Young Avengers: Team Work, Part 2

Read Part 1 ->here<-.

DISCLAIMER: Loki Laufeyson / Kid Loki (as he appears in this story), Billy Kaplan / Wiccan, Teddy Altman / Hulking, America Chavez / Miss America, Kate Bishop / Hawkeye, Noh-Varr / Marvel Boy, Prodigy / David Alleyne, Patriot / Patri-Not, and Laufey (as depicted here)  © Marvel Comics. This is just fanfiction, not an official story for the series, and no profit is being made by the author.
Note:
\\==V==// means the scene following it is from Loki's point of view.
} >>-----> @ means the scene following it is from Kate's PoV.

--------------------------

\\==V==//
After they had quickly washed their own clothes and laid them out to dry, then changed into the dry clothes they'd scrounged up, Loki led his companions to the home of Volstagg. When they'd started that journey, he'd been in surprisingly high spirits, feeling rather fond of his companions. His elation quickly faded, though, as they passed the late citizens of Asgardia. He averted his eyes from his teen companions, not wanting to see the pity they were surely aiming his way. The last thing he needed was for his eyes to begin their Niagara impression again!

When they reached the cottage of Volstagg, his hand hovering over the door handle, Loki realised something: he really didn't want to see the corpses of the man and his family!

Aye. He was a good friend .... the ghost said wistfully.

To you, maybe. But in any case, I'm not a total monster, and I've had my fill of corpse-spotting today.

"It's okay. You can wait out here," Kate told him, laying a hand on his arm a moment before opening the door herself.

When she stopped short just inside the door, gasping and covering her mouth with both hands, only then did it occur to him that he hadn't explained what she might find. And really, if he, with his cold heart, couldn't bear the sight of all those children, what made him think she, with her compassionate one, could?

"Odin's beard, Kate, I'm sorry -- I didn't think!" he apologised, reaching out.

Before he reached her, he spun around and threw her arms around him in a crushing grip, burying her face in his shoulder. "There's so many of them!" she whispered.

"I ... I know," was all he could think to say, finally returning her embrace, careful not to look at anything but the immediate floor -- and trying not to enjoy the rare bit of contact, considering the reason for it.

"So many what?" America wanted to know, slipping past them. She turned back about as quickly as Kate had, looking sick.

"Well?" Billy prompted from his place outside, more concerned-sounding than impatient.

"They're kids. A bunch of 'em," America explained before hurrying outside.

"Come on, let's go," Loki said, guiding Kate out as well, somewhat reluctantly letting Noh-Varr take over comforting her.

"You guys go on ahead -- I'll catch up," Alleyne said, heading for the door of the cottage.

"No, David, just leave it," Kate insisted, grabbing his arm.

"We need to eat!" Alleyne insisted. "I'm sorry -- it is sad and everything, but if there is food in there, they don't need it anymore, and I doubt they would want us to starve unnecessarily."

"Volstagg would likely consider it a crime to starve," Loki agreed.

"And between the anthropology, archaeology, and forensic stuff in my head, I can compartmentalise enough to go in there without having a meltdown. No offense," Alleyne added quickly when he spotted America glaring at him.

Kate sighed and nodded, releasing Alleyne's arm.

They waited for him despite his assurance that he would meet them, Teddy pointing out that Alleyne could only carry so much. Alleyne had scoffed at first at the notion that there would be that much, but then the man disproved his own theory by carrying out one armful of goods after another -- including plates, utensils, and cups, and also things like bandages and soap.

"Volstagg was the sort to make sure he had a stockpile of food for in case of an emergency," Loki explained as he looked each jar over, checking for spoiled contents, "and considering his appetite and the size of his family, that would have to be a sizable larder of cured foods. Not just pickled stuff, but smoked meats, dried fruits, and grains, all of which have been well sealed against rot. The wheat won't do us much good without milk or eggs, of course, unless you fancy hardtack," he continued, tossing a jar of flour aside, "but oats are fine with just berries, and rice is edible enough on its own."

