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Asgard, Yule 2012

Two weeks before Malibu Mansion Bombing…

It was an hour after last meal.  Peter was visiting from Midgard with Maggie and Loki and Thor for part of his Christmas vacation. Loki and Maggie had gone out to see a performance of the local theatre while Peter stayed and had dinner with Frigga and Odin. After the meal, they went to a large chamber featuring a huge fire pit in the middle with cushioned seating around it. After bringing up the subject of Maggie’s premonitions of the Aether and the Dark Elves coming, Odin had laughed and told him that the Aether was safe from this world and the Dark Elves were no more, his father had defeated them.  Peter sat next to his Grandmother and listened to Odin tell the story.

“Let me tell you the story of my Father and the Dark Elf King Malekith,” Odin began his tale...

“Long before the birth of light and The Universe, there was Ginnungagap, a void where light and warmth did not exist. That darkness created the Dark Elves. When existence occurred and life flourished, Ginnungagap dissipated, forcing the Dark Elves to find a home in the light.  Millennia ago, the most ruthless and fervent of their kind, Malekith, sought to transform our Universe back into one of eternal night. He conquered his people, declared himself king, and forced his zealous followers to search the Nine Realms for the Aether.”

Odin waved his arms and a red, liquid-like, object appeared above the fire. It twisted, ribboned, and snaked, almost malevolent.

“Such evil was possible through the power of the Aether, an ancient force of infinite destruction. The noble armies of Asgard, led by my father, King Bor, waged a mighty war against those creatures. He drove them back to Svartalfheim and Malekith attempted to use the Aether.”

He waved his hands again and the Aether changed. The Bifrost landed on a dark world, sending gold clad warriors down with electrified blades to fight the frightening Dark Elves. An Asgardian with Odin’s spear, a horned helm with curved down horns, and red hair appeared to be leading the Asgardian warriors.

“As the Nine Worlds converged above him, Malekith could, at last, unleash the Aether. But Asgard ripped the weapon from his grasp, using the Bifrost to snatch it from him. Without it, the Dark Elves started to fall. With the battle all but lost, Malekith sacrificed his people in a desperate attempt to lay waste to Asgard's army. With the Elves defeated, my Father hid the Aether, its power too great to be destroyed. It’s buried deep, somewhere no being will ever find it. So for all these years, it’s been hidden, even from the great sight of The Guardian...”

“A little dark for a bedtime story, All-Father,” Maggie said as she came up behind Peter and kissed the top of his head. She was wearing a helm similar to Bor’s but more feminine, a dark green silk dress, and a gold breastplate similar to Frigga’s usual one. Maggie’s clothes in Asgard were crazy, but at least she didn’t wear revealing clothes like some of the other court ladies.

“Eh, you and my sons always enjoyed that story when you were Peter’s age,” Odin said as he sipped his goblet of wine. "Where is my youngest son?” Loki avoided Odin as much as possible. There were several hard feelings still felt over his parentage, but at least he still spent time with Frigga.

“He had something to do before we retired for the evening,” Maggie deflected and placed her heavy cloak on the back of the seat. “So I offered to put our son to bed. Did you have a good time with Grandmother and Odin?”

“Yeah,” Peter yawned and Frigga smiled down at him.

“His manners have improved, I’m so proud,” Frigga praised as hugged him closer, “Soon we will have a banquet so I can show him off to everyone.”

“Aww, do I have to? I hate going to big events,” Peter pouted.

“Yes, Peter,” Maggie chided him, “We’ve talked about this the last time we had to go to a SI Charity event. This is no different.”

“Off to bed with you, dear,” Frigga said. She kissed his forehead, hugged him again, and pushed him up from the couch.

“Ok,” he yawned again, “Goodnight Grandmother,” he bent and kissed her cheek. “Goodnight, Sir,” he bowed to Odin. Peter didn’t call Odin ‘Grandfather’ like Frigga had told him to do. It was too weird. Maggie kissed Frigga’s cheek and hugged her over the back of the couch. Picking up her cloak, she moved towards the doorway and motioned him to follow her.

“Good night,” Odin nodded to both of them before turning back to the fire.

Maggie put her arm around him and led him through the hallways. He still tended to get a little lost wandering the halls by himself. The guards found it funny when they had to re-direct him back on track or lead him to where he was supposed to be.

“How was the play?” Peter asked as he reached for her helm. She took it off her head and put it on his.

“It was horrid,” she made a face, “Loki enjoyed it, but it was overdramatized with horrible fight scenes and costumes. You probably would have enjoyed it,” She muttered, “It somehow reminded me of Sponge Bob for some reason.”

Peter laughed, “Maybe I’ll get him to take me tomorrow.”

“You could and then I can have a night in with Frigga, she promised to show me some new sword techniques.”

“What are you two conspiring about?” Loki’s voice came from behind them, “Should I be worried?”

Peter laughed and turned around, “No. Maggie was telling me about how the play reminded her of a show I used to watch all the time. She said that you should take me to go see it tomorrow night.” Peter grabbed Loki’s hand in his left and look Maggie’s in his right and swung their arms as he walked with them.

“Did she now?” Loki smiled down at him and then lifted his arm so he could swing Peter between him and Maggie. They were both strong enough to swing him like a little kid, much to his Dad’s amusement.

“Yes, I thought you two could do a guy’s night and I could have a girl’s night with Frigga. She promised me some new techniques,” Maggie said as she swung Peter and he laughed in amusement. The guards lining the halls shifted and watched them pass, their golden armor reflecting the light from the torches and sconces along the walls.

“Please tell me that it doesn’t mean that we have to take Odin with us on this ‘guy’s night’?” Loki scowled at her, “I would rather gouge out my eyes than spend time in a theatre with The All-Father.”

“Loki!” Maggie hissed at him, “Not around Peter.”

Loki mumbled his apology to Peter and then smirked at them, “I have something better than the theatre, how about we all learn swordplay from Mother?”

Maggie grumbled about some needed time away from her boys just as they approached the door to his room. It was Maggie’s old room and several of her belongings were still scattered around, such as quirky weapons and jewelry in strange places. Drawers filled with bangles and knives, a crown on a statue of some weird creature, necklaces hung on doorknobs, and he even found a battle-ax under the bed. “Oh, that’s Thor’s,” Maggie had commented on it, “He said he could find it anywhere but it’s been a few hundred years and he still hasn’t found it. We actually wandered the universe a few months ‘looking’ for it,” she smirked as she tugged him towards the massive bed. Kissing his forehead she smoothed his hair back. “Did you have fun today?”

“Yeah,” Peter replied sleepily, “Sif said I was getting better at wielding my sword and shield. She said that I need a real sword instead of the wooden practice one.”  

Loki nodded and Maggie just glared at him, “Sigyn, dear, all three of us had transitioned by this time to real weapons.”

“Yes, after carrying practice blades around for several years and practicing with them several hours a day. No, Loki, Peter is not getting a real blade till I feel he’s ready.”

They tucked him in, Maggie gave him another kiss, and he quickly fell asleep to the crackle of the fire and the steady rhythm of the time piece of the mantle.

Four Months Later…

Sigyn sliced the head off the Marauder and moved on to the next one. She was drenched in mud, blood and The Mother knew what else as she continued to battle the invaders to her realm. Loki bumped into her back and they fought while guarding each other’s backs. A blast of seiðr, a slice of sword, and a dagger flung. It was endless. It had been almost two months of this and hopefully this was the last of it.

Sif ducked by, kicked the invader, and then shot her spear through their skull. Sigyn had no idea how Sith fought in the skirt and leathers and told herself that she was upgrading her armor as soon as this whole thing was over with. After some time, the last of the Marauders were either dead or had surrendered, they set up their camp. Settling next to a fire in exhaustion, Sigyn pulled the scarf from her neck and started to clean the blood and mud from her face. She felt exhausted, nauseous and burnt out. She was no longer used to the long campaigns and the fighting of her youth. She chuckled at that thought.  She was still young, so perhaps she should think of it as Before and After. Throwing the destroyed scarf into the fire, she felt a nudge to her side. Turning, she saw Sif and the Warriors standing behind her.

“We were told to come guard you, Your Majesty,” Hogun said as he bowed low. Sigyn sighed, her cousin’s death had been the first thing the Marauders had done when invading her realm. Her arrival along with Asgardian forces, Thor, Loki, Sif and the Warriors forced speculation among the Vanir to her identity. Hogun proclaiming her ‘Your Majesty’ just made the rumor spread like wildfire. She waved her hand at them, rose, and started to wander around the camp. She checked on the soldiers, assessed the supplies and the injured before meeting with Thor in the command tent. Thor sat at the head of the table, The Warriors behind him, Sif on his right. Sigyn was at the foot of the table, Loki on her right, and the generals of the Einherjar and the Vanir armies between them.  

“With the Marauder’s defeat today, our scouts tell us that their numbers are greatly depleted,” the general of the Vanir Army said as she flicked her hand and a Kronon appeared in the center of the table. “The leader of the band is Shure, a Kronon, who wields a kanabō war club. Their number is small, about two to three hundred strong. They are hiding in the forest near the small village of Shonai.”

They analyzed the terrain and discussed potential maneuvers, assessing the most likely area that they would meet for battle. Sigyn asked for the village to be evacuated and spies put in place of the villagers. They had used that tactical maneuver multiple times the last few months and the Marauders had yet to figure out their scheme. The spy they had planted in the last Marauder camp had stated the invaders thought the Vanir were just another warring race of beings that only fought when provoked. “Stupid, they are all so stupid,” Sigyn said when she had heard that. “If my cousin hadn’t been on the throne, they would have never invaded.”

The meeting went on till evening. After they all went to clean up, have a meal and get some rest. Sigyn was extremely hungry and nauseous at the same time, suddenly realizing she hadn’t eaten since first meal. Loki noticed her distress, pulled her arm around his waist, and led her to their tent. He pulled off her armor, so it could be cleaned, and manifested her some warm clothes. She sat on the camp stool and allowed him to fret over her.

“After this, you are going back to Asgard and getting looked over by the healers,” he chastised. “You’ve been sick for weeks. We should have gone to Asgard instead of straight here and to battle.”

“My people needed me, it’s not like I can die,” Sigyn stated bluntly as she shivered in the chill of the night, wearing nothing but her breast wraps and underwear. Scowling, Loki quickly dressed her in the warm clothes and manifested one of the blankets she had made for him. He put it over her head and around her shoulders.

“The Extremis wasn’t meant for our biology. Even if The Mother and Space did something to mitigate the effects, it’s still affecting you,” Loki quickly cleaned himself up as he ranted at her. “I’m getting Thor to finish this, we’ll leave now.” Loki shifted on clean armor and moved to leave the tent.

Sigyn got up and grabbed his hand. “No. One more battle and then we’ll go.”

He stood there, head down, his lips moving silently, as if in prayer. He squeezed her hand and then pulled her into his arms. “I thought we talked about foolish risks and not thinking of just yourself.”

“We did,” She agreed as she wrapped the blanket around both of them. “I’m thinking of my people and the fact that tomorrow should be the last battle.”

He sighed, “Fine. One more battle and then we’re leaving.” He gave in, despite wanting to argue. He scowled down at her, “I know you want to stay, but you are needed off world right now. The rumors and speculation of Queen Sigyn is thankfully mitigated by your glamour and your cousin destroying everything with your image.

Once the Mad Titian is dealt with, you will be able to take the throne. Till then we’ll have Hogun manage your realm. He is the smartest of the Warriors.”

Sigyn laughed, “He is. I think he goes along with Thor and other two’s schemes just to keep them from trouble.”

Loki nodded, a small grin on his face. “Let’s go get something to eat and then we’re going to sleep.”

They sat around a fire with Thor, Sif and The Warriors Three and ate a simple meal. They discussed life on Midgard, Peter, Jane and the rest of the Avengers and told stories to pass the time.

“There was one time…” Sigyn began.

After the meal they went back to their tent and crawled into their bed roll. “I miss our warm, soft bed at the Tower,” Sigyn mussed, turning so they could sleep back to back. About twenty minutes later, her nausea came back and she was heaving her dinner into her helm.

“I ate what you ate, Loki, I have no fucking clue why I’m sick,” She replied to his unspoken comment and continued to throw up for another ten minutes before the nausea went away. Rinsing her mouth out with water, she spit and then threw the helm outside their tent. “I’ll find another,” she muttered as she wrapped herself around him and fell immediately asleep.

Loki lay awake for a while, wondering if he should immediately take her back to Asgard to see the healers, despite her refusal. He shifted out from her grasp, wrapped her in several blankets, and crawled out of their tent. Weaving his way through the camp, he found his brother sitting alone in front of the fire where they had their dinner.

“Is everything alright, Brother?” Thor asked as Loki sat next to him.

“No. She threw up her dinner in her helm, threw it out of our tent and then passed out in exhaustion.”

“Oh?” Thor poked the fire with a branch and sparks twirled up into the chilled air.

“She has been unwell for weeks and it’s getting worse,” Loki groused, frustrated. “Finish it tomorrow so we can take her home.”  

“Why not leave now? We can get Heimdall to bring her home and to the healers.”

“She refuses to go and you know how she gets,” Loki said, defeated. “I’ve had this argument with her for days and she still refuses.”

Thor hummed in agreement and continued to stir the fire. “I’ll leave early with a large contingent of soldiers to take care of the last of the Marauders. I’ll leave Hogun here with the rest so she can brief him on taking the Capital. We’ll leave tomorrow, as soon as we’re done.”

Loki sighed in relief. “Good. I’m troubled with how ill she’s been and today was by far the worst. I just felt helpless when she was ill in our tent-.”

Thor clapped him on the shoulder, “I’ve noticed too. Today at the war council she was pale and drawn, despite her glamour. She was ill last week when you left with the scouting party. She made me promise not to tell you, assuring me that it was just something she ate. I apologize, Brother. I should have told you.”

They sat in front of the fire for another half hour before Thor got up to inform the generals, The Warriors, and Sif of the change in plans for tomorrow. Loki went back to their tent and studied his sleeping wife. She was still pale but her breathing was fine and she was no warmer than normal. Sighing he unwrapped her from the blankets, crawled in beside her and fell asleep.

The next morning, he heard her displeasure from across the camp. She had woken before him, dressed in armor, and left. Knowing that he had a bit of time before he would be forced up to deal with the consequences of Thor leaving to deal with the Marauders, he rolled over and went back to sleep. Several moments later the tent flap was flipped open and he was floated out, blankets and all, with her seiðr.

“What did you and Thor do?” She glared at him, her glamour gone and her full powers out in the open. They both floated above the ground, she was eye level with him for once.

