These Things We've Gained: Eternal Love, Building Hope, Just Honesty

by Tales of Suspense

In the aftermath of "These Things We've Lost" people strugggle to create a new normal. (Slice of Life)

27. Chapter 27

- Chapter 27 -

23May2023 – Outside The Bounds Of Time

Vanaheim Royal Palace Guest Chambers

Silver tinged golden radiance burned in the flames around the young lovers. It heated the room with their passion. Lady Audhumbla's eyebrows rose in concern when almost three quarters of the firehawk's seidr transferred almost violently to Loki. Her granddaughter's skin lit up in orange seidr. There was so much seidr that burned so powerfully that she could actually feel it sinking into Loki's seidr core to stabilize it. She worried when the firehawk began to breathe in labored pants so she placed an Invigorating Rune on him to assist his seidr core to refill faster. "Reckless." She whispered in the quiet room.

Having seen what lengths the firehawk was willing to go, Elder Gorynych wasn't now surprised to see the firehawk give over most of his seidr to see to Loki's health. His blood-sister was correct though. Giving over most of his seidr all at once and with so little control was reckless. "He needs must be taught better."

Probing tentatively at the edges of his granddaughter's mind with his extended soul, Lord Gin could feel how the firehawk's seidr was stabilizing Loki's mind as well as her seidr core. It was reassuring to see the firehawk giving so much to Loki without hesitation. Nonetheless, his Lady wife was still correct. "James is still working them through the lesson," he looked to his Lady wide and blood-brother, "We must be patient."

A moment later jets of flames spouted off of the firehawk's seidr core before another three quarters of his seidr emptied into Loki's seidr core again. Her white seidr began to fully stabilize then. The Invigorating Rune refilled the firehawk's seidr core which stabilized him. Four more times over a half hour did the firehawk nearly empty his seidr core into Loki's seidr core and four more times did the rune refill his core. Each time Loki's grandparents watched as Loki's health was improved, and that better health cemented. She was going to be as well as she could be very soon. However, each time caused the firehawk to breathe laboriously as a thin coating of sweat began to cover him. His skin was beginning to pale out at the stress of so many emptyings in such a short time.

"Should we allow this?" Elder Gorynych didn't want to disturb Loki's time with her husband, but he also didn't want her husband to harm himself in front of them.

"It might be best to awaken them." Lord Gin didn't like how reckless the firehawk was with himself. His recklessness endangered Loki's newfound wellbeing.

Lady Audhumbla's gaze traveled into the currents of time then, to see where Lady Sjofn and James were. They were headed back to the room and would be there soon enough. "James is returning. We should allow him to handle this." Her confidence that James could peacefully stop the firehawk was high.

Exactly thirty five minutes after James and Lady Sjofn left the room to go monster hunting they stepped out of the currents of time and into the small guest chamber. A grim and determined expression sat on his face for a split second before it switched to a more calculated soothing expression. There was a touch of disorientation that went with each expression. He turned the calmer expression towards his younger brother. He wasn't surprised to see Anthony still dreaming with Loki. In fact, he almost lamented having to wake them. They were in a far more pleasant reality than the one he found himself in. His reality was one in which he was exhausted and emotionally broken down. Now more than ever he knew that he needed to sleep. He still didn't want to take the time to get that done, not when there was so much to do now. It was all so fresh in his mind that he wished none of it was there. The Stark bloodline was as much of a monstrous tragedy as he thought it was. He knew all the reasons why and they tormented him in their crystal clarity. At least it's all in the archives now.

For the first time in decades James not only didn't want to talk to his brother about family, but he didn't even know what he could say at that point. There was so much that needed to be said. None of it would help any of his brothers' mental states. What he knew now certainly wasn't helping his own mental state. Herb would despair if he knew and his younger brothers, the boys, would be crushed. James almost faltered as his desire to deal with this flagged. A spout of flame came from Anthony's extended seidr core. The sudden aggressive luminescence drew his attention. It galvanized him into action. The construct was where he left it, so he extended his seidr to it and broke it down into seidr. It was stowed back into his core. Turning, he spoke to Lady Audhumbla. "Did he behave himself while I was gone?"

The tinge of disorientation in James' expression worried Lady Audhumbla, as did the discordant sound of his soul song. It sounded disturbed. James routinely dealt with fantastical and maddening situations. For him to be discombobulated to any degree caught her attention, making her want to know what was found. "His behavior was well enough. He dreamt with Loki the entire time. What we worry over is him transferring most of his seidr to Loki through the claim mark." She looked over to the firehawk from James, then back again. "He left himself dangerously low on seidr several times. I have placed an Invigorating Rune on him to see to his core."

His gaze darted over to his younger brother and James finally noticed the rune glowing brightly on Anthony's chest. He nodded twice then looked back to the timeless Lady. "I thank you for that, and for watching over him. I'll have a word with him about handling the claim mark more responsibly." James looked over to Lady Sjofn who was waiting to see if he had need of her again. "Lady Sjofn, why don't you take a moment to inform Lady Audhumbla of what we found. I'll get Anthony ready for us to go." He nodded again, mostly to himself before going to his younger brother's side. Using his own seidr he gently pushed at Anthony's seidr until his core pulled back into him, into his chest. The flames extinguished. The room began to cool again. Next, he switched his soul song to the soul song of perception. James touched at Anthony with his soul song, announcing his presence to both his younger brother and his sister-in-law in Anthony's dreamscape. Once he was sure that they were waking up he switched his song to the soul song of stillness with as many hopeful undertones as he could find. It was a stretch for him to find that hope, but he managed. His thoughts went to his mother and her ever hopeful and optimistic attitude. She never failed to find something to be cheerful over. His heart ached to know it would be another two years before he would see her again. Her cheer and optimism would have been most welcome right then. As it was all James had right then was a younger brother who was looking up at him warily and a monstrous past that he couldn't let that younger brother near yet. Anxiety mangled his reassuring smile so that he had to reset his face with a new softer expression. Calm down, James. Anthony cannot know right now.

The soft grip of worry wrapped around Anthony's thoughts. It'd been a long time since he'd seen something so worrying in his older brother's expression. It was there and he couldn't deny it. Anxiety and distress were underpinning the soft soothing expression that Rhodey was trying to put on his face. Sitting up slowly, Anthony almost cringed. "I behaved, Rhodey. I did what you asked. I even made it so that I couldn't burn down the room." Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Anthony stood to face his brother. "What did I do wrong?"

"The only thing that you did was to use your claim mark too heavily. It's dangerous for you to do that. If you die from a loss of seidr Loki will die with you. You got overexcited this time. I understand. We'll practice using it responsibly. Ok?" Looking over the confused look on his younger brother's face, and his acceptance of James' critique, the good colonel wanted to cry. Eventually Anthony, Arno, and Morgan were going to have to be told, filled in about their own heritage. James was going to have to be the one to do it. He couldn't rest that responsibility on anyone else's shoulders but his own. For a moment his soothing expression faltered again. He wrestled that expression back into place. You're worrying him. Stop!

Something was very wrong and that fact that his brother couldn't hide it was causing increasing amounts of anxiety in Anthony. There seemed to be nothing that his older brother couldn't hide. He knew that very well since he'd learned from his older brother how to hide things he would have struggled to hide on his own. "What's wrong, Rhodey?"

The firehawk looked almost scared of the look on his Elder Brother's face. Lady Audhumbla turned her attention back to Lady Sjofn who knelt before her, holding up her hand while extending her sjel-seidr. The timeless Lady took her handmaiden's hand and their seidrs merged. It only took a second for her to relive all of what Lady Sjofn found in hers and James' epic trip through time. It was a hideous goodness that greeted her. The situation was worse and better that she feared. James was already moving to handle it, which didn't surprise her. All it did was inform her as to why he seemed a touch disoriented. James shall need aid rendered to him for the firehawk and his brothers for their lifetimes, her Lord husband's low voice rumbled through her thoughts. Yes, I believe so, she replied silently. She turned her attention back to the firehawk and James.

Elder Gorynych stood like a silent statue in the back of the room watching the scene unfold. He felt it when his blood sister used the Learning Spell to transfer something to him and looked down. It only took a few moments for him to absorb the large quantity of information she gifted him with. It brought with it a terrible joy and a terrible sadness. This was the coldest execution of the principle of the 'greater good' that he'd ever seen. The blessings that would come from this would be tremendous as the suffering coming from it already had been. In truth, the firehawks were a blessing; a terrible, dreadful blessing. The firehawks needed to be informed, but he was going to leave that to James. The good colossal was the only living being that the draconic Elder trusted to both inform the firehawks and ensure everyone else's safety in doing so.

