Happy New Years, cuties -Lovely
-Lost Stargazer
-Paring(s): Thor/OC
-Rating: M for language and mentions of adult themes
-Movie-based
Disclaimer: I don't own Thor. The characters belong to Marvel studios and Stan Lee. I only own the ocs used.
Chapter Six
It burned, the spot where his surprisingly soft lips touched, but in the most pleasant way. Several men had kissed her hand before and few in that same way, so Dawn could say she was familiar with the physical sentiment. Though, the action was the same, it brought out strange emotions never felt before. She felt warm and giddy all over.
The astronomer roughly shook her head to clear it, making brown curls bounce wildly. She had quite enough of these funny thoughts for one day. Holding herself high, the young woman walked faster to catch up with the others a few feet away; bizarre feelings momentarily frozen. When she managed to slide back into the comfort of her companions, they stood at a street corner where a pickup truck stopped..filled with her sister's handmade equipment in the back bed.
"Hey!" shouted her sibling in surprise just as the vehicle drove off. "That's my stuff!" Jane then glanced across the street and discovered the sudden commotion at their makeshift lab. Without a call for the others to follow, she ran over.
Men and women dressed pristine black suits strolled in and out with arms filled of all their belongings. From the looks of how almost empty the place appeared, they had been there awhile..or just had enough people to carry stuff away faster.
"What the hell is going on here?" growled the youngest Foster, pushing past her sister to get inside. Dawn was known to have a short temper. And it became especially bad whenever someone messed with either her or Jane.
"Ms. Foster, I'm Agent Coulson with SHIELD." introduced professionally a man with short brown; dressed in the same black suit as the rest around.
"Is that supposed to mean something to us?" Jane questioned with equal bite. "You can't do this." They were so focused on their anger from the intrusion and hadn't noticed Erik's unease upon hearing the name SHIELD. The older man quickly came to stand in front of the sisters to reason with them.
"Girls, this is a lot more serious than you realize. Let it go."
"Let it go?" the astrophysicist threw an incredulous expression before brushing passed him towards the agent. "This is my life."
"We're investigating a security threat. We need to appropriate your records and all your atmospheric data." A loud scoff came from behind them from none other than Dawn.
She crossed her arms and gave a venomous look. "Appropriate, my ass. What you really mean is steal all our shit without consent for your own damn benefit." Her sister smiled her way, grateful. Normally, Jane didn't approve of her younger sibling's vivid language but at moments like that, she was glad to have her voice what she truly wanted to say. Meanwhile, Erik and Darcy could only painfully watch, hoping fists didn't go flying.
"Here," A check was then offered. "This should more than compensate you for your trouble."
"I can't just buy replacements at Radio Shack," she exclaimed, crumpling the check in hand with spite. "I made most of this equipment myself!"
"Then I'm sure you can do it again." Coulson told her which just flared her anger even more.
"And I'm sure I can sue you for violating my constitutional rights!"
"I'm sorry, Ms. Foster, but we're the good guys." Jane was becoming exasperated. Just when she thought her luck was finally coming around, something or someone had to come mess it up.
"So are we! I'm on the verge of understanding something extraordinary. And everything I know about this phenomenon is either in this lab or in this book and you can't just take this away." As she say that, the astronomer noticed Coulson's silent order to get the book as well. Her mouth opened to warn her sister but it was too late as another agent walked by and snatched it away to place with their other stolen items.
"Hey!" The astrophysicist lunged into the vehicle to retrieve it and was held back by the agent who did so. Her companions reacted quickly then; Erik pulling her away and towards Darcy to hold while Dawn moved in front of the two women to protect them in case the agents tried to apprehend her. Instead, they returned their respected cars to head towards the crater site—their current headquarters.
"Thank you for your cooperation." the lead agent told the group before leaving, earning an impolite hand gesture from the younger Foster in response. The researchers helplessly watched them drive away and left alone with their ransacked aftermath. With nothing left to do, they went to the abandoned dinner's roof and wallowed in misery together.
"Years of research, gone." Jane remarked aloud. Her sister flinched, hating the dejected tone in her usually strong voice. Dawn continued chewing the nail of her thumb; an ingrained habit produced whenever pissed off.
"They even took my iPod." Darcy joined in the complaining.