“I’m enjoying a bit of a lie in while my brother deals with the last of the invaders.” Loki yawned, he really missed tea from Midgard. Asgardian and Vanir tea did not have the caffeine levels that he was now used to.

“You told him what happened last night,” She stated with a defeated look on her face. She floated down, re-applied her glamour, and let him drop the few feet to ground.

“He told me that he’d finish it while you instructed Hogun on his temporary rule of Vanaheim,” Loki said as he tucked the blankets back in his pocket dimension and shifted to his armor. “We are then leaving for Asgard as soon as he gets back.”

Sigyn glared at him, huffed, twirled, and left him standing there.

“Well, it could have gone worse,” Loki muttered to himself as he raked his hand through his dirty hair.

******

Thor easily defeated the Kronon and returned just after mid-meal with his soldiers. The camp was disbanded and the troops were readied to be transported to the Capital. Vanaheim was a planet of diverse people, much like Midgard. The Capital was near the equator on the northern continent, almost halfway around the planet. Hogun’s mother was Sigyn’s father’s cousin and was legitimately the next in line for the throne. With the support of Asgard, he would easily take the throne and rule until Sigyn was declared alive.

After Heimdall transported Hogun and the troops, Sigyn stood and looked around to the now empty field. Thor placed his hand on her shoulder, “We’ll come back. For now Vanaheim is safe in Hogun’s hands. Don’t worry, Sister,” Thor grinned at her, “Young Peter needs your attention more than your realm right now.”

Sigyn rolled her eyes and sighed, “Do we have to go back to Asgard? I would rather have my bed and shower at The Tower.”

“You know why we must go to Asgard,” Loki said as he grasped her hand.

“Plus I want my own bed,” Fandral said as he adjusted his sword and pack, “I have a lovely lady waiting for me back home.”

“I would also like some decent ale and food,” Volstagg boomed, “Midgardian fare leaves much to be desired.”

Sif rolled her eyes, “I would love to go to Midgard. Lady Pepper and I still have a standing appointment for a ‘girls day’.”

“Oh, I would love a mani/pedi…” Sigyn sighed. Loki squeezed her hand and pursed his lips. “Fine, fine. Asgard first then Midgard.”

She raised her free hand and used the Bifrost to transport them to the throne room of the Asgard palace. Sif, Fandral, and Volstagg bowed low to the All-Father before striding quickly for the exit. Sigyn, Thor and Loki bowed and remained till the room was cleared.

“Is Vanaheim secure?” The All-Father asked, his voice booming through the chamber.

“Yes, My King, as is Nornheim and Ria” Thor replied for them. “We defeated the invaders and Hogun has taken the Capitol.”

“Good. We will have a feast to celebrate tonight!” He dismissed them with a wave of his hand. They bowed again and left the chamber.

“Pageantry,” Loki muttered as they made their way to their chambers.

“Yes,” Thor agreed. “I’m going to go…” He gestured towards the Bifrost Observatory and Heimdall. He wanted to go check on Jane.

“Go,” Loki said, “We’ll see you later at the banquet.”

Thor grinned at them, hugged them both and ran off.

“Can I at least bathe before I get prodded by the harpies?” Sigyn asked as she moved towards their chambers. “I have two months of dirt and grime and The Mother knows what else to wash away, “she grumbled.

Loki smiled at her, flipped her over his shoulder and strode towards their chambers, “Of course. I’m not a heathen.”

She squawked in annoyance and allowed him to tote her. “I also would like a back rub and a nap, husband. Some of us didn’t get to sleep in this morning.”

“I think I can manage that, wife,” he acknowledged, “but we are seeing the healers before the banquet tonight.”

“Fine,” she acceded.

A short time later, there was pounding on their chamber door and Thor burst through. “Jane is gone! We must leave for Midgard immediately!”

Chapter Text

Jane had gotten a call from Erik a few weeks ago about some weird readings in Britain, so she had taken Darcy to London to meet up with him. When they arrived, they couldn’t get ahold of him, so they visited his office at the University, but they were told that he had taken some time off.  Confused, they retreated to Jane’s mom’s house while they tracked him down. They were sitting in the kitchen, watching TV when the news came on and it flashed to a breaking news story…

“I’m here at Stonehenge, for what has been an interesting unfolding of events today. The police reported to the scene shortly after 11 a.m. this morning, after a seemingly harmless rambler approached the area and then started to strip naked. He effectively terrorized tourists there with scientific equipment while shouting that he was trying to save them. The man was identified as noted Astrophysicist Dr. Erik Selvig. He has been called in for questioning by police.

“So Erik has gone banana balls?” Darcy asked as they watched the footage of him running around Stonehenge, naked, chased by police officers, carrying some sort of metal spike device.

“Yeah,” Jane said as she twirled her gold bracelet around her wrist, in disbelief at her mentor’s breakdown.

Thor had given it to her for Christmas and it had symbols etched in it. He told her it had protection spells and would be able to tell her when the Bifrost was used to get to Earth. “Sigyn told me that it would be an appropriate gift,” he had said as he slipped it on her wrist. “She informed me that any pet or animal given as a gift is usually not appropriate.” Thor rambled, sheepishly. Jane thought it was adorable that he had asked for help. “My mother and Sigyn assisted me in making it,” Thor fingered the markings, “my seiðr… umm magic is different than theirs, so they helped me with the spell work.”

“So what do we do now?” Darcy had asked as she continued watching the police try and catch Erik.

“We get readings, see what readings Erik had for us, visit with my mom, and then go home…?” Jane suggested as she laid her head on the kitchen table. Thor was gone again to space with Loki and Maggie, something about defeating the invading army of Maggie’s Realm? Home planet? She still wasn’t quite sure. After New Mexico, she didn’t see Thor for a year and then he showed up at her house after New York. They re-connected and he would spend time between wherever she was and wherever Loki and Maggie were. She was just grateful that Maggie would send her money for his grocery bill. Thor ate a lot!

“Ok, I’m fine with a London vacation,” Darcy said as she flipped the channel to some car show and again to a nature show.

“You’re always fine with a vacation,” Jane complained as she sighed into her arms.

A week later, she was fiddling with her equipment when she noticed some strange readings. Hmm, they were similar to New Mexico but different. Banging the device on the kitchen table, she looked at it again and it still was reading the same. “Darcy!”

“What?!”

“Let’s go out!”

“Do we have to?”

“Yes!”

“Fine! But why?”

“I have some readings we need to investigate!”

“So Erik wasn’t completely cray cray?” Darcy came out of the backroom.

“Maybe,” Jane handed her the device and pulled on her boots.

“Huh.”

So they got in Jane’s mom’s Volvo and started to follow the readings.

“Turn here! Left! Left!”

“It’s a one-way street, Darcy!”

“Turn back! We passed it!” Darcy shouted and they pulled over to the side of the road. Taking the Magnetometer from Darcy’s hands, Jane examined the readings. Handing the device back to her, she did a U-turn and slowed down as the meter chirped.

“Huh.” Jane turned into a parking lot of an old industrial factory. She parked and turned the car off. Grabbing the Magnetometer from Darcy’s hands she followed the readings into the wide-open doors of the massive building. Old and abandoned vehicles were scattered throughout the building and the sound of whispers came from all angles.

“Hello?” Darcy yelled and it echoed amongst the glass and steel of the almost empty building.

“Shh!” The childish whisper echoed strangely off the glass and steel.

“I’m not getting stabbed in the name of science,” Darcy whispered loudly. “It’s okay, we’re Americans!” She shouted. Childish laughter echoed before three kids stepped out from their hiding places.

“Oh, they’re kids.” Jane waved and the kids waved back.

“Are you the police?” The girl asked.

“No, we’re scientists. Well, I am,” Jane looked over at Darcy who frowned at her.

“Thanks.” Darcy crossed her arms, “It’s not like I don’t help or anything.”

Jane turned to the three kids and showed them her Magnetometer, “Did you guys see anything strange around here?”

“Yeah,” one of the boys answered, “Can we show you?” He took her hand and led her to the large cement mixer. He reached out with two fingers, lifted it, and then spun it slowly in a circle.

Darcy circled around the spinning truck and crouched down to look underneath, “Well, that doesn’t seem right.”

“Can we show you something else?” The girl asked as she moved towards a doorway that led further into the building. Darcy and Jane nodded and followed the kids into the building and up the stairs to the top floor. At the top of the stairwell, the other boy took a bottle and dropped it but instead of it shattering several floors down, it disappeared into thin air.

“Where did it go?!” Darcy leaned out over the railing. The girl pointed up and they all looked up and saw the bottle reappear, fall and then disappear in the same spot below.

“That’s… That’s incredible!” Darcy exclaimed.

Jane picked up a can, dropped it down, and it disappeared. They all looked up and expected the can to re-appear but nothing.

“What happened?”

“Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don’t,” the girl stated as she shrugged.

Jane pulled out her Magnetometer and looked at the readings. “I haven’t seen readings like this since…”

“New Mexico?” Darcy commented slyly, “If Maggie was here I would tell you to call her. Do you think Tony would be able to help since Erik is currently missing?”

“Hmmm…” Jane shrugged and Darcy continued to toss garbage off the stairwell with the kids. Noticing an anomaly on her device she followed her readings deeper into the factory. As she passed through the corridors, blindly following the readings, the read-outs spiked and the Magnetometer beeped faster. A sudden gust of wind and Jane found herself pushed forward as if she was on roller skates. Just before she hit the wall at the end of the hallway, she fell through and teetered at the edge of an abyss. She caught herself, shuffled back from the edge,  stumbled, and then screamed, “DARCY!”

Calming herself down, she took in her surroundings. It was dark, dank, and had a heaviness in the air. Searching for a way back she noticed a tall column split in half with a red glow coming out of it. Circling the monolith, she bent to look and see where the glow was coming from. Reaching her hand out to steady herself over the uneven terrain, a red mist bubbled and twisted out from the gap and twined up her arm. Shocked, she backed up and it pulled her closer and wrapped around her chest, and then started to sink into her body. The last thought she had wasn’t her own…

 You are strong. You are brilliant. You will bring us to The Mother…

********

Jane woke at the bottom of the stairwell, surrounded by trash that Darcy and the kids had tossed over the railing. She felt dizzy and strangely empowered… she rubbed her temples and slowly sat up. Looking around she noticed that she was alone but could hear echoes of people shouting. Getting up, she followed the voices outside to where the car was parked. She noticed Darcy gesturing to the building while talking to… Tony Stark?

“What’s going on?” Jane asked as she approached them.

“Jane! Where the hell were you?” Darcy gripped Jane’s shoulders and shook her. Tony came over, followed by one of his metal suits, and stood next to them.

“Tell me you didn’t call Tony Stark,” Jane looked side-eye at the billionaire.

“What was I supposed to do?”

“Not call Tony Stark!”

“Hey-.” Tony started before Darcy interrupted him.

“I was freaking out! You were gone for five hours!”

“What?!” Jane gaped at her friend. She turned towards Maggie’s brother, “I’m sorry, Mr. Stark. We had a stable gratification anomaly and I was tracing another anomaly further into the building… I just woke up at the bottom of the stairwell… I have no idea what happened in those five hours.”

“It’s ok,” Tony reassured her, “Darcy called and I came right away. I told you guys if you ever needed anything to call me. Are you ok?” He looked at her worriedly, “I can call an ambulance or something to get you checked out.”

“Sir?” The suit interrupted.

“What’s up JARVIS?”

Before the suit could answer, Jane’s bracelet glowed a bright red and thunder echoed in the distance. Suddenly a deluge of rain poured from the sky but strangely, it didn’t’ rain around the three of them.

Darcy looked up at the sky and then towards the factory, “That’s weird.”

“Sir, I believe Ma’am has returned.”

They all turn and spotted Thor, Maggie, and Loki standing a few feet away in their Asgardian armor and Jane started running towards the group, taking the dry circle with her.

“Typical,” Darcy sighed as she and Tony got soaked.

“Stop with the waterworks, Point Break!” Tony shouted as he jogged after Jane, dragging Darcy with him.

Jane reached the group and jumped into Thor’s arms, kissing him. “Really?” Loki muttered as he rolled his eyes and took Maggie’s hand. “It’s like some cheap rom-com.”

“Behave,” Maggie chided as Tony approached them with Darcy. “Hey Tony,” she smiled and hugged him. “Darcy!” She hugged her too.

“So… saved your world and back for good?” Tony asked hopefully. He and Peter missed her desperately, it wasn’t the same without her there keeping them inline and feeding them treats on a regular basis.

“Yes,” Maggie replied just as Loki said “No.”

“Yes,” Maggie glared at Loki, “Vanaheim is saved and despite coming back for Jane, I’m not going back to Asgard.”

“You are going back to Asgard with us to get examined!” Loki shouted at her.

“I will not!” She shouted back.

“You’ve been ill for weeks and your brother will back me on this! Thor will back me on this!” The two of them were gesturing wildly and shouting at each other.            

Tony, Darcy, Jane, and Thor backed away from the fighting couple. “Ummm, is this you?” Darcy asked Thor and nodded towards the rain.

“Oh! Sorry.” Thor’s eyes glowed for a second before the rain stopped and he went back to normal.

“Thanks, Point Break,” Tony tried to wring some of the water from his shirt. “So why are they fighting this time?”

“Sigyn has been ill and was to be examined by our healers this evening before the banquet, but I dragged them away to find Jane. Heimdall was unable to see her, she disappeared from his sight, which should be impossible,” Thor replied as he eyed Sigyn and Loki fighting. As Maggie started to glow blue, Jane started to glow red and a red mist started to wind out of her.

“What the hell!” Tony shouted as he backed away from Jane while Maggie and Loki paused their fighting. The two made their way over to the group and Maggie approached Jane.

“You found Reality,” she said in wonder. “Odin said it was hidden, where did you find her?” It twisted out and circled Maggie and the rest of them backed away from the two women.

“I don’t know,” Jane said, both fascinated and scared. “I remember wandering the halls following an anomaly and then suddenly waking five hours later on the bottom floor of the stairwell where the main anomaly was.

Maggie reached out to touch the Aether, but it pulled back as if it was a cat hissing at her. “Oh, shush. Space was here first, it’s not her fault that I absorbed her first.”

“Are you talking to it?” Tony asked in disbelief, “She can talk to the Stones?” He asked Thor and Loki and they both nodded. “Huh. Ok.”

“Is it possessing Jane?” Darcy asked as they watched Maggie try and touch the red mist but it just kept recoiling and stay just out of reach, “because it looks like something from a horror movie. Do we need a preacher, a cross, and some holy water?”

