Wow...

I-I'm done...

Uh, look at the very bottom for extra information. I'm actually going to do the whole 9 miles and actually give out awards...since this is actualy a pretty big story now...

Thanks for reading, I mean it.

Loki came to slowly. It was a disorienting feeling, almost as if he had fallen from his horse once again as he did as a child. He could distinctly remember the deep bone aching in his bones, a throbbing pain that was buried deep in his chest.

He grunted, slowly stirring and moving his arms, recognizing the feeling as broken ribs and the foul taste of the floor certainly not his chamber bed.

He groaned once more, forcing his aching limbs to press against the ground and push up- a flash of fire in his hand and he crumpled, slowly blinking and looking at his disfigured claw of a hand, broken.

He looked around, slowly climbing to his knees, temporarily crumpling in pain as his ribs made breathing harder, had he punctured a lung?

He shook his head through the dizziness, looking at the odd black yet familiar soil beneath his fingers, crumbling under his nails. He looked up, slightly further, away there was a small tree, suffering and so sickly looking among the dry black ash of soil.

'Yew' his mind supplied as he slowly forced himself to rise, wincing once again in pain as his hand flew to his chest, oddly enough actually hitting something.

His neck jerked downwards, looking numbly at the two small, and yet very disconcerting slivers buried in his armor. His fingers brushed the two slightly protruding shards, small and stained red. He pulled his fingers away as it flared with pain; he looked at his fingers, coated in blood as if the shards had not even been there.

He knew of biology and anatomy. He knew that he was punctured in his liver, and apparently, his heart.

He couldn't live with that.

The sound of a loud bark alerted him, turning around and looking behind him as through the shadowy mist of the ashy dirt, a large shape was running towards him.

It was a canine; his experience with Fenrir was enough to immediately alert him of that fact. It was large by normal standards, as large as a small Midgardian horse and black. It approached in a terrifying speed, skidding to a stop in front of him, panting with loud snorts and gleaming fangs and crimson eyes. Its body was tensed in a killing strike, and in Loki's condition, he would definitely not last long.

"…Garnr?" Loki asked, at once the dog dropped its scary stance, blinking its red eyes curiously while tilting its head, tongue slobbering out and pawing at the ground curiously.

"Garnr, you are my daughter's watchdog. If you are here-," Loki paused it speaking as from behind Garnr another figure approached, cloaked in a black cloak over a stained white dress. It carried a lantern, the controlled flame dancing lights gently through the darkness as it approached.

"Father?" A quiet and feminine voice asked, Loki's eyes widening as the figure approached, illuminating the pale skin and the rotting putrid stench of decaying tissue and biological matter.

"Hela." Loki breathed, a small smile on his face as he looked at his daughter, whose half of her face showed a smile, the other just let the decaying flesh flap oddly in a contorted version of a grin.

"Father! What are you doing here? Your previous messages led us to believe that we would not speak to you in a lengthy absence." She spoke, tilting her head and letting her shiny black identical hair fall over one bone and pale-skinned shoulder.

"I too was led to believe that I would not see you. I am…not aware of my travels or my reasoning for my journey to Helheim." Loki blinked. Hela frowned then opened her mouth to respond before freezing.

"Father." She whispered, her eyes widening in surprise and horror, "You smell of death."

He froze, looking down at his chest and at the two shards.

"Oh." He blinked, and took a stumbling step back, suddenly remembering the events prior to his arrival.

"Father?" Hela whispered, moving forward then remembering to offer him her right arm, knowing her decomposing and rotting would hold no support.

"I…I have…expired." He breathed, stiffly while Hela managed to give a small giggle.

"I apologize…you 'expired.' …It sounds as if you are a bottle of milk past its prime." She smiled. Loki jerked, shaking his head while she frowned, looking at him sadly.

"Father, whatever did you do to yourself?" She asked quietly, spying his broken hand. She gently clasped it between two of her, gently and painlessly knitting the bones together with loud cracks.

She then moved to his chest, gently wrapping her two arms, contrasting in health around his neck, as if she was a child once more. Loki kept his head bowed as she worked, gently trailing along magic, although she was not in the least a master compared to her father.

