Wife of Mischief (part 1 of the WoM series)

Chapter 4

After my interrogation with Loki, the day only went downhill. Everyone kept getting into fights and accusing each other of things that may or may not have been true. I couldn't even break up their petty arguments either! Any time I would step in to stop any of them from killing each other, Tony and Steve mostly, I would get pushed aside or ignored. Tony and Steve were especially ruthless with me however. Tony usually used my job as an excuse to prove that I had no business intervening, and Steve snapped that if it weren't for him I'd be dead, so I had no business stopping them if I couldn't even protect myself. This only continued so I eventually gave up and retired to my room.
After all of their bickering and my jet lag I was exhausted, falling asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. The day had been unreasonably long. When I joined SHIELD I hadn't expected to be babysitting their heroes too. They were grown adults yet they were acting like children! Even if I hadn't given up on trying to stop their fights, I was out matched in every way possible. Steve was a super soldier and was practically twice my size, Tony was a genius with any piece of technology at his disposal, Natasha was a trained assassin, and Dr. Banner could apparently turn into a giant monster; information he had previously withheld from me. Any one of them could overpower me if I did something to anger them! So instead of fighting them and getting hurt or fired I went to my room to rest. I welcomed my deep sleep with open arms and happily let my mind wander and dream whatever it wanted to.
In my dream I woke up and saw that I was floating in space, but it only looked like space. I was weightless but there was also a sense of gravity, which was an odd and confusing feeling. The kind of feeling you have while underwater. I was filled with a sense of tranquility and comfort Millions of small star-like lights surrounding me danced and moved around like fire flies.
Playfully, I grabbed at one of the lights, and suddenly I was in a different place! I was standing in some kind of outdoor corridor, overlooking the most beautiful scene ever! There was a vast city before me, and beyond that, a beautiful ocean that seemed to spill over the edge of the land and into space. I heard a child's voice behind me and I turned around. A tall, regal woman strode down the hall with a little boy skipping after her. The woman was beautiful with long, ginger hair and a fair face. Her cream colored dress seemed to glimmer in the sunlight and flowed around her ankles weightlessly. The little boy next to her looked up at her with pure admiration and love. He had short, black hair and a pale face, his green eyes were filled with wonder as he tugged on the woman's dress, earning him a loving grin.
"Mother! Can you teach me how to become a Raven? One of father's died and he's upset, so I want to become one to make him happy again!"
I grinned, knowing exactly who the little boy was. It was Loki! Although I could have sworn he had blue eyes. We're these his memories? I waved, wondering if they could see me. When nothing happened I realized they couldn't, which was likely a good thing. I hoped he made his father happy again. Then as quickly as the memory had started it was over and I was back in space. Wondering what would happen in the next memory, I grabbed at another light, instantly recognizing the hunched over shape of Thor as he sat sullenly on a pair of stairs. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Loki quietly round a column and sit by his brother.
"It is unwise to be in my company right now brother," Thor said, clearly angry, "This was to be my day of triumph!"
"It'll come. In time," Loki's quieter voice reassured him. He sounded so different, so much more kind! What happened to him to make him so evil? The memory ended again and I was flung back into space. I grabbed another light, wondering what would happen in this one. Now we were in some kind of treasure room, different relics and powerful artifacts mounted on stands and pedestals. Loki stood at the end of the corridor, picking up a glowing blue relic. My finger tips began feeling cold, then my hands. I looked down at them. They were blue! The color was quickly running up my arms and I could feel its coldness making its way up my torso and my neck. I heard footsteps behind me and I turned around, an older man stood at the top of the stairs and looked at Loki.
"Stop!" he shouted.
"Am I cursed?" Loki's said, not turning around.
"No."
"What am I?"
"You are my son."
He must be talking to Odin! What was going on? Did it have to do with my now blue skin?
"What more than that?" he turned around to face Odin and I gasped. His skin had turned blue just like mine! His eyes were no longer green either, they had become a deep crimson, and grooves had formed on his forehead, creating some kind of symbol.
"The Casket wasn't the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day was it?" Loki continued.
"....No. In the aftermath of the battle I went into the temple and I found a baby. Small, for a giant's offspring, abandoned, suffering, left to die. Laufey's son."
"Laufey's son," Loki repeated. I vaguely remembered learning about the feud between Jotuns and the Asgardians in high school. He must have been in so much pain! I felt terrible for him.
"Yes," Odin replied. I could hear Loki begin to hyperventilate, his breaths becoming ragged and shallow. I wanted to hug him, or comfort him in some way, but I knew I couldn't.
"Why?" he asked, his voice sounded tight and strained, "You were knee deep in Jotun blood why would you take me?"
"You were an innocent child-"
"No," Loki interjected, "You took me for a purpose what was it?" Silence. Odin didn't answer, likely too embarrassed and guilty to confront his own son. Anger began bubbling inside me. Loki's breathing was becoming more uncontrolled and I could almost hear his heart breaking. A lump was forming in my throat. No wonder he was so angry and violent, he had been fed a lie his entire life!
"TELL ME!" he cried.
"I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day, bring about an alliance, bring about a permanent peace. Through you," Odin finally answered. There it was, I could hear the sound of Loki's hear shattering into a million pieces like glass. He was a tool to his father, a peace offering to people he was raised to fear and hate. Tears spilled from my eyes as I witnessed Loki going from a quiet, unassuming child to a villain at the hands of his father.
