XXI
It had only been a month and already Jane was already hating the gauntlet that he called training.
That it was getting to her nerves probably angered her much more than it should've.
Even if she had decided that she would take this seriously, she had expected him to jump straight into teaching her how to fight.
This was decidedly not that.
She wasn't allowed her Valkyrie armor.
She wasn't allowed Undrjarn.
She wasn't allowed a real weapon nor even a mock one.
He had her do what everyone hated.
He had her run and exercise.
Percy had made it so that when the day's training was over, she was aching and sore all over but due to her newly found Asgardian physiology, she would be right as rain in the morning, if still a little sore.
And then he repeated the process. For close to six hours everyday. That had been the routine for the past four weeks straight. The closest she got to an actual weapon during all that time was a steak knife when, surprise, they had steak.
It was made worse when Percy had gotten them armor racks in their rooms. He said it was for when they had to clean her armor and when they got around to her training in it. But she was pretty sure it was meant to torture her. Now every time she went to sleep, her feathered and silver cuirass and narrowed helm would be staring right back at her.
Just begging to be used.
What was the point of being superpowered if she wasn't going to use it to do anything?
And that was what she found herself mulling over partly as she walked along the path towards the car that Percy had gotten her. It was a used vehicle that she insisted on.
He didn't really care what kind of car it was, so long it wasn't one his.
It was a nice gesture but one that was founded on paranoia. Her work afforded her a decent income but the expression of 'Money doesn't grow on trees.', came to mind whenever it came to large expenses. For the Immortal Realm, money was quite possibly the last thing on anyone's mind, if at all.
Jane sort of noticed this when Percy had given her his card to buy her new wardrobe. It wasn't until he said that he was willing to drop a hundred grand to buy her a car after she returned from her first weekend trip of visiting Darcy and Erik, did she realize that Percy nor Allison didn't actually care about money at all.
They cared more about the expenditure of even a single of these quarter-sized bronze coins that they had rather than they did about tens of thousands dollars.
It was just one of the many things that seemed to detach the world of immortals from the one of…mortals.
If not for all the world shattering revelations, it honestly felt like she was back in college. Only much more physically draining rather than mentally, for her at least. Even the existential crises seemed to fit right in line with the experience.
She tried to pull herself from that train of thought. The last time it ran deep into that line, she had realized that she was going to outlive her entire family and the next hundred or so generations if not moreso. It was a thought that scared her so much that it had kept her up that entire night. It was also one of the few days that she had worked out without complaint as she tried to distract herself until the history lessons in the evening.
When Jane questioned Sif on that, it was probably the one thing she didn't have a definitive answer on. But she had said the eldest among them was Odin, having already lived hundreds of thousands of years, if not millions. He was so long lived that no one actually knew how old he was, except probably himself.
All Sif knew was that Asgardians, compared to humans, were incredibly long-lived when compared beside each other. She had equated it to a power scale. The more powerful an Asgardian, the more likely they were to live longer than many others.
But then Jane's mind had turned to what quantified or defined power? What was measured in that term. Was it innate energy? Was it strength? Or was it something much more esoteric.
When Jane voiced that, Sif just cocked her head in confusion.
Though Sif also said that she and Thor were still relatively young in terms of an Asgardian being probably about her age if a little younger in relation to human years but that didn't matter much when their lifespans were so varied.
That had led to the conversation of how old demigods would get and the short answer was…not very long and the long answer was that it was complicated.
As all things typically were in relation to the Immortal realm.
Percy, who usually sat in on the history lessons with them, had left the room at that, visibly uncomfortable with the topic.
At least Allison wasn't openly provoking him anymore. They had heard some shouting when they returned that first day but Calypso just told them to stay out of it and that it was something that was long overdue for him.
Which made her thoughts stray to Darcy and Erik. She detested the thought of lying to them but she begrudgingly agreed with Percy and Sif that they would be safer if they didn't know that she had been made an Asgardian.
Something about ignorant and meddlesome mortals.
Those were Sif's words. Which were surprisingly far kinder than the ones used by the demigod son of Poseidon.
She was pretty sure she learned several curses in Ancient Greek during that little conversation.
Not that she knew what any of them meant in English as she was still getting used to the Asgardian Allspeak.
So every time she had the weekend off from training, or rather exercising to the point of collapse for five days of the week, she left with Sif as an escort and a decent application of the Mist, or as she learned, was also called Veil Magic.
Jane liked Allison in that way. She put some of the magical aspects into words she could understand and come to terms with. Well, to a degree. The barrier between the Immortal and Mortal realms was the closest explanation she got to what the Mist actually was. Veil Magic was simply the manipulation and application of the Mist.
This time was different. After a particularly exhaustive day of dueling Percy, Sif had been exhausted of energy and had promptly went to bed after dinner, leaving her able to go to Manhattan by herself and continue her more…mundane life as an astrophysicist.
