Shattered

Steve Rogers felt a jolt of surprise when the phone in his bag started ringing. He- well, he’d hoped Tony would call eventually, but over the years it had seemed less and less likely and he hadn’t really thought he would at this point and-

Oh. Right. This was an “In Case of Emergencies” situation. There might be an emergency.

“Is everything alright?”

“Good to hear from you, too, Rogers. Can’t a guy just check in?” Starks voice said from the other end. Steve frowned. He sounded tense, and slightly hysterical. Maybe he was finally having a breakdown.

“Tony, are you okay? You, um, don’t seem very okay.”

“Right. I’m- I’m fine. Been a big day. Bruce is back.”

Another jolt of surprise. Any more and his old heart might fail (he really needed to stop listening to Nat’s and Sam’s and even Wanda’s old man jokes. They were rubbing off). 

“What? Really? When? Where has he been?”

“Funny story, actually. He, ah- space. He’s been in space. He came back with this random lady who I think is going to drink me out of every drop of alcohol I own and Thor’s slightly deranged looking older sister who also happens to be the Goddess of Death. Crazy, huh?”

Yes, Stark was definitely having a breakdown. Though, he supposed, it could be possible that Bruce was back, in which case he should tell Nat. Like, immediately. And call Wanda. She’d be disappointed- she’d just left for a meet up with Vision (Nat was worried sick, even though she’d gone several times by now. Funny, how she still tried to deny feelings of sentimentality). 

“I- wow. Okay. Do you want us to come to the compound? Cause it. Kind of sounds like you want us to come to the compound.”

“That would- honestly, that would be great. He’d like to see you. I would, actually. Oh, also, could you maybe bring Vision with you? I kinda lost him. You know how it is, he’s going through his rebellious phase and he turned his locator off.”

“Right. I’ll, ah- I’ll get him and Wanda on the way. Just hang tight and let me know if anything happens?”

“Ok. Thanks. I- yeah. Right. Bye.”

“Where we going?”

He turned to find Nat standing by the door. How she still managed to sneak up on him with his super soldier hearing, he would never know. “The compound. I- I just got a call from Tony. Bruce came back.”

He just managed to catch the shock on her face before it slid back into indifference. “Where has he been?”

“Space, apparently.”

This time, she was unable to stop the shocked look. “What?”

“Yeah. And Thor’s- sister? Is there too? I’m not really- I don’t know what’s going on. But. We should probably go. I’m gonna call Wanda, Tony wants us to bring Vision too and they’re on the way.”

“Right. I- right. I’ll get Sam.”

He wondered, briefly, how Bruce would react when he saw that she’d dyed her hair. Then he remembered that he had more pressing concerns, and called Wanda.

--------------------

She would never admit it, but she was eternally grateful to be out of her armor, and incredibly impressed at how comfortable these clothes were. Apparently, Stark had grabbed some of Thor’s old clothes for her- an old shirt with a hammer on it that hung off her frame a bit (she was tall enough, but not as bulky as her brother- she was naturally slimmer, and she was still rather skinny from her time in Hel, even if the month on Sakaar had helped a great deal), pants that she had to bunch up a bit at the waistline but that were so, so soft, and a thick pair of fuzzy socks. She’d washed out her hair (something she hadn’t bothered to do much on Sakaar) and combed it for the first time in a very, very long time, and tied it up and out of her face. Her body had been scrubbed clean of every trace of the trash planet, and she was feeling fresher than she had since before getting banished to Hel.

She could definitely get used to this.

She headed back to the common area, Stark offering an offhand comment about how the rest of the team would arrive in a few hours before telling her that they would be ordering “shawarma” for dinner. Good. She was famished (when was the last time she ate? She hadn’t kept the best schedule on Sakaar, she wasn’t sure….) She settled in back in her spot in the corner of the couch and rested her head back, looking up at the ceiling.

It had been a busy few hours- she hadn’t had the time or the will to process everything. But now, when there wasn’t really anything happening (at least, nothing to concern her), seemed like a better time than any.

She missed Hulk. She would admit that much- he was a good friend, and a worthy opponent. Her statement to him held true- she found herself much preferring him over Banner, as much as she had to admit that that was, perhaps, a little unfair to Banner (when did she start worrying about fair?) She hoped there would be a battle sometime soon, and he could emerge. Or training. Or something. 

Her brother. Her brother had been doing- something, earlier, with the Grandmaster’s orgy ship (ew. Just. ew.) And a revolution? She allowed herself a small smile at the thought of Korg, and wondered if it had been successful. She hoped so. He had been nice. 

What could have been so important that he abandoned his station on Sakaar and stole a ship? As far as she could tell, he hadn’t been in any sort of trouble with the Grandmaster. Was this, perhaps, a part of a personality that she simply hadn’t gotten the chance to explore yet? Hm. No. If he was anything like Odin, or even her, he either would have slaughtered the place long ago or continued to stay there as long as it suited his purposes.

What was more important to Loki than himself?

