Oh you KNOW who's about to show up :D
I mean, we weren't even subtle...
Chapter 8
It was pouring rain outside, which was entirely unsurprising, and also incredibly petty of Thor.
None of the rain touched Gabriel, of course. A child could have made a simple shield to keep a storm at bay.
A child with godly powers, that was.
And speaking of…
"All right, you asshole," Gabriel shouted, glaring around at the scenery. "Are you here to actually do anything, or to be passive-aggressive at me?"
Lightning cracked above him in response. Gabriel faintly heard the door of the bunker creak open.
"Tony, what the hell!" Rhodey shouted at him, standing inside the doorway to avoid the rain.
Gabriel groaned internally and was about to turn around when thunder rolled so loudly the ground shook.
He flung out a hand, shoving the door closed and locking it with a thought, and Thor crashed down in front of him.
"Great entrance," Gabriel told him, fixing him with his best unimpressed look. "I give it an A-plus for style but an F for being a dick."
"You," Thor said threateningly, pointing Mjölnir at Gabriel. "Where is the serpent?"
"You forgot to say 'please,'" Gabriel said. "It's the magic word."
"I did not come to joke with you, Loki!"
"That's a shame, since until you're actually willing to treat Jormungandr like an actual sentient being, I'm not dealing with you."
Thor scoffed. "You expect me to leave at your word when you've done this—"
"Zero points for listening skills," Gabriel said loudly, cutting him off. "I am so sick of this, okay, I just had this exact conversation with your mother." He put a hand to his chin, faking surprise. "Oh, wait, Frigg isn't—"
"That joke was old centuries ago," Thor growled.
Gabriel pretended to consider that. Eventually he shrugged. "Nah, it's still good. I mean, you guys are still going around and saying my kids are all mindless animals that are just going to decide to end the world one day, so what's one little bastard joke?"
"It was prophesied—"
"Prophecy, schmophecy." Gabriel made a show of pulling out a book (conjured into existence at that exact moment) and then ripping it into pieces. "Fate, wyrd, whatever – it's what you make of it, and you guys walked right into it." He paused briefly, hoping Atropos hadn't actually heard him make light of her job.
When she didn't show up to hit him with her clipboard, he continued speaking. "I mean, would they have done anything? Probably not, but then you guys just decided to lock them all up. What would you do if you were locked up for something you might do in the future? Get really mad? Decide to end the world? It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, but it's only self-fulfilling if you choose to think of it as true. And I'm tearing out the pages and saying no. It's worked for the humans, so I figure it's worth another shot or two."
Thor glared, readjusting his grip on Mjölnir. "You know how that prophecy was revealed to Odin," he spat.
"Of course I know, I was there! So were you, so don't go pretending like you're the one who told me."
"The vǫlva knew what she spoke of," Thor continued, like Gabriel hadn't spoken. "Dead or no—"
"Actually, I think the dead thing plays a very large part in this," Gabriel interrupted.
"The dead cannot lie."
"She knew one truth," Gabriel retorted. "One might-have-been that your father made true, in his infinite wisdom." He did his best to say "wisdom" as disdainfully as possible. "And if you had any idea at all about the future, then you'd know that it's not fixed. Anyone who tries looking into it is liable to get a really bad headache and maybe fry their eyeballs. Or die." He waggled his eyebrows meaningfully.
"Frigg could do it," Thor rumbled, glaring meaningfully.
"Frigg is a goddess who is capable of exerting a measure of self-restraint," Gabriel said. "Unlike certain gods who like to throw tantrums to make themselves look impressive—"
"Your silver tongue has rusted with age if that is the best you can come up with," Thor scoffed.
Gabriel's lips thinned, his eyes narrowing. "Well, die a time or two, come back to life, let's see what you deal with, hm?" he said quietly. "I've little patience to deal with you and your ilk, Thor. Frigg is fully aware of what I'm doing here, and if you'd like to keep your head on your shoulders, then I suggest you run back to Asgard and stay there."
"Not until I know what you plan to do with the Midgard Serpent," Thor snapped.
The venom behind the epithet exhausted the last drops of Gabriel's patience. "Whatever he wants to do," he hissed. "Without you getting in the way because of your 'fate.' I don't know if you noticed, but it's summer here, Thor. There's no Fimbulvinter, no omens. Whatever you came here to do, your own reasoning is flawed. Get the fuck out." He didn't wait for Thor to leave, snapping his fingers and roughly depositing him in the vicinity of Asgard. He could figure it out from there. The rain petered off as soon as Thor was gone.
Then, taking a few seconds to breathe until he'd calmed down, Gabriel let the door to the bunker open. "Okay, coast clear."
"Don't pun at me," Rhodey said sharply, glaring pointedly at the water pooled all around them.
"I'll pun however I want."
"You can do whatever the hell you want after you tell us why you locked us in the bunker while you were out here." Rhodey folded his arms, glaring at Gabriel. "Thor, Tony? Really?"
"Eavesdropping isn't nice, you know," Gabriel told James, sighing.
"There wasn't any eavesdropping involved," James said, shrugging.
