First Flame. ~Book One~

Prologue: Red's Reason.

In her dream, she was face to face with Thanos as her fire danced around them and her people fought against his armies and children. But no matter how hard she tried or how hard her own armies fought, she couldn't stop him from taking her daughter.

Red woke up with a start, her skin was soaked in a cold sweat and she couldn't stop shivering as she reached up to brush her hair from her face. She kicked the blankets off of her legs and got to her feet, padding along the cool tile of her room to get a jacket. She wanted to get some fresh air, to clear her head before she got back into bed.
Once she slipped the jacket over her shoulders and zipped it up, she went out onto the balcony that was connected to her and Loki's room, clutching at her necklace as her eyes scanned over the Kingdom of Asgard. As she looked at the golden city, her thoughts swirled chaotically through her mind.
Two years ago her daughter, Levinia, had been taken by Thanos, and they still haven't been able to find her. Not a hint of multi-colored hair, or trace of lightning could be seen in any of the surrounding realms. She was simply, and tragically, gone.
As Red stood there, brooding, she sensed a presence behind her. She didn't need to turn around, or even look over her shoulder, to know who it was. It was Loki, and as tricky as he was, she always felt safe around him.
"Another nightmare?" He asked, his voice gentle as always.
Red nodded slowly. "Yeah... same one as always."
Loki gave a soft sigh before walking forward and rubbing her slender shoulders. "I know it's hard, and I am so sorry that we haven't been able to find her yet."
Red leaned back against him and closed her eyes, almost wishing that he'd been sorry that he had ever created the child in the first place. If she wasn't made, if she had never existed at all, there would be no reason for Red to be feeling this pain. It was a pain that she had never felt her entire life, even when her father had died all those years ago. It was like there was an enormous rage monster clawing at her chest in from the inside, threatening to destroy her and everything around her in a massive inferno that she could never hope to control.
"It's not your fault we lost her." She mumbled.
He gently kissed her shoulder before he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her against him. "It's not your fault either."
"I should have been in the room with Mom and Odin. I could've stopped his child from getting her." She reached up to wipe her face clean of tears before they even had a chance to fall. "Or put her in the damned vaults like my father did for me."
"Or you could have been hurt or worse. The two of them are lucky that they aren't dead-Hell, we all are, we did our best."
"Our best wasn't good enough."
"Red-"
"I'm going to go for a walk, Loki." Red said, swiftly ending the conversation before it could go on any further. "Don't wait for me."
Once she wasn't in Loki's arms anymore, she flew off of the balcony and into the city. Knowing her, she'd probably end up on the roof of the Bifrost again, or maybe she'd be sat atop the tallest tower this time.
+++
Once Red was out of sight, Loki pulled on a shirt and went down to the dining hall. She'd need something to eat whenever she came back to their room. As he walked, he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, none of this would be happening if he didn't make Levinia in the first place, if he hadn't, Thanos wouldn't have had a reason to show up again.
When he entered the dining hall, he found Thor, surrounded by untouched food. Red and Loki weren't the only one's suffering from this loss, their brother was too. After all, he had modeled Levinia after himself, Red and Thor. She was as much Thor's daughter as she was his.
"Let me guess," Thor muttered as he spotted Loki. "Red can't sleep again."
Loki sighed as he took the seat next to him. "No, she hasn't been able to since we lost Leivnia."
Thor patted his shoulder as he passed Loki a plate of cookies. "We will find her, Brother. We have our best searching high and low, she will turn up eventually."
Loki picked up a cookie and turned it over in his delicate fingers as he thought over his words very carefully before he spoke. "Thank you, Brother." He set the baked good back down on the table as he leaned back in his seat. "I just wish I could do something to help her... ease her pain."
Thor offered a small smile. "Her pain will heal over time, she just needs time to grieve."
"I don't believe Levinia is dead."
"No, Thanos wouldn't have worked that hard to get her just to kill her... but this is a loss, Loki." Thor rubbed the side of his face as he spoke. Sometimes, Loki forgot just how wise his seemingly oafish brother could be when the situation demanded it. "This is a loss for all of us."
"If we're not careful, I fear that Red's anger and grief will cause her to burn down the surrounding worlds, just to try and find her in the ashes."
It was a grim thought, but it was a fear he had. Was there something he could do to stop it from happening? As he and Thor tried to figure out ways to best help Red, he thought about a way to stop the grief all together.
+++
Red had decided to sit at the top of the Bifrost, her face was still red and puffy from crying on the way there, and it also didn't help much that she was still crying as she looked over the rainbow bridge, and the stars that laid over it.
From below her, interrupting her most recent brooding session, she heard someone clear their throat. "Lady Red," it was Heimdall calling for her. "It's not fitting for a princess to hide from her problems."
Red rolled her eyes with a forced chuckle. "No need to be so formal, Heimdall." She reached up to wipe her face dry. "And I'm not hiding." She lied. "I'm simply honing in my brooding skills."
Heimdall gave an exasperated sigh. "How about you come down and stay with me? I'll show you Midgard again." That form of bribery was enough to get her to come down from her perch and join him inside the building. She had always loved watching Midgard with him, and recently, it had become a new source of comfort.
"I will never understand why these Midgardians fascinate you so much." He said as she settled down next to him.
"I don't know either. I just... I like how simple and easy it looks down there." This was true, down there, it was about to be the 1940s, and all she could think about was how easy it must be to do something as simple as grocery shopping, or sit down and watch cartoons on giant screens. Of course, it was nothing her step-father would have approved of.
"But they are currently at war with each other. Why do you believe that it is simple?"
"Heimdall, there are people at war with one another everywhere," Red said with a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair. "Hell, we'll be at war the moment we find Thanos."
"I suppose you aren't wrong." He turned to face her. "Are you sure that war with Thanos is wise?"
"He had the balls to touch me and mine, he took my only daughter." She shrugged as she fought off a glare. "As far as I'm concerned, he's lucky he's only getting a war."
