Shine Again (An Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame Story)

Chapter 16: The Rightful Heir

Despite all she had heard, nothing would've sufficiently prepared Anja for their arrival on Jotunheim. As the young woman sat on the edge of her bed, staring out her window at the barren, frozen land just outside the ship, she wondered what the hell she had gotten herself into by agreeing to join in on this space venture. From what she had heard of frost giants, they weren't exactly the kind of being she wanted to deal with, but this was a necessary evil in order to help defeat Thanos once and for all.

    "Miss Anja? Are you ready to depart?" Korg's voice called from the doorway behind her.

    Anja turned her head to look at the Kronan. "Yeah, give me a moment." She stood, shrugging her winter coat onto her shoulders before zipping it up. She took one glance out the window again before tightly closing her curtains. She walked up to Korg and raised an eyebrow. "Are you not coming with us?"

    Korg shook his head as the two of them stepped out of her room and made their way towards the lounge. "Nah. Thor thinks most of us can stay on the ship without consequence. He says only a handful of you are going to negotiate with the frost giants. Gives the rest of us some time to work on some things around here, I guess."

    Anja frowned slightly. She really hoped Thor knew what he was doing. She would've thought most of the crew of ten would be going just in case things went haywire, but then again she was sort of new to all of this hero business. Even still, she would imagine having Korg around would be more useful than she would be, given she didn't have complete control over her own powers and she was probably rusty from her S.H.I.E.L.D. training years ago. She shook the thought from her mind. Maybe whoever else was coming would make up for that. She just hoped she wouldn't have to break out her abilities today. Anja made a mental note to get some practice before the next realm just as the rest of her friends came into view.

    "About time you got out here," Layla called out, all bundled up in a fluffy coat, pulling a hat over her head. "I was starting to think you chickened out."

    Anja resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Wouldn't dream of it," she said quietly. She looked among her friends, and seeing Layla, Thor, and Loki as the only others even remotely dressed for the obviously cold weather put a frown on her face. "Is it... just the four of us going?"

    "Yes," Thor answered, adjusting his cloak. "It should not take more than the four of us to convince them to ally themselves with us against Thanos. Cold is not something Korg or Miek need to really deal with. Tony and Bruce have decided to improve the tech on the ship, and Brunnhilde is going to train Spencer in combat since she is the least experienced in it."

    Anja didn't have time to reply to him before Layla spoke up again. "Is that all you're wearing? You're probably going to freeze."

    Compared to Layla and Thor, Anja was hardly wearing anything to protect herself from frostbite. They were bundled up like they were going into the arctic, wearing layers of furs and heavy coats. Anja was relieved to see that Loki was no more bundled up than she was, and hadn't even really added anything to his armor other than a small fur draped around his shoulders.

    "Should I be wearing more?" Anja asked, pulling a pair of gloves from her coat's pocket and sliding them onto her hands.

    "Depends on how well you tolerate frozen tundras," Loki answered before shooting Thor and Layla a smirk. "Some aren't able to withstand the frigid air of Jotunheim."

    Anja felt a little better hearing that, and shrugged. "It can't be any worse than Michigan winters. There were times our temperatures were well into the negatives, and I survived just fine. Walked to class in it and everything."