Chapter 1
Valkyrie could see it, just make it out of the misty darkness of their escape pod. The distress signal had gone up, the leftover asgardians have gone to sleep and Valkyrie stood by the window and she could see it.
See him.
Him, folding his arms and smiling, his good eye twinkling with mirth and something else she could not place. She wanted to — needed to? — make him proud. Make it all worth it. He may be gone, Banner may be gone, Loki, but Korg was here. The green eyed child who watched her mother fade to dust was here, circled around some stuffed animal Valkyrie had patched up for her.
If she closed her eyes and focused, she could hear him. His little laugh. She could feel the pat on her back, the wise but not demeaning tone he took after he was crowned. "You did as I asked. Must be a new thing, for you, I mean."
( Yeah, your majesty, don't get used to it. )
A hearty laugh. "You're leading them to earth. You're leading! I knew you could do it."
( I had to. It's ... )
"Right? The right thing?" He nods, voice low as thunder. "Doing the right thing is in our blood, my Valkyrie." He grins. "Because that's what heroes do."