Chapter 2
SHIELD Special Agent and Deputy Director Philip Coulson had determined rather early that he needed to keep SG-1 a secret even in SHIELD. He couldn't risk a Hydra spy finding out about the team coming through the mirror or that Major Carter could possibly repair the damaged mirror. He decided to keep that information between himself, Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff. He instructed SG-1 to keep their military gear hidden as he helped them set up a new life in the new reality.
They were each given an apartment in the same apartment building. They were each given a SHIELD identification card and state issued driver's license. They were given jobs working for SHIELD and required to don a new uniform: A black suit and tie.
Jack stood before the mirror in the apartment that Phil had secured for him. He wore the black suit with black tie over a white dress shirt. He made faces in the mirror for he didn't really like the look. "I look like a goon," he miffed. He gathered his wallet and side arm from bedside table. He tucked the pistol in the shoulder holster under his jacket. He then placed on a pair of sunglass. He stared at himself once more and kidded, "Bond…James Bond." He laughed to himself at the joke and took the glasses back off. He then turned and left the bedroom. He walked through the simple furnished apartment and out the door into the hallway forgetting to lock his door once more.
He found Sam, Daniel and Teal'c all wearing suits and waiting by the elevator of the building. Sam sported high heels and slacks with a man's tie but otherwise looked just as much as a goon as Teal'c and Daniel. To cover the emblem on his head, Teal'c sported a black felt fedora hat thus ensuring the goon-squad look for all. Jack walked up to them and stated, "We look like a bunch of spooks."
"You look good in a suit, Jack." Daniel told him.
Sam added, "Teal'c looks cool in that hat."
Jack insisted, "We look like a bunch of goons."
The elevator door slid open and they walked inside. As they started down Daniel asked, "Anyone ever hear of this Tony Stark guy before?"
"Nope," Sam shook her head.
Jack stated, "He's some kind of Arms supplier for the government from what I was told."
Daniel asked, "Anyone have any idea what the Avenger Initiative is?"
"Nope," Jack shook his head. "Phil said he will tell us in the car on the way to meet Stark. The guy is part of it apparently."
Sam noted, "It's amazing how much alike our realities are and yet so different at the same time. They don't seem to have any Gate or space program and yet they have had contact with the Asgard. I wonder what their Thor is like."
"Probably a lot like ours, Carter." Jack assumed.
The elevator came to a halt and the door slid open. Phil was waiting them in the lobby of the building. He smiled at his new team, "Morning! You all look great." He stood holding a styrofoam cup of hot coffee in hand.
Jack stepped off the elevator and took the cup out of his hand. He smelled it, "What ya got here, Coulson?"
"My coffee," he told him unsure what Jack was doing.
Jack took a sip and debated the taste, "Not bad. Better than some of the coffee I've had."
"I got it from a donut shop around the corner," he told him a bit baffled by Jack's sense of humor.
He handed him back his coffee, "You have donuts! Let's go!" He walked by him feeling rather hungry.
Phil looked on baffled at Sam, Daniel and Teal'c.
Sam smiled, "Coffee smells good." She casually walked by him.
Phil stated to Daniel and Teal'c, "He just took a sip of my coffee."
Daniel nodded, "That's Jack for ya. If you had a donut he would take a bit out of it." He patted his shoulder as he walked by, "Means Jack likes ya."
"Oh," he stood perplexed.
Teal'c also liked Phil for he was the average man and not some rich elitist. He smiled, "Indeed."
Stark Tower
Tony Stark stood in jeans and a t-shirt in the middle of the penthouse of Stark Tower. Present was Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and Captain Steve Rogers. They had been asked to gather for the briefing on Odin's Mirror.
Thor asked Clint and Natasha, "Are you sure Odin's Mirror was damaged?"
Clint reported, "There was a firefight and a few bullets stuck it. Our men barely got out."
Tony shook his head, "Well…SHIELD should have sent in the Avengers to get this mirror to begin with. I mean, it's Asgard and well…Thor…" he motioned. "He's one of us…"
Natasha stated, "We didn't intend to extract the mirror, just locate and gather intel on it."
"Same thing," Tony huffed.
Steve asked, "What does this mirror do?"
Thor stated, "According to legend it has great power and can be used to open doorways to other dimensions and worlds."
