Helloo! Well, updates are slowing down a bit again, I don't have ideas flying at me like I did for CA for the chapters between CA and Thor but I'm working though it and hopefully they're just as good. Enjoy!

Shout Outs!:

WeAreNumberOne
Ch.21: Yeah, poor Steve. It is going to get interesting for Hiccup trying to keep the charade up.
Thank you. That's the question. I'm hoping at least till Avengers to save myself the pain but we'll see
That would be funny until they have to get the soul stone.
I had to get them in somehow just to keep them still relevant.
Ch.22: That irritated me too, glad I made it work out nicely. Yes, he is officially a founder of SHIELD but he was outvoted on the Zola decision.
At this point I don't plan to mess with Hank much but I'm not going to cut off the idea
I hope, I have an idea and I'm praying it works out well. Well, so far Thor still doesn't know Hiccup is alive, he thinks that Loki is visiting Hiccup's descendants. That's an interesting idea…
I love writing kid Tony, so cute. I would love too but don't really have time in this story, might do a chapter or so in the What If…? I want to do after this story is done. Yes, he is learning ancient Norse. Have to continue reading ;)
Next chapter deals more with the New Archipelago-Hydra secret war while this chapter deals partially with the Capt. Marvel issue. I have a plan for that too, do not fear!
That would be hysterical. Well, we'd definitely know where Tony got it from.
It's okay, I love your rants :)

CHSHiccstrid

Sorry about Howard. Well, he could either disappear or start over. Many questions not much time to tell

SmolAvidReader

Thank you. Yeah, that'll be a shock. Baby Tony is so fun to write. Sorry, was kinda the point though... Everyone is wondering that and I love it.
You're most welcome! :)

Journal 2, Entry 23: "Enter Mar-Vell"

Hiccup stretched as he, Zephyr, and Nuffink left the arena, Zephyr grinning and still taunting her brother who smirked and flicked his fingers, sending ice at her feet. She fell with a yelp and glared at the sheet of ice before turning it to him. Nuffink gasped and tried to run behind Hiccup who jumped back to keep out from between the feuding pair.

"Nuffink, she beat you fair and square. And Zephyr, you should be more careful on ice—if not for respect for your Viking heritage than certainly for your Jötunn," Hiccup admonished both with a small laugh.

The squawk of a Nadder brought their attention to Astrid, who jumped off and smirked at her husband. "Babe, you have nothing to say against them when it comes to clumsiness—nothing beats you as a kid."

Hiccup huffed and rolled his eyes. "I grew out of that by the time we went to The Edge—before I even met Loki! I swear," he looked over at his eldest and middle, "you accidentally topple one torch and they never let you forget it."

The siblings laughed while their mother's eyes narrowed, but she smiled and handed him a folder. "This just came in. The Changewing Guild commander said it had to do with the Tesseract—apparently somebody wants to experiment with it."

Hiccup frowned and took the folder. "Howard? I thought he'd given up that particular route after he realized the Arc Reactor wouldn't work without the new element. Well, not efficiently anyway—and using that much palladium would be a terrible waste in the grand scheme of things."

Nuffink sighed and shook his head in mocking disappointment. "And you didn't offer our services in making the element?"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow as he skimmed past the first few pages that were always useless. "Okay, Nuff, you can have fun explaining that one to the world—I'll make you Howard's PR person."

Nuffink paled so much Hiccup thought he was going to shift into his Jötunn skin. "You wouldn't—I'd rather go back undercover to Hydra than that!"

Hiccup chuckled but frowned as he read over the request, trying to recall anything on this Wendy Lawson. "I don't think your mother would appreciate that too much."

Astrid glared at both her boys. "I don't understand either of your obsessions with messing with Hydra."

Nuffink smiled but rolled his eyes. "Because they're so easy to mess with—especially when they have no communications."

Hiccup closed the file and shook his head fondly. "Alright, you're getting bored here? Go see what you can find about Zola's pet project since he's been smart enough to cover all his tracks about it. And be careful—I'm not liking the rumors I've been hearing about it."

Nuffink beamed and hugged his family before running off to find Ivana and tell her goodbye.

Astrid scowled at Hiccup. "Why did you do that?"

