"I like what you've done with the place," Carol remarked as she was led into the town hall. It was a strange mixture of old function with new design, the sort of thing that you could only get away with in this part of the world. She'd already walked past plenty of people who had instantly recognised her (not that she was keeping track, of course), asking for autographs or selfies. It had made their journey rather slow with progress constantly getting interrupted, but she wanted to create a better public image for herself. She'd been described as aloof a few times, mainly because she had spent so little time on Earth over the years since her change. She wanted to fix that, to become a part of the team. That's what Fury had been talking about, with his Initiative, ever since he'd met her.

"Thanks," Valkyrie replied, smiling at the compliment. "You know, when Thor pronounced me king of New Asgard, I really wasn't thrilled about it to begin with. I thought it was a whole lot of responsibility that I'd never asked for. It's taken me a while to get accustomed to it but what I love the most about it is that I can put my own personal touch on the way we grow as a community. It's made in my image, in a way. Obviously I'm not going to start having statues of my visage built around town…"

"I don't know…I think I'd like that. You'd definitely attract more visitors."

"Don't tempt me. If people complain, I will be directing their comments to you."

"Go ahead. It's not as if I've got an email account where they can reach me."

"I forgot, you've normally got your head in the stars, quite literally. People are always talking about when you'll return and then it just so happens that you end up here. I should be honoured. I just never expected this to be the thing that grabbed your attention."

"In truth, I'm still yet to find out what this is. I was sent here because there was a massive outburst of energy in the vicinity. It got Wong's notice at least and that's why I'm here."

Valkyrie wrinkled her nose. "Ugh. Of course he'd be involved. He sent around a news blast reminding everyone that he's the Sorcerer Supreme now and that any issues should be sent his way. It's probably a good thing that you don't have emails because he sends monthly newsletters. And yet I read them, because that man has a way with words. You wouldn't think it with how quiet he is. But I might have preferred to have dealt with this myself."

"So you know what caused the pulse then?" Carol asked eagerly. She was growing more curious the longer she had to wait.

"I do indeed. But it's strange. And a rather delicate situation too. In that case, I don't reckon I'm the right person to be handling it. Then again, I don't know whether you are either."

Carol looked affronted at the insinuation. "I can be delicate when I want to be."

"I don't think the most powerful woman in the universe can also be delicate. You have to choose one or the other. You chose right, by the way. In my opinion. I very much prefer a woman who can handle herself in a fight." Maybe she was appreciating the way Carol's muscles were defined by her suit a bit too much but she was allowed to have a small look. She was king, after all.

As much as Carol might have liked the attention, she didn't particularly care for the comment. "I don't want to be placed in some box where I can only be one thing. I'm more than just the superhero. Perhaps I'm just still trying to figure out what that entails."

"Whatever realisation you come to, it isn't going to change the fact that you're notoriously not a people person."

"I'm great with people!" Carol argued.

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "Take it from someone who is also not a people person. It's not the worst thing in the world to be. It just means that we're better suited for situations that don't involve navigating tricky private dilemmas. Give me a bar fight any day of the week. But try putting me in a conversation about feelings…I'll be flying away before you could utter the first mushy thing out of your mouth. And I probably wouldn't even need Aragorn, my loyal steed, to do so."

"With the way you keep asking me if I'm good with people, I'd be inclined to think that the source of the energy was, in fact…a person."

"I've called for her. She should be here any minute. Just…don't do anything rash. This is new to everybody but no one more than her. She doesn't need to be taken away though. If you're here to…I don't know…experiment on her, then I'll be telling her to keep her distance and you'll have me to deal with." Valkyrie stood to her full height, but still came up short against the captain.

Carol was rather impressed at how bold the other woman was being. She'd just experienced the Doctor and Yaz refusing to back down against her, and now it was happening again with Valkyrie. Had something changed? Had a memo been sent around without her knowing? Maybe she needed an email account after all. She didn't want to think about the hit her ego was taking though, ignoring the fact that she may have liked it when people were intimidated by her. She knew that Valkyrie was skilled on the battlefield - if it did come to blows, it would at least be an entertaining contest.

"So it's a she," Carol said. "I'm even more interested now."

"Valkyrie? Did you want to see me?" A voice rang through the hallway just outside. Definitely a woman. "The person you sent was actually nervous about coming up to me! Me ! I tried assuring them that I'm not dangerous or anything but…do I even know that for sure? I'm still trying to get a hold on these powers, rather unsuccessfully. Did you hear about the electrical grid going out for a few hours? That was…kind of…my fault. I was just experimenting! I'm a scientist, it's what I've been trained to do. You can't blame me for that. Well, some people were willing to complain to my face before they realised who I was."

