21. War
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Erik had been well aware that the moment to make a decision was growing ever closer, but he'd hoped against hope to have a little more time. He needed that time to weigh all the risks and benefits, to wrestle with himself about what was right or just or moral. Fate and Jane- impetuous to a fault- Foster were forcing his hand, and he hated it. Naturally a somewhat cautious person, nothing irked him more than being hastily pushed into a course of action which couldn't be taken back.
He'd been toying with the idea of going to SHIELD on his own for months now, trying to get them to check in on Jane without needing to reveal too much of what she was doing. Over the last few weeks, it was becoming less toying and more haggling with himself about how much longer he could put it off. He didn't see how they were that much closer to a functional Einstein-Rosen bridge than they had been right after Thor's departure, but he knew Jane, and he knew she was gathering momentum like a runaway train. That look in her eyes was stronger every day that went by, a look almost like drunkenness or fever. The spring of her mind was winding up, and it wouldn't be long before she exploded into action.
All of his instincts told him it couldn't be worth it to surrender to a bunch of bullies on a power trip whose organisation was the very opposite of transparent, but the danger was becoming so clear and so imminent that he knew he'd get over it. He had to. Even if he couldn't trust SHIELD any further than he could throw the whole jack-booted crowd of them, at least he knew they were on the side of humanity. At least they could put up a token defence if more alien robots came through the bridge. At least they would have the motivation, and he damn well hoped the ability, to prevent Jane's experiment from turning New Mexico into a smoking crater if something went wrong.
Jane definitely didn't have the ability, and Erik seriously questioned if 'Luke' had the motivation.
That Jane could be blinded by the possibilities she saw in the kid didn't surprise him, but it never ceased to disappoint him when she was short-sighted. If Luke had told her his name was Woden or something like it, he was so colossally arrogant that he had intentionally handed her the only clue she needed to realise she couldn't trust him. And he must have told her that, because it could not possibly be a coincidence. Erik had little trouble finding it in his heart to believe it of him. Luke was certainly capable of assuming they would never notice such a thinly veiled reference to Thor; he was not secretive about his confidence that he was the smartest person in the room.
Erik was increasingly livid with himself for taking Jane's word for it when she said she'd researched their mysterious benefactor, but there weren't enough hours in the day for all the things he regretted about the past six months and the shame was starting to outpace the anger. It never would have occurred to Jane to wonder what the name meant or to find out, and Erik should have asked her for it so he could do the checking on his own. If he had, things would never have gotten this far.
Then again, maybe that would have been worse. Who knew how Luke would have reacted if confronted by the information he'd slid under Jane's nose, practically taunting her. Who knew if he wouldn't have tried to take what he wanted by force, if he had any compunction about eliminating complications.
A tiny twinge of guilt twisted in Erik's guts at the direction his thoughts were taking. No matter how much he told himself that it was stupid to be taken in by anything that had happened during the time Luke had spent with them, some part of him still wanted to give the kid more credit than to believe he would deliberately hurt them. Admiration for the man's obvious genius and sympathy for his boundless intellectual enthusiasm, mixed with something that was perilously close to fondness, gave him pause in his judgement.
Luke reminded him of a difficult student he'd once had, a lonely young man whose distrust of everyone around him had prevented him from reaching his potential. Erik's careful, consistent intervention had brought out a gentle nature from behind the defensive veneer of hostility. The superficial similarity of Luke's own defensiveness stirred his compassion and his doubts, he told himself, and that was all. Luke was not some damaged college student hiding a history of abuse, he was defensive because he was lying to them and when he was personable, it was because he wanted to use them for his own purposes. That he was sometimes very amusing and frequently made Erik feel like he should be trying to parent him was irrelevant. It wasn't real.
His heart was heavy when he reminded himself of that. Jane thought it was real. He hadn't seen her give herself over to a new person like this since... he couldn't remember a precedent. She always found a reason to keep an emotional distance from the people around her. Even though she threw herself into everything with cavalier bravery, there was a certain point at which her recklessness and openness ended. A certain point at which she would hit the breaks, and that was when relationships threatened to become too complicated and important to be compartmentalised. Erik had been afraid of Thor because he saw Jane becoming smitten with exactly the wrong guy, but that was a crush which had never had time to push her limits. This thing with Luke was, in a very real sense, a truer partnership than she had ever experienced in her life, and she was starting to put the bastard first. She probably thought the attraction was all about the work they did together, she probably thought she was in control, but Erik had known her since she was born and he feared Luke might have managed to circumvent her usual boundaries.
