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The door slid open with an echoing clang, and I shot up from the couch, to see Thor, Bruce, and Brunnhilde.

"Surprise," Loki's voice pulled my attention to the other side of the room, where he was sitting quietly bound in chains on his stool. He hadn't woken me, despite that he himself had woken up. I didn't know how to feel about the fact that he'd seen me sleeping. Hopefully I hadn't snored.

Thor picked up a can, his eyes locked on Loki as he tossed it at his brother's head, skeptically. He hadn't even noticed me there.

"Ow." Loki only glared.

"Just had to be sure," Thor frowned at his brother, as Brunnhilde strode passed me to the opposite side of the room. Thor followed her with his eyes, and that was when he finally saw me. Hi expression peeled back into surprise.

"Alivia," he spluttered, stumbling over what I assumed was an apology and several excuses, all of them bad.

"Surprise," I repeated Loki's words with a flat smile, pushing myself up to stand.

Bruce's head swivelled in my direction, and he smiled nervously. I slanted my eyes and strode toward him, slamming the length of my forearm into his chest, and shoving him violently against the wall.

"Alivia," he said nervously, and I could feel his heart accelerate, "Nice to see you too."

"You better have the excuse of the century," I said lowly, leaning in with a scowl, "For leaving her."

I turned my attention to Thor, "As for you," I said, dropping Bruce and jabbing my finger at Thor, "Tell me you weren't planning on stranding me on an alien planet."

"Look," Thor said, putting some distance between us, "Asgard is in danger and I didn't have time—"

"For me?"

Thor looked around nervously. "Alivia, there's something you need to know."

"There's nothing I care to know from you," I said bitterly, dropping my hand, and waltzing toward Brunnhilde. I glanced briefly at her. Before turning, my eyes on Loki. "She knew my mother. My mother fought with her as—"

"As a Valkyrie," Loki finished with a soft smile. "I tried to tell you. That ring you gave me, it has a sigil that is identical to a Valkyrie blade kept in Asgard's vaults. I knew the moment I saw it."

A small smile curled at my lips, and I couldn't help but to glance at Thor. He wore a nervous smile. "I am happy for you, my friend. Truly. And know that I would not have stranded you here. I would have come back for you."

"Why leave me at all?" I asked quietly.

Loki and Thor exchanged nervous glances, and as Thor opened his mouth to say something, Loki gave him a look of warning, shaking his head slowly. I frowned. "What?"

Thor sighed, locking eyes with me. "We couldn't risk being discovered by the Grand Master coming back for you. Asgard needs us. Now."

I nodded my head, trying to let myself believe that his words were true. That he would have come back for me.

I swiveled my attention to Bruce, who'd barely made it three steps inside. His attention was focused on Loki, who only smiled darkly at him. "Hello, Bruce," Loki greeted him in a deep voice. No doubt trying to scare him. But I knew that Loki would most definetely be wearing the same expression Bruce wore now, were Bruce taller, greener, and much angrier.

"So," Bruce began, inching closer, "Last time I saw you, you were trying to kill everybody. Where are you at these days?"

With a sideways glance at me, and a small smile, he responded, "It varies from moment to moment."

"Is that a Dragonfang?" Thor asked, pulling my attention to where Brunnhilde set a short sword on the table.

"It is," she answered shortly.

"My God," Thor gasped, extracting it from its sheath, "This is the famed sword of the Valkyrie."

"My mother, she had one of these?" I asked, moving to inspect it.

"She did," Loki answered, "It is being held in Asgard's vaults, but now that her heir has presented herself, it belongs to you."

I released a short breath, marvelling at the beautiful weapon.

"So," Brunnhilde interupted, and Thor and I stopped gaping, "Sakaar and Asgard are about as far apart as any two known systems. Our best bet is a wormhole just outside of city limits. Refuel on Xandar, and we can be back in Asgard in eighteen months."

My eyes widened, and I looked briefly to Loki. "Eighteen months in a cramped ship with him? I'll pass."

"My dear, don't kid yourself. You would vastly enjoy eighteen months on a ship with me. Especially were it just with me."

"I will cut your tongue out," I said, pointing the Dragonfang, which I'd managed to pry away from Thor, in his direction.

"You won't have much use for me any longer without my tongue, love."

"Oh, for Chrissake."

I could feel colour blooming in my cheeks, as the other three in the room watched our conversation.

"Well," Thor began, "An eighteen month voyage is not on the table. We are going through the big one."

