As the Avengers made their way into Barton's 'safe house', another being had just arrived on Midgard. She was standing in the overgrown copse of trees that bordered the farm. If anyone had been around they would have seen the bizarre sight of a cloaked figure stepping out from a sliver of blackness rent in the fabric of the world. There was no sound to accompany the sight, and her catlike paces did not disturb the silence either.
The woman shifted the hood of her red-brown cloak and stared out through the trees. By some sense not known she unerringly found the direction in which Earth's Mightiest, but also most battered heroes settled. Glancing once at the sky, she set off towards the farm house. Though the day was warm, she did not seem to notice even though she wore a heavy cloak over thick armour and walked at a brisk pace. A sheathed sword chinked at her side with every step. Feathers rustled near silently behind her.
Just as she reached the base of the steps of the porch, Thor came bursting from the front door, intent on finding answers to his vision. He froze upon seeing her. Steve Rogers who had followed the god, pushed Thor aside and grabbed his shield, taking a ready stance and calling into the house.
"Barton? You expecting anyone else?"
There was a brief pause before the other four avengers appeared in the doorway, weapons in hand. Laura Barton was peering out from behind a curtain, having sent the children upstairs. They took in the sight of the woman, momentarily stunned.
She was tall, close to six feet, with tawny-red curls slipping out from the hood of her long cloak. Her skin was pale, her features sharp and angular. She was not classically beautiful, but she was striking. Startling blue eyes peered calculatingly out of a face that was feline - almost predatory. A flicker of movement behind her revealed great russet-red feathered wings; at a height with her head, tips brushing the backs of her calves. The wingspan looked to be enormous, the colouring blending from mahogany to chocolate brown, with flickers of grey and red, a white bar across the bottom which contrasted with the dark black ends of the primary feathers. She tilted her head to take them all in, her hood slipping to reveal a long, pointed ear.
Beneath the hood she wore a long sleeved tunic of deep blue beneath light-weight, flexible brown leather armour. At her hip hung a red-bronze short sword, and the handle of a long dagger stuck out of the top of knee high boots. The ensemble was more Tolkien than Asgardian, but it had the same alien quality that even the greatest cosplay lacked. Her wings twitched and flashed at the scrutiny, for all that her face was impassive.
Clint Barton drew back the string on his bow, an arrow notched. Just as he was about to release it into her throat, Thor spoke in a shocked voice.
"Alva?"
The woman smiled. "Thor. It has been too long." Her words were English, but the accent was distinctly odd. It sounded almost musical, like a babbling brook, but her expression was nearly emotionless, her face so still. It was unnerving.
Thor's face split with a wide grin and a hearty chuckle burst from his chest as he strode down the porch and embrace Alva, lifting her easily off her feet and spinning her wildly. She too laughed - like bells in the wind - clearly happy, though more reserved than Thor's open joy. Her wings whipped out as the thunder god spun her, showing a wingspan of truly epic proportions. The Avengers relaxed at the sight of their comrade's reaction, yet Natasha Romanov did not holster her gun, and Clint did not even twitch. Tony Stark, ever the first to speak, couldn't hold his silence any longer.
"Thor, buddy, wanna share with the class? Has everyone got a secret family or elvish princess hidden around here?" He asked. The engineer glanced at Bruce Banner, who was still subdued and did not join in on the joke.
"My friends! This is Alva Inkerion, who was once shield-sister to me, before she left to pursue the scholarly arts." He turned to Alva, who had smiled briefly at each of them, asking, "Why are you here? We have not spoken for centuries, what has changed?"
"I meant no intrusion, for that I apologise. When I felt the ripples across Yggdrasil, I knew I had to intervene, the realms have long forgotten the danger of such relics and it is time all were reminded of the threat they pose. I felt your rage that the sceptre had been lost, Thor. You want answers, and I cannot give them too you."
She looked regretful at this, her wings fluttering in agitation, but Barton had had enough. An unknown had invaded the sanctity of his home, and half spoken apologies were not enough.
"Answers? I want answers. How the hell did you find this place? What do you mean you can't tell him? Why are you here if you can't even tell him?" He demanded.
