I do not own any part of Thor (unfortunately not even the gorgeous Chris Hemsworth – but then he's married and so am I so probably a good thing).
Darcy removed the helmet and then deftly pulled down the zippers and pulled apart the Velcro. She then carefully peeled the large white bodysuit away from Jane who stepped out of the costume and grabbed hold of Darcy for support, feeling the usual dizziness.
"So?" said Darcy, barely able to keep the excitement out of her voice. "Where did you end up this time?"
Jane hobbled three steps to the nearest chair and sat down. She stretched her limbs out, breathing deeply before massaging her left thigh which was a little cramped.
Erik Selvig rushed over to Jane with the all-important can of Coke. She opened it and started drinking greedily. The sugar rush hit her within seconds and she slowed her drinking down until she was finished. She handed it back to Erik who took is silently. He then stuck three electrodes to her forehead, the wires connecting her to the large silent machine beside her. He switched it on and read the readings for exactly one minute before the machine beeped and a print-out emerged from the machine, coming into his waiting hand. He pulled the paper out and scanned it quickly.
"Your Gamma activity over the somatosensory cortex is slightly higher than your usual, even after a jump." Erik said frowning. "Otherwise brain activity seems to be within the parameters we predicted."
"As is to be expected if reflecting on sensory experiences in an unknown environment." Jane replied pulling the electrodes off her skin.
"So in other words everything absolutely normal." Darcy laughed kneeling down in front of Jane and taking her hand.
"So what did you see this time whilst floating in space? More unheard of Nebulas and strange star formations?"
"Not this time, no." Jane said rubbing the skin where the electrodes had been touching. "I was underwater."
Darcy gasped and Erik sat down abruptly in the chair beside her.
"You were on a planet." Erik stated, shaking his head and grinning like a lune.
Jane frowned and tried to remember the sensation she had felt only minutes before. She had been underwater and although she could see nothing through the swirling mass of pressure that pushed from all angles against her suit she had felt the strangest sensation. Almost as if she were upside-down. She had felt terribly dizzy and had remained only seconds in the new environment before pressing the Bubble which had automatically returned her inside the circle. She had been away only seconds and yet it felt like hours. Her body felt all rubbery and her mind ticked feverishly with all the sums and calculations she would need to enter in the machines for the next jump.
"Were you there?" Erik asked quietly, trying to keep stoic about the whole thing but failing miserably. "Were you on Asgard?"
"I don't know." Jane almost wailed in return. "I don't know where I was. I was in some ocean of some planet."
"Wow. Thank goodness we made that suit of yours capable of being in all environments including space, water, freezing temperatures, heat, walls..." she ticked them off on her fingers. "Well maybe not walls." She said as an afterthought.
"It was Asgard." Erik stated, looking adamant. "You've made the calculations numerous times and predicted you would land somewhere."
"I've been wrong before." Jane said, shaking her head. "But if I just twist the modulator a quarter fraction of an..." She had stood up and was walking over to a little machine on a table. Her voice grew fainter as she talked quietly to herself about the things that needed to be done.
Erik walked up quietly beside her. "You can't jump again today Jane."
"I have to find it. I'm almost there. I can't stop now I'm so close."
"Two jumps maximum a day Jane. Your rules."
"And rules are meant to be broken." Jane turned to him and smiled shakily up at him. "I know you're only looking out for me but I'm asking for one more jump today."
Erik knew she would never renege now she had set her heart on returning.
"One more jump." He said, shaking his head. He pulled a Mars Bar out of his pocket and handed it to her. "But not until you eat some chocolate. You need the sugar."
She grinned and bit off a piece. "Anything you say." She said.
Erik choked and laughed. "If only."
# # # # # #
Frigga and Thor walked hand in hand away from the King of Asgard who lay in his Odinsleep. Almost a year had passed since Odin had awakened from his previous sleep and lost his adopted son. But unlike last time Odin had entered the Odinsleep naturally without due stress so he would slumber for only a short while before awakening refreshed and ready to resume his duties as King. Until then his son would act in his stead.