She settled to the ash next to him, folding her legs under her and using one finger to lift her father's head by his chin. He looked at her as she smiled, as if knowing some great secret.

"Some mortals would give me their hearts for life once more. Many have even offered themselves for eternal servitude, for my whim and wish for all their existence." She spoke, voice a soft whisper as she smiled once more, "But they do not know what I desire, enough for life once more."

He looked at her, curios as she leant forward, gently settling both foreheads together, Loki not even noticing the smelling and squishing half.

"What I desire, is a plaything. A toy, or one whose life was amusing enough for me to spend my power to create a body for." In addition, she smiled, "And what is more amusing then the God of Mischief?" She asked, then gave a somewhat serious face, "The fact that you are my father, and I love you is completely irrelevant to our situation."

Loki gave a slight smirk, looking at Hela and stating clearly, "Of course. You're not biased in anyway."

She rolled her eyes, lightly punishing him in the arm with her left hand, the bones and skin squishing while she ignored the fact, rising to her feet.

"Come, we must enter Éljúðnir. From there I can remold your corpse to blood and life. Come, Garnr." Hela nodded to the large dog, which bowed its head, turned, and walked in the other direction into the mist.

"He will go off in search of lost souls. Most appear closer to the castle, but a few come into being in the distance. Souls regain wounds from their last moments, on occasion they are unable to walk. The hounds will drag them back once Garnr finds them." Hela explained as the two walked.

Loki did not question where they were going, and only once as they walked was another creature lying in the ash before them, a light elf, clothed in blood with a gash in his throat. An executioner's blow, Loki recognized.

Hela didn't even take the time to look at it before she snapped, from the shadows and ash a large dog, not Garnr's size or build but just as stocky formed from ash, grabbing the unconscious creature and dragging it behind them in its maw.

They walked, and slowly from the fog a tall castle came into view, and along the sides were various trees growing. Yews stood decrepit along the sides of the stone, which casted and eerie glow upon the barren land.

"And here is my castle. Shall my servants attend to the wounds I could not mend?" Hela asked, eyes drifting on the shards still in his chest, her eyes asking an unspoken question, as of what material refused to obey magic.

"Leave them. I wish for peace." Loki sighed, and Hela's eyes showed understanding.

"Of course." She nodded, then hesitated before asking, "Father, you are aware that I gladly welcome your visit upon my realm at any time you deem." She spoke, and Loki looked at her in surprise.

"Of course, my daughter, you must understand…the location-"

"Makes travel difficult. Certainly I do." She smiled bitterly. They approached the gates, moving past the large metal fence, littered with large stone hounds, holding chains in their teeth.

The doors opened upon their arrival, large and impressive as they walked in. Loki was long since used to the layout of his daughter's castle. It was similar to the Allfather's, large and grandiose, although Hela's was certainly more…somber.

"I trust you remember the path to your chambers?" She asked, obviously teasing with the smile on her lips.

"It depends. Have my quarters relocated?" He asked a slight grin on his lips as she threw her head back and laughed.

"Oh, the servants of my castle would be hard pressed to even dare enter your room! The last who tried had his entity torn until all that is left is a silver glow!" She teased and Loki gave a small smile, correct she was.

"Dinner is in my hall, try not to lose the way. The armor you left your last visit has been cleaned, polished, and one of my servants fixed the dents from the time you dared Thor to tickle a sleeping drake." Hela called over her shoulder, and Loki smiled fondly at the memory.

Dinner was uneventful. The same foods as what Loki expected, pomegranates, blood oranges, large roasts of various meats that were not slathered in oils and fats, nor dripping grease like Asgard seemed so fond of. Instead, it was tender to the touch and spiced evenly.

It was refreshing, and Loki found himself faintly amused when Hela did not even touch her red wine, and she scowled, noticing Loki's pointed look.

"…Is there something in the wine, Hela?" Loki asked, giving a slightly innocent look while Hela scowled, pointing her fork dangerously.

"Father, you know better than to taunt me." She scowled, taking her wine cup and drinking from it, Loki trying not to laugh as a fine trickle fell from the left side of her empty jaw, down her neck and onto her dress.

"Tis a good look." He noted and Hela scowled.

