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Chapter Text

If there was one thing Tony Stark hated it was seeing something broken but being unable to fix it. It was the closest thing to OCD he had. Just staring at something broken made his fingers twitch for a tool and his mind whirl with possibilities to fix it, to make it better. Honestly, it was annoying sometimes. The longest he had ever held out on trying to fix something was a day, by the time he had started his hands were shaking and he was sweating like a sinner in church. It was ridiculous.

It also didn't stop at inanimate objects.

No, Tony, despite what his degrees said, had a special flair for fixing people. For taking someone broken and putting them back together. Sure sometimes it backfired (a certain team of ungrateful superheroes turned terrorists comes to mind) but a lot of the time it was rewarding for both him and the person involved. A small but noticeable percentage of his company was made up of individuals like this, individuals who were fixed and bettered by Tony Stark.

So it is no surprise to Tony that he veered off course during his patrol of the city when FRIDAY alerted him to a jumper on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Sure any hero worth their salt would go to stop the jumper but the second the person was identified as an individual Tony was likely going to attempt to fix, Tony ordered, "Initiate Protocol: Stray Cat." The protocol would identify the person in question and create Tony a report on them before obtaining clothes, hygiene products, standard tech, and readying the guest room in the penthouse. As the Brooklyn Bridge came into sight the very first of the information FRIDAY had found popped up on Tony's HUD. His eyebrows rose as he read but he didn't stop. 

After all, a person was a person...no matter how many government watch lists they were on.

Tony came to a hover just off to the side of the raven-haired, pale-skinned woman who was edging toward the drop in front of her. Her face was a potent mixture of grief and anger and pain and honestly, Tony could already feel his tendencies kicking in. "Now what is a pretty lady like you doing in a place like this?" Tony asked, his helmet relaying the words with a slight mechanical edge.

Instantly the woman jumped backward and pressed herself against the metal behind her, "Stay back!"

"Whoah there. It's alright." Tony said, trying to be soothing. He retracted his helmet so the woman could see him, "You know bungee jumping off bridges usually requires the bungee to be fun."

The woman frowned, "What?"

Tony waved his hand at the drop, "You've not seen those crazy videos online? Of people bungee jumping off bridges and then just dangling? I'll be honest, I never really saw the appeal."

The woman blinked several times before a scowl settled on her face, "I know what you're doing. I'm still jumping Stark." She snarled.

"Now why would you want to do that?" Tony asked, not responding to the hostile tone.

The woman took a shaky breath as she eyed the edge again, "I...I used to be something amazing. Something great. They took it from me! Left me like this! Worthless! I'm nothing now! Nothing!" She drew in in herself, "And he left me. Now that I'm not special he left me, let me be taken. I'm no good to anyone. When they took what made me me I lost my cause, lost the one I loved, the one who I had chosen over my own brother." Her voice was getting tighter, "I just...I'm done." She stepped closer to the edge, "I just want to be done."

"You don't have to be blue to be amazing Raven," Tony said gently.

Her head whipped around to look at him, fear showing in her face now, "You know who I am?"

"You are Raven or Mystique depending on the current company." Tony tilted his head, "Which do you prefer?"

"Is that why you’re here?" She asked, "To take me in? Can't you just leave me alone? I won't take up a prison cell like this!" She cried almost hysterically.

"Easy, I'm not taking you to the police. I was actually thinking about the tower." Tony said.

"Why?" She asked, her eyes hardened, "To study me?" She snarled.

Tony lifted his hands as much as he was able without veering in the air, "Whoa there, I don't know if you've noticed but I'm an engineer. I don't do squishy sciences. Not if I can avoid it. So studying you is off the table." He gave her an open smile, "I was planning to just get some pizza."

She blinked, "Pizza." She deadpanned. 

Tony nodded seriously, "Pizza after Wednesday patrol is a tradition. Want to join me for some?"

She looked at him as if he was insane before steeling herself and looking back at the edge, "No, I'm still jumping."

Tony flew in front of her, "Come on. For me. I need a buddy." He extended a hand to her, she eyed it distrustfully, clenching and unclenching her hands at her sides, "Just pizza. And if you still want to jump after pizza...well...the tower is higher than this bridge." 

She frowned thoughtfully before hesitantly taking Tony’s hand, “Just pizza?” She asked softly.

“Just pizza,” Tony confirmed, pulling her over to him so her feet were standing on his boots, he wrapped an arm around her. “Hold tight.” He warned, his helmet closing back around his head. He started back toward the tower with his newest acquisition, smiling inside his helmet when he saw her eyes light up a little with the rush of the wind around them.

Not half an hour later, as they lounged on the floor of the penthouse with pizza and wine between them, Tony finally asked, “So what should I call you?”

She looked down at her lap, swirling her wine glass idly, “I don’t know. I am not either of the women I was. But I don’t have anything else to be.” She let out a dull laugh, “And after tonight it won't matter.”

Tony cocked his head with a hum, “That won't do. Just tonight or not you should have a name.” He scrunched up his nose and looked to the ceiling, “Something appropriate, something that will let you enjoy your last night..” he suddenly grinned and snapped his finger before grinning at her, “I’ve got it! Kia!”

She rolled her eyes, “I guess I could be Kia for a night.”

One night turned into two, which turned into three, which turned into a week, and soon a month. The newly named Kia found herself presented with excuse after excuse for her to put off her great leap until she didn’t need an excuse at all. A month after being brought to the Tower for ‘Just Pizza’, Kia accepted the position of Tony’s new PA, which the man had been offering since the second night when the most recent excuse had been “I need someone play fetch with DUM-E so he doesn’t use his fire extinguisher on my sensitive experiment”. Tony knew she needed to be needed, needed a cause, a purpose, and he was more than happy to give her that. He would help her if she ever wished to move on to something bigger but right now, taking care of him seemed to keep her spirits up and her mind focused. 

Kia did really well in the position once she got past her death wish. She was straightforward and blunt enough not to take any of Tony’s crap, she forced him to stop for meals and actually tied him to his bed the first couple times he refused to go to sleep at a decent hour. She was also great to have with him when he had to go out. Despite losing her mutation, Kia still had years of battle experience and she had retained most of her flexibility, both had shown the first time some overzealous Team Cap supporter had tried to attack Tony when he was without his suit. Tony had gleefully made her customized weapons after that, she took them with the ‘thank you’ that Tony had been missing from his previous teammates and she had used them with a wild grin on the next asshole who tried to attack Tony. 

Of course, Kia wasn’t sure what exactly she was supposed to do against sentient black goo.