Mundane being a relative term. Other than the fact that she lived with two Demigods, a Demititaness and an Asgardian, life was decidedly uneventful. A far cry from what she had expected it to be with everything that had happened not long before.
Percy called it a good thing. In his own words, 'Uneventful means that the world isn't about to end.' That had sobered her up when she heard the words.
She brought herself from her thoughts as she neared her car.
The sound of shattering glass also helped.
She turned abruptly and had fumbled with her keys slightly. Midtown was a decent enough area of Manhattan. Crime was low from the crimefighting pair of two other superhumans that she had heard of and seen once or twice on the news. The Friendly Neighborhood Spiders, they were called.
Or Menaces to Society, depending on who you asked but most, like Jane, agreed on the former.
But crime did still exist. How could it not? They were in the City that Never Sleeps, if someone wasn't committing petty thievery or a felony than that would be the day that she would willingly allow Darcy to drive any motorized vehicle.
So she wasn't at all surprised to see on the other side of the parking lot, thanks to her new acute eyesight, a guy complete with an all-black get up and a crowbar taking a couple swings to the driver's side window of an SUV and reach in to unlock it and then ducking underneath the steering wheel.
What did surprise her was the feeling that came over her.
This is my chance! It was almost thrown into her lap! She felt her heart rate quicken as she quickly ducked behind a large van and looked around again. It was dark out, so she didn't see anyone else in the street. Likewise, she cast her gaze to the building beside her. A couple of warm and dim lights were on but there were closed shutters all around and the few that didn't have their blinds drawn, she didn't see anyone looking out into the street.
She breathed deeply and then mentally recounted a formula in her head to calm herself before willing her armor about herself, winged helm and all. It took her a little longer than she would've liked but that muted pale mist still formed and dissipated after a few moments.
Jane stretched slightly and bounced on the balls of her heavy boots before stepping out to confront the carjacker.
"Hey!" She shouted as she approached the completely focused guy. She hoped she sounded as menacing as she thought she did.
The guy banged his head against the steering wheel comically as he let out an expletive and fumbled and staggered to peel himself from the car. Jane had to force herself not to laugh at him.
"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" The guy said as he looked her up and down, his voice was surprisingly normal and level for someone that had come face to face with an armored Asgardian. "Some pigeon lady? Fuck off, woman." He turned back into the car and she could hear the sound of him trying to jimmy something open.
Right…the Mist. She had totally forgotten about the Veil Magic. Her first impression and the guy probably thought she was wearing one of those chicken suits to advertise for a fast-food place.
So instead she focused once again, thinking back to the lessons Calypso had given her. Sif wasn't all that interested in learning it after it failed to spark in her hands. The demititaness had snarked that it was probably because she was an Asgardian that she couldn't learn it.
Jane had proved her wrong when a pale mist had sprang like a sprinkling and sparkling font from the palm of her hand in front of them both.
While Sif still didn't return to the lessons, Jane was excited at the prospect of wielding actual magic.
She began to recite that same equation to clear her mind as she focused on dispelling the Veil Magic on her person, she was lucky in the fact that it was Allison that had applied it to her this time. She doubted she could manage to dispel the magic had it been Percy and she definitely wouldn't have been capable of doing so had Calypso placed it.
It seemed that the stars were aligning perfectly for her as she felt the cascade of dull grey mist fall about her form.
She steeled her resolve. "Hey guy!" She said with as much force and authority she could muster. The guy groaned in annoyance as he slipped from underneath the car and she could see that he brandished the crowbar.
"What the hell do-" He stopped short as he looked at her, his eyes going wide underneath the balaclava he wore. He let go of the weapon in his hands and it clattered to asphalt road with a loud bang. He raised his hands placatingly. "L-Look-" He visibly gulped and Jane cocked her head in amusement. "I don't- I don't want any trouble!"
Jane didn't speak, having learned from Percy that words often fell short of action. Instead, she took a meaningful step forward and the man stumbled backwards slipping and landing unceremoniously on his ass.
"Well, are you going to make me throw you out of here?" She growled as she took another couple of steps forward.
The man didn't need further warning as he scrambled to rise from his position and made himself scarce of the scene, leaving his crowbar, toolkit and a broken car window behind.
Jane scoffed. That had been rather…anti-climactic. She expected the guy to at least take a swing at her but then thought better of it. She didn't think a crowbar would feel all that good despite her Asgardian physiology and armor.
A female voice shouted and clapped from behind her as she whirled around searching the source. "A Plus for intimidation. What do you think, Spidey?"
"A bit dramatic in my opinion." A male voice quipped as if it was directly behind her. She whirled around and swung her fist on instinct only for it to stop dead in its tracks as a red and blue hand with black webbing caught it as if it were just catching a ball out of the air.
She took in the scene quickly as it was kind of hard not to.
Standing before her was the one and only Spider Man in his red, blue and black iconic skin-tight suit with a black spider emblazoned on the front of his chest and his pale eyes cocked in amusement.