They walked, a night later towards the far side of Hela's hall. They walked high over the covered bridge towards said hall, Loki looked out over Hela's subjects. They were inside the gated areas, large hounds circling around and watching those who stumbled from the groups.

In the distance was a large tower, alit with glowing green torches although still hazy. It was morbid and fascinating to look at, although distant in the sea of moaning and crying people and creatures, far below.

"All my souls have the offer to travel through rebirth. All can work in my castle, or can stay outside. My hounds bring food, and water is plentiful. It is cold, and they are lonely." Hela spoke, looking out before sighing and turning, continuing along the tall tower.

"This is Éljúðnir, the hall of life and creation." She smiled, opening the door as the two walked in.

It was large and illuminated by the green light Loki recognized as the color of his magic, and his sires magic.

"Step into the circle. I will restore to you your prime health, and that does mean mental." She spoke, looking at Loki pointedly and darkly, "I have noticed your emotions. I will not comment on them, but I have managed to restore as many as I could during the moments I found you. This will restore you properly, as well as your magic core." She smiled, and Loki stepped into the circle, looking at Hela.

'This is going to hurt.'

Indeed it did.

X-(X)-x

It was nearly a week after the incident of SCORP.

SHIELD had quickly traveled to the remnants of the base, searching through and labeling bodies, interviewing any relatives to try to find information. SCORP had been disturbingly thorough, none of the relatives had even been aware.

Tony had carried Loki's corpse back to SHIELD, where they had placed it in a separate area, cold storage. Apparently, Thor was going to take it back to Asgard once he thought the time was proper.

Tony wasn't going to stand for it.

Tony had already had a gravestone created with the simple words 'Loki' on it, already outside the house in Canada. Out of everyone, Thor and He were the most torn up about it. In fact, they were nearly the only ones. Bruce and Pepper had grown to like Loki and his amusing personality, although it was very…scary.

They were called out on a mission- Tony had been added back into the Avenger's group once SHIELD had cleared him, explaining a clean version of what happened. It left the entire press making large apologies although they only knew a slight amount about what had happened.

SHIELD had captured and started deconstructing all magic based weapons, as well as attempting to recover the copy of the biological weapon/clone/Loki wannabe.

There wasn't much to scrape off the floor.

What was the big discovery, was the library Tony found in the guest bedroom. It was honest to god, from the floor to the ceiling in quite possibly, hundreds of thick books. Each filled with writings that were so small, he had to squint to read.

They were about everything.

It took Tony only a few moments to realize that Loki had quite literally left written documentations of everything he knew.

That and the fact that Loki had known he was going to die.

Tony was in a screaming fit for almost an hour once he realized that.

He hadn't let anyone know, and it was only the first four days when he locked himself up. After that, he couldn't read anymore of Loki's handwriting and decided to venture out. He was not going to let anybody know about the books.

After that, they had gotten a call about Doom, who figured that in their moment of weakness they'd be an excellent target.

Tony had shown no mercy after the attack, in which everyone suffered slightly. Natasha, a cut on her shoulder, Clint a burn on his arm. Steve's was a wickedly hyper extended back, Thor suffered a nasty hit on his head, Bruce stepped on a tack- well, a large metal spike, and Tony got hit with an EMP blast.

Thus, they were all upset. Problem: they were mad, and wanted to relax.

Solution: crash the closest bar and raid them for vodka.

They had been in the bar for nearly an hour, Thor was throwing back drinks like water. He hadn't been his normal talkative self since Loki's…

"Excuse me?" They heard a quiet voice ask, everyone looking over their shoulder from the bar and seeing a woman standing in the doorway, awkwardly half in and half out as she stood, a shawl over her head and wearing an old white dress.

"What do you want?" Clint snapped, holding his cup in his left since the right was awkwardly curled into a claw by his side.

She looked taken aback, "Oh, my apologize. I was looking for someone…" She trailed off, and Steve turned with a frown, the only one besides Bruce who was completely sober.

"How may we help you, Ma'am?" he asked, sighing slightly at the end. She smiled.

