Back again guys and this gonna be a big one! Seventy-five thousand plus words, and one big chapter. Enjoy!
***New Asgard***
Jamie, Bruce, Viv, and Rocket rode in the bed of a truck as it drove down a road. It approached a harbor and passed a sign that read 'New Asgard'.
As they rode on down the hill, Jamie's phone began to ring. "Hello?"
"Jamie, it's Nikki!" His sister replied on the other end.
"Hey, what do ya need?" He asked.
"Well, I was checking up on Uncle Clint's house and the surrounding area..."
"Uh-huh?"
"Well, based on public records and a few bills of the past six months, it looks like someone's been living there."
Jamie's eyebrows knit together at those words. "'Living there', who? Other than Frankie, Uncle Clint and his family are all gone...right?"
"Supposedly. But, do you think that maybe...maybe-"
"-maybe Frankie came back home?"
"...yeah."
"How bout this, after we leave New Asgard, we'll stop by there and check it out? And if it turns out he's there...we'll try to bring him home."
"Would you, please?"
Jamie rolled his eyes and chortled at his sister's begging. "Sure."
"Thanks Jamie! Keep me updated!"
"I will."
"Alright, I'll talk you you later."
"Ok."
"OH! And tell Torunn I said 'hi'."
"Heh, I will."
"Alright, bye."
"Bye."
"What was that about?" Bruce asked.
"That's was Nikki, she gave some info. Apparently, someone's been living at Uncle Clint's for the last six months."
"So what?" Rocket interjected, "Someone else probably moved in. Not like it doesn't happen."
"He does have a point, Jamie." Viv chimed in too. "It's not uncommon for people to move into vacant houses. Especially if they're in the countryside."
Jamie nodded at that, which was mixed with the shaking of the bed of the truck. But that still didn't shake a funny feeling that something else was going on with his uncle's house. "Maybe...but I wanna be sure. Can we stop by there after we leave here?"
Jamie looked to Bruce for an answer, but the large green Hulk just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "You already promised Nikki we would. And I'm not about to break a promise to her." He said proudly.
Jamie nodded and smiled back at him in thanks as they continued down the mountain road, towards a village and past a sign that read...
'WELCOME TO NEW ASGARD'.
***New Asgard Harbor***
They had finally reached the town and jumped off the truck, looking around as they did.
"Kind of a step down from a golden palace and magic hammers and whatnot," Rocket joked.
But Bruce, in an undertone, retorted back, "Hey, have a little compassion, pal. First they've lost Asgard, then half the people. They're probably just happy to have a home.
"You shouldn't have come!" A familiar person called out to them. Bruce immediately recognized who it belonged to.
"Hey Valkyrie!" He greeted his old friend, walking up to her with open arms. "Great to see ya, Angry Girl!"
But instead of smiling back and saying "Hi" to him, she just looked at him with a confused expression. "I think I liked you either of the other ways."
Bruce knowing exactly what she meant, shrugged and laughed at that and brushed it off. "You know Rocket."
The raccoon waved and nodded at her. "How ya doin'?"
"And this is Viv."
"Hi!" The dark skinned girl nodded with her usual smile and waved at the Asgardian.
Then Jamie stepped forward and smiled at his surrogate aunt. "Hey, Auntie Val."
"Jamie," she nodded back to him. "Look, I know why you guys are here...She won't see you."
"It's that bad, huh?" Bruce asked. Although it was more of a concerned statement than a question.
"We only see her about once a month when she comes down for...supplies." Val motioned to a pile of Blue Bell Ice Cream cartons and pizza boxes in a dumpster not too far behind her.
Bruce nodded as that confirmed it for him. "Yeah, it's that bad."
"We really need to talk to her...it's urgent." Jamie asked, still hopeful.
Val, not being able to say no to him and his face, finally sighed and gave in. "You can try. There's a chance she might speak to you."
***House***
They had to walk up a hill to the house where Torunn lived. It was pretty big. From the looks of it, it had at least two stories and the width of it was pretty good too. So not a castle, but still big.
It was a bit separated from the rest of the town. Not that they minded. From what Valkyrie had told them, the people of New Asgard didn't really want much to do with Torunn.
Walking up to the door, Rocket knocked on the door as the three waited. When it was answered, they were met by a familiar face: Darcy Lewis.
"Hey guys!" She exclaimed, opening the door all the way and walking out to greet them. "Oh my god, it's so good to see you!"
