Author's note: Hey here's the next chapter. I hope that this would be the last of the movie so I could move onto 'The Avengers' movie. I don't own any of the Marvel movies. Also I'm going to have that Loki's eyes are actually green. I like to think that Loki has been controlled by Thanos and the Tesseract for a while now, which causes his eyes to be the same color blue as Clint and Erik Selvig. This makes him be influenced by Thanos before he came to be with him.
Thor pt 8:
"Well that was intense." Tony says to everyone.
No one responded they just turned back to the screen.
He committed a crime – he's in jail! Erik declared, his voice sounding over the darkened streets lit only by high streetlamps.
"I can't just leave him there!" Jane shouted in argument. She stood facing him as he and Darcy sat at one of the cleared tables in their dim apartment, still bereft of their original equipment. A ring of light bulbs hung from the ceiling so to free the immediate vicinity of shadows, their forms displayed clearly.
"Why?" Erik questioned breathlessly.
"You didn't see what I saw," she protested, gesturing to herself.
"Look," Darcy interrupted, "look – it's Mjolnir."
Jane's attention was called to her as she beckoned, and so she stepped around to stand beside her chair and lean over her shoulders to stare at the page indicated in the thick book.
Mjolnir
Mjolnir, or 'that which smashes', is the hammer carried by Thor, the God of Thunder. Odin, King of the Norse gods, ordered the dwarves to create Mjolnir. The blacksmiths used the core of a star as a mold. In the process the star exploded and almost took Earth with it. Although powerful, the hammer also holds several magic spells from Odin, who killed a Frost Giant with it. Much later, Mjolnir was bestowed to Thor, after providing himself worthy through many challenges. The history of Mjolnir is the history of Thor.
She shook her head in bewilderment as she asked, "Where'd you find this?" as she flipped the page.
Loki
Loki was a shape shifter that could turn into anything he wished. He was far more spiteful, cunning, and deceitful than the other Gods in Asgard, which often led him into trouble. Trouble would be created because he loved playing mean jokes on others. Eventually he was seen for what he was and was distrusted, but his quick wit and honeyed tongue in engineering the death of the God Baldur…
"That was a very simple summarization," Bruce says.
"Why does that sound like a prophecy?" Darcy asks.
"Because Darcy, we have many like that in Asgard."
"You have things that could tell you a possible future where you come from?" Jane asks.
"Yes, for an example we were told of the Allfather's demise by Loki's monster son Fenrir."
Loki stiffens and turns to him glaring. Jane says, "I don't think it's very nice to talk about your nephew like that Thor."
"It was actually a compliment dearest Jane. My nephew Fenrir is a very large wolf."
Everyone stares at Thor in shock until Loki turns to him. "Thor I suggest you shut up right now or I'll strangle you. I don't wish to talk about my children right now or at all." Loki has a dark look in his eyes and nobody decides to argue with him, since it's the first time he's spoken since the scene where he finds out he's adopted.
"The children's section," Erik explained. "I-I just wanted to show you how silly his story was."
"But you're the one who's always pushing me to chase down every possibility, every alternative," Jane insisted, pounding the palm of her hand against the flat tabletop.
"I'm talking about science, not magic-"
"But magic's just science that we don't understand yet – Arthur C. Clark," she asserted.
"-who wrote science fiction-"
"-a precursor to science fact!"
"In some cases, yeah," Erik conceded, leaning back in his chair.
"Well if there is an Einstein-Rosen bridge, then there's something on the other side – and advanced beings could've crossed it!" Jane insisted, her voice rising in pitch as she stressed her point.
"Oh Jane," he murmured in saddened alarm.
"A primitive culture like the Vikings might have worshipped them as deities," Darcy pointed out logically.
"Yes! Yes, exactly," Jane trumpeted towards Erik before facing and thanking her for the support. Darcy simply hummed in acknowledgement. Jane tilted her head in silent question and she merely smirked in non-answer before they both turned back to Erik. He let out a distressed sigh at the weight of their votes.
"Wow they teamed up against you." Clint says to Erik.
"Yes they did….sorry again Thor, for not believing you." Erik says.
"It is quit all right my friend, it's in the past."
Agents busied themselves back and forth in the confines of the dim building, countless pieces of equipment and screens arranged so to be constantly monitored. In a small, square room lit with artificial light that reflected off the pristine white walls blindingly, Thor sat in an unadorned, plain chair facing Agent Coulson.
"You made my men, some the most highly trained professionals in the world, look like a bunch of minimum-wage mall cops," he stated. The mutterings of the SHIELD agents going about their business beyond the walls was unheard as well as unseen, the glass that made up the walls only mirroring their reflections back to them in the lightning. "That's hurtful.
"In my experience, it takes someone who's received similar training to do what you did tonight." Thor did not reply to any of Agent Coulson's implications, his gaze staring into a middle distance as his thoughts were preoccupied with his interaction with Mjolnir. "Why don't you tell me where you received your training?" he suggested directly.
When Thor merely averted his eyes and remained silent, be began to guess, "Pakistan, Chechnya, Afghanistan? No, you strike more as the 'soldier of fortune' type….Where was it? South Africa? Certain groups would pay very well for a god mercenary like you.
"Who are you?" Agent Coulson intoned severely. Thor remained silent, though slowly lifted his eyes to meet his in challenge. "One way or another we find out what we need to know – we're good at that," he promised.
"Is that a threat to torture him?" Steve asks with narrowed eyes. Everyone looks to Fury.
"Well he broke in a secure facility, didn't have any legal records whatsoever, and he wouldn't give us any reason why he did it." Fury stated.
"Wouldn't that be illegal?" both Jane and Darcy ask.
"It's the government, try not to question it." Tony says rolling his eyes.
