Chapter Twenty-One - A Reference to Skyfall

Chapter Twenty-One

A Reference to Skyfall

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Using his seiðr, Odin had kept out of Loki's sight until he, Thor, and Víðarr had left the dungeons. Now all three men hastened toward the royal wing of the palace. Thor and his younger brother would don their armor and grab their choice weapons before leaving for Midgard. While the crown prince strode through the palace corridors, however, his father had words for him.

"It was reckless," Odin said sharply as he kept pace with his second-eldest. "Loki could have escaped—"

"Father, you saw him, he was in no condition to even contemplate escaping his prison, much less actually achieving it." At the door to his chambers Thor stopped and turned to his father. "You didn't see him before I entered the cell. He couldn't even tell if I were real or a hallucination. He needed me there with him. He's slipping, Father."

Gnarled white brows knotted together as the king stared at his son and heir. The single blue eye, usually so bright, dimmed as a shadow of worry passed over Odin's face. "Slipping? What do you mean?"

"The madness is taking him. The Chitauri are driving him closer and closer to insanity. He sees and hears things that aren't there, remembers things that never happened. He believes we tried to kill him."

Odin jolted. "What?"

Thor nodded sharply. The words twisted and writhed like poisonous snakes in his belly, but somehow he managed to say, "He believes we threw him off the Bifröst that day."

"He let go," Odin whispered. "He let go."

The prince sighed. "You know that and I know that, and apparently Thea knew it, but Loki told me she claimed the Chitauri were manipulating his memories somehow. It's strange…when she told him, he accepted her words as truth, yet now…it's almost as if, when I remind him of what she said, he doesn’t even hear me. But that doesn’t matter right now. What matters is that I couldn’t connect with him without stepping into that cell, and I must make that connection. He must hear me, he must trust me. Or I fear one day I will go to visit him and find only a bloody corpse."

His father shook his head. "I never thought…I never knew…Thor, you have always been closer to him than anyone. Why does he think your friends have always despised him? From your accounts, Loki believes himself shunned by all who love him, even before your exile. Why?"

He shook his head almost helplessly. "I don't know. Sif and the Three claim they have always loved him as much as they love me. Until my exile I thought we were all dear friends. When I ask Loki about it, it angers him. He claims I never listen, never see. I can't risk angering him right now. There is too much at stake. Now I must ready to leave, Father. All Heimdall could discern was that Tony and Banner have learned of Fury's lies, but not what those lies are. We must go now."

"You sense something," Odin said. Thor nodded. "What is it?"

After a moment of groping for the right words, Thor ran a hand through his hair and muttered, "A shadow. Many shadows: one inside the palace, pulsing beneath our feet like the egg-sac of a spider readying to hatch; one looming on the horizon, waiting to pounce like a hungry wolf; and the last, the one I fear most, gathering strength in Loki's mind. They are all drawing closer and closer, growing in power. We must help Loki first, banish his shadow, or we will fail in defeating the others. That is what I sense. That is what my instincts tell me."

Odin drew a sharp breath, then let it out in a soft sigh. He nodded. "I trust your instincts, my son. They have often served you well in battle. Go to Midgard. While you and Víðarr are there, we will prepare here." He hesitated, then added, "Heimdall told you of the threat of the svartálfar in the Dark Realm?"

Thor nodded. "Is it certain they will attack Asgard?" The look on his father's face spoke volumes. Thor muttered something deprecating under his breath. "Will they attack soon?"

"We do not know. If they do, we will send Amora to fetch you back to Asgard."

"Amora the Enchantress?" Thor demanded. Ugh, he hated that woman. She had played Loki for a fool many centuries ago, using the younger prince to get close to the heir to the throne. Thor hadn’t known that until his brother had told him of it in the last year, but since then, he'd avoided the gifted Asgardian sorceress who had once been Loki's friend.

Odin nodded. "I know you dislike her, but she is the surest, swiftest way of returning you to Asgard if you're needed other than Víðarr himself or Loki, and Loki is in no condition to transport himself or anyone else anywhere. Now go. Your need is pressing."

The crown prince nodded to his father. "Thank you…for allowing any of this. I shall return as soon as I can."

.

"Are you ever going to not do that?" Víðarr asked less than an hour later as Thor hunched on Midgardian grass, retching his guts out. When he managed to stop, he just looked at his younger brother for a moment as he wiped his mouth. Víðarr handed him something wrapped in a small, white cloth. "Mother made this for you. Drink it; it will calm your belly."

 

"It" happened to be a tiny vial full of some pale green liquid that glimmered faintly with emerald sparkles. When Thor pulled the stopper, the sharp sting of mint hit his nostrils. It helped clear his head a bit and ease the knotting of his stomach.

