Simon Hughes stood facing the table full of men in suits who between them could afford to run a small island nation for many years. His own three piece black suit was made to impress and not a single piece of flint or dust was on him. His blonde hair was slicked back, and his face had not even a hint of stubble.
"So as you can, Hughes International will plug the gap left by Stark Industries in the weapons field. With my lead and the product we have, we can change war fare as we know it," Simon gave a wide smile to the group of men, expecting an applause as he reached the end of his pitch.
Instead the room erupted into laughter, the group of middle aged men thinking they were sitting on some sort of prank.
"What's so funny?" Hughes asked, his smile turning cold and lacking warmth.
"Simon, we were all big fans of your father and what he did for this company," One investor stood up and said on behalf of the group. "But you're a pharmaceutical company. You have no business getting into the weapons field. And besides, with your current money issues, surely you should be looking at medicine development instead of this silly fantasy you've concocted?"
The rest of the group gave nods and mutters of agreement. The smile by now had dropped from Hughes's face. A muscle in his jaw flexed as a hand came up to ensure a hair was still not out of place.
"It is such a shame you all lack the ability to see the potential in this," Hughes said sadly as he made his way over to his desk and rummaged in the draws. "Oh well, I said I would be getting your money by the end of the presentation. I guess a demonstration of the product is in order."
The group suddenly became aware of a large towering man in a black suit, stood the other side of the board room door, clearly locking it from the outside. A panic began to settle amongst the investors and it was only agitated by looking at Hughes, who was now wearing a gas mask at the front of the room.
Then the mustard looking gas poured in and the room erupted into chaos.
Simon couldn't help but smile as he watched the carnage unfold, investors clambering over one another to reach the door and each one failing to open it. One by one the group began to drop to the floor as the effects of the gas took place until only the man brave enough to speak earlier, was left conscious.
Hughes walked across to him, taking his time, marvelling at the man as he continued to resist the gas. When he finally did approach him, the poor man grabbed Simon by the ankle, a pleading look in his eyes.
"You need help," Was all the man managed to splutter out from his position on the floor.
"No, I need money," Hughes replied before lifting his shoe and slamming it down into the man's nose, knocking him out cold.
The large dinosaur skeleton on display in the museum foyer matched the splendour of the Victoria architecture of the Natural History Museum. Samantha's lips automatically pulling up into a smile as all the fond memories of her parents bringing her here as child swarmed to the forefront of her mind. Mum's gentle voice drifted into her ears, reminding Samantha of the time she scolded her for correcting one of the museum staff on the information he was giving to the public.
"But mum, he was wrong," Samantha argued, barely 7 years old but already ready to argue with an academic about if dinosaurs had scales or feathers.
"Samantha, listen to me because this piece of advise will save you many issues in the future," Her mum said as she crouched in front of Samantha and placed a gentle hand on her cheek and swept back some of her hair behind her ear. "Just because you're the smartest person in the room, doesn't mean everyone else has to know it too."
Samantha couldn't help but give a small chuckle as the memory came back to her. Her smile slowly morphed to a sombre expression as it always did when she thought about her mother.
"Hey sorry I'm late," The sound of Gareth's voice gave her the welcome break she needed from her thoughts. She turned to give him a smile, wiping away any sadness from her face.
Like her, he had come in a dark pair of jeans and while his top half had a nice fitted chequered shirt, Samantha had gone for a more relaxed white t-shirt with a rainbow over the area a front pocket maybe.
"It's okay, I've grabbed our tickets. Come on before the line starts to get too big to get in." Samantha nodded her head in the direction of the exhibit they had special tickets for.
Samantha had to admit she was pleasantly surprised Gareth had invited her to the exhibit today. The two of them often spent time together outside of work, in between Gareth's failed attempts at making it on to the stage. She had even sat through some of his more questionable 'open mic night' performances for support. But the pair had never come to a museum together before.
