Buffy's Hammer

Author: Mr. Wolf
X-over: The Mighty Thor (Marvel Commics)
Spoilers: This chapter only to season 5, but further chapters all 7 seasons.
Summery: A troll is beating up Thor and Buffy saves his ass.

Small explanation of MC Thor.

The Marvel Comics 'Thor'

The story starts as a crippled Doctor Blake(?), who walks with a cane, goes on a vacation to Norway. At that moment an alien invasion force attacks Earth. (It baffles me why they attacked Norway of all countries.) In the attack he flees into a cave and loses his cane. He flees deeper into the cave and finds an old stick. He uses that stick as a leverage to roll away a big boulder. In frustration he hits the boulder with the stick. He transforms into Thor, God of Thunder, and the stick transforms into Mjolnir, Thor's Hammer.

With the power of Thor he chases away the alien invasion. There is an inscription on the Hammer.

'Who is worthy of the Power of Thor, may wield Mjolnir.' or 'Who can wield Mjolnir will posses Thor's Power.'

I'm not sure which one it is. But one fact is sure, nobody can wield or even lift Mjolnir. Not even the strongest men or monsters; The Incredible Hulk, Hercules or the Thing. Not the noblest or bravest; like Spiderman or Captain America.

Later on in the story we find out that Dr. Blake is Thor. Odin had banished Thor in the form of Dr. Blake, because he was too arrogant and Odin thought he needed a lesson in humanity.

After a lot of adventure saving Earth and Asgard a couple of times, making friends in the Superhero Community. Thor had to make a choice to obey his father or save somebody on Earth. He decide to disobey. Odin, not liking it, punished him. I think he takes his godlihood and strength away. Of course he gets it back and saves Asgard later again. I haven't read the comic in years so I'm not sure where they are now. Plus I might have remembered some wrong.

While Thor was on Midgard aka Earth his half-brother Loki does evil deeds and tries to kill his brother a few times. He is Thor's nemesis.

Chapter 1: She is Worthy

Thor was being beaten up by a troll, and that never made for a good day. Normally, he would have defeated the troll long before now, but he had been preoccupied with protecting innocent people from being squashed by falling buildings. The troll had taken the opportunity presented by his unprotected back and hit him on the head with a club. And from then on, it went downhill for Thor.

Thor went down, dazed, and lost his hammer, Mjolnir. He needed time to recover from the blow to his head, but the troll was, unsurprisingly, not willing to give it to him, smashing his club time after time on Thor's head and upper body. He knew that the next blow to his head would undoubtedly render him unconscious. But before the club could connect with his head, a voice distracted the troll.

"Yo, Ugly. Why don't you step away from Goldilocks and fight somebody who can still fight back?"

The troll and the god turned toward the voice, and both were shocked to find a petite blonde standing casually with her hands behind her. She was smiling at them as if she was speaking to old friends.

"Run, maiden."

The rest of Thor's warning was violently silenced by the troll's club. He was sent flying into a wall, which barely withstood the impact.

"Hey, I know that trolls are dim-witted and slow on the uptake, but I thought I made myself clear that you should step away from him, not bat him away from you." The maiden looked annoyed at the troll.

Thor couldn't believe the golden maiden. She was walking toward the troll with the confidence of an Asgardian goddess. He tried to warn her again.

"Save yourself, fair maiden."

The only response Thor received from the maiden was a snort of a laugh as she looked his way for a moment. But she didn't miss a step in her approach toward the troll.

"Me asking you to leave peacefully is wishful thinking, right?" She addressed the troll.

The troll laughed. The maiden shrugged her shoulders. "Didn't think so."

The troll kept laughing. "You should not have meddled in the affairs of your betters. Now you will pay for your mistake with your life, like the Thunder God."

"Ooh!" She gave an exaggerated shiver. "I'm shaking from fear. I saw how you hit him from behind. Not very sporting of you." The golden maiden gave the troll a disappointed look. "Not that I expect bad guys to play fair. Now are you going to talk me to death or are we going to fight? I saw some shoes on sale a few blocks away and I have a date tonight. So you can see I'm already on a tight schedule."

