The Nine Realms were strange. Some of them were actual planets which were in separate galaxies. Then there was Asgard which some sort of cut-away realm. Jotunheim, the realm of Giants, wasn't a frozen chunk of rock that was Niflheim. Jotunheim was an actual planet with more than one biome. The various pirates, marauders, and opportunistic bastards chose to leave that realm alone. Invading a planet full of literal giants didn't appeal to anyone.
Ben found himself on Alfheim, the realm of the Elves, for the first stretch. The Elves that lived in Alfheim were not the same from the Dark World movie, that was Svartalfheim, and they were closer to the sort from Lord of the Rings. Tall, regal, and the world was full of natural beauty with a hint of science fiction for flavor. Entire cities were sculpted from trees lit by glowing threads woven among the bark. He had quickly learned why no one spent time among the Elves. They were pompous bastards that looked down on everyone. Their armies were basically glorified museum security that specialized in looks of disdain and the silent treatment. They weren't much help. Each day was spent fighting for his life beside The Warriors Three, Sif, and Thor. Nights were for patching wounds and gathering around the fire telling stories. It was like one long camping trip with moments of pure chaos when the sun rose.
He found himself working mostly with Sif. She taught him more about fighting with a sword and shield, told him where to get armor beyond the mass-produced stuff, and they often sat together at night. Ben hated to admit it, but he was falling for her. Unfortunately, the hope of being with Sif was dashed the first few nights. She pined for Thor with a focus that blurred everything else. Even then, she was good company.
The group returned to Asgard once Alfheim was secure. They needed time to resupply and get medical help to those who needed something beyond field medicine. There was a small gathering to celebrate the success, but everyone knew it was just the first step in restoring peace to the realms. The chaos hadn't spread to all nine of them. It wasn't a one-to-one translation from Norse Mythology. Midgard handled itself, Jotunheim was too dangerous to invade, while Niflhelm, Svartalfheim, and Hel were avoided completely.
"Where are we going next?" Ben asked as the gathering started to wind down.
Thor sighed, "Duty calls me to Jotunheim while everyone else will be going to Vanaheim."
"Duty?" Ben asked.
Thor nodded, "I am working to repair the damage Loki and I did. In practice, I have taken the mantle of a peacekeeper."
"Huh," Ben nodded. "Noble of you."
Thor shook his head, "I'm merely atoning for past indiscretions."
Ben stopped for a moment. Vanaheim. He knew that from somewhere. Not just the Mythology. It was something connected to the movies.
"Isn't Hogun from Vanaheim?" He asked.
"That is true," Thor nodded.
Ben could almost feel his brain connecting to the relevant information. The Dark World started with Thor showing up to repel the invasion of Vanaheim. How long had they been on Alfheim? The days had blurred together in endless fighting through enchanted forests.
If Vanaheim was anything like Alfheim then it was going to take a while to restore order. Invaders weren't the only foe they had to face. There were locals that took advantage of the chaos to settle old grudges. Regardless, it still meant that the Dark Elves were getting closer to coming back.
He sighed, "Have you spoken to Loki recently?"
"Why would you ask?" Thor furrowed his brow.
Ben patted him on the shoulder, "You're brothers. You know him better than anyone, what he's saying under the snark. He misses you even if he won't admit it." He paused. "I should probably visit as well."
"You are a strange one," Thor shook his head.
Thor put a solid pat on his back before walking away. Ben waited for a moment to see if anyone else wanted to talk before he left. He didn't want to be rude by vanishing as someone tried to approach. A moment later he disappeared from Agard and appeared in his Cube.
It was still mostly a blank space aside from a couple piles of money, clothes, the meteor in the corner, and random other things. He clicked his tongue a few times as he took in the area. The Cube was starting to look like a shed. A couple of shelves, something to hang his clothes, and an armor stand would clean the place a bit. He needed to take some time to organize everything.
Somehow, he didn't have a pack of cards among the lot. Ben appeared in the Las Vegas Airport, grabbed a pack of cards then returned to Asgard. Specifically, the dungeons. Loki sat at a small desk in his cell lazily reading a book. He looked up as Ben strolled through the barrier.
"I'm sorry it took me so long to visit," Ben said conjuring a chair to sit across from Loki. "After I found my way back I was helping clear the realms of marauders and lost track of time."
