A/N: *Rubs hands together* Hello lovely people! Finally, Jane has arrived! I'm really glad too, because I'm all for Badass Women, and sometimes I feel like Jane is super underappreciated in that department. She doesn't fight like the Black Widow, true, but her weapon is that big, beautiful brain of hers!
Also, in case you were wondering where we are 'at' in the story… I'm finally able to start getting into the major plot points I have [loosely] planned out. Things are about to get very interesting. More Thor/Zora interaction, incoming Jane/Loki interaction, and of course Jane/Zora. Lots coming up! Let's start playing with Murphy's Law, shall we?
Seven:
The Scientist
Jane Foster had been to the New Avengers Facility once before. A year ago, after the whole Civil War fiasco (which Darcy never failed to insist was just some amped up family drama played out at an airport – nothing more and nothing less), Tony Stark had tried luring her to work for him – or SHIELD? Was SHIELD still a thing? – by showing off all the amazing, beautiful, incredible toys he had in the building dedicated to Research and Development.
He had also shown her one lab in particular. One lab she thought about all too often, especially now that her funding had been cut by the university (yet again) and she had found out that the Asgardians were actually now on earth. A lab bearing her name on its frosted glass doors, holding every piece of equipment she could ever dream of.
So as Darcy had put it, Jane was keeping an "open mind". Because maybe, just maybe… The Asgardians would want a new Bifrost. And maybe… just maybe… they would help her finally finish the project of her dreams. The Einstein-Rosen Bridge.
The Einstein-Rosen-Foster Bridge. A mouthful, true, but she could allow herself the pride of adding her name to that impressive list… Just this once.
Still, there were other things to consider. Thor being one of them, of course. While she and the Thunder God had parted on good terms – with Jane citing that she couldn't keep waiting on a man who only ever returned in times of crisis and Thor wholeheartedly agreeing with her in that lovely, kind way of his – there was still some leftover uncertainty. How was she supposed to greet him? Like friends? Were they even friends, now? More like strangers, these days.
"Ooh, shiny," Darcy cooed, her face pressed against the side of the car window as the nondescript sedan, sent by Stark himself, pulled up to the front of the compound. "I think I like our new digs already, Janey."
Jane sighed. "It's not ours, yet. We need to talk with Captain Haque and Stark first." Because, yes, she was a little hesitant about getting wrapped up with the government again. Shooting Darcy a sideways look, Jane added, if only to have someone on her side, "Don't forget who stole your iPod."
Darcy was affronted at the mere idea. She scrunched her nose in disgust. "I would never."
Their driver came around and opened the door for them, even though both Darcy and Jane were completely capable of opening said door themselves. Jane still wondered at that, sometimes. Did rich people like Stark need to have even the tiniest things done for them?
"Ma'am," the driver nodded at her as she stepped out. "Your belongings, along with Miss Lewis's, will be taken to your respective rooms."
Jane tried to not scowl at the obvious use of 'ma'am'. She was barely thirty. 'Ma'am' was supposed to be way off in the distance, wasn't it?
"Thank you," she told the driver begrudgingly.
Darcy looped her arm through Jane's and began leading the pair to the front doors of the compound. Another man was there to open the door for them yet again, but Jane didn't have any time to wrinkle her nose at the (admittedly nice) gesture because Captain Haque was already waiting inside for her.
"Dr. Foster and Miss Lewis," the captain smiled easily, revealing a slight dimple in her left cheek. The woman, taller than Jane by at least a foot, offered a firm handshake first to Jane, then Darcy. Jane had to blink at her several times: it was one thing to see the imposing woman on television, it was another entirely to meet her in person. Like the infamous Black Widow, Captain Haque was beautiful, mystifying, and more than a little intimidating. The captain's sharp gray-green eyes settled on Jane, ending the scientist's stare. "How were your travels?"
"Pretty bitchin'," Darcy said, causing Jane to roll her eyes in embarrassment. "Stark must really want Janey to stay because he sent a private jet and everything. And by everything, I mean a shit ton of top shelf liquor."
