- Chapter 50 -

Frigga's kindly smile soothed his mood. Sitting back in his chair, Frey quickly reviewed. The injuries were both extensive and uncomplicated. Rhodes' work was still excellent. The lack of knowledge on seidr interfering materials such as skaerevefer-glass spoke to an inexperience that could be easily remedied. At the end of his discussion with Loki on her poor choices then another thing he decided to speak to his beloved niece about was offering some essential texts to Anthony's brother-in-arms for him to study. Mages were well known for pride yet when Rhodes told Anthony that if he couldn't provide aid that he would find another who could he was not only truthful but applied that to Loki as well. You've chosen well, Anthony. Humble, ethical, honest, and honorable.

Those were all admirable traits on their own. Put together they made both a fine brother-in-arms and an excellent healer. Frey knew well the traits of a healer. He'd spent much of his life working with them. There was never a time when he regretted training as a Heal Meister when he was a boy. Before the murder of his parents, he gave thought to becoming a Heal Meister in his capitol city of Vindrvelsignet since the Royal Palace was situated in the heart of the city. It was commonplace for the Princes of Vanaheim to serve their people in a lower position before they became King and he'd always loved healing. The relief, happiness, surprise and wonder on people's faces and in their seidr when he relieved them of their ailments was something he kept as a private joy. The war pushed his magical studies into darker more offensive realms. Healing became a useful tool that allowed him to continue to fight after he shouldn't have been able to. It turned out to be far more useful over the years than almost all of his offensive spells. The irony wasn't lost on him. Healing Magics always took a great quantity of seidr though. Extending influence into a person to control their body was no small task. Frey was always grateful that he was blessed with an abnormally large amount. It put him in a better position to heal his family.

The recording switched to a different angle, a few minutes prior.

.-.-.-.

"Ok. Thanks, man," Tony called over his shoulder. He walked down the stairs to the hallway with access to several different rooms. He walked past his workshop, down the hall to the medical lab.

"Why is there a dwarf here?" Frey asked quietly. The shock was wearing quickly away. A cold anger was swiftly overtaking it.

"A what?" Tony asked, confused.

"The dwarven mage who was healing Loki. Why is there a dwarf in the house?" Frey kept his voice calm and quiet. Once Loki was no longer in range then he would indulge in his anger. He wanted answers for this.

"He's not a dwarf. That's Rhodey," Tony said, bemused. Rhodey's bigger than me, he's not a …wait! Nidavellir, Dvergar, not short.

"Ah," Frey said. So that's him. He tucked that away for later.

"Warm it up please, Jarvis," Tony called. He crossed the room towards the rose tank. A large cylindrical silver tube sat on a meter-high rectangular base. The cool metal lid smoothly opened upwards lengthwise. The curved inside of the lid was covered in smaller rectangular tiles made of rose quartz crystal. Behind each crystal panel was a small metal cylinder. A light emitted from the cylinders down through the crystals. Plush bedding covered the interior of the bottom half of the cylinder.

"It's already warmed up, and in stand-by mode, sir," Jarvis said quietly, while observing and recording as always.

"Thanks, J, I mean Jarvis," Tony stumbled over breaking his old habit. Loki was gently laid down on the bedding. He positioned her so that she would be comfortable. Across the bed, on Loki's right side was an IV port. The tube and slender needle unfolded from the port along with a small roll of medical tape. Tony took the needle and slid it quickly into the crook her of right elbow with a practiced ease. He taped it down next. It was secured before he pulled the nasal cannula from its port and placed it around her face. "Can you get some oxygen flowing please," Tony said.

"Yes, sir," Jarvis replied quietly. The oxygen began to flow through the nasal cannula.

"Also, start a hydration solution, include the nimp. Set the output at 35% for a hundred and twenty minutes." A silvery substance slid down the IV tube into Loki's arm which made him happy to see. Tony closed the tank, relieved to be able to do something for her.

"Yes, sir," Jarvis said quietly as he began the set tasks.

.-.-.-.

Frigga turned to Frey, "Brother, what is that thing? Why is he putting Loki into it?" She glanced back nervously to the screen. It didn't look like something a person belonged in.

"It is a machine which creates seidr," Frey said with much esteem in his voice. It's a miracle.

"Oh, like a Soul Forge assisting in the regeneration of flesh, but for seidr? That's fine then," Frigga sighed in relief. She still didn't like that it was so enclosed but wouldn't complain. It interested her that there was a machine that assisted a mage to regenerate their seidr. All of Prince Brokkr's machines failed. Since a Soul Forge was powered by the healer's seidr she wondered what this thing was powered by. Frigga wondered where Stark obtained this bizarre machine.

