A/N:
It was not like anything she remembered Asgard had been. There were no palaces, no gold, no glorious monuments built up to the sky.
No place where you would expect gods and kings and warriors.
So why should one of his variants go to this place? And what happens when two badass woman warriors meet?
Well, we'll see..
(Kelly of the midnight dawn ~ Thank you very much for your Review, I laughed so hard at that :D And you're totally right about both things: The "getting him out of the tree" AND the "lunch that isn't ruined by metaphor" part!)
It felt strange the be in her battle armor again.
For so many years it was like a second skin.
So many years on the run and there had been no other option. Well, there would have been..but it's really difficult to fight with all of your body and soul when you're stuck in jeans.
Sylvie liked to experiment with fashion and she really liked to go shopping, especially with Verity. Mobius was a shitty shopping buddy though. And she was really into comfy stuff like jogging trousers and hoodies, best together with Netflix and a big bucket of Ben and Jerry's.
"You could conjure me a new outfit. You have no idea how uncomfortable something like this is"
But honestly..at this moment she didn't want to wear anything else.
The moment they stepped out of the time door and Sylvie saw the sign, she felt her heartbeat increasing.
"Welcome to New Asgard"
The name alone..oh boy, she hadn't thought about her birthplace in a long time. It was a distant and painful memory, being ripped out of it as a child, forced to leave her family, her friends, her home.
Her brother.
And then there was Ragnarok.
Asgard was completely destroyed in the process, she had read about it once. And after that she had taken the memory, the pain, the feelings and tucked it away, into a dark corner of her mind..
Together with a lot of other stuff..
It didn't occur to her, that something could have survived Ragnarok. Well, Loki had survived it..the other version of him. But this mischievous guy seemed to survive nearly anything. For a moment she grinned to herself at that thought.
In her dreams, she saw it sometimes.
Asgard.
Little blips of her mother, not much, just warm feelings..her hugging her, eyes so warm and deep and the love she saw in them. She saw herself playing with her wodden toys, the viking ship her father had built for her, the wolf, the dragon.
And someone sneaking up to her from behind, trying to scare her so that she would fight with him. He had been so annoying sometimes. Constantly seeking her attention.
Her brother.
And after she was kidnapped all she could think about was that she would give everything in this world to see his annoying ass again..
Sylvie came back to the present, seeing Verity, who was looking at her suspiciously.
"What?" Sylvie asked.
"I think you shouldn't wear the..you know..horns."
The enchantress raised an eyebrow and touched her horned crown.
Two horns..one whole, from root to toe, one broken..broken in a very good but hard fight. For some time she wanted to replace them, to have an intact crown once again. But ultimatively decided against it. It was part of her, part of her story, of her being. Like a battle scar. And to be honest, she found it quite appealing.
She hadn't worn them for a long time..like her armor..and touching them again sent a warm feeling through her body.
It felt like being herself again.
And she hated and loved this at the same time.
She thought for a moment about it but then realization hit her.
"Thor," Sylvie simply stated.
Verity nodded and Sylvies heartbeat increased once again. What an entrance that would make. Her, in her leather armor, the crown on her head, the green magic..
"I didn't know something had survived Ragnarok," Sylvie remarked absentminded, running her hand along the letters on the sign.
"Actually a lot of the Asgardians survived it. Thanks to a group of warriors, including Thor and..Loki."
Sylvie smiled at that, "Yeah, that's what we're good at..surviving."
"But after they escaped Asgard, Thanos, The Mad Titan, captured the ship and killed the majority of them," Verity continued with a sad tone in her voice.
Yeah, that was where Loki was killed. The other one..by the hands of Thanos.
Verity, Sylvie and the other two TVA agents began to walk towards a fishing village and what seemed to be the center of New Asgard.
It was not like anything she remembered Asgard had been. There were no palaces, no gold, no glorious monuments built up to the sky. No place where you would expect gods and kings and warriors.
"You nervous?"
Verity looked at her and the enchantress realized that her hands were shaking.
"Yeah, guess so. I know this isn't my home, these aren't my people..but they're the closest link to my past."
She shrugged her nervousness away. "So why would a kang variant go to New Asgard?"
Sylvie looked around, the harbour, the boats, the simple cottages..On the cliff they saw a couple of children fighting with sparring swords. Sylvie was about to go to them, only to be stopped by Verity.
"Please be careful. We don't want to cause more trouble than needed. Just want to catch this guy and then go our way."
"Hey, did you ever take me for a troublemaker?" she asked with a wide grin.
And they both had to laugh at that.
