Chapter 42
In the movies they never really explained what broke the spell Loki put on Odin. Just that at some point he snapped out of it, ended up contacting Stephen Strange. He asked for him not to tell anyone where he was and ended up in Tonsberg, Norway or as it will be known 2023, New Asgard.
Stephen Strange does not become a master of the mystic arts until 2016 which means I am 2 years early and I am opening up 2 years of wiggle room to screw up the timeline.
All to possibly get some clarity on my situation and for a guy that very obviously did not like me.
I better be knighted or the Asgardian equivalent of Dukedom.
“Alright sir…” I said as stopped by a coffee shop near Happy Acres.
“Where are Blanche, Dorothy, and Rose?” Odin said.
“They went to go look for Sophia.” I said offering him a scone. “Blueberry scone? It’s better than that pudding.”
Odin picked it up and sniffed it eying me suspiciously before stuffing the entire pastry in his mouth.
“It’s kind of dry…” I said as he started choking. “Oh shit… shit.”
I got up and smacked his back trying to dislodge the pastry.
“B-b-blue-blueberry…” Odin coughed before spitting out a blueberry.
“Ok, no more choking hazards. At least until we get you back to normal.” I said sitting back down. “Let’s try coffee.”
“Are you a Carrie?” He said.
“No. Though you are right, we got off on the wrong foot and obviously your ancient ass has some absurd speciesism and classist-based biases against me and people from my planet and I think you’re a murdering, pillaging self-obsessed Viking with some very questionable parenting methods.” I said clasping my hands together reminding myself to get back on track. “But today is a new day and we currently need each other. So lets start over. Hi, I’m Hanna.”
“You sound like a Miranda.” Odin said.
“They didn’t have name brand drugs but they had HBO. Odin. You are the king of Asgard.” I said taking out my phone and showing him a photo of Thor I had snapped of him when I was trying to teach him how to use a phone. “This is your son, Thor. The God of Thunder. Big guy, long flowing blonde hair, gorgeous blue eyes, red cape, swings a hammer that he is really attached to and… just a giant ray of sunshine. He was meant to be your successor but he wasn't ready for it, he was immature, power hungry and though you never said it out loud, there was a moment there that he reminded you of Hela. You learned from your mistakes and stopped him from going too far. You banished him to Earth, without his powers, Mjolnir and he learned his lesson. He went from wanting to be a conqueror and king to a protector, an Avenger. He’s one of Earth’s mightiest heroes.”
“He’s glowing!” Odin said taking the phone and playing with the brightness settings. “And now he’s not. Glowing… not glowing…”
“Stop.” I said snatching the phone away from him and taking his hands into mine. “Odin, I need you to focus. The quicker you snap out of this, the sooner I can get you back to Asgard and your wife. Loki probably still hasn’t made a complete mess of things.”
“Thor didn’t work, let’s talk about Loki.” I said.
“Loki, Loki Loki!” Odin sang out loud making people in the café look at us like we were insane.
“No.” I snapped before he broke out into song. “Loki, your son that you adopted. Lauffey left him out in the cold to die, which is ironic considering they’re frost giants. Not entirely sure how accurate that story is but he is your kid. For better or for worse he is. You raised him, your wife adored him and taught him magic. He invaded Earth and you imprisoned him in Asgard’s dungeons.”
Odin was quiet as he looked at me.
“Green eyes.” Odin said staring into my eyes.
“Yes?” I said hoping that sparked something in him.
“You have green eyes.” He said.
“This isn’t working.” I said as my phone started ringing. I picked it up to see it was Steve.
That was the last person I needed to talk to right now. I sent him to voicemail before turning back to my current problem.
“Blanche!” Odin said standing up and running out of the shop to chase a bird.
“Odin!” I shouted grabbing my purse and phone before running after him. If he could run why did I have to push him all the way here. That man was heavy!
After chasing him down the block and moving him out of the way of an oncoming bud I decided that it was probably not a good idea for the King of Asgard to be wandering around New York while he was defenseless and out of his damn mind.
The tower was not an option because the second Thor caught a whiff od what was going on he would have Heimdall beam them back to Asgard and I would lose my chance to get some answers about my situation.
