I am a despicable human being. This chapter is LONG overdue, and I have no excuse.
Erika belongs to me, this story's interpretations of Jormungand and Fenrir belong to me, and everyone else belongs to Stan Lee and Marvel Studios
I'm not ignoring Loki, I promise. I'm just waiting for something to happen that he can participate in.
Steve meant to confront Jormungand the next day during their morning routine of coffee and whatever new treat Jormungand had baked, but just as he was getting ready to say something, Jormungand's brother swaggered into the kitchen. He looked Jormungand and Steve up and down, "Svo, bróðir, hefur þú tókst að laumast leið þinni í rúminu sínu ennþá?" he asked, sneering.
Jormungand sneered right back. "Ekkert fyrirtæki þitt," he snapped.
Fenrir smirked. "Ég efast að hann myndi aldrei lækka sig til fjandans þig." His smile was sharp and cruel. "Ekki einu sinni Rannhal vildi láta þig sjúga hani hans - ég veit að þú hefur tekið eftir því hvernig svipuð fyrirliði er hann."
Jormungand flinched. "Ekki tala um hluti sem þú skilur ekki!" he snapped, and then glared at Fenrir.
This only made Fenrir laugh.
Steve opened his mouth to ask what it was Fenrir had said, but one look at how upset Jormungand was getting made Steve straighten up and fix Fenrir with a look. "I don't know what you said to him, but you need to stop," he said firmly.
Fenrir only laughed again. "Hversu sæt, skipstjóra ver hóra hans," he chortled.
Jormungand's face was red—from anger or embarrassment, he couldn't tell. "Taka að aftur!" he snarled.
"Hvaða hluti? Að þú ert hóra, eða að þú láta hann berjast bardaga, þegar hann er ekki einu sinni skilja orð okkar? Sparring passar okkar meina ekkert-þú hefur alltaf notað bragðarefur til bestu mig, en í sönnum baráttunni þú myndi missa-ekki ýta heppni þína, litla bróður."
Steve had no idea what was being said, but it didn't sound good. He didn't understand why Fenrir was purposefully being hurtful—he could tell it was hurtful, for Jormungand looked extremely upset.
"Ég vara þig vita, bróðir - horfa tunguna," said Jormungand, a threat evident in his voice.
Fenrir smirked and opened his mouth to respond.
Erika was jerked from her sleep when the building shook. "Wha?" she mumbled sleepily. Another tremor and she was shaken right onto the floor. "Jesus!" She scrambled to her feet and headed towards the door to her room.
The Avengers (plus Loki) were up and assembled—well, sort of. It was still earlier than any of them were used to being awake, so they all looked tired. And cranky.
Bruce actually looked a little green.
Erika was about to ask what the hell was going on when they heard Tony's voice from the other room.
"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO MY TOWER?!"
The entire wall of the room leading towards the balcony was gone. Just . . . . gone.
Erika ventured towards the wreckage and saw something she hadn't seen in a long time. "Holy shit," she breathed.
Her brothers were in their true forms, out in public, and they were currently having a disagreement that was leveling the neighborhood.
"Is that . . . . . ?" Clint started uncertainly, staring down at the two monsters tearing each other apart.
"Yup."
Loki didn't look surprised. "I had wondered when something like this would happen."
"They got the call from Director Fury not long after, and he was not happy.
After the call, Steve let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, let's get this over with."
Separating the brothers long enough to sedate them was not fun. Natasha broke her arm in the process, and Steve got swatted into a building hard enough for his ribs to crack. He wasn't worried—it would heal.
He was more concerned about Natasha. He only left her side when she insisted she'd be alright, and even then he hesitated.
"I'm fine, Steve," Natasha insisted. "Go help the others."
Lucky for all of them, Tony had been working on something to disrupt magical signatures—like a magnetic field. He got close enough to the fighting monsters and activated a small grenade before dropping it directly above them.
There was a crackle of energy and both monsters screamed before collapsing, both of them reverting to human form.
