"We'll portkey to New York, then take a S.H.I.E.L.D jet to Albuquerque and drive from there to the site." Coulson said after looking at his notes.
"Want me to shift before we leave or wait until we get to New York?" Harry asked.
"I'd prefer before we leave." Coulson said. "Let S.H.I.E.L.D think you're just a bird, right from the start. Less chance of them letting something slip."
"Right you are, boss." Harry nodded. "When do we leave?"
Clint flicked his wrist out and Ares took flight, swooping in a wide arc around the tiny village of Puente Antiguo as the last of the storm faded and the remains of the Destroyer landed, semi-crushed, in the middle of the main street. From his vantage point, Clint watched Coulson approach Thor.
Thor. The God of Thunder. The actual God of Thunder. From Asgard. With the Hammer. The real Hammer. Mjolnir.
Coulson talked to the blonde God for a few moments and Clint wasn't at all surprised to see a small item be passed from one to the other. Nor was he surprised when Thor wrapped an arm around Dr Foster and raised the hammer. A snort burst from him at the disgruntled look on Coulson's face when the two rose into the air.
"At least he took a mirror." He muttered and began to make his way back to the pavement. He knew that Ares would find him, soon enough.
"That went well." Clint told Coulson as he joined the other man and Ares settled on his shoulder with a soft scree of greeting.
"That's your idea of well?" Darcy asked.
"Yes." Coulson nodded. "Barton's point of view is a little skewed."
"No, most of our missions tend to become skewed, I've just learnt to expect it." Clint corrected. "So, do we follow them to the Bifrost site?"
"No, I think not." Coulson said. "I'm going to call Fury in, get his people to help with the clean-up."
"So, we're heading back to the island, then?"
"Not immediately." Coulson corrected. "We still need to debrief Dr Foster, Dr Selvig and Darcy." Coulson deliberately used Darcy's first name and not a title.
"Oh, but…" Darcy looked towards the Bifrost site.
"You should be back from the Bifrost site, by the time we have clean-up crews on route, Darcy." Coulson said patiently.
"Yes, Uncle Phil." She sighed. "And if you ever put me in this position again, I'm not gonna make you cookies again."
"Noted, dear." Coulson said. "But the only reason I allowed Fury to put you in this position, in the first place, was that I was able to provide backup in person, with two of my most experienced agents."
"I saw Barton but not the other." Darcy said, ignoring Selvig's surprised expression. "Which one is it and where are they?"
"Guess." Coulson smirked. "If you can't guess by the time we leave, you owe me a batch of cookies each week, for a year."
"And if I guess right?"
"A favour. For later." Coulson offered.
"Deal." Darcy held out a hand and Coulson took it before pulling the intern into his arms and hugging her.
"You did well, Darcy-May. Good job." He whispered into her hair.
"Thanks…" Darcy's voice wobbled slightly.
"Now, none of that. Hop to it." Coulson pushed her back. "You have passengers to get to the Bifrost. We'll still be here when you get back."
"Yeah…" Darcy took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders and turned to face Selvig, Sif and The Warriors Three. "Who's up for an off-road bash? The Bifrost is ten miles from here, it's a long walk."
"It's a long drive, if you're driving." Selvig sighed.
"But still better than walking, Doc." Darcy grinned as she pulled the door of the Pinzgauer. "Everyone in, that's going."
With a hesitant look between Darcy and Selvig, the Asgardians climbed into the truck. The ungainly machine rumbled to life and Darcy expertly manhandled the truck around the rubble and onto a dirt track.
"Barton? You're in charge of the S.H.I.E.L.D crews until I can get someone with authority, out here." Coulson said. "I'm going to call Fury, then I want to speak to Thomas Linkson and Michael Carr."
"When I find them, I'll send them your way, boss." Clint nodded and headed for the nearest clump of locals.
Coulson sighed and reached into his pocket for his phone. This call was going to suck.
Days passed and Thor failed to return.
Darcy told Coulson that Dr Foster had ran the gamut of emotions, anger, frustration, sadness and back to anger.