The name was really the moment of truth. The moment Erik knew he would have to do something he didn't want to do. Even if Jane would see it as a betrayal, it was more important that she be kept safe than that she understand his reasoning. Even if SHIELD locked up her research and threw away the key, her life and the public safety were more important than any work. She would forgive him eventually.
The ugly reality was that nothing she'd tried to explain to him about what they were doing had made sense for some time now. It wasn't just that Luke might be helping her research along for his own reasons, reasons which could be very, very suspect. It was that he might not be helping her build a bridge at all. Erik could believe the wool was over her eyes that far, that she didn't see it, and she thought the impossible was possible only because an excellent con-man was keeping her attention divided. Believe it more readily than that their bizarre ramblings were true, certainly. What the device really did, if that were the case, didn't bear thinking about.
However Erik looked at it, he was just as trapped. He had to pull the plug. So he planted an idea in Jane's head that gave him an excuse to disappear on the eve of the experiment, then he called his SHIELD contact to set up a meeting.
Strangely, when he arrived at the operations room they'd set up behind the boarded up façade of Annie's Diner, it looked like SHIELD was already starting to mobilise. All around, the base swarmed with activity like a kicked anthill, and his contact continued to delegate tasks and answer other agent's questions the whole time he was talking to her. His suspicions made his stomach roil, and he kept catching himself glancing back towards the door, as if he could run away from this now if he tried.
His contact, the Agent-in-Charge at the base, was a short woman with a no-nonsense expression and a close-cropped haircut to match. Her pant suit was so crisply starched, the pleats looked like they could probably draw blood. She introduced herself only as 'Jones'. While she listened to his severely edited report on what had been happening in the lab, she pinned Erik with a steady, measuring gaze from deep brown eyes which seemed to dare him to try anything funny.
He changed his mind three times about whether to tell them that Jane's assistant was probably an alien. He suspected Luke of every evil in his racing thoughts, but he couldn't stop himself from imagining scenarios where he was wrong. Of making SHIELD too jumpy, too quick on the draw. He saw the boy dead on the sand, bleeding red human blood. Background checks coming in showing he was exactly what he said. Conversely, of SHIELD not believing him, thinking he had cracked, and ignoring his concerns all together.
All he could bring himself to say was that they should be armed and prepared for anything.
When he asked about the state of preparation, Jones told him that they had seen the device taking shape on the roof. Erik doubted their surveillance was as hands-off as that or that they'd risk spooking Jane without being sure of themselves, but he said nothing. They probably knew what he thought of them, and he'd cast his lot now. His power over them, if he ever had any, was gone once he spilled his guts. They had probably listened to all the planning for the experiment, and Erik might be ruining his relationship with Jane for no reason.
The convoy of intimidating black vans which headed for Jane's laboratory dizzyingly shortly after his arrival at the base felt to Erik almost like a funeral procession. They might as well be, and the funeral would be for Jane's dream. Feeling morbid, he leaned against the window in his privileged position in the passenger seat of the lead vehicle. He hoped to God he wasn't making a gigantic mistake. The facts were with him, but the facts didn't feel like enough.
He'd left Jane alone with Luke for about twenty-four hours now, since early the previous afternoon. He could only speculate on how far they'd gotten with their bizarre hypothesis, but it must be nearing the point of readiness. The plan had been for preparation to start for the test this evening, if Erik was back by then. The test itself was to begin the following day.
What would have happened? Would SHIELD want to go through with it?
There was no more time to wonder, the short drive was over and the vans were creating a staggered wall of vehicles around Jane's lab. As if she were going to try to escape. That was a laugh. Jane would stand and fight, with her fists if she had to, before she would ever think of running away from her own laboratory.
Erik got out of the car with Jones in time to see Jane rushing forward to meet the group of agents nearest the lab door, Luke a tall, black shadow trailing close behind her. The shouting was already starting.
"And you're not supposed to be interfering in my research unless I ask for your help!" Jane was insisting, her tone bold and annoyed. Erik knew her well enough to detect a slight undercurrent of panic, but he was confident that he was the only one.
