Chapter 4 – Consequences, Responsibilities, and Training

 Thor's knuckles were bruised as he struck the wall of his room again screaming in rage. A large indent had formed where the young Prince, in an effort to vent his frustration and try to alleviate his guilt, had been hammering away all his strength. The rest of his room had fared little better, he had wrecked anything he could get his hands on: tables had been overturned, his bed was kicked to one side, and the books and playthings of his youth had either been smashed or thrown haphazardly around the room.

In a word, Thor was angry, but the problem was that he had no idea what to do with his anger, because up to now his anger had largely been a result of either his parent's restrictions or Loki's pranks going too far. The former was solved by disobedience whilst the latter was either sorted by his getting back at Loki or Loki making it up to him.

However today none of those options would prove of use, it had been nearly a month since their little escapade to Folkvang and not much had changed. Kal was still in the healing room, his father was angry at him, and his mother refused to leave his brother's side.

When Kal had been awake he writhed in pain at the noise only he could hear, so the healers had placed him in a deep sleep while the Lady Eir tried to figure out what was wrong.

Whilst their mother Frigga hadn't left the infirmary for a moment and even though no one had forbidden him from visiting, Thor had stayed away. He had tried to visit once on the day after their disastrous adventure, but then he had caught sight of the look on his mother's face and heard his father ranting about how stupid his eldest sons had been.

So, Thor had elected to stay away from his parents and thus Kal for the time being.

Leading to his present circumstances, he struck the wall one last time before exhaustion overcame him causing him to collapse on the floor panting. After a few moments, he saw the smashed and scattered belongings start to rearrange themselves back to normal. His mother Frigga had enchanted his room when he was younger to repair itself and its contents, given his habit of breaking things.

Thus, Thor was trapped in a constant cycle of destruction. He would rage and demolish his surroundings, only for them to repair themselves, and then he would start all over again.

Not too far from Thor's room, Loki was himself trapped in a loop, but whereas Thor had resorted to fury and abstract violence his brother had turned to blame and frantic searching to deal with what was happening.

Loki was currently condemning everyone he could for his little brother's condition, and he had decided those most responsible were Thor for coming up with the whole stupid adventure, their father for not stopping them, and lastly Kal for not telling them what was happening sooner.

Although it was the last one Loki rarely lingered on, while Thor bore the brunt of his ire. He had spent countless days coming up with suitable punishments or acts of vengeance he would unleash on his older brother for causing the situation. However, Loki had quickly abandoned his schemes about a week into Kal's condition.

Loki, unlike Thor, had visited Kal in person, having slipped past the guards in the dead of night to see his brother without anyone noticing. He had found his little brother fast asleep on a healing table, with his mother sleeping on a chair nearby and a constant medical scan projected by a Soul Forge that was in the room.

Upon seeing Kal in such a fragile, vulnerable state, Loki had abandoned (or more accurately postponed) his quest for vengeance and had since thrown himself into research trying to locate anything that could be remotely related to his brother's condition.

Given the mounting pile of books in his room and the sea of scrolls he was wading through every night, it was safe to say he was having no luck. Everything was either too broad or far too specific to help.

Thus, Loki's cycle was one of constant criticism and frustration, he would lash out at those he blamed for his brother's condition then immediately dive into research, only to end up nowhere leading to more frustration which turned to anger which turned to blame.

A loud crack sounded from the wall to his right, making the room shake again and causing the pile of books he had stacked there to collapse, again.

'28' Loki thought to himself. It was the number of times Thor had caused that sound and rattled the foundations of the room, he had done it once a day and Loki knew it signalled that he had collapsed from exhaustion from his childish tantrum.

'As if that helps, all that strength and power wasted on an idiot like my brother' Loki scoffed at the absurdity of life.

Loki pored through another book, this one about the inner workings of the ear, he quickly cast it aside. 'Useless. What is causing this? Something has to be the cause. Figure that out, then I can help'

Loki sighed in frustration, his hand rubbing his forehead again and then a large rumble came from his stomach, he hadn't eaten all day and in fact, hadn't eaten for most of the month. He had been light on meals skipping many to hunt for books in the library.

'I need to eat something, any louder and Heimdall will complain.' Loki smirked before he froze 'Heimdall, Heimdall. Of course, Loki you idiot!'