His brother. Presumably. Odin would have instilled him with a strong sense of family (especially because he was adopted, which she still hadn’t heard the story behind- Odin must have had a reason for it, and making him love his brother and therefore the royal family was probably part of it), and Frigga would have as well. Then was Thor in trouble? (Did she care? Not particularly, she didn’t exactly know him very well, but she supposed if she was going for this whole good guy thing she should get to know her brother)

And the Avengers. There had been many different names mentioned- more so than Hulk had talked about in his stories. There was Stark, the Man of Iron, obviously. And ‘Cap’, and ‘Tasha’, and- and Clint. That was his name. The one who took house arrest with his family. Then there was- Wilson? Vision? Maximoff? She had no idea who any of them were, but Stark had said that Vision and Maximoff had something. That might be important. And one of them was probably the ‘scary red lady’ that Hulk had talked about, briefly, who had joined the team.

“What’s going on in that head of yours, Majesty?”

She blinked lazily up at Brunnhilde, who was standing behind the couch and looking down at her. “Thinking. Lot’s been happening.”

“Yeah.” She turned and dropped herself over the back of the couch, ending up on her back with her legs dangling up on the back next to Hela. “I miss the Big Guy.”

“Me too.”

Brunnhilde gasped. “Hela? Missing someone? I’ll be damned.”

“Shut up.”

It was futile at this point. Brunnhilde never shut up when she told her to. But it was part of their- whatever this was. Friendship? She’d never had a friend before. Was this how friends acted?

“So what do you think of these Avengers?”

She lifted her head up to look down at Brunnhilde, and shrugged. “Well, apparently they don’t exist anymore. And most of them aren’t here. But- I’m not sure. Stark is, ah, interesting. His beloved is-”

“Slightly intimidating?”

“I was going to say ‘not part of the team’, but yes, I suppose she is intimidating, isn’t she? I don’t know how she manages it. Especially compared to us.”

“Aw, not used to being less scary than someone else?” 

“I’m not less scary, but- she’s like Frigga. She can make Stark shut up, and she could probably get a council too as well.”

“Mm.” Brunnhilde yawned. “I’m gonna go get myself a drink, want one?”

“Brunnhilde? Offering to do things for other people? I’ll be damned.”

“Shut up, Majesty, or I won’t bring you one.”

“Hmph. Fine.”

Hm. Midgardian drinks were, while not exactly Asgardian mead, better than most of the trash on Sakaar. “Told you Midgard had better drinks.”

“I wasn’t saying they didn’t. I was saying I didn’t care. There’s a difference.”

She smiled, and took another sip of the drink. “You know, I don’t think this is meant to be drunk out of a bottle.”

“Eh. We’re Asgardian, we can handle more, and who has time for pouring a drink into a glass anyway?”

“Your drinking is probably going to kill you.”

“Yeah, probably. But at least I’ll die happy.”

“That’s a horrible mentality.”

“Well-”

“Alright, people, food’s here! Fri, could you call Bruce down? And Pep and Rhodey?” Brunnhilde tilted her head back to look at Stark as he walked into the room. “Oh, hey, you two. You know you’re not supposed to drink that out of the bottle, right?”

Hela snorted. “What did I say, Brunnhilde.”

“Shut up, Majesty. I do what I want, Stark.”

He shrugged. “Whatever floats your boat. Hey, Bruce, how’s the room?”

Banner smiled. “It’s nice. Very me.”

“Cool. Pep, help me get these out?”

Brunnhilde shifted around on the couch (nearly kicking Hela in the face in the process) and sat herself upright before reaching for the food. “That smells great,” was all she said before digging in with absolutely none of the table manners they taught the Valkyries.

Though, once she started, Hela ate with only a little more dignity. She was starving.

When they were done with the meal, Stark got up and started clearing away containers. He stopped, suddenly, and turned to Pepper. “I’m forgetting something. Am I forgetting something? I feel like I’ve forgotten something, like, really important and I can’t remember-”

“Hey, Mr. Stark! On the way here I saw this really cool- oh. Who’re these guys?”

“Oh, shit,” Stark hissed, getting to his feet. Hela leaned back into the couch and studied the child that had walked in- he couldn’t be Stark’s son, he didn’t much look like him and he called him ‘Mr. Stark’ (and yes, she called her father Odin but she doubted Stark had done anything to warrant that amount of disconnection from his child). 

“Mr. Stark, what’s going on?”

“Look, kid, um- fuck. I mean fudge. I- shoot, there’s a lot going on right now, I’m sorry, now might not be the best time…,” Stark trailed off, wincing slightly. Why? It was a reasonable request, the child would surely understand.

“Oh. Ok.” Oh, no. No no no no no. Why did he look so sad? He was- oh, Norns damn it all, this child was adorable and he looked like he was about to cry, what should she-

“No, it’s okay!” Brunnhilde practically pleaded from besides her. “It’s- he can stay, stay as long as you like, kid, just- here, come sit by us!”

Oh, thank the Norns. She hadn’t been the only one (was this child some kind of sorcerer? With the ability to make people do whatever he wanted? That must be it.)

