HeartBound {Avengers Fanfic}

Chapter 20: Other Times

"When they told her her story was written in the stars,

She went to the heavens and crushed each one with her bare hands,

Stars have no power over her,

The night sky is hers now,

And she will carve it with constellations of her own."

–Never Tell a Goddess Her Fate by K.S.

"On a scale of one to ten, how would you say the pain is?" Bruce asked.

"Five," Freyja said stiffly.

He gave her a doubtful look.

"I have a high tolerance for pain," she explained, not bothering to say why. "If it makes you feel better, I'm certain that it will be a seven in two minutes."

She lay on her borrowed bed, staring up at the ceiling as she mentally prepared herself for the pain that would greet her. Her shoulder had healed itself, but it hadn't set properly, and needed to be broken again so that she could fix it. A twisted piece of steel had worked its way into a major nerve in her ankle and the entire left side of her torso had been scraped raw despite her armor.

Thor was standing at her side, Mjolnir in hand, as he waited for his orders. He wasn't exactly pleased with the prospect of deliberately causing her more pain, but she managed to persuade him. She cut off a large piece of her tunic with her good arm and twisted it until it resembled a rope before she placed it between her teeth.

"Are you sure this is the best way?" Thor asked skeptically.

"We can't take her to a hospital like this. Not only would they have no clue what to do with her, but there are still too few people in the city at the moment. And she doesn't have enough energy to fix it herself."

"If Loki hears I did this, he'll have my head for a mantelpiece," he sighed.

She rolled her eyes, focusing on the ceiling with more interest than necessary. She heard Thor give a resigned sigh before he struck her, not as hard as he would an enemy, her bone broke with a sharp crack. Her scream was muffled by the cloth as she bit down hard on the tough material. She grimaced as Bruce set it for her and she pulled out the leather when he was done.

"Thor, could you bring Hermes in?"

All of the gods, and the other Avengers, were in the living room of Tony's penthouse. Freyja couldn't summon enough strength to create a portal just yet, so the immortals bided their time. She was just grateful that they seemed to be getting along.

"If you need energy, Freyja, you know I can help," Thor told her.

"No, you are fatigued as it is. Besides, I wish to speak with him."

Thor nodded, walking out of the room. She yelped as Bruce suddenly pulled the scrap of metal out of her ankle.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I figured it wouldn't bother you as much if you weren't paying attention."

She nodded in understanding, grimacing as he gently prodded her side. Her armor had long since been removed and, although she wasn't ruining Tony's mattress, there was still blood slowly seeping out.

"Is it possible for a Vanir to bleed to death?"

"That is the same as asking if decapitation will kill me," she answered. "Vanir are immortal, not indestructible. I may be a little stronger than the average human, but I will still die, if subjected to certain debilitating wounds."