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CHAPTER EIGHT – ENDGAME
PITHY STATEMENT RELATING TO THIS CHAPTER: "To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." e. e. cummings – American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright. – 1894-1962
Last Updated: 09-22-2021
TRISKELLION BUILDING, WASHINGTON D.C, UNITED STATES, AUGUST 24th, 2011 – LATE MORNING
Normally Steve wouldn't take the risk of being in the upper part of the ruined building. However, his thoughts were in the past and so OPSEC was the furthest thing on his mind. Instead, his thoughts were of a day long ago when he had kissed Peggy good-bye and jumped away to battle the Red Skull. A day when he had to put the lives of others before his own life once again. That day he went into the ice, thinking his ticket had finally been punched.
To his current comrades, it was a historical event. An important one to be sure but one that was 67 years in the past. To Steve, it hadn't even been a year since that day before he went into the ice. Now, years in the future, the memories of his last day of World War 2 were fresh in his mind. To go from one war only to wake up into a second one. It was funny to think about how, when Steve was a child, the then Great War was dubbed the War to End All Wars. How naïve they all had been at the beginning of the 20th century!
Looking out of the broken window as he was, Steve suddenly chuckled. Thinking about his 'Great War' brought home why he was here in the first place. While they had been enemies, Steve never thought the Germans he fought were stupid. So Steve had cheerfully put forth the idea of using the ruined Triskelion as their main base on the eastern seaboard. Given they had to abandon NORAD, this proved fortuitous.
The concept was simple. The Germans had quickly realized that if they cleaned up a bombed -out factory that it would be bombed again. So instead they would only clean the inside and left as much as possible the ruins on the outside. So aerial imagery would make the Allies think it was still a bombed out wreck. This tactic allowed the German war machine to actually go up in production, even at the height of the bombings before the lack of oil and other petroleum products dealt them a fatal economic blow.
Loki had already attacked D.C. and the Triskelion had certainly been one of the targets. Why would one strike again after the Cask of Ancient Winters had been used? However, the one-time SHIELD headquarters had resisted the ice. While most other buildings, to include the White House and the Capitol building, had been crushed under the unyielding ice, the Triskelion had endured even if as a ruin of its former glory. It rose out of the surrounding ice in a defiant way which still reminded Steve of the poem Ozymandias. For all it had not been destroyed, the Triskelion was now a bleak shadow of its former glory.
However, so much of what was under the building had been left intact. With the intelligence that Princess Þrúðr had given to him, perhaps without realizing it, it had been agreed that hiding in plain sight would work especially if Queen Frigga herself had kept D.C. from being obliterated. Most of the residents had already been evacuated out of the city for fear of another, more terrible attack.
So much so that the once bustling capital of the United States was left to the dead still trapped under the ice. There still was a heated debate whether to leave things like the Smithsonian in place or try to move them and risk losing them elsewhere. So far, the stand fast crowd were winning that fight.
And all steps had been made to keep the look of a ghost town and it seemed to have worked. The Asgardians seemed to be completely ignoring the city since they had more troubles elsewhere. Both sides were having issues.
Due to Loki's success in his anti-rebel propaganda campaign, the Southern hemisphere was becoming more friendly to Asgardian rule even as it became more dangerous to the Rebels. Likewise, the Rebels had to be careful not to stir up too much overt civilian resistance to Loki's rule given the heavy-handed reprisals the Asgardians did as a matter of course.
Still, while overt resistance was muted, the people of Earth as a whole had not merely knelt as Loki had expected them to. Each day brought more realization of how most people now had very little control over how things were done. People used to voting now realized they had no voice in things. So resistance was everywhere even if it was merely passive-aggressive actions like work slow-downs. This had kept the already stretched-thin Asgardian warriors trying to be everywhere at once. All the more reason for them to neglect the deserted ruin of the former U.S. capitol.
Steve looked down on the Potomac. A lot of the city had flooded due to the ice blocking its path. However, unlike the ice cast on Fimbulwinter Friday, this ice was slowly succumbing to the summer heat. When Steve had been doing an op in New York, he had asked Master Drumm about it. The defender of the New York Sanctum felt that since magic was often fueled by emotions and will, Loki's intent to punish was so much stronger on Fimbulwinter Friday. Since they knew Queen Frigga had interceded, it was likely that Loki, while angry about the Battle of New York, just didn't fuel the magicks as he had previously.
This was good news for their current plan, as awful as Steve felt it was.
While the original plan of Project Insight was too terrible to contemplate, when the ice finally gave way, the Asgardians would soon face three helicarriers filled with deadly weapons and Stark tech carefully adapted through the work of STARC. These flying weapon platforms would be guided by the grim algorithm Arnim Zola had created and then adapted for the current war before Zola had turned his attentions back to working on trying to create more Super Soldiers.
Steve shook his head at that. The ones they had were bad enough. With Strucker being true to his word, he and Bucky had already made a lot of progress of bringing the Winter Soldier back to his old self. The Wakandans had been a big help there.
It was the other soldiers which were another story. They remained almost mere biological weapons that could only be pointed at their enemies. Efficient and deadly, their use was seen as a necessity for now but it was agreed that once they won, those soldiers would be put down for the safety of all. They currently were below with inhibitor collars to keep them docile until needed.
Still, those who had undertaken the Paragon Serum had gone on to do good things. Peggy had been very proud of her grand-niece Sharon's work. Of course, now after being rejuvenated, his girl was showing everyone what had made her feared by Nazis and Communists alike.
Steve stood there for another half an hour or so, his thoughts of Peggy reminding him of the Howling Commandos. He tried not to think too much of his old days. He preferred to remember them in a reverent way. Like only on a holiday would he take out those cherished memories and savor them. However, there was still a war to win, so Steve made his way back to the stairwell and back to the bowels of supposed ruin to where the war against the Asgardians was planned.
