Scene 2: Location Unknown
A small, detached section of a long destroyed world floating freely in space, the bïfrost destroyed. The ground is rubble and the sky royal blue. A mostly complete ruin of a castle rests not too far away.
They collapsed in a heap in an alien realm. Loki shot up.
"How DARE YOU!" He fell back down in a rage. "You DO NOT INTERFERE…" he was short of breath, "with MY battles! It was mine to fight!" Sigyn gave him a disappointed look before starting to rummage through the debris. "I do not need a WOMAN to ASSIST me!"
"If this woman did not assist you, you would be dead. You have been infected by the poison of the serpent of Niflheim; you are not a god but a man. And if you don't shut up about it you will be a dead man." She said as she returned and kneeled beside him. Loki shifted away, startled. "Hold still, I'm trying to help you."
"Do I look like I need help?" He hissed.
"Yes, you do."
They stared at each other for a moment; he looked down at the wound in his side. "Please." She whispered. Loki looked away from her. She gave him a reassuring smile before saying, "This will sting."
Her hand was then placed over the wound. Sigyn forced her energy into her hand, turning the blood to ice, Loki winced as she held a small stone bowl just below the opening, were the purple toxin began to flow. Eventually the pain ceased and Loki looked at the bowl in amazement. Sigyn placed the poison to one side before placing her hand once more on the wound. Ice formed again and soon cracked away revealing the injury completely healed. "That wasn't so bad now was it?"
Loki looked at her at a pass and tried to get back on his feet. It was a struggle but all his efforts just barely got him to sit upright. "The poison is no longer in your veins but it will take a while for the effects to wear off."
She picked up his scepter and handed it to him; he used it to slowly return to his feet. She motioned to the nearby ruin. "You will need rest, come let me hel-" He glared at her menacingly. "Escort you…"
Sigyn began the journey towards the castle's crumbling walls – Loki followed after her, refusing any assistance from her.
"You live in this degradation?"
"Yes."
Loki gave her a disgusted look. "It was either here or Earth."
He seemed to consider it a moment, and then smirked. They eventually came to an empty gallery where Loki sat down with his back against a broken stone table, tilted on one side at the absence of two of the legs.
"Where is this place?"
Sigyn looked at him for a second, and smiled.
"Nidaveller. Some decades ago, the Frost Giants attacked a city on the edge of its boundaries. The damage tore it loose, spiraling aimlessly through the vast uncharted space. Though the secret passages remained."
"You know of the passages."
"How else could we have come here? There is no bïfrost."
Loki thought for a moment, Sigyn walked to the opposite side of the room.
"And how, exactly, would a woman come across this… ruin?"
"Almost by accident." She said, pacing. "I searched the nine realms for a place not even Heimdall would look."
"And here we are." Loki sneered.
"You say that so negatively!"
Loki scowled. Sigyn ignored it and closed her eyes. "I do not believe that is an appropriate place for you to have a lie down."
"You speak as if you have a better idea."
"I do." She eyed him compassionately. "I prepared a more suitable space upstairs." She glided towards a dusty staircase, turning to him as she reached the first step. "If you would just come with me."
Loki stared at her, suspicion colored every feature of his face; he did not trust this woman. There was no reason to; no one had ever helped him with anything before. She clearly wanted something from him, and he needed to find out what before she can get a hold of it. Though his mind was full of doubt he rose and joined her at the step. He bored into her face, but no shadow of deceit was there, so he began the journey upward. The path was long and dark. Every time his staff hit the floor the sound erupted and almost deafened his ears, and sure as the sun rises, Sigyn followed silently behind him. Loki was skeptical, he had to get rid of her as soon as possible, but he was still too weak. Once he recovered he would be able to-
His staff gave way under him, his legs collapsing under his weight and he slipped backwards - CLASH! His staff fell to the floor and… nothing. Loki was suddenly still. Was some invisible force holding him there? No, he turned his head around to see Sigyn holding him in place! She slowly pushed him into a full standing position, but with her hand at his back, she was all that was keeping him steady. She brought herself to his left, her hands on his arms. Loki glared at her. She would let him go – he was sure of it. There was no reason she would help him. She was waiting for him to be without his weapon, so she could destroy him in his deteriorated state. She wanted his power… that was it! It had to be. But as he thought this, Sigyn leaned down and while still holding him up, retrieved his staff and placed it into his right hand. She took his other arm and carefully lifted it over her head and placed it on her shoulders so she could help him up the staircase. He stared at her, shocked. He wanted to say something, but he could not think of the words; Sigyn seemed to understand this and without uttering a word she walked him to the chambers.
They came to a large room that had to belong to a lord. The walls were painted gold; the floor carpeted red and half concealed by shear blue curtains, a balcony that gave a view of the entire lost world. Sigyn lay Loki to rest in a master bed that was set in the middle of the room. The royal blue sheets gave the impression of a majestic sea, with fish of gold-lined pillows and a horizon made of an eloquent oak headboard. Sigyn placed Loki's staff on a small table next to him and performed a small bow.