He was quick to scramble over to a book he had picked up earlier it was a medical study about various Asgardians and Vanir that had unique abilities, he tore through the book before he reached the section on Heimdall.

'Heimdall The Gatekeeper, also called Heimdall The All-Seer or The All-Hearing for his unique sight and listening abilities, which developed whilst young. Heimdall's connection to the Bifrost, and by extension Yggdrasil, allows him to see or hear anything occurring within the Nine Realms.' Loki read the text pausing for a moment to digest the information.

'What if Kal wasn't sick or suffering from a condition, what if Kal really was hearing everything and that was what was causing him pain. The mere unfiltered noise of the whole of Asgard going into one's ears would be enough to cause anyone to writhe in pain.' Loki thought to himself.

Was it possible? His father had told him that some Asgardians developed special powers as well as connections to cosmic forces as a result of Asgard existing at the Nexus of the Bifrost, and that in the royal family it tended to be more common.

Loki considered this for a moment. Could it really be as simple as that? Kal's hearing was just really good, and that was what was causing him pain? If so, all they needed to do was figure out how to block the noise out for him or, even better, Loki considered, teaching him how to do it himself. Heimdall was proof that one could filter out the perception of a whole cosmos, so surely Kal could learn to do something similar for just one realm.

Loki pondered for a few moments before deciding on what to do next and eventually concluded that he needed to talk to Heimdall to see if he could shed more light on the situation, and with that departed his room.

Whilst Thor trashed his bedchamber and Loki sprinted off to find the Gatekeeper of Asgard, Kal was in a very strange state, s unconscious yet aware, which he knew was odd already but even more strangely it was like the room around him was crystal clear to him despite his eyes being closed.

He knew his mother was constantly by his side, he could tell how many people were in the room at any given time, and had recently started to figure out who was who based on the conversations he was overhearing. He could hear the Soul Forge working near him as it projected a display of his body for the healers to examine and could also tell that no one had any real idea what was wrong with him.

Everything still hurt, his ears were painful, his nostrils still flared up at every scent and before they had put him into a deep sleep his eyes still burned, but everything had started to ease. He found that when he really focused like he was doing now the noise was still there but was almost shunted to the side and he could just focus on the room around him.

However, this state only lasted whilst he was in deep sleep. The moment they woke him up, like they had last week, everything came rushing back and the whole process started over again, frustrating both the healers and him.

"So, where did I leave off? Ah yes, here we are, the brave warrior had just entered the cave" His mother's voice was soothing, and he tried to focus on her as much as possible.

She was currently reading an adventure story that was quickly becoming his favourite. His mother had started the storytelling on the second night after he had been placed in the sleep, and he loved the steady rhythmic sounds of her words.

Nevertheless, she had to contend with the other whispering voices Kal could hear in the room. Well, to them they were whispering, but to Kal they might as well have been standing next to him yelling.

"So, what can we tell the King and Queen?" That was Chief Healer Eir, she was constantly asking that question.

"Nothing yet, I have gone over every single text, scroll, tome, and book we have, as well as sent out for medical research across known space, and thus far I cannot explain his condition." That was Mímir, his father's advisor, who every day had a new theory which was quickly proven wrong.

'The problem is that I am hearing, seeing and smelling everything!' Kal thought to himself. Why no one was getting that he did not know.

All the adults wanted a medical reason for his condition, some poison or infection or injury to blame. Kal understood that adults liked things complex, it's how they talked, but currently he was getting tired of complex things and just wanted someone to help him turn off the noise.

The hours continued passing by, with Frigga reading to him occasionally. She would stop as Eir conducted another test and then looked at the results only to sigh and go right back to poring over scrolls at her desk.

His father came in at one point, which was nice. He knew his dad was busy being King and all, but was enjoying the fact that every day without fail he visited 3 times: one to give his mother a meal but also to check upon him. His father always placed a gentle kiss on his forehead before leaving and Kal cherished the warmth and love he could feel in that kiss.

Kal felt the door open and sensed something new enter the room, two somethings actually. One was a small slender person, that Kal thought might be Thor or Loki he wasn't sure as said person bolted into the room. The second, he had no idea, but whoever they were, they were tall, like really tall, the person crouched slightly to enter the room and Kal could tell that the person wasn't just tall but powerful as well.

