Chapter: 66

Chapter: 66

I could hear the crowd of hundreds of people cheering for me as I descended from the sky and landed in front of my family and Thor's group. I let out a sigh of relief that the normal human crowd was back so far. Azazel had clearly set up some kind of boundary while I was fighting the Destroyer to keep them all from getting too close. Having people cheer me on was amazing, but at the same time, exhausting. I also know that people can tend to act really stupid when in crowds. There's a very high possibility a lot of people could have been caught up in that fight and ended up as accidental casualties due to their own stupidity had my brother not intervened. 

"That was very well done, Layla. I'm proud of you." Penemue said when I set down in front of them. My eight black wings vanished as I touched down.

"And congratulations on becoming an eight-winged Fallen. That's quite an accomplishment." Azazel added.

Thor stepped forward with excitement yet concern on his face. "Your victory over the Destroyer was most impressive, Lady Layla. I can't help but question why it was even here in the first place, though?" At this point in time, Thor had not been given any inclination that Loki wanted him dead.

The beautiful goddess Sif stepped forward and then proceeded to explain that Loki had sent them here just hours ago and informed them that Thor was in danger and had been captured by the mortals who wanted to pry the secrets of Asgard from his mind.

"What?" Thor exclaimed. "The only immortals I've even spoken with are Lady Jane and her friends. Other than that, I spent most of my time with Lady Layla and her family, who are higher-level beings like we are. Who could have been so dastardly as to put my brother under such misconceptions and then try to have us all killed? Was it the Frost Giants? Have they once again infiltrated the heart of Asgard?" Thor asked with indignation. At this point, I felt kind of bad for him. The answer was staring him square in the face, yet he loved his brother so much the thought of being betrayed by him never so much as crossed Thor's mind. That was the same way I felt about my two siblings standing next to me, oddly enough. They had gone out of their way to cross time and space to try and recover me. They stepped through a portal having absolutely no idea what was on the other side with no hesitation… Maybe once upon a time, Thor and Loki would have had that relationship, but it appears to have long since soured with only the latter having realized that.

"Something must clearly be done about this situation." Thor said. "We must return to Asgard at once and remedy this."

"Thor," Sif said solemnly, "you are correct, but I'm afraid that you cannot return with us."

"What!? "The hell he can't!" "That's outrageous. If he's not going then I'm staying here with him!" The three Asgardian Tagalongs all shouted in outrage. Sif didn't seem particularly upset about that last remark as she told them that they should stay with Thor. Something about her tone made me believe that she was not quite as close to the three men as she was portrayed to be in the MCU. 

Thor let out a sigh in resignation when he realized that Sif was right. "No, I'm afraid that Lady Sif is correct, my friends." he said to the Warriors Three. "I have not been able to regain my powers yet, which means I am not worthy of yet returning to Asgard in my father's eyes. I will stay on Earth temporarily until that day." The three of them didn't look happy to hear his explanation, but they relented and nodded in acceptance. They agreed to stay and guard him until he could regain his powers. Thor then turned to me. "Lady Layla, you have proven yourself to be a trustworthy friend as of this point. Might I beseech you to travel with Lady Sif back to Asgard and see what is occurring on my behalf?"

Thor wanted me to go to Asgard in his place. That was a lot of trust for him to put into someone he just met yesterday. 

"Hah, of course she'll go. In fact, we'll all go. It'll be just like the good old days when we used to crash the Mead Halls during their biggest celebrations." Azazel cut in. There was a gleam hidden in his eye that told me that the famous Mead Halls weren't the only reason for him wanting to go to Asgard. I seemed to have missed something important that had occurred here during my battle with the Destroyer. I'd have to ask him later. I did still want to try the Mead Halls though… Asgardian ale was legendary for a reason.

"If you three are coming, then we must make haste. I have no doubt that whoever sent the Destroyer after us will now be making other plots after this one has failed. HEIMDAL, OPEN THE BIFROST!" Sif said before she yelled out to the heavens. It appeared that she also didn't have the heart to break the news to Thor that Loki had betrayed him, or maybe she wasn't quite as certain as I was. I did have the burden of meta-knowledge after all.

[Maybe she just thinks Thor's an idiot who won't believe her unless the truth is shoved in his face.]

...That could also be a possibility.

I almost expected for nothing to happen after Sif called for Heimdall, but to my surprise, the sky immediately darkened as the Bifrost began to form in the sky above us. It seemed that Heimdall had not been attacked and impeded at this point.

I stared into the rapidly forming clouds before a beautiful beam of rainbow light slammed down on top of us. And with that, we were off to Asgard. Thor, along with the Warriors Three, had chosen to remain behind with Jane. That was probably for the best because the Warriors Three were pretty incompetent from my memories and would probably have just gotten in our way.

The rainbow lights continued to flash all around, and I let out a gasp as I witnessed what seemed like an entire galaxy pass us by as we traveled far faster than the speed of light to our destination. Within the Bifrost, so many amazing things were rapidly flashing before my eyes that I couldn't even hope to comprehend them. Eventually, the experience ended though as my body jerked suddenly and my feet returned to solid ground. When I looked up, a dark-skinned man in bright golden armor was staring at our group with a look of trepidation.

"Welcome back to Asgard, Lady Sif… and guests." Heimdall greeted us. 

"Heimdall!" Azazel exclaimed as he spread his arms wide with a smile. "It's been a minute, my good man. We need to grab a drink sometime and catch up. Are the taverns of Asgard as glorious as I remember?"

Heimdall turned his head to the side. "Hello again, Azazel. The taverns haven't changed but you might find that Asgard has undergone some changes since any of your kind have last been here…" Heimdal said. 

XXX

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