Chapter 7: Shattered Bonds

Mike loomed above Magni, eyes burning with contempt as he hefted his hammer fist for the final strike and dropped it onto Magni's face.

Just then, a piercing sonic scream split the air. Mike was blasted sideways, crashing painfully into the side of a parked car. He tumbled to the cracked pavement, stunned. Standing over him was Paisley, eyes flashing dangerously with a bright pink color, but she was no longer in civilian clothes—instead she wore a sleek black and pink outfit emblazoned on the shoulder with a SHIELD insignia.

Keeping her hand raised warily at Mike, she spared a brief glance towards Carl and Titania. Both stared in utter shock, to the point that Carl's grip on his wife loosened significantly.

"What the hell?!" Carl asked. Titania's face however, darkened with fury. She started towards Paisley, but Carl refocused and held her back firmly. "Mary wait–"

"Let me go, Carl! She attacked our boy! Did you know she had powers?!" she snarled.

"Of course not! What kinda question is that–"

Mary broke free from Carl's grip, pushing him away and charging towards Paisley, but Carl recovered and grabbed a hold of Mary again by the waist.

"Just wait! I wanna hear this," Carl rumbled. He stared hard at Paisley. "Out with it girlie. What the hell is going on here?"

As Mike dragged himself up, staring at Paisley in dismay, she swallowed hard. "I'm...I'm an agent of SHIELD. I've been undercover keeping tabs on the two of you, just in case you ever relapsed to your old ways. But this…" she gestured over to Mike. "This is a curveball none of us saw coming."

Mike clutched his head, her words piercing through Amara's hold on him. "Pais...you were using me this whole time?" Mike rasped in hurt and confusion.

Paisley bit her lip, looking anguished. "My name isn't…" she trailed off, thinking about her words carefully. "Mike, whatever's going on you need to snap out of it!"

With an enraged roar, Mike snapped fully back under Amara's control. He charged Paisley, but a pair of pink energy wings sprouted from her back as she took flight out of reach.

"Mike, stand down! I don't want to hurt you!" she shouted desperately. Seeing him leap for her again, fists raised, she fired another sonic blast that bowled Mike over. As Mike stumbled to his feet once more, eyes crazed, Mjolnir came soaring out of nowhere to smash him brutally back down face first into the rubble. Magni limped over and snatched up his hammer, towering imposingly over the dazed Mike even in his battered state.

Raising the hammer to the sky, the clouds darkened, thunder rumbled. A bolt of lightning came down, striking the hammer and filling it with electricity. As Mike attempted to push himself back up, Magni swung the hammer down to smash Mike over the back of his head with electrified might, causing him to collapse back to the ground.

"MIKE!" Titania screamed. She broke free from Carl's grip yet again, only this time, he didn't try to stop her.

As she closed in and launched herself at Magni, a pink force field surrounded her, trapping her in a bubble. Titania pounded on the field with all of her might, but to no avail. Paisley hovered above Titania, a sorrowful look on her face.

"He's fine," she responded. She quickly looked over her shoulder at Magni. "He is fine, right?"

Using his foot, Magni turned Mike's body over onto his back. He knelt down, placing a hand onto his chest.

"His heart still beats, yes."

Paisley let out a sigh of relief, returning her gaze to Titania. "If I let you out…will you–"

"I'll beat you within an inch of your life, unless I hear something that changes my mind," Titania said, cutting her off.

Paisley lowered her head slightly. She looked over at Carl, who stood with his arms crossed as his eyes darted between Mike and Magni.

"Now, being a parent has…taught me to control my temper. Mary's still working on that…" Carl said as he took slow, deliberate steps towards the two. "But that doesn't mean I'll just sit here and tolerate nonsense either, especially when it comes to my family. Now I want answers, and you're gonna give them to me. Starting with what the hell's wrong with Mike and why he attacked Thor Jr."

Magni furrowed his eyebrows. "My name is Magni, not–"

"I don't give a damn what your name is, I only care about answers," Carl interjected.

Magni scowled slightly, but cleared his throat. "I have never met your son before, I want to make that clear. When he attacked me he spoke of someone…someone I believed I could trust, but I now see I have been misled. I believe your son is under the effects of an enchantment, and the source is a woman named Amara." Magni let out a frustrated sigh. "She is my sister."

Paisley's eyes widened slightly at the information. She looked over at Titania, who seemed much calmer now, and Carl, who seemed to have gears turning in his mind. The energy bubble around Titania dissipated, freeing her. She glared at Paisley, but did nothing except walk over to stand closer to Carl.

