To Lose One, To Gain Another

Athena looked up from where she and Thor were quietly speaking, trying to work out the best plan for escape, when Hulk stepped over to them, looking down at them with a curious expression on his face.

"Puny gods sad," Hulk stated.

"Shut up," Thor muttered, pulling himself up and reaching out a hand to help Athena to her feet as well. He stumbled suddenly when Hulk punched his shoulder, though the green man didn't appear to have done it to actually hurt him, but more like a very powerful nudge.

"Puny gods sad!" Hulk repeated, as though increasing the volume would get them to explain why they were sad.

"We're not sad," Athena told him, even as Thor stomped away, rubbing his arm. She was sure Thor still harbored a deep mourning for his parents, he was greatly concerned for his people, but right now, the longer they were on this planet, the emotion they were both feeling was something far from sadness.

"We're pissed off, you idiot!" Thor grouched as he turned to face them, Athena gesturing at him for the summary of what they felt like to be kept there while Asgard suffered and having two (maybe three, if they included Loki) people who should have been helping them refusing to do so, "Angry. I lost my father and my mother. I lost my hammer. My people are…"

Thor trailed off, hearing a thudding noise, to look over and see Hulk on his bed, punching a pillow and not listening anymore to what the Asgardian was saying.

"Hulk!" Athena huffed, moving to stand at Thor's side to glare at the green man, her arms crossed.

Hulk rolled his eyes, "Whining and crying. Cry like baby."

"You're not even listening!" Thor yelled, kicking the closest thing to him, a helmet of some kind.

"Don't kick stuff."

Thor ignored the green giant to point an accusing finger at him, "You're being a really bad friend."

Hulk glared back, "You bad friend!"

"You know what we call you?"

"No."

"We call you the stupid Avenger."

"No, WE don't," Athena elbowed Thor in the side for that remark, shooting him a less than pleased look. That was not the way to get anyone to aid them, by insulting them. And, knowing how temperamental Hulk could be, this wouldn't help them get Banner back either. Banner at least would want to get off the planet where Hulk kept resisting.

Hulk didn't seem to hear her as he jumped to his feet, shouting, "You're tiny Avenger!" at Thor before he threw a shield at him, nearly decapitating him had Athena not pulled him down to avoid it.

"That was rude," Athena muttered.

"Are you crazy!?" Thor demanded of Hulk.

"Yes," was the simple, shrugged reply.

"Alright, this is getting out of hand," Athena tried to calm the two men down, "Why don't we just…" she ducked when a mace went flying at her, causing her to duck as well, "Hulk!"

"You know what?" Thor stormed over at the green man, glaring at him, more angry that the giant had thrown a weapon at Athena's head than when he'd had things thrown at himself. Athena was trying to calm them down, HE had been the one insulting Hulk and yet he'd thrown a mace at her! He was not going to let that slide, "Earth does hate you. And…ow!"

Thor flinched forward as Athena hit him on the back of the head with her hand.

"What was that for?" he rubbed his head, looking at Athena with a pout.

She sighed and gestured to Hulk, who now appeared very sad, sitting on the edge of his bed with his head bowed, clearly moping and hurt by what Thor had said. He sighed, understanding he'd gone too far with his last remark. Athena gave him a warning look, pointing an accusing finger at him, before she made her way over to Hulk, sitting down on the bed beside him.

"Hulk, ignore him," Athena tried to reassure the green man, "Thor is upset and very worried for his people right now. He didn't mean it and he's very sorry he said what he did, aren't you Thor?"

He nodded at her very pointed look, "Very," he stepped over too, "You're not the stupid Avenger. Nobody calls you the stupid Avenger."

"It's ok," Hulk sighed.

"But you just can't go around throwing shields at people," Thor continued, "Or maces. You could have killed us."

"I know," Hulk nodded, sounding regretful now, "I'm sorry."

"We forgive you," Athena patted him on the arm.