“Darcy…” Maggie chided and the Aether pulled back into Jane. “Interesting…” she mumbled as she took Jane’s shoulders and peered into her eyes and then opened her mouth and looked in. “Huh.” She took her arms and pushed up her sleeves and looked at her inner wrists and thumbed the palms of her hands. She continued to mumble and her eyes started to glow and her goddess form was released. The gold markings lit up like fire and she put off a subtle glow. “Reality is being stubborn. She’s upset that Space has claimed me as her’s and is not happy that she is unwilling to share. I’ll have to search the Archives…” Sigyn’s voice echoed with other voices before she blinked and a teal wave washed over her and her Maggie form reappeared.

“But...” Tony strode forward and hugged her again, “You just got here and Pete will want to see you. It’s been almost three months and he misses you. I miss you.”

“I know,” Maggie sighed, “We’ll be back. I need to get Reality out of Jane and then I’ll come home…” She trailed off and stood frozen, Tony still holding her shoulders.

“What happened?” Darcy asked as she peered around Tony and Loki and Thor moved to either side of her.

“She’s in a trance,” Loki sighed, walked around her, and put his hands on her forehead. Closing his eyes, tendrils of his magic wisped around his hands.

After a minute or two, Maggie gasped and her eyes re-focused, “Dark Elves. The Dark Elves are coming…” she whispered. “We need to get off Midgard and warn Asgard. We must prepare for invasion!” Loki pulled her back against him and whispered in her ear. She turned her head and looked up at him, “I promise.” He nodded and pushed her forward. She hugged Tony. “Tell Peter I love him and I’ll be home soon. I promise.”

“Ok,” Tony was scared, but he knew she was strong and would be ok. “Want to take JARVIS with you?” He teased her, “He misses you too.”

“Next time,” she smiled at him and then waved to the suit, “Hey JARVIS.”

“Ma’am,” the suit bowed to her and she laughed.

Darcy hugged Maggie next, “Take care of Jane. Who knows what kinda trouble she’ll get up to with real Space tech to play with?”

“I will,” Maggie promised as she hugged her friend, “and you’ll come to stay at the Tower with us when we get back?”

“Yes!” Darcy smiled and pulled back, “Peter owes me an Ono rematch.”

Maggie hugged Tony one more time before she stepped back with the others, “Tell Pepper to book us a spa week for next month. I need a mani/pedi desperately after two months of fighting invaders and taking baths. Ugh… and a haircut,” she grimaced before smiling at her brother.

“I will,” Tony promised as he and Darcy backed up from the group. Maggie raised her hand off they went in a blinding flash of light.

“Holy shit!” Darcy exclaimed as the light disappeared.

“It’s pretty cool, right?” Tony grinned at her. “Wanna come back to New York with me? Have that re-match with Pete and take some time to relax?”

“Sure. We just have to swing by Jane’s mom’s house so I can get our stuff and tell her mom something.”

“Ok, I can have the Quinjet sent then,” Tony tapped his suit, “JARVIS?”

“Taken care of, Sir.”

“Alright… a Volvo?” He saw the car. “Really?”

“Yeah, I think Jane’s mom is just an older Maggie…. Or is it younger? I don’t know anymore,” Darcy said as they got in the car and the suit sat in the back. “Shit! Jane has the keys.”

Chapter Text

They landed in Asgard in the Bifrost Observatory and Heimdall swiveled from his perch on the machine’s platform and nodded his head in greeting.

“We have to do that again,” Jane said excitedly before noticing Heimdall. “Hi.”

“Welcome to Asgard,” Heimdall stated as he smiled at her.

“That’s unnatural,” Loki stated as he eyed The Guardian, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before nor do I wish to see it again.”

“Shut it, Loki,” Sigyn slapped his arm and pushed at Thor. “Take her to the healers and have them put her in the Soul Forge. I want some readings to determine how integrated she is with Reality.” Thor swept Jane up in his arms and he flew off with her.

“Heimdall.” Sigyn eyed The Guardian, “The Dark Elves are tracking the Aether and will soon arrive on Asgard. Can I trust you to do what I ask of you despite The All-Father’s denial of their existence?”

Heimdall didn’t say anything, just looked right through her. His eyes appeared to swirl and change from their usual amber to something darker before they changed back. “Yes.”

“You will be unable to see them.”

“I am aware.”

“How long does it take the shields to be fully functional?”

“Too long,” Heimdall replied bluntly.

Sigyn took a deep breath and climbed the stairs to the platform where Heimdall stood. Heimdall knelt to her, took off his helm, and bowed his head. She placed her hand on his crown and her goddess form revealed itself. Instead of a subtle glow, she was blinding, Space overpowering and gleaming. “To share power is a great trust, if you break it you will not live to see another daybreak,” she threatened with her echoing voices. The light became opalescent and then flared like a supernova, blinding him. Shielding his eyes, he knelt on the floor and tried to rub the black spots from his eyes. When he could focus again, it revealed Sigyn with Heimdall’s all-seeing eyes and The Guardian with a subtle blue glow around him. 

Heimdall bowed from his place on the floor, “Your Majesty does me a great honor.”

“Don’t make me regret it, Guardian,” She threatened as she rotated on her heel and she descended the stairs to Loki kneeling on the floor.

He took her hand and kissed it, “My Queen,” he said with amusement in his voice.

Sigyn grabbed his wrist and teleported them to their room. She released his hand and strode over to their bed and sprawled face-first onto it. “I don’t know how he stands it,” she mumbled into the bedding.

Loki got up and lay next to her, “Seeing everything?”

“Yeah.” She turned and looked him in his eyes, “I see your true form with these eyes, despite your glamour.”

Loki didn’t say anything except pull her towards him and wrap his arms around her, “So he always knew?”

“He must have,” she mumbled into his shoulder, “I wonder what I look like with all my glamours stripped away.”

“We need to focus on Jane right now and getting Reality out of her,” Loki reminded her as he rubbed her back, “then you are getting examined. You promised me.”

Sigyn sighed and then pulled away from him, “I did promise.” She got up, stretched, and then disappeared. Loki rolled his eyes at her dramatics and went off to check the shield generators. The shields hadn’t been raised since Bor’s time, so he was curious to see how well they had been maintained. Knowing the All-Father, it could go either way.

******

Sigyn appeared next to Jane and the healers, Thor standing just out of the way. He was smiling down at Jane in amusement as she argued with the healers over the proper name of the Soul Forge.

“Sciencing the Healers, Jane?” Sigyn asked as she moved to the other side of Jane’s bed, out of the way of the women.

“Your Highness,” Eir nodded to her as the others gave her a shallow bow. Just as Sigyn started to examine the readings, Odin strode in.

“Are my words mere noises to you that you ignore them completely?” He raged at Thor.

“She is ill,” Thor stated defiantly as he crossed his arms.

“This mortal does not belong here in Asgard any more than a goat belongs at a banquet table,” Odin glared at his firstborn son.

“Did he just…?!” Jane sounded insulted as she sat up and looked over at Thor. “Who do you think you are!?”

“Is that how you feel about Peter?” Sigyn said harshly as she stepped forward into Odin’s sight.

“I do not feel that way about your child,” he said to Sigyn before turning to Jane, “I am Odin, King of Asgard, Protector of the Nine Realms.”

Jane sputtered, “Oh… Well, I’m…”

“Jane.” Sigyn put her hand out and grabbed Jane’s hand and she quieted. Sigyn glared at the All-Father, “She is here because she holds Reality, or as you know it The Aether. She refused to leave Jane and until I figure out why, she will remain here.”

Odin glared at Sigyn, “That’s impossible, the Aether was hidden after Malekith and the Dark Elves were destroyed. Your mother assured me that the Aether was safe where my father hid it, she only managed to retrieve it with Space due to the shielding that was placed on it.”

“It is not impossible,” Sigyn stated as she glared back. “She didn’t figure in The Convergence when she assured you,” Sigyn said flippantly as she helped Jane lay back down and manipulated The Soul Forge. “The Convergence created holes between realms and realities and pulled Jane to where the Aether had been hidden. I believe Reality chose Jane because we’ve had contact and Reality knew that she would bring her to me. We must prepare for invasion.”

“There are no more Dark Elves, my father Bor destroyed Malekith and his armies. It ushered in peace that lasted thousands of years,” Odin argued harshly as he gestured towards the guards to arrest Jane.

“That only lasted till you rose up to conquer the Nine Realms, forcing my mother to take action,” Sigyn finished sarcastically as she disengaged the machine and stepped back and stared the All-Father down.

“What do you mean Father rose up to conquer the Realms?” Thor asked as moved to stand between his father and Jane. He helped Jane off the table and pushed her behind him.

“She means nothing by it,” Odin replied harshly.

“I mean that your father rose up to conquer and pillage the Nine Realms. Asgard was never the protector of the Realms until he conquered them,” Sigyn shifted her stance and eyed the guards. Thor side eyed her, feeling the tension in the room.

“That is not true and you will take back your lies!” Odin spat at her, the air charging with his anger.

“I will not take back my truths! Unlike Asgard, Vanaheim does not hide our history!” Sigyn stated firmly as she and Thor moved to protect Jane.

“I do not care for your lies girl! You are just like Loki with your untruths!” Odin raged before grabbing Sigyn by her arm and dragging her into the hallway.

“Unhand me!” She pulled at his strength before she dropped her glamor and used her powers to push him away and against the wall. She was incensed and the memories of being restrained and dragged off to another realm made her reaction even more desperate. The winds howled, whipped, and churned in the hallways extinguishing torches and candles and pulling loose objects from all ends of the palace. Sigyn’s eyes glowed as she accessed The Mother and Space, becoming as bright as a supernova. Powerless against her, Odin shielded his eyes from the debris and her blaze as she made her wrath known to the whole palace.

Near the dungeons, Loki felt her anger surge as the wind whipped down the hallway and extinguished the torches around the shield generators. “Shit!” He teleported to the healer’s room and found Thor shielding Jane and the healers in the corner. “What happened!?” Loki shouted at his brother over the noise of the maelstrom in the hallway.

“Father grabbed her in anger and pulled her into the hallway. Sigyn was not pleased!” Thor shouted back as he used Mjölnir to deflect a leg from a decorative table that had been located near their chambers.

Loki manifested a shield, tossed it to Thor, and pushed his way towards the hallway. Manifesting a shield for himself he shielded his eyes with his arm as he leaned against the force of Sigyn’s tempest. He caught some of her shouted words, something to the effect of a “hypocritical old codger who is a horrible father.” Loki rolled his eyes and pushed his way through the doorway and was pulled into the twisted manifestation of her rage.

“SIGYN!” He shouted over the maelstrom as he used a dagger to ground himself to the wall behind him. The winds slowed but she still shouted at the All-Father, the objects creating a physical barrier between her and the rest of the world. “SIGYN! IT’S NOT WORTH IT! YOU ARE SAFE AND WE NEED TO LEAVE HERE! I NEED YOU!” Loki shouted, using his seiðr to enhance his voice.

She paused and the winds quieted and the heavier objects suddenly fell to the ground as she descended the three feet to the floor. She settled gently as the rest of the objects crashed around her and his father slumped down the wall to sit on the floor. Loki dropped the shield and hugged her, “What happened?”

“Odin decided to grab me and pull me out into the hall like an errant child,” Sigyn groused into his neck. “I had a flashback and The Mother tried to protect me, it was as if I was being dragged to Midgard against my will again...”

Loki looked over at his father. The All-Father looked defeated and exhausted and Loki wondered if Odin would ever learn to respect them as beings of equal standing or if he would continue to treat them like children. Frigga suddenly appeared with a sword in her hand, dressed in her battle armor, “What happened!?” She knelt next to Odin and started to check him over. The guards came out and assisted their king to his rooms, leaving Frigga behind with them. Thor stepped out of the room with Jane and stood quietly holding her hand.

“Your husband assaulted me,” Sigyn stated as her eyes flared in ire, “When I confronted him with the truth of his past he sought to punish me. He dragged me into the hallway and caused The Mother to protect me. Frigga, the Dark Elves are coming for Reality, whether he acknowledges it or not we must act to protect Asgard.”

“Sigyn-.” Frigga started before Sigyn raised her hand.

“No. You will not defend him. He is responsible for his own words and actions. I told him what was coming and if he won’t protect Asgard, then we will,” she stated bluntly as she swept past Frigga and strode away.

Loki, Thor, Jane, and Frigga all stared after her in shock. “Well, that went well,” Loki quipped sarcastically.

“Loki…” Thor chastised.

“No. She’s been ill and then we have to deal with Reality and then Odin’s shit. Good thing she isn’t with child because then I would just say fuck it all, take her away, and find a good seat from which to watch Asgard burn,” Loki ground out as he gripped the dagger in his hand, and shocked silence filled the hallway.

“She’s been ill?” Frigga asked softly as she took Loki’s hand and peeled his fingers from the dagger.

“Yes,” Thor stepped forward with Jane, “Since Vanaheim.”

“Why wasn’t she looked at as soon as you returned?” She asked curiously as she squeezed Loki’s hand in comfort. When no one answered her question, Frigga looked around at her two sons and Jane. “She’s being stubborn because she has an idea what is wrong and is in denial?” Loki and Thor looked at Frigga with equal expressions of frustration. “And when your father took his anger out on her, she reacted?” Everyone nodded that time. Laughing darkly, Frigga hooked her arm through Loki’s arm and started to lead the group away from the healing rooms. “Well, let’s go find Sigyn so we can get her to the healers. Are you sure that she’s not with child?” She asked her youngest son.

“I’m sure,” he replied, “she was injected with a Midgardian serum that enhances humans and it is affecting her.”

Frigga stumbled in surprise, “Why wasn’t she brought home as soon as that happened? Why did you two allow her to go off fighting on Vanaheim?!”

“Because she refused,” Thor stated bluntly, “and you saw what she did to father. It’s not like we could make her.”

“You could have gotten Peter to ask her to go,” Jane said as she stumbled and tried to keep up with the three of them and their long strides. “She’ll do anything for that kid.”

“Yes, brother, why didn’t you think of that?” Thor asked Loki.

“Because by the time I noticed it, we were on Vanaheim where Peter wasn’t,” Loki sniped back.

“Boys,” Frigga chastised as they turned the corner and entered the courtyard that separated the royal chambers from the palace. They followed the path to the center where a fountain with jewel fish swam, where Sigyn was seated on the edge with her fingers in the water.

“Are you alright, dear?” Frigga asked as she let go of Loki and went to sit next to her daughter-in-law.

