I honestly intended this to be a one shot but some of you have asked for more, and it got me to thinking about how Thor ended up in Norway so here's the flashback.

Chapter Two

Several hours earlier, a shawarma joint in New York City…

They sat slumped around the six top in a silence that was broken only by an occasional weary sigh or the rustle of one of them shifting in their chairs. Behind them an employee swept up shards of glass and debris from the floor, the remnants of the plate glass front window. The counterman leaned on his counter, silently regarding his late night customers. They were not of the ordinary run, even for New York City where different was the norm. Five men and one woman, all of them the worse for wear, their unusual outfits stained with blood and dirt.

The blonde giant reached down and picked up the sandwich remaining on his plate. He took a huge bite and chewed in silence. The one known as Hawkeye smiled.

"I would have expected Dr. Banner here to be the one with the bottomless pit in place of his stomach."

Thor looked at him but refrained from a response. Bruce Banner merely raised an eyebrow.

"So when do you leave us, O Mighty One?" Tony Stark ventured.

Thor frowned, "As soon as possible. Loki and the Tesseract must be returned to Asgard before he finds a way to create more havoc." He returned to his food.

Bruce Banner watched him intently for a few moments. "You don't sound too happy to be going home."

Thor grunted but didn't respond.

Tony frowned, "Mission accomplished and all that jazz, so why aren't you happy to be getting out of here?" He waited a beat, "Or maybe, mission not quite accomplished?"

That earned him a look from Thor.

Never one to tread lightly, Tony continued on as if talking to himself, "Capture bad guy, check. Recover doomsday weapon, check. Reunite with lady love…hmmm…no check there."

There was a rumble outside that sounded suspiciously like thunder far in the distance.

"Hit a nerve, did I?" Tony inquired innocently. There was another, louder, rumble.

By now all attention was focused on Thor and Tony. Natasha reached across the table and placed her hand lightly on Tony's. "Tony," she said warningly.

Steve Rogers frowned and sat up. "Thor, what is Tony talking about?"

"He blathers on of things that he knows nothing of." Thor responded dismissively.

"Judging by the thunder, I beg to disagree." Tony responded. This time both Natasha and Steve glared at him.

Thor stared at Tony and the thunder sounded again, louder now and accompanied by a flash of lightning.

"You shouldn't let things wait," Tony said, suddenly serious. "Life's too uncertain."With a return to his customary insouciant manner, he continued, "Carpe diem and all that."

All eyes turned to Thor.

"You should go see her." Hawkeye broke the silence. "Tony's right. Life's too short and the missed chances are the ones that will haunt you in the night." Natasha took his hand, exchanging a look with him that spoke volumes.

Thor sighed, "You humans certainly are stubborn."

Bruce Banner smiled, "Maybe we picked it up from some visitors a long, long time ago. Who is she?"

Thor gave in. "Her name is Jane Foster and I met her the last time I was on Earth."

"Jane Foster, the astrophysicist who's been doing groundbreaking work on wormholes?" Tony sat up, his interest piqued. "I have to admit, I didn't see that one coming. I was thinking more along the lines of blonde, built, and not exactly the brightest bulb in the chandelier."

"I don't know about wormholes or chandeliers, but Jane is the cleverest, bravest, most beautiful, and most honest, woman I have ever met, in all the nine realms."

The other five exchanged glances as Thor stared off into space.

"She's the one who worked with Erik Selvig at one time." Natasha supplied. "SHIELD moved her to a secure facility in Tromso, Norway when all this started. I wondered why, but it was because of her connection to you, wasn't it?"

"Son of Coul was concerned for her safety. I owe him a debt of gratitude for that, as there was indeed reason behind his fears."

"So what's the problem?" Tony pushed. "Loki's behind bars, so there's no reason you can't take a quick trip to Norway before you head back to heavens gate, or wherever it is you're going."

"I promised her I would return to her when I left Earth to deal with Loki on Asgard. But, thanks to my brother, my means of travel to Earth was destroyed and I had no way to return until now. My father sent me back, at great cost to himself and the realm, to retrieve Loki and the Tesseract, and I must return with all speed now that my task is completed."

Tony raised his eyebrows, "He speaks in more than single sentences."

"Tony," Steve gave him a warning look. "shut it."

"Look, I don't quite get the problem here," Steve addressed Thor. "You take a few hours, go see your girl, and then you head home."

