A/N: This story is not Plum Spooky or any of the In Between stories compliant!

Chapter 14 - The Fox

The next couple days passed surprisingly quickly. Lally was questioned relentlessly, but as far as the superspies could tell, he was telling the honest to God truth when he said he had no idea how he got out of prison. One minute he'd been inside, and the next he was out with a message in his pocket promising him a life of leisure with his wife if he captured me. Given that there was no information about what to do once he captured me, and he had no idea who the note was even from, I couldn't figure how he thought it was all going to work out in his favor. He may not have been the brightest bulb, but he said he knew to just go with it when luck like that struck.

Kenny Martin had been found by U.S. Border Patrol agents. Apparently he had never been clued into the fact that crossing the border into Canada was now something that required a passport, security checks, and so on. He'd waited in an hours long line only to not have his passport when he got there. Or a driver's license. But those border patrol agents on the other hand, certainly had information on escaped convicts.

As for Kenny Mancuso, well, he was elusive. He was still on the run, hadn't shown up anywhere I knew to look for him, and thus far refrained from sending me any gifts. It was possible, of course, that he'd moved on from his desire to harm me.

Somehow I didn't think my newfound luck was that good.

Still, I had ridiculously comfortable, brand new shoes paid for by my husband who swore up and down that the money was also mine. It took a lot of convincing, but once he managed, I ended up with shoes not just for the upcoming event, but also several pairs just to have because he had noticed that I'd been unable to stop staring at them.

Okay, I'd bought an entire new collection of shoes.

Then Darcy had opened her mouth talking about public appearance and expectations people would have of me. A quick trip to the mall for a pair of dress shoes had turned into a two day effort to overhaul my wardrobe. I ended up with clothes that still fit my style, but also were better tailored to my body. Sadly some more formal, business-y clothes were also added. Though no one could tell me what they were for, just that it was better to have a wide range of clothes available so I was ready no matter what came up. I caved because I figured that was easier than always dragging out a huge guard detail for single outfits.

Before I knew it, I was dressed in the nicest dress I'd ever worn, and we were on our way to the Trenton Airport. I wanted to puke.

"President Ellis is," Darcy sighed. She pursed her lips and said, "He can be kind of an asshole sometimes, but he's not 100% a dick."

"I don't know that I believe anyone is 100% a dick," Bucky said from next to her in the very back seat of the oversized SUV we were riding in. "Except HYDRA."

Steve was up in the front and snorted before agreeing with Darcy saying, "He's not too bad now. We had some trouble a few months ago with the whole HYDRA/SHIELD thing and all the Inhumans that are starting to pop up, but we're working with him on more official collaborations- like Thor's Embassador position."

"We're just lucky we caught on to what he and the UN were trying to do with the whole Sokovia Accords debacle before it got any traction," Darcy muttered. "Something tells me that wouldn't have ended well at all. I'm glad he came to you first instead of Tony or someone who doesn't handle the guilt of not being able to save everyone ever well at all."

Through our bond, I got the impression that Thor didn't think now was the time to discuss the matter, so I filed the information away to ask about at a later time. Instead I put my concentration into not freaking out about meeting the president1 and running through the flashcards Darcy had made for me of important people who were likely to be at the event. Many of them were probably embarrassing to not know already, but politics really wasn't my thing.

At least I knew who the president was and had even voted in that election.

We pulled up to the airport, and my phone started lighting up with text messages as we climbed out of the car, so I read them as I waited for Darcy and Bucky to wiggle their way out. The third row of seats in an SUV was much more suited to kids than super soldiers, but somehow Bucky managed to handle it gracefully.

I stared at the screen just long enough to lament the first good tip on Mancuso coming in when I could do nothing about it. Without a word to the others, I turned it back off without responding. Ranger would just figure we were already in flight or something and handle it himself. And Thor and the rest of the Avengers had already turned their lives upside down enough in order to let me finish out all my business in Trenton. I didn't need to cause three of them to miss an important public appearance. Especially if their footing with the government was tenuous.

I forced a smile on my face and burrowed into Thor a little, turning so we could walk to the airport; however, Steve surprised me by walking back around to the driver's door.

"What're we doing?" Darcy voiced my confusion.

"Hurry up, get in," Clint, who had come along for added security and ability to meld into a crowd, urged us all.

Once we made it into the car, Steve started driving at a much less sedate pace. I was a little jealous that his super soldier senses and reflexes allowed him to be so aggressive, honestly.

I was also a little jealous that his car had the Avengers logo on the side, which I figured was going to keep us from getting pulled over by a cop.

After a minute of tense silence in which I imagined every terrible thing that could have happened requiring an Assemble alarm to be called, Clint spoke again.

"You're not going to tell them, Steph?" He directed at me.

"Tell them what?"

"You've got work to do," Steve said from the front, sounding downright chipper.

"We're going to the Pines?" I asked. Then I couldn't stop the little shudder as I added, "at night."