Chapter Text

The next time Tony’s tendencies struck, he and Kia were surveying one of Spiderman’s recent battle sites with the head of the cleanup crew. The rather dull man was talking numbers through thinly veiled hateful comments about ‘supers’ and Tony had honestly stopped listening after the second Spiderman bashing snipe. Kia was alternating between glaring at the man and letting her eyes rove over the battleground where Peter had collapsed a building and had succeeded in successfully dumping and damaging hundreds of steel pipes, like the worlds worse game of pick up sticks.

A movement caught Kia’s eye and she immediately pulled free her short sword and modified pistol, making the rambling crew leader shut up with a gulp. Tony wasn’t perturbed, he just raised an eyebrow, “What’s up K?”

“Movement under the pipes.” She said sharply, training her gun at the pile, “There!” She shot in the next second, sending the crew leader running and eliciting a frightened sounding hiss from the space between the pipes she had just hit. Tony frowned and started forward only to be stopped by the flat of Kia’s blade on his chest, “Don’t be an idiot Tony! Who knows what's over there!”

“K, it sounds scared.” Tony pointed out, “What if something is stuck under there?”

Kia rolled her eyes, “I’ve met Peter, he wouldn’t have abandoned this place if someone innocent was under there.”

“So there might be something not so innocent.” Tony pointed out.

“Exactly!” Kia hissed, “So stay away from it!”

“What if someone else finds whatever it is and causes more damage with it!” Tony protested. He used Kia’s split second of consideration to move around her blade and jog over to the pile of pipes to the sound of her curses. Tony carefully moved pipes out of the way, feeling Kia come up right behind him to watch warily as he finally unveiled a small space underneath the pipes.

Huddled in the small corral created by the metal pipes was a tiny pulsating mass of oily black goo.

“Venom.” Tony identified, Kia brought her gun up swiftly but Tony stayed her hand, “Wait, Peter said the only thing that really works against it is sonic attacks. The gun will probably just make it angry.”

“Then how are we going to catch it!” Kia demanded.

“Do you have a-whoah!” Tony tried to back away as the blob suddenly shot forward by it extended tendrils and attached to his hand before he could get too far. Kia cursed and Tony just held his hand out as far away from his body as possible to examine the goo.

As soon as the frantic movement came to a tense stop, Tony was able to discern something curious.

Venom wasn’t attacking. It simply clung to Tony’s wrist and trembled.

Tony cocked his head curiously, “Hey little one.” He said softly, reaching out with his free hand slowly. “Easy there, buddy.” One finger made contact with the black goop and it pressed itself flat with a high pitched noise. “It’s alright.” Tony soothed, petting the goop gently. 

“That’s very strange,” Kia mumbled over Tony’s shoulder, she narrowed her eyes at the black blob, "Peter said it was hostile."

"Well, it is an alien symbiote." Tony murmured softly, "It doesn't know anything about humans."

Kia frowned at Tony, "You couldn't possibly be suggesting what I think you're suggesting."

Tony rolled his eyes, "I'm just saying that Venom doesn't have any idea what would constitute a truly symbiotic relationship with a creature from this planet." Venom was slowly calming under Tony's petting, "Add in Peter's panic and Venom was probably pretty scared too. They probably clung even harder because of it, creating a cycle of fear."

"You are suggesting it." Kia huffed in exasperation, "Tony, how are you going to keep a pet alien goo?"

Tony grinned as he brought the symbiote closer, practically cuddling it to his chest. "I have a few ideas for that."

Venom's inclusion into the tower was a rather strange one, the first few weeks were filled with more ups and downs than a damn rollercoaster.

It took them a while to get used to one another. Tony found a way to feed Venom when they weren't attached to someone (who knew aliens liked Pedialyte). The trio also worked out a system of communication, Venom understood them from their time with Peter and they could get the gist of Venom's replies through hisses and squeaks (living with nonverbal bots had advantages).

A rather strange incident also led to them discovering Tony's immunity to the symbiote. It appeared that the Extremis in Tony's system, what he had used to heal and strengthen himself after Siberia, viewed Venom as something to be burned out of his body. Kia was similarly immune and they couldn't decide if it was left over from her mutation or because of the serum that locked it away. Either way, there was no one else that Venom was currently allowed to come in contact with and the excessive lectures the symbiote got for trying had the alien goo practically pouting.

It wasn't until the third week that they came up with a solution.

Kia had been returning from a bakery run in the early morning hours when she had heard whimpering. Investigating, she found a horribly mangled pitbull dying in an alley not three blocks from the Tower. The dog, obviously a victim of some abuse if not outright dogfighting, was a classic red furred male who, Kia could clearly see, was already down one leg and an eye. The rest of the dog was covered in scars and opened wounds, leaving the poor thing whimpering amid a garbage heap just waiting to die. Kia had called for Happy without hesitation. When Happy and Kia made it back to the Tower with the dog, they were met with Tony stumbling sleepily from his bedroom with Venom wrapped around his wrist.

Tony had barely begun to ask about the dying dog in his living room when Venom detected from Tony's wrist and lunged for the critically wounded animal.

What followed was slightly disgusting and yet...

Venom as a pitbull was a disturbing sight. The dog had bulked up a bit and it's fur had turned an oily black, the two most normal changes to occur. The dog's mouth was now a wide maw filled with jagged teeth and a long forked tongue. Venom had made up for the missing leg with a sort of tentacle-like limb that it either couldn't or wouldn't form into the shape of the other paws, leaving the new limb to function like an octopus tentacle. Venom had apparently not seen a need to replace the missing eye but the remaining eye had enlarged slightly and turned pure white.

Despite the strangeness of this, the symbiote had managed to save the dog's life, healing his wounds completely (something Tony checked into as soon as he woke up fully). Considering that this had also calmed the symbiote down and stopped it from attempting to possess humans, Tony counted it as a win.

Venom became a normal sight around the Tower's residential floors. They became a well-loved, if slightly deranged, pet of sorts.

Their reintroduction to Peter was tense but happened all the same. With Tony translating and the more expressive features of the dog, Venom was able to apologize for scaring Peter. From that, the two developed a tentative understanding which evolved into a blossoming friendship which, in turn, evolved into the two giving Tony a heart attack as they went after criminals together. Spiderman could be seen running up the side of buildings with an oily black dog loping alongside him, extra long tongue flapping like a flag behind them. The Daily Bugle soon featured stories decrying both 'That Menace Spiderman' and his 'Monsterous Mutt Sidekick' with a picture of Spiderman mid-swing, holding a grinning Venom under one arm.