Thor pointed toward a massive, tornado-looking portal, shot through with a red that reminded me of Wanda. God, it had been so long since I'd seen them all.

"The Devil's Anus?" Brunnhile asked disbelievingly.

"The Devil's what?" I blinked.

"Anus?" Bruce followed up, from where he was stuffing his face with something toward the back of the room, "Wait, wait wait, whose anus?"

"For the record," Thor defended, "I didn't know it was called that when I picked it."

"That looks like a collapsing neutron star inside of a Einstein-Rosen Bridge," Banner said as he strode toward the window, gaping.

"We need another ship," Brunnhilde said, suddenly beside me with a drink in hand, "That would tear mine to pieces."

"She's right. We need one that can withstand that geodetic strain from the singularity," Thor said. I nodded, folding my arms as I pretended to know what he was talking about. Loki chuckled amusedly, shaking his head at me. I scowled at him.

"And has an offline power steering-system that could also function without the use of the onboard-computer," Bruce added.

"And," Brunnhilde put in, leaning against the table, "We need one with cupholders, because we're all gonna die, so drinks."

"That's the spirit," I patted her on the shoulder.

"Do I know you?" Banner frowned, as Brunnhilde took a big swig of her bottle, before offering it to me. I took it gingerly, inspecting it.

"I feel like I know you too. It's weird," she said, laughing as I coughed at whatever form of alcoholic beverage I'd just injested, handing Brunnhilde back her bottle.

"What do you say?" Thor looked between Banner and I. "Uncharted metagalactic travel through a volatile cosmic gateway? Talk about an adventure."

Thor and Banner did something between a fistpump and a high five, before they both looked to me.

I inclined my head. "I'll take dying over having to wear a ridiculous outfit like this one more time."

"Ooh, I beg to differ," Loki put in, and I shot a glare at him.

"We need a ship," Bruce said, and Thor repeated after him with a nod.

"There are one or two ships," Brunnhilde explained, as she offered me another swill. I declined this time. "Absolute top of the line models—"

Suddenly, Loki spoke up from his corner. "I don't mean to impose—"

Everyone jumped back, startled, as Brunnhilde whipped her now empty bottle at the wall behind Loki's head, it shattered, and Loki looked at me for help. I only shrugged, smiling. God, the amount of times I'd wanted to do that since I'd woken up.

"—But, uh," Loki went on cautiously, "The Grand Master has a great many ships. I may even have stolen the access codes to his security system."

He said that last bit with a small, proud smile.

"And suddenly, you're overcome with an urge to do the right thing," Brunnhilde said skeptically.

"Very unlike you, I've gotta say," I agreed.

"Heavens, no, very unlike me indeed," Loki smiled. "I've run out of favour with the Grand Master, and in exchange for codes and access to a ship, I'm asking for safe passage through the Anus."

I deadpanned at him, and he only smiled brightly.

"You're telling us that you can get us access into the garage without setting off any alarms?" Thor questioned.

"Yes, brother, I can," Loki nodded.

"Oh, well I feel very assured. Not as though you're a notorious liar and backstabber," I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah..." Bruce agreed, waving us into a circle, "Can I just, a quick FYI... I was just talking to him, just a couple minutes ago, and he was totally ready to kill any of us," he whispered.

"He did try to kill me," Brunnhilde nodded.

"Yes, me too. On many, many occasions," Thor said, "There was one time when we were children, he transformed himself into a snake, and he knows that I love snakes. So, I went to pick up the snake, to admire it, and he transformed back into himself and he was like 'Yeah, its me!', and then he stabbed me," Thor said all in one breath. "We were eight at the time."

Collectively, the four of us looked to Loki, a little horrified. He only smiled to himself, eyes on the ground.

"However," Thor began, "Alivia is here," Thor nodded at me. "She's his—"

"Don't finish that sentence. And if you truly think he's above betraying me, you're sorely mistaken," I shot back in a whisper.

I heard Loki sniker and I didn't even bother glancing over to see the smug expression that I knew had taken over his features.

"If we're gonna be boosting a ship, we're gonna need to draw some guards away from the palace."

"Why not set the beast loose?" Loki suggested.

"Shut up," Thor threatened, brows raised as Bruce began to look panicky.

"You guys have a beast?" Brunnhilde smiled excitedly.

"No," Banner and I said simultaneously.

"There's no beast," Thor assured her, "He's just being stupid." There was a pause as Thor thought over our options. Then, he settled on something.

He smiled, looking back at the three of us. "We're gonna start a revolution."

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