A beeping alert drew Coulson's attention to the petit pager in his pocket, causing him to pull it out slightly so to check the number. He replaced it and exited the room, drolly ordering, "Don't go anywhere."
A section of the wall – glass, mirror – slid sideways so to permit him leave, shutting soundlessly behind him. The pane that should have reflected the empty space that the agent had vacated showed another instead, Loki having immediately appeared standing before Thor.
Everyone in the room except Thor and Loki stared in shock at the screen. Fury shouted to the shield agents on the computers, "I need one of you to pull this footage up and see if you see this happening."
After a few moments an agent yelled out, "I found it but it appears that Thor was alone in the room and just sitting there."
"So does that mean Loki was standing invisible staring at Thor for a while?" Darcy asks.
"What are you talking about Darcy? My brother and I conversed." Thor says confused.
"So what, he just popped in and out of the shield base and no one was any wiser." Clint says.
"I can hide what's really going on threw an illusion. I can also project an illusion of myself to a different place which is what I'm doing in this scene" Loki stated, and everyone looked at him weird.
He was dressed in a modern ensemble, a deep green formal coat donned over a pressed suit. Thor sat up in surprise, gasping, "Loki, what are you doing here?"
"I had to see you," Loki answered.
Thor gaped at him before breathing, "What's happened?" He leaned forward, entreating, "Tell me – is it Jotunheim? Let me explain to Father-"
"Father is dead."
"What?" Bruce, Erik and Jane asks.
"I thought he was pulling off a Sleeping Beauty right now?" Tony asks confused.
"Tony obviously he's lying to Thor." Natasha says.
"Indeed I am." Loki says smirking, others around the room don't look happy with him then.
Thor's breathing turned irregular as his eyebrows drew together, shuttering out a 'what?' in disbelief.
Loki gazed at him with pity, explaining cautiously, "Your banishment, the threat of a new war, I-it…." He swallowed. "It was too much for him to bear."
Thor cast his eyes down in grief, Loki insisting, "You mustn't blame yourself. I know that you loved him-" A tear collected at the corner of one of his blue eyes, falling as his brother continued, "I tried to tell him so but he wouldn't listen."
"Wait a second," Thor begins, "Brother your eyes are blue in this scene, They're usually green. Why is this?" Thor states, he looks at Loki and so does everyone else.
"Wait, I remember that his eyes were a type a blue….. (Looks over at Erik and Clint) a very familiar type of blue." Steve says.
Everyone looks a little shocked, "Are you saying that Loki is not completely at fault for what happened in New York?" Clint asks.
"There's a possibility." Steve says.
"Is this true brother?" Thor asks Loki.
Loki looks at him for a couple seconds, then looks down sighing, "Yes…."
Nobody talks after that, all of them being shocked to hear this news.
He shook his head and sighed, "It was so cruel to put the hammer within your reach knowing that you could never lift it." Thor's sorrowful expression turned to confusion at the remark, his mouth closing in thought as his eyes shifted slightly from side to side.
The burden of the throne has fallen to me now," Loki announced.
Thor's eyes lightened despite another tear falling from them as he raised his gaze, breathing the question, "Can I come home?"
He appeared regretful as he replied, "The truce with Jotunheim is conditional upon your exile."
"Y-Yes, but c-couldn't we find a way-" he pleaded, shaking his head at the denial.
"Mother has forbidden your return," Loki firmly defended.
Everyone sent Thor some sympathetic looks and then sent glares towards Loki who pretended not to care or notice.
"This is goodbye, brother," Loki finished as Thor stared blankly in astonishment, "I'm so sorry."
"No," Thor started as he shook his head, "I am sorry." He swallowed and attempted to compose himself, stammering sincerely, "T-Thank you for coming here."
Loki nodded weakly. "Farewell."
They stared at each other in silence for a few moments more before Thor cast his eyes downward as Loki turned, his eyes becoming determined as he stepped away just as the panel adjacent slid open. Agent Coulson walked in while finishing some business on his cell phone just as Thor mustered the heart to murmur a 'goodbye' to his brother.
"Goodbye?" Coulson asked with his hands in his pockets. "I just got back."
Outside the small room agents patrolled the area around Mjolnir while scientists continued to analyze her, one circling around a piece of energy reading equipment. Loki appeared standing astride her amidst the SHIELD personnel, evidently unseen to their eyes, and reached out a hand to grasp her leather wrapped handle. He idly yanked several times trying to pull her free before firmly gripping her with both hands and baring his teeth as he made the attempt again.
With a sigh he relented and stepped back, shaking his head. He cast his eyes upward in the vague direction of where the Allfather slept upon Asgard before nonchalantly pulling his coat closed and disappearing.
"Why did you even try? You heard your father's proclamation….." Bruce asks Loki.
"Yeah, that only if someone was worthy would they be able to lift her." Darcy piped up.
"Sir," an agent said as he entered the room and addressed Coulson, quirking a brow and glancing in bemusement towards Thor's seated form, "he's got a visitor."
Under the dark night sky SHIELD agents worked to repair the tunnels damaged by Thor's warfare as Agent Coulson faced Erik Selvig, retorting in skepticism, "His name is Donald Blake?"
"Doctor Donald Blake," Erik corrected with a hesitant nod and brief, fearful smile.
"You have dangerous coworkers, Dr. Slevig."
"He was distraught when he found out that you'd taken all of our research," Erik explained, Coulson tilting his head in absorption of the tale. "It was years of his life – gone!"
"You can understand how a man can go off like that," he started, looking around at all the employees, "big, faceless organization like yours coming in with their jackbooted thugs and-" Coulson's stark attention caused him to abruptly end his sentence, defending, "That's how he put it."
"That still doesn't explain how he managed to tear through our security."
"Steroids!" Erik exclaimed.
A few people laughed while Erik looked embarrassed.
