Here's chapter one of the Sequel to The Enlightening of Thor Odinson! Sorry for the delay, things have been very busy recently, but I should be keeping with fairly regular updates wherever possible. I have put the first chapter of the prequel up, so have a look at that- The Tale of Loki and Sigyn.

Let me know what you think!

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The Throne of Thanos

The 3712 Year of Odin's Rule

(Early 2014)

"The Mortal has agreed to the terms, my lord." The Other stood before the Titan, who was seated upon his throne. He was turned away, looking out into the vastness of space. The immortal being had been about to send The Other away to deal with Ronan, but had changed his plans when the bounty hunter had been returned to negotiate.

Thanos did not negotiate. He took what he wanted and slaughtered any in his path, but for now he would allow the human to believe he had a deal - until the sceptre and the girl were in Thanos grasp. Then all of the planet would be a great sacrifice for his Mistress, as punishment for defying his wishes when the Asgardian had failed them.

The Titan was admittedly surprised when the bounty hunter had dared to return. When the time since The Other had tasked the being with hunting down the girl had stretched out, and it was clear the coward had failed, Thanos was sure he would hide away. In time, Thanos would ensure his demise also, but one hunter was hardly a worthy sacrifice to his lady.

Then a mortal with a vision of ruling all of Earth had sent the hunter back with terms for the leader of the Chitauri. The earliest offer had been so insulting that Thanos had nearly ripped off the half-Kree's head in outrage. But though his anger flared red hot, the Titan was no fool. Let the mortal think himself clever, bargaining with a being he knew nothing of. Once Thanos had what belonged to him he would strike back with swift certainty.

A deal had now finally been struck. Thanos would allow the mortal what Loki had been promised, Earth's rule and independence. He and his allies believed themselves kings among men, ruling their world with an iron fist. In return, the girl would be handed over along with the sceptre.

The Titan turned his throne to face his general. "Good. You will go to Earth to collect the sceptre. You may take the girl for yourself." The Other licked his lips, gleeful at the prize he had been promised. The creature was beneath Thanos, but the Titan found him useful. Disgusting though he was, the beast was without equal when it came to causing pain. "Keep her or kill her as you see fit, as long as she suffers."

"The universe will be yours, my lord. Ronan reports that he shall have the stone soon, and once the sceptre has been returned we can conquer Earth and through it bring down Asgard and retrieve the Tesseract."

Thanos smiled. His Mistress would be pleased.

Secret H.Y.D.R.A. Base, Midgard

The 3712 Year of Odin's Rule

(Early 2014)

Alexander Pierce was ready for his plans to come to fruition. H.Y.D.R.A. had steadily destabilised the world and now with the help of two alien invasions the people were ready to accept any means for safety. Project Insight was well on the way to cleansing the Earth and bringing about a new world order. Fury was one of very few left in S.H.I.E.L.D. that was not either H.Y.D.R.A. or had few enough qualms to care about the change in leadership when it came.

There had been a slight hiccup. Half a year ago, the only real threat to Pierce – the so called 'Avengers' – were scattered and barely in contact. Each of them had their own problems and they didn't seem to trust each other enough for the united front they had presented in New York. Only the Captain and the Widow were active S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and Pierce had a plan for the two involving his Winter Soldier.

The arrival of the goddess had changed that. The group had assembled immediately and started to ask questions, prompting Fury to look deeper into things that Pierce wasn't ready to go public. And then he'd had an idea. The Bounty Hunter sent for the girl had told them everything about his employers, and Pierce had devised a plan.

The 'Superheroes' were united in protecting the child and its mother. How quickly would they turn on each other if something happened to either of them? Or both. Pierce needed time to develop greater weapons to ensure Earth's survival from outside threats, and the two would buy him some time.

