Avengers The Captain's Secret

Part 45: Drawing Conclusions

TONY POV

First, I hate horses. I love my suit and I would have rather gone ahead and had my feet up by the time everyone else trotted in. But after seeing that Thor was no fan, either, I felt like I had to be the bigger guy even if I wasn't the bigger guy.

Not home yet, but one step closer.

As we all rode to the palace, I looked around. This place was a rustic modern. They had tech, but truthfully, it was hard to see unless they were healing, defending or attacking to some degree. They also had a denser body, kind of like Superman in comic books, but instead of being from a long gone planet, they thrived in their own time and space.  I learned a lot about the Tesseract while I was there, and about some other mystical stones.

Mystical-there's a word. That's like Neverending Story or something. Fantasia has no boundaries, right? How can something so...fantastical be so powerful, even foreboding?
My thoughts were interrupted by soft giggles. I looked over at Cap and his "shieldmate." She had slept in his arms on horseback most of the way here, and was now awake. She was really drained after all she'd done. It was strange to look at her now--she looked all the unassuming young woman, but had a great deal of power. It didn't make a difference to Cap, that's for sure. He nuzzled her ear and whispered something to her-something for her ears only-and her eyes went wide. She was so innocent, and he didn't exactly have a track record, either. They were basically a picture of young love...

This was a mess. I was already trying to figure things out here, and I figured Thor was, too. He spoke when spoken to by his comrades, but his eyes were straight ahead, as if in deep thought. Loki was the one observing everything and everyone like me. His temporary parole was just about over, yet he seemed content. He looked at me and glanced at the newlyweds. They seemed oblivious to us.

Where would she be safe?

We rode through the palace gates and were greeted by Frigga. She smiled widely. "Welcome back," she smiled as we dismounted.

"Thank you," Steve slid off and helped Lesedi down, holding her by the waist.

"Thank you," she parroted, her eyes not leaving his.

Frigga's eyes flew to Thor's, and he averted his eyes.  She lightly blushed. "You were victorious, I trust?"

"Yes!" Volstagg smiled broadly.

"It was short and sweet!" Fandral chimed in. "We got there just in time to meet Thor, who had a couple of groups of frost giants coming after him!"

"We did lose the boat, though," Sif nodded.

Thor and Loki fell in step on either side of their mother as we all strode in. I couldn't hear them. Thor's sidekicks formed a wall between us and them. I sighed, stuck with the honeymooners. They were trying to hear, too. Freya's gaze flickered back at us a few times. I knew I wasn't the topic of discussion.

Frigga stopped and turned toward us, and the fabulous four split to give us a view. "I am sure you are all tired," she said, the ever gracious hostess. "Why don't you go to your rooms and freshen up? I will have food sent up, and we can all meet an hour before sunset."

We all headed up to our rooms, but Thor stopped me before I turned into mine. "Meet me downstairs in an hour. There is much to discuss."

"Agreed," I nodded. "Cap coming?"

"I think not," Thor said. "Let him take care of Lesedi. Let them have this time together. We can talk with him before sunset."

Now I knew I was right: Lesedi may have to stay in Asgard. If we couldn't find a way to keep her safe in our realm, we may have no choice.