Midguardian: Chapter 2
By TypingKira 22 Comments
ALL CHARACTERS AND SETTINGS ARE PROPERTY OF MARVEL INC. AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES. Also, Anthy, Agea, Katy, and Sophie are my characters.
--Warning-- There's romance in this chapter. It's not edited super well, mostly because I just want a chapter out!!! Plot development!
Me, Agea, Katy, and some girl named Sophie sat on the chairs alongside the edge of the room. “I hate this,” said Sophie.
“I don't!” said Agea cheerfully, a hint of what could be called mischief in her voice. “I love parties. Besides, I heard Tony Stark gets really drunk and goes all psycho when he's not watched. Is that vodka I smell? And don't be one of those emo people that says they hate stuff. We're lucky to be here.”
Her flippant attitude was oddly infectious. I smoothed down the dark blue fabric of my off the shoulder dress and tugged at my sleeves. “I love this dress,” I muttered.
“Great color on you,” said Sophie as she nervously fidgeted with her fingerless gloves.
“Thanks, Soaps,” I said, using the nickname given to her by Agea.
Katy sat at the edge, smiling, and trying her hardest to have fun, but she didn't seem much like a party girl. Especially not a boring, Stark Industries-Gala type gal. She wore a black dress with warm gold edges and detailing.
Rich people wandered around the room, most of them older people. Women smelled like expensive perfumes and wore designer dresses, like ours, and men wore suits and smelled like cigar smoke and scotch.
We looked around the room, at the same time, and saw a disgusted looking girl with dark hair and a bow, like for archery. “Is she armed at a gala?” asked Katy.
“Um, dude I totally think she is,” said Sophie, who was the youngest of us at 15. Katy was 16. I was 17, but only just so. Agea was a few months older than me.
“That's Kate Bishop. She probably hates us,” said Katy.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “Death stares.”
Her dark eyes narrowed in our direction and I stood up, walking away, followed by the others. We moved in a pack, and Kate followed us, followed by a blonde I knew as Cassie Lang and a cautious looking guy with silver hair. “Hey,” she called.
I turned to look at her, and she glared down at me. “Do you think this is a game?” she demanded.
I put my hands on my hips and Agea was at my side. “No, I think it's a gala. What's your deal, you've been glaring at us all night.”
“I'm not glaring at you, I'm disgusted by your little cheerleader act,” she snarled, and Agea chuckled, Sophie and Katy walking up closer. Cassie looked so-so on the matter, and the silver-haired kid looked like he wanted no part of this. “Kate. . .” he muttered.
“No, they need to know what they're up against. They don't even have a team name and--”
“Whoa, freeze, chicky, 'team'? Um, we're good friends, and we're capes, yeah, but like, none of us have—well, Katy's got a secret identity, and maybe Anthy, but we aren't a superhero team,” said Sophie. “We're just buddies.”
“Actually,” I heard over the mic. We all looked up at the stage, and saw Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Thor, Logan, and Bucky standing on the stage. “Today, the Avengers are proud to announce our newest affiliated team – the Raiders!” he said to the mic, addressing the crowd that gathered to listen. “There are seven slots on the team. Each to be filled by the team leader, slot one . . . Agea Parthenos!”
Agea lifted the skirt on her purple dress and walked up to the stage, climbing it and raising her arm in greeting to the crowd. Mr. Stark gave her the mic, and she looked out. “Ever since I was a little girl, I've dreamed of standing beside the greats. Um, I didn't actually think I'd be literally standing next to them,” she said, a funny Agea-look on her face as she pointed behind herself. Her nearly floor-length hair had been wound up with pearls and a white ribbon, but loose curls bobbed as she spoke.
The guests chuckled at her cuteness, she had them eating out of the palm of her hands.
I looked up to her, getting ever closer to the stage. Someone small, like me. Someone short and full of attitude, like me. Someone just like me and Katy and Sophie. Someone so far outside of the superheroine mold that it was a little bit wrong that we even dared dream of it.
But dream we did. And Agea took the first step.
I sat on the roof of Avengers tower, wandering around the Asgardian tower structure and wondering what to do. “So I am not the only one who is sleepless this night,” I heard, and I looked over to see Balder standing, one hand on the tower and the other holding the edge of his white cape, which looked strange over a white t-shirt and pair of jeans.
“Hey, Balder,” I said, smiling as we walked closer to one another. I pulled my black shrug tighter around my shoulders, and he touched my arm lightly.
“Milady,” he regarded me warmly. He looked over my dress and the details he saw on it, lightly touched the single silver wing clip in my hair. “You are a vision,” he smiled.
