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Xandar [June 2015]
–Jack Sullivan–
"So, you were "banished"?" The double quotes were strong in his statement as he asked Thor, incredulity lacing his voice.
Thor's face turned somber at that, "Aye, Green Guardian. I was banished by my father, to gain the wisdom necessary to rule properly. No worries though, I have learned a lot and I have faith that any day now, Heimdall will pull me back soon enough."
It was clear as day to him that the Crown Prince's hope regarding that happening had been diminishing day by day because it had been years since he had last even heard from Heimdall. Letting him travel the universe unaided and without any goal was one thing but not letting anybody communicate with him, at all, was very fishy.
Very sus, in his opinion.
His eyes narrowed as he sipped on what could only be called as a horrible rendition of orange juice as he looked over the view that the hotel room afforded them. They were staying in very nice hotel rooms, courtesy of the owner of this place who valued strength above everything else and Thor's strength was at the top of whatever this remote place hosted.
Even more so than the last time they had met. It didn't escape his attention that Thor could call upon his lightning powers even without Mjolnir's help and it was evident in his behaviour. Where before, Mjolnir would always, without fail, be in his field of vision whenever he sat down or his gaze slid to the hammer regularly, now nothing of that sort happened.
'It is Loki. There is no other option. That bastard.'
He didn't let his thoughts show on his face as his ears picked up on the cacophony of noises that the rest of the Guardians were making, some in the effort of eating everything that was in this place, some in eavesdropping on their conversation.
"So, I guess you had a very legendary adventure?" he asked Thor, whose eyes lit up at the mention of his legendary adventures, his previous melancholy all but forgotten, atleast temporarily, as THor began regalling him about his escapades throughout the galaxy.
With no money and resources to his name, save for some spare gold he had swiped in haste, Thor had some trouble at first but then he had the brilliant idea to register himself as a bounty hunter.
As one could guess, it turned out to be extremely lucrative for someone of Thor's powers. If only Thor knew that bounties did not always fall on bad people's heads. One too far botched bounties led to Thor being blacklisted from the black market as well, and the irony was not lost on him.
The thing was that once Thor, the Crown Prince of Asgard, saw injustice being committed, he would not just stop and back off, no, the Crown Prince would then turn into the most stalwart protector of Justice the galaxy had ever seen and as he could hazard, scant few could ever hope to match Thor in sheer might.
He had honed his abilities to a high level, so much so that he could actually feel the localised electric field that surrounded Thor's body. It was not there the last time they had met. Some sort of new ability that Thor unlocked, probably after repeated use of his powers, with nothing to fall back on, no backup, no safe place to rest, no warm place to return to, no friends, and certainly no family welcoming him with open warms, from the throes of battle.
He winced at the thoughts that filled his mind.
He himself could have handled a couple of years all alone in space, with activity, but just with people that were strangers to him, but that was only because he was sort of fucked in the head.
He didn't think that he had major mental issues, everyone of note had some minor issues but his one major issue could be the fact that he was reincarnated in a world that was just ink on paper in his home reality, and while the extensive time he spent in this reality did diabuse him of the notion, it was still really hard to truly connect with the people.
He logically knew that all these people had entire lives and he had to respect them and treat them with respect but in the end, he knew more than the people knew about themselves and that really put a damper on their communications.
That was why he could probably power through a couple of years in space but for someone like Thor?
Someone who had grown up all his life, adored by the masses, loved by his family, feared and respected in equal measure across the breadth of enemies and allies alike?
The time spent in space with no familiar face must be the closest thing to hell.
He didn't know what overtook him but he ended up dropping the glass and hugged Thor. Thor was startled but soon leaned into the totally manly hug.
"I am so sorry for your loss," He couldn't imagine what it must be like to lose Frigga, someone who had, for all intents and purposes, been the beacon of love for both her children.
He didn't comment on the totally subtle wiping of tears that Thor did or the way he tried to mask his sniffles with coughs, and that, that honesty, that raw emotion clinched something in him.
"Alright, big guy, let's get you home, alright?" he clapped Thor on the shoulder and stood up, studiously ignoring the confused look on Thor's face as he marched back into the room. It was time to wrap up this Ego episode and get to Asgard, preferably before Loki fucked things up even further and left Nidavellir completely defenseless.
Also, he had to make sure that Old Man Odin didn't die on Earth, and unleash Hela on his homeworld. A deathworld was preferable and if Odin had some way of using his remaining strength to turn the tides in their favour, it would be most preferable.
