Eve had woken everyday before sunrise for the past 13 years, and one late night wasn't going to change that. The hard floor she had lied on didn't do much to persuade her to sleep in, so when the sky outside the window lightened to a soft gray Eve had already risen, frowning disapprovingly at the clock informing her she had only slept a grand total of 2 hours. She moved to checked on Erik, who still remained in the same position as the night before except that his lazy grin had been replaced by a grimace foreshadowing the headache waiting for him once he woke. Eve scolded herself for smiling as she crept from the crowded trailer and halted just outside the door. The familiar form of Jane could be seen lying on her side atop one of the lawn chairs. One of her hands cupped her cheek as a pillow, while the other held her journal protectively to her chest. This, however, wasn't what caught Eve attention- Jane had fallen asleep outside multiple times during her outdoor studies - it was the large shadow of a man standing on land where sand and concrete met that drew her attention. His back was to her as he watched the sun begin to paint the clouds above in streaks of gold and purple. While she couldn't see his face she could easily spot the tension lacing up his back, his shoulders hunched forward ever so slightly as if a giant pressure was against them. Eve knew that if she had common sense she would avoid an agitated man who could crush her to a pulp, but naturally her curiosity overruled her caution and she began treading to his side. He glanced down at her when she joined him, eyes shining with hesitant surprise.
"You wake early." He observed, digging his hands in his pockets, though Eve already spotted how they were clenched in fists. She shrugged.
"I've always been a morning person." The two stood in silence as the first sunbeams began to warm the sand beneath them. She tilted her head to to look at the man beside her, his usual glinting eyes shadowed in a veil of darkness and brows creased with what Eve recognized as the same look Jane got when she spoke of her late father: Grief, and uncertainty. A look, Eve observed, that didn't fit him.
"You seem lost." She finally observed aloud, lacking all pretense. He lifted an eyebrow in consideration, hesitating so long before replying that Eve thought she had offended him.
"I feel lost." Eve tilted her head curiously.
"Why?" Thor took a deep breath, his he'd ducking as if trying to hide from the truth of his next words.
"I made a promise to Erik the past night. I told him I would leave the town. But I'm coming to realize that I don't think I can follow through with my word." He rubbed his face and couldn't hide a subtle glance to where Jane remained slumbering. "I've realized a lot in my time in this realm. I'm finding out what really is important, and how clueless I really was... and still am." Eve blinked against a cool breeze, fighting the urge to squint as sunbeams made Thor's golden hair gleam into a halo above him.
"Erik means well. Neither Jane or I have a father, so he's taken that role for both of us. He can be very protective and thinks he's doing what is best for her, but he didn't see see you two last night." Thor cast her a look, the shadows that had been draped over his face lightening at a reluctant quirk of his lips.
"You did?"
"I might have spied on you two," Eve admitted shamelessly. "But that's besides the point. It's clear you care for her Thor, and she does for you. If anything, leaving will destroy her, not protect her."
"And starting over isn't exactly a bad thing." She looked out at the now sun-soaked desert before them. "Especially since you won't be doing it alone. Sometimes you have to begin again to find who you really are." She spoke with such intensity and, what surprised Thor into looking down at her, understanding. Her voice held a depth to it that he had never heard before, one that made him question just how much strength was hidden in the girl beside him. She stood a foot shorter than him despite her only seeming a few years younger, but what she lacked in height she made up in fierce determine glow of her gaze. With her chin raised and gaze facing the sun she looked much older than she really was. Thor's face softened into curiosity.
"How is it that you are so young, yet so wise?" Eve grinned at this, the regal look that had enveloped her moments ago evaporated at her carefree dimple.
"Trust me, you'd take that back if you saw my ACT score." She laughed at his bewildered expression before waving him along as she turned back to the lab. "Come on, lets go make some breakfast for these lazy people."
