Chapter 13: Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Asgard was a sight for sore eyes, even when half of it had been smashed up from both the Dark Elf invasion, and Thor's plan to escape Asgard.

Heimdall greeted the two when they'd returned, his smile tired but relieved as Thor embraced him tightly. Leaving the two to have their moment, Ciara walked past and out the doorway to look out, and she didn't miss the two guards stationed there. Both shot her wary looks, but didn't move to attempt to arrest her, and she smirked. Seems that while Heimdall was allowed to remain the Gatekeeper, he wasn't exactly trusted after he technically assisted their escape.

A strange pang went through her chest as she stepped out onto the bridge and looked up at Asgard in the distance. Repairs had already begun to fix the buildings in the city itself, and the palace shimmered in the cold winter sun.

"Glad to be back?" Ciara asked Thor, looking up as he stood beside her.

"I'm...not sure," he admitted, and Ciara laughed quietly.

"Same here," she told him.

"Perhaps I should have come back alone. We did not leave on good terms," Thor considered as they started walking down the bridge. Ciara nodded slowly as she thought about it.

"I suppose we did kinda go against the King's orders to not leave Asgard and take the Aether straight to the Dark Elves," she considered, tapping her finger against her chin. Thor's smile was faint, and she looked up at him. "You'll see her again soon, Thor," Ciara said quietly.

"Your words are kind, but I betrayed my father, my king, to save her. I put the universe in jeopardy for her," he sighed, unsure, and Ciara patted his arm awkwardly.

"The worst he can do is order Heimdall to stop you using the Bifrost," she then offered a smirk. "But he can't order me. I'll get you back there," she said confidently, even though she could still feel a strange empty sensation within her from the depleted power of the Tesseract. Thor stopped for a moment, and turned to her.

"Thank you, Ciara," he put a heavy hand on her shoulder. Ciara gave a thumbs up, and Thor looked up at the palace. "What will you do? Do you plan to stay here?" he asked. Ciara sobered, following his gaze.

"I'm not sure," she confessed, staring up at the palace. She then shook her head, forcing her smile to return. "Well, there's no point in hesitating. Let's get this over with, shall we?" Ciara asked, starting to walk again towards the palace.

Both were quiet as they walked, both choosing to take their time to return and look at what was happening around them. People were hard at work repairing their homes and other buildings, with everyone seeming to be chipping in. Ciara could see the lack of sleep on the faces of some, having seen it in herself plenty of times. 'Throwing themselves into their work to block out the grief,' Ciara considered, glancing up at Thor again. He'd done exactly the same thing, focusing on saving Jane so he didn't have to think about the people he lost.

The people who weren't completely absorbed in their work bowed to Thor as he passed, and he offered faint smiles to them, trying not to look worried about what he was returning to. Occasionally he stopped, asking how the people fared, and helped to carry some of the equipment around.

"For all we have lost, we are grateful that Prince Thor was not amongst the casualties," one woman commented as she passed by, struggling to carry food and drinks for the workers. Ciara watched for a moment, before sighing.

"Want a hand?" the woman jolted as Ciara addressed her, and she stared warily for a moment. She took in Ciara's beaten face, bruised with cuts only just starting to scab over, and realisation started to dawn on her that the Midgardian had been just as involved in the fight as Thor.

"Thank you," she nodded, allowing Ciara to take the heavy bottles from her. Ciara just nodded, quiet, following her to help distribute the drinks. There were a few guards that wandered around, assisting with the repairs, and each shot Ciara dirty looks as she passed them. She didn't look at them, but her smirk returned. Seemed they hadn't quite forgiven her for the chaos she'd brought only days ago. It felt like much longer.

"You're that mortal, aren't you?" one man asked as he took a jug from her and passed it to another man to start pouring out for everyone.

"What gave me away?" Ciara spoke, one eyebrow arched with a faint smile. He chuckled, wiping away the sweat on his face with the back of his hand.

"My brother's one of the guards you embarrassed, but from what I heard from him, you helped Prince Thor stop that darkness that came through last night," he said, and both Ciara's eyebrows rose this time in surprise. She hadn't expected that to be common knowledge on Asgard, especially not so suddenly. "We weren't so sure about you, but it seems you're not too bad, for a human," he told her, and Ciara barked out a laugh.

"Trust me, you're very wrong. But thank you," she told him honestly.

"I don't think Ciara will ever allow herself to be considered positively," Thor told him as he returned, looking more cheerful than he had when they'd arrived. Ciara rolled her eyes in response, embarrassed by the comments. It was foreign and somewhat unwanted. "We must leave, but please, let me know if I can be of more help," Thor told them, and the people bowed to him.

"Thank you, your highness," they called as he led Ciara on, continuing on towards the palace.

"They know you stopped Malekith. Seems Odin hasn't made any announcements about you going against his instructions," she considered as they walked into the palace. Thor nodded, his grim expression having returned as they made their way towards the throne room.

The palace was still in a state of disarray, with people working to fix what had been destroyed there too. Most of the debris had been cleared away already, but there was still a lot of work left to do before it would be back to the way it was before.

