A/N: Once again, real life kept me from responding to most of the reviews for last chapter. I love discussing aspects of this story with all of you, so I've been really bummed about not having the time to do so. There will be a little lull in the next couple weeks before the holidays get into full swing, which means I'll definitely respond to those I receive for this chapter!
One of the main questions, I think, on everyone's mind is when Loki will be coming back. I can say that he absolutely will show up in the next chapter – you'll see how at the end of this one – and that the chapter after that will be from his perspective. Exciting stuff!
As always, thank you to my fabulous beta Hr'awkryn!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything having to do with Marvel Comics or any of its creations. I can only appreciate the characters they've given us to work with.
Chapter Twenty
"We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that death will tremble to take us."
2011: Puente Antiguo, United States
New Mexico was chilly with the promise of winter. Exhales were wisps of smoke, ghosts that hovered in the air before dissolving into nothingness, and Jane woke slowly to chirping birds, the entry bell at Isabela's diner, cold fingers, and Thor.
Full awareness was a gradual thing, so she spent the moments in between studying him. Stretched out on the chair, partially covered by the thinner of the two blankets, hair falling across eyes still closed in sleep… Thor was directly opposite her, so close their chairs were touching, which meant he must have pulled them together sometime during the night.
But the chairs weren't the only things touching.
Tucking one set of cold fingers between the folds of the blanket, Jane breathed warm air into the space. When she prepared to do the same with the other hand, though, she realized it actually wasn't that cold. Or alone. Or easily retrievable.
Her focus lowered from the peaceful smoothness around Thor's eyes to the scruff lining his jaw to the hand loosely holding hers. It felt surreal, staring at their cradled hands, the fingers lacing their way between her own while his thumb curled into her palm. She'd never had an out-of-body experience before – that she knew of, at least – but if she had to wager, she'd bet it felt a lot like this.
Without warning, his fingers twitched, thumb picking up a pattern as it stroked from the middle of her palm to the heel of her hand. "Good morning."
She looked up just in time to see a sliver of blue disappear behind dark lashes and the contented curl of his mouth. "Mmm…" Her voice sounded strange in her ears, scratchy with disuse and sleep. "Morning."
"I trust you slept well?"
"Great." Rolling onto her back, Jane tested the lethargic weight of her limbs and pointed her toes in a stretch. "Better than great, actually." She tried to think of the last time she'd felt so relaxed or well-rested. She did not think about the split-second where Thor's fingers tightened before allowing her hand to slip free of his. "You?"
"Very well." Copying her movements, Thor rotated to his back as well. "Far better than in that Midgardian infirmary that—"
"Hospital." His head fell her way at the interruption, but she stared resolutely into the cloudless sky, the sun burning away the blue until she was forced to close her eyes. Even then, she could see the globe outlined against the black. "It's called a hospital, and this is Earth. Even if you're telling the truth about the realms and being banished, you'll still need to talk like a normal person."
"As you wish."
Jane's eyes flew open. The answer was so accommodating, so… compliant. To say she was instantly suspicious would be an understatement, especially judging by the innocent look on his face when she glanced over. The only sign of something else going on was an almost imperceptible quirk of his lips that was just a shade too playful.
When she sat up, the blanket pooled in her lap. "No more trying to convince me that you're not crazy?" After his persistence the night before, it seemed uncharacteristic.
"Would you believe me even if I did?" Thor crossed his arms beneath his head.
In the end, that was really what it all boiled down to, whether or not she could believe him. All of his claims were things the world deemed impossible, but then, what was normal about the things that had been happening recently? In the span of approximately – Jane pushed back her jacket sleeve to check her watch – twenty-five and a half hours, normality had descended into one confusing detail after another.
Unnatural anomaly?
Check.
Secretive government agency seizing years' worth of research?
Check.
Random man claiming to be a one-time mythical god from another realm appearing, literally, from nowhere?
Check.
The relative peace and quiet of Puente Antiguo had been substituted for a mess of strange activity and a plethora of visitors who stood out painfully against the rest of the townspeople. It was too much at one time to be chance and lent weight to the idea that something bigger was going on. Like she'd said before, coincidence could only explain so much. The impervious walls of science were beginning to crumble, the hard facts now buckshot with what if.
With a deliberating sigh, Jane raked a hand through her hair. She wanted explanations no matter which theory they supported, but she couldn't deny that an event-free morning would be a nice change of pace after the past few days. So instead of diving into their conversation head-first, she settled on agreeing to disagree.
"Good point."
"And here I was expecting you to convince me of my delusions." Thor's grin widened when she swatted his upper arm.
Settling back into the chair, Jane crossed her legs and rearranged the blanket around them, tucking the edges beneath her. "The option's not completely out." She began to pull the remainder of the blanket up to her shoulders. "I could always recons— oh, no."
Disturbed by her movements, the notebook that had been balancing precariously on the end of the chair slid off, and she was just a fraction of a second too late in leaning forward to catch it, the tips of her fingers just brushing the binding before it fell out of reach. She was in the process of unfurling her legs when Thor beat her to it and retrieved the item himself.