"So this is all your fault," Titania said.

Magni lowered his head slightly. "I am at fault for trusting her, yes, but I shall correct this at once. I will bring your son to her, and force her to fix what she's done."

Paisley shook her head. "I don't think so. Mike is staying in SHIELD custody where we'll monitor him. You bring her to us. The director will have plenty of questions."

Magni watched Paisley for a moment, weighing his options. Given how unfamiliar he was with modern Midgard, he didn't want to unnecessarily step on any toes. He ultimately gave a nod in agreement. "Very well Lady…?" he trailed off.

"Songbird, you can call me Songbird," she responded.

Magni nodded. "Very well, Lady Songbird. I shall return with Amara soon." His gaze fell upon Titania and Carl, sympathy etched across his features as he swung Mjolnir once more, opening up another dimensional rift, and jumping through it.

Almost as soon as the rift had closed, several black vans pulled up to the scene of the destructive battle, and armed agents of SHIELD exited, training their weapons on Mike. Some even briefly looked at Titania and Carl, but a simple shake of the head from Paisley discouraged any further action.
"So," Titania began, crossing her arms. "You're going to tell us everything about this little double life of yours. You owe us that much."

Paisley sighed, lowering her head. "I can't tell you everything, but I can say that I'm—"

"If you say you're sorry, I'll punch you so hard in your throat you won't be doing much singing ever again," Titania interjected, her eyes sharp with anger.

Paisley's focus shifted over to Mike's unconscious form, which was currently being lifted up by several agents and carried off into an awaiting secured van.

"But I am…"

Asgard Royal Palace

Evening

Magni marched through the golden halls of the palace, his steps echoing with determination. Eyes turned towards him, whispers trailing in his wake. Finding himself before the grand throne room, Magni pushed open the towering doors, the sound echoing like a declaration of his resolve. There on the throne sat Amara, her green eyes glittering with ambition as she smiled slyly at him.

"Welcome home, brother," she purred. "How did your search for the magical disturbance go?"

"Amara," Magni's voice rumbled like distant thunder, carrying the weight of his disappointment and fury. "Explain yourself."

Amara's lips curved into a sly smile, her confidence unwavering even in the face of accusation. "Explain what, dear brother?" Her words dripped with honeyed deceit, a melody of manipulation woven into every syllable.

"Do not play coy with me, you treacherous witch!" Magni boomed, thunder echoing through the hall. "I know of your schemes, of your enchantment of that mortal whom you set upon me. What have I done to deserve this betrayal?"

Amara rose gracefully from her seat, her gaze meeting his with a chilling calmness. "Dear brother," she began, her voice laced with honeyed venom, "you have always been blind to the true potential of Asgard. Our realm should not be content with mere existence. It should stand as a beacon of power and influence across all the realms."

Magni's brow furrowed in confusion and disbelief. "And you believe deception and treachery are the means to achieve this?"

A smirk played at the corners of Amara's lips. "Under your rule, Asgard has grown stagnant, clinging to outdated traditions and beliefs. It is the same as it was before Ragnarok under Thor and Odin's rule, but with me as queen, we can usher in a new era of dominance. I only seek what is best for our people."

"You seek what is best for yourself! You, someone who came of age with so little, merely desires everything," he asserted.

Amara shook her head. "You lack the vision I have, dear brother. Unfortunately, for it to come to pass, you must be removed from the equation.

Magni's fists clenched around Mjolnir's handle, his resolve hardening. "I will not allow you to tarnish Asgard's legacy with your ambitions," he declared, determination burning in his eyes. "Submit yourself for punishment, or face me in combat."

Amara's cruel laughter filled the room, and from the shadows emerged Modi, his eyes, normally separate in their blue and brown colors, now were unified with an eerie emerald glow.

"Modi..." Magni's voice faltered as he struggled to comprehend the sight before him. "What have you done to him!"

Amara sauntered over to Modi with a delighted smirk. "It was so easy, Magni," she purred, running a delicate hand under Modi's chiseled jaw. "All it took were a few whispers in his ear as he confided his deepest insecurities to me. His overwhelming feelings of inferiority to you. Oh how he hates that he cannot wield Mjolnir as the prophecy foretold."

Modi remained motionless, the eerie glow never leaving his eyes.

"He rages at the injustice of it all—that you were deemed worthy, and he was not," Amara continued. "But once you are gone, dear brother, Modi will stand by my side as my consort, and I will gift him power beyond his wildest dreams, to be the god he always deserved to be."

