The Power of the Throne (closed for Ravenloft)

[scarlettnuit]

Dr. Ivy Wild looked intently at the supply closet door. Her lab was rather sparse, having just been hired by on the world’s foremost technological universities. She had never been to Bern before, so many things seemed strange to her, though none could compare to this.

She had spent many years of her life researching the possibilities of travel via worm holes. Her desire was to make it possible for people to live and work anywhere in the world, simply taking a worm hole to wherever they needed to go through some kind of transportation device. Many times she had been scolded by her mentor, stating that this was earth, not Star Trek.

But now she had reason to believe that she had made a break through. She had tested her portal device with several small cubes with gps inside. They had arrived in Africa, Vietnam, Mexico and Canada, only one device didn’t seem to come through, though she chalked it up to a device flaw. It was clear that her next step was to try and control the output of the portal.

------------

A small metal cube flashed in a darkened room as the sounds of footsteps echoed in the expansive hall. Nothing but the small flashing red light of the cube illuminated any of the feature in the room, features too faint to make out.

A hand reached out for the box to look at it more closely, illuminating Loki’s face brilliant flashes of red. He turned the box over to read the bottom:

Please return to Dr. Ivy Wild, Bern University

Loki waved his hand and brought up the lights. The golden throne room of Aasgard became illuminated and brought to life. Loki moved towards the throne and regarded the small item slightly puzzled. When it became known that Loki had indeed taken over the throne, Loki had closed all the portals that could possibly bring his troublesome brother home. He fought hard and steady and for now, his throne was secure. However, it would seem that this earthling had the potential to spoil his plans.

He stood and exited the hall. There was one last portal he had left open, one last bridge to the other worlds should things get too….complicated.

He ran his hand through his hair and put on his great helmet. There was no need to be coy with this woman. The more fear she felt the better. He would learn of her technology, and he would keep it for himself.

 

[Ravenloft]

Three agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. arrived at the university where Ivy Wild worked, having recovered one of her GPS boxes from Vietnam through one of their other agents stationed there. "Seriously, do we need all three of us? She's just a scientist." One of them asked. "Look, we have no idea what we're walking in to, for all we know, she could have weaponized this portal thing and zap us all right into outerspace. So, yes, I think safety in numbers is key here." The one that had asked rolled his eyes. "Whatever, its not like we're dealing with Doctor Evil here... She's just a woman."

"And a Genius." The more reserved agent replied. "So try not to make her angry, okay?"

"Sure, yeah, okay, whatever you said Agent Coulson."

They were all on an elevator now, heading up to her floor.


------------
Loki approached the hidden portal, which was only the size of a pea as it hovered in mid air and carefully touched it with the end of his royal scepter. The tiny portal responded by expanding open, giving him just enough room to pass through. He simply thought of his destination and the path way was linked to his minds eye.

Finally, cloaking himself in the image of his false father, he stepped through, directly into the room where Ivy was working, holding her device in hand. "Ivy Wild, I presume?" He asked loudly, turning the device over to read her name. "I'm afraid you will have to come with me now." He said, demandingly.


-------------

Outside and down the hall a ways, the three agents stepped off and walked with purpose toward Ivy Wild's lab.

 

[scarlettnuit]

Ivy jumped and let out a yelp as her comforting silence was now broken by a deep voice. She turned around to find the source of the noise and was rather shocked to see a great figure in front of her. She didn’t know who he was, for Odin had no visited their world, or at least, there hadn’t been any publicity if he had.

“You…I…” She slowly removed her lab glasses, blinking her ocean blue eyes for a minute. She was stunned for a moment, a feeling which quickly turned to annoyance.

“Who are you and how did you get into my lab!?” she half yelled at him as she put her safety glasses back on and started to look back at some of research that was strewn across the table.

“I swear, any minute I get some peace some bloody person is in here interrupting me.” She spun around and looked at the costumed man. “Look, I don’t know who you are but I’m not going any sodding where and you need to get out!” She told him as she pointed towards the door only to be greeted with a small explosion followed by three men stomping in.

“What the hell is going on here!” she yelled in frustration.

