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ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ sᴇᴠᴇɴ: ғᴀʟʟ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴋɴᴇᴇs

❝ ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴍɪss ᴍᴇ. ❞

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Note: Trying to make these chapters as long as possible so that we can get this sub-plot out of the way and get back to Brendon. Bear with me. It'll be worth it. x

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Main street. Puente Antiguo, New Mexico.

The team of Darcy, Selvig, Aaron and Jane treaded up the street towards their lab, fast approaching their destination. They were a few feet away from the entrance when a pick-up truck pulled up before them, stopped by traffic. In the back of the vehicle, Jane noticed – partially covered by a tarp – was the dark matter analysis machine from her lab.

"Hey!" she yelled, a bout of anger and a twinge of panic igniting in her, "That's my stuff!"

Sprinting now, they reached the lab a few seconds later, only to be met with the sight of a gathering of towering government SUVs parked outside, with S.H.I.E.L.D agents hauling equipment out of the workroom and loading it onto waiting vans.

Another group of agents were stripping all the equipment from inside Jane's van and carting it away, while others emerged from her trailer, arms loaded with scientific instruments and documents.

"What the hell is going on here?" an irate Jane demanded, frowning as she spun around frantically, looking from Agent to Agent, trying to gather an answer.

They ignored her.

Then, a moment later, Agent Coulson leisurely walked over to her, stealing a quick glance in the direction of Aaron, who immediately straightened up at the sight of Director Fury's right hand man. The doctor's uneasiness subsided then; he recognized that the presence of S.H.I.E.L.D personnel was most likely a result of your doing.

"Ms Foster," Coulson spoke in an overly-official manner, the customary tone of all S.H.I.E.L.D Agents, "I'm Agent Coulson with S.H.I.E.L.D."

It appeared as if Doctor Selvig had been previously acquainted with the organisation, too, because as soon as the name slipped past Coulson's lips, a wary expression grew on his face, and he stepped forward to place a warning hand on Jane's shoulder.

"I don't care who you work for – you can't do this!" Jane argued.

"Jane," Selvig said firmly, warning evident in his voice, "This is more serious than you realise."

"Erik's right, Jane," Aaron spoke up, stepping in to try and aid the situation; he knew better than the rest of them just how severe the condition was, "Let it go."

"Let it go?!" she scoffed, turning to look at Aaron in disbelief as she gestured to all of her stuff being hauled away, "This is my life!"

"We're here investigating a security threat," Coulson tried to explain, "We need to appropriate your equipment and all your atmospheric data."

"By 'appropriate' you mean 'steal'?"

Instead of answering, Coulson handed her a cheque. "This should more than compensate you for your trouble."

Without bothering to even glance at the piece of paper, Jane threw it to the ground.

"I can't just pick up the replacements from RadioShack!" Jane was borderline hysterical at this point. "I made most of that equipment myself!"

"Then I'm sure you can do it again," Coulson replied without missing a beat.

"And I'm sure I can sue you for violating my constitutional rights!"

"We're the good guys, Ms Foster."

Coulson tried to walk away, but Jane rushed forward and blocked his path. She was fully herself, fuelled by outrage.

"So are we! We're on the verge of understanding something extraordinary." She held up her notebook before continuing. "Everything I know about this phenomenon is in this lab and in this book, and no one has the right to take it from me."

Coulson gestured to a nearby agent, who promptly plucked the notebook out of Jane's hand and added it to the pile he was carrying. Jane was left stunned.

Heading for his car, Coulson spoke one last sentence before leaving.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

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Fifteen minutes later. S.H.I.E.L.D base. Puente Antiguo, New Mexico.

"Yeah, that was my call," you breathed, holding your phone to your ear with your right hand as the left tangled itself in your hair. Slowly, you walked to the window overlooking the hangar bay and observed the agents as they transported the various pieces of equipment inside. "I'm watching them move it in as we speak."

"I thought as much," Aaron's voice crackled through the receiver, as he spoke into his cell from his hiding spot behind Jane's trailer, occasionally sneaking glances at the other three inside the lab, "Jane's about two minutes away from having an aneurism."

"And I feel bad that we took her life's work, I really do, but we can't risk-"

"I know, love," Aaron said gently, "You don't have to explain yourself to me."