"What would that be my friends?" Thor asks.
"It's a type of drug that you shouldn't really use big guy." Tony says trying not to laugh.
"He's a bit of a fitness nut."
"Sir," an agent called lightly, having been alerted to a piece of information on the monitor he was working at. The screen showed a Class D New York State driver's license with Thor's picture and Blake, Dr. Donald, J. listed as his name. There was also a red warning stripe declaring a security alert, 'Falsified Data,' over the blown up image of the card.
"When was that picture taken?" Bruce asks.
"Oh we used the picture I took of him during breakfast at that diner." Darcy explains.
"It says here that he's an M.D," Coulson stated, turning back to face Erik.
"Well he is, o-or he was," he stumbled in reply. "H-He, uh, switched careers and became a physicist. A-A brilliant physicist! He's a wonderful man; he's a man in pain," he pleaded.
"Did you seriously think SHIELD would fall for something like that?" Natasha asks turning to Erik, Jane and Darcy.
They smiled slightly shrinking in their seats.
"Ooh Donny, Donny, Donny," Erik called as he entered the white room where Thor had previously been sitting holding his head in his hands. He had looked up in surprise and confusion, and he continued, "there you are. It's gonna be alright – I'm taking you home now." Erik helped him to his feet and out of the door.
"Seriously?" Natasha asks looking at the other agents in the room.
Erik and Thor exited the system of tunnels and walked down the few steps to the damp ground. Erik's eyes constantly darted from side to side at the agents going about their business as Thor steadily observed his surroundings until his eyes fell upon something to his left. He seized the dark leather-bound notebook from atop a pile with the sign 'Property of Jane Foster, Culver University' on his way past a table.
"Dr. Selvig!" Agent Coulson called, the two men regretfully slowing to a stop with their torsos and arms tensed. "Just keep him away from the bars."
"I will!" he responded as Thor covertly passed him the journal to hold inside his long coat, both relaxing their postures at the revealed request.
"Where are we going?" Thor asked after darting a glance back at Coulson.
"To get a drink."
In the distance behind them Coulson ordered of the agents around him, "Follow them."
"Well does that answer your question?" Tony asks Natasha pointing up at the screen.
Scattered beams of distinctly colored light shone from the ceiling of the long dim room, groups of men drinking around tables or playing pool with camaraderie as a rock song played overhead. Erik and Thor sat on a couple of the high stools arranged around the bar, beers in hand.
"You know I had it all backwards," Thor admitted with a slight shake of his head. "I was all wrong."
He stared in silence for a few seconds before imparting, "That's not a bad thing – finding out that you don't have all the answers." Thor turned to look at him, Erik concluding, "You start asking the right questions."
Thor returned to staring at the bottles lining the back of the bar before slowly confessing, "For the first time in my life, I-I have no idea what I'm supposed to do." He turned back to face Erik, eyes searching his for some kind of comfort.
"Anyone who's ever going to find his way in this world has to start by admitting he doesn't know where the hell he is," he responded.
Thor realized this before leaning forward and saying, "Thank you, for what you've done."
"No, no, don't thank me – I only did it for Jane.
"Her father and I taught at university together – he was a good man-" he tilted his head slightly and added, "but never listened."
"Neither did I," Thor acknowledged. "My father was trying to teach me something but I was too stupid to see it."
"I don't know if you're delusional, or if you're pulling some kind of con – I don't care," Erik began, turning on his stool to face Thor with narrowed eyes, "I just care about her. I see the way she looks at you," he said, disturbed, shifting to lean on the bar again.
Minutely Thor furrowed his brow and shook his head, replying, "I swear to you, I mean her no harm."
"Good. In that case, I'll buy you another round-" Erik relented, indicating the stock behind the bar, "-if you leave town tonight."
"ERIK!" Jane yells in shock and anger glaring at him. Everyone in the room could practically see the smoke coming out of her ears.
"Jane calm down, I was just looking out for you and this was back then." Erik says defending himself.
"Yeah, but Point Break didn't really have anywhere else to go outside of town." Tony pointed out.
"I didn't even know that." Erik says.
"And I wouldn't have allowed it anyway." Jane says pointing towards him. Nobody in the room noticed Loki smirking in amusement.
Thor swallowed, but nodded in acquiesce.
"Two boilermakers," Erik orders from the bartender. Two large glass mugs of beer are set in front of them as well as the accompanying shots of whiskey. Erik grabs the shots and pours them into both of their drinks, then they both wrap their hands around the glasses and clink the top edges together in a cheer. As they begin to down the cocktail their eyes meet over the rims and an unspoken challenge passes between them, both starting to chug their drink in earnest.
They have begun their second round, the first hefty glasses of beer showing to have affected Erik as he tried to appear casual as he stood up from his stool and glanced down the bar in both directions. He then leaned forward to pick up his mug and gulped a sip of the drink before suddenly hurling the glass to the floor. It shattered on impact and the remaining liquid splashed over the tile as he shouted, "Another!"
Everyone in the room started cracking up at the mimicry of Thor's earlier behavior.
They both laughed as Thor slammed his hand on the surface of the bar and agreed, "Another!"
"Another!" Erik screamed, throwing his hands into the air.
"Another!" Thor repeated with a wide smile.
"Another," Erik finished gleefully as another couple of boilermakers were placed in front of them.
The two men were now stumbling down a sidewalk along a deserted road, slurring a Norwegian folk song: "The mood is good, our hearts are full, there's magic in the air-" They turn a corner and continue marching to the melody, "It's all because we're here tonight, and haven't got a care! So raise a glass-" Thor lifted Erik by the waist as they spun around a streetlamp, "-and toast to life, wherever it may lead."