"Polite, I don't get that often. Anyways, I come giving you a message. Well, he doesn't actually know right now, but I'm sure he'll appreciate the beforehand knowledge." She shrugged, and Thor frowned, turning around and looking at her carefully before he smiled.

"Niece!" he laughed, and the woman nodded her head, "A pleasure, Thor."

"Niece? Wait- what?" Clint blinked, looking at Natasha who shrugged, one hand on her temple, as she was particularly hammered.

"You're-" Tony swallowed, recognizing her from the stories he had heard before, "Hela."

She frowned, "I was unaware that you had any prior knowledge of me." She spoke carefully, causing Tony to spin on his barstool, looking her up and down.

"I don't know what he was talkin' about. You're prettier then he said." He noted, she frowned at the glass in his hand and let her glamour fall.

The group jumped, Clint's eyes widening while Natasha only took one look before thinking it was a hallucination from her drink, and ignoring it. Bruce looking with a slack jaw and Steve quickly closed his eyes.

Thor looked at her, noticing sickly how her…decomposition had changed.

Tony arched his eyebrows and took a sip, "Like I said, still more pretty."

Hela gave a smile, or a half smile as she nodded, "I thank thee, Anthony Stark."

"Lady Hela. What is your purpose of being here?" Thor asked, and Hela looked over, giving a small frown.

"I have granted life." She stated firmly, and Thor's jaw dropped slightly.

"Lady Hela surely you must be mistaken! You have never given life. Not to Balder whom every creature in all the realms shed a tear for!"

"Balder," She spoke, spitting the word as if venom, "Would have no purpose alive. His life wound not be amusing to the dead." She deadpanned, while Tony snorted.

"My brother?" Thor gasped, jumping to his feet while Tony snapped his head around, looking at the woman with a strange type of intensity.

Hela said nothing, and instead looked directly at Tony, before turning and walking, appearing to walk into the wall, and vanish into the shadows.

It was quiet until Clint spoke with a groan, "What the actual f-"

"He's alive, isn't he?" Natasha asked, throwing back yet another shot of Vodka. Thor gave a still awed nod, and Tony found his heart beating fast enough that he wanted to cry from relief.

"Well, that settles it. Bartender! Give us another round!"

x-(X)-x

"You think he got wind and just ran?" an angry male voice asked, another huffed.

"No! Julian isn't like that-"

"Oh grow up Marcy! He'd do that, once that monster came after him-"

"But Julian said that they were hidden! There is no way it could have found a way to know about us-"

"Sykes said that it couldn't escape either!" The voice shouted, leaving a small silence between the two.

"…Do you think the monster made that explosion? That the prototype never finished and he's- that Julian's dead?"

Once again, a firm silence sat over the two inside.

Loki walked silently through the hall, waiting on the other side of the wall with narrowed eyes, fingering hidden knives in his sleeves. Steve Goodhard, and Marcy Pekkins- beyond that room were the two remaining co-directors of SCORP.

Only one of the three would walk away from the room alive.

Loki found it faintly amusing how the two assumed that they would live. They had taken precautions, but with Hela's keen ability to see the souls of all creatures, tracking down two mortals was of no difficulty.

She had smiled, and wished him the best of luck, briefly mentioning distractedly about how the hounds were excited for a new hunt.

He smiled as he approached the door, before knocking with two precise knocks, each crisp and clean in the air.

He heard the beings on the other side freeze, and with a silent wave of his hand be shifted his golden armor into a more appealing Midgardian clothing.

Very slowly, the door opened and a man stood there, roughly forty years old with dark black hair and a thick jaw. His steely grey eyes eyed Loki as he opened the door fully, possibly expecting one of the servants Loki had dispatched earlier.

"What do you want?" The man barked, using one arm to rub his eyes very tiredly.

"Steve, who is it?" The woman asked, walking into view. Loki finally had a visual on her, she was tall. Her dark brown hair with bright green olive eyes and a stern look on her face. She wore a short yet proper dress, holding a clipboard in her arms.

"Who are you? Are you in security? What do you want?" The man frowned, obviously fretted with the way his hair stood upright, as if he had run his hand through it many times.

"I apologize for the interruption. Are you both by any chance Steve Goodhard and Marcy Pekkins?"

