- ...so, if you adjust this vector by three percent, it will not only give you ten percent additional power, but will also allow you to "soften" the incoming energy, which will not only make control easier, but will also allow you to use it to create autonomous remote constructs.
"Like your illusions, venerable Lug?" asked Kaecilius, who was listening attentively to me with a group of other Masters.
- Exactly! Moreover, given the ability of people to separate their astral body from their physical shell, this can become the basis for the transition to a completely energetic form of existence. Although I would be more careful with this.
"An interesting option," the Elder sipped her tea, "but in that case, you'll need extreme control over the energies, otherwise there's a very high risk of simply dissolving in the ocean of that very energy. Or burning out in the first moments — the astral body is much more vulnerable than the magician himself to the effects of pure force, which is why, although you can fight in it, it's extremely dangerous and not recommended without the most urgent need."
- That's why I said that this is only the basis and you need to be careful, - I shrug. - Here, I wrote down my thoughts on this matter, and the basic principles, of course, - I take a weighty volume out of the subspace and hand it to Kaecilius. Yes, yes, favoritism and all that, but he makes great tea, so he deserves it! And it's not at all because he also got hold of a book somewhere especially for me called "The Whole Truth About Cocoa Varieties" along with "samples" of these very varieties. A cunning sorcerer! I respect him!
"English?" the Dane was surprised, just looking at the first pages.
- I can in Futhark or Asgardian, but why? - I raised an eyebrow. - The most common language on Earth now is English. Of course, I selected all the specific terms describing magical effects and principles based on the contents of your library - they simply do not exist in English, and it will be easier for you, but otherwise - why complicate the understanding of the material for no reason? I think the venerable masters will be interested in immediately familiarizing themselves with the calculations described there - a nod to the volume - and not agonize over the translation.
"Please accept our gratitude," the magicians bowed.
This was the end of yet another... how can I call it... gathering to exchange wisdom, perhaps this is the best way to describe the process when God, the Thousand-Year-Old Archmage and a dozen and a half already gray-haired master magicians gather in a large hall, brew tea and begin to discuss the problems of magic, ways to solve them, and share the secrets of interesting solutions and executions. Here, of course, it was mainly my party - after all, I was a rather enlightened person, and it was necessary to give back for the knowledge they had previously provided, but sometimes the venerable men also threw in extremely interesting ideas, after all, to master the whole layer of experience accumulated over a thousand years in just a few weeks of communication with several carriers and reading books on the topic, and the earthly magicians still had something to surprise me with. Let their school be clearly created on the basis of the Asgardian, but after that the mortal magicians changed a lot in the received basis. Something was forgotten, something was optimized, something was developed, something simply became outdated and lost its relevance due to changes by the magicians themselves. In short, first of all, I "finished with a file" the tools they already had and "expanded the bottlenecks" that, from the height of my knowledge, I could see and figure out how to refine so that it would be suitable for people, and with an updated base, gentlemen and ladies magicians will already be able to discover new interesting perspectives for themselves. From my point of view, it was much more useful and valuable for them than if I had started pushing completely new principles of completely different traditions of witchcraft.
The respected sorcerers dispersed (mostly, they all stomped off to the library, where, I bet, the wise men would huddle over a book, like teenagers at a camp where they managed to smuggle in a porn magazine), but I was in no hurry to leave the study hall, as was the Elder. It wasn't that we had silently agreed to talk without extra eyes and ears, but her experience was enough to catch my desire.
"Tea?" she offered with a smile when we were alone. There was something mischievous in that smile, as if we had really cunningly conspired behind the backs of those who had left, and now everything was going according to plan.
"Thank you," I nod in the same tone, watching as the teapot, the water in which never cooled, soars into the air and pours the aromatic brew into cups. "How did you like today's lecture?"
"Quite informative," the Elder closed her eyes, inhaled through her nose and exhaled blissfully, after which she smoothly moved her hand in the air, calibrating the connection with the Quantum Dimension according to the new principle. Several orange sparks broke off from the forming seal, but this was much less than in the previous version, at the level of "I'm sawing flint with a grinder." "Indeed, it has become easier and more convenient," she assessed her sensations, "but it seems to me that you wanted to talk to me about something else, venerable Lug."
- True. To be honest, the attack of uncontrollable inspiration on the basis of magical research has let me go a little, in connection with which I have several topics for conversation, each of them interesting in its own way, and I will begin, perhaps, with the most unpleasant and dangerous.
- Even more dangerous than the one you dissuaded Master Kaecilius from?
- Yes, many times, - no matter how you look at it, Dormammu, in the worst case, could only devour the Earth, and the crazy hysteric in the glove with rhinestones plans to literally halve the universe.
"Well," she sighed heavily, "I'm listening."
- We're talking about the Eye of Agamotto. I suppose there's no need for me to explain what it actually is?
"The Time Stone," she tensed. "Do you need it?"
- No, - I looked seriously at the sorceress, - not to me, but to one mad titan who wants to destroy half of the universe with the help of the Infinity Stones. I have already protected the Space Stone so that now I myself will not be able to get to it even if I wanted to, at least not without sitting over it for three hundred years, knowing what, how and where to do. And I ask you to do the same for the Time Stone.
"The Eye was given to me for safekeeping by my mentor…" she paused for a moment, but then clearly made up her mind: "By your father."
- I guessed, - I smile, in order to defuse the situation, because she was clearly too tense about this topic. - The Asgardian Kings generally like to shove extremely dangerous artifacts on Earth. Odin's father, Bor, also sealed the Reality Stone somewhere in the British Isles, and, according to my calculations, the seal will survive for the next few years, and something will have to be done about this too. But I apologize, I interrupted you.
"I and my successors were supposed to keep the Eye at the request of the King of Asgard, I believe that at his request I can return it to the King.
- As I said, I don't need the stone. None of them. I didn't give up the sweet promises of one thing that could violate the space-time continuum to immediately grab for another. So... The King of Asgard simply asks for a change in the containment conditions of this Euclid-class SCP, - in the end, I couldn't resist the internal itch to show off.
- I'm sorry?
- Don't pay attention... it's just youth slang that I've picked up over the last century.
- Like "lick the socket"? - The Elder smiled.
