As Gibbs stepped out of the room, the NCIS agents falling in behind him, he noticed Brock Rumlow striding toward him down the hospital corridor. "Gibbs!" he called. "Secretary Pierce calls for you and Rogers to report to the Triskelion, pronto. Bishop and DiNozzo, you, too. You're also needed."

Bishop and DiNozzo looked at Gibbs, who gave them a slight nod. Rumlow did not miss the silent request for permission and he scowled. "Immediately."

"Loki, go back to NCIS," Gibbs said in an undertone. "McGee, go with him. Do some work on the data."

McGee nodded, face grim. He knew Gibbs was referred to the code. "Got it, Boss."

Gibbs looked back into the room, where Romanoff and Rogers still stood, the Russian completely ignoring the exchange between STRIKE and NCIS. Rogers, however, was looking toward the door, brow furrowed. Gibbs gestured for him to join them and the Avenger came out, frowning. "What's going on?"

"You're wanted back at the Triskelion," Rumlow told him. "Pierce's orders. You need to be debriefed, all four of you." He glanced past them, at McGee and Loki. "All that has happened is classified, okay? Keep it so."

Without another word, Gibbs, DiNozzo, Bishop, and Rogers headed down the hallway after Rumlow, Loki and McGee watching them leave, Romanoff still standing over Fury's body. An unnoticed tear traced down her cheek.

****

Loki wanted to hit the gas, but McGee in the front seat was giving him a look that almost beat Odin's stern looks. So he held a steady speed as he drove back to the Navy Yard, resisting the urge to go any faster than the car in front of them was going.

"Are you sure –?" he began for the umpteenth time and again, McGee cut him off.

"Yes, I'm sure you can't go any faster."

"This is an emergency!" Loki snapped. "Fury was just murdered by the Ghost, the man we've been chasing. I think I can speed in this case."

McGee shot him a murderous look. "No. You need to learn, Loki."

"I think there is a time for learning, and a time for speeding," Loki retorted, increasing the pressure of his boot against the pedal slightly. He could feel the vast potential for speed beneath his foot and wrestled with the urge to floor it. A little bit of speed at the moment was all he could get away with if he wanted to avoid McGee snapping at him again. He had been so shocked the first time the agent had reprimanded him, when he had roared out of the hospital parking lot and skidded across two lanes of traffic and McGee had started yelling at him, that Loki had immediately slowed down to comply with his demands.

Loki had found out the hard way that McGee was scary when he was angry. Or maybe scary when he was stressed. He wasn't sure which emotion prompted his reaction, and wasn't planning on poking the sleeping teddy bear – he didn't feel like watching his friend turn into a grizzly again.

McGee shook his head. "No, Loki. You go the speed limit. Or else." He shot him a glare. Loki lifted an eyebrow at him but didn't increase his speed.

"Or else what, McGee?" he asked. "You can't just shoot me, we both know that."

"Loki, if you ever want to get your driver's license, you'll need to learn how to obey the rules of the road," McGee directed. "Which means following the speed limit. Okay? Come on, Loki, if you want to live here, you have to follow the rules."

Loki looked at McGee, furrowing his brow. His reply of "Rules don't apply to me" died on his tongue. "What has gotten into you?"

"Fury's dead," McGee pointed out. "Dead, Loki. Agent Sniper and the Ghost killed Fury and Aurora and Flare are running around somewhere, and then there's the whole thing with the Gauntlet. There's something sinister about to go down. So yeah, I'm a little on edge. Perhaps this is normal where you come from, but here? Something's about to go down."

He fell silent and Loki glanced over at him. The agent looked unusually pale and withdrawn, staring at some far point on the horizon.

They continued the drive in silence.

****

Carpenter glanced up as McGee and Loki left the elevator. "Hey," he greeted, furrowing his brow in concern as he hopped off the edge of Tony's desk and headed toward them. "Everything all right? McGee, you look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine," McGee mumbled.

