FREYJA
"You're a difficult woman to contact, daughter of Njord."
I didn't recognize the voice that spoke. My mind felt numb and fuzzy around the edges, like I had slept for a thousand years.
"It took magic overuse to finally get you to sleep."
"Who..." My voice broke so horribly I had to swallow and take a moment before trying again. "Who are you? Where am I?"
The answer to the second question became no more apparent even as I tried to clear the sickly green fog covering my vision. I was lying on my back, the strange haze obscuring my eyesight. I ran my fingers along the surface I was laying on, tracing the bumps and ridges of dried bone mixed with dirt.
"So many questions," The voice said with mock sadness as I found the eye sockets of a skull just to my right. "You're in Helheim, and as to the first inquiry, you probably wouldn't have heard of me."
I struggled to sit up, my entire body feeling as if it were carved out of stone. My neck popped and cracked as I looked around.
A figure separated from the green as my breath caught in my throat. It was obviously a woman speaking. Her green and black bodysuit was torn to rags and her eyes had dark circles under them as if she hadn't rested since the dawn of time. A knot of black horns grew from the helmet on her head.
"Oh yeah?" I challenged as I stood shakily to my feet. "I'm pretty good with names. Try me, antelope lady."
She seemed taken aback. "Just to make you aware of the person you're disrespecting," She stretched her arms out to the sides and with an impressive display of magic, two swords materialized out of thin air, gripped in her hands. "I am Hela, Odin's firstborn and the rightful queen of Asgard."
"Nice try." I laughed confidently. With practiced skill, I plunged my mind into hers, ready to yank out her every memory...
Her mind burned. It was like everything in her head was on fire, bright and hot and ready to incinerate all it touched yet it froze my soul like the claws of a Joten winter. I felt my legs buckle underneath me and I shrieked I agony. My back arched as my entire body contorted.
"You have great power in you." Hela remarked casually as she strode toward me. "But you still have lots to learn."
I tore myself away from her mind, the accompanying pain slowly receding. I was breathing hard, too hard. "Who are you?"
"Oh darling, I'm more powerful than you could know. I'm the goddess of death." She sneered, clamping a hand around my throat and hoisting me to my feet so my toes were dangling above the ground.
My vision flickered and the memory of Frey's death seemed to overlap with what was happening at the present. I couldn't tell whether it was a Frost Giant choking me or Hela.
A malicious smile crossed her face as she launched me twenty yards through the air. I crashed into the sea of human remains and I felt something crunch. I just wasn't sure if it was me or whoever I just landed on.
"You have a decent throwing arm, I'll give you that." I grunted as I struggled again to my feet. My hand flew to my waist and for a scary moment my fingers closed over only empty air.
But then, as soon as I began wondering where it went, my sword was there, and so was a piece of Frey.
Hela gave me a slightly unnerving grin. "Stubborn little thing, aren't you?"
There was her first mistake. Never call me little.
"You've made a dangerous enemy, goddess of death." I pointed my sword at her nose. "Why don't you fight me yourself?"
"Challenge accepted." She leapt at me before I could get my bearings, and I just barely raised my sword in time to block her blow.
My teeth rattled in my head as our swords clashed, neither one of us seemingly able to overpower the other. "When I kill you, it will bring me great pleasure in knowing I've finally killed all the Valkyries."
"What?" I was caught so off guard, I almost stopped fighting entirely.
She smiled again, an arrogant expression with traces of madness visible around the corners of the lips and the eyes. "You heard me. Where else would all these bones have come from?"
Oh my... The world seemed to spin around me as my eyes flicked down at the remains of my friends... my sisters. The Valkyries.
"You're the one who killed off The Valkyries?" I asked in disbelief.
"Yes." She answered "Yes I am."
______________________________________________________________________________
"FREYJA, WAKE UP!"
I sat bolt upright with a sheen of cold sweat clinging to my skin. "I'M UP!"
My breathing was just a step short of hyperventilation and I could feel my pulse pounding in my ears. My head whipped around as I tried to get my bearings.
I'm not in Helheim. I told myself as I pinched my arm to make sure I was awake. I'm not in The Mountain Hold. Where am I?
"Freyja, what in Valhalla?" A familiar voice asked from right beside me. A smile of relief crossed my face as Loki sat down on the edge of my bed.
No, not my bed. His bed.
Memories flooded back into my mind. Shape shifting. The unstoppable wave of exhaustion. Darkness descending upon me like a tidal wave.
"Loki." I mumbled as I rubbed my eyes. "What happened?"
There was a look of wild panic in his emerald eyes. "We were practicing magic," He summarized. "And you over did it and blacked out then you started screaming and writhing. I was partially convinced you were having a seizure."
"I remember the practicing part, but why do I feel like a giant was square dancing on my chest?"
My entire body was sore and I felt it every time I moved. He pressed his lips into a line. "It's part of the over exertion. It'll be fine by breakfast. Now what happened?"
"Just a nightmare." I said, a bit annoyed by the slight slur to my words.
He raised an eyebrow. "Past, present or future?"
