- When the days are cold -
- And the cards all fold -
- And the saints we see -
- Are all made of gold -
- When your dreams all fail -
- And the ones we hail -
- Are the worst of all -
- And the blood's run stale -
Standing in a dimly-lit room, the Druid stood facing the far wall that almost looked as though it opened out into the very vortex of space. The futuristic helmet that sat upon the desk to his right looked rather out of place upon the ancient wood; the polished surface glinting in the light of a hundred-billion stars as galaxies swirled in the abyss that lay before the blacket.
A frown tugged at the Druid's lips as his eyes; one a deep blue while the other was an almost golden-yellow, stared at the expansion of space. He raised a hand and a golden glow swallowed his gaze as whispered words left his lips, and the universe before him froze - almost as if he'd taken a snapshot - before galaxies, suns, and the civilisations that populated those systems flew passed; honing in on a certain point of space.
Lowering his hand, the sight before him slowed until it had come to a pitched black area of space where a single galaxy swirled amongst the all-encompassing darkness, and the moment it came into focus, the ward that lay upon the wall fell, revealing nothing but a solid white, blank wall with a single black door that held no handle or revealed any way of entering.
Removing his gloves and placing them besides his helmet, the Druid approached the black door and rested his hand against the smooth, metal surface. The moment his skin came into contact with the door, there was a flash of light followed by the sound of various locks disengaging. The door swung inwards and revealed another room beyond, this one not being too dissimilar with the last with its utter lack of furniture; containing nothing but two dais', each with a small, finely decorated wood cube sitting atop them.
There was a third cube, this one being made up of a highly polished silver, and it hung suspended in the air between the two stands in the very middle of the room.
Various runes crisscrossed across the floor, and magic sung in the air as surrounding the third box was a sphere that was made up of nothing but magic, though the blacket took no notice as he made a beeline for the dais on the left and picked up the cube.
As he turned to leave the room however, the young man made the mistake of looking in the silver cube's direction and it seemed as though something tugged at him.
Something calling out to him.
A hand fisted at his side as he jerked his head away from the box, his eyes glowing as he quickly left the room, and the box behind.
As the door closed behind him, there was a rush of magic as the ward raised once more; the white wall once again taking on the vast expansion that was the universe and hiding what lay beyond.
The Druid headed to one of the only pieces of furniture in the room - the oak desk - and shifted his helmet and gloves to the side before placing the cube atop its varnished wood and took a seat before it. The blacket did nothing but stare at the wooden box for a minute before he finally raised a hand and ran his pointer in a diagonal line over the top; barely flinching when he felt a sharp prick on the end of the digit as he did so. When he moved his hand away from the box - a whispered word healing the small gash on the tip of his finger - the heterochromian's eyes watched avidly as the blood that had marred the surface of the cube begun to seep into the wood.
Power flared as darkening, reddish-black vine-like florets blossomed as his blood traversed its way around the cube, and when the last of the 'vines' joined, a very faint click could be heard.
The blacket grasped the top of the cube carefully and lifted, a seam that hadn't been there mere seconds ago revealing itself as the lid gave way without resistance. The inside of the box was lined with a padded, emerald, green velvet material that protected the three vials that carefully nestled inside. Pulling out the first, he eyed the blue flame inside as it shifted through every shade before settling on a shade that reminded him of the skies he'd once seen on Sierauk.
A line appeared between his brows as he returned the vial to the box, and he did the same with the phial on the right; revealing it to be filled with an energy that pulsed with a golden light almost too bright to look at.
An expression passed over the heterochromian's face as he studied the vial. It was too quick to name, but there was a dulling of his blue and gold eyes as he stared at the vial before returning it back to the box as well.
The last vial was nestled in between the other two, and as he plucked it carefully out of the box, the contents thrummed with both power and magic as a smoky, inky, living darkness that was the blackest of blacks swirled inside the crystal vial. The young man tapped a fingernail atop its seal, causing a 'ping' to echo through the air as the phial shimmered; various colours washing over the crystal before they faded from view once more.
Smiling in satisfaction with the enchantments placed on the vial, the blacket returned it back inside the box and closed the lid.
The seal disappeared as it snapped shut, making it seem as though the cube was nothing but an ordinary, wooden box that someone had spent far too long carving some very highly detailed engravings on it.
- I wanna hide the truth -
- I wanna shelter you -
- But with the beast inside -
- There's nowhere we can hide -
- No matter what we breed -
- We still are made of greed -
- This is my kingdom come -
- This is my kingdom come -
Va'ly grimaced from his perch on an I-beam above the underground lab, watching the mind-controlled soldiers and scientists below with an air of distaste as they ran around below like... well, the rats that humans seemed so fascinated with. The brunet didn't understand why the apes were so captivated by such vermin when they seemed to act so much like them, and the young man found himself frowning when he tried to recall where he'd first heard the notion of comparing humans and rats had come from.
To him, they'd always been more like ants... something of which his companion seemed to share, finding that the bipedal apes were everywhere.
Was it really his fault that they were so easily stepped on?
And while mind-control was never something Va'ly would use himself – the mere thought alone had the hairs on the back of his neck raising as if his phantom hackles raised – the brunet could admit to himself that there was a kind of twisted amusement he felt at watching someone who was so honour-bound go against those honours. Though even then Va'ly knew firsthand that ever the most honourable of men had a number... He was just waiting for the moment when they were finally finished with their 'rats'; wanting to see the horror that he knew would fill their eyes when they'd realised what they'd done – right before he could snuff that spark of life out and dispose of them.
