Skadi - A Marvel Fanfic

Chapter 25

                 

The moon shone brightly over us as we waited on the rooftop. The night was calm and peaceful, but I was very far from feeling anything like that. I rubbed my hands together anxiously as I waited. No less than twenty minutes ago we had agreed upon the plan, well not so much as we, more like they had agreed upon it. I had a feeling that this would not work at all, but I did not have the guts to tell a bunch of superheros and master assassins such a thing.

I stood beside Coulson who was talking into his earpiece. I tried to focus on what he was saying but my mind kept wandering to thoughts of home.

I snapped out of my thoughts as Steve came jogging towards us, his shield on his back and a suit on that was much darker than his normal blue and white.

"What do you think your doing?" I scowled at him. He ignored my question and nodded at Coulson, who gave him a swift nod back before the soldier came and stepped beside me. "What? Why is he coming?" I asked Coulson.

"We don't trust you, and you might need some help." He stated bluntly.

"I can take care of myself." I muttered to myself, thankfully no one could hear me.

"Alright. Steve and Skadi, the mission is simple. Get in, get the book, get out." He ordered. "Here are your earpieces to keep in contact with each other, we won't be able to communicate with you once you're up there. And Skadi, you're going to need your weapon." He added.

Beside him, a guard appeared carrying my bow and quiver that was stuffed full of arrows. I took the weapon, carefully placing the quiver on my back before nodding a thanks to the guard.

"So you don't trust me to go on my own but you give me a magical weapon?" I raised my eyebrow at him.

"Don't make me regret it." He said before turning and ordering the guards to back up. I moved into the circle that was now burnt into the roof. Steve stood in the middle, an emotionless expression on his face.

"You ready?" He asked, still expressionless.

I nodded. "What if Heimdall doesn't-". but I was cut off by the beam of light the now enveloped us. The normal adrenalin that would have been coursing through my veins was absent, but that was understandable considering how many times I had either fallen or jumped through a portal through these past few days.

Stepping onto the golden bridge on the other side we were greeted by an anxious looking Thor.

"I guess you already know why were here." I said to Thor, and to my surprise he shook his head.

"We could tell you were coming to Asgard because of Coulson, but again Hiemdall couldn't see you or hear anything you discussed."

"How does that keep happening?" I growled at myself, throwing my hands up in frustration.

"Do not worry Skadi, you can learn to control it. But for now, we need to know how we can help you and what you need from us." He urged.

"Okay, I need to get home because my mother has something that can help me find her-"

"Hold on, your mother?" Interrupted Thor.

"Oh right, you don't know. Look, we're running out of time for me to go into detail, but Hel has Loki and she's using him like a slave."

"But your mother is-"

"Supposed to be dead, I know. Look I'm not going over this again. We need to get to the Underworld, can you please send us there?" I begged. Thor froze for a moment before nodding to Hiemdall. The bridge opened once more, whirring behind us.

"Don't worry, I'll explain everything soon." I assured him, before stepping through the portal with the Captain by my side.

The dusty dry air surrounded us as the light disappeared back into the overcast sky. A giant castle loomed in front of us, the windows were lifeless and the huge front doors was wide open.

"Don't look down." I muttered to Steve as we walked across the drawbridge. It creaked and groaned with each step. It was clear that no one had been here for years. Stepping off the bridge I looked back at Steve, he had stopped walking and I know he was fighting the urge to look down. Quickly rushing to stand in front of him, I grabbed both his hands in mine.

"It's okay." I whispered. "Just look at me. Concentrate on looking at me." It took a moment before his eyes connected with mine. "That's it." I encouraged. "It's okay." Slowly walking backwards, I gently pulled him along, keeping eye contact the entire time. I paused once we had made it to the courtyard; Steve continued to look into my eyes, clearly unaware that it was over.

"See, it wasn't that hard." I laughed lightly and he seemed to shake out of his little trance.

"Wh-what was down there?" He stammered.

"The souls of the damned." I sighed, before turning and pulling him towards the door. "Come on, we need to hurry."

I pulled him through the courtyard and into the dark castle, fearing that if I let him go, he might wander back over to the bridge. Our footsteps echoed off the walls as we ran through the dirty and bleak halls. Navigating my way with ease, we reached the library in no time. It was the only room in the whole castle that looked like it hadn't changed a single bit.

"I can't believe you grew up here." Muttered Steve as he glanced around in awe at all the books that lined the walls from floor to ceiling. A table lay to one side, it had several opens books on it that were covered in a thing layer of dust. There was a couch in front of the fireplace that I used as a resting place for my bow and quiver before I started hunting through the books.

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Asked Steve who was looking at the books on the table.

"Probably a big old book that has a title something like 'advanced magic' or something like that." I replied.

"Okay, and what does that look like in the runic alphabet?" He asked. I had completely forgotten that he couldn't read Norse runes.

"Hang on, I'll draw it." I said, walking over to the fireplace and crouching down. I reached in for a piece of charcoal when I stopped and looked at the back wall. Running my fingers over the darkened brick I left I line through the soot.

"Someone's been here." I said loudly.

"Sorry?" Asked Steve.

"The soot, it's fresh." I informed him. "Someone else is here."