His footsteps rang hollow in the empty halls. The scent of decaying flesh was sharp and ever present. Tony could taste it in the back of his tongue with every breath he took. The dried blood on the walls cut down on the glare the gold must have once given off.
He could feel his sentinels' digital eyes following his every move. He didn't speak to Jarvis though. The AI had his orders.
Tony bypassed the throne room, not wanting to unleash the hoard of dermistad beetles that were slowly eating away at the flesh of the countless bodies. Even through the thick doors he could hear the fluttering of their wings and scratching of their small legs over flesh.
The skulls would line the walls of the throne room. Ribs would flare above the doorways. Spines would flank the hallways…
"Sir, we have completed clearing the streets." Jarvis reported. His metal creations did not follow him. They did not need to because they were all around him.
"Survivor count?"
"Thus far 94 survivors have been found. They have been herded to the city square."
"Language, J. They're not animals. Don't say they've been herded. Use the word gathered or assembled." Tony waved at one of the sentinels and the black robot nodded. "Give them rations and blankets."
"Of course, Sir."
"How much of the woods have been searched?"
"78%, thermal scans reveal an estimated 113 other survivors."
"Leave them for another three days. I want to see what they do." Tony paused in front of a tapestry. It depicted a battle, an honorable battle between warriors. Nothing like the sneak attack he used. He moved closer to the tapestry. It depicted such a foolish way of fighting, an endless battle with casualties on both sides. Tony had only lost 18 of his robots and 36 others were damaged.
They had lost countless.
By the end of the carnage Tony stood unscathed above it all. He now had a kingdom… a kingdom without a queen.
Useless.
He tore the tapestry down.
"Burn this." One of the sentinels immediately grabbed the thick fabric, taking it to the courtyard. "Jarvis, I want an inventory of all the artwork on the royal grounds. Create a slide show." He'd glance through them before he went to sleep, see what he wanted to save or burn, and perhaps give away.
Pepper used to love art, statues in particular… Greek statues.
Another reminder.
"Music."
AC/DC played from each sentinel as he passed it. Jarvis was perfect. The music sounded flawless as he moved. It didn't echo off the metal walls or sound the least bit off.
"Sir, the chemical analysis of the orchard has been completed. The results are as remarkable as the myths suggest."
"They're rumors, not myths. These people are not gods." Tony paused in front of a gilded window. He could see one of his sentinels scanning the area, creating a map and searching for hidden rooms or passages.
Tony made his way to the kitchens. It had only been three days. The bread was barely molding. The anti-magic pulse worked perfectly, knocking out all magic, including the cooling system for the food.
The AMP had worked flawlessly.
They relied far too much on magic, the same way Tony relied far too much on technology.
Regardless, he had won.
Now he had to deal with this realm.
The rotting food did not smell quite as bad as the corpses.
He supposed he could go to the gardens if he wanted to escape the odor, but that would be too kind.
The main event was over, but there were still things that needed to be done.
This kingdom…
It had a single purpose to serve as a prison for both himself and the other.
A castle containing a cell. Nothing more.
Yet he was selfish.
This was a kingdom and he would live as a king.
Countless hours of research and centuries of debate were all stored inside Jarvis' databanks, all about proper governing and leadership.
This would be the most prosperous land in the whole universe.
A social experiment built around a bloody prison cell.
He was still undecided if he should start this endeavor with a fresh slate, bringing in all knew people, humans who just needed a chance- or should he repopulate Asgard with her former citizens?
One of his sentinels handed him a bowl of food from the supplies he brought from earth. A flagon of that good Aesir mead was placed on a flour covered table.
Tony relished the food and mead, letting himself get lost in the flavors. It was a respite, if only for a moment.
Tony glanced up, staring at the ceiling.
This place needed a new name. Asgard had died with her last king.
He couldn't name it after himself. He'd left that name behind on earth.
He was no one now- other than an invader. One who wrought destruction indiscriminately.
The irony was not lost on him.
After his meal he wondered to the gates of the castle. Jarvis was fortifying walls. Even if the Bifrost was well guarded he knew there must be other ways to travel between realms, after all he had discovered one of those ways.
What may come tomorrow was best prevented today.
"Sir, if you are to go further I advise you put on your suit." Jarvis' voice came from one of the sentinels, pausing in its work. Tony nodded, not really hearing Jarvis' advice.
He walked back inside, hating how damn bright everything was. His feet automatically took him to the feasting hall which had been converted into a lab. U, Butterfinger, and Dum-E greeted him. He petted each in turn before glancing at one of the damaged sentinels. His mind quickly became enthralled with the machine.
It was a work of art. It was his finest creation excluding his arc reactor and AMP missiles. The craftsmanship in every circuit, every line of code… it had all been fueled by a sickening mixture of hate and grief.