Both of them were taken into S.H.I.E.L.D custody, their magic locked tight with restraints that had been fashioned after Loki's assault with the Chiutari.
"They're gonna be pissed when they wake up," Erika sighed as she and Tony walked down the halls of the S.H.I.E.L.D base. She had convinced Tony to take her to where they were being held, and she was hoping that Director Fury would listen to what she had to say.
"This is exactly why I was against letting Norse legends have free reign of the Tower," said a very angry Nick Fury as he led them to a containment area. "I don't need these motherfucking monsters ruining my motherfucking city." He turned and pointed directly at Tony. "I warned you, if shit went south, the blame would be on you!"
Tony didn't even get a chance to respond before Fury was storming down the halls again.
"Director, please," Erika began. "I'm sure they have a—well, not a good excuse, exactly, but I'm sure it's . . . . no, reasonable is the wrong word, too. Shit. Um, Just let me talk to them? Please?"
Fury wasn't impressed.
"Look, I don't know what happened, but I'm sure it won't happen again. Maybe. Pretty sure." A pause, then, "This isn't helping my case at all, is it?"
"No, Miss Stark, it is not."
Another sigh. "Can I at least talk to them?"
". . . . Fine."
"What the Hel was that about?" was the first thing out of Erika's mouth as she glared at Fenrir. "What the Hel did you say to him? And don't say you didn't start it, because I know you did!"
Fenrir lunged forward and snarled at her—like, actually snarled!
"Use your words, doofus!" she snapped. "What did you say to Jormungand?"
He snapped something rude in a language Erika was sure nobody else in the room (beside Jormungand and her) understood.
Erika rolled her eyes and turned to the other side of the room, where a bruised and bloody Jormungand sat and glared at Fenrir.
Erika sat on the other side of the glass. She didn't say anything—she just waited.
Jormungand would speak, in his own time.
A deep breath, then he muttered something Erika didn't quite catch.
Erika raised a hand to cup her ear and raised an eyebrow.
Jormungand huffed. "He provoked me. I shouldn't have let it get to me, but he . . . . he called me . . . something . . . . and it stung. It hurt even worse when he dragged Captain Rogers into it, and I . . . I've been called worse, believe me—I don't know why, but this time was different. This time . . . ." Jormungand shook his head.
Erika's glare softened. "Will you tell me what he called you?"
Jormungad shook his head, his face flushed a deep red.
Erika sighed and stood up. "I'm going to talk to Director Fury and see when you can come home."
Jormungand snorted. "I suppose I'll be lucky to ever see daylight again," he muttered.
"Don't say that!" Erika snapped. "Just . . . . don't. He'll let you go—He let Mom go, so I know he'll let you go."
"The only reason my father is allowed to roam free is because of his lack of magic."
". . . . . maybe that's what it's going to take for you to come home, then."
Jormungand looked horrified.
Erika put a hand on the glass. "Look, I know you don't wanna give up your magic. I get it. I just . . . . really want you to be able to come home, no matter what it costs."
Erika begged Fury to let Jormungand and Fenrir out of S.H.I.E.L.D custody, She begged, and she begged. She told him they could build custom braces, to contain their magic, so things like this wouldn't happen again. They could limit the brothers' access to certain places in the tower, always separate from each other until they could learn to be civil with each other again.
"Please, Sir," Erika begged, her voice giving out from all the talking and crying she'd done. "I just want my brothers back. Please." She took a deep breath.
She had one more thing to offer, and she knew the Director would cave.
"How the hell did you convince Fury to let them out?" an incredulous Clint asked Erika as she and her brothers exited the elevator to the main living floor.
Erika winked at him as she motioned at Jormungand to go fix the hole in the wall. "Skills," was all she said as she watched her brother's magic repair all the damage he and Fenrir had caused. When he was done, he dragged his feet back to Erika and stuck his wrists out towards his sister.
"Sorry," she said quietly as she fastened thin metal bracelets around Jormungand's wrists.
