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Thor knows his relationship with his brother is unorthodox. After all, not many can say their little brother tried to take over a planet to get revenge on them. But that was so long ago and Thor wished things could be so simple. No madman trying to destroy the universe, no secret older sister trying to take over the universe, no infinity stones (well, fewer infinity stones) just brotherly rivalry.
Thor would do anything to go back to that time, oh how he missed his friends, but nothing he could do would reverse the destruction before him. He had accepted the destruction of Asgard, even if it pained him to think of. It was the fall out of a long line of mistakes covered up and forgotten. But as Thor looked around the burning ship, bodies strewn about, he could not help but feel this was wrong somehow.
Thor could not rise, so bad were the wounds he had been delivered. His little brother stood among their enemy, and Thor could not join him. Heavy footsteps came from behind him, stopping at his side. A hand gripped his head, squeezing, and yanked him up. His body screamed in protest and his head swam. Thanos was talking and how Thor hated it, even as jumbled as it was in his ears. Give me the tesseract. Thor willed himself awake. Then the pain started. Thor knew it was in vain, the tesseract wasn't here. Then a voice yelled stop. His little brother's voice yelled stop. Thor's heart sank. The tesseract appeared.
“You really are the worst brother.” He said the words, but his heart wasn't in them. They had known each other for millennia and loved each other for every year of it. A decade of fighting could hardly take that away. Thor could see that now. At the end, he could see so clearly. The titan dropped him and walked forward. Towards his little brother and Thor lamented that he could only lift his head to watch.
The sun will shine on us again. Thor couldn't see it. Then the Hulk tackled Thanos and his little brother covered him in the ensuing debris storm.
By the time Thor finally managed himself into a crouch, his brother had disappeared. Metal quickly snaked its way around his limbs and once again he was immobilized. The Hulk had stopped moving and Thanos took the tesseract from it's place on the ground. Two stones rested in his gauntlet.
They spoke of going to Earth. His little brother, his brave little brother, reappeared and offered to be a guide. I consider experience, experience. He glanced at Thor, a mix of emotions Thor couldn't decipher hidden behind a cloud of desperation. He looked back at Thanos and Thor's heart clenched.
“I, Loki. Prince of Asgard. Rightful king of Jotunheim. God of Mischief.” He glanced towards Thor again as he spoke. “Odinson.”
“Do hereby pledge…” The dagger appeared and Thor's heart stopped. “...my undying fidelity…”
He had planned to lunge forward, to dig his dagger deep into the Mad Titan's throat despite the odds. Despite knowing he would be unsuccessful. Despite knowing he would die.
Thor had seen it, but so had Heimdall. And call him a sentimental fool, but he did not wish to see his princes die this day. He gathered his magic one last time. The rainbow light washed over three figures and they were gone. He released the breath he'd unknowingly held.
His hands were sticky with blood, his blood. He was dying, but that was fine. Despite the enemy's warning, Heimdall had no regrets. He died saving Asgard's king and prince.
No… He died saving Thor and Loki, two boys who he had watched grow into men. Two little boys who he had grown to love as family. Heimdall smiled at the thought and all faded to black.
This day Heimdall would join his king and queen in Valhalla.
Heimdall had not the strength remaining to send all three of them to Earth, but his eyes were not just for show and a ship closing in on their distress beacon found it's windshield home to two unconscious men. (Heimdall meant to transport them inside, but he was under a lot of pressure bleeding out and all.)
“Jesus! Hurry, wipe them off! Wipers! Wipers!” Peter Quill quipped, making a wiping motion with his hands. Then the dead men moved. Distracted, nobody noticed the rainbow streaking through space in the direction of Earth.
“Looks like they're alive.” Gamora stated, heading towards the airlock. “Come on, let's go get ‘em.”
The guardians gathered around the two unconscious men. “They look like shit. How are they still alive?” Rocket commented, noting the burns and bruises visible from beneath the cost of grime on their skin. “Think they're from the beacon?”
“I don't know, we are still pretty far from the beacon's location.” Gamora replied. Quill stepped towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“There's only one way to find out,” he said, leaning over one of the men slightly. “We wake them up.”
Mantis stepped forward, eyes flitting between the two men. She took her hand and placed it on the forehead of the less threatening looking man and peered into his mind. “Wake up.”
He sprung up, spinning out of her touch while facing the guardians and brandishing a dagger that appeared from thin air. He suddenly didn't look so boyish with a snarl on his face, eyes darting around the room. The guardians immediately got into a fighting stance. The stranger's eyes stopped on Gamora and his fear was so palpable that Mantis could feel it before he reigned it in. This caused her fighting stance to waver. His entire demeanor changed, becoming more aloof, as if he hadn't just been pulled from the depths of space.
Then he spoke. “I have to say, I did not think Heimdall had gone senile in his old age, to send me to you, daughter of Thanos.” The venom in his voice was obvious, covering the grief the name brought him. He seemed to notice the unconscious man and reigned his bloodlust in. “Who are your friends? I was not aware you kept pets. That is more Glaive's style.”
It didn't hit her until he started talking, but Gamora recognized the man before her. She hadn't done anything to him, but he had seen her with her siblings, right before she left Thanos, and they were not the most pleasant company. “Loki.” He methodically did not glance at the other man lying on the table. “He's okay, just unconscious. We were about to wake him up.”
He eyed her suspiciously. “I would rather you not touch him, thank you. It does not usually end well in your family.”
The accusation stung, but he wasn't wrong. She used to be like that. “I'm not that person anymore.” Gamora wasn't sure if Loki was the only one she was trying to convince.
