Chapter two
When we reached the main room again everyone had gathered, Nat sitting the cushiest looking seat, Banner, Clint, and Tony on the couch, Steve leaning against the wall. Sam was back at his house, so knew nothing of what was currently going on. Thor looked back at me and I shrugged.
"The bifrost isn't exactly the quietest form of transport, ya know." I grumble and Thor smiled slightly.
"No, it is not," He turned back to the others, "It is good to see you again, my friends." He greeted.
"It's good to see you too, Thor." Steve replied. Why did he have to be so formal about everything? I just stopped myself from rolling my eyes, sitting on one of the bar stools and facing Thor, not taking my eyes from him.
"We weren't expecting you back this soon," Nat said, "What's going on?" She asked.
"Recently the aether was discovered." Thor explained and I sighed.
"Yeah, we realise this. You caused quite the stir at Greenwich." I grumbled.
"Well, it brought to light just how little my father understands humans. I would like for there to be a treaty between those from Asgard and those from Midgard. However, he does not support Midgardians setting foot on Asgard," Thorns eyes landed on me and I sighed, knowing where he was going with this idea, "Tyra, I would never ask if I could see another way." Steve frowned.
"Wait... You're asking her to go back to Asgard with you?" He asked, clearly shocked, "She knows nothing about the place."
"Plus she hasn't recovered completely from her operation." Tony stepped in. Clint and Nat just shared looks, then their eyes landed on me as I chewed my bottom lip slightly, thinking it over.
"It's down to her in the end." Banner said, not really looking at anyone in particular. Thor didn't take his eyes off me.
"No, last time you asked she didn't want to go, and that wasn't very long ago, why would things have changed?" Tony asked. He was clearly a bit desperate but I shook my head.
"It's OK, Tony," I muttered, looking at the floor, bracing myself for what was to come, "I'll do it."
"Tyra, are you sure?" Steve asked, frowning in concern. I shrugged, forcing a small smile onto my face.
"I have to meet him someday, don't I?" Everyone knew who I was talking about. Odin.
"Think on it. I don't need an answer right now." Thor reassured me, but I shook my head.
"If you give me time to think on it I'm just going to change my mind. Trust me on that one. I'll go. Don't know exactly what you want me to do other than talk to him about humans, I'm not exactly trained as a diplomat, but I'll go," Thor looked like he was about to object but I shook my head again, "Please, don't give me a choice. Just... lock in yes as my final answer. We'll handle the rest later." Thor nodded and I looked around at the coffee, eyeing it up as the others quietly made their excuses and went back to bed, soon leaving just me and Thor in the room. I could feel hid eyes on my back as I poured the coffee into a couple of mugs, quietly making it to our tastes.
"You're not as well as I originally thought, are you?" He asked as I handed his mug over to him. I just shrugged.
"I'm as well as I ever am, considering the many surgeries I've hand on my brain... considering everything that I've done." My voice was quiet and Thor frowned.
"Everything you did while that technology was in your mind... it was not of your own accord."
"I know. But it still comes back to me. I still did those things," I shook my head, "I don't really want to talk about it."
"Tyra – "
"I said I don't want to talk about it," I snapped, "It won't change anything." I mumbled the last part, looking down into my coffee. Thor didn't say anything, but it was obvious that he was still worried about me, they all were, even if they weren't about to say as much.
"The less you talk about it, the more it will bother you." Thor mumbled and I just glared at him.
"The only reason it's bothering me is because you lot want me to talk about it. If you stopped going on about it, maybe I could forget it." Thor looked a little taken aback, but I ignored him, heading to my room once more. Yes, I was happy to see him again... but I needed time on my own. Now more than ever. He hadn't said when we would be heading to Asgard, but just knowing that I was going to be going there made me fell sick to the stomach. Tony was right. I wasn't ready to meet Odin, doubted he'd be ready to meet me either. But that was coming, and sooner than I had wanted. I closed my bedroom door behind me and sat down at my desk, setting the cup of coffee off to the side so I couldn't bump it and if it fell over for some reason it wouldn't get all over the electronics. Then I just watched the screen, Barnes no longer in view. Why would he be? It's not like he'd stand around all day just so I could watch him. If I could find him, then others could too. Hadn't thought of that when I agreed to go to Asgard. I chewed my bottom lip. Barnes was the Winter Soldier. He'd managed to stay hidden this long, he could manage without me hiding his tracks for a few days.
