Avengers The Captain's Secret

Part 23: Telling Thor

CAP POV

"Tony Stark, I thought we had an agreement." Thor frowned down at Tony. He was clearly annoyed. "There are conflicts in other realms I need to attend to."

For the first time I looked at Thor as a potential adversary. I realized how hard it could be, but not every Asgardian had a hammer; no, some had swords. I only believe in one God, but he could definitely qualify as a superhuman.

I cleared my throat, and Thor's gaze flickered at me, but Tony was his focus because that's who summoned him.

"Well?" Thor stood, waiting.

"Uh, Cap?" Tony turned to me, his armor transforming into a briefcase. "Wanna take this?"

Even with his mask on, I could tell Tony was smirking a little. As if he read my mind, he'd removed it and confirmed what I was thinking.

Thor narrowed his eyes at me. "Captain?"

"I had Tony summon you."

He blinked. "Well?"

"We need to get to Asgard or to Jotunheim."

His look turned incredulous, his laugh held no humor. "Surely you jest. For what purpose--"

"Lesedi." I closed my eyes for a moment, then looked at him. "At SHIELD, she is called Eve."

"Who is Eve?" He searched our faces for answers.

"The daughter of a human mutant named Kymera," I paused. "and your brother, Loki."

Thor blinked. He looked as if he was sure he hadn't heard right. His eyes widened in shock, then he frowned, shaking his head. "Loki has no children in Midgard."

"Loki was a rolling stone," Tony corrected. "Get a grip. Do you really think that he isn't capable of this after New York?!"

I put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "Coulson has been keeping her and raising her since she was very young. We found out after he died."

"Where is she?" Thor demanded. "I must see this--Eve--or Lesedi—for myself--"

I swallowed hard. "The Jotnar took her."

Thor looked like he was about to explode. "Where is Nick Fury?"

"He let them take her, but we don't know why."

Thor shook his head, but his eyes were sparking with anger. He growled, "You cannot be serious."

Iron Man and I looked at each other, and back at him.

"If SHIELD has been keeping a child of Asgard on earth, that can be interpreted as kidnapping." Thor said. "If what you say is true, she belongs in Asgard."

"Her home is here," I interjected. I realized my voice sounded aggressive and took a breath. I wasn't here to argue. I was here for help. "She was born and raised here." I watched Thor's eyebrows raise. "It is all she knows."

"Yes, he is all she knows," Tony said. I gave him a look. He couldn't leave well enough alone!

Thor frowned at me. I almost averted my eyes, but then decided to stand my ground. "This is... complicated, isn't it?"

"Very," Tony said quickly. "We need your help."

"Was she taken against her will?" Thor asked. "She is a child of Jotunheim."

"Yes, I saw it, they drugged her and carried her off," Tony replied.  "And her little dog, too." I gave him a dirty look, and he knew I caught the reference. "No offense, but the similarity!"

"We need to go to Asgard," Thor said, his jaw tightening. "We need to talk to my father, and we may need Loki."

I tensed. "Loki can't be trusted."

"Loki is at the center of this."

"No, Lesedi is--"

"And if what you say is true, it is Loki that brought her into existence," Thor's mouth formed into a grim line. "He may be able to get Eve back without bloodshed since she is of his bloodline. How quickly can you be ready?"

"An hour," Tony said. "We need tech. Cap, you might want to pack a spare suit. This isn't like going to the Middle East."

We drove back to SHIELD:

"You're going to Jotunheim?" Widow couldn't believe it. "You're actually...going?"

"Yes," I answered as I threw things in my pack.

"This is--" Hawkeye paused. "This is--"

"Unprecedented?" I told him. "Reckless? Maybe even a little crazy?" I exhaled. "Thought of that."

"Different than anything we've done or faced," Widow said slowly.

I took a deep breath. "I'm facing it with Iron Man and Thor." They both started to protest, and I raised a hand. "I need you to hold down the fort, get more intel. I'm not asking you to turn against SHIELD, just watch it more closely, read between the lines they're feeding you, especially from Fury."

"He's going to know something's up when you're not here."

"Tell him I went back to D.C. to search...maybe undercover?"

"And if he decides to call?"

"I won't answer," I said simply. "I  won't be able to where I'm going. Widow, keep training those SHIELD operatives we started with."

"I'm sure you'll be back before long," Widow nodded. "Be careful, Steve."

Hawkeye offered his hand. "Take care, man."

I shook his hand, turned on my heel and left.

"And Steve?"

I slowed my steps but didn't turn around. No time.

"Better admit to yourself she isn't just an assignment at some point!"

I sped up my steps. I didn't have time for that kind of thing right now. I just had to find her and get her home.