#the avengers prompt
Bruce Banner x Original Female Character | Avengers AU
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“That would be that genius Dr. Banner you were talking about.”
Oh no. Laussa felt all of her blood rush to her face immediately, she must have looked as red as a tomato as she looked down to the ground in embarrassment for a second, before looking up at Dr. Banner again, not being able to contain her curiosity. This was THE Dr. Banner? How could she not have guessed?
She knew the answer to that; she had expected a much older man, one, that looked like someone who didn’t quite take care of themselves because they considered their scientific research more important than anything else, one that was a workaholic to the bone, spending more time in the lab than anywhere else. But now that she knew, now that she was looking, she saw it all in his eyes. The exhaustion, the anguish and the pain.
Laussa quickly shook it off to get back to herself and took his hand again, almost instinctively.
“You are Dr. Banner? I had no idea, I’m a huge fan of your work, I’ve been following your research for years, especially your writings in the field of biochemistry, I am so honoured to meet you, doctor!” She spurted out, shaking his hand vigorously, suddenly feeling all the attention on her like she had said something wrong, but noticed the people around them smiling at her.
“That is very nice of you to say, thank you,” he murmured shyly, and she let go of his hand again.
His gaze was directed at the floor, his fluffy curls brushing over his eyebrows and she could clearly see him blushing before Thor spoke up, almost laughing this time.
"I’m not surprised you don’t recognise her, Banner, but you have met before, a couple of years back.”
Laussa cringed at his words, the topic being something she had hoped he would not bring up, not being something she wanted to talk about at all, let alone in front of all of these strangers.
“Wha-What do you mean?” Banner’s expression changed back to utter confusion, his eyes roaming over her once more, visibly convinced he’d never seen her before in his life, only changing for the worse when Thor continued talking.
“Well, my sister here - ”
A resounding sound of confusion went around the group, Tony being the first one to say coherent words.
"Wait a minute, she’s your sister?!“ The confusion on his face proved to her, that they had had absolutely no idea, Clint’s words only confirming her suspicion.
"What, you never mentioned she was your sister, man! I thought she was your girlfriend or something.”
Thor now stumbled over his words, his face also bewildered.
“What, of course, I did, I must have… Well, maybe I didn’t specifically say it but it was most definitely implied.” Laussa took a step closer to her brother, laying a hand on his shoulder, effectively silencing him, so she could speak.
“I understand my brother here has most inappropriately forgotten to mention who I am: My name is Laussa Odinsdottir, I am the daughter of Odin and Frigga, as is he, although I don’t necessarily want to associate myself with Odin, so I’d appreciate it if you would just call me Laussa.’
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"So, why am I here?’ Laussa asked when they had sat down on the velvet sofas, now also joined by Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff, who had also seemed very eager to meet her, also reacting equally confused to finding out she was Thor’s sister and disgusted at the thought of being romantically involved with him.
Dr. Banner, who was nervously walking back and forth behind the sofa that Tony, Thor and Wanda were sitting on, was throwing occasional glances at her that she couldn’t quite interpret, but she had the feeling he didn’t really like her, and that she made him uncomfortable. She let her eyes drift back to her brother as he stood up.
"Well, let me explain. When Asgard was destroyed by Surtur, he also destroyed the Bifrost, and any chance to access the other realms safely. As you know, father was the king of Asgard before he died, but he also controlled the peace between the nine realms, keeping them controlled and non-violent. Now, however, Heimdall has recently observed that there are great uproars happening in at least two of the realms, Muspelheim and Jotunheim.”
Laussa looked away at the mentioning of those two, images flashing up in her head of the icy cold storms in the realms of the frost giants, contrasted by the fiery destruction in Muspelheim.
“They both demand new leaders, respectively, after the deaths of Surtur, Laufey and… his son.” Thor paused, looking at her with worry, waiting for a reaction, and continued when she nodded at him encouragingly. “They are seeking new leaders, and once they’ve found them, there will be nothing holding them back from fighting each other, and then the other realms. You know we have to keep them at bay, and you know… You know that you’re the rightful heir to the throne of Muspelheim.”
Laussa now had her eyes completely glued to the ground, once again trying to control her breathing, trying to understand what her brother was insinuating.
"What, why is that? I thought you were Odin’s daughter?“ asked Clint in a confused manner, leaning forward and propping up his elbows on his knees. Laussa took another deep breath, closed her eyes for a second, and began explaining.
"Well, I was born to Odin and Frigga, but I was conceived during a journey our parents took through the space between realms, to which father had previously banished Surtur, the king of Muspelheim, effectively making him my third parent. I got all of my powers from him. Being his only child, I was the heir to the throne of Muspelheim, but father could never allow it. He wanted me on the Asgardian throne, especially after both of my sisters died and Loki…” She swallowed, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes at the first time saying his name out loud in a while.
“After both of our sisters and mother were dead, Thor didn’t want the throne and Loki was… gone, father insisted on me being the new queen of Asgard.”
“I detested my father after everything he had done to both my sisters and brothers and I hated being in his presence more every day, so I left again. I didn’t take the throne of Asgard nor did I take the throne of Muspelheim, I left. I came down to earth again, hid myself away, fled into science and research. I’ve stayed here ever since, down in Australia, helping people, animals, studying, researching. I didn’t want anything to do with Asgard, even after father…” Laussa looked around, her eyes almost automatically seeking out the doctor, who was also fixated on her, now standing completely still. She couldn’t get herself to look him in the eye, her legs almost moving instinctively as she rose from the satin sofa, stepping away from them towards the comforting warmth of the roaring fireplace. Her eyes drifted downwards, fascinated by the intricate moving shadows the fire cast on the white carpet around her, as she finally got back her courage to speak.
"I couldn’t go back, even after, maybe even especially after father died, I just couldn’t… And then Ragnarok happened and Asgard was destroyed, but after Loki died for me - us - in the battle, it never even occurred to me once to come back and I would never have done so, had you not needed my help, brother.“
Laussa turned around, away from the flames, back at the group of people watching her intently, focussing on Thor.
"So, how can I help?”
