POV: Third Person.
Moscow, Russia.
At the moment of Bruce's arrival.
The man who leaped from the jet from a height of five stories fell at high speed with his arms wide open. Anyone witnessing this scene would think he was simply a suicide, but then, in free fall, the man's clothes ripped apart, his muscles bulged, and his skin turned green. A few seconds later, the man transformed into a green giant, clad only in the remnants of his pants.
As he neared the ground, he reached out his hand and grabbed a nearby two-story house, using it to slow his descent just before landing on the lava-covered ground. Hulk wasn't foolish enough to land directly on it.
"It's about time," Stark spoke a few meters behind Hulk.
"The green ogre. Yes, I've been informed about him," also spoke the Ashen Queen, while shooting fireballs at Stark.
"HULK SMASH!"
Hulk then yelled and leaped from the house he was holding onto towards the Queen, raising both hands ready to crush his enemy. Stark was expecting this, so he fired two small missiles from his arm; being faster than Hulk, they hit the Queen first. When the missiles exploded, they released a white mist that enveloped the Queen's body and spread across the ground, freezing it.
The dissipating mist didn't stop Hulk from hitting the Queen with both arms, sending her body flying several meters and bouncing on the ground. Now Hulk was stepping not on lava, but on hard, black ground.
"It seems the nitrogen missiles worked perfectly. Unfortunately, I didn't bring any more with me. Also, it's not every day you need to fight a fire dominion," Stark said with clear pride in his voice.
"Hmmm," Hulk growled at him.
"Cheap tricks!"
The Queen, who had been sent flying, got up from the ground. Her body, once covered in flames, was almost extinguished, but she didn't seem defeated.
"FSSSSSH!"
Then, like a small flame fueled by gasoline, the fire around her body exploded, reigniting and giving her an even more intimidating look than before. Two long swords of fire appeared in each of her hands, and the whole city was trembling; the Queen was about to create another eruption, this time throughout the entire city.
"The situation isn't good, buddy," Stark said to Hulk.
Just as the two were about to attack the Queen, they saw a black shadow beside her. The shadow revealed itself to be an old woman holding a staff.
"We have more problems, Hulk. She brought her grandmother!" he joked.
"The plan is complete. We have to go; he's already coming," the woman said to the Queen.
The two swords of flames in the Queen's hands then disappeared, and the entire city seemed to return to its calm state.
"It's a shame. I wish I could turn more of this realm to ashes," the Queen said as a black portal enveloped them both, making them disappear. Hulk and Stark just stood there, staring at where they had been a few seconds ago, until Tony spoke up.
"What the hell just happened?"
POV: Baldur.
Near the Battlefield, Nidavellir.
Before Bruce Makes Contact.
"Is it finally over?" Angela asks beside me.
"This battle, yes. The war is not." I respond calmly.
After the Queen of Angels fled, I directed my fury towards her remaining soldiers. Then, I tended to Angela's wounds and returned to the site of the battle against the Fire Demons.
Even though they were trapped and without any chance of victory, they fought like madmen, unafraid of death. In the end, despite the victory, the Dwarves suffered heavy losses. My men, on the other hand, suffered none.
"Did you find the answers you were seeking?" I ask, looking at Angela.
We were at the top of one of the mountains in the range, where we could see the view of the entire area that was once the battlefield. My men were now helping the Dwarves on the ground to recover their dead and tend to their wounded. Only Angela and I were here at the top, sitting and observing everything.
"Yes, I got my answer," she said, lowering her head.
"Then why do you seem so sad?"
"Even though I never felt at ease in Heven, it's the only place I know as home," she replied, still looking at the ground.
"You have a home now, and a family that loves you too."
"A family I don't know, just like a home."
"Yes, you may be right. So why not spend some time with me?"
Even though I left her in Asgard, I doubt she'll ever get used to being a princess. My mother might get angry about it, but she'll understand that my sister wasn't born for that.
"With you?"
"Yes, with me. Genosha is a beautiful place, you can also explore Midgard, and even venture out to explore the universe. You are free to find a place to call home, sister; your family will support you in the best way possible. And if some fool tries to harm you again, she will be there to make them disappear from existence."
"I don't need protection, but getting to know your realm and the universe is a tempting idea."
She then stands up and smiles at me.
"Great then, after this war, I'll go with you to Midgard. You better prepare your best drinks and introduce me to your finest women."
Angela quickly returned to her lively and slightly wild self, and I was happy about it. Having her with me in Genosha is a bonus; I've been feeling a bit lonely since Amora. Freyja and Nordur always treat me like a king, so there are no people close to me in Genosha who talk to me as just Baldur. I have some friends, but none of them are with me in Genosha, so her presence will cheer me up a bit more.