Amusement twinkled in the captain's gaze. She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling too widely. "I'm glad to hear it."
And now Jane needed to jump in. "It was really kind of you to make arrangements for us to stay on such short notice, Captain. I wasn't really expecting the defunding so quickly…"
"Nonsense," Captain Haque waved away the uncertainty in Jane's tone. "As far as I'm concerned, you and Miss Lewis are part of the team. Besides, I'm sure you've heard the news about our, uh, most recent houseguests."
"You mean Thor," Darcy said obviously, before turning to Jane with a nudge and quirked eyebrows. "She means Thor."
"Yep, I got that one, Darce." If Jane wasn't mistaken, she wasn't the only one cringing at the mention of Thor. Even the Captain looked a bit uncomfortable. Which brought Jane to her next point. "Is he around?"
Yeah, that was definitely a cringe on the Captain's face. But Jane couldn't exactly deduce why. Did the new Avenger's Captain and the Asgardian king not get along? "He's in a meeting with the Norwegian ambassador currently," she replied evenly, though something was clearly off. "Spends most of his time meeting with the man, to be honest. They've got a lot to discuss."
"Of course."
"Did you want me to notify him that you're here? FRIDAY can do that for you."
Jane felt panic in her belly at the thought. "No! I mean, no. No, not necessary. I was just wondering. I wouldn't want to pull him from… whatever it is he has to do. I was just, um. Curious." Then she met the Captain's gaze, which probably looked a lot like her own expression (cringe-worthy), and Jane suddenly felt like honesty would get her a long way with this woman. "I'm actually hoping to avoid him for as long as possible, to be truthful."
The conspiratorial smile that finally graced the captain's face, and even reached her eyes, was strange, no doubt, but not unwelcome. It made the woman seem a bit more human. "You and me both. So let me show you to your lab, and we can avoid him together."
Jane smiled back. "Lead the way."
000
"I've gotta be honest," the captain said as the trio entered the lab, with Jane stealing a glance at DR. JANE FOSTER printed on the door for a moment longer than was probably necessary, "I'm not exactly the science type, so I don't know what most of these machines do. But Tony assured me that you would find everything you need here."
The Captain was absolutely correct: just as Jane remembered from her previous tour of the lab, everything inside was state-of-the-art. Spectrometers, an entire corner for brainstorming with FRIDAY's touchless interface, and most importantly, an industrial looking coffee machine that could keep Jane fueled for days.
"This is amazing." Jane ran her fingers along the spotless, dustless marble tables reverently, already thinking up new ways in which she could start collecting data with all the equipment present. "They didn't even have stuff like this in Oslo."
"I'm glad it meets your standards," the Captain said, clasping her hands politely in front of her. Although the two had shared a brief moment of comradery just moments earlier, Jane was uncertain how to interact with the woman. Darcy, on the other hand, seemed to have no qualms.
"Is this my desk?" Darcy asked, peering excitedly at the massive, three-sided desk with a large Stark computer, a mini-fridge, and what appeared to be some kind of gaming console attached to it. "Frigga has blessed me, this is my desk." She nudged open the mini-fridge with her foot. "Boo-ya! Stark does his research. I'm loaded with Monster."
Jane grinned affectionately at her assistant. Before she could turn to ask the Captain any more questions, though, a disembodied voice filled the room.
"Captain Haque," an Irish-sounding woman said. "I hate to interrupt, but it seems we have an issue that requires your attention in the War Room."
Jane's gaze darted to the woman standing at attention.
The captain offered Jane a contrite smile. "Sounds like duty calls, after all. Enjoy the new digs, Dr. Foster. Please let FRIDAY or me know if there's anything we can get you."
Before another 'thank you' could be uttered, the woman was gone.
"So," Darcy stated, blinking at Jane through her glasses as she plopped down in her new cushioned office chair. "This isn't so bad, right?"
No, Jane thought. Not bad at all.