 

He downed the contents of the vial in one swallow. Within minutes, his stomach ceased its relentless churning. When Víðarr asked if it was better, Thor nodded and got to his feet, looking around. He recognized the little mortal wilderness known as Central Park. Without a word the brothers set off toward Stark Tower.

 

New York City wasn’t as silent as Asgard would have been so early in the morning, but it was much quieter than it had been when the two princes had visited before. It was also warmer; there was hardly any snow on the ground, though thin sheets of ice covered the standing puddles of water on the sidewalks. Steam rose from the grates in the streets. The trees of Central Park, for the most part, had shed their leaves and now stood barren of snow or fresh growth, ugly and black silhouettes in the dim night. There was no helpful mortal child to offer advice, but Thor and Víðarr managed to traverse the Midgardian streets without mishap.

 

At the main doors of Stark Tower, Thor knocked—carefully—on the glass to alert any guards who might let them in. He doubted the Man of Iron would take kindly to the Asgardian smashing in the door.

 

But instead of a guard, Thor heard the disembodied voice of the one known as JARVIS.

 

"Welcome back, Mr. Odinson. I see you have brought your brother. Mr. Stark is expecting you." A red light near the handle of the door blinked three times before turning green. There was a small beep. Then with a soft hiss, the door swung open of its own accord. "Right this way, sir."

 

"That is…unnerving," Víðarr muttered as the two brothers entered the tower and headed for the elevator they had taken during their previous visit. "What is that thing?"

 

"Midgardians call it…a 'computer.' A very advanced device called a 'machine,' that can think for itself." They stepped into the elevator when the doors whooshed open. The heavy metal doors slid shut once they were inside, the elevator lurched, and they zipped toward the top floor. "JARVIS serves as valet to the Man of Iron."

 

"I see. And that works for him? A creature with no corporeal form as his body-servant?"

 

Thor shrugged. "It seems to."

 

The elevator slowed to a stop and the doors slid open to reveal Tony glaring savagely at a small, crimson-and-gold, rectangular object that just barely fit in the palm of his hand. Banner stood behind him, gripping the side-piece of his spectacles with his right hand as he peered at whatever Tony scowled at. Pepper Potts sat in a chair near them, legs crossed at the knee, with a black metallic object on a wooden lap-desk perched on her knees. She looked up as Thor and Víðarr stepped out of the elevator and smiled at them.

 

"Tony, your friends are here," she said, beaming. Somewhat to Thor's surprise, she seemed genuinely pleased to see the two princes. Perhaps because their presence pleased the Man of Iron?

 

But that was a thought for another time. Without breaking stride, Thor and Víðarr went to Tony and Bruce. Tony growled something succinct and obscene at the device in his hand before looking up and meeting Thor's eyes. What the Asgardian warrior saw in the mortal's dark gaze told him all he needed to know even before Tony spoke.

 

"You were right," he said. Anger hummed like a swarm of hornets under the three simple words. Furrowing his fingers through his hair, he shot a vicious look at the little device before adding, "Fury lied to us."

 

Banner sighed. "You don't know that. He kept stuff from us—"

 

"Which is basically the same thing," Tony growled. "Considering that he made me sound like a brat and really did a number on Cap after Coulson died, this?" He tapped the screen. "This here? It irks me. It's irksome."

 

Thor frowned. "What is it, my friend? What have you found?"

 

Now it was Tony's turn to sigh. "To sum up, because I know you don't know much about Earth culture—speaking of culture, remind me to drag you off to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show sometime—I looked at SHIELD. Everything I could get my hands. Sorry it took so long, by the way. The reason it took almost a month is because every time I thought I got through their firewalls, another wall popped up. Which wouldn’t have been a problem normally, but unlike every other time I've hacked into them, the walls kept popping up. They never stopped until about a week and half ago. It was like, in the two milliseconds JARVIS had after breaking through one firewall, ten more appeared. It wasn’t impossible to do, it was just tedious as crap. And I couldn’t find the software for the firewall-system to insert a virus into it, either, to stop it from making little baby firewalls, so the thing was breeding like a pair of rabbits on Ecstasy."

 

When Thor opened his mouth to ask for clarification, Tony waved a hand. "Never mind. Not important. Point is, it took me that long to get through the protections they had around their database. But the firewalls were only around certain files. There were a buttload of them, but it wasn't everything. Which makes me wonder what's so freaking important.

 

"Then the stupid encryption took longer than I expected, because the same thing kept happening—every time I thought I had it, the code the files were written in suddenly changed and the entire file would basically rewrite itself so it couldn't be read, which should have been impossible, but apparently isn't. At first I thought SHIELD was onto me, but it was something else. You'll never guess what. Or should I say, who?"

 

Víðarr and Thor glanced at each other, then shook their heads and gestured for Tony just to tell them. He had the same penchant for guessing games and explaining things as Loki, Thor thought. Only Tony's favorite subject was his work with Midgardian computers and machines, whereas Loki's deepest passion lay in sorcery.