"I scryed for Thor, it is a method that cannot be employed by most, so have no fear for the privacy of your land. I will come no further. I can take you to the answers you seek, Thor, but I cannot speak of them without consent. For Oaths sworn in Nornheim are ever binding."
Thor raised a brow at this, though everyone else looked no more understanding. He replied, "Very well. We shall leave at once. Do you have another method of transport or should I summon the Bif-"
"One question?" Tony interrupted. "What is she? Actual goddamn Elves isn't a thing right? And seriously? Wings?"
"I am of the Ljósálfar."
"Alva is a Light Elf, from Álfheim." Thor clarified. He added, "I will return," before striding away across the grass. He turned to face Alva when they had reached the tree line and appeared to take her hand. In the space between blinks, they were gone.
"I really hate aliens." Tony summarised before they returned to the house,
Alva kept to the shadows, observing, as Thor leapt between the fighting humans and awoke the being in the chrysalis. The huge arching branches of lightning that he summoned with Mjólnir looked spectacular, but to one trained in the energies of Yggdrasil it was even more astounding. Though Thor had no training in the arts, he could do great feats of magic through a focus.
Loki had always made his use of seidr with so much more subtlety, only another user could marvel at his skill. Weaving infinite threads of breath-taking delicacy into an awe-inspiring tapestry of pure brilliance. In comparison Thor's efforts were like child at play with gallons of coloured inks, rich colour pouring off him in waves, but almost all it wasted. Nonetheless it was in this case effective.
The being that burst from the chrysalis was like none Alva had ever seen. Though its form was mannish, its mind and movement was machine. It crouched defensively on the floor before stretching up. She watched as the Avengers parlayed with the being, determining if it was a threat. When it lifted Thor's hammer, stunning them all into silence, the Ljósálfar stepped forward. Her wings were half furled, perfectly still but ready to snap out in an instant.
"May I?" She asked, though she did not wait for a reply. Placing her hands on either side of the beings face she allowed her seidr to stretch out into it, checking the levels of protection over the Infinity Gem, the mortal 'spells' that kept it layered in control. The stone was well harnessed, and the being that held the reins was faultless. Alva stepped back, confident that this one of the six relics was as safe as it could be.
Her task given to her when she was inducted into the scholars of Nornheim, was to watch the stones, ensuring that each was contained in whatever fashion best suited it. The tesseract was such a housing, and as long as the stone within was not unleashed its power was chained. The sceptre had kept the Mind Gem contained, but this being was designed perfectly to house it. All but two were now accounted for.
The mortals looked at her in varying degrees of confusion and wariness. She noticed the 'scientists' looked more interested than concerned and smiled.
"The stone is secure," she said to Thor.
"Good." He said, clapping his hand with Mjólnir. He turned to the Man of Iron. "Well done" he added, before striding off to prepare for the fight to come, with The Vision following in his wake. The Avengers and the Maximoff Twins scrabbled to collect weapons, ammunition and armour. As they gathered, Alva asked the Captain; her wings arching up in attention.
"Would you welcome the help of one more on this venture? As my shield-brother can vouch me, and I assure you that my skills have not slipped in these past years."
"My friend speaks truly," Thor added, "Alva is trained in combat but is also a skilled healer. We will likely have wounded civilians that would benefit."
This point seemed to sell it for the others; although Clint and Bruce looked unsure about the newcomer, they knew that they did not have time to discuss it, and agreed with Steve's nod of approval.
The battle was chaotic, but Alva felt the thrill of the fight coursing through her from the start. Her wings were stretch up above her head, half furled and rigid with anticipation. She had helped the Avengers herd the civilians from the streets and buildings as the tension built. The mortals had all moved quickly as soon as they saw her, barely listening to her words of warning as the moved to action at the sight of such an alien being.
Then the ground had shaken as the whole of Sokovia rose up from the earth below and began to climb to the sky. The Captain had instructed her to start moving as many people as she could carry back down to the earth, but soon the puppets of Ultron arrived and the wounded started to mount.