The King of Asgard would likely pay anything for the last child of his crazed son. Pierce would use the girl to gain access to their advanced technology. A few months with H.Y.D.R.A.'s scientists and they would be able to recreate it. And of course, Earth's would-be conquerors were reported to desperately want the girl and the sceptre. Pierce admitted to himself that the loss of the sceptre would be a great regret, so he'd allowed Strucker to start work with it immediately.

Moving forward with the plans to utilise the sceptre had been a risk – drawing more attention to it when Fury was already curious could have ended badly – but Pierce had decided the benefits far outweighed the risk. Now the Avengers were all but ready to shatter when they started to blame each other and thanks to Strucker, Pierce had two enhanced along with The Soldier to take them down if necessary.

All things considered, Pierce was pleased with himself, ready for the new world he would create with H.Y.D.R.A. as its leaders.

Hlidskjálf, The Throne Room, Asgard

The 3712 Year of Odin's Rule

(2014)

Freyr, King of Álfheim, strode through the great double doors, head held high. As Odin Borson's vassal-king, the god of truth was one of the most powerful beings in all the Nine Realms. Álfheim was now the third strongest realm in Yggdrasil, far from the starving world it had been a millennia ago. Freyr had lead the Ljósálfar well, helping them to flourish, but ensuring that they hid the full extent of their power lest the Allfather see them as a threat once more and reduce the land to cinders as he and his father had done years before.

Freyr had done everything he could for the Light Elves, just as his twin Freyja did everything she could to serve and protect their home, Vanaheim. Freyr had tried, just once, to flee Asgard with his younger sister Frigga. The Queen of Asgard had already been taught by then, though. She worshipped the tyrant she had married in desperate hope for peace for her homeland. And now she was dead.

Freyr had played the part of loyal vassal-king well over the last thousand years. Just as he had played the part of loyal counsellor before that, and dearest friend before that. Freyr was the god of Truth, but that did not make him Honest. He had striven to protect as many innocent lives within the Nine Realms from the bloodlust of Asgard's Royalty since his parents had been slaughtered doing the very same.

Queen Skadi and King Njörd had died to protect the people of Vanaheim. They were heroes for standing up for what they believed in. Freyr too stood by his beliefs, but he protected in a very different way. That had all changed now.

"Did you think I would not come for you, Allfather?" He sneered, disgust marring his golden looks. "I have sat back and ruled in silence for long enough. I said nothing as you decimated my beloved's world, I did not step in when you once again made war on Vanaheim, and I said nothing as you allowed you're eldest to ravage Nornheim. But no longer. Your bloodlust has resulted in the death of my sweet sister!"

The Tyrant-King looked unsurprised by his outburst. Freyr paused. He was sure that Odin had had no inkling of his true loyalties. The Allfather spoke. "I knew you would come. The blame for Frigga's death lays on the shoulders of the Dark Elves, and Prince Thor has ensured they are no more."

Freyr scoffed. "And that's the end of it? A good job all around, another race destroyed, her life means so little it is but a footnote in the history of your conquest?" The god of the sun wanted nothing more than to strike Odin dead, but he could not yet. There were guards all around, he would be slain before he even raised a weapon. Frigga deserved successful vengeance, not wild stabs that would surely fail.

"Will Álfheim make war upon Asgard? Would Frigga want for so many lives to be lost in her name? Recent years have proven there are greater threats we must unite against."

At the Kings words, Freyr froze. The god of Truth was not unobservant. He had known Odin-King for near three millennia. They had grown from boys barely past 'First Blood' to men and kings, all at each other's sides. Freyr may have always hated Odin, but he knew him better than anyone alive. Odin would never have let threats like those slide.

The Vanir looked at the god sitting upon Hlidskjálf properly for the first time. The posture was different. Slouched to the side in comfortable confidence, where Odin would be ramrod straight and regal. He gripped Gungnir with possessive triumph rather than the Allfather's easy familiarity. Now that Freyr was paying attention, he realised that even the speech pattern had been slightly off, emphasising different words.