"MOTHER! MOTHER!" Loki's voice rang out causing Kal to flinch at the shrillness of his voice.

"Loki? What are you doing?! You cannot just come running into a healing room! And why is Heimdall here?" Frigga queered and Kal imagined she was looking shocked as Loki sprawled into the room.

"I know, I know, BUT this is important, I know how to help Kal!" Loki's voice was full of excitement and Kal could practically feel the grin on his brother's face.

"What? How?" Frigga's voice was a mixture of confusion and belief.

"Him" Loki was obviously pointing at the large figure in the doorway now identified as Heimdall.

It took a little while, but Loki had finally slowed down enough to explain what he thought he had figured out. The room now included Odin and Thor who had been summoned by Frigga to hear Loki's explanation. Well, she had summoned Odin, Thor had merely shown up once he heard that Loki had apparently come up with a way to help Kal.

"This is preposterous." Chief Healers Eir stated, "A child's hearing does not spontaneously improve to the point it can hurt."

"Well, have you come up with a solution?" Loki snapped.

"LOKI!" Frigga in turn snapped at her son for his rude behaviour before sighing. "Have you found an explanation, Chief Healer?"

Eir's face became tight as her lips pressed together. "We have not, BUT that doesn't mean we won't. I still believe it is a chemical imbalance in his brain causing sensory overload."

"An imbalance which, after a month of searching, you have yet to find." Loki snidely remarked earning him a glare from the healer and a hiss from his mother.

"Mímir, is it possible?" Odin asked his closet and wisest advisor.

Mímir gave a quick glance to Thor and Loki before replying "From what we know about the prince, it is in the realm of possibility. The young of many species, like Asgardians, develop gifts and powers at certain stages. This could merely be Kal's natural gifts coming in."

Odin nodded understanding the subtle implication that Mímir was making before turning to Heimdall "If this is the case, could you teach my son to control his gifts?"

"If the prince is suffering from heightened senses, I should be able to assist him with ease, my King" Heimdall responded in his calm baritone voice, bowing his head as he addressed Odin.

"Very well. Heimdall shall stay, and my wife will assist him. Loki, Thor, you will come with me. Healer Eir, awaken my son, then you and Mímir shall leave, but remain close in case of emergency." Odin commanded, striking Gungnir on the floor to emphasise his point.

Clearly not happy with the arrangement, Healer Eir sighed and began to administer the medicine necessary to wake Kal up before leaving the room with Mímir, giving Heimdall a sideways glance before she did. Thor and Loki cautiously followed their father out of the room to wherever he was taking them, neither of them keen on the forthcoming conversation.

The room was now silent except for Kal's steady breathing and the hum of the soul forge, it took a few moments, but Kal's eyes slowly fluttered open and as soon as they did the painful barrage of light, colours, smells and sounds returned.

"AHHH" Kal's voice was sharp with pain as he became overwhelmed again, causing his mother to grip his hand tight.

"My prince, you must listen to me. Focus solely on my voice." Heimdall's deep tone reverberated throughout the room.

Kal tried but there was just so much noise and sounds "I CAN'T! PLEASE! IT HURTS!"

"Kal, listen. I know it hurts, I know how it may seem that the whole realm is pressing down on you in all its vastness, but focus, allow the rest of the world to simply fade away. Imagine it is just you and I here, push everything else away slowly. And just listen to my voice." Heimdall spoke softly ,almost a whisper.

Kal took a deep breath keeping his eyes shut for the moment. He began to take steady deep breaths and slowly concentrated on Heimdall before him. It was slow and took a few moments but the roar of ambient noise he was hearing slowly quieted. Little by little, The world became smaller to Kal's senses. Eventually, his awareness reached where he had been in the deep sleep, and the room was almost crystal clear to him despite his eyes being closed.

"Good, good. Now, slowly open your eyes and focus just on me. Ignore the colours, just focus on me." Heimdall gave a quick reassuring nod to Frigga who was looking anxiously at Kal.

