Author's Note
Okay, just to make it clear: the beginning of this story is set prior to Thor: The Dark World. Actually, let's just all pretend that TTDW didn't happen, because (spoiler) I'm not killing off Frigga nor is Jane going to be possessed by the Aether. I can't recall if I've told all y'all this before, or if that was in a PM to someone who asked me when I responded to a review. Also, this fic happens prior to and somewhat during Guardians of the Galaxy. If you are not familiar with the other movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and any part of my story is unclear, then please let me know and I'll flesh it out. Hopefully, the new characters in this chapter won't throw you for a loop, but I've kept it short (just in case).
Sections entirely in italics denote flashbacks. Dialogue in both "italics and quotations" denote telepathic conversations. Numbers in [brackets] denote footnotes, which you can find at the bottom of the chapter. Nothing from the Marvel universe is mine.
~ Refictionista, December 9, 2014 [UPDATED: January 15, 2014]
§ Chapter XXIV §
the past will come to haunt you
Before creation itself, the nothingness was held together by six singularities. Then... the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots. The Infinity Gauntlet was designed to hold these six ingots, better known as the Infinity Stones. The Tesseract was one such stone.
Consequently, there were five others, each with its own unique properties. Each stone grants its bearer complete mastery over one aspect of the multiverse: Time, Space, Mind, Soul, Reality, and Power. When used in combination with their already impressive powers, the Infinity Gauntlet makes the wearer able to do anything he wants; however, this glove, it seems, can only be brandished by a being of extraordinary strength. Thanos, the last son of A'Lars, had long wished to use the stones to mow down entire civilizations and reap their souls. In his mad desperation to win the affections of Death, he dreamt of harvesting them like wheat in a field.
All enlightened beings and civilizations condemn the use of such savage power. Those like Thanos must hide in the shadows to grow in strength in order to reach their devastating and destructive goal.
Far beyond the reaches of the Asgardians and the nine realms, there is a pocket universe that hides itself from the rest of the galaxy. It is a dark, evil place and one without time. Death herself gave this... Sanctuary... to Thanos as his domain, a reward for the many souls he had already gifted to her.
Somewhere in Sanctuary, kneeling before a dark throne that floating above her, a cloaked figure waited for her turn to speak... as one did not speak to Thanos, known to all who feared as the Mad Titan, without being first spoken to and then asked.
The Other was addressing Thanos, his jarring metallic voice hissing like acid dancing over molten rock. "The Chitauri have failed," he reported. "The Asgardians have the Tesseract. The one we called our ally has since betrayed us. Now... this female requests an audience, yet beware... she herself once knew the heat of the traitor's warm bed."
Angrboða cringed, she had not expected the Other to know of this.[41] She pushed the hood of her cloak off her beautiful blonde hair and dared to raise her gaze to the base of the throne, showing Thanos that she did not fear the truth.
The Mad Titan's white teeth contrasted brightly against his hard purple hide as he smiled at Angrboða. "This I already knew, as I court Mistress Death. Long has my consort been well aware of Hela, Queen of Helheim, the daughter you birthed from mating with Loki." It was neither a statement nor a question, yet he waited for her response. "Speak," he commanded.
"Yes, Lord Thanos," replied Angrboða. "I seduced Loki centuries ago to produce Hela, not that my ungrateful progeny has yet to serve my wishes.[42] Does my past with this traitor concern you?"
"Concern? No. Only curious. After the second prince of Asgard failed to serve his purpose, Thanos of Titan could not care less whether he lives or dies." He turned back to the Other. "The past is dead. The present, my vizier, is war."
"Of course, my Lord," sniveled the Other.
"What is it that you wish of me?" Angrboða asked the Other. "Have you agreed to grant an audience to me before Thanos in exchange for capturing Prince Loki?"
The Other scoffed at the suggestion. "We have no need of you to reach the traitor. He was warned that if he failed, then there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where Lord Thanos couldn't find him."
Thanos laughed, "Indeed. He thinks he knows pain? I will make him long for something as sweet as pain."
"I have long sought to serve the Dark Lord. What purpose do you have for me?" Angrboða asked, still addressing the Other.
The vizier nodded. "Lord Thanos has need of all six Infinity Stones in order to wield the Infinity Gauntlet," he began. "Odin has the Tesseract. That prize, the Space Stone, was promised to Thanos by Loki, but there are still other stones that must be acquired. Another rumored to be held by Odin as well." The Other curled his lips in disdain. "The Asgardians are a pitiful race with delusions of grandeur."
"Indeed, they hold what is mine. It is no matter, for I shall paint the star-ways with their blood for this transgression. I already have plans to acquire the Tesseract and," Thanos paused to sneer, "to reacquire the Chitauri scepter at the same time."
"He refers to the Mind Stone," the Other said quietly to Angrboða.
"The Asgardians do not know the power of the weapon they took from Loki. It is unwise of them to keep two Infinity Stones in the same place. What I need from you, sorceress, is the Soul Stone, otherwise known as the Eye of Providence. I have received word that it was discovered long ago by Agamotto among the skies and stars, where it had drifted for ages. He took it to a realm you are familiar with, the human world, and that you in turn have sought for it." Thanos smiled, noting Angrboða sought permission to address him. "Speak," he said, leaning back on his throne.
"On Asgard, it was known as the Eye of Agamotto. It was stolen from Odin's vault of treasures by my grandfather, Set. He gave it to Osiris, ruler of Helopolis, as thanks for overthrowing Atum-Ra, who once tried to destroy him."[43]
"You claim it resides in Helopolis?" asked Thanos, narrowing his eyes at her.
