Avengers: Faith, Hope, and Love: Ch. 2 Hope

Chapter 2: Hope


Steve could not recall ever seeing Thor so irritated. He could feel the static building in the air as the demigod's anger rose.

"This is unacceptable, Fenrir! Loki does not have the authority to send you here. Leave Midgard, now."

"Ah, but you do not have the authority to send me away," the wolf countered in a deep drawl, looking far too haughty for the Captain's comfort. "I was sent here for a purpose, and only she whom I protect may send me away. That is a decision the Lady Sigyn will make."

"Your presence here will not be tolerated by the others. They will cast Sigyn out and you will put her in more danger of being captured."

"Then I shall accompany her in this pitiful realm until the day Loki comes for her. Nobody in Asgard will dare challenge me, and the mortals will soon learn the same."

"You will only draw attention to your presence here, and hers. Wolves are not found in Midgard cities."

Fenrir rolled his eyes. "Please." He rose and leapt over the back of the couch. When his paws touched the ground he resembled a large gray Swedish Elkhound.

Steve, who had been standing by the door – mostly to make sure that nobody else had to experience an unpleasant encounter with the Asgardian wolf – finally spoke up. "Sorry, but I don't fully understand why you would go through all this trouble just to play guard dog. Isn't it… degrading for you?"

Fenrir regarded Steve with a sly look. "There is little I would not do for a brother or sister, Steven Rogers, even one that has not been born yet." He did not wait for Steve to connect the dots. Rather he let out a barking laugh and trotted into the elevator.

Thor hesitated a moment, a guilty look crossing his face before he followed Fenrir.

"I think I see why you stay with these mortals," The wolf-dog chuckled as he followed Thor out of the elevator when it stopped on his floor. "They are a lot of fun to confuse."

"Behave yourself, Fenrir, or I will have Sigyn send you away yet," Thor threatened, stopping in front of Sigyn's room.

Fenrir roll his eyes again and nosed the door to Sigyn's room open, the woman was sleeping soundly. He padded over to her side, gave her a once over, and, apparently satisfied she was in good health, crawled up onto the bed next to her. In her sleep the woman rolled over and laced her fingers through Fenrir's fur. Thor took a moment to consider how deceptive Fenrir could be; he had a reputation for being vicious, untamed, and dangerous, but became gentle, protective, and loyal when the need arose.

Thor ran a hand through his hair. He really was not looking forward to having to explain Fenrir's presence to him comrades. They would not take the presence of another one of Loki's children well; particularly one who was already grown and fully capable of causing trouble. Perhaps he should begin to consider alternative locations where he could keep Sigyn safe.

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Steve thought the "meeting" was going pretty well. Yes, everyone was still arguing their own reasons for keeping Sigyn or sending her away, but nobody had escalated to yelling yet. For the most part, it seemed almost everyone was okay with the younger woman staying in the tower for the time being. Pepper and Thor were adamant about not leaving Sigyn to fend for herself, Steve personally agreed with them. Natasha seemed willing to give Sigyn a chance to prove she wasn't going to cause trouble. Bruce agreed that it was logical for the Asgardian woman to stay in the tower, but offered no other oersonal opinion on the matter. Clint was still largely against her being so close to the Avengers and in their personal space. Steve could understand why he wouldn't want anything relating to Loki in his personal space. Tony hadn't changed his mind overnight either, but he was quickly losing to the iron wills of Thor, and more importantly, Pepper. Steve wasn't sure how long the general consensus would last when Thor decided to reveal Fenrir's presence.

Steve had to admit, having the wolf there definitely raised more red flags in his mind than he liked. Especially considering Fenrir was also related to Loki; he wasn't quite sure how to wrap his mind around the fact that he was a wolf yet claimed to be Loki's son. He decided he just wasn't going to try and go there. He kept shooting Thor looks wondering just exactly when he was going to bring up Fenrir. He hoped it would be soon; before Sigyn woke up and started wandering around with the wolf-dog in tow.

The elevator dinged softly and Steve groaned inwardly; too late.

Sigyn stood there, uncomfortable with suddenly being the center of attention. Her fingers wound deeper into Fenrir's neck fur at some of the more hostile stares she received. Thor quickly rose from his place to tend to her.

"Okay, really?" Tony said exasperated at the newest arrival. "Clint, is there any sign on this tower that says ASPCA?"