As he continued to watch the humans act like lab rats however, Va'ly found that watching them run around like vermin was a far better alternative to what they had been acting before.
His shoulder still hurt from where the one with the bow had managed to catch him before he'd vanished, and the brunet was angry with himself for not having been prepared for such a primitive weapon.
A puff of air escaped him, trying to blow away the strand of hair that was starting to annoy him as he waited for the sign that they were finally prepared to infiltrate their next target. The wait was bothersome, knowing that if he could have done it himself, Va'ly would have already had the machine set up to go. But the brunet had learnt from his last encounter with the artifact they were using to power the machine that he had a rather... volatile reaction when he came into direct contact with the cube.
The reason why...
Well, that answer was kept tightly wrapped, shoved into a box, encased in cement, buried six feet down in a cave underneath the tallest of a mountains that was in the middle of a dessert surrounded by a raging sea inside the darkest recessed of the brunet's mind.
And the people that did happen to know...
They had either taken up residence with Hel in the very depths of, well, Hell. Or had spontaneously forgotten a few months – decades – of their life.
There was no telling what Veral would do if she ever remembered what had happened all those years ago.
Shaking his head, and those thoughts away, Va'ly readjusted himself on the beam, making certain that he wouldn't lose his balance. He closed his eyes and laid the sceptre he was holding across his legs.
Now was not the time to think of such things, and as he cleared his mind and focused on what he wanted to do, the red-black gem inside the sceptre he was holding begun to give off an ominous glow.
- When you feel my heat -
- Look into my eyes -
- It's where my demons hide -
- It's where my demons hide -
- Don't get too close -
- It's dark inside -
- It's where my demons hide -
- It's where my demons hide -
"Sir, are you certain that this is a good idea?" Jasper asked his eye-patch wearing boss as they walked down a street that was lined with rundown and abandoned buildings just on the outskirts of New York. The area looked utterly terrible, having been left to rot and decay, and the SHIELD agent couldn't help but wonder if Fury had been given the wrong information in regards to the person they were looking for.
"Nope," the SHIELD Director stated simply, "But I've been told that he's our in with not only the wizarding world, but also that aliens that could be out there. Without his help, we'd be as blind as we are now, and after what happened twelve years ago in Britain; and my niece, I would rather know when another megalomaniac was going to try and take over the world rather than blindly rushing into what could be another intergalactic incident like Louisiana ended up turning out being."
"But how is this, er..." Jasper flipped back through the file he'd been reading on their journey, "Master Skrymor supposed to do that?" he continued as his gaze shifted to the streets around them. He couldn't stop his nose from wrinkling in distaste, unable to see how someone who was supposed to be this planetary saviour could live in a dump like this.
Fury glanced at the agent, a line appearing between his brows. "Master Skrymor and his apprentice were the ones who led Stark to the location of the Tesseract, as well as being one of the main contributing factors behind the fall of Tom Riddle. And hopefully, he will be the one who can help us figure out what it is we're up against," he told the man before frowning. "I thought you said you read the file."
Jasper swallowed as his gaze went to the file in his hands that was covered in so much red ink and 'Confidential' stamps and couldn't help but wonder why it hadn't been uploaded onto a computer. He had already spent the better part of a day trying to get through it all, but it was as if the file just never ended - despite its deceptively small size.
"I haven't gotten to that part yet," the agent admitted a little sheepishly as he returned his gaze to his boss.
Fury eyed the man - with one eye of course - for a moment before nodding once. He knew that it would have been a feat in its own right if Sitwell had actually managed to finish the file. By the gods, even he, the very Director of SHIELD hadn't been able to finish the thing, having spent three solid days of doing nothing but reading, only having stopped when he felt that he knew enough about Master Skrymor himself and not the history of various places around the world.
"So, where exactly does this Master Skrymor live?" Jasper asked curiously as he looked around once more. He was feeling relieved that he hadn't been reprimanded for not having finished reading the file, though also surprised that they hadn't seen anyone since entering the desolate street. But Jasper's surprise was tempered with the knowledge that ever since he'd started working with SHIELD, people did have a tendency to become scarce when they showed up.
"Britain," Fury remarked as he approached a statue of the largest lion Jasper had ever seen, however instead of a mane, it looked to have an inflated, balloon-like membrane around the neck that was covered in spikes.
Jasper blinked, realising that the entire beast was covered in spikes, as well as spots. He wondered where it had come from, though shook his head as his boss stopped in front of the statue - Fury's gaze barely level with the beasts' head. He watched on curiously as his boss then proceeded to pull out a scrap of yellowed, aged paper as he placed his other hand upon the beast's head.
"Master Vasuki lives at," the Director's lip curved upwards with amusement as he finished, "Number Seven, Lemon Drop Drive."
The moment the words left his mouth, the statue took on an eery green glow, and Fury - vanished.
Jasper was alert immediately, his gun already in his hand as his eyes darted around, catching sight of the scrap of parchment his boss had been holding as it fluttered to the ground. Looking around once more, his gun still at the ready, the agent slowly made his way over to the paper, and very carefully picked it up, almost as if he was expecting the same thing that had happened to Fury to happen to himself.
A frown appeared on his face however as he read what was written, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion as he noted that all that had been scribbled onto the paper had been the exact same words his boss had spoken. "Lemon Drop Drive...?" he muttered to himself, bewildered as to how whatever the bloody well hell had happened to his boss had, well... happened.
Unknowingly to Jasper however, the statue took on that ominous green glow, and he too vanished from the empty street.