Thor thought that the golden maiden was brave and her banter reminded him of Spiderman. He hoped that she could hold her own with the troll long enough for him to recover from his beating. At the moment he barely could stand, much less fight the troll.

"As you wish, maiden." The troll raised his club to bat her away.

The club swung downward and Thor yelled 'No', when he saw that the golden maiden wasn't planning to move out of the path of the club. But the club stopped a few inches away from the maiden's head. Both the troll and the god were shocked again when they saw what had stopped the club. It was the golden maiden's left hand. She looked up at the troll, twice her size, and smiled.

"Now it's my turn." The golden maiden grinned evilly at the troll.

Still smiling, she removed her right hand from her back and hit the troll with the object she had been hiding. The troll was sent flying off his feet and landed thirty feet away. Thor couldn't believe his eyes. It wasn't that she hit the troll with such brute force. He had somehow expected her to be stronger then she looked, especially after she caught the club. But she was holding Mjolnir in her right hand as if it belonged to her. No one other than himself or Odin, or one worthy of Thor's power, could wield his hammer. But Thor had never met a mortal who had been able to lift it.

"Cool hammer." The golden maiden turned toward him. "Much more powerful then that troll hammer I used to beat up Glory with, and it's more compact, too."

Before Thor could reply the troll stirred and was back on his feet.

"It is not possible." There was denial in the troll's face. "Only Odin, the Allfather and Thor can lift Mjolnir." The troll didn't look confident anymore.

The maiden turned her attention back to the troll. She put her left hand on her hip and swung Mjolnir up to rest on her shoulder. "Well, you could put my name on the list too." The maiden held the hammer in front of her, visibly contemplating its weight. "It isn't that heavy."

She turned back to Thor. "So, Goldilocks. Do you mind if I use your little hammer to beat him to a pulp?"

Her smile was contagious and Thor smiled back. He was still speechless at the idea of a mortal girl being able to use his hammer, unable to give permission with spoken words. Instead he gave her a small nod.

"Thanks. Sit back and enjoy the show." The maiden turned her back to Thor and he could see the fear in the troll's face. The troll even took a step back, but the maiden was upon him before he could even think about running away. She gracefully avoided his club as he swung at her face, and immediately leaped high into the air to deliver a powerful kick directly onto the trolls head. The troll stumbled and Buffy waited for him to straighten up and face her again. At the moment that he did, she swung Mjolnir upwards, hitting his chin. This was the beginning of the end for the troll. Five more hits with Mjolnir and the troll lay unconscious on the ground.

The golden maiden leaned over the troll and kicked him to see if he was still alive. The troll groaned and stirred slightly. "Damn, thick skull. Probably protecting his pea-small brain."

Thor's strength was restored to him by then, and he approached the maiden. "I'm grateful for your timely rescue, Lady ..."

"Buffy. Oh, it was nothing." Buffy waved his thanks away with her free hand. "I have a few friends that would kick my ass if I let a hunk like you getting beaten to a pulp by an ugly troll." Buffy gave him a brilliant smile, which Thor reciprocated. "You want your hammer back?" Buffy handed him the weapon without waiting for a response.

"Aye." Thor took his hammer back. "You wield Mjolnir with great skill."

"Thanks." Buffy blushed for a second. "So, you must be Thor, since you don't look like the big cheese of the Norse Gods. I think Odin has an eyepatch and a white beard. And the troll called you Thunder God. Which Giles explained once, when we watched wrestling. One wrestler's name was Thor and of course Giles had to explain all the Viking mythology. He is like that. It wouldn't surprise me if he knows your family tree better than you do. "

Thor laughed at Buffy's meandering explanation. He couldn't believe how much her demeanor changed from just a minute ago. "Aye, I'm Thor. The Thunder God, not the wrestler."

Buffy smiled at him.

"So, what are we going to do with Mr. Ugly?" Buffy pointed at the unconscious troll, then took her stake from its place in her waistband. "I don't think Mr. Pointy could get through his thick hide."

Thor looked startled, which Buffy misinterpreted.

