"Erik….take a look at this!" Jane Foster called to Selvig as he entered the abandoned service station from the RV, his hair still slightly damp from the shower. Selvig crossed the room to the desk where Jane sat in front of a computer. On the monitor was a series of graphs. "I input all the data from all three events. Whatever they were they didn't originate in the atmosphere."

"Yes, I know." Selvig answered, not only his words but his tone making it apparent that Jane's conclusion was no surprise to him.

"What do you mean you know?" Jane asked, puzzled. As Jane finished speaking, multiple black cars along with two SUVs and a van swiftly pulled up outside the service station, surrounding the entrance. Men and women in dark clothing or suits, along with a brunette woman, her hair pulled back, sporting a military style jumpsuit, a patch on the arm, exited the vehicles, swarming like locusts.

"What's going on?" Darcy asked as she exited the RV, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Jane stood from where she was seated as the brunette woman approached, appearing to be giving directives to the others who began to spread out around the interior of the station.

"Erik Selvig?" the woman asked as she neared them.

"Yes..." Selvig said nervously as the woman displayed what looked like a government ID.

"Maria Hill. I'm an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. You're being detained for questioning in the abduction of agent Phil Coulson." Hill said, two agents walking past her, taking hold of Selvig's arms, one agent moving them behind Selvig's back, placing handcuffs on his wrists.

"That's insane! Erik hasn't abducted anyone! We're scientists! Wait! Where are you taking him? Hey! Those are ours! We need that! " Jane cried out, aghast, watching as Selvig was led away as other agents gathered up computers and scientific equipment.

****************************

"This Randolph...he's an expert in the stories told of us long ago? They're fiction." Loki asked, puzzled, after dropping the illusion, returning to his own form. He couldn't comprehend why any mortal would dedicate their life to learning and teaching about the ridiculous tales he had read in Puente Antiguo's library. It seemed to him a complete waste of one's time.

"That's why it's called mythology." Coulson replied.

"Why would one wish to study what they know to be untrue? What could be gained by it?" Loki asked.

"Some people read them for entertainment like any other story. Others to learn about and gain insight into the people who once told and believed them." Coulson answered Loki's query.

"I could tell them all they need to know. They were backwards and ignorant, simple minded and foolish...but then I suppose that describes most mortals. It doesn't appear much has changed except you now possess phones." Loki mused. Despite his newfound friendship with Selvig, he had not found himself much more impressed with Midgardians after his recent visit than he had been a millennia ago.

As Loki continued to look towards Coulson behind the cell's force field, he experienced another episode of sharp, almost crippling pain shooting through his brain like a lightning bolt as another vision flashed before his mind's eye...he holding a scepter in his hand as he stood behind the man he now knew to be Coulson, coldly thrusting it through Coulson's back...Coulson mortally wounded propped against a wall, blood staining his previously neat dress shirt and trickling from his mouth.

Coulson noticed Loki wince, closing his eyes, holding his head with one hand as he appeared to slightly sway on his feet. Though his abductor and jailer, Coulson's natural instinct to be concerned for others' wellbeing kicked in, evident in his expression.

"You alright?" Coulson asked.

"You said I lacked conviction…" Loki said, continuing to hold his head as the pain began to fade, Coulson appearing confused at Loki's words. "You were right." Loki raised his head, looking to Coulson once again before stepping up to the panel that controlled the force field surrounding the cell, deactivating it. "I find you to be innocent. You will help me discover who is guilty."

"Do I get a choice?" Coulson asked, warily stepping out of the cell.

"Of course. If you chose not to assist me...Verda may enjoy having a pet. I'll have a proper habitat constructed. I'm afraid a box won't do…"

"I'm not sure I'd consider that a choice."

"You have experience in investigation." Loki stated more than asked.

"It's one of many parts of my job, yes." Coulson answered.

"Then tell me, where do we start?"

*************************

Erik Selvig sat alone at a table in a small room, hardly bigger than a walk in closet, that S.H.I.E.L.D. had commandeered for their use at the local police headquarters. They had removed the handcuffs, much to Selvig's relief. He thought back to the evening before. Their getaway had appeared to have been flawless. The two sitting in the car in the parking lot that Selvig was sure were Coulson's backup in case his meeting went sideways had hardly given Loki, Sif, and Verda a second glance as they'd exited the bar, obviously believing them to be locals and unrelated to the reason they were there. The only surveillance camera he was aware of in the bar was over the bar itself and the cash register and he hadn't entered the building. It had likely been some time before they realized Coulson had disappeared. After driving Loki and the others outside of town and seeing them off, he had returned back to the old service station, informing Jane and Darcy that 'Lucas' had contacted an acquaintance, Selvig driving him to meet them and that he had been asked to pass on Lucas' farewell and his thanks.

