Dang, I really shouldn't have complained about the previous chapter. This one was way harder to write, because I had to get the pieces moving for the next arc now that the drama and feels have died down a bit.
The next day was a busy one. Whatever awkwardness might have lain over the House of Odin under the circumstances could not hold against the sense of purpose and determination that united them. They had work to do.
In the council chambers, the four of them stood like the points of a compass around the console that projected a miniature Yggdrasil into the air. Unlike the one in the library, this wasn't merely decorative, but could be manipulated and magnified. It was most often used to plan battle strategy or new trade routes. Thor relied on it extensively to illustrate as he recounted everything he knew about Malekith and Thanos. His father, mother, and brother listened intently, interrupting him only to ask for clarification at certain points. Later, there would be meetings with Odin's council, but only after they settled on a narrative that wouldn't cause undue alarm.
After a while, Thor noticed that his father seemed particularly focused on those two villains. He had, in fact, been the one to open the discussions on them. However, he had yet to mention their other problem. So Thor decided he would do it for him. "What are we going to do about Hela?" he asked.
All eyes turned to Odin. He didn't return their gazes, but silently stared at a spot in Yggdrasil's roots. Thor reached for that spot and expanded it until they could see a bleak asteroid belt that revolved around a particularly remote star.
Niflheim.
"It may be possible to strengthen her prison," said Odin.
"And if it isn't?" said Thor. "We wouldn't know for certain until after your death, and if she still managed to escape, Ragnarok would be unavoidable."
Odin closed his eye. "You're telling me I must choose between allowing the destruction of my kingdom and murdering my only daughter."
Thor held up his hands. "Give me a third option."
Odin had no answer. He knew Thor was right. Thor glanced at Loki. He was looking covertly at Odin, but Thor was caught by his expression. It was the sort of look that made it hard to blame Sif for thinking that he was always up to something. He wasn't sure that boded well.
"Let us not speak of Hela for now," said Frigga gently. "There is time."
"Very well," said Thor, suddenly glad for the excuse to change the subject. "When it comes to Thanos, our first priority should be to fortify Nidavellir." He flung up a hand to make the miniature Yggdrasil back away from Niflheim so that he could find the speck of light he wanted and expand it instead. "If he cannot press Eitri into making that thrice-damned Gauntlet, he'll not be able to use the Stones together even if he acquires them."
"Agreed," said Odin.
"Would he not simply seek an alternative?" said Loki.
"He will not wish to settle for an inferior weapon," said Odin. His expression was grimly satisfied. "Not when his prototype Gauntlet has sat in my Vault since we last met."
"With the Bifrost intact, will he risk an assault on Yggdrasil at all?" said Frigga.
"He has the Mind Stone already," said Thor. "If he succeeds in finding Power and Soul, or even just one of them, he may feel confident enough to do more than wait in the shadows, even against an Asgard at full strength."
They spent the next half hour or so discussing how they could increase the protections around Nidavellir. Then they turned to the subject of the Dokkalfar. Odin placed a hand on the console, and golden sparks swarmed up out of it to form a miniature Heimdall. He put fist to heart and bowed his helmeted head to Odin. "Heimdall," said Odin. "Have you any news of Malekith's ships?"
"No, my king," he said. "I have looked all along the route from Asgard to Svartalfheim and elsewhere. There is no sign of them."
"It was always unlikely we would find them so easily," said Thor, trying not to feel too disappointed. "They couldn't have remained hidden for an entire lifetime if it was as simple as looking."
"What cloaking spell could remain so strong for five thousand years?" said Odin.
Frowning, Loki touched the console. In addition to the interactive map of Yggdrasil and communications, it was also linked to all of Asgard's archives, dating back to the reign of Buri. Above the image of Heimdall, Loki conjured scenes from the Aesir-Dokkalfar war. It only took a moment for him to isolate Malekith's flagship. The battle around it vanished, leaving the intangible craft revolving slowly above them, a sinister black cross with gleaming red lights.
"Of course," said Frigga.
"What?" said Thor and Odin together.
"The Aether was in Malekith's possession long before Bor took it. Malekith may not have achieved his final objective, but he had time to study it and use it to build a fleet of perfect stealth ships."
"Is there no way to penetrate the illusion?" said Thor.
"Perhaps if we had the Aether," said Heimdall.
Thor shook his head. "Even if we could find it, disturbing it would only wake the Dokkalfar and ruin our advantage."
