Chapter 13

"Tony? Natasha? Sam- where have you all gone?" Thor called as he jogged through the Tower.

"The Avengers are in the auxiliary meeting hall." JARVIS chimed, "You destroyed the other when you returned to Asgard." He sensed a bit of hostility from the computer.

"My apologies, JARVIS," Thor headed for the room as fast as he could.

"How is Miss Samantha?"

"She will recover," he pushed open the meeting room doors.

Tony and Banner were arguing in the corner. Natasha was waiting with Clint and Sam, "Thor!" She jumped up. All attention turned to the Asgardian, "We found something. Bad."

"What?"

"I made some calls- we know who took the box. It was Samantha. Her classmates said she got angry when she was arguing with the professor, hit the dirt she swore was a box, and just changed."

Clint took over from Sam, "One of them said she looked down, went quiet, then acted like she was picking something up. They couldn't follow her until she was out of sight, and then no one could find her."

"I called the hospital in Bloomington," Banner reported, "they sent an ambulance to the dig, but she wasn't there when they arrived. She walked in on her own about half an hour before she called Steve and fainted in the lobby. That's why they let her go so easily- if she was really out for hours like she thought, they would have held her."

Thor already suspected as much, but confirmation helped, "The creature who possessed her hid the box… We must be the first to find it."

"I've got the drone Suits combing every square inch of everywhere, but I don't know why people can't see the box. The Suits could be standing on it and not know."

"I took soil samples from her old clothes-"

"-ew."

Banner shot Tony a look, "-and I'm running chemical analysis now. Basically, I'll be able to narrow down the search area."

"What did you find out?" Natasha crossed her arms.

Thor had made little progress. Their discovery on Asgard only raised more 'if' and 'but' questions than they could answer, "There is nothing concrete, but more than enough for concern… The box may contain a weapon of some sort belonging to an ancient sect of Valkyrie. There were three of them, and combined it is said their weapons acted as a key."

"A key to what?" Clint glanced at the others, "Nothing good, I'm betting."

"The key to releasing some sort of supernatural army. The Valkyrie's Chief Scribe told us more than she safely could, for now. She believed it to be an army capable of razing this Realm… all Realms."

"There's more. Tell us." Natasha could see it plain as day on Thor's face.

Sam flipped a book open on the table, "Your hammer's one of those weapons, isn't it?"

"How did you know?"

"Your little design there-" Sam pointed to Thor's sigil, then pushed the book towards him, "-it's the cursive form of the Valknut."

"So we have one weapon, one we have to assume is on its way to enemy hands, and one has yet to be found." Tony clapped his hands, "Fantastic."

"If it makes you feel any better, I fear Mjolnir may in part be responsible for Lady Samantha's discovery. It was suggested that something may have been transferred to her as a result of Steve's shield and my hammer being used in conjunction. I believed it was why she could see the box- now I wonder if Laevateinn used her in some way."

Tony considered the significance of Thor's words, "Find a way to make it repeat that trick, because if someone has the other weapon already, then I want the third on our team. I'm always a fan of more over less."

"Is this Valkyrie going to get us more concrete intel soon?"

"No Sam, I am afraid not. The Vault of the Valkyrie cannot be opened unless the High Commander commands it- not even by the Scribe."

"Why is this an issue?"

"There is no High Commander. The Valkyrie risk gathering together but once a year, and my mother was killed just after their last meeting. In a fortnight they come together again to elect a High Commander, there is no way to make that change in our favor." Sam sighed, everyone seemed dejected, "There is one more thing- Bucky and Steve suspect one Norn yet lives."

"Better hope it's not Skuld." Sam pointed to his book, "according to this, Skuld was the one who could see the future. I don't want to fight someone who already knows if my blood will wash out of their clothes."

"If it is any consolation, your ancestors couched my kind in more mythology than fact…"

"Oh good, there's a chance we can beat the little oracle. If Skuld is the one messing with Samantha's mind, she'd see where the last weapon turns up long before this two-week waiting period ends. By the time the Valkyrie get themselves organized we could already be steamrolled."

"What do you propose, Sam?"