He opened the box of cards, removed the jokers and the makers-mark ones.
"Ben?" Loki inclined his head slightly. "I can't say I expected to see you again. Are you here to mock me?"
Ben shook his head, "I'm here to catch up and play cards. How's your head?"
"My head?" Loki asked.
Ben shuffled the cards, "Now that you're free of the staff."
"I wasn't being controlled," Loki snapped.
Ben shook his head, "Fine, your thoughts were influenced. Your eyes are green, but they were blue when we met on Earth. There's no judgement, it was made from the energy of an Infinity Stone." He raised his eyebrows. "I am a little annoyed that you were working with Thanos after I told you I was trying to find him."
"I didn't have a choice," Loki replied too quickly for him to believe his own words. "I was lost and alone when he found me."
Ben nodded, "Do you know how to play Five Card Draw?"
"An Earth game?" Loki asked crossing his arms. "Do you think that will save me?"
Ben snorted, "No. I counted you among my friends. This is catching up. I'll bring snacks next time. Have you tried Earth food? What about alcohol? I don't drink but I'm not going to force that on you."
"I tried the food when I visited," Loki replied dismissively. "It wasn't anything special."
Ben shrugged, "Did you try nachos? Or pizza?"
"No," his eyes narrowed.
Ben chuckled, "Then you haven't tried food from Earth."
"I don't know this game," Loki said.
"Five Card Draw," Ben said, then started to explain the rules. "We don't have anything to bet so I don't care if you cheat or not."
"Gambling," Loki smiled. "I'm sure we can think of something."
"I'm not helping you escape," Ben smiled. "Come on, tell me your side of things?"
Loki narrowed his eyes, "My side of things?"
"How it all went sideways," Ben delt out five cards for each. "Thor appears on Midgard powerless. He disappears a few days later. You're working with Thanos and he's back to being a god the next time we meet. What happened?"
"I was the rightful king. He stole the throne from me," Loki growled.
Ben's brow wrinkled, "How's that work? Odin is still alive and Thor isn't king."
"Odin fell to the Odinsleep," Loki explained. "There was no sign of when he would wake. I rightfully took the king's mantle."
Ben cocked his head to the side, "That's more like a Protector of the Throne or a steward. What did that have to do with Thor being tossed to Earth?"
"He attacked Jotunheim and almost started a war," Loki replied.
"They're the ones that broke the Bifrost?" Ben asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," Loki stated. "Where have you been?"
Ben rolled his eyes, "Traveling. It's what I do."
Loki gave him a flat stare.
"Fine," Ben muttered. "I went through the portal and killed Thanos. The portal closed and I had no clue where I was. It took a while, but I made my way back. No big deal."
"You could get me out of here," Loki said.
Ben nodded, "Faster than you know and farther than you can imagine."
"Why don't you?" Loki asked. "We can make a bet."
Ben shook his head, "You're not leaving until you've talked to your family."
"They aren't my family," Loki snapped.
Ben sighed, "Did Thor know you were adopted? No, you are his brother. Did Frigga know? Yes and she treated you like her son. You and Odin have some issues to work out. That's family. Compared to my family, you're practically the Brady Bunch."
"The Brady Bunch?" Loki scoffed.
"A TV show, before your time," Ben replied.
"Tell me about your family," Loki said. "Show me how amazing this falsehood was."
"This falsehood," Ben chuckled. "Fine, let's make it interesting. We'll bet memories. You win, pick a memory, and the loser has to tell the story."
Loki didn't say anything for a long moment then finally nodded.
Time lost meaning as they played. Loki didn't bother cheating as he wanted a captive audience. His stories started dark and broody before Ben was able to maneuver lighter topics. They shared memories of prank wars, childhood antics, and holidays. Ben made sure to connect his stories to his family to subtly direct Loki to share those as well.
"He's going crazy trying to find the beeping," Ben laughed. "Tearing apart his room, flipping his bed, he even took off the light cover. I never thought random beeping would drive someone so crazy." He took a breath. "He was a good brother."
"Was?" Loki asked. "He's still your brother even as you are."
Ben's smile faded, "He died before this happened."
"I'm sorry," Loki said. "If I might ask, how?"