Carol didn't know what she'd been expecting when she'd arrived on the Nordic coast, but she certainly hadn't envisaged the woman who walked into the room. She was tall and muscular, long blonde hair running past her shoulders. A silver bodice of armour made sure to keep her toned arms on show, which Carol was fairly happy about. It wasn't often that she got to meet someone like this, especially one who was carrying a fairly recognisable hammer. A bright red cape completed the impressive look. If this had happened recently, then she'd thrown herself into it completely.

The woman came up short when she realised that Valkyrie wasn't alone. "Oh, hi!" Her smile was brilliant and bright. Was that her superpower? "Um…I don't want to sound rude but…I feel like I know you from somewhere."

"Jane, meet Captain Marvel," Valkyrie said in introduction.

"No."

"Yes."

"Captain Marvel?"

"You can see her right there, standing in front of you."

" The Captain Marvel?"

"Is there another one that I don't know about? I can't keep up with the amount of superheroes that keep popping up every week."

"You know, you could just call me Carol," the Captain suggested. "Since we're alone."

Jane walked up to her, arm outstretched. It was shaking visibly. It was quite surprising to see such an obviously powerful person showing that amount of nerves. "I'm Jane. Doctor Jane Foster."

"I don't think I've ever come across a doctor quite like you before." There was the other blonde one she was currently dealing with, but she seemed to defy all logical explanations.

Jane appeared to look down at herself. "Oh, this…yeah. I'm still getting used to this. But…I mean…you're a proper, fully fledged superhero! I'm just some imposter."

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "What have I told you? That's not the case! You know the legends better than anyone. Even he would tell you that you have to accept this."

"He?" Carol asked, not quite following.

"Thor," Jane answered with a shy smile. "God of Thunder. Previous owner of Mjolnir. I can't imagine how he'd react to seeing me like this."

"Jane's an old flame of his," Valkyrie told Carol in a hushed whisper that was just loud enough to be heard by their other companion.

Carol nodded her head. "Oh, I've met Thor. I thought I recognised that hammer from somewhere." She was still looking at Jane in an appraising fashion. "An old flame, then? Lucky girl."

The other woman blushed magnificently, which was at odds with the rest of her demeanour. If she hadn't already been told, it would have been obvious to Carol that this was a completely new experience for her. "That was a long time ago. Before this happened. Maybe if this had happened a bit earlier then…we'd still be together. But he's off amongst the stars and his returns to Earth are infrequent at best."

"Mainly because of the break up." Valkyrie was giving her a sly look. "After that, he didn't have any reason to come back. I mean, I'd be at home all the time if this was waiting for me everyday."

"Can you not embarrass me in front of the superhero? Please ?"

"I'm just saying what we're all thinking! I'm not going to apologise for that."

"Even so, I'm sure that the Captain hasn't come all the way here to discuss my old love life." Jane frowned, turning her attention to Carol. "Why are you here?"

"Because of you," came the quick answer. There was no point beating around the bush. "We detected major energy spikes coming from this area and I was sent to investigate. Normally, I'd say that was above my pay grade but I'm rather pleased I didn't turn this job down."

"Mjolnir," Jane whispered, understanding what had attracted them here. She should have known that it wouldn't have gone unnoticed. She'd just wanted to keep this to herself for a bit longer whilst she attempted to figure out what this meant for her. If that was at all possible.

"Why don't you run through what happened for me? So I can assess whether this is going to happen again."

"That's not going to happen."

"You sound remarkably sure of that for someone who just claimed they didn't understand what was going on."

"I didn't say that. I pride myself on knowing things. I'm just having to learn how to be comfortable with this. The reason this happened was because of this." She lifted the hammer into view, resisting the urge to swing it. She didn't know what sort of damage she could do by accident if she inadvertently let go. She'd already sent it crashing through one roof which she was being billed for. Jane had hoped that Valkyrie would let it slide, since she was a friend of Thor's, but that hadn't been the case. Knowing the likelihood of a repeat offence in the future, they'd just set up a tab.

Carol admired the weapon. "I've seen it in action on the battlefield. It's certainly a force to be reckoned with."

"A force I never expected to wield. And yet here I am. Look…I'm not going to get into any details but…I was sick. I think I'm still very sick." Jane lowered herself into one of the free chairs left standing in the meeting hall. "I'd run out of options. Modern medicine wasn't working, which meant I had very little hope left remaining."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I've heard the pity all before. That was the annoying thing. Because the only thing that anyone else could do was say they were sorry. They couldn't help me. I couldn't help myself. There wasn't anything I could do besides lie there and accept what was happening. That didn't seem fair."

