Meditation was new to me.

It was not something that I had ever practiced, in this life, or my last. I just couldn’t get past the feeling I had in my chest. Now that the flame inside me had lit, I couldn't ignore it. Yet nothing I did could stimulate it. I couldn’t grow it, nor could I snuff it.

It was just there.

I sighed and stood up before making my way to my closet. I threw on my same outfit that I normally wore. My chest plate hadn’t changed from the mcu version of my armor. Although when the scale like armor ran down my arms, this time the scale was the same color as my arm, while nothing else changed. My meager fashion sense was appeased at that small gesture. My cape was the normal red.

A cape in itself was a bit much, but I couldn’t lie and say I didn’t like it or want it.

Jarnbjorn was clenched in my fist as I walked out of my room.

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“Siegfried, Crown Prince of Asgard.”

Not for long. Not if Surtur and Hela have anything to do with it.

As I approached the throne, I saw Jane standing there looking back at me. She was dressed in her full armor. I had noticed her in it more and more lately. I think she secretly liked it. I had to admit that she did look fucking hot in it. That did beg the question as to why Odin had dragged her out of the library.

Apparently she was obsessed with the Bifrost and how it worked. The past few days, they had to pull her out of Asgards considerable library just to eat and sleep. Maybe that’s why I was here.

“My son. It has been a week since the Bifrost was destroyed, and already there is chaos in the realms. Rebellions long thought quelled have risen again, and Marauders raid freely. We need the Bifrost repaired.” Odin said as I walked up.

I bowed my head towards him, showing my respect. “While the cat's away, the mice will play.” I quoted, not being terribly surprised by the news.

“Yes, well it is our responsibility to keep the lands safe, as rulers.” Odin retorted, not being helpful at all.

Did he expect me to just pull an answer out of my ass as to how to fix the Bifrost?

“How do we fix the Bifrost then, Father?” I asked. Surely he knew how? It didn’t appear out of nowhere one day. Someone had to build it once upon a time.

Odin sighed, and leaned back in his chair. “Unfortunately, it requires materials only capable of being forged near a star.” Odin answered.

“Nidavellir, then?” I asked, realizing it was very simple.

“If we could reach the dwarves, then yes they could repair the bridge.” Odin nodded.

Then it hit me. “So to repair the Bifrost, we need the Bifrost? We never thought that was not a good back up plan?” I asked rhetorically. For a godly race, we were ridiculously stupid sometimes. Well a lot of the times.

Odin didn’t answer. He just continued staring at me. I met his stare, genuinely looking at him like he was an infant. Maybe it was a bad idea, but it was hard not to.

“No enemy has ever dared destroy the Bifrost son. It was never in the realm of possibility. Why even conquer Asgard? For the Bifrost!” Odin roared.

Well when he put it that way, it made a little bit of sense. However, that did not excuse the lack of a back-up plan.

“Do we have a ship capable of traveling there?” I asked. That was how Thanos had gotten there. And maybe Loki had stolen some from a long time ago maybe?

“Not fast enough for it to be relevant.” Odin answered.

Obviously the two of them had already thought of everything then. Why was I even brought here for this subject?

“I don’t understand how the dwarves will be able to fix it. It’s creation was magical in nature. Aren’t they just really good engineers?” Jane asked.

“They created the hammer in your hand. Nidavellir is a mix between an Alderson Disk and a Dyson Sphere. That in itself is magical. The dwarves were crucial in the construction of the Bifrost.” I answered, trying to convey the absolute beasts Eitri and his race were.

“A Dyson Sphere?!” Jane yelled. “Can we go now?!”

“Calm yourself, Jane.” Odin berated. I mentally noted how he did not use Thor. Was it because something that Jane asked of him or was that a snub? “We cannot rely on the dwarves for this.” Odin repeated.

A lightbulb went off in my head. “What if we can?” I asked. “Can you call upon Dark Magic?”

“And how would you return, my son? They secluded themselves to that star for a reason. They own no ships.” Odin asked, thinking he cut my argument down immediately.

“No father, not to Nidavellir. Midgard.” I corrected, and continued before he could ask how that helped. “There is a group of Sorcerers there led by a very powerful leader. They can teleport anywhere in the universe. If they aid us, we can get dwarves here.”

It was bit of a stretch when it came to plans, but what the fuck else was I going to do? Sit here and wait for Loki to invade so that Odin will send us to Midgard anyway? Nah, it had only been a week and I was going stir crazy.