With a tired huff, you leaned your forehead against the metal frame of the window and for a little while, a comfortable silence was the only communication between you and Aaron.

Then, "When was the last time you slept? And no, laying in bed and staring at the ceiling is not sleeping."

Groaning inwardly, you shifted your weight from one foot to the other, rolling your eyes. Sometimes you wished that this man didn't know you as well as he did.

"I got a half-hour in on the flight yesterday morning. That count?"

"(Y/N)-"

"I know, I know," you cut in before he could give you one of his 'overbearing friend' lectures, "It's not for lack of trying, though. I can't fall asleep, regardless of how hard I try."

You could practically feel the doctor's smile through the phone as he muttered his next words. "Maybe you just miss me."

Overriding all of the stress, anxiety and panic that had taken over you the last couple of days, Aaron managed to get you to crack a small smile.

And he was right – all of the past week's events had made you miss someone. Whether or not that someone was Aaron, though...

"Maybe," you said quietly.

With a soft chuckle, Aaron straightened himself up and dusted off his pants, which had captured dust from the trailer. "Listen, now that S.H.I.E.L.D has all of Jane's research, my consultation is technically over, so should I travel to HQ? Or the base?"

"No, I think it's best if you stay," you answered, stuffing your free hand in the back pocket of your jeans as you moved away from the window, "I need you to be my eyes and ears – just in case they decide to... I dunno... get revenge."

"Don't think that's something you need to be worried about, love."

"Yeah, well... my gut tells me differently."

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Pet store. Puente Antiguo, New Mexico.

"I need a horse."

With a slight frown, the pet store clerk looked up from their phone and at the completely serious face of Thor, standing just in front of the front counter.

"Sorry, we don't sell horses. Just dogs, cats, birds," they informed.

"Then give me one of those," Thor settled, "large enough to ride."

The clerk looked thoroughly confused, but before either of them could say anything more, the sound of a car horn from across the street caught the god's attention, and he turned to the open door.

Across the street, Jane called to him from the Pinzgauer. "You still want a lift?"

~

As the van headed away, it continued up a hillside, revealing a light illuminating the valley beyond. As they moved closer, they saw that the glow came from a massive S.H.I.E.L.D base, now set up around the crater – vehicles, trailers, barricades.

Armed guards were manning a gate in the razor wire fence that ran fifty yards from the crater's edge, enclosing the complex. Clear, plastic access tubes with junction boxes lead to a translucent cube structure erected in the middle of the crater.

Through the glass walls of the base's command trailer, Coulson was directing technicians, busy at work.

Within the cube structure itself, a team of S.H.I.E.L.D scientists worked with high-tech machinery, analysing the object at the centre of it all – Mjolnir.

Jane and Thor crawled to the edge of the ridge, looking through binoculars at the impressive S.H.I.E.L.D base.

"That isn't a satellite crash," Jane spoke lowly, "They would have hauled the wreckage away, not built a city around it."

Not bothering to reply, Thor shrugged out of his jacket and handed it to her. "You're going to need this."

"Why?"

All of a sudden, thunder rumbled overhead. She stared at him intently, before taking the jacket.

"Stay here," he instructed her, "Once I have Mjolnir, I will return what they stole from you." He looked at her thoughtfully, already knowing that she might disobey his request. "Deal?"

"No!" she exclaimed immediately. "Look what's down there! You can't just walk in, grab our stuff and walk out!"

"No."

Jane looked relieved to hear him say that. But that relief lasted a mere two seconds.

"I'm going to fly out," Thor corrected and before Jane could react, he started heading toward the crater. The first drops of rain began to patter into the dust.

"Wait..." she tried, but he was already gone.

~

Inside the cubic containment structure surrounding Mjolnir, the needle belonging to a handheld sensor device was spiking, prompting the technician holding it to look over at the hammer – it was giving off a subtle glow. Out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning cracked across the sky above.

A computer monitor inside the base's security room showed an aerial infrared video image of the area, but it was fuzzy, and the S.H.I.E.L.D workers weren't able to see much.

With a headset on his head, Dallon stared at the monitors intently, looking for any sign of a disturbance, while an older agent – Sitwell – looked on from the techie's side, none-too-pleased.