Despite their new friend, Venom did not forget about the one who had saved them. 

When not out saving New York with Spiderman, Venom could often be found snoozing at Tony's feet. They joined Kia in her quest to care for the inventor as well, sprawling across Tony's stomach to keep him in bed or bringing him food from the fridge. Venom and Kia also managed to get Tony outside, insisting that, since Venom was inhabiting a dog, they needed walks (apparently their crime-fighting didn't count). The walks became an almost daily thing, Venom retreating far enough into the pitbull that they just appeared to be a black-furred pitbull with three legs and one eye. As much as Tony griped, he enjoyed getting outside and soaking up some sunshine. He also, maybe, enjoyed watching Kia and Venom scare off people who tried to harass him.

Venom took Tony's safety just as seriously as Kia did, but they weren't sure how they were supposed to protect him from dangers that literally fell from the sky.

Chapter Text

Of course, Tony's next opportunity to take in a stray had to literally fall out of the sky and land in front of him...

In the middle of Central Park...

In the middle of the day...

With several hundred people gawking at him...

Pepper was going to kill him.

Tony was out with Venom and Kia for their daily walk. Something that had somehow devolved into him sitting on a flat rock, talking about science and life in general to a bunch of starry-eyed teenagers. Glancing fondly at Peter (who had shown up during their walk, out on his own rounds as Spiderman) and Venom, who werecurrently wrestling together off to the side, Tony had an idea of how this had happened. He still wondered what deity thought it was a good idea to have kids look up to him of all people. He's not saying he didn't have a lot of teachable moments to share, just that maybe his version of 'getting through' those moments was not exactly the best examples of 'healthy' behavior or even particularly smart. Hell, a lot of them were downright stupid.

It was during a retelling of one said stupid moment (something he was using to impart that it was okay to ask for help sometimes), that it happened.

In the middle of this clear, sunny day a large shadow appeared over the park.

Everyone looked up, already having disgruntled looks on their faces as they anticipated the sudden appearance of rain clouds, only to see something fucking enormous falling right toward them.

A scream sounded from the group of teenagers and at that moment Tony, Kia, Peter, and Venom reacted. Kia pulled Tony out of the way even as he called for his suit and formed his watch gauntlet; meanwhile, Peter and Venom scrambled to get the panicking teenagers out of the way. Kia and Tony took up defensive positions with their weapons at the ready just as the thing slammed unforgivingly into the big rock Tony had been sitting on. The impact was enough to send something significantly smaller flying away from the original mass, conveniently sending it rolling toward Tony and Kia.

The entire park was still in the wake of the crash, waiting with bated breath for one of the two unidentified objects to attack or, at the very least, identify themselves. Seeing no movement and as the curious hero he was, Tony was the first to move. Kia moved with him, knowing that trying to keep him back wouldn't work. They approached the smaller figure, something they identified as a tangle of black cloth as they came closer.

Keeping his watch gauntlet charged and at the ready, Tony reached out with his other hand and laid it tentatively on the tangle of cloth. There was still no reaction and the action hadn't brought him any pain so Tony chanced rolling the bundle over.

With that move, the cloth fell free to reveal a gaunt, pale-skinned woman with long black hair. Her eyes were rimmed with smudged kohl but even that didn't distract from the myriad of scratches that covered her face. The cloth that she had been tangled in turned out to be a cape that was attached to the shoulders of a green and black armored bodysuit. 

"How did she survive the fall?" Kia questioned because, although it was shallow, she did appear to be still breathing.

"The fact that she did as well as the armor makes me think Asgardian." Tony hummed, "Friday scan her, compare her to Thor's base stats."

Just as Friday acknowledged the order a big rumbling sound ripped through the air, drawing eyes back to the original, much bigger object that had just crashed in the park.

At first glance, it was just a big lump of blackened fur, about twice the size of the Hulk to be precise. The rumbling coming from it slowly transformed into a harsh huffing sound and suddenly the lump of fur grew legs. Big legs that shakily hoisted the lump out of the cradle of the indent it had made with its landing. From the top of the lump emerged a distinctly shaped head with piercing blue eyes and a mouth of razor-sharp teeth.

"Holy-big fucking wolf." Tony choked.

Said 'big fucking wolf' had stood up facing the crowd of frightened but curious teenagers who were all huddled behind Spiderman and Venom, both being keyed up and ready to defend their charges. The big wolf took a shaky step forward, making Peter tense further and Venom let out its particularly wet snarl. The big wolf returned the snarl, it's hackles rising and it's stance widening but the second it tried to go into a defensive position its legs gave out. The wolf slumped back onto the ground, it glared at the crowd of teenagers, growling out it's warning to stay away.

"Watch her," Tony told Kia, edging toward the wolf.

"Tony!" Kia hissed, following him but stopping before she strayed too far from the unidentified woman. "I swear to god I will destroy your coffee machine if you get yourself killed!" 

The billionaire glanced back at her in horror but gave her a grave nod in return.

The wolf had continued to growl at the group of teens so Tony quickly but cautiously got in between them, bringing all the wolf's focus to him and making it growl louder when it noticed how much closer Tony was. "Hey," Tony began soothingly, "easy, we're not going to hurt you." The wolf eyed him distrustfully, "I think you can understand me right? Big beautiful wolf like you, falling out of the sky with a pretty lady who survived it? My guess was Asgardian." The growling got louder, its head jerked a little but it refused to take it's eyes off Tony. "You do understand me." Tony continued with more conviction this time. "Are you looking for the woman who fell with you?" the wolf jerked again and growled, baring it's teeth. "Spidey." Tony called, not taking his eyes off of the wolf, "Help Kia bring her over. If she's Asgardian she'll be heavier than a human."

"Right away Mr. Stark!" Peter chirped.

Wolf jerked again as Peter left its line of sight but Tony raised his hands, "Whoa, we aren't going to hurt her. If you're Asgardian that means you're one of Thor's pe-" The wolf full-on snarled at the name and Tony stopped, "Not a fan of blondie huh? Can't say I blame you." Tony was quick to correct, the wolf eyed him, "One hell of a temper. None of the diplomacy I'd expect out of a Prince," Tony babbled in a hopefully soothing manner, "Kinda prefer Loki sometimes and he chucked me out a window."

"Got her, Mr. Stark!" Peter announced, stepping over to Tony with Kia and Venom flanking him. Peter was lifting the unconscious woman easily but since the woman looked like she would stand head and shoulders over the teenager, he looked a bit awkward with her in his arms.

The wolf's eyes locked on the woman immediately and it snarled again, ears folding back and paws digging weakly at the ground.

