Chapter 99 - Prelude to War

Malta, Ian Quinn's Mansion

Moment the machine was destroyed. 

After destroying the machine, the Gravitonium returned to a stable state, restoring everything to normal. Coulson was still a bit dizzy from all the room's rotations, and the Doctor was unconscious after hitting his head on something.

I crossed the window and entered the room where the Gravitonium was located. It was a material that defied logic by Earth's standards, but that doesn't mean much in the world we live in. I stood in front of the material, analyzing it better now. Its appearance was like molten silver writhing in the air, there was no better way to describe it. Since there wasn't much to analyze just by looking at it, I tried to control it with my powers. Controlling gravity is one of the hardest things for me right now, all my powers have progressed a lot after years of training, but not gravity.

(T/N: Someone should answer this, but does being the god of the sun grant you power over gravity?)

Even so, I felt the Gravitonium obey my call, coming towards me. As I know it has a purpose for Coulson's team, I won't take it all, so with a thought, 75% of the material was sucked into my dimension where I sealed it. With my mission complete, I returned to where I was, where I saw Coulson handcuffing Dr. Franklin Hall.

"So you're also interested in Gravitonium?"

He asked me with a bit of apprehension in his voice. He already knows that this is too dangerous to fall into anyone's hands.

"I need it to build something, but don't worry Coulson, it won't be used on Earth. You have my word."

My word seemed to mean something as he relaxed after what I said, then smiling at me he spoke.

"So. Want to meet my new team?"

I went with him to his means of transport and base, a military transport aircraft curiously called the Bus, a huge plane equipped with the best technology from S.H.I.E.L.D. The most interesting thing about it is its beautiful vibranium cell, built at great cost by them literally picking up every small piece scattered around the Earth. At the entrance of the plane, I was greeted by the entire team, some of them were really excited to see me.

"Folks, this is Baldur Odinson, King of Genosha, and member of the Avengers, Baldur this is my team. You've already met our new recruit Skye. The others are Grant Ward, Melinda May, and Fitz-Simmons."

Ward was looking at me attentively, I must say he had good training in hiding his emotions, any other Hydra agent would be at least restless to face me, since I was the one who cut off all their heads in the second war. May acted as if I wasn't there, but I know she's paying maximum attention to me, Fitz-Simmons on the other hand were looking at me with shining eyes probably waiting for a chance to bombard me with questions.

"Why don't we talk a little in my office."

Coulson tells me, and I agree, soon we both cross the entire huge aircraft to Coulson's office, we both sit down and start catching up. Coulson told me the story of how he was seriously injured and was saved by an experimental treatment from the agency, well he wasn't entirely wrong about that.

"So you were recovering?" I asked, continuing his illusion.

"After getting strong enough, I went to recover in Tahiti, actually, it was more like a vacation."

"And how is it there?" I asked.

"It's a magical place."

Coulson speaks mechanically, a good memory alteration technique I must say, not even Genosha could do something like this, since our research is more focused on the technological than the biological.

"You should tell the others, they really felt your death."

"I know that, I would like to tell them personally." He responds.

"You know that a message would solve the whole problem, don't you?" I insist on the question.

"I think in this matter I need to be more delicate than a text message." He says, smiling.

"You know best. Now I would like to know about your new team, more precisely the new girl."

Coulson begins to tell me how he met Skye and about her abilities. I wanted him to pay more attention to her and I couldn't do that just by telling details of the future, so showing interest is the best way.

"Why the interest in her?" Coulson asks me, curious and falling for the bait.

"She has the potential to be one of us, she will certainly be the best agent that S.H.I.E.L.D will receive."

"That's certainly a surprise. I knew she had talent, but not that much."

"Just take good care of her and train her personally, things will happen naturally."

I get up from the chair and when I'm about to say goodbye I remember something.

"Thank you for receiving me so politely, Coulson, I know that the opinion of the world's governments about me is a bit tense."

After my order to kill any group that attacks mutants, the governments seem to have joined together to take measures against me and Genosha. They don't have any power to hit me personally, so they used an attack targeting my image and the Avengers trying to convince the people to go against us.

