The God
Chapter 7: The God
Lyssa tucked a strand of Thor’s thick golden hair behind his ear and cupped his cheek, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed. Though she could hear Aria wailing behind her as Sif struggled to comfort her in the wake of her own sorrow, the redhead didn’t move from her spot beside the fallen prince. Lyssa could feel her magic building within her, threatening to over power her in response to her sorrow and anger at Thor’s death; so similar the feeling was to when she had learned of James and Lily’s death and Sirius’ imprisonment in November the previous year, the result of which was the destruction of the Hogwarts grounds. It had only been the presence of children within the ancient castle itself that kept her from leveling it to rubble just as she had demolished the grounds.
“Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.”
Lyssa raised her head when she heard the whisper, identical to what she had heard outside of the SHIELD facility the previous evening, from the words to the voice.
A rumbling whooshing filled the air, the sound reaching the small, grieving group’s ears and they all looked towards it. The only one who didn’t seem to register it was Lyssa who had turned her gaze back onto Thor.
“Lyssa!” Erik shouted, running to the redhead and grabbing her by the arms.
“No! No!” She shouted, fighting and struggling against him.
“Come!” Erik shouted, firmly, all but dragging her away from Thor’s lifeless form.
Lyssa continued to struggle as Mjølnir, the source of the whooshing noise, flew towards them. Suddenly, a hand reached out and grasped the handle and lightning shot down on the figure that held it.
Thor.
Lyssa watched with a mixture of delight and relief as armor began to form along Thor’s body; Darcy and Erik just staring with slack-jaws while the four other Asgardians beamed delightedly.
“Oh. My. God.” Jane breathed faintly, her jaw hanging open just like Darcy and Erik.
The Destroyer, who had turned back around when Mjølnir appeared, fired a beam of energy. Before the blast could reach its target, Mjølnir shot out from within the column of lightning and struck the robot, causing the beam to redirect towards the row of idle cars. Another blow from the hammer sent the robot flying to the ground where it skidded several feet before stopping.
Mjølnir returned to its owner and the lightning faded away to reveal Thor dressed in Asgardian armor like Sif and the Warrior’s, though his was styled differently. It had a collared blue tunic with red piping and black pants. Over the shirt was a black vest emblazoned with gleaming silver overlay, a bright red cape connected to the shoulders. His arms were covered by a unique type of chainmail and he had a pair of detailed, black, knee-high boots on his feet.
Lyssa didn’t notice any of that, however. Rather, she noticed that his injuries weren’t just healed, but gone completely and he seemed to glow with an ethereal light that enhanced his otherworldly beauty; it was the same light that Sif and the Warriors Three were glowing with. Lyssa let out a small, delighted laugh, unexplainably happy that he was all right.
The Destroyer raised its head and fired another blast at Thor who dodged it by flying up into the air. He spun Mjølnir around, gathering storm clouds, summoning the winds and thunder and forming a tornado around himself and the Destroyer. The small group of spectators ran away from the funnel while all around them, cars and debris became sucked in. Lightning streaked through the stormy grey tornado as Thor hovered within the eye of the storm, increasing the suction strength until the Destroyer was drawn in as well.
The robot floated upwards and fired another blast of energy only for it to be blocked by Mjølnir. Each of the following blasts were similarly blocked by the hammer, Lyssa watching from below with Aria once again in her arms.
“Mama, look. Thow fighting with thundew and Myeu-muh.” Aria said, beaming brightly and pointing at the tornado.
“Mjølnir.” Lyssa corrected automatically, her gaze remaining on the fight occurring above their heads. “And yes, baby, I can see that.”
“How is your wing?” Sif asked, briefly glancing at the redhead before turning her own gaze back onto the fight.
“It’s okay.” Lyssa replied. “It’s just about healed.” She unfurled her wings and showed that, sure enough, the feathery appendages were almost completely back to their previous state. Only a few feathers were still slightly askew, but rapidly slipping back into place. “As long as I don’t overtax them when they get injured, they can heal pretty quickly. Unfortunately, the rest of me, not so much. Even with magic.” She looked down at her dress, noticing the blood that stained the lower portion of the ivory fabric. She grimaced. “Scourgify.” She said, waving her hand at her dress. Instantly, the blood began fading away until it was completely gone, leaving the pretty dress pristine once more.
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of this.” Erik admitted, looking very faint. In truth, all that was keeping him upright was Sif, who had once again wrapped her arm around him to support him when he began to sway.
“You’ll become accustomed to it.” Volstagg said reassuringly.
The Destroyer fired yet another beam of energy only this time, when Thor blocked it with Mjølnir, he dove towards it and slammed the hammer directly into the open faceplate. The action forced the beam back into the robot, creating a backup of the energy and causing a fiery explosion. The resulting concussion wave echoed for several hundred square miles, across half the desert.