Falcon turned to study each Avenger before facing Thor, "We've got the main honcho from the Great Library on our side. You tell me- how tough is this Valkyrie Archive to break into?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Thor slammed his fist on the table, "Sam Wilson, there is one unfettered army in the Realms right now who could scorch Midgard and end all life on your world- that is the might of the Valkyrie horde! To break into their Archives- they would decimate Asgard and cast Midgard into oblivion if they heard your words now!"

"A simple 'not possible' would have been fine," he grumbled.

"So, we have to get ready to fight a Norn- who we know nothing about- to find a box, which we may or may not be able to see, and hope that we don't somehow trip over the third weapon- which we know nothing about too- because if that happens we risk unleashing an army- which we don't know if we'd be able to control- without the help of the one group out there who even knows these Norn bitches exist." Clint clapped his hands, "That sounds nice. Wait- did I say 'nice'? I meant ABSOLUTELY FUCKING INSANE."

Thor nodded, "You are beginning to understand how I feel. It is more important than ever that Samantha is under guard. Mjolnir broke her vision, but I do not know if that means her part in this madness is done. She could be the key to reclaiming the second weapon or finding the third."

Tony actually looked scared for half a second, "On a scale of one to the Chit'auri-"

"If this is as the Valkyrie fear? Tony Stark, the Chit'auri will be 'one'."

By the time Thor returned to Asgard, Samantha was awake. She had only vague memories of what she saw this time, but she remembered a little of what happened around her during the possession. Bucky apologized about fifty thousand times for the damage to not only her left forearm, but also her right hand. The Asgardians had the limb encased in a yellow glass bubble where tiny pinpricks of orange light sparked and jumped beneath the skin. A blue skeletal hand was projected over the inside of the glass and they all watched the little lights repair her broken bones bit-by-bit.

Once Thor entered the hall with King Odin, all attention shifted to him. Samantha pushed herself up on the bed, helped by both Bucky and Steve, "Hi Thor."

He smiled, but the expression didn't extend to his eyes, "Samantha- how do you feel?"

"I can't complain," she held up her encased hand slightly, "This is pretty cool."

"Samantha, may I ask you something?" King Odin showed great care to the girl. Thor briefed him on the Avengers discovery in Midgard and agreed to let his father question her now.

"Um, yes, King Odin… Your majesty… Sir."

"Do you remember much of what transpired outside of your vision today?"

She'd been over this already with Bucky and Steve- starting as soon as her eyes opened, "Very, very little. I remember grabbing Steve's arm, being dizzy (Bucky guessed that this was in response to her Bifrost trip), feeling like I was floating? That's probably when I was brought in here. After a long time I felt a zap and everything went dark. Oh, and I think I felt some popping in my hand, but there was no pain."

"Very good!" Odin was pleased she knew so much, "Now, your first vision- what do you remember of that?"

"Only the vision."

Odin pressed a bit more, "You must remember something- some sensation, feeling, sense of purpose-"

"I'm sorry, but… no," Samantha looked to Steve, "I touched the box, saw the- the women, then I woke up in the hospital." She couldn't bring herself to say 'Norn', not after what happened before. The word froze on the tip of her tongue like it was being held back by an invisible (and purely psychological) force.

"Lady Samantha, we know you hid the box. It contains a weapon that is very powerful and very dangerous. You need to tell me what you know." She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Samantha just shrugged, which only seemed to make Odin angry.

Thor put a hand on his father's shoulder to hold him back, "Samantha, please- anything you may know will aid us greatly. Do you remember being warm or cold? What was the ground of the battlefield like?"

"I don't-" Samantha hesitated, "Well, I mean…" something nagged at the back of her mind, making her arms feel heavy, moist, and thick. She frowned and the sensation changed to a gritty, rough heat. She looked down at her arms and for a brief second saw mud. It faded and she looked back up to the four men before her, "I- I think I was covered in dirt?" Samantha took Steve's hand, "I think I buried it?"

"Where?" Odin pressed once again.

"I have no idea." She was useless. Samantha wasn't even sure if she'd remembered or only thought she did.

Odin could tell he'd get nowhere with the Midgardian, not now, "We have a way to help you remember." He straightened up.

