Sorry it took so long guys. It's been a rough couple of weeks but this one is a long one. And I also decided to add in a certain character some of you may know well. I did it cause I want Echo to know him before I get to the Avengers part. I think it's gonna be very interesting. Hope you like it :)
Chapter 9
A New King is Born
Jane is gazing at the stars, searching for, something, in the desert of New Mexico. Darcy bored as always was scrolling through her ipod counting down the minutes until they head back to the house. And Selvig was analyzing data that he and Jane had collected. They are both astrophysicists. Jane continued to look up at the sky, she was waiting for something; she didn't know what, but she felt it. That something big was about to happen.
The sky rips open as the BiFrost shoots through and crashes towards the ground. The silhouette of a figure is seen falling through. It slams into the ground with tremendous force. Jane yells at Darcy to drive the truck towards the whirlwind of energy.
"No way! I did not sign up for a suicide mission!" Darcy yells.
"Darcy!" Jane yells as she grabs the wheel from the passenger seat and cuts it right towards the whirlwind. The truck swerves and drives right into the whirlwind. They lose control of the truck as it slides across the ground. Darcy screams as Jane grabs the wheel to help get the truck under control. A figure suddenly appears and is struck hard by the vehicle sending him flying. They finally get control of the truck as it skids to a stop and the whirlwind disappears.
"Oh god," Jane says looking out towards where they hit the person.
"I think that was legally your fault," Darcy says as Jane swings open the door and jumps out. She runs towards the figure lying on the ground Selvig following as Darcy gets the first aid kit.
"Do me a favor and don't be dead, okay? Open your eyes," Jane urges as panic begins to form. For a brief moment her eyes travel across his features. She realizes that he is a really handsome man. She shakes her head pushing the thoughts from her mind as Darcy comes with the first aid kit. A groan is heard from the man as his eyes flutter open.
Thor looks up to see Jane and for a split second he believes he may be dead looking upon a beautiful Valkyrie coming to take him to Valhalla. But as thoughts of recent events come flooding back he suddenly realizes where he is, "Oh no, this is Midgard isn't it?"
Loki storms out of the hall, leaving behind Sif and the others. Of course they would want him to convince the All-Father to bring Thor back. They don't see how reckless and dangerous he can be, especially if he became king. Spending some time on Midgard would be good for him. Besides, Loki has bigger problems to deal with than his brother. As he continues down the hall he glances down at his right arm.
Why didn't it burn when that giant grabbed me? he wonders as he heads down a set of stairs that will lead him to the Vault.
Echo rests her head back against the wall of the window seat she's sitting on. She looks out into the vast expanse of Asgard, the bustling Asgardians moving about below. She knows what she needs to do yet she wishes she could stay right where she is. As she watches the people below she feels a cold sensation snake its way up her spine.
Something's wrong!
She quickly begins to move as she grabs her cloak and vanishes.
Loki approaches the blue casket at the end of the Vault. Curiosity is coursing through his thoughts as he takes the casket in his hands. He watches as the cold seeps its way into his skin and changes it, turning it into a dark blue color, What am I?!
"STOP!" booms a voice from behind him. Loki snapped out of his thoughts places the casket back down and asks, "What am I?" He turns to his father and his skin which was completely blue and his eyes a dark red began to fade away and his normal color returns.
"You are my son, Loki," Odin says hoping to tread carefully in his words. He senses Echo appear behind the door and urges silently in his mind for her not to come in. Against everything she feels, wanting to run inside, she obeys and stays hidden on the other side of the Vault doors.
"What more than that?" Loki asks anger lacing his voice as he begins walking towards Odin, "The casket wasn't all you took from Jotunheim that day was it." He speaks of the war that waged many years ago between Odin, his army and the Jotunheim giants. After the giants were defeated Odin had taken the casket back to Asgard.
"No," Odin says, knowing he can't withhold the truth anymore, "After the battle I had went into the temple and there I found a small child. Small for a giants offspring, Laufey's son."
"Laufey's son?" Loki didn't understand, or maybe, really, he didn't want to, "Why?"
"You were just an innocent child," he says.
"No," he says as the anger returns, "You took me for a purpose. What was it?" Silence fills the room as Odin tries to find the right words to say. Echo stands behind the door, her heart pounding, fear and anxiety all built into one.
"TELL ME!" Loki yells, confusion, anger, and betrayal all hitting him at once.
"I thought we could bring about an alliance between both our kinds, a permanent peace through you," Odin says his heart aching for his son. His intention was never to hurt him.