"I just get so angry all the time. Hulk always, always angry."

"We know," Thor agreed, "We're all the same here…"

"Excuse me?" Athena gave him another look.

"WE're the same, you and I," Thor amended, gesturing between himself and Hulk, "We're just a couple of hot-headed fools."

"That's for damned sure," Athena muttered, making Thor crack a smile. He may be a hot-headed fool, but he was HER hot-headed fool.

"Yeah, same," Hulk agreed, "Hulk like fire, Thor like water."

Thor gave him a look for that, "We're kind of both like fire."

"But Hulk like real fire. Hulk like raging fire. Thor like smoldering fire."

Athena shook her head at Thor as he opened his mouth to argue over which sort of fire he was, resting a hand on Hulk's arm, "Hulk…we need you to do something for us."

"Hulk stay here."

"We won't make you leave if you don't want to," Athena promised him, ignoring Thor rolling his eyes behind Hulk's back, they both very much WERE going to take Hulk with them, but he didn't need to know that, "We just need to talk to someone, and we need your help to get her to listen."

~8~

"I really hope this works," Athena murmured from beside Thor as they stood in the Hulk's chamber, off to the side, waiting for the Valkyrie to arrive. Hulk was amusing himself by bouncing a very large ball against the wall, denting it with each bounce.

Thor gave her a small smile, "Doubting your skills?"

"Hardly," she countered, nudging him a little, "I learned from the fastest hands," she remarked, thinking of another brother of hers, "I merely fear we will not be able to convince her to return with us."

"Asgard is her home," Thor murmured, "And it is in danger, if she holds any value in the oaths she made, she should return."

"I just…" she sighed, "I can understand running from something you aren't proud of. Whatever lingers in her past, it has driven her to drink, to stay here, it may not be something she is willing to face."

Thor could only nod at that, understanding. He had done a few things in his past that he was not proud of, had felt that familiar desire to runaway where no one could know of his shame. He had been lucky though, he'd had Athena beside him, willing to talk to him, forgive him, and hunt him down to spar some sense into him when he was being foolish. It did not look like the Valkyrie had anyone with her.

They looked over when Hulk suddenly stopped, seeing that he'd noticed something from the front of the room. They leaned around one of the pieces of furniture to see the Valkyrie approaching, escorted by two guards. As soon as she was in the room, the guards left and she smiled, rushing up to Hulk at the foot of his bed, giving him a hug as he laughed, playfully roughhousing with her.

"What's going on?" she asked the big, green man, "What do you…"

Athena cleared her throat, she and Thor stepping out where she could see them as she turned. They hadn't thought she would enter the room if she had seen them first.

The look on her face told them they were completely right. She looked quite displeased to see them, even shooting an annoyed look at Hulk for his clear involvement. Hulk, to his credit, looked down, a little chastised, and stepped back.

The Valkyrie rolled her eyes as she faced them, "You're so thick-headed that you can't tell when someone's hiding all the way across the universe and wants to be left alone?" she demanded, looking more at Thor than Athena.

"No," Athena answered, "We're well aware of that. But this is serious."

"We need to talk," Thor insisted.

"No," the Valkyrie shook her head, already heading for the door, "You want to talk to me."

Thor looked over at Hulk, "We need her to stay."

Hulk nodded and turned to his bed, grabbing the jaw of the skull off of it and throwing it across the room to block her path to the door. The Valkyrie shot him another annoyed glare but this time Hulk just snorted, "Stay!" he ordered, before adding a, "Please?" when she lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Fine," the Valkyrie huffed, heading straight for Hulk's collection of alcohol on a bar, as the green man went back to bouncing his ball. She grabbed an unopened bottle, rolling her eyes again when Hulk snorted in a disapproving manner. She put it down and grabbed something in a cheaper jug, but much larger. She grabbed the cork out of it and turned to the two warriors before her, "Alright. Here's the deal. I'll listen to you till this is empty."

