II. Maidens Aspiring to Godheads, and Vice Versa

The throne room rang with subdued echoes as Thor, with Jane Foster at his side, entered. The lady Darcy tripped in after Jane - sometimes literally, as she looked about herself with wide eyes and open mouth. Hovering behind the ladies was Erik Selvig, attended by Sif, herself followed by Eir.

"My son," said Odin as the party approached the throne.

Thor stopped, silence his only reply.

"My son..." Odin continued, "...is dead. As is my wife, your queen." He gazed on Thor, his brows heavy with worry. "The crown prince of Asgard has renounced his claim." Soft murmurs flittered about, disquiet and rumor.

"I have," Thor confirmed. Mjolnir hung heavy on his belt.

Suddenly Odin stood, startling the entire hall into quiet. "But we have peace, and a great victory!" he thundered, his arms upraised. "For five thousand years the Dark Elves waited in silence, while we thought them dead!" He stopped, the final word ringing around the room: Dead... dead... dead.

What have you done to our father, Loki?

"My son," Odin repeated, and, lowering his hands, smiled gently at Thor. "Everything that lives must die, even in Asgard. My time will come as well. Will you mourn then, Thor, as you mourn now?"

No, Thor thought. I have mourned you already, brother.

Odin's lip quirked as though he heard the thought. "Or will you take up your birthright, and defend the Nine Realms as I have done?"

He found Mjolnir in his hand, as thunder rumbled in the distance. "If the day comes when I must take the throne from you," he said, "then I will do my duty." A long silence greeted his answer, long enough for the shuffle of hundreds of nervous feet to fill the space. "Until then," Thor finally added, "again, I offer Mjolnir back to you."

For a moment, Odin had seemed stooped with unimaginable age. But now he stood straight and strong. His one eye narrowed. "Why?"

"Because you are my father," Thor said. He fought to stand, but the weight of his lie pulled him to the ground until Mjolnir landed with a condemning thud. "And I am no longer worthy to bear it."

The air hummed with a thousand indrawn breaths. Footsteps, light and rapid, followed him as he fled the throne room.

"Thor!"

How could Loki bear the schemes? he wondered. How long before lies layered upon lies like a serpent's scales, until all of Asgard was wrapped and smothered in untruth?

"Thor! Wait, what are you doing?"

"Jane Foster," he said turning to her, gripping her in weary arms, "you must return to Midgard. It is not safe for you here any longer. My brother will see you dead soon."

She gaped at him. "Your brother? But - what - ?"

"Can you not see it, Jane? The man upon the throne of Asgard is not Odin."

"Thor, I don't understand. Loki is dead. He can't hurt us. He can't hurt anyone anymore. And your father extended his invitation for as long as we wanted, and we're not finished studying the quantum gravity interlocks or the neutrino absorption or - "

"THAT IS NOT MY FATHER!"

Jane's hands flew to her ears, a look of sudden pain on her face. "Thor! I know you must be broken up about your brother, and - and your mother," she said, lowering her hands and taking his own, "but you just have to accept that - "

"I will accept nothing," he said, cupping her dear face. "Please believe me, Jane Foster." He searched her eyes, finding nothing but worry. "If you will not take heed for your own safety, then at least accompany the lady Darcy home. She has not found much peace or rest here."

"Well, no, not with your friend Fandral trailing her everywhere with those puppy dog eyes."

Thor blinked. "I will speak with him."

"Don't bother," Jane said with a frown. "Darcy says that he's almost as good an intern as Ian. And he can carry more equipment, too."

Thor frowned. So that was what those odd toys were, that Fandral had taken to hauling about. They looked much like strange insects, metallic tripods and loose wires waving about like too many legs and antennae.

"I still do not know what an 'intern' is," he grunted. "You said 'tis much like a gopher, but there are no rodents here..."

Finally Jane's face brightened into a grin, and Thor smiled back at her, relieved to see the light return to her eyes. "I know much seems strange to you here, as I am puzzled by your world. But one thing we do share."

"And what is that?" she replied, a quizzical smile on her lips.

"This." He kissed her, pressing her close to himself.

When they finally broke apart, Jane caught her breath for a moment before declaring, "Right. Not leaving. Erik and Darcy can find their own way home."

"...Are you certain?"

"Are you kidding?" She pulled him into another kiss, the aggressor this time, as she let him know wordlessly that she would not be convinced to depart.

"Then," he whispered, running a strand of her dark hair through his fingers, "doubt not that I love you. And doubt not that I am fighting to save all the realms."

"This," Darcy declared, "is just cool."

"Are you chilled, my lady? Would you like my - "

Darcy waved Viking Errol Flynn away absently. "Whoever built this throne room knew what they were doing."

"My lady?"

"I mean, look at the architecture. It looks like a cathedral!"

"What is a cathedral, lady?"

She spun around in place, admiring the way the pillars and aisles led the viewer to naturally focus on the throne. The throne itself, of course, though damaged, was still magnificent. "It's a place of worship on Earth - uh, Midgard. It's where you go for services if you're..." she ended in a squeak as she fell nose first to the ground. "Ow."

Suddenly a pair of disconcertingly strong arms had picked her up, and she found herself the recipient of a dazzling grin. "Sunglasses," she decided. "I need sunglasses for all the ridiculously white teeth around here. Put me down."

"As you wish."

She looked at Errol Flynn sideways, then grabbed her phone again and began snapping more photos. There was going to be a dissertation in all this, she knew it. The Architecture of Power in an Alien Society? Or maybe just Tripping Over Lovesick Puppies, the Viking Adventure Version.

"...Is there a bird inside this device, my lady?"

"What device?" She turned to look, startled by Blonde-and-Dashing holding fifty pounds of gear in one hand, while he peered curiously at one of Jane's flashy-thingies. Flashy-beepy-thingies.

"Oh, that's just Jane and Erik's quantum-neutrino-magic-finder-gizmo. Ignore it, it probably thinks the whole planet is one big ball of fun."

Errol Flynn's lips moved silently as he repeated her words to himself. He cocked his head at her and asked, "May I borrow this, my lady?" She nodded at him, bemused, and he walked out, leaving fifty pounds of gear teetering on a chair.

She really missed Ian right about now. She wondered if King Odin would allow just one more Earthling to visit.