Bip. Bip. Bip.
Naturally, this happy moment was ruined. I pick up a device from my belt; it's an upgraded version of a phone that works even between realms. The number on it indicates that the Avengers want to talk to me, and that can't be good.
"Baldur speaking," I answer the call.
{Baldur? It's Bruce. We have a situation here.}
"What's the situation?"
{Our satellites recently discovered an attack on the city of Moscow. When we saw the perpetrator of the attack, we immediately called you.}
"Why?" I know the answer, of course.
{Because the one attacking the city is a damned demon riding on a huge dragon. That certainly falls into the mythology category, which is your and Thor's specialty.}
(What does Malekith want? It doesn't make sense to attack Midgard, since he knows I have the Aether. Does that mean he wants to lure me?) I think to myself
"How many of you are available?" I ask, a little nervous.
{Only Stark and I}, Bruce replies, sounding a bit disheartened. He hates transforming.
"I'm coming as fast as I can, but I think it'll take at least a few hours. So don't count on my help. Anyway, if it's just the demon, you should be enough to subdue it, but if other enemies show up, just run."
I warn Bruce.
{What's happening, Baldur?} he asks, noticing my nervousness.
"No time for details now; I'll tell you everything in person. Now go!"
Then the call ends, and Angela at my side is already strapping her sword to her waist.
"How do we get there?" she asks.
That's a tough question. Without the Convergence, it will take a long time, at least three hours to get there using Ratatosk at its maximum speed. The Bifrost hasn't been fixed yet, so I'm left with no choice but to ask for help from my Father.
{You know I can't teleport you to Midgard, boy; you're too far away, and I have to conserve the energy I have.}
It wasn't difficult to get in touch with Odin, who was broadcasting his voice directly from Asgard. Since he and Heimdall were focused on restoring the Bifrost, they hadn't noticed what was happening on Earth.
"If you allow me, I can simply give you more of my energy."
The recharge I gave him was proof enough that this is possible.
{Unfortunately, that's no longer possible, child. If it were so easy to restore my strength, I would have found other sources of energy. Which I have done, but they will never work again a second time.}
(Of course not. Sometimes I hate magic and its senseless rules.)
I fall silent for a few seconds, thinking of a solution, then I think of something feasible.
"If you can't personally teleport me to Midgard with your magic, teach me how to do it myself."
Odin is silent for a few seconds, probably thinking of how to refuse this idea. But I doubt he finds other options; I already possess the magical energy to do this myself, I just need the knowledge.
{Son. You know that obtaining knowledge of the runes without paying the proper price is the same as asking for destruction.}
"Yes, I know. That's why when you share the knowledge of the rune, I will immediately move, and then you will remove the knowledge from my mind."
I'm taking some risks with this, but the idea of giving Malekith three hours to do whatever he's planning on Earth makes the risk acceptable.
{So be it then.}
After my father agreed, he no longer hesitated, and I felt a great deal of knowledge being transmitted to my mind; it was a sensation I had only felt when the celestial ship enhanced me. Only this time, the amount of information was many times greater and more complex. Odin was literally sharing the workings of an aspect of reality with me.
After an hour and a half, everything was done. I didn't want to delay, and with a wave of my hand, a golden portal appeared in front of me, showing a white room with a huge table with several chairs on display.
"Do it now, Father!"
Then suddenly, that knowledge that was in my memory simply vanished, like a file on a computer, but I could still feel some fragments of the whole; if I study the rune now, I'm sure it will progress much more rapidly than before.
"The portal won't last long. Let's go, Angela."
I tell my sister, who remained silent beside me throughout the whole process, and then we both step through the portal, appearing in the room. A second later, the portal disappears.
"Are we in Midgard?" my sister asks.
"We're in orbit around Midgard, to be more precise. This is the base of the group I'm part of."
She then goes to the window and looks at the view of the beautiful blue planet.
"Alice, put me in contact with Stark," I say aloud.
"I'll handle that sir," but the response comes from a male voice.
"It's done," a female voice responds shortly after.
Jarvis and Alice share control over this base. Stark and the other Avengers often seek their help, as they are more familiar with the technology. Alice is more commonly used by me, but it's quite amusing to see the interaction between the two as they compete to see who is more efficient.
"Baldur, you're back?" Stark asks, his voice echoing through the room's speaker.
"I just arrived. What's the situation?"
"A dead dragon, and the demon fled."
"So everything's under control."
"Far from it, we have another problem."
(Of course we do.)
"I'm at the base; let's meet here."
"Agreed, just wait until Banner gets dressed."
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