Ack, wow, it's been over a month. Time flies when you're replaying Spider-Man PS4 so you can play Miles Morales and then discovering you have to play Miles Morales twice to unlock all of his abilities. I will try not to let my other new games distract me from writing this much.

Odin stopped in his tracks. Anger flared brightly over his aged features at first but soon gave way to pain and sorrow. "Hela." He closed his eye and started walking again. Loki tentatively kept pace with him, digging at the palm of one hand with the fingers of the other. He didn't want to be the first to break the silence, but he also didn't want his father to simply walk out of the conversation. It wasn't until they were before the grand balcony overlooking the city that Odin spoke again. "Her situation is not the same as Thor's."

It wasn't an outright rejection of Loki's suggestion. That was encouraging. "I understand that, Father. She may well deserve to spend the rest of her days on Niflheim for her crimes, but if we cannot count on the place to hold her, would it not be preferable for you to alter her sentence on your terms before she finds an opportunity to do it on hers?"

Odin splayed his hands on the balustrade. "I cannot banish her to Midgard. Her power grows with her proximity to Asgard. The limitations I could put on it would not suffice at so short a distance. Not to mention that an angry former Crown Princess of Asgard on the loose would be sure to undo the work you and your brother did to gain the mortals' trust."

"A different realm, then," said Loki, who already considered Midgard a poor choice for the latter reason, though the former seemed more pressing now that Odin voiced it. "One without unpleasant memories of her and far enough away to curb her power. There must be a suitable place to host her probation."

Odin regarded Loki. "You have never met your sister. Thor has. Why are you not united with him in insisting that her death at my hand is the only way to address the threat she presents? Even your mother agrees with him."

Loki shrugged. "We've already changed so much using Thor's information. Perhaps I merely want to see the extent of what is possible."

Odin harrumphed. "Your ambitions may already be leaving that territory behind. I know Hela. I made her what she is. The more she grew into her strength, the more I encouraged her cruelest instincts." He looked out over the balcony. "Not just encouraged. I shared them."

"Yet you changed," Loki pointed out. "So did Thor." So did I, from what might have been, he thought. "Turning aside from a history of bloodthirsty warmongering is nearly a family tradition at this point."

That got a chuckle out of Odin. "What a pleasant notion." He sighed. "I fear your plan can only end in the same place, Loki: with a father who must find the will to slay his daughter to protect his people." He patted Loki's shoulder. "You are kind to wish to spare me this outcome when I laid every stone in the road leading to it with my own hands."

"It may still come to that end," said Loki. "Yet if she does prove to be beyond all hope of improvement, at least you would know it for certain before confronting her."

X

First thing after a delicious breakfast, Bruce had taken Betty on a tour of Asgard in a flying boat. It wasn't hard to stay wide awake, even though she'd barely slept with such a breathtaking night sky to look at from her balcony. Everything about this place was incredible, but the real treat came later, when they went to the queen's garden. She'd never imagined, let alone seen, such a diverse array of flora before. There was so much to learn and discover here; she hardly knew where to start.

The royal gardeners tending to the different plants were incredibly knowledgeable about them and patiently indulged her avalanche of questions. They even seemed gratified by her interest, like they weren't used to being asked anything beyond the name of the planet a particular specimen was from. There were flowers that had their own heat-retention systems enabling them to survive at temperatures far below anything on Earth, vines adapted to growing in almost zero gravity, and trees that bore different fruit each year depending on which of their system's three suns was dominant.

It wouldn't even have occurred to Betty to pause to have lunch, but the palace staff brought their food to them. Word must have gotten back to the kitchens how excited she was about the Xandarian fruit trees, because some of the second solar harvest fruit was included in the spread. The flavor was somewhere between pomegranate and pineapple, and it was so juicy that it was impossible to eat politely.

Unlike her greenhouses at Culver, the alien plants were maintained in magical energy fields that replicated their native soil, atmosphere, and light conditions perfectly. In a feat of truly ingenious landscaping, it all somehow blended seamlessly together.

"Bruce Banner!" They turned to see a tall, armor-clad, broad-shouldered man striding between the magical flowerbeds towards them with a jovial and hopeful expression.

"Hey, Geir," said Bruce. His tone was wary for some reason.

"Have you reconsidered?" said Geir. "It's a wonderful day for sparring."

"Nope, haven't reconsidered," said Bruce. "Sorry, Geir."

Geir looked comically crestfallen, but his smile returned as he faced Betty. "I do not believe we have been introduced. I am Geir Gunnarson, Huskarl of the third company of the Einherjar."

"Dr. Betty Ross of the Biology Department at Culver University," said Betty staunchly, sticking out a hand.

