Those who haven't become legends envy legends, while legends themselves are vexed by their own legendary status.
After making her way to the most exclusive leisure club on Xandar, Carol slipped into her room with practiced ease, stripped off her clothes, and hurried into the shower. Sure, her Binary energy could keep her body immaculate at all times, but come on—what woman would find joy in a life without proper baths?
But as a legend, did she really have time for a bath? Not five minutes in, Carol spotted two incoming calls on her communicator. One was from her longtime collaborator—the one who gathered all kinds of intel and selected missions for her. Calling her a secretary might be more accurate.
Seeing this person's call, Carol didn't dare delay. They'd worked together for years; no one knew Carol better than this secretary. If it wasn't urgent, she would never reach out the moment a mission ended.
She rinsed off hastily, threw on some clothes in the living room, and opened the comm channel. The small projection of a female Xandarian appeared before her.
"Saifu, what's the situation?"
Without waiting for the figure to speak, Carol fired off questions of her own.
"Did Thanos launch another evil scheme? Did the Supreme Intelligence of the Kree Empire reach its tentacles toward some peaceful planet again? Or did one of Galactus's heralds mark another sentient world?"
"None of those, Carol!" Saifu shook her head and quickly shared the intel she'd just received. "This is far more important to you than anything else. Remember the Chitauri that have been massing lately?"
"Mm-hmm, of course I remember. They've moved out? Where are they heading this time?" Carol asked, ruffling her still-damp hair and muttering a soft complaint. "These bastards always find ways to keep me busy. I don't even have time for a haircut. The barbers who can handle a cosmic-level powerhouse like me are getting harder and harder to book. Ugh…"
She looked back at her secretary. "Don't look at me like that. I'm just griping. Go on—where are the Chitauri headed? They wouldn't be coming straight to Xandar, would they?"
"Ahem. Carol, to be honest… once you hear the location, you're probably going to wish they were heading to Xandar."
Saifu gave a rueful laugh and continued, "They went to Asgardian territory. But it doesn't seem to be Asgard itself—it's one of the Nine Realms, a planet called Midgard."
"Mm-hmm, Midgard. Got it. The Chitauri have gotten pretty bold this time. Must be on Thanos's orders. Otherwise, those vermin wouldn't dare run wild in Odin's backyard. With Odin there, I'll skip it. That's Asgard's juris—"
Mid-sentence, Carol's hand, still tousling her hair, suddenly slowed. She frowned, thought for a moment, and then, as if something had clicked, shot Saifu a question.
"Wait. Why does Midgard sound so weirdly familiar…? Midgar…"
"Exactly what you're thinking!" Saifu cut off her guess. "Midgard also goes by another name that almost no one uses—Earth! It's your homeworld, Carol!"
"Motherfucker!!!"
Carol instantly forgot about her hair.
"You're telling me those goddamn Chitauri are hitting my home?! When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"
"Uh, well… it happened six days ago. You were still hunting the Deathbird at the time. And the Chitauri didn't exactly 'hit' it in a straightforward way, because Asgard discovered them immediately. I figured the Asgardians wouldn't let the Chitauri just invade their territory. So I thought… maybe I didn't need to interrupt you right away with news like that while you were locked in a battle of wits with the Deathbird at a critical moment."
"Fine, fine. You and your 'I figured.' But you ought to know me better than that by now. That's Earth. That's my home. I'd sooner drop the Deathbird than let my home get invaded by the Chitauri!" Carol said.
Listening to her, Secretary Saifu blinked innocently. She looked at Carol as if seeing her for the first time and asked in surprise, "Are you sure? I've never seen you go back to visit your homeworld. Maybe that's why I misjudged things. My mistake. I should've told you sooner."
"You damn well should have. How far has the fighting gone? Can I still make it back in time? Is Earth even still there?" Carol pressed anxiously.
Saifu gave her a reassuring look. "Since the Nine Realms are so remote, and it's Asgardian territory besides, I can't get much intel. All I know is the Chitauri engaged the Asgardians outside Midgard and then fought their way into Asgard's own realm. As bad as that sounds, the energy signatures we've picked up show that the Chitauri's losses have been exceptionally heavy—even their flagship has gone dead."
"Hmph. All I care about is whether they've already reached Earth." Carol rubbed her forehead and gave a gloomy sigh. "Alright. Maybe God saw I hadn't been home in way too long and decided to give me a reason and an excuse to go back. I don't have any new commissions pending, right? No sudden wars breaking out in the universe, right? So, Saifu, arrange my itinerary. I'm heading back to Earth for a while. Let's just hope the Asgardians are doing their job before I get there!"
With that, Carol closed the comm, turned around, walked out of her Xandar residence, and shot into the sea of stars.
