Good Parenting
Chapter 8: Breaking News
"Children sweeten labors, but they make misfortunes more bitter."
~ Francis Bacon
~O~O~O~O~O~
Pepper glanced over her shoulder.
She had heard of parents putting their children in front of the television because it was a great way to occupy time, but she didn't realize how captivated the pair would be.
They sat cross-legged, their eyes fixed on the screen.
"Hela look! Rainbow Dash is gonna make the Sonic Rainboom!" she heard the boy exclaim.
In the living room, Hela looked at her younger brother with a laugh.
"I know, I see it, Sleippy." The sister replied, watching the screen.
With all the technology they had back in Asgard, they didn't have anything like this, though they wish they had.
If only they could bring one back for their Father, so he'd have something to do while in the dungeons… though trying to explain technology to their Father might be a tad difficult.
The feeling of Sleippy tugging on her sleeve drew her attention.
"Um, Sis?" he asked.
Hela looked over.
"What is it, dear one?" she asked.
"What if that's how the Bifröst was made? I mean it is a rainbow bridge, right? What if it was made by the winged horses of the Valkeries?" Sleippy inquired, pointing at the screen, "Wouldn't that be awesome?!"
Hela looked at her brother, shocked for a moment, before breaking into laughter.
"I doubt this mortal television show has anything to do with our realm, Brother." She giggled.
Overhearing their conversation, Pepper allowed herself a laugh as well, though, feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket, she reached to grab it.
Before she was even able to put her ear to the device, frantic babbling answered her.
Glancing down at the number, she saw that it was her cousin.
"Hello?" she asked, a worried frown quickly spreading across her features.
More frenzied speaking answered her and she could barely make out anything she was saying.
"Amy, calm down." She spoke gently, trying to calm the girl down, "Take a deep breath, I can't understand you."
Sleippy's ears perked as he glanced back to where Pepper was speaking. She sounded worried.
"No, I'm sure you're not crazy, and I doubt you'll swear yourself off men forever because of this." The CEO explained, already feeling exhausted by her cousin.
The girl was always one to exaggerate, but Pepper couldn't help but be concerned.
"Yes, I understand he was a monster…"
She continued speaking into the phone and smiled as her cousin slowly began to calm down.
Glancing back around the corner to see what Hela and Sleipnir were doing, she heard a sound of static.
"Hey! Where'd Rainbow Dash go?" Sleippy exclaimed, looking rather disappointed.
Hela, however, only stared at the screen.
"Shh, Sleippy!" she interrupted as she leaned forward towards the television.
"We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this important newscast. It seems that panic has arisen in the Malibu area when a monstrous wolf began causing havoc. According to witness accounts, it came out of nowhere and began a town-wide slaughter. Officials are on the scene trying to take down the beast, but-"
Sleipnir followed his sister's gaze to see grainy footage of their brother, his dirty, grey fur unmistakable.
"Hela look! Fenny is on the glowing, talking, magical box thing!" the boy exclaimed excitedly, "Do you think he can see Rainbow Dash in there?"
Pepper made her way into the room, staring at the television as well.
"Amy, I'm going to have to call you back… Just stay inside." She answered, hanging up the phone.
In an instant, she called Tony.
This was something he should know about.
~O~O~O~O~O~
Meanwhile, the Avengers sat around the glass table, all eyes locked on Fury.
"After a thorough investigation of the caves, there are no signs of the two children, which leads us to believe that they've escaped." Fury stated.
Stark leaned back, rolling his eyes.
"Great… more monsters on the loose is all we need." He muttered.
Thor shot him a glare.
"Those monsters you speak of, are my nephews." He argued, "And we have to find them. I don't want any harm to come to them."
"I doubt your family is what we have to be worrying about." Clint muttered, "We should be thinking about the general public!"
Both were going to have a retort, when Jarvis interrupted.
"Excuse me, Sir… but Miss Potts is calling. Would you like to take her call?"
Stark grinned at the two before nodding.
"Yes, I'd love to." He answered, glancing at the others, "Sorry, I have to take a call."
The others glared as he spoke.
"Yes Pepper, we're on our way now to investigate it."
Stark leaned forward, his elbows against the glass table, speaking with his girlfriend, as he ordered Jarvis to show them the news report.
"Stark! There are people in danger out there! Hang up and let's go!" Rogers argued.
Tony nodded.
"Okay, I gotta get going… The boys are already starting to miss me."
"All right, Tony. Just be careful." She warned.
Stark smirked, sinking back into the sleek, leather chair.
"Aren't I always?" he replied, hearing her scoff before she hung up.
"Well, I guess we found the kids." Clint commented, glancing up at his ally.
In the corner, Thor sighed.