000
That was the reigning thought until Jane realized who one of the Avengers' many 'houseguests' were. Up until that moment, Jane couldn't help but think about how lucky she was. She and Darcy each had their own private suites – pretty much apartments, really – in the dormitory building situated on the other side of the compound from her lab. She had ten scientists working under her, all from the top of their field and all as eager to create an Einstein-Rosen (Foster) Bridge as she was. People seemed friendly rather than cut-throat, like she was used to at the university, and whenever she passed someone in the hallway, she was given a respectful nod along with a "Doctor Foster".
It was a dream come true, really. To be surrounded by like-minded people who knew she could be successful in her field, that her dreams weren't all some sci-fi fantasy, that she was right about there being other worlds (the Asgardians obviously being proof enough), but that she might also be right about a few other things she had in the works.
So of course, there had to be a catch.
It was late enough to have trouble labelling the time night or morning. Jane had finished geeking out over all the new gear Stark had set her up with (after sending Darcy to go check out the rest of the compound as the younger woman had obviously wanted to), and was headed back across the compound towards her new living space for the night. She wanted to get a decent night's sleep for once so she could dive right into work the next day.
She hadn't expected to nearly walk straight into the fallen second prince of Asgard as she was entering the dorms.
As some small consolation (maybe?), the God of Lies seemed just as surprised to see Jane as she was to see him. Hadn't Loki died… again? She had been there. She had seen his corpse. Thor hadn't mentioned he was alive – but then again, it wasn't as if she and Thor were really priorities in one another's lives anymore. The new Asgardian king probably had way too much on his plate right now to visit his one-time girlfriend and mention, "Hey, you remember Loki, my crazy brother, the one who tried to kill us once in Puente Antiguo, same guy who tried to take over New York? Yeah, he didn't die like we thought he did."
Of course, Thor would have been eons more eloquent.
"Jane Foster?"
Jane had been so dumbstruck at seeing the raven-haired prince that she hadn't realized her feet were glued to the floor as she stood half in, half out of the building, the palm of her hand flat against the cool glass door. Loki was peering at her through scrunched brows; though she couldn't quite make out the expression on his face, she hardly thought he looked pleased.
Right back at ya, buddy. Right back at ya.
The only words she could form were a hollow-sounding, "So, you're not dead."
The trickster's face lit up in a smile, though it was wane. "Astute as always, Dr. Foster. It's a wonder Thor didn't keep you as his pet for your superior brain alone."
Jane gritted her teeth. Her hand ached to slap him again, but she remembered how much it had stung the first time. No, Loki didn't deserve the time of day from her.
Setting her shoulders, she edged past him and towards the elevator down the hall that would take her to her new home. She could feel eyes on her back the entire walk there.
000
When Zora entered the War Room, Cap, Bucky, and Stark were already there. She fidgeted with the throwing knives sheathed at the front of her vibranium vest – a gift from King T'challa not long ago – and let her eyes rove over the map FRIDAY had pulled up in the center of the screen.
"Is that the Hermitage?" Zora asked, coming to stand before the map, noting the highlighted bogeys centered in one massive chamber and the news reel off to the side.
"Yes, ma'am," FRIDAY answered as the others glanced towards her. Nat and Clint slipped into the room, already dressed for battle. "St. Petersburg police reported a break-in thirty minutes ago. The situation seemed to be under control until several officers were shot and numerous explosives went off. A scan of the building tells me there are at least eight hostiles inside, two officers down."
As he swiped through some data sans his Iron Man suit, Stark made a face. "Any particular reason this showed up on our radar? It's not like we usually deal with heists."
"Indeed," the A.I. agreed. "Since the arrival of the Asgardians, I've expanded my search protocols to include anything that might be linked to their arrival. Terrorist attacks, cyber attacks, unrest."
"But like Tony said, this looks like a heist gone sideways," Bucky spoke up, arms crossed over his chest. Steve hovered close to his shoulder.
