Enjoy!
The three stood around Hadia's desk in her office, the book's cover glimmering in the lamp light. The young woman and Sebastian stood on each side of Saga, who sat in the chair. She tapped her fingers on the wood nervously. She felt the weight of the world on her shoulders as she watched the book. Her stomach burned with anxiety and her heart was in her throat. Hadia placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. She looked up and the woman smiled.
"Are you ready?" Hadia asked softly.
"Kind of," Saga admitted," I just...we hear about curses and spells that hurt people. You know how afraid I am to hurt people…"
"Saga," Sebastian stepped forward," We won't let anyone get hurt. When we go to any town in search of your mom or dad, we'll get citizens to safety-we promise."
Saga knew her family would keep their promises. Poli did and they would too. Saga thanked the two and turned back to the book. With a deep breath, she opened the book and looked deeply at the yellowing pages. Hadia and Sebastian leaned in, reading the dark and faded ink. The young woman leaned in at the top of the page, where there was a few lines written in red ink. Saga squinted and tried to read it, but it was near impossible.
"'Whomever comes across this book may find themselves down one of two paths,'", Hadia read, "'One can lead to true peace. The other, with consequences to last. You choose…' You are going to be much stronger with this book."
"Let's see what we've got."
Saga flipped the pages to show spells and chants they could use. Saga's eyes lit up as she traced her finger across the pictures of glacier spells and freezing spells. An ice minions spell stuck out to her, but Saga would save that for later. She felt excitement in her heart as she read each title off. The other two watched as the girl read on. She felt overwhelmed at the number of spells and, when she had doubt about her powers, she recalled the staff in the corner of the room. There was something about the staff that brought her powers out more. She'd been told by Poli, when she went to play in the snow with other kids, that she had only been half human. That was the only explanation she'd been given, but Saga was curious for more.
"What else am I?" Saga asked as she stopped reading, "I mean, Poli told me that I was half human, and she never told me what else I am. I think it's important to know now, don't you agree?"
"I do," Hadia sighed," It's only fair. Saga, that part of you that can control the ice and snow, that changes appearance completely, is that of Jotun descendent."
"Like from my mythology books?" Saga asked and received a nod," So that means I'm some kind of half-goddess."
"I suppose you could be right," Hadia shrugged," but you need to understand that you're still learning to use your powers. You are still training and you won't be perfect right away."
"Oh, I agree. I have to practice and make myself stronger. Even if I'm not perfect by the time we go out there to find my parents, I'm working towards becoming powerful and trying to be something you and others...and Poli...knew I could-" Saga paused and looked around the room," Guys, where is Ben?"
Hadia and Sebastian looked around the room then to each other. They didn't realize that Ben wasn't with them until they stood beside her. Their eyes went wide with fear and worry for their friend. Saga looked back at the book as she realized that Ben's disappearance was from another force…
"He has to be back at SHIELD," Saga leaned back and stood up, "We have to go back and get him."
"Oh, no no no," Sebastian looked to Hadia, not knowing how to take care of the situation.
"Saga, that's not a good idea," Hadia said," You saw how tough they were. It's a miracle the Avengers didn't kill us! If Ben's not dead, he's got maximum security surrounding him. Let's just forget about it and-"
"Ben is family," Saga protested," He needs protection just as much as the rest of us. Poli would have saved him-she wouldn't leave him behind."
Hadia and Sebastian felt their hearts in their throats. Poli really would have protected Ben. She would've gone back, snuck her way in and brought Ben back in less than a day. Hadia looked to the girl and, oddly enough, she saw Poli in her eyes. For the first time in years, the woman saw her old friend's strength and confidence on the face of the girl they were all keeping safe. Hadia placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and looked into her eyes.
"If we're gonna get Ben back, we need to work on your powers."
Saga wholeheartedly agreed, a smile on her face. Sebastian was standing by the chair, biting his fingernails as he watched the girl flip through, finding both a wind spell and an ice spell. Saga grabbed the staff and read the ice spell first. It was to turn anything she touched into ice. Hadia brought her a nearby pencil holder to use. Saga thanked her and turned to the book. She rubbed her hands on the ball of the staff, then used her two index fingers to make a circle on the top. She looked to the two adults, then looked back to the staff. Her hands were faintly blue but not like they had been. When she went to touch the pencil cup, it didn't freeze at all. She did her actions twice with the same results. She was obviously getting frustrated, but Sebastian decided to step in.
"Close your eyes and just imagine the pencil cup freezing," he suggested.
"But I am-"
"Then think deeper."