That only left one place. My apartment.
“Come on big guy, don’t you want to see Rose?” I said trying to motivate him after he gave up on the second flight of stairs.
“I was not born to touch the heavens.” Odin said.
“I believe the Asgardian term for that is Valhalla and I hate to break it to you but neither of us if going to end up there.” I said bluntly. “Up up, I think I saw some pudding cups somewhere.”
“Pudding?” Odin said perking up.
“All the pudding you could want.” I said helping him back to his feet. Another ten minutes and we were in my apartment. I planted Odin on the couch where he started flipping through channels.
Maybe photos of Thor and Loki from the Battle of New York would help him remember something. I grabbed my tablet and started going through Jarvis’ saved files to show Odin.
Hours later repeating the same thing over and over again with no results.
“Oh come on, you’ve got to be feeling something. An Inkling? A little nagging feeling?” I asked.
“Rose!” Odin cheered as he found The Proposal being showed on TV. Hilariously it was the scene with Sandra Bullock shaking her butt in front of Betty White.
“Actually this is a good one.” I said. “I’ll make some popcorn.”
Never thought I’d say that I had a movie night the boss of all Norse Gods. Odin was a surprisingly good movie buddy. We laughed at all the same parts, he didn’t hog the popcorn bucket, and we could both agree that Betty White was the true star of that movie.
“Are you up for another one?” I asked before reaching under the coffee table to bring up the big book of Norse legends. “Or should we hit the book?”
“Another!” Odin said throwing down his glass shattering it on the ground. “Oops.”
“I see where Thor gets it from.” I said going to grab the broom to clean it up. It was when I had just finished sweeping up the glass that there was a knock at the door. “You’ve got to be kidding me…”
“Sham WOW!” Odin said following word for work the infomercial.
“Just a minute.” I called out before pouring Odin another glass of water and walking it over to him. I took advantage of the distraction and turned the Tv down. “Do not try to copy that commercial.”
They knocked again annoying me.
“I’m going.” I called out running to the door. I put the chain on the door and opened it a crack before opening it. “Steve!”
“Hey…” Steve said standing in the hallway awkwardly holding a bouquet of flowers.
“Hi.” I said peering through the crack in the doorway. “Oh just… one sec.”
I closed the door before turning to Odin.
“Shhh.” I shushed him before unlocking the door and slipping out into the hallway quickly so Steve wouldn’t look inside, something he very obviously noticed. “What’s up?”
“Uh… I just wanted to come see how you were doing.” Steve said before remembering the flowers in his hand. “And these are for you. A housewarming gift… it’s a nice door.”
“Yeah very sturdy.” I said patting it. “Multiple locks, everything a girl looks for in a door.”
“I can see that.” Steve said staying quiet for a minute. “How’s the rest of the apartment?”
“It’s good.” I said. “Hardwood floors, natural light… dishwasher.”
“We have a dishwasher at the tower.” Steve said.
“I know.” I said. “Who do you think loaded it every night?”
“I loaded it a couple of times.” Steve said before Odin let out a booming laugh from inside the apartment. “You have company?”
“Yeah… My neighbor got locked out. He’s waiting for the building manager.” I said.
“That’s nice of you.” Steve said still on guard. “Do I get to see the new place?”
“No.” I said. “It’s really not much.”
“This building’s nicer than the one I grew up in.” Steve said.
“It was sweet of you to stop by but I meant it when I said I needed space.” I said.
“Hanna.” Steve started.
“Steve.” I said not giving in. “You made it very clear you didn’t like this. You’re not going to change my mind by popping in unexpectedly looking for danger around every corner.”
“You let a stranger into your apartment.” Steve said. “It was one of the first things you told me not to do when we were in your world.”
“Because I didn’t exactly live in the safest area and as you’ve noticed this is a nice building.” I said.
“Do you even know this guy?” Steve said.
“I know him well enough.” I said.
“What’s his name?” Steve asked.
“Fred.” I said blurting out the first name I could think of. “Would you relax? The guy’s harmless. He’s like a thousand years old.”