A bitter taste filled Magni's mouth as he listened to his sister's twisted tale. His heart ached with the weight of betrayal, but his resolve remained unyielding. "You will not succeed, Amara," he spat, his voice laced with defiance. "I will stop you, no matter the cost."

Amara laughed once more before leaning close to Modi, placing her arm around his shoulders.

"Now my love," she whispered. "Destroy him."

At her command, Modi drew his sword, its gleaming surface crackling with lightning. Magni squared his shoulders, his grip tightening around his own mighty hammer.

"Forgive me, brother," he said, his tone low and somber.

With no change of expression, Modi charged towards his brother, Ledrahl raised high. Magni, his eyes now full of defiance, let out a loud roar as he charged as well towards his enchanted brother, ready to face whatever trials lay ahead.

SHIELD Triskelion

Governors Island, NY

Noon

Inside the secure confines of the SHIELD Triskelion, a specialized containment cell held Mike Creel, still under the lingering effects of Amara's enchantment. His features were etched with confusion and turmoil, his mind clouded by forces beyond his control. The energy field crackled around the containment cell, designed to dampen Mike Creel's powerful abilities.

On the other side of the reinforced glass wall, Paisley shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Titania sat across from her, fury etched into her face. Carl laid a calming hand on his wife's arm, though his own expression was troubled.

"You said your name wasn't even Paisley…" Titania's voice dripped with venom. "So what is it?"

Paige took a steadying breath. "My real name is Paige Gold. Daughter of Melissa Gold, the former Songbird.

Titania scoffed. "Figured that last part out as much."

Dropping her head, Paige blinked back tears. "I know it was wrong to lie. But I need you both to know my feelings were real. You mattered to me. Mike mattered to me."

An uncomfortable silence stretched across the room, only broken by the persistent hum of the force field.

"What happens now?" Carl asked at last, his voice heavy.

Paige looked up, fresh determination in her eyes. "Now, we get Mike back. Whatever it takes."

The doors hissed open and Nick Fury Jr. strode into the room, his eye patch and long leather coat cutting an intimidating figure. He surveyed the scene coolly, his gaze lingering on the still form of Mike Creel behind the containment field.

"Well, if it isn't the Creel family reunion." His tone was clipped and professional. "Though I wish it were under better circumstances."

Titania and Carl regarded him with a mixture of bitterness and resignation.

Titania and Carl regarded him with a mixture of bitterness and resignation. So much for Paige's reconciliation attempt.

"Director Fury," Paige began, rising to her feet. "I was just-"

He silenced her with a raised hand. "Save it, Songbird. I'm aware of the situation." Turning his focus to the Creels, Fury's single eye was unflinching. "Once we break this enchantment over your son, he'll be taken into custody to face charges for his...actions while compromised."

Titania shot up from her seat, a low growl rumbling in her throat. "Like hell he will! Mike's not responsible for whatever that witch made him do!"

"Mary, please." Carl put a restraining hand on her shoulder, though his jaw was tightly clenched. "The director's just following protocol."

"Exactly." Fury's tone remained infuriatingly even. "And it will be up to the courts to decide the extent of his culpability. He'll be facing time in The Raft undoubtedly so…I suggest you two find him one hell of a lawyer." He held up a hand as Titania opened her mouth again, cheeks flushed with rage. "That's the way it has to be, I'm afraid. SHIELD's hands are tied on this."

Another wave of uncomfortable silence stretched between them, broken only by the persistent thrum of the force field. Finally, Fury turned on his heel.

"Try not to kill my agent while I'm gone," he tossed over his shoulder on his way out. "I've got enough paperwork as it is."

The doors hissed shut behind him, leaving Titania, Carl and Paige in an echoing quiet. Slowly, Paige sank back into her chair, feeling the weight of their disappointment pressing down on her.

"I'm sorry," she said at last, the words feeling hopelessly inadequate. "I really am."

The throne room shook with thunderous impacts as Mjolnir and Ledrahl clashed. Magni grunted, straining against his brother's relentless onslaught of sword strikes.

"Modi, you must...break free!" he shouted over the din of battle. "Can you not see Amara has bewitched you?"

But Modi's face remained blank and impassive, his glowing eyes showing no sign of the brother Magni knew. With a powerful two-handed swing, Ledrahl crackled with lightning as it came slashing down towards Magni's head.

Calling upon his own deep reserves, Magni countered the strike with a massive swing of Mjolnir. The legendary hammer met the blade with a deafening boom, unleashing a shockwave that shattered nearby columns and brought rumbles of falling debris from above.

