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It was crying. Bewildered, Loki looked at the child.Despite the tears, it was a healthy Aesir babe. Red-gold hair, chubby limbs, and wet blue eyes.Closing her eyes so she wouldn’t have to see that shade of blue, Loki pondered what to do with the child. Her child. By Thor. Her older brother. By the Norns, why had Loki permitted herself to get drunk in Vanaheim? She’d known that the ale there was potent, that Freya and Freyr had no real love for Odin or his family, and yet… She’d stayed.And eventually, this mess came about. She’d just pushed her brother’s child out between her thighs and fuck, she can’t keep her daughter. Loki herself was Jotunn, had recently gotten the full tale from Aella, a Vanir soothsayer who’d known with a touch that Loki was other.Perhaps… Perhaps Aella could advise Loki on how to make sure her daughter was safe. But… biting her lip, Loki checked the child more thoroughly. She exhaled when she realized that the child was not like Loki at all. Where Loki had been born an intersex runt, as all Jotnar babes are, the child was completely female. It had taken centuries for Loki to grow into her femininity because of Odin’s illusion, and even now, the only reason she could fight in the army was that despite her very effeminate male persona, she was still seen as male.Aella was home, when Loki arrived. She’d made sure Frigga knew she would be away for awhile, to question some other healers and spellcasters. Unlike Frigga, Aella of the Vanir was a much simpler woman. She greeted Loki before ushering her in, raising her brows but saying nothing while Loki explained. Unimpressed eyes took in the babe. Finally, Aella pulled out a set of runestones, casting them twice, muttering as she did so, before she grunted, cleaned them up and sat back down. Her level tone and deadpan gaze belied the compassion in her careful words“Name the babe, and record everything she’ll need to know before adulthood. I’ll give you a charm to find a pair of your worshippers looking for a child to raise. Don’t visit too often, and don’t tell Thor. He still believes nothing happened at that feast. He won’t believe it’s his child until she raises his hammer.” Once she’s done as Aella instructs, Loki considers returning to Asgard. And then she hears a prayer.“My Lord, please see them…” Determined, Loki answers to her priest, shocked beyond measure to find that there is a group of them- all devoted to different gods- who had banded together to fight a common war. And the ‘them’ Jacques had spoken of, aside from holding high ranks in the Migardian military, were the grandsons of other gods, and the third of their triumvirate, a woman, was distraught.-Aside from a quick message to Heimdall that there was an issue with one of her worshippers, Loki settles quickly into life with the ‘Howling Commandoes’ and the ‘Aurelius’. The men (and Loki and Peggy) are all welcome, of course, but once they find Cap and Sarge, things are more than marginally better.-Torunn, now called Virginia, was well most times that Loki visited. She thrived on chaos and loved to dance in thunderstorms. She was the only person aside from Aella to know that Loki was in fact a Jotunn female, but that didn’t stop her from loving her mother.For a great many years, Loki and Torunn met every few months, exchanging gossip and Loki correcting the myths Torunn had heard. When she gained her nickname ‘Pepper’, and explained the meaning to her mother, Loki had a great laugh. And when she was hired as Tony Stark’s PA, Loki frowned. She had also kept visiting Aella on occasion, especially when in Vanaheim, updating her on Torunn and eventually receiving the other woman’s tales of seducing Heimdall.However, great if inconstant company though Pepper and Aella were, Loki was horribly lonely. She missed Thor and their mother, even Odin. Pepper was grown, the Howlies were laying low, especially as Howard was still grovelling for his wife and son’s forgiveness about hiding his business with the Commandoes. It was time to explore, Loki thought, with her granddaughter grown and her daughter content.By the time she was captured by Thanos, she thought the peace of death had come. She was wrong.- Amara Aurelius, granddaughter of Manannan Mac Lyr and princess of his court swore as her consorts and their friends ran headlong into the fray. Sure, they’d decided to put Steve back under the ice for the Howlies reveal, but she hadn’t expected this.Damned Princes of Summer and Winter.How is she supposed to defend the fucking city by herself?With a sigh, she signalled for any Aurelius clansmen in the area to assist and dug down deep, praying that being in Manhattan (and thus, near the sea) would boost her magic while the idiot brigades brought down the damn aliens.-
Crash!