Tony held up his hands and started to inch forward again. "Easy. We're bringing her to you. We don't want to hurt either of you." Tony soothed, he edged closer with Peter right beside him. They stopped just out of the wolf's immediate range, "Can we bring her to you?" Tony asked softly, "We just want to set her down in front of you."

The wolf stilled, eyeing them, particularly the unconscious woman Peter held. Ever so slowly, the wolf raised its head from it's defensive position and it's ears perked up just the slightest bit.

Taking that as acceptance, Tony led Peter closer and guarded him as Peter leaned down to gently place the woman in front of the giant wolf.

As soon as they stepped back, the wolf's paw shot out to curl around the woman and drag her close to its chest. Tony and Peter retreated to stand with Kia and Venom as the wolf checked the woman over. It let out a series of growls and huffs as it nosed the woman, most likely to check for injuries and try to wake her, but when it became apparent that the woman wouldn't be waking up that easily the wolf settled its head over the woman with a low whine.

Aws broke out from in multiple spots in the crowd of teenagers.

The wolf's eyes shot back to the crowd, tilting its head in confusion.

Tony chuckled, "You'll have to forgive them. Teenagers can't seem to help themselves when they see cute dogs nowadays." he rubbed at Venom's ears and the symbiote leaned into it with a happy snuffle.

The wolf looked back to Tony, apparently even more confused. It's giant head tilted back the other way and it let out a snort.

"No, no. I agree with them." Tony agreed, like the wolf had actually asked him something, "You're clearly a very good wolf. Look how well you're protecting your person."

A loud thud and a corresponding shake in the ground startled the onlookers. The wolf also flinched a bit before turning its head to look along it's back questioningly.

"The pupper is startled by a tail wag!" one of the teenage girls cooed, prompting another wave of 'aws' from the crowd. The wolf looked back at the crowd, still looking genuinely confused by the turn of events.

Tony smiled at the enormous canine, "I don't know if it works the same for wolves but that generally means you're happy. Probably about me saying you're a good wolf and a good protector." Another thud and rumble in the ground made Tony laugh, "So definitely because of that."

"Mr. Stark!" came a call from the crowd. Tony turned slowly to see a young dark-skinned girl with a mass of dark curls on her head pushing her way to the front. She had on an Ironman hoodie and jeans and was currently thrusting a Mcdonald's bag out at him. "You can have my extra sandwiches. He's probably hungry!" a sharp huff drew their attention back to the wolf who was doing a great job of looking truly offended, even with its canine features. "Her?" the girl guessed hesitantly, "You're a girl?" The wolf gave a surprisingly human (or Asgardian) nod and the teenager grinned, "You hungry girl?" the wolf, definitely a girl now, licked her chops and gave the air a delicate sniff. The crowd of teenagers cooed once again and there was a collective shuffling of bags as everyone began to search for spare snacks.

"Looks like you speak wolf, kid." Tony laughed as he took the offered back and pulled out a wrapped sandwich, he walked toward the wolf carefully as he pulled the sandwich free before offering it to the wolf with his gauntlet free hand. "Here you go. One of America's finest fast foods." The wolf sniffed it again, now that it was closer, before delicately taking the burger from Tony's outstretched hand with more gentleness than anyone expected. "Good girl." Tony praised as the wolf threw its head back to swallow. The crowd was completely taken now, calling out their own praise for the giant wolf and snapping pictures that were most likely already breaking various social media sites.

"Spidey," Tony called, looking back to Peter again as he prepared another sandwich. "Take my wallet and go find the nearest hotdog stand. Buy it out. We're gonna need it."

"Got it Mr. Stark!" Peter agreed, shooting a web at Tony's jacket pocket and expertly fishing the wallet out.

"I don't know if it's a good thing you're so used to that." Kia teased.

"You taught me well." Peter chirped before running off into the park.

Meanwhile, Tony was getting passed more snacks to feed the large wolf through the girl who had given up her lunch. The girl had inched up closer to Tony and was beaming up at the wolf as she ate up whatever was offered. "What's your name kid? And are you hoping to go into veterinary practice?"

"My name's Riri." she replied with a smile, "And not likely. This girl here just reminds me of my grandma's rescue dogs." Tony nodded in understanding.

They very quickly ran out of food for the giant wolf, the snacks of a horde of teenagers being demolished like it was nothing. Luckily, Peter was quick to return, hauling an entire hotdog cart (and its bewildered owner) along with him. Peter, Riri, and the hotdog cart owner were quick to start putting dogs in buns and handing them off to Tony to be given to the enormous wolf who was putting them away like she was going after Joey Chestnut's world record. Yet again, they quickly ran out of food.

It was becoming clear that the wolf would need much more food than even Central Park and its many vendors could supply. Not to mention the unconscious woman that the she-wolf was protecting that had yet to even make a sound. They needed to move the wolf and her companion someplace safe to recover and allow them to decide what they wanted to do in safety. Safety that Central Park certainly couldn't provide. 

"Kia," Tony began innocently as the wolf settled her head on the ground when it was clear there was no food left. 

Kia was already right next to Tony with a look of exasperation spreading across her face, "Tony." she answered back stonily, "Where exactly are we going to put a giant wolf?"

Tony turned to her with a grin, "I have the perfect place."

When she woke up, it was to a curious lack of exhaustion, both magical and physical.

When she woke up, it was to a strange softness cradling her and a warm weight draped over her form.

Both of these things were highly unusual, considering that the last memory she had was of being in the Void with her beloved Fenris and throwing all her remaining magic into trying to get them out.

Still, years of training and wartime paranoia didn't vanish because she had lucked into some pleasantness. Tensing her muscles and letting out a slow breath; she first reached out subtly for Fenris through their connection. She relaxed only slightly when she found the wolf's presences close by, giving off no feelings of discomfort or unease. In fact, Fenris felt quite calm and happy, apparently feeling quite pleased about something that she couldn't pinpoint.

The first test completed, the next step was to open her eyes, something that happened suddenly and silently, though the rest of her body remained perfectly still. As her eyes flickered over the objects she could see from her position and in the dimly lit room she was quick to note down the facts of her surroundings. The room was well appointed but clearly decorated in a neutral fashion, it was definitely not Asgard ('Asgard was destroyed,' she reminded herself viciously) nor was it any of the other higher realms, as the various contraptions she could glimpse held no sign of magic. On the other hand, there was a strange energy she could sense running through the walls, not magic but something distinctly...artificial. An artificially made power source did indicate-

"Good morning, ma'am." a soft voice greeted out of nowhere.