Hiccup looked away, refusing to meet her eyes, and walked deeper into the village. "Because there have been rumors about something big brewing, but Zola has amped up his game. I think he might suspect something's not going right about his perfect infiltration plan. He's started looking at me weirdly. Well, more weird than usual. And I don't like the look's I've caught him throwing at Howard either when he thinks our backs are turned. I wouldn't mind it so much if it was just me. After the fiasco of the second base I escaped from, rumors were bound to pop up but Howard shouldn't be getting those looks."

Astrid sighed. "I'll get them to crack down on it then. What are you going to do?"

Hiccup looked at the folder, forehead furrowing. "Meet Wendy Lawson. Something tells me I'm missing a lot—there's not a whole lot in the file, especially for someone wanting access to the Tesseract. There was a note that Howard referred her but…"

Astrid nodded and kissed his cheek. "I'd love to come with you and stop by and visit Tony but with your rumor suspicions…" She smiled tightly.

Hiccup's lips quirked upwards but tiredly. "Thanks, M'lady. I'll swing by MIT and give him your regards."

*O*

Hakon sat outside of a little café with Torbjörg taking up most of the leg room under the table. He took another sip of the tea he'd ordered when light heel clacking stopped by his table. He looked over at a middle aged woman with chin length hair, dressed nicely in a dress suit and small heels. "Wendy Lawson?"

"Hakon Hyse?" She asked in return and sat across from him when he nodded. "I must say, you look rather well for someone in their sixties. Had Stark not warned me, I would have passed you by without thought."

Hakon grinned. He did love messing with Howard by keeping his appearance looking younger than it should have, though not by much. Right now he looked like he was in his mid-forties, early fifties. It was a common enough phenomenon with normal Midgardians. He looked her over but it was his magic that prickled, feeling the ambient energy around her that wasn't quite right.

He set his cup down and smiled pleasantly but there was a warning in his eyes. "Thank you, but you also look rather Midgardian when you're not."

Her eyes widened before she smiled lightly. "I thought your magic felt familiar, Asgardian."

Hakon rested a hand on Tor's head as he perked up but it was unclear if it was in curiosity or defense. "You know what I am. Who are you? Why do you want to experiment with the cube?"

She sighed and looked around then before leaning on the table. "I am a defected Kree, but I would rather not hold such discussions in the open."

Hakon thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Since you set up this meeting place, do you have an office or lab nearby?"

She stood. "At the base."

Hakon chuckled. "Why does that not surprise me?"

She started walking down the street before stopping and turning back to Hakon and noted the very large dog walking beside him—so not just a stray then. "I hope you don't mind walking. I am still getting used to your modes of transportation and do not yet feel comfortable enough to… drive."

He laughed. "I've lived here for nearly a millennia and I'm not fond of it. We'll be grateful to walk."

She nodded with a relieved sigh and looked back at his dog before they turned down a stretch of road that led them to the main gate of the base only a few blocks down. "I must advise you about your dog. I have a Flerken so it would be wise for your dog not to chase him around. He is rather well behaved on most days but…"

Hakon's eyebrows pinched together. "What's a Flerken?"

Wendy's eyes widened. "You are Asgardian yet you do not know what a Flerken is?"

He sighed and looked down at Tor who was mostly unaware or uncaring of their conversation. "I'll let you in on a little secret on the grounds you swear to never tell anyone…after we get indoors."

She nodded and swore then led him beyond the gates. The guards knew her well by this point, and Hakon regretted that he was as well known as Howard and the other Howling Commandos, so they had no issues getting in even without Hakon having specific clearance for this base. His SHIELD badge would have fixed that issue anyway.

Once they were inside her office Hakon silently cast a few warding spells before saying, "I'm not actually Asgardian. Well, I am by blood now, but I was born on Midgard then Chosen." At her confused expression he added. "Fancy Asgardian adoption but a bit more complicated too. Anyway, I know a fair bit about the Realms but—not much outside of Yggdrasil."

She hummed in deep thought and after a minute she looked back up at him. "Well, if you decide I can work with the Space Stone, I wouldn't mind your help—I can teach you about the universe beyond Yggdrasil. Even my peoples' war with Asgard many millennia ago."