"We lived with Loki, remember?" Natasha said. "And Thor brought a lot of rain whenever he got overly emotional. It's easy enough to put the pieces together."
"You wanted to meet that asshole?" Gabriel glanced at the spot where Thor had been, making a face when he felt the familiar sensation of a god traveling. He shoved at the offending presence, kicking them back in the direction they'd come from. "Really? Take it from me. You're better off without."
"It takes an asshole to know an asshole," Dean said from the bunker's door, raising an eyebrow at the water pooled at the bottom of the staircase.
"Ha, ha," Gabriel grumbled, stalking past him. "We're going. Now. I am not hanging around waiting for any other old pals to come wandering by and start yelling."
"You taking them right now?" Rhodey asked.
"I'm not leaving them here to deal with that, either." Gabriel could pinpoint their presence in the bunker easily; Coyote had long since vanished, but he wouldn't be that offended if Gabriel left without saying goodbye. He'd leave a short note for Sam and Dean to pass on to Hel, and whatever his universe had to offer by way of afterlife goddesses, he'd deal with it when he got back.
"So that's it, then?" Natasha seemed vaguely surprised, which was surprising in itself. "You're just leaving?"
"For now." Gabriel closed his eyes, unable to resist sending his consciousness down the tree to where Niflheim lay. "But I'll be back soon enough."
Even though they'd left somewhere around midday, it was nighttime when Gabriel landed them safely in the penthouse of the tower.
"Welcome home, sir," JARVIS said, making all three boys jump in surprise. "Shall I alert the team you've returned?"
"Nah, let 'em sleep," Gabriel said, flopping onto the nearest couch.
"Man," Rhodey said. "What time is it? I'm gonna get jet lag."
"Inter-dimensional jet lag," Natasha mused. "That's a new one."
"I'm sure it'll be a learning experience," Gabriel said dryly. Jormungandr slid onto his lap and curled up, still a little nervous from his close brush with Thor. Gabriel was beginning to suspect that he knew perfectly well how he and Thor were "prophesied" to have ended up.
"Are we back on the same day that we left?" Natasha asked. "Or did you slide us forward by a week or so?"
"JARVIS?"
"It is currently two in the morning on the same day you left."
"Nice," Gabriel said under his breath. "I'm definitely getting the hang of this."
"You say that and it sounds like you're still learning about traveling between dimensions," Rhodey said. "Does that mean we could've been lost in-between dimensions?"
"I've traveled between dimensions more often with you guys than I have in my entire life before being Tony Stark," Gabriel said. "It's unlikely that I would've lost you anywhere; angels are practically designed to transcend space and time, which includes dimensions. But yeah, mostly I was working from theory."
"I would've liked to be told that before we left," James muttered.
"You're fine, we're home safe, it's all good. You never have to take another trip if you don't want to. You weren't even supposed to come on this one. You volunteered yourself, remember?"
"No, others volunteered me."
"I distinctly remember you volunteering after I said I wanted to go," Natasha said.
"I wasn't going to let you go off alone!"
"Hey," Rhodey protested, affronted. "What am I – chopped liver?"
"I'm nonexistent, apparently," Gabriel muttered, stroking a gentle hand down Jormungandr's scales.
"You're good," James was telling Rhodey, "but not that good."
"Do I need to beat you down in the gym again before you realize that I'm better than you?" Natasha sounded thoroughly unimpressed.
"We're better together," James argued, clearly possessing absolutely no self-preservation instincts.
"Okay, you guys have fun discussing the fine points of why you guys decided to go." Gabriel shot them all a grin. "I'm going to go and run a quick errand."
"Where are you going?" Sleipnir asked, mild panic in his tone.
Switching to the Allspeak, Gabriel answered, "I need to arrange some things to make sure that Hel can come over here. It won't take me long, I promise. It's safe here." He glanced over to the doorway, raising a hand to wave a silent Gadreel in. "Gadreel over there won't let anything happen."
Fenris gave him a mistrustful look. "Another angel?"
"I wish you no harm," Gadreel told him gently, only slightly stiff as he looked between the three. "You are Gabriel's."
"See?" Gabriel slowly dislodged Jormungandr so he could stand. "Gadreel'll help keep an eye on things. And you guys will meet the others as soon as they realize they have guests. It'll take a bit before they get the hang of Norse, but give them a base to work off of and they'll go from there."
None of them said anything, but the trepidation on their faces spoke volumes. After a moment, Gabriel crouched and stroked his fingers through Fenris's ruff, keeping his other hand on Jormungandr. "I can get JARVIS to keep them out until I'm back. How's that sound?" he asked gently. "We've got an empty room or two that you guys can hide out in. Just let Gadreel know if you need something."
"That sounds better," Sleipnir said, sounding relieved. "Thanks."
"Sure thing." Gabriel lifted Jormungandr, giving Gadreel a quick nod and pointedly ignoring the smiles on the others' faces. "C'mon. I'll show you where you can bunk for the night. The bed should be big enough for all of you."