"No, Tony." The archer replied, eying the dog suspiciously.

"What about Humane Society?"

"Nope."

"Then can someone please explain why I keep picking up strays?"

"Tony!" Pepper snapped, shooting him a glare. She got up to help Sigyn.

Tony took a good look at the two women. Sigyn looked drastically different from the night before. She was more composed and looked older now that she wasn't a hysterical mess. She was a few inches shorter than Pepper. Her dark, wavy hair was pulled out of her face in a loose braid. Her dress from the previous night had hidden much more than the dark gray t-shirt she now wore did. With his infinite knowledge he pegged Sigyn to be about eight months. Which he realized with a shudder, only gave him a few weeks to prepare for the mini-Loki and all the trouble that come with it. He tucked those thoughts aside and noticed that Sigyn carried herself with the same proud confidence Thor did; it must be an Asgardian thing. His gaze traveled southward to her black sweatpants that were too big and slouched onto the floor around her bare feet.

"Hey, wait a minute! Those are my pants!"

"Suck it up, Tony. They're the only ones that fit," Pepper called over her shoulder.

Tony sank back into his chair, complaining about his pilfered pants to Clint. Fenrir, having decided Pepper was not a threat trotted from Sigyn's side to investigate the rest of the Avengers.

Clint watched the dog approach him warily; the look in his eyes was too intelligent for a normal dog. "Uh, good dog," he said raising his hand to tentatively pat its head.

"If you wish to keep your hand you'll reconsider your current course of action," the dog growled, looking right into Clint's eyes.

There were a couple well placed swears from some of the Avengers at that point. Bruce proceeded to drop and break his second mug in less than a day. Clint jumped out of his chair, drawing his hand back like it had been burnt.

"Fenrir!" Thor said sharply.

Steve put his face in his hands, counting down until the situation exploded.

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Odin was growing impatient. It was time Loki paid for his crimes against Asgard and Midgard. He had given Loki everything for which he could have wished when he was young and even more second chances than he cared to count. It seemed that his attempts at teaching through kindness had failed. When they captured him, Odin would teach his adopted son a lesson he would not forget.

If only he could find him. The magician seemed to be jumping through the realms, never staying still long enough to leave more than a trace of evidence that he had been there.

Thought fluttered onto his shoulder, his brother Memory onto the other. "We have searched all of Asgard, All Father. Loki did not stay in this realm," The raved croaked.
Odin growled, rose from his throne, and ordered for his horse to be readied. Loki would not escape him again. It was time he got some straight answers from the man who saw all.

"Heimdall, where is he."

"You know I do not see Loki nor his actions, All Father." Heimdall raised his eyes to look up at the All Father.

"You must see something that could lead to him. What of the woman Balder saw escape with him?"

Heimdall paused for a moment. "There is a woman of Asgard who appeared in Midgard some days ago. I only glimpsed her for a moment as she crossed realms; I have not been able to see her since."

Odin looked to the ravens on his shoulders. "Find her," he ordered.

Thought cawed once and took flight; his brother followed suit.

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It had taken a few days, but life had settled into a relative type of normalcy back in the Avengers Tower. Tony and Clint begrudgingly accepted Sigyn's presence after three days. By ten days Sigyn and Fenrir had both succeeded in scaring the pants off most of the residents of the tower.

Fenrir took particular joy in threatening to bite off vital body parts if any of the mortals strayed too close to him or Sigyn; Thor put an abrupt stop to that after his first eight hours in the tower. The wolf had snapped at Bruce as the doctor passed too closely for his liking in the crowded living area, someone had decided to finish the previous night's movie, and Sigyn for lack of anything better to do had joined them. The woman barely had time to register what Fenrir had done before she was pulled to her feet and pushed behind Thor and Steve, both of whom were extremely nervous. The previously mild mannered scientist stared down the wolf and growled back for a couple seconds. It wasn't until Natasha said his name that he remembered there were other people there, and he quickly retreated to his panic room. Fenrir was quickly told - yelled at - to never, ever threaten Bruce if he valued Sigyn's wellbeing. Sigyn made him stop threatening the others as well; it was another week before people stopped flinching whenever Fenrir strayed too close or opened his mouth to talk.