"Yes, something like 'lick the socket,'" I confirmed. "So what do you think about my request?"
- Of course, I have nothing against it. The Stone is a temptation almost greater than the Dark Dimension. It may not "whisper" in itself, but...
– Everyone regrets something, everyone has pages of the past that they want to rewrite, and the tool for this is so close, and all that is required is just to reach out.
"Yes," she closed her eyes. "But I understand very well that using the power of the Stone disrupts the balance in the universe, and this will certainly have the most negative consequences, which will not only devalue the corrections made, but will also make everything much worse."
"However, understanding does not save one from the torment of temptation," I nodded understandingly, taking a sip of tea.
We were silent... As they say, everyone was thinking about their own things, and the tea in our bowls was slowly coming to an end.
"I keep it in a separate room behind the library," the Elder was the first to break the silence, putting aside the empty dishes. "Let's go."
The journey was short. As expected, almost all the Masters were sitting in the library, including the old caretaker. They responded to our arrival with a short, friendly bow, but that was all they reacted to - the book was clearly more interesting to them than just the archmage and the god, who were walking somewhere together. After all, it was not the first time they had hung around like this, and the book was interesting, yes.
The stone, enclosed in an elegant emerald pendant, lay on a separate pedestal. As with its brother, as soon as I saw and fully realized that here it was - the ultimate cheat of "Phenomenal Cosmic Power", capable of making me literally immortal and invincible, thoughts immediately ran through my head about what could be done with this stone. To return to the times of the creation of the world, to learn all the secrets of Odin's power, to put Time itself to my service, and not these childish tricks with my own acceleration or a stasis field on a small area of space, but to obtain full-fledged Time Magic, to turn mountains to dust with a wave of my hand and return cities and civilizations from this dust. The power "that my father never dreamed of" was so close...
"Well, just looking at this thing makes me feel like I'm getting dumber…" I shook my head with sadness in my entire pose.
- Oh? - my companion asked.
- It's just that these thoughts about possibilities and prospects that appear in your head as your own... they sometimes overplay so much, while remaining completely natural and authentic in all senses, that you want to cry. In particular, the Time Stone just inspired me that with it I will receive power "that my father never dreamed of," - I spread my hands and purse my lips, using all the skills of the former Loki to convey my feelings with facial expressions. - I will receive power that Odin never dreamed of, taking in my hands the Eye of Odin... which he himself created... It's so logical that you can't find fault, - and now shake your head and painfully massage your eyes.
– Do you think the Stone influences the owner's mind?
"I am absolutely sure of that," I sigh. "They all definitely have their own will and, as I suspect, a desire to have fun at the expense of events around the carrier. It is difficult to say whether they have a full-fledged personality and intelligence, although if they do, they have little in common with ours. The worst thing is that if I had not initially had a strictly negative attitude towards their use and an unequivocal conviction that I do not want to have anything to do with them, I would not even notice the effect on my consciousness, sincerely believing that all these thoughts about prospects and possibilities are my own.
"That really does explain a lot," the sorceress nodded, puzzled. "Will you act right now or would you prefer to first read the instructions your father left behind?" the Elder changed the subject, again rewarding me with a slight smile.
"I'll be very happy to read the instructions!" I enthusiastically supported the smile.
"Then it's here," and my companion headed back towards the library.
There I was given a little book, one of those brutally chained on a separate shelf, and for the next 24 hours I was lost to society again, emerging from my reading frenzy only once to read a bedtime story to Laura and kiss Ororo. And I must say, Odin was a weak-willed bastard, right! Why? Because that bearded sower of artifacts had developed exactly what I was only planning to do with the Eye a thousand years ago! That book contained not only the principles of basic artifact control, so to speak, in operational use, but also a fully described technique for shifting it into the eternal next moment. That is, no matter how much you grab it with your paws, it will always be a little bit in the future relative to this moment, leaving only the illusion of its presence in the present, and most importantly, only the one who placed it will be able to take it out of this state. Brilliant! And weak-willed and stingy! If only the Great Me had! Immediately hide from everyone, refuse the temptation to use cheat codes, resolutely go through the storyline of your life on the honest basis of personal strength! No, this weakling left a loophole for himself - built the whole reception around it! He couldn't show character! And he calls himself the Allfather, but he himself has no inner core! How can children follow such an example? No wonder I grew up such a sly-assed gnat. Yes, yes, it's all Odin's fault! Info - 100 percent!
In general, I was charged with an unprecedented desire to correct the mistakes of past generations and began to smoke a new villainous plan on how to cynically mock the entire universe. Because the Marvel Cinematic Universe deserves to be mocked!
After some time, I showed the results of my research to the Elder:
- What's wrong with it? - the woman tried to touch the amulet, but as soon as her hand came closer, it seemed to blur into a multi-colored haze. - An illusion? No... its power... can still be felt, albeit in a strange way.
- Tell me, Elder, have you heard of Zeno's aporias?
"Of course," she nodded. "Do you have a specific one in mind, or are you wondering if I know all forty?"
"In this case, we're talking about Achilles and the tortoise," I continue to build up the mystery.
"I know," the sorceress frowned, "but I don't quite understand what this is all about now?"
- Zeno claimed that the swift-footed Achilles would never catch up with the leisurely tortoise if the tortoise was ahead of Achilles at the start of the movement. It would seem to be sheer nonsense, an allegorical example of the infinite divisibility of space and time... or the falsity of the idea of this very infinite divisibility, depending on how you look at it. However, this statement would only be an allegory in the mouths of mere mortals, in our case... - I waved my hand towards the artifact, smiling contentedly, looking at the work of my hands, - this is a direct description of the mechanics of the process! - If, theoretically, I could get the Stone of Space, even if I had to kill a shitload of time, then the Stone of Time... I confess, I had no ideas at all. And that's just wonderful.
"But what happened to him?" the sorceress continued to be confused.
- Achilles and the tortoise, - I was bursting with pride at the joke I had pulled off. - The stone is conceptually always an elusive moment ahead. That's why when you try to touch it...