Zora squinted at the map. Something was niggling at the back of her mind, some piece of information from all that time she'd spent in Russia before becoming the Avenger's captain. The Asgardians, the Hermitage…
"It would appear that way at first glance, Sergeant. But I've identified the artifacts being targeted as pre-Christian relics, native to the lands of Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland." A pause, and Zora was putting it together.
"Viking relics," Zora realized.
Nat glanced over at her, red brow quirked. "You mean Norse relics?"
"Yes," FRIDAY answered. "It could be mere coincidence…"
"But it could not," Zora offered, seeing the connection and how the heist ended up surfacing in the Avenger's emergency system. She glanced around the room, seeing that all were now accounted for: Steve and Bucky, tight-jawed, staring at her and awaiting orders; Tony still swiping through information as he posed some more questions to FRIDAY at a rapid-fire pace; Nat and Clint already grabbing various weapons from the vault adjacent to the War Room. Wanda and Vis had left town for a few days for a 'trip'… AKA, a lover's retreat, and Sam was back in DC for the time being, giving a talk at a Vet's conference.
Thor was around, obviously… But Zora desperately did not want Thor to be involved in this op. He was a king, now. A king just now forming his new kingdom. He had bigger matters to attend to.
Ignoring the guilt in her belly, she nodded at the others. "Be in the quinjet in five."
000
Zora crept along the long, lavish hallways that made up the Russian Hermitage, her footsteps utterly silent on the thick-carpeted floor. Eyes alert, taking in every shadow, she avoided the weak morning light filtering in from the many windows and kept her gun in hand, aimed at the ground.
The halls were vaguely familiar in the way that city streets you once walked as a child could be: there was a sense that she had been here, in this exact hallway, before, though she knew that the museum was so massive that it was unlikely. Natasha, being the other team member familiar with the museum, was also inside, creeping along hallways of her own, until they would flank the targets in the Norse section in the north-western sector.
On the comms, she heard Bucky speaking to local police, who seemed none too pleased that the Avengers had arrived on scene, but were placated when they were told that Clint would get their fallen comrades out safely. Steve was ground support, in case things went completely sideways, and Tony had the air. Because this wasn't a typical Avenger's mission, it had been agreed that stealth would be tactically superior over brute force.
Zora hoped she and Nat would be able to handle the issue, alone.
Faces from paintings nearly five-hundred years old peered down at the captain as she treaded along, touching her ear to tell Nat, "I'm nearly there."
"Same. Coming up from the southeast."
Down the hall, up to the right somewhere, there was a loud shout of pain. Zora frowned and tapped her earpiece again. "Barton – you got the officer's out?"
"Yeah, Cap," the archer replied quickly.
Another shout of pain echoed through the halls. Nat, too, seemed confused. "Barnes, did they mention if they had another officer inside?"
There was a short pause. "No," Bucky replied. "No others. Why?"
"Because it sounds like there's someone else here," Zora noted quietly. "Someone likely not with the targets."
"Affirmative. I've got eyes," Nat murmured. "Eight targets, like FRIDAY said. But Z – you're not gonna like this."
Rounding her own corner, sticking close to the ground and the shadows, Zora leaned forward and peered at the scene before her.
The Norse artifact room was massive. Tools, weapons, even depictions of Vikings dotted the space, but all of that was secondary to the eight cloaked figures in the center of the chamber and the lone figure, on his knees, face red from pain, teeth gritted, and sweat gathering on his brow.
Erik Selvig.
"Fuck."
"Yeah," Nat agreed. "Orders?"
"What?" Tony asked, before then asking FRIDAY what the situation was. "What's going on?"
"Dr. Selvig is here," Natasha informed him. "Very much against his will, it seems."
"The same Dr. Selvig that researched the Tesseract?"
"And was mind-fucked by Loki?" Clint was one to add, sounding displeased.
"Yes."
Zora surveyed the area. There weren't many places to hide… none at all, really. But if she could get their attention on her…
"Nat, I'm going to keep them busy. You get Selvig to safety. Understood?"
"Copy."