“Yes, mother,” She replied quietly, “I’m sorry that I took my anger out on you.”

“It’s ok, dear, but we’re going back to the healers to get you looked at,” Frigga said as she stood and pulled Sigyn to her feet and started to drag her back the way they came.

Sigyn dragged her feet and reluctantly followed Frigga deeper into the palace, “Do I have to? I feel fine, there’s nothing wrong with me.”

“You promised me,” Loki muttered darkly as he pushed Sigyn from behind as Frigga continued to pull her towards the healers.

They approached the doorway of the healer’s room and found that Sigyn had destroyed much of the equipment and there was no way for the healers to do any scans much less an exam.

“Oh. Sorry…” She shrugged sheepishly as she backed away from the group. “I’m going to go do some research to see if I can find a solution for Jane,” Sigyn said as she pulled back and teleported away.

“Is she always like that?” Jane asked the Asgardians and everyone nodded. “Oh.”

*******

Sigyn managed to hide in the library for a few hours before Loki found her sprawled on their favorite settee in the far corner of the library. She had changed out of her armor and was wearing leggings, a soft t-shirt, and an oversized cardigan with the wool socks that Peter had given her for Christmas.

“You should have seen Thor react to Jane dressed up in Asgardian robes,” Loki said offhandedly as he lifted her feet and sat at the end of the settee, “I swear he drooled.” Sigyn looked up over the book she was reading and raised an eyebrow before going back to her book. “The shield generators appear to be in order, but it will still take almost 70 seconds to deploy them. There is also no protection around them, which concerns me. Why are they out in the open near the dungeons? It seems like utter stupidity.” Loki tugged at her sock and she nudged him back in protest.

“Stop it,” she pulled back and sat up, tucking her legs underneath her. “I found that Malekith was able to pull the Aether out of the last host that had her and placed Reality in the Monolith, a containment vessel of Norn design. How can a Dark Elf with very little seiðr manage that? Did he have a connection to Reality or was it some sort of device?” She flipped through the book in frustration. Snapping it shut, she put it on the floor before she got up and pulled him up with her. “I need a nap before dinner. If the Elves invade, I’m going to need more energy than this.”

“Are we going to talk about you avoiding the healers?” Loki asked as he sat back down and pulled her onto his lap.

“No, I’ll see the healers after we deal with all this,” She said as she tucked herself around him and settled her head on his shoulder.

“You promised me,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I did and I will go see them. I feel fine right now and when this is done, I solemnly swear on Peter Parker Stark Lokison’s perfectly adorable curly-haired head that you can drag me to the healers till you are satisfied.”

“And if you break that promise?” he asked softly in her ear.

“You can have Peter get Capey to catch me and drag me to the healers,” she said sleepily. “Can we go to bed?”

He cradled her, stood, and then teleported them to their room. He dropped her on the bed and she crawled under the covers as he shifted his armor to a t-shirt and linen pants and got in next to her.

“How long before mother convinces Odin that Thor can keep Jane?” She muttered sleepily into his back as she wrapped her arm around his waist.

“I’m not sure that she’ll be able to ever convince Odin to allow a mortal woman to marry Thor. I’m still surprised he accepted Peter so readily,” Loki replied as he laced his fingers with hers. She hummed into his shoulder and he felt her go lax and fall asleep. Sighing, he turned and pulled her close, quickly following her into sleep.

Chapter Text

Bells and alarms sounded and echoed through the palace, waking up Sigyn and Loki. Before they could even move out of bed, their door slammed open for the second time that week, revealing an agitated Thor dragging a flushed Jane.

“The dungeons have been breached,” Thor declared as he pushed Jane into one of the chairs next to the fireplace.

“Sigyn, will you protect her while Loki and I go investigate?” Thor looked at her pleadingly. Before Sigyn could answer, Frigga dashed into the room in full armor and sword.

“Party in our room?” Sigyn asked her husband as they crawled out and shifted to their heavy armor and weapons. “I think we need a better lock and ward on our door, husband,” She joked as she shifted Jane’s dress to something that would protect her better than the Asgardian dress she had been wearing.

“I find it amusing that we’re automatically disturbed if there is a problem and it’s our task to solve it,” Loki stated dryly as he dug through a wooden chest in the corner. “Have you seen my vambraces? The ones that you designed that Eitri forged?” Knives, a short sword, a child’s ball, a hair clip, and a chest plate, and several other items were tossed out onto the floor in his search.

“The ones that Peter was wearing the last time he was here?” Sigyn asked as she braided Jane’s hair and tied it off with a piece of leather.

“Why was he wearing them?” Loki sat back on his heels and frowned at his wife.

“Because they adjust to the person wearing them and I didn’t have time to have something made for him,” Sigyn said as she manifested the vambraces. Loki stood and she helped him put them on.

“Well, maybe we need to find time to get him his own. You spoil our child, wife,” Loki smiled down at her bent head as she adjusted them on his arms and then tweaked his armor.

“It’s not like I’m the only one,” She smiled as she looked up and kissed his lips, “Be safe. Your mother and I will protect Jane.”

“Very well, only if you make a vow to not put yourself into unnecessary danger,” Loki gripped Sigyn’s shoulders as he narrowed his eyes at her, all teasing gone.

“I promise, only necessary danger,” She teased, her lips quirked in repressed laughter.

“Sigyn…” Loki sighed and shook her gently.

“I promise,” She said as she pulled away and pushed him towards Thor and the doorway. He looked back, his gaze lingering on her before he turned and followed Thor.

“Asgard is being invaded and you find time to flirt with your wife, brother,” Thor’s voice echoed back to them.

“Shut it, brother! You’re the one dragging your woman all over this shiny monstrosity with a lovesick smile on your face,” Loki criticized just before they heard a thud and Thor cursing.

“Do they ever get along?” Jane asked as she fiddled with her chest plate.

“It’s how they show affection,” Frigga said as she pulled Jane’s hands away and made some adjustments to Jane’s armor.

“Oh. Ok…?” Jane said as she observed Frigga make adjustments and then slip a sheathed dagger into her vambrace. “What’s that for?”

“Just in case, dear. You never know,” Frigga replied as she smiled at her before gripping Jane’s shoulders, “Listen to me now, I need you to do everything I ask and no questions.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Jane replied before she was hustled after Maggie who was dressed in some impressive battle armor with a battle-ax on her back and a sword on her hip.

******

Tony was dragged across London by Darcy and just as they were boarding the Quinjet to head home, JARVIS interrupted him.

“Sir, we should collect Doctor Selvig before leaving for New York.”

“Where is the good doctor, J?” Tony asked as he sat in the pilot’s seat and started pre-flight checks.

“He’s being held at Bethlem Royal Hospital,” JARVIS responded.

“Seriously? He’s at Bedlam?” Tony was a bit shocked, “How did that happen?” JARVIS showed Tony and Darcy videos of Erik’s run through Stonehenge.

“Records show that he had a complete mental breakdown after the New York Invasion, Sir,” JARVIS replied.

“Oh, yeah…” Darcy sounded amused and sheepish at the same time, “Erik went banana balls.”

“So you knew?” Tony asked as he locked in the coordinates for the hospital, “Why didn’t you guys tell me? I could have done something…” he shook his head in exasperation.

“Yeah, we saw it on TV last week…” Darcy fiddled with her phone guiltily, “We didn’t know he was put in the crazy house, though. That’s new.”

Tony rolled his eyes. They made the quick flight to the hospital and they landed nearby, “JARVIS, can you finagle it so we can get Erik released to us?”

“FRIDAY already managed it, Sir. Ms. Lewis is listed as his daughter and you are a family friend assisting her. You should have no problem.”

“Come on, taser girl,” Tony got up and headed off the Quinjet, “Keep the engines hot, JARVIS.”

“Always, Sir.”

They found Erik describing the Convergence to a group of people in the game room, his drawings and diagrams taking over a whole blackboard. Tony studied it before snapping a picture with his phone and erasing the information. That’s all he needed was some remnant of HYDRA or even SHIELD getting their hands on that. Selvig cried a little bit when he saw them before hugging Darcy for an awkward amount of time. “Hey, Darcy? This guy needs you to sign out Doctor Selvig so we can take him home,” Tony nudged Selvig and he let the poor girl go.

Darcy signed Selvig out while the officer behind the desk handed over Erik’s belongings. “One man’s leather wallet, brown. One keyring with three keys. Prescription medicine,” the officer paused in judgment, “various. Three garden stakes with electronics on them,” The man hauled them over the counter and plunked them down.

“Thanks,” Darcy said sarcastically and she took the bag of pills and the rest of Selvig’s things while Tony hefted the stakes over his shoulder before they started to make their way through the hospital.

“What are those for?” Tony asked Selvig as the man took the bag from Darcy and dug through more pills than Tony took in 1998.

“They detect Convergence anomalies,” Selvig stated distractedly as he shook the bag and pulled out a specimen jar filled with a green liquid.

Gritting his teeth in disgust and trying not to freak out about this whole situation, Tony knew he couldn’t judge. How is this my life? And why do I keep asking myself this but still go along with all this crazy shit? Isn’t insanity doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results? Tony sighed and decided he needed a vacation and some time away from all the magic and space shit after this was done. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and adjusted the Convergence devices on his shoulder. “I meant the rave amount of pills you got there, Doc. I know what these are for,” Tony stated sarcastically as he and Darcy followed the man.

“These are the only thing keeping me semi-sane. I had a god in my brain, I don’t recommend it,” Selvig replied distractedly as they hustled out the door of the hospital.

“I think that you’re past sane,” Tony muttered under his breath as he followed the other two. “I think I’ll find you a comfy padded room and a certified specialist to fiddle with your brain when this is all over.”

They passed through the gates of the hospital when suddenly the Convergence devices starting beeping and flashing. “Hey, Doc? Your devices are bleeping at us,” Tony poked the man with the end of one of the spikes.

“It’s happening… It’s happening sooner than I calculated,” Selvig muttered distractedly as he looked around the street and up at the sky. Above them a flock of birds swooped.

“Wait, what’s happening?” Darcy asked as she looked around and then up at the sky where Selvig was staring.

“A murmuration of starlings,” Tony stated offhandedly as he set the spikes down and tried to get a look at the read-outs. 

“Erik?” Darcy sounded confused and a little worried.

“Look,” Erik pointed and they watched the birds swoop in the same direction and then suddenly disappear. The stakes beeped louder and Tony squinted at the readouts, trying to decipher what the hell the readings meant and hoping that they didn’t mean what he thought they did.

“Where did they go?” Darcy asked, shocked at the disappearing birds before the birds came swooping up from the ground like some B-rated horror flick. Darcy screamed in fright while they covered their eyes and waited for the birds to stop. “What the hell was that!!” Darcy screamed and swiveled to look at Erik. “Why are you smiling?!”

“There's nothing more reassuring than realizing that the world is crazier than you are,” Erik replied excitedly, a mad grin on his face. He jiggled his pills, zipped the top closed, and then dumped it in a trash can near them. He turned to look back at Tony and Darcy, “We need a lab if we’re going to get ahead of this.”

“I have one at SI here in London,” Tony offered tiredly before hefting the stakes back on his shoulder and shuffling towards the Quinjet, “Come on kids, we’re going to do some science.”

*******

“Where can we stash Jane and defend it?” Sigyn asked Frigga as they moved deeper into the palace.

“My chambers should be sufficient. I have a windowless storage room that has wards on it that we can hide Jane,” Frigga said as they slowed when they approached Odin directing the Einherjar with his general.

“Frigga,” Odin eyed his wife’s attire, “It’s a skirmish, there’s nothing to fear.”

“Still in denial, All-Father?” Sigyn asked offhandedly as she twirled a knife in her hand, fed up with this whole situation.

“She’s correct, you’ve never been a very good liar,” Frigga stated as Odin cupped her cheek briefly before pulling back.

“We will see,” he said, “Take her to your chambers and I'll come for you when it's safe.”

Sigyn grumbled behind Jane, it’s not like she and Frigga couldn’t take on half the Einherjar together and win.

“You take care,” Frigga quirked her lips in amusement at his over-protectiveness as she waved her hand at Sigyn to shush her.

“Despite all I have survived, my Queen still worries over me,” Odin smiled fondly at his wife.

“It's only because I worry over you that you have survived,” she retorted as she moved away from him and he turned to follow the Einherjar.

Sigyn sighed at their banter, “Am I and Loki this bad?” She asked the other two before Sif passed them and nodded to them. Sigyn saluted her with her knife. “Looking good there Sif but just so you know the Dark Elves are invading. Watch for the dark matter weapons…” Sigyn called out to her friend.

“Dark Elves?” Sif called back, walking backward, “They’re a myth!”

“Not anymore! Be careful!” Sigyn called back as she pulled Jane with her, following a determined Frigga.

“You and Loki are just as bad,” Frigga said over her shoulder, “You’re even worse when my grandson is around.”

“Grandson?” Jane looked up at Sigyn, “When did you have kids?”

“It’s Peter. Loki and I adopted him when the Chitauri invaded New York,” She replied as they made their way down the hallways, passing more Einherjar going the opposite way. “We stashed him on Asgard during the battle for his safety just in case Earth fell.”

“What do you mean?” Jane looked flabbergasted at that revelation.

“After this is over, I’ll try and explain,” Sigyn promised before they turned the corner to Frigga’s wing. It consisted of several rooms including an antechamber, bathing room, a bedroom, and a workroom. Halfway down the hall, Sigyn paused and stared off into the distance. Her eyes changed to the all-seeing eyes of the Guardian of Asgard and her Maggie facade dropped, revealing her true form. She looked up, through the floor-to-ceiling opening that overlooked the Bifrost Bridge and Observatory before her eyes widened and she gasped in surprise, “Heimdall, I need you to raise the shields!” The glow from Space and The Mother lit the hall before Frigga pulled Jane into her chambers.

“What about Maggie!?” Jane asked worriedly as Frigga pulled her through several doors and pushed her into a large closet with shelves on the walls.

“She’ll be fine! If there was a being on Asgard to save us all from Dark Elves, it’s her. Stay here!” Frigga stressed before she closed the door and warded it. “I hope this works,” she muttered as she hurried back to her antechamber to wait.

******

Thor and Loki found the dungeons overrun with prisoners and Loki left his brother to battle the scum while he went to defend the shield generator. As he slipped around the chaos, he observed several of the Einherjar dead on the floor with smoking gruesome holes through their chests. Shuddering at the sight, he slipped through the door where the generator was held and observed a massive being. A darkness seemed to bleed from each step the beast took as it approached the shield generator that spun in a blur of golden light.