"But that no longer matters," he continues.
"S-So I am no more than a stolen relic, kept here until you may have use of me?" Loki asks painfully. Echo's heart clenches at his words, Why does he have to see things like that?
"Why do you twist my words?" Odin asks exhaustion suddenly written on his face.
"You could have told me what I was from the beginning! Why didn't you?!" Loki asks tears beginning to fall.
"You're my son. I only ever wanted to protect you from the truth," he says softly.
"Wh-Why be-because I-I-I am the monster parents tell there children about at night?!"
Tears fall from Echo's eyes as she hears those words. Her whole body is screaming at her to run in there and try to help him understand.
"Don't.." Odin says as he reaches his limit, the exhaustion taking over. He moves to sit down trying to keep his senses.
"It all makes sense now, why you favored Thor all these years!" Loki yells as he approaches his father once again his anger and pain not letting him register what is going on, "Because no matter how much you claim to love me, you could never have a frost giant on the throne of Asgard!"
Odin's body lies down as his consciousness slips away. Echo sensing this runs into the room as Odin tries one last attempt to reach out for Loki with his hand but it falls. The Odin sleep claiming him. Not understanding what happened Loki takes Odin's hand wanting to call out to his father. Echo now at Odin's side places her hand on his forehead as a faint light appears below it.
"GUARDS!" Loki yells, "Please help!" As guards rush in Loki stands back and watching them move quickly to help take the king to the healing room.
After the guards had moved the king Echo and Loki both stood in the hall not sure what to say. Loki decides to speak first, "You lied to me." She looks to Loki pain written on her face, "No, I…just never wanted you to feel like you didn't belong."
"I never felt that I belonged here or anywhere. Nothing I did was ever enough! I was never enough!" he says angrily.
"To me you were!" she yells as tears stream down her face.
"Echo.." he whispers looking away not wanting to see her pain.
"I wish you could see," she continues softly not looking at him either, "I know you feel betrayed, but that was never our intention. Maybe it was wrong to keep the truth from you, but Odin was right, we only wanted to protect you."
"Was our soon to be union orchestrated by father only to bring about peace between our races?" he says so soft he wonders if she heard him. Her heart stops at that question not wanting to believe what he just asked.
"To know that you even think that shows that maybe, "she says as she looks up at him with cold eyes, "I'm not the only one who was hiding things. It makes me wonder if you ever even loved me." Loki turns to look at her, but all he sees is nothing. She vanished before he could say anything.
Echo collapses on her bed and suddenly the events of everything that has happened overtakes her. She rolls over and curls up trying to push the thoughts from her mind. She let's the exhaustion overcome everything and sleep takes her.
Loki's body feels very heavy as he makes his way down the hall. He realizes he hasn't rested since they returned from Jotunheim. He wants to see how his mother is doing. A bitter thought forms in his mind, She's not even my real mother.
And yet she's the only mother he's ever known. He still cares for her as he enters Odin's chambers. His father lay asleep in his bed a golden light shining upon him working to heal him. Frigga is sitting by his side and she looks up when she sees Loki.
"It's okay Loki," she says softly with a small smile, "Come here my son." He nods and walks up sitting on the opposite side of the bed next to Odin. He looks over Odin and says, "I've never seen him like this."
"He was fighting it for so long," she says, "But it was only a matter of time. He needs to rest and regain his strength." She looks to Loki and sees sadness and confusion on his face so she continues, "I wanted him to be honest with you from the beginning. Families should have no secrets."
"Then why did he lie?"
"He never wanted you to feel different. You are every bit our son Loki, you must know that," she tries reassuring him. Loki glances down at Odin not used to seeing him like that.
"How long will it last?" he asks.
"I'm unsure, it is different this time. We were not prepared. He had put it off so long.. I fear the worst," she says as tears form in her eyes. Loki takes her hand trying to reassure her now. She tries to form a soft smile as she says, "You're a good son." These words take him by surprise. He's unsure of how he should feel.
"You should forgive her Loki. You know she would never hurt you," Frigga says softly. He looks up at her in surprise, "How did you-"
"A mother knows things," she says. He gives her a bitter smile.
"Just speak to her," she says, "She will understand." He looks away, a pained expression on his face. He doesn't believe she will forgive him.
A thought forms in his mind, something that has been bothering him so he decides to ask, "And what will become of Thor?"
