Chapter 1: The Menaces from Outer Space
"The Asgardian has failed. Those unruly humans have humiliated him and our army."
"Do you intend on whining about it like a miserable child?"
Somewhere in space, anger was fueling in the sanctuary of a certain mad titan. The invasion of Earth last year had been a complete waste. Both the Tesseract and the scepter were now out of the Mad Titan's reach because of the failure of a would-be-king.
"With your permission, I intend to fulfill what I promised him. I promised him you'd have him long for something sweet as pain. After the Chitauri have lost, I found something very interesting. Something, I can assure you, will break apart the Asgardian's very existence when we inflict on him the worst of tortures."
The Other's sadistic speech brought a smile to the Mad Titan's face. "And what is your newfound torture?"
"The same as the one that shattered his mind. Lies. Secrets. Moral conflict. Familial conflicts. In other words, very similar to what Odin did to him."
The Mad Titan laughed out loud. "Sentimental breakdown. I'd love to witness it myself, but I must continue with my own matters. I give you full permission to execute your newfound torture. And once accomplished, you'll drag me the body of that Asgardian to my chair so that I may witness him begging for death."
The Other gave out a matching sinister smile as he bowed to his master. "You'll be entertained, master, as we begin the end of Loki's legacy."
On Jotunheim
The realm of the Frost Giants was still undergoing drastic conditions ever since the attack of the Bifrost 3 years back. Laufey murdered by his own abandoned offspring and the Rainbow Bridge destroying whatever was left of the Jotun regal family… The Jotun were quite devastated and things were devastated. A regent was needed urgently but only the blood of Laufey could take the throne and there was NO WAY the Frost Giants would ask Loki.
Until the positive news came up.
"Are you certain?" Angerboda asked the spy who had just arrived. She and the few warriors forming a temporary council were sitting on the ground of the cold, lonely throneroom that once belonged to Laufey. Angerboda was a Frost Giantess who had loyally served the house of Laufey following the 'truce' established by the Jotun and Asgardians. She was one of the few clear-minded Frost Giants who didn't seek war first, which is why Laufey had respected and chosen her as one of his closest advisors, which explained why after his downfall, the Jotun immediately went to her for help.
"I am certain, Lady Angerboda. Frost Giants who live in icy parts of Midgard, camouflaging to live like them! Undetected!" The spy said. "One of my comrades went to pose as one seeking refuge. They immediately accepted him… and they showed him how to pass off as a mortal, earning their strange sense of support and compassion. They told my comrade about her."
"Has he actually met her?"
"Not met, seen her. He was well hidden and he managed to witness her discreetly shift from mortal to Jotun and back when she walked through the freezing cold bay. He saw her using magic in front of some blonde mortal. He saw how she was a walking, female clone of her paternal."
"Pale?"
"Not as pale as ice, but pale enough to be separated from Asgardians."
"Dark hair?"
"No. Dark brown with a pink strand. It doesn't chance when she becomes a Jotun."
"Green eyes?"
"Like melted emerald drowning in serpent's poison."
"It's her then." Angerboda rose up from her seat. "She is an exact match to her father."
"She's his complete opposite, from what I hear," the spy continued. "She does not seek glory, fortune, or the advantages of sitting on a throne. Her mortal home is average, and from what I heard, she wants to be nothing like the royal bastard."
"She sounds perfect!" A Frost Giant warrior got up. "Anything that doesn't sound like Loki is fit to succeed the throne of Laufey!"
"Hold on!" Angerboda raised her hand. "How old is she?"
"92 human years, but her appearance is that of one 4 times younger than her," the spy answered. "From what our comrade says, her mother was mortal."
"Has she ever interacted with him?"
"It's said that for all she knows, Loki doesn't know she exists."
"Then he won't care if his own offspring becomes our regent." Angerboda rose up, towering most of the men in the throneroom. "Still, we must avoid provocations. We've seen how that turns out. We'll go to Midgard, use camouflage, and reasonably approach her to explain the situation and convince her to come to Jotunheim. Our kingdom will finally have a regent."
"Lady Angerboda! Lady Angerboda!" Another spy came running in, stomping on the floor hard enough for icicles to fall behind him. "Terrible news about the Chitauri!"
