The group was back in Stark Tower. The temperature was dropping rapidly. Loki was terrorizing Tony from all the antics Tony had done onto him. The last antic, Loki disguised himself as Pepper.
He ventured into the lab where Tony was working. Tony stopped working as he watched her come in. Tony came up to her and was about to kiss her when Loki punched him.
"What antics did you dislike this time?" Tony rubbed his face as he regained composure. "Well, you usually slap so I guess this is new."
"I just wanted to know how it felt," Loki was smug as he shrugged his shoulders.
Tony went to felt her forehead. "Are you feeling alright?"
Loki gripped Tony's wrist before he could and smirked. Tony caught on. Loki morphed back into himself.
"Nice tricks," Tony mused as he took his arm out of his hold and went back to work. "I didn't know you could turn yourself into something so appealing? Maybe you should do that all the time and maybe people would actually like you."
Loki smirked. He walked around what Tony was working on. "I need not to be liked, for those to kneel for me."
"I bet you say that to all the girls," Tony stopped, crossed his arms and watched Loki. He looked Loki square in the eye. He was taunting him with the jokes. Tony found a weakness in him. Loki detested the ones he cherished to be degraded. He saw the slight narrowing in Loki's eyes as he said it.
"Oh just to catch up on all the fun," Loki made Tony into his father, Howard Stark. "Snow will be falling soon, and you will no more be in of my presence. It would be a waste not to use this time for companionship." His smile was full of mischief and feigning innocence.
"I don't think anyone wants to have you as company," Tony unfolded his arms ready for whatever Loki was going to throw at him.
"You could say the same about you," Loki walked off.
Tony didn't think anything of it and went back to working on his suits. During the late afternoon he spotted himself in the reflection of one of his armor. Tony did a double take.
"Son of a," Tony murmured. "He didn't." He touched his face, poked and prodded. Tony felt all over his body and looked at his hands before looking back to the reflection. "He did! Jarvis locate Sigyn for me." Tony walked over to a window and stared at his reflection. He patted himself again, staring into the eyes of his father. It was hard to fathom what had just happened to him. He was literally his father. The one person he did not want to become. It wasn't the young version either, he was old, hardened by life. He looked down into his pants and gave a gasp as well. "Get her now!" He looked around in panic.
"Sir, she is coming down into the lab as we speak," Jarvis replied.
"Great," Tony was getting scared and agitated, he moved across the room to her in a short amount of time. He let her in without haste.
Sigyn watched the worry and dread grow stronger on his face. She didn't have to read his mind to know the troubling thoughts.
"Is this permanent?" Tony breathed. "Tell me it's not permanent. If it is I-I-I need a-a-a plastic surgeon stat, and lots of Viagra; no one needs to know about this." He started to mumble other preparations. "I'll kill him, for sure I'll kill him." He looked into her eyes frantic. He was on the verge of a panic attack.
"This is just an illusion," she reassured him. "Nothing permanent." She touched him letting the illusion fade away.
"Okay so change me back already," Tony was getting impatient.
Sigyn gave a small comforting smile, "It is done. You are afraid of becoming you father." Her voice was soft.
"Yes," Tony looked over to a reflection. He sighed in relief. "I don't want to become him, ever."
Sigyn softened her eyes upon him. She delved into his mind to see why. His thoughts showed how much he didn't want to become someone cold hearted, who only wanted to keep creating, to stop war, to build a better future, to protect the ones he loved, to protect those around him and so forth.
"He did create you," Sigyn finally spoke. "He created a lot of things. Though he immersed himself in work and not loved you, it seems you are almost doing the exact same thing. Immersing yourself in work, while leaving your loved ones to fend for themselves, at times."
"I was like him, but not now. I was only created to keep his work going," Tony sighed. "I was just another creation. He showed no affection, did not tell me once that he loved me. His experiments and projects received more love than I did. By the way thank you, it would have been harder to get it from the horned Gumby. Too bad I couldn't do the same, change him into Odin."