 

[Ravenloft]

"I? I am King Odin and you, young woman should BOW before me! I need not explain my arrival to the likes of you! But I shall not take offense at your ignorance, mortal, IF you obey me and come. Now!" He commanded, however, it appeared as though the woman was simply ignoring him, blathering on about constant interruptions.

"I would not be so flippant, mortal, if I were you..." Loki hissed as he split the image of Odin off from himself, multiple times and filled the room with them. "For I am ODIN, KING of the GODS and you SHALL obey me! Now BOW to me, before I make you, woman!" He surrounded her and glowered over her as energy swelled up through his shimmering scepter and he held it at the ready, to strike her down if she did not comply with his command.


It was then that his plan was interrupted by three men.

Turning to look, Loki went wide eyed with surprise.

"You! I thought I killed you!" He spat as he recognized the leader of the three.

Agent Coulson didn't recognize this one, but what he said froze him in place for a moment. One moment too long.

Loki snatched Ivy in his arms and placed the tip of his scepter under her chin.

"No offense, pal, but I don't even know you! And... I got better." Coulson quipped, drawing his gun.

"I wouldn't, mortal, one small thrust and the woman will perish, I swear it!"

Loki narrowed his eyes, considering dropping his illusion.

"I am sure you remember, how it feels to have and asgardian scepter pierce through your flimsy little body..." As he spoke, his face shifted, revealing his true visage to the agents.

Coulson stared, stunned. "No... It can't be..." He whispered in despair.

"No time now, I must be away!" Loki took the opportunity to throw the two of them through the open portal before the agents could act, wiling the portal to close behind him.

 

[scarlettnuit]

Ivy was about to respond when she suddenly found herself being held hostage by Loki. She had remembered reading about him in the papers and was now silent with worry. While she did find him somewhat fascinating, she also knew he would kill without thought or reason. She stiffened against him.

Before she knew it, she felt as if she were hit by a blast of air from behind. She screamed thinking that a bomb had gone off behind her. However, when she opened her eyes, she was no longer in her lab. She felt her body released and she dropped to the ground trying to catch her breath and make sense of what had just happened.

The room was tall and large arches gave a view to the outside world. While she wasn’t close enough to get a good view, she could tell that she was no longer on earth. She stood up and was shaky at first, but managed to stand.

She took off her lab coat, to reveal that she was wearing black skinny jeans, knee boots and dark green cashmere sweater that accentuated her eyes and fiery red hair.

“Are you going to kill me?” she asked softly, not moving from where she stood.

 

[Ravenloft]

"Oh, you fear me now, do you?" Loki said, rising the steps to his stolen throne. "Kill you? Hmm... That depends... Are you ready to do as I have commanded you and kneel before me?" He asked, sinking back into his seat and regarding her with a sneering grin.

"Or must I bend your knee, myself?" He willed his scepter from his hand to hover over toward her, causing the flinging, razor sharp edge of it to graze along her thigh before having the flat of the blade catch behind her leg and bring her down to one knee.

"There now, don't you feel better, being right where you belong?" He asked, holding his hand up to forestall any snide reply. "I'm sure you are wondering 'why me', am I correct? Ah, but such is the price of brilliance, is it not? You, my dear Ivy, have discovered a way to reach the very hall's of asgard, not an easy feat, to be sure. I believe this... belongs to you?" Loki produced the little black box containing her GPS tracker and tossed it at her feet as he willed his scepter back to his hand.

 

[scarlettnuit]

Ivy was still coming to terms with what had happened. She was always one for hard work and often got so stuck in that she barely noticed what was going on around her, thus was the case when Odin, no, Loki had appeared. So stuck in with her work was she, that she had failed to notice that a large man in ornamental gear had come into her lab. She had simply been annoyed that he interrupted her. She closed her eyes cursing herself for being such an addlepated twit.

She suddenly found herself kneeling before Loki now, for the first time taking a good long look at him. He was tall and lithe, with jet black hair and crystalline eyes. She had to admit, he had a commanding presence. Had she not been such an idiot she wouldn’t be in this situation now.