"All right." He said hesitantly. "So long as you're sure."
"I've never been so sure of something my entire life."
Heimdall opened his mouth to say something else, maybe try and argue with her thoughts on war with Thanos, when Lady Sif's voice came though on the Bifrost. Red got to her feet and turned to look at it, suddenly remembering that Sif, and the Warrior Three, were out searching for Levinia.
"Heimdall," Sif repeated. "Pull us through."
The moment the four of them were standing in front of them, Red ran to them, hoping that maybe, just maybe, they found something, anything, that would lead to her daughter. "Did you guys find anything?" They looked at each other, and she felt her stomach drop. They only had bad news for her, just like they had the last few times they had gone out looking.
"Red..." Sif said with some hesitation. "We searched everywhere we could in Jotunheim."
Hogan raised his head to look at her. "And since the Chitauri don't call any sort of planet their home... It's impossible to check there."
"Otherwise..." Volstagg started and trailed off.
"Otherwise we would've found her by now." Red finished for him.
"I'm sorry." Sif said as she set her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "I know it's hard, but we won't stop looking."
Fandral nodded. "We'll search again. Go over the list and see if we missed anything."
Red crossed her arms over her chest as she chewed on the inside of her cheek. Two years, two long years and they still hadn't found anything. Nothing that would lead them to Levinia. It was irresponsible to keep wasting recourses like this. "It's been two years since he took her... and the Gods know if she's still alive."
"She is alive." Sif said as she looked at Red with sad eyes. "Thanos collects oddities, since he has her, he's most likely training her to become one of his soldiers."
"We can, and will, keep looking, Lady-"
"Just Red."
"Red." Hogan said with a sigh. "Just say the word."
Red took another deep breath and let it out slowly as she looked at her friends. They all looked so tired and defeated. She thought about how tired she was, how tired Loki and Thor were every time the three of them waited for good news and got nothing of the like. Even she knew it was because they were chasing loose ends.
She had to make a call, one that would probably ruin what was left of her decades old relationship with Loki. But she couldn't keep this up anymore. Red spoke slowly as she made her choice. "I thank each and every one of you for your work over these last couple of years," as she spoke, she wrapped her arms around her middle to keep herself from falling apart. "But with us only chasing dead ends, and finding nothing but those ends, I can't keep asking you four, or anyone else, to keep up with this search."
"Red-" Sif started.
Red raised a hand to stop her. "Please. Eat, get some rest, you've more than earned it. I will speak with Loki and our brother."
"Of course." Hogan said with a small and forced smile.
Stagg rested rested his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry we couldn't find her."
Red set her hand over his with a sad smile. "It's okay, thank you for your efforts."
Sif, Fandral, Hogan and Volstagg left Heimdall and Red alone, and the moment they were out of sight, she fell to her knees and released the raging fire that had been begging for release since Levi was taken form her. Her fire surged and encircled her body with her sudden release of emotion.
"Red!" Heimdall yelled as he rushed to her side. "You need to calm down."
But why should she? She had been calm, too calm really, during this whole endeavor, why did she have to keep doing it when all she wanted was to release the fire? Release the beast in her chest? Red closed her eyes and started focusing on her breathing as she forced her emotions back into control. After a few seconds, her fire calmed down enough for Heimdall to help her to her feet and help brush the ash and soot off of her clothes.
"You really should start training that." He said as he finished brushing the last of the ash off of her jacket.
Red chuckled as she reached up to attempt to wipe the soot off of her cheek, but only managed to smear it around on her cheek. "Over a thousand years and I still don't have a handle on it."
"You will over time." He said. "It would also help if Odin would give you a focus."
"What? Like a ridiculous hammer I have to carry around like Thor has?"
Heimdall chuckled as he pat her head. "I'm sure we can find you something that isn't a hammer."
"I hope so." Red giggled. "I'd feel foolish carrying that thing around." What she was doing now, was stalling. She didn't want to have to go and tell Loki and her brother about the choice she had made.
Heimdall gave her another pat, this time on the shoulder. "Go tell them about the choice you made. They won't be all that mad."
"Yeah, here's to hoping." Red muttered as she gave her friend a quick hug and started flying at top speeds down the rainbow bridge and toward the palace.
+++
Loki and Thor had finally started to eat when Sif, followed by the Warrior Three, walked into the dining hall, all of them looked worse for wear. He quickly got to his feet and rushed to them. They had been in his father's, Laufey, kingdom, searching for leads.
"Did you-" Loki started.
"Find anything?" Sif finished for him. "No."
"Then go back again!"
Hogun raised his head. "Loki-"
"No!" He yelled again, obviously stressed out as he ran his fingers through his hair. "There has to be something we all missed."
Volstagg sat down at the table with a grunt. "We didn't miss anything, Loki, we searched everywhere countless times over the last two years, and-"
"And what?!" This was a ridiculous question. They had to keep looking, had to find Levinia before anything worse could happen to her. Why were they now giving up?
Sif, starting to get frustrated herself, crossed her arms over her chest, "And Red asked us to stop the search."
His anger was quickly replaced with shock and confusion as Loki leaned against the table and braced himself there. "What?"
As Hogun had begun to explain, the doors opened again and Red flew into the room. When she landed in front of them, he could tell that she'd been crying the whole journey there.
"Red, Love." Loki said as she staggered toward her, his legs shaking as he struggled to take in the news. "Is it true that you asked them to stop their search?"
Red silently folded her hands in front of herself, her shaking fingers interlocking as she did. "Loki..." She said calmly. "With nothing to go on, and no leads... no sign of the Chitauri or Thanos for two years, I have asked to have it put on hold."
"But we haven't found her."
"And I can't keep living knowing that all the hope in the world isn't going to bring her back." She took a deep breath as he watched new and fresh tears well up in her eyes. It was taking so much bravery and strength to just to say this to him and Thor, and he was, until this moment, furious at her for this choice. "Until we have something to go on... we stop the search."