Odin contemplated the offer for a while. I could see his intelligent mind thinking through the problems, as there were many.

First, I had to get to Midgard, specifically New York, and convince the Ancient One to help us. Then I had to get a sorcerer that would ferry us across the universe to Nidavellir and back.

“Damn it all!” Odin yelled. “Is this the only option Allfathers?” Odin asked as he looked to the ceiling above him. He continued to look up for a moment, as if he was talking to someone.

For a moment, I believed he really was conversing with them.

“Fine!” Odin exclaimed without warning, before turning back to us. “Go to Midgard, get the help of these sorcerers at any cost. We need the Bifrost, Asgard is lost if we don’t have it.”

Odin stood up and moved to grab Gungnir.

I stopped him. “Father wait, may the three of us talk for a moment?” I asked. There was something that had been on my mind ever since the conversation I had with Balder.

Odin paused, still annoyed, but he allowed it. With a wave of his hand, the guards left the room. I spoke as soon as they left.

“Ragnarok approaches.” I said. That one sentence was all I had to say to get a reaction.

Odin’s head whipped back as if I slapped him.

“Ragnarok is real?” Jane asked beside me.

“How do you know of Ragnarok?!” Odin whispered. I couldn’t tell if it was anger, or fear that he was speaking with.

“Balder.” I lied. Well it wasn’t exactly a lie. “He was here a few days ago. We walked in the gardens.”

Odin sneered. “That boy… How is this relevant, Siegfried? Yes Ragnarok approaches, it is why the Bifrost is needed more than ever.” Odin said.

I shook my head. I should have known this was going to be difficult. “It’s inevitable father. Asgard will burn.” I said with utmost confidence.

Odin stood abruptly. He did not look like a tired old man on a throne anymore. No, he looked like a warrior God. He looked like he was ready to conquer the Nine Realms again. This was the man that held together an empire for thousands of years with pure power.

“We should relocate our people.” I said, offering him a new plan. “Asgard is more than this hunk of rock we stand on! Allow Surtur his destruction, fulfill Ragnarok. But don’t condemn our people with it!” I continued.

I knew in that moment that I would never be able to convince Odin of this course of action. He was too attached to Asgard, the place. The look in his eyes...

“My father, and his father, and his father before him ruled here. My brothers gave their life for this rock! I will never abandon it, I will never relinquish it! Even if I have to prolong Valhalla I’ll keep Asgard from destruction!”

Every word was like a thunderclap. By the end of his rant, he was in my face. I could feel the heat of his breath on my cheeks. There was a tenseness in the air I could feel deep in my bones. I had overstepped, and Odin was looking at me as an enemy. I truly thought he was about to strike me down.

He was still a fool.

“Fine.” I relented. I would have to continue my plans in secret, until he died obviously.

Odin leaned forward to speak in my ear.

“Bring Eitri to me, and never speak of this again.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

A myriad of colors raced towards me from behind Odin, and then Jane and I were flying through the cosmos.

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I struck the ground harder than the Bifrost had ever allowed. My left arm braced me on the ground, and even sunk into it slightly. Had I been a human, I would have died no doubt.

“I much preferred the Bifrost.” Jane said as she stood up and dusted the sand off of her.

I snorted as I stood up and looked around.

“Hands in the air!”

Apparently SHIELD had set up camp right here, where the Bifrost normally dropped people off at. That was the only explanation for the squad of men pointing weapons at Jane and I. Or maybe they never left? It had only been a week.

“Put your weapons down, they’re friendly!” I turned to see none other than Phil Coulson holstering his weapon and giving out orders. “Weapons down!”

“Jane!”

The newest Thor was impacted with a blur of a human, and I heard a grunt from the impact. Although I knew it was Darcy’s.

I smirked as Jane announced herself.

“I told you I’d come back!”

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I much preferred Quinjet travel, even if it was significantly slower than the Bifrost and Dark Magic. It was familiar. Something I recognized.

“So what’s your name?” I asked the only other occupant of the quinjet, besides Jane and I. I knew his name of course, I just wanted a normal introduction before I started asking about his family.

“Hawkeye.” The arrow wielding man answered, looking thoroughly unimpressed with the situation he was in. Which was effectively babysitting a couple of gods. What an assignment that must be.

“Really, a code name?” Jane teased at the man.

“As opposed to what? A hammer and a set of tits?” Clint was apparently very adept at getting under someone's skin.