Out of the corner of his eye, Loki noted Noh-Varr making a face that said he didn't agree, and Kate stifling a giggle at her guy. If they didn't knock off being so cute, Loki was going to vomit -- but he found himself strangely unwilling to actually say anything about it.

And then Loki noticed the contents of Alleyne's latest load, taking one of them directly from the young man's grasp, swallowing back salivation.

"Oh, I'm almost tempted to bless you for this!" he told his rival as he gazed reverently on the label of the bottle he now held.

"I neither need nor want the blessings of Loki," Alleyne replied, setting off for another load.

"What is it?" Teddy wondered as he towered over Loki's shoulder.

"Wine from the vineyard of Dionysus himself. I dare say that there is no finer maker of wine in all the multiverse!" Loki gushed.

"I think you're forgetting that we're underage," Billy remarked.

"I think you're forgetting that I'm Asgardian, not American, and we're not in the US!" Loki retorted. (He decided it was better not to add that, despite his appearance, he was also well over 21.) "Therefore, US laws regarding drinking do not apply."

"Chico's got a point," the girl also known as America conceded, picking up another bottle and opening it. "When in Rome -- or Asgardia!" And she moved to swig it.

Loki grabbed her arm, immediately shrinking back under her glare, raising his hands in surrender. "You can't just guzzle it! Something so fine deserves to be savoured properly! Let it breathe!" he practically begged. "To mistreat a literal food of the gods is literally sacrilegious, don't you think?" he added, turning to Kate in the hopes she would back him up.

"He has a point," she agreed, not disappointing him. "If you don't trust him, trust me. Consider it a necessary part of the process -- you don't eat a cake before you've cooked it."

"Fine," America grumbled, letting Loki have the bottle.

He immediately arranged several cups on the ground and poured some into each. "Nobody touch those for at least fifteen minutes," he ordered. "And you, Teddy, keep your great, big, stompy feet away!' Loki took his wine consumption very seriously.

"I think that's enough," Billy said to Alleyne as the young man brought out yet another armful of goods, including more wine.

"No, I think we should clear the place out," Alleyne protested. "Why leave anything?"

"If you think I'm going to play pack-mule, you have another thing coming," Teddy grumbled, crossing his arms.

Loki managed to keep a straight face as he informed them, "Actually, I'm going to teach Billy how to make Hammerspace -- I think he's ready." He smiled genuinely at Billy -- the boy had come a long way, and Loki was proud. (It spoke well of his own efforts to teach the lad, after all!)

"You mean like a Bag of Holding??" the youth asked excitedly, face split with a wide smile of delight in exactly the way Loki expected, greatly amusing him.

"But without the bag!" Loki cheerfully confirmed.

Of course, making such was going to take a considerable amount of energy (a point which made Loki all the more glad that they had taken care of their hygiene manually), but in the long run it would be worth it -- not just because of the food, but because it would be great practice for Billy in controlling his world-shaping abilities.

Yes, what better way to learn to control them than by creating a new dimension entirely, where he's basically a god that inserts and removes denizens on his whim! the ghost concurred with copious sarcasm.

Exactly! Loki replied, in the same innocent tone the ghost had used when he'd said it the day before. And this will allow us to carry spare clothes, medical supplies, and potable water, as well. Go ahead, tell me having those items readily available is a bad thing.

Of course the ghost couldn't.

"Geek translation, please?" America requested, crossing her arms in annoyance. "What the heck is Hammerspace?"

"The personal space of MC Hammer?" Teddy quipped, grinning.

"Wrong, but I'm a bit impressed anyway," Loki smirked at Teddy. "Hammerspace is from a roleplaying game -- it refers to a pocket dimension in which one can store things. A Bag of Holding is a bag with more space inside it than it should have by outward appearances -- kind of like a TARDIS."

"And a TARDIS is ...?" America asked.