"No, sister. It doesn't assist Loki in regenerating seidr. It creates it, and then bathes her in it, filling her core for her," Frey said seriously, knowing that she would take his meaning.

Frigga's eyes widened, and she looked back to the strange machine. "That's not possible." Seidr could only be created by living things. There was no machine capable of it.

"Anthony is a master Midgardian craftsman. He somehow created a miracle while trying to bolster Loki's flagging health. It eases the strain on her. There's nothing he wouldn't do for her," Frey spoke fondly.

Instantly Odin disliked the entire thing; he particularly disliked watching Loki be put into the machine. His son shouldn't need such a measure, nor should Stark have it. How could a Midgardian create such a machine? Even Prince Brokkr hadn't been able to create a machine that could handle seidr. Several attempts were made when Loki was younger, but they all failed. Lord Eitri and his Little Brother Prince Brokkr were the finest inventors in the Nine Realms. There was no Midgardian who could out-do them. He frowned and thought, It was an accident.

The machine Stark placed Loki into had Director Fury's full attention. The IV catheter was of great interest to him. Stark has something capable of piercing their skin?! SHIELD had to have that. Nimp, what's that? He looked over the machine, at the panels on the inside of the lid. Something that creates magic energy, how did you make that, Stark? That was something else that the Director wanted his people looking into. He gave a little smile. As bad as the situation was, it was yielding some very interesting information.

The image on the screen brought a frown to McCorrmick's lips. He didn't think he would have a problem seeing Stark using the rose tank again. There were several conflicting feelings regarding the machine and what he'd seen of it. They came together to make the approval in King Frey's voice sounded both right and wrong. It's a filthy miracle.

.-.-.-.

As Frey walked down to the lab with Anthony anger coiled tightly in his chest. His seidr core immediately extended some as he stepped into the medical lab with Anthony. It was always necessary when he came into the room. Loki was being laid out in the rose tank. He was horrified when he first saw it. It shouldn't have been possible to create seidr outside of a living being, but there it was. Quickly he came to understand its benefit to Loki and was quite impressed by it. Frey still wondered what prompted its creation. Anthony would never tell him. He watched as a needle was slipped into Loki's arm. He hadn't understood the purpose of the needle initially. It angered him when he first saw it. He understood the limits of Midgardian medicine now. The needle and the tube connected to it were an important conveyance for a liquid medicine that did well for Loki. It was a medicine that Anthony made with his machines. Very quickly Frey found himself impressed with the innovations Anthony came up with to bolster Loki's fragile health. It opened the way for him to develop an affection for the mouthy engineer, and a gratitude for the care he showed Loki.

That affection was elsewhere as Frey thought back to Loki's darkened vision. With everything that his beloved niece had given, he was determined that she would give no more. Rage coiled tightly in him. He trusted Anthony with her safety, enough to not send them home from Vanaheim with a full complement of his Royal Guard. It was unthinkable to have that trust betrayed. It was Anthony's responsibility to protect and care for Loki and the children. Frey's hands clenched and unclenched reflexively. He was going to demand answers for this. So, he watched Anthony and waited. As soon as Loki was done being taken care of he stepped forward and grabbed Anthony by arm, spinning him around. He clenched his left fist in Anthony's shirt as his seidr wrapped tight around Anthony's torso. Sunny seidr rolled down his right arm to wreath his right fist in pale yellow fire. Frey hefted him into the air. "What happened?!" he yelled. The room shook with his anger.

.-.-.-.

A tart smile touched Frigga's lips. I was right. My brother will put Stark in his place. Even though there were still many conflicting emotions vying for a place in her thoughts when it came Frey, there was an undeniable pride. Her brother was able to put a beast like Stark in his place. It gave her a little hope that they might be able to get Loki away from Stark.

.-.-.-.

Before looking the King of Vanaheim in the eyes Tony put his hand on Frey's wrist. He could honestly understand the anger. "Put me down, and I'll explain what happened," he said calmly. This felt like déjà vu. He managed to reign in his smirk as he thought, It'll end better this time. A smirk would only anger Frey more anyway.

Shaking him, Frey yelled again, "Did you allow this to happen?" The tiny smirk on Anthony's face was making him angrier. Anthony had a sharp smirk but didn't know when to use it.