Jane’s jaw nearly hit the floor and I snorted for a moment as I forgot how to breathe. Instead I was busy laughing my ass off.

Jane looked at me, and her eyes narrowed behind her helmet. When she backhanded me across my chest, I had trouble breathing for an entirely different reason.

“Bleeker street approaching, Ten until jump. Nine, Eight, Seven…”

I stood up and moved to the back of the quinjet, as did Jane, although not before she sent a middle finger back to where Clint sat upset he got a shit assignment.

“Two...One...drop.”

I chuckled as I fell out of the quinjet without a parachute. I had no idea if I could survive a fall of this height, but as a literal god, that seemed like a given ability.

I rolled in the air, to where I could see the ground coming at me. Or rooftops, to be more accurate. A small bit of panic ran through me

I absentmindedly wondered if it should be hard to breathe during a free fall, because I was having zero problems. Also I didn’t have to squint like I had expected. That allowed me to see the yellow figure standing on the roof I was hurling towards.

The figure extended both hands and made an intricate motion I didn’t understand right as I was about to plummet through the roof.

Something intangible grabbed me and uprighted me while slowing my momentum. When my feet touched the roof, my savior dropped her hands and moved them to her hood. Just like I expected, her bald head was revealed.

“Hello Odinson.”

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“Tea?” The Ancient One asked as she led us into the main hall of the New York Sanctum.

I looked around, seeing if I could spot anybody. Karl Mordo was cool in this universe, could be bad. Kaecilius was a mad man. Getting to know their faces would be a good thing, considering we didn’t look anything like our MCU counterparts.

I found no one that fit the description of either of those people.

“Please.” Jane Foster said, going with the flow.

At that moment, I realized how well she was adapting. Not a week ago she had been an astrophysicist studying an anomaly in the desert. Now she was a literal god traveling through the universe on a quest to repair a rainbow bridge. How ridiculous did that sound?

“Sure.” I agreed, seeing no reason not to. Apparently it was very good.

She nodded at us and turned. An elder asian man in robes similar to hers walked up with three tea cups, already made for us. Did she know all of this was going to happen? The Time Stone is broken.

She handed me my tea and I took it with my right arm, it was still hard to judge strength with my metal left arm and I didn’t want to shatter the tea cup. I didn’t bother asking her for help just yet. I didn’t want to seem impatient. Plus, tea sounded great.

It was embarrassing how much this body could eat and drink.

I brought the tea to my mouth, and took a sip. “Hmmm, it really is good.” I nearly moaned. Tea was a weak spot of mine in my past life. Especially hot tea. I looked to Jane, who sighed deeply after taking her drink. She nodded, agreeing with my assessment.

The Ancient One smiled, while giving us that all-knowing look she always wore on her face. “Now, you want a sling-ring is that right?” She asked, knowing that was exactly what she wanted.

Jane shrugged. “Honestly, I have no clue.” She answered before turning to me. “Do we want a sling-ring?”

My eyes furrowed. “I was thinking more along the lines of…”

“I cannot spare the man-power to ferry you across the universe. Nor can you have a sling-ring for that matter.” The Ancient One said, interrupting me.

“Is this how every conversation goes with you?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“Only the important ones, I assure you.” The Ancient One answered with a shit-eating grin. “When you reach our age, fun becomes a requirement.”

I sighed. “Well, I need to be able to travel to Nidavellir and back to Asgard possibly more than once. You sure we can’t borrow a sling-ring for a month, maybe two?” I asked politely.

“You can, but it would be useless to you.” The Ancient One replied.

“Ahhh, I get it. You won’t train us to use it… That is fair I suppose…” I muttered, trying to think of some way to convince her to teach us how to use a sling-ring.

“No you don’t get it. We are sorcerers, meaning our power comes from external sources. More specifically, other universes, realms, etc. We are little more than conduits. Your biology does not allow for extra dimensional energies to pass through. Whatever it is that makes you a god, interferes with it beyond use.” The Ancient One explained.

Now that actually did make sense. That meant that the magic Loki used was completely different than the magic they learned here. Perhaps that was why he looked down on Doctor Strange during the movie.

“I came here for nothing.” I huffed. It had never occurred to me that I would be unsuccessful if I came to the Ancient One. In the end, it wasn’t a terribly big deal. Loki would attack SHIELD headquarters soon, and I could start making the appropriate contacts necessary to move my people to Midgard if need be.

