Shield of Silver [MCU/AMGCYOA SI]
- Thread starter Eotyrannus
- Start date
- Location
- England. Tea and scones, wot wot!
According to the notes, it's currently late January 2010 as of this chapter- assuming no butterflies, the events of Thor are in June of the same year.
Wait, what? What happened to Hel?
- Location
- England. Tea and scones, wot wot!
Hela is the Goddess of Death in MCU, and is currently extremely banished within Hel (which is in turn a region within the realm of Niflheim). While the fact she's still alive means that technically they do have a Goddess of Death/The Dead, she's been unpersoned for all intents and purposes, and probably wouldn't be a particularly good steward of the dead even if she wasn't locked away by Odin.
So they have a Goddess of Death/The Dead, but given that nobody knows her name and she's been absent for a millennium at the very least, it's very much a formality/technicality.
BritishGrenadier
Summon The Elector Counts!
- Location
- Nova Scotia Halifax
This is a pleasant suprise
- Location
- Elsewhere
Potato chips are the most warlike of snack foods.
They are shaped like tiny shields, but when you bite them they shatter into sword-like shards and attack your gums!
No, they're pretty much still fancy holes in the ground.
RyubosJ
Person that hates Mega Evolutions.
- Location
- UK
This is absolutely hilarious. For those not up to date on Norse mythology and theology, the æsir (Odin, Thor) were gods of order and civilization while the vanir (Freyr and Freyja{who might also be Frigg}) were gods of the wilds.
As such to reach asgard by nature is painfully ironic for those who fought in the æsir-vanir war.
- Location
- England. Tea and scones, wot wot!
If I did that, I have completely forgotten doing so. *sage nod*
NHO
Dumb is a state of existence
- Location
- ᓚᘏᗢ
Or maybe I just missed it before? Could be either.
NoMoreScarecrow
[Unverified Vanir]
- Location
- South Africa Time Zone
I absolutely adore this story.
Sad that updates are slow, but keep up the good work.
Sad that updates are slow, but keep up the good work.
- Location
- Salt Lake City, UT, USA
And they are flavored by the salty tears of your victim's women and children's lamentations!
Excuse you. Waste management is a truly scientific endeavor these days. The self flushing toilet ensuring that nobody's shit stinks, the reclamation and processing plants ensuring our waste doesn't reenter nature ... Even our septic tank holes in the ground have carefully managed microbial balances to process.
That being said, ancient people had some pretty fancy hole in the ground approaches. Ancient latrines were fairly thought out for rich people.
NHO
Dumb is a state of existence
- Location
- ᓚᘏᗢ
So, additional short review of last three chapters:
Hammer is a manchild we all love to hate, but I fear that events of Iron Man 2 will be a different in the climax because HE GOT THE BOTS for bot improvement. The talk with him showed that both participants lack Wis scores. Also, that Justin Hammer is questionably stuck in an interesting situation due to portal being Hammer-enabled.
It's a pity that Valiant Jewel both respects Cap highly and is forced to... manipulate, limit information and in general try not to Cassandra stuff in or butterfly things away. On that note: Russian Supersoldier kill team. Do they know that they work for HYDRA, not Glorious Soviet Republic? How agreeable they would be to kill some crypto-Nazi in the capital of Capitalist SuperSpy Agency and the capital of Capitalist Hellhole?
Mary Episode is adorable. Mary itself got bigger Wisdom Score than Gwen.
Abigail's Wis isn't. If Glorious Asgard Infiltration goes right, Loki would be surprised to find his portal without the trap. Also, the Mace? Definitely way cooler than Hammer. And, given opportunity, will tell Hammer and Thor so.
Hammer is a manchild we all love to hate, but I fear that events of Iron Man 2 will be a different in the climax because HE GOT THE BOTS for bot improvement. The talk with him showed that both participants lack Wis scores. Also, that Justin Hammer is questionably stuck in an interesting situation due to portal being Hammer-enabled.