“Step away!” Loki shouted at the beast as he pulled his sword and knife from his pocket dimension. If it brought down the shield and the Elves invaded, Asgard and all he held dear would be vulnerable. The beast turned and eyed him, his tusks and horns making him appear more sinister than any storybook monster his mother had ever told them about. The beast was too close to the generator and even if Loki managed to teleport, it wouldn’t guarantee his ability to stop it. Why couldn’t his oaf of a brother deal with the big monster like usual and he knock out a few prisoners? Loki decided that the next time he was given the ‘easier’ job, he would tell his brother to shove it. Gripping his weapons he twirled his sword and strode towards the beast but he was too far away. He could only watch as the beast punched through the spinning device, destroying the shield generator. A piece of the turbine flew out, slamming into Loki, impacting him into the walls before he slid to the floor and was buried in the rubble. Miraculously his blades were still clutched in his hands and he struggled to get up but a sharpness in his side and the debris weighed him down. He heard the beast growl at him before he heard the pounding of it’s steps get further and further away. Loki’s heart rate sped up in fear as he tried to pull enough energy to teleport to Sigyn. He needed to protect them! He couldn’t let Sigyn die! His side burned and the sharpness became a drilling spiral of pain, the stickiness of his blood on his hands, his sword and knife long forgotten, and he attempted to pull himself out one more time. Just as his shoulders were free Loki blacked out.

*****

Sigyn watched as Asgard was over-run by the Dark Elves, her borrowed all-seeing eyes enabled her to observe them using their dark-matter bombs to overwhelm the soldiers in the throne room and allow ships to land in the palace. Using Space she started to send the Elves to the dark of space, giving the Asgardian’s an advantage. She started with the civilian areas while Heimdall worked on the palace. She felt her energy reserves deplete and she forced herself to stop before she was past her ability to fight. She wouldn’t be helping anyone if she passed out now. She really needed to get her hands on Power, it would bolster her seiðr and give her unlimited energy. She just had to get through this shit and then she would force herself to go search out that stone. The last time she had a feel of where it was it was on Morag and she hoped to The Mother it was still there! Otherwise, she was going to lose her shit and start… Focus Sigyn! She yelled at herself before she searched the palace for the leader of the invasion. Observing the size difference, the masks, and the armor, she realized that all the elves were masked except one. Studying the being, she could feel tendrils of Reality somehow being pulled out of Jane towards the Elf. Grimacing at the fact that they somehow had some control over Reality, Sigyn allowed him to approach Frigga’s chambers. She hid herself with her seiðr and then slipped in behind him to observe as he confronted Frigga and the illusion of Jane.

Soon after, a monstrous beast of a being (he really could be the next Minotaur) moved past her but before he could pass, Sigyn gleefully waved her hands and sent him to the black of space. Frustrated at Reality’s bullshit of denying her their powers, she forcibly pulled Reality to her out of Jane. Reality left Jane without harm but struggled against Sigyn’s will before The Mother forced Reality around both Sigyn’s wrists where she belonged. Two reddish-gold cuffs with waved designs solidified over her forearms and vambraces. “About freaking time, you stubborn red mist,” she cursed the stone. “It’s life or death here and all you want to do is play with Thor’s poor girlfriend and fuck with the Elves. For Mother’s sake!” Sigyn forced the stone to give her the appearance of the beast and approached the Elf that was now caught in Frigga’s snare. He side-eyed her, Frigga turned and followed his gaze before Beast Sigyn reached for Frigga and pulled her away from the Elf.

“It’s me,” Sigyn whispered in Frigga’s ear with her voice as she used Reality to make the physical illusion of them while she used Space to put Frigga in with Jane. Sigyn cloaked herself and stepped back into the shadows behind the illusion so she could manipulate the stage.

“You have taken something, child, give it back,” the Elf stated to Jane’s illusion as fake Jane smiled amusedly at the pale being. She skipped from his grasp and he continued to follow her around the room. He lunged to grab her, but his hand disrupted the illusion and passed through it. “Witch! Where is the Aether!” He screamed at the captured ‘queen’.

“I’ll never tell!” Frigga’s fake spat at the pale elf as she smiled menacingly at her foe.

“I believe you,” the Elf stated solemnly before he motioned to his beast. Sigyn had the monster strike ‘Frigga’ through the side with it’s sword, the illusion slumped as the beast stood over the fallen queen. A shout of anguish preceded Thor as he rushed in and shot his lighting at the Elf. Sigyn destroyed her illusion of the monster before observing a burned and stricken Elf King forced back onto the balcony before being knocked over the railing. Thor bounded after to finish him off but before he could swing and fly after, the Elf was caught by a passing ship. Thor screamed in anguish and as he threw Mjölnir, the small ship flew into the larger and disappeared. Mjölnir flew past where the ship had been and then circled back to Thor’s hand. Before it hit his palm, Sigyn held out her hand, Mjölnir flew past and she caught it. Turning Thor looked at her in surprise and shock before he strode towards her, anger coloring every pounding step.

“What did you do?! How could you let her die!?” Thor screamed at her as he went to throttle her. He hit the shield she had threw up, blue starbursts exploded out from where his hands met her protective bubble in his anguish. Over and over again he pounded against her shields as lightning flickered over his hands and down his arms. His eyes flaring with light as he quickly lost control of his seiðr in his grief. “How could you,” he whispered as his knees hit the ground, lighting flickering over her shield and his body, Mjölnir still in Sigyn’s hand. Sigyn tried to wave the illusion away but The Mother held her hand and then took over her body. She felt the being take control just as Odin ran in and crouched over the illusion of a dead Frigga.

“No, no, no, no, no-” The king wept over his wife, pulling and clutching the fake into his arms.

“We warned you,” The Mother spoke with all her voices, her energy overtaking the room and hiding Sigyn’s form in a starburst of light. “You in your almighty wisdom,” she intoned sarcastically (who knew an entity could be sarcastic? It must be Tony’s influence, Sigyn thought in her pocket of space The Mother had put her in) “you disregarded every sign and warning that was given! Is the loss of your beloved worth it!?”

Odin clutched his wife and wept silently as he bowed his head in shame before he whispered, “No.” He looked up and his tears glistened off his one eye and his eyepatch reflected the light of The Mother. “No! It wasn’t worth it!”

“I’m glad you realize that. Don’t disregard my warnings again,” The Mother said before she released Sigyn back and the light disappeared.

Odin continued to weep as Thor slumped down next to his father, taking Frigga’s limp hand in his own. Taking pity, Sigyn released Reality from her control, and the illusion faded. “What is this!?” The king shouted at Sigyn as he stared at his arms in disbelief.  

Thor looked up at Sigyn, disbelief on his face, “Where did she go?” He asked brokenly, “She was here-” Jane ran in closely followed by an injured but an alive queen. Shocked, Odin and Thor knelt motionless on the floor as they watched the ladies run to them.

“Odin,” Frigga gasped out as she ran to him and fell into his arms.

“What was that?” He gasped as he clutched her close and shook them both with his distress.

“I got rid of the Elf’s beast and then fooled him into thinking he won this battle,” Sigyn stated as she leaned heavily against a pillar, exhaustion starting to overtake her as she watched the couples embrace and cry over each other.

“I thought you were dead,” Odin whispered to his queen as he squeezed her tight, her armor creaking with his strength.

Sigyn straightened, went to Thor and Jane, and pulled them from the room, “Where’s Loki?” She asked her brother-in-law as he continued to clutch Jane to himself.

“He went to check the shield generators while I handled the dungeons. I haven’t seen him since,” Thor replied softly as Jane wrapped her arm around Thor’s waist. His eyes were still wet from his forgotten grief, pain echoed in their depths.

Sigyn used the all-seeing eyes to search the palace and found Loki unconscious in the corner of the generator room, “I’ll go get him. I’ll meet you in our chambers, we need a plan.” Thor nodded and started to pull Jane back towards Sigyn and Loki’s chambers.

Chapter Text

Sigyn found her husband under debris from the shield generator a piece of it in his side, blood pooling around him. “I leave you alone for a half-hour and you get injured,” She muttered as she cleared the rubble off of him and eyed the object. She released the shared powers back to Heimdall and cleared her mind. She would need everything to be able to focus in order to pull the object out and heal him at the same time. “You complain about me getting into danger but you are just as bad,” She muttered as she started to weave the healing spell. It only took a minute before her seiðr circled and hovered around them in teal tendrils, waiting for her to push it into the wound to heal it. “Alright, deep breath,” She told herself as she straddled his thighs before she grasped the debris with one hand and pressed her other hand against the object. “This will hurt, my love…” She counted to three before she yanked out the object on an inhale and forced in her healing spell with the exhale.

Loki shot up and gasped in pain as he pushed against her before collapsing back. “What the fuck!” he screamed in shock and pain before his own seiðr flared and his glamour dropped.

“How do you feel, my beautiful Smerf husband?” Sigyn’s forced herself to smile around her tears as she continued to force her healing spell into him.

“Please tell me I’m not blue…” he muttered through his clenched teeth, his eyes squeezed closed in pain.

“You are my favorite color blue,” she replied as continued to work the spell, tears tracing down her cheeks. She was exhausted and emotional. She could have lost him…

“You wouldn’t have lost me,” he muttered before he gripped her waist and squeezed briefly in comfort, leaving her arms free to work the spell.  “I’m almost as impossible to kill as you.”

She hummed in response as she finished up and he groaned in relief. He pulled her down on top of him, blood now coating her armor along with her hands. Kissing her forehead he clutched as she wept in his ear, murmurs of comfort whispered into her hair as she shook in shock. They both lay there in the rubble for some time before Sigyn quieted and he felt her go lax as she fell asleep or passed out in exhaustion.

“We should just leave Odin to his morals and move to Midgard permanently,” Loki muttered as he gained control over his glamour and adjusted himself back to his Asgardian form. He sighed as he sat up with Sigyn in his arms, cradled her in his lap, and noticed the tear tracks dried on her cheeks. “No more battles. You are getting looked at by the healers and we’re leaving,” he said to her unconscious form. He adjusted her arms around his neck and scooped her up as he stood. Grimacing as his sore side, he stepped over and around rubble and made his way out of the chamber. Taking his time, he made his way to their chambers. Kicking the broken door, he strode through and aimed for the bed so he could place his precious burden down and collapse next to her.

“Brother!” Thor’s voice came from behind him.

Setting Sigyn down as gently as he could, he turned and punched his brother, “Where the hell were you when she came to get me? Couldn’t leave your precious mortal to help?” Loki lashed out with his words before he swung a blade at Thor.

“Stop!” Sigyn’s weak voice paused the brothers mid-swing and stab, “we have more important things to worry about than this…” Loki turned and hovered over her, checking her pulse and eyes while she swatted him away. “I’m fine, Loki,” she muttered as he continued to worry over her.

“You are not fine,” He chided her gently.

“Fine, I’m not fine. I want to sleep for a week but we have to deal with this first,” she replied grumpily.

“Is the Aether still in Jane?” Thor asked as he held Jane to his side, “You used it against Malekith to trick him into thinking Mother was dead.”

“Reality is back in Jane,” Sigyn stated petulantly, “that stupid red mist enjoys Jane and hates Space so she’s refusing to come to me.”

“What do you mean?” Jane asked as she pulled away from Thor and sat on the bed on the other side of Sigyn.

“Reality and Space are jealous of each other. Space found me first so she’s territorial despite her knowing that I have to collect all the Stones. Reality is grumpy that Space is being selfish and is making me suffer because she thinks I’m playing favorites.”

“So how did you control Reality when you used it against Malekith?” Thor asked as Loki continued to silently grip Sigyn’s hand in one hand and glared at his brother while gripping a knife in the other.

“The Mother helped me force Reality out of Jane,” Sigyn muttered, “If she hadn’t, Frigga most likely would have been killed.”

Silence filled the room as the four of them contemplated the near-death of Asgard’s Queen and the only thing keeping Odin from complete apathy.

“Is there anything I can do to get Reality to behave and go to you?” Jane asked as she pulled off her vambraces and started poking at her wrists and the Aether that swirled below her skin.

“She responded to that Elf King,” Sigyn muttered as she shifted so her head lay in Loki’s lap. He put his knife away and pulled her up so her head rested on his shoulder and she was cradled in his arms. “As he came closer to where we were, Reality responded to him. I’m not sure if he was pulling at her or she was reaching for him.”

“We can’t remain on Asgard,” Thor muttered as he paced at the foot of the bed, “The Elves will regroup and return for the Aether. If we take it off of Asgard… take Jane to the Dark World and draw the enemy away…” Thor continued to mutter as the others watched him in silence.

“It may work but it may not. Malekith could draw the Aether out and I could allow The Mother to take me over and destroy him where he stands. She then takes control of Reality and makes her comply...” Sigyn said quietly as she rested her head on Loki’s shoulder, her arm around his neck and the other in her lap. “But it’s not a guarantee and we risk him taking control of the Stone and destroying us all.”

“A chance is still a chance. It’s better than Asgard’s destruction when the Elves raze our realm to the ground to get the Stone,” Loki said bluntly as he pulled Sigyn closer.

“And how do we get out of Asgard? Sigyn’s on her last bit of energy and I doubt Odin will allow us to use the Bifrost,” Jane stated as she lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Wooden beams in intricate patterns lined the ceiling, gilded in gold with the spaces between accented with an emerald green substance. “Please tell me that that’s not real.”

“What?” Thor asked as he looked up at the ceiling. “The gilding or the stone?”

“Both?” She asked as she waved at the ceiling and they all looked up.

“It’s real gold and emerald,” Sigyn sighed, “It’s all real, Jane. Odin was a conquering warlord before Thor and Loki were born.”

“What!?” The three yelled out at Sigyn’s bold statement.

“Where do you think all the gold and jewels came from? Why do you think Vanaheim is the only realm other than Midgard that doesn’t bow to The All-Father? The Mother took back the Stones before Odin could use them and forced him and his General to stop razing the Nine Realms… Why do you think there’s a marriage treaty between our realms? Do you guys know that I have all the memories of The Mother? Right?”

Silence filled the chamber before Thor spoke up, “General?”

“Of all the questions to ask… You have an older sister. Hela. She refused to stop the destruction so Odin was forced to stop her or The Mother would destroy her,” Sigyn sighed and hid her face in Loki’s neck, “Why do I have to explain this? Oh, right!? Odin is the worst father…” She laughed darkly while Jane and Thor stared at her and Loki just shook his head and held her closer still.

“So I’m not the eldest? I’m the middle child?” Thor asked in disbelief.

