Raven woke up in a tree, in a nest like bed. She yawned rubbing her eyes, she didn't remember going to sleep or leaving the moon. How did she get here? She sat up and looked around. She was in a forest, but it was different from the ones she saw on TV, it was greener and there were strange sounds all around her. She climbed down and slid onto her butt, she then realized that Loki was nowhere in sight.
"Loki? Loki?"
She spun on her heels taking in the complete change of scenery. It was bursting with the smell of various flowers, it was like spring time only amplified. Her nose was starting to burn as if she had snorted pollen but she had yet to see a flower. How did she get here?
"How did I know you wouldn't stay still?"
She turned around to see Loki holding three fat peaches. "Hungry?"
"Are those peaches?" She took one. "They're really fat."
"They're special peaches. Far more fulling than the fruit you're used to."
She took a bite, she was really hungry. It was sweet like a peach but the juice was bubbly and the taste tingled in her mouth. Not a sour tingle either. She felt a shiver down her toes.
"Like it?"
She nodded taking more bites making happy sounds with each chomp.
"Aren't you easy to please," Loki smiled.
He figured the fay fruit was the best bet in feeding Raven, sweet and filling. Unlike other foods which may compromise her a bit, other than Asgardian food, fay fruit just gave those tingling feelings that she enjoyed so much. It would help her body adjust to the atmosphere of Alfheim, she smells alone would bombard her senses.
"Did you eat something?" She asked him.
"I don't need food," he muttered.
Her face became worried, "But aren't you hungry? You can have a peach if you want." She offered a peach that dwarfed her hand, "You aren't supposed to miss breakfast."
"Gods can miss breakfast," he assured her.
"Even Thor eats breakfast with me sometimes," she argued. "He always hogs the Pop Tarts."
Loki could picture that. "I see," he chuckled, "he always had bad table manners."
"I thought I ate fast," she agreed. "Are you sure you don't want one?"
"You need them more than me."
Still on her first peach she bit her fingers. She suddenly realized it was morning, she had been gone for a whole day because it wasn't this bright when she left. "When am I going home?"
"Homesick already?" He asked keeping a pleasant smile.
"I never slept over before," she reminded him.
He gave an understanding incline of his head. He offered his hand, "Come, we haven't even begun to explore this realm. If nothing impresses you I'll take you somewhere else."
Did she fight him? Or did he trick her?
Those questions buzzed around his head, Raven was a genius, you couldn't lure her with candy unless you made her trust you first. Tony stared at the beaded bracelet he had taken from her room, he had gotten her a bracelet kit and she had gone berserk with them. He caressed each bead like a rosary, what had he missed? Loki couldn't just pluck Raven up like a kitten, she was a fighting Irish. She would have fought until the house was a mess. She would have clawed, bit, spat and screamed. He was missing something and he knew that Raven, although smart was still a little girl, she would have left a clue by accident. Loki was indeed a god but he was still a man, and men made mistakes.
That was why he went home and searched her room. He told no one his hunch but he expected someone would follow his trail eventually. It hurt to go into her room, it smelled like her and it remained him exactly how Raven had left it. Toys were out. Paper piled in the trash can. Eraser dust and pencil shavings could be found everywhere. It pinched but he swallowed the pain and thought. He thought hard. If I were a kid keeping a secret where would I hide it? And if I was smart where would I put it?
"Tony?" Pepper came in. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm missing something Pep," he madly mumbled. "Something isn't adding up. Something isn't clicking."
"Tony," Bruce came in followed by the other Avengers. "What isn't clicking?"
Tony felt relief that everyone had followed him sans their fighting apparel, they still had some faith in him and he felt gratitude for it although he said nothing about it. If they believed in him then maybe just maybe this wouldn't end as badly as his dreams predicted. He hadn't lost his edge and he could fix this.
"Raven has a temper, a nasty one" he admitted. "She'll kick and scream when she's upset. She has a survival instinct. Loki couldn't have just picked her up."
"She would have fought him?" Thor asked carefully. He knew that he was on thin ice being Loki's brother.
Tony saw their faces, they all were trying to envision little skinny Raven trying to fight Loki. Little Raven with a newly transplanted heart wrangling wits the god of mischief and lies. Outsized and outmatched.
