The Iron Sith V2 (SW/MCU AU)

[Anti-No]

Some Sith lords qualifying makes perfect sense. Remember, Odin is not so much a god of battle. He's more a god of slaughter. War and Death on one side, poets and rulership on the other. And Odin is the one who decides what is needed to prove worthy heir to the throne of Aasgard.

 

[Illuviar]

Tony Stark tempered by a Sith Lord...I can see that being acceptable. I also like that parts of the hammer's consciousness?/programming? agreed to it, while others did not, so Tony only has partial functions. Admittedly though, "just lightning powers" is still a heck of a lot.

Click to shrink...

It's partially that as almost all humans he is not fully compatible with all the powers Mjolnir can give access to, and partly that while he passess muster as being worthy, he could have been worthier as far as Odin set up those rules.

Frigga is a badass.Nuff said SITony barely meeting the Mjolnirs worthiness requirements is interesing especiall as he apparently only can partially use its powers.

Click to shrink...

Frigga certainly is not a trophy wife or an arm ornament so to speak, even if she can rarely make Odin change his mind.

It's not just being worthy that you need to fully utilize Mjolnir. The hammer is more of a conduit, and you need to be compatible and powerful enough to handle what's on the other side so to speak.

Some Sith lords qualifying makes perfect sense. Remember, Odin is not so much a god of battle. He's more a god of slaughter. War and Death on one side, poets and rulership on the other. And Odin is the one who decides what is needed to prove worthy heir to the throne of Aasgard.

Click to shrink...

That's correct, though I need to clarify this - in this timeline the Asgardians aren't gods, though they do claim such tittles.

 

[Illuviar]

Disclaimer: I do not own any movies set up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Star Wars movies, cartoons, games, books, or comics. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with a commercial aim. It is not for sale or rent.

Phase 12: Hard contact

=SI=

Part 3

=SI=​

Alpha Site
New Mexico

The Force could give me only vague warnings of danger, while Mjolnir's awareness acted as if fascinated by the odd energy it could detect flowing through me. It seemed I would have to find the Destroyer the hard way.

Channeling lightning through Mjolnir and using it to tap the vast sea of energy I could now perceive was both similar yet radically different than using the Force. However, shaping the power into lightning felt natural, like second nature. It was almost instinctive.

"Captain, get the word out and try not to blow me up. I'm going to find the damn Destroyer and see if I can disable its repair functions," I hefted the hammer, and it felt far lighter than it had any right to be.

At that thought, I got a distant smug sense of satisfaction. I walked outside, holding Mjolnir in a defensive stance. Thunder and lightning rumbled across the dark storm clouds above. All it took was a thought and a gesture with the hammer to call the boundless energies contained within the brewing storm. Lightning struck Mjolnir, and I threw it forward into a cascading wave that swept over the desert left of the closest Stryker. Shrubs caught on fire, sand glowed with reflected light, and insects zapped in flight until the lightning found its mark. It cascaded over a tall humanoid form, revealing the Destroyer had almost circled around to the back of the site, where Thor was.

"Contact left!" I barked at the top of my lungs and focused on the lightning, channeling more and more power. The wide arc turned into a crackling beam that shattered the active camouflage of the war bot. Its 'eyes' opened and glowed with deadly fire. I was in no position to evade, and no cover nearby could reasonably tank such firepower.

That left me with little recourse but to call back on the Force and Mjolnir to keep me alive. The lightning linking me with the Destroyer collapsed on itself before a bolt of pure energy struck us from above. Mjolnir glowed, forming a cracking vortex of electromagnetic radiation that rapidly solidified into a circular lightning shield.

It was just in time, too, because the Destroyer blasted us with its heat ray. Scorching heat washed over my face as fire and lightning clashed and fought for dominance. My clothes began to smoke, and my feet drove grooves into the sand as the onslaught physically pushed me back.

A loud boom nearly deafened me, and the fiery attack ceased. I collapsed to my knee, panting, while Mjolnir absorbed the lightning shield within its metal head. After blinking away white spots, I could see the Destroyer had a large hole in the side of its chest. Its head was tilted as if examining the injury, which was already mending through rippling metal.

The Destroyer raised its head, and fire glowed within its opened chest. I thrust Mjolnir forward and blasted it with everything I could gather. A thin lightning bolt slammed into its head, snapping it aside just as it unleashed a beam of condensed fire. The attack harmlessly cut a line through the clouds, adding more energy for the storm to feed on.

I needed more time to gather power and think of something. The gun-Stryker crew gave me that time. Another round slammed into the Destroyer, nearly decapitating it. I needed to either disrupt its repair function or its power source.

Mjolnir was eager to help. Suddenly, the way I perceived the world shifted. There were pulsing lanes of energy that connected the Destroyer with something far beyond Earth, yet seemingly so close I could touch it if I raised a hand. The same was true for Mjolnir; however, in its case, it was a spiderweb of arching electricity and energy I didn't know how to describe or quantify. Looking closer at the Destroyer, I saw it was covered in intricate shells of unfamiliar writing like energy shields interposed upon holograms or the other way around.