Half-way down, Steve found himself rubbing his belly through his armor. He knew it was just phantom pain but it sometimes felt all too real. While Zola had been right about the Paragon Serum speeding up his recovery, Steve was often well aware of how close to dying he'd been. The nightmares of that day didn't help either.
After the long set of stairs, Steve finally got to where he could take one of the few elevators allowed to be running down to the hidden sub-levels. When the door finally opened, Steve was surprised, yet gratified, to find Peggy waiting for him.
Steve's smile was more than for his girlfriend, part of it was once again marveling at how life worked.
Peggy had always been an athletic woman, one capable of keeping up in a man's world. Yet after being rejuvenated, she had taken it a step further. While others who had qualified to take the Paragon Serum had become perfect examples of how far the human body could go, the Asgardian magic in her had pushed her up to Super-Soldier levels. In fact, Peggy was stronger and faster than he was. Then again, he had taken the Super-Soldier Serum as a 110 pound weakling so her transformation hadn't really surprised him like it did many others.
The smile was also that she was now a super-hero in her own right. As Captain Britain, she'd already led daring raids against the Asgardians. Steve had wished he could have been there when she smashed the last remnants of the Thule Society. Taking down real Nazis together would have been like old times.
The tactical reality, however, was there was too much to be done to allow them to go on a mission together. All the stories about her missions coming back made Steve think of how it might have been to people back in the day hearing of his own exploits. That and her new muscular frame filled out her version of his uniform very nicely!
Of course, beyond bearing a shield, she also been gifted by the wizards of the London Sanctum with the magical sword Caliburn. While the wizards tried to stay as neutral as they could, they did work to help in the few ways they could. She had also quickly learned to use Alexi's shield faster than expected. Probably because she'd seen Steve's training of it back in the War. Steve knew the late Soviet Super Soldier would be thrilled that Peggy was using it to help avenge his death.
She gave him a hug and a quick kiss before whispering, "It creeps up on you, doesn't it?"
Steve wasn't surprised at this. Like Zola, she really was the only one who remembered how it was. What they had gone through. The sacrifice he had made and the effects it had had.
He let her lead him towards the hanger. For a change, a lot of the rebels were here instead of in the field. With Wakanda being directly attacked by the Asgardians two days ago, things had greatly accelerated.
While the attack failed, their primary source of high tech weaponry was in danger. Although the fact that the attackers had been hired mercenaries, Fury was worried the attack had been an expendable force sent to test Wakanda's strength prior to an all-out assault. This made sense to Steve since he knew Loki had to be under enormous pressure to end the war. Taking out Wakanda might be just the type of knock-out blow which could convince the rebels they couldn't win.
That Princess Shuri had successfully sent a bomb to the source of the Bifrost most certainly had increased the pressure on Loki. Steve doubted Odin had taken the attack lightly. There was a lot of speculation how the Asgardians might leave without the Bifrost. Not that they could afford to wait to see if Odin did put an end to Loki's kingly ambitions, Steve knew. They had to keep pushing.
Due to this need, there was talk of seeing if they could convince the sorcerers to help them clear the ice around the Triskelion. If not, how they could manage it so they could get the Insight helicarriers airborne as quickly as they could was to be debated. Projections showed there was a good chance they could take out as much as 25% of the Asgard forces on Earth before going down. Steve was confident that that level of loss would convince the likes of Queen Frigga to have Odin pull his forces back. It was one of their bests bets even though it rankled Steve that the crew of the helicarriers knew they were going on a suicide mission.
If Project Insight wasn't in the cards, the assembled Rebel forces would be available to do some sort of strike meant to hammer home how tenuous Loki's rule really was. The endgame was near; Steve could feel it. A lot of movement among the Asgardian forces seemed to point to it as well.
The pair were almost to the hanger when a loud sound seemed to shake the very earth which surrounded them. Both Steve and Peggy could feel their hair standing on end. They looked at each other with concern. They both knew what the sound and feeling meant. The Asgardians were using the Bifrost to enter the base!
Old habits immediately kicked in, "Peggy, get it organized inside. There are too many people in there we can't afford to lose, especially Fury!" Steve ordered as he quickly looked around to see if there were any other enhanced in the area.
Peggy barely hesitated before nodding, "Where will you be?"
Steve made a vague gesture towards the door, "I need to rally everyone else and then go protect the Vault. We can't let any of those weapons that even we won't use fall into their hands!"
Peggy's face fell, "To include the Cask."
Steve nodded. "To include the Cask," he said grimly. He gave Peggy a knowing look, "Now would be an excellent time to see if we can use those Siberian Super Soldiers for the best. Loki is sure to have brought his A-team. We can hurt them and maybe they can save us the trouble of dealing with them."
Peggy gave a curt nod at this before Steve turned and ran off, already shouting orders to the panicked people who were beginning to fill the corridor.
She took her helmet off her belt and strapped it on before drawing Caliburn and then dashed off towards the underground hanger. It was time for Captain Britain to get to work.
OoOoO
Guðmundr guided his men via the signs the mortals had so helpfully labeled their base with. As much as he wish to gain honor in combat, Guðmundr knew the task King Loki had given him was important. His mission was to find and kill the other Captain whose feats were spoken of in awe around the campfires. The Captain who had struck a terrible blow so early into the campaign. She had slain many a veteran warrior and destroyed vital weapons which would have made the host sneer at the pitiful weapons the mortals had. This Captain Marvel might have destroyed them all if not for the might of the dread Destroyer.
Guðmundr scowled at that memory. Such a cheer had gone up when it had arrived among the chaos. Surely Odin's most powerful weapon designed to give even the fabled Celestials pause would make short work of the glowing blonde woman who shot the very fires of Muspelheim from her hands.
He held up a hand to pause his men as he looked at the various signs and which way they pointed. Finally he pointed to where they needed to go and he and his men were on the move again. The very few mortals they saw quickly fled.
