Book 3: Chimera [Thor]

Chapter 12

Natasha relived a nightmare from her past. Surrounded by the familiar walls of the boarding school she trained at in Russia. The very one that turned her into a spy and an assassin. She was wrapped up in lessons regarding Intel, torture, procedures, mind games– she couldn't remember life after it. The teachers, assistants, and heavy muscles who engaged in the sparring session always had their eye on her. Their top student bound for greatness.

Steve found himself in a decorated grand hall. Noisy from laughter, cheers, and loud conversations. Alongside the Ray Thomas Players on stage at the far end of the room. 'VICTORY' banners were draped from the ceiling for the soldiers' present. It was 1945 again. The end of the war. There were multiple flashes of camera to capture the special occasion. One managed to blind Steve for a brief moment. That's when the super soldier realized he wasn't in his Captain America uniform. He was dressed as a soldier when he first joined the army. Steve didn't stand out and no one paid him any mind. The man stood in the middle of the crowd in disbelief. Was this what it'd been like while he sat frozen in the ocean?

Someone made their way through the crowd to his position. He didn't notice their presence at first, continuing to take in the sight of the hall until a hand gently laid against a shoulder. Steve's head snapped around, shocked to see a familiar sight. Peggy Carter. His first and only love of his life. She offered a friendly smile, dark brown hair done up in a 40s style and wearing a beautiful cobalt blue dress.

"Are you ready for our dance?" she wondered.

Anya managed to find a campsite in the desert. That's where the blurred figure led her. And the destination was a familiar one. From the tents to the dugout holes in the ground to the archeological dig tools to the familiar steaming blue cup of tea with a chip in the handle sitting on a wooden table. The professor always drank a cup of tea in the morning to start his day, no matter how hot the weather got.

"Anya!"

Head snapping up, she found an older man, graying hair peeking out from under a sunhat.

"There you are, we've been waiting!" The professor reached out a hand to pull her up the large step. "You have to see what we've found. It's what we predicted. The artifact is here."

The young woman followed without hesitation, while he continued to ramble on about the discovery.

Thor wandered in the stone hall. It felt like he was moving in circles and accomplished nothing. He had half a mind to finally grab the attention of a partygoer, but felt hesitant to do so. One of them passed close to his person, which caused him to flinch back to give space. The god never saw a face from the dark cloak they wore. The hood obscured all features. They disappeared into the crowd swiftly. A terrible feeling formed in the pit of Thor's stomach. None of this was natural when he heard someone call out his name. Turning towards the noise a familiar figure emerged from a crowd of women fawning over him. Heimdall. But the gatekeeper wasn't acting normal as he set down the goblet in hand on a table. He never drank, and for the first time moved without his helmet when in the presence of others outside the palace. He stumbled a bit from the alcohol he indulged in.

"Is it the first son of Odin?"

"Heimdall, your eyes," the prince noted.

They had turned completely white in color, and void of any pupil. It looked wrong and the man grasped Thor's head between his hands.

"Oh. They see everything. They see you leading us to Hel." Without warning, the gatekeeper suddenly shouted, "Wake up!"

His grip changed to wrap around Thor's neck, choking the prince, who fought back.