A/N:
1) Sorry for the long wait! and as usual, please let me know if I mess this up.
2)Sincere thanks for reviews and encouragement goes to: Avrice the Demigod, wolftattoo, and AshleyV6661. As usual, I'll respond via PM to anyone I can.
Also, thanks for all the faves, alerts, etc, it is most encouraging.
3) wolftattoo, that is an excellent question, the answer to which unfortunately is that we got to wait and see ;-).
Avrice the Demigod, welcome back!
4) As I usually forget to mention, I own nothing!
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The next morning, Aella and Thor make breakfast in her kitchen – a trial-and-error procedure of sorts since while she can handle a grill with reasonable success, once pans are involved, everything becomes too sticky for her liking, and Thor has clearly never done this - but despite the numerous missteps, there is a comforting peace that hangs in the air, and solace to be found in the fact that these small laughs are ones they can share without any secrets left unspoken between them.
Thor had not spoken the night before of his burden – of the loss of his father and his exile, but he had shared with her his memories, she knows the basic facts – and is willing to wait for him to want to talk about it, if and when that happens. Yet despite the peace between them, Aella cannot shake the feeling that nothing this beautiful can ever last, and for all the times she tells herself that she is putting too much value on her past experiences, she cannot stop a vaguely cold weight from settling in the pit of her stomach.
After their morning meal, and finding that she cannot settle her nerves, Aella suggests to Thor that they spend the day in town getting some needed supplies – both in hopes that having something to do will distract her, and because supplies are in fact needed. She figures that decent food is a must, as well as clothing for Thor and some educational material, reasoning that if he is going to be trapped in this world for a while, he needs to learn the culture to survive.
These thoughts bring a news wave of sorrow with them, because though Thor now seems resigned to a mortal existence, she does not want to think of the very real possibility that he is going to be trapped in this world forever – or more accurately for the length of a human lifespan – because for all that she finds peace by his side, she does not want to see him live as a mortal when he was born to be so much more…. she hates to see him trapped…. and most of all she cannot bear the idea that one day he will die as a mortal.
She nods numbly when Thor agrees with her statement, and as they drive into town, this time with Thor driving the 'metal beast of Midgard' as he has called her motorcycle, Aella simply buries her face against his strong solid shoulder and tries not to think.
It seems like as good a time as any to familiarize Thor with a few human customs and the laws appropriate to their century, so they take their time walking from one place to another, while Aella subtly points out behaviors he should be familiar with - but despite her distraction, she can immediately sense the tense confusion in the people around her, and not knowing what they are reacting to, she lightly rests her hand on the concealed pistol tucked into her belt, pulling Thor by her side to a stop as the cause of the confusion becomes apparent in the form of four decidedly not human people walked straight toward them.
They are not human – that much is clear from their bearing alone – and based on flickers of Thor's memories, Aella thinks she might be able to recognize them as friends or allies of his from Asgard, but she still remains on guard for all of the second it takes for Thor to break into his blinding heartwarming smile and run to embrace them.
Tension recedes from her form as she surmises that they are not here to harm Thor, and it evaporates entirely when the curious onlookers dismiss the newcomers as a group preparing for a renaissance fair – an illusion she only helps reinforce with a couple of offhand remarks to a bystander as she mocks the amount of effort some people give to re-enactments.
Yet despite that, even as she leads the group to an empty area where their conversation will not be overheard, she feels a small pang of pain within her when she hears them tell Thor that they are there to take him home, and though she smiles encouragingly for his sake when they tell him that his father is alive, and that he is not in fact banished forever, even that emotion is tinged with sorrow for the pain and betrayal written on Thor's features, as she see him come to the conclusion that she had only suspected before, that his brother had lied to him.
The other source of the ache in her chest is the reality that he will soon leave her, and though she knows that this is what she wanted – that to see him return home and theoretically have a chance to reclaim his birthright is her greatest wish, a small selfish part of her mourns for his impending departure.
Even so, this is what she had hoped for – for Thor's sake at least – and though she regrets that this incredible person who completely lacks within his subconscious the trait of deception has to bear the pain of a betrayal so close to his heart, there is hope for him at the end of this bridge – and grateful more than ever for the masks she has learned to wear upon her expression, Aella hides her pain and doubts, encouraging Thor to go with his friends.