It's a pity that Valiant Jewel both respects Cap highly and is forced to... manipulate, limit information and in general try not to Cassandra stuff in or butterfly things away. On that note: Russian Supersoldier kill team. Do they know that they work for HYDRA, not Glorious Soviet Republic? How agreeable they would be to kill some crypto-Nazi in the capital of Capitalist SuperSpy Agency and the capital of Capitalist Hellhole?
Mary Episode is adorable. Mary itself got bigger Wisdom Score than Gwen.
Abigail's Wis isn't. If Glorious Asgard Infiltration goes right, Loki would be surprised to find his portal without the trap. Also, the Mace? Definitely way cooler than Hammer. And, given opportunity, will tell Hammer and Thor so.
- Location
- Elsewhere
I know.
I worked in waste management, pumping septic tanks, mitigation on waste treatment plants that were having issues.
When you get down to it, they're fancy holes in the ground.
Most of the innovations and improvement are to counter new trash like plastics and chemicals.
- Location
- England. Tea and scones, wot wot!
Noticed a minor mistake in Chapter 5- the God of War was using a name from a later empire rather than the Sumerian one, so they are now corrected to Ningursu like in the latest chapter. Ningirsu is a cool bean and he should have a consistent name.
Interlude 2
- Location
- England. Tea and scones, wot wot!
i am mildly sleep-deprived so there may be errors but have more story
"It's not long until the coronation," said Loki wistfully, staring out at the horizon beside him.
Thor grinned, holding the ceremonial helm in two hands, one of them running gently over a magnificently-engraved wing as he beheld its masterful craftsmanship.
He did not find it wanting. "Not long at all," he agreed, pride in his achievements filling him.
Some may have called him proud. To them, he would ask- why should he not be? All the Nine Realms knew of Prince Thor Odinson, Heir to the Throne of Asgard, soon-to-be their new Protector. And all of them feared and respected his noble name.
...Well, if you excused the ignorance of a few of them, such as the lifeless wastes left in Svartalfheim after the glorious victory over the Dark Elves, or the short-lived savages of Midgard.
Or the near-mindless fire demons of Muspelheim.
And the eternal silence of Niflheim could be excused as well.
...That was five out of nine, but it was the important five, surely!
Wait, no, Midgard had those petty worshippers, so that was six… though they may have forgotten by now, their people were awfully forgetful.
"Hmm," he said, staring out over the Asgard's streets from the balcony he and his honoured brother had stopped at. "Do you think the Midgardians still remember us? Still carving pictures of us into animal bones or whatever it was they do down there?"
Loki glanced at him, tilting his head. "What brought this on, brother?" he asked, then looked down at the helm. "Do you think that their smiths could have done a better job?"
Thor laughed at that, smiling brilliantly. "Oh no, a dwarf could do a better job even if he were sober!" he jested in return. He waved the question off. "No, no, I was just wondering. It's been a long time since Asgard last visited them."
"It has indeed," said Loki. "Well, to answer your question, I have it on good authority that they don't. Or they think we're childrens' stories, at the very least. They were too busy playing toss-the-dagger with the biggest firebombs they could make, skirmishing on behalf of psychotics and killing each other while shouting about crosses last I checked."
"Sounds like Midgard alright," replied Thor. "Maybe we should hold a parade there after the coronation?" he added after a pause, only half-joking.
He turned to look at Loki when the expected reply didn't come. There was an odd look on his brother's face, one he didn't quite understand.
Thor brushed it off. "Oh, come on," he said, "they could benefit from a little bit of culture! Maybe they'd stop trying to kill each other for a little while, like the civilised realms."
"...You're probably wasting your time on that one," said Loki in return, glancing away for a moment before looking back. "Besides, they're used to Odin's hands-off approach. Getting more involved might unnerve them."
"What have they got to be afraid of?" Thor asked curiously. "There's no glory in attacking a realm we're sworn to protect, let alone one as weak as Midgard. We don't need to fight them unless they insult us."