Again, the process was slow, but Kal steadied himself by focusing solely on Heimdall. He opened his eyes and was met with a sharp pain as the world before him exploded into vibrant colours and hues. However, with the noise no longer ringing in his ears Kal could appreciate the beauty of the universe around him for once and by focusing hard on the tall person-shaped silhouette the world slowly drew back into focus. First there was just a skeleton, then came a circulatory system, then muscles, skin, and finally golden armour.

Kal smiled as he finally could see Heimdall for the first time. He was a large man, much larger than he had initially thought. His uniform consisted of a chest plate that extended into his shoulder guards all of which was placed over ox leather clothing, and he also possessed a great golden horned helmet he had placed to the side.

Kal gulped slightly, if he was anything Heimdall was intimidating.

As if sensing the young boy's apprehension Heimdall provided a warm smile that reached to his golden eyes that helped to alleviate much of Kal's worries. Frigga, also noticing her son's discomfort, moved forward and gripped his hand to reassure him, while tears were forming in her eyes at having her son back.

"Mother! What is wrong?" Kal had turned to face her and his face had dropped when he saw her face.

"Nothing my dear, I am just very happy that you are okay." Frigga smiled whilst gripping his hand a little tighter.

"We still have much to do. my queen, but we have made a good start," Heimdall interjected softly.

"So, what comes next?" Frigga dried her eyes and turned to face Heimdall still clasping Kal's hand eager for them to continue.

"Well, let us begin with hearing, shall we?" Heimdall chuckled, as Kal enthusiastically nodded. "Alright then, listen closely. Begin with heartbeats: focus carefully until you can hear mine."

Kal listened intently. It took a while and a few new starts when his hearing flared up, but eventually his ears could hear the steady slow methodical beating of Heimdall's heart. Its rhythm was rather soothing, and a small grin broke out on Kal's face when he had it.

"I can hear it." The pure joy in his voice was almost enough to cause Frigga's eyes to begin shedding fresh tears of joy.

"Very good, now let's see if you can hone in on something not within this room." Heimdall's gaze shifted to a seemingly random spot on the wall, a smile spreading across the gatekeeper's face. "There is a small bird perched on a tree in the palace courtyard above us, listen, and tell me if you can hear it."

Kal turned his head to face the direction Heimdall was looking and closed his eyes in order to concentrate, the rush of noise returned causing him to wince and grip his mother's hand tightly.

"Carefully, filter out all the sounds until you reach the one you want," Heimdall instructed with great patience.

Kal slowly nodded allowing the noise to wash over him this time slowly as he picked through the sounds, he was not sure how long it took but eventually soft chirping was humming in his ears.

"I can hear it." Kal then opened his eyes. "WHOA!"

"What is it? Frigga asked in alarm.

Kal was starting to laugh with pure unfiltered joy. "I can see it, mother. The bird is little, yellow with a black beak."

Kal stared in amazement as he watched the bird preen itself. His vision was strange, he could see the bird, but the edges of his vision were slightly blurry and the bird itself was a little hazy which Kal suspected was a result of looking through solid rock. Nevertheless, he was amazed at what he was doing.

"It is, my prince. It appears you possess the sight, as well as other superior senses." Heimdall spoke, causing Kal to turn back towards him.

Kal blinked a few times and concentrated again on Heimdall, his vision went strange like it was adding in layers once more as the outside world disappeared, followed by layers of corridors and hallways until finally, he could see Heimdall again.

"The sight?" Kal questioned.

"It is a common phrase for those of us born with the ability to see the world as it is. Your father possesses it as well." Heimdall smiled as he explained to the young boy.

"So will I be able to see all the Nine Realms like you?" Kal asked in awe.

"Who knows, my prince? You are still young and, like your brothers, your powers will grow as you age. Your sight might be lesser than mine, it may be its equal, or even greater. We will just have to wait and see." Heimdall watched as the young boy's eyes grew wide in amazement.

Kal started looking around the room seemingly at random spots but with a grin on his face, the adults in the room could tell that he was enjoying his newfound control with his sight. They allowed him a few minutes until his stomach rumbled causing Kal to look at his mother with the anticipation all children have regarding food.

"Well, it seems this little warrior needs some food, and you have been in this room far too long. Let us have a meal together in my study. How does that sound?" Frigga asked, causing Kal to immediately begin nodding his head.

