A/N:: Thank you for all the reviews! I will most likely be able to get the next chapter out next week (it's almost done!), this arc had to be largely prewritten so I could time/sequence everything correctly.
XANDAR
"Thank you, your highness, for your assistance," Adora, the Queen of Xandar said once the Kree delegation had departed for Hala. Finally beaten into submission by Xandarian forces, they'd had no choice but to engage in peace talks. For some reason (arrogance and a generally unpleasant disposition), they'd decided to approach the negotiations like they were the ones who were on the verge of total victory.
Hela smiled with the humility of someone who was too well acquainted with her own shortcomings to take a compliment. "Asgard knows that the Kree are a difficult race."
Adora sighed, "they are far too obsessed with waging war."
"I wish I could say I did not understand the compulsion," said Hela. Adora was well versed enough in history to know what Hela was referring to. This put her in the minority but endeared her to Hela.
"You have grown out of it, the Kree have not and will not until they cease to worship the Supreme Intelligence," said Adora.
Hela agreed with an mhmm.
"Even now, there are forces within their military working to undermine our progress over the past few months," said Adora.
"I think they have bigger issues to worry about—the domination of their society by the small number of blue-skinned Kree, for one," said Hela, frowning. "There isn't much they can do about the peace, the treaty has been signed."
"You know that that won't matter to those who are truly determined," said Adora.
"I am not familiar enough with their officers to know who among them would have the resources to attempt to fight the Nova Corps," Hela admitted.
"Ronan, for one," said Adora, "he was supposed to be here for the treaty signing but he refused to come here in anything but war."
"I see," said Hela, "what office does he hold?"
"He is the Supreme Accuser," said Adora.
Hela's eyes widened, "is that office as powerful as it was a few millennia ago?"
"More so," said Adora.
"He still needs an army," said Hela.
"True," Adora agreed. "Our intelligence suggests he is seeking one out as we speak."
Hela inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, debating her course of action. Should she report back to Odin or simply take care of it herself? There was nothing to report as of now. The deal was done, she could send word of that and then go investigate Adora's claims, which undoubtedly was the Queen's intent all along. Adora did know enough about her to know that Hela could decimate any army Ronan could raise before it got anywhere near Xandar.
If she chose to fight.
She should run this by her father.
She was the goddamn Queen of Helheim. She needed nobody's permission to do anything.
Advice was always welcome though.
She didn't need to fight. She just needed to observe and take notes.
"Where did you say Ronan was?"
THE UNKNOWN UNIVERSE
This wasn't a part of Midgard Hela had visited personally. She'd heard of the outer regions, of course, dealing exclusively with the dead for a couple thousand years introduced her to many places through second-hand accounts. But this was her first time stepping foot here.
According to Xandarian intelligence, this was where Ronan was. She'd come immediately after departing Xandar, using a portal to teleport herself across Midgard. It was a taxing way to travel and she'd had to spend a few days undercover recuperating.
Now though, she was beginning her search in earnest. This particular system was known to have a great many mercenaries for hire. Just the kind of place you'd want to go if you were trying to build an army.
It wasn't hard to get directions to the person in charge, some being by the name of Fulconis. Apparently, he coordinated the assassin market in these parts.
He wasn't hard to find.
"I need to speak with you," she said, sliding into the booth across from the strange-looking man. He was definitely one of the more exotic humanoid species.
He chuckled darkly, "bold move, girl."
It was Hela's turn to laugh, "I'm no girl."
"Really?" He snorted, " 'cause your cloak looks more expensive than this whole dive."
"It is," she retorted, pulling her hood down, "but I assure you, I'm the oldest being here."
His eyebrows shot up and he looked at her in shock, "the Goddess of Death!" He breathed.
"Yes," she said, "now I have some questions for you."
"I don't help royalty," he said, regaining some bravado, "since they don't do much for me anyhow."
"Well I won't kill you if you cooperate," she offered sweetly.
He glanced around. Nobody was looking their way, except to steal the occasional wary glance at the Queen of Hel.
"Don't worry, my questions are about a Kree named Ronan. But I'd prefer somewhere more private for this conversation."