He headed to his own room, but had to stop the boys from going inside once seeing who was already in there. Honestly, Gabriel should have expected the bots to already be taking up most of the space in his bed. That the two cats were cuddled up on top of them was also unsurprising.
"All right," he sighed, as the three boys peered curiously around him. "Plan B, maybe."
"Who's that?" Sleipnir whispered.
"I know I mentioned your newer siblings." Gabriel gently herded them out of the doorway, and the door swung shut with a soft click behind them. "You can talk to 'em in the morning. Maybe one at a time. They can be overwhelming all at once."
Plan B consisted of one of the rare empty guest rooms that he had allocated for the occasional guest. That room was indeed empty, so he left the boys in there to their own devices and let Gadreel know where they were.
It wasn't very likely that they'd ask for help from an unknown angel, but it was good to have that backup plan in case things went awry. In the very remote possibility that something happened.
None of them objected to sharing the (large) bed, but Fenris had to be lured away from the windows. It was a pretty stunning view, if Gabriel did say so himself. New York at night was lit up, and the river was just visible between some of the buildings.
Once the boys were set up, Gabriel left before anyone else could hold him back. He really wasn't looking forward to going to Niffleheim again, but some things had to be done.
He just had to hope that he could handle it better this time. Maybe after already experiencing it once it wouldn't be so bad this time.
Preparation was half the battle, wasn't it?
With a slow exhale, Gabriel stopped in front of the gate. Only to run headfirst into a line of Enochian sigils that flared green.
Scrambling back, Gabriel shook off the lingering tendrils of Loki's magic, turning his head to give an impassive Loki a bland stare. "Really?"
Loki tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing. "You must be distracted if you fell for such an obvious trap."
"Well, you know. Parenthood. Suddenly got about twice as many people to worry about." Gabriel shrugged nonchalantly, but he really had run straight into it without noticing. That kind of attitude was not going to help with this universe's Hel.
"Hm." Loki didn't seem impressed with that answer. "Naturally. Yet you will still walk straight into Niffleheim?"
Gabriel glanced towards the entrance, brushing aside Loki's magic with a wave of his hand. "I've got something I need to do." He turned back to him. "Why are you here?"
"Your absence was noted." Loki rubbed his fingers together seemingly absentmindedly.
"You mean Rhodey called you up and told you what I was planning."
Loki's eyebrow twitched briefly before his face smoothed out. "After what happened in your old universe, you are once again walking unaided into Niffleheim? And you would bargain with Hela, knowing nothing of who she is."
Hela? Huh. Apparently Frigg wasn't the only one whose counterpart had an Anglicized name.
Something of his surprise must have shown on his face, since Loki gave a small smirk. "You did not even know her name, did you? Then you also know nothing of Niffleheim's atmosphere. Perhaps yours is cold, but Hela's is more akin to what humans view as Hell."
"Hot and fiery?"
"Yes." Loki stepped forward, pulling even with Gabriel, looking into Niffleheim. "You would go alone," he said quietly, "but you need not do so."
"You don't have to come." Gabriel hesitated briefly. "This doesn't have anything to do with you."
"Does it not?" Loki stepped forward, raising a hand and letting wards flare to life with a flicker of his fingers. "You are my friend, and you want your daughter here. I have had dealings with Hela before in my younger days when I was less inclined to responsibility."
"When you went haring off after Frost Giants, you mean?"
"Before." Loki's eyes tightened at the memory, and he shook his head. "In any case, while you may somehow manage to wrangle something with Hela, she is not particularly favorable to those she does not know. Furthermore, your particular style of negotiating may…anger her."
"You mean I'll piss her off and she'll kick me out." Gabriel pursed his lips, thinking back to his first look at Niffleheim back when he'd first regained his Grace. Hela's energies hadn't impressed him then, and now that he was on the edge of her realm's boundaries, he was even less impressed.
No doubt the Avengers would eventually face down Hela as a villain. If she stuck around in her realm, that was. Hopefully (for two reasons) she wouldn't.
Loki inclined his head in agreement. "Yes."
"And she's less likely to do that if you're with me."
"Doubtlessly."
"Okay." Gabriel nodded once and clapped a hand on Loki's shoulder. "Let's go, then. I'll let you do the introductions. Poke me or something if I do something wrong."
Loki's face was suspiciously blank. "Of course."
Shooting Loki a narrow-eyed look, Gabriel gestured for him to go first. "Shall we?"
Entering this realm was different than heading into Niflheim in his old universe. There wasn't a gate so much as a place where their surroundings shifted suddenly from the branches of Yggdrasil to barren land, the air much hotter than Gabriel had expected.
Compared to the freezing chill of Hel's realm, this was a relief. He could shrug off heat much more easily than cold.
To his surprise, Loki gently touched his elbow reassuringly before walking ahead, picking a seemingly arbitrary direction. After a moment, Gabriel followed, paying attention to their surroundings and the path they took.
The spirits of this realm weren't particularly interested in investigating the strange visitors wandering through their realm. He did see one or two curious souls, but for the most part they were left alone.