She wasn't going to complain though. Samantha had actually being wanting to come seen the current special exhibit for weeks and if Gareth hadn't mentioned it, she would most likely have found herself here anyway on her own, knowing her dad wouldn't want to come. So when Gareth suggested the idea independently, she had jumped at the offer.
"Did you know this thing is suppose to be stronger than vibranium?" Gareth asked her as they joined the back of the small but moving queue.
"Nothing's stronger than vibranium, that's why it's called the strongest metal on Earth," Samantha said with a mild disbelief in her voice.
"Not according the tests they did on this thing when they found it, apparently they're still not sure what it's made out of," Gareth continued, unperturbed by Samantha's lack of enthusiasm for the information. "We're lucky to get in this weekend, I hear it's about to move."
"Really? Where's it going?" Samantha asked surprised since it only opened a few weeks ago and had heard no such thing.
"One of the Smithsonian's apparently," Gareth shrugged as they continued along the queue.
"That's strange, would have thought it would be going to Norway next," Samantha thought aloud.
"Apparently that have some sort of agreement with the museums over there. Some back door trade to get it over before the Norwegians can claim it," Gareth told her, drawing a very skeptical look at him. "I hear they traded the Hope Diamond to get a hold of this thing."
"By any chance is your source that weird conspiracy theory website that says it only landed on Earth 6 months ago, rather than being found in an archeological dig?" Samantha asked with a heavy amount of scepticism.
"There was a meteor shower only a few days before they announced finding it. They also have no proof of who funded the dig or when it started," Gareth defended vehemently while Samantha couldn't hold her scoff. "And then only a few days later another meteor shower hit New Mexico and suddenly a mysterious government agency swooped in and took over the site where something landed. Coincidence? I think not!"
Samantha couldn't help but laugh at the look of triumph on Gareth's face as he finished explaining everything to her.
"Well call me silly, but I'm not really planning to trust information from a website that claims Captain America is still alive and frozen in the Arctic." Samantha smiled at the museum worker as she handed their tickets to him, now at the front of the line.
"I know for a fact the US government is still sending search missions out there looking for him." Gareth said with passion.
"Okay, okay, whatever you say. Now put your tin foil hat away and let's enjoy the exhibit," Samantha said with a teasing smirk. Gareth responded with a playful push to her shoulder before deciding to leave the conversation alone.
The pair looked to the left to see the title of the exhibit plastered across both sides to the entrance.
NORSE MYTHS AND LEGENDS
SORTING FACT FROM FICTION
FEATURING LEGENDARY WEAPON: FRYKTE
As the pair passed through the entrance they became quiet, wandering along the different display cases outlining some of the more common myths of the Vikings and norse mythology. Accompanying the tales was a variety of artefacts collected over many years, including paintings and weapons long decayed by time.
As they progressed, the topic began to turn to detailing the exploits of the Norse gods. Samantha found herself drifting to the display case dedicated to the God of Mischief: Loki.
She read over the information describing how he was born a Frost giant, enemy to the Asgardians but taken in by the Allfather, Odin, and raised alongside Thor, God of Thunder. A trickster and sorcerer, the information described a picture of distrust by the vikings, believing these undesirable traits when compared to the warrior heavy Thor, often leading Loki to be the antagonist in their stories.
Samantha's eyes moved upwards and became transfixed on a painting of Loki, the artist unknown.
The figure stood proud, with what she imagined was a trade mark smirk of the God. The ends of glistening black hair could be seen poking out of the bottom of a golden hemet, adorned with two large horns rising upwards. His armour was black and green, with the occasional dotting of gold to match his head piece.
A surprised feeling of familiarity began to well up inside her as her eyes narrowed over the painting. She couldn't remember seeing the painting before, but when looking at it, it felt like she had seen it a 100 times.
"Come on, you have to see this thing," The sound of Gareth reappearing next to her, broke her from her staring of the art work, glad to push down what ever feeling of déjà vu she was experience.