His eyes narrowed. "You were at war with Asgard?"

She stared straight ahead and scowled. "Yes, mainly because of the one we have aligned ourselves with but it was far too long ago for any of us to remember. We were driven away at the same time as he was."

He nodded and asked a range of questions that she was happy to answer: why she was here, how did she know about the Tesseract. Eventually, something small and fuzzy rubbed up against his legs before purring and rubbing against Tor who leaned down and sniffed the ginger cat in confusion.

Wendy, a bit surprised at her cat's openness, introduced him as Goose. Hakon stared at the cat for a moment longer before turning to Wendy. "Is that a Flerken?" She nodded. "So is that what your people call a cat?"

She chuckled and held up a finger, walking over to the fridge and pulling out a whole tuna and tossed it into the air.

Hakon swore as Torbjörg took off after the fish—only to have the tasty morsel snatched out of the air by tentacles. Hakon stared at the Flerken in the shock of having something so familiar turn into something so foreign to him. Meanwhile, Tor stared sadly at the empty air then at Goose before plopping onto the ground with an indignant huff.

Goose padded over to the pair, Hakon watching him a bit more carefully, but didn't react aggressively as the Flerken merely looked curious. Goose touched Tor's nose and he snorted heavily and stared sadly at the Flerken.

Wendy and Hakon watched in some fascination as Goose started making some gagging noises then spit up half the fish. Hakon pulled a face as Tor happily ate the fish then lightly nuzzled Goose before curling up around the ginger cat-looking thing. Goose purred and crawled up his fur a little but settled quickly and drifted off into a nap.

Wendy hummed and shook her head in amazement. "I have never seen him act like that."

Hakon's lip was still upturned. "He has a gift of mooching food off of anyone and everyone."

She smiled at the pair before turning to Hakon. "Well, I hope this is a sign of good fortune for us."

He returned her smile. "I think it might be."

*O*

Hakon stood in a glade deep within a forest, Mar-Vell, Wendy's real name, guided him and Tor through it with Goose tucked into her arms. She let Goose down and he tore off into the glade, then disappeared in a ripple.

Hakon tilted his head and felt the area with his Æsir, but felt nothing, so determined it must be some form of technology. It intrigued him greatly as all theirs relied on magic. Tor stepped forward, a worried rumble rising in his throat.

Hakon gasped as a child with yellow-green skin that almost looked scaly ran back out from the invisible barrier, carrying Goose in their arms.

Mar-Vell laughed and picked up the child as several other adults started emerging from the barrier, all whispering amongst each other and looking suspiciously at Hakon. Mar-Vell smiled at him before addressing the growing group. "It is all right. This man is Hakon Hyse. He has agreed to help me create the light speed engine to send you safely on."

Hakon smiled warmly at the child she held despite his misgivings about the new project. He knew Mar-Vell was being sincere and these people were in almost desperate need—but that meant tampering with the same energy that had cost him so much. He vaguely worried that it might call him sooner. He very briefly recalled Hela mentioning his name as Thanos and Mar-Vell confirmed him as being the same person—they had some rather… disturbing stories about his aunt. But after Schmidt broke the seal hiding Infinity Stone, he knew it was only a waiting game.

"Hi," He said awkwardly with a lopsided grin.

Many of the Skrulls looked warily at him but a few gathered together—he assumed them to be the leaders of the small refugee band—and discussed the new development before finally approaching them. One of them spoke and stretched out his hand. "If Mar-Vell calls you a friend then so shall we."

Another, appearing to be female, nodded at Hakon with a small smile. "We are grateful for your help."

Hakon nodded and soon they moved beyond pleasantries to getting to know each other. The Skrulls were fascinated to learn that he had magic and the few children were delighted when he showed off his shapeshifting skills, namely by shifting Tor back to Toothless and letting the little ones hang off of him—to which he shot Hakon a disdain filled look as one accidentally pulled on his ear.

One of the leaders laughed then decided to show Hakon their talent and morphed into him. Hakon was far too amused by it and also deeply curious as no magic was at work. It was entirely by their natural biology. This led to hours' worth of discussions and comparing shape shifting and morphing notes.

