Daughter Dearest

forty-two

The next events were a swirl of chaos with portals, poorly hidden worry, and a surprise trip to the living world. It was late — almost midnight, yet everyone was wide awake as Charlie got the confirmation that her dad was on his way. . .

Venus was connected to an array of monitors and tubes as Bruce went between the lab down the hall and the room, running tests in attempts to figure out what had her in a near comatose state. . . Thor and Loki lingered in the makeshift hospital room in Avengers Tower, as if she would disappear. 

Charlie, Vaggie, and Angel Dust lingered in the corner of the room. It was all shocking and terrifying — finding the woman who had become family on the edge of death, barely holding on. 

When Lucifer showed up, he first checked to make sure Charlie was alright before reaching Venus's bedside. He brushed strands of hair out of her face, listening to the monitor portraying her faint heartbeat. 

“What happened to her?” He asked no one in particular, his tone dark as he stared at her face. He loved looking at it. . . But he preferred when she was more lively, glowing even. The sight before him was something that made him afraid to touch her wrong. She looked so fragile. 

“She was poisoned.” Bruce stated from the doorway, holding the rapid results in his hand. He silently praised Tony for upgrading all the lab equipment after the last mishap. 

“What?” Lucifer looked up at the man with wide eyes. 

Bruce nervously adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose and examined the results as he got closer. 

“Her bloodstream has extremely high levels of arsenic. . . A dosage of this magnitude would've killed a normal person within a matter of minutes. Due to her parentage, her body is reacting as if it's an overdose. . . For now, she's stable — however, due to several contributing factors, her body will take longer to heal.” 

If her body decided to let her heal. If she decided to hold on. 

“Once she is more stable, we will safely transport her to Asgard to be seen by the palace healers. . . Our father must be notified immediately. . . If she dies, whoever poisoned her will have waged war on Asgard, as well as this team, and it won't be pretty.” Thor spoke for him and Loki, who was struggling to contain his composure. 

Returning to Asgard under such circumstances wasn't on their to-do list.

“She won't die, right?” Lucifer questioned, clutching the white blanket that was draped across Venus's lower portion. 

“We hope she won't. . . We'll know more when we can get her to Asgard. We may be technologically advanced down here, but I've done everything I could possibly do.” Bruce said, setting the lab results down. 

Lucifer grabbed Venus's hand, the one closest to him, and placed a kiss on the back of it. “You have to hold on. Fight. . . I just got you — I can't lose you, not like this. I have to do things the proper way and I won't be able to do that if you. . ." He trailed off, his emotions catching in his throat. 

★†★

Twelve hours later and Venus was stable enough to be transferred to Asgard. There was a window of time where she was least likely to crash — so only the necessary visitors went through the portal that opened. 

They couldn't take the Bifrost. It was too risky. 

The best healers in the realm were waiting for her arrival and immediately jumped to work, running tests far beyond what Bruce could run in the lab back at the tower. 

Word of the Princess’ sudden arrival spread throughout the Asgardian palace by way of gossiping maids, guards, and advisors, until finally, the news landed in the throne room just as Heimdall informed the all-father that his children, biological or not, had arrived home. 

But there was more. 
There was always more. 

The revelation of Venus's state shook the King and Queen to the core, though Frigga was the one to react, placing her hand over her mouth in shock. 

Her daughter? Her Venus? Poisoned? No. It couldn't be! 

“Go see her.” Odin had told his wife.

The woman hadn't needed to be told twice, practically sprinting towards the designated healers wing of the palace, only stopping when she came face to face with her sons. 

“Is Venus alright?” She questioned. 
Thor and Loki shared a look that she didn't quite like. “We hope. . .” Loki replied, trailing off. 

Behind the brothers, the door opened and Frigga caught sight of Venus laying eerily still on a bed with Asgard's greatest healers surrounding her. She was pale and looked to be standing on death's doorstep, waiting for him to open the door. 

Frigga's heart dropped as she stepped past her sons and into the room where her daughter laid, barely holding on.

“Oh, my sweet girl. . .” She muttered, reaching Venus's bedside and brushing hair out of her face in such a motherly way, it had the others in the room feeling as if they were intruding on a personal moment. “You are strong, Venus. . . You must tell me of your travels once you are better.”

“They did everything they could on Earth.” Lucifer said from Venus's other side, eyes tired from the lack of rest. His fingers were laced with the Asgardian Princesses, the pad of his thumb subconsciously rubbing the back of her hand. 

He could hear her breathing shallowly, and that was enough. . . For now. 

Frigga glanced at their intertwined hands, a flicker of hope budding in her chest. Venus had more than one reason to hold on. “I assume you and my daughter are close?” 

Lucifer looked to the Queen of Asgard and nodded slightly. “I love her.” He admitted. 

Charlie smiled sadly at them from across the room, hoping Venus would hear those words from him. 

Frigga looked at Lucifer, shocked. Just how much of her daughter's life had she missed since she found herself in Hell? 

“You love her?” She questioned. 

“More than anything. . .” He replied, catching his daughter's gaze in his peripheral vision. 

Well, he loved Charlie, obviously — but Venus. . . She was who he needed. Who he desired to be around constantly. . . The woman he loved.

“I won't interrogate you right now. . . But once she awakens, you can expect to answer questions. . . For now we must focus on my daughter's survival and figuring out who did this to her.” 

Lucifer turned to face his daughter, Angel Dust, and Vaggie. “. . . You three go out into the hall. . . I need to talk to Venus's mom in private.”  He told them, eyes flickering to the open door where Thor stood. 

“Will everything be okay, Dad?” Charlie inquired, grabbing Vaggie's hand as Angel strolled towards the door. 

“I hope it will be.” 

He waited until they were gone before turning to the Queen of Asgard once more. “I have an idea who might've been behind her poisoning. . .” It was odd for him to think it, to even consider it even. 

Frigga's whole demeanor changed as she stared into the red eyes of the man attached to her daughter. 
“Who?” 

“My ex wife. . . Lilith.”