Pointing out the video feed to his superior, Dallon began speaking. "Feed from the keyhole," he explained, gesturing to the fuzzy images onscreen, "Can barely penetrate the cloud cover."

The techie hiked a thumb at another monitor, which was squelching with static. It showed an SAR shot of the area, laid out over a terrain map.

"Tech's barely working as is it, with all the interference that thing's giving off," Dallon continued with a huff as he motioned towards the hammer.

He leaned forward to check one of the computers. It showed an incoming airplane. "Hey, we've got a commercial aircraft coming in right over us," he warned, pressing a few keys and enlarging the GPS system, "Southwest Airlines, Flight 5434."

"Reroute it, like all the others," Sitwell instructed sternly.

"Right," Dallon responded, fingers already flying across the keyboard as he worked on doing what he was told; pausing for a moment, he turned to look at the other agent, "Can I get the passengers some free drinks for the trouble?"

Sitwell glared at him, not at all amused. With a shrug, the techie pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and turned back to the computer.

"It'd be a nice gesture," he mumbled, continuing to type. He noticed something on an adjacent monitor screen, and held up a hand. "Hold on a sec... we got something outside the fence, west side..."

He pointed at the screen and through the haze, a thermal image huddled beside the fence was visible. Sitwell pulled his radio from his belt and brought it to his mouth.

"DeLancey, Jackson – check it out," he ordered the two agents on the ground, who immediately hopped into a Jeep and took off to investigate.

Sitwell peered through the window of the security room, something strange catching his attention. In the window's reflection, a glow could be seen – one that was emanating from the hammer containment area.

Below, the Jeep pulled up to the fence as the Agents scanned the area with a flashlight. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Looks like we're good here," Agent Jackson reported into his radio, "Must have been another coyote."

Just then, the two agents noticed a section of the fence had been bent up from the ground, leaving a noticeably sized gap. Before either of them could react and call it in, a massive crack of lightning illuminated the night sky – revealing the silhouette of a large man standing outside the driver's side of the Jeep. DeLancey looked over, noticing.

"Jackson?" He cocked his head at the window.

The agents hastily reached for their weapons, but Thor elbowed Jackson across the jaw, causing him to drop his handgun. The limp body of the agent slumped over the steering wheel, as his partner started to raise a shotgun at Thor.

Thor grabbed the barrel of the gun and yanked it out of DeLancey's hands, thrusting the hilt back and smashing the agent's jaw.

With both threats neutralised, the god reached into the Jeep to grab a rain slicker, slipping it on as a means of camouflage. He hurried across the base, managing to get out of sight just as another agent approached the Jeep.

Seeing his unconscious colleagues, he quickly called into his radio. "Agents down! We've got a perimeter breach!"

Back inside the security room, all of the monitors were squelching with static and interference, as Dallon worked frantically to try and counteract the problem. Sitwell was holding his PDA with the intention of gaining contact with the agents on the ground – but even that was on the fritz.

He and Dallon watched the monitors warily, as on the screens was the hammer containment area, all lit up as Mjolnir started to crackle with energy.

"Get Coulson," Sitwell calmly instructed Dallon, while he moved to punch the alarm.

~

As Thor made his way towards the crater, the alarm blared all around him and security lights exploded to life.

On the ridge just above the crater, a spotlight fired out from the base and swept across the ground towards Jane. She ducked down before the light could catch her, out of sight. Pulling out her cellphone, she dialled Selvig's number, but got his voicemail.

With a sigh, she searched for Aaron's number and pressed call. He answered on the second ring.

"Jane? Where are you?"

"Aaron," she breathed, tossing a fleeting look over her shoulder, "okay, first of all, don't worry. I'm perfectly fine, really."

More sounds of mayhem came from the base.

"Wha-"

"But if you don't hear from me again," she cut the doctor off, not allowing him to speak, "you might want to come out to the crater site and look for me. I kind of did what you and Erik said I shouldn't do. Thanks. Bye."

She hung up.

~

Emerging purposefully from the S.H.I.E.L.D command trailer, Coulson marched across the mud, radio to his ear. He looked out across the lit up site uneasily.

Across the way, a guard moved through the base, rifle in hand. From the shadows behind a trailer, a figure looked out at him. As the guard raises his radio to check in, Thor quickly rushed towards him and choked him out, letting his body fall to the ground.