"What about the backups?" Erik suggested, though he had a feeling no good answer would come.
"They took our backups. They took the backups of our backups. They were extremely thorough."
"I just downloaded, like, thirty songs onto there."
"Could you please stop with your iPod?" the eldest Foster exclaimed, annoyed. Her assistant obeyed with a cute pout. Brown eyes closed with a sigh. She hadn't meant to snap at the girl like she had. It was just her frustrations over the whole thing wanting to lash out.
"Who are these people?" she pondered in anger.
"..I knew this scientist." began Selvig. The three women perked up, listening closely. "A pioneer in gamma radiation. SHIELD showed up and um..he wasn't heard from again." They slumped forward at that. The younger Foster then chewed harder to the point of almost bleeding as she zoned out of the conversation again and into her own world.
"So, those guys are the real deal..the scary real deal." Honey brown orbs widen suddenly. It was no coincidence they were there, needing their data and camping around some random crater site..a day after Thor appeared. And it would be only a matter of time before they figured he was somehow involved. A hollow pit formed in her gut at the realization and another all-together reason..
"Thor's heading where they are!"
While in her head, Darcy turned to ask if she was all right since she had been quiet the whole time when said person suddenly slid off the edge. A terrified scream escaped her best friend, alarming the others before realizing what happen.
They hastily looked over, expecting the young woman to be either dead or broken but were shocked instead. Dawn somehow landed on both feet with the ease of a trained gymnast, appearing as if she had jumped from a swing set and not the roof of a building. She hadn't even receive the aftershock in her ankles from the hard impact with the pavement. It was very odd..but she wasted no time dwelling on it any further. Thor was in possible danger so her body and mind sprung into action, rushing over to her bike and speeding off without an explanation. The three left behind could only blink in stunned disbelief.
The younger Foster wasn't the only one with thoughts of saving Thor. Back on Asgard, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three finally agreed to inform the Allfather of what Laufey had mentioned and their own suspicions; unknowing of what occurred in their short absence.
"Allfather, we must speak with you urgently." Sif proclaimed, taking the lead as they hurried inside with heads bowed and fists over their hearts respectfully. Simultaneously, eyes raised..along with expressions of dismay at the sight before them. Presented with two guards and adorned in full golden armor, Loki sat smugly on the Allfather's throne with said person's spear in hand.
"My friends." he greeted then, inwardly bursting with glee over their surprise.
"Where's Odin?" Fandral questioned, moving closer. The rest followed his lead as the silver-tongued prince explained finally what they had missed.
"Father has fallen into the Odinsleep. Mother fears he may never awaken again." His tone sounded distraught as he said so. It was actually the only full truth to his half-lies; for he was concerned for his father's well being.
"We would speak with her." requested the lady warrior.
The raven-haired man shook his head. "She had refused to leave my father's bedside. You can bring your urgent matter to me," He stood from his seat then. "Your king." Seeing they had no other choice, the warriors knelt before him and spoke their discussed request.
"My King," Sif began, struggling to keep the malice from mixing with her words. "We would ask that you end Thor's banishment."
"My first command cannot be to undo the Allfather's last. We're on the brink of war with Jotunheim. Our people need a sense of continuity, in order to feel safe in these difficult times. All of us must stand together for the goof of Asgard." Sif's anger got the better of her at that moment. She stood quickly and went to charge at him but was luckily held back in time by Hogun and Fandral. As much as the warriors would enjoy taking the magic-wielder down, he was the new appointed king above all else and didn't need to be imprison for reckless actions. So they would have by their time and obey if wishing to still rescue their fallen friend.
"Yes, of course." the dashing warrior smiled.
"Good. The you will wait for my word."
"If I may.." it was Volstagg's turn to speak. "Beg the indulgence of Your Majesty to perhaps reconsider—"
"We're done!" Loki commanded, his tone final. The men stood and stomped off then, leaving Sif behind. She continued to glare at the false king who leaned forward and met her gaze, challenging. But all she gave was a slight smirk before following her comrades. They would find a way to save his brother with or without his so-called blessing.
Thor wasn't having much luck at the moment. It had been awhile since parting ways with the Fosters and their friends and he was still in town. He need transport and because he did not know how use the metal contraptions dubbed 'cars', a horse was his only other option.
