It seemed that a good night's rest was exactly what Darcy needed because she woke up the next morning (in her own bed on Earth, thank goodness) feeling energized and more motivated than she had in weeks. Jane must have had similar results because she was actually alert before coffee.
Natasha had left a note on the kitchen table, telling them when she and Steve had left, assuring them that they had locked the front door, and Steve had scribbled his phone number at the bottom. Darcy waved the note in Jane's direction.
"Captain America gave me his phone number," she crowed.
Jane snatched the note and read it quickly. "This is addressed to both of us," she observed.
Darcy grabbed it back and took out her phone to program the number in. "Whatever. He still gave me his phone number."
"We should invite him over for dinner," Jane said. "You know, it's the neighborly thing to do. He probably doesn't have a lot of friends."
Darcy stopped with her phone in her hand. "Crap. You're right. He's been back for like, what, a couple of weeks? Damn. That can't be easy." She put her phone away. "Yeah. We should do dinner. D'you think he likes lamb?"
"Darce, sweetheart, everybody likes your lamb," Jane assured her.
Darcy preened a little. "Okay. Awesome."
Erik had another appointment that morning, so Darcy dropped Jane off and picked Erik up from his quarters in the Triskelion. He was still under observation, so SHIELD was housing him on base.
Darcy excitedly told Erik about meeting Captain America and getting his phone number (leaving out certain details). "We're gonna invite him over for dinner. You wanna come?"
Erik nodded vaguely, his attention clearly elsewhere. "Yes, yes, that would be lovely."
Darcy peered closely up at the scientist. "Erik?" she asked. "Hey, you okay?"
"I wouldn't know, I don't go outside much," he replied, shuffling along with his eyes glazed over. Darcy reached out a hand and stopped him.
"Erik, look at me," she ordered. He stopped walking but didn't meet her gaze. "Erik, look at me," she repeated, letting a bit of the norn leak into her voice. He turned his head to obey.
Darcy hadn't read Erik since the Incident, since Loki, because she'd been afraid of what she might see. Now she peered deep into Erik's eyes, beyond them, and into his mind. It was a snarled, tangled mess, loose ends torn asunder and no longer connecting properly. It had nothing of the clear, crisp lines that she remembered from before, none of the sharp wit and lightning-fast leaps.
Tears pooled in Darcy's eyes and she looked away with a loud sniff, swiping the tears away. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I had no idea. I'm so sorry."
Erik frowned at her, seeing her for the first time. "Darcy?" he asked. "Why are you crying?"
"I'm not crying," she lied, clearing her throat. "I'm fine. What about you? Are you fine?"
"Yes," he replied, eying her curiously. "You're still crying."
"No I'm not," she lied again, swiping at her treacherous eyes again. "We're gonna be late for your appointment."
She hustled him down to his appointment and retreated to the nearest bathroom to collect her composure. She scrubbed at her eyes with a wad of toilet paper. Her mascara was a complete loss, but at least she would avoid having racoon eyes.
A loud crash from next door made her jump with a blurted curse. She frowned and looked around. She left the women's restroom and checked the hallway. The next room over was the men's room. She knocked on the door.
"Hello?" she called. "Is everyone okay?" There was no reply, so she pushed the door open. "Hello?" she called again. There was another bang, quieter this time. Darcy frowned again and reached out with all her senses. She didn't recognize the mind she encountered, but it had the same tangled, broken feeling as Erik's.
Darcy heaved a deep sigh and entered the men's room, passing the sinks. She looked around for a moment and saw Barton huddled in a corner by the stalls. His knees were drawn to his chest and his arms were circled protectively around his head.
Darcy edged closer, and then knelt on the tile floor. "Hey, Clint," she called softly. "You alright?"
He responded by drawing in tighter on himself with a short huff of air. Darcy sat back on her heels. "Oh, boy," she said to herself. "Clint, can you hear me?" she said. "It's Darcy. I'm right here. I'm not going to come any closer, but I want to make sure you're okay. Can you tell me you're okay?"
He didn't reply, and Darcy reached out towards his mind again. She didn't dare do more than read him with the lightest of touches. With the state of his mind, she didn't want to accidentally make him worse. She couldn't tell if he was aware of her presence, he was so wrapped up inside his own head.