Loki carefully set his hands on her frail shoulders. "Are you sure that this is what you want?"
Red reached up and gripped one of his wrists. "Yes..." She whispered. "I am absolutely sure... I can't keep doing this."
Loki gently took her into his arms and kissed her forehead. "All right, until we have more to go on, we stop the search."
Red leaned her forehead against his shoulder and silently sobbed. Behind them, Thor got to his feet and wrapped his arms around both of them. Slowly, Sif, Hogun, Volstagg and Fandral joined them in the hug. Together, they held Red as her body shook with her sobs and the sound of her heart breaking echoed around the chamber.
+++
The morning after she had called off the search, Red sat on the balcony with one of her sketchbooks in her lap as she looked over the drawings she had made of herself, Thor, Loki and Levi, she gently ran her fingers over her lost daughter's face.
Behind her, she heard her mother clear her throat. "Red, I brought you some food, and a hot chocolate, if you are interested."
Red set down her book and looked over her shoulder, there was no way she could hide that she had spent most of the day crying instead of eating food again. "Uhh..." She cleared her throat. "Thanks, Mom, you didn't have too."
"No, I did." Frigga said as she came into view. "If I hadn't, you wouldn't have eaten at all."
Red chuckled. "You know me so well."
"Well, I do pride myself on knowing my children." She set the tray down next to Red and sat down in the empty chair across from her. "I heard about your orders."
Red slowly nodded as she leaned over to see what her mother had gotten her to eat, steak and mashed potatoes. Her stomach growled painfully, and yet, she still only reached for the mug and held it close to her body as she spoke. "Yeah... It wasn't easy, but with nothing to go on, I couldn't keep using up all our time." She took a small sip of the cocoa before she lifted her head to look at Frigga. "The Gods will keep her safe until I'm able to get her back."
Frigga offered a small smile. "You have a lot of faith in those who have passed on."
"How can't I? Dad's up there, keeping an eye on all of us."
Her mother chuckled as she ran her fingers through Red's hair. "I see you have taken to using Midgardian slang."
Red gave a sheepish smile. "It's a habit I picked up while watching Midgard with Heimdall."
"Your father still isn't pleased about you doing that."
She shrugged. "Odin will have to deal with it."
"Why do you enjoy it so much?"
"I don't really know." Red said with a sigh. It was unnatural for an Asgardian to feel like they belonged somewhere else, somewhere far away, somewhere they truly had no reason to inhabit. "I just feel this odd sort of pull to the place, like it's my home... like it will be one day." It wasn't an easy thing to confess, especially to the Queen of Asgard, but above everyone else, including Loki, Red trusted her mother the most with her deepest, and arguably darkest, secrets and desires.
"It is possibly your witch senses." Frigga said, still with that soft, motherly smile playing at her lips. "I felt that same way about Asgard when I was your age."
"Did you ever regret coming here?"
"Never once."
Red slowly nodded again as she looked back down at the mug she held in her hands. "I'll back to keep that in mind if I ever get to go."
"Are you waiting for a reason?"
"Yeah... I think so." Red shrugged. "I can't drop everything I know and love for an adventure." Even if it is to find myself. There was too much holding her there, the hope of one day finding Levinia was the biggest one, then there was Loki, the fact that she was up next to be Queen when her mother passed on, wars that they could have. Maybe her chance will pass her by and she'd never get to go.
"I am sure you will get a reason soon enough."
She chuckled. "Don't get my hopes up, it'll crush me if it never happened."
"If it is meant to be, I am sure that you will get the chance." Red found it odd that her mother said it like she knew something that she shouldn't. But Frigga was more the witch than Red ever was, and ever would be, so she decided to pay it no mind.
"Thanks, Mom." Red said as she reached over to pat Frigga's hand before she set down her mug and got to her feet with her sketchbook in hand. "I think I might go back to sleep."
"At least eat first."
Red gave a slight sigh as she looked down at the tray of food Frigga had brought for her. "Right." She said as she sat down and started cutting into her food. "I'll do that then."
+++
"I've gotten her to at least eat before she goes back to bed." The illusion of their mother said as they stood together in her chambers.
"Good," Loki said with a relieved sigh as he sat down in one of the chairs. "She's starting to become all skin and bones." No matter how hard he, or Thor, tried, they were never able to get her to eat something. The only one who had been able to was their mother, probably because Red knew that Frigga would never take no for an answer.
He had been sitting here with his adopted mother for the last twenty or so minutes, talking about Red and the choice he was making for, not only her, but the rest of Asgard as well. Frigga hesitated for a short moment before saying. "Loki... you should know that she wishes to go to Midgard."
He wasn't surprised to hear this, she loved Midgard, but that didn't stop him from trying to lie to himself about why she'd want to go down there. Loki raised an eyebrow. "To find Levinia?" But even the feeble attempt at even conjuring a lie for himself was failed the moment he spoke. It was a ridiculous question, if his daugher was in Midgard, Heimdall would have been able to see her by then.
"No," Frigga said as she shook her head. "I believe it is her witch ancestry calling out to her, she believes that it's where she belongs."
Loki sat in silence for a few seconds as he thought that over. The love of his life, who he had been with for over a decade, longed to be somewhere that didn't have him on it? He was a selfish man, but even then, he'd do anything to make sure Red was happy again. "Do you believe that she would be happy in Midgard?"
Frigga sighed as she nodded. "Yes, but she's not going to go without a reason."
"If the Gods allow it, she will get her chance." Loki said as he got to his feet.
"If we do this to her-make her forget Levinia, it will give her that reason."
Loki silently walked up to one of the massive windows that lined the walls and looked out of it. Most of Asgard was sleeping right now, others were guarding the palace or the borders, he could make sure that no one had to remember, or even suffer because of, Levinia's disappearance. No one but himself and his mother would remember, or even know, that the girl had ever existed at all. It was something that Frigga was against until she realized that her daughter was longing to be somewhere else.
