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to the idea of Loki assisting, placing all their trust in Thor. They weren't going to travel by foot, but by aircraft.

Thor's friends assumed their positions, stationed to fight off the guards that inhabited the palace. Alex had given them all an appreciative glance, letting them know she was grateful for their cooperation in the plan. They left Lady Sif at the entrance of the corridor, where guards were to first enter.

Before they could pass, she stopped Loki.

"If you betray him, I'll kill you." Lady Sif held her sword to his neck.

"I'd expect no less from you, Sif."

Alex shifted her eyes between the two, and her mind couldn't help but wonder if there was any history between them. A small twitch tugged at her heart, and she ignored it.

Guards suddenly appeared, and Sif unsheathed her double-edged sword. Alex quickly thought of something to stop them. She held her hands out, focusing on bringing back whatever she conjured up in Loki's room when she froze him. She opened her eyes, and the group of guards were stuck in place.

It worked.

"They won't hold, but you have a minute or so." She spoke tiredly to Sif, who grinned at her.

Suddenly, however, Alex began to buckle. She knew she needed to wake up if they were going to make it to the aircraft in time, but she couldn't stay standing up. Loki sighed, quickly picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder.

"My goodness, you want a name? Fainter. You are now named Fainter." He complained.

"That's," She was dozing in and out. "Lame"

"Then by Valhalla, wake up, I'm tired of carrying you."

"Are we the bad guys here? I can't tell," Her groggy voice made Loki smile.

She fought to keep her eyes open, knowing they had a lot ahead of them she needed to be awake for. She felt an uneasiness in her stomach as she looked up at the aircraft. There was no way in hell that was safe to travel in. Thor helped Jane into it, awaiting Loki and Alex.

As they entered, Thor examined the numerous panels the ship's control board had. He started to poke and prod the various buttons, and it was clear he had no idea what he was doing.

"I thought you said you knew how to fly this thing," Loki spoke.

He had set Alex down, who insisted she was fine. She was beginning to find her strength again, which was a lot faster than it normally took.

"I said 'how hard could it be?'," Thor replied.

"They're on the ship!" They all heard distantly, and the sound of footsteps and metal clanging came closer and closer.

"Well, whatever you're doing brother, I suggest you do it faster."

"Shut up, Loki."

There were grunting noises outside the ship, and the sound of swords clashing rang through the air. Jane tapped her foot nervously, and Alex, now fine, stepped forward to where Loki was watching Thor panic.

"You must've missed something." He said.

"I'm pressing every button on this thing!"

"You missed one over here," Alex tried.

"Not you too," Thor groaned.

"No, don't hit it. Press it gently," Loki spoke with a playful tone.

"I am pressing it gently," Thor began to hit the button quite hard. "It's not working!"

Suddenly, the ship whirred to life. The lights dimmed down, leaving a soft blue glow around the cockpit. A hologram appeared, and Thor laughed triumphantly.

"I guess we now know hitting it hard works better than pressing it gently when turning things on." Loki spoke to Alex.

"Glad we cleared that up." She played along.

With a loud boom, the ship hovered off the ground. Thor tightly gripped the handles to steer, concentrating on the hologram. It showed what was on the outside of the ship to allow the pilot to see clearly. However, when the ship came off the ground, it snapped several columns in half.

"I think you missed a column," Loki jested.

"You might as well be consistent, Thor."

"Both of you, shut up."

The ship soared out of the castle, occasionally falling unbalanced.

"Look, why don't you let me take over? I'm clearly the better pilot."

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with my life in your hands." Alex replied.

"It has been for a while now," Loki smirked.

"Out of the two of us, which one can actually fly?" Thor grinned arrogantly.

"Jane, quick, look! It's an ego match."

As Thor dodged the incoming blasts from the guards, he swerved the aircraft. Jane started to waver, then suddenly collapsed onto the floor.

"Oh, dear. Is she dead?" Loki sounded unbothered.