Thor was almost startled into silence when she began to chug the contents down at a rapid race. But Athena quickly started to speak, "Asgard is in danger…"

He nodded, adding in, "And people are dying. We need to get back there. We need your help to...wow…" he gaped at her as she set down the now empty bottle.

"Finished," the Valkyrie wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, "Bye."

Thor shook her head as the woman merely turned to go, calling out the last chance at getting her help, "Odin is dead."

If it wasn't a testament to how dire the situation was that Asgard's current king was gone, it was a warning. The woman was not just refusing the son of Odin, but the KING of Asgard. If she continued on her path, then she was truly on her way to committing treason.

The Valkyrie stopped dead.

Athena frowned, noting her tense stance, the softest inhale of breath that she'd heard, how the knowledge was inspiring dread and fear in her, and she realized, "You know what that means, don't you?" she asked.

Thor straightened, understanding what Athena meant, the Valkyrie clearly knew what Odin's death would mean for her home, and now he had to confirm her worst fears, "Hela, the Goddess of Death, has invaded Asgard."

The Valkrie turned to face them, more serious than they could recall seeing her, actual emotion that wasn't anger, annoyance, or disinterest on her face, "If Hela's back then Asgard is already lost."

"Asgard is not lost as long as we draw breath," Athena swore, though the Valkyrie scoffed at that, looking up and shaking her head, almost as though she'd heard those words before and bore witness to the outcome of them.

"We're going to stop her," Thor swore.

"Just the two of you?" the Valkyrie looked between them.

"While I have no doubt we could," Thor began, "We have also learned there is a better chance with greater numbers. We're putting together a team. It's us, you, and the big guy…"

"No team," Hulk called, "Only Hulk."

"It's us and you," Thor amended.

The Valkyrie shook her head, "I think it's only you."

"Wait," Thor pleaded, "Just listen. The Valkyrie are legend, elite warriors of Asgard. You are sworn to defend the throne…"

"I'm not getting dragged into another one of Odin's family squabbles."

"What do you mean by that?" Athena asked, before Thor could speak, seeing he had taken offense to the last remark.

"Hela," the Valkyrie stated, "His sister," she gestured at Thor, looking to him, "Her power comes from Asgard, same as yours…" she looked down as Hulk's ball rolled over to her, quickly scooping it up to toss it back, "When it grew beyond Odin's control, she massacred everyone in the palace and tried to seize the throne. When she tried to escape her banishment, he sent the Valkyrie in to fight her back. I only survived because..." she cut herself off suddenly, looking away.

"Someone else took a blow meant for you," Thor answered.

The Valkyrie looked at him sharply for his words, seeming surprised he could guess that.

It was not hard to work out. He had seen a similar expression in the mirror when the Dark Elves had invaded. When he saw Athena so injured she was near death. It wasn't the same as what he imagined the Valkyrie had been through, but he recognized the thought of losing someone you loved. She had witnessed a person she loved dearly killed before her. And for her to be alive, it was not a far cry to think this person died to save her, took a blow meant for her.

He would not trespass on the painful memory, he would not voice his theory out loud. The Valkyrie was a warrior and he respected any and all female warriors, she deserved her privacy and not someone forcing her to relive that horror. So he would not say another word about it.

"Look," the Valkyrie shook herself out of her shock, "I already faced her once back when I believed in the throne, and it cost me everything. THAT'S what's wrong with Asgard. The throne, the secrets, the whole golden sham."

Thor nodded, moving closer to her to rest a hand on her shoulder, "I agree."

Athena stepped closer as well, looking as though she were about to rush to aid when the Valkyrie grabbed his hand and twisted it slightly as she pulled it off her shoulder to face him.

"Don't get familiar," she glared.

Athena reached out, her hands held up in surrender a moment, moving slowly so the Valkyrie would see what she was doing as she reached out to grab Thor's wrist too, "Agreed."