Did I see magic?

A third round struck the Destroyer. One of the 'shields' flickered and glowed, channeling power into its frame. Golden fire washed away the damage, and metal eagerly rippled to follow suit.

I blinked and looked at the Destroyer with my own eyes, feeling a murderous headache pounding just behind my eyeballs. Whatever Mjolnir did to allow me to perceive the truth of the murder bot? It wasn't something my body could handle for long.

Well, here goes nothing. I raised the hammer and called the power within the storm in a way I've used many times before to strike harder without expending or channeling too much raw energy. Lightning connected Mjolnir and the clouds, like calling to like, and the storm went wild. Thunder and lightning cracked through the clouds; then all that energy followed the path toward the least resistance, which led to me. An incredible amount of power struck Mjolnir. Instead of grounding and dissipating into the soil below me, frying me in the process, it kept gathering within the hammer. At the same time, that energy mixed with the power that Mjolnir drew from the vast sea which fed it, becoming more than mere electricity.

I could see the skin on my hands turn red as if sunburned, then begin to smoke. I wouldn't be able to handle more power without crippling or killing myself. This was going to have to be enough.

Using everything I had left, I shoved Mjolnir forward. I unleashed the gathered energy, shaping it to be as focused as possible while I could still retain a semblance of control. A beam of lightning thicker than the Destroyer slammed into it. The air smelled of charred flesh and fresh ozone. I felt energized like never before and dead on my feet, yet I kept pushing until I had nothing left to give.

All I could see was dancing lightning, followed by soothing darkness.

=SI=​

"Fuck me running…." Elis muttered.

He watched Stark wield that alien weapon as if he knew what he was doing, yet for a moment, there it didn't look like it would be enough. The Stryker gun system was the only thing he had left of use, so he ordered it into action and could only watch.

Once again, Stark did not disappoint. Elis could see the man was dead on his feet, his clothes were smoking, and his hands looked like boiled crabs. Yet, he somehow kept channeling the power of the storm above to strike at the alien Terminator, trying to kill them.

It was over as suddenly as it began. After unleashing a devastating beam of energy, Stark collapsed. Elis could only blink away white spots and hope it worked. When he could see the Destroyer again, it was on its knees. Its spiky armor looked partially melted, and its upper layers were flaking off into the wind in pieces of ash. Its eyes spluttered, trying to light up with deadly fire.

The Stryker's cannon thundered, and a round struck the Destroyer in the center of the chest. Alien alloy splintered and shattered, throwing debris in a large arc behind the thing's back. The fire in its eyes went off, and it collapsed. This time, whatever held it together had taken too much punishment, or so it seemed. The Destroyer fell into pieces like a giant metal puzzle that suddenly broke apart.

"Get me a medic out here! Keep aiming at that thing and shoot it if it twitches. Laser its location for the Air Force!" Ellis barked orders, hoping beyond hope that this was it. If that thing got up again, his only option would be to use the Stryker to slow it down while retreating.

 

[MajorPane]

But... How it was the perfect opportunity? Where's the triumphant cry of "UNLIMITED POWAH!!!"

 

[Kaernetron]

Kind of curious if that is all "Those Who Wait In Shadows" shenanigans, or if the Asgard actually are that bad. My guess: ...they actually are that bad.

Click to shrink...

That's correct, though I need to clarify this - in this timeline the Asgardians aren't gods, though they do claim such tittles.

Click to shrink...

Well, it's staying close to the source (norse mythology) where Loki, Thor and Odin are grade A dicks. As for the rest of the asgardians? Whatever redeeming qualities they may have is overshadowed by their habit to devolve into hold my beer party-mode frat boys at the drop of a hat (like in the story of Baldr).

But... How it was the perfect opportunity? Where's the triumphant cry of "UNLIMITED POWAH!!!"

Click to shrink...

Too busy not getting fried by the alien murderbot.

 

[Illuviar]

But... How it was the perfect opportunity? Where's the triumphant cry of "UNLIMITED POWAH!!!"

Click to shrink...

That was nowhere close to what Sith Tony considers Unlimited Powah TM! At the height of his power, while it would almost certainly kill him, he was able to murder a planet using the Force. Sadly, he might not ever experience such heights in this universe, or well, thankfully for everyone else....

 

[Pintoy]

But... How it was the perfect opportunity? Where's the triumphant cry of "UNLIMITED POWAH!!!"

Click to shrink...

Should have been "LIMITED POWAH??"

 

[Dr. Bob Doom]

Loki: Those feeble Midgardians can't stand up to my power!

Sith Tony: ... and I took that personally.

Here's hoping that Tony can use both being seen as Worthy and the injuries incurred in his battle against the Destroyer as a springboard to getting some Asgard-tech healing for his chest. It guess without saying that it's also an excellent opportunity to examine a foreign tech base.

I wonder what kind of shenanigans can be wrought from the Destroyer scraps? There's obviously not enough to impact any projects, but studying the composition might be a great way to boost materials science.