"Scared of the Devil?" Clint teased.

"Okay. Someone needs to speak with actual information!" Darcy huffed out.

"There was a tip that came in on Kenny Mancuso's whereabouts," I explained. "Apparently he was seen in the Pine Barrens, but I figured this was less important than going to the White House."

"Was it not your paperwork authorizing you to catch the prisoner that made you switch to the larger purse," Thor asked. "Why bring that if you were not interested in capturing him this night?"

I allowed a small smile to play across my face at the exasperation on Thor's face when I had tried to leave my gun behind in favor of the paperwork earlier in the night. Eventually we'd compromised and I had borrowed a larger bag that didn't really go with my dress from Natasha. I'd tried to argue that I couldn't bring a weapon into the White House, but apparently Clint and Bucky had already made arrangements with the Secret Service to lock up weapons upon our arrival. What I said out loud was simply, "Well, I figured he could be at the airport or something."

"I think going after an escaped convict will be accepted as a reasonable excuse, and who knows if we catch him quickly, we may still be able to make it to part of the party," Darcy said. Then after a pause, "what is this about the Devil though?"

"There's a ghost story about a monster living in the Pine Barrens," I told her. "I've never seen it myself, but weird shit does happen there."

It seemed that Clint was a ghost story fan and found my explanation lacking because he spent the remainder of the ride weaving a detailed story that put many of Thor's to shame.

Of course the end result was Darcy insisting that she needed both Steve and Bucky with her, so we broke up into two teams of three instead of three teams of two.

I'd be fibbing if I said I wasn't happy to have Clint and his sharp eye for detail with me in addition to my hulking god of a husband.

Husband. That still felt weird to say.

We set off going in opposite directions from the SUV with comms in our ears that were stashed in the car along with an additional armory of sorts. Steve gave Darcy a leather jacket he apparently had on hand, and after Thor transformed into his armor, he took off his cape and wrapped it around me to keep me warm. Darcy and I had each stashed tennis shoes as well, thinking that our feet would be tired by the time we made it back to Trenton, so while we were still ridiculously dressed, we at least weren't in stilettos.

Clint, Thor, and I panned out, one on either side of me and both keeping me within their lines of sight. They were far enough away and moved so silently though that at times it felt I was truly alone, and it was disconcerting.

"Fucking hate this place," I muttered to myself, forgetting that everyone could hear me until their chuckles sounded in my ears. I tried to keep the whine out of my voice as I justified, "come on it's like 10 degrees colder than it was outside the Pines and it's spooky as all get out."

"Creepy as fuck," Darcy agreed over the radios.

It happened gradually.

At first the fog seemed to just lightly be rolling in from nowhere. But before I knew it, I looked up from watching my feet as I picked a path through a particularly tricky area and the clouds around me were so thick the phrase "thick as pea soup" came to mind.

"Thor?" I called out hesitantly because I could no longer make out his shape. Hell, if I held out my own hand, I couldn't even see it very well. Clint had warned us about microclimates, but I had thought that referred to the Pines as a whole. What I was experiencing would seem ridiculous if it didn't feel more than a little ominous.

Receiving no response, I called out for Clint even as I tried to reach Thor through my bond with him. When all I got in return from either was more silence, I admit that I panicked.

Completing a 180, I stumbled a little and started trying to quickly make my way back in the direction from which I'd come. I was just beginning to worry about both the fact that the fog wasn't going away even though I should be somewhere I'd been before that hadn't been foggy and my inability to recognize anything when I got hit by a brick wall.

At least that's how it felt. The reality was that I was tackled off my feet by Kenny Mancuso.

My breath was pushed out of my lungs momentarily, but once I caught it, I managed to stammer out, "Kenny Mancuso you're under arrest-" before I was cut off by laughter.

Okay, I had to admit whoever was laughing had a point because I really didn't have the upper hand at that particular moment, but what Mancuso didn't know was that I wasn't the same person he'd previously encountered.

I called upon everything Sif taught me as well as my improved physicality to fight back and quickly get him under control. Before I could pull the plastic ties I'd stuck there (for lack of a better location) out of my shoes, I had the sensation of flying again.

That time I hadn't been hit by a person or felt anything other than the rush of air, but there was a blinding white light around me. My head connected with a tree hard, so I was more than a little fuzzy when the light died down and I could try to blink my sight clear once more. Stunned, I began to wonder about how concussions would affect the new me when my eyes locked on none other than Odin standing before me.

"Whaaa?" I slurred out, realizing the concussion was a definite yes, but Odin was still there and I really didn't think I was hallucinating.

Odin was making a disapproving noise before he finally said, "I expected better of you. Has that mindless oaf been neglecting his duty to train you as much as he is his duty to protect you at this moment? Always one to be so easily fooled by my illusions, he happily walks further and further from you at this very moment, unaware that anything is amiss."