The robot fell down towards the ground as the storm clouds and the dust faded away. Thor strode purposefully towards the small group, the Destroyer landing in a heap behind him with a quiet thud.
“Yay!” Aria cheered, clapping delightedly as Thor approached them.
Lyssa was silent, just watching as he stopped in front of her, their gazes locked. Aria reached out to Thor, silently demanding to be carried by the large man who happily obliged, perching the toddler on his hip without breaking eye contact with the redhead.
“So, is this how you normally look?” Jane asked curiously before Lyssa could say anything.
“More or less.” Thor replied, not looking away from Lyssa.
“It’s a good look.” Jane commented, eyeing the form-fitting armor and the way he seemed to effortlessly pull it off. Aria perched on the prince’s hip only served to give him a caring image while the armor and the hammer provided the warrior look.
“Never mind that!” Lyssa said heatedly, a furious look on her face; her still-unfurled wings fluttered behind her, the ruffled feathers having nothing to do with her now completely healed injury but a testament to her irritation with the Thunderer. She reached out and smacked Thor on the arm that wasn’t being used to support Aria.
“Ow!” Thor cried indignantly. “What was that for?”
“You scared the-” Lyssa began furiously only to pause briefly and glance at Aria. She reached out and covered the toddler’s ears before continuing, “bloody crap out of me, you son of a gun!” As soon as she was done ‘swearing’, she uncovered Aria’s ears though her furious glare remained trained on the Thunder God.
Behind them, Erik, Darcy and Jane were roaring with laughter while Sif, Fandral and Volstagg snickered. Hogun wasn’t outright laughing like his friends, though he had a smirk on his face, the only outward sign of his amusement at the scene.
“Thow, Mama angy.” Aria commented helpfully.
“I see.” Thor said softly, taking a step towards Lyssa and closing the distance between them. “I’m sorry Lyssa.” He said gently, hooking Mjølnir on his belt before reaching out and cupping her cheek gently; all the while, he did not break eye-contact with her. “I did not mean to cause you worry.”
“Well, I suppose in this case, I can let it pass.” Lyssa said, though still somewhat cross.
Thor became serious and looked over at his friends, their amusement fading at his expression. “We must go to the Bifrost site.” He said grimly. “I would have words with my brother.”
The other four Asgardians nodded in acceptance at the order, Volstagg letting go of Fandral and Hogun and standing on his own. Sif glanced at Erik briefly before letting him go, only pulling away completely once he was able to support his own weight.
“Excuse me!” A voice called, drawing everyone’s attention. It was Agent Coulson, along with a team of his agents. “Donald?” The agent said, approaching Thor who stepped around Lyssa to face the man completely. “I don’t think you’ve been completely honest with me.”
“When does anyone tell you people the truth?” Lyssa muttered under her breath. She glared fiercely at the agent who had stolen her and Jane’s research and then held Thor as a prisoner, granted the last one was actually the prince’s fault.
“Know this, Son of Coul.” Thor said before Coulson could retort back to the witch. He absently reached up and pried a lock of his hair out of Aria’s grip, instead handing the toddler her blanket that Lyssa held out to him.
Coulson raised his eyebrow at the action but stayed silent, momentarily struck by how natural the large man looked in armor with a toddler on his hip. It was more than that, though. Thor’s action was so smoothly done that it was as though he had been doing it for years when Coulson was well aware that the child was in fact Lyssa’s daughter.
“You and I, we fight for the same cause: the protection of this world.” Thor continued passionately, unaware of the dark-haired man’s momentary lapse. “From this day forward, you can count me as your ally if you return the items you have taken from Lyssa and Jane.”
“Stolen.” Jane threw in.
“Borrowed.” Coulson corrected. “Of course, you can have your equipment back. You’re both gonna need it to continue your research… which, after today’s events, SHIELD would like to fully sponsor.” He paused and looked at Jane, the woman who had been more vocal about her displeasure with them. “If that’s alright with you?”
Jane stared at Coulson for a moment, shock, disbelief and excitement warring on her pretty features. Unable to form words at the thought of not having to worry about payments and being able to freely work, she nodded as excitement won over.
Thor turned to Lyssa, a small grin on his face. “Would you like to see the Bifrost Bridge?” He asked.
“Absolutely!” Lyssa said with an excited grin, taking a step back and spreading her wings.
“Follow me.” Thor said, tightening his grip on Aria and swinging Mjølnir in the air.
He shot into the sky, followed half a second later by Lyssa, their laughter and Aria’s delighted squeals echoing down to the group below.
“Wait, I need to debrief you!” Coulson shouted, only for his call to go either unheard or just plain ignored.