Angerboda and the other Frost Giants grimaced. They've been made aware that during the spring, Loki had repeated his world destruction antics by allying with the Mad Titan and send the Chitauri army to Earth. They had been relieved to hear that Thor and some Midgardian heroes had come to stop him. Who knew if the rampage on Earth could have gone to Jotunheim?
"What of the Chitauri?"
"It's the Other! He's heard something about Loki Laufeyson having a demigod bastard that Loki doesn't know exists! He plans on using the demigod to torture Loki into begging for death from the Mad Titan!"
"Damn it!" Angerboda cursed. "The diplomatic quest became a rescue mission!"
Brooklyn, back in December 2012 (Author's note: this story takes place following the events of THE AVENGERS and IRON MAN 3. If you have to, pretend like none of the following movies or my previous Avengers fanfic ever happened.)
Steve couldn't believe he was doing this.
It had now been more than half a year since the Battle of New York. Though nothing global was occurring, the Avengers still stuck around in the Avengers Tower after Tony had designed personal apartments for each Avenger to occupy even though he was still residing in his Malibu house. SHIELD still kept in touch in case Steve, Clint, or Natasha were needed, Banner mostly worked in the labs, and Thor came and went depending on the situations. And when a snowstorm took most of the East Coast by surprise, Cap found himself spending most of his time alone in the Tower.
And he couldn't believe that today, on December 21st, he cracked and went on to use the laptop he had been given to check out this website called WORLDBUDDIES. Natasha had been suggesting him for weeks to check out the website to make some new friends out there. Anyone that wasn't an Avenger, part of SHIELD, or related to anything that could throw him off. Part of Natasha had hinted that she probably wanted Steve to use WORLDBUDDIES for a potential matching soul, but if that was the case, she didn't say it out loud.
Good thing that nobody was around to witness Steve cracking and creating a WORLDBUDDIES account around 5pm. He wasn't even sure why he used 'Capsicle' as part of his username. Nevertheless, the moment he created the account, the blue colored webpage began pulling out names of new members currently active on the site and still needing at least one virtual buddy. Scrolling down, Steve was surprised to see the list of people desperate for friends.
Members from New York were out of the question, mostly because he didn't want to start dealing with someone traumatized by the Battle of New York. It would be nice to meet someone from another country then, but England, Austria, Germany, and any place that reminded him of who he lost during the war were also out of the question. This could have been a bit harder if he hadn't notice one member from a European country he never put his foot on in his entire life.
Norway.
His mother, an Irish immigrant, had told him as a boy that a friend of hers had actually gone to Norway and told her how amazing it was, especially when the Northern Lights reflected their rainbow illumination over the snow and fjords. Mrs. Rogers would have gladly saved up the money needed so she could go there one day if the pneumonia hadn't taken her.
"I must be out of my mind today…" Steve told himself as he dragged the mouse and clicked on the member's name.
PRINCESSOFMISCHIEF
He wasn't sure what caught him by surprise. That he even went through this or that barely five minutes after asking to connect, the member had just responded.
CAPSICLE1918, is it?
Yes. Nice to meet you.
Desperate for friends too? I don't blame you. I would have canceled my account if you hadn't asked to connect.
You've been waiting a long while?
Barely two weeks. But my sister insisted that I socialize a bit more. Probably her excuse to get more me-time as a hormonal teenager.
Steve smirked to himself a bit at the humor PRINCESSOFMISCHIEF had applied. Is Norway nice? He typed.
Depends. Is America nice? You know, besides the insurances, the junk food, and know-it-all celebrities?
It all depends on where you go. I lived in New York all my life. I did go to some other states but just for a bit.
I can imagine. I did do some traveling outside of my country for my studies. As for Norway, I primarily stick around my hometown.
Is it Oslo?
Tønsberg. An hour and fifteen minutes away from the capital by car, but I only go there for business. Or, you know, when my sister insists that we go out shopping. Do you also have siblings?
No. Do narcissistic, otherworldly, sarcastic, and cranky dormmates count?
If you do consider them as such.
Do I take too much of your time? I'm not sure if Norway is six hours ahead from us or not.