Putting his hand on Anthony's shoulder, James smiled down at his brother. "You don't need to worry about anything. I'll take care of everything. It's all under control. Don't worry about it." He took a breath to settle himself and then smiled down at Anthony again. "Say goodbye to Loki, we have to get going. We still have work to do." He knew exactly what work they were going to busy themselves with too. It would be something for Loki since the rest of Anthony's restitution was complete. Things just needed to be handed over to Odin and Frey now.

"Everything's ok?" It clearly wasn't, but if his older brother told him that it was then it was.

"I have everything under control. You don't need to worry." James repeated those two main points. He knew that he would continue repeating them until Anthony was comfortable with the situation.

James was hiding something and he wasn't even being subtle about it; Loki could see it as she sat up in bed. It worried her to see the distress on James' face and not know what was happening. He was never worried, distressed, or anxious. James was always calm and collected, always in command of any situation that he was in, always in command of himself. It made her wonder what could have overwhelmed his control to the point that his distress was visible. Loki reached over and grasped Anthony's wrist, pulling gently at him until he turned around to face her.

Anthony looked down at his beautiful wife, into her shining green eyes. The glowing fern green of her eyes had always been one of his favorite things about her. When they shined with love was when he couldn't get enough of them. They were filled with a wary worry now. More love for her moved through his thoughts. Bending down, Anthony cupped the sides of her face with his hands and kissed her gently. It was a small, sweet kiss before he said goodbye. "I still have some work to do. I'll come back when I'm done." He pulled away from her to stand up. "I love you, Loki." Profound discomfort filled him at having to leave her, but he knew she was safer where she was.

"Loki," James spoke up, "can you get out your mini gleipnir so that Anthony can fill it again?" He was glad that she obliged without argument, handing it over to Anthony without a word.

A little smile played across Anthony's face as he took the gleipnir from his wife. He focused on how much he loved her, how beautiful he thought she was, how priceless she was to him. Then he extended his seidr to fill the small gleipnir. Raw heat exploded between his hands. His smile widened when he felt Rhodey's hand settle on his shoulder. His older brother was reaching through the link to temper his seidr and help him fill the gleipnir without melting it. The little gleipnir was capable of holding a large quantity of seidr. His smile became a grin when he felt Rhodey take over filling the gleipnir through the link. His older brother was reaching through the link to him to carefully pack the seidr into the gleipnir so that Loki would have more. Thank you, Rhodey, he sent his thoughts through the link and was pleased to hear a warm, You're welcome, Anthony, in return.

It felt like both her husband and James were filling the gleipnir. She would accept having James' seidr, but truly only wanted Anthony's seidr in the gleipnir. It was what she needed to maintain her bond with him. She wasn't even sure what she would do with James' seidr when Anthony smiled and handed the gleipnir back to her. Extending her seidr from her core, she felt at the seidr in the little gleipnir. There was much more seidr than she expected while it was lacking any trace of anyone's seidr but Anthony's. It puzzled her because she was certain that James was helping to fill it. It was something that she was going to have to give thought to when they departed. Loki turned a brilliant smile up at Anthony to only have his seidr. She stretched out her hand to bring him to her one last time. Their last kiss was swift but sweet. "Come back to me, Love," she murmured against his lips, "I'll wait for you."

"I'll always come back to you." I could never go anywhere else! Though he didn't want to Anthony pulled away from his wife and left her sitting in bed. He slowly looked back to his older brother. "I'm ready."

"Good." James looked to Loki next. The wariness was returning to her expression. "Just a little bit longer and we'll be done with what we have to do. I promise you; I will bring him back."

As much as Loki worried over what had happened that she didn't know about, she didn't worry that James was lying to her. He'd already brought her beloved back to her once. She knew he would do it again. "I know, James. I trust you, and I'll continue to do as you've asked." The calm surrounding him helped her to calm herself in light of Anthony leaving again.

"Thank you." James bowed, turning her head towards him and giving her a kiss on the top of her head, before turning to Lady Sjofn. "Good Lady, could you take us back to our room, please?"

"Yes, James." Extending her sjel-seidr, Lady Sjofn commanded it to grip James, Anthony and herself and return them to the room across the hall and out of time. Her sjel-seidr took them back swiftly enough so that she didn't even dissolve her body in the currents.

23May2023 – Outside The Bounds Of Time

Vanaheim Royal Palace Guest Chambers

Anthony went right to his memory cube that was still turned on and sitting on his desk. James let him go, he had other things to do and wanted to distract himself by doing them. Everyone could use a little distraction, he thought sourly as he looked at their newest project. Swiftly and without an accompanying expression on his face, James flared his seidr out to Lady Sjofn, asking her, Would you be willing to retrieve Herb, Arno, and Morgan? I need them here. Anthony was shoo'ing the overly-friendly cybernetic hound in the room off to his toys by his bed.

She nodded once so from out of his interdimensional pocket James summoned a small bottle on a necklace chain. The tiny bottle was filled with tiny blue apatite gemstones that symbolized gratitude. A cork cap kept the stones contained while holding a small loop that kept it attached to the chain. Across the surface of the glass was etched a line of small, interconnected hearts in a Celtic theme. He handed it to her and flared his seidr again. Show this to Morgan when you see him. Tell him to bring it back to me. He'll work with you then. Herb will make sure that Arno comes along quietly. Tell him I said to leave the children with constructs. We'll pick them up near when we leave them.

Lady Sjofn held the necklace in her sjel-seidr, and stepped silently back into the currents of time, letting her body dissolve in the currents' flow.

23May2023 – Late Night

Mosstonburg Township, Middle Of Massachusetts

Through space and time Lady Sjofn swirled away. She came to her target swiftly enough. The lodgings of James' younger brother was in her sights. The studio apartment at the top of the square Healing Roads Pharmacy building was cozy, with an open floorplan and plush furniture. The windows that were normally open to allow sunshine in were closed for the evening. The light-blocking blinds were drawn tight. The lights in the apartment were turned off so that the only light was a small lamp and a small burner sitting on a workbench. The workbench pushed up against a wall, with a bookshelf next to it, was covered in alchemical equipment. There was a slender giant of a man hunched over his workbench, tinkering with his newest potion. His plain black tee-shirt stretched across his wide shoulders. The plain jeans he wore stretched over his long legs, going down to the heavy black combat boots that he wore. His shaggy mane of dark brown hair occasionally fell forward into his face and almost into the small Bunsen burner that he was brewing his potion over. It caught in his full beard before it was pushed back behind one of his ears. When that didn't stay behind his ear, he reached into his pocket to pull out a hair band. He pulled his mane back into a loose ponytail so that it would stay out of his face. His chocolate brown eyes were filled with wonder at the clear potion in the flask he was holding turned golden and granulated down into a fine sand. The refinements to the sonic compression mixing technique had worked.

Lady Sjofn stepped silently out of the currents of time, reconstituting her body as she did so. Immediately she dodged a short blade that would have struck her between the eyes. It caught her attention that moving through time wasn't going to save her. The flaming seidr covering the blade was burning through time. The dagger lodged into the wall behind her. She was glad it caught the wall instead of her.

Morgan Rhodes, one of the last living Starks, didn't like uninvited guests. As the dusky Lady moved, he was moving as well. He placed himself between her and the path to his sleeping son. The second of his two daggers was in his right hand. From his interdimensional pocket he summoned and equipped his wrist to elbow high, metal plated, shield gauntlet on his left arm in only a matter of seconds. He didn't know who this woman was, but he did know that she wasn't going to harm his son.

What's this then? A new toy to play with? You should teach her not to wander into a Stark's lair carelessly, a dark voice in the back of his mind hissed at him. Morgan ignored it as always.

A non-threatening smile touched her lips and the timeless Lady held out the necklace from James, letting it hang from her hand. Having seen him in the currents let her not be surprised at how much this man looked like Anthony. "I am Lady Sjofn of the Norns. James Rhodes sent me to retrieve you, Herb, and Arno." She knew what this man was and didn't want to enrage him without James available to calm him. Despite the fact that she was a tall woman, taller than many men, she still looked up to this giant man. He looked wild with his ponytail flowing down to his mid-back. His eyes held a calculating control that Lady Sjofn recognized instantly. This was a dangerous individual.

Morgan recognized the necklace in an instant. It was one of the first things he ever made. He gave it to Rhodey more than thirty years ago when he was only twenty one. He knew that his older brother wouldn't give that necklace to just anyone. If this Lady had it, then his older brother probably wanted him to go along quietly. He thought about that for a moment longer before deciding that he could still deal with his unknown guest violently if he had to. So long as his son, Jason, was protected then he would go along quietly for now. Summoning a sheath for his dagger from his interdimensional pocket, he attached it to his belt and sheathed his dagger. Extending his seidr out he picked up the second dagger that he'd flung at Lady Sjofn. It too was sheathed at his belt. Distaste tinged his thoughts when he went to get the necklace from her. He was still armed, and it made him uncomfortable. Since he wanted the necklace back he held out his hand to the dusky woman without a word.

