From one moment to the next everything changed, several people across the universe straightened in shock. In front of their eyes a screen appeared, [Welcome to The Bazaar]. Only a few people knew what this meant and their excitement grew. the Ancient One immediately performed a few tests to confirm her suspicions and with each test her happiness grew. Odin summoned his sons to the throne room and turned to his wife, "Is it genuine?" Frigga glanced at her husband before turning back to the screen in front of her, "It is."
Thor and Loki slammed the doors open, "Mother, Father, is everything alright?" a worried look etched on both of their faces. "Be at ease my sons, your mother and I have received the means to prevent Ragnarok." Their mother laughed at their disbelief and slapped her husband on the shoulder, "Stop being so dramatic. Loki, do you remember the stories I told you of The Bazaar?" Loki's face turned blank for a moment before a smile slowly grew on his face, "The bazaar, what is the big deal about a market?"
Loki spun to face Thor, "You lunk, this is not some marketplace. The arrival of The Bazaar means that Asgard is about to enter an unprecedented golden age." The look of confusion on Thor's face grew more pronounced as Loki waxed poetic about The Bazaar. High above earth a tall one eyed black man stood and engaged in a death glare with the screen while waiting for his orders to be carried out. "Sir, as far as we can tell the screen doesn't exist. We can all see it but it emits no energy we can detect." A vein started to pulse on his forehead, "Coulson, call in Stark, I want to know what this is and what it does."
A balding man with a calm smile nodded and walked out, a woman stepped forward after he left "Fury the council is demanding that you be quarantined in case this spreads." Fury turned around, "And what exactly would spread Hill, a blue screen that everyone can see anyway?" Stark's lab looked as if a hurricane swept through, "All tests come back with no results sir." Stark ran his hands through his hair and gave a sign, "Jarvis if you couldn't see this as well I would have thought I finally went over the deep end." A knock was heard at the door, "Mr. Stark an incident has occurred at the Triskelion, we need you to come in."
An image of Coulson popped above the table and Stark went upstairs to meet him. "I see you are already aware of the incident." Coulson nodded toward the screen. Tony's head snapped towards him, "You want some coffee? I've been up all night trying to figure out what this is, so what do you know about it?" Tony poured both of them a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter, "We haven't discovered a way to prove that the screen actually exists." Coulson gave a wan smile and Stark shook his head. Before they could continue a change occurred on the screen and three lines appeared, [Connection Established] [Exchange 3/3] [Free: History of the Bazaar].
the Ancient One smiled, "Well Mordo? Do you believe I should learn the history of the bazaar first or use the exchange?" Mordo lowered his head in thought, "I believe you should learn about the history in order to learn its true scope." the Ancient One gave a slight nod, "I would like to learn about the history of the bazaar." The screen changed and in a moment a man appeared on the screen. This scene was repeated throughout the universe as most chose to learn the history before jumping in.
The man was slim with brown hair, green eyes, and was dressed in a light green tunic. ["In the early days the Bazaar was conceived because the multiverse was too vast, and the system was put in place to connect different worlds across the Empire. Lex 2184 was the creator of the initial version. It established a trade network between universes at first, but when the Empire had almost instantaneous trade the expansion of the empire exploded. Soon after we ran into an enemy and discovered the atrocities committed by them, millions of universes turned into a living nightmare for every denizen.]
Fury scowled and turned to Hill, "Get the Captain up here, he needs to hear this." [The Empire could not let such atrocities take place so a war began and continued for a thousand years. Neither The Empire nor the Realm of Nightmares could gain an advantage over one another until the Realm of Nightmares developed a Realm Plague. A plague that would spread across a universe and even the walls between dimensions could not halt its progress. The Empire was pushed back as their own allies turned into the worst versions of themselves.]
Frigga gasped and reached for her husband's hand, her very nature fighting against such an atrocity. Odin stood from his throne and kneeled before his wife, "My love, your compassion is your most endearing trait, but do not let your emotions overwhelm you. We must gather as much information as possible, and I am in need of your benevolence to give me a merciful tether. I fear without you my rage would bring Asgard to ruin." Thor and Loki paled at the bloodlust Odin radiated. They had never seen this side of their father before and it was difficult for them to even remain standing as it felt as though the very sky was pressing upon their shoulders.
Frigga pulled Odin to his feet, "Thank you my love, my mind is clear once again." [This continued until the Empire discovered their salvation, The Pulse. A theory that allowed anything to replicate across dimensional borders. This allowed the Empire to place an uncrossable barrier between the Empire and the Realm and stopped the plague from spreading to any more of their allies. The Empire had suffered a great loss but had discovered a way to delay their enemies, so they combined the two technologies and created the next version of The Bazaar.]