"I don't doubt it for a second. She doesn't care how big you are, you mess with her she'll level the playing field." His gut knotted. Horrible blurred premonitions flickered. "She'll go down fighting."
Natasha folded her arms, "Perhaps he sneaked in and incapacitated her."
"But he would have to still deal with her," he argued. "And that would make her more desperate! She can smell danger but..." His eyes widened.
"What?" Asked Steve.
"He tricked her," Tony realized. "We have never told her anything about Loki. Sure, she knows we fought aliens and saved Manhattan but she has no idea who was behind it." He became enraged. "She has no idea who he is! And he just waltzes in and turns up his charm, like Peter Pan from Rock of Ages, and convince her that he knows us well enough that she could trust him! Son of a bitch!" He spat. "I don't even like Fury and she knows that she can trust him. Remotely anyways." He tugged at his hair. "He had to have convinced her to go with him! She's easier to handle if she likes you!"
"Are you sure?" Clint ventured. "Maybe he did what he did to me?"
He shook his head, "Why?" He explained with a flutter in his voice. "She'd be mindless and has no skill or knowledge to compromise S.H.I.E.L.D." He circled. "No. There's something I'm missing, and it's in here. I won't know until I find it."
"So we're going to search her room for what exactly?" Bruce tightly asked. The theories had put him on edge.
"Something that she shouldn't have," he explained going through her drawings. "A clue that Loki was here."
The Avengers searched the small room, even Pepper who had moved to the closet but stopped.
"Wait. Wait. I got it," she moved to the night table. "She hates it when you go in here." She opened the cupboard and pulled out the a folder and a metal box.
Tony opened the box and emptied it on the bed, a piece of blue china, a shot glass, a lighter and a tin mint box. Nothing but the trail was hot.
He opened the folder and papers spilled out. She never hid drawings before. He fanned out the papers and already a bad sign came up. He lifted a picture and cringed. Raven in a yellow dress with a skinny man with wild long black hair in a suit with tiny blue eyes.
"No," Pepper gasped.
"Stark," Thor held a picture of the tesseract.
"Goddammit," Tony swore.
"Guys," Clint showed them a picture of Loki all suited up save for his helmet. "I think we can rule out some stuff now."
Tony felt his mouth dry to a drought. "He was seeing her behind our backs."
"Not only that," Bruce muttered lifting a picture of Yggdrasil. "Seems he's been telling some things too."
"That is Yggdrasil," Thor pointed out, "and these are the Nine Realms." He squinted at the other dots around them, "Those must have been the other worlds Loki spoke of." He lifted another picture that caught his eye, "And the Bifrost."
"Let's hope he's not giving her life lessons too," Tony spoke through gritted teeth.
"He's probably been telling her about... his travels," Natasha concluded. "Pipe her curiosity and make him interesting to her."
"Make her promise not to tell in exchange for something," Bruce added. "Nothing gets her more eager to please than a good secret."
"And something interesting to figure out," Tony grumbled.
"She is not on Midgard," Thor was deeply grim. "Loki must have taken her to the worlds my people do not know of."
"And he has the tesseract," Clint shook his head. "He has the tesseract and a kid with him."
"I think we need to go to Asgard," Steve concluded. "And fast."
"So this is your helmet?" She put the gold plated, horned helmet on. "Woah it's heavy." Raven comically teetered holding the helmet trying to balance without hurting her neck from its weight.
"Can you even see with that on?" He chuckled.
They had stopped to take a break from walking around. Loki had shown her mostly the animals and strange plants on Alfheim, they had yet to see an actual faerie so they took a break. While they sat he decided to show off his helmet. It sank low on her head, she had to push it back to see but she looked sharp. She loved it. She never once thought of a cow, though she did think of a cricket (which were good luck on Midgard) or a praying mantis (an insect that ate it's mate). Apparently the insect was the inspiration of a fighting style. Wushu kung-fu, she called it.
"Does Thor have one of these too?"
"His has feathers however."
Her expression was one of confusion and distaste, "Feathers?" Her tone just made him smile. "That's so stupid! I bet he looks like a turkey or a peacock."
"Hardly suits him I agree," he said with a quirk in his smile. "Perhaps that's why he hardly wears it."
"I bet he looks really weird," she giggled.
Loki laughed too and rose from the rock they found to sit on. "Ready to walk now?"