"Good to see you too, Darcy." Bruce said with a smile as she came in with a big hug. Pun unintended.
"Oh Bruce! You've changed a bit." She noticed his new in between form, but was quite impressed with it. "Lookin' good though. Hey there, Rocket."
"Hey, hows it goin?" The "raccoon" replied.
Turning her attention now to Jamie, Darcy saw that he had grown into quite the handsome young man. Just like his father. "Hey Jamie."
"Hey Darce." The redhead smiled as he hugged her, and her him.
When they broke the hug, they heard another familiar voice. "Well well, this is a surprise."
Behind them standing in the doorway, was a bespectacled Erik Selvig.
"Erik," Bruce greeted with a nod and wave.
"My friends, it's good to see you all. Please, come in."
He stepped out of they way so that they could all enter. Led by Darcy, they all walked in and stepped into the foyer of the house.
"So," Erik started, closing the front door behind him, "to what do we owe this pleasure?"
"Well uh," Bruce tried to find words on how to explain, but fortunately, Jamie spoke up.
"Something's come up. Something...big, and we were wondering if we could maybe see Torunn?"
That question brought about a silence within the hall. Darcy had looked to Eric and the two exchanged looks of worry.
"Everything okay?" Bruce asked, taking note of their concerned expressions.
Eric tried to find the words to tell them. But..."Uh, well it's like this, you see-"
"Torunn's kinda gone into a slump." She...just stopped. Her grief's caught up to her in a bad way." Darcy shrugged her shoulders as she let that out, not know what else to do...or say.
"Can we still talk to her?" Jamie asked, not wanting to leave without at least saying 'hello'
After exchanging one more look, Eric and Darcy nodded.
"...You can try, she might actually be happy to see old family."
"She's upstairs," Darcy added, "Just go up and you'll be able to tell which room is hers."
Walking up the stairs, they saw a white door with a yellow Styrofoam 'T' on which told them that it had to be hers. They knocked on it, but the door wasn't fully closed and opened up, giving them a good view into her room.
Poking their heads in, a stench came to their noses which made the recoil out of the doorway.
"Whoa! Something died in there." Rocket exclaimed, fanning the air around him.
"Hello, Torunn?" Bruce called out.
"Are you here about the cable?" They heard a somewhat familiar voice reply from behind the. Following the voice, they came to an upstairs living room and saw a blonde girl walk across to the other side of the room with her back to them. "It went out a week ago and a few channels are all fuzzy and I'd like to watch the JESSIE reruns without a bunch of static on the screen."
When they looked closer at the girl, they noticed that she had a slight husky form. It caught them by surprise. "Torunn?" Jamie squinted his eyes before they went wide as the girl turned at the sound of her name.
As she did, they noticed that she was in a grey T-shirt with pajama pants and hair that looked like bed head.
When she was fully facing them, her eyes went wide and a huge smile came to her face. "Guys!" She exclaimed, running up to them with open arms. She saw Rocket and ran down and pulled him into a big bear hug. "Oh my god, Rocket! C'mere you cuddly little rascal!"
But the "raccoon" wasn't a big fan of hugs or being smushed against someone's belly. "Nah, I'm good! I'm good! That's not necessary!"
Finally letting Rocket go, Torunn then turned to Bruce. "Uncle Hulk!"
"Hey kid! Good to see ya again." He returned the hug and patted her back too.
"Oh, it's good to see you too!" She cheered as they broke the hug. Stepping back, she saw Viv standing there with a smile and waved at her. "Hi, I'm Torunn."
"Viv," the other girl replied.
And then finally, the blonde teen's eyes landed on a familiar redhead. Her dearest friend from childhood. "Jamie?"
Jamie grinned as he looked at her. Even with the few red spots on her forehead, or that nappy hair, she was still a vision of beauty. "Hey Torunn."
"Oh wow! Jamie!" He was pulled into a hug and hugged Torunn back, enjoying every moment of it and committing it to memory.
"I really missed you." He heard Torunn whisper to him as they still hugged.
Now Jamie was happy she couldn't see him because red began to make its way to his cheeks. He was happy to hear that from her that he couldn't help the blush attack. "Missed you too." He whispered back.
Behind them, a smirking Rocket nudged Bruce's large leg next to him and winked at him about the two huggers. Which made Bruce roll his eyes at the "raccoon"'s joke, whereas Viv just watched Jamie and Torunn hug with an expression one would make when watching a romantic scene in a movie. Put simply, she enjoyed watching them together.