"I will be discreet, promise," Sylvie added, sticking her tongue out to her friend.
When they walked towards the group, there was a lot of confusion on their faces. The children pulled their swords to defend themselves but a woman, seemingly the teacher of the class, told them to stand down, positioning herself in front of them.
"Who are you?" the dark haired woman asked.
Verity hold up her hands to signal peace, "Don't be afraid. My name's Verity. This is Sylvie, these are Steve and Jeff. We're here on behalf of an organisation called the Time Variance Authority. We're keeping the peace in the..um..universe"
Sylvie realized her friend had to bite her tongue. Not many people knew of the multiverse at that point and there was no easy way to explain this in a few sentences.
"There was a disturbance and we have to make sure that everything's alright. We search for a man, he might be dangerous."
The other woman nodded, but her glance remained sceptical, "Then, welcome to New Asgard. I'm Brunnhilde, or Valkyrie."
She put her sword away and they shook hands. Sylvie smiled at the woman and her fighting class. It reminded her of her capoeira girls. A bunch of kids, too young to fight, but willing to learn..and grow.
And hopefully they didn't have to fight so soon..they were still so young..
"Was there anything suspicious going on? Did you see anybody you don't know?" the enchantress asked.
Brunnhilde shook her head but at the same moment a small boy ran to her.
"King Valkyrie, there is a man and he asked for Love..I didn't tell him anything but he looked strange and he had a blue armor on."
The eyes of Valkyrie widened in shock and she held the hand of the boy, calming him down, "Thank you for telling me, Ryan."
She looked at the other kids, "Go back to your parents. Tell them to stay inside and lock the doors."
Then she waved at the agents, "Come with me"
They ran to a gathering place in the middle of the small town.
There he stood, dark-skinned and, like the boy said, in a blue and white armor with a blue cape. Nothing about him fit in here. A foreign man from a foreign planet. Only here to make trouble.
Around him he gathered maybe fourteen or fifteen masked fighters. And in front of him there was a scared, little girl. Her eyes were full of fear and Sylvies body flooded with rage in an instant.
The variant held her close to him, a knife at her throat.
"Scaring little girls. That's a new low for you guys," Sylvie stated with disgust.
He was different. But he wore his face..
Why did they always have to look like him?
"Let go of the girl, immediately!" Brunnhilde was right beside her now, hands balled to fists.
At that moment Sylvie saw the familiar time door appearing a few steps away.
Oh Mobius, perfect timing, as ever.
The variant laughed. It was the laugh of a madman. No sign of a harmless scatterbrain or a nerd stargazing.
There was no innocence in him.
"No, I can't let her go. We need her."
He moved a bit and everyone was on alert. Sylvie heard the deep breaths Brunnhilde took, trying to hold herself back for the sake of the girl.
"Who is we?"
Another crazy laugh filled the air.
"All of us."
Sylvie pulled out her blade, going a few steps in his direction.
"You attack me, the girl dies."
The enchantress froze in place. This was no idle threat.
But one of the agents made a move and so it started. Sylvie watched in shock as the TVA agent was knocked out in a few seconds. The other one and Verity quickly pulled him away from the battlefield.
One of the warriors swung his sword at Sylvie, a mighty swing that caught her off guard. Okay, seemed like they were definetly skilled in combat. She managed to duck out of the way just in time.
"You can't do anything here. This isn't your fight. Go!" she screamed at Mobius and Verity.
She shot her magic at one of them, but he fought it off like it was just a small irritation, which made her wide her eyes in surprise.
The next thing happened so fast..first she saw something in the corner of her eyes and then the whole ground was shaking under them. Everything around them flashed as someone landed next to her, a massive hammer shattering the ground.
She knew in an instant that it was him.
Thor.
He cast a quick glance at her before turning to the scenery in front of them.
"Thor, god of thunder," the variant started, looking at his hostage, "Don't worry. I just borrow her for a little while."
Rage was coming out of every pore of the god. He didn't wait a second longer and swung his hammer at the first one.
Valkyrie touched Sylvie on the shoulder, "Can I leave you alone for a moment? Have to get something..I'll be back in a minute."
She blinked at her and took off.
Two of the masked fighters stood before her now, swords in hands, ready to attack.
"You know, this day was pretty shit already. And you guys don't make it better."
The enchantress did a fight combo of swinging her sword and shooting her magic at them. Her attack hit one of them but the second warded off the attack easily, swung the sword at her, forcing her to roll out of the way.
Sylvie focused herself and sprung up from her coiled position, thrusting her blade out.