Picking up the notebook, he sat at the end of the chair with his back to her. Through the triangular slice between his torso, his arm, and his thigh, Jane watched the cover fall open across his hand, the sheets following suit and settling on a specific page. Circular rings, sloping branches… she was just able to make out their diagram before Thor spoke.
"It is interesting, though."
She perused the broad expanse of his back, the curl of his shoulders as he intently studied the notebook. "What, that I'm struggling to believe you really are one of Norway's ancient gods?"
"No." Thor paused. Then he smirked over his shoulder. "Well, that too, I suppose… but I meant in regards to believing in the existence of other realms." Before she could do more than open her mouth and inhale her reply, Thor faced her completely and held out the notebook still open to the drawing. "You maintain the idea is impossible and yet you have included Yggdrasil in your book of science."
"Technically it's a book of hypotheses until I can prove them true." The skepticism Jane felt was clear on her face, in the wry quirk of her mouth and her sharp gesture to the sketch. "And those are just galaxies in deep space."
Nonplussed, Thor continued to smile. "You mean realms."
"No, I mean galaxies." She flipped to one of the pictures of Messier 81. "They're massive, gravitationally bound systems of stars, stellar remnants, dark matter, and an interstellar medium of gas and dust." Then she turned back to the page still marked by his thumb. "You're the one who drew the tree around them trying to make them realms, not me."
Thor looked down at the notebook, brow slightly furrowed as he traced one finger along the lines he'd drawn. "So you mean to say you had no knowledge of Yggdrasil when you charted these… galaxies?"
"That's correct."
Silence welled between them for a moment while Thor continued to stare at the illustration with such concentration Jane could almost see the wheels turning in his mind. Whatever line of thought he was travelling, it was obviously an important one.
He rested his elbows on his knees. "Tell me, Jane, are these systems accurately placed in relation to one another?"
"It's hard to scale down a galaxy that's light years in diameter." The breadth of Messier 81 was approximately ninety-two thousand light years. M101 spanned over one hundred seventy thousand. "But yes, their general placement to each other should be relatively accurate."
"Then there is an uncanny similarity between your galaxies and Yggdrasil."
Jane issued a patient sigh. "How so?"
"Their depiction, for one." When she leaned forward, Thor held the notebook to the side so they could both see it. "Asgard, Jötunheim, and Muspelheim are realms of average size. And where Midgard is significantly smaller, Niflheim is a vast realm."
"Okay…"
"Second is their structure. Each of these galaxies are placed precisely the same as the nine realms. Asgard, Svartalfheim, Niðavellir, Midgard…" He pointed to four different galaxies in turn. "Your drawing exactly matches their basic arrangement within Yggdrasil."
With one set of fingers drumming out a repeated rhythm on her thigh, Jane absentmindedly nibbled at the opposite thumbnail as she considered everything. It was a remarkable happenstance. She was open-minded enough to admit that. But there was one crucial flaw in what he was saying that brought the rest of his claims to a halt.
"Except this isn't Earth or Midgard or whatever you want to call it." Jane moved Thor's finger from where it was pressed to I Zwicky 18 near the top of the page down to the Milky Way at the very bottom. "This is."
Since the galaxies that had given off readings over the years extended away from Earth in the same general direction, it made sense for the Milky Way to be at the bottom of the drawing. Start at one point, and chart everything out from there based on relative distance. Placing the Milky Way in the middle of the page where Thor believed it to be was ridiculous.
"No…" Thor frowned, confused. "That isn't right."
"I hate to break it to you, but yes, that is right." Straightening, Jane stretched her arms above her head. "These galaxies have been at the core of my research for the past ten years. There are a lot of things I don't understand, but this…" She nodded to the notebook. "This, I know."
"How, then, do you explain the similar size of the galaxies in your drawing to that of the nine realms or their identical arrangement? Would you cast it off as mere chance? A coincidence?" With a knowing smile, he shook the notebook insistently. "You do not realize what you have here, Jane. Among all the mortals in this realm, you alone have the truth – the real truth – in your possession."
The resolve in Thor's eyes was unnerving. Or maybe it was the sensation in her stomach, the tangy allure of knowledge combined with a kind of weightlessness like she was falling without a parachute, tumbling endlessly down the rabbit hole to Wonderland.
And just like Wonderland, nothing made sense.
Except for the few places it did.
Jane's gaze lowered and slid to the side at the familiar sound of Erik and Darcy. Their voices came from the street below, growing ever louder as they approached the lab and arguing all the way – if questioned, Darcy would maintain they were only debating – on what to eat for breakfast. When the front door of the lab closed, she turned back to Thor who was staring at her expectantly.
She couldn't speak to the accuracy of the rest of the diagram, but what Thor assumed to be Midgard was not. With its high rate of star formation, relatively small size, and principal makeup of hydrogen and helium, I Zwicky 18 was nothing like the Milky Way Galaxy.
