"Thor I have something to tell you-."

"Not right now Natasha, we're late. We need to go," Thor murmured, tugging her hand in his own. There was no point in keeping the pretenses up, she supposed. Not now that Jerome had broken the agreement between Thor and Aelyn. Her heart ached. Aelyn would be thrilled, kept from being forced to marry against her will-and not that Natasha could blame her. But at what cost? They needed the armies from Alfheim more than ever.

"But you don't understand we can't leave yet-it's important-."

"Natasha they will not let us stay here unless we are to stay for the whole ceremony, and we do not wish to be trapped here for months. We need to go." He told her, blue eyes bright with warning. There wasn't any time for them to talk about it, and Natasha's stomach erupted with her nerves.

"Where's Fenrir, then?" She demanded, pulling her hand free from Thor's. She needed to speak with him once more. He, she was sure, would manage to weasel his way out of Vanaheim, but she needed him to keep going, to keep looking and try and pin this on Thanos, at the very least. If Jerome was leaving so quickly then there would be no chance that they could prove what he'd done. There was no choice but to prove it was at least Thanos' doing that had brought on Dra'ace's death. For all she knew it might've been. Alfheim was getting too much out of this tragedy, and she was willing to bet that Jerome had struck a deal with the mad Titan to keep them safe so long as Alfheim stayed out of the battle. He was a fool if he thought that a bargain would be enough.

"I don't know, with Loki I presume. Natasha, there isn't time. I'm sorry," he said, and he sounded it as he all but dragged her out of the palace. True enough, Fenrir stood with Loki and the pair were talking in hushed voices. Loki's eyes sought Natasha's, and without words she sensed that Fenrir had already filled him in on what had happened, what she and Aelyn had seen. Her heart ached with gratitude to the man, and when they got close enough she pulled him into a tight hug, pulling away from Thor to do so.

"Don't forget my favor," she murmured in his ear, and the man gave a quick nod of his head before pulling away and staring at her.

"You be safe. I'll see you as soon as I can."

"Thank you." She said, unable to find the strength to even smile, before she was pulled away by the other two and Fenrir was left standing in the courtyard of Vanaheim's castle. The shutters were already closing one by one, despite the heat of the day, and had they not been royalty from another realm they might not have gotten out past the gate before it shut. They weren't the only ones leaving, too. She swore she caught sight of Aelyn being tugged away by Jerome, Carissa with them, before they were swallowed up by the teams of knights and warriors leaving the capitol of the realm to return back home. They would have work enough to do there, she supposed, but she wanted to scream at them that they were all still in danger, that it hadn't gone away. Their king might've been dead but there was his culprit and if they'd just listen to her-.

But it would be her word against his, and the circumstances wouldn't make it any easier for her to prove. She wasn't certain she could count on Aeyln's testimony, besides. Why would she go against her brother? She hadn't seemed very gung-ho when Natasha had first proposed it, so she couldn't be relied on for something so serious. And an accusation like that was as serious as it got. Heimdall pulled them back finally, the others having already returned before them, and once they landed on the bifrost Natasha turned her attention immediately to the gatekeeper.

"Who's Jerome working for?" She asked. She didn't know why she hadn't thought about Heimdall's all-seeing gaze before, but now that she had someone who should've known-.

But he was shaking his head. "I cannot see. Whomever it is is shielding themselves from being seen, even by me. I am sorry my lady," he said, golden eyes deep with his apologies. Natasha felt her victory wane and dissolve. Damn. That'd been her last hope, unless she could somehow get into touch with Aelyn and have her keep an eye on her brother. That was doubtful. She barely managed to keep from shouting with her frustration as she nodded her head and looked to Thor. His expression was one of confusion, and as his mouth opened Loki shook his head and tugged them both away.

"Not here." He murmured. "This is a conversation best left for the privacy of the royal quarters," he murmured, looking up to Heimdall. "Would you meet us there this evening? I would hear your report of the event as well as Natasha's."

Nat nodded, and Heimdall dipped his head to agree, assuring them that he would answer the summons whenever it was that they were ready for him. Thor's brow was still creased with confusion, but as Natasha threaded her fingers with his to tug him out he went without issue. Loki stepped just beside her, and as Natasha released Thor's hand Loki wrapped his arm around her midsection, leaning over to kiss her temple.

"I missed you," he murmured in her ear. Her skin flushed at the contact, and she shot him the smallest of smiles, promising that she felt the same way.

"What news from Hela?" Thor asked Loki, who shook his head again.