The environment changed at points as well, changing to become darker and gloomier as they traveled deeper into the realm. But it wasn't half as cold as it had been in the other realm.
"Be respectful and quiet," Loki told him some time later. "I will let you know when you can present your case."
Gabriel pulled a face. "There's a reason I never become a lawyer. What's her temperament?"
"Calm and yet also volatile. It depends entirely on her current mood and entertainment." Loki paused, considering. "She is fond of violence."
Gabriel hummed in acknowledgement, contemplating the angle he could take to persuade Hela to move. Violence was one thing his old universe was good at, although a case could be made for this one, too, considering all the superheroes and supervillains.
"Okay," he said finally. "Let's do this."
Loki gave him a long look, eyes dark, before he nodded. "You can do this," he assured Gabriel.
Before Gabriel could say anything, Loki moved forwards, rounding a craggy mountainous corner and stopping before a large throne that was carved into the mountain. Sitting upon it was a woman who was unrecognizable to Gabriel, clothed in green and black and with horns jutting out from the black mask covering the upper half of her face. Even with the cover of her clothes and the mask, it was easy to see that both halves of her face were alive.
Loki didn't bow, but he did incline his head, keeping his eyes on Hela's face. "Hela."
"Loki." Hela's voice was disdainful. "Who is your companion?"
"This is Gabriel of Midgard, also known as Anthony Stark." Loki didn't look back at Gabriel. "You know this."
"Perhaps I wished to see if you would lie." Hela's smile was brief but chilling. "What brings you to my domain, Loki? You are the advisor to the king of Asgard now, are you not?" She said it like it was an insult. "Once you would never have accepted such a position."
"Advisors can start wars if they wish." Loki's smile was thin, his eyes hard. "They can also stop them with the right words. The throne is pretty, but the real power lies behind it."
"If the person sitting in it listens," Hela said. She glanced away from Loki, at Gabriel. "You have never come to see me before. What has changed?"
Loki didn't move, but his stance shifted enough to tell Gabriel that he could speak now. He didn't need the warning prod of Loki's magic to tell him to be careful about how he spoke. "I wasn't going to intrude where I wouldn't be welcome."
Hela snorted, smirking derisively. "You thought little of intruding when you passed through before, clearing it of those beasts."
"Ah, well…" Gabriel shrugged, giving a beatific smile. "Better to ask forgiveness than permission, isn't it? I didn't get the impression they were exactly welcome here." There was a sharp poke from Loki's magic, although he didn't move beyond blinking.
"Hm." Hela said nothing else, eyes narrowing behind her mask. "Then what brings you here now? Surely an archangel of the Lord has no reason to visit the realm of a lowly goddess."
She'd definitely heard of him then, which wasn't all that surprising now. Word of the Leviathan and what had happened must have spread via word of mouth.
"Even archangels of the Lord aren't all-powerful." Gabriel couldn't help a wry smile. "And goddesses have power, particularly a goddess of the dead such as you."
Hela didn't say anything, but he could tell she was raising an eyebrow behind that mask. There was just something about her that revealed it without anything showing.
Taking a slow breath, Gabriel modulated his tone until it revealed nothing other than what he wanted to show. "My original universe has a realm; similar to yours but different. There have been a few different apocalypses as well."
Hela did react to that, leaning forwards in interest. "A few different ones, you say?"
"Yeah, well…" Gabriel shrugged. "Humans will do what they want, as will the gods. And angels. It's a mess, honestly, too many pantheons sharing the same Earth. And I just dropped by recently, checking up on things. It's…well…" He laughed, shrugging again and rubbing the back of his head. "I thought this universe had it bad, after the Leviathan, but it's really got nothing on there."
Hela fixed him with a narrow-eyed look. "I assume you have a point somewhere in this monologue?"
"I've heard a lot about your methods. Good things about how you keep things under control here while also managing things outside of this place, too. Which is really awesome since I know from the Hel back in the other place that it's insanely difficult to keep things under control here."
Loki's face didn't show anything, but Gabriel could tell he wanted to do something. From the disbelief radiating from him, it was probably a blank stare.
"What I'm asking…" Gabriel paused, putting on an indecisive face. "I'm saying that place could use a firm hand like yours. The apocalypses are getting a little out of hand. Sure, the first one we had wasn't too bad, but the ones after that were a little much. The only thing they really accomplished was shaking things out of order even further. It wouldn't take much to assert yourself."
Hela didn't move, except for her hand tapping very slowly on the arm of her throne. "You would like me to put your universe back in order?" If she'd been more expressive, Gabriel might have taken a leap and said she sounded amused. By what, he couldn't guess – he'd only met her about a minute ago, after all.
"Just because I don't live there anymore doesn't mean I don't care about the people there," Gabriel said.
"I don't see why you bother," Hela said indifferently.
Gabriel shrugged. "That's the difference between the two of us, I suppose." He hid a wince when Loki poked him with his magic once more. That he'd worked a little Enochian into it didn't help. "If you don't want to do it," he continued, "that's fine. I'm sure someone else would be willing to help out. I mean, this universe is chump change compared to that one." Okay, ow, Loki. He poked back, deliberately not looking at Loki.
