Loki was speculating over the audits of Asgard. A few more days and it can finally be back in the black. He was rummaging through the papers when he was struck with an aching sensation. He was confused when the sensation struck again. A pain in his lower abdomen that caused him to drop the papers in his hand. His hand placed over his stomach.
'L-loki,' Sigyn sent a thought to him. Her pain was sent over to him. She was having contractions. It was a struggle to let him know. She was being helped to the healers by some maids.
Loki slammed the papers down and bolted out of the room. 'Sigyn, I will be there.' He transformed into a guard to get where he needed to go with ease. He found Sigyn with the healer's. They weren't allowing him to enter. He argued with them about how he was the guard over her. He wanted to show them his true self and let them all fear him but that would mean Sigyn would not have help.
"Let him through!" She gritted her teeth. "Ah!" She was gripping the sheets of the bed. He pushed past the maids to his wife. Loki thought to her as he didn't want to reveal his voice. He gripped her hand and encouraged her throughout the process.
She gave birth to a healthy baby boy after five hours of labor. Sigyn was resting her eyes as the healers were cleaning the baby. They brought the infant swathed in gold back to her. She held it into her arms, letting it rest upon her bosom. The healers left the two alone. Loki transformed back into his self. After the infant nursed, she glanced over to Loki. His eyes were sparkling with the tears brimming. His child was just born. His brood. His blood. His legacy.
"Do we know if he's?" Loki whispered, eyes darting at the infant lying in her arms to her exhausted and strained features. She was still beautiful to him, just as the tiny lifeform that held both of their blood.
Sigyn smirked. "Why don't we see?" She motioned to him come over. He changed into his Jotun form to take his son into his arms.
The child was sleeping in his arms. He touched the skin with his fingertips. The Jotun blue hue and markings spread all over the child. It yawned with its red eyes squinting. Loki let out a surprised gasp. He changed back, allowing the infant to change back. He jerked his head to smile at Sigyn who was still recuperating. It was a hidden happiness leaking out onto his lips. A small hope for him that Sigyn imprinted on her mind, as she watched Loki rock the infant back and forth, cooing in a soft whisper as the infant slept on.
Sigyn stayed with Loki in Asgard, as they took turns taking care of the infant. Loki would use any free time he had to be with his child. Waking up to sing a lullaby, the same his mother sang to him, to get Vali back to sleep. Showing Vali magic, that he conjured to make him happy once again. He did not want to miss any opportunity to be there as a parent for his child and to take his equal share from his wife. When Sigyn would take Vali to nurse from him, especially in the middle of the night, he could not believe that this was still reality. He must be dreaming on such a lovely scene. Loki and Sigyn with their first born, Vali, was a normal loving family. Bliss and content.
One day, Loki had been at his busiest as Odin. Sigyn knew that she could have told him what she was doing, but decided to keep it hidden. Their child had grown to four months of age. He had black hair and green eyes. Sigyn bundled him up to take him to Midgard, even though it was in turmoil. Sigyn snuck out to the BiFrost. There she used her mind to take control of Skurge. He moved the bridge to a city where Odin was at. Sigyn had cautiously slipped into Loki's mind to find him. Skurge, however, did not have a clue why he moved the sword. He blinked a few times before shutting it off. He even thought that he needed to stay there for a while.
Sigyn walked a few blocks to end up at Shady Acres, a home for the elderly. She got passed the front desk without trouble. She headed past the nurses to a room with a large window that had a lovely view of a tree. There she spotted Odin sitting in a chair, staring out at the tree. On his lap was a cat curled up sleeping. She sat down next to him with a soft smile. He was under Loki's spells. She did not want to come in between their feud. She knew he was still able to reach out to her but was bound by something else.
"Grandfather," were the first words she spoke to him. "You are a grandfather." She stared down to her bundle of joy. The baby smiled and gave a giggle seeing it's mothers face. Odin blinked before moving his eyes to them. Sigyn moved Vali to stare back at him. "This is your grandfather, Odin." The baby smiled widened and closed his eyes while kicking under the cloth. It gave out a few more giggles. "Such a sweet greeting, Vali."