Tony froze when he realized Pepper had dropped her coffee mug as he told her they had Loki in custody. He watched her swallow, nodding when she demanded to see Loki. He didn’t even protest, because he’d never seen her like this.The Avengers (especially Thor) were alarmed when Pepper Potts raced into Loki’s holding cell, shocking everyone standing there when she twisted her own seidr into permitting her entry into the cell and ripping the muzzle off of Loki, firing off questions in Old Norse. Loki blinked, looking at her daughter before answering in English“Pepper, darling…” Pepper growled, snapping back, also in English“By the Norns, Mother! I know you wouldn’t willfully turn so far away from who you are it would make him turn from you!” She gestured to Thor, continuing in another language“You may not always like him, but you love my sire. You wouldn’t risk his life.” Loki recoiled, and replied, still in English“While that’s true, I had to protect you, Pepper.” Eyes flashing, Pepper whirled, barking“I need Sharkness, now.” Steve opened his mouth to protest, but Tony patted his shoulder and dashed away to find her, hoping the strange woman would in some way help them out. Within the hour, Amara Barnes-Rogers was frowning as she probed Loki’s mind, scowling and wincing by turns. Shaking her head, the touch-telepath reported“Her brain’s a little torture-scrambled. It’s why she can only speak English. I’ll need to call Scheherazade or Professor X in to untangle all the knots. I’m exhausted and better at shielding than reorganization anyway.”Pepper was already on the phone, arguing with someone named Jackson, smirking when she verbally cornered him into escorting ‘Scheherazade’ and ‘Shadowcat’ personally.-Thor was confused.This was nothing new, it’s just these were very confusing circumstances. Tony’s Pepper (who was Loki’s daughter?) had interceded in Loki’s incarceration, the valiant shark-woman who’d protected the city had apparently looked into Loki’s mind, only to have Pepper call for another person on her strange device. Within hours, Thor was introduced to Victoria Russell and Katya Rasputina, the first an expert telepath, the other a naturally skilled tele-empath who could heal souls. It was all fine until Victoria put them all into Loki’s memories and Tony started twitching.(Torture, rape and screaming for so long you can’t speak tend to repulse people, in memory form)-It was an accident.Showing everyone the night on Vanaheim.In Scheherazade’s defense, she’d just found Loki’s buried memory of Jotunheim, of discovering her heritage, linking it to a memory of Pepper asking questions. Pepper’s- Torunn’s- questions had always led to Loki contemplating her conception.And so when she dug them out of Loki’s brain, Scheherazade cleared her throat and recommended Loki stay with friends. Steve, Amara and a newly arrived Howard argued and haggled over who would take care of Loki, who was so zoned out she couldn’t tell up from down. Amara won, smugly shuffling Loki over to Steve-Peggy Carter has loved three times.The first (and worst) was her infatuation with John Danvers,It… Didn’t end well. She was outed and humiliated and swore no one would ever be good enough again.The second time she falls in love, the world is at war and the skinny asthmatic beside her is somehow more enticing than she’d anticipated.And Steve seems to reciprocate even after he’s been turned into Captain America. But then he begs Colonel Philips in a voice close to breaking about a man named James. James Buchanan Barnes, it turns out, is an elite sniper captured by the Krauts. Steve defies all protocol on the off chance he is alive, and it hurts. Somehow, it hurts worse that he succeeded and although she helped him, he pulls away a little. As if Barnes were more important than her.…She feels selfish, when she puts it like that.After Howard gently (so, so gently) informs her that Steve and Bucky share an affinity for the old Irish traditions, her interest falls away, especially when she realizes that they’re so wrapped up in each other that it’s surprising Steve would see her.When Peggy Carter falls in love the third time, Howard has collected the Commandoes (and her) and insisted that they find the Captain. It’s puzzling, when the men put their heads together and try to figure out what ‘patron’ to call on.Eventually, they settle on Dernier summoning Loki and although it’s confusing, when it works, Peggy is yanked along for the adventure of a lifetime, Howard’s hand on her elbow and the Howlies’ voices in her ears.