She ground her teeth slightly as he spoke down to her. However, as he held up one of her devices, she could help but be amazed. She started to get up with excitement to pick up the box but quickly kneeled back down. She did her best to contain her excitement for her breakthrough, but she couldn’t help but smile a bit.

“I…I never dreamed I would…I mean…” she wasn’t sure what to say. She finally picked up her box and stood, no longer caring what he did. She smiled broadly as she looked at the box which was in perfect condition.

“Now if I can just figure out how to control the destination, it will be the breakthrough of the century, you could live anywhere and work anywhere, you could…” she looked up to look at Loki and it was clear that he wasn’t quite as excited as she was.

“I suppose this throws a proverbial wrench in your plans…” she started, “It was a one off, I can’t really control where they go…we can pretend it never happened….” She added, hoping he wouldn’t kill her. Her only hope was the fact that had he wanted her dead, she supposed he could have done it on earth.

 

[Ravenloft]

Loki stared back as Ivy looked up at him from her kneeling position. Her unbound hair fell about her shoulders as her eyes flashed with surprise and anger. She did not look much like a scientist, or a genius from where he sat for that matter, but she was a woman and so he would temper his wrath accordingly.

She visibly chaffed at his command over her and he couldn't help but grin at that, for a woman, she clearly did not know her place, before a god. Her demeanor changed almost instantly as he produced her device though. She was more like a kitten with a ball of yarn than a shrew now.

"Pleased with yourself, hmm?" He asked, rising imperiously over her. "Wait... You don't know how you did it?" he was suddenly disappointed by the revelation. "You find a way into Asgard... When there are none... And you don't know how?!" He appeared directly in front of her and caught her by her wrists, sharply pulling her to her feet, seething with anger.

He glared at her for a long moment in silence, his eyes narrowing. "What would you need to figure out how to control your device?" He ask, impatiently, releasing her wrists and turning his back on her in vexation.

 

[scarlettnuit]

Ivy looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. She was doing her best to calm down her naturally feisty spirit that her Irish and Scottish ancestry had bred into her, but it was difficult.

“Well yes, I am quite bloody pleased with myself. While this may mean nothing to you it’s a completely new and revolutionary break through for us petty mortals.” She told him, the last bit sarcastically.

She gasped as he grabbed her wrists and suddenly became angry again. She pulled at her wrists but he was entirely too strong for her. Of course he was a God so she wasn’t entirely sure what she had expected.

“It’s a new technology…” she grimaced slightly against his grip. “I haven’t perfected it’s electromagnetic pathways yet. I was in the process of mapping worm holes.” She winced until he finally released her. She rubbed her wrists and then looked at him and sighed heavily.

“I would need my work, my computer…However from the looks of everything that was going on I fear by now it is either destroyed or stolen by those men that busted into my office.” She sighed heavily and almost sank at the idea of all her hard work being destroyed. “I…well really…I would just need to build more of my devices to map them…”

 

[Ravenloft]

"On the contrary, your breakthrough means a great deal to me. It means that my brother could one day return to Asgard on his own, and quite frankly, I can't allow that. So either you must agree to work for me, or I will simply have to destroy everything you have accomplished up to this point." Loki expained, circling poor Ivy. "I would rather not have to do that as you're theories into dimensional travel would be of great use to me actually."

"I cannot guarantee that I will be able to return everything you need to do your work, but I will send men to recover what they can from the men you saw before arriving her. They have no doubt taken your work by now, for their own gain, I am sure. I know them, they are more about keeping secrets for themselves than destroying something so powerful as dimensional travel... In any case, they will be dealt with, I assure you."

"In the mean time, perhaps THIS." Loki snapped his fingers and the room around them instantly changed. It was as though they were back in her lab, just the way it was the moment he had arrived. "Will help you sort things out and get things started? Everything that was there when I arrived is here, in a sense... You will find that you will not be able to access your computer or change any of your notes, but it should all be there for you to review as need be."

Loki turned away and left Ivy to her work as he went to go and send a loyal frost giant to earth to retrieve what it could from Agent Coulson and his men before they were able to confiscate it all from Ivy's lab.

