Hey there, back with another update for Reading: Hela's Vanguard. Currently focusing primarily on getting commissioned stories written at the moment so almost all attention is going to them. That being said I don't want my own stuff to wither, and will still be updating as regularly as possible. So among the fastest to update is of course the reading fics, and that means this story.
Anyway, for those of you who don't know, the original Hela's Vanguard is by AizenTheGoat, he's frequently active and updating stories on his profile and you really should look at his other stuff. That being said he also hosts a Discord Server fill with around 500 members including myself and several other fanfiction writers. Come check it out and say hi, a link can be found here→ /7x4YFstKcz
With that covered let's get to the story shall we?
The readers once more began to settle into their seats. Thor and Loki had started to get to know their sister and in-laws a bit better and truth be told they were very pleasantly surprised.
Minato and Loki surprisingly hot it off, especially when they realized they were both far more similar than could have been expected. After all, much to Kakashi's horror Kushina wasn't the truly chaotic half of the couple, Minato was just very good at masking it, much like Loki.
Now with most of the readers in a decent and happy mood and Kakashi's vision of the world effectively ruined as he realized the true nature of his teacher and just how well he fit with Kushina and Naruto, they readied for the next chapter.
"Who is getting the book this time Mister Host?" Kushina asked with a happy smile.
"Hmm, Frigga." The Host replied blandly as he snapped his fingers, materializing the time in the woman's lap.
"Very well then." The Asgardian Queen said as she cracked open the book and moved to the proper position.
The group had finally made it down the bridge that led to the Bifrost. Skurge had made good on his word to get the sword that activated the Bifrost earlier. Right before the sword was inserted Loki stepped forward.
"Wait." He ordered. Everyone's attention turned to him wondering why he stopped them. "I just remembered something important." He said with a sly smile. "I know where we can get another stone. It's with a man called 'the collector'." He reveals.
"Excellent. That means we will have a possible advantage over Thanos, right?" Thor asked.
"Hopefully, but as with everything we do, I highly doubt it will be that easy." Loki remarked.
"Well, you do have myself and Naruto alongside you now. It shouldn't be that bad." Hela commented.
Team Seven collectively snorted at that.
"Something to say?" The new Queen of Asgard asked with narrowed eyes.
"Not really, just that all of our team is cursed. We can't go out on any mission or really do anything without something going wrong and it becoming a hundred times harder." Sakura explained while Kakashi and Sasuke both nodded along.
Hela pursed her lips but Naruto had told her stories of his outlandish adventures as a boy and young man…they were probably right.
"Which stone?" The blond asked.
"The reality stone. It has the ability to control and warp reality to a frightening degree." The trickster explained
"The could be useful. Last thing we need is to let big purple get his hands on that." Naruto said.
"I'd rather not think of how powerful Thanos could become with it in his possession. Problem is the Bifrost doesn't connect to where he is. We can't get to the collector without a ship." Thor tells them, frowning slightly.
"Are there any more ships besides the one Naruto sort of smashed up?" Minato asked.
The group collectively shrugged. Who knew what the state of Asgard's ships were at that moment.
"Loki" Naruto says getting the mans attention. "Where is this collector located?"
"He's currently on Knowhere. He's keeping it in his museum. I'm positive if we show up and demand the stone he'll hand it over. If not we'll tell him Thanos is coming and he'll take it anyways. Im sure he'll see it our way." He answered.
"Knowhere is still around huh?" Naruto said, mostly to himself as he'd been there before he was sealed away. "Luckily I know where that is." He added before turning to Valkyrie and Bruce. "Will you two be joining us?"
"Wow something weird is going to happen soon." Kakashi commented.
"How so?" Loki asked.
"It's going way too smoothly." Sakura added in.
"Oh yeah." Kakashi agreed.
Valkyrie didn't give a verbal response but nodded positive. While they may be on the same side, being in such close proximity to the couple made her all sorts of nervous. One didn't forget the kind of power the care free man had.
"Pfft, grow up girly." Kushina said with a wave of her hand.
Thor leaned in to whisper to his brother. "She does realize Valkyrie is several lifetimes older than she is, correct?"
"Thor, you are the last one that should question the sanity and knowledge of others." Loki said sourly before turning to look at his mother. "Please keep reading, mother."
It had a few extra listeners but both Loki and Frigga recalled the frequent amount of times she read a bedtime tale to him as a boy.
"And you?" He asked the man. Banner stayed quiet for a minute thinking it over. He took a quick look at Thor before making up his mind.
