Hello, lovelies.
Long time, no speak; I'm not sure if anyone will even look at this, tbh. If you are, don't worry, I have a lot to say! After all, it has been six whole years since the last chapter. I want to share some exciting things with you, and hope you'll stay til the end. If you just want to know what happens next in the story, that's totally okay! I am including a full synopsis of this entire story and what would have happened. Scroll down to the end of the italics if you'd like to read that first. Please excuse any typos or errors; since it's not actual writing and it is, in fact, 12,671 words, equaling out to 22 Word pages, I am not going back through.
I'll start by saying the idea for this story has changed many times, but never fizzled out. The absolute orig,inal incarnation featured Anna as Steve's totally human wife, with whom he has a daughter. Steve and Anna are tasked with watching over Loki, and while Anna works from home as a script writer she slowly teaches both Loki and her daughter life lessons via Disney and other animated children's movies. Each chapter would have been a different movie and lesson until they parted ways with Loki a changed man. Writing the description now it does sound admittedly cute, but I can promise that the time was not right for me as a writer and it was going to be far more cracky, fluffy, and cringy than the chapters you see here.
The next ideas evolved quickly until we reached this partially written draft. First Annie was in a love triangle with Steve and Loki, then she was an independent and eccentric superhuman diner owner that owned a diner the Avengers frequented. Annie was a lost princess of Vanaheim, hidden in Manhattan with total amnesia (heavily, heavily inspired by Anastasia) and/or a Celtic goddess thrust forward in time as a punishment for a crime...also with amnesia. Sigyn, living another lifetime because she never matched up with Loki; a soul bouncing from life to life and collecting powers as she went, first as Bastet in Egypt, as Sigyn, Loki's childhood lover, etc.
Amnesia was the running theme and still was by this draft. I listened to the Anastasia soundtrack a lot during brainstorming.
Which brings me to point A and the first plot reveal:
Her true name was only ever Annie/Anna in the original Steve/Anna draft. Otherwise, it's always been false. Anna, Annie, Anastasia, all fake. Original plot webs obviously had complex fantasy names for lost princess, goddess, whatever. In this draft, her real first/middle name was Eleanora ("shining light") Rhiannon ("queen"). The meaning of the name Anastasia is, "she will rise (again)" which you can obviously glean provided the title of this story, and was also a "tongue in cheek" fake name to "foreshadow" the whole back from the dead thing. I was clever in my youth.
-Among other things, she was a mutant with the ability to adapt to situations for survival. It was multifaceted and really, really OP. Her eyes, over which she wore brown colored contact lenses, had adapted to darkness and were blue and cat-like - not as dramatically slitted, but enough to look odd and reflective like a cat's in the dark. (I had originally thought of making her superhero name Hellcat for this reason) She could subtly influence people to like her as a survival tactic, which was why everyone was obsessed with how attractive she was. I had planned on having Charles Xavier and Magneto cameo later in the story, towards the end, with an offer of recruitment, which she of course turned down. She healed faster and was stronger than humans, but that's not why she couldn't die...
-she was gifted nine lives by Death, which again played up on the cat-like thing. Yeah, I know; OP and favored by Death? Super cringe. Death was incidentally Hel, Loki and Anna's daughter from the future (because death is relative), and Annie was given the nine lives with a price for each life. Thus, the marks on her body in that one really melodramatic scene. The price for one was losing her memories of what happens in purgatory except when dreaming, another was losing her name, giving up the ability to have children, so on and so forth. Each time she died it would be a curse on her continuing life. At the end, of course, in true happy end fashion, she'd be granted a tenth life free of charge, casting off all of the curses. The prophecy referenced in the purgatory chapter was a tapestry woven showing her killing Thanos.
-but wait! There's MORE cringe! Now introducing Tragic Backstory. Annie was an orphan, who wandered through homelessness and the foster system until being adopted by a wealthy, single, elderly widower, using her powers of influence. She had a younger sister and an older brother. After her father died in a tragic accident, their mom went catatonic. Mom's +doctor, who was fanatical about mutants, took advantage of their mother's weakened mental state and married her in order to study Annie and her mute, but also mutant, sister. They were basically lab rats and the product of abuse, and it got worse when their older brother, sole protector, suddenly disappeared. Her sister (honestly can't even remember the name) could communicate telepathically and had a special bond with Annie where they were constantly connected. Doctor Evil Step-dad snapped and drowned little sister, which caused Annie's fear of water. He burned down the house to hide the evidence, and drove off into the snowy night with Anna in the passenger seat, unbuckled. When she woke up, she fought him, and the ensuing struggle caused a crash that killed him and tossed her through the windshield, causing her first death. The brother comes up later. They had a clubhouse/cabin on the property, which is the building Loki stumbles across and hides in when he lands on earth. It had an existing "pathway" because...
-the older brother was essentially kidnapped by a young Asgardian woman. Hanna was a healer characterized by the Fandom early on, and I made her a rebellious youth that took trips to Midgard covertly. She met Older Brother (I think his name was Adrian? Aiden?) and they fell deep in...like. the rush of rebellion was Hanna's jam, but she dressed it up/romanticized it as love. Brother actually caught feelings. She tricked him into coming back to Asgard with her, which explained the pathway that Loki stumbled across. A side plot was going to be on Asgard, during the invasion, with Sif and Brother working together as rebels after Hanna is killed in the initial invasion. Sif and Brother were going to be a ship, and he and Anna were going to reunite late in the story.
- I didn't have a clear directive in my head of what Annie looked like. I had a vague sense of dark hair, blue eyes, curvy but that was it. I picked Olivia Wilde for an old cover, but quickly moved past that as I started to picture dark auburn hair instead and a "young" face, and then I thought Jemima West (I'm a visual person and I LOVE to choose matching face claims!) but it was still a really intangible face in my head. I now have a concrete image and will happily talk about that in a few.
-Natasha and Clint were a thing because that's what everyone was doing...but then Age of Ultron came out and honestly? I really like Bruce and Natasha. There's something honest, vulnerable, and sweet about the two of them together. I like relationships that are interesting and conflicted because they create more opportunity for growth and philosophy, and explore the nature of relationships. And it makes me really sad that the last two Avengers movies seemed to ignore that, and it makes me even sadder that the Fandom has so violently rejected them. Everyone chalks it up to "Joss made Natasha a love interest…" but if she had been with Clint everyone would have been fine with that. Natasha has "flirted" with all of the Avengers, so it's not Joss that made her a love interest. She used her wiles on Tony, they hinted at flirting with Cap, and everyone thought she had a thing with Hawkeye. But in the end she and Clint are two very good friends with a deep connection, and that's really cool because men and women CAN have deep and meaningful platonic relationships, and it's nice to see that depicted in a mainstream film. I am also ashamed of the fandom for bullying Joss Whedon off of social media and out of movie making in general (for a time).
-it was originally AU to just after Phase 1, but then Phase 2 happened. It's now AU starting post Age Ultron through Endgame and beyond
-this was a complete Fix Loki romp with a self indulgent, overpowered Mary Sue that my younger self found strong and entertaining and impressive. And there's nothing wrong with that self expression! And don't get me wrong, it's still going to be completely self indulgent and fun, but I'd like to think it's grown with me and my matured ideals of feminity & feminism, inclusion, love, family, and relationships, and I sincerely hope all of you will see that and enjoy it with me. It's also adapted through the phases as all of the movies came out (and as I saw things I liked...and things I didn't). When Endgame came out and I watched it in theaters, this story had it's reawakening and I've been brainstorming, plotting, writing, and researching furiously ever since.