"Alright, Quill?" He addressed the duo of Quill and Gamora who were trying to act cool, and natural, as if they were not hearing their entire conversation. He snorted as he saw the magazine that Peter was reading, upside down.
He might not be able to read whatever alien language it was but he could read pictures just right and that female model was most definitely upside down.
"Wait! What do you mean by that? Green Guardian, my trial is still not complete. I cannot, will not, go home until Odin deems me fit to rule," Thor declared with finality and he resisted the urge to just punch holes in the poor man's dreams.
Odin would never do that, and never in this way. A supervised banishment to a planet with next to no people who could truly threaten any Asgardian? Sure, that was very much in the cards.
But this? Outright banishment with no contact for years, and no directions as to what lesson Thor needs to learn? No, it had Loki's scent all over it. Unfortunately, he couldn't really bear to break THor's conviction at the moment, even though he found it a bit incredible that Thor simply didn't notice Odin being quietly replaced by Loki.
His mind still found it hard to wrap itself around the concept of Odin Borson, the pinnacle of power in the Nine Realms, who was quietly replaced in his seat of power, by Loki of all people. And not, Loki of Loki Season 2, with all his multiversal level powers, no, this Loki could be defeated by Iron Man if Tony was sufficiently motivated.
He just chalked it up to the overwhelming grief both Father and Son must be feeling when Frigga passed away and simply were not in their best state of mind, something that Loki capitalised on.
"Thor, listen to me? Earth, Asgard, hell, the entire Nine Realms need you. We have no time for lessons right now. We will go back to Earth and then figure out a way to get you to Asgard BUT–"
"B-but, Father's royal decree-" The confusion and sheer yearning on the Crown Prince's face broke something in him. Damn Loki for toying with his brother's feelings when he was in such a vulnerable state of mind.
Not Cool, Loki. Not cool.
Still, he could not let Thor just stay here and roam around, cashing in on bounties in his spare time and reading anything and everything that this place could get him, in search of the mysterious lesson that he was supposed to learn here. "--BUT before that, we have something else to do. We will talk after that, Thor. For now, just think of you helping me in something that might endanger the Nine Realms, including Asgard,"
That got Thor's attention as, in a fraction of a second, Thor's entire countenance changed and the smell of Ozone overpowered the room freshener as Thor's eyes flashed blue, his voice lowering an octave, "Who dares threaten Asgard?"
Ookay.
That was quick. Apparently, spending a couple of years in space, constantly fighting all by himself with improvement and learning as his one tone focus, Thor had learned some new tricks, strengthened himself, and was now seriously the strongest Avenger, considering that he did not consider himself as a member of the Avengers.
Still, he would not want to test himself against this version of Thor, not because his powers were any lesser in front of the Asgardian but simply because this Thor seemed to be drowning in fights, honing himself.
A fight between them, especially to the death, would most probably result in him dead. He was not afraid to admit that. It was a good thing that they were both allies then, and also with a common enemy even if Thor was not aware of the one who would rapidly grow to top his list of most hated enemies.
Banishing these thoughts from his mind, he whirled on Peter who was also looking at both of them, and was looking positively spooked at the battle ready form of Thor, with Mjolnir somehow vibrating somewhere in the room, judging by the rattling noise that was also heavy somehow.
"Quill, we need to get into contact with Yondu. He has some important intel that we need. I know you have a way of contacting him, do that." he ordered Quill and internally rolled his eyes as Peter puffed his chest with fake bravado. Gamora openly snorted at that which was actually a violation of the highest order.
"N-Now, wait a minute, while we are grateful for the stay here by the muscle mountain over there but who are you to come and order me around," Peter stood his ground.
The scene was made infinitely more amusing by the entrance of Rocket who had some sort of bread in one hand, as he mock whispered at Peter, apparently having heard Peter's previous faked bravado.
"Oh, I know who he is. He is that human who is stronger, smarter, and all around better than you, Quill. Hey! Can we exchange you for him? He would serve as a much better–"
"Rocket! Whose side are you on?" Peter shouted, outraged and he had enough.
A heavy pressure settled in the room, as he employed a trick that veteran masters of the Mystic Arts used, only on human sorcerers though because this trick did not work on monsters with stronger souls. Using strength of spirit and soul to create an invisible blanket of pressure that affects beings with weaker souls.
He did not have time for this. He was in a rush to get this Ego issue resolved and then get to Asgard, and in proxy, Nidavellir, to make sure that nothing like the Infinity Gauntlet was even created.
If he had to relocate the entire Dwarven species to Earth for that, so be it.
How hard could it be to house about 300 giant humanoid beings anyway?