No, you don't bother me. I think this could be a very nice virtual friendship, but you're right about the time. It's nearly midnight in Tønsberg. Could we resume this chat tomorrow?
Steve smiled. That would be nice.
Back to 2013
"OK, please rephrase what you just said because I'm not sure I fucking believe you."
It was early March and the US was dealing with annoying snow weather and the numerous ongoing charities to support those affected by the Battle of New York. Most of the Avengers had managed to move forward a bit from what had happened, but when Nick Fury called in to ask if they could meet at the Avengers Tower, it seemed like the nightmare was repeating itself. So it wasn't a surprise if Tony Stark asked Nick Fury to rephrase himself.
"I've been damn clear, Stark! Aggressions have been going on in numerous states!" Nick Fury pulled out a tablet and displayed holographic visuals of different towns, ranging from small to big, getting assaulted by what seemed to be a rumble of giants. "The areas have reported no casualties, but it doesn't explain why random towns are becoming battlefields!"
"Where was this happening?" Steve asked.
"It started in Alaska. Then it went to Montana, Colorado, Wisconsin, Illinois, Tennessee, and recently Pennsylvania. But what disturbs me the most are the conflicting parties." Nick Fury brought up the footage of what had occurred in Pennsylvania, specifically Philadelphia. While it was normal to see snow in this time of year, the dramatic thing was the ice rising from the ground and attacking something that was hovering around. Independence Hall was in a mess as blue-skinned, red eyed intruders roughhoused the familiar aliens in the area.
"The Jotun and the Chitauri…" Thor gasped. "Why?"
"You tell me. You had the most encounters with Frost Giants." Nick Fury grimaced as he paused the footage just when some annoying reporter ticked off a Jotun long enough to get frozen alive.
"I'm sorry, but I seem to recall sending a nuke to destroy their float and falling down a wormhole!" Tony nearly panicked. "Is anyone forgetting that for nearly 7 months, I had to deal with anxiety attacks?"
"And that's why we need to fix this as soon as possible," Cap said as he properly sat on his chair. "How long have these be going on?"
"Since the end of January. Once a week." Nick Fury crossed his arms. "At first, SHIELD thought it was a mere anomaly. The attacks only occurred once a week, and most of them in public spaces of generally meaningless priorities like parks and ski resorts, but when the attacks started to approach places like Chicago, Memphis, and Philadelphia, the attacks were worsened. Besides that one annoying reporter, it doesn't seem like the Frost Giants are purposely seeking to conquer us at a glance but the damage of their fights with the Chitauri is still enough to indirectly provoke accidents. With all that ice, at least 30 people died of car accidents."
"It still doesn't explain why they are here," Thor said.
"Or how. Last time I checked, the Tesseract was sent to Asgard. How and why would the Chitauri come to Earth if they want the Tesseract when it's no longer there?" Banner took a sip of his decaf coffee. "And the Frost Giants. What could they want?"
"It still perplexes me. The last time I heard of the Frost Giants, I found out that Loki was actually the son of Laufey, that he set a trap to murder him, and I stopped Loki from using the Bifrost to destroy Jotunheim. My best guess is that the Jotun are struggling with their politics for a couple years now."
"A destabilized kingdom… and a pissed off army," Natasha pondered. "Am I the only one who thinks that the common thorn in this bush of roses is Loki?"
"Well he did nearly commit genocide on his own people and recently failed to pass his bargain with the Chitauri." Thor grabbed Mjolnir, his precious hammer that he had left placed on the bar in the room they were in. "I'll quickly go to Asgard to get some information. Or if, at worst, damages have occurred if the Chitauri came for the Tesseract and the Jotun for the Casket."
"Banner and I will set up the monitors to calculate the possibilities of where they'll appear next," Tony got up as well. "Everyone stay on guard. Fury, we're good?"
"Those Chitauri are hard to miss. As for the Frost Giants, I'm sure that SHIELD's thermo-trackers can trace anything that can withstand below 30 degrees Fahrenheit without the properly clothing."
They ended the meeting, feeling uneasy about the whole ordeal. They had to hope they could put a stop to this before Earth became the preferred battlefield for two alien species. Steve wasn't so sure he wanted to see the aliens he had fought back in May again, and from what he had understood based off Thor's stories, he wasn't so sure that he wanted to encounter Frost Giants who could encase him in ice again.