Fleeing had been on Guðmundr's mind after Captain Marvel had brought the Destroyer down. Thankfully for the host, Loki arrived with the Cask of Ancient Winter. Beyond the injuries she had taken in her fight with the Destroyer, Loki had driven her off and all had thought her surely slain. Yet the same scrying which had brought them here had also shown the blonde woman in a hospital bed. Neither Loki nor Guðmundr had liked that image. Instead of one on death's door, the woman seemed almost healed.
So it was his mission to kill her. That she was still in her sick bed and not in the field gave him hope that he could complete the task his lord Loki had given him. This hope was buoyed when Guðmundr and his band broke into the hospital, making healers scurry for cover. The ward was filled with recovering wounded but they were inconsequential. They needed to get to the Captain before she had a chance to collect and use that terrible power she had unleashed on Loki's host.
Guðmundr smashed a door open with his spiked mace and gave a shout as he saw his prey in the bed he'd seen in the scrying. The ward was mostly empty, the other patients being away from the blonde. His men quickly entered behind him, eager for his word to attack.
Guðmundr paused if only because the woman, sitting up and reading, did not seem worried at their entrance. She merely looked at them while continuing to pet an orange cat on her lap.
"I doubt you're here to change my bedpan," the woman said dryly.
Guðmundr and his men chuckled at that. Foe that she was, Asgardians appreciated bravery in the face of death. "No, we are here to reap the wergild owed us and it will be paid in your blood."
He and his men tensed as she raised the arm not petting the cat. Her hand glowed briefly before going out. To his shock, she merely smiled, "Well since it's all in there but I can't access it yet, I guess I'm pretty much fucked, right?"
Guðmundr hefted his mace, "Aye, that you are!"
The woman shrugged, "Well I wish I was better. I know you guys like a good fight. As a former fighter pilot, I know what that's like. Sadly I'm just going to settle for Goose killing you all. Not a very glorious death, I'm afraid."
A warrior laughed behind him, "And how is some Midgardian bird going to bring us low?"
The woman rolled her eyes, "Not a bird, dummy." She scratched the cat behind the ears causing it to purr loud enough for the warriors to here. "This is Goose." She bent down and kissed the cat between the ears and went on in a tone one would expect to hear used on babies. "Oh yes, who's a good Goose? Who's going to take care of those bad men like you did those nasty Kree?"
Guðmundr blinked at this before laughing which was echoed by his men. "I will take my chances on getting fleas." His men chortled at this as he gestured at one of his men and then towards the cat, "Go on Börs, chop its head off."
The warrior hefted his axe with a grin as he moved towards the bed, "Right, silly little bleeder. One fur-lined coin purse coming right up!"
What happened next would haunt Guðmundr for the rest of his days…as long as days were measured in seconds. A riot of tentacles, screams, blood and gore was quickly etched into his brain. In moments the battle-hardened warrior was gone. In his place was a terrified man desperate to get away from the horror which had looked like a mere cat.
"Run away! Run away! Run a…" Guðmundr managed to get out as he tried to flee before something grabbed him by the ankle and dragged him to an inglorious death.
OoOoO
Þrúðr gave a mighty shout as she cleaved a Hammerdroid in two. She was frustrated that even with surprise, the mortals had quickly rallied. It didn't help that for whatever reason, so many of their damned enhanced were here! Even so, Þrúðr had hoped to find the green giantess and pay her back for her mentor's pain. And there was much pain at that. Lady Sif was back in Asgard, her recovery might require a slice or two of Sif's own golden apple to keep her out of Healer's Hall for years if not being an invalid for the rest of her long life.
However she'd only gotten a glimpse of the so-called She-Hulk. Unfortunately a rather non-descript woman with raven-black hair had kept her from going after her. Her shield arm still smarted from where the tiny slip of a Midgardian had punched her shield with enough force to give a giant pause. Coming from the daughter of Thor whose very name meant strength, it was impressive.
Still, for all the woman's strength and speed, it was obvious her warrior training was lacking. Only the appearance of a well-built black man whose skin even Járnbjörn couldn't cut had saved the woman. This warrior had also been strong but it was obvious to Þrúðr the man cared little for battle and wanted to ensure the woman's safety.
Þrúðr wasn't going to waste time on those who were content to leave the fight. Normally this was not the case but the dark history Þrúðr had learned from Brünhilde about the All-Father still weighed heavily upon her spirit. Her sleep had been troubled ever since she had heard the shocking tales of how Asgard had truly been founded.
Thus Þrúðr disengaged to help other Asgardian warriors struggling to deal with the surprising powers so many of the Midgardians displayed. Even now, three warriors who had the look of Captain America's boon companion where tearing into the Asgardians. The other four had done much damage before being slain.
Still, Þrúðr was harkened to hear that the spymaster Fury had been grievously wounded and might have already succumbed to his wounds. Before she could decide where her help was needed most, Þrúðr saw a group of what she knew to be Midgardian scientist huddled against a Quinn jet. She'd been attacked by enough of them to know the design.
As distasteful as it was, Þrúðr knew these unassuming mortals were vital to keeping the rebels armed with the wonderous weapons that even the All-Father had been surprised to hear of. It was these weapons and the enhanced which made, Þrúðr thought, the All-Father not to pull the host back to Asgard before more of them could be killed. With what she knew now, Þrúðr saw it as a way to keep Asgard ascendent without tarnishing the image of a peace-maker he had cultivated since overthrowing his own first-born.
Yet before Þrúðr could take more than a few steps toward the soon to be dead mortals, a blow struck her helmet. While not enough to knock her down, it did spin her around and thus she caught a glimpse of a shield ricocheting back to the person who had thrown it. Yet instead of the Captain America she expected, it turned out to be one of the newer heroes. One Captain Britain who had taken up the shield of the Red Guardian who had been brought low by Fandral the Dashing before he himself was so basely slain.
