Asgardian Tower Meeting
Thor had checked in with Jane before heading back to the Tower. He felt like he needed more help, so Heimdall had put a call out to Sif and the Warriors Three, all of whom had been somewhat scattered on various tedious jobs ever since the mess with the Dark Elves.
Bruce wandered in, unaware that there was an Asgardian meeting getting underway. "Oh, hey, sorry guys. Do you need the room?"
"No, no, stay if you like. Maybe you can help. We're trying to assess what we know so far." Thor smiled and moved to pat Bruce on the shoulder.
Bruce nodded and allowed himself to be ushered in further by Thor. "Well, most of the team is in Sokovia right now. There's a girl whose brother says she's not herself. She's got some serious power though, so bringing her in is proving tough."
"Jane's been tracking energy readings there. She says they are different from what's happening on the East Coast here, but there is definitely something powerful at work there too. Do they want me to come help?" Thor didn't want to just abandon his search, but if they needed more power, he would go without another thought to aid the team.
"Not yet. They have a plan. But if it fails, maybe." Bruce finally stopped and actually looked at each of the faces looking at him. They seemed friendly enough, but he couldn't help feeling a bit anxious. Of course, Thor gave his back a pat and side hugged him. It was funny how much tension that made him let go of.
"Everyone this is Bruce Banner. He's a scientist. Bruce, this is Sif, Heimdall, and the Warriors Three, Volstagg, Hogun, and Fandral." Thor pointed as he went, as Bruce nodded and smiled slightly.
Volstagg stepped forward. "Hello. Always good to meet one of Thor's friends. We hope you don't mind us meeting here."
"Thor said this would be a good meeting location. We promise we won't be long and we'll get out of your way." Sif immediately followed with a gentle smile as Heimdall and Hogun just nodded and Fandral smiled big.
"Hi. I don't mind. I just didn't know and didn't want to interrupt. You're welcome to use the Tower as a meeting place while you're here." Bruce's smile grew as Sif spoke, feeling all but the most low-level tension wash out of his body.
Thor smiled at Bruce once more before his attention shifted to the group. "We have a shortlist, and I believe one of those people is looking like a front-runner to me."
"If Loki weren't dead, I'd have voted it was him screwing around with us." Bruce blurted it out. After everything they'd gone through with Loki the previous year, Bruce figured the only thing that would stop Loki from coming after them again was dying.
"Actually, are we really sure Loki's dead?" Fandral wondered aloud.
"Of course he's dead. They found a body." Volstagg waved a hand shaking his head until the looks on everyone else's faces made him reconsider.
"I never saw the body after I left him on Svartalfheim, and I am beginning to wonder now. Odin claimed to not want a drawn-out funeral given Loki’s status as a prisoner." Thor had taken his father's word on that after believing he’d watched Loki die with his own eyes, but ever since then, Odin had been dodging those closest to him. For a while everyone, including Thor, wrote it off as Odin's grieving process after the deaths of Frigga and Loki, but he was beginning to question that.
"Wait! So you think this is Loki and he's alive?" Bruce visibly jumped.
"No. I mean, he might be alive, but I still think the culprit of this mess might be someone else. Unless they're working together." Though in his mental wandering he'd failed to mention the suspect's name. Thor rubbed his hand on Bruce's back, knowing the havoc Loki had caused his fellow Avengers. He didn't blame them, or anyone else, for how they felt. They'd never gotten to see anything other than the bad side of Loki.
"I do believe Loki has done something to displace Odin. It would explain a lot about the muddled vision I've had around Odin. I do not know what has happened to Odin though." Heimdall finally spoke and everyone seemed to turn to listen.
"Loki and Amora don't care much for one another. I do believe Loki has been pretending to be Odin for the past year, ever since Loki's apparent death. No one ever saw a body returned, and ever since has anyone here, anyone who used to be close with Odin actually been allowed to speak to him?" Thor too had believed his brother dead until a couple of days ago when he finally thought to ask Heimdall about Odin's day to day activities and Heimdall said Odin's activities had been hazy to him ever since Loki died.
