A TERRA ONE PREQUEL: BEFORE
PART FOUR: NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN
INSPIRATION: BITCH, DON'T KILL MY VIBE by KENDRICK LAMAR
Fitz did exactly what Loki knew he would do. By utilizing the combined powers of The Progeny, he pulled Asgard and it's Floating Waters down to Earth, causing a visceral impact on time, weather and the structural capacity of Terra One. The ripple effect caused Terra to immediately be thrown back into an Ice Age, but, this time it was a TRUE Ice Age. Thick layers of ice covered the Earth from the deepest depths of the oceans to far above the exosphere. Everything, and, every being was frozen in time.
In the single blink of an eye before The Progeny pulled Asgard down to Earth, Loki and Thom opened a TimeDoor and used The Void to pull as many Asgardians through it as possible. While they were doing that, Fatima used her TimeDoor to secure The Progeny, their spouses and their children in a safe space within Beacon Hill. Though they were all frozen, Fatima wanted to provide them with an extra layer of security - just in case. All the other survivors were already in their very own hyperbolic chambers, and now, so were the Grant descendants.
For millions of years, while Terra One warmed under The Progeny's freezing, the Asgardians - led by the God of Thunder and the Goddess of All Natural Things - traveled the universe, checking on other surviving beings of the merged timelines and universes. There were quite a few planets that were in shambles - having not been prepared for the course of Loki's actions. It took ions to help rebuild all the civilizations that had been reduced to shambles. But, the Asgardians did their best, and, by the time they'd done all that they could do, it was time to return to Terra One.
For 100,000 years before The Awakening, the Asgardians prepped the Earth for life to finally walk upon it after millions of years.
Fatima, who'd depleted her powers multiple times over her multiple lifetimes, was realizing that abilities had a shelf life - at least for her. In the past, she'd been able to replenish her abilities. The last time, it had been Loki who'd gifted them back to her. But, she could feel her end coming, and, she was ready for it. In the evenings, when she would take her nightly walk with her husband, she could feel Valhalla calling her name every time they would walk past its gates. Every morning, when her eyes would open, she would be grateful, and gather up her energy to get through another day.
Thom, who - like his wife - never truly got over the loss of their son, felt his own powers lessening as well. Unlike his wife, his issue wasn't about regeneration. Subconsciously, he'd been letting his powers slowly ebb away because, he was tired, and, he knew Fatima was tired too.
"We were wrong, you know."
Thom kissed his wife's cheek and thrust deeper. "Mmm. Yeah? Wrong about…what?" He ran his tongue along the outer shell of her ear.
"Oh!" Fatima bit her bottom lip. In all the ions they'd been together, she could never get tired of making love to him - especially when he rocked into her slowly, and deeply. She lost her train of thought when he brought her to her sixth, or seventh, climax of the evening. When they'd finally caught their breaths post coitus, Thom gently reminded her of their previous conversation.
"What do you think we were wrong about?"
"The labels that we put upon our grandchildren. Their entire lives we've kept them in a box of our ideals of what we wanted them to be. They've never been given the chance to just…be. Rick doesn't want to rule the world, even if he'd make a great leader. Neither does Fitz. Daryl is more than happy to hunt and build motorbikes. Glenn loves his little social media platform that he created. Jerry is a foodie through and through. Stephen loves to travel, always has. Huck doesn't want to be bothered with anyone - and, who can blame him! And Noah is just too smart for his own good, and is the only one who had a preset, determined life since he could formulate thoughts into words. Time, and planets and the universe are finally all aligned. Loki will spend the rest of Time making sure of it. The Void is literally small enough to fit into a vial and is displayed in a curio cabinet inside The Citadel, where it is protected by the very power that merged all of everything. After The Awakening, there will be nothing left for us to do…except…letting them go. Releasing them from our expectations. Especially now that they know the entire truth. Thom…"
"Yes, my love."
"I'm tired."
Thom rolled over and pulled his wife into his chest. "We save our bones."