"The abruptly decided to stop and improvise a clapping routing, slapping their thighs, clapping, raising a shoe to tap fingers on an ankle, and repeating as they chanted, "Tra-la-la, Tra-la-la, a friend is fine indeed. Tra-la-la, tra-la-la, a friend is fine indeed!" As they went to high-five on the final beat, Erik missed completely with a wheezing laugh and toppled forward onto the ground.
Thor murmured an 'oh' and bent to help him to his feet. At the nonresponsive form he yielded to hoisting him over one shoulder and carrying him off.
"Why does it look that only Erik got drunk?" Darcy asked.
Everyone looked towards Thor for an answer, "Well Midgardian ale is not even a fifth of potency of Asgard's weakest brew." Thor states happily.
A whirl of color streaked down from the clouds, a blinding contrast to the shadowed wasteland. A dark figure had been left by the transportation of the Bifrost at the edge of the land's jagged surface, beginning to walk forwards. The wind howled as he stepped through the layers of snow underfoot, approaching a ruined stone castle.
Loki was garbed in his favored leather ensemble, metal gleaming over his chest as his cape snapped about his heels.
Jotuns lined the walls of the room, standing double his height, watching him as he drew closer to the seated giant in the throne at the head of the space. King Laufey intoned, "Kill him," immediately.
Loki tilted his head in amusement as he paused, inquiring, "After all I've done for you?"
Laufey slowly voiced aloud his revelation: "So you're the one who showed us the way into Asgard,:
"That was just a bit of fun, really – to ruin my brother's big day," he divulged with a parody of a smile. "And to protect the realm from his idiotic rule for a while longer."
"I will hear you," he announced, his sapphire torso inclining forwards in anticipation, crimson eyes intent.
"I will conceal you, and a handful of your soldiers," Loki proposed, pacing, "lead you into Odin's chambers, and you can slay him where he lies."
Everyone in the room stared at the screen in shock, looking at it to Loki than back again. Thor frowned at that statement since he arrived back in Asgard to see Laufey's corps. He looks at Loki who has his head down, looking distraught.
"Why not kill him yourself?" Laufey sneered.
He smirked as he scoffed in amusement, answering, "I suspect that the Asgardians would not take kindly to a king who had murdered his predecessor. Once Odin is dead," he cast his gaze to the ground briefly before lifting it to meet the Jontun King's stare, "I will return the Casket to you-" Laufey stood, "and you can return Jotunheim to all its, uh," he looked around at the wrecked civilization before finishing with a smile, "glory."
"I accept."
Steve looks very shocked and angry with the agreement Loki made in his past. He looks at Thor, "How can you not be bothered by this Thor? It's so underhanded."
Others in the room looked at Steve and nod in agreement. Thor shrugged, "I'm sure we'll see." He sighed confessing, "It's hard to be upset with Loki's actions from the past with him always being by my side…." Thor looked over to Loki and could see that Loki was becoming very upset with himself. He chose not to point it out fearing Loki wouldn't like him to put attention on him.
The array of light swirled as Loki appeared inside the gilded mechanism that was the Bifrost, Heimdall standing at attention before him. He cajolingly asked, "What troubles you, Gatekeeper?"
"I turned my gaze upon you on Jotunheim and could neither see nor hear you," he disclosed, amber eyes fixed on him. "You were shrouded from me like the Frost Giants that entered this realm."
"Perhaps your senses have weakened after your many years of service," Loki recommended, chin lifted.
"Or perhaps someone has found a way to hide that which he does not wish me to see."
"You have great power, Heimdall," he acknowledged, circling around dais upon which he stood. "Did Odin ever fear you?"
"No."
"And why is that?"
"Because he is my King, and I'm sworn to obey him."
"He was your King, and you're sworn to obey me now," Loki corrected sternly before seeking confirmation with a 'yes?'
Heimdall's lips thinned as he pressed them together slightly, staring impassively down at his 'king'. He grudgingly answered, "Yes."
"Then you will open the Bifrost to no one, till I have repaired the damage my brother has done," he commanded, striding out.
Thor looked over at Loki after hearing those words, but Loki still was looking down.
Jane held the borrowed book, 'Myths and Legends from Around the World,' in her hands, rereading the few chapters that related the mythology Thor believed he was a part of. With a slight shake of her head in dismissal she closed it with a sigh. A loud series of knocks suddenly banged against the door and caused her to gasp in surprise, hurriedly untangling her legs from the blankets and pillows she had arranged herself underneath on top of the bed.
She breathed heavily in anxiety as she hesitantly rushed through the motor home to the door. She swung it outwards to gasp at the sight of Thor with Erik thrown over his shoulder. "Oh my god – is he okay?"
Thor chuckled, "He's fine, not injured at all." As he climbed up into the vehicle he bumped Erik's head against the low row of cabinets, the drunk man releasing a pained 'ow' at the impact. "I'm sorry, my friend," he apologized with a grin and pat to the back of one of the legs over his shoulder.
"What happened?"
"We drank – we fought – he made his ancestors proud," Thor explained.
She rolled her eyes and sighed, gesturing further into the vehicle and ordering, "Put him on the bed."
He walked the few steps required before crouching down and gently righting Erik's form, Jane behind him and partially aiding. Erik's hair was mused and his expression showed confusion as the flush on his face faded while the blood rushed from his head. He grinned widely at her before tipping backwards onto the bed, dragging Thor, who had had his arms around him so to steady him, down as well.
Erik groaned at the sharp movement, turning onto his side as if to bury his face into the covers. The two men wheezed out a laugh as Thor pulled away, saying an 'okay?' as he laid a hand on his shoulder. Erik smiled and muttered, "I still don't think you're the God of Thunder-" before patting his cheek, concluding, "-but you ought to be." Thor patted him again as they shared another laugh before he withdrew from the bedroom.
He panted somewhat at the overall trial, approaching the door and appearing to mean to exit before he turned back to face Jane and asked, "Are these your chambers?"
