SOA Part 3

Chapter 14 – Coming to terms

Kara came across Fandral quite by accident later that evening. After the training she had been tired and wanted some quiet peace to absorb the day. She had hidden in the rafters of the kitchen hall, hidden by the shadows near the sides. It was the one place Loki had never found her so it seemed the best place to hide as he seemed to want to speak to her about something, and she was too stressed to add anything else at the moment.

Below was where the meals for the night staff would be laid out. Guards would rotate in and out during the evening and overnight hours. She'd seen Sif earlier. She had looked angry and lonely as she ate alone in the corner of the room closest to the fire. The other guards avoided her sharp tongue and the other woman staff didn't even look at her.

Fandral had come in much later than most, and he was alone for several minutes when he called out. "I know you are up there. Come down into the light."

Kara had been surprised. No one had seen or heard her until then. Slowly Kara rolled off the beam and lowered her body down to the ground. Fandral was surprised to see her. "Princess, I did not know it was you. I had thought it was a kitchen child." He did the proper bow as he offered his explanation. Like Volstagg, the past year hadn't been kind to him. He looked well-toned and fit, but his mood was flat. His hair wasn't styled carefully as it always had been before, nor was his uniform clinging to his arms and chest the way his personal armor used to. His voice too was flat, no sign of his flirty manners, or courtly flourishes he was known for.

"Hello Fandral." She replied conversationally. "I did not mean to interrupt your meal." She gave him a polite smile and moved to leave the room.

"It is no trouble Princess." The sadness in his voice pulled at her. She stopped and turned toward him. Looking closer she saw what drew her attention. His eyes were dark. He lacked any hope of any kind. If she didn't know it was almost culturally impossible she'd think he was suicidal. Not that she discounted the idea and walked away.

She turned and faced him with concern. "Don't let me interrupt your supper." She told him, waving for him to be reseated.

She watched as he sat and moved to eat but it was almost robotic. She narrowed her eyes more and moved to sit across from him. He didn't dare to look her in the eye and she became more alarmed.

"Is there something I can do for you Princess?" He asked, almost nervously.

"You could explain why you backed Sif last year." She suggested curtly.

Fandral's head dipped forward a little further. "I didn't trust Loki. Everything seemed off. The whole thing went from Thor to Loki in less than a day. It seemed like a perfectly planned coup. It was just too easy, too simple." He's voice dropped to nearly a whisper. "Sif's explanation of Loki getting the Allfather to exile Thor, and then pushing him into the Odinsleep so he could rule… She made it seem so reasonable, so in character, doing it just to see if he could do it..." He sighed and shook his head. "I knew better. I knew Loki wouldn't have been able to make the Allfather do anything that extreme, but she made it sound plausible at the time."

"So you what, you went along to see what Thor thought?" She asked with disappointment. She had hoped for more.

Fandral just sighed. "Everything was happening so quickly. Then there were frost giants in Asgard! I was shocked, and I was worried it was the start of an invasion. We needed both; you and Thor, but mostly Thor to fight them back. I was barely on my feet having just been released from the Healing Halls." He hung his head in his hands, hiding his face. "I want to say it was just about Asgard, but to be honest I didn't understand the situation at all, and I should have."

They sat in silence for a while. Kara knew Fandral had been recovering from blood loss. It could have affected his cognitive abilities. It didn't excuse treason, but it did help lessen the severity of his crime in that at least he hadn't been thinking clearly.

Fandral continued to hang his head. "Loki deserved better, I know that." He finally said. "He was my friend. I was more worried about Thor and his well-being under your care, the frost giants too. I didn't see that he needed us just as much. I didn't see how much he needed our support."

Kara nodded slowly when Fandral's gaze flickered up to see if she understood his rambling. He knew it sounded like excuses, but he'd never have offered them if she had not asked. Even a year later he did not understand how he could have missed Loki's point of view. Of the entire troop, Fandral had considered himself a true friend to him. Yet at the first hint of doubt he'd followed after someone he knew to be a jealous shrew when it came to Loki and his relationship to Thor.

"Thor made an argument for your case with Loki." She offered with a hint of a smirk.

Fandral winced and looked even more hopeless at her words. Kara resisted the urge to snort, barely. "He did a good enough job that Loki listened."

Fandral's eyes popped out and he stared at Kara for a moment before his eyes dimed once more and he lowered his head even more. "I thank you for the kind words, but if Loki was moved it would not have been from Thor taking our side. We do not deserve it, except Volstagg, but I heard he was already forgiven."

