Chapter Twenty Four
"And I never meant to cause you trouble, And I never meant to do you wrong, And I, well, if I ever caused you trouble, Oh no, I never meant to do you harm..." - Trouble, Coldplay
Ada's mind was reeling with shock over that revelation. The realization that the same voice, the woman she'd been seeing in her dreams, was her mother, was enough to make her wish she could ask more questions. For once, Ada didn't know what to ask or say as she pictured the woman in her dreams. The pieces were finally beginning to connect. She suddenly understood the gravity of the woman's sacrifice, now.
Sleep hadn't come easily to her that night.
Nightmares began overwhelming her. Images of the people that she cared about flashed across her mind. She never felt more helpless than at that moment when she realized that they had all been killed. That, the same people who hunted Nadia and her people were now hunting them.
A shiver swept through Ada as she finally sat up, trying to shake off the uneasiness. While they were nothing more than nightmares, they felt real. That was what terrified her the most. Ada knew that her line of work meant their lives would always be in danger. Tony knew it as well. He may not have taken his job as Iron Man seriously, but he knew that everyone he cared about was in danger because of the suit. She let out a sigh at the thought, knowing that thinking about it wouldn't get her anywhere.
The sun was just beginning to rise when Ada glanced over her shoulder, blinking in surprise when she saw her notebooks scattered around the rooftop. She looked around until spotting both Thor and Jane sitting on the rooftop a bit further away. A lump formed in the back of her throat as Ada wondered how Thor had gotten a hold of her notebooks, considering Coulson himself had likely taken them.
Sure enough, when she picked the first one up, she noticed that someone had indeed written on the very last page. The notebook itself was old and battered from months of abuse. She tried being careful with it, but she knew that writing notes after such dreams wasn't the easiest thing to do. Ada narrowed her eyes when she recognized the handwriting on the last page.
'We need to talk — C'.
She had no doubt that Coulson wanted to talk about the stories she'd written. More importantly, she suspected she was in for a scolding when this was over. Not that she didn't blame Coulson for that notion. She quickly closed the notebook, already debating whether or not it was safe to go back and talk to him.
By the time she'd finished writing down in a newer notebook the details of her last nightmare, Jane was beginning to stir. Ada almost smirked when she noticed that Thor was still fast asleep. She gently pushed away his arm when she noticed that Ada was awake.
"Hey," she murmured sleepily, stretching her arms after sleeping in such an awkward position, "What time is it?"
"Close to six in the morning," Ada replied after looking down at her phone, "When did they get back?"
"Around midnight, last night," Jane replied with a slight shrug, "He got some of my research back, along with yours."
"Remind me to thank him," she sighed, running a hand through her hair.
Thoughts of last night's revelation kept rushing back. A sudden wave of grief crashed over Ada as she pictured the woman sacrificing herself for the sake of her daughter. The only real family by blood she had left was gone. She swallowed hard at the thought, wondering how many more people would suffer at the hands of assholes like Nathan, who likely worked for the people responsible for her mother's death.
She tried casting the thoughts away with a much needed shower. After spending an evening in the rain and not letting herself dry off, a shower was desperately needed. Relief swept through Ada once she was finished getting ready, had changed into fresh clothes and tied her hair back into a ponytail. Once that task was over, Ada made her way down to the kitchen, only to blink in surprise.
The kitchen itself was currently occupied. What surprised her more than anything else was how domesticated Thor looked, working at the stove. Darcy and Erik were sitting at the kitchen table, while Jane helped Thor with whatever he needed.
"Wow, this smells great," Ada quipped, "To what do we owe the pleasure?"
"I believe it is the guest's best interest to cook for the host," he replied with a genuine smile.
Ada couldn't hide the smile that followed when she noticed Darcy nodding with a spoonful of cereal. Jane was working on the pancakes while Erik read the newspaper. In all, it reminded Ada of the lazy mornings she would spend with Pepper and Tony at the mansion.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked, knowing that helping out was the least she could do for Jane's hospitality.
"She can wash the dishes when breakfast is over!" Darcy suggested, offering a wide grin as Jane rolled her eyes in annoyance. Ada almost laughed at the eagerness in Darcy's voice, telling her that dish-washing was her least favorite chore, "What? She's the one who asked."
"You can help yourself to some pancakes," Jane replied, ignoring Darcy's comment entirely.