Each sentinel had its own arc reactor and was controlled by Jarvis, extensions of the AI.
"J, what are they saying in the city square?" Tony asked, elbow deep in machinery.
"As is to be expected they are very scared. None know who we are or why we're here. 21 men in six groups are whispering about fighting back. Most of the women are either attending to the wounded or calming children."
"Hand out the special chocolate." It was a well balanced cocktail of drugs he'd tested on Thor all hidden under the comforting taste of chocolate. It would calm the masses down and had a synthetic nicotine in it. If he decided to let them live he'd slowly increase the nicotine in their rations, get them dependent and associating the pleasant buzz with his charity. He'd spared three of the cooks from the royal kitchens and two from one of the restaurants in the city. Once things settled down he'd have them do most of the cooking for the now nameless city. Make the city rations into meals that the Aesir could recognize and be comforted with.
Jarvis was set to wean them off in 1,250 years. At that point they should have accepted his rule, or at least accepted the rule of his empty suit of armor. By then his natural life span should have long ago ended. He felt no need to extend his sad existence.
"The city has been swept over sevenfold. Shall I deploy the bees?"
Months before Tony launched his attack he'd sent scouts forward to Asgard. Those drones had been called hives. Barely perceptible robots, all gathering information about Asgard and the daily occurrences. He'd only programmed a small amount of them to come back to earth. After downloading what the Aesir toiled at as means of work and maintaining the city he'd programmed the bees to perform the simplest of tasks: maintaining crops and livestock, the upkeep of public locations, and all the other small tasks that kept the city running.
With a depleted population they would be necessary to maintain a sense of normalcy and insure that the city would keep working like a well oiled machine.
"Deploy them." Tony said while cleaning his hands off with a well used rag. "Start a registration of the remaining Aesir in the square. Include name, age, marital status, occupation, home address, and if they're missing any of their family. Then check that data against what the hive knows. Also, see if there's anyone willing to help our new government." Where there was upheaval there was always those who would try to take advantage of the situation, gaining wealth and currying favors by supporting the new regime.
The clattering of his tools against metal sounded familiar, yet offered no comfort.
"J, on second thought, send out some of the lenients into the woods." The lenient were one of the five different types of robots he had designed and brought with him. They were thinner than the sentinel class. They were still combat capable, but were more geared towards medical care. "If there's any raping or violence beyond an open handed slap break up the dispute. Damage but do not kill the offender. Offer the victim first aid then offer to take him or her back to the city."
"What shall I do with the perpetrator?"
"Send their image and crime to the hive mainframe then have a sentinel pick them up. Put them in a house and keep them guarded. We'll have trials once things settle down. Let them think I'm a just ruler." Another irony.
"Very well, Sir. Forces have been deployed."
After a few more hours of tinkering Tony decided to retire for the night. Jarvis had originally suggested that the engineer should sleep in the former king's chambers since it was an easily defendable position and well furnished. Tony had decided against it once he saw it. He would not be able to rest in such a room.
It was regal, but clearly lived in.
The bed had been disheveled, both sides clearly used daily. There were touches of love everywhere- a wooden sword that was clearly hand carved, a handful of pebbles in a jar, something that a child would give to their parent, a tapestry depicting the whole family, a necklace with green and blue jewels that matched the colors of the two former princes' eyes.
Just like the rest of Asgard, the room made Tony feel nauseous.
Instead he had opted for a simpler room. From the lack of personal affects he'd assumed it was guest quarters. A sentinel was in each corner of the room. Tony didn't even see them. They were just an extension of Jarvis after all. A lenient brought him a special brew that Bruce had originally concocted when Tony's nightmares had nearly driven him insane.
Perhaps they had driven him insane.
What sane man would-
He brushed aside the thought before it could fully form.
The time for morals had long since passed.
Tony woke up screaming. His arc reactor almost popped out of his chest from the strength of his heart pounding against it. He let out a strangled cry while clutching his head.
The medicine had worked. Tony couldn't remember the dream, but that didn't mean he couldn't feel the absolute anguish.
Pepper was gone. Her fingers bloody, nails broken from when she had desperately scratched at the beam that crushed the lower half of her body. Her lips ashen, beautiful eyes unseeing.
"Report Jarvis." He said breathlessly.
"Prisoner accounted for. No attacks. All Aesir in the city square are accounted for. The walls are un-breeched. Three rapists apprehended. Thirteen individuals willingly came back to the city. Special chocolate has had desired effect. Thermal scans of forests completed. 119 Aesirs identified in the forest. Castle completely mapped out. All secret passages out of the castle have been dammed. Your orders, Sir?" A lenient handed Tony a glass of water. The engineer downed it quickly.
