Ragnarok | Book 4

Chapter 62: We Were Family

The original Avengers sat by the lake that afternoon shrouded in silence and pain, mourning on the dock together. Sigyn stood on the edge of the dock staring down at the dark water that rippled gently, she bit the insides of her mouth trying to keep herself from crying.

"Do we know if she had family?" asked Tony softly.

"Yeah." replied Steve with a single tear trailing down his cheek. "Us."

"What?" said Thor approaching Steve and Tony.

"Huh, I just asked him a question..." replied Tony confused by Thor's demeanour.

"Yeah, you're acting like she's dead. Why are you acting like she's dead? We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, Cap, we can bring her back, isn't that right?" said Thor angrily. "So stop this shit, we're the Avengers, get it together."

Sigyn took in a frustrated breath, "Thor..." she warned. "You say that, yet you've made no advances to bring back your broth..." she paused herself before she said something she may regret.

"Well now we can!" Thor held up his hands in a praising format.

"We can't get her back." spoke Clint for the first time since coming back.

"Wh- what?"

"It can't be undone. It can't."

Thor chuckled, "No, I'm sorry. No offence, but you're a very earthly being, okay? But we're talking about space magic, and 'can't' seems very definitive, don't you think?"

"Look, I know that I'm way outside my pay grade here. But she still isn't here, isn't she?" spat Clint flailing his arms.

"Now that's my point."

"It can't be undone." said Clint with a shaky voice. "Or at least that's what the red floating guy had to say. Maybe you wanna go talk to him, okay! Go grab your hammer, and you go fly and you talk to him! It was supposed to be me. She sacrificed her life for that goddamned stone. She bet her life on it."

Bruce angrily ripped the bench from the dock and through it over the lake and into the trees. "She's not coming back. We have to make it worth it. We have to."

"We will." said Steve.

*

For the night, Tony and Bruce spent their time huddled up in their lab working on building a gauntlet to carefully place the stones on. In the meantime, Sigyn barely slept that night. Her encounter with Loki replayed over in her mind, imagining all the different ways it could have gone, the different things she should have said. Regardless, it brought her a sense of satisfaction she knew that wouldn't last long. She didn't want the past Loki, she wanted her Loki, the Loki she had.

It made her heart throb just thinking about it.

Sigyn sat up from the bed she laid on and rose to her aching feet. She hugged her robe tighter around her body approaching the wide open windows that reached from floor to ceiling. She stood at the glass peering up into the starry night knowing her home was up there, knowing her heart was up there.

Sigyn looked down at her hand and murmured "Sjá." and a golden mist formed around her hand and fluttered outwards. An image of a person formed beside her and Loki stepped forward in a cloud of gold and green dust, adorning his armour and infamous smirk, his eyes stared at nothing, his body forever unmoving.

She reached out to touch his face, but her hand fazed through the dust and she faltered again.

A voice cleared their throat and Sigyn turned to see Steve standing in her doorway. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"No, of course not." she pushed a smile inviting him in. "I was merely reminiscing."

Steve came to stand beside her, looking at the image of Loki she conjured. "You still really miss him, huh?"

"There's not a moment that goes by."

"Is that why you changed your mind and came to help us?"

"Mostly." she replied. "I don't mean to be abrupt, but why have you come?"

"It's just..." he breathed deeply. "When this is all over, what happens next?"

"Well, for one, I fully intend to take Asgard and any who may return from the snap if this whole ordeal works, to Vanaheim. I will withdraw any other celestial beings or objects from this realm and most likely never come back."

"Never come back?" Steve said shocked.

"What else is there left for me here?"

"I guess you have a point."

"Fear not, Steve." she turned and smiled. "I'll always be in the stars, ready to come to aid if called upon."

Steve couldn't help the smile and he bowed his head looking at his shoes. "Well then, I guess I can finally say; Serving with you was an honour, Queen Sigyn."

Sigyn chuckled, "I'd say the greatest honour is mine Steve Rogers, you are a great warrior. A great soldier."

"In the end, I hope we all get what we truly deserve."

"And what would that be?"

" A time to rest and be happy I suppose."