Add a couple of thousands and I’d still be a bit off.
“Can I meet him?” Steve asked.
“No, Steve. I’m trying to keep a low profile and the Avengers knocking at my door every five minutes is not making it easy.” I said.
“That’s not fair.” Steve said.
“Six of you and one of me. What part of that is fair?” I retorted. “Whatever this is, doesn’t change the fact that I still have a mind of my own.”
“You had a whole floor.” Steve said. “It’s a big tower.”
“With all of you hovering around constantly. Kind of like you’re doing now.” I said. “Give me some breathing room.”
“For how long?” Steve said.
“Until I’m ready to deal with this thing.” I said.
“You can’t even say it?” Steve said.
“Stop pressuring me.” I snapped. “Go home, I’ll see you next week at work.”
“Hanna,” Steve tried but I had already walked back into my apartment and locked the door behind me.
The Following Morning…
“Okay, let’s talk about your better half.” I said flipping through the giant book that just seemed to get heavier and heavier each time I picked it up. “This is Frigga. Your wife. Queen of Asgard. Mother of your sons… not sure about Hela, the What ifs made a passing comment but that was another alternate universe so who knows how accurate that was.”
“She’s pretty like Rose.” Odin said eating some potato chips.
“She’s a witch and I don’t mean that as an insult, I meant the magical kind. She’s actually very lovely. In your marriage you reached and she settled.” I said. “From what I've seen Frigga is the glue that held your family together, the secrets you kept from everyone is what tore your family apart.”
“Hmm.” Odin said.
“Yes?” I waiting to see if this rung any bells.
“Pudding.” He said.
“Odin, the nine realms need you to pull yourself together.” I said. “I need you to try, think really hard.”
“I miss Blanche. She had a lovely voice.” Odin said.
“Odin!” I shouted. “Frigga! Thor! Loki! Hela! Anything?!”
“That was not very nice. You forgot the magic word.” Odin said.
“Please.” I said.
“May I have some pudding?” He asked staring at me as if I hadn’t said anything.
“UGH!!!!” I groaned falling back onto the couch. “God of mischief, more like god of being a pain in the ass.”
I thought the hard part of getting help from Odin was going to be breaking him out of the nursing home not breaking the stupid spell Loki put on him. It was starting to become obvious to me and probably Odin himself that I was way out of my depth here.
What did I know about magic? Magic, real magic didn’t even exist in my world.
I was wasting time sitting around here waiting for Odin to snap out of it. Hydra was going to be making their move in little over a month, maybe sooner. Thanos was still a looming threat.
Time was not on my side here…
Magic was not my forte but I knew where to find a sorcerer or two who may be able to help.
“Alright big guy, how about we go out and get you some pudding?” I said to Odin.
“Not Tapioca.” He said.
“Never tapioca.” I seconded. “There’s a great pudding shop in Greenwich. You’re going to love it. Its magical.”
It took longer to get to the village than the first time. Mostly because Odin kept trying to get off the subway.
“It should be around here.” I said looking at the GPS on my phone.
“Where is my pudding?” Odin insisted as he started dragging his feet.
“We’re almost there.” I said linking my arm with his pulling him along.
“No you promised me pudding. Not tapioca, not butterscotch, chocolate or swirl and I haven’t gotten any pudding!” He shouted and for a second I thought I heard the sky rumbling.
“Odin, buddy, I will get you enough pudding you’ll drown in it if you come with me right now.” I said.
“Not until I get my pudding!” Odin growled.
“I don’t have any freaking pudding! I don’t even know you like it gives you the runs!” I shouted back.
“It’s delicious and Rose would give me pudding!” Odin shouted.
“I’m not Rose! Rose isn’t even Rose! She’s an actress!” I shouted. “And she’s not even the best Golden Girl!”
“You take that back!” Odin growled.
“Dorothy carried that show.” I said.
“Rose did.” Odin said.
“All she did was giggle.” I retorted.
“She was the heart and soul of that show.” Odin said as the rumbling of the sky got louder.
“She wasn’t even the comic relief.” I said as I saw something start to sparkle out of the corner of my eyes. “Even Sophia was funnier.”
