Avengers II: The Human Shield (A Thor/Avengers Fanfiction)

Chapter 10

Edited 3/1/14

Chapter 10

7 hours later, UNM Hospital, Corridor B, Level 3; Albuquerque, New Mexico

"-just gone." The speaker was cut off as she glanced up and saw a veritable man mountain in decorative armor approaching. She ducked into the nearest doorway quickly, leaving the confused doctor by himself, but not quickly enough.

"Lady Mason." The booming voice made the population of the hallway jump; little did they know that this was the bearded man's 'quiet' voice.

Agent Mason sighed and came out of her impromptu hiding spot. She leaned against the wall and waited for the man to come closer before responding reluctantly. "Thor. Fury know you're here?"

"My movements are none of his concern."

"Even if you were right, his helicopters are." At his confused look, she elaborated, "The big black thing that brought you here. Who'd you get to fly you here anyway? My money would normally be on Clint or Nat, but since you aren't authorized to be here, and it will undoubtedly piss Fury off...Stark?"

"Been here for ten minutes and you're already asking about me," Tony had come up behind Agent Mason during the conversation, "Miss me, Princess?" He asked, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Not quite, Stark." She replied, deftly sliding out from under his arm. "How'd you get here so quickly? And more importantly, how did you know to come in the first place?"

"Curiosity," Tony said, simply. "Legolas interrupted our nice little chat with all that cloak and dagger stuff, I wanted to know what was going on."

"Stalker," Agent Mason muttered.

"It didn't take much to get a report of a car crash out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. files," Tony continued, "That just interested me more, why would S.H.I.E.L.D. care about a little accident? Then I read a little farther, and a few interesting names came up; Jane Foster and Erik Selvig. According to the report, a call came in from Dr. Selvig that Miss Foster had been in an accident. The extent of the injures was unknown, but yet he asked for you by name." Tony, and to a slightly lesser extent Thor, clearly expected an explanation.

"I worked with Dr. Selvig during a few stages of the P.E.G.A.S.U.S. project." Agent Mason didn't elaborate further.

"As far as I know, you don't have a medical degree."

"Creepy much?" Agent Mason asked, rhetorically. She glanced down the hall before continuing somberly, "Since I don't have a degree in medicine, as you so thoughtfully pointed out, I didn't have to take the Hippocratic Oath..." She trailed off, studying both of them. "How much of Miss Foster's condition are you aware of?"

...

UNM Hospital, Room 317, Level 3; Albuquerque, New Mexico

"Hello Jane, how are you feeling?" Selvig had a forced smile on his face as he greeted his bedridden friend.

"Better, Erik. Who's that in the doorway?" Agent Mason mentally cursed. The door way wasn't large enough for both she and Thor to stand in and be out of sight of the bed, and out of the hallway traffic. Luckily, Tony had decided it was his new hobby to annoy the nurses at the end of the hall.

Steeping forward, she tried to sound as jovial as possible. "Hello Miss Foster, I was in here a little while ago- although you were still pretty out of it then. I was called here to help consult on your injuries."

"Nice to meet you, are you a friend of Erik's?" Jane asked, innocently.

"You could say that. In fact, we brought another friend of his along with us." She turned towards the door expectantly. Thor, having been warned to stay calm and go along with what was said, entered cautiously. He stood awkwardly next to Agent Mason as the brunette studied him.

"Hello, my name's Jane Foster. And you are?"

...

UNM Hospital, Outside of room 317, Level 3; Albuquerque, New Mexico

"From what I can tell, and what Dr. Selvig has told me, she seems to have lost all of her memories from the past year and a half. One of the last things she remembers is hiring Darcy Lewis. We call it amnesia, in some cases there can be recall... but she wasn't just unable to recall memories," Agent Mason paused and looked at Thor regretfully, "they were completely gone."

"They think she fell asleep and her car swerved off the road. She collided with a tree and hit her head on the dashboard. Besides a few scrapes and bruises, that's all they've found wrong with her. It could have been a lot worse." Selvig sounded like he was trying to convince himself. He glanced at Agent Mason meaningfully, and she nodded.

"I'd better go rescue those nurses from Stark now." She looked sadly at Thor one last time before leaving him with Erik. Both watched her go before Selvig broke the silence.

"I had Darcy bring this up," he said, pulling a small tattered book out of his pocket, "its Jane's journal. The doctors thought it could help with memory recall... but it's unlikely. Before I read this Thor, I want you to understand that I think of you as a friend- and Jane is like the daughter I never had. When the news broke about New York, she was...disturbed...I think it's best if you hear it in her words..." He flipped through several pages before he reached one near the back.

"'I became an astrophysicist to discover the unknown, and to prove more than one person wrong. But what if I'm the one that's wrong? After everything that's happened in New York, I can't help but think- what if our worlds are separate for a reason? Why should I be the one to upset what is clearly the natural order? When Thor came, my rational side went out the window- he was perfect. But now I see what terrible things live in his world, and...I don't think I can live with that. And then I ask, do I really know him at all?'"

Selvig said the last part quietly, and looked sympathetically at Thor- waiting for his response. Finally he sighed, "Thor, I think it would be best if... you don't visit Jane. At least until she is partially recovered." He added on quickly, "I just want what's best for both of you." He looked at Thor, pleading him silently to agree.

"I-I understand, my friend." Thor patted Selvig's shoulder comfortingly. "I shall leave now."

Feel free to tell me your opinion on this chapter, I'm not AM I can't read your mind ;)