"Yes, I suppose we have." He answered, looking more worried than ever, "But let's go. I want to subdue him and then take the children back to Asgard with me."
Bruce nodded.
"We're not accomplishing anything by sitting here. People are in danger!" he answered.
The others sounded their agreement as the stood up, mentally preparing themselves for the chaos they were about to face.
~O~O~O~O~O~
Down in the streets of Malibu, Fenrir ran with his fur soaked and dripping with the blood of his victims and yellow eyes scanning his surroundings. The streets had quickly emptied once he showed himself, but several, foolish souls still stood there, watching him. Some held large, black boxes and others flashed lights at him.
It all made him excited. It was the closest to battle that he'd experienced in a long while.
Tail wagging with unrivaled enthusiasm; he rushed forward to try to snatch more bystanders in his jaws. If they were going to make themselves easy prey, why not take advantage of it?
Feral eyes glanced around until they locked onto a young boy, toying around with some device in his hands. Many Midgardians had them, yet they had nothing like that on Asgard.
He felt the tingle of adrenaline run down his spine and with several, thundering steps, he ran forward to grab the boy in his jaws. Already, he could taste the boy's flesh dripping down his fangs.
He heard the mortal give a scream, but instead of the soft, sticky feeling of skin and bone, he felt pain shoot up his jaw as he clenched down on something hard.
He fell back with a howl, releasing his grip on whatever he grabbed.
"Miss me, Puppy?" a familiar voice asked.
Already Fenrir grew angry, and when the spots of pain vanished from his vision, the first thing he saw was red.
Giving a snarl, he lunged, maw agape, but was met with an iron fist to the nose.
He flew through the air, hitting the asphalt street with a crunch.
As he gathered his footing, Fenrir gave a groan.
When he finally looked up, he saw several faces looking down at him; his Uncle Thor included.
Fenny might not have been a smart dog, but he knew enough to piece together that these were the infamous Avengers.
Instantly, he changed into his human form, nervousness rippling deep within his gut.
"Uncle Thor, what are you doing here?" he asked.
The Thunder god looked down at his nephew with obvious disapproval.
"I should be the one asking that question, Fenrir." He rumbled, "Now stop this mindless slaughter before more Midgardians get hurt!"
The Son of Loki sighed, managing a sheepish grin. He wasn't used to getting lectures from Uncle Thor… and something about it was rather frightening.
"Sorry, I can't do that, Uncle Thor." Fenny replied, receiving an edgy response from the heroes, "I was told only to listen to Dad when he gets here."
"Wait? Loki?!" Clint snarled, reaching down and grabbing the boy fiercely by the collar, "You're telling me, that bastard is coming here?!"
Fenrir looked at the man with wide eyes before giving a nervous shrug.
"I-I guess so… Jorry didn't tell me much!" the teen stammered.
Thor shook his head.
"But that's impossible! Loki is being held in the prisons of Asgard! There's no chance of escape, even for my trickster brother!" he argued.
"I doubt 'impossible' is a word in your brother's vocabulary." Clint muttered.
Fenrir watched them, too frightened to escape, though in his mind, the Serpent's voice echoed once again.
Come on, Fenrir! Kill them while you have the chance!
The wolf hesitated, taking another fleeting look at the heroes that surrounded him, his bloodlust forgotten.
He squirmed uncomfortably as Natasha looked down at him, noticing something wrong.
"But Jorry… what about Uncle Thor? Surely you speak not of him too!" the wolf pleaded aloud, "He's family!"
The wolf's pleading caught the attention of the heroes as they watched him.
Shut Up, Brother! Of course, he's included! He was one of the reasons Father's plan failed! You do want to get revenge for Father, don't you?
"B-but…"
Just kill them! I demand you to do it at once!
Fenrir clutched his head as Clint instantly released his hold on him.
Thor knelt down to reach his nephew's eye-level.
"Fenrir, what's wrong?"
His eyes shone with concern as the boy struggled against his touch.
"No! I won't hurt Uncle Thor or anyone else! I've had my fun and eaten my fill! I just want to go home!" the wolf argued.
Back in the caves, Jormungand gave a sneer.
How DARE you fight me, Brother! After all I've done for you!
He leaned back, closing his eyes and sent another spell into his brother's mind.
Well, it seems as though you give me no choice. I only wish I could say that I was sorry.
The Serpent paused with a soft chuckle, feeling the spell implanting itself in his Brother's brain.
But that would be lying.
Fenrir heard his brother's laugh resound in his mind, intertwined with a searing pain. He cried out, curling into a ball and clutching his head.
He pressed against his temples as hard as he could, but as fur began spreading across his body, he couldn't suppress it.
"Fenrir, what's happening?!" Thor called, putting his hands on the boy's shoulders.
