Unexpected

Thor Joins S.H.I.E.L.D.

It was odd sitting across the apartment's kitchen table from the mountain of muscle that was Thor. Jane sat beside him as Thor gave me his side of the story. When he mentioned breaking Loki from the Asgardian prison, it took everything in me not to press him for details. If Loki wasn't on earth, then S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't be interested and I couldn't break my cover merely to feed my curiosity.

Thor was quite the storyteller though, explaining more in detail into the Asgardians' understanding of the Convergence and about the alien race of the dark Elves and the final destruction of Malekith, their leader. He also had an understanding of the Aether, that it was a thing called an infinity stone much like the Tesseract and the glowing jewel that had been imbedded into Loki's golden scepter, which we were still trying to locate. He said that the Aether was being taken away from Asgard and hidden in the care of a man galaxies away who would not give up such a dangerous and rare treasure. He assured me that it would be safe there.

"Is that part of the work that you had to do on Asgard?" I asked, my fingers hurriedly typing everything down.

"Indeed. I have set myself to be a protector of Midga- uh, earth and part of that is making sure that such a destructive power that would only attract the attention of war-seeking races was as far from here and as secure as possible."

"You also turned down the throne of Asgard?"

"Yes. I still have business here that requires my full attention before I eventually take up the mantle of king." Thor nodded.

"And part of this business has to do with S.H.I.E.L.D.?" I asked.

Thor leaned forward, his face solemn, "It does."

"Well, the fact of the matter is that part of my assignment here was to serve as a sort of ambassador between you and S.H.I.E.L.D. should you return to earth, as you have." I said folding my hands and resting my chin on them for a second as I looked over at him, trying to maintain a business-like tone and not start stuttering and blathering in my nervousness, "We acknowledge your power and status as a, well, as a force to be reckoned with. We know that you have already claimed to be a protector of earth and an ally to us as you've proven yourself in New Mexico, New York, and now over in Greenwich... but now we're wondering what your intentions are."

"You said you fought alongside the Avengers and myself last year in New York against Loki?"

"I did." I said, memories of the battle flying through my head, the white scar on my side strangely twinging in pain at the memory of the searing pain of the blast from the Chitauri weapon that had nearly blasted me to bits, "It was the Black Widow and I who used Loki's scepter to close the wormhole over Stark tower."

"Ah." He sighed, a strange sadness overtaking his features for a second, "That scepter is exactly what I wish to approach S.H.I.E.L.D. about."

I quirked my brow at him, "What about the scepter?"

"It is my mission to retrieve that scepter. It is far too dangerous to keep here."

I felt a stone settle directly in the pit of my stomach, "Oh..."

Apparently I made a face because Thor asked, "What is it?"

"The thing is that S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't have it."

Thor's brows creased, his mouth setting into a small frown, "What do you mean S.H.I.E.L.D. does not have it? Did you not set up a division to collect and hide away the weapons from the attack? I was assured by Director Fury himself that that would be taken care of."