 

"A week before you two showed up on my doorstep," the Midgardian warrior continued, "I decided to be a nice guy and let Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters send some of their kids who were interested in computers over here, let 'em look around, see all my fancy-schmancy stuff. One of them was this girl, maybe sixteen. Nice kid, snazzy dresser, good taste in music except she likes Taylor Swift. All that twangy 'my boyfriend left me so I'm gonna write about him to humiliate him to death' was never my thing. Anyway, she's a mutant. I wasn’t surprised. Almost every kid at the Institute's got some kind of weird power."

 

"Yeah," Banner said, smiling a little. "But guess what hers is?"

 

Thor's eyes widened. "Computers?"

 

Banner nodded. "It's not unheard of, but it's still uncommon for a mutant to have some kind of talent for machines that may or may not be a superpower. I can list all the ones in the United States Mutant Registry off the top of my head. Dr. Henry Pym, some kid named Forge, Gwen Royal—she's in jail—and a girl on loan to SHIELD, code-name Sage. And apparently this girl."

 

"Guess what her name is?" Tony said, looking equal parts frustrated, impressed, and triumphant. Thor shrugged. "Cleo Valerian." Beside Thor, Víðarr stiffened. The crown prince tensed as well. That couldn't be coincidence. Thea's sister being responsible, somehow, for Tony's inability to infiltrate the SHIELD systems with his usual ease? It was not coincidence. Tony added, "So while I was trying to hack SHIELD, I decided to hack the Pentagon, too. Access their Mutant Registration files. You need security clearance to access those."

 

From her chair, Pepper heaved a sigh. "You owe Rhodie an apology."

 

"Oh, c'mon. It's not like I got caught. Besides, if he didn't stay mad about me kicking the crap out of him at my birthday party, he's not gonna stay mad about this, either. It was for a good cause. And he promised not to tell Washington what I was up to regarding the Master of the Glow-Stick of Destiny and his possibly-imaginary wife, so he's not that mad."

 

Pepper merely raised her eyebrows.

 

"I'll call him in the morning," Tony mumbled. "You're throwing off my groove with the guilt. Stop that. Keep looking for that address. Please. Anyway, I checked out the Mutant Registration. Sure enough, Cleo Valerian is what's called a 'technopath.' She can literally hack computers using just her brain. I might want to hire the kid when she graduates. Apparently once she gets into a system once, she's in. You have to completely reprogram the software and get all new firewalls to keep her out. They made a note that her concentration's shoddy, though. Probably why she doesn’t work for the FBI or something. I'll get her some Aterol, we'll fix that right up.

 

"While I was in there, I decided to look up the rest of her family. Three older brothers and two older sisters, one younger brother, like you said. Eldest, Austin Valerian, also a mutant. Next eldest, Theodore, a mutant. Eldest sister, Althea Sigyn Valeria, deceased, also a mutant. Interesting thing, though—there was a flag-notice next to her name. It led me to a file JARVIS says will take literally weeks to decrypt because it's doing that weird adapty thing. I figure the best bet is to contact Ms. Cleo and bribe her to decrypt it for me. She's sixteen, I'll buy her a car. Or a Wii. Kids like those. And the other brothers and surviving sister Joie are 'normal.' Mother named Sophie, lives in Portland. All of that fits with what Loki told you."

 

"The fact that he has all of this information, and never took control of Coulson with that staff you talked about, Tony, is pretty indicative that he's telling the truth," Pepper said without looking up from her own device—which Thor remembered was called a "laptop."

 

Tony picked up a slender, black item that looked a bit like a stick of charcoal but seemed to be made of metal. Twirling it between his fingers, he added, "Here's where it gets interesting. Sophie Valerian of Portland, Maine makes the trip twice a week to New York City. This didn't start until after the battle against the Chitauri."

 

"What's even weirder," Bruce interjected, "is that she's not going to Xavier's school in Manhattan. She's going to Brooklyn, which is a completely separate part of the city."

 

Víðarr frowned. "How do you know this? Have you set men to watch her?"

 

Tony shook his head. "Better. I hacked SHIELD's files, remember? One of the things JARVIS noticed was in their financial records. The government's a bureaucracy; they're notorious for having a boat-load of paperwork and a trail of breadcrumbs—or in this case, a money-trail—Hansel and Gretel could follow blind. Thing is, SHIELD's footing the bill to bring Mrs. Valerian out here twice a week. The question is…"

 

Thor's eyes narrowed. "The question is, why?

 

The younger prince nodded. "And where is she going? What is in this…Brooklyn?"

 

A quick grin indicated Tony's triumph. "That, I can tell you. She's going to SHIELD headquarters. And before you ask, no, she is not a member of our least-favorite spy group. She's civilian all the way. Which kinda makes you wonder why they're bringing her in. What do the super-spies want with a cellist?"

