The floor of the vast chamber, quadruple the size of a school gymnasium, was marked with painted white rings, two men sparring within each. In the hands of the men were wielded lethal swords, staffs, and maces. Those within the circle knew well what they must do if they hoped to leave it the same way they had entered it. Only one of them would do so.

From a walkway running the length of the far wall, Yerrick observed the proceedings below, any expression that would provide a clue as to his thoughts and feelings about what he was witnessing were obscured by the mask he wore, his gloved hands clutching the metal railing as Randolph approached him.

"I was told you requested my presence." Randolph asked.

"Yes. Join me." Yerrick said as he continued to watch the activity taking place below. Randolph also turned his attention to the proceedings, his face taking on a dark, glum expression.

Combatants, their individuality stripped away by their identical white masks and jumpsuits, fell in combat, Randolph watching as their bodies were dragged from the circle, the victor celebrating with machismo his triumph before stepping out, as two more entered, the action beginning once again. Any that for whatever reason left the confines of the painted ring during their bout were quickly thrust back within by others to continue the fight until it had reached its fatal conclusion. Yerrick turned his head slightly, glancing at Randolph.

"This troubles you?" Yerrick observed.

"When I served with the Berserker army, if we fell, it was not by the blades of our comrades but those of the enemy."

"The Berserkers, the Valkyrie, two of the greatest armies ever known in the universe are no more. They eventually met their gruesome end. Do you know why?" Yerrick asked.

"I suppose any army will eventually meet its match." Randolph answered.

"An army is only as strong as its weakest warriors. Odin lacked the courage to do what needed to be done. In my army, one must earn their place. The cowardly and the weak must be winnowed out." Yerrick said just before a blade of a short sword emerged from Randolph's chest in the area of his heart as he was run through from behind. After withdrawing the blade, Randolph's body slumped over the railing before Yerrick pushed it over, it landing in the middle of the ring directly below. The men within it in the midst of combat ceased fighting, they and others looking up to see Yerrick staring down at them through the mask before he turned, disappearing from view.

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

Coulson raised his wrist, eyeing his watch as he, Loki and Verda stepped out of the sprawling S.H.I.E.L.D. facility and into the searing daytime heat of the desert surrounding it.

"We must attend to our duties on Asgard. I will order our warriors to be at the ready. I will return-" Loki said before Verda interrupted him.

"We will return..." Verda said somewhat testily.

"I cannot say when that will be. If you have urgent need of me-."

"Us." Verda corrected him.

"Heimdall will be watching." Loki said to Coulson before turning to Verda, appearing irritated. "My memory must be failing me. I seem to remember it was I that took the sacred oath of kingship." Loki said to Verda.

"You took another oath after that one." Verda replied.

"I don't recall vowing to be the host of a likj."

"A what?" Coulson asked.

"It's a worm like creature. It attaches itself and drains one of their blood." Loki explained.

"We have those here too. They're called leeches."

"How large is a leech?" Verda asked

"About this big." Coulson said, holding his thumb and index finger around two inches apart.

"A likj is the length of one's arm. They're disgusting. I can't believe you compared me, your queen, to a likj...and in the presence of another!" Verda said, angrily striding away towards the same area where they had previously summoned the Bifrost, its marking still evident on the dry ground.

"I've been trying to convince her to remain on Asgard. She won't hear of it. Perhaps I went too far." Loki said to Coulson.

"Maybe a little." Coulson answered.

"Are you married?" Loki asked.

"No. Lifelong bachelor."

"You're the second I have met in my time on Midgard. Perhaps I should have taken that as a sign."

"Third. Fury too. There's quite a few in S.H.I.E.L.D. It's not a reflection on the institution. With the nature of the work we do...I've been seeing someone. She's a cellist...a musician. Just finding the time with our schedules..."

"I only wish to keep her safe."

"I could be wrong but I don't think comparing her to a parasite is going to accomplish that." Coulson said.

Loki left Coulson, following Verda who had come to a stop, her back to Loki, her arms crossed, brooding.

"My love…" Loki said as he reached her, placing a hand onto her shoulder.

"First I was a horse, now I'm a likj. I think I liked being called a horse better. They're beautiful and strong. Can we go back to that?"

"I was speaking in jest...surely you know by now to take seriously only half of what I say."