Darcy pulled her phone out of her pocket and sent a quick text to Steve. She hoped someone had shown him how to text. She put her phone away and turned back to Clint.
"Clint, it's Darcy again. I need you to listen to me, okay? You're safe. You're in the Triskelion. Loki...Loki is far away. He can't hurt you anymore. Clint?"
It was like dragging her hands through broken glass. The sharp pieces of his mind cut her deeply, and tears started in her eyes again. How could she not have realized how badly damaged Clint and Erik were? She was a norn, she should have seen this much sooner.
Darcy sat cross-legged on the floor and propped her elbows on her knees. "Hey, I never told you the story of how I tased Thor, did I?" she asked. "So we were in the desert, right? Middle of New Mexico. Jane was chasing this celestial event so we were camped out waiting for it and then all of the sudden there was this rainbow tornado of doom. And Jane is all like, 'drive!' Right, so she wants me to drive right into this rainbow tornado. Uh-huh. Sure."
Darcy shifted uncomfortably. The tile was hard and her butt was already starting to go numb but she didn't get up or change position. "So we drive into the tornado, okay? And at the last minute Jane grabs the wheel and then all of the sudden, wham, we hit this guy. He'd come out of nowhere-we didn't see him or anything. And we all pile out of the van: me, Jane, and Erik, and run over to him. He's just flat on his back, right? And then Jane's all, 'Do me a favor, don't be dead.' Well, he's not dead."
Clint loosened from his huddle, his arms lowering enough for Darcy to see his eyes, which were now focused on her. She smiled and kept talking. "He gets up, right? And he's yelling all sorts of crap. 'What realm is this?' and 'Heimdall, open the Bifrost!' Totally freaking us out. So I whip out my taser 'cause who knows what this dude is gonna do? And he's all like, 'How dare you threaten Thor with so puny a weapon?' And I just hit him. Like, wham, and he goes down, totally out. Which was a good thing, because we had to haul his ass to the hospital and there's no way we could have done that while he was awake."
She shifted again. "You know, he was kinda an asshole at first. But he got over it pretty quickly. I think we knocked some sense into him the second time we hit him with the monster."
The door opened quietly behind her, but she didn't look around until a hand gently touched her shoulder. It was Natasha. She crouched next to Darcy, giving the younger woman a quick nod. "Hey, Clint," she called. "You okay?"
He exhaled loudly. "...No," he said at length.
"You wanna tell me what's wrong?" Natasha prompted.
Clint grunted. "No," he said again.
"Okay," Natasha said. "You know where you are, right? Can you tell me where you are?"
There was a long pause, and then Clint said, "Not on the helicarrier?"
"That's right," Natasha said soothingly. "Not on the helicarrier. You're at the Triskelion, and you're safe. Can you say that for me?"
Clint grunted again, but obediently parroted her words. "At the Triskelion. Safe."
"That's right," Natasha repeated. "You're safe." She turned to Darcy. "I heard what you told him. You did good. That's what he needed. I can take it from here, if you want."
"Okay," Darcy said, and slowly got to her feet. She backed out of the bathroom to find Steve guarding the doorway. "Thanks for getting Natasha," she told him.
"How is he?" Steve asked, his hands in his pockets.
"He's rough, but Natasha knows what she's doing," Darcy said. She rubbed her eyes. "I can't believe I didn't see this before."
"How could you possibly have seen this?" Steve asked her.
Darcy groaned. "Dreamwalking isn't the only ability a norn has," she said. She dropped her hand and looked at him. "I'm kinda psychic, too."
He nodded slowly. "You can read minds," he said, sounding as if he wasn't sure he really believed her.
Darcy shook her head. "I can read people. I pick up on emotions, personality, bits of your past and future, defining characteristics, but not necessarily thoughts. I could tell that Erik and Clint were messed up by what Loki did to them, but I didn't realize…" she trailed off and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm such an idiot."
"This isn't your fault," Steve said dutifully.