"Because it isn't."

"I realised that, if the modern world was letting me down, then maybe the answer lay in the past, in the myths and legends of the old world. And there was one legend that I'd already experienced for myself. So…using the little energy I had left and the little money in my bank account after all the treatment I've been through…I brought myself here."

"The foundations of this settlement were built primarily around the wreckage of Mjolnir," Valkyrie explained. "It was destroyed by Thor's sister, Hela, which is a long story that we're not going to get into. The fragments of the hammer remained."

"I don't know how to explain it but…I went to the site of the remains and…reached out to those pieces. It was stupid, really, based in no scientific fact…and yet the hammer reformed itself for me."

"And anyone who wields Mjolnir is bestowed with the powers of Thor."

"Meaning I have those powers now. I mean, I can fly! And can control lightning! I've barely even scratched the surface of what I can accomplish now. It's only been a day or so since it happened."

"She gave the tourists an almighty scare. I did my best to remove the videos before they got posted online but I guess I forgot that sorcerers don't get all their information from Twitter."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Carol quipped. "It does most of the heavy lifting from what I've seen."

Jane looked even more nervous than before. "Wait…sorcerers sent you here? What do they want with me?" She wiped a weary hand across her face. Her body was still feeling tired despite the electrified energy now running through her veins. "Listen to me, talking about sorcery as if it's a normal part of life. I feel like I've truly abandoned my scientific background."

"I wouldn't be so worried about the Sorcerer Supreme. He's surprisingly chill."

"But there must be a reason why they sent you? Do they…want to take my powers away from me? I'd understand, obviously. I'm not supposed to have them. I could be a danger to society."

Carol got down on one knee so that she could look Jane in the eye, placing a hand on her shoulder. "The main reason that it caught our attention is because of the massive readings you emitted. The local weather patterns were sent haywire for a few moments. We had to make sure everyone was okay. The life of a superhero is mainly responding to calls that don't turn out to be as serious as you first thought. But we do it because it's our duty to protect this world, maybe even this universe. We've been given powers…whether it's through pure dumb luck, a show of faith in the myths of old…"

"Or it could be just naturally being gifted like me," Valkyrie added.

Carol gave her a look. "Or that. But those powers are a gift that come with a price. If the powers you have been given have saved your life, then you have to make the most of that extra time you've been given. You're a superhero now. I don't make the rules. I'm sorry to tell you but you're in the club now. You can't ever leave. What did Bruce call it? Oh, yeah…you're a part of the circus now."

xxxxxxxxxx

"I can't believe you sent babysitters after me."

America stomped into the Sanctum Sanctorum, where Wong was awaiting their return. He was casually leaning against the staircase, trying to appear stern after she'd blatantly ignored the rules he'd set himself. But maybe there was a soft spot that he had for the girl. He blamed Strange for that. Ever since he'd met the former surgeon, his gruff exterior had gradually been worn away. The Sorcerer Supreme needed to be stronger than that. He'd never asked for this job though so why did he have to follow all of the guidelines?

"They're not babysitters," he argued. "They're…newly recruited agents of mine."

The Doctor, following closely behind as she entered through the doors, beamed at that comment. "Are we proper agents now? Does that mean we get badges? Oh, a uniform! I'd love a good hat if you've got one lying around."

America rolled her eyes. "Your standards are slipping, Wong."

"I didn't have much choice with this group," he responded, much to the annoyance of the ones he was talking about. Yaz frowned indignantly, whereas Dan could understand where he was coming from. Evidently, they were used to working with super powered individuals, something they couldn't compete with. Unless he got bitten by something radioactive. "But they completed their mission. They rescued you."

"I didn't need saving."

"You required protecting from yourself. You were supposed to be continuing with your training at Kamar Taj and yet you bailed early once again. Don't make me place a perimeter charm on you. Because that would be embarrassing for both of us."

Her eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."

"Just try me."

"I'm allowed to have fun though! I don't deserve to be locked away."

"You're not exactly locked away, are you? You get to learn in one of the greatest sites of mystical power on the planet! Many people would love to be trapped there. And yet you keep running from it."

"I love my training, I really do. But it's a lot. I need a break sometimes. Am I really going to learn something when I'm not properly engaged and listening? Downtime ultimately helps me during the lessons I do attend."

"She does have a point," Dan commented. Wong quickly glared at him. "Then again, I was never the best in school so why would you listen to me?"