"Have all spare lenient excluding my attendants start cleaning up the houses. Start with addresses that you gathered from the captured Aesir. Collect all books. All fiction is to be taken to the royal library. In a month I want all titles catalogued. Duplicates can be destroyed. Books on history and magic are to be burned. Any books on local wildlife and plants are to be taken to my study." Tony paused. "Did I miss any other categories?"
"Many, but I believe I can puzzle out what to do with the rest."
"You'll be a good ruler, J."
"Hopefully that won't be for a long time." There was a sad tinge to Jarvis' voice. Tony didn't respond.
Breakfast was brought to him by a lenient.
Surrounded by robots. At least that stayed the same.
Kings were often assassinated by their servants. At least Tony didn't have to worry about that.
He slowly by his lab on his way to the kitchens. The birds- robots the size of a magpie, fluttered around, performing small repairs on the damaged sentinels.
Sentinels, lenient, hives, bees, and birds.
Birds and the bees.
Tony chuckled.
What the hell was wrong with him? He'd given the robots such stupid names. That was nothing new though.
He only ate half of his breakfast. It was pathetic, but he could barely stomach more than a few spoonfuls. He did gulp down his mead though.
One of the sentinels handed him a freshly printed map of the castle and of Asgard. He carefully memorized every inch, taking note of what needed to be changed logistically.
Tony slowly walked to his lab. None of the birds were repairing his sentinels.
"All broken or damaged sentinels have either been repaired or cannibalized. Holographic systems put in place." Jarvis reported. Tony nodded before reaching his hand out. Blue light flared to life. With a twitch of his finger schematics for more robots were being displayed.
Androids for teaching children, androids to police the streets, androids to be sent to the other realms to facilitate trade, and so much more. All roles that would eventually be filled in by his citizens once their population was large enough and yielded to his rule.
There would be no religion in his new society. He would foster a culture of improvement. A new world that would be better than all the rest. He was an engineer after all, and he specialized in creating the impossible.
There would always be strife though. He could see no way around that. Tony had planned ahead though. Jarvis would be the benevolent ruler- well, mostly benevolent. Tony and Jarvis would never show mercy towards the prisoner.
After Tony's reign Jarvis would rule along with politician androids that would be the head of each political party, conforming to the ideas of their party. They would give the people a voice and would be the main form of communication between the city and the castle.
Tony was still undecided if he wanted to do a CSPAN program in which the citizens could watch the party leaders and Jarvis debate on legislation.
He also had ideas for lawyer and judge androids, because where there was law there would be those who broke them. Those robots would also be replaced by citizens, eventually.
All his plans would come together. They always worked out. It just took time.
Tony worked for 43 hours straight, letting Jarvis take control of everything outside of his kingdom. He only stopped working because his hands were shaking far too much for him to even wield a screw driver. A sentinel and lenient helped carry him to bed.
"Report, J, short version." He said while yawning. A lenient handed him his nightly brew. He drank it down quickly.
"Prisoner accounted for. All plans are underway. Nothing new to report." Jarvis responded immediately. Tony turned on his side. The bed felt cold. It was always cold.
"Have you thought of a new name for our kingdom yet?"
"Perhaps something about renewal or rebirth." Jarvis suggested and Tony let out a dark chuckle.
"This is not a story of renewal or rebirth, J." Tony grinned bitterly.
"Perhaps we should name it after…"
"No, she'd hate that." Pepper always hated violence. She wouldn't want her namesake to be a city built on blood. "Just keep at it, Jarvis. We'll think of something eventually." The hero turned ruler said, falling into a drug induces slumber.
Tony woke to the feeling of complete anguish. That was nothing new. A lenient was there waiting for him, a mug of mead in hand. Tony drank it without question. Jarvis knew best.
"I was thinking," Tony mused while shaving. He didn't even know why he was shaving. There was no one he needed to look good for. He supposed it was purely out of habit.
"Yes, Sir?"
"Do you think the Aesir are heartless?"
"Of course not, Sir."
"So they wouldn't needlessly kill children?"
"Some may if you're speaking of human children as I assume you are. You are aware of what grief can do to people." Tony nodded and set aside his straight razor.
"A program then. For each child a family takes in they will receive a better house and an extra income. A reverse one-child policy of sorts. An even bigger stipend should be given to the Aesirs that have their own kids. Later on an even larger income when they have mixed children. You said the Aesir and humans are biologically compatible?"
"Our test indicated that, though no proper tests could be done, obviously."
"Also, large wedding gift for when an Aesir or human gets married."
"Shall we still administer golden apples?"
"Yeah, but we have to be sure that their minds don't stagnate. This culture stayed the same for far too long."
"A culture of constant improvement." Jarvis paused. "Shall I give the daily report?"
"Go for it."
"Prisoner accounted for. All Aesir have been gathered in the square. Forests are clear. 20 Aesir are willing to help the new regime. Rations have been distributed. The masses are relatively calm. All that are injured have been attended to."
