Chapter 9

"So let me see if I've got all of this straight." Tony said, rubbing his face with his hand. "You went back to Asgard for some family time and discovered your not dead nephew. You blackmailed his jailer into letting you take him home with you and found out that Odin is a pretty sucky grandpa. You then decided that the best place you could bring Loki's son is a home full of his father's greatest enemies. Did I miss anything?"

"I actually found him when I was on Svartalfheim." Thor said.

"Well that changes everything." Bruce muttered.

"Thor, you can't honestly think that bringing Loki's son to live here is a good idea." Natasha said.

"I understand that the situation is not ideal." Thor said.

"I really don't think you do." Clint said. In the hours since Thor had started his petition, Clint hadn't moved from his seat in the corner. Just the mention of Loki had left him itching to go out and shoot something.

"Thor, I'm sure you're excited to have your nephew back, but even you have to see how dangerous it would be to have him living here." Steve said. "Even if his magic is bound." He added when he saw Thor about to argue.

"He's no danger to anyone. I swear to you that Fenrir is a good person." Thor insisted.

"But he was a danger to someone." Fury stood up from his seat at the head of the table, where he'd been mostly silent since Thor had begun his story. "You said that he was punished more than his crime deserved, but you always seem to leave out what exactly his crime was. You say that Odin agreed that years of torture was a valid punishment. So I'm wondering what could have been bad enough that he would toss his grandson to the wolves." Thor flinched at Fury's choice of words.

"He didn't understand what he did. He was only a child." Thor said, sadly.

"So you've said. What did he do?" Fury demanded.

"Fenrir was always a clever child." Thor began. "Like Loki he showed an early aptitude for magic. But where my brother gained his skill through years of study, everything just came to Fenrir. Most notable of his skills was a natural ability to shape shift. As a young child he could summon the form of a great wolf as easily as I call Mjolnir.

"We were on a visit to Svartalfheim. Back when they were our allies. Loki brought Fenrir, but he became bored with all the talk and he left us to join a group of children playing nearby." At this Thor became quiet. The memory wasn't a pleasant one.

"What'd he do to the kids?" Bruce asked.

"He only wished to show off his abilities. He changed into a wolf. One of the children was frightened and threw a rock at him. Fenrir fought back. I know that what he did was terrible, but he didn't—"

"What happened to the kids?" Steve asked.

"Come on, Steve; don't make him spell it out. Jr. threw a temper tantrum and killed his friends. Right, Thor?" Clint asked. Thor simply hung his head. "So how many did he kill?"

"He didn't mean to hurt anyone. He couldn't have." Thor insisted.

"How many?" Clint repeated.

"Nine." Thor said. "But he was only a child-"

"That makes it worse!" Clint yelled. "If he could do that as a kid then what's a few thousand years and some abuse going to produce?"

"I'm sorry, Thor, but he's got a point." Steve said.

"Then that is your decision? You won't let me bring him here?" Thor asked.

"I think I can safely speak for the entire planet, when I say no." Fury said.

"Then I am sorry to say that I must leave the Avengers." Thor said.

"Oh, come on! Don't be ridiculous." Clint said.

"Thor, you can't just quit." Bruce said.

"I have sworn an oath to my nephew that I would keep him safe. I can't do that if I'm here and he's not." Thor said.

"You're being a little dramatic aren't you?" Natasha said. "Do you really expect us to believe that you'd leave the team over this?"

"I swore to Fenrir that I would not let him be imprisoned again." Thor said. "The only way that can happen is if he comes to live with me. If he's not welcome here than I'll have to find someplace else."

"How about the promise that you made to us?" Clint said. "Remember when we formed the Avengers and you swore to stand by us whenever we needed you."

"It pains me to break an oath to my team but he is my family." Thor explained.

"Since when?" Tony asked, with a groan. "You've never even mentioned him until today. Hell, did you even know you had a nephew before this?"

"Fenrir's death was a painful memory and one I did not like to recall so, it is true that, I did not speak of him. But you would be wrong to read into my silence a lack of affection." Thor said.

"We need you on the team." Tony insisted. "You're half our fire power. Can't you just find Fido, a baby sitter and visit him on the weekends?"

"There is no one on Midgard that I could ask to take on that responsibility." Thor said.

"So leave him on Asgard." Clint said.

"I told you, he was banished." Thor said.

"Thor," Fury said, as an unpleasant realization began to hit him "you said that the deal was that Fenrir would get released if he could stay with you on Earth. Where is your nephew right now, and please, tell me that it's in a cell on Asgard waiting for our answer."

"I couldn't just make him wait in the dungeons." Thor said. "He left Asgard when I did."

"So he's, what, been waiting for you at Starbucks?" Tony asked.

"I wouldn't just leave him alone like that." Thor said.

"Thor." Steve said, slowly. "Where exactly is your nephew right now?"

"I left him with Jane." This announcement was met with a moment of stunned silence followed by pandemonium.

"You're telling me that you left Loki's murderous son unguarded in New Mexico?" Fury demanded.

"Not unguarded. He's with Jane." Fury ignored Thor's reassurance and pulled out his comm.

"I need all available agents in the South West sector to move to Puente Antigua. We have a potentially lethal situation brewing." Thor immediately began arguing with Fury and the rest of the team joining in. All except for Bruce who couldn't stop thinking about time. Like how much time they had all spent listening to Thor explain his situation, or how long it had taken for Tony to get everyone together when Thor had requested a meeting. Or how long Thor had been waiting alone in the tower because Tony was on a date with Pepper.

"Thor, when did you get back?" Bruce asked.

"I landed early, Monday morning." Thor answered. Once again the room went silent.

"He's been here two days?" Steve asked.

"I hadn't thought that our discussions would take so long." Thor said. Fury was about to grab his comm again when Steve jumped in.

"Tony, go with Thor to New Mexico and grab Fenrir. We'll keep him here in one of Bruce's panic rooms until we can work something out. We can debate the rest later." Steve said. Tony and Thor left the room and Steve turned to address the rest of the team.

"The rest of you suit up. God only knows what those two are bringing back."

Tony couldn't help but be a little proud of himself. Flying from New York to New Mexico in twenty five minutes was a new record for him. Clearly rerouting the thrusters had been another stroke of genius. He wished he could tell someone but the only other person in the sky was Thor, and he never seemed to see the beauty in suit technology. It was one of the great tragedies Tony had seen of being raised in a world of magic.

"Hey, Point Break, which one of these is your girlfriend's?" Tony asked, when he saw Thor beginning to descend. Thor pointed at what looked like an old gas station and they landed. Immediately a dark haired girl came running out of the building.

"Where the hell were you? Jane said you were only supposed to be gone a day." Darcy yelled, tossing a textbook at Thor's chest.

"Thor forgot to mention a few things. Is everything ok here?" Tony asked, quickly scanning the area for signs of carnage.

"Sure, I mean, it isn't like we really needed a kitchen." Darcy said, with another glare towards Thor.

"Is Fenris alright?" Thor asked.

"I honestly have no idea." Darcy said. "Psycho boy locked himself in Jane's trailer yesterday and hasn't come out since."