Finally breaking their hug, Torunn turned back to Bruce and pointed past him to a couch in the room. "Oh! Uncle Hulk, you know my friends, Korg and Miek, right?
Over on said couch sat the Kronan, Korg and his insectoid best friend, Miek. Both of them waved at the visitors and Korg verbally greeted them, "Hey guys!"
"Hey guys," Bruce waved back at his fellow former gladitor friends, "long time no see."
"Sodas and beer's in the bucket. Feel free to log on to the Wi-Fi. No password, obviously." Korg had rolled out the welcome mat for them before turning his attention back to his game on the TV."Tor, he's back. The kid on the TV that called me a d***head again.
Torunn looked to the TV and seethed as she knew who it was Korg was talking about. "NoobMaster."
"Yeah, NoobMaster69. Called me a d***head." Torunn walked over and took the headset Korg handed to her as he muttered his last sentence.
Positioning it at her ear to where she could both hear and speak into the mic, she began to let the cyber bully have it.
"NoobMaster!" she growled, "Hey, it's Torunn again. Yeah, you know, the daughter of Thor? Listen, buddy. You better to quit hassling my friend RIGHT NOW! Otherwise, log off! And if you don't log off and keep on bullying my friend, I'm gonna fly over to your house, come down to that basement you're hiding in, take my father's axe, rip off your arms and shove them RIGHT UP YOUR BUTT!"
The four visitors looked at each other with wide eyes in silence after that. Torunn certainly had the fire her father had. And apparently, it worked because this "NoobMaster" was crying on the other end.
"Yeah, that's right, go cry to your father, you little weasel!" And then Torunn victoriously handed the headset back to Korg.
"Thank you, T." He thanked her as he put the headset back on, hoping to resume playing happily.
"Let me know if he bothers you again and I'll take care of it, okay?"
"Thank you very much. I will."
Having settled that little matter, Torunn turned back to her guests and resumed her smile. She noticed their shocked expressions as well. "What?"
"You okay?" Bruce asked her.
"Of course I'm okay. Why, don't I look all right?
"You look like melted ice cream wrapped in a rag." Rocket stared bluntly, but there was still some concern there.
Torunn just laughed at that and took a soda and asked, "So, what's up? Did you guys come by to hang out, catch up?" before taking a swig of it.
"We need your help." Bruce began.
Immediately, the blonde Asgardian nodded. "Whatever you need! What is it?"
Jamie spoke up next and continued. "Somethings come up. There might be a chance we could fix everything."
"What do you mean by everything?"
"Thanos." Bruce answered that time. But what happened next wasn't exactly the reaction he expected.
Torunn's smile slowly began to disappear and her hands started to shake. "Don't...please don't say that name." She begged in a whispered tone, but it was obvious that she wasn't comfortable with it.
Behind Bruce, Korg had stood up and took off his headset. "Um..yeah, we don't actually say that name in here," He whispered to his green friend, "It's a big of a trigger word for her."
Bruce, hearing the Kronan's words, turned his vision back to Torunn, who's eyes had become filled with tears. Right away, he could tell that, like Nikki, the subject of Thanos and everything related with him brought back painful memories and a tidal wave of bad anxiety. "I'm sorry. Look, I know that... 'guy' might scare you-."
Trying to blink away her tears and hide her fear, Torunn scoffed at that and feigned confidence. "Scared? Ha! Why-why would, why would I be scared of that guy? He's dead! Gone! Headless and out of order!" The blonde Asgardian teen's eyes had turned into stressed anger and starred right into Bruce's, daring to rival the rage of the Hulk. Having gotten those words out and holding her stare for a little, she then broke it and walked past the Green Giant.
It was hard to try and reach Torunn since she was like this. Bruce knew this from having raised Jamie and Nikki. But he also know that she was hurting deep down, and wasn't really like this. So he decided to try again.
"Hey, I get it," he empathized, putting a large caring hand on her shoulder, "You're in a rough spot, okay? I've been there myself. But you know who helped me out of it?
Having slightly calmed down a little, Torunn shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know. Was it... Betty?"
Bruce almost said yes to that as he remembered how Betty had helped him tremendously back in 2008, but he caught himself and got back to the point he was trying to make. "It was your dad. He helped me."
Now that hit Torunn hard. To be honest, it was a bit of a low blow and Bruce knew that. But he had hoped it would be enough to reach her.