The man looked at him baffled, "You knew that before, it was in your application to work under me- who are you?" He sneered, and Loki gave a thin-lipped bitter smile.

"I have many names. You may call me…Mr. Laufeyson." Loki spoke, not even flinching at the last name.

"Well then Mr. Laufeyson- why the hell are you here?" He asked, frowning while Loki gave a small smile.

"I only have a few questions. Are you familiar with a Julian Sykes?" Loki asked casually, and the two people froze.

He looked up, staring as the woman pulled a small handgun, pointing it at his head and clicking the safety off.

"Put your hands, above your head and step into the room." She spoke firmly, yet her voice had a slightly weak edge on it.

Loki looked at the gun, wordlessly and motionlessly forming a magical barrier just in case she dared fire.

He stepped into the room, lifting his arms upwards and letting them bend at the elbows, showing a sign of ease although he was cautious.

"Marcy- he's just one of the guards." The male spoke, a slow low tone while the woman said nothing, only glaring.

"Steve, the only one that knows about Julian is you, and me. We are an anonymous provider, which means that nobody knows that we're involved. If he knows-" She left off, swallowing and the man silently closed the door behind Loki.

"Does anybody know that you're here?" The woman fired off, and Loki arched an eyebrow, but a slight angling of the gun showed that she wasn't messing around.

"No." He spoke, almost drawling before he gave a small grin, "But you won't kill me."

"And why not? You know about us, you know about Julian, what's to say that you won't-"

"If I recall correctly," Loki spoke, dry and bitter, "Mr. Sykes Is dead."

Once again, there was a slight pause before the woman took a few steps forward, gun pointed even more directly at his heart.

"Look, I don't know who you are, or who you're with-" The man started.

"FBI? CIA?" the woman rattled, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"-but we don't want any trouble. I- we'll pay half a million if you don't tell anyone-"

Loki laughed, shaking his head amusedly. "Oh, your mortal currency has no sway." He spoke, a catlike grin on his face.

The man paled while stuttering,"M-m-mortal?" He asked, looking almost in disbelief, while the woman aimed upwards, firing a single shot upwards into the plaster, letting dust rain down from the shot. Loki didn't as much as flinch.

"Who are you?" She demanded, and Loki looked at her coolly before her gun suddenly just…fell apart, crumbling in separate pieces onto the ground, useless.

"I find it amusing how you fail to connect logical conclusions from evidence right before your eyes." He spoke while the man mumbled and ran his head through his hair, still in shock over the destruction of the gun.

"My name is Loki Laufeyson." He spoke almost casually, and with a blink he summoned his duplicates, surrounding the two with dozens of his golden horned armor clad figures circled around the two humans, all looking ever so slightly different as to not be an exact copy.

Loki himself stood before them, lowering his arms and taking a step back, still wearing the mortal clothes to allow them to distinguish his among the crowd.

"I have no knowledge as for what you planned to create from my blood and power." He spoke, eyes narrowing, "and nor was it highly effective once in combat. I destroyed your organization, I killed Julian Stykes, and I tore your creation apart, piece. By piece." He spoke, voice a near growl, then a large almost sadistic smile filled his face, giving his face a demonic look.

"Now, how will I exterminate you?"

x-(X)-x

Another month after encountering Hela did Tony catch what he thought, was a glimpse.

It was some sort of assassin-like being. Twelve of them, highly efficient and each had been sent to take them out. Each had two of the assassins after them.

It was actually during downtown when they had lunged after them, Tony being the lucky little superhero who didn't have his weapon of choice (Really? Clint had his bow. How? Not a clue). Thus, he was running through New York as if his life remained on it.

Which it did.

Therefore, he was running through a building, having managed to lose one of the assassins after running through a grocery store, managing to open the propane tank lids and release the gas to the air, then igniting it.

The second one, he couldn't get off him nearly as well.

He was running through buildings, and nearly lost said creature until he managed to run into a brick one way, desperately trying to find a handhold to climb his way out.

He turned, back pressed against the wall as the assassin walked slowly towards him, knife out while Tony panted, feeling an instinctive feeling of fear.

Shhhlict!

