Chapter 91: Checking In

A/N: Tony is back on Asgard. First is checking in on things, second is visiting Hela.

-x-X-x-

Odin is already waiting in the Bifrost's Gate Room alongside Heimdall when Tony and Thor arrive. The King of Asgard looks more than ready to go, fully kitted out in illustrious golden armor and a horned helmet, along with his mighty spear Gungnir held in one hand. Seeing this, Tony rolls his shoulders and lets his own armor roll over him, though he keeps his face visible even as the rest of his body is encased in a Vibranium Nanotech Suit.

"All-Father."

"King Stark."

The cockblocking not forgotten, but at least set aside for the time being, Tony rubs his gauntleted hands together. Then, because why not… he turns to Heimdall.

"Oh, before we do this, can you lend me your Gatekeeper's eyes and ears for a moment, King Odin?"

"… Very well."

Heimdall raises an eyebrow, but raises no protest, signaling his own indifference to the request.

"Tell me, Gatekeeper… does your sight extend to the planet Xandar?"

"… It does."

"Can you give it a quick lookover for me? All I need to know is if they look like they just suffered a harsh battle but came out on top."

Heimdall glances off into seemingly nothingness, furrowing his brow for a moment before slowly nodding.

"Indeed they did. It would seem a Kree Renegade by the name of Ronan attacked their planet but was defeated in detail by… a group calling themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy."

Tony grins at Heimdall's slight incredulity. He lets the Gatekeeper look for a little while longer, until suddenly Heimdall looks caught between alarmed and bemused.

"What a strange, eclectic group. Two half-Celestials, two former Daughters of Thanos, a Kylosian, a Flora Colossus… and a talking racoon."

Odin steps forward at that, looking alarmed.

"Half-Celestials cavorting with Children of Thanos?"

But Heimdall is quick to assuage his King's understandable worry.

"I do not believe they pose a threat, your Majesty. I believe I understand why the King of Midgard had me look in on Xandar now. The planet houses an infinity stone… specifically the Power Stone. It was handed over to them by these very same Guardians, who used it only once to destroy the Kree Renegade Ronan and then surrendered it over to the Xandarian Government. Furthermore, the Half-Celestials have rejected their heritage and slain their own father, a Celestial known as Ego."

Wow, for not having had the Guardians or their exploits on his radar until now, Heimdall could sure learn fast when he wanted to. He wasn't omniscient, but once he was on a subject, he could apparently do research like no one's business. The entire galaxy was effectively his Wikipedia. Once he knew what he was searching for, he drilled down to the important parts quite rapidly.

Still, it was good to hear everything had turned out for the best out in space. Tony hadn't done anything to change things for the Guardians, but to be fair he also hadn't done anything to make Loki a woman or cause a Peggy from an alternate dimension to be frozen in the ice alongside Steve for seventy years. So really, he couldn't be sure.

Fortunately, it sounded like the Guardians had their adventures pretty much the exact same as last time. When Nebula had originally told him that her sister and her friends had gone from fighting Ronan and her to fighting a literal planet alongside her in just a few months, Tony had been a little flabbergasted.

Unfortunately, going out there to find them hadn't been in the cards. Nebula had all but assured him when they were telling stories about themselves to each other that she wasn't someone worth knowing until after Ego died. In the end, Tony had to trust that the Guardians would get shit done. Even if he personally had a lot of bias towards one Peter Quill.

But that was another timeline. Tony could live and let live where Quill was concerned, even if the same could not be said for Thanos.

"Stark? What do you know of this? Why did you ask my Gatekeeper to gaze upon Xandar?"

Looking at Odin, Tony smiles thinly.

"You still owe me one, right? And you're going to owe me even more for taking Hela off your hands."

Odin grunts, his grip on Gungnir tightening ever so slightly.

"… Indeed."

Well, nice to see the All-Father isn't going to go back on his word. Even if Thor is looking a little discomfited by the entire exchange. Letting his smile grow for a second, Tony… chuckles.

"Not to worry. I'm not going to call in on that debt just yet. Hey, I'll even give you a heads up right now, King to King. The favor I'm going to call on eventually has everything to do with the Infinity Stones, as you've no doubt already guessed. One day, probably relatively soon, you're going to give me the Tesseract so I can use the Space Stone to go and retrieve the Power Stone. Then, I'm going to use them all to destroy Thanos."

There's a brief pause as Tony just lays it out in no uncertain terms. Frowning, Odin leans on his mighty weapon for support.

"… But not today?"

Shaking his head, Tony keeps smiling.