 

[Illuviar]

Loki: Those feeble Midgardians can't stand up to my power!

Sith Tony: ... and I took that personally.

Here's hoping that Tony can use both being seen as Worthy and the injuries incurred in his battle against the Destroyer as a springboard to getting some Asgard-tech healing for his chest. It guess without saying that it's also an excellent opportunity to examine a foreign tech base.

I wonder what kind of shenanigans can be wrought from the Destroyer scraps? There's obviously not enough to impact any projects, but studying the composition might be a great way to boost materials science.

Click to shrink...

OTL Shield somehow managed to reverse engineer a weapon based on what the Destroyer used... and it uses the Odinforce - Asgardian magic basically. That's obviously a big no-no for this story. That's a high end blend of advanced technology and magic and Earth, especially governmen affiliated scientists know nothing about one of the key components, perhaps not that it even exist as something beyond regular technology.

Studying the materials it is made of is indeed a more promising prospect that migh get somewhere useful in a practical timeframe.

 

[Illuviar]

Disclaimer: I do not own any movies set up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Star Wars movies, cartoons, games, books, or comics. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with a commercial aim. It is not for sale or rent.

Phase 12: Hard contact

=SI=

Part 4

=SI=​

Bifrost control chamber
Asgard

There are times when Heimdall doesn't want to be right. This was one of them. Even with alarms ringing throughout Asgard, his first clue that a Jotun incursion was underway was when he saw the Queen herself fight and the broken bodies of the enemy falling to the ground. He couldn't see them while alive and fighting, only track them by looking for fighting or freshly dead Aesir.

So far, Heimdall could track at least three incursions, and only one was halted cold if you could call it so, when there was fighting in front of Odin's bedchamber while the King slumbered. That the Queen was involved wasn't a good thing, even if it meant that Odin was likely going to be all right.

The Queen having to defend herself or her husband in the heart of the Royal Palace was already a failure state of unprecedented proportions. Heads were going to roll over it.

To his credit, Heimdall didn't care that his might be among them. He was too busy trying to aid the defense by tracking down the enemy.

The second incursion was aimed at the vaults. The Destroyer was nowhere to be seen on Asgard. A look quickly brought the Watcher's vision to Midgard, where the damned thing was rampaging and engaging Midgardian warriors and the Warriors Three with Lady Sif.

At least Prince Thor might survive this madness, Heimdall concluded. There was no question about it! Loki was a traitor! The only question was how much damage that mad boy could cause before someone stopped him.

Heimdall kept sending messages and guiding Asgard's warriors. The fighting at the heart of the palace was intensifying, with more and more Jotun finding their way inside somehow. Their incursion point was another thing cloaked from the Watcher's vision.

Of course, it was; he regularly checked for precisely such breaches in security!

By the time Heimdall figured out there was Jotun, who avoided fighting and gathered for a decisive attack, it was almost too late. A single servant warned him – the unfortunate woman stumbled into Jotun cloaked by magic, both Asgardian and their own, and died quickly for her trouble. It was Heimdall's gaze sweeping for new deaths beyond the active battlefields that noticed her body, and the location sent a chill down his spine.

There had to be Jotun ready to take out the Bifrost, or worse, attempt to turn it against Asgard if at all possible!

Heavy reinforcements were out of position. There were warrior detachments in the area; however, if they would be enough to stop the incursion that Heimdall was now sure was coming was anyone's guess. He tapped into the Bifrost's controls. They were still locked on Midgard, the same area where….

Heimdall's mind came to a screeching halt when he saw that odd mortal Thor listening to wield Mjolnir against the Destroyer. At the same time, Midgardian warriors used their combat vehicles to bombard it. His gaze went to Thor, who appeared to have a broken jaw and was still exiled. Otherwise, the Midgardian wouldn't be the one trying to keep his people and the Prince alive in the first place.

The Warriors Three and Lady Sif were still alive, if worse to wear. Seeing no other options and considering that the Destroyer was losing, Heimdall used the Bifrost to whisk the Warriors Three back to help him defend the device and prepared himself for battle.

The first clue they were under attack came as a hail of ice daggers that murdered loyal warriors. Others die surprised by the invisible and silent Jotun, cloaked by magic. With the element of surprise gone, dozens of the Frost Giants charged the Bifrost control chamber. Others were nearby, using Frost Magic. Heimdall could sense the air chill, and ice began to form over the control center's outer walls.

The Watcher held his spear at the ready and waited behind a thin line of warriors forming the last line of defense between the Jotun and the Bifrost. The Ice Giants were in a deadly frenzy, seemingly uncaring that they were dying upon Aesir's blades. They kept coming and killing, swarming over the defenders with suicidal determination. Heimdall struck true, and his spearhead opened the neck of a large Jotun, catching him just over the edge of his ice armor. Then he had to let go of the weapon and roll aside to avoid a lance of ice that flew through his former location. It touched Heimdall's cape, flash-freezing it, and half of it shattered as he finished his roll.