But then… was it possible for the similarities between what Thor believed and what she'd sketched to be a fluke? Honestly, what were the odds? There were hundreds of things yet to be discovered about the universe. People were learning something new every day. So if other realms did exist, perhaps the explanation was that they had a different perspective on galactic placement than her own based on their position. Or maybe the overall orientation was off. What if there really wasn't an up or down in space?
It was eccentric, though, and frustrated with not being able to scientifically explain it, Jane fell back on the largest detail lending to her reservations.
"Then why is it wrong?" The notebook slid easily from his grip, and she looked at the drawing. "If this is supposed to be reality, why doesn't everything match?"
"Maybe some things were lost in translation or maybe we only think we have the correct answer when, really, none of us do." One shoulder rose and fell in a half-shrug. "I couldn't say." Thor smiled apologetically. "Once again, my brother would be better suited to answering than I."
It was the second time he'd mentioned having a brother, both in moments where technicalities were needed, and she wondered what the chances were of her ever encountering the mysterious person who apparently had all the answers. That was, if he even existed.
With a muffled groan, Thor stood up and stretched. "I would expect the Norns to be laughing at our expense right now as we try to figure everything out, especially considering it is impossible to know what they have in store."
Jane blinked. The drawing blurred into a mess of fuzzy lines and blobs as she lost focus, and her head shot up after a moment, mouth falling slack. The jerking motion seemed to catch Thor's eye because he immediately turned from the rooftop-view of Puente Antiguo to her.
Mistaking her reaction for confusion, he began to explain. "The Norns—"
"Dictate the fates of the world."
Jane's mouth snapped closed in the aftermath of the words that had come out of their own accord even as Thor confirmed it with a shallow nod. "Yes, they do. Did Erik tell you of them as well?"
"I…" Unsure, she trailed off.
Had that been part of some story Erik had told her during the past ten years? She couldn't remember exactly, but there didn't seem to be any other explanation. Except… she could trace the unsettling feeling of what she'd said back to the black wall in the back of her mind, could almost see the path from where they'd leaked out of the darkness.
That was all that had come out, though, knowledge on the responsibilities of a group of beings steeped in Nordic mythology. Jane paused again. But if that was all that had come out, how did she know that the Norns were mythical beings at all? Confused, she dropped the notebook and lowered her head into her hands.
Did she explore the potential opening into her past?
Or did she run from it, bury herself in her research like she was prone to do?
"Jane?" A hand settled onto her shoulder, weighty and warm against the chill that had slowly crept its way into her bones, and she looked up to see Thor regarding her, concern in his eyes.
"Yeah…" She swallowed around the lie in her throat. "I guess Erik did tell me about them." Following his lead, she crawled to her feet, pushed aside the turbulent chaos in her mind, and decided a change of subject would be best. "Come on, I'm sure you're hungry. Let's go see what Erik and Darcy made for breakfast."
Yet, as she followed Thor to the stairs at the far end of the roof, she couldn't help but look back over her shoulder to the notebook still lying on the chair. It called to her, beckoned with an invisible finger that promised answers to questions she didn't know how to phrase, couldn't begin to describe even if she wanted to.
There were gaping holes in what Thor had talked about where logic had been replaced with blind faith. Realms, gods, mythology come to life… no normal scientist would believe anything he'd said.
But then, no scientist had ever called Jane Foster normal.
"Look who slept in. On the rooftop. Together."
Trailing a few steps behind Thor, Jane stood on her tiptoes to shoot Darcy a pointed glare with a very clear message over his shoulder. However, obediently falling silent was pointless when the intern gave a look of her own as they passed, one that also contained a blatant message written in her smug grin and raised eyebrows.
Doing her best to ignore the expression she could still see even though she was desperately trying not to, Jane slid into the chair beside Erik who was staring vacantly at the coffee cup in front of him. "How are you feeling?"
"Not too bad, considering." He fingered the handle of the cup before wrinkling his nose and pushing it away. "It could always be worse."
"Way to see the positive side of things, Dr. Selvig. That's really good." Darcy took the empty seat directly across from Jane and to Erik's right. "Because I was going to say that, if you thought this was bad, there was one time I got drunk and—"
Jane leaned over just enough to catch the intern's eye, shook her head sharply, and breathed a silent sigh of relief when it seemed to do the trick, effectively cutting off the story. The last thing Erik needed right then was to hear about the time Darcy claimed she forgot how to speak English and was stuck trying to direct the taxi driver back to her apartment in French or the time she woke up the morning after with a parking meter in her bedroom and no knowledge of how it got there or the time she snuck onto the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry on a dare only to fall asleep in the boiler room for an entire night.
"I… um…" Getting the hint, Darcy folded her hands around her own coffee cup and brought it to her lips, mumbling around the ceramic. "Well, I guess that's not important."
"Thanks for the painkillers, by the way." Erik offered the most appreciative smile he could probably manage in his current condition.