For a moment Thor saw the look on Loki's face that told him he should expect a small stabbing or two in the near future, most likely at an inopportune moment and quite possibly a humiliating one as well. Then Loki straightened up and brightened. "Well, you're not wrong," he said.
Thor sighed. "Okay, Loki, what is it I've done this time?" he asked.
"Nothing!" his brother responded, holding a hand to his chest in a 'who, me?' gesture. "It's just that I owe Sleipnir a visit today and he'll be awfully upset if he doesn't get it. I'll need to be off, brother, I'll see you at sparring." Then he was off, wandering down a corridor that Thor knew full-well was nowhere near the stables.
He smiled to himself at Loki's antics. "Well," he mused, "at least I'll be well-practiced for assassins." Though who would dare to even lay a finger in anger on a Prince of Asgard?
He was staring out over what would one day soon be his kingdom when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something.
It wasn't much- just a brief sparkle, a glint of something in the sun, over on one of the mountains. Nothing a mortal would even have started to notice, and most Asgardians would have missed it as well, but Thor's eyes were keen enough that he might've been a sentry in a world where he wasn't a Prince.
It drew his eye for a moment, but nothing was there, just the proud mountainside that surrounded the cove. He was about to look away when he noticed it again.
A little glint of something, slightly further down the slope than the first time he'd spotted it.
A glint of silver.
He shaded his eyes with a hand, seeing if he could pick out anything else. No such luck- it had been just above the cloud line when he'd spotted it, and whatever it was, it was shrouded in mist by now.
Well. He hadn't seen Heimdall off-duty recently, perhaps he could visit a friend and sate his curiosity at the same time.
The palace of Valaskjalf was a great and immense one, but Thor had lived there all his life (save for the odd voyage across the realms for diplomacy or glorious combat) and its labyrinthine corridors were no barrier to him. He picked up a casket of ales from the kitchen- Heimdall's schedule was a well-kept secret, so nobody would question a delivery of alcohol even if they thought he were on guard- and went on his merry way.
His travels through the city were as joyful as ever. The people smiled at him as he passed, and the city was clean and pristine in a way he'd never seen in the other realms. The laughter of children, the hawking of fine goods, the songs and fluttering of many-winged birds- was any place in the universe as noble as the city of the Asgardians? Would not all of creation weep at its passing?
Both questions were rhetorical, of course. Asgard truly had no equal, and Thor knew well that the final days Ragnarok would be one last flame when all the stars had faded.
He took a horse at the Bifrost- they were used to warriors in full armour, it wouldn't be bothered at all by plainclothes and drink. Burnished gold doors swung open at his coming, and he drank in the salt of the oceanside air as they exposed him to the open sea.
Heimdall was standing at attention- but the only time Heimdall wasn't at attention was when nobody was there to see him. Thor waved with his free hand as he approached.
"Heimdall!" he called in greeting. "My good man!"
The man was wordless as ever, but as he dismounted and approached Prince Thor was quite certain he saw the man's lip quirk upwards.
Heimdall stared for a moment, appraisingly, and Thor felt as if he was being seen straight through. Though that wasn't unusual when Heimdall was looking at you. "I wasn't expecting a visit today," he said, gruff as ever. "What brings you?"
Thor chuckled, and hefted the cask. "Can't a man just visit for the sake of it?" he questioned mirthfully.
A single, amused quirk of an eyebrow told Thor exactly what Heimdall thought of that.
"...Well, there was something that caught my eye," he admitted.
"I thought as much," said Heimdall.
Thor took a moment to set down the casket in Heimdall's storage room beside his rations (which all looked terrible) and his own drinks (which was a mix of standard swill and a few finer ones from various warriors who knew him), before gesturing out at the mountain.
"Over there," said Thor. "A sparkle of some sort. Silvery, I think. An old weapon, perhaps? Hogun loves that sort of thing, maybe he'd be interested."
