SHIELD & HAMMER .

a dependent multimuse blog for latverionhq. penned by bella ( she/her ) .

⇾ miles morales: intro / conversations / tag .

⇾ peggy carter: intro / conversations / tag .

⇾ thor odinson: intro / conversations / tag .

It had just been a tiny little prank. So small, that Miles wasn’t even sure if the own of Pizza Poppa’s himself would notice it on his little cameras. Just a little pull of a web, and the ketchup dispenser was overflowing, falling onto the ground in the main dining room like a little red waterfall. It gave Miles enough time to slip through to the back and to the stockpile of pizza supplies that pizza poppa’s had on hand. If they weren’t going to make normal pizza, someone in this city had to. Invisibility had its perks after all. That was, of course, until the ingredients were floating in the air, and a cook was staring at him wide-eye.

“Uh, don’t mind the spider-person with a bag of ingredients?” he said, quickly holding up his one free hand in surrender as he backed out. “Or, better yet, help me out?” The employee did not in fact want to help, and so Miles was running, swinging out of the shop with a bit of abandon and into the streets. Of course, he hadn’t wanted to steal, but Pizza Poppa’s got way too much business these days and it was truly for the best of the neighborhood. Thoughts racing, he wasn’t looking where he was going and suddenly slammed into-- wait, what?! 

“Holy shit,” Miles cursed, eyes wide beneath the mask as he stared back at the red and blue costume in front of him. He couldn’t contain himself as he stood, backing up ever so slightly to take in none other than Spider-Man himself. Heart hammering, he leaned forward, and then backed up again. “Holy shit!!” He couldn’t help but repeat himself, a bark of a laugh falling from his lips. “This is--Man, it’s--well, a little like whoa but mostly just amazing. Man, I’ve--Wow. I just... I’m talking to Spider-Man. The Spider-Man. I mean I’m also the Spider-Man but--” And he laughed again unable to stop himself. 

Her life played before her as if she’d never lived it. That was the strangest part of Memory Lane, knowing that these memories had happened to a version of herself, one that she couldn’t quite touch. Fingers would reach out only to remember that the image in front of her was just that: pixels and screens. Peggy would watch as if through another’s eyes as familiar people and places appeared, but the words were all wrong; the situations all out of place. There was Howard Stark, and even Nick Fury when hew as younger. The formation of  Steve would appear every now and again, with another version of her. A version where she never became Captain Carter; where he instead became Captain America. 

That’s what she watched now, eyes glued to a screen as he fell to ice, as a version of herself mourned him, and then grew older, and then watched him appear once again. Loved and lost, then loved and simply gone. Their story was written and rewritten, ink bleeding through a page, and still every time...

She watched now as Steve appeared by an older version of herself, but there was something different. More concrete. The way his shoulders moved ever so slightly up and down; the tilt of his nose. It was like she was seeing him again for the first time, when she’d met that scrappy man in the back of the car for the first time. Peggy squinted ever so slightly, before realizing -- no, it had to be a trick of the light, didn’t it?

Her heart was betraying her, she knew. Peggy had asked too many still images if they were real; too many portraits of a man who she’d loved and lost remained stoic. Still, she couldn’t help but try again, one more time, so quietly that even she wasn’t sure it had left her own lips, “Steve?” And a part of her hoped that this time, maybe, he’d respond. 

🧬 — Ben smiled. “I’ll run some tests,” he confirmed. Despite the espionage and teetering the edge of good guy and morally complicated, he enjoyed the work. And he claimed no fault. Who could say no to Captain Carter?  “I would ask where you found it, but I probably shouldn’t know.” He’s talking as he’s prepping his part of the sample. Removing the bag’s contents, scraping material. All muscle memory at this point. He had harvested DNA from every single material one could think of. As for the information, Ben tried to avoid anything to do with the merry gang of misfits. He didn’t even know they had a calling card at this point. “The owner of this scrap. Are they okay?” More morbid curiosity than concern, but he’d play pretend if he had to. 