Take her life instead, the dark voice hissed at him again. No, now go away, he thought in direct reply to it. He wished the intrusive thoughts weren't so frequent. It helped to address them directly, but it never stopped them.

The necklace was placed in Morgan's hand without a fuss. "James bids you return it to him."

With that Morgan knew that James more than likely had sent this woman to get him. It eased his mind and allowed him to turn his back on her as he went to retrieve his sleeping son. He wandered over to the other side of the square open room. There was a navy child's bed placed next to his own large bed. It was empty again so he looked to his own navy bed. There his son was, curled up in the middle of it. He was laying half on and half off of one of Morgan's body pillows. The boy's long flowing chocolate brown hair was kept in a similar wild style that Morgan kept. Most especially though, the boy's small slender body belied the power that he held as a juvenile firehawk. It was in his face that he most resembled his father. It was only in his lightly brown skin that he truly differed from Morgan's appearance. That darker brown skin tone he took from his African American biological mother.

A minute smile touched his lips as he saw the little boy. The smile soured since he knew he was about to pick up his son while armed. It made him uncomfortable to bring weapons near the boy. He wouldn't have done it but part of him still didn't trust the woman standing still and quiet behind him. Moving over to the side of the bed where the bottom of the pillow was, Morgan gently pulled the pillow to bring Jason closer to him. Only a little grumble of complaint came from the small sleeping boy. A little chuckle came from Morgan is response. The boy never liked to get up. He held his hand out and used his still extended seidr to pull his son's shoes to him. The shiny little black boots mimicked what Morgan was wearing. Pulling the blankets back revealed Jason's little sock-covered feet. A gentleness born of practice moved Morgan's hands to get the boy's boots on without waking him up. His seidr crept back into his core before he went to pick up his son carefully so that the boy didn't wake up. When he had Jason picked up and adjusted so that they boy would be comfortable, Morgan went back to Lady Sjofn. He looked at her, waiting for what would come next.

Lady Sjofn looked silently between Morgan and his son. The boy still looked like the half-blood descendent of a dvergar that he was. She was glad that Morgan had custody of the little boy. The boy did better with Morgan than with his reprehensible mother. She extended her sjel-seidr and commanded it to grip Morgan, Jason, and herself and carry them into the currents of time so that she could go to her next target; Herb and Arno.

23May2023 – Late Night

Rosegrove City, Northern California

They made it across the nation and through the night to northern California in less than a second. Bringing them out of the currents of time in Herb and Arno's living room let her get to them quickly while giving Morgan a chance to be seen by her side. Not enraging Arno without James there was what she also wanted.

The six foot six inch vikingesque vintner with long sandy blood hair and a muscled frame stood in his small, well-appointed kitchen washing dishes with his husband. Arno stood next to him in the 'L' shaped kitchen. Something tingled in the back of Herb's mind, so he added a soul song of perception to his perpetual soul song of stillness. Through his song he could feel that Lady Sjofn, Morgan and Jason were standing in his living room waiting for him. He noticed how Arno noticed him noticing something, and flared out his seidr to see if he could find what was being noticed. Immediately he found his brother and nephew in his living room along with someone else that he didn't know. When Arno reached for a kitchen knife to have in hand when he went to greet their unknown guest Herb reached over and shook his head. "She's a friend," Herb spoke softly, a little worried at the circumstances of Lady Sjofn coming to his home with his younger brother and nephew in tow.

She's truly not. You should show her what comes of entering a Stark's layer carelessly, a dark voice in the back of Arno's mind hissed at him. He did his best to ignore the wayward impulse, as he'd been taught to do by his mother. "If you say so," the soft feminine voice that came out of Arno's mouth seemed appropriate on him. The short man next to Herb was the average height of an American woman and had hip length wavy dark brown hair. The top of it was pulled back into a ponytail while the bottom half was braided in many smaller braids that were also braided into a thicker braid. Chocolate brown eyes shown out of a face that resembled his brothers closely. It had a more feminine framing though, so much so that he looked like a woman. The lovely sleeveless pink blouse and painted-on jeans conferred the impression of femininity. It was the whipcord lean, chiseled, powerful, battle-hardened muscles under those clothes that spoke to his masculinity. Arno Rhodes-Willems was neither a man nor a woman though. Arno was just himself. It was almost more than he could manage to be, something other than one of the last living Starks.

The song coming from Herb filled Lady Sjofn's ears then. She could tell that he knew she was there. He was coming to them currently, bringing his song ever closer.

Making his way out of one of the kitchen's arched doorframes and into the living room. The room was done in shades of green, blue, and brown with a cream colored carpet covering most of the dark hardwood floors. The plush cream colored leather furniture surrounded the timeless Lady, and his brother and nephew. Herb smiled politely at the Lady before him and questioned her softly. "Lady Sjofn, it's good to see you. What can I do for you this evening?"

"James sent me to retrieve you, Arno, and Morgan. He requires your presence. He bids you leave the children here with constructs for now. They shall be retrieved in time shortly after they are left." It felt strange for Lady Sjofn to speak so much to someone other than another Norn, but she didn't mind speaking to Herb. He was like James; an honorable and non-capricious colossal.

There was only one reason that Herb could see for James collecting all of them. Flaring his seidr to the Lady before him, his seidr whispered, Has James informed you of the depth of the situation?

A likewise flare of her sjel-seidr let Lady Sjofn whisper to him, Yes. He granted me a view through the flames.

"Perfect. Would you mind giving us a few minutes to get things settled here? We need to take care of the children." A respectful smile came across his lips.

Motioning for them to continue, Lady Sjofn stepped off to the side to be out of their way.

Constructs were definitely needed, so Herb moved to make sure that his husband would feel better about what was going to happen. "Arno, can you create two constructs to put in the children's rooms?" turning to his brother he spoke again, "Why don't we get Jason into bed, Morgan?"

Nodding, Morgan moved forwards to the hallway leading from the living room and next to the kitchen. He moved swiftly towards the children's bedrooms to put his son to bed in the spare bed in the children's room. When he got to one of the small children's room he turned into it. Jason's cream-colored bed was empty this time. Frequently it was filled with one of his son's cousins, sometimes more than one. The soft covers were pulled back and the boy was set down gently, his little boots swiftly removed. Gently as he could Morgan placed a kiss on his son's forehead and pulled the covers back up over Jason. He withdrew from the dark room, going past the one of the two powerful constructs Arno had created to watch over their children while they were gone. The door was quietly closed behind him. He turned around right into facing Herb who was coming out of the other children's room and had a slightly disapproving look on his face.

Having weapons near the children never made Herb happy. He nodded towards Morgan's daggers and gauntlet. "You should put those away."

Without complaint, Morgan gripped his gauntlet and daggers with his seidr and dismissed them back to his interdimensional pocket. He nodded once at Herb then went back to Lady Sjofn in the living room. Herb turned at the head of the hallway which led into his and his husband's bedroom. Arno was coming out with his slender pink slippers and a cream-colored leather jacket on. He'd known his husband for too long to not know what the leather jacket meant. "Put the knifes away," Herb reminded him, "We're going to James, you don't need them."

A happy smile crossed Arno's face and a little shrug rolled his shoulders. There was nothing and no one that he knew of who could stand against his bare hands. The knives were just an old habit, a courtesy to his enemies more than anything. He extended his seidr to grip the knife tucked away in each of his sleeves, the short sword tucked away in the back of his jacket, the knives strapped to his ankles and the one in his side pocket inside his jacket. They were all dismissed to his interdimensional pocket before his seidr shrunk back into his core. "Old habits die hard." His tone was light while his thoughts weren't. Moving down the hallway, back to the living room, he thought about the circumstances.

He was going to see Rhodey, and it had been too long between seeing him again. He had been used to seeing his older brother three times a week. For years there were interruptions from his other older brother, Anthony, which disrupted their neat and tidy schedule. His intuition told him that this meeting was important. Hope sprung in his breast that this would be the start of them going back to their normal schedule. That schedule would include seeing Anthony again, who he hadn't seen in years. His heart ached to be away from his older brother for so long, but Rhodey kept telling him that it was necessary. It still hurt him to feel the separation. Maybe this night would be the end of that emotionally unwieldy separation. Arno wanted it to be so. Return my Starks to where they belong. Together for the kill, the dark voice hissed at him one more time. Arno signed to Morgan as he entered the living room, I think we're going to get to see Anthony. The sign for his older brother Anthony was two knocks on the head and a cheeky grin.