“You… You.. AH!” Odin said suddenly falling through the concrete sidewalk.
“Odin!” I shouted trying to catch him before the portal closed. “No no no no, this is not happening. You are not taking him!”
“WONG!” I shouted running down the street until I made it to 177 Bleeker Street. I banged my fists on the door. “Open the freaking door! We were in the middle of a very important conversat-uhAH!”
The door didn’t open but another portal opened and I fell into the sanctum face first.
“Ow!” I said looking up to see a bald woman in yellow robes and a Asian man biting into a Hoagie. “Do you guys know how to use a door?”
“We thought you wanted to come in.” Wong said.
“Yeah.” I said sitting up. “You kidnapped… my… sort of… kind of… father in law.”
“Father in law?” Wong said. “You mean him?”
I turned to the chair he was pointing at in the library and Odin was happily sitting down eating his pudding cup that just kept refilling itself.
“He is your father by law?” The woman said.
“No… kind of… it’s complicated.” I said. “I’m in this situationship with his son. He wants things, I don’t know if he actually wants those things or just thinks he wants those things. His dad was supposed to help me figure out where him wanting those things came from.”
The ancient one and Wong just looked at me confused.
“That makes no sense.” Wong said.
“Yes it does.” I snapped while the ancient one just stared at me confused. I looked at her and she was still staring at me with an undiscernible look on her face. “If there’s something on my face it’s his fault for not giving me a heads up about the portal. You’ve got a little.”
Wong touched his chin wiping off the dribble of mayo off his chin.
“Thank you.” He said.
“Who are you?” She said.
“I’m Hanna Marin.” I said. “And he’s Wong and are the Ancient One, the current sorceress Supreme.”
“How do you know that?” Wong said.
“Because we’ve met before.” The Ancient One said.
“I’ve met you in another world in passing. You’ve never met me before.” I said.
“That explains much.” She said looking straight into my eyes.
“What are you doing?” I said staking a step back but firmly yet gently grasped onto my forearms holding me in place.
“The eyes are the window to the soul.” She said in way of explaining. “And you are a very old soul. Far older than any I've ever seen.”
“I’m 27. So not that old.” I clarified.
“So lonely and sad and so much pain.” She said letting me go. “More than anyone one person should have to bear. Life has not been kind to you.”
“Life sucks, you just learn to deal with it.” I said rubbing my hands awkwardly. “I’m not here for me. He’s under a spell. I need you to break whatever spell Loki put on him.”
“Loki? Of Asgard?” Wong said. “Which means he’s Odin?”
“The one and only All Father who currently thinks he’s a retiree obsessed with the Golden Girls and pudding.” I deadpanned. “He doesn’t remember who he is or anything before Loki put him in that retirement home.”
“An enchantment strong enough to subdue the All father himself? Loki is one powerful being.” Wong said.
“Can you fix him?” I asked them.
“There are only a handful of spells that could possibly do this to an al powerful being such as Odin.” The Ancient One said. “It can be done. Do you intend to return him to Asgard once he has recovered his memories?”
“After he helps me, yes.” I said. “It’s surprising his wife hasn’t noticed he’s missing or maybe she's just happy for the vacation.”
“Do you really think he has the answers you are so desperately looking for?” She said.
“He’s my best shot.” I said. “And either way he shouldn’t be hiding on Earth while his son makes a mess of things.”
“There are a few things we could try.” The Ancient One said. “But I have a feeling it’s not the spell that is keeping Odin here.”
“Great,” I said.
That is how we ended up on the top floor of the Sanctum while the Ancient One and Wong lit some torches and started preparing the room.
“Alright big guy.” I said leading Odin to sit in a chair in the middle room. “Our new friends here are going to try to fix your head and then we’re going to talk some things out.”
“I don’t want to talk to you.” Odin said still upset that I said Rose was not the best Golden Girl.
“In a few minutes you’re not even going to care about Golden Girls.” I said. “But I did mean it when I said Betty White was the real star of The Proposal.”
“Of course she was.” Odin said sitting down. “Can we watch it again?”
“Sure.” I said patting his shoulder before taking a few steps back. “This isn’t going to hurt him right?”