Kara nodded slowly. "I would not lie to make you feel better." She told him neutrally. "If you go to Loki and apologize I can assure you, he will listen." Fandral didn't look up. "I can't guarantee he will forgive-"

"Forgive me Princess," Fandral interrupted her, "Loki does not forgive slights. He collects them, rightfully in some cases, not in others." He sighed and pushed his dinner away. "I have made my bed, and I will lie in it." He looked haunted as he stared at her once more. "My actions caused the death of a Prince of Asgard, or at least what very well should have been, as no one survives the Void."

As he got up to leave she tried one more time. "He deserves the apology anyway." She whispered to him. "You wonder why he collects those slights. It's because no one offers the apologies when they are proven to be in the wrong. Man up and offer him what he is entitled to."

Fandral stopped and without looking back he said. "Nothing I say will ever be enough, but I will give him what I can. You are right, he deserves at least that much, and it is all I can offer him now, as much as I wish it was not. He deserves more."

A few days later, at the two week mark after they had arrived, Odin sent Thor out on an errand. Loki and Kara were unsure when they would be allowed to return Midgard. Asgard itself was in good shape, and the people had been happy to see both Loki and Kara back. Odin and Loki still avoided one another. They avoided taking meals at the same time and making an effort to leave a gathering before the other was expected. Kara didn't know if they had reconciled in anyway and she'd be surprised if they had. Fandral had offered his apology to Loki. They had talked for over an hour, afterward he had not asked for forgiveness, but with a nudge from Kara, Loki offer it anyway. He'd told Fandral's captain so he could return to his previous duties in Thor's retinue, though not as a full companion as before.

Loki hadn't spent any time with Fandral after that, and both of Thor's old friends went with him when he left for his errand to put down a group of marauders near the borderlands. It seemed Odin was trying to re-create Thor's friendships with forced bonding. Volstagg or Fandral both refused to push their friendship. They never asked, or expected to be considered more than any other man under Thor's command for the short excursion. That more than any words made Thor feel a little better about the chances that they would be more accepting of Loki this time, once they all managed to reconnect. Even he knew Loki needed more time to accept that they had truly changed. Thor did not, only because he had seen the changes as they happened. Like himself the past year had a great amount of time for reflection.

Sif had not come near either Kara or Loki directly. Hogun has returned to Vanir nearly six months ago and not written to anyone. Thor had told them Sif had come to him and offered her apologies for being wrong once more, but Thor had directed her to Loki. He told her it was not his place to offer forgiveness for Loki, and she would have to request it from him herself. She had not come near Loki that Kara was aware of.

While Thor was away Kara and Loki had continued to pair up in sparing challenges with whatever warriors Tyr could throw at them. Kara was learning how to use her new skills against Asgardian forces. Adapting the skills was harder than she had thought, but Loki was helping her to see what was working and what wasn't. He was allowing hits through when she made mistakes that would be fatal in a real battle so she could learn from them.

Thor had been due back on the fifth day. Loki and Kara had headed to the sparing field only to see no other warriors were standing near the pit. Only Tyr was there.

"Are we sparing you today?" Kara had asked with a bit of a smile.

Tyr looked sternly at her and shook his head. "No, I wish to see what you have learned. You will spar with Loki."

Tyr was pleased to see Kara's reaction was only a small movement of her hand. Loki had seen the movement and he'd closed his eyes with regret.

He'd had no control at all when he'd stabbed Kara. With the Scepter in his hand once more, the control had been complete. 'The Leader', as he thought of the beast, had wanted to kill the human man with the strange gun for daring to threaten his plans. Kara's appearance had been too sudden. He had not had time to react to try and take control of her. Loki hadn't had any time to react either before the blade had entered her body.

Loki had only managed to blast the wall and leave the healing stone, because the creature wanted another chance at controlling her in the future. His actions were more along the lines of a car in idle with no brakes being applied. The beast hadn't stopped him, but also wasn't allowing him to do what needed to be done to save her. It was as if he was leaving the tools, but didn't make the choice of if she lived or died.

Loki turned to her with only the slightest indication of pain in his eyes. It was the only clue that Kara's reaction had hurt him. Kara immediately lowered her hand and shook her head of the image of Loki's body stabbing her. She knew that would never happen again. She knew that!

Kara lifted her eyes challengingly and bowed her head to Tyr. "I suppose you want him to use a spear or something similar to the scepter he was wielding?"

