Avengers: Damnation

Return

Lumen felt dazed as he walked alongside Thor with Magni held tight in his arms. Thor draped an arm around his shoulder while the other held Modi. The boys cooed and whimpered merrily, as if they weren't just the intended vessels for a dark god. All around them, the other heroes moved in silence as the remnants of the Netherworld army fell in behind them. The caves have way to purple skies and Lumen focused entirely upon his family, struggling to block out everything they'd faced up to this point.

Thor looked over his shoulder for Loki but found no sight of him. He huffed in annoyance but it wasn't a surprise. He knew Loki would vanish rather than face the consequences of his actions. Rather than dwell on the darkness, he squeezed Lumen tight against him and kissed his head. "We did it, Fair One."

"Yeah," Lumen murmured. "We did it." He looked over his shoulder and found Wanda, who nodded stoically before averting her eyes.

"Focus on the boys," Thor told him. "Everything else in time. Okay?"

Lumen nodded. "Right. You're right."

In no time, they came upon the castle. Queen Morla stood at the entrance, her expression proud. Nightstar approached and the two shared a solemn and quiet moment. Then, much to everyone's surprise, they embraced. The army and subjects in the plaza cheered. Morla lifted a hand, silencing her people.

"Denizens of the Netherworld!" She called out. "Tonight we celebrate a victory over a millennia in the making! Your prince, his band of heroes, and the army of our kind have delivered us from beneath the shadow of the fiend! No longer will the Netherworld play host to Nelvannu and his court. Today we begin a new era!"

Cheers exploded from every direction but Lumen heard only the steady heartbeat of Thor as he rested his head on his chest. He felt only the comforting breath of Magni against his chin. He sought calm in the eye of the storm, knowing that there were far too many loose ends to address before he could truly rest.

Somewhere in the midst of the celebrations of the Netherworld, the heroes bid farewell to Morla and made for earth. The sunlight stung their eyes and as the others rushed to greet them on Avalon, the temptation to simply go home was so strong.

"Fair One," Thor whispered. "If you wish to return home with the boys, I can remain here and debrief with the others."

Dean shook his head. "I don't want to be alone."

Thor looked down into his eyes and nodded.

"So," Steve said as he watched the last of the team enter the conference room. "We've got a lot of details to cover."

"First, where's Bucky?" Hawkeye asked.

"He's in Russia," Sam explained. "He's following up on a lead involving the Red Room."

"Has he checked in?" Steve asked.

"Earlier this morning," Sam said. "He said he had to go dark, but that he'd provide a status update later today."

"I'll read the mission details after the meeting," Steve said. He then looked at Thor.

"As everyone here is aware, the fallen god Nelvannu ordered the abduction of mine and Dean's sons. Amora carried this out...killing Rosie in the process."

Dean looked down at Magni and smiled at the boy through his tears.

"In order to save them, we ventured to the Netherworld, where we joined forces with the armies of its queen," Thor carried on. The rest of the team listened intently as the thunder god gave a detailed account of all that had transpired.

"We managed to take out several of Nelvannu's agents," Steve interjected. "Including Amora."

Sam slapped the table with the flat of his hand. "About damn time!"