He reached up to rub the side of his face. "When a couple loses a child, the foundation of the relationship starts to crumble." He turned to face Frigga again. "She's been pulling away from me since Levinia was taken."
"Well, you were the one who created her, I don't blame Red for pulling away from you."
"I don't blame her either." He ran his fingers through his hair as he started to pace around the room. "We need to take away their memories of her, just until one of us is close to finding her."
"Us being?"
"Just the two of us, it can only be the two of us that remember her until one of us can find something." It sounded crazy now that he said it for a second time, but it was the only plan he had.
"And you are sure that this is what you truly want?" Frigga asked, looking at her adopted son with very sad eyes.
"Yes." Loki said without hesitation. "To save her from herself, I am absolutely positive that this is what I want."
Frigga crossed the room to him. "Then you will have to carry the burden of this knowledge. Even if I am helping you, it will be heavy."
"I understand, Mother."
Frigga reached up to cup his cheek with a gentle smile. "I will work the spell in two hours, when she's gone to sleep."
Loki returned the smile as he reached up to touch her hand. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." She said as she took her hand away. "Now, go take care of my daughter, she will be confused when the spell takes hold."
Loki nodded. "Of course."
That was the last thing he said before her illusion disappeared and he turned to walk away. On his way back to his and Red's room, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers. Doing this meant that he had a high possibility of losing her, but as long as she was happy-or at least believed she was happy, then it would be worth it. Right?
That night, he watched Red fall into an uneasy sleep and took a moment to just look at her, how her hair shone like rubies in the moonlight, how she had scars all over her body that she wore proudly, what would she remember about the ones she had received when she almost died fighting Thanos?
Loki carefully leaned over to kiss her forehead before he slipped out of bed and met Frigga in the courtyard. "She's asleep." He announced as he approached her.
Frigga gave him a grim smile as she reached out to hold his hand. "And by doing this, you are accepting the fact that when Red will find a way to go to Midgard, she will have nothing but you holding her here?"
Loki nodded slowly, he had already accepted that earlier that day when she was walking to his and Red's room to get her to eat. "Yes, I accept this. As long as she's happy again, that is all I care about."
"And you accept that you will be keeping this secret until you, or someone else, find Levinia?"
"Yes."
Frigga reached up to touch Loki's cheek for the second time that day. "Good. I will do this for my daughter."
+++
Loki watched as Frigga took a blue stone out of a pocket of her dress and started to mutter an incantation. At first, nothing happened, for a second he thought that it didn't work, but then streams made of golden dust flooded the scene and lit up the dark courtyard as the memories of Asgardians flowed into the stone.
Red was in the middle of another nightmare about losing her only child to Thanos when her memories were taken from her. Her dreams turned more pleasant, of sitting on a field with a handsome stranger that she'd never seen, or even met, before but she found comfort in his ocean blue eyes and warm smile.
When the spell was done, Frigga turned to face Loki, the previously blue stone that she had been holding was now a pale gold. "It is done."
"Thank you, Mother."
"You're welcome." She offered a tired smile as she pressed the stone into the palm of his right hand. "Go take care of my daughter while you still can."
Loki returned the smile. "Of course."
As Frigga watched Loki leave the courtyard, she feared that she had made the wrong choice in casting the spell for him. Those who had passed on always had their own ways of proving a point.
+++
When he returned to the room, Loki quickly hid the stone in one of the secret compartments in their room, and once it was closed, he turned to face Red, who was still sleeping. It was a strange, yet pleasing, feeling knowing that soon, she'd wake up and feel at peace.
Red slowly turned over and blinked sleepily at him before she gave him a groggy smile. "Hey... what are you doing all the way over there?"
"Nothing." Loki said, feeling relieved that the first thing she said when she woke up wasn't something about a nightmare she was having. "I just like watching you sleep."
She gave a sleepy chuckle as she pushed her hair from her face. "If it wasn't for the fact that you were my lover, I'd think that that's kind of creepy."
Loki chuckled as he walked over to the bed. "I'm glad that the only thing keeping me from being creepy is our relationship."
"That, and the fact that I know you." She leaned over and pulled him into bed with her. He laughed as he landed on top of her and had to catch himself on his forearms so as not to crush her.
"Are you trying to get me into bed, Love?" Loki made a soft, mocking tsking noise as he shook his head and looked down at her. "How scandalous."
"Mmm... Maybe." She said with a coy grin as she leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.
He returned the gentle pressure as he rolled off of her and onto the bed beside her, he kissed her nose as he pulled her against his chest and held her there. "Let's go back to sleep, Darling."
"Yeah..." She trailed off as she yawned. "That's probably a good idea."
Loki smiled as he carefully ran his fingers through her hair. "I do have those sometimes."
Red settled into the bed as she curled up against his chest to stay warm. Her eyes fluttered shut and she quickly fell back to sleep, and it was the first peaceful sleep she's had since Levinia was taken from them. Maybe that spell was among his good ideas as well.
+++
As Red and Loki slept, Heimdall stood in the Bifrost and watched over the realms. He slowly looked through each one before he landed back on Midgard. Something had caught his attention. With his eyes glowing gold, he took a closer look.
In a place called Norway, men were scrambling to break into a lonely tower. Over a thousand years ago, Heimdall had helped Odin hide the Tesseract in that very same tower. As he watched, someone in odd garb with a red and black armband used an odd sort of armored vehicle to break into the tower, killing one of the Keeper's men.
Soldiers wearing the same strange red and black patches on their arms and helmets flooded into the tower. They went up to a massive stone coffin and failed to push it open. "Quickly, before he-"
But it was too late, Heimdall heard footsteps and watched as an officer walked through the hole in the building and the soldiers in the room snapped to attention. This man's eyes were sunken into an oddly thin and pale face, with skin that looked just unnatural enough to appear waxy.