 

[scarlettnuit]

Ivy was rather amazed at how easily Loki was able to conjure her lab. She looked at him for a moment before moving into the work space. Everything was there, the only thing missing was her notebooks and her hard drive, which no doubt, had been confiscated. She had been working on the algorithm for the destination of her devices. It wasn’t easy and she had to figure out how one managed to get as far as Asgard.

She grabbed a paper and pen and viewed what had been left up on the monitor. She imagined that Loki wanted an answer and quickly as possible, but she wasn’t sure she could guarantee one. While most of it was in her head, there was still a level of mystery as to the how and why of destination.

She sighed heavily and got to work on the formula. When she looked up again it was dark and she was starving. She stood up and stretched, her bones cracking as she did and looked around. She didn’t see anyone in the room at all.

“Hello?” she called a bit tiredly.

 

[Ravenloft]

Once he had dispatched the frost giant to earth, Loki cloaked himself in invisibility and snuck back into Ivy's illusory lab, to watch her work in silence. She threw herself into her work, that was certainly true, it wasn't until night had crept in that she seemed to stop to notice the time. Good thing she hadn't been working on time travel instead of dimensional travel, she may well have worked until Sol burned itself out.

He shifted and looked up at her from where he hid in the darkness, still invisible as she stretched and looked around. She must have heard him move, because she called out. "Hello?" For a moment Loki thought he might remain hidden to see what she would do if he didn't make his presence known.

He thought better of it and dispelled his invisiblity, standing and slipping out of the shadows. "Well met, Ivy Wild, have you made progress?" He asked, peaking over her shoulder, curious to see what she had done all this time. He was near, very near and his presence was... Strong.

There was a crash from the end of the hall and a mighty beast of a man came stumbling in, missing a large chunk of his right thigh. A black lap top in one hand and a note book in the other. "It is done, Loki, my debt to you is over." The beast growled in pain, dropping the things at his feet. "Well done Feron, and well met!" Loki exclaimed, pleased.

"Yes..." He hissed as he picked up the items and examined them, they appeared to be in working order. "Yes... I should say so, your debt is no more, I release thee from thy bond, good Feron, thank you..." He looked down at the wound, cringing. "You should really have that looked at my friend, it looks infected." He quipped, waving a hand, forming a portal back to Frostheim for Feron.

Feron left with a grunt, a mixture of pain and pleasure on his face.

Loki turned to Ivy, presenting her with her computer and her notes. "I trust these will help?" He asked, obviously pleased with himself.

 

[scarlettnuit]

Ivy jumped as he was suddenly behind her. The closeness of his words to her ear made her shiver a bit, though she didn’t know why.

“I’m doing my very best, though it is not an easy equation to figure out, else I would have done so before now.” She said tiredly. She moved to turn around to face him but jumped again as a frost giant came into the room. It was one of the scariest things Ivy had ever seen, though it was apparent that Loki was used to this.

She watched as her laptop and notebook were brought to her. She was so excited to have her research back that she jumped up and hugged Loki, kissing him on the cheek and then rushed to her laptop. She opened up and was glad it still had power. While the equations would take quite some time to figure out, her notes would definitely help her along the way.

She powered down her laptop to conserve it’s energy and turned to Loki. Only now did she realize what she had just done and turned bright red.

“I know I’m…well…I’m a prison here I suppose…but could I trouble you for something to eat, perhaps somewhere to rest?”

 

[Ravenloft]

Ivy's kiss surprised Loki, usually he suspected only duplicity in such an act, but Ivy seemed so jubilant about it there was no way she could have been anything but forthright in her intentions. He watched her rush about, checking her computer and her notes, bemused by her exuberance.

"Consider yourself a guest here, I have no intention of starving you, that would only cause your work to suffer after all." He said, diplomatically. "Come, feast with me, and then you may have your pick of bed chambers. The more rested and well fed you are, the greater your quality of work should be..."

 

[scarlettnuit]

Ivy was pleasantly surprised by Loki’s rather calm and diplomatic behavior.

“That’s very kind of you.” She told him as she followed him towards the dining hall. The architecture impressed her as they walked through the halls. It was both beautiful and strong, something she knew was no coincidence. Loki changed into his Odin form, which was unnerving to her, but she tried to act natural.