Selvig thought back to those last few moments in the desert. Loki had called out to someone, only a second later the Bifrost descending. He attempted to recall familiar names from the stories he had been told as a child. Rifling through the files in his brain, it came to him. It was worth a shot, Selvig figuring at this point he had nothing to lose.

"Heimdall...if you can see me, if you can hear me...tell Loki I've been arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D." Selvig said. He was aware that even though no one had yet entered the room or began to interrogate him, they could be recording him as he appeared to be talking to himself or some imaginary friend and would likely suppose him to be mentally ill, but he didn't care.

"I can both see and hear you." A deep, resonant voice said from somewhere beside him. Selvig looked to his left to see a tall, muscular and imposing man, his skin ebony, his eyes golden, almost appearing to be glowing, wearing a golden helmet and armor. What he could not see was that his own eyes had taken on the same golden hue. "I will inform my prince of your plight."

"Thank you." Selvig answered, that being all he could manage to say through his shock. Heimdall's image was gone as quickly as it had appeared, Selvig's eyes returning to their natural color just as the door to the room opened, the woman who had given her name as Maria Hill entering along with an African American man with a goatee and a cleanly shaved head, an eye patch over his left eye, Selvig unable to help wondering what the story was behind the loss of it.

"Mr. Selvig. Can I get you anything? Coffee?" Nick Fury asked Selvig.

"No, thank you." Selvig answered. Fury and Hill seated themselves in the chairs that were placed across from Selvig on the other side of the table.

"I'm Nick Fury. I'm the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. You should feel special. I don't do too many of these anymore. I usually leave them to people like Maria here. However, this is a special case. Not only is Phil Coulson a colleague, he's also a friend. So why don't you save yourself a boat load of trouble and tell me where he is?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. You must have me confused with someone else. I'm a scientist. I'm here studying atmospheric anomalies." Selvig said, doing his best to sound convincing as he feigned ignorance.

Hill produced what looked like a digital voice recorder and pushed a button.

"We must return. Goodbye, Erik Selvig." Loki's voice said as it emanated from the recorder, slightly muffled. Hill stopped the playback, staring back at Selvig.

"Who's that you're speaking to? Who are you working for? Hydra? This new club their people have been jumping ship to join up with?" Fury asked.

"I'm not working for anyone. I don't know anything about any of that."

"I'm going to ask you one more time. Where's my friend?" Fury said, sounding more than a bit perturbed and impatient.

"Where's mine? Bruce Banner hasn't been heard from since he had dealings with you people."

"Is that what this is about? Banner's not in our custody. He left the country of his own accord. He's eating a lot of Indian food these days. Actually, that sounds pretty good. I don't suppose there's a good place to get Tandoori around here? We're just keeping an eye on him. Believe it or not, that's more for his safety than ours. I've given you what you asked for, now it's your turn."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Selvig said.

"Trust me, I've heard some weird ass shit in my day. Some of it actually turned out to be true. Try me."

************************

"Hello again, sister." Lorelei looked up from the book she was reading as she heard Verda's voice greeting her from within her cell.

"What are you doing here? Your dearest love was just here. He was speaking to the mortal. I still fail to understand what it is you see in him." Lorelei said, closing the book in her hands and sitting it aside, rising from where she sat on the edge of her bed. Verda's image had appeared in the same area of her cell as during her previous visit.

"I wouldn't expect you to. You've no idea what love means. You believe men to be mere objects to be used and discarded."

"Not all of them. I'm sure I would have found reason to keep his brother around." Lorelei responded. "What is it you want?"

"I've come to inform you that the next queen of Asgard will not be a bilge snipe." Verda said with a satisfied smile. "Considering you had told me that you would go to your death more quickly, I couldn't wait to tell you." Lorelei looked at Verda, her mouth agape.

"He has asked for you? I don't suppose I should expect an invitation." Lorelei responded sarcastically.

"So what do you think of your 'worthless' sister now?"

"You will be as worthless a queen as you are a sister and he will be equally as worthless a king. It was his brother who Odin meant to rule. If not for Thor's death, Loki would be as much a nothing as you." Lorelei sneered.

"This will be my last visit. It would not be proper for the Queen of Asgard to speak with such a low creature."

"I will shed no tears."

"Nor will I. Goodbye sister, the next time I see you it will be your corpse. I'll have your remains burned along with the other refuse." Verda said before her image dissipated.