"It has taken me a long time to find this place. You should be commended." He said, looking down at the Tower Keeper, who was still on the floor. The officer looked to his men and sighed. "Help him up."
Once the soldiers got the Tower Keeper to his feet, the man with the waxy skin made a show of brushing the dust and rubble off of his clothes. "I think you are a man of great vision. And in that way, we are much alike."
Heimdall realized that the waxy skinned man was called Johann Schmidt, and that Red had asked him to keep an eye on the man when she wasn't able to because of his obsession with old Norse stories. At the time, it was hardly a concern, many humans had tried to find the Tesseract and always failed, now he wished he really had kept a closer eye on him.
"I am nothing like you."
"No, of course not." Schmidt almost laughed. "But what others see as a superstition, you and I know to be a science."
"What you seek is just a legend." The Tower Keeper said, trying desperately to keep Schmidt away from the otherworldly cube.
"Then why make such an effort to conceal it?" As his men continued to struggle to open the coffin, Heimdall could only hope that they didn't really move the Tesseract and hide it in the coffin. Schmidt casually strides over and easily threw the lid off of it, revealing the skeletal remains of an old Viking. He reached into the coffin and picked up the glass cube that was posing as the actual artifact.
"The Tesseract was the jewel of Odin's treasure room," he turned to face the Tower Keeper as he deliberately dropped the glass cube and let it shatter on the ground. "It's not something one buries, but I think it is close, yes?"
"I cannot help you."
"No, but you can help your village. You must have some friends out there. Some... some little grandchildren perhaps. I have no reason for them to die."
Outside of the tower, there was an odd sort of cannon pointing at the town. Heimdall leaned on his sword, silently hoping that the man would give up the Tesseract to save his people. Terrified, the Tower Keeper sighed in defeat and glanced toward a wall that had an old Norse mural carved into it.
A small, sinister smile appeared over Schmidt's odd face as he fixated on the tree. "Yggdrasil, Tree of the World, Guardian of Wisdom and Fate, also." His eyes scanned the roots and titled his head as he pushed on the wall and revealed the real Tesseract was hiding inside a wooden box.
The Tesseract cast a strange shadow across Schmidt's face, one that made it look almost transparent, Heimdall wondered what he was hiding behind his strange mask. "And the Fuhrer digs for trinkets in the desert." He turned to face the Tower Keeper as he sagged in defeat. "You have never seen this, have you?"
"It's not for the eyes of ordinary men."
"Exactly." Schmidt said, holding the artifact up to eye level as it continued to glow a bright and brilliant blue. He was to transfixed on the Cube that he didn't even noticed that the Tower Keeper was admiring it too, even as terrified as he was, it was still a sight to behold.
Schmidt placed the Cube back into it's box and closed it as he turned to look at his men. "Give the order to fire." Heimdall looked away as the cannon fired into the town, but he still listened.
"Fool!" Shouted the Tower Keeper. "You cannot control the power you hold, you will burn!"
"I already have." Schmidt said as he pulled a pistol off of his belt and shot the Tower Keeper.
The moment the Tower Keeper fell to the ground, clearly dead, Heimdall finally stopped watching Midgard and left to gather a handful of the palace's residents.
+++
Red stood in one of the many meeting rooms the palace held with Loki, Thor, Sif and the Warrior Three standing at her side.. Heimdall had come into the castle, sounding the alarm and summoned them, this was enough to find herself wide awake. What was the world ending event that caused this amount of alarm?
"Heimdall," Red said after she took a deep breath to calm herself. "What happened?"
He sighed. "Red, as I was watching over the realms, I saw that Johann Schmidt and his forces have found, and taken, the Tesseract."
She felt the blood drain from her face as she glanced at Loki, who was looking back at her, appearing to be just as terrified as she was. Slowly, she turned back to face Heimdall. "And the Keeper?"
"Dead. He was killed the moment Schmidt got what he wanted."
"How is this possible?" Thor asked, looking outraged as he glanced between Red and Heimdall. "Father had it hidden over a thousand years ago, that family has been watching over it for countless generations."
"Because eventually evil men will always find a way to gain more power." Red said as she started to chew on the inside of her cheek.
"What are we supposed to do? We can't just go down there..." Fandral said as he turned to look at Red. "Can we?"
Red slowly shook her head. "As much as I'd love to go down to Midgard, guns ablazin', that wouldn't be the smart course of action."
"Why not?" Sif asked.
"Because the Nazis and also his forces of HYDRA that are standing behind him." Red shrugged as she looked around the room and at her friends, who were all too ready for battle. "We might have other worldly abilities, but there are too many of them. We'd be out numbered and slain."
"My Lady," Hogun said with a sigh. "Forgive me, but we have an obligation-"
Red shifted as she turned to look at him. "And I am telling you that this isn't the correct course of action. We're practically Gods, we can't run a muck in a human war, we'll cause more harm than good."
"But-" Stagg started.
Loki set a hand on Red's shoulder. "Volstagg, of everyone in this room, Red knows most about Midgard and the war that is raging on down there."
"She knows best." Heimdall agreed.
There was a moment of silence before slowly, one by one, Thor, Hogun, Stagg, Fandral and Sif all turned to look at her. "Red..." Thor said as he looked down at her. "What do we do?"
Red kept her eyes trained on the table as she went over her thoughts. She could go down there, she could stop Schmidt from using the Tesseract for unspeakable acts. And then, when the Tesseract was returned to Asgard, she could stay on Midgard, live the simple life she's always wanted. She raised her head as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her trousers. "I will talk to Odin and head down to Midgard."
"And if he says no?" Her brother asked.
She shrugged with a small smirk. "Then I do it anyway. What's he gonna do?" She gave a flourish of her fingers. "Exile me?" It was a stupidly cocky moment, she shouldn't make light of the very real possibility that she will be exiled from Asgard.
"Probably." Sif said, but she shared Red's smirk.
Loki shook his head "Mother would never let that happen."
