I was just taking off my earrings and unpinning my hair when Thor's voice boomed from the hallway.
"FRIENDS! YOU MUST COME TO THE HELM!"
I smiled slightly at the demigod's antics. He took the term 'spaceship' far too literally, and had taken to calling the control room the 'helm'. I poked my head out of the door to see Natasha and Clint doing the same thing from her room.
"Are we going?" Clint asked.
"I don't know." I replied. "I'm tired. Do you think it is worth it?"
"Come, friends! We approach Asgard!" Thor cried, taking Jane's hand and jogging toward the front of the ship.
"Worth it." Natasha nodded.
"Yep." I nodded, slipping back into my shoes and heading for the control room.
Everyone was already there when the three of us arrived; the broken bifrost loomed before us, and behind that a beautiful golden city.
"Wow," Sue breathed.
"It's beautiful," Steve said.
"It's like that level in Super Mario Kart," Tony observed, without any sense of humour. We all looked at him. "What? It's a RAINBOW BRIDGE, you guys."
Rolling her eyes, Natasha looked to Fury. "Will we be disembarking tonight, sir?"
Fury nodded once. "Yes. I believe it is good manners to introduce ourselves to our hosts." He shot Maria a wry glance, and she nodded back. God, they were actually cute. It was disgusting.
"It would be proper to introduce you to the All-Father and my mother," Thor replied. "They are very anxious to meet the heroes of Earth."
We docked at the end of the not-quite-rebuilt bifrost and left the ship. There was an enormous man waiting for us. Dark skin, gold eyes and an imperious stance.
"I am very happy to see you my prince," he said to Thor, briefly dropping to one knee.
"Heimdall, my friend!" The god of thunder smiled, clapping him on the back. "Avengers, this is Heimdall, the guardian of the bifrost and the entrance to Asgard. These are my allies from Midgard—the Avengers."
"It is a pleasure to meet the army who defended the realm against the Chitauri," Heimdall replied. "Come with me, I will take you to their majesties."
The gold-dressed man led us down the bifrost and toward the towering golden doors, then into the palace. It was enormous and decorated in gold, marble and precious stones. Gilt furniture and colourful tapestries lined the high-ceilinged corridors, and I found myself looking around in amazement, trying to take everything in at once.
"This place is sweet," Darcy breathed.
"Yeah, yeah, it's pretty. But do you think there's a USB port to be found? No," Tony grumbled, fiddling with his phone.
"You're not going to get any service here," Clint rolled his eyes.
"Never roam alone my ass." Tony complained, shoving the phone away and keeping pace with the rest of us.
Thor and Heimdall threw open a set of intricately carved double doors, leading us confidently into what appeared to be the throne room. An imperious looking man in battle armour sat proudly on a golden throne. He had an eye patch. I managed to hide my eye roll; great, another man with an eye patch.
The man stood, staring down at us from the top of the raised podium. A beautiful woman who was sitting in a lower throne sat up straighter and smiled happily at Thor. The God of thunder knelt down on one knee, bowing his head.
"My King, it is an honour to be home. May I present the Avengers of Midgard—Fury, Man of Iron, Captain of America, son of Barton, son of Richards, son of Banner, and my friend Selvig. And of course, Lady Natasha the Black Widow, Lady Maria, Lady Darcy, Lady Catharine and Lady Susan. This…" he took Jane's hand and pulled her to the front of the group, "Is Lady Jane. Avengers, these are my parents, King Odin and Queen Frigga."
"Ah, finally, your Lady Jane." Thor's mother smiled politely at the woman holding her son's hand. Jane smiled back nervously. "It is a pleasure to finally see the Avengers of Midgard in person."
"Indeed." Odin nodded brusquely. "We on Asgard may be proud people, but we are grateful for your help."
"We're glad we can offer our services." Fury said. He was being diplomatic, nice even, and it didn't suit him. "But perhaps before we commit to anything we could get some answers."
"Of course. Heimdall, show our guests to the antechamber. I will be there presently."
Heimdall bowed and beckoned us forward, past the dias and into the room behind. There was a wide table with benches either side, and we all filed into seats. I ended up pressed between Steve and Susan. Across the table, Bruce gave Steve and I a look I pretended not to see.
Odin followed us at a stately pace, rounding the table and settling into a golden chair at the head of the table.
"This is where we conduct diplomatic relations; we will not be disturbed here."
"Your Highness, perhaps you could enlighten all of us as to how members of the great God-like could be destroyed?" Thor asked from his father's right hand side.
A look and an emotion passed through Odin, and I felt it; fear. As someone who'd read a lot of tales of the All-Father in preparation for meeting the real thing, I could imagine how rare it was for Odin to feel it.
"The God-like were not just destroyed, they were consumed, their essences and bodies eaten up, leaving nothing to trace."
"This is worrying." Thor murmured.