"You visited because you saw something sparkle, my Prince," repeated Heimdall, and Thor had the decency to feel sheepish.
"...Well, it's not every day you see the mountains sparkle, is it?" Thor said in return, with a tinge of defensiveness beneath his lackadaisical tone. "They're the same rock through and through, and the commoners know better than to go littering up there- besides, I meant what I said about visiting for the sake of it."
"...Fair enough," Heimdall replied. "Just don't make a habit of it. I'll have a look."
"My gratitude," said Thor, peering in the mountain's direction as if he could see like Heimdall did.
…
Thor glanced at Heimdall, who seemed to be staring intently as well. This wasn't particularly odd, save for the fact he had actively turned to face the mountain, as if he didn't have his Sight at all.
"...Perhaps it was a chunk of ice?" he questioned, unease starting to stir at Heimdall's curious behaviour.
At first there was no response. Then he said, in more of a growl than any normal tone, "No. It's still moving."
"...What is it, then?" asked Thor.
Heimdall's frown deepened. "I don't know. But it could be a threat."
A threat?
On Asgard?
Thor's handsome features twisted into a murderous glare, and he held one hand into the air, listening for the familiar thrum as his weapon approached. "What does it look like?" he asked.
"That's the problem," said Heimdall grimly. "I can't see it- only its wake, and even then I can barely find it."
It was only well-honed reflexes that caught Mjolnir. Sheer bafflement had overwhelmed his righteous anger.
Instinctively, he tightened his grip on the Hammer, feeling it in his grasp. "But you can see everything," said Thor. That's what he'd always been taught- there was nothing in all the Nine Realms that Heimdall could not witness!
Heimdall shook his head. "Not this. But you saw it."
Then he gestured.
"Its trail is approaching the city," he said, "near the Hall of Glories. I can only see it at all because it's gotten cocky- I see rocks rolling downhill, hear the gravel crunch- but once it's in the city it will be lost to me."
A threat? In the City of Asgard itself? That would not stand. "Ensure my father knows," growled Thor. "Whatever it is, I'll find it."
His hammer whirled as he prepared to lift off.
"And I swear it will regret its intrusion," he promised.
He released the potential energy that had built up, and faithful Mjolnir obeyed- it brought him the sky.
While in theory he could have moved in a single arc to his destination, experience told him that he'd be better off with a second flight. When the mighty weapon had first been entrusted to him, Father had bade him land on the pinnacle of the palace many a time. Valaskjalf's higher towers still had a dent or two from the occasions he'd missed, but the training had served him well- by now, ascending there was almost easier than walking.
He touched down, and gazed towards the area that Heimdall had directed him towards. Nothing, nothing…
...No, there! It was but a hint of the thing's silvery glare, moving slowly now, from rooftop to spire to rooftop- and yet it was just enough for Thor to identify his target. "Found you," he growled.
He hurled himself a second time, but this time he and faithful Mjolnir were headed directly for it.
It suddenly changed direction, and he realised it had taken evasive action. He landed with a boom of divine flesh on divine ground, the metal of the Tower of Winds not giving even a hand's breadth under the force, and caught a flowing movement in the corner of his eye.
"In the name of Odin Allfather," he roared-
-And abruptly realised that finishing that sentence would leave him in the dust. Already he could scarcely make it out in the shining metal of the city.
He swung his hammer to launch himself again, not bothering for a wind-up with the much smaller distances. "...Face me, coward! Or face my wrath!" he finished instead.
There were none that could outpace Mjolnir in a straight line- such was the beauty of an Uru weapon- but he quickly realised that his foe had no taste for straight line movement. It travelled erratically, moving in sudden bursts of speed, and every so often came a crack of sound and light as it changed direction in mid-air. "Stop!" he shouted over the wind. "Guards!"
It seemed to be evading him effortlessly. At one point he stopped to try for a shot with his hammer, but it simply changed direction with another explosion of silver energy. The distance gave him a better view, that time- a cluster of energy bolts struck a wall, dissipating with a sizzle, and the shape was flung in the opposite direction.