Steve chimed in quickly: "You're gonna take on eight targets at once? No, I'm coming in."
"Then come in after we have Selvig out. But he takes priority."
Steve sighed in disapproval. Still, he said, "Copy."
Zora clenched her jaw and put her Glock back in its holster but kept it unfastened. Once all eyes were on her, she knew that Nat could get Selvig out, but that meant not getting him caught in the middle of a firefight.
Sighing, she stepped forward into the massive room, her hands up and out in a placating gesture, before calling attention to herself. "Gentlemen… and possibly ladies? Kinda hard to tell right now, to be honest." The air in the room shifted, thickened, before nine pairs of eyes landed on her. Despite herself, Zora's heart started thumping away in her chest.
Erik Selvig, from his place on the ground, muttered an, "Oh, thank the gods."
Because their faces were cloaked – with something that looked very similar to Thor's own red cloak, she noted – Zora couldn't read their expressions, but the tense, hostile stances all but one took were evident.
Ah, this was a little stupid, she cursed herself. It was a wonder no one pulled a weapon, yet.
"Sorry to break up the party…" she continued, trying for a fake smile. "But I was hoping we could have a little chat."
Zora could see Nat come up from another corridor behind the eight, crouched low. Just a few seconds and Selvig would be out of harm's way.
One of the cloaked figures stepped forth, body lined with tension, and a flicker of steel glinted in his hands. A sword. A fucking great sword. They were really going for the whole Viking aesthetic, weren't they?
"Captain Haque," the unknown man said, his accent thick – not Russian, no, but definitely from one of the Nordic countries. "I have heard much of you. But not that you were foolish enough to approach the Sons of Odin alone."
Sons of Odin? What?
"Oh, I very much doubt she's alone, Thragg," the most relaxed figure said – and that voice. That voice. She knew that voice.
A cold sweat broke out on her forehead, her palms grew clammy. She barely even noticed that Nat was nearly to Selvig… because that voice. It haunted her dreams. It reminded her, time and again, of why she couldn't be with Thor, not really. She had heard that voice one last time over the phone before an entire SHIELD facility blew up… killing the man she'd loved.
Or… not.
Tone breaking on the syllables, Zora asked, eyes wide, "Nathaniel?"
He stepped up next to the one named Thragg and slowly removed the hood that had hidden his features.
And there he was. Nathaniel. The man she had nearly married. The man she had almost given everything for. The man she had thought she'd failed all these years… Alive. Alive, not dead.
Not dead, not dead.
Her knees threatened to buckle. She placed a palm against the wall closest to her. And she felt sick.
"Zora," he greeted almost genially, almost kindly, but there was an edge just barely lining his tone, something dark present where before, years ago, there had only been light. "How are you, lover?"
"I've got Selvig," Nat said quickly, and a brief perusal of the area confirmed this. In the back of Zora's mind, where she had been trained to continue a mission no matter what, to focus no matter how things could go sideways or take her off guard, Zora knew she was supposed to do something. She was supposed to fire. To attack. Steve was on his way, surely. Tony would probably come in from the air.
But all she could do was stare at Nathaniel, at a complete loss.
That was when Steve busted into the room, then Bucky in a coordinated effort, and Tony announced he would be coming in over the comms right before a window shattered. An arrow sliced through the air, one of Barton's, and for a single moment, Zora feared she would watch it plant itself in Nathaniel's chest, that she would have to know him to die all over again, before Nathaniel raised a weapon of his own – a slim dagger, the length of his forearm – and launched it at her.
She just barely swept to the side, hearing the blade embed itself into the wall behind her.
Focus.
Throwing herself into the fray, Zora had a mind for only one person in particular. Chiseled draw, messy frown hair, eyes like limestone.
Alive, not dead. Not dead.
She was seeing red. If she could only apprehend him…
One of the cloaked figures dropped to her right, and from the sound of it, he was choking on his own blood.
