Chapter Text
July of 1288
Within the infinite cosmos is a kingdom which steadfast guards the realms under its rule. Where our stories of myth and legend find root in the Yggdrasil. The kingdom of kingdoms. The great beyond where Gods are born. Where myth and legend are fact and truth. Asgard.
At the center of Asgard lays a golden palace that shines as a beacon of the Allfather’s great power. Odin’s armies are gathered before him as the light of dawn casts his shadow over his two sons. “This is grave news indeed,” said Odin, sitting upon his throne. Beside him, his queen, Frigga and before him, Thor and Loki, his children.
Heimdall, his faithful watcher of the cosmos, kneeled on one knee, head lowered. “My King, what is your command?”
Odin’s silence spoke volumes to the court.
Clearing his throat, Loki sent a questioning gaze to his father.
“Yes, my son? You wish to speak?” asked Odin, voice full of reverence and undeniable authority.
Loki approached the throne, confusion knitted in his brows, “I don’t understand how one Kree scout would cause such alarm. Why are we treating this like an act of war?”
Odin noticed a similar curious expression on Thor. They both were ignorant to the stories of old.
“You’ve not heard the atrocities, that the Kree are responsible for. The desolation of entire solar systems, the genocide of the Skrull, or their perverted experiments with the citizens of Midgard,” explained Odin, standing from his throne. With his rising voice he said, “If even one Kree travels to Midgard, the origin of their horrific experiments, then… the Nine Realms would be at risk.”
Thor then stepped up, “What experiments, Father?”
Frigga was the one to speak up, “There is an old story,” she explained. “The Tale of Terrigenesis. Ancient Kree traveled to many worlds and experimented with the genetic code of its inhabitants. For many years their experiments failed. That is, until they ventured to Midgard. There, the experiments not only succeeded, but exceeded their expectations.
“The Humans became In-humans. Beings capable of vast destructive power. With the Inhumans enslaved, the Kree conquered entire galaxies. However, the Inhumans revolted against their creators and waged war against the Kree. They fought for their freedom and in turn gave the galaxy a chance to survive.”
“If they pose such a threat,” said Thor, determination filling him, “Then send me, Father. Send me to Midgard with a team and we will hunt down this Kree.”
The King of Asgard looked his son in the eye, finding that fierce resolve. “Go then. Destroy the Kree and return.”
Thor smiled triumphantly. In his mind, the battle was already won.
The Bifrost created an instantaneous gateway into the lands of Midgard. In a powerful spiral of rainbow-colored energy, Thor, Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun appeared, walking from the pillar of light. The five heroes had long since formed an unbreakable friendship forged from the fires of adventure and battle. They had traveled the Realms fighting monsters and thwarting great evils. And today was no different. It was simply another day in the life of a hero.
The five found themselves in a vast field of grass and rolling hills, mountains lining the horizon casting long expanses of shade over the trees and foliage.
“It is quite beautiful,” said Sif, taking in the sights.
Fandral’s face lit up, “Oh, that’s right!” he said, excitedly. “This is your first time on Midgard,”
Sif nodded, “I’ve seen paintings, artwork in texts, but… they don’t quite capture the… peacefulness.”
“Peaceful? Bah!” said a boisterous Volstagg. “They don’t have bad food, at least. Now, where’s this Kree supposed to be?”
Thor took charge, “Ahead of us is a village where the Kree is hiding. If he has even a little bit of information to bring back to his superiors… it’ll spell trouble for us all. He cannot leave this realm, alive. Hogun will scout ahead and get the lay of the land. Sif and Fandral, you’ll head to the back of the village in case he tries to escape. Volstagg, you and I will head directly into the village. Make our presence known. We will see if we can’t spook him.”
“On it,” said Hogun, with a firm nod, before running ahead.
“Not a bad plan,” said Sif with a sly smile. Not a fortnight ago, Sif had proposed a similar plan to cut off a few thieves that had made off with a chest of gold from the royal coffers.
Thor shared a quiet laugh before patting Volstagg on the back, “Ready?” he asked him.
Volstagg unsheathed his axe, “Let’s make some noise, shall we?” he said with a wild grin.
“We shall,” said Thor, matching his friend’s smile before swinging Mjolnir and launching the hammer high into the stratosphere.
This should’ve been a simple scouting mission. Dammit, why did this become a thousand times more complicated? The Inhumans shouldn’t be alive. They shouldn’t be existing right now. They were wiped out, weren’t they? Thousands of years ago… the Inhumans revolted so the Kree took action and took them off the board. That’s what Kovar was told. He was stupid for blindly believing.
A coverup… of course. What else could it be? The Inhumans weren’t ever wiped out like he was led to believe. They were thriving on Planet C-53. Living out a quiet peaceful existence like their kind weren’t the ones who decimated half the galaxy. Kovar’s first idea was to take one of the humans… one that hadn’t gone through Terrigenesis yet. He was going to capture this woman cowering before him.
Looking at the human, sniveling in the corner of this wooden shack, he grimaced with disgust. But now, he knew better. If the Inhumans realized he was here… he’d be dead before he left the ground. And now… now he had to deal with two nosey Asgardians. This day could not get any worse.
This pitiful excuse of a planet, C-53, was no more defensible than a vacant moon, but now Kovar was wishing he had brought a legion of warships with him.
Kovar needed to change tactics. He was just one man; he couldn’t fight his way out. Calling for backup was out of the question. His ship was hidden in the woods, at least two klicks from this village. He’d never make it in time. So that left one option… his eyes glanced back to the woman.
