The Eternal Valkyrie: War of the Realms (HTTYD fic)

Part 27

Chapter 26

"My father does not live in Central Park," Jerry told them with a laugh. "We merely landed here because it would have drawn too much attention otherwise."

"What about our outfits?" Hiccup asked. "We still have on the Asgardian clothing."

"Just pretend we're cosplayers. It's worked a lot of times for me." Jerry shrugged as he casually started strolling down the paved path. True enough they got some odd looks here and there but after a few seconds people simply ignored them.

"You know I just realized something," Dagur said as were walking towards one of the park's exits. "Aren't you three," here he pointed at Snotlout, Hiccup and Astrid "still wanted by the police for the destruction of Berk?"

Hiccup stopped for a moment and then groaned "I completely forgot about that."

"We are on a time-sensitive mission," Sigyn spoke up as she looked at the tall buildings surrounding the park. "If these police give you trouble I will simply crush them."

"Sigyn I honestly don't think such drastic measures are needed," Astrid spoke up. "We haven't been recognized yet."

"Maybe we should have made you leave that Warhammer at home," Jerry muttered. "You have a tendency to be trigger-happy."

"My hammer does not have a trigger. I fail to see your point. Using it does make me happy however." Sigyn answered which caused Jerry to groan and Hiccup and the others to smile. Sigyn might not know American slang but that didn't stop her from being sassy.

Jerry hailed a cab after they had exited the park and gave an address that was somewhere in Manhattan. They all managed to cram themselves into the taxi and then were off. Their destination ended up being a street that had rows of Brownstone buildings. Jerry paid the man and when they were all out on the street he went straight for one of the buildings.

"So Loki's been living in Manhattan the entire time?" Snotlout asked as he looked around the quiet neighbourhood. "This is so different from what I expected. The twins would freak."

"Why didn't we bring them with us again?" Dagur asked as the group watched Jerry ring the doorbell a couple of times before knocking.

"The twins meeting Loki......." Hiccup simply stated. "How do you think that would go?"

Dagur hummed and tried to imagine the different scenarios. He had a pretty big imagination and he actually cringed during several of these supposed scenarios that were running through his head. "Okay, point taken."

"DAD!" Jerry now called since there wasn't any answer at the door.

"Maybe he's out?" Astrid suggested.

"That would complicate matters." Sigyn frowned. "Loki going out means that he could be in any of the Nine Realms or the planets beyond."

"No, he should be here," Jerry frowned. "I sent a letter ahead saying I'd be by."

"Jerry is that you?" A female voice called and the group then noticed an elderly woman coming out from the apartment below the stairs. She had her gray hair in a bun and was wearing large glasses which she adjusted to see clearly.

"Mrs. Dower," Jerry greeted as he recognized her. "Have you seen my father?"

"Ah yes, I'm sorry. He was doing an errand for me and might have gotten caught up. Such a nice young man you are to come for a visit with his friends." The woman smiled. "I wish my grandkids were like you."

Hiccup noted that Jerry actually blushed as the old woman continued and invited them in "Why don't all of you come in? I have some biscuits and tea. Your father should be back in a bit."

"Ah... Eh.... yes, thank you Mrs. Dower. We'd love to," Jerry said as he indicated for us to go along with it. Sigyn frowned and as they entered the apartment downstairs she asked in a hushed voice "You're father still looks young. You could pass as his younger brother. Why would she believe you're his son?"

"Mrs. Dower is...... half blind. She never questioned it when Loki introduced me." Jerry whispered back.

The apartment they entered was filled with shelves of all kinds of knick-knacks and possibly antiques. Hiccup recognized some of them from when he helped out in Gobber's shop. "So Mrs. Dower. Did you sent my dad on another grocery run?" Jerry asked with a smile. The others supposed that there must be a story there somewhere.

The old lady brought out a metal tin filled with biscuits and then went to retrieve a porcelain tea set. Her hands were a bit jittery so the cups could be heard shaking and Sigyn immediately offered to help her carry it. "Don't you worry young lady," Mrs. Dower said as she managed to reach the coffee table. The group was sitting in very plush chairs and their host indicated that they may help themselves. "It's been a while that I've had so many guests. So refreshing." She smiled before turning to Jerry. "I asked Loki if he could possibly head down to the auction house for me." This statement however caused Sigyn to choke.

"Excuse me, but.... Did you just call him Loki?" She asked surprised. Hiccup and Astrid were also curious since they would have assumed that Loki would have hidden his identity.

"That's his name isn't it dearie," Mrs Dower smiled. "Odd name sure, but he's still a very nice man. He helped me repair my sink just last week. Do you maybe refer to him as Mr. Skywalker?" Now that caused Snotlout and Hiccup to nearly choke on their biscuit. Hiccup had completely forgotten about that kenning Loki had earned in the mythology. "You see, my daughter has been bothering me about moving into a retirement home." The old woman said and Jerry frowned a bit. "She and I had been going through several of my knick-knacks and found an old coin collection. She wanted to throw most of this stuff away but I thought they might be worth something, but my bones had been acting up this morning. So I asked Loki if he could make the appointment at the auction house for me."

"You promised him cake in return didn't you?" Jerry laughed. "He's been addicted to your lemon cake for a while."

"My momma always said that a way to a man's heart is through his stomach." The lady joked and then said "Ah Jerry, don't make that face." Mrs. Dower smiled. "I know you aren't exactly fond of my daughter but she may have a point. I'm getting too old to be living here. Lately I've even had trouble walking up those four stairs to the street."

"I'm just not that happy about her attitude." Jerry mumbled.

"I know, I know dearie. I might be half blind but I'm not senile." The old woman smiled. "I know very well that she wants to get her hands on this building and raise the rent."

"Wait... you own this building?!" Snotlout asked.

"Yes dearie I do." Mrs. Dower gave Snotlout a smile. "My daughter is very materialistic. I know her type well. She's not all that fond of the low rent I charge or the tenants I rent the rooms above too. If I wasn't so old I'd give her a proper spanking for her attitude."

"Or the fact that dad outright rejected her when she made a pass." Jerry mumbled with a shudder.

"Well Loki does look mighty fine in skinny jeans," The woman hummed which caused Jerry's eyes to widen. "I may be old and somewhat blind but I can still see." She winked before casually taking a sip of tea.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and Mrs. Dower smiled. "That should be your father."

Meanwhile, back in Central Park, another portal opened. This time it spat out two Asgardians.

"Where are we?" Vili asked as he looked around.

"Somewhere on Midgard by my calculations," Ve answered. "Now all we have to do is locate our target."

"How hard could that be?" Vili scoffed. He had no idea just what awaited them outside of Central Park.