Bucky and Steve shared a look. Thor told both of them, in no uncertain terms, that there was no way to help Bucky recover any of his lost memories. Was Thor holding out on them? The Princes face went red- he'd definitely been caught in a lie, "Father! You cannot-"

"-An Inquisitor could help you, child." King Odin didn't even look at his son.

"You cannot authorize one of them to-"

"I AM KING, BOY." Odin's voice echoed around the room and made even the far-away physicians jump, "I can do what I wish. If it helps us find the weapon, it is worth the risk."

"IT ISN'T A RISK! IT'S MURDER!"

"What's an Inquisitor?" Steve planted himself between Odin and Samantha, immediately on the defensive.

"It's someone who can help."

"IT'S A TORTURER!" Thor snapped, "ASGARDIANS RARELY SURVIVE THEIR MENTAL PROBES! A MIDGARDIAN WOULD HAVE NO HOPE!"

"Probably," Odin admitted, "but if she will not tell us what we need to know, then she must be risked to save the lives of everyone we will lose if this turns into a full-scale war. That army- Archivist Wynd said it would destroy all of Midgard! If one must die to save billions, then so be it."

"You're not going anywhere-"

"-Hold it." Bucky straightened his shirt and stepped away from Steve's side, giving Odin a clear line of sight to Samantha, "Go ahead." He held out both hands, showing Odin his path.

"Bucky, what are you-"

"The man has a point and besides, I doubt it's personal. Go ahead, King Odin. If you want Samantha, all you have to do is take her." He smiled to Thor and slowly curled his metal hand into a fist, "Hey buddy?"

"Yes, James?"

"Are you ready to be King?" Bucky faced King Odin and lowered himself into a fighting stance, "Because as soon as you move a muscle, old man, I'm not stopping until your brains are on the floor."

Odin's face grew bright red, "How dare you threaten me?!"

"It's a promise, not a threat."

"Father, please listen to me," Thor held Mjolnir ready for a fight, but he was desperate to regain control of the situation before things turned ugly. "I share your concerns, I truly do, but I do not believe we need to resort to such drastic measures so quickly. Let us take the girl back to Midgard. There are ways they have to encourage memory. You saw it yourself- with some prompting she did remember burying the weapon. Look at them, father," he gestured to Bucky and Steve, "they ready for battle. Force this fight now and our enemies alone will benefit. There is cause for concern, yes, but we are not to the point yet where sacrifices should be made."

King Odin considered his position carefully, and he did not like what he saw. If this escalated into a full-scale battle, could he fight Thor, Captain America, and Bucky Barnes in the heart of Asgard and maintain his cover? It was almost certainly impossible. He had to play his cards carefully.

"Get her out of my sight," his voice was low, dangerous. "Take the whelp back to Midgard and make her remember where the box is, or I will fetch her for our inquisitors."

Steve scooped up Samantha without hesitation and shoved past King Odin. Bucky followed closely, ready to fight to clear the path ahead if need be. Thor felt guilty for betraying his only family, "Father-"

"LEAVE. NOW." Odin clenched his fists and did not move until he heard the healing chamber doors close behind the Avengers and their cargo, "ALL OF YOU! OUT!" The healers left first, followed by the warriors who had been 'sleeping' by the door at Thor's request. Lady Sif and the Warriors Three brought up the rear of the group. Odin had no idea how badly that fight would have gone for him.

Once he was alone he walked to the window and watched the Midgardians flee to the Bifrost on another ship. I'm not giving up. They cost me one army, I will have another. He thought he would be happy to rule Asgard in the guise of the Allfather, but it was a new kind of hell. Everyone loved and respected a mirage- one he no longer desired to keep up. It was taxing on his abilities and made his temper only grow with each day.

This was quite possibly his only chance- but everyone still needed a push. He wasn't willing to wait weeks for the Valkyrie to choose their new Commander and then however long it would take Wynd to gain full control of her armies. By then the weapon could be claimed. Something drastic needed to happen- something to inspire a bit of haste in all parties involved- both Valkyrie and Avenger.

He knew his next move, and it was a master-stroke. The King of Asgard smiled then and let his illusion melt away for a moment. Loki eagerly watched the Bifrost light up as the group returned to Midgard. He was tired of keeping up his act. It was time for Loki to have a little fun.

"I'll see you very soon, dear Samantha."