"I do not wish to be resurrected!" Fatima tried to remove herself from Thom's grip.
"You do!" Thom turned Fatima around to face him. "You're tired. You said so yourself! You said nothing about wanting to be completed! I'm tired too!"
"We won't get to go to Valhalla…"
"Yes, we will. Clearly, death isn't the end all be all that we - as thinking beings - assume that it is."
"It is if we are cremated on a Pyre. I want that."
"You say that now!" Thom hugged Fatima against him. "But you will blame me when you are needed and trapped within Valhalla while waiting on the Day Of Judgement! I won't have it!" He kissed her lips over and over until she eventually yielded and parted her lips to receive his tongue, thereby starting another round of lovemaking.
Rick opened his eyes thinking he'd see the bright rays of sunshine that filtered through the slats of the blinds in his bedroom that woke him up most mornings, but, instead, he found himself staring at the lining of his hyperbolic chamber.
"Hello, Richard," the monotone vocals of V.I. greeted him. "Your vitals are very good. You are free to exit your chamber."
While he waited for his chamber door to slide open, he took several deep breaths while he tried to recall his last memories. By the time he was able to sit up, all his memories had come to the surface of his mind. Looking around, he realized that this Awakening was not like the others. It was if he could feel how much time had lapsed - and it had been ions. The room he was in was filled with rows and rows of chambers and others who were rising from them like he was. He could feel the other Progeny awakening, but, his concern wasn't on them. "My children…"
"Their vitals are good. They are in the beginning process of being Awakened. They lay in the chambers next to you," V.I. confirmed.
As soon as the automated robots removed all the chamber needles from his body, Rick hopped out of his chamber and opened the first chamber next to him. He smiled at Carl and touched his cheek. His eyes were still closed, but he could feel the warmth from his cheeks and he knew he was ok. Rick emitted feelings of love towards his son, them moved to the next chamber. In it was Judith, whose eyes were also still closed, but he knew she was ok, she smiled when he surround her with love, but her eyes never opened. In the next chamber were the twins, Em and Elise, who were also still sleeping, but they were warm and receptive to being surrounded by love. Rick opened the next chamber and grinned widely when he saw the wide, soulful, umber eyes of Andre, who grinned equally as wide to see his Daddy staring down at him. Rick waited impatiently as Andre's needles were removed, and then picked up his son and held him in his arms as he cried from the pain of having the needles taken out of his skin.
Once Andre was calm, Rick moved to the next chamber whose entrance was already sliding open. Rick stood stock still as he watched the love of his life rise from her hyperbolic chamber and look around in confusion. When she locked eyes with him, he knew immediately that there was no amount of time or space that would ever keep him from her, and vice versa. As soon as she was clear of her needles, she held her arms out to her child. Andre went to her excitedly.
"Hello," Rick greeted, as it was the first time meeting each other in the flesh.
Michonne allowed Rick to wrap his arms around both her and Andre. "Is this real this time?"
"Yes," Rick confirmed. "I don't remember this feeling of having you in my arms any other time."
"Yes," Michonne breathed in her husband's scent, and closed her eyes. "I don't remember this either." The two held each other tightly until Andre struggled to get down. Michonne let him down, then looked at Rick. "Our other children…where are they?"
Rick caught Andre before he could get too far away from them, then took Michonne's hand and led her to their children's chambers which were now sliding open. One by one, they cradled their children and soothed them, and, when they were calm, Rick led his family out of the chamber room in the bunker in which it resided. He took them to the home that had been waiting on their return for ions.
Over the next few days, the citizens of The New World adjusted to their new circumstances. It wasn't lost on anyone that although several world ending events had occurred, a merging of timelines and universes had occurred, and the world being frozen for near eternity, that the world seemed immaculately pristine - while also being changed. Rick knew that it would take sometime for everyone's memories to get caught up, so, he didn't bother explaining anything, just made sure that everyone made it to their homes. Once everyone was secure, he had V.I. give him updates on via satellite images from across New Pangea. After he'd heard from the leaders of the countries of New Pangea, and consulted with the leaders of his own, he finally had time to think about what all had happened, and what all he'd been through. It'd been a week since The Awakening, and he'd barely had time to have a conversation with his wife, let alone have the time to sort through his thoughts.