The god noticed the AR-15 rifle lying on the ground beside the fallen guard, and he stared at the weapon quizzically; they didn't have such things on Asgard. Hearing more guards approach, he made the decision to snatch the weapon up anyway, and took cover in the shadows of the trailer.

The guards passed by and Thor peered around the corner, seeing the well-guarded main entrance tube to the centre of the site. A bright light suddenly illuminated his face. He looked to see an ATV moving across the ground, shining its spotlight right on him – the driver had spotted him, and raised his radio to report it.

Knowing he had to act fast, Thor raised the rifle – then flipped it over in the air and caught it by the barrel. He reared the weapon back, then hurled it like a hammer. It flew through the air, smashing the ATV's spotlight.

Glass and debris showered the driver, who took his hands off the wheel to cover his face and protect himself. Without the guidance of the driver, the ATV roared out of control past the guards near the tube entrance, who all reacted and began chasing after it.

Emerging from the shadows, Thor watched as the guards abandoned the site entrance. Now was his chance.

~

Climbing to the lip of the crater as a light rain began to fall, Coulson looked down and eyed the damage of the ATV crash. He was not pleased. In a matter of seconds, the light rain became a downpour.

Down at the entrance tube, Thor raced up the ramp, only to come face-to-face with two guards as he rounded a corner. Without hesitation, he knocked out the first guard, and then tackled the second before hurrying further on, just as more guards came up a ladder ahead.

The god punched the closest guard, sending him tumbling backwards, toppling the others on the ladder behind him. He took off running, then, as the guards regrouped and gave chase.

Thor spotted the glow of Mjolnir in the central cube, through the translucent walls of the tunnels, and he hurried through the tunnels to find a way towards it.

Meanwhile, still on the crater lip, Coulson stood barking out orders, as the guards in the tunnel rushed to cut off Thor. The agent activated his radio.

"I want eyes up high. With a gun. Now!"

Inside the command trailer, a sniper dressed in black tactical gear and high-tech night vision equipment picked up a rifle and slung it over his shoulder before heading out.

Agent Barton.

Lightning crackled all around the camp as he approached a crane bucket. After he leaped in, the bucket lifted into the air.

~

As Thor proceeded to race through the tunnel, yet another guard ran right at him, on a collision course. Thor took him out with a punch to the gut, and then turned to see more agents coming towards him.

Picking up the fallen guard he punched, he threw him into the approaching agents, scattering them. He then turned around and ran back the way he came, with the agents still chasing.

Coulson watched the commotion in the tunnel complex before heading off for the command trailer to enter the tunnels. Meanwhile, the crane basket ascended into the high winds as Barton readied his sniper rifle.

Inside the complex, Thor headed down a ladder form a junction box, with other figures converging on him.

Coulson entered the tunnels through the command trailer and called on his radio. "Barton. Talk to me."

The crane holding Barton arced out over the structure. Barton took aim. "One shot, one kill, sir," he said over his comm, "Just give the word."

From the agent's point of view overlooking the complex, it was a clear field of vision, nowhere to hide. A digital read-out gave information on the distance to the target. He locked in on Thor, who was inside the plastic tubing, emerging from the junction box and heading towards the cube structure.

"Hello, handsome," he said slyly, a small smirk on his face at the prospect of having a clear shot. He never missed.

Still racing through the tunnel, Thor came across a wall of agents; the god roared and barrelled through them – elbowing, punching – whatever it took to keep on moving.

As he took down the last agent, Thor saw the last junction box and the entrance to the cube structure up ahead, and he wasted no time in sprinting towards it. He was so close, able to actually see Mjolnir within the middle of the structure, when – bam!

From out of nowhere, a fist landed a powerful blow across his jaw, sending him reeling. Dazed, Thor looked up to see a huge S.H.I.E.L.D agent – the biggest of them all – standing between him and his hammer in the cube structure beyond. With a once-over, Thor sized him up.

"You're big." Thor grinned and cocked his head to the side. "Fought bigger."

Within a split second, Thor and the Huge Agent exploded through the wall of the junction box, then crashed into the mud, sending both of them sliding across the ground.

Barton had Thor full in his sights, standing still as a statue as he awaited further instructions.

Coulson hurried through the tunnel, ready to give the word to Barton, when he stopped short all of a sudden. He could see what looked an awful lot like an electrical storm erupting inside the structure ahead, directly above the crater... and the hammer.