"Not here, Thor. We'll meet with mother, check on those who made it back, and then go to discuss it. I'll not compromise anything by speaking in the open like this." Loki hissed, his eyes meeting his brother's. Though Thor clenched his jaw he nodded once more, fingers twitching in anticipation. Natasha could empathize. It wasn't easy, being out of the loop and thirsty for knowledge, even less so when there were two people who knew something that you didn't, but Loki had a point. The last thing they needed was Thanos to have a spy within earshot to hear just how things were going. When he already had so many advantages the last thing they needed to do was give him yet another.

Frigga waited for them in the hall, her face drawn as she came walking quickly towards them. Her arms enveloped Thor first, then Natasha, and finally Loki, and she pressed her lips to each of their cheeks in turn. "Thank the Norns you're all doing well," she whispered, taking Loki's hands in her own. "You're absolutely freezing my dear. And you must be hungry. Come, I'll call for food to be brought to the main hall."

"Thank you, mother," Thor said quickly but shook his head. "We have some matters to attend to and then meetings to set up. We'll eat with you this evening. Call everyone in to eat, have the kitchens prepare enough food for all of Asgard. We have much to be thankful for and I would have my people near this evening."

Frigga's eyes widened, but she nodded in understanding. "Yes, of course my dear. I will make sure that it is done. Good to have you all back."

"Is there news from Jotunheim at all?" Loki asked her before she could go. He hadn't had the time to double check, and Natasha watched as his shoulders squared with preparation. Frigga's smile softened slightly.

"Your brother confirmed with me not a day ago that things are still going well. They are training and making preparations for war. He hopes you are well and are pleased with his progress when you return."

Loki's lips split into a small smile and he nodded at that. Natasha brought her hand to his shoulder and squeezed, feeling a modicum of tension release from the knot he had at the top of his spine. Good. At least there was a small bit of good news, and hopefully more would follow soon.

They split to each check on their individual chargins, Thor disappearing to speak with Sif and the other Warriors Three and Steve, wishing to check on the progress of the armies in his absence, Natasha to visit with Tony and the others from SHIELD, and Loki to speak with the treasury of what they had left to barter with since Vanaheim had bled them of much of their resources and money. She found Tony in the armory, and glad to see him there, harassing the other smiths and humming to himself as he tinkered away with a glowing hunk of metal, hammering it until it thinned out considerably, then smiling as it hissed when it came in contact with the cool water of the pool beside him.

"Tony," Natasha called out, earning the others eyes on her. There was a reverent bow of their heads as she walked through, and she tried her best not to flush at the attention. Seemed her and Thor's secret really wasn't that much of a secret after all. Whoops.

"Hey, Nat. Long time no see-everything ok on Vanaheim?" Tony asked, looking up with a tight smile.

"Yes, everything's fine," she lied simply, watching all the others who kept their ears in Tony and her direction even as they focused back on their work. Right. She'd have to be very careful. "What are you working on?"

That made him grin, and he beckoned her closer. "You know, it's a real shame that I left all my damn CDs and shit back on-well, I miss my music. Jarvis salvaged some of it thank God, but yeah. It just made working that much easier."

"Sorry to hear about that," Nat said, resting her hand on his shoulder and squeezing.

He shrugged, shooting her an appreciative, albeit weak, smile. "Hey, I'm lucky to even be here. But hey! Not here to bring you down. C'mere, I wanna show you something I've been making." He said, grinning all the more broadly as he motioned for her to follow him once again. "Been meaning to show you this but you've been gone forever."

"Yeah, sorry about that," she murmured.

He waved it off. "Don't worry about it. You've got important big girl stuff to do."

Yes, yes she did. He brought her into a secondary room, one that housed a couple of enormous weapons hanging from pegs, a couple of new bows, and some arrows in lines. Clint would be happy to see those, she was certain. He led her over to a pair of gauntlets that glowed bright blue when he pressed a button to them. "These I made for you." He grinned. "Try 'em on and I'll show you what they do."

Unable to keep herself from smiling at his enthusiasm Natasha nodded and slid her hands inside the new weapons. They fit snuggly on the palms of her hands, lighter than she would've expected, but as she clenched her fists she felt something surge through her.

"You're used to wearing leather, right?" He asked. "Like a full leather cat suit?"

"Yeah," she said. He'd seen her in action, she forgot, and was grateful for it.