The arrival of 'the Lady Sif, and the Warriors Three', as they have introduced themselves seems to explain her earlier anxiety, and this fact is of comfort to Aella until suddenly just outside the small town, in what she recognizes as the location where she had first met Thor, the sky churns, and when the funnel-cloud dissipates, there is a gigantic humanoid metal robot – if, Aella wonders, they even have robots in Asgard, because that is probably where this once came from – and the icy dread forming knots in her stomach only grows when she rests a hand gently on Thor's arm and can tell from the emotions burning within him and his thoughts that this "Destroyer" as he refers to it – is here on a mission of indiscriminate destruction, though it's primary target is likely Thor himself.
The fear she feels only grows when Thor turns to her and tells her to leave, both because it is proof of the enormity of this danger and because it is clear that he is staying behind – but she feels somewhat consoled at the fact that he seems to know his limitations in this mortal form and has not stayed to fight by the side of his far-less fragile friends, choosing instead to evacuate the non-combatants from harm's way.
In response to his request of her, though Aella replies:
"I'm not leaving without you – and I can help here too.", and though he sighs lightly, Thor does not argue with her as they crowd civilians into the largest vehicles they can find and send them away.
Knowing they may not have enough transport space for everyone and remembering the truck-stop nearby, Aella steps away from Thor's side for a few moments to climb into the passenger side of the one empty truck parked there, just in time for the driver to get in, trapping his wrist in a secure hold as he is about to turn the keys in the ignition and telling him that he cannot leave just yet.
She is not surprised when he tries to pull away from her, having only one clear intention – the natural desire to escape the oncoming danger, but it is just as unsurprising that he freezes in abject terror when he feels the barrel of her pistol pressed against his forehead, and she hisses, nodding to the explosions clearly visible as the Destroyer continues on its path:
"You can either help get the rest of these people to safety or get out and I'll do it, while you can try your luck with that thing."
He agrees with her terms, and climbs out, letting the rest of the townspeople climb into his truck before he drives away with them, but any satisfaction that Aella feels at this small victory is drowned out by the hopeless fight unfolding before her, as the four warriors from Asgard are doing all they can to fight the Destroyer and still failing to even slow the path of burning wreckage it is carving though the now thankfully-desolate town.
She shoots at the Destroyer, unsurprised but angry all the same that even the rounds which have hit within the open faceplate do absolutely nothing, finally dropping the pistol and resorting to her other ability, hurling a slab of broken concrete at the metal monster. This time her effort is rewarded by the Destroyer staggering for a second, before it responds with a blast of flame that disintegrates the car that she is hiding behind, throwing her against the nearby wall.
Struggling to her knees, she tries to lift another piece of the wreckage in her own defense as the Destroyer moves closer to her, but is too disoriented and distracted by the numerous aches the impact has left to be able to achieve the concentration necessary, and she is only saved from the next blast by Thor who makes a mad dash ahead of it carrying her to safety, even as their team is forced into a retreat.
Logically Aella knows this fight is already lost, knows that even if there is anyone on Earth who can stand against this …. thing…. even they will probably loose ultimately – and will not arrive in time to save the lives that it will inevitably end in it's flaming path of destruction. But she is unwilling to accept the fact, struggling instead to calm herself enough to use her abilities – until the inevitability of her worst fears settles upon her – this time in the form of Thor who is sending his friends back to his home-world to stop his wayward and destructive sibling, and that in itself is more a proof than anything else that he too knows this fight is already lost.
Even that sense of hopelessness, though, is nothing in comparison to the crushing pain and desperation filling her when Thor responds to their concerns about his safety with a smile of forced confidence, saying:
"Do not worry, my friends – I have a plan."
Even without contact with him, she can see that the confidence in his tone is a diversion – just as much as the shield he holds is - and even though there is only one plan at this point that can make a difference, she cannot bear the thought of him carrying it out.
It seems that only she realizes this, because they turn away – no doubt to carry out what he has asked, and then Thor turns to her, telling her with a small smile even as he avoids any physical contact that would give away his thoughts and feelings:
"I need you to get out of here, for now – it is too dangerous."
