NEXT AVENGERS: Destiny

22~PETRA-So It Begins

Francis swipes a hand through his pale blonde hair. "So you're Murdock's kid? Yeaaaah...Sorry for beating you up in Latveria, but you kind of attacked me first."

"Yeah that's not how it happen-"

My voice trails off when I see a collection of Asgardians march in with two prisoners in tow. The room becomes quiet and Thor gets up from his seat with friends or generals or whatever they are. One of the prisoners has a familiar head of jet black hair that falls at his shoulders. Loki...I should have known you would be involved somehow....I think back to what I learned about him from my days at S.H.I.E.L.D. Luckily I've never had to interact with him personally, but from what I know he is a particularly nasty fellow.

One of the guards whispers in Thor's ear and he flushes with confusion.

"Loki, why did you come to this realm?"

Loki wrenches his chains out of a guard's hands and approaches Thor.

"I've been sent by Hel to relay a message to you."

Loki's voice is cold and unsure. Odd I always imagined his voice to be cocky and confident...

Thor seethes with rage, "You were in Nifleheim? For what purpose? You must have conspiring with Hel to take the Odinforce!"

Loki doesn't flinch. He must have been expecting Thor's outburst, "Relax brother, I was trying to free my niece just as you would have done. I thought that I might have some kind of sway over her and-"

"SILENCE. I will no longer listen to your deception and lies," Thor motions to one of his guards, "Take them to the dungeons and lock them in a cell. I will deal with them when I return."

Loki and the blonde girl start getting shoved out the door.

"I saw her, your precious daughter, and if you want to see her alive and well again you must let me speak!" Loki yells above the scuffle.

My grip on the goblet tightens. Its not up to me, but if I was leading this I sure would want to at least have him talk, share what he claims to know...Apparently Francis and I have similar ideas.

Francis stands up and raises his voice, "STOP! Let him speak!"

Thor turns to Francis with a questioning look, "Loki is a murderer, a thief, and a liar. What do you hope to gain by listening to his words?"

"Information."

Thor, seemingly satisfied by Francis's response gives the order to stop moving Loki. "Very well, but be very wary of what he tells you. He is manipulative and always seeking to gain an advantage."

Francis steps onto the table and crosses it rather than walk around it. Well looks like someone is a drama queen... He pulls a blade from his boot and rests it across Loki's throat.

"Tell me what you know about Torrun."

Loki and Francis have a quick stare down before Loki opens his mouth. "Torrun is powerful. Even in her spiritual form she still wields the Odinforce which has made Hela unable to separate it from her soul. Hela is able to keep Torrun separated from her body, but cannot bow her into total submission."

Francis's arm never quivers with this new information. No emotion is displayed on his face other than the natural rage gleaming in his eyes. I'm beginning to like this Barton more and more...Francis flicks his wrist and allows the blade to pierce Loki's cheek ever so slightly. Remind me to never get on his bad side...

"What does Hel want?"

Crimson blood streaks down Loki's cheek and drips onto his green attire."Nothing that Thor can give. She gave me specific orders to tell the King of Asgard that he is not welcome to her realm. Nor will anyone in the line of Odin will be allowed to enter Nifleheim."

"If you are lying to me I swear I will-"

I've been sitting long enough....I stand up and lunge over the table with my skirt whirling behind me.

"So how do we free the Princess?" I interrupt Francis' personal agenda and move onto the reason we are here.

Loki's piercing green eyes stare into my blue ones. "Who are you?" He asks defiantly.

"Let's just say I'm a concerned citizen of Earth whose strong suit is not patience and as an added bonus I also have a knife fetish," I pull out a small concealed blade from my waistband and twirl it in my fingers for show. "I'll ask again. If Thor can't reason with Hel, how do we free her?"

Loki's dark laugh resonates around the room and mocks us. "You cannot free her. Only Hel can do that. Your only hope is to offer her something of value, perhaps a trade? Maybe a sacrifice. She already possesses the most powerful individual in the world, you must offer her something she finds personally appealing. She is no longer the young girl I raised, You can thank Odin for that."

"Maybe I'll make Hel beg for her own life, that sounds like a fair enough trade to me," Francis says while pressing the the blade harder into Loki's neck, almost daring Loki to move. I stand tense, aware the aura of revenge that is surrounding Francis and I. A dark path I do not wish to follow again...but one that is sometimes unavoidable... I find myself sympathizing with Francis' anger, even being willing to help in in his next act. No one moves, even Thor stands silent. Perhaps he does not care what happens to his brother.

James approaches us from behind and my heartbeat accelerates as he sets a hand on both of our shoulders. "That's enough. He's told us what we need to know. Let him go."

Francis removes the knife and wipes it on the edge of Loki sleeve. He slides it back into his boot and stands off to the side with his arms crossed. He starts to calm down and tuck his emotions inside rather than display them. Not that he has shown much...I slowly take a few steps back until I am next to James. I wish I had known you when my parents died...Having a friend like you would have helped to ease my pain and perhaps persuade me to make different choices... Azari remains in his seat observing and analyzing the events that occurred,

Thor directs his men to remove Loki without a word. I exhale and offer James a hand.

"Thank You, I got caught up in the moment." I say while my fingers wrap around his. I give his hand a firm shake and his sapphire eyes stare down at me.

"Anytime. I didn't want you doing something you'd regret."

That's just the thing....I don't know that I would...

A/N: Hey guys!!!! How are you? I'm so sorry for the slow updates I have been so involved in theatre and school that I've hardly had time to write! I hope you liked this chapter! (: Thanks for reading!