD agents behind Romanoff and Coulson exchanged concerned glances. If the Midgardians were going to make up ludicrous stories about him, he reserved the right to enjoy the profits of those tall tales.

At the same time, he was back on Midgard for a reason and he didn't want to slip too far off-track. Loki glanced around, but found few clues to anchor himself. The air was cool and reeked of char. The few boom lights illuminating the area cast everything else into deeper darkness, so there was no making out the details. Coulson and Romanoff's presence brought the helicarrier to mind, but what little Loki could see didn't look like the ship at all.