His phone beeped in his pocket. Steve pulled it out and saw another message from his friend on WORLDBUDDIES. Not wanting the others, especially Tony or Nat to find out he cracked and made himself a friend on social media for nearly three months now, he made a dash to his room and checked the message.
Hi, CAPSICLE 1918. How are you doing today?
Worn out. Work is intense.
I hope things are alright. They aren't putting you in too much danger at the security firm, are they?
The moment they started to interact further on their accounts, Steve didn't want to overwhelm PRINCESSOFMISCHIEF with everything about himself unless he wanted to end up with another citizen more interested in getting Captain America's autograph than actually spending time knowing Steve Rogers. Still, he didn't want to lie so he said things as cautiously as he could, so he primarily told her that he worked for a security firm (which wasn't wrong, that's what he used to do), that he used to be in the army, and that he liked riding motorcycles and drawing during his free time.
It's nothing dangerous. Don't worry. He continued typing as he sat down on the brown sheets of his bed. How've you been? I haven't heard from you in a while.
I had some self-conflicts and depressive problems back home. My therapist recommended that my sister and I went on vacation. I would have preferred going to Finland or maybe even Iceland for a winter break, but no, my sis said she wanted to go the US.
Steve frowned as he kept typing. Don't tell me she convinced you to come. It's snowing a lot in the US right now.
I know this may sound like a rip-off, but snowstorms never bothered me. Honestly, I'd rather be in Scandinavia than go somewhere tropical. No, I still didn't know if it was safe to go to the US after what happened in May. Even in Norway, people know that aliens and a bunch of superheroes went on a clash… and I didn't want to be around if the one responsible for it was still nearby.
So PRINCESSOFMISCHIEF was terrified of Loki. Completely understandable. Still, with the recent news about the Frost Giants using American grounds to beat up some Chitauri wasn't very reassuring. How long do you plan on being in the US?
We've already been going out and about. I promised my sis we'd go to New York and DC during the last two weeks of our trip.
Aren't you afraid of going to New York? You made it kind of clear in your messages that the idea of going to New York after what happened in May scared you.
I know, right! I told her 'Seriously, we could go anywhere in the East Coast during the last weeks of our trip. Why not go to Maine, where they got seafood and moose, or the Appalachia Mountains, we could have gone camping? Or heck, why not New Jersey? I'd gladly pretend you're eighteen to take you to a casino if we DON'T have to go to New York City of all places!' But no, I fall for her hormonal teenager manipulations! I mean, she's always been dramatic and artistic, it's nice aspects about it, but I don't want to do the things she wants to do there! We'd probably go shopping at malls or ice skate at Central Park, we'd be fine with that, but I don't want to go where she wants to visit!
What was she thinking of?
Broadway. Art galleries. The tours of the first floors of Avengers Tower… Say, this might sound out of the blue and desperate, but… Do you think you might be able to have some time off for an actual meeting, you know, in person?
Steve felt his face burning. An actual meeting with his social media correspondence?
At the same time, in Bensalem, Pennsylvania
"I did NOT just type this!"
"You did. Unless you dozed off."
While the Avengers were just done hearing the briefing from Nick Fury and Captain America was trying to figure out what to say to the message, nobody was aware that the source of the Frost Giant vs Chitauri conflicts had barely left the areas of Philadelphia. Of course, the source itself wasn't even aware of what had occurred and had been continuing her trip with her sister with ease.
In a Krispy Kreme, nobody paid attention to the two sisters talking to one another in Norwegian while eating two dozen of donuts, savoring their beverages, and debating over a message the eldest sister had recently sent. Anyone else in the shop would have probably thought they were just foreigners on vacation, which is what they were doing, and the only thing that could spark curiosity was how they were related. The youngest had sun golden hair, cyan blue eyes, and obviously the one with the most extravagant sense of fashion. The eldest had walnut brown hair that struck out due to the one magenta streak tucked behind her ear, modest clothing, and green eyes of the most peculiar shade. But in the Norwegian town of Tønsberg, they were known as Aaricia and Kory Ikolson.