But Torunn couldn't hack it. She let her head lower and her shoulders sag as she uttered her next words with a heavy heart, "I'm not my father. He had the strength and the backing of his people and friends. Whereas I don't have that at all!" She caught herself and then corrected herself, "-except Korg, Meik and Auntie Darcy and Poppa Eric. And you guys too...Other than that, I've got no support system. ESPECIALLY not from my people! If you think I do, then go ask them. Ask the Asgardians down there, how much me or my help are worth...The ones that are left, anyway."
Jamie, who had been silent decided to try again. "Torunn, I think we can bring them back. The people you lost too."
"Ok, no. Stop! stop, okay?! Look, I know you think I'm probably down here wallowing in my own self-pity, waiting to be rescued and saved. But I'm fine, okay? We're fine, right guys?
She had pointed over to Korg and Miek on the couch who nodded back in agreement. "Nah, all good here, mate." Korg replied positively.
"Right. So, yeah. Anyway, thanks for dropping by, but we're good here."
This was beginning to hurt on both Torunn and Jamie. But he couldn't give up on her. He just couldn't. "Torunn, please," he begged her, "We need you!"
Rocket, who had been silent as well, couldn't help but notice her fiddling with an empty chip bag, trying to get more out of it, and thought of something that could work. "There's tacos on the ship."
Torunn pauses at that and thought. "What kind?" She asked.
But Jamie, tired of this back and forth and wanting to stay on track, tried yet again. "Come on, Torunn! This isn't the real you. Where's the girl I knew years ago? The girl who was brave and full of excitement. The girl who wanted to see her father so badly. Where's that girl?"
"Jamie!" Bruce tried to calm the redhead boy down, but he was silenced when Torunn shot up from her chair and was face to face with Jamie, looking him in the eyes with a stare of death.
Torunn wanted to lash out at Jamie, but at the same time, she didn't. With no other alternative, she stormed out of the room and down the stairs, grabbing a coat and out the front door.
Jamie sighed and mentally slapped himself for what he said. What was he thinking? Immediately, he ran out downstairs. Followed by Bruce Viv, Rocket, Korg and Miek, they ran into Erik and Darcy when they reached the bottom of the stairs.
"What happened?" Darcy asked.
"Ah, I said something I shouldn't have." Jamie admitted, still upset with himself. "You guys stay here, I'm gonna go look for her. I have to apologize."
Jamie headed for the door, but felt a large hand on his shoulder. Looking back, he saw a look of worry and concern on Bruce's face. But Jamie put a reassuring hand on his and gave him a confident nod.
"Be careful."
"I will."
And with that, he walked out and began his search for Torunn.
***Town***
Torunn had ran all the way into town and finally stopped. As she did, she tried to hold her frown, but couldn't as she felt tears coming on. Why was she like this? Why was she acting this way? Reality began to somewhat set in on her.
Looking around, she decided to go ahead and walk since she was already out. She hadn't been out like this for quite a while other than getting her "supplies" and the fresh air could do her good.
Putting her hands in her pockets as she walked on, her thoughts began to drift back to Jamie and her family. And then it drifted to her father, and then her mother. That's where it really hurt since she sorely missed her mother. What if...
"Well, looky here!" Torunn's thoughts were broken by the sound of something that she had tried to avoid. Teenage girls. Not ordinary ones though, 100% pure Asgardian teenage girls. They had always liked to pick on Torunn and roast her for being half human.
"Looks like the worthless princess has come down to mingle with the commoners." One of them teased.
"How's it going, your majesty?" Another asked, bowing in a dramatic, mocking fashion.
Not wanting to deal with or hear any more of it, she turned and began speed walking away towards the end of town. Tears were coming bad as she could still hear the cracks and laughter behind her as she distances herself.
"Yeah, run away!" "And never come back!"
She got to the end of town and headed to one of the only places she could go alone to get some peace and quiet.
Jamie was running down the path to town when he saw Torunn walking away from town and towards the cliffs.
When he saw that, a frightful thought came to him. But he noticed that she didn't seem to be in a rush to get there, so that calmed him a little. Still full of concern, he followed her with the intention of being there to help and or stop her from possibly doing anything rash.
***Cliff***
Jamie walked up the mountain and eventually saw his blonde friend sitting on a huge rock near the edge.
Torunn sat there with her hands in her hoodie and was staring straight into the horizon.
"Torunn?" He called her. But he received no answer. She just kept looking forward.
Walking the rest of the way up to her, he noticed that she didn't flinch of move at all at his presence. Taking that as reassurance that she wouldn't be hostile, he took the liberty of sitting next to her on the stone and followed her gaze at the open ocean and the horizon beyond.
