Darcy heard the back door slam and Jane came running inside.
"Hey, there's somebody standing in the middle of this crop circle –"
"Who?" Darcy asked, putting down her laptop and her doughnut she'd partway eaten.
She wiped crumbs away with the back of her hand and followed Jane back outside.
They were staying in Puente Antiguo again, with no Erik, and no government agencies monitoring them.
Well, if they were being monitored, it was more discreet. In all likelihood, Darcy knew they were being watched because of their past associations with intergalactic beings.
Coulson's words, not hers.
Saying "because of Thor" started many uncomfortable conversations those days, especially since Jane dumped him for leaving her in the lurch.
When Darcy spotted the figure in the distance, she squinted as the wind blew hard in her face, making her hair tangle and fly into her face.
The figure seemed to be moving toward them, and then Darcy's mouth fell open.
"Is that – Thor?"
They heard about what was happening in Africa. Ships had docked in New York and over in Wakanda, but Darcy and Jane had otherwise been kind of out of the loop.
It had been an advantage and then turned into a giant pain in their asses. Readings had been off the charts, but no-one had landed until now.
"That can't be Thor."
Jane squinted as well, her hand partway covering the sun.
"Yeah, that's not him."
She crossed her arms, frowning toward the figure, who became clearer.
It was a woman, with long blonde hair and an axe in one hand, a small raccoon beside it.
"Wait, what the fuck?"
A raccoon and a tree – it was definitely plant-like to Darcy – were walking beside the woman, who looked statuesque and striking as she strove under the sun.
"I'm losing my mind," Darcy muttered.
She looked at Jane. "Are you seeing -?"
"A raccoon and a tree-man?" Jane finished. She sighed. "Yeah. Oh, boy."
Once the visitors were close enough to hear their voices, Darcy put up her taser and narrowed her eyes toward the woman.
"If you're not from Earth, please leave. Thor isn't here."
"Yeah, he is."
The raccoon spoke - strangely, in English – sounding impatient. Was he somehow from the Bronx? Or Brooklyn?
"Um, who the fuck are you?" Darcy asked, pointing at him. "Are you supposed to be some kind of spell –" Darcy shot the woman with the axe a look "- or is it more like a hallucination?"
"It could be radiation poisoning," Jane hissed under her breath. "A mutant racoon."
"Hey!" The racoon yelled, and it whipped a gun out from behind its back.
It sounded offended.
"You heard that?" Darcy asked, and it shook its head.
"The rabbit can read lips," yelled the woman, and Darcy's mouth fell open.
"Oh, my God. Thor!"
She couldn't explain it – it was the definition of inexplicable – but she knew without a doubt that the woman that stood before them was Thor.
Thor, who had been well over six feet tall still stood much taller than Jane and Darcy, but had the same eyes, the same cheeky look on their face.
But now Thor had breasts and legs that –
Darcy shoved the thought away. Thor was stunning, in either form, but not hers to approach.
They were Jane's.
"I just saved the universe!" Thor said, smiling more. "We should have a drink."
"Oh, no," Jane whispered, biting her lip.
It seemed obvious now; Thor meant to reconcile with Jane.
After a few awkward moments in between waiting as the trio followed them into the house, Darcy pointed to two chairs for the racoon and the tree to sit in.
Jane and Thor went into the back room, and it was clear that Darcy was meant to keep the non-human-looking ones company.
"You got any beer?" the racoon asked.
Darcy rose an eyebrow. "Yeah. Are you supposed to have beer?"
The racoon rolled its eyes, settling its back against the chair and grunting.
Darcy went and got the raccoon a beer, handing it to him.
She watched, fascinated as it gulped it down in a few seconds, wiping its mouth with the back of its paw and grinning to no-one in particular.
"You're not going to shoot me?" Darcy asked, referring to the pistol the creature had since put away amongst its vest.
"Are you gonna tase me?" it returned, and Darcy shrugged.
"You know who I am?" Darcy asked, and the tree beside the raccoon shrugged.
"I am Groot."
"Awesome," Darcy said. "Groot and – who are you?"
"Rocket. Rocky. Badass, whatever," Rocket said. "And you're Darcy Lewis, and the broad in there is Jane Foster."
"I'm not going to tase anyone," Darcy said. "For now."
Jane burst into the room without warning.
The doctor paused, looking at the three of them sitting together.
"This just gets weirder and weirder."
"You got cable?" Rocket asked, not seeming to take much notice of anybody's distress.
Jane shot him a confused look. "No?"
He seemed mildly annoyed again.
Thor joined, looking less cheerful than earlier.
They nodded at Rocket and Groot. "Let's go. Maybe Steve Rogers will join us with the others."
"We're not going with them?" Darcy asked Jane, who looked uncomfortable.
"No."
"I answer for me," Darcy muttered.
She looked at Thor.
"I want an explanation."
"What exactly do you want explained, Darcy?"
Thor's voice was husky, and Darcy felt her stomach flutter.
The feeling was strong and confusing. It was like a nagging sensation. She had the urge to follow Thor wherever they chose to go.
"Why you're – not like before," Darcy said.
She tried to be sensitive in case this wasn't what Thor wanted and it was some kind of spell Loki had cast.
"I destroyed Thanos," Thor said, and Darcy blinked a couple times.
"Okay, I have no idea who that is."
"He's the bad guy behind all of this," Rocket piped up, sounding impatient again.
"So you're all supposed to be like this?" Darcy asked, drawing a circle with her finger. "Was it Loki?"
Thor's jaw ticked. "My brother is dead."
Darcy's mouth fell open. She didn't even know a god dying was possible. And yet, she could have sworn that Jane told her Loki had already died –
"I'm so sorry."
"It's no matter. I defeated my sister recently. After my father died."
Thor was smiling while divulging all this, but Darcy saw their eyes were glassy.
"It's no matter," they finished, with a shrug Darcy recognised as being a classic Thor move.
They never tended to show vulnerability.
"We have coffee, you can stay for coffee," Darcy felt herself say, grasping at straws.
Jane shook her head slightly in the corner of Darcy's eye.
"They can't stay, Darce," she murmured and Darcy felt heat rise in her cheeks.
"Why not? They saved the universe."
"It's been over. For months."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Darcy snapped.
Thor, Rocket and Groot all filed out to stand on the porch while Jane and Darcy bickered, getting louder with each sentence.
"I can't!" Jane hissed. "You can't make me go through it again!"
Darcy saw her chin wobble and Jane began to cry, frustrated.
She buried her face in her hands, and despite their fighting Darcy put a hand on Jane's shoulder, rubbing.
"What happened – to Thor? Why is he-she-they like this now?"
Jane shrugged. "Interdimensional stuff. I have no other words."
Darcy let out a short laugh. "Fuck. They're still really hot."
She turned her head, wondering if Thor could hear. Darcy decided she didn't mind either way.
When she looked back at Jane, she'd composed herself a little, sniffling.
"I won't do it again, Darce. Because they'll leave us – female or not."
"Is it because they're presenting as female right now?"
Jane looked shocked. "No! I mean – I'm straight. But it's not why –"
"Alright," Darcy muttered, feeling butterflies. "I – I want to go with them."
Jane grimaced. "Darce."
"I know it's dangerous."
"Is this because it's summer and you saw Ian –"
Darcy cut her off, not wanting to discuss the engagement photos she saw ex Ian post a few days ago. She wasn't hurting over that.
"I want to hang out with Thor. Who apparently looks like a Victoria's Secret Angel now and has a tree and a raccoon as their entourage."