Which is where she was at right now.
Coulson laid his starkphone down and glanced at the twin of the mirror he'd given Thor. He wondered if he should make the first call and possibly lose the position of strength it put him in.
Frigga looked at Thor as he paced the confines of the balcony and sighed. "My son…" she smiled, "come, sit with me."
"Mother?" Thor lifted his head. "My apologies, I did not hear you."
"Of course, you didn't, my love. I didn't want you to."
"Mother?"
"Come, sit." She ignored Odin's hidden presence at the far end of the balcony. "Much better." She said when the blonde prince had settled at her side. "Tell me of Midgard. Who did you meet and were they worthy of knowing?"
"Aye, mother." Thor was familiar with this situation, it meant that Odin was only an observer, that Frigga was controlling the interview and that she would decide any punishments or rewards to be handed out. "Upon my arrival, I was… vexed…" He sighed. "In truth, I was filled with wroth and indignation. I am a Prince of Asgard, who would dare to treat me so? It took bare moments for me to realise that the only one powerful enough to banish me between realms, was father. When indigenous inhabitants arrived, I am ashamed to say that I allowed my hurt at father's actions to colour my behaviour. I raised my voice to what were clearly ladies of gentle birth. However, one was also a warrior and she felled me with mine own element."
Frigga's brows rose.
"Aye." Thor nodded. "It was not until… the men of S.H.I.E.L.D tried to take Lady Jane's possessions, that Lady Darcy once again showed the power that felled me. I was most impressed, mother. A mortal, such as lives on Midgard, had the power to harness lightening into such a small device. It fit in her hand mother, with less showing than a table dagger."
Frigga made a sharp noise.
"But they were helpful." Thor went on. "The men of S.H.I.E.L.D took me from them and locked me away, Loki's shade visited upon me and spoke of father's death and of my permanent banishment. I was… heartbroken. That I would never see you again, mother, it wounded my heart. The men of S.H.I.E.L.D held me captive within a small space, it is true, but they treated me well, I was fed and spoken to with respect. Simply barred my freedom. Until the arrival of Erik, he who is mentor and surrogate Uncle to Lady Jane. Lady Darcy had used my element to fell me and now she used Loki's talent at subterfuge to free me, although it was Erik that she sent to retrieve me from where the men of S.H.I.E.L.D were encamped."
"Interesting…" Frigga mused. "Pray continue, my son."
"As you wish, mother." Thor smiled at his beautiful mother. "Erik returned me to Lady Jane and Lady Darcy's side and there I stayed. I would hope that I treated them with the respect and consideration that ladies of their standing would see, were they here on Asgard. Lady Jane's mind is a wonderous thing, mother. Midgard has not the knowledge that Asgard has but still she has a theoretical understanding of the Bifrost. The science behind her theories is… remarkably similar to that which Eir and Heimdall tried to teach me, when I was younger. But it was not until the destroyer arrived, that I saw Lady Darcy as anything more than Lady Jane's lady-in-waiting. While she had the power to fell me, I had mistakenly assumed that it had no bearing on her courage. I was wrong."
"Indeed?" Frigga prompted him to continue.
"Aye. When the destroyer arrived, it was Lady Darcy and Erik that rallied the local villagers and got them to safety. She risked her life for them, mother. And not just once, but again and again."
Frigga's brows rose again. "Truly?"
"Aye." Thor nodded. "One young male argued with her, he wanted to fight with us but he had neither skill nor weapons. As Lady Darcy said, he was but an apprentice scholar, he had no place upon the battlefield. Lady Darcy listened to his words before shaking her head and striking him down, she pulled a small device from her pocket and cast lightening at him. She then turned to his friends and told them to carry the boy and join the other evacuees."
Frigga smiled.
"We fought the destroyer, the Warriors Three and Lady Sif were thrown asunder and I determined that it was down to me to speak with Loki. If I could turn his ire from Midgard by giving him my life, it would be a small price to pay."
Frigga made a pained sound.