"Like you're one to talk." The female voice retorted with her own scoff as she felt and heard a soft thud behind her. "You never shut up when we fight the baddies." That meant that the Spider behind her was none other than Spider Woman.
The Spider Man visibly cringed as he heard the words. He let go of her thrown fist as he maneuvered around her without a care in the world. Jane followed his movement as she turned to face the both of them.
The Spider Woman was also in her iconic skin tight suit that was white and black and with pink lines trailing about her where the white was. There was a pink outline of where her eyes were and she also had her hood up that seemed to have pink as its primary color and white as the webbing lines.
"Well, it makes the night fun at least." He grumbled as both Spiders turned to face her. "So who are you supposed to be?" Spider Man asked as he crossed his arms. "Do we have to be worried about a new player in town?"
"And here I thought you were the brains of our little operation. She's clearly Asgardian!" The Spider Woman exasperated as she threw her hands out in front of her in a presenting manner. "Just look at the helmet!"
"No! I get that!" The Spider Man waved off his partner who he consequently looked to as the Spider Woman just gestured to Jane again as if her mere presence explained everything. "I mean is she an Avenger? Another hero? A villain?"
The woman scoffed again. "A do-gooder, obviously!" They were very expressive in their mannerisms, waving their arms and tilting their heads and such. Even their eyes seemed to narrow or widen whenever they spoke.
It was honestly amusing to be witness to the famous back and forth that the two Spiders of New York were known for.
But Jane had more pressing matters on her mind. And for once, it wasn't something that was life or death but it was something that could get her on the receiving end of unwanted attention. Both from SHIELD and Percy.
What was her name?
She couldn't exactly tell them she was Jane Foster, the premier astronomer and astrophysicist of the world.
So now she needed a superhero name and this one was actually easy to determine.
"I'm Valkyrie." Jane declared with an upturned nose.
"Valkyrie?" They both tested the word simultaneously and then looked to each other as they both said, "Jinx!" At the same time, though the male Spider was apparently faster when the woman crossed her own arms and seemed to pout as she turned her back to them.
Spider Man turned towards her. "Well, Valkyrie." His voice was near mocking but held an excitable tinge to it. "You think you're up to snuff? We still have our patrol to do tonight. You're a bit of an amateur but I think we can show you the ropes."
The Spider Woman seemed to get out of her slump as she bounced on her feet, visibly excited at the possibility. She nodded her head and Jane was worried that the girl's head might fall off.
Jane shared her energy as she nodded almost as eagerly as the Spider Woman. "It is my first night out." She admitted. Jane felt like that needed to be said. She didn't want to end up being a burden. The duo did good on a near nightly basis. She didn't want to get in the way of that.
"Well, if you can keep up!" Spider Woman crouched low and then sprang upwards, a pale vine shooting from her wrist as she propelled herself into the sky. "Then we can show you how its done!" Her voice echoing as she shouted the words.
Spider Man seemed to smirk underneath his mask and then winked as he followed his partner into the New York skyline.
Jane smirked as she went to crouch low as she did in the Pavilion of Asgard and exerted with as much strength she could muster and leapt into the air after the two Spiders.
It was probably the only thing other than semi-natural fighting instincts that came completely natural to her when the Aether had turned her into an Asgardian.
At the apex of her jump, her Valkyrie wings erupted into their pale luminescent life, sporting a wingspan that strayed at roughly four and a half meters, if she did stretch them fully out that is. Her wings and just about everything about them seemed like just another limb of her body and one that she had used for all the years of her life so far.
They were, in a word, beautiful.
Pale, with a tinge of silver luminescent feathers like one might think adorned an angel of Christianity.
Jane flew after the two webslingers but well above them and into the dark blanket of the clouds, as she hoped not to draw to much attention to herself. Thanks to her eyesight, it was not hard to track the duo and they soon stopped on a rooftop, Jane landing elegantly beside them as her wings seemed to dissolve into a pale mist, coalescing and being sucked into her body as it did so.
She didn't feel it as it seemed to be more of an intent and subconscious thing that just happened whenever she landed or simply no longer needed to fly.
Neither Jane nor the Spiders appeared to be particularly winded.
"You have wings!" Spider Woman exclaimed, jumping in her place and clapping excitedly. "I was going to feel bad if you couldn't fly like Thor."
Now that Jane thought about it, it was kind of messed up that they almost abandoned her in a parking lot but she didn't think much of it given her words. The only Asgardians that the public of Earth had contact with was Thor, Loki and now her.
They had no reason to question the belief that all Asgardians possessed some capability of flight. Jane supposed that she had a leg up against Sif in that regard. The raven haired Asgardian may be centuries above her in experience but Jane could fly.
It'll provide good ammunition against the woman if they ever had an argument again. It was petty but at this point, most arguments between the two of them were petty in comparison to what they should be focusing on.
"Are they part of you? Like a mutant?" Spider Man asked curiously, bringing an arm across his chest to prop up the other that was holding his masked chin speculatively.
