Among the Stars

Chapter 9

The battle was over. The Elves were probably negotiating or something, but that wasn't Thor's concern. Thor's friends were staying behind in case hostilities rekindled, but Sif had assured Thor that they had things under control and shooed him off to see Jane. He smashed to Earth outside her house. The door was unlocked, so he let himself in. There didn't seem to be anyone home, but he noticed a note on her table.

Sif called. Gone to Asgard. Back in a few hours- Jane

Immediately Thor knew something was wrong. How could Jane be with Sif if Sif was with him? Something was wrong, and Jane was in trouble. Thor did not like that. He headed for her portal. He'd used it a few times in the past to visit her. He wasn't entirely sure how it worked, but Jane had built it, so he trusted it.

He stepped through the portal and found himself standing outside the palace in Asgard. He stormed through the gates and surveyed the halls. The palace seemed utterly lifeless. There was certainly no sign of Sif or Jane.

He picked a hall and started down. As he walked, he tried to think about what could have happened to Jane. Almost at once, a thought flashed across his mind. He shoved it down as quickly as it appeared. There was no way that was true, and it was too painful to think about.

He saw a guard standing at attention in the hall. He approached him to ask about Jane, but he stopped when he noticed something altogether unnerving about the man. He was staring straight at the opposite wall, and he hadn't moved when Thor came into view. Thor hadn't seen him move at all, now that he thought of it.

The thought appeared again, and this time Thor couldn't wipe it away so easily. It stabbed at him while he stubbornly refused to acknowledge he was thinking it. He stalked down the halls searching for any trace of Jane. And then he heard something coming from his bedroom.

It was a soft sort of noise halfway between a sob and a whimper. And he knew it was Jane. The thought vanished entirely from his mind. All that mattered was that something was hurting Jane and that it was about to be destroyed.

Thor charged down the hallway and blasted through his bedroom doorway to see Jane on his bed. She was trying not to cry and her dress was torn. Loki was bending over her.

The thought reached Thor that his brother was not actually dead and had returned, but it didn't register except where it applied to Jane. He didn't hesitate as he shot towards Loki. He could deal with all that later. Right now Loki was just the thing that was hurting Jane and he was the thing that was about to be destroyed.

He grabbed Loki by the back of his shirt and hurled him across the room. He yelped in surprise as he smashed into the wall, denting it and sending down a shower of debris. He sat sprawled in a heap on the ground and looked up at Thor in shock. Thor didn't say anything as he advanced on him. He just glared at him in a way that even Loki had never achieved, and the great god of mischief could do nothing but shrink back in fear.

"Now Thor, we wouldn't want to be rash-" He stuttered. Thor proved him wrong by swatting him into the adjacent wall like a fly. He sagged to the floor, momentarily stunned.

Thor turned back to Jane, who was trying to tug herself free of the belt tying her to the bed. Thor just grabbed it and gave it a yank, snapping it. Jane curled herself against him, and he wrapped his arms around her, trying to protect every bit of her at once.

"Thor," She said shakily. "Oh, Thor."

"Are you all right, Jane? I've got you now. Nobody's going to hurt you anymore." Thor said.

"I just want to go home. Not here." Jane said. She looked up over his shoulder. "WATCH OUT!" She screamed.

Thor felt a blinding pain in the back of his ribcage. He rose, quickly thrusting Jane across the bed so she'd be out of harm's way. He turned around unsteadily to see Loki holding a bloody knife.

"It's too late for that, brother," Loki sneered. "She's found a real man."

"You gutless cur!" Thor yelled, pain amplifying his voice. "I'm going to send you back to Hel where you belong!"

Loki feinted a stab at Thor's right arm. When Thor dodged, he slashed the knife across his left. Thor, however, never had any intention of evading the blow. He just ignored the wound and grabbed Loki's knife arm with his other hand. He smashed it against the wall. Loki gasped and dropped the knife.

Thor smashed his fist into Loki's midsection, and he fell heavily onto his back.

"Honorless son of filth!" Thor yelled after him. He bent to jerk Loki upward.

Loki sprang forward and tossed a handful of dust from the broken wall into Thor's eyes. He reeled back and swiped at his face. By this time, Loki had realized that this was not a fight that would end well. He darted toward Jane, intending to use her as a hostage.

Thor saw where he was heading, and that was Loki's last mistake. Thor fell on him like a lion on a lamb, and they both slammed to the ground. Thor grabbed onto the front of Loki's shirt and pressed down, pinning Loki entirely.

"Even now you try to defile her?" Thor bellowed.

"NO, no, it's not-" Loki said tremulously. He tried in vain to sit up.

"Are you capable of nothing but evil, you blight on Asgard?" Thor yelled over him.

"Thor, you must be reasonable-" Loki plead.

"SHUT UP!" Thor shouted. He hammered his fist across Loki's jaw. There was a sound like a plank of wood snapping. Loki stopped struggling and clamped his hands around his jaw.

Thor stood up. Loki remained curled on the ground. Thor kept an eye on him as he strode back toward Jane, but he didn't try to rise.

Jane rushed toward Thor as he approached. They met with a clinging embrace and stood together for a moment.

"I will never let anyone hurt you again," Thor said fiercely to Jane. He situated himself protectively between her and Loki and prepared to take her to the portal.

"Wait. I have something to finish," Jane said. She walked towards Loki. Thor tensed and narrowed his eyes warningly at his brother, but Jane stopped safely out of his reach. Loki glared up at her malevolently, but Jane just glared right back at him.

"Every time I think of the scar I gave you, I'm going to remember I beat you once. And every time I look at the scar you gave me… I'm going to remember I escaped you twice." She said coldly. Loki shook with fury, and his expression communicated what his shattered jaw couldn't. Jane turned without a backward glance and walked back to Thor.

"Take me home?" She asked Thor.

Thor scooped her up in his arms and held her close. He carried her toward the door.

"I'll take you anywhere," He said. "And I'll never let you go."