A few minutes passed by and the sounds of the waves mixed with the soft wind and grass blowing had become to peaceful.
It brought a peaceful smile to Jamie's face. "It's beautiful up here."
Torunn, having taken it all in herself, nodded in agreement. "Yes, it really is."
That made Jamie look at her and feel remorse for his actions earlier. Now that she seemed in a better mood, he wanted to set things straight.
"Torunn, I'm sorry. For what I said earlier. I was out of line and...I..-"
"It's ok, Jamie," she cut him off, putting a warm hand on his arm, "It's okay. Believe it or not, you may have actually helped me."
Helped her? That confused Jamie, but she apparently seemed in a much better mood. So whatever happened in her head, it must've been good. "Really?"
Torunn nodded at him with a side smile. "Mhm."
Still unclear at how he helped her, but happy that Torunn was calm and content now, he decided to let it go and turned back to the view.
"Ya know, this was where my grandfather died." She said matter-of-factly. Jamie's head swiveled in her direction before back out to the ocean in shock. "My father and my uncle made it just in time to sit with him for a short while and hear him tell that he loved them...and then they...they watched as he disappeared...I never got to meet him, but from what I've heard from the people and Val...he was a great king."
Jamie stood next to her and looked out onto water below and horizon beyond it. "I know how you feel...I'm sorry."
"This idea you have...will it work?" Torunn asked, finally turning to look at her friend.
"We think so. We haven't exactly been able to fully test it yet. But if it does, then there's a chance we can bring back everyone that was wiped out ten years ago."
That stirred a feeling inside of Torunn's stomach. She immediately thought of her father, Thor. Then Jane, her mother! The thought of them being back, but also in the same place with her...together...that brought a tear to the blonde's eyes. She'd had dreams about the day she would meet her father and they'd bond. Make up for lost time. But she also dreamed of her father being with her and her mother.
Nowadays though, they usually ended in nightmares. The late night, waking up drenched in sweat type of nightmares...Torunn didn't like having those, and she wanted them to stop. And this idea, this new hope...it could possibly bring them to a stop.
So, taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out, she made her decision. "I'll help."
Jamie's head lifted and his eyes were wide with hope. "You will?" He asked, slightly dumbfounded but still hopeful.
"Yes. If there's a chance to bring them all back, then I want to help. Make things right..."
"Great, tha-that's great! Thank you! And-and we will...make things right, I mean." Now he was beginning to blush. And Torunn noticed too.
She smiled, lightly shaking her head and giggled inwardly, looking down at the ground to prevent herself from blushing as well.
"I've missed you, Jamie." She fervently said to him.
Suddenly, Jamie didn't care about the blushing. Because he missed her too, and he wasn't afraid to admit it. Crush or no. Yes, he had a crush on her and he wasn't afraid to admit it. To himself, that is. Anyone else? ...yeah, no.
So tossing aside any fear at the current moment, he walked up to her and enveloped her in a tight hug. One he had wanted to give her since the day they stopped talking.
"I missed you too, Torunn." He whispered.
She hugged him back slowly, but tightly. And boy, did it feel good. For the first time in ten years, she felt a sense of safety. Of home. Even love. Not that kind though...maybe 25% out of 100%, but that's it!
"Actually, I uh...I go by Tori, now." She stated with a nervous laugh.
Jamie pulled back to look at her, but didn't let go of her. Only just enough to be face to face with her. She looked at him with that nervous face. The same one she had ten years ago when they first met.
"Tori?" He repeated.
She nodded in response to that, hoping Jamie would like it.
"I love it." He stated with a smile.
That shocked her. She really only decided to go by Tori a few months ago, and only a handful of people like Erik, Darcy, Korg, Miek and Valkyrie called her that. But now, her childhood best friend/current crush, whom she hadn't seen in almost five years had heard it and loved it. That was overwhelming.
She was so happy, she re-engaged the hug, tightening a bit around Jamie's neck. But he didn't mind.
As he continued to hold her, he began to feel a slight wet sensation through his shirt. And then he heard weeping. It was Torunn. She was crying.
"Tori, what's wrong?" He asked, genuinely worried.
Torunn lifted her head from Jamie's shoulder to look at him with tear-stained eyes. There was pain in her eyes. But there was also a small smile on her lips...why?