His face immediately brightened, and he bounded over to the couch, brushing past a slightly baffled Stark. “Thanks! I’m Peter Parker, what’s your name? You look really cool, what are those things near your eyes? Is that, like, the number of people you’ve killed? That would be so cool. Not that killing people is cool! But it’s like totally metal, you know?”

“Um. I- my name is Brunnhilde and- no, that’s not the people I’ve killed. That would probably take up my whole face.”

“It would make the view so much better,” Hela snarked.

“Shut up, you.”

Hela smiled, then turned to the young Parker. “And I am Hela, the Goddess of Death.”

Peter’s eyes widened. “You’re the Goddess of Death? What, like Hades? That’s so cool, holy shit, wait, does that mean you can just like kill people by thinking about it?”

“Um. No, but-”

“Isn’t Thor a god, too? Do you know him? Oh my god, do you think you could introduce me?”

“He’s my brother. But- we don’t exactly know each other very well.”

“Thor has a sister? I didn’t know that! Mr. Stark, did you know that Thor had a sister?”

“Nope.”

“Wow. You don’t look like Thor, though. You look more like Loki.”

“I’ve been told.”

“And-” He turned to Banner, and his jaw went slack. “Are you the Bruce Banner?”

Banner sighed. “Yeah. Sorry, I won’t be taking out the big guy-”

“No, dude, you’re like one of the smartest people in the world. I’ve read a bunch of your stuff, can I have your autograph?”

As Peter bounded around the room, reminding Hela a bit of an excitable puppy, she smiled and leaned back into the couch.

If Midgard meant comfortable clothes and good food and adorable youngsters, she would quite enjoy staying on this planet.

---------------------

“Loki!”

Loki breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his brother (though he would never, ever admit it), a sigh that was immediately forced out of his lungs as Thor pulled him into a rib-crushing hug. “Thor- put me- can’t- breathe-” he squeaked. Thor put him down. 

Loki rubbed at his ribs and took in a deep breath. He had just landed on Asgard in the Grandmaster’s ship after his daring escape, involving one revolution and several small explosions, and Thor, Heimdall, and all of Thor’s friends (except for Sif- where was she?) had been waiting for him. The Warriors Three nodded at him, which was about as polite as they were going to get, and which was honestly more than he had expected.

Thor grabbed his arms and grinned. “You’re not dead!”

“Thor, why would I be dead? Heimdall can see me, can he not?”

“Well, yes, but it was spotty, and you were stuck on a planet with our sister for several days, I was worried!”

Loki started in surprise. “Several days? I fell to Sakaar months ago. Hela joined me a couple of weeks later.”

Thor gaped and Heimdall said, “I told you, my king, time works differently on this planet. That much I could tell. Not much else, however.”

“Yes! That’s why I’ve been worried, what happened? Were you being kept there? Why didn’t Hela try to kill you? Is she still there?”

Oh, wonderful, now he had a headache. Thor tended to do this to him when he was too excited. He began walking, and everyone followed. “Well. On Sakaar, there is a man called the Grandmaster. I- gained his favor” (Thor did not need to know how) “and was able to escape what he called the ‘Contest of Champions’ where he would pit gladiators against each other. Your friend was there, the green beast.”

Thor’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “Banner? He was there? But how?”

“I wouldn’t know. I never seeked him out. Anyway, when our dear sister landed on the planet, she did not do so well in curtailing any favors- instead, she entertained us with various death threats for a while, then got sent to fight the Hulk, who beat her in a glorious fight, you would have loved it, brother. And I spent the next few weeks sitting around the palace while she sat around a more confined part of the palace and fought people. And got shocked by the disk in her neck quite often. It was entertaining. And then you sent down the statue and I escaped.”

“So… Hela’s still on Sakaar?”

He frowned. “Well. Actually. I’m not sure.”

Thor blanched. “You’re not sure?”

“As I was escaping, the Grandmaster was telling all of his citizens about how someone had stolen his ship and started a revolution. All me. But he also mentioned that someone had stolen his champion, which I certainly didn’t do, and he blamed it on Hela. I’m not sure how accurate it is, but-”

“Heimdall, can you see her?”

Heimdall stopped walking and concentrated for a moment, before paling. “Oh, no.”

Loki’s stomach dropped. “Oh, no?”

“She is on Midgard, I believe. I can see the Stark man near her.”

Thunderclouds began gathering over the city. “What? Is she going to kill them?”

He frowned. “I- I am not sure. It is strange- she is simply sitting down and eating something. She isn’t doing anything overly hostile.”

Loki narrowed his eyes. “That doesn’t sound right.”

Thor growled. “Then we must travel to Midgard. I have to warn Stark- why he is allowing her in his home, I cannot say, but the sooner we get there, the better. Heimdall, let us go back so that you can open the Bifrost. Loki and I will be going to Midgard.”

Thank you, brother, for giving me an option first, Loki thought snidely. He brushed it aside- if Thor had asked, he would have gone with him. (He would never, ever admit this). “Yes. Perhaps we can catch her with her guard down.”

Thor nodded in agreement, and together, the two of them headed back down to the bridge.