He barked out a laugh. “And Thanos does not want to destroy half the universe.” This did not make sense. Why was she not threatening him? Telling him the greatness of Thanos? Who were these people? Why had they not killed him while he was out? Loki did not have the answers, but he slowly became sure of one thing. Gamora was not with daddy anymore. That does not mean she had changed, but he could work with her type of crazy over Thanos’s anyday. That was fine, he could work with that. Or, well, work with her. Pretend to go along with whatever inane psychotic scheme she was planning then get him and Thor out of here. Flee to Earth. Sure they would not want to see him, but they did not have a lot of options right now.
Loki hadn't been paying attention to the rest of the crew, so when one entered his personal space, he almost stabbed him. It was the human-looking one, an angry expression on his face. “Who the hell do you think you ar-”
“Loki, god of mischief and lies, prince of Asgard and rightful ruler of Jotunheim. Also much more intelligent than you. Shall I continue or is your brain still trying to catch up?” The human made to grab him, but Loki disappeared in a cloud of smoke, he could not help being flashy, and reappeared on the other side of the room. “Also a master sorcerer.”
“Look!” The human yelled, irritated. “I don't know what you think you know about Gamora, but you haven't been living with her for the past couple years! Yeah, her dad is Thanos, but we don't get to choose our family! Hell, my dad was a planet that killed my mom and tried to enslave me as a battery in order to assimilate the whole universe!” He paused to swallow, continuing in a quieter voice. “The point is, we can't choose our family and the important thing is, is that Gamora knows that Thanos is bad news and we're trying to stop him! So don't come in here, after we saved your life, FYI, and pretend that you know shit about her!”
Gamora placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a thankful smile. “I am Groot,” Groot commented, finally looking up from his game.
“Yes, it may have been a tad sentimental for my taste, but he did tell me what I wanted to know.” Loki looked away from Groot and back at Gamora, disappearing his dagger. “You are not going to sell us out to Thanos.” he looked back at his brother, shoulders slumping as he sighed. He gave the guardians a smile. “I apologize for my rude behavior, it has been a… trying few days.” More like a troubling few years, ever since he figured out he was adopted, but that was irrelevant.
“Yeah, well that makes eeeeeeverything okay!” Rocket exclaimed sarcastically, pointing at Loki. “Did you have to fight a freakin Celestial?! Cause we did, and it freaking sucked!”
“I'm afraid I have not had the pleasure.” He glanced back at the unconscious man. “As thrilling as meeting you all has been, I really must wake my brother.” Mantis made to wake him, but Loki grabbed her wrist and smiled. “It is not that I do not trust you, it is just-"
“You are afraid. Very afraid.” He froze. She glanced back at the unconscious man. “He is your brother, and you love him very much. Your afraid of what may happen to him bu-" The contact broke as Loki pulled away with a glare. It's okay to be afraid, she thought.
“I can do it myself,” he finished shakily. A green glow of magic pulsed from his palms, wrapping itself tenderly around his brother. Thor gasped, stumbling to his feet and over to the wall, holding his head.
The blonde turned around surveying the room he’d woken in. “Who are you peo… Loki?” Thor froze as he saw his little brother standing there, alive. Not staring Thanos down, planning on fighting him with a dagger. Relief poured out of him. And, like it had done his whole life, hot rage flooded in to replace it. His dumb little brother, what was he thinking?! Thor marched up to the trickster and grabbed his arms.
“What were you thinking you idiot,” Thor yelled. “A dagger?! That's your brilliant plan to take down Thanos?!” He ignored the whispers the name elicited. He would deal with these strangers after he finished dealing with his idiot brother. “You call me a fool, but even I know that move was suicidal! He took out the Hulk in seconds! What made you think your plan was remotely possible?!”
“Is this really the time to be having this conversation?” Loki replied, raising an eyebrow in reference to their company.
Thor ignored his question. “Answer me brother!”
And just like Thor, in stressful situations dealing with complicated emotions he really did not want to talk about, Loki fell onto old habits, exploding with his own anger. “I didn't!” Silence fell, leaving only the whirring of the ship in its wake. “I am not dumb Thor! I knew I could not kill the titan! I worked for- with -him, I know what he is capable of. For Valhalla’s sake, he already had the Power stone! It... It was the only way…”
Thor stared in disbelief. “The only way. The only way?!” Thor fisted his brother’s leather armor and pulled him closer. “What?! The only way to commit suicide?!”
Quill stepped between the two, pushing them apart. “Okay you two, take a breather!”
“Do you really want to know, brother,” Loki spat. “Yes, I knew I was going to die! Thanos would have killed me! But that was the only way! The only way he would not have killed you!” His voice hitched, but his words kept flowing like ink to paper. “He is not called the mad titan for nothing! He is obsessed with balance! He would not leave us both alive Thor! So I made a choice… and letting you die was never an option…” The words seemed to drain him, exposing how tired he really was. “I could never let you die brother, despite what I sometimes may say. You survived my death twice, you could survive a third. I, however, am not so strong…” He finally looked away from Thor’s gaze. Eyes flicking back, he gave Thor’s bewildered stare a smirk. “I could never get myself to hate you properly…”
Bruce had been alone for most of his life. Having the tendency to turn into a “giant green rage monster” really put a damper on any social interaction he had. When he was called to help locate the tesseract he had been sceptical. Then New York happened and the team, his team, ended up eating Shawarma of all things in the aftermath. He’d been so hungry that the fact that he was hanging out with his kinda friends like normal people (well almost like normal people, if normal people saved the world before they went out to eat) hadn’t occurred to him until later, when he was lying in Stark’s tower after being invited to stay by the man himself.