Tyr raised his brows in approval. "If you think that you can handle it Princess. I was going to suggest daggers first so you could get used to the idea first. The automatic reaction of physical shielding away after trauma is a portion of your training that has been skipped due to your physical nature." He explained to her. Kara hadn't realized that she had been pardoned from a portion of her training. "I had no intention of finding a way to undo your invulnerability just so we could hurt you enough to produce this reaction."

She'd been hurt before her invulnerability had reached the level it even before she had left for Midgard, where the ability had gotten much stronger. Due to her speed and the blunt training weapons on Asgard she had never had a stab wound before. Bumps, bruises and of course strained muscles and light injuries as it developed, yes, but no training blade had ever penetrated her body.

She hadn't been aware that penetrating wounds had a part in training other than healing purposes. Now that she had experienced one she could understand the recovery process would be a normal part of warrior training. Asgardian's very rarely died in their first battles. Commanders never allowed completely green troops on the field as anything other than messengers. All troops were bloodied as she had been, on small scale battles with bandits and pirates. Wounds were normal, and first kills always required a small amount of re-training afterwards, at least the best warriors needed it. Those that enjoyed the killing too much were often given ever harder retraining and mental conditioning.

Loki appeared ready to object but Kara nodded and regarded him gratefully. "I was told that despite some parts of my training being overlooked that I had earned my armor." She glanced curiously down at her armor wondering if she had truly earned it.

Tyr shrugged but looked passively calm. "I approved your rank. It did have the caveat that if you were injured in this manner that you were to be retrained with this oversight in mind." He gestured to her abdomen. "I knew it would happen one day, but I had no intention stabbing you just to complete your training, even if I had known you were susceptible to magical weapons. Usually it happens during the first training missions, so the trainers are not required to go to such extremes usually."

Loki watched with guarded eyes. Kara's agreement didn't surprise him. She didn't have much patience with weakness in herself. In others she could allow it, but not herself. He'd understood that the first time he'd seen her screaming at the image of her biological mother about allowing the planet to explode and sending her away. She had started screaming and shooting her heat vision at the image. It had taken Loki hours to calm her completely. She had confronted the image for months before she stopped flinching when she was faced with it unexpectedly. Once she no longer responded to it, she had finally agreed to stop using the image portion of the interface for a while. It seemed she and Tyr thought this would be the best way for her to face her fear of him.

Kara turned to him with a grim smile but it dropped to a pained frown as she saw his expression. "I'm not afraid of you." She promised him as she rushed to reassure him of that fact. "I am unused to being hurt, and that is what my body is responding to." Loki nodded but his expression remained guarded. She growled and reiterated, "I am not afraid of you."

Tyr shot Loki an aggravated frown. "This is exactly why I waited several days for you both to rebuild battlefield trust before moving you to face one another." He articulated him with his arms crossed. "She now has body memory that responds naturally to you protecting her. Now it's time for her to face being injured again." He paused and gave him a long look that he often used with recruits. "You do remember this part of your own training."

Kara gave Loki a beseeching look. "You are the only person on Asgard who can defeat me when I have my powers. I need you to truly spar with me so I can improve." She begged him. "I trust you Loki, I truly do. I would not be willing to let you near me with any blade if I didn't. We both know all of your daggers, but the Thor one, are enchanted!" Tyr couldn't help but snort at Kara's reminder of Loki's special dagger.

The 'Thor Dagger' was a tiny blade that Loki only used to stab Thor when the man was being annoying or an idiot. He'd last used it during the Battle of New York, the first time was when he'd been a child and Thor had been teasing Loki about not being allowed to use real weapons. Loki had stabbed him after hiding as a snake to lure Thor in close to prove daggers could be true weapons in the right hands.

Kara's main weakness was magic. She had so little of it herself that she was susceptible to magical weapons, such as the scepter, or spells. She had some mild resistance to mind spells, such as simple compulsions, but only because Frigga had taught her, by pushing her mind, until it built a resistance to it. Anything stronger and she required someone to fix the effects. With SHIELD now in possession of a weapon that could cause damage to Kara, it was imperative that she not freeze when faced with that same weapon. If she could face Loki while he was wielding it, no human stood a chance.

Loki pulled a similar sized spear from his weapons stash in his dimension pocket, and then molded it into a replica of the scepter with magic. It didn't have the same evil aura, and it felt comfortable in his hand. The original scepter had been crafted to be the perfect weapon for Loki, with both height and weight of it being more than a human equivalent would have been. It could channel magic without interference or resistance, and it was a perfectly balanced glaive that could be used in the many different ways Loki favored.