The Aesir surged to his feet, drawing his sword and swinging in a single, smooth motion that took the head off a particularly eager Jotun. While reinforcements were coming, they were too far away. Small groups of Jotun jumped at them from the shadows, slowing them down. At the same time, the attackers pushed aside the last of the Bifrost's defenders, forcing them to fight for their lives in small groups that were of no use.

Heimdall stood alone in front of the control chamber, fighting with all his skill just to survive yet another moment. The Bifrost roared as if guided by divine providence, and four more Asgard warriors appeared in a flash of blinding light that saved the Watcher's life. Within moments, four more blades joined Heimdal in holding the line.

They might hold long enough, he thought.

The Jotun had other ideas. A ray of frost shot at the control room from the roof of the nearest building. Jotun magic clashed with Seidir-enhanced materials, and for the moment, the walls held.

"Fandral, take them out!" Sif ordered.

The agile warrior slit Jotun's throat and tried to slip away from the fighting. A hail of ice-daggers sent him rolling away for his life. A frost lance flashed above the corpse that Volstagg cleaved nearly in two. It hit the large Aesir in the chest, freezing his armor, which shattered as he jolted back in shock. Volstragg's flesh upon his now bare chest turned blue, then black, and he collapsed with a choked gasp.

Heimdall's sight showed him in painful detail how the warrior's skin broke like glass, revealing frozen and cracked muscles barely clinging to shattered ribs. Without healers getting to him fast, Volstagg was a dead man. Just like the rest of them if reinforcements failed to reach them.

There was nothing to it. They had to fight for as long as they could. Retreat or failure was not an option!

"Volstagg!" Fandral shouted when he saw the state of his friend. That brief distraction cost him dearly, as he failed to avoid the next barrage of ice daggers. Some shattered on his light armor; others cracked it. Yet more bit into flesh, freezing it and chilling blood.

Now there were only three of them left holding the line. The Jotun were running out of bodies to throw at them, yet not fast enough.

Behind them, the enchanted wall finally lost its battle against the Jotun magic. It imploded with a loud thunderclap that threw everyone in the vicinity off their feet. Heimdall's gaze showed him a frost bridge forming from that compromised building, with Jotun running over it straight toward the hole in the wall. He got up to his feet, gutted a Jotun who was slower on the uptake, and sprinted to intercept the new threat. Behind him, Lady Sif and Hogun had to survive or die alone.

A Jotun saw him and vaulted off the ice bridge, heedless of the danger. The Frost Giant pointed his hands forward in a sweeping gesture and unleashed a wave of razor-sharp ice at Heimdall. The Watcher saw the attack coming and jumped over it. He threw his sword in the same motion, and the Jotun had no way to avoid it while flying.

Unfortunately, the same was true for Heimdall himself. A second Jotun jumped off the bridge and sent ice-daggers his way while two more vaulted towards the breach. Ice slammed into Heimdall's breastplate with bone-crushing power. He hit the ground hard, just a moment before the Jotun that struck him landed on his feet and raised an arm encased in frost spike for a killing blow.

A silver beam burned its way through the Watcher's would-be killer, blasting it to shards after a heartbeat of contact. More beams lanced from above, cutting through Jotun and their ice armor like flimsy fabric. A wave of ice erupted from the breach in the wall, and a piercing alarm the kind Heimdall had never heard shook Asgard.

"Excise the core!" An angry voice rose above the shrieking alarm.

Heimdall found his footing, and his gaze swept through the Bifrost control chamber. Everything inside was shredded by ever-expanding ice that dug into the walls and floor and buried them like the roots of a cursed tree. Heimdall next saw a tall, bulky figure in silver armor turning away from the compromised chamber. A transparent visor on a helmet that enclosed its head revealed this was General Tyr, who looked positively murderous.

The ground below their feet shook as an immense silver form materialized in the sky above Asgard. Blinding lances of silver energy lanced from its oval belly and touched critical parts of the Bifrost and the systems that powered it. Parts of Asgard ruptured under the onslaught, splitting open chambers that hadn't seen the starry sky since before Heimdall was born. A device spinning around what looked like a small darkening star flew out of the largest fissure, and the monstrous ship above accelerated, taking it away with it.

"Watcher!" General Tyr's murderous voice sounded deafening in the sudden silence that followed the ship's departure. "Explain this madness!"

Heimdall's eyes and gift swept around, looking for answers that wouldn't end up with him dying or worse. He saw healers attend to the fallen warriors, which heartened him. His gaze swept over the rapidly leaving star and the ship that carried it away. Roots of frost crawled over the spinning device containing it, and the star itself was going dark. The vessel pulling it away let go and accelerated moments before containment broke. The flames of a dying star bathed Asgard's skies with their agonized light.

 

[BlueRonin]

Well, that escalated quickly...
Loki is kind of an idiot, huh?

 

[Arimai]

I hope they execute Loki and depose Odin for incompetence

 

[Illuviar]

Well, that escalated quickly...
Loki is kind of an idiot, huh?

