A heavy silence fell over the room.

It didn't even seem as though the mortals or Gods within it were breathing.

Odin didn't take his eyes off of Frigga as he held his wife's lifeless body in his arms, seemingly willing her to return to life, almost as if the tears falling from his face and landing on hers would hold some magical healing powers.

Finally, Thor slowly walked forward from the doorway and knelt down beside the All Father, resting a hand on the old man's shoulder.

"My Lords," Maakar spoke up behind them, his eyes softened with grief, "It is not safe to linger. We do not know what befell the Queen, but until we do, we should move you all to a safer location."

"I agree," Thor replied in a sullen voice, his eyes still upon his father and mother beneath him. He suddenly knew his father would be useless to them and his brother was not present…

"Give the order," he commanded, raising his blue eyes to meet Maakar's, "Seal the palace."

"My Lord," Maakar bowed humbly

"I'll go with him," Clint interjected, stepping forward to the old guard's side, "You should stay here with your father until we send someone to escort you both when we give the all clear."

Natasha shifted Nari in her arms from where she still stood across the room next to his crib as she addressed Clint, "I'll stay here with them."

"Secure the King before you come back to us—ensure Loki's safety above all others," Thor now addressed Maakar.

Maakar nodded solemnly

"And take great care. Loki and my mother shared a deep connection. He may have already sensed what has happened," Thor said is a sad tone, looking down to Frigga, "It may not be safe to be around him right now."

"Nat," Clint's eyes moved to Natasha, "Why don't you approach him and make sure he and Nari join Thor and Odin in the throne room once it's safe to move? If he is upset, something tells me he won't attack someone out of grief if they're holding his son."

Natasha nodded, looking toward Nari, who was gazing around the room now with wide and curious eyes, "I'll take care of it."

"Guard—" Clint's eyes shifted to the guard standing beside her—the one who had sounded the alarm when he found the Queen mortally injured on the floor of the nursery—but, his voice stopped short when he saw the man paying no mind to the conversation they were having as he reached forward to take the pendant hanging from the mobile over Nari's crib.

Clint stepped forward, his eyes narrowing in curiosity at what was transpiring.

Suddenly, as soon as the guard's skin made contact with the metal, Nari began wailing loudly, drawing everyone's attention to him.

The guard instantly froze, as if the sound had paralyzed him, his hand slowly releasing the pendant as he turned toward the others in the room, his face grimacing in pain—pain being caused by something they could not see.

Natasha stepped back in horror, still holding a crying Nari to her chest, when she saw the guard's glowing yellow eyes start looking around the room at his audience, unsure where to turn or what to do next.

Clint instinctively drew his bow and Maakar his sword as the old sentinel whispered with distain, "Celestial…"

The guard stumbled forward, choking out indecipherable words as he struggled to breathe, his face paled and his veins soon began bulging visibly under his eyes and down toward his cheekbones.

Suddenly, there was a gurgling sound and the guard brought his hands to his throat as he started to heave, purging large amounts of water from his lungs out onto the marble floor.

Finally, the guise melted away as the guard straightened to reveal Phil Colson.

"Holy Crap..." Clint mused, lowering his bow as the mirage of the former SHEILD agent flickered out to reveal a nine foot tall celestial.

Natasha's eyes widened as she quickly summersaulted away from the Celestial, just as it turned and tried to make a last ditch effort to survive by swiping at her and Nari.

When she was back to her feet, Natasha rushed toward Clint, who received her and a still screaming Nari protectively with one arm, as the celestial stumbled aimlessly, falling back onto the crib and crushing it, sending the mobile and Heila's necklace crashing onto the floor and sliding across the room.

Then, with one last choking sound, the alien's body completely combusted, eliciting a shout and a disgusted groan from all in the room, leaving nothing but vaporized air and a large pool of water in its wake.

In that instant Nari stopped crying.

Clint and Natasha's eyes widened as they suddenly turned and looked down to the infant.

Nari's eyes were wet, but otherwise, his expression was jovial as he put his fist in his mouth and regarded the two Avengers with a smile.

"Uh…" Clint said in a confused voice, looking up and then from Frigga's body to the evaporated bio mess of their enemy across the room on a pile of broken wood, and then to Nari in Natasha's arms, "okay…"

# # # # # # # # # #

Natasha took in a deep breath as she came to a halt outside the large doors to Loki's chambers, rubbing Nari's back soothingly as the baby lay it's head on her shoulder.

Suddenly, there was a cry of anger and grief on the other side of the door and a thud against the wall that made Natasha flinch slightly.

"Sounds like Uncle Thor was right," Natasha whispered to Nari, "Daddy is very upset."

Taking another deep breath to steady herself, she stepped forward and opened the door, then brought Nari to the front of her chest, holding him with the cook of her arm, facing outward as they entered.