Eve was able to scrounge up some eggs and bread from Jane's kitchenette, and while Thor was clueless on how to even turn on a stove, he was a fast learner. Soon the sleeping residents began to wander inside the lab, following the alluring scents and sizzling that filled the air. Jane was the first to enter, and after assessing the surreptitious glance between her and Thor Eve asked her to take over the eggs, claiming that they needed toast with it. The glance Jane sent her (half thankful and half glaring) informed her that Jane knew what she was up to as the younger girl ducked around her with a cheeky smile and plugged in the toaster. Darcy entered not too long afterwards, pulling a beanie over her bedhead and rubbing a knot from her neck. Her yawn-interrupted greeting was cut short by a groan that announced Erik's entrance.
"Eve I thought you were a nurse." The older man grumbled, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "Can't you do something about this?" Eve smiled innocently and tossed him some anti-acids she dug up from the back of the medicine cabinet.
"You did this to yourself, Erik." Thor held some faded plastic plates steady as Jane slid the eggs from the pan onto them, sharing a quick smile before Thor circled the table to place the food before the scientist and intern. Both of their heads lifted in surprise as the man of such strength gently placed the food before them, nodding at their thanks with a grin. Outside the glass walls the town was beginning to wake up as closed signs flipped to open and old trucks began to tut up and down the streets. The scene was a familiar one, though slightly altered. Darcy was in her usual spot, though without a phone she was now sharing a word with Jane, waving a fork as if composing her own story. While Jane was smiling towards the conversation her eyes flitted towards Thor who was struggling to pick an egg shell from the bottom of a bowl. The intense focus in his gaze made Eve stifle a smile. The man noticed this and grinned himself. Erik swirled his cup impatiently, shadowed eyes studying the bubbles fizzing in his cup as he waited for the relief from his evident head ache. Thor's arrival did alter the group before her, but Eve couldn't help think it was for the better.
As Eve bagged the left over bread she glanced over to where Jane had started dishes and suppressed a laugh.
"What's on your mind?" Jane glanced up from where she was scrubbing a coffee mug that must have been there for weeks now, evident by the dark coffee stain ringing the inside.
"What do you mean?" Eve shook her head.
"Somethings bothering you, you're using hand sanitizer on the dishes." Jane's eyes widened when she noticed her mistake and began rinsing the mug out with a curse. Eve grinned, but tilted her head with interest when Thor stepped over and murmured:
"Go ahead, I'll take care of this." Jane hesitated, either because she felt bad making him clean the mountain of dirty dishes, or because she doubted he knew how to in the first place.
"I'll help him with them. Jane, you do whatever you gotta." Eve reassured. Jane bit her lip, her gaze both thankful and anxious.
"Oh, but I'm sure you'll want to hear this too." Curiosity stirred inside of Eve, but she waved her off.
"Go ahead, I'll listen in." Jane gripped her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before moving towards the table.
"I have to tell you something, something that Thor told me last night... a theory." She met Thor's gaze from where he was leaning against the counter. He gave her the slightest of nods full of encouragement. She took a deep breath before continuing. "We're not the only ones out there, we are part of this." She opened the journal that she had left on the table upon entering earlier. On the page was a familiar sketch of the planets in their orbit; however, in between the light gentle pencil marks were thick pen strokes, separating the page into nine groups.
"What is that exactly?" Erik prompted, his brows narrowing as he leaned over to study the paper closer.
"Nine realms." Jane's eyes gleamed with a new found wonder as she began to describe. "It sounds crazy, I know, but if you look close enough, there's proof. We just didn't realize," It was only after hearing a splash of water behind her that Eve realized she had forgotten her duties as assistant dish washer.
"It's not necessary that you help me you know. You can continue listening to her if you'd like." Eve shook her head and snatched a soggy sponge from under a bowl.
"It's okay, this will take you years if you tried doing it alone"
"Ah, then you doubt my dish washing skills." The offense in his voice sounded so genuine that Eve had to pause in her scrubbing to notice the twinkle in his eye. He chuckled at her expression and Eve could help but relent her sour look into a grin. Jane's excited voice continued to echo through the empty lab, interjected every once and a while with Erik's critical questions or Darcy's request for something to be phrased easier; however Eve was no longer listening, instead she chewed her lip as her curiosity roiled inside of her. She snuck glances at Thor as she abandoned the sponge and instead used her nails to scratch as a particularly tough piece of food on a plate.
"Go ahead." His voice was a rumble of amusement, and he caught her gaze as she glanced up.