- At the curtain's call -
- It's the last off all -
- When the lights fade out -
- All the sinners crawl -
- So they dug your grave -
- And the masquerade -
- Will come calling out -
- At the mess you've made -
A raven-haired man sat stooped over an old tome as he sat at a desk, flipping through the pages as the line between his brows grew deeper and deeper.
A hand moved to flick away a strand of lanky, black hair that kept on annoying him, though the man froze when he felt a shift in the air.
It was subtle - slight.
But Vasuki hadn't spent many a year locked away in this dusty office to know when something felt out of place, and as he reached out to his wards to feel what had shifted, a box that was covered by scraps of parchment and out-dated newspapers begun to give off a sickly-green glow.
Eyes that were the deepest of green snapped to where the box was sitting; the green flecks in the orbs almost glowing amongst the light of the room, and the man held his breath.
Not a double-heartbeat later, whispered words that were layered and layered upon by many voices begun to fill the air, and the hairs on Vasuki's arms and the back of his neck raised.
'Nixata vecilyec grikta, tamni el jolsk elrekni
Grinia grikta imk urmear, groni vecaldaral grsk allnar
Imar kraeniarkvec elto krayar, niar imilaky kroy elto krept
Niamzpal arlkel xiaurr aliujo el joarkrayatni krenar
Kryvato elto kria, nivar elto falpak
Imaer joazajal, tamxi niar vecefar
Krymk elurr allzar nilota elto prazata tamar
Jovecixaal vat obvajo viec lialni niarsk'kya grakifar
Krekni elto kraknivit, vecadlyena niask fazecni grar
Krymk liarta nixim grakifar imar, uratavec xiaurr nizyta elecorxi
Niar drecni elto kronokar xiaurr kemurrajar
Elto niar Skrymor'vec xikenia viec elurr skiz'urr vecar
Liavur vecilyec elto drulariec, urapatjovec elto faknia
Xiaurr zelaveca, keyzagur, xianalark, elto jorkesk
Elto niar imar grikta imk grinia nivar elto falpak
Xiaurr uralkta imk niar dryver, fazkal nim niaraky jovecalk
Elec el niluar liavecrakal elkymvecev niar kyaeraec
Imk el Torin imk Fortai nialni nizytal krymfa niar urapani
Niar kemumoky imk allnar xiaurr krejar krymfa zevaxi
Fazkal nim imar falta'vec ozunafliar joruarlni
El jorecnatsk imaer jortaro xiaurr kemfar vatnim wazaecnivit
Elto el drenixilk imaer uriveci falk elpreata grar kriztjo
Elni niar vectebar'ec vecannart vecota, niar Ximukr xiaurr grar kyagikta
Groni imtusk imk niar Kyrostra kelta jorkaeni niar Almoto
Niamzpal almdar viec tamni uriveci, krenar tamni vecani vat vecimar
Imk uravarec elkar krikrazat elto vecaryaniec taim urmaprark alvojora
Krymk vak niar Ximukr Ariakalur vecalurr kyavecannira
Elto faloar niaraky jorta imta niar vecamkarec imk Britain
Draeka xiaurr kemfar vat niar kriyfa imk el vecimka
El Killie imk Fortai, el Xilajryart Alaerark
Vecalurr imrat alaky favajo, imrat alaky alaeyni
Elto veciimila alaky vecizur elto grakifar vanec obarrdark
Groni vak niar Ximukr vecalurr krikrani alavec drecni
Elto vecaurter viec elurr skiz kelta alaey
Kriurrix alavec favajo, kriurrix alavec veciar
Elto uralkta niar nikonia gralatjo niar uraverec
Elto imk skizky Ximukr Ariakalur'ec jorardwin kralyvec'
Vasuki was on his feet the moment the last words disappeared into the ether, the chair he had been sitting on scrapping harshly across the stone floor before catching on a small rise and toppling over backwards with a clatter. The tome that the blacket had been reading now lay abandoned as the man moved towards a large bookshelf and begun scanning the shelves for the one he was after.
When he had found the book, he pulled it off its shelf and headed back to his desk. His eyes flashed a vibrant, emerald green, and the workspace cleared as if nothing had ever been placed upon the varnished wood; the items that had littered his desk having shimmered out of existence as if they'd never existed.
Placing the book onto the now clear desk, Vasuki wasted no time in flicking through the pages as he searched for what he was after, and the moment he had found the page, the blacket felt what colour his pale features held drain away.
Without warning, Vasuki tore the page from the book and snapped it closed, stuffing the page into his coat. There was warbled cry that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, and there was a flash of bright, blue light as a blue phoenix appeared in the room in burst of flames, though the blacket took no notice as he brushed the paper of the cube and picked it up.
Giving the room one last look, Vasuki summoned Eildrim to him as blackness filled his gaze. His right forearm began to give off a vibrant, green glow that grew brighter and brighter until the entire room was bathed in its blinding light.
Eildrim slammed into the man's chest, and the pair disappeared in a burst of flames - right as the room begun to shimmer and disappear; the stone from the mountain above once more reclaiming what it once owned.
- Don't wanna let you down -
- But I am hellbound -
- Though this is all for you -
- Don't wanna hide the truth -
- No matter what we breed -
- We still are made of greed -
- This is my kingdom come -
- This is my kingdom come -
"You can blame a former employer of mine for that," a voice drawled from somewhere nearby, and Jasper jerked into a sitting position as his eyes snapped open. He blinked, confusion colouring his features as he noticed that instead of that desolate street, he was now sitting in what looked to be a well-furnished sitting room.
