Updated Chapters 1 and 4 to account for forgetting to properly label locations according to the world names I came up with. My mistake and sorry for any confusion that my little blunder may have caused.
So yeah, The Legion has a base on Earth. The bases The Legion uses are still going to be referred to as "Unknown World – Unknown Location" because they have multiple bases and with a few obvious exceptions, it's supposed to be vague which world they're actually on and which base they're using. As far as you know, they could be in the heart of New York City or under the frozen mountains of Arendelle.
Another short chapter this time folks, but you know how my previous stories go. Once the main plot kicks off, the chapters gradually get longer and longer.
Chapter 5: Asgard:
The Realm Eternal – Palace Dungeons:
As the alarm bells began to ring, Loki immediately sensed something was wrong. Not because the bells were ringing, (although many Asgardians arrogantly questioned who would date be stupid enough to launch an attack against their realm), but because of the familiar scent he detected in the hallways leading towards the dungeon. As soon as he detected the alien smell of a Corridor of Darkness opening in the halls of Asgard, he knew that the attack outside was merely a diversion for a smaller team to infiltrate the castle. Loki had his suspicions though. Not wanting anything to happen without leaving his family an explanation, he quickly scribbled out a message to Odin and tucked it under the cushion of his chair just as one of the palace guards walked into the room.
Loki's eyes narrowed in both concern and curiosity. He could tell the guard was an imposter, but the illusion or transformation used to disguise his true form was so thorough that not even he could detect who was really under the mask. Since most of the guards had been called out of the dungeon to help repel the attack, the dungeon was guarded only by a skeleton crew to prevent any scout teams from staging a jailbreak. Loki knew from the moment the false guard stepped into the room that the attack was a diversion to draw the army away from the dungeons so that the infiltrator could rescue him.
To be fair, the impostor could have been attempting to rescue anyone in the dungeons, but given that every other prisoner in the dungeon was part of a band of marauders who had harassed the Nine Realms after his failed attack on Jotunheim all those years ago. Nobody in the Nine Realms really cared about them, and from Odin's reports, the friends and allies of the pillaging brutes didn't have enough resources even collectively to pull off something of this magnitude. That meant that the odds were extremely high that he was their objective.
Loki cycled through a mental lists of everyone he knew who would want him dead. Nobody on Midgard had the technology to kill him, never mind the means to reach Asgard. Thanos had been dead for seven years, mysteriously assassinated, his head cut off and his body delivered to the galactic capital of Turo on a silver platter. The Frost Giants still resented his murder of Laufey, but give what Odin and Thor had told them of the state of their civilization, he doubted any of them had developed the skill necessary or even the need to disguise themselves as a guard, even if they could muster up the anger and hatred necessary to open a Dark Corridor. So if it wasn't one of his many enemies, it was someone he had long since believed abandoned him.
All of this passed through his head in an instant as he watched the false guard slit the real one's throat. He frowned. He'd always liked that guard. One of the few people he'd always felt he could say was his friend and his alone. Despite the fact that the Warriors Three had managed to forgive him, he still saw them as Thor's friends first and his second. The exception to that was Sif, who he'd fallen into a bit of a rapport with over the last nine years. Had he not been confined to a prison cell for the rest of his life, Loki probably would have worked up the courage to confess the romantic feelings he'd developed towards her.
Pushing those thoughts aside, he kept his expression neutral and dull as he watched the impostor move through the dungeon towards his cell. It was time to see if his suspicions were correct. As the guard approached, his form shifted, and the disguise fell away. The straight backed Asgardian warrior was smoothly replaced by a familiar looking man with dark eyes, black hair, and black clothing. As the man approached Loki's cell, another Corridor opened and out stepped a blue-skinned Luphomoid female with a cybernetic arm whom the Asgardian prince had never met before.
The alien woman was accompanied by troops in black combat gear with an insignia on it that Loki had heard described by Thor (his brother had also attempted to draw it, but Thor was not the artistic type, and every attempt at asking one of his friends or the guards to draw it ended in failure), but had yet to see in person. The skull and tentacles logo of HYDRA. That threw a wrinkle into his suspicions of who wanted to break him out, and he raised an eyebrow in response as the unarmored man stopped in front of his cell. There was something vaguely bird-like about the man's physical features, but it wasn't until the man opened his mouth and spoke the words that confirmed Loki's theory that the answer clicked in the prince's mind.
"Maleficent sends her regards," Diablo greeted with an insidious grin.
The Realm Eternal – Odin's Vault:
Loki looked down at the corpses of the Einherjar the former daughter of Thanos had just killed and fought the urge to retch. It wasn't that the sight of blood disgusted him, but he knew that as soon as the people of Asgard found out that he'd been broken out of prison, they immediately jump to the conclusion that he'd betrayed them once more. He hoped that his family would have more faith in him, but he'd discreetly left them a note in his cell explaining what he planned to do. Hopefully they believed him.
