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Phase 11: Party crashers
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Part 2
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Aesir prison realm
Helheim
Some days, it was easier to imagine that the shades surrounding her, and trying to keep her sane, were the real people they looked, talked to, and felt like. On other days, the charade was pure torture.
Either way, without those engrams, Hela would have gone far beyond insane a long time ago. It didn't help that out of her prison, her Valkyries were gone. They had been gone for centuries upon centuries now. This prison was the closest she could ever be to a home that no longer was.
Hela was content to watch her Valkyries train. Some of them dueled, and others fought in melee, maintaining flawless formations. Many others prepared for the real wars their kind was meant to fight and win. Magnificent war machines blending Asgard's best technology and mastery of magic strode across deadly battlefields, reaping countless lives with their magi-tech armaments. Drones, fighters, strike craft, and bombers swarmed in the sky and low orbit, fending off an endless stream of worthy opponents. Above them, the silver hulls of Asgard warships cleaved the heavens with divine fire.
It was glorious. It was all an illusion. Hela wasn't sure if she cared anymore as long as she could lose herself in this blend of memories and simulated battles. Days flew by like heartbeats, and months and years blurred into centuries until one day, the very fabric of the prison rippled. The shift found Hela in the command center of a massive battleship, overseeing the invasion of a simulated Nova Empire.
The shades of her closest confidants and most trusted offices froze in the face of Odin's projection that walked in as if he belonged.
"Hela," Odin sounded and looked tired.
He was old, much older than the last time he dared show his face. How many centuries it was since he came to gloat after spawning himself a replacement for her, Hela wondered. Not that it mattered.
"King Odin," she hissed back, yet to her surprise, the venom in her voice had dried out sometime over the endless centuries she spent here. "Here to gloat, Your Majesty?" She made a mockery of a proper bow.
"I am contemplating my mistakes, General," Odin surprisingly admitted.
"Did your golden-haired son disappoint you? What was my replacement's name anyway? It has been so long since you mentioned it. Or visit, for that matter," Hela smiled after she could bring a semblance of her usual venom in her voice. It was just a fraction of what Odin deserved.
"Thor is my son! He was never meant to be your replacement!" Odin barked, and the whole prison realm shivered at his anger.
So there was some fire left in the old man's belly.
"Of course not. He was meant to be better, wasn't he? Less of a failure. An obedient little soldier," Hela spat. "He is your son. Yet you refuse to acknowledge me as your daughter. Hela. General. Weapon. Mistake. Monster. Butcher." Hela wagged her fingers at Odin as she spoke. "But never, your daughter! Not after you made me your weapon and threw me at Asgard's enemies!"
"I might not have been the best of parents. I wanted you to be what Asgard needed," Odin sighed. "Just like with Thor."
"What happened? Did my replacement get himself killed?"
"I exiled him to Midgard," Odin surprised her again.
"That primitive place? What did he do? Start a war?"
"He did his best to do so," Odin grumbled.
"Why isn't he here then?" Hela snapped.
"You did much more than try to start a war. You were the commander of Asgard's armies, the leader of the Valkyries!" Odin's voice shook the whole realm. "Thor didn't have a fraction of the authority I trusted you with!" Odin closed his eye as if it pained him to look at her. "He betrayed my trust and endangered Asgard just like you did anyway!"
Hela laughed at that. "Then I might like to meet the boy and congratulate him. He couldn't be all bad then!"
Odin narrowed his eye at her and waved a hand. "You want to encourage this?" Odinforce flowed into the prison, forming an illusion of a large blond man sitting in a strange place. He was conversing with a shorter man, dark of hair and eyes.
What they discussed made Odin shut up and stare at the illusion in disbelief. Hela followed suit, curiously observing her little brother and his companion. This was the first time she had seen him since Thor was a few years old, which was the last time Odin deigned to visit and torment her with visions of what was forever out of her grasp.
"A mortal appears to have more sense than you did back then, mighty King Odin!" Hela found herself again surprised that day, this time by her genuine and merry laughter. "Are you going to summon not-so-little Thor away from that bad influence?"
Hela looked at Odin, who had an odd, contemplative expression.
"He had access to the best teachers, thinkers, and philosophers on Asgard, yet he didn't pay them any attention. Now, he's listening to a Midgardian of all people?!" Odin exclaimed in bafflement. "At least the man isn't a fool. Where did I go wrong with that boy? Where did I go wrong with you, Hela?"
"I have a very long list!"
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Asgard
Loki stood behind Heimdall, weaving illusions to allow them both to see what the Watcher's sight observed about Thor. From all the expectations Loki had about his brother? This wasn't it.
Why couldn't Thor do anything right, including fail? At this rate, and because of that damned mortal, his brother might prove himself redeemed and worthy of the throne! If that happened, Loki didn't know what he would do. He could never compare or compete with a real son of Odin in the AllFather's eyes. Thor's continued failures and, well, Thor being himself, were the only path he had to power and a future in Asgard.