"What?" Thor dipped another plate into the water before placing it upon a towel to dry.
"I can tell you are filled with questions, and I fear that if I don't let you ask you might explode." Now it was Eve's turn to feign offense.
"I thought I was being sneaky about it!" Her only reply was a poorly concealed smirk. Clearly Asgardians were more observant than Eve thought. She took note of this fact. "Okay, so if you're real... and actually from 'Asgard', then that must mean Odin is real too?" She noticed his shoulders tighten.
"My father, yes. He has been the ruler of Asgard and the Nine Realms for many years." Eve looked at him through the corner of her eyes.
"Many? Like 20 years? 30?" Thor's lip quirked.
"More like 6,000 years." Eve froze in shock, unfortunately halting right when the spoon she was rinsing dipped under the water and both she and Thor were splattered.
"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!" Eve gasped out a laugh as Thor dropped the pan he had used as a make-shift shield. He brushed aside her apology with a good natured grin. "It's just... 6,000? So then... how old are you? Wait. Don't answer that. I don't want to know." She interjected as he opened his mouth to reply. A few moments passed in silence as Eve pondered what he had said, noting the melancholy grimace that had flitted across his face when his father was mentioned.
"You have something else to ask." It wasn't a question, just an amused observation. "Go ahead."
"Your father... he is why you're here, right?" The tension that had appeared earlier at Odin's mention came once more, though this time it relaxed at a release of a sigh.
"You are quite observant." He regarded her with interest. "Yes, you are correct. He sent me here as a punishment for my foolish actions, though now I'm beginning to question if there was another reason he chose this realm." Eve didn't have to look up to know that his eyes had strayed towards the three-some WHY that had wandered by the back doors for privacy, their urgent whispers too quiet for them to hear.
"Will you ever be able to go back to Asgard?" Thor's eyes grew dim like the cobalt sky fading as the sun disappeared into the bleak darkness of night.
"No, I don't believe I will." The longing in his voice dug into Eve's heart and without realizing she rested her sud-soaked hand gently on his arm.
"I'm sorry." She murmured, earning a grateful look before she drew away and nabbed a towel to start drying. She tried to imagine what it would be like, to be thrown into a world so different than one you've grown up with. How lonely and frightening it would seem, even for someone who was used to being strong.
"May I ask you a question?" Thor's question jolted her from her thoughts.
"Of course, I've already pestered you with like 20." He paused with his scrubbing and looked down at her.
"This morning, when you spoke to me, it was as if you had lived through something much like what I was feeling." Eve found that she couldn't meet his gaze that seemed to see right through her and instead picked at a loose string on the towel. She hoped that a shrug would suffice, but as an expectant silence encased the two she finally released a breath.
"I guess I can understand how it feels not to belong." She kept her eyes cast downward, but still could feel Thor's inquisitive gaze on her. "Jane told you I was adopted."
"Ah yes, when you 'might' have been spying." Eve's small smirk gave Thor the confirmation he needed.
"Well, I was older when they found me - about ten - and by then I didn't really know what it was like in the real world. I don't know what it's like in Asgard, but the new girl here usually isn't the cool one, especially if she doesn't know how to do things like read and write." Thor paused as he stacked the dried plates together with gentle clinks.
"Found you?" Eve cursed her thoughtlessness. She had spent years simplifying her backstory, reconstructing it into something that displayed a mundane life. Like most well told lies it was built on truth, a fabrication she repeated so many times that Eve herself even began to believe it. She thought that if she wished her life to be simple it would become so. However, as she found herself trapped under his inquisitive cyan eyes the usual lies faded on her tongue and the truth flew from her like water released from a damn.
"I was in an abusive home. I can't remember what it was like though, they say it's because of dissociative amnesia, all of my past is blocked from my brain." She shrugged as if her lack of recollection didn't claw at her conscious everyday. "Sometimes I have memories, but they're really vague."
"Were these people who hurt you your family?" His face darkened at the premonition, which Eve consoled with an ambivalent smile. For once this truth wasn't one inundated with the horrors of her past.