thor and peter are… okay? they’re on good terms for the most part, even if the other guardians like pitting them against each other. (why? peter’s not sure, he thought everyone likes the way he’s leading the team but whatever!). so, peter doesn’t mind paying thor a visit, especially knowing how much time has passed since he last saw the other, and—as much as peter hates to admit this—thor does have some great stories. he wonders if he’s had any new adventures since their last meeting.

stories are best accompanied by good drinks and he’s heard that frigga’s is a quaint little bar. so, it’s a no-brainer for peter to go there. as soon as peter enters the bar, he makes his way towards thor. “hey, buddy, nice place you got here.”

for @shiclded​ (thor)

Thor was always happy to see a fellow Avenger, or Guardian, enter the bar, although Peter Quill was one that he was a bit surprised to see. Last he saw him, or at least his version of him, Thor had abandoned him to take on Gor, and yet, he seemed pleased to see him. “Ah, Starlord! Nice, yes, but it would be better if I was allowed to use any color other than green or purple to decorate.” With these he stared dead in the eye of the doombot in the corner, but it did nothing. Not even a peep. Thor rolled his eyes dramatically before glancing at Peter. “Doom and I aren’t friends, not in a conflict type way, though. Of course not. Good ole’ Doom.”

it wasn’t often that wanda came to the more busy and crowded areas of latverion - the self imposed isolation she’d put herself in served as both a comfort to her and a precaution to keep others safe. while that much was true, part of her was avoiding those she knew before, the other avengers. heroes, as the world called them. how would she ever be able to explain the things she’d done? that even now, she still didn’t trust her own mind. ironically, it was a visit from thor’s friend, valkyrie, that made her realize she couldn’t avoid them forever. finding thor didn’t prove too difficult, with the aptly named bar, she’d spotted him immediately.

“that makes me wonder what the punchline would be.” she teased gently as she sat down, taking hold of the drink offered to her. thor always had a contagious energy to him, a way of putting those around him at ease despite his otherwise imposing frame. “how have you been? i like your establishment here… it seems very you.”

“Oh, now that’s quite the loaded question,” he teased her, although she was one of the few people who would actually understand. The loss. The crushing weight of it. Thor was an eternal optimist, but even he couldn’t see a good way out of this sadness. His only bright light was getting to see the people who he thought he’d lost, in whatever capacity this strange patchwork universe allowed him. Maybe it was selfish of him, but he wasn’t entirely horrified at ending up here. 

That didn’t mean he wouldn’t fight to get out, either, but for now, he was happy enough to continue onwards with the hand he was dealt.

it’s  not  that  this  is  tony’s  first  experience  with  other  dimensions.  he  was  stuck  in  one,  alone,  for  christ’s  sake.  he’s  jumped  through  them  like  they  were  towns,  been  to  one  where  all  his  friends  were  villains.  something  about  this  situation  seems  more  permanent,  somehow.  maybe  it’s  the  fact  that  they’ve  all  been  set  up  in  residences  like  this  isn’t  going  to  change  anytime  soon,  like  they’re  creating  a  new  normal  instead  of  trying  to  get  back  to  their  own.  it  isn’t  blame  that  tony  has,  he’s  doing  the  same.  it’s  just    -    different,  than  back  then  when  he  and  the  team  were  so  actively  trying  to  get  back  to  what  they  knew  was  their  world.

things  are  just  so  different  here.  people  aren’t  his  versions  of  them.  he  has  to  make  his  peace  with  them,  and  some  are  harder  than  others.

❛   believe  it  or  not,  this  is  the  only  universe  i’ve  been  to  where  steve  rogers  isn’t  my  best  friend.   ❜  and  boy  oh  boy,  is  it  weird  as  hell.  weirder  than  being  dead  in  another,  that  was  always  bound  to  happen.  ❛   i’ll  make  you  a  playstation,  buddy.  a  better  one.  starkstation  ?  i  don’t  know,  i’ll  workshop  it.   ❜  he’s  slurping  through  his  drink  as  thor  goes  on.  it’s  strangely  unfitting,  tony’s  little  umbrella  sitting  right  below  his  eye  line  while  thor  takes  on  a  more  somber  look.  ❛   the  only  thing  those  assholes  ever  do  is  get  on  my  nerves.   ❜

it’s  …  well,  it’s  not  a  lie,  but  he  grins  around  straw  all  the  same.  ❛   good  is  kinda  your  thing.  well,  our  thing.  plus,  you  make  a  mean  drink.   ❜  pointedly,  loudly,  he  slurps.  