Clint suggested, "Like another reality?"
Thor shrugged, "I suppose. I'm not that familiar with the technology."
"Where did this mirror come from?" Steve asked.
Thor shrugged, "No one knows."
"So we are trying to find a mirror that can open doors to other worlds and we have no idea who made it, where it is from and Hydra has it and it's got a bullet hole in it. Is that right?" he asked. The whole notion sounded ridiculous to Steve.
"Appears so," Thor stated. "My brother wants to the mirror for the power. Once we find it I must return it to Asgard for safe keeping."
"But wasn't it on Asgard when your brother stole it?" asked Tony.
"Yes," he nodded.
Tony told him, "I don't think Asgard can really secure it."
Thor gave him a look of displeasure.
"No offense but Loki already stole it once," he countered.
Steve stated, "We need to destroy it! It's a danger to our world. If it can be damaged then it can be destroyed."
Natasha shook her head, "Destruction of the mirror is not an option."
"Why not?" he asked her.
"It's just not," she insisted.
The elevator of Trump tower opened and Phil Coulson walked off leading SG-1 disguised as SHIELD agents. Jack never felt more like a goon than that moment as he walked into a Penthouse of a billionaire playboy.
Phil smiled, "Mr. Stark!"
Tony looked at Phil and his entourage. He had no idea who SG-1 were nor they from another reality and needed to get mirror to get back home. He assumed they were simply more spies. He gave a sigh unenthused. "Phil," he smirked at him. "I see you brought some friends."
"Yes," he smiled and started to introduce SG-1. "These are special agents with SHIELD who are to help locate, retrieve and repair the mirror. This is Jack O'Neill, Dr. Daniel Jackson, Dr. Samantha Carter and Teal'c Smith." He then told SG-1, "This is Tony Stark, that man is Captain Steve Rodgers, you know Clint and Natasha and that man is Thor of the Asgard."
Jack blinked and looked upon the hulk of a man with long blonde hair and a beard. His muscles budged and he was dressed like a gladiator. He wasn't his Thor in any means. "You're Thor?" he gasped shocked.
"I am," he nodded. He cocked his head as he noticed Jack seemed disappointed in his expression.
Jack turned and whispered to Daniel, "He doesn't look anything like our Thor."
"I'm sure he's just as smart," Daniel whispered back for they figured they would use Thor's help with technical issues.
Sam asked Thor, "You know how the mirror works and can help with repairs?"
"I don't know how it works," he shook his head.
Sam gave a heavy sigh and muttered, "I like my Thor better."
Thor stated, "My brother Loki had stolen the mirror from Asgard and brought it to your planet and recruited Hydra to help him harness its power. We must stop him. I assume you have something to add to this mission."
"I really like my Thor better," she muttered to herself.
Daniel spoke up, "I'm an archeologist and linguist. I speak over twenty eight languages. Sam is an astrophysicist. She specializes in quantum mechanics. Jack is former Special Forces and so is Teal'c. Is that good enough for you?"
Thor looked at Tony displeased and crossed his arms. "Sounds like you will do," Thor figured.
Daniel asked, "Why do you have a Hammer on the table?" he spotted Thor's large square hammer sitting before them.
Tony figured he would have some fun and smirked, "Pick it up!"
"Pick it up?" Daniel asked.
"Go ahead," he motioned figuring Daniel would find that no being but Thor could pick up the hammer.
Daniel reached down and the Hammer lifted in his hand. He added, "I thought it would weigh more."
Phil stood wide-eyed along with the Avengers.
Daniel placed the hammer back down. "So why do you have a hammer sitting on a coffee table?" he pondered.
Tony stated, "That hammer belongs to Thor. Only he can pick it up."
"Only a leader with pure intentions can lift that hammer," Thor instructed.
"Really?" asked Jack. He bent down and grabbed the hammer. It lifted for him as well. "You sure about that?" he asked looking at it. He spoke to Daniel, "It feels lighter than it looks." He handed it off to Teal'c who also held the hammer.
"Indeed," Teal'c noted and then handed it to Sam who held the Hammer with ease.
She placed it back down and agreed, "It's not very heavy."