"No, not today. Not quite ready to end Thanos' ugly mug just yet, and having three Infinity Stones in the hands of just one person would be more than enough to draw his attention early. As you've likely already guessed, I only know about Xandar and the Guardians from my visions."

Sweeping his gaze from Odin to Heimdall to Thor and back again, Tony speaks plainly.

"Here's the rundown. Xandar and the Power Stone are Thanos' first targets once he gets the gauntlet from the Dwarves. Meanwhile, Gamora, with the Guardians of the Galaxy, is the only one who knows the location of the Soul Stone… besides me, of course. They'll all be in danger if Thanos manages to get things started… but that's a big 'if'. Speaking of which, what's the situation with the Dwarves?"

Here, Odin straightens up to his full height, looking rather proud of himself. As it turns out, he has every reason to be.

"Asgard has reached out to Nidavellir and renewed the oaths and treaties between our two peoples. I have personally spoken with King Eitri myself, letting him know of the danger that the Mad Titan represents to him and his people. He has agreed to allow a temporary garrison of Einherjar until Thanos has been defeated once and for all. Furthermore, I have been expanding Asgard's military might, seeking to reach former glories. After a thousand years of resting on our laurels, it is time for Asgard to be the threat Thanos considers us to be once more."

Well damn. Good to hear. Always nice to have semi-competent allies, he supposed. Especially since he couldn't be everywhere. Speaking of which…

"And what about our big purple thumb? Can you see him, Gatekeeper?"

Heimdall frowns, peering out into space again for a moment, his golden eyes darting back and forth. Finally however, he's forced to shake his head.

"No… even now, I cannot see where the Mad Titan has hidden himself away."

Tony wasn't expecting anything less, unfortunately. In fact, that was just a distraction. In the moment when Heimdall is completely focused on trying to find Thanos, JARVIS has taken a few nanites he swears are magically shrouded from Heimdall's gaze and slipped them into the floor directly under Tony's feet. His AI was insistent about getting some form of unrestricted presence on Asgard so he could watch over Tony and Sif's daughter Kara properly, and Tony had decided to go along with it.

He waits for a moment to see if their gambit worked… and when none of the Asgardians in the room with him react, Tony just smiles a little bit and nods. Even if it was a distraction, it was still good to know. And hey, if Thanos was hidden away in some dark corner of the galaxy, it meant he wasn't invading Nidavellir or Xandar. Yet. They had time for now. And Tony was going to milk that for all he was worth.

"Great. Keep an eye on Xandar, Nidavellir, and the Guardians, yeah? If Thanos makes a move on any of them, that's our sign that it's time to launch our counterattack. Until then, we can continue preparing."

Heimdall grunts, his eyes moving to Odin for a moment… but once the All-Father nods in wordless agreement, Asgard's Gatekeeper nods too.

"It will be as you say, King of Midgard."

Smiling wolfishly, Tony looks back to Odin.

"Then I guess with all of that out of the way, we're ready for the main reason you've summoned me here, aren't we?"

Suddenly, Odin looks slightly wearier and a lot less certain of himself. He leans against Gungnir again and sighs.

"… Indeed. Do you believe yourself well-versed enough in the Aether's use to do what must be done, Stark?"

Tony tilts his head to the side and considers that question for a moment.

"… Yes. With your knowledge and my power, I believe we can bend Reality herself over our knee and make her our bitch."

He probably could have worded that better, judging by the looks that the Asgardians give him. But he hadn't forgotten Odin's cockblocking. This was but a taste of the revenge that was to come! Still, he also meant it. Especially because he'd gone ahead and loaded himself up with over twenty Vibranium Arc Reactors to really super-charge the Aether for today, as well as enough Vibranium Nanites to make dozens of suits if need be. He was as ready as he was ever going to be for Hela's bullshit.

Deciding to just… ignore Tony's words, Odin suddenly turns to his son.

"Thor, you will stay here with Heimdall."

The Prince of Asgard goes wide-eyed at that, looking as upset as Tony would expect him to be after being told he was benched.

"What?! Father, no! I can help! You may have need of me on Niflheim! I've been training hard this past year as well! How can you ask me to stay here?!"

But Odin isn't budging.

"It is true that Stark and I, even working together, might not be enough to take down Hela. But that is precisely why you must stay here Thor. If the worst comes to pass and Hela manages to defeat us… it will fall to you to give the order."

Tony raises an eyebrow, even as Thor looks confused.

"Father… what order?"

Odin's wizened old face hardens and becomes grave as he stares his son down.

