35 Chapter 35 – Vanaheim

[A/N: Spontaneous double release! Enjoy!]

[2012 – October]

I had chosen a wooded area where I opened a gate to, as I didn't want to just appear in the middle of a city. No point in drawing unecessary attention.

The moment I stepped through the gate, closely followed by Wanda, Silver and Penelope, the intense smell of pine trees entered my nostrils.

The air smelled rich and vibrant – unpolluted.

Leading the way, I walked towards the edge of the woods, where I knew a small town was located.

The closer I got to the edge though, the bigger the frown on my face became. And after reaching it, I looked at the small settlement in the distance.

Even from a few hundred meters distance, I could hear the screams of battle coming from the town. Smoke and fire rising from many of the tents, and people desperately fleeing in the directions of the woods.

An ugly spaceship, situated on the planes on the other side of the city, told me all I needed to know.

Marauders.

Giving a quick look to Wanda, I saw her readying her staff and preparing her magic.

"Take care of the ship.", I left behind these words, before directly engaging my Superspeed.

Moving towards the town with extraordinary speed, I passed by the fleeing native Vanir and entered the nomadic town.

There were no walls protecting the settlement, so nothing hindered my sight, as I spotted the raiders – Sakaarans, Easik, Yrds, R'malk'i and Kronans.

Insectoid, reptilian, horned, plant-like and rock-like humanoids gathered together to satisfy their greed and thirst for violence.

Sadly for them, I would make sure that they wouldn't leave this planet alive.

Summoning my daggers, I channeled not only my inner fire into the blades, but also a healthy amount of space-rending energy.

Moving from one Marauder to another, I decapitated them. My blades not feeling the smallest resistance, as even the Kronan's rock-type physique was unable to put up the slightest resistance to my blades.

I didn't hold it against them, as my blades would even slice through raw Uru and Vibranium effortlessly. Enchanted Uru was a different matter alltogether though.

It took me less than a second to dispatch the group of roughly a few dozen raiders, leaving behind a blue-flaming trail.

Coming to a stop a few meters away from their space vessel, I felt Wanda's magic pass over me and capture the minds of those on board, freezing their movement and ordering them to line-up outside the vessel.

A moment later Wanda and Silver landed next to me, the red orb on Wanda's staff glowing with power, as she worked her magic.

"Silver dear, try to connect with the board computer and see if you can operate this ship.", I said, knowing it shouldn't be much of a problem for her.

"Yes, father.", she answered, still carrying the cub in her arms, "Come Penelope, let's explore our first spaceship."

"Let's begin." I said addressing Wanda, with her already knowing, what I wanted her to do, thanks to our telepathic connection.

Stepping forward, she pressed the tip of her wand on one of the paralyzed raiders, while she placed two fingers of her free hand against my forehead.

What followed next was me asking a series of questions, which the insectoid humanoid answered without hestitation thanks to Wanda's Mind Magic, along with me seeing images of his memories.

A few minutes later, after I had all the information I wanted, Wanda broke the connection as she drew back her hand and staff.

Looking at Silver, who had reappeared a few moments prior, I asked: "How is it? Can you fly the ship?"

"Yes, it is pretty easy actually.", she answered confidently.

Taking a moment to think about our next move, my thoughts were interrupted by a hestitant and hopeful voice.

"W-who are you? Were you sent by Asgard to save us?"

Turning around, I saw a middle-aged woman, with features similar to a woman of Asian descent, approaching from a few meters distance, a whole crowd of people behind her.

"We were not sent by Asgard. We came here on our own accord, looking to fight the Marauders.", I told her honestly.

Her eyes widened briefly, while the people behind her began whispering amongst themselves.

"What about them?", she asked, pointing at the hypnotised Marauders standing to the side.

A fiery-blue flash later and their bodies dropped headless to the floor.

"We don't take prisoners, if that was your question.", I answered with a calm look.

"W-who are you?", she asked again, taking a frightened step back.

"I am Silverfire. These are my wife and daughter, Scarlet and Miracle. Now, if there aren't anymore questions, we have Marauders to hunt.", I replied.

"Asgard! Do you have news about Asgard?", the woman asked hurriedly, desperately hoping for a positive answer.

"You shouldn't place your hopes in Asgard. The Bifrost was destroyed in a battle for the throne, isolating Asgard from the Nine Realms. Your reliance on Asgard has made you vulnerable. Dark times are coming, you have to learn to protect yourself.", I told her in a severe tone, and I meant what I said.

If things still progressed like I knew they would from the movies, then Asgard was bound to get destroyed and the Nine Realms would have to fend for themselves anyway. And with the Dark Elves on the horizon, I was pretty sure that the plot was still pretty much on course, even with my interference.

Odin would never allow the Aether to fall into the Dark Elve's hands, even if he had to use up more of his strength to send Thor to Earth again to retrieve it.

There was also the possibility that they would try and use the Reality Stone to fix the Bifrost. I didn't know if that could work, but with Asgardian magic and Odin's power and knowledge, they may actually have a chance to fix it with another Infinity Stone in their hands.

Of course, all that was just based on the fact that I wouldn't further interfere with their plans, which was unlikely to happen, as I had plans for the Reality Stone.

My words had the intended effect though, as the woman stopped asking questions.

After thanking us for saving the town, she took the people with her as they retreated to the town. Worried looks and concerned whispers present amongst them.

"Let's take the ship to the Marauder's base here on Vanaheim. After we take care of them, we can make a plan on how to continue.", I proposed.

"Sure, but Silverfire, Scarlet and Miracle?", Wanda asked with a mischievious glint in her eyes.

"Well, would you rather they give you an embarressing title they chose themselves?", I asked, avoiding her eyes, as a bit of heat rose to my cheeks.

"Don't worry, father. You picked the perfect names, mother just wants to tease you. You think so too, don't you Penelope?", Silver assured, as she came to my rescue.

Penelope on the other hand, just whined cutely and covered her eyes with one of her paws, obviously wanting no part in this discussion.

"How can you be such a scaredy cat, aren't you a bear?", Silver asked exasperated, causing laughter to erupt from Wanda and myself.