Click to shrink...

It turned out Loki wasn't the smartest Frost Giant in the room. Further, other people had their plans and agendas they implemented, while showing Loki just what he in his arrogance expected to see. He opened the gate and Laufrey happily took advantage of it. Why just try to assassinate Odin while he sleeps, when you can use this pricelles opportunity to cripple Asgard even if the assassination attempt fails?

I hope they execute Loki and depose Odin for incompetence

Click to shrink...

There's an issue related to raw power in the later case, as well as there not being a proper successor people could agree on. Without Thor around, the odds are if Odin is gone, Asgard might face a civil war.

Now, Loki, he needs to run.

 

[Amused Bystander]

If SI Tony doesnt get Sith Lord Force Lightning memes and jokes about him by SWORD and SHIELD personel i will be dissapoint.

And man! Talk about escalation!

 

[Anti-No]

There's an issue related to raw power in the later case, as well as there not being a proper successor people could agree on. Without Thor around, the odds are if Odin is gone, Asgard might face a civil war.

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...true. But people will talk about it, and the general "talk of the town" might end up being that "Okay, Odin is better than an empty throne. Not much better, but better. Where did Thor go, anyway?" Which is... not any fun to listen to when you're the king. Deserved, but not fun.

There might be some who would push for Frigga to be more of a queen than Odin is king, of course. But if there is one thing people like Odin is good at, it's pulling power to themselves.

Now, Loki, he needs to run.

Click to shrink...

True. Kind of waiting for the mental gymnastics trying to explain how it wasn't HIS fault. It was... erm... the gremlins! Yes. Because reasons.

 

[Fellow Human]

Tony learned about magical artifacts, which will lead to him learning magic and making magitech armor, going around all those material problems, but he will not be able to mass produce it anytime soon. That way he can be the big uplifter who shares mundane sci-fi tech, while still being speshul. Did I get it right?

When he meets Tyrion(dwarf giant):
Tony and Eitri, forever and forever, a hundred years Tony and Eitri, s... things. Me and Tony and Eitri runnin' around and Tony and Eitri time. Aaall day long forever. All, a hundred days Tony and Eitri forever a hundred times.

 

[Illuviar]

Tony learned about magical artifacts, which will lead to him learning magic and making magitech armor, going around all those material problems, but he will not be able to mass produce it anytime soon. That way he can be the big uplifter who shares mundane sci-fi tech, while still being speshul. Did I get it right?

When he meets Tyrion(dwarf giant):
Tony and Eitri, forever and forever, a hundred years Tony and Eitri, s... things. Me and Tony and Eitri runnin' around and Tony and Eitri time. Aaall day long forever. All, a hundred days Tony and Eitri forever a hundred times.

Click to shrink...

You are making a very big assumption here - that Tony will learn magic or be able to make magitech armor anytime soon. Sorry, that's not easy, trivial, or something anyone could do in this timeline. Magitech is kind of the end result of going deep on two very different technological trees and for practical purposes, would be out of reach for Earth without tons of help and education from Asgard, and decades of investment of time and resources.

People like Dr. Strange, if he is a thing as a sorcerer in this timeline are one in a generation. If just dedication and training was what it took to become a sorcerer, there would be tons of those on Earth and across the galaxy. That's not the case.

 

[Fellow Human]

Does he know alchemy? I thought it and the Force would translate to fast learning of magic, not that he'd instantly get it but in a few years. I know you said this won't be 6 people saving the universe, but an army. Just thought he might be a hero unit like in RTS games.

As GeekGod said, I think it would be unlike Sith Tony to not take advantage of magic. He's not some science only guy spluttering there is no such thing as magic!
Besides he doesn't need to learn how to summon Chtulu or blizzard, only what fits him which is artificing and some utility spells.

 

[GeekGod_of_Speed]

You are making a very big assumption here - that Tony will learn magic or be able to make magitech armor anytime soon. Sorry, that's not easy, trivial, or something anyone could do in this timeline. Magitech is kind of the end result of going deep on two very different technological trees and for practical purposes, would be out of reach for Earth without tons of help and education from Asgard, and decades of investment of time and resources.

People like Dr. Strange, if he is a thing as a sorcerer in this timeline are one in a generation. If just dedication and training was what it took to become a sorcerer, there would be tons of those on Earth and across the galaxy. That's not the case.

Click to shrink...

He could learn Runes, I'm not sure how exactly they work in Marvel but Odin is the keeper of the runes, he can teach/give permission for somebody to use them and they don't require much inherent magical power to inscribe but it's all dependent on his personnel knowledge and understanding of the concepts.

Honestly he needs to learn at least a little of magic cause even if he can't give things extra effects or use it himself he could probably figure out how to imbue power in a bootleg nasuverse Reinforcement during construction, or bullshit non-Euclidean materials like having structures adjacent to the standard 3 dimensions reinforcing molecular bonds or some bullshit.

