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CHAPTER TWO – DARK DAYS

PITHY STATEMENT RELATING TO THIS CHAPTER: "In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer." Albert Camus – French philosopher, author, and journalist – 1913-1960

Last Updated: 09-15-2021

CENTRAL ROYAL LAB, BIRNIN ZANA, WAKANDA, DECEMBER 4th, 2010 – AFTERNOON

Steve Rodgers watched as the Wakandan science and medical personnel worked under close supervision of Queen Ramonda on the injured Carol Danvers. Back when they had managed to keep her alive in route to Wakanda (and what a surprise learning that secret that had been!) Steve couldn't imagine she'd survive let alone recover.

Still, the Wakandans had been able to keep her in a form of stasis while they pursued various options. Even the almost mystical powers of vibranium seemed to be of little help in treating Danvers' horrific injuries.

He had been surprised to see Princess Shuri being so involved given she was only 17. However her brother had assured him of her competence and that, in his opinion, she was more brilliant than even Tony had been. Steve certainly hoped so. Tony's brilliance was sorely missed as many tried struggle to understand the tech Stark had left behind.

"Do not fear, Captain. Miss Danvers is in good hands. Now that we have the energy from the Tesseract to work with, my mother and sister assure me we can finally work to do more than just keep her alive." Prince T'Challa said from his side.

Steve nodded at that but said nothing. Once buried files were unlocked by SHIELD, it had become obvious that Danvers powers had come from the Tesseract as part of Project Pegasus. Using the new (old?) HYDRA batteries charged by that same cube; it was felt that Danvers could recover from the injuries she'd suffered that awful day back in October now called Fimbulwinter Friday.

The day Loki had unleashed the full might of the Cask of Ancient Winters upon much of North Africa, the Middle East and large parts of Central Asia. How, in just one terrible day, a huge swath of Earth was covered in unyielding ice. The death toll had been staggering.

While he wished Carol hadn't disobeyed orders, Steve knew if he had her powers that he would have flown off and tried and stop Loki from killing close to a billion people. How could anyone not tried to stop the relentless ice which had crushed entire nations under it. As if the glaciers of days past moved like a storm surge across the land, destroying everything in its path.

No one could deny that Captain Marvel had fought valiantly. She had brought down countless Asgardian heroes, many of Loki's own elite Royal Guardsmen and had even destroyed the Destroyer itself. But hadn't been enough. It was practically a miracle that she had crashed close enough to one of their secret bases that Phil Coulson, now using Hank Pym's Yellowjacket armor had been able to get her to safety before Loki could finish her off. It was a testament to Fury's foresight that he had insured that the armor had been taken from Hank Pym before he was sent to Asgard to stand trial for the death of Thor.

Even now, the effects of the disaster continued to pile up. Much of the world's oil production was under that ice. For all their pleading of former world leaders, Loki had not relented in clearing the Suez Canal of ice which had slowed international trade. The religious centers of Jerusalem and Mecca were lost and maybe completely destroyed forever. Entire cultures and ethnic groups had wiped out. Places of antiquity stretching back to the first days of human culture crushed as if a glacier had wiped them off the face of the Earth.

Then there were the environmental effects. Scientists had warned of climate change and change certainly was the order of the day as weather all over the globe was affected by the huge swath of ice so close to the equator that did not melt. Already many scientists worried about the Amazon Rain Forest given mineral rich dust blown from the Sahara Desert made the vitality of that tropical forest possible. With so much of that desert under the ice and the wind patterns changing almost daily, many feared that the Amazon would become a shadow of its former self.

With oil reserves low and bad weather hampering agriculture in the Southern Hemisphere going into their spring, large scale famine was not only predicted but almost inevitable. Fury had openly stated he felt this was probably a feature and not a bug. After learning what that meant, Steve had to agree. Even after the disaster, Loki and his forces still had to contend with six billion humans. Maybe he felt that cutting that number down more was just good strategy.

With a shake of his head, Steve turned to T'Challa, "I'd like to once again thank you for all of Wakanda's help. After Fimbulwinter Friday, I think we all lost most of the hope we had left."