"It was Asgard. It wasn't me," Tony said calmly. The noise bothered his ears at the same time as the source was unthreatening to his mind. The dissonance of discomfort from a not uncomfortable source bothered him more than Frey did.

"You have a very short time to explain why you left my beloved niece alone long enough for her to be attacked by Asgard's agents before I decorate the wall with YOUR BLOOD!" Frey raised his voice hotly, tossing him across the room to the floor. The sound echoed around the room shaking the desk and chair by the wall as well as rattling the door. "I have trusted you, Anthony. Trusted you with Loki's safety," he pointed to the rose tank, "and I come to find this?!" More sunny seidr rolled down Frey's right arm. While he couldn't best Anthony in combat, not with his bizarre abilities, that didn't halt the desire to backhand his nephew-by-law for this. He was livid. In light of everything Loki had survived, "This is inexcusable!" Anthony couldn't have betrayed his trust like this.

The gleeful 'Wheeee!' that passed through his thoughts as he went sailing through the air was childish even to him. The grin that the landing slide provoked was suppressed entirely. Tony picked himself up and dusted himself off casually. There wasn't much force in the throw, just enough to amuse. The only thing it disturbed was his shirt. He looked directly at Frey, refusing to be intimidated in his own home by a man who he counted as a friend, as family. "It was Asgard's twin suns. It was too hot and too bright for her as a child. She's been blind since she was little."

"You lie! I would have seen such a thing," Frey said quickly. Blindness was always obvious. To not notice it was unthinkable. Even minor training in Healing Magics was enough to discern the blatant nerve disfunction. His training in Healing Magics was as extensive as it could be. Training to heal the lifecode itself was the final training available to anyone pursuing becoming a healer. It was training that he excelled at.

"Oh, I can lie to you?" Tony crossed his arms over his chest, lying to Frey even as he spoke. However, the pale monarch was observant enough that it was annoyingly difficult to do so he tried not to. Like Loki, he had to put actual effort into lying to Frey. He sighed and wished again that Frey hadn't found out like this. Being tossed across the room wasn't enough to direct his anger towards Frey. It was hard for Tony to be angry with Frey since he frequently took good care of his wife and kids.

Assessing Anthony rapidly faded Frey's anger. His nephew-by-law wasn't lying. I've failed to heal her when she needed it. I didn't see that she needed healing. His shoulder's slumped in defeat before he straightened up almost immediately. His seidr instantly furled into his core. At least I can discover how I failed, so that I might not do so in that manner again. Will I ever not fail? Frey looked his nephew-by-law in the eyes, "How did I not see this?"

"No one looks for treasure on the tip of their nose," Tony muttered. It was a very stupid excuse in his opinion, but he'd spent most of his life under the Rhodes' scrutiny. "And you saw how her eyes glowed," he said. He didn't want to tell Frey this since Loki wanted to do it. She was certain that she could tell him without angering him. He knew himself well enough to know that he was too much of a smart ass to not irritate Frey. Getting tossed across the room proved that well enough.

No one looks for treasure on the tip of their nose? Frey didn't appreciate Anthony poking at him about it, but he also understood that his nephew-by-law didn't mean anything by it. Anthony said many things that he meant nothing by. He was just an abrasive man who was brutally honest. It was a lesson learned shortly after they met, so he let the comment drop. That the glow in Loki's eyes wasn't an abnormality was more worth paying attention to. "That was Loki's seidr, I thought," Frey said. While it was uncommon for someone to be born with anywhere near as much seidr as Loki possessed, it was quite common for those who were possessed of that much seidr to have physical abnormalities. He sported a few of them himself. Glowing eyes were the most common among those abnormalities. His own strong resistance to toxins was his most and least favorite.

"It was a spell she used, so that she could see," Tony walked over to the tank to look through the small window panel on the side of the tank. He placed a hand on the window. "Loki already felt like a burden. She didn't want to be seen as a 'cripple' as well. Her word, not mine. So, she used a spell to replace her vision. Everything was said and done by the time she was three hundred and thirty. She was still scared of being found out," he said very quietly. The fear of being found out was powerful enough that it took Tony using their bargain to even figure out what was wrong. It took years after that to get any more answers. Years of arguments, he thought with only a little bitterness. Eventually he wore her down. If he could prevent her from being in pain, then he would always choose that option. Nothing and no one was going to prevent him from doing that, not even Loki.

.-.-.-.