Recoil, then. And since sustained jets would have allowed a much more constant flight without losing the advantages of agility, he suspected it was recoil from a weapon.
But there was no hope of catching it this way. He changed tactics- he flung himself to the left of it, and its new path in the opposite direction obliged him.
Thor grinned savagely, and chased it, towards the towers of his home.
Heimdall must have sent the alert by now, for he watched gleefully as a hail of burning arrows fired from a nearby training ground.
He was disappointed when they failed to touch it, but not too disappointed. Its path through fields of fire were only incidental to his real plan.
It hit the palace, and skittered along its edges like a javelin on a metal floor. It passed the kitchen area, and passed the stables where Sleipnir rested.
Then, just as planned, it passed Loki, just where Thor had expected him- and finally the shape hit the ground and stayed there, skidding along a footpath and sending up a spray of water as it brought itself to a halt in the shallow, crystal-clear water of a fountain.
He landed with a boom, and his brother landed a moment later. He twirled his hammer menacingly, and looked upon what had dared enter their realm.
At first he mistook it for a child, but the patronising look in its eyes told him all he needed to know about that idea.
It was short, and female- garbed in some ostentatious silvery thing that wouldn't dare call itself armour. It wore a jeweled necklace and a golden tiara, and it had an unfamiliar projectile-launcher of some kind that was equally gaudy. A set of knives were lodged in the edge of its gown.
The water fell off it with disturbing ease as it stood to its full, meagre height. Blonde hair floated behind it by unknowable means, and and its eyes glowed blue-and-white.
"I hope my little show of marksmanship didn't hurt too much?" asked Loki sarcastically, tossing another sharp-as-death knife in the air. His brother glanced at him. "I'm sure Thor could have hit you if he'd tried."
"Don't underestimate her skill," Thor warned, not looking back at Loki as he did. "Whatever she is, she's fast."
The intruder continued to stare silently, looking from one to the other, seemingly unconcerned.
"Speaking of which," said Loki. He turned his attention fully to the intruder. "Might we have your name? A highest-security dungeon cell with no name on it would be rather difficult to explain."
It snorted. "You think you can imprison me?" it said in a child's voice, twirling its weapon for a moment just as Thor had done with his. "But, very well." It stood straighter. "You speak to Divine Princess Valiant Jewel-" It repeated its name in another language- "Divine Princess Valiant Jewel, Princess of the Annunaki, Defender of the Realm, Rightful Heir of Sumer and Babylon." It frowned minutely. "I would advise you not forget that."
"Divine Princess Valiant Jewel," repeated Thor, a note of mockery in his tone, pointing out the ridiculousness of the name. It glowered, and muttered something under its breath.
"...Right, right," Loki responded, unimpressed. "Defender of the Realm- which realm would that be, by the way? Is there some tenth realm we haven't heard about?"
It cocked its head. "Why, haven't you heard of the Gods of Midgard, born and raised?" it responded. "The scions of Anu, Enlil and Ea?"
"Oh please, the mortals accept anyone as gods," Thor said abrasively. He hefted his hammer. "You have intruded on our realm when you have no right to do so. Come quietly and you will not be harmed."
"You intruded on ours first," it responded, and raised its own weapon in return. "You owe us a thing or two, and I've come to collect on one of them."
"I don't think this is going to be quiet then," said Loki plainly. "Thor, would you like to do the honours?"
"Certainly," said Thor. He swung his hammer, charging forwards, seeing the glowing and suddenly-panicked whites of its eyes-
Then, very abruptly, it was no longer in front of him and there was a sudden burning sensation in his leg. He slammed into a wall, hard, and landed on three limbs with his hammer still raised and a newly-refreshed boil in his blood.
"Fine," he growled. "Play that way." He charged back into the fray.
By now it could have escaped, having already seen its sheer speed- if not for the fact Loki had intervened.
