{" Salmon. Bonito flakes.~"}
You can read early chapters on my [P].[A].[T].[R].[E].[O].[N].
Link: [email protected]/Arson09
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Jimmy McKenzie was a man deeply in love with his wife, Rosalynn. They had married earlier that day and were finally on their way to their long-awaited honeymoon.
Jimmy was a complicated man who had once lost his job due to drug addiction; he had been at the absolute nadir of his life, but Rosa had never left his side. She was the one who got him clean, She was there on the nights were his craving got worst, holding him close and seeing her work so hard for his sake had changed everything within him.
He got his life together, secured a stable job, and he and Rosa were finally in a good place
And When he proposed , she said yes.
Rosa was far too good for him, and he knew it. He had decided to treat her so well that she would never realize just how far out of his league she truly was.
But then, as they began their honeymoon journey through Nevada, traveling across the country, he encountered this women at a gas station. He realized he had been wrong about Rosa; she wasn't his true love after all.
This new woman is. The moment he laid eyes on her, he knew they were soulmates.
She called herself Lorelei.
Lorelei is an Asgardian sorceress of immense power, capable of using her voice to ensnare the minds of men.
In ancient times, she attempted to conquer the Nine Realms using her abilities and very nearly succeeded in taking over Midgard, though she was ultimately defeated by Lady Sif.
In the process, she earned Sif's eternal hatred. Roughly six hundred years ago, Lorelei enchanted Haldor—a man Sif was romantically involved with—leading to his tragic death at Sif's own hands.
Lorelei subsequently spent centuries imprisoned in the Asgardian Dungeons before finally escaping during the Second Dark Elf Conflict and Malekith's invasion of Asgard.
Now, she has arrived on Midgard once again, appearing near Death Valley, Nevada.
Lorelei had, of course, enchanted Jimmy.
Having left Rosa stranded in the middle of the wasteland, She and Jimmy pulled up to a gas station in the Nevada desert in his open-roofed sedan.
While Jimmy went into the station, Lorelei enchanted the leader of the Dogs of Hell MC, who happened to be present at the stop. When Jimmy emerged and saw a man bothering Lorelei, he dropped the bags he was holding and moved to confront him.
"This guy bothering you?" he asked Lorelei.
"No, he is with me now," Lorelei answered simply.
"What? No! I am with you," Jimmy insisted. "You said we would be together forever... remember?" he pleaded.
"I said... we'd be together until the end,"
Lorelei replied. Any warmth she had held a second ago vanished, replaced by a sadistic smile. "It is the end." As she finished, she backhanded Jimmy, who went flying with the force of a speeding truck
Jimmy McKenzie died on the spot from blunt force trauma.
Seeing Jimmy's body fly back, the gang leader asked, "Who are you?"
"I am Lorelei. Now, introduce me to all my men," she commanded with a smug smile.
Back on the Bus:
Skye came to in her hospital bed. She tried to sit up and stretch her muscles, only for Simmons to rush in and reprimand her. Simmons collected a blood sample before Agent Ward entered to update her on Mike Peterson's status. Eventually, the matter of her own training came up.
"Well, I need to better protect myself," Skye said. "So... when Simmons gives the all-clear, will we start training?"
"We will ease you back into it," Ward affirmed.
"No, I want to train harder. Next time, I don't want to depend on someone else to arrive and save me," she spoke with conviction.
"Alright," Ward agreed. "Careful what you wish for."
"And is Park still here?" Skye asked.
Ward looked uncomfortable for a moment. His instincts told him that Ethan didn't like him, though that shouldn't have been possible; he barely knew the man.
"Yeah, he's still here. Hovering all over Fitz, asking him all sorts of questions—something related to the Bus," Ward clarified. He had listened in on their conversation while performing his daily exercise routine that morning.
"It seems Park might simply be an airplane enthusiast," Ward concluded.
"I still can't believe it... one of the Avengers saved me. And Ethan Park, of all people—the guy is a ghost, and he's impossible to locate or track. Trust me, I've tried," Skye said at length. "How did that even happen?"