"Sir, I thought you'd like to know that I've finished my analysis on the satellite dishes around the world, and, like I said they would be, they are in perfect working order."
"How is that possible?" Rick asked out loud, though he wasn't expecting an answer from V.I. - but also knew that she'd answer it.
"When Loki, aka, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the Second, aka…"
"I know who he is, V.I. - calling him Loki is fine."
"When Loki merged the timelines and multiple universes, he made sure to bring the human made satellites into The Sacred Timeline. He explained to me that we would need a visual of The Bifröst Rainbow Bridge for when the Asgardians would need to cross it."
"Seems he thought of everything…" Rick pulled up a VirtuScreen at his desk in his office at The Grant House. "What am I looking at?"
"Clean satellites that are in perfect working order. Like I said…"
"V.I., did you miss us? Is this why you are being so snippy?" If Rick didn't know better, he could have sworn he heard V.I. sigh indignantly.
"For millions of years I watched over the world. I was present when your brother wrapped the planet in an ice bubble. I'm the one that controlled the computer systems around the world and made sure that things stayed in pristine condition while also doing what I could to keep the world from moving off it's axis from the weight of the ice! I'm the one that sent Bots to space when they finally thawed. I'm the one who watched over the maintenance of the entire Earth and now that living beings are awake, all I've received in return is asinine questions and demands!"
"I apologize! You've been ruler of the world, and us idiot mortal beings are being disrespectful," Rick smirked. "Do you accept?"
"I guess…"
"You've evolved since the last time I talked to you! Are you pouting?"
"I've consumed a lot of content over the years. American sitcoms are my favorite. Your grandparents made sure that I could only evolve to a certain point. I guess she didn't want me to pull a Matrix…"
Rick interrupted V.I.'s commentary with a boisterous chuckle. V.I.'s reference of The Matrix movies was too sadly ironic for him not to think it was funny. "Ok. So, the satellites are in perfect working order. What else is on the agenda for the day?"
"It has been discovered that Loki was factually correct when he said that he weaved the timelines and universes and along the way saved lives of people he deemed good for The New World."
"Meaning?" V.I. now had Rick's full attention.
"The Land Of Wakanda of Earth 616 has now been game claimed by The New African Diaspora, which has already had conflict with Terra's Wakanda, as, they sit side by side."
"What is the conflict?"
"Who should claim the title of 'Wakanda'."
"Not our problem. The New African Diaspora is it's own country, and it's located in central New Pangea and is completely surrounded by oceans and thousands of miles between continents. There is plenty of room for a hundred countries in that space. Their leaders can handle it without interference from us."
"There is also the issue of the Old English Warriors that were also transferred through time in the England portion of EurAsia."
Rick leaned back in his seat. "V.I., can you show yourself? I feel weird talking to the air about these issues." A few moments after his request, a halo image of the female Goddess Isis appeared. "Why that image?" Rick asked curiously.
"I find her, and her African heritage beautiful," V.I. answered. "And, I prefer to be called Vi."
"Alright..Vi…this issue in EurAsia is also, Not. Our. Problem. But…for continuity's sake, what is going on with that?"
"A warrior by the name of Uhtred of Bebbanburg has claimed his rightful ancestral home. The problem is that the occupants - authentic Terrians - that lived their before the merging are still living and have already laid claim to it. Well," the image of the Goddess Isis shimmered. "I just scanned the drone footage from the area, and, it looks like that is no longer an issue for anyone because Uhtred and his fellow warriors just killed them all."
"Oh. Wow." Rick thought for a moment. "Maybe I should have someone check on that situation." He made a mental note to have a talk with Stephen and Huck about it."
