Hi Guys!
Weclome and sorry this chapter is so late. Christmas got in the way and I just didn't have the time. But I was determined to have this out before new year so here we are.
This chapter is a little change a pace so I've got my fingers crossed you enjoy it that I've done justice to some of my faviourite characters.
Thank you as always for the follows, favs and reviews. I apricate them all.
I hope you all have a fantastic new year and that 2020 will get off to a great start for you!
Cheers!
D.S x
Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, the Avengers or any other of Marvel's various properties
9
"We s…shouldn't have left h…him."
"It was an order; we can't disobey an order from a Prince of Asgard."
"B…but-"
Sigyn sighed, as her and Leif continued up the corridor and towards where the noise of battle was coming from. She didn't want to admit it, but she also didn't want to leave Prince Loki behind. He may be an irritating, spoiled Princeling, but after all they had been through, after what he had said she had grown rather fond of him.
Though the Healers Apprentice had to wonder why she had even thought it was a good idea to come on this half-cocked adventure in the first place. At first, she hadn't taken the Prince seriously, believing that he was talking nonsense all that time ago in the Healing Hall. But even when they had made it to Yggdrasil, Leif accidently tagging along, she hadn't protested or even seriously considered turning back.
"There's s…some stairs."
Snapping out of her musing, Sigyn turned her attention ahead, gripping the Seidr crystal tight in her hand as Leif eased himself towards a set of stairs that went up, connecting with other walkways, disappearing higher into the flying beast.
"Don't head up too far," Sigyn said as Leif raised his sword. "The Prince just wants us to scout what's happening, a quick look and then we'll head back."
Leif nodded, pressing close to the wall, Sigyn just behind. Together they carefully moved to the stairs. Leif took a breath then quickly jogged halfway up the first flight before stopping, shoulders tense in anticipation.
A beat of silence.
"There's n…no one h…here."
"Really?" Sigyn asked, furrowing her brow in confusion as she pushed forward to look around Leif. The Valet was right, the stairs and walkways above were empty, though the sounds of battle could still be heard, but the wail of sirens had ceased. "But that -"
Suddenly a shattering crash came from above, it rattled the stairs and had both children clinging tightly to the rail as the stairs dipped dangerously beneath them.
"What was that?!" Sigyn heard Leif shout, but she didn't get time to answer as another great crash came from above, forcing both to look up, only to feel their insides clench in terror. Sigyn gasped as something large fell through the stairs and walkways, destroying them as it descended, accompanied by an inhuman roar.
She didn't think, her body moving before her mind could catch up and talk her out of the action. Funnelling Seidr from the crystal she snapped her hand up towards Leif, blasting him with the concentrated Seidr to send him tumbling back towards the landing they had come up from. She was just in time, as whatever was crashing down from above hit the stairs, she was perched on, ripping them from their supports to send them falling out from beneath her feet.
"Lady Sigyn!" was the last the Apprentice heard from the Valet as she started to fall. Pieces of metal debris went with her, clanging together to create a cacophony of noise. Sigyn tried to right herself, even as she continued to fall. Her chest was tight as her heart thumped dangerously as panic started to well. Luckily, she didn't need to think too clearly for her Seidr to save her life. The crystal that she still held flared, channelling with her own Seidr to envelope the Apprentice in a protection shield just before she hit the ground. It was still a hard landing, the breath was knocked out of her as and the metal floor dented to create a circular crater at her landing, but Sigyn was saved from worse injury. The metal debris fell around her, cracking against the Seidr shield only to bounce off, leaving her unharmed. Sigyn curled into herself as a rather large piece struck at the centre of the shield, causing the Seidr to waver slightly, fortunately it held.
All fell quiet, the distant sound of shouts and shots echoing in the dark space Sigyn had fallen into. Her Seidr shield flickered one final time before it dissolved, shattering the crystal in her fingers as the last of the stored Seidr was wrenched from it.
Groaning Sigyn pushed herself up, the shards falling with a tinkle from her robes.
"Where am I?" she muttered, glancing around, eyes narrowed as though it would help her see through the gloom. Shadowy square shapes surrounded her, though most are broken under the deluge of debris that had fallen. Splinters of light shined down through the gaping hole above where she had fell through. Sigyn left out a relieved breath, dusting off her hand. "Thank the Norns for Seidr crystals," she mumbled, making a mental note not to mention this to the Princeling, he wouldn't let her forget that it was his Seidr that had more than likely saved her life. Though she had to admit he must have quite the reserve to place such a large amount of his power in a crystal. Lady Eir had taught her how dangerous storing Seidr could be and that it was not recommended to have more than one Seidr crystal. Prince Loki had given her three, two already having been used. Sighing, Sigyn got to her feet, wincing as her joints ached, the shield may have saved her from serious harm, but her body felt bruised and battered. Looking up at the hole above her head she called, "Leif?"