In marvel the higher technologies are basically indistinguishable from magic as they both manipulate or take advantage of extra dimensional phenomena e.g Pym particles and the quantum realm, The Arc Reactor and the Space Stone, most mutant powers Ect.

 

[Illuviar]

He could learn Runes, I'm not sure how exactly they work in Marvel but Odin is the keeper of the runes, he can teach/give permission for somebody to use them and they don't require much inherent magical power to inscribe but it's all dependent on his personnel knowledge and understanding of the concepts.

Honestly he needs to learn at least a little of magic cause even if he can't give things extra effects or use it himself he could probably figure out how to imbue power in a bootleg nasuverse Reinforcement during construction, or bullshit non-Euclidean materials like having structures adjacent to the standard 3 dimensions reinforcing molecular bonds or some bullshit.

In marvel the higher technologies are basically indistinguishable from magic as they both manipulate or take advantage of extra dimensional phenomena e.g Pym particles and the quantum realm, The Arc Reactor and the Space Stone, most mutant powers Ect.

Click to shrink...

Kree, Skrull, the Nova Corps, which are right now the three big galactic powers would tend to mostly disagree.

Earth and Sith Tony don't need a few super suits operating at expanded infantry scale, they need mass producible technology that's potent enough to give a pause to a sane invader that might balk at burning Earth to cinder from orbit. I'll repeat myself in that regard, even in a few decades of development and buildup, Earth won't be ready to stand alone when Thanos comes. If it has to do so, it's going to be a failure.

It's a good thing that this isn't Marvel, or even the OTL MCU timeline then.

 

[Illuviar]

Disclaimer: I do not own any movies set up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Star Wars movies, cartoons, games, books, or comics. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with a commercial aim. It is not for sale or rent.

Phase 13: Ripples

=SI=

Part 1

=SI=​

Royal Palace
Asgard

Through Gungnir, Loki was intimately connected with the enchantments weaved across the palace and beyond, as well as its more mundane security systems. He saw that Laufrey failed to reach Odin in time. More importantly, he saw that the Jotun bastard betrayed him, which was something Loki was still trying to wrap his head around. He was making his way towards the vaults, ready to liberate choice pieces from there before making himself scarce when new alerts reached him through the enchantments.

"They did what?!" Loki halted his march and stared into the empty corridor before him, seeing through magic what was happening at the Bifrost. Heimdall and the Warriors three were there, fighting Jotun and losing badly.

Laufrey was a brute, leading primitive, brutish people! How did he plan this?! How did Laufrey slip it all under his notice? Loki saw what was happening and found it hard to believe it. This was insane!

As if to prove him right, or perhaps wrong, the enchantments showed a vast ship arrive above the Bifrost and deploy armored warriors moments after Heimdall and company unsurprisingly failed. The Bifrost was slowly exploding, infected by Frost Magic. The ship's crew had other ideas about it. It surgically blasted the device into tiny pieces, ensuring it wouldn't overload and take much of Asgard with it.

Intellectually, Loki knew General Tyr was in charge of a small, supposedly powerful Asgard fleet. He had been on board Asgardian cruisers. Those ships were nothing to scoff at, yet they were constantly overworked and stuck in the far reaches of Asgardian space, keeping an eye on the borders. The same was true for the 'real' Asgardian military, mainly concentrated on board said fleet. Considering his constant absence and rare trips back to Court to speak with Odin quietly, it was easy to write off General Tyr and plan around him anyway.

The Asgardian fleet and military were not a factor in internal politics. They were only used as a deterrence against other empires.

Otherwise, both Loki and Thor would have been more aware and involved as part of their education. Well, Thor was a blunt instrument. Loki wouldn't have trusted him with the kind of power such a ship implied.

Loki had been on board Asgardian cruisers many times in the past. This monster he just saw was nothing like them!

Why was he surprised that Odin didn't share information about a navy possessing such power with him? He had to suppress it for Loki to be this unaware actively, yet it made perfect sense. He wasn't an Aesir. Odin didn't trust him!

Loki reached the logical conclusion that he saw a contingency aimed against people like him. Odin had played him in a way Loki never gave him credit for. If the situation were different, Loki would have been impressed with the AllFather's cunning. Instead, for the first time, he decided to take over, Loki felt a shiver of fear.

What else didn't he know about? What other deadly secrets did Odin keep close to his chest?

The sound of running feet clad in armored boots hitting the floor broke Loki out of his reverie. He cast his best illusion spells, cloaking himself in magic to avoid detection, turned around, and ran away from the vaults. Securing them after making sure Odin was alive would be the next logical step for Tyr or whoever was in charge of the fleet. Loki decided it might be for the best to be far away from Asgard before they could find him. Improvising, no matter the priceless opportunity, has already ended in disaster. Loki wasn't about to improvise again against a threat he knew very little about.

=SI=​

Loki was near his exit point, feeling glad he chose to retreat when he did. He barely avoided groups of silver-armored warriors using beam weapons to cut through the Jotun pouring into the palace as if they were wheat ready for harvest.