She stared at her feet, "My feet still hurt."
"I see," he scooped her up. "Not a problem."
Raven trusted him completely. Loki felt in the way she held on to him when she slept, how she refused to let go, how she wrapped her arms around him and leaned onto him. She trusted him. Even after he frightened her she still trusted him.
Loki had never held a child before, many didn't give him the privilege because of his reputation. Raven was hardly an infant, she moved herself if he held her awkwardly or when she felt restless but she still had a level of helplessness. She held onto him with a lazy hold, carefree and nonchalant. She held no doubt or caution in his arms, and he was highly astute to it. The way she would lean on his shoulder, breathing with childish excess on the exposed skin of his neck, how she daringly touched his hair and when she rested her forehead against his temple. Were children usually like this? He was quite apathetic to them.
As them walked and she grew bored of craning her neck this and that. She soon began to hum and sing to herself, hardly subconscious of him.
"You are the hole in my head, you are the space in my bed. You are the silence in between, what I thought I said." She had the decency to coo softly to herself at least. "You are the night time fear, you are the morning when it's clear, when it's over you start. You are my head you are my heart."
Loki began to listen wondering what other suggests she would sing in innocence.
"No light, no light, in your bright blue eyes. I never knew daylight could be so violent, a revelation in the light of day. You can't choose what stays and what fades away. And I'd do anything to make you stay."
"Odd song," he murmured wondered if she had made it up. It sounded too romantic for her mentality and heavily themed disguised in simple words.
"It's by Florence and the Machine," she explained. "It reminds me of you."
That surprised him. "Does it?" He wondered deeply intrigued. "How so?"
Without an hesitance she replied, "Your kind of weird, and a little scary when your cranky but you're really sweet too. And you have blue eyes," she added as if it suddenly dawned on her.
"Sweet?" He smile was almost a sneer. "You think me sweet?" The word felt like what a patronizing mother would coo to a babe.
"Uh hmm,"she turned to head to spy something she had spotted.
"Sweet," he repeated, the word bitter and rotten on his tongue. "Why you think me sweet Raven?"
Oblivious to the brooding in Loki's eyes she said, "Because you're nice to me, and I like you."
"Enough though I frighten you at times?" He was praying she would catch on to the dare. The warning he was mercifully giving.
"You said you were sorry that time, and you fixed my arm. Only mean people don't say sorry."
Loki felt a strange annoyance at her childish ignorance. "You shouldn't be so forgiving," he lightly scolded. "It is the downfall of many men."
"I can forgive you," she quipped back. She rested her arms on his head looking down at him. "You're... special."
The word special caught him, made him pause right where he stood. He didn't look at Raven, it was unnecessary but he did stop and Raven chirped curiously like the fragile creature she was.
"What is it?" She asked.
"What did you call me?" His voice was neutral, void of all feeling although his eyes were an hinged storm. "And I want an explanation Raven. A thorough explanation."
She sighed like a child caught to recite their timetables. "I said you were special." She paused to mull over her next words. "I think your special because you're funny, you're cool, you can do magic and... because you're... You."
"That's all?" He gave a scoff. "You must think many are special."
"That's not true!" She protested. "You're special because you're my friend! My super cool friend and that what makes you special!" She huffed. "Isn't that enough?"
Loki angled his head to look at her, "I'm your," he repeated her rapid emphasis much slower, "friend? Are you claiming me Raven?" There was bemusement in his voice but something lingered in his tone. Something dark.
"Yes."
Loki cupped the side of her head, his long fingers spanning across the entire side of her face. He could see the beauty under the bud that was her baby face, if only she were older, not the little leave bursting out the ground. He brought her head closer and he placed a kiss on the space between her eyes. His kisses were always cold and it felt like dry ice being pressed to her face, Raven said nothing to the action but reached out with both hands and tousled Loki's hair.
To his own bewilderment he laughed.
"Do you have ice powers?" She inquired. "When you blew on my arm it was cold."
"I do," he admitted. He saw the gears in her mind turning. "Why?"
Her eyes went to a wide pond, she looked at him then back at the creek, "Have you ever gone ice skating?"