Frigga and Thor entered the Great Chamber together and walked down the long hall, surrounded by Asgardians shouting encouragement. The Asgardians were excited about having the young ruler as leader, even if only for a few days. Thor remembered the last time he had walked down this path with screaming people on either side. He remembered his own behaviour – his mother's secret smile and her face open with pleasure, his disapproving father scowling at his attitude and Loki watching from the side. He shuddered inwardly as he remembered the events of that long long week that finished with the death of his brother. And he smiled as he remembered Jane, before quickly removing her from his thoughts. The Warriors Three and Sif stood in the same positions as last time, befitting the greatest warriors in the land. He walked closer and they raised their weapons in greeting and he laughed up at them before ascending the stairs and turning to face the crowd. His mother climbed a few steps higher as befitting the wife and mother of the Kings of Asgard.
Thor raised Mjöllnir high above his head and the crowd roared its approval. In his other hand he held the Staff of Odin and he tapped it lightly to the ground. The sound rang loud and clear throughout the chamber and beyond. Thor faced his people and clasped Mjöllnir to his chest.
"I Thor. Odin's Son. I swear to guard the Realm Immortal that is Asgard and the other eight realms if it be in my power to do so." Thor paused briefly and when so doing he heard a thin whining sound, almost like the sound of a mosquito from Earth. He ignored it and continued. "I swear to pledge myself only to the good of the realm and..."
He stopped talking and looked at his friends who stared back at him as the whining sound grew louder. The people of Asgard looked around them in consternation. What was that sound? It continued to rise in volume, a pitch that changed into a drone. The noise was reaching a level that was causing discomfort to the people. Many were raising their hands to their ears to try and block out the uncomfortable whine, which had grown louder still.
"Friends. To me." Thor shouted above the noise, walking down the steps, holding Mjöllnir ahead of him and continuing to the centre of the room. Volstagg and Sif were directly behind him with their weapons raised with Hogun and Fandral just behind. The noise grew louder and Thor could almost feel the thrumming in his teeth. Thor looked ahead and his eyes started to water as he felt himself enter an atmosphere that didn't belong on Asgard. The pressure around him was intense and he held Mjöllnir high above his head and used the power of Thor to push the pressure away from him. It worked to a certain degree and he drew in a deep breath realising until now he had been holding it. He looked behind him and realised he was alone in this unusual atmosphere. He was on the inside-edge of a round barrier that was about six metres in diameter. His friends and the Asgardians were all clustered around the circle on the other side and he saw them through what looked like a shimmery waterfall. They were mouthing things at him he could not hear and Volstagg was pushing at the wall but unable to enter. He looked at his hammer and realised that only he had access to this strange anomaly. He took a step forward, and then another, the pressure increasing as he tried to move towards the centre.
A resounding boom began from the centre of the circle and pushed its way outwards in a wide arc of pale green light and noise. Thor was pushed off his feet but Mjöllnir kept him upright. Everyone around fell backwards from the circle which had blown itself outwards. The whine was gone but then so too was all sound. The noise of the boom had been so loud that all he could hear was a minute ringing in his ears. He looked around him and saw his people pulling themselves and others up. Sif was looking towards Thor and moving her mouth but Thor could hear nothing. He realised suddenly that Sif was looking at something behind him rather than at him. He turned around and saw a strange being in the centre of the circle. It was shorter than him and in a strange white outfit that covered its entire body including its face. The thing wore a helmet which was mostly black thus he could see nothing of the creature inside.
"Who are you and where have you come from?" Thor said, hoping he was speaking aloud because he couldn't hear himself.
The apparition took a step towards him and raised its hand.
"I am warning you. If you mean harm to my people you will suffer for it." Thor said.
The being took another step towards him and Thor couldn't risk the safety of his people. The strange apparition had already briefly incapacitated his people and he couldn't allow such a thing again.
Thor started pulling his Mjöllnir upwards and tried to use it to immobilise the creature with a little wind but the hammer wouldn't respond.
"Hammer, what are you..." He managed to get out before the being in white touched him. And then all sensation left him as he ceased to be.
Oh well, so much for staying under 1000 words a chapter. I suppose I'd better stick to what I'm used to which is letting my fingers do all the talking...
Hope you like this chapter... if I've made any inaccuracies (Marvel Thor comic versus Marvel Thor Movie) with spellings and Asgardian objects and words please forgive me. I really don't know my Thor (except that of the movie!) And I did cheat and look up a few things to try and make it Thorian (I've just invented a word – yay me).
A quick thank you to my lovely husband who helped out with the medical terms used with Jane (I couldn't make that up in a million years!) :)
Hope you're having a great day - wherever you are x.