Thor stopped abruptly, his grim expression being changed to one of surprise, when the two guards standing at the entrance to the throne room stopped them from entering.

"Pardon us, your majesty," one of them spoke as they bowed politely to the Prince.

"What is the meaning of this? I would speak with my father," Thor said, authority filling his voice. Ciara snorted, almost impressed by how quickly he could switch.

"You are free to, Prince Thor. However…" The second guard gave Ciara a side-eyed glance. "The Allfather has requested that the mortal not be present," Ciara's eyes widened in surprise at the words.

"Now see here-"

"It's fine," Ciara stopped Thor before he could protest. "Don't worry, Big Guy. I should go recharge anyway. This way you and your dad can do whatever and I don't have to get glared at," she told him. "Just let me know if I'm gonna be arrested. I could do with a rest before I go on the run," she patted his arm and turned, walking away. Thor watched, not speaking, as she disappeared around the corner.

As soon as she was out of view, Ciara cracked her neck, and started to run, speeding down the halls and around the destruction. She weaved her way around, following the pull that had returned full-force when she'd returned to Asgard. Until now, she'd ignored it, refusing to let the Tesseract summon her like some kind of pet, and was more than happy to delay her return to the palace like Thor.

Finally Ciara reached the Relic Room, deep within the palace and far below the ground. She pulled up the hood of her cloak, letting the darkness swallow her up. As usual, there were two guards outside keeping watch, and they didn't notice when Ciara slipped by. She stepped into the Relic Room itself, shivering at the cold, and began to walk down the stone steps.

Ciara could barely remember her first trip to the Relic Room, which remained a haze no matter how hard she thought about it. But since then, it remained the same, cold and dark with a number of powerful treasures scattered around. The sensation of the power and magic that filled the room always made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, making her nervous. 'Stupid survival instinct,' she complained inwardly, ignoring that whisper that told her to get out. Instead, she looked around, resisting the urge to touch anything, including the massive golden gauntlet that seemed bigger than her.

The tug in her stomach that pulled her towards the Tesseract grew stronger with each step that she made towards it, and Ciara purposely took slow steps towards it, looking at each treasure hidden away. It seemed the Tesseract still hadn't learned that the more it demanded, the more Ciara resisted. Instead, she leaned closer to a glowing box nearby, which made the air grow colder the closer she got to it. As it did, Ciara stopped and took a step back, rubbing her bare arms and willing herself to calm down.

She groaned, rolling her eyes as she turned away from it and finally approached the Tesseract. "Alright already, enough," Ciara told it as if the glowing Cube really was sentient, and put her hands to it. As soon as she touched it, the power flooded through it and up her arms, causing a small wind to pick up around her as a blue aura swirled around her for just a moment. Then Ciara released it, opening her eyes and stepping back. "So demanding," she muttered, taking another step back and vanishing in a flash of blue and black that swallowed her up.

Darcy didn't like the two SHIELD agents sitting across from Jane on the sofa.

She had decided this the moment they'd shown up at Jane's mum's house, polite to the woman who had no idea what was going on, before insisting they speak with Jane. At first, Darcy had tried to protest, worried for her friend and boss who was clearly worried about if and when Thor would return.

And he better return, or Darcy would figure out how to get to Asgard so she could kick his ass herself.

Erik had quickly submitted to the man and woman who insisted that it was important, wanting to speak with all four that had been involved with what had taken place in Greenwich the previous day. It still didn't feel entirely real, what had happened. But now Darcy sat on a stool, glowering at the dark haired woman who was asking the questions.

"I know that we were told to contact you if we found Ciara," Jane nodded. "But you have to understand that when I did find Ciara, I was on another planet," Jane stressed for what felt like the hundredth time. "We had a lot more pressing issues to deal with than calling SHIELD," she said, and Darcy smirked. She always loved when Jane stood up for herself.

"Yes, Thor arrived briefly on Earth in London before he brought you to Asgard," Penelope nodded, taking notes as the man with her asked most of the questions. She looked up, meeting Jane's gaze with a sharp look of her own that made Jane shiver. "Why did he bring you to Asgard? Now of all times? He's had two years to come back to you," she asked.

"Why wouldn't he?" Darcy snapped.

"Darcy," Jane's voice was quiet and calm as she didn't even blink. "Like I told you. I found something called the Aether, which almost killed me. Thor took me to Asgard to help me," she said, having already summed up her entire adventure on Asgard, the Dark World, and right there in London.

"And what about you?" the man - Andy, or Archie, whatever it was, Darcy couldn't remember his name - directed his attention to Darcy, Erik and Ian. The latter had been squirming nervously, never having even heard of SHIELD until a few days prior. "Dr. Selvig, Ms. Lewis. You both had been told to contact SHIELD if Ciara Ellis made contact with you," he reminded. Erik was scowling now, unsure whether his feelings towards Ciara outweighed how the two were behaving.

"You never gave us a reason why we had to. She helped us in New Mexico, and the next thing we're told is to tell you if she shows up again," Darcy bit. Ian reached over and clasped his hand around hers. It was sweaty, but it stopped Darcy from launching into abuse.

