ANGRBODA ※ Tony Stark [1]

1 - A ROUGH LANDING

ANGRBODA SPENT the entire trip from Asgard to Earth learning about human customs but nothing prepared her for the chaos of New York City.

The portal delivered her straight into a dirty alley of the Bronx, shortly after sunset. She guessed the rough landing was courtesy of Heimdall. After all, she did blackmail him into giving her the information and transport she needed.

Heimdall hadn't been too hard to convince once Angrboda threatened to reveal that he'd been the one who allowed Thor and his companions to invade Jötunheim the previous year. He'd done it against Odin's orders and it was clear that this act of treason wouldn't go unpunished.

In exchange for her silence, she demanded Heimdall put his all-seeing all-knowing powers to good use and tell her who had stolen her precious Scepter. She was only half surprised to learn the thief was none other than Loki Laufeyson, the only person in the nine realms who would dare to cross her.

According to Heimdall, Loki was trying to seize power on Earth in order to rule over its people. She didn't know what he could possibly want with her Scepter but it mattered very little. All she cared about was to find it and hopefully kick Loki's ass in the process.

As per her demand, Heimdall had used a forbidden spell to gather dark energy. It allowed him to open the portal she needed to hop over to Earth.

New York was truly a maze. Figuring out where to look was harder than anticipated. But while she didn't know much about the city itself, she did know Loki through and through. He was an arrogant prick and in her experience, arrogant pricks always stood out. It was only a matter of time before he made his position known.

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That first night on Earth was a whole new experience. Taking time to learn about Earthlings and their customs turned out to be her saving grace. Not that she would've struggled to survive, that part was ridiculously easy – humans were the last beings in the Nine Worlds who'd pose a threat to her – but since she was trying to stay discreet, adapting was mandatory.

In this part of the planet, Humans used a currency called dollars. Naturally, she didn't have any, but getting some was not exactly a problem.

The sun had fully gone down by then, as Angrboda walked through the bustling roads of New York City, filled with unsuspecting passersby. She set her eye on a middle aged man standing a few meters away under a lamp post lining the sidewalk. She approached him quickly and without a word, put a hand on his mouth and dragged him into the dark alley nearby. The poor man stirred like a fish out of water under her grip but she didn't need to put effort to keep him in place.

"I won't hurt you if you don't struggle," she whispered, still covering his mouth with her palm.

She looked into both of his pockets and pulled out some keys, a few cards, a pack of gum and a wallet. She kept the wallet and tossed away the rest under the man's horrified eyes. She then pushed his head against the nearby wall, not hard enough to truly hurt him but just enough to knock him unconscious. She finally released her grip, letting his body slide off to the ground.

Angrboda walked out of the alley flipping through the wallet. She found some cash and a credit card which was better than she'd hoped for.

Of course this wasn't her proudest moment but desperate times called for desperate measures. Things would've been very different if she had her Scepter.

"If Grimolf could see me right now..." she thought bitterly while handing the stolen credit card to the receptionist of some cheap hostel in Brooklyn "I've resorted to stealing from old men. Loki will pay for this humiliation."

That night she lay awake under the sheets of the single hostel room and inevitably began overthinking the situation. She needed to be smart about this; any misstep could mean losing her Scepter for good and that was simply not an option.

Earthlings were inherently weak beings compared to Asgardians or Jötnars; Loki would certainly stick out like a sore thumb. If she was patient enough she'd find out where he hid in no time — at least she hoped so.

The only problem was that Angrboda was not a patient person in the slightest.

More than once, she had reached for her Scepter before remembering that it wasn't there. Not having it at arm's length was insanely frustrating. For years, she never left it out of her sight, it was almost an extension of herself at this point. It was truly incredible that someone — even the God of Mischief — had been able to steal it.

But aside from feeling embarrassingly vulnerable without it, failing the responsibility she was entrusted with was the biggest blow to her pride. What kind of guardian can't guard?

But Loki had no idea what he had gotten into... She would make sure he felt every bit of her wrath.

They don't call me The Harpy of Jötunheim for no reason.

⁂

For days, she kept a close eye on what Earthlings used as news outlets: televisions, newspapers... anything that would report on the whereabouts of Loki. After all, that madman was trying to enslave Earthlings – not that she cared much about that – she simply knew he would do something dramatic at one point and betray his position.

Or maybe my old companion has developed a sense of subtlety... But I don't think he'd be physically capable of that.

It was after almost a week being on Earth that Angrboda finally found a lead from the small television set of her hostel room.

"Reporting live from outside the National Institute of Bioresource Technology where the annual charity gala is held. It seems like a group of armed men have breeched security and infiltrated into the laboratories. One of them is currently in the main hall... reports confirm he has begun an assault on the Senior Manager of the Institute... Some witnesses say he uses telekinesis and is dotted with remarkable strength... The affiliations and motives behind this attack are still unknown and—"

Angrboda turned off the television set and smiled to herself.

Found him.

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A/N: Hey! I know this was super short and nothing really happened but this first chapter was mostly just introductory. The rest of the story is much more action-packed!

-L