The Valkyrie nodded, letting go of her hold on Thor.

"I didn't believe in the throne either," Thor tried to reason with her, "That's why I turned it down. But this isn't about the crown. This is about the people."

"They're dying and they're you're people, too," Athena agreed.

"If she is fighting for them, then you have no excuse not to," Thor remarked with a nod to Athena.

The Valkyrie snorted, "And why's that?"

"She is not of Asgard and yet she fights for them."

"And where is she from? Earth?"

"Olympus," Athena answered.

The Valkyrie actually stepped back at that, looking at her a moment, taking her in, her expression even more guarded, before she snorted, "Then I do have an excuse not to fight."

"What would that be?" Thor crossed his arms.

"You claim she cares for Asgard?" the Valkyrie looked between them, shaking her head, "I know of a time where she and her kind cared for nothing but power and oppression. I would not be shocked if she was fighting Hela to take her place and seize the crown for herself."

Athena tensed at her words, "Then you have been here a very long time," she kept calm, not rising to the bait, "Those days have long since passed."

But the Valkyrie just shook her head and looked away, though Athena noticed how she was kept in the woman's periphery, the Valkyrie clearly suspicious and wary of her now.

"I trust Athena with my life," Thor vouched for her.

"Then you are a fool," the Valkyrie told him with a hard look.

"She has proven herself to be loyal," Thor continued, stepping up, "Wise, repentant, and humble. I would not be the man I am if not for her."

"Also would have been dead by now if I'd really wanted the throne," Athena tried to joke, not wanting to lose the sway Thor had almost gotten over the woman just because of her own dark past.

But the Valkyrie just held up her hands and started walking backwards from them, "Just forget it. I have."

"You really haven't," Athena told her, "Or you wouldn't be drinking so much."

"And what do you know about my life, my struggles?" the Valkyrie demanded.

"I know what being ashamed feels like," Athena told her, allowing herself to be open and honest with the woman, knowing such a skilled warrior would sense any falsehood. A part of her wanted the woman to know she wasn't like that anymore, she wasn't that person, "I know what feeling like you've failed every oath you've ever made is. And I've seen those suffering the same drink to forget, but it won't work. It never works."

"All due respect," the Valkyrie muttered, not sounding at all like she was offering respect, "But I don't care. You do you, I do me."

Thor glanced at Athena, asking with his eyes if she wanted him to speak up, to defend her more, knowing how she felt about those days, how hard she worked to put it behind her. But she shook her head, lightly swaying a hand that was in a fist at her side to draw his attention to it. He nodded, understanding and turned a forced smile at the Valkyrie, he wasn't happy to let this argument go, but Athena was right, they didn't have the time to stand there and convince the warrior otherwise, "Ok."

The woman paused, seeming confused that he was giving in so quickly, "Ok?"

He nodded, "Good. Great."

"...great."

"And thank you."

She frowned, "For what?"

Athena raised her fist, "For this," and opened her fingers to reveal that she had nicked the control device off her waist when Thor had distracted her. A little trick her brother Hermes had taught her, he was quite the thief when he wanted to be. Athena gave her a smile and pushed a button, releasing the discs from her neck and Thor's, freeing them, "Much better."

"You know," Thor glanced at the Valkyrie, who did not seem happy at all with this turn of events, "Go ahead. Stay here and get drunk and enslave people for that lunatic. Keep drinking. Keep hiding. But us?" he held up a hand to Hulk to toss him the ball, "We choose to run toward our problems and not away from them. Because that's what..." he turned suddenly and hurled the ball at the window, intending to smash it, only for it to bounce back and smack him in the head, sending him to the ground though it did create a large crack in the window.

Athena merely held out a hand to haul him up without a word, neither of them had expected the ball to bounce back as the window had seemed fragile enough, earning a nod of thanks in return.

"Because that's what heroes do," Thor finished, before gripping her hand tighter as the two turned and ran, bracing themselves to smash through the cracked portion.

