When you got back to the tower, you opened your mind to the familiar pressure.
"Where'd you go, Doctor Strange was looking for you?" Wanda said into your mind, her Sokovian accent somehow still present.
"I was just with him, then I went to get ice cream. Did he say why he was looking for me?"
"Only that you forgot something, I told him to come back tomorrow, is that OK?"
"Yeah thanks Wanda. I've had an exhausting day, I'm gonna go to bed now, would you tell the others not to bother me?" you requested, and went to get ready for bed.
~
As you lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and waiting for sleep to come, your thoughts returned to what you had read earlier. The paragraph you had started to read by accident mentioned someone named Sigyn.
Reaching over to your nightstand, you grabbed your phone, deciding to look it up. Squinting against the bright light, you typed the name into the search bar. Clicking on the first thing that came up, a website called norse-mythology.org, you began to read.
"Sigyn (pronounced roughly 'SIG-in') was the wife of the wily trickster god Loki.
Eddic and skaldic poetry are peppered with passing references to this role of hers, attesting to her existence in the Germanic pantheon from early times. The medieval Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson listed her among the Aesir gods and goddesses.
With Loki, Sigyn had one son, whose name was variously rendered as either Narfi or Nari.
The name "Sigyn" is probably formed from the Old Norse words sigr, 'victory,' and vina, 'female friend.' Her name therefore apparently means 'Friend of Victory,'" (stolen directly from the aforementioned website).
Feeling that you understood roughly who she was, the Goddess of Victory and Loki's destined wife, you put your phone down and rolled over to try to get some sleep.
~
"You're doing it all wrong. You've gotta use the other person's momentum to swing yourself onto them, then wrap your legs around their neck."
Natasha was trying to teach you how to do her signature acrobatic double-leg grapple move, the key word being 'trying.' Bucky was very generously being a training dummy for you to practice on.
Anna, who had bullied him into helping you, was currently eating popcorn while watching Howl's Moving Castle on her phone for what seemed to be the hundredth time.
Suddenly a glowing orange circle of sparks appeared, and Doctor Strange stepped through.
"There he is! There's my favourite white boy!" Anna ran over to tackle him in a hug, eliciting a scowl from Bucky.
Patting her on the back, the doctor looked over at you.
"You forgot this," he said, handing you the Lamp of Lucifer which you had left behind.
"Oh, right, thanks," you took it from him. Just as you were about to put it in the pocket dimension, Anna grabbed your arm.
"Is that what I think it is?" she asked, eyes wide as saucers.
"That depends, what do you think it is?"
"That's the Lamp of Lucifer, right?" she asked excitedly, "It was in the comics, it allows Si-"
"Yes, it is," Doctor Strange said, cutting her off, "Now then, I have to get going."
Before he left, he motioned Anna to follow him.
~
"What's this all about?" Anna demanded.
"I don't know what your source is or how you even know about the lamp, or anything for that matter, but you can't reveal anything to y/n. It's crucial that she does not know before she's ready," the doctor spoke quickly, pacing back and forth.
"Oh, you mean the fact that I know who she is? Got it, secret's safe with me," Anna pantomimed locking her mouth and throwing away the key.
Suddenly the back wall exploded, throwing both of them forward. The doctor waved his arm, forming a portal in front of Anna.
"Go!" he nodded towards the glowing circle before turning back to the gaping hole.
~~~
Word count: 662
OK so I finally watched Howl's Moving Castle and it was so good. I had already seen Spirited Away, and I'd heard about how Studio Ghibli is really good, but I didn't realize just how good. Also, Anna's right, Howl is hot, especially after his hair changes colour. Now I gotta go touch some grass.
-Liz
YOU ARE READING
Damaged Goods
Fanfiction"This is a work of fiction. Still, given an infinite number of possible worlds, it must be true on one of them. And if a story set in an infinite number of possible worlds is true in one of them, then it must be true in all of them. So maybe, it's n...