He'd given up his dreams of ruling years ago, but clearly Maleficent needed his help for something, or she wouldn't have gone to the trouble of breaking him out in the first place. So when Diablo had come to free him from his cell, he saw an opportunity. Although he'd reconciled with his family, the one thing he still wanted was the freedom to travel again. Since Maleficent needed him for a purpose that he had a sneaking suspicion of, he would play along with the rescue attempt. Then, once they were far enough away from Asgard, he would double cross the entire Hellfire Club and take them down in one strike.
From there, he'd drag them all back to Asgard and present them to his father as an offering in the hopes of bartering his release from his prison sentence. He'd explained his plan in the letter, but deep down he was afraid. Under ordinary circumstances, he'd never pull off a gamble this risky unless he could predict the pieces in play. Here though, he had no way of prediction how his letter would be received. One of the Einherjar could find it and destroy it before Odin and Thor could read it. Or his family could read the note and not believe it. Or nobody might find his message at all. If nobody read the note, he was throwing his relationship with his family away for a gamble that may not even work. His only option was to go with it and hope for the best.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he followed Diablo and Nebula into the vault. The HYDRA agents had retreated back through the Corridor of Darkness so that the trio could move through the halls of Asgard without attracting attention. Loki inwardly grimmanced as his theories of what Maleficent was after were confirmed while he followed his "rescuers" up the stairs towards the pedestal on which the Tesseract now sat. Nebula and Diablo stood to either side of the cube, and Loki immediately understood that due to his knowledge of the workings of Asgardian technology, he was expected to get them out of there.
Clever, Loki thought to himself after a brief moment of hesitation. If I betray your infiltration team and summon my father, they'll know and will drag me back to you for punishment. You expect me to prove my loyalty by bringing the rescue team home. Maleficent, my dear, you haven't lost your touch. He quickly crouched down and used his magic to remove the covering off the mechanism that kept the Tesseract's glass container affixed to the mechanical pedestal. A quick glance at the device's inner workings and he instantly understood how it worked. A few pulled wires and cancelled spells and the Tesseract's cynlindrical container was free of its metallic prison.
Diablo and Nebula quickly grabbed one handle while Loki's free hand grabbed the other. The transfigured bird-man turned the handle, and the three figured departed Asgard. An instant later, they reappeared lightyears away from the Realm Eternal, in a facility that Loki had heard rumors of but never actually gotten to see for himself. His "rescuers" led him out of the small antechamber they'd arrived in and through the long winding hallways of the space station. A confusing series of turns later, and they left him in a conference room sitting across the table from someone he thought he'd never see again. He wanted to get the conversation over with, but right now he had only one thing to say to Maleficent.
"Where in Hel have you been for the last nine years?"
The Realm Eternal – Palace Dungeons:
Thor was frantic as he raced into the dungeons to find the Einherjar guarding the prison dead and his brother's cell open. No, he pleaded mentally as he raced into the now open jail cell. Don't do this, Loki, he pleaded mentally, even though he knew his brother would never be able to hear. Don't throw away your family for another chance at conquest. The prince of Asgard tore through the cell, leaving no stone unturned. Despite his fears, Thor knew Loki too well to think that after all the time and effort the family had put into reconciling, that his brother wouldn't at least offer his family an explanation for his sudden disappearance. He was proven right when he found a folded piece of paper tucked under the cushion of Loki's chair. Thor quickly pulled it out and began to read
"Brother,
If you're reading this then whoever is attacking Asgard has used the outward assault to distract the guards long enough for some old friends of mine to sneak in and free me from my cell. I know that given how hard you fought to reconcile our family that you'll be the first one to come running to the dungeons when you figure out why they're here. I also know what you're thinking, that I could have killed my would-be rescuers or led them towards the guard. But the Hellfire Club is not so easily deceived. They are a cabal of conquerors who I ran into after I fell from the Bifrost but before I ended up in the clutches of Thanos, and their one goal is the conquest of reality itself.
To that end, they seek the Infinity Stones. I never mentioned them before because I'd bitterly felt that they'd abandoned me to prison and did not wish to think about them. Anyway, getting back on topic. They came for me and will likely bring me along as they go after the Tesseract. My only option is to play along for now because while Asgardians are difficult to kill by means other than our own weapons, Maleficent is one of the few beings in the universe with the time, resources, and patience to give it her best shot. If I openly betray her she will find ways to make me suffer that will make me beg for the sweet embrace of death.
I know that Father cannot commute my prison sentence, but I intend to deliver him the entire Club on a silver platter in the hopes he may be able to find a loophole that will enable him to make an exception. I miss the sky, Thor. I'll find a way to pass on another message as soon as I can. Tell our parents of what I intend to do. If you never hear from me again, and Maleficent figures out my change of allegiances, know that I love you all.
-Loki."