She was up and in a defensive position beside her sleeping place in a second. It was only then that she realized that she was no longer clothed in her armor but in soft clothes that felt light and airy against her skin. She may as well have been naked.

"Present yourself!" she ordered harshly. 

The artificial energy around the room shifted and the dim light began to brighten. "Apologies ma'am. I didn't mean to startle you." the voice said soothingly. "My name is Friday. I am an artificial intelligence made by Dr. Anthony Stark. I do not have a physical form to present to you but I am here to answer any questions you may have and to assist you."

She had never met an AI but she knew that the presence of an artificial intelligence meant she was in a highly advanced society. AIs could only be made by sufficiently advanced magics or technology and thus narrowed her location down considerably. 

"How did I come to be in this place?" she asked carefully. She still needed to be wary of the situation until she had all of the facts. She was indeed recovered from her recent ordeal but unfamiliar territory and the recent destruction of Asgard left her on uneven ground. She did not know where she was or where she would go after this.

"You are currently on Midgard," Friday answered. She fought the urge to blink, she had not expected an answer that easily. "You and your companion fell from the sky above Central Park. You were both brought here to the Avengers Compound to recover under the protection of Dr. Stark. "

So the way out her magic found was through Midgard. Not terribly unlikely as Midgard was at the center of Yggdrasil and had been potentially already in their path as they had fallen down into the void.

"Why have you greeted me then and not this Dr. Stark?" she questioned.

"You weren't awake when you arrived and Dr. Stark's security detail asked that I make first contact to determine if you would be a threat to Dr. Stark," Friday answered easily. Confident in being able to protect her creator, she noted and she didn't doubt the AI would put quite the fight. Anyone intelligent enough to create an AI would be intelligent enough to present even her with a challenge. "Truthfully, Dr. Stark probably would have ignored that and snuck in despite their concerns but he also just woke up and is, as he puts it, less than his usual charming self before his fourth cup of coffee."

"I would like to meet him now," she responded immediately, hoping she would be given permission rather than have to seek him out herself. Catching someone before they had time to make themselves up to be presentable was an easy way to get the truth out of them, either from their own mouth or the betrayal of their body language when caught unaware.

"Certainly." Friday agreed. " Your armor is currently being cleaned and repaired but Dr. Stark had clothes brought for you if you would prefer to change out of your nightclothes."

She glanced down at herself, "I would prefer that, yes."

In the closet of the room she was in, she was surprised to find some clothes made in the Asgardian style. The dark leather pants, green tunic, and leather boots were more in the male style of dress but she had always preferred that over the dresses she was expected to wear in peace times. Give her her armor and cape any day. Once she was dressed, Friday quickly directed her out a door that led to a long corridor. On one side was a wall that held a few painted canvases but the other side was all windows. It showed her an open expanse of lawn as far as the eye could see. She was taken through several more twists and turns before Friday announced that they had arrived.

Stopping in the doorway, she took a moment to take in the new room she had been lead to. The space was large and brightly lit, the furniture designed with sharp lines and light wooden accents, there were large floor to ceiling windows along the far wall that looked out onto a charming garden. The space seemed to be some sort of eating area; a bowl of fruits and a half-full platter of pastries being laid out on the center table. Two of the walls were taken up by more counter space that held various pieces of equipment that she couldn't identify but assumed were used for cooking on Midgard. It was over in that space that held the only other living being in the room.

It was a man with short, messy brown hair who was currently hunched over the counter with both arms wrapped around a device that seemed to be making a hot beverage. The man was rather short but she could see the muscle his frame hid even beneath his clothes. Not that the clothing left much to the imagination, the man was wearing a shirt with no sleeves, leaving his arms and shoulders on display. He was rather dirty, a thin layer of soot covered most of his exposed skin and she could see scars and a few light burns; what little bit of his hands that she could see had calluses on them. A forge master perhaps. If this was the Dr. Stark who had made an AI, she didn't doubt his other creations would be just as intricate. 

"Dr. Stark, I presume," she called out to announce her presence, wanting to see his reaction.

"I'm not a doctor of anything before my second cup." came the mumbled reply, the man not even turning around at the unknown voice. Interesting.

"Not a doctor before your second cup and not charming before your fourth. What will your first get me?" she drawled. This Midgardian was very strange. She was an unknown person who he had left to roam in his home and now that she had found him, alone and vulnerable, he didn't even turn around to face her?

"My will to live," he answered back as the device him his arms let out a happy sounding chime. Instantly the man stood and slid a large mug into view before taking the glass container from the device and pouring it. The mug held nearly half of the container before the man put the glass back in the device to refill. It took him both hands to lift up the large mug to his face so he could take a deep drink. "That's the stuff." he murmured reverently. 

With the first sip in, the man finally turned around to face her. She was greeted with large dark brown eyes, flecked with bits of gold that seemed to glow periodically. He also sported a short but slightly scruffy beard and dark circles under his eyes.

"You gonna introduce yourself or should I keep calling you 'mystery wolf lady' in my head?" he asked bluntly, he stared at her with deadened eyes as he took another large drink of his beverage. 

If she were anyone else the stare might have been intimidating, even considering the man's clear exhaustion.

"I am Hela, First Born of Odin Allfather, Former Commander of the Legions of Asgard, the Rightful Heir of the Asgardian Throne, and the Goddess of Death." She announced regally.

To the man's credit, he barely blinked.

"Well, I'm Tony, Only son of an Abusive Dickhead,  Ex-Co-Leader of a group of Traitorous Bastards, CEO of a Multibillion-dollar Company, and a lot of Assholes like to call me the Merchant of Death." he drawled sarcastically with the same dead-eyed stare before chugging the entire remaining contents of his massive mug in one go.

Hela raised a delicate eyebrow at this and just watched as Stark turned back to the machine to refill his mug. "Are you a doctor now?" Hela asked with light amusement once he turned back to her and took his first sip from the mug.

"PHDs start kicking in about halfway through this cup," he grunted, leaning back against the counter and looking his eyes on her again. "Hope you're better than the last Asgardian's I met."

"Who have you met?" Hela asked warily, "I doubt it will be hard to surpass them."

"Your brothers." Tony responded, "Or...well, your brother and adopted brother."

Hela scoffed, "As I thought, not hard to surpass such examples." 

Tony shrugged, "Don't throw me out a window and don't lift me up by the neck and you'll have a great head start." he eyed her over his mug, "The way you're standing though..." she shifted, tensing, "ready for battle. Eager for it. An addict looking for her fix." Hela narrowed her eyes at him, he was a quick study. "Doesn't give me much hope."