Ben cleared his throat, the memory creating a stubborn lump, "He went out drinking with his friends, drank so much he got lost in the parking lot and started crying because he thought his friends abandoned him. He called me at three in the morning to come pick him up. I tried to get him to tell me where he was, read a road sign or something." Ben closed his eyes; his vision had gotten blurry for some reason. "I told him to sit down and wait for me. He told me he saw a road and was going to flag someone down, then hung up. The car didn't see him until it was too late. He died before the ambulance got there."
"And now you don't drink," Loki whispered.
Ben nodded as he wiped the tears from his eyes. He was glad that his nose hadn't started running. That would have been embarrassing.
"Well," Ben said through a forced smile. "Now that I've ruined the atmosphere, I should take off."
Loki stood as Ben did. He patted him on the shoulder.
"Mind if I visit again?" Ben asked.
"Of course," Loki nodded. "I'm interested to try those nachos you mentioned."
Ben nodded, "Next time."
Cube
Ben sat on the floor for a long while to let his sorrow work its way through his soul. It had been a long time since he had told that story. Locking those memories away and shoving them in a dark corner of his mind probably wasn't healthy.
He hovered a few feet off the floor and closed his eyes. Sleeping in the air was stupidly comfortable. Ben woke up a few hours later when his memories and emotions calmed down. He needed to do something to reset his brain.
Star Wars UniverseCoruscant – Chancellors Office – 3245 Lothal Year – 32 BBY
Sheeve Palpatine sat back in his large chair in his new office. Even the interference of the Jedi had thrown off the plan too far. The loss of Maul was unfortunate, but he had other options. Plagueis was dead. He was now the undisputed Master of the Sith.
A man dressed in strange armor appeared in the office on the other side of the desk. Palpatine had just enough time to furrow his brow before a concentrated blast of laser vision removed his head from his shoulders.
Ben strolled over to the decapitated body and tossed it to the floor. He sat in the chair.
"Damn," He kicked his feet up on the desk. "This is a comfortable chair."
A cacophony of alarms burst into life. Moments later a squad of Senatorial Guards kicked open the doors. Ben watched as a grenade arced through the air and landed squarely on the desk.
"Nice shot," Ben called.
He moved at super speed, grabbed the grenade, and tossed it back into the hall. It exploded a moment later, surrounding the guards in a bright light. They didn't slow their assault. Their helmets must have had protection in place. The guards rushed in, spread out to create overlapping lines of fire, and started shouting.
Ben cocked his head to the side. He couldn't understand a word they were saying. His confusion must have been clear as they started to cycle through a variety of languages. He didn't know the words, but the intent was clear.
"My what a lovely bunch of coconuts," Ben said slowly, in a serious tone.
The guards shouted more.
Ben made sure his expression matched the tone as he motioned to Palpatine, "Here they are standing in a row." He paused. "Big ones. Small ones." Pointed at the head on the floor. "Someone as big as your head."
He carefully raised his hands in the universal gesture of surrender. The guards rushed forward. He allowed them pull his hands behind his back to cuff him. There was a slight tingle once they clicked shut. He guessed they were Force Suppression cuffs.
"You should know," Ben said. "He was a Sith Lord and was going to throw the galaxy into war, then take control as an Emperor."
They barked at him that he guessed meant 'shut up' or something along those lines.
"Did you ever wonder what Yoda is?" Ben asked. "I like to tell people he's a Jawa. They say that they're rat-like creatures, but that doesn't make sense to me. Always thought they should be lizards. There are Chinchillas and other rodents that are native to desert biomes."
One of the guard punched him in the stomach only to scream and pull his hand away. The other guards started yelling. Punchy held up his hand to show the gauntlet was crumpled around his fist.
Ben smiled, "That looks like it hurts."
His words were rewarded with more yelling. This time they added pointing their rifles at him to further enforce their intent.
"I'm kind of curious," Ben said. "Would those hurt if you shot me? I've been fighting a lot lately. Swords, spears, and lances haven't successfully stabbed me yet. It's a range of sensations that can lead to pain. Like getting pelted with those plastic balls from a ball-pit. The worst I've felt was on the level of getting hit with a baseball and not even a fastball. It hurts, but it's not incapacitating."
He continued to ramble as they led him to a holding cell. They posted heavily armed guards at his cell.