It was the sign that Morgan used as he signed back to Arno that he hoped they were because he missed his younger brother very much. It was very true too. Morgan hadn't seen Anthony in years either, and it hurt him to be away from his younger brother for so long. He worried incessantly over whether Anthony was well or not. Rhodey said that there were major things going on that had to be dealt with before he could bring Anthony back to them. All he hoped for was that they were at a point where they could start seeing Anthony on a regular basis again. He just wanted his younger brother back, that was all. Live together. Kill together. Just like your masters, the old monsters, the voice hissed at him before leaving.

The children were all tucked in and sleeping, and the two constructs were standing guard in each of the children's room, so Herb made his way back to Lady Sjofn. "We're ready to go."

Extending her sjel-seidr, Lady Sjofn commanded it to grip Morgan, Arno, and Herb, then take them through the currents of time and across space to the small door in the room in the Vanaheimr Royal Palace that James was waiting for them in. She aimed them to come out of the currents and through the door at the same moment that she had stepped into the currents to go retrieve them. She swirled swiftly through the currents carrying her guests in time carefully. When they came to the moment she was aiming for, she brought them safely out of the currents of time and into the small room. James was waiting for them with a happy smile on his face. "Anthony, they're here."

23May2023 – Outside The Bounds Of Time

Vanaheim Royal Palace Guest Chambers

The memory cube was almost within reach when Anthony heard his older brother tell him that they were there. Without looking he flared his seidr to see who'd come to visit them. Who he found shocked him to his core. Little bittersweet tears filled his eyes as he turned around slowly to see his other brothers standing in the room with him. He could hear their seidr whispers and feel the warmth of their seidr up against his own. This was no dream. His brothers were truly in front of him. Ironically, the appearance of his beloved brothers drained the happiness away from him like a sucking chest wound. Terrible shame filled his thoughts forcefully for all the things he'd done that he was now going to have to tell them. He was going to have to do more than just tell them, he realized. He was going to speak with them through the link in their seidr. He could already hear Rhodey calling him to the link, calling them all. His brothers would see, hear, and feel everything that happened to him as it happened. Then they would see him afterwards. The link harbored no lies, brooked no falsity, tolerated no deception. They would see what he truly looked like, how ragged and broken that he knew he was. It was why he had refused to meditate with them in the link for the past few years. If they saw how he looked then there was no chance that they would stay away. He was living in SHIELD's crosshairs up until recently. Pulling them into it wasn't what he wanted, despite how badly he wanted their company.

For the second time that day Anthony squatted down next to the floor, curled into a ball, and covered his head with his arms. The bittersweet tears prompted by his brothers' arrival streamed down his cheeks. Soft mewling tones began to drop from his mouth as his seidr whispers filled with his desire to not tell them. He couldn't think of a way to let them know that wasn't going to enrage them, harm them like he was harmed. "I didn't want to," he whispered again and again, "I didn't want to."

The friendly hound looked over to his best Friend and almost went over to him, since he was upset again. However, the Friend's friends were there. They would take care of his Friend better than he could and the hound dog knew it. He would check in with his friend later to make sure that he was taken care of. Until then, the hound dog was going to quietly watch some soap operas and play with his ball bearings.

Anthony's other brothers moved to him swiftly, with James and Herb both playing the soul song of stillness for everyone there. Arno reached his downed brother first, moving swiftly like a flame. He pulled Anthony out of the ball he was tucked into so that the distressed engineer was simply sitting on the floor, then rested his brother's head against his shoulder. Anthony just held on to him and cried. A fever pitch ferocity coated his thoughts as he saw his brother's tears running down his jacket. He stroked his hand over Anthony's hair and worried greatly over his older brother's response to them. Looking to James, he asked with quiet fury, "What did he not want to do?" And who do I need to dispose of, was the other unspoken half of that question. Not even Rhodey will find the body.

The same sort of tumultuous fury roiled in Morgan's mind like he saw on Arno's face. Their brother was hurt badly enough to cry. He remembered all the years that Rhodey spent trying to pull him away from the path that the old monsters set him on. He remembered all the work he'd done that he was proud of to get away from that path. As his younger brother sat on the floor crying quietly, those memories faded. If whatever had happened was enough to cause Anthony to cry, then it was enough to cause whoever did it to die. That was Morgan's first response.

Herb's gaze locked onto James' gaze, and they nodded to each other. The boys were ramping themselves up to a dangerous level. The adults needed to step in now. James sat on the floor next to them, and Herb sat down with him. He strengthened his invitation into the link until it became a command. At the same time Herb joined him in the link and extended an invitation to the boys to come into the link as well. He too strengthened it until it became a command to enter into the link.

All five of the men in the room with Lady Sjofn closed their eyes and stilled in motion. Their eyes glowed white from beneath their eyelids. James was using the strange meditation again, the link. A few quiet moments passed before they came awake. Whatever happened must not have been good, she reasoned, because Anthony started sobbing as soon as they came back to themselves. Arno hugged his older brother to him, soothing him with soft words. The very model of fury passed over Arno's face for a second before it was pushed away in favor of something softer. Morgan pulled both of his younger brothers into his arms and held both of them close. He too held an expression of unfathomable rage for a second before he looked to Anthony and his expression softened as well. There was love in each of their expressions now. A kernel of distress formed in her own mind to see the firehawk so distraught. Flaring out her sjel-seidr, she asked James, Is there aught I can do to aid them? Perhaps good food would cheer him?

Appreciation flared strongly in James' mind for Lady Sjofn. She was not only a powerful ally, she was a compassionate and pragmatic one also. Yes, thank you, he flared his seidr in return. He unfolded his seidr to mount both a Learning Spell and a Conjuration Spell. They released together to form the order for the food, then he stowed his seidr back into his core.

Lady Sjofn took the list from his hand quietly, so as to not disturb the firehawks. It was a long list with several cheesecake slices for her. A small smile touched her lips. James always took her into consideration. She wished for a moment that she could have introduced him to her husband, her wife, and her children. They had all been left behind in the 1st Era when she became a Norn. She never expected to find such good company outside of the Norns after that. The timeless Lady was glad to be proved wrong as she stepped back into the currents of time. Her body dissolved and she made for Ray's Pizzeria at top speed.

He rescinded his invitation into the link. A tiny light of nervousness tinged Herb's thoughts. The urge to kill hadn't been dealt with in Arno and Morgan. If anything, it had been refined. That was better than letting it run unchecked, but not as good as wiping it out entirely. At least their wrath was focused on Thanos now, instead of anyone who crossed their path. It was safer to allow them out of this room now as well. Herb wasn't sure why they'd need to leave this room, but he was keenly aware that the boys could easily find or create a reason. The chaos of their existence could always find a way. Looking over to James, he smiled tentatively, and had an equally tentative smile returned to him. Things were safe, for now.

James didn't like the very obvious urge to kill that Morgan and Arno still had. That it wasn't aimed indiscriminately was at least better than a sharp stick in the eye in his opinion. There was work that was going to need to be done in the link to help them process what happened to Anthony, to Loki, and to them. Most importantly there was work that they needed to do to get to the understanding that they weren't going to get to kill Thanos. They weren't going to get to have that blood on their hands, that stain on their souls, no matter how much they wanted it. As uncomfortable as it was, with Anthony still crying, James needed to plant the seed of understanding now before it was too late. Using his soul song of blessings, he filled it with the understanding that they couldn't be allowed to kill then stamped it directly onto their foreheads. The thought would sink in through the stamp. It would get things started for him and Herb to work with. Eventually Arno and Morgan would come to the same understanding and acceptance that Anthony had. Each of them had different challenges to understanding than Anthony had, and he was going to have to work with them. It was nothing that he hadn't worked with before. It wasn't anything that he wouldn't deal with again. This was what James did, and he did it for his brothers.

A growling need to tear into the one responsible for Anthony's tears rolled in waves through Morgan's mind. Once they found the bastard, he was going to do that tearing. It was going to take time to get to him. That wasn't a concern for Morgan right then. He was a patient hunter and had a long, long time to pursue this hunt. He placed a little kiss on the top of his younger brother's head and extended his rust orange colored seidr so that it encompassed the three of them. His protectiveness and love for his family filled his extended seidr. It created thick rusty orange flames in his caliginous seidr that swirled around them.

