Gwen was still wearing the shining platinum armor Frigga had provided her with and sitting with Loki again. Days had passed on Asgard but on her watch only forty-eight hours had passed. Like it was fully out of sync with the environment it was in. She would have loved to ask Martha about it. She knew Asgard was technically in another plane of existence? Realm? She would have loved to research the oddities of it. Regardless, while hours were passing on Earth days were passing for her here. It meant she had more time with her new crush.
Loki's cell looked comfortable enough. Full of books, comfortable furniture. The cell phone she'd left for him was on a table. None of that was of interest to him. The pair were sitting back-to-back again with the shimmering forcefield between them. Gwen thought it might be set to shock people; However, it just made her skin and hair tingle where it touched her. It was sort of like a very gentle massage.
"You know I need to go soon. My band is going to be pissed."
Loki smiled as he glanced over his shoulder at her.
"You didn't mention you were in a band."
Gwen blinked a few times.
"I'm sure I did last night."
Loki shook his head.
"I would remember."
Gwen shrugged.
"So, yea, I'm in a band. I'm the drummer."
Loki chuckled and rubbed the side of his face where she'd hit him with Mjolnir.
"Yes, I suppose hitting things would suit your temperament."
Gwen glanced back at him with narrowed eyes.
"Is that supposed to be a jab at me being an emotional teenager?"
Loki who had one knee pulled up to himself and his arm laying across it flipped his forearm.
"Possibly. Or I may just be commenting on your predilection for hitting things. So, is your band any good, or is this a, hobby?"
Gwen tapped out a beat with her fingers on her armored thighs.
"Hobby for me, the rest of my band takes it more seriously. We have a big show coming up, oh and you made it possible by you know making a bunch of New Yorker's homeless."
Loki smiled.
"I am happy to have been of assistance to your career as a drummer. Personally, I think you should aim a little higher."
"You and my dad both. I think I will stop short of world domination. Doesn't seem to work out so well if you fail."
"Touché, Gwen, touché"
She glanced at the clock on her holo-phone.
"Yep, definitely need to get going."
Gwen made no move to get up. Loki laughed.
"Maybe if you say it enough times, you'll convince yourself it is true."
She sighed.
"You know, I should still hate you and want to be nowhere near you. So why am I so reluctant to leave?"
Loki glanced back at her.
"You're asking me? I have no idea why I started giving you the time of day. Yet here we are. Me because I am in a cell and somehow infatuated with you. You, here for what?"
Gwen sighed.
"I like talking to you. I mean yes, your voice can get annoying, and by God is your accent smarmy sounding. I'm kind of past those now."
Loki laughed for several moments.
"What a pair we are."
Gwen looked up at the dungeon ceiling.
"You know when they said dungeon, I was expecting chains, damp stone, skeletons hanging from walls. This is more like a five-star hotel room."
Loki looked around his cell.
"Yes, but you can leave a hotel."
Gwen held up one finger.
"Not if it is the Hotel California."
Loki actually turned to look at her.
"What does a Hotel in California have to do with a dungeon?"
Gwen turned to him with a smile.
"Well let me tell you about the Eagles…"
Their conversation lasted long after dusk had settled over Asgard. Gwen realized she really did have to go because the next day she was due to work at Stark Industries. Her watch told her the current Earth date was July 23rd, 2024, six pm. If she left now she'd make it in time for her band practice. Maybe slightly late. That was of course if the bifrost did not drop her in Australia. She finished her lecture on twentieth century classics which Loki had listened to in its entirety with a few questions inserted here and there. She sighed and stood up.
"I'm really going now."
Loki stood and smiled at her.
"Very well. Perhaps next time we can discuss some of those shows you put on the phone."
Gwen smiled and nodded.
"I'll be back when I can get permission from my dad. Your mother is being pretty strict about his permission."
Gwen waved to Loki. He nodded to her. She made her way up the stairs from the dungeon. She ran into Frigga who smiled when she noticed Gwen.