"It's just...it's so nice to be accepted...for who I am." She sniffled. "You're the first person outside of my family who's accepted me for me. Sure, Poppa Erik and Auntie Darcy are there. But the other Asgardians...especially those around my age...they hate me! They think I'm a pathetic half-breed and that the human side of me makes me weak...even the grownups."
Jamie was almost brought to tears himself at the sight of Torunn crying and hearing the terrible things that had happened to her. It was unacceptable! They shouldn't be hating on her, she was Thor's daughter! He just didn't like the idea of his friends being picked on by bullies. But that's where he came in. To comfort them when they needed it. And he wasn't gonna let this go. Or her.
He reached up and wiped away her tears. Torunn felt her skin warm under the smooth touch of his fingers. It made her feel safe like his hugs. When they were dried off, she looked at him with the same small smile.
"It doesn't have to be like this anymore, T." He cooed, hope in his voice. "We can stick together. And that's how we'll get through this. Together."
"Together," She echoed.
As Jamie told her that, Torunn got a look at his beautiful blue eyes. MAN, she missed those eyes. She missed everything about him. His confidence, his red hair, and his warm embrace. And now, within the time she'd seen him last, he's grown muscles. Quite athletically toned for a fifteen-year-old.
'Allfathers, I need to get a grip on myself!' She scolded herself.
"Thank you, Jamie."
The redheaded boy smiled before linking his hand with hers, which she immediately reciprocated. "Come on, let's head back."
***New Asgard, Town Square***
Torunn had given word for the townspeople to meet in the town square for an important announcement. At first they were annoyed, then they were surprised that their princess had "reached out to them from on high".
But still, their curiosity made them wonder what she would have to say to them. So they all, reluctantly, gathered in the town square and saw that a small stage had been set up. On it was Valkyrie, Erik, Darcy, Korg and Miek.
Now, on walked the princess herself, followed Jamie, Bruce and Rocket who took a seat with the others.
Torunn stood at the stand and looked out at the people. Suddenly, her breath hitched in her throat, and every heartbeat began to hurt.
But then, the feeling of a hand on her back brought relief. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that it was Jamie! He gave a look of trust and a nod of encouragement. And just like that, she felt motivated once again. That was the effect he'd had on her. She nodded back to him before facing the people once again. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath...then, she let it out.
"Asgard!" She began with a loud voice. That immediately caught the people's attention. All of their heads turned, eyes fixed on her. "I am Torunn, Daughter of Thor. And on this day, I have news...and a message."
The crowd looked upon one another in with the same thought and annoyed look before looking back to Torunn in contempt. They really didn't want to hear anything from her. This girl who was supposed to be their leader, to be a successor of the Might Thor. But no. As far as they were concerned, she was a disgrace to the family name. But, out of the love and respect they had for their previous leader, they reluctantly listened as their princess continued.
"Ten years ago, great tragedy fell upon our people, one after the other. First, Odin the Allfather, my grandfather,...died...then our ancestral home was destroyed. Then just days later, half of our people were slaughtered. And then...we..." Tears threatened to come out once more, but Torunn didn't fight them. She let them flow. "...we lost Asgard's greatest defender. My father, Thor Odinson..."
A more serious attitude came over the people as they listened. That hit them all close to home as they recalled back to that day.
"And now, ten years later...here we are...I know what you all think of me. I do...I've heard it all. 'A taint to the name of Thor and Odin', 'Princess Pitiful', 'Tubby Torunn'...even 'Puny Half-breed'."
After hearing Torunn say all of that out loud, the people even dared to feel a bit of remorse.
"...and you're right...and I deserve to be called all of those things. Because I froze and let the pain...the rage...the fear, swallow me up and toss me out."
Okay, now they for sure were feeling bad. Dare they say, even a bit of regret for the things they had said about her. It was one thing for someone to bring up terrible names that they've been called. But to admit to it, their mistakes, was an entirely different thing. It showed humility and a willingness to try and do better.
"For years, I've let my fears and the past encase me in a such a bad place, that I sunk down into nothingness. And by extension, I let you all sink too...and I'm sorry for that. And up until an hour ago, I was tempted to keep it up...but no more!"
What was this?
"Before he died, my father once again fought alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes, his teammates and friends, the Avengers, to try and stop the terrible events that happened...but unfortunately, they failed... But now, out of the darkness and the ashes of that loss, there is light and hope."
Once again, the Asgardians looked at one another. But this time, it was in confusion and curiosity. What did she mean by hope?
"Thanks to a friend, and one of the last remaining Avengers, the Hulk," She gestured to Jamie and their huge green friend.