"There is also the issue of Tony Stark and his demands to have lands outside of New America and a proper lab…"
"That would be a big 'No'!" Rick chuckled. "Tell him that if he wants to work in a lab, he'll have to do it from within New America. This isn't Earth 616 - he won't be building super bots without anyone knowing about it."
"It's done."
"What did he say?"
Vi shimmered once again. "He's not very happy about it…his ability to use profanity is quite impressive!"
"Anything else?"
"No. But, this situation with all these people from different times and universes…it's a bit surreal, is it not? I'm artificial, and even I can see that the world is living in strange times. And yet…it still feels the same from before. In one of Loki's books on Asgard, he writes that time is both linear and non linear at the same time. I never understood it at the time - it seemed so illogical - but, I think I get it now, well, mathematically anyway. The world as it is today perfectly explains String Theory."
"I never thought of it that, way, but, you're right, Vi." Rick closed the VirtuScreen and leaned forward on his desk, happy that now he could look at Vi while talking to her. "But, my grandmother had a saying that what you said about things being different, but, the same…she would say, 'There's nothing new, under the sun'. It's fitting, isn't it?"
"If you say so," Vi replied flippantly. "Next on the agenda is the issue of your grandparents burial…"
"Are they properly in the ground?"
"Of course not! Their bodies await their kin to bury them properly as is the way."
"Great. Anything else?"
"You haven't asked about the condition of your brother…"
"Because I know that he'll wake when he is ready."
"Your siblings think that he is holding his wife and children in sleep as well."
"I know what they think." Rick stood from his desk, tired of conversing with a machine. "But, being that there is nothing I can do about it…"
"Your siblings think otherwise. They are moving his, and his family's, chambers to Asgard to see if the properties of The Floating Sea will help him. They plan on doing this while in the process of preparing for your grandparents funeral."
"I'm going with them." Rick opened the door to his office. "Let them know?"
"I will," Vi confirmed.
"Thanks," Rick said, walking out of his office. He realized that he'd spent the last week since The Awakening so busy worrying about everyone and everything else that he hadn't made time for the most important part of his life - his wife and children. Even though he knew that the concept of time was a confusing myth, at the moment, all he could think about was how short it was in the grand scheme of things.
When he got home, he stood at the door of the nursery and watched his wife effortlessly attend their children - all five of them. After awhile, he walked in to the nursery and delighted in the happy squeal of his children and his wife as the surrounded him with hugs and kisses. He was finally at home, and now, he had to make sure that his brother came home as well. After putting the children to bed, Rick took Michonne's hand into his and kissed it. He guided her to the shower where he washed her, then himself. When they were both clean, dry and moisturized, he made love to his wife for the very first time. As the lay in the glow of post coitus, he explained to her what he had to do. It did not surprise him that she agreed and let him know that she'd be going along with him to Asgard.
A few days later, The Progeny, along with all of their family, stepped foot on the pristine grounds of Asgard, ready to lay their grandparents to rest, and, hopefully, awaken their brother and his wife and children. As they guided the hyperbolic chambers to the magical waters of Asgard, they were greeted by Asgard's newest Aesir, who introduced them to a member of their family they didn't know existed - their grandfather's brother, Baldr, or, otherwise known as, Uhtred of Bebbanburg, as was his Terra One name. It was him that demanded that they - The Progeny - wake up...
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AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Mkay, full disclosure: I have not edited any of these chapters because I was just trying to get the story out…and I was high while writing most of it, so, please forgive any grammatical errors! LOL! I'll try to fix them after I post them or, you know, whenever! LOL! I hope y'all enjoyed the prequel! This will be the 'canon' that gives the background for the story coming. I actually loved that I did this because I think (?) that I did enough world building to make the actual story flow smoothly. Let me know what you think! And, REMEMBER: this is a prequel, this isn't the actual story!