"These'll blend in with those, and if you can get me your suit I can even add additional energy sources so that these," he tapped the blue lines that arced over her knuckles and over her arms. "Don't run out. Now, point them this way, and there's a button right on the palm-yeah, like that," he grinned as a bolt of what looked like electricity shot out from the gauntlets and hit the nearest pillar of stone, taking a chunk out of it. She looked on in surprise. Woah.

"That's amazing," she said, feeling her wrists burn at the electricity and the sizzle it left on her skin. She shifted, her skin feeling far more itchy than before, and as she twisted her wrists to try and make it go away the color shifted from blue to red. Stark gave a low whistle.

"The hell did you just do?" He asked, taken aback. "I didn't do that. Try that again-the repulsor."

She pressed the button once more, and watched with shock as the bolt of energy set the damn pillar on fire. It burned bright with a huge burst of light before Tony swore and ran to fetch a bucket of water to put it out. Natasha scrambled to rip the gauntlets off, keeping from pressing the button, and as soon as she took them off they returned to blue again. The runes on her wrist burned, and she pulled down the sleeve of her shirt to stare at them. They were illuminated against the skin, and she pressed one just enough to make it burn, wondering why in the hell it'd reacted in that way. She summoned water before Tony could get back with it, just displacing it from somewhere in the palace so that it covered the fire, smothering it and steam erupted where it'd gone out.

Tony halted soon as he ran in with a bucket, staring at Nat. "Right. So, you've got that under control." He shifted. "Magic?"

"Yeah. I guess it reacted with the energy or whatever of the gauntlets. That's really awesome, though, Tony. Thank you." She smiled, trying to wipe the shaky smile from her lips. But the truth of it? That fucking terrified her. She had so little control over it it felt some days. Sure, she could get it to work for her in a pinch, or when she really thought about it, but if it was so unpredictable then how the hell could she even think about it being a bonus?

"Right, not a problem. I'll see if I can't keep working on them so that it reacts with your magic rather than changing on its own. Just in case you want to use electricity instead of fire . Or visa versa I guess. Anyway, I've got more." He said, his assured grin back in place as he led Natasha towards the wall of weapons she'd been eyeing before. He pulled two mirror, curved blades off the wall, both of them with blank lines running through the blades that looked as though they'd light up once she held them in the gauntlets. He explained as much, that they were calibrated to her body height and the length of her arm (he'd gotten the measurements from Frigga when the others had been away) and once she held them with her gauntlets on they'd channel the electricity that ran through the gauntlets, cauterizing wounds and keeping the blades extra sharp. She grinned at that, picking one of them up and feeling the weight, the balance of it in her palm. He'd done a damn fine job calibrating it, and she turned to weave it through the air a couple times, feeling the movement of it through the air and guessing how easy it would be to cleave open the head of her foes with it. She loved it.

"They're gorgeous, Tony," she said with a wide grin. "Really, I love them. I'll get someone to make me a couple of sheaths for them."

"I'll do it," he grinned. "I'm still tinkering with them, but they'll be done soon enough. Wanted to get you in here to try them out but, well, y'know how it is. It's been busy." He took a good look at her face and frowned. "You okay? Need to talk about it?"

She shook her head, and smiled in spite of herself. "You're sweet, Tony, but I'll be alright. It's just a stressful time, you know?"

"Yeah, I do." He said with a dip of his head. "And I'm not all that good to talk to, to be honest. I was going to suggest Bruce. He's a great listening ear," he admitted with a sheepish smile. That made her laugh, and she leaned in to kiss his cheek.

"Thanks, Stark."

"Any time. You tell Loki and Thor that I've got stuff for them, too. I've been trying to make new tech for everyone while I can-you should see the materials that they've got for me to play with, it's fucking candy land. I love it."

She tried not to look too confused at what he called it, just nodding helpfully, and before too long she said her goodbyes and headed back up to Thor's bedroom where they'd agreed to reconvene. Her hands ached for the feel of her new weapons, wishing she kept them at her sides, but if he was going to keep tinkering with them and make them better than she supposed it was better that way. Thor was already there, and the lines on his face were all the more pronounced as she knocked softly and entered once he gave her the go-ahead.

"How fares Tony?" He asked, moving to sit on the bed and patting the space beside him. She sat down without question, resting her head on his shoulder. His arm wrapped around her waist and he pressed his lips to the top of her head, closing his eyes as he forced himself to relax against her. She appreciated it, breathing in the heavy musk of ozone that was her lover.

"He's fine. Why don't you ask the question you're dying to, Thor?" She murmured.