Aella sighs, her fears only confirmed by words that in her mind say only too clearly: 'I don't want you to watch this.', but she turns away regardless, letting him think she has agreed, only to stop as the clatter of the dropped shield against the unforgiving ground provides the final proof of the nightmare haunting her – and she turns around only to see Thor, completely defenseless and not intending to defend himself walking towards the metal personification of death that has come for him.
Desperate again, she sprints to his side, taking his right wrist in her left hand as she pulls him to a stop and tentatively places her right palm against his cheek, turning his head to look at her as she says softly, desperately:
"Don't do this Thor – this fight is not over."
This time there is nothing false in his answering sad smile as he says equally gently, raising his right hand to gently trace the back of hers:
"I must. This battle cannot be won – and I will not see another die on my account."
She can feel in his emotions more than ever his love for her, and the unspoken 'least of all, you' in his thoughts, but she also knows why he does not voice them – not wanting to give substance to the fears she had spoken of, the night before. She can also sense in Thor's thoughts the certainty that his assessment is correct, and knowing that by trying to hinder his plans, all she will obtain is to force Thor to watch her die, she simply nods, closing her eyes as she tries to fight the tears welling up, unable to meet the crystalline blue gaze that is focused upon her.
It is Thor's voice that breaks the silence, offering with a forced sense of fragile hope:
"Loki still is my brother…."
Aella forces herself to meet his gaze, biting back the response that had almost reached her lips, and was gleaned from her perception of his emotions: 'You don't believe that will help'. Instead she simply nods once more, forcing a broken smile of her own – because he deserves her support since it is all she has to offer – and retreats to the safety of a corner, even as she feels her heart ache with every step away from him.
She forces herself to watch as Thor walks without any hesitation towards the metal executioner, heart breaking as she hears his softly spoken words to a brother he knows can hear him though this instrument of death, and the fact that she knows those words are completely genuine - that they are not a simply ploy for mercy, but rather fueled by the unchallenged love that Thor still holds for his younger sibling which was only too evident to her when he had told her 'Loki still is my brother.', the love that remains even as the Destroyer prepares to kill him, and Thor asks him to do so but spare everyone else – makes the pain she feels at hearing this softly-spoken confession that much more unbearable:
"Brother, whatever I have done to wrong you, whatever I have done to lead you to do this, I am truly sorry…..
But these people are innocent.
Taking their lives will gain you nothing…..
So take mine…. and end this."
She draws in a shuddering breath, grasping for the desperate hope that fills her as the fires within the Destroyer are banked and its faceplate closes, telling herself that the bond between brothers had been ultimately enough. She breaths a sigh of relief as the executioner turns away – only to have her hopes and heart crushed when it suddenly spins around, delivering to Thor what she knows only too well is a fatal blow – and even from her position she can hear the sickening crunch of shattering bone as he is hurled through the air from the force of the impact.
Aella tries to cry out in denial of the terrible truth, but it seems as if her voice has been torn from her along with the source of the last precious hope in a world of darkness, and she runs to the side of the fallen hero, reaching him as she hears him struggle to take an anguished breath.
It is too late, but though she knows that she can do nothing for him now, she still kneels by his side, cradling his head between her hands even while she is careful not to jostle him and cause any more pain, while the tears she has been fighting for so long to suppress finally overflow.
Even though he is so close to an ever-approaching death that his words are barely audible, the relief in them is only too clear:
"It's over."
She shakes her head in desperation, not because she can fool herself into thinking that he is not dying, not because she can silence the logical part of her brain that even now is rattling off facts: 'Multiple cervical fractures… spinal shock… mortality inevitable.'. Instead her broken whispered "No" is a precursor to the thoughts she cannot bring herself to speak:
'No… Why could you not have been selfish? Why did you have to sacrifice yourself….. No… I cannot loose you.'
This time, he smiles through his pain, clarifying in a whisper that becomes only weaker:
"I mean, you're safe…. It's over."
It is the heartfelt selfless happiness within him which overpowers the muted resignation and loss he feels which finally breaks her attempt to hide her sorrow, and a first violent sob rips through her, choking any response she could have found to his words.
Seconds later, Thor breathes his last – and the only thing Aella can do is rest her head over his bloodied chest, weeping bitterly.