She followed Gareth around the corner to the main display case, the centre piece of the attraction. Samantha's mouth couldn't help but drop open as the site of what lay behind the glass.
Frykte.
A glistening silver spear was mounted on two stands, a wicked glint over the edges of the spear head. Samantha had no doubt it could slice through most things like butter. Over the metal was intricate runes placed around the outside of the blade on both sides. Her eyes moved down towards the staff, where thick leather wrappings covered the majority of the blade, clearly for ease of the person holding it. If she looked closely enough, she could make out further runes engraved on to the leather. She marvelled at how despite being centuries old, it looked as if it was forged yesterday.
As she peered closer, she could see the faint glow of electric blue begin to outline the runes, she turned to ask Gareth if he could see it too but she found he was stood still staring at a display case on the wall.
"Sam, you might want to see this," Gareth said, calling to her over his shoulder.
She left the centre piece and missed the young child next to her ask, "Dad, why did it stop glowing blue?"
She approached Gareth from the side and could tell his face was one of utter shock. Once she reached him, she looked down to look at the case and the information in it.
The cabinet detailed the stories around the owner of the legendary weapon, Geni the Goddess of Wisdom and Intelligence.
It detailed the story of how Frykte came to be, forged by the dwarves in Nidavellir, Buri, grandfather to Odin, presented the weapon to his most loyal and trusted guard as thanks for saving his life. Through generations the weapon was passed down to the first born son until Geni's father. With great courage and skill, she demonstrated her right to the blade in front of the Allfather himself and won the right to take the weapon as her own, despite being a woman.
Samantha had to admitted she was impressed by the story, nothing like a bit of female empowerment, sticking it to the man. What she couldn't understand though, was why Gareth's face looked so shocked. She quickly scanned the rest of the information as well as the other display items at the bottom. The rest seemed to detail the story of her being a trusted advisor to the court and her close relationship to the trickster God, Loki. Nothing there would explain his silence now.
"Gareth, what are you-" She followed his eyes upwards to look at the portrait of Geni hung at the top of the display. "Oh."
Oh was an understatement, Samantha thought.
She looked at the artwork and it was as if she was looking in a mirror. The same blue eyes as her own and the sharp angle of her chin were staring back at her. The only difference she could find was the portrait's hair was longer, the same dark blonde, but placed in an intricate braid which finished just above her chest. Samantha's own hair skimmed the surface of her shoulders, but as differences go, that was it.
Samantha's eyes explored the Goddess's outfit and she stood legs shoulder width apart and holding Frykte in her grasp. Her mouth was set in a hard line as she looked prepared for battle. The glow of the runes of her weapon, matched the colour of her cape which billowed out behind her. The blue colour was threaded throughout her outfit, underneath the silver chest piece which exaggerated her figure. Her shoulders were covered by two more pieces of silver, matching the metal gauntlets on both wrists as well as the boots with knee high armour pieces. A small amount of blue material flared out from under the chest piece, covering the top of the tight black leggings she wore. Samantha thought it could be a skirt but then when she looked closer, each bit of material was merely a strip of fabric, meaning the Goddess wouldn't be restricting when moving.
"You do see what I do, right?" Gareth asked her once she had a moment to take in the whole painting.
Samantha's eyes traveled upwards again to focus on Geni's face.
"What? That it looks like someone used my face as the inspiration for painting of a god?" Samantha tried to joke but the self mockery died on her lips.
"Sam, that's not an inspiration. That's you." Gareth said, pointing a finger at the portrait. "Don't tell me you don't realise that?"
Ohh that boy is right, that girl does look like the portrait.
I wonder if this is a show or something in the museum, maybe she'll start giving a speech soon.
Samantha found her breathing beginning to pick up as she became aware of the stares of others in the room who had clearly spotted the likeness of her and the portrait. Gareth wasn't helping the matter but still expressing his thoughts loudly. Sensing she was about to be over run with questions from strangers, she grabbed Gareth's arm, over his shirt, and pulled him towards the exit.
