Tony hated going against gods.
He felt very inept and inferior, two things that he loathed the most. But now, he watched as Hades fought Thor and Loki in the foyer – his foyer – while trying to restrain his already agitated sister.
Every so often he tried shooting repulsor rays and ice beams at Hades, but it was obvious that these weren't having any effect on the god.
They should be disqualified, he thought irritably, firing two beams in quick succession. They play dirty.
Jamie tugged at him again, obviously wanting to go to Loki. Tony held her firm, hesitant to let her within reach of the God of the Dead.
Jarvis was sending him reports of the Avengers' fight against the zombie horde, and the reports didn't look so good. The Avengers were slowly backing away, barely holding off the undead force. The local police force was being overwhelmed, and the state barrier was minutes away from being destroyed.
It looked like a losing battle.
Hades was far too powerful for even Thor and Loki. Even now the two Asgardians were being choked to unconsciousness, and Hades was now holding two very sharp knives.
Anytime now, Tony thought, wishing his suit could carry a nuclear missile that he could shoot at Hades.
The thought had barely passed his mind when a bright light exploded into the foyer. Tony turned his head away and closed his eyes, squinting. It didn't take long for the light to disappear; a few seconds later the foyer returned to its original illumination.
The only thing new about it was the eight-legged horse that was neighing and pawing at the ground, within stomping reach of Hades. The God of the Dead was on his stomach and breathing heavily. The horse's large rider dismounted, pulling off his helmet as he did so.
"All-Father," Jamie whispered in awe.
"Hades Kronoson," Odin said, pointing his sword at Hades. "Cease this attack."
Hades rolled on to his back, revealing that the two knives that he had been holding were embedded on his torso. Even now the blades were slowly sinking into his skin: the metal was disintegrating and was being absorbed into Hades' bloodstream.
"Odin," Hades rasped, as the metal now coursed through him, destroying his body. His healing factor was no match for the internal attack, and soon Hades was wasting away. "An eye…for an eye."
"If that is so, then you must have died two times over," Odin replied. His cape swept the floor and his armor shone. Sleipnir trotted over to Loki, nudging the God of Mischief awake. "You killed my granddaughter."
"A…necessity," Hades said. "Who will rule the Underworld now…once I'm gone? I…control the dead."
Odin smiled. "You have a brother, do you not?"
Hades' grin vanished in an instant. "Pluto? But he is…"
Whatever Hades' younger twin brother was, they never knew. Hades' grew still, his eyes staring at Odin. The two entrance wounds continued to bleed, slowly at first, and then faster and faster. Soon a pool of dark red blood formed around Hades.
Odin remained staring at Hades' body before going over to his firstborn, who was now sitting up. Mjolnir lay by Thor's feet, the metal gleaming in the light. Thor got to his feet, his face red due to near-asphyxiation.
"Father," he said, and Odin nodded once in acknowledgement. Sleipnir was neighing loudly, and Loki's eyes flickered open and fixed on his son.
"Sleipnir." Loki reached a hand out and patted Sleipnir's snout; the massive horse snorted and reared on its hind legs. Jamie made a move to approach Loki, but Tony's grip on her wrist was firm. Jane, on the other hand, slipped down the stairs and walked towards Thor, bending her head slightly for a moment as Odin fixed his gaze on her.
Jane met Odin's eyes steadily and Thor reached for her. She walked straight into Thor's arms, and Odin looked at Jamie.
"Great timing, All-Father," she said with a smile.
Odin's mouth twitched slightly. "It would seem so. Hades was drawing too much attention to himself; he should never have used his powers for personal gain."
"Who sent you?" Tony asked indignantly, and Jamie slapped her brother on the arm. She winced, forgetting that he was still in his Iron Man suit. "No disrespect or anything like that, but why did you take this long?"
Odin's eye blinked, as if he wasn't used to being spoken to like this. "I assure you, my actions took no less than a few minutes. I had to consult Zeus, after all."
"Time flows differently between realms, Tony," Jamie whispered. "At least he got here."
"Yeah. Right." Tony shifted uneasily, his eyes taking in Odin's weird appearance, including the metal eye patch. "He kinda reminds me of Fury."
Jamie laughed softly and Tony finally released his grip on her arm. Without hesitating, Jamie went to Loki, who was petting Sleipnir with his right hand. Sleipnir neighed as Jamie approached, but since she was used to dealing with horses, she simply ran her hand up Sleipnir's snout and cupped the horse's mouth with her other hand.
Sleipnir closed his eyes as Jamie scratched his snout. Loki slid his hand over Jamie's and squeezed it; she looked over at him and saw that the bruises on his face were already healing. They both exchanged a meaningful glance, one that showed their immense relief at the other's safety.