Sigyn gave a small smile. "He would be able to change back, though it would be no surprise if he had not already been Allfather or someone else."
"Have you ever been someone else?" Tony leaned back on one of his equipment. "Well, like this."
"Yes, I have, several times," Sigyn remembered back to the time when she was stuck here she would hide herself as different people. "At times it is a must for survival." She also thought about being Glut. That was someone she had to become very often.
"You hide yourself as well," Tony murmured. "That must be hard. I know I couldn't do it. Why not show the world who you really are?"
"To have your courage I would," Sigyn sighed. "And at times my patience runs thin, and I must bite my tongue before I break my word that I have promised or break order. I must remember where my loyalties lie. However, I do sometimes wonder if my life is really in my own hands. I wonder if my decisions I make are truly my own or for the sake of those around me. I do not know if I am hiding because of them or I am hiding from them?"
"Hiding," Tony shook his head. "You know good things come to those who come out of hiding. Just remember to build yourself up while your hiding, not tearing yourself down."
"Hmm," Sigyn gave him a nod and left. She headed straight for Loki who was walking down the hallway by the rooms. He stopped and turned around her with a small smirk. "Illusions?" She raised an eyebrow to him while she kept on walking to him.
"He was quite craven," Loki's eyes glinted. "The look on his face would have been worth it, yet his frantic and appeals did make up for it." Sigyn stopped in front of him. He was about to grab for her when she made him stop with his mind.
"You are still my prisoner," Sigyn's voice dropped yet was stern.
"Quite controlling," Loki smirked at her. "I have missed that side of you."
Sigyn stared at him with seriousness. "When the snow stays and we are back in Asgard, my protection over you will cease." Loki stared at her in silence, his eyes searching hers for what she was hiding.
"What are you hiding, Sigyn?" Loki's smirk faded away. "We are not here to hide from Malekith nor to see if he comes back. We are stuck here because of you, but in what way?"
This should have been a shock to her but she knew it was true. Sigyn sighed. She was defeated for it was true. Glut Angrboda was not only her armor but a creation made from her parents and Odin. Loki saw right through her illusion, yet she wore this illusion so much that she was getting lost in it. Her armor was now becoming skin.
She plopped down on the ground sitting with her eyes to floor. Her hold on him fell with it. The whirl of fabric from her dress laid out all around her. Loki smirked but had sadness to his eyes. His words had bitten into a wound she was clearly trying to protect and heal. He had seen her do this before when they were kids. When she couldn't think anymore or was defeated in any purpose she sat down and tried to collect the pieces that had just shattered and put them back together. He crouched down to her level. He looked into her eyes that focused on the floor. He lifted her chin up to view her better.
"I am the monster parents tell their children at night," he spoke with darkness dripping off his tongue; a cold truth that would have stung those who would have heard it. He felt the air around him go colder. It was meant to soothe her and yet to tell her that he was a lost cause.
Sigyn peered into his eyes and said, "Yes."
This took him by surprise. He thought she was going to say no and justify how much good was in him. That he had some ounce of goodness left and it was going stronger as they spoke. That she wasn't ever going to give up on him like his oaf of a brother, Thor.
She continued on before he could say anything. "And I am the monster they created to keep you away." She looked away, ashamed for what she had become, ashamed for letting them make them into such monsters for they only thought it was good that they seek. Good, however, was cloaked in danger and catastrophe.
Loki watched her. It was true. She was made into protecting everyone from him and all the other monsters out there as well. Sigyn was the Twin Flame, the wielder of flames, a Jotun Asgard Hybrid, but Odin made her into a monster to wait one day until Loki finally found the truth about himself, about how he was a monster; to protect Asgard and the rest of the realms from those who were deemed monsters. Odin knew this all along and yet he could have taken other preventative measures. His friend, his dear, dear friend was raised to turn against him and yet here she was fighting the very thing they engrained into her. She was fighting many battles inside herself. She was recalculating her morals, remembering her virtues, seeking faith of those of the Valkyries. He could see those battles now, the fight for herself to be free, the fight against defending those who hunted monsters like the her, the fight of becoming the monster they created, and so on.