"You shall not catch me so unawares again, Captain," Þrúðr said as she quickly recovered from the blow. She carefully gauged the distance between her and the woman. After her defeat at the hands of Captain America, Þrúðr knew to be cautious. The magic sword the warrior wielded had already killed many of her comrades in the short time she'd been active.
"Good! I prefer my dance partners to be on their toes and not on mine. Shall we?" the woman said. Her accent placing her to be from Tarkhan or Britain in their local Midgardian tongue. She recognized the symbol on her shield to be the flag of that region. It was quite possible that the blood of those who had worshiped the Æsir long ago flowed through her veins. Perhaps when it was running across the floor, she might see, Þrúðr thought as her face set into a grim smile.
However, Þrúðr was surprised when it was the other woman who attacked first. Moving faster than even Captain America had done against her, Þrúðr found herself quickly on the defensive. Even as she focused on the battle, she cursed herself for growing soft prior to coming to Midgard. Instead of seeking out more dangerous challenges and training, she had stupidly allowed herself to be content to handily beating the more common foe and gliding through training without much effort.
Þrúðr belatedly realized she had simply enjoyed besting so many warriors who had looked down their noses at her. Now, against a foe with the strength and speed that rivaled hers (or perhaps might exceed it!) Þrúðr felt hard-pressed to gain the upper hand.
Still, for all her strength and speed, even a magic sword and shield could not overcome that Þrúðr had hundreds of years behind her. It was likely she had spent a combined full year on the various battlefields her duty had taken her to. It was a simple thing. One easy to overlook to even a seasoned warrior. Þrúðr got into a rhythm of counters and potential attacks. As the two warriors traded blows, this rhythm became almost a dance…
…till Þrúðr brutally broke the pattern, catching Captain Britain by surprise. Sadly, to keep it a surprise meant she hit her foe with the back of Járnbjörn instead of cleaving her in two. Still, the blunt force was enough to throw the woman back, smashing her into the Quinn jet. Her gasps for breath reminded Þrúðr of her own fight with Captain America when it had been her striving for air. Unlike the merciful Captain, Þrúðr would follow through and take the woman's head.
Using her axe, Þrúðr easily widened the hole in the plane to find the woman on all fours, coughing with her sword and shield scattered on the floor out of reach. "You fought well, Captain Britain, but you are no Captain America." Þrúðr said as she raised her axe for the killing blow.
Before she could swing, however, the woman moved with unnatural quickness and turned towards Þrúðr holding something in her hands. Something which shot out a concentrated mist which struck Þrúðr in the face. Even with her helmet, her eyes felt as if Surtur himself was trying to claw his way out of them. Her mouth and nostrils also burned with a pain so unlike anything Þrúðr had ever felt. Without realizing it, she dropped to her knees and frantically stripped her helmet off. Heedless of the danger, she'd poured water from her wine-skin into her eyes.
"Hurts doesn't it? It's a special, enhanced form of Mace™ used to ward off bears. Our tech boys enhanced it a bit further. While I'm sure bears aren't much of a threat to someone like you, we on Earth have to get creative," came Captain Britain's voice through the pain. Þrúðr could hear the humor in it but couldn't care enough through the pain the water had done little to dull.
Even so she managed to look up. She knew she was at this Captain's mercy as much as she'd been to Captain America. Yet instead of a sword ready to strike, the woman was taking off her own helmet to reveal a beautiful woman with red hair. A beauty one would not expect from a warrior. There was something familiar about her but Þrúðr couldn't place her.
"Don't feel bad. I've gone through some changes recently," the woman said kindly as she ran a gloved hand through her hair. "In fact, it was due to you that I'm probably not on Death's door."
Þrúðr gasped. This was Captain America's love? She had never expected the woman to become the being who stood before her now. It seem she had created her own death!
However, the woman took out something from her belt, "Because of that, I'm willing to give you a pass. Besides, Steve likes you. That and I would not kick you out of bed for eating crackers. I'm betting the three of us could have quite the sweaty time if we could find a bed big enough and strong enough to last through the night. But enough of that, since I can't have you following me…"
The woman's arm snaked out and Þrúðr felt something bite into her neck. Soon Þrúðr's pain dropped away as she slipped into unconsciousness.
OoOoO
It was hard for Phil Coulson (he still didn't think himself as Yellowjacket) not to giggle with a fan-boy crush. No matter how desperate things were, Phil could only marvel as Captain America managed to somehow create some order out of the chaos around him.
In short order, Steve had marshaled those not yet in the meeting. Without any seeming pause for thought, he barked out orders and quickly panicked people reverted to trained soldiers who even more quickly turned a rout back into a pitched battle. Phil wasn't sure how the day would end, but he was sure if not for Captain America, they would have already lost.
It hadn't helped that following behind Steve reminded him of something which had come up one day after a mission when the agents were drunk and had strayed into odd tangents. Sharon had started it and Bobbi had disagreed. The argument kept intruding on Phil's mind as he followed the star-spangled hero. No matter what Bobbi thought, he agreed with Sharon Carter. Steve Rodgers certainly had America's ass!
Currently they were working to get to the Vault. By its nature, it was hard to get to and with the bulk of the fighting between them and the Vault, getting there would be even harder. However, Fury had called them over their comm-link and directed them to a secret way to the Vault that only a few like he or Pierce had ever known of. The fact that Fury's communication had ended with a shout had not sat well with him or Steve.
Phil wished they had more back-up because right now it was him, Captain America and a very injured Winter Soldier in an elevator as it went down to the lowest section of the hidden base.
"Bucky, you don't have to do this." Steve's voice wasn't pitying but calm and collected.
The former Winter Soldier shook his head, "If nothing else, Cap, I can draw fire. Don't count me out yet. Besides, I think we're in the endgame."
Phil wondered why Steve looked startled by that but then nodded grimly.