She didn't expect a reply, the Valet had been pushed clear and was more than likely panicking somewhere above, but Sigyn couldn't help but ask anyway. Though you could imagine her shock when she heard something move in the dark beside her. Tensing, Sigyn spun to peer into the shadows, the filtered light from the hole didn't reach that far, so Sigyn could see nothing but blackness.
"Whose there?" she asked, which only elicited a groan and something large being shifted aside. "Come out, I won't hurt you. Something crashed from above and I …"
Sigyn's words trailed off as whatever was moving around in the dark slowly stumbled forward. Sigyn had to crane her neck back to take in the whole creature, it towered above her, large muscled body bigger than even the strongest Asgardian, Sigyn could only liken it to the stories of Jotnar, giants that could dwarf any other being in the Nine Realms. Only this giant was green instead of blue, little clothing covering its form apart from a pair of ripped trousers that hid genitalia. Eyes that while human in look and appearance held nothing but rage, all directed at her.
The Green Giant squared its shoulders and roared, Sigyn flinched, unable to hide the fear that welled up in her chest. Fortunately, it did not damper her primal instincts and she turned on her heel and ran.
She didn't need to look behind her to know that the creature was following, the bellowing and roaring along with the crash and clang of things being shoved out of the way, was enough to alert her to the danger she was in.
She dashed down corridors; her eyes having adjusted to the gloom, darting this way and that in a vain hope to lose her pursuer. A set of heavy doors appeared before her, in panic she summoned her Seidr, accessing the limited range of household spells she knew, she threw them open. Light stung her eyes as she emerged in the space that herself, Loki and Leif had sneaked through all that time ago. Some of the strange metal machines that had been sat inside were gone, but Sigyn didn't focus on that, turning she cast her Seidr back at the doors, closing them along with forcing the lock closed. She didn't know if it would do much good, but if it could buy her time.
"Put your hands up!"
The shout from behind her had the Apprentice whirling, snapping one shaky palm up while the over dug into her bag for another Seidr crystal only to find shattered shards where it should have been. She held in the need to curse, it must have broken in her fall, that left her with only her own power and as much as she hated admitting it, he well of Seidr did pale in comparison to the Princes. She shivered as the circle of black clad Midgardians surrounded her, those strange devices which Loki had called guns aimed out in front of them, all pointed at her.
"Step away from the door, Miss," one Midgardian demanded.
"No, you don't understand, there's -"
A loud bang echoed behind her, along with another and another. It didn't last long however until the locked door caved, and the Green Giant pushed their way inside. The effect on the Midgardians was instant, they turned their weapons from Sigyn, giving her the opportunity to dive out of the way, hiding behind a stack of wooden boxes, while they sprayed the Green Giant with small metal projectiles. It did all of nothing to the creature, only made it more enraged. With another animalistic roar it charged the Midgardians, scattering them like birds before a cat. With a swing of its mighty fist several of the Midgardians were sent flying, to land with sickening cracks to the floor, deathly still.
Sigyn watched in wide eyed terror at the carnage, the Green Giant moved to one of the flying machines, gripping it in its large fists, muscles straining at it started to wrench it from its place.
It didn't last long as more Midgardians descended on the creature, shooting at it from all sides. The Green Giant bellowed again, abandoning the flying machine to beat at the Midgardians. The black clad mortals fled, retreating out into the open air, the Giant following. When it emerged however one of the flying machines dropped out of the sky and started shooting along with the mortals on the ground. Sigyn watched as the Green Giant roared, swatting at the projectiles, angrily. Sigyn couldn't help but feel sadness, even with all the rage and anger, she could feel the fear that emanated from the creature. Its Seidr chaotic and uncontrolled, but it didn't feel like a mindless creature at all.
With awe she could only stare as the Green Giant started to run, right at the flying machine where with a single bound it landed on the top of it, tackling it out of sight as it started to fall. Not willing to watch more, Sigyn retreated to the doors, disappearing back inside. She had to find Leif and Loki.