"Okay. Got it." Tony walked towards Loki – Thor and Odin were in deep conversation, and Tony wasn't in the mood to interrupt – and raised the front of his helmet. "It looks like Hades' death stopped the zombie horde, but they're taking Clint to the medical facility."
"And you're telling me this because?" Loki asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Because you're such a nice person to talk to," Tony snapped.
"Behave you two," Jamie sighed, patting Sleipnir on the side. The horse whinnied, as if it didn't like the way Tony was talking to Loki. "See? Even Sleipnir agrees with me."
Tony rolled his eyes and looked back at Pepper, and then at the corpse of the former king of the Underworld. "What the hell do we do now?"
Lightning sounded outside and Thor raised his head. "Zeus."
"Jesus Christ," Tony swore, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation. "How many gods are coming over? If there was a memo for a pool party, I sure as hell didn't see it!"
Jamie watched as her brother joined Pepper on the staircase, caught Loki's eye, and laughed. Sleipnir stayed with them for a while – Loki even hoisted her onto Sleipnir's back – while Thor and Odin waited for someone.
Pluto, Hades' younger twin brother, arrived a few minutes later. He had been conferring with Zeus, the head of the Greek gods.
Unlike Hades, Pluto was a surprise. He had warm, friendly eyes, although his hair looked rather greasy. Where Hades was dark, Pluto radiated light. It seemed unnatural that he was considered a lesser god of death, and even more so as the next King of the Underworld.
"No choice, Odin old chap," Pluto said amicably, while Tony, Pepper, and Jane watched with amusement. Pluto moved and sounded like an old English gentleman; he even smoked a thick cigar. "Zeus said I was the only other man for the job."
Pluto's gaze turned towards his twin brother and he clicked his tongue. "He always was the black sheep of the family. Shame what happened to his son, though. I understand your boy did it?"
"Yes," Odin said, glancing sharply at Loki. "But I believe it was in self-defense."
"Of course, of course." Pluto looked at the God of Mischief, who had a defiant expression on his face. "I don't blame anyone, Odin. If this was their fate, then there was nothing they could do. But I understand they are well known in this realm. How are we to rectify this situation?"
"An accident," Loki suggested with a smirk. "Happens all the time."
Pluto nodded thoughtfully. "That's possible. We have a lot to discuss, it seems."
"I need someone to help clean my mansion," Tony called grumpily. Jamie met Odin's eye and she grinned; the All-Father shrugged lightly and led Pluto away from the group.
"This is going to sound weird, but I like him better than Hades," Jamie commented.
"Yeah, too bad that he and Hades are identical," Tony added.
News of Lucius Hellman's sudden death shocked the world. One of the most eligible bachelors of New York City was found dead in the Hellman Estate by his father, who immediately fell into a deep depression.
After handing over full control of Hellman Corporation to his trusted board of directors, Hayden packed his bags and left for an undisclosed location. Ignoring requests for interviews, Hayden only stayed long enough for him to bury his son in the mausoleum reserved for the Hellmans.
Another surprising twist was when Hayden visited the Starks shortly before flying to his secret hideaway. Many speculated that the two mended their fences in the face of this tragedy, and after Hayden's departure Tony Stark was plagued with interviews and magazine features.
He denied them all, saying that he did so out of respect for Hayden Hellman.
But of course, only a select few knew what really happened.
Pluto, being identical to his older brother, Hades, easily passed for the software mogul. Using his powers of illusion, Loki was able to create a copy of Lucius's corpse. No autopsies were made, per "Hayden's" request, and the coffin that was interred in the Hellman mausoleum was empty.
"Funny how these Midgardians are easy to fool," Pluto had commented during his brief visit in Stark Towers. "Except you, Sir. Your ideas are flawless."
Tony had shrugged nonchalantly, as if he received compliments like this every day. "I won't waste a tear on either of them, Pluto. They tried to hurt my sister."
"I understand." Pluto had glanced at Jamie, who was practicing her fight moves on a large rubber mat. "Hades never really had a clear concept of family."
Pluto left shortly after that, leaving the Avengers to clean up the mess that Hades had made. Coupled with Lucius Hellman's sudden death, New Yorkers felt that they had lived through a bizarre week, indeed.
Some even doubted that the "zombie apocalypse" even occurred, while others simply tried to forget that it happened.
And then of course there were those who lost their loved ones in the attack. Funeral homes were kept busy as the newly dead came pouring in – Pluto at least assured the Avengers that the ones Hades' undead forces killed would stay dead – and nothing was on the television but talks about the recent happenings.
Odin, Sif, and the Warriors Three returned to Asgard as well, but not before Odin delivered some news. Adonis, Thor and Loki's distant cousin – "Our very, very, very distant cousin," Loki was quick to point out – was going to visit the two for some time.
"I realize your leader is quite paranoid about our kind," Odin had said as he mounted Sleipnir. "Which is why I'm telling you now. I daresay his mother would not take it too kindly if you attacked her son."