She shook her head, since she didn't exactly know. As far as she knew, she could only summon them with her armor since she never tried it otherwise.
That's probably something I need to figure out.
They didn't spend that much time upon the rooftop as the Spiders looked to each other suddenly before Spider Woman shouted as they both slung away. "Follow us!"
Jane didn't need further encouragement as she leapt into the air again, the wings unfurling and in a single powerful beat, had launched her after the two Spiders who were moving.
Before they were moving about almost at a leisurely pace as Jane followed in the skies above. This time however, they had dove downward before launching themselves like a cannonball into the sky to further propel themselves at a severe speed. Jane had almost lost them with how close they were weaving through the buildings.
But that was when she saw it. A couple of police cruisers giving chase to a black sedan in the distance. That seemed to be the target of the Spiders as they continued to maneuver around the buildings. But with Jane so high up in the air, she could intervene faster than they could.
Way faster than they could given her unimpeded flight over the city.
The human-turned-Asgardian steeled her resolve.
I can do this. Jane canted in her mind as she followed the chase, the black sedan gaining evermore distance from the cruisers. Probably because it was supped up to some degree.
She followed the chase, anticipating the movement of where the car may go and then, descending like a bird of prey, she twirled upwards a few more feet and then dove.
Tucking in her wings as she shot forth like a falcon, Jane felt the sudden rush of air about her, the helmet and metal visor easily protecting her from the onset of gravity and air that made to meet her.
In the scant moments she had as dove to intercept the black sedan before the Spiders. She had a few thoughts running through her mind.
The first and primary one, was the rush of euphoria and adrenaline that she had as she descended. The act of flying and diving seemingly entirely natural to her, as if she had been doing it all her life. As if she should have been doing it her entire life.
The next and last one was something on the other end of the spectrum and entirely the opposite of the first one. It also quickly became the most overwhelming thought she had, even overriding the sense of euphoria but not quite enough to quench the adrenaline that was coursing through her.
What the hell am I doing?
Was the thought as she picked her legs up to meet the ground with a weighty thud, her knees bending very slightly to absorb the shock of the impact. A crater and dull shockwave appeared and emanated from the point of impact.
The chase was coming straight towards her and she could see the driver stare wide eyed but showing no signs of stopping as the vehicle gunned straight towards her.
So Jane did the only thing that her instincts told her. Her wings unfurled once again and flared in all their glory, in a manner similar to what she knew of birds who felt threatened and had the need to defend themselves.
To appear larger and more threatening than she actually was.
Then she braced herself to catch the car head on.
Because if she could take on an alien flying Dark Elf Harrow that Jane was sure was made of literal rock then a soft, aluminum, consumer POS car was nothing.
She felt the car rumble before it collided with her and she dug her feet into the ground.
In a single moment, she felt the car collide with her and she exerted all the strength she could muster into countering the massive amount of force that she had just stopped on a dime. Her armored boots digging into the asphalt and tearing it apart. For good measure, she flapped her wings powerfully to counter the ensuing energy. The back of the sedan tilted upwards as the speed continued to carry it before falling suddenly.
The driver was still conscious and the dirty ski mask he wore was cracked as the bloodshot eyes narrowed at her. His passenger however was knocked out cold, their mask probably the only thing saving him from death. She could also see two others in the back who were sprawled in their seats and entangled with each other. None of the airbags had deployed.
There was a brief standoff between her and the driver.
The man in the sedan stomped on the pedal and attempted to run her down.
But Jane was having none of it. She dug her heels into the asphalt further and beat her Valkyrie wings with increased fervor as the smoke and the distinct smell of burning rubber began to permeate the air about them.
It was honestly a testament to how the car was built given that it was still able to operate after sustaining a crash against her Asgardian strength and fully armored form. The engine still smoked underneath the dented and malformed hood but it roared in defiance at Jane who prevented the car from further pushing onward.
Then she heard a tire pop, a sudden sound that made the spinning wheel screech and shower the entire side of the street in a wave of singing sparks. The next wheel popped and Jane flapped her wings even more fervently in response. She was winning.
The car whined out though after another moment, the grinding of the rear metal wheels doing more to hinder the movement of the vehicle than to assist in its escape. The engine growling in a low and spiteful manner before turning into a sputtering wail as it died.
She breathed deeply, her wings flapping once more in response to her annoyance as the smoke swirled about and dispersed at the action before they cascaded to a silver and pale mist into her body.
Jane glared into the windscreen of the car and locking onto the eyes of the driver. Now she was thanking her lucky stars that Percy had been exercising her to exhaustion. She was pretty sure she might have pulled a muscle had it not been for those intense regimens that the Son of Poseidon put her through, day in and day out.
That would have been embarrassing if that had happened.
The two people in the back were sprawled in the backseat and Jane could hear their light groaning over the hissing and steaming engine. The driver slowly raised his hands in a surrendering manner, resigned to his next destination.