The cantaloupe colored light orange flames that were created by Arno extending his seidr core to merge with Morgan's seidr to form a barrier around them. His love for Anthony and protectiveness for his older brother filled his shimmery seidr. The urge to annihilate Thanos came alongside those lighter emotions. It was a dark and bitter stain in his seidr that he normally would have been concerned about. He was no longer concerned about it. He was livid and he was going to act on that rage. Somehow, someway, he was going to harm Thanos tenfold for what happened to Anthony. It was going to happen. In doing what he'd done, Thanos had acted in the stead of an old monster, taking from Anthony and giving him pain in return. No one was allowed to get away with doing that to one of them anymore, not even the old monsters.

At the table where they normally ate several large pizzas appeared, then some salads, breadsticks came next, then deep fried cheese sticks, bacon mac-n-cheese, pretzel sticks with cheese dip, spinach artichoke dip with pita chips, lava cakes, apple caramel baked roses, and carafes of cold coffee and water. Lady Sjofn stepped back into the room through the door to the room carrying several cheesecake slices for herself. They all had weak Dearth of Heat Spells on the containers that kept the slices chilled. The timeless Lady moved back to sit at the table in her usual spot. A little look at the table caused her to pass her sjel-seidr from her core and command it to turn into a Conjuration Spell to conjure several more chairs to accommodate their guests before it passed back to her core. It would be rude to not offer them a place to sit. Lady Sjofn's manners just wouldn't allow that.

It wasn't hard for James and Herb to push past the barrier that was erected around Anthony. Herb used his soul song of stillness to push at Morgan's seidr until it withdrew back to the core it came from. A few forceful prods got Morgan to withdraw his seidr. While Herb was working on Morgan, James began to resonate with Arno. Through resonance he was able to guide Arno into withdrawing his seidr. The urge to kill from both Arno and Morgan hadn't itself been killed, but at least the path to Anthony was clear again. James didn't want them to burn down the room with everything and everyone in it. Moving forward peacefully was always what James wanted. He knew that it was what Herb wanted as well. Flaring out his seidr to Herb, it whispered, Thank you. He was always glad to have Herb by his side, especially when Herb's seidr whispered back to him, You're welcome. We'll do this together. He smiled at his brother then turned his attention back to his other brothers, primarily to Anthony who was still sobbing on the floor. James could easily understand the problem. It presented itself in the link. Honestly, it presented itself years ago to him when he first brought Anthony into this little room. His younger brother knew that the actions he took were wrong, knew that he was wrong for doing it. Now he had to deal with that, he worried what Morgan and Arno would think of him. This situation was more complicated than just right and wrong though, and he knew that all of his brothers understood that. It was only Anthony, who had lived through these things, who had a hard time understanding that there were extenuating circumstances to what he'd done.

With the gentlest touch, James reached out to Anthony, putting a hand on his shoulder. He focused his soul song of stillness back through himself to make it as loud as he could. Next to him, Herb increased the volume of his soul song of stillness too. Before long Anthony was back down to quiet crying. A few minutes after that he was leaning weakly against Arno's shoulder while holding onto Morgan's hand. Soon after that the crying engineer was sniffling softly and sitting up on his own. "Lady Sjofn brought some pizza and other things. Why don't we have something to eat, then we can talk through things."

Arno's cantaloupe seidr struck out of his core to devastate into a Restoration Spell. He guided the spell over Anthony to clean his face of the tears and runny nose, to clean himself and Morgan as well. Once they were all ready to go, he broke down the spell and let his seidr shrink back into his core. A quick glance over his shoulder at the table showed him the distraction that he needed. "Oh! I think I smell that bacon and four cheese mac-n-cheese you like, a pepperoni pizza too. Doesn't that sound nice?" Anthony was still panting lightly, with a vaguely disoriented expression on his face. Occasionally the discombobulated engineer would mouth the words, I didn't want to, so Arno leaned over and gave him a kiss on the top of the head. He bulled his way into the link since Rhodey was right there, reaching through it to pull Anthony's frenetic thoughts to him, and away from all the horrid memories playing in his mind.

Such a haunted look came over Anthony's face that he almost couldn't see his younger brother when he looked up at him. It was Loki and what he'd done to Loki that he could see.

The pain in his older brother's eyes was spectacularly bright, so much so that it hurt Arno to even look at it. This was a pain that they hadn't known since the old monsters were in their prime. It was a pain that Arno had never forgotten, could never forget. "It wasn't your fault," he whispered roughly, placing his hand on the side of his brother's face, "it wasn't." An awkward smile touched his face. "We'll fix this, Anthony." Through Rhodes' family solutions or through blood and pain, this was going to be fixed somehow. Thanos will not get away with this!

Morgan listened to his younger brother say that they would fix this situation. He quite agreed with that sentiment. Rhodey had to have a plan to deal with it already. He knew his older brother well enough to know that the plan had to exist already. There were very few instances where he was sanguine with disappointing Rhodey. Changing up Rhodey's plans for Thanos to include more violence and bloodshed was one of those few instances. The terribly pained expression on Anthony's face demanded that violence. It was a pain that he hadn't seen for decades and had never wanted to see again. It was something that he was going to have to give consideration to, then discuss with Arno to see how they wanted to handle this. At that moment Arno was standing then bending down to help Anthony up, so Morgan stood and grasped one of Anthony's arms. Between the two of them they helped their brother to his feet.

When Arno stood, Herb stood with him. James stood at the same time. They all clustered around Anthony while guiding him to the table and a seat there. At the table both Arno and Morgan sat Anthony down then sat on either side of him to keep him steady. As happy as they were to be reunited with Anthony, there was still a feeling of rage tempering that happiness. Neither were sure what to do with it. They couldn't talk amongst themselves with Rhodey and Herb there. Their older brothers would try to persuade them to the 'honorable' or 'reasonable' or 'just' path. Each of them wanted blood for the wrongs done to one of their own. Instead of blood each of them reached for Anthony's plate. Arno pulled his hand back while Morgan took the plate and held it up. That Anthony still wasn't responding with anything more than a haunted expression bothered each of them. The youngest of them began filling Anthony's plate with hot foods while the oldest of the three of them kept the plate steady and his other large hand on Anthony's shoulder. Arno finished getting Anthony food, so Morgan set the plate down in front of him then patted his back gently.

Anthony's tepid response prompted Arno to go through the link again and pull his thoughts away from the horrid memories and back to his brothers who were with him. "Anthony," Arno's soft voice filled the space between them, "please look at me."

The hideous memories were lessening, and Anthony was grateful to Arno for helping that along. Though, when he looked over at Arno there were still tears in his eyes. He still wanted to explain himself to his brothers, that he hadn't wanted to do all the wrong things that he'd done. Through the link he could feel that they already knew that he didn't want to, but he still felt the need to explain.

Arno's cantaloupe seidr struck out of his core to devastate into a Conjuration Spell. It released to create a lacy lady's handkerchief before shrinking back into his core. The silky handkerchief absorbed Anthony's tears easily as Arno wiped it over his brother's eyes. "Listen to me, Anthony," he cupped his brother's face with his hands, "You don't need to worry about this anymore. We're here now and we're going to fix this." On the other side of his older brother he saw Morgan begin to rub Anthony's back gently. Arno pulled his brother's down until their faces were only inches apart. "We're here with you. And we will work through this to make it right." The soft tones of his feminine voice carried his consolation with them. There was calm in that voice. It was the calm of the hunter's mindset. Arno knew that the mindset would return again and again until their prey was slain. Enjoy the last of your life, Thanos. We're coming for you. The brilliant pain in Anthony's eyes drove his own pain at seeing it. I'll eat your soul for this.

How the situation could possibly be made right without copious amounts of bloodshed seemed impossible to Anthony. He was glad to have his brothers back though, that made sense to him.

That he could feel his older brother already trying to persuade him to a non-violent course of action actually displeased Morgan for once. Rhodey wants us to be calm about this, he thought sourly. This isn't something to be…, his thoughts stilled as he focused on catching his prey. The calm of the hunter's mindset fell over him. It allowed him to focus on the hunt while focusing on what was around him. Maybe calm isn't so bad.

This wasn't as bad as he thought it might be, but it was still bad. James could see and feel both Morgan and Arno going into the hunter's mindset. It was one of the more violent 'gifts' from the old monsters, the hunters who came before. Glancing over, he could see that Herb knew what was happening and didn't like it. There wasn't much that they could do to prevent it. It always happened so quickly. Counseling the boys through their violent urges was the only sure path forward for them.

Violence wasn't what Anthony needed right then, so Arno let him go and pointed him to the plate in front of him. "Let's have something to eat. We can talk about all of this later." He was going to need to speak with Anthony privately to determine what his brother wanted to do. Together he and Morgan could determine what Anthony truly wanted. There was a twinge of guilt in trying to go around Rhodey in this matter. The problem for him was that the damage to Anthony was so egregious that no peaceful solution would suffice in his mind. Only blood and pain would be a sufficient restitution for this harm.