She waved a hand at him. "No, not about that. I'm an idiot if I ever thought that-" she cut herself off abruptly before she could blurt out her secret. Steve had taken the truth well so far, but no way was she going to tell him she had made a deal with Loki. "Never mind," she muttered.
"Can I ask you a personal question?" Steve asked, tilting his head to look down at her.
She shrugged. "Sure."
"Are you human?"
Darcy snorted. "I get asked that a lot, believe it or not. And yes, as far as I know, I am. I am just also a norn, which is not human. I have no idea how I can be both. Still trying to figure things out."
He nodded again. "What else can you do?"
"Uh, I am the ultimate cat-whisperer. I can summon butterflies. I can do this weird thing with time where everything sorta slows down. I can predict the weather." Darcy thought for a moment. "And sometimes I can see the future. Sort of. Maybe." She shrugged a second time. "Like I said. Figuring things out."
Steve glanced at the door to the restroom. "Can you help Barton?" he asked quietly.
Darcy shook her head. "Not without his permission. He's had enough people messing with his head. I'm not going to go in there without his knowledge. And I can't go around telling people who I am and what I can do."
"Why did you tell me?" Steve asked.
She smiled ruefully. "Because I knew I could trust you. You know what it's like to have...abilities...you're not comfortable with, and you know how to keep a secret."
He grimaced. "Yeah," he said tightly.
Darcy gestured. "I gotta get back to Jane. I'll see you around."
He nodded. "Of course."
Darcy turned to go and then turned back. "Hey, Jane and I were thinking you might like to have dinner with us some night. You know, a neighbor thing."
He frowned. "That's...that's really… You don't have to do that."
"We want to," Darcy assured him. "Do you like red flannel stew?"
"Don't think I've ever had it," he admitted.
Darcy nodded decisively. "Good. I'll make red flannel stew with lamb. You'll love it. How about Tuesday night? Seven o'clock?"
He opened his mouth, closed it, and then nodded back. "That would be lovely, thank you, Darcy."
She smiled. "Awesome. See you then."
Darcy was quiet when she got back to Jane, and remained that way for the rest of the day, fuming in silence. Jane picked up on Darcy's mood but didn't press when Darcy refused to explain why she was upset. Jane didn't need to know about Erik and Clint's mental conditions. She had enough stuff to worry about.
Darcy continued to fume that night as she prepared dinner, and found she was too angry to sleep. After Jane went to bed Darcy aggressively cleaned the apartment, set two loaves of challah bread to rise, and tried to work on transcribing Jane's notes into the computer, but kept getting distracted on the last task.
With a defeated sigh, Darcy left her computer and stepped out onto the balcony, letting the tepid spring breeze ruffle her hair. DC was not very different from New York, it never truly slept, and even past midnight, the sound of traffic was still strong.
Darcy leaned her forearms against the railing and inhaled the smells of warm asphalt, car fumes, and stale water from the Potomac. "Heimdall," she said out loud. "I don't know if you're listening right now, but I need to get to Asgard, and I can't do it my way. So if you could help a sister out…"
There was no reply, even after she waited for several minutes. Darcy sighed again and dropped her head to her chest. "Son of a bitch," she muttered, and turned to go back inside.
A beam of energy slammed into her with enough force to knock her off her feet but she didn't fall, she was sucked upward so fast the breath was driven from her lungs. The energy surrounded her, cradled her, flashing in a myriad of colors. Through the beam of energy she could see stars flashing by, galaxies wheeling past her through the emptiness of space, and the only thing separating her from the void was the thin wall of the energy beam.
And then, almost too fast for her to realize what had happened, Darcy was standing in the Bifrost chamber, the walls slowing down from their spinning, while Heimdall stepped down from the dais.
"Welcome back, Darcy Lewis," he said, grinning at the stunned expression on her face.
"What. The. Hell," Darcy gasped, still frozen in place. She felt her hair and then patted herself down to make sure she was still in one piece.
"You did request to come to Asgard," Heimdall reminded her.
"I asked you to help me dreamwalk," Darcy exclaimed. She turned around in a circle. It was cold in the Bifrost chamber, colder than she'd ever noticed. She had goosebumps. She could taste the salt on the air, sharp and bitter. Everything was so much more real, more present, than she'd ever experienced before.
