Amidst the chaos that happened with events of New York and later Ragnarök the memory of Asgard and its allies glows faint in the eyes of Heimdall, the gate keeper turned wanderer after the fall of Asgard. Heimdall shifted in his seat as he gazed out the window of a greyhound bus traveling across country roads on Midgard. He grunted at the rate of speed he was forced to endure. It was torture enough to be forced onto Midgard but to travel as the mortals do was even slower than the deaths of 1000 dwarf stars stuck in a super nova.
Despite his form moving slowly, his mind was racing with memories of Asgard and its people. One memory stuck out- a wedding that never happened. Everyone on Midgard knows the courtship between the mortal Jane and Thor but none dared to ask to whom the young son of Odin was originally betrothed. It was a rather interesting and puzzling story all at once. This memory is precisely why Heimdall saw it appropriate to seek the woman out.
Heimdall heard from a vagrant that there was a crippled woman living on a ranch with a strange man and his animals. He searched the land with his sight and found that she resembled the goddess from his memory. He also knew that he wouldn't be the only one looking for her, particularly now that things have become more complicated.
The bus chugged along the dirt roads and crawled passed the fields of green and grain. Heimdall kept his eyes covered with blacked out bands matched to a weaved beanie while his mind worked out the last moment he saw the goddess in her glory-far from what she became on Midgard.
"Heimdall! My love! When was the last time you slept?" the goddess draped her arms around his neck for a hug.
"I never sleep, your majesty, as Asgard and its allies would be in peril if I should keep one eye torn from such a rare beauty," Heimdall smiled warmly.
"Any news from my Uncle?"
"Nothing yet, but your father sends his regards that he will be tardy to this evenings' ceremony," Heimdall added shortly.
"Ah, I see," she hesitated, "and what of my betrothed?"
Heimdall turned his head toward the Spectral bridge and took in the moment. The daughter of Freya stood beside him and took in the long moment with him. It was her last few hours as a free goddess. Heimdall knew her heart belonged elsewhere but she wanted to please her father more than anything in the world. Thor was the first in line to receive her hand as he was the first in line for the throne and Asgard was ripe with valuable treasures, such as the Tesseract which was agreed upon in exchange for the mighty Thor's hand in marriage.
The goddess seemed unbothered by Thor's overall existence and noticeably unamused by his boasting about Asgard's glory and his father's legacy.
Heimdall grimaced at the memory of Thor's behavior before meeting with the mortal, Jane. He was a true red-blooded god of Asgard who boasted, often pig headedly and heavy with drink, about the victories of Asgard. Perhaps that's why the goddess often sought out conversations with the gatekeeper. She, like Heimdall, was seemingly searching for something deeper in the galaxy.
She sighed heavily before bidding Heimdall farewell. He offered to accompany her on the walk toward the city, but she insisted on entering alone.
"She is a rare beauty, that one, "a snake-like voice crept into the Bifrost.
"She is not yours for the taking, Loki," Heimdall added.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about," Loki replied shortly.
"Do you think me blind?"
"Yes! I think the lot of you blind," Loki growled as he kept his back turned away from the bridge.
Heimdall recalled the first day the goddess met the sons of Odin. She was presented to the King like a gift on a golden holiday. She was accompanied by her mother, Freya of Vanir, and her Uncle Eros of Titan. The three of them walked down the spectral bridge to meet the King and his two sons Loki and Thor at the halfway point from the Bifrost. The walk symbolized the joining of two worlds as allies and the union of two kingdoms in the 9 realms would be sealed at the end of a 9 week courtship- for gods and goddesses it was a period of long celebrations and gift exchanges that ended with a simple ceremony where the betrothed would meet each other at the gates of Asgard to be wed for a lifetime.
Prior to this day Loki took a special interest in the goddess. Perhaps it was because of her lighthearted nature and fondness for laughter that caught his attention. Heimdall recalled Loki's snickering laughter as a kitten climbed out from under the goddess' dress and drew Thor's blood at the introduction ceremony.