"What? You named your hammer. What is it called, 'My old niner'?"

"Mjolnir." Thor corrected her. "You are 'Den Utvalgte'."

"Gesundheid and what?" Buffy frowned at Thor, not knowing if he had just insulted her or not.

"The Chosen One. You hunt the corrupt ones, the walking dead." Thor clarified the foreign title for Buffy.

"Yep, that's me, the Vampire Slayer. And I don't just slay vampires, but also demons and a robot now and then. And once a Hell Goddess." Buffy frowned again. "Glorificus. Hope she wasn't family of yours. Because she was a retarded, fashion-victim bitch."

"Nay. It is bad enough that I'm related to my half-brother Loki. I have no interest in being related to an insane hell-goddess."

"Good. But back to the point, what are we going to do with Mr. Ugly?" Buffy motioned toward the troll again.

"Mjolnir will take care of him." Thor simply replied.

Thor gently pushed Buffy aside and whirled his hammer above his head until a tornado appeared over him. He then pointed the hammer at the troll and the tornado swallowed him up before imploding.

"Wow." Buffy was impressed. "Where can I get one of those?" She asked, nodding at Thor's hammer.

"Only the Allfather, Odin, can make one and he needs the rare Uri mineral." Thor explained.

"Oh, so that means I can't buy one at the hardware store or Magical-Weapons-R-Us?" Buffy pouted at Thor.

"Nay." Thor smiled at the slayer.

Buffy shrugged her shoulders in disappointment. "Didn't really expect it." Buffy stuck out her hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you, but I have to go."

Thor took her hand and shook it. "The honour is all mine."

Buffy blushed. When they let go, Buffy walked two steps backward, "Hope to meet you again, under better conditions."

Buffy turned and began walking toward the end of the block. Halfway to the end, she paused and looked over her shoulder at Thor.

"Bye." She waved once before turning away again.

Thor waved back. He waited until she vanished around the corner before he swung his hammer and flew away

Chapter 2: Finding Thor

The hammer in the crater was surrounded by yellow police tape to keep the public away from the 'crime scene'. It had been almost two months since the hammer dropped from the sky. Many people, young and old, male and female, had tried to pick it up, but none even budged it. The authorities had brought in heavy machinery in attempts to move it, but nothing worked.

The first few weeks it had attracted a lot of attention, but in the last week barely a dozen people had tried their luck.

It was past midnight when a blonde woman walked down the street toward the hammer. She bent down and raised the tape to go under it. She stood for a few moments, contemplating the hammer, before she picked it up and put it in her sports bag and disappeared into the night in the same way that she had arrived.

Two days later, the same woman walked into a two story house in a nondescript suburb. She went into the dining room and put the sports bag down next to the table, removing the hammer and setting it gently down on the table.

She turned around. "Giles, Willow, Faith. I'm home."

Within seconds after Buffy yelled their names, they entered the dining room. Greetings and hugs were exchanged before they all turned to the hammer.

"It seems you have retrieved the hammer." Giles turned to Buffy. "It is Thor's Hammer?"

"Yep, try to pick it up." Buffy grinned at Giles.

Giles tried to pick the hammer up but failed miserably. Willow was the next one to try, and her face went redder than her hair from the strain. She let go.

"Couldn't even budge it with magic." She explained.

"Move it, Red." Faith shoved Willow gently aside to have a crack at the hammer.

Faith used both her hands and her full slayer strength and still the hammer didn't move. Faith was almost as red as Willow had been before she decided to throw in the towel.

"Damn, B. This isn't fair. How come you can pick it up and I can't? You aren't that much stronger." Faith shot an annoyed look at Buffy, who only grinned back.

Giles answered her question as he read the symbols on the side of the hammer. "There's an inscription in Norse Runes on the hammer.

'Those who are worthy, may wield Mjolnir and posses Thor's power'

I think that is the right translation, for a better translation I'll have to consult my books."

Faith looked down, defeated. "Of course I couldn't pick it up."