"This was more efficient," Heimdall said with a shrug.
"You sent a giant rainbow tornado to the middle of the city!" Darcy yelped. "People will have seen it! SHIELD will have seen it!"
"Do you have no faith in me?" Heimdall grinned at her. "I can be subtle, when I choose to be. I assure you, no one will have observed your departure."
Darcy took a couple deep breaths to calm down. She looked around the Bifrost again. "Holy shit," she blurted. "I'm actually here, aren't I? I'm really in Asgard for real."
"Yes, you are," Heimdall told her. "It is far overdue, I think."
"Holy shit," Darcy said again, and looked down. "...Aaaand I'm wearing Star Wars pajamas," she observed morosely.
"It is my duty to be prepared at all times, Darcy Lewis," Heimdall chided her, and handed her the green robe he kept for her. Darcy took it gratefully and slipped it on, tying the sash.
"I need to get to the dungeons," Darcy said, pulling her hair free and taking off her glasses. She tucked them into her sash; she didn't actually need them, she just used them to throw people off.
"For what purpose?" Heimdall asked, frowning down at her.
"I need to punch Loki in his fucking face," Darcy growled, and stomped across the chamber towards the door. Heimdall caught up with her in a few strides.
"The Allfather has forbidden Loki any visitors," he warned her.
"Well, I keep hearing that the norns don't answer to nobody," Darcy retorted. "So I don't really give a damn. How do I get there from here?"
"I do not advise you to speak with Loki," Heimdall said, easily keeping pace with her as she stomped down the bridge toward the city. "He is crafty and has a way of twisting minds."
"Don't plan on speaking with him," Darcy replied. "Just punching. If you're not gonna show me where the dungeons are, don't bother coming with me."
Heimdall laid a hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. "Darcy Lewis," he said gravely. "Loki is dangerous. Were he to know there was a norn here, in a human body, he would find a way to use that to his advantage."
Darcy shrugged his hand away. "I can take care of myself, Heimdall," she said coldly. "Now show me the dungeons or leave me alone."
Heimdall sighed and pulled a golden disk out of a niche in his armor. He placed it in her palm. "This will guide you wherever you need to go. Simply speak your destination and it will show you the way."
Darcy stared down at the small device, caught slightly off guard. "Thanks," she said, and then looked up at him. "I mean it. Thank you, Heimdall."
He smiled sadly down at her. "I serve at the pleasure of the norns," he replied. He inclined his head towards her. "It is my pleasure to serve you, Darcy Lewis."
She smiled back at him, equally sadly. Then she held the disk out in front of her and spoke in a clear voice, "The dungeons." The image of a compass formed out of motes of golden light above the surface of the disk, the needle pointing straight for the city. Darcy took a deep breath and started walking.
It took her an hour to reach the palace. The compass led her through the palace corridors and down staircases until she reached a massive door guarded by two men in blue and gold armor. She slowed down as she approached them and they stared challengingly at her.
"Uh, hi," she said, still holding the compass in front of her. "I'm Dar-" She cut herself off. "I'm Lady Sigyn," she started again. "Heimdall gave me permission to get through here."
The guards looked at each other and back to her. "Only the Allfather can give leave to descend into the dungeons," one said, frowning. He gripped his spear a little tighter, and took a step towards her.
Darcy took a long step backwards. "What about Lady Frigga?" she asked quickly. "Lady Frigga said I could go anywhere in the palace I wanted."
The guard paused and gave her a closer look. "What is your name?" he asked.
"Uh...Darcy Lewis?" Darcy said uncertainly.
The guards exchanged another look, and then they turned to pull open the doors. "Be cautious," the first guard told her as she stepped through the doors. "It is easy to lose your way."
Darcy showed him the compass. "I'll be okay," she assured him.
However, as soon as she stepped through the doors, the image of the compass disappeared. She stared down at it, alarmed, and tapped the disk a couple of times. Then she looked up and realized the compass had completed its task by taking her to the dungeons. She held it to her mouth and whispered so the guards couldn't hear. "Loki's cell."
