His Dove (Loki Laufeyson)

Part 128 (Smile)

The drive to the tower was completely silent, completely still. Tony was on edge, though I wasn't sure whether it was seeing the team after all this time or if it was the idea of actually time traveling.

As soon as he pulled up, I noticed the shadow in the window several stories up. I huffed, looking at Tony as Steve approached the car.

"Meet you up there." I said before teleporting away, both to see what that shadow desired and as a desperate attempt to avoid Steve.

"Dagny."

"Why are you here?" I asked. "You can't let them see you."

"And why is that? Will I scare your Midgardians?"

"No, I mean... I don't know, but Tony can't see you."

Even in his form I could see his sympathetic expression. "He's the brother, yes?"

I nodded.

"And you've told him of your condition, I assume."

I nodded again.

"And you wish for him not to know what the future holds for you."

I bit my cheek, making Fafnir smile.

"He seems like a nice man."

"You've never met him." I responded with an eye roll and a smirk.

"He did a half decent job at raising a dragon... For a mortal." Fafnir teased.

I looked at the ground with a soft chuckle, and Fafnir sighed.

"I'm here because I... Sensed, that I needed to be. That I needed to stay with you."

"I appreciate your co-"

"I'm not going anywhere." He stated. "Whether you tell me to or not, whether you worry about him or not, I will not leave."

"Father, please." I tried to assure. "I'm alri-"

"We have a plan, L-" Tony stopped as he saw the shadow before me, and I could feel his absolute terror as he quickly hit the watch on his wrist, the Ironman gauntlet forming around his hand.

"No, it's fine!" I quickly moved to stand between the two. "He's... Fucking damn it." I mumbled. "He's... A friend. A fairyland friend."

I expected disappointment, or perhaps shame from Fafnir for my quick lie, but instead I felt his calm, his understanding. I couldn't let Tony know who he was. He was too smart, he'd put two and two together.

"Hello, man of Iron." Fafnir stated with a smile. "It's an absolute pleasure to meet you."

Tony took a deep breath. In his frantic state, he missed the slip, the minuscule hesitation in my words. He believed me. "Next time your other planet friends come to visit, try to give me some warning. Okay, Ladybug?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"Uh... Nice to meet you too, demon."

A snort came out at the nickname, and Fafnir chuckled.

"This guy helping us?" Tony asked with a raised eyebrow.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Fafnir interjected. "Absolutely."

The plan was rather straight-forward. Tony had figured out the best way to work around our dilemma, and simultaneously made a gauntlet that, theoretically, would work as Thanos' did. The first couple prototypes seemed a bit shotty, but by the next day he had perfected his design.

The deal was that several teams of 2 would go back to a certain date, take a stone, and bring it back to the present. It sounded rather simple, really. Grab the stone, go straight back to the present. Everyone born in the last half a decade, most importantly Mo, would remain here, and the others would be blipped back into existence. Just like that, everyone could live.

It was fine until it came to designating who went where. Tony didn't want me to go at all, citing that I'd be liable to find Loki based on pure instinct.

He wasn't incorrect, which is why I knew I couldn't go with Thor to Asgard no matter how desperately I wanted to see it one last time. In fact, I was a bit nervous about Thor even going.

It would also be rather stupid for me to go anywhere in 2012 New York, so... That left few options.

I was most surprised when, as Natasha and Clint were picked for the power stone, Fafnir flat-out demanded we go in their place.

"Why w-"

"None of you have any idea what awaits at Vormir. Sending two mortals when you have two beings of far greater power seems... Idiotic, to put it flatly."

Everyone sat in silence for a second after Fafnir finished speaking with a shrug.

"We can go to Vormir." I assured Tony, though I was quite unsure what Fafnir's angle was. "Loki is nowhere around there, and I'm fine to do this."

Tony bit his cheek with a huff, but nodded. "Alright, fine. But be safe, you understand?" Tony demanded. "I lost one kid because of these stones. I... Not you."

I kissed his cheek with a nod, and from there everything went by in a blur. We dressed and prepared for what was ahead, and Bruce, well hulk... But still Bruce from my understanding, stood by the machines as we walked up to our platforms. I looked down at my feet, but couldn't help the smile etching onto my features as the prospect of actually getting Loki back crossed my mind.

We could do it, I was sure. We could actually do this.

"Fafnir, son of Hreidmarr. Dagny, daughter of Fafnir." I heard a voice speak as soon as Fafnir and I landed.

I stared at the being, bright red and alien-looking, but could tell he posed no threat immediately. I thought it odd, I still couldn't shake the dread from the previous night, though it didn't point to any one direction. It just... Lingered. It just remained.

"Why'd you want to come here?"

Fafnir sighed, smiling at me. "I knew you'd be too clever to believe the mortal schtick."

I chuckled a bit, looking around. "Do you... Know where the stone is?"

That was when I felt his softness, the release of his guard.

"The blue woman had many thoughts about this place." He mumbled. "The Titan came with his own daughter, then left without her."

I turned and looked at him, completely blanking.

"So, you have now come with your father. Then, you will leave without me."

"I'm... I'm not doing that, F-"

"The stone demands sacrifice, proof of your understanding in its power... A soul, for a soul." The red being nearly taunted as he cut me off.

I had my power in my hand within a second, ready to blow it to bits, but Fafnir's firm grip on my wrist stopped me.

"My time was coming soon, I knew. I now know why I felt that way. I die, and you may live. Truly, a soul for a soul."

"No, that's not fair." I mumbled. "There has to be another way."

"Nothing in this life has been fair to you, but this is the one thing that truly is. I've taken such... Joy, in being here for you when you needed me most. It made all those years of darkness and anger incredibly worth it. It made the misery of remaining on this plain after I lost your mother, so incredibly worth it. But you don't need me anymore, daughter. You need him."

"N-no. I said n-"

It was so quickly, so sudden that he pushed me backwards, before throwing himself back off the cliff.

I didn't scream, I didn't even breath as I rushed the edge, only catching sight of him at the bottom.

Blood spilled from his head, his form no longer shadow-like. I slipped down to my knees as a shaky breath escaped my lips, watching the blood pool around the form I had only ever seen in my dreams and memories.

And on his lips was the faintest smile.