Buffy knew what she was thinking. "No, Faith. This doesn't mean you are evil or close to evil. Not even the other slayers could pick it up. I don't even think that Ghandi or Mother Theresa could pick it up."

Faith looked up to Buffy. "Thanks."

"It just means that I'm the better slayer." Buffy said mischievously. "But we already knew that."

Faith grinned back. While in jail she had accepted the fact that she would always be second best to Buffy and decided that she could live with it. Buffy turned to the rest.

"Besides me and Thor, only Odin can pick up Mjolnir. I'm not sure why I can pick it up and neither is Thor. A lot of Thor's friends, who could be called heros and champions, couldn't pick it up. Every time Thor and I meet we discuss it to death." Buffy explained with a smile.

"I know why." Faith spoke up. They turned to her. "It is because you are perfect."

"I'm not perfect." Buffy stated and Giles gave a small snort. "Ask Dawn and Giles." Buffy turned to Giles. "And 'Hey!'"

"Yes, you are. It is the faults that make you perfect." Faith explained and Buffy frowned, thinking about it, but was interrupted by Giles.

"Well, uh, putting Buffy's perfectness or the reason why she is 'worthy' aside, we have a missing Thunder God to find." Giles turned to Buffy. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Loki." It was the first thing that popped into Buffy's head.

"The god of mischief and lies? Thor's half-brother?"

"Yep, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he had his hands in Thor's disappearance or if he at least knows who did and is gloating about it." Buffy explained.

"How are we going to do this? The last time I summoned a God I went all Darth-Willow. Not wanting to repeat it." Willow looked nervous and sad, with traces of other emotions the others couldn't identify.

Buffy put a reassuring hand on Willow. "Don't worry, Willow. You'll only have to do a simple summoning spell directed at the hammer and I'll do the rest."

"You can do that?" Willow's eyes went wide with surprise and curiosity at how Buffy would do it.

"I think so. Thor let me handle his hammer once." Buffy grinned thinking about the damage she had done with Mjolnir.

"Why don't we summon Thor instead of Loki?" Faith asked.

"Wouldn't work. It's never that simple. Thor is somewhere the Hammer couldn't reach him, otherwise it wouldn't have stayed on that street for two months." Buffy explained.

"Makes sense." Faith nodded in understanding.

Buffy turned to Willow. "When can we do the summoning spell?"

"Now? I think I have all the ingredients here." Willow answered.

"I think we should wait for an hour, so that you can prepare by meditation to make sure that Thor's Hammer will obey you." Giles interjected.

"Good idea." Buffy turned to Faith. "I want you to get the Scythe and find a place for us to do the summoning. Somewhere away from civilization, preferably."

"I think I know the perfect place. I'll check it out and make sure that nobody is around. If they are, I'll kick them out." Faith was halfway out of the room before she ended her sentence.

An hour later they were in a clearing with a rundown cottage. Willow and Giles were making their preparations for the summoning spell while Buffy and Faith stayed on the lookout for any unwelcome 'guests'. Willow turned to Buffy.

"Ready." Willow was excited. The last time she put the mojo on an enchanted weapon was with the Scythe. But this time she wasn't going to use the magic in the weapon.

"Good, we can start." Buffy replied.

They were all standing in a circle. Willow and Giles stood on opposite sides of the circle from each other, as did Buffy and Faith. Willow and Giles had found the Norse summoning spell they were going to use, instead the Latin one they originally planned to use. They thought it might work better to summon a Norse God.

Willow began reciting the spell. Buffy waited until she could feel the magic work before starting her part.

"I summon thee, Loki, God of Lies. Come forth." Buffy pointed Mjolnir at the centre of the circle and a tornado appeared. When it dispersed, the God of Lies stood in its place. There was confusion and anger on Loki's face.

"Who dares ...?"

The slayers didn't let him finish his sentence before Faith kicked him in the back of his knees and Buffy hit him in the face with the hammer. He dropped like a sack of potatoes. Buffy grabbed him by the collar and held him down in such a way that he couldn't get off his knees. Even in this position, Buffy was barely looking down on him.

"I dare." Buffy's words were almost spit out.

"Do you know ...?"

