Hey all, I managed to finished another chapter this weekend. I decided to post it up right after I finished to make up for that horrible cliff hanger from last chapter. I'll keep posting new chapters as I finish them so keep a look out. I wanted to thank everyone who's been commenting and who has followed the story. I also wanted to ask you to keep commenting and let me know if you recommend any other stories or if you have any ideas for another one I should start working on. Anyway here it is.
The bright light and the chills running down my spine faded away just like the last few times. I opened my eyes and I was in the golden room again. If it weren't for the fact that everything looked and felt real I would have said I was dreaming. What's that saying again? Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern. I don't think I need a third time to know this is definitely becoming a pattern.
I look around the room and see the same man as before.
"It's good to see you again old friend?" He says.
"Old friend?" I ask confused.
"Yes it has been at least a decade since you were last here." He says.
"A decade? The first and last time I saw you was a few weeks ago." I said.
"The time stone is taking you to other times. How many times has this occurred?" He said looking down at me from the center of the room.
"Three times not including the one that just happened. Why is this happening to me?" I ask.
"You we're given the stone by someone. The stone chose you to be its host. Like I said before the stone is it's physical manifestation, it changes form."
That's when it hits me, "The green light." I said remembering my time in the Hydra prison. I thought I was hallucination or it was a side effect of whatever Zola injected.
"There are stories that say it is one of many forms." He says.
"Stories? You know about it?" I asked.
"You are not the first nor the last person the stone has chosen as its host. That stone is as old as time. Some actually believe it created time." He tells me. The glow from his eyes reminds me the stranger from my dream.
"Last time I saw you, you said it was something called an infinity stone?" I asked.
"I did say that. You are currently the host of one of the six infinity stones. The stones are scattered throughout the galaxy. The only exception was the time stone. It hides itself through time. It had been thousands of years since it was last heard of." He says.
"Is there any more information on them?" I ask.
"There is, at the palace library. If you'll follow me." He said walking out of the golden domed room. We exited into the rainbow bridge from my dream, the one where I saw the two men fighting. "You may want to put that on. You don't want to draw too much attention to yourself as we ride to the palace." He says handing me a navy cloak. I put it on lucky for me it was a bit warm. It helped the chills go away. I think Heimdall might have been expecting me since there was a carriage waiting on the rainbow bridge.
"We shall leave at once." He said starting to take the reins of the carriage.
"Aren't you supposed to stay and like keep watching the universe and guard the gate?" I ask looking back at him.
"I have the only key to the gate and I can keep watch from where we shall be. Now come along." He said. I got on the carriage and enjoyed the view. The city was something out of a movie. The bridge was suspended above what looked like stars. The bridge led straight to the center of the city. There were tall oddly designed buildings all around us. They were all enormous but the building at the center towered over them all. The building looked like a bunch of columns that slowly got taller as they got closer to the center.
"This place is amazing." I said looking around.
"There is no other place like it in the nine realms." He said as we finally arrived. "We are here stay close and don't stray away."
"Got it." I said looking around while following Heimdall.
Everything looks to be made out of marble. There are tall columns along each side of the hall and the room has very high ceilings. We finally make it to then end of the hallway and there are two giant wooden doors decorated with carvings and with golden door handles. Heimdall went ahead and opened them. Inside was the biggest library I had ever seen and trust me I've practically lived inside a library the past few years.
There were so many rows of bookshelves I couldn't I couldn't even count them all and they were almost as tall as buildings. Heimdall kept walking down the aisle to a sitting area. Sitting there was a blonde haired woman sitting on a chair with two children sitting at her feet. One was blonde and the other had black raven hair. I assumed they were her children. She was telling them a story when she saw us walk in.
"Heimdall what a surprise." She said.
He kneeled and said, "My queen forgive the interruption."
"It's no trouble I was just telling the princes a story." She says giving us a kind smile, "Who is that behind you?" She says looking at me.
"This is Lady Nora an old friend of mine," Apparently we're friends now. I was a bit confused about how he knew my name but if I recall correctly he did say he had been watching me. "Lady Nora this is Lady Frigga, Queen of Asgard and her children the princes Loki and Thor." Loki and Thor. Like the god of mischief and the god of thunder? I gave Heimdall a look but he just shook his head. I'm guessing now is not the time to bring that up considering they probably haven't been to Earth and still aren't known as gods.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all your majesties," I said giving an awkward wave.