"You haven't kept us informed, Dr. Foster, and putting the civilians in the town at risk supersedes our non-interference agreement." The agent addressing Jane was a sturdy guy in a suit, practically indistinguishable from every other male agent present. He spoke in the flat, pointedly reasonable voice of a man who had worked in customer service. "You have been irresponsible and we are remanding your research to our facilities for your protection and the protection of those around you. We will allow experiments under controlled conditions."
Jane scoffed. "Protecting me! Right, I'm sure. I'm sure it has nothing to do with you spying on me and thinking I'm far enough along that it's time for you to march in and grab the goods because you don't need me any more! Let me tell you something, Special Agent Whatever-Your-"
Luke's hand settled on Jane's shoulder and she jumped slightly before turning to look up at him. The finger which she had been pointing increasingly aggressively into the SHIELD agent's face slowly lowered. She glanced between the two men, then gave an exasperated nod to Luke and took a step back. Erik found the interplay odd.
"Doubtless your intention is honourable," Luke soothed, nodding respectfully towards the other man. "But surely, Agent...?"
"Cartwright," the SHIELD agent supplied automatically.
"Surely, Agent Cartwright," Luke went on without missing a beat, "you realise that imposing upon Dr. Foster in that manner cannot help but alienate her from your cause."
Cartwright folded his hands in front of his body, his face set. "The agency values Dr. Foster's wishes, but public safety takes precedence. The agency does not view enforcement of safety regulations as an imposition."
"Naturally you would not," Luke agreed easily, making a conceding gesture. His voice became inveigling, its lush timbre at its very richest and the lilt of his accent at its most pleasantly musical. "But surely it has not been established that safety is at issue? If it were, Dr. Foster would obviously have contacted you and expressed those concerns. You would not, of course, have breached your word that she would not be monitored without her knowledge?"
"The agency-"
"No, that would be an imposition." Luke's expression was conspiratorial as he looked the agent in the eye, like they were on the same side. "And what with Dr. Foster being the only scientist on the face of this earth who has come within a thousand light-years of the discovery your agency so covets, it is essential that she remain amiable. Being the wholesome organisation, responsible to the nation's government that you are, you would never compel an American citizen to actions against their will."
From his vantage point to the side of this scene, Erik could see Agent Cartwright blinking behind his sunglasses. Luke's gaze seemed to go right through the mirrored lenses, piercing even from a spectator's position. Erik had almost forgotten how intimidating the kid's undivided attention could be.
Cartwright stammered slightly as he tried to get back in control of the conversation, and Jones pushed Erik aside and marched over to the little tableau to take charge.
"Dr. Foster," Jones' greeting was like an ultimatum, cutting through the bewitching atmosphere of Luke's speech. She crossed her arms and all of the agents standing near her tensed. "With all due respect to your assistant, we know what the situation is and we know what your rights are. You're still coming with us."
Jane's fists were balled at her sides, colour rising on her cheeks, but she was still trying to keep her cool. "I don't have to go anywhere."
"I think you'll find we can make you if we have to, Dr. Foster, though I wish you wouldn't force our hand." Jones didn't actually sound like it would bother her either way.
"You promised Thor," Jane accused. Erik swallowed. That was the trump card, he was sure of it, Jane's last ditch effort before she stopped being reasonable. A cryptic reference to SHIELD's diplomatic agreement with a sovereign power, a hint that Jane might know the consequences for breaking it.
Jones' eyes narrowed, her arms lowering to her sides again. "Does he know about that?" She jerked her head at Luke, who was keeping so close that he was practically on top of Jane, looming over the proceedings like a vulture.
Jane's face was an open book.
"You don't think that's a public safety risk?" Jones' grimaced, shaking her head.
Luke opened his mouth to interject again, doubtlessly about to try to talk his way out of this, but Jones gestured briefly and four agents moved to secure both him and Jane while the rest drew- but did not raise- their weapons.
Cartwright was a hairsbreadth from grabbing Jane's wrists when Luke stepped in between them and something happened that neither Erik nor SHIELD had been prepared for.
A bright golden glow seared its way around Luke's chest like a tear in reality, the line of light encircling him fully and then separating into two circles. One moved up towards his head and the other down towards his feet. In the wake of the gold aura, he was changed. It took only a few seconds to move over his whole body before it disappeared, and when it did, the nondescript black shirt and dress pants he had been wearing were transformed.