It was a good thing that they had planned this out. They wanted to give the Hulk and Valkyrie a chance to come with them, to assist, but they'd made their choice. Examining the room, they knew they could make it out the window. No one would be mad enough to throw themselves out the window, especially when they were the champions and treated like royalty so the windows weren't as reinforced or protected as the doorways were. They either died in the ring or were kept in the cells. The windows weren't thick, they could break through. And they were not just mere mortals, they could survive the fall, not that they planned to fall.

They pushed themselves off the side of the building, using the momentum to land closer to the junkyard, though in the middle of the streets. They took only a moment to get their bearings, to work out which direction to go before they were off.

~8~

The junkyard was just as large and decrepit as they'd remembered it, but they'd marked the direction of the Quinjet from Hulk's room and learned the nearby debris that could help them find their way to it. But it was still a massive area to run through, made dangerous as well by the pieces of space junk haphazardly drifting from the wormholes.

But they were not warriors for nothing, they were fast and accurate, and managed to find the Quinjet quickly enough. They rushed in, immediately going to the controls, trying to power the jet on.

"Alright, come on…" Thor muttered, pressing buttons.

Athena flipped a switch and hit another button, looking up just somewhat shocked when the flight deck powered up, "Yes!"

Thor, who was near a scanner, placed his hand down on it, lighting it up green as a computerized voice called out, "Voice verification required."

"Thor," he stated.

"Access denied."

Thor frowned at that, "Thor, son of Odin."

"Access denied."

"God of Thunder?"

"Access denied."

"Strongest Avenger!"

"Access denied."

"Strongest Avenger!" he repeated, more firmly.

"Access denied."

"Athena," she tried, but was denied as well, "Goddess of Wisdom?"

Thor rubbed his head, realizing what code to use, "Damn you, Stark," he muttered, before sighing and calling out, "Point Break."

"Welcome, Point Break," the computerized voice called.

Before Athena could even begin to comment on that, or ask what her code was in this jet, there was a crashing and crunching noise behind them, causing them to whirl around to see the Hulk was barging in, scowling at them and tearing apart the jet to get in further.

"No, Hulk stop!" Athena shouted, as he proceeded to destroy the ship they'd been hoping to escape in, "Don't smash!"

"Friends stay!" Hulk was roaring.

"No, no, no!" Thor frantically hit a few buttons, trying to get the ship to work, but Hulk had destroyed too much of it.

"Stay!"

"Stop!" Athena tried to kick one of Hulk's arms away as he made to punch more of the machinery, sending to bashing into another control which seemed to trigger something as a monitor flickered on, a recording of Natasha starting to play.

"Nice work, big guy," her voice filled the room, "We don't know where Ultron's headed, but you're going very high, very fast," Athena and Thor became very still as the Hulk seemed to slow in his attacks, drawn in by Natasha's voice, by her image, "So, I need you to turn this bird around, ok? We can't track you in stealth mode..." Athena shuffled more to the side, letting Hulk get closer to the screen, "So I need you to help me out. Ok? I need you to..."

"NO!" Hulk suddenly roared, stumbling back and almost clawing at his neck, "No, Banner!" he began to convulse, dropping to his knees, his body warping and twisting, shaking his head, fighting, but they could see it, the faint traces of Banner coming through.

Athena gasped and jumped back, avoiding a swing as Hulk thrashed, resisting the transformation, destroying more and more of the jet as he went. Until, suddenly, he went calm, lying back on the ground, panting, his body starting to shrink back to that of a human, the skin lightening…

Thor ran to his side, trying to soothingly speak to him, easing the transition, "Banner. Hey, hey, hey. You alright, Banner? Sun's going down. Sun's going down. That's it, breathe. We won't hurt you. Sun's going down."

"Here," Athena hurried over with what looked like a tarp in her hand, resting it over Banner's bottom half, trying to help preserve his modesty.