"You speak with a funny accent," The blonde kid said. If I remember the legends right, I'm going on a guess and say he's Thor.
"Her dress is strange too mother," The other kid, Loki, said.
"Children, mind your manners." Frigga chastised her children.
"Forgive us milady, we meant no disrespect." They both said at the same time.
"Don't worry, children will be children." I said giving them both a smile to let them know I wasn't upset.
"What brings you to the library? You rarely leave the Aesir Heimdall." Frigga asked.
"Lady Nora wanted to learn about the infinity stones." He said plainly.
She looked at the both of us trying, focusing more on me. She looked directly at my eyes and then just nodded. "Then you arrive at the right time, it was the next story. Thor would you go get the book." She said.
"Yes Mother," Thor said standing up and going to get the book.
"Where are you from, Lady Nora?" Loki asked.
"Um," I said not sure how I should answer. I looked to Heimdall and he answered for me. "She is from the realm of Midgard, My prince."
"Midgard? I thought they weren't allowed in Asgard" Loki asked his mother.
"Normally the Allfather would not allow it but this is a rather special circumstance." Frigga said looking at me.
Why do I get the feeling everyone knows more about what's happening to me than I do? Before Loki can ask more questions Thor returns with a book bigger than most of my textbooks.
"Is this the one Mother?" Thor says handing Frigga the book.
"Yes my son, now sit down. I am going to tell you the story of the six infinity gems." She opened the book at there were moving figures in the air above us.
"Whoa, we don't have books like this we're I'm from." I think out loud.
"You don't? Then what type of books do you have?" Thor asks.
"Chlidren, pay attention." Frigga told us.
"Sorry," I whispered making Loki snicker.
"As I was saying this is the story of the six infinity gems. Would you like to take a guess as to what they are called?" Frigga asked.
"The Power Stone and the uh.." Thor starts off before Loki finishes for him.
"Space Stone, Mind Stone, Reality Stone, Soul Stone, and Time Stone."
"That's right it is believed that the stones have existed since the creation of the universe. There are some that believe that they are responsible for the creation of everything that exists. There power is unimaginable. Even one stone is powerful enough to conquer worlds. Throughout time there has been those that have sought their power and have fought to obtain them. Over two thousand years ago your grandfather Bor fought the Dark elves. They were plotting to harness the power from the Aether."
"Aether?" Thor asked. Good to know I'm not the only one who doesn't know this story.
"One of the manifestations of the infinity stones." Loki answered proudly
"That is right, my son. The Dark Elves wanted the power of the Aether to destroy all of the nine realms. King Bor led asgardian forces to steal the Aether and destroy it before they could obtain it. The Dark elves sacrificed their lives in their attempts to obtain the stone. After this war King Bor wanted to make sure that something like this would not happen again he ordered the remainder of the stones in Asgard's possession to be scattered throughout the universe. That kept us from war until your father had no choice but to fight the Frost giants when they managed to obtain the relic now sealed away in the palace vault."
"Do we know where any of the other stones are now mother?" Thor asked.
"No Thor they are hidden away from all." She said looking right at me.
"But wouldn't it be better to keep them all here in Asgard. That way we could use them to protect the nine realms." Thor asked.
"But if we were to get attacked they could get al of them instead of just one. It would put the nine realms in more danger." Loki asked.
"That is exactly right, Loki." Frigga said.
"It is of no matter, I shall protect Asgard and the Nine realms. No one shall dare stand against us when I am king for I am mighty." Thor proclaimed. I had to bite my cheeks at that. It was more cute and endearing than threatening and mighty.
"We shall see but for now, you both have riding lessons to attend." Frigga pointed out.
"Aww Do I have to mother? I want to stay here and practice my magic." Loki said.
"Not today brother, we're practicing riding with a lance today." Thor said giddily.
"Loki go with your brother, we can practice magic later. I'll even let you pick the next spell I'll show you," Frigga told Loki.
"Yes Mother." Loki said begrudgingly. He followed his brother out.
"What did you think of the story Lady Nora?" Frigga asked
"It answered a few of my questions but still hasn't answered the biggest one. Why is it doing this to me?" I say.
"The Time stone is the most unpredictable of all the infinity stones. It has never been in the possession of someone because it never stays in the same point of time long enough for it to be obtained. It was a surprise to learn it had a host, the last known host of the stone died almost a thousand years ago." She says.
"They died?" I say shocked.
"Yes the cause is not known." Heimdall answered.