The plan was not very successful, since we never had all the support of the people. It is likely in the future that they will cause problems for the Avengers legally, so maybe in the future, I will have no choice but to leave them, they can't do anything against me, but they can cause a lot of problems for my friends.

"I know very well the situation as a whole, you haven't hurt an innocent so far, in fact, you're doing what we should be doing. And even if I were to adopt the way of thinking of politicians, I doubt that any of them even thought of taking action against you personally."

Coulson tells me with a smile on his face.

"Thank you, my friend. Now I have to go, there are many things to take care of."

"You will always be welcome here, and if one day you need our help, you just need to call us."

With a handshake, I say goodbye to him and leave now for Genosha to finally give the last material to the Dwarves to complete their work.

POV: Third Person

Svartalfheim, Dark Forests

A Few Days Later

The Forests of Svartalfheim were completely devoid of light. Unlike some places in Svartalfheim that still received a little light, the forests were like a black hole where no light had a chance to propagate, its dry and huge trees grew feeding on the magic of that place.

This was certainly one of the most dangerous places in this kingdom, few dark elves had the courage to enter this forest, but today there were four beings right in the center of this forest.

"So. Tell me witches, is Fate favoring me?"

Asked a being sitting on a rock, the darkness was somehow enveloping that man making even the light of the lit bonfire in the center of what remained of an old temple reveal his face.

"Patience, my King."

"Prediction magic is the most complicated to handle."

"The answer will reveal itself soon."

The three cold, old voices came from the three witches standing in front of the man. The witches were small blue women with long white hair, two of them were thin, the other was fat, they had long nails. All three had black eyes as if they had been gouged out.

The most bizarre thing about them was their voices, all had identical voices, as if they were just one being.

"Finally, the future reveals itself!"

One of them said, looking at the broken black stone altar where the carcass of an animal that looked like a five-meter-tall deer was. The animal's stomach was open, and its blood was dripping from the altar, wetting the ground. The three witches, as one, raised their hands high, and the drops of blood from the animal began to transform into red runes in the air, there were more than thirty runes, each with a symbol engraved on them.

"Ask, my King."

"Quickly, while the magic favors us."

"But ask only what is necessary."

The witches spoke in a hurry, the figure in the shadows was silent for a few seconds, thinking about the right question to ask.

"Tell me if there's a chance of success." He asked.

"Yes!"

"There's always a chance."

"But he also has the same chances of preventing it."

The witches answered, looking at the blood runes above them.

"Who then has these chances? Odin?"

"No!"

"One of his sons."

"The one who is loved by the light!"

"Yes, I always thought that the destroyer of Jotunheim would stand in my way, but it doesn't matter, all are powerless before the one who has the Ether."

The being then stands up and starts walking around the bonfire with his hands behind his back.

"Tell me one more thing witches. How great will the destruction of my actions be?"

The witches once again use their magic, and the runes that were floating in the sky then distort and join in the air, the red light of the blood magic then begins to spin forming a vortex of blood showing incomprehensible images to anyone who is not them.

"We see War!"

"A War where the nine realms bleed!"

"A war that will be the prelude to Ragnarok!"

"HaHaHaHaHaHaHa!"

Any being would be scared by the witches words, but not this elf. He then approached the bonfire and finally the light exposed his face, he had blue skin, like any other dark elf, but half of his face had a different color, black as night.

"Good. Very good, we've been waiting for thousands of years. If it were just a small war, it wouldn't be to my liking. I want to see the faces of the Asgardians when I make all their precious realms burn, and in the end, I will destroy them myself. Then I will reign over the ashes where I will recreate the realms in my image!"

Malekith the Accursed laughed like a madman, imagining all the destruction his actions would cause across all the realms.

"I'm waiting, Witches. Tell me the moment the Ether appears, then I will send my army through the black Bifrost."

With that, Malekith turned around and returned to the forest to prepare his army for battle. A battle that would either destroy him or destroy the nine realms. All that is known is that no matter who wins, everyone will bleed.

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