All in all, Jane figured, not a bad first nab.
That guy with the crowbar notwithstanding.
That was when she began to take in the situation around her. Bystanders were out and about with their phones flashing as they took photos or filmed the transpiring events.
And her.
Oh God. Is that a news crew? Jane internally recoiled at the sight. She heard the whirring of a helicopter and she wanted nothing more than to go back to her car and leave the carjacker to his business.
Percy was going to be pissed.
A wave of oncoming police cruisers stopped a ways away from her, followed by what she dreaded to see most.
Black SUVs. Her skin crawled at the thought of encountering SHIELD of all people. But she should've known that they were probably everywhere and much moreso in New York with Avenger Tower right smack dab in the middle of it.
Jane willed her wings back into existence as they unfurled and prepared to launch her skyward.
A chill went down her spine when she heard the words from behind her. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
She stopped mid-flap and slowly turned to come face to face with half of the Avenger team standing a little ways before her.
She knew only one of their names, Steve Rogers. Decked out in a darker, more streamlined and modern version of his classical Forties, red, white and blue suit, the supersoldier had his hand up placatingly while also placing his other onto Hawkeye's signature weapon to get him to lower it. His iconic round shield attached to his back.
Which he did begrudgingly, expertly withdrawing the nocked arrow and placing it back into the dual quiver on his back over the tactical suit he wore to top it all off. Just like Jane remembered when she had seen him in New Mexico when they were bailing Thor out of the science camp SHIELD had made around Mjolnir.
The other was the Black Widow. The vibrant red haired woman had a sashay in her walk as she approached alongside Rogers and Hawkeye but even she could see the dangerous gadgets that lined her belt and if the luminescent blue tubing that edged her outerwear was any indication then she was also wielding her own signature weapons. Though there was still two batons that looked to be holstered at her thighs.
Jane took a moment to scan the New York skyline and she could see the just the minute pair of figures crouched low atop a building watching the scene unfold.
She didn't blame the Spiders. They were technically vigilantes and this was her own fault for getting into this mess. She could've just waited for them to plan.
But she didn't and literally dived headlong into trouble.
It was considerate of them to even be near this amount of law enforcement.
"Miss." Rogers greeted with a slight incline of his head as he brought his hands to grip his belt as if he were some sort of cowboy. His voice good-natured and polite. "May we ask your name and affiliation?"
Jane thought for a long moment, before she managed to squeak out her response as she took a hesitant step backwards. She was so getting in trouble for this whole mess but she would do her best to mitigate it. "Valkyrie." She said slightly and she had to make a measured and conscious attempt to mimic how Sif spoke. "I am from Asgard."
She heard the Black Widow mutter under her breath but given her adrenaline and heightened sense she heard it easily. "We already figured that."
"You one of Thor's friends?" Hawkeye ventured as Rogers sent a glance to the Widow who didn't react to it.
She nodded, not exactly trusting her voice at the moment.
There was a hesitant standoff and the Captain took a step towards her.
Jane took a step backwards.
Her best bet right now would be to cut loose and either get to Percy's place as soon as possible or to Darcy's and Selvig's apartment.
She doubted she would be allowed to return there anytime in the near future if she even got out of this.
"We're friends of Thor." Rogers said as he placed his hands in a placating gesture. "Are you here on any…particular business or… just passing through?"
"Passing through." She said quickly. "I saw the…mortals…struggling with the…vehicle…and decided to lend a helping hand." She hesitated on the words as she tried to talk like she was an Asgardian.
Which she was but her mind and all its knowledge hadn't changed so it was sort of difficult to choose the words that made it seem like she was ignorant with human technology.
"Is Thor around?" He asked suddenly. "I would think he would want to escort his own friends and want to introduce us."
She shook her head and she glanced about to see SHIELD agents, both ones in business suits and tactical attire forming a perimeter around her with NYPD forming a blockade to keep away the tide of bystanders at bay.
This was not going to end well at all. Jane determined that she would fight to remain well away from SHIELD and even the Avengers if she had to. They were in league with SHIELD and after they stole all her research and equipment just because the could. She was not inclined to trust them at all.
Much less with her identity.
That was just asking trouble.
It was her lucky day apparently as she felt a sudden gust of wind and pressure that began to pass through the valleys of skyscrapers.
She was also able to smell the distinct scent of the ocean begin to permeate about them.
She may know that she messed up but she at least knew that Percy would help her. Moreso to cover his own hide than to actually help her but she would take what she could get.
It seemed that Jane was not the only one to notice the sudden change in atmosphere as Rogers reached for his shield and Hawkeye drew and readied an arrow. The Widow's electric tubing seemed to whine to further life as well as she readied herself.
"I think you should get ready for a fight, Valkyrie." He brought a reinforced leather gloved hand to his ear. "We may be having some company." Rogers warned as he scanned the area. A slight rain began to patter upon them and the looming blanket of clouds turned dark and heavy than the light and translucent that they once were. SHIELD agents and police began shouting orders for civilians to scatter. Not like they needed much encouragement as the rain continued to pick up in its intensity but never rising above a constant drizzle.