The sound of metal penetrating skin and bone filled her ears. It wasn't that she particularly liked this sound but it reminded her of a past life and the adrenaline and flow that came with it was hard to ignore.
At the corner of her eyes she saw Thor fighting three of the warriors at the same time. They were incredibly strong. Another one attacked Sylvie and she fired everything that she had, her green magic filling the air.
One moment she catched the god of thunder looking at her with surprise, as she managed to fight the other off with a giant wave of green.
But then one of the remaining catched her by surprise and the enchantress stumbled backwards. She tried to hit him with her sword but he was too strong and she was already tiring.
After all, it was the first fight in a very long time..
He managed to push her until she stood with her back against a wall. Breathing was hard and her heartbeat increased fast, as she saw his sword crystal clear before her eyes, fear rushing through her body.
The moment the realization hit her that it was absolutely possible that she'll lose this fight she felt something warm on her face..
Blood.
It wasn't hers.
Then the tip of a sword in front of her eyes and a dead body falling to her feet.
The next thing she saw was a grinning Valkyrie, holding her hand out to help her stand up, "Sorry 'bout that. I pay the cleaning. Wanna take a ride?"
Sylvie breathed out in relief and laughed while climbing onto the winged horse behind Brunnhilde. The pegasus flapped his wings and Valkyrie managed to stab another one of the masked warriors with her sword.
"It's gonna be a rough one so hold onto me," she told her while they were already lifting off into the air.
Sylvie clinged to her, placing her head on the other womans shoulder.
"The guy took off with Love but I know where they are. One of the kids saw a portal in the woods. But we have to hurry."
The enchantress looked at the fight scene which was slowly fading before her eyes.
"Thor..," she started.
"He'll manage. He knows I love this girl more than anything. And you know these guy."
Sylvie nodded but it wasn't true..she didn't know this guy..not him. But his kind. His face..his eyes..his laugh
She tried to shake the thought away and watched with fascination how that big, majestetic horse was carrying them with its elegant wings.
And then she saw them.
In the woods.
A man and a small child. Love was carrying an axe with her now. A big, massive axe..
And there was the portal.
Sylvie jumped of the pegasus while it was still half in the air in one elegant and quick move and pulled out her sword once again.
"Sorry to interrupt, but can't let you go with her," she told him.
The enchantress held her hands up and green flashlights shot into the kang variants direction, pinning him down against a tree before he was even able to make another move.
Free of his grip, Love ran into the waiting arms of Valkyrie.
The enchantress slowly walked towards the man, her sword in her hand. The similarity of the scenery was shattering.
It took her much effort to stay focused.
"He shows up again, his variants, what are you gonna do?"
"Kill 'em"
At that moment the kang variant started to grin.
And suddenly flashbacks were shaking her whole body like lightning while old memories and feelings flooded her mind and body..
"We're all coming, you can't stop it."
He was calm, he was composed.. he was..
..familiar..
"But you already knew that, didn't you...Sylvie? With what you did..you doomed many people. And you paved our way"
She hold her sword with two shaking hands now, ready to swing, ready to kill. Ready to silence this devil..forever.
But it was just one of them..
She concentrated on his face, on what she would do in a second and everything around her faded.
It was just the two of them.
"Any last words?" her trembling voice was soaked in hate.
"It will be a joy for us to kill you all. And when it's time, even your god won't save you.."
He grinned and blinked at her.
"..see you soon."
Sylvie couldn't take her eyes off the blonde man who was cradling his daughter to his chest. His face was pure relief and happiness.
She had to hold herself back of running to him, hugging him, making up for all those years..
It was a strange feeling. Because it wasn't him. It wasn't her Thor..but in a way he was. He had the same smile, the blonde hair, even the movements were similar to the child she knew.
Sylvie didn't know at what point imagination ran away with her and she tried to come back to reality.
"I thank you so much, agents of..TAV!" the god of thunder said, his voice full of gratitude. "You saved my daughters life."
He hugged her even tighter, "How did you know this man was here on New Asgard?"
Mobius smiled warmly, "That's a long story"
Thor nodded and smiled back, "You can tell me all about that later. Now we celebrate! Have you ever tried real Asgardian beer, agent Mobius?"
The analyst shook his head.
"Then, prepare yourself for a massive culture clash," the god said with a wide grin and stood.
When they had all left except for Mobius and Sylvie, he placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Everything's okay?"
Sylvie nodded slowly, "Yeah, I guess. Just haunted by ghosts from the past for a second.."
She smiled at him but as always he saw through her facade.