He'd been tempted to return to the sisters for assistance..especially Dawn. The banished prince's heart still yearned to be near her again after her hasty exit. She had seemed conflicted by what he'd done and wished to apologize but knew that was not a good idea. He meant it about her staying safe and being with him would lead to danger eventually. And that was something he did not want to occur. Instead, the thunder god continued to search on his own.
After awhile, he came upon a store called 'Pet Palace' and inside were many animals. Assuming it was the place to find what he needed, Thor stepped inside like the commanding figure raised to be even with two adorable foxes trailing behind.
"I need a horse!"
The shop owner glanced his way, saying in a flat tone. "We don't have horses. Just dogs, cats, birds—"
"Then give me one of those large enough to ride." he demanded.
"Oh, hon, with your size, that would be considered animal abuse." The man spun around, coming face to face with the snarky astronomer. She leaned causally against the open door frame with a teasing smirk on her red lips. Trine and Rune yapped happily, trotting to her side. Thor wished to do the same and more but his surprise held him steady.
"Dawn, what are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you about your.." Honey brown eyes peered at the listening owner before landing back on him. "Trip to the unknown."
"Unknown?" he repeated, confused. "You and I know well where I am headed. It's fifty—" The young woman sighed, walking towards him. Her hand grasped his arm and pulled him back outside the store, tossing a half-hearted apology to the man behind the counter along the way. She then lead him a few feet down the sidewalk to an interesting but odd machine.
Thor pointed towards it. "What is this called?"
"This is a motorcycle, a 2009 Indian Chief to be more specific." informed Dawn, releasing her new friend to run a hand over the cool metal. "His name's James Dean and he's a beauty, ain't he?" A proud smile graced her pretty features as her gaze fell onto the vehicle. He knew right away from change in demeanor that it was something she held very dear. For the same would happen to himself whenever peering at Mjolnir. His right hand clenched at the memory of the precious weapon.
"He is." Odinson noted with a small smile. "Now, what is it you needed to speak to me about?"
Her own dropped. "Ah, right. Well, the gang and I had a run in with some jerks that called themselves SHIELD not too long ago."
"They did not try to hurt you or the others, had they?" he inquired, concerned for their well being. No matter the short time knowing them, they were already dear friends and he would not hesitate to fight if any of their honor had been broken.
"Relax, blondie. We all came out fine. Only our stuff was stolen." she reassured. The banished prince raised a brow. She had used that name again to address him. Was it a custom now to give others you knew absurd titles? Should he make one for her? What would be a good one?
"That is good to hear..stargazer." The younger Foster blinked, thrown off guard by the nickname. He cringed inwardly, believing he made a make calling her so. After a tense moment, Dawn grinned brightly with her cheeks flushing like a child. The sight awoke something deep within him but he didn't get the chance to ponder further as the young woman became serious.
"You shouldn't go, Thor."
"But I have to, Dawn."
She grimaced. He hated seeing the expression contort her beautiful face. "Is it really worth getting possibly arrested or worst killed over some hammer?"
"Mjolnir is not 'some hammer'. It is my only way home." He stepped closer, touching her arm lightly. His next words came out soft. "You and I know well that retrieving it would be treacherous. I am truly grateful for your worry but it will not change my mind..I'm sorry."
"Then..let me at least take you there. It'll put me at ease." suggested his new friend, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. He went to deny her request when a sudden honking startled the two, throwing their heads towards the street—the bulking, research van in front of them a few feet.
Jane popped her head out the window with a frown directed at her sister. "Dawn Mary Ann Foster!" Several people walking around stopped and peered over at the sudden commotion, adding to the young woman's embarrassment.
Said person closed their eyes with a groan. "Oh, just great..she pulled out the full name." Odinson canted his head. Did she not like her full name? He couldn't see why for it fit her nicely, making him wonder if she would allow him to call her so.
"You have got to stop running off like that!" the eldest Foster continued to reprimand. "Especially after jumping off the roof like nothing happen!"
Blue eyes widen. "She leapt from something?"
"Jane, calm down. You're making a scene in the middle of town." Dawn deadpanned, though her left eye twitched.
"Don't you tell me to calm down, young lady!" her older sibling scolded with a stern finger. "Now, get your butt in this van right now!"