Bruce would never admit to the tears he shed that night.
So when he woke up on a strange alien planet with only Thor, who looked different with his new haircut and had an air of something over his usual happy-go-lucky attitude, as company, Bruce had thought it would be the two of them. He didn’t make friends easily. Then Valkyrie came along and, surprisingly undead, so did Loki. He was wary around the former would-be-conqueror, he had tried to take over Earth after all, but somehow along the way in trying to escape Sakaar and defeat Thor’s secret evil sister , and man didn’t that tell you everything you needed to know about Odin’s parenting skills, he stopped watching the trickster out of the corner of his eye.
He stopped jumping every time Loki would speak, somehow having gotten close to Bruce without his noticing. He had felt worried when Loki had taken the duty of releasing Surtur, a freaking fire demon , in order to start Ragnarok of all things. Not that he might pull some trick, but that it might kill him.
They hadn’t had much time aboard the Statesman. Thanos had made sure of it. But they had a couple of days. A couple of days of Thor and Loki going around the remaining refugees and consoling them. Bruce had been stuck on medical duty, not that he was complaining because he liked helping people, but he still had been able to watch, to observe. Thor helped organize his people, assigning roles and giving his people something to do. Loki checked the supplies and forgoed meals to give to others, something all three of them were guilty of, and reported back to Thor and Heimdall in order to figure out a plan. They hadn’t actually figured out what they were going to do about the food shortage before Thanos came.
But what Bruce noticed most of all, was the way the brothers easily fell into roles they weren’t raised to someday inherit. The role of storytellers, of consolers. Thor regaled the crowds with his heroics on Earth, of those of the other Avengers. He mentioned the Other guy and that caused the crowd to momentarily focus on Bruce. He managed an awkward wave before Thor had everyone’s attention back on him. He was good at that, noticing when Bruce was uncomfortable and helping him out.
He never expected the same out of Loki. Bruce had finished up when a group of newly orphaned children came over to him. Some had pleaded for a story, others crying still for their loss. Bruce hadn’t known what to do. Then a blue butterfly the size of his head fluttered on by, taking the children with it.
And right towards Loki, who made more illusions, and, smiling, began to tell a nursery tale using his conjured images to help. Bruce had stared, despite how rude it was, because Loki of all people was good, no great , with kids.
He watched how Loki interacted with Valkyrie, the snark that passed between them, not hostile but friendly, playful. He watched the same interactions happen with Thor, though it was overlaid with frustrated fondness, with a familiarity that Bruce could only guess came from being someone’s brother for thousands of years.
Loki was different, that much was obvious. He wasn’t so angry anymore. He didn’t seeth or glare like he had all those years ago. And there was something about him that Bruce couldn’t quite place, something that seemed different.
It had happened when Valkyrie finally had enough and grabbed the three of them, shoving food into their hands. “You’re no good to anyone dead. Eat up shitheads and don’t even think ‘bout leaving this room till those plates are clean or I will find you.” She had left them with that threat. They stared at each other and the rations in their hands before Thor started chuckling, which in turn had all of them laughing like children at nothing. When the laughter had died down they ate in companionable silence.
Things were different after that. Thor would come around and check on Bruce, talking about more than “Do we have enough medical supplies” or “I found another person hiding their injuries.” They talked about what they wanted to do first when they reached Earth. “I want to eat until I’m stuffed” Thor had said. Bruce had laughed and huffed his agreement. Loki would appear at odd times, sometimes never saying anything, instead simply reading some sort of report as they sat in silence. It was a nice silence. Sometimes he would ask Bruce a medical related question, or something about the Other guy, though those stopped when he noticed how uncomfortable Bruce got, and wasn’t that something.
At some point the Loki from New York and the Loki before him had become two different people. Maybe it was because this one laughed and smiled and played hide and seek with the children but Bruce couldn’t think of him as evil anymore. That thought probably should have been disconcerting, but Bruce decided he’d just have to figure out why Loki had attacked Earth in the first place.
Then Thanos attacked and Bruce’s last interaction with Loki was the prince asking him to become the Other guy. Bruce should have probably questioned how easily he and the Other Guy complied, but then there was a fight and they were both in black, a rainbow shined bright, so bright and there was pain and then it was all gone and he was left with confusion as he woke up crashed into a stairwell with a silence in his mind. He looked around and saw two people ( was that a cloak?) looking at him with raised eyebrows.
Tony, Dr. Strange, and Wong were still looking at him like he was insane when the alien came. And the Other Guy wouldn’t come out so Bruce was left cowering like a civilian. He watched them battle, apparently for the stone around Dr. Strange’s neck. A kid, calling himself Spiderman, came in and apparently Tony knew him. (Did he adopt?) Then they all disappeared into a giant flying donut and Bruce and Wong were left behind. Well, Bruce was left behind because Wong had to protect the Sanctum, whatever that was.
Bruce picked up the flip phone Tony had been carrying earlier and prayed for his friends safety. For Tony, the spider-kid, Thor, Loki, and all of the Asgardians. He sighed and flipped the phone open. Time for some awkward reunions, as per the usual.
There was silence aboard the spaceship. Nobody seemed to know how to break the ice. Loki looked off to the side before nodding once. “Alright. There is no point in sitting around right now. The Mad Titan is out there, planning to destroy the universe, well, half the universe, but the point is the same. We have to stop him. Any plans?” That seemed to snap everyone out of their stupor.