Buffy hit him again to shut him up. She smashed his nose with the hammer and his head flew backward as far as Buffy allowed it. She pulled him back up by his collar.

"I know who you are. How else do you think I could have summoned you?" Buffy was glaring directly into his eyes.

Loki felt fear creeping slowly up within him. It wasn't often that he was manhandled by a woman, not even by the Valkyries. But something told him that he should be careful around this woman. Then he noticed the hammer in her hand.

"Mjolnir?" He said out loud. He remembered hearing rumours coming from the trolls that a golden maiden wielded his cursed half-brother's hammer.

The Golden Maiden grinned. "I see you recognize my little hammer. I'm searching for the owner. Where is he?"

'She is searching for Thor and she probably thinks I'm holding him somewhere imprisoned or worse.' Loki thought, laughing.

His laughter was stopped abruptly when Buffy slammed Mjolnir into his face again.

"Where is he? Are you going to answer me, or do I have to beat you to a pulp?" Buffy asked, sounding even more menacing. She was prepared to hit him again, but Loki was smart enough, or afraid enough, to answer her question.

"I have nothing to do with my brother's disappearance."

Buffy was on the verge of calling him a liar and striking him in the face again when she looked into his eyes. "But you know who did and where he is?" Her remark was not so much a question as a statement of fact.

A sarcastic smile appeared at the corners of Loki's mouth. "Aye."

Something sharp was pressed suddenly to the left side of his neck as a surly voice spoke into his ear. "Don't make B angry. She's killed a Hell Goddess before. And we have a very competitive relationship. But I don't think killing a wimpy god will even the score."

Loki'd had enough, he decided. He wasn't about to be insulted by mere mortals, even if one was wielding Mjolnir. He began to struggle, stopping only when he felt a piercing pain and the blood flowing down his neck. 'They cut me!' He realized, as his panic jumped and his throat dried up.

Buffy saw the fear in his eyes. "This is the last time I'm going to ask you. Where is Thor and who has him."

"Odin has him." Loki answered quickly.

"The Allfather? Why would he want to imprison his favoured son?" This was the first time Giles had spoken since Loki's appearance. Loki's head turned in Giles' direction as he noticed the other two people. Willow had moved to Giles' side.

Buffy quickly jerked his head back to face her. "Why?"

"He had disobeyed a direct order from Odin." Loki's reply was immediate.

"What else do you know?" Buffy asked.

"That's all I've heard. So far as I know, he didn't even let my brother explain why he disobeyed our father."

Buffy decided that she was finished with Loki. Letting him go momentarily, she turned her back to him then spun around, hitting him full force in the head. Loki went down, unconscious.

Buffy began cursing before the god hit the ground. She really didn't like it that Odin had Thor. She had even considered asking Odin to help get Thor back. Buffy's train of thought was broken by Willow's voice.

"So what are we going to do now?" Willow cautiously asked.

Buffy knew that there was only one answer to that question. "I'm going to go bust Thor out and have a little talk with Odin about how to treat his son."

"You think that is a good idea?" Buffy's only response to Giles' question was a blank stare at him. Giles changed the topic with another question. "And how are you going to get to Asgard?"

In reply, Buffy lifted her hammer.

Chapter 3: Busting Thor Out

The doors to the Halls of Heros, Odin's throne room, burst open with a crash.In the doorway stood two small female figures wearing leather pants and leather dusters. One was a brunette carrying a tall, slender man. The other one was a blonde holding a hammer up in a knocking motion.

"Knock, knock." The golden maiden spoke mockingly.

She stepped forward, followed by the dark-haired maiden. Their movements spoke of danger and years of fighting.

"Oops, I think I knocked a little too hard."

"Who dares ...?" Odin's voice was full of power and intimidation.

The brunette cut him off effortlessly. "Wow, like father, like son. Loki said the same thing when we summoned him."

Without effort, Faith threw Loki at Odin, sitting on a throne at the other end of the Hall. Loki's limp form bounced and skidded halfway down the aisle, which divided the hall down the middle. He came to rest lying between the long tables that the many Norse Gods filled. All of them were staring at the spectacle before them, having stopped their eating, drinking, and merrymaking at the surprising entrance of the two maiden.