"And here I always thought that you were fine being a monster with me," Loki spoke with loftiness. He was speaking about the play fights they would play as children. The two always got stuck being the monsters for most of the time. He could see a small smile tugging on her lips, but her will was strong to let it show. "Always the stubborn one." A small tear trickled from her left eye down upon her cheek. "No," he whispered in anguish. "No." He wiped away the tear with his thumb. He put both hands upon her face and brought her in close. She looked at him through teary eyes. "My love, never cry."
"Would you still have thought of me the same if you knew I was a monster from the start?" Her eyes shimmered. She stumbled upon what she really was when she was just a child. It was a traumatic moment. She knew Loki was mulling it over. Sigyn let him in on the memory of that moment.
Young Sigyn peered around the palace, keeping up with her father. She wondered where her friends were but she remembered that she was here with her father and he was here for business. They were escorted by guards to a throne room where Allfather presided in private affairs.
The throne room's doors opened wide and she grew anxious about what was going to happen in a few moments. Allfather had company already but he waved them off for them. Her father bent the knee while crossing one arm over his chest. Sigyn curtsied in her purple dress. "Allfather." They spoke in unison.
"It is done?" Allfather questioned.
"It is done," Iwaldi gave a curt nod. "And waiting."
Allfather twitched small smile. He rose from his throne and started to descend. "Let us put it in its place. The children are in the garden." He was speaking of letting Iwaldi's daughter to leave them of their business.
Iwaldi shook his head. "She comes along."
"This is not for children to see nor are allowed to attend," Allfather was stern.
"She is my prodigy and her abilities are well gifted," Iwaldi was implying an undertone that only the two knew of. "I assure you that her presence with us will not lack interesting possibilities."
"If she disrupts in any way, she is removed immediately from our presence and work will continue," Allfather was final. Iwaldi nodded to him. He looked down at his daughter who gulped in fear. She shot him a look of apprehension, hoping that she would not disrupt at all.
The two followed him along with a small group of guards. They were led to the room full of relics. Allfather tapped his staff once to open the grate for the guard. It walked out. It was an enchanted metal warrior. The metal warrior stopped in front of Iwaldi. He looked down to his daughter and smiled. She stared in awe of the massive metal figure. Sigyn had heard many stories about this warrior. She looked over to her father. He nodded to her.
"Letting a little girl do your job?" Odin questioned with a bit of ruse.
Sigyn stepped away from her father to be closer to the warrior. He watched with hidden anxiety.
"As I spoke earlier, her presence has interesting possibilities. She also has naïve innocence gives a new perspective on a daily mundane task," Iwaldi explained. "My prodigy is always by my side when we are at work. She has seen all of the family secrets and has created new possibilities, maybe even endless."
Allfather inclined an eyebrow to that remark. He watched Sigyn with curiosity now.
The warrior didn't scare Sigyn so much as the task at hand did. She took a deep breath and set her hand upon the metal warrior's hand. It looked down upon her. She gave him a hopeful look before she closed her eyes. She started to chant under her breath. The fire inside the warrior died down and the metal pieces fell apart. She took her hand away and stepped back. Sigyn opened her eyes to see her work. She smiled but felt forlorn. He had guarded this for a long time but now it was his time to rest and be repaired.
Guards came by and picked up the pieces of the warrior and set them in small wooden cart.
"Now, I present to you a new protector," Iwaldi brought forth another small wooden cart. He looked over to Sigyn and nodded again. She ran over to the small cart and unveiled the many pieces of metal. "Now he can be infused with the Eternal Flame," he nodded over to the relic, "or a stronger flame then the last?"