Loki stepped past him, scanning the squad room. Thor, Fornell, and Jane were all working, Jane at her desk and Thor and Fornell stacking files into boxes; no one else was around. "Where are the others?"

"Darcy and Ian are with Abby," Thor said. "The other FBI agents departed, and Hailstohm is conversing with Ducky about the war."

"What war?" Loki asked.

"The war with the frost giants, here on Midgard," Thor answered. "Ducky actually was aware of its occurrence, and so they are discussing it."

Ducky knew about the Asgardians' war with the frost giants? Figures.

"Why did Skye and LaCroix leave?" Loki inquired.

"They were summoned back by my director," Fornell said. "I'm leaving, too. SHIELD has taken complete jurisdiction over this case, and so we're prepping the files to hand over to them. That's why Darcy and Ian are down with Abby; they're helping her pack up the evidence."

"And I'm just saving my work before my SHIELD escort picks me up," Jane said absently, her eyes on her computer screen as her fingers typed away. "Nice working with you."

"Good job on your first command," Fornell said to Loki. "I'm off, then." He patted Loki on the back and headed toward the elevator.

"That's it?" Loki asked, glancing to Carpenter. "We're off the case?"

Carpenter shrugged. "Yep. SHIELD's got the pull to do that, when necessary. We held out longer than usual, though, I can say that. Enhancement? That's just SHIELD's territory now. As long as they can get their guy, it's fine with me." But he looked miffed just the same.

Jane stood up, tucking a USB drive into her pocket. "Ready. Well, I guess I'll see you guys." She glanced at Thor, who looked a little uncomfortable. McGee stepped between them to get to his desk.

"Be careful, Jane," Thor said at last, by way of farewell.

"I will, Thor," she replied. "Take care of yourself. Keep your brother out of trouble."

"He does that himself, nowadays," Thor remarked as Jane began to walk toward the elevator.

"By the way you spoke about her, brother, I had expected more," Loki told Thor, speaking so that Jane would be sure to overhear him. "All the girls of Midgard, and you chose her?"

Jane stopped, her back stiff. "Excuse me?" she demanded, turning around and marching back up to Loki. "What did you say?"

Loki raised an eyebrow at her as McGee glanced up from his computer, brow furrowed. "I only stated the truth, my dear Jane Foster. After seeing my brother's deep emotions for you, I expected someone...well, to put it delicately, someone better."

Jane looked at Loki incredulously, and then, before he could react, slapped him.

Loki's head snapped to the side from the force of her blow, the skin on his cheek stinging. He laughed softly at her, eyes gleaming. "Now, that's the Jane I had prepared to meet."

Thor looked from Loki to Jane, his brows furrowed. "Brother, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying my hand at reconciliation," Loki said, gesturing for his brother to step forward. "I know you two care for each other, but you've both made mistakes. Thor, perhaps not use Heimdall to watch what Jane is doing, and Jane, maybe you shouldn't cheat on my brother. Apologize and make up."

"Cheat?" Jane repeated, lifting an eyebrow at Loki. "Ha! How is it cheating when he's gone for three years, and the two times he does return, he doesn't even bother to say hello?"

"I had to protect the Nine Realms!" Thor protested. "I couldn't just stop by for a chat, Jane! That is why I asked Heimdall what you were doing; it was the only way I could stay close to you."

"By spying on me," Jane pointed out.

"Loki, I think you should stay away from trying to reconcile people," McGee interjected, a slight grin lingering on his lips. "Because if this is your idea of a reconciliation, I'd hate to see you breaking people up."

Loki glowered at him while Thor gave a slight laugh and Jane masked a grin. "Fine then," Loki said, throwing up his hands in mock surrender. "Then break up and forever be parted, Thor and Jane. Father will be pleased when he hears of this."

"Your father doesn't like me?" Jane asked, indignant. "He's never even met me!"

"You're mortal," Loki stated matter-of-factly. "Our father doesn't consider you worthy of a courtship with Thor. You are, quite clearly, beneath him."