Suddenly, Luke was dressed in some kind of armour comprised of green cloth and silver mail augmented with gold plate metal that wove closely around his torso to cover his sternum and sides, high boots, a thick green cape which poured over his shoulders and vastly increased his bulk, and a sleek golden helmet with huge, wickedly sharp horns thrusting straight up from his forehead before curving backwards at the ends. In ordinary clothes, he'd been a conspicuous, ominous presence, but in this get up he looked ten feet tall and terrifyingly Other. He reached out and a spear appeared in his extended hand, which he then shifted to a casual ready position at his side.
The SHIELD agents fell back in shock, most immediately raising their guns and some looking to Jones for orders. Jones scrambled backward a couple metres herself, sliding along one of the vans in case she needed cover, but she kept her wits about her and her jaw hardened with decision. She made a quick signal to an agent standing almost behind Luke. The agent went for Jane. Luke twisted to face the threat, his free hand shooting out to seize him by the front of his shirt and lift him up a good three feet off the ground. His legs kicking uselessly in space, the SHIELD agent struggled in that immovable grip like a worm on a hook.
"Don't-!" it might have been Jane who screamed. A gunshot cut the cry short, and Erik stared in disbelief as the bullet literally bounced off the left side of Luke's chest and rolled harmlessly across the sand. Luke reared back and tossed the agent he was still holding at the gunman who'd taken the shot; the human projectile ploughed into his colleague and both men hit the dirt in a groaning tangle of limbs. The others nearby rushed over to check on them.
Erik knew exactly what this meant. Darcy was right. Luke was an Asgardian.
"Mortals," Luke's voice resonated over the crowd, prompting instant silence. Jane was almost invisible behind him, her hand clutching a fistful of his cape where he had just thrown it over her and her face drained of all colour as she peeked out from under his arm. "You have broken an honourable oath pact with the royal house of Asgard, and you have attacked the son of Odin. What have you to say for yourselves?"
Jones edged forward, flapping her hand aggressively at the agents behind her to keep back, then lifting her arms into the 'surrender' posture. Erik's heart was in his throat, the stress like someone pushing on his eyeballs from inside his head. He breathed through his mouth and tried not to go into shock. This didn't necessarily have to get any uglier. It didn't. Thor had protected them when he changed like this, that was a precedent. Luke didn't seem anxious to retaliate for the gunshot any more than he already had. If he weren't too afraid he was becoming hysterical to trust his senses, Erik would swear it looked like Luke was struggling to keep a straight face.
"I apologise. My agent reacted on instinct to a perceived threat. We intend no harm to you as long as you don't harm us. Please identity yourself." Jones managed this speech with the kind of detached, calm politeness that only years of politics could teach. "Are you a representative of the same entity who visited this planet two years ago, and do you intend to negotiate with us in good faith?"
Luke tossed the spear from his left to his right hand, then drove it into the ground at his feet with such force that Erik felt the impact from where he was standing, at least seven metres away. "Should I negotiate in good faith when you have already proven that you will not? You gave your word to the son of Odin and you have broken it. Your people have no honour."
Jones' hands were still up, palms outward, and she pushed them forward insistently. "I can assure you, we meant no wilful breach of our agreement with your... with you. Our understanding was that we were to return Dr. Foster's equipment and allow her to continue her research, which we did."
"And now you would take from her the fruits of her labour and imprison her to ensure your treachery will be unchallenged. Mortal, Asgard has looked upon your race for its entire, brief existence. Do not imagine I am ignorant of your ways."
"Doctor Foster's safety-"
"Is my concern. Do you doubt, mortal, that my protection is sufficient for her and for all those who dwell nearby?"
Erik blinked. His protection? What the fuck is happening?
Jones advanced another few steps. "How can we know without knowing who you are? The deal wasn't with you."
"You made your pact with Thor, my brother. I am Loki, Odin's son."
Erik felt like someone had slapped him in the face. Every voice in his head which would have tempered his reaction with reason and caution and common sense was silenced by this smug pronouncement, and he stalked through the ring of SHIELD agents, ignoring their restraining hands and orders for him to stop. He pushed past even Jones, whose mask of calm was broken by her surprise when Erik walked right up to the dangerous alien and ignored him completely to talk to Jane. He pulled her out from under Luke/Loki's cape by the wrist, too furious even to notice that the Asgardian was watching him and had held up a hand to ward off SHIELD's intervention.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Jane! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Erik couldn't stop himself from shouting. Jane was still almost grey with terror and her eyes were wild and teary, but he couldn't moderate his worry and anger. "You know who he is?"