"Gwen, I realized you hadn't had your evening meal yet. I assume you lost track of time."
Gwen blushed and nodded.
"Yes. I need to get home. I have to work tomorrow, and I have band practice."
Frigga nodded.
"Before you leave, my husband would like to give you a gift."
Gwen raised an eyebrow.
"You've already given me so much."
Gwen motioned to the enchanted Asgardian leather backpack she had slung over her shoulder.
"I just need to get this armor off so I can return it to you."
"You misunderstand, the armor and sword are yours as is the clip for your braid. The All-father has recognized you as a Champion of the Nine Realms, you must have the appropriate arms and armor."
Gwen blinked a few times. Yea, that was going to need to be one hell of a lie to her father. Maybe she'd start talking about LARPing. That would make his eyes glaze over… Erica might be harder to deceive.
"I am sorry if I kept Odin waiting."
Frigga started walking towards Odin's throne room. Gwen hurried to catch up. She was several inches shorter than Thor's mother.
"In truth, it was I who kept my husband waiting. I have rarely seen Loki as content as when he is talking to you. I didn't want to cut your time short."
The pair entered the throne room. Odin was speaking to Thor, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. He was giving them orders to deal with a disturbance on one of the nine realms. He finished and motioned them away. Thor told Lady Sif he would meet them at the bifrost bridge. He walked over to Gwen.
"Please give Spider-Woman my thanks for her defense of my wayward brother. Though I am angry with him still, he is family."
Gwen nodded.
"I will tell her as soon as I get back. I sure hope she hasn't called the rest of the Avengers to track me down."
Thor laughed.
"I believe if she doesn't, Stark will."
He offered his hand, they clasped wrists. He rushed off. Odin reached down beside his throne and walked down the stairs carrying a bundle of golden silk. He held it out to her.
"In honor of your valiant defense of the nine realms, and in particular Midgard from the forces of Chaos, I name you Champion of the Nine Realms, and grant you this gift. Use them wisely."
Gwen took the bundle of golden silk and untied it. Inside lay a pair of dull silvery bracers they looked simple next to the ornate armor she wore. They had the same texture and tint as Mjolnir. She slid her fingers along their smooth surfaces. Odin spoke.
"They once belonged to one of my Valkyrie. They are made of Uru. The same metal as Mjolnir. To replace those which you have so recently lost."
Gwen looked up at Odin.
"How did you know?"
Odin glanced at Frigga.
"Loki told my wife, who told me of your loss. A champion of the nine realms needs appropriate arms and armor, as my wife so recently told you."
Gwen looked at the bracers she was truly at a loss for words.
"I am honored by your gift, All-father."
"Wear them well, Gwen Stacy of Midgard. I understand you must return to your home world with some urgency. Please travel across the rainbow bridge, Heimdall will send you home. Know that you are welcome in Asgard as an honored guest and champion of our cause from this day forward."
Frigga gave Odin a look, he frowned slightly and continued.
"With your father's permission."
"Thank you, so much, both of you, for everything."
Odin's lips betrayed the slightest hint of a smile. Frigga was not hiding hers. The queen of Asgard escorted Gwen to the palace stairs.
"Until we meet again, Champion of Midgard."
Gwen waved and hopped down the stairs. Gwen stuffed the bracers and golden silk in her backpack. She glanced at her watch. Seven. Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! She was an hour late. She rushed across the rainbow bridge and slowed down as Heimdall's golden gaze fell on her. She nodded to him politely. He motioned to a spot on the floor.
"Do you wish to return to whence you came?"
Gwen bit her lower lip.
"Uh, can you do an address?"
Heimdall nodded.
"I see all of the nine realms."
Gwen listed off the address of the practice space.
"Near there would be great, if you could, please, sir Heimdall?"