"Only briefly, once, when he tasked me with daily check-ins with Asgardian regional leaders to make sure the world remained secure." Volstagg scratched his head as he considered the past year's events.
"We all got busy work after that. Mine wasn't even delivered in person. One of the Einherjar told me I was to take a ship out and maintain a patrol around the vicinity of Asgard, and was only permitted to stop in once a month. And I've been threatened with treason charges should I not comply in full." Fandral's eyes had narrowed as he looked around at the others.
"Same, only I was sent farther out after Volstagg and I returned from Knowhere." Her hands had taken up residence on her hips as Sif was taking in the new bits of information.
"Knowhere?" Bruce was curious, but a bit confused.
"There is a place called Knowhere." Sif's smile was gentle toward Bruce, to which he nodded and perhaps his cheeks pinked slightly.
"I was told to remain on Vanaheim and keep watch on my people. I didn't question it until now." Hogun had been happy to have the time to spend on his home planet with family and old friends. So much he hadn't thought to inquire more deeply as to what was happening on Asgard.
"Not that I disagree, but what lead you to think what's happening here on Midgard is Amora's doing?" Fandral knew it was certainly in the realm of reason, he was just curious.
"There are not too many capable of magic on the level to obscure my vision. Loki and Amora are on a shortlist. Loki I believe has been otherwise occupied masquerading as Odin on Asgard. I doubt he'd be able to blur my vision of Midgard as well. Though perhaps." Heimdall wasn't wearing his usual armor, and tilted his head as he finished speaking. Which made everyone else shift a bit. Heimdall being uncertain about something made everyone a touch uneasy.
"Also, one of my human friends said she has been seeing Asgard and a blond woman wearing green in her dreams. Which sounds like Amora. Heimdall says he sees something curious in that particular human friend." When Jane told him about what Darcy had been dreaming it felt like a point in the right direction. Though Thor wasn't completely sure why Darcy was seeing such things.
Everyone looked to Heimdall and he took a deep breath before speaking. "I know and see a great many things. Mysteries are strange for me. But there is a mystery here. I do know Amora though, and I do believe she is the one making this trouble on Midgard, and that Thor's human friend might be part of her interests here."
"Didn't you have a relationship with her long ago?" Fandral said it before he thought about it.
"I did." Heimdall nodded with a rather serious demeanor.
"The energy signatures we believe to be associated with Amora have been around the east coast of this continent. Largely around this city. There was a large spike about a month ago during a holiday called Halloween. And the people who attended a party here in this building that night all felt strange afterward. I believe Amora was doing her magic, we just don't know to what end." Thor hadn't been at the party, he'd been on Asgard meeting with Heimdall regarding his growing concerns about his vision feeling impaired at times.
"So this Asgardian woman made everyone feel weird at Halloween. Made Steve forget his whole night? Made me all agitated?" Bruce took a couple of deep breaths to keep from fidgeting too much. Sif's well-placed hand on his shoulder and her attempt at a comforting smile did actually help though.
"I believe so, yes. So we should go out looking for her. Do our best to keep the people of Midgard unaware of what's happening. But if you have a shot to catch her, do it." Thor hoped to keep from making a mess on this planet. He didn't want casualties. Amora often was out for more domination than destruction, but she certainly didn't worry about if people other than herself got hurt in the process.
"I'm getting some obscured vision when I try to look outside the city center here. Particularly to the North of the City. I would begin the search there." Heimdall nodded and got a nod in return from them all, even Bruce nodded, before the Asgardians started shifting to get underway.
Sif stopped short of starting to walk away though."Shouldn't we be finding a way to see if it is Loki impersonating Odin?"
"We will. I might have an idea for that. But I want to get this search underway first." Thor had to deal with one Asgardian sorcerer at a time.
"I hope they aren't working together." Fandral shook his head as the Warriors Three made their way into the Elevator.
"I hope not too." Thor nodded, glancing first at Heimdall before trying to make his expression more comforting when he looked at Bruce.