"What?" he said, his voice and tear streaked face perfectly portraying how broken and betrayed he felt.
"But those plans no longer matter."
"So I am no more than another stolen relic?" he asked, crying, "Locked up here until you might have use of me?"
"Why do you twist my words?"
"You could have told me what I was from the beginning! Why didn't you?!"
"You are my son. I wanted only to protect you from the truth."
"What? Because I...I...I'm the monster parents tell their children about at night? You know it all makes sense now! Why you favored Thor all these years, because no matter how much you claim to love me, you could never have a frost giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!"
Then they were gone. The memory was over and I was left in silence again. Tears continued to spill down my cheeks and I examined my hands. They were no longer blue. Another light flew by and I desperately grabbed it, hoping maybe there was a good ending. The scene I was met with held no hope however.
Thor stood in front of a small golden building that glowed almost violently. Loki lay a few meters away from him, laying down on the brightly colored bridge under my feet. "If you destroy the bridge you'll never see her again!" he screamed as Thor hacked away at the path with Mjolnir. Thor ignored him though, and slammed his hammer into the bridge again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Loki slowly pick himself up. He grabbed his golden spear and began charging at his brother, his emerald eyes flashed murderously. Even though I knew neither of them could hear me, I couldn't help but try to get him to stop. "Loki no!" I cried as he raised he weapon and lunged at Thor. "Forgive me Jane," I heard Thor say, and he swung Mjolnir once more, causing the small, round building to explode, and the bridge in front of us erupt and shatter into millions of pieces! We were thrown back from the blast and I tumbled down the bridge. I sat back up just in time to see Thor and Loki get thrown of the edge of the shattered path. "No!" I screamed. However I had failed to see Odin arrive, and I didn't notice him until he had grabbed Thor's foot. I ran to the man's side, desperately wanting to help pull them back up, but knowing that I couldn't. Peering over the side, I saw that Loki clung to the end of the spear while Thor gripped the other end, ensuring that his brother wouldn't fall.
"I could have done it father," Loki shouted over the wind, "for you! For all of you."
"No, Loki," Odin responded. Loki looked at his father with a broken expression on his face. "Loki no!" Thor begged, and I realized what the raven haired man was thinking. However it was too late, Loki let go and fell. Then it was over, and I was flung back into space like a rag doll. I gripped my arms tightly and tried to calm my breathing. This had to be a dream. It had to be! There was no way Loki had died, I had seen him, he threatened my life, I had talked to him, yelled at him, even laughed with him! This wasn't possible!
I began raising my hands to wipe tears from my face but just as they made contact with my cheeks, my eyes flew open and I was back in my room. I looked at the alarm clock mounted on my nightstand. 3:30 am. The others would be asleep right now. Something wet ran down my face and I touched it. I flicked my lamp on and examined my finger tip, confirming that the wet substance was a tear. Apparently I hadn't just been crying in my dream.
Remembering the events that had happened I pulled my phone out and looked up the relationship between Jotunheim and Asgard to confirm my theory. Asgard's king, Odin, had attacked Jotunheim after its inhabitants attempted to take over Earth. He defeated their king and took their power source, a glowing blue relic called the casket. "Yeah except he stole a child as well," I muttered under my breath.
I was wide awake now, the jet lag and leftover shock from my odd dream refusing to let me sleep. It was about 10:30 in the morning in Germany, and my internal clock was still convinced we were in Stuttgart, so I decided to check on our resident god of Mischief. If he was awake, which was unlikely, maybe I'd ask him some questions about his past and see if they lined up with what I had seen in my dream.
I flung my blankets off and threw on a hoodie and a pair of sneakers. On the way to Loki's cell, I took a detour and stopped by the kitchen for a snack. I opened the door to the large room quietly and flicked on the light, surprised to see a plate of food wrapped in plastic sitting on the counter. There was a yellow sticky note attached to it and I picked it up, reading the little message scribbled on it.
"Sorry for insulting you earlier. That was really rude of me, especially since you were trying to help. You didn't respond when I knocked on your door so I peaked in to see if you were okay and apologize personally but you were asleep. Also sorry that I didn't wake you up for dinner, I thought it was best to let you sleep since I know you're still on German time and you've had to put up with us fighting all day.
-Tony"
I smiled and made a mental note to let him know that all was fine between us. My eyes landed on the little Iron Man stick figure saying sorry drawn in the corner and I chuckled. I folded the note neatly and put it in my hoodie pocket. The meal was somehow still warm when I unwrapped it and I admired the food. It was (f/f)! I dug some silverware out of a drawer and ate the food happily, finishing it quicker than I had hoped. I put my dishes in the large dishwasher and made my way out of the kitchen, turning off the light and closing the door quietly to make sure I didn't wake anyone up.
The walk down to Loki's cell was even more ominous than before, so much in fact that I was relieved when I saw all of the usually intimidating guards. I walked past them and up to the door, one of the guards made a move to stop me but I held up my ID before she could ask me for it. The room was dark when I walked in, the only light source came from Loki's cell. To my surprise he was still awake! His back was turned to me again and he sat cross legged on the floor of the cage. I made my way over to it quietly and sat in the same position.
"I knew you'd come."