The Adventures of Kid Loki

Spy, Counter Spy

Steve grasped Loki around the throat, but the god threw him off. Clint drew his bow, but Loki closed the space between them. Redirecting the weapon with one arm, Loki head butted Clint and knocked him down. That was when Loki felt arms encircle his neck from behind, and Natasha put him in a headlock. He spun her around until he crashed into a wall, and the impact made Natasha let go. Loki huffed, glanced around at his unwelcome companions, and straightened his Nano suit. "Alright!" he hissed quietly, "you guys followed me along on this trip, and by the gods, you're going to listen to me or get left behind!" Loki ran his fingers through his hair and sucked on his lower lip. Steve looked up at him before glancing around at his friends. Clint was nursing a bloody nose, and Natasha was rubbing the back of her head. When he looked back at Loki, the God of Mischief was fixing him with his piercing green stare.

"Fine! We'll do it your way. But! That doesn't mean I trust you," Steve said. Loki smirked and walked over to him, extending his hand. Steve took it reluctantly, and they looked each other in the eyes.

"I wouldn't want you to," Loki answered. "Now, can we crack on?" He twirled his Eskrima stick, and made a careful descent down the ash covered slope towards a mountain with a huge metal gate at the entrance.

"Must be the fire demon's palace," Natasha said as she joined Steve.

"Are we really doing this?" Clint asked as he finally stopped the blood flowing from his nose. Steve shrugged and looked at his two companions.

"We can't exactly go back to Niffleheim, and I don't want to sit here and wait for him to get back. Besides, no one should ever go into enemy held territory without backup," Steve responded. Clint rolled his eyes and Natasha smiled.

"Always the soldier," Clint told him sarcastically as he followed Loki down the hill. Natasha rolled her eyes at his response and went after him. Gripping his shield in his hand, Steve glanced around quickly, surveying the dead terrain, before he brought up the rear.

The palace of Surtur was made of hard rock, some places it stuck out all jagged. Tattered red curtains hung in front of the exposed windows, and cursed hounds, wandered the halls. Loki looked around the corner, his eyes seeing everything. Suddenly, his arm went out, and he stopped Clint from stepping out in front of him. "What-?!" he started to ask when Loki's hand covered his mouth and he pointed. They saw fire demon guards walking down the hall towards them. The spears they had in their hands were thick, at least eight feet long, and the tips were smoking. The God of Mischief and the Avengers watched as they went by.

"How are we supposed to fight that if we have to?!" Steve queried anxiously as Loki lowered his hand from Clint's mouth. Loki looked back at him with an irritated expression on his face.

"Oh ye of little faith," he admonished before he looked back at the giants cautiously. He darted across the hall into an alcove, and signaled for them to follow. Natasha was the first to go, running across and reaching Loki's side. He rewarded her with a smirk, but she just rolled her eyes. Steve went next, and Clint came last.

"Can you at least tell us where we're going?" Natasha asked as Loki began to feel the walls with his sensitive fingers.

"To Surtur's private war chamber," Loki said as he found the groove he was looking for, pressed it, and a tunnel was revealed.

"And how do you know he has one?" Clint queried. Loki glanced back at them, and his eyebrows wiggled.

"Because, I was one of his counselors a long time ago. In disguise. Odin made me do it," Loki explained as he stepped into the darkness. Natasha looked back at Steve and Clint. The soldier just sighed while the archer rolled his eyes. Natasha shrugged her shoulders, and followed the god down the tunnel. When Steve and Clint had entered, the door snapped shut behind them, and blackness swallowed them up. Natasha had never known dark like this before. She gasped and her hand went out to grab something, anything! Her fingers touched a cold hand, and she instinctively knew that it was Loki's. Natasha made a move to withdraw it, but Loki's fingers curled around her wrist and held on. "It is better if we stay connected. Natasha, please reach out and take Barton's hand, and Barton, take Rogers' hand," Loki ordered them. Natasha reached out blindly behind her and soon felt Clint's hand take hers. Despite the dark, Loki seemed to know his way. Natasha felt him guiding her ahead, gently. His grip was still strong, but Natasha knew he did not mean to hurt her. The tunnel was taking them slowly down and the further down they went, the hotter it became. Suddenly, Loki took Natasha's hand, and placed it on his belt.

"What-?" Natasha started to say before Loki cut her off.

"This heat is making me uncomfortable. I'm going to have to go to my natural state in order to cool off and keep from fainting. I would burn you," Loki told her. Natasha trusted him, and immediately felt a cold air emitting from Loki through his clothes. Soon, a light began to appear near the bottom, and Natasha began to see. At first, it was difficult for her eyes to adjust to the light, and when they did, she could see Loki in front of her. The mist was wafting off of him, and she could see that his skin was now blue. Suddenly, he turned and his blue finger was just a few centimeters away from her lips. "We're here. Not a sound," he warned her darkly. Natasha, Steve, and Clint all walked up to peep holes, and put their faces as close to them as possible. When they looked, they saw an enormous demon with horns sitting in a chair of marble. He was huge, over ten feet tall! A fire burned over his head, and he had fangs jutting over his bottom lip. A flaming sword was in his hand, and he was staring at two figures in front of him. One woman was in a dress of dazzling green, and the three Avengers instinctively looked at Loki, but his eyes remained forward. The second woman present was in a sheath of royal purple, and her pale golden hair was flowing down her shoulders, underneath a hood. The lady in green came forward and she approached the demon.

"We have a common enemy, Firelord Surtur. It comes in the form of Loki Laufeyson," Amora said and Surtur hissed.
"He has something that you desire as well as we," Karnilla said, approaching the throne. "He has the secret to the gate and defenses of Niffleheim. If you help us cage the pixie, you can have the enigmas of the Realm of the Dead from his mind. We will take the rest." Surtur stroked his chin as he contemplated the offer. The Avengers looked over at Loki again, and wondered how he was taking this discussion. As per usual, his face showed no emotion.

"Your offer is most tempting, but, where is the real draw?" Surtur asked. Karnilla looked at Amora and her lips pulled upwards into a smirk. Amora frowned, shook her head, and looked away.

"You get to kill him, and devour his soul!" Karnilla told him. Amora growled, but did not speak. Surtur smiled and all three Avengers felt their hearts sink into their stomachs.

"I accept!" the fire demon bellowed.