- The hand will pass through, because it does not exist in our moment in time, - she understood, because she had also read the book. - But you do not maintain the spell and the magical connection with the Eye... - she understood the second point, running her gaze over me. - This means that they are self-sufficient and it is no longer possible to influence them from the outside, because it is impossible to establish a connection with the Eye... - she moved her hand in the air near the amulet in a gesture already familiar to me from Odin's book. Several rune rings, shimmering with green light, unfolded in the air around the sorceress's wrist, her magical energy flowed towards the artifact, trying to take control of it, however... - And indeed, despite the proximity of the power, it is out of reach. I cannot reach it at all... Brilliant, - the Elder delivered her verdict.
- Glad you liked it, - oh, if Thanos does get to Kamar-Taj, and then realizes what they did with the stone... I wonder if its jet propulsion will be enough to get to Tatooine or only to Tau Ceti? - It will be a good joke for whoever tries to get it.
"Now I understand why my ancestors feared your jokes, venerable Lugh, often more than the wrath of Morrigan.
- Oh, you flatter me, - I could only bow playfully. - But since we're done here, why not have another cup of tea and talk about more pleasant matters? I still have two important matters to discuss.
"With pleasure," the woman answered me, creating a portal to her chambers. "Please."
The Elder's apartment hadn't changed a bit since my last visit. The same "pagoda" feeling, the same light colors and the light scent of sandalwood or some other fragrant tree. Light and airy. We sat down at the table, the woman poured more tea, we paid tribute to the taste of the first sips and only then got down to business.
"So what were the other topics you wanted to discuss?" the sorceress was the first to ask again.
- There are two of them, and they are connected. First, I would like to ask about training two of my wards, more precisely, my assistant and my child.
- Cuchulainn?!
- No... - I tiredly rubbed the bridge of my nose. - I don't have any children of my own, and I just gave that guy one of my early crafts based on the repetition of Gungnir. I can't even remember why, most likely, I was just in a good mood, and he turned out to be a pleasant conversationalist. Everything else he did himself - earthly myth-making still saddened me, however, the Irish treated me with much more respect than any Scandinavian-Germanic bestialists, so I treated them with much more sympathy. - I have two wards. A young girl and a very young girl, with whom life brought me together and it so happened that now I take care of them to the best of my ability. They are mutants, but not simple mutants. Both are regenerators, whose lifespan is unlimited and can exceed even the Asgardians. And I would like to make magicians out of them.
"Students who have an abundance of the most valuable resource in the entire universe – time…" The Elder shook her head. "But why don't you want to teach them yourself?"
- Precisely because of the lack of this resource. Besides, no matter how you look at it, I am used to working with magic in the traditions of divine races, and working, let's say, at a certain level of knowledge. I can explain something to you and your Masters, but teaching the basics of a tradition that is foreign to me to those who do not understand anything about magic at all is much more difficult. They should be taught the human tradition, and no one can handle it better than people themselves, especially since your educational process has long been established, while I would have to do everything from scratch.
- Well, such students will certainly be welcome within these walls, especially if they are personally recommended by the God of Magic.
"Thank you," I nodded. "That brings up the second topic. How would you like to meet a charming gentleman who does roughly the same thing as you, but only in the context of mutants?"
"What do you mean, venerable Lugh?" the woman asked for details.
- I am talking about a man who mentors young mutants in order to develop and limit their talents, and at the same time eliminates the problems of the Earth that arise as a result of the actions of mutants. Working with his wards can give magicians quite a lot. The talents of Charles's students are based on a spiritual mutation that moves to the physical level. But even when it has already moved, the potential of the spiritual body does not decrease at all and only increases in descendants. Under the influence of the energy of the Quantum Dimension, similar processes occur in you, but they remain on the spiritual-energetic level. So the symbiosis can be very interesting.
- Hmm... do you think that this is the very "new stage" in the development of magicians that you spoke about with Master Kaecilius?
- Not quite, - I shook my head. - Their abilities, ultimately, determine more the physical development of the species than the mystical, but, combining this with your practices of developing precisely the mystical component of human nature, it is possible to significantly accelerate that very exit to this level, and in general to balance the development of humanity as a species. In the end, Rome was not built in a day. You always have to start somewhere.
"That makes sense," the woman admitted. "But will the mutants themselves agree to cooperate?"
- It will depend on what and how you agree with Charles. He will not be delighted that someone wants to "study" his wards, but he wants to give them the best education and open as many doors in the world as possible, and therefore he is unlikely to object if his children add a magical talent to their natural talents. Well, and then ... magicians who study, know themselves - is a completely ordinary phenomenon, isn't it?
"Perhaps," she agreed. "Then you'll just introduce me to this gentleman?"
- True. I can help and advise, I like mutants and magicians, but I will not even try to make everyone happy and solve their problems for everyone. I have neither the time, nor the strength, nor, frankly speaking, the desire for this. This is simply an offer to meet a wise person whose views are similar to yours, nothing more, but also nothing less.
- If so, then I will gladly accept this offer. And, of course, I will accept your wards, if they want to study, of course.
"They will want to," I chuckled. "One silent girl will definitely bury herself in illusions," a smile crawled onto my face when I imagined this picture.
- Then I will wait for them. As well as for an invitation to talk.
- I'll organize everything in the near future... - and with that we parted. I didn't put the matter off - there were already a decent amount of them lying around - and immediately went to my Goddess's dad about establishing diplomatic relations.
Xavier liked the idea of collaborating with the mages, because their approaches with the Elder were indeed similar: both taught, both helped and cared, but neither "put a tit in their mouth," and the student was free to leave at any time, having only one prohibition, not so much a prohibition as a request: not to talk about the school to those who could not or should not get there. So the conversation was organized literally two days later, during which I prepared and settled everything. I myself did not participate in the conversation, reducing my role only to introducing the respected teachers to each other. By the way, they looked quite colorful: two bald "mages," one was a mage without quotation marks, but the second, due to the restructuring of the body to the concept of an ace by a divine artifact, had a reserve of internal strength such as an ordinary person could not even dream of. Oh yes, I also introduced the Elder to her future students. Yuriko immediately appreciated the offer to master the art of magic, because this way she would become "more useful to the master." I had already sworn off fighting this worldview of hers, because well, once, well, twice, well, three times, but here there was complete denial and unwillingness to change anything in the perception of the world, and I am not such a saint as to refuse the fact that my secretary and assistant is a beautiful girl with a stoic character. The little wolf was skeptical about magic, and even the portal to the other end of the globe that opened before her eyes did not shake this skepticism much, but the mention of the fact that the right Nio should be able to change the color of her eyes and generally be able to change her appearance, instantly swept away this skepticism. Yes, the vile God of Intrigue manipulates a little innocent girl who is capable of organizing a real massacre. There was definitely something in this.
