The end of forever

End of one battle, beginning of another

At that moment, every remaining Chitauri dropped dead. I frowned in confusion. This was like New York all over again. “Their energy source came from Thanos. Now that he's gone, so are they,” I heard Loki mumble. Upon hearing his voice, I quickly snapped out of my thoughts, and rushed to his side. “Are you ok?!” I asked, my heart racing with worry.

Loki gave me a nod, and I helped him up. “The true question is, are you alright?” Loki asked, his eyes glossing over with a look of concern, as he absentmindedly traced over the cut on my cheek with his thumb ever so lightly. “I'll be fine,” I whispered. Loki gently lifted his hand, and took my chin in his cold fingers, raising my head up to meet his lips.

I let my body melt into the kiss, my hands finding their way to the back of Loki's head, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. He complied, and one of his hands floated down to my waist. I took a step closer, rejoicing in being this close to him, but a searing pain shot through my leg. I gasped, and stumbled forward, cringing.

“Nicole?! What is it? What's wrong?” Loki questioned, his voice panicky. “Nothing... I'm fine. It's just my leg, but I'll be fine,” I assured, but Loki didn't buy it. The look in his emerald eyes held concern, but there was something else...Fear?

Realization hit me like a bitch slap to the face. He was afraid he'd loose me again. I quickly tangled myself in his grasp. “Loki, I am seriously alright. It's nothing a few stitches can't fix,” I spoke, rubbing circles on his back, although I doubted he could actually feel it through all this damn Asgardian armor.

Loki sighed, his shoulders rising, and falling. “I apologize Nicole...I just...I can not bear the idea of ever loosing you again,” Loki whispered, his body still tense. I pulled away, and took his cold cheek in my hand, rubbing his face with my thumb. Loki gulped slowly, his eyes darting everywhere but on me. “Loki, look at me,” I spoke, my tone soft, yet stern.

Slowly, his eyes met my own. “I am not going anywhere,” I said. Loki's jaw clenched, and he inhaled sharply. “I will always be by your side,” I continued. He finally relaxed, and held me closer. I could hear his heart racing, and gently moved my head to kiss his lips. He kissed back, out lips moving together in sync.

We both pulled away, and I smiled at him. “Nikki!” I heard a voice call. I turned to see Bruce, now fully clothed, rushing towards me. I breathed a sigh of relief, seeing he was ok, but I mean, come on! He's the Hulk! Of course he's ok! He embraced me, and I hugged back. “I'm so glad you're ok,” He whispered.

“And she lives!” I heard the robotic voice of Tony speak, as he dropped to the ground, his mask lifting. I rolled my eyes at him, and he just smirked. “Did you see yourself though? I watched that whole little 'I killed Thanos scene' I gotta say, ya did good kid,” Tony continued, ruffling my hair. I growled, and whacked his robotic hand away.

“Watch it old man,” I snapped, but couldn't keep the smile off my face. Soon, Clint appeared, being followed by Natasha. When they saw me, they both let out a sigh of relief. “What?! Just because I was killed once doesn't mean it's gonna happen again!” I exclaimed. Clint suddenly picked me up, and hugged me, along with Natasha.

“Well given the circumstances, I think we are allowed to worry,” He said, setting me down. I sighed, and was about to speak, when Thor, and Steve came both looking exhausted. “Are you two ok?” I asked. Steve nodded. “Thor just nearly electrocuted me. No biggy,” He muttered. I pinched the bridge of my nose, and shook my head at them.

Suddenly, a squeal escaped my mouth as I was picked up by Loki, and gently layed on my back. “Loki...What are you doing?!” I asked. He didn't answer, instead, he gathered some energy in his hands, and placed it on the large cut on my leg. I gasped, feeling the warmth spread through it, disappearing, and leaving nothing but a scar.

“Nicole! You didn't tell us you where hurt!” Bruce exclaimed, eyes wide. “Bruce please! I'm fine! Stop worrying!” I begged. He huffed, but nodded slightly. At that moment, Fury walked over, with Agent Hill. “Is everybody alright?” Fury asked, scanning all of us. We nodded, and Loki helped me stand back up. “Good. Last thing we need is a bunch of whining super hero's,” He mumbled. I raised an eyebrow.

“What crawled up your ass and died?” I asked before I could stop myself. Fury spun around to me, and glared. “They destroyed one of the SHEILD bases! This was one of the most important areas!” Fury spoke, clearly angered most of his work was destroyed. “Well doesn't SHEILD have like a thousand other bases?” I asked.

“We do have several others, but this was the only one that had-” Fury cut himself off, but sighed, and continued. “It was the only one that was supposed to be impenetrable. Now that we know the enemy can easily get in, how easy do you think the other bases are going to be?” He said. I sighed, seeing his point.

“Nick, it would be my pleasure to help you come up with a more secure system. They don'e call me genius for nothing,” Tony spoke up, a sly smile splattered on his face. Fury looked over at him, and nodded slightly. “Thank you. For now, I want all of you back at STARK towers,” Fury started, hands clasped behind his back.

I watched him closely and I could tell there was something else on his mind. “All of you, except Thor, and Loki. The council called about a day ago. They said they want Loki to get back to Asgard as soon as possible. They still do not trust him, and frankly...Neither do I,” I tightened my grip on Loki's hand unconsciously.

“I'm going with them. Loki, Thor, and I already discussed this, and they are taking me. There is nothing anyone can do to stop me because I have to do this. If what Thor said about Freyr, the ruler of Alfheim, then I have a right to meet him,” I spoke, straightening my posture.

Everyone looked surprised, but seemed to understand where I was coming from, although they looked reluctant on letting me go. (Not that I would listen to them either way,) Everyone except Bruce, who looked like he had just been stabbed in the heart. I sighed, and let go of Loki's hand, walking up to my brother.

“Nikki...” He breathed, not being able to find words. I grabbed him, and pulled him into my arms, squeezing him. He hugged back. “I need to do this Bruce. Please. I promise you I will come back though,” I whispered so only he could hear. Bruce clenched, and unclenched his jaw. “Ok. But please be careful. I love you so much,” He said.

 I smiled up at him, and kissed his cheek. “I love you too big brother,” I said, feeling the lump begin to rise in the back of my throat. “We shall leave first thing tomorrow morning,” Thor spoke, earning a court nod from Fury. I bit my lip. Leaving Bruce, and the others was going to be a challenge, but they needed to understand why I had to do this. I need to know who I am. Maybe this was what Hel was talking about when she resurrected me?