"I think It'd be better to send me back to Earth." Thor nodded at this and followed up.
"Hmm, I think I would have liked having him at my side for a change." Loki commented. He then glared at Thor who snorted as he recalled why it was that Loki thought that way.
"I agree. You can fill our friends back on Earth in on what's going on. Warn them of the upcoming battle." He motioned Bruce to walk forward. Bruce stood tall and waited for the bridge to connect. Once ready a great bright light erupted and propelled him forward before shutting off.
"Alright. Banner has been sent back to New York. He'll fill the Avengers in on what's going on. The more allies we have, the better." The God of Thunder says.
"That is a good play. It seems to me that this Thanos already has his own set of subordinates and perhaps even an army at his beck and call. You'll need more than just quality to face him properly." Minato nodded along with the actions of those in the story.
"Naruto has proven in the past that quantity has a quality all its own." Sasuke said with his own thoughtful nod.
Naruto nods. "Alright, let's go see the collector." He slams his staff down opening a blue portal in front of the group. As they're walking through Naruto turns to his wife. "Don't you want to stay and run Asgard."
"He's right. All that violence to become Queen and you're leaving." Kushina said in surprise.
"It's no big deal. Asgard is safe and rebuilding and my husband is up to an adventure. Of course I want to be there with him." Hela commented.
Kushina nodded in understanding before looking over to her husband. She blinked at the sight of him mumbling.
"Minato?" She asked.
"How could I forget about the portals already. I wonder if I could mimic that ability with seals. I mean I can already teleport via the hiraishin but I need a marker. That doesn't seem to need such an anchor…" Minato mumbled.
Kushina sighed knowing they had lost her husband to his own thoughts. She simply waved for the other mother in the group to begin reading again.
"This shouldn't take too long. They can make due without me. Once we come back I'll begin renovations on this place." She answered before stepping forward. Shrugging the rest followed suit, the portal closing behind them.
The group reappeared out of the portal on the severed head of a celestial being, now known as Knowhere. Naruto and Hela looked around, taking in the sight. This place had sure changed since the last time they'd seen it. The couple didn't have time for sightseeing though as Loki began walking forward, knowing exactly where they needed to go.
"I honestly thought nothing we would see here would top the weird shit we've seen in our lifetimes." Sakura said staring at the planetoid sized severed head.
"Eh, somehow I feel pretty numb to this kind of thing by now." Sasuke commented.
"You know what that is fair, I guess." Sakura replied.
"We got lucky you teleported us here. We're not that far away." Loki informed them as they walked.
Kushina rolled her eyes as Minato fell even deeper into his mumbling and mental note taking.
"Precision of entry also needs to be taken into account…" He said quietly.
The group walked for half an hour before finally reaching their destination. A giant glass domed building located almost in the center of Knowhere. "It's here." The blond alerted the group. He didn't know exactly how he knew but he got the same feeling now as he did when he noticed the blue cube after being freed.
"Of course he senses them." Odin said less than pleased. At least it was better than Thanos having the stones.
Naruto found it somewhat strange that there seemed to be no security but hey he wasn't complaining. The group entered the building and the blond couldn't help but be amazed at some of the things he saw. This collector sure had some cool display pieces.
As they headed deeper into the building they finally began hearing noises other than their own footsteps. Walking a bit further in they heard a voice.
"Well, what a surprise." The group looked to their right to see a man walking their way. The man had on some interesting clothing, as he wore a red shirt with a white fur coat above it. He had matching white hair as well as a black line running down the center of his mouth.
"The three children of Odin." He says noticing Hela with them. The two brothers were surprised that the collector knew of their sister when they themselves didn't until recently. "A valkyrie." He said noticing the woman before finally turning his attention to the blond.
"I feel a bit uncomfortable with the way he is looking at everyone." Sakura admitted.
"Well he is the collector. That doesn't really imply restrictions on what he collects." Loki commented.
The Shinobi made disturbed faces as they shared a glance. Yeah this collector was not someone that they approved of.
"As well as Hela's husband Naruto Uzumaki." The collector finished. Naruto smiled.
"You know my name?" He asked rhetorically. "I'm honored" He added. Finally someone knew of him.
"No. The honor is mine." The collector returned. "It's not everyday you get to meet someone as powerful as yourself."
Naruto was now beaming in pride and was about to respond but was cut off.
Hela pretended to poke her husband's head with a finger miming a balloon popping getting Kushina to giggle alongside her.