Loki sighed. "We really need to do something about your considerably lacking pop-culture repertoire."

"And about your inability to swim!" America returned with dangerously false sweetness.

Loki swallowed hard. "Never mind. Let's take a food break, and then Mr Kaplan and I will get to work on that pocket dimension ...."

After everyone had settled down with food and wine, and had time enough to eat some and relax into various conversations, Kate, sitting next to Loki, said quietly, "You know, learning to swim is probably be a good idea -- and the Volstagg and America Academy of Marine Activities isn't the only way to learn."

"I'm not sure there's any other school available for the likes of me," Loki replied dryly, the wine relaxing away any panic he might normally have felt at the proposition.

"Sure there is -- there's the Hawkeye "Everyone Can Swim" Initiative."

Loki was at a loss for words for all of two seconds. Then, "Please tell me you mean you would teach me, not your pal Barton."

Kate snorted. "Yes, I mean me. I wouldn't trust Clint to teach a goldfish to swim."

Loki grinned at her, then smiled thoughtfully, touched again by her kindness, then grew rueful. "I may very well take you up on that over when all this is over. I just hope you don't end up regretting it."

"So just don't do anything that would make me," she shrugged, sipping at the wine.

Loki almost wished he could promise her that he wouldn't.

You could, the ghost asserted.

"So, you ready to teach me more magic?" Billy asked, saving Loki from potentially unpleasant thoughts.

The rest of the team watched Loki work with Billy as if the pair were providing a dinner show; Loki supposed that, with their banter, they may as well have been. After an hour or so, they had a pocket dimension that not only Billy but also Loki and even America could tap into with their own powers. While Loki stressed that it wasn't wise to rely on a bag -- lose the bag, lose your pocket dimension -- he did teach Billy how to make bag-based access for the non-magically-inclined members of the team. He then taught everyone how to call the specific items they were looking for to them. After packing up everything Alleyne had gathered, they returned to the royal wing and healing room, scraping together more clothes and medical supplies, as well as weapons. The only thing left to do was change into their normal clothes, which were still drying, and they'd be ready to go.

Except that neither Loki nor America had picked up on the Patri-Not's trail yet.

} >>-----> @
They split up to search more effectively. Billy and Teddy formed one team (Loki having taught Billy to search for the trail), America and David another, with Kate and Noh-Varr accompanying Loki.

"I'll be sooo glad when our stuff is dry -- I keep tripping on these skirts," Kate mumbled.

"Well, they were Freyja's, and she was rather tall," Loki replied absently. "You could put on one of the other Loki's shirts, like I did."

Loki looked like he was wearing a knee-length dress, the shirt was so long on him, but Kate imagined one of Thor's shirts could have worked as a pup tent for both of them ....

"Not really a good place or time to change -- I'll just bear that in mind for next time." She hoped there wouldn't be a next time.

"You do look beautiful in that dress. But then, you always do," Noh-Varr told her.

"Awww!" Kate kissed him -- not that she needed an excuse. She was surprised, though, when Loki didn't tease them. She supposed he was too tired. "Loki, do you want to rest?"

"Thanks, but no," he sighed. "I want out of here, and that won't happen until we find that trail." He did pause, though, glancing about in frustrated despair and tugging on his unruly locks as if that might jog his brain into finding an answer.

Watching him, she suddenly came up with an answer of her own.

"Loki ...? What if the Patri-Not hasn't actually left yet? I mean, your tracking spell tracks his portals, right? So if he's still here, there wouldn't be one to find!"

Loki dropped his hand to his side and straightened, staring at her in shock. He then grabbed her by the arms and, pulling her down a bit as he stood on tip-toe, planted a kiss hard on her cheek. Stepping back, he beamed at her. "Noh-Varr is right: you are beautiful! With a big, beautiful brain!"

He then thrust one hand skyward, sending green sparks flying in their agreed-upon signal, and took off running, heading back to the pool area, where they'd all agreed to meet, Kate and Noh-Varr quickly catching up.