Mordo's jaw dropped before his head snapped to the Ancient One, "What could such a powerful organization need from us?" the Ancient One gave a patient smile, "As with any large organization, they need resources." [The Bazaar was a self propagating trading hub. First a connection would be established and only information would be exchanged, then as time passed a bridge would be formed and trade between local universes could begin. Eventually a hub will form, hubs carry a weight and can only connect with other hubs. If enough hubs connect together a bridge will be formed that connects directly to the Empire.]
Fury's brow tightened as he tried to understand what a powerful civilization such as this could possibly gain from them. [As time passed the stalemate continued but the Empire could not leave their allies to their endless nightmare. So they strived to find a solution, it took centuries of trying different things but eventually they found something that worked, intense natural emotion. In its distilled form it could eventually awaken their allies from their nightmare and over time completely reverse their mutations. However the amount of emotion needed for each person was astronomical so in an effort to gather as much emotion as possible they connected it to the Bazaar.]
Stark stared at the screen as he thought about the abilities of the Empire, to be able to use emotion as a power source. He turned towards Coulson, "I have no idea how they are able to do this." Coulson raised his eyebrows, which for him was equivalent to shouting in surprise, he did not think Stark would admit that. [Changes have been made to the Bazaar since then as it spread. Now it not only gathers emotion but also the energy created when the information provided by the Bazaar changes the future. That way it can store the emotions until the bridge is formed to the Empire and use the time energy to connect to other universes and create hubs.] Stark sat heavily into a chair, shocked by the technological marvels this Bazaar could accomplish. Fury turned towards him to ask a question but was soon distracted by the screen changing again.
[Exchange 3/3.] [Only information about the current universe can be exchanged.] [What would you like to exchange?] The Ancient One turned to Mordo, "Do you have something you wish to ask?" Mordo frowned before speaking, "I am unsure what sort of information the Bazaar could supply." The Ancient One smiled before turning back to the screen, "How does the bazaar collect information?" [When a node passes through the dimensional wall it causes a ripple like effect. Without going into too many technical details, the ripple works like echolocation and feeds the node all information about the current universe.]
Odin's eye twinkled as he realized the sheer scope of information the Bazaar would have access to. Anything that wasn't protected by something on the same level as the Bazaar would be available for exchange. He turned to Frigga, "I believe we should ask about the enemies of Asgard. What do you think?" Frigga shook her head, "You are thinking too narrowly, you should ask the bazaar what information would be most valuable to you. Afterall you may not know about something that you may need." Thor looked confused as Loki smiled at his mother, her response reminding him why Frigga was so respected across the nine realms.
Odin turned back towards the screen and asked "What information would provide me the greatest advantage to achieve my goals?" [The dark elves live and will attack Asgard when the Convergence starts. During their attack they will kill your wife and start a series of events that will cause the destruction of Asgard.] Everyone in the hall stared at the screen in shock, Odin turned to his wife with gratitude filling his remaining eye. "Thank you, once again your boundless wisdom has saved Asgard from destruction." Thor and Loki turned away from Odin's display of affection, only turning back once they finished.
Fury rubbed his head as Stark listened to the techno-babble coming from his screen. "Are you understanding any of that or did you just waste an exchange?" Tony looked over with a guilty expression, "Maybe a tenth. I already knew I would not be able to understand the mechanics behind it, but any information gained from a technology this advanced will progress my one understanding of the universe and beyond." Fury nodded in acquiesce before turning to his own screen, "What is the biggest threat to earth?" After using the first two questions to test the machine Fury was ready to place a miniscule amount of trust in this screen.
[Currently the biggest threat to earth is the Mad Titan Thanos. He will come to Earth seeking various items of significant power.] Fury cursed as this information was not helpful to him. While he had a broad view of the galaxy, thanks to the skrulls, they had never mentioned Thanos. In the meantime he would try to find the items mentioned, as they may provide an advantage against Thanos if used correctly. The only item he could think of was the Tesseract, an item of seemingly unlimited power. However there was nothing more Fury could do about it, resources were already being used to study the thing and very little progress had been made.
Odin frowned as the screen changed after he used the last exchange. [All exchanges have been used, any further exchanges must be paid for first. Would you like to make a payment?] Odin did not hesitate to agree, the rumors surrounding the Bazaar said the payment method was benign but strange. The screen changed one more time and a scene appeared that caused the people in the room to stare at the screen in shock. [Thor appeared in a spaceship next to a talking raccoon. "A dead brother huh. Yeah that can be annoying." Thor shifts in his seat, "Well he's been dead before, though this time I think it really might be true." Rocket turns from fiddling with the screen, "And you said your sister and your dad" Thor interrupts him, "Both dead."]
Frigga gasped seeing the pain in Thor's remaining eye. ["But you still got a mom though?" Thor meets Rocket's gaze, "Killed by a dark elf." "A best friend?" Thor shook his head, "Stabbed through the heart." Silence settled before Rocket spoke again, "You sure you're up for this particular motor mission?" Thor forces a smile, "Absolutely. The rage and vengeance, anger, loss, regret they're all tremendous motivators. They really clear the mind so I'm good to go." "Yeah, but this is Thanos we're talking about, he's the toughest there is." Thor scoffs, "Well he's never fought me." "Yeah he has" "Well he's never fought me twice. And I'm getting a new hammer don't forget."]