T'Challa shrugged, "It is certainly not the way we ever imagined we'd start to come out to the world. Even so, I am not sure that even our superior technology could defend Wakanda from the magicks Loki unleashed upon the world. Thus our survival still depends on remaining hidden and mistaken for a backward nation."

Steve snorted at this, "Lucky for us the Asgardians seem to prefer to mostly stay in areas of Northern Europe and North America. Keeps their focus away from here even if it does make hiding most of our bases back home that more difficult."

"As you have said, Captain, we need to draw more resources out to the rest of the world. To seek out the lands these magical Norseman would care not to visit. For all of Loki's flowery promises, he focuses much of his efforts to the Americas and Europe as you said. While the bulk of the world lives in the Northern Hemisphere, I believe it is now time for the lands to the South to take up the fight," T'Challa said as he unconsciously rolled some Kimoyo beads around in his hand.

The two continued to watch in silence for a while before T'Challa clasped Steve's shoulder, "Come, there is little we can do here and much work to be done elsewhere."

The prince of Wakanda as well as the current Black Panther champion led Steve back to the main armory. There they found Alexei Shostakov practicing with his new shield. Unlike Steve's shield, the Red Guardian's was made completely of vibranium. After some tests, even Princess Shuri wasn't sure if they could replicate the accident when Howard Stark was working with adamantium and the little vibranium he had at the time. The resulting alloy had led to Captain America's signature shield. For now, it truly was a one-of-a-kind artifact.

Upon seeing them, Alexi broke out in a wide grin, "Comrades! This shield is amazing! If I had it back when I fought that Captain America pretender, I would have crushed him!"

T'Challa laughed at the boyish enthusiasm of the former gulag prisoner. A booster shot the newly embodied Zola had created as a quick stop-gap for those dealing with the side effects of the poor attempts at the Super-Soldier Serum. It had wiped out much of the damage being in prison had caused the one time Soviet hero and made him even stronger and faster than he'd been in his prime. "Just wait till you see the armor we're making," said the Prince.

Steve had to nod at that. He'd seen some of the pieces already being made. Even with the amount of vibranium available to the Wakandans, they were parsimonious with its use. But oh how even a little went a long way. The titanium/vibranium alloy was already being used to create tightly woven suits of chainmail. This would give frontline fighters expected to go toe-to-toe with Asgardian warriors the protection and mobility they needed. Of course, both Steve and Alexi needed to get used wearing helmets instead of the close-fitting head coverings both of their old uniforms had previously sported.

A burst of movement caught Steve's eye. With a nod toward T'Challa, he walked over and stood next to General Okoye who was overseeing a group of elite agents that were testing out their new abilities. While the jokingly named Rebel Alliance was still working to digest all of the various technologies now being pulled together, many new options in the war against the Asgardians were coming available.

While not a full-on Super-Soldier Serum, the Paragon Serum was the first to become available. So named after the Hamlet quote about man being the 'paragon of animals' the serum was a refinement of ones used by many nations such as Russia. All of these had worked to make the subject the most perfect human they could be but historically killed 9 out of 10 recipients. Fury had told him that the late Natasha Romanoff had been one of the few that had survived being given the Soviet version of the serum. He'd been shocked to learn that she had been far older than she looked before she died.

With access to Steve's own blood, Tony Stark's Extremis process (which had been modified by the AIM corporation) and HYDRA's Centipede Serum, all had gone into making the Paragon Serum reliable and not prone to kill desperately needed trained fighters. Even so, there still were a lot of risks and they were being careful to limit its use till more was known about the long-term effects.

Steve watched the various agents sparring with members of the Dora Milaje and the Royal Guard and was impressed. Even so, it was hard to get a read on what General Okoye was thinking as her face showed no emotion. "How are they doing?" Steve finally asked.

Okoye was silent for a moment before she responded, "Better than I expected, actually. Not only in their skills but their ability to get along. With Rumlow and Grant being HYDRA plants in SHIELD, I expected problems from Hill, Morse and Carter. That has not come to pass.

Steve nodded, "That's good to hear. I certainly don't like having to work with the successors of the group I had been fighting for over a year before I went into the ice. However, this is bigger than all of us. Any problems with them adapting to the serum?"