Sigyn hadn't meant to cause panic when she ended up scaring the mortals. She had been reaching for a book at the top of a bookshelf when she got a massive cramp in her calf. Clint just so happened to be coming off the elevator on his way to the kitchen right as Sigyn doubled over and vocalized her discomfort. Clint didn't know much about pregnant women, but he'd seen enough movies to know that when one doubled over in pain, a quick, screaming birth was soon to follow. He quickly retreated back to the elevator to find Bruce, or Thor, or even Natasha - she was a woman she understood that stuff, right? He happened to find all three, Natasha first, who took him to Bruce, and then the three ran into Thor on their way back to the elevator. They rushed out of the elevator to find Sigyn relaxing on a couch, idly massaging her leg, and reading her book. Fenrir studied the confused mortals and Thor curiously. Natasha then proceeded to tease Clint about losing his cool over a charley horse; the archer disappeared for the rest of the day after that.

It was another two days before Tony spoke to Sigyn for the first time. Their first conversation made him wish he hadn't - though he did ask for it.

Sigyn had been reading – she had to admit that the Midgardians had some of the most fascinating books – and having her daily argument with Bruce.

It usually went along the lines of Bruce advising her to go to a doctor, Sigyn refusing on the grounds that they didn't have doctors for pregnancies on Asgard and countless babies had been born just fine without them. The Bruce would express his concern that most of the women didn't go jumping through wormholes to different worlds in their third trimester and who knows what that could have done. Then Sigyn would tell him that she'd know if something was wrong - mother's intuition - and he should drop the subject. Bruce would open his mouth to argue and then Fenrir would put an end to their discussion by adding his own two cents, ordering the mortal to leave her alone and making sure he showed his teeth. Wishing to avoid a repeat of the wolf's first night there, Bruce would drop the subject. The Other Guy didn't care much for Fenrir and was very touchy whenever the wolf-dog was present, which was constantly. Because of that Bruce tried to limit his exposure to Sigyn as a precaution. He was terrified that the Other Guy might be provoked and make an appearance before he can get away; he already had one scare that was too close for comfort. He had no idea if the big guy knew just how fragile pregnant women were and he wanted her as far from him as possible incase anything did happen. That thought alone made him lose more sleep in the last two weeks than he cared to admit. On the other hand, he knew Sigyn was probably safer here than if she was left on her own, and he kind of wanted to keep an eye on her since she refused any real medical attention.

Sigyn had just finished telling Bruce off, again, and had returned to her book. Bruce returned to whatever mystery of science he had decided to study that morning before descending to his lab for the remainder of the day. Steve sat in another chair, reading the newspaper. He had taken it upon himself to keep an eye on Sigyn when Thor was otherwise preoccupied. He found it unnecessary, but it made Tony and Clint feel better about the woman being there when they knew someone was keeping an eye one her, but mostly Fenrir. Sigyn looked up in surprise when Tony flopped down onto the couch adjacent to her chair. He studied her for a minute.

"Can I help you, Mr. Stark?" she asked turning back to her book.

"So you're having Loki's kid," he stated, pointing to her stomach.

"I thought you were supposed to be the intelligent one, and yet you are only now figuring this out." She threw back with a sly smile.

"I'm just trying to figure out how you got to this point."

"Well there weren't any golden showers, if that's what you're asking." She smiled and cocked her eyebrow teasingly. "I do not believe there is a difference in the process between Asgard and Midgard."

Steve reddened behind the paper and sank down in his seat. If this was going where he thought Tony was taking it he certainly wanted to be anywhere but here. He shot Bruce a look, asking if Tony really would be that rude. The physicist's small nod confirmed what he already knew.

"I just find it hard to believe Loki was in a real relationship. I didn't think he was capable of any emotion other than rage and haughtiness. Are you really sure that's his kid?" Tony mused, smirking at Steve's discomfort.

Sigyn frowned at the scientists lounging next to her. "Just because he has done wrongs in the past does not make him an entirely bad person, Mr. Stark. And yes, there is no doubt that I am carrying Loki's child," she answered with a bite of venom in her voice at the implications he was making.

Tony leaned forward and pointed at Sigyn emphatically. "See, I've been trying to figure you out too and that's another thing I don't get about you. You are completely, one hundred percent, faithful to him. I mean after all he's done to Earth and to you, you turn a blind eye to everything bad he's done. You don't seem like the ignorant, blind love type, yet you ignore all that's happened."