Odin's hands started to shake. The cat woke up with a yawn. It saw the surroundings before jumping off the lap. Stretching as it went. Sigyn stood up to come over to Odin. She placed the swaddled baby in his arms. Odin stared down with a small smile forming on his face.
"Oh my!" A nurse came over. "He is actually moving more than he has! This is wonderful!" She did a double take at Sigyn. "Who are you again?"
"I am his daughter-in-law," Sigyn was smooth while checking her mind. "I came so he could meet his first grandchild."
"Oh, how sweet!" She clasped her hands. "Congratulations by the way. Thank you for coming. We were worried about him. He would speak some words and then just go back to staring. This spot for him is the best so far. It almost seems like he is in a trance of some sort. We were thinking he had dementia. I am glad you came. Since you are here, maybe we could get you to sign some papers. We are going to a new facility soon, that would better house all of our patients." Sigyn nodded to the nurse before she left to give them privacy.
"Vali was the name he gave him," Sigyn sat down once again. "He takes care of him every chance he gets. Asgard is being restored to all its glory. He is a wonderful father and a great king." Odin glanced at Sigyn. "You may not be free, yet, you are powerful enough, but I am having recurring dreams of flames and the destruction Asgard."
Odin glanced back at the baby and smiled. His shaky fingers caressed the child. "Beautiful." He muttered out. Sigyn smiled. "Muspelheim." He muttered again. Sigyn's smiled waivered she stared out at the tree before staring back at Odin with the child. He was becoming steadier and played with the child more. When she felt he was tired, she departed from him, but letting him know she would find him again. Sigyn was headed through an ally when she stopped as she sensed another presence. She transformed from her Midgardian clothing back to her Asgardian attire. Her hood was up so the person could not tell who she was.
"Stop right there," a voice ordered from behind her. "I sense an overwhelming power from you. One that could destroy the whole planet if you wanted." Sigyn smirked. "I hope that is not what you are here for, but I would stop you anyway."
"Doctor Stephen Strange," Sigyn spoke. "You've read so many books yet here you are judging its cover."
"Mind reader," Doctor Strange contemplated. "Well, as a protector noticing great power in their area, one does get wary."
"Hm, what if I am the danger?" Sigyn glanced down at her sleeping baby.
"I would have to resort to taking you down by force," he was confident.
Sigyn turned around to show him herself and Vali. "Even if I was protecting my child."
"Hopefully we could come to a common ground," Doctor Strange did admire her beauty before looking at the bundled baby. "I would not want to get a child involved."
"Neither do I," Sigyn nodded. "I am on my way home. I am not here to cause destruction."
"You must be Asgardian," he concluded by the way she dressed and how she spoke. She nodded. "Running away from a husband?"
Sigyn laughed once. "No. Running back."
"He must be a very lucky man," Doctor Strange was thinking of the Asgardians he had heard of, such as Thor. That she could be the wife to him and this could be their child, however he did remember that Thor was with Jane. She must be a wife to some strong warrior he never heard of.
"You could just ask," Sigyn read his mind again. Doctor Strange did not know if he really wanted to ask. "I am the wife of Loki, and this is his first born, Vali."
Doctor Strange gaped. "Come again? Wife of Loki? You married into that? You weren't tricked into marrying him? Or forced of some sort? I get that he could be alluring but that's not enough."
"Everyone believes our marriage is out trickery but tis not," Sigyn cradled her baby closer to her. "You have someone you are fond of, it is the same for us. We are no different. I will always love him, even in the afterlife."
"He still has killed, no less," Doctor Strange wasn't in for the sappy love.
"And you haven't?" Sigyn glanced at him, cutting him off from speaking anymore. "You may have been a healer and now a protector but a life has still been taken away."
"I felt disgusted with myself, I was not smiling," Doctor Strange corrected.