"He had a rather unhealthy relationship with the muggle sweet," the voice continued, and Jasper frantically looked around, barely noticing that his boss was sitting on a rather comfy-looking lounge sipping a cup of tea as his wide-eyed gaze landed on a man with short, blacket hair and a piercing green eyes. The man raised an eyebrow as he placed his cup onto the coffee table and Jasper looked away, blinking when he noticed that there was a hawk on a perch that had been spaciously placed in the corner of the room; the bird occasionally pecking at a band that wrapped around one of its legs.
Jasper however felt the hawk's beady gaze on him, and he felt the need to do something - anything to get the feathered carnivore to stop staring at him - judging him. But he shook the feeling off.
Birds don't judge.
...do they?
"Don't mind Eildrim," the blacket spoke once more, causing the agent to look back to him in confusion. "He's just grumpy that we have guests."
"Take a seat, Sitwell," Fury added as he watched the paling agent with a slight air of detachment. "Before you pass out."
Vasuki raised an eyebrow at the dark-skinned man when he noticed what his companion was carrying as the agent moved to one of the empty seats that just so happened to be the furthest from the 'judgmental' bird - that was still staring at him! "Is SHIELD that desperate that you've resulted to robbing goblins?" he enquired as he eyed Fury, having caught a glimpse of the front of the file and knew exactly what they were carrying.
"Goblins?" Jasper parroted, though the pair ignored him; acting as though he wasn't even there.
"Oh no," Fury snorted, surprising the agent as Jasper watched the Director's posture relax as he too placed his cup onto the coffee table. "I'll leave that to the criminally insane, thank you," the man finished with a shake of his head.
"And yet," Vasuki drawled as he held out an empty hand towards wide-eyed agent, "You seem to have something in your possession that I am certain the goblins had promised me would never leave my vault."
Jasper just stared dumbly at the man, unsure as to what the blacket wanted as he tried to get his head to wrap around the topic of goblins and vaults. It sounded like the man had read one too many fairy tales before a heavy night of drinking and had gone completely 'round the bend and lost it; taking his boss along for the ride.
"The file," Fury said with a sigh, causing his agent's gaze to snap to him questionably before realising that he was, in fact, holding a file. The Director turned back to Vasuki as he continued their conversation, and Jasper finally managed to put one and one together without ending up with pi before he handed the file over to Vasuki.
"And it was, yes. But-"
"SHIELD went to the goblins with a problem that supposedly I could help them with, and because of some bloody stupid treaty that I had to sign just to walk through their little magical world, they handed over a copy with my current address to help you track me down," Vasuki finished for the man as he accepted the file off Jasper and quickly skimmed though it. He quirked an eyebrow at Jasper as the man watched on jaw slack, though huffed and shot the Director a glare when Fury wacked him upside the head.
"Stop tormenting him," the Director sighed, and Jasper swore that the blacket was about to murder his boss before his very eyes - right before Fury added, "Give him a moment, at least. He's still trying to wrap his head around goblins."
"Spoilsport," Vasuki grumbled as he closed the file, though there was an upwards tilt of his lips that spoke volumes to Fury, knowing that the man he'd once known as just an acquaintance and then friend was still in there somewhere under all the put-upon rancour and spite he'd picked up over the years.
"Well, they only gave you a copy of the shortest version at any rate," the blacket told them rather dryly.
"There's a longer version?" Jasper blurted out with wide eyes, only for Vasuki to smile at him, and the agent couldn't help but notice that the man's smile wasn't a very nice one, either. He almost felt as though the blacket was eyeing him up like he was some kind of predator about to have quick snack before dinner.
'If you keep looking at him like that, there may just be an accident...'
Vasuki grimaced as he looked away from the uncomfortably shifting agent and glared at the hawk sitting on its perch.
'Do you mind?!'
"Something wrong?" Fury asked with a knowing smirk when he saw Vasuki's expression as the blacket glared at the bird.
"So, what brings two SHIELD agents to my place of sanctuary?" Vasuki asked instead of rising to Fury's bait. He held the file out to Eildrim, who was quick to collect it before flying out of the room. Both agents watched the hawk leave, Fury frowning as the bird disappeared out the open door and further into the estate.
"I would have thought you knew," he begun, turning back to the blacket and raising an eyebrow, "What with your..." His frown returned as he tried to recall what the word was in regards to Vasuki's skills.
"Legilimency?" the blacket supplied, and Fury nodded. The blacket smirked as he relaxed back into his chair, taking his cup of tea with him and cradling it between his hands. He made an odd sight for Jasper, finding the rough-looking man cradling a delicate cup of tea quite... mindboggling, though was surprisingly wise enough to no to keep his mouth shut.
"I could have peeked," Vasuki admitted solemnly as he met Fury's single-eyed gaze, "Though most find it rather rude," he continued to explain, not deciding to divulge that he'd found after spending almost two decades as a Professor, most thoughts people held were not only boring, but borderline suicide-inducing.
"What's legiltemancy?" Jasper asked, unable to quell his curiosity.
"Legilimency..." Vasuki corrected as he glanced at the agent, "Is one of the many forms of a specialised magic that is focused mainly on the mind and being able to read it," he explained before turning back to Fury, "And you didn't answer my question."
The Director's lip turned downwards slightly at the corner, rather curious about what the man had mentioned by legilimency being only one form of mind reading, though unlike his companion, he kept his questions to himself as he pulled out his phone. There were far more important things to worry about than a friend who's entire life had been built upon a lie possibly keeping something from him.
And besides, Fury had come to trust the blacket implicitly - despite words he'd spoken in the past that had stated the contrary.
