The Rise Of A Porter

The meeting which was supposed to end within hours ended up taking an entire day. However, it was necessary. The information both sides shared, revealed a lot of things that previously didn't make any sense. But none of them was more useful than the realisation of Loki's and Zeus' true plans.

They did not hate him. But only saw him as an obstacle to their plans of universal domination. However, he wasn't just as any obstacle. Arnold would have already been dead if that was the case.

He was the biggest obstacle any of them could face individually. That was the reason why both of them had to team up with the dragons and demons. But that talk was for a different time.

It had been a while he had seen his sons. The bracelet he gave Orco was functioning as it was expected and he did not have any sudden outbursts anymore. As for Aiden... well it was safe to say that he was growing quickly... too quickly. He was a little short of being three years and yet he looked as if he was already 6 or 7. 

At first, Arnold was concerned about his inhumanely fast growth. But after checking him up along with Devon, Alice and Natasha, they determined it wasn't anything threatening. Apparently, his body was growing because of Arnold's dominant genes. Essentially, Aiden was on his way to becoming superman. That was all. 

Arnold did not know how to feel about it, but he was happy that Aiden's life was not in any kind of danger. As for Nina, well, she was back to being the badass bitch she always was. Allen had made her in charge of the family affairs. 

In Allen's words, he was getting tired of handling everything by himself. He was going to offer the place to Nicole but... since that wasn't possible anymore, he chose the next best person he could find. 

Arnold, on the other hand, was happy about Nina's achievements but did not give much thought to other earthly affairs. And who could have blamed him? He was already busy strategising for a war that would reshape the universe in its entirety. Either for the good or the bad. 

Everyone could feel the tension building up, especially after their talk with allied gods. But it was time for yet another debate... a debate whether or not they should trust Hera and her Olympians or even Asgard for that matter. 

If to everyone it seemed that Zeus was bad, then Hera was much worse than her former husband. Zeus usually did things to satiate his dick. Thus, he at times used to be a bit considerate about the feelings of his lovers. 

Hera, on the other hand, knew of only one thing... complete obliteration. Mythology was filled with tales of how she punished her husband's lovers and illegitimate children at times and all Arnold could remember was her cruelty. 

In his eyes, she was just as wrong as Zeus if not more. Why? Because rather than putting her husband in place, she decided to punish others in order to dissuade them from ever courting with her 'man' again. That itself was a different tale of a-holery.

However, her plan failed every time. But not because the mortals were not afraid of Hera. But for the simple fact that they could be mating with their partners and it would turn out that they were not their partners or lovers, but Zeus in disguise. Thus, Hera kept punishing them for no reason at all. 

Then there was the fact that Arnold did not trust anyone. Especially the gods. They could be the god of truth, justice and honesty, and he would still doubt them more than he would doubt a liar. That was the kind of effect the gods had had on him. 

However, he knew if he was to have even the slightest chance of surviving Ragnarok and defeating Zeus and Loki, he would have to side with Asgard and the others. Just like Zeus and Loki needed the Dragons and Demon, he too needed to have strong allies. 

This debate was on how Arnold should proceed with the alliance suggested by Baldr. So far the Asgardians he had known, namely Heimdall and Thor, were some of his closest aides. But then, they were once his enemies too and there was no guarantee whether the Asgardians would turn against him after the battle was over and done. 

They could easily stab him in the back just like that. Just like Loki and Zeus probably would do to the Dragons and the demons. That was one thing unpredictable about alliances. They are formed in times of dire need, but as soon as that need had been dealt with, they could turn against each other just as easily.

Moreover, Thor has already made it clear that he would not lift his hammer against Asgard no matter what and Arnold had a feeling Heimdall would do the same even if he had not explicitly said so. However, Arnold had other plans. 

"I can betray them just like that too." He spoke in a calm but frightening manner.

"What?" Heimdall blurted out of shock. 

"That's right." Arnold said decisively and got up from his seat, "If I get the slightest hunch that they are about to betray me. I'm gonna kill them before they do or die trying. Either way, I was already planning to kill them to unlock my potential power."

He continued, "If I don't get enough primal power or universal influence after killing the dragons, demons and everything Zeus and Loki have to offer to me. Then I might turn against them either way."

The mere fact that Arnold stated it with such simplicity had troubled both Heimdall and Thor. They were bound to Arnold, but they loved Asgard just as much as they did before. Hearing him say such a thing made them feel uncomfortable in their skin. However, Arnold wasn't done just yet.

"Don't feel down. Just pray that there would be more Olympians on their side than on ours. Because, if there aren't.... well then you are intelligent enough to figure out what would happen next."