Thunder rumbled above them.
Percy was definitely pissed.
But she didn't join them.
Instead, she took a couple more slow and hesitant steps backwards away from them.
It was only another moment when a spray of mist rose and began to coalesce into the form of her trainer. He was between them but offset near the left shoulder of the road. However, instead of the casual or workout clothes that he wore, he was adorned in his golden armor, the first time she had seen him wear it since their meeting on Olympus.
But he wasn't armed. Not visibly at least, only a dagger that she knew he always kept on his person at the small of his back. She hadn't seen him use his weapons at all in their time at his home. Nor did she know where he kept them.
His back was to the SHIELD agents who had drawn and trained their weapons on Percy.
Not that he seemed to care in the slightest. The rain and wind continued and lightning began arcing across the sky while thunder also boomed.
His eyes glowing a prismatic green hue from beneath his helmet.
That wave of pressure from before grew into a frightening intensity.
Jane likened the feeling to when she stood before the Olympians, where all she wanted to do was bow and submit.
Before it went away as fast it came, being replaced by a primal fear that told her to run. She held her ground though.
Percy wouldn't kill her.
Would he?
Unused to the feeling as she was, she still had to clamp down in her flight instinct, her sheen but drenched wings unconsciously coming close to her as if to hide her from his gaze. She didn't meet his eyes, ashamed at being in this position in the first place but she did look around as she was not wholly focused on resisting the urge to run.
The few pedestrians that had remained to watch the events unfurl however were not as resistant to the feeling of primal fear as they either remained rooted to their spot or fled in terror. The pressure and urge to run overriding any other investigative desire. She was at least comforted in the fact that she was not alone in the act of cowering. More than a fair share of police officers and agents of SHIELD had followed her lead though unlike her they were attempting to resist the act as twitching heads and bodies were sporadic throughout the throng of people.
The three Avengers were looking around wildly at the scene and her as well.
But they were also not so wholly unaffected as both Hawkeye and Black Widow struggled to keep themselves standing. The Captain seemed to be the only unaffected but Jane could see the slight twitches beneath his masked helmet.
It was only a moment later when the pressure and fear seemed to lessen but she could still feel the power roiling about the area.
Jane didn't fault the people that cowered nor ran because while she doubted Percy would willingly kill them, he had a certain…disregard when it came to them. As if they were beneath him. Other than Sally and Estelle that is.
She should know. She experienced it.
And in a way, it wasn't as surprising nor as insulting as she felt it should have been now that she knew who he really was. Regular humans simply didn't register on his mind. She guessed it was probably because he dealt with beings on a frequent basis who could snuff out their existence on whim.
Allison and Sif were much the same way in their shopping trip. While the two didn't exude the pressure nor power that Percy did, they both had a haughtiness and pride that made them look down upon others.
And Sif had only recently began treating her as a friend rather than an insect. And only after she became an Asgardian.
She was snapped from her thoughts as Rogers stepped forward, brandishing his iconic shield as he did so as to place himself between her and Percy, who cocked his head at the action. "We don't want any trouble."
She watched as Percy's eyes flicked around him taking in the scene as she did before turning his gaze back to Rogers. His voice seemed to be tinged in metal cords and near robotic as he spoke. "I am merely here for the Asgardian. Feel free to go about your business."
"The Asgardian is u-"
Jane interrupted not wanting this to escalate any further. Percy making them run in fear by simply standing there was enough of a display. "It's alright!" She stepped forward to get to Percy. While she knew the Avengers probably wouldn't do anything nefarious. Jane had her doubts on SHIELD. "I know him."
If they realized that people could be made into an Asgardian, even if it was a fluke, what lengths would they go to achieve a similar feat?
Rogers looked to her. "Are you sure?" He looked entirely unconvinced.
Jane made to speak but Percy did so instead. "The Prince of Asgard has entrusted her and a couple of Asgardians under my protection during their visit." He paused for a moment as he looked to her. His eyes narrowing and she shifted slightly as she continued to walk to Percy with her head hung in shame, feeling all to much like a child being scolded. "It appears this one became…eager to follow in her Prince's footsteps." His words were formal and measured despite their distortion and lacked the casualness that he usually had.
Definitely like a child. She thought as the words stung her mind when they reached her ears.
She didn't realize it till now that this was exactly that. And not just Thor's footsteps but the Avengers, the Spiders of New York and even the Fantastic Four as well.
Not only that…but she didn't realize until now that Thor was now technically her superior as Asgardian Royalty and, in conjunction as Crown Prince of Asgard.
I think it's a good thing that we're taking a break from our relationship then. She thought to herself. She didn't think that she would be able to look at Thor the same way again.
Percy, Sif and even Allison had been lecturing her near daily that a King's word is law.