Howard and Hakon tinkered with anti-graviton engines in the long forgotten flying car. Howard rolled out from under the car and wiped off the grease on his hands while walking over to Hakon who was pouring over the redesigned engines with his tongue sticking out a bit. "So, you and Wendy getting along? I heard that you're working with her on Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. Have to say, I was a bit surprised. With how scornful you were with Schmidt using it, I thought it was going to sit in the mothballs until your death."

Hakon snorted but his lips twitched in wry amusement. "Normally you'd be right but she has a good reason to do a little testing with it. I'll still be keeping a very close eye on it, though."

Howard snorted. "I would hope you out of anyone would." It was quiet for a bit and he shuffled closer to Hakon, head hanging a bit. "Uh, how's Tony doing? Maria says he's doing well with his grades. He could pass everything in his sleep but she's a bit worried about his… extracurricular activities."

Hakon set down his pencil and stared hard at Howard, face impassive before saying calmly. "She was right about both. I've tried talking to him but…well, all I can say is that it doesn't seem to be outside the norm for the 'frat parties'. He's got a good friend in his dorm mate, James Rhodes. He's really done a lot to help keep Tony together. It could honestly be worse. Right now, it's just clubbing and some drinking, but James has mentioned a couple close calls—he's definitely going to have an alcohol problem to rival my ancestors' love of mead."

Howard sighed and sat on the other stool by the table. "How could I have let it come to this?"

Hakon raised an eyebrow that made Howard look away in shame. They both knew exactly how—it had nearly broken their friendship. As it was, it was still quite rocky and Howard often had to tread carefully whenever Tony was brought into the discussion.

Howard rested his arm on the table and placed his forehead in his palm. "I shouldn't have to thank you and Jarvis for practically being a father to him. For crying out loud, you are a father to him! Certainly a better one than I ever have been."

Hakon snorted and relaxed on his stool, carefully watching Howard. "No, you shouldn't. And if you really want to make up for it you need to reach out to him before it gets any worse."

Howard nodded silently. He almost felt shamed when a tear slipped out of his eye. "Hakon, thank you for sticking with my idiot self for all these years."

Hakon frowned at his friend. "Howard, are you okay?"

Howard shook his head. "I don't know. I have this feeling that something's going to go very wrong soon. I thought after Zola died the feeling would stop but it's only gotten worse."

Hakon scowled at nothing but didn't dismiss Howard. "Spring break is coming up soon. Maybe swing by MIT and take him out to dinner or something. Better yet, take him to your lab and actually let him tinker. Loki knows that was always the favorite birthday present I could give him."

Howard nodded and looked over at Hakon. "Would you… come with? I don't think he'd even listen to the offer if you're not around."

Hakon sighed tiredly but agreed. He knew for fact Tony wouldn't—when it came to Howard, he'd become quite bitter.

Hiccup sat next to Ivana as she examined the newest Dýrsvell who was happily napping in his lap. Ivana laughed at his mildly annoyed countenance as yet another Bewilderbeast decided he was their favorite Jötunn on Midgard.

"Why can't more gravitate towards any of my descendants or even the actual Jötunn?" Hiccup groused, but still scratched the hatchling behind her nubby crown.

The mother Dýrsvells rumbled from the water behind them and Ivana rubbed the hatchling's snout before standing and smiling amusedly at her father. "Well, maybe because none of us is the god of dragons."

Hiccup's small smile from cooing at the hatchling fell. "You know, sometimes that title is more trouble than it's worth."

She laughed and stood next to Ruffrunner who was shaking himself awake from his nap. "Well from what mom says, that was established long before Grandmother made it official."

Hiccup shook his head and carefully deposited the hatchling into the water with her mother before following his daughter.

"I've got a few more stops to make before checking in with Zephyr and Ingram about our latest project."

Hiccup gave her a hug and kissed her forehead. "Just don't work too hard. See you at dinner?"

She shrugged with an easy smile. "Maybe, depends if any of us remember."

Hiccup turns to Ruffrunner. "Make sure she eats."

Ruffrunner grinned at his other half and she groaned. "Honestly, I'm the best out of the lot with that! Remember to eat. Do you not remember the time you, Zeph and Nuff locked yourselves in the labs and not even the dragons could get in?"