Well, when all my charges were busy, the formal management went to negotiations and even Stark, who had finally pushed Eric through to the post of Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., solemnly declared that he was tired, he was a fly-by-night... I mean, he took Pepper and ran off for a month somewhere in the Oceania region to a private island, I realized that my time had come! Time to grab my infinitely patient Goddess in my arms and follow the example of my priest. Even if no one would give me a month of rest, at least a couple of days on the beach, where I could admire the chocolate beauty lying on the white sand, why not?
A week later.
Our impromptu vacation dragged on a bit. A wild beach for the two of us, combined with trips to cozy cafes in Crimea, unusual spicy dishes of Korea and Vietnam, visiting cultural places that interested my Goddess - the portals allowed unprecedented freedom of maneuver. And, of course, feats in the name of the beautiful lady did not go unrewarded at night. But, alas, like all good things, this period of bliss and rest also ended. Storm's Sense of Responsibility forced her to return to fulfilling her "official duties." During this week, Charles and the Elder were only just able to roughly estimate what it is generally possible to give it to children (aged six to twenty-five), in the sense of drawing up a curriculum so that everyone has free time, and do not take away hours from the rest of the studies, but also do not force the students' brains to work to "melt the barrel", in the sense of dosing the load.
To be honest, it was quite a task, and even though the portals eliminated the logistical problems, there was nowhere to get extra hours in the day. So my beauty was immediately included in the development of the curriculum, voluntarily and with the goal of helping her "beloved dad," and I suddenly realized that… I had a ton of free time! I mean, totally! My beloved woman is busy, I can cheer her up a little with portions of cocoa, dinners and massages, but nothing more — I can't forbid her to do what she loves. The priest is still warming his bones with his wife on the beach, the government, which was now being looked after by a man who had been thoroughly treated in the Crucible of Souls and had experience of going through Nazi camps and a folder of dirt on every more or less significant official, surprisingly behaved decently and didn't get high on wild stuff. I also didn't have any more lectures, either at Charles's school or in Kamar-Taj. In the end, I sat down to do what I had already started doing, but from which, with all this study of magic, I had become very distracted: I began to prepare for the war with Thanos.
I mean, by the time I lead the united armies of Asgard and Jotunheim to the worlds of this crazy hysteric. Given my reputation and general attitude in both worlds, I reasonably feared that the main threat to my life would not be legions of enemy soldiers with technologies almost reaching the level of "extinguishing/lighting a star", but the possibility of catching an enchanted icicle or a rune-decorated blade on my back. I am the Tsar, but war will write off even worse, and I have enough "well-wishers". The same Sif, although all valiant and correct, but she is a woman, an emotional creature and does not love me very much. Besides, while I am alive and Odin is sleeping, Thor is just a regent whom I can remove at any moment. The fact that I didn't give a damn about this throne, and the loss of the commander-in-chief in the war is very, very bad, you can't pin it on the case. Especially if I die by then. Yes, maybe I'm exaggerating, even most likely, but it's not just Sif, as they say. And there are just different cases, and you never know what and how... In short, it's time for me to make my own Iron Man armor... God, yes, yes, let's write it down!
Actually, I honestly stole the idea from the same Stark, only from later films. It was possible, but not necessary, to rivet rigid exoskeletons based on existing drawings, but the concept of a neuro-controlled nanite swarm that is capable of forming all the necessary architectural solutions for devices and functionality from itself was interesting, promising and difficult. But it sounded like a challenge!
In general, by now I had already calculated the general architecture of the nanobot made of an alloy of adamantium with Uru metal and even cut a trial batch on the atomic forge, but the question of programming arose, which in the given task presented the greatest difficulty. So now I sat down to it, distracted only by lectures to students (an illusion), replenishing cocoa supplies (also an illusion), and also poking with a stick from Yuriko when something not quite standard was required - as a rule, my opinion was needed on the combination of a general education course and magical disciplines in the curriculum - after all, only I, as an Asgardian, just worked on the synergy of directions separate for people and could highlight the "narrow points" (and yes, I also sent an illusion there). Of course, my girlfriend also needed attention (and here there are no illusions), and Laura needed to read fairy tales. Nevertheless, the work went on, and went on briskly.
For the basis and "underarmor" of the future armor, I took my previous armor made of Uru metal with an adamantium coating - it was flexible and tight enough to play this role, and, in case of anything, it would not leave me with a bare ass, and in general it was a good thing that I simply did not want to give up. Nanoray had to form the armor frame on top of it, chaining me in the same brutal exoskeleton in which Tony now flies, only much more perfect. Antigravity and flight in general could easily be taken from Asgardian technology, weapon systems - too, just slightly lacquered with Tony's architectural solutions for repulsors, the same for the power plant. Of course, the ARK reactor was awesome, especially after the upgrade, and it will take its place in the armor, albeit under a layer of adamantium (after all, I'm not Tony, and I don't need posing, so no "flashlight" in the chest), but I was not going to give up all the Asgard developments on portable energy sources and batteries. Moreover, they fit perfectly into the overall concept, without requiring extra cavities and changes in geometry, since they were easily implemented in the armor plate array itself without losing its protective properties. If we talk about nanoroid, then each nanite should have had its own energy source, albeit literally atomic dimensions, but without this there is no way if we want to have a truly reliable system, and not something that will completely fail when losing communication with the main array tied to the large reactor. Everything? Well, no! Because what kind of Evil God would I be without tentacles?! I need tentacles! Especially since I already have them - I haven't forgotten the developments of "Doc Ock" from the world of the Negrospider, and meanwhile, they were quite promising, and most importantly - an already proven concept! The light polymers that the woman used, of course, did not suit me, but the design could be reworked, if only you knew what you wanted. And I knew, thanks to another Doctor Octavius from the first Spider-Man movie trilogy. Now that was someone who had really powerful iron paws! Exactly what I need, so that if something happens, I can easily crucify some impudent ice giant. And how cool they will look with Iron Man's armor, and if you also build weapons into them ...