"No. They were too young to be my parents. We really don't know who they are... they disappeared after being taken into custody. " A dull ache was radiating from her hands, and Eve looked down to see that they had turn white with pressure, still furiously rubbing a mug that had no doubt been dry for quite a while by now. Sighing through her nose, she set the cup aside and turned to grab a new dish to be burdened by her soapy abuse. "I have dreams, maybe snapshots of my past, with my real family. They're little things, someone braiding my hair, or playing tag. They wouldn't hurt me like the others did." As she spoke Eve didn't know who she was trying to reassure, Thor or herself.
"These dreams... are they why you get up so early?" Eve's gaze flittered from the new mug in her grasp, her cheeks losing their natural pink color. "Or do you remember other things too... from your abusers." The nurse pinched her lips together, neither confirming nor denying his statement.
"And these dreams," the man's voice was slow and cautious, much like the one Eve herself would use when talking to her patients, "do they happen much?" She glanced over fleetingly from the dishes, noticing that Thor's plate was inert and forgotten in his hands, his attention now focused solely on the girl in front of him.
"Only in the mornings." Eve threw the towel over her shoulder and turned to fully face him; a look of understanding flitted over his face. He paused before opening his mouth, but Eve beat him to it. Though she wasn't sure what he was going to say, she knew it would be an apology of some sort. And God, was Eve sick of the worthless condolences that would follow any sob-story.
"Anyway, like I said, it was hard not knowing anything on living in the real world. No one really reached out and I moved from foster home to foster home. No one wants a teen" Eve smiled humorlessly. "But what are you gonna do? I focused on my studies, catching up on what I missed out in my childhood. I had to keep reminding myself that I am here for a reason, and it sure as hell is not following what everyone expected from me and doing drugs or dropping out.
In high school I was able to make some friends, and then in college I met Jane and - well you know the rest. The point is that I thought I was all alone during my first few years here, but I didn't have to be. Friends... they can make all the difference in the world."The silence that followed made Eve's cheeks redden and she ducked her head as she snagged the pile of mismatch plates.
"Sorry, that sounded cheesy."
"No, it didn't." Thor's baritone voice vibrated with such uncharacteristic seriousness that drew her gaze from the floor to meet his. "What you went through, and how you persevered... you are much braver than many of the men I have fought with, and I don't say that lightly." If Eve's cheeks were pink before, now they were blazing.
"Everyone is braver than they really think. I mean, it is in the darkest times that you find just how brightly you can shine." She could feel the man's appraising gaze on her, and began to stack plates loudly to fill the awkward silence. "don't look at me like that, I read it in a fortune cookie once." While she doubted he knew what that was he humored her with a smile.
"So once you got to the university, you studied with Jane?" Eve nodded, thankful for the change in subject.
"Yes, that's how we met. The college will pair you with people who are majoring with you so they can help one another out. That's also where I met Erik; he had already known Jane for a while because their fathers were friends, and he taught us our first few years."
"But, you are a healer now? Why did you change?" Eve chewed at her lip, hesitating for a moment before replying.
"My sophomore year a friend and I got into a car crash. There was a semi-driver and... my friend was seriously hurt. I thought she was going to die, but she was brought back. The ambulances arrived and got us all to a hospital in time. Every since that day I knew I had to change my career path; while I still loved astrophysics and the mysteries of space I couldn't turn my back on what happed there and what I could to help others in the world." Thor considered this.
"You put your duty before your heart." Eve tilted her head, turning the words over in her mind.
"In a way, I guess. But then I came to find out that my duty was where my heart is. I still get to help Jane with her studies, but in the hospital. That is where I know I belong." The murmuring of the nearby scientists filled the silence as Thor considered Eve with newfound curiosity.
"You remind me of one of my friends. She never let anyone tell her what she could and couldn't do. She would have liked you."