"The stone is preventing me from aging and it has made me heal faster than normal." I tell them.
"Have you experienced any other changes?" Frigga asked.
"Nothing more than that."
"Then it's only begun." Heimdall says.
"What's only begun?" I ask. And that's when the glowing starts again. The stupid stone has the worst possible timing.
"That is a question you will find in time." Frigga says.
"Until we meet again young friend." Heimdall says before the light gets bright enough I can't see anything.
When I can finally see again I'm back at the lab.
"Pegs you have to help me, we can't tell Barnes and Rogers not yet. We need to give her more time." Gramps argues.
"Howard its been six hours, there's a chance she may not be coming back." Peggy tells him.
"Who's been gone six hours?" I ask out loud.
"Nora, Where the hell have you been?" Gramps asks.
"Well, I started here, went back to the golden room which as it turns out is a few thousand years in the past and in another dimension. Found out where the ability to time travel came from and that there's really nothing anyone can tell me about it since its been traveling through time since the beginning of the universe." I say.
"Whoa. That's complicated." Gramps says.
"Yeah tell me about it."
"I know you two probably want to catch up, but you need to get home now." Peggy said.
"Everything all right?" I say worried.
"You were supposed to be home hours ago but instead you've been in another dimension. We covered with you with Barnes and Rogers but they're getting a bit impatient." Gramps said.
"How long was I gone?" I ask.
"Six hours. Its nine' o clock at night." Peggy said.
"Oh Shit! They are going to be mad. I missed dinner. I have to go." I said rushing out the door.
"Nora wait, I'll take you come on." Gramps says leading me outside to his car.
We were in the car when Gramps finally asked, "What did you figure out about what's causing you to jump through time?"
"Whatever Zola did to me isn't what's causing me to heal faster and preventing me from aging. It's the same thing that's causing me to travel through time. He said it's some sort of stone that's been around since the beginning of the universe or created the universe it's still being debated."
"A stone?"
"Yeah, I had this bracelet when I was captured by Hydra. One of the charms was a green stone. I thought the stone fell off when I was caught. Zola saw the bracelet on my wrist and the engraving on it caught his attention so he took it."
"If you lost the stone how is it still affecting you," Gramps asked confused.
"Turns out I didn't lose it. The stone is just a physical manifestation. It changes form. The stone itself is energy."
"Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be transformed." Gramps said taking the words right out of my mouth.
"Exactly, and where do you think that energy is now?" I said looking at him.
He though about it and then said, "You've got to be kidding."
"Yup, I'm now the host of an energy that predates the universe itself." I said in sarcastic joy. "And that's not even the best part."
"There's more?" Gramps asks.
"I told Heimdall and Frigga about me not aging anymore and the accelerated healing and they replied with and I quote, 'it's only begun'."
"Did they say what else was going to happen?"
"They didn't get a chance too, that's when I started glowing again and appeared back in the lab." I said still mad at the situation.
"The timing on those jumps are horrible."
"Tell me about it." I said.
"Mr. Stark, we have arrived." Jarvis informed us.
"Thank you Jarvis" I said getting out of the car.
"Are you going to tell them?" Gramps says.
"Not sure yet." I say looking up towards the window to the apartment.
"How are you going to explain why you're so late?" He asks.
"I don't know helping you deal with another crazy ex," I said with a shrug.
"They'll probably believe that." Gramps says casually.
"Night, Gramps."
"Night kid." He said before driving off.
I went up the stairs and opened the door. The living room was dark since all the lights were off. I slowly started walking to my room when out of nowhere I feel arms wrap around me and someone say "Going somewhere" I panicked for a minute before my self defense training kicked in. I elbowed whoever was behind me and somehow managed to flip them over and make them land on their back.
"Ow," Then the door to the room opened and Bucky walked out.
"Doll?" He called out, walking in to the living room and turning on the light. I look down and see Steve on the floor.
"Oh Shit, Steve I'm so sorry. Said kneeling on the ground to see of he was okay. Bucky kneeled down on his other side.
"Remind me never to sneak up on you." He groaned.
"I'm so sorry. I though it was just some random burglar." I said helping him sit up so I could check the back of his head. No bleeding but it was going to leave a huge bump.
"Did you just get back?" Bucky asked.
"Yeah. All the lights were off thought you were asleep already." I said helping Steve stand up.
"We were waiting for you. What took you so long?" Steve asked.
"Got held up helping Gramps with some things." I answered.