"Alright that's enough. I don't need him getting a bigger head." She said. She knew this would get to the mans head if it continued. They needed to get back on track. "You have something we need." She finished. At this Naruto moved his hand down the staff enough to display the glowing blue gem.
Seeing the collectors eyes on the stone Thor spoke. "The mad titan Thanos is on a quest to obtain the infinity stones. We can't allow that to happen."
The collector nodded slowly before rubbing his chin. "The mad titan you say? Yes, I've hear whispers that the man has been visiting planets, wiping out half the population. It's been going on for a while now. I figured he was looking for something. Now it all makes sense." He said softly.
"He's committing genocides before even having the stone? He is a vile bastard through and through." Kushina grumbled.
Seeing that the man knew what was going on Thor continued. "We need the Aether. Thanos is coming and we can't let him have the stone." The collector exhaled softly before looking at them.
"I'm sorry but I can't just give one of the most powerful objects in the universe away. Not for free at least." He finished.
"Does he really think he has a choice in the matter?" Sasuke asked incredulously.
"My darling hsould twist his nasty little head off and just take the stone…but I doubt that is how he will handle it." Even now Naruto was far more kind and merciful than she approved of being. That being said it added to the charm that he possessed.
"Looks like we'll need another way to convince him then." Loki said smiling mischievously.
"How about this then." Naruto began "You can give us the Aether and keep your life. Or you can try and take your chances with Thanos when he comes looking for you in which case you'll most likely die a painful death. Either way you're gonna hand it over. So what will it be?" As he finished his ultimatum the group surrounded the man waiting for an answer.
"That surprises even me." Hela said at Naruto's ultimatum. Though she smiled at the words he used. It was a treat to see him be so commanding and dominant.
The collector looked around at all of them, seemingly unfazed. However, if one were to look into his mind they'd see how nervous he actually was. He couldn't think of anyone who could take this group on at once and win.
"Very well." He conceded. The man walked back to a desk and pressed some buttons before a secret compartment opened from said desk. Reaching down he pulled out a black and red box before presenting it to the group. As Naruto was about to reach for it though, he pulled it back.
"I do have one condition. I want your word that I'll be protected from the mad titan when he comes." Naruto smiled before reaching into one of the compartments of his armor. Pulling his hand out he revealed a three pronged kunai.
The room jerked their heads to stare at Minato as he let out a small squeal of delight.
"Is that going to happen anytime he uses one of Minato's abilities?" Hela asked.
"Probably, but it's cute to see him so excited." Kushina said lovingly.
"Deal. When he comes just throw this on the ground. It'll let me know you need me and with the space stone I'll be here. There was another use for that but I never got around to actually mastering the technique required for it." He told him. The collector took the kunai, inspecting the script on it before nodding and placing it on his desk. With that being done he presented to box to the blond.
Not wasting time the blond took the box before raising it up to eye level. He could feel the presence of the stone, it seemed like the box was a medium for the stone as the cube was for the space stone. Holding the box with both hands he began pushing large amounts of chakra into it. The box began to glow a brighter red and soon the entire building began to rumble.
The readers felt slight awe as the simple act of opening the e container seemed to be a herculean feat.
"Almost there." He thought to himself. This one was a little more difficult than the cube, but it would break all the same. Soon the place shook as the box finally had enough. A bright red light filled the museum followed by a loud explosion that managed to crack a few windows of the display pieces.
When everything settled the box was no longer present, instead a single red stone rested on the palm of the blonds hand.
"You've done well Loki." Complemented Hela as she admired the stone. Even she could feel the power this stone possessed. Unlike the space stone this one had a stronger aura.
"Yes, you have done excellently, little brother. Our family grows in power with a single act thanks to your knowledge and Naruto's power." Hela commented, getting Loki to smile slightly.
Perhaps this new arrangement wasn't so bad. He somewhat liked being complimented by his elder sister.
Bringing the staff close to the stone Naruto quickly slammed the stone just underneath the space stone. The staff began glowing red with some bits of blue as it integrated itself into the staff. The glowing lights quickly went down the staff, into the blonds arms before going up near his head.
Naruto gripped the staff harder, threw his head back, and inhaled deeply as the power began coursing through him. Seconds later it calmed down and he allowed himself to exhale.
"That was a rush." He commented
"I bet." Sasuke mumbled a bit jealously. He would always thirst for power to an extent but seeing Naruto growing even stronger was a conflicting issue for the last Uchiha.