"No problem. You'll feel even better after you eat something." To the right, Jane spotted Thor examining a skillet on the stove before moving to the carton of eggs on the counter and looking to her sheepishly when they slipped from his grasp back to the counter. "Unless you already have?"
Darcy tilted her head in Erik's direction. "I wasn't sure if everyone was ready for food yet."
The unspoken if you know what I mean was clear in Darcy's expression even without her impression of someone throwing up. Judging by the pallor of Erik's skin, he needed something in his stomach to ease him back to normalcy, so after a reassuring pat on Erik's arm, Jane made her way to where Thor was now reading the list of ingredients on a loaf of bread, turned on the burner beneath the skillet, and pulled out a mixing bowl.
Breakfast was a quick ordeal of scrambled eggs, toast, and breakfast sausage. It would've been even quicker if Thor hadn't asked to help crack eggs – a complete disaster – or make toast – only two slices were burnt beyond repair – or help wash dishes – the plates made it through intact, but dishwater splashed onto the floor on more than one occasion.
But even if the assistance wasn't necessarily needed, the company was nice.
And if Thor's fingers lingered just a second too long against hers when he took a plate from her or trailed across her lower back when he passed behind her, she didn't complain.
Once breakfast was finished, Jane sat back down, this time across from Erik. She tried not to watch him swallow the last few sips of orange juice, but the fact that she was pointedly looking everywhere except at him coupled with the beat her fingers had taken up gave away her anxiousness. With a sigh, Erik set the glass down, crossed his arms on the table, and met her gaze.
"Alright, what is it?"
Denial was pointless. Still, Jane couldn't help but paste on a mask of innocence. "What's what?"
"What's got you so worked up? And don't even bother trying to play it cool." Erik knew her too well to be fooled. "I can practically feel your excitement. You're humming with it."
Giving in to the idea that had been tickling the back of her mind the entire time she was cooking and cleaning up was easy, and it was with an eager grin that Jane leaned forward, slid the glasses out of the way, and pulled the notebook she'd gone back to retrieve from the chair from the inside pocket of her jacket.
Opening it to the drawing, she recounted their conversation from that morning, detailing the uncanny similarities between the sketch of the galaxies that had given off bursts of activity over the years and the World's Tree Thor had drawn between them. To his credit, Erik listened without saying anything or even mirroring the dubious looks she'd given Thor when hearing the same information. Only after all the information had been laid out on the table did he inhale deeply.
"Do you realize how this sounds?"
"Crazy, I know, but think about it Erik." Jane spared a glance for Thor and Darcy to make sure they were out of earshot on the other side of the room. "He knows nothing about my research. Literally nothing. So how could he have just made something like this up?"
With a long-suffering sigh, Erik went to refill his coffee cup. "I think you're too trusting of other people. For all you know, he could be another astrophysicist trying to misguide you or some homeless person off the—"
"He's telling the truth."
Jane's voice rang loudly in the silence that followed her declaration. Even Thor and Darcy had gone quiet. Coffee pot still in hand, Erik turned, studied her carefully, and she crossed her arms and lifted her chin defiantly at the weight of his regard. She'd received enough judgment from the rest of her peers over the years. She didn't need it from him as well.
When Thor took a step forward, moving inward from the far edges of her sight, her gaze drifted to his, to the faint smile on his face. "Or at least, what he believes to be the truth."
"It's a beautiful theory, Jane." Erik scratched the back of his neck. "But you won't be able to convince the scientific community, not without hard evidence."
It wasn't the first time they'd had this discussion, and she doubted it would be the last. But before she could either reluctantly agree or refute his claim or just fall silent and let things be – she hadn't quite decided which option was preferable yet – a knock came from behind her.
"Found you!"
In the moment before Jane turned, she watched Erik's mouth fall open as the coffee cup slipped from his hand to shatter against the linoleum. The dark liquid splattered onto her jeans while the rest of it flowed towards the tips of her boots. Once she'd caught sight of who had spoken, though, she didn't care about the puddle of coffee or the slivers of ceramic that littered the floor.
The door was flung wide, and Jane took an involuntary step back. "My friends!" Her attention shot to Thor as he strode forward to embrace one of the men while three other people clapped him on the shoulders and back.
Everything about the four newcomers was… well, different was the nicest way to put it. The most interesting was that they were dressed in armored suits complete with shields and weapons. Even the woman was outfitted in a warrior's costume. Or were they costumes? After all, the sword strapped to one of the men's side looked real enough, light glinting off its razor-sharp edge.
Darcy's sudden appearance at Jane's left shoulder made her jump. However, Erik didn't seem to be able to take his eyes off Thor's supposed friends. "I don't believe it." His hands were still held out, cupped around an invisible coffee mug that had fallen over two minutes ago.
"Oh, excuse me." Having finally noticed them, the first man Thor had hugged turned their way and gestured behind him to the rest of the group. "The Lady Sif and the Warriors Three."
Erik choked on air.
Darcy waved a silent greeting.
Jane just gaped open-mouthed at Thor who shrugged before looking away. "My friends, I have never been happier to see anyone, but you should not have come."