"He's going to think I'm some creep who stalks people on the internet!" Kory wished she could rip off the skin from her own cheeks in humiliation as she kept panicking.
"Oh, don't lose it! It's not like you're one of those 70-year-old something old perverts who fake being college boys on Facebook just to snatch some naïve chick!" Aaricia rolled her eyes. "And P.S, your buddy CAPSICLE1918 sounds like a complete dork in his messages."
"Dorkiness is not a synonym for social awkwardness, Aaricia." Kory's phone vibrated and her cheeks blushed out a blue shade when she saw the notification. "Oh shit."
"Is the snowstorm worsening? I hope our vacation gets extended by a week, I really want to go sailing in the Chesapeake Bay."
"No… CAPSICLE1918 just agreed to meet up with me."
"Hellig dritt!"
"Language!" Kory warned. "Unless you want every American in this Krispy Kreme to know another way to say 'holy shit'!"
"But it's awesome! Finally, you get a yes for a friendly get together that, you know, isn't from our community or your drinking buddies." Aaricia grinned.
"What should I say?"
"Let's think for a bit." Aaricia pulled out her phone. "We're supposed to get to New York by tomorrow. Anytime of the week, we could check out the history museums, shopping, ice skating and strolling, disfiguring any public artwork of Stark, and of course, your trades…"
"Exchanging spellbooks and artifacts is not illegal but the mystical version of those Little Free Libraries that Americans love so much."
"I know you don't want to come see Wicked with me or go to MOMA or be my plus one for the tour of the Avengers Tower… Ask him if he's available on Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday morning. Though do say that for Tuesday and Thursday, you're available in the whole day and bring up that Saturday afternoon is when we leave."
Kory typed in her message, receiving a response shortly. "Wow… he says he might be able to see me on any of those days! He's suggesting that I meet up with him on Tuesday for brunch and then he'd give me a tour of Brooklyn if I was interested."
"Either he has no friends or the security firm he works at gives too many off days!"
Kory confirmed her rendezvous with CAPSICLE1918. The ladies eventually decided that it was time for them to get back to the Holiday Inn they were staying at. After finishing their drinks and wrapping the leftover donuts to go, Aaricia and Kory Ikolson headed to the parking space near Krispy Kreme where Kory had parked the van she had rented. A cold breeze harshly struck them, and when Aaricia noticed what was happening to Kory's cheeks while the latter unlocked the van, Aaricia immediately shoved her sister into the driver's seat and slammed the door.
"What was that for?" Kory exclaimed when Aaricia got in and closed the door. The blonde teenager adjusted the mirror so that Kory could see the blue skin and red eyes revert back to their initial appearance as that of a green-eyed doll. "Damn it!"
"I had to shove you in before someone could notice that you temporarily turned into your half-Frost Giant figure," Aaricia apologized. "How did you not notice it?"
"That breeze must have been colder than expected." Kory checked the mirrors to make sure she looked human again. Once that was done, she inserted the keys and pulled the van out of the parking space. "I keep forgetting that the Americans don't deal with the same kind of cold we deal with in Norway."
"You noticed how the news claim that nearly every place we visited suddenly got colder?"
"Properly residues of my presence. You know how my Frost Giant capacities are. Even in Norway, whenever I go outside my house, the outside temperature drops by 10 degrees. But still, you're right about the sudden appearance shift. I don't want the American authorities to send out their nukes if they find out that some tourist can resist the cold."
"Especially when you're a century in advance compared to L…"
"Aaricia, I'm driving and would prefer to continue so in a calm fashion. Please don't cause me to freak out," Kory warned.
"OK. The L-word will not be pronounced out loud. All I'm saying is that you're WAY ahead of that jackass and let's keep it that way. Forget the Americans nuking you if they see your blue skin; they'll want to dissect you alive if they find out you're related to him."
"The perks of being his offspring when he doesn't even know his own offspring exists." Kory rolled her eyes.
"Relax! He's been shipped off to Asgard for nearly a year now!" Aaricia tried to sound optimistic. "They already had him executed by now, given the trash he did around here."
"You're probably right." Kory chuckled in relief. "I mean, who's stupid enough to imprison Loki for life, right?"