We left a couple of days after that, Steve pulling me into a quick hug.
"Be careful." He muttered in my ear.
"You don't know me at all, do you?" I chuckled back, stepping away from him and getting pulled into another hug by Tony before Thor took me out to the balcony and called for Heimdall to open the bifrost. Tony and Steve were standing next to each other, neither of them looking too crazy about the idea of the not being able to help me if I got into trouble. I shot them a reassuring look before the golden light flooded down from the sky and engulfed me and Thor.
"Hold on to me." Thor commanded, taking my hand in his. I did ands he said, holding on tightly as we were swept up and went shooting off through space. It was one of the strangest sensations I had ever felt, but I didn't entirely dislike it. When we landed I was grinning, even laughing slightly.
"OK, that wasn't quite what I expected." I grinned, then looked at the other man in the room. He was dark skinned wearing golden armour, a sword in his hands. He pulled it out of a pedestal type thing effortlessly and stepped down from the platform in the centre of the room.
"It is good to meet you, Tyra." He greeted, his voice low and rumbling, warm. He smiled at me and I gave him a shy smile back.
"Ah... hi..." I glanced around at Thor, who just smiled back.
"Tyra, this is Heimdall, keeper of the bifrost." He said, introducing me to the stranger. I looked back around at Heimdall, head slightly to the side.
"Huh... I read about you. You're known as the Shining God," I paused, "But you're also supposedly the whitest of all the Gods. Seems the legends got a couple of things wrong." Heimdall chuckled slightly, drawing a more confident smile from me.
"It would seem so." It surprised me that he wasn't too surprised by what I'd said, or creeped out.
"Is my father at the castle?" Thor asked and Heimdall nodded.
"He is, my prince. He waits for you in the throne room." Thor nodded and motioned for me to follow him. I did, pausing briefly to shoot another smile at Heimdall.
"It was nice meeting you." I said, and Heimdall nodded before I turned and continued following Thor. I almost stopped when I saw what the rest of Asgard was like, taken aback by the sheer beauty of it all. I prided myself on having a fairly vivid imagination, but in all my dreams I could never have come up with something like this. The bridge we walked on was made of a rainbow crystal-like substance and lit up where we placed our feet, the water around us sparkling in the light. I didn't even realise how childish I looked as I admired the world in wonder. Thor didn't say anything, simply smiling.
"How big is this place?" I asked and Thor shrugged.
"Big enough."
"Yeah, but... how big? I mean it's nothing like I expected. How come it's so... gold? Couldn't you have used some more imaginative colours? Though, I doubt that any other colour would have quite this effect... It's beautiful."
"I'm glad you like it," I looked at Thor and grinned, "I'm glad you came." I looked back around at the castle rising in the middle of the city, feeling my excitement drain from my body.
"Yeah... I'm still not sure that I am." I admitted.
"It will be fine. Just be yourself." Thor advised, knowing that I was meaning my meeting with Odin. I scoffed.
"Yeah, like that's gonna be a piece of cake. How am I supposed to be myself when there are no computers nearby?" I smiled slightly so Thor believed I was joking, but I wasn't. Being around tech was about the only time I did feel like my old self. We walked on in silence for a little while before I couldn't help but let my curiosity get the better of me, glancing around at Thor as we stepped off the bridge and into the city itself, which buzzed with life.
"So when am I going to meet him?" I asked. Thor looked around at his people, frowning slightly before looking down at me again.
"I think it would be better if you changed into Asgardian garb before meeting him."
"Thought you just said to be myself?" My eyes narrowed and Thor chuckled.
"Yes, but he doesn't want Midgardians around. So you wearing clothes from Midgard might make things harder for you."
"Terrific. Our father is sounding more and more petty minded by the second." I growled.
"Last time we had a Midgardian on Asgard, Malekith returned for the Aether and killed my mother." Thor explained and I felt slightly guilty. Only slightly.
"It wasn't a human that killed your mother, though. It was Malekith. Your girlfriend shouldn't be blamed for it, and Midgardians in general shouldn't be blamed either."
"That is what you are here to convince him of." Thor pushed open the doors and stepped back to let me inside, my eyes widening slightly as I took in the sight. Pillars stood tall around the hall and light shone in from windows higher on the walls, the ceiling itself pretty impressively high. I gave a low whistle as I looked around before Throwing dragged me through a door to the side, sending me to a small room off the corridor. I looked at him in confusion.