“Yup,” Sigyn said as she peeked an eye out at him and noticed a frozen Frigga behind Thor. “Hello, Mother. Care to explain to your children why you and The All-Father lied to them over the years?”

“When you return, I will explain it all,” Frigga promised as she came up to Thor and reached for him. He shielded back, hurt in both their eyes.

“To be honest, I’m not surprised,” Loki stated bluntly.

“Loki…” Sigyn muttered, “Can we not create more discord?”

“I’m a lover of chaos, It’s in my nature,” he teased and she banged her forehead against his shoulder.

“Children, you need to leave Asgard,” Frigga interrupted.

“We were just discussing that Mother, before Sigyn dropped the ‘our father was a warlord bomb’,” Loki said jovially.

“Well, I got The Warriors and Sif to arrange things so you can get off-world. Loki will guide you through the path between the realms,” Frigga’s shoulders squared as she faced them. “I love you, protect each other’s backs, and please come home to me.”

Thor’s shoulders slumped before he turned and embraced his mother, “I love you too, Mother. We will come home.”

“Good!” She pulled back and gripped her son’s shoulders, “I will put a good word in for your Jane. Peter has softened your Father, so perhaps he will be more amenable towards her.”

“I doubt it,” Sigyn muttered and Loki laughed softly.

*******

 Tony was exasperated and extremely uncomfortable with having to tell Doctor Erik Selvig that he had to keep his pants on and that he didn’t care that it made him more comfortable and able to process better. “We’re in a mandatory pants zone, Selvig,” Tony admonished for the third time, “only I’m allowed to make the interns uncomfortable and only when they mess up.” He sighed in frustration. “JARVIS and FRIDAY can you send someone out for some baggie sweatpants for Doctor Selvig?”

“Of course, Boss!” Friday chirped over the lab speakers.

“Ok, one thing solved. Now, Darcy, we need to get logged into Jane’s computer so I can pull her data readings,” Tony asked Darcy who was distracted taking selfies, “I need you both to focus here… JARVIS please tell me that you have Brucie on the fastest Stark Jet here I need a focused scientist for my sanity…” Tony banged his head on the lab table where he was seated.

“Yes, Sir. Arrival should be in an hour along with the equipment you requested,” JARVIS replied, amusement coloring his voice.

“Thank god,” Tony muttered before looking up at the screen of Jane’s laptop. “Any signs of Maggie and Company?”

“Not yet, Sir, but the gravimetric anomalies are increasing. They appear to be rippling outwards from London. I also have picked up several posts on social media appearing to capture similar experiences that you, Miss Darcy, and Doctor Selvig encountered at the hospital.”

“Well, that can’t be good…” Tony pulled up JARVIS’s results using his holographic display. Just as he was zooming out to encompass all of southern Britain, Tony felt someone lean into his back and breath loudly in his ear. Turning he found Selvig way too close for comfort. “I can make it bigger, Doc, if you can’t see,” Tony offered as he moved out of Erik’s personal space.

“Oh, thanks,” Erik said distractedly as JARVIS made the map almost wall-sized.

Sighing Tony rubbed the bridge of his nose, “Please please please send me some sane person that can help me.”

******

Sigyn fell asleep to the others talking quietly and Loki’s steady heartbeat. She didn’t know how long she rested before she felt herself stripped of her armor and tucked under the familiar blankets of their bed. “Shhh, rest. We’re leaving soon and you need to sleep as much as you can,” Loki’s whispered before he kissed her forehead. She reached blindly and caught his hand, tugging him towards her. He scooted her over and crawled in next to her and she quickly fell back asleep.

Sometime later she woke alone, whispers of several people coming from near the fireplace and Jane sleeping on the other side of the bed. The flicker of the fire in the hearth and a few candles on the far side of the room was the only light in the room. A soft breeze ruffled the fabric covering the windows and the scent of the flower garden wafted throughout the room. She lay there taking in the familiar comfort of being safe and cared for by people she loved. She wished she could pause that moment but instead she pushed off the blanket and scooted out of the massive bed. Standing, she found herself in a familiar cotton nightgown that she often wore at home at the Tower. Shaking her head at her husband’s thoughtfulness, she manifested her long silk robe, tied the sash, and shuffled over to the seated figures. Eyeing her husband, his brother, and their friends, she sat in Loki’s lap and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Sleep well?” He chuckled at her hum in acknowledgment. “We have a plan to get off Asgard and to the Dark World but Odin is refusing us the use of the Bifrost.”

“Why?” She mumbled, trying to wake up. She really could use some coffee about now.

“We don’t know. I thought with The Infinity Mother teaching him a lesson that he would do what was right for Asgard, but he’s insisting on taking a stand. It’s madness and even Mother can’t change his mind,” Thor grumbled before handing her a mug. Taking it, she smelled the contents.

“Where did you get coffee?” She asked in disbelief.

“I brought some here last time we were home,” Thor shrugged sheepishly as Sigyn glared over the cup at him.

“You mean you stole some of mine and then hid it,” she grumbled as she sipped her lifeblood.

“Can we focus?” Volstagg interjected, “We need to make sure that you all have a clear path off of Asgard without Odin interfering.”

“Everything is in place, we just have to be ready,” Thor stated as he poured another cup from a large French Press that Sigyn had given him last Christmas/Yule. She didn’t realize that he had brought it to Asgard, but she should have known since he had been stealing her coffee beans.

“That’s all well and good, but do you really think that Heimdall will not tell the All-Father of our betrayal?” Fandrall asked as he sipped his own beverage.

“He’s loyal to Asgard, not the Throne,” Loki said as he shifted Sigyn on his lap, wrapping his arms under hers so she could drink her coffee. “It’s for the safety of Asgard, so I trust that he will do as she asks.”

“Where’s Sif?” Sigyn asked as she peered around the room, noticing a table of food near the windows and her stomach grumbled.

“She’s resting in her rooms. We were about to take our leave,” Fandrall stated as he stood and motioned for Volstagg, “come on biggun, we have to get our beauty rest so we can commit treason tomorrow.”

“We are protecting our realm, which is our responsibility as the Crown Prince’s shield brothers,” Volstagg grumbled, “we are only fulfilling our duty.” He sat his mug down on the small table in the center of the seating area and then bowed to Sigyn, “Your Majesty.”

Sigyn’s lips quirked in amusement, “My Lord.”

“Now I can’t be outdone,” Fandrall complained as he made an even more dramatic bow with a sweep of his cape, “Your Majesty.”

By this time Sigyn was laughing quietly and shaking both her and Loki in her amusement. “My Lord,” she managed between her soft peals of laughter as Loki tried to prevent her from spilling the hot coffee all over them. “Good evening, boys.”

“Bye Sigyn,” Fandrall called out softly before he pulled Volstagg with him towards the chamber door.

“Good night, friends,” Thor rumbled in amusement, “my brother and I also bid you good evening.”

“Oh. Yes,” Fandrall called out quietly, “I guess a good evening to you too.”

“Get used to it, brother,” Loki said dryly. “How does it feel to be overshadowed by a more powerful being?”

“As long as it’s Sigyn, I guess I can live with it,” Thor smiled brightly as Sigyn continued to laugh, “She is the best of us.”

“Tis true,” Loki agreed as he nudged Sigyn, “we managed to save you some food despite Volstagg’s best efforts.”

“I appreciate it,” She murmured, “when do we leave tomorrow?”

“Early, at dawn,” Thor rumbled quietly as he finished his coffee and set it on the table next to the others. “I will take Jane with me to my chambers. We will see you in the morn.”

“Good night, brother,” Loki called out softly as Thor stood and collected a sleepy Jane.

Sigyn ate the food that they had saved for her, then crawled back in bed with Loki and she wrapped herself around him before she fell asleep again.

The next thing she knew she was being nudged awake by an already dressed Loki, “Come, love. It’s time.” She got up and dressed in her armor.

Remembering a gift she had received from the Queen of Nornheim she went searching through her old room for it. Thor managed to find her halfway under the bed, Jarnbjorn pushed out from its hiding place. “You had it all this time?!” He picked up the battle-ax, “The one father sent us to find… it was here the whole time!?”

“You did say you could find it anywhere,” Sigyn replied from under the bed. “Ah! I knew I still had it.” She crawled out and tucked the item in her pocket dimension. “We can leave now.”

“So Thor finally found it?” Loki had been watching in amusement, leaning against the doorway between their rooms.

“Sure, let’s call it that,” Sigyn stated as she nudged him back through to his room. “Let’s get this show on the road. The Convergence isn’t going to wait for anyone.”

“So it was under her bed for all these years?” Thor swung the ax back and forth, testing its weight, “I wasted so much time and Father was so mad that I had lost it…” He continued to grumble as he followed them through to their room where Jane was, dressed in the armor she had worn the day before.

“Stop your complaints, brother,” Loki admonished as they moved into the hallway and headed towards the ship in the Throne room. Using their seiðr, Loki and Sigyn hid their presence from the guards that stood against the walls. A huge noise sounded from across the palace and several of the guards left their posts and headed towards the melee, leaving only three for them to take care of.

They boarded the ship and Sigyn pushed Thor away from the controls, “I have more experience and memories of how to fly ships than you do. Move aside.” Jane and Loki laughed at Thor as he slumped over to them while Sigyn easily flicked through all the controls but before she went to start the engines, she paused. “Wait. Why are we stealing the biggest, most obvious ship in the universe to escape with?”

“Yes, Thor. Was this part of the plan?” Loki eyed his brother.

“Yes. I thought that we would have difficulties leaving the palace without being stopped by the guards or shot down by the perimeter gunners,” Thor said as he twirled his rediscovered ax in one hand and his hammer in the other. “Fandrall is meeting us over the sea near the old city with a skimmer. We’ll transfer ships and take the skimmer through the passage.”

Sigyn paused and contemplated the situation. “Ok.” She finished the start-up procedure, “It’s a shame we can’t keep her and then have Tony make some lovely upgrades,” Sigyn lamented as she started the engines and lifted the craft. “Ah… self-leveling and 360-degree navigation… the engines are sooooo lovely,” She crooned as she rotated the ship and took out most of the columns in the throne room. “I hate this room,” She muttered “too much gold and not enough humility.”

“I think you missed a column,” Loki quipped as he smiled gleefully as they shot out of the palace, destroying the wall behind the throne.

She continued to weave through the city and avoided the gunners as they shot at her from the palace and city walls, “Damn, she’s fast!” She shouted in glee as she maneuvered the ship, “are you sure we have to give her up?” Weaving through the valleys between the buildings of the city she dodged fire of the skimmers that were shooting at them. She circled the city and then headed towards and over the outer ring, she then headed north towards the old city and the bridge between. The sun had risen by now and she dodged and wove away from the ships that were pursuing them. “Is Fandrall below us?” She asked as the brothers looked down to the water below.

“Yes!” Thor shouted as hooked the ax on his back, picked up Jane, and jumped out of the ship.

“I guess that’s our cue!” Sigyn yelled as she locked the controls in place and leapt out of the opening, spinning midair and landing in a crouch on the craft with Loki landing just after her.

“Well done!” Fandrall called out from the steering controls, “As graceful as always, Your Majesty!”

“Why thank you!” She called back to him. She turned towards Thor and Jane still in his arms. “Is she ok?” She looked at Jane, she was pale and her skin appeared flushed with the Aether swirling under her skin.

“I’m not sure,” Thor muttered worriedly as he lay her down on the supplies in the front of the skimmer.

They both knelt on either side and Sigyn reached for the Aether, trying to draw her out. “Come on, I really don’t want to have to rely on a scuzzy ancient Elf to get you to behave,” She muttered. Jane murmured some incomprehensible words before she passed out completely. Sighing, Sigyn stood and went to Fandrall, “Thank you for your help.” He nodded to her and she sent him back to the palace. “Dark World it is then, boys,” she said bleakly as Loki took the controls and steered them towards the caves and the passage between worlds.

*******

Tony hugged Bruce as soon as he entered the lab, “Thank god you are here, Bruce. You are my savior, my science bro, the light of my microscope.”

“Light of your microscope?” Bruce laughed, “That’s new.”

“Yes, well… Peter is the light of my life, I needed something,” Tony smiled at his friend. “Sooo… did JARVIS and FRIDAY give you the briefing?”

“Yes, and I brought all the equipment that you requested,” Bruce replied as he polished his glasses and slid them up his nose. “I also brought along a few things that you didn’t ask for.” Bruce swiveled Tony around and pointed to two shamefaced boys. “We had some stowaways.”

“What are you two doing here?!” Tony glared at his son and son-figure. “London is currently an epicenter for a spacial disaster of epic proportions and you decided that it would be a good idea to come!?”

“Well… we wanted to help Maggie. JARVIS said that she had been here and we miss her,” Peter pouted. He was wearing a red velvet jacket. Which was weird because he didn’t have a red, velvet jacket…. Oh shit!

“Please tell me you two didn’t bring along The Cloak!?” Tony glared at them and the red jacket twisted off of Peter and became his usual form. “What is Wong going to say?” He paused and thought about it, “Actually I’m going to call him right now and he can take all three of you home via portal.”

“No! Please!” the boys pleaded as Tony exited the lab and made the phone call.

*******

The wind whipped through her hair as they skimmed over the dark surface of Svartalfheim, the shrouded sun in an almost permanent eclipse. “This world is way too Pitch Black for my tastes,” she muttered as she checked Jane.

“Do we have a plan for this madness?” Loki asked as he steered them along a ridge and settled them above a flat valley.

“Yes,” Thor replied, “but Sigyn isn’t going to like it.”

Sometime later they arranged themselves along the top of the hill and Sigyn hid herself among the rocks below the ridgeline, the Elven ship on the far edge of the valley. By this time the Aether had taken over more of Jane’s body and her eyes were darkened by Reality and her body being slowly taken over. “This better work,” Sigyn muttered as she watched Loki toss Thor down into the valley and Jane ran after them.

“You really thought I cared about Frigga!? About any of you?!” Loki screamed as he strode after Thor clutching his stab wound. “It’s not like you cared about me when I lost everything,” Loki kicked him and Thor rolled and tried to trying to reach for Mjölnir. Just as the hammer was being pulled towards him, Loki sliced off his hand. Thor screamed in pain and thunder rumbled in the distance.

“He was right, I don’t like this,” she muttered as she watched the Elves observe Loki kicking Thor over and pulling up Jane from her clutching at Thor. “Malekith, I am Loki of Jotunheim and I bring you a gift!” Loki yelled at the Elves as he threw Jane at Malekith’s feet, “I only ask for one thing in return. A good seat from which to watch Asgard burn!” He spat darkly as the Elven King eyed Jane and the fuming Loki.