In the background, a solitary beep sounded from the magnetometer stashed in the corner. It was only one, but it was enough to cut through the surreal feeling that permeated the lab. Without averting her eyes, Jane turned her head in the direction of the equipment, half-listening to the conversation taking place.
Darcy leaned close enough to whisper. "So what do you think of these guys? That realm-on-the-other-side-of-the-bridge thing is sounding pretty plausible now. God, I love it when I'm right." Fisting a hand in a personal show of triumph, she sighed happily. "Should I tell Erik? I'm gonna tell Erik."
"No." Jane grabbed the intern's arm to keep her in place, shook her head, and repeated. "No." The last thing Erik needed to hear was I told you so when he already looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown.
"Ugh, fine." Darcy pulled away, rocking back onto her heels and sullenly crossing her arms. "The one time I'm right and I can't tell anyone…typical."
A second beep came from the magnetometer, followed by a third a few moments later. When Jane glanced over, she saw the screen on the machine that measured particle data light up, the dial jumping erratically.
"Well, if I can't rub my rightness in Erik's face, do you mind if I call dibs on the other blonde guy?" Darcy's face found its way into Jane's line of sight, cutting off the view of the equipment. "He seems nice, and by seems I mean looks. No reason for you to have all the fun."
Struggling to keep up with the conversation, Jane frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Darcy nodded towards the group near the door. "The thing you have going on with Thor."
"There's no thing going on."
"Oh, there's definitely a thing." The smirk easing across Darcy's face caused Jane's frown to deepen all the more, but denial crept up her neck unbidden and stained her cheeks a telling red. "Anyway, is that a yes because—"
"Jane, are you listening to this?" Grateful for a way out of the discussion, Jane turned to Erik who was still observing Thor and his friends. "They're talking about all of this stuff like they're serious, like it's…" He fell silent, unable to actually say it.
But Erik's hesitancy was Darcy's opportunity, and she took advantage of the opening Jane had denied her before anyone could say otherwise, leaning forward to stage whisper with lips curled in a smug grin. "Like it's what? Real?"
"My father is dead because of me." There was a brittle edge to Thor's voice that drew Jane's attention, a brokenness that felt incongruent with someone who had been willing to fight his way into a government-restricted area. It was the raw undercurrent that accompanied a hurt not yet healed, and she wondered how recently his father had passed away. "I must remain in exile."
The magnetometer's sporadic beeping settled into a steady rhythm of once every five seconds, then four, then three. No one else appeared to notice, caught up in the reunion, but Jane was too attuned to her equipment to ignore it. So when the beeping increased until it was in time with the second hand of the clock, Jane spun around and made her way to the table.
The needle on the dial bounced high on the scale, hovering in extremes marked by red.
"Thor, your father still lives."
Lines swirled in a circular pattern around the screen that showcased a virtual display of atmospheric activity.
"What?" The tension in Thor's question was unmistakable. "But Loki…"
Suddenly, the magnetometer's beeping dissolved into a steady, high-pitched whine that refused to be ignored. It was only the second time the machine had ever made that sound, the first being the day they met Thor. With the arrival of his strange friends that were assumedly from Asgard as well, coincidence was becoming less and less plausible.
Focus glued to the screen still in hand, Jane crossed the room, ignored the surprised looks as she squeezed between hard plates of armor, and threw open the front door. And she couldn't even find it in herself to be amazed at the dark, spinning clouds on the outskirts of town, the funnel that began to stretch towards the ground.
She eased out of the doorway and stepped outside when everyone crowded into the narrow space. Thor eventually came to stand beside her on the sidewalk, the rest of his group flanking them while Darcy and Erik remained near the door. They stood there in silence, watching as the cyclone dotted with rainbow-hued lights connected with the ground in an explosion of dust and sand.
"Was somebody else coming?"
At Darcy's question, Jane glanced up at Thor. An unexplainable apprehension gnawed at her, but any reassurance she might have hoped for was cast aside at the muscle that jumped in his jaw as he clenched his teeth. It was answer enough.
The funnel receded back into the sky, leaving them in a ringing silence as the magnetometer inside went quiet. The screen in her hand had gone blank as well. Only two hours ago, she would've argued that it was impossible for anyone to travel through an event like that, but now… there were too many contradicting variables that all seemed to point to and suggest the impossible.
A loud crash sounded in the distance, quickly followed by yelling and gunfire. Not long after, a figure appeared down the street, something twice the size of a normal human being, something that gleamed brightly in the mid-morning sun.
Thor moved in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Jane, you have to leave."
"What are you going to do?" When her attempts to peek around him to whatever was approaching failed, she refocused on the combination of determination and urgent concern in his expression.
"I'm staying here."
One of his friends – the other blonde that Darcy had been eyeing – slid into view with an eager, wide smile. "Thor's going to fight with us."