Upon arriving in the dining hall she saw a long table set with an elaborate feast. Roasted meats, vegetables and fruit were all heavily laid on the table. It was more than two people could eat in a week, but she supposed someone ate what was left over. It didn’t seem like the Asgardians were a people who were prone to waste and frivolity.

Loki was placed at the head of the table with Ivy being placed at his right. While they had walked the halls, Loki was once more in the form of Odin. Now that they were alone, he resumed his natural form.

“I’m a bit uneducated in the customs of your realm. If I do something completely off base at the dinner table, please inform me. I have no desire to appear ghastly.” She told him, too tired to really be angry about the fact that she was, despite what he said, essentially a prisoner. Besides, she was fascinated by this new realm and was rather excited to be there, not that she would let on of course.

 

[Ravenloft]

“I’m a bit uneducated in the customs of your realm. If I do something completely off base at the dinner table, please inform me. I have no desire to appear ghastly.” She told him, too tired to really be angry about the fact that she was, despite what he said, essentially a prisoner. Besides, she was fascinated by this new realm and was rather excited to be there, not that she would let on of course.[/QUOTE]

"Oh, no need to hold back here, a feast like this requires a bit of a firm hand." Loki explained as he sat and leaned forward, tearing a leg free from a plump and juicy roasted bird of some sort. The juices spurted and dripped from it as he brought it to his mouth with his bare hands and took a bite. "Who do you think taught the vikings what they knew?" He asked with a grin, licking his lips clear of the juices before dabbing them with a cloth napkin. He stabbed a roasted apple with a large two tinned fork and took a smaller bit of that as well.

"Eat your fill, as you can see there is no need to skimp on anything... Then I will have a servant show you to a room." He instructed, between bites. He glanced up at her as he ate, each mouth full he took, he seemed to ponder as if it were it's own little work of art, nodding slightly, or frowning in mild distaste as he evaluated each morsel in turn.

 

[scarlettnuit]

“Alright then.” She replied, relieved that there wasn’t some kind of weird Norse ritual to eat. She tore off some of the roasted bird and then helped herself to the many vegetables and fruits. She hate heartily but a bit more daintily than Loki.

She sipped the wine and was delighted at how delicious it was. She tried to steady her drinking, but it was stronger than she was used to, and despite her best effort, she felt a bit tipsy after only one glass.

She finally threw in the towel and pushed her plate forward, placing her napkin on top of it.

“Thank you, for such a delicious meal…” she said as she looked at him. She supposed he really wasn’t bad looking. He had a regal look to him, with a fine aquiline nose and piercing blue eyes. Of course he was apparently the god of mischief and evil, so that put a damper on things, but overall, a rather attractive man…well God.

“I suspect the wine is much strong than I’m used to. I suppose it takes a much higher alcohol content to relax a God.” She leaned back in her chair and sighed. She was full of delicious food and a bit tipsy. “Either way, I appreciate your hospitality.”

 

[Ravenloft]

"If you think the wine is strong, wait till you sample the mead. It is exquisite!" Loki encouraged, pouring her a large glass and pushing it in front of her with the tip of his bladed scepter.

He watched her with his sharp blue eyes as he waited for her to take a sip. "You would not wish to offend me by refusing my hospitality NOW, would you?" He asked warningly after a moment when it appeared she was not interested in sampling it.

 

[scarlettnuit]

If there was a sure way to get Ivy to do something, it was to challenge her and imply that she couldn’t complete the task. She simply raised an eyebrow and picked up the mug of mead. She drank it down heartily, managing to get half of it down without a breath. She then calmly set it down and used her napkin to wipe the froth from her lips.

“Delicious indeed.” She said with a smile. She knew she was getting drunk but the last thing she wanted to do was make this obvious. “Perhaps you should have some more. I’m sure it would do you good to unwind. Ya know, with the whole taking over worlds and ruling in secret thing going on.” She smiled and then took another drink of the mead.

 

[Ravenloft]

Loki recognized Ivy's ploy instantly and grinned knowingly, so without a word, he downed his flagon of mead in one go, clapping it down against the table firmly. His eyes seemed to pierce her as he proceeded to refill both of their cups.