"America," the sorcerer said. "You have unbelievable powers that no one else seems to have. We've already seen that people are willing to hurt you for that. You shouldn't go out into the world on your own until you've learnt how to protect yourself."

"And how long will that take?"

"Not as long as it is with you taking so many trips away." He'd got her there. He was quite proud of that. "Believe it or not, I do worry about you. But I also have many other responsibilities that don't revolve around looking over you."

"Hence why you've brought in the babysitters."

The Doctor held up a hand. "As one of those babysitters…by the way, I am extremely overqualified for that position so I will be asking for a pay rise…but I'm actually concerned about something you said. People have been trying to hurt her?"

"A witch." She said it as if it were a completely normal thing to go through.

Kamala's eyes went wide. "They were getting rid of Wanda's merch at the store…that doesn't have anything to do with it, does it?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny those accusations," Wong replied. "Can you tell that I've been working with a new lawyer? I got that phrase from her."

"Why would someone want to hurt a kid?" Yaz asked. America seemed perfectly innocent enough, besides all of the glowing.

"The power to traverse the multiverse is a temptation that many cannot resist. You could accomplish a great deal, both good and bad, with such abilities. And it's the reason why we had to find America, to fix your present problem."

"She can take us back," the Doctor murmured quietly.

"You mean they're from a different universe?" America was looking at them with something akin to excitement. "They're like me?"

Wong nodded his head. "They shouldn't be here. But you can rectify that mistake for them."

America knew what she had to do, walking towards the Doctor and gently holding her hand. The young girl closed her eyes in concentration. When they were next opened, they were alight with blue energy, blazing without hurting her. She moved away from the group, giving herself enough space to swing her arm. Her clenched fist punched a hole through the fabric of reality, a star now standing before them.

Dan tentatively stepped towards the fissure. "It's that easy? That's our universe?"

"I was able to get a read from your friend here," America explained. "I've been honing my skills. I can pick whichever universe I want to go to now. It just takes quite a lot out of me."

"Which shows that you still need your training," Wong pointed out.

"Whatever."

The Doctor looked at her. "You said that you're from another universe. You have the power to go home…but you're still here. Why?"

The girl's expression became downcast. "I don't have anything left for me back there anymore. And, as random as it was, I feel as if there was a reason why I was brought here. I'm just trying to figure that out."

The Time Lord turned her gaze towards Yaz and Dan. "This is it. You could go back. Step through and your families would be there, hopefully. The lives that you're supposed to have."

"You keep saying 'you'," Yaz said suspiciously. "You're coming with us."

"Of course." The Doctor had never been able to lie convincingly to Yaz. At least not recently. "It's just…we know how America was able to cross the divide between universes. She used her powers. But how did we do it?"

"I thought it was just an accident," Dan replied.

"It could be. But multiversal travel is too complex for us to just assume it was an accident. What if someone wanted us here?"

Yaz was struggling to follow her thought process, which wasn't that surprising. "Is that possible? Could someone have that ability?"

"I don't know. I've had people do it to me before. Division, most recently. They tore me from my reality and placed me in the void space between universes. If they can do it, I'm sure there are others. Especially when this reality has so many people with incredible capabilities."

"And you want to find out who that is…" It wasn't a question. It didn't have to be.

"They could be a threat. To this world and every other."

"Someone meddling with the established order across realities would present one of the gravest threats we've ever faced," Wong agreed.

"But that doesn't mean you have to stay," the Doctor told her companions.

Yaz gave her one of her trademark looks of disapproval. "You know we're never going to leave you behind."

"You'd risk never seeing your loved ones again."

"And I'd risk never seeing you again if you stayed!"

"What if we just wait a bit?" Dan put to the group. "I mean, our ticket out of here isn't going anywhere anytime soon. We could…assess the situation and find out whether it was an accident before leaving. I wouldn't want to leave this world behind if we've attracted trouble to it."

"With America's powers, we would have the opportunity to see if there is any force tampering with the fabric of realities," Wong told them. "You could leave after that."

The Doctor didn't look too happy. "This isn't your planet, guys. You're risking everything to protect people who you shouldn't even know."

"We know them now though." Yaz was firm as she spoke. She looked at Kamala, who appeared hopeful that they were going to stay. "That's enough reason to help. And, even if there isn't a problem…I've always wondered what other universes could be like. We've just saved our reality recently. Maybe we can branch out a bit."

The Doctor couldn't help the small smile growing on her lips as she admired her friends with fierce pride. "I mean…I'm not exactly going to complain about possibly meeting more superheroes!"