The Parting
Epilogue: The Parting
May 5, 2012
The mid-morning sun shone brightly down on the Avengers and Erik as they walked through Central Park. Lyssa and Thor kept firm holds on Loki’s elbows, preventing any possibility of escape, they weren’t taking any chances even with him so heavily chained. While Thor and Loki were in their Asgardian armor, the rest of the team, Erik and Aria were in civilian clothes.
Aria was dressed in a light sea green dress with matching flats on her feet. Her hair was pinned back away from her face with two, small shell-shaped combs while the rest tumbled freely around her shoulders and on her head was a silver tiara decorated with white and light sea green gems*. Just like the accessories she had worn the previous day, they were made with artificial materials and kept in place with well-cast Sticking Charms.
Lyssa was wearing a blue-grey spaghetti-strapped dress that brushed the floor with every step she took. The drape pinned to the back of her straps resembled lowered butterfly wings in a blend of blue, white and black. The only jewelry she wore was a matching choker around her neck and a silver belt on her hips*. The front sections of her hair were braided back in a crown while the rest was left loose down her back*. On her feet were a pair of matching blue-grey, high-heeled sandals*
Tony was wearing a light grey bespoke suit with a light blue button-down shirt and a darker blue tie. His hair was carefully styled into a spiky disarray and he had a pair of sleek, black shades over his eyes. On his feet were a pair of black dress shoes. He looked every bit the billionaire that he was.
Bruce was in a pale-yellow button-down shirt with tan trousers. His hair looked as though he had only spared enough thought to run a brush through after waking up before promptly forgetting about it. In all actuality, his hair had been neatly combed before Aria made a mess of it while playing with him that morning. He wore a pair of comfortable running shoes on his feet, opting for comfort over style when given access to Tony’s vast selection of clothes.
Erik was dressed in a royal blue button-down shirt with a darker blue sweater over it and dark grey trousers. Much like Bruce, his previously neat and tidy hair had been promptly wrecked thanks to Aria and he wisely didn’t bother trying to fix it while the toddler was present. He had advised Bruce of the same, informing the younger man of Aria’s habit of playing with people’s hair, no matter the length. Tying off his outfit were a pair of dark brown boots.
Steve was dressed in a light grey and blue plaid button-down shirt and tan trousers. Over his shirt was a brown leather motorcycle jacket and on his feet were dark brown boots. His hair was in a neat comb-back, a habit learned from his time with the military as well as a remnant of the time period he had grown up in.
Natasha was wearing a red tank top underneath a fitted dark grey blouse and dark grey, dark-wash skinny jeans. Over her blouse, she had a light brown leather jacket and on her feet were a pair of high-heeled black ankle boots. Her brilliant red hair was open and brushing her shoulders in loose curls.
Clint was wearing a light red t-shirt and black jeans. Over his shirt he wore a smokey-grey hoodie with a black leather jacket on top of it. On his feet were a pair of dark grey boots. His short hair was styled in gelled spikes, a by-product of Aria’s predictable actions that morning.
With them were a team of SHIELD agents serving as protection, walking at a short distance and keeping an eye on their surroundings, all dressed in their trademark black suits with blacked out sunglasses. However, there was one agent who wasn’t there as protection, but walking among the Avengers as though he were one of them, and he most certainly was. Phil Coulson. The man chosen by the Avengers to be their handler after learning, and being shown, that he was alive. Fury explained to the stunned group that while he hadn’t been entirely sure of Lyssa's vision, he had taken it seriously. He had been a spy long enough to know that having a warning fall into their hands the way it had was rare and he’d be an idiot to not follow through with it. To that end, he and Phil decided to implement a prototype program known as Life-Model Decoys to replace Phil while the real one was secretly evacuated away to a SHIELD safe house. Only Fury had been aware that Phil was alive, everyone else being led to believe that he had died.
Lyssa and Thor were the first to accept the explanation and the reasoning behind no one being told the truth. As Thor had warned Fury, Lyssa’s visions always came true, one way or another. If Fury had revealed the truth before Loki was stopped, then events would fall into place leading to Phil being stabbed. But with Loki stopped, the danger had passed. The vision still came true, just not with the Phil they had previously been led to believe.
The rest of the team, Natasha and Clint in particular with Tony coming in at a close second, took a little longer to accept it. They were greatly relieved that Phil was alive, but they were still haunted by the time they had believed him to be dead. None of them were upset that Lyssa hadn’t told them of the vision; in all honesty, they probably wouldn’t have believed it and when it came to pass, they may have blamed her for it in their grief.
It had been Steve, and Bruce, who had bridged the gap that had begun to form. Though it had only been a day, they had helped Natasha, Clint and Tony accept that what Fury had done was the best option he had with what little information he had, not to mention the time constraint. It wasn’t remotely the best idea, making the team think that Phil was dead, but it had been that event in particular that brought them together. It hadn’t been the battle or Loki, but the news of Phil’s death.
Though Clint, Natasha and Tony were still upset, they slowly began to accept that it had really been the only option Fury had. It helped that the man apologized, even if he had been prompted to do so by Aria.
Once the matter had been resolved and Fury left, Tony not allowing Phil to leave until he had run a full battery of tests on the not-so-dead man, Lyssa and Thor took Aria to England. Just as Lyssa had wanted to do, she met up with Remus at Hogwarts where he worked as the school’s guidance counselor/ tutor, giving him a chance to spend time with his pseudo-niece and give Thor the third degree on principal. At the same time, she caught up with Albus and Minerva, as well as several of her old professors and Hagrid. She filled them all in on the events of the past year, being a Light Elf and a reincarnated Goddess. While the Avengers and Phil had reacted to the reasoning behind the curse with disbelief and shock, the witches and wizards at Hogwarts weren’t all that surprised.