Alva drew her bronze short sword from it sheath and gripped it in her right hand. She took a dagger in her left, holding it in a reverse grip and paused. The Ljósálfar became perfectly still for a single moment, not a breath passed her lips, not a feather moved a millimetre. Then she burst into action, leaping forward thirty paces and spinning to slash her sword through the automatons ahead of her. She danced rapidly through them, barely still for a moment before on to the next, almost silent. All of the Light Elves weighed almost nothing due to hollow bones that allowed them to fly, and so could walk in near silence.
Alva was not without injury. For although she had followed Thor, Loki, The Warrior's Three and The Lady Sif on many adventures in their youth, she was out of practice and the metal men seemed endless. She could hear the others over the comms, sometimes commenting to each other, making references she did not understand and discussing Ultron's movements. She spared a thought to Thor's wellbeing as she heard him talking with the being that they fought - his voice was getting huskier as though his throat were being crushed - but it cost her a slash on the arm that cut through her light armour and so resolved to pay attention.
Finally Alva reached the group of civilians that had wounded among them, crouching down. She erected a rudimentary shield around them and got to work. Her skills in seidr lay in healing and basic shields, along with sensing the work of others. Unlike Loki, who artlessly blended his combat skills with ultimate control over illusionary doubles and clones, Alva struggled to hold a shield whilst moving. She pushed the thoughts of Loki, and the madness (Or was it madness?) that seemed to have overtaken him in past years aside and got to work.
The other heroes in the group were sending the wounded to her corner of the city which meant she could set up an area for healing and keep the shield stable, but she was soon overwhelmed. One clever young man was assessing (or 'triaging' as he called it) the injured and guiding the other humans around them how to wrap the milder wounds in strips of cloth. Nonetheless Alva knew that they could not sustain this. Her levels of seidr were dropping lower with every healing she did, and the wounded were endless. With Ultron's puppets still killing civilians indiscriminately it was a losing battle.
Finally help came in the way of a deep voiced mortal over the comms who had brought a great flying ship to collect the mortals from the now floating landmass.
"Fury you son of a bitch!" said the Captain of America in clear relief.
After that it was a repetition of collecting mortal children and flying them in her arms to the Helicarrier. The adults were each taken into smaller ships but many continued to demand Alva take each of their young straight to the newfound safety.
The Ljósálfar was flying one final time to check for any last humans when she saw the Maximoff boy fall to the ground covered in blood below her. She folded her wings and dropped to the ground, barely flaring her wings to slow her descent. She landed in a crouch a pace from the young man – little more than a child himself – and began what healing she could. Alva's magic was weakened greatly by the healing she had already performed but she poured her last energy into the dying boy.
His eidr, his life-force, fluttered, froze, then faltered and fell rapidly. She drew on her last reserves, following the bond with his twin and pulling energy from the girl too, and the dying eidr in the ground and the eternal eidr in the skies above - for Midgard was saturated with such life. With her last conscious though Alva felt the boy stabilise, his wounds closing and his heartbeat strengthening. Then there was only darkness.
Alva awoke with a start. She was lying on a padded bench on one side of a small jet. The Avengers were mostly assembled around her, only was missing. The Maximoff Twins were also out of sight, but she could sense them in a small cubby behind her. Clint Barton was in the pilot's seat, with Natasha Romanov seated beside him. Thor was seated at the end of her bench by her feet. Across from her sat Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. The Vision was stood in the corner.
"What…" she started, but broke off at the roughness of her voice. She sat up, and Thor handed her a plastic container of some kind with a twist off lid filled with bright pink liquid. It tasted sweet and salty at the same time, and soothed her throat.
"We are flying back to Avengers Tower." Thor answered her unasked question.
"The Maximoff boy? Is he well? And where is the green berserker?"
"Pietro's gonna be fine" Stark replied, "Thanks to you. Brucie's gone missing, but we know he's alive at least. Nat made contact but The Hulk lost the screen so we'll have to wait for a call."
"That is gratifying. Do we know if there were there many casualties?" Alva asked in trepidation. The mortals outnumbered any other race in the nine realms, but a great many of those people had been children. The thought was horrifying. Although Asgardians put much in stock of 'First Blood', when their children had barely mastered a weapon - the boys were expected to make a kill for themselves at the same age that the girls would first bleed - the Elves had children so rarely that each was prized more than anything else in the realm.