I blushed and smiled, my shoulders rising a little. “Thanks,” I answered stupidly.
“I assume I look far less grand, but that it might suffice if I ask you to dance with me?”
I took his hand and he placed to other one on my shoulder. There was no music, and I felt a little stupid, but it was okay. Every time his skin met moonlight, he glowed a little. “How do you know how to dance?” I asked, following the steps to a simple waltz, though I hardly knew them.
“I saw it on the Wikipedia.”
I'd passed over a book on dancing in the Avengers library. Maybe I should have picked it up.
“Balder, we look weird,” I admitted.
“Ah, but you are smiling. 'Tis a rare sight, to see you smile. And I would give anything to see it.”
I walked forward and into his chest, holding his calloused hands. “I'm smiling now. Happy?”
“Aye.”
He pressed his broad hands to my back, holding me softly. A few thousand years will teach anyone a thing or two about being romantic. “I have heard that you have had new troubles added to your old ones, is this true?”
“Agea, the Greek girl? She's starting a new team with the Avengers, and she wants me to be on it as Asguardian. Her Thor-type. But. . . I want to go home. I love New York, but. . .”
“You have doubts?”
“I want adventure. I want something. . . exciting. I guess, I don't really know what I want. . .”
“And what of Asgard?”
“Asgard? Seems like it's all I ever think about. How I should have hit Enchantress here, or how I should have blocked Vali's attack then, or how I could have stopped that arrow, I know now that I could have. . .” I rambled as I pulled away from Balder and walked around as I gestured. My hands moved in circles, wax-on, wax-off.
“Nothing you could have done would have prevented this. Meanwhile, the people that can are heading North, to the place called 'Colorado'. Tyr and Heimdall lead them.”
“Have they. . . what are they saying?”
“They are. . . impatient. Heimdall sends word that fights have become more common. I cannot linger here much longer, soon we will have to take Asgard back. But I have been confined to the Tower and the Mansion. I have taken to leaving one for the other just out of maddening boredom.”
“Don't go until Don says it's safe. . . I don't trust you not to go get yourself killed being a noble warrior and stuff.”
He chuckled and put an arm around my shoulders as we looked out to the city. “Oi, these shoes are killing me,” I muttered, and I leaned over a little, pulling off the strappy black heels. I was short again, but my feet ached with relief.
Looking up at Balder, I gasped a little as I saw the he was staring at me. His hand held the side of my face softly, and I placed my hand over his. “Forgive me,” he whispered, before dipping his head down to me.
I pushed my arms around his neck as he kissed me, his arms winding around my waist. Up on my tiptoes, he pulled back, pushing a loose curl out of my face. “Balder . . .”
“I am not certain of what to do now. . .”
“Then don't do anything.”
“Oh. Em. Gee,” gasped Katy. Sophie smiled with her hand clapped over her mouth, and Agea looked smug in the corner. “Pay up, MJ,” she said to Katy, calling her 'MJ' in reference to a Broadway actress she'd seen once that had red hair like Sentry.
“What?!” I gasped, shocked.
“Easy money. I totally knew you two had a thing,” she smiled, a satisfied look in her eyes as she counted her swag.
“We do not have a thing,” I said. “It was a kiss.”
“That's a thing,” said Sophie.
“No it's not,” I retorted.
“Soaps, you're like, 15. That's still like, the baby of being a teen. There's a lot to relationships that you still have to learn, young padawan.”
“Be nice, Agea,” defended Katy lightly. “So, like, now what?”
I looked at her quizically as I sat down to pull pins out of my hair. “So, like, what?”
“What happens now, do you get together or just stay--”
“Whoa, Katester, Balder's a king. It's a little more complicated than just 'together' and 'not-together'. It's more like a matter of, does Anthy wanna be queen of Asgard when she grows up and saves it?” explained Agea. “Does she want to be a superhero? Does she wanna have little Asgardian heirs? And does Balder want to date a hero with a fast approaching expiration date?”
What was I, a gallon of milk? I pulled an Infanta out of the mini-fridge and pulled the tab open, so that I could drink to my victory. Fizzy orange goodness ran down my throat, and I smiled.
“Lets go do something tomorrow,” I said. “I need to get out of the . . . mansion.”
Snorts and giggles erupted from our little group, and I went to be, feeling better than I had in a week.
The Raiders. . . finally, the Marvel U's newest team is revealed! Will Anthy join this team, or will she go back to Broxton? Will she accept her destiny as the Hero of Asgard?
And if you're craving a fight, well then get ready, because next chapter, the Raiders get their first taste of -- Whoops, almost told you!
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