"A few days ago, this fell from nowhere near a small town by New Mexico," he stated, bringing up the picture of a hammer that had his scientists stumped and showed it to Vasuki. "We managed to isolate the area as the object can't be moved in case it was a weapon or something... more. But other than acting like an immovable object stuck in a very hard place, it's done nothing but cause multiple headaches and a few of my agents questioning their life choices."
Vasuki raised an eyebrow at the Director's words as he accepted the phone, looking at the image closely before his eyebrows furrowed. The hammer looked startling familiar to the blacket, though if he was correct on the item's origin...
"I'm never going to get that holiday, am I?" he muttered as he shook his head, earning himself a questionable look from the Director and his agent. "So, you need my help," he said, looking back to Fury with a frown. It deepened when the man nodded. "Why now?" he asked, "It's not the first time your people have come to try and... recruit me or my former Apprentice. And the last agent that appeared on my doorstep almost cost me not only my position, but my life."
Fury jolted at the knowledge that SHIELD had approached the blacket in the past, not having been informed of that titbit of information. He only knew of the magical world, and by proxy Vasuki for a few years since his niece was finally told she could reveal to him just what she was, and Fury understood that it was only because of her that had him meeting Vasuki to begin with. And it was because of their shared history that had him sitting in the blacket's sitting room asking the man for help over some other agent.
He hadn't questioned it earlier, though now he was getting the feeling he'd be sent because SHIELD had approached Vasuki in the past, and their... friendship would have had the man actually listening to him instead of just slamming the proverbial door on his face.
Vasuki had agreed to meet with him after all, despite the rather short notice.
"They tried to recruit you in the past?" he asked.
The blacket nodded as he took another sip from his cup. He placed it back onto the coffee table in front of him before speaking. "About... twenty odd years ago, I believe. Though I must admit that I was a completely different person back then. Quite literally," his gaze slid to Jasper, smirking at the man's expression.
"You had an apprentice twenty years ago?" Jasper gaped, having read that in the file, though had seemed to have missed exactly when that had occurred. "You'd have to have been barely out of school yourself."
"Looks can be quite deceiving," Fury remarked knowingly, confusing his agent even further. Vasuki wasn't helping as he smirked before adding, "And no, SHIELD approached me after Veral had finished her apprenticeship."
A flutter of wings drew Vasuki's attention as Eildrim returned, the bird landing on the back of his chair.
"But, that would make you like, sixty!" Jasper exclaimed, looking at the blacket before him with wide, unbelieving eyes.
"Actually, I believe I should be reaching about... twelve hundred. Give or take a few decades, of course," Vasuki informed him with a disinterested shrug as he reached forwards and snagged a peach from the bowl of fruit that sat on the table and offered it to Eildrim. Jasper's and Fury's eyebrows shot upwards as the supposed carnivore tore into the fruit with gusto, getting bits of peach on its beak and talons.
"Twelve hundred," the agent breathed as he looked back to Vasuki, his brain trying to figure out just how much it could accept as truth before it up and died from exhaustion. A snort escaped the man not a moment later and he shook his head. "That's impossible."
"No. not impossible," Vasuki corrected with a smirk, "Just highly improbable. Considering who you work for, you should be able to distinguish between the pair." He looked to Fury, "And considering your little incident with the Skrull back in '95, SHIELD should know that things are not always as they seem." His lip lifted, his expression turning amused as he suddenly asked, "How is Goose, by the way. I find myself missing that little furball."
Fury scowled at the man as he rubbed his eyepatch, and Vasuki's smirk only grew as the Director dropped his hand when he realised what he was doing and shot the blacket a dark, if-I-didn't-need-you-I'd-kill-you glare. "If you already know why we're here, what do you think?" he questioned after a moment, wanting to move away from the topic of a certain Flerken as he nodded to his mobile that Vasuki was still holding, "Do you have any idea as to what we could be dealing with?"
Vasuki's smirk disappeared as he stood, the business of what had brought the Director of SHIELD to his doorstep quelling his amusement. "The hammer looks familiar, yes. Although I have to admit that I haven't the foggiest idea as to why it would have appeared on Earth alone." A line appeared between his brows as he browsed through his bookshelf once more, "However it has been quite a while since I've had any... personal dealings with aliens."
"You've had dealings with aliens before?" Jasper enquired, and Vasuki turned to the man with a look that once more had the agent comparing the blacket to something that really wanted to eat him... or at least torture him until he pleaded to be eaten.
The expression was absolutely predatory, and the man swore that Vasuki's eyes glowed an eerie green for a moment before the blacket had turned back to the shelves in front of him.
"Of course I have," he snorted, "Why else would the World Security Council send you traipsing through the hidden alleys of Magical Britain to speak with the Goblins at Gringotts before sending you to the very slums of New York City, all just to end up back in Britain to ask me for my help?" He pulled a book off the shelf and headed back to his seat. Opening the old tome, Vasuki begun to skim through it, though took far more care with the pages than the file.
"Norse Mythology?" Fury asked, his voice heavy with scepticism after having glimpsed the title.
"As my Apprentice was so fond of saying... Spoilers," Vasuki retorted.
"What do you mean, 'back in Britain'?!"
- When you feel my heat -
- Look into my eyes -
- It's where my demons hide -
- It's where my demons hide -
- Don't get too close -
- It's dark inside -
- It's where my demons hide -
- It's where my demons hide -
"The Chitauri grow restless..."