"Perhaps we should discuss this further in private?" the King of Álfheim suggested. Something flashed in the 'Allfather's' eyes. They narrowed speculatively.

"Very well." The walk to the Kings study was tense. Freyr paced along slightly behind his 'liege-lord', thinking hard. Going over every story, every rumour that had flowed through the realms in the last year. There had been a subtle change in Asgard's foreign policy. Slight enough that Freyr had not looked any further into it. The Realm Eternal had taken less of an interest in the other realms, allowing trade between themselves via the Bifrost more often than in the past.

Freyr had assumed the changes down to Thor's move to Midgard, leaving the Allfather alone in ruling where there had once been five Royals each undertaking some tasks. With a Realm so recently attacked Asgard seemed to have taken time to strengthen itself before re-establishing its might amongst the other realms. A tactic anyone would have taken, except for Odin Borson. The tyrant had famously allowed a famine to reign through Asgard during a war with Muspelheim, before going on to once again fail in a campaign in Nifleheim before returning to stop his people from starving.

The King bade the guards to remain outside, seating himself behind an ornate desk, and gesturing for Freyr to take a seat. Though it had been years, the sun god was familiar with this study; he had spent countless hours here as a councillor to Asgard, subtly manipulating Odin into less violent courses of action. Sometimes he succeeded. Sometimes he did not. The lives taken after those instances haunted Freyr.

The being that was not Odin stared hard at Freyr, as though judging him. He sighed. "I knew that you would be the only one who I could not fool. Freyr Njördson, that slippery fish." The Vanir blinked. It was a name the Asgardian court had given him when he had served here, in response to his sometimes unorthodox methods. It was an insult, a reference to his cowardly Vanir ways. It had been rarely used in centuries. Only by one, as a term of respect to a fellow wordsmith.

It couldn't be…

Without so much of a twitch a green-gold light rolled across the visage of Odin Borson, revealing the trickster beneath. Loki was grinning wolfishly. He looked older than he had when Freyr had last seen him, the day the god of Truth had confronted him, publically, following Sigyn's fleeing of Asgard. The Áesir still whispered of how the King of Álfheim had bloodied the Princes face and promised far worse one day. Beneath all that there had been an entirely different conversation happening between the two.

"Loki! What game are you playing now?" he asked incredulously. This was far beyond the usual plots of the god of Chaos.

"Hello Uncle." Loki replied, looking pleased with himself. "The most dangerous game in all of Yggdrasil. I'm going to need your help with it."

Avengers Tower, Midgard

The 3712 Year of Odin's Rule

(2014)

Sigyn Freyjasdottir felt more at peace than she had in years - Perhaps centuries. She had a beautiful daughter, a loyal good-brother and the support of dear friends. The Vanir woman had grown very fond of the Avengers in the half-year she had resided in the Tower of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. The mortals had strange customs, but Sigyn found they suited her quite well. They were all enamoured of Lyra, happy to entertain her and given the woman a few hours of peace in the endless task that was motherhood.

Thor was a near constant companion. Though as a young man he had had little to do with any of his nephews or niece, he now seemed to want to be part of every stage of Lyra's growth. He still tended to the babe for half of the nights, feeding her the mortal's clever 'Formula'. He spent hours talking with the girl, playing on the floor with her every evening that he could.

Lyra herself was proving to be a very smart child. Dr. Banner had continued to track her progress. He had been shocked to find her already grasping some basic words, explaining that human babies did not manage that for another month or two at the earliest, and as Lyra seemed to be developing more slowly than a human physically it made it even more surprising.

It appeared that even though Áesir and Vanir babes aged about half as fast in most cases, language was grasped sooner than humans. Sigyn explained that that was perhaps because she, Jörmungandr and Thor had both been speaking to the babe in the Allspeak as much as possible, to ensure she would develop the gift even though she was so often spoken to in the Midgardians language. This had started a long discussion on the Allspeak; causing Bruce, Tony and Jane to question Sigyn mercilessly for hours.