“Why? Why should I allow you to leave alive, Asgardian?”

“I’m not Asgardian, not do I ever want to be. I’m done with them,” Loki spat out before his magic rippled and his true form was revealed. “I’m as much of an enemy of Asgard as you are.”

Malekith tilted his head and then strolled over to Thor and kicked the struggling prince back onto his back, “Look at me.” Without breaking eye contact he then lifted Jane up into the air and started to pull the Aether from her. Reality flowed out from her eyes, mouth and the tips of her fingers, swirling into a vortex as it whipped around her floating body towards the Elf King. After all of it was pulled out, Jane dropped heavily to the ground, unconscious.

As Malekith started to pull Reality towards him, Sigyn teleported herself right in front of him, “Hello, Malekith.” She dropped her glamour, un-shielded her light and powers.

“Infinity Mother!” He screamed at her in surprise and pain before she blasted him and his servants into dust.

Reality, free from Malekith’s control,  danced around her, swirling and spinning in agitation. It was the first time the Aether was free from Jane, allowing Sigyn to bind Reality to her, infusing it with her seiðr, forcing it to her will. Sigyn lifted off the ground as she pulled Reality to her, wrapping her around her arms and torso. The teal of her seiðr wove into the crimson of Reality, fighting her, but in the end Sigyn won.  Red-gold cuffs solidified around Sigyn’s arms from wrist to elbow, shimmering with a ruby inlay. She brought herself back onto the ground before shifting out of her armor into a black silk dress, allowing Reality room to settle on her body. Sigyn turned and smirked at Loki, gleefully triumphant right before Reality, in a fit of anger, used Space to teleport her away.

The last thing she heard was Thor and Loki screaming her name.

Chapter Text

Tony clutched his phone, waiting for Wong to answer, but instead, he got his voice mail. “This is Wong, I am currently unavailable. Please contact The Ancient One if this is a mystic emergency.”

“Really?” Tony sighed and then texted Wong several scathing texts before calling Strange.

“I’m busy, what do you need?” Strange answered and then said something muffled to someone on his end.

“I’m looking for Wong or The Last Avatar,” Tony replied as he ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

“I don’t have any contact for Wong but I have an email address for The Ancient One,” Strange replied and Tony heard hospital noises in the background.

“I’ll take it, especially since I think this is right up their alley,” Tony quipped.

“Ok, I’ll text it to you. I have to go, Stark,” Strange replied hurriedly.

“Thanks, Doc.” Tony checked his phone and then quickly emailed the Ancient One. “I hope that works…” And suddenly a portal opened in front of him.

“Mr. Stark,” They stepped through and closed the portal behind them. “I understand that The Convergence is upon us.”

“Uh… yeah. And my kids and The Cloak of Levitation decided to sneak to London to help.” Tony sighed, he was tired and just ready for this to be over with. He was also grateful that he had help. With Mags, Thor, and Loki off-world trying to pull the stone out of Jane, his usual heavy hitters weren’t there.

“I believe I can help mitigate The Convergence’s effects on London,” The Ancient One said, “It will be a lot easier since Sigyn has taken Reality from the Elves.”

“What?!” Tony stared at them, his mouth open and his hands slack. He heard a clunk of his phone hit the floor. “How do you know this?”

“I’d have to kill you if I told you,” They joked and grinned at him. “I’ll send the troublemakers to Wong and then I’ll go with you to Greenwich. The alignment should be just over the Naval College.”

Tony picked up his phone and then followed the Ancient One back into the lab. The boys were floating a few feet off the ground, The Cloak rocking them to the music that now played through the lab’s speakers. Bruce was analyzing the readouts with Selvig who was wearing the sweatpants that Tony had an intern retrieve. Noticing The Ancient One, the cloak floated over with the boys and swayed in front of them. “I heard you three were naughty,” They chided and all three drooped in shame. The Ancient One shook their head and then opened a portal to a dark room with several books in it.

“No portals in the library!” Wong’s voice came from the other side before his head popped through. “Ancient One, you know better,” he chided and then saw the boys and The Cloak. “Oh.”

“Yes, Wong, I know there are to be no portals in the library but I need you to watch these three until The Convergence is over.”

“Very well,” Wong sighed and then motioned for the three to come through the portal. The Cloak dropped the boys down before he pushed them through and into the library of Kamar-Taj. “I’ll just put them in the early initiate class.”

“Ahhh, I really am not ready for my kids to know magic,” Tony interjected, “Mags already said that she was going to deal with that.”

“It wouldn’t hurt for them to learn some self-defense,” The Ancient One compromised, “Make sure to feed them too, Wong.”

“Very well,” Wong said before he followed the three back into the library and the portal closed behind him.

******

The wind whistled across the valley, whipping up the dirt and sand. Loki sat there, slumped, and defeated. Why do I keep losing her? Repeated itself in his mind, over and over again. “Loki,” Thor’s voice came from far away, “Loki!” Thor shouted in his ear as he shook him. Loki looked up at his brother and blinked. “There’s a storm coming, we need to move.” He allowed Thor to pull him up and drag him towards the cliffs. They passed through the entrance of a cave and he slumped down along the wall as Jane and Thor made their way a little deeper into the crevice. He could hear them talking softly when suddenly a rap song echoed off the walls.

Jane pulled out her phone, “How am I getting reception here?” She muttered and then answered it. “Darcy?”

“Where are you? Tony brought us to London SI and I’m here with him, Bruce, and Erik so we can figure out this Convergence thing but I need your login for your laptop. I should never have shown you how to encrypt your data…” Darcy’s cheerful but stern voice rang throughout the cave on speakerphone.

“Ummm, we’re actually on another planet. I’m not quite sure how I’m getting reception here….” Jane replied as she looked to Thor and he just shrugged.

Pulling himself from his temporary shock, Loki stood and stumbled over to the other two before he passed them and strode through the portal back onto Midgard. He heard a shuffle and the other two quickly followed him.

“We’re back in London, Darcy. Back at that factory where we saw those kids and the gravimetric anomalies,” Jane swiveled and looked around. “Can you send someone to come get us?”

“Jane?” Tony Stark’s voice came over the phone, “are you guys ok?”

“We lost Maggie,” Jane replied softly, “She defeated the Elves, took control of the Aether, and then disappeared in a flash of blue light.”

There was silence for a few moments before he replied, “I’ll send a car.”

“Thanks, Tony,” Jane said before she hung up and pocketed her phone.

“She’ll be back, brother,” Thor put his hand on Loki’s shoulder and tried to comfort him, “she always comes back.”

Loki shrugged off his hand and strode away. He couldn’t deal with this right now.

About a half-hour later they got in the car that Tony had sent and the silence was deafening. “Where did she go?” Thor finally broke the silence, “She had control, and then she was gone.”

“I think Reality used Space to punish her,” Loki replied distractedly as he fiddled with the object Sigyn had passed to him before they got in position to trick the Elves.

“Where would the Stones take her?” Jane asked as she eyed the subdued brothers.

“They are connected to each other through The Infinity Mother, it is only logical that they would take her to the next Stone,” Loki muttered as he fiddled with the object. It clicked and then glowed before the sphere rose and twirled in the air. Lights shot out of it, filling the car with a miniaturized version of the star chart on Asgard. It twirled and then the image zoomed in on a galaxy before a blinking beacon appeared. “My clever, clever wife,” Loki murmured.

“Is that a star map of the universe?” Jane asked in awe as she went to touch one of the galaxies closest to her.

“Yes. This is a very rare and unique gift that Sigyn received from the Queen of Nornheim,” Thor explained as he eyed his brother.

“Is that where Maggie is?” Jane asked as she eyed the beacon.

“Yes,” Loki replied, “we just have to figure out how to get there.”

*****

When Peter, Harley, and The Cloak were pushed through the portal into real-life Hogwarts, Wong immediately led them out of the library to a courtyard with a bunch of people dress in white robes doing exercises of some sort. He then proceeded to dump them with the instructor of the new wizards.

“I can’t be responsible for these children, Wong,” The instructor complained, “What am I supposed to do with them?”

“I know Sigyn has taught them some basics, so just teach them the same lessons as the other initiates,” Wong said as he turned and walked away.

“So you are those kids that The Ancient One keeps talking about?” The woman asked rhetorically. She was dressed rather simply in dark blue robes like Mr. Wong’s with a skinny leather belt wrapped several times around her waist. Her straight black hair was pulled back into a simple braid that reached her hips and tied with a strip of leather. A long bar was on her right hand, covering her middle and index fingers.

“Yeah,” Harley replied with a smirk on his face. “She said that as long as we went with Wong that we would learn some magic or something.”

“Mmmhmm,” the lady replied with a knowing look on her face, “I doubt that. Anyways, my name is Amara and you will do as I say or I will tie you both up and put you in with the meditation class for the rest of the day.”

“That’s not really a threat,” Peter replied cheekily, “I enjoy meditating and a nap would be nice.” The cloak bobbed in agreement with Harley.

“Very well. I guess we’ll do some katas with my class and then some exercises. Without a sling ring, you both will be unable to create the actual portals, so I see no harm in it.” Peter and Harley grinned at each other and The Cloak hugged them both before zooming off.

The rest of that afternoon, the boys kept up with the initiates following along with their exercises and portal-making practices. “This is soooo awesome,” Harley whispered loudly to Peter, “imagine if we had those rings that they have, I betcha we could totally make portals. Didn’t you say that Thor or your mom said you were showing traces of magic?”

“Yeah, Uncle Thor said at Christmas that I was showing signs of magic,” Peter stopped his portal practicing and looked over at his friend. “I know I wasn’t supposed to hear what they were saying to Dad, but I couldn’t help it.”

“But that’s so cool dude,” Harley said excitedly before the glare from Amara got both of them practicing again. “So are you turning into some kinda hybrid god or something?”

“I don’t know,” Peter replied as he slowly went through the same pattern for the fiftieth time. It wasn’t the first time he’s done something similar. Maggie, Sif, and Loki often had him practice his sword and knife work the same way and Auntie Nat was relentless in his ballet practice, so this was nothing. “You know, since my first visit to Asgard, I’ve felt better than I have in a long time. I haven’t gotten an asthma attack in a while and my eyesight has improved. I feel stronger and I don’t struggle in gym class like I used to.”

“That’s pretty awesome, Pete,” Harley said right before he stumbled, tripping on his untied shoelace. Before he could fall, Cloaky caught him and placed him back upright. “Thanks, Cloaky.”

The Cloak did a little bow before it circled around Harley and then Peter, placing sling rings in their hands. “Did he …?” Peter and Harley looked at each other with wide eyes before they stashed the rings in their pockets.

“Alright, everyone, let’s take lunch and then meet back for some weapons training. Boys, you can get lunch but then you are going to spend some time with Wong. I think I’ve done enough babysitting for the day,” Amara called out before she turned and went in the opposite direction of the initiates.

“So what kinda lunch do you think they have here?” Harley asked Peter as they trudged after the group of initiates. “I could really go for a sandwich and some cookies.”

Peter eyed the designs on the buildings they passed before they entered a building, “since the buildings appear to be Asian in design, I’m thinking rice and some vegetables. Maybe some meat… goat or beef?”

“Hmm, good point. I wonder where we are…” Harley said as he and Peter got in line behind the initiates.

“We’re in Kathmandu,” the young woman in front of them said. She had dark olive skin with almond-shaped eyes and a posh British accent. “How did you two get here? The rest of us were curious how two kids managed to get into Kama-Taj.”

“Oh,” Peter and Harley looked at each other, “We’re in Nepal!?” They said together in shock and the woman rolled her eyes.

“How else did you two get here? Portal in?” She said sarcastically. “You can’t become an initiate unless you find your way here. They just don’t take anyone.”

“Uhhh,” The boys thankfully were interrupted by Wong.

“What are you two doing? I left you with Amara,” Wong said as he put a hand on each of their shoulders.

“Getting lunch, Mr. Wong. Ms. Amara said to and then we were going to go find you since she said she was done with us,” Peter replied with a smug look on his face. The woman in front of them collected her food, eyed them curiously, and wandered off with her class.

“Hmmm,” Wong eyed them suspiciously. It was amazing how their favorite wizard could keep such a straight face. They’d been bothering him since he moved to New York to take care of Cloaky and even when they accidentally bleached his red robes, he didn’t even twitch an eyebrow. Tony had a “Best Resting Bitch Face” trophy made for Wong’s birthday next month.

“We promise, Wong,” Harley said as he and Peter grinned up at the stoic wizard before they took the bowls of food from the man in white robes who was serving.

“Historically you three have given me more stress than any mystic threat to our universe. So I have the right to not believe you are up to no good,” Wong stated grumpily as he took a bowl and then grabbed something off the platter next to the man serving the food. It looked like a pancake.

“Mr. Wong, Sir? Could you tell us what we’re eating?” Peter asked as he and Harley looked up at the adult that had quickly become a staple in their lives.

“Rice and curry and these,” Wong held up the pancake, “are bara wo.” He paused for a second at the kids’ confused expressions, “They are pancakes made with lentils.”

“Oh,” Harley and Peter each grabbed one and placed it on top of their bowls before following Wong to the far corner and an empty table. They settled down and looked around for utensils. “Umm… Wong? Are there any spoons or forks or something?”

“No,” Wong eyed the two boys before he opened a small portal, reached through, and grabbed something before pulling back and closing it. He handed the boys each a spoon and then started to eat his meal with his fingers.

“Does this mean we can use our fingers too?” Harley asked as he eyed the familiar spoon from the New York Sanctuary.

“No.” Wong continued to eat his food with his fingers or the pancake.

Peter and Harley eyed each other before rolling their eyes and ate their food with the spoons. They had learned early to not agitate Wong too much or he’d make them dust the three of the four floors of the Sanctum. They weren’t allowed on the fourth where all the ‘dangerous’ artifacts were.

They ate their food, returned their dishes to the small kitchen, and then followed Wong back to the courtyard. There was a different class out there, this time a buff-looking, olive-skinned guy with cool boots and green robes was out there teaching some of the initiates. The initiates were lined up in rows this time and they were making sparkly fire mandalas.

“Karl.” Wong approached the guy in the green robes with the cool boots, “Would you mind teaching them something while I finish my library duties?”

“When did we start training children, Wong?” Karl asked as he eyed Peter and Harley.

“The Ancient One asked me to mind them while they helped their father with a threat in London. The Convergence is today,” Wong replied as he squeezed the boy’s shoulders and eyed the tall, slightly intimidating wizard.