"Hey guys," Bruce lightly waved at the people below.
"-We have a chance to not only brining back those we lost all those years ago, but also to get back our lives that were taken from us as well."
Now Asgard began to nod at this. Cheers could be heard. Even some clapping!
"We will restore what was once lost, and be a thriving, happy, people once again!"
The crowd cheered and roared in approval. For the first time in ten years, they actually had hope. Hope for something better. More than that, they actually had trust. Trust in Torunn. Sure it may have seemed a bit of a long shot, but if there was a chance that they could get back the friends and family that they lost years ago, then it was worth it.
"So now, I must go to help with this mission. In my absence, I am entrusting the responsibility of your protection in the hands of Brunnhilde, our Valkyrie."
Val lifted her head at that, her eyes wide with shock. Not at the responsibility, but at the fact that Torunn had just referred to her by her real name...not many people called her that. Especially not her. But it gave her a sense of love from the princess...and trust. A tear escaped her eye as she nodded at the blonde princess in agreement.
"And I have no doubt that she will do well...as she has for all these years."
Valkyrie smiled proudly and nodded in agreement, earning another cheer from the crowd.
Torunn looked out among the crowd and felt a sense of pride stirring up inside of her. She could now see, that these were and still are her people. And she was now exercising her duty to protect and defend them.
Excited and full of determination, she belted out a hearty cry, "FOR ASGARD!"
"FOR ASGARD!" New Asgard echoed, cheering their princess on. Energized by their new found hope.
Torunn nodded and waved to them one last time before stepping down and over to Jamie, Bruce, Rocket and Val and her Aunt and Poppa.
Darcy opened up her arms, to which Torunn ran right into them and the two hugged it out. "I'm so proud of you, sweetie." Darcy said sincerely.
Torunn lifted her head from the hug and smiled at her aunt's words.
"We both are," Erik added, giving her a loving pat on the back.
"Nice speech there, blondie," Rocket stated with a smirk. He meant it though, it was really moving.
"Thanks, Rocket." Torunn replied with a smile.
"He's right," Jamie added, "It was a good one. Very moving."
Now, it was Torunn's turn to blush. Hearing Jamie say that gave her a confidence boost. One she needed and appreciated.
"Thank you, Jamie." She cleared her throat and looked to the others. "So what now?"
"Well now, we have to make a few more stops on the way back to HQ." Bruce explained. "We've got someone else to pick up."
Torunn nodded at that. "Alright. Well, I have to go get a few things for my stay. So how 'bout I just meet you guys at the dock?"
"Sounds good!"
They all nodded in agreement and parted ways.
***Torunn's House/Room***
With an open backpack on her bed, Torunn had gathered whatever clothes and toiletries she'd need for her trip with the help of Darcy.
"Got everything?" she asked, making sure her niece was all set.
"Yep!" Torunn replied. Coming down from the high, she let out a sigh and shook her head.
"Ya know, I was your age when I first met your mom and Erik. She was super smart and I was trying to get credits for college."
"And now you're an awesome astrophysicist."
Darcy laughed and shrugged at that. "Guilty."
Torunn laughed along with her, but still listened as her aunt continued with her story.
"The first internship I got was with your mom and Erik. We were assigned to go to New Mexico and investigate reports on a series of spatial anomalies. And ya know what happened?"
"What?"
"We ran into your dad."
Torunn was wowed by this, she hadn't really heard the whole story of how her mom, Darcy and Erik had met her father. But now, she was both intrigued and happy to be hearing this.
"Wow!" She shook her head and just thought about that.
"Yep." Darcy nodded before a smirk came to her face, "Well, more specifically, I ran into him. With the van."
That caught Torunn off guard. "What?!"
"Mhm!" Darcy had a proud smirk that soon turned into a toothy grin, "then I tased him."
Now Torunn's were wide with shock and confusion. "Whoa, Wait! You tased my dad?"
"Yes, I did!" Darcy said this words in the EXACT same tone and with the same amount of pride she had in 2011. "Hey, he was freaking me out and I didn't know what else to do."
The two ended up laughing at that, with Torunn still thrown that Darcy had tased her father.
When they finally settled down, Darcy continued. "But when your dad needed help, your Poppa Erik was against it at first. But your mom, she was determined to find out what he was about. You couldn't tell her no, kinda like you."
A half smile made it's way to Torunn's lips as she heard those last few words about her mother. It made her happy to hear that. It reminded her of how much like her she was, as Darcy had mentioned.