The collector was looking at the blond wide eyed before his attention went to the staff. "Amazing." He whispered to himself. "Not once have I seen someone wield more than one stone at a time. Truly amazing." He finished.
"It is rather impressive." Frigga said as an aside before she turned back to the book.
Naruto stared at the stone. "Alright lets see if you're the real deal." He slammed the base of his staff to the ground and immediately a thin red veil appeared seemingly out of thin air moving across the entire room.
All people present followed the red veil as it moved and quickly noticed the scenery around them changing. They were no longer in the Collectors museum. It looked like they were no longer on Knowhere.
"Where are we?" Thor asked as he walked forward, feeling the buildings around them and touching the floor to make sure it was real. He patted a building wall a few times before taking another look around. They seemed to be in some sort of village by the looks of it. Off in the distance he could see a giant stone monument with several faces carved into it.
Hela too noticed the monument and immediately spotted a familiar face among them. "This is your home." she pointed out.
"Konoha!" The Shinobi cried in surprise.
"He remembers it in such detail after so long." Odin mumbled in shock.
"Of course, our homes are a part of our very beings after all." Hela commented. That was especially true for herself being as she was tied to the fate of Asgard on a level beyond most comprehension.
"Yeah." He said softly before cutting off the stone's flow of power. The red veil appeared before them, moving backwards once again revealing the collectors museum. "Well, we got what we needed. A pleasure meeting you Collector. As agreed if you need me you know how to get me. Let's go." He said as he activated the space stone and teleported everyone away.
As they arrived back in Bifrost in Asgard Naruto chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Loki asked.
"I can only imagine how mad Thanos will be when he finds out I beat him to the stone." He said and continued laughing.
Some of the group grinned. Especially Loki and Hela.
"I like this family so much more." Loki almost silently said.
Loki chuckled nervously before walking with Thor to the sword that activated the bifrost. "Our family just seems to get crazier." He commented. "Our new brother in law seems to find amusement in upsetting one of the most powerful beings in the universe." He added shaking his head.
Thor laughs before taking a look over at the blond who was talking with Hela. "I agree he's a strange one. But he's powerful there's no denying that. We'll have to get used to it brother." He said before getting everyone's attention.
"You all are getting along so well already. It makes me very pleased." Frigga said softly causing the three Asgardian children to smile back at her, even Hela despite hers being slightly smaller.
Thoughts of a new opportunity at life, at being a family together filled her head. She just wanted Naruto to be there with them as well.
"Alright. We need to head for New York. I'm not sure how much time has passed on Earth while we were in Knowhere but we need to regroup with Banner and the Avengers." He ordered.
"I'll be staying behind this time." Hela said as she began walking towards the bridge back to the city. "Since Surtus and Thanos managed to wreck a large portion of Asgard my powers have taken a hit. We must begin reconstruction at once." She clarified.
"Aww, but you two are so cute together. I want to see more of you being all sassy toward that purple guy." Kushina pouted.
Hela simply chuckled as she patted the redhead's hand. She reminded her so much of her favorite personality traits possessed by Naruto.
"I'll be staying as well." Added the Valkyrie. "Now that I'm here on Asgard again there's some things I need to tend to." She said before heading out.
Naruto nodded in agreement. As did the rest of the group. "I'll close the Bifrost." Hela said.
"Maybe this time we'll make it through peacefully." Loki commented looking at his sister. Hela just smirked at him before giving Naruto a peck on the mouth and sending them on their way. Once gone the Goddess of death began her trek back to Asgard. "Now where is Skurge?" She asked out loud.
"Never a moments rest for a ruler." Hela sighed playfully.
"That's not a joke…" Minato and Odin said simultaneously, causing each to stare at the other.
The two brothers and their brother in law were content to take their trip through the Bifrost in peace and quiet. That was until Naruto realized this was the first time he was with the two while not fighting. He figured this would be a good time to connect with Hela's brothers.
"So… what are your hobbies?" He asked trying to make conversation. Thor and Loki looked at each other wondering where that came from before Loki realized what was going on.
Hela smiled while shaking her head and Kushina and Sakura giggled at the attempt.
He chuckled "It's fine we really don't have to do this." The blond was going to object but they had reached their destination. When the light died Naruto looked around and was going to ask where they were but was beaten to the punch by Loki.
"You three will become the best of friends, I can already tell." Frigga laughed as she flipped the page to continue reading.
"Why did we end up in the middle of a bunch of trees of all places?"
"Didn't want to scare the public by appearing in the center of the city. Besides the Avengers headquarters isn't far from here." Thor explained. "Can you use your magic to change our clothing brother?"