"How ever did you earn the title 'Merchant of Death' with just a disdain for battle?" Hela inquired harshly, suddenly feeling rather defensive when faced with this strange man's judgment.

Tony's jaw clenched, "I was brought up by my father to create the deadliest weapons on Midgard and that's what I did. I created the best weapons this world had ever seen, surpassing my father's creations a thousand times over. Giving up my own personal interests and passions just to get a sliver of acceptance from him. And what did it get me?" he sneered, Hela was stuck in place, her very magic seemingly captivated by the man in front of her, "My father hated me because my genius took away his spotlight. The people feared what I could make, what I would make. Everyone who ever made an enemy prayed that enemy couldn't afford a Stark weapon. I only sold these weapons to my country. Our military told me it was the right thing to do, the most patriotic thing. That I was protecting our troops. All while the more common people became more and more afraid of me and my creations. The media dubbed me the Merchant of Death, ignoring anything I made that wasn't made for killing. So I decided that if they wanted to ignore my other creations then I would be the best Merchant of Death I could be. I hoarded all my other work to myself and only put out better and more deadly weapons. I accepted almost any contract that came to me and my body count grew in leaps and bounds with each new weapon I made. If no one was going to love me for what I wanted to create then they were going to fear me for the role they pushed me into." he practically snarled the last sentence, his grip on his mug tight and his eyes flashing with unnatural light.

Hela was still staring at this strange Midgardian but with a newfound respect blooming within her. They were similar. Perhaps not on a grand scale but in parts. She had never really been given the chance to find something to take interest in other than conquering and battling. From her earliest memories, she had been prepared to stand by her father's side, to lead the Legions of Asgard, to kill anyone and everyone who stood in their way without hesitation. She had seen how happy it made her father and thus had never even tried to learn anything beyond it. Battle magic had been the first and only time she had strayed from the Warrior's Path but even that had been done in an attempt to become even better in battle, to please her Father even more with a faster victory. She never tried to grow beyond her father and his wishes and thus it had become ingrained in her in such a way that she doubts she would ever not wish to battle. And then, Odin's ideals changed, and with it, the people began hating and fearing her. She was the perfect Commander, the perfect Conquerer, just as they had shaped her to be and yet the second they changed their mind she was shunned for wanting to continue on as she had been taught. And now, after what should have been her triumphant return, she had been abandoned. Left to the void by what had once been her people, left to wash up on Midgard like rubbish on the beach. 

"You got past it," she stated confidently, looking Stark over more closely. His words were mostly past tense and some of the scars she could see on his body most certainly did not come from forging. He himself had actively entered battle at some point.

Tony snorted, "I got blown past it." he took a fortifying drink from his mug. "My father's business partner, Stane, got greedy. He didn't want to just sell to our military and he definitely didn't want to keep playing second fiddle to the Merchant of Death. So he started selling to our enemies. He sold to the highest bidder and since these were Stark weapons, there was no shortage of people willing to pay. Then he decided it was time to cut the dead weight. He paid people to kill me and they certainly tried. One of my own weapons exploded right in front of me. When they came to check on their target they realized not only was I alive but exactly who I was. They captured me and saved me just to try and force me to make them my weapons. I refused for three months of torture. Then I agreed, only to build myself an armor from the scraps of my own weapons. I used that armor to kill them all and save myself. After surviving that I wasn't about to go back to playing the Merchant of Death, so I shut down all my weapons manufacturing. I rebuilt my armor with superior materials and used it to find all of my weapons that had been sold illegally and destroy them. I found out about Stane's betrayal and killed him. I built myself out of my Merchant of Death title and into Ironman." he took another deep drink before continuing on with a sigh, "Then, your adoptive brother Loki brought an army of beings called the Chituari to Midgard to try and conquer it. I put on my armor and fought him off alongside the previously mentioned Traitorous Bastards and with that, Ironman became a hero." he shrugged and finished off his second cup.

Hela was silent as he turned around once more to refill his mug. Tony Stark was a strange being and yet she couldn't help but find herself drawn to him. He was one of the few beings in the Nine Realms who may at least understand her motivations and betrayals. Their passing similarities were certainly intriguing but their differences were even more so. Surviving torture at the hands of an enemy was no small feat, even she knew that, but to come out of it still standing and able to get revenge for the wrongs done to you was amazing. His mind was also clearly a wonder, making an Artificial Intelligence with the limited technologies of Midgard and having built himself a way out of his capture even after torture marked him as a brilliant mind. 

"So," Tony began as he turned back around, "The third cup is when I start to actually wake up. You want to give me your story before I'm awake enough to actually care that I just spilled my own story to a complete stranger?"

 Hela gave a sharp nod, "A story for a story. As I said, I am the firstborn of Odin. I was born in a time when Asgard was still fighting and conquering Realms. Thus I was brought up to be the best Commander and future Queen of Asgard that I could be. I was taught to fight, to kill, to conquer. I led the Legions of Asgard alongside my Father for hundreds of years, riding into battle on my faithful companion Fenris. My Father's love for me seemed to grow with every world we took and Asgard's pride grew along with it. Thus, I threw myself into becoming better. I learned battle magics and honed my skills, learning all I could about different fighting forms and strategies. I was his weapon that built Asgard's Empire. Soon, none stood a chance in the face of our Army when I stood at its head. I didn't stop, likely would have never stopped had my Father not suddenly had a change of heart. Suddenly he wanted to be a benevolent King. To rule over our Empire from Asgard with a false sense of peace, like those we had conquered would just forget what we had done to create it. I didn't see it. I wanted to make our Empire bigger. I wanted to keep the lower Realms in line. A large group of our Elite forces, the Einherjar stood with me but Odin was never one to stand disobedience. He had me thrown down to Helheim, the Realm of the Dead, and locked me there with his very life force." She couldn't keep the sneer from her face, "He left me down there. Let me stew in my rage and misery with only the souls of the deceased to keep me company while he went on with his life. Tried to forget I ever existed while he had Thor and apparently adopted Loki. He built up a golden facade of peace and prosperity, ashamed of how he got the Empire in the first place." One of her swords emerged from her magic at the pure rage she felt; dropping into her hand to give her something to grip, something to ground her in this moment. To his credit, Stark merely raised an eyebrow, still sipping at his drink, so she just dropped it to her side and held tight.