Though that was easier said than done. It was a mess inside, with the Midgardians having fled to engage in battle. Sigyn was careful to make sure none of the lingering Midgardians saw her, she didn't know that handy invisibility spell Prince Loki had access to. Eventually she made it to some stairs. She was quick to descend, hoping she would be able to find her way to where Amora was being held. Leif would have more than likely headed back to the Prince; she could only hope nothing had happened.
She sprinted along gangways and downstairs, not knowing if she was going the right way. As she was making her way down to another landing she paused as she heard the unmistakable sounds of fighting. Hesitating for a moment she bit her lip before easing closer. With care she peered around the bottom of the stairs only to see two Midgardians fighting each other hand to hand. She recognised one, the red-haired woman they had followed to Amora's prison. She was fighting a man that Sigyn didn't know but appeared to be holding him off well.
Sigyn was not a warrior, but you couldn't live on Asgard and not be exposed to the culture and she had to admit the style of fighting the Midgardians used intrigued her. It was so unlike the brutish tactics most Asgardian warriors favoured, appearing more dancer like, like a Seidr wielder casting an offensive spell. In a way it reminded her of the Young Prince, graceful, yet deadly in calculated strikes.
Suddenly the male Midgardian produced a knife and started to slash at the red head, Romanoff, Sigyn was sure her name was. Romanoff dodged the attack, grabbing his arm to twist it. The male withered, but didn't cry out in pain, instead he tossed the knife from his trapped arm to his free one, slashing at Romanoff once again. The woman was forced to release him in order to avoid the second attack. Gripping the appendage, they both went down with the force of the attack, Romanoff on her back with the male poised above her, keeping them locked in a struggle of strength. Sigyn panicked as the knife started to come down towards Romanoff, stepping out of her hiding place.
"Hey!" she called, causing both Midgardians to turn and stare at her. The male Midgardian frowned, the knife wavering, but that was all Romanoff needed. She bit his wrist drawing a trickle of blood. This time the male couldn't help but hiss as he let go of the knife. Romanoff didn't give him time to recover, lifting her legs to wrap them around his neck, she squeezed them tight, choking him. She flipped them on to their sides so that the male hit a metal pipe railing with a harsh clang. The male Midgardian groaned as Romanoff released him, standing to her feet to look at him. He blinked up at her, face twisted in confusion, but she didn't hesitate in pulling back a fist and hitting him square in the head, knocking him clean out.
The silence which fell was heavy, Sigyn twisted her hands then slowly started to come closer. Romanoff startled at the movement, hands going to her belt which still housed various weapons.
"Please," Sigyn stopped raising her hands in surrender. "I mean you no harm, I simply thought it would be prudent to check his injuries."
Romanoff didn't move, staring at Sigyn for an uncomfortable length of time. Though finally she nodded, taking a step back giving the signal for Sigyn to approach, though she didn't move her hands from her belt.
"Thank you," Sigyn let out a relieved breath, coming to kneel at the mortal's side. Some bruising was starting to show, along with a lump from where he had been knocked on the head. Lifting her hands, she relaxed as the familiar healing Seidr came at her command.
"What is that?" Romanoff demanded. "What are you doing?"
"I'm checking his injuries and healing what I can, though my Seidr isn't as strong as it usually is." Sigyn's brow furrowed as she spoke. "His mind is a bit of mess, I can feel trace energies of Seidr, though they seem to have stabilised. The knock you gave to his head will heal easily, apart from a few scratches his unharmed."
"That's good, very good," Sigyn suddenly stiffened as she felt something cold nuzzle the back of her neck, she didn't need to look to know it was some form of weapon. "But now you need to tell me who you are and what you're doing on a Shield Helicarrier."
"Lady Sigyn!" Leif shouted as the Healer's Apprentice fell along with the stairs and various other pieces of metal debris. "Oh N…Norns, oh Norns," the Valet continued to panic, peering over the now large hole where the stairs used to be. "Lady Sigyn!" he called again, only to hear the distant sounds of fighting and the clang of falling metal for his trouble.
The Valet didn't know when things had gone so wrong. Actually, that was a lie, it had all gone wrong since he had accidently gotten himself involved in the messy business of Prince Loki. Not that he blamed the Young Prince. Of course not, Prince Loki was a kind and generous master and treated Leif with more respect that he thought he deserved. Not many nobles would put up with his stutter, as his Brother was so fond of reminding him. No, he only wished that his stuttering cowardice hadn't stopped him from standing up to his Prince a little more. They never should have allowed him to send them away, look at what had happened.
Scrambling away from the hole, Leif clutched his sword. He would head back to the Prince, he had to tell him about what happened to Sigyn. Suddenly he pulled up short.