"I wonder what I sound like to you guys," Ben said. "I read this manga years ago where English was Goblin in another world." He chuckled. "Temba, his arms wide." He paused. "Nothing? I had to try."
Ben sat on the metal bench that jutted out from the wall. He moved his hands from behind his back, easily snapping them in the process. Ben unclipped them and set both pieces beside him. It was tempting to travel to another world instead of waiting but he was too interested to see what would happen next. Plus, he wanted to see if he knew any of the languages. The Star Wars universe didn't have universal translators. Instead, they had protocol droids. How that worked for the majority of the population across multiple planets.
He waited for a while. The forcefield barrier had a subtle hum to it that was quickly annoying. It was loud enough that he couldn't hear anything outside of the cell. Ben tried to tell himself that it made sense that he would have to wait. This was a city that filled an entire planet. They couldn't just pop in next door and grab a linguistic master. He didn't know why they didn't get a droid.
Another hour passed without any progress. Ben sighed. Well, he tried. He would have to check back in a while to see what happened to the timeline. Time alone to think was not something he wanted right now. Ben vanished from the spell leaving behind the broken cuffs as the only sign he had been there.
The connection to Star Wars had been made. Any future travel to it would be between Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Star Wars was one of the dimensions he had to be careful about when visiting. Not about changing the timeline or interacting with characters. It was that he had spent a large portion of his life with the games, comics, movies, and shows. The only reason he was able to leave so easily this time was due to being arrested. He would probably be stuck here if anything interesting happened.
He would come back once he had taken care of his business elsewhere.
Marvel Cinematic UniverseAsgard – 2013 on Midgard
The next year was spent fighting to restore Vanaheim. Being an outsider allowed him some wiggle room to do his own thing rather than be stuck constantly fighting. Most of the time it was simply traveling to another dimension to get supplies and visiting Loki. The nights were greatly lacking in comfort. He had also spent some time transforming the Cube into a proper storage space. Thor visited Loki on occasion, usually the day after Ben had. Most importantly, the connection between Frigga and Loki was well on the way of being repaired.
His near invulnerability allowed him to change his fighting style from practical to something with more style. He swapped from a sword and shield to dual-wielding short swords that were styled after the Roman Gladius.
Ben appeared in Loki's cell carrying a large platter of nachos. They had been a smash hit. He had to bring extra for Loki and Thor.
"Odin continues to bring me new friends," Loki said standing at the barrier of his cell.
His words sent a shiver down Ben's spine. He had been waiting for those dreaded words to signal the start of things.
"Greeting, Traveler Ben," The projection of Frigga greeted him. "Are those the nachos my son speaks so highly about?"
Ben nodded, "Yes. I tried to introduce him to the majesty that is pizza, but he refused to see reason."
"I don't like the sauce," Loki turned to face him. "Too acidic."
"He has convinced Thor to introduce it to the kitchens," Frigga smiled. "According to him, they can't seem to get it right."
"I could bring them a sample dish if you think they'd try it," Ben offered.
"Thank you for visiting my son," Frigga took a step closer to him. "He might not admit it, but he treasures the time."
"Mother," Loki said, not whining. "Such words do me injustice."
"Where is Thor?" Ben asked as he set the nachos on the table. "He was supposed to be here."
"His pet mortal is here," Loki rolled his eyes.
"She is not a pet," Frigga chided. "I'm going to meet her shortly. Odin was not happy about her arrival. New facts have come to light that prove she needed to be brought here."
Ben watched the prisoners as they walked by for a familiar helmet. He found it toward the back of the group. His hands balled into fists.
"Excuse me for a moment," Ben stepped through the barrier.
Fandral and Volstagg greeted him as he approached. His swords appeared in his hands, stopping their words. Ben dashed forward, he sank one blade into the back of the disguised Dark Elf. He fell to his knees lining him perfectly for the next strike. Ben sank his other sword into the junction of where the shoulder and neck met. He pulled both blades out and used them like scissors to behead the prisoner. When in doubt, cut off its head. Decapitation, the one-size fits all killing method.
He reached under the armor of its torse and removed the stone that would have turned the Dark Elf into Kurse. It was sent to his Cube with a thought. He'd bury it on Mars in some other dimension after this was done.