Intent on ignoring the awkward tension between the two brothers, the guardians began to plan. “He’ll go straight for the stones, so we have to find them before he does,” Gamora offered, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms. “We know where the power stone is.”
“With Thanos.” Peter finishes bitterly.
“Exactly.” Gamora nodded. “Do we know where any of the others are?”
Thor and Loki exchanged a glance. “Thanos has the space stone.” Loki admitted. “He took it from us when he attacked our ship.”
“Great!” Rocket remarked, throwing his hands in the air. “That’s great! Thanos has two stones! How the hell are we gonna stop ‘im now?”
“We know where two of the other stones are, and that gives us the advantage.” Thor replied, ruffling through a drawer. “The reality stone is with the collector-”
“The Collector? Only an idiot would trust him with an infinity stone.” Peter snarked. “Also, that's our stuff ya know?”
“Or a genius…” Thor huffed, still digging through the drawer. “The mind stone is on Midgard under the protection of the Avengers. It will be safe.” Seemingly finding what he was looking for, Thor closed the drawer. He held bandages. “So we retrieve the reality stone from the collector.” He began unwrapping the bandages. “And we get a weapon strong enough to kill Thanos.”
Loki took the bandages from his brother and began treating Thor’s wounds the best he could. “And where do you propose we find this almighty weapon brother?”
“Nidavellir.”
Loki paused in his wrapping. “That is actually not that bad of an idea,” he finished. “So are we going to get the weapon or the stone first?”
“I’m going to Nidavellir.” Thor shrugged any further help off. “They can go get the stone if they wish.” He paused in thought, glancing at his brother. “Will you come with me?”
Loki sent him an indecipherable look before it softened. “Of course, Thor.”
There was a moment of silence as everyone thought about the plan. It was Rocket who broke it. “Me and Groot are coming with ya.” The brothers looked at him with surprise. “Yer taking one of our ships, and you probably don’t know how to drive em so.” He shrugged, crossing his arms. “Problem?”
The brothers shared a look before Thor replied. “That is very kind of you, Rabbit.” And that was that. The guardians talked amongst themselves as the brothers prepared to disembark.
Loki glanced up at Thor as his re-laced his boots. “You know I was going to come with you anyway, right?” Thor looked embarrassed. “Not only do I want nothing to do with anywhere Thanos might be close to, but I meant what I said earlier Thor.” He hesitated, licking his dry lips. “I… I do not say it often enough. But I do love you Thor. you are my brother, unfortunately,” They both quirked a smile before Loki became somber. “And that is something that I have not fully appreciated for a very long time.”
Thor looked at him, searching his brother’s eyes. “Me too,” he whispered.
Rocket chose that moment to walk up. “Alright ladies we’re ready to go.” Groot stood behind him, engrossed in a game. The two stood up and the group headed for the small pod that would take them to Nidavellir.
Somewhere in space and a while later
Valkyrie was going to kill something. Whether it was the giant raisen that slaughtered half of her people, or her idiot prince and king, she didn’t know, but the urge to maim was the only thing keeping her going. “Well isn’t this darling.” The urge chuckled. “The two of us, together?” It smirked. “Quite something. I thought all of you had died.” It tilted its head. “Guess I missed one.”
Ignoring Hela was like ignoring the wound on her thigh. Every time she thought she was over it, another spike of pain pulsed through her. “The only reason I haven’t finished you off is because of Thanos, so shut the Hel up.”
Hela smirked. “No need to be so melodramatic.” They sat in silence for some time after that. The ship was, supposedly, headed towards Midgard. At least, Valkyrie was pretty sure she got the coordinates right. They would see.
Where Thor and Loki were, Valkyrie had no idea. She only could hope that they kept to the original plan and met up with them at Earth. For now, however, she was left with tending to the wounds of the few Asgardians that still lived. “Well, isn’t that interesting?” Hela commented, which was never a good thing for anybody. “Another ship.” Valkyrie looked up. There was another ship, and it was heading in almost the opposite direction. Should she ignore it? Ships out in space were never a good thing. Hela made the decision for her. “Head to Earth. Don’t make any decisions that could get our people killed.” Hela stood up.
“And where are you going?” Valkyrie challenged, standing up herself. “I didn’t pull you out of space so you could wander off.” A force pushed her back in her seat.
Hela turned to face her, smirking that insufferable smirk all the while. “I’m going to do what you asked of me darling.” She leaned in close. “I’m going to kill Thanos.” And then she was gone. Vanished.
Valkyrie cursed, slamming her hand down on the desk. This day just kept getting better and better. She took a deep breath. She had a job to do. Protect her people. And not because Hela told her to.
Peter was having fun. It was scary fun, but still. The strange alien lady didn’t lay eggs in him, and they met a lot of really cool folks calling themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy. Like how cool was that?! Mr. Stark and Dr. Strange were still fighting all the time and Peter didn’t know why, but they had lessened up now that their audience had grown. At least until Star Lord (really, these guys were the coolest,) started disagreeing with both of their ideas.
So right now Peter was staring into space trying to ignore the rising voices behind him. Then he saw a ship. It passed them quickly, but Peter’s spidey senses went off the charts. There was someone behind him. Someone very powerful and very dangerous.