He'd listened to Thor's warning about its mobility, and with another flurry of razor-sharp blades had kept the intruder from escaping- he'd thrown the barrage overhead, and Thor had spotted another flash of silver light as it threw itself back down to ground level to avoid the lethal instruments.
It was a well-practiced move, and Thor readily took advantage of it, a horizontal swing of his hammer crashing into his enemy's back-
-or at least it would have, if not for something shoving it out of the way.
Before Thor could figure out what just happened, two things happened simultaneously.
Firstly, a twinned impact of metal on metal rang out- Thor twisted to get his eyes on the new threat, and saw two statues of Asgardian heroes with unfamiliar faces.
And he knew the face on each of those statues by heart.
Secondly, he was shot in the face point-blank by this Jewel's energy weapon, and was sent flying into Loki with the thud of one Asgardian being thrown into another very, very hard.
Loki recovered quickly- his experience with the tried-and-true strategy of 'Get Help' lending him an edge- but Thor had to block the stab of a pointed speartip with Mjolnir's head.
"Bastard!" hissed an echoing voice, and Thor had the distinct impression it should've been him who said that given he'd almost been impaled.
With a roar and a tensing of his muscles, Thor grabbed the haft of the spear and slammed it into its owner.
But his enemy seemed to anticipate the move, and hefted the weapon over its head with a twist- Thor was forced to let go to avoid hitting the floor, and threw himself backwards into a roll to avoid a second, much more forceful jab towards his sternum.
"No cheating!" he heard Jewel say wickedly from somewhere to his left, just behind the second statue, who was preparing to attack Loki. There was a thunder of Jewel's weapon- the second statue's enemy flickered out of existence.
He briefly spotted Loki go flying overhead, and equally-briefly questioned what in the Nine Realms was happening today before parrying a third spear-strike aimed for his neck.
This time, Thor refused to be caught off-guard- the moment the spear was out of the way, he lunged into close range, where the polearm would be much less effective.
A sharp pain dug into his side, and like clockwork he was thrust forwards into a dagger that had materialised at his own enemy's flank. A hard kick from it sent him sprawling back, tearing what he realised was the second statue's spear from his side.
The first statue laughed chillingly. "They really don't change, do they Gilgamesh?" it said, and the wounds he'd taken slowed him just enough for the first intruder to bury its gun in his wounded gut and fire.
Thor followed Loki's previous arc near-perfectly- his brother had compensated for the change in initial starting point, and had backtracked to catch him in two arms.
"Are you hurt?" Loki asked, setting him on two feet.
"Not much," Thor replied. "A few stab wounds…" He touched the side of his jaw, and felt blood and the stinging of injured flesh. Not a burn- he pulled his fingers away, and saw some sort of dust mixed in with the blood. "...and it looks like her weapon's a kinetic disintegrator of some sort," he finished. "More bark than bite, though."
"Good," his brother replied. "Let's get this done before the guards arrive, we wouldn't want to be shown up."
Movement flashed overhead- Thor realised that his enemy was trying to escape. "I think we have bigger problems," he stated, and leapt onto a palisade to follow.
He was about to follow when he realised the problem- while he could still fight perfectly well, the flesh wounds on his abdomen courtesy of the statue golems would slow him down in the wild, erratic chase that his enemy preferred. Each jarring impact between Mjolnir's flights would deal more and more damage.
The small one seemed inexperienced, but the two statues knew what they were dealing with. In frustration he threw Mjolnir as hard as he could.
He hit.
Vindictive satisfaction filled him, and he deflected a spearblow with one of his greaves to figure out what effect it'd had.
He grinned savagely when he spotted it come down oddly on one leg, and realised he'd broke its femur in a single blow.
"Not so tough now, are you?" he mocked, and on Mjolnir's return swung hard at the statue's face. It rolled with the impact, but he still saw a right-angled indent in its features when it came to its feet. That blow would've crushed a flesh-and-blood creature's skull into pulp.