He smiled and slammed his sword down. Gwen barely had a chance to blink before she was hurtling through the bifrost bridge. She appeared dead center of the old garage/warehouse space the crushBitches rented for their practice sessions. She was facing away from the band who were lounging on the old couches they'd found tossed out in the trash. When Gwen turned to face them, she gave a small wave. She muttered between clenched teeth. How am I going to explain that? She went with just not trying.
"Sorry I'm late. Uh, want to get started?"
Lana was just staring at her wide-eyed. Monica, their bassist was kicking at the rune left behind by the bifrost. Kitty started walking over to her keyboard. Monica sighed.
"You think this is going to hurt our chances at getting the damage deposit back?"
Monica walked off and poked Lana.
"Come on. Let's get started."
Gwen looked at Lana.
"How stoned are those two?"
Lana opened and closed her mouth a few times. Gwen picked up the jar of edible gummies it was much emptier than it had been three days before.
"Okay, pretty stoned."
Gwen didn't bother trying to get out of all her armor. She just removed the gauntlets and sat down and got ready to rehearse. Lana rubbed her hand over her face. She still hadn't joined the rest of the band.
"So, our drummer just appeared in a flash of rainbow light in a chainmail bikini and we're just going to… what? Practice?"
Monica rolled her eyes.
"Come on Lana, for the last hour you've been complaining about Gwen not being here and now she is you're complaining she got here? Sometimes you're so lame."
Kitty was smiling.
"You're all rainbows."
Lana wagged her finger at Kitty.
"You took shrooms? Seriously?"
Lana crossed her arms.
"No, we're not starting until I get an explanation for this insanity."
Gwen spun the sticks on her palms, rolled her eyes.
"It's nothing. Thor asked me to talk to his parents about something. I was in my Maiden T-shirt and a pair of leggings. The armor was because it was formal. Can we get started?"
Lana held up her dark-skinned hand.
"Hold up, roll that back, Thor, as in the Thor, the God, Thor?"
Gwen shrugged.
"Yea, what's the big deal, I mean you know Captain America is a family friend. You were drooling over him two weeks ago when he came to see us play. Yesh. I work for Iron Man. It surprises you I know the other Avengers?"
Lana moved closer.
"So, you, missed our rehearsal sessions because you were in Aswhasit?"
Gwen nodded.
"Asgard, and I'm sorry, it took longer than I expected. I meant to be back yesterday before practice."
Gwen blushed slightly. Lana snapped her fingers.
"Hey, wait, I know that look. You're crushing on someone from Asgard? Is it Thor?"
Gwen shook her head so quickly in vehement denial that she made herself dizzy. Lana gasped.
"Oh, you are totally crushing on someone! Does Thor have a younger brother or something?"
Gwen bit her lower lip.
"Yea, that's it, younger brother."
Kitty was swatting at something no one else could see. Monica was looking between Lana and Gwen.
"Are you done talking about men yet? It's disgusting. Can we play now? You're both killing my buzz."
Lana seemed content that she had reached the bottom of the mystery she picked up her guitar and the band started their rehearsal. They practiced until eleven. Past curfew again. The rest of the girls decided they were going to crash there. Gwen was pretty sure she could make it to her nearby lair without running into anyone. She had a good change of clothes there and she figured she could stash the armor. She walked out of the band's rehearsal space and hung her head. The same two homeland security agents were waiting there. She shook her head and hefted her backpack on her shoulder. The agent in the passenger seat lowered his window.
"Not sure how you got by us, especially dressed like that, but there are some people who are very worried about you."
Gwen sighed.
"And I suppose they want me to go with you."
The agent nodded. She opened the rear passenger door, tossed her backpack and sword on the seat. Then climbed in. She pulled her seat belt on then started tying off the sword and gauntlets to her bag. The agent glanced back at Gwen.
"You are a very odd girl."
"Yea. What are your names anyway? I mean if you're going to be my personal taxi drivers, it would be nice to know."
The agent laughed.