"Loki is dangerous. I don't trust him not to find a way to escape the custody of the humans. I need to take him away from here sooner than later."

"Thor, if you're that worried about Loki why are you sitting here eating shawarma with us? "Bruce jumped in. "I think there's more to it than that."

Thor sighed. It was clear that these new companions of his were not about to leave it be. They were not of Asgard, but they were every bit the match of Asgard's finest warriors, and they reminded him strongly of the Warriors Three and Sif, his closest companions back home. He took a breath before answering.

"I'm… afraid. We knew each other so briefly, and I was an arrogant ass when I was last here. I failed to return to her as I promised. What if Jane has decided that she is better rid of me?"

"Maybe she has," Natasha said bluntly, earning a gasp from several of the others, "but I'd say you need to find out for sure." She looked around and shrugged.

"She has a point. Hell hath no fury…woman scorned, and all that ya know." Tony interjected. Bruce sighed and shook his head.

Thor ignored him and chuckled. "Natasha, you remind me of a friend back home. If you should ever have occasion to make the acquaintance of Sif I do believe you would like each other. She is also a fierce warrior maiden."

"I think that was a compliment." Natasha smiled at him.

"Okay, so that's settled." Tony declared leaning back in his chair. "Ta-ta old chap; see you around."

"Tony, I've been dying to ask you where you learned your tact and diplomacy." Natasha declared.

Tony shrugged, "I don't believe I ever did. They're time wasters, just like our golden boy here."

Thor started to rise from his seat but Steve put a restraining hand on his arm, "Ignore him. He does it for attention. He does have a point, though. You need to get on the road to Norway if you want to see Jane."

"How is he going to do that? It's close to an eight-hour flight from here, one way. Round trip will be sixteen hours. That doesn't leave room for much quality time to spend with Jane." Hawkeye pointed out.

Thor frowned.

Tony rolled his eyes, "Seriously, you're telling me that Maxwell's magic silver hammer here doesn't have some kind of travel program built in to it? I really would like to have a talk with the designer if that's the case."

All eyes turned to Thor who was frowning in concentration.

"He has a point," Bruce conceded. "Based on its gamma ray signature, I'm assuming that there's a bit more science than magic behind your hammer, and, given what we've seen it do, it isn't unreasonable to think it could potentially take you where you want to be much faster than our primitive methods of air travel."

"I've only ever used it for battle." Thor said.

Natasha smiled. "But you direct what you want it to do right? Like calling the storms, or summoning the hammer to you when you need it? And we've all seen you use it to fly. Why not try telling it to take you to your Jane."

They all looked expectantly at Thor. Tony raised his eyebrows, leaned back, and waited.

Thor considerd for a moment and then rose from his seat, He started to raise Mjölnir but stopped. "Perhaps this is best done in the open air."

"He thinks."

"Tony, shut it!" came from four mouths simultaneously.

Thor ignored Tony and strode towards the door. The others quickly followed.

Once outside Thor strode to the center of the deserted avenue. He looked at the others and smiled. "Wish me luck, my friends. If I don't see you again before I return to Asgard, let it be known that you are some of the finest warriors I have ever fought beside, and I would be honored to do so again if need arose." He gave a small bow and then straightened and began to whirl Mjölnir rapidly above his head.

Thunder boomed and lightning flashed. As the hammer picked up speed, a wind arose and the group felt the first drops of rain. There was a blinding flash of lightning accompanied by a deafening roll of thunder. The wind gusted and the rain became a downpour.

Just as suddenly as the storm had begun it stopped. The five looked at the spot where they had last seen Thor, but he was gone and the street was empty.

"Do you think it worked?" Steve asked.

"Of course it worked," Tony declared.

"And you know that, how?" Steve narrowed his eyes at Tony.

Tony shrugged. "Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, with the emphasis on genius."

Steve gave him a disgusted look and turned back to the restaurant. Natasha shook her head at Tony and followed him, with Hawkeye close behind.

"What?" Tony said to Bruce. "You know it worked too, Big Guy."

"Come on Stark, I think it's past your bedtime." Bruce took Tony by the arm and pulled him along to join the others.

Yes, there will be a bit more to come. It's presently percolating in my brain, but we will be rejoining Jane and Thor for a bit in Norway before I put this to bed for good.