“My my, what is with all the commotion?” The voice was feminine, and kind of condescending if Peter was going to be honest, but most definitely not the alien lady. He spun around, ready to defend himself, and was met with a tall, dark haired woman in a green and black skin-tight suit. She was half facing him, watching the rest of the group, whose arguing had covered her question. They didn’t know she was here. Peter should say something. Something like, “hey there’s a really powerful lady on our ship somehow,” but he froze when she turned her gaze away from the group, her eyes boring into him. The slight smirk on her face did nothing to help subdue the panic rushing through his body.
When she raised an eyebrow, Peter realized the question must have been directed at him. “Uh, Ms. Alien lady… Uh, Mr. Stark and.. And Dr. Strange, and Mr. Starlord can’t agree how to, um, kill Thanos… uh, ma’am.”
She looked at him a moment longer before laughing. Laughing so loud and so hard that she finally caught the attention of the rest of Peter’s party. Mr. Stark immediately went on the defensive, suit melting over him in an instant. “Peter, get away from her!” Peter didn’t hesitate, scrambling away under the amused eye of their intruder. “I’m going to give you ten seconds to explain yourself.” Mr. Stark said, and wasn’t he just awesome, pointing his blaster at the strange lady.
“Mr. Stark, my spidey sense is freaking out, like really bad…” Peter whispered as he moved behind Mr. Stark. The aforementioned man tensed for a moment before his facade was back up.
“Your little spider is right to be cautious.” The lady said, and wasn’t that creepy. “I could easily kill you all if I wanted.” She looked over the group, assessing them. For what, Peter didn’t know.
“So why haven’t you?” Strange asked, completely way too calm about the whole situation. Peter thought he may have even looked bored. But maybe that was just his face.
“Because we have a common goal.” She smiled mysteriously. “And,” she continued, walking up to the sorcerer and tapping the necklace he wore, “because you have this around your neck.” She turned back and walked to the center of the room before facing them once more. A predatory grin split her face. “I’m going to kill Thanos, and you’re going to help me.”
Peter had to admit, she was really good at theatrics. He considered asking her if she had ever taken drama classes, but decided against it. That was when Starlord let out a huff of laughter. “And what makes you think that you can kill Thanos alone?”
She sighed, shaking her head slightly. “This is why I hate mortals, so many questions…” Something about that sounded familiar to Peter, but he couldn’t place it. She glared at Starlord. “I’m Hela, the goddess of death, darling. If I can’t kill him, then nobody can.”
Something clicked inside Peter’s brain and before he could stop himself he blurted out, “are you an asgardian?” Everyone stared at him. “Cause, ya know, the way you talk is kinda familiar, ya know? Like when-”
“Peter.” Mr. Stark interrupted, but he was looking at the intruder strangely now, and his helmet was off, now that Peter thought about it. “Rambling.” He crossed his arms, speaking to Hela. “So, are you?”
“Your child is smart.” Her eyes glittered, and they were focused on Peter, so it was giving him a bad feeling. Ms. Hela wouldn’t do anything, right? Or someone would stop her. But if she was as strong as she claimed to be, could anyone really stop her? Peter realized she was still talking “-am asgardian. Though there are hardly any of us left now.”
“What happened?” Mr. Stark asked. Starlord seemed to be trying to recall something, giving Hela strange looks.
Hela seemed to pause, debating her next answer. “Well, we had differing opinions on who should be sitting on the Throne of Asgard and I was attacked by Asgard’s soldiers.” she rolled her eyes, frowning. “Who those idiots thought they were, attacking their queen, I have no idea.”
Peter couldn’t seem to stop interrupting her as he asked, “the queen of Asgard?! Are you Thor and Loki’s mom? No wait, you couldn’t be Loki’s mom, even though you look sim-” This time Mr. Stark just clamped his hand over Peter’s mouth. Peter’s eyes darted back to Ms. Hela, (Or would it be Mrs., since she was married to Odin. If she was Thor’s mom, or course) afraid that he had offended her and she was going to slaughter them all. Hela, however, only chuckled, shaking her head.
“No little spider. I am, unfortunately, their older sister.”
Mr. Stark’s eyebrows furrowed. “How come Thor never mentioned you?” Finally Starlord let out an exclamation.
“Wait a second! Thor and Loki said you slaughtered almost all of the Asgardians!” Starlord yelled, pointing his blaster at Hela again. “How can we trust you?!”
Ignoring Starlord, Hela answered Mr. Stark. “Oh, that’s easy. My brother’s didn’t know of my existence till all of three? Four days ago?” she hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe five.” She rolled her eyes at Mr. Stark’s sceptical look. “Odin was the one who locked me away for five thousand years. I didn’t even know that I had little brothers till the bastard died and I was free.”
She turned to Starlord. “I only defended myself. It’s not my fault they were so weak and decided to pick a fight.”
“Odin’s dead?!” Peter asked. “I thought he was like, the big honcho of the gods? What could kill him?”
“Old age.” Hela said bluntly.
“Oh… Is that why you were all fighting about who should be king, or queen?”
“Yes.” Hela sighed again, snapping her fingers. A chair appeared, and she sat down, sprawling out over it. Carding her hands through her hair, she continued. “This is all Odin’s fault, really.” Hela mused that things generally could be traced back to Odin doing something that screwed everyone over.
After Hela’s impromptu overrule of the ship, nobody seemed to know what to do. She was, apparently, very powerful. What could they do to stop her? She was on their side anyway, so most of the group decided to keep their distance.
Tony Stark dealt with pressure on a daily basis. He was the head of a multi-billion dollar company, after all. And, despite how much Pepper did, Tony still had a lot of daily responsibilities. Then everything with the Avengers happened, and Tony had to deal with his responsibilities as Iron Man, leading the team, the civil war disaster, the sokovia accords, and Peter. God, he was tired.