"Someone will be here shortly with clothes for you," He explained, "I am going to inform Father that you are here."
"Wait, Thor!" I called, rushing after him, but he'd already vanished down the halls. I sighed, hitting the door frame. I could vaguely feel where people were in this place, but I couldn't identify which one was Thor. Slowly I turned back around and looked at the room I was in, taking in the bed and desk, how extravagantly decorated the place was, if a bit empty. Obviously no one actually slept here. But why would there be a bedroom so close to the entrance? The possibility that this room was set up for me slipped into my mind, but I shrugged it off. Why would they arrange a room just for me? I wasn't anyone important, so why go through all that bother? Except... I was kinda important... I was the ambassador from Earth as well arms the bastard daughter of the king. So why here? Why not somewhere safer from attack? Not that I really needed protection... Someone knocked gently on the door and I slowly walked over and peered out, a nice looking woman with curly brown hair standing in front of me, a bundle of cloth in her arms.
"Prince Thor asked I give you these." She said, holding the pile out to me. I took it from her, admiring the colour of the dress. Most of it was made of blue-green, the sleeves golden.
"It's beautiful," I muttered, the looked back up at her, "Thank you." The woman smiled, nodding slightly before turning and leaving. I closed the door and arranged the dress on the bed, quietly taking off my shirt before slipping into the dress. It felt wrong, me wearing a dress. Usually I wore jeans and a tank top, dresses weren't something I looked at buying. I'd never found them all that comfortable. But this one wasn't too bad, thankfully. Still wanted shorts or something to wear under it. It was tight fitting around the waist, loosening off again afterwards, the hem falling to just brush the ground as I walked, and I could see it getting very dirty very quickly. There was also a cloak, but I didn't put that on. I'd watched the Incredibles enough to know what happened when you wore capes, so I wasn't about to put it on. Not right now anyway. Then it was just a matter of waiting for someone to get me so I could meet Odin for the first time. With nothing to distract me. Great. I slowly sat down on the bed, my anxiety causing a slight breeze in the room. I felt sick, almost like there was something creeping up behind me that I couldn't see, even if I did turn around. The door opened and I turned to look at Thor as he entered the room.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
"If I said no would it make any difference?"
"You will be fine, Tyra."
"So you've said. I still don't feel like I'll be fine." I reluctantly stood up and walked over to him, my hands shaking slightly. He paused a moment, then held out a couple of golden coloured gauntlets with four gems on each of them out to me. It took me only a fraction of a second to realise that the colour of each gem roughly matched the colours of the markings on my back. Red, green, blue, and a yellow-orange. Fire, air, water, earth. When I didn't move Thor took my right arm and clipped one of the gauntlets on it, then did the same to my left arm. A small frown appeared on my face and I looked down at them in wonder.
"I had them made specially," Thor explained, "Each gem has magic embedded in it to help you control your abilities while using less of your own power." I looked back up and him. If that was the case then it was no wonder that I couldn't feel the movement of the air much anymore.
"Thank you." I muttered, still taken slightly by surprise. I felt like I was saying thank you a lot today. Thor smiled.
"You're welcome," He replied warmly, "Shall we?" I nodded and followed him back down the halls, my dread increasing each step I took. I didn't even notice myself doing it, but my fingers started gently tracing the carved runes on my gauntlets, which were surprisingly comfortable, a sheet of soft cloth on the inside so the metal didn't rub on my skin as much. Then we stepped into a room with a throne sitting in pride of place, far too soon for my liking. On this throne was a man with white hair dressed in gold, a golden eyepatch covering his right eye, but I couldn't see anything holding it in place. I bit my lower lip, feeling my heart beating painfully in my chest. I'd faced Hydra, aliens, countless threats from other people, had sat in front of so many psychologists, principals, and done so many other things that could count as being frightening... but nothing even compared to how I was feeling right now. Not even when I figured out that I was being controlled by Hydra. Despite all of this, though, I couldn't help but smile slightly and struggle to contain a small chuckle as the thought that Odin was the first to invent Velcro slipped into my head.
"Father," Thor spoke, hauling back to what was happening at that moment, "I would like to introduce Tyra Jones of Midgard." Odin's one good eye turned on me and goose bumps went down my spine at the look in it. Cold, heartless... hating. But there was something else wrong... even with the gauntlets I could still feel a little of what was going on in the air currents and vibrations in the ground. Slowly I reached out with my mind, allowing myself to feel what the air did before slipping back into my own mind, struggling to act normally. All my nerves vanished at this single bit of information, but there was one more question left unanswered now. There was no way this man was really Odin, considering that the air almost went right through him in some places. Almost, but not quite... it acted differently around him than it would around other people. It was hard to explain. But I knew this man wasn't Odin, so who was he?
