Imitations Carved Deep: Chapter 22
Hey all! So, this is the second to last chapter of Imitations Carved Deep. Very sad, I know. But it must come to a close. In the meantime please enjoy this new chapter. :)
PS I have been misspelling Calder for the last few chapters. It is CALDER not CALDOR. Sorry!
Disclaimer: I don't own them...so sad.
Warnings: Severe angst. Torture (in the past). Implied rape (in past). Don't read if any of these trigger.
Baby Blue Eye
Kira's limbs didn't seem to be cooperating, but she eventually managed to stand and turn.
The Allmother and Allfather were followed by a group of guards. For a moment, Kira feared that they were there for her, but the way Frigga was smiling calmed her racing heart…a bit. Thor happily stepped forward to greet their parents, while Kira hung back with the other Avengers. They didn't seem to be sure of what to do either.
Kira watched Thor embrace his mother and clasp his father's forearm. It was rare to see the King and Queen of Asgard so informal, even with their own children. Even the guards could not hide their shock.
As the royal couple turned their attention towards her, Kira straightaway realized that she was not properly dressed. Her magic levels were still too low for her to remedy the situation. Ergo, she was forced to curtsey as best she could in her sweatpants and overly large t-shirt. Hel! I am not even wearing a Midgardian brazier. The Allfather will have me imprisoned for indecency if nothing else. She kept her head bowed so as to avoid seeing their disapproving gazes.
"Allfather. Allmother." Kira rocked back as she was suddenly wrapped up in Frigga's arms. Frigga pulled back after a solid minute. She brushed a stray lock of hair back from Kira's face.
"It has been so long since I have seen my daughter." At this she cast a sharp look at Odin. "I love you as Loki just as much, but…there is something about getting to braid a daughter's hair." Kira's cheeks flushed and she glared at Thor who was trying to hide a laugh.
"Thor, stop teasing your sister," Frigga threw over her shoulder without even looking at her other son. After soaking in her daughter's presence for a few moments longer, Frigga stepped aside to allow Odin to approach.
The Allfather appeared…flustered and unsure, something Kira had never seen before.
"Loki." Kira tensed, waiting for the inevitable slight on her appearance or character. "Daughter." Kira's mouth fell open, and she was certain her heart just stopped beating for a full three seconds. Before she could regather her wits, Odin stepped forward, slowly as if approaching a frightened animal, and embraced her. Her! Even as Loki, she hadn't gotten affection like this…and so public too! She couldn't even begin to imagine the threats Lady Frigga must have come up with to make the Allfather act in such a manner.
Honestly, it was extremely overwhelming. Thankfully, Odin didn't prolong the experience and soon stepped back, his stoic expression back in place.
"Um…hi? Not that this isn't a touching family moment, but…I usually like to know why alien royalty are visiting my tower." Steve looked pale, thinking Thor's dad was going to strike Tony down then and there, but he also looked like he wanted to strangle the inventor himself. Neither of these things happened, fortunately for Tony. Instead, Odin met his gaze full on and spoke in a commanding tone.
"I have come to speak to Calder and determine whether he should see justice on Asgard or Midgard for his crimes. The Allmother…requested to accompany me." Just looking at the way Lady Frigga couldn't take her eyes off of Kira made it clear why she wanted to come.
"We'll…escort you then," Steve offered. "Agents Romanoff and Barton were able to get him to start talking civilly. It helped that Loki took his magic away." None of the Avengers were expecting the shocked gasp from Lady Frigga or the growl that came from the Allfather. Even Thor seemed thrown a bit off balance. Kira winced and glared at Steve for saying anything.
"Kira! That was very dangerous-"
"You deliberately took punishment into your own hands before even waiting for a judgement!" Both Frigga and Kira glared at Odin then, for different reasons. The Allfather was shocked at how similar the expression was on both of their faces.
"My comrades needed to speak with him, but he could not be trusted with a free tongue, not with his magic still in his control. How was I supposed to know that you would be coming not a day later?!" Odin snarled.
"At the very least you should have attempted to contact us through Heimdall. You've completely disregarded-" Kira shouted in frustration.
"Ahhh! Thor has done much worse countless times! And each time he was praised for it. He was practically given a metal of honor if the foes he was sent to capture came back missing a limb or two." Thor winced and gave an unfortunate nod to the question his teammates were silently asking.
"Silence!" Even the Avengers, sans Natasha, flinched at the harsh tone of the Allfather. The King of Asgard glared at Kira, and she fought hard to keep her shoulders from bowing under the weight of that stare.
"If you had let me finish…You completely disregarded your own safety." Kira's mouth dropped open but she didn't say anything. She truly must have been dreaming; it was the only explanation for all of this. She did not have a response, but luckily, it seemed that the Allfather was not expecting one. Odin sighed into the quiet and straightened back into the King.
"I must speak to the prisoner, now. Man of Iron, you will escort us." Stark wisely kept his mouth shut for once. Tony walked them to the extra large elevator a bit farther down the hall so the Allfather and all of his entourage could fit inside. As soon as the door closed, the Avengers hurried to the stairs. The all managed to arrive more or less at the same time, though some (see Bruce) were more out of breath than others.
For all that Kira was not happy to see the Allfather, Calder actually looked quite pleased. He even stood, somewhat shakily, to greet them.
"Ah, Allfather. I was wondering when I'd be graced with your presence. I thought I'd have to come to you." Though Calder was now wearing his true face, Odin could see how all of them were convinced that it was Loki. Calder had his mannerisms and way of speaking down to a T.
"Calder, Son of Borain, are you aware of the charges being brought against you?" Calder made a show of thinking about it.