Thor's brow furrowed in worry as he examined the letter once more. It was Loki's handwriting, and his mother was able to verify that it was not a forgery. This was unlike Loki. Even after reconciling with his family, Loki never told the whole truth about anything. To do so went against his nature as a trickster and god of mischief. The fact that he was doing it now (confirmed by Odin's foresight and the fact that Loki was not masking himself from Heimdall's all-seeing gaze) meant that this "Hellfire Club" truly terrified him. And the thought of a malicious army that even Loki was afraid of made Thor think of a phase he'd never said before but had heard Tony Stark use multiple times We're screwed.
He'd spoken to his parents about going after Loki to bring him home. Odin refused to allow Thor to leave and told him to have faith that his brother would succeed in his gamble and come home safely. When Thor asked the Allfather how he could be so calm, Odin admitted that he was as far from calm as Midgard was from the sun.
"But as king I must at least pretend to be calm and fearless in the face of this threat for the sake of our people's morale," the ruler of Asgard explained. "Inside, I fear for your brother's safety as much as you do. But while Loki is not masking his presence, this "Hellfire Club" has found a way to shield their operations from Heimdalls gaze, and so once your brother left Asgard the gatekeeper could no longer see him. We have no way of tracking these villains' movements, and so we must trust your brother's judgement and wait until we receive new information that we can act upon."
Thor calmly accepted the explanation then, and bid his parents farewell as he made his way out of the castle. He needed to bring the Avengers up to speed on what had happened. The mortal sorcerer's use of an army of Shadows troubled the Asgardian prince. Heartless hadn't been seen in the Nine Realms in almost a century, and the fact that the demons of Darkness were active again was an alarming revelation. He reached a balcony and was just about to take off towards the Bifrost when Sif came running up behind him. Having assumed that she'd returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. to inform them of the break-out, Thor greeted her with a confused "hello."
"When you return to Midgard," she began. "Do not speak of the Heartless to the rest of the Avengers or the S.H.I.E.L.D. There are some things that the mortals are not ready to know about the Keyblade War just yet. You may discuss them with the Son of Coul, but no one else. He is part of a secret society of humans who research the secrets of the Keyblade to prepare for the day when the Heartless come again." Thor disliked keeping secrets from his friends, but nevertheless agreed to omit the presence of the Heartless from his retelling of events.
When Thor flew off to the Bifrost, Sif retreated towards her chambers, where the members of the S.A.C.K. she'd brought with her had gathered. Before their return to the Society headquarters, they needed to go over the results of today's test. When the Society of Advanced Cultural Knowledge was first formed, the founders knew that Keyblade Wielders would not always be there to protect them. So with the aid of Atlantean technology, they had begun designing energy weapons capabale of destroying Heartless. Thankfully, the weapons had never had to be used before, but when they heard Raina's prophecy and suspected the potential imminent return of Keyblade Wielders, they'd broken the weapons out of storage in preparation for when they would be needed.
The Society members stayed away from the public areas but helped to pick off the Shadows that got too close to civilians. The weapons were a complete success, and they contacted Headquarters to notify the council of the results. Once the call ended, Sif discreetly lead the group out of the castle and back to the Bifrost. The magical community's delegation had left shortly after the attack had been repelled, so they had no fear of causing an incident with them, but Sif still wished to avoid her colleagues being spotted by the guards or by random citizens. Once they reached the bridge, Heimdall deposited them a few miles from The Playground. Agent Sif sent the rest of the S.A.C.K. members back to their headquarters in New York before returning to The Playground to notify the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. what was going on. There was no mistaking it now. War was on the horizon.
Yep, Maleficent's busting Loki out of prison, but the question is, will she tempt him towards the Dark Side once more, or will he stay and fight off the attack. Or will he just be Loki and just do something completely unexpected? Tune in next chapter to find out. Anyway, time for author's notes on my thought process.
Loki having a crush on Sif is a shout out to Child of The Storm by Nimbus Llewelyn.
I've read MCU fanfiction where Loki swears using the Norse mythology version of hell (Hel), and decided to throw it in. I figured it Loki were ever to swear, he'd do it Norse Mythology style and be creative with his cursing. He's not going to do that often, but I figured that since he hasn't seen Maleficent in years and she made no effort to get him out of Asgard, I figured that his comment at the end would be the perfect response to seeing her again.
For those wondering why Asgard thinks it's only been a hundred years since the Heartless were last seen, my headcanon on the Thor movies is that Heimdall's sight is limited to within the nine realms, and that he can't see anything or anyone beyond them. As for why Sif doesn't mention the reunification of the world, that part of the Keyblade War lore in this verse isn't part of Asgard's knowledge of the conflict.
And thus, the conflict begins. Next chapter, we finally get to see the Kingdom Hearts cast. Look out for lots of SoKai feels though, so fair warning. SoKai fans will be cheering by the end of next chapter. Good luck guessing why. The next three chapters are going to be focusing on the changes to the worlds in the last six years and showing the changes from the early days of the Daybreak Coalition.