Okoye nodded, "Something we did not expect. It is evident that it is not the strength and speed which they are having issue with. It is the quicker reaction time and increased perception. It is throwing them off."

Steve nodded at this, "I can relate. While it's impressive to be strong enough to throw a motorcycle or be able to chase after car on foot, it took me a long time to come to grips with how much faster I reacted. I felt people were doing everything at a slower speed all around me. Little things like how I couldn't get drunk or that I could remember almost anything once I heard it or saw it once. That and the sounds and the smells. I don't think most people realize how sensitive our sense of smell can be when pushed to the limit. It still can catch me off guard and it took me a long time back during the War to learn to deal with loud noises. Something I encountered all the time and had a hand in creating quite often. Personally, I still think my advanced hearing might have actually worked against me if not for my rapid healing dealing with any potential hearing loss before I even notice it."

Okoye nodded in return, "Hopefully they will have time to work through it. Batroc is adapting the quickest. However, once he gets used to not feeling the effects of his age, I'm sure Captain Blonsky will follow suit. Agents Rumlow, Hill, Morse, Ward and Carter will take more time, especially for those who had worked more on their weapon skills over their hand-to-hand skills."

Steve looked over to where Emil Blonsky was fighting with a quarterstaff against one of the Royal Guardsmen. Steve could see that the grey in Blonsky's hair and beard was already fading back to its natural black.

All of those who had taken the Paragon Serum could expect to be in fit condition for two to three decades to come. A SHIELD biologist had told him that if he hadn't gone into the ice, he'd probably would still look like he was in his late 50's even as he would almost be 90.

This thought caused Steve to frown. He could already see a future problem if the elites could get access to the Paragon Serum. Bad enough wealth and power gave many unfair advantages. How much worse would it be if those rich and powerful also lived far longer than everyone else?

XxXxX

CRYSTAL PALACE/NORAD, COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, UNITED SPRINGS – DECEMBER 15th, 2010 – AFTERNOON

Nicholas Fury once again found himself staring up at the holographic faces of the World Security Council. The venue might have changed but the mission was the same. To protect the Earth.

By the time of the coming of the Asgardians, NORAD had been almost completely decommissioned, many of its previous functions moved to NORTHCOM at nearby Peterson Airbase. Luckily for Earth, it was still operational. It made for a hardened site to hide from the Asgardians. The danger was very real and could be seen from any of the secret lookout posts hidden around the mountain.

The burnt-out shells of Fort Carson and Petersen Airbase were testament to that. Thankfully the Asgardian's strike had been surgical in nature, with the surrounding homes and businesses which had grown around both military bases mostly coming out of it undamaged. The families living on the two bases did not share that luck.

Fury shook his head a bit to clear it of the grim images from the day after that attack. He had to focus. The World Security Council had become the de facto government in exile for the people of Earth. New members had joined to represent all corners of the globe. Sadly, obvious in his absence had been the previous council member based out of Cairo. He had perished along with everyone else when the Fimbulwinter decimated that part of the world.

Now it was up to Fury to keep these unelected leaders from making a terrible mistake. If they were going to keep calling him Director of SHIELD, an organization which Fury felt didn't really exist anymore, he would shamelessly use that power. It didn't help to know that the man he was arguing with, Gideon Malick, was a long-time member of HYDRA. It helped hammer home SHIELD never really existed the way Fury had thought it had.

Learning Malik was HYDRA had not been a shock to Fury given his negative personal feelings of the man. Fury had not been so calm when learning his friend, Senator Alexander Pierce, was one as well. However, what didn't surprise him was Pierce had been the current Supreme HYDRA when the Asgardians had invaded. Whether one saw Pierce as a good guy or a bad guy, none could deny his leadership ability. Like with so many others, Fury simply had to grit his teeth and work with them for the greater good of Earth.

In the holographic image, Malick leaned forward, "Director Fury, the Council has made a decision in this regard."

Fury was unbowed, "I recognize the Council has made a decision. But given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it. I guarantee everyone else you expect to obey this order will do the same."

