Chapter 13
The endless void of space shined over Asgard, making the glistening shines of its gold structure viewable from light-years away. However, dark times had fallen upon it's people. Unlike the void of cosmic space around them, the souls of every Asgardian was hollow with despair.
For Odin, the great king of Asgard and protector the Nine Realms, was gone.
The assemblage of Asgardians present was enormous, the largest to ever be present for any memorial service. They were all present for one purpose: to bid farewell to their beloved king. Every Asgardian attended his funeral, wanting to bid their goodbyes. They watched, they wept, as dozens of caskets, each containing Asgard's fallen, were cast into the oceanic bodies of water that ran from the outskirts of the city to the edge of the great realm, pouring into the void of space. One casket was different than the others in that it was more ornate, decorated, honored. It contained the body of Odin.
Frigga stood tall, regal, and beautiful, yet her eyes were sad and broken as she watched her husband drift away into the Asgardian waters. By her side, Sif stood, her gaze following the casket that held the man she had sworn to follow, but she failed him. Just as she failed his son. Tears threatened to escape her eyes, as did Frigga's, but as queen and monarch, she had to stay strong. She was all that remained of the royal family, and needed to stay strong for her people. She had to, for Odin's sake. She knew deep down that she couldn't say goodbye, but she had no choice.
Turning her head, Frigga faced the Asgardian bowman, and with a nod, instructed him to continue with the next movement. The bowman placed a single flamed arrow on his bow, aligning its end with wired string. Hooking his fingers over the string, he pulled his arm backwards, pulling the arrow with him. Then, the arrow soared threw the air, landing upon Odin's casket, igniting it in seconds. Moments later, the sky was filled with thousands more arrows, igniting the other caskets that drifted peacefully over the waters.
Swallowing a heavy lump in her throat, Sif turned to her close friends, Fandral and Volstagg. Neither of them were able to comprehend the events that occurred. They had grown up looking up to the AllFather, always presuming him to be invincible. Oh, how their faith was shaken by this incident. Heimdall, Odin's closest friend in ancient times, watched with little to no emotion as the casket containing his ancient battlebrother sailed peacefully. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, lowering his head in mournful silence.
Even Darcy, Jane, and Hikesh, outsiders to the Asgardian people, watched in mournful silence as the king of Asgard left to join the dead in peace. Each held conflicting emotions over what had happened. Darcy was overcome by grief and deja vu. This was the second time a good man, despite how much of an ass he had been to her, died under circumstances where she was involved. It was not a welcome feeling. Jane felt overwhelmed by the drama and sadness, and was fighting back tears in her eyes. Just so much emotion. It hurt. Hikesh remained stoic, but despite the obvious mistrust he held towards Odin, he had to respect the man. He was a brilliant leader, and Asgard would never be the same with him gone. He glanced over at Frigga, and his face softened with sympathy for the woman.
Soon, Odin's casket drifted to the edge of Asgard, where the water vanished into the cosmos. The Asgardians watched as it fell over, plummeting deep into eternity, where Odin belonged.
oooo
In the dungeons of Asgard, few prisoners remained. One sat still on the single chair in his cell, contemplating the news he just heard. The soldiers had just delivered the news, and Loki was conflicted. His face was still as he stared at the wall. He had a difficult time believing it, but he couldn't deny it. He couldn't sense the flow of the Odinforce in the realm any more. It was gone. Odin was gone.
Loki should have been happy about this. But for some reason, he wasn't. Was he mourning? Was he upset that is father was dead? No. Not exactly. He was shocked, yes. But a part of him deep down still cared for the man as a father, and had wondered whether or not the king meant what he said. If another chance at reconciliation was possible.
Now, he may never know. Taking a deep breath, Loki sat back in his chair, confused and in turmoil.
oooo
Soladat frustratingly paced around the empty apartment as Agent Ward and Skye searched the apartment, hoping to find some trace of Darcy, Hikesh, Jane, or Dr. Selvig. They had just arrived there a few minutes ago, while Agents May, Fitz, and Simmons went to the location where the anomaly was detected, hoping to find some clues. Agent Ward came back in from the bedrooms, holding a familiar set of red, shell-like armor.
"Well, we didn't find them." He said. "But we did find this."
Soladat's eyes widened in recognition. "Xegh's armor. That tells us he actually made it here. Did you find anything else?"
"Nope." A second voice said. The two saw Skye come in from the kitchen. "The entire flat is empty.'
Soladat sighed, taping her fingers against the table she was leaning against. She was very worried about Hikesh. She hadn't heard from him in the past ten hours. She turned to Skye.
"Get the frequency blockers hooked up." She ordered. "So we can call May and Fitzsimmons. See what they've found."
"Yes, ma'am." Skye nodded, and got to work on it.
Wile the young hacker was doing her part, Ward turned to look at Soladat. "You worried?"
"You can tell?"
Ward smirked. "I know you, Soladat. I can tell when you're upset. The guy fought in New York. I'm sure wherever he is, he can take care of himself."
"Maybe." Soladat said, crossing her arms. She turned back to Skye. "How's it coming, Skye?"
"Good... Just about there, and..." Skye plugged in the last piece, huffing when she got a spark. This was Fitz's job, not her's. "There. I think I got it."
"Great." Soladat nodded, and took out her phone. She turned it on, and was relieved when the images of death didn't appear. She immediately dialed Agent May. It rung for a few moments, before a strict, female voice answered.
"May."