"No kill shots!" Zora ordered quickly, dodging a blow from an ancient-looking battle axe, sweeping the woman's feet out from under her while trying to calm the panic surging through her veins. "I want them alive."
She knocked another in the face, sent them sprawling towards Bucky, who used his bionic arm to wrestle the target to the floor before delivering a final hit. Nathaniel, she finally realized as she frantically looked at the chaos around her, had fled.
"Where did he go!?" she demanded of no one in particular, feeling fear bubble up in her belly. He can't be gone, not yet.
"FRIDAY said there's a runner heading towards the courtyard," Tony said, using his thrusters to dodge the path of a flying spear. "East!"
East. Zora sprinted, hands pumping at her sides, sliding on the floor as she rounded one corner and then another, reading the Russian signs that all pointed towards the gardens. Ahead of her, at least a hundred feet, she could see a black cloak flapping behind a figure, behind Nathaniel. He pushed through a set of doors leading outside, forcing Zora to run faster, to try to catch up.
Just as she sprinted through the doors, an unbelievable force hit her in the chest, throwing her sideways into the museum's outer walls. The impact knocked the wind from her lungs and she gasped for air, clutching at her chest armor to check for a wound that wasn't there, before glancing up at her attacker, limestone colored eyes focused intently on her.
"Nathaniel," she rasped out, quickly shoving to her feet. Something hot was dripping down her forehead, nearly dripped into her eyes – swiping it away, she found blood. "Stand down. Just stand down."
Nathaniel grinned at her. It looked macabre – like someone else was wearing the face of a man she once knew so well. "I can't do that. You'll understand."
He lifted something – it was steel and glinted dangerously in the sunlight. Adrenaline pumped thickly through Zora's veins, and everything seemed to happen so slowly after that. Zora pulled her weapon from its holster and aimed it at her former lover, the man that was supposed to be two years dead, and prepared to pull the trigger. But before she could, searing hot pain struck her shoulder. Her arm weakened, the Glock clattered to the ground, and Zora found herself falling to her knees bruisingly, all the while staring wide-eyed at the seax blade sticking out of her shoulder.
When she looked up again, Nathaniel was gone.
"Captain?" the voice sounded faded, and for a moment, Zora thought one of the Avengers had found her. It took a few seconds for her dazed mind to realize someone was asking for her on the comms. "Cap, you doing okay? Where are you?"
Zora grasped at the handle of the blade, looked stupidly at it, like all of this had been a dream, like it wasn't real.
Nathaniel had done this to her. He had nearly killed her. He was alive. Not dead. Alive.
As if things weren't enough of a mess, there was suddenly a massive thunderclap, a single bolt of white-blue lightning shooting down from the sky… and Thor, God of Thunder, King of Gods, stood in the courtyard just feet before Zora, his chest heaving with unbridled anger, his eyes still burning that imposing electric blue.
A/N: I had one version of this chapter written, and then I felt really bad that I didn't properly write out the Hermitage since I've spent some time there, so I had to rewrite it… Sorry for the wait! I also realize I don't really do my best writing on this fic in general, so I'm going to have to try a little harder. Don't be weirded out if you see my style change a little – it's still me.
What are your thoughts? Jane and Loki aren't going to exactly fall deeply in love at first sight… Jane still has to speak to Thor… Zora's creepy ex is alive and part of whatever the hell the Sons of Odin is. And Thor… Thor is very unhappy with the woman he wants to be his queen.
Also, sorry if there's any confusion! Luckily, I think Eric Selvig will be able to help with that in the next chapter.
Oh, and I take some liberties with how Thor travels without his hammer.
Some things to look forward to in the next chapter: Erik Selvig cluing us in, a little bit, to what the heck is going on and who these supposed Sons of Odin are. Protective!Thor. Angry!Thor. Hot!Thor. Motherhen!Thor. Jane and Loki! Loki and Thor! Possibly some Jane and Thor, too.
One last thing, I promise. If you haven't already checked out the comic Thor: Goddess of Thunder, and you like badass female leads who are funny and relatable, then I highly recommend you do!