"What did you do to my son?" Odin yelled angrily at the two maidens.

"It all started when I found this little hammer lying on the street." Buffy held the hammer high to give Odin a clear view of it.

"Mjolnir?" Odin paused to control his anger. "So the rumours are true."

"Yep, little old me can pick up a little hammer." Buffy approached Odin and stopped when she came to Loki's unconscious body, Faith right behind her. "Hammer minus Goldilocks means Goldilocks is in trouble. So, I started to round up the usual suspects. I started with Loki and guess," Buffy's smile turned to a grimace, "what he told me?"

"That I have Thor." Odin answered.

"Yeah, and I want him." Buffy quipped back.

From the table at her right, a man stood up with his axe in his hand. "How dare you speak to the Allfather like that, wench?"

His threatening pose as he started toward Buffy was lost on her. She didn't even look in his direction as she threw Mjolnir at him. It bounced off his face and back into Buffy's outstretched hand as the man fell back, unconscious.

"Don't you hate it when people interrupt you while you're having a nice, civil conversation with someone?" Buffy was using her innocent act.

More people began drawing their weapons but Odin told them to stand down before turning his attention back to the intruders.

"You think that because you carry Mjolnir you can walk into my house and make demands?" Odin's voice attempted calm, but the tension was evident in it.

Buffy looked at her hammer. "Nah, this is just a bonus. Are you going to bring me Thor or do or do I have to take this place apart brick by brick until I find him myself?"

Odin laughed, but it wasn't a pleasant laugh. "Do you really think that a mere mortal can defeat me?"

"No." Buffy said, deadpan.

"What do you mean by 'no'?" Faith turned, shocked and angry, to Buffy.

"We have a few disadvantages. For one, he is a powerful god." Buffy tried to explain.

"So what, that never stopped you before." Faith reasoned, still not understanding.

"The second disadvantage is that we are on his turf, in his house. We are attacking him, so to speak."

"Ahh, we are the semi-bad guys here." This Faith understood. Slayers aren't supposed to be bad guys.

"More like only semi-good guys." Buffy corrected her.

"So why are we here if we can't win?" Faith was a little confused. Buffy didn't go into battle thinking she would lose or without a backup plan.

"Neither can they." Buffy nodded toward Odin and his subjects.

"A stalemate?" Faith grinned.

"Not really, we are probably going to die." Buffy turned to Odin. "But not before we take this place down and take half his men with us. And then all the vultures and jackals of the Nine Worlds will descent on Asgard to feast on its bones."

Buffy made sure that Odin knew the price he would pay if he allowed this to escalate into a full-blown war.

"Asgard has fought bigger threats than you, child." Odin said to Buffy. "And was victorious."

"Yeah, and every time you 'faced bigger threats', Mr. Allfather, Thor was right there to lead the charge, help win the war, and be all big and tough afterward to show all that Asgard was still strong!" Buffy stood her ground with a straight back and a fierce stare. "Do you really think that he's going to do that again now that you've thown him in your dungeons?"

Buffy saw doubt in Odin's eyes. 'He really doesn't know his son.' She thought in disappointment. She had hoped against hope, for Thor's sake, that Odin trusted his son even though his lack of knowledge was to her advantage. 'Thor would never deny aid to anyone who needed him, even if they had wronged him.'

"Thor is a son of Asgard. He would never abandon us." A black haired goddess stood proud in a group of men ten feet away from Odin. Buffy recognized them as Thor's best friends and his beloved.

Buffy ignored them, but was glad that some still had faith in Thor. Her attention was fully on Odin. "Did you even ask your son why he disobeyed you?" Buffy didn't wait for Odin to answer. "Knowing him, he was busy rescuing somebody or was needed on Midgard."

Then it clicked for Buffy. "That's why you are ticked off at Thor. It wasn't just because he disobeyed you, otherwise you would have put this bastard," Buffy kicked Loki in the abdomen, "in the darkest dungeon. You can stop faking, Loki."