"I believe Dr. Selvig knows the reason why," Penelope was the one to speak, directing her attention to Erik. There was something else behind her words, and Darcy couldn't figure out what it was. "Any reason why you didn't immediately call when Ellis showed up? After what she did?" there was bitterness behind her words, and all of them immediately noticed it. Andy - or Archie, god what was it - cleared his throat, shooting her a warning glance.

"Do you think that I wouldn't want her behind bars, for what she did, Ms. Tournes?" Erik asked, his voice quiet, but the anger behind it made Darcy go still. "I had a God in my brain, unmaking everything about me and twisting me to his will. And Ellis treated it like it was all a game, just because she never had to endure the same thing. She had her fun with Loki, then again with the Chitauri in New York. And then she was gone without ever being punished for it," he said, his eyes dark with anger. Now, Darcy was squeezing Ian's hand, grateful for the presence as her stomach lurched.

"Dr. Selvig, we meant no offense. Agent Tournes was not trying to make light of your...situation," Archie - Andy, whatever - spoke carefully so as not to anger Erik further. "We simply just need to know the details, so we can find her and have that punishment delivered," he said. Darcy bit her lip, now torn.

"The reason I didn't call, why none of us called, was because when she did appear with Thor, they brought a warning. That the Dark Elves were coming to Earth to take advantage of the Convergence and plunge every world into the darkness that existed before the start of the universe," Erik said, keeping his head up and maintaining eye-contact with Penelope. "Then afterwards, she left, and how was I meant to stop her?" he asked, sounding almost helpless.

"I see," the Agent nodded, seeming appeased by his words, and nudged Penelope. Reluctantly, she began to scribble down notes again.

"Ciara helped us. She helped us stop Malekith and his plan to use the Aether. She saved people, both with stopping Malekith, and from his army that he brought with him," Jane spoke up, and Darcy looked at her, sure that she was squeezing Ian's hand so tightly he would complain, but he remained silent.

"And what?" Penelope's lack of emotion over the subject was clear in her words. "That forgives her for helping a god summon an army from another world? A lot of people were killed in New York, Dr. Foster," she reminded Jane, who's glare grew.

"And a lot more people would have died here, in London, if she hadn't been there to help," she bit back.

"Well, if she's back on Asgard, there's not much that can be done for now," the man stood, cutting off Penelope before she could argue with Jane. "Next time, please contact us if she returns. Otherwise, we might run into further trouble," he flashed a smile that was all teeth and no warmth, his threat clear.

"Of course," Erik nodded stiffly.

"We'll see ourselves out," the Agents turned and left, shutting the front door behind them loudly. Immediately Darcy cursed, flinging herself to her feet and only just barely remembering to let go of Ian before she did so, preventing him from being dragged along.

"I hate this," she declared. Jane nodded her agreement, not trusting herself to speak.

"I need a drink," Erik decided with a heavy sigh.

As soon as the door closed, Penelope cursed, barely managing to warp the sound to prevent anyone from hearing her.

"This is ridiculous. You know they could have called us beforehand. The Avengers would have been perfectly willing to-"

"That's not your call, Pen," Archie sighed, looking exhausted. "Look, I get it. I want to take in Ellis too and stop her from hurting anyone else-"

"I want her to pay for what she did," Penelope spat angrily. Archie sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Penelope," his voice was tired, and warning. "I didn't bench you when I took over this task force because both you and Bianchi insisted that you could be impartial when tracking Ellis down. Marcus' death affected us all, not just you. I know he had a soft spot for you and kept you at the front, but if you can't do this, I will have to consider benching you," Archie warned her, reluctantly.

He didn't want to have to make the threat. He knew that none of them were truly impartial after Marcus O'Reilly had been killed in the Battle of New York, and Penelope had taken his death hard, having been there in the battle when it happened. She'd been the newest on the team and both inexperienced and nervous, but she'd come out of her shell fast enough and Marcus had clearly seen something in her.

But they had to maintain a degree of professionalism in front of the people they spoke to. And if Thor got wind that they were harassing his friends over it, then there would be real trouble. The Avengers weren't a group to be messed with, nor was Director Fury, who wouldn't be happy with them either. Especially considering they'd already been trying to catch Ciara for two years. They'd had her in custody for a grand total of five seconds during that time, and that only pissed Archie and his team off more.

"I'm sorry," Penelope's fire had died when she spoke again. "You're right. I need to be better. I'm still learning, and now to find out that our work has been useless the last year...it's frustrating," she told him as her temper still simmered, but wasn't threatening to spill over again.

"It really is," Archie sighed, leading her back to the car. "But she can't hide on Asgard forever. She's not one of them, and if Thor didn't even take Foster there until her life was at risk, I don't think she'd be welcome to stay," he said, starting the engine as Penelope buckled her seatbelt.

"Then we'll need to be ready for when she does come back," she said, sounding more determined than angry now. Archie nodded, smiling faintly.

"And we will," he promised, reaching over to squeeze her hand before starting to drive away.

Penelope wasn't meant to become such an antagonist for Ciara, but I guess she had her own plans!

Let me know what you think!