Chapter 10

Midgard--- Jane's POV

Erik, Darcy, and I were heading up the street when this pick-up truck pulls up before us, stopped by traffic. The dark matter analysis machine from my lab was covered by the tarp in the bed of the truck, "Hey! That's my stuff!" We get back to the lab, where government vehicles are parked. Some people were hauling my equipment out of the lab and load it into the waiting vans. Other people were stripping the equipment from inside the Pinzgauer and carting it away. Even more people emerged from my trailer with my scientific instruments and documents in their arms. I was horrified and angry, "What the hell is going on here?!" Everyone ignored me, as a guy in a black suit approached me, "Ms. Foster, I'm Agent Coulson, with Shield." I could feel Erik stiffen beside me, but I was too busy yelling at them to say anything, "I don't care who you work for, you can't do this!" Erik put his hand on my arm, "Jane. This is more serious than you realize. Let it go." I was appalled, "Let it go?! This is my life!"

Agent Coulson replied calmly, "We're here investigating a security threat. We need to appropriate your equipment and all your atmospheric data." If was even possible, I got more frustrated than I already was, "By 'appropriate' you mean 'steal'?" Instead of answering, he just handed me a check, "This should more than compensate you for your trouble." I threw it to the ground without looking at it, "I can't just pick up replacements from RadioShack! I made most of that equipment myself!" Coulson nodded sharply, "Then I'm sure you can do it again." I thought of what I could do, "And I'm sure I can sue you for violating my constitutional rights!" Coulson spoke, "We're the good guys, Ms Foster." He tries to walk away, but I stepped in front of him and blocked his path, "So are we! We're on the verge of understanding something extraordinary." I held up my notebook and continued, "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 the nearest agent, who just promptly plucked the notebook out my hands and adds it to the pile in his arms. I was really stunned. Agent Coulson spoke," Thank you for your cooperation." He got in one of the government cars and all of them pulled away.

We entered the now-empty space, shocked at how the place looked. My anger turned into sadness, "Years of research, gone." Darcy muttered, "They even took my iPod." Erik asked, "And your back-ups?" I was surprised at how thorough they were in cleaning this place out, "Look around! They took our back-ups. They even took the back-ups of our back-ups." "I just downloaded, like, thirty songs on there." Darcy went on talking about her iPod. I raised my voice at her, "Will you please stop talking about your iPod?!" I turned to Erik wondering about shield, "Who are these people?" Erik replied, "No one knows much about them. But I knew a scientist--a pioneer in gamma radiation. Shield showed up and he was never heard from again." I shook my head, "I'm not going to let them do this. I'm getting everything back." I could tell that Erik was trying to reason with me more, "Please, let me contact one of my colleagues. Dr. Pym has had some dealings with these people. I'll email him and see if he can help." Darcy told him, "They took your laptop, too." Erik was annoyed at this and went to think. I spoke up, "We could always go to the library." Erik and I headed out of the lab and got in the Pinzgauer. We get there and I drive up in front of the town's rinky-dink library. We could see a sign in the window and reads, "FREE INTERNET!" After I parked, Erik said, "I'll just be a minute." He climbed out and headed inside. I looked down the street intrigued at what I saw.

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General POV

Thor walked into the Pet Store and approached the clerk, "I need a horse." The clerk replied, "Sorry, we don't sell horses. Just dogs, cats, birds." Thor considered that for a minute before speaking, "Then give me one of those, large enough to ride." The clerk was genuinely confused. A car horn was heard from outside the store. Thor turned to the open door to see Jane in her Pinzgauer across the street. Jane called to him, "You still want a lift?" He nodded, ran to her car and jumped in where Erik was no longer sitting.

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General POV-- Erik's POV

I was finishing up my email to Dr. Pym while a kid was flipping through a book with interest. I sent the finished email and looked over at the kid. The librarian called to the boy, "Joshua, come sit down. It's storytime." Joshua put the book down and joined the others. I looked down at the book to find that it was called 'MYTHS AND LEGENDS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.' The legend of the rainbow bridge should be in here. I'll just look through it. I picked it up and flipped to the section on Scandinavian Mythology. There indeed was the picture of the rainbow bridge coming down from Asgard to Earth. Asgardians were walking upon it, among them Odin, Loki, and Thor, who wields Mjolnir. On the ground below them, a group of Vikings kneeled reverently. I was pondering while eyeing the illustration.

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General POV-- Jane and Thor

Jane's Pinzgauer cuts off the road, heading over the rugged terrain. Storm clouds roll in over the desert sky. Jane drives, pumped with adrenaline, nervous and excited, as Thor sits beside her, upbeat and eager for battle, "I've never done anything like this before! Have you ever done anything like this before?" Thor was amused by her excitement, "Many times. You're brave to do it." Jane quickly glanced at him before looking back on the road, "They just stole my entire life's work. I really don't have anything left to lose." Thor replies, "But you're clever. Far more clever than anyone else in this Realm." Jane was confused, " 'This Realm?' Why do you talk like that?" Thor was amused by this, "You think me strange?" Jane laughed, but caught herself, "Yeah. Just a little." Thor thought before asking, "Good strange or bad strange?" Jane said, "I'm not quite sure yet." She looks at him and sees him staring at her. She was truly lost in his gaze, distracted, when the Pinzgauer lurches. She quickly turns her eyes forward, regaining control of the car, "Sorry." She glances back at him. He's confident, determined. Jane continued, "Who are you? Really?" Thor smiled, "You'll see soon enough." Jane said, "You promised me answers." Thor looks at her, charmed by her persistence, "What you seek-- it's a bridge." Jane, again, was confused, "A bridge? Like an Einstein-Rosen Bridge?" He shook his head, "More like a rainbow bridge." A moment passed and Jane said, "God, I hope you're not crazy."

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As the Pinzgauer heads away, they drove up on a hillside, revealing a light illuminating the valley beyond. As they moved closer, a glow was revealed coming from a massive Shield base that was set up around the crater. There were vehicles, trailers, and barricades also set up around the crater. Armed guards man a gate in the razor wire fence that runs 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.

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Jane and Thor crawled to the edge of the ridge and looked through the binoculars to see the impressive Shield base. Jane marvelled, "That isn't a satellite crash. They would have hauled the wreckage away, not build a city around it." Thor shrugs out of his jacket and hands it to her, " You're going to need this." "Why? --" Jane just got the word out of her mouth before thunder rumbled over their heads. Thor put his hand up, stopping her from following him, "Stay here. Once I have Mjolnir, I will return what they stole from you." He looks to her, already knowing that Jane may disobey his request, "Deal?" Jane shook her head, "No! Look what's down there! You can't just walk in, grab our stuff, and walk out!" Thor smiles, "No. I'm going to fly out." Thor took off heading towards the crater before she could react. The first drops of rain began to patter into the dust. Jane went to call out to him, but he was already almost at the crater.