THE UNLIKELY TRIO consisting of the God of Thunder, his wife and the wife's cold-blooded sister had lucked out and discovered a cave offering them shelter from the rising storm in Svartalfheim. After discussing Malekith and his plans to go to Midgard, as he had taunted Thor, Olympia had stumbled across a portal that miraculously led them to the aforementioned realm. Nova had never before visited Earth, but she didn't mind a new adventure or the opportunity to wipe away the memory of Loki's dead eyes, though she had to admit that wherever they landed, it was far less glorious than Asgard. The graying surroundings and the obnoxious whir of traffic hardly tempted her, but she was excited nonetheless — well until she was forced to stuff herself into the backseat of an uncomfortably cramped car, anyway.

"My cell is starting to seem like a pricey vacation compared to this", she grumbled while stuffing her long legs onto the worn leather and resting her axe on the empty seat next to hers. Olympia made sure to scoff at her childish complaints while starting the car out of habit, but Nova wasn't the only one out of her comfort-zone — as much was obvious in Thor's uneasy fidgeting, even if he smiled as his wife seemed to reappear stronger than before, the aftershocks of the Aether slowly wearing off.

"Don't worry, princess. You'll be back in there in no time", Olympia comforted with a sharp tone, her lips drawn high in confidence as she steered their illegally obtained vehicle away from the strange, concrete-covered place they had wound up in. Letting her big sister act like the superior sibling exasperated Nova, but she kept her mouth shut and settled for staring out of the window and at the passing buildings in a silent smirk. Soon enough, she and Loki would be ruling Asgard and she would never have to sit in the back again.

In the middle of the gloomy palette of different shades of gray, fog and rain, Nova could spot colorful trees and people wearing the most curious clothes. Midgardians resembled Asgardians in most ways, but in the awareness that there was a lot she was yet to experience, Nova made sure not to underestimate the creatures she followed as Olympia drove them deeper into the city. While Midgard didn't reach Asgard's impressive heights, the streets were packed with tall buildings and the great waters were conjoined with shiny bridges, encouraging Nova to wonder if she should have aimed for this realm, all along.

Sooner than Nova would have liked, Olympia was curving the small car to the yard of a house that earned a relieved sigh from the blonde, and without a word, Nova was supposing it was her other home, the one she went to whenever she visited this world. The two sisters hadn't exactly caught up on the past years, but Nova didn't doubt that she had built a life on Midgard where she had been taken, and that explained the giddy leap Olympia took towards the front door once the car was parked.

"Looks like she prefers this place over ours", Nova pointed out to Thor as the two strode behind Olympia, and with his eyebrows knitted together curtly, the Odinson looked down at her and shrugged.

"This is Olympia's home, as is Asgard. But, trust me", he explained before slapping Nova's back confidently, "it is not always the place, but the people", his tone suggesting that he was beyond reassured in his abilities to make Olympia stay.

Rolling her eyes, Nova watched him jog over to Olympia who was already bursting into the house without a mere knock on the door. Following suit, she stepped indoors and settled next to Thor who awkwardly hung his hammer on the coat rack — unsure what else to do, Nova took his lead and did the same with her axe before ducking further into the cozy home and reviewing the sight that awaited. Olympia was already crashing into the arms of two women, but on top of them, they were accompanied by an older man walking around without any pants on.

"And this chick is...?" one of the women asked while pushing her glasses higher to stop them from sliding down her nose, her eyes glued curiously on Nova who made sure to eye the brunette from head to toe before pursing her lips together.

"Unimpressed", she replied curtly, but before she could be either questioned or reprimanded, Olympia was interjecting with a rushed tone.

"Uh, guys, this is my sister, Nova. Nova, this is Jane, Darcy and Erik", she explained with haphazard gestures at all of them separately, but her attempt was shot down by Nova who simply slumped onto the couch in the middle of the room and lifted both boots onto the table in front of her.

"I've already forgotten", she stated bluntly, but the comment fell to deaf ears as Olympia's friends erupted into a rant about the miracle of long-lost sisters finding each other once more. To the Amodeis, it didn't feel like a miracle, at all — if anything, it had been like a profound disappointment, one that had only given them heartbreak and regret. Or, at the very least, those were the two emotions Nova was choosing to draw her strength from.