"What about another Infinity Stone?" said Loki. He held up a hand, and the Tesseract appeared in it, casting its vivid blue glow over them. The movements were so similar to when he'd traded it for Thor's life on the Statesman that Thor flinched.
"If one Infinity Stone could be used to find its fellows, then Thanos would already have them all," said Odin.
"That may not be true," said Thor slowly. A grin was spreading over his face as an idea sparked in his mind. There was one man who could trace an Infinity Stone using another, and it wasn't Thanos. "Perhaps he simply lacks the right PhDs."
X
Thor and Loki found Banner in his new laboratory (a spacious room one level down from his sleeping quarters, which Loki had filled with everything he'd taken from Dr. Sterns). He was trailing behind Birgir Halvarson, one of the servants who oversaw guest accommodations, as the lad explained how to use the Asgardian technology. Birgir noticed the princes first, and he sprang to attention, smacking fist to heart so quickly that they could hear the thunk all the way from the door.
"Excuse us, Birgir," said Loki. "We need to borrow your charge for a moment."
"Yes, my prince," he said, and he bowed to each of them and left the room.
"Nice kid," said Banner.
"He's seven hundred years older than you," said Loki, amused.
Banner grimaced. "Did...uh...you guys need something?" He said it politely, but he seemed a bit nervous and reluctant.
"Yes," said Thor, happy to be able to offer Banner a chance to prove himself powerful and useful without the Hulk. "We need your expertise."
"My expertise?" said Banner, reluctance replaced with confusion. "I barely know how to operate your refrigeration systems."
"Asgard's technology is far more advanced than what you are accustomed to, yes," said Loki, "but it relies rather heavily upon magic. In this particular case, that may be a hindrance. Birgir and others will help familiarize you with everything, and when you are comfortable—" He paused and produced the Tesseract again, then placed it into one of the gold containment fields positioned around the laboratory. "—we hope you will be able to devise a means of tracing the energy signature of an Infinity Stone for us."
"One of the most dangerous threats against both our worlds once had access to a similar power source," said Thor. "While they had it, they used it to build a fleet of ships that cannot be detected by any Asgardian means. We need to find them before they awaken from their stasis and attack."
"Yeah, sure, I'll see what I can do," said Banner.
"We will supply whatever materials and equipment you need," said Loki. "If you think it will be easier to use some Earth technology, perhaps Director Fury can be persuaded to supply it. And you can of course work with Drs. Selvig and Foster."
X
Lord Freyr and Lady Gerd responded to Odin's invitation at once. They had not been expecting it, but they were family, if of a distant sort, and they were undoubtedly curious.
In the evening, Loki rode out with Thor to the Observatory to greet their guests, as they usually did for visiting nobility. Thor had been just as surprised to learn that Lady Gerd was Jotun as Loki had been, but he had recovered quickly and declared his eagerness to finally meet his cousin's wife. He spent much of the ride, once they were clear of the city and any curious ears, musing about what advice Lady Gerd would have about improving relations with Jotunheim and how quickly Loki would learn how to use his latent Jotun abilities. Then he strayed off-topic as he imagined aloud how the two of them could combine their abilities to summon a thundersnow storm of epic proportions.
Loki let Thor prattle on, feigning irritation even though he was secretly amused. He hadn't had much time to think about Lady Gerd since Odin voiced his intent to invite her to Asgard, but he couldn't deny that he was nervous. The only Jotnar he had ever met were the three he had lured to the Vault to disrupt the coronation, and he hadn't exactly enjoyed any pleasant chats with them. Towering over him in that dark, frozen place, barely clothed and hairless, their scarlet eyes alight with greed when he told them how to reach the Casket, they had seemed to match every tale he had heard as a child of dull-witted, monstrous brutes. How much of that had been him seeing what he expected to see and how much was reality? To know for sure, he would need to meet more Jotnar raised on Jotunheim, but Gerd was certainly a start.
The Bifrost activated just as they neared the Observatory, but they were still yards from the entrance and hadn't dismounted yet when a magnificent palomino came charging out, its very young rider laughing and whooping. The boy couldn't be more than two centuries old. The pointed tips of his ears poked out from between wild, white-blond curls. He wore a very fine tunic and coat, and a large silver pendant bounced off his chest with each stride of his horse, which ran past Heimdall and burst out onto the bridge, nearly spooking Gladr and Lettfeti.