"Coulson," Ward replied and then hesitated, his jaw tightening. "They go way back—pre-New York. Coulson keeps a direct line to him. Honestly, Skye? I wouldn't worry about how to contact him. The way he acts, the way he looks at us... I don't think he likes working with others. Or maybe it's just S.H.I.E.L.D. he doesn't like."
"But he saved me... he came when Coulson called," Skye countered, her voice low.
"And I appreciate that—we all do—but..." Ward started, only for Skye to cut him off.
"But what?" Her voice was no longer soft.
Ward studied her for a moment. "Nothing. Forget I said anything."
He had been trying to poison Skye's opinion of Ethan, but perhaps he had pushed too far, too fast; he needed to slow it down.
In the lab:
Simmons hunched over a microscope, frustrated. She had been trying to analyze a sample of Skye's blood—which had been saturated with fresh RCT—but all her attempts yielded nothing. There were no new chemical signatures introduced into the system; it was as if the organs had been regenerated by energy from outside the body. But that should have be impossible, right? Could RCT be based on externally application of energy to revive dead cells?
Meanwhile, Coulson unsuccessfully tried to get a clue regarding Fury's location from Agent Sitwell.
Shortly after, the team received orders from S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ to deploy to the Nevada-California border, where the agency had detected energy signatures similar to the ones Erik Selvig and Jane Foster had discovered in New Mexico.
In the briefing room:
"New orders: S.H.I.E.L.D. is detecting massive energy readings in the skies over the California-Nevada border," Melinda announced.
They were all in the briefing room—Fitz, Simmons, Ward, May, and Park. Ethan was on the far side of the room, apparently napping. Coulson, however, was notably absent.
"Where is Agent Coulson?" Ward asked.
"Taking personal time," May replied shortly.
Ward started to speak, but Simmons cut him off. "These are the same readings that Dr. Selvig and Dr. Foster picked up in New Mexico before the Destroyer attack. They herald the arrival of an Asgardian."
"Thor?" Fitz questioned immediately.
"Not sure," Melinda replied.
"Either way, S.H.I.E.L.D. wants us to be the welcome wagon," May added.
"Okay, fine... no cause for concern. Asgardians are allies," Fitz tried to justify.
"Loki wasn't," Ward countered.
"I highly doubt it's an unfriendly," Park finally spoke, his right hand still draped over his face, eyes closed.
Every eye turned in his direction. The team looked at one another; it had only been a day since Park arrived, yet his presence was already heavy.
"Why is that?" May asked.
"The readings are similar to the Bifrost, right?" Park asked, sitting up straight and looking toward Simmons for confirmation.
"The Rainbow Bridge? Yes... they are," Simmons replied quickly.
"Well then, the Bifrost cannot be accessed by just anyone. Only two people can truly authorize it," Ethan spoke, holding up two fingers to demonstrate. "First, the King of Asgard—Odin himself. And second, at the discretion of the Gatekeeper, Heimdall."
"We didn't know that," Fitz replied with a relieved smile. "Then it's a hundred percent a friendly."
"Not a hundred percent," Park corrected. "There is the off-chance that Asgard has been conquered, and what's coming is an army to subjugate Earth."
Silence fell over the briefing room for several seconds until Fitz broke it with a nervous laugh. "Hehe... that's a fine joke, mate. What are the chances that an empire that has lasted for millennia would fall in a few days?"
Ethan stood up and stretched. "You'd be surprised," he said, walking toward the door. "Well, good luck with your unwanted guest."
"You're not coming with us?" Simmons asked, watching his retreating form.
Ethan didn't stop walking. With his back still turned toward them, he waved a hand nonchalantly. "Heh... and if it is an army... it was nice knowing you all. Haha." He ignored the question entirely, the sound of his laughter fading as he made his way toward the medical pod where Skye lay.
His words had rattled the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, especially Fitz. "He's kidding with us, right?"
"Doesn't matter now. Let's go," May pronounced, her voice cutting through the tension.
As it turned out, it wasn't an army. While out in the field, Lady Sif arrived via the Bifrost.