"We'll make sure not to," Tony had assured him.
Odin had nodded and, after Sif and the Warriors Three bade goodbye, called for Heimdall to open the portal to Asgard.
Clint stayed in the medical facility after receiving a nasty wound, with Natasha staying by his side.
"I didn't notice they had feelings for each other," Tony remarked, spotting Natasha and Clint walk out of the medical facility three weeks after Pluto's departure.
"Just because it took you years to realize you loved Pepper doesn't mean that the rest of us are like that," Jamie teased.
Tony grunted and tried to ruffle Jamie's hair, but she ducked out of the way just in time, grinning.
Although Jamie claimed that she was "completely over it," Tony could tell that his sister was still deeply affected by Lucius's attempted rape. Jamie only felt completely comfortable when she was ensconced in Loki's arms, which was where she usually was, to be honest.
"Sounds like she needs a vacation," Pepper whispered over dinner. "You did send her to the country home for some rest and relaxation; why not send her to the Bahamas or Hawaii?"
Tony snorted. "If I do, then that little boyfriend of hers is sure to come. I'm not paying for his fare."
"Do you expect him to leave her alone after what happened?" Pepper smiled. "And you have a private jet, Tony. Stop making excuses."
"Why do I have such intelligent women in my life?" Tony grumbled. "You and Jamie keep arguing me into a freaking corner!"
In the end, however, he relented. Jamie had been going through a lot of rough patches lately, and she definitely needed a break.
Jamie was excited at the prospect and had nearly tackled Tony to the floor when she heard the news.
"Yeah your boyfriend's coming with you," Tony told her with a roll of his eyes. "I'd kill him if he didn't."
"What's with the sudden change?" Jamie asked. "Normally you'd be all over my case."
"Can't fight the inevitable, can I?" Tony said.
"Well, thanks, Tony." Jamie hugged him tightly. "I'll make sure to send you pictures. Wait, what are you going to do about Adonis?"
"I'm going to take him in," Tony answered, sliding his hands in his pockets. "But to tell you the truth kid, I've had enough. Based on what I've heard about Adonis, he's a chick magnet. Stark Towers can only handle so much testosterone."
"Well you'd better deal with it," Jamie said, patting his shoulder. "Because this is all for the sake of diplomacy."
"Would make sense if I were an actual diplomat," Tony grumbled.
Jamie waved as she got in the shiny black sedan that was to take her and Loki to the airport. Tony's offer to send her and Loki to a vacation in Hawaii came as a shock, but she took it all in stride.
Maybe he's finally warming up to him, she thought as the sedan pulled away from Stark Towers. Beside her Loki pulled on his green and gold scarf, which was dangling from his neck.
At first Loki had offered to teleport Jamie to Hawaii, saying that they could be there in a split second. Tony, however, had overrode him.
"You're in our realm, pal," he had said. "You travel our way."
"Except of course when there's a crisis," Loki had muttered under his breath.
This almost led to another lengthy debate, but Pepper's arrival had distracted Tony long enough for Jamie to push Loki towards his room.
Now they were on their way to the airport, where they would take the private jet to Hawaii. The city was now back on its feet, and Jamie was happy to see that the people were now venturing out into the streets. Memories of the zombie attack came rushing back, and she even remembered Lucius.
Stop, she told herself. Still, a slight tremor came over her body, which Loki noticed. He didn't say anything; he simply edged closer to her and allowed Jamie to rest her head on his shoulder.
"So this Hawaii," he said, slightly mispronouncing the name (it came out as 'Ha-way-ay'). "Is it as sunny as the pictures you showed me?"
"It always is," Jamie replied, twirling Loki's scarf around her hand. "There hasn't been a time when Tony and I visited that it wasn't sunny. It's the perfect vacation spot, in my opinion."
"Hmmm." Loki looked out the window and watched as the city flew past the glass. To be honest, he was glad that they were getting to spend some time alone.
After all that they had been through, after all that they had done, they sure as hell deserved this.
"What are you thinking?"
Jamie's voice snapped Loki out of his thoughts. He looked at her, his green eyes meeting her blue ones.
"I was thinking about how much we deserved this, and how long it would take for your brother to find out that I placed mayonnaise inside his shampoo bottle."
"Loki!" Jamie said, with a laugh. "Did you have to do that? Tony's already warming up to you! Wait, don't answer that. You're the God of Mischief."
"Oh yes I am," Loki answered with a snarky twinkle in his eye.
Jamie glanced at the driver, who was separated from them by a soundproof glass, and then at Loki. "Loki, behave!"
But this was one time she didn't mean it.
Author's Note: After this chapter, we turn to Adonis's brief yet quite interesting visit to Midgard. I think the Avengers need a break from fighting, because after Adonis's visit, things are getting much more serious. As if they haven't already.