She gave a nod of agreement to that, grabbing a plateful of pancakes before joining Darcy and Erik at the kitchen table. Both Thor and Jane joined them moments later. Not for the first time, Ada found herself appreciating moments where she could just spend time with the people she considered friends.
"Thank you," she murmured self-consciously, "You didn't have to do this."
The pancakes themselves weren't bad, even if they were a little burnt. Considering how many times Ada had burnt her own breakfast, she knew it wasn't fair to judge anyone. Especially since Jane was kind enough to offer some food, and, had accepted Ada into their little group.
Once breakfast was over, she and Thor worked together in cleaning the dishes. She washed them while he dried them, stacking the clean dishes onto a rack. Every once in a while, Ada would use her powers to splash water on his face, just to lighten the tense mood. They both laughed after Thor realized that she was using her powers.
"Okay, how is it that you're a Stark?" Darcy finally asked after watching her for the last few minutes, "I mean, the two of you are nothing alike."
"Technically, he's my adopted father," Ada reminded her with a shrug. She'd heard this song and dance enough times to know what to say, "I never knew my real mother and father, but, I just… I have a feeling that they cared enough to give me a better life."
She looked down at the floor as guilt stabbed her in the heart. As much as it pained her to admit it, she would never know who her real father was. Her mother had finally revealed herself to her, but, she was about the only real family Ada knew.
Jane was ready to say something when she understood the gravity of Ada's situation. She never got the chance; a knock sounded on the door just seconds later. Ada's heart nearly skipped a beat when she saw four people standing at the door. Three of them were waving at Thor like a band of idiots, while the woman just crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.
"Found you!"
In his state of shock, Erik dropped the mug he was holding. Ada rose an eyebrow at the sight, unsure of what to make of the three men dressed in armor. Even the woman was dressed in some kind of armor; all of them looked like they were ready for a cosplay event.
"My friends!" Thor exclaimed after recognizing them.
"This is good! This is good!" the one with a bushy beard and bulky muscles started as they were let in by Darcy.
"I don't believe it," Erik choked out as Darcy cleaned up his mess.
"Oh, excuse me. Lady Sif, and, the Warriors Three." Ada rose an eyebrow at their introduction.
"Warriors Three?" Ada repeated, ignoring the incredulous look that all three men gave her.
It wasn't until saying it out loud that Ada remembered the picture book Erik had shown Jane, earlier. While he was trying to disprove that Thor wasn't from Asgard, it came back to bite him in the ass. Quite literally. She realized with a start that these people were none other than Volstagg, Fandral and Hogan. And, of course, Lady Sif, the only female of the group.
"My friends, I have never been happier to anyone. But, you should not have come," Thor said as he greeted them all.
"We're here to take you home!" Fandral stated, confusion written across his face.
"You know I can't go home. My father is… dead, because of me. I must remain in exile."
Ada narrowed her eyes in surprise at that. If his father was who she suspected he was, she doubted that was the case. She had a feeling that something bigger was going on, something bigger than even Thor understood.
"Thor, your father still lives," Lady Sif reassured him after frowning in confusion.
This is too much, Ada thought when she realized her presence probably wouldn't be welcomed much longer. Her mind was already running a mile a minute as it was. Knowing that the Warrior's Three and Lady Sif were there, it only made things that much worse. The last thing she expected was to see people from another world visiting theirs. It almost seemed unheard of when she thought about it. But, she realized with a start that the people she came from weren't that much different.
What she wasn't expecting was to find herself staring at what appeared to be something huge falling from the sky. Ada narrowed her eyes as a large cloud of dust followed, billowing into the sky seconds later. She could only imagine how something so heavy fell from the sky in the first place. Of course, that was when things turned to chaos as her phone rang.
"What?" she demanded, already feeling irritated enough.
"Is that one of your dads?" Coulson's voice sounded through.
Ada rose an eyebrow when she noticed how out of breath he sounded. She could hear panicking shouts in the background, telling her that things had indeed gone horribly wrong. The sound of metal creaking and groaning followed shortly after, sending shivers of unease through her.
"Not that I'm aware of," she replied, struggling to keep her voice steady throughout the situation, "Though, my father has been known to keep his secrets when it comes to SHIELD."
She didn't leave out the accusation in her tone. Coulson must have heard it; she heard a sigh of frustration moments later when he realized what she was implying. Even he couldn't keep the truth from her, forever.
"Look, we'll have this discussion later, Ada," he replied after a moment's pause, "Get the townspeople to safety; this is about to get ugly."