"I am Lady Sif of Asgard," she introduced herself to Agents May and Ward, her expression grim as she made a startling claim: "Your world is in grave danger."
She was promptly brought back to the Bus.
Coulson stood near the tarmac of the Bus with May at his side. "She is a warrior," he said. "I saw her fight in New Mexico alongside Thor and Park. She climbed a giant metal killing machine and speared it with her double-bladed sword... it was pretty badass."
Melinda smiled and informed Phil of Lady Sif's request. "She said she needs S.H.I.E.L.D.'s help in locating someone. You up for this?"
"Can't be worse than an alien invasion," Coulson said without thinking. A look of realization immediately passed over his face as he and May locked eyes. "I jinxed it, didn't I?"
May simply shook her head and asked, "What about Park?"
"What about him?" Coulson redirected.
"Really?" Melinda asked, exasperated. "How about asking for his help with the problem we have on hand?"
Phil ignored her question. "Let's go; we don't want to keep her waiting for too long."
The truth was Phil had tried asking for Ethan's help for the problems Shield handles on daily basis...but all Ethan as always, has refused, stating he was too busy to take anymore 'workload'.
Inside the briefing room, Lady Sif stood facing the monitor as Phil entered. Sif turned around, her expression softening slightly but remaining resolute. "We meet again, Son of Coul," she said with a grave nod.
"I wish it were under better circumstances. I understand you are looking for someone," Phil answered, his face calm.
"I am hunting her... Lorelei," Sif clarified. "Six hundred years ago, she used her powers to wreak havoc across the Nine Realms—to command armies and bring down kings and entire empires."
"What kind of powers are we talking about?" Ward questioned. "Strength? Speed?"
Sif shook her head. "Sorcery. She bends and shifts the will of men to her purpose."
Grim expression on everyone faces somehow became grimer.
"Only men? Her powers don't work on women?" May asked.
"No," Lady Sif clarified. "Men have an inherent weakness we do not share." May nodded at her words with a small smile.
"I can't imagine what she is talking about," Fitz whispered to Ward.
Lady Sif picked up the comment regardless. "The very sound of her voice can ensnare most. For the rare man who can resist, it is her voice joined by her touch that will overpower his will. Only Loki was known to be able to resist her charms."
"How do we stop her?" Coulson questioned.
"By using this," Sif spoke as she produced an enchanted collar. "It prevents her from speaking. She wore one for centuries while incarcerated in the dungeons of Asgard. She escaped following the Dark Elf invasion, utilizing one of Loki's secret shadow paths between worlds to travel to Midgard."
"Dark Elf invasion?" Coulson picked up, his interest piqued.
"It was a significant ordeal," Sif answered. "Ethan greatly helped us in that regard... Asgard remains grateful."
"Ah... he did, did he?" Coulson replied with his signature smile.
Just then, Ethan's voice drifted from the opposite direction of where Lady Sif was facing.
"Yeah... Dark Elves. Nasty business, I tell you," Ethan spoke, seemingly appearing from the ground up. "Literally creatures of darkness who came to bring eternal night... hah. The irony is, most of them died in a sun."
Sif immediately spun around, her hand dropping to the hilt of her sword. Ethan emerged fully from the shadows and stood opposite her. "Hey, Sif," he spoke softly. Everyone in the room turned, startled by his sudden emergence. "How is Vanaheim?"
After realizing who it was, Sif removed her hand from her weapon. "Vanaheim is at peace. The civil unrest has been resolved, and the people finally have enough food to feed their young again," she replied.
Following the Dark Elf invasion, Sif had personally led the Asgardian forces to restore order to the realm.
"What are you doing here, Park?" she asked.
"One of Coulson's team members was fatally injured," he said, gesturing toward Phil. "He called for me."
Sif immediately turned toward Coulson, who sensed the unspoken question. "She is okay now," Phil answered.
"This Lorelei sounds like a piece of Work,Hehe...Count me in." Ethan finished as he dipped back in his shadow.
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A/N: So how was the chapter?