A slight chuckle came from his right as Pierce walked back onto his own holo-pad, rejoining the conversation. "While Director Fury's words might be crass, I would remind the Council that the decision was barely carried and I was against it. I still am. Please believe me when I say I feel the burning desire to strike back at the Asgardians. But the cost and risk of using nuclear or chemical weapons is too high."

"What risk?" Gideon sneered. "We've already seen the Asgardians do not have enough of whatever they have that deflects artillery or missile strikes. We don't have to hit them directly for a nuke to do it's job. Certainly it is tragic that we mush ruin parts of Earth in order to save it. It's a cost I'm willing to pay."

Fury sneered right back, "I'm sure you are, Councilman. You'll never have to live anywhere near the areas you so cavalierly wish to incinerate. But except for Senator Pierce here, you all are missing the bigger picture."

"And what would that be, Director Fury," asked Councilman Singh. His voice was vaguely patronizing.

Fury didn't take the bait, "What you all refuse to see is that we are only seeing part of Asgard's forces. We have learned that Prince Loki most certainly used his brother's death as a pretext to move the Asgardian Army to Earth. We have learned that King Odin, after losing his heir, is using this as a test for his other son's worthiness to one day succeed him. Such a test was why Thor was on Earth to begin with!"

Singh's face darkened in irritation, "Yes, we of the Council are well aware of this."

Fury pointed an accusing finger at the holographic image, "But you continued to forget that we are only seeing part of Asgard's forces! Right now if we can defeat the Asgardians or at least continue to contest Loki's rule long enough, Odin is likely to pull his forces back. Prisoners we've captured practically brag how important Asgard is in keeping peace among these Nine Realms. So there is a limit to how many lives Odin will be willing for Loki to spend. However, what do you think he might do if we resort to weapons of mass destruction? The Cask of Ancient Winters is but one artifact kept in Odin's Trophy Vault. If we destroy the Asgardians in such a way, I feel it is far too likely that Odin will dig deep into his vault and unleash weapons even more deadly than the Cask of Ancient Winters."

Pierce put a hand on Fury's shoulder, "The Director is absolutely right. I don't like it but right now we already are just beginning to marshal our forces. Insurgencies are not won quickly and while we could annihilate the Asgardians, the risk of retaliation in kind is too great. Better we continue to keep with what we're doing. Fury was right about another thing. If Asgard is so important in keeping the celestial peace, Odin can't afford to send much in the way of replacements for those killed here.

Fury nodded, "Exactly! We face a powerful enemy. Yet it's an enemy which can only get weaker with time as we grow stronger. Councilman Singh, you've seen what has been going on in Afghanistan prior to the Asgardian invasion. Those insurgents did to the Allied forces what we ourselves must do to Loki's host. If we do not provoke another use of the Cask, time is on our side."

Fury paused to make eye-contact with the rest of the Council before continuing, "Plus, even the Asgardians we've captured were shaken by Loki's actions. They are a martial people and wish to win by force of arms. The see Loki's use of the Cask as almost akin to cheating. One can only wonder what King Odin thinks of how his son murdered close to a billion people. I, however, can easily imagine what he will think if we incinerate his forces with nukes."

There was silence before Councilman Singh sighed, "Perhaps you are right. Let us put off this decision for now. As you and Senator Pierce have said, time can only make us stronger. We need not tip our hand to how many nuclear and chemical weapons the Asgardians missed in their initial attacks. They can always be used at a later date if needed. Now, I believe we have delayed Director Fury for long enough. Our upcoming attack on New York won't plan itself."

Fury couldn't help but smile. Another day and another bunch of out-of-touch politicians kept from screwing things up for those on the ground.

As the holograms winked out, Pierce turned to Fury, "Well done, Nick. I know we can never go back to how we were, but please take this for what it's worth. I'm proud of you. You may have just saved the world all by yourself."

Fury grunted with a scowl, "For now. For all the 'stay the course' nonsense politicians like to spout, they are also sensitive public pressure. While they are not elected, you can bet if civilian casualties climb to fast, they'll fall back on having to do something."

Pierce nodded, "And that something is almost always the wrong thing. I hear you Nick. Well for now it's a battle won. I'll continue to try and keep the rest of my fellow Council members in line. You need to get back to managing this war. You're a sneaky bastard, Nick, and always have been. And I can't think of anyone else who could possibly juggle all the different factions we've managed to stitch together."