"It should be acceptable. It is not must but it has as that you require until you gain your strength back." Loki didn't even acknowledge this. His mind was in another place, a place full of confusion and doubt.
Sigyn accepted his vacant look with a small smile. "I will assume you will not object while I excuse myself. I expect you will have quite the appetite by the time you have recuperated. I shall do find something for you." She gave another short bow and drifted from the chamber.
Scene 3: Earth
Nick Fury stands defiantly in front of the screens, the council was giving him another lecture on all the damage in New York. Director Fury was sick of hearing it. He grumbled his usual replies at the darkened faces of the council, watching the clock at the side of the room with his one good eye.
There was a sudden ringing from the radio he kept in his pocket.
"What?"
"Director Fury, we have a reading on the scanner."
Fury turned away from the screens. "Then deal with it."
"THE scanner, sir."
"Where?"
"Oh GOD…."
"WHERE?"
"Here!"
Fury left the room, leaving the council in a daze. He raced to the airship's control center.
"Agent Hill!" Fury screamed. The agent was already at his side. "What is going on?"
"Sir, we picked up a reading on the scanner, something is coming in fast!"
Fury looked out the windows. It was a clear sky, the sun was high over the horizon.
"How much time do we have?"
"Anywhere between three minutes and thirty seconds!"
CRASH!- BOOM!
"What the fuck is that?
Dozens of agents, all completely focused on their jobs, simultaneously stopped; and stared out the window. An enormous black cloud suddenly appeared over the sun moving like an epidemic. And dry lightning flashed through the sky! – BOOM!
The entire airship rocked sideways and the lights flickered, as the agents were slammed against the wall like bugs the light bulbs fried. "SHIT!" BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Three more strikes of lightning. The cracks made the entire airship shake – but soon all was still.
Director Fury slowly stood up. You could have heard a pin drop as the computer screens flickered. Agent Hill kneeled cautiously by the doorway. "What the hell-"
BOOM!
An epic crash collided, the sound of screeching metal and torn armor echoed through the corridors and then, silence. The essence of death rang in the insufferable quiet; Director Fury takes a cautious step towards the hull. "Director! Wait! We must call reinforcements."
"That is enough Agent Hill." Fury declared before starting to make his way past the monitors, around the conference center and down the hall. The large corridors, once filled with the humming of machines and the buzz of people working like bees in the hive, were abandoned – longing for action. The steel work of the airship reflected in the interior, the ice blue plates on the floor and the smooth smoke grey metal that formed the walls and ceiling. The sound of the crash still haunted the air, echoing against the cold steel so softly… all Fury could hear was his boots banging against the floor and the sound of his own steady breathing.
He walked further into the heart of the craft as the last of the echo died away – towards the source of the sound. Fury turned towards the internal aircraft hangar; with the shields down, that was the easiest way to get into the ship. He took his time, stopping at the end of a short walkway facing a large curved door with a glowing blue computer panel at shoulder height just to the right of the door's outer frame. He paused for a moment, staring at the flickering screen. There was a distant sound of metal screeching together behind the door – Fury's eyes shot up. There it was again, the sound continued and quickly stopped. No further movement. He looked at the screen once more, slowly raising his right hand and pressing it on the glowing scanner. Waiting patiently, the computer scanned his palm print and eventually the crude words ACCESS ACCEPTED: DIRECTOR FURY appeared on the screen in green letters. The door whirred, making a distinct click of the lock and the door slid open. Fury cautiously stepped inside.
The hangar was like that of any typical air base. A high ceiling loomed over his head supported by massive steel beams. Numerous fixed-wing aircraft were lined in long rows, obsessively placed in rows by model. Twenty-five fighter jets, ten stealth planes and two heli-carriers, along with multiple aircraft even the Air Force didn't know about.
Fury stopped in the very center of the massive building. He scanned, each craft tied down with absolute care. There was not a single thing out of place – the sudden collision didn't touch it. Fury, satisfied turned towards the open entryway to return to the airship's control room.
BANG.
Fury whipped around. Gun out. Waiting… for nothing. He took a step forward. Across the floor, opposite the door in which Fury entered was the large, fifty feet high main-cargo door. It operated by internal control only – and it was seven inch steel. No one could get through without-
BOOM-CRACK- a sudden strike of thunder was rang outside, Fury turned his head and there was light. Bright light. No noise. Flashes. Lighting. Thunder – the cargo door burst open! Fury collapsed to the ground, the light blinding him! He emptied his gun into the vortex to no avail! Lightning tore through the hangar sending sparks flying in an epic display. More lightning, but less frequent. Less intense. The light faded slowly to reveal a large hole in the wall. Fury looked up in time to see a single figure walking towards him. It was a man! He was tall, with large muscles and shoulder length blond hair. He wore silver and grey armor and had a red cape flowing behind him. He stopped his approach as Fury returned to his feet.
"Fury." The intruder addressed him, nodding his head respectfully.
"Thor." Director Fury said in return.
"We have a problem."