Sigyn leveled Tony with a steady look. "I love him, and when you love someone you look for the good in them. You do not dwell on the bad," she said simply. "Do you mortals make it a common practice to complicate something so fundamental as love?" She looked at the other men in the room. They tried to pretend they weren't listening, but they both looked relatively uneasy. She turned back to her book, hoping this conversation would be over soon; it was beyond inappropriate for a man to ask such questions.

"I still can't imagine Loki being capable of doing anything to kindle any kind of affection from anyone. How does this all work out?"

"Oh, I think I see now," Sigyn said, marking her page and setting her book aside. It was time to end this conversation. She turned towards Tony and propped her chin in her hand. "You have too many questions that you don't want to ask. Are you afraid of the answers you'll get? Or perhaps you are just uncomfortable breaching the subject. What do you want to know?" she asked in a sultry purr. "Do you want to know what it's like to be with a god? To be with Loki?"

"No!" three voices shouted in unison. Steve went back to hiding his red face behind his newspaper. Bruce cleared his throat and rose from his chair to find a drink. Fenrir shot Sigyn a disgusted look, there were some things he never wanted to know about his father.

Sigyn smiled and sat up again. She picked up her book and returned to her reading. "My personal relations are my own, Mr. Stark. I would appreciate it if you let me keep them that way."

Tony had backed away slightly, trying vainly to banish the unwanted mental imagery her question had provoked. Then with a wily grin, he leaned back forward. "You know, what if he's just brain washed you into believing all this? What if he doesn't really care about you at all and he's just shipped you here to keep you out of the way? He's probably back in Asgard laughing it up with his buddies and surrounded by all the pretty girls he could want, not a single thought in him mind about you or your kid."

Sigyn's smile fell off her face, and before she realized what she was doing her hand was already making contact with Tony's face; literally slapping the smugness right off of it, and him right off the couch. "Sorry," she said, not meaning it. "It is a reflex."

"Okay, I deserved that," Tony said picking himself off the floor, massaging his stinging and most likely bruised cheek. "I just had to see what it would take… Ow, God I think you almost dislocated my jaw. Capsicle, learn from this. Don't piss her off." Tony clapped his fellow Avenger on the shoulder as he made his way to the bar to get some ice. Bruce handed him a bag with an expression that clearly stated how much of an idiot he thought Tony was at that moment.

Tony sighed with relief as the ice cooled his cheek – though it didn't do much for his ego – and settled back on the couch, putting a little bit of distance between him and Sigyn. "So, uh, how far along are you?" he asked, awkwardly searching for another topic.

Sigyn resisted the urge to have her eyes travel skyward. By the All Father, what was it with this man and his strange questions?

"I do not understand," she said mildly. If this man started another inappropriate conversation he was asking for a broken jaw.

"How long have you been… you know," he gestured to her stomach.
Sigyn gave Tony a curious look. "I've known since the day Thor was banished to Midgard."

"That was almost a year and a half ago!" Bruce exclaimed, opening a bottle of water at the bar.

"In Midgard time, yes. Time moves differently in Asgard," she said with a shrug. "I cannot explain it."

The conversation continued down an appropriate path – much to everyone's relief – and nobody took notice of the lone raven perched outside one of the great glass windows of the tower, eyeing Sigyn triumphantly.

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In the month she had spent living in the Avengers' tower Sigyn had never experienced such silence inside it. Everyone had been called away to take care of a terrorist threat in one of Midgard's larger cities; the Avengers had been particularly protective of this Washington city. This was the first time she had been left alone. Pepper had been traveling for some days now, and Sigyn missed the red haired woman's company. She was a pillar of sanity and reason in this warrior-filled tower. However, out of all the mortals she missed Jane Foster the most. The woman had arrived abruptly a couple days after she had. Jane apparently made frequent trips back and forth to visit Thor. She was less than happy when Clint introduced Sigyn as "Thor's Asgardian lady friend." Any confusion was quickly cleared up by Natasha before Jane could make any more false assumptions. Sigyn had teased the other Asgardian for becoming so attached to a mortal, but she was genuinely happy he had someone. She quickly grew to like the little mortal woman's company.