Her last words were directed at Loki, who stirred and opened his eyes. He stood halfway up before the Scythe was at his throat again. He gazed up at Faith, who grinned back down on him. Odin was looking worried at the sight of the Scythe poised at his son's throat.

Buffy continued. "He choose Midgard over Asgard. This is an ego trip." Buffy laughed. "It's your own fault. You taught him the lesson of humanity a little bit too well."

"Who are you to lecture me?" Power was radiating from Odin.

"I'm Buffy, the Slayer. The Chosen One." Buffy continued as if Odin hadn't asked a question. "You really don't know your son. He helps those who 'need' help." Buffy paused and held a staring contest with Odin. "Your son had chosen. There is no reason anymore for you to keep him locked up."

Odin's expression was blank, his voice empty of emotion. "Baldin?"

One of the men that stood with Thor's friends walked to Odin and knelt in front of his sovereign. "My Liege."

"Bring me Thor."

"Aye, my Liege." He rose to his feet and walked past Buffy toward the door. As he passed her, she gave him a bright smile, which he couldn't help but return. When he left the hall, Faith spoke up.

"Damn, he is hot. It's a shame we can't stay a few days. I bet he's got some stamina, heck, he is a god after all." Faith grinned at Buffy. "Joker, if you don't want to lose your head, I wouldn't move an inch, if I were you."

Faith felt Loki squirm and raised the Scythe a little, but didn't draw blood.

"I want you to let my son go." It was a clear order from Odin.

Faith wanted to retort something back, but Buffy interfered. "Let him go, Faith."

Buffy's tone was clear that Faith shouldn't perturb Odin. Faith rolled her eyes. She found it highly unfair that Buffy could annoy the Big Man but she wouldn't let Faith have some fun too. Still, she understood why she shouldn't make Odin more agitated. Buffy was walking a fine line, Faith knew, but it was nevertheless still unfair. She pulled the Scythe away from Loki's throat before unceremoniously kicking him away.

The Hall was quiet as they waited for Thor's arrival, and even Loki stayed unusually subdued.

Baldin entered the Hall with Thor next to him in shackles. Thor noticed Buffy immediately.

"Buffy? What are you doing here?"

Buffy ran over to him and threw her arms around him. "I was so worried. I'm here to bust you out of those filthy rat infested dungeon and to put your father in his place."

Thor stiffened and looked up to where Odin was standing. Odin wasn't looking happy with him and neither was his beloved, who stared jealously. When his eyes met Loki's he saw pure hate as well as gloating satisfaction.

"What is Loki doing here?" There was anger in Thor's voice.

Buffy leaned back to make eye contact with Thor. "After I found your hammer, I thought Loki was behind your disappearance, but when I had a little chat with him and he told me it was dear old dad." Buffy let go of Thor and noticed the shackles.

"What's with the shackles?" She looked up. She shook her head in disapproval. "He isn't going for the father of the year award, is he?" Thor laughed. Buffy smiled. She hung her hammer on her belt around her waist and stretched her hand toward her fellow slayer. "Faith."

Without hesitating Faith threw the Scythe to Buffy, who caught it without looking at it. With four well placed hits, the shackles dropped to the ground. Buffy threw the weapon back to Faith.

When Thor returned his gaze to Buffy, she was holding Mjolnir again. "Hope you don't mind me keeping your hammer for a while, because I don't want to seem weak in front of your father. I don't want to give him ideas about attacking me and getting away with it."

Thor looked worried by this. He knew how protective Buffy was toward those she considered friends and he was proud to be counted as one. He had no doubt that his father and Buffy would butt heads and he didn't know who would come out victorious.

"You can keep it for now." Thor decided.

"Good." Buffy put her arm through his and steered him toward Odin. "You bow or kneel for him and I'll break both your kneecaps."

Thor had no doubt that Buffy meant it. When they reached Faith, Buffy stopped and held Thor tightly. She obviously had no intention of letting him get any closer to Odin. Thor saw the stare between Buffy and Odin. There weren't many who could stand up to Odin. Thor thought it would be best to break the staring contest.

