Odin sat silently after I finished the riddle, his expression unreadable but his mind clearly racing. I could see it in the tiny shifts of his face, he was piecing together every line.Frigga too… her eyes kept moving, as though tracing threads only she could see.
"That riddle made no sense whatsoever," Thor said, crossing his arms.
"It's a riddle, Thor. It's not supposed to make sense immediately," Loki snapped back, annoyed at Thor, and even more annoyed that he also couldn't fully decipher it.
Finally, Odin spoke.
"Thor. Loki. Go with the guards and bring Lorelei here."
Both princes froze, shocked. Even a few guards looked like someone had slapped the golden off them.
"Father, you can't be serious!" Thor burst out. "She controlled my mind, she forced me to attack you!"
"This is my order," Odin said calmly, but with steel beneath the words. "All of you—go. Leave us."
Thor clearly hated it. Loki placed a hand on his shoulder, subtly pulling him toward the doors. The guards followed.And then it was just me, the Ancient One, Odin, and Frigga.
"I am dead, in this future," Odin said quietly. "That is the only way she could escape."
"Not just you," I replied, glancing toward Frigga.
She didn't look shocked.She didn't look afraid.She already knew loss was woven into their fates.
"How do I stop this?" Odin asked.
"If I tell you too much, the timeline collapses," I said. "But I can promise you this, I can help you stop Ragnarok."
Frigga stepped forward slightly. "Why does Loki betray us?"
"He wanted to prove himself. He makes… a lot of bad choices trying to do that."
Odin frowned. "You said 'the second one will stand broken and lost.' Thor is the second. But what of Loki?"
"He lasts longer than both of you," I said carefully. "But… he also dies. Many people die. More than you can imagine."
Silence.
Then I continued, softer but firm:
"But you can change the future a little bit. Start by making Thor less arrogant—he needs humility, not just strength. …And tell Loki the truth. That he's a frost giant. Why you really adopted him."
Both Odin and Frigga stiffened, not angry, but deeply uncertain.
Because they knew…I was right.
"Okay," I said, "just start with what you can do. Baby steps with Thor for now. But you really should tell him the truth, maybe not everything at once, but he deserves to know who his father was."
"I am his father," Odin snapped, anger flashing for a moment.
"You're right," I said quickly, hands up. "I misspoke. I meant his DNA donor."
Frigga sighed softly. "We will think about it. It is a very delicate matter."
"I understand," I said. "I know what it's like to want to protect your kid from everything."
Both of them blinked—surprised.
"You have children?" Frigga asked, genuinely curious.
"I have a son," I said, smiling a little despite the tension. "My pride and joy. He wants to follow in my footsteps—becoming what you'd probably call a warrior. Fighting for justice and all that."
I chuckled. "But he's only ten. And his mother would absolutely find a way to murder me if I let him anywhere near a battlefield. A woman scorned is the most dangerous entity in the universe."
Odin's expression shifted, like a man who had lived through that truth more than once.Frigga noticed.
The throne room doors opened.
Guards. Thor. Loki. And between them, Lorelei.
She was shackled, wrists bound with enchanted chains, and a magic muzzle over her mouth to prevent any spellwork or manipulation. Her eyes darted around the room, confused and wary.
Thor dragged her forward and stopped in front of me. Loki stepped beside Odin, posture stiff and unreadable.
Thor released her chains into my hands, then stepped back beside his father.
The room went quiet, everyone waiting to see what would happen next.
She looked… okay, but barely.Tired eyes.Bags underneath.Hair dirty and unkept.Not broken, but definitely worn down.
"Hello, Lorelei," I said gently. "Your sister is worried sick about you."
Her eyes widened, hope flickering in them. Probably assuming Amora had manipulated me into breaking her out. Honestly? Understandable.
I turned back to Odin.
"Thank you, Odin. And rest assured, I'll help you prevent Ragnarok. I might even be able to help with that other problem. The first one is too dangerous to just to escape her prison."
Odin nodded. "I understand. And thank you."
The Ancient One and I bowed once more. We turned with Lorelei in tow, preparing to leave the throne room.
But then a voice called out:
"Whatever you do, do not remove her collar. She can control any man."