Teams Billy and America were already there, having changed to their original clothes. Everyone turned their backs so Team Loki could change while Loki explained Kate's theory. (Their clothes were still damp, but Kate was glad to be back in them nonetheless.)

"Do you guys hear that?" Noh-Varr asked when Loki had finished speaking.

Kate listened intently, and realised there was an intermittent rumble coming from the back of the room, behind the pool, where there was another entry. The Patri-Not came around the corner a moment later -- with a club-bearing Jotun close behind.

"AHH!" Loki cried out, backing up into Noh-Varr. "Not again!"

"There they are, just as I said!" the Patri-Not told the Jotun, waving at them. And then the Patri-Not jumped into the pool.

Kate had a sinking feeling that the faker had made a portal in the water and escaped.

First thing's first, she thought to herself, quickly snatching up her bow and drawing an arrow. She let loose, but while it hit her target -- the Jotun's eye -- it just bounced off, the giant having managed to shut the eye just before the arrow hit, his tough hide deflecting it.

She gulped.

"RUN!" Loki ordered, dashing past Noh-Varr and out the other entry, on their side of the room.

They followed.

"Come back here, son!" the Jotun called after them, the pounding of his massive feet almost drowning out the words. "I'm happy to see you -- thought you were dead! I just want to have dinner! Your friends can be appetisers!"

The Jotun was caught up a moment in the doorway, which was a tad small to him, but was free and gaining on them when they reached a corner. Fifty feet later, Loki suddenly stopped and opened a door that had practically been invisible -- a servants' passage, no doubt. "In here!" he ordered, dashing through it. Beyond was a stairway, one far too small for the Jotun to fit in. The Jotun's roars and the sound of him banging on the walls with the club faded as they followed the stairs up and up, high into what turned out to be a tower.

By the time they reached the top, Kate's legs were trembling with fatigue, and she was gasping. Loki was too, but she worried he was having a panic-attack, not just exhausted from the climb.

"If that monster's ... from the spell ... won't it just ... materialise up here?" Billy panted.

Loki shook his head. "Not from the spell. Doesn't work that way. Real deal -- from this dimension."

"So ... that was your dad?" Kate asked once she could breathe well enough.

"Well, not specifically mine, but yeah, for all intents and purposes. Put them side by side, and I probably couldn't tell the difference."

"Wait, you mean your dad trying to eat you back home wasn't just because of the spell?" Teddy asked, looking sick. "I though making parents murderous was part of how it worked!"

"So the spell didn't have to work hard in my regard. Well, okay, my real father never did get around to trying to eat me when he was still alive, but it was only because I was too small to be worth the effort. He still hated my existence because it suggested there was something wrong with him, that he produced such a small child. He walloped me at least once a day to remind me of what a disappointment I was."

"How small were you?" Noh-Varr asked, frowning.

Loki shrugged, picking up a piece of straw from the floor and breaking it into tiny pieces as he spoke. "I've always been human-sized. I was the equivalent of a human five- or six-year-old when Odin slew my birth-father and took me in. And I can't really recall a day with my birth-father that didn't include him hitting me at some point. Is it any wonder that I don't want to be seen as a Jotun? I don't want to be seen as some bloodthirsty, brainless brute!" He threw the last piece of straw for emphasis, ten crossed his arms over his knees and lay his head on them.

Had anyone ever thought to ask Loki about his life, Kate wondered?  The more she learned, and the more time she spent with him, the harder it seemed to imagine anyone not turning out as he did, and the more miraculous it seemed that he hadn't turned out worse.

"What is this place?" David asked, looking about.

It looked like a much-neglected prison, empty save for straw and chains and books and birds -- as well as a couple of out-of-reach torches, which Loki had lit by magic. The room's only two windows were small, barred, glassless, and even higher up than the torches. Rapunzel or the girl from Rumplestiltskin might have called the room home.