"Such a small creature with a fighting spirit! What should we call him?" Thor winced as the kitten hissed.
"Fenris?" Loki jested.
"I like Bygul," the goddess' mother smiled.
"Mother, why don't you take the creature, he seems to be quite fond of you," the young goddess smiled as she plucked the kitten from Thor's grasp.
Loki rolled his eyes as the three of them gawked at the grey kitten like it was a newborn baby. He meant for it to disrupt the ceremony, not bring everyone together.
Odin raised an eyebrow toward Loki as he sensed the prank backfired. His disproving yet pleased gaze told Loki that he would not tolerate his jokes for the next nine weeks. Loki shook his head and gazed back at the three 'love drunk' fools only to have his eyes lock with the young goddess.
She knew it was a prank gone awry, but she didn't mind and even smiled at Loki. He felt immediate relief from the sickening forced smiles and ceremonious obligations that weighed him down. He felt, for the first time in a while, comfort in the walls of Asgard. Heimdall's gaze locked on this moment as Loki's heart skipped a beat for the first time in his existence. Heimdall felt the moment Loki fell in love with Thor's bride, the goddess of Life's daughter, Sigyn.
Heimdall shifted once more in his seat as the bus slowed down to a crawl upon entering a narrow driveway. The lasting memories of the 9 weeks Thor was engaged to a woman he never really had a chance with danced like the hula girl on the dash of the bus. Its hips swayed to the rough gravel beneath much like Sigyn's waltz with King Odin the last week of the engagement.
Loki stared, begrudgingly, out the palace windows as the music blared from all corners of the hall. He didn't want to be apart of this ceremony any longer. He couldn't stand the thought of giving Sigyn away to some pig-headed oaf who only married for sport. He thought of her soft hands leaving his and being placed into the callous clutches of someone who would readily toss her off a cliff if it meant saving Asgard.
"Loki, you must respect your brother," Freya of Asgard spoke sweetly.
"He doesn't deserve her," Loki howled, "What? What is this for? Some treaty with a man who doesn't even show up to her wedding?"
"Loki, your father has decided that this union is what is best for the realms, and for Asgard. He wants what is best for all of us," Freya's words lingered.
"For all of us?" Loki paused as a plan began to formulate.
"Yes, Loki, for all of us," she smiled as she embraced her son.
"You're right mother, its high time someone do something that is best for all of us," Loki's growl turned into a bitter-sweet smile as his mind was made on stealing the Tesseract from the dungeon on Thor's wedding night.
Heimdall's eyes lifted as the bus came to a stop in front of the dusty barn at the end of the dirt road. He arose from his seat and tossed a gold coin to the driver for safe passage and pressed a finger to his lips. He didn't need anyone else knowing that he had arrived on Midgard to collect the embodiment of life. The driver nodded in silent agreement and bid him farewell. Heimdall walked, alone, down the winding road past the barn.
"I cannot let you leave Asgard with the Tesseract, Loki," Heimdall stated plainly as he continued to watch Sigyn's stride toward the city.
"Look's like you have a choice to make Heimdall. Watch the ceremony or stop me from destroying Midgard," Loki sneered.
"You are the least of Midgard's worries," Heimdall remained focused on Sigyn.
Loki grew angry as he unleashed his magic to force open the Bifrost. He held the Tesseract in the air and spun around to Heimdall.
"This is your last chance—"Loki was cut off by the arrival of a large air ship that dipped past the Bifrost.
Heimdall's gaze crossed over to the ship that had maneuvered its way toward Sigyn. The ship swung to its side to reveal a large, muscular being exiting the vessel and touching down to meet with Sigyn. She smiled, respectfully, as she bowed to her father, Thanos of Titan.
"As I said, Loki, you are the least of Midgard's worries," Heimdall began to turn to Loki, who had already disappeared from the Bifrost and began his quest to conquer Midgard.