As she flew, she thought to herself, Perfect timing. I haven't seen my old friends in ages. Talos is fine—he's got a long life ahead. But Fury… he's gotten so damn old. Can't wait to see if he can still crack a smile in front of me. Ha.
…
Xandar.
…
Quill, nursing his drink in a mercenary bar, was jolted by a sudden burst of cheering. He blinked his bleary drunken eyes and peered at the cheering patrons at the door. They were excitedly pointing at the streak of light vanishing into the sky.
"Ha! That crazy bitch of a woman finally left Xandar! I've got a job to rob an energy storage depot—who's in?!"
"Screw the energy depot! Sure, Captain Marvel left, but the Nova Corps is still here. No one's gonna risk their neck with you! Check out my gig instead—just grabbing a few tough fighters from the Centaurus system and shipping them to Sakaar for the arena. The Grandmaster's always generous. Who's with me?"
"Get lost, bullshit! Gladiators who can actually fight on Sakaar—since when are any of them guys we can handle? Ignore that garbage and listen up, fellas! The Chitauri armada's been massing in Asgardian space. Anyone wanna set up a stakeout with me? If the Asgardians win, we scavenge Chitauri weapons, gear, and ships to sell. If by some miracle the Chitauri win, we grab an Asgardian in the chaos and sell him to the Collector. Everyone knows those Asgardian kings don't let the Collector have a single one of their people. So an Asgardian's price at the Collector's is at least sixty million! Any takers?"
"Great idea, count me in!"
"How stealthy's your ship? I don't want the Asgardians spotting us!"
"I'm in. Don't even need an Asgardian—just hauling back some Chitauri biomaterials to sell will keep me afloat!"
Amid the clamor, Quill, still riding his buzz, wracked his brain but couldn't figure out why Asgard and the name Odin sounded so familiar. To be fair, he'd left Earth too young. Even if he'd heard some myths, his mom had mostly told him Greek stories and God stuff before she passed…
Odin… Odin…?
Just as he was mulling, someone beside him clapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey, man, aren't you always saying you're from Earth? Why not join this mission and go back for a look? The Chitauri are fighting the Asgardians at Midgard, and Midgard is that Earth place you're always yapping about!"
Hearing that from the familiar bartender-slash-info broker, Quill sobered up fast. All that time scratching his head, and he'd forgotten—Odin was the god from Norse mythology, father of Thor, the God of Thunder! And the Asgardians… if he weren't so drunk, he would've remembered them right away. Hell, any mercenary scraping by in the cosmos who hadn't heard of the Asgardians?
He stood up and shouted at the merc who'd posted the mission, "Buddy, I'm in on your job. But I want the highest cut! That's my home turf. So how about it? You want a guide who can show you around the Solar System properly?"
"Of course we're bringing you, man! But extra cut? No way. Since you know the terrain, we'll throw in an extra fifty thousand, and that's it!"
"Deal. But I don't need the fifty grand. I want a promise instead. Going to the Solar System is fine, but you're absolutely not doing anything bad to my homeworld. Otherwise, take a good look at my jacket—I've got the Ravagers and the Free Folk at my back."
"Relax, rookie. No need to flash your background at us. Your homeworld's Odin's turf. No one's dumb enough to mess with that. So, we teaming up?"
"Absolutely. Form up and set out—signal me when it's time!" Quill agreed readily. Truth was, he just wanted to save on jump fuel and expenses by riding with a group. When you move as a fleet, the ships' energy costs are reimbursable!
…
Just as these two wanderers of the cosmos were making ready to return to Earth, back on Earth itself, the banquet to entertain the Asgardian warriors was still in full swing!
The venue was Liberty State Park in Upper New York Bay. Bigger than Central Park, it sat right behind the Statue of Liberty. Across the mouth of the Hudson, the park offered sweeping views of the statue, the New York Historical Museum, and even the Freedom Tower and the Brooklyn Bridge. A more perfect reception spot could hardly be imagined.
Heisenberg had drawn on the money he'd squeezed out of Kingpin and various New York magnates, topped off with massive funding from Stark Industries, and successfully thrown this grand feast. Not that he took a loss—the Asgardians' arrival had not only multiplied New Yorkers' confidence in their city a thousandfold but had also drawn global media attention. The daily broadcast and rebroadcast rights across nations sold for astronomical sums that far outstripped the expenses.
After all, this was the first large-scale contact between Earthlings and extraterrestrials. Before this, no one on Earth had ever imagined they'd one day hold a party with hundreds of thousands of aliens. Hollywood wouldn't dare film it; sci-fi spectaculars wouldn't dare write it.
As for Heisenberg, though… making money off the Asgardians had never crossed his mind before this. His plan was simple: after killing Odin, throw a banquet big enough to win the loyalty of these Asgardian warriors. What method makes an Asgardian warrior accept you and fight for you?
First, you have to be strong enough.
Then… you've got to let them drink their fill!
/-\
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