"You're brother will return to us. That I am sure," she says, "You're father always has his reasons for what he does. Thor will find his way back home." What she says bothers him. If Thor returns everything will only continue to spiral out of control. He stands and goes to leave the room. The doors open as a group of guards make their way inside. Loki tenses, unsure of what is going on. He prepares himself for whatever is about to happen. They only stand there before him.
"Thor is banished. The line of succession now falls to you. Until he awakes, Asgard is yours," she says an unfamiliar authority in her voice. The guards kneel before Loki as they present him with Gungnir, the weapon made for a king.
"The throne is now yours," she continues, "Make your father proud." He hesitantly takes Gungnir feeling its weight in his hands. He feels its power through the tips of his fingers. He enjoys the feeling of it, of the power.
After exiting the room Loki heads straight for Echo's room. Once he arrives at the doors though he hesitates. He wonders how she will feel now that he is king. Would it change anything?
"Don't just stand there. Come in!" she says from the other side of the door, having sensed his presence. She motions for the door to open with a flick of her wrist. He steps inside and his eyes instantly find her at the foot of her bed. She has her cloak on and she is buckling up the last few parts of her outfit. She is preparing to leave.
"I will see your father before I leave," she says not looking at him, "Then I will go to Midgard." He realizes that she is still hurt and wants to talk to her, but that is brushed away with more resentful thoughts. He was hurt and betrayed as well. Not only that but she has failed to recognize his new title.
"You could be nothing more than a mere peddler Loki. It would not make a difference in my eyes. Title is not important to me," she says as she looks up at him, his emotions preventing him from shielding his thoughts. She moves to leave and walk around him but he approaches her and blocks her exit.
"Is this still not enough for you? You'll still go to my brother?" he asks angrily his eyes dark.
"Why do you refuse to see it?" she asks, "You were always enough just as who you are. Yet you were never satisfied, were you? Never satisfied with your status. Never satisfied with who you are. Never satisfied with-" She stops, the words getting caught in her throat. Her words infuriate him as he shoves her into the wall, using Gungnir to pin her against it as he asks his voice cold, "Never satisfied with what?"
Anger and pain courses through her body as she looks up at him, "Me." The silence that follows is deafening. The both just stare at each other. They both know what they should say. What they should do, but neither takes that step, their anger, and their betrayal, getting in the way.
"Let. Me. Go," she says her voice different than anything he's heard before. They both search for something that they just can't find, and Loki finally relents moving away from her and lowering Gungnir. She quickly moves past him not wanting to look at him. She stops at the door and turns a new coldness in her eyes and it reflects in her voice, "Loki, do not let the intoxication of power corrupt you and turn you into someone
He watches her as she vanishes replaying her last words over again in his mind.
Echo reappears at the entrance to the Observatory where Heimdall stands.
"How is he faring so far, Heimdall?" she asks referencing to Thor. Heimdall can see beyond worlds, and with this ability he able to see Thor and all that is happening to him.
"He has happened upon a few, mishaps," he says, "He is managing, though, nonetheless."
"Mishaps?" she asks curiously. Pushing all thoughts of previous events out of her mind.
"Perhaps you should see for yourself," he says giving a small smile a rarity for one such as himself. Yet Heimdall has always been fond of Echo, he sees her for who she really is, one of strong will and caring nature. She smiles softly back and makes a small motion with her hands.
A hole rips into the space a few feet from them around 8ft wide on all sides. Dark, swirling colors of energy are seen from within. It is a hole in time and space. An ability even the Allfather doesn't have that Echo possesses. It is the ability to freely travel between all the realms and all of Ygdrassil without the need of the BiFrost. By opening a hole in the space near her she can will it to transport her anywhere she wishes. All she need to do is pass through it. She nods at Heimdall and runs jumping through the vortex it vanishing the moment she is through leaving Heimdall to his post.
Jane and the others had rushed Thor to the hospital after Darcy and inadvertently tazered him.
"He was freaking me out," she kept saying. The way he was acting would have freaked out any human on Earth. After waking up to the sight of Jane he had gotten up and started spouting to the sky how he wanted Odin to bring him back to Asgard. He kept saying to send the BiFrost down and Selvig recognized what he was talking about. The stories of the gods of Asgard he was told as a child. When they couldn't calm him down Darcy had tazered him.
After taking him to the hospital and giving them the unusual name of Thor he kept spouting the three of them decided to leave. Thor was unconscious on a hospital bed strapped down, his legs and wrists bound. He had woken up and started to thrash about to free himself. Multiple guards and nurses came in to try and get him under control, but he pushed them away, getting himself free. He had more strength then they could have thought. One nurse pulls out a sedative and injects Thor with it quickly it knocking him out instantly.