Loki had done many things in his years, centuries of existence but ice skating was never one. Raven instructed him to freeze the creek, with a thick layer of ice. Once she was satisfied with it's tolerance she explained what ice skates looked like, and he froze the blade like extensions on the bottoms of their soles. It was common past time on Midgard, mostly in winters or designated areas for such activities. Without fear she got on the ice and spun around the perimeter, she had perfect balance and stood confident.
"Come on!" She offered his hand. "It's easy."
It did look simple enough. He went on the ice and he'll admit he needed a second to compose himself. She held his hands and coached him on how to balance.
"Feet together," she said, "try not to rock." She then came beside him wrapping her arm around his back. "Baby steps."
Loki did stammer a bit with his first step but by his fifth he had an expert stance.
"Now we skate," she declared.
She let go and demonstrate the push to get going along with the movement to stop. Again she offered her hand and waited. The trick of this feat he concluded was confidence, caution lead to failure which was falling on your ass. When he caught on he actually enjoyed the sport, it was about agility and balance, not some brainless battle of strength.
"What other powers do you have?" She asked him after ice skating.
"Many," he said dramatically. He leaned in, "Sooo many," a double appeared behind her and tapped her shoulder, "powers," they chorused.
Raven jumped and then squealed, "Wow! There's two of you!" She poked the double's arm, "And I can poke him." With utter delight she circle the double, "He looks so real!"
"Merely a projection," the double stated.
"We can think and see at the same time," Loki added.
"So you're like multitasking?" She questioned.
"For a lack of a better word."
Again that awed look that he greedily soaked in. "Woah, you are so cool."
Loki was enjoying doing tricks for Raven's amusement, showcasing what he was capable of for her deeply appreciated awe. She 'oohed' and 'aahed' at everything he did hanging on every word he said, his powers amazed her, she loved the fact that his talents were useful for a fight and a good trick. Another thing he liked was that she wasn't easily frightened, unlike many who jumped at the sight of his purple serpents she gaped enthralled by the fact he created them. She let it crawl up her arm scratching it's under chin when it came past her elbow. She didn't grab at it like many but cradled and guided it away when it came too close to her face.
He liked this Midgardian child very much. If she didn't care so much for Stark he was greatly tempted to keep her for himself.
"Loki?" She asked as the serpent settled in her hands. "Why are you so cold?"
"What?"
"You're hands are always cold," she remarked. "Is it because of your ice powers?"
The innocence of her question made him pause instead of angrily deflecting. He had been distracted. He didn't want to frighten her again, he didn't notice that the serpent had vanished and she had begun to fiddle with the pendant. So when she had touched his hand, making sure he had heard her, a frosting breeze rolled over him in a blink and he heard her gasp before he could stop it.
The knee jerk reaction was anger but the look on her face told him that she hadn't meant it. For a moment he froze, she was seeing him for who he was, what only his father had beheld and the secret he had hidden from him. He expected her to shrink back but she all she did was stare, eyes wide, mouth parted, body very stiff.
"You're blue," her voice was hushed.
Seeing no point to lie he responded, "My true form."
He waited for horror to dawn in her eyes, but there was none. She just stared. Her eyes rolled over him shamelessly, rapidly taking in everything but unsure of what to address first.
She touched a marking on his hand, "Did this hurt?"
A bitter laugh escaped him. "No Raven, I was born this way."
"Was Thor born this way too?"
He shook his head. "Me and Thor are not true brothers. You could say I was adopted."
She made a mute 'oh', and took him all in. There was no fear, when she took his hand cupping his hand in her lap. Little fingers traced the subtle claws, "You're super cold now."
"Am I?" Her calmness was a bit staggering he expected repulsion from his touch and horrified screams. "I can't tell."
"Can't you?" She was fascinated with the Jotun markings on him. She then saw her eyes, "Woah, your eyes are all red. Do they hurt?" Her little hands held his face with moving concern.
"Hurt?" He echoed. She thought his true form caused him pain.
"Sharks have all black eyes and they can get hurt very easily," she explained. "But they can see really super good."
"I see." He forced a thin smile. "This form causes me no pain."
"Then why did you hide it?" She asked. "Do people make fun of you?"
He patted her head, "They would have been afraid."
"Why?" She wondered. "You don't look scary at all. A little weird but not that weird."
Her words earned her a chilly peck on her forehead. Wordlessly she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed giving a warm kiss on the cheek, their temperatures were so different it was like exchanging imprints.