"Exactly." Thor said, trying to give a reassuring smile.
Red let out a sigh as she leans against the table as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Either way, this should be a fun conversation."
Fandral blinked at her. "You and I have very different definitions of fun."
"Yeah, except I was being sarcastic, and you are being dense as ever." Red said with a forced chuckle.
Loki smiled before he turned to face Heimdall. "Is there anything else?"
Heimdall shook his head. "No, I will be waiting to send Red to Midgard."
Loki nodded and turned back around to face Red again. "Do you want one of us to come with you?"
Red shook her head. "I think that this is one of those times where I have to do it on my own." She smiled, trying to defuse some of the stress that was setting into his shoulders as she reached down to grasp his hand. "I can't do everything with your help, Loki."
"But maybe it would help."
And maybe it would hinder."
"Red-"
"Loki, I can do this."
"I know, I just-"
She would never find out what he just as the doors behind them were suddenly flung open and Frigga was standing in the doorway with Odin by her side. Fandral, Hogun, Stagg and Sif all got up from their seats and left the room, leaving Thor, Loki, Heimdall and Red alone with her parents.
"Did you all really think you could call a meeting and keep it from me?" Odin said as Frigga closed the doors behind them.
Red took her hand out of Loki's as she raised her head to meet her step-father's gaze. "To be fair, I was just about to come and see you two."
"We were just having an argument about her going to see you alone." Loki explained.
Thor smiled. "Less of an argument and more of a disagreement."
Odin gave the three of them a bored look. "What are you planning?"
Red crossed her arms over her chest. "We weren't planning anything, we were receiving news from Midgard."
"It was of the utmost importance." Heimdall said as he moved to stand behind Red with Loki and Thor standing between them.
"And what happened this time?"
Red took a step away from the trio behind her as she looked into his eye. "A man called Johann Schmidt has taken the Tesseract."
Odin raised a single white eyebrow. "And you think you will be able to stop him?"
"Yes, I do." She hated that he still had the power to make her feel scared, even after all these years. A child shouldn't be scared of their parent, no matter how old they are, but still she held her chin up high. "I think I'll be able to stop him."
"You think or you know?" Odin said, anger starting to show in his voice. It was almost enough to make her shrink back. "I will not allow you to go if you do not believe it yourself."
When Loki set a hand on her shoulder, it seemed to fill her with a new wave of bravery. "I know I can do it." She uncrossed her arms and gestured to herself, poking at her chest as she spoke. "I've been the one keeping an eye on Midgard, I've been taking notes, watching for anything that could go wrong, I am best suited for this."
Odin almost seemed to laugh. "You sound like a child operating on a whim, you act as if you are only wanting to go because of your odd fascination with the place."
Red now glared. How dare he talk down to her as if she really was just a child that needed reprehending? "This has nothing-!"
"No daughter of mine will be going head on into something she's not prepared for!"
Red felt her temper flare dangerously as a flicker of flame started to dance in her eyes. When she spoke, her voice was stony and cold with anger. "Then it's good thing that I am not your daughter."
"Red!" Frigga sounded horrified and shocked at the words her daughter spoke.
But it was too late, Red was already burning down all the bridges that kept her tired to Asgard, might as well finish it. Odin held up a hand to stop anyone else from speaking up. "No, she had made her choice." He slowly made his way up to her, Thor and Loki as he spoke in a loud, booming and commanding voice. "Red Northndottir, you are not to return to Asgard until the Tesseract is found and returned to it's rightful place. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Odin." Behind her, Thor and Loki were silent while her mother watched on in horror.
"Go and pack your things. You will not be coming back in quite some time."
"I understand." And, with her head still held high, she flew out of the room.
+++
As Red left the room, Loki could tell that she was struggling to keep a brave face in front of Odin. "Father, she's just trying to do what is right." He said as the doors closed behind her.
"Yes, I am aware of that."
Beside him, Thor looked absolutely flabbergasted and enraged. "Then why are you punishing her for it?"
"Because I am doing what I believe is right for my kingdom."
Before his very eyes, something he thought was impossible had happened. Odin had banished the love of his life because she... found her reason. As Thor punched the wall behind them, Loki met Frigga's gaze and she gave him a small nod. This was it, these would be the last moment he would get to see, and be with, Red.
"And what of your family?!" Thor shouted as thunder rumbled outside. "Does that mean nothing to you anymore?"
"I am doing this for my family."
Loki shook his head as she pushed past Odin. "Such a wonderful show of love." And he too left the room and ran after Red.
+++
Red packed whatever her hands touched into a bag that rested on her and Loki's bed. As she packed, the words she said to Odin echoed in her head, good thing I'm not your daughter. Would those be the last words she'd ever get to say to her step-father? To the man that had raised her since she was nine when her father died?
As she looked around the room to make sure she packed everything she needed, she reached up to wipe her face clean of her angry tears. Odd, she thought, it felt as if she had been crying longer than this. But what reason did she have? Everything was fine until today.
"Red, are you okay?" Loki said as the door closed behind him. She didn't even hear him coming in.
"I didn't mean what I said to him." Red whispered as tears continued to fall down her cheeks. "I-I didn't mean it, Loki, I really didn't."
"I know, Darling, I know." He said as he reached over to brush the tears off of her cheeks. "I know."
Red sniffled and took another breath as she looked up at him. "What if I can't do this?"
"I know you can do this, Red." He said with a reassuring smile. "There is no one better suited for this job," Loki's smile turned sad as he caressed her cheek. "You can do this."
Red reached up to touch his hand, returning the smile as she spoke. "I can do this." She took another breath as she leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "As far as banishments go, this really could be worse."
"This is true, he could've said that you have to leave after you bring it back."
Red was silent for a moment as she looked up at him. Could she really stay away after she's found the Tesseract? Sure, Midgard was a place she felt she belonged, but did he still need her? "I... I don't think I'll be coming back."