 

"And you have a theory," the Asgardian warrior hazarded. Tony offered a mock-humble shrug and made a face before smirking, though Thor could still see irritation sparking in his eyes.

 

"Yeah, I got a theory. There's something in the New York SHIELD headquarters that they need Mrs. Valerian involved with, but whatever it is, she can't actually relocate to New York for some reason. Otherwise why burn all this money flying her around? And I've also found out that her house in under twenty-four-hour surveillance from SHIELD. Has been since September tenth, the year before last year."

 

"The day after the battle with the Chitauri," Bruce interjected. "A few other things happened around then, too. That same day, a salvage crew flew in from Maine, but not the inhabited part. I'm talking the very top, up on the Canadian border near the boreal forests. We're talking back-roads and wilderness. They brought the wreckage of a Chitauri flyer back to the SHIELD base, but they brought it back on a fighter jet. And the jet didn't belong to SHIELD."

 

Tony cut in. "Pepper tracked the make and model of the jet," he said. "It's a private plane, and it's owned—get this—by none other than Professor Charles Xavier."

 

"What was a Chitauri flyer doing that far away from the invasion site?" Víðarr wondered.

 

Both mortal men shrugged. "That's what we're still looking into," Tony replied, "but we had enough that we thought we'd invite you all back for a little conference. Another thing. Dr. Selvig, your friend Erik, was relocated to another SHIELD facility in Texas right after you and Loki went back to Asgard. Three other doctors were brought in, ostensibly to replace him since three standard-smart astrophysicists could probably cover the brilliance of one expert, but—"

 

Pepper cut in. "Are you guys going to let either of them sit down? Ever?"

 

Tony made a face. "Right. Sorry. Pull up some chairs. Drop the hammer. We've got vodka if you want it. Pretty smooth stuff. Natasha says it's some of the best she could get. A present for Rage-Man over here."

 

Bruce chuckled. "Yeah, except I don't drink. Anyway," he continued as Thor and Víðarr took seats and Tony poured them glassfuls of the clear alcohol, "three other doctors were brought in. SHIELD's financial records claim they were to replace Dr. Selvig at the New York Base…except they're not astrophysicists."

 

Thor frowned. He actually knew what an astrophysicist was—a mortal scholar who studied the stars and the rules they lived by. And if SHIELD needed an astrophysicist and they couldn’t use Erik for whatever reason, why not use Jane? Instead, they'd turned to scholars in a different field of study. Why? "What are they?"

 

"They're medical doctors," Tony told Thor. He knocked back the small glass of vodka and added, "I looked them up; Dr. Nancy Taylor, a former diagnostician, specializing in geriatrics and pediatrics, who became a general practitioner; Dr. Henry McCoy, a molecular biologist; and Dr. Pamela Napier, a poisons specialist. All three of them are mutants, but their mutations don't seem to be anything useful. Nothing that would help with what Selvig was working on."

 

Víðarr and Thor exchanged a glance. The younger prince asked, "What are their particular powers?"

 

"Dr. Taylor's an empathic mind-reader, one of the earliest graduates of Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters. Dr. Napier can poison people by touching them and apparently can tell the future—sometimes. Dr. McCoy…has fur," Tony finished lamely. "Blue fur."

 

"And superhuman strength and prehensile toes," Bruce reminded him. Tony waved that away as inconsequential. Bruce added, "The other interesting thing about them was, they spent the first six weeks of their employment with SHIELD assigned to Xavier's school. The only explanation in the files said something about 'guarding AJ1/2DSFVO.' We haven’t been able to find out what that is yet."

 

The two princes digested this information while savoring their drinks. Banner and the Man of Iron just waited, letting them process everything. Finally Thor murmured, "You said Nick lied to us. What did you mean?"

 

Tony drew a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let it out. The triangle of light in his chest glowed brightly, even through the thin black t-shirt he wore. He asked, "Remember when you told us about Loki and Coulson? You said that Loki said Coulson was dead, but that Loki wasn’t the one who'd killed him. Remember that?" Thor nodded. He wasn’t likely to forget it anytime soon. Tony sucked in another breath and seemed to brace himself. "So, the thing is…I'm starting to think Coulson's not even dead."

 

Thor's jaw went slack.

 

Bruce interjected into the ensuing silence, "Think about it. If Loki's stab didn't kill him, what did? We found this, too. Kind of makes you wonder." Banner plucked the Midgardian device out of Tony's hand and touched the screen. A black box appeared on what Thor realized was a screen. When the mortal scientist tapped the screen with his index finger, the image of a woman appeared. Thor recognized her as the SHIELD warrior called Hill. Banner touched his fingertip to the screen again and the image came to life.

