"The Tale of the Huntress"
CHAPTER TWO
Awareness came to her in a flash, in blinding lights and cold and high pitched sounds and voices. She threw her head up, brilliant crimson hair snapping, and in an instant she was crouched and ready for battle, her arm held out behind her, her brown-feathered cloak growing warm and weightless in anticipation. Her head snapped around, her turquoise eyes flashing from face to face and thing to thing. Everything was happening in slow motion – people waiting on stone walks, lights on a pole glowing brilliant green, a woman screaming and a man rushing forward, hands outstretched.
A great metal carriage, its sides gleaming in the many lights, sped towards her at a terrifying speed. It was as large as a bilgesnipe, and was too close to stop in time or for her to move.
She slammed her arms together, crossed, and felt the familiar rush of warmth.
There was an impact that never hit her, a screeching of metal that flowed over the top of her, and then it was silent.
Someone screamed. People shouted. A horn blared without stopping. The siren she had heard before passing out was louder now, and she saw another metal carriage with blinding red and blue lights flashing. A man leapt from it, and people shouted and pointed at her and they were frightened.
This was not her home.
Fear lanced through her. What had happened? Where was she? Where were her brothers? She had to get home, had to make sure they had made it, that Skadi had not gotten them.
If Skadi had taken her little brothers, after throwing her out into oblivion…
"Please," she called, rising to her feet with her hands open and out. "I mean no harm… I need help…"
"Look at what she did!"
"Heaven help us, it's another one!"
"She flipped that car, just hit it and crashed it and killed that man!"
"ANOTHER ALIEN!"
The words hurt.
The cop pulled his gun and held it trained on her, but his eyes were cautious. "Maam, I need you to come with me."
"I can't. I have to get home." She moved back. "Where am I?"
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you that, miss alien." The cop said. "Now stop moving, and put your hands on your head."
He wanted to capture her.
That was not going to happen.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, and threw her hands down.
The electrical lines exploded in showers of blinding sparks.
People screamed and ducked, trying to escape the wires that whipped down and danced along the ground, sparking and snapping. The cop tried to help people move away.
A golden hawk shot into the air and disappeared in the dark sky.
She flew and flew till she was far enough away from the scene she had caused. Flew and flew, looking and looking, trying to figure out where she was. None of this was familiar, none of it. It wasn't any of the Nine Realms, and her throat began to grow tight with panic.
The city faded into the distance, and the forests and hills rose beneath her, roads snaking their way across the land. Another town came into view, and she descended quickly, landing in a grove of trees, her talons digging into the dirt and her wings fluttering and folding. She rose to her full height and brushed her crimson hair from her face.
Perhaps she could find some help here.
Thinking back to the clothing of the people she'd seen, she removed her cloak and folding it and tucked it into her bag. None of them had been wearing capes or cloaks, and she must fit in.
With a deep breath, she stepped out of the trees and onto a street.
This was not a town. This was a bustling metropolis, with activity and crowds and lights even at this time of night. For the most part the people seemed friendly, or at least unaggressive. She walked and walked, her feet melting the snow beneath them… a good thing, else she would have left scorch marks.
She was never sure why her feet did that.
It was why her father had all the floors of the palace made of stone.
Someone ahead of her folded up something and threw it into a bin. A waste bin. But the thing they'd thrown was paper. It looked like a pamphlet of some sort? Or a information paper? She hurried over and snatched it up, finding it to be quite large when unfolded and made of several sheets of paper, with pictures printed on it and words upon words. A paper to communicate events across this land, it seemed. She scanned the words, found a date…
December 15, 2024.
The language was English.
This was Earth.
Her stomach rolled and she backed up till she hit a building, and slid down its rough surface to the stone walkway beneath her.
She was on Earth, one thousand four hundred and ninety-four years in the future.
Her breaths came in gasps, her throat constricting till it hurt, and then constricting some more. Her eyes stung and grew hot, and she wished the tears would just fall, but they didn't.
"Hey – are you okay?"
People were noticing her. A group of young women had stopped, and one of them was cautiously stepping forward, concerned.
"Yes." She forced a grin, and stood up, fingers white-knuckled in the paper. "I'm fine. Just had a lot happen today, that's all."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. But… may I ask, do you have warriors here?"
The young woman's brow crinkled. "Warriors?"
"Yes – warriors? Those who give aid?"
"Like… police?"
Police. She turned that word over in her mind, and recalled the word on the side of the car with the flashing red and blue lights. She shook her head. "No. Never mind," she smiled again. "Thank you."