"What have I told you about bringing mortals to Asgard?" Odin asked, rather irritably.
"She is no mere mortal, Father," Thor frowned slightly, "Tyra is my sister, your daughter." Odin froze at this news, clearly taken by shock. I stepped slightly closer to Thor.
"I thought you told him that I was here?" I mumbled.
"I did. He was as unimpressed then as he is now."
"And when you told him I was here you failed to mention just who I am?" Thor looked at me a bit sheepishly and I sighed, shaking my head slightly before looking back at Odin.
"I do not have a daughter." He said, his voice completely flat, emotionless. My eyes narrowed slightly, but not enough for anyone else to notice.
"I assure you, Tyra is my sister. We share a parent. She is half Midgardian, half Asgardian. The humans have a way of checking these things and they tested it. Several times. There is no mistake." Thor sounded like he was straining to keep his tempter under control.
"And it's also certain that it's our father that we share. I have the same mitochondrial DNA as a human, and since Mitochondrial DNA only comes from the mother, then it's certain that I'm Asgardian on my dad's side," Thor looked around at me in mild confusion and I shook my head, "It's one of the few parts of biology I actually understand. Mitochondrial DNA is used in stuff to do with human evolution, don't ask me, I really don't know. Too confusing." Odin was giving me a similar look and I shrugged. None of us said anything for a moment, Odin obviously thinking quite hard. I shared a brief look with Thor, confused about what I should be doing, but he was clearly as unsure about that as I was.
"I would like to talk to her alone." Odin said, taking essentially everyone in the room by surprise. For a moment it looked like Thor was going to object, but then he just bowed his head.
"Of course, Father." Then turned, shooting me a look I couldn't quite find a word to describe, and left the room, followed by the few other people who had been in the room. Soon it was just me and Odin left. It was going to be interesting, I could tell that much. After all, he wasn't actually Odin... and if he figured out that I knew that, then I could be in big trouble.
"How old are you?" He asked suddenly, taking me by surprise.
"Almost 24."
"Where are you from?"
"You mean aside from Earth... Midgard, sorry," I shook my head, scolding myself for even briefly forgetting the name that the asgardians used for my home planet, "America. But, I'm guessing you already has a vague idea about that. Unless you met my mum somewhere else?" I asked, knowing that he couldn't answer that question without lying. He just watched me for a moment, unblinking as he clearly struggled with something.
"What are you doing here?"
"Thor wanted me to act as an ambassador between our worlds. At least until someone better qualified for the job could be found." There was no point in keeping anything from him, and I'd always been a bad liar anyway. Slowly he stood up and crossed over to me, stopping slightly too close for comfort.
"Why don't we both stop pretending?" He asked and I frowned, my heart beating a little faster.
"Sorry?"
"It's clear by the way you're acting you know I'm not who I seem."
"You've lost me." I struggled to hide my nervousness, but the fake Odin just smirked.
"If you believed you were talking to the real Odin then I could imagine you'd be stuttering a bit more, at the very least talking a bit quieter," Something in the back of my mind shifted and I started having to struggle to pay attention to what this guy was saying, trying to hold back the memory that was wanting to be remembered, "But you... You're acting like this is a perfectly normal occurrence, which gives me the impression that you know." For a moment I didn't say anything, didn't move, just wondering how I could get out of this mess. Hadn't been on Asgard for even a day and already I'd stuffed things up, terrific. Slowly I nodded, knowing there was no point in denying it.
"Yeah. I know you're not who you seem," I raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly, "Vaguely disappointed that you aren't using Velcro to keep the eyepatch on." I joked, getting a slightly smirk from the fake Odin.
"Do you know who I really am?" He asked, and I shook my head.
"No, but I doubt you're anyone nice. Not if the real Odin is missing. Where is he, by the way? I came all this way to meet him, it'd be a shame if I didn't."
"Don't worry about him. It's you that you should be worrying about." The illusion slowly vanished and there, standing in front of me, was someone who I knew all too well. Black hair, green and gold clothes, sly smirk... a longing for power... Loki. I had to fight not to take half a step back.
"You're dead." I muttered.