In short, there were many ideas. There were a ton of ideas. And everything had to be figured out how to implement it programmatically, because all these beauties had to be formed from themselves by nanobots, which means that an algorithm had to be written for each action!
A lot of work!
For which I disappeared from the world... I don't know for how long... two months, no less. And all this almost without sleep and rest, I want to note!
But when the God of Magic gets into a creative frenzy, he creates something truly awesome. I was great. I was awesome. I was a fucking Mad Genius in the Marvel world! The very laws of the Universe left me no chance NOT to give birth to a Superweapon!
And so I finally put the container with the programmed nanoswarm into the subspace pocket, straighten the Asgardian clothes that have returned to their original appearance, pick up Gungnir and in an elevated mood leave the creepy underground laboratory of the mad scientist.
Yuriko and Laura were in Kamar-Taj, actively learning the intricacies of earthly magicians, Ororo was having her third dream, because it was night, and I had the perfect moment to escape. And because you can't activate an experimental superweapon, especially one related to cybernetics, on US territory in any version of the Marvel Universe! The last thing I needed was for my nanites to develop self-awareness and then the apocalypse arc began according to the "Gray Slime" scenario. So a couple of minutes later I civilly used the Rainbow Bridge and found myself in Asgard, where the permanent sentry was still standing.
"My King," the guard bowed.
"Heimdall," I nodded in response, "how is the intelligence gathering going?"
- I have identified the main training camps, warehouses, arsenals... Thanos' army is huge and almost ready to start the war. How could we miss this?!
- Ahem... - I nodded politely. And scratched my eyebrow. Above my eye. And no, this was not at all some kind of hint about who here has the sharpest eyes and should be able to spot such things. And anyway, the galaxy is big, you can't keep an eye on everything, especially if you're mainly looking after the Jotuns.
For some reason, my interlocutor became depressed and sad (even more so), so I hurried to leave him, so as not to embarrass him once again with the presence of my beloved superiors. My path lay in one of the workshops of the Golden City, where I could work in a truly isolated laboratory, and at the same time complete the magical filling of my armor, which I could not do on my own in earthly conditions, after all, not everything can be solved with pure energy and straight hands, in some things you can't do without specific tools. True, I couldn't just show up in Asgard and not visit my mother. And Odin. Well, and look at Thor.
All of the above were where they were supposed to be. The Allfather continued to snooze, Frigga sat next to him, although today she was knitting something, humming to herself. However, this did not stop her from talking to me a little and reminding me that she really, really wanted to look at my chosen one. Along the way, I found out that she had already looked at Thor's chosen one and, it seems, was not particularly happy, although she accepted her son's choice. The blond hammerman himself (but without a hammer) was in the throne room and thoughtfully studying the holographic map of the universe projected by the Throne, periodically placing one or another "flag"-marker on it. Apparently, he was noting the rotation of our forces and figuring out what, where and how. Oh yes, Padme was next to him, periodically feeding the busy regent with snacks and goodies.
In general, it seemed that there was harmony and comfort there, which I considered improper to interfere with, and so I limited myself to simple greetings, hugs, which Thor would do without, and a general cycle of how-are-you-doing-everything-good-that's-great, without any embarrassing actions. My brother-uncle obviously understood what sacrifices I made for him, and was very grateful, how else can one explain such a strong embrace? What do you mean "maybe he wanted to strangle you preemptively - just in case"?
After visiting my relatives, I finally made it to the workshop, where I checked all the calculations again, ran the programs through emulation, and began testing individual elements "on hardware" in a circle.
The work dragged on, but, as you know, the eyes are afraid, but the hands are doing. So I finished the last test and finally made up my mind. The nanoroy was activated, the ARK reactor materialized on my chest in a shimmer of distortions, the "gray slime" flowed over my body, and my mind plunged into its neural interface, activating the specified algorithms and directing their action. A second - and the fluid substance begins to change its "aggregate state" before our eyes, leaving silvery edges of the exoskeleton immediately beyond the edge of the propagation wave. The second second - the nanoroy reaches the face and, without touching the skin, begins to build a deaf helmet, the inside of which is completely transparent to me, because I see everything through the neural interface directly from the surface of the outer layer of nanites. Not a sphere in all directions - too much stress on the brain, and it's simply unusual, which will interfere with coordination, but 360 from eye level - quite, considering my phantoms, I'm not used to this. And here is the final step of the assembly - four massive tentacles slowly and majestically grow from the back to impressively click their grips, obeying my desire.
The formation of the specified structure is complete. Errors in the coupling of nanobots during the initial construction are 0.00000012 percent. After activating the calibration algorithm - 0.000000001 percent. All systems are operating normally. Synchronization of the neural interface with Gungnir... has been completed successfully. Transfer of energy to enhance the spear attack... works. Control of additional limbs... is unusual, but bearable. Appearance... But the appearance needs some work!
The phantom I created, which fully reflected my current appearance, was not very good. All grey-steel, without eyes, personal symbols on the armor, the titular green color. No, it was impossible to live like that! The Tsar must exude Pathos and Greatness by his mere presence in the dimensions of a metric kilometer, inspire respect, awe, horror and a sense of his own insignificance against the background of a great embodied in material form… Wait a second!
- Gungnir, what's going on?! Don't mumble under your arm - I have an important, literally fateful engineering project here!
The spear caught in the heat responded with an emotion that could be deciphered as him not admitting his guilt, not retracting his words, but, so be it, he would most graciously deign to deign to allow his Tsar to present his own vision of the necessary modifications to the armor to his strict judgment, and then he would see if the result was worthy of His Splendor. He taught to his own detriment, so to speak...
However, there was a grain of truth in the position of the wayward spear: eyes shining with green light will be in the theme, engraving on the motifs of the Jormungandr serpent - too, a little green color in the cast of some armor plates will not hurt, but whether to make Aquila on the chest is a question, but more likely no than yes. In general, we set a new algorithm for nanobots on small cosmetic changes, and-and-and ... voila!