With those final words, Coulson hung up on her and left her to consider those options. Ada pinched the bridge of her nose; she knew that if what Coulson had said was true, then, those people were in the line of fire.
She hadn't missed the fact that a creature resembling a heavily armored robot was headed into town. The slow movement it made was deceiving. Ada had no doubt that the creature was fully capable of causing heavy damage to anyone that stood in its way.
"Guys, we need to clear the town, now," she finally snapped after returning to the warehouse.
She knew she couldn't do this alone, even with her abilities. Keeping the civilians safe was her main priority, at this point.
The Warriors Three and Lady Sif were all standing outside the warehouse, along with Thor. Darcy, Jane and Erik had also joined them, mouths gaping open in shock upon seeing the armored robot for the first time. Even Thor looked stunned to see such a creature headed in their direction.
"Jane, you have to leave, along with your friends," Thor said to Jane once it became clear what the threat was.
"What are you going to do?" she asked warily.
"I am staying here," he replied.
"Thor is going to fight with us!"
Ada couldn't help but frown at the thought of how Thor would fight alongside them. Given that he had no powers, and he was obviously weakened, she suspected he wouldn't last more than a few minutes in a battle against that armored robot. Then again, she had no idea how she would fair in a fight against it. Her own training with SHIELD could only provide so much if the creature, whatever it was, managed to strike back.
"My friends, I'm just a man. I'll only be in the way, or worse get one of you killed. But I can help get these people to safety," he explained.
"Well, if you're staying, then so am I," Jane said defiantly.
"We'll need some time," Thor told his friends.
"You'll have it," Fandral promised him.
Once they started distracting the creature, Ada and the others wasted no time in moving to clear the area. She helped a few civilians to their cars, urging them to leave before the creature could cause more damage. She finished by helping a young mother and her toddler into a car, waiting until they were out of sight before returning to the street.
Slowly but surely, the armored robot was making its way towards the town. Lady Sif managed to slice a clean cut into the creature's neck, but, it managed to make a ninety-degree turn with its head and shoot her off with a fiery beam.
Lady Sif landed on the ground with a skidding halt just as Ada reached her. The creature had turned towards them, and the opening in its head began to light up. Ada's heart nearly skipped a beat when she realized what was about to happen.
Faster than she thought possible, she managed to form a rocky barrier before the blast could hit her. She knew a hit like that could have easily killed her. The last thing she wanted was for Coulson to explain to Tony that such an occurrence had happened during her misadventures.
Her mind worked overtime as rocks and dust flew in the creatures direction. While she knew the rocks themselves wouldn't likely leave much of a dent, at least the dust would temporarily blind it. Finally, she broke concentration and let the rocks fall around her as she struggled to catch her breath.
"What sort of warrior are you?" Lady Sif asked when she noticed that someone had been controlling the rocks.
Ada only shook her head; she peered over her shoulder, hoping to get a glimpse of the creature from above the car they were hiding behind. Hiding from the creature would only encourage it to attack any civilians caught in the crossfire. They needed to handle it sooner rather than later, before it could reach that point.
"I'm not a warrior," she explained, fists clenching when she realized the creature had spotted them again. She threw a fireball in its direction, hoping that would at least slow it down, "I'm more like a peacekeeper." At least, that was how she liked to see it. Ada had a feeling that others would believe otherwise, if they saw her, now, "How do we stop that thing?" she asked when the others joined them.
"Perhaps we should keep hitting it; that's worked wonders, so far," Fandral suggested.
Ada couldn't hide the small smile that followed. Despite the situation, she found herself appreciating Fandral's sense of humor.
"No, my friends. For all that it is, I know that Loki is behind this attack. Get everyone to safety and let me talk to him. I may be able to stop him."
Ada blinked in surprise at the mention of Loki. She knew from the legends that Loki was known as the god of mischief. And, that he was Thor's adopted brother. Though, that was about the only knowledge she had from Norse mythology. Something told her that all the research in the world would never help her understand the truth behind their obvious tension.
Fandral and Volstagg were already leading them away, prying Jane away from Thor as he walked over to where the creature was standing. Ada watched on in horror as flames appeared at the square hole. Thor simply remained calm as he started speaking again.
"Brother, whatever I have done to wrong you, whatever I have done to lead you to do this, I am truly sorry! But these people are innocent. Taking their lives will gain you nothing. So take mine and end this."