Of course, it was all an illusion, he had actually been sitting in a corner of the feast hall, watching her interact with his mirror image in secret. "You have great pride, I do admire that in you, but this is one game you will not win." he whispered and his mirror image repeated in a bold and humored tone.

Just for a lark, he decided to test her and see what she would try to do if she did indeed manage to out drink his mirror image. The illusion of himself covered his mouth to burp, then hiccuped, giving her false hope that her plan was working.

 

[scarlettnuit]

“Pride I have…though it does have a way of getting me into trouble.” She admitted with a soft laugh. The way he looked at her made her feel as if he could see straight through her. It made her feel at little strange at best. However, the mead was warming her entire body and she was relaxing.

“However, I also can admit to my weaknesses and I’m sure you will win this one.” She said starting to slur slightly. “You actually might have already won.” She laughed softly again. She reached for a piece of bread and started to nibble it.

“You know, if I didn’t know better, I would think you were trying to get me drunk.” She said as she eyed him up and down. “And what exactly do you hope to accomplish by doing that?” She smiled, a bit drunk and enjoying the little game, it was pretty amusing.

 

[Ravenloft]

"Really? What. Ermph. Sort of trouble, you certainly don't look like you go out much... No offench." Loki paused and grinned, seeming to notice his own slurring. "I'm not sho sure about that. So sure." He corrected himself pointedly, lifting a hand to emphasize it.

"Drunk? You don't look drunk, all three of you..." He said with a grin, this was fun, playing with her so. "Hmm?" He questioned, straightening up in his seat. "What do you mean?" He had no idea, at least he appeared to have no idea.

 

[scarlettnuit]

Ivy looked at Loki and chuckled. She highly doubted from what little he drank that he was as drunk as he let on. He was a man with a lot of muscle who was also used to imbibing this brew daily, scientifically she doubted very much his intoxication, but it was amusing.

“Perhaps you are just drunk, I know I am a bit tipsy.” She said, just about to the point of slurring her words but not quite. She knew if she drank anymore she would be slurring and dancing and all kinds of things…She suddenly smiled to herself. Who gave a damn if she did any of it?

She picked up mug and drank it down without a breath and slammed it down on the table.

“Now, if we are going to be drinking, then I need some music for dancing!” she smiled at him as she stood up. “However, I don’t supposed that’s possible, given that you’re doing that whole under cover thing.” She told him as she picked up a strawberry like fruit and took a bit.

“I don’t know what these are but they are a revelation.” She then started to sing a song and dance to it by herself, her voice ringing clearly and pleasantly through the room.

 

[Ravenloft]

"Drunk? Me? Imposhible! Urp! Im-poss-uh-bull! My conshtitution is too high! I am a god, you know..." He had his mirror self act a fool for her. "Ahay!" He cheered, clapping for her as she downed her mead, almost immediately pouring her another, full to overflowing.

"Mushic... Mus-ic would be good!" He looked around as though searching for some instrument or another. The real loki couldn't believe Ivy was buying this act, but then, she didn't know him from adam. It mattered little, she was amusing him.

The mirror image of him focused on the berry she was eating and found so spectacular. "Um... Straw-berries..." He said with a sloppy grin, pointing out the obvious.

Her song and dance made the real loki pause, the mirror image freezing with his lack of concentration. She was good, so good he had to wonder why she chose science over art.

 

[scarlettnuit]

Ivy raised her eyebrow at him as he carried on. “If you are going to act, perhaps a little restraint is in order?” she said. “Unless you truly are an ass, which I find very difficult to believe.” She paused and was dead serious for a moment. “Do not mistake me for a fool Loki.”

She then moved to pick a piece of meat off of the bird carcass and nibbled it down. “You have made me drunk and now I suppose I do look silly to you, but frankly my God, I don’t give a damn.” She told him, chuckling at her own pun which she was sure he wouldn’t understand.

She began to hum a song she had heard in one of her belly dancing classes and started to dance slowly around the room. The song was exotic sounding and her hips and arms swayed in perfect time with the melody. She dance towards where Loki sat but stumbled a bit, catching herself on his chair. It was then she realized that her hand went straight through him.

“What the hell?”