Saga sucked her breath in and closed her eyes. She did her spell all over again, this time internally chanting for the spell to work. Hadia and Sebastian watched closely as the girl drifted her hand to the pencil holder. She kept mumbling as she focused...focused...focused...and, slowly, as her skin turned dark blue and the markings returned, the pencil holder began to freeze. The sound of ice cracked against the metal and her family watched in disbelief as Saga let go and opened her eyes. Her hand had been replaced by an icy mark. Though the whole cup didn't freeze, this had been progress. She looked to Hadia and Sebastian, all smiling and hope in their eyes.
"It worked," she laughed as her skin changed again," It really worked!"
"We knew you could do it!" Hadia said," Now, let's try the icy fog spell."
This would be an easy spell. For this, Saga had to stand. With her staff in hand and eyes closed, she swung the staff in a gentle circle. The ball shone vividly against the room's walls. Hadia and Sebastian stood back in fear of something going completely wrong. Without warning, Saga stopped moving and slammed the dull end of the staff onto the ground. The whole room became covered in a thick, light blue fog that shocked all three of the members. Hadia coughed and Sebastian waved through. They finally made their way towards each other, scared for what happened to Saga. Then, they heard her laugh as she walked towards them. Her skin was dark blue, again, her markings now prominent, and her eyes were a rich red. The two smiled as she stood before them.
"I did it," she said as she set the staff aside," I did it!"
"Now that you've worked on spells a little bit," Hadia said," Maybe we should work on-"
Saga gave a confused look when the woman stood talking. She asked both her and Sebastian what the problem was. When she looked at her hands, she noticed that her skin remained blue, with the markings in tact. She couldn't help but smile at the sight.
"One of two paths," Hadia mumbled.
"The path that got me to my true self," Saga whispered," I guess it was finally time to show off who I really am. Now, before we can save Ben, shall I practice more spells?"
Saga nodded and flipped through. She stopped, just for a second, when she saw the spell that could create an army. And it sent chills down her spine.
"So, Mr. Loki, where have you been hiding this entire time?"
Peter sat on the couch next to Loki, full of questions and curiosity. Everyone had been sitting in the lounge area of the headquarters, resting or relaxing before their mission ahead of them. Ben was being watched by a monitor so the others could keep a close eye on him. Stephen was watching the two as he moved his hands with tiny movements. He didn't want the trickster to hurt Peter in any way, knowing that Tony would lose his mind if he had seen this interaction. However, he kept quiet and simply looked down.
"I've been everywhere, Peter Tonyson," Loki explained,"Different times, different dimensions, countries on Midgard and other realms. And, since Asgard was destroyed, I'm surprised that I haven't been caught by my brother."
"I think we're all a bit surprised that you haven't been caught doing anything wrong," Stephen said aloud.
"Does your opinion have to be out loud?" Loki asked," You've been insulting me since I got here. I thought we were supposed to be on the same team and you keep putting me down. But that's the way it's always been with you, hasn't it?"
Stephen glared at Loki, ready to spat an insult back, when Rhodey put his book down and looked to the two.
"Can you two lovers stop it?" he asked, "We can't keep yelling at each other when we have a mess on our hands. And it's not gonna get us any closer to those criminals," to which, Loki gave a small laugh and conjured up a tiny knife,"What?"
"Choose your words carefully, sir," he said," Criminal is not the word I would use to describe such a crew. And I-lovers?"
"Criminal is the exact word I'd choose-"
"Keep your mouth shut, Doctor," he said.
As Loki shot back insults, Peter slinked into the couch. Bucky,Sam and Scott watched with interest, keeping quiet as they watched a fight unfold. Loki thought his threats were the end of the fight, but Stephen had more to say.
"You want me to keep my mouth closed for telling the truth? What we witnessed was a new kind of villain. We have a new threat on us and your only thought is to give them a slap on the wrist. It makes me think that you have ties with them, especially the girl that stole my book."
Loki bit his lip, not wanting to tell the truth. If Bucky hadn't stepped in, Loki felt that his whole world would come crashing down. Stephen looked to the trickster, thinking of what the guy could say. But alas, they were interrupted.
"What's our next objective?" Bucky asked.
"My suggestion? We wait," Rhodey said," I mean, if they actually care about their friend, they're gonna come back for him, right?"
"They're not gonna come back for me!"
The others glared at Ben, but they didn't say a word. The group was assigned little tasks, such as making sure the security system was okay and watching over the sanctum. Rhodey was left with Stephen and Loki, who would not see eye to eye. The man smiled as an idea came to mind.
"Penn and Teller," he said, proud that he gave them a nickname Tony would have wanted," You two need to check out the weapons facility, okay? Don't go crazy or I will find out."
The two nodded and Loki walked down the corridor. Rhodey sighed and went to work on his own task, but Stephen stopped him.
"Do you think that he's been more...hostile to me?"
"I think that's just his personality. Don't try to take it too personal. I think we got him on our side now."