The compass appeared again, glowing comfortingly in the gloom of the dungeon corridor. She followed it quickly as it led her deeper into the labyrinth that was the dungeons, twisting and turning until she finally reached Loki's cell.
He was sitting at his desk again, working with the scalpel. He looked up when Darcy arrived, his expression almost brightening. Darcy shoved the compass into her sash and stepped through the barrier as easily as she had the last time. Loki rose to his feet to greet her, and Darcy punched him square in the nose.
He recoiled a step away from her, startled, hands coming up in a defensive pose, but he made no move to retaliate. Instead he simply stared at her. "Why did you do that?" he demanded, sounding almost hurt.
"Because I finally got the guts to see what you did to Erik and Clint," she told him through gritted teeth. She set her hands on her hips and squared off with him. "You destroyed their minds," she accused him. "They will never be the same again, and it's your fault." She stepped forward and jabbed a finger into his chest. "You are a lying, manipulative, psychotic sack of shit. I can't believe I was ever stupid enough to think I could help you."
She jabbed his chest again, forcing him a step backwards. "You deserve to rot in this cell for the rest of your life and so help me I will make sure you do it."
His face darkened and he slapped her hand away. "We made a bargain, norn," he hissed at her.
"Well, I am ending our bargain," she snapped back at him. "Don't forget, I hold the power here, not you."
"You will never come into your full power without my instruction," he spat at her. "You're nothing but a puling mortal, grasping at things you can never understand. You will age and die long before you discover even a fraction of your abilities. You will be nothing."
Darcy stepped away from him. "I would rather be nothing than accept help from you," she sneered. She turned to leave and he grabbed her arm with terrible strength.
Darcy didn't pause to think. She pushed back with the arm he'd taken and swept it against his chest. Loki flew off his feet and landed hard on the floor, knocking over a chair and a table of books. He looked up at her from the floor, eyes wide in shock. Darcy glared back at him.
"Never touch me without my permission, ever again," she said in a low, dangerous voice. She turned, keeping her head high, and stepped through the barrier once more, marching back the way she had come. As soon as she was out of sight of Loki's cell, she stopped and leaned against the wall.
"What the fuck?" she asked herself quietly, starting to hyperventilate. How the hell had she managed to knock a Frost Giant on his ass? She hadn't even thought about it; she had just reacted. Did this mean she had super strength or something?
She rubbed her forehead, eyes squeezed shut. "I need a drink," she muttered. She pulled the disk out of her sash and stared at it for a moment. "Lady Frigga's sitting room," she instructed it. The compass appeared and spun around to point her way.
When Darcy arrived at the door to Lady Frigga's sitting room, the door was open. She poked her head inside but there was no one there. Cautiously, she edged inside and looked around. She turned the compass over in her hand. "I don't suppose you know where Lady Frigga is," she muttered at it, slipping it back into her sash.
Darcy walked over to one of the couches and plopped down with a sigh, leaning forward to rest her head in her hands. She was tired again, despite having actually gotten a decent night's sleep the night before-thanks to Loki. She grimaced. Of all the bad decisions she had ever made, that one took the cake. She couldn't believe she was so blind that she actually went to Loki for help. She could kick herself for decades and not be finished.
An Asgardian woman walked into the room and stopped abruptly at the sight of Darcy sitting on the couch. Darcy looked up and then jumped to her feet.
"Hi," she blurted. "I'm Darcy Lewis, and I'm looking for Lady Frigga. Do you know where she is?"
The woman gave Darcy an assessing look. "You are the norn girl," she observed, her forehead creased. "The human one." She said the word human a bit more condescendingly than Darcy would have liked.
"Yeah, I am," Darcy said, raising her chin. "And I'd like to speak with Lady Frigga."
"I will let her know you are here," the Asgardian said, and swept off. Darcy rolled her eyes and plopped back down on the couch. A few minutes later, however, she popped back up when Lady Frigga entered the room.
"Darcy Lewis," the queen greeted. "It is a pleasure to see you again."
"Your Majesty," Darcy said, trying an awkward curtsy.
Lady Frigga frowned. "Who told you?" she asked. "I had hoped we could avoid such formality."