After returning to her home Jane and the others go straight to work on the information they had gathered from the strange storm earlier. Looking at the footage from earlier Jane says, "If I'm thinking about this correctly then this could be something big."
"How "big" exactly?" Selvig asked leaning over to look at the monitor. She smiles as she continued, pointing to the screen, "See these edges here, where the anomaly disappeared. Well they show similar characteristics to the theory of the Einstein-Rosen Bridge."
"The what?" Darcy asked confused, back to scrolling through her ipod. Selvig shakes his head at her question but answered it, "The Einstein-Rosen Bridge is a theoretical connection between two separate points in time and space."
"Basically a wormhole," Jane said hoping she'd understand better.
"What do you see here?" she asked Selvig.
"Stars," he said.
"Yes, but not our stars. Look at the differences," she said as she pulled out a star chart. He took a look at the stars and their alignments with her and could hardly believe what he was seeing. They don't match. The constellations are different, there's a new set of stars in the images from the BiFrost from earlier. Darcy printed out an image from the previous night and tacked it on the board when something caught her eye.
"Woah, check this out," Darcy said pointing to a blurry figure in the center of the storm in the photo.
"It can't be," Selvig said his eyes widened.
"I think I left something at the hospital," Jane said as she grabbed her keys and ran out the door.
They had gotten Thor from the hospital and brought him back to Jane's house to get a new pair of clothes. As he searched for the shirt that was left on the bed for him Darcy and Jane can't help but eye his reflection in the mirror from a distance. Being shirtless the notice his build and Darcy said, "You know for some crazy homeless guy, he's pretty cut." That snapped Jane back to her senses and she turned to try and find something to distract herself. He came out from the room and the equipment catches his interest as he goes to touch it. Jane ran over and yelled, "Excuse me!" She noticed the sticker on his shirt that read "Dr. Donald Blake," and rips it off as she said, "My, uh, ex. Sorry, these clothes were all I had that would fit you."
"They'll suffice," he said and continued, "This mortal form has grown weak. I need sustenance." They decided to take him to the local diner.
At the diner Thor was enjoying a cup of coffee and downs it in one shot and said, "This drink. I like it."
"Another!" he bellowed as he chucked the empty cup on the floor it shattering to pieces. They all looked at him completely shocked and embarrassed. The waitress came over angrily with a pain and broom to clean the mess. Jane apologized to her and claimed it was a mere accident.
"Why'd you do that?" she said annoyed.
"It was delicious and I want another," he said with a smile.
"Then just say so."
"I just did."
"I meant nicely," irritation clear in her voice.
"I meant no disrespect," he said wanting to alleviate her grown frustration. She intrigued him. Not many women would talk to him in such a manner. A fondness was growing for her in him.
"Alright, then no more smashing things, deal?"
"You have my word," he said.
A group of men walked in laughing as they sit at a table and start talking about a crater a few miles east of the town and how the government showed up and said it was some satellite that had crash landed. This peaks the groups interest as Jane asked, "What did the satellite look like?"
"I don't know nothing about satellites but it was real heavy and no one could lift it," one of the men said and this peaks Thor's interest. He stood up and asked the men where the satellite had fallen and the told him it was about twelve miles out. He then walked out the door and started walking towards the east. They three followed him and Jane asked once she caught up, "Where are you going?"
"Twelve miles east of here," he said as he continued to walk.
"Why?" she asked.
"To get what belongs to me."
"What so you own a satellite?"
"It's not what they say it is," he stopped and turned to her, "And if you take me there now I will tell you everything you want to know."
"Well the government seems to think it's theirs," she said not having realized what he had said yet, "and you just-Wait! Everything?!"
"All the answers you seek will be yours once I reclaim Mjolnir," he said.
"Myeu-muh? What?" Darcy asked confused. Selvig pulls Jane aside and goes to try and convince not to listen to Thor.
"He's going to give us the answers we need though," she said desperately, "You know what we saw. I want to know about that crater."
"I don't mean the crater. I mean him," he said his voice low, "He's delusional, maybe even dangerous. What he's talking about, it's the stories I remember hearing as a child. If he thinks he's one of the characters he's out of his mind."
Jane quiet for a moment as she thought about what he said. She took a long defeated breath and turned to Thor and said, "I'm sorry I can't take you." He took her hand and kissed it, her heart suddenly pounding as he said, "I understand. Then this is where we say goodbye." He addressed each of them and then turned and continued walking.