"Today it's all or nothing. So I'll do what needs to be done, you have my word on that," Bucky said. It seemed to Phil that the words would come across better if they hadn't been said through almost clenched teeth. Or that there wasn't so much red staining the man's uniform.
Still Phil saw that Steve wasn't about to contradict his oldest friend. Once again, in the face of such men, Phil couldn't believe he was among them. Sure he'd gone through the ranks to be Fury's main go-to man, but this was on another level. He couldn't help but feel like a pretender. A kid wearing an adult's clothes.
Steve seemed to sense this as he turned with a small smile, "Keep the faith, Phil. You got in and out of the very belly of the beast. You've earned your place here. Let's do this by the numbers and hopefully we can finally end this war. Regardless of what happens, you're an Avenger and a damned good one."
Unfortunately, as the door opened, it became apparent that the Asgardians had already gotten into the Vault. There was damage everywhere and the floor was littered with Asgardian warriors, fallen soldiers and agents, Hammerdroids and other destroyed security systems.
"I really wish Rhodey and T'Challa were here instead of still in Wakanda," Bucky said quietly. Phil couldn't help but nod. While who knows what Stark might have created if he lived, the old suit with some Wakandan modifications was still formidable. STARC had been busy recovering what he could of Stark Industries as the Asgardians had taken to destroying their facilities out of hand. Thus it had still fallen to the Wakandans to crank out the newest weapons. That and T'Challa's leadership was only eclipsed by his prowess in battle. Both were solely needed now.
At least they still had Cap, Phil thought as he watched the Super Soldier assess the situation. With a hand gesture, he motioned for them to go where his pointed finger indicated. Phil shrank down and landed on Bucky's good shoulder. Phil knew Bucky would block anything with his cybernetic arm so it was better not to be on it.
The trio managed to get close enough to find Loki and a few bedraggled warriors of Loki's personal guard in front of the security door to the chamber which held the Cask. The only good news was the same vault often held the Tesseract but that, thankfully, was in Wakanda due to Princess Shuri's idea to use it to attack through the Bifrost.
What wasn't safe from Loki was the sorcerer Loki was doing a Darth Vader on. Phil didn't recognize him but the orange robes were a dead give-away. It was obvious that the Asgardian Prince was not happy with him as he held him by the neck such his feet dangled above the floor.
"My mother trained your pathetic Sorcerer Supreme! How dare you keep me from my rightful property! Tell me wizard, you and your folk are supposed to remain neutral. I have kept my side of the bargain! This base betrayal will not go unanswered!"
The wizard, even while being choked, glared daggers at Loki. "Is using a mystical artifact to reign death on such a scale abiding by the bargain? You and your fellow Asgardians are supposed to be some of the best warriors in the Nine Realms. Yet you seem to be unable to defeat the heroes of Earth without resorting to such magics! You are lucky the Midgardians you are so dismissive of have not unleased their nuclear arsenal upon your host. I wonder, could even a Prince of Jotenheim survive such intense heat?"
Loki snarled in return, "You will tell me what you've done to this vault or I shall make you beg for death."
The wizard gave a gasping laugh, "My death is not yours to give. I freely give it to help keep you from the Cask."
Everyone (to include the hidden trio) were shocked to see the sorcerer begin to glow. Loki dropped him but in short order, the body went still even as a golden mist rose from the body and covered the vault door.
After Loki stopped cursing in some odd tongue, one of his warriors spoke up, "What now, my lord?"
Loki began to pace, "Let me think. There is something on the tip of my tongue. A way to finesse this. I know there is a way and am I not the God of Mischief? I am not my late brother who would be content to just keep bashing on the door till he died of exhaustion. No, just let me think."
"We can't give him that time, Cap," Bucky said in a hoarse whisper. "I've only got a little more time where I can be useful and the longer we wait, the more time Lord Horny Helm has to figure out a way to get past the defenses. I'm not a magician but even I know that magic makes a mockery of the laws of physics. If he figures out how to get in, well we're screwed."
Cap nodded slowly even as Phil's voice came through his comm-link, "Bucky's right. Plus, we may not ever get a chance to get Loki as alone as he is now. Since he didn't just portal in here, it implies he can't use the Bifrost to escape. Killing one Prince of Asgard started this. Maybe killing or capturing another can end it."
"Roger that," Steve said, still obviously thinking. "Okay, here's what we'll do. There is no time for subtlety and like you said, Bucky, you're running out of time. So you and I are going straight in. We can't take on Loki without taking out his guards first. Hopefully Loki will let them do their job while he concentrates on trying to get in. Phil? I want you to remain mostly hidden. You're our ace in the hole. We know Loki can see you if you get too close; don't let that happen. Do what you can to help but your job is to watch Loki and stop him if you can. We cannot allow him to get the Cask and get away. Whatever it takes to get it done, we do it. Understand? Whatever it takes."
Bucky grinned like a wolf, "Whatever it takes."
Phil's voice was firm through the communicator, "Whatever it takes."
Captain America straightened up and reached out and grasped his friend in a forearm shake, "If things go wrong, there is no one I'd rather have at the end of the line than you."
Bucky nodded, "Me too, Steve. Me too. Till the end of the line."
Captain America turned before counting off on his fingers. Yellowjacket flew off at two. At one, both Super-Soldiers exploded into action.
OoOoO
While his guards worked to try and stop the sudden attack, Loki did not let himself be distracted. He idly generated some illusions to confuse where he actually was. Mostly he just kept racking his brain on how to get through the barrier. There was something about the sorcerer that Loki kept going back to. He knew the sling-ring the dead wizard had wouldn't work. Even before the wizard sacrificed his life, the mystical barrier that had been in place would have kept him out using such a device.
