Chapter Three: New Information
"This cannot be real." Alexis muttered, her face hidden in her hands.
"I can assure you that it is." Director Fury calmly stated from somewhere to her right. "Have you ever known me to pull a practical joke, Miss Vigdis?"
Alexis smirked despite of herself. "No."
"Correct. Now, can we please get back to the matter at hand?" he asked, impatience coloured his voice thickly.
"I guess." Alexis answered. "But I'm not sitting." Director Fury gave her a stern look. "Hey, if he's really Loki, the God of Mischief, then I'm staying as far away as I can."
"Oh, come now," Odin smiled gently. "Surely you can handle a little mischief. You were blessed with it after all."
"I often wondered about that." Tony smirked as he pulled her forwards and made her sit. Alexis glared daggers at him. "Now, now," he said and tapped her nose. "Nice kitty."
"Fine." She mumbled then made herself look up at Odin. "What's the problem?"
"Ragnarok is the problem." He stated simply.
"End of the world things usually are." Alexis eyed him cautiously. "What about Ragnarok?"
"It's coming will be soon." Odin's eyes now seemed to beseech her. "And we need your help to avert it."
"You are the only hope for an otherwise doomed universe, Alexis. You are the only mortal who has as much knowledge of our world as we ourselves do." Thor's tone sounded vaguely desperate. "It is imperative that you help us."
"Well, I'd rather be alive than dead… but live in a world like this? Do you have any idea what it's like out there? Selfish, greedy and gluttonous people are politicians; nothing can curb western society's insatiable nature, and the wars! Governments are stealing lives left, right and centre. People turn a blind eye to poverty when it is right before them, but love to announce loudly that they're giving money to aid those who need it." Alexis slid back in her chair as she looked away from the three who sat before her. "This world doesn't need saving… it needs annihilating."
"That cannot be completely true. Surely you can think of one thing worth saving…" Thor looked at her hopefully.
Alexis' eyes glazed over as she remembered the horrors she herself had witnessed throughout the years, and her voice turned cold. "I cannot."
"What about your mother?" Odin asked, as if bringing up what to order from a restaurant menu.
"Excuse me?" Alexis' heart thudded against her rib cage, frightened of what he might suggest.
"You would save her, would you not?" Odin looked at her pointedly.
Alexis watched him carefully for a moment, only answering when she was certain her fear had been uncalled for. "She really wouldn't know the difference… she doesn't know the difference now…"
"You say that like you don't care either way…" Odin's gaze lingered over the locket that hung delicately around her neck. "But I know you would do anything for her, even in her current…state."
"You leave my mother out of this." Alexis snarled, her fingers itched to throw something heavy at him.
"Oh, have we hit a soft spot?" Loki smirked, eyes narrowing in sadistic pleasure.
"Silence, Brother," Thor commanded. "You forget the reasons we came here."
"Reasons… there's more than one?" Alexis raised an eyebrow, concerned.
"The first, and most important, is Ragnarok." Thor explained calmly. "The second is to do with your heritage… and the third -"
"The third is your fate in life." Odin finished, gazing expectantly up at her.
"My what?"
"Your fate… destiny…true path in life." Odin continued, gesturing towards her and her…figure.
"I know what it means." Alexis said slowly, folding her arms across her chest.
Odin looked at her squarely. "It has been fated that you, Alexis of Earth, will wed my son," Alexis gaped and looked sideways at Thor. "Loki, of Asgard."
"What?!" Loki and Alexis yelled in unison.
Odin shrugged. "I do not choose what the oracle Mimir sees. Nor do I have any control over how fate chooses each being's soul mate."
"Father! You cannot be serious!" Loki looked her up and down before turning back to Odin. "She's mortal!"
"She's part God." Odin replied bluntly.
"I'm what?" Alexis stared at Odin, gob-smacked, and then thought about what he was saying. "Actually…that makes more sense than anything else you've said." Alexis looked at her hands for a moment, then back at Odin. "Well, not really…but I can see how you'd be able to make that connection."
"I'm telling the truth, Alexis. Your last name alone proves that." Odin smirked. "Vigdis mean 'war goddess'. If you require further proof, look at your father's first name. It was the same as his father's and grandfather and great-grandfather."
"I hardly think the name 'Anundr', even though it does mean 'triumph of the forefather', is sufficient proof that what you say is true." Alexis shrugged. "People liked to show off with names, and that 'triumph' could have been anything."
"That 'triumph' was that your ancestor had relations with, and was born a child by, Freyja…the Goddess of War, on last check." Thor stated as he laced his fingers together and placed his hands on the table before him.
Alexis thought about what they were saying. If it were true then it would explain why she could do the freaky things she was able to do. It might also explain why she never really 'fit' anywhere. But not fitting had always suited her well. If she went somewhere she did fit in, even slightly, it would hurt her more than it was worth. But she couldn't let the Earth be destroyed… even if the planet did deserve it. If only for the sake of her mother, she would help those who sat patiently before her.
She held her hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Alright, I'll help with averting Ragnarok," she paused for a moment but continued quickly. "But I'm not having anything to do with that other nonsense. I'm no God and I'm certainly not getting married." Alexis looked Loki up and down. 'Even if my betrothed is rather dishy!'