THUD
She snapped her head in the direction of the loud booming sound that had suddenly broke her train of thought. She blinked, dazed as a gust of dirt came spiraling faster towards her face. She threw into a coughing fit wide eyed as it finally dawned on her that she was now standing on the edge of a crater. A crater where something had appeared to have fallen straight from the wide space above her. Gasping as the sand began to settle she ran full throttle towards the object, the object that. she squinted, at this point, Esther had no clue what it was. As she approached the unmoving object, she realized it was a man. Esther tilted her head in confusion. But not just any man, she quickly surveyed her surroundings, making sure that no one was in their presence. Esther sharply in took a breath as she realized what she was about to do was treason. Esther hid the god of Mischief and Deceit. She hid a fugitive. But not just any fugitive.. She guarded Loki with her life.
10 hours prior...
Esther, yawned and stretched her long, lean toned muscular body as far as it possibly could. Esther had a very good reason to crawl back in bed and sleep for another 5 hours. But, she couldn't. Esther had a plane to catch in, she paused and glanced at the clock on her nightstand. Her eyes widened, 2 hours! She had 2 hours to get to her gate in one of the biggest cities in the world. She inwardly groaned as she frantically ran around her apartment gathering her things. Mentally she sighed to herself. "I'm going to miss my plane!" she groaned as she quickly changed and headed out the door. After swiftly using her skills as "a big city gal", she barely boarded the plane with a whole minute to spare. The flight was fairly uneventful as Esther attempted to wrack her head for a proper greeting for her elder, "genius of a sister". She rubbed her head, sighing. "this isn't going to help any." she mentally told herself. "all you'll do is make yourself more nervous. I mean. its been what? 5 years since you've seen her." She finally decided to end her inward battle as she stuck her iPod headphones in, listening to Christmas music the remainder of the flight. This was always Esther's favorite time of year. She smiled. Esther and Jane were so different that you would never have known they were sisters. Even their names were so widely versed. Jane was typical plain Jane. Analytical, smart, petite, un-creative, and with a soft delicate manner, and features to match it.
Yes, they were very different. It would surprise most to realize that even though Jane was the smart astrophysist, she was not always the go getter she now was. No growing up, Esther had always been the star that shone brightest in the family. The well behaved, graceful, blonde, had an intellect all her own. It seemed to outsiders, that anything the tall blonde, with striking beauty set her mind to, she accomplished with ease. A quality Jane had often envied her younger sister of as a child. Esther, had always expected that Jane held some hostile feelings towards her, but she never thought much of it, as Jane never seemed to outwardly complain. It wasn't until 5 years ago, when Esther was visiting Jane that she told Jane that she had been offered the chance to become a model for Ford in N.Y.C. Esther explained that besides being her dream job, it would also sustain her as she earned her law degree at Cambridge. That had been the last straw. Jane had, without warning, blew up on how her sister, never had to work with her blood sweat and tears for anything in her life. Esther had been devastated that Jane had driven a wedge between the two so deeply.
Esther shook the memory from her mind as she climbed into the car S.H.I.E.L.D., her current employer, had given her. It was tiny and black. Just like the other agents vehicles. She chuckled as she realized her elder sister had somehow gotten herself in the middle of a predicament Esther would of course, have to pull her out of. Again.
Esther surveyed Jane's lab, wearily as she parked the black car in the back. She bit her bottom lip. Esther still had no clue how she was going to tell Jane she was her new "personal spy". Jane hadn't even known she was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Only their mother knew. She let her mind drift as she shut off the ignition. It was last year, right after Esther had graduated with a Double Major in Theater and Foreign Cultures and a Minor in Linguistics that the C.I.A. had approached her to work as a undercover agent.
After 6 brutal months of training, she graduated the farm at the top of her class. There was only one slight issue. They couldn't decide whether her strength was in her intellect or her stealth. This proved to be a major problem as they had no idea on whether to place her in the field or in the office. That's when S.H.I.E.L.D. stepped in. They offered her the chance to do both. And she took it. Esther had thought it would mean battling supervillians everyday of the year. But, up to this point, the only tasks she had been able to perform was interacting with Steve and explaining the world to him. Apparently her degree in foreign affairs proved to make her "the most equipped" agent to perform the task. She rolled her eyes. Now don't get her wrong. Esther loved to spend time with Steve, as well as the other superheros. They were so wonderful. Well, all except Stark. Stark just always tried to flirt with her. Which was, at first, flattering but became quickly annoying.
Finally Esther was pulled out of her thoughts as she saw a figure, Darcy, she believed was the name of Jane's new assistant, approach the car. Esther groaned and grabbed her pad as she opened the car door. "Hello." she smiled friendly at the intern. Darcy looked her up and down suspiciously. "Hi." she muttered. "You must be the new security guard S.H.I.E.L.D. sent. I have to say I was expecting someone, you know, bigger. And a guy." she furrowed her brow. Esther smiled politely, glad that her acting skills had some use, to hide her annoyance and distaste of the snarky college student. "I'm Esther, Jane's sister." She held out her hand as Darcy's mouth dropped. Esther smirked and continued. "S.H.I.E.L.D. felt I would be the least conspicuous agent, as it would seem normal for Jane's sister to pay her a holiday visit. And, of course, keep her protected while trying to gather any sort of information." Darcy simply blinked, completely astonished. "Erm, I'll get Jane. Uh, Esther right?" She said walking into the house while motioning for her to follow. "Yes." was Esther simple reply.
Jane walked into her living room, completely astonished at the site before her. There, on her dining room table, sat her younger estranged sister who she hadn't seen in 5 years. And she was speaking politely to Darcy. Jane cleared her throat as the women shifted their gaze to the petite brunette. "What-" She paused to regain her composure. "are you doing her Es?" Esther smiled gently. "I'm your, for lack of a better word, guard dog." She smirked at her older sister with a glint of mischief in her eyes. "I know, I ought to have told you sooner, but I work for S.H.I.E.L.D." She gave Jane an apologetic look as she gave her a tight hug. "I missed you sis" Esther murmured as she pulled away, tears in her eyes. "It's been much too long, and I'm sorry it took so long for me to come." Esther smiled slightly. Jane blinked as the entire situation finally sunk in. "I am sorry too." She looked at her feet. "For everything."
Esther shut the door to her room across from Darcy's and stretched out on the bed. It had been a long day. After a heartfelt talk with her sister, Esther had told Jane all that had happened in her past 5 years while in New York. That took quite some time. They had then spent the remainder of the day discussing the events that had happened while Thor was here and any possible scenario that could keep him from coming back to Earth. Now this mission, Esther felt she truly was made for. Besides being able to actual read some of the writing at the bifrost site, she actually had quite a vast knowledge of Norse Mythology. This was due to the fact that even as a small girl she had been fascinating by the tails and as she grew older studied them deeply. As a result, she was able to help Jane in more than protecting her. She could aide her in her research of the bifrost and any other ways into Asgard. Loki, for example, often traveled across worlds without it, to cause mischief in the tails. Esther felt her mind wandering on what the actual god of mischief and deceit would be or look like.
She shooed the thought away as she pulled on a pair of blue sweat pants, some boots and a blue tee to match. Esther was going for a long walk.