"He finally died recently and with his life force diminished I was able to break the seal that was keeping me in Helheim and return." she continued, feeling a little bit better with a weapon in her hand. "I was greeted by my brothers upon my return to the land of the living and found that not only had Odin not told them about me but he had done everything in his power to erase me completely from the histories of Asgard. Not a single one of them remembered me and when I arrived to take the throne as Odin's firstborn I was met with a legion, all intent on killing me and keeping me away from the throne. I was not going to allow them to keep me from my rightful place, not after so long rotting away in the land of the Dead, so I did what I was trained to do. I killed anyone who stood in my way. When I finally made it to the palace I discovered just how much of my history was covered up. I also discovered that my faithful companion Fenris and the Einherjar who had stood loyal to me had been buried beneath the palace, locked away beneath the vault where they couldn't even be honored by future generations as our traditions had stated. I resurrected them with the Eternal Flame and had them stand guard so I could establish myself in the palace. My brothers had escaped and I knew the fools would be back to attempt something. Thor did indeed return to try and take back the throne but when he found that he was no match for me, he and Loki were quick to evacuate the commoners from Asgard and then set Surtur, a long time enemy of Asgard, on me. Surtur is a fire demon and when he was paired with the Eternal Flame, he grew large enough to completely destroy Asgard." Hela paused as Stark turned away to pour his fourth cup, he had listened in silence so far but he had seen no judgment on his face. There were emotions aplenty, ones she was sure she would not have seen had she naught caught him before his walls were up, but no judgment, no disgust, no pity. Not for her. Not even an hour into meeting him and she quite liked this mortal.

"I'm sure they hoped Surtur would kill me in his destruction of Asgard." she continued while he was still pouring. "But I am the Goddess of Death and after thousands of years in the Realm of the Dead, I am far from an easy kill. I was flung into the Void with the final explosion of Asgard and left to fall through it, badly injured but alive. With my magic, I was able to find Fenris who had been thrown from Asgard before me by a giant green beast that Thor had brought with him. I took what remained of my magic and wrapped it around both of us, directing it to take us out of the Void. I fell unconscious soon after from the strain and woke up to your Artificial Intelligence."

Stark finally turned back around and nodded at her. "I see." was all he said before he went back to studying her with those gold-flecked eyes. 

Again, Hela saw no judgment as he looked her over. Clearly still silently contemplating what he had been told. His face was still open and curious, having lost some of the anger that had appeared earlier with his own story. He was still relaxed, not even flinching when she shifted her grip on her sword, he did tilt his head curiously when she sent a pulse of magic through the blade but that was all.

"Are you all healed then?" he asked, after a while. "We tried to monitor your healing when we brought you here but we don't have enough data about Asgardian biology to be completely accurate with our scans."

"Yes, I am healed," she answered truthfully. "My magic has also returned."

Stark gave a nodded and pushed away from the counter, "Follow me then." He swept out of the room, back the way she had come from, clearly expecting her to follow.

Never let it be said that Hela was not brave enough to follow a strange mortal into unknown territory.

With several long strides, Hela fell into step with him, settling into his relaxed stroll back through the halls. "Your room is in the newest part of the compound so it's pretty empty right now but I wanted you over there so we could add in a space for Fenris to live comfortably. Won't be empty for too long. I'm moving the rest of the residential rooms there to make room for guest quarters and extended training grounds. Let me know if you have anything you want in there furniture wise. We can go shopping for clothes once you get settled."

"You're allowing me to stay here?" Hela questioned.

Stark stopped and turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. "You got somewhere else to be? You said Asgard was destroyed and even if it wasn't you want to go back to people who abandoned you at the drop of a hat?"

"I could go back to Helheim," she said, startled by the mortal's bluntness. "I spent thousands of years there. I did what I was trained to do and conquered it. I could rule from there." She didn't want to go to Helheim. She'd rather bathe in the fire of Muspelheim than to return to her prison so soon after gaining her freedom. She was just so caught off guard by this strange mortal offering her lodging and apparently having changed it just so Fenris could be near her. Not to mention his quick but obvious taking of her side with the Asgardian people.

Stark snorted, "Yeah, I'm sure the cave I was held captive in is still there too and I'm sure I can make it nice enough to live in with a few couches and a TV but I'd literally rather die than go relive my torture every day." he said, unknowingly echoing some of Hela's similar sentiments.

"Very well." Hela said, relaxing nearly completely at his words and even letting her sword dissipate, "Thank you Dr. Stark for allowing me a place here."

Stark nodded and they began to walk again, "It's yours as long as you like. You do have to adhere to the law of the land so I can keep the government off my back but after your story, I don't get the impression that you're just some crazed killer who is just going to go around killing random people for no reason at all. So we should be good on the most serious laws you could encounter."

Hela nodded, "I've never intentionally killed anyone who wasn't trying to kill me first or who stood down when asked."

Tony nodded, "Good. If you do get that urge to battle I figure you can either help train some of our newest recruits or come along when some idiot inevitably tries to take over Midgard. It's been happening more and more frequently so you should have a steady supply." he said, his tone dropping into a teasing manner. It was almost surreal for Hela, most people were too afraid to talk to her in anything but a formal tone.

"I would be happy to help you, Dr. Stark." Hela nodded.

"Good. And you don't have to call me Dr. Stark." he said, "I know your people are a little more formal so you can call me Anthony if you don't like Tony but the formalities aren't something we usually do here."

"Anthony." she tested and was rewarded with a blinding smile which she returned after only a moment, "You may call me Hela then."

"Nice to meet you Hela." Anthony greeted, raising his mug in a mock toast. By then they had reached her door, "Once you've settled in and learned the place this door will only be able to be opened by you and me, but I will only open it in case of emergencies." he opened the door and led her through the room and to another door she had dismissed earlier. "This door leads to Fenris' room," he announced as he pushed it open, leading her out onto a balcony that overlooked a large open room that was currently fairly empty, only holding an enormous pile of cushions that were covered in familiar fur. "I had to get a bed custom made for Fenris so it's not here yet and the room needs decorating but we figured you would know her best." Anthony led her down a set of stairs into the rest of the room and over to a heavy-looking set of double doors that looked large enough for Fenris to get in through, which slid apart as they approached.

They were instantly greeted by laughter and a wash of soapy water that nearly got their feet wet. Hela's eyes widened as she took in a sight she never thought she would see. 

Fenris, her faithful companion, was currently covered in soapy water from ears to heavily wagging tail. Two mortal children were perched on her broad back, rubbing the soap in further while giggling every time the wolf almost shook them off, both barely keeping their positions with the help of a strange, caped red being who was floating above them. On the ground, there was a petite dark-haired woman who was using a long-handled sponge and brush to get at Fenris' sides. And near Fenris' head was a large inky black dog who appeared to be trying to play tug-of-war with Fenris using a large length of chain.