He kept his gun aimed at the villager he’d found cleaning this storage shed. She would be the perfect hostage. Asgardians labeled themselves as morally superior heroes. It could work. If he was fast enough Kovar would be off this planet, with the intel he’s gathered, and racing back to Hala.
Pulling on a pair of gloves and flipping his hood, he did his best to mask his blue skin. Moving toward the cowering human, he drew and aimed his blade to her throat. Her whimpering increased tenfold before going silent once his blade made contact with her skin.
“Listen carefully. You are to escort me back to my ship. Is that understood?”
She nodded.
“If you expose me, I will slice your throat,” he threatened. “Stand,” he ordered. She stood on shaky legs and Kovar maneuvered himself behind her and pressed his blade to her back. “Walk.”
Hogun found himself perched on a tall oak tree overlooking the village. With his bow and arrow, he carefully scanned each villager, searching for anything out of place. On the surface, the residents and the village itself, seemed entirely ordinary. But after surveying the land he noticed a distinct oddity. This village was isolated from the larger villages further down the valley. And the residents… some wore cloaks that covered their entire form. Hogun had spent some time in the endless fields of Alfheim and conversed with the elves there. There was an unmistakable similarity between the elves and these villagers. They were both people living in secrecy. Hidden from even their own kind. It left an uneasy feeling in Hogun’s stomach.
Hogun’s eyes lit up when he spotted two walking forms. Their posture… their pace… rigid and anxious. He aimed his bow and focused on the taller figure that was cloaked and keeping pace with the woman. They turned a corner and Hogun spotted a flash of metal. The cloaked one had a blade to the woman’s back. She was his hostage.
Quickly finding his two friends walking through the village, Hogun whistled a bird call. Two tweets and a chirp. A simple coded message that meant; “Enemy-Hostage. Ahead.”
Thor paused mid-walk and nodded. Hogun then readied an arrow and aimed right at the head of the cloaked figure. His shot would not miss, and the Kree would be dead before he knew it.
But then Thor held up a hand. A gesture for “Wait.” With a silent huff, Hogun withdrew his arrow and waited for further direction.
Back on the ground, Thor and Volstagg had found their way to the main road through the village. Volstagg was looking past the houses and to the rolling hills and lush forest.
“They’re a lucky bunch. With a forest this vast…” Volstagg muttered wistfully.
Thor glanced at his friend, “Asgard has a vast forest,” he said.
“Yes, but we don’t have any towns or villages in them. Everyone lives in the city. We need to be more in touch with nature, is all I’m saying.”
“You mean to say, so that you could hunt your own boar?” Thor remarked.
Volstagg gave a hearty chuckle, “You got me there!”
Ahead of the two, Thor spotted the Kree and the hostage Hogun had warned about. Without waiting a second longer, Thor strode up to the pair with a wide welcoming smile. “Hello there! You wouldn’t happen to know of any Kree scouts in the area—?”
“Alright stop right there!” shouted the Kree, losing his carefully crafted composure. He flipped off his hood and made it clear that a sword was pointed to the back of his hostage. “Leave Asgardians, you’ve no business here.”
Thor shot a light-hearted confused look to his friend. Volstagg shared the look and said, “No, no, I think we do have business here. Right, Thor?”
“Yes, I believe so. You see we’re sworn protectors of the Nine Realms and last I checked; Midgard was a part of that nine so…”
“Sop stalling!” ordered the Kree, “You will let me leave and this woman will not die. Understood?”
“But of course. If you would only let the woman, go first, you’d be free to leave,” said Thor approaching the Kree.
“Stay right there!” the Kree threatened, pressing his blade deeper into the woman’s back.
Thor caught the woman’s gaze for a brief second. She was scared. Her eyes were filled with a silent plea for help. “I am unarmed,” said Thor. He held up his hands to show no sword or axe at his side. “I only wish to retrieve the young maiden you’re holding hostage.”
The Kree stared wild-eyed at Thor. He was growing more desperate by the second. “How do I know you’ll keep your word and let me return to my ship?” he questioned.
Thor took another step forward and spoke in an even cool tone, not an ounce of untruth in his voice, “I swear on my father, Odin. I will not lay a finger on you.”
The Kree gritted his teeth and shoved the woman to the ground, As soon as she hit the dirt, Thor made a move and the Kree got spooked.
In a fleeting panic, Kovar drew his gun. But before he could fire, an arrow struck his gun, embedding it in the side of a house. And in that moment, Kovar knew his life was forfeit. He tried to play the right hand, but he was beaten by the tact of these ageless warriors. He should’ve known better.
The last thing the Kree saw was a moving object and Kovar was no more.
Mjolnir had shot through the village at record speed to Thor’s waiting hand. The Kree was dead before he hit the ground and Mjolnir was dripping with blue blood in Thor’s grip. With the threat neutralized, Thor rushed to the woman’s aid. He helped her up and dusted her off.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sif and Fandral emerge from behind a building having seen Mjolnir fly through the village. Volstagg stepped up and said, “The Kree said he had a ship. Find it.” Sif and Fandral nodded and headed back.
The woman was at a loss of words in Thor’s arms, but she managed to speak, “H-How did…?”
“Are you alright?” Thor asked, keeping her steady. There was something about this woman. There was a softness… a gentleness in her eyes.
She nodded, “I am. I’m alright. I— who are you?” she asked, bewildered.
“I am Thor. Might I ask for your name?”
“I’m Jiaying.”