A shout of "My Lord!" interrupted his thoughts but Loki merely moved his head to one side so that the Captain's damnable shield missed it. Amazingly the Captain must have predicted this as the shield hit the wall and rebounded into the back of the head of one of his guards. Loki turned away in disgust. Good help was indeed hard to find even for a Prince of Asgard.
Loki gave another look around the room. There was something else at the edge of his perception. However, he turned his focus back to the problem of the Cask. Was there a way to finesse the barrier? The mortals had chosen their safe house well. It was too deep for the Bifrost to reach. They had barely been able to transport into the hanger as it was. If only there was a way to cross some secret passage like he had done to sneak out of Asgard without using the Bifrost.
Thinking of the Bifrost reminded him of Heimdall's refusal to help. In the end, it had mattered not. His own mother had reminded him in passing of certain scrying arts mostly done by the Völva seers of the Vanir. It was through these arts that he had finally located the hidden lair of his foes once he realized his previous attempts showed they were underground.
The thought of Frigga and her connection to the Midgardian sorcerers caused an idea to blaze in his mind. With a quick glance to the corpse of the sorcerer, Loki had to give a small laugh. "Perhaps it would have been better if you hadn't been here, mortal!" With a wave of his hand, Loki cast a magic he had not used since he was a small boy, smarting under his mother's harsh discipline as she had taught him the ways of Magic.
There was a shift in perception but it was nothing to one such as Loki. With another laugh, Loki walked forward. What had prevented Loki from moving forward did nothing to impede him while in the Mirror Dimension. He chided himself for not thinking of this straight away. He knew Frigga would rightfully be disappointed in him for taking as long as he had.
Loki stepped out of the Mirror Dimension and with a beaming smile, took up the Cask of Ancient Winters. A quick blast froze the vault door. The magics protecting the door were powerless from being attacked from the other side. A wave of Loki's hand and the door was blasted off its hinges. Loki took a moment to dispel the residual protective magic. As Loki triumphantly walked out, he saw that the door had unfortunately taken out the last of his guards.
The same couldn't be said of his foes. Still the Captain was kneeling, an arm clasped to the good arm of his companion with the clock-work arm. Loki heard a rattled, "I'm going to try to take the stupid with me…get'em Steve," before it was obvious he had fallen into Death's embrace.
For all the that had happened, Loki felt magnanimous and didn't blast the Captain before the clearly stricken man straightened up, roughly tightened the strap on his shield to help staunch a freely bleeding wound on that arm before turning to Loki with an intense look on his dirty face.
"You put up quite the little war, Captain. Yet in the end you are still just mortals. To one such as I, you are merely the ants waiting for the boot to crush them." Loki said, triumph laced into his words. "I intend to step on you as did your little bitch of a Wasp did to Volstagg."
The Captain dropped into a defensive crouch, holding his brother's cursed hammer in his hand, "It's not over yet, Loki. I can do this all day."
Loki laughed, "I'm sure you could. However, I am the one who does not have the time. I've learned that the All-Father is recalling the Host. I was barely able to get this strike-force away before the order got out to others."
The Captain blinked at this, "So does this mean you are leaving? Taking your toys and going home?"
Loki laughed again, one laced with bitterness, "On the contrary Captain, I was planning to use this strike to show the war could still be won. Yet with the Cask back in my hands, it occurs to me that there is a better way. A way to pay back the All-Father for lying to me my entire life about who my true family was. Thus the moment the host returns to Asgard, I shall unleash the full power of the Cask of Ancient Winters upon Midgard. There will be nowhere winter's icy hand will not hold sway."
The star-spangled hero frowned as he straightened, "Wait! You're going against your king's orders! Plus what about Queen Frigga? What will she think?"
Loki sneered, "As much as it pains me, I care not what she will say. For on reflection, I was fooling myself to think the old families would ever bow to a Jotun-born. They would refuse to hail me and my rightful place on the throne of Asgard. One of Thor's boy brats will be put forth over me and even Thor's firstborn. Not that this surprises me. No Jotun has ever been treated fairly by Asgard."
Before the mortal could say anything, Loki made a grand gesture with the arm which wasn't holding the Cask, "Why should I continue to play the game of lies the All-Father crafted? I refuse to kowtow to the old families and continue to pretend I am Loki Odinson. No, I shall remake Midgard into Ísstheim and rule through acclaim as I truly am, Loki Fárbautison!"
The Captain said nothing to this but resumed his warrior posture. A coiled weapon ready to strike.
Loki cared not for he had won. So he continued to gloat. Had he not earned it? His glorious purpose was at hand! "Then I shall lead my true parent's people out of Jotenheim to a realm they need not share with the other brutish tribes of that realm. No, I shall sit on the throne of my true father. A throne I shall build over the bones of every single Midgardian."
"Odin will stop you," the Captain said with some heat. It was obvious to Loki, however, how rattled he was.
Loki laughed with a triumphant edge, "Oh I'm sure he would like to. However, thanks to the efforts of you and your fellows, the Asgardian ranks of warriors has been thinned. I should thank you for your attack on the Bifrost. Repairing it so quickly will cost the All-Father much in the way of Dark Magic. He will be weak and perhaps needing to return to the Odin-Sleep. Who will rally Asgard's forces then? Your rebellion has brought low all who could."
Before the Captain could say the obvious, Loki sneered, "Yes Thor's whelp who swoons over you might be able to. Yet she is as tainted by her Jotun blood as I. The Æsir elite would never hail her."
Loki was momentarily distracted by a low buzzing but dismissed it. "It is one thing, dear Captain, to fight the likes of the hordes of Midgard. It is another thing to fight my brother and sister Frost Giants. They who have battled the Æsir for centuries. No, the All-Father will no doubt likely rage and vow terrible revenge. Yet in the end, the old man is not who he once was. You may have stymied me with your weird powers and treacherous, dishonorable ways of waging war, but against Asgard? The Frost Giants have fought them time and time again. And now we have them with a weakened king, mere boys for princes and the cream of Asgard's heroes slain or shaken. Who knows, perhaps the day may come quite soon where I will take the throne of Asgard and thence Jotunheim as well."