Thor looked over Jane's head. "My friends, I am just a man. I'll only be in the way, or worse, get one of you killed." The rest of the citizens who had been watching began to scream and scatter as another crash came from much closer, and Thor's hand drifted down her arm, shoulder to elbow to wrist before falling away completely as he began to step around her. "But I can help get these people to safety."
The loss of Thor's presence revealed what he'd been hiding: an enormous automaton that was systematically destroying Puente Antiguo. Light erupted from the place where a face would normally be and sent a car flying while people screamed and dodged projectiles in the street.
The town was descending into chaos.
Leaving would be wise.
But before Thor went more than two steps, Jane reached out on impulse and caught his wrist. "If you're staying, so am I."
She left no room for argument in the statement. How could she when there was a fire erupting in her veins and propelling her forward? The blaze burned away the fears and doubts that had burrowed their way into the secret places of her heart and filled the hollow spaces that remained with sensations she knew and didn't know at the same time.
It was responsibility, and in the split-second darkness of a blink, she saw a ruined village and an approaching ship. It was resolve, and the next blink revealed a moonlit ocean, an endless stretch of white sand, and a chest beneath a plant. It was strength, and in the last blink she saw a series of images in rapid-fire… a dark figure skirting across the end of an alleyway, wrists with jutting tendons framing either side of her face, hollowed eye sockets rimmed in black, the smooth expanse of a chest beneath her.
Crumbling mortar pulled Jane from the visions that had felt eerily real, just a little too substantial, and back to the present. The automaton was drawing closer. Along with Thor, she ushered the nearest group of people towards the opposite side of town with a glance over her shoulder. It was now only four blocks away.
"Go." The word was accompanied by a slight push in the opposite direction, but Jane stood motionless, staring down the street to where the woman they called Lady Sif crouched behind a car. "Now."
The machine had been defeated. She'd watched the spear plunge straight through its neck in what should have been a death blow. Instead, the automaton – or Destroyer as Thor had dubbed it in passing – had come back to life to continue its path of devastation, scattering cars and people and buildings as if it were nothing.
It felt like she was watching a movie.
Except this was reality.
"Jane." She started at the slight brush of fingertips across her cheekbone and met Thor's gaze with wide eyes. Their calmness despite the pandemonium surrounding them helped to ground her. "Run."
Before her mind could catch up to what was happening, a firm hand wrapped around her upper arm and tugged her backwards, and she struggled to keep her footing as she was essentially hauled down the street. Her energy was slow to return. However, at the first traces of it filtering back, she yelled out to the retreating Thor. He bore Sif's shield for protection, but she'd seen what the Destroyer was capable of and doubted a thin sheet of metal – forged in another realm or not – would be very effective.
The window to their right exploded in a shower of glass, and Jane heard Darcy scream as everyone ducked to avoid the worst of it. They couldn't escape all of it, though, and Jane felt the sting as shards of glass found their way beneath her skin in several places.
"Are you alright, Lady Jane?"
She looked up to see the red-haired man helping her back up. Volstagg, wasn't that what Thor had said? "I… I'm fine." It was the truth if she didn't count the glass embedded in the back of her hands and forearms or the slow drag of her muscles around the last traces of adrenaline or the knot in the pit of her stomach.
Immediately, Volstagg began to steer her through the fray. But then she heard it. Around the crackling fire, the yelling, and the general sound of destruction, Jane heard the dull clatter of the shield against the broken pieces of asphalt, and over her shoulder she saw an empty-handed Thor approach the Destroyer.
"Wait…" Through sheer force of will, she pulled Volstagg to a stop. "What's he doing?"
Time seemed to slow as Thor made his way towards the automaton. She could just pick up the low timbre of his voice but couldn't decipher the words. Whatever he was saying must have had some impact, though, because the next thing she knew, the furnace-glow that made up the Destroyer's face ebbed, then disappeared behind metal plating.
For one timeless moment, relief flooded through her as the Destroyer turned away.
But relief hardened into ice in her veins as the Destroyer spun around and backhanded Thor.
"No!"
Jane pulled her arm free, not even wincing at the scrape of blunt fingernails when Volstagg tried to hang on, and sprinted forward. The sickening crunch of bone echoed in her head. She tried to push it aside, concentrating instead on Thor, but she felt just as sick when he tumbled across the ground before finally sliding to a stop.
"Thor!" Jane disregarded the Destroyer which was now withdrawing and fell to her knees in a spray of sand, leaning over him while her hands flitted nervously over the wounds that covered his face and torso. Registering something damp, she looked down to see her fingertips stained red with blood. "Thor?"
Slowly, his eyes opened, blankly tracked the progress of a pair of ravens circling overhead for a moment. When his focus shifted to her, one corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile. "It's over."
The taste of iron settled on her tongue, and Jane automatically released the lip she didn't even realize she'd been biting. "It's not over."
"I mean, you're safe." Thor's eyes slipped closed, his smile faltering, fading. "It's over."
