The Ashen Keeper

Chapter 82

Currently, they have two ways to go to Earth. They could take the spaceship and go over to Earth. That would take a lot of time. However, they would have a place to live, sleep and eat without relying on the generosity of Earth.

Another way was that they could take the rainbow bridge of Asgard. It would be extremely fast but they would have no place to stay. She lets them decide which way they prefer.

"Why not both? We can take the ship together with us while using the rainbow bridge.", said Thor when everyone was thinking of the two choices.

That ... was a good choice. She will admit that she did not think of that. True to his words, why not both? Thor's intelligence is on par with Drax, but he had his moments.

"Very well, then. You heard that Heimdall. Bring us straight to Earth." she said as a beam of light came straight to them.

"What the hell is that?!", asked Rocket as they were transporting along the bridge.

"That, my friend is the Bifrost. Just think of it as a teleporting beam!", shout out Thor as they were all flying at rapid speed.

"I like this.", shout out Wanda as they all flew. She smiled at this. Looks like she was recovering from her rejection. It is good that she is growing up. Of course, one cannot deny the fact that she will be seeing her brother back again.

They finally arrived back on Earth. She could feel the dryness in the air. There was very little source of humidity. Yet she could feel that this was a familiar place. After all, this was the place where they found Thor.

"This is New Mexico!", exclaimed Thor.

"You remember this, Loki? Its the place where you tried to kill me!", Thor's un-serious words attract a lot of attention from Quill's groups. The good doctor looks like he was used to it.

Gamora showed a look of understanding for some reason while the others looked at Loki. As the god of mischief, his face was already thicker than the walls of Anor Londo.

"Yes, I do." It was at this moment that she sensed someone familiar coming at them. It has indeed been quite a lot of time since she saw him.

"Ms. Keeper!", he got out of his car with his ever-present leather trench coat. He wore sunglasses with Phil Coulson following behind him.

"We are always glad to have you back and Dr. Banner!", he called for the good doctor.

"We were wondering where you ran off. And Thor.", he gave a nod of acknowledgement to Thor.

"And look who's here with you! The ant!", he said sarcastically as he looked at Loki. She was wondering what he was talking about until she remembered the conversation between Loki and Fury about boots and ants. He holds a long grudge it seems.

"If it is anything, you're the ant.", she shot him look that shut him up.

"Would you like to introduce the rest of them to me?" He took a look at the rest of the crew.

"This here is Quill, a half-human, half-celestial. He was abducted from Earth when he was young. Rest assure that his abilities are not that much different from normal humans. His abilities were exceeding that of a normal human in desperate situations. Also, he's a thief.

This is Gamora, one of the last of her species. The rest were slaughtered by an overlord. A master assassin trained in combat and specialized in blades.

Also, meet Drax, another one with similarities to Quill. He can use just about any weapon. A jack of all trades.

Mantis, a girl abducted by a living planet to help it sleep. As for these two, this is Rocket and Groot."

"What about those two?", he asked as he looked at them.

"Ah... these two are from mine homeland. Selph and Falkor. Everlasting dragons."

"I thought the everlasting dragons no longer exists?"

"Trust me, my dear Fury. It was a surprise to me too. The rest of the two everlasting dragons are on Asgard as of this moment.", she told him reassuringly.

"I thought you would stay out of the Earth and continue to roam in a wider world."

"A wide world it may be but now world is safe as home. This may not be my birthplace, but it is no different from one. Tis the world that cared for me when I had no one. Thou can always rest assure that I will always be part of this world."

"What has enticed you to come here, Ms. Keeper."

"A visit I suppose, and I wish to see the Avengers once more."

"The Avengers are no more, Ms. Keeper."

"No more? They're dead?" She was surprised at the feebleness of life here. It was truly unexpected.

"No, not dead. They broke up."

"Wait what? The Avengers broke up?", asked the doctor. He seems to be concerned about the fact that he might have to go back to his old life of running away from the military.

Of course, even if he has to go back to his old ways, she will not allow it. He was not part of HER crew, and she would never accept anyone of her crew being chased like a lab rat.

"Yes, the avengers broke up."

"Like, like the band? Like the Beatles?"

"Yes... like the Beatles.", replied Fury.

"What? Why?"

"Let us leave this story for another time. For now, we have more important things to do."

"Important things?"

"You may not have realized it but ever since Tony Stark got kidnapped, strange events has been happening all over the world. All these vigilantes has been popping out of nowhere.

Both normal and superpowered. Another group call fantastic 4, the mutants who has come out of hiding, the country of Wakanda and many more. But right after you left, another thing popped up.

I do not know what to make of this, but I have a hunch that it is the Abyss according to what you told me. Luckily it has not been spreading any further. Anything we sent there is useless. I was hoping that you would make some sense of this."

Something holding back the Abyss? She thought of Kama Taj.