Kal for his part was still struggling with his newfound gifts but was more than happy to finally be awake and moving again. He would not say that he had mastered these abilities, far from it, but Heimdall had provided an invaluable service, merely being able to filter through the noise and sights was a victory, for which Kal could not fully express his appreciation for.

"Thank you, Heimdall. I would like to continue this training. Where would be best to meet you after our meal?"

"The courtyard my queen, it is best to see how the prince will handle the stimulus of the outside world so that we can see how much training he will need." Heimdall bowed his head whilst addressing his sovereign.

"Of course. Come little one, let's get you something to eat. And do thank Heimdall for his help, we will be seeing him again after your meal." Frigga lifted her son from the bed he had been seated on and stood him before Heimdall who stood as his royal sovereigns did, towering over both Kal and Frigga.

"Thank you, Heimdall," Kal said slightly sheepishly as he stood in the man's shadow.

"You are most welcome, my prince." Heimdall bowed his head to the little prince, before turning to Frigga. "A word of caution, my queen."

"Yes, Lord Heimdall?" Frigga looked up into the gatekeeper's face.

"Given the prince's strong sense, I suggest something bland to eat for the foreseeable future until he is trained. My Queen" Heimdall gave the queen a reassuring smile.

Frigga gave the guardian of the Bifrost an appreciative nod for his advice before departing the room. As she led Kal to her personal study she was careful to keep a tight hold of his hand as if releasing it would undo the progress they had made thus far and send Kal spiralling back into pain and unconsciousness.

As they approached her study, she instructed one of her handmaidens to tell the kitchen to prepare a light meal for them and that it was to be something bland and plain for the time being, remembering Heimdall's advice.

As she opened the door to her study Kal slipped out of grasp and barrelled inside like he always did as if the past month had not even occurred, which brought a smile to her face.

'Safe' she contented herself with that thought for a moment before a darker one whispered in her ear 'But for how much longer?' that dark thought almost caused her to shudder in the potential horror it held.

She knew where it came from. It was an old fear that she had never truly put to bed, namely the lack of knowledge about her son.

Mímir was the greatest researcher in the Nine Realms, and he had been helpless in finding out anything of use regarding Kryptonian physiology. There was just nothing to find, for the mighty people of Krypton were more myth than fact, and had left little when they retreated to their homeworld. What was left had either been lost to the ravages of time or picked apart by scavengers.

It had only been the grace of Loki's simple deduction that they had been able to help Kal at all, and even though they had only just begun, he was still a long way away from being fine. This fact was shown by his sudden cry of pain as he closed his eyes, having evidently been temporarily blinded by something he was looking at.

Before she could react however Kal had blinked a few times and if he had sensed her distress gave a wide smile to show he was fine. He suddenly turned to the door and quickly pulled a seat up to the table she had in her study for meals.

A few moments later she heard a small knock on the door followed by the voice of one of her servants: "The meal you requested, your majesty."

"Come in and place it on the table, please," Frigga commanded, giving the servant a nod as they delivered the meal, before turning back to her son.

"Kal did you see the food coming?" She inquired curiously about her son's behaviour; he was rare to sit at a table before being told to.

Kal thought for a moment before he answered, "I heard someone coming and then I smelt the food." He scrunched up his face in concentration as he spoke "And then I, um, saw her."

"Of course, my dear now, quickly eat up before it goes cold." Frigga gave her son a kind smile and a gentle kiss on his forehead.

'We must think about magical wards to give some areas of the palace a measure of privacy,'' she thought to herself, pondering how to go about it and where they would need them. 'Our bedroom, his brother's room, the guards' changing rooms, certain meeting rooms, the cells too, and of course the VALKYRIES' changing rooms especially.'

Kal was only 6 and she had no desire to have that particular conversation yet with him nor did she need the elite warriors of Asgard worrying about being spied on by their Prince. She suddenly paused in thought 'If he can see through the wall, what about clothing?'

She released a heavy sigh as she pulled up a chair to be with her son as he ate, also gripping a scroll to start making a list of things they had to either enchant or plan for, given Kal's new gifts.

Kal then suddenly spat out a mouthful of very mild soup and bread. "It's so spicy"

Frigga sighed again, adding meals to the list, it was going to be a long list.

Whilst Kal had been training with Heimdall and then had a meal with his mother Odin had taken Thor and Loki to the Throne room, but he had not ascended the steps merely facing away from them as he looked upon Hlidskjalf.