"You don't plan on it?"
"I'm not sure yet." She lied as she hoisted the bag over her shoulder. "I'm just... I'm looking forward to being there." But even her words sounded false to her ears. And Loki, who could read her almost as well as her mother could, knew that it was a lie the moment she spoke it.
"And you're sure that this is what you want?"
Red nodded as she reached up to touch his cheek. "I feel like Midgard is where I belong... Like I'll finally be able to some good."
He reached up to hold her hand against his face. "Good, I'm happy for you." Loki kissed the palm of her hand. "I'll walk with you to the Bifrost."
Just then, the door behind them opened again and Thor, with Frigga standing beside him, walked into the room. "And I am coming with you as well." Thor said as he flashed her a grin. "Can't let my favorite sister go alone."
Red chuckled. "Thor, I'm your only sister."
His grin softened to a smile. "That doesn't make it any less true."
Frigga looked at Loki and Thor before she looked back at her Red. She never liked it when her mother was as serious as this, but considering all that was said today, Red couldn't blame her for being cross.
"I'd like a moment with my daughter, if that's okay."
"Of course, Mother." Loki said as he leaned down to kiss Red's temple. "We'll met you outside, Red."
Once he and Thor left, Frigga and Red silently walked out onto the balcony. She set her hands on the railing and braced herself against it as she took in the sun rising over Asgard for what could be the last time. She kept her eyes on this breathtaking view as she started to speak. "You'll tell him that I didn't mean it, right?"
"He already knows." Frigga said as she reached over to set her hand over Red's. "But that isn't why I'm here."
She chuckled. "Yeah, I figured."
All Frigga could do was smile as she reached into one of the pockets in her dress and took a small box out from it. "Your father and I were saving this for your birthday, but you need it now."
Red carefully took the box from her mother and opened it. Inside, there was, in fact, a ring. It looked like a scorched, bronze tree branch with burned flowers blooming over it. With an eyebrow raised, she slipped it onto the middle finger of her right hand and gave it a shake. As the ring disappeared from her finger, a staff sprung from it and rested in it's place. It was hooked at the top end, charred black where her hand gripped it with veins of fire licking it's way through the wood.
"Holy shit." Red whispered as she looked it over. "This is awesome, Mom."
Frigga smiled as she reached out to touch her hair. "I'm glad you like it." Her mother's fingers trailed down Red's hair until she gently cupped her cheek in her hand. "It will help you channel your powers."
"Like Thor's hammer?"
"In a sense, yes. With this, you will be able to take on the full scope of your powers, you'll be Muspelheim."
"But I'm already Muspelheim."
"Yes," Frigga agreed. "But you know what I meant."
"Yeah... I'll be more Muspelheimy." Red gave a sad smile as she quickly gave her mother a hug. "Thank you." She whispered.
Frigga kissed the side of her head as she returned the embrace. "You're welcome." She took a step away from Red as she returned the somber smile. "Go, your father and I will be watching over you."
"I love you." Red said as she looked over the railing and unsummoned her staff. "I'll be back one day." She gave her mother one last smile before she stepped up and onto the railing then let herself fall. For a moment, she let herself enjoy the feeling of free falling, feeling the wind in her hair brought a smile to her face before she let her flight take over and landed safely on the ground the palace doors.
"I beat you." She said as Loki and Thor came through the doors.
Loki chuckled. "Well, you are a rather quick flier."
"Oh yeah," Red said with a roll of her eyes. "Blame it on my flight, and not on you guys being slow."
Thor, after finally catching his breath, said. "I'm not slow."
Silently, the three of them walked down the rainbow bridge, she had her hand in Loki's as they made their way down to the Bifrost. Red felt like they both knew that this would be the last time they'd ever be able to do this, she knew that as soon as she landed in Midgard, she wouldn't come back unless she absolutely had to. No matter how hard life down there would be, she'd stay for the rest of her life.
The sound of hooves hitting the bridge broke through her reverie and the Warrior Three and Sif caught up to them. Frandral gave a big smile as he looked down at Red. "Did you really think you could leave without saying goodbye, Princess?"
Red rolled her eyes with an amused smile. "Well, one could hope."
That received a chuckle from the surrounding group but they fell silent again as they continued their way down the bridge. Red wasn't surprised that Heimdall was waiting for them, for her, when they finally arrived at the Bifrost.
"Are you ready, Lady Red?" He asked as he looked down at her.
Red gave him a small nod. "As I'll ever be." She put her bag over her shoulders and tuned to look at her friends with a sad smile. "Alright, this is it, guys. Give me a group hug." The group surrounded her and all collectively hugged her. One by one, they stepped away from her and soon it was just Thor and Loki holding her, and then it was only Loki.
"I love you, Red." He mumbled.
"I love you too, Loki."
"Don't wait for me, okay?" Loki said as he pulled away to look down at her. "I want you to enjoy your life."
Red felt tears pricking at her eyes, she was right. He did know that she wasn't planning on coming back. "You know I'm not coming back." She whispered in a voice that was thick with tears.
"I know that Midgard is where you belong, and I'm not going to keep you from that."
"Thank you." She said as she leaned up on her toes to press one last kiss to his cheek. Red turned around and slowly walked up to Heimdall, this was it. This was the last time she'd be seeing any of them.
Heimdall gave her a gentle smile. "Where am I taking you, Red?" She was glad that she didn't have to correct him during their last good-bye.
She gave a quiet sigh. "That one US army base in Brooklyn, the one we've been watching when not keeping an eye on the Tesseract." Red felt disappointed in herself, she couldn't believe that the name was escaping her now when it seemed to matter the most.
But Heimdall knew which one she was talking about. As he slowly turned his blade to activate the Bifrost, Red turned around to look at her friends, she raised a hand to wave at them as the rainbow lights engulfed her and she disappeared.
+++
Thor set a hand on Loki's shoulder. "She'll be okay, Brother."
"I know she will be." Loki said in reply.