"Ben!" Fandral yelled. "What are you doing? We do not execute a prisoner that surrendered."
Ben picked up the detached head then removed the helmet, "That was not a prisoner. That was a Dark Elf infiltrator." He looked over his shoulder to where Frigga stood. "I have a feeling this has to do with the reason Jane Foster is visiting. Lady Frigga, please raise the alarm."
He wasn't going to give the Dark Elf a chance to turn into that creature. There shouldn't be a jailbreak without Kurse there to start it. The Dark Elves would most likely still attack but would face a stronger resistance with Asgard's security focusing on a single threat. From what he could recall, she had Malekith well in hand until his monster arrived. Ben wasn't going to leave that to chance. He had recently rewatch The Dark World a few times to make sure it was fresh in his mind. Malekith could remove the Aether from Jane then he would absorb it. The Convergence centered on Earth, so all they would have to do was keep Malekith away until after it passed. Ben was certain he could help with that part.
"Loki," Ben nodded to him. "I'll be back in a bit. Save some nachos for me."
Ben flew out of the dungeons to search the palace. Asgardian troops and the Royal Guard were out in force. He found Jane, Frigga, and Thor walking along the palace grounds. Ben nearby then waited for them to approach. He didn't want to intrude.
"Ben," Thor greeted him. "Jane Foster, this is Ben Andersson also known as Traveler. Ben, this is Doctor Jane Foster."
"It's nice to meet you," Ben inclined his head. "Sorry for interrupting, may I be blunt?"
"Speak," Frigga answered.
"Malekith is coming here for the Aether which is inside of Doctor Foster," Ben said. "The only way to save her is to let him take it."
"He will use the Aether to destroy the nine realms," Frigga said in a terse tone.
"Not if he's not in the Nine Realms," Ben countered. "I can take him somewhere he will be powerless."
"Are you certain?" Frigga asked.
"I am," Ben nodded.
Frigga looked from Thor to Jane before setting her gaze on Ben, "It seems we need to get some fresh air in the gardens."
The authority she carried was clear as they walked. No one questions why the Queen, Prince, and guests were outside when a suspected attack was imminent. She casually snagged a sword from a passing soldier which made Jane and Ben smile.
They couldn't see the ship approach, but they could feel it. Frigga held a hand to Jane who took it. The Dark Elf ship revealed itself. A squad of their soldiers filed out surrounding them with weapons raised. Malekith walked out a moment later.
"An Asgardians that has seen reason," Malekith said. "Hand over the weapon."
Jane looked over her shoulder at Thor. He nodded. Jane stepped forward. The Dark Elf leader studied the group for a long moment before he reached placed a hand on her forehead. They watched Jane levitate as the Aether was drawn from her. She healed before their eyes as Malekith absorbed it. The Dark Elf closed his eyes as the process continued. They were replaced with deep black orbs when he opened them once more.
Ben closed the distance with a burst of super speed. He barreled into Malekith, pushing him back into his troops.
Above EarthLeft Behind Dimension – 2014
In 2014 Nicolas Cage starred in a movie adaption of Left Behind. Quick summary, the Christian Rapture takes all the 'good people' leaving all the sinners behind. It was horrible just like all of the other adaptations. The Dark Elves couldn't do more damage than was already done here. The soldiers that had made the trip with them didn't last long without air.
"Do you need to breath?" Ben asked Malekith. "I don't."
The leader of the Dark Elves glared at him.
"Can't speak, eh?" Ben smiled. "I shouldn't be able. It's something to do with my Traveler ability. I'm guessing the Aether inside of you is keeping you alive."
Malekith didn't say anything.
"Enjoy your trip," Ben tossed Malekith toward the planet with force.
He watched as the Dark Elf burst into the flame as he breached the atmosphere for a moment.
Marvel Cinematic UniverseAsgard – 2013
Ben returned to find the remaining Dark Elf troops being routed by the Royal Guard and Thor.
The Nine Realms were stable once more. Frigga was alive, Jane was safe, and Loki was slowly but surely reconnecting with his family. Well, Frigga and Thor. He wasn't going to push Loki to get close to Odin. The King of Asgard was a jerk. There wasn't too much to keep him on Asgard for much longer.
Aside from the nachos.