Two more horses followed before Thor and Loki could so much as exchange bewildered glances. They veered around Heimdall and chased after the first horse.
"Fjolnir, get back here this instant!" shouted the rider in front. She greatly resembled the boy, though her pointed ears were rather longer, as was the elaborately braided hair flying behind her, and her face was flushed with mortification rather than excitement. She, too, wore a heavy silver pendant. "This is not how we greet our hosts!"
"But it's Asgard, Mama," said the boy, pouting as he reined in his horse. "I've wanted to come here for ages."
"That's no excuse to forget your manners," she said sternly. The impact of the chastisement was somewhat ruined by the fact that both Thor and her husband, a broadshouldered man with curly red hair and beard, were doubled over laughing. Even Heimdall was chuckling behind them in the Observatory.
Loki forced himself to recover from his shock at how normal she seemed—and with a child!—so that he could address her. "Lady Gerd, as you can see, we take no offense," he said. "We well remember what it was to be young boys on an adventure."
"Yes, it is an honor to meet you both, and to see you again, Cousin," said Thor.
Lord Freyr grinned. "You as well," he said. "Prince Thor, Prince Loki, allow me to introduce my beloved Gerd, and our son Fjolnir, who is very keen to be on a realm other than Vanaheim or Alfheim for the first time in his life."
"You are the princes?" said Fjolnir, his eyes very round.
"We are," said Thor. "And if this is your first time on Asgard, I think that calls for something special. How would you like to get a better view?"
"A better view?" he said, cocking his head.
"Yes," said Thor. "Instead of riding all the way to Gladsheim on your horse, I could fly you there with Mjolnir." At an apprehensive sound from Lady Gerd, he hesitated. "If your mother agrees, that is."
Fjolnir bounced in his saddle. "Can I, Mama, please?" He stuck out his bottom lip and looked at her beseechingly with his large, innocent eyes.
"Oh, very well," she sighed, but her hand shot out to grab Thor's arm, and she fixed him with such a glare that he gave an audible gulp. "If he comes to any harm, Odinson, I will make you will rue the day you were born." Behind her, Freyr was grinning—at least until she glanced over at him, at which point he hastily adopted the demeanor of a funeral attendee.
"Not to worry," said Loki, who was more successful at keeping a straight face. "Thor has been known to carry mortals around when he flies, and even they have lived to tell the tale."
"I'm not sure that's helpful, Brother," Thor muttered.
"Go before I change my mind," said Gerd.
Fjolnir cheered and jumped down from his horse. Thor dismounted Gladr and scooped the boy up with his left arm, instructed him to hold on, then spun Mjolnir and flew off. He went at a considerably slower speed than what the hammer was capable of, but Fjolnir shrieked with laughter, and Loki, Gerd, and Freyr all watched until they were just a speck in the distance.
Check it out, an almost functional House of Odin! I'm so proud of them, guys.
It's been the plan for a while that Bruce would be instrumental in helping find the Dark Elves, but when I thought about the logistics, I realized that it's actually canon that Bruce is capable of tracking Infinity Stones based on their gamma signature. That's what he does in Avengers. He finds the Tesseract based on its similarities to the Scepter (and, more specifically, the Mind Stone), which is something even Thanos didn't seem to be able to do. Now all Bruce has to do is take that a couple steps further and find ships that were built using the Reality Stone that have been sitting in one place for thousands of years. Tall order, maybe, but he's got better gadgets to work with here. Also, it's never stated in The Dark World that the Dark Elves built those ships using the Aether, but the lights on them are exactly the same shade of red, so it seemed like a very small logical leap given what they're capable of.
I basically came up with the idea of including Freyr and Gerd as I was writing the previous chapter, and at that point, I didn't plan on giving them a kid. But I was researching them for more ideas on how to portray them, and I found out that a historical/mythical king of Sweden around the time of Alexander the Great was, according to legend, the son of Freyr and Gerd. So hey there, adorable child Fjolnir!
Probably my favorite parts of this chapter are Thor acting like a big kid. More so than usual, I mean. The big family chat went well and Loki's okay, so he's feeling pretty happy on the whole right now.
I'm really excited to get farther into this arc, because I had a whole bunch of new ideas for it in the last week or so, and it should be really fun, but first there will be at least one more chapter focusing on Freyr, Gerd, and Fjolnir.