"I'm Agent Mallory, this is Agent Henderson. So, looking to go into battle?"
Gwen nodded.
"Yep."
She shrugged.
"No, this is my costume for our show. It's bulky so I wanted to practice in it. I tried telling Lana the cape was a step too far."
He pointed at the sword.
"And the blade which is in excess of four inches long that is illegal to carry in New York City."
Gwen was about to disagree with him or come up with a lie but Agent Henderson spoke up.
"There are exceptions if there is no intent to use it and you're just transporting it from a place where she was displaying and her home."
Gwen nodded.
"What he said."
Agent Mallory turned so he was facing forward.
"You sure have friends in high places, Gwen Stacy. Tony Stark, Senator Thomas, Director of SHIELD. If only one of them called us we'd have asked how high they wanted us to jump, but all three?"
Gwen felt her cheeks start to burn. She really hadn't thought about who might miss her when she wandered off to Asgard for almost three days. She figured Tony would be busy with Pepper since he gave her a couple of days paid leave.
"I'm really sorry about this bother guys, I know there is more important work for you to be doing, especially after the whole alien invasion thing. I work for Mr. Stark, Senator Thomas's son Adam is my boyfriend and Director Fury, I should know better than turning my phone off for more than a few hours. It is totally on me."
Agent Mallory laughed.
"If that wasn't bad enough your father had the NYPD put an APB out for you."
Gwen sunk into her seat. She was so grounded. She glanced at her holo-phone, which she had on mute and do not vibrate because she was at band practice. She figured she'd let that be a tomorrow problem.
"That might have happened once or twice before. Having a cop dad, sometimes is a bit… challenging as a teenager."
Gwen was surprised. They pulled up in front of her building.
"Wait, we're not going to One Police Plaza?"
"No, our orders are, make sure you're safe, that you haven't been kidnapped and that we are to get you home in one piece. Director Fury also wanted us to pass on a couple of messages, one, he doesn't like paperwork, two, you're not funny."
Agent Mallory walked Gwen up to her apartment.
"Did those messages make any sense to you? Agent Henderson and I were debating if SHIELD was just messing with us."
Gwen nodded.
"They were crystal clear. Inside jokes. If you see him, tell him: He's not funny either. Please."
Agent Mallory waved as Gwen closed the door. She locked it. She went to her room and started getting out of the Asgardian armor. Her tablet started dinging. Someone was trying to reach her on a video chat program. She sighed and picked it up. It was her father and Erica. Her eyes went wide and she angled it so they couldn't see the fairly accentuated breastplate. She plastered her most innocent look on her face and the widest smile she could.
"Dad, Erica, Hi!"
Her father looked pretty upset.
"Hi? Is that all you have to say to us? We've been worried sick. You vanished for two days! Not a word, no posts on social media. Did you even consider how we would feel out here in France with no answers from you after we see an alien invasion on the television? All over the internet?"
Gwen blushed. Her father looked at her expectantly.
"Well, any explanation? It had better be a good one."
Gwen giggled nervously.
"I have a perfectly reasonable explanation. I'm just trying to figure out what it is. How about we have this talk tomorrow? It must be late there, right? It's late here. Oh hey, and I have work in the morning. Soo tired here. Yea, you two should go back to bed. Enjoy your vacation. Everything is absolutely fine here! Yes. Great talking to you! Oh, out of charge, gotta go! Bye El capitano."
Gwen gave a small uncomfortable salute and disconnected the call. She turned her tablet off and put it on her dresser. She pushed it further away from her as if it was going to explode. She pulled off her holo-phone and put it beside the tablet.
"Definitely a tomorrow problem."
She started removing the armor. It was easier to get out of than it was to get in. She stuffed it into her hope chest and spread the comforter her grandmother had made her over it, her uniform and the Uru bracers. Gwen glanced at the tablet and held up her hands.
"Nope, not going there."
She decided on a hot shower. A late-night snack, then bed.