A smile touched the dark-haired woman's lips when she heard Olympia's hushed warnings to be careful around Nova, but that bud of pride died out as soon as Thor was stepping out to greet the man without pants — Erik.

"Loki is... dead", Thor revealed with unease once asked whether his brother was coming or not, a frown finding its way to his bloodied face as he cast down a sad look. Feeling unexplainable darkness swallow her courage, Nova did the same and found her nails more interesting than anything else in the room, until Erik was speaking up in a way that sparked rage in the woman within seconds.

"Oh, thank God!" he exclaimed in pure relief, only for the casual wipe of his forehead to pull a deadly glare from Nova who was already slamming her boots onto the floorboards and heading towards the man. She couldn't reach her axe, but she wasn't afraid to put her hands to good use, and the low threat to chop Erik's head off was well on its way through the tense air when Thor was wrapping a strong arm around her waist to stop her from claiming her next victim. The godly power did the trick in keeping Nova away from Erik, but the bubbling anger did nothing but encourage her to squirm and claw at Thor, who refused to watch Erik die in a way he expected to be only gory when it came to Nova.

She didn't appreciate such crude behavior towards the man she had grown so deeply fond of and already missed with her entire torn soul, but luckily, she wasn't alone in being offended. Thor held a displeased look as well, and albeit awkwardly, Erik offered his condolences and an apology Nova suspected wasn't genuine — only a prayer that the two Asgardians wouldn't waste him. While it was a tempting thought, Nova gave up with a scoff and shot Thor the kind of sarcastic look that promised to play nice, for now. The fury in her didn't fade, but if she couldn't kill this man, she'd let it stack up until she could kill Malekith.

As the people surrounding Nova gathered at the kitchen table to discuss their plan for Malekith and his army, the Amodei herself dug through the fridge and cupboards with her tastebuds itching to experience anything she could come across. Asgardian bodies didn't function quite like Midgardian ones, but even on Nova's terms, it had been forever since she had eaten and with the dungeons' poor berries being her last memory, the bar for sustenance wasn't too high.

With her fingers covered in sugary jams while the other hand carried a block of cheese, Nova munched on everything she could find all the while the rest talked about The Convergence of the nine realms — she barely understood a word of the conversation revolving around science and physics, though. Nova was smart and clever, but she had never found the interest nor the time to bother her head with things that Olympia's friends seemed to master with no problem at all. Olympia seemed just as out of place, unsure how to join the conversation, and perhaps that was a weak link they had uniting them. Not exactly bonding material, but it was there.

When Mjölnir flew across the room and into Thor's hand, Nova rushed to shove the rest of the cheese into her mouth before wiping her hands and skipping to the foyer to grab her axe. She couldn't wait to get into battle once again and slaughter as many of those that had taken Loki to his momentary doom, and as much was obvious in the grin that split her lips.

Rolling her eyes at her husband, Olympia grabbed the hammer from Thor and in reaction, heavy thunder rumbled outside and shook the fragile walls of the house as her friends simply stared in silence. Even Nova had to admit that while they didn't stand eye to eye on much, if anything at all, she appreciated her independence and unwillingness to let Thor claim all the glory.

"I better get my pants", Erik broke the unsure silence in the room, and as the man skipped away, Nova turned over to Olympia and her friends with a cocked eyebrow and half a smirk.

"After this, one of you is buying me some of your amazing Midgardian food", she settled in a tone that didn't accept arguments. "Shall we?"

—————

UTTER DISAPPOINTMENT WAS what Nova had to face when their dysfunctional little group was split into smaller teams to work more effectively and efficiently around Greenwich — the place that Nova was almost enjoying. Olympia and Thor, using Mjölnir and a sword that had been hidden in the house, were planning on battling Malekith while Jane and Erik aimed to use the latter's devices to deal with Malekith's allies by creating portals leading into other realms. However, in order to do so, the devices had to be put up all over the place and that specific task had been given to Darcy, her intern Ian, and much to her shock, Nova. She considered herself superior, far beyond petty tasks such as hammering a bunch of sticks into the ground, yet she had been shoved into the interns' company.

"Do you even know what these things do?" Darcy questioned Ian with an incredulous stare, and shyly, the man cringed as he carried the devices from the back of the car Nova had grown to hate. Once he had admitted that he most definitely had no clue whatsoever, though, Darcy relaxed and shrugged. "Neither do I."