"Thor told me," Darcy replied, wringing her hands together nervously. "We-um-talked the other day."
"Come, child," Frigga invited, holding her hands out to Darcy. "I had no desire to intimidate you. That is why I did not tell you who I was. Do you resent me for it?"
"What? No!" Darcy exclaimed as Frigga took her hands and gently lowered her back to the couch. Frigga sat next to Darcy, close enough that their knees touched. "I don't resent you at all! I just...I just can't believe that you saw me drunk. It's humiliating."
"Child, I have seen my sons do far worse," Frigga reassured her. "You did nothing to cause me to lose respect for you."
"Thor mentioned that," Darcy said with a wry smile. "Care to share any stories?"
"Perhaps another time," Frigga said. "I can see you bear a heavy burden now. How can I help you?"
Darcy leaned forward, tightening her grip on Frigga's hands. "You showed me how to break a psychic connection. Can you show me how to heal someone from psychic trauma?"
Frigga tilted her head and gave Darcy a searching look. "Breaking a psychic bond and healing psychic wounds take different abilities, Darcy Lewis," she told Darcy. "Having the power for one does not mean you have the power for the other."
"Oh," Darcy said, wilting a little.
Frigga released one of Darcy's hands and reached upwards towards Darcy's face. "If I have your leave," she said, pausing with her fingers a few inches from Darcy's cheek. Darcy nodded and Frigga placed her hand on Darcy's face, cupping her cheek in her palm.
Darcy felt Frigga in her mind like a warm presence, a mother's comforting touch. Frigga was gentle and kind and reassuring; everything Darcy wished she could be. After a moment Frigga withdrew both her hand and her presence in Darcy's mind, and Darcy was almost disappointed to feel her leave.
"You have great power in you, child," Frigga told her. "But I do not sense the ability to heal. The norns are not known for their acts of kindness."
Darcy sat back, withdrawing her other hand from Frigga's grasp. The disappointment was sharp and cut deep. For so long she had had people tell her that she had power that she had become accustomed to it. She was not used to people telling her what she couldn't do.
"I see that was not the answer you sought," Frigga said. "People you care about have been hurt, I think?"
"By Loki," Darcy said boldly, meeting Frigga's gaze. "He controlled their minds, took away their free will, and it destroyed them. They-they're never going to be the same again. Their minds...they're like broken glass, all sharp pieces. It hurt me just reading them. I can't imagine what it's like for them…"
Frigga looked down, her expression sorrowful. "Loki's crimes are great," she said softly. "It seems we will spend many years recovering from them." She looked up again. "Can you bring these people here, to Asgard?"
Darcy's eyes widened. "What?" she asked flatly. "Bring them here? Uh...I don't know...I can't…" She thought about it for a long moment. "No," she finally said reluctantly. "There's no way I could get them here without telling them who I am. What I am."
Frigga frowned at her. "Why can you not tell them?" she asked.
"Because if SHIELD found out what I can do, they would go ballistic," Darcy told her. "After everything that's happened, with Loki, and the Chitauri, they'd label me a threat and lock me up. Probably try to study my brain or something. I can't risk it."
Frigga continued to frown. "You are a norn, Darcy Lewis. There is certainly no human that could stand against you."
Darcy rubbed her forehead. "I think you guys keep forgetting that I am human, too. I live on earth. I have to deal with humans and human things if I want to keep living on earth."
"Then do not live on earth."
Darcy went still, her body growing cold at Frigga's words. She weighed them carefully, repeated them in her head. Do not live on earth. She could do it. Heimdall would welcome her on Asgard, certainly, and she had a strong feeling Frigga would, too. She was a norn, after all. Or she could travel to the other realms, and look for the rest of the norns. They had to be out there somewhere; maybe they would teach her how to use her powers.
Do not live on earth.
She would have to leave her parents. Her brothers. Jane. Everything she cared about, everything she had ever known. But she wouldn't have to hide anymore. Wouldn't have to lie to everyone about who she was, what she was. She could, for the first time in her life, truly be herself.
Jane would die.