"Do you remember when he came to New York?" Sigyn glanced around at the sky scrapers.
"Who doesn't?" Doctor Strange was trying to hurry along what she was wanting to get at. She may have a trick up her sleeve if she was really the wife of Loki.
"Ever encounter the scepter he was wielding?" Sigyn stared straight at him. He had not. "It controlled those around him. It even controlled him. He does not speak of it, but he has nightmares as well. He has them more when I am away, I tend to notice things, but he locks part of his mind from me, unable to let me sooth him. I have never asked him about his time when he fell from Asgard and when he reappeared only to cause destruction on Midgard. It is not something he is willing to share, a strong being such as him, it must be hard."
"That sounds like a Nicholas Sparks plot line but if he does step foot on this planet, I can guarantee you he will be reprimanded," Doctor Strange warned her. "Even if he has you as his wife and a young child to care for."
"Just be gentle with him," Sigyn flashed him a small smile before turning around. "Fate has not been kind to us. Goodbye, Doctor Strange, perhaps we will meet again." She headed off into the deeper part of the ally. She called Skurge to come get her. The BiFrost appeared around her. She glided back into Asgard while erasing Skurge's mind that this happened.
At the chamber, Loki was asleep with a book in his hand. It had been a rare moment that he let his guard down. Sigyn placed a sleeping Vali in his crib. She gave a small smile to Loki as she was about to wake him up. She stretched out her hand to touch him when she could feel the dread and despair drifting off from him. This was the nightmare she had just spoke to Doctor Strange about. It was lucky that she had come across it. Sigyn pulled her hand back.
Loki was dreaming he was back in a place he wished he never came across on. It was the place where he was picked up from when he was floating a drift. The pain he felt. The despair and anguish came rushing back.
Sigyn could see his eyebrows furrowing and hands twitching. He was emitting his emotions out enough, Sigyn did not have to use too much of her power to see the pain he was being inflicted upon. She knew that it was devastating but she wanted to help be there for him. She sat down far enough away from him but close to the crib.
The images flashed in his mind of how he was controlled and the emotions of envy and greed were slithering in. How he should have been the one to rule over Asgard. How instead he will rule Midgard as well. How his whole self was being shoved away and only the menacing parts were portrayed. How he had almost forgotten his relations with his Asgardian family. The young redhead girl he fancied. The magic he learned from his mother. The adventures he went on with Thor. Odin's teachings. All of it casted aside as his inner turmoil of needing to be the one to rule was produced. If it did not, he was bound to endure more torture. He could not fail, if he failed, he would die, if they would allow that mercy.
The nightmare became more ominous. He was still held against his will by Cull Obsidian and his hammer that was turned into almost a scythe. It was held tightly against his neck. He could see Sigyn holding their child close to her bosom while she fended off Ebony Maw's torture. What looked like clear glass spikes piercing into her body. Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight were ready to pursue his wife once the child was out of her hands. Loki was unable to do anything.
He could hear Ebony Maw's voice next to his ears. "Let us have the child, he will know his true father. He will learn the ways and be privileged as those who have been chosen."
"NO!" Sigyn screamed as flames burst out of the spikes. "I will not let you have him! I won't let him be raised with your ideals!"
Loki tried to lunge away but could feel the icy cold metal slitting into his throat a bit, releasing warm liquid down his neck. He tried to call out to them but his mouth would not work. He screamed and cried their names in his mind. Wanting to reach out but his body would not move. He shuddered as Sigyn drew blood while biting down as the spikes made their way further into her.
"Your crusade is just a failed idea," Sigyn spoke through gritted teeth. "Genocide! Only the weak would have thought like that! Ah!"
"Yet here we are now, weak one," Corvus chuckled.
Sigyn spurted blood as she laughed. "Weak, me? I never had to slaughter half the population to show that I am strong. I will be waiting in the Halls of Valhalla after I am dead to hear the call to fight again."