"It's like hugging a skinny snowman," she remarked with a giggle.
Sharing the laugh he said, "This coming from a featherless bird."
She smiled widely, "So now we're both weirdos."
He smiled and let his Jotun birthright evaporate lifting her up in his arms, "I do believe that I promised you an adventure."
The exchange had lightened his mood dramatically. They were walking through the forest when suddenly he halted. Something was near and it was formidable. Raven felt his unease and looked back. Her fingers gripped his armor.
"Loki, what's wrong?"
"Raven," he took his helmet back and set her on the ground, "I need you to hide now."
"What? What is it?" She asked grabbing his hand. "Loki what is it?"
"Someone who doesn't need to see you." He knelt down and held her shoulders. "It'll only be for a moment," he stroked her cheek, "but you must hide and make sure that no one takes your amulet." His back tensed, "No matter what happens you remain hidden, and if there is more than one you run. Understood?"
She nodded, "But Loki..."
"No buts." His jaw pulsed, "Raven, if I do not return you must call for Heimdall and ask for entrance to Asgard." She took it in and nodded. "When there you ask for Thor Odinson of Asgard. Remember the title. Thor Odinson of Asgard."
"I won't forget."
"You can use this," he tapped the pendant, "to get to the Bifrost, if Heimdall does not answer." He shoved her lightly, "Now go!"
Raven went to the bushes far from Loki til he was nothing but his helmet and a blur of dark colors. She crouched and watched as equally dark clad men appeared but their dark was more like dark brown than Loki's black. One hit Loki but it didn't hurt him for he got up shaking the dirt off him. The others held spears to his neck. What did they want? She couldn't hear anything. Raven saw the men circle Loki and their spears glowed, Loki's eyes bulged and his skin turned faded to blue, marking appeared and his eyes became all red.
She gasped into her hands what had they done to Loki? Did he change whenever he got hurt? He didn't look worried at his transformation but rather he was angry but not super angry, it was like someone had spilled juice on his shirt. No biggie. She wanted to get a closer look at what was happening when something cracked behind her, she turned and saw a man. He sort of looked like a Native American as did his clothes minus the feathers, he had a knife on his belt. She screamed and ran. He grabbed at her heels and she kicked and crawled his face digging at his eyes.
"Loki!" She screamed. "Loki!"
Not waiting for a response she ran once she was free. She ran and ran and ran. Voices were shouting but she ran, like she was told, she ran through the bush feet pumping against the ground. She didn't know where to go, she just dodged trees and made sure there was ground below her feet.
Until there was no ground.
The ground vanished below and she fell. She fell into an abyss and hit solid ground where the darkness kept her.
"Who are you?" Demanded Loki.
"We," the leader responded, "are a humble people who do not respond well to strangers. Especially such as yourself."
"I will leave your realm, if that is your desire."
"Our thanks but your little hostage will remain with us," the leader declared. "She is not like you and does not belong by your side."
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."
The harmless spear they had been threatening him with suddenly glowed and he felt the light burn his skin. There was no immediate pain but his Jotun heritage had been revealed. He must be a strong shaman, Loki concluded, only a master of magic and disguise could breach my barrier. That meant they may know that Raven had power, none of her own but it radiated off her like it was hers. It may keep her safe and leave room for a negotiation.
"Was that necessary?"
"No need for pretense creature."
Not all that wise if they had no idea what he was. Dwellers of Alfheim were also quite superstitious, especially about creatures that stole children. They thought he had seduced Raven into coming with him, which was a little bit of an exaggeration. He preferred the word charmed. They probably had horrible illustrations of Frost Giants as well, fay folk usually only fought with goblins and trolls, and their own kind. This he could work this to his advantage.
Raven screamed, and cried for him, "Loki! Loki!"
"Leave her be!" He bellowed. "I am no enemy of hers or yours. She will be more frightened of you than me."
"She is not yours," the leader replied. "Who's child did you steal creature? Who's child head did you fill with lies?"
He moved to attack but they struck and that did hurt, it drove him to his knees.
"She ran off!" Someone called. "She's ran!"
Loki saw her run and was impressed she actually got away, he didn't expect that. He'd find her momentarily, and they'd leave this realm. The men however had other plans, with another spike of that outlandish fay power they had him powerless and dragged him to his feet. They had gotten much stronger since he had last been here.