there’s  probably  no  version  of  the  avengers  tony  wouldn’t  have  faith  in.  it  doesn’t  only  apply  to  the  team  as  a  whole;  he  knows  them.  some  version  of  them  that  can’t  be  too  far  off  the  others.  ❛   anyway,  yeah.  past  is  past.  not  that  i’m  complaining,  but  why  do  you  own  a  bar  ?  steve  mining  felt  like  a  stretch,  but,  y’know,  the  arms.  whatever.  is  this  some  sort  of  secret  dream  other-you  never  told  me  about  ?  we  were  close.  i  feel  like  you  would’ve  mentioned  it.   ❜

---

Surprise was written across the God of Thunder’s face for a second, before he let it flicker away. Of course they were friends. In one universe, if not many, Thor had assumed they all could be friends, if he were capable of sitting still and they were capable of admitting they were wrong, every once in a while. Still, it was strange to hear, that somewhere, they had actually been friends. Or family, maybe. It was strange to think that somewhere, out there, a version of him was something close to happy. 

“I’m sorry,” Thor said, nodding at him. “That must be a hard thing to... you know.” He used his hand to indicate weaving, a straight palm that moved back and forth like a fish. If he were being honest, there was a lot about this new world that was hard to navigate. Still, his eyes lit up as Stark mentioned making a new gaming system. “Starkstation seems perfectly adequate to me. Although the last one would ‘glitch’ every, oh, thirty minutes or so? So if we could fix that little quirk. Korg always thought it was because of the time I ‘crushed it’ with Stormbreaker but we fixed it it was fine.” He’d rolled his eyes while talking about the whole situation. It was rather unfair to blame him, given the circumstances. 

A laugh couldn’t help but follow Tony’s words, but it was nice, to hear that someone thought he was good. “It can be our creed again,” he confirmed, shrugging ever so slightly. “Although, leaving Frigga’s would be...” Thor trailed off, unsure of what it would really be. Sad? A little.But really, he knew it would just be painful. He didn’t want to admit that yet, though, so instead he just managed out... “An adventure, I suppose. But don’t we always find ourselves on one of those?”

The twinkle in eyes continued at the questioning, although Thor didn’t know really why he’d been given the bar. “Good ole’ Doom actually plopped me down here,” he said. “You’ll have to take it up with him as to why, although I think it’s because he secretly likes mead and knows I’ll make the best batch.” Really, he assumed, it was to keep him trapped here. Give him something that gave him a slight amount of purpose... it was rather clever. “I don’t hate it, though. In some life... I don’t know, maybe it would’ve been nice to have one on Asgard.” A pause as he thought of his home and then looked back at Tony. “Is it still there?” Another pause as he looked down at his hands. “In your world. Is Asgard still there?”

For a moment she caught a glimpse of what seemed like sadness in his eyes. Something she’d seen only a ghost of in the past, but this seemed more severe than before. Her heart sank a little, knowing there was so much he’d been through since they parted ways. But then it was gone again, and he was back to his charming wits and sparkle. There would be so much time for that, later. 

“You’ve always been good at surprising me.” The understatement of the century. They met because he fell out of the sky, for god’s sake. “God indeed.” She thought. A word that had taken on an entirely different meaning to her in the past several years. He had her on her toes there for a moment with the word “date.” She was even a half second too late on a swing and missed him entirely, sending her somewhat off balance. Perhaps he’d think it was part of her act. “Deal.” She smiled just a hint, only someone as close as he was to her now would be able to notice. 

“Ready?” She challenged, glancing towards the ground beneath his boots, hinting to him what she was about to do. “Careful what you wish for, I’m about to sweep you off your feet.” And then she ducked his blow, pulling his legs out from beneath him in order to get him to the ground for her big victorious finale.