"But what if L…Lady Sigyn's h…hurt," Leif muttered to himself. "S…she could be dy…dying!" the last thought caused a rapid change in plan. Instead of running back down towards where Loki remained with Amora, Leif frantically took one of the corridors that intersected his own, searching for another set of stairs that would hopefully lead him downwards.
He couldn't leave Sigyn down there if she was hurt. Prince Loki would never forgive him if he did. Sure, the two snarled and barred their teeth at each other, but Leif was positive that underneath it all there was a grudging respect and even admiration between the two Seidr wielders.
Unfortunately, Leif didn't have Seidr and so couldn't rely on it to guide his way. Instead he had to trust his instincts which it seemed were leading him nowhere. Though as he moved through corridors, he couldn't help but notice the disarray they were in, as though a blast had taken place within them, leaving a mess behind. The dark didn't help either, Leif wished there were some widows in the flying beast, as it was difficult to get a feel of where he was surrounded by the gloom. As he reached another fork in the corridor he cursed.
"I only w…want to find some s…stairs," he muttered in frustration. He eyed the two corridors, both looked identical so that did nothing to guide Leif. There were no Midgardians around either, Leif assumed they had fled the area when whatever had caused the flying machine to lurch in such a way struck. Even though he didn't want to be seen, it might have been better if some still lingered, he could have followed them or even, he swallowed nervously, threatened them for some answers.
A sharp blast suddenly came from the right. Leif jumped, startled, what was that? He took a step closer. There was no one down there that he could see, but along with the initial shot, there were several others along with the cries and shouts of a fight. Leif glanced at the left corridor, he had no other indicators and if people were in the area then there must be some access to other floors. Clutching his sword tightly Leif marched forward, keeping close to the wall in case anyone appeared.
The sounds grew louder, and Leif slowed his pace, a wind also buffeted at his hair. The Valet frowned at the breeze, did this lead outside? The corridor turned slightly, and Leif paused to peer around the end. The corridor ended not too far ahead, though the badly damaged exit was swarmed by the black clad bodies of several Midgardians. Leif could see some were on the floor, unmoving, while overs where pointing those, what did Prince Loki say they were called? Guns that was it. They were firing those guns at something that was out of Leif's sight range.
Leif watched as the fight continued, shots raining from both sides as the wind continued to howl. Peering beyond the fight Leif was shocked to see part of the flying beast had been destroyed, leaving a gaping hole where part of the machine had probably been at some point. Leif had to wonder what could have caused such devastation, as far as he was aware Midgardians didn't have the capacity to cause such destruction, they were simple creatures. Supposedly.
Finally, only one black clad Midgardian was left, back to the wall as they edged forward, shots blasting off into the unknown.
Suddenly the floor beneath Leif's feet lurched. The Valet yelped as he stumbled, but he was able to grab a hold of the wall to keep himself steady, though the same could not be said of the black clad Midgardian. They were thrown off their feet, along with their opponent, who Leif was surprised to see was the shield warrior from Stuttgart.
The warrior was the most unfortunate though, as the floor continued to tilt dangerously, he lost his footing and slid clean off the broken edge of the flying beast. Leif gasped, though his horror was delayed as the warrior grabbed a hold of a long wire which stopped him from flying right out into the sky. However, the black clad Midgardian had gotten back to their feet and were advancing on the now fallen warrior.
Leif narrowed his eyes as the Midgardian raised their gun, ready and prepared to take out the warrior while he was struggling. Leif may be a simple Valet, but he was a citizen of Asgard, and Asgardians believed in honour, even between enemies. Of course, they were willing to fight dirty, especially in war. But they were honourable to their opponents and would try to avoid striking a blow while their enemy was already on their knees.
Determination surging through him Leif ran forward, sword out as he rammed at the black clad Midgardian, knocking them off their feet and to the floor, the shot from their gun going wild away from the warrior and Leif. The Midgardian didn't stay down for long though, but Leif was ready, shifting into a shaky stance, one that all boys were taught in their school days, but never got the chance to advance upon due to their station, Leif set his face grimly as he eyed the Midgardian.
"S…surrender or I…I'll -" Leif wasn't given the opportunity to finish his sentence as the Midgardian raised their gun and shot at the Valet. Leif squeaked and ducked aside, though he didn't stay still for long as he charged at the Midgardian, the small metal projectiles missing the Asgardian so that he could come under his guard, sword coming up to slash at the Midgardians chest. The strike, much to Leif's surprise was true, the sword Prince Loki had gifted him with slicing through the layers of the Midgardians clothing and right to the flesh beneath. Unknown to Leif such an act should have been far more difficult, due to the protective armour covering the Midgardian, but Asgardian swords were made of materials that far out striped that of Midgard.
