The sound of a bottle cracking open never seemed so loud. It echoed through the lounge of The Frigga. The once bustling ship was dead silent, its crew of ten down to five. Spencer hated it. She took a long swig out of her beer before sitting it down on the coffee table in front of her. She hated beer too, but at this point she was too stressed to care. She was far from comfortable with the decision to split up, and she was doing her best to try to seem unbothered.

   She was sure she was failing.

On Earth, she lived thousands of miles from Anja and Layla. But now they weren't even going to be on the same planet. Maybe not even the same galaxy. Hell if she knew. This was a whole new level of distance. If something happened to them, there was a chance she would never see them again. There was a chance they would never make it back to Earth. And that terrified her.

Sure, Anja and Layla were more capable in battle than she was since they had far more S.H.I.E.L.D. training than she did. Sure, their powers were more useful in a fight. But that didn't stop Spencer from wishing her friends were the ones heading back home instead. She knew that would've never happened though. Anja was loyal to a fault, and Layla had such little sense of danger that Spencer knew as soon as the talk of breaking off into groups started that those two would be gone. There was nothing she could've said or done to stop them.

Spencer reached over and grabbed the beer again, taking another drink. Even a second sip didn't make her like it. How did so many people enjoy this stuff? She sat the bottle back down on the table just in time to see Brunnhilde enter the room, leaning casually against the doorway for a moment.

    "Not a fan, huh?" she asked, arms folded across her chest.

    "Uh no. No, not at all," Spencer replied. "Was it that obvious?"

    Brunnhilde nodded. "Very." Spencer watched the Asgardian take a seat a few cushions away from her. Brunnhilde picked up the beer and took a drink from it herself without any hesitation. Spencer was glad that the warrior was comfortable enough with them to drink the same beverage. Guess they were family now. "So if you don't like it, why are you drinking it?"

    "Good question!" Spencer answered with a laugh. "I... I have no idea."

    Brunnhilde nodded slowly. "You're freaking out."

    "Psh. No," Spencer stated, trying to mislead her. "No. I am not freaking out."

    Brunnhilde wasn't convinced. Spencer wasn't surprised, since she couldn't even convince herself. "You're totally freaking out."

    Spencer realized there was no talking her way out of this one. She sighed in defeat. "Okay, maybe you're right," she admitted. "But I can't help it. My frie- no. My sisters... are going to some weird ass planets and I'm not going to be with them. Here I am, heading back home like everything is fine. Like we still aren't going to have to face Thanos at some point."

    Brunnhilde didn't say anything for a few moments. "You know there was no stopping them, right? I know I haven't known you all that long, but I think I know the three of you well enough now to say that you wouldn't have been able to convince them to go back to Earth," she said. She took a deep breath. "Layla loves violence and danger far too much, and Anja well... she signed a deal with the devil."

    "I know, I know," Spencer assured. "But it doesn't make me feel any better about it, you know?"

    Brunnhilde nodded. "I know. I don't like the idea of them gone either. Any of them, really. I'd much rather them, Thor, Bruce, and Loki be here than heading to Nidavellir and Knowhere," she agreed. "But Thor's mind was made up about that damned weapon. There was no changing his mind."

    Spencer sighed. "Tell me about it. He and Layla are a lot alike. When they get their mind set on something there is nothing that will deter them. I just hope that they get this 'Thanos-killing' weapon and get home safely. Before Thanos gets to Earth."

    "They will," Brunnhilde replied, taking another drink before sitting the bottle back on the table. "Thor won't let anything happen to them. Layla is in safe hands."

    Spencer picked the bottle up and took a drink herself. The alcohol burned her throat, almost enough to blame it for causing the hoarseness in her voice when she spoke next. "I'm much more worried for the Knowhere group."

    "Honestly, same," Brunnhilde agreed. "If that stone is there, Thanos will for sure go for it." She paused. "I almost hope he beats them to it and is long gone before they arrive."

    "Downside to that is homeboy ends up with another stone," Spencer countered. "So while it means everyone lives for the time being, it means he'll be more difficult to smack down later."

    "Ugh, fair point," Brunnhilde conceded. "He's going to be a pain in the ass to beat anyway, with or without the stones."

    Spencer nodded and didn't say anything for a moment. "Do you think it will be worse than Hela?"

    A frown formed on Brunnhilde's face as she reached over to grab the bottle one more time. She took a long drink before setting the nearly empty bottle back on its spot on the table. "Much worse, actually," the Valkyrie admitted.

    Spencer didn't like the sound of that. From what little she knew of the battles against Hela, things didn't go well. The Asgardians had almost lost it all. Then the second time they essentially did lose it all. They suffered loss. Death, destruction, homelessness. Spencer couldn't imagine what any of that was like, but she assumed she may know soon enough.