Before they could ask more she turned and hurried down the walkway, pushing her hair behind her ear, looking round and round.
The people before had called her an alien. They had been frightened because she was 'another alien.' She could hardly believe that the man – the police? – was the one to take care of something like that. There must be another group, somewhere. She had to find them, she had to convince them she was just lost and wanted to get home.
The buildings were beautiful. They rose high into the sky, filled with a thousand twinkling, warm lights. Snow fell down around the bustling figures, huddled in their coats and scarves. The streets were lined with those strange metal carriages, their wheels spinning by magic, lights shining like beacons from the front to guide their path.
Music caught her ear. Soft caroling, voices rising and falling in beautiful harmony together. She turned her head and began to walk, looking for the source of the lovely melody, and when she turned a corner she met an explosion of colors. Before her was a crowd of people, all gathered around an enormous pine tree that was covered with glorious lights and shining ornaments. An eight pointed star rested at the top, glowing with bright rays of silver. She could almost feel the peace it radiated, and she looked at it without blinking, bathing in its glow. For all the magnificence of her father's palace, she had never seen a things more beautiful than this.
At the base of the tree there was a small group of people facing the crowd, all dressed in similar clothing, following the direction of a person holding a stick, which they waved and moved in rhythm before them. The music was lovely, speaking of peace and love and holiness, and she felt some of her tension melt away.
A celebration. This was a celebration. It explained the things she had seen in some of the windows she'd passed. Some sort of Winter Celebration.
A sign was near the singers. Donations… for those still recovering from … the snap? She wondered what that was.
The singing ended, and the woman who had directed turned to face the crowd. "Thank you." She said when the applause had ended. "As many of you know, it has been more than a year since the Avengers saved our world and brought back all of our loved ones."
The crowd applauded.
"Unfortunately, there are still many people whose lives have been uprooted and forever changed. Homes gone, families moved on. So much is still uncertain. People are still trying to fix their lives. So we are hosting a fundraiser, to help those people who are in desperate need, and everything you give tonight will go towards that fund…"
She stopped listening. She turned instead to someone in the crowd. "Who are the Avengers?"
He stared at her in disbelief. "You don't know?" he asked, skeptically.
She shook her head. "I've been in some trouble lately," she said, choosing her words carefully. "There's a lot I don't know right now."
"Mm. Well, I suppose this last year has been a bit crazy for us all, hasn't it? You must be one of the Dusted?"
She did know what a Dusted was, and held her tongue. It was all right, because he kept on talking.
"The Avengers, I hold them in great respect. Just like the Veterans of old. Risked everything, they did, to stop that madman and bring back out loved ones. He had a machine, a Gauntlet, they call it, that had the ability to wipe out anyone anywhere, and he did. But the Avengers, they never stopped. We all thought they were mutants, or dangerous, but turns out God just prepped them for this. He knew what was coming, and gave us the right people for the job. Took them five years, but they got him. That Thanos. Stopped him, took back his Gauntlet, and undid what he did. Brought everyone back. Don't know how it worked. I'm not a scientist, but I'm glad it did. I got my Carol back. That's all that matters to me."
Her heart fluttered with hope. "These Avengers… where are they? Where can I find them?"
He laughed. "If we all knew, they'd never know a moment's peace."
"Someone must know." She insisted.
"Well, they used to be over in Stark Tower over there." He pointed off in a vague direction. "But no one knows anymore where they've gone. They're always there when we need help, though, so they're not gone."
She muttered her thanks and turned and snaked her way through the crowd. She had a place to start.
Her fear began to bubble up again, fear for her brothers, for what had happened. It had been so many years. So, so many years. What if she couldn't get home? What if she could get home, only to find Skadi had done as she'd threatened?
She'd be one thousand four hundred and ninety-four years too late to do anything about it. To save anyone.
A warmth started down her core, filling her limbs, rushing with her veins, her mind and sight going hazy. Panic snapped through her, and she fought it, fought it with all her strength – she couldn't have an episode now! Couldn't lose her control!
She had to find the Avengers!
At Tony's house, things were far less hopeful. They had brought one of the corpses back with them, and Banner was currently studying it.
"You have to clean all this up before Pepper finds it." Tony said, his nose wrinkled, pointing at the goo and mucus dripping from the carcass on his table to the floor.
"Mm hm." Banner murmured, engrossed in his work.
"So you said these aren't from Asgard." Clint said, pacing. He stopped in front of Thor and pointed. "But someone had to have sent them. Unless they can open portals on their own."