The brothers were momentarily driven apart by the explosive force. As they paused to gather themselves, Magni took a moment to study Modi through the swirling dust and ruin. His brother's body was taut and coiled, like a lion prepared to pounce. His sword was raised in a classic attack stance, the very image of a devastating warrior.

"Have you forgotten all our training together?" Magni shouted, his deep voice echoing through the vast hall. "All the battles we've fought and won as brothers-in-arms? You wish to throw it away for what? A silly hammer?"

Modi gave no response, no flicker of recognition in his haunting emerald stare. With a feral roar, he launched Ledrahl towards his brother. At the same time, Magni threw Mjolnir at full force, causing the two weapons to collide in the air—neither moving an inch. Lightning crackled around the weapons as they remained in place, struggling against one another.

Both men charged forward, holding their hands out to recall their weapons into their hands, only to each swung towards the other with all of their might. The two warriors strained, muscles taut against the other's force, their weapons crackling with barely contained energies.

"Please..." Magni said through gritted teeth, pouring the full depths of his desperation into his voice. "You must fight this, brother! I do not wish to strike you down! You are more than a prophecy, more than this cursed hammer!"

From the throne, Amara watched the battle with a cruel smile playing across her lips. "It's no use, dear brother," she called out in a mockingly sweet tone. "Modi is utterly mine now—mind, body and soul. A perfect vessel for my desires."

Her smile turned predatory as she licked her lips. "Once you are out of the way, his power will be unstoppable. And all of the realms will tremble before their new rulers."

With an inarticulate cry of rage and grief, Magni renewed his attack, hammering away at Modi's defenses with everything he had. Ledrahl and Mjolnir crashed together in a relentless cadence, ringing out like peals of lightning. Magni and Modi traded brutally punishing blows, shockwaves rippling through the throne room with every impact.

Splashes of crimson arced through the air as cuts opened on their bodies. Magni took a vicious slash across his chest, gritting his teeth against the fiery pain. Modi remained unnaturally expressionless, fighting like an unstoppable force of nature.

"Is this what you want, brother?" Magni shouted, his voice straining with exertion and despair. "To be her puppet until the next Ragnarok?" He punctuated each word with bone-jarring strikes of Mjolnir against Ledrahl's blade. "Have you no shred of yourself left to fight her control?"

But Modi's face remained as still and blank as carved stone. With a powerful downward arc, he battered Magni's defenses until the Thunder God's leg buckled.

Seizing his opportunity, Modi brought Ledrahl up in a savage cross slash, cutting deeply into Magni's torso. A guttural cry was torn from Magni's lips as he collapsed to his knees, Mjolnir falling from his grasp.

Gripping his side, Magni looked up at his brother through a sheen of cold sweat. "If this...is the path you choose," he rasped, tasting blood in his mouth. "Then so be it..."

With chilling finality, Modi raised Ledrahl high. Its razor-sharp edge gleamed in the flickering torchlight, prepared to separate Magni's head from his shoulders.

From her throne, Amara watched with sadistic delight. "Yes!" she hissed. "End him, my love! Fulfill your destiny and take your rightful place at my side!"

Modi's arm began its final, inexorable descent. But at the last moment, his body went horribly rigid, tendons straining against his skin. An anguished bellow ripped from his throat as his glowing eyes flickered. With monumental force of will, Modi fought to regain control of his mind from Amara's thrall. The enchantress's magic clung to him like tar, refusing to relinquish its hold.

"No..." Modi groaned through gritted teeth, sweat pouring down his contorted face. "I...will not...be your puppet!"

Ledrahl fell from his trembling hand as Modi collapsed forward, the last remnants of sorcery burning from his eyes. He hit the cracked floor, inches away from Magni, sucking in desperate, haggard breaths.

"Brother..." he rasped weakly. "Forgive me..."

Nearby, Amara's expression twisted into an unholy mask of pure rage. Her carefully laid plans were crumbling before her eyes. Rising from the throne, she began weaving new threads of magic from her fingertips, emerald fire flickering in her eyes.

Modi slowly pushed himself up to his feet, tendrils of Amara's dissipating enchantment wisping away from his body like smoke. His eyes, now clear and burning with rage, turned towards the throne where the Enchantress stood.

"You..." His deep voice dripped with venom and disgust. "You profaned the sacred bonds between brothers. Defiled our family with your vile sorcery." His hand clenched into a white-knuckled fist as power began to crackle around him. "I will never let you escape the consequences of your actions."