"Uh, it's more of a temporary living situation," she corrected with a nod. "Oh," she said appalled at the sight of the mess overtop the counter space. "I'm sorry – I don't-" she snatched an unfinished bowl of cereal and the opened box and swiftly shoved them into a cupboard smiling awkwardly, "-usually have guests."
"Did you just put a dirty bowl of cereal into a cupboard?" Steve asks Jane in shock.
She blushes saying, "I was in a little bit of a panic."
Tony laughed, "If you think that's bad you should see what the inside of my workshop in the lab I have looks like."
"Actually, um, I never have guests," she corrected as she idly scratched the back of her neck with a laugh. After a second of silence his smile dropped and her expression suddenly conveyed a realization while she spun around as she muttered, "That's not the right place for it." She took out the dirtied bowl and, careful not to spill any of the remaining milk, placed it atop the pile of used dishes already in the sink. "Ah, sorry, um," she stuttered at the mess, covering it all with a tea towel, "can we go outside?"
"Yes, of course," Thor answered with a delayed smile, undoubtedly reflecting on the promise he had made to Erik earlier.
They sat themselves in a couple of lawn chairs beside an open fire pit, the logs burning and spreading warmth to the cold desert night air around them. "I come up here sometimes when I can't sleep, or when I'm trying to reconcile particle data, or when Darcy's driving me crazy," Jane revealed before laughing lightly, "I come up here a lot now that I think about it…"
Her hand went to her mouth for a second for her to anxiously bite the tip of a finger before she folded her hands in her lap. She glanced at him a few times before finally confessing, "I'm really glad you're safe," while facing him.
"You've been very kind to me and I-I've – I have been far less grateful than you deserve," Thor acknowledged.
"Well I hit you with my car a couple time so I think that kind of evens things out," Jane managed as they chuckled. They stared at one another for a few moments as the light wind tossed their hair about.
"Perhaps I had it coming," he mused. He watched her even though she had turned towards the flames of the fire, before abruptly leaning back so to pat the sides of the open jacket he was wearing. She observed him as he searched, before exhaling an 'oh my god' at the small, bound journal that he placed in her hands.
"I don't believe it," she stated with a smile as she hurried to open the book.
"It was all I could get back – I'm sorry it's not as much as I promised."
"No, no – this is great!" she exclaimed as she skimmed through the pages. "This is-" she cut herself off and looked at him, maintaining, "I don't have to start from scratch now. Thank you." He smiled and nodded.
As she gazed at the open pages in her lap her head fell forward slightly and her brow furrowed. "What's wrong?" Thor asked slowly.
She shook her head and deduced, "SHIELD, whatever they are, they are going to do everything in their power to make sure this research never sees the light of day."
"No, Jane, listen to me – you must not give up," Thor pleaded as he shifted closer to her. "You must finish what you started."
"Why?" she asked, eyes covered in a glaze of tears that she did not allow to gather and fall.
"Because you're right," he said simply. "Here, look-" He moved closer again and carefully took her journal from her hands, leaning into her side as he flipped through the pages. He came upon a two-sheeted sketch of several planetoid masses and scattered constellations and rotated it so it spread length-wise before her.
"Your ancestors called it magic," she nodded with a confused hum at his start, "and you call it science – well, I come from a place where they're one and the same thing," he finished with a soft smile. She smiled back hesitantly for a second before it shook and fell from her lips, and he began to add lines to her drawing.
She stared at him and another brief smile alit upon her mouth at his vigor before she looked down at the image he was adding, squinting at the pages so to try and understand the construction. "What is that?"
"My father," he began, "explained it to me like this – that your world is one of the nine realms of the cosmos, linked to each other by the branches of Yggdrasil-" The previous drawing was now contained within his sketched lines, three objects making up the trunk of the immense tree and another five the branches, one more in the space where the branches merged with the base. "-the world's tree." She followed his explanation with an expression of disbelief, but asked him to tell her more.
"So the Nine Realms: now here is Midgard, which is Earth, Alfheim, Vanaheim, Jotunheim, and Asgard, and that's where I come from….."
The nearly-full moon's bright white light peeked out from behind the dense streaks of cloud cover as they lay on the reclined chairs. Thor twisted in his sleeping bag so to face Jane, then reached over and adjusted the covering slipping from her slumbering form. She turned her head towards the pressure of the touch before settling again. He mumbled a soft, "Thank you, Jane."
"Why wasn't all of the explanation that you told me showed?" Jane asks.
"I was thinking the same thing." Tony says then he looks over at Thor, "Do you think you could explain to us what you explained for her big guy?"
Thor smiles brightly, "Of course my friends." Loki rolls his eyes not happy about the excitement.
"Alright then someone get a piece of paper and a pencil." Tony says excitedly and Steve raises an eyebrow.
Agent Hill gave Thor the piece of paper and the pencil he needed before he started talking, "So as you know there are Nine Realms. Asgard is split into three realms Alfeim, Asgard, and Nidavellir. Asgard and Vanaheim are home to those you recognize as gods and goddesses, the aesir; they produce sibling races, Vanaheim's offspring occasionally referred to as the Vanir, the majority of which are female who are blessed with fertility, wisdom, and foresight. Alfheim is home to the light elves, and dwarves reside in Nidavellir. Valhalla which is another sector of the realms Asgard and Vanaheim. Valhalla houses those of the dead who died honorably, and is on a separate plane. Only those given the ability to cross over the boundary that marks those living from dead may enter and freely exit again – as is true of all the realms that hold the souls of the dead."
Everyone listened to Thor with interest as he explained the workings of the realms, Tony having Javis record it.