And Odin had made his displeasure quite clear at their relationship even after her transformation into an Asgardian. So long as Odin remained King of Asgard, she had absolutely no chance at being with Thor romantically.
She was at least comforted that Sif seemed over her own crush on the Prince of Asgard.
Much in the same way that Sif obeyed Odin without question, Percy and Allison obeyed Zeus even if they did so with voiced displeasure. They may not like it but they still obeyed.
Because Zeus was still King of Olympus.
And she would have to learn to do the same except with whoever was King of Asgard.
"And why wouldn't he let them stay with us?" Rogers pressed pulling her from her straying thoughts and intercepting her path to Percy. "You tried to kill him."
"If I wanted to kill the Prince of Asgard, I would have done so. Just as with you and you." He said simply as he nodded to Rogers and the Black Widow respectively who shifted uncomfortably under the look. "I don't know why. Perhaps you should ask him when he returns." A lie but Jane wasn't going to call him out on it. She had no reason to.
But he seemed to be playing the part of the diplomat to an excelling degree.
"And when will that be?"
Jane maneuvered around the supersoldier to Percy.
The demigod didn't answer as he placed an iron grip on her shoulder. And in a moment, she felt her mind be pulled and her body collapse in a shower of mist.
Percy felt himself form in the courtyard of his home. The larger one that is with the pool of water and trees instead of the small garden that Calypso had taken over. It was dark out as the blanket of thick clouds still covered much of Long Island.
He turned to scold Jane for her…display. Instead, he came face to face with a collapsed and dry-heaving Jane.
That was the first time he had ever misted with someone else before. Luckily, for him at least, it was possible. Unluckily, for Jane, it seemed to have adverse effects on those that tagged along.
Something to note. He thought to himself before removing himself from that line of thought. He let the woman calm and compose herself but the moment she was done he spoke. "What was that about?" His voice was calm but internally he was livid.
The dark clouds looming overhead, a mirror to his own emotion. Calm but ready to be unleashed at the slightest inclination.
She flared her wings widely and shook them free of the rainwater that had drenched them. He took in the sight of the wings, due to it actually being the first time he had seen them in their entirety and then pulled himself from those thoughts as he flicked his hand, the water cascading away from the feathers as if they were clouds. She looked to him as the wings began to dissipate into a silver and pale mist and back into her.
She didn't answer as she continued to look downcast at the ground below her. "Jane, why did you think that this was a good idea?" He repeated himself but kept calm. He didn't grow angry even though he desperately wanted to. Doing so would not only endanger his home and those inside but also get him absolutely nowhere.
If he was to root out whatever it was that gave her cause to involve herself like she had, then he would need to play nice. Snapping at her and talking down to her would only set himself back in that regard.
It was another moment before the woman spoke as she who had huddled into her legs looking incredibly downtrodden.
For a twenty six year old, and supposedly world renowned astronomer and astrophysicist she looked all too much like a child that was being scolded and one that was about to burst into tears.
He hoped this wasn't a side effect of being turned into an Asgardian but he doubted it. It was probably all the pressure on her. But that was all he could discern.
She mumbled, looking into the pool of crystal water that was beside them. "Why don't you help?"
What?
When he didn't answer, she continued by explaining herself. "When you can do the things you can do, why don't you help?"
Help the mortals? That's what this was about? He had several incredibly good reasons as to why he couldn't or rather wouldn't intervene.
The first and primary one is that their troubles hardly ever concerned him.
The second one was in line with the first. Their petty squabbles and issues that plagued their societies was something that was largely forgotten and over with in the Immortal Realm. With the exception of all the familial issues he had to deal with and all his own personal issues, his life was pretty much as good as it could get considering all the circumstances.
It was selfish but after everything, he felt he had a right to be so.
The third and probably the most important reason was that when demigods or even particularly powerful legacies did get directly involved with the Mortal World, mortal wars and crises had a tendency to follow lockstep in with their actions.
Because when one child of Olympus gets the idea that they can help the mortals out, many others start to get the same idea as well. And then when all the varied and polar and extreme ideals and personalities that the children of the Immortal Realm were known for came out to play, conflict was inevitably going to erupt.
He could think of two instances right off the bat in which it had happened.
There was also the added benefit of having the excuse that demigods and legacies in general were to keep a distance from becoming overly influential in the mortal realm because of it. That company that helped him set this all up having been one of incredibly few exceptions mostly because it had been established before all those decrees were made.
He could choose the safe answer and lie and say he wasn't allowed to even if he had been given leave to do so.
He could just say the truth and say that he didn't care all that much about what the mortals did to each other.
But he didn't. Jane didn't need to hear that right now. Not when he needed to root out the thought that she had an obligation to help others.
Because she didn't. She owed them nothing.
So he decided on his best course of action and that was just to give his own personal opinion. Not his demigod one but his human one.