As they turned away and slowly made their way toward the palace, he realized that he made the wrong choice in making Red, and the rest of Asgard, forget about their daughter. If he had waited just a little longer, she would have been given a reason anyway.
+++
Red felt a tear fall down her cheek as she sailed down the Bifrost, that would be the last time she'd ever see those lights. She'd seen those lights thousands of times over her life, used it to win battles, fight in wars, and, when everyone was in a good mood, go and party.
The moment she landed, she heard the sounds of guns being raised and pointed at her. She slowly raised her hands above her head and scanned over a sea of soldiers. For a moment, Red feared that she had made the wrong choice, but then she locked eyes with the only other woman on the field and she felt relieved.
"My name is Red Northndottir, I am from a place called Asgard." She slowly lowered her hands. "I'm here to help you."
When the soldiers didn't lower their weapons, the woman rolled her eyes before she walked toward her. "Lower your weapons," she commanded as she walked. Red wasn't surprised when the men lowered them. "This woman is a friendly."
"How do you know?"
"Because she would have attacked you all by now if she wasn't."
Red smiled. "They were all standing about like idiots."
The other woman gave a smile in return. "You aren't wrong. You said your name was Red?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"I'm Peggy Carter." They shook hands. "I'll get you situated."
As they walked together, Red finally gathered her bearings and cleared her throat. "Why are you so willing to believe me?"
"You just landed in front of a hundred armed men on a bright beam of rainbow light, Red." Peggy explained as she opened a door to a building and let Red go in first. They walked into a meeting room, and there were three men sitting at a giant round table.
"Carter," said the younger looking of the trio, not looking up from the newspaper he was reading. He sounded just as annoying as he looked. "Did you find the source of the light show?"
"Yes, Howard." Peggy said as she stepped aside to reveal Red to the men in the room. It wasn't all that hard to hide her, she was shorter than most women, standing at a solid five foot five. "And she is actually right behind me."
"She-" Howard said as he set down the paper to look at her. "Was the source of the lights?"
Red offered a smile as she looked between them. "In a sense, sure. I was the source of the lights."
The one of the two looked at Peggy. "Agent Carter, who's your friend?"
Red cleared her throat as she clasped her hands in front of her. "Red Northndottir from Asgard, Sir."
"Asgard?" He repeated. "I thought that was just a story."
"Unfortunately for you, it's not." As Red set her bag down, Peggy told her the names of the other two men in the room, that being Colonel Chest Philips and Doctor Abraham Erskine. "I'm here to help you in your war against the Nazis," she explained as she sat down. "But more importantly, I'm here to stop Johann Schmidt and his HYDRA."
Philips turned to look at Peggy. "And you believe her?"
"I do."
There was a moment of silence as Philips, Howard and Erskine silently deliberated before they nodded. She knew at the moment that she was welcomed, and especially in a war like this, you needed all the help you could get. Even if it's from another world.
In the coming months, she became Agent Red North and worked under the SSR, she even got to stay in Brooklyn while she worked on tracking down the Tesseract. She had a small, two room, one bath, simple house. And she was thankful for the changes that had occurred in her life, but one afternoon, in August of 1940, changed her life forever.
Red had been walking back to her house after having gone grocery shopping when she passed an alleyway, one she'd passed dozens of times before this, but those times, it had been empty and didn't have three men beating someone up.
For a moment, she thought that the small man was a child, he looked smaller than she was. But when they locked eyes, Red set down her bags of food and stomped down the alleyway.
"Excuse me."
"Lady, this doesn't concern you." One of the men said as he aimed another kick to the man's ribs.
Red sighed as she rolled her eyes and flew up to stand between the three men and the man on the ground. In one swift motion, she summoned her staff to her hand and hit the first man across the face with it. As he fell, she brought her knee up and broke his nose.
She then turned to stare at the other two men with her head tilted to the side before the second one had a small fire on his shoulder and the last one took off running. As the second one beat the flames off of his coat, he ran away too.
"Who are you?" Said the one who's nose she'd broken.
"I'm Red, and you've pissed me off." Once the three of them were gone, she finally turned to look at the man on the ground. "You okay?"
"Yeah..." He said as he wiped at his nose and got to his feet. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"
"My father made sure I knew how to fight." Red unsummoned her staff with a small smile. "It's come in handy many times."
"Yeah, I bet." He wiped at his nose again. "I'm Steve Rogers, by the way."
Red smiled as she bowed her head toward him. "Red North, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps coming toward them. She got ready for another fight as she turned around to face whoever it was. But as their eyes met, she backed down. She'd seen this man's face before, in a dream she had before she left Asgard.
Asgardians only fell in love a handful of times in their life, but only once will they find someone they'd give everything up for, their immortality, their magic... everything. And when she raised her head to look at this man, it was as if the world fell away from around them, and all that mattered to her was him. She'd do anything, even be anything for him. And by some cosmic force, she could tell that he, whoever he was, felt it too.
"It's okay, Red." Steve said as he set a hand on her shoulder. "This is Bucky."
"I thought I was going to have to save your ass. Again." Bucky said as he glanced at Steve before he looked back down at her. "But it seems like someone beat me to it."
Red shrugged. "Yeah, that was me."
Bucky gave her a smirk. "But you're so small."
She turned the smirk as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "Small and fast, I'm rather surprising on the battlefield."
Behind her, Steve leaned around her to look at Bucky. "And she can fly."
"Well," Bucky said as he held an arm out toward her. "My friend and I were about to get lunch, would you like to join us?"
"Uhm.." She muttered as she hesitantly took his arm. She wasn't hesitating because she was scared of him, she was hesitating because she was nervous. She'd never felt this amount of butterflies in her stomach until just then. "Sure, I'd like that. Though, I do have some groceries I've gotta drop off at home first."
"We'll drop them off on the way to the diner." Bucky promised before they walked out of the alleyway.
And that was how her adventures in Midgard all started.