"The order for Heimdall to use the Bifrost to destroy Niflheim, much as Loki tried to do to Jotunheim before her fall."

Whoa. Tony didn't sign up for that. Even Heimdall looks surprised, though not enough to protest the idea. Thor on the other hand is outraged enough for all of them.

"What?! Father, I would never do that! You can't be serious!"

"You must harden yourself to the possibility Thor. You must be ready to make the call for not just the good of Asgard, nor even the Nine Realms… but for the entire universe. If Hela gets free, she will not stop at reconquering the Nine Realms. She will continue her plans from over a thousand years ago and attempt to conquer the whole of the cosmos."

Odin looks to Tony then for a moment, before turning his one-eyed gaze back to his son.

"If Heimdall sees us fall to Hela, if all is lost… you must give the order, Thor. Destroy one realm to kill a woman who would butcher thousands of them."

Tony considers making it clear he's not on board with this. But he's not sure it's worth undermining Odin here. For one, this sounds like a contingency that should hopefully only be implemented if him and Odin are both dead… and judging by the look on Thor's face, that's precisely how long the Crown Prince of Asgard will wait before giving the order. Until it might even be too late.

But also for two… if Thor gives the order and Heimdall starts using the Bifrost to destroy the planet, Tony isn't going to just stick around. He'll fly the fuck away. His suit is more than Space Capable after all. Traveling home would probably really, really suck… but it wouldn't necessarily be impossible.

In the end, he watches quietly as Thor hangs his head, not verbally agreeing with his father's words, but also no longer arguing either. Odin steps forward and clasps his son by the back of his neck, pulling him into his chest and kissing the top of Thor's blond head for a moment before pulling away.

"Do not fret, my boy. We shall prove victorious. After all, I have your 'Shield-Bro' on my side, do I not?"

The attempt at levity goes over well with Thor, who perks up a little bit and brightens as he slowly nods. Then, he gives Tony the biggest, bluest puppy dog eyes he's ever received.

"You will see my father home safely, Tony Stark. I know you will."

"… Sure Thor. You can count on me."

There's not much else to say after that. Thor stands back as Tony and Odin move to stand side by side. Heimdall prepares the Bifrost, and after receiving one final silent nod from the All-Father… he sends them both off.

Tony has no idea what to expect from Niflheim, Hela's prison. Brimstone and Hellfire, maybe? But no… instead the place is desolate and barren when they arrive. Lots of grey and black and oh look, more grey.

He's also not sure what to expect from Hela herself when they arrive. Will she be waiting for them? Will she be hidden somewhere, preparing an ambush?

But no. Heimdall puts them down right in front of the exiled former Crown Princess of Asgard. Odin's former Executioner clearly had no idea they were coming either, because if she had… well, Tony suspects that she would have at least tried to make herself presentable. There's probably not much Hela can do about her stringy hair or her torn clothing in a place as forsaken as this. She probably hasn't had a proper shower in a thousand years.

However, she definitely would have at least been standing up ready to meet them… instead of being caught sitting cross-legged amidst the dusty, desolate landscape while working on balancing misshapen rocks on top of one another.

The exiled Goddess of Death has managed to make a tower of four rocks and is in the process of trying to balance the fifth without toppling the first four when they arrive before her in a flash of light. Needless to say, their sudden appearance causes her to jolt rather violently, sending her tower of rocks scattering across the grey ground as she stares up at them both, gaping in disbelief.

Tony hesitates out of pity more than anything else. He feels bad for the poor woman in this moment. Obviously he knows why the All-Father didn't, but he suddenly finds himself wishing Odin had called ahead. That said, Odin hesitates too at the strange sight of his daughter sitting cross-legged and making rock towers.

That hesitation costs them, because Hela doesn't stay seated with a gobsmacked expression on her face for long. She quickly rallies and a look of pure, unbridled fury spreads across her features as she whips herself to her feet, spawns two blades from seemingly nowhere into her hands, and throws herself at them both with the battle cry of a screaming banshee.

"DIE!"

-x-X-x-

A/N: I mean... you try being stuck in a featureless grey wasteland for a thousand years and don't resort to making some rock towers once in a while to pass the time. Poor Hela v.v

Also to head off any potential confusion, just wanted to explain that canonically, Guardians of the Galaxy 1 and 2 both take place in 2014 within two months of one another, August and October respectively. This story has now just reached the end of 2014/beginning of 2015, so GotG 1 and 2 have already happened. There are no AU elements there, everything has gone according to canon where the Guardians and their storylines are concerned.

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