The Captain sighed, looking down. "We don't have a proper count yet, but it's in the hundreds. A lot less than we thought though, thank God." Alva was thankful that her healing may have contributed even a fraction. She felt exhausted, but it was more than worth it. The elf noticed that the assembled team were watching her with much less hostility than before, and wondered perhaps if she had earned their trust with her actions.
Thor reached over as if to touch the wing nearest him, and she flinched back with a started cry of, "Thor!" Everyone looked over at the commotion.
The Thunder god looked confused. "Alva? I only meant to offer to help. Your feathers and all uneven at the back." He explained.
Alva blushed scarlet, causing Tony to raise his eyebrows. Steve was surprised that she showed such a strong reaction, the elf had seemed impassive to everything so far.
"It is not… That is too say… We do not... It is not appropriate!" Alva choked out, looking scandalised. Thor looked even more bewildered, and a little hurt.
"I had thought that we shared a close bond as shield-brothers, and thought you would welcome the help. I know that after many a campaign or adventure you allowed Loki to preen your feathers. "
At the sound of the trickster god's name Clint's head whipped around from the sky ahead and he stared along with the others. Now Alva looked confused, a frown crossing her face at the wings in question flexed.
"That is… not the same… Loki was… we…" Alva paused. Clint put the plane on autopilot and spun to join the others in watching the bizarre scene before them. "It would not be appropriate," she repeated, "considering the circumstances. To preen feathers needs a depth of intimacy that..." she looked flustered. "Though you are… dear to me and I value our friendship I could not… that is to say-"
Thor interrupted her ramble, his face now sullen. "Very well. I will not ask again. I know that you and my brother were close in times past, but I had hoped you also valued our friendship equally as highly. I see that is not-"
"Thor. I was fucking your brother." Alva announced drily.
There was a long, still silence in which Thor's jaw fell open and then floundered. It was the most outward display of shock Tony had ever seen on the thunder god and he started to snicker loudly. Natasha stared flatly at him and he descended into helpless giggles. Steve glanced and The Vision sharing a look of wonder at the absurdity of the situation. Clint was frozen for a moment in shock, but once he saw Thor's expression he too started to chuckle.
"You… Loki and you…" Thor managed. He paused and took a fortifying breath. "I… when?"
Alva looked both baffled by his reaction, and deeply amused. "How did you not even have the slightest idea?" she wondered. "We were never very subtle. We spent most of our free time together. What did you think we were doing when we disappeared into his rooms together?"
"I thought you were studying!" Thor cried. Tony was now clutching his stomach and laughing silently. Clint shaking his head and continuing to stare at Thor's face. Natasha was openly smiling in amusement.
"You thought we were studying?" Alva asked in incredulity. "Your brother has a girl in his room and you assume he's reading dusty old tomes?" Steve let out snort, and then tried to look polite and not laugh at his teammate. "He did used to say you were oblivious but I never quite believed him." The Ljósálfar added.
Thor let out a bark of laughter of his own, smiling sadly. "He would have found this hilarious. I had no idea you were lovers. Was it..?" he seemed unsure how to ask. Clint spun back around and turned off the autopilot.
"It was not serious." Alva assured him relaxing back into the bench seat, her wings stretching. "You know that elves take casual lovers often. When we do commit, it is for life, and it is binding. Whatever Loki and I shared, it was not that."
Slowly, Tony managed to get himself back under control. He let out a sigh. "Your face was hilarious!" he told Thor. "You better have got that J.A.R.V.I.S." Tony froze, he face displaying open grief. The Vision looked unsure in the corner. Steve leapt to change the subject.
"So are you planning to stay for a while Alva? We could really use you on the team." he asked.
Tony immediately joined in, thankful for the distraction. "Yeah we could use your skills and the intimate knowledge you have of supervillain psychology" He winked.
Steve gave him a 'seriously?' look. Alva smiled, taking it in good humour. "I believe I will stay for a short while. There are leads on this planet in my task I can look into. I would welcome the chance to once more be a part of such a bold group of heroes."
The End
Prequel, Sequel and Finale to Follow!
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