Below the italics, I will provide for you the full plot line, and you can be assured that while the new story will have moments that are similar (think of it as a rhyme!) it will be different enough for you to still be surprised and appreciate the source material it came from. I also need to add a disclaimer that even now I have tweaked a few things because the notes for this fic were/are really, really old, and I have lost some plotting papers in the three moves I have had since starting this story. I had to wing it and add in some filler to make this complete, so if you see anything that seems like it might reasonably be part of a decent story, odds are that I came up with it on the spot as I wrote this.
And now I'd like to introduce you to some key points that will be different with the reincarnation:
-"Annie's" new name is Enya Rene McTavish (notice that the first initials match Eleanora Rhiannon, the character's original "real name"). She is a woman of color, being of mixed European-Arab descent. She is still an orphan and has something of a classic tragic backstory, but she has flaws, weaknesses, and a huge extended family that loves her very much. Without too much of a spoiler, a lot of the story is spent trying to understand her weird powers, and Loki helps ...in his own way.
-the story is not going to be so focused on "redeeming Loki". He will definitely have his times to shine, and moments where he will have opportunities to do the right thing, but he's not always going to go that route. Something I liked a lot about Ragnarok and the late MCU in general is how unapologetically "just Loki" they've made him. Loki is a Bad Guy, because he's never done anything to make up for the stupid BS he's done. But he's also complicated and Tom has done a great job of making him a charismatic, emotional, and relatable character, and that's why so many of us love him despite him being a little shit. Enya and Loki will have a complex relationship because they are both stubborn and strong willed, and unwilling to budge from what either of them considers "right". We could probably classify Enya as chaotic good and Loki as chaotic neutral if D&D alignments are your jam. Enya has no delusions when it comes to Loki's personality: she's just along for the ride. At first.
-there are still going to be fun tropes and my weird, oddball sense of humor. The intention is to make a love letter to the strong ladies of Marvel, and to you for sticking around so long. There's going to be weird moments, and funny moments, but I hope there will be moments that make you serious or thoughtful or happy or sad, too.
This story, in its own way, is a special celebration. Of maturing, of perseverance, of femininity, and of rebirth, as the title may suggest.
And now, without further ado, I have included the entire outline for this story for you below. If you are interested, I will publish the first rough draft chapter for you here as a sneak peek of what's to come - let me know if that's something you want and I'll post it!
What has already happened (I re-read so you didn't have to):
Chapter 1: with Loki's help, Thanos invades Asgard. Frigga gives Thor a dagger that can be used to basically transport a person from point A to point B by slicing a "gash" in the air. She sends Thor out for him to get assistance from the Avengers, but Thor is injured before escaping. Sif saves a little girl from an explosion by jumping into a cellar.
Chapter 2: you, the reader, are introduced to the main OC, Anna. She is ridiculously OP but young me thought she was cool. It's really melodramatic. She introduces herself to the Avengers, cuts her hand to show her healing factor and jumps out a window. It is briefly mentioned that Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield's Peter) is there.
Chapter 3: Natasha meets Anna at a diner. Anna, for some reason, is wearing a garish Gaga getup...I don't know why I did this. I think young me was like, "look how cool she is, she's wearing a wacky outfit so other people will notice and remember her if the Avengers decide to kill her". I just don't know, guys. Anna's powers are tested by SHIELD, once again showing how OP she is, and there is an incredibly heavy handed reference to how clearly afraid of water she is.
Chapter 4: Loki is a whiny shit. Thanos sends him to Midgard to collect Thor. All the guys (grossly? Why did I do this?) talk about how hot the women on their team are, especially Anna. Thanos and the Other discuss Thanos's mind control over Loki and how it will fade. Anna wakes from a nightmare and tries to condition away her fear of water by plugging the shower: cue melodrama.
Chapter 5: Loki hides in a cabin in a forest, having used a previously-made interdimensional pathway to get down to Midgard before going to New York (this is the cabin I was referring to). He brought Gungnir with him rather than the scepter from Thanos, which weakens Thanos's control over him...apparently. In NY, Anna and Peter bond, and are then given the great responsibility of babysitting injured Thor, who is sporting a broken leg. Jane is obviously jealous when Anna shows up (I get that I was trying to "show" the readers that she was attractive and that the big reveal was going to be that she was influencing everyone with powers, but come on…). At end of chapter Loki teleports, presumably to Asgard.
Chapter 6: Anna, Peter, and Thor have lunch. Cue housewife jokes about sammiches. (UGH why). Anna's fast metabolism and weakness/need for more food than others is discussed. It also discusses her high body temperature; cue Peter slut shaming her for wearing skimpy clothes I guess? Thor tells Anna and Peter about Asgard and Loki, just in time for Loki to show up…
Chapter 7: Loki and Anna fight. He spends several paragraphs waxing poetic about her movements while fighting her. She gets the upper hand on him somehow, and easily. The Avengers watch the fight, stunned, before Loki regains the upper hand and knocks her out, taking her hostage
Chapter 8: an entire chapter of the to-date OP OC being a damsel in distress suddenly. Not much to say here, typical damsel and evil villain stuff. Until we get to the end of the chapter, when the Avengers have found Loki's hideout and busted in to save Anna, only for Loki to stab and (gasp!) kill Anna. We have a scene of Loki feeling bad before he goes.
Chapter 9: Anna wakes up in purgatory and speaks to two indistinct shadow figures, Blue and Yellow, named for the color of their flaming eyes. It's all very melodramatic and over the top, tres high school fanfiction era. Anna wakes up in the helicarrier at the end of the chapter
Chapter 10: Anna has a humorous encounter with some very confused coroners on the helicarrier before busting in on an Avengers meeting in nothing but a sheet toga, surprising everyone before she faints.
Chapter 11: super melodramatic emo Loki hanging out and feeling sorry for himself in the forest. Anna wakes up and has an awkward moment with Clint. And this is where I left you on May 29, 2014, six years ago now.
Here's what happened next:
Anna comes back to life and joins the Avengers. Loki sweats out Thanos's mind control in his forest hideout like he's got a bad cold. In Asgard, Sif awakens in a basement used as a blast shelter and meets a motley group of survivors that kept her safe, including the child Sif saved and a healer apprentice who is, oddly, human. He stitched a deep cut in her ear and scalp but was unable to fully heal it.
Annie cements her place on the team and owns up to some of her secrets, including the "glamor" she's been using to draw them all in, which she drops. She skates across the death thing and simply tells them that she'd explain if she could put it into words, but that she's not invincible and does need to be careful because someday she won't wake up again, and changes the subject by describing her healing factor, metabolism, and need for regular feeding. That doesn't stop her from using Life 5 to save Hawkeye's life. She pays for it with the ability to swim, which increases her fear of water - she is cursed to inevitably sink. When she awakens again from "purgatory", the team has a roaring "rebirthday" party, and a good time is had by all. Natasha gifts Anna with a set of hair sticks that sheath stiletto daggers, Thor provides a set of chainless manacles that stifle magic for when they run into Loki again (I know, convenient...), Tony makes her a staff weapon, Bruce gives her a book on basic first aid, Clint gives her a SHIELD grade "supersuit" that is lightweight and breathable, and Peter puts together a photo scrapbook for her with Polaroids taken of the party, with many blank pages for all the "good times to come". Steve collaborated with Peter and sketched all of the Avengers, assembled, including Anna, to be included in the book. Anna is touched and warms up to Steve.