"How am I to know which half?" Verda asked as she turned to face Loki. "You don't understand...I have to be with you! Not every moment of our lives...but now, for this. I had finally convinced myself...if I survived Hela, if you returned to Asgard...I would stop listening to the voice of my sister in my head, I would speak to you, before you had a chance to disappear once again. I would tell you who I was, remind you of that day….how once you had pulled me out you held me as I could only cry in relief after believing I was to die, how you held my hand as you led me out of the forest, how you kissed me….right here..." Verda said, touching a spot at the top middle of her forehead, "before sending me on my way...how even before I knew who you were no one ever measured up, could take your place in my heart after that day...but before I got the chance, he came for it, for you...do you have any idea...searching among those that survived, realizing you weren't among them...what I felt in that moment?" Verda said as she began to sob, barely able to finish as Loki took her in his arms, stroking her hair, relishing the feel of its silky strands.

"I imagine it was akin to what I experienced when I was told you were to die. I'm only trying to protect you." Verda raised her head from his shoulder, looking into his eyes.

"And I you! How are either of us to do that if I'm there and you're here? I survived Hela! I battled the army of Thanos and I survived! You said you should never have left me alone. Now it's all you want to do!"

"You would not be alone. You would be guarded every moment, even as you slept."

"What's changed? What is it that you're not telling me? What is it you're afraid of?"

"Myself." Loki answered.

"What do you mean?" Verda, clearly confused, replied.

"I cared for no one…I sent my own brother plummeting to what was to have been his demise. I would not have spared you."

"You're speaking of your visions. Are you afraid my sister will enchant you to go mad, to harm me?"

A strange sound, like a jet engine, but on a smaller scale, interrupted their conversation, both looking up in wonder as the figure in the red and gold metallic suit descended between them and Coulson, Coulson looking again at his watch as the figure touched down, his back to them, seeming to ignore their presence as he approached Coulson. Verda, stunned, began to drop to one knee, Loki grabbing her arm.

"What are you doing?" Loki asked, almost in a whisper.

"It is him...he who claimed the honor…" Verda replied quietly back. Loki raised her back to her feet before he suddenly squeezed his eyes closed and held his head. Verda looked to him with concern, putting a hand to his shoulder.

"What have I to fear…" said Loki quietly.

"You're five minutes late." Coulson said.

"Took a wrong turn at Albuquerque. Thought I was only a consultant. I seem to remember something about displaying 'compulsive behavior,' that I'm 'self destructive,' narcissistic...for the record I agreed with that one."

"We're consulting you now. I'll brief you on what we know so far." Coulson said as Stark turned to view Verda and Loki, their hands clasped as they stared at him.

"You were playing Dungeons and Dragons and you didn't invite me?" Stark asked.

"Can you kneel in that thing? They're royalty. This is Loki and Verda, the king and queen of Asgard. Loki, Verda, this is Tony Stark."

"Asgard? Never heard of it."

"If Asgard doesn't ring a bell, how about Odin...Thor?" said Coulson, attempting to jog Stark's memory.

"The Viking God? The one with the hammer?"

"Loki is Odin's son, Thor's brother." Coulson answered. Stark stared at Loki and Verda for a moment before bursting into laughter, turning to Coulson.

"I know people really get into the role playing stuff...never pictured you as one of them. So what are you? Dwarf? Half-elf? You called me to come all the way out here just to screw with me?" Stark turned back to examine Loki once more. "You're kinda puny for a god."

"Am I, metal man?" Loki said, stepping away from Verda, Mjolnir appearing in his hand. Stark stepped back, bracing himself for a fight.

"Loki...don't." Verda pleaded, taking a step towards him, misinterpreting Loki's actions.

"I mean him no harm." he told her before turning his attention back to Stark. "This once belonged to my brother. It is now I that wields it." Loki said, holding the hammer out to Stark. "Take it." Stark appeared suspicious as he eyed the hammer before reaching for it. As he wrapped the metal gloved hand of the suit around its grip, Loki released his own hold on it. As it had when Selvig had attempted to hold it, Mjolnir dropped heavily to the ground, Stark's arm pulled down with it. Stark struggled as he attempted to lift it, though with somewhat more success than Selvig, before his strength gave out, the hammer plunging to the ground once again.

"What the hell?" Stark said as he attempted using a few of his suit's innovations to allow him to lift it further without success.

"I am who the son of Coul says I am. I am Loki, son of Odin." Loki said, Stark finally giving up, Loki stepping over and easily lifting the hammer from the ground. Stark watched speechless for a moment before his face lit up.

"Electromagnet!"

"You wouldn't be able to move in that tin can." Coulson said.

"Yeah, right...Ok. You got me. I give up. How'd you do it?" Stark said before Loki turned, hurling Mjolnir far out over the desert. Stark watched in awe as it returned to his hand. "You mean for once someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't lying? You really are…"

"We're not gods. Erik Selvig used the term 'extraterrestrials' to describe us. We're from another realm...I believe you call them planets...Asgard. We were just about to return. I assume Coulson has summoned you here believing you could be of assistance to us. I leave it to him to explain the situation." Loki returned to Verda, she taking his hand, unable to help grinning at Starks astonished expression. "When I-"

"We…" Verda said, again correcting him.