 

"It is this agent's opinion that the deception regarding the Captain America playing cards was necessary to achieve the desired outcome regarding the Avengers Initiative. Did Director Fury hide the truth? Yes. The cards were not in Agent Coulson's pocket when he was killed. The blood on the cards was synthetic. Did it motivate the members of the Avengers Initiative to work as a team? Yes. Did they stop the threat? Yes. Was Director Fury guilty of manipulative behavior? Yes, but the end result more than outweighed the cost, especially given recent events regarding Project Ay-Jay-One-Slash-Two-Dee-Ess-Eff-Vee-Oh."

 

Tony tapped the screen again, and the image halted. Furious brown eyes met Thor's troubled gaze. "Nick Fury played Cap and me like a violin when he brought out those cards. We went into that fight pissed and ready to avenge Coulson…and Nick planned that little schtick with the cards. I can't believe that guy. If he lied about that, even seeing how it upset our favorite Capsicle, what else is he lying about?"

 

Nodding, Thor considered. Loki had been certain Coulson was dead, but at the time, how had he known? Because the remnant from Loki's spell had technically died? The fostered prince had explained that the copy left over from the spell, once what little life remaining in it had faded, would disappear in a dissolution of seiðr and shadow. Fury had to have seen it do so…yet he'd let the Avengers believe all this time that Loki had killed Coulson. Perhaps he'd believed Loki truly had killed the agent, but if so, why not ask about the magic? Fury always asked questions about everything; he was greedy for knowledge. Fury might not have known Loki's strike hadn’t killed Agent Coulson, but Thor was willing to wager that he'd known something of worth.

 

Bruce tapped the screen to begin playing the moving illusion. From somewhere off-screen, another voice—a man's voice this time—made a thoughtful sound before asking, "Agent Hill, do you understand the nature of Project Ay-Jay-One-Slash-Two-Dee-Ess-Eff-Vee-Oh?"

 

"Yes, sir, I do."

 

"And do you think Director Fury fully appreciates the implications of this project on the inhabitants of this planet?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"You don't think perhaps his…emotions…are clouding his judgment? That he's becoming personally involved to such an extent in the project, that's…isn't that a little unusual? Giving federal protection to civilians tangentially involved, wasting agency funds on transporting these civilians, and all because of the so-called 'emotional needs' of those directly involved? Or the bear? An inappropriate use of SHIELD funding if ever there was one."

 

On screen, Agent Hill frowned. "No, sir. I don't think Director Fury's judgment has been compromised at all. It's difficult not to feel some sympathy for the people involved in the project. After everything they've been through, it's up to us to make sure they're not exploited. We're working with all new forms of DNA, of medicine, of sheer power, and all of it thanks to these people.

 

"Looking at it strictly from a combat standpoint, wouldn’t you rather have these people on our side? Because rest assured, sir, if we cross the project participants, we won't just be dealing with them. We'll have Xavier and his people on our backs in less than twenty-four hours, and without the Avengers at our backs, we'd be toast—to use the vernacular.

 

"And from a strictly psychological perspective, if Director Fury didn't feel some sympathy, didn't develop some emotional attachment, I would be worried, sir. Under the circumstances. Being too far removed from a situation can be just as bad as being too involved. And the money for the bear came out of Director Fury's personal finances."

 

There came the creak of leather and the rustle of cloth. Then silence that stretched on for several long seconds. Agent Hill didn’t so much as twitch. She simply waited, cool gray eyes fixed on whoever was interviewing her. Eventually the interviewer asked, "And what about Agent Coulson, Agent Hill? Do you think he—"

 

"Agent Coulson is not the subject of this interview, sir," Agent Hill interrupted. "What he did on September ninth, twenty-twelve, was necessary and, if you'll forgive me, sir, it was also very brave. He went beyond the call of duty and I will not sit here and let you defame his actions."

 

"It has been suggested by some that he was working at that time with the man known as Loki Odinson. Circumstances being what they are, especially in light of project Ay-Jay-One-Slash-Two-Dee-Ess-Eff-Vee-Oh, you can see where questions might arise regarding his loyalties."

 

In a voice carved from ice, Hill replied, "Agent Coulson's personal loyalties are also not the subject of this interview. You asked if I thought, given the events of the last eighteen months, whether Director Fury was qualified to remain as head of SHIELD. You have my answer, sir. And Project Ay-Jay-One-Slash-Two-Dee-Ess-Eff-Vee-Oh doesn't change my mind."

 

"Yes, but Agent Hill—"

 

"We're done here," she said with cold finality.

 

Reaching out, she leaned forward and apparently pressed a button, because the screen went black. Thor sat there staring at it for a few moments, unsure what to think. Finally he raised his eyes to his comrades' faces.

 

"What is Project Ay-Jay-One-Slash-Two-Dee-Ess-Eff-Vee-Oh?" He asked softly.

 

Growling low in his throat like an irate dog, Tony grumbled, "We have no clue right now."