    "The only reason we beat Hela this last time was because of Loki summoning Surtur," Brunnhilde explained. "The first time was a massacre... of which I was the lone survivor. All my friends, sisters, the woman I loved... all died. We wouldn't have beaten her at all if Odin hadn't trapped her away with his life force." She took a deep breath. "So I understand why you are worried about your friends. Speaking from experience, it isn't fun watching people you love get slaughtered in battle. I only pray you don't have to go through it too."

    Spencer barely nodded. "I'm not sure that's going to be avoidable. If Thanos is supposedly the strongest being in the universe, and he has access to Infinity Stones, statistics are not in our favor. Someone is probably going to die."

    "You're probably right," Brunnhilde sighed. "As much as we don't want to think about it, it's a very real possibility. But I sincerely hope the only ones dying are Thanos and his crew."

    Spencer nodded solemnly. Imagining life without her friends was hard. She didn't want to fathom any of them dying. Even the rogue Avengers. As much as it was going to be against Tony's wishes, Spencer was going to go around him when they got to Earth. She needed to speak with Steve and the others, and especially Bucky. They needed to be aware of the situation as urgently as possible. They were going to need all hands on deck for this. Past grudges and issues would have to be put aside for this to work. God, she would be even willing to not punch Clint if it meant that they could beat Thanos.

    "How willing do you think Thor will be to open up talks with the other heroes on Earth?" Spencer asked. "Because unfortunately, I don't really see a way we win this without more help."

    Brunnhilde rested her elbow on the arm of the couch, placing her closed fist against her cheek while she thought about her friend's question. "Well, considering we aligned ourselves with Jotunheim, I would think he'd hear it out," she decided. "The Jotuns have been our enemies for an incredibly long time. I think Thor would be able to look past whatever stupidity the Accords caused in his absence if it means we can defeat Thanos."

    "Good," Spencer replied. She looked around, making sure Tony was nowhere to be seen before adding, "because I'm making a phone call when we get home. We're going to need all the help we can get. I'm the only one who isn't stubborn enough to not ask for help when I need it."

    The Valkyrie glanced around the ship, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Well don't let the others hear you say that," she joked. Even though there was no one else around to hear it. Not to mention the only super stubborn one left of the crew was Tony, and at this point Spencer assumed he was either flying the ship, or sleeping. "Regardless, you will have my backing when it comes to this arrangement. Who knows what is going to happen on Nidavellir and Knowhere. I think it is wise to seek help."

    Spencer smiled. She liked it when one of her ideas was appreciated. "Well, thanks. Lord knows I'm going to need all the help I can get with Tony. And Anja when she gets back too. They're not going to be thrilled about working with the rest of the Avengers again. Except for maybe Natasha."

    "Yeah, seemed like a messy affair," Brunnhilde agreed. "I'll do what I can to convince the others if need be. Don't worry about that."

    Spencer nodded. "I appreciate that. Truly. In times like these we have to set aside personal grudges for ours and humanity's survival. I just hope the others all feel the same way."

    "If they don't, we'll just punch them until they do," Brunnhilde replied.

    Spencer laughed a little as she shook her head. "Best solution I've heard in awhile, honestly. A couple of them need a punch every now and then."

    "I believe it," Brunnhilde said back with a laugh.

    Spencer smiled and went to grab the bottle on the table once again. She took a drink and finished it off, ignoring the taste. She was happy Brunnhilde had joined her for a little chat. It distracted her from her nerves and how horrible she felt about all of this. It was nice to know that one person had her back on all of this, because lord knows her friends weren't going to be happy about what her heart was telling her to do.

    As much as she didn't want to, Spencer knew her first order of business once getting back to Earth was to call Steve Rogers. She knew that they needed everyone's help with Thanos. Some things were worth putting personal grudges aside for. This was one of them.

Spencer just hoped Steve and the rest of his team agreed.

*****

Hello everyone! Sorry it took me a bit to get this posted. I've had it done for a while; I've just not had the time to properly format it.

Not much new around here. Recently celebrated my birthday (wow, am I getting old), but other than that, nothing else really exciting. Just living life, as crazy as it often is with a toddler running around.

Only other thing going on is here in 16 days, I will be heading to Boston for the convention! I'll be seeing Tom Hiddleston, Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, and hopefully some others too. (Chris Evans has essentially been sold out from the jump, so it's likely I'll just be seeing his panel.) Should be a very fun weekend, and I'm looking forward to it!

I hope all is well with you! I'll try to get something posted again here soon! Probably before/during the convention weekend. Maybe I'll even get two chapters up if I get lucky with timing. I'm a couple ahead; just got to edit. :)

Thanks, as always, for reading!

~arty_writes