"No…" Desperately shaking his shoulders, her vision blurred with tears when the only response she received was the boneless flop of his head to one side. "No…"
It wasn't right. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. If they really were dealing with realms and gods and mythical things, why was the God of Thunder laid out motionless before her, battered and broken, blood-stained, not smiling or speaking or breathing?
Without warning, there was a blast in the distance, followed by a steady hum. Tucking her hair behind her ear, Jane saw an object shoot up from some point outside of town and arch high into the sky, leaving a white trail in its wake. She watched its progress for a moment before returning to Thor. However, the minute she made contact with his shoulder again, she was struck still.
A shock cut through her like she'd just touched a live wire, and she jerked back instantly, electricity dancing along her hands and up her arms. It was similar to that haunting sensation she'd felt three days prior when she'd first encountered Thor in the middle of the runes, only magnified hundredfold. Her teeth clenched at the winding current she felt, tightened so hard she worried they would crack beneath the pressure. It coursed through her body in search of an outlet, but she couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't…
Erik's footsteps registered through a haze of sparks.
"Jane!"
A bruising grip hauled her to her feet.
"Come on! Now!"
And just when she thought the power that had fused itself to her nerve endings would ignite and set her on fire, the object in the sky slammed into Thor in a blinding display of lightning.
Jane staggered against Erik and threw an arm over her face, but the jagged streaks were already seared to the inside of her eyelids, white-hot lines rimmed in blue. The buildup of voltage leaked out through her pores, drawn to an overwhelming energy in the atmosphere that made the hair on her arms stand on end along with the strands at the nape of her neck.
Hesitantly, she cracked one eye to see her hand had become a black silhouette from the light in the background. Lightning continued to crackle over the rush of blood in her ears, but in between the crashes, she heard Erik give a startled exclamation. She curiously lowered her arm just enough to peek over the edge. The sight that greeted her had her dropping it completely.
"Oh my god."
A figure stood in the epicenter of the storm, one arm stretched high, holding something aloft. Glints of silver appeared from nowhere to line both arms while ribbons of red were fabricated from nothingness to form a cape. And when the light began to fade, Jane watched a giant hammer surge forth to slam into the Destroyer once, twice before returning to a Thor that was very much alive, very much a threat, and very much a picture of the God of Thunder.
But as quickly as Thor had been revived, he disappeared, flying into an ever-darkening sky with a whirling hammer and the automaton close behind. Most of their view was obscured, but the occasional flash of light illuminated whatever deadly dance was occurring behind the charcoal clouds.
"Jane… I can't… it's not…" Erik trailed off, mouth gaping open.
"I told you so!" From the corner of her eye, Jane noticed Erik briefly look to an exuberant Darcy who had just run up and was jabbing a finger at the sky. "I told you, Dr. Selvig! I was right about advanced beings on the other side of the bridge!"
A particularly bright flash of light drew their attention back to the scene just as Thor landed in front of them with a thud that could be felt through the ground, the Destroyer falling in a crumpled and ruined heap behind him soon after. It was an impressive finale, no doubt. Marching towards her, cape flowing in the wind, outlined in flames of victory, outfitted in figure-hugging armor that only enhanced the muscles she'd glimpsed in the lab… he couldn't have made it better if he tried.
"So…" Jane swallowed hard and gestured indistinctly. "Is this how you normally look?"
His head canted to one side, a smile playing at his mouth. "More or less."
There was a natural kind of presence to Thor now. It was more than his confident gait and his strength and the general way he carried himself. She couldn't put a name to it. All she knew was that it filled the holes of his being that she hadn't even realized were missing. Although, after seeing the complete picture, she wondered how she ever could've thought he was normal before.
Jane eyed him from head to toe and back again. "It's a good look." And it was almost embarrassing, the level of awe she couldn't quite keep from filtering into the comment.
"We must go to the Bi-Frost site." Thor looked to his friends. "I would have words with my brother."
"Donald." The group turned as one, and Jane tensed at the sight of the agent who had confiscated her research. "I don't think you've been completely honest with me."
It took a moment for her to realize he'd said her ex-boyfriend's name.
It took even longer for her to realize he was actually speaking to Thor.
"Know this, son of Coul: you and I fight for the same cause, the protection of this world. From this day forward, you can count me as your ally. If…" Thor placed a hand on her lower back and guided her closer. "You return the items you have taken from Jane."
Empowered by the impressive figure on her side, Jane crossed her arms. "Stolen."
"Borrowed." The glare directed at the agent wavered. "Of course you can have your equipment back. You're going to need it to continue your research."
To her right, Darcy squeaked and shook Erik, but it was nothing compared to the blaze of excitement that erupted in Jane's chest like a whirlwind. Not only would all her materials and equipment be returned, she would gain the support of people who could probably open doors to new information she didn't even know of. The possibilities were endless, stretched out before her with the bright appeal of answers, and she wanted to fidget in her zest but settled for a beaming grin.
The fingers at her back pressed enough to snag her attention, and she met Thor's eyes. "Would you like to see the bridge we spoke of?"