*****************************

Loki and Coulson stood in front of the two stone slabs that held the bodies of Krieger and his partner in crime, both corpses surrounded by a blue energy field that Loki soon disengaged.

"They've been searched? The only thing found on either of them was my card?" Coulson asked for confirmation.

"Yes." Loki answered. Coulson walked to the side of the slab where Krieger's body lay. He looked down at the man he had known only briefly. Krieger's nose was obviously badly broken, almost smashed flat and depressed into his skull as was the midsection of his forehead. There were obvious additional injuries to the brows and cheekbones.

"Your brother did quite a number on them. You did a damn good job of simulating him considering the disfigurement." Coulson complimented Loki. He now understood why the nose of Loki's rendition of Krieger had looked off.

"Thank you."

"These are the masks they were wearing?" Coulson asked, picking up and examining the mask that had been lying on Krieger's corpse's chest. It was a full face mask made of a solid resin like material, somewhat similar to the masks once worn decades ago by hockey goaltenders though shaped and fitted more closely to a typical human face. Coulson turned it over to look at the inside, his expression darkening at the sight of the copious dried blood. "No manufacturer's mark...likely custom made. Unfortunately that means there's no way to trace them. Whoever's behind it, they know how to cover their tracks. My card was either a mistake on Krieger's part or a plant to misdirect you. If that's the case, it obviously worked. Probably intended to drop it at the scene. Wasn't counting on getting dropped along with it."

"If it was meant as a misdirection, whoever is responsible for my brother's death must know you and wishes harm to come to you as well."

"Elementary, my dear Watson…" Coulson replied. Loki looked to Coulson in puzzlement, obviously not understanding the reference. "Sherlock Holmes...though he never actually said that in any of the books. I read them all as a kid, they taught me to think like a detective, which strangely enough turned out to be pretty useful when working on cars with my dad, too."

"I'm afraid my knowledge of Midgardian literature is lacking."

"You should give them a read. I think you'd enjoy them." Coulson suggested, placing the mask back where he had found it on Krieger's body.

"I'm afraid my time will shortly be more limited." Loki informed Coulson. "I am soon to take the sacred vows of kingship and ascend the throne."

"Your father has passed recently as well?" Coulson asked.

"No. My father lives, though he is aged. He wishes to step back and enjoy what time remains to him less encumbered before he takes his place in the halls of Valhalla. I was not his choice to take the throne. It was to go to my brother."

"Do you think that's why he was assassinated?" Coulson asked.

"It's possible. The king of Jotunheim was similarly murdered the day after my brother."

"Jotunheim?"

"It's the realm of the frost giants, one of the nine realms of which Midgard, your earth, is a part. They are all connected as the branches of a tree. We call this 'tree' Yggdrasil. The realms look to Asgard for guidance and protection, all but Midgard who petitioned my father to be allowed to go their own way. It was a foolish choice but my father granted their request and I will be bound as king to uphold that agreement. Asgard still affords your realm protection from outside incursions though it has been without your knowledge, but that has been the extent of our involvement for some time now."

"So the king of another realm was murdered along with your brother? Jotunheim is an ally?"

"I would not go so far. They warred with us at the time of my birth. During that time Laufey, their king, the same who is now dead, attempted to conquer all nine realms, including Midgard. My father defeated him. We have existed under an uneasy peace with Jotunheim since that time. In keeping with that treaty, as their own source of power and defense as well as offense was taken from them, we protect and would defend Jotunheim from aggression by others. My father has a saying, 'a wise king does not seek out war but must always be ready for it.'"

"Your father sounds like a wise man. I guess the stories got that part right." Coulson said.

"Not as wise as many believe." Loki responded, recalling what he soon planned to speak with his father about.

"In some ways, things aren't all that different on Earth. We fought a war to keep a madman from trying to take over the whole kit and caboodle seventy years ago. Has anyone in any other realms been targeted?"

"Not thus far."

"It's not hard to figure out why someone would want to take out the king, or soon to be king, of Asgard that's at the top of the pyramid. But why the king of this Jotunheim and no others? There has to be a connection. I'm guessing a child of Laufey is next in line for the throne…"

"Laufey's brother has taken the throne, at least for the moment. Laufey had seven wives yet he had no-" Loki began before stopping himself, appearing contemplative.

"You think of something?" Coulson asked.

"My prince…" both men heard Heimdall say from behind them, turning towards the sound of his voice. Heimdall seemed to be examining Coulson. "I see you have released the prisoner."

"He is innocent of Thor's murder. He's now assisting me in the investigation. He has experience in such matters." Loki informed Heimdall.

"I've never investigated the murder of royalty...or an extraterrestrial...or extraterrestrial royalty. I suppose there's a first time for everything." Coulson confessed.

