Lt. Rhodes gathered up his thoughts as he watched alien technology move pass his vision, Shield had been busy with many branches since it was first born in the era of the forties. He tried to keep his thoughts from the woman currently on the hospital bed hooked up to strange machines that on his best days he would want nothing to do with, he flinched as another needle impacted the woman's thigh. It was a secret disgust of his against needles, (not a fear no matter what Stark said, he was just, squeamish with injections.) The truth of the matter was Lt. Rhodes had to watch his father waste away at a hospital and his last living memory of his father was a large needle helping ease his sleep, he didn't wake the next day. Rhodes had just been a small boy then, and the memory lingers viciously on his conscious whenever a needle crosses his path, he had lost a few good friends to drugs by needles as well. So Lt. Rhodes was no fan of needles at all, and watching the sluggish crawl of silverfish silver tinted red blood made his skin crawl. It was only after his mind slowed the process down did he acknowledge the silver tinged to otherwise regular red blood.
That small detail did not bode well for the origin of the woman, even less was Fury's darkening gaze over the glowing computer screens. He watched Fury watched the screen with a stretching grimace, for seconds passed before the screen flickered with the red of a dozen lives that Loki had caused to pass from this realm, in that the screen screamed the woman was not of this world. Rhodes swallowed thickly, another alien, one of great power judging by Fury's expression, found outside of Loki's destruction. It did not bode well for the future of the woman, and nor did it bode well for the future of the human race judging by the output of power that just blew the generators that was powering the scanners. Stark was going to be so pissed….
Rhodes lowered his head and let his eyes lie on the bracelet around his wrist, blowing out a haggard breath he tapped the wristlet. The sound of jovial devil may care swagger flirted through the small screen that popped from the wristlet, it lasted all of a second before Tony read his expression. Tony sighed with a frown crossing over his normally expressive face of excitement while a glass of liquor appeared in his hand.
"Rhodey how is it every time you call me lately I end up depressed, annoyed, or frustrated?" Tony asked while tipping the glass to his lips with a quirked eyebrow. "And is this time going to be any different?" He added as he gaged the atmosphere on the other side. Rhodes debated on what to tell his close friend as he watched Fury stalk over, and sighed.
"We're going to need a rush order on your new technology, something just blew the generators." Rhodes answered and watched Tony's eyebrow climb higher in surprise.
"Something Rhodes, as in someone maybe big and green, or blond and buffed out, or is it one of those creatures we had just taken out?" Tony's famous snarky conversational skills appearing like money to his company. Rhodes response was cut off by Fury's face appearing over the small screen and bore a hole through the billionaire.
"Yes Stark, something." And that was Fury's way of closing the conversation. Tony clicked his tongue, holding an intense staring competition with the Director before near slamming his glass to the table he had been sitting behind.
"Damn it Fury, you claim I'm not a team player but I'm not the one hiding secrets now am I?" Stark bit out with a growl, this was not the playboy at the moment, but Iron Man defending his home.
"Yes Stark, government secrets, secrets that protect our national security, I don't recall you being a government official do you?" Fury prompted, and Rhodes felt like he had been forgotten in the exchange.
"Yes and how well did those secrets serve you the last time you tried to keep it on the side, perhaps those eighty people could have lived?" Tony bit back arms crossing over his chest.
"Necessary sacrifices, and they knew what they signed up for, no one regrets their lives lost more than I." Fury growled back, shoulders tensed with agitation.
"Necessary?!, and how could anyone possibly know about a powerful ignored younger god coming to play on our Earth?" Tony snapped, he didn't missed Fury's tightening of his eyes before slamming his hands on the table. "Fine, you'll get your technology Fury, but I doubt Phil knew what he was getting himself into that day." Tony finished and then his eyes jetted to Rhodes. "Don't call me for any parties next time Rhodes, I thinking I'm getting too old for the type of parties you hang with nowadays." Tony stated, and the screen flicked off, Rhodes winced perceptively before harshly sighing, sometimes it was hard being a military man first and foremost.