"Look pretty good, don't I?" He asked, holding out a hand to me, "You do shake hands on your planet, don't you?" He asked when I just looked at it, then flicked my eyes up to meet his and grudgingly held out my hand to shake his. When he released my hand I did take half a step back, something he didn't fail to notice, the smirk growing on his face.
"Why?" I asked, not quite sure where I was going with this question.
"Why what?"
"Why would you fake your own death? Why help Thor and then assume the throne in the..." I frowned, struggling to find the word, earning a strange look from Loki, "In the guise of your father," I looked back up at him, "What's the point?"
"He's not my father." Loki growled, turning his back on me.
"You're wrong." I muttered. Loki slowly turned and faced me side on.
"That man lied to me about who I was for most of my life. I only learnt of my true heritage not that long ago. So tell me, girl," He spat the word at me, "How is he my father?"
"He's more your father than mine," I replied, struggling to stay calm, "He was there for you all those years. Treated you as a son, loved you as a son. I know what it's like to not know your real family, I've been there. Maybe he's not your real father, but from the stories that Thor has told me about you, Frigga and Odin, you loved him, and you loved Frigga. If you could love her as your mother, why can't you love him as your father?" Loki smiled, laughing slightly.
"You know, for a human you aren't too stupid," He said, once again turning away from me and walking off a short distance, "She gave me answers when I asked for them. Odin, on the other hand, just went to sleep. How is that acting like a father to me?"
"Please, stop acting like you're the only one with daddy issues," I snapped, "Thor was lied to as well. I didn't know who I was for most of my life, either," I paused, suddenly realising something that seriously didn't put me at ease, "There are countless times that Odin could have made himself and my heritage known to me. But he didn't. You aren't as special as you think you are. People make mistakes, they always have. You've made a few of your own, I've made more than my fair share of them. You should forgive him." I knew that I should do the same, but even the thought of meeting Odin scared me, more than the thought that I was currently having a conversation with the very man that had tried to destroy my home, tried to rule my world.
"I owe that man nothing, why should I forgive him?" Loki snapped.
"It's not for him that you need to forgive him." I muttered.
"That makes no sense." He growled back and I shook my head.
"As much as I hate to admit it, Loki, we're more alike than you think. Both of us have been lied to by Odin, both of us grew up in families we didn't belong to and got hurt because of it," I paused, "Both of us ended up killing people because of the mistakes of others." But I knew the blame wasn't entirely on Odin, not even entirely on Hydra. I could fight the tech that used to be in my head, but I chose not to. Either that or didn't believe myself strong enough to. Either way, it was also partly my fault that so many died. They got killed by me, so there was no way I could escape the blame. I was guilty.
"I am nothing like you," Loki muttered, glaring at me again, "You're part human. You're heart bleeds for others, and all you feel is guilt. You never deserved to set foot in here." I raised my eyebrows.
"Not my fault I exist. Not entirely my fault I'm standing in front of you. And you never had to reveal yourself to me."
"Well, I figured it would be safe enough. Not like you're going to live long enough to tell anyone." Loki smirked and I felt my blood run cold. My hands clenched at my sides and the little memory at the back of my head started clawing at me to escape, but I couldn't let it. Not right now.
"You probably don't even need to kill me," My mouth acted without me even telling it to, "Considering I have plenty of memory problems. Can't even remember my family on bad days. Chances are I won't even be able to remember this whole conversation by tomorrow."
"Cute," Loki snarled, "You think I'm going to kill you now." I frowned, confused. Why wouldn't he kill me now? Wait much longer and I could have the chance to tell someone. Then he started walking towards me. I started stumbling backwards, somehow knowing that if he got much closer nothing good was going to happen. Unfortunately I didn't know the room too well and the gauntlets were blocking too much of my powers for me to rely on the air currents to find my way around without looking and soon I was trapped against the wall. To my surprise Loki didn't hurt me, just stroked my short hair, a small smirk on his lips.
"If you say anything to anyone about this," He started, a barely concealed threat on his voice, "I won't kill you, but everyone and everything that you have cared for. Do you understand?" He asked. I swallowed, hard, and glared at him. I knew there was no way I could get away with harming him, and he knew it too. That would just land me in even bigger trouble. I was out of options. Slowly I nodded, not at all happy about the decision. Loki slowly stepped away from me, the image of Odin reappearing. He walked out of the room and I sank to the floor, not even sure about what to think.