Strange stepping through that portal, with Bruce telling him that some powerful guy named Thanos was out to destroy the universe was a lot of pressure. But Tony Stark, out of anyone, could do it. He had to. So he went into outer space without hesitation. He showed none of the pressure that was on his shoulders, the pressure that doubled, no tripled, when he realized Peter was still on board and hadn’t let go like he told him to , even if the kid had helped them kill squidward.
Tony glanced at their newest addition, the self proclaimed Goddess of Death. He sighed. She was powerful, Peter’s response proved that, even if he was a little too friendly with her. She could be a powerful ally when fighting Thanos. He glanced at Strange, who looked to be debating the same thing. Tony shed his suit and walked over to the asgardian, who had been avoided by everyone for some time now. “You said you saw Thor recently?” He asked, crossing his arms.
“Yes. My little brothers are quite annoying.” She replied, eyes boring into him. She seemed to do that to everyone, glancing at then with an incredible intensity. “I’m rather glad I was an only child for most of my life.”
“Last I heard, Loki was dead.” Tony responded, ignoring her life commentary. If Loki was back then that was just something else he had to worry about.
“Faking your death once or twice isn’t so special.” She replied, disinterested.
“And adopted.”
That seemed to gain her interest. “Oh, really?” She chuckled. “My, that is surprising. He was so determined to save Asgard and his brother, and he’s not really Odin’s son? So, where’d the bastard get him from? Asgard? No, Odin isn’t the type to adopt a street urchin...”
Tony shrugged. “Thor mentioned something about Frost Giants once.” Loki wanted to help Thor? What had happened in the years since the Avengers defeated Loki that could have changed him so much? Before, he could barely be in the same room as Thor without trying to rip his throat out.
Tony was thrown from his musing when Hela let out a deep guttural laugh, causing everyone to glance their way. “Oh! This is rich! This is exquisite!” she slapped her knee, rocking forward as she continued to laugh. “A frost giant?! The prince of Asgard? I knew he was a cruel bastard, but really, this takes the cake!” She was wiping tears from her eyes. “We might be able to get along after all.”
Tony didn’t think it was likely, but maybe it was a family requirement to try and take over a planet.
The trip to Nidavellir was quiet. Rocket had given Thor another eye, though the color did not match. Loki had busied himself by healing Thor’s other wounds and then his. As he wrapped Thor in an abundance of white cloth, the god of thunder started shaking. Before he could ask what was wrong, he heard the chuckles. “What is so funny, brother?” Loki inquired, lowering his brother’s arm as he finished.
The older brother raised his head, a nostalgic smile on his face. Though he spoke to Loki, his eyes were focused on something far away, and long ago. “I was remembering the first time you patched me up like this.” He frowned, before smoothing it over and quirking a grin. “It was right after you stabbed me.”
Rocket was very bad at pretending not to listen in after that comment, and Loki did his best to push back the blush threatening to dominate his face. “Oh please, we both know that was an accident.”
Thor smiled that small, content smile again that made Loki’s heart ache. “Yes.” Despite all Thor would go on saying Loki stabbed him, it really was an accident. The young trickster tripping after shifting from a snake in an attempt to scare his brother and the young god of thunder running to catch him. Whenever the tale was told, however, it was never an accident. It remained a inside joke between the two of them. He barked out a laugh. “Mother was still quite cross when she found out!”
The smile made its way to Loki’s face and he paused his work, his own eyes looking into the past. Frigga had given them both lessons on weapon safety that night, before Thor had even been discharged from the infirmary. “Yes, she was, wasn’t she?”
“Why do you two look so happy about doing bodily harm to one another?” Rocket asked, a weirded out look on his face. “Is that ‘ow your lot show affection or somethin’?”
The brothers took one glance at the other and fell into each other laughing. They were far from typical brothers, but the rabbit’s words were at least somewhat true. Another glance set them off just as they were about to calm down. And if there was a slight smile on Rocket’s face, there wasn’t anyone to see it.
It wasn’t long before they reached Nidavellir, but the planet was dark and, unfathomably, the forge had stopped. “What happened here?” Thor whispered as they landed.
“Is it supposed to be this dark?” Rocket asked, squinting as they wandered through the dark corridors. Groot was too busy playing his game to admire the scenery, but even he could feel the sense of wrong surrounding the place and glanced up periodically as if waiting for something to strike.
“No…” Loki was at a loss for words. There was only one explanation for what had happened here, and it wasn’t looking good for their plan. A flicker of movement was his only warning before something big lunged toward the brothers. Loki summoned a shield, quick and not the best protection but the best he could do, but the two of them were still flung back.
“Eitri, stop!” Thor yelled, scrambling to his feet and holding his arms out.
The giant stepped forward, squinting at the small figures. “Thor?” The god nodded in assent. “You were supposed to protect us. Asgard was supposed to protect us!”
“Asgard is no more, Eitri.” Loki supplied, brushing himself off. “We could not offer assistance, even if we had known what happened.” He paused, continuing more cautiously. “What did happen?”
The giant seemed to sag into himself as he lamented the loss of his people. “He asked me to make him something to harness the power of the infinity stones. If I refused, he would have killed them all. So I did what he asked and, still… All three hundred of my people…” He held back a sob. “Then… He took my hands. “Your life is yours,” he said. “But your hands are mine alone.””
“It is not your hands that made your weapons, Eitri!” Thor exclaimed. “It is your mind, and that, you still have!” Eitri seemed confused at what the king of Asgard was implying.