"Tori," Darcy reached over and took the blonde teen's hands in her own, "your mom would be so proud that you're doing this. I know it hasn't been easy for you, and maybe I haven't exactly been a good auntie, but-"
"No, you're a great auntie, Darcy!" Torunn had cut her off, reassuring her of how much she cared. "And don't beat yourself up, I'm mainly one to blame. I let my fears get the best of me and got lazy. But I'm gonna try and do something different for a change. And I wanna thank you and Poppa Erik for taking care of me all these years... I love you guys."
Darcy's lips quivered and her eyes welled up with tears at those words. She wouldn't trade this girl for anything or anyone.
"We love you too, Tori," she sniffled, pulling her into a hug. To which she hugged right back.
The two enjoyed their tender moment until a knock came at the bedroom door. Breaking the hug, they looked to see that it was Valkyrie.
"Am I interrupting anything?" She asked with her signature smirk.
"Nah," Darcy said, finally letting go of Torunn. "Just hugging my niece goodbye."
Val walked into the room, keeping her hands behind her back and stood in front of the two and directed herself at Torunn.
"I had this made for you, not long after we returned from our attempt to use get the stones. It will help you control and harness your powers. She pulled out from behind her a long object covered by a brown sheet and handed it to the princess.
Torunn took the object and removed the cover to reveal a sword. But not just any sword, this sword was big and it had a quite unique design. "It's made from the same metal as Stormbreaker and molded in the same shape of Heimdall's sword."
Torunn held the weapon and ran her fingers along the shiny flat edge of the blade. It really did resembled the sword of Heimdall and felt like if fit perfectly in her hand.
Looking up to her friend, she gave a sincere smile. "Thank you, Val...thank you."
"Anytime, kid...oh I'm sorry. Your Majesty!"
The three laughed at that. Valkyrie more so since it brought back memories of the blond lighting prince who was her friend, the God of Thunder. And now, his daughter held that title. Only for her, it was Princess of Thunder.
"Now go save the world with your friends."
***Dock***
Jamie, Viv, Bruce and Rocket were waiting by the truck when they heard Torunn call out to them. "Hey guys! I'm here!"
They saw the blonde Asgardian walking down the dock to meet them with a bag and a sword being toted on her back and Stormbreaker in hand. Behind her walked Darcy, Erik, and the Valkyrie.
"Ok, I'm ready to go!" She said excitedly, putting on a pair of sunglasses.
"Alright!" Bruce replied with a smile that was inferior to hers. He could tell she was excited about coming with them.
Torunn looked behind her to the three and waved goodbye once again and watched them wave back before walking past Bruce to join the others.
Looking to Darcy, Erik and Val, Bruce nodded and reassured them, "We'll take care of her."
They nodded and waved back as they knew they were going to miss the girl. Darcy wipes away a few tears as she missed her already. She was definitely a proud aunt.
The truck started and the five mounted in. As they stepped into the bed of the truck with them, Torunn couldn't help but ask, "So uh, Rocket? What kind of tacos did you say you had on the ship?"
BOOM BADA BOOM BOOM BOOM! The first recruit of the Next Avengers, Torunn, or as she prefers: Tori, has been activated and picked up. Things are moving along now.
I gotta tell ya, I had this chapter already halfway done when I was still on chapter six of this story. It's cuz, like, I already knew where I was going and what I wanted to do with this character, her story and her supporting characters that I just went for it. I hope you guys can also see why I had no problem with making Torunn Thor and JANE'S daughter as opposed to Thor and Sif. It was all part of her plot to have this backstory, to be viewed as nothing but a puny half-breed. This way it'd give her something to be broken down on, and that way she could rise up and shut up the naysayers. And I feel like it worked out tremendously, and I hope you guys think so too.
But yeah, it's great to finally share this chapter with y'all and everyone in it. Speaking of which, DARCY LEWIS! DOCTOR DARCY LEWIS! It was so great to see her back in Episode 4 of WandaVision and get some sassy scenes and RESPECT! I LOVE YOU KAT DENNINGS! I hope she gets to reunite with Thor and Jane in the MCU some time in the future. Maybe not Thor 4, but who knows.
Hope you guys liked this chapter, lmk what you thought in the review/comments! Pls!
Next up, we're gonna see Peter and Sam in the next chapter. And they're going to Rocinha. But what's in Brazil...or who?
Find out in the next chapter! Later guys! ✌ ✌ ✌