"I've come to inform you that your mortal friend, Erik Selvig, has been taken captive." Heimdall said, Loki's face expressing surprise and dismay.

************************

Verda stood on the balcony off the great room of Loki's chambers, staring out over Asgard and its beauty. Hearing the door open behind her, she turned, expecting to see Loki enter. Instead Frigga did so, looking across the room towards her.

"My Queen." Verda said in surprise at the unexpected visit.

"You are to be my daughter...Frigga...'mother' if you prefer after we have gotten to know each other." Frigga said with a warm, welcoming smile as she crossed the room. "I thought we could begin to do so now."

"Yes, of course…" Verda said.

"Not only will you be my daughter, you will take my place as Queen. Are you ready for such a responsibility?"

"I suppose I have little choice but to make myself so. I admit to you as I have to Loki that it terrifies me."

"As it should. Many believe they would wish to be, but few truly know what it means to be Queen. Though your power mostly rests only in your influence upon your King, serving as the mother of the people can at times feel like quite a burden. I will prepare you as best I can, but in the end, you must forge your own path. Every Queen is her own person. I'm a quite different person than Bestla, Odin's mother, Bor's Queen. I do not mean to say she was a better or worse woman or Queen than myself, just different, as you will be from me. I go now to speak to my King. I will return and together we will find something suitable for you to wear to the coronation as you will stand with your betrothed, and we will speak. It is also at that time that you will share the secret you and my son are keeping from me." Frigga said, Verda appearing stunned as Frigga turned, walking back to the door and exiting Loki's chambers.

Verda continued to stand frozen and speechless as the door opened again, Loki entering, Coulson following behind him.

"Verda!" Loki called out in alarm, appearing to be looking past Verda, just as she sensed a presence behind her. Quickly turning, Verda's eyes fell on what appeared to be a female in a white hooded bodysuit, a mask over her face, her right hand raised as it gripped a dagger. The female figure stabbed downwards towards Verda's chest before Verda had time to recover from her shock. She felt the point of the dagger break her skin, sinking into her flesh but only a couple of centimeters as the figure had stabbed her through the pendant of her necklace in the open space between the tree and gold circular border around it, precluding the dagger from going further. A few of the tiny gold leaves were dislodged from it, falling to the stone floor.

With a cry of fright and pain, Verda fell back and away from her assailant, losing her footing and ending up lying supine on the floor, quickly placing her hand to her chest and then raising it to see blood running down her fingers.

Loki thrust his arm out, Mjolnir flying towards him from where it rested beside the chaise. The figure, turning her attention from Verda to Loki was unprepared as Loki hurled the hammer in her direction, Mjolnir catching her full in the chest, sending her flying over the balcony to the hard, stone paved courtyard below. Loki deftly caught Mjolnir as it returned to him before rushing to Verda's side, Coulson remaining standing near the door, unsure what he had just witnessed.

Verda sat up, Loki supporting her back, placing her hand again on the wound as it continued to bleed. Loki examined the wound, moving Verda's hand and the pendant of her necklace aside."

"We must get you to the healer." Loki told her. He did not voice what he feared and that Verda also pondered.

"It's nothing. I'll be alright. We must get to the courtyard. She may have survived the fall."

Coulson had by now crossed the room to the balcony, looking over it at the body far below lying on her back in a pool of blood, Asgardians that had been in the courtyard and witnessed her fall gathering around her, einherjar moving them aside, taking control of and clearing the scene.

"I kind of doubt that." Coulson said grimly.

**********************

Loki, Coulson and Verda stood beside the deceased assassin, the einherjar moving aside for them. Blood still trickled from Verda's wound, staining the front of her gown. Loki stood with an arm protectively around her.

Coulson knelt beside the body and reached out, removing the mask to reveal the face beneath it. All three now stared in wonder and confusion as they looked down upon a carbon copy of Verda's face. Verda gasped, raising her unbloodied hand to her mouth staring down at herself for another moment before her eyes rolled upwards into her head, only the whites now visible before they closed, her body going limp, Loki catching her before she fell to the ground to join her doppleganger.

"Verda!" Loki exclaimed, taking her in his arms and lifting her as he addressed Coulson. "I'm taking her to the healing room. I leave this to you." Loki turned to one of the einherjar though he addressed the others. "This man is Coulson. He is of Midgard. I've given him authority to investigate the murder of my brother...do all that he says. When he is finished here, escort him to my chambers to await my return." The einherjar nodded, Loki anxiously and swiftly moving off back towards the courtyard entrance to the palace cradling the unconscious Verda in his arms.