“We need a weapon, Eitri.” Loki finished, stepping forward. This was the only way to stop him. Running and hiding from him had done Loki no good. Now was the time to fight. They needed to win. “We need a weapon that can kill the mad titan.”
Hela had no disillusions about the universe. She was the goddess of death and had travelled far in her life, despite being imprisoned for thousands of years. She sensed each soul that passed into the afterlife and could feel the universe shifting around her. So an infinity stone on its own was, really, nothing special. But gather them together and they became something dangerous. Something that one single mortal should not possess.
Hela had never met this Thanos before, but when little Valkyrie pulled her from where she had been resting, (a little time floating around in the abyss wasn’t enough to kill her,) saying that she had saved her life in order to take down someone more dangerous than the goddess of death , well, Hela was intrigued.
When she heard what the Mad Titan wanted to do with unlimited power, Hela had laughed. Laughed enough that the mortals aboard the ship heading for Titan looked at her like she had gone nuts, which may not be a wrong assumption. He was the Mad Titan indeed. All of that potential and he simply wanted to destroy? Boring.
So she was going to kill him. Simple, easy, done. Then Hela would take the gauntlet for herself and have some real fun.
These guardians and midgardians were very entertaining, jumping at her every move. She especially loved the small spider who had sensed her initial approach. He kept calling her Ms. Hela and she couldn’t understand why. That was until he addressed everyone else there similarly and she realized he was overly polite.
Hela didn’t usually like overly polite people. Politicians, nobles, visiting royalty. They were always after something, using their polite facade to get you to let your guard down, not that that would fool someone like Hela. But she sensed no underlying motive from this child, and he was a child, so perhaps that is why she found herself calling upon the child to ask him questions. Random things she did not care for to ease the boredom of space travel.
Or maybe it was to see the tight grimace that Stark got everytime she did so. Oh yes, she had heard of Stark. Hadn’t quite recognized him until he put on the suit. The Man of Iron that fought with Asgard’s brave prince-turned-king.
Then there was Strange. He called himself the Sorcerer Supreme. If he wasn’t lying, and the eye around his neck was enough proof, then that meant the Ancient One was dead, and had appointed him as her successor. Hela could have fun messing with him, not that she hadn’t already started.
The Guardians, as they called themselves, were largely unimportant in Hela’s opinion. They possessed no ability that could help her, except as use for a distraction. Stark and Strange were useful, both in ability and intelligence. And the spider boy… Well, Hela liked him, so she would find some use for him.
Then Hela felt it, the forge on Nidavellir had been restarted, and she knew exactly who was doing it. “Clever, little brother…”
Loki was seething. His brother was an idiot. A self-absorbed, self-sacrificing, unthinking, idiot. He could only watch as Thor restarted the forge. Being a Jotun, Loki was especially vulnerable to heat, so his suggestion to take his brother’s place was a non starter. He could only stand there as his brother held open the gate, the power of a neutron star blasting around him.
Eitri was watching the metal melt, but Loki could practically feel it. That heat, capable of melting Uru , was enveloping his brother at this moment. The prince could hardly stand it. Images of burnt flesh, blistering, bubbling skin came to him. Ghosts of the past floated around his mind, mixing with the sight before him and he nearly threw up. Then Eitri called, the metal was finished melting, Thor could close the forge.
His brother collapsed, falling towards where the rabbit was trying to catch him. Despite his efforts, Thor slipped through the ship’s grasp, and he continued to fall. Loki practically flung his magic at his brother, green tendrils coiling around the god with a desperation, before pulling taut and stopping his descent. Loki slowly lowered his brother to the ground before running up to his side. The axe fell, cooled, fell from the mold, but the sorcerer paid it no mind.
Thor wasn’t breathing.
The heat was scalding, digging into his back like a parasite, but Thor couldn’t let go. Images of his people, scattered at the feet of the Mad Titan and his followers, flashed through his mind and his resolve strengthened.
Then the metal was finished melting and Thor let go. His mind slipping into unconsciousness. He did not worry about his landing. Loki was there, he would catch him. As long as the two of them were together, they were invincible. Thor had to believe that.
His vision was dark. But, no, he had closed his eyes. When had that happened? He heard soft sounds, muted, distant. Then someone was calling his name. The voice, muted, became more pronounced until Thor recognized it. Loki, his little brother. Thor smiled, or he thought he did. He did catch him. But his little brother didn’t sound relieved, he sounded angry. No, concerned. That was bad, Loki was usually composed. What could make him… Oh, he wasn’t breathing. That was a problem. The dark seemed to get a crisper edge. He was dying, but he couldn’t move. Couldn’t do anything about it.
But he could feel something. Beyond his brother's frantic seider healing him, he could feel a humming. The voice was different but he recognized the melody. It took all of his strength to open his hand. The command came easily to him, practiced all his life with another. Stormbreaker, to me.
Lightning flooded through his veins, his weapon amplifying his powers and rejuvenating him. Thor took a deep breath, the air filling his lungs and giving him life. He opened his eyes.
He was crouched, one hand on the ground, the other holding Stormbreaker. He eyed the wooden handle, eyes shifting to Groot, who was back to playing his game. “Thank you, tree.” His eyes moved back to the person crouched by his side, eyes wide and mouth hanging slightly. Thor’s eyes softened and his voice was gravely when he spoke. “You’re going to catch flies, little brother.”