His eyes dragged from his wrist and Fury to the unconscious woman with a sad sigh. "What are we going to do with you?" He asked and felt Fury's heavy hand settle on his shoulder.
"I'm going to leave this decision up to you Rhodes, you brought her in, but first I should tell you your options and what we found out before the computer system blew." Fury spoke softly. "I do not need to tell you anything you see or hear is confidential right?" Fury reminded and saw Rhodes solemn nod.
"Well then, the first thing you need to know is her blood had a match…from over several years ago, too many years ago…" Fury spoke and Rhodes startled slightly as Fury led him deeper into the hidden bunker.
Thor worried his steps before his mother as both gazed out toward where the Asgardian prisons resided. Both gazes fell to Freyja's hands clasped between them was a glowing blue orb, as blue as the blood that flowed in the man's veined skin. Thor looked at his brother's powers resting in the casket of his mother's hands. Loki's punishment had yet to be meted out, but Odin was not allowing the wild child his powers while he debated over Loki's fate. A debate neither he nor his mother wished to be a part of for their heart sorrowed for the misguided man. Each time Odin wished to bring full brunt to his wayward son, Freyja would step in and soothed such thoughts. However, punishment must be given, and once again felt the weight of eighty lives, even if they were mortal lives, that made them all the more precious.
Freyja's thoughts were more judicious and judgmental toward the Midgar realm, Loki may not have been born of her womb, but she borne his childhood and raised him as a mother should. Loki's existence had always been a dark spot in Asgard, originally not because of his actions but because his birth. He bore the brunt of his heritage without the knowledge of why the palace dwellers always drew away and sneered, he was never welcomed. Thor, of course when he was younger picked up on and bullied his younger brother with good-natured ribbing, but the lost child had needed a supportive pillar. Freyja tried to be that for the young son, the young Odinson and Laufeyson, a son of the All-father and a Frost Giant queen, a son born for peace but bred for war.
Loki's once powerful and great structure reclined tiredly against the bland wall with an angry sneer. His mouth currently curbed by the prisoner mask but he had heard the jovial statements of sowing his lips shut. He would be the first to be graced such a punishment, but it fit the "Prince of Lies," as he was called with derision. Loki found disgrace with such a statement; he certain misled, and would outright twist things, but never straight lied, that was far too simple. However, the greatest lie was not even of his own doing, but of the man he had looked to as a father. He bore of 'dirty blood,' an ice giant, a son of the greatest enemy of Asgard. His future lay before him; he was never to be welcome into the hallowed halls of Asgard, or of Val Halla, he was to be ousted to the realm of Jotunn a forgotten entity never to be looked upon fondly. The rest of Asgard hierarchy had known of his birth-line and now his past made sense in how he was always an outsider, slimmer than a natural Asgardian, built for speed not power.
Yes it was all written out quite clearly, so why was it so wrong to seek out a different destiny? He had been raised a king even if the rest of Asgard tried to bury that, so if he could not have the throne of Asgard then why not of Midgar? Granted uniting lands required Great War it normally was finished by a single ruling entity; after all he was only following the history of Asgard. Yet, Thor had been sent to Midgar to learn humility and grew to love Midgar as much as Asgard, and like the favored son Thor was given Midgar as well. Loki would have left Midgar well enough alone if he had not seen that Odin would grant both to Thor instead of giving Asgard to him and letting Thor keep to Midgar. So, when Thor returned, he erased himself from Asgard and went to take Midgar to keep it safe after his brother's heart. Yet once again, something and someone else was more precious than him! Midgar called for his brother and he came on behest of Odin's order, and he now rots in prison awaiting a sentence. He would have been a king, not a tyrant, but he was never given a chance. "I only asked them to kneel, not to die.."Loki whispered ignoring the small tear track creeping down his face.