"No one else could look over Niffleheim," Hela said pointedly. "Who else could you ask but a goddess of the dead?"
"Who said it's Nifflleheim that needs to be put back in order? I could easily get someone who'd be willing to look over something else."
Hela paused for the barest instant. "You mislead me," she said, not sounding very pleased about it. "What realm do you speak of, then?"
"Helheim, for a start," Gabriel said plainly. "But, more generally, I'm talking Earth. Or Midgard, if you will. You're my first choice, but I could find someone else."
"There is no one else here," Hela snapped, her temper flaring.
"We're speaking of multiple universes," Gabriel replied. "You're not the only Hel. You may certainly be the most accomplished I've met, but not the only one of your name – or position."
"You tread dangerous grounds, Gabriel." Hela stood, descending the few steps from her throne until she stood on the same level as him. She was, frustratingly, the tiniest bit taller – or maybe that was the horns on her weird mask thing. "You demand that I move to your universe, leaving my responsibilities here. What sort of ruler would I be if I did that?"
"A bad one," Gabriel admitted. He batted aside Loki's warning prod that felt more peeved than anything else now. At least he was being honest! "I apologize, but I understand where you're coming from. There is a Hel in my old universe. If you're willing, I can discuss the matter with her as well."
"And act as my proxy?" Hela scoffed. "I would see what she had to say myself."
"And her realm, as well?" Gabriel paused, making it a point to look around. "It's not as cool as yours."
"Flattery alone will not persuade me," Hela said coolly. "What benefits do you reap from this, Archangel Gabriel? You would not come to me on a whim."
Gabriel shrugged, doing his best to seem casual. "I liked that Hel," he answered. "Having met you, I don't think I would mind quite as much which one of you ruled which, but I thought I would propose the idea to you nonetheless." He let his stance go loose. "The decision is up to you. I can go find someone else if you'd rather not."
Hela's quick response was more telling than if she'd decided to say nothing at all. "I did not give you an answer yet."
Gabriel didn't speak, raising his eyebrows inquiringly.
"I will consider your proposition," Hela said after a moment, her earlier aggression fading.
"Thank you." Gabriel refrained from saying anything like "that's nice of you" – he wasn't sure how well implying that she was nice would go over. "If you wish to talk, you're welcome to drop by, although a warning in advance would be appreciated."
There was a look on Hela's face that signaled she'd taken that suggestion and filed it away somewhere to be forgotten. Or maybe that look meant she was going to do the exact opposite to prove a point. Gabriel had met plenty of people like that before.
Well, no one could say he hadn't tried.
"If you'll excuse us?" Gabriel put a hand on Loki's shoulder in preparation to leave, but waited for Hela to nod sharply before he took off.
"I find I will never get used to that feeling," Loki sighed, when they landed.
"Join the club, I've heard they have meetings where they complain," Gabriel said. "It might just be Clint, though."
Loki tilted his head. "Actually…I have heard similar complaints from your other friends. Although Steven refrains from doing so even in private."
"I'm being secretly ganged up on," Gabriel complained.
"I'm sure your children will take your side," Loki said dryly. "Before you go to do whatever else it is you have planned, shall I call Heimdall or do you mind dropping me back home?"
"I should let you catch your own ride." Gabriel tightened his grip on Loki's shoulder. "But since I'm nice like that, I'll drop you back."
Loki fixed him with a carefully blank look. "How kind of you."
"That's me." Gabriel grinned at him, taking off in the next second. Loki's pained face was a treasure.
Heimdall only raised his eyebrows when they landed. "Thor wondered where you had gone," he rumbled. "You returned quickly – both of you," he added, fixing his golden-eyed stare on Gabriel.
"From your perspective," Gabriel said, flashing a grin and trying to quell thoughts of another, distinctly less friendly Heimdall. He let his hand drop from Loki's shoulder, giving him a nod. "Thanks for helping out. Say hi to Thor for me?"
There was a short pause from Loki where he gave Gabriel an unreadable look. Eventually he just nodded. "I wish you luck," he offered. "I look forward to meeting your newest acquisitions."
"They'll probably be incredibly confused by you," Gabriel said, smile growing a little more honest. "I'm looking forward to it, too, believe me."
Loki's answering smile was mischievous. "Mischief is our trade, is it not?"
"Trade, hobby, general reputation…same thing." Gabriel turned his gaze sideways, noting the rising sun back on Earth. "I should get back before they're swarmed by curious well-wishers. Feel free to drop by anytime. Thor's welcome, too, as long as he keeps Mjölnir out of sight and keeps relatively quiet."
Loki's answering face said full well what he thought of Thor's ability to be quiet.
"Yeah," Gabriel sighed. "That's what I thought." Taking a step back, he nodded to Heimdall and gave Loki a quick wave before heading back home.
He'd done what he could. Now he just had to wait and hope.
Given the early morning, Gabriel hadn't actually expected anyone to keep him company, but Rhodey plopped himself down next to him on the couch, yawning widely.
"The fact that you don't sleep anymore is a pain," Rhodey told him, rubbing his eyes.