Thanos learns of the girl that defies death via Loki, and ruminates on her meaning because, of course, everything revolves around Thanos, and he thinks her a gift meant for him from his Lady Death. He calls Loki to him mentally, and orders him to bring Annie to him by any means necessary, and threatens Frigga's life to ensure it happens. Odin falls into the Odinsleep in his cell alone, while the Warriors Three look on helplessly. Odin uses the Odinsleep as an opportunity to collaborate in a secret astral plane with his wife. (Seaside cabin, tropical island, overlooking an impossibly blue ocean, two suns). They discuss freeing Asgard, but can't figure out a foolproof plan yet.
Loki reluctantly goes back to NY and tracks down Annie. Similar to how she...somehow...knows Hawkeye and Black Widow follow her occasionally when she leaves the tower, she quickly discovers his presence in her backyard (small house nestled close to Central Park, squashed between mansions; the inside is stuffed full of bits and bobs, and there is little semblance of order. She has many cats and feeds strays) and kidnaps him in return, trapping his magic with the cuffs and trussing him up in a chair in her spare room, precisely as he had done to her. She demands the truth from him, and he provides it in part: he admits that he was surprised to see her alive, and wished to know how she could have survived. She feels certain that he's holding something back, but is shrewd enough to notice that his eyes are bloodshot but green again, when they were blue before, which she finds peculiar. She asks if he feels bad about killing her, and he weighs his options before answering honestly that he does. Mollified but unsettled, Anna leaves him to ponder/panic about what to do next.
The magic-stifling cuffs have an added bonus of further severing the connection between Loki and Thanos, but not before Thanos can call to Loki once more and demand an update from him. Loki explains the situation and desperately fabricates a plan, stating that he is going to lull Anna into a false sense of security before betraying her trust and turning her over to Thanos. Delighted by the game, Thanos concedes and agrees not to contact him for a month or two, but warns that while he is entertained his patience is not endless.
Anna returns. Her conflict stems from the fact that she knows she should turn Loki over to the team, but she feels that there is something deeper at work here. By now there would have been fluff moments in which Thor had talked about he and Loki in their youth, and times in which they had talked at length about Loki's invasion and his influence over Clint, and so Anna is starting to put two and two together. She feels that there is some mystery that only she seems to see, and even though it's wrong she still wants to try to unravel it. She offers Loki an ultimatum. She can turn him over to the Avengers and, consequently, Thor, for judgment and punishment; or, he can stay hidden with her, with some conditions: he must stay inside, he must turn over his staff, he will wear the cuffs, and (most surprisingly) he must teach her to fight as well as he can with her new staff. Her intention is to wear him down and try to get to the bottom of the things that just aren't adding up, and be able to beat him next time.
Loki agrees, she cuts him loose, and so begins their tenuous truce.
On Asgard, Sif works with her human companion to organize an underground (literally) society that tunnels from basement to basement to gather rebels. Thanos's Chitauri forces have fair run of the streets and cities, keeping residents under control, but beneath the streets secret meetings are being held and plans being made. Sif finds herself drawn to the sad human boy with faraway eyes, an outlier and outcast on Asgard. (Sigh). Frigga hears of the rumors and relays the information to Odin via their astral meeting place. They agree that while it's a good start, they will need reinforcements. Frigga immediately presents Thor and the Avengers, but the problem is that they have no way of contacting them or bringing them to Asgard. Thor does not have magic as Frigga does. In fact, there is only one person that would be able to join them on the astral plane to collude about the downfall of Thanos (I'm sure you can guess who). Odin vehemently rejects the idea and insists that Frigga contact her brother on Alfheim instead. Frigga has clear misgivings but agrees to contact her brother nonetheless.
By day, Anna continues to bond with the Avengers. She spends time with each of them, but clearly favors Peter and Thor. Natasha and Clint continue to watch and gather information. It's revealed in short clips and snips that SHIELD has a containment plan for if any Avenger goes rogue. Since Anna is not being forthcoming with information yet, it puts Natasha and Clint in the awkward position of following her to glean weaknesses despite their newfound trust and affection for their new teammate.
By night, Anna returns to her tiny house by the park and trades barbs and blows with Loki. It's a tumultuous relationship at first: Loki takes every chance he can to take potshots at her lifestyle, the food she gives him, the living arrangements, etc., and just be a general nuisance. Per her request he does train her to fight, but is not a kind or reasonable teacher. Despite her unshakeable attitude...it starts to wear her down (obviously, otherwise where would the romance come in?). It reaches the peak when they have a particularly hard day, when he is especially nasty personally and in training, and she almost doesn't get up when he knocks her down in a fight. He offers his hand but berates her still for even getting thrown in the first place; she knocks his hand away and drags herself up, saying nothing as she leaves the room. Loki is struck by how much it affects him: like a little boy tugging a girl's pigtails, he wanted a reaction.
That night she falls asleep on the couch without dinner, only to have a nightmare. Loki hears her tossing, turning, and crying out as he tries to sleep in the spare room and investigates, only to observe her having an obviously distressing nightmare that features Loki himself. He watches from the shadows until she awakens violently with a sob, and retreats to the room with Anna none the wiser. In the morning, he is uncharacteristically quiet and polite, and goes so far as to thank her for breakfast. Confused, Anna returns to the tower as per routine and tries to forget about it.
Frigga attempts to get in touch with her brother via an untraceable fire contact system (think: floo powder from Harry Potter), but Thanos is beginning to cotton on to the fact that she is not as helpless as she plays. He enjoys games and spinning webs, and holds her in an extravagant but guarded room rather than a cell. He demands that she join him for evening dinners, and vaguely implies that he knows what she is doing just to watch her reaction. Frigga is unsettled but reveals nothing, and goes back to her glorified cell perturbed.
Natasha and Clint notice that Anna is acting odd; she has appeared tired and off kilter frequently, and today she showed up with dark circles under her eyes and scars that, while quickly fading, were not there the day prior. They have enough cause to be suspicious that something is happening at home, and Natasha is as much concerned for the safety of her new friend as she is apprehensive that something is happening behind the curtain. She and Clint agree to keep a tighter eye on Anna, and a chapter would have ended there with them linking hands, the first real confirmation for the readers that they are, in fact, in a relationship.
When Anna returns home in the evening, she is shocked to find that Loki has prepared her a meal. She first questions if it is poisoned, which he proves is incorrect, and then demands to know why he's suddenly being nice. He admits that he has not been the most pleasant guest. And makes a sly comment that it's better to nuzzle the hand that feeds rather than bite. Anna, to his surprise, blushes slightly, but neither of them dwell on it and instead eat in peace. He is far more civil and helpful in teaching that evening, and Anna slips into bed feeling oddly content, but unwilling to ponder the reason why.