When the Va'ly opened his eyes, he found himself standing on a rocky outcrop that overlooked a darkened forest. And when he turned his gaze onto the speaker, it was revealed that the whites of his eyes had been swallowed by a black so dark that it seemed to eat what light there was around them. Red and gold specks glittered like stars in the inky depths, making it look as though his eyes had become twin, miniature universes.
A frown tugged at the brunet's lips as he studied the other man with him, wanting to roll his eyes though managed to hold back the urge.
It wasn't like it was up to him to keep the army – which happened to be lightyears from Sierauk, mind you – entertained.
It wasn't even his army to begin with!
"Then let them go at each other," he replied rather dispassionately, not holding a lick of care for what the Chitauri got up to when they weren't slaughtering their way across the universe. "Let the Asgardian Prince lead them in the battle he so desperately wishes, while I deal with the artifact. At least then you know something might actually get done..."
"Battle?" his companion scoffed, his eyes narrowing on the brunet, "For the meagre might of Earth?"
Va'ly dismissed his words with a wave of his hand. "We both know what Sierauk is worth, you need not remind me," he remarked. His eyes however, seemed to darken as a thought trickled its way through his grey matter. A smile lifted his lips; dark and cruel as he added, "But the bloodshed would be nothing but glorious, would it not?"
Before the Other could respond however, the expression was gone from the brunet's face and he shrugged. "Though what is a battle that would all be but a blink in our eyes..." Va'ly trailed off, eyeing the man in front of him as a different kind of smirk appeared on his lips, "... that's to say your force is formidable as you claim it to be, of course."
"You question us?" the Other hissed, his eyes narrowing on the man, "You dare question Him? He who took you under his wing and gave you the ancient knowledge you sought when you returned before him – defeated and thrown out by your own kind even after you returned empty-handed?"
"You forget your place, Imilak," Va'ly warned, his own eyes narrowing dangerously into almost slits.
"No, you forget yours," Imilak snapped right back. "Your ambitions are little, Va'ly; born of nothing but childish desires," he spat the name like the brunet was someone beneath him, "We look beyond the Earth to greater worlds the Tesseract will unveil."
"Sierauk is where it all begins," Va'ly stated knowingly, not rising to the other man's bait. A flicker of red seeped into his umbral gaze as his smirk returned, "And you forget, you do not have the Tesseract as of yet, Imilak."
Imilak rushed forwards, though Va'ly was quick to raise his hand. His sceptre appeared in his grasp with but a thought; the tip aimed directly at his attackers' chest.
The red-black gem pulsed as his eyes seemed to swallow what light remained around them; leaving them both bathed in the sceptre's eery red glow.
"You know me well enough that I do not threaten," the brunet snarled as his levelled his black gaze on the man, "So, take this warning back to your Master. Until that gate is opened and your forces are Loki's to command, both your words, and His, are nothing but that. Words..."
Imilak scowled, his eyes narrowing hatefully on Va'ly. "Loki will get his war, Arkentor," he agreed with a sneer, "But you should know this, if you fail again; if the Tesseract is once more kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice in any universe where He could not find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain."
Without warning, Va'ly sceptre vanished into thin air and the brunet had the other man in his grasp – his hand curling tightly around Imilak's throat. He tilted his head slightly backwards and up, smirking at the shocked and surprised expression that appeared on the man's face when he realised that even here in the realm of dreamers - without a physical body to manifest - there was nothing stopping Va'ly from touching him.
Harming him.
Va'ly's upper lip pulled upwards in a rather inhuman manner, revealing teeth that were far sharper than seconds ago as he leaned towards his captives' ear.
"If you truly believe to know me, Imilak... You would know that I've longed for nothing else since the day I met Him."
His voice was all but a whispered rumble like the sound of distant thunder in the man's ear before he suddenly tossed Imilak away from him and broke their connection.
When he reopened his eyes, there was a scowl on Va'ly's lips and a deep line between his brows.
He glanced down to the sceptre that he was cradling across his lap; watching the red-black gem slowly fade as the power he'd been feeding it slowly drained away before swinging his leg over the beam and dropping down onto the ground below, startling a few of the ants that hadn't known he was around.
It seemed as though he needed to push things up on his calendar, and there was already so much Va'ly needed to do before he was ready to face Thanos.
Getting his hands on the Tesseract was the first thing on his list, and it was already proving to be more of a hindrance than he'd first presumed.
- They say it's what you make -
- I say it's up to fate -
- It's woven in my soul -
- I need to let you go -
- Your eyes, they shine so bright -
- I wanna save that light -
- I can't escape this now -
- Unless you show me how -
A young man covered his yawn with a hand as he entered his living room, a cup of tea in his other as he headed towards a bookshelf that was filled with various genres from non-fiction, autobiographies, fiction, light reads, and even the occasional book on poetry.
His odd-coloured eyes roamed the shelves before they landed on a book that's' condition spoke of many relaxing days lounging around and reading, and the sight of the well-read tome had his lip twitching upwards. The blacket plucked it off the shelf, revealing that the cover was just as worn and well-used as the rest, and moved over to the lounge, placing his cup onto the coffee table before sinking into the seat with a sigh and cracked open the book.
The hours slipped by as the young man became engrossed in the words written, only returning to the realm of reality to take a sip of his coffee - or to retrieve a fresh cup when it had gone cold. However it wasn't even a minute passed eleven when the chain around his neck warmed and a resigned breath escaped his lips - right as the front door of his flat was kicked in.
"You know, most people tend to knock before preceding to enter someone's home unannounced," he drawled, lifting his multi-coloured gaze from the page he'd been reading with a rather irritated look on his face and eyed the six agents that had just stormed into his home; their guns raised and at the ready - and aimed directly at him!