Loki’s mouth clicked shut, his eyes boring into Thor’s as if he didn’t know whether to hug him or punch him. Loki expressed that very sentiment and Thor barked out a laugh, slowly rising to his feet. Before he could apologize, a portal, oozing black smoke, opened up.
Everyone tensed into a fighting position as a figure came through. The smoke dissipated and Hela was left in its wake, unimpressed eyes scanning the desolate planet. Thor barely restrained himself from testing his new weapon on her. Loki, however, had no such restraint, and three daggers were flung towards her in an instant.
Loki followed his projectiles, but Hela just sighed, waving her hand and sending the daggers and Loki flying back. As he flew back, Loki flipped into a crouch and concentrated his seider in his hand. A hand on his shoulder stopped him. Thor shook his head. “This accomplishes nothing, brother.”
The king of Asgard turned toward Hela, who was watching the two with amusement. A frown crossed Thor’s face, brows knotting together. This might be very bad. “Long time no see, sister!” He called with false cheerfulness. “I didn’t know you were alive, though that seems a common theme in our family…”
“Odin mistreating his children seems a better fit, wouldn’t you agree?” She replied, stepping lightly forward. “All three of us have that in common.” Her gaze was locked on Loki. Thor unconsciously moved in front of him to block her gaze. “Relax, I am not here to hurt you.”
“Wait, who the hell is this?” Rocket yelled.
“Our sister, unfortunately.” Loki replied, glaring daggers at their new companion. “She tried to kill us, what? Oh, two days ago?”
“Oh please, you blew up a planet to kill me, I’d call us even.” Loki scowled, looking ready to send an actual dagger her way, again.
“Great, just what I need, another one of you!” Rocket remarked, throwing his hands in the air and walking towards Groot. “When you idiots are ready to leave, come get me!”
Hela just observed his walk away before turning back. “I like the rabbit.” Despite the situation, the brothers hummed in agreement. After a pause she continued. “I’m not here out of some need for vengeance, so you can calm down with the daggers. I’m here because we have a common enemy.”
“Thanos?”
Hela smirked. “Exactly.” She began a languid walk, pacing back and forth as she talked. “He is rather boring, is he not? He seeks to gather the infinity stones and all he wants to do is kill half the universe?” She huffed out a laugh. “Can you imagine the kind of work it takes to process a soul? It’s a lot. Draining. Boring. And he wants to give me billions upon billions in one moment. Well, I’ll never have free time again. That simply won't do.”
“You want to kill Thanos, because he’s going to give you a lot of work?” Loki arched an eyebrow. “Forgive me if I’m skeptical.”
“I don’t care if you believe me or not.” Hela replied, dismissive. “I’m going to kill Thanos with you or without you, whether you like it or not.”
Thor finally spoke again. “So why come and tell us? Why not just do it then?”
Hela stopped moving, eyes gliding over Thor’s new axe, Stormbreaker. “I felt her being made and was curious.” A glint of mischief entered her eyes. “Could I break this one as easily as the last?”
She expected a burst of anger from the god, had been pushing for it, hoping he would attack her so she could test the weapon against herself. But he didn’t. Thor just sighed and lifted his axe. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t try.” A ghost of a smile flickered across his face. “Though I don’t think you’ll be able to break this one.”
Hela didn’t realize it at first. When she appeared before her brothers, the three of them began a hostile banter, the usual, but somewhere along the line, Hela found herself smiling. A genuine, enjoying herself smile. She mentally sighed. Forming attachments to these children. Her brothers. Hela had never wanted brothers, but, she thinks, if she had to have annoying younger brothers, they weren’t too bad. In fact, they were absolutely fun to play with.
After the tension had left, the three of them had sat down, Thor and Loki on two crates, and Hela on a seat she conjured. Now that she knew what Loki was, Hela couldn’t help but ask. “So, is it a glamour, or shapeshifting?” She hummed, tilting her head as she scanned her youngest brother. “I don’t see any seider, but it is possible to hide such things.”
Loki froze before muttering a resigned “shapeshifting.” A flash of pity rose up, and Hela squashed it. So Odin lied to him all his life? At least he wasn’t locked up and erased from history. But still, “I thought Odin had reached the peak of his cruelty when he banished his first born, heir to the throne, for becoming what he trained me to be, but to have you grow up, believing your people were monsters, well, you’re giving me a run for the ‘most betrayed by my father’ award.”
They fell into an awkward silence that was broken by an almost inaudible whisper. “I wish I wasn’t a contender.” Loki had turned away from his siblings, eyes glassy with unshed tears. He closed his eyes, and Hela didn’t know what ran through his mind, but when they opened, his expression had changed completely. “How about this.” He said, spinning back to face them and rising to his feet. “We kill Thanos, save the damned universe, and restore Asgard back to its former glory. We show him that he was wrong. He didn’t need to curb our power, or control us. We can do just fine without his help.”
Thor frowned a little, but Hela gave a ‘why the hell not’ shrug. “Do you have a plan, little brother?” Hela asked. “Because I met a group of slightly interesting people earlier who are also trying to kill Thanos.”
“Really?” Thor asked.
“Oh yes.” Hela replied, a satisfied smirk sliding onto her face as she thought back. “There were some annoying “guardians,”” She began, using quotation marks, “ and a sorcerer with the Time stone, probably important. The spider boy was the most interesting. And I believe your comrade, Anthony Stark was there as well.”
The brothers shared a glance, this was something. They finally had something solid against the titan. A new, immensely powerful weapon, Hela, the time stone, and Stark? For the first time in a long time, the brothers found themselves hopeful.
They could win.