For a moment, it looked like Loki wasn't going to listen. Then, the flames died down, and the square sealed shut. Their small moment of relief was short lived, though as the creature turned away. Without warning it suddenly slammed its fist into Thor, sending him flying into the dirt.
"No!" Jane cried and rushed over to his side. "No, no, you can't be dead!"
Ada flinched when she saw the wounds that were inflicted. There were several flesh wounds on his face and stomach, along with a nasty gash on his arm. Ada swallowed hard when she realized that no human could survive such wounds.
Once again, her fists clenched as rage swept through her. She couldn't fight back the overwhelming rush of emotions that followed. Between this, finding out who her mother was, and everything else, it was too much.
She ignored the instincts that were screaming at her to get away. Flames danced along the palms of her hands as she glared at the creature. Thor didn't deserve this kind of death. The townspeople hadn't asked to be dragged into a battle that was clearly between two brothers.
Rocks and balls of fire were hurtled at the creature. She wasn't planning on holding back. Not this time. The barrage of attacks lasted for what felt like hours, when in reality, it had only been seconds. Finally, Ada let out a rush of air as exhaustion followed.
What the hell is that thing made of? she wondered, eyes widening in disbelief when she realized that even after all of those attacks, it didn't look like she'd left a dent.
"Ada!"
Someone pulled her out of the way just as the creature began to fire, again. Her heart nearly skipped a beat when she heard what sounded like an explosion. Lightning suddenly illuminated the sky, with thunder following shortly after.
Her jaw nearly dropped when she noticed that Thor's outfit had changed dramatically after she turned to see him standing up.
He was holding the hammer from the crater site. And the clothing he wore earlier was replaced with armor and a red cape. For the first time, Ada could truly see why he was called the 'Thunderer'. He looked intimidating in that outfit, as ridiculous as it sounded.
"Is this what you normally look like?" Jane asked when she recovered from the shock.
"Yes," Thor admitted.
He actually sounded embarrassed rather than proud.
"It's a good look for you." Ada would have laughed at that remark.
She had a feeling that whether Jane tried to hide them or not, she had feelings for Thor. Feelings that she was probably going to deny until it was too late. Love was a complicated emotion. Ada understood that the longer Jane held out in telling the truth, the more she would regret it. She suspected that the feelings were mutual from the way Thor would look at her. He'd grown on them after the last couple of days trying to figure out how people from Earth lived and operated.
With one swing of his hammer, Thor was able to knock the creature flat on the ground. Ada almost rolled her eyes at that. Even with her powers, the Warriors Three and Lady Sif, they hadn't been able to leave a dent. But, all it took was one swing of his hammer to knock it out.
She shook her head at the thought, watching as Lady Sif and the Warriors Three wandered over to the creature once it was knocked out. They wasted no time in calling to someone known as Heimdall. It was only a few seconds later when they, along with the creature, disappeared in a brilliant flash of light, leaving behind a familiar pattern similar to the one at the site where SHIELD took over.
"That's it?" Darcy asked in surprise.
"I am afraid it's not over, yet," Thor replied with a shake of his head.
"What about Loki?" Ada asked when she noticed that SHIELD had finally arrived.
She knew that SHIELD would have more than enough questions to ask when this was over. However, Thor was right. There was still unfinished business he needed to tend with. He'd already discussed said issues with Jane, Darcy and Erik just as Coulson reached Ada.
"Wait, we need to debrief you on the—"
Coulson wasn't given the chance to finish when Thor suddenly took off with his arm wrapped around Jane's waist. Ada rose an eyebrow at the sight, aware that Thor managed to keep his promise from the other night.
"Well, boss, as much as I enjoyed this little chat, I think it's time for me to leave," she quipped after catching the warning look Coulson threw her.
"You and I are long overdue for a talk," he retorted, not looking the least bit happy with the current situation.
Ada held back a sigh of frustration. She'd known this conversation was unavoidable. After searching through her notebooks, Coulson would have more questions than answers for her. Questions she would have rather avoided answering.
"Can we save it for when they aren't around?" she suggested, gesturing to Darcy and Erik as they started helping the civilians clean up the area. "I'd rather not give away my position."
At least it was a reasonable request. Coulson finally seemed to realize what she was implying. Both Erik and Jane had finally begun to trust her, and she didn't want to lose that trust. Having them on her side would come in handy, as far as she was concerned.
One nod was all it took for Ada to know that they would have their chat later. For now, she wanted to focus on helping the others as best as she could, without giving herself away.