"Come on, goddess of chaos, let's celebrate. Try that Asgardian beer and see who's the first one to fall from the chair."
The tavern was already well-filled as they entered it.
The atmosphere was lively and everyone was in a good mood. They had fought them off, they had saved New Asgard from a foreign threat and the people and their children were save.
Love was save.
For now..
When she saw a woman with dark rastafarian braids sitting at the bar, she patted Verity on the shoulder.
"You'll excuse me?" the enchantress asked with a joyful smile and her friend nodded, smiling herself, a little suspicious, but Sylvie didn't mind.
"Of course. Meanwhile I'll keep our lovely analyst company," Verity said, pointing to a small table in the corner of the bar.
Somehow Mobius had managed to sit at the most lonely table in the whole tavern and Sylvie shook her head at that.
Oh, Mobius..
But the moment Verity walked towards him a mysterious redhead sat down next to him, two beers in her hand.
Well, that was unexpected.
The two woman looked at each other and started to laugh.
"Good for him, getting back in the game."
Verity pointed to the bar, grinning, "Speaking of beeing back in the game.."
The beautiful Asgardian looked at them, well, especially at Sylvie and smiled, rising her glass.
"See you later, Ver"
With that the enchantress sat down next to the warrior.
"Beer's okay? First one's on me."
Their eyes met and Sylvie nodded, smiling with a mixture of nervousness and joy.
Valkyrie waved at the barkeeper, "Another one for the pretty lady here"
Once the beer was served Sylvie took a long sip and emptied half the glass in one shot while Brunnhilde watched her with wide eyes.
"Wow, someone's thirsty. You sure you're not Asgardian?"
Sylvie laughed..yeah, well..
"You're really impressive, you know that? I mean, hel, that magic.." Val pointed out.
"Thanks, likewise. That winged horse.."
"Aurora, my battle companion, the truest friend I ever had" Brunnhilde raved, thinking of her pegasus, smiling. "She'd saved my ass a lot of times. You'd ever ridden one?"
Sylvie shook her head, "Hadn't even ridden a horse.." she admitted, half ashamed, half wistful..there were so many things she hadn't done.
Never had the opportunity to try them..
The other woman placed her hand on Sylvies and looked at her with disbelief, "You're kidding me! No way..we have to change that! Tomorrow I will put you on a horse! We have the perfect ones for beginners."
The enchantress smiled shyly, gently stroking the others hand with her finger. Their eyes met and Val waved at the barkeeper again, not breaking eye contact, "Two Tequila, please"
When the drinks arrived they both licked their hands, sprinkled salt on it and Brunnhilde intertwined their arms, all the time looking deep into the blonde womans eyes.
"To you, foreign woman, for your amazing help today..and for your beauty."
They both downed their glasses in one and bit down on their lemon slice, simultaniously grimassed and laughed.
At that moment Val closed her eyes, her lips forming a delightful smile when they heard Johnny Cashs "I walk the line". She started humming and in an instant she was on her feet, holding her hand out to Sylvie.
"May I ask for that dance enchantress Sylvie, saviour of the day and delight of my evening?"
The blonde woman blushed at those words and the invitation. She looked at the others hand.
"I'm..umm..I think I can't.."
"Even better, me neighter. Let's see whose feet are more sore tomorrow from stepping on the others"
Her smile was so pure of heart, so bright, her hazel eyes glimmering with excitement.
She was stunning..a beautiful, dark haired warrior with a kind heart, which she carried out on her tongue. So Sylvie placed her hand in hers shyly, entering unfamiliar territory here. She had danced with women before, but that seemed to be eons away.
Valkyrie pulled her towards her, their faces only inches away, "Problem if I lead?"
Oh hel, that was also unfamiliar terror..
Normally Sylvie was the one in charge, at least with women, and the whole situation started to overwhelm her. But before she could even object or overthink Brunnhilde had already wrapped an arm around her waist, the other hand raised together with hers and started to spin them around.
A strange, warm feeling flooded Sylvie at the touch, especially the arm tightly holding her around her waist.
The enchantress' foot was the first one to step on the other. Their eyes met and they both started giggling while moving together in their own rhytmn, not always on beat.
But they both didn't care..
The world slowly faded away and the only thing that mattered was her, her hazel eyes and her gentle, but firm touch. They both forgot time and space around them and only stopped when they were breathless, panting.
Valkyrie bowed and took Sylvies hand once again, "Ready for another drink?"
The blonde woman nodded breathlessly and they sat down at the table where Mobius, Verity, the two other agents and now Thor were sitting.
"Ah, our dancing queens," Mobius said with a smirk to Sylvie and Val, blinking at the enchantress.