"If you already know it then you ought to just answer it without me having to prompt you to do so, shouldn't you?" Thor asked, his body stiffening at her side with her accusation. She looked at him, one eyebrow rising, and felt him grow warm under her gaze.

"Apologies." He muttered. Yeah, that was what she thought. "What happened to Dra'ace? How is Jerome involved?"

"He poisoned the king. Aelyn and I watched him pour some of the drink for Dra'ace and watched as it killed him. Jerome didn't do a bloody thing to react to it, and when it was done he hid what evidence he could. He's using Dra'ace's death as an excuse to keep from getting involved in the war, and broke off the engagement between you and Aelyn in order to further justify his keeping the Alfheim army away."

Thor hardly breathed as she spoke, and she watched as his eyes went out of focus, his hands turning to fists on his knees. Outside the skies rumbled and fell pitch black as his mood turned sour.

"Thor, darling, stay with me." Natasha said, cupping his chin and turning his gaze onto her. It took a moment but his eyes zeroed in on her, focusing on her own eyes, and even closed when she leaned in to kiss him. "I know you're mad but there's nothing we can do about it from here, right now. I've already got Fenrir trying to find out what he can-that's why he stayed behind." She said. "But I need you to not fly into a rage-."

"I'm not about to rage," he growled to the contrary.

"Darling, look at me," she murmured, using both of his hands to hold his head. His eyes sparked, and she swore that she felt the air around them crackle with electricity. "Please, please just stay with me. We're going to figure this out." She promised. "But I was afraid to tell you because we don't have proof to pin him. Not beside what Aelyn and I saw, and I don't know if we can trust her to say what she saw. I don't know how comfortable she would be with speaking out against her king, her brother."

"Even if it's the truth?" He growled.

"Especially if it's the truth. It would destroy her family."

"So instead Thanos destroys the world."

"I know, it's difficult to sit by and not react. I know," she promised him, and leaned in to kiss him. He clutched her as tight as he could, so tight she near lost her breath. "But we'll figure it out." She had to believe they would. Thor didn't release her, just pulled her all the closer to him until she feared her ribs might be crushed from the embrace.

Loki appeared soon after, hardly having to take a whiff of the ozone that clogged the air before he realized what happened. "You told him?" He asked Nat, who nodded. "Good. Then I have news to share as well that ought to lighten the mood." He said, moving to stand opposite the pair of them. Natasha was glad of it. She'd had enough of bad news to last her five lifetimes.

"The Disir have agreed to help us," he said, lips splitting as he reached into his pocket to grab a stone much like the one that he'd once given to Natasha. "I am to crush this on the day of battle and they are to come to our aid. I promised them the souls of our enemies should they help, and they each agreed to it. Twenty may not be the largest of numbers, but they cannot die so easily, so I have hope. Even without Vanaheim or Alfheim, this is good news."

"It is," Thor said with a nod, standing to clap his brother on the back. "I have plans to leave this evening for Nidavellir, to speak with Hreidmar about bringing his troops in to help us."

Loki stiffened at the name, his face going so white so quickly that Natasha worried he'd been drained of blood by an invisible force.

"What, what's wrong?"

"I don't like dwarves," he murmured.

"They are our natural allies, Loki, so long as we do not double cross them." Thor said it so pointedly Natasha didn't have to wonder what it was that Loki had did to dislike them. Her silly husband.

"Another tale from your youth?" She asked, sounding exasperated.

"Aye. Not one I care to remember," Loki said, voice dark and eyes downcast at the memory. "Though I suppose that leaves Lord Katrik."

"I wish to go see him," Natasha said. "I think I can convince him to come to our side."

Neither of the men said a word against it, neither wanting to tell her no, even though they worried what it might cost her to spend time with the fire demons. She might get away with it, hopefully would, but really? Neither of them had high hopes for the success of convincing the demons to their side. They were impartial at best, and downright evil at worst. Loki didn't even look as though he wanted their help, but Nat shot him a glare.

"We need all the help we can get, and besides you need to go be with your brother and keep Jotunheim in check. Just in case. And figure out what we're doing with Helbindi." She sighed. Why was there so bloody much for them to keep doing?

She was about to open her mouth to say that it would be best of them to learn how to communicate when the door burst open, and a short, brunette woman stood in the doorway. She pressed her glasses up her nose, and gaped at the three of them for a moment until Natasha stared pointedly at her.

"Oh, uh. You guys are the royals, right? We've got a bit of a problem-well, my employer does. Friend. Jane's my friend. We've got a problem, and Bruce told me to come get you. Please."