She cannot bring herself to care that she is being watched, cannot bring herself to care that perhaps the Destroyer will strike again. With all the pain she has endured in her life, nothing has prepared her for this utterly devastating unbearable anguish, and unable to hold it within any longer, she throws her head back, shifting into a crouch over the broken body that had once held within it so brilliant a soul, and lets loose an inhuman scream of anguish and rage to the uncaring universe.
Of all the times in her life she has screamed, none have ever approached this vocalization of total loss – and none have ever been this absolutely pointless.
She screams again, the self-control she has so carefully built over the years utterly shattered along with her heart, and this time she feels strong but feminine hands resting on her shoulders, in an attempt at comfort, even as she can feel through the touch Sif's grief, but as she lowers her head and tries to stop these inhuman cries, the first thing she sees ahead of her is the Destroyer, walking away – completely uncaring of her loss, and though she knows it is both stupid and beyond useless, that realization causes some final barrier to break within her, and she tosses a careless hand over her shoulder, throwing the Aesir away from her with a diffuse kinetic blast which is more insult than injury, while she stands facing the still-retreating Destroyer, fueled by the uncontrollable loss and rage burning within her for the mortal god whose body lies lifeless behind her.
Still the Destroyer ignores her, ignores her curses, but it does not fail to notice when the unhinged door of a car crashes into the back of its head, and it turns once again to face her.
Its response with a blast of flame is expected, and finding herself more in control of her abilities than ever before, Aella deflects it to the side, leaving her unharmed.
Ironic, really, that in any other circumstance emotion had always served as a hindrance to her abilities – yet now it has become so all-consuming that it is the fuel, almost as if she has become the living embodiment of her pain and rage….. which is perhaps all that remains of her.
She hears Sif call out a warning to her, senses more than sees the four trying to approach behind her, but again she forces them away, and hurls another piece of debris, this time a piece of sidewalk, at the Destroyer.
Even now as she hurls everything within her power at the executioner, she can see that she is not doing any real damage, even if she has forced it to a standstill. At the same time, she can feel the overuse of this ability draining her strength, see it in the fact that each blast of flame she deflects comes just a bit closer – and she knows just as she has always known that she will loose this fight, but she does not care. She has nothing left to loose, and though she knows Thor would not have wanted this, all she had agreed to was not to make him see her die, and now he never will. Her own survival now that he is gone is another matter entirely.
This time the blast burns her arm as she deflects it, but she hardly registers the pain, barely can feel it in comparison to the emotional pain filling her, and strangely it does not stop her from sending more debris by return mail.
If it is even possible, her anger builds when she hears and sees what appears to be a small inbound …. missile - for lack of a better description – and needing to deal with one threat at a time, she angrily uses more energy than perhaps is wise to throw the Destroyer into a building, hoping to buy enough time to deflect the missile, though she is not even sure why it matters because Thor is already gone forever, so what is an explosion at this point?
Again, Aella hears Sif calling to her, approaching her to pull her out of the way, and again, she forces her would-be savior back, even as she tries to deflect the missile. For some reason though she puts everything she has left into the effort, it does not even budge, fractionally – as if there is some inexorable force drawing it closer. A small part in her brain tells her she should move – should drop into a roll and get away as fast as possible, but she cannot find the will to do so, finally choosing to stand fast in her pointless defensive position – until an impact with the front of her chest sends her flying, and this time the crunch of bones is her own.
There is something ironic in the fact that it is now she who is laying on the ground, too broken to move, and Sif who is kneeling beside her, but ultimately there is something relieving about the darkness that she can feel reaching for her, and even as she instinctually struggles to breathe against what feels like a lead weight on her chest and chokes on blood welling in the back of her throat – even as that irritating part of her mind supplies:
'Pulmonary laceration, hemopneumothorax…', she simply cannot bring herself to care.
Everything changes when the brilliant lightning flashing before her registers in her murky thoughts, and though she can barely see within the blinding bluish light, she knows that Thor is no-longer laying lifeless and broken on the ground, that through the blinding light she can see flashes of armor and red, and raised to the sky in what has to be Thor's hand is Mjolnir.
It is with sudden embarrassment that she realizes that the 'missile' she had tried to deflect was Mjolnir, coming back to Thor's hand – but even the realization of her own stupidity at not recognizing it sooner pales in comparison to the unimaginable joy filling her, because just when all had been lost, it was regained, and Thor is not simply living and breathing again…. He is no-longer mortal.