Well, the main thing now is not to show up to Stark in this, otherwise I'll deprive him of sleep and, God forbid, ruin his entire personal life. But it's entirely possible and even necessary to think about issuing simplified versions of this armor to the Asgard army, at least to officers...
***
Jotunheim greeted me with the usual darkness and cold. A pulse of ice magic, and the cold retreats, and the darkness too - the eyes of a native of this world were perfectly suited to the darkness and cold. My steps echoed along the icy galleries. Like last time, I felt that I was being watched, but this time the emotions of the observers, I suppose, were completely different.
"My King?" As soon as I entered the throne room, Yavar, looking up from the table and seeing who had come to him, bowed.
"The time has come. Are our warriors ready?" I didn't bother with elegant words. And the ice giant would hardly appreciate it.
"Yes, my King," the advisor transformed, apparently previously unable to fully believe that the ace, even if a half-breed, was really going to "walk" the jotuns, "we are only waiting for your command.
- Well, you've waited, - a crooked grin appeared on my face. - Get the army out to line up. Our march will begin right now.
- It will be done! - but Yavar's smile was truly happy. And bloodthirsty as hell. He immediately left to give the necessary orders, and an hour later I was invited to look at "my warriors".
The review took place from the balcony of Laufey's ice citadel. At the foot of the huge fortress, which had seen better days but was still damn impressive and powerful, the giants gathered. And there were... as far as the horizon.
- How much is there?
- Two hundred thousand have come out to greet you, Tsar. Another million are awaiting orders, - I glanced sideways at the "general" who had enlightened me about the troops. No, this four-meter-tall tower in armor covered in magical frost did not look much like a strange xenos from Kamino, but the feeling that I was Obi-Wan, who was informed that the Republic, it turns out, does have an army, did not leave me.
- Well then... be ready to enter the battle immediately, - strengthening my voice with magic, I addressed the legion of monsters: - Glorious warriors of Jotunheim. I know that you are tormented by doubts. I know that you consider me unworthy of the throne of my father, whom I killed in a duel of honor. But I am Loki, son of Laufey. King of Jotunheim by right of blood, strength and will of the past King. I promised you a campaign and glorious booty, I promised you the blood of my enemies. And now the time has come to fulfill this promise. To grant you your first campaign. Follow me - and today's glorious victory will be only the beginning of your own saga! - concentrating on Gungnir, I transmitted the necessary coordinates to the spear.
I wasn't going to drag the legion of Jotuns to Asgard - that would be too much of a temptation for both sides, but simply taking the beam of the Rainbow Bridge and transferring this army to the right place - that was a completely different matter. The sky above the palace was hidden under rainbow stains. The ice armor and weapons of the giants sparkled, refracting the unusually bright light for these places. A few moments of flight, and this whole crowd was already standing under different skies, and I, standing in front of them on a small hill (of course, I first chose a suitable site with Heimdall, and did not port to God knows where "for luck"), continued:
- So go and take this world!
The joyfully roaring legion of monsters, having broken up into pre-formed squads, went to "conquer", that is, plunder one of Thanos' supply worlds. In theory, such a thing as a capture, or even a raid on an enemy base world, should be worked out long and carefully. Well, reconnaissance, drawing up an attack plan, marking raid targets, logistics, escape routes and all that, but ... we are talking about the Jotuns. The Jotuns are something between the Vikings and the Tyranids, so what tactics, what reconnaissance, what are you even talking about? Rob-kill-have geese - that's their entire tactic. And don't even ask me what geese have to do with it. I have no idea myself.
The world, which had received such a sudden blow, whose already not very high defensive capabilities were half bypassed, half simply ignored, held out for exactly four days. Even though the ice giants were not exactly stars in the sky and had been practicing "random raids" for more than a thousand years, they could not be called stupid. Even though they were not a normal army, they were "Vikings", that is, they understood perfectly well looting, exploiting the weaknesses of the enemy and appropriating his strength. It would seem, how is it possible, even being a four-meter-tall, tireless and extremely tenacious monster, to capture an entire world in less than a week? But they were able to do this, taking advantage of the luxurious logistics of the warehouse world itself, capturing its inhabitants as slaves and forcing them to serve them. Extremely quickly, extremely cruelly and... extremely effectively. The loot exceeded their wildest expectations. Technologies that were little inferior to full-fledged technomagic, various alloys used for spaceships were also perfectly suited for Jotun needs, and food warehouses and warehouses of "consumables" that were supposed to supply Thanos's army, or rather, some part of it, for at least a year or two of active combat... all this could not but please the barbarian who went on a raid. The losses did not exceed a couple of hundred giants - the youngest or unlucky ones who managed to "take on the chest" volleys of local tanks. The hand weapons of the planetary defense forces could penetrate the ice armor of even an ordinary Jotun only in the calculation of "a dozen guns hitting one place", which is difficult to achieve in real combat conditions, when the enemy not only fell on your head, but literally teleported behind your back and languidly breathes down your neck - to put it mildly.
Returning to Jotunheim was more difficult - in addition to an army of bloodthirsty maniacs, I also had to move a whole mountain of loot. However, a lot, not a little, they stole. And most importantly, they did it before the main forces and Thanos' troops even realized that their world was plundered. The combination of Asgardian logistics and the power (and experience in robberies) of the ice giants gave birth to a truly deadly combination. But then it was all over, and I again found myself on a frozen plateau surrounded by a legion of monsters, only now there was one key change.
– LOKI! LOKI! LOKI! – the giants screamed my name in frenzy and delight, raising ice spears to the dark skies and striking the ground with them with force, and the warriors who were near me created ice shields and… knelt down. I rode into my palace raised on shields. And yes, into my palace.
One look at these bloodthirsty monsters was enough to understand that after today's success, my authority had casually kicked the memory of Laufey off the pedestal of the Great Leaders and became indisputable. Perhaps, if I ordered these "simple swashbucklers" to tear apart "my" Jotun aristocracy, they would not even hesitate for a moment, releasing the guts of their yesterday's leaders. And so it will be as long as I bring them new victories, new trophies, new "feats". Well, the original idea was for the ice giants to kill themselves a little against Thanos's troops, but, apparently, the combination that had been carried out was too effective. And now I had no right to stop and lose the initiative.