Loki felt warmth on his cheek. He had let a tear fall. He felt that he could reach of her but felt the jerk back from Cull.
"We are salvation," Ebony preached.
"Ha!" Sigyn eyed Loki. He wanted to help her but he was frozen. "Salvation. That's the wrong word for your ideals. Salvation does not consist of showing a feast only to kill half of those who shall eat it." A spike had now pierced all the way through her arm. "AH! It's teaching them how grow and hunt the feast so they can do it on their own. You are all just another Midgardian religious cult." Sigyn spit blood to the side. "Genocide is the answer since it does not fit into your ideals and anyone is a sinner if you see fit. Too many mouths to feed, yet you kill us off and instead of researching and creating that to cut down on resources and waste." Sigyn was crouching to the ground to sit as she could no longer stand.
"It was the resources that were short that our father created this grand plan," Ebony raised his hands. "His intelligence will help our worlds survive.
Sigyn cut him off from saying anymore. "My husband has used his mind to restore Asgard back to its grandeur without violence and killing. He has helped create new ways of farming and raising livestock. Cut down on waste while helping its people and their problems. Thanos may have intelligence but he is uneducated on which is around him." Blood was seeping where the spikes flailed into her. "Thanos is only fixing a problem with a near sighted solution, what happens when populations are grown to their size again, will you split them in half and slaughter them?"
"Yes! That is the end all salvation!" Proxima snorted.
"No, that's just weakness, too cowardly to come up with something better," Sigyn was closing her eyes. "You will see how flawed your 'salvation' really is."
"NO!" Loki jerked awake as he shouted out, his book falling to floor with a thud! He gasped for air while one arm clutched himself. His eyes focused on the Asgardian markings on the floor. He glanced around. He was home. He was safe. He turned to see Sigyn caressing their child as it woke up from his nap. They were alive. She was not in pain. Thanos' children were not here. She glanced at him before cooing Vali. Sigyn never told him of the horrors she saw, as it was too terrible to speak of. She knew her husband would never speak of it.
He leaned down to pick up his book. He never wanted to feel that way again, but Sigyn had told him that memories and feelings from past battles is not uncommon and it is the same across the galaxy. The Midgardians had a special name for it but Loki did not want that black misery seeping into this golden light he had finally acquired. He placed the book on the table next to him as he strode across to meet Sigyn. He held her close in his arms. She wrapped her arms around him. They stared down at their sleeping baby boy.
"I want another but I am afraid," Loki whispered as the horror from his mind would not vanish as fast as he wanted it gone.
Sigyn gave him a slight squeeze. "You're not the one carrying it for several months." She tried to lighten the mood so he could focus on being here in the present.
"I could," Loki raised an eyebrow changing into a female version of him. He was her height with longer black hair. Her voice seductive as her figure. Lady Loki wore black tights with black leather boots that had gold details up to her thighs. Emerald green bustier with gold detail with black sleeves with the same green cape hanging from her shoulders.
Sigyn blinked. She kissed the female version. "You could, but then I would have to change." Sigyn transformed into a male version of herself. She was taller than him. Her long hair shortened around his shoulders. His figure was lean muscular but broader shoulders. He wore a purple tunic with a deep enough neck line to show his chest. A gold belt around his waist with black leather pants and boots. Loki walked around the male version, sizing Sigyn up.
"Mm, you do look ravishing still," the same smirk was spread across Loki's lips on the female version. He turned back into his form before jerking Sigyn toward him and kissing the male version. "How have we not incorporated this?!"
Sigyn couldn't keep her concentration and transformed back. "I do not know." She giggled before casting a glance over to their child. Loki followed her gaze.
"He's too young to know," Loki pulled her in closer while eyeing the bed.
"That's not what I am worried about," Sigyn clutched onto his arm. "I am afraid we will be too loud."
"He's going to need to learn to sleep through loud noises one way of another," Loki transformed back into the female version. She pushed Sigyn down onto the bed. "Let's explore this thoroughly."