"I would have liked to meet her." Eve surprised even herself as she realized how genuine this statement actually was. As if fate had heard her wish, a knock echoed through the empty building, making all heads whip to face the glass windows. There outside stood a group of four warriors. Eve couldn't think of another name for them. They were dressed in interlacing sheets of armor, with chainmail shimmering like liquid mercury beneath. Weapons were casually strapped to their bodies, an ax on the back, sword to the side. Eve swore she could even spot a shimmer of metal on the only female of the group's leg. While their dress was clearly meant for intimidation, their bright smiling faces easily countered it as they waved unabashedly at Thor. The largest of the three men leaned forward, his tangle red bush of a beard waving in the wind as he yelled, "Found you!" One glance at Thor's face confirmed Eve's suspicion, and the shattering of glass as both Darcy and Erik dropped their coffee mugs proved that they too had realized who these people were. Clearly Asgard was not done with Earth yet.
"My friends!" Thor's voice was complete wonder and elation as he dropped the rag onto the counter and ran to where the strangers had thrown open the doors, glee bright on their faces. Thor gripped the hirsute man that had spoken in a tight hug, oblivious to the ax he held in one hand. "This is good, this is good." Eve moved as if in a dream, finding herself beside Darcy who looked completely dumfounded, her mouth gaping wide and eyes flitting from one warrior to the next. Erik looked no better as his lips continuously attempted at forming words without any sound. A furious pinch to her arm settled to Eve that she was not dreaming as the bearded man spotted them watching.
"Oh excuse me," He pardoned himself with a slight bow. "Lady Sif and the warriors three." For all that was occurring, his courteousness made Eve's lips quirk in the corner. Erik, still without a voice, turned to look at Jane who's dumbstruck face had formed into open awe. Thor had moved within the group to another one of his comrades, this one standing slightly shorter than him, but his straight back and thrown back shoulders clearly challenged anyone who was to call him weak because of it. His dark hair was pulled up behind him and the upturned corner of his eyes made him seem as if he was of the Asian continent of Earth.
"My friends," Thor rested a hand on his shoulder, his voice still breathless with dismay. "I've never been happier to see anyone, but... you should not have come." The third man of the group who was chuckling in exuberance fell silent, his handsome face drawing into a furrow of confusion.
"We're here to take you home." He explained, his pale hair glinting in the noon sun as he stepped towards his friend. Darcy sighed with longing. Thor's arm fell back to his side, his voice trembling the slightest as he stated;
"You know I can't go home." The only women of the four, the one called Sif, studied Thor's face curiously. As Eve looked at her she knew immediately this was the one he spoke of earlier. She was exceedingly beautiful with long dark hair pulled tightly behind her head and a sharp featured face, however, it was the way she stood that radiated strength and fearlessness. Despite all this, her face easily softened into concern as Thor continued.
"My father is... dead because of me. I must remain in exile." He stumbled over the words as if stating them suddenly made them too true. Understanding of his earlier sadness filled Eve, and she shared a somber glance with Jane. The tension she had spotted wasn't from a withheld grudge, but rather guilt. Sif's face creased into that of confusion as she took a step towards her friend.
"Thor, your father still lives." Thor's eyes widened as her words sunk in. Eve tried to ponder out what she had just heard, and watched as Thor's face darkened as a realization seemed to come over him. His expression was an unreadable mask contorted by anger, fear, and what surprised Eve most of all, hurt. Eve was considering approaching the man when she suddenly felt an unsettling chill race up her back. It was something she had felt before, the feeling of a presence in the room only to turn and find nothing was there but the burning sense of paranoia. Her breath suddenly seemed to stick in her lungs, faceless and blurry memories flitting through her mind. Cold creeped up her spine and she whipped her head around to face the open desert through the front entrance.
"What?" Jane immediately noticed her sister's discomfort, and the worry in her voice seemed to cast Thor from his dark thoughts as well as he stepped towards her.
"Something's here." Eve stated with certainty, her eyes jumping between the two before her as she hugged her arms around herself in futile attempt to drive out the overwhelming sense of terror.
"How do you know?" Darcy prompted, gazing doubtfully towards the rolling hills of desert, golden grains fluttering through the air and blurring the horizon. A moment later her answer was given. A gust of wind whipped furiously over the sand dunes, and the clear blue sky was suddenly blemished as a dark whirlpool of storm clouds formed from nothing.
