The World

Chapter Ten

 When Cas came through a portal, or rather stumbled out of it, to the meeting place about five minutes later, they could all tell there was something up.

"What happened?" Thor asked her.

Cas looked confused. "What are you talking about? Is there something wrong?" She glanced down at her clothes, having accidently shown up to some things before wearing Midgardian clothes. Nope, she was in relatively Asgardian attire. She reached up to feel her face and neck, combed her fingers through her hair. "Okay, I have no clue what you're talking about, so can we get down to whatever business you called me for? It had better be-oh, it is if Heimdall's here. Nevermind."

She sat down, and though everyone stared at her for a couple minutes, she didn't seem like she she understood what they had felt was off. So the planning began.

"We must move Jane off-world," Thor said.

Sif frowned, "The Bifrost has been shut down and the Tesseract-" Cas wrinkled her nose, "-locked away in the vault."

"Good thing about the Tesseract," murmured Cas. "Stupid thing's too powerful."

Heimdall interjected. "There are other paths off Asgard. Ways known only to a few." Cas was hoping desperately they didn't mean her way of getting lost. That would be nasty, especially since she was the only one who could go without getting lost lost thanks to Loki now.

"One, actually," Thor corrected him.

Sif and the two of the Warriors Three looked at him in horror as they realized what, or rather who, he meant, and Cas glanced down at the table to hide her smile. I guess you might get to have some fun after all.

"No," said Volstagg.

Fandral added helpfully, "He will betray you." He said it as if it were inevitable. Which it might have been, thought Cas, if not for a few factors.

Thor shrugged. "He will try."

"But what then?" Fandral queried. "Your lovely mortal is being guarded by a legion of Einherjar guards who will see you coming from miles away."

Cas's eyes widened as she realized what Thor was planning. "I won't be the one who comes for her," Thor said, turning to Sif. Everyone there followed his gaze. Clever, thought Cas. Though I hope he's got more planned up his sleeve because there are still a few loose variables that will be running about.

I rather doubt it.

Sif ignored the gazes and asked, "And what of the Allfather?"

"It is my sworn duty to notify him of crimes against authority," Heimdall said, making everyone but Cas and Thor jump, the others having forgotten he was there.

"Assuming you can get Loki's help and you can free this mortal, what good would it do? We'd all be dead the minute we step one foot outside the palace," Volstagg huffed. See? Loki told her.

Hush, Cas grumbled, even as Thor said with a smirk, "That, my friend, is why we won't be leaving by foot."

This, thought Cas, is going to be good fun. Very good fun indeed.

~~~

While Thor went to free Loki, Volstagg to keep an eye on the dark elf ship that had crashed into the throne room, and Fandral to secure a skiff, Cas went ahead of Sif to see Jane. As she had no wish to be considered a traitor, not that it would have mattered because she wasn't a citizen of Asgard and could easily have left, she had a different part to play.

"Jane," she said after the guards had opened the doors to her.

The astrophysicist looked up. "I didn't know I could receive company," she said in confusion.