A little sigh left James' lips. He had to keep pace with the violence his younger brothers were contemplating. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but he needed to put his foot down so that they knew what they were dealing with. "No, Arno, Morgan. When we go to hunt this monster you can be there, but, you will not be allowed to have that blood on your hands. This will not be a hunt that you can finish with a stain on your soul."

Anger jerked Arno's head so that he was looking at his older brother with a scowl on his face. "How do you expect to deal with him when we find him? Talking isn't going to cut it this time! He needs to be dealt with permanently!"

"I'll be the one to take that life. I will be the one to destroy that soul, you will not. Not you, not Morgan, and not Anthony. Me," James shook his head negatively, "no one else."

Arno almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. His gaze drifted down to the table. Rhodey was a soldier like he used to be. His older brother was an officer and a gentleman. Arno understood that his older brother had gone to battle, destroyed assets of war, and killed enemy combatants. This wasn't going to be that though. This was going to be personal. This was going to be done intentionally and with wrath in mind. This wasn't something that he thought he wanted Rhodey to be a part of. Rhodey was pure in his mind. Because of that purity Arno understood what sacrifice his older brother was proposing to make. "I don't think I like that proposal."

"It's not a proposal. This is the only way you get to come along on this hunting trip. Anthony has accepted it. If you can't accept it, then you don't get to come along." James' tone brooked no dissent. He looked to Morgan, who had a similarly upset expression on his face. "That goes for you too, Morgan. Accept it or be left on Earth when we go."

Neither Arno nor Morgan liked this or wanted it; one of their brothers had been terribly harmed and the other was going to make a terrible sacrifice to right the situation. They couldn't enact their own plans because Rhodey would leave them behind, which they didn't want either. What will we be allowed to do? Can we have the Chitauri? They aren't people anymore, Morgan signed to his older brother, using the signs for aliens and slaves to designate the Chitauri.

That was an idea that hadn't occurred to James, but Morgan was right. The Chitauri weren't people anymore. It would give them something to do while I deal with Thanos. Nodding, he spoke carefully. "Alright, alright," he nodded again to himself, formalizing the plan in his mind, "The three of you can have the task of destroying all of the Chitauri, burning, not eating. Leave none behind. Their ships and transports will have to be destroyed next." He gave his younger brothers a hard look. "But, if you try to sidestep me I will stop what I'm doing with Thanos to stop you. He might escape at that point. It would take more time to track him down again. Do you understand?"

Glancing over to Arno, Morgan saw his younger brother glancing over to him. They nodded to one another then to Rhodey. "That's fine. If it's what we can get, then we'll take it," Arno almost grimaced, "They have to be dealt with anyway." A bitter haze of discontent settled over Arno's thoughts so that he had to push it away from him to think clearly. Anthony needed him now. He needed to not be wrestling with his own bitter disappointment in how this was going to be handled. Arno wasn't going to get to rip Thanos' soul from his body, to crush it in his hand. The disappointment in his mind began sharpening back into the hunter's mindset. Thanos was out of his reach, but the Chitauri who had harmed his brother's wife were well within his reach, he just had to behave himself.

"We'll discuss it more later." Arno wasn't satisfied with this outcome, but he had to accept it until he could come up with his own plans.

"We'll discuss it now if you need to, Baby. I've already talked this through with Herb. He agrees with me," James looked to Morgan then, "Cub? Do you have concerns you'd like to air?"

Morgan's gaze met Arno's and he nodded once. They shared the same concerns, so he let his younger brother do the talking. Arno's gaze went to Rhodey, and he pursed his lips before he spoke. "We don't like the thought of you killing someone like that."

"Baby, you know I've gone to war," James' voice quieted some as stated in a matter-of-fact way, "I've already killed people."

"Not like this! You've never killed people in battle for revenge, or in anger. This isn't something you should be doing." The more Arno thought about it, the less he liked it.

"I have killed people who I might not otherwise have because it was in the name of justice, or even for strategic goals. This will be just like that. Killing Thanos will mesh the needs of justice and the strategic goals of the Nine Realms. I see no problems with me undertaking this in the name of justice and the safety of our home." James poured himself a cup of chilled coffee as he spoke. He wasn't going to lie and say that there wasn't a prodigious and profound rage at Thanos for what had happened. It was something he meditated on in the link to try to rid himself of. There was so much of it though. Destroying Thanos would be a blessing that would hopefully aid him to be rid of the anger, but he had no way to enact that right then. The first thing was finding the bastard, the second was getting to him. With the ship that Loki gifted to Anthony he had a way to get to Thanos. Now all he had to do was find him, but how? That was also something he'd meditated on. Plans, and plans, and more plans for systems to locate, differentiate, and track small celestial bodies, like what Thanos was traveling on, had proliferated in his mind from time to time. None of them seemed feasible because he hadn't found the right kind of lens to focus this search through. Earth designs and materials just weren't good enough for this. James was already making plans to go through the libraries of the Nine Realms for something better. At least he hoped they had something better for him to use. It would stall his plans if he had to design and test something himself. Lady Sjofn would help with that, like she had before, if he had to go that route.

There wasn't much to say against what his older brother said, and Arno knew it. The facts were on Rhodey's side, but he still felt the urge to object. "This is different. This is personal, Rhodey."

"Have you ever known me to not set aside my personal feelings on a controversial matter, to not do my job professionally?" James was calm as he sipped his coffee. While he could set aside his personal feelings on the matter to deal with Thanos, he wasn't sure that he was going to choose to. What James thought about doing wouldn't be quick, but it would be final. That was what mattered. Punishment was owed to Thanos after all.

With his mouth hanging open for a moment, Arno couldn't argue against that. No matter what trouble the boys caused their older brother always handled it with a calm, detached professionalism that was always impressive to Arno. It was a Sisyphean task that his oldest brother had taken on in overseeing the care of the three of them. He, Morgan, and Anthony all knew it. No matter how hard they tried to stay out of trouble they always found more trouble to get into. It was a never ending cycle that Rhodey handled with dignity and aplomb. Arno's gaze drifted down before going over to Morgan who was looking down as well. Morgan didn't have any arguments against what was going to happen either because only weak arguments were left. Arno still didn't like it. "It wouldn't be moral for you to kill him." That's stupid.

"If it wouldn't be moral for me, then it certainly wouldn't be moral for you. You know that, Baby." Picking up his own plate, James began to choose what he wanted to eat. "It's even more moral for me to handle this task because I'm working with the government, as well as the governments of several other realms. I'm going to be sanctioned when I do this, so it will be legal as well."

The Nine Realms, Arno thought in a small amount of wonder. He'd been told of them by Rhodey, even given several gifts from them by Rhodey. He hadn't known that his older brother was working with them though. It didn't surprise him, not at all. Rhodey always found his way to be where he wanted or needed to be. "You don't have a way to get to him though."

Nodding to Anthony then, James smiled softly. "Anthony was gifted with a spaceship, a war ship, about a year ago. He and I are preparing it for the trip. We'll have it ready in time to go."

Shock snapped Arno's head up, his gaze locked with his older brother's gaze. He could see it and it lightened his mood while foreclosing a line of objection for him. He was one step closer to having to accept that Rhodey would make this sacrifice. "We don't know where he is... it isn't..." Even as he said it he knew that his older brother had this covered too.

"I'm working on finding him. When I have a minute I'm going to be going through the libraries in the Nine Realms for solutions and I'll be asking the leaders of a few of the realms for aid in this. I will find him. I'm not worried about that." His soft smile stayed in place.

"We don't have any intel on Thanos, how he fights, what assets he has. It would be foolish to attack without knowing those." The arguments that Arno had to object with were dwindling fast. They were weak arguments anyway, but he still felt the need to object with them.

"I already have intel from Loki, and from the historical records of the Nine Realms," James motioned to Lady Sjofn kindly, "and from the Norns. As I'm finding him I'll be gathering as much intel as is available. It won't stop me if I can't find enough. I'm strong enough to overcome his defenses with or without the information. That's not a problem."

His older brother wasn't wrong. Arno knew it. Rhodey was the personification of strength, but his younger brother still didn't like this. Rhodey truly did have everything on his side. "I still don't like this."

"I don't like it either, Baby," leaning forward on the table, James' soft smile stayed in place while a harder look entered his eyes, "but we didn't get a choice in this. Thanos took that choice from us. The only choice we have now is how we finish this. If you can't accept not having this blood on your hands then you won't be a part of that end. I won't allow it."

"But..."

"There are no buts. It is my job to take care of this family. It's one I take seriously. I'm not going to let your soul be harmed in the ending of this situation. If I had had a choice then I wouldn't have let Anthony be harmed so badly. We're all a little low on choices, Baby. We have to accept the situation as it stands, whether we like it or not." James's expression was soft and supportive while his tone brooked no dissent.