The astronomer snapped, "Stop yelling at me like some kid, sis! And in case you haven't noticed, I'm busy at the moment." She then gestured angrily towards Thor who silently watched with a tense grin. The astrophysicist blushed in embarrassment, having not seen the man standing there the whole time.
The eldest Foster collected herself and asked, "Why are you bothering Thor?" Her sibling went to reply but a large hand cupped her shoulder, stopping her. Surprised, honey browns glanced up to find the tall blond now stood side by side with her.
"Dawn came to inform me of your recent dilemma." he responded in that commanding voice of his. "Since I am headed that way, I will assist in the return of your stolen items as well."
Jane stared in disbelief. "You..You'd really do that?"
"I am one to keep my word, Jane Foster. But I will first need help getting there."
"I'll take you!" she told with unabashed eagerness.
"I already—" Dawn began, annoyed.
"Then we mustn't waste anymore time." Thor interrupted before crossing the street and leaving the younger Foster dumbfounded. She recovered after a moment and angrily followed, not about to let her sibling go alone even if she trusted the fallen god.
"I've never done anything like this before." Jane confessed, brimming with excitement as she drove down the empty road before the trio. They were still a good distance from the crate site and would most likely get there by dusk. Dawn, who sat in the back, suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and petted her fox friends. She was still peeved that Thor chose her sister's help over hers. Also, there was a constant sharp pain echoing her chest as she proceeded to observe the two and their obvious flirting.
The astrophysicist glanced at the man sitting in the passenger side, curious. "Have you ever done anything like this before?"
"Many times." he grinned, "But you're brave to do it."
"Well, they just stole my entire life's work. I don't really have much left to lose."
"Yeah, but you're clever." complimented the banished prince. Another sharp pain. "Far more clever than anyone else in this realm."
"Realm?" echoed the eldest Foster.
"You think me strange." the blond man stated but wasn't offended; noted from the smile he still wore.
"Yeah, I do." she told in a happy voice. Pain times two.
"Well, I don't." chimed the young woman bitterly in her head.
"Good strange or bad strange?"
"I'm not quite sure yet." Jane smiled, meeting his gaze which caused the van veer dangerously to the side for a moment. Once safely back in place, she and the man chuckled heartily together. Their laughter swirl in Dawn's head as if taunting. It was becoming too much and hard to breathe suddenly.
"Stop the car!" the astronomer shouted. The tires screeched to a hard halt on the dirt road, jolting them all forward. Wasting no more time, Dawn hopped out in a hurry; her inner voice screaming to flee. Her older sister, bewildered, told Thor to wait while she went to check on her. When she finally exited the van, the sibling was walking back the way they came.
"Dawn, where are you going?"
"Home!" was yelled angrily back.
Jane ran after her and continued talking, "What? Home? But I thought we were gonna help Thor?"
"No, you are! Because I cannot stay in that van one more minute without smothering in unspoken sexual tension."
"Sexual—What the hell are you taking about?" exclaimed the eldest Foster, having caught up now. The younger spun on her heel and gave an 'are you shitting me right now?' look.
"I've told you before he's your type," her sister exasperated, rolling her eyes in a dull manner. "so it's plain as day that you like him. Just admit it already."
"Alright, I do, okay? But what I don't understand is why it bothers you so much?"
"Because it's annoying." she told, snippy. The astrophysicist stared at her before her gaze widen. Dawn panicked and hurriedly turned around to continue her trek towards town, only to be held back.
"Oh my god..you like him too, don't you?"
She made a face. "No!" The young woman wasn't lying. She didn't like the odd man..no, there was something more that she wouldn't allow herself to admit aloud. She had been in a couple serious relationship in the past. She cared about each guy she'd been with uniquely. But in love? No, that was something she hadn't experience yet.
When she was a child all the way to that day, an odd emptiness troubled her and desperately wanted to be filled. In came the many men once old enough she played around, secretly hoping one of them was the one to do it..only to be disappointed. So, she increasingly became bitter as time went on until the point she just didn't care anymore. The only time the feeling felt appeased was peering at the night sky; another reason for where her obsession with astronomy came to fruition.
Then out of completely nowhere, it took an unusual man who claimed to be from some other world that she knew nothing about to do so and more..and well, that scared the shit out of her. So she ran—ran like all the other times when things got too much or deep for her to handle. Except something wouldn't allow her to close off that time.