This was different from the kind of warfare the Nine Realms were accustomed to. Asgard's warriors tended to dismiss ranged weaponry as dishonorable. Their enchanted armor, durability, and limited magic support allowed them to deal quickly with the odd marauder band that had bought such weapons. Besides, it wasn't like such things were particularly relevant to the likes of Thor wielding Mjolnir. They might threaten weaker Aesir, but what couldn't?

This kind of blind arrogance, of course, made his life much easier.

The same wasn't valid for these soldiers. Loki decided that underestimating them or lumping them with the rest of Aesir would be a terrible idea.

He ran ahead of a group of soldiers, using a stream of rushing Jotun as cover. To his chagrin, Loki found out that Tyr's people could see well enough through his illusions, and they opened fire at him as well. Silver energy bolts splashed over a shield he hastily erected using Gungnir. Loki kept running and swung Odin's weapon, channeling raw magic into a beam of condensed liquid fire that vaporized any Jotun it touched. This allowed him to burn himself a way to the dimensional breach that linked Jotunheim and Asgard.

Naturally, going to that frozen hell would do him no good, especially when Loki knew Laufrey had his own plans. He slammed Gungnir into the breach, channeling raw power and intent into it. At the same time, he fished out the Casket of Eternal Winters and pointed it at the soldiers, unleashing its frost magic at them. More shots hit his shield, and it wavered before weakening enough to let a diminished beam through. It burned the outer side of Loki's hand.

Frost covered a few of the soldiers, freezing them solid. Those behind them activated glowing shields the ice magic struggled to overcome and kept firing.

A lance of silver fire struck his shoulder, peeling his enchanted armor open and shoving him back. Another shot hit his already burned hand.

Gungnir dropped from unfeeling fingers. The weakened shield broke, and piercing shots slammed into Loki's chest, blasting his armor to pieces and shoving him into the unstable dimensional breach.

=SI=​

Loki fell through the gap between dimensions for what felt like forever. His only companions were pain and failure.

Eventually, something latched onto his form, pulling him out of the endless fall. The next thing Loki knew, he was on a hard floor, staring at a huge purple face. A pair of calm eyes looked down at him and eventually crinkled in amusement.

"Loki, the Liesmith. Former Prince of Asgard, and now, Asgard's most wanted fugitive. Do you know how high the reward for your delivery to face judgment is, little godling?"

"I am sure we can discuss this like civilized beings?" Loki croaked.

"Yes, we can. I am Thanos, and I am burdened with glorious purpose, Loki, the Lie-smith! You will serve, as many others. However, you are a liar and a traitor. I can't trust you," The Mad Titan smiled pleasantly. "Let us make sure we can trust you to do what I require of you, shall we?"

=SI=​

Royal Palace
Asgard

General Tyr marched into the private part of the palace holding the Royal family's quarters. A few of his soldiers followed him as a security detail, trailed by a handful of healers. Cold fury burned within his heart at the sight of the dead and dying.

This mockery wasn't the Asgard he once swore to protect. These so-called warriors… Such arrogant stupidity, such a pointless waste of lives.

Tyr glowered at a cluster of Royal Guards nervously standing at attention in front of Odin's bedchamber. The corridor in front of it was a slaughterhouse filled with butchered Asgardian warriors and Jotun. Here and there, he could see bodies, or what was left of them, cut down by his soldiers who arrived to ensure the King's continued survival. By then, the Jotun's assault on this part of the palace had all. Still, it ended due to the guard mobilizing and cutting off the flow of enemy reinforcements. With that done, the cut-off Jotun had no option but to die.

"General!" A young, pale-faced officer gave him a warrior's salute.

Tyr glowered harder, and the boy hurried out of his way after waving his men to do the same.

"Stay here," He ordered his security detail and marched into Odin's quarters.

The King was slumbering, surrounded by a golden dome of magic he was busy absorbing. Queen Frigga stood nearby, tall and proud. Her own Seidir flowed around her like a furious vortex, betraying her state of mind.

"My Queen," Tyr bowed.

"General, I am thankful for your assistance. I understand that without your arrival, much of Asgard might be gone," The Queen offered him a kind, tired smile in gratitude.

Tyr saw her handiwork outside. She had fought and fought well, which she shouldn't have had to in the first place.

"We need to discuss matters, my Queen," Tyr glowered at Odin's still slumbering form. "Including the succession."

"I am still to hear from Odin's own lips the reasons behind our son's exile. As for Loki…"

"We have him confirmed as a conspirator involved in tonight's attack. He also dispatched the Destroyer to kill Prince Thor," Tyr reported what he learned from the Watcher. Heimdall was going to face a trial if the General had anything to say about it. "The Prince is alive and reasonably well… A Midgardian wielded Mjolnir and was instrumental in striking down the war machine," Tyr was quick to reassure the Queen.

"Loki, what have you done?" Frigga groaned.

