(no subject)
Summary: Kate Bishop will never back down, not even from the Goddess of Death.
Prompt: Marvel Comics, Kate Bishop/Cassie Lang and Hela, "Yes, I snuck into Hel to break someone out. No, I'm not leaving without her. Any questions?"
Afterwards, Tommy sums up Kate’s adventure with, "She pretty much went up to the Goddess of Death and said yeah, I snuck into Hel to break someone out. No, I'm not leaving without her and if you try to make me stay, I will kick your ass. Any questions?"
Kate rolls her eyes and lets the boys and the new Captain America sidekick laugh and gasp in awe at Billy- who elbowed his twin and proceeded to “tell the real story” as Cassie giggles, wrapped in her father’s arms and smiling conspiratorially at Kate.
That’s…not inaccurate, but it leaves out a lot of the things Kate had to do.
--
Her first hint of hope came when Thor visited Clint while she was partnering with him, asking if he would join the Uncanny Avengers. Kate’s jaw set when he mentioned the X-Men; maybe if they had actually helped them save the Scarlet Witch, Cassie would still be alive.
Clint wasn’t nearly as circumspect. “Scott’s still a mess from losing Cassie right after she brought him back,” he said shortly. “Not to mention that whole mess with the Phoenix Force. Why the hell are we trusting those guys?”
Thor frowned. “The X-Men have learned from the loss of their esteemed leader,” he said. “And Cassandra…I lay Cassandra’s loss on Doom’s door, and that he shall pay for. Hela holds her now-”
“Hela?!” Clint nearly shouted. “I thought Hela didn’t have any jurisdiction over those who fell in battle!”
“She does not. And yet she has Cassandra within her realm.” Thor scowled, hammer in hand. “Lady Kelda has resumed her watch of Valhalla, and she did not see Cassandra enter. The only place she can be is in Hela’s grasp.”
“And where’s Hela?” Kate asked.
Clint jumped. “Katie!…How long have you been standing there?”
“Since Thor came in. Hi, Thor. Where’s Hela?”
“In the lowest of the realms.” Thor shook his head. “Though if you ask for what realm Cassandra resides in, you are seeking the eighth realm- Hel.”
Kate nodded. “And our realm is?”
“Midgard is the fifth realm. For what do you ask?”
Kate shrugged. “Cassie was my- friend.” She was not telling them what Cassie had meant to her. “It’s good to know where she is.”
Clint watched her suspiciously. “As long as you’re not planning a rescue mission.”
Kate grinned. “The crazy plans are your domain.”
“Oh, I have a domain now?”
--
Billy stared at her. “You’re planning a rescue mission into Hel?”
“Keep quiet,” Kate hissed.
Billy grimaces. “Sorry.” The son of the Scarlet Witch with the same power level and unpredictability of his mother, engaged to be married to the only son of both Skrull royalty and Captain Marvel? There were people spying on them. It was half the reason Billy and Teddy were out of the Hero Scene; that and Billy’s sense of guilt about Cassie and Jonas dying, no matter how much his psychologist mother and Teddy tried to talk sense into him.
He shared that with his birth mother. The Scarlet Witch went to Cassie’s and Jonas’s memorial every day, grieving their loss. She once called Jonas her husband’s son, which had caused a lot of awkward spluttering when the leftover Young Avengers realized that she was technically right- Nate’s brainwaves went into the original Vision’s body, making a new Vision. Tommy had rolled his eyes at their astonishment, because he, Cassie, and Jonas had figured it out ages ago.
None of them had seen Tommy since Cassie and Jonas died. Billy got occasional letters from other countries, and Molly from the Runaways sometimes called with a message from him. Eli had moved clear across the country from his own sense of guilt. It had even made Kate give up heroing for a while.
That had changed. Now she had a mission.
“I need your help,” she said, cutting to the chase. “I need a portal to get to her, and you’re the only one I’d trust with this.”
Billy sighed. “Give me a day to find how to make it.”
“Deal.”
--
Billy had ended up needing a week, Teddy’s support in manipulating words so no one else knew what they were up to, and his mother’s assistance (carefully phrased so she wouldn’t realize what they were up to), but he came through in the end, and that was all Kate cared about.
The problem was that they didn’t just need one portal. They had to get through all of the realms between theirs and Hel before Kate could even get there.
“We need speed to get through all of this,” Teddy said, frustrated, and that was when it hit Kate.
“Yeah,” she said, blinking. “We need Speed. Billy, can you locate people?”
“Sure, wh- Tommy’s been avoiding us since Cassie died.”
Kate raised an eyebrow. “We’re getting her back. He’ll help.”
Billy paused, then nodded and began chanting.
--
Kate had expected to see Tommy racing across the Amazon. Running through China- well, no, Communist China would not be anything Tommy was fond of. But still, she expected to walk in him involved in some kind of chaos.