 

"What I wanna know is, why the suspect Coulson of working with Loki," Banner muttered. To Thor he added, "I mean, no offense, big guy, but your brother stabbed Coulson through the heart. Doesn’t sound very partner-like."

 

Tony tossed his phone onto the side-table next to his chair. Settling his foot atop his opposite knee, he propped his elbows on his thighs, leaned forward, and stared intently at nothing. Only the deep wrinkles in his brow told the Asgardian prince that his friend was thinking, turning over each piece of information in his mind.

 

"That's the thing, though," Tony murmured. "Isn't it? SHIELD might be sneaky, and they share way too many chromosomes with sewer rats, but they're not stupid. They wouldn’t just pull this out of their butts. There's gotta be something that makes them suspect Coulson."

 

In a flash, Thor remembered Loki's confession. "Because of the teleportation spell, perhaps," the prince said.

 

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Uh…what teleportation spell?"

 

Quickly and succinctly, Thor explained what his foster brother had told him regarding Chitauri seiðr, illusion spells and teleportation spells, and what Loki claimed had happened to Coulson, how he had been transported to the dark world of the Chitauri to retrieve Thea, only to fail. "No doubt," Thor concluded, "the Chitauri killed him when he failed. As he has no powers, no magic, I don't see what use he would be to them. They would have no cause to keep him as their prisoner."

 

Bruce shook his head. "But how would anyone even know about that? I mean, it's not like he could come back from the dead, travel ten thousand megaparsecs back to Earth, and tell everyone."

 

"Perhaps he had some means of communicating with SHIELD," Víðarr suggested, but Tony shook his head.

 

"It doesn’t add up. Not perfectly. Man, I hate that. I'm CDO and that kind of stuff drives me crazy."

 

Thor asked, "See-Dee-Oh?"

 

From her comfortable looking armchair, Pepper explained, "He means OCD. It means he's incredibly strict about details. Like CDO. It's supposed to be OCD, but—"

 

"But that's not in alphabetical order," Tony grumbled. "And it should be. You know, I'm thinking we'll find out all the really important stuff if we crack open the files on Project Ay-Jay-One-Slash-Two-Dee-Ess-Eff-Vee-Oh. JARVIS, how's that comin', buddy?"

 

Seemingly from nowhere, JARVIS replied, "Very slowly, sir. I am approximately seventy-percent of the way through the multiplying firewalls. The defenses around these files are very extensive. One might wonder what it is SHIELD is guarding."

 

"Yeah, they didn’t even have this kind of security on the Helicarrier," Tony mused absently. "Wonder what the deal is."

 

"Tell him about the finances, Tony," Bruce said, nudging the other man before going to a large, white box situated against one wall. He opened it to reveal rows and rows of the little metal cylinders containing the drink mortals called Diet Coke. "And the packages and the grocery store."

 

"Grocery store?"

 

Tony snapped his fingers. "Right. So like I said, tracked their finances. Follow the money, easy-peasy. And I hacked into their security cameras. Unfortunately they figured me out in about five minutes and rousted me out of their interior cameras, but I've still got eyes on the street-front. They still haven't noticed. Go, me. Using these cameras, I have actually seen Sophie Valerian coming and going from SHIELD headquarters.

 

"Here's where it gets weird—she's usually carrying a McDonald's Happy Meal toy. It's on purpose, too, because she always holds it up to the camera so the security guy can look at it and make sure it's not a bomb or something. And I reviewed the footage for the last eighteen months, ever since she started visiting our bald pirate friend and his crew. On holidays like Christmas and Easter, and on September tenth—the anniversary of her first visit to the base—she has stuff in boxes and she's always carrying wrapping paper."

 

"Which wouldn’t be weird," Bruce interjected, "except she's going to a SHIELD base. Last time I checked, even SHIELD hadn’t figured out how to build a nuclear deterrent out of Christmas paper, shiny bows, and McDonald's toys."

 

"I could do that," Tony said. "If I wanted to."

 

Bruce chuckled while selecting a silver tube of Diet Coke. He cracked open the seal with a sharp jerk of one finger, making the liquid inside hiss and bubble, and took a sip. "I bet you could. Please don't."

 

"It could be fun; you never know."

 

Now the other man sighed. "That's what you said about playing Flag Football in the front lobby after hours with all the executive assistants."

 

"And you had fun. Stacie was totally into you, man. She's got a thing for guys with glasses. She asked me for your number." Bruce gave him a flat look. "I didn't give it to her. I was tempted, though. Tempted. She's hot for you. You should be happy."

 

"I'm smiling on the inside," Banner replied with a smile. "And we've also seen Mrs. Valerian going out and coming back with stuff from the local grocery store. Why? No clue, since SHIELD should have whatever she needs. And she always triple-bags her groceries so no one can see what she bought."