The black clad Midgardian gasped before falling to the floor. Leif stared wide eyed as his opponent fell before him. He stood there, shock keeping him in place as his mind caught up to his body.
"I…I did it," he whispered, the adrenaline surge from the small brief battle thrumming through him. "I d…defeated him."
"Yeah that's great kid, but right now I think you're in some serious trouble."
Leif snapped his head up, letting out a fearful yelp at the red and gold armour of the Midgardian Stark hovered before him, one burning palm up and pointed at him, while the shield warrior had struggled to his own feet. One moving from a red lever to be held out to Leif, palm up.
"Just hand over the sword son, we don't want to hurt you."
Leif bit his lip, eyeing both of the Midgardian's in trepidation. Finally, he took the hilt of his sword and threw it towards the shield warrior.
"Thank you," the Midgardian smiled as he picked up, while Stark spoke out loud though obviously not directed at either Leif or the shield warrior.
"Fury, the engines back up and running, though we've found an uninvited guest."
Fury eyed the two children sat before him in the conference room warily along with the rest of the rag tag team he had assembled. Even Barton, who had come around miraculously not under the control Amora had placed him under, though he still seemed a little unsure on his feet, what with Romanoff hovering close to him. Banner was missing having run off in the form of the Hulk, then there was Coulson. Fury pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, fixing his focus on the two irritants that were making his day that much more of a headache.
"So, let me get this straight, you're from Asgard?"
"Yes," the girl, Sigyn answered stiffly.
"And you came here with someone called Prince Loki to defeat Amora and take her back?"
"P…Prince Loki wished t…to seek his just r…revenge," the quiet stuttering boy, Leif said. Fury raised his only visible eyebrow.
"And you thought you could do this? A group of kids?"
"We may look like children to you," Sigyn huffed in indignation. "But we far out strip you in age."
"Age pales in comparison to experience," Romanoff countered, which had Sigyn blushing. "I take it that by Asgardian standards you are all considered children?"
Neither of the two intruders answered, only shared a look between themselves before turning back to Fury.
"Has there b…been any sign o…of Prince L…Loki?" Leif asked nervously. Fury sighed before turning to Stark who was already working with his AI, Jarvis on various holograms which kept his full attention.
"Stark?"
"Yeah, yeah keep your hair on Patches," Fury gritted his teeth at the inventor before Stark let out a victorious cry. "Ah, there we are, I knew it had to be on the system somewhere, you spies and your cameras."
Fury didn't bother to respond as Stark enlarged his hologram so everyone in the room could see it. He subtly watched the two Asgardians, who didn't appear shocked at the technology. He had to wonder if they were even impressed, what with being alien space Vikings from what he could understand from their story.
The image of the glass prison which held Amora came to life before them all. Unfortunately, there was no sound, as the camera was a discrete hidden one, so Fury was forced to read lips. It started with Romanoff's interrogation before shifting to when she left. He watched the crazy blonde bint in the cage as she said something, only for three children to appear out of nowhere.
"Ok, pause," Stark exclaimed, the image stilling at his command. "How the heck did you do that?" He pointed an accusing finger at Leif, who sputtered under the hard, intense glare.
"I…I -"
"It was Prince Loki's invisibility spell," Sigyn explained in the poor boy's stead. "Quite impressive for such a simple use of Seidr, I think he must have tweaked it, since it works even better than described in the texts."
Stark opened his mouth, only for no sound to issue forth, leaving him gaping like a fish. Steve took a step closer, bending so that he was on eye level with the girl.
"What do you mean Seidr?" he asked kindly. Fury had to roll his eyes, trust Captain America to favour the gentle approach, then again, their intruders or in his opinion would be invaders were children, not that it made any difference to the leader of Shield.
"Seidr is Seidr," Sigyn shrugged, looking at Steve as though he was stupid. "We use it to power our spells."
"Spells," Stark cried, hand covering his arch reactor as though he'd been punched in the chest. "You mean like magic?"
Sigyn wrinkled her nose, "that's what the uneducated call it, but Seidr is much more than mere magic."
Stark gaped and even Romanoff raised an eyebrow, Barton twitched but kept silent, more than likely not wanting to steer the conversation into uncomfortable waters. Fury could see Steve gearing up for another irrelevant question and so commanded Stark to continue with the footage.