"She can't go far without knowing the forest," someone murmured. "She'll die if we don't find her first."
"Throw this creature on the Bifrost. He can fend for himself there, I don't want him in this realm. Come we must find the girl," said another.
No. No. No. This couldn't be happening. He forced himself upright to fight, he struck the man on his left and right. Fired his icy blows to those who charged. He tried to cast a clone but some actually disrupted it. His clone. Who were these people? These were no ordinary fay.
He hissed, he had been detached from the Nine too long. These men were no rescuers, they sensed the faint trace of power they wanted to find her for it, they would have left her be otherwise. That's why their powers were so great, they used old magic of light and dark fay, that's why his magic was easily countered.
Run Raven, he prayed, run. Run and hide until I find you.
On Asgard Sif ran through the halls. Thor had returned with his fellow warriors from Midgard, they had declared that Loki had stolen a daughter of his comrade. Naturally she and the warrior's three had wanted to help. The father of the girl, Tony Stark, hid his pain well though his eyes betrayed his brooding fury. They all feared what Loki may do to the child, he was Thor's brother but he was lost to him consumed with poisonous dreams.
Frigga had hidden her grief most skillfully when she was informed but she refused to keep audience with the plans for a search. Like Thor she had been gravely troubled when Thor had returned with Loki as a prisoner, chained like a wild animal. Odin was the only one who seemed able to maintain steady eye contact with Loki since his return, even now he seemed unfazed by the ordeal. Frigga, as a mother, felt Stark's pain you saw it in her eyes when she saw the portrait of the child. Her heart was broken. Sif too felt unsettled but for the child. Who knows what Loki may do to the poor child?
Would he harm her? Use her as a device in his vengeance? She truly could not answer the question herself.
"Thor!" Sif called. "Thor! You must come and see this!"
The Avengers had been circled around a proper map of the Nine Realms comparing it to Raven's. The Warriors Three were more than willing to help narrow down the search perimeters. They were already bringing the Avengers up to speed to all the realms and their inhabitants. Stark was analyzing the maps with deep concentration, comparing the two to pinpoint the precise locations to the realms that Loki had no doubt told the child about.
"What is it Sif?" Thor asked.
"It's Loki, he was found of the Bifrost!"
Tony's face ashen, "Alone?"
"I'm afraid so," Sif replied troubled. "He is also injured."
"I don't give a fuck," Tony snarled, "where is he?"
Sif directed him to a chamber where Loki laid unconscious. He was seriously bruised and bore a face of high discomfort. Tony saw a bronze bed pan beside him grabbing it he callously dumped it on Loki's head and if that wasn't enough he smacked him with it. Loki groaned and glared daggers at Stark.
"Glad I have your attention," he muttered darkly, "where the fuck is my daughter?"
Loki moved to sit up, "Your bedside manner is appalling."
"Answer me." There was no quip in his voice, no warning. He harshly demanded an answer, nearly animal in it's delivery.
"I know the realm but not her precise her location."
"You left a child alone?" Thor rumbled. "A sickly child in a strange realm?"
Loki rolled his eyes, his brother thought so low of him. Who knew a mere trick would have erased that disgusting optimism. Not on purpose, he thought withholding an eye roll.
"Which realm is it?" Steve asked. "We can deal with him later."
"Alfheim, and I would hurry."
"One more thing," Natasha continued, "the tesseract."
"I don't have it."
"Does Raven have it?" Bruce deadpanned. "Or does she know where it is?"
Loki said nothing and Sif erupted.
"You possess the tesseract and endanger a child's life! A Midgardian child! A child's life is in the balance Loki!"
Thor face quaked in anger and disgust, "Brother, I never thought you to be this cruel."
Loki said nothing but stared at the Avengers, "I'm cruel yet you waste your energies scolding me instead of rescuing the girl." Icy fury burned, "You are less than what you were when I first saw you. Rage is so blinding and reaps such casualties."
Tony was seconds, milliseconds from throttling him when Bruce's green hued arm shot out and his hand clutched around his skinny throat. He was teetering and even Loki's face faltered at the blunder of his words.
"I wouldn't be casting stones right now," uttered Bruce. "I really wouldn't. The tesseract is pulsing with gamma radiation, if she gets infected with it you will answer to me and you won't like it."