Loki paced behind the distracted Heimdall. He had to do something about this while he still could. Why would Thor listen to a random mortal anyway?! It wasn't like that man was a font of unprecedented wisdom! Loki could have told his fool of a brother the same, only if Thor sat down and listened! That he was doing so with a random stranger, instead of anyone from Asgard, much less Loki himself, hurt worse than the trickster believed possible!
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Issabelle's Diner
Puente Antiguo
New Mexico
"Prince Thor, I will be remiss in my duties if I don't ask certain questions about the Frost Giants. From what you told me so far, I can't just assume your people will immediately intervene in case of Frost Giant incursion on Earth due to your presence. Dealing with something like that, without further aid from Asgard, is something your father might decide is part of your penance. That is especially true if we're talking about a limited incursion compared to a full-scale invasion. What are we looking at as a threat assessment? Military capabilities? Numbers? Preferred tactics?" I could absolutely see a certain kind of bastard doing something like this and using the resulting fallout as both a teaching opportunity and a way to remind the primitives that they needed their betters' protection.
Thor lit up at those questions. Excitement, eagerness to please, and need to be validated and recognized mixed with other, less acute emotions.
"That I can help with. I've clashed multiple times with the Jotun, including here on Earth, during their last invasion, when they managed to capture parts of what you call Scandinavia, I believe!"
"Do go on," I nodded. Every soldier in the diner leaned forward and was ready to literally or figuratively take notes on the tactical information we were about to receive.
"Now, unless they're cloaked with magic, there's no mistaking them. Jotun is, on average larger than me. They are tough bastards with obvious blue, gray, or mixed skin that often have colored patterns like waves or ripples. The Jotun tend to have ridges on their faces; sometimes, it's hardened skin; others, they're actual bone crests. Tactically and practically, they seldom use technology, relying on innate control of ice magic. The Jotun use it to form hardened armor around their bodies and various melee weapons around their limbs – from spikes and blades to spears and the like. They can create and launch hardened, razor-sharp ice shards that can penetrate advanced armor, making them dangerous at range, especially for those who are unaware of such abilities and underestimate them."
That covered basic infantry and physical overview. They did sound like nasty customers, especially if their ice armor, general toughness, and speed allowed them to get in close quarters. That would be deadly for our infantry.
"What about vehicles, air force, the like?"
"Air has always been a big weakness for them. Outside a limited number of Ice Dragons, which can be dangerous beasts at the best of times, the Jotun usually rely on using the Casket of Ancient Winters to create ice storms that ground combat and transport aircraft by either shredding them or freezing them over and forcing them to land. That was the artifact that I thought they were after. It binds much of their realm's magic and ensures they aren't a major offensive threat as long as it was under our control and sealed within Asgard's vaults."
Now, that would be a nasty out-of-context problem to deal with. It would cripple mobility, reconnaissance, air support, and perhaps even artillery, shaping the battlefield into one that plays to the enemy's strength and mitigates those of a modern military.
"Naturally, the Frost Giants won't be bothered by murderous winter and the ice storms?" I asked lightly.
"Their Frost Giants, of course not!" Thor scoffed. "While they can live in all reasonable climates, they thrive in the cold."
A magi-tech climate control device that doubles as a super-weapon. My inner scientist wasn't sure if it wanted to squeeze in glee at the idea and possibilities or scream in vexation.
"Combat vehicles and the like? Heavy weapons the Frost Giants favor?"
"Trained war-beasts and frost magic, which can be versatile and deadly; however, those who can utilize it for more than direct attacks are few and far between. They tend to be primary targets to take out. As for the beasts," Thor grimaced. "To be honest, awakening one of them was among the reasons we began to retreat. That thing was nearly as tall as this building, and its torso alone was larger than the first few floors. It took me multiple strikes with Mjolnir with all the power of the storm and lighting behind them to fend it off. You need heavy weapons or enchanted blades to pierce their tough hide, which can be a challenge even if they don't have ice armor."
If those things visited in force, we would have to rely on direct-fire weaponry and, at best short-range artillery. Anything longer-ranged would be potentially useless due to ice magic. Joy. Naturally, any force set up to exclusively counter the Ice Giant threat would be lacking against a different opponent.
I foresaw many sleepless nights in the Pentagon and other such facilities worldwide.
"What are their usual tactics?"
"The Jotun would prefer to advance under cover of a storm, which they can make even without the Casket, though those won't shred or necessarily down aircraft depending on how tough and capable they are. Ice Drakes and Dragons would hit defensive lines, followed by war-beasts and large numbers of Jotun aiming to exploit the chaos to get to grips with the defenders. On the defense, they would use the cold and storms to weaken the enemy, then counter-attack in terrain and places that maximize their natural advantages and minimize the enemy's strengths."
