Rei picked up the book Selvig checked out of the library, looked through it.
Rei pointed at an illustration of the Sword of Winters in the book.
"Hey! Eikus Cali Werr!" Rei looked at the illustration in the book, turned to Selvig knowingly.
"Where did you find this?"
Selvig grabbed the book from them, quickly closed it. "In the children's section. I wanted to show you how ridiculous this all was."
Rei was unconvinced by this. She knew he wanted to believe.
"Aren't you the one who's always told us to chase down all leads, all possibilities?" Rei asked.
"I was talking about science, not magic!" Selvig said.
"Magic's just science we don't understand yet. Arthur C. Clarke." Rei said.
"Who wrote science fiction." Selvig said.
"The precursor of science fact." Rei said.
"In some cases." Selvig said.
"If that's really an Einstein-Rosen Bridge out there, then there's something on the other side." Rei said. "Advanced beings could have come through it before."
"Rei..." Selvig said.
"A primitive culture like the Vikings might have worshipped them as deities." Rei said.
"Rei, if you do this, you'll find yourself in a situation that I won't be able to get you out of this time." Selvig said.
Rei looked stubborn. Selvig looked at her, saw there was no stopping her. He sighed.
SHIELD Holding Cell
Loki sat in a chair, staring forward blankly, hands cuffed behind him, smirking. Coulson stood across from him. The second he had recovered his magic, he had cast an enchantment so all of SHIELD believed it was he who had knocked out all the Agents. As a result, he was in maximum security, and Kurisuta was in minimum, waiting for the signal.
"It's not easy to do what you did. You made us all look like a bunch of mall cops. That's hurtful." Coulson said. "The men you so easily subdued are highly-trained professionals, and in my experience, it takes someone who's received similar training to do what you did to them. Would you like to tell me where you received your training?"
Loki sat silently.
"Pakistan? Chechnya? Afghanistan?" Coulson said. "Then again, you strike me more as the soldier of fortune type. What was it, South Africa?"
Still no answer. Coulson leaned in close to him.
"Certain groups pay well for a good mercenary. Especially HYDRA." Coulson waited for a response, but got none. "Who are you?"
Loki's smirk widened. "I am Loki Odinson of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."
Coulson's frown depended. "One way or another, we find out what we want to know. We're good at that."
Coulson left the room.
Loki smiled and whispered, "I thought he'd never leave."
Kurisuta shimmered into the room. "Was I that obvious?"
"You have no secrets from me," Loki said.
"I had to see you." Kurisuta said. "Here's the plan..."
She told him her plan as she had seen in her premonition, and then shimmered out.
"Now. Where did we leave off?" Coulson said
Sitwell entered and spoke to Coulson. "Sir... they have a visitor."
Security Room
Coulson and several other SHIELD agents stood across from Erik Selvig.
"Leonard Blake?" Coulson said.
"Doctor Leonard Blake. He's part of our team." Selvig said. "Kurisuta is my daughter."
"You have dangerous coworkers, Dr. Selvig." Coulson said.
"Troubled, not dangerous. He was distraught when he found out that you'd taken all of our research." Selvig said. "It was years of his life, gone! He got depressed, started drinking, and... well, you know the rest."
"Uh-huh. You mind if we take a moment to verify his identity?" Coulson said.
"Certainly." Selvig said.
The Techie at a computer nearby ran the name.
"You can understand how a man could go off like that. I mean, a big, faceless organization like yours, coming in with their jack-booted thugs and stealing private property..." Selvig said. "...is how he described it."
"That doesn't explain how he managed to tear through our security." Coulson said.
Selvig shrugged. "Steroids. He's a bit of a fitness nut."
On the Techie's monitor, a DMV record from the State of New York pops up reading "Dr Leonard Blake". The license photo was indeed a picture of Loki - from the video Rei took with her cellphone.
The Techie hits a button, and a graphic reads, "SHIELD Security Analysis in Progress." Coulson eyed the screen.
After a beat, he turned back to Selvig.
"It says here he's an M.D." Coulson said.
"He is. That is, he was. He switched careers and became a physicist. He's quite brilliant, really." Selvig said. "If you would just release him to me, I promise to keep an eye on him."
Coulson was lost in thought, sizing Selvig up - then smiled. He turned to an agent nearby.
"Release Dr. Blake to Dr. Selvig here." Coulson said. "And release his daughter too."
The Techie looked to him, surprised.
"Make sure he stays in town for the next few days in case we need to talk to him again." Coulson said.
Selvig shook his hand.
"Thank you."
Holding Cell
Selvig burst into the room with a SHIELD Agent to find a seated Loki.
"Leo, Leo, Leo! There you are!" Selvig said.
"It's great to see you too, Erik," Loki said, playing along as planned.
Selvig pulled Loki to his feet, gave him a warm hug.
"It's going to be all right, my friend. Come on, I'm taking you home." Selvig said.
"Alright," Loki said. "Kurisuta is right next door."
He lead the bewildered Loki out the door. They walked next door and picked up Kurisuta.
"Thank you for coming, Dad," Kurisuta said.
Selvig sighed. "I couldn't just leave you here."
As Thor and Selvig mad their way past the SHIELD Security Room, Loki noticed Selvig's possessions and equipment from the lab stacked under a tarp. He spotted Selvig's handwritten journal among them. As he passed, he quickly took it from the pile and pocketed it.
Security Room
Coulson looked at the computer bearing Donald Blake's DMV record. A security warning over the image clearly read "Security Alert: Falsified Data." He knew it was a ruse all along.
He looked to Selvig, Kurisuta and Loki heading away from the Security Room, then followed them outside.
Outside
Coulson and two SHIELD Agents watch as Selvig walked with Loki away from the base to the SUV. Coulson called to Selvig.
"Just keep him away from the bars." Coulson said.
"I will!" Selvig said.
"Where are we going?" Loki asked.
Selvig dropped his cool demeanor.
"To get a drink." Selvig said.
Kurisuta looked troubled by this as she, Selvig and Loki climbed into the SUV.
As they drove off, Coulson turned to the other two agents - Garrett and Cale.
"Follow them." Coulson said.