"Me?" Jane shrieked savagely when her gaze finally focussed on his face, "What are you doing? With them?"
He just wanted to grab her shoulders and shake her. "Forget them, this- he- this psycho, this alien psycho tried to kill all of us! Do you not remember-!"
"You don't understand," she interrupted, shaking her head, "it's not as-"
"Excuse me interrupting," Jones recovered, ignoring the heated argument, "but who is Odin? I feel like I'm missing some significance there."
Loki leaned against his spear, looking dangerous and regal. "Odin Borson is sovereign king of Asgard, guardian of all the Nine Realms. His rule protects peace throughout the universe."
"So you're a prince?" Jones clarified, "Acting as your father's ambassador?"
"Correct."
Erik ground his teeth, ready to rip someone's head off with his bare hands. He turned to Loki, pointing accusingly. "Oh, an ambassador, are you?"
Jane yanked down his arm, seething at him in a sibilant whisper, "Yesss, he is. He's here with authority to fix this. Fix them!"
Erik wanted to scream at her. She knew that was a lie, she knew he knew that was a lie, and she was trying to order him to go along with it anyway just to save her precious alien resource from SHIELD.
"Are you here to negotiate?" Jones asked again, trying to keep things businesslike. Loki only glared at her and she added diplomatically, "Your Highness?"
The prince tilted his head in acknowledgement of her attempt to placate him, but his expression remained stony. "Should Asgard negotiate with liars? You will break your word again."
"Obviously, I apologise without reservation for what you saw as a breach in our informal treaty, but I submit to you that we did consider it a necessary emergency measure." Jones cleared her throat and drew herself up, trying to amass some gravitas to match with the imposing figure she was trying to address. "On behalf of the agency, I would like to extend an invitation for you to tour our facilities and meet with our scientists and leaders in order to..."
Loki made an unmistakable gesture. Jones stopped talking.
"We are not interested in your petty mortal politics or your primitive technology. This race is under our protection from what lies beyond your world, but you are not our equal. Our interest is in Jane Foster, why is not your business. Your people will contact Jane Foster only when she requests it and will never involve yourselves with her work further than she wishes. You will cease to monitor her laboratory and living quarters. Swear this to me and break your word at risk of my tremendous personal displeasure. Break your word under pain of being held in contempt before the throne of Asgard."
Jones shook her head. "I'm not authorised to-"
"Swear." Loki's fingers gripped his spear and the blade flashed with some kind of power.
"I swear."
"Excellent. You may go."
At a last signal from Jones, the agents regrouped and started to move out. Jane sagged, abruptly sitting down in the sand and resting her head in her hands. Loki watched the vans retreating with narrowed eyes.
"You know that this isn't going to work, right?" Erik demanded harshly, wondering if he was only one who hadn't gone insane. Or if he was the only one who had. "Some parlour tricks and bluffing won't hold them for long. They just said what you wanted to hear so they could figure out how to get around you later and come back ready to do it. They aren't going to leave you alone. They aren't going to let this go."
Loki finally turned to look at him, and he was so much the same and so much different now that Erik knew who he really was. His blue eyes were cold and otherworldly, his strong, finely sculpted features seemed foreign and exotic. He looked older to Erik now, he held himself with a physical confidence that Erik had not noticed before. The majesty which sat on him wasn't idle, wasn't play; this man- this creature- could fight a single-handed war against the whole human race and probably win.
"Of course I realise that, Dr. Selvig. I am not a fool." His voice was different too. Fuller, commanding. He had usually spoken softly before, now he let his words ring.
"What are you going to do to us? What are you going to do to them?" Erik was too wrung out to feel anything, he'd definitely gone into shock. The terror of all this was probably going to hit him eventually, but for the moment he was just tired.
Loki knelt to put a cautious hand on Jane's shoulder. She didn't look up. He stroked her hair and murmured something to her, but he kept his distance, touching her only lightly and leaving her plenty of space to duck away.
"I am going to help you to proceed as planned before they can come back, Dr. Selvig."