"You're dating a mortal woman," Jane pointed out.

Loki tilted his head in concession. "True. Then again, I'm not Father's favorite son. Or his heir." Or his biological son. But he shoved that thought aside. He was Odin's son in everything but blood. He needed to move past the lies, for they had been delivered out of love. "Does he like Ellie? No, I doubt it. But she's also from a reputable line of work. And she's an Avenger. She's got a lot going for her. Ellie's also a good dresser, into the bargain. You?" His eyes traveled up and down her critically. "You need some work."

Jane lifted her hand to slap him again and Loki stepped back.

"Loki's right," McGee chipped in, startling the three. "Odin may not like Bishop, but he can tolerate her. You're harder, because...well."

"Because my brother is to be king," Loki finished loftily. "And you are not worthy to be queen of Hicksville, Jane, let alone Asgard."

Jane gaped and Thor whipped around to face Loki. "Loki! How dare you say such things?"

"I was raised to speak the truth," Loki retorted, hearing McGee's snort of laughter and ignoring it. "Look at her, brother. Could you see her, taking Mother's place as queen?" He pulled a face. "There's not a frost giant's chance in Muspelheim of her serving as any kind of replacement to Mother, let alone a worthy one."

Both Thor and Jane stared at Loki, both of them angry. McGee lifted an eyebrow at him, still smirking slightly.

"Are you saying we shouldn't be together?" Jane demanded.

"No," Loki defended. "I'm saying that your relationship is already doomed, since my father will never approve anything more serious than casual dating." A twinge struck his heart as he said this, thinking about him and Bishop. But he shook that thought away.

"Like I need your father to okay my relationship!" Jane stormed. Spinning away from Loki, she stepped toward Thor, flinging her arms around his neck and kissing him.

It took Thor less than a second to return her kiss, and Loki smirked at McGee as he stepped around the newly reunited couple. "Some of my easiest work," he muttered.

"Reverse psychology," McGee replied quietly, the smile slipping from his face. "You going to tell Thor about...what happened?"

"Later," Loki said, watching his brother say goodbye to his girlfriend. "I'll tell him later."

****

After Jane had collected Darcy and Ian and left for SHIELD with their escort, an agent by the name of Ben Jefferson from the same agency who picked up them, the evidence, and the files, signing the forms and enlisting Carpenter's help to take them down to the car, quiet ruled in the squad room once more, like the silence that preceded a storm. McGee began working on something Gibbs had requested him to look into, and Loki gestured for Thor to follow him around the stairs.

"What is it, brother?" Thor asked. "Care to explain what you said concerning Jane?"

"You're welcome," Loki said, waving his hand dismissively. "And you owe me, brother. I fixed your problem with her."

Thor glowered at him but Loki held up his hand before he could speak. "Thor, I need to tell you something. Apparently, this is classified, so don't speak of it. But...Thor, Fury is dead."

There was a moment of silence as Thor just stared at Loki. "What?" he said at last, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Fury is dead?"

Loki nodded, features grim. "Yes. Outside of SHIELD, only the team knows. Rogers and Romanoff know, too. Don't speak of it to anyone, until we speak to Gibbs."

"How did it happen?" Thor asked in a grave voice.

"I don't know many details," Loki confessed. "All I know is that the Winter Soldier, the Ghost, had something to do with it. And perhaps Agent Sniper, although Rogers didn't see her."

"Where is Agent Gibbs?" Thor inquired, anger coming across his face.

"At SHIELD's Triskelion," Loki said. "He was summoned there, along with DiNozzo and Bishop. They should be able to return shortly." Hopefully.

"So the case is over," Thor stated. "What now, brother?"

What now? Loki felt a brief moment of panic. The case was over, or at least not NCIS' concern anymore. SHIELD had taken over the investigation. Would they take on another case, or would Loki have to return to Asgard?

I don't want to return. I want to stay here.

