Chapter One: To Infinity
A/N: Welcome to our MCU story! So this story is going to combine elements of Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy, so for the most part it's going to be set in locations other than Earth. The pairings are Loki/OC and Peter Quill/OC. Please let us know what you think!
Arcadia Tivan checked her data pad again, reading over the message that she'd been sent. Normally, she was not the sort of woman who could be summoned anywhere. However, the circumstances were such that Arcadia found herself becoming anticipative. She wandered into the dome-shaped menagerie that her father, Taneleer Tivan, simply called the Collection. It was an eerie place that sent shivers down her spine at times. But then again, considering her father's alias as the Collector, what else could one expect?
"Is this place crammed full enough yet?" Arcadia drawled, the heels of her boots clicking across the floor as she crossed over to her father. He had some hologram up that he immediately closed down upon seeing his daughter and pushed himself to his feet.
"Ah, Arcadia."
Taneleer and Arcadia had what some would call an odd father-daughter relationship. They were not quite estranged, although they had been at some point. But despite her youthful appearance, Arcadia was fairly old – by mortal standards, she was ancient. But compared to immortals such as her father, Thanos and Ronan, she was but a child. She had no need nor desire to remain close with her father, unless it benefitted her. Which on this occasion, it possibly might.
"You contacted me?" Arcadia raised her eyebrows.
"Yes." Taneleer clasped his hands together. "My client has managed to find a silver orb. This may be it."
"Finally," Arcadia breathed. She had been waiting two centuries for this, which was but a blink of the eye in her father's three-billion-year life span – but she was significantly younger than that.
There was no doubt that the item contained within the orb was an Infinity Stone – all six of which Taneleer desired for his Collection. However, his collecting of the stones was not only for his own benefit, but also his daughter's. There was one particular stone that Arcadia sought – and she hoped this might be it.
"My client will retrieve the orb and bring it here."
Arcadia frowned. She truly hoped that this was not an attempt on her father's part to keep the Stone for himself. It wouldn't surprise her – Taneleer had been selfish for as long as Arcadia had known him.
"Can your contact not deliver the orb directly to me?"
Arcadia had a remote space station orbiting one of Contraxia's moons. She preferred her meetings to be conducted on home turf. Not to mention that she found Knowhere to be positively basic.
"We don't know for sure that it contains a Stone," Taneleer chided, "This woman is…she does not trust easily. Better for her to come to me than to throw in another party."
Something caught Arcadia's eye and she glanced across the menagerie to realise that this was not the first Stone that Taneleer was seeking. The red Stone was already here, the Reality Stone. As Taneleer busied himself with the hologram he'd been projecting upon her arrival, Arcadia found herself drawn to it like a moth to the flame.
Impulse drove her to snatch up the Aether and stuff it into her bag. Taneleer had not told Arcadia that he already possessed an Infinity Stone, therefore he had no right to object to her taking it.
"Do you think this could be it?" Arcadia inquired, zipping her bag back up and walking over to where her father stood. There was no doubt in her mind that she would already be back on her station before Taneleer realised what she had done. If this Orb was not what she sought, the Aether may allow her to make a trade with whoever had the Stone she was looking for.
"Perhaps," Taneleer replied dryly. It was no good to give his daughter false hope, even though she would hope of her own accord. He understood her reasons for wanting the particular Infinity Stone she was after, although he did not approve of them.
"I hope so." Arcadia leaned against her father's desk, but Taneleer regarded her with a slightly disappointed expression.
"I still do not think this to be a good idea."
"But I do," Arcadia retorted sharply. In this instance, she thought her opinion was the only one that counted. Taneleer was not directly involved in her situation, nor in what she intended to do with the Infinity Stone. She frowned, looking around. "What do you do with the things you keep here? Leave them to gather dust?"
"I collect," Taneleer said simply.
Kara didn't bother to knock as she strode into the room, her hand gripping the knife on her hip tightly. She had been working with Arcadia for over fifty years, but she still not trust the woman, which she supposed was a smart idea. Loki trailed after her as she wandered into Aracdia's office, noticing the human standing with the woman they had come to see. Kara paid no mind to the other person in the room. Their business was urgent and they were no doubt going to be able to pay more than the man who was already speaking with Arcadia.
"Arcadia." Kara greeted her, sweeping her long dark blonde hair over her shoulder.
"Wait, who are these people?" The guy questioned, looking over the two newcomers, although his eyes stayed on Kara for longer than they lingered on Loki. "Who are you?"
"Kara." Arcadia ignored Peter's questions as her employee stepped forward, a small transparent box in her hand. Loki eyed the human with some distaste before introducing himself and glancing back at the women.
"I am Loki, of Asgard."
"What do you need?" Arcadia questioned Kara as she examined the box, the swirl of light in it a bright and beautiful sight. If not for the tinted glass, it would no doubt blind all bar one of them in the room. She glanced at the disgruntled man, arching a perfectly manicured eyebrow. "You don't have the money for the information, Mr Quill."
Kara finally allowed herself to acknowledge his presence, crossing her arms over her chest. "Who is this person?"
"I'm Peter Quill but everyone calls me Star Lord." He smirked at her, resting his hands on his hips.
Arcadia rolled her eyes at the mention of the nickname that he only seemed to use. "No one calls you that."
"Oh? So you can create stars?" Now she was curious. If someone had a title such as that, even if self-proclaimed, then she assumed there would be a greater meaning behind it.
Peter shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "Well, no."
"So, you aren't really a Lord of Stars..." She trailed off, enjoying watching him squirm under her questioning. Peter crossed his arms over his chest, puffing himself up, determined to stand his ground.
"Star Lord. That's my name."
Loki ignored the other two, moving over to where Arcadia stood. He had been quiet up until that point, but was eager to get the information they needed and leave.