The assassin gagged, mouth opening and closing before it slumped, a dagger protruding from its back as Tony gasped, looking at the tall shrouded figure from behind. A flash of pale skin, green eyes and it moved, then vanished in such way was so familiar it ached.

The second time it was also a situation where Tony's life was in danger.

Tony came to expect the visitor until one night he was just…sitting at his bar, looking at an empty cup and asking quietly. "Are you just going to keep watching me?"

From the shadows, Loki approached, looking incredibly well off, with a healthy glow around him.

"Not that I don't like it, it's flattering in some odd creepy stalker way." Tony rambled, and Loki gave a small smile.

"So, you're going to show when everyone keeps trying to attack me?" Tony asked with an arched eyebrow, and Loki rolled his eyes.

"Only when you are too childish to care about your personal safety." He responded smoothly.

Oh god, Tony missed that voice.

It was a few hours later of quiet conversation before Tony spoke again, "You know, I bet you word travels. 'Don't attack Stark! You'll mysteriously die!' " he waved his arm and Loki gave a smirk.

"Do you expect people to just…keep attacking me? I mean, wouldn't people learn that if you attack me, something's going to get them?" Tony asked, waving his arms. Loki gave a small shrug.

"I mean, people and villains would learn not to attack me, right? Or their lives are on the line. So why do people keep doing it?" Tony asked, and Loki smiled slightly.

"…It's a…underrate risk, to attack you, Stark."

Tony lifted his empty glass and gave a smirk, "Amen to that."

"I thought you were atheist, Stark."

"Oh shut up, Reindeer games."

Somewhere far below the mountains, deep in the ground a large wolf was alerted to the fact that his father lived. He let out a howl, and for once, not one of pain. It was filled with victory.

Over in Asgard Sleipnir lifted his great head, ears flicking back and forth as a soft voice whispered words in his head. He tossed his head over the feminine words, updating him on news he had dreaded. Sleipnir reared, kicking his four legs and bucking his back four against the stall door in pleasure and glee, for his mother yet lived.

Under the sea, a large serpent tucked itself between large underwater mountains, snapping at small sharks that dared travel near. He had mourned, watching through eyes that were not his own as he lay, knives of rock deep within his chest, painting ash and dust red with blood. He blinked once more, using the inherited gift of Skywalking to suddenly view Helheim, where a large dog and a cloaked woman alerted him to a future he had not known. Earthquakes and volcanoes ruptured as he writhed in barely contained glee.

And far below in Helheim, Hela laughed.

Okay! The end is here.

So, I have spent an incredibly long time doing this. This was originally going to be an oneshot, but it was developed into this great big 'ole thing.

Okay, awards. :)

FIRST REVIEW: Impstar (You review on everything of mine. You're actually one of the few that seem to read everything I write- I thank you for that, really. I'll confess, I've stalked your profile a few times. You know the best stories. :) )

LAST REVIEW (As of update time 11:58. 7/11/2013, prior chapter): Lolypops101 Thank's! I completely understand why you didn't log in. I do that too sometimes. :)

CT's (Communities/classifications that include my stories) 21

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TOTAL VIEWS (As of update time 11:58. 7/11/2013, prior chapter): 133, 071 Oh my...that's a lot. :)

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Okay, now a few confessions.

This story was inspired after reading countless stories that involved Tony's mental abilities and/or issues.

Some of the funny part in this story were countless attempts to get on a few author's 'favorite quotes' lists. (Paisley, I know you probably had no idea but I was stalking you the entire time! I will get on that list for more then just 1 story!)

This story actually was going to be abandoned at one part, but then I got online and found a few fantastic youtube Loki tributes and joined on in with it again.

Last confession.

While completing this story, I beat the entire Amnesia: the Dark Descent game. Oh...Oh my go-sh...For the love of all that is holy, Don't play that game.

I love you all so much, don't feel obliged to follow this, or you can take this off your follow list, it's done!

Okay, I really hoped you enjoyed this, and I hope to see your usernames on my other stories in reviews, or maybe even challenges in the future (not accepting now: as of 7/2013)

Huh, now it's 7/12/2013. exactly 12:09.

Please review- I've had a great time writing this.

~Oceanbreeze7