"Let's begin." Tyr called authoritatively. Loki and Kara entered the ring and began to spar cautiously at first. Kara kept her right side back, making some of her regular moves a little awkward as she twisted in the opposite way that she has accustomed to. After several minutes when Loki didn't take the chances she was opening to him as he normally would, she began to shift back into a natural line. She realized he wasn't going to attack that side this first time out.

Once she stopped protecting her right side Tyr also stepped further back, and allowed them to run their drills. It was a good step for her. She'd allowed Loki close to her right side without thought during their sparing partnership with one another in the past week. She was also watching Loki's movements more than the scepter after approximately fifteen minutes today, which was also a huge step. It was also a weakness that was common and the main reason for this type of training. Fear that altered fighting styles had no place on the battlefield.

Loki had been right, she was afraid of the weapon. Tyr would have to get their sparring partners to use replicas against her during the next few weeks. She needed to stop focusing on the scepter instead of the actions of the fighter she was facing. Loki was purposefully telegraphing his attacks and she was missing many of the signs. Still she was in the ring against him while he wielding the weapon in question. It was actually the hardest step in the retraining of foot soldiers. Tyr decided he was going to pull her active listing until she could finish her retraining.

At the end of the day Kara was tired and hungry, but satisfied that she could continue without needing a master of Tyr's status to oversee her retraining. Loki qualified as a weapons master if she needed to finish more training after they left Asgard. That was if she could get approval for Loki to come with her from Odin, and if Loki would want to.

She'd had to stay with Tyr to discuss what he wanted from her. Loki had disappeared while they had been talking. After she had cleaned up she had gone looking for him, but it seemed Loki wasn't in any of his usual haunts. She'd seen Thor return when she'd checked the stables to see if Loki's horse was out. No one had seen him. She was feeling more than a little guilty and sad that he was avoiding her. At dinner he'd arrived late and sat next to Thor and his friends. From the sounds of the tales coming from that side of the table Kara wasn't going to get a chance to talk to him this evening. Thor had invited her to join them, but Kara had given him a warm welcome home, but declined to stay with her Mother during dinner.

Frigga had talked to her about the events of the day, and some of the gossip. None of it had been all that interesting to Kara and she picked at her food throughout the meal. She was planning to retire early when Heimdall's messenger arrived with a dispatch for her. She thanked him as she took the note.

I thought you'd like the actual words yelled by your friend Tony Stark, Heimdall wrote.

"Hey Heineken, Can you tell Blue that Speedy Gonzales is here with another friend? They delivered her message in a bottle and have a reply."

They are at the Malibu mansion, awaiting your return.

Kara's gasp was so loud it actually carried to Thor's side of the table. The wave of hope, happiness and anticipation swept outward in a huge slightly visible wave of glittery red and gold aspect magic. The wave crashed over the whole of the hall and everyone stopped to look towards the head table and Kara.

Even Odin who hadn't had much to feel hopeful for on the past few years felt his heart swell with the unexpected wave of magic from Kara's aspect outburst.

Frigga looked lovingly at her beloved daughter with tears of happiness. She'd wondered what Kara's aspect could possibly be. Hope was such a powerful aspect, but would be underrated within Asgard, much like Kara herself. No one would care too deeply about it, and that would be a good thing for Kara.

Before she could tell Kara about the revelation she had turned to Frigga and held out her Lokistone amulet. "Can you charge it please? I have to get to Midgard as soon as possible."

Frigga nodded and held the stone in her hand, charging the stone enough that Kara would not have to wait an hour in the magic well of Asgard to absorb enough energy to return on her own.

"What has happened?" Frigga asked her. The question echoed through the now quiet hall as everyone had stopped to look towards the new 'Goddess of Hope'.

"Barry Allen has returned from his Earth." She told her with her own eyes filling with tears of light. A single tear that held a 'Mother of Pearl' color that left no tracks on her face as it fell. Frigga was quick to catch it on her finger as she pretended to wipe it away. Kara hardly noticed. "He's back, and that means he found Kal El. I have to go, now!"

Before Frigga could say more Kara had turned to dash out the door at a rate that Barry himself would have had trouble keeping up with. Frigga turned to look toward Loki who looked angry and ashen. "Follow her." She ordered with a wisp of magic so only Loki could hear her whisper. "You will lose her to her own Void if you do not."

Loki stared at her looking torn. "Go, or she might never return and be cursed by The Norns for it." Loki left the hall before she allowed herself to admit that was little a very large over-exaggeration. It wouldn't do for him to know that Kara would return because she had made oaths, just the ones to Kal El would make her linger if she did not have Loki with her.