The three stood there for a moment. The hall was so quiet that a pin dropping would have caused a cacophony of sound. Odin then released a heavy sigh turning about to face his sons again, he looked aged in that moment, the lines on his face were pronounced and the silver in his beard seemed to become more pronounced.

"You must understand." Odin sighed.

A few moments passed before Loki broke the silence "Understand what father?"

"That all this, is a privilege, not a right and that you as the sons of the throne, MY sons, have a great and heavy responsibility to bear." Odin looked at each of his sons with a deep penetrating gaze.

"Father, we were not responsible for what happened to -" Thor began to speak but a heavy sigh from his father cut him off.

"It does not matter how it happened, it happened whilst he was in your care. A care I had not placed him in because you are not ready for it." Odin explained.

"Father I understand that you are angry but the moment I saw what was wrong I got help. I did the right thing…" Thor had stepped forward now to present his case for his care of his brother.

"I am not angry, my boy, I am disappointed. Especially because you do not seem to understand what I am saying." Odin rubbed his aged forehead as he spoke.

"Father, if I might interject, Thor was in the wrong for taking us from the palace BUT he did get help even though he knew the trouble he would be in. What more could he have done?" Loki's intercession, although it appeared to aid Thor, was in fact his subtle way of trying to shift the blame for the whole thing on his brother's shoulders.

Odin merely looked at his second son with sombre eyes that conveyed such disappointment that Loki knew his gambit had failed.

"You, as well, miss the point." Odin shook his head.

"WELL, what is the point then?!" Thor threw his hands into the air in frustration "That we left without telling you? I am sorry, alright, but this place is suffocating us! There is no one our own age to talk to!" Thor then went pale, releasing what he had just said.

"That may be true, if so, I am sorry, and we will discuss it. But thePOINT is that you took on responsibilities that you are not ready for and made decisions that you knew I nor your mother would approve of." Odin's voice was a mixture of frustration and sombreness.

"Thor, you will one day be King, and your brothers will be your charges to protect and to guide. But you are young and have no idea of what is best for yourself, let alone them. The crown is NOT power, it is a burden that you must prepare for"

Odin stepped forward placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "You are the eldest and like it or not, your brothers are your responsibility, where you lead they will follow SO I ask you where will you lead them, down an easy path into unknown danger to gain yourselfglory or down a harder safer path that I can guide you on?"

Thor felt small at that moment, he opened his mouth to talk but his throat was dry and was unsure of what to say. 'He had not blindly taken his brothers into danger for the sake of gaining himself glory! …... had he?' the thought was a troubling one he could not shake.

Odin merely shook his head at Thor's lack of response. "I too once had brothers, many brothers, I led them into wars and battles for power, for glory and sometimes just for a fight. I am all that is left of the sons of Bor. If you listen to anything I say, listen to this: your brothers are more important than glory."

Whilst Odin could see Thor had not fully understood or accepted his words about how foolish he had been, he did see that Thor at least understood that his brothers were his responsibility to look after. With that Odin signalled for Thor to leave which he did, leaving Odin and Loki alone.

"Father, I couldn't stop him. Thor was adamant and he would have dragged Kal off with him. I only went to protect Kal." Loki's voice was level, calm, and sounded sincere.

Odin merely sighed, shaking his head. "You have a talented tongue my son, and it will serve you well, but I was tricking creatures of the Fay long before you were born. Loki, you have intellect but not wisdom, for as you are your brother's charge, he is yours"

"What, you expect me to look after Thor?" Loki asked with a smirk on his face.

"Yes. He will be King one day and he will need you to guide him. Thor is an emotional boy and will be a passionate man, you must temper that passion with wisdom and counsel." Odin spoke softly knowing that Loki would not like what he heard.

And he was right.

"So! I am to be nothing more than a glorified servant to a reckless and irresponsible idi-"

"LOKI! ENOUGH!" Odin's voice boomed; he then released another trying sigh "I cannot make you see, but please for me and your mother try to guide your brother, not use him. You might even find in doing so that you discover a place for yourself."

Loki sighed in frustration whilst casting a glance off to his side. "I will… try, father." 'Surely if I amto have the ability to guide Thor then I should be king?' he thought to himself.