“Why does this guy look like a scary version of Kingsley Shacklebolt?” Harley asked Peter. The boys looked up at the man and he glared down at them.

“As much as I want to take that as a compliment, I am not a wizard,” Karl said to the two, “I’m in fact a Master of the Mystic Arts and I’m a sorcerer.”

“You’ve read Harry Potter?” Harley asked Karl.

The man rolled his eyes, “Yes, I’ve read Harry Potter. It was for research,” he deadpanned.

The boys, and surprisingly Wong, laughed at that before Wong was waved off by Karl, and the two boys were placed one in each row and they started to follow along with the class. About fifteen minutes later, when Karl was distracted by a student, the boys pulled out their rings and started to try and open portals with them.

“Visualize where you want to go…” Harley muttered as he held out his hand and circled with the other. It took three tries, but he got it. He could see the London lab through the other side. “Just a little bigger…” he stressed. “Yes! Peter! Let’s go!”

Karl turned and looked at the boys in shock, “What?! How!?”

“Let’s go, Peter!” Harley yelled, “I don’t know how long it’ll last. Cloaky! We’re leaving!”

Peter grinned at him before he jumped through, followed by a flash of red, and then Harley jumped in after. “How do we close it?!” He yelled at Peter.

“I don’t know!” Peter yelled back as Cloaky mimed what he needed to do and Harley closed it to a stunned Karl, breathless Wong, and a shocked bunch of initiates.

“What have you done now!?” Tony yelled at them. Behind him were Thor, Loki, Jane, The Ancient One, Bruce, Darcy, and Erik.

“Ummm, nothing….?” Peter said guiltily before Harley slapped his shoulder.

“We obviously are the youngest to ever make a portal that works, Peter,” Harley grinned at the adults. “I think they’re in shock.”

“Hey, where’s Maggie?” Peter asked the adults and saw the sudden sadness take over their shocked faces. “Oh. Oh no.”

*****

Tony was having the worst day. Maybe not the worst in the history of worst days he’d had but it was probably in the top five. First Selvig and his weird no pants thing and The Convergence crap and then his two kids learning magic and making portals. That’s all he needed was his kids able to travel anywhere in the universe, causing trouble. “What the hell!?”

“Tony? We don’t have much time. Let’s deal with the gravimetric anomalies first and then we’ll deal with the fact your kids know magic,” Bruce interrupted. He was always the calm voice of reason in the batshit craziness of his life when Mags or Pepper weren’t available.

Tony sighed and then noticed the weird rings the kids were wearing. Striding over, he plucked the rings off and handed them to The Ancient One. “Please tell me that taking these away will stop them from trekking the globe with portals.”

“You are correct,” The Ancient One grinned at him. “Harley was also correct with him saying he was one of the youngest to ever create and travel by portal.”

“Yes, let’s encourage this madness,” Tony muttered.

“Where’s Maggie!” Peter yelled at the adults, The Cloak on his shoulders and Harley standing shoulder to shoulder with him in support.

“She took control of The Reality Stone and they took her away,” Loki said softly as he maneuvered himself in front of Peter. “I know where she is, she left me a tracking device so I can go after her. I’m sorry, Peter.” He then reached out and hugged him.

“So she left me?” Peter’s cries were muffled by Loki’s armor.

“No. She didn’t want to leave, but the Stones made her. She would never willingly leave us, you know that,” Loki replied softly as he rubbed the boy’s back.

“We have to go,” Erik interrupted one of the gravimetric spikes in his hand.

Tony took Peter out of Loki’s arms and crouched down in front of Peter and Harley, “I need you two to stay here and stay out of trouble. We’re going to go deal with this and then we’re going to go home and track down Mags. Promise me that you will behave, please.” Both boys looked sad and shamefaced before they both nodded and hugged Tony. He kissed each of them on their foreheads and let them go. “I’ll see you soon, OK?” They nodded and Tony stood.

“Ok, let’s go.”

******

The Ancient One created a portal and everyone but the boys and Darcy stepped through with a few gravimetric spikes each.

“Ok, the biggest concerns are here, here, and here,” Erik said as he held up an oversized Stark Tablet with highlighted areas. “We need to put spikes in these locations so we can take accurate readings to make sure that nothing gets phased or brought to a realm it shouldn't be.”

They partnered up and took off to the separate areas, driving the spikes into the ground before dashing to the next area. As they finished up, they re-grouped in front of the Thames.

“JARVIS?” Tony tapped his earpiece, “Were we able to evacuate the immediate area?”

“Yes, Sir. As of two hours ago, the area was clear,” JARVIS replied.

“At least that is one thing that’s gone right,” Tony muttered before he sat down on the ground and eyed the sky. Small wormholes appeared to open and shift. “That’s pretty cool,” Tony observed, “Which one is which? Anyways can we jump one and go get Mags?”

Loki came over and sat next to him, “No, it’s just the Nine Realms. She’s on a planet just out of the branches of Yggdrasil.”

“Oh. So how are you going to get there without her transporting you guys like she always does?” Tony lay back on the chilled damp grass, not caring that his clothes got wet. He was past the point of exhaustion and since he wasn’t needed for this part, he was going to enjoy the show.

“She fixed the Bifrost on Asgard, so I’ll demand that Father allow us to take it to her location,” Thor’s voice came from above them.

“We should acquire a light speed craft,” Loki muttered, “Then we can take the jumps and not worry about having to beg the All-Father for transportation.”

“With what Units, brother,” Thor argued.

“We could use some that blood gold and have it converted into Units, The Mother knows we have enough of that just laying around Asgard,” Loki spat.

Thor frowned and shook his head.  He turned and went over to Jane and Erik who were excitedly taking readings with their equipment while The Ancient One stood sentinel.

“What’s the conversion rate, Units to Dollars?” Tony asked curiously.

“I have no clue,” Loki replied as he lay on the grass next to Tony.

“Hmm, I wouldn’t mind funding this expedition as long as I ended up with a light-speed craft to play with,” Tony said offhandedly.

Loki laughed lightly, “Sigyn flew us out of Asgard on a Dark Elven ship and said that she wished she could take it home for you to play with.”

“Oh, Mags. Always looking out for me,” Tony mussed.

“With my Mother’s help, we’ll get enough to go get her,” Loki sighed as they watched the wormholes line up perfectly. “I’m surprised that you don’t want to just fly through and visit,” Loki waved his hands at the wormholes.

“Yeah, if they lasted longer than a few minutes,” Tony squinted at one of the wormholes. “Is that Asgard?” he pointed to the shiniest one.

“Yeah, a little too ‘new money’ millionaire, isn’t’ it?” Loki grinned at Tony.

“Hey, I’m classy and a billionaire. Plus, Peps and Mags wouldn’t allow me to do that much gold, there is a reason that Iron Man is more red than gold.”

“Sure….” Loki laughed at him.

“Find my sister, Loki,” Tony said seriously.

“I will. She made it so easy that even Thor could find her,” Loki replied, “And that oaf couldn’t even find his ax without Sigyn making it obvious.”

The Convergence, without the threat of Elves killing them all, was actually pretty amazing. The wormholes opened, aligned and then dissipated, much like an eclipse. Selvig, Jane, and Bruce acquired enough data to keep them busy for years.

The Ancient One enjoyed the fact that she had two potential initiates if Tony would allow her to train them. Tony told her, “If you can get Wong to train them, then I’ll let you.” Since Tony knew Wong had blatantly said no to training the boys and only the threat of Dormammu emerging from the Dark Dimension would he do it. Tony thought he had a good chance of that not happening, thank god. The thought of Harley and Peter with magic and portaling abilities was enough to give him more gray hair.

If he'd only known that he was jinxing himself...

Chapter Text

Loki slowly approached the throne, rolling his stride, taking his time. He was in no rush to talk to Odin, so he would take a page from Sigyn’s book and take his time crossing the large throne room. She used to do this to her mother when she was summoned home after spending too much time in Asgard with him. This was the first time that he’d had spoken to his father alone since his fall two years ago. To say he was angry about having to beg for help, was perhaps too light of a description for how he was feeling. The air started to chill and with each step, a frost patch was left behind. Ten feet from the base of the steps, right before he stopped, he swung his right leg and struck his right ankle against his left. The metal from his greaves clanked together and echoed through the empty chamber. He swayed back, stood straight, and just stared at his seated father.

“Loki.”

“All-Father.”

“Your mother tells me that Sigyn is missing,” Odin adjusted himself, Gungnir tilted slightly towards Loki.

“She is not missing, merely needing a ride back home,” Loki smirked as frost started to creep away from his feet and slowly up the stairs of the throne.

“Control yourself!” Odin tapped Gungnir and the frost dissipated.

“Very well.” Loki sighed, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath and then another. After a minute of silence, he heard the side door open and the heavy step of his brother clunk across to them. “Brother,” Thor’s hand landed on his shoulder and he opened his eyes and eyed his battle-ready brother.

“Mother has given me gold enough for a ship on Xandar. We may leave,” Thor’s voice boomed through the chamber before Odin brought Gungnir down with a loud clank.

“You do not have my permission to leave,” Odin shouted at his sons.

“You don’t have the authority to keep me here,” Loki spat out. “You lost that when you lied to me,” he paused and looked at Thor, “to us. You need us more than we need you and Sigyn needs us both right now. Goodbye Father,” Loki ground out before he turned his back and strode towards the main doors of the throne room, Thor’s steps hurrying after him.

“If you leave…” Odin threatened.

“You’ll do what!?” Frigga’s voice rang out from behind them. “You will not banish my sons as you did my daughter. I am done!” Thor and Loki turned and eyed their parents. Odin came down the stairs of the throne and stood before an incensed Frigga, hands at her sides with dark blue wisps of her seiðr spiraling around her wrists and fingertips.

“Frigga…” Odin pleaded softly, his shoulders down, his weight heavy on Gungnir.

“You will allow our sons to go fetch back Sigyn,” Frigga stated firmly, “I am tired of the lies, the anger, and the discord. The storm is coming and I want as much time with my family before we have to go war. So kindly wish our sons good luck on their quest.” She glared at her husband before she turned and made her way towards them. She hugged Thor and then Loki. “Bring her back, she only has a few more months,” she whispered in his ear.

“What do you mean,” Loki asked as he pulled back and stared at his mother.

She rolled her eyes, “do you really not know?”

“Know what?” Thor tilted his head and eyed his mother.

She laughed, “boys.” She then pulled Loki’s head down, kissed his forehead, and grinned at him. “My blessings for a safe journey.” She then turned back to Thor and did the same. “Goodbye my dears, I love you.” She turned back and looked at her husband, “Say goodbye to your sons, Odin.”

Odin approached them and then stood next to Frigga, “Good luck,” Odin paused for several moments and appeared to center himself, “I love you, my sons.”

“Oh.” Loki was shocked and apparently, Thor was too because they both hadn’t heard their father tell them that they loved them since they were younglings a thousand years ago. Thor, the emotional mess that he sometimes could be, went and hugged Odin. Loki stood frozen and stared at the emotional scene in front of him. Say something! Rattled through his brain in Sigyn’s voice. Thor stood back from their parents before grinning at him and motioned for him to hug their father too.

Before he could move, Odin came over to him. “I’m sorry. When you get back…” Odin trailed off.

“We’ll talk when we get back,” Loki finished before he nodded to Odin. His father nodded back and then handed him something. Looking down he saw the box that contained The Norn Stones. With unlimited uses only restricted to the imagination of the user, they were one of the most powerful artifacts in their vault. “You are really trusting me with these?” He asked in disbelief.

“Your mother told me that you would need them,” Odin replied, “don’t disappoint her.” The Norn Stones would only work for their chosen wielder, his mother would have only had them given to him if she knew that he could use them.

Loki laughed and tucked them into his pocket dimension before he and Thor made their way out of the Throne Room towards the Bifrost.

******************************

Sigyn crashed into a briny pool, the water quickly seeping into her clothing, hair, and then up her nose as she sank to the bottom before she felt herself plucked from her watery confines.

“No! You can’t keep it!” A talking raccoon shouted at the being that looked like a tree. It had its branches wrapped around her legs and waist a few inches over the water, “Finders keepers don’t apply to humanoids!”

“I am Groot.” The tree person argued angrily as she felt herself shaken side to side, her feet dragging over the water.

“No, Groot. Put her down!” The raccoon yelled at Groot and she felt herself set gently down on the pavement next to the raccoon.

“Thanks,” She smiled up at Groot. “I don’t blame you for wanting to keep me, I am a little shiny.” She was still glowing with Space between her breasts and wearing her Reality Cuffs.

“Who are you?” The raccoon asked her as he pointed his gun at her.

“Who are you?” She asked as she pulled her sword out of her pocket dimension and aimed it at him, water dripping from her saturated dress and hair.

He smirked at her in amusement and disengaged his gun before tilting it down, “I’m Rocket and this is Groot. And from that sword and your dress, I’d say you were Vanir. You’re a long way from home, lady.”

She grinned at him, “I’m Maggie and it’s a pleasure to meet you both.” She pulled one of her tackier necklaces from her pocket dimension and handed it to Groot. “For saving me, kind sir.”

“I Am. Groot,” he replied.

“You were kind enough to fish me out of the fountain. I was too disoriented to save myself. Please take it as a reward.”

“I am Groot,” he said as he took it and curled it into his chest.

“I am very appreciative and It is not a bother,” she grinned at him before she eyed the people around them, taking in their clothing. She covered herself in her Maggie glamor before she then shifted her saturated dress to a sleeveless light teal bodycon dress, a pair of magenta sunglasses that Tony had made her, and white leather wedges over gray tights. She did Princess Leia buns with her now dry and brunette hair because Peter would have wanted her to. You know, when in space…

“Huh.” Rocket stared at her for a moment before he took up his tablet and started to scan the people around them.

Sigyn settled down next to Groot on the edge of the fountain and eyed him as he drank some of the fountain water. “If you’re thirsty, I don’t recommend this water,” She said as she nudged him, “its brine content is too high for your cells to absorb.”

“I am Groot,” he sounded disappointed.

“I’ve been telling you that for an hour now and all it takes is a pretty face for you to stop?” Rocket grumbled as he continued to scan the people. “Ahhh, how much are you worth… 40,000 units! We’re going to be rich!”

“I am Groot?”

“After we catch the bounty then we’ll find you some water,” Rocket said as he collapsed the tablet and clipped it to his waist. “It was nice meeting you, lady, but we gotta go. Money doesn’t make itself.”

Mother? Power reached for her from the man that Rocket was eyeing.

She grinned at Rocket, “mind if I tag along?”

Maggie will return.