"I'm..." I frowned. "I'm not exactly sure. It was more like someone visited me in my dream, if that makes sense."
Loki's face paled, if that was even possible. "A Dreamwalker?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"A rare form of mind magic that allows the user to control other people's dreams." He explained. "Who was it?"
"Her name was... it was..." I stammered, my mind racing. If she was Odin's firstborn and Loki didn't know it already, then he wouldn't hear it from me. There was a lot more at play here than I understood. "Hela, but that's all she gave me."
"Do you remember what happened in the dream?" He pressed, leaning a bit closer.
I gave him a partial truth. "We were in Helheim. I tried to read her mind and it burned, Loki. It hurt. Then we sword fought for a bit then I woke up."
Did I leave some things out? Yes. But he didn't need to know that Hela killed The Valkyries. He already knew too much about me.
"Well," He said slowly as he shifted on the edge of the bed. His movement slightly upset the sheets and made a little fold in the fabric. "That is enough for one evening, I would wager."
"I beg to differ." I said as I sprang to my feet. "We have less than a week to practice. I may as well get as much done as possible."
He furrowed his brow. "That's not a very good..."
I squeezed my eyes shut and envisioned myself at a desk with a paper in front of me, and I quickly began scribbling on the paper. When I opened my eyes again, my body changed and the wave of red light turned me into something new.
I had shrunk. Significantly. I was eye level with Loki's thick soled, heavy, black boot. Black laces ran up the front and tied off in a meticulous bow.
"...idea." Loki finished as he sat down in front of me, lowering his head so his gaze was even with mine. "You're not great at listening, are you?"
I tried to answer, but instead of forming words I let out a very undignified mewl. I held my hand out in surprise, but I had a black, fur covered paw instead. At least I knew the spell worked.
Loki chuckled and closed his hands gently around my stomach. I thrashed to no avail as he picked me up off the ground. "A kitten. Interesting choice." He mused as he patted the top of my head.
I gave him what I hoped was the cat form of a glare and swatted at his hand. This only made him laugh more, given my entire body was only about the length of his shoe.
"You should've thought this through before turning into something so small and fluffy." He teased, gently poking my nose. "Now I can harass you and you can't stop me."
I envisioned the desk, only I transformed back into myself. As the red light passed, Loki and I were both left sitting cross legged on the floor. His hands were closed around my wrists and our faces were only a few inches apart.
"You were saying?" I asked even as heat crept up my neck. Still, I refused to be the one to move.
His cheeks took on a reddish tinge as he coughed nervously and dropped my wrists. "I... uh... well done. You're making good progress."
"It's definitely getting easier." I smirked as he stood up. "What next?"
We spent the rest of the evening finding pictures of famous Midgardians for me to practice shape shifting into. He magically summoned a small, hand sized box with a screen called a "phone" and found images for me to use as references on the "internet".
Mortals are strange, what else needs to be said?
I managed to not black out for the rest of the evening, despite shape shifting multiple times in a relatively short time. Part of it was I knew that should I pass out again, I could very well get another visit from Hela.
By the time we were finished, the sun had begun to clear the horizon.
The following day was spent much like the previous day, with the only difference being that every Asgardian in the building got to eat in a separate dining room for meals. Other than that, everything stayed consistent.
I spent a good chunk of time actually putting effort into being Loki's guardian, practicing magic and avoiding Arvid. After the discovery of his affections for me, I wasn't overly excited to spend time with him.
So instead I kept people at an arms length for Loki. It wasn't an awful job, really. I got to glower at people, threaten them and act intimidating. I was quite good at it.
Before I knew it, one day turned into two then three then four until it was the evening before the attack on Stark Tower.
"Freyja, focus." Loki said firmly as he sat cross legged before me. "Tomorrow is for all the marbles."
"What's a marble?"
He sighed and pushed a stray strand of hair from his face. "A marble is a small glass ball that mortals sometimes collect. Now focus."
"I'm trying!" I snapped. "But tomorrow we try to get the iridium and I may blow it if I can't master shape shifting!"
"All the more reason to focus." He replied with a sarcastic smile.
I pressed my lips into a thin line. "How are you not worried?"
"I never said I wasn't worried." He said coolly. "I'm just better at hiding it then you. You just get irritable when you're worried. Well, more irritable than normal."
"I do not!"
He flicked a finger at me. "That right there. That's what I'm talking about."
I gave him a lovely view of my middle finger before shifting into a perfect replica of Odin himself. I made my tone go high pitched and mocking. "Go to your room, disobedient scamp."
Loki scowled and I thought I detected a trace of genuine anger in his voice. "Change back."
"Or what?"
"Freyja," He growled as I changed back with more ease than on prior days. "Don't test me."
"It would seem we both become irritable under stress." I gave him a wink before turning into an elf. Not the kind from Lord of the Rings (a surprisingly decent piece of Midgardian literature) but more like actual elves, from Alfheim.
He seemed to go rigid. "He just isn't my favorite person in the nine realms, we will leave it at that."
"Fair enough."