Wakanda had plenty of open space, the last time he saw. Hmm, he was rapidly turningWakanda into his own personal dumping ground for problems that he could not safely house in the normal countries of Earth.
Thor, predictably, was undisturbed, with Gamora and Drax only showing subtle signs of struggle with Rocket relying on Groot's protective embrace.
THUD!
He blinked as Quill straight up fell unconscious, face first right in front of his feet.
His lips twitched as he tried to hold in the laughter. Something that was made infinitely harder by Thor's bewildered and concerned look as he kneeled down to check on Quill.
_____xx____
"So, why exactly do you want to meet Yondu?" Quill asked him as all of them were now aboard the infamous Milano, the signature Orange spaceship that served as the primary base of operations of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
It was quite a task to get Thor onboard, especially since he hadn't really explained to him what the threat would be. His ship was not enough to house all of them so he had chosen to, without asking Quill about it, which rankled him something fierce, to hitch a ride aboard the Milano and ditch the space ship that Irani Rael, the Nova Prime, so graciously provided him, at no cost.
He asked the computer aboard the ship given to him about parking itself and apparently, it could head back to Xandar on its own and he was fine with that, so he let the ship go, with the ship having paid for itself as part of Xandar's vast galaxy spanning supply network.
"I want information. Information that he happens to know and also is the easiest person to get ahold of," He didn't reveal much before retreating into the lower levels where Thor and Rocket, along with Groot were playing some galactic board game that he didn't really understand enough.
"What are you after, really?" he looked back at Gamora who was leaning on the door, looking at him with narrowed eyes.
He sighed and looked back at the now fiercely competitive game happening in front of him, with Thor's eyes flashing blue as his pieces, which were made of metal, began arcing with electricity as it began blasting away the rest of the pieces, which had Groot engulf the entire board with his trees, which then began to blacken after getting hit by Thor's lightning.
He hummed thoughtfully at the masterful display of powers from Thor. He was only going stronger, far stronger than the canon timeline and he was very grateful for that. It also meant that their chances of taking out Ego without any wild card were only increased.
Without looking at Gamora, he replied, "If you must know, I am after Quill's father."
Gamora's sharp intake of breath was left unaddressed as he waited for her to reply.
"W-What-Who is Quill's father? He claims that he doesn't know and his mother never told him,"
He just smiled at that small tidbit. If he remembered correctly, she always told him that Quill's father was a star man, and nobody ever believed the poor woman.
"All will be revealed once we meet Yondu. After that, we need to get to Earth, and you guys need to stay low. I don't want your father muddying the waters as well,"
The mere mention of her father had a blade at his neck faster than he could blink. The threat was meaningless, as they both knew very well. His barriers had weathered far worse than a standard issue blade, even if it was in the hands of the (debatably) dangerous woman in the galaxy.
"How do you know that?" She hissed at him but his thoughts were once again, on a tangent totally unrelated to the question Gamora was asking him.
Carol Danvers, Wanda Maximoff, Ancient One, Agatha Harkness (in specific situations), and more were certainly much more dangerous than just Gamora who was just a little bit stronger than the average Kree in physical parameters. The strongest Kree, like Ronan, were so far above here that she was basically powerless in front of them.
So, he didn't even let his gaze stray from the absolutely chaotic game happening in front of him, which he had to use his barriers to shield the ship's hull from, otherwise they might have just experienced hull damage mid FTL flight, which would not be fun, he knew that much.
"Answer me!" She hissed once again, driving the blade deeper into his barrier, or atleast tried to.
He finally side eyed her and with a flex of his will, created a barrier around her sword and pressed.
Her wide eyes as her sword was fractured and crushed into a small ball was instagram worthy.
Unfortunately, that little exchange had broken up the game happening in front of him, something that he was growing to enjoy.
Sigh. So much for a little fun before they had to move on to addressing the daddy issues of not one, not two, not three but four freaking people, three of whom lived in the same ship, and were part of the same team
Gamora. Quill and Rocket, if the High Evolutionary could be considered his father in a rather fucked up way.
And then there was Thor, the biggest, strongest elephant in the room.
He once again sighed, resigned to another long episode of mental gymnastics.
God, if superpowered people in this universe gave as much attention to their mental health as they did to their powers, the universe as a whole would be a much better place and he would not have to dive into the psychological issues of his childhood heroes, something that broke something in him every time he had to do it.
Alas, someone had to do it and he found himself to be uniquely suited to do it, so there he was.
Word Counter - 3032
A/N - Another chapter of "daddy issues" before Action.
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