"At the very least, I should be able to convince Hailstohm to return," Thor was saying. "She should be present for at least some of the negotiations."

"I'm not leaving, Thor." Hailstohm's voice interrupted him and the brothers turned to see her standing there, hands on her hips. "Halo and her retinue are still out there. Just because NCIS is told not to investigate them, doesn't mean I can't." Her piercing red eyes turned to Loki. "Where is Agent Gibbs?"

"He should be back soon," Loki offered. "He's currently with SHIELD, dealing with, ah, completing the case transfer."

Hailstohm gave him a look but didn't question him further. "What now, Loki? Shall we hunt down these enhanced individuals ourselves?"

"We're going to wait for Gibbs first," Loki told her.

"Because of his rules?" Hailstohm asked, smirking.

Loki frowned at her, knowing she was referring to his comment on following a different set of rules than Odin's. Hailstohm laughed. "Oh, by the way, your Doctor Mallard is quite informed as to the rudiments of both our cultures. Seems he studied the myths the mortals tell of us and was interested to debate the finer points of Jotunheim culture. I promised him a tour of my realm, once this is over." She regarded Loki. "Perhaps you should prefer a tour, as well?"

"Hailstohm," Loki said quietly. "I'm not interested."

Thor shot him a look. "Brother –"

"I am Asgardian," Loki declared. "All right? Asgardian. Perhaps I was born to a frost giant, but I am no longer one. Please remember that in future, both of you."

"You can insist all you want, but words don't change the truth," Hailstohm said seriously. "I can only hope you realize that, before too long."

****

It's time.

Kate felt adrenaline and fear warring in her bloodstream as she and Barnes headed back to headquarters. Fury was dead, SHIELD was falling. HYDRA would rule, just like it had always planned to. And she had played a part in its downfall.

Guilt joined the emotions battling within her. Her hand was obvious in all this, at least to her. Kate Todd, former NCIS agent, was playing a part in the downfall of the country she had spent her life protecting.

I gave my life on the job.

At least, I had thought I was giving my life.

Beside her, Barnes was silent, like always. Not a word was exchanged as they reached headquarters and entered, one of the junior scientists checking them in and running a brief scan before sending them further in to be met by their handlers.

Barnes' handler immediately took him off for his traditional stint in the Memory Suppression Machine, Kate watching him walk away. Every time he left her after a mission, she worried that it would be this time, this memory wipe, that would erase her from his mind. And the thought of Barnes forgetting her was the only fear that still had the ability to stop her heart and steal her breath.

"Sniper," Sivil greeted. She whipped her head about to look at him, the Hispanic man furrowing his brow at her tense reaction. "You good, Sniper?"

Kate nodded, knowing she wasn't. Fighting against NCIS was growing too difficult for her torn self. Loyalties to two different organizations were not to be tolerated here and she needed to choose. Barnes was the only thing holding her to INTEL at the moment. If she left, what would happen to him? Would he be allowed to forget her, like he had been forced to forget everybody else? After everyone Kate had already lost, who had forgotten her and moved on with their lives, she didn't think she'd be able to stand it if Barnes, the last person remaining in her life, was taken from her, too.

As Sivil led her to the small lab for Dr. Aadland to conduct his post-mission checkup, Kate felt the now familiar red tendrils obscuring her vision again. Before she could even blink, the sterile walls of the super-agent facility were gone and she was standing in a bank of snow, cold wind biting her skin as she stood within a semi-circle enclosure, broad beings dressed only in loincloths standing around the edges, their towering figures watching a lone man approach the throne at the far end. A closer look confirmed him to be Loki

"Kill him." The voice echoed on the cold air, coming from the being seated on the throne.

Loki stopped, his eyes glinting, his features not shifting at the pronouncement. "After all I've done for you?"

The king stared at him in silence for a moment. "So you're the one who showed us the way into Asgard."

