Disclaimer: I don't own.

This story is no longer complete and won't be completed. People convinced me to turn it into an original fiction. It is, and you can read the first part free by clicking on "I Bring the Fire" in "My Stories".

I left this up here because this story is recced a lot and I didn't want a dead link.

If you want Loki/Darcy love I do have several stories that are complete and well reviewed: Blue, and in the Blue Universe: Short, Fjolnir, The Magic Kingdom, Mistletoe, and I'm Dying Here. The Snow Wife is also a Loki/Darcy "love" story...of a sort.

Love and Other Lies: Chapter 1

At the edge of the broken biofrost bridge Odin the All Father stands with Heimdall, the gate keeper. They gaze down on Midgard, the realm also known as Earth.

"Loki has managed to make his way to Earth," says Heimdall, and Odin notices the edge in his voice. The distrust. Not that Loki is to be trusted...not in the way trust is normally given. Still, Odin would have thought that after all this time Heimdall would understand his adoptive son. But Heimdall is a force of order - he established the different castes of men which brought stability to the young race for ages, but also stagnation and decay. Now he is the guarder of the World Tree and the gates between the realms.

"And there is more...worse tidings," says Heimdall. "Look there, the magic that emanates from the SHIELD fortress, and winds its' way towards Loki. It is an evil and treacherous thing, and becomes more so, and more powerful each passing day. It is..." The gate keeper pauses. "Alive...but it is not of our making, or the making of the Other."

"Hmmmm..." says Odin, but does not betray how much he knows.

There are other World Trees, beyond the in-between which Heimdall has not seen and Odin has. Odin has seen before the type of device the power comes from, the small innocuous Cubes. They start out as simple machines that harness magic, but then take on the personalities of those who possess them. This one was held in the possession of the mortal known as Red Skull, once bent on controlling all of Midgard and beyond.

Apparently, it has already imprinted and taken on Red Skull's personality. It is seeking its' escape, looking for the most powerful being on Midgard to 'rescue' it. One that It believes will be the most compatible with Its' personality and desires.

It has chosen Loki.

And that is hope.

"Perhaps the scientist Doctor Foster will reopen the Biofrost," says Heimdall. "Then Thor might return to Midgard and destroy the source of dark magic."

Thor would be useless against the power of the Cube. The Cube will not seek him or attempt to bond to him. The same would be true for Odin himself, which is why he has not gone to taken care of the matter.

It is Loki the task must fall to, as all the most difficult, heartbreaking, tasks do. Sometimes Odin wishes he could scream it to the heavens and all of Asgard and beyond, exonerate the one he calls son.

But he cannot. The universe depends on Loki being misunderstood.

"Perhaps," Odin says. "Perhaps."

He looks down. What is his very misunderstood adoptive son up to now?

He sees - and restrains a sigh and a sly smile.

Typical.

X X X X

Inside the SHIELD compound Darcy's hand trembles on her mouse. Biting her lip she tries not to cry, but she can already feel the treacherous rivulets forming at the corners of her eyes.

She told Jane, Dr. Jane Foster, her genius boss, here in this compound full of other geniuses that she could run the simulation. But she'd obviously programmed something incorrectly and fucked it all up. Again. She can't afford this mistake right now. Not with her performance review tomorrow.

Tucking her chin close to her chest she stands and tries not to meet anyone's gaze as she makes her way to Jane's lab. There are at least a dozen people her age - and younger, freakin' geniuses like friggin' Chekov from Star Trek 2009, and they all wanted her job.

She's pretty sure she's only here because she knows too much about Asgard, Thor, the Warriors Three, the nine realms and now the weird power cube. What she knows she doesn't understand, but just knowing is probably too much.

She knocks on Jane's door, but her boss doesn't respond - maybe she's on the phone, maybe she's just wrapped up in her work. Jane has laser focus, she forgets everything when she is absorbed in a project, even to eat. She's absorbed a lot lately. She's trying to find a way to open a gate to Asgard and get Thor, her hunky, deity boyfriend back.

Darcy is distracted by everything, especially food, and really especially chocolate. God, she wishes she had some now.