"But what of Princess Þrúðr?" the mortal finally asked. "Lady Sif put a lot of stock in her. Maybe she can convince your nobles to rally to her. I think you discount her too quickly."
"What of her?" Loki said easily, "Until I have heirs of my body, I would cheerfully name Þrúðr my heir. For all that she is Thor's get, she was never given a chance. Whereas I was always in Thor's shadow, the Æsir never let her leave her mother's. In the end, it matters not if her mother was plotting against Thor or not. My niece is of Jotun blood and that's all those of Asgard see. If she wishes to remain true to her oaths, well then so be it. I will always offer her a seat at my table or an honorable warrior's death if need be."
Loki felt that odd sense of presence again. He realized that the Captain might well be goading him into boasting to potentially allow his fellows to marshal their forces against him. Loki smiled cruelly at the warrior who had been deemed worthy to wield Mjölnir. "Well Captain America, I can tarry no longer. It doesn't matter if Odin himself is waiting for me in the chamber above. The Cask of Ancient Winters will bury all who oppose me."
Loki knew the Captain would try to use his hammer to hit him with mystic energy before following up with a physical attack. However, Loki knew the Captain would not be able to beat the power of the Cask. Yet as Loki raised the Cask to chest level, an arm was suddenly around his throat and a muffled voice said, "I'm afraid I can't let you do that, your highness. Peggy would kill me if I allowed Steve to die on my watch. That and amazingly I find myself an Avenger and there are plenty of those you killed who cry out to be avenged."
Loki sent out a blast of mystic energy from his body. It was enough to throw off whoever had the temerity to lay a hand on him. Loki turned slightly away from the Captain to see a yellow armor-clad man. "You! You who so basely slew Dashing Fandral! Who dared to steal from me! Now you will pay!"
The yellow villain shrunk away from the blast of intense cold Loki sent his way. Who himself had to dodge from a mystic blast from Mjölnir. Loki cursed to himself. His brother's thrice-damned hammer in the hands of a warrior such as the Captain made him a true danger. The Yellowjacket's ability to shrink was also on the same level. He had to end this quickly. And he knew how.
"Fools! I do not fear the ice! I shall freeze us all. It will take me mere moments to get out of your icy tomb before I lay waste to Midgard!" Loki cried out as he held the Cask above his head.
Again, before Loki could make good on his threat, the Yellowjacket grew in front of him and head-butted Loki with enough force to stagger him.
The Yellowjacket turned his face to the Captain, "It's been an honor, Cap. Tell Fury it was always an honor as well!"
Loki's lips curled into a snarl at this even as the Captain yelled out, "Phil, no!" Undeterred the man smashed a hand down on a device on his belt which began to spark even as he grabbed Loki in a one-armed hug. The last thing Loki heard before the world went completely mad was, "Ready to get small, Alice?"
OoOoO
Þrúðr woke and found that thankfully someone had cleaned off the damnable agent the female Captain had sprayed her with. She cautiously looked around and was surprised to see she was still in her armor and her axe and helmet were to one side. Around her, scores of her fellow Asgardians were similarly leaning up against the wall or sitting on the floor in small groups. Around them were scores of Midgardians guarding them. Þrúðr's heart sank. They had failed.
She noticed one of the foe speak into a device. Soon enough she rose to her feet as both Captains strode into the room and went right to her.
"Captains," she said with a small nod of her head.
Steve Rodgers nodded in return, "Princess Þrúðr."
But it was the other Captain who spoke up, "As the highest ranking Asgardian we know of, it falls to me to bring you up to speed. Loki got to the Cask. He gloated to Steve here that he had gotten the recall order from your King but decided to try one last push. Worse, he was going to send your troops home and destroy everything with the Cask. Then Loki planned to bring his Frost Giant kin here to establish a new realm."
Þrúðr looked aghast at this. She turned to Steve, "Is this true? He refused to obey the All-Father?"
Steve nodded, "Unfortunately, yes. At first Loki said he was just attacking in hopes of this one strike winning the war. However, with your King going to be spending a lot of juice to fix the Bifrost, he realized he was in a good position to stab both sides." Steve paused and pursed his lips. "He was not happy about finding out he was adopted and lied to all his life. So I think he was lashing out at that. Said giant types like yourself were never going to get a fair shake in Asgard. At the end there, it sounded like Loki was going to move on Asgard given they'd be week, especially if your King had to go back into that healing trance. Then he'd move on to the giants."
Þrúðr cursed to herself, "Ha! If anyone is heir to the throne of Jotunheim, it would be me! The Utgards held more sway than the Frost Giants ever could claim."
Steve shrugged, "Well he did say he'd name you his heir till he had his own kids. Not that he seemed to think you take that option. Anyway, he was going to blast everyone, your people here included to take us out. Phil Coulson, the Yellowjacket, sacrificed himself to drag Loki and the Cask of Ancient Winters into the quantum realm. They may not be dead but Bill Foster says they aren't coming back."
Þrúðr shook her head at that, "If only the All-Father had let Loki know he was adopted. It's not like Odin was a poor father. He was much more engaged with his two sons than my father was with me and my half-brothers. So sad that all this death came by his decision regarding his sons."
"Well speaking of your King's decisions," Peggy said as she made a gesture. In response, the ebon-skinned warrior she'd briefly faced came through the ring of guards. On his outstretched arm was one of Odin's ravens with a parchment tied to its leg.
Peggy looked at her, "He showed up a little while ago."
Power Man grimaced, "This guys talons are sharp as hell. I'd appreciate if you'd take him off my arm."
Þrúðr laughed, "You should feel honored. That Munin chose you shows a great deal of character in you. Given our fight earlier, this does little to surprise me." She reached out and took the parchment as Munin flapped up and rested on her shoulder.