It's over, Arno knew it. It was over in the same short and decisive fashion as most of his arguments with Rhodey ended. He had nothing but his bitter dislike to argue with and his older brother's cold logic was going to crush that if he tried to use it alone. A quiet voice to his side stopped him entirely.

"Please stop, Arno."

He looked over to see Anthony looking at him. Arno almost grimaced at the still haunted look on his brother's face. There was little he could do about it. "Anthony?"

"We shouldn't be fighting with each other. So, stop, please. Rhodey's going to handle it." Anthony was tired at that moment. He didn't want to deal with Arno protesting what they all knew needed to happen. He just wanted to try to move further away from the memories still forcing their way into his mind. The plate of food that he suddenly noticed in front of him looked like a better thing to focus on than him also disliking what his older brother was going to do. He couldn't stop Rhodey though, but he could stop Arno. Arguing over this wasn't helping him to forget the memories of the Dark Days.

Leaning over, Arno held onto his older brother's arm and placed his head against Anthony's shoulder. He looked up and asked, "Is this what you want?"

More little tears flooded Anthony's eyes as he thought, I don't want any of this. "Rhodey will handle this," he stressed to his younger brother, "Just accept it."

Pain spiraled through Arno's thoughts that he might be hurting his older brother with his protesting. He knew what he had to do. He hugged his brother's arm tighter and smiled. "If that's what you want then that's what we'll do." It was with great reluctance that he let go of the hunter's mindset. It wasn't as if it would be difficult gain the hunter's mindset again when they were hunting the Chitauri. He wanted to use it against Thanos, but it wasn't going to happen, at least he didn't think it would. Maybe I'll have a chance at a stray shot. We'll all be together until then.

The situation and its conclusion didn't sit well with Morgan either. However, if his older brother said that it would be handled then he trusted that it would be. Anthony's acceptance furthered his own acceptance. Instead of worrying over it he let the hunter's mindset go and turned to his younger brothers. Again, he wrapped his arms around the both of them and gave them a solid hug. He extended his seidr to Rhodey to get him to open the link for him. Through the link in their seidr he spoke, telling them that he loved them both and that he would be with them when this all happened. Next, he looked to Rhodey and nodded once. He understood very clearly that his older brother was telling them the truth, it didn't bother him to trust. It bothered him to not have a chance at Thanos. He understood it clearly though. Rhodey was protecting them as he always did. He even protected them from themselves if he could. Morgan wanted blood and fiery retribution. Anthony had accepted that it wouldn't happen, so he accepted it as well and tried to move towards being sanguine about it. It was the best way forward in his eyes. He just hoped that Arno would come to accept it in time like Anthony had. His youngest brother was always a firecracker when it came to any of them being harmed. Just keep cool and don't explode, he thought calmly. The small feast laid out on the table drew his attention then. Picking up his plate, he began to fill it.

Anthony leaned over to give his younger brother a hug and a kiss on the top of the head. "Thank you, Arno," he leaned into his brother's hug for a moment before saying, "I'm so glad you're here. I missed you both so much."

Looking up at Anthony, Arno made sure that his older brother was well enough before he let him go. "Come on, let's eat." The hot pizza was still waiting for them, so he reached over and got one slice of pepperoni pizza and a healthy heaping of salad for himself. Ice cold water filled his glass then he was ready to eat. A small frown touched his delicate lips as he noticed Anthony absent-mindedly nibbling on his pizza instead of just eating it. His ramrod straight posture bent only slightly as he reached over to cut up the pizza into bites with his own knife and fork. Arno put Anthony's fork into his older brother's hand. "That's easier." He'd feed his older brother if he needed to. It wasn't the first time he'd had to feed one of his brothers, but it'd been over forty years since he'd had to. You would give a Stark's work to Rhodes, the dark voice hissed, Are you not a Stark?

While Arno was cutting up Anthony's food Morgan filled his younger brother's glass with chilled coffee, then his own. He signed to Rhodey and Herb, What now?

It hurt Herb to see Anthony so shell-shocked. That he was even willing to nibble on his food was a good sign to the older man. His younger brother visibly needed some time to clear his mind about what was shown to them. He played his soul song of stillness alongside James' soul song of stillness. Together they were going to ensure that Anthony recovered, and that Arno and Morgan calmed down. Acceptance wasn't the same thing as calm, so they still had work to do. He smiled at his other brother. "Now we eat, and talk."

The Hawaiian pizza smelled good to him, so Morgan got himself a few slices of it. He began eating, listening to his brothers as they spoke. At first they just chatted about little things, like how the children were doing. Arno expressed both his own and Morgan's desires for all of their children to be introduced to one another. The children would all be close friends, close as siblings. He smiled to see how a little smile twitched on Anthony's lips as Arno talked about it. Anthony was still in there. Morgan could see it, but he could also see the additional mental wreckage that was burying his brother. That wreckage was sitting on top of the mental wreckage from childhood. It was that wreckage that made it difficult for Morgan to be sanguine about Rhodey handling Thanos instead of him doing it. Based on everything he'd seen, he didn't think it would be hard to handle Thanos in a permanent fashion. Rhodey is going to handle that, he reminded himself. This is a Stark's work, not Rhodes, the dark voice hissed at him. It took effort to push his mind towards acceptance when he could clearly see his younger brother still hurting. The desire to punish Thanos himself cropped up again and again. Each time he put it down with force. A little frown touched his lips before he shook his head lightly. I shouldn't be playing whack-a-mole in my own head. With that he went back to listening to the conversations happening. Occasionally he would knock on the table twice then sign his thoughts to interject into the conversation. Sometimes his brothers would respond to him with speech, sometimes it was with sign language. He was never neglected because of his silence.

Just as James was finishing signing to Morgan, Anthony looked up to him. There was something in his eyes like a rekindling flame. Tentative happiness bloomed in James' mind at the sight of it. "Anthony?"

"Can we work on the project?" With his brothers by his side Anthony began to feel the beginnings of a prodigious fit of invention. He needed to work on his latest project, a surprise to help Loki not be afraid of being healed anymore. This is not the work of a Stark, to heal anyone! The dark voice in Anthony's mind tried to hiss venom at him but slunk away when it was preemptively ignored.

"For it to be a 'we' Morgan, Arno, and Herb will have to be brought up to speed on the hows, whats, and whys of what we're doing. They'll need practice and experience in order to assist us. It'll take time. Are you ok with that?" James liked the thought of working with all of his brothers to create something grand. He wasn't the only one.

Including his brothers in the invention process hadn't crossed Anthony's mind. He had just thought to have them near him while he worked. The instant his older brother put forward having his other brothers involved he fell in love with the idea. It'd been years since they'd been together and the thought of having them be involved in the invention process was enough to send a pleasant tingle through his thoughts. "Yes, I can wait. We can do this together."

"Good," James smiled at Anthony's desire to include everyone in this project, "I'll have to ask Lady Audhumbla for some books to help us along." He thought about it for a moment, about what pieces they would need. "Maybe some books teaching about brewing in the Elder Realms for Herb, and some alchemy books for Morgan and Arno. Learning alchemy might be a good way to contribute to the project."

Morgan knocked twice on the table, What are we making?, he signed to his older brother.

After a quick smile at Anthony, James answered the question. "We're making something to help Loki not be afraid when being healed. Since she gets nervous around healers, we're going to give them a hand." James looked to Lady Sjofn. "Would it be possible for us to begin making appointments with the three best healers of the Norns? We have questions and I'm sure they could answer those questions easily. We'll also need their talents to test items and retrieve certain people when it comes to the testing. This will probably be a long process, so we're willing to work around their schedules."

"Shall I retrieve them for you now? I see no reason to delay." Lady Sjofn knew that her fellow handmaidens and Norns would love the cheesecake as much as she did, the coffee too. It would smooth over the discomfort at having to leave the Grand Temple.

"Yes," vague surprise tinted James' expression, "that would be lovely. I'll get seats for them at the table while you're gone."