Clint rubbed the side of his head as he figured the fact that they came through the mirror somehow exempted them from the rule of the hammer. He wasn't sure how long they could keep the secret.
Tony reached down and grabbed the hammer figuring maybe Thor had played a trick and brought a copy of his hammer. He tugged and wrenched trying to lift it. He looked at SG-1 and then back at the hammer. He tried once more but it still would not budge. "How did you guys do that?" he asked.
"Do what?" asked Jack.
"SHIELD got some weird device that can overcome Thor's Hammer now?" he accused.
Clint went with the notion, "Yes! That's it! SHIELD is testing out an anti-hammer device and these agents are the test subjects."
Steve pondered, "Wouldn't the hammer be the test subject?"
"You know what I mean," he barked.
The Avengers bought the excuse but Steve noticed Clint was more tense than normal. Steve stated, "You guys obviously have some tricks up your sleeves."
Jack smiled, "Just a few." He looked around the penthouse, "Nice digs, Stark. Place is kind of cool…Little on the rich side."
"What were you in the military?" he asked him.
"I was a colonel," he stated still looking about, "I like the bar."
"Thanks," Tony replied. He walked to the bar and started to make himself a drink for after seeing SG-1 lift Thor's hammer he began to wonder about his mental health. He offered, "Can I get ya anything Colonel?"
"What ya got?" Jack asked.
Tony rattled off, "Scotch, whisky, wine of every vintage, beer…"
Jack interrupted, "Beer sounds good."
Daniel stated, "It's morning, Jack!"
"I had a coffee and donut on the way," he argued.
Clint and Natasha looked at Phil who sighed and stated, "He ate in my car."
Jack told him, "So did you! I even bought you your donut." He walked to the bar anticipating what a rich man's beer would be. He found a bottle of cheap beer sitting on the bar and asked, "What is this, Stark?"
"Beer," he told him.
"Genesee Cream Ale is not beer," he told him. "You got any real beer?"
He placed a Canadian made beer on the bar, "Better?"
"Better," he agreed and retrieved the bottle. "What ya do? Save the cheap stuff for guest."
Tony smirked, "Just SHIELD."
"I'm only temporary," he assured him.
"Oh," he found that assertion interesting.
Clint sat shaking his head. He whispered to Natasha, "The Colonel is gonna push this."
"I'll say," she agreed.
Steve heard the whispering and wondered just what they knew. He cocked his head in thought as he looked upon Jack and how he didn't act like a SHIELD agent. Matter of fact he acted more like military to his estimation. He decided to keep an open mind about Jack before making a judgment. He watched as Jack took a swig of beer and placed the bottle back on the counter.
"Not bad, Stark." he told him and left the rest.
"Not gonna finish your beer, Colonel?" Tony asked amused.
"Well, it's morning." he shrugged. He looked about, "So campers, any idea on where the mirror is?"
"Hydra has it," Thor told him.
Natasha stated, "They moved it since the encounter. We're not sure where it is right now."
"Let's find it," Jack told her.
Tony asked, "What the rush Colonel?"
"No rush," Jack stated as he didn't want to seem too eager to get back home but in reality he wanted to go back home.
Natasha assured him, "We will find and retrieve the mirror so Dr. Carter can fix it."
"Fix it!" Tony shook his head. "We need to destroy it. Not fix it."
Jack offered, "How about you destroy it after we fix it?"
Tony grew suspicious of the intent, "Why?"
"No reason," Jack told him.
Tony figured Jack was still military and placed in SHIELD to get the mirror to use as a weapon. He became suspicious of the intent upon Jack's insistence that they fix the mirror. In his mind the best course of action was to destroy the mirror. The only reason a military man would want to fix it is to weaponize it and thus Tony assumed that he figured out Jack's true purpose. Tony looked at his friends for equally suspicious looks.
Steve told them, "If you plan on making Odin's Mirror into some sort of new weapon I will warn you now…Don't."
Jack rolled his eyes, "Just help us get the mirror. Think ya can do that?"
"Maybe," Steve told him.
Phil assured the Avengers, "SHIELD has no intentions of trying to make the mirror into a weapon. We want to retrieve it, fix it and study it."
"Why fix it if you are just gonna study it?" Tony asked.
Phil couldn't answer and replied, "We just need to get the mirror."