Awake, kept company only by the soft light of a lamp, Loki probes tenderly at his feelings. He wonders if he ever meant to double cross her, and thinks only slightly of Thanos's methods of control - he stops himself from thinking of memories too painful to explore at the present. He is disconcerted to know that, in his own way, he respects her as her own person, and is starting to see her as someone with whom he wants to spend time. He tries to convince himself that he's just making the most of a bad situation before he thinks of a way to escape, but we leave Loki feeling...distinctly unconvinced.
In Asgard, Frigga finally gets through to her brother Freyr on Alfheim (I had combined Frigga and Freyja, as I think many people did. If you look into it, Frig and Freyja are thought to have stemmed from the same goddess and are frequently confused. Plus, y'know, plot). Freyr is unwilling to involve himself and Alfheim in Asgard's plight, and reminds her with no small amount of disdain that her husband keeps the Nine Realms mashed tightly beneath his thumb, which draws Freyr's ire. The short interaction shows Freyr as a spoiled king who dwells in comfort and relaxation. Frigga tries to convince him to work with her and convince other realms to join their cause on the basis of the approaching Convergence, and the fact that it will put Thanos in a convenient position to storm the other realms, but Freyr doesn't seem to be swayed.
On Earth, it's been a couple weeks and Loki is still being oddly nice, and Anna is having a hard time accepting it. In the tower, she has been working with Peter to teach "Old Man Rogers" about the present day; Thor is entertained by the lessons and frequently attends. Jane spends a lot of time with Tony and Bruce in the lab, and Clint and Natasha frequently drift in and out of scenes. A wild Darcy appears on occasion, and she and Anna predictably hit it off. Anna slyly works to set up Darcy and Cap, but is faced with difficulty at first because while Darcy picks up enthusiastically on the wingman-ing right away, Cap...does not, and in fact thinks Anna is flirting with him. Much to her chagrin, he asks to walk her home. When they reach her house, he shyly explains that he's not interested in her "that way", and she laughs as she details the actual situation for him. Cap is completely embarrassed that he read the situation so incorrectly and admits that he is interested in Darcy, and they part ways with a hug and kiss on the cheek. In true dramatic "fiction written by a teenager" fashion, Loki has been watching from a window the entire time without being able to hear for context...and is fiercely jealous and angry at himself for being jealous. He's supposed to be using her, not catching Feels.
He returns to his old, acerbic self, and this time Annie's not having it. She angrily pins him when they fight and asks what his problem is. He throws her off, only for them to fight and for her to pin him again. They go at it once more, and he loses again before finally spitting out something nasty along the lines of suggesting that she run back to her shoulder to cry on. Anna is confused and keeps pressing him for information before finally getting him to admit that he saw her with Cap. She laughs and laughs and lets him up; she's astounded that this is twice in one night, but Loki is deeply offended. She snipes at him that she was setting up Cap with a friend and that they were only friends, nothing more, and immediately needles Loki about why that would even matter before she puts two and two together, and Loki realizes his mistake too late. Anna rushes out, overwhelmed, leaving Loki feeling angry. With her, but mostly with himself.
Y'all know what's coming next, I guarantee it.
In her own room, Anna has nightmares again, and once more Loki is drawn to the sound. He hovers near the doorway, but this time is not fast enough to duck away before she awakens suddenly and spots him. Anna clicks on the lamp and they share intense eye contact for a moment - Anna wide eyed, vulnerable, panting; Loki, in the precarious position of wanting to help and hating himself for it. Something electric passes between them, which in this moment would have meant "the author is bullshitting just to get the two to be together in the right timeline", and Anna and Loki gravitate to each other and share a passionate kiss.
Because when you're in high school, that's totally reasonable story plotting.
They draw back instantly, both completely aghast at what they've done. Loki notices in that moment for the first time that her eyes aren't the flat brown he's always so displeased with - they're luminous blue and cat-like, and he is struck by both how alien she is and how little he knows about her. (She was in bed, so she was not wearing contacts). Anna freaks out and again rushes out, because apparently that's how we face every complex emotional situation, and furtively wanders Central Park trying to get her head straight.
In the underground of Asgard, the human guy (we'll call him Adrian, I don't think that was right but we'll go with it) introduces a ballsy idea of breaking into the castle's treasury to retrieve the Tesseract and using it to augment the beginning effects of the impending Convergence to start getting people out of Asgard; Sif points out that they will need the Allfather or Frigga just to control the Tesseract, and that's if they can even get them free. They start brainstorming possible ways that they can get into the dungeons without detection, and come up with the idea of a false capture (notice that's starting to replace/mirror plot events from The Dark World at this point).
Frigga returns to the astral plane to give Odin the bad news and again pleads with him to let her try reaching out to Loki. Odin rejects the idea again and they argue, with Frigga finally tearing him down and accusing him of never treating Loki as a son or equal to Thor, and that any mistakes Loki made are a direct reflection of Odin's parenting. Frigga leaves on a somber note, and Odin contemplates the gravity of his actions.
Anna returns to the tower directly from Central Park, and everyone notices her eyes right away. She shrugs and explains that she usually wears contacts, and was tired of hiding it from them (ignoring the fact that in a SHIELD physical, they probably would have been able to tell she was wearing contacts...and using facial recognition, they probably could have found record of her as a youth...and there's really no way that they could have not found any info on her whatsoever considering they're an intelligence agency...but I digress.) The agents aren't buying it at all and Natasha gently suggests to Peter that he should visit Anna at her homestead since she's worried about her, while she has the dual intention of figuring out WTF is going on. Peter takes the bait hook, line, and sinker.
Anna arrives home, only to be met at the door by Loki. They get into an argument as he accuses her of casting a spell on him, somehow, some way, as she is not the mortal she claims she is, and she concedes that while that may be close to the truth, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Their fierce argument is cut off by a knock at the door, accompanied by Peter's voice calling for her. Annie swears - spectacularly - and orders Loki to go hide himself. She doesn't have to tell Loki twice. Peter picks up that something is off during the visit and doesn't know what, and resolves to stop by more frequently.
Anna and Loki talk. She bears some secrets to him (because apparently a couple weeks is enough to trust some evil dude that tried to kill you, right?)
Anna tells him of her powers (her mutation, to be exact, though she doesn't know precisely that is what it actually is), her ability to draw people in, enhanced senses, and her physicality. He is quiet, and thoughtful, and she feels good, somehow, finally telling someone everything about herself. She tells him about what she remembers of growing up, how she was abused and experimented on, and how she has died several times but doesn't completely understand why, only that she has a limited number of revivals (she doesn't tell him how many, but does know it numbers nine in total). Loki quietly contemplates what she told him, and in return reveals explicitly how he was tortured by Thanos until he finally submitted to mind control. He goes on to start detailing his childhood, and this is where Anna draws an issue. How can he really hold any of that against Thor? His mom, she gets, because if she knew he was Jotunn she should have said; but Thor is wholesome and good, and Loki can't hate him due to his own jealousy. She concedes that Odin seems like a jerk but reminds him that's not an excuse for his own actions, and she'd kill to have a family with someone who cared about her as much as Thor. Loki goes awkward, and quiet, and they temporarily part ways for the evening with a lot to think about.
But surprise, surprise, when night falls their moods change. This time it's Anna seeking out a sleepless Loki. You can guess what happens next, but suffice it to say it involves birthday suits and bedsheets. Anna leaves first in the morning, observing sleeping Loki, but makes sure to leave him breakfast.