"After you…" she smirked down to the baby

As she walked through the inner corridor and rounded the corner into the main bedchamber, she saw a flash of green light out of the corner of her eye and quickly crouched out of reflex when a chair flew high over her head and smashed against the dome ceiling, falling to pieces on the other side of the room.

She inhaled a sharp breath, startled, but didn't cry out.

"Why are you here?" Loki said in a sullen voice, his back to Natasha as he stood at his window, "What could you possibly want from me?"

Natasha's eyes softened as she beheld his half naked form. She had never seen his bare flesh like this and couldn't believe how much it reminded her of marble—strong, smooth and beautiful, yet fragile in some way.

Her eyes fell on the bandage that wrapped all the way around his upper torso and shoulder as she said, "Nothing. Thor was worried about you. I'm here to ensure your safety—"

"Arishem came for the relic. I knew he would…though the price of such an act is more than my heart can bear…"Loki interjected, lowering his head

Natasha's eyes scanned the room sadly as she now took in the sight of crushed furniture and broken glass that Loki no doubt took his anger and grief out on the moment he felt Frigga's death.

"I'm sorry for your loss…" She whispered, bringing her eyes back to Loki's back

There was a moment of silence as Loki seemed to contemplate her words, then spoke again.

"Arishem has become blinded by revenge. Years ago, I took something from him—something precious….now he is avenging his race by trying to take it back and, in the process, seeing me and those I love dead at his feet…"

Loki now stepped back from the window and turned to face Natasha, his face solemn, "When do we leave for Midgard?"

Natasha seemed taken aback by his question, "Wha—I—"

Loki cocked his head as Natasha finally gained her mental footing, "First we need to ensure that the palace is secure and that there are no other Celestials and we need to make sure we get you all somewhere safe—"

"No one is safe!" Loki suddenly cried, his eyes and hands glowing green, his face slowly reddening in rage.

"Oh…" Natasha replied, her eyes widening, "okay…Got it. Nowhere is safe. Now, let's put the magics away because I forgot my cape and my rabbit at home, alright?"

Loki didn't heed her words and stepped forward, causing Natasha to instinctively step back, holding Nari tighter in her arm.

Suddenly, Loki stopped and his face fell as his eyes connected with his son's.

Nari's gaze immediately caused a cool feeling to rush over him, like water dousing a raging fire.

Natasha's breath hitched as she felt it... it was like a live connection wire.

After taking in a deep breath of his own, Loki finally lowered his hands, the green glow in them flickering out.

Soon, his eyes returned to normal as well.

After a beat, Loki moved forward slowly, approaching Natasha with caution as she eyed him skeptically.

Finally, she realized what Loki wanted and shifted Nari in her arms, holding him out to his father.

Nari cooed and smiled at his father as Loki smirked and took his son into his arms.

"Hi…" he whispered as he brought his son's forehead to his lips and kissed it before setting him against his chest, "Thank you...My sweet boy."

Natasha watched as this moment unfolded, then cleared her throat.

"So…Are we good?" she asked, bringing her hands down to her sides, discreetly close to her weapons belt

"We are," Loki said, turning his eyes from Nari toward her, then his voice lowered in sadness, "Where is she?"

"They are taking her, your father and your brother to the throne room. We are to stay here until the guards give the all clear for us to move."

Loki sighed, "I'm not much for 'staying here'."

"I know," Natasha smirked, rolling her eyes as she watched Loki move past her toward the door, "Just promise me if we get into a skirmish on the way, that I hold the baby? You seem to be dealing with some serious anger issues right now…"

"Deal," Loki quipped over his shoulder and Natasha smirked as she followed him through the threshold

Natasha nearly had to run to keep up with Loki's fast pace.

"You need to slow down, Loki…" Natasha called from behind him, "Weren't you injured yesterday?! You'll do damage to yourself like this!"

"I've got somewhere to be…" Loki replied, his eyes focused on the way ahead, looking around to make sure the coast was clear, "First the throne room, then Midgard, then standing in front of Arishem and tearing his heart out like he did mine…painfully…slowly…if he has a heart, that is."

"Wow…sounds like you have got some serious goals lined up for today…" Natasha said, raising an eyebrow, "Thor said you were adopted, right?"

"My blood lust frightens you?" Loki asked as he continued to move forward, "You…a KGB agent who have taken so many lives in the name of what is right?"

"Oh…not this again…You sound like a broken record, Loki..." Natasha winced, "Look… you have goals, I respect that. But, perhaps it would be wise to show a little restraint until we know exactly what we are dealing with. We may not want to take out Arishem until SHEILD knows—"

"I don't care," Loki snarled, not looking back to her, "He killed my Mum."

"Well then..." a figure suddenly said, stepping out of the shadows and blocking Loki's path, causing Natasha to pull out her gun and Loki to hold Nari to his chest protectively, "Sounds like you are going to need your boots."

Loki let out a breath of relief and Natasha sighed as she lowered her weapon when Haimdall revealed himself, dressed in his gold armor and wielding Loki's boots that Thor had left in the hall outside the nursery.