After they left Thor they returned to Jane's house only to find black SUV's scattered around it and seeing many men in black suits holding equipment. She recognized the equipment as hers and they all run to stop the men.
"What the hell is going on here?!" she yelled. The agents ignored her as a man approached her and introduced himself as agent Coulson and how he is associated with an organization called S.H.I.E.L.D.
"I don't care who you work for, you can't do this!"
"Jane, this is serious, more than you realize. Let it go," Selvig said to her.
"This is my life! I can't!"
"We're investigating a security threat. We need to confiscate your research. This should more than compensate for the trouble," he said handing her a check. She ripped up the check and threw it to the ground, "I can't just replace this equipment. Most of it I made myself!"
"Then I am sure you can do it again," Coulson said.
"And I'm sure I can sue you for violating my rights!" she said getting in his face. Selvig pulled her back. She held up her notebook and said, "Everything I know about the phenomenon is in this lab and in this book and no one has the right to take it from me!" A nearby agent took the book from her hand as Coulson said, "Remember Ms. Foster, we are the good guys. Thank you for your cooperation." And he left, getting into a black SUV and driving off, the rest followed.
Angrily Jane stormed off and Selvig tried to follow her, "Just leave me alone okay. I need to be alone." She took her keys and got into her truck and drove off. As she drove down the street she recognized Thor who was trying to find a form of transportation. She pulled over and asked him, "Hey, still need a ride?" He smiled and got in the car. She drove off into the direction of the crater leaving the town behind and noticed storm clouds had formed in the sky.
"I've never done anything else like this before!" she said the excitement building.
"You're very brave," he said as he looked at her.
"They took everything from me," she said bitterly, "I don't have anything left to lose."
"But you're clever. More clever than anyone else in this realm," he said.
"This "realm?" she asked, "Why do you talk like that?"
"You think me strange?"
"Well, a little."
"Good strange or bad strange?"
"I'm not sure yet," she said turning to him. For a moment she got lost in his eyes and the car lurches to the right. She snapped out of her reverie and got control of the vehicle trying to hide her embarrassment, "Sorry."
"What are you really?" she continued.
"You will see soon," he said as his gaze left her.
"You promised me answers," she said. He admired her persistence, "You will get them soon enough."
By the time they reach the crater night had fallen. They move up to a hillside and look out at the crater below. A huge structure has been built. Large white tents surround the center of the crater where Thor knows Mjolnir will be. People are bustling about, including guards with guns patrolling a fence surrounding the area. Jane is shocked by what she sees before her and knows that it was no satellite that crashed down, it was something else. Thor takes off a coat he was wearing and gives it to Jane, "You're going to need this." He looks up at the sky and knows what is coming.
"Why?" she asks but before she gets an answer he walks off and heads down the hill. She calls to him to try and stop him but he keeps going.
A hole rips open in the space 30 feet in the air above the structure surrounding the crater. And Echo appears from inside it and places her feet down on a large glyph that appeared in the sky. It is similar to the one that appeared when she was on Jotunheim. She calls upon it in her mind and it is a key part of an ancient magic from where her power dwells. This time she called upon it to keep her suspended in the air. The humans though will be unable to see it, but it gives her a perfect view of the events that are about to unfold below her. She spots Thor as he makes his way through the fence and hiding behind a parked truck. That is when the rain starts. Thor smiles knowing it will help him in his advance into the structure. A guard patrolling the fence notices the part that Thor had pulled back to crawl through. Thor appears from the other side of the truck and knocks out the guard. He continues making his way across the yard avoiding the spotlights. Jane watches closely secretly hoping he doesn't get caught. Echo continues to watch a smile forming.
Two patrolling guards in a driving cart stop by the truck Thor was just at. One noticed something. He gets out and looks around the back of the truck. He finds the guard unconscious and immediately calls out on his walkie. An alarm starts and Jane begins to freak out.
"Not subtle are we Thor," Echo says chuckling softly. Guards begin to scramble around the area searching for the intruder. Thor makes his way into the tented structure. He is spotted and some guards converge on him. He begins to fight with them. Even without his godly strength Thor is still powerful as he easily knocks out one guard after the other with swift punches and kicks.
A sniper runs out from one of the trailers in the surrounding area a bow in hand. He approaches a crane bucket and jumps in. He presses a button and it lifts him into the sky. The rain comes down even harder now as thunder crackles in the sky. Coulson who is currently in the command center walks over to a window that looks down at the center of the crater where Mjolnir is stuck in the ground. He notices Thor's silhouette in the tunnel complex and the guards continually being beaten by him.