"I implore you, my son, please do. Now go, we will speak more of this later." Odin patted Loki on the shoulder as the young boy left.

'One son too reckless and impulsive for his own good, a second that schemes too much for his own good and a third I know almost nothing about. May the Allfathers guide me' Odin thought to himself.

He spent a while in silence thinking about the events of the past month and the issue caused by his lack of knowledge around his youngest son.

Kal's origins always caused Odin's brow to furrow, at least with Loki he knew what to expect. The Jotuns were well known to Asgard but Kryptonians, what they knew of them could barely fill a child's storybook, and most of that was hearsay or rumour.

He needed to know what was going to happen to his youngest son, was Kal going to age like Asgardians or like the mortals of Midgard? Was he going to change colour, grow as tall as Heimdall, was he going to develop any more gifts? Odin needed to know.

But as always, the issue was Krypton. That damn stubborn planet had the audacity to retreat into itself, then spend aeons isolated from the universe only to then blow up taking anything that could help his son with it. Well, all except a useless metal pod that despite Odin and Mímir spending hours with it could only be ascertained to be Krypton because of the symbols and held some sort of information codex that they could not access.

Odin started to walk hoping that movement would clear his head of these troubling thoughts, and quickly decided that the balcony overlooking the courtyard would be his destination. He needed fresh air to clear his head, and besides, it was too soon in the day for him to go delving into the archives like he usually did.

As he reached the courtyard balcony, he was met by the sound of Heimdall providing his son instructions, Odin was slightly shocked to see that Kal was already out of the healing room but was happy, nonetheless. He cast a quick concealment spell over himself not wanting his presence to disturb his son's learning.

He passed the hours simply watching his son engage with Heimdall as the gatekeeper provided instructions for Kal to follow, it was mainly to listen for a specific sound or teaching the boy about light so that he could understand what was happening to his vision when he focused on something.

It didn't take long for Frigga to look up to the balcony, she squinted as a flash of magic passed over her eyes allowing her to penetrate her husband's spell. Upon seeing him she gave him a loving smile and mouthed 'He is doing brilliantly' before turning back to Kal aiding him in trying to look through the courtyard wall.

Eventually, Heimdall was forced to end the session as he had to return to his duties, but also because the hour was becoming late, and the prince was required to go to bed. This was a decision that Kal was none too pleased with but nevertheless submitted to.

"Come now Kal we have to head back to the healing room" Frigga spoke softly, yet her voice still carried to Odin above them.

"But… aren't I better?" Kal asked confused.

"Yes, but you still need training and Healer Eir needs to check you over, I promise it will not be for much longer." Frigga gave Kal a reassuring smile.

Kal thought for a moment, his face contorting in concentration before he declared. "Okay but only if you read me the Warrior and The Dragon"

Frigga chuckled but nonetheless acquiesced to her son's demands.

Odin for his part lifted his spell and departed the balcony going to his private study and summoning Mímir to meet him there.

Upon arriving, Odin found his chief advisor waiting for him with a large collection of papers in one hand and a strange black hexagonal container in the other. Mímir bowed his head to his monarch, a gesture Odin returned as he let them both into his private sanctum.

Odin's private study was best described as a grand library. Towering bookcases flanked each wall that stretched beyond sight creating a seemingly endless corridor and on top of each of them was another and then another. Whilst in the air golden threads of magic wove through the air occasionally being broken apart by projected imagines of distant worlds or events from long ago.

Mímir however was used to it and quickly placed his papers and the strange device on an empty table before turning back to Odin. "My king, I am guessing you would like an update on what I have discovered regarding Kal?"

"I have. It appears Loki was right, his condition appears to be a natural ability that we were unprepared for, not some chemical imbalance as Eir believed." Odin spoke plainly, dropping formalities now they were in private.

"Yes, well children usually see the simplicity in things whilst us adults look for, eh… complexities." Mímir offered.

"I will not leave any of my sons' futures in jeopardy because we relied on the off chance for someone to figure out a solution to a problem we could not foresee," Odin stated bluntly.

"Of course forgive me." Mímir bowed his head, to which Odin waved a dismissing hand.

"It is okay, my old friend. Please tell me what you have found" Odin walked up to the table Mimir had placed his papers on.