Hiccup blushed. "Alright, shoo with you. And for the record, we had food in there!"

Her laugh grew distant and he shook his head. His coat shifted to open his wings since Toothless was Odin knows where and flew to his hut to prepare dinner. About halfway through, the preparations his communicator pinged. He smiled as he saw Mar-Vell's runes alight. "Hey, how's the installation?"

She chuckled on the other end. ~Good. I believe that once I run a few more tests on the PEGASUS' engine, I will be comfortable with giving them the green light. Are you sure you don't mind leaving the Tesseract on the station until we're done?~

Hiccup laughed dryly and scowled at the far wall. "If it wouldn't raise so many questions when inspections came, I would gladly let them make off with it. It's done nothing but bring trouble here."

He could almost see her smile sadly but her voice was tired as she answered, ~Infinity Stones rarely do much else. Unfortunately, they always seem to find their way into the wrong hands. I am glad this one is in yours and I doubt they would accept it even if you did offer—they already have a blood war with the Kree alone, they do not need to add Thanos into the mix as well.~

Hiccup's shoulder fell and he with a mock happy voice said, "Well dang it. I thought it would be easy to pawn off. I guess not everyone is attracted to shiny things like humans are."

She laughed then yawned. ~Well, I have an early morning test flight tomorrow. I should be getting some rest.~

Hiccup chuckled the chopped vegetables into a skillet, trying to recreate a recipe he'd had not long ago with Howard. "Sounds like a good reason to get some sleep. Have a safe flight."

~With Danvers, I might need those prayers,~ Mar-Vell joked before the communicator went dead.

Hiccup smiled and tested his cooking. Needs a bit more paprika.

*O*

A couple days passed with silence from the outside world, which was a tad odd as Mar-Vell liked to discuss how any test went, even if he wasn't present but it wasn't unheard of. On day five, his 'cell phone' rang. It was a mock up design for communicating with people outside like Howard who just started using them. He was working on integrating the non-magical communications with their Æsir infused ones.

He paused in his work of going over the light speed engines again and grabbed the small device, briefly glancing at the identification. "Hey Howard. You and Tony need another escort for a playdate?"

Howard was silent for a moment and Hiccup felt his stomach drop. "I assume then you haven't heard."

Hiccup shifted, brows pinching together. "Heard, what?"

Howard took a slightly shuddering breath. "Wendy. She took the PEGASUS out for an unsanctioned test, something went wrong and—Hakon, there's barely a burning pile of scrap left. We can't even find bodies. The most intact thing discovered so far is half a dog tag from the pilot."

Hiccup felt ready to be sick, but all he could think of was how almost impossible that should have been. He helped design the engine, and while he knew little of engines required for space, though he could theorize everything well enough, Mar-Vell knew that half like her own hand. Even beyond that, he'd put too many redundancies into that engine being powered by the Tesseract that there was no conceivable way it could have catastrophically failed without outside help. Not that he could voice any of that to Howard.

"Hakon? Are you still there?" Howard asked hesitantly.

Hiccup nodded before remembering Howard couldn't see it and sank further into his seat. "Y-yeah, I'm here. Can you have all the reports run through me?"

"Already am. Uh, my door's open?" Howard offered a bit awkwardly.

Hiccup laughed but there was no humor to it, only numb shock. "It always is to me."

"Yeah, uh call if you need—though, maybe after you've exhausted a few other sources…I'm not the best with that kind of talk. Clearly."

Hiccup sunk into his chair. "I will. Thanks, Howard."

He ended the call and stormed out of his lab. He needed to contact Wakanda about transportation to the Kree ship.

*O*

Hiccup sat alone on the ship breaching the outermost atmosphere. Not even Tor was with him; they learned after the first trip that he might begrudgingly tolerate airplanes but that line was crossed with space travel. The Wakandans had wanted some of their own to go with, mostly to pilot their craft but Hiccup refused. The Skrull were understandably skittish of any non-Skrull as most would turn them in to avoid Kree punishment.

Hiccup seized as the ship gave one last tremble before settling and gliding out to weightless space. His magic thrummed around the ship for extra protection and to steady his nerves. His piloting might have gotten better, but he still wasn't ready to trust it implicitly. A millennia of flying in tandem with another mind made him skittish to attempt feats such as this alone.