"Now, above Asgard is Muspelheim. This realm is the origin of fire, and is home to many beasts and demons that come from the flames." Thor's gesturing moves to pointing to a world somewhat below his home. "This is Jotunheim, home of the Jotuns and where Loki was born." Thor ignores the look Loki gives him and continues motioning to one on the other side of Asgard and Jotunheim, "and this is Midgard, where you all are."
They were all looking at his drawing with interest as he continued, "This is Svartalfheim, where the dark elves dwell." He goes to a world below, "and this is Helheim, The Goddess of Death, Hela, rules this realm – which is the underworld where remaining souls of the dead are. Then at the bottom of all the worlds is Niflheim, it's a world of mist and ice that holds the dishonored dead." He finishes explaining the realms and looks up at all of them.
"It was as interesting as the first time." Jane says with a smile that causes Thor to smile back.
Loki scoffs in annoyance.
"It's very fascinating." Bruce says
"Wait so you have elves, dwarves and giants living near you?" Darcy asks.
"Yes they're the other races of the realms along with the aesir, mortals and the dead, we also have dragons, bilgesnipe, trolls and many other fearsome creatures to fight in battle. I can't really list them all because I find new ones each time I go on a quest." Thor laughs.
"Uh Thor what's a bilgesnipe?" Erik asks.
"Oh they're very big, scaly and have antlers." Thor states.
Everyone but Loki stare at him.
"Okay…..moving on, what's the difference between a dark and a light elf?" Tony asks curiously.
"Light elves stand a foot shorter than us and have the same fair colored skin; the dark elves have moonlight hair, violet skin and stand as tall as the aesir. I'm afraid I don't know that much about their customs.
A gilded floor was paced furiously by Fandral as the other two of the Warriors Three and Sif sat in the chairs arranged around the fire, which softly lit the golden room. He angrily stated as he marched, "Our dearest friend banished, Loki on the throne, Asgard on the brink of war – yet you've managed to consume four wild boars, six pheasants, a side of beef, and two casks of ale," towards Volstagg.
"Wow, Thor your friend must be a stress eater." Darcy says while everybody but Thor and Loki looked at the screen with eyes wide.
"Asgard must be really rich for someone to eat like that." Tony says.
"Really you didn't think that when you saw everything in gold?" Fury says sarcastically
Said warrior lounged across a couch with a platter held on top of his stomach, tearing strips off a leg of meat with his teeth. "Shame on you – don't you care?" he shouted accusingly, halting abruptly before him and flipping the plate and all its food clear from him.
"Do not mistake my appetite for apathy!" Volstagg countered heatedly, jumping to his feet and glaring down at Fandral's narrowed eyes.
"Stop it, both of you," Sif ordered, her and Hogan standing up as well to grab hold of one of the frustrated men and pull them apart. "Stop-" she repeated, the two turning their backs on each other in a huff. She softly stated, "We all know what we have to do."
"We must go," Hogan said. They all faced him with wide, anxious eyes. "We must find Thor."
"It's treason," Fandral asserted.
"To Hel with treason – it's suicide," Volstagg contributed.
"Thor would do the same for us," Sif murmured, eyes glazed as she stared at the floor.
"Shush," Volstagg hushed, his gaze darting upwards in realization. His hand immediately covered his mouth and he gnawed at the skin between thumb and index in concern before he whispered, "Heimdall might be watching." Hogan's shoulders tensed in dread.
They all jerked and straightened at the grand double doors swinging open, the four turning to face the entrance in a line. An armored guard walked to stand before them, standing tall in the doorframe and rapping the bottom of his spear on the tile as he announced, "Heimdall demands your presence."
Fandral and Sif exchanged a wary glance before the guard exited, Volstagg proclaiming, "We're doomed."
Jane was cooking along the back counter of their deserted workspace, Thor holding out two plates that she added a serving of scrambled eggs to after which he nodded while he smiled. Erik and Darcy were seated around a small circular table, Erik dropping a tablet into his orange juice to dissolve and hopefully alleviate the pain of his hangover. Thor placed the plates of breakfast before them, pulling down the tea cloth that was over his shoulder and wiping his hands before wringing it worriedly between his palms. Darcy smiled and issued a 'thank you' that Erik repeated gingerly, careful with his volume.
"You're very welcome," Thor replied, relaxing his grip on the towel and returning to where Jane was busying herself.
Outside, arranged on the roof of a building across the street, were two agents assigned to recon. One held a handheld, concaved audio amplifier directed towards them and the other was peering through a pair of binoculars. Immersed in static, a request resonated through the radio, the agent listening in on the targets reporting, "They want an update."
"Tell them he's eating eggs," the other retorted.
"Scrambled or fried?" he posed impassively, the other agent lowering his binoculars to direct and unimpressed stare towards him.
Erik, Darcy, Jane, and Thor all sat around the table eating serenely and trading smiles. Thor paused with a thoughtful look as he held his mug in his hand, asking, "May I have this?" as he weighed the ceramic.
"Sure," Darcy responded with a chuckle.
"Thank you," he said before excusing himself and getting to his feet.
Up the road and at the street corner outside the diner they had visited the previous day, the elder waitress 'Izzy' stood sweeping the sidewalk just beyond the threshold of the door.
"Excuse me, Isabelle," Thor greeted as he approached her.
"Oh my gosh," she gasped, spinning around and peering at him warily over the rims of the glasses perched low on her nose, clutching the handle of her broomstick.
He held out the mug he had brought with him, explaining with an apologetic smile, "To replace the one I broke."
"So that's what you wanted the mug for." Darcy says smiling at Thor.
Jane smiles at him too, "That was very considerate of you Thor." Thor smiles at both of them.
"Please forgive me for my behavior."
"Okay, thank you!" she gushed.
"If I may, I'd like to come back here for more of your splendid coffee," he proposed, finger wringing together.