"My Liege, you sent for me?"

"Aye, your ally requested your release." Odin answered.

"Demanded." Buffy corrected him.

"She has also said that you have chosen Midgard above Asgard." Odin wasn't happy with Buffy's side comment.

"Your priority is protecting the weak instead of the strong." Buffy corrected Odin again, while looking at Thor.

Odin wasn't in a good mood but still kept his calm. "Is this true?"

Thor looked from Odin to his beloved to Buffy. Buffy simply gave him a reassuring smile.

"Aye, my Liege." Thor said it with a straight face. He couldn't lie to his father.

Odin didn't like the answer but wasn't surprised by it. "From now on you are banned from Asgard."

Loki looked happy. Thor's friends looked dispirited and his beloved, anguished. Thor himself was saddened by his father's judgement. Buffy squeezed his arm in reassurance .

"Don't worry, Goldilocks. How long can he be mad at you? One century or two? I'm sure he will get over his pride after you save Asgard a couple of times. You can't believe he can do it on his own, he needs you." Buffy caught herself too late to recognize that the last part was highly offending for the Allfather.

And she was right, her reassurances didn't settle well with Odin.

"Insolent wench!" Odin was powering up and pulling back his left arm. His hand was glowing.

"Oh, shit. I think I went a little too far." Buffy put Mjolnir between herself and Odin, and pushed Thor behind her.

An energy ball flew at Buffy and hitting her hammer. The impact threw her into Thor and together they were thrown out of the hall, hitting the wall across from the door. They made a big dent in it.

"Uh, your father has a nice punch in his energy balls." Buffy said, a little shaken from the impact with the wall. Fortunately, Thor had cushioned her impact.

A second later Faith ran out of the Hall. "Let's go. I think we have overstayed our welcome."

"Lady Faith is right we should go. I have no interest in fighting my fellow Asgardians." Buffy and Faith could hear the pain in Thor's voice, but both wisely kept quiet.

Buffy picked herself up and helped Thor to his feet. Thor led them through the corridors and out of the building. When they reached the outside, Buffy handed Thor his hammer so that he could get them home. But before he could swirl Mjolnir, Loki approached them with a big grin on his face. He was gloating at Thor's misery.

"Your friend has done something I couldn't have dreamed of. I almost was planning to forget the humiliation. But then I wouldn't be me." Loki's smile turned into a grimace. He turned to Buffy with a glare in his eyes. "You are going to pay for my humiliation."

"Ooh, I'm shaking in my boots," was Buffy's nonchalant reaction.

"If I can't get to you, I'll get you through your friends and family." Loki grinned evilly.

Buffy stiffened up and her glare was freezing. "You get near my family or friends and you're dead."

Buffy turned to Thor and didn't wait for a response from Loki. "Let's get out of here."

"You harm her family and I will forget that you are my brother." Thor gave his half-brother a glare and swirled his hammer above him. They departed, leaving a grinning God of Lies behind.

Three months later, Baldin came down to Midgard to give Thor the message that Loki was dead. Thor was saddened, even though he hated his brother. He still remembered the good times of their youth.

"Odin is suspicious that your friend, the Golden Maiden, is responsible for Loki's death."

Thor knew that Baldin was asking him if he knew if that was true. If he knew that Buffy had killed Loki.

"How did Loki die?" was Thor's response.

"Somebody beheaded him." Baldin didn't care about Loki's death, but it disturbed him that a mortal could kill a god.

Thor nodded. "Buffy might have killed him." Thor was thinking how to continue. "Tell Odin, Loki threatened her family and that if she killed him she was within her rights. Tell him also, that I will protect her with my life. Loki doesn't deserved to be avenged, but Buffy does."

Baldin looked surprised up. "You would fight your father for her? What makes her that special?"

Thor laughed. "You have only seen her once and that was when she confronted Odin. Isn't that special enough?" Thor let Baldin think about it, before he continued.

"I have fought beside her and she has allowed me into her life. She is one of the rarest gems. She is full of life. She is a goddess in her own right, Baldin. And I would do anything to protect her."

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