Chapter One
CLASSIFIED
FOR EYES OF S.H.I.E.L.D. OPERATIVES WITH LEVEL EIGHT CLEARANCE AND ABOVE ONLY
RECEIVED: June 18, 2013
AGENT ON DUTY: Agent Melinda May [Level Six Clearance]
COMMANDING OFFICER: Agent Phil Coulson [Level Nine Clearance]
CONTENTS: Formal letter, a total amount of ten million US dollars ($10,000,000.00)
WITNESSED BY: Deputy Director Maria Hill, Director Nick Fury
[BLANK PAGE]
[PAGE ONE: LETTER]
To Whom It May Concern:
I bid thee greetings.
This is to inform the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, or known simply as S.H.I.E.L.D., that Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard, is to serve his punishment here in Asgard under the supervision of the All-Father. This punishment is in light of his offences in Midgard, which your people call Earth. The punishment he has been served is to be, for an indefinite period of time, imprisoned in one of the cells of Asgard with no such visitors but family allowed. Be assured that these cells are of impenetrable forces and he will only be allowed out when the All-Father permits it.
We wish S.H.I.E.L.D. the best of luck in future endeavors and attached within is an amount, in the currency of the United States of America, to help with the on-going rebuilding of the city of Manhattan in the state of New York in the country of the United States of America. To follow shall be another amount for the victims of the attempted take over by the Prince of Asgard. Please accept these as our intended wergild for the damage done by the second prince. It shall be delivered by one of our diplomats who shall also endeavor to answer any questions S.H.I.E.L.D. may have. Our representative shall arrive in ten Midgardian days.
Kind regards;
Lord Arvid Morgenson
Private Secretary of the All-Father
Odin Borson
Ruler of the Nine Realms
[BLANK PAGE]
[END REPORT]
"Come on team!"
A groan came from behind her and Skye raised an eyebrow. "Problem?"
"How you even have the energy to remain so… perky is beyond me." Agent Grant Ward replied as he stopped near her position by a tree, waiting for their two other teammates to arrive with their equipment in tow.
"It's called optimism Ward. You should try it sometime." Skye replied as she leaned on said tree, arms crossed. Before he could retort, she held a hand up to stop him. "On second thought, you shouldn't. I don't want to hear what you think would pass as a pep talk."
"I never gave it a single thought in the first place Skye." Was Grant's dry reply as they both got up once the murmuring voices of the two scientists could be heard. "Anything guys?"
"Nothing much but-" Just as Fitz was talking, the device Simmons held in her hand started to buzz. "Bugger that, the Asgard guy was telling the truth."
"Shut it Fitz and help me out." Simmons replied, handing him her suitcase of equipment before moving towards the general area where the buzzing got stronger and stronger until she reached the very tree that Skye was leaning on. "A hand Agent Ward? Whatever it is must be under a root or something."
Grant got down to his knees and, with some help of a knife, managed to cut the tangle of roots just as Skye took over, shovel in hand to dig up the dirt. He got up, dusting his hands as he surveyed the area. "At least the Asgardian wasn't lying with his intel." He spoke, mentioning the Asgardian diplomat who had come and gone just days ago.
During the short meeting, a meeting filled with protocol and introduction to the mess that is the Nine Realms; there was only one true gain for S.H.I.E.L.D. as far as Director Fury was concerned. And this was the knowledge that there would be a new threat on Earth. Despite being pressed continuously to divulge more information, the most gotten from the diplomat was a set of coordinates, saying that the All-Father's Crown Prince may have proclaimed himself to be the protector of this realm, but that did not mean the All-Father had to protect Earth from the evils coming.
As expected, that little revelation left a nasty taste to those present and had been the reason why the meeting had abruptly ended.
CLANG
Grant looked over to the rest of the team and saw Skye repeatedly hitting something with her shovel while Fitz and Simmons continuously tried to take said shovel away from her. "Do we have it?"
"Better question is if it'll explode if we touch it."
"Wow Fitz. And here I thought Grant was in charge of pessimism."
"Simply stating something that might happen Skye." Fitz replied with a shrug.
"Well, whatever it is, it's making my detector go bonkers." Simmons interjected as she used her handheld detector to scan whatever could be seen of the object found in the ground.
Grant took a closer look and, ignoring the protests of the two scientists, dragged the object – a small chest, barely a foot long – and set it on the ground.
They waited a beat and then let out a sigh of relief.
"Well, if nothing has happened by now, I don't think anything will happen." Skye cheerily said as she made a move to get the remaining dirt off the chest.
"You've obviously haven't been watching the right movies Skye." Fitz replied as he too knelt down to get a closer look. "Hey! There are symbols on them." He looked at them closer. And after a moment, threw his hands up as he stood. "Don't know them. Why don't you guys have a go at it?"
As it turned out, none of them had any clue as to what it was. Deciding that the winds were getting to chilly for their liking, they hiked the length back down the mountain to where Phil was waiting.
"I'd really like to start a petition for us not to travel to Iceland during this time of year. Or, well, any part of Scandinavia really." Skye started as she and the rest went inside the waiting jet, going inside to warmth.
