Author's Notes: The story begins. Here is chapter one for you! First posted 11 September 2012.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, and I'm just borrowing these characters for my own, non-profit amusement.
Warnings: Spoiler alert for those who haven't watched Thor or The Avengers! Coarse language (Darcy's fault not mine).
Music: "Real Heroes" by College and Electric Youth, "Spiegel im Spiegel" by Arvo Pärt and "Minnesota WI" by Bon Iver. Also, everything from the Thor soundtrack.
Chapter 1: Waiting for news
I stay my haste, I make delays,
For what avails this eager pace?
I stand amid the eternal ways,
And what is mine shall know my face.
- John Burroughs
Several months earlier:
Jane Foster, the brilliant astrophysicist, was pacing around in the small room. It wasn't exactly a prison cell but it had already felt like a cage for some time, with its lack of windows and sunlight. Jane felt like she was at the edge of her rope. It wasn't entirely uncomfortable, but it wasn't stimulating either. She longed for something to happen, for something to do. While she had been here, she had briefly been allowed to observe some minor research projects, and assist in a couple of them. That in itself was good, but she felt she was being restrained – she'd always worked better on her own, being her own boss.
Worse still, she had been taken away from her dear Einstein-Rosen Bridge project. Surely enough, the possibility of finding a way to Thor through her research had been a part of her motivation – but knowing that it existed in itself was more than enough for her to keep occupied with the sometimes tedious research. And now she was pacing, without her material to keep her mind calm.
Her two companions regarded her wearily. They had just received the same news as her, but knew she had her reasons to be slightly more agitated than them. As it was, they at least realized there wasn't anything they could do in any case.
"First, S.H.I.E.L.D. lock us up and say little more than it's for safety reasons, then they casually, casually, inform us that Thor is finally back on Earth but that I can't see him, thenthey say we're under attack by Loki, Thor's brother who already did his best to kill us all over a year ago, and that he's gone on to pretty much demolish parts of New York City and kill hundreds of people before anyone manages to stop him! Meanwhile, we're stuck down here, with shitty food and limited access to basic things like natural daylight, and they tell me to calm down?!" She couldn't remember having ever been so angry and all her frustrations poured out of her, although not for the first time in the past couple of weeks.
"At least they stopped him now, right?" Erik shot in, before she could continue her tirade further.
He was sure she could keep it going, and it didn't do any good for any of them to keep fueling the anger and frustration they all felt at being left in the dark. Since his "run-in" with the infamous Loki about a month ago, he knew just too well how awful it was to lose control over his surroundings as well as his actions and choices. He had joined the two women just a few days ago - having been in the middle of the turmoil in New York - but he had trouble remembering much of his time under Loki's control. He had told them what he could, but there were still quite a few gaps to fill in for both him and the two women. Jane shot him a glance, but continued to pace relentlessly around the room.
"Oh yeah they stopped him alright, so why aren't we out of here already?" she hissed angrily, as if to herself.
"Jane, just…fine, don't calm down, but can you just sit down for a second?" Erik pleaded. He loved her like a daughter, but she could drive a rock crazy when she became agitated and on the defensive.
"Nononono, I'm not gonna sit down!" she said, gesturing as she spoke.
"I'm gonna think of something, or tell them something that will make them regret that they ever locked us up like this, and then, when I get my hands on Thor, not to mention Loki-the-bloody-God-of-Mischief, what a misplaced name by the way, he should be called the bloody Destroyer or something, then I'm gonna…"
"HOLYSHITBALLSWILLYOUJUSTSHUT THEFUCKUPALREADY!"
Jane stopped abruptly, shocked into silence by Darcy's outburst. She slowly turned around to look at her intern and friend.
"Jane I love you, you know I do, but you are going to give me a nervous breakdown in about 5 seconds if you don't shut the fuck up, sit the fuck down, and for the love of the holy mother of all – stop saying the word 'then'!" Darcy leaned back against the wall with her hands in her hair.
"If I hear it one more time, I swear to you, I am going to rip off my ears and shove them up your… -"
"Ok, Darcy, we got the point!" Erik interrupted, looking like he was on the verge of a breakdown himself.
Jane felt guilty then, he had been through so much lately and didn't need her angry ranting. "I'm sorry guys, I'm really sorry. I'm gonna be quiet now. Ok? Darce, please don't rip your ears off. .?" Jane said.
She quickly walked over to the edge of the bed where Darcy was sitting and sat down.
"Well my ears are too good-looking to be anywhere else but on the sides of my head, so I suppose you get a free pass this time." Darcy muttered with a hint of a smile in her voice.
Jane looked at her incredulously – and then began to laugh. Sure, it was a laugh with an undertone of hysteria, but the tense atmosphere in the room eased up instantly. After a couple of seconds, Erik and Darcy joined in, and soon the sound of laughter was booming between the naked walls.
"I guess it could have been worse", Jane snorted in between fits of laughter. "I could have been here alone, without the two of you". She sat back up on the bed and sobered up a little. Her two companions followed suit.
"I know I drive you mad sometimes, and I am really sorry. I just want some answers, you know?" Jane muttered.
Darcy's face softened, and she put a hand on Jane's shoulder. "I know boss-lady, but we'll know when we know. It's bad enough to be stuck in here without us climbing on the walls too".
Erik looked thoughtful. "My bet is that S.H.I.E.L.D. aren't quite sure what's going on either, which is why the information from them is so limited " he said.
Jane made a sound of disbelief at that. "What? They have Coulson, that guy knows everything!"
"Yes, but there is a difference between what happened in Puente Antiguo and what's happened in New York. Not to mention that it sounded like an invasion of hostile aliens." Erik countered. "I doubt Coulson - no matter how good his intelligence skills are - can maintain a full overview of that."
