Epilogue
Dark storm clouds had formed over the skies, thunder and lightning crackling overhead. I swallowed thickly.
What is happening up there? I thought.
The ground was starting to shake from the intensity of the thunder and lightning, and it was becoming very unsettling. I hoped that Thor was handling whatever problems were happening.
There was one last, extremely loud clap of thunder before the storm clouds slowly started to disappear. The air was heavy and staticky, and once the sun came out, the heaviness seemed to have intensified.
"Zelda!" I turned and saw Selvig and the others running to where I stood. They looked up at the sky, watching as the sky returned to normal. "Are you OK?" Selvig asked.
I nodded. I felt a heaviness weigh down on my chest. "I'm OK."
Selvig put a hand on my shoulder. "Come on, let's go."
I was taken back to my apartment. It felt emptier without Thor in it. I had grown so attached to him always being there, that I couldn't really figure out what to do with him not there. I was used to his overwhelming presence, his voice, how he was so gentle. Sitting on my sofa, I became aware of how it seemed so much bigger without Thor sitting there.
He promised he'd come back. I frowned at that. But he lives in another world, how can I know for sure he'd keep it?
I shook my head and turned the television on. It was on the news. There were headlines of whatever situation Tony Stark got himself into, and I felt a hollowness fill me.
Turning off the television, I stood up and gave a slightly frustrated groan.
After everything that happened, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do. I could do so much while I waited for Thor to possibly return, but I was so distracted by him not being here that I couldn't focus.
Everything will be fine. I picked up my cell phone and checked to see if I had any new messages, desperately trying to distract myself. Stop worrying so much. You can figure something out, you're not as useless as you're making yourself out to be right now. I closed my cell phone and pursed my lips. Throwing on a jacket, I put my tennis shoes and walked out of my apartment.
"Stop feeling so sorry for yourself," I muttered. "You're Zelda Benningfield. You fought a giant metal man from another world, somehow gained the feelings of an alien, and have powers no one can explain. You're more than self pity."
The sun had gone down and the air was significantly cooler. The town was still in ruins and some people had started coming back from wherever they ran off to during the attack. I knew they were still trying to believe that what had happened only hours earlier actually happened.
Reaching the outskirts of the town, I made my way over to the markings Thor and his friends descended from. It still felt surreal that there were beings from other worlds out there. Pushing aside the whole idea of Humans being born with Mutations, it felt like the world had just transformed into one big sci-fi movie. Aliens, technology beyond our control, advanced forms of space travel—it didn't seem possible.
I looked up at the sky. There wasn't a single cloud. I could see the moon shining down, just barely illuminating everything in a kind of silvery glow. Stars were decorating the sky and I smiled at that. A part of me was kind of hoping Thor was looking down at us, wherever that Asgard place was, and feeling relieved that we were all OK.
When I reached the spot, I looked down at the markings and gave a small smile.
Hearing an engine behind me, I turned and saw the headlights of a car turn on and a man stepping out of the passenger's side.
"Ms. Benningfield." I sighed. I recognized the voice. It was that Coulson guy from SHIELD.
"How did you know I was out here?" I asked.
"I told you, we've been keeping tabs on you." A smile came across Coulson's face as he looked at me through his sunglasses.
"It's nighttime, why are you wearing sunglasses?"
"It looks cooler."
I nodded.
"Ms. Benningfield, there's someone I'd like you to meet," Coulson said politely. Waving his hand, the back door of the car opened and an African American man wearing a long, black, leather jacket and an eye-patch over his left eye came walking up next to Coulson.
"Zelda Benningfield," he said. "We've heard a lot about you."
"How much?"
"Your Mutation, your brother and the incident that occurred in Tallahassee, and everything you've done until this moment."
I swallowed thickly. "How do you know about what happened in Tallahassee?" I asked.
"SHIELD has eyes and ears everywhere, Ms. Benningfield," the man informed. "But I didn't come all the way here to talk about that."
"Then what do you want?"
The man walked up to me and I felt myself stiffen. There was something about him that was intimidating and I couldn't calm down that burning feeling of anxiety forming in the pit of my stomach.
"Ms. Benningfield, I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative."
Author's Note:
Let me know what you guys think! This is the epilogue, so now I have the 'Avengers' fanfiction to write! I've decided that, if any of you are sort of interested in reading that, the name of the 'Avengers' fic will be Let the Flames Begin.
'Thor' isn't mine, the whole 'Thor' franchise belongs to Marvel. I own my characters and my fillers.
The title for this story I got from the OneRepublic song 'Counting Stars'. I thought it would go well with the story.
So if anyone's interested in Let the Flames Begin, stay tuned for that.
Leave a helpful and kind review, please!
Until next time,
Thank you,
Susan Strong