Sylvie shot an annoyed look back at him and he grinned, handing her a glass of water.
"No, thanks, not planning on getting sober so early," she blinked back and looked at Brunnhilde, whose eyes were on her the whole time.
Thor grinned, stood up and walked to the bar, shouting, "Beer please! Beer for my new friends from the..umm..TAV?"
They all laughed and he came back with the drinks, raising his glass, "To you, my friends. For you'll always have a seat at my table and a home in New Asgard."
"We had one of the largest armies Asgard had ever seen. A powerful women army, respected and loved..and feared by our enemies. And she and I..We fought side by side, she was my destiny..at least I thought so. We were unstoppable, until.."
Val paused when the memory hit her. The two women sat next to each other outside the tavern, several drinks and hours later.
"..until Hela"
Sylvie looked at her with a questioning look.
"The vicious sister of that big, blonde, gentle muscleman."
With her chin she pointed through the window in Thors direction.
Brunnhilde started to laugh, "That's some shitty disfunctional family, I can tell you..the Royal Asgardian family," she accentuated the last words and made a dramatic gesture with her hands, "Their dad, Odin, the allfather..locked and tucked away everything that bothered him too much.. a daughter, evil as evil can be, two sons, one a kind-hearted hot-head, the other..a traitorous, greasy madman.."
Sylvie almost choked on her own spittle at that.
"..and a peace-loving, gentle mother, holding that whole circus together."
She made a pause, shaking her head, smiling.
"And now Thor's the only one left.."
Biting her lip, Sylvie touched the others hand and their eyes met.
"What about you, mysterious woman? I talk and talk and don't know much about you..you always worked for the TA...for that time police organisation?"
The enchantress let out a scornful laugh because of the irony..working for the TVA..working her whole life to bring the TVA down would be more accurate.
But let's not complicate things..
"No, I joined them a year ago. My life wasn't that..interesting..like yours"
More like a lot of chaos, apocalypses and a lot of more chaos..
Valkyrie looked deep into her eyes, "You don't trust people easily, do you?"
Sylvie shook her head and held her gaze, "No"
"Bad experiences, I get that. Wise of you, bad for me.."
She moved closer, her hand slowly touching her cheek, gently stroking it, "Mysterious woman, I like you very much..would be an honor if I get the chance to prove that I'm trustworthy."
Sylvie blushed so deeply, the touch of the other sending shivers down her spine and through her whole body. Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the aftermath of the battle and all the relief that came with it. Surely all of that played a part in what she felt.
But at the moment this just felt so damn good..
Slowly they moved, Sylvies hand on Vals. She closed her eyes and then their lips met..
The softest lips she ever touched..
A warm sensation was slowly growing inside her body, both their hands now touching..face, neck, hair..
Her lips parted and tongues touching each other, circling, exploring, first gently than more firm. Electricity firing though Sylvies whole body at every touch, every breath..
..and then a flashback..
Fragments of purple and green, a fire cracking in the background, the sound of crashing daggers..
Heavy breathing..
Gentle hands on her shoulders..
"I just want you to be okay"
And then all of a sudden Sylvie broke the kiss, looking with wide eyes into confused ones.
"I can't..I'm sorry..."
And then she did something she'd never thought she would ever do and saying the next words shocked herself to the bone..
"I love someone else"
She stood, her hand pressed to her mouth, leaving a confused Valkyrie behind, only to run backwards into the arms of..
Mobius..who was standing in the doorframe.
"Not..a..word!" Sylvie silenced the analyst when he started to open his mouth with a smile on his lips and rushed past him.
In the hurry she didn't pay attention and something fell out of her cape and onto the floor..
Suddenly all eyes were on her and a firm hand grabbed her by the arm. Looking up she met the questioning and upset eyes of Thor, who looked back and forth between herself and the fallen horned crown..
"Who the hel are you?!"
This time, she couldn't be more thankful that Mobius was there, placing one hand on Sylvies and one on Thors shoulder.
"We have a lot to talk about"
Notes:
Hope you like this chapter. I was very, very nervous about it because..like Sylvie and feelings..writing a battle scene is new territory for me. I hope it's not that bad :D
I didn't find anything about the name of Valkyries pegasus so I gave her one according to my imagination. And there's also Tequila on New Asgard..because it's earth and why not, right?
A lot to process for Sylvie in this chapter. The kang variant, Valkyrie, finally meeting Thor..her brother from another mother..
..and then most of all there's this big, monumental confession to herself for the first time..
What happens next? Stay tuned ;)