"Odin used to put my brothers and me in here when we misbehaved," Loki replied. "Little did he know I would come to use it as a sort of sanctuary. It's become my bedroom, in fact! Well, after I rediscovered it, it did. It's nicer than the barn where Thor keeps his goats, at least, which is where I was first staying after my resurrection."

"You were sleeping in a barn?" Billy asked, incredulous.

She couldn't blame him; Loki seemed so fastidious to be staying in such dingy places. Loki only shrugged again.

"But why use the barn or this tower instead of your real room?" she asked.

"My real room? Oh, you mean in the royal wing! Yes, well, remember that the Loki of this dimension was on what seems to be better terms with his people than I am with mine. That same room in our world hasn't been mine for a goodly while. I mean, being where everyone who hates you knows where to find you isn't what I'd call safe, you know? At least half the guards in Asgardia want me dead themselves; while they won't actually hurt me thanks to Thor, they're certainly not going to protect me!"

It occurred to Kate then that, while perhaps they'd had no choice in going through the door at the base of the tower, Loki hadn't needed to divulge the full nature of the room to them -- that he must trust them, maybe even like them ....

"So there's nothing about this tower that will help us," David mused. "Not a second way out -- unless Teddy breaks the wall and flies us down a couple at a time?"

"I could do that!"

"No, you couldn't. The walls are magically reinforced," Loki revealed. "Even Stark weaponry had a hell of a time bringing them down. Besides, my father may have returned to the pool, figuring we'd come back there. We need a way to bring him down ...."

"Or just get him out of the way," America pointed out.

"That's true!" Loki agreed, brightening. "We just need to lure him into a trap!"

"How would we trap something so big?" Noh-Varr asked.

"We can use a portal. Get him over just the right spot, and I'll break open a door to that place with the rabbits."

Everyone shuddered.

"So you agree to be the bait, chico?" America asked Loki, a wicked gleam in her eye.

Loki paled. "S-suddenly, I don't like this plan."

"Can you make an illusion for him to follow instead?" Kate suggested.

Loki shook his head. "Jotuns like him rely on smell more than sight. He might be fooled for a moment, but as soon as he realised he couldn't actually smell me, he'd ignore the illusion."

"Fine, I'll do it," America shrugged.

"I'm not sure you'd be bait enough for him to leave his post," Loki said, biting his lip. He then squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. "Okay. I can do this." He got to his feet.

Kate could see his hands and legs tremble.

Noh-Varr must have seen it too. "How about I fly you on my back?" he suggested. "It'd be faster than running."

Looking a bit embarrassed, Loki nodded.

Kate squeezed Noh-Varr's hand in surreptitious thanks; he squeezed back.

\\==V==//
When they got back down to the door to the main floor, the massive hall beyond it was blessedly empty. Twenty feet before the corner, America set up a giant star-shape on the floor, big enough for the Jotun, and gave Loki a thumb's-up. Loki glanced at Kate, who waited in the doorway, bow drawn with a fiery arrow. David, holding a torch and a quiver full of cloth-wrapped arrows, stood right behind her. Kate nodded at Loki. Nodding, back, Loki hopped up onto Noh-Varr's back, throwing his arms around the man's neck and legs around his waist. Billy did the same with Teddy, who was in his winged green Hulking guise. Teddy then flew into the rafters, battle-axe in hand, ready to attack from above if necessary. When they were settled, Billy flashed a thumbs-up.

"Ready!" Loki told Noh-Varr, who then sped off down the corridor; Loki held on for dear life. Moments later, they did indeed find the Jotun waiting by the pool, as Loki expeced. Noh-Varr slowed to hover before the monster, staying horizontal so that Loki could sit up and make himself more visible. "Hello, Father!" Loki called out, waving, with every bit of false cheer he could muster.

"Hello, Dinner!" the giant returned in a gleeful roar, launching himself at his alternate-universe son.