Fenrir tried to bite her when she tried putting his on, and she slapped him across the face, hard, before clamping the bracelets around his wrists, making sure they pinched him.
"What are those for?" a wary Bruce asked.
"The Director has been oh-so-kind enough as to release my brother and me, on the condition that our magic be bound," Jormungand muttered, glaring at his wrists.
Bruce seemed to relax at his words. "Well, you two should really see a doctor—you don't look so good."
They really didn't—Fenrir had a split lip and Jormungand had a nasty gash on the side of his cheek. Both of them had bruises and cuts all over their faces and hands.
Out of the two of them, Jormungand looked the worst.
"I'll take them down to Medical in a minute," said Erika.
Fenrir spat something else in his and Jormungand's mother tongue and Erika fought the urge to slap him again. "On second thought, I don't think Fenrir needs immediate attention—Clint, would you please take my brother back to his room?" she asked, glaring at Fenrir, who glared right back. "Taser his ass and drag him back, if you have to," she added.
Clint opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, then shrugged and nodded. "Come on, Fido—you heard the lady."
Fenrir growled at him and Erika sighed before pulling out her taser and pointing it at Fenrir. The wires hit home and he convulsed before collapsing in a heap of dead weight.
Clint grabbed Fenrir's arms and began dragging him back towards the elevators, cursing all the way,
Erika watched them go. "Come on, Jor, we need to get those cuts checked out," she sighed.
"I think I may have broken something, as well," said Jormungand quietly. "It hurts to breathe."
Erika's eyes widened. "Shit. Okay. Medical. Now."
Steve was getting pain medication for his ribs when Erika and Jormungand came into Medical.
Jormungand looked terrible.
Steve accepted the prescription and headed out to the lobby, where Erika was helping Jormungand fill out paperwork.
"Remind me to sign you up for health insurance," Erika said, not looking away from the forms in front of her. "Also, remind me to set up some records for you—birth certificate, I.D., dental records, that sort of thing."
Jormungand remained silent, staring at the floor.
Steve decided to try his luck. "Hey," he greeted the two of them.
Erika looked up briefly. "Hey. How're the ribs?"
Steve shrugged, then winced. "They'll heal." He looked at Jormungand. "You and I need to talk," he said seriously.
Jormungand didn't look up.
Fine.
"I heard you, you know. When you and Erika were talking."
Nothing.
"About me."
Jormungand's head snapped up, his eyes wide. He looked mortified.
Steve gave him a hard look. "Later, we'll talk," he said, giving Jormungand an 'are we clear?' look.
Jormungand swallowed and nodded.
"Good."
Out of all of them, Steve was the most curious about what had set Jormungand off.
"JARVIS, do you have audio of the conversation Jormungand and Fenrir had right before their fight?" he asked the AI, sitting in the kitchen.
"Of course, Master Rogers. Would you like me to play audio and translate?"
"Yes, please."
A moment of silence, than Fenrir's gravelly voice filled the kitchen.
"So, brother, have you managed to sneak your way into his bed yet?" JARVIS translated.
Steve's eyes Jormungand's reply.
"None of your business," was Jormungand's reply.
"I doubt that he would ever lower himself to fuck you. Not even Rannhal would let you suck his cock-I know you've noticed how similar the captain is to him."
Steve's face reddened.
"Do not talk about things you do not understand!"
Steve heard his own voice filled the room. "I don't know what you said to him, but you need to stop."
Fenrir's rough laugh. "How sweet, the captain defends his whore."
"Take that back!"
"Which part? That you are a whore, or that you let him fight your battles, when he does not even understand our words? Our sparring matches mean nothing—you have always used your tricks to best me, but in a true fight you would lose—do not push your luck, little brother."
"I warn you know, brother-watch your tongue!"
"JARVIS, stop," Steve said quickly, trying to keep the bile from rising in his throat.
He'd heard enough.
A/N: I used Google Translate, so the Icelandic probably sucks. Sorry.