Adopting a wide fighter's stance, Modi stretched out his arm and summoned his sword Ledrahl back to his grasp in a blinding arc of energy. The legendary blade found his grip as if it had been forged as an extension of his very being.

"This ends now, witch," he snarled, rearing back his arm to throw the mystically-charged weapon directly at Amara.

In that final breath before the throw, Amara met Modi's furious glare with the briefest look of fear. "You wouldn't…"

Her words hung in the air as Ledrahl shot forth like an emerald thunderbolt. But before it could strike her, Amara twisted her hands and tore open a swirling portal of eldritch energies.

The portal snapped closed behind her just as Ledrahl impacted, burying itself up to the hilt in the throne. Modi could only stare, chest heaving, at the empty space that had contained his treacherous former lover just moments before.

From behind, a heavy hand fell upon his shoulder. Magni stepped up beside his brother, favoring his wounded side but standing tall and proud. One look at Modi's haunted expression was enough to convey the depths of his fraternal empathy.

Without a word, Magni pulled his younger brother into a tight, bloodied embrace. Modi did not resist, letting himself be enveloped by the shelter of Magni's mighty arms.

"It is over, brother," Magni rumbled softly, squeezing his eyes shut against a wave of relief and lingering pain. "We have endured the worst of her wrath."

Modi's answering response was muffled against his brother's shoulder, but no less determined.

"With that witch still free, unleashing her malice upon the realms..." He straightened, hands clenching into white-knuckled fists once more. "It will never be over."

The corridors of the Triskelion echoed with Magni's heavy footsteps as he walked through the halls, eyed by several agents. In any other circumstance, they might have tried to stop the mammoth of a god, but word had been sent of his impending arrival. Though he favored his wounded side, his expression was one of grim determination.

As he reached the containment cell where Mike was held captive, he was met by the familiar faces of Songbird, Titania and Carl. Within, Mike sat unmoving on a cot, his blank stare and rigid posture evidence that he was still enthralled by Amara's dark magic. Titania was the first to notice Magni's approach. Rounding on him with fists clenched, she very much looked like a mother grizzly protecting her cub.

"Where is she?" she demanded, her eyes blazing with righteous indignation. "Where's your witch?"

Magni's jaw clenched with frustration, his fists tightening at his sides. "I must regretfully admit that she was... able to escape the halls of Asgard before her judgment could be rendered."

The impact of his words reignited Titania's rage like a bellows stoking white-hot coals. Her entire body shook with barely restrained violence.

"Escaped?!" she roared, spit flying as she advanced on Magni with balled fists.

"Mary..." Carl placed himself between his wife and the Thunder God's son, his tone gentle but resolute. "Getting angry won't help Mike right now."

Magni met Titania's smoldering glare steadily. "You aren't the only one who's family Amara bewitched and controlled. She did the same to my brother, though thank the All-Father, he was able to break her control. Perhaps your son will do the same, perhaps not. No matter, you have my most sincere oath, Mistress Titania. I WILL find Amara, wherever she may be scurrying, and bring her to face the severest punishments for her transgressions."

His broad shoulders squared with grim resolution.

"And I will do everything within my power to free your son from her control. This I swear to you, by the names of every honorable warrior who has fallen before us."

The cords of tension eased ever so slightly in Titania's stance, but her jaw remained tightly clenched. Behind her stony mask, Magni could see the fearful desperation of a mother fearing for her child's life.

Slowly, she gave a single, imperceptible nod. For now, that would have to be enough.

The corridor was quiet save for the faint hum of machinery as Magni stepped away from the Creels, giving them some privacy to process everything. Songbird fell into step beside him, her expression pensive.

"So what exactly was your sister's deal?" she asked.

"Amara's ambitions know no bounds. She wishes to rule all of the realms, to shape them in her image and her ideal image of Asgard," he said, casting a sidelong glance at the agent. "Midgard should be ready for her return."

They turned a corner, passing a reinforced security checkpoint manned by heavily armed SHIELD agents. Songbird's brow furrowed thoughtfully.

"And what will you do in the meantime?"

Magni came to a stop, his expression hardening like carved granite. "I will scour all the realms—Asgard, Vanaheim, even the chaos-addled reaches of Muspelheim and Nidavellir. Amara cannot be allowed to slip through the cracks, sowing her malice unchecked. Should she return to Midgard before I find her, then I will return, and stand as an ally to defend your realm with everything that I am."

Songbird held Magni's intense stare for a long moment, giving a subtle nod of understanding.

"We'll be waiting."