Odin thought it over. "Mix part of the Eternal Flame with this stronger flame, I want this guardian strong enough to protect what is all in this room and if I have other uses of him."
Iwaldi nodded,"Yes, Allfather. Sigyn." He waved her to do the next part of the task.
She walked over to the Eternal Flame, stopped and turned back to her father. He nodded his head in encouragement.
"You have taught her how to wield her abilities," Odin spoke. "What other abilities does she posses?"
Iwaldi stood more proud. "She is able to read you, even what you are thinking, delve into memories, project what is in her mind, stop whatever she can in a few seconds, her abilities so far have no bounds." he watched her bring some of the flames to her hands, her skin going unburnt. She walked with a steady ease over to the new warrior.
"She will be great to have on your side," Odin mused.
"Yes, I am quite certain," Iwaldi nodded."Even a great protector." He watched her let the flame stay in one hand while she created another flame in her other hand. The guards watched but did not say anything. She closed her eyes and started to chant again. Her two hands came together the flames doubled in size. Once opening her eyes, she put the flame next to the metal. It started to move and shake. Sigyn took a step back and the metal started to form up in front of her. It doubled the size of the first and was more intimidating. "She is learning magic at a rapid pace. I am afraid I am running out of things to teach her."
"Hmm," Odin watched the warrior finally fit together. "There is a place where she can learn all, but there is a price."
"She has learned everything in the libraries, even the ones here," Iwaldi sighed.
The metal warrior crouched down to Sigyn's level. She pushed the flame through its chest. The warrior then hung its head in defeat.
"Not all," Odin chastised Iwaldi. "There is the Valkyries." He had seen how enchanted warriors are suppose to work and this was not how it was suppose to be, Odin waited. Once the element was in, the weapon or bauble worked immediately.
"That is too much of a price," Iwaldi could only say. It would mean to give his daughter up to the Valkyries to be taught by them, to not see her grow up in his home. He would have to talk to Freya about this decision. Though he did see that she would be better protected there than anywhere else. "I will discuss this with my wife."
Sigyn took her hands away and kissed the metal warrior where the mouth would have been. Odin laughed at the comical scene. She then breathed into the figure. The metal warrior came back to life. It slowly stood straight back up. It looked stoic and protective. Sigyn smiled up at the menacing figure. Proud that she did the task without making a mistake.
Odin laughed again. "She is something. Quite like the guardian she has just created."
"He is and much more," Iwaldi waved one of the guards bring a shield over to an empty spot. "We named him the Destroyer."
The Destroyer opened its eyes up to reveal and empty shell. The fire surfaced and incinerated the shield into dust. Odin laughed in enjoyment. Iwaldi let out a small breath that he was holding. He was hoping Allfather would like it. Sigyn still stood next to the Destroyer unafraid. It was the first one she ever helped built. Odin tapped his staff and the Destroyer walked around Sigyn to his new home.
She walked behind him, wanting to see where it was. She looked at all the relics as she followed. Sigyn watched him hide in the light and be barred up. She picked her skirts and quickly walked back to her father.
"How is she with her other side?" Odin asked.
"She does not know, yet. Though she has great abilities, some are underdeveloped, you must watch your thoughts around her," Iwaldi was speaking in hushed tones to Odin.
"Do you?" Odin peered over to her once she was in distance. "Child what am I thinking?"
Sigyn closed her eyes and listened to the thoughts around her. She heard Odin's voice asking her to touch the Casket of Winters. She opened her eyes in surprise. "To touch the Casket of Winters, Allfather."
Odin smiled. "Good." He nodded over to it. She turned around and peered over to it.
Iwaldi didn't like this. He could she was scared. Frost Giants still scared her even though he tried to teach her that all races aren't cruel but it was hard with the stories she came back from the palace. "We will be right behind you."
Odin waved off his guards to stand outside. They followed her as she headed back to front of the barred area. Sigyn stood in front of it and turned back to her father who was arguing in hushed tones to Odin. Odin nodded his head to her.