"…Thor?" Banner wheezed, looking startled to the side when he felt a hand on his shoulder to see, "Athena?" he breathed as the woman helped him sit.

"Yeah," Athena reassured him, "It's us."

Banner looked between them, getting caught up on something with Thor as he frowned at the man, "What happened to your hair?"

"We don't ask about the hair," Athena whispered to him, patting his shoulder.

"Some creepy old man cut it off," Thor grouched.

"It looks good," Banner offered, "Where are we? How's Nat?"

"Natasha is…fine," Athena offered, "As best I know."

"And what about Sokovia?"

"Sokovia?" Thor frowned.

"The city, Sokovia. Did we save it?" he looked between the two gods once more when they shared a deep, concerned look, "What?"

"Sokovia, Ultron, that was two years ago," Athena told him gently.

Banner gaped at them, "What are you saying? I've been Hulk for two years?"

"I'm afraid so," Thor nodded.

"What the hell happened?" he struggled to his feet, swaying as Athena moved to steady him.

"Banner, there's something you should know..."

But Bruce ignored him, hurrying to the flight console, pressing a button to trigger the voice activation, "Banner."

"Welcome, Strongest Avenger," the voice responded.

"What?!" Thor demanded at that.

"Ship's log," Banner ignored him, quickly reading the fragments of information that the screen displayed. There were clips of the Hulk in the jet, in space, thrashing around, before his face drew closer, looking frightened and stressed, before it cut out, not offering much information, "Where are we?"

"Yeah…about that…"

Before he or Athena could explain what had happened, to the best of their knowledge, the Grandmaster's voice echoed all around the jet, his image projected onto his tower which they could see through the windshield of the jet, calling out, "It's bad news, bad news today. Sakaar, hear ye. Attention please. I have some bad news. My beloved, exalted Champion has turned up missing. Take to the streets. Celebrate my champion."

"Who's that?" Banner asked.

"He's called the Grandmaster," Athena explained, "He's the leader of this planet

"You actually lived in his house," Thor offered.

Banner frowned, not seeming to have any recollection of his time as Hulk, "I did?"

"Yeah. Quite a lot's happened. You, Athena, and I had a fight recently."

"Did I win?"

"No, we won. Easily."

"Doesn't sound right."

"We would have won, had the Grandmaster not cheated and crippled us as we were making the winning blow," Athena cut in with the truth.

"It seems," the Grandmaster continued, "That that criminally seductive Lord of Thunder has stolen him away with his minxy little sidekick, Tina."

"Athena," she huffed.

Thor was more caught up on, "Seductive GOD of Thunder."

Athena shook her head, "We need to move."

"Oh, no," Banner began to panic, "This is bad. This is really, really bad. I think I'm freaking out."

"It's alright," Athena quickly reassured him, "It's fine, you've got us and we're going to make sure everything is ok."

"Put these on," Thor offered, tossing some clothing he'd found in a compartment over to Banner.

"These are Tony's clothes," Banner eyed them.

"I know, come on."

"Is he here?"

"No," Athena shook her head, "No other Avengers here but us."

Thor put a hand on Banner's shoulder, leading him to a more closed off area to change, repeating, "Just stay calm, ok? The sun's going down. The sun's getting really low. Sun's going down…" as they went.

~8~

They hadn't made it far into the streets of Sakaar, before Banner was collapsing in on himself on a random stoop, anxious and still very freaked out. Thor and Athena quickly dropped down to sit on either side of him. Thor was trying to repeat Natasha's lullaby, but it didn't have the same affect, only seeming to make Banner more irritable.

"Would you stop saying that!?" he snapped.

"We just need you to stay calm," Thor tried to explain.

"Calm!? I'm on an alien planet!"

"It's just a planet," Athena reassured him, nudging him and trying to keep his spirits light, "You've been on a planet before."

"Yeah! One!"

"Now you've been on two," Thor smiled, "That's a good thing. It's a new experience."