"Oh, I don't know," called the one fighting Loki- its voice was more cultured and less gruff, but still echoed with an otherworldly hiss. "I think it'll take more than one broken bone to slow our Princess down."
He glanced back, and realised with a shock that the statue was right. The blow seemed to have slowed his enemy slightly, but only slightly- still nowhere near a speed he could keep pace with in this state.
With a roar he punched the statue bare-handed in the gut, and it crashed down into the ground. It rolled out of the way when he lunged for it a second time.
A thrust coming from the other one was deflected by his brother, and Thor nodded his thanks as the duel was reset for a moment, two brothers against the two statue-things.
Loki spoke first. "You both have experience against Asgardian warriors, that much is obvious," he said, taking advantage of his relatively minor injuries to speak with clarity and confidence. "Who are you? And where did you get that experience, pray tell?"
The gruffer one, Thor's original enemy, spoke first. "You think we'd tell you?" he grunted.
"Why of course we'd tell them," the second one said. "It's only polite, and the Princess introduced herself, did she not?"
"Hmm. True enough," said the first statue. He raised himself to his full height (an intimidating one, given the larger-than-life size of even a mere hallway statue in the palace) and readied his spear. "I am King Gudea of Lagash, Chosen of the God of War Ningirsu. I act on behalf of my lady, Divine Princess Valiant Jewel."
"And I am King Gilgamesh of Uruk, Gilgamesh of the First Epic," said the other. "I also act on behalf of my lady, Divine Princess Valiant Jewel."
"Well then, Gudea, Gilgamesh," said Thor. "You speak to Prince Thor Odinson, God of Thunder, and Prince Loki Odinson, God of Trickery."
They seemed to share an amused glance as he brought up Loki Odinson's name. His brother noticed. "Excuse me, is something funny?" he asked darkly, not amused at all by this.
"No," said Gudea, at precisely the same time as Gilgamesh said "Yes."
The gruff statue glared at his counterpart, who corrected himself to- "No, most definitely not," in extremely unconvincing fashion.
"...Well, the Princess already told us about butterfly nets," said the first statue. "I'm sure it'll go well enough."
"Butterfly nets…?" muttered Loki. "Thor, I think these two are irredeemably insane."
"I noticed," muttered Thor in reply.
"Oh, we all flirt with madness once in a while," said Gilgamesh. "Though I settled down with wisdom long ago. Though I digress." He swung the blade of his spear in a salute, before bringing it back into swinging position. "Shall we?"
The two Princes lunged at the two supposed Kings-
-and found themselves crashing heavily into a pair of lifeless statues of honourable warriors just as a troop of guards and Odin himself rounded a corner. The two strange faces and echoing voices of the enemy warriors were gone.
The dents and gouges left by Thor and Loki's weapons, though, remained proudly on display. "I hope it's not our pockets that this is going to come out of," said Loki, who was getting up and dusting himself off, glaring at the damage they'd been enthusiastically dishing out not five seconds ago.
Realising the same thing, Thor let out a frustrated breath, feeling the exhaustion seep into his bones now that the fight was oh-so-suddenly over. For a moment he remained still, flopped like a dead fish on top of the statue, but got to his feet and stood before Odin could finish his arrival.
"My sons," said Odin.
His one-eyed gaze reached the two battered hall ornaments that Thor had lost a not-insignificant amount of blood fighting.
"...They attacked us," Thor explained.
"...I see," Odin responded, before steamrolling onwards. "Despite the efforts of our finest warriors, our unexpected guest seems to have eluded most of us. But I see the two of you have injuries that sharpened metal alone could not inflict."
"Yes, Father," said Thor. "We managed to corner her briefly- it was a small child in an armoured gown, wielding a beribboned kinetic disintegrator of some sort." He gestured. "It struck Loki once, despite him being concealed by a glamour, and I was struck thrice in the course of the battle."