The crane reaches its peak as the sniper, his name Barton, actives his metallic, mechanical bow. He pulls out an arrow and searches for Thor's figure. He spots his figure through the plastic as Thor kicks a guard through it and he falls to the ground. He continues to make his way through the structure trying to find the center.
"Barton, talk to me," Coulson says through a walkie.
"One shot, one kill, sir. Just give the word," Barton says as he aims his arrow at Thor.
"Stand by."
Jane having been watching nervously pulls out her phone and calls Selvig. She gets his voicemail and then says, "Erik, okay, first off don't worry. I'm fine, really, but if you happen to not hear from me again you might want to head to the crater site and look for me. I may have sort of did what you told me not to do." She hangs up and continues to watch.
Echo notices Barton and he intrigues her. Being higher up than him and cloaking her presence he doesn't know she is there. She teleports next to him, still suspended in midair, and lets him see her as she says, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Stunned by her sudden appearance he aims his bow at her. He eyes her realizing she is just floating there in the air. He doesn't understand, his eyes widening. He can't see any wires holding her up.
"How are-"
"Much to complicated to explain. For now I suggest that you just watch what is about to unfold," she says with a smile and gestures with her arm to the scene below. His gaze leaves her as he looks back down at Thor. A very large guards appears from around the corner and Thor eyes him with a grin, "You're big."
"Fought bigger," he says as the guard approaches him. Thor charges at the guard and tackles him through the plastic into the crater; the rain pouring relentlessly making the ground muddy and slippery. Thor moves back as he stands up the guard rising to his feet. It goes for a punch and Thor ducks and punches up in an uppercut motion connecting with the guard's jaw making him stumble back. It gains its footing and goes for another punch, this time Thor blocking it. The guard takes this opportunity to slam his knee into Thor's stomach. His breath catches as he moves backward the guard going for yet another punch and this time it connects with Thor's face. Thor angry now punches the guard hard in the stomach momentarily stunning the guard. He then jumps and slams both his feet into the chest of the guard with such force the guard falls to the ground the wind completely knocked out of him.
Seizing this opportunity he walks over to wear Mjolnir is. Ripping open the plastic his body soaking wet, covered in mud and bloody. He walks over to Mjolnir and Coulson watches. He calls off the guards, wanting to see what is going to happen. Even Barton watches closely completely forgetting Echo's presence, his bow aimed firmly at Thor. Thor reaches for his hammer and pulls. But he can't lift it. He doesn't understand. Frustration begins to build as he grabs it with both hands and pulls with all his might.
He falls to his knees defeat taking over. He's failed. He realizes he is unworthy to wield his weapon. Echo watches solemnly as she teleports appearing before him. Her cloaking ability has returned so only Thor can see her as he looks up at her. She looks at him softly and says so only her can hear, "You have a great lesson you need to learn here Thor. Only when you learn what these humans can teach you will you be able to wield Mjolnir again. I'll be near, but this is something you need to face on your own Thor. Take care of yourself." And with those words she disappears.
Coulson, clearly disappointed orders the guards to move in and take Thor. He doesn't resist as they take him away.
Echo once again appearing over the crater and structure below watches as they take Thor away. She knows they won't hurt him.
Images suddenly flash through her mind. A vision.
"Hmm, this might be interesting," she says with a smile and vanishes.
The cars speed around the track in the Monaco raceway. The screaming fans gathered for the race that will soon begin. In the restaurant that overlooks the raceway, guests of high-esteem gather. A man walks in dressed in a casual suit and tie. He has a certain air about him. He relishes in the gazes and whispers from the people scattered around. The woman at his side with her long strawberry blonde colored hair is pestering him on yet another thing he is trying to avoid. They head over to a table and the man asks for it even though it is reserved for someone else. The staff prepares it for him. A waiter walks up to the man with a small tray in hand, "From the woman in the hat at the bar sir."
Intrigued the man takes the drink on the tray, sips it, realizing it is an expensive bottle of scotch. He searches the bar for the woman in the hat and spots her. She's not looking in his direction but he eyes her up and down. She is wearing a long colorful sun dress and a large white silk hat. He eyes her slender legs and interested decides to walk over to her. He reaches her and pulls out the charm as he says, "It's always nice when a beautiful woman buys me a drink."
"Quite the charmer aren't we," Echo says as she looks up at him, with a smile, eyeing him sharply, "Tony Stark."