"Definitely dead."

"Jane," Thor's voice wavered.

"I'm okay,"

Out of nowhere, a blast hit the ship. The whole craft turned sideways, causing them to lose balance. Loki was thrown toward the wall, and having stood next to him, Alex came right after. As Thor straightened the ship, the pair fell to the ground with an 'oof'.

With Alex on top.

She picked up her head, suddenly realizing she was basically straddling Loki. She looked at him, wishing she hadn't once she saw the smug grin that was painted on his face. His hands had been on her waist in an effort to catch her, but remained after they were straightened out. She quickly got up, ignoring his hand that asked for her assistance in standing.

She walked back over to Thor, intently watching the hologram. She could hear the loud whir of multiple crafts trailing them.

"Now they're following us," Loki complained.

Several blasts were thrown at the ship, and the guards were getting closer.

"Now they're firing at us."

"Yes, thank you for the commentary, Loki. It's not at all distracting!"

Thor angrily steered out of the way of the bullets, unfortunately placing the ship at an angle where it cut right into a stone statue of a god.

"He looked important." Alex spoke.

"He was our grandfather." Loki deadpanned, tapping his foot at Thor.

The blasts kept coming, and it was becoming harder and harder for Thor to dodge them. It was one ship against at least a dozen.

"Well, this is wonderful. This has been a tremendous idea. Let's steal the biggest, most obvious ship in the universe, and escape in that!"

Thor glanced down at his control panel, pointing quietly to Alex. She noticed there was a ship below them on the hologram, and nodded. Thor opened the bay door, and Loki was too busy complaining to notice.

"Flying around the city, smashing into everything in sight so everyone can see it! It's brilliant, Thor, it's truly--"

Thor took his hands off the controls, and shoved Loki out of the craft.

"I wish you would've let me do it." Alex spoke.

Thor laughed loudly, picking up Jane in his arms. Together, they jumped out of the aircraft, landed swiftly on the small one Fandral was steering. They successfully were flying under the radar, hovering above the body of water that surrounded Asgard. Thor gingerly let Jane down, who was stirring in her unconsciousness.

"Glad you fell for me," He winked at Alex, still laughing at Loki's misfortune.

She grinned down at Loki, who was taken aback by what happened. Once he saw her face, he knew she was involved.

"You lied to me," He spoke. "I'm impressed."

"I'm glad you're pleased. Now, do as you promised, and take us to your secret pathway." Thor commanded.

Loki was grinning, stepping toward the steering device. Alex glanced over to see his large hands softly take the device, slowly moving it as to make no sudden movements. Loki's face was overcome with excitement, and Alex knew she should be terrified.

Loki made a sharp turn, toward the mountains. Blasts were heard again, and the group turned to see a singular ship firing at them. He guided their ship to dodge the bullets, moving it back and forth.

"Fandral," Thor plead.

"Right." Fandral grabbed a rope, preparing to jump. "For Asgard!"

Then, he was gone. He landed on the guard's ship, and quickly took them out with a few punches. He saluted Thor, and drove the ship back to the castle. Now, Loki lifted their ship, allowing it to glide through the sky. He approached a mountain, and they saw the tiniest crevice in its side.

And he was headed straight for it.

"Loki.." Thor warned.

"You can't be serious." Alex added.

"If it were easy," Loki had a crazed look in his eye. "Everyone would do it."

"Are you mad?" Thor screamed.

"Possibly,"

"Oh my god, this is where we die."

Thor held tightly to Jane, who was still knocked out. Alex watched as they got closer and closer to the crevice, and the closer they got, the more impossible it seemed. She grabbed Loki's arm, and right before they hit the mountain, she squeezed her eyes shut.

They barely fit inside the crevice, but as they dragged alongside the wall, the ship was powered up. They suddenly went through a portal, and were now in a land Alex didn't recognize. It was bleak, and deserted.

The ship bounced on the ground, and Loki smiled triumphantly.

"Ta-da."

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