On Asgard, Frigga dances around Thanos more and joins Odin on the astral plane again. It appears as though he hasn't moved from the spot where she left him, staring out at the beach. She informs him of Freyr's unwillingness to help, and Odin - surprisingly - responds instead with admitting that he's made pretty big parenting mistakes (no shit, right?) Frigga asks if that means he's okay with her trying to reach out to Loki, and he answers instead that he trusts her judgment and will help in any way possible. Frigga begins trying to reach out to Loki in astral form but hits an odd, unexpected wall due to the manacles.
But not for long, bitches!
Sif and Adrian are working closely with a disgraced Einherjar, Sigmund Volsungsson (drawn loosely around the shape of the same character from Norse mythology), who they freed from the stocks after he had fought back against the Chitauri. He is a peculiar guy with odd deep crimson eyes and a wry sense of humor. Adrian, Sif, and Sigmund agree that Adrian and Sigmund will be the willingly captured duo because Sigmund is just high profile enough to warrant a trip to the dungeons, yet not as valuable as Sif ("ah, I do love a good flirtation with certain death" says Sigmund). As ex Einherjar, Sigmund has knowledge of the dungeon that Sif doesn't have, and professes that he has a couple tricks up his sleeve. Adrian is meant to keep watch on him and provide support. Sif is needed to lead outside rebellion and provide distraction later. Sigmund sets the timeline at two days max, and they agree that Sif will begin their planned guerilla warfare in two day's time to draw out the Chitauri, which itself will be three days to the Convergence. Adrian and Sif share a sudden tender kiss before parting ways, leaving Adrian starstruck.
But like, who wouldn't be? Sif is a BAMF and I miss her in the MCU. I feel like she and Valkyrie would get along so well.
Anna arrives at the tower in an absolutely ecstatic mood. Everyone immediately takes note, but Darcy (who is now attached to Steve's hip) is the only one to blurt "she totally got laid!". Anna's blush is confirmation enough and the rest of the team demands to meet him; Anna lies through her teeth as the questioning gets more and more invasive. She admits that he's been living with her and the stress of hiding it has been bothering her. "Boyfriend" is invited to dinner that evening with the rest of the Avengers and Co, and it's panic hour. Anna rushes home under the pretense of briefing him and getting ready, and Loki is a bit taken aback by her frenzy until she explains. She asks if she can trust him enough to take off the manacles in order to glamor his identity, and says that if last night meant anything, he will do this for her. Loki agrees and once the cuffs are removed disguises himself (think young fluffy Tom Hiddleston). Dinner goes oddly really well, until Loki receives a mental call from Thanos in dessert course warning him that the game is almost up and his patience is waning. Thanos demands that he turn over Anna before the re-invasion on Earth begins on the day of the Convergence, five days from now. Loki chokes on a brownie and excuses himself through watery eyes.
Thor has been watching him all throughout dinner, and Natasha has been watching Anna fidget. Thor gravely states that he doesn't think "Luke" is who he says he is, and Natasha watches with more and more consternation as Anna denies it. Luke returns to mixed reception, Thor demanding that he turn himself over, Anna panicking as she tries to deny it, and Loki realizes how to keep her safe, Thanos notwithstanding.
Loki drops the glamor and appears as himself, and confirms they are right - surprise, it's me! He goes a step further to say that Anna knew all along, she just hid him because she foolishly fell for a pair of earnest enough eyes. Flabbergasted Anna begins to tear up in anger, unsure how to respond as the uproar begins. Thor and Loki begin to fight, and Anna has to fend off Natasha and Clint combined, who are both very skilled and extremely in sync. Steve hovers near Thor and Loki, and Tony and Banner evacuate the civilian girlfriends. Peter stares, aghast, not wanting to fight either.
Natasha makes an underhanded move and simply shoots Annie, wasting Life 6 and moving her on to Life 7. Loki makes an aborted move towards her, but ends up getting tossed down by Thor. Loki grabs him by the wrist and pulls him in close, telling him to be ready for the Convergence and Thanos in five day's time, and he will do what he can. He rabbits before anyone can stop him and hides himself back at Anna's apartment, where he doesn't think it's likely for people to look. And to feed the cats.
And finally, Frigga is able to push through to her son, now free of the manacles.
Anna is brought to the helicarrier, where she wakes (the price for Life 7 to begin, by the way, is not being able to hide anymore - her contacts melt against her eyes, and she can't control the glamor anymore that pulls others to her, making her appear as she is: a rather ordinary girl with luminous catlike eyes) in a small tank-like cell the size of a shower and is interrogated by Fury, asking how long she's been working with Loki. When she refuses to answer, the tank begins to fill with water, which causes her to panic. It is not Fun Times for Anna, although I feel like this was all a bit contrived. Why did we all hate Fury so much, again? I guess I can't hate him after Captain Marvel, Marvel's best buddy cop movie.
As she PTSD flashbacks to her sister's death, proving once more this is a Tragic Character™️, Anna melts down and tells them everything- her sister was drowned, she is doomed to sink, she has nine lives and this is the seventh, she can't remember her original name and so took this one, and she wasn't trying to hide Loki. She was trying to help, and explains the eye color thing and her reasoning and everything he told her. It turned into more by mistake. The tank drains and she demands to be let out because she has rights, to which Fury responds she lost them when she became accomplice to a supervillain. She curls up on the floor and this where we leave her, exhausted and betrayed and hurt.
The Avengers argue about what to do next: was Anna in the right? Could they ever really trust her? Was turning her into Fury for whatever horrors she's facing the right thing to do? Thor tells them what Loki said about Thanos and they debate whether this can be trusted. Jane and Doctor Selvig's research, which he and Jane have been corresponding about, backs up that something big is about to happen. Selvig confirms that overseas Convergence symptoms are for more serious and out of control, but is working on equipment to better predict the outbursts. Thor supplements what he already knows about Convergence, and they're faced with the knowledge that they may soon be facing down Thanos while still reeling from the betrayal of a teammate.
Frigga and Loki reunite. It is tentative at first, Frigga unsure what to expect at first, but becomes heartfelt because Loki just can't stay mad at Mamma Frigga. There are tears, apologies, and forgiveness, and Frigga gives him the "Obi-Wan, you're our only hope speech", and takes him on an astral journey to Odin's mental beach house. It's really tense at first, but Loki is shocked when Odin, Allfather, King of Asgard, Royal Asshole...admits he was wrong and treated Loki poorly. In the end, Loki agrees again to do what he can, although it will be difficult because literally no one trusts him.
Now, a tale of two (yes, two) Jotunn-fueled jailbreaks:
In Asgard, the time is right. Sigmund and Adrian have been captured and are trapped in the bowels of the castle. In a cell close by are the Warriors Three, and beyond that is slumbering Odin. A distant explosion rumbles the palace early in the morning of the second day, signaling Sigmund and Adrian. Sigmund plays his hand and reveals that he is part Jotunn, and conjures ice from the water they have saved to pick at key points in the force field; Sigmund basically interrupts the connection with a thin sliver of ice between the force field and the wall, causing the shield to fall long enough to release them. They free the rest of the prisoners (yes, all the prisoners), causing sheer chaos, and collect the Warriors Three. Volstag carries Odin unceremoniously over his shoulder as S&A take them to Sif's rendezvous point.
Odin meets Frigga one more time at the astral beach house and promises to bring her and their sons, if they can be convinced, to the real place once this is over. They share a sweet gross old person kiss and Odin awakes in the company of his people.