"Valiant warriors of Jotunheim," finding myself on the steps of the palace, I again amplified my voice with magic and addressed the troops, "it was a glorious campaign, we acquired rich booty and showed the galaxy that we are worth reckoning with and that years of imprisonment have not diminished either our strength or our skills.
- KING LOKI! LOKI! - the crowd roared again.
- But that's not enough! And so I order you, - the amplified voice easily drowned out the roar of the crowd, - rest, have fun, and in a week... be ready for a new campaign!
- GRA-A-A-A-A-A! LOKI! - on this note I turned around and entered the depths of the citadel, accompanied by the guards-bodyguards, who were now clearly guarding me, following not the duty and oath to the past king, but having begun to genuinely respect. Well, or consider me a goose that lays golden eggs, it doesn't matter.
- Yavar! - I called my "deputy for giant issues."
- My Tsar? - he responded. And where did he go during the raid? Was he planning something? However, let me always load him with work to the brim, after all.
- I want to hear your thoughts on the campaign that took place. And the thoughts of the rest of the Council on the next one.
- He's really coming in just a week?
- Even if I am the God of Deception, why should I lie about this? - I grinned. - So I'm waiting for your thoughts and ideas. Including on the direction where to put the loot.
"It will be done, my King," the jotun bowed his head.
- Excellent. Then I will arrive in three days and listen to what you have managed to decide. In the meantime... I have business in other places, - my interlocutor leaned even lower, and I activated the transfer with the help of Gungnir and... found myself in the wine cellar of Asgard, where, without thinking twice, I raked several barrels of ale, wine and something stronger into a spatial pocket. All gods and demons see, I need this now. And to cuddle Wolf Cub. And my Goddess. Especially my Goddess.
***
The next month I felt like a classic Viking, no matter how scary such an admission might sound. In the sense that I led a crowd of angry, brutal men on raids, robbed corovans, gave speeches on the topic of "you are cool, awesome and awesome, and I am your dad, and you are so awesome only because of me", and then… drank. Not exactly like I was wasted or insane, but I suppose it was not my merit, but Storm's influence. She did for me what Frigga once did for Odin — she did not let me go into a bloody frenzy, and after that — into depression and binge drinking. Aesir are more perfect than people, stronger, tougher, but our psyche is still very similar to that of humans. I am a trickster. A charming swindler, a rogue, a scoundrel, sometimes an inspired scientist, sometimes an intriguer and just a killer, but I am not a warrior. A raid for me is not "glory", "feats" and other "entertainment". It is work. Hard, first of all, from a moral point of view. I naturally ruin worlds. Yes, Thanos turned them into warehouses, training camps and military bases, but they remain worlds where, in addition to the "army of evil", ordinary intelligent beings live. And I set my "army of evil" on them. Yes, these were acceptable, even planned "losses of civilians", but my problem, which surfaced at the very beginning of this story, has not gone away. I wasn't scared or disgusted by the strict numbers and ideas of genocide, nuclear war, and so on, but when real faces began to appear behind these numbers, women pierced by ice spears or children crushed by a jotun's foot, my hand began to reach for the bottle. Storm saw my condition and simply supported me. She didn't ask, didn't judge or reproach me, she was simply with me. And she offered her help, but... I couldn't let her see what was happening on my orders. Even if she understood, she would hardly forgive, and if she did forgive, our relationship would definitely not be the same as before. And without this... without this, all my actions would simply lose their meaning - it would be easier for me to grab Wolf Cub, Yuriko and go to another universe, leaving the problems of the locals to the locals themselves. Instead, I, in tricked-out armor, led a horde of bloodthirsty monsters in their raid. Because the King of Jotunheim must lead his warriors from the front lines - and nothing else.
In other words, my mood was constantly fluctuating between "disgusting" and just plain depressed, when I had to force myself to just go and do something. Plus, I had to involve the army of the Aesir - the teleporting armies of the Jotuns turned out to be too effective, and the enemy they were beating was actually a worthy (!) opponent, in the sense of "glorious". Have I already mentioned that I hate Vikings? And it all started with the fact that Thor knew about my delicate position as the King of Jotunheim, and I did not forbid Heimdall to tell him about the progress of the operations. Ooooh... In short, I was starting to think that he had an epiphany, but no way! In one of his brain cells, there are "glorious deeds and military glory", and in another, recently hatched one, there is "protecting the peoples of Yggdrasil from a mad monster" (he's not talking about me, by the way). In short, my brother-uncle was still far from growing a full-fledged brain, which was sad. And I tried to convey this sadness to him, but it ended as it usually ended over the last thousand years - his royal golden-haired highness turned on selective deafness and unhealthily selective enthusiasm. He was not even embarrassed by the prospect of explaining to the people of Asgard our awkward position in the political arena with military assistance to the ice giants. In the end, Thor, who had been furiously cunning during his time sitting on daddy's stool, presented the matter in such a way that, like, there is a great enemy of the entire Universe, who is all about being a hooligan, a humanitarian and generally an intellectual, who has seized power, we need to shepherd the yoke, boyz! Waaaagh! The Boises responded with "Waaagh!", after which they were informed that the "Strong but Cunning" King Loki had managed to convince Jotunheim to take part in this, and then also to force the ice giants to recognize the power of Asgard for the duration of the war, and in general they would go on the attack first. At this point, the Aesir finally decided that they would die, but they would take part in this glorious deed, because when else, if not now?!
And this grown-up blue-eyed blockhead, who only wants to scratch his fists, is already taking part in organizing the "military council of the forces of the United Kingdoms"! And yet, being in an exhausted state, he had to communicate with Yavar! In Antarctica! Surrounded by penguins! But he didn't care! He even approved the choice of such a "neutral territory". After all, on the one hand, it really was "neutral", since it was owned only by the notorious penguins, who, in the absence of their Great Emperor and Creator of the Other Continuum Pen-Pen, had fallen into complete anarchy, discord, instability and savagery, and on the other hand, such conditions were "familiar and pleasant to our new comrades"! Damn it, it looks like my brother has grown a third convolution, and it can be used for diplomacy! Or very subtle trolling. And I honestly don't know which option is worse. I even went to something scary! I came to Odin's bedchamber! And started complaining to him that I don't understand how everything turned out like this!