---

The laughter fell from his lips without really thinking about it. Thor couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this kind of happiness; the return of someone he’d thought long gone. He knew they were in a shit situation, but at the end of the day it was nice to for once have someone return. For once he might be able to fix something he’d broken. And she made a damn good Thor, if he did say so himself.

 He knew the swipe was coming, and still he fell to his knees dramatically, looking up at her with a grin that couldn’t be seen from the stands. “Do your worst,” he said, eyes sparkling, and for the first time in his life he felt as though he might enjoy losing. Then again, if it were for Jane, he would’ve moved Asgard; would’ve changed rules and broken tradition. He’d always hoped his path would lead back here, but to know she might feel the same way?

Well, it was enough, for right now.

So, he waited for the final blow, perfectly content in this moment for people to think that he was weak. It was a strange moment, for so many reasons, but it was only appropriate that it was Jane dealing the final blow. 

her  loyalty  to  the  avengers,  young  and  old,  is  an  unwavering  thing,  but  eyes  roll  in  amusement.  ❛   next  time  i’m  in  a  pizza  emergency  i’m  gonna  remember  this  and  make  you  come  get  me.   ❜  it’s  a  joke,  of  course,  but  honestly  if  her  mom  appears  to  terrorize  her  with  her  weird  health  ideas  she  may  very  well  need  back  up.  it’s  never  a  bad  idea  to  be  overly  prepared,  after  all.  

❛   if  doom  and  his  weird  bots  haven’t  already  snooped  and  stolen  it  from  us,  definitely.   ❜  it’s  a  little  risky  to  say  anything  their  creepy  leader  may  not  want  to  hear,  anywhere.  part  of  what  makes  the  place  seem  so  ominous,  she  suspects.  it’s  hard  to  tell  how  much  doom  knows,  what  he’s  doing.  she’s  always  warring  with  the  urge  to  deck  him  and  the  knowledge  that  it  would  be  stupid  to  underestimate  the  guy.  her  intelligence  has  won  over  impulse,  so  far,  but  who  knows  if  it’ll  last.

❛   and  i  get  it.  it’s  not  really  in  mine  either.   ❜  she’s  spent  so  much  time  going  out  of  her  way  to  do,  to  carve  ways  towards  a  goal  when  they  didn’t  present  themselves.  it’s  a  world  full  of  heroes,  and  so  few  of  them  are  good  at  the  moments  in  between  when  there  isn’t  really  a  move  to  make.  the  sitting.  the  watching.  the  patience.  she  leans  into  his  shoulder  for  a  second  in  a  nudge,  tone  teasing.  ❛   if  you  decide  you  wanna  throw  caution  out  the  window  and  raid  the  castle  or  something,  i’m  your  girl.   ❜

she  would.  would  it  be  smart  ?  well,  probably  not,  but  honestly  she’s  sort  of  itching  for  an  impulsive  decision. 

---

Allegiances were a tricky line to walk. Miles had always been rather loyal; to those who had looked after him, to those who had helped raise him. Captain America was one of those few people, although his Cap wasn’t in this world. There were very few Ultimates, actually, and Miles had found himself trying to fit in yet again. “Y’know I could never leave you in such a lurch,” he teased, but he found that he actually meant it. For Cassie, he’d be there. She’d been there for him, after all. It was only fair. “I’ll even show up with a fresh pie. Or I guess a fresh... pizza poppas. Ugh, I miss regular pizza.”

A nod of his head followed her words and Miles suddenly felt that anxiety creep up his spine once again. The Doom Bots were just everywhere, at all times. An all seeing eye. He knew he should look less nervous as he glanced at them, less at ease, but he couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that they were there for them. Not the other students, the ones without powers, but the superheroes. The ones who could take Doom down.

And if Doom was still scared... well, Miles preferred to show him something to be scared about.