Odin leaned over. "Hope?" He questioned. His own tone was wistful.

Frigga turned the hardening tear over so that it landed into her hand. "She produced a 'Tear of Light'. She is truly the 'Goddess of Hope'."

Odin nodded softly as he stared at the Tear. It was small, but she was a young and untrained. Once she was a true goddess in control of her power she would be able to make tears large enough to power great healing magic, among many other deeds for Asgard.

Loki had grabbed Thor's arm and teleported them both to Kara's balcony. Thor had been sitting in a chair and fell to the ground now that the chair was no longer under him as he unexpected rematerialized without the chair.

"Loki, what is the meaning of this?" Thor roared, but his good mood from the magical burst from Kara colored his mood, and his mirth rivaled his annoyance for being unexpectedly dropped on his ass. He was also somewhat happy about it; Loki hadn't played any pranks, good-natured or evil, against him since before that horrible day of his failed coronation.

"Kara is leaving." Loki replied tensely. "Mother fears she will not return." Thor's brows nearly came together as he tried to understand what was happening.

"After the effort she has put into your reputation's redemption I do not find that likely Br- Loki." Thor replied still somewhat confused as to why Kara would be leaving.

Kara had heard their entrance as she packed a few things from Krypton that she had left in Asgard. Information crystals and other things that would help prove who she was to Kal El. Things she was supposed to have taught him, like family history, just in case anyone else was off-world at the time of the destruction, or managed to escape the planet. She'd had no need of them while on Midgard as Kal El wasn't there. Now that she was going to meet him, she made sure to bring those crystals and the few items that had been replicated by Brainiac. Mostly they were the reading primers and such. Kal El's computer should have the same information, but Kara wanted to be able to teach him Allspeak eventually, and it would help if he learned Old Norse first. Kara hadn't, and it had made learning the language much more difficult than it needed to be later on when the Allspeak kept automatically translating her words.

Kara poked her head out the doorway and rolled her eyes at him. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement, and her eyes were brighter than they had seen ever. "I am going to return… I'm just not sure when." Kara admitted but she popped back inside just as quickly. They followed her in and Loki's heart dropped. She had all her hidden secrets laid out and was packing them.

"What of Asgard, and Midgard?" Loki snapped, "Are you going to abandon those oaths?"

Thor was lost. "Abandon Asgard, surely you are not doing that?" He looked to Kara who wasn't looking at either of them as she began wrapping the crystals carefully and placing them in her bag. "You are not abandoning our new alliance already?"

Kara looked up surprised. "Oh no, I just have to fulfil my oaths to Kal El first." She explained with excitement clearly written on her face. "Once I know he is fine, and doesn't need me, I will be able to return. My first duty needs to be to him. My oath to him comes before all others as it was my first, and to my family."

Thor was torn between wanting to be happy for her, and deep worry about what her departure would mean for their relationship and his relationship with Loki. He knew Kara was the only reason Loki gave him the time of day. It was obvious now what had Loki so agitated, but he didn't understand the situation yet. "But Kal El isn't here." Loki looked at Thor quickly, he'd forgotten in his annoyance that Kal El was in a different multiverse. He also hadn't realized this was about Kal El.

"Barry Allen is back, and he can get me to Kal El." Kara gushed excitedly. "I guess, I never told you about Barry Allen, did I?" She asked them both. She stopped packing long enough to give them both a bashful smile.

She gave them both a quick rundown of her meeting with Barry 'The Flash' Allen from the last year. As she told the story Loki grew more and more concerned. Frigga's warning was beginning to make more and more sense. If Kara took too long in this other Multiverse, The Norns, who were not known for their patience or benevolence, would punish her. If she missed the window in which she needed to be in this multiverse, they might curse her for all multiverses. The amount of power The Norns welded was unknown, but Loki could imagine it was nearly limitless.

Thor was just gobsmacked, "So this human can jump from multiverse to multiverse?" Thor of course understood the theory involving multiverses. Like everyone else, Kara was the only dimensional traveler he had ever met. He wasn't a bigot about humans as some other Asgardians were. Their advancements in the past century were astounding. He was equally astonished by the idea that a human could easily jump from one multiverse to another, not just randomly, but to specific ones. It was something that Asgardian scholars had written off as impossible several millennia ago.

"So he has been to your original Midgard… and he has met your cousin?" Thor clarified slowly; his tone carried his astonishment clearly.

"That's what the message said. Barry had an answer for me." She verified happily as she kept packing her bags carefully.