After a few more hours of magic practice, Loki was apparently satisfied with my ability to shape shift. Despite my protestations, he sent me off to bed.
But as I laid on my back staring blankly at the ceiling, I knew I wouldn't sleep. So instead I went over the details of the plan in my head over and over and over again.
The morning came entirely too quickly, and I was stirred from my sleepless stupor by the pounding of a fist upon my door.
"Freyja," I released a groan as Arvid's muffled voice reached my ears through the door. "Are you awake?"
"No."
"Very funny. Just so you know, the plan is to leave at ten for Stark Tower." He informed me.
The lack of sleep seemed to cover the world with a dim fog. "What time is it?"
"Nine thirty."
This shocked me into motion. I scrambled into my clothing and pulled on my maroon jacket from Asgard. I strapped my sword to my belt and laced up my black boots.
Today is the day.
I would finally get to meet The Avengers.
I would finally get the iridium and save the revolution.
And I would finally get closer to killing Odin.
One step at a time. I reminded myself as I grabbed my new throwing knives and rushed out the door, simultaneously redoing my braid. I walked and ran my fingers through the thick brown strands at the same time, and just finished tying the braid off as I entered the lobby.
Loki looked up as I entered. "Are you ready?"
"No, but that has never stopped me before." I answered. The gentlemen, it seemed, had already gotten everything ready. The products of Arvid and I's shopping spree were piled on the floor, waiting for their day of glory.
I wasn't sure where Arvid himself was, but for now it was only Loki and I. I cleared my throat and, kneeling down, began sorting through the supplies, trying to busy myself and distract my mind.
"Freyja," Loki's voice was right at my ear, and I jumped slightly in surprise. "You know how last night you asked how I'm not worried?"
My eyebrow inched up. "Yeah?"
"I'm definitely worried now."
"About..?"
I looked over at him, on his knees next to me with an unmistakable terror in his eyes.
"The Avengers bested me last time," he murmured, as if worried someone would overhear this brief moment of weakness. "What will keep them from doing so again?"
"They won't." I stated with absolute confidence.
He raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so certain?"
A smirk crept across my face and I felt the familiar rush in my veins that accompanied the promise of battle. "This time-" I reached down and twined my fingers with his. I gently gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "You aren't facing them alone."
The van was loaded in minutes and we were on the road before I could even catch my breath. The three of us - Loki, Arvid and myself - all sitting in the back of the metal monster.
No one said anything. There was nothing to be said, really. We could all recite the plan in our sleep, down to the finest detail. We knew our roles. We knew the consequences of failure. All there was left to do was get the job done.
The driver played her part to perfection as well. When we were around a block away from Stark Tower, she pulled over and quickly dropped Arvid off.
Dressed in regular Midgardian clothing, he blended in perfectly. I watched him melt into the crowd of pedestrians. The only thing setting him apart from the others was the bulging backpack he wore loaded with explosives.
The van continued down the road until we were just across the street from the looming building.
"Are you ready?" Loki asked me as a wave of green light passed over his slender frame. He pinned the S.H.I.E.L.D badge I had taken onto his suit jacket, his form a perfect reflection of the small picture on the ID.
I pulled my badge out of my pocket. It weighed a thousand pounds in my hand, but I focused on the woman in the picture.
And I became that woman.
"Ready as I'll ever be." I confirmed as I attached by badge. "Let's kick some ass."
A sinister grin spread across his face as he threw open the van doors. He stepped out onto the sidewalk and offered me a hand.
My heart pounded as I took his hand and let him help me out of the car. We started off down the sidewalk and kept a hasty pace as we approached Stark Tower, its twisted metal spire stretching toward the sky.
The security guards hardly spared us a glance as we entered a central lobby area with massive glass windows and a soaring ceiling. It was impressively sized, even for New York.
The badge scanner was the easy part. It was a small box that you just waved the ID over to enter.
My white lab coat swished around my ankles as I scanned my badge without breaking stride.
But Oh, Freyja can't just have an easy day for once to thank her for the time and effort she puts toward the revolution. No, they had to have a metal detector. I had a sword and a pack of throwing knives hidden in my coat.
"Ma'am, we need to do a pat down." The security guard said monotonously as the machine started beeping violently.
Oh shit.
"Uh," I struggled to find a reasonable excuse. "You don't want to do that."
The security guard raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Why on Earth is that?"
"I'm ill."
"You don't look 'ill'. What kind of sickness?"
I felt my jaw clench up. "A very bad kind. I cough up blood, froth at the mouth, break out in hives and get the innate desire to eat raw flesh."
Such a disease existed on Asgard. Frey and I caught it when we were one hundred twenty or so. Let's just say I used to have a pet cat.
"That's not a thing." The guard reached out and curled a meaty hand around my arm. "Ma'am, I'm going to need you to come with me."
At that point I did the only thing I could think of. I bit into his hand. The metallic tinge of blood filled my mouth as my teeth punctured his skin.
A howl of agony filled the lobby and every head turned my way.
Oh shit.
And that was when the explosions started.