I turned toward the speaker, and to my surprise, it was Lady Sif, standing beside the Warriors Three.
"I know her abilities," I said. "Don't worry. If she tries anything, I'm immune to all forms of mind control. I can handle her. And Amora will be able to keep her in line too."
Sif looked like she wanted to argue… but bit back whatever she was about to say.
"You're Lady Sif, aren't you?" I asked.
Her eyebrows rose, clearly surprised I knew her.
"If you're wondering how… let's just say your reputation isn't exactly quiet. One of Asgard's top warriors being a woman? Kind of hard to ignore the whispers."I smiled. "You should visit Midgard sometime. I know a lot of women who'd like you."
That made her stand a little taller, pride glinting in her eyes.
After that, we finally left.Heimdall opened the Bifrost, and with a flash of rainbow energy, the Ancient One, Lorelei, and I were sent back to Earth.
Once we arrived, I departed straight back to my island, Lorelei still in chains, and a very complicated reunion waiting to happen.
Amora POV
I was pacing around Ruby's room, again. I usually ended up here whenever my thoughts got too loud. Today was no different.I was worried. Truly worried.
The All-Father was not known for forgiving easily… especially when someone tampered with his favorite son's mind. If he decided to hold a grudge, this whole island could suffer. Ruby could get hurt... oh and The others too.
Ruby is the one I'm closest to.She didn't immediately judge me like the others. Sure, she teased me relentlessly, but she also helped me break down that ridiculous queen persona I kept clinging to. She helped me see that I never truly loved Thor, that I only loved the idea of power and admiration.
"You're worrying too much," Ruby said from her spot on the bed, lazily petting that strange purple dog of hers. "He's going to bring your sister here, and everything will be fine."
"You don't know the All-Father like I do," I said, finally stopping my pacing. "I should have insisted on my first request, my life for hers. That would have been simpler. Easier. Less dangerous for all of you. Why didn't Ed accept it? Why is he trying to save me?"
Ruby smiled, soft, sincere, annoyingly optimistic.
"Because Ed saves everyone," she said. "If he sees even a little good in you, he'll fight to bring it out. Look around, this island is full of people he gave a second chance to. We've got a criminal crocodile guy, a HYDRA assassin who was mind-controlled… and that's not even half of it."
She held up her hands dramatically.
"And yet here we are, safe. With a home. Among the many, many, many, many, MANY strange people and things he's collected."
" She's got a point, he's a collector of strange peoples, and things" The purple dog said, for emphasis.
Ruby scratched its head."And now there's you and your sister too. So relax. He's gonna come through."
She did have a point.I moved closer to the bed and sat down beside her, watching the way she absentmindedly stroked that strange purple dog.
"Have you visited him yet?" I asked softly.
Ruby had been dying to meet her father, but whatever HYDRA did to him… it wasn't easy to undo. He'd been resting for a long time. Healing. Recovering. Preparing to face a world he hadn't chosen.
"Not yet," Ruby said. "He's still resting. And Peggy and Steve want to ease him into this century first."
"They want you to wait to meet your own father?" I frowned. "That sounds foolish to me."
"It's not," Ruby said quietly. "I get it. He needs time. He was mind-controlled into killing a lot of people… and he's going to remember every single one. He needs space, therapy, support. Dropping a daughter on him out of nowhere? That might crush him more."
Her voice was steady, but the sadness behind her eyes was unmistakable.
And I hated it.
I hated that I couldn't do anything.That she, my only real friend here, the only person who treated me like a person instead of a weapon or a queen, was hurting, and I had no magic or charm that could fix it.
So I did the one thing I could do.
I slid closer and lay down beside her, wrapping my arms around her. She leaned into me immediately, hugging me back with the dog still clutched in her hand. She didn't cry… but she didn't want me to let go, either.
And I wouldn't.
This was something I could do for her.
And I wasn't going anywhere.
Steve Rogers POV
"…and that's how I got beat up in that alleyway," I finished.
My daughters stared at me like I'd just told them Santa was a Hydra agent.
We were sitting together in a fancy restaurant, fancier than anything I'd ever been to. I didn't even know the name of the place. The prices alone nearly gave me a heart attack, but thankfully Ed pays me well. More than well. Enough that I can pay for dinner, even if I don't have to. And I want to. It feels… normal.