Thor sighed and leaned against his doorway. "I had meant to update you both tomorrow, but Asgard is facing a large number of minor rebellions." He explained to them both. "As such I am going to have to stay and travel the back routes to put down as many as I can. I had hoped to ask you both to join me on a few of the larger rebellions." The back routes were the jump points required to travel from Realm to Realm. They would require Thor to travel through space to get to each place.

Loki looked torn. He knew how much Kara would want to see Kal El. He was not thrilled that she had bonded with this 'superhero' Flash. He was also very apprehensive of her leaving their multiverse without him. His own oaths to Asgard and the Nine Realms were pulling at him to help Thor.

"How long until those offenses will be taking place?" Loki questioned. He couldn't see Tyr going into a large rebellion without proper planning.

Thor shrugged thoughtfully. "At least several weeks, I have a few minor ones to deal with closer to home." He admitted to them.

Loki nodded slowly. That gave them little time to go and see Kal El and then return to see to their own responsibilities. Asgard would need them all, so he would need to finish her re-training.

Kara also would need to monitor the situation on Midgard better than they had been since their return. She had been depending on Tony and Darcy to keep the peace and to inform her if she was needed in the aftermath of the Battle of New York. So far they hadn't sent word, but Loki wanted to check on the World Council and see what the outcome had been to Kara's threats.

"What of Midgard while I am gone?" Kara asked as her eyes drifted to Loki. "Do you think you could-?"

"No," Loki cut her off coldly. He glared at her for even suggesting it. "If you insist on going to this other Multiverse I will go with you. You need a weapons master." He reminded her.

Thor looked surprised at Loki's answer. "I would think you would stay and help me with the rebellions. At least your world-walking would help get us where we need to be faster."

Loki shook his head and materialize the replica of the scepter. Kara instantly shielded away from it before she caught herself and looked down in shame at being caught out. Thor's mouth opened in surprise but understanding dawned on him as Loki dematerialized the scepter. "No, Kara will need me more."

Loki turned to Thor with determination. "Go to the witch mountain." He ordered him harshly. "Ask, nicely, to speak to Mishera. Tell her I sent you to ask for a World Walker to help you until I can return. Tell her she can write off one of the favors she owes me." He paused before he sighed with agitation. "Do not let her foster Boda on you. That woman is trouble, anyone but Boda."

The older woman had taken an interest in Loki that had unsettled him. Her insistence that their souls had once entwined in other times had caused nightmares for several weeks while he was learning the skills to walk the Realms. He'd finally petitioned Mishera for permission to banish her from his presence. As her Master, Mishera had instead sent her to another Realm until Loki's own apprenticeship had ended. They hadn't come face-to-face since and Loki was in no hurry to change that.

Thor looked between them and he understood. Mother must have warned Loki of something disastrous if he did not go with her. Also as a weapon master that knew the issue he was best to train Kara through her battle damage re-training. "Then you both should leave soon, before Father decrees you both to stay."

The three shared a goodbye. Kara even hugged Thor tightly. "You are well on your way to being the brother to us both that you wish to be. Don't lose that. We both shall return once my oath is fulfilled." Loki even allowed Thor a quick hug, though he didn't return the affection as warmly. Thor was still thrilled with the progress.

They both quickly gathered their things and Kara was about to fly away when Loki stopped her. "I will get us to Midgard. There are other paths, and I can get us there without using the pendent." Kara began to protest.

Loki ignored her questions as he reached into his pocket and pulled out three different packs of twigs. All were different sizes. He pulled the smallest one out and put the other two in his pocket. He breathed on the twigs and they jumped out of his hand and quickly unfolded into a flying two-man fishing skiff.

"Seriously, what are the other two?" Kara laughed as she stepped onto the boat.

Loki stepped to the tiller at the back of the tiny Viking ship. It was no bigger than a large canoe but twice as wide. "One is a regular sailing skiff and one is a longboat." He told her with a shrug. "Where in the United States are we headed?" Loki asked her as he settled at the tiller of the boat.

Kara leaned back restfully but faced forward so she could see the landscapes as they sailed. "Malibu, they are at Tony's mansion."

"Then we are on our way to Malibu." Loki told her as he turned the skiff from her balcony towards the outer edge of Asgard. He raced full speed towards the cliff face that had the many openings to the other Realms. Kara threw up her hands as if she were riding a roller-coaster and screamed in joy. Loki couldn't help but smile at her antics. He loved this part of sky-walking. It was always such a rush.

The End of Part 3