Geir clasped her fingers and bowed, beaming. She still wasn't used to the way nobody shook hands here. "I had heard that the princes returned with another guest. You are Banner's lady?"

"Uh…," said Bruce with a nervous glance at her. He must be worried she'd be offended, but it was really cute.

"I guess you could say that," she said. Bruce blushed. Pink was a better color on him than green, in her opinion.

"Excellent!" said Geir. "Then perhaps you can help my friends and me persuade him to have a bout with us at the training grounds. We've all been desperate to test our mettle against the one who tossed two of the Warriors Three off the Rainbow Bridge. There are even rumors that he bested Prince Thor on Midgard!"

He clapped Bruce on the shoulder, inclined his head to Betty and the gardeners, and strode off the way he came without another word.

Bruce looked deeply chagrined, but Betty was finding it difficult not to burst into giggles. "How many times a day did you say that happens?"

"At least five," said Bruce. "Geir tries more often than most."

"Aww," said Betty. "Do they all look like you kicked their puppy when you say no?"

"What, you think I should do it?" he said incredulously.

"He seemed so excited!" said Betty. "Maybe it would be fun."

Bruce laughed nervously and pointed out a coiling vine they hadn't examined yet. The distraction wouldn't have worked, but it was such a vibrant shade of purple that it hardly looked real, and the leaves seemed to be waving against the wind. Betty couldn't help launching into another discussion with the gardeners over it.

They remained in the garden all afternoon, during the course of which several more warriors found their way to Bruce. Some made flimsy pretenses that they had located him by pure chance or that their true purpose was to meet Betty, while others were as bold about it as Geir, but each approach got the same answer from Bruce. Betty pretended to be sufficiently preoccupied by the alien botany lesson she was getting from the gardeners not to notice (well, okay, she didn't have to pretend too hard), but she wouldn't be dropping the subject for long.

X

Join us for supper at Gladsheim or I'll have the Shattered Flagon bar your entrance for a century. We can discuss our Jotunheim strategy and the others can see that we don't mean to shun you.

Fandral reread the note (which he had found wrapped around Fimbuldraugr's scabbard) for the fifth time. Loki tended to get more polite, not less, when he was holding onto a grudge, so it appeared he didn't regret speaking for Fandral when Odin passed sentence on him. It was still likely to be very awkward with the others, though. Particularly Sif. And did Brunnhilde know? He wasn't looking forward to Volstagg's paternal disappointment or Hogun's stony gaze either.

It seemed he was the last but Thor to arrive at the princes' hall. The mortals were all there, including a dark-haired beauty he hadn't seen before, as well as Sif, Volstagg, Hogun, and Brunnhilde, with Loki sitting at the center of the table. Everyone looked around when Fandral walked in, and the temperature of the room might as well have dropped twenty degrees. There was a dreadful silence in which all eyes were on him, and then Loki spoke.

"Fandral! There you are. We were beginning to think you wouldn't arrive at all." The cold expressions turned to confusion.

"I would never ignore an invitation to the palace!" said Fandral in as jovial a voice as he could muster.

"No," said Loki, "come and eat. We've just been attempting to persuade Banner to accept a few of the challenges he's received since his arrival."

"Oh, certainly!" said Fandral. "Your green friend would be a great favorite among the contenders, Banner."

X

Thor blew out an enormous breath as the last of the nobles filed out of the chamber. How could Council meetings manage to be so dull even when the matters for discussion were mostly ones that he had raised himself? The members were coming around well enough on everything important, but they really loved squabbling over the fine details. For hours.

"I know these meetings can be tedious, my boy," said Odin, marking a final document with the royal seal and handing the stack to the secretary, who scurried off with it clutched to her chest, "but you mustn't be so obvious about your lack of enthusiasm when you're king, or they'll make off with the entire realm right under your nose."

"Hopefully I can simply persuade Loki to cast an illusion that makes it look like I'm paying attention," said Thor, dragging a hand over his face. "What did he want to talk to you about earlier, anyway?"

Odin didn't answer immediately, and Thor followed him out of the council chamber, frowning. "Not long ago," he said at last, "you asked me to give you a third option. I did not have one then. Your brother has outsmarted us both."

"A third option?" said Thor. He didn't know why, but his restless frustration was turning to apprehension. "About what?"

"About your sister."

X

If someone had told Brunnhilde a week ago that she would soon be sitting in a banquet hall in Gladsheim, laughing over ridiculous stories told by the princes' friends, she would've said they were mad, yet here she was. On one side of the table, Betty Ross was gushing to Jane Foster and Erik Selvig about the amazing plants in the queen's garden. On the other, Volstagg was chortling as he described the mock battle his sons had fought at home that morning. In the middle, Fandral and Darcy kept making eyes at each other over their plates, slowly morphing from haughty disdain on her part and sheepishness on his to something rather more heated.