"Anytime," she accepted, gesturing vaguely towards the imminent days with the mug.
"Wonderful," he said with a grin, laying a hand on her shoulder as she laughed before he moved back towards Erik and Jane's workspace.
She watched him go, nodding in approval, "She could do worse," before casting her eyes in disbelief back to the mug and returning inside.
A few people chuckled at the comment while Thor beamed with pride. Jane was blushing a little though.
Heimdall stood with his hands clasped before him facing the opposite opening from which the four warriors had entered, Volstagg stuttering out as he turned to face them, "Good Heimdall, ah let us explain-"
"You would defy the commands of Loki, our king?" he asked, his immovable stance emphasized by the thick, golden armor worn from head to toe. "Break every oath you have taken as warriors and commit treason to bring Thor back?"
"Yes, but-" Sif started immediately, though her eyes did not rise up to meet the all-seeing gaze from his position atop the dais.
"Good," he announced, cutting her off and prompting all four to glance up at him in astonishment as he descended the steps separating them.
"So you'll help us?" Sif queried as her and Volstagg parted from Fandral and Hogan to allow Heimdall to walk past them.
"I am bound by honor to our king – I cannot open the Bifrost to you," he explained as he exited the structure and continued out onto the bridge.
"Complicated fellow, isn't he?" Fandral posed in perplexity, casting his gaze to Hogan briefly for commiseration.
"Well now what do we do?" Volstagg wondered aloud.
Sif turned from the Gatekeeper's distancing form in frustration and shouted, "Look!" at the long sword left in the central mechanism. The remaining three faced the controlling platform and they all rushed up the stairs with hopeful smiles. The Warriors Three and Lady Sif activated the Bifrost, streaks of white lightning shooting upwards to begin initiating transport.
Loki stood with Gungnir in hand on one of the extensive balconies of the palace, gazing out over the multitude of buildings that made up the capital of Asgard. At the sight of the powerful beam of the Bifrost he spun with pursed lips and furrowed brow, abruptly stilling at the guard that had approached him from behind.
"My liege," he addressed with lowered eyes, "the Warriors Three and Lady Sif have gone missing."
Loki marched past him and the other guards standing at attention at the bases of the tall columns that were scattered about the terrace, determinedly entering the palace with his cape snapping about his heels.
"You're going to try to stop them from finding Thor aren't you?" Steve asks Loki.
Loki doesn't answer but Thor does, "Yes, he is." He doesn't elaborate what Loki's going to do exactly though.
At the crater site, SHIELD's instruments had recorded the event; a monitor displayed the retracting whirl of energy in a warped, dull yellow grid. It collapsed upwards until the signature vanished.
"What the hell was that?" Agent Coulson asked as he strode purposefully through the adjoining hall and through the room with computers and equipment lining the walls and tables.
"I don't know, sir," an agent started as he leapt out of his seat and followed him as he walked. "We got massive energy readings out of nowhere and then they just disappeared – fifteen miles due north-west."
"Let's go take a look," Coulson suggested, the agent, following him and the seated one that was analyzing the data of the occurrence interpreting the request as an order and moving to follow him to the SUVs outside. Several other agents and scientists piled into other vehicles to assist, the fleet of cars driving out through the guarded gates of the compound.
"Base to team two, we've got activity outside the town," the two agents were informed by one of the men remaining at the site of Mjolnir. He then directed, "Stay on your target."
Loki strode through the Weapons' Vault towards the end of the isle, coming to a halt before the pedestal that held the Casket and rapping the base of Gungnir against the cold stone of the floor. The decoration that made up the wall before him began to shrink and vanish, a blinding white inherent light obscuring a goliath figure.
"Make sure my brother does not return," Loki commanded, the metal that fashioned the Destroyer now reflecting the light surrounding it. "Destroy everything."
"You know it's really weird that you're still calling Thor your brother in this scene because you are after all sending a machine to kill him." Darcy says.
"It is rather odd." Bruce agrees with her.
Loki doesn't answer and doesn't look like he's going to do so, so Steve speaks up, "You don't think yourself a Frost Giant completely yet?" Loki looks at him and nods much to the shock of other's in the room.
"Okay then, so since Thor and his friends are taken care of, what did you plan to do to Heimdall?" Natasha asks.
"You'll find out." Loki sneered at her.
"Brother be nice, I'm not sure what he did to Heimdall Lady Natasha but he was very weakened but not in prison or hurt badly when we returned."
The Bifrost impacted the desert sand in a cloud of dust, the bright colors dispersing in the daylight to reveal the Warriors Three and Lady Sif standing inside the edges of a circle intricately carved with runes. They looked around in confusion as to their location, the dry wind tossing their hair and any loose clothing about.
Hogan began to walk off as Volstagg directed, "He must have landed nearby – it's time to put our tracking skills to work."
"Spread out, and check the sand for indentations of his boots."
"Nah, the winds would've blown them away by now," Fandral stated. "We should look for signs of a campfire."
Sif cast her discerning eyes around before landing upon a small town in the distance, saying, "Or we could just start there." She trekked in the direction of the buildings, Hogan some ways ahead of her already as he had taken initiative the instant they had landed.
The remaining two traded a glance before Fandral acquiesced in defeat, "Worth a look I suppose."
They followed, Volstagg hoisting his axe onto his right shoulder as hoped, "Maybe there's a tavern open."
They strode in a strict line of four, each alongside another, past the green sign declaring the city's limit in white lettering:
Puente Antiguo
City Limit
POP 2175 ELEV 6056
As they walked down the middle of the main road of the small town, their difference in dress was juxtaposed severely with the segment of the population that was meandering about their own business. The civilians passing them by use of the sidewalks flanking their catwalk often performed a sharp, incredulous double-take at the sight of the armored and armed warriors.