"No one said you had to be up at this time." Gabriel eyed him curiously. "Why are you up now?"
"My sleep schedule is completely whacked, that's why." Rhodey covered his next yawn with a hand. "Anyway, I had something I wanted to talk to you about. It's best said away from prying ears."
"O…kay?" Gabriel couldn't help the suspicion.
"Don't look at me like that. It's nothing bad." Rhodey paused, considering. "Or maybe it is, since you hate talking about it normally."
"I talk about everything."
"You bluster; you don't necessarily talk." Rhodey gave him an amused smile. "I get it if you don't want to talk about it now, but I'd like some answers considering I heard one side of the story from Dean and Sam."
Gabriel couldn't help but wonder what exactly the brothers had told Rhodey. "What story?"
Rhodey didn't answer the question immediately. "You've never really talked about what happened before you died the first time. You told us enough that we know Lucifer killed you, and you hinted at some other stuff, but you never really explained. And, I gotta say, what Dean and Sam said doesn't exactly match up with what I know of you."
"You know me now." Gabriel forced himself to relax, managing a smile. "A lot's changed."
"Yeah, you say that, but I don't think you've changed that much. Sure, maybe you're more human now, but you're still you." Rhodey leaned his shoulder against Gabriel's, his body warmth palpable even through clothes. "I got their side of things, but what about yours? I know you like painting yourself as the bad guy sometimes, but you're not."
Gabriel couldn't help a snort. "Says who?"
"Anyone who actually knows you," Rhodey answered easily.
Letting the silence hang for several minutes, Gabriel dropped his head back against the backrest of the couch, looking up against the ceiling. Eventually, he said, "What exactly do you want to know?"
"What was going through your head? They said you weren't for either side, but you weren't really helping them either with the tricks you pulled. And when you did do it, Dean said he talked you into facing Lucifer."
Gabriel's bark of laughter was harsh, his tone biting when he responded. "You know what I was thinking during the whole thing? I was tired. I was so damn relieved when they kick-started the damn apocalypse. I'd tried stalling by warning Sam off, but he wasn't listening, so I gave up. And then it started, so what did I have to lose? One way or another, it'd be over as long as those two played their roles. It wasn't like there was a third option since it had been all but written in stone after the Fall.
"And here these two humans were, and they weren't listening to a thing anyone said, doing what they wanted and saying they'd make a third option." Gabriel paused, recalling the moment they'd realized they weren't dealing with a trickster after all and trapped him to ask what he was doing. "I didn't know what to think. Still didn't when the gods met at the Elysian. I didn't exactly get a proper invite, but word spreads through the grapevine even down to beings like tricksters, so I showed up."
Slipping back into Loki's skin had been as easy as breathing, even though there'd been close calls with Dean and Sam. Then again, it hadn't been needed in the end when Kali figured it out.
"You still didn't want to do anything." There was no judgment in Rhodey's tone.
"Fuck no." Gabriel's grin was bitter. "Why the hell would I? This was Lucifer, Michael's equal. I didn't have a chance, but I wanted to get the others out. And…well…I didn't want to face him either."
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "And…it was an old argument, for me. I was sick of it. It started before Lucifer fell, but nobody ever let it go afterwards. Before was the worst of it. Michael and Lucifer would never stop arguing, and Raphael never wanted to be the one to stop them – she liked Michael too much, she wasn't neutral enough. Neither was I, really, but I could fake it. And anyone younger – less powerful – would've gotten torn apart.
"I left 'cause I was sick of being the mediator, mostly. If you'd spent your whole life trying to prevent your siblings' argument from spiraling out of control, wouldn't you throw the towel in when it finally did and they all tried to drag you back into it again?"
Rhodey's tone was noncommittal as he pointed out, "You did get dragged back into it."
"Kicking and screaming, but yeah." He closed his eyes, remembering what Dean had told him. "Dean kicked my ass, all right. But nothing he said was a lie. And it reminded me just what we'd forgotten over time."
Quietly, like he knew the answer but wasn't sure, Rhodey asked, "What was that?"
Gabriel turned to look at him, giving him a small smile. "We were supposed to protect you guys. Humans, the Earth… It wasn't ever about us. And, somehow, we'd forgotten that. So I got off my ass and did something." And had gotten killed for it, even though he hadn't ever expected a different outcome. "Now, I don't regret what I did. But, possibly, I could've changed things if I'd gotten involved sooner. If I'd taken a stand before…" He sighed, Gadreel's words from before echoing in his ears. "Well, it doesn't matter anymore."
"Seems like it still matters to you," Rhodey said.
"It was a while ago, even for me."
"And you're claiming it doesn't affect you anymore, after the dramatic monologue you just gave me?" Rhodey gave Gabriel an are you kidding me look. "Especially after you've said all that stuff before about 'angels not changing easily' and being 'really set in their ways.' I can imagine how long you've been beating yourself up about that argument."
"I never said I was—" Gabriel protested.