"Fine, fine," the inventor grumbled, and they all continued to watch as the three children came closer to Amora's glass cage.
"The one whose speaking, that's Prince Loki, right?" Romanoff asked, pointing at the child they didn't currently have in custody.
Leif nodded, "a…aye, that's our Prince."
Fury took the time to look at the kid. He was small, smaller than the two they had, with a mane of black hair and a pale, delicate looking complexion. It didn't surprise him that the child was some form of royalty, the way he carried himself was full of confidence, with a sure stride and shoulders thrown back. Fury knew that when he came face to face with this kid, he would be trouble.
"Barton," Fury barked, gaining the archers attention. He nodded at the hologram, waiting barely a moment before Barton's eyes widened in recognition.
"Shit, that's the kid."
"What kid?" Steve asked.
"The kid from the desert, you know when Co…Coulson and I went to New Mexico." He directed the last part to Romanoff, who nodded.
"Can someone please fill the rest of us in before I have to hack something?" Stark demanded, having paused the footage once again as the conversation diverged.
"It's not relevant …"
"I think it is Director Fury," Steve cut in and Fury had to stop from rubbing his temples.
"Last year there was a disturbance in the New Mexico desert. I sent Coulson and Barton to check it out. Though the reports were not what I had been expecting."
"In short, an older Viking space god showed up, calling himself Thor," Barton finished.
"Thor?" Stark frowned. "Weird name."
"He would be T…Thor, God of Thunder a…and Crown P…Prince to the Throne of A…Asgard."
All the adults turned to the children, Sigyn twiddling her fingers in impatience, while Leif shifted nervously under the scrutiny.
"You know him?" Barton asked, which caused Sigyn to huff.
"How could we not, we are citizens of Asgard, and he is our Crown Prince. Not only that but Leif is Prince Loki's Valet, personal servant," she added to Stark's confused look. "He is more exposed to the Royal family than I, even though I am apprenticed with the Royal's primary Healer."
"Do you know what he was doing on Earth?" Steve asked.
"Only what the official statement from the Royal family issued. Thor was banished, due to dangerous actions he took. During that time there was a coup on the House of Odin, which was ultimately stopped, though we all know that Amora was a part of that plan."
Stark looked intrigued and even Steve appeared interested and slightly horrified by the story. Fury quickly interceded.
"As fascinating as this is, it doesn't effect what's going on now. Keep going."
Stark restarted the footage. The scene moved on; all three children too close to the glass for anyone's liking. The sudden violence shock them all when the Prince lifted his weapon and struck the prison, causing the glass the splinter, but not shatter.
"Ok, what got emo Prince annoyed?" Stark asked.
"A…Amora was taunting h…him," Leif said, voice cool as he glared at the scene.
"Taunting him?"
"She s…spoke of A…Alviss."
"Whose Alviss?" Rogers asked the question they were all wondering about.
"He was the Steward of the House of Odin," Sigyn explained. "He died protecting Prince Loki during the coup."
Stark winced and even Fury couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy. Survivors guilt had a way of eating a person up.
The next few moments were familiar. The whole room shifted, Fury had no doubt it was from when Barton, under the control of Amora had attacked the Helicarrier. He watched as the children scrambled, the two he had disappearing off down the corridor and out of sight, leaving only the Prince behind.
It was chilling to see the small boy approach the cage, knife flipping. Fury had to hold in a curse as the door opened and the two aliens faced off.
"Idiot," he heard Sigyn mutter, while Leif bit at his lip, fidgeting nervously.
"He thinks he can take her head on?" Stark said in surprise.
"I…it's his r…right," Leif answered, though it only got him an eye roll.
"Rightfully stupid," the inventor mumbled.
Fury ignored him, his own remaining eye now rivetted to the footage as the kid made his knife disappear, replacing it with a very familiar staff.
"Where did that come from?" Stark exclaimed. "And don't even start with the seeder thing again, I'm not in the mood for magic." Sigyn snapped her mouth shut, though Fury heard her grumble.
"It's Seidr."
They watched the Prince lunge at Amora, ending up falling right through her. His shocked expression matched those of the Midgardians, though Sigyn and Leif winced as the door shut and the Prince was trapped inside.
"When did she get out?" Stark asked incredulously, fiddling with the holograms to rewind some of the footage. "I swear she was in there the whole time."