Fury's scowl deepened, "And that's another almost impossible task. One I had better get back to before one of your HYDRA people pisses off Rodgers or some of the other SHIELD heavy-hitters. It's a very volatile situation and one spark could be enough to set it off."

Pierce sighed, "All the more reason to get you back to it. Still, I will send word down the chain to remind them how important Captain America is to global morale. He's too soon out of the ice to forget he was fighting us just months ago from his frame of reference. Still Baron Strucker was right in getting the Winter Soldier released from HYDRA's control. Having that touch-stone to his old life may keep Captain Rodgers focused on the fight at hand."

Fury chuckled darkly, "Enough time after we win to fight among ourselves."

Pierce sighed again, "Only if we do our jobs poorly, Nick. We can't allow us to lose the peace after all that we've lost already and are certain to lose in the future."

XxXxX

QUEENS, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 23rd, 2011 – AFTERNOON

Princess Þrúðr cursed as she picked herself out of the rubble created as she had fallen through the roof of what was obviously some Midgardian's home. She didn't have much hope that she could reclaim her chariot. For all that she was Thor's daughter, the goats Tanngnjóstr and Tanngrisnir that pulled her father's flying chariot had never liked her. Even when her father had been alive, the goat's dislike was clear.

She imagined that they had flown back to Ísstóll the moment after she'd been knocked off the chariot by those thrice-damned armored golems! While a pale imitation of the now lost Destroyer, they had proven dangerous foes. She brushed the rubble off her and hefted Járnbjörn, the one-time axe of her father.

She easily kicked the door out and returned to the fray. The city was filled with more of the so-called Hammerdroids, a term she felt was mocking her murdered father. Bad enough that somewhere a Midgardian was wielding the stolen Mjölnir! The Midgardian heroes were proving far more troublesome than she had ever expected. In truth, the bulk of the Æsir warriors had felt almost insulted at being posted to Midgard. With so many of their host already called to Valhalla, no one felt their honor being slighted now.

As she emerged, it was obvious that both sides of the battle seemed to have forgotten they were fighting in a populated area as burning buildings and debris were everywhere. Þrúðr scowled at the sight of too many crashed Asgardian skiffs, dead warriors thrown from them littering the ground among the many Midgardians of this great city.

As she was about to jog back into the thick of battle, a voice called out, "Hey there! We need to get these people to safety!"

Þrúðr ignored the call. This battle was Midgardian in the making. Let them suffer the pain of their rebellion! Bad enough this battle was keeping them from their Yule rituals and celebrations. No doubt why the day was chosen for the attack.

However, a whistling sound had her almost turn when she was struck by a tremendous blow which sent her sprawling. As she leapt back to her feet with a snarl, Þrúðr was shocked to see Mjölnir fly back to the hand which had thrown it. Rage boiled up through her. "You!" she all but screamed as she raced towards shield carrying human.

To her utter amazement, Járnbjörn almost seemed to bounce off the star-spangled shield. Járnbjörn, a weapon which rarely failed to easily cleave through whatever it met! Even more shocking is the human took the full force of the blow. A blow where her strength should have pulverized the bone holding the shield. Her shock was short lived as the warrior used the opportunity to smashed Mjölnir into her the side of her helmet. Again, Þrúðr went sprawling even if it had been more from shock than the actual force of the blow.

"Look Princess, I know we're both sort of busy right now trying to kill each other. But the kids in this school didn't sign up for this. I've been told your name means strength and I need that strength to get these children to safety," the man said.

Þrúðr got to her feet and paused to fully take in the warrior before her. A man who might easily be mistaken for an Asgardian by his size. Piercing blue eyes blazed from under his blue-hued helmet. He wore similarly painted chainmail, greaves and the like. Like his shield, his armor and helmet had a star on it and the muted colors of red and white on parts of both made Þrúðr realize that this was the time-lost warrior Captain America.

Tales of his deeds of long ago had made it even into Loki's palace of Ísstóll. Tales which continued to grow as the fight against Loki's rule increased. How had they missed this star-spangled warrior as the one who had taken up her father's hammer? How could a mortal, even one such as he, be worthy of the power of her father?