Odin may be a very flawed man but he was still Thor’s dad.
“If we do this correctly the All Father will not feel a thing.” Wong said.
“You’re making it sound like brain surgery and neither of you are Stephen Strange.” I said.
“Stephen who?” Wong said turning to the Ancient One confused.
“No one you need concern yourself with.” She reassured him. “The mind is a delicate thing. There is no telling how recovering all of his memories all at once will affect him.”
“What are the odds he’ll end up a vegetable?” I asked.
“This isn’t a transfiguration spell.” Wong said brushing off my concerns.
“Maybe I should have waited for the other guy.” I mumbled.
“Please take a step back.” The Ancient One said as she and Wong got into position and started moving their arms in sync as glowing symbols and rings appeared on the floor around Odin.
More and more symbols appeared as they lifted off the ground and spun closer and closer to Odin.
“What is happening!?” Odin shouted in fear.
“It’s okay, just close your eyes. It’ll be over in a minute!” I called out.
The rings started spinning faster and faster making strong gusts of wind blow around the room as the ring started getting smaller and smaller crushing together into Odin.
Just as fast as the wind started it disappeared. Odin was hunched over in his seat.
“Odin?” I said slowly approaching him. I heard him groan as I helped him sit up. “Are you alright?”
He groaned opening his eye before glaring at me sharply.
“You.” He growled.
“Odin.” I said not sure he had his memories back.
Before I knew what was happening he grabbed me by the neck and had stood up choking me.
“Odin!” I choked out digging my nails into his arm and trying to hit his arm as hard as I could. I felt my head and back hit something hard and everything went black.
For a second there I thought I had died again but when I opened my eyes I wasn't falling or at the bottom of the pit. I was still in the Sanctum. The room was wrecked and some of the furniture was destroyed but I was still in the same universe.
I was lying on the floor and Wong was standing over me, looking down at me.
“You’re awake.” He said.
“Yeah.” I said touching my very sore and probably very bruised neck.
“Hold still.” Wong said moving his hands as he started another spell the floated around my head. The pain slowly disappeared and I could swallow easier.
“Thanks.” I said sitting up. “I’m guessing it worked?”
“I’d say so.” The Ancient one said offering me a cup of tea.
“Where is he?” I said taking a small sip of the tea.
The Ancient One and Wong exchanged looks.
“Please tell me you didn’t kill him?” I said.
“He is unharmed.” Wong said. “But… he’s gone.”
“What?” I said hoping I was hearing wrong. “What do you mean he’s gone?”
“Odin has recovered his memories and chose to leave.” The Ancient One explained.
“And you let him go? He tried to kill me, he’s obviously not in his right mind.” I said.
“He was taken by surprise but once the All Father got his bearings he realized where he was and what had happened.” The Ancient One said.
“So he’s back on Asgard?” I asked.
“Not exactly.” Wong said.
“The All father chose to leave and did not wish to return to Asgard. He remains on Earth.” She said. “He had a specific place in mind where he wished to reside.”
“Strap on your sling ring and take to him.” I said.
“He does not wish to be followed.” She said.
“I don’t care what he wants. He’s the boss of Asgard not of me.” I said. “Take me to him.”
“His orders were very clear.” Wong said. “His mind was made up.”
“An hour ago he decided he was going to eat nothing but pudding for the rest of his life and was going to convince Betty White to marry him.” I said. “For all we know his brain is swiss cheese. Take me to him.”
“I cannot.” The Ancient one said.
“Wong.” I said.
“His orders were absolute.” Wong said.
“Fuck his orders. I did not spend the last 2 days trying to jog his memory for him to almost kill me and then ditch me. Put the ring on and get me a portal to him now!” I ordered.
“As you wish.” The ancient one said opening up a portal at my feet making me fall through the floor.
I expected to land in Norway but instead I was on the street in front of the Sanctum.
“Are you fucking kidding me?!” I shouted running up the steps to bang on the door but another portal opened up and I fell back onto the street. “I like the other version of you better!”
There was no way in hell Odin was going to get away with this.
I needed answers and I was going to get them.