Thor touches Mjnoir in confusion, why would he need a new hammer? ["Better be some hammer." "You know I'm 1500 years old, I've killed twice as many enemies as that and every one of them would rather killed me but none succeeded. I'm only alive because fate wants me alive."] A choked sob erupted from Frigga's mouth as she heard this, grasping Odin's hand as she realized how much pain Thor was in. ["The final statistic, the latest in a long line of bastards and he'll be the latest to feel my vengeance. Fate wills it so." Rocket hums, "And what if you're wrong?" Ters gather in Thor's eye before he answers, "Well if I'm wrong then, what more could I lose?"]
It became too much for Frigga to bear as she collapsed into her husband, 'what more could I lose'. These words echoed in her mind and she felt physically ill from the pain her son must have felt, to lose so much that vengeance was the only thing keeping her son alive. Odin supported his wife as he looked to Thor and Loki, Thor looked as though the floor had fallen out from under him. In the video he had lost everything and no longer wanted to live, vengeance was the only thing keeping him moving. Loki on the other hand was pale, he had died and had not just faked his death but actually died. Thor suddenly looked up if realizing something as determination crossed his feature and his grip tightened on his hammer.
Odin nodded as he understood that his son had made a choice so he waited for his decision. Thor turned to Odin before bowing, "Father, I wish to become stronger and I will do whatever is needed to make sure this future never comes to pass." Odin nodded and turned to console his wife, "My love, you must be strong, your sons will need your guidance to make swift enough progress to ensure this nightmare does not happen." Frigga nodded in his embrace before pushing away and wiping the tears from her eyes. After she gathered herself her expression hardened, "Thor if you wish to become strong enough to prevent this then you must begin training your innate gifts." With a wave of her hand Mjnior flew from Thor's grasp and into Frigga's hand.
"For too long you have used your hammer as a crutch, the first step in accessing your power will be gaining the ability to use your power without it. For Mjnior was never meant to be a crutch but an amplifier and the more power you can use without it the more Mjnior will have to amplify." Thor looked lost without his hammer but his face set in determination and he bowed again before leaving the hall to start his training. Frigga turned to Loki next, "Do you wish for guidance as well my son?" Loki snapped out of his daze at his mother's question, thinking for only a moment before nodding resolutely. Frigga smiled before speaking, "Are you sure, you will not enjoy the task I give you."
Loki paled at that, his imagination drawing up horrific tortures before he banished them from his mind and nodded. Frigga raised her hand once more and a spell covered Loki, depriving him of his magic. Loki looked confused and hurt at the action but Frigga stepped forward to explain, "You are the most talented illusion mage that has ever graced the halls of Asgard, but talent alone will only take you so far. If you wish to reach your full potential you must experience life, as the more experiences you can draw from the more powerful you will be." Loki looked less confused but he still did not understand why his magic had been sealed.
Frigga gave her son a hug, "To get the most out of your journey you must live life without power, find other ways to reach your goals without your greatest asset. In addition, you cannot do this here so we will send you to Midgard as there you may experience the most in the least amount of time." Loki looked peeved by the fact he would have to live among mortals but he remembered the video and the same look of determination as Thor passed over his face. He did not want to lose his family either so he would do whatever it takes to make sure that it does not happen. He bowed and turned around, going straight to the Biforst as he was ready to take the first step on his journey.
Before he left Frigga called out one more time, "Be careful my son, Midgard is about to enter an era of Chaos, they have begun to reach the next stage of their evolution and what they do not understand, they fear. Most will lash out because of that fear and even without your magic your strength will make you stand out." Loki nodded as he understood the danger, mortals breed like rabbits and enough numbers could overwhelm any sort of power. He bowed one last time and exited the hall, not knowing about the looks exchanged between Odin and Frigga. Once he left the hall and they were the only ones left in the throne room he spoke, "Are you sure this is wise, what if something happens and he discovers his heritage."
Frigga threw a glare at Odin, "I have never agreed with your choice to keep his heritage from him, but even if he does discover the truth it is better he does so on Midgard. At least there he might find others like him, those that are ostracized for something they have no control over." An understanding light flashed in Odin's eye, "You are referring to the mutants. You think he may find peers among their numbers." Frigga nodded before turning back and looking towards the Biforst. She was not ready to let her son go, but she knew this was necessary if they were to prevent the future they saw.
She turned back to Odin once the Biforst engaged, "Our sons are striving to improve the best they can, we are set in our ways so can not improve quickly. In order for us to improve as well we must use our new advantage to the fullest." Odin nodded and they both turned back to the screen ready to learn as much as they could. The future may be bleak but they would strive to ensure it would differ from what they had seen. And if they must, sacrifice everything to make sure both their sons not only survived but thrived.