- Agh.Vanaheim mead is ridiculous.Loki has known the truth of her origins for a long while, but allowing Freya to get her and Thor drunk and shagging her adoptive brother was a little extreme. To make things all the better, she’s pretty sure she’s pregnant.Joy.So really, the distress call from one of her most devout priests is a boon. She lands on Midgard, surprised but gratified to find that all but the woman in this group are priests of the old gods. Jacques, of course, is hers. Howard is loyal to Hephaestus, James Falsworth and Timothy Dugan are brother-priests of Cu Chuilainn, James Morita is nearly as devout an acolyte of Okuninuushi as Jacques to her. Gabe Jones is one of the strongest Vodoun priests she’s ever heard of.Their request is bizarre, but she accedes as gracefully as she can, surprised to find that the man they’ve asked her to trace is not only a Prince of Summer (and a three quarters human great-grandson of Oberon and Titania to boot) but he was bound to a Prince of Winter. Within months, Loki has traced and rescued the Princes, earned both the Howling Commandoes respect and admiration and confirmed her pregnancy. By the time she’s waddling, the Commandoes have gone mostly underground.Steve and Bucky still lead, and Howard invents, with the other Commandoes working ‘security’ for Howard, but it’s Peggy (and until her pregnancy leaves her bedridden) Loki who make things run smoothly.Giving birth is a horrid experience and thank the Norns Loki was only attended by Morita. It was painful and somewhat humiliating. Her little Torunn takes her time growing up, despite being five years older then Howard and Peggy’s Athony, he’s leaps and bounds ahead of her daughter.Within ten years of retrieving ‘Sarge’ and ‘Cap’, the Commandoes have travelled the globe, each marrying when the time was right, and binding themselves to their spouses as their Princes had. James Morita had actually married a full-blood Japanese lady of noble blood, while Falsworth and Dugan had married twin priestesses of Brighid. Gabe Jones marries an African woman of royal descent who adores him. While enjoying Dernier’s wedding in Quebec, Loki wonders where Thor is, if he’s looking for her.(In Asgard, Thor grows increasingly intemperate, trying to forget the last night he saw his brother even as he searches desperately to bring him home)-For Tony, life got crazy when he was eighteen and his father asked him if he wanted to know the truth about the war. His explanation is full of ridiculousness, but it… it helps Tony understand why his father does what he does.A Commando meet explains even more. Not just for Tony but also his mother.Here, with his men, Howard is Ward, soldier-inventor and priest of Hephaestus. He drinks with the guys and horses around with Cap and Sarge, goes head to head in mind games with Aurelia and spars against Werewolf by Night like its easy.At first, Tony’s jealous.His Dad’s approval, so long sought after, feels even farther away than before. He- Tony- is not a soldier or a fighter in any way. He’s not Rhodey, excited about serving his country. And then Howard sits him down and explains that’s not what he wants from Tony.-By the time the New Mexico episode begins, Darcy is grown and married to Bruce Banner, having returned to start her Poli-Sci degree and so she’s onsite when her grandfather crashes to Earth. It’s weird, to look at her grandfather and know that this is the god who sired her mother, and yet he looks young enough to be her lover.Still, she’s the one untangling the knots of New York. With Amara and the other Aurelius’ assistance, the city stands undamaged, the Howlies are known to be active- Howard Stark among them. The official line is that they received the serum around the time they originally found the Captain, and with the help of Fury Senior and Howard, the entire unit went underground against the day they were needed.Honestly, Jane’s nice and all, but she’s not Bruce. At least he’s easier to understand, as well as being more understanding. So in addition to wrangling three generations of Howling Commandoes- all her uncles, aunts and cousins essentially- she has to help coordinate Aurelius troops and keep her Dad and husband in line. Since the alternative is helping her Mom with the business, Darcy is pretty happy to keep chugging along as she is.-Pepper Stark is content with her life. After her mother is treated for shock and trauma, it’s a simple matter to keep her father at arms length. Not because she doesn’t want to know him, but because it’s the best way to make her parents work through their issues.Tony, of course, has no real interest in resolving this. Sure, he knows that Loki is his mother-in-law. He knows that these are his daughters’ grandparents, but when Howard and Peggy have been better than anyone could ask for, he doesn’t see what it could do for Darcy.So the visit to Asgard is probably for the best.-Bruce is used to being the husband of an heiress. To an honorary princess of the three Kingdoms of the Fae. He’s used to the quirky personality of Darcy Stark.So the visit to Asgard where he’s acknowledged as consort to their Princess is a bit of a shock, but only because he didn’t know that’s where they were going. He’d have packed his Hulk tunic if he’d known.Tea with Frigga is lovely, of course. She’s kind, despite her sadness that Loki’s legacy has extended so far without her. Which is a blessing, really, he and Darcy have played the Arwen and Aragorn game before, there’s no need to dredge it up now (especially after Tony had somberly told him he was far too aware that both Pepper and Darcy would far outlive him).Still, Loki’s warning about Thanos gives them time to prepare, to be ready for the Mad Titan.And in the end, they are victorious.