– … I just wanted to relax a bit, read new books, eat some potatoes, after all! How did it happen that instead of this I am leading a united army of Aesir, Vanir and Jotuns to conquer the Galaxy?! And I am hiding rhinestones from a huge bald man with a glamorous glove! Where, where did my life take a wrong turn?!
- Loki, - Frigga tried to hold back a smile, but she wasn't doing it very well. Yes, I understood that from the outside my story looked expressive and funny, but... this was the very case when the God of Mischief was not amused at all.
- Mom, I understand everything, but I need to talk. And now I also understand how Odin can hear us, and right now I can't shake the feeling that he's smirking and thinking something like "now you finally understand what it's been like for me all this time, brat."
"He wouldn't say 'spanyo'," Asinya corrected me.
- No, to talk, but to think... - I glanced sideways at the Allfather, still lying on his bed. It seemed there were no changes, but I still felt that he was experiencing some kind of satisfaction from the luxurious nastiness. I mean, this is what I usually experience, for him it might be pride in his son. But that's not certain.
- Well... perhaps, - Frigga glanced to the side. - But let's leave that topic aside, I'm much more interested in the question of when you will finally introduce me to your chosen one. Thor has already done it, and isn't it about time you did too...
- Oh, sorry, Mom, I remembered that I still have the Galaxy to conquer and I need to run! - because the list of arguments about the need to introduce my lady to the parents, or rather, the voicing of this list, could drag on for a long time. However, she is right, if my woman supports me in my endeavors without asking questions and simply believes that I am doing the right thing, then this is serious. And it is worth finally introducing her to the parents ... even taking into account the fact that one of them is an asshole and is asleep. And regarding the "Formula of the Limit of Evolution", it is worth thinking about. Not in the sense of "to give or not", but "how best to rework for a mutant person". Where else can I get all this time. Eh ...
The inclusion of aces in the troops brought its results. Before Thanos's guys had time to adapt to the tactics of super-fast raiders, they had to face a new problem - after (and sometimes together) such raids, there were now not plundered worlds left, but fortified fortresses and defensive points, which happily opened fire from all guns on the approaching forces of the titan. And in the case of an attempted siege or orbital bombardment... whoosh, and no one is there! As a result, Thanos has already exterminated his own worlds a couple of times, without causing us any losses - the resources gained from the raids more than compensated for the costs of building fortifications.
These games of cat and mouse continued for about six months, during which I finally introduced Ororo to my mother. True, there were some funny incidents. I mean... Asgard is a "flat world", quite small, but permeated with a "divine" component much more strongly than Earth, in other words, its "Soul" was stronger and more developed than the one with which my Goddess was used to "communicating". Well, when she came to Asgard to meet her boyfriend's parents, worried, anxious and habitually reaching out to the world for reassurance... Well, at least it immediately became clear to everyone that Loki had chosen a very worthy lady. Look how the winds swirl around her and caress her feet. And whole clusters of lightning, which Thor and Mjolnir never dreamed of. True, the very fact that my woman has powers so similar to my brother's... in short, this unbearable blond is convinced that I have always loved him. Well, like a brother, without any vulgar innuendo. But this made Thor even more unbearable. But my reputation among the Aesir has somehow grown. Perhaps they like it when lightning strikes them. I'll have to conduct a couple of experiments... some other time.
The denouement came somehow... I don't even know what to call it, mundane? Yes. Suddenly? Also yes. Chaotic? And that was true. It all started with Thanos showing that he had more than just his chin, or maybe he was just lucky, and after taking out another of his generals, the circumstances turned out that way. The next raid didn't present any difficulties: standard tactics on a standard "tasty" world, my tame monsters were already even... no, not complaining, but politely asking if the Great King would deign to attack something, maybe not so rich, but which would at least pretend to fight back, for the sake of variety? It's not that the Jotuns were sad about the total dominance and prey, that in a year there were already many times more raids than in the entire past thousand years and almost the entire reign of Laufey in general, but their hearts were asking for a fight. I won't say that I liked this idea - I continued to be anyone but a warrior, because Overcoming did not touch anything in my soul, but I promised to think about it. And then ... in short, we ran into an ambush. How did this happen with the support of Heimdall? Well, the Mad Titan, of course, is stupid, but he could not fail to understand with whom he suddenly began to fight, as well as not to imagine our approximate capabilities, especially such "advertised" as the permanent Guardian of Bifrost. Well, his eyes were somehow blocked - this is quite possible, however, I previously believed that it was possible to hide at this level for yourself or a small detachment, but not a full-fledged army. Perhaps he was able to increase the power of some "concealment field" with the help of the Infinity Stone or something else, it doesn't matter. In general, "be careful what you wish for, for it may come true." The Jotuns wanted a fight with a powerful opponent, the Jotuns got a fight. Perhaps later the skalds will write that "the earth shook from the tread of warriors", "the heavens were ablaze with fire", "the seas boiled" or something like that. For me, it was just a cascade of an endless meat grinder at the "wall to wall" level. With the parameters of the Jotuns, they simply do not need cunning tactical tricks, Thor ruled the Aesir, but even there, flanking attacks were the maximum, while I just hit and hit. Volleys of plasma guns, artificial lightning, antimatter particles periodically crashed into the armor, and Surtur will figure out what else. The armor held, although the "antimolecular pellet" made me really scared, but adamantium simply refused to interact with it, and the explosion generated by the reaction with air, although it knocked out three of my guardsmen and sent me flying for a short time, had no other effect. A couple of internal injuries from such a blow healed almost immediately under the influence of the Living Light radiation. But all this was a trifle, because the explosion threw me right up to the purple-skinned giant. With three convolutions on his chin.
Reflexively, I thrust all four of my bladed "battle tentacles" into him.
"Grrr," he growled, but then the tip of Gungnir entered the titan's eye, and a concentrated charge of magical plasma disintegrated everything above his sternum. The battle died down on its own, and the eyes of... well, probably everyone in the immediate area turned to me.
- Um... and that's, like, everything? - I poked Thanos's decapitated corpse with my spear. - Really, that's it? So, was it possible? - I don't get it, where's the Epic Showdown? Where's the Breakdown? Where are the rivers of blood, sweat, and tears? - The Marvel Cinematic Universe... you can do it when you want!
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