Maybe he could turn it into a bit of a lesson even if he wasn't the best at explaining things. "I don't help because when I do people start to rely on me." He'd put in his own personal opinions and experience in it as well just to reinforce it. She looked up to him at his words. She had a tight frown and an expression of confusion on her face.
"Call it life experience. When people start to rely on others to clean their messes up for them, those people become lazy and weak. What's the point of a police force if you have small-town vigilantes beating everyone up? What's the point of a military when you have people that can take down armies on their own? What's the point?" He didn't wait for her to answer as he shrugged off his helmet and clipped it to his side. He looked to the luminescent pool and its gurgling fountains as he clasped his hands behind his back sighing as he felt himself begin to relax and his anger dissipate into resignation.
"There is no point. When people become reliant on a small group to solve all their problems they stagnate. What happens when these so-called heroes die and their villains win? Who is going to step up when the only ones that can do so are the weak, lazy and incapable? The answer is no one. That's why I don't help. They need to be capable of solving their own problems without heroes, because when there are people being propped onto tall pedestals it only leads to disappointment and failure on everyone's part."
He looked to Jane who was looking at him curiously before she also looked away and into the pool that she was sitting beside.
"For myself, that's probably the main reason I don't want to get involved. For demigods and legacies in general, its an unspoken rule that we don't intervene on mortal affairs." The less said about demigods and legacies being the primary reason for the world's greatest and bloodiest conflicts the better. That would just open a whole plethora of questions that he wouldn't be able to answer.
Best to just leave that in the capable hands of the Athenian Priestess.
They sat there for a while simply looking into the pool of crystal water.
"Why don't you teach me how to fight?" She asked after a period silence, she had also taken off her helmet and placed it on the ground beside her. "All we do is exercise and exercise." He barked a laugh. At her expense, of course not at anything she had said. "What's so funny?"
"I am training you how to fight. Believe it or not, but fighting isn't all about pummeling someone into the dirt. I mean for the most part it is but there's nuances that some amateurs tend to forget. It's all well and good if you kill someone but what if there's two of them? What if there's four? Ten? Twenty? You can be the best fighter there is but it won't mean a damn if you can't last all that long. That's what I'm doing, building up your endurance and getting rid of your fatigue as much as possible before we really move onto the fun stuff."
"I think I'm ready." She muttered. Percy eyed her after she said the words. He doubted it and she looked to him and spoke again when he didn't say anything in response. "I did stop a car that was moving above forty."
It was a good point. He didn't think he would be able to do that. Well he probably could. He did get in a punching match with Polybotes in Alaska and he doubted a car could ever hope to match the amount of force that a Gigantes was able to dish out.
But then again, he would've just destroyed the car before it even came close to hitting him.
Perks of being able to bolt something.
A muffled rumble of thunder resounded above them and Percy had to suppress his smirk at his uncle's displeasure at the fact that his nephew was able to wield lightning just as easily as his own children. Granted, he couldn't manifest it from his body but Clarisse's spear and the ability to summon his own bolts of lightning was better than not being able to at all.
He stood suddenly, coming to a decision. If she wanted to fight, who was he to dissuade her?
The least he could do is get her to the point where she wouldn't outright die if she had to fight. And it wasn't like he would be too far away either, for the moment at least. Better to get her able to fend for herself until he was able to come around and bring the wrath of the Sea upon whoever was stupid enough to attack one of his wards.
"Where are you going? I thought we were having a heart to heart?" She chuckled lightly but it was devoid of humor.
"You wanted to learn how to fight right? Well, come on, we start tonight." He began walking beyond the wall and into the expansive fields towards the training grounds on the other side of the house.
It took her moment to register his words but when she did, she scrambled to get up from her seated position. "Are you serious? Right now? In the middle of the night?"
He frowned. He should've guessed this would not only be a training in weapons and martial arts but also in tactics. "Lesson one. However cliché it might sound, the fight doesn't care what time of day it is nor if you're tired or not. So yes, right now. In the middle of the night."
Percy didn't miss the skip in her step as Jane followed him.
He didn't have the heart to tell her that she was probably going to hate this much more than exercising.
'The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.'
-Leo Tolstoy
Not much to say here, other than the fact that this interlude is now complete. We will be moving onto the next major arc for Of Water and Salt!
Remember this is just a characterization chapter for both Percy and Jane. Pairing is still undecided. In regards to Jane it has been set up, in all her scenes, that she is sort of naïve in regards to the whole superhero scene.
And Percy's words on reliance on heroes is not something I pulled from nowhere either. If you want more context, he said something similar to Artemis back in chapter 4 and even the Olympians discussed this in chapter 10 in regards to not overly relying on Percy. I believe I left other little hints here and there but those are the two main ones.
If you have any questions at all feel free to drop a comment! You can also find me on Discord, the Emerald Library! I am on there near daily talking about real time progress of chapters as well as a pinned update schedule!
You can find the link to that on my profile! But I'll also drop it here! Be sure to come say hello!
discord . gg/BE7vKcfzKd – Remember to remove the spaces!