"Right.." Jane grinned big. Dawn wanted nothing more than to slap it off. "Okay, here's my proposition to you then—I'll keep the flirting to minimum while you around. How's that?"
The younger Foster tsked but agreed, knowing she'd keep her word. The eldest pulled her back to their van where Thor and the foxes waited expectantly. The thunder god didn't inquire what had happen between the two after their return, feeling it was not his place. The small group continued on in silence for several minutes.
"I'm curious.. but who are you?" the astrophysicist asked all of a sudden; a question both sisters wished to know. "Really?" The man stayed quiet, seeming to think to himself. His handsome face lit up before replying mysteriously,
"You'll both see soon enough."
"You promised me answers." she reminded.
"..What you seek, it's a bridge." he revealed at last though still vaguely.
The eldest Foster grew excited. "Like an Einstein-Rosen Bridge?"
"More like a Rainbow Bridge." The siblings blinked at the banished prince, momentarily speechless.
"Out of all the weird stuff you've said," remarked the young woman, amused. "I did not expect you to say that."
"Me either." Jane muttered after hearing that. "God, I hope you're not crazy." Maybe it was a mistake to like him..
"I never get used to seeing him like this." uttered Loki, gazing down at the man he called father. After dealing with Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, he decided to visit Frigga in their chambers where her husband lay still deep in the Odinsleep.
"He's put it off for so long now, that I fear.." Unable to speak the ill-fated words aloud, she reached over and held the slumbering man's hand.
"How long will it last?"
"I don't know." she whispered her worry, "This time it's different. We were unprepared."
"So why did he lie?" the raven-haired prince asked all of a sudden. With neither knowing exactly when Odin would awaken, he couldn't wait any longer and needed dire questioned answered.
"He kept the truth from you so that you would never feel different."
"Well, that was never done well. I always have." he thought with ire, "Only when..she was around, I truly felt at home."
"You are our son, Loki," the Queen tried to reassure his ill thoughts. "And we, your family. We mustn't lose hope that your father will return to us. And your brother."
He was taken back by her last statement. "What hope is there for Thor?"
"There's always a purpose to everything your father does." Loki did not like that. Dismissing himself with a kiss to his mother's cheek, he left.
So there was a chance his brute of a brother could return as he feared. Since Thor's banishment, he had neglect to check on him and now with news of that possibility, the newly appointed king had to stop him. If not, his plans would be ruin. So he teleported himself inside his bed chambers—the only place of privacy he had left. With his magic, the mischief god created a viewing portal and used it to easily find the fallen god.
"Show me where he is." he commanded the mirror. The reflective surface rippling like a stone dropped into water before changing to the hills of a barren-seeming land. It was night now on Midgard but with help from the mirror Loki could see perfectly fine. So he had no trouble spotting the blond-haired prince who was stepping out of some strange machine..it was the two beside him that he had not anticipated.
They were women—sisters to be more accurate—one older, and other younger by a few years. There seemed nothing special about them, just normal mortals. But for some reason when the silver-tongued man's sight landed on the one closest to his brother with an untamable mass of brown curls, he could not look away. She was currently chatting with the thunder god and he then said something that caused her to laugh and smile..the exact same way their lost sister used to.
A memory from long ago abruptly flashed into his mind—
Vianne had been taken by the dark portal for a day then. Thor, still distraught, was being looked after by healers while Odin tried to make sense of what had occur and how to possibly fix it. Loki snuck passed the lingering guards and returned to the library, believing something hidden there held the answer to the young girl's disappearance. He walked between and over fallen books and shelves for awhile and just when about to give up in frustration, a buzzing suddenly tickled his ears. Green eyes automatically peered down to see faint glowing under some knocked over spell books. Kneeling, he pushed them aside and picked up the open black, frayed book that glimmered gold. His gaze read the text in front of him—a secret he's kept to himself for centuries after.
By performing this spell, the immortal user will be reborn and began their life anew as a mortal for as many lifetimes needed until remembering their former self.
Loki grinned wide and stared fondly at the image of the young woman then. "Vianne..you've returned at last."
A/N: I wonder how many of you got the pop culture reference to Dawn's name? But more on that in the future heh
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