 

"So secrety," Tony said with relish, deliberately raising his eyebrows. "They're hiding something, and it's got something to do with Coulson's ex. I just don't know what it is. But you're right, Thor. They're hiding something. And! Here's the big kicker. They have two files, two of the ones JARVIS is decoding right now, that we found in the Project Ay-Jay-One-Slash-Two-Dee-Ess-Eff-Vee-Oh folder. Guess what the files are called?"

 

The words spilled from his mouth before he had time to think about them. He didn't know how he knew, or why he was so sure he was right, but the certainty settled in his belly like a lead weight and would not be ignored.

 

"One is called Loki," Thor murmured. Tony and Bruce both nodded. "And the other is called Althea."

 

"Close," Bruce replied. "It's titled A. Valerian."

 

"Gee, I wonder who that might be," Tony said dryly. "Since no one else in that family has a name that starts with A. And that makes me wonder how much of Loki's story—the one you told us—Fury and the rest of the SHIELD goons knew during our fight against the Chitauri…and I really want to know what the heck Project Ay-Jay-One-Slash-Two-Dee-Ess-Eff-Vee-Oh is."

 

Choosing his words with the utmost care, picking them the way jewelers picked precious stones, Thor asked, "Do you truly think Fury might have known of Thea, of what the Chitauri were using to hold my brother to them…and told no one? Did nothing? Let us fight him, knowing a woman and child were in danger?"

 

But Tony shook his head and ran a hand through his wiry, black hair again. "No. Fury wouldn’t stoop to something like that. Especially if it was Coulson's daughter, which is basically what she was. But you said Loki claims Fury betrayed him. I'm wondering how."

 

Draining his can of Diet Coke, Banner leaned his forearms against the bar where Tony had set the vodka bottle. Eyeing it with clinical detachment, toying with his spectacles, Bruce said, "What we've got so far is this: we know Althea Valerian was a real person, not someone Loki made up. She disappeared around the time Loki claimed to have met her in the Chitauri dungeons. He's got plausible explanations for nearly everything that happened with you, big guy, back in Asgard. Your instincts are saying he's legit. SHIELD's got some suspicious files—"

 

"Surprise, surprise," Tony muttered. He reached over to pour himself another shot of vodka. "SHIELD being suspicious? No way, man."

 

"SHIELD's got some suspicious files," Banner repeated, unruffled by the interruption. "They've got a project going on that somehow connects with Coulson, Althea Valerian, her mother, and Loki. And Mrs. Valerian is making suspicious visits to SHIELD's base. Did I miss anything?"

 

"You forgot that Professor Xavier makes weekly visits in an armored limo to the SHIELD base," Tony said. "Which also started—shocker—on September tenth, twenty-twelve."

 

"The day after the battle against the Chitauri," Víðarr said. "All of these things, strange enough on their own, coincide with that date."

 

"But what does it mean?" Thor asked.

 

"It means that something big happened the day after we kicked the Chitauri off our planet," the Man of Iron said. "Something big enough that SHIELD and Xavier and his mutants are involved somehow, but no one told us Avengers. I called Steve once we got all this information together; he hasn't heard jack. Same with Natasha and the Hawk. I figured I'd ask them, since it involved Loki."

 

Thor tensed. The mortal archer known as Hawkeye and his lady-love were two people Thor did not want appraised of the situation. They had every reason to want Loki dead, and unlike Banner, Stephen, and the Man of Iron, the crown prince of Asgard couldn’t be certain that he could trust them. "What did you tell them?" He demanded.

 

Tony waved a hand in dismissal. "Just that there might be something of Loki's on the planet that we missed, and asked if SHIELD might know anything about it. I can tell when Natasha's lying. Barton, I'm not sure usually, but just mentioning your brother's name freaks him out. No way is he playing Spy-Boy and keeping a lid on it when Loki's involved. Too much anger. He needs whatever you use, Bruce," he added, smiling at the other scientist.

 

Bruce shook his head. "I keep telling you, Tony," he said with a laugh, "I'm not on drugs. Not even Valium. Scout's honor."

 

"Once Boy Scouts hit puberty, the concept of honor is lost on them. It gets replaced by the concept of boobs. So…what's the next step? Loki tell you anything new that you'd care to share with the rest of the class?"

 

Thor hesitated, then asked, "Do you believe him?"

 

Both mortals exchanged a charged glance, then sighed. "Believe him?" Tony echoed. "I don't know. I don't know what to believe. The guy invades my planet with his alien army wearing a dorky Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer helmet—which I personally find insulting—and then kills a friend of mine. At least, I thought he did. Then he tries to take over my brain and, when that fails, throws me out of a window. But then we've got evidence piling up that maybe, just maybe, he's not as nuts as we thought. I don't know how I feel about the whole thing."

 

"If you're right," Bruce murmured. "If you're right, and Loki did everything he did because the Chitauri were going to murder his wife and his daughter…I don't know. That changes some things."