"Well, then I guess it's a good thing that I'm not like most people," a male's voice countered as a dark-skinned man strolled into the room like he owned the place. One of his eyes were covered by a patch, and the man's presence had the seated blacket raising an eyebow.
"Mister Nicholas Joseph Fury," the Druid placed a bookmark against the page before closing the book and placing it next to his cup on the coffee table. "You most certainly are not most people," he continued as he picked up the cup of coffee and eyed the man from over the rim of the cup; a smirk flittered across his lips as he added, "How was Louisiana? I hear that the place is quite the eye-opener."
"It's just Fury," the eye-patch wearing man corrected, deciding to ignore the young man's jibe - along with his sudden urge to rub his covered eye.
Swallowing a mouthful of coffee, the heterochromian returned the cup to the table before standing; his gaze flickering to the six armed agents spread out around the room as the safety switches on their weapons were disengaged. Turning his eyes back to Fury, the Druid raised an eyebrow as he asked, "So, what's brought the Director of SHIELD to my humble abode?" as he moved around the coffee table, taking careful steps to ensure that none of Fury's henchmen had a twitch trigger-finger.
He'd only just had the carpets relayed, and really wasn't up for another bout of remodelling.
"'Cause if this has anything to do with what happened in New Mexico, I can tell you right now that I was not even in the country. I was still on my... extended holiday," he continued, raising a hand when Fury opened his mouth, "And I'm telling you right now, I have no interest looking for some delusional man who proclaimed to herald from the mystical lands of Asgard. Even if he did claim to be the legendary God of Thunder."
It was Fury's turn to raise an eyebrow at the blacket, and his agents witnessed in disbelief as the Director shook his head at the younger man before taking a seat in a couch opposite where the Druid had been sitting. He ignored the other man's remark about Thor, already knowing that the blacket knew far more about the 'mystical lands of Asgard' and the people that heralded from there, and pulled a tablet out from a pocket of his suit that seemed far too small to hold such a thing.
"Actually, I came for your help to locate something else," he stated simply as he brought up something on the screen.
The Director's words had the young man chuckling as his gaze turned to the men that Fury had brought with him; letting his miss-matched gaze linger on each agent as he took in their steely features. "Oh? And do I really get a say in the matter?" he asked, the delight in his tone causing two of the six agents brows to furrow, clearly not having a clue as to who he was.
"This isn't a-"
The Druid's eyes changed; shifting from the heterochromian blue and gold to a brilliant yellow-gold as he lunged at one of the agents. Fury broke off with what he had been saying and stood up as he withdrew his own weapon. Though the Director did not raise it towards the blacket; his single eye instead watching the young man closely.
"I really would be careful it I were you," the Druid stated lowly to the man in his grasp, his voice barely above a whisper as his gaze dropped to one of the agent's feet.
Fury blinked, the grip on his stance relaxing when he noticed that the agent the Druid had grabbed had almost stepped back onto a pedestal where a highly polished silver box sat atop in a glass display case.
"You really wouldn't want to find out what would happen if you accidently opened that and showed the world just what a beast truly was. There's only enough room in this universe for one at the moment, thank you," the blacket continued, nodding to the box that was sitting 'innocently' atop the pedestal as he nudged the agent's foot away from the stand's base. "I normally have it sealed away... but necessities out of my control as forced me to bring it with me." He let the man go when he knew that the box wasn't in any jeopardy of being knocked over, turning back to Fury as he continued, "I do try and keep it out of the way and secure," the tip of his finger touched the top of the case, and there was a flash of power as runes and glyphs appeared; as if they were etched into the very glass before they faded. His eye narrowed on the Director, "But I also don't generally have people storming into my flat unannounced, either."
Raised his empty hand and signally to his men not to do anything as he re-holstered his weapon, Fury frowned as he retook his seat; picking up the tablet that's been discarded in his rush to stand.
"So, how are we going to do this then?" the Druid questioned after the silence in the room had extended for long enough. He gestured to the coffee table and the book that he'd been reading before being so rudely interrupted. "I was hoping to finish the next chapter before lunch."
"I wouldn't have picked you for a Tolkien fan," the dark-skinned man remarked as he glanced at the book before returning his eye to the device in his hand as he once again brought up what had him sitting in the Druid's living room to begin with.
He missed the flicker of gold that passed over the Druid's blue eye as a knowing smirk lifted his lips.
"It's a... personal favourite," the younger man stated, and if Fury had a clue as to why he seemed so amused all of a sudden, the Director didn't say anything.
"What do you know of them?" the man asked instead, showing the Druid an out of focused image that had been dredged up from the remains of a security camera after a facility had been destroyed.
The Druid frowned as he returned to his seat, eyeing the blurred image of what looked to be a man with his dog - if it wasn't for the fact that the beast beside the overly dressed, raven-haired man looked nothing like anything found remotely near Earth.
And that the beast almost reached the blacket's shoulders...
"Where was this taken?" he asked, snatching the device from the Director and was on his feet once more, heading to the desk that was tucked away in the corner of the room and ignoring the guns that followed him.
The Director watched with thinly-veiled curiosity as the blacket ran his fingers over the spines over a few books on a shelf above the desk before giving himself a mental shake. "At one of our research facilities," he finally said as the blacket pulled off a large tome from the shelf and placed it onto the desk. The Director made another gesture with his hands, and the guns that had been tracking the blacket's movements lowered; the agents standing down. "The man called himself-."