"He's struck a deal," he said once they'd settled in a back room. Nobody had tried to stop them from coming where customers were probably not allowed.
"With whom?" Hela demanded.
"I don't dare speak his name," he shuddered.
"Do you know it?"
"Only the whispers of his nickname," said the master assassin. "Nothing that could help you."
"What was the deal?" Hela asked, not beating around the bush.
The being across from her looked more relatable than she thought possible. He grimaced, glancing around as if this terrible being would pop out of the shadows and slay him.
Hela grew impatient, "he cannot be more terrible than the eternal wrath of the Goddess of Death," she snapped.
The "man" inhaled sharply, "it was an exchange," he said at last. "Ronan was to bring him an orb and in exchange—he would destroy Xandar."
"An orb?" Hela repeated dubiously, mind racing. "What would this blowhard want with an orb?"
"It's what was in the orb," said Fulconis. "Before you ask, I have no idea what it is."
Hela's eyes narrowed. Loki was the God of Lies, he was the one who could tell if someone was being honest or not. But she was his sister and as such had picked up a few tricks. Fulconis was telling the truth.
"What is the nickname," she said at last, "of the person who Ronan has cut his deal with?"
Fulconis flinched even before he said it.
"The Mad Titan."
Hela knew exactly who he was talking about, the real question was what her purple-skinned ex-boyfriend was up to.
EARTH
The blaring of sirens and rolling red lights made it seem like a scene out of a horror movie. Maybe it was. Men in suits ran around fanatically and soldiers lept onto Humvees as if their odds of survival were better getting run over than staying where they were. Loudspeakers repeated the evacuation orders in the background, utterly ignored by those bustling around like ants in a kicked ant pile.
There was only one vehicle moving towards the disaster zone, a helicopter from which a man, tall dark-skinned, and one-eyed, and a woman, short hair and fierce cheeks, emerged.
"How bad is it?" The man addressed the only person on the whole base who appeared calm.
"That's the problem, sir. We don't know," a shorter, fair-skinned man waiting for them, responded. He, like the other panicked people, was in a generic black suit. The man and woman from the helicopter were not.
They set off towards, presumably, the source of the disturbance.
"Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago," said the man in the suit.
"NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase," the dark-skinned man, who wore a black leather trench coat, said.
"He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement," the other man answered.
"It just turned itself on?" The woman asked incredulously.
"What are the energy levels now?" Her arrival partner asked.
"Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac," said the man who seemed to have all the answers.
"How long until it's all clear?" The dark-skinned man asked.
"4 hours," said the man in the suit. They entered the building together. They navigated the dark halls effortlessly.
"Not good enough," the dark-skinned man said.
"There might not be a good enough if this thing really goes," the woman pointed out.
"We still need to get them out faster," said the dark-skinned man to the woman.
"Yes sir," she said, veering off.
"Coulson, you too," he continued. The man in the suit followed her.
He entered the room alone, "talk to me, doctor," he said, eyeing the large device that held the glowing Tesseract.
"Director Fury," Dr. Selvig greeted, emerging from the many computers that created a labyrinth around the room.
"Is there anything we know for certain?" Fury asked.
"Tesseract is misbehaving," said Selvig.
"Is that supposed to be funny?" Fury demanded.
"No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving."
"How soon until you pull the plug?"
"She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level…"
"We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space," said Fury.
"We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation," said Selvig.
"That can be harmful. Where's Barton?"
"The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual," said Selvig, gesturing vaguely towards the ceiling.
"Agent Barton, report," Fury called into his earpiece. It wasn't long before a fair-skinned man in black tactical gear rappelled down from the catwalk and wandered up to Fury.
"I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things," said Fury as they began to circle the area, leaving Selvig to his work.
"Well, I see better from a distance," said Barton.
"Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off?"
"No one's come or gone. Its oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end.
"At this end?" Fury repeated dubiously.
"Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? Doors open from both sides," said Barton.