He neared the space where the large ship was anchored and opened communications, asking for landing instructions. He docked and disembarked a few minutes later, a small group gathered to meet him and stare at the odd ship as he and Mar-Vell had been taking her shuttle. But once the PEGASUS was operational she'd hidden it and hadn't yet told him where.

The happy smiles turned into sadness and horror with his news. He fought a sigh as they all sat down at the communal table. "With that, some of our satellites tracked movement coming from beyond our space into Earth's atmosphere, then leaving not long after. We cannot confirm one-hundred percent that it was Kree, but-"

A woman holding a small child on her lap shook her head. "It is almost positive it was them. Who else would come to Earth just as Mar-Vell was about to complete her mission?"

Hiccup nodded. "Exactly. Mar-Vell was pretty convinced about the engine, so if you want to leave, I believe it should be safe—at least where that is concerned."

One of the few men in the refugee group and who'd taken up the mantle of leader sighed forlornly. "We have heard rumors of other groups in hiding but we don't know where any of them are. Mar-Vell was going to help us find a new home…"

Hiccup hummed softly, eyes thoughtful. "Then I guess, would you prefer to stay here, or come down and camp out on Earth? There's plenty of room in the Archipelago. You would have to be friendly with the dragons but I can help you with that small hurdle—or you can stay here for however long. I guess you can also leave and try to find them on your own. Either way, you'll be supported by my people—even if we can't do much if you decide to leave."

They fell into a discussion and Hiccup tried not to pay attention. However, it was rather difficult to ignore the All-Speak as it tickled his ears. Finally, they turned back to Hiccup with their decision.

The leader spoke first, resting an elbow delicately on the table. "We thank you for the offer of respite, but we do not feel ready yet to show our true skins around strangers, especially when we have children not yet able to morph and many of the elders here have never been much good at it. The scars run too deep, and the stress of living on the planet would be too great."

The woman with the child, now asleep in her arms, smiled at Hiccup. "We will stay on the ship for a while. Maybe in time, we will take you up on your offer."

Hiccup nodded and became thoughtful again. "Would you consider moving the ship? Mar-Vell might have logged its coordinates somewhere, and if she did, the Kree could eventually come looking for any of her projects."

The Skrulls looked at each other and nodded in agreement while Hiccup stood to leave. "Oh, one more proposition. I would like to leave the Tesseract here, this is the safest place for it, especially once you relocate. It'll also help keep everything sufficiently powered without 'revving' the engines, and possibly attracting unwanted attention."

They readily agreed to it, especially with the added bonus of less detection with the engines at minimal power. Hiccup gave them coordinates to 're-anchor' above Wakanda. He paused by his small ship and turned back to the group. "If you need anything, food, clothing, anything for entertainment as you wait—heck, even if you want to take a vacation Earth side, just call."

Their leader nodded and a few looked relieved. "Thank you, we will certainly keep that in mind."

With one last farewell, Hiccup left and made the jaw clenching trip back to Earth. It was official. If he couldn't take Yggdrasil, he didn't want to be off-world—this machine was even more terrifying when it was in space and reentering than it was in normal air.

Hakon sat next to Tony on the settee, listening as he recounted his second to last semester at MIT and laughed at some of the wilder stories of his mechanical class. Soft classical Christmas music played in the background courtesy of Maria. "Glad you're enjoying it."

Tony leaned back into the cushions. "It's been fun, but I think I'm ready for it to be over. I want to be out and actually doing stuff with the company. Well, whatever dad will let me do."

Hakon schooled his expression to be almost blank but with a hint of curiosity. "How are you and Howard? I haven't been here long but at least you aren't throwing him scowls when you're in the same room anymore."

Tony sighed, the good mood officially killed. "It's…stabilized, I guess. He never mentions Captain America anymore, thank God, but it's still tense."

Hakon nodded. "It will be for a while. Do you have any projects you want to work on when you get out of MIT?"

Tony smiled a bit. "There's an anti-tank mine design I've been thinking about, especially now that cars and even tanks are getting more computerized. Having them read what vehicles belong to us versus the enemy would be a huge help, especially as our weapons always seem to be sold to the other side no matter how hard we try to fight against it."