 

The Asgardian princes nodded. "Yes," Thor agreed. "It changes a great deal."

 

"Cracked the code and found the address, Tony," Pepper suddenly chimed, grinning. "It's in a suburb of Portland, just before you hit the coast. Twenty-three-twenty-one Phoenix Down Avenue. Weird name. Sorry it took so long. The file with her actual address was triple-encrypted or something, but I managed to get through. Wow, you're right. The house is under heavy, heavy guard. There's at least eight SHIELD agents outside at all times." Pepper frowned, staring at the laptop. "Why so many? This is one of the most peaceful neighborhoods in Portland and they've got it surrounded like it's Fort Knox or the Pentagon."

 

Tony got up and went over to her, leaning over the back of her chair. His eyes darted back and forth across the softly glowing screen as he read whatever his lady had unearthed.

 

Straightening at last, he kept staring at the screen. "That is just weird."

 

"What is it?" Bruce asked.

 

"Says in the file that Sophie Valerian is being kept under heavy guard because her connection to Althea Valerian—not Coulson—puts her at risk of assault by…extraterrestrial forces. Most likely the Chitauri."

 

"That doesn’t make a lot of sense," Bruce protested. "Unless…you don't think the Chitauri lied, do you?" Everyone turned to him. Folding and refolding the earpieces of his spectacles, he shrugged. "I mean, think about it. A girl with the ability to get inside your head. Scared. Alone. Then gets pregnant with a super-baby spawned by Loki, who's wicked mean with Asgardian magic. That's a pretty hot commodity. What if…" He trailed off, nibbling on the earpiece for a moment before pulling it from his mouth and gesturing with it. "What if the Chitauri lied to Loki about Althea and they still have her? But she won't work with them. So they'd need leverage. Maybe Thea's mom."

 

Thor jolted. Loki's wife…alive? But if the Chitauri needed outside leverage in order to manipulate her, that could only mean one terrible thing—Sophie was dead, whether Thea lived or not. Otherwise what was to stop the cruel species from using little Sophie against Thea? No mother would be able to stand by while their child was tortured or maybe even killed in front of her.

 

But if she was alive…if she was alive…then he could tell Loki and reunite them. He could…

 

Tony made a ponderous sound and said, "Maybe. I don't know how we'd find out if she was, though. And how would we save her? We can't just waltz into the Chitauri home-world and…whoa. What is that?"

 

A shrill whistle pierced the air, lancing Thor's skull like the lethal nails of a murderous rhinemaiden. Beside him, Víðarr hunched his shoulders and grimaced. Tony and Pepper both flinched and clapped their hands to their ears. Sparks shot out of the laptop, scorching the cream-colored rug where they fell. Pepper hastily shoved the laptop onto the floor, brushing and smacking at her skirt to make sure none of the sparks had caught there. Scrambling over the arm of the chair, she hopped off on the other side, keeping the chair between herself and the exploding Midgardian device.

 

Blaring horns and piercing whistles rent the air. Blinding lights flashed from the laptop screen, sending bone-white light slashing across the walls and Tony's face. Fumbling in the pocket of his blue denim trousers, he shoved a pair of black-lensed spectacles on his face.

 

"JARVIS," he yelled over the noise. "What's going on?"

 

"A virus, sir," the computer replied. Tony scowled and yanked the spectacles off his face, glaring at the ceiling.

 

"Waddya mean, a virus? I've got some of the best firewalls in cyberspace. And whatever that thing was just fried my laptop. Are you serious?" The siren-screams abruptly silenced and the screen went dark. Tony glared at the device. If it had been living, it would have died of fright on the spot. "A virus? Are you kidding? And what is that?"

 

A low pulse of light suddenly erupted from the screen. It flickered, then brightened, bathing the room in a soft, blue glow. Thor, Víðarr, and Bruce approached the thing cautiously. Pepper eyed it with obvious wariness. Tony just stared at it, looking torn between being impressed, furious, and baffled.

 

On the screen, in frayed-looking letters, were fourteen words.

 

 

Stop investigating Althea Valerian

And watch Skyfall

Your firewall sucks like a vacuum

Idiot

 

 

All four men and Pepper stared at the words, trying to make sense of them. A strange, electric pulse began throbbing in Thor's veins, sending a charge like sparks of seiðr running through his blood.

 

Víðarr asked, "What is Skyfall?"

 

Tony made a strangled noise and growled, "Among other things, it's a movie where a computer genius opens up a virus on his own computer when he tries to decode an encrypted file. Son of a…he's mocking me, whoever the jerk is who put this on my computer. Good work keeping it contained, JARVIS. If that thing got to the STARK mainframe, we'd be kind of screwed. Nice job."

 

"Thank you, sir."

 

"Why would someone go to that much trouble to send a message like that?" Pepper wondered aloud.

 

"That is the question," Thor murmured. "Isn't it?"