She read the message before nodding, "Yes, Loki was boasting the truth. The All-Father has recalled our host. He wishes for us to gather at Loki's palace." She looked up to the two captains. "Will this be allowed without any obstruction?"
Steve chuckled, "Prince T'Challa is fond of quoting the old maxim of building a bridge for a fleeing enemy. We'll even assist if needed. I'm guessing your Rainbow Bridge probably isn't up to making a lot of trips?"
Þrúðr frowned, "This missive does not say but yes, it would be the most likely answer."
Peggy raised her wrist communicator to her lips, "Operation Recall is a go. Inform the Council the Asgardians are going to Tonsberg to be extracted from there via the Bifrost." She looked back at Þrúðr, "Well you have a lot of work ahead of you, princess. Let's get you in contact with your people."
OoOoO
Even though they both wearing their gloves, Peggy loved that she was walking hand-in-hand with Steve. Princess Þrúðr had been handed off to Pepper Potts in the communications center.
Pepper had taken to acting as Fury's aide amazingly well after Stark Industries went dark to protect itself from further Asgardian attacks. This didn't surprise Peggy in the least. She'd seen how so much of the late Tony Stark's success had come from her shaping order out of the chaos he brought to the table. Peggy just hoped that she'd notice how much she had come to depend on Happy Hogan. It was obvious to Peggy how much the man adored Pepper.
After seeing the Asgardian princess was in good hands, they both took a much needed long nap. Now they were on their way to check up on Fury. The captains finally weeded their way through all the personnel working to clean up the area. Luckily the bodies had been policed up even though there was still plenty of blood stains to show how bad the fight had been.
The two captains finally arrived in the hospital wing. Their first stop was to see the third Captain.
Carol's face had lit up on seeing them, "Is it done then?"
Peggy nodded, "Princess Þrúðr is organizing the recall now. She is even going to try to get Asgard to help in getting rid of the Fimbulwinter ice."
Carol sighed in relief. Goose took the opportunity to come out from under the bed and jump up on Carol's lap.
Steve made a gesture towards the orange tabby, "I heard the weirdest rumors about your cat."
Carol laughed, "Well that's the thing, Steve. He's not a cat."
Peggy looked closer at the feline, "Looks like a cat to me."
Goose started making the noise all cat owners dreaded. Both captains were shocked when instead of a hair-ball, Goose hacked up an Asgardian helmet which was bigger than Goose himself onto the floor.
Carol looked contrite, "Sorry; he's been doing that quite a bit lately."
Steve shook his head, his eyes wide, "Okay, crazy rumors are not so crazy."
Peggy made a face, "Well we just wanted to check up on you. We need to talk to Fury, though."
Carol laughed, "Please! He's been hell on the staff."
"I heard that, Captain!"
Fury's voice came from a section of the ward walled off by temporary barriers. The captains made their way over to find the one-time SHIELD director being attended to by a nurse and a Wakandan tech from the looks of his uniform.
Fury was looking tired but good, Peggy thought. Well good enough for a man who just had an arm amputated.
Fury looked to Steve as he gestured to his left arm, "I hope you don't mind that I made good use this."
Steve smiled as he watched the Wakandan tech fiddle with the interface connecting Fury to Bucky's old arm. "I'm sure Bucky would be happy to see it being still part of the good fight. Have to say though, Nick. You need to watch yourself. First your left eye, now your left arm. You might want to armor up your left leg just to be on the safe side."
Fury just made a face even as the Wakandan tech looked up to Steve, "Oh the Princess has already got a replacement eye almost ready for him. The Queen felt it was the least Wakanda could do to reward Director Fury for his actions in this war."
Peggy chuckled at that, "Beats a gold watch for a retirement gift."
Fury scowled, "Who said I was retiring?"
Peggy shrugged, "SHIELD is finished. We will need something new."
Steve sighed, "Going to be a tough job. We all had to work together in this fight. Now? How long before people like those in HYDRA are back to their schemes?"
Fury waggled a finger at him, "Let me worry about that. I may not like to learn he was the Supreme HYDRA but Pierce and I both are on board about not losing the peace." He looked at Peggy. "You willing to put that shield down and help? Maybe get things right this time?"
Peggy could feel Steve tense next to her. "No, no I don't think I will. Steve promised me a dance a long time ago. I've been waiting an even longer time for that dance. While a new fight is here, for now I think Steve and I have earned a little R&R."
Fury stared at her thoughtfully for a long moment before nodding, "I can respect that." He turned to Steve, "But you aren't going to like jumping on the USO type bandwagon again. We're going to need you both to at least be seen for some time now."
Steve laughed, "Promoting world peace beats the hell out of selling war-bonds, Nick. I'll manage. Plus, I've got my best girl at my side now."
Peggy nudged him, "Steve, it's 2011. You're my best guy; get with the times!"
After the general chuckling at Steve's expense subsided, Steve looked to Fury, 'So…what happens now?"
Fury closed his eye and didn't speak for a moment, "I guess a lot of that depends on that Princess of yours. I wouldn't want to be in her boots. She's going home with a defeated army to a people that let war define them. Let's just hope that she and all the other veterans of this fight can convince those back at home to just chalk this one up as a loss and move on."
Peggy sighed, "If that were only so easy. I agree with you, Nicholas. I certainly wouldn't want to be in Þrúðr's boots right now."
XxXxX
AUTHOR'S NOTES: And thus the Asgard-Terran War comes to a close. But winning or losing is only one part of a war. The follow-up is where it gets interesting!
The "Vorpal" Goose: I admit to having no shame about this scene!
Sharon Carter: If you go by Peggy's age, it is impossible for Sharon to be her niece unless Peggy's brother was born a LOT later than Peggy was. Yet if Peggy's brother is roughly her age then having Sharon being a grand-niece fits the timeline perfectly.