"Is that the 'something' you were talking about?" Darcy hoped, pulling her glasses off to squint in its direction. Eve was saved from answering as a funnel loud dropped like a rock from the center of the storm, landing with a visible cloud of dust. Just a heartbeat later the tremor through the ground hit the town like a mini earthquake. Pedestrians traipsing throughout the street stopped to point, and soon people were swarming from inside the buildings to see the sudden storm dissipate just as fast as it appeared.
"Is someone else coming?" Darcy asked, her voice quavering slightly as she assumed the answer by the Asgardian's dire faces. It was too far away to spot the landing point, but Eve could practically feel the vehemence of the being that had just landed, her neck hairs prickling with trepidation.
"What is it?" She breathed, and while she hadn't expected an answer Sif stopped to stand beside her.
"The Destroyer." The way the warrior spoke the name made Eve shiver despite the warmer fall weather. More visions fought their way into her memories; long nights of livid demands, and harsher punishments when they weren't met. She clenched her hands into fists, the sharp pricks of pain as her nails cut through her skin clearing her mind.
"What is it here for?"
"For me." Eve snapped her gaze to where he stood beside her, close enough to rest a hand protectively atop her shoulder. There was no doubt in Thor's voice when he spoke, only a dismal certainty.
"Jane you have to leave" Thor stated, moving out to the street as he hoped to get a better view of the invader. People parted before the odd entourage that followed him, though their attention remained on the horizon where a golden figure had taken form. It couldn't have been closer than 50 miles, but already the rhythmic thumps of its footsteps echoed through the ground. Jane looked to the man beside her quizzically.
"What are you gonna do?"
"I'm staying here" His face was grim with a knowing look that didn't do anything to calm Eve's suspicions.
"Thor is going to fight with us" The large bearded warrior sounded enthused at the idea, gripping his axe with elation. Uncertainty clutched at Eve's gut, and as she shaded her eyes to study the incoming monster they only grew. How could a man who was knocked out by a car take on a beast twice his size? Clearly Thor lacked any strength he might have had as a god. A quick glance at Jane affirmed that the scientist had the same realization as her face paled in the sunlight.
"My friends," Thor patted the blond on the shoulder and moved to stand among them. The warriors circle him, and Eve considered the two groups that had formed. The four Agardians swollen in muscle and pride, standing tall in the prospect of a battle, and the scientists tense with apprehension, but just as strong in their determination that hardened their gazes. It was a marvel that out of anyone on Earth for Thor to make allies with, that they would be someone so similar, yet so opposite to those he grew up with.
Thor looked to his friends now, his gaze filled with indecision, though his voice was certain. "I am just a man, I'll only be in the way, or worse, get one of you killed. But, I can help get these people to safety." He looked to the surrounding townspeople with a new found modesty and conviction.
"Well if you're staying, so am I." Jane spoke with defiance and moved forward, fitting into the crowd of warriors easily with her challenging stance. The sight sent a pang into Eve's heart, her sister who had always stood out among others with her quirky intellect seemed more Asgardian than mundane at the moment. After years of it only being the two girls depending on one another Jane looked at the warriors surrounding her with the same respect she did Eve, the same trust that had taken the girls months to build appearing in mere moments. Eve cast her eyes downward, biting her cheek spitefully as shame coursed through her veins. This was neither the time nor place for selfish and childish thought. There was no reason to feel jealous of her sisters bravery; however, as Thor's eyes rested on Jane, filled with both pride and despair at her decision Eve felt as if she should've been the one in her place. As if sensing her thoughts Thor's gaze then drifted behind her to where Eve and the others stood, a question held in his furrowed brows. While the nurse doubted any of the Asgardians would hold anything against her for refusing, Eve clenched down on the terror that squeezed her gut as she looked to the monstrous golden silhouette that shadowed the horizon and gave the god asking her for help a solemn nod.
"We'll need some time." Thor looked to his friends before speeding away, moving towards the first crowd of sightseers, his deep voice rising easily above their chatter.
"You'll have it" The blond dude called back, looking to his colleagues with an animated glint in his eye before everyone broke off, running in different directions. Darcy, however, remained dazed in the center of the street, clearly her brain was struggling to comprehend what she had just agreed to. Finally she looked to the people around her and called out, "Okay, move it people!"