Noh-Varr quickly evaded the monster and flew out of the room, slowing just enough for the giant to struggle through the doorway and not lose sight of them.

A sudden wall of ice formed in front of them, and Noh-Varr, veering vertical at the last second, slammed into it, falling to the also-icy ground. Loki let out a scream when his knees, lower legs, and forearms impacted with the ice wall, and another when he landed on his back, with the not-exactly-light Noh-Varr landing on top of him. Dazed, Loki managed to regain his senses just in time to roll himself and his companion out of the way of his father's falling club. And roll again. And again.

A crack distracted Loki and his father both. More cracking revealed Hulking as he cut a hole through the ice-wall with the axe. The Jotun immediately started pounding his club right before the impromptu door. Teddy brought the axe down on the club -- and the axe was ripped from his hand on the club's upswing.

While the Jotun was focused on Teddy, Loki struggled to his feet and hurried off behind the giant, back towards the pool. Halfway, he stopped and screamed, "Hey, dummy! Over here!"

The Jotun spun about and started charging towards Loki, who in turn came running at the giant. "Get Noh-Varr to safety!" he yelled. When he was close enough, Loki sent green flashing lights into his father's eyes and slipped past the monster, narrowly avoiding the club. He felt the club hit the ground behind him just as he made it through Hulking's impromptu door.  

Loki felt himself lifted off his feet and floated down the corridor at frightening speed. Billy set Loki down next to him, just before the corner, and together they waited for the Jotun to smash his way through the wall.

"Thanks," Loki panted.

"De nada," Billy replied, helping the Jotun out by blasting at the ice from their side. "Your dad's kind of a jerk -- I think I speak for all of us when I say we're happy to help you get rid of him! Even if he's not really yours."

"It's cathartic, nonetheless," Loki mused.

There's no better team-building exercise than a common enemy, the ghost observed.

Billy hid behind the corner, and Loki braced himself, ready to run. When his father burst through, he ran around the corner, over to America, and the Jotun followed -- but the monster stopped short at the star on the floor. The monster raised his club and brought it down over the star, aiming for Loki and America; America grabbed Loki and flew out of reach.

A flaming arrow soared through the air, catching in the Jotun's loincloth. As he batted unsuccessfully at it, another landed in one of his shoes; a moment later, his other shoe was alight as well.

With the Jotun busy, Loki promoted America to float him up behind the giant. Loki then called forth a sword from their recently acquired armoury. America backed up, then propelled them forward, giving Loki the force he needed to penetrate giant's thick hide and pierce the heart. Loki felt a hint of vicious satisfaction as the giant fell forward with a great, wet thud.

It wasn't enough.

The moment America set Loki down, he surged forward with a primal scream and began hacking away at the giant's head, determined to separate it from the rest of the corpse. He had no idea how long he'd gone at it before he'd finally succeeded, but he didn't intend to stop there.

He also had no idea how long Kate had been saying his name before he finally heard her.

"Enough, Loki! That's enough! Please!" He realised then that she was holding on to his arms, trying to stop him. He looked to her face and found her crying. Why was she crying? For his father?

Why did he feel so cold?

He'd been exerting himself far more than was usual for him -- he should be sweating! Instead, he felt a significant breeze around his head. Had his cowl come off? He reached up--

--and felt ice-cold skin instead of warm material.

The cold creeped down his spine. He had a pretty good idea of what he would see if he looked in a mirror, but he still gawked in disbelief when, in a spot on his sword that had managed to stay clean of blood, he saw skin as blue as his father's reflected back at him. He reached up and found hard protrusions on his forehead in place of his gold circlet; a hand reflected in the sword touched horns on the face looking out of it.

His hands began to shake, and he dropped the sword as if it burned. Reluctantly, he tugged off a glove -- and threw it angrily when he found that the hand beneath it was the blue he'd feared. It ached terribly, even before he gripped the wrist hard in his still-gloved hand. His legs, however, were practically numb as he sank to his knees, despite their injury against the ice-wall.