"Hey, Mel." Soladat said. "It's Soladat. The apartment is empty, but we did find Hikesh's armor. Anything to report on your side?"
oooo
At a familiar warehouse, three figures stood near a sleek S.H.I.E.L.D. van. One woman, an Asian woman in a dark jumpsuit and S.H.I.E.L.D. vest, stood by the vehicle with a cell phone, while two younger people, a boy and girl, were inspecting a strange celtic symbol engraved into the ground. It was in the middle of a small building that appeared to have been blown apart by some concussive force.
"Affirmative." Agent Melinda May said into the phone. "We found a symbol that matches the same insignia as the mark left behind by the Bifrost opening in New Mexico. That confirms your suspicions of an Asgardian visitation."
"Okay." Soladat said on the other line, and May heard her sigh in exasperation. "Anything else?"
"Yes." May said, holding up a strange device that was picking up strange frequencies, beeping consistently. "We found Dr. Selvig's tracker. That proves are suspicion that Dr. Foster and her friends were here. It's transmitting the same readings he forwarded to HQ. But that's not all, Soladat. Something really strange is going on down here."
"What do you mean?"
"When we got here, the broadcast seemed to intensify. It took more effort than usual for Fitz to activate the blockers. It's as if we're nearing the source of the frequency." May said. "And not only that, but the readings on Selvig's tracker seem to magnify to higher levels in this location."
oooo
"Okay." Soladat said after a few moments of silence. "Tell Fitzsimmons to collect whatever data they can, and meet us back here at the flat."
"Affirmative. Anything else?"
"No. Just meet us as soon..."
"Uh, Archangel?" Skye said. Soladat turned, wondering what the consultant needed, and saw that she had turned on the television. A newscast was playing, and Soladat's jaw dropped when she saw an image of a middle-aged man running around butt naked through Stonehenge. She immediately recognized his face.
"Something else went missing this week when astrophycisist, Dr. Erik Selvig, notable for his involvement in the alien invasion in New York, streaked nude across Stonehenge." The voice of a female news reporter said.
"What the hell?" Soladat said, putting the phone down, forgetting to turn it off. Agent May's voice could be heard vaguely trying to get her attention, but Soladat ignored it and walked over to the TV, watching it with wide eyes.
"Claiming to have originally been present for scientific reasons, Dr. Selvig disrobed and began shouting at fisitors at the historic sight. He was later taken into police custody for psychiatric evaluation. The police are still refusing to confirm..."
Just as the report was about to continue, the screen went to static, and the images of death and destruction suddenly reappeared.
"There is no hope in the darkness, but in light there is salvation. You can stop..."
Soladat immediately spun around to glare at the young hacker of the group. "Skye!"
"Sorry!" Skye cried, immediately moving to rewire the blockers.
"Hurry! We need to find out where Selvig is so we can find out what's going on!" Soladat ordered.
"I'm not Fitz, Soladat!" Skye argued. "I'm a hacker, not an engineer!"
After a few seconds, there was another spark and the newscast came back up. "... currently admitted to Bethlam Royal Hospital, where he will..."
Soladat paused the TV, and turned to Ward. "You get that?"
"Yep." Ward said, and grabbed the keys to their van. "I'll start up the van."
"Good, Skye go with him."
"Kay." Skye said, following Ward outside. Soladat grabbed the phone she left on the table and put it up to her ear.
"Soladat, are you there. What is your status?"
"May, change of plans." Soladat said fast. "Meet us as Bethlam Royal Hospital. London Borouph of Bromley. We'll explain everything when we get there."
Soladat then hung up without giving May a chance to respond, put the phone in her pocket, and left the apartment, closing the door behind her.
oooo
Jane sat quietly in the quarters provided to her by Frigga. She felt nothing but depression and sadness over the recent occurrence of events. As she was lost in her thoughts, she gasped as her vision became dark, the power of the Aether enveloping her senses. Her vision turned from black to blood red as she glanced around the room in panic. She pictured herself walking outside along the golden balcony, peering into the distance, but blood red stained her vision. She fell back on the bed nearest to her, gasping for air, when suddenly, a vision appeared to her.
She found herself being lifted up off the ground by a hand, a pale, clawed hand that she recognized as Malekith's. His inhuman blue eyes glared into her soul, grinning wickedly as the Aether was wrenched from her person and into his own. Her hair flowed wildly in an invisible wind. As she looked around, she saw familiar figures lying around them, all dead, beaten, or clinging to life. She recognized them all. Darcy, Hikesh, Sif, Loki. And the Dark Elves were there to. They were laughing. Suddenly, there was only darkness, followed by a blinding red light that illuminated the dark, revealing the Earth. Then, from the darkness, a form appeared. It was large, cephalapodic, and metal. Like that ship. That horrible ship. It let out a loud, metallic wail, and the Earth was consumed in a torrent of fire.
Jane gasped as her vision became clear, and she sat up straight on her bed. She looked around. Everything was the same.
Gasping still, Jane put her face in her hands, shaking her head. She could still feel the burn of the Aether burning through her veins.
Yikes. Jane's not feeling so hot. Things are starting to look more dire for our heroes here. Next chapter, plans will be made, and action will be taken.
HTKWolfe777: LOVE that TV show, and thanks for bringing them into play. Small problem though is that Coleson is alive, brought back, in that show.
Yes, I know. I've watched the show. But if you recall from United They Stand, Coulson's injury at the hands of Loki was a lot more severe than it was in the original canon. So, Soladat has taken his place as leader of the team for the moment. I'm currently writing a small story arc explaining that.
wolftattoo: Whatever secret Odin is keeping it will come out secrets don't stay buried forever, & it will have consequences.
As you can see, it already has.
Well, thanks for reading. Later!