"I'd like to hear you make that request to the gods who used to live here." Grant replied as he heaved the chest unto a table.
"I think the appropriate phrase is 'are of gods who had affairs and ruled over us humans once upon a time' or something to that effect." Skye paused. "Hmm. Wonder if Apollo is real. He sounded hot in the myths. Or at least he did in the Percy Jackson books."
"I'll make a memo to ask Thor the next time I see him." Phil spoke as he turned towards the chest.
"Are they familiar to you?" Fitz asked as he watched Phil step away to a computer nearby.
He received no answer until Phil called them over.
"I thought it was familiar. Old Norse. Some of the characters were similar to those on the letter given to use by Asgard."
"So Reindeer Games is behind bars-"
"I believe the accurate term is a force field."
"-and they gave us money for compensation." Tony Stark continued despite the interruption by Steve Rogers. "If that's all, can someone tell me why I'm here and not in an island in the Caribbean sipping a margarita?"
"Because Pepper won't let you," came the dry response from Bruce Banner, who was sitting with the rest of the Avengers in a conference room in SHIELD headquarters. All except Thor that is, who nobody counted on seeing for a while considering his track record of appearing and disappearing. "I'm frankly surprised that they contacted us a year after the events."
"The letter is just a precursor to what I called you in for." Director Fury started as he gestured to a newer set of files in front of them. "What you'll find is a short briefing of what occurred in the meeting. Long story short, we have a new threat and the All-Father has deemed it fit to wash his hands off this threat and leave us to figure things out."
"Well that's mighty rude of him." Tony muttered under his breath as he opened the packet and scanned the first page, then the second page. One word stood out to him. "Prophecy? There's a prophecy? Like a Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort one?"
"If you would all turn to page ten." Fury waited until all did so before continuing on. "You'll find there a picture of the scroll and on the next page is a translation from its original Old Norse."
An effort made but failed
True havoc shall once again gain
Darkness shall spread and win
Unless the forces be joined
To defeat the mighty Darkness
To herald light once more
The first warrior of light shall be
Someone who kills, someone for hire
A fire headed maiden of battle, she truly is
And with her shall be
A steadfast Hawk, an archer of good skill
Controlled by evil, he no longer is
Then comes the soldier
A mighty warrior he shall be
One thought long gone
But back once more is he
And then the three intellects shall be called
One a being of monstrous capability
But an elephantine sage he is in real
The second a scholar, a healer she is
A queen in all but name
Daughter with no shame
And then the man of Iron is the third
His own capabilities, he shows the world
His knowledge with no bounds
And then there are the two gods
One of thunder, the wielder of a great hammer
A weapon forged from one of the lights in heaven
Then the second shall be his opposite
A fiend of his own making he truly is
He is but a sorcerer of ice
Born of the frost but grown in glory's shadow
It is these eight that shall defend the light from the rays of Darkness
To look for the keys at the Seven Lethal Wonders of the Ancient Times
The first shall reveal itself seven sunrises from this uncovering
A year from the coming of the sorcerer of ice
And the first Wonder shall have the look of the sun god
The defense shall end with the Benben returned to its home;
This shall be Darkness' unraveling
If the eight not be joined, entrusted with their duty
Than Midgard's fate shall be sealed
"Is it just me or does this describe us?" Steve voiced out after finishing. "But if it is, then…"
"We're going to need to get Point Break over here pronto."
"And Loki."
All eyes turned to Natasha who shrugged in response. "It's plain to see the other god in the prophecy is Loki." She pulled her folder closer and read from it. "A fiend of his own making he truly is. He is but a sorcerer of ice, born of the frost but grown in glory's shadow." She looked back up at them. "Hate to say it but it fits him to a tee."
Clint groaned and his head met the table. "I knew I was going to regret waking up today."
"We can deal with Lord Voldemort later." Tony started, a frown on his face. "Who wants to go scream for that Heimdall fellow to give us Point Break?"
"Well wouldn't you know it? It worked." Tony whistled in between his teeth as Thor appeared once again on the roof of Stark Tower. He took his sunglasses off as he and the others went to meet him.
"Friends! It is nice to see you all again! Heimdall tells me you are in need of me?" Thor asked as he stepped away from the gradually disappearing beam of light via Bifrost to greet them.
He was immediately filled in on why he was called so suddenly ("I was in the middle of a battle with a bilge snipe when Heimdall informed me that I was needed.") and with a Pop-tart in hand, he examined the original picture of the prophecy.
"It seems that it is I and my brother."
"No other way for this prophecy to be referring to anyone else?" Steve asked as he watched Thor finish his Pop-tart before moving to get another one.
"I see no reason why it is not as how it is interpreted. Written and spoken prophecies from the Vanir are very straight-forward unlike the woven prophecies." Thor paused and he saw a confused face or two. "The Vanir are the sister race of us Aesir. Their ability to look into the future is well-known."
"I see. So while we will have to deal with the possibility of having to work with Loki, we still have one more to look for. We only have seven when the prophecy clearly states it is eight." Bruce said as he steered the conversation back to focus.