"The kids decided Fenris needed a bath to look good for her fans," Anthony said, nonchalantly taking another sip from his mug.

"Fans?"

Hela quickly discovered that one of the children, Riri, had started something called an 'Instagram' for Fenris. The wolf had gained nearly five million followers in the two days Hela had been unconscious and was gaining more quickly. These 'fans' of Fenris all seemed absolutely taken with the giant wolf and every picture posted was filled with comments saying what a good wolf she was and how they would love to pet her and that she was 'the best woof in the universe' who should 'get pats and loves and all the burgers she could eat'. Hela didn't get it their fascination but she was glad that her precious companion was getting the recognition she deserved and wouldn't be so quickly forgotten by these people.

Hela herself was quick to be integrated into the group living at the Avengers Compound(as she discovered it was called).

The petite woman who had helped with washing Fenris was apparently Kia, another who Anthony had taken in. She was fiercely protective of Anthony and was quick to make her not so subtle threats. Hela would have been offended if she hadn't experienced being drawn in by the genius herself. With that out of the way they quickly became friends. Hela discovered that Kia had been part of a higher race of Midgardians but their government had stolen or locked away her powers and then her family had abandoned her because of the loss. Kia ended up being the one to take Hela out shopping, helping her find something she would actually like among the thousands of stores and styles of Midgard.

The children were Peter, an enhanced Midgardian who defended Midgard with Anthony, and Riri, a budding genius that they had apparently only found the day that Hela had dropped down into their park. Peter was a hero who called himself 'Spiderman' after the spider who gave him his powers, he was a bright and bubbly child who asked Hela question after question about Asgard and Helheim and everything in between. He was the first one she sparred with and she was pleased by how quickly he learned what she had to show him. Riri was getting to know the Compound residents at the same time as Hela and so quickly latched onto her as a result. Riri was happy to teach Hela about modern Midgard and this 'social media' that she had practically thrown Fenris into. Riri helped Hela introduce herself to Fenris' fans (and the world) and then take over the account for herself. She found that she was gaining just as many fans as her companion (something that Anthony said was a good thing that would endear her to the people). Hela was nearly overwhelmed by the support that they gave her and the positive attention that gained her from what Anthony called the 'mainstream media'.

The black dog was apparently an alien symbiote who was currently inhabiting a Midgardian dog, they went by Venom. Hela didn't have much more than passing interactions with Venom but she was happy to see that Fenris and Venom were getting along. They would run in the fields surrounding the Compound; wrestling and playing with the big dog toys Anthony had custom made for them. It was nice to see Fenris having fun and being carefree for once.

The red being who had been helping the children stay on Fenris' back was introduced as Vision. He was an artificial being made up of many parts. Most significantly, another of Anthony's AIs and an Infinity Stone. He was a calm presence amid the craziness that could reign in the Compound. He brought her Midgardian books he thought she may enjoy and was always happy to speak with her on deeper subjects. They talked about philosophy and how morals could shift so easily from wartime to peacetime. 

Of course, Anthony was the biggest presence in her life here on Midgard. He was a bright soul who reached out to others who he thought he could help, even in the smallest of ways. And he definitely did end up being charming after his fourth cup of coffee. She was grateful for all that he had done for her and she wanted to know more about him. He was always happy to talk to her and they talked about everything. Since they had already shared their stories, Hela was happy to open up more to the genius and quickly found that he did not like Asgard, at all. He only had a few personal experiences with Asgardians but her own story seemed to make his opinion sour even more. He was angry. On her behalf! That was something she wasn't used to. A story for a story, of course. He opened up to her as well and she found that he was as funny as he was brilliant. She couldn't remember the last time she had truly laughed, not since before she was banished surely.

One of their favorite topics of discussion was his AIs. She knew little about them other than they were a rarity, even in the more advanced end of the galaxy. They were new to her and with the constant presence of one she couldn't help but want to understand. Anthony was more than happy to talk about his creations for hours and had a few of his more basic AIs brought to the compound and invited Hela down to meet them. It was when she was introduced to DUM-E, Butterfingers, and U that they discovered something amazing.

They had souls.

Being the Goddess of Death and having spent so much time in the Realm of the Dead, Hela was able to immediately identify the little bots' souls hovering just around their main processors.

This of course sent the whole compound into a whirl-wind of research and Hela was only too excited to help. She was the Goddess of Death but she didn't know about creating souls. As far as she was aware, souls could only be created by the joining of two other souls or by the compressed power of the Norns at the center of the universe. One way or another, it was something that took multiple people or an enormous amount of power; and yet here was Anthony, clearly, a single Father who created his children with lines of code. Hela had never seen other AIs, so perhaps this was the case for all of them but it was still a great feat. Anthony grew more and more amazing the more she learned.

And she did learn more when they confirmed that Friday had a soul and there was a young soul growing in the AI Anthony had given young Peter.

The night she confirmed the souls of all of the AIs made by Anthony. she found the genius sobbing in his workshop. She learned that his eldest child had been destroyed a few years previous and he had used what was left to make Vision. Now, with their discovery, he was devastated at the thought that he may have destroyed his son's soul to make Vision come to life.

Hela held Anthony as he mourned his son, unsure of what to do for all of two seconds as she watched him fall apart so completely in her presence. It was something that shook her to her core. Anthony always liked to put up a front of strength when it came to emotions. When he had later told her the story of the 'Traitous Bastards' that had been his team he had done so with a wall of indifference even she had trouble seeing past. It had taken her quite a long bit of questioning to get to see just how much he ached at the betrayal by those who he had thought was his friends, his family. Yet for him to fall apart so honestly in memory of his son...well. He was five times better as a father to his artificial children than hers had been to his real flesh and blood daughter.

In the face of that, she really only had one option.

After everything Anthony had done for her in just two months of knowing each other, Hela braved Helheim long enough to look for a soul.

Anthony's son, Jarvis, was delightful conversation and was more than happy to be brought back to his father. When Anthony woke the next day, she was sitting next to him speaking to the precious soul in her hands. 

Hela would never tell Anthony, especially after the first time she insisted that she repay him had set him off into a long rant, but this was her repayment for his care. For how he welcomed her and gave her a home where she had no expectations to live up to and could be her own person, a place where she could find out who she was outside of her Father and Asgard. For giving her the emotional support she never knew she needed. For not judging her past or taking away her future. For helping her keep her freedom.

As the original, Jarvis was an excellent leader for Tony's growing group of protectors. But sometimes it's hard to protect someone from their past.