The other heroes braced themselves. They knew outbursts of monstrosity well… sometimes more than they'd like to admit.
The giant wolf emerged once again, eyes as red as the blood that saturated the rest of him. The group stared for a moment, watching as the creature reared back its angry head and gave a howl.
"Fenrir!" Thor called, but that only attracted his attention.
Captain America was the one to push the Asgardian out of the way, as the wolf lunged forward.
As bone met metal, the shield rang out with a clang.
Fenrir shook his head, mouth closing about the shield. He shook his head aggressively, snatching the weapon and, like a Frisbee, he threw it to the ground.
He was about to chomp down when pain erupted in his shoulder. Stumbling clumsily, he turned around, giving the Captain just enough time to reach for his shield.
Natasha glanced sideways at her comrade with surprise.
"Keeping it old fashioned?" she asked, noticing the plain arrows that were sticking out of the wolf's shoulder.
Clint chuckled, giving a shrug.
"Guess it just seemed fitting." He replied, shooting another one into the wolf's back.
Thor watched with horrified eyes.
Surely his brother wasn't so cruel as to sacrifice his own children, would he?
The god couldn't bring himself to attack just yet.
He watched the beast gave another howl of pain as his jaws snapped blindly, surrounded by his allies.
This wasn't his dear nephew… a madness was what inherited the boy's body, and he had to stop it.
Gathering himself, the Asgardian flew forward, landing a powerful blow to the creature's head.
Black asphalt was pulled up from the creature's claws, as it was ripped off its paws and sent to the ground.
Fenrir scrambled to his feet, reaching out to grab the hammer with his fangs, only to receive another blow to the snout.
As the wolf went to get up this time, he heard a roar from behind him.
Glancing over his shoulder, he felt large hands wrap around him and he was being lifted off the street.
Fenrir struggled, trying to snap at the large hands that held him. Giving a fierce kick, he managed to scratch the green giant with his claws, causing the monster to throw him out towards the water.
He landed with a splash, panting; his body aflame with pain.
Jormungand sent more signals, but when they went ignored, he slithered out of the cavern. Luckily, he saw no mortals, only his brother lying in the water, being a failure.
"Get up this instant!" he hissed, eyes narrowing at the wolf's broken form.
Fenrir looked up at his brother, shakily hauling himself to his feet.
"Brother please! They're too strong for me to handle on my own!" he whimpered, "But if you helped me, we could do it together! In Father's name, I know we could!"
Jormungand looked down at with a slow shake of his head.
"Now Fenny… you know I can't do that." He answered with mock sympathy, "Though, if you die here, I'm sure Hela will welcome you with open arms into Niflheim!"
Fenrir looked at his brother, ears turning in the direction of the rapidly approaching heroes.
They were coming.
Fenrir then glanced back.
"Brother, I don't understand what you're doing! Why won't you help me fight them if you desire their deaths as revenge?" the wolf asked.
Something was very wrong, and he didn't understand. He never knew what Jormungand was thinking. His worry would only grow worse as his little brother holed himself up in the library for hours, sometimes days at a time.
Oftentimes, he was frightened for his brother's well-being, seeing him skip out on meals or visits to see their Father, or the thin sheets of his bed remaining undisturbed from the night before… However, right now, he was frightened of his brother and the look that inhabited his ice blue eyes.
Fenrir looked up, as his brother broke into a serpentine smirk.
"What are you actually planning?" he managed, swallowing hard.
Jormungand was about to reply, when he sank back into the water.
Following his brother's gaze, Fenrir looked over to see the heroes making their way through the buildings.
All will be revealed in time, Brother.
More pain then seared his thoughts and he suddenly found the strength return to his limbs.
Though something about it wasn't right.
As he felt stronger, he felt his mind clearing itself of everything; his name, where he was, why he was there… until he was pushed deep into the recesses of his own head.
He saw the Avengers with blind, red eyes and even more blind rage… and for some reason, he didn't care.
~O~O~O~O~O~
With blue eyes barely concealed above the surface of the water, Jormungand watched his brother attack once again.
He smirked, watching the heroes battle his, now mindless sibling. It wasn't a fair fight, granted… but it was all part of the plan. His brother was stronger now and able to put up more of a struggle.
The wolf would fight himself to death if Jorry desired it, but his brother's passing wouldn't benefit him in the least.
Why use an army, if you had a monstrous beast who could fight with blind, enhanced strength at the tip of your claws?
Again, his Father knew not what he had in his arsenal.
Jorry didn't let it bother him. As ashamed as he was of his Father, he'd made it a point to surpass his Father in many ways, all with a certain grace that kept his claws clean.
Even so, as he watched the fight, there was one thing that escaped the Serpent's gaze… and that was the blood from his brother's fur slowly seeping, like an eel, through the water.