"That was just a bit of fun, really," Loki said, a slight smile touching his lips. Funny, how such a smile could make him look so deranged. "To ruin my brother's big day. And to protect the realm from his idiotic rule for a while longer."

Wait. What does this have to do with Thor's banishment? Does it have anything to do with it? Is Loki the reason why Thor was banished? I have so many questions.

But Kate couldn't ask them.

"I will hear you," the king stated gravely.

Loki stepped forward. "I will conceal you, and a handful of your soldiers, lead you into Odin's chambers, and you can slay him where he lies."

"Why not kill him yourself?" the king asked.

Loki snorted derisively. "I suspect the Asgardians would not take kindly to a king who had murdered his predecessor." He stated it like it was obvious. Come to think of it, it probably was. "Once Odin is dead," he continued. "I will return the Casket to you." The king rose at that, eagerly, desperately. "And you can return Jotunheim to all its, uh...." Loki paused, his eyes flicking to the side, and then he finished, "...glory."

Jotunheim. Loki's homeworld. This is where Odin took him from.

From what Kate could see, it looked like Odin had done Loki a favor.

"I accept," the king said.

Her vision blurred and a different scene replaced the first one. She was back in Odin's bedchambers, Loki's mother in the process of drawing a hidden sword as ice froze the elaborately engraved doors.

The doors opened and his mother slashed at the first frost giant, but was knocked aside by the second, the king. He looked down at her for a moment before moving over to the bed.

Prying open one of Odin's eyes, the king spoke. "It's said you can still hear and see what transpires around you. I hope it's true." He took a raspy breath. "So that you may know your death came at the hand of Laufey."

The name hit Kate like a truck as an ice dagger formed in the king's hand. Laufey. As in Laufeyson. Loki is Laufey's son. Loki is the king's son.

Laufey raised the dagger to stab Odin but a blast from behind caught him full in the back and hurled him off the bed. Loki stood in the doorway, holding a spear. He lowered it, the shaft butt slamming on the floor. There was no remorse in his eyes. "And your death came by the son of Odin."

Laufey lifted his head, gasping in pain, and Loki hit him with another blast, annihilating his father into charred bits.

"Loki." His mother rose and ran over to Loki, throwing her arms around him. "You saved him."

"I swear to you, Mother, that they will pay for what they have done today," he vowed.

"Sniper," she heard a faraway voice saying. "Sniper...."

And the vision vanished.

Kate came to, Aadland inputting data into his tablet while Sivil contemplated her quizzically. "I said you're finished, Sniper. Head down to the mess, get yourself something to eat. Then rest up. We'll be needing you again soon."

Kate left without saying anything, thoughts racing through her mind. Loki had turned against his own family. He had killed his own father, in cold blood, and not to mention ruined his brother's big event. And to pull off killing his father, he had set up his adopted father and placed his mother in danger.

And for what?

A shiver ran down Kate's spine. There was something chillingly familiar in his actions. Could she lay blame on him for killing his father when she had almost murdered her own father figure? Despite her connection to NCIS, Kate had accepted the task to kill Gibbs.

The only difference between her and Loki is that she hadn't killed him.

That feeling of thinking you must do the worst, just to ensure safety in your present place, resonated with Kate. She had felt as Loki did, acted as Loki did, just short of the final blow. She hadn't killed Gibbs.

I won't kill him, or anyone else from NCIS.

Unlike Loki, she wouldn't strike the killing blow.

A plan formed in Kate's mind. She could run, run for good this time. She would run back to NCIS, tell Gibbs about the plan before it was too late. And then, she would stand beside NCIS against the falling world and do her best to prevent it.

It was the only way to atone.

Ice clutched at her heart. This resolution meant giving up Barnes, for he wouldn't come with her. Even if some part of him wanted to, the super soldier couldn't leave HYDRA. He was under their control. What she was doing was betrayal, and he would see it as such.

They'll wipe his mind, suppress everything they've allowed him to remember. He'll forget all about me.

But can I risk everything else, just to keep him?