"Let me guess, more treason, more terrorism. You are probably going to throw attempted murder into the pot too. Am I getting warm?" Odin narrowed his eye, but did not otherwise respond to Calder's question.
"I am here to judge whether you are to be punished on Midgard or Asgard for your crimes. Do you have anything to say on this regard?" Calder obviously had not been expecting the situation he now found himself in. They all saw the flicker of surprise and fear, before he sneered at them.
"Two lovely choices. How ever shall I decide?" As Odin opened his mouth to snarl something at the villain, he found himself interrupted.
"We could always just let him go." Every head whipped towards Kira, including Calder's. As everyone's eyes were focussed on Kira, only she saw the absolute terror on Calder's face. She bit back a smirk.
"Kira, what the hell!?"
"Are you insane?!"
"After everything he's done-"
"Brother, what are you playing at?" It took Odin growling to get them all to shut up, for which Kira was actually grateful. The Allfather looked at her with a critical eye.
"You would defend this man?" Kira snorted.
"Hardly. I'm merely suggesting that we let the Norns decide. If you let him go, he won't bother anyone again." Clint chuffed.
"I highly doubt that." Kira raised a brow at the archer and stepped forward.
"Really? But, poor Calder here has no magic. Not to mention there is more than one certain someone he's pissed off. Let him go, and he'll spend the rest of his life running. It won't be long before he's never heard from again. He'll either be crawling into the deepest, darkest hole he can find…or he'll be dead." Her words were addressed directly to Calder. The villain grew more and more pale as Kira spoke, and by the end of her little speech was sweating. Just for giggles, Kira leaned forward and spoke quietly so only he could hear her. "Personally, I'm betting on the latter."
Tony leaned over to Steve, both of them having matching expressions of shock and…yes, a little bit of fear.
"Remind me never to piss her off," Tony muttered. Steve nodded readily. Kira could be scary. A few of them jumped when Calder suddenly slammed his fist against the glass barrier, but Kira didn't even blink. Her smirk only deepened and she backed up until she stood next to Lady Frigga.
"You know that is not an option, Kira." Kira sighed and smiled at the other woman.
"I know that, but he doesn't. He tormented me for so long. I just…wanted a little pay back where I could get it." The Allmother's stern expression softened into- not pity- but sadness for her child's pain. She looped her arm through Kira's and pulled her close. Frigga clasped hold of Kira's hand with both of her own. The Allmother could feel the exhaustion coming off of her daughter in waves.
As they watched as Odin stepped forward to regain control of the situation, an idea came to her. She leaned close to whisper in Kira's ear.
"Why don't you and I return to your quarters? Thor will inform us later of all that transpires." Kira was reluctant, wanting to witness the events for herself, but it didn't take much prodding and bribery on Frigga's part to get her to agree. At Kira's nod, they silently retreated back to the elevator down the hall. Frigga's magic might have helped a bit with their getaway.
Meanwhile, the others watched as the Allfather slowly broke Calder down. The man eventually caved and gave the King of Asgard the information he wanted. Then, the Allfather did something none of them expected.
"Calder, Son of Borain, I hereby banish you to the realm of Jotunheim, where you will live out the rest of your days without magic." Calder balked.
"Wha- That was not one of the options, Allfather. You cannot do this!" Natasha stepped forward then.
"Allfather, while I understand that he is one of yours, our Director-" Odin held up a hand to stop her and spoke gently but firmly.
"I have already spoken to your leader, Director Fury, and he agreed to whatever punishment I saw fit…as long as the prisoner did not remain on your planet." That made all of them balk. Odin had played all of them. Calder was furious and promptly threw a Hulk sized tantrum. He was promptly ignored.
Tony leaned forward to mutter in Bruce's ear.
"Can you imagine that stare down? I mean, does it count as blinking if they each only have one eye?" Bruce bit back his inappropriate laughter and shoved Tony back. As the Allfather ordered his men to take Calder into custody, Tony looked around.
"Hey…where's Kira?" That got everyone's attention. Thor frowned.
"Mother is gone too." He thought for a moment, and then his frown transformed into a soft smile.
"Ah. I believe I know where they are." He led the charge back upstairs. Odin and the two assassins stayed back in the common area with the guards to deal with Calder while Thor and the other Avengers walked down the hall.
Eventually, Thor stopped outside of Kira's room.
"Uh…Thor?" The Golden Prince put a finger to his lips to quiet his friends and slowly pushed the door open. Immediately, they heard a soft humming coming from inside. Being the nosy friends that they were (though Steve and Bruce would never admit it), they stuck their heads in and took in the scene before them.
Kira sat cross-legged on the bed with the Allmother sitting tall behind her. The Queen of Asgard was humming as she ran a brush through Kira's hair. Thor's sister had her eyes closed and was breathing so deeply they were almost convinced she was asleep. All in all, it was hypnotizing.
After a few minutes, Frigga set the brush down and ran her fingers through Kira's black curtain of hair. With a skill born of much practice, she began parting and weaving strands together into an intricate pattern of braids. When she was finished, she smiled and waved her hand, summoning a soft blue flower that Bruce could identify as a "baby blue eye flower".
Frigga tugged Kira's shoulder lightly to turn her around and stuck the flower into a braid by her temple. The Allmother cupped her daughter's cheek and kissed her forehead.
"Thank you, Kira. It has been too long since we have last done this." The smile Kira gave to the Allmother in return was one Thor had not seen since they were small children.
"It truly has. I'm sure our audience enjoyed it as well." Kira and the Allmother burst out laughing as the four men jumped and, with the help of Thor in the back, fell through the door and into a heap on the ground.
I really like Frigga. She makes me happy.
Please review:)