~

Pushing open the glass door to the temporary office space in the base, you wiped the remaining droplets of water from your hands onto your jeans before entering the room.

Instinctively, you went to retrieve your phone from the tabletop where you'd left it only minutes ago; as you did so, the abundance of notifications blowing up the screen made you frown.

The frown soon turned from one of confusion to one of worry when you saw that the notifs were all messages of missed calls from Aaron. You had left to go to the bathroom a mere three minutes ago, and the fact that he had called ten times over that short span of time brought you nothing but unease.

Hastily, you placed your thumb over the home button, unlocking the phone. You were just about to press the call button when the sound of your ringtone sounded throughout the space, sounding even more piercing than usual now that you were so full of anxiety.

With shaky hands, you answered the call and pressed the phone to your ear. "Hello?"

"(Y/N), oh, finally!" The relief in Aaron's voice was undeniable, but it soon subsided, overtaken by the sheer panic that he wasn't able to mask – try as he might.

You listened intently to every single syllable that spilled from his lips and into the receiver, feeling the panic transfer over to you just as easily as his words did.

"Fuck," you cursed, not even bothering to end the call, instead just turning sharply on your heel, exiting the room and sprinting down the length of the base.

~

Thor and the huge agent struggled to find their footing in the mud, their balance completely thrown off. Through the translucent walls of the cube structure, Thor saw Mjolnir, but the agent rose up before him, blocking his view almost entirely.

Rain and blood trickled down Thor's face as he lunged forward, whipping his feet in front of him then kicking out, nailing the huge agent in the chest. The agent went down hard as Thor's momentum clashed with him.

The god stood, heading for the cube structure, when he was yanked by his ankle in a last effort by the agent. Looking down at his foe, Thor dropped backwards, pile driving his elbow into the fallen agent's chest; he grimaced in pain, defeated, as the god raced on.

From outside the hammer containment cube, Thor ripped an opening in the plastic wall of the structure. He stood there – soaking, bleeding, caked with wet earth. His hammer rested just a few yards before him, energy surging around it.

Coulson stepped into the structure through an access tunnel, one storey up.

As Thor approached the hammer, Mjolnir started to glow brighter, blue electricity sparking off its surface. The crackling energy seemed to reach out to him. Coulson noticed it, and his interest was piqued.

Above the open ceiling of the structure, Barton's crane bucket came into view. Wind and rain whipped around the agent as he stared into his rifle site, locked on the back of Thor's head – his finger on the trigger.

Thor stood next to the hammer, feeling its power. He reached out to it confidently. Coulson observed from above, armed agents approaching behind him. He motioned for them to hold their positions, then radioed Barton.

"Barton..."

Barton stood ready to take Thor down; his finger started to squeeze the trigger.

"Coulson!" you called out, panting as you scrambled your way up the hill; your clothes were stained with mud and your wet hair was matted, flat against your head. "Don't."

The agent turned to look at you, squinting his eyes infinitesimally. You didn't say anything to him, just stood there as rain pelted down, looking at him with wide-eyes.

And he understood.

"...hold your fire."

Barton released the trigger, pulling up. Coulson let his gaze linger on you for a couple more seconds, before both of you turned your attention to the god, watching in anticipation as Thor wrapped his hand around the hammer. He smiled, triumphant, and lifted... but the hammer didn't move.

Utterly perplexed, Thor tried again with two hands, to no avail – anger and frustration quickly took over him. He strained with all his might, screaming from the effort, bellowing up at the storm and lightning above him.

Something began appearing on the sides of Mjolnir – glowing runes. Thor looked down, seeing them. But still, the hammer didn't budge.

The god fell to his knees before it, rain pouring down around him, as the glowing runes faded away. He failed.

Unworthy.

Coulson looked on, clearly disappointed, and you... well, you weren't entirely sure just how to feel. Before you could decide, your focus shifted as the S.H.I.E.L.D agents moved in, guns trained on Thor, surrounding him.

Coulson activated his radio. "Ground units, move in. Show's over."

As the hoard of agents surrounded him, Thor didn't seem to notice or care. He just sat there on his knees, head bowed in the rain – a man broken, lost.

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Thank you for reading x