"What is even more worrying, my son, is that the God-like are each in possession of a very powerful artifact; this artefact was taken as well, and we now live in fear of what the one who now has them could do to us."
"Do to us? What is this artefact exactly?" Maria asked, her right eyebrow going up.
"There is more than one. They are called the Infinity Gems, and they each give their owner power over a specific aspect of the universe. There are six in all, and together they make the Infinity Gauntlet."
"Why have I never heard of this, Father?" Thor questioned.
"All mention of it was wiped from our history. It was thought that by forgetting about them, it would prevent someone with spurious motives from seeking them out."
"Who made the decision to hide these Gems?" Thor banged the table with his fists and stood, pacing behind the bench.
"I did." Odin replied. "I felt it was for the best."
"Well, obviously not everyone forgot." Fury observed. "How many of the six Gems have gone missing?"
"Three, so far. They are the red Gem of power, the yellow Gem of reality, and the green Gem of soul."
"Reality…" I said, speaking up for the first time. "Bruce, didn't you say that your last transformation felt different than the others? Like you were being… controlled?"
"Yes…" he replied.
"King Odin, what powers does the yellow Gem have?"
"It can alter the laws of magic, or as you call it, science, to fulfill wishes. With the added effect of the red Gem, its powers significantly increase." Odin sounded distant.
"By the laws of biology, by every law, no force should be able to influence your transformations with emotional trigger. But it happened. This is how." I looked to Bruce. He got up and climbed over the bench, retreating to the farthest corner of the room, near the door. He was panicked, afraid, angry.
"That also means whoever's doing this can control the length of my transformations, where they happen… I'm not safe." He looked at Fury, glared. "Take me back to the cell."
"I will escort you, Banner," Thor said, leaving with a passing glare at his father. Bruce followed quickly.
We were left in a tense silence which was ended, predictably, by Stark. "You probably haven't heard about Bruce's… unique physiology. When he's angered, he transforms into a big green guy."
"I have heard tell of this beast, of course—I was told my younger son's injuries were mostly due to this Hulk. I however was not informed that he was, sometimes, a man." Odin replied. I could sense he was impressed by the stories he'd heard about the Hulk.
There was silence again, until Thor returned with three men and a woman in tow. They were all laughing and rough housing like children, and it was refreshing to see Thor do something more than brood.
"Friends! These are the Avengers of Earth. These," he gestured grandly, "Is Lady Sif and the Warriors Three!"
The four newcomers bowed politely. I studied them each in turn; they were all exhibiting signs of curiosity, but I didn't like the way Lady Sif fingered her broadsword as she took them all in.
"I am Volstagg the Valiant," the broadest and largest of the men stepped forward. He was dressed casually, but it looked like these were the clothes he wore under his armour. He stepped back and elbowed the silent Asian man next to him. However, before he could introduce himself, the blonde man from Volstagg's other side practically glided forward.
"And I am Fandral the Dashing," he bowed grandly, fixing all the women with a winning grin. I saw Darcy conceal her giggles and eye roll at his antics.
Finally it was the last man's turn. "Hogun the Grim," he said, standing straight and bowing rigidly.
"I am the Lady Sif," the female warrior said last. "Obviously."
"These four are my greatest friends and our fiercest warriors." Thor said proudly.
"Besides you," Fandral winked.
"Of course," Thor dismissed.
"I think we might benefit from allying ourselves with the four greatest warriors in the realm," Fury looked to Odin, who nodded.
After a silent look between them, Volstagg boomed, "Then you have our swords, sir."
"Excellent. Now, if you wouldn't mind, your highness, we've come a long way and perhaps we could rest and configure a battle plan on the morrow? Yes? Fantastic," Tony said. He was really having too much fun with all this formal language.
"Although he is obnoxious, Mr Stark is correct." Fury glared with his one good eye.
"Of course. You have come from another realm, after all. You can return to your ship and we can resume our meetings and construct a strategy for how to deal with Thanos." Odin stood, bowing very slightly at the waist.
All of us filed out, everyone heading back to bed or to their offices. I went down to the cell to check on Bruce. Shut up, I was just concerned. As a friend.
He was still Bruce, not Hulk, lying on his cot staring at the ceiling.
"Can I come in?" I asked, trying to sound a little less clipped than I normally did.
"Probably not a good idea." He replied, not looking over.
I pressed the controls and opened the door. "Remember what I said about handling? I didn't just mean it in a sinful way." I let the door close behind me, but didn't approach him further.
Bruce scoffed out a rough laugh. Finally he turned his head and looked at me. "This is a nightmare."
"I know. But we're moored now, surely you could come out of there and sleep in your room."
"You don't understand Catharine," he turned his gaze back to the ceiling. "This is my room."
A/N: Angsty Bruce is angsty. And finally, after 11 chapters, we've gotten to the main plot! Cue trumpet sounds. Next chapter will include more of Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, since I'm a big fan of them.