"You implied it," Rhodey interrupted. "And, geez, Tony, you think I don't know how to read you? It doesn't matter that you're not just Tony anymore. You're still my best friend, and I know you. You're still beating yourself up about what happened, even though what you did is honestly one of the scariest and bravest things anyone can do." He paused, reaching around Gabriel's shoulders to wrap him in a hug.
"I ran away and then died the moment I got pulled back into the fight," Gabriel said dryly, trying to sound casual.
"Don't be stupid," Rhodey said. "From the sound of it, you did the best thing you could for yourself, and sometimes that's who you've gotta watch out for. The dying thing isn't on you. And it's okay to still be upset that your brother killed you, even if that's a normal thing in your old universe."
"Not really," Gabriel muttered, valiantly pretending he wasn't leaning into Rhodey's hug. Judging from the way Rhodey's arm tightened, he wasn't fooled.
"Nah, you keep saying you guys are pretty violent and not the typical Hallmark postcards. Ergo, the constant threat of death is normal."
"We weren't violent towards each other. Not usually."
"The fact that there's an exception proves my point, probably," Rhodey said. "Plus, I've read some of those Norse sagas, too."
"Those were a product of their time," Gabriel grumbled, but it occurred to him that circumstances under which Rhodey had probably gone looking for them were...not great. "Which ones?" he asked lightly.
Rhodey was silent, for a moment. "First one we ran into was called Lokasenna," he said, and Gabriel closed his eyes and silently cursed at whatever deity ran Google (someone probably did, at this point) back in his old universe.
"You know not all of that really happened?" Gabriel knew he didn't sound lighthearted enough to fool Rhodey.
"How much of it was true, then?"
The real answer was most of it, but Gabriel didn't want to say that. He had a feeling his silence was just as telling.
"'Cause I gotta say," Rhodey continued, when Gabriel didn't speak, "killing a dude's servant for no reason doesn't seem like you."
Gabriel had to rack his brains for a moment before he remembered how the story went, versus what had actually happened. "That didn't happen then," he said, and then winced. Wow, that was so not any better than the story.
"Which one?" Rhodey asked dryly. "The one that they said got Loki kicked out, or the one who supposedly died trying to stop you from getting back in?"
Gabriel sat up, leaning forward and away from the arm Rhodey still had slung around his shoulders. "I don't know if you noticed," he said, "but that took place after they did all that stuff to my kids."
"There was a passing mention of it," Rhodey said. "None of it really seems that pleasant."
"The end isn't true," Gabriel said. "They couldn't have caught me if they tried, much less done…the rest of it to me. They just had the author put it in there to make themselves feel better."
"And the rest was true?"
Gabriel sighed. "You've been in school," he said. "I'm sure they went over the Middle Ages at some point. It was a different time. Different things were acceptable."
"I kinda got the feeling that the whole point of that story was that you did everything that wasn't."
Well…yes. Gabriel didn't voice that thought aloud.
"What else did you look up?" he asked, still looking across the room and out the windows at the dark city outside them. "I'm guessing you didn't stop there."
"I did," Rhodey said. "Natasha was a little more curious."
Of course it had been Natasha. "Let me guess," Gabriel said sardonically, rising and pacing away. "She found a different story about a little bet I made."
"Man, I only heard bits and pieces, but I really hope that one was made up."
Gabriel raised a hand, absentmindedly, to his mouth.
"Dude," Rhodey said, "really?"
"I didn't think I was going to lose," Gabriel snapped, which was the worst defense he had ever come up with in his entire life, and even he knew it the moment he said it.
"Are you serious?"
"I thought you said you didn't read it," Gabriel said, spinning around to face Rhodey again.
"I heard enough," Rhodey said, looking torn between being aghast and angry. "I didn't want to read about my best friend getting his lips sewn shut! Betting your head?"
"It's not like I knew they were going to make Thor's wet dream of a weapon!"
"Which is why you don't make bets like that." Rhodey said, leaning very solidly towards anger.
"No one said I was in my present mindset when I did it." If he hadn't been Loki, then he wouldn't even have considered it, his own sense of self-preservation coming into play.
"That's the excuse you're going with?"
"Excuse me for being a god with confidence! Which ones of us don't have any? No one!" Gabriel threw his arms up in frustration. "It didn't last for very long, all right, the dwarves might have known some magic but it wasn't like it was permanent."
"Oh, that makes me feel so much better, it was only for a little while," Rhodey retorted. "I know what you consider 'a little while,' Tony! A few centuries might as well be a second!"
"It wasn't—" More than a decade. Gabriel cut off that very non-reassuring sentence before he could finish it. "It wasn't that bad. I don't feel things like humans do, or like other gods. It was, at worst, an inconvenience until I could reasonably fix it without raising suspicion. There weren't any scars, either."
"You think that matters? Getting your lips sewn shut because of a bad bet isn't cool."
"What do you want me to do? Go back in time and tell myself not to do it?" Gabriel couldn't keep back the frustration. "It's over with, Rhodey. It's not something I remember every five seconds and think about. It was a mistake, but it wasn't even that bad of a mistake."