Hakon shook his head. "Well, at least you're thinking of safety as well as the big boom."

Tony beamed but playfully scowled at him. "Hey, everyone loves a nice explosion."

Hakon raised an eyebrow but smiled, wistfully thinking that he and the twins would have gotten on fabulously. "Unless you're the one caught in it, but I'll digress. Designing and building weapons is in your blood as much as it's in mine. Can't criticize you all that much as I was sharpening swords by the time I was seven."

Tony chuckled and reached for his cup of eggnog. "I can't believe your town still has a historical forge."

Hakon smirked and took a sip from his cup, delighting in the taste while mentally shivering at Astrid's millennia old predecessor to the drink—no amount of ale on Midgard or even Asgard could make that stuff palatable. "We're kind of old fashioned in some ways. We take our history very seriously. Besides, my dad was hoping it would put some muscle on me…didn't work, just got me into more trouble by giving me skills and access to all the metal I wanted, provided I always got my work done."

Tony laughed but seriously thought about what kind of trouble his godfather might have gotten into before WWII, and given the stories his father and aunt Peggy told…

Howard poked his head into the room and smiled warmly at Hakon before sliding hopefully to Tony, his eye twitched at his son's impassive face but he didn't let it bother him. "Maria and I are headed out to the Christmas party. Sure you two don't want to come?"

Tony shook his head. While he was all for a good party, he didn't want to attend one where his father was always overshadowing him. Hakon shrugged, not all that invested in SI and mostly in the states for Tony. He waved goodbye while Tony barely acknowledged him, but muttered something incoherently. "Drive safe!" Hakon called.

Howard chuckled while Maria gave Tony a parting hug, who returned it with a soft smile. "Be back in a few hours or tomorrow. That will depend on how long it takes to get the package safely shipped out."

Hakon huffed, mouth twitching. "I really wish you would stop experimenting with that stuff—way too much can go wrong with it."

Howard frowned at Hakon. "I'm working on it's healing properties not-" his eyes slid over to Tony who scowled lightly.

Hakon waved him off as they departed. "Yeah, so you've said. I still don't like it. Have fun."

Late into the evening, a knock interrupted Hakon, Tony and Jarvis' game of blackjack and eggnog. It was well into the evening but it was a surprise to them that Howard and Maria had actually come back so soon. They all knew where Tony got his love of ambrosia from so it would be normal for them to be spending the night at a hotel, especially after something like a Christmas party where drink tended to flow a little too merrily.

Jarvis excused himself to get the door then paused in confusion at the police officer standing there. Hakon and Tony peeked around the corner to see who it was—Tony would deny the little hope that it was his father who had lost his key, but it crashed when he saw the officer, not his father.

"-Someone found his car. It was in flames before any help could arrive. I'm sorry. The firemen said that they most likely died instantaneously with the impact if it brings any consolation."

Hakon forgot to breathe, it felt like Schmidt punched him in the chest. Without knowing, he put an arm over Tony and held him closer. Tony stood stock still, unable to process what he was hearing, and leaned further into Hakon—one hand clutching his leather vest as he fought back tears, mostly for his mother.

*O*

Hiccup busied himself almost to the point of exhaustion once he arrived back in the New Archipelago. Tony had insisted he go back home while he went back to school, trying to look unshaken. "I barely knew my father anyway. Losing mom hurts though, but I need the distraction."

Hiccup had called Rohdy before he left and asked him to keep a closer eye on Tony and apologized for asking such a thing, but he was worried this could make him spiral all the more. So far, he hadn't changed all that much, mostly throwing himself into his projects, but it was still early.

Nuffink found him in the Research and Development building—the place that had once been the forge, and still had one on its main floor. "Dad?"

Hiccup paused and set down his tools, hearing the pain in his son's voice. "Nuff, what's wrong?"

Nuffink shook his head and bit his lip before Hiccup wrapped an arm around him and guided him to a stool by the bench. After a moment Nuffink hugged his father. "I'm sorry! I couldn't stop them!"

Hiccup frowned and grabbed another stool, still hugging Nuffink. "Stop who? Start from the beginning."