"Amora is a Seidr wielder," Sigyn muttered and Fury couldn't help but notice a tint of concern colouring her tone as she continued to watch the scene. "It is not difficult for her to teleport herself out of the prison and put an illusion in her place."
Stark gaped and even Rogers sucked in a breath, Barton shivered while Fury and Romanoff shared a look. If that intel was correct than they were right in thinking that Amora surrendered with the sole purpose of infiltrating the Helicarrier. Fury already had people working through their systems, checking and double checking for any breach.
The two missing aliens spoke for a few moments, Amora obviously enjoying her position of power over the Prince, however Fury had to hold his own reaction to the appearance of Coulson and his swift and precise demise at the hands of the blonde. The crack and a fist meeting metal shook the spectators out of their stupor. Fury sent a hard glare at Barton, who was trembling, Romanoff's fingers, which were digging into his shoulder, the only thing stopping him from reaching for his bow.
"Damn Agent, why's he always got to try and save the day?" Fury ignored Stark's mumbling, keeping his attention on the footage, though it was quickly shaken as Amora approached the control panel, pressing a button which released the bay doors beneath the prison.
"W…what's she d…doing?" Leif asked.
"That doesn't look good," Stark agreed.
"Fury," Roger started. "What -?"
All their questions were answered as Amora hit another button, releasing the glass prison so it was sent tumbling out of the bay doors and into the open sky. The young Asgardian Prince still trapped inside.
"No!" Leif shouted, lurching to his feet. "This c…cannot be." He turned to Stark, pointing a shaking finger. "Your illusion i…is false!"
"Hey, I didn't make up that video," Stark grunted, though he had the decency not to goad the kid. "I'm sorry."
"But -"
"Leif, you know the Midgardians do not lie," Sigyn spoke softly, having got to her own feet to place a consoling hand on Leif's back. The boy trembled, hands forming fists at his side as he lowered his head.
"B…but Prince Loki …"
"We're sorry about your friend," Rogers said, and Fury shook his head, turning away so he wouldn't have to watch the tears that were bound to form.
"Thank you," Sigyn bowed slightly. "We can only hope that he will be able to join up with us again soon."
Rogers blinked and even Romanoff and Barton turned to stare at the girl. Fury froze while Stark reacted with a raised eyebrow.
"Join up with you?" Stark asked. "You did just watch that footage, right?"
"Of course," Sigyn said. "You didn't believe he was dead, did you?"
"But he -" he turned eyes to Leif, who's fists were still clenched tight at his sides as he worried his lip.
"Leif tends to be over dramatic," Sigyn waved away the point. "Prince Loki would not die from such a fall. For one he is Asgardian, we may look like you, but our biology is completely different to that of a Midgardian. Plus, he has his Seidr."
Fury watched as Sigyn decided to say no more on the subject, directing her attention back to Leif, leading him to sit back down, whispering quietly in his ear.
"Your saying he's survived that fall?" Barton asked.
"Of course, so like I said, it would be best that we moved on. The Prince, when he discovers he cannot contact us, will assume we have been captured."
"Contact you? How could he do that?"
Sigyn glanced at Romanoff appraisingly before deciding to answer. "With Seidr."
"Not that again," Stark groaned.
"Just because you don't believe it does not mean it does not exist," Sigyn snapped, which had the inventor scoffing. "And yes, he would try to contact us with Seidr. However, my own power is rather … low, if he tried to contact me, I would not be able to reply."
"Y…you were able t…to b…before," Leif said.
"I had the Prince's crystals then," Sigyn pointed out, much to the confusion of everyone else. "They added to my power, which was how I was able to speak with the Prince through Seidr."
"So, he can't contact you, then what will he do?" Romanoff inquired.
Sigyn bit her lip, pausing to think before committing to her answer, though she was beaten to the punch by Leif.
"He w…will go after A…Amora. He w…won't stop until h…he d…defeats her."
"Well, he must have a better tracking system than us," Stark huffed, turning back to his holograms, swiping at them rapidly. "I can't find hide nor hair of the bimbo."
"Amora needs a power source," Rogers said thoughtfully. "If we could put together a list -"
"That would take too long," Romanoff disagreed, turning to Barton. "You have anything?"
The archer grunted, clearly uncomfortable. "I don't remember much; she never spoke to me about things like that. That's what she had Selvig for."
"But why are we even still alive?" Stark said. "Think about it, she was right here, in our home base and she didn't take the opportunity to kill us all. Heck even the kids were here, a Prince of Asgard and she didn't take the chance to take us all out?"