“I did not say that.” The Ancient One replied, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I was getting tired of being corrected, so I just shut up. It was time to stop jumping to conclusions apparently. I was just making a fool of myself. Maybe it was best if she just told me what I needed to do.

I met her eyes, and waited.

This lasted for quite a while, you see. I sipped my tea, making sure to enjoy it as I waited on the Ancient One to tell me what we needed to do. Her grin continued to widen as the time went on.

She took one last sip of her tea before she finally spoke.

“Both of you have something I would have killed for in my youth.” She began, as she set her tea down. “An internal power source to fuel spells. It is possible to make you a modified sling ring, for your biology.”

My eyebrows rose. Well that was extremely promising. And useful. This basically meant that we could have our own teleportation device. I wouldn’t have to rely on the Bifrost at all to get where I wanted. And the applications in battle were definitely worth noting.

“You could make one for both of us?” I asked, cutting to the chase.

The Ancient One shook her head. “I’m afraid Ms. Foster has a lot to learn about that hammer and what she is. It will be a long time before she is capable of manipulating her own energies. And by that time, she won’t have use for it.” The Ancient One smiled at that.

Jane had a good future ahead of her, it seemed. I wondered why she wouldn’t need a sling-ring though. Everyone needed one of those.

“Only me, then?” I asked rhetorically. I said it, mainly so that I could digest the information, nothing else.

“Only you, Siegfried.”

The way the Ancient One stopped speaking made me think she wouldn't do this for free. So I decided to cut to the chase. “What do you require in return?” I asked.

“Something equally as valuable. Something you have on your person.” She answered, as her eyes flickered to my waist line.

At first, I thought she might want sex. And then I realized what belt I was wearing.

“Megingjord.” I said as my hands went to my belt.

The Ancient One nodded. “A relic, for a relic.” She said, as if that made it any better.

I looked down to the belt. Currently, it was the only thing keeping me stronger than the average Asgardian. With Mjolnir, I hadn’t needed it. Now, it was ...well the only thing that kept me strong.

But then again, I had a sneaking suspicion that if I found a way to grow the flame inside me, my godly aura, then I would start to attain the title of God of Strength. And once I was that strong, would I even need the belt?

What if the belt wound up holding me back? What if it became a crutch, like Mjolnir had?

And what was so wrong with facing the world as you are? I didn’t need this belt to make me strong.

But Frigga had made this belt for me. This was one of her best enchantments, and that was saying something. I would be giving up the only thing of hers that I … I looked down to my arm. I had nearly forgotten about it. Frigga claimed to have enchanted it also.

I still had my arm, I still had a tie to my mother. It’s not outside the realm of possibilities for her to make me another belt once I got back to Asgard anyway. With that thought, my mind was made up.

I took Megingjord off of my waist, and held it out to the Ancient One. “Deal. Take it before I change my mind.”

She obliged, without her normal smile. “If it means anything, you won’t need it.” She said as she accepted the belt. “Now, what would you like to be your sling-ring? Personally, I would not choose a cloth, metal works much better.”

What the fuck was she talking about? I looked at her as if she lost her mind for a moment before it clicked. “Oh it doesn’t have to be a ring?” I asked.

“Ah yes, maybe we should call it something else. I could see how that is deceptive. It can be anything.” She answered.

Well that was tricky. I wanted something that wouldn’t be destroyed easily. Something… made from the Destroyer Armor?

I held my left arm up. “Would this work?” I asked, curious. I almost said ‘nevermind’ immediately. Surely Frigga’s enchantment would interfere with the sling-ring enchantment. There was no way the Ancient One would be able to…

“Absolutely.” She answered as she set Megingjord on the ground beside her.

Wait, what?

She wasted absolutely no time. She held her hands out, as if she was about to cast a spell, and whirled them around in a pattern that I was sure meant something important. Almost exactly like the movies, yellow geometrical shapes appeared in front of her. There were about five in total, each with their own different shapes inside of them.

“Hold your arm out.” She said as she walked towards me.

I obeyed and held my black metal arm out for her. She closed the distance, brought one arm forward, and slammed it on my forearm.

I expected to feel something. I expected some profound change… nothing. All those shapes, and all those hand movements for nothing.

“Is that it?” Jane asked the question that was on both of our minds. Honestly, I was beginning to like her and her witty comments.

“Of course not. Now you need to learn how to use it.”