"We return, perhaps we can have a drink."

"Yeah...sure." Stark said in disbelief.

Loki led Verda a few feet farther away to the area previously marked by the Bifrost.

"Heimdall. Bring us home." Loki called out. Stark watched, bewildered, as the Bifrost descended. After it was gone, taking Loki and Verda with it, he turned to Coulson.

"Guess it's a good thing I cleared my schedule."

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

Randolph, he of that time, the one that remained among the living, slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to clear his vision. He glanced about the room in confusion as he realized he was lying on the floor, two of the female S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that had been assigned to protect him kneeling beside him.

"He's coming around." one of them said to the other. "Are you alright?" she asked Randolph. "You fainted. Has this happened before? Do you have a condition? Do you need anything?"

"No….no, I'm fine…." Randolph said, sitting up as he put a hand to his head. His thoughts were disjointed as he struggled to recall what he had been doing before finding himself sprawled on the floor. As the fog in his brain cleared, his eyes suddenly widened.

"Coulson...I need to talk to him...now!" Randolph exclaimed urgently, rising to his feet, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent taking his arm to assist him.

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

Loki and Verda stepped into Odin's bedchambers, the light dim, two einherjar standing inside the room on either side of the door and one in each of the two corners of the room nearest the bed. Loki looked to the still, silent form of his father lying in the bed. Frigga, noticing them rose from the bedside to greet them, her smile not completely masking her worry.

"You've returned." Frigga said before embracing Loki. Loki could see the fatigue in her face, the dark circles under her eyes.

"For a time. Eventually I must return once more to Midgard, but for the moment I felt it necessary to return home and take up my duties as king. How is he?"

"All seems well thus far. He put it off far longer than he should. It will likely take some time for him to awaken." Frigga replied.

"You should rest. Others can keep watch and alert you if there's any concern." Loki told her.

"Perhaps now that you've returned." Frigga answered. She held out her hand, in it the bag containing the Norn Stones. "It is done." she said. Loki took them from her.

"I will see to them." Loki said.

"I'll safeguard them until you are able to do so." Verda said, taking the bag from Loki's hand. "You have an army to make ready."

"An army?" Frigga asked, worriedly.

"I doubt they will be needed, but I wish to prepare them nonetheless. I believe we're close to apprehending Thor's murderers but they may have an army of their own. In the event our Midgardian allies' forces are not enough to subdue them…I am to meet with Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun soon. After, I will send them here to watch over him." Loki turned to Verda, "Remain with her until they arrive. I will be in the throne room." Loki said before leaving the room.

As Loki stepped out into the corridor from Odin's chambers, past the two einherjar standing sentry on either side of the doors, Sif approached.

"Loki…." she said before recalling his new position, putting a hand with a closed fist across her chest and falling to one knee. "My king….forgive me. It will take some getting used to."

"We can dispense with the formalities...at least for now." Loki said, Sif rising.

"Forgive me as well for my late arrival. I had thought you to be in the throne room. That was the cause of my delay."

"I have an assignment for you. A most important one. I wish you to see to Verda's safety. Do not allow her to be alone, even while she sleeps. You must remain with her at all times unless I am present. You may assign einherjar to assist you, as many as you feel are needed. I trust she will be safe in your hands."

"I will not fail you. You believe there may be another attempt on her life?" Sif asked.

"It's possible. I don't know for certain, but as it has been tried once before...they must know by now of the failure of their assassin. They may send another. She is with my mother now." Loki informed her, Sif nodding and entering Odin's bedchambers. Loki made his way down the corridor in the direction of the throne room.

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

Hank Pym stood in front of a chest of drawers in the bedroom of his home. Slowly opening the top drawer, he pulled a framed photograph from under a few folded shirts, looking down on the face of his lost wife.

"Her death wasn't in vain." Pym heard Fury's voice say from where the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. stood leaning in the doorway, his arms crossed.

"Yes it was. It was all in vain. Everything. Everything I worked for." Pym replied, seemingly not surprised at Fury's presence. "I won't ask how you got in here."

"When was the last time you used it? The suit?" Fury asked.

"That day. I hid it away. No one can get to it. Not even you. Even I couldn't if I wanted to. I'm too old for all that now anyway. I can't believe it's been that long. It seems like it was only yesterday..." Pym said mournfully.

"Speaking of yesterday...what do you know about time travel?"