Quite suddenly, the Tesseract flared. Blue light rolled around the now shaking room. Noises like thunder crackling in the room seemed to physically collide with their bodies. On the platform beyond the Tesseract, the light began to swirl into a tightly wound circle, opening up a black hole of sorts.
As suddenly as it started, it was over, the portal replaced with a kneeling figure in alien green and gold armor. With shoulder-length black hair slicked back into a messy mane and a thin, pointed face, the man looked just off human. He held a large scepter, which immediately drew Director Fury's attention.
"Sir, please put down the spear!" He called.
Loki looked at his spear then suddenly pointed it at Fury and Barton, firing a sickly blue light at them. Barton immediately tackled Fury and they both barely missed getting disintegrated or whatever would happen to them.
ASGARD
"All-father," Heimdall greeted when Odin stepped into the observatory.
"Gatekeeper," Odin responded, "why have you sent for me?"
"Prince Loki just arrived on Midgard," he said, his tone not betraying any emotion.
"Where?"
"New Mexico," said Heimdall.
Odin mentally snorted, Thor and Loki were much more in sync than either would like to admit.
"Send word to Baldur that I will be out for a few hours," said Odin, "I will collect Loki." Twenty years ago he wouldn't have done this. Prior to Hela's reappearance, he would be planning to put Loki on trial for crimes against Asgard and the nine realms. Now though, he couldn't quite bring himself to do that.
"I'm not sure if that is advisable," said Heimdall, "he appears to be bent on violence. He has located and seized the Tesseract."
"The Tesseract?" He verified, "does he know what it contains?"
"That is unclear, sire," said Heimdall, "he seems to be planning to use it to take over Midgard."
"He wishes to rule Midgard?" Odin asked. He'd been under the impression that Loki didn't want the throne, only to be seen as an equal to Thor. He was trying to do that now, he would collect Thor in such a situation, had collected Harry from similar issues, and was going to get Loki, too.
"So it would appear," said Heimdall, "if you were to go down, you may have to stay for an extended period."
Well, that ruined that plan. He could hardly leave with his family scattered as it was. Only he remained in the palace now and he could not leave Asgard without a ruler for long. He exhaled sharply through his nose in irritation.
"Send for Thor," he conceded. "Is that all?"
"No," said Heimdall, "it would appear that the scepter Loki is wielding contains the Mind Stone."
Odin froze, horror coursing through him, "two infinity stones?"
"Yes," said Heimdall gravely. "It would appear they are re-emerging."
Scenes from long past threatened to play out in his mind's eye as he contemplated what this could mean… Was this what the Norns had been warning them of all those years ago? Why were they re-emerging? He knew why.
The real question was who was seeking them?
"Monitor the situation, do not inform any of my sons. I will tell Hela and Frigga myself," he said at last.
"Hela has secured the peace treaty," said Heimdall, "and is attempting to seek out a man named Ronan, who is a threat to the peace."
"I will send Prince Baldur after Ronan, tell him to check in with Hela and send her back here first," Odin decided, "Hela will check on the other stones."
"There is one more thing," said Heimdall hesitantly.
There always was when you are King of Asgard.
"What is it?"
"The mortal wizard—Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Prince Haraldr's school and the man who placed him with the Dursleys— have discovered Prince Haraldr's absence and are aware he is not who he claims to be. Additionally, the man who allegedly gave the Potters' location up to Voldemort has escaped from prison."
Odin wanted to growl, he wasn't sure which he wanted to deal with first (how was neither?), "allegedly?"
Heimdall frowned, "I do not recall him being the one hiding their location."
Odin blinked, "he was falsely convicted?"
"Accused," Heimdall corrected.
"So he's innocent," said Odin, musing absently about what to do with that information. "And I'm assuming you are telling me because you want something done?"
"Well, he is the Prince's godfather," said Heimdall.
"And what is a godfather?"
"An honorary parental figure to a Midgardian child, it is an honor bestowed by parents upon their dearest and most trusted friends," said Heimdall.
"I see," Odin sighed.
"I'll send someone to collect him," Odin said, "it will have to be a god or goddess in order to avoid using the Bifrost. The less attention the better I'm assuming."