On Earth, Loki mounts a rescue attempt of his own. He takes the place of Maria Hill, leaving her sleeping in her room, and visits Anna in the brig. She is half-delirious, face red and streaky, and Loki is royally pissed off as he frees her but keeps his wrath tamped down as the alarms are raised. In escaping, Loki takes his Jotunn form and is a little touched when it takes everyone by surprise, because it means Thor kept this between them. He uses non lethal force to escape, freezing people's feet to the floor, the triggers of their guns, and occasionally giving them frost bite with his hands if there is no other choice. He treats Annie with exaggerated gentleness until he is in a position to disappear with her.
Not knowing what it means to her, he spirits her away to the little cabin he found and hid out in because it will be an easy way to enter Asgard undetected. He sits with her until she wakes up, lucid enough to realize who he is and question where they are. She is, at first, understandably angry. He betrayed her. She does, however, allow him to explain what has happened and why he made the decision he did. He tells her that he is ready to fight at the side of his mother and brother against Thanos, and she doesn't have to join, but it would mean very much to him if she did. She thinks about it and agrees, and asks where they are. He helps her out and shows her, and she bursts into tears before explaining that this cabin is the "playhouse" she and her siblings used to escape from her stepfather as children.
I know. How conVENient.
They rest for a day for Anna to gain her strength back. Loki brings her food and water and generally nurses her back to health, and they get freaky in her childhood hideaway. I feel like Freud might have a lot to say about that. I know I do. Loki regains his strength, too, and prepares to make the jump through space with Anna in tow. They concoct a really stupid plan to get into Asgard: Loki will jump them there, regain just enough strength, and then put on the manacles to keep Thanos out of his head. Anna will have to act as a buffer to keep him alive as they try to bolster Asgard in prep for the Convergence. I'm sure you're tired of reading Convergence.
Loki reaches out to Frigga first, but cannot get through, and with no other foreseeable options for saving both Asgard and Earth, these two hopeless idiots go for it.
The trip is not fun, and upon landing Annie ends up fiercely sick. Before she or Loki can move, they are seized and blindfolded, and first we don't know to whom they are being brought until they arrive before Odin, in his underground court, where he is lacking in both eyepatch and regalia. Sif is angry that Loki the Traitor has the Sheer Audacity™️ to show his face here, but Odin is magnanimous and hears them out, mostly because he already knows Loki has had a change of heart and accepted his solemn promise to help. In front of everyone, Odin explains his fault in the situation: Loki may have lashed out, but it's as much his fault as it is Loki's. He explains Loki's heritage, and at first the racist Asgardians use it as fuel to hate him even more, until Sigmund steps forward. Sigmund is already being raised up as a hero on par with Sif and the Warriors Three due to his actions in their rebellion. He explains that he is half Jotunn through his mother, Hljod. Hljod and his father Volsung have escaped to an undisclosed location to escape persecution where they live happily with his sister Signy. He was disgraced as an Einherjar because his superiors found his heritage and cast him out. This challenges the Asgardian's POV, because they think Jotunns are bad but respect Sigmund, and this is the beginning of them admitting hey, I might be racist.
The Asgardians remain wary of Loki, but start to relax when he dons the manacles willingly to protect his mind from Thanos and begins discussing battle plans with them. It's at this time that Adrian splits from the crowd and has a tearful reunion with Annie, but is perplexed to find that although he knows her face and who she is, no matter how much he tries he cannot remember her true name (since she was cursed to forget it). He calls her sister and then Annie because it, quote, "feels close", though it bothers him he can't remember. It's like an itch he can't scratch.
Adrian explains how he came to live on Asgard (he fell in love with Hanna, a healer's apprentice, who did not truly love him but loved being rebellious and thought of him as an object to flaunt how rebellious she was. She essentially kidnapped him by luring him to Asgard on the pretense of it being a trip, and trapping him with a curse. She died in the first wave of Chitauri on Asgard), and Odin expresses condolences that he was taken from his life, but can stay if he so chooses. The Asgardians are discomforted that they are not as perfect as they thought.
After that detour, we enjoy the beautiful stylings of Thanos losing his absolute shit. He can't find Odin, Loki, or his present from Death, Anna. Further musings show that Thanos thinks that she is a challenge, put forth by his Lady as a courting gift, and that he is meant to find a way to kill the unkillable; only then can he ascend to the side of his Lady. Thanos rages at Frigga, and demands she find Loki for him. When she is no more successful than him he confines her once more to the room, having learned now that the dungeon is a weak point.
The day before Convergence will be in full swing, the Asgardian rebellion plans to divide and conquer: Sigmund, Sif, and Adrian will lead a small group to infiltrate the Chitauri mothership and cause a shutdown using Loki's slim knowledge, Odin will take another small group and, bearing his fantastic Odinsword, re-take the castle and his queen while Thanos is gone, and Anna and Loki will take the Warriors Three and the remaining rebel warriors to join the Avengers on Earth in fighting the Chitauri and Thanos. Loki offers to return Odin's staff Gungnir to him, but Odin declines, stating it is Loki's to inherit since Thor will not want it, suggesting in a way that Loki may have a chance at the throne as well.
And now we begin the obligatory sappy romance right before the battle. On earth, Jane and Thor share a tender evening. Jane's research with Eric has produced a Convergence prediction unit that exercises a small measure of control on the Convergence (as you see in Dark World) but even with the combined help of Tony and Bruce they were not able to build a machine that fully harnesses the irregularities of the Convergence in time for Thanos's arrival, though Jane feels like they are close. All they can do is prepare. Jane's invention is set aside due to its unpredictability, meaning there is no part for her in the coming battle,, which is frustrating. For Natasha and Clint, this is not their first rodeo, but they break a rule and FaceTime their young daughter for the first time in several months. She lives in a safe house with family and they see her rarely, but do see her. She shares her recent accomplishments in ballet and Nat and Clint promise to see her soon. Tony and Pepper make love and conclude with an argument that ends with a stalemate: having been enhanced with Extremis, Pepper insists on participating to help, which he vehemently rejects. Cap and Darcy exchange playful banter and a kiss or two; she tells him to get back soon because they've barely gotten to know each other and he has a great butt, and she still hasn't taught him how to use an iPod. Peter pays a visit to Gwen, the first and only time we have met her. He tells her that he's going to run headlong into something stupid. She doesn't deter him, but cautions and supports, and they sleep curled together.
On Asgard, Sif sharpens and cleans her blades to the point of distraction, and teaches Adrian when he asks. Similar to Tony and Pepper, she asks him not to fight due to his fragility, and in her no-nonsense way tells him she will be distracted making sure he is alright. Adrian reminds her that he has been living on Asgard for over half his life now, and equally wants to make sure both she and his sister are safe. They conclude by Sif telling him that she will respect whatever decision he makes.
Loki commissions Odin's help in making Annie Asgardian armor via magic (look up: Josh Nizzi's Thor Dark World concept art for Valkyrie - the one with the helmet; picture it with lace up pants and dark blue/gold color scheme, though, and take away the wing theme; replace helmet with an open headdress) by simply making alterations to her supersuit and adding lightweight metal pieces. She revels in her styling new duds and practices staff moves using her staff, which Loki had taken along with the rest of her battle goodies from the apartment. Loki pushes her hard once more to make sure she is prepared, and then they make love on what might be their last night together.