Although Jör remained solitary, only visiting the Tower every other week for a couple of days, Lyra had decided he was her favourite person. She babbled constantly in his presence, valiantly trying a 'Yorh' but not quite managing. She had managed to grasp 'Mama', Thor ('Dor'), Clint ('Lin') and after a great deal of persistence from the girl, Darcy ('Dah-suh').

There had been a terrifying day some weeks previously where the babe had been futilely trying to roll over onto her back, and in desperation to grip the carpet had manged to transform on hand into a clawed paw. It had taken several hours for Sigyn and Jör to help guide the natural Seidr of the child to change the hand back.

Jör had not stopped raving about it ever since, proud of his sisters natural shapeshifting abilities. Sigyn was less pleased; although she too was proud, she remembered all too well the chaos Fenrisúlfr had caused as a pup. A tiny lion cub would not be any less trouble, she was sure.

"We've got a hit!" Tony announced, barrelling into the common area. The engineer's hair was madly spiked up in every direction. His eyes darted about in a classic caffeine overdose look. Bruce followed in his wake, looking much calmer. They had clearly been on another all-night science binge.

"A hit?" Thor asked, looking slightly confused. He was seated on the main sofa, half way through the first season of 'Vikings'. Jane and Erik had dragged Darcy to Alaska a few days ago to study some bizarre readings that had been forwarded to Jane from a colleague she had met during her brief stint in Norway during the New York Invasion. The spikes were different from anything they had previously studied, but had several indicators that they were related to the Bifrost readings.

Thor had wanted to travel with them, but he, Tony Bruce and Clint were being hounded by Fury to track down the sceptre. Something was obviously on the Directors mind, he had informed them only that he was dealing with the internal leak they had uncovered when Sigyn came to earth, and that Natasha, Steve and he were dealing with the situation.

"The Sceptre." Bruce explained, as Tony had yet to. "We've managed to trace a few pulses of its signature around the area of an ex-Neo Nazi group in Sokovia. S.H.I.E.L.D records say it was abandoned when they took down the group decades ago, but it's well shielded and there's definitely something going on in the surrounding area."

"Avengers Assemble!" Tony declared. Clint had dropped down from a vent in during Bruce's explanation. Nobody had reacted at all during his sudden appearance, far too used to the archer appearing randomly mid-conversation. Sigyn continued absently stroking Lyra's toes, listening to the Avengers discuss the plan of action. Her daughter was lying on her back next to the goddess as she read another of the novels Jane and Erik had pointed her towards.

"My friends, I am unsure about leaving my good-sister and niece alone while we take this quest." Thor announced. Sigyn smiled. What a change, in times past Thor would never have missed out on any adventure, no matter the reason.

"Brother," she said softly. Thor turned to her, the same look of joy that he always had when she called him that. "We will be fine. The Sceptre is dangerous, you need to find it. Jör is coming the evening, I'm sure he will consent to stay a little longer while you are away. And I am not, as you believe defenceless – I did survive on the run, whilst pregnant for a year."

Thor looked apologetic. "I did not mean to imply that you were. I just worry. I do not trust that the Allfather will not change his mind and summon you."

"Trust me, Thor. The Allfather is no threat, for now. The hunter who came for me is in the custody of S.H.I.E.L.D., and most do not even know we are here. Go and retrieve the sceptre, and make this realm all the safer."

Thor smiled, nodding. The assembled Avengers went their separate ways to prepare for their mission.

- x-

And there is chapter one! Thanks for reading, it would be great if you could leave a comment to let me know what you thought!

The next chapter should be up soon-ish. I've got slightly more going on at the minute so my updates with be slower than in TEoTO, but you should get something from this or the prequel TToLaS every few days to a week.

If you haven't already, go and read the prequel, only a prologue so far but it is relevant to this story and TEoTO.

Thanks again, I hope you enjoyed, ChrysosArgentum. xx