Echoes in Time

Restless....

"Give me the tesseract Casey, or I'll gut you like a fish...."

Even now, it still made him laugh to think about it. Casey's face: a picture of confusion. How could he NOT know what a fish was? Then, the horror of the other TVA analysts as he ran from the room and out into the corridor. Mobius's reaction as he'd disappeared into a time door just behind one of those infernal hunters.

Poor Mobius. Seemed like a nice chap, dull, chained to his work, in need of a little excitement, but nice. 'Nice', however, didn't cut it when you had your freedom to win.

These days, Tempad in one hand, Tesseract in the other, Loki was a free man. Well, ok, God. After all, if he hadn't been a God and a bloody impressive one at that, he wouldn't be in the position he was now, would he? No, that wasn't quite true. There was nothing impressive about how he felt today was there.

His eyes stung as he recalled the events of the last twenty-four hours. Elli. Darling Ellie. She would be with his mother soon. The family would sit and mourn for her.

Recite the prayer for her:

"May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rain fall softly upon your fields until we meet again...."

And then they would have closure. Move on. Remember with love a life, for them, well lived. What did he have? Memories that cut like a knife. Love was a dagger, eh? Someone dear to him had once said that to him and until today? He'd dismissed it as sentimental nonsense. Now? He'd give anything to not feel that dagger, not to feel anything. Just for a few minutes.

Well, maybe a trip would help. Maybe.

As he stood on the wall and looked out over Medieval China. Builders squaring off huge granite stones on one side, bamboo scaffolding on the other, he smiled.

It would be impressive when it was done. Maybe even Heimdal would see it. A wall to keep the world out. But not him. Oh no. He could come and go as he pleased. Shape-shifting and a tesseract gave you that luxury. The world was quite literally his oyster. Where - or perhaps more relevantly, WHEN would he go next?

The first jump, the one that had taken him to her, had simply been chance.

This time, it would be deliberate.

His mind knew. He'd tried to forget, but he'd seen the tape. Sitting in a brown room, forced into wearing a brown jumpsuit at a brown table, that made it impossible. Now, there was only one destination.

His tape? Was being erased and re-recorded to suit him. His life? Wasn't controlled by men in disgustingly poorly fashioned brown suits more flammable than Volstagg's beard at a feast. His life was his own, and now? Now, HE controlled it. No one and nothing would stop him.

This time, Malekith he vowed; this time, he was going to change things. Things would never be the same again.

Dialling the date and the place, he concealed the blue cube and waited. The glowing orange door appeared, and with a final glance around, he walked through.....

Elifligr opened her eyes and yawned. Was it really morning already? Another restless night. The nightmares had started up again.

The content rarely changed, just the ferocity of the fear. Last night had been particularly bad. Last night's offering had involved that bloody great snake again. What did they call it? Jormungandir? Why couldn't they just call it "Bob" or something.

She shrugged as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. One day, it might all make sense.

Even her own name, Elifligr... eternity.... was rooted in mystery. In the past. Viking by ancestry, she looked every inch... modern day. Short, dark-haired, green eyed. Where had THAT morphed from. She should be tall, blonde, fierce.... ok, she was fierce. That would have to do. She shook her head.