"My neurons, they're firing faster than my brain can handle the information. The whole thing is totally different this time. In the past, I always felt like Hulk and I each had a hand on the wheel, but this time it's like he had the keys and I was locked in the trunk!"

Athena looked away a moment at the analogy, it was hitting a little close to home given her encounter with the Valkyrie, her remarks about knowing what happened during the Dark Days. That was how it felt like when she and her family started to fight back against the darkness and the corruption that had infected them. There were days where she would feel like the other her, the monstrous version of her, had locked her away, and then it began to feel like she was the one locking the monster away, never to be released.

"Alright, well, you're back now," Thor spoke, wanting to keep Banner focused, "That's all that matters."

"No, it's not what matters. What I'm trying to tell you, is that if I turn into the Hulk again, Banner may never come back. And we're stranded on a planet that is designed to stress me out!"

"We're not stranded," Athena shook her head, focusing once more, "We WILL find a way out of here."

Banner gave her a small smile at that, feeling just a little more reassured from how firmly she'd said that. He was a smart man, but if the literal goddess of intelligence said they'd find a way, he believed her a little more than Thor, "Thank you."

"We just have to make a stop at Asgard first," Thor had to add, earning an almost-glare from Athena.

"What?!" Banner turned to him.

"Listen, my people are in great danger. The three of us, we have to fight this really powerful being, who also happens to be my sister."

"Ok, that is so wrong on so many...I don't wanna fight your sister. That's a family issue."

"No, she's an evil being."

"I don't care what she is. I'm not fighting any more beings. I'm sick of it. I just told you. If I turn into the Hulk, I am never gonna come back again. And you don't care."

"You won't have to," Athena tried to reason, "Your mind is a much more powerful weapon than the Hulk's brute strength…"

"But I thought he was going to be the fire on the team," Thor murmured to her.

"Are you just using me to get to the Hulk?" Banner turned an accusing look to Thor.

"What? No!"

"It's gross. You don't care about me. You're not my friend," he pointed at Thor with a glare, before moving the finger to Athena, "You, you're my friend."

"I don't even like the Hulk!" Thor argued, "He's all like...'smash, smash, smash.' I prefer you."

Banner scoffed at that, "Thanks."

"But if I'm being honest, when it comes to fighting evil beings, he is very powerful and useful."

"And as I said," Athena gave Thor another pointed look, trying to silently tell him to stop talking if he didn't want to get Banner stressed, "Dr. Banner's mind is powerful and useful too."

"Fine, fine," he relented, "He doesn't have to fight anyone. But we ARE in danger here, so we have to move," he looked around a moment before reaching out to grab a towel on the ground, draping it over his head.

Athena rolled her eyes and reached out, yanking it off him, "That's a terrible disguise," she remarked, glancing around cautiously, before stepping down onto the street, the men following.

A/N: Yay, Banner's back! :D I felt so bad for him in the movie, waking up with two years of his life missing :( But he's back now :)

But the Valkyrie, hmm...so she's heard of Athena and her family, knows about the Dark Days even, and she clearly doesn't trust Athena. I wonder if that will change or get worse... }:)

Some notes on reviews...

Athena definitely tried to get through to the Valkyrie, not sure if it worked though :( The Valkyrie seems to not trust her much so I could see her sort of brushing off what Athena says :(

I don't know if I'd write a Fred/OC story, like I love the twins, they were great, but an OC just hasn't popped up yet :/ I feel like if I tried to do an OC with the Marauders it might end up being a Lily/Snape story because I feel like the OC would just go at James for being as much of a bully as he was, which might give Snape another friend, and keep him from making mistakes with Lily or the Dark Arts, and I really am not a fan of Snape so that might be an uncomfortable story lol. I don't really look at shows or movies or books and go 'I'm going to add an OC in here because xyz' they more just randomly pop into my head without any control so it really depends on who pops up where ;) But always a chance something might come up in the future ;)