In some quiet corner of her mind, the catalog of injuries finishes with a sarcastic: 'fatality inevitable…. well, shit.', because more than anything she regrets that she is dying and Thor will be there to see it…. but even that is somehow muted as she sees the Destroyer reappear, only to be faced with an entirely different situation, only to be vacuumed up into Thor's own personal hurricane, and despite the fact she can barely breathe, she finds herself laughing.
With the Destroyer vanquished, and turned to a pancake by falling cars, Thor emerges from the fading storm, radiating the power within him, and looking every inch a god of lightning and thunder, while still holding in those electric blue eyes all the brilliant and warm sincerity she had always loved him for.
But quickly his expression of triumph is replaced by despair as he sees her on the ground and runs to her side – and in another twist of irony, it is in this moment that the first flare of truly unbearable pain flares in her chest, wrenching a scream from her lips – which is the absolute last thing she would have wanted Thor to have to hear, as if seeing her like this is not bad enough.
The second time it hits, Thor is by her side, trying to comfort her even as she thrashes violently in a failed effort to not cry out again in response to the burning pain in her chest which feels absolutely nothing like it should …. but what is truly disturbing, for lack of a better term is that Aella knows she should not have the strength to thrash like this – she was only seconds earlier barely able to breathe, she should not be able to get enough air to make this much noise.
This time when the burning pain passes, it takes away with it that of the broken bones and bleeding lungs, and when Aella takes a cautious deep breath, nothing hurts….. somehow she has been healed.
Thor realizes this as fast as she does, and immediately pulls her close in an embrace, smiling with relief and happiness even as he says softly, his whisper holding within it all the grief that nearly loosing her had caused him:
"What were you thinking?"
Rather than answer that particularly embarrassing question, she lets the other Aesir fill Thor in on the details, while she simply enjoys having him alive and well this close to her.
Aella is forced to provide an answer when Sif demands an explanation for those final seconds, and she finally settles on:
"I thought it was a missile and I was trying to uh….deflect it."
In response to Thor's puzzled look, Aella quickly explains:
"It's a long-range Earth weapon."
The main topic of contention now turns to how she – a mortal – survived after being struck by Mjolnir, and it is when Aella is suggesting her own theory and sheepishly rubbing at the now-healed point of impact that she first notices the raised pattern she can feel through her shirt:
"Maybe it's because it was not trying to hit me – I was sort-of just standing in the way?"
Any response to that theory, however is lost in her own confusion as she pulls down the collar of her shirt far enough to reveal what she had felt seconds earlier: a raised metallic triquetra that seems to match the material Mjolnir is made of, and seems permanently grafted to her chest where it had hit her, and lost in confusion, she only manages to ask flatly:
"Okay, what's happening to me?"
This time it is Thor who answers, showing her an identical symbol etched on the side of Mjolnir, saying:
"It seems Mjolnir judged you worthy of… a gift."
Aella does not even know what to say to that statement, but fortunately she does not need too because at that moment Thor stands, pulling her to her feet as well, and addresses his friends in a commanding tone:
"We must go to the Bifrost site. I would have words with my brother."
She cannot help but think that having more than simply words is warranted in the situation, but before she can comment, one of the agents who had held her and Thor prisoner only days before suddenly arrives, and clearly wants an explanation.
Her irritation at seeing him arrive now of all times is almost impossible to hold onto as she tries not to laugh at the rather comedic contrast between a fully armed-and armored - thunder god and the entirely human operative who apparently has the nerve to strut up to him demanding answers, but it is Thor who settles the issue with as much information as he will give, telling the agent that he will be there to stand beside them in defense of Earth if he is needed – as long as they do her no harm, and though Aella feels strangely unconcerned about her own fate after everything that has happened this day, she cannot help but smile at Thor's concern for her – until it is coupled with the reality that he is asking this because he is about to leave, and though she knows this is as it should be, she does not know how she can say goodbye again.
Before she can dwell on it, she is held tightly to Thor's side as he flies through the air, and her melancholy thoughts are quickly driven away by the pure joy of flight…. and for once she catches a vague glimpse of how much Thor had lost when he had become mortal.
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