She could walk away, could maybe go find some chocolate - she's got little secret stashes everywhere. Instead she pulls out her key pass and tries to open the door. The reader blinks green, but the door doesn't slide open. In frustration she hits it with her fist, and it opens with a whoosh.

A man in a dark pinstripe suit is standing there. He's really pale, his hair is black and slicked back with a little bit too more gel than is cool. He's smiling at her beneath glinting green eyes. It's not a nice smile.

"Where's Jane?" says Darcy, striding into the room, irritated by the grinning idiot.

From the ceiling she hears a muffled sound. She looks up and Jane is on the ceiling, she's encased by something that looks like spider silk, her mouth is covered. The spider silk is dripping. It takes a moment for Darcy to realize it's ice.

For an instant she's terrified. And then the weight of the world comes down on her. She messed up the simulation. She needs Jane - everyone else in this place would throw her out the door except she knows too much. But Hell, they might have some top secret memory eraser that they're working on. They're working on everything else. She's got a half finished poly sci degree, a quarter of her peers are out of work. They'd wipe her memory and she'd be broke, unemployed and totally fucked.

Blood heating in her veins, Darcy picks up the thing nearest to her on one of the lab benches. It happens to be a flimsy plastic book mark thingy. Shaking him at the mystery guy she says, "Let her go!" The word asshole is on her tongue, but she manages not to say it.

His evil smile turns to a frown. And then he smirks. "Do you know who I am?"

Huffing, Darcy says, "You're just another stupid, narcissistic, would be super villian. Now let her the fuck down."

Waving the book mark frantically, she thinks of the horrible botched simulation she ran and telling the head honcho guy, Nick Fury all about it. Fury looks like Samuel Jackson, but with an eye patch. He's a lot scarier than this dude.

"...Or I'll loose my job!" The last part comes out a lot less confident than the first part.

Looking down at her like she's an insect he says, "And what...are you..."

Lots of people look down at her here, and Darcy's used to it.

Above her head Jane tries to mumble something.

Not looking up, brandishing the little bookmark like a sword she takes a step forward. Stupid Fury, not letting her bring her taser in the compound. "I'm Jane's assistant!"

He snorts. "I'm a god! I should be concerned about your puny little assistantship, why?" He slips his hands in his pockets and smiles.

Putting her hands on her hips, Darcy snorts right back. "Well it's all a matter of perspective. You're a god, and I'm sure it's puny to you. But I'm not. I'm a fuck up. It's my first chance to do right, and it means everything to me. Asshole."

She closes her eyes. She probably shouldn't have said that last word.

Voice going low he says, "Do you know what I could do to you, you insignificant, disgusting, little mortal..."

Darcy's eyes spring open. The next words out of her mouth are probably proof that she is completely unhinged and really doesn't belong here among people who are really put together, and are not unhinged at all.

"That might get me out of my performance review," she mumbles. She looks up at Jane. Her bosses eyes are wide and frightened. If Darcy were encased in ice too maybe she could get her performance review put off for one more day.

Another snort from the guy who said he was a god catches her attention.

Darcy scowls at him, maybe actually trying to provoke him, she's not sure. His shoulders tremble, like he's about to heave, except he's smiling. He puts a hand to his mouth, and then he throws back his head and laughs.

He disappears a moment later. There's no poof of smoke and no brimstone, he's just gone. Freak.

From above her head Jane says, "Darcy!"

Darcy looks up to see the ice spider web melting away. She moves out of the way just before Jane falls to the floor.

Rushing to her boss, the only one she thinks wants to keep her here, Darcy says, "Are you all right? I'm so sorry, maybe I didn't handle that right. I should have at least stayed under you to break your fall."

Jane flings her arms around Darcy. "Do you know who that was?"

Darcy resists reminding her that stupid super villain god dude just asked her that.

"That was Prince Loki! You made him go away!"

Darcy swallows. She does know Loki by reputation. So-called God of Mischief and Lies, he is the arch-arch-arch-super villain right now, she's pretty sure of it. She's also pretty sure super villains hold grudges, and arch super villains probably hold super grudges.

But then again...

This might make up for the botched simulation.

A/N:

Reviews are love. And will help me keep going.