She did not expect to walk in on him and Eli making out.
“OH MY GOD, REALLY?!” Billy shrieked, covering his eyes. Tommy and Eli froze and then Tommy was across the room.
“What happened to telling us if you saw Tommy?!” Teddy asked, looking offended.
“Priorities,” Kate snapped, glaring at the engaged couple. “We need Tommy because I’m going to Hel to save Cassie. You in?”
Tommy blinked. “Burning hellfire, hell?”
“Eighth realm of Asgard, Hel. Apparently we need to go really fast through the giants’ land and the elves’ land before we can get there. You’re my transport. Billy will be doing spells. Teddy’s home base. Eli, you can join home base. I am the one actually going to Hel. Everyone in?”
They all started nodding and Eli mumbled something like why are you in charge and when did you get scary. Kate ignored him.
--
All Kate really saw of the sixth and seventh realms was a blur and the occasional flashes of Billy’s magic portals. Tommy deposited her down in the seventh realm, and Kate’s feet promptly sank into the bog.
“This is the worst to run through,” Tommy bitched, wrinkling his nose.
“You sure you want to do this alone?” Billy said, hands glowing.
Kate nodded. “You need to get the portal open and Tommy needs to be at top speed when Cassie and I get out. I’m going in solo.”
Billy nodded and his eyes began to glow. The portal opened again, glowing Billy’s usual magic color, and Kate steeled herself and passed through.
--
She was in a dismal, barren place. Exactly the type where Cassie should never be.
“Who dares to enter the realms of Hel?” a voice hissed behind her.
Kate’s hand clenched into a fist. “The name’s Hawkeye.” She turned to see a pale woman with black hair and glowing orange eyes. “I came to get someone back, and you’re not going to stop me.”
The woman laughed, which was insanely creepy. “Little Avenger, do you really think that you can combat the forces of Hel alone?”
Kate smirks. “Hawkeye never misses.”
“And no Avenger fights alone.”
Kate froze. “Cassie?”
A familiar hand touched her arm. “Long time no see, Katie. How’s my dad?”
Kate swallowed and turned to see Cassie smiling gently, her eyes shining just as brightly as they did in life. “Misses you like hell. Want out of here, Giant-Girl?”
Cassie’s smile turned mischievous. “I’m on your six, Hawkette.”
And that was when Hela unleashed her warriors of Hel.
--
“Why did you come after me?” Cassie gasped out when they could see the portal through the warriors.
They were holding their own pretty well. Kate ran out of arrows and resorted to bashing them with her bow, and Cassie decided that giant-size stomping was a pretty good way to fight these dudes.
“Because I missed you,” Kate responded, breathing heavily herself.
“You crossed through worlds because you missed me?”
“Billy and Tommy helped.” Because they did. And Kate did not want to talk any deeper about her motives.
“Do you truly think that you can make it out of my realm with lies?” Hela hissed, and more warriors joined the ones that they were beating up.
Conversation was cut off fighting their way through the newer and stronger thugs, but Kate should’ve realized that Cassie would get curious.
“What…was…she talking…about?” Cassie panted, shrunk down to normal size beside Kate.
Was she really going to have to do this? Unless you want newer and better guys, grow a spine, Hawkeye!
“I love you.”
That, of course, made Cassie stop fighting, and Kate had to quickly cover her by using a guy’s spear as a makeshift staff. “What? Katie- what?”
Kate was deluding herself on the thought that Cassie sounded hopeful.
“I love you. I’ve loved you since we formed the team. And I’m getting you out of here.”
Cassie’s gaze turned determined. “We’re both getting out of here, Katie.”
And that was when the warriors of Hel discovered that yes, Cassie Lang was really terrifying when she was determined, and yes, Kate Bishop could use their own weapons and make themselves kick their own asses.
--
They eventually stumbled through the portal, bloodied and exhausted, and Teddy caught them while Billy closed the portal.
“You did it! You did it!” Tommy crowed. “Dibs on telling Eli!”
The reminder of significant others made Kate pause and glance at Cassie, who was looking back at her.
“As long as we don’t walk in on you making out with Eli again, have all the dibs you want on telling him,” Billy groused.
Cassie blinked.
“About what I said-” Kate blurted out, not even sure what she was going to say next. Cassie thankfully cut her off by kissing her.
After a moment of shock, Kate started kissing her back. She was completely okay with this.
“DIBS ON TELLING ELI,” Tommy crowed again.
--
Tommy did, in fact, get to tell Eli, who had recruited two people to the Young Avengers and contacted Mr. Lang while they were questing. Cassie got to go back to her father’s custody, and Kate got her girlfriend. All ended well in her book.
But Doctor Doom was still on her shitlist.