No More Tears

Assemble...

"What the hell?" Steve walked into the apartment and surveyed the damage. His mind reeled as he saw the broken glass, the carpet strewn with debris and the two Gods standing in the middle of it all, surrounded by dead and dying... were they SKELETON WARRIORS? They'd almost reached the Quinjet when they'd been contacted by Fury to say there was an attack.

By the time he'd made it back, it was all over. Even Tony had, using his suit to get back in double quick time, only managed to dispatch a few of the soldiers, and none of the group had located Susie. She was, indeed, gone.

"Cap. There you are. We need to go to Asgard immediately. They took Susie. There was an attack... we were distracted and..." Thor turned to him, the words tumbling out in a rush.

"Whoa, steady there, Point Break," Tony's voice broke into the scene as he landed back in the apartment.  He'd secured the area, mopping up a couple of stray soldiers who decided to have a day out terrorising London. Now, in the aftermath, they had to deal with not only a plan in tatters but a couple of Asgardians out for blood, no matter the consequences. "We can't just rush in like 7th Cavalry and rescue the fair maiden. We have to deal with the dragon and her army."  Cap and Thor looked at him, frowns "7th Cavalry?" 

"Never mind," Tony said, stepping out of the suit that immediately returned to sentry mode. "Where's Loki?" In all the mele, no-one had really paid attention to where he was.  For once, though, he hadn't tried to profit from the chaos.  For once, he'd stood and fought even if he could have escaped.  Tony was amazed and impressed.

"I'm here." he walked back into the apartment from the hallway and plonked himself down amid the chaos and the debris. "She's gone.  I saw the beast walk into the vortex and take her.  She'll kill her.  Hela, she'll kill Susie, she won't wait for a bargain.  She'll be too caught up in her own fear.  This is a disaster." he put his head in his hands.  Thor and Tony exchanged looks,  was Loki more worried about Hela taking Asgard or killing Susie?  Honestly, they didn't know.

"We need to give it time..." Tony started to say, meaning there might be some kind of communication, some ransom demand, anything, from Hela.  All Loki saw was hesitation.  Hesitation that could get Susie killed. 

"TIME! You want to give it TIME!" he jumped up and shouter, "How much TIME do you think it takes to kill her, even if she IS a Valkyrie? " The pain in his voice was obvious and the frustration equally so.

"Brother, I understand, I do." Thor made a move to calm his little brother down, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We have to wait for a short time to see if there is any communication.  You know, as well as I do, Hela likes the sound of her own voice almost as much as the screams of the dying in battle." There was a general wince at this remark, and Thor carried on. "If she has her, she's not going to waste the opportunity to gloat. She's going to make sure we know it.  And in spades. "

Loki nodded, "But what if she doesn't actually kill her?  Just breaks her spirit?  Susie is strong, stronger than anyone I've ever known, but she's still half human.  Whether she likes it or not, it's a vulnerability that Hela will exploit."

"Well then, we just have to hope that Susie can convince her that she wants more than anything to join her. Maybe our Little Sister will have more of the God of Mischief in her than we ever imagined." Thor winked, and Loki, despite the situation, laughed and flushed.  

"Maybe so, Brother, maybe so." 

It was at this point that there was a blinding flash in the hallway, and everyone ducked for cover. Well, everyone except Loki and Thor, they knew exactly what the flash was. They stood, drawing weapons, ready to repel the hoarde, now appearing to invade the city.