"Doll why are you wearing a blanket?" Bucky asked.
"What…" That's when I realized I still had the cloak I wore in Asgard on. Shit. "Oh that. It's a cloak." I said making it seem like the most normal thing in the world.
"A cloak? Like the ones used in the middle ages?" Bucky asked skeptically.
"Yeah apparently it's a new trend." I said trying to play it off.
"What were you helping Howard with?" Steve asked.
"Girl trouble." I answered right away.
"Uhuh." Steve said just staring at me obviously trying to see if I was lying.
"I'm beat I'm going to go change meet you in bed." I said giving them a smile and walking to my room. That went well. I'm sure they're going to bring it up again later but for know I'm in the clear.
Third Person POV- Bucky and Steve.
Bucky and Steve watched as their soul mate walked to her room and got ready to go to sleep.
"She's lying." Steve pointed out.
"I know." Bucky told him in a low voice, "Why would she lie to us?"
"There's something going on she's not telling us." Steve said.
"I fairly sure Howard knows those two are practically inseparable." Bucky said.
"We should try to find out from her first."
"Yeah we'll talk to her tomorrow. It's been a long day. Hit some pretty big relationship milestones. Remember the first time we made out in a closet." Bucky said with a smirk making Steve blush.
"Hard to forget. I was so nervous we'd get caught I started having an asthma attack." Steve said with a bashful smile.
"I managed to calm you down in time though." Bucky said fondly.
"Yeah you did jerk."
"And you enjoyed it punk."
Steve sighed, "Lets go wait in the room, we can figure out how we're going to talk to her tomorrow"
"Yeah, it's cold too. Hey you think we should move some of Nora's things into out room that way she doesn't have to sneak out early in morning?" Bucky asked.
"Can you really call it sneaking out if considering she's still in the same apartment?" Steve points out.
"You know what I mean punk."
"I already cleared a drawer." Steve said with a smug smile and walking to the room. "I've just been waiting for the right time to ask her."
"I love the way you think." Bucky said.
Nora's POV-
I dressed myself in a royal blue satin nightdress with lace accents. As I was getting dressed I started thinking about how guilty it made me feel to lie to Steve and Bucky. We were making progress in our relationship. We talked more, we joked, and hell we even upped the public displays of affection. I know all that crap about relationships being built on a foundation of trust is really corny but as it turns out its true. I must really love those knuckleheads.
I grab a robe and went to their room. They were both already in bed. Steve on the right and Bucky on the left. There was a space in the middle, which I crawled into. I put my head on the pillow and closed my eyes.
"I jumped through time again. I ended up in the golden room that turned out to be real and not a hallucination. It was in another dimension, that's where I got the cloak. Heimdall, the guy I met last time I was there took me to the library where the queen of Asgard, Frigga told me that the green stone from the bracelet Zola took from me is the thing that caused me to jump through time." I said.
"Oh," Steve said from behind me. He sat up and so did Bucky.
"I thought…" Bucky started and then I interrupted him. I needed to get this out before I lost the guts to say this out loud.
"I lost it, yeah so did I. Turns out the stone can change form since it's actually just a form of energy. So I never really lost it, I just became its host, which is how I keep traveling through time."
"Um, anything else?" Steve asked.
"It's causing me to heal faster and not age anymore. According to the Queen of Asgard its just the beginning of whatever changes are happening to me. I didn't get to ask before I came back." I said nuzzling my face back in the pillow. It felt really good to get that off my chest.
"Doll, can you look at us please?" Bucky asked moving my hair away from my face.
"Mhmm" I stayed nuzzled in the pillow.
"We're not mad just please look up." Steve said.
I figured I had to face them eventually. I rolled over to my back and slowly opened my eyes. They were both hovering above me.
"There are those gorgeous green eyes." Bucky said giving me a small smile.
"We're not mad at you beautiful. We're happy you told us." Steve said.
"I didn't want to worry you. We have bigger things to worry about right now."
"Doll, we always worry about you just like we know you worry about us."
"Your not alone, we'll figure this out together just don't push us away."
"There are things I can't tell you."
"Then tell us what you can." Bucky said as he pulled me to his side. "You're not alone, we're with you to the end of the line."
"You're stuck with us. We love you and we're not going anywhere." I really hope you're right handsome.
"I love you guys." I say nuzzling into Bucky's neck as Steve curled up behind me and kissed my neck before nuzzling into mine.