Sif leaned closer to Brunnhilde, her expression earnest and contrite. "I shouldn't have pressed you about training me," she said, low enough that none of the others would hear. "I should have realized it might be a painful subject for you. One bout against you was more than I deserved."

Brunnhilde nodded. She wouldn't completely rule out the possibility of training Sif, but she wasn't going to get the other woman's hopes up by saying so. "You fought well," she said instead. Sif's cheeks went red and a wide smile split her face. Brunnhilde rolled her eyes a bit, but she didn't regret saying it. She glanced to her left and found Loki watching her with amusement.

"What?" she said, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Nothing at all," he said, leaning closer and kissing her on the side of the head. She stole one of the roast potatoes off his plate. She hadn't felt this light and carefree since before Niflheim. Her tankard of mead sat largely untouched.

"What was the last friendly contact Asgard had with Jotunheim?" Fandral asked.

"That would've been before the war, wouldn't it?" said Loki.

"It was when Queen Frigga went to meet with Queen Farbauti," said Brunnhilde. "They were trying to prevent the war from happening. I was there as part of Frigga's guard."

"You met Farbauti?" said Loki. His tone was almost too casual.

"And her boys," said Brunnhilde. "Helblindi presented Frigga with a little horse he'd made out of ice. He was a bit shy. The younger one, Byleistr, was only two or three centuries old, but he was already taller than all of us. He was very curious about the strangers visiting his mother."

"Aww, cute!" said Darcy.

"They sound like an ordinary family," said Volstagg.

"They were," said Brunnhilde. She could picture the scene in the palace of Utgard. The regal queen, the awkward older prince, and his eager little brother. They all had the same markings on their faces. Now that she thought about it, they were just like Loki's. That explained the interest he was trying so hard not to show. A son of Laufey raised as Odinson. She shouldn't be surprised.

A low rumble of thunder sounded from outside. Sif and the Warriors Three frowned and glanced over at the balcony, while Loki stiffened. The doors burst open and Thor stormed in. "Loki! A word!" Everyone stared at him, but he had already turned and left.

"Excuse me," said Loki. He got up and followed Thor out of the hall, thunder continuing to boom ominously.

"So, uh, what did Queen Farbauti look like?" said Darcy with a nervous laugh. "There haven't been any paintings of her in the books I've found so far."

"Sorry," said Brunnhilde, standing and going after the princes.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," said Sif.

"It's probably not," Brunnhilde agreed without turning back.

X

"Hela, probation?" Thor spat. "Are you mad, Brother? Niflheim is already far too good for her, but you would see her freed?"

Loki hadn't seen Thor so angry since the botched coronation, but he refused to back down. "Not freed. Tested. With every opportunity to fail."

"And every opportunity to bring destruction on Asgard!"

"Not if we do this right! Think, Thor! Father is the only one who can kill her and he won't do it. Short of that, there may not be a permanent solution we can rely on after he dies. Why refuse her the chance you were granted? The chance you've given so many of us in turn?"

"Another chance to slaughter her own people? There were barely any left by the time Thanos came to pick over the remains! Do you need another look at my worst memories for that to sink in?"

"I don't see that she's any worse than I might've been. You said I would've led Thanos's army against Midgard. You can't know what she might do if given another path. She fought Thanos at Father's side before. Chased him out of Yggdrasil for two millennia. What if she could help us?"

"Are you bloody serious?" Both brothers turned to find Brunnhilde standing a few paces away, staring at Loki with something like numb disbelief. "You want to give Hela a chance at coming back to Asgard?"

All the conviction that this was the right course to take seemed to vanish in the face of her pain. He hadn't wanted her to learn of his plan like this. "I don't want to, Brunnhilde," he said, taking a step towards her, "but it might be the best way to avoid Ragnarok and defeat the Mad Titan." He might as well have said nothing at all. Hela had massacred everyone Brunnhilde had been closest to; what could his reasons possibly matter to her?

She let out a laugh, shaking her head. "I'm such a fool. The House of Odin will always come first." She turned and strode away, still laughing.

Everyone assumed Hela would be attempting a redemption arc on Earth. :D Nope! Any guesses about the real destination? I've dropped a few hints.

Things are about to get rocky for Loki and Brunnhilde, so I figured I'd balance that out by letting Darcy forgive Fandral. I still wouldn't expect them to take up much page space, but they're too funny and cute to resist.