“Ha, kinda sounds like a video game when you put it that way,” he said, scratching the back of his head with a wry smile on his lips. “I dunno, maybe I’m just restless. It’s bad, but not as bad as things have been before. At least I’ve got you.” He grinned at her, and then looked up at the sky. “Also, I’ve heard there’s another spider around, so, probably should at least go say hi to him. Or her. Not totally clear who it is yet, but y’know, that would be cool. Another spider.” But a part of him hoped that it was Peter, and that was probably evident in the way he tried to cover it up. 

( @shiclded​ ) NATASHA ROMANOFF & PEGGY CARTER

“should i be surprised by this visit?” natasha asked, not looking up as she smiled to herself knowing entirely too well on who it was that had entered. as she organized her remaining paperwork for the day, she finally stopped and looked up to meet her friend. “peggy, please tell me you’re not here to drag me out to do something other than raise a resistance and coordinate fights…? clint hasn’t gotten ahold of you and complained about me, right?” she teased, mockingly groaning in protest and only secretly hoping that peggy would drag her out of there. “but also i actually hope this visit is in good spirits?”

( @shiclded​ ) VALKYRIE & THOR ODINSON

she had been ruminating on the fact that gorm was gone - she could have prevented it. seen the signs, fought the fight - but she didn’t and hindsight was a raging bitch. still, she sought comfort from the one who understood most about their way of life - the former king himself. she’d entered frigga’s thinking she was alone and sighed at not spotting thor. so val did what she was good at. moving behind the bar she opened a cask of what she assumed was mead but not caring very much if it really was or not - and took a large swig. she’d pay the god of thunder back, anyhow. “you’re late,” she remarked once she spotted him enter, her voice clear of jovial humor as she leaned against the bar top. “i want to talk with you.”

||    peggy comes closer and closer to her goal every day.    karen eyes the cup of tea the other woman cups in her hands, the swirl of steam from it, the way the scent of it hits even over the strong of her own coffee. it’s  —  nicer. more pleasant. nothing will ever really top coffee for the blonde, but she’ll give the tea a try. maybe. 

peggy was incredibly persuasive. 

it’s always a nice feeling when people tell her things. karen knows her reputation  —  reporter, writer, journalist. she knows the implications, what it means. she knows that people trust her less, even though she so deeply wishes to be trustworthy. karen knows not everything is worth a good scoop, and the only goop scoop is one that actually helps people. she’s trying.   “  you wanted to help him.  ”   peggy was kind, incredibly brave. karen admired that.   “  and you did. i got to see it.  ”   her smile widens at peggy’s humor, even though karen tries to hide it behind a sip of her coffee.   “  i’m trying to put together a list of frequent attenders, so i go to every battle. i’d be happy to write a kickass piece on you, if you ever want one.  ”

Hands warmed by the liquid in the cup, Peggy couldn’t help but feel a little better. She was never trying to get sympathy, but what was nice was knowing there were others who agreed with her. Who would want to help, if the time were right. 

She hoped that Karen would be one of those people, and had been feeling her out on that front for weeks.

“Yes, well,” she took a deep breath, leaning back in her seat ever so slightly. “It’s becoming increasingly frustrating to live in a world that forces me to take that step.” Maybe she shouldn’t be so loud with her true feelings, but Peggy’s boldness was growing, ever so slightly, in these little moments. 

“Actually, it’s Spider-,” he started, but he knew it was hopeless. Instead, he slid in through the open window. “Sorry for disturbing you. Nice place you got here.” It was true: Thor owning a bar felt like a Mad Libs fan fiction, but… it worked. Peter hadn’t been before–he didn’t get out much, if he was being honest, and extremely didn’t get out to bars these days–but Frigga’s had had a healthy rating on DoomAdvisor, and he could see why. There was clearly love here, even if it was a bit heavy on the kitsch. Hey, if the literal God of Thunder could settle down with a nice respectable job, maybe–yeah, no. That wasn’t a helpful comparison. Peter was very aware that he was about a third of Thor’s size, and, crucially, not a god. 