Before Darcy even finished considering Frigga's suggestion, she knew the truth of it. If she left earth, Jane would die. Whether by her dream, or some other way, it would come to pass. Darcy shook her head. Her freedom was not worth Jane's life, not now, not ever.
"I can't," was all she said out loud.
Frigga nodded slowly. "Then perhaps I can come to your friends."
"You would do that?" Darcy demanded, hope leaping into her voice.
"Anything that concerns a norn this greatly should be my highest priority," Frigga assured her. "Also, Loki is my son. If I cannot heal those he has hurt, who will?"
"That would be amazing, thank you!" Darcy burst out. Then she deflated. "How are we gonna pull that off, though? I mean, how are we gonna get you to earth and onto a SHIELD base without them knowing I told you?"
Frigga gave her a look. "Child, I am the queen of Asgard. I need no reason to visit earth, especially after what my son has done to your world, and I need no one's permission to visit this SHIELD of yours. From what Thor has told me, If I come to earth, SHIELD will be quite interested in me."
"Yeah they will," Darcy agreed. "They will lose their minds over you."
"Then it is settled," Frigga said, clapping her hands together. "I will visit your world in three day's time, and I will see to your injured friends."
"I really want to hug you right now," Darcy told her. "Would that be okay?"
Frigga smiled and held out her arms. "I would be honored."
Darcy lunged forward and wrapped Frigga into a tight, enthusiastic embrace, burying her face against Frigga's shoulder. "Thank you so much," she said softly. She leaned back and met Frigga's gaze again. "I have no idea how this is going to go, but thank you."
"It truly is my pleasure," Frigga assured her. She rose to her feet. "Now, is there anything else I can do for you? Will you stay and dine with us?"
Darcy checked her watch and grimaced. "I should get back before Jane wakes up and realizes I'm gone."
Frigga's face softened. "Ah. Yes. Thor has oft spoken about this Jane Foster."
Darcy hopped up. "She's the best. She's also my boss and she has no idea about what I am so…" she gestured around them. "Late night trips to Asgard? Needs to stay on the DL."
"Of course," Frigga said nodding. "Then I will not keep you. I will, however, see you in three day's time, as promised."
"I will owe you big time," Darcy said, fishing around in her sash for Heimdall's compass. "I can't thank you enough."
"You have already done far more for me than you know," Frigga told her quietly. Darcy gave her a puzzled look, unsure of her meaning.
"Okay," Darcy said when no further explanation was forthcoming. "I will see you later. Gotta get back to the Bifrost."
Frigga nodded again and Darcy saw herself out. She muttered to herself as she headed back to the Bifrost. When she finally arrived, she strode into the chamber while she undid the sash on her robe.
"Who decided it was a good idea to put the Bifrost on the ass-end of this planet?" Darcy demanded, slapping her glasses back on her face and bundling the robe up.
"Bor, the father of Odin," Heimdall replied, knowing a practical answer would only annoy her.
"Har har," she snarked, falling for his tactics. She handed him first the robe, and then the compass. "Thanks for this, by the way."
Heimdall handed the compass back to her. "Keep it. A memento of your first physical trip to Asgard."
Darcy closed her fingers over the metal disk. "Thanks," she said again, quieter this time. "I should get back."
Heimdall pointed at the other end of the chamber. "Stand there. When I give you the signal, step into the bridge."
The chamber began to spin and align, and then the energy beam blasted outward, piercing the darkness of the space beyond. At Heimdall's go-ahead, Darcy took a deep breath and stepped into it. It was partly like falling, partly like flying, hurtling along through space at unbelievable speed. She barely had time to take it all in before she was standing on the balcony of her apartment, trying to catch her breath.
She looked around. There were no telltale burn marks on the ground like she had seen in New Mexico, no indication whatsoever that she had been to and returned from Asgard. She looked around. The sun was just coming up over the horizon.
Jane opened the sliding door to the balcony, a coffee cup in one hand. She blinked blearily at Darcy. "What are you doing?" she asked, her voice thick with sleep.
"Nothing," Darcy said defensively. She looked around again. "Getting some fresh air?"
Jane grunted and shuffled away, leaving the door open. Darcy moved to follow her. "What do you want for breakfast?"