At No Time And Every Time

Inside The Currents Of Time

With a single nod the timeless Lady slid back into the currents of time around them. She saw a flash as James snapped and brought three more chairs into being before she swirled away towards the Grand Temple of Urdarbrunnr. Like a giant rocky rose blooming in the incandescent currents of time, the Grand Temple of Urdarbrunnr stood unyielding. The shields around the temple unfolded like the petals of that rose to let her through. The busy sounds of life bustling through the streets of the temple city greeted her. Three thriving districts sat linked together to form a circular city. The Market District, where she landed, sat off to the northeast of the city. It was operated and patronized by Norns. To the northwest sat the Barracks District where most of the Norns lived. To the center south of the city sat the Military District. All Norns went through their practices there to keep themselves as sharp weapons in the name of Norn. The center streets going through each district led up to the Grand Temple at the very heart of the city. As she stepped out of the currents of time several of the younger Norns bowed to Lady Sjofn respectfully. Nodding to them sufficed so she moved on to the small potions shop where one of the Matron's other handmaidens worked. There were only eight handmaidens, no more, no less. They were the first Norns who weren't related to Norn herself by blood as the Matron and her sisters were. The little bell on the top of the door jingled when she pushed the door of the shop open. A tall, middle-aged woman with pale skin and a slender build stood leaning across the counter the counter. This older woman wore the clothes of a shopkeeper with a pleasant smile on her lips. The comfortable wrinkles of age were well set in her expression. The older woman stood as she felt the seidr of her visitor.

Upon seeing her sister handmaiden, Lady Aile stood up and smiled widely. "Ath heilsa, Sister! What brings you to me?"

"Bright glory for the Norns, Sister. Your assistance is needed for that." A genuinely warm demeanor came over Lady Sjofn. Besides her wife, her husband, her children, and the Matron herself, the Matron's Handmaidens were most beloved to her. They were her sisters in life, in battle, and in time. They all marched together in lockstep under the Matron's banner towards the final battle at the end of all time. They would all meet their fates together.

A curious smile touched the older woman's lips. "Ah, but I have heard whispers of your new assignment. So exciting! Is it true?"

A little laugh tumbled out of Lady Sjofn's lips. Her sister was always curious. "What heard you, Sister?"

Leaning back over with her elbows on the counter, Lady Aile smiled widely. "Many things. There are whispers that Lady Skuld is missing, and the Matron came close to loosing all her ire over it. I felt her wicked mood as it hit. It was so dark that I could not feel anything beyond the rage." A bright little grin touched her lips then. "I also hear whispers that you were tasked with watching over... a firehawk." It sounded salacious to her, but she loved to collect such gossip. In the long march through time boredom was inevitable. Everyone had to stave off that boredom in their own way. That too was inevitable. Lady Aile liked to collect gossip, the more salacious the better. It allowed her to not only stave off the boredom, but to listen to the ebb and flow of Norn's Army. The Matron relied on her to hear any ill noises in the body of the army, anything that might require a correction. Correcting behavior was better than purging a Norn from the army.

A darker look overtook Lady Sjofn's expression. "Lady Skuld is not missing." She leaned a little closer, her voice dropping down to a whisper. "Lady Skuld betrayed the Matron. She attacked one of our Lady's grandchildren and threatened the Nine Realms. She is undergoing proper punishment now from the Matron's hands. I know no more than that." She leaned back then.

What her sister had just shared seemed like an impossibility to Lady Aile. Her expression fell into seriousness instantly. She wanted to protest, to express the profound disbelief that bloomed in multiple places in her mind. In an instant her mind snapped away from the lure of uncontrolled emotion. The discipline that had shaped her life took over before anything else could. Standing up from the counter, her own voice dropped darkly. "I knew of her dissatisfaction with how the Matron handled Asgard's Inquiries to Enlightenment, but never would I have thought she would turn traitor. How shameful! I shall let our sisters know of this turn." She met her sister's gaze. "What of you, Sister? What can I assist you with?"

"What you heard of my assignment is somewhat true. I am assisting the man, the colossal, who is overseeing the recovery of three sickened firehawks. They wish to build something. With their talents combined, I believe it shall be a marvel. This is what brings me here today. They need the assistance of the best three healers amongst the Norns. They need you, Sisters Eldbjorg and Magnhildr as well."

More disbelief tried and failed to overtake Lady Aile's mind. "Three firehawks?! I thought such a thing impossible! Only one at a time, so said Lord Ymir."

"There are twenty three of them in total, but only three of them are adults. They are the three who were sickened." I little smile touched Lady Sjofn's lips as she thought about what she'd seen of the juvenile firehawks. James was ensuring that they had the support to turn out as good children. She was certain that they would grow into good men and women. They were women that she suddenly thought about coming into being and how powerful they would be. She hoped they could be tempted into joining the Norns. Having two firehawks at their disposal would make the final battle easier. "The rest are healthy children, with two girl children so far."

The meaning behind Lady Sjofn's words was instantly apparent to Lady Aile, as were her sister's hopes for those children. She couldn't help but agree. A firehawk was immeasurably powerful. Having a single one would be a blessing. Having two would be a miracle. "Does the Matron approve of that hope?" It was certainly a hope that she approved of.

"I have not spoken with her on it, though I know she must have already considered the possibility. It is so obvious. I have only spoken with her on the colossal. I had to put him forward as a candidate for siring."

"Had?"

"Sister, he is the most intelligent, talented, honorable, and driven man I have ever come across, and he is a colossal. He is almost as great a personality as our Lady's Lord husband. If he was willing to sire then we would have several powerful bloodlines. The whole of the army could be strengthened. I fear he shall never be willing though. He would view it as dishonorable to produce progeny with a mother that he could not spend a loving life with."

"He would prefer to honor the woman who would ask him for naught but a child? How unfortunate for us." That did sound good, and bad to Lady Aile. "Could he be convinced?"

"I have presented his candidacy to the Matron. It is in her hands now." Lady Sjofn's smile fell as she felt a little downcast at the thought that James wouldn't be able to be convinced to produce Norn progeny. She shook it off quickly and smiled again. "Let us call Eldbjorg and Magnhildr. Then let me show you James Rhodes of House Rhodes on Midgard." She reached out a hand her sister, offering to call their sisters to them.

"A Midgardian?! How interesting!" It was with great interest that Lady Aile took her sister's hand. Immediately as she did they resonated their sjel-seidrs together to call the sisters to them that they needed.

Instantaneously two flashes of teleportation fire spring up from the floor to touch the ceiling of the small shop. The right one, a subdued rosewood pink, brought the Lady Eldbjorg while the left fire, a cheerful strawberry pink, brought the Lady Magnhildr. The timeless Lady on the right was pale and dressed in a deep purple floor length dress with slender arms that fit her tall lean body. The depth of the purple complimented the depth of the black that made up her long hair. Her shimmering lavender eyes surveyed the area around her. Lady Eldbjorg was puckish, with a lively smile and a curious glint to her eyes. The timeless Lady on the left was the epitome of refined. Her dark red hair was artfully braided in rows down to her scalp. The long braids trailed down to her waist with a small golden ball on the end of each one. They were striking against her deep black buttoned up tailcoat and pants. Her red silk shirt peaked out from beneath her coat. Lady Magnhildr's vivid yellow eyes shone brightly from her regal midnight face. A sea of calm laid in her eyes. Warm smiles spread across the faces of all of the timeless Ladies' faces to see each other again.

"Ath heilsa, Sister, what brings us together? Something interesting mayhaps?" Lady Eldbjorg asked with a telling grin.

"Indeed. How may we assist you?" The calm in Lady Magnhildr's eyes became a knowing look.

Holding out her hands to them, Lady Sjofn smiled at her sisters. "Come let me show you what the Matron has assigned to me and what I need your assistance for." The four Nornic handmaidens clasped hands as their sjel-seidrs began to merge with one another. Lady Sjofn's memories opened to her sisters who lived through the memories as she had, learning what she did. They viewed the firehawks that she knew, and how those mighty beings were sickened. The horrors in the past were revealed to them, but so was the shining light that was House Rhodes. In that instant her sisters saw James Rhodes as Lady Sjofn saw him. They understood her desire to see James sire several Norn bloodlines. Everything was revealed to them, even the cheesecake and coffee, and they agreed to lend their aid to their sister. The merger between them slowed and faded as Lady Sjofn finished sharing her memories.

"We have not seen such a weighty situation since the Blood Wars," Lady Aile's voice was quiet in the shop, "and they need our assistance," a thoughtful expression came over her face, "It would be my honor to assist them." How exciting!

"Aye, Sister," an equally thoughtful expression came over Lady Magnhildr before she said, "An honor for all of us."

"Bright glory for Norn's Army." The thought of being able to bring such glory to her beloved army was enough to bring a smile to Lady Sjofn's face. Actually seeing that glory brought in the name of Norn's Army excited the timeless Lady.

A proud smile crossed Lady Eldbjorg's face as she looked at the smiling faces of her sisters. "To care for beings so sickened will take a long course of treatment. I am proud that you came to me, Sister, and proud to lend my assistance." A little twittering laugh came from her. "Ah, Sisters, we shall meet the colossal who has impressed Sister Sjofn. We shall meet firehawks and assist them. This shall be a moment to remember."