Not that she was doing much with her newfound solitude. She continued doing what she had spent the majority of her time in Midgard doing: reading. She was enjoying the quiet, though, and the fact that she did not have to share her Jolly Ranchers with anyone else for the time being. She had developed a particular fondness for the green ones after Natasha had introduced her to the unnaturally colored candies.

Fenrir rested on the couch next to her, he twitched his tail constantly. He was getting restless staying confined in this miniscule Midgard dog guise. He longed to stretch his legs and return to his normal size.

Sigyn did not miss his restlessness, and in all honesty, the silence of the tower unnerved her. She was only allowed to be in the common living floor of the tower, the floor she shared with Thor, and the ground floor – and that was only when exiting and entering the tower. "I think I want to go for a walk," she said, marking her book and rising from the couch. She enjoyed walking through the crowded city and watching the mortals, and it sounded much better than spending the day confined in the tower.

Fenrir paused to weigh his options; going out in daylight meant he would have to appear to be leashed to Sigyn – stupid mortal laws – but he liked the thought of getting up and moving. It was better than nothing. He could tolerate the crowded, stinking, dirty streets if it meant getting out.

Fenrir did not get a chance to respond to Sigyn. His reply turned into a growl when a sizeable group of Asgardian soldiers materialized on the balcony of the Tower. He snarled, and rose to his feet, and leapt toward the door, releasing the spell that kept him in his Earth guise. He towered to his height of ten feet at the shoulder and raised his hackles before the first soldiers made it inside. With a vicious roar he swiped at them with his claws and took down the first couple soldiers.

Sigyn jumped back, throwing one hand over her mouth and turned to the elevator to escape the battle. If she could get to it she could hide on another floor or perhaps out in the city. The doors opened before she could press the button and four soldiers stepped out and grabbed her. She never had time to react.

"No!" she shrieked as they pulled her arms behind her. "Fenrir!"

Her guardian was having his own trouble keeping the legion of soldiers at bay as they tripped and bound him with silk rope. He hit the floor with a heavy thud that shook the room and sent glasses and decorations crashing down.

Balder stepped forward and stood at his head, just out of reach of the wolf's teeth, smirking triumphantly. "Try breaking this, Fenrir, you'll find you cannot. There is no escape now."

Fenrir barked a laugh. "I've broken the strongest chains the dwarves can forge and you think this thin rope will hold me! You must have been struck on the head too many times, Balder."

Sigyn watched him struggle with the rope, but even from across the room she could feel the magic coming off it. Two soldiers looped some around Fenrir's mouth to muzzle him. "You won't be breaking this, wolf." Balder sneered. He turned and gestured to the soldiers holding Sigyn. They brought her forward and he mockingly placed a gentle hand on her cheek. "Come little frost princess. It's time we returned you to Asgard."

Sigyn spat in his face, the Jolly Rancher she had been eating struck him in the eye. He merely smirked and wiped away her spit. Then he seized her arm in a vice-like grip and called to be summoned back to Asgard.

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Tony leaned wearily against the side of the elevator. He didn't have much room to go elsewhere – Thor and Steve had insisted on jamming into the elevator with him. That bombing attempt in Washington had been a big joke that had lasted five hours too long. Crazy nutjobs.

The elevator hit the common floor, and Tony walked off on auto-pilot and ran straight into Steve's back.

"My God…" the star spangled man muttered, taking in the destruction that had occurred.

Furniture had been over turned, glasses shattered at the bar, and there was a fair amount of blood on the floor.

"Sigyn!" Thor shouted. He did a quick search of the room, it was conspicuously empty.

"JARVIS, search the tower for Sigyn," Tony commanded.

"Sigyn and Fenrir are not inside the tower, sir"

"Where did they go?"

"I do not know, sir. I received interference two hours and twenty seven minutes ago. When I had rebooted, they were gone."

The elevator pinged and the rest of the team stepped onto the common floor, they did not make it far past the elevator.

"What happened?" Clint asked, crushing a discarded Jolly Rancher under the heel of his boot.

"Where's Sigyn?" Natasha asked.

A raven crowed, flew through a broken window, and perched on top of the bookshelf. Natasha almost shot it.

"Memory, what are you doing here?" Thor marched over to the raven and glared up at it.

Steve would have thought him crazy if he had not spent the last month in the company of a talking wolf.

"The All Father has taken the Lady Sigyn back to Asgard along with the wolf, Fenrir. Your father demands your presence, Thor."