"...Thor, if I hear people saying we were beaten by a small child and a pair of inanimate statues I'm going to throttle you," muttered Loki, before speaking up. "They were all relatively fragile- relying on coordinated tactics and skill over durability to defend themselves, but they were easy to injure whenever we did land a blow. The statues didn't fight with Asgardian techniques or identities, but seemed alarmingly familiar with our fighting styles- whoever they were, they've been fighting or sparring with Asgardians regularly."
"Identities?" questioned Odin, turning his gaze on Loki? "You learned who they were?"
Loki nodded. "We did, Father."
Odin smiled briefly. "You did well to ensure so, my sons. If we know who they are, that is one step closer to discovering the secrets of their arrival here. Tell me."
"Father, I must ask-" Thor interrupted. "Heimdall was unable to see or hear her. Is the Bifrost guarded?"
"Heimdall remains at his post," replied Odin, "but there are no statues there for these spirits of hers to possess and no means for a being to pass through without knowing how to use it to plot a path through Yggdrasil." He shook his head. "No, I suspect she will return over the mountain from whence she came. We know she has stolen a craft from a training camp, and-"
There was a sudden flash of light in the sky, and Thor recognised it immediately by the light refracted through the sky.
Someone was using the Bifrost.
Loki and Odin snapped their eyes towards it- Thor followed their gazes, but only for the sake of looking. He had never learned how to open a Bifrost himself, and so had no need to recall the bearings by which one could travel, but his brother and father both knew the calculations well.
"Midgard," breathed Odin. He barked orders to the guards with him- "Get to the Bifrost. Ensure there is nothing still there that could threaten it!"
"Father! We may or may not need to see to Heimdall, but I don't think the Midgardians are in danger. She called herself a native of Midgard," said Loki. "She said she was a 'princess of the Annunaki', though which nation that is-"
"Then she is of no mortal nation," Odin interrupted, turning his gaze sharply on his son. "I know that name."
"Father?" asked Thor, confused.
"...The Annunaki are old gods," he said, "older than we. They are not creatures of flesh and blood, but of… stranger things. I had thought most of them dead in the dawning years of my father Bor's reign, and the rest soon before I ascended to the throne myself." He shook his head. "It seems they still live."
"If they died once, they can die a second time," growled Thor. "We should take the fight to them. Storm Midgard. Put them down once and for all!"
"No," his father retorted with a glare. "You will only find them if they wish for you to find them, and you will fail if they do choose to show themselves." Odin's tone brooked no argument.
Thor argued anyway. "We are stronger than we have ever been!" he argued. "We-"
"Your great grandfather Buri said those very same words," Odin thundered, speaking over Thor with ease, "and they slew him as their followers slew goats! You will not provoke them."
Thor was struck silent by that.
...Had he not been told all of the stories? Why had he not heard of this before?
Loki stayed quietly beside him, as Odin left.
Then he spoke.
"...I think I can find out some more," said Loki.
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Soo the Asgardians just got punked and lost a ride. That could be a problem, especially since I bet they're going to visit Midgard earlier and angrier then they did OTL, so to speak.
Way I heard that tale, it was HEIMDALL of all people who said Thor had to get in the dress. Which is something that pushes it onto a level where that story will endure through the ages! Much like Loki's relationship with Slepnir.
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*thinks* Probably the whole 'things need to play out the way they should' deal crossed with her needs basically boiling down to a boat.
Now to be fair, it could very well turn out to be that her fears are...Much less well founded then she thinks-I'm imagining her focusing on that Strange going through the timelines scene as reason for watching the waves she makes, when that's a side-effect of strange taking a look so close to the end of facing off against Thanos.
Mizu
Software Developer
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skull
Seems protagonist is quite durable, if she can keep moving after her head gains a noticable dent in it, alongside a broken leg. Didn't she have her soul in a gem like Madoka-style magical girls, granting her the ability to puppet herself?
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They're making a reference to 'butterflies', as in revealing knowledge that would cause butterflies and create a different outcome. They let slip that there was something goofy about Loki "Odinsson" long before it was suspicious in canon.