The warrior seemed to read her thoughts, "Hey, I get the 'It's Captain America!' thing all the time. But right now these kids need us. Your fight is with me and my people, not these innocents. Now can you please help me?"

Þrúðr stared at the man for a moment before she realized he was right. Foes they were but the blood of innocents should not be shed due to their worthy combat. "What do you desire of me?"

"Well as I said, your name means strength right? Well if you can prop up the part of the building, I can get in and hopefully get the kids and teachers to safety."

Þrúðr looked to where the warrior gestured with Mjölnir. She gave a curt nod and did as he asked. Even with her great strength, it was an effort to push the fallen building up enough to allow Captain America access. As she strained to keep the load from shifting, she marveled that Fate would bring the two of them together. After the innocents had been saved, she could finally avenge the stain on her father's honor. The All-Father himself would be please that one of the mightiest of Asgardian weapons would be returned to them.

In short order, a stream of frightened children of mixed ages were herded out by a few obviously shaken women who must be their teachers. However, even as more children scampered around her, she could feel the building beginning to break up. It would collapse soon. "Captain! The building will fold soon regardless of my efforts! Make haste!"

More children came out and before the main beam Þrúðr had been supporting cracked in half and collapsed to both sides of her. As it did, Captain American came shooting out and rolled to safety, a young boy safely cradled in his arms. As the Captain helped the boy to his feet, he giddily began to pump the man's hand, "My name's Peter Parker! Thanks for the rescue!"

The man smiled and extracted his hand from the exuberant child before talking one of the women by the shoulder, "Get to the parking garage two blocks from here. You and the children should be safe there!"

The woman babbled something but she and her partner quickly shepherded the children through the debris to dubious safety as the battle in the skies still raged. Þrúðr leaned against her axe and waited till Captain America turned back to her. He seemed to have a resigned air to him. "Do we really have to do this?"

"The honor of my father demands it," Þrúðr said coldly.

"Look ma'am, I went from being woken up from being in the ice for 65 years to being hustled out to New Mexico and told to try and pick up this hammer. I barely could process that I wasn't dead. I didn't know about your father and barely could comprehend what had just happened to the world."

Before Þrúðr could respond, he held up a hand to stop her. "That being said, Mjölnir is a mighty weapon and I'll use everything I can to free my world. So as much as I recognize this is a family heirloom, I'm not giving it up without a fight. Nothing against the memory of your father. However, given what I know of him, I'd like to think he'd approve of someone defending their home from invaders with it. Once we kick you off our planet, I'll cheerfully hand it back to you. Till then, come and try and take it if you can."

Þrúðr blinked at this and then laughed at the man's audacity. She had her duty but the hero (and being worthy of Mjölnir proved him to be such) was right. Her father would have approved. In fact, Þrúðr was certain that in a different world, Thor and this Captain America would have been fast friends. She hefted her axe and went into a crouch. Even so, he would fall before her. With a martial cry, she sprang forward.

Yet before she could take more than a few steps, the Captain sprang forward, Mjölnir twirling in his hand. As they closed, she leapt in the air bringing Járnbjörn down to cleave his skull with one powerful stroke. However, the Captain also leapt up to meet her, Mjölnir striking her in the chin causing her to crash into a wrecked car. As Þrúðr got to her feet, the hero did a leaping spin and flung his shield at her.

With a snarl Þrúðr batted it away, yet even as she did so, the hero threw Mjölnir. She ducked but she was not the target. Mjölnir struck the very shield she had batted away creating a powerful sonic blast causing her to pitch forward, Járnbjörn falling from her grasp. Amazingly the hero's shield came flying back at the man who caught it. How had he known to throw it such, predicting that not only she'd hit it but that it would bounce off the nearby building and return to him like hawk to the glove?

Again Þrúðr snarled in anger even as she smoothly returned to the attack. She was a princess of Asgard! She could crush this human with her bare hands if need be! Yet even as she tried to punch him, he swiftly hit her with two sharp blows of the hammer. To her surprise in such close quarters, he threw the shield at her which bounced off her helmet only to have him strike it with the hammer causing it to smash into her breastplate hard enough to cause the wind to be knocked out of her.