"I will never be free of what I am," he whispered, staring at Kate in horror. Fire streaked down his face -- at least, it felt that way. It didn't matter. Nothing hurt more than his heart -- in stabbing his father, he may as well have stabbed himself. Not because he loved the creature, but because, in being overwhelmed by his hatred for it and succumbing to the violence in his nature, he'd become the same damn thing he'd hated. His body wracked with sobs, he doubled over.

Somehow, Kate pried his tense limbs apart enough to gather him up into her arms, much as she had just hours gone. The idea of her touching him now, looking as he did, revolted him, and he feared his bared skin would burn her. He knew he should push her away ... but he felt weak as a kitten.

You crave her comfort more than you care for her safety, the ghost observed, sighing.

The spectre was probably right. Again, her caress on the back of his neck soothed him, warmth washing over him, easing his aches in body and heart, as if she was like a living healing stone.

Perhaps she had magic after all.

"S-sorry," he sniffed as he finally found the strength to sit back.

"There's nothing to be sorry for," she assured him. "I do want you to do something for me, though."

He looked up at her. "What's that?" he asked warily.

"Take a look into this," she told him, holding up a small, gilded mirror.

It was his mother's. Frigga's. Freyja's. Kate must have found it in the royal wing and put it in their pocket dimension.

"We're always our own worst critics. See yourself with your mother's eyes," Kate encouraged him. "See what she understood and loved about you. See why she chose to be your mom."

Gingerly, he took the mirror in trembling hands and did as Kate asked. He looked human again. For a moment, he was relieved -- until he thought about how it was just another lie he kept telling himself.

"Do you know what happened when you started to cry?" Kate asked.

He shrugged, ducking his head. He supposed he should be used to the humiliation of crying in front of others by now, but he was still embarrassed, all the same.

"Where your tears fell, your blue skin immediately started turning back to flesh-tone, and then the rest of you changed too. Your regret, your desire to be Asgardian, made you Asgardian. I could be wrong, but I'm betting that's something that would never happen to your father."

Loki's lips quirked into the closest thing to a smile they could make for the time being. "I think you'd win that bet." He looked around; they were alone. "Where is everyone?"

"They took Noh-Varr to the healing room," she said, rising to her feet and offering her hand to help him up.

Loki wondered just how much of his meltdown everyone saw before leaving, but decided he didn't want to know. He found his cowl -- he had a vague recollection now of pulling it off at some point during his frenzied hacking -- and slipped it back on. He saw Kate holding his gold circlet and reached out for it; she shook her head no. She reached out and tucked some stray hairs into the cowl, then held the circlet up and laid it gently over his head. Eying it critically, she fussed with it, then patted him on the head. He snorted. Smirking, she took his hand and yanked him onwards toward the healing room.

They rest there an hour or so, then headed back to the pool -- by another route, as none of them were eager to pass the giant corpse. (The skeletal remains of the Asgardians were bad enough, but at least those didn't reek.)

And so Loki found himself confronted with dread yet again, as, once again dressed in his impromptu swim attire, he stared down into the pool at the place where the Patri-Not had disappeared, America's portal-star marking the spot.

"You ready, chica?" America asked with a gentleness that didn't suit her at all.

"Sure," Loki replied, voice cracking. "Just gotta jump in -- don't have to actually swim, right? Sinking is something I do well!"

"Well, you don't have to swim so long as the other side of the portal is dry," Alleyne pointed out.

"David!" Kate hissed.

It made Loki feel marginally better to see Kate angry with Alleyne -- especially on his behalf.

"Let's just get this over with," Loki said, then took a deep breath.

He almost let the air out again when Kate took his hand, holding it tight. It nearly happened again when Billy took his other hand. Once they'd made a chain, America jumped into the water, and the rest of them were pulled in after, facing the unknown together ....

~FINIS~