Hell may hath no fury like a woman scorned, but add a magical being, regardless of gender, to the mix, and Hell would suddenly seem like a tropical vacation spot. The only thing more frightening is a pissed off redhead, or so Thor had stated.
“What if the pissed off magical being is a redhead?” Remus asked after Thor made his comment.
“You may wish to consider moving to a remote area, growing a beard and consigning yourself to a lifetime of bad beer and goat jokes.” Thor replied seriously. “For however long your life may be.”
Remus, who had witnessed not only Lily Potter, nee Evans’, temper but Lyssa’s as well, was inclined to agree.
After spending several hours in England, and learning of the progress in Sirius’ case, of which there wasn’t any, Lyssa and Thor returned to the US with Aria. As soon as they returned to Stark Tower, they were promptly roped into Tony’s plan of having shawarma along with the rest of the team and Phil.
Lyssa was drawn back to the present by Aria’s delighted shrieks of laughter. The sound was intermingled with Clint and Steve’s deep laughter. Lyssa turned to them, finding the two men chasing Aria while keeping her from wandering too far from the group.
Erik removed a cylindrical container from the back of the SHIELD transport van. He carried it to where Tony and Bruce were crouched in front of the Tesseract’s open transport case. Bruce carefully lifted the glowing Cube with a pair of fire-tongs and placed it within the container before closing it. He joined Natasha in guarding Loki while Erik walked up to Thor and held the container out to him.
Thor grasped it by the handle and supported it with his other arm. He smiled gratefully at the elderly mortal man who had shown him much wisdom, kindness and love in the short time they had known each other. Erik smiled back and hugged him tightly, being mindful of the container. Thor returned the hug as much as he could with his preoccupied hands before they pulled apart.
“Thank you, my friend.” Thor said softly.
“Be safe, dear boy.” Erik said quietly. He cupped Thor’s cheek for a moment before letting go. He turned to Lyssa, pulling her into a tight hug.
Thor turned his attention to Aria, giving Lyssa and Erik a moment. “Aria, ‘tis time to go.” Thor said gently, his voice just loud enough for the shrieking toddler to hear.
Aria, along with Clint and Steve, turned to the blond God. Aria pouted up at him, but Thor remained firm, showing the toddler that it wasn’t the time for her antics. Aria sighed and let Steve and Clint lead her around to Phil, Tony, Natasha and Bruce to say her goodbyes.
Lyssa and Erik pulled apart. He pressed a loving kiss to Lyssa’s forehead. “Be safe.” Erik told her softly, repeating what he had told Thor. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Erik.” Lyssa said just as softly. “Tell-”
“I will.” Erik promised. He turned to Aria and crouched in front of her, holding his arms out. “Can Grandpa get a hug?” He asked her.
“Yeth!” She replied with a bright grin, launching herself at him.
Erik caught her with a laugh, wrapping his arms around her and rising to his feet in one swift move. He pulled back after several seconds, keeping his arms around her. “Now, you be a good girl for Mummy and Daddy, ‘kay?” Erik told her.
“’Kay.” Aria chirped, nodding.
“Good girl. Now give me another hug.” Erik said. Aria happily obliged, hugging him as tightly as she could. “I love you, so much.” Erik said as they pulled apart.
“I lovey.” Aria replied, pecking his lips lightly.
Erik smiled and set her on the ground. Aria ran back to Lyssa who picked her up, perching her on her hip. Erik went to the SHIELD van and removed a medium-sized suitcase from the back, taking it to Lyssa and handing it to her. “I’ve kept this safe for the past year.” He told her as she took hold of the handle. “It has never been opened, not even when we were packing your things in New Mexico.” He reassured her. “I figured this was something you would like to take back with you rather than your clothes.”
“Thank you, Erik.” Lyssa said gratefully. Internally, she was relieved that there wasn’t a magical mess that needed cleaning up. From the very beginning, she had been adamant that no one go through her suitcase. It was an enchanted item that was enlarged from within and contained all of her magical possessions. With her having possession of the suitcase once more, she could finally continue practicing the magic she had learned at Hogwarts; she had mostly done so by memory over the past year, particularly potion-making, but one too many explosions had led to Frigga gently advising her to stop for the time being.
Lyssa waved her hand over the suitcase and it shrunk down to the size of a lipstick tube. She picked it up before walking over to where Thor stood with Loki, one arm curled around Aria. Lyssa slipped the shrunken suitcase into Thor’s pocket before reaching out and grabbing the container’s handle.
“Aria, you must hold as well, little one.” Thor said.
Aria nodded and reached out, grabbing the handle with her tiny hand. Thor covered both witches’ hands with his own larger one before holding the container out to Loki. The Trickster glared at the elder prince through green eyes but grasped the offered handle tightly.
With a final smile at the assembled group from Lyssa, a cheery wave from Aria and a nod from Thor, the blond prince twisted the handle. They were engulfed in bright blue light before being beamed upwards. Within seconds, the column of light disappeared and so did Thor, Lyssa, Aria and Loki.
Links:
*Aria dress/ shoes/ accessories/ hair - https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/103582860155217751
*Lyssa dress - https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/474566879486666408/
*Lyssa hairstyle - https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/474566879482681620/
*Lyssa shoes (blue grey) - https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/474566879486281077/