As she drunkenly staggered back, trying to catch her breath, she could only stare in amazement as Mjölnir glowed with power. Her amazement was replaced by pain as mystic energy leapt forth and struck her dead center. With a howl, she collapsed backwards.

The Captain did not relent in his attack as he thrust Mjölnir into the air. The heavens responded as lightning flashed down and unerringly blasted her into the ground.

Through the pain, Þrúðr felt the shame of defeat as she realized she could barely move let alone get up. Not only had she failed her father, she had been beaten in less time than it took to cross the All-Father's throne room! All she could do was gasp in pain, her body twitching from the energies which still arced slightly across her.

The Captain loomed over her, his piercing blue eyes seemingly staring into her soul.

"Do it!" Þrúðr spat out; literally as blood sprayed out with her words, "The day is yours! At least honor me with a death in battle so that I may take my place alongside my Father and the other heroes in Valhalla."

"No, no I don't think I will," Captain America said sadly. "Killing you now would be murder. Besides, you showed compassion and helped when you could have refused. Maybe someday you'll get your ticket to Valhalla, but that day is not today. Good-bye Princess. Hopefully the day will come where I can return your father's hammer to you before you leave Midgard for good."

There was nothing Þrúðr could do but curse as the man turned and quickly made his way back into the still raging battle.

XxXxX

AUTHOR'S NOTES: My Facebook memories of 08-31-2020 had a post where, after the death of Chadwick Boseman, I wrote this:

I really hope that before he died, that he called up Kevin Feige or whoever and said, "Hey, I'm not going to be able to do the next movie. Maybe you can have me get killed tragically off camera. So why don't we work up a script and we can start Black Panther 2 with Shuri reading a letter I'm voicing so we have some continuity.

I mean if Stan Lee could do some stuff he knew would be seen after his death, I'd think that Mr. Boseman might have done the same...and I really hoped he did.

Plus for all we know, T'Challa simply died due to complications of A.) almost dying due in his ritual combat with N'Jadaka. This further complicated by B.) his suit being damaged and then being exposed to the sonic devices in the mine. It could even be a bit of a script line, "How ironic that our own Black Panther would be poisoned by the very vibranium that gave him his powers.

Lo and behold almost a year later we have Chadwick Boseman voicing a variant of Starlord recorded before his death. I hope my prediction about BP: Wakanda Forever pans out.

Hero Armor: While it wasn't always obvious in the classic comics, Captain America's uniform was actually chain or scale mail. I see both his and the Red Guardian's armor being a mix of the more modern composites and actual metal armor using the titanium/vibranium ally. Both would wear helmets similar to what Dane "The Black Knight" Whitman wears (they type without the wings) although instead of the raised bit along the center, there would be a star. That and the helmet would cover more of the face like a classic Greece helmet.

What If? Timeline: Given Hulk died when he did, Stern never got to experiment on Emil Blonsky which led to the Sacred Timeline creation of the Abomination. That and he didn't become exposed to Hulk's blood which transformed him into the Leader. Also while the events of the Black Widow take place after what happened in Episode 3, the comments the Red Guardian made of fighting Captain America happened years earlier. Thus, in a way, Alexi had fought Captain America…just not Steve Rodgers.

Norse Concepts

Fimbulwinter: In classic North theology, the Fimbulwinter will precede Ragnarök. In the Marvel context the 'Fimbulwinter of Ymir' is a 'thousand years of winter' contained in the Cask of Ancient Winters as used in this story.

Þrúðr's Axe: The axe Járnbjörn (Iron Bear) is actually from canon comic lore. It was Thor's weapon before he was given Mjölnir to help him control his powers…which shows that Odin went to the Dumbledore School of Cryptic Lessons. You'd think that at 1,500 years of age, Odin might get around to telling Thor his powers were innate instead of coming from his hammer. Was he waiting to tell Thor before he abdicated? Plus, how can you learn to control something if you don't realize the something is you? (shakes head)

Also, yes the fight between Þrúðr and Captain America should feel familiar. It was the same fight Steve had against Thanos. Way too great of a scene not to replicate! Of course while Þrúðr is strong, she's no Thanos.