"I'm upset because you did something stupid and got hurt over it, and I'm wondering what else you did as Loki," Rhodey said. "I'm your friend, okay? It matters to me that it happened, even if you don't care anymore."
Rhodey's sincerity was plain, along with his caring. Gabriel couldn't help but soften in response.
"I know," he said, sitting down next to Rhodey again, "but it really doesn't matter. It…it was a miniscule fraction of my life, even though it's a lot more to you. And I know a lot of what I did doesn't make sense to you or is kind of horrifying, but we went over this before. I'm not going to make excuses for my actions, since it won't make sense to you regardless." He reached out to touch Rhodey, clasping his shoulder gently. "But the fact that you care means a lot. So thanks."
Rhodey huffed, not looking very reassured. "As long as you promise never to do it again."
"What kinda person in this day and age would ask me to wager my head? Who would want it?" Odin had kept Mimir's head around after the latter had lost the rest of himself, but Gabriel doubted anyone he knew – or who knew of him – would have the knowledge or power to do the same. Especially not to an archangel.
"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure the Avengers will have at least one whack job lining up to demand it. Or maybe someone else from your old universe will pop up wanting recompense because something didn't go the way they wanted." Rhodey narrowed his eyes. "So don't do it. Even if you can re-grow your head or something."
"As if anybody could offer me anything worth paying for this beauty," Gabriel said, stroking his goatee exaggeratedly. The ring they'd named Draupnir had been pretty cool, actually, but definitely not worth paying a head for.
Rhodey smacked his shoulder with the back of his hand. "Stop it. I'm not joking."
"I know you're not." Gabriel kept his voice soothing. "I'm not the same person who'd do that anymore."
"I don't know. You were pretty insistent before on Loki being part of you."
"And I'm still Loki, but not all Loki." Gabriel paused, unsure of how to explain something that was just natural. "It won't make sense," he said eventually. "It's not something I can explain, but it just is. I'm Loki, but he's just a part of me. I don't need to be all Loki." Sighing in aggravation, Gabriel rubbed his forehead. "Think of it like how I'm Tony and Gabriel at the same time. Except Loki's less."
Rhodey didn't respond immediately, brow furrowed. "You're right. That doesn't make sense."
"Yeah, I got nothing else." Gabriel shot him a wary look. "You done interrogating me on my past choices?"
"Depends how many more bad ones get brought up," Rhodey said, "but yeah, I'll leave it for tonight."
"Don't you mean morning?"
Rhodey grimaced, refusing to look out the window at the lightening sky. "No."
Gabriel conceded the point. "All right, but you don't get to judge me on the choices I made as a god. Sure, I was confident as heck, but I had zero self-preservation except for when it counted." "When it counted" depended on a number of variables Gabriel didn't think he could pin down if his life depended on it.
"All right," Rhodey sighed. "I promise to only judge you for the stuff I was around for."
"I'll take that, I guess."
I personally kind of picture Thor with blond hair, although he's not quite the MCU version of Thor. But we deliberately kept his description vague so you guys can do what you'd like with that. Also, he's a bit of a jerk, sorry.
That conversation with Rhodey was rough, but it did need to be done. Gabriel's never actually told anyone the specifics of what happened before his first death, although he didn't even explain everything now. He's got a lot of guilt to deal with, which is a thing that's both Gabriel and Tony. It's also not something that's just going to disappear, since A) he's an angel and B) it's his personality. ^^;
Hela is a villain in Marvel comics. And, yes, she really does have a ridiculous outfit. Actually, there are various versions that look more ridiculous than others. Much like Steve's infamous Nomad costume and the time Clint wore a mini-skirt (both in comics). She's not Loki's kid in this universe, so their relationship is more neutral. Once upon a time they may have been allies, but they're not here. That doesn't mean Loki doesn't know how to interact with her, so he was the perfect companion for Gabriel here. :P
As a note from Alatar...
Honestly...just look at ofool's character lineup for their story 'Runebound' because they've pretty much got a perfect Thor (I love their Loki, too, but then again I like every version of Loki pretty much). Maybe with slightly straighter and longer hair, but you get the idea! You can find that on ofool's tumblr: ofools dot tumblr dot com slash post/142173852269/yet-another-character-lineup
As for the story...the first saga referenced in the conversation with Rhodey is, as he said, the Lokasenna. If you look here (www dot sacred-texts dot com slash ), you'll find the fancy, well-translated version of the myth. It's a very scholarly translation, and I get that some people might be a little put off by that, so:
For the 'fun' version (and I use fun loosely here) and also the far more accessible version, check this link (bettermyths dot com slash 387-2/); it will be under the Norse tab, labeled as 'Loki takes it just a little too far'.
The second myth doesn't have a name, as far as I can tell. However, here (norse-mythology dot org slash tales/loki-and-the-dwarves/) is a version that isn't too high-handedly worded. If you liked bettermyths so much when you checked out the Lokasenna/Loki Taking It Too Far, there is also a version of this myth posted there, titled 'Thor gets a hammer'.
Anyway, yay! Things going relatively well! Let's hope Gabriel's luck holds with Hela.