"Oh, mother, be not alarmed. Mjolnir returned to my side and restored me to my full strength. I was able to force the destroyer's fire to turn against itself. Upon my return to Lady Jane, Lady Darcy and Erik, we were joined by the men of S.H.I.E.L.D, only to be told that the man leading them was not of S.H.I.E.L.D but another organisation that was created with the sole purpose of protecting Midgard. He gave me a mirror and said that if I desired to speak with him, I would only need hold the mirror and say his name."
"His name?"
"I have tried, mother, but for some reason, I cannot made it work. There must be something that I have failed to understand." Thor dropped his head. "I destroyed the Bifrost and cannot return to Lady Jane's side and now I cannot even tell her why."
"Tell me, my son. Tell me exactly what this man said." Frigga ordered.
Thor spent the next hour, wracking his brain for every word that he'd heard the Son of Coul say to him and repeating them back to his mother.
"Ah…" She said, when he finished. "You are young, my son, and as such, some customs are unknown to you. The lives of those of Midgard are short and so, they shorten their terms of address. You would be Thor Odinson, not Thor, Son of Odin. Midgard would know this man not as the Son of Coul but as Coulson. Fetch this mirror and try again, my son, use what he would be known as, to his own people."
"I shall, mother." Thor paused. "Should I return here, to do so?"
"Please." Frigga nodded, every inch the queen of Asgard.
"Of course, mother. Please excuse me, I shall return, immediately." Thor rose to his feet and after a bow to his mother, he left the balcony.
"Our son is growing." A rough voice rumbled for the shadows.
"He is." Frigga nodded. "But he still has a long way to go before I would see him take your throne, husband."
"What do you plan, wife?"
"I have watched alongside Heimdall, for many days." Frigga said. "This Lady Jane is a most remarkable being. I do believe that she may be well suited to our son."
"Truly?" Odin stayed in the shadows.
"Truly." Frigga nodded. "I would have Thor take the time to know her. To learn if they would truly be well matched, if her fire will stand against his or if she is but a candle to his flame. The lives of those on Midgard are short, it is true, but still…"
"You would send him back to learn if she is his fire?"
"Not just that, husband." Frigga said. "There is so much he must learn, if he is to be king and while much can be taught, there is much that must felt. And here on Asgard, where our people see him as a prince, so few treat him as anything other than a prince, it will not happen."
"And a prince is not a king."
"Nor is he a man."
"But a man can be a king." Odin nodded.
"Precisely, husband." Frigga nodded. "He must learn to be a man, before he can become a king."
"Your theory is just, my queen. Order him as you will." Odin reached out a hand from the shadows at her side and lifted Frigga's hand to his lips. "You are wiser than I and every day I am thankful that you are my queen." He laid her hand back upon her lap and retreated back into the shadows, leaving the balcony completely.
As he re-entered the palace, he saw Thor exit his rooms and move towards him.
"Father?" Thor asked, not certain of how he should react.
"You mother awaits you, my son, go to her." Odin gestured behind himself, towards the balcony where Frigga sat.
"Yes, father." Thor gave him a shallow bow and hurried away.
Out on the balcony, Thor came to a halt in front of Frigga, the mirror held as gently as his hands were capable of.
"Mother?"
"Call for the man, this Coulson. I would speak with him." Frigga replied.
"As you command, mother." Thor lifted the mirror and took a deep breath. "Coulson."
Nothing happened and Thor's shoulders slumped.
"No, my son. What did he introduce himself as?"
"Director Coulson, of the Avengers." Thor repeated and nearly dropped the mirror when it warmed in his hands. "Mother?" This was magic outside his understanding.
"Be at ease. Come, sit beside me, that we might both speak with this man."
The mirror cleared and a face appeared.
"Prince Thor of Asgard." The Son of Coul dipped his head in recognition. "And company?"
"Greetings upon you, Director Coulson." Thor repeated a general greeting. "Might I present to you, my lady mother, Frigga, Queen of Asgard?"
"Your majesty." Coulson barely blinked as he rose from a seat and bowed to her, raising his position in Frigga's mind considerably.