Loki: Winds of Winter

Chapter 25 - Who Are They?

T'Challa turned to his sister as she went over the scans Sam was able to get while they were in Paris. The attack was all over the news and video footage was viral. They were calling them 'sewer zombies' and saying that 'ninjas' were hunting them down. T'Challa, Steve, and Bucky were watching a video somebody had managed to take of the mysterious girl as she attacked and easily dismantled the undead. "No idea who she and that boy are? They gave you no clue," T'Challa queried.

"She certainly wasn't giving me any useful information; other than she said our 'mortal' weapons won't kill those bastards," Bucky responded.

"Mortal? Does she claim to be a goddess or something?" T'Challa countered.

"I don't know what a god's cellular makeup looks like, but her physiology is certainly interesting," Shuri commented as she showed them a detailed scan of the girl's body.

"Dense," was all Bucky said.

"Indeed, White Wolf! She has reinforced bones!" Shuri exclaimed and Bucky blinked a couple of times.

"Reinforced bones? With what?" Sam asked.

"Naturally reinforced with collagen. Her levels are higher than even yours, Captain Rogers, and the White Wolf. Since you are that way because of the serums you were given, I can see the difference. Hers is natural. Also, her heart seemed to be in a constant state of tranquility during the entire fight," Shuri said, showing them a moving scan of her vital organ.

"Your saying that even though she was fighting, she remained perfectly calm?" Natasha asked from where she was sitting against the wall. Her arm was in a sling and she looked mildly pissed off. 

"Indeed. Although, her brain waves were off the charts the entire time. Her neurons were firing at a faster rate than most humans experience in their entire lives. The only other people I could think of who have brain waves like that are: myself, Anthony Stark, Dr. Bruce Banner, and former Dr. Stephen Strange," the Wakandan princess answered.

"So, she's super smart?" Sam asked and Shuri nodded. "Great! Just what we needed! Sewer zombies and Smartass!"

"The man was no slouch either," Wanda reminded and they turned to her. "He was able to easily counter my power with magic of his own. In fact, these two sound like the ones that Viz ran in to with Stark and Rhodes."

"He contacted you?" Steve asked casually, making Bucky raise his eyebrow at his tone.

"Yes, he warned us to be careful. The boy was able to mentally manipulate his magic and hold the colonel at bay, while the girl went after Viz with an unholy wrath. She called him 'the curse', as if she knew what he was," Wanda said, remembering how Vision had sounded when he told. He actually sounded concerned, and that was not an emotion she was used to getting out of him. "Also, he sent me this." She pulled out a picture and handed it to Shuri to scan. The Wakandan princess did just that and they saw the image blown up. It was a dagger with a horned helmet symbol on it.

"Look familiar?" Sam asked.

"Eerily," Steve rejoined as he disappeared from the room, only to reappear a few minutes later with a large file in his hands. "This is the full report that Thor gave to us a couple of years ago after he came from a new realm on a mission." Steve opened the folder and leafed through the papers before he pulled out a copy of a hand drawn picture and held it up for everyone to see. They all saw the same symbol of a horned helmet. Underneath it were the words 'House Frostborn'. 

"House Frosborn? What does that mean?" Okoye asked.

"Thor said House Frostborn was the official name of a family that is currently headed by none other than Loki, God of Mischief, and would-be-conqueror of our world," Steve answered. The silence was thick and everyone just stared at him.

"You yanking my crank?" Sam finally queried and Steve shook his head.

"Wish I was. Apparently, after we tried to nab him several years ago, this realm was where he disappeared to. When Thor came back from there, he said that Loki was in a very good position in that world: he was occupying a station called 'the Hand of the Queen', which is basically the second-in-command post. He placed a woman, Daenerys Stormborn, of House Targaryen, on the Iron Throne of Westeros. Thor also reported that he married the eldest daughter of another powerful house, Sansa Stark of Winterfell. When Thor was there, he said that Lady Sansa had given Loki twins, a boy and a girl, and that when he departed, she was pregnant with a third," Steve said as he perused the report. 

"But it's only been a couple of years... those twins would still be youngsters at this time, right?" Sam pointed out.

"Unless their world operates on a different time plane from ours. If that is the case, then there is a strong possibility that those two you fought were in fact those twins of Loki that Thor mentioned. Did he say their names?" Shuri asked. Steve glanced through the report, but it was Bucky who took the papers from him and found their names.

"Rhaenar and Ragna Frostborn." 

Ragna stopped in the middle of polishing her sword and tilted her head to one side. Rhaenar noticed the pause and glanced at her. "What's wrong, Ragna? I mean... besides the Wight Walkers removing the only real weapons this world has to defend itself," he pointed out.

"It is not so hopeless merely because they released all the nuclear weapons into space. It is probably a blessing in disguise. These humans would not hesitate to turn them on their own if they thought it would handle the threat. They still have other missiles they can and will use, unless counseled otherwise," Ragna said as she ignored the feeling that had just risen inside of her. 

"Which you will counsel them against. Just like you, sister. You make people depend on your advice like a drug addiction," Rhaenar said and Ragna sheathed Frostskader, standing up. 

"It's part of my charm. Anyway, I think it's time we introduced ourselves officially," Ragna told her brother.

"You think they're ready?" Rhaenar queried as he remained where he was.

"The world has seen the Wight Walkers and their hordes before they went scuttling back into the sewers. They have seen us and know that we can hold our own against what is left of the Avengers. I think we've given them enough time to wrap their minds around the possibility of 'alien life'. Oh, wait! They've already covered that. We need to move now, Rhaenar, so that we can get Westeros involved as soon as possible. The iron is hot, so now is the time to strike," Ragna responded. Rhaenar sighed and had to agree with her. He was just wondering how everyone was going to react to seeing the children of Loki here in Midgard.

They're not going to be happy.