Nuffink took a breath to calm himself before relaying his undercover mission in Hydra. It sounded fine and normal, for as fine and normal as Hydra could be, until he finally managed to get transferred to the base where the 'Asset' was kept—the 'name' they only recently learned of, but most of who or what it was still a mystery.

"I tried getting further into the base but it was ridiculously well guarded and even the guards had to have been cleared by one of the highest ranking leaders. I finally managed to get through in a lapse of security while the 'Asset' was being prepped. I tried getting more information, but I got sloppy with my horrified curiosity…they destroyed everything, even before he deployed. They were willing to eliminate the entire base just to make sure the 'Asset' remained secret. The little I got from listening in was that he's also called the Winter Soldier, that he's an assassin and-"

He glanced at his father then looked down again. "As I was fighting one of the outside guards, I heard his mission—Stark."

Hiccup's eyes widened for a long moment before they darkened with fury.

Nuffink continued on. "As I was finishing with the guards, the Winter Soldier came out—dad, they somehow made another Super Soldier. He winded me pretty good and they destroyed every bit of information in the lab as he slipped out and reinforcements came to deal with me. Actually, they rigged the entire base to blow—I only got out by teleporting."

Hiccup trembled but kept a hold of Nuffink as he also glared at the dying forge. "Alright. You did a good job, but I need to go discuss this with the leaders and the Changewing Guild especially. Finding this Winter Solider is our new priority."

Nuffink nodded and followed Hiccup out. "I agree, but he's also their top project—their pride and glory. I can go back in, I want to. We need to find their notes on the formula they used and how they obtained it. And for Tony. Oh gods, his dad is—because I couldn't-"

"Hey," Hiccup said sharply but caringly, "you had no idea what was going on further down in that base. I don't blame you at all about what happened, and I'm sure Tony wouldn't either. But what we can do to bring both peace is to track down their Super Soldier and put a stop to it as well as them—though that one could take quite a bit longer."

Nuffink nodded and they quickly gathered everyone together. They already had some infiltrates in Hydra, but clearly they needed to dig in deeper.

Loki paced and raged in his rooms, his hands clenched, then laxed and his magic swirled before being reigned in. He thought things with Odin were getting better. He could not say that his adopter had done terribly much to show that he at least viewed him as a son and not just a war prize, but he had been more lenient on his scorn of magic and even praised him a few times when he helped orchestrate further peace between the realms and smooth out the political field so Asgard was viewed more favorably than it had been in the past.

But no. As always, Odin had been deceiving him into thinking he was finally accepted as one of his sons. Lies, His mind spat and he didn't bother to try and argue with it—his heart felt it too much.

Was it too much to ask for similar punishment for both sons? Thor had messed up the peace treaty meeting on Alfheim between the two warring cities as much as he had—if not more! He'd at least tried to get both sides to calm down and seek peace again, but Thor just started swinging his ridiculous hammer and started a battle then and there in the meeting room.

And he was the one to be punished when he used his magic to shield both sides and command Thor to sit and be silent so things could get worked out. They never did, but both sides at least managed to leave with life and limb of every member—something that would not have been said about Thor's method.

Except he was the one spoken down to when they came home cowed by their failure, while Thor was praised for his attempts to bring peace while he was scorned. It should not have bothered him, not any more, yet it did and he couldn't bear the unjustness of it all.

He had a plan, a plan he hoped and prayed to the Norns would work, that would finally get Odin to acknowledge that he too was his son—why do I still care at all? Because you had a taste, and now it teases and taunts you.

He took a calming breath. The time wasn't right yet, but it would be soon. Then he would enact the plan and either finally be considered equal with Thor or forever be washed of Odin's 'care' and all his lies. That at least was a comfort.

He glanced at the high sun and made up his mind. He was going to visit his Chosen. After this mess, he needed that time and he could feel Jör tugging on their bond again. He cloaked himself and teleported out of his chambers to the branch. Hiccup had mentioned something about some of his people infiltrating Hydra. Maybe he'd join them for a round—it had been a bit too long since he last caused some major mischief.

And another hodgepodge of events have passed. Hope you enjoy and see you soon! Leave your thoughts :)