Eww. And now, to battle!
On Earth, the Avengers gear up. Selvig's "map of the ancients" brings them to Midgard's Convergence point, Greenwich. The Avengers lie in wait, while at home in NY Jane furiously works on her machine, trying to get it to work as a transport. Pepper and Darcy watch the news in dismay, waiting restlessly for something to happen. On Asgard, Thanos heads towards the Bifrost and is perturbed that it is quiet...too quiet. He openly discusses with the Other that intends to take most of his Chitauri with him to earth to send them through the Convergence portals and take over the Nine Realms in one swoop. Asgardian spies relay this back to our freedom fighters. (except...I'm pretty sure I said there was still no bifrost, right? IDK what I was thinking at this point, oh well!) After he has left, the real trouble begins. Sigmund, Adrian, and Sif crawl aboard a longship and quietly approach the Chitauri mothership below the sensors Loki told them about, every moment expecting to be killed and find out the hard way that they cannot trust him. But they get through undetected and find that yes, he was telling the truth. Loki takes off the manacles now that both Thanos is off-planet and he's proven he can be trusted as part of the plan. He and Odin part ways with a nice father-son moment. Odin continues to the palace whereas Loki, Anna, and co continue to the Bifrost because transporting so many will be a drain Loki can't afford. They leave behind Volstagg to defend the Bifrost and bring them back if necessary, since the guy is practically a wall.
They do not have Heimdall to tell them where to land, so the battalion rides the Bifrost to Avengers Tower, which turns out (as you know) to be wrong. Anna explains what is going on to Darcy, Pepper, and Jane, and it takes convincing as well as Hogun and Fandral to back her up. The ladies concede that they'd have nothing to gain by coming back if they weren't actually there to help. Darcy is the quickest to give in and tells Anna she missed her. Loki is intrigued by Jane's work, and while she is first suspicious of his intent she warms up when Loki speaks science to her, and actually helps her puzzle out how to make her machine work by breaking down what he does with magic in simple terms that Thor was not able to provide (once again, convenient). Darcy, Pepper, and Jane agree to use Jane's mini Bifrost to take Anna, Loki, and their soldiers to the battlefront if they agree to bring the ladies with.
On the battlefront, Tony gets a ping that Pepper has used a suit and Loki has entered the building. It's not looking good for the Avengers already - it's twofold the debacle that was New York, with Thanos himself presiding over the battle - so he really did not need this distraction. He calls to the team that they have been duped since Loki is attacking home base, but suddenly an Einherjar darts between Tony and an oncoming Chitauri and cuts down the enemy. Surprised, the team is taken aback by the sudden appearance of some people they very much did not anticipate: Pepper, glowing with a fresh dose of Tony's corrected Extremis serum and absolutely shredding through Chitauri footmen; Darcy in one of the Iron Man suits, blasting away and generally having a blast; Jane, at the sidelines, wearing Asgardian armor and a slightly altered variant of Thor's helmet, using her device to suddenly swap Chitauri in front of waiting Einherjar for easy pickings; Fandral and Hogun, cutting a swath through the Chitauri back to back; the Einherjar, of course; and finally, Loki and Annie, both staff fighting in the heart of the mess. The Avengers quickly rearrange to meet up with their new benefactors so that the couples can pair up to protect each other.
In the space above Asgard, Sif and co infiltrate the Chitauri ship. The Chitauri are ultimately dimwitted and violent, with their strength remaining solely in numbers; nonetheless they have a reasonably easy time reaching the command tower, which they disable.
Odin makes mincemeat of the Chitauri legion left behind in the palace. They free Heimdall and Frigga, neither of which are harmed too greatly.
On Earth, the Chitauri collapse, and things seem to be going pretty well. The Avengers and Co approach Thanos, but he doesn't seem too fussed. The Convergence is happening in full swing, with portals in the sky and the whole shebang. Thanos holds the Tesseract and uses it to open a new portal through which even more Chitauri enter, heading for the other realms' portals and earth alike. Loki hides Anna behind him just in time for Thanos to focus on him, mocking him for thinking it would be that easy to double cross Thanos, the Mad Titan, Lover of Death. The fighting begins again, this time worse than before. Einherjar fall, Hawkeye is pinned up on a building, Darcy is forced to retreat to protect Jane, Steve and Thor are both wounded in covering them, though not gravely.
On Asgard, Sif and Co return triumphant, only to be told that their efforts were for naught. There is a final rally cry, and the remaining Einherjar, Sif and Co, Volstagg, and Frigga and Odin band together to go down to Earth and help with the last stand.
Even with the newly appeared reinforcements, the Chitauri are overwhelming in number. More people are falling injured: Sigmund's sword is shattered, and he loses his hand with the sword; Anna is cut across the face, and even though it slowly heals, the blood turns her unrecognizable; Tony is flagging, and Thor and Steve are both hindered by their wounds. Anna is killed and loses a life, beginning the 8th; the price was losing her healing factor going forward. She wakes uneasily, cleaving to Loki's side. Thanos and Odin are going head to head when the unthinkable happens: Odin falls to Thanos, slain. Frigga, Thor, and Loki are all horrified, but it is Thor that of course charges stupidly across the battlefield to avenge his father. He is slow, and saved from death only by Loki teleporting and pushing him out of the way. A killing blow meant for Thor is only a glancing wound for Loki due to the angle, but he is down all the same. Thor scrambles to do something, but the wheels are already in motion: Thanos clutches Loki, and Thor stands to lose another family member. He lays down his hammer reluctantly.
The fighting grinds to a stop as more people are injured and/or taken hostage, not just Loki. Thanos offers a truce: he will leave earth alone and release all hostages (still invading all the other worlds) if "The Girl Who Defies Death" will step forward. Anna doesn't hesitate and draws attention to herself despite the protest of her once friends. Thanos is triumphant when he sees her, and drops Loki only to pin him to the ground through the shoulder with a sharp blade. Annie begins to cry as Loki begs her not to give up, but approaches Thanos nonetheless. He thanks her and right there, in front of everyone, kills her straight off the bat.
On the other side, the two figures greet Anna solemnly and warn her this is the last life, and the price for living the 9th and final life is this: if she goes up against Thanos again, she will find a way to defeat him but will herself perish in the process. Anna agrees and is sent back to waking.
The shadowy figures that Anna converses with in the other side have another scene to themselves. It's a heated discussion: the sassy one, Yellow, again extols on how she doesn't understand why they are doing this, and Blue tells her that she will see soon enough. Blue points out that this is against the rules, and the Norns are going to freak; Blue points out that Yellow visits her deceased father in his nightmarish afterlife and that is also against the rules. Yellow cedes the point.
On Earth, Anna wakes one more time. She is on the ground near Thanos's as he gives a speech about Lady Death and his love for her, and how he is giving her the greatest marriage gift. Eww. Everyone is still hostage. As Annie opens her eyes, she makes eye contact with Loki, who slowly, carefully shakes his head. Anna predictably ignores him and climbs to her feet, catching Thanos's attention. She tells him that she has seen Lady Death, and was told to send a message: he needs to release his hostages and face her alone, for his Lady will think him a coward if not. Thanos signals for the Chitauri to release their hostages and all hell breaks loose. In the chaos, Anna and Thanos fight one more time, but she makes the ultimate sacrifice by running them both through.