Jane nodded absently. "I'm sure you're right, Erik. That doesn't stop me from being a little disappointed by how S.H.I.E.L.D. has handled this so far". She sighed heavily. "But patience is a virtue, right?"
"Normally I'd say that virtues are bullshit", Darcy mumbled, playing with a lock of her long dark hair. "But patience would be a good thing just about now."
As if heard by the gods themselves, just then, a beeping sound came from the door and it slid open. Agent Maria Hill walked in, looking pale and more serious than they'd ever seen her. Not that they had seen her much, just a couple of times when they first came to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. She'd always been friendly though, in spite of the hardness that came with her professional appearance.
Jane bounced off the bed when Hill walked in, but managed to muster enough self-control to keep quiet and not rattle off with the hundreds of questions that were bouncing around in her head. It was all she could from keeping herself from jumping up and down.
"Alright Ms. Foster, Ms. Lewis and Mr. Selvig – First of all I have to offer you my deepest apologies for all the waiting. You have been brought here as a safety precaution. However, we've been understaffed and it's a trying time for everyone involved. It was never our intention to keep you in the dark like this for so long." The agent looked at each of them as she spoke, her voice steady but a little rushed.
"Will you tell us what's going on?" Jane asked, straightening up and preparing to have to argue.
Hill looked at her, and tilted her head just a tiny bit to the side, as if considering how much Jane could handle. "All your questions will be answered soon, but I hope you understand that I can't tell you everything right now?" she asked.
"Fine", Jane said, "Just give us something; we've been going crazy here."
Hill took a deep breath and straightened a little. "Thor is ok, so are the rest of the Avengers. However, we've lost a lot of good people, Agent Coulson among them. Loki has been captured, and everyone is on the way to a secure location to be debriefed and discuss what should be done with the prisoner." Hill paused for a moment.
"I am here to inform you that you should get ready to be on your way as well. Director Fury would like to see you, Mr. Selvig, and Thor has requested to see you, Ms. Foster. Ms. Lewis, you are free to leave if you wish, although you may come with Ms. Foster and Mr. Selvig if you prefer that."
Darcy rolled her eyes. "I'm going with these two, no way I'm jumping off the bus right before it's getting exciting.", she replied dryly.
Jane had planned to say something, but realized she could do nothing but grin. Thor was ok, and she would be going to see him soon. Again, it made her feel guilty to feel happy considering the sinister news they had received about Coulson and probably a whole lot of other people.
Erik stood up and walked over to Hill. "I'll meet with Director Fury, but I don't want to go anywhere near Loki. Just so we're clear on that." His voice was cold, which Jane found disturbing. Erik was one of the warmest, most caring persons she'd ever known. His encounter with Loki had rattled him to the core, even though he tried to stay focused.
Hill considered him before replying. "I don't know the details of why Fury wants to see you, Selvig, but I'll make sure he knows of your request." She turned around and moved towards the door. "I suggest you pack up your things and get ready. I don't know for sure how long you have to wait, we want to make sure that everything is absolutely secure before bringing you in – there is no room for mo...mistakes." With that, she walked out the door and closed it, leaving the three wondering scientists behind her.
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Two days later, they were finally on their way to what they assumed was the location currently functioning as S.H.I.E.L.D.s headquarters. It was a long ride with some kind of high-tech silent helicopter in the middle of the night, so they couldn't quite make out where they were geographically. It was an eerie feeling to fly over land and lakes when the chopper made almost no sound. When they arrived, however, it soon became clear that it was an underground installation. Obviously, S.H.I.E.L.D. weren't big on daylight bases, Jane thought dryly to herself. The helicopter had landed through the ground or rather the roof of what looked like a big hangar just below ground level. As soon as they stepped out of the machine, they were met by agent Hill and four heavily armed guards.
"Welcome" Hill smiled briefly at them. "Please follow me." Without further small-talk, she turned around and walked swiftly towards a door at the end of the hangar. Erik, Jane and Darcy followed her, a little overwhelmed by the manner of their reception. The door turned out to be a large elevator. Once inside, Hill informed them that they would be going further down underground, where the rest of the team would be waiting for them.
Jane tired to breathe calmly as they descended with the elevator. Although thrilled to be on the move and close to getting some answers, she was nervous too. Thor would be there, within reach in just a few minutes. She wasn't quite sure what to expect – after all, the last time she had seen him, he had left with a promise of coming back for her. A promise which had turned out to be broken. And as time passed, she had begun to lose hope of seeing him again in spite of her efforts to solve the mystery of the Einstein-Rosen Bridge. Even with confirmations of its existence it had proved difficult to figure out how it actually worked, let alone to open an actual functioning gateway. As the weeks and months had passed, she hadn't exactly lost hope – but her view of those three days with Thor in her life had become more realistic; After all, it had only been three days. Yes, they had had a few wonderful conversations. They had even kissed, and it had been a great kiss. But that didn't necessarily mean anything more than just that. It was hardly enough time to fall in love with someone.
Still, she was anxious to see him again – although she was starting to wonder what her intentions were. Did she want to see him because of him, or because of what he was and what he could teach her about where he came from? If she was entirely honest with herself, knowing that he might have the answer to her research was just as exciting – and maybe even more so – as the fact that she had crushed on him for some weeks and months.
As the elevator slowed down, she realized that she didn't have the answers to the questions her emotions posed to her, or the time to figure it out. It was here and now, and things would work themselves out from now on. Or so she hoped.
AN: If you like this story, or if you just want to see how it goes, please keep reviewing! It's the best way to encourage a writer and I'd love to hear your thoughts!