He knows, thought Angrboða. "No, my Lord. As you said, it resides in Midgard, the human world. It was lost there when Set battled with Osiris to rule Helopolis. There have been reports of it throughout the history of that little world, where it came to be known as the Apple of Eden." She stood straight to give length to her long neck and a view of her ample breasts, "It is my birthright to claim this stone. For centuries, I sought it. I almost laid claim to it, until it was taken from my grasp by a mere hedge witch. In truth, I now know not where it is or who has it."
"Rejoice then," said Thanos. "We know where the Soul Stone is hidden. What boon would you request, were you to take back what is yours and then give it to me?"
Angrboða considered the query. Were she to finally get her hands on the stone and dare to keep it, Thanos would kill her. Yet, the stone itself was no more than a means to an end. What did she truly want?
"I am willing to cleave myself from the stone so you can create your Infinity Gauntlet and with it destroy worlds of souls for you to give in tribute to your consort, Mistress Death. I want, in short, what all humble villains want."
"And what's that?" asked the Other.
"Everything," she laughed. "A world, a realm of my own and the power to rule over everything and everyone that resides within my domain."
"That we can assent to," said the Other. "We will honor this agreement and give you a world of your choosing. Consider it an honor to be tasked with this mission; few in the company of Thanos for such a short period have been given an opportunity like this to serve him... and with such ease. You will be pleased to know, as Thanos said, that we know where the stone, this Apple of Eden, is hidden."
"I sent a Kree construct, a gift of subservience from another of my acolytes, Ronan the Accuser, to this human world." Thanos leaned back in his throne, a sign to the Other to speak on his behalf.
"Ronan holds fast to the ancient beliefs of the Kree, and with that comes their earliest and most powerful magic. We sent the construct he created to spy on the humans from the shadows. It has brought us news, and now we wish you to join our efforts in retrieving the stone." He turned behind him to call for the creature. "Come. Approach no further. Speak from where you stand."
A dark shadow flowed like water towards them. Plumes of vapor shifted, dispersed and then coalesced again. It gradually took the shape of a truly terrifying monster. "Thy bidding is done," it said. "The witch will soon not be a problem. We can soon go to Midgard to retrieve the relic shortly." The construct chuckled as if it had amused itself; two rows of sharp teeth were protruded menacingly in its attempt to smile.
Angrboða narrowed her eyes dangerously and said nothing. Was it fool enough to eliminate the one who last felt the power of the stone?
The Other hissed, his artificial voice filled with anger. "You were ordered not to harm her," he said and glanced over to the construct slyly. "I hope for your sake that you have not."
The construct's smile fell. It did not know if the witch had been injured; it left the human world after affirming that the other, younger girl was broken beyond repair. Its look of guilt was evident to all.
At this Angrboða rose slowly from prostration and practically glided over to the creature now cowering in fear. With a flick of her wrist, his body began to seemingly be pulled up by an invisible force around his neck. His grey hue became purple as he grew more and more desperate for air. Unable to return to its non-corporal state, he coughed, his eyes bulging and wide, as he clawed at neck. With another subtle hand movement, he was thrown forcefully against the rock wall. "Tell me now, worthless rassragr.[44] Did you touch one hair on her head?" she hissed.
It looked up in fear at Thanos, pleading. "No, Lord Thanos! I followed your instructions implicitly; I did not harm her," he sputtered. He began to slide slowly down the wall. "There was another girl, one not a witch. She is the one that I..."
"You spoke... and not through any intermediary!" Thanos roared. "You spoke directly to me!"
"You will pay for this insolence!" screamed the Other, slashing across its face with his talons. He turned to Angrboða. "Discipline this pathetic creature further as you see fit. Keep it if you still have need of it, but kill it if you wish. The task of retrieving the stone is yours, as are all who have served Thanos to retrieve it before you."
Angrboða bowed her head again. "I will serve you and your master well." She glared at the construct and turned angrily, pulling the hood of her cloak over her golden hair as she strode away from the floating throne. She didn't even look behind her as she threw a ball of energy over her shoulder that hit the construct with another strangling hold around its neck, throwing it into the rock wall behind it once more. It sagged limply down to the ground and struggled no more.
§
[41] In the Marvel comic's universe, this character's name is Angrboda (an Anglicized version of Angrboða). The 'ð' character is called the voiced dental fricative, a type of consonantal sound. It is familiar to English speakers as the th sound in father or this. Yet, not once have I ever seen it spelled out as Angrbotha. Am I the only one who thinks this is oddly interesting? FYI, the voiceless dental fricative is the character 'θ' as in the English thin.
[42] In Norse Mythology, Hel is the Jötunn daughter of Loki and Angrboða (Marvel renamed her Hela). The same parentage was alleged to be true in the comics, but (and I didn't know this myself until doing some fact checking) this was proven false in a 2012 comic, Journey into Mystery Vol 1 #645. I'm keeping Hela as his daughter, because she's already in my story outline and I have no idea how to rewrite Loki's back story with Angrboða without that. In the original mythology, Loki and Angrboða are both Frost Giants from Jötunheimr, as is Hel. Hel rules a realm with the same name (though sometimes it is referred to as Helheim). This dreary subterranean abode is the final destination of those who do not die in battle, but of old age or disease. It is not synonymous with the Christian/Jewish/Islamic Hell.
[43] In the comics, the 'Ennead' were the Gods of Heliopolis. They were based on the gods of Ancient Egypt. Like the Olympians in the comics (and the Asgardians, obviously), they have some pretty interesting storylines.
[44] I added an explanation on this word (rassragr) in Loki: Lover of Fidelity, Appendixes... in which doing so it changed the rating from K+ to M, due to some coarse language and a discussion on adult themes. You can find a link to that 'story' on my bio page. It is interesting if you like history.