"Hey, where are we going?" He asked, not being reluctant to being pulled away but not being fully compliant either.
"We've finished the exhibit, and I'm hungry. You owe me lunch remember." Samantha shot over her shoulder as she made their quick escape around the corner.
If Gareth could tell she was confused and a little bit panicked by the situation, he didn't let on. Instead he continued to allow himself to be dragged away.
The pair found themselves in a quiet cafe about a five minute walk from the museum, munching away on a cheap sandwich with a tea for Samantha and a coffee for Gareth. Sensing her discomfort Gareth decided not to ask any further questions about what had happened at the museum, not even why they left before seeing any of the other exhibits. Samantha was grateful it and it reminded her why she liked Gareth so much.
She wasn't afraid to say she didn't have many friends, not since leaving university. After what happened, she just found it too awkward to re-connect with her uni friends and then with all the other weird stuff she pulled, she found not many people had the tolerance for her friendship. That was until she met Gareth. But as the lunch wore on, Samantha knew she had to bring up the topic both of them were avoiding.
"So, what's the real reason you asked me to hang out today?" Samantha asked, once the sandwiches were finished and they were left with only their hot drinks.
"What do you mean?" Gareth asked with a half laugh. "Can't I just enjoy a day out with my best friend? Why does there need to be an ulterior motive?"
Samantha simply raised an eyebrow at him knowing it worked every time. Sure enough, after 10 seconds of being under her gaze, Gareth's smile dropped and his demeanour changed.
"My visa's ran out," Of all the things she was expecting him to say, that hadn't been one of them. "I need to head back to the US."
"Oh, well when do you leave?" She asked, putting her cup down and staring at it contents.
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?!"
"Yeah, I kind of left it really last minute, you know me," Gareth gave a half smile but quickly dropped it when she saw the look of sadness on Samantha's face.
"How long until you get a new one and can head back?" Samantha asked, when she was met with silence she looked up to see her answer. "You're not coming back."
"I haven't exactly taken the Westend by storm, and my mom's not well so I want to be closer to home." Gareth explained.
"Completely fair," Samantha nodded along, swallowing down the hard lump.
"Hey, I still promise opening night tickets for when I get my big break," Gareth said causing Samantha to give a small laugh. When she didn't look up though, he reached across and placed a hand on top of hers.
She really is not taking this well. I knew this would happen, maybe I should-
Samantha almost jumped away from him, moving her hand out from under his and placed it under the table. Gareth knew straight away she was uncomfortable.
"Hey I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"
"It's fine," Samantha cut him off and gave a quick smile. "I probably should head back, said I would help my dad on his case." Samantha easily lied.
"Oh yeah, of course," Gareth awkwardly stood up too as Samantha gathered her bag and made to leave the booth they were sitting in.
The awkward air continued between the two as they made their way to the underground station in silence. When they arrived, they stood at the top of the stairs where they would need to separate and get different trains. Samantha herself felt embarrassed at her reaction but she couldn't help it. The contact just made the voice all the more louder.
"So I guess this is goodbye." Gareth stated as the pair turned to look at each other.
"I guess it is." Samantha nodded her head.
Trying to make up for earlier, she moved to hug him, making sure to avoid touching skin to skin. She could feel him tense slightly before relaxing into the hug. Gareth's hands came up, wrapping around her shoulders, giving her a tight but comforting squeeze. The pair seemed to decide at the same time to pull back, hands dropping back to their sides.
"I'm not very good with my emotions sometimes-" Samantha began to say.
"Sometimes?" Gareth interrupted with a deadpan tone.
"Okay, a lot of the time," Samantha gave an eye roll before continuing. "What I'm trying to say is I'm not good with people. But with you it was easy, so thank you for that. And I'm going to miss you."
"I'm going to miss you too," Gareth gave her a sad smile. "Keep in touch?"
"Yeah," Samantha gave a breathy response, "see you on opening night?"