"Well, I have found out more but not much. To begin, Krypton was apparently a much harsher environment than I first believed, from what I have found their atmosphere alone would shred most species to pieces." Mimir showed Odin some of his findings. "Their star was also ancient, barely producing heat let alone the necessary rays to sustain life. If Krypton had not exploded, I doubt life on it would have survived much longer."

Odin poured over Mímir's findings, whilst they were indeed slim and not much more than they had before they were still impressive and a testament to Mímir's skills as a researcher. Odin turned his attention to the strange case on the table.

"And what is that?" Odin said, gesturing to the container.

Mímir lifted a finger asking for a moment as he filled with the lock "I had to trade quite a few rare items for this to a very unpleasant Collector on Knowhere."

As Mímir opened the case a bright emerald glow emanated from the box as the casing was removed. It revealed a slender sickly green crystal that was faintly producing a hue of fluorescent green light.

"What is it?" Odin asked, turning to face Mímir.

"That, my king, is a piece of Krypton" Mímir announced.

Odin's eyes raised in surprise as he re-examined the now-identified rock, it was an odd thing unlike any substance he had encountered, and as he tried to use his sight to examine the rock on a molecular level he discovered that the green hue prevented him. Odin looked at Mímir to explain.

"Ah yes, the rock is highly radioactive and studying it is difficult." Mímir admitted.

"Is it dangerous?" Odin queered.

"To you or me? In a mountain-sized quantity or for a very long time, yes, but in the short term no more harmful than holding a hot stone. To Prince Kal however, it behaves very differently." Mímir explained.

"How?" Odin demanded as he glared at Mímir for answers not liking that something was potentially deadly to his son.

Mímir lifted a glass tube filled with black ash for Odin to see. "This was a sample of Kal's blood, when I exposed it to the crystal it caused the cells to break down."

"Why would a piece of Krypton be deadly to Kryptonians?" Odin asked with a look of puzzlement.

"Well, I have a hypothesis, and mind you it's only a hypothesis. I believe that Krypton and its atmosphere naturally possessed very minute quantities of a rare radioactive isotope that weakened Kryptonians and other lifeforms slightly by breaking up the more advanced chemical reactions in their cells." Mímir explained passing Odin a series of data sheets that detailed his findings.

"Now, these isotopes are likely natural and the Kryptonians just evolved to deal with them naturally, but when Krypton exploded these isotopes somehow became supercharged by the energy of the planet's core and bonded with any material they were in contact with. Thus, the remains of Krypton are radioactive by a factor 4000 times what they naturally would have been had the planet not met its end, thus becoming deadly to Kryptonians." Mímir explained his findings and waited for Odin to ask any questions.

"I believe I understand. How close would Kal have to be for this to harm him." Odin gestured to the crystal whilst reading Mímir's findings.

"About 15 yards give or take, the radiation the isotope creates breaks down quickly, so it's naturally limited in range. However, I don't think that is our greatest problem." Mímir bit his lip as he glanced at his King.

"What do you mean?" Odin put down the papers he was holding to fully turn to Odin,

"Well, this crystal is 4000 times more deadly than it should be," Mímir spoke cautiously

"Yes…" Odin was beginning to lose his patience with his advisor.

"I exposed Kal's blood to this crystal and it took minutes for the cells to break down. It should have been seconds, but Kal's are strange. They are beginning to produce a vast amount of energy. I believe that this is a result of not being exposed to these isotopes while also absorbing the solar energy of younger, healthy stars." Mímir provided his explanation slowly.

"So Kal is going to become stronger?" Odin believed he was understanding what Mimir was saying.

"Oh yes! And if I am right, we won't have to worry about him ageing too quickly compared to Thor or Loki" Mímir clarified.

"How so?" Odin's gaze told Mímir that he had best reach whatever he was drawing up to.

Mímir gulped slightly "Ah, well, if my theory is right and the test results back it up, Kal is not only going to become very strong, but he is also going to live for a very, very long time."

Odin merely stared at the glowing crystal before him, watching as it almost pulsated like a beating heart before him.

"Run your tests, make sure." He turned to leave to discuss with his wife their next move before turning back around. "AND LOCK THAT DEEP IN THE VAULT!"