ANOTHER PART OF ASGARD
"Your highness!" Someone called just as Thor was mid-swing, barring his wooden sword on his brother's while he hopped sideways to avoid Herleif's blow.
All three glanced towards the voice and its owner, a servant quickly advancing towards them.
"Yes?" He and Harry called in unison, Leif stepped back to let the two princes speak privately with the young man when he got to them.
"His majesty, your father wishes to speak with Prince Thor—alone and at once," he said, sounding winded.
"Sorry, brother," said Thor, "our battle shall have to be postponed it seems."
"It's fine," Harry assured him quickly, his disappointment being overrun by curiosity.
Thor followed the servant back to the estate manor that was Harry's seat of power in his Jarldom. It was a warm day in the arena outside the main structure with the sun burning brightly and a cool breeze serving to keep most wanderers comfortable. Unless they happened to be sparring viciously, in which case they were most probably dripping with perspiration like Harry, Leif, and Thor.
"What do you think that is about?" Leif asked as soon as Thor was out of earshot.
They both watched the retreating figures silently for a moment. "I'm not sure," said Harry, "usually when Dad has something he wants to discuss one on one he's more subtle about it."
"It must be big for the All-Father to travel all the way here to speak to Thor personally," Leif observed.
Harry nodded, "just what I was thinking—come on!" He took off towards the building after his brother.
Leif, startled, had to sprint to catch up with his best friend, "wait! Where are you going?"
"To find out what's happening," said Harry, mind going back to the past Christmas and the vision his mother had had.
"But you aren't supposed to—"
"It's my realm," said Harry stubbornly as he never broke stride, "plus don't you want to know?"
"…yes," Leif admitted.
"Great!" Harry said, "we'll go through the servant tunnels to eavesdrop from there. I think Mum is in the Blue Room, so I'll bet that's where my dad is."
"Ok," Leif said. Harry didn't even think twice about letting him hear whatever private conversation his parents were having with his oldest brother and they both eagerly stuck their ears to the crack in the door when they got to the right room.
"…can't know," his father was saying, "it would only upset him or make him try something foolish. I want him here, out of harm's way."
"Of course, Father," Thor said, "I will go to this "Germany" and put an end to Loki's schemes."
"Be sure you bring the Tesseract and his scepter back to me. Nobody else. They are incredibly dangerous," his father said.
"Yes, father," said Thor.
"Good luck my son," said his mother, "return your brother to us."
"I will mother," said Thor with certainty.
"Come then," said Odin, "we don't have much time."
Harry and Leif exchanged looks. They didn't speak about it until Thor had left and his Dad had said a scant hello to them in the entrance hall before departing for the capital again.
"You aren't thinking about going down there are you?" Leif asked, swinging his legs as he sat on Harry's bed.
"It's not whether I'm going down or not," said Harry flatly as he paced, "it's how."
Leif eyed him, "against the All Father's wishes?"
"He never said I couldn't," Harry wheedled, "and I can teleport."
Leif snorted, "didn't you say teleporting was only for the super old, powerful gods?"
"I'm powerful," said Harry defensively, "I can do it!"
"Where will you even go?"
"I'll just go wherever Thor is," said Harry, "I've been practicing sensing him."
"Yeah," said Leif skeptically, "when he's in the same house as you!"
"It'll be fine," said Harry, "if Thor can figure it out, I can! I practically grew up on Earth."
"What about me?" Leif asked.
"I need you to cover for me," said Harry.
"I'm not going lie to the King and Queen of Asgard," said Leif tartly. "You may be able to get away with it but I'm not their son, I'll end up in the dungeons!"
"Relax," said Harry with a slight eye roll, "all you have to do is say you don't know where I am. It will buy me time. Heimdall may be able to see everything but even he has to look for specific things. It'll take him at least a few days to find me. By that time I'll already have found Thor and helped Loki see how stupid he's being."
"Why not let Thor do it?"
"Thor's not the best at these sorts of things," said Harry delicately. "You know how he is."
Leif nodded tacitly, "right."
"So you're in?" Harry asked hopefully.
"…fine."