"We heard there's an Infinity Stone about the place."
"Not right here, no." Arcadia leaned back against her desk. The stone was not within her possession, but she knew the information they needed to retrieve it.
"Where?" Loki sat down in one of the lavish chairs she had in front of her desk, crossing one leg over the other.
"Information comes at a price, Asgardian." Arcadia reminded him firmly, placing the box Kara had given her down on her desk.
"Kara paid you, but if it's not enough we can come to an agreement." Loki spoke smoothly, a smirk forming on his lips. "Perhaps over dinner?"
Arcadia rolled her eyes at his attempt to flirt with her for information. Perhaps when she was much younger that would have worked, but she didn't succumb to seduction. She didn't have the time or desire to get caught up in such affairs.
"I don't do pointless fancy dinners when we could come to an arrangement here and now."
"I'm sure you'd enjoy our time together." Loki raked his gaze over her. Normally his silver tongue allowed him to get his way with most people, but Kara rolled her eyes as she watched Arcadia grow more and more annoyed. She cut in before Loki embarrassed himself further.
"Arcadia, do you need more starlight?"
"Yes, please. Your companion is offering to fuck me instead." She sighed heavily, handing her another box as Peter laughed at her blunt statement. "What precisely do you want to know?"
"Exact location." Loki answered her, glancing at Peter.
Arcadia nodded, watching as Kara created a ball of blindingly bright light in her hand, placing it into the box she had been given. She turned to face the human, her eyes narrowing.
"Quill, out. You haven't paid enough to hear this."
"Leave, human." Loki added, getting to his feet. Peter glanced between them, before departing the room in a huff. It was only after she was certain he was gone that the woman known as the Informant spoke.
"The orb was last seen on Morag, but you'll want to time it right." Dia took the two boxes of starlight that Kara had created, walking over to one of her back shelves, placing them there. "Will you be needing accommodation?"
Loki shook his head, getting to his feet and elegantly adjusting his coat.
"No. I will be returning to Asgard."
"I'm going to retrieve the Stone." Kara announced, turning on her heel and heading towards the door, Loki not far behind her. She wanted to get the stone retrieved as soon as possible so that she could go back to her usual mercenary work she did for Arcadia, rather than running around after Loki. The God of Mischief might currently rule on Asgard, but she no longer resided there, and did not enjoy becoming caught up in Asgardian matters.
Arcadia's sensors blared through her study, disrupting the peaceful flow of music she'd had on in the background as she sorted through the files on her database. Looking up from her work, her stomach twisted as Ronan the Accuser stalked into the study. Pushing herself to her feet, Arcadia didn't even attempt to prevent her hands from balling into fists of rage.
It was up to her whim alone, Ronan would have been dead years ago. Unfortunately, murdering Ronan would mean more violence and bloodshed than Arcadia wanted on her hands. He was allied with some powerful people, and his death would not justify the backlash that would follow. Nonetheless, it didn't mean that Arcadia was pleased to see the Kree warrior in her station.
"I've asked you to send a representative," she said coldly, folding her arms over her chest. "What do you want?"
"You neglected to inform me that there are others seeking the Stone." Ronan's deep voice resonated throughout Arcadia's study. He towered over her at six and a half feet tall, but she stood her ground despite his obvious anger.
"Well, yes." Arcadia barely refrained from rolling her eyes. What was to stop her from selling the information to other buyers? Ronan had never said anything to indicate that there might be others he'd like to avoid. He could have paid for her silence, but he hadn't, and Arcadia deliberately hadn't brought it up.
"You should have told me."
She smirked. "You didn't pay me for that."
"They have it," Ronan said, clearly irate.
Arcadia placed her hands down on her desk, leaning forward. "What do you expect me to do about that?"
"Where are they?" he demanded.
"Information comes at a price." Arcadia examined him, wondering how much he was willing to pay for that kind of information, wondering how far she could push up the price until he baulked. "Sixty thousand units."
It was twice what she would charge anyone else for breaking a privacy clause, but she had always pushed the limits when it came to Ronan. Whatever would aggravate him, whatever would get under his skin. She hated Ronan and although she knew she wouldn't stand a chance fighting him physically, she enjoyed her smaller acts of defiance.
Arcadia watched with some satisfaction as Ronan took out an electronic data pad and transferred her the units. Checking her own account to make sure the money had come through, she sat down again.
"They're in a prison known as the Kyln. You might have heard of it."
"How many were after the Stone?" Ronan demanded.
The knowledge that she could lose the Stone was a very real prospect. Arcadia had hoped that she could offer the Stone's collector a substantial amount of money if it was the one she was seeking. If it fell into Ronan's hands, that may be another matter entirely, but she may just use it as her excuse to destroy him once and for all.
She had hoped that Peter Quill – it had astonished her that he'd managed to acquire the Stone before Loki and Kara, but no matter – would sell the Stone to her. But of course Nova Corp had intervened before that could come to pass.
"Are they a threat to me?"
"Possibly." Arcadia gave a shrug of her delicate shoulders, quickly growing irritated with Ronan's presence in her space. Unable to remain in her chair with him looming over her, she got to her feet and pointed to the door. "I've told you they're at the Kyln. Leave."
"So demanding." Ronan's voice was mocking as he reached out and touched her cheek, but Arcadia smacked his hand away with some force.
"Don't touch me," she snapped.
"Always so cold." Ronan stepped away from her, but she despised the dark smile across his lips. She thought she might have to reiterate her desire for him to leave, yet he turned and marched out of the study without so much as a backwards glance.
Arcadia's knees buckled and she collapsed in her seat, pressing her face into her hands. How many more times would she be subjected to Ronan's presence? She'd managed to keep her cool, but she wasn't sure that she could do so again.