"Good. I guess it's about time I do my introduction." Tony activated his bracelet and his inky black suit formed around him. He hadn't bothered to name it. "Assemble a nice group of sentinels to flank me. Announce my presence ahead of time."
"And how shall I announce you?"
"As their new ruler. I need no name."
"Very well, Sir."
Lenients opened the doors for him, making it a quick trip out o f the castle. He didn't bother to look at the streets, nor acknowledge how barren they were. He set down a block away, two sentinels flanking him and two more behind him.
"Silence in the square." Jarvis' posh voice said, cutting through the murmur. "Your new ruler has arrived." The sentinels that guarded the square parted as Tony arrived.
Tony looked over his citizens. Angry eyes, tear stained cheeks, bloodstains, tattered clothing, all covered in light blue blankets he had issued. In the middle of the square was a fountain, still running, most likely from an actual spring. Makeshift toilets were in each corner, providing just enough coverage to maintain modesty. Empty ration packets littered the area.
Mothers gripped children to their chest. Men glared. The elderly looked weary.
"Good morning." Tony said, his voice amplified by his suit. The Aesir sneered at him. He supposed it really wasn't that great of a morning for them, or him for that matter. "As my second in command Jarvis stated I am your new ruler. The royal family is effectively dead. Other than you all the only ones still alive are those that took advantage of the chaos and hurt other Aesir. They are housed in a separate location." The devastation on the faces of the Aesir deepened. "The forests have been searched thoroughly and all those that were hiding there have been gathered-"
"You monster!" A woman shouted while throwing a cobblestone at Tony. He easily shot it out of the air. Two sentinels moved forward to capture the woman. She had a crazed look in her eyes.
"Leave her be." He ordered Jarvis and the two sentinels immediately stood down. "You're allowed to be angry with me, to hate me." Tony chuckled, and it sounded crazed even to him. "If anything I encourage it, just know that retaliation will be quick and efficient." Tony held up his gauntleted hand and formed a fist. "The legal system will be similar to your previous one. For the time being you all will be confined to the city. Houses are being cleaned out. In a week you will be permitted back into them. You can either return to your previous home or if you take in orphans you'll be permitted larger housing. Jarvis will explain more about that later.
"If you have a grievance that does not pertain to my abrupt conquest you may take it to one of my lenients." Tony pointed towards the slimmer model of android. "Your grievances will be addressed promptly. A change of clothing will be provided later today and four shower stalls will be set up. Men and women are equal. Magic is impossible now. Violence against my troops or your fellow Aesir will not be tolerated. Your military has been wiped out as well as your government. Either fall in line or die. I have no qualms with extinguishing the rest of your race. There are plenty of other races who would love free housing, healthcare, and food." Many of the Aesir shifted uneasily. "Things won't always be free though of course. We will have an economy.
"Your most closely related race is the Vanir, similarly they're your closest ally. I will be importing orphans from both Vanaheim and Midgard." Tony could see the looks of surprise on their faces, surprise and suspicion. "Jarvis will explain further on the repopulation plan." Tony lowered his fist, taking on a more relaxed stance. "My troops and I are dispassionate. We will not touch your women nor your wealth. All that we care about is that you follow our laws and do not try to enter the castle." Tony abruptly took off, startling many of the Aesir. Four sentinels followed him back to the castle. "What are they saying?" He asked Jarvis.
"Most are confused and mourning, though I can see many of them are relieved. The 20 Aesir that secretly agreed to work with us are trying to convince them that cooperation would be best."
"Perfect." Tony set down at the castle entrance, two lenient opening the large doors for him.
"The dermistad beetles have finished cleaning the flesh off the bodies in the throne room and have been properly exterminated."
"I'm sure you've started making the room all pretty again." Tony said while taking off his helmet. He paused inside the castle and his armor peeled off. It flew through the halls and back to his workshop.
"Redecoration is already underway." Tony nodded silently, heading toward the throne room. He could already hear his lenients going to work. Just as he'd envisioned- skulls lined the walls and ribs were placed over the doorway. A lenient brought out a simple mop and bucket.
"Leave the bloodstains." He ordered, staring down at one particular dried puddle directly in the middle of the room. He sat on the throne, his shoulders feeling heavier than ever. "Remind me what her name was again."
"Whose name?" Jarvis asked as Tony closed his eyes in thought and exhaustion.
"The one he loved." Tony smiled maliciously, a sick joy settling in his gut.
"Her name was Frigga, Sir."
"Frigga…" He turned the name around in his mouth, his eyes going back to the bloodstained ground. "Then that's what we'll name the city."
Another reminder, but at least this one made him grin.
I already have an idea for the sequel. All in Loki's POV, of course...