"I understand that Prince Thor has been exiled over gross incompetence and almost starting a war of his own volition without even sparing a single thought on the possible consequences or our strategic situation," Tyr grimaced. "My Queen, under these circumstances, I am afraid that the military will be unable to accept Prince Thor as Odin's successor. He will need to prove himself level-headed and capable before we contemplate it. At the same time, Odin's judgment as of late is something I must question."

"What are you saying, General? Speak plainly!" The Queen demanded. Seidir swirled
around her protectively, and her eyes glowed with barely restrained power.

"When Odin awakes and explains himself, I might require you to become Queen regent until we can have a proper successor replace Odin permanently."

 

[Anti-No]

"I understand that Prince Thor has been exiled over gross incompetence and almost starting a war of his own volition without even sparing a single thought on the possible consequences or our strategic situation," Tyr grimaced. "My Queen, under these circumstances, I am afraid that the military will be unable to accept Prince Thor as Odin's successor. He will need to prove himself level-headed and capable before we contemplate it. At the same time, Odin's judgment as of late is something I must question."

"What are you saying, General? Speak plainly!" The Queen demanded. Seidir swirled
around her protectively, and her eyes glowed with barely restrained power.

"When Odin awakes and explains himself, I might require you to become Queen regent until we can have a proper successor replace Odin permanently."

Click to shrink...

What does a loyal and competend military do when the royal family prove to be utter and complete fuckups?

...happily, in this case, there is one exception: The Queen. As far as I can see from the situation, she has actually done pretty well. And from the myths, Frey was actually a rather good queen. Limited by Odin, true, but a good queen nevertheless.

What people often overlook in competitions with only one possible winner is this: "We can't both win, true.... but we CAN both loose." The difference between Thor and Lokis failures being that while Thor proved staggeringly incompetent, Loki proved to be both a traitor and incompetent.

And Odin? Well. He gave Loki the power to do that, with zero supervision. And it did not take Loki years to go bad before he turned traitor. If that was the case, the argument could be made that Loki was worthy at the time, but turned bad, or was turned bad. It was... more or less immediate. Meaning Odin very much handed off power to someone who immediately used it to attack Aasgard itself. Which basically means that at best, Odins decision making is really, really bad. "Blow up parts of the capitol" bad. At worst? He expected something like that to happen.

 

[GeekGod_of_Speed]

Kree, Skrull, the Nova Corps, which are right now the three big galactic powers would tend to mostly disagree.

Earth and Sith Tony don't need a few super suits operating at expanded infantry scale, they need mass producible technology that's potent enough to give a pause to a sane invader that might balk at burning Earth to cinder from orbit. I'll repeat myself in that regard, even in a few decades of development and buildup, Earth won't be ready to stand alone when Thanos comes. If it has to do so, it's going to be a failure.

It's a good thing that this isn't Marvel, or even the OTL MCU timeline then.

Click to shrink...

I wasn't thinking of giving himself stuff, I was thinking of using esoteric sources to skip a few standard steps of his uplift program, a few chapters ago he said something along the lines of "needing shortcuts" as in alien tech and other things like vibranium so he can get a massive boost in tools and background tech to make that background tech the normal way

 

[Fellow Human]

I wasn't thinking of giving himself stuff, I was thinking of using esoteric sources to skip a few standard steps of his uplift program, a few chapters ago he said something along the lines of "needing shortcuts" as in alien tech and other things like vibranium so he can get a massive boost in tools and background tech to make that background tech the normal way

Click to shrink...

And I thought why not both? Army supplemented by elite units that can get various objectives to stop/delay war and much more. Not save the universe by themselves, but play a small part.
Like Normandy in Mass Effect, sure have a fleet but put all the rare resources in one stealthy and fast ship that can be proactive.
Give Rhodey a magitech power armor and put him in charge of a company of regular power armors. It wouldn't hurt for Tony to have one himself when he inevitably gets dragged into plot, despite being the boss in the back.

 

[Illuviar]

I wasn't thinking of giving himself stuff, I was thinking of using esoteric sources to skip a few standard steps of his uplift program, a few chapters ago he said something along the lines of "needing shortcuts" as in alien tech and other things like vibranium so he can get a massive boost in tools and background tech to make that background tech the normal way

Click to shrink...

And I thought why not both? Army supplemented by elite units that can get various objectives to stop/delay war and much more. Not save the universe by themselves, but play a small part.
Like Normandy in Mass Effect, sure have a fleet but put all the rare resources in one stealthy and fast ship that can be proactive.
Give Rhodey a magitech power armor and put him in charge of a company of regular power armors. It wouldn't hurt for Tony to have one himself when he inevitably gets dragged into plot, despite being the boss in the back.

Click to shrink...

That's basically what the role of traditional MCU heroes would be in the new paradigm - they will be power multipliers with prototype gear, or would be able to do more with the same due to their abilities and general toughness. Giving people magitech armor anytime soon is not happening. Again, in this timeline, that's not something you can just pick up and easily incorporate at the level Earth is even with Asgard assistance.

Do not make the mistake of judging what's possible and feasible here, by what the MCU or Marvel in general takes for granted.