Fury frowned, it was annoying, but Stark had a point. Amora didn't need to allow them to capture her and doing so just to release the Hulk and gain access to Shield files, which she could have done easily through the agents under her control. It didn't make sense.
"Amora is a showman," Sigyn suddenly spoke, gaining everyone's attention. "It's in her nature to want a large crowd to watch as she performs. She always suffered from vanity; it was well known to be her greatest vice amongst other Seidr wielders."
"So, she didn't kill us so we could be her audience?" Barton said, shocked. "That's not very smart."
Sigyn shrugged, "I never said she was."
"Amora's a full tilt diva," Stark rambled on, fingers flicking fast over his holograms. "She wants flowers, she wants parades. She wants a monument built in the skies with her name plastered …" he trailed off, eyes going wide and fingers stilling before he clenched them tight, face morphing into one of indignant rage. "Sonofabitch!"
"What Stark?"
"The tower, my tower, my god damn tower!"
"What t…tower does he s…speak of?" Leif whispered in mild concern for the frantic inventor who continued to rant.
"That blonde she-devil is going to use my tower as the power source," Stark said, turning to the watching group. "It's the only building in the world with an arch reactor, so has enough juice for what she wants. Plus, its slap bang in the middle of New York."
He quickly brought up a map, enlarging it before gesturing to the two Asgardian children. "Think 8.384 million people will be a big enough of an audience for her?"
Sigyn peered at the hologram, turning to Leif, who was staring at it in fascination. "Yes, I believe so."
"Then we need to head there," Rogers said, shoulders thrown back as he took command. "Can the Helicarrier make it that far safely?"
He turned to Fury, who shrugged. "We enough juice, though it will be difficult to make it on time after we drop the casualties and kids -"
"We a…are not g…going anywhere," Fury was surprised at the confidence, even with the stutter.
"Indeed, we will not be leaving," Sigyn added. "In fact, we will be heading with you into battle."
There was a moment of silence before pandemonium broke loose.
"No!"
"You've got to be kidding me?"
"Damn kids."
"The craziness must be an Asgardian thing."
"We can't allow you to come with us," Rogers said, coming to stand before the children, who didn't so much as flinch. "It's far too dangerous."
"We are aware of the danger," Sigyn answered.
"Your kids, you're not aware of anything that doesn't look shiny," Stark grunted. "Why would you want to go anyway?"
"Prince Loki."
Fury frowned at the simple answer. "Prince Loki?"
"We will s…stand by our P…Prince's side," Leif stated, face set in determination.
"He's right," Sigyn agreed. "As much as he irritates me, we are the Prince's companions, here with him on this quest. It would not be right to abandon him on the battlefield."
The statements caused another round of arguments. All four adults trying to reason with the children, who remained steadfast in their decision. Finally, Fury had enough.
"You're not going," he growled, placing enough anger and violence behind the command that would have even a seasoned agent think twice.
"Y…you cannot s…stop us," Leif rebuffed, completely ignoring the threat. "We are c…citizens of Asgard. M…Midgard has n…no rights to d…demand we do anything."
"Besides, we could easily just sneak away from any place you decide to leave us and follow behind," Sigyn added, crossing her arms, adding her own glare. "We will go and stand by Prince Loki, one way or another."
Fury felt his temple throb, he had better, more important things he should be doing than arguing with alien children. With an aggravated sigh he surrendered. "Fine."
The remaining adults balked, though Romanoff's and Barton's were less noticeable. Fury could feel the condemning eyes of Rogers as he turned his back on the whole situation. "You can come with us to New York, but don't expect special treatment. You go out on that battlefield; you better be able to defend yourself."
The children nodded and Fury was set to walk away, only to stop as Stark squawked, "you can't be serious."
Fury paused, turning his one remaining eye to the inventor. "I'm always serious." And with that he walked away.
Once out of the conference room, leaving the hubbub and headache behind, Fury allowed his tension to overpower him, laying one hand against the wall to gather himself. He hoped he hadn't made the wrong call, but what could he do? He couldn't stop the kids even if he wanted to. They were right that he had no real power to detain them, nor could they physically, not with the powers they had displayed. It was better for them to keep them close, even if it meant putting them in danger.
With another sigh he set his shoulders back into the commanding presence of the leader of Shield. As he walked down the corridor, making his way to the main control room of the Helicarrier, he frowned at the sound of thunder rolling in the distance.
"Great, rain, just what we need right now," he grumbled, before swiftly moving to begin the preparations that would hopefully save the earth from invasion.