"See you on opening night," Gareth laughed with Samantha.
The pair stood there for a moment more before simultaneously starting to head in the direction of their platform. As she walked towards her train, she turned back around to find Gareth looking after her, and when she caught his eye he gave her a small wave. She gave a small wave back before turning around and heading to catch her train home.
Samantha pushed the key into the door, and opened it to her dark hallway.
"Today, Hughes International announced a $1 billion investment from various stake holders." Samantha could hear the news caster announce from the television in the living room as she made the way through the flat. "Surprising the market as the pharmaceutical company had been fighting off rumours of bankruptcy since the CEO Richard Hughes died and was replaced by his son Simon Hughes. The company spokesperson gave a statement saying Mr Hughes was delighted to share the news of the investment, showing the world Hughes International was still at the cutting edge of its field."
Samantha walked into the living room to see her dad watching the TV, his laptop out next to him.
"In other news, Washington DC continues with it's plans for the upcoming G7 summit, due to take place in 3 weeks time-"
"Hey I'm back," Samantha announced as she sat down next to him.
Her dad gave her a smile as he turned the TV off.
"Hey, how was your day?" Her dad asked.
She watched as he took his USB out of his laptop and placed the necklace it was attached to back around his neck. His USB and her mum's wedding ring were always to be found there.
"Good….Gareth is heading back to the States. Visa ran out," Samantha told him. She could see the sadness in her dad's face as he knew how good Gareth had been for her. "It's okay, who knows, maybe I'll head to US and see him someday."
She felt the soft hand of her father's come to rest on her shoulder in a comforting touch.
Damn, this is going to make my bad news even worse.
"So what's your bad news?" Samantha asked. Her dad tried to give her look of confusion, pretending it wasn't the case but she could tell straight away when she came in, he had something to talk to her about. She gave him a single raised eyebrow, and as usual the eye brow won.
"The case I'm working on, I need to head to New York for it," Her dad finally said.
"When do you leave?" Samantha asked, trying not to show how upset she was by it, especially after the news from Gareth.
"I catch the first flight out tomorrow."
"Wow, must be important for you to go that quickly." Samantha summarised. "You know I could just hack into whoever you're investigating from the comfort of our own home."
"That was a one time thing, I'm not having you break the law…again." He gave her a reprimanding look, not amused by her suggestion.
"Can't say I didn't offer," Samantha shrugged before asking her next question. "When do you think you'll be back?"
"Hopefully I won't be too long. A week, tops," Her dad reassured her, placing an arm around her shoulder and pulling in her in for a hug.
"Better make sure I tidy up from my massive flat party then before you get back," Samantha joked.
"A flat party? With what friends?" Her dad shot back, causing Samantha to said him a deadly look while he simply laughed at his own joke.
The ice was cold against her skin, the blue monsters attacking her again. She fought her way through them, saving the figure in black and gold. She ran to her friends as the creature gave chase and she felt her side pierced as she was dragged to the darkness below.
"GENI!" The figure in green and gold shouted, struggling against the man holding him to stop him jumping after her.
"LOKI!" Samantha felt herself scream, desperately trying to reach out to him but it was no use.
She was falling…
Samantha sat up in her bed, gasping for breath.
Well, that was new.
Thank you for all who have liked and followed so far.
kcheslock: thank you for very much for your kind review. Prompted me to post this chapter early this morning. I hope the 2nd chapter lives up to the first :)
So we're starting with Samatha's origin story, as if it's her own film and then I plan to put her into the marvel films as well as her own independent adventures at times.
To help you picture characters, these are the following actors I imagine would play them if it was a film. I often don't put an actor to my main characters hence why Samantha is not on the list below (however if you really want a face cast, the closest person I imagine her looking like is Florence Pugh but taller).
Keith Jennings (Samantha's dad) would be Mark Strong
Gareth would be John Boyega
Simon Hughes would be Jesse Plemons
Vex