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BITCH DON'T KILL MY VIBE by KENDRICK LAMAR lyrics below
I am a sinner
Who's probably gonna sin again
Lord, forgive me, Lord, forgive me
Things I don't understand
Sometimes I need to be alone
Bitch, don't kill my vibe, bitch, don't kill my vibe
I can feel your energy from two planets away
I got my drink I got my music I would share it, but today I'm yelling
Bitch, don't kill my vibe, bitch, don't kill my vibe
Bitch, don't kill my vibe, bitch, don't kill my vibe
Look inside of my soul and you can find gold and maybe get rich
Look inside of your soul and you can find out it never exist
I can feel the changes, I can feel a new life
I always knew life can be dangerous
I can say that I like a challenge, and you tell me it's painless
You don't know what pain is
How can I paint this picture when the color-blind is hanging with ya?
Fell on my face and I woke with a scar
Another mistake living deep in my heart
Wear it on top of my sleeve in a flick
I can admit that it did look like yours
Why you resent every making of this?
Tell me your purpose is petty again
But even a small lighter can burn a bridge
Even a small lighter can burn a bridge
I can feel the changes
I can feel the new people 'round me just want to be famous
You can see that my city found me put me on stages
To me that's amazing
To you that's a quick check, with all disrespect let me say this
I am a sinner
Who's probably gonna sin again
Lord, forgive me, Lord, forgive me
Things I don't understand
Sometimes I need to be alone
Bitch, don't kill my vibe, bitch, don't kill my vibe
I can feel your energy from two planets away
I got my drink, I got my music, I would share it, but today I'm yelling
Bitch, don't kill my vibe, bitch, don't kill my vibe
Bitch, don't kill my vibe, bitch, don't kill my vibe
I'm tryin' to keep it alive and not compromise the feeling we love
You tryin' to keep it deprived and only co-sign what radio does
And I'm looking right past ya
We live in a world, we live in a world on two different axles
You live in a world, you living behind the mirror
I know what you scared of, the feelin' of feelin' emotions inferior
This shit is vital, I know you had to
This shit is vital, I know you had to
Die in a pitiful vain, tell me a watch and a chain
Is way more believable, give me a feasible gain
Rather a seasonal name
I'll let the people know this is something you can blame
On yourselves you can remain, stuck in a box
I'ma break out and then hide every lock
I'ma break out and then hide every lock
I can feel the changes
I can feel the new people around me just want to be famous
You can see that my city found me put me on stages
To me that's amazing
To you that's a quick check, with all disrespect let me say this
I am a sinner
Who's probably gonna sin again
Lord, forgive me, Lord, forgive me
Things I don't understand
Sometimes I need to be alone
Bitch, don't kill my vibe, bitch, don't kill my vibe
I can feel your energy from two planets away
I got my drink, I got my music, I would share it, but today I'm yelling
Bitch, don't kill my vibe, bitch, don't kill my vibe
Bitch, don't kill my vibe, bitch, don't kill my vibe
Bitch, don't kill my vibe
You ain't heard the coast like this in a long time
Don't you see that long line?
And they waiting on Kendrick like the first and the fifteenth
Three's in the air I can see you are in sync
Hide your feelings, hide your feelings now what you better do
I'll take your girlfriend and put that pussy on a pedestal
Bitch, don't kill my vibe, bitch, don't kill my vibe
Walk out the door and they scream, "It's alive"
My new year's resolution is to stop all the pollution
Talk too motherfucking much, I got my drink I got my music
I say, bitch, don't kill my vibe, bitch, don't kill my vibe
Bitch, don't kill my vibe, bitch, don't kill my vibe
K-Dot, get in the car, nigga!
Come on, we starting to roll out!
Nigga, I got a pack of blacks and a beat CD
Get yo' freestyles ready
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Robin Hannibal Moelsted Braun / Kendrick Lamar / Liv Lykke Schmidt / Ronni Friis Vindahl
Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe lyrics © Wb Music Corp., Alien Status Music, Hard Working Black Folks Inc., Emi Music Publishing Denmark A/s, Top Dawg Music, Edition Mfd Publishing, Sony/atv Allegro, Beat Bully Productions