But, shit, why was Thor so nice? It felt wrong. Weird. People weren’t supposed to say yes, we’re friends, come in, when Peter showed up unexpected. That didn’t happen. No one did that. It would have been easier if Thor had chased him off the premises with those glowing eyes and giant magical hammer. “Rode into battle, huh? That’s badass. I like that.” He hadn’t thought he’d get this far. What next? Get a selfie to prove to Johnny that yeah, he and Thor were friends, thank you very much? Fake a car robbery and bolt? Or, wow, crazy thought, just hang out. Like friends. Peter leaned against the wall and crossed his arms in what was definitely a very cool, calm, and normal way. “So, uh… how’s your day been? How’s bar life treating you? Are you, like, god of bartenders now, too? Does it come with magic mixology powers?”

A small shake of his head followed the other’s words, although he wasn’t entirely sure if he was agreeing or disagreeing with the spider. Did he hate this new place? In certain ways. He hated that it kept him complacent; reminded him of what life could be like if they had just defeated Thanos and Doom the first time. Of course, not everything was fixed by going back and killing Thanos quicker. A lot was, though, and that was enough for Thor to wallow in. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I mean, it doesn’t compare much to Asgard taverns, although I’ve done my best with the decor. We’ve got a mechanical goat,” he said, pointing to the downstairs area with a grin. “Could try it out, if you’d like.” It was a request, but a part of him wondered if he’d take Thor up on it.

Still, the boy was just that: a kid. If Thor were being honest, he reminded him of himself when he was that young. Reckless, a bit care-free, but a good heart underneath all the mess. Or, at the very least, that’s what Thor would like to think. A good heart at the core, even if it often wasn’t beating down a good path. “Well, we did, minus the riding part... there were no horses, or goats, for that matter,” he shrugged. As Peter asked him questions, he meandered his way back into the kitchen, pulling open a fridge that often stuck, and grabbing a couple of beers for him and the lad. “I mean, I can use lightning to set drinks on fire, but that’s about the extent of my helpful mixology powers,” he said. And that, really wasn’t very helpful, as he found out pretty quickly. “I suppose this is all...” Thor waved his fingers in the air trying to figure out the word he was looking for. “Bad. It’s bad. But, bartending is actually not all that bad. I’m naturally good at just about everything, but being here is actually kind-of nice.” 

💫— “anything anyone wants” it was the smallest correction, but to meggan it was the difference that separated her from the real heroes. slipping further into the shadows was a familiar sensation, but no true fear raced in her chest. this was dangerous but between the two of them hardly deadly.

“that’s a very clever trick, being invisible, you’ll have to teach me sometime.”

A part of him wanted to say something comforting but all that came out of his mouth was, “That must really suck.” It was simple, and a stupid thing to say, but that was sometimes how Miles operated. He paused nodding at her. “Well, if you want to be something, you can tell me, and I’ll... help?”

🧬 — He felt the tug of nerves creep up his spine at her presence. Nothing against the captain personally, but the idea of her. A war hero, an Avenger, a woman not to be crossed. If her stone clad morality was kept a safe distance from the shades of his gray, this partnership would go swimmingly. It would benefit them, in fact, in nearly equal parts. Ben slipped on gloves and took the bag from her. He visually inspected it still inside the bag. “No, but I know someone who can,” he said. He didn’t have the equipment for it in his lab to determine the material, but as he said, he knew who would. “Anything else you want to test for?” 

@shiclded​

While Kate Bishop would argue until she was blue in the face that she wasn’t afraid of anything let alone killer books in a library… she may have been a bit anxious. About how easy it was going to be, about how she was going to go back to Lucky the pizza dog and Clint was going to be back to lecture her some more and everything would be the way it was meant to be. Not because she was doom spiraling (pun not intended), not because she was panicking. (Alright, maybe a little ) However, once she’d met up with Thor at Frigga’s and they had come up with their plan to take out the books, it was a lot easier to feel as ease. Walking up to the library beside the god of thunder, the archer looked over at him and smiled rather smugly as she thought back to her plan. “We’ve got this covered. A real piece of cake. I’ll fire flaming arrows at them, you’ll shoot a little lightning, easy peasy.” Boy was Doom going to look stupid for being afraid of a couple books.