The place was quiet. Empty except for a few servers. I wore a baseball cap, just in case anyone somehow recognized me, even though it's been nearly seventy years since I was Captain America.
"Wow, you got beat up a lot," Phoebe said.
"Phoebe!" Esme and Celeste hissed at the same time.
I laughed. "No, she's right. I did lose a lot of fights back in my day."
Esme tilted her head. "Why did you keep getting into fights if you weren't any good at it? You weren't even a super soldier yet."
"I just never liked bullies," I said simply. "There were a lot of them back then. Some bullied people for the color of their skin… some for being poor… some attacked women. I knew I couldn't really beat any of them, but I couldn't just stand by and do nothing."
I looked at each of them in turn, wanting them to hear it.
"That's the thing about bullies. If you let them keep going, they never stop. All it takes is one person to stand up to them."
"Even if that one person gets knocked on his ass every time," Sophie added dryly.
"Pretty much," I said, laughing with them.
All four girls were smiling.
And so was I.
For a man who'd missed seventy years of life, this felt like something I'd been waiting for the whole time.
"Can I ask you something?" Mindee said quietly.
"Sure," I said. "You can ask me almost anything."Peggy and Ed had made one thing very clear, I couldn't tell the girls anything about the base, the people living there, or anything classified. But personal questions? Those were fair game.
Mindee fidgeted with her napkin. "You… don't have to answer if you don't want to. But… what was the war like?"
That caught me off guard.Of all the questions they could've asked, I wasn't expecting that one.
"Why do you ask?" I said gently.
"I'm just curious," she said. "Your museum shows a lot of your accomplishments, but… it always feels like some details are missing. If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay."
"No," I said softly. "I can answer. Just… give me a moment."
I gathered my thoughts, let the memories surface, slowly, carefully.
"Well… to put it simply, excuse my language, it was hell."
All four girls straightened, suddenly focused.
"I saw a lot of people die right beside me," I said. "And I had to kill a lot of people too."
"You mean Nazis and Hydra?" Phoebe asked.
"They were basically the same," I said. "But yes. They were evil. Truly evil. And as a soldier… I had to stop them. I didn't like killing. It disgusted me. I tried to spare as many as I could."
I took a breath, the weight of old images pressing in.
"But one day… after we took down a Hydra camp… I saw what they did to their prisoners."
The girls went quiet.
"They used the men for hard labor, worked them until they couldn't stand. Others they kept for experiments. They were starved. Beaten. Broken for months."I swallowed. "And the worst part? They didn't know what happened to their families."
My voice dropped lower.
"In a lot of Nazi and Hydra camps… the women and children were killed in gas chambers. Other times… they kept them alive but…"
I stopped. The words were there, but I couldn't force them out. The horrors felt too heavy to put onto their shoulders.
But from the looks on their faces, they understood enough.And I continued.
"After that day… I didn't hesitate anymore. Not when it came to Hydra or the Nazis. Every time I went up against them, I remembered what they'd done. I lost a lot of good friends in that war. Some days, I want to forget it all… but I know I never will."
I exhaled slowly.
"And that's… good. I shouldn't forget. Remembering what Hydra did to innocent people, that's what keeps my resolve strong. So when the time comes to stop them again, I won't hesitate. Not this time. Not ever. This time… it'll be permanent."
There was a beat of silence.
"…What?" Esme asked.
I blinked, realizing what I'd just admitted out loud."Sorry uh, it's not important. Forget that last part."
Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "Meaning you weren't supposed to tell us that. Or anyone outside your superhero group."
"…Yes," I admitted.
Celeste exchanged a look with her sisters, then leaned forward slightly.
"Your secret is safe with us… Dad."
She said it quietly. Nervously. Like she wasn't sure if she was allowed to say it yet.
But the word hit me harder than any punch I ever took.Even as a super soldier, I swear my heart skipped a beat.
I smiled, soft, warm, full of something I hadn't felt in a long time.
"Thank you, sweetie," I said.
And at that moment… being a father felt more important than being Captain America ever was.
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AN: Sorry for the late chapter, I had some business to take care of, who you think Lorelei should be with.