Shaking her head, Nova rested her forearms against her axe and watched the two idiots carry the devices onto the nearby grass. "I'm positive they'd be great for stabbing morons", she suggested with an amused tone, but the looks that Ian and Darcy exchanged were nothing of the sort. Perhaps, by keeping them on their toes, Nova could get through today — and in the end, she'd get what she had longed for all this time.

As Ian hammered the devices into the grass, the trio drew far more attention to themselves than enjoyable, but the judging stares never got to become anything more. Whenever someone threatened to come close and complain, Nova flashed her best, cruel glare and lifted her sharp weapon in the air, and so far, it had been enough for people to run the other way, as far from her as they could. It was a reaction she would never tire of, knowing that she was powerful and feared, and compared to these dull humans, definitely, absolutely better.

"Good Lord, could you be any slower?" Nova, however, could complain all she wanted, a bored look brewing in her eyes as she watched the two interns struggle. In return, Darcy stomped her foot on the ground and threw out her arms in exasperation, but rather than being intimidated, Nova only mustered a weak, entertained smile at the short woman's pluckiness.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. If we're too slow for your liking, you could help out, you know! It's not like we have Myuh-Myuh to make this any easier", Darcy argued, and unsure where to even begin, Nova parted her lips only for a puzzled breath to escape rather than any words.

"Excuse me? Myuh—what now? No, but I do have this dandy friend here, and if you don't add some much-needed speed into this nonsense, I will put it to use", she huffed with a lavish gesture at her weapon, and with a snap of fingers, the boldness on Darcy's face melted away and she spun back to Ian with a plea to follow Nova's instructions. Once more, Nova sighed in satisfaction — sure, she would have gone to extreme lengths if she hadn't been listened to, but she was actually entertained by Darcy's antics.

Leaving the two to work on the setting up the devices, the future queen of Asgard let her gaze roam the surroundings. Even though she had visited Svartalfheim, and once her adventures of seeking vengeance had led her to Jotunheim, she had spent most of her miserable life in Asgard, so being in Midgard was more odd than anything else. Nevertheless, excluding the advanced technology, the less flamboyant buildings and the lack of strange creatures like she was used to seeing in Asgard, it wasn't that different from her home. In fact, it did seem like a fine place to settle down in, and she was sure that Olympia had enjoyed her time there.

That, though, wasn't exactly a source of happiness for Nova. Her sister had gotten happiness, a new chance, whilst her options had been either settling for the worst and being hated by the people she was meant to consider family or living a dangerous life with a prison cell awaiting in the end. She had chosen the latter, and while she didn't regret that very choice, she was angry at her mother for not letting her take part in the better life.

If she had been able to take Olympia, why couldn't she take Nova, too? Why hadn't she been worth saving?

       Then again, she had met Loki, so maybe she would have never found a better life outside Asgard.

  Sucking in her lip, Nova turned back to Ian and Darcy, only to catch sight of the nearby waters trembling and parting. The storm of waves was disrupted by Malekith's grand ship arriving in its usual, threatening manner from below the watery surface, and in a blink of an eye, the crowd of people was erupting into horrified screams and dashing far away from the approaching battleship.

Nova, for one, only managed a groan. "Here we go again", she figured simply, but she had hardly gotten to raise her axe and get ready to cut off some limbs when Darcy was already grabbing her wrist. Following Ian's lead, the woman rushed away from the ship that was beginning to tear into the ground, but not before she was sure that she had succeeded in yanking Nova with her — even if she hadn't made the best first impression, Darcy didn't intend to be the one to get the blame for letting Olympia's sister die, so she didn't listen to Nova's arguments as she dragged her away.

"No one told me Midgardians were such weaklings!" Nova shouted over the rumbling of the water, her long legs effortlessly keeping up with Darcy who forced a nervous laugh on their way to safety.

"There's a difference between weak and stupid. Pick your battles, babe", the woman reminded with her hand still holding onto Nova, though she supposed she needed it more than the Amodei.

Unhappily, Nova followed but she had to silently point out to herself that perhaps that was a line she no longer knew how to balance — she hated the idea of being weak, but maybe teaming up with Olympia and her friends, falling for Loki, all of it was, in fact, stupid. And yet, she showed no signs of stopping.

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omg i love nova and darcy AHHH, they're the grumpy asgardian and dorky human duo i needed

next chapter will be the last! and then there's only the epilogue left (: thank you for reading ❤️