"I suppose it is nice to see you cooperating with each other for a change." Odin said.
This was a cakewalk for Loki. His magic was beyond powerful. Asking if he could change their clothing was almost insulting but he didn't comment on it and simply did as requested. His brother now had a tan jacket over a black sweater and black pants. Loki went with a more sophisticated approach and wore an all black suit. After all showing up in New York with his armor on might slightly upset the citizens.
"So which one of you two is dressed normally here?" Naruto asked. He hadn't been to Midgard in so long he didn't know how they dressed. He looked to Loki and decided he'd take a page from his book. All that time he spent around Hela and the color black really began to stick with him.
"Mmm." Hela hummed happily at the sight.
"Like what you see?" Kushina asked.
"It's alright. I prefer him either in something more regal…or more revealing." Hela said, causing Odin to grimace and the other women to giggle.
He used the reality stone to change his clothing to resemble that of Loki's. The staff was also now hidden from sight to anyone but himself. If one were to look at him they wouldn't see the staff.
"Alright Thor, lead the way." The blond said.
Thor nodded and began walking off. As they exited the woods Naruto looked around and noticed there wasn't much around except one building. It seemed to be more of a compound, heavily guarded as there was people surrounding the area.
Thor stopped walking and turned to his two colleagues. "Alright, you guys stay here. I'm going to go meet up with the team and let them know the two of you are here. Whatever you do, don't move." He stressed before walking off.
"They must be rather serious and tense people." Minato commented.
"Well, some of them are. Others are not serious…" Thor admitted not sure how best to describe the snarkier members of the team.
Loki looked over at the blond for a second before hatching up a plan. "Say Naruto." He said getting his attention.
"Thor is always so uptight. I think he needs to loosen up don't you think?" He asked. Naruto looked to where Thor had went and remembered every conversation he had with the god. Sure enough he was mostly all business and fighting.
"Yeah I agree."
"Oh no." Sakura sighed out.
"Oh yes!" Kushina and Loki both chuckled darkly.
"How funny do you think it would be if we just appeared inside their headquarters before giving Thor could tell them why he brought us here?" Loki asked again, a glint appearing in his eyes. Naruto's eyes widened.
"You wanna prank Thor?" He asked happily. A nod was his answer.
"Wow, you read him easily." Hela commented surprised by how easily her baby brother swept Naruto up into his plan.
Inside the Avengers headquarters Thor was walking to the main room where the Avengers usually stayed. Along the way he was trying to think of exactly how he was going to explain why his brother and a super powered being were here.
Deciding he'd just figure it out as he went he pushed open the doors and saw Banner, Tony, Rhodes, and a young man he'd never seen before. Kid couldn't have been older than fifteen.
"Thor." Banner said as he stood up from his seat. "Please tell me Thanos hasn't made another move."
Thor laughed. "No my friend he hasn't. Not that I'm aware of. We however have made a move."
"And what would that be pointbreak? What? No hello?" Tony said as he walked forward. Thor smiled happily as he saw his good friend for the first time in a while.
"Stark good to see you again my friend." He told the man. He turned to Bruce and asked. "How long have you been here?"
"Just a few days. So what is this move you guys made?" Bruce asked. Oh right. That.
"Well we went to visit a man and managed to get another stone." He told them.
"Ok Banner kind of filled me in on the whole, guy wants to rule the world scheme but I'm still missing some information. Who's we?" Tony asked. Thor was about to reply when he heard two voices he really wished he hand't.
"This ought to be good." Kushina grinned devilishly.
"That would be us." Two voices said from besides them. To their left Naruto and Loki were sitting on some seats, both smiling like they hadn't just ignored what Thor had told them.
"Thor. Why is your brother here with some guy I've never met." Tony asked looking between Loki and Naruto.
"Damn you both." Thor whispered under his breath as he looked at the two men. This was not going to go well. He just knew it.
"Wait, that's the end? Not a single fight this chapter. That kind of sucks." Kushina whined.
"I actually thought it was kind of nice to see them beginning to act like siblings." Frigga said.
"That's fair but I can't stop loving the sight of my baby cracking skulls." Kushina chirped in a far too happy tone.
"Let's skip the break this time and move straight on to the next chapter." Sasuke said. He wouldn't admit it out loud but he wanted more fights as well.
And that is that boys and girls. Another chapter finished. Three to go before we catch up to the current spot on the fic itself.
Till Next Time