"This is not the way to introduce this," Iwaldi hissed. "This is brazen and cruel. I had it planned-"
"Shhh," Odin hushed him. "You believe she is strong enough to create enchanted warriors, she should be strong enough for this. She is about to grasp it."
Sigyn breathed, she was excited and nervous. Her father had told her many stories about the Jotuns and how they were like any other race. She put both hands on the casket. A blue started to creep up her fingers spreading to her hands and limbs. She thought it was the blue light but noticed that her skin was turning blue. Faint white lines were scribed in patterns upon her body. She looked up to her father and Allfather in horror. Her hands let go of the casket and she pulled herself away from it.
The blue stayed to her dismay. She looked over her hands and limbs. A spray of white was on her shoulder she grabbed and noticed that it was her hair. She looked back to her father in frantic. She started to walk towards them in small steps but she soon saw a figure in the small reflection pool. Sigyn peered over and saw that it was her with red eyes, white hair, and blue skin; she leaped away with a small squeak. The words were on the tip of her tongue but she didn't want it to be true. She looked over to hand again, she created a flame just to make sure she hadn't changed all the way, that it was just an illusion. Her flame came out blue and white. She let it go in fright and sat down in defeat.
"Wh-what has happened?" She almost choked. She looked to her father, her eyes pleading to tell her what was wrong with her.
"You are a smart girl," Odin kept his voice light. "What do you believe happened?"
"I- I" she stuttered looked back to her hands. "I have been turned into a Frost Giant."
"Child," Odin kept calm as Iwaldi was fuming. "You have been a Frost Giant since birth." She looked up to him in astonishment.
"Is this true father?" Her eyes shimmered with tears. Her voice was cracking.
"Yes," was all that Iwaldi could say. He tried to keep himself contained in front of his king.
"Are you a Frost Giant?" Her voice was soft and almost inaudible now.
"No," his voice strained."Your mother is not either." He watched her try to stitch the pieces together.
"Am I-I," she started to say as she trembled. "I'm a MONSTER! I do not want to be a monster. I do not want to hurt others. I do not want to be cruel!" She crumbled into skirts. "I do not want to be the very thing that threatens our home."
"You are our daughter," Iwaldi rushed over to her. He couldn't stand it anymore. "From our blood, from our fires." Her skin was turning back to what it was before. He picked her up and held her close to him. "You were gifted with Jotun abilities. You were meant to die, but were gifted to live." He whispered to her as she hugged him. She cried on his shoulder "I will explain everything once we are home. You must keep this secret to yourself like everything else I have taught you. No one must know." He kissed her on the forehead and set her down. She stopped crying while she nodded and stood emotionless, her eyes focused on the floor. "Allfather." Iwaldi bent the knee. Sigyn remembered her courtesies, giving her best curtsy while holding onto her father.
Loki took her in his arms. He pulled her up from her defeated position and carried her to her room. "I would still want you the same," he set her on the bed, his hands cupping her face. "I would have to make sure the big oaf left one Jotun alive." He smirked. That got him a small smile back.
"You would protect me?" Sigyn raised an eyebrow. He had always wanted to be the protector, the one people looked up to for support. She wondered if he still wanted that now.
"I will always protect you," he pulled her to meet his lips to let it be known that it was the truth; a soft delicate kiss making her feel as if he didn't want to hurt her as if she was fragile.
"Ahh," Sigyn sighed her eyes still closed as she pulled away. "You sooth me with your words, one touch and the cruelty is gone, one kiss and my troubles take no hold upon me." She opened her eyes to stare endless into his.
His fingertips brushed the skin that showed. "Let me make them disappear," he whispered into her ear. "Let me take away the pain." He kissed her neck. "Let me heal you." He moved down to her shoulder as he felt her hands grabbing the fabric upon his back. He smirked at her enjoyment and his. "Let me in." As he pulled the fabric around her shoulder slowly off, he felt her shudder. "Let me be the only one into your heart, to feel your pain, your desires, your sorrow, your anger, and your humility."