Okay, I knew my head was messed up and I was a no doubt little slow because of the injury, but even I knew Odin wasn't a sorcerer. Granted, he was the All-Father and I knew that meant he could do all manner of things. But from what I understood, even if he was capable of conjuring illusions, they weren't his style.

"Come on, stand up," the fake Odin yelled at his accomplice, clearly frustrated. "She's right there for the taking. You shall have your revenge, as shall I get to enjoy watching my brother mourn his loss and wallow in the guilt of knowing he failed to protect his lady love!"

"Loki," I gasped out finally, unable to stop a shriek when he transformed before my eyes. Where Odin once stood was a slender man in light golden armor with green robes under it and a ridiculous hat with antlers on his head.

"That took you long enough, Midgardian," he taunted, clearly meaning the last word as an insult.

As Mancuso approached where I laid on the ground, still too dizzy to stand, I tried to run through everything that I'd heard about Loki while on Asgard. I was digging for anything that might get me out of my predicament.

Unfortunately, he had been a bit of a taboo topic, so I only had shaky memories of casual references here and there to consult. But, as I took a mental tally of each Asgardian I'd met and what they said, one unrelated memory came to mind. A promise of sorts that had been made to me.

Gathering myself as best I could, I waited. As soon as Kenny got within striking distance, I launched myself at him, latching on as I yelled, "Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!"

I was awash in a sea of light once more, and panicked for a few seconds thinking it was the light Loki's magic again. Immediately, however, I was relieved when I felt a pulling sensation I had felt once before, and I dug my fingers into Mancuso's clothes more confidently as I heard him let out a frightened scream.

When we came crashing down, I felt my head crack on the ground and a voice shouting before telling me it was okay to let my prisoner go before I lost track of everything and blacked out.

I came to as I had on my first trip to Asgard, all at once. This time though I did not realize any time had passed, and I immediately began rolling to the side trying to get into a defensive position and yelling, "Heimdall! Odin is Loki!"

I was cut off from further explanation by yelping as I somehow fell off the floor, only realizing when I landed on a plush rug that I was no longer on the floor of the Bifrost room. Rather I had actually been on a bed before I bailed over the side of it.

"Stephanie!" Thor yelled in surprise, and I felt him come around to my side just quickly enough to gently pull back my hair as I vomited up whatever was left in my stomach all over the beautiful floor.

When I finished, he carefully plucked me up and set me on the bed again, soothing away my mumbled apologies before stepping back to allow the healer access to me.

As she waved the wand like device over me that she'd used on my first visit to Asgard, I felt a tingling followed by rapid relief.

"I didn't know that could heal in addition to scan," I told her. "Thank you."

"It brings the body back to peak form quickly in most any situation; however, it works best for blows to the head when you are in a waking brain pattern," she simply replied before nodding her head in satisfaction and leaving the room.

"That was abrupt," I muttered before trying to call out thanks to some servants who had cleaned up the mess I'd left on the floor and were also scurrying out of the room.

When I moved to sit up, Thor assisted me as he apologized, "I am most sorry for allowing harm to befall you."

"Thor, it wasn't your fault. Look... you know how you believed Loki was dead…" I trailed off not really sure how to broach the subject.

To my great consolation, Thor cut off further explanation by reassuring me, "Once Heimdall realized Loki was not Odin, he was able to intercede on your behalf, and was free to relay to me everything that had occurred."

The silence that followed wasn't exactly awkward, but it was heavy. Finally I asked the million dollar questions, "where is the real Odin? And how long has Loki been pretending to be him?"

"I do not know," Thor told me. "I believe Loki may have hidden Odin on Midgard."

"And Loki?" I kept the shake out of my voice as I asked, "did anyone manage to capture him?"

"I was not aware he was even there until Heimdall opened the Bifrost and brought me to see to you. Sif and the Warriors three are scouring your Pine Barrens looking for him, but I fear he has long left. And I know not to where."

I let out a sigh, "so does that mean we are going back to Midgard? Or do you need to stay here and rule?"

"I go to Midgard, though I will not be able to remain in Trenton. I need to return to the Avengers base so that I may have easier access to come and go on the Bifrost daily. You are welcome to stay wherever you prefer and join me on the journeys or not as you desire. I have no doubt that it will be exhausting if you accompany me."

"I will stay with you anytime you will let me," I reassured him, being able to tell through the bond how badly he wanted me with him, but knowing he was still shrouded with guilt that I had been hurt and unwilling to ask me to put myself in more potentially dangerous situations.

He smiled at me gratefully and said, "I will try to make it worth your while and as comfortable as possible." Then he stood to full height and held out his hand, squeezing mine when I gave it to him. "If you are feeling well enough, we should start by returning your prisoner to Midgard and the proper authorities. I do not believe he will cause you further problems, as I understand he has been quite intimidated by Asgardian prison and his fellow prisoners."

A/N: Oh my Thor! A new chapter!