You were never a burden to me. Odin sincerely hoped that Stark was wrong. He wondered which of his actions, or inactions led to that. The memory of Lord Algrim laughing at Loki, followed shortly after by the other Lords in his Counsel, forcibly asserted itself. He allowed it. Odin wouldn't let his shoulders drop, even though it felt like a defeat. Thinking back on it he realized that he'd allowed his entire kingdom to laugh at his son. Suddenly it was no great wonder that Loki hid so much.

The mistake Frigga made in the situation became clear to her. Just after turning three hundred the healers decided that Loki was well enough to not have a private room in the healing rooms anymore. He was allowed to return to his own chambers. They were so confident of his health that they said he would only need to be watched during the summer months. It was shortly after this that Loki began avoiding the healing rooms and the healers all together, only going when he was taken there. Frigga thought it a natural reaction. The boy practically lived there and wanted to get away. Once again, it was the calm in his seidr that convinced her. That calm hid so much more than she ever thought possible. The worst thing it hid was how little Loki trusted her. Why wouldn't he tell me?

.-.-.-.

As Frey listened, events connected in his mind. Three hundred and thirty, that's so very close. It must be the reason. Now I know what happened the first time. He looked at his nephew-by-law again. I wonder Anthony, do you even suspect what manner of things Loki has done to herself? Frey felt the burn of embarrassment creep across his cheeks. Anthony cares for Loki as well. I know this. Frey knew it wasn't Anthony he was most angry with. That was himself. There was no point in delaying what honor demanded he do. "Anthony, I regret my actions. I know better than to doubt you. I allowed my emotions to overcome me. You have my apology for this."

Waving his hand twice let him indicate with gestures the forgiveness he couldn't put words to. Tony kept his eyes on Loki as he spoke, "It's ok, I understand the anger. There are times when I have a hard time handling it." Tony looked at him with a relieved smile, "I understand. She deserves better." He looked back to the window. Loki looked pale pink in the light radiating from the crystals.

Frey observed Anthony for a moment. For a father of nine, with another on the way, he looked awfully young. It was the utter devotion in his eyes that Frey approved of. Loki deserved someone as devoted as Anthony. "I must return to the palace, I left in a rush. Gather up the children and Loki. Come with me."

Tony shook his head. "We can't go anywhere for another couple days."

"Why not?" Frey frowned, unable to think of what could be more important than getting Loki to his palace healing rooms. His healers needed to monitor her to ensure she was recovering from this well. It was something he would prefer to do himself, but he'd left unfinished business with his Council of Lords. Why neither he nor any of his healers saw this nerve damage also needed to be ascertained. Since he was better trained than any of his Heal Mistresses and Heal Meisters so this shouldn't have been possible. What magic Loki used to so effectively shield this from everyone was going to be his so that he could understand. All of that had to begin by having her in a Soul Forge again. A little smile crossed his face. Working as a healer is more satisfying than plotting out the minutia of economic policy anyway.

The warm glass of the tank's window supported Tony as he rested his forehead against it for a moment. Hesitation edged his thoughts. On one side was Loki saying that this would scare Frey. That wasn't something he agreed with because on the other side was all of the things Loki had told him about her uncle. Frey was one tough s.o.b. in his opinion. Not too much left to hide, he thought, Frey already saw her eyes, might as well show him the rest of it. I can let him have this. It's probably ok. He turned and walked over to the wall behind the head of the rose tank. "Jarvis, open the control panel for Loki's project, please." A small six by six inch square section of the wall sunk back by a half inch then slid left into the wall. A small control panel with a tiny keyboard, number pad and screen sat behind it. Tony entered the passcode into the control panel to unlock and open his wife's latest major project. He stepped back to watch it come out.

A section of the wall pulled back nearly a foot and slid sideways into the wall. Frey's eyebrows rose slightly as a section of wall that looked entirely solid slid away then a small set of rails unfolded from the floor. There were no seams to betray their existence. As soon as the shielded wall slid back, Frey felt it. He inhaled sharply, a look of worry coming over his face. A meter high by meter wide cube base slid forward out of the recess. Sitting on top of it was an orb of pulsing emerald seidr about a half meter in diameter. Beneath it was a familiar, glowing, golden spike and a circle of flowing script. He couldn't see the entirety of the script, but it looked suspiciously like a kibisis. The glowing emerald orb pulsed every second or so. Frey walked over to it, almost disbelieving what he was seeing. "This is almost all of Loki's seidr." Is this why there was so little left to her?

The flashing emerald orb was magnificent to him. Tony nodded in appreciation, "Loki's new eyes are growing in the middle of it. They'll be done in about a week. She can't leave the house until then."