Ch. 23

Steve and Loki raced back inside the tower to find much of it damaged. Ceilings were collapsed, walls had holes broken through them, and the bodies of several warriors littered the grounds. Hulk had clearly done a number on the aliens.

The two made their way upstairs towards the roof. As they ran they could hear Hulk growling and shouting. It was by some miracle that they managed to miss out on being hit with some of the collateral damage that the rage monster was continuing to cause.

Loki and Steve were both prepared to fight as soon as they arrived. Steve pushed open the doors, shield raised, only to find a shocking sight: Tony and Natasha had cornered the last remaining warriors. Still, it appeared as though they arrived just in time. Tony had been holding off Odin by threatening him with one of his repulsor beams while using his other arm to keep some the warriors in place. Odin was still approaching, though. Tony was about to fire when he heard Loki's voice.

"Stop!" Loki called out.

Everyone, including the captive warriors, looked at him. Loki marched past them and over to Odin while Steve joined the others as a guard.

"Loki, get out of the way!" Tony said, annoyed by the god's presence. All they needed was to have to protect him as well as defeat Odin.

"I am back, Stark, and I intend to finish this here and now."

Odin stepped back as Loki approached him. The younger god walked confidently, looking fearless.

Finally, Odin backed up against a wall. The same wall that he had thrown Thor over previously. He raised his hands.

"Loki, come peacefully or I will destroy you," he warned.

Loki grinned and shook his head.

"I don't think so." Suddenly his smile disappeared, and Loki was pushing Odin back, forcing him to bed halfway over the edge of the wall. Loki put all of his weight on Odin and took hold of his throat.

Odin once again attempted to raise his hands, but Loki stopped him. With a mere nod of his head, he cast a spell on Odin, making his hands feel as though they were being weighed down by thousand pound stones.

Loki smiled again.

"I was never a strong warrior physically, so I found other ways to fight. That's the great thing about magic, really. If you master it you can do anything. Even take down the Allfather."

Odin began to choke and tried in vain to move his hands.

Loki shook his head.

"You have done some terrible things. You pushed me to the side for years and you punished me to a fate more awful than death. You attempted to steal my life! My memories! You hurt my brother and you hurt my mother and for all of that, you will pay."

Loki's eyes began to glow and a small green orb formed near Loki's hand. He reached for it, keeping his other hand on Odin's neck. Grinning, he took hold of it magical ball. He could feel its power pulsate in his hand. Something like this was rare - a magic only capable of being conjured if a sorcerer, or someone the sorcerer loved, was in extreme distress.. Loki himself had never been able to conjure it previously, but the thought of Odin hurting Thor and Frigga allowed it.

Or course, Odin recognized what this was. His eyes grew wide.

"Loki - please do not do this!" he gasped out.

Loki didn't reply. Instead he took the green ball and slowly pushed it to Odin's chest. The magic krept into his body and within seconds, blood began to pour from Odin's mouth and nose. The older god looked at his adopted son one last time before closing his eyes.

Loki took a step back and Odin's body fell to the ground.

"You've killed him!" One of the warriors shouted. Soon enough the rest of them were riled up, fighting even harder against the Avengers.

Loki sighed. Of course the warriors would be upset, seeing as how he just killed their king. He prepared to join the battle against them, going so far as to create clones of himself to distract them.

And then, the door to the roof opened and a male voice shouted "Stop!".

Everyone recognized that voice. Loki, the warriors and the Avengers all turned to see Thor, standing there, Frigga in his arms.

"Thor! Loki has killed your father!", one of the warriors stated.

Thor took a deep breath and looked at Loki.

"Is this true, brother?"

"It is true," he admitted, looking Thor in the eyes.

Thor nodded.

"If Odin is dead then I am the rightful king of Asgard. You all now swear your allegance to me!"

With that, every single one of the warriors bowed in respect.

Thor looked them all over, shaking his head.

Hogunn, being one of the braver warriors, finally spoke up.

"How may we serve you?"

"By going back to Asgard, and swearing to never harm my brother in any way again. To do so will be a death sentence to you - I can promise that."

00

By dawn the remaining warriors had been sent back to Asgard. Thor, Loki , Jane and Frigga had gone with them, but not before saying goodbye to the Avengers.

"You know, I'll actually miss you," Tony said, placing a hand on Loki's shoulder. "Not that I'll ever admit that again."

Loki smiled. "I will miss you too. And the rest of you, as well." He turned to face the rest of the team, who were gathered around. "Thank you for everything."

"You think you'll be okay with Thor as ruler of Asgard?" Steve asked.

"Thor will be an excellent king. He has proven that."

"Good, 'cause I really don't want to have to fight off any more aliens.," the Captain replied. "But seriously, I'll miss you too." He leaned in to give Loki a hug.

A few seconds later, Thor spoke up.

"We should leave now. Friends, I will see you soon."

"Wait!" A female voice called out. It was Natasha. She came running over holding something in her hands. "You almost forgot this!" She handed the stuffed dragon to Loki.

"Arrow!" Loki answered, sounding more childish than he would have liked. "I mean, thank you."

Natasha snickered. "No problem Loki. We'll see you later."

With that, Heimdall opened the portal and the Asgardians disappeared.