When Thanos dies, the remaining Chitauri power down, but suddenly reinforcements from the other realms begin pouring through the portals, led by Freyr despite his earlier protests. They help destroy the remaining Chitauri.
Indifferent, Loki cradles Anna, who has gone gray and dull in final death.
Anna meets Blue and Yellow in purgatory once more, though this time it's completely different. The landscape begins to sketch itself into a living, breathing garden, and before her eyes Blue and Yellow finally take their true forms. Blue is Idunn, who in this story is the Goddess of Life and Prophecy, and appears in the form of a child (think: the Childlike Empress); she is familiar to Anna in some way. Yellow is likewise familiar, but she takes the form of a tall, beautiful woman with long dark hair and one blue eye. The other half of her face is gray with an odd birthmark that makes her skin appear gray and wrinkled. Anna cannot place her.
Idunn reveals her place in Anna's life: she changes forms and appears as Anna's long dead little sister, and Anna begins to weep at the reunion. Idunn tells Anna that she and Hela had to make sure that she fulfilled the prophecy, or "all would be lost". Hela looks sharply at Anna and then Idunn, but says nothing. They walk through the garden, before Anna finally asks what is happening below and confesses that it's hard to leave not knowing if everyone is going to be okay. Idunn commends her for making such a heroic decision despite knowing what she had to lose, and tells her that as a reward she is willing to grant Anna one last life under one condition: she only has one, and she lives it to the fullest. Anna predictably accepts, and Idunn has her lean down so she can kiss her on the forehead. When she is at Idunn's level, Idunn tells her that she is freeing her of all previous curses as well, and Anna drifts into what feels like sleep peacefully.
(I will interrupt at this time to say that a good chunk of this story climax has been written on the spot based on vague recollections, intact lists of each life and its "price", and what makes the most sense based on the trajectory of the story because much of the notes have been lost to the moving gods and time. This next paragraph is what I did find and adapt from past notes of this part...and it's rather unnecessary? I have included it nonetheless for posterity's sake.)
The next chapter is fully from Hela's perspective, explaining what is going on from her perspective. As she watches Anna disappear, she turns to Idunn and demands to know if that was her mother. When Idunn confirms, Hela realizes that her memories are starting to change and fade away. In a "once upon a time" cutscene, Hela's sad life history is revealed.
In an alternate timeline/universe, Anna did not have nine lives, it was just her powers that drew her to the Avengers by sheer circumstance. The events afterward and her connection with Loki were similar, with two notable differences: she fell pregnant by him, and when they found out he betrayed her to the Avengers to keep them both safe. In order to not take risks, he rejoined Thanos on Asgard, who wanted Thor rather than Anna as he did in this story. Loki became a bad guy again to keep Anna safe, thereby not completing his rehabilitation. He turned on Thanos when he saw Anna on the battlefield and was killed in the process, but the distraction was enough for Thor to kill Thanos. Anna birthed Hela on her own but ended up handing her off to Odin, who never realized the err of his ways, to raise instead; Hela grew as a sort of pariah (sins of the father and all) and when was only a teen Odin sent her away to the realm of death, giving her the title Goddess of Death. Once crossing to the other side where Idunn also dwelled, Hela found that her father had been imprisoned for all eternity in what equates to hell, chained beneath a tree as a snake drips venom upon him. Hel visits her father from time to time, holding a bowl above him to keep him from being burned until she leaves. Idunn, seeing the plight of Hela, Loki, and Anna, felt a certain amount of empathy and kinship and sought to fix the family and change the events for the better. Since she was also shunned by most of Asgard, and raised Hela when Hela was sent to the other side, she felt maternal and protective over her and considers Hela family . She inserted herself into the mix by changing Anna's life subtly. Annie didn't have a sister originally, but Idunn put herself in the role, changing Anna's childhood. When she returned to the other side at the death of Annie's sister, Idunn wove a new tapestry of prediction and saw the prophecy that Anna would now kill Thanos. Idunn convinced Hel, who never knew her mother, to give Anna nine lives because of this prophecy, which Hel begrudgingly agreed to since, quote, "your savior can't seem to stay alive". Idunn excused this all to the Norns by showing Anna and Loki's heroic actions and defeat of Thanos, especially that Loki's heart has been changed (by love?). The Norns and Idunn predict a different, brighter future for all mankind, for which the Norns thank Idunn before telling her not to meddle so much again.
Hela begins to relive new, happy memories in her past, the first being holding hands with both of her parents on a white sand beach, and embraces Idunn, calling her "aunt".
On earth, the Convergence is finally ending. I also think this will be the last time you read that word, yay! The Chitauri have been defeated, and all of the otherworld warriors have gone home to their respective realms, except a few delegates from other worlds, including Skadi of Jotunheim and Freyr, who stay to converse with Frigga, the new regent of Asgard for the time being. They keep their distance respectfully as the family grieves, though. Odin has been laid out respectfully, with his cape draped over him like a sheet, and Thor holds his mother as she quietly cries...not just for Odin. Nearby, Loki refuses to leave Anna and cradles her head in his lap. Her brother, Adrian, also weeps at his side. The Avengers begin to approach, and just when it seems like all hope is lost…
Ya'll know what's happening next.
Life begins to return to Anna, and she wakes. Loki keeps telling "Anastasia" to wake, but with all of her curses now gone, she can finally remember her true name. She corrects him as she wakes, "My name is Eleanora", and asks why everyone is crying, before immediately crying herself. Everyone takes turns embracing and crying.
The next chapter would be your happy ending chapter. Darcy and Steve get together, and she teaches him the wonders of iPods and electro swing. Peter and Gwen go on a date. Thor takes Jane to Asgard for a vacation after it's fixed up. Tony and Pepper get it on, Bruce is finally able to get through Pride and Prejudice without being interrupted, Clint and Natasha go visit their daughter. Loki and Anna have a romantic walk down a beach at sunset, and Anna swims in the ocean.
(there was supposed to be a scene somewhere where Anna meets Professor X and Magneto, but honestly at this point I wouldn't even know where to put it in.)
Time skip: we would have had one final chapter where Anna gives birth to her and Loki's child, and as soon as she sees her daughter's face, she knows exactly who she is. She laughs a bit, and cries with joy, and pets her daughter's gray, birthmarked face, and tells Loki that her name is Hela.
We sign off with a peek into the future at the island getaway Odin modeled his astral plane after. Frigga, now retired, accompanies Anna and Loki, Thor and Jane, and Adrian and Sif (Adrian, Jane, and Anna were given apples of Idunn, named for the goddess of life, in order to gain immortality) on an island vacation. The grandkids are of course present: Hela, who is now older, and her younger cousin Baldr. Sif cradles her newborn daughter on the porch while she and Adrian watch the two other kids play. Anna, pregnant again, teases Loki that their son is going to be just as energetic, judging by how much he kicks, and while they talk it is subtly dropped that Loki has been made king of Asgard rather than Thor. Something no doubt sugary sweet is said about them living happily ever after, and this is where the story would end.
I genuinely hope that in some way, this lives up to your expectations and/or satisfies you. I'd love to hear what you have to say! Let me know if you'd like a sneak peek of the new story and I'll post it up for you. In the meantime, take care and stay safe.
Best of wishes,