"But I already know who it is." Thor sighed heavily, as if the thought of the person alone was enough of a burden. "But it will not be a wise choice to have them under the same roof. No. I do not think either one will want to see the other again after so long. 15 years I believe it has been in Midgardian years. Maybe even more."
"Care to fill us in Point Break?"
"The scholar-healer that is a queen in all but name? It must be Princess Sigyn of Vanaheim." Thor paused as he shook his head. "Loki will not like working with her. Not at all."
"Well it's a good thing nothing ever goes his way."
Thor continued on as if Clint had not talked.
"And Princess Sigyn will not want to see Loki again either. They never did get along that well. It will be best if we do not tell her that she will have to work with her husband."
"Reindeer Games has a wife?"
"That is a surprise but seeing as he has been alive for a millennia or two…"
"No. You don't see the point Brucey-Boy. Reindeer Games gets laid. Birdy here and I thought he was all bent on world domination was because he didn't get laid."
"Get laid? I am not aware of this Midgardian phrase." Thor looked up to Natasha, a figure he knew he could always rely on to answer his questions. When Natasha mouthed out to him 'Later,' he nodded and continued on. "Also, Princess Sigyn will not be easily found. She and my brother had a falling out and she left for Vanaheim. Next thing we know, we received a message about needing a break from court and all it entails. She received permission from the All-Father to study the history and culture of Midgard. Last I heard my brother mention her, she had finished with a place called Asia and now working on North America. Which was five or so years ago, so I know not where she may be if she still be here on Midgard."
Clint sighed at that revelation.
"I knew this was getting too easy to be true."
Day 41 of countless more days.
With a heavy sigh, Loki turned to his side, trying to close his eyes and get some sleep on his bed. Finding sleep eluding him, he opened his eyes and saw that those in the cell across his staring at him. Of course. His cell; his alone, with the comforts of his own chamber; or at least what mother – no, she was Frigga now, not mother – could get him.
Before his thought could drift to how he ended up in this cell in the first place, he paused as he felt a somewhat familiar presence near him – the feeling of someone doing some form of astral projection. Half expecting it to be another visit from Frigga (There! He cheered himself silently as he remembered not to call her mother), he sat up ready to growl that she could do nothing to ease his imprisonment.
"Father?"
And it was as quick as that his frown left his face and he smiled, a sincere smile that had long been gone from him. "Narvi! What are you doing here?" He asked as he started to draw his son in his arms before coming to a stop, remembering that, as all the other times he had seen his son had been an illusion like this and to touch him would make the astral body disappear. He patted the space next to him instead and watched Narvi take a seat as he drew an illusion to mask them from those outside.
Narvi Lokason, Prince of Asgard and Vanaheim. And Jotunheim, though the little one did not know that yet. Loki looked down at his little mini-me, from the pale skin (though he vividly remembered that his dear Sigyn also had pale skin), to his black hair and the beginnings of the same facial structure as him. It was those blue-violet eyes so very different from his own that Narvi had gotten from his mother. And then there was that necklace, a gift from his mother-in-law, Freyja, upon their marriage. It was a device that amplified powers tenfold, although neither had ever used it for anything other than to enable easier astral projection throughout the worlds, used often used since Sigyn had uprooted herself and moved to Midgard as soon as Narvi was a month old.
Sigyn. He bit back a sigh as his attention back to his son, asking him another question before his previous one could be answered. "And does your mother know you're doing this?"
He nodded, those obsidian locks bouncing along. He had not taken to using gel like his father had when he was young. "Mama says I can practice my astral projection as long as Aina is present." He explained, mentioning his mother's handmaiden.
"And it seems to have gotten better." He paused, as if choosing his next words. "Are you and your mother back in Asgard?" He asked, wanting to know if he should expect a visit from Sigyn or not.
If he wanted her to see him in this state, he knew he didn't.
"We're still on Midgard daddy." Narvi replied as he settled next to Loki on the bed, his feet kicking at the edges. "What does Asgard look like daddy?"
At that question, Loki paused once more before describing, the best that he could; the home that Narvi should be at right now, where Narvi and his other children should be. But then, it would be long before a child of his that was not Sleipnir would step foot here. He remembered the words muttered by Sigyn before she fled from Asgard for safety sixteen years ago.
Loki paused when he glanced down and saw Narvi glancing at him. "Yes son?" He asked, familiar with that questioning look in his son's eyes since he too had the same look of curiosity.
"Why are you in a cell?"
For someone known as having a silver tongue, it was a weird feeling to not know what to say. Trying to string together a series of words to explain the situation, he stopped and decided for the safest answer. "Why don't you go ask your mother?" He replied softly, a hand lifting to gently run through his hair before pulling away with a sigh.
Narvi nodded then sighed, his head tilting slightly, a habit Loki had noticed his son had gotten from Sigyn. "I have to go daddy. Mama will be back soon and she will want me to have finished my spell book." He paused as a thought crossed his mind. "And mother said to expect a letter from her later this week."
Loki nodded. "Be safe my son." Loki whispered as he watched the astral form disappear in a soft glow of pale blue.
And he decided that the first thing he would do once he figured a way out was to see him.