"You already are," she brought him back to her face with her hands. They kissed with a hungered passion.
Several moments later they rested upon her bed. She wore his shirt while he laid his head upon her stomach. One of her hands stroked his hair while the other lay spread across his chest. His chest was bare and he wore his leather pants.
"Time is running out for us and our paradise," Loki was looking up at the ceiling. "It will be different once we are up there again. I will miss these interludes."
They both knew that trying to steal away up there would be futile. Though Heimdall could see them here, at least in Midgard they were somewhat safe. Though she knew Loki would still try. She smirked at the thought.
Sigyn closed her eyes. "I will miss all of this; just being with you, with no restrictions or conflictions."
Loki sneered. "I can name a few restrictions."
"On what we can do," Sigyn tapped his chest with one finger. "A strict order becomes a paradise, though with all good things it must come to an end."
"You know that is a lie," Loki grabbed her hand. "I know you have been thinking of other ways, I have too." His other hand grazed her legs. "Though I do fear for these legs, they will go back to being improperly touched, may they might not be ever touched at all."
This gave Sigyn a laugh. "And this poor chest that is bare for all to see will go back hidden beneath all the intricate designs and layers of clothes and armor. Poor thing." She sat up and kissed the middle of his chest.
Loki brought her around."Poor thing?" He raised an eyebrow at her as she lay on her side next to him. "I could name a few other parts that are feeling the same."
She kissed him on his forehead. "Like your mind." She kissed his lips. "Your voice." She kissed his chest again. "And your heart."
He brought her face back to his. "I give you my heart. I can see no other place of where it is safest to place it. It's yours and yours alone. It always has been."
"And I am to keep it next to mine?" She searched his face. "I gladly take it. I would always take it, but it was great where it was too. What would be in place there instead?"
"Just a frozen shell in the shape of a heart," he peered into her eyes while cupping her hands. "I hope you never let go of my heart, that it is always next to yours." He pulled her in close next to him. He rested his chin upon her head. She snuggled in closer.
"Then it shall be my upmost task to fill this shell of heart with my love and the love that you cannot see from others." She rested her head upon his chest. "Your heart will always be safe with mine." Sigyn started to chuckle.
Loki pulled away to view her. "What is the means of this laughter?"
"What do I have to give in return?" Sigyn asked. Her hands searched his trousers and pulled out his dagger.
Loki looked at the dagger than to her. "Though I do love the feel of your hands upon me, it does scare me that you have touched me and I did not feel it. Though you are not suggesting what I believe you are?"
"I am," Sigyn held the dagger in her hand and felt the sharpness with the other. "An oath is good as any but, a blood oath holds true." She put the daggers edge to her neck with slight pressure and pulled down creating a thin red line that started to brighten with dark liquid. She looked into his eyes as she spoke. "I swear that all of my being, my heart, my love, my soul, my body, is to be given to you once you have rightfully claimed me. I will not allow anyone else to have me but you, even if you never come to claim or if I must wait an eternity for it to happen. I am yours and will always be yours alone."
Loki's heart raced with anticipation. She was truly his. His lips pressed her neck and drank in her oath that was bound in blood. She healed once he was done. He took the dagger from her hand and slit his own neck. He saw the slight shock in her eyes but watched it turn to appreciation and respect. She was about to say something but he put a finger to her lips.
"I swear that I will claim you, that your oath will not be left without reciprocation. Everything of my being is yours. I will not allow those to sway me from you nor let you sway me from yourself either. I give you myself in all forms." Loki smirked.
Sigyn went to his neck in longing and deep appreciation. She drank in his oath with no hesitation. As she left his neck and peered back into his eyes he chuckled as he hid his dagger again. He was going to make sure to never lose that dagger. It had sworn both their oaths. "Now, tell me, why are we here?" Sigyn kissed him before she began her explanation.