Several children were playing baseball in an alleyway the warriors were passing, the pitcher whipping the hard ball so it accidently bounced off one of the brick walls and onto the street instead of towards the batter. It rolled under the white car parallel parked at curb just beyond the mouth of the alley, the young girl throwing down the bat running to fetch it.
She crouched as she circled the vehicle, searching for where it landed. Volstagg observed her predicament and submissively flung his axe to the side, trotting daintily to her and insisting, "Allow me."
"Am I imagining, or did he just throw his axe?" Clint asks, Thor blushes about his friend's behavior.
He bent down and placed a hand under the edge of the vehicle, lifting one side up a couple of feet with a grunt before reaching under to retrieve the ball with a satisfied sigh
Everyone stared at the screen with wide eyes not believing that Thor's friend was able to lift a car, but they chose not to comment on it.
He dropped the car casually and stepped over to her with a smile, bending down to place the ball gently into her hands. "There you go, lass."
She issued a sincere 'thank you' in reply, fluttering her eyelashes as she beamed before running back to her friends. He chortled and turned away, returning to his companions as well.
The three stood on a raised stage with amused expressions, Hogan handing his axe back once he was in front of them. "Is it me or does Earth look a little differently now?"
"It has been a thousand years," Sif justified.
"Well, changes happen so fast – you leave for a millennium and look at the state of the place!" Volstagg continued undeterred. They stepped to ground level and continued down the street as he jokingly urged, "Best speed up then." He inhaled a series of sniffs suddenly before stopping and drawing in a large whiff of the scent he had caught with a gratified sigh. He then began sniffing in earnest as he grasped his axe firmly, starting in the opposite direction as to the other warriors.
"Your friend is like a bloodhound." Tony says to Thor.
Fandral, Sif, and Hogan marched down the road, the two agents stationed for surveillance observing from a rooftop while dining on Burger King. "Is there a Renaissance Fair in town?" one asked.
"Call it in," the other retorted around a mouthful of burger.
Volstagg approached behind them as the man conceded, radioing the base, "We've got a Xena, Jackie Chan, and Robin Hood-" before being cut off as he grabbed a hold of the naps of their necks and forced their heads to knock together.
"Never cared for spies," he stated as he caught the one agent's burger, it having flown upwards as the man had flailed briefly at the attack. "Exquisite," he moaned in appreciation at the taste of the burger.
Thor stood by the sink in the counter at the back, drying the recently washed dishes of their breakfast. "It's a beautiful theory, Jane," Erik granted as he stared at Thor for a moment before turning and continuing regretfully, "but you won't be able to convince the scientific community of any of it-" Jane turned away from Thor as well with downcast eyes as Darcy's expression tightened in dismay beside her. "-not without hard evidence."
'Knock, Knock, Knock, knock' Volstagg tapped on the glass doors, shouting a delighted, "Found you!" at the sight of Thor in the background. He looked up at the commotion, eyes widening as he gaped at the grinning Warriors Three and Lady Sif arranged in a row along the outside of the doorway.
Jane jumped back and both Erik and Darcy dropped the mugs that they had been holding at the spectacle of the four armored people. "My friends!" Thor called as he rushed to them, Hogan and Fandral pulling open the doors so they could all enter and each gleefully embrace him. "This is good, this is good!"
Darcy stared as Erik murmured, "I-I don't believe it."
"Oh, excuse me," Volstagg uttered in apology as he met them, introducing, "Lady Sif," to which she nodded, "and the Warrior Three." Erik traded a glance with Jane.
"My friends," Thor started with a hand on Hogan's shoulder, "I have never been happier to see anyone – but you should not have come."
Volstagg smile fell as he scoffed in disbelief, looking to Fandral who explained with a smile, "We're here to take you home."
"Y-You know I can't go home," Thor said softly as his arm returned to his side. Sif furrowed her brows as he faintly persisted, "My father is…dead, because of me," Jane gazed at him with sympathy as he continued, "and I must remain in exile."
"Thor," Sif started, shaking her head, "your father still lives."
He stared.
Heimdall stood with his back to the machinery of the Bifrost, his sword held down so the tip was placed on the colors of magic that streamed through the bridge beneath his feet. He faced the glimmering city, waves crashing below, as Loki calmly advanced towards him.
"Tell me, Loki, how did you get the Jotuns into Asgard?" He asked, amber eyes piercing.
"You think the Bifrost is the only way in or out of this realm?" he asked rhetorically. "There are secret paths between the worlds that even you, with all your gifts, are blind. But I have need of them no longer – now that I am king," he announced before heatedly sneering, "And I say, for your act of treason, you are relieved of your duties as Gatekeeper – and no longer a citizen of Asgard."
"Then I need no longer to obey you," he stated steadily before swinging his sword with bared teeth.
Loki released Gungnir to narrow his stance and sweep his right hand a foot above his left, palms facing each other, to summon the Casket of Ancient Winters into his grip. The Casket's power began to freeze Heimdall, layers of ice building over his armor, skin, and sword as resolutely attempted to persevere in forcing his blade to swing towards Loki. Loki, whose skin darkened to sapphire as grooves were dug in sharp patterns over his features, whose eyes brightened to scarlet, and who watched as he froze completely with the tip of his sword caressing the side of his neck.
He glanced down at the blade before back to the all-seeing Gatekeeper, reversing the motion of his hands so to send the powerful artifact from his grasp.
T.B.C
Author's note: I know I said that I was going to make this chapter have the rest of the movie but I realized that I still have a long way to go for the movie to be done. So I'm hoping that the next chapter will have the last of the movie. I can't believe how long this chapter is and how long it took for me to type. I hope you all enjoyed it. Please R&R, also check out my voting poll that I have on my profile. I found the descriptions of the realms on Google, I believe it's a mix between the myths and the comic but I'm not entirely sure.