"Uh…" She was still reeling a bit from the suddenness of everything but caught on quickly at the idea of seeing another Einstein-Rosen bridge. "Sure!"
The trip to the original site went too fast. She needed more time to pick Agent Coulson's brain about the particulars of where she'd be doing her work, more time to persuade Erik to come with her and Darcy because she could use his expertise, more time to simply sit in the cramped backseat of the S.H.I.E.L.D. escort car and feel Thor's fingers trace a repeated path along the back of her hand.
Instead, it felt like only seconds from when Jane piled into the vehicle in the middle of town and when she found herself standing on the outskirts of the rune circle looking alternately between the swirling clouds and Thor.
"I must return to Asgard, but I give you my word… I will return for you." There was a bitter ache in her chest as she studied his gaze. It was captivating, the unadulterated and striking blue. Even when he pressed a kiss to her knuckles, she couldn't look away, but she felt the heat of it all the same, lingering like a brand on her skin. "Deal?"
"Or you could take me with you."
Jane had no idea where the words came from. But once the shock had passed and the scientist in her edged into the forefront, the suggestion didn't seem so bad after all.
"Three days ago I thought you were crazy. Everything you said was strange and impossible and I didn't want to believe any of it could be true even if some things were too connected to be accidental, but now…" She shook her head. "Now everything's different. I always knew the bridges were real, but this is my proof, what may be my only chance to actually experience it."
There was also the added opportunity of them getting to know each other better. She didn't quite know which label to stick on what they had, only that it was new and exciting and filled with potential. Though actually voicing that as a reason seemed a bit rushed seeing how they'd known each other for all of three days.
Thor's brows had twitched together at her proposal, but now the furrows eased, smoothed away as he stepped backwards into the runes and pulled her with him. Immediately, Erik strode to the edge of the circle.
"Jane?" Unwilling to go any further, he toed the border. "Don't do this."
"It'll be alright." Untroubled by her friend's frown and bolstered by Darcy's thumbs-up from over his shoulder, Jane offered her most reassuring smile. "I'll be fine."
"He's going back to confront a brother who sent that thing to kill him. You're putting yourself in the middle of matters much bigger than you, things you can't handle." Erik paced back and forth along the curve of runes.
With a slight motion, Thor tugged her closer, releasing her hands so his could settle on her hips. "No harm will come to Jane while she is under my care, Erik Selvig." He glanced up to the growing maelstrom of clouds that signaled the next event. "We shall return."
Thor nodded a farewell, looked up to the sky, and the last thing Jane saw before the bright sands of New Mexico faded into darkness was Erik fall back as the bridge connected with the ground.
Then reality dissolved into something she couldn't have imagined in even her wildest dreams.
Space streamed by, a kaleidoscope combination of colors and galaxies and soundless pressure. The vast emptiness of the cosmos stretched out in every direction, but they were caught in stasis, suspended within the confines of the bridge as it pulled them to its opposite end. It was a weightless sort of feeling, but Thor's hands, firm at her waist and holding her steady, were comforting nonetheless. Still, when she lifted her head and stared into the onrush of stars, she curled her fingers around the plates of Thor's armor.
Moons, planets, worlds.
Entire universes passed by as they travelled from fact to fiction, truth to myth, science to magic.
Between one breath and the next, a solid rainbow materialized beneath her feet. Thor continued to hold her for a minute as the rush bled out of her limbs, leaving her boneless. She took in the glass-like floor filled with lights, the globe engraved with an intricate tree that surrounded them, and finally, a dark-skinned man on a platform who stared at her with burning, golden eyes and dipped his chin in greeting.
"Welcome to Asgard, Jane Foster."
A/N2: And so we make a hard right to detour off the main storyline from the movie-verse for a while. Everyone that remembered the prologue probably saw something along these lines coming. There are still some surprises in store, though. Not all is as it seems!
Also, you might have noticed a couple minor changes throughout the chapter. First was the ravens circling overhead while Thor was dying. I added that for no other reason than because I wanted to throw out a reference to Odin. The second was Thor and Jane travelling to the Bi-Frost site via car. In the movie, Thor hammer-flew Jane there, but it bothered me so much that I didn't know how Sif and the Warriors Three got there. Hr'awkryn had the best comment ever when I explained my reason for the change – "Now that you say that, I am with you. Otherwise what were Jane and Thor doing, loop-de-loops and stuff in the sky while they waited?"
Just for reference – depictions of Yggdrasil show Asgard, Vanaheim, and Alfheim to be in the top tier; Niðavellir, Midgard, Svartalfheim, and Jötunheim in the middle tier; and Niflheim and Muspelheim in the bottom tier. In Jane's drawing, Midgard is placed in the bottom tier with all the other galaxies extending upward from there.
Please review! I love hearing from all of you! And if you're on Tumblr, feel free to come follow me. I operate under the same name, and the link is on my bio. We can have fun obsessing over all things Marvel-related together! I've also started tagging certain things 'twotw'. Look into that if you want to see chapter updates, music recommendations, or general items of inspiration for this story!