"No," Thor shook his head, glancing at the fridge and clutching his glass of ice water resolutely. "They can't."
"I know that." Clint drawled. "Hence the conclusion that someone must have sent them."
Steve studied his feet, sitting backwards on a kitchen chair, his arms resting on the top of it.
"You know," Tony laughed, shaking his finger as he walked back and forth in agitation. "Every time you come down here, Point Break, you bring something with you."
"This was not my doing!" Thor protested, gesturing at the blue monster wolf on Tony's table.
"Of course not! None of it is ever your fault!" Tony exclaimed, spreading his arms out. "Things just always magically happen whenever you're around!"
"Tony." Steve warned tiredly.
"No, we never had any problems with outer space goons and monsters until you showed up." Tony's eyes were too big, his movements too sharp. "We just got done with the last big bad guy. And, I don't know, I thought we'd have maybe a little break? Every time you come here you bring some kind of death and destruction…"
"Tony!" Steve barked, rising to his feet.
"No, Captain. He's right." Thor looked weary, his gaze on Tony too old and ancient and tired for someone who still looked so young.
Tony, his outburst done, deflated and closed his eyes.
Clint sighed and went to the fridge, digging out a beer.
Banner leaned over the blue beast. "Tony, come on, man…" he whispered. "Don't you think that was a little harsh?"
Tony's lips thinned. "I'm only just getting my life back to normal." He murmured, and rubbed his forehead. "I just… I thought we were done." The floor creaked, and he looked up to see Thor disappear through his front door. He sighed.
Steve followed the Asgardian onto the porch. "You all right?"
Thor started, saw who it was, and went back to leaning on the porch rail. "I'm fine, Captain."
"Steve, Thor. Call me Steve. I think we're way past formalities and titles now, don't you?"
Thor stared out into the blackness.
"You know he didn't mean it. What he said." Steve crossed his arms and settled his stance, staring off into the dark that held his friend's attention.
"I know. He's scared, and rightfully so." Thor sniffed and straightened, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt up and zipping it closed. His breath fogged the air before him. "That's not what is troubling me."
Steve gave him a sideways glance.
"Mostly." Thor amended, crossing his arms to keep the winter cold at bay. He was not going to admit that Tony's words had echoed his own personal fears and guilt, that if he wouldn't come here bad things wouldn't keep happening.
"It's not your fault." Steve whispered. "None of it. What happened would have happened no matter what. And without you, we might not have been able to fix it."
Thor swallowed tightly. He still couldn't hear The Name without feeling his chest go tight and his mind scatter in fear. It used to be panic, so he supposed he was getting marginally better, but it still haunted his dreams and made him break out in a cold sweat.
"What is it that's troubling you?"
Thor exhaled and fidgeted. "When I look at those markings… at those wolves…" he shook his head, staring out into the blackness. "It feels as though a lifetime of pain that I have tried to ignore has come back. It feels as though I know them, but when I try to remember there is a wall, and behind that wall there is something… but there is such pain…" he kicked at the snow on the porch, gritting his teeth, unsure how to explain.
But Steve was nodding, thoughtful. "You think you've had a memory blocked?"
Thor circled his lips and blew out forcefully. He didn't want to believe it, didn't want to even think it, but his father had wiped out the memory of Hela.
What if Odin had wiped something from his memory?
And if so, what?
"You'll remember." Steve said confidently, and patted Thor's shoulder. "Maybe Strange can help you."
"Maybe."
"Guys," Clint poked his head out the door. "You're gonna want to see this."
Tony was on the phone with Fury, and Banner was holding the tv remote, staring in shock at the screen. A reporter spoke to the camera, while behind her the street was in chaos. A car was upside down and half crushed, while power lines dangled and sparked and emergency vehicles were everywhere. The road itself was gouged and torn up as if a meteor had hit it.
"Earlier tonight a terrible scene occurred, as you can see behind me. One man is dead, and three people injured. Witnesses claim it was a woman who did this. They say that she fell out of the sky into the path of an oncoming car, and that she made a forcefield and crushed the car and flipped it, killing the driver. When police tried to apprehend her, she made the power lines explode, injuring three more people, and then disappeared. Law enforcement is currently looking for her whereabouts, and ask that if you see this woman, to please call them directly."
A picture, blurry and not very good, was put on the screen. Probably from someone's cell phone. It showed a woman in a brown cape, with brilliant red hair.
"Life just keeps getting more and more interesting, doesn't it?" Tony quipped.