"Loki Odinson, the God of Mischief," the Druid cut in, glancing up from the book he was flipping through. When Fury nodded in affirmation however, the young man frowned. "And the beast?" he enquired, turning his gaze back to the tome and resuming his search.
"Unknown," Fury stated, a frown appearing on his own lips as he added, "It disappeared not long after they appeared."
Still frowning, the heterochromian paused when he found the page he was after. He moved to show the book to Fury, though hesitated when he realised something and ran a quick finger down the paper. His eyes glowed a dim golden-blue as images and words on the page disappeared; all the while the ones that remained grew and shifted.
"He was after this," Fury said as he dropped a file onto the coffee table.
The blacket moved over to the file, the book he was holding still open onto the page he'd wanted to show Fury, though the image of a light-blue cube had him once again pausing. "And did he succeed?" he enquired, an eyebrow raised as he retook his seat, closing the book and placing it on his lap though keeping a finger between the pages he needed to keep his place.
Fury didn't say anything, only shifting his weight slightly, the blacket wanted to grab the man and shake him.
"Of all the idiotic and stu-" the blacket pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out a sigh. "Did Loki take it?" he asked, letting his hand fall from his face as he peered at the SHIELD Director.
"Yes," the man replied gruffly.
The Druid's eyes narrowed on Fury.
"And you're certain it was Loki?" he questioned.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I can't really say for certain that I checked that he wasn't a Skrull when the roof was caving in on me," the Director snarked, and the blacket rolled his eyes.
"I wasn't thinking Skrull, Director. More..." he retorted as he opened the book he'd been holding and placed it onto the coffee table atop of the file so Fury could see the pages, "Magical..."
The Director's eyebrows raised as he stared at the pages, watching the images moving as if they were on a screen and not paper.
Though what drew his eye was a man to the right of the two pages.
A man that looked very, very familiar to the SHIELD Director.
- When you feel my heat -
- Look into my eyes -
- It's where my demons hide -
- It's where my demons hide -
- Don't get too close -
- It's dark inside -
- It's where my demons hide -
- It's where my demons hide -
A cold breeze cut through a figure who stood atop the roof of a block of flats, causing their hood to fall backwards to reveal a head of messy blond hair.
Odd, different coloured eyes stared unfocusedly across the grounds below as two figures made their way down the stairs of the building across from where the blond stood, though the gentle 'clink' of glass meeting concrete had the young man frowning as he came out of his wool-gathering.
The man blinked, finding that he'd been unconsciously tracking the Doctor and his Nesdra as the pair descended the stairs across from him, and a scowl was quick to appear on his face; knowing better than to get caught up reminiscing on things that were far better left in the past where it rightfully belonged.
A flicker of light at his feet had the blond looking downwards, and an eyebrow raised when his gaze landed on a vial that had been placed at his feet.
A snort escaped him as he shook his head.
"Must you ruin all my fun?" he asked out loud to no one in particular. However despite his snarky remark, the young man adjusted the hold of his helmet under his arm as he leaned down and plucked the glowing phial.
Even the blond had to admit that such a gift was too valuable to be snubbed - even if the way it had been obtained hadn't been to his planning.
"You know that there's always another way, Druid," a feminine voice spoke up from behind the young man as a figure with reddish-brown hair flickered into existence.
"And besides, we shouldn't even be here," Shenin continued. Her expression having done a complete one-eighty from minutes ago when she'd been conversing with Vera, and there was an air of trepidation around her that hadn't been there before.
The Druid just ignored her in favour of the vial, holding it up as he continued to study the glowing contents that were contained inside with a critical eye.
The wisp of Time Vortex swirled violently inside the vial, almost as if it were agitated for having been captured. Though the moment a whispered word left the blond's lips before he blew gently against the vial, the vortex energy seemed to settle.
"And yet, here we are," he finally remarked as he slipped the phial into a hidden pocket of his suit and stepped down from the building's edge. He placed his helmet beside the spot he'd just been standing before turning to the red head, raising an eyebrow at her as he asked, "How is Veral?"
"She's fine," the Time Lady replied, though there was an expression of confusion marring her features as she looked around. "How did we even end up here?" she questioned, turning her gaze back to the blond.
As the necklace that hung around the Druid's neck warmed, the blond looked skywards as whispered words begun to fill the air and a sigh escaped his lips as he listened; his eyes closing as words he hadn't heard in what felt like centuries filled his ears.
'When a storm seeks shelter to rest and recover,
His return for one will reveal words unsaid.
As during a fight in the skies above,
The universe will learn that they've been misled.
A Lord of Time, a killer of all.
His life is his own, his past a mystery.
And while his soul lays hidden; his hearts are the key.
He's a man so enigmatic as any Arkentor could be.
Though beware the darkness that lay below.
The animosity and fear; both deeply hidden foes
And while turmoil and hatred runs under the skin,
The Beast's after the one who slew his kin.
Returning to a world filled with distrust,
Confronting the future, another finds he must.
For the price for life must always be paid,
Even by the Master of the Blade.
For no matter where they start,
The beginning, the end, or even the equidistant,
Hearts have been broken,
A trust once unshakeable; now all but non-existent.
But to keep the peace,
To keep his silence,
The man once ruled by the hands of Fate,
Must once more come to trust the complex talent that is Time Lord science.'
"Spoilers," he finally said as the whispers faded, his eyes opening to watch the golden energy that had passed his lips disappear in the night; a smirk lifting his lips before he suddenly turned to face Shenin.
"Now... How do I look?" he asked the red head, and the woman facepalmed.
Oh it was good to be alive...