Chapter 704

"Jane! Where have you been?!"

Jane had barely stepped out of the strange space when Darcy came running toward her, panic written all over her face.

Jane was still dizzy from the transition and answered automatically, "What?"

Then she looked around and froze.

"You didn’t call the police, did you?!"

A line of police cars was parked outside the warehouse. Their blue-and-yellow British paint scheme almost made them look like a row of taxis at first glance, but the sight of officers in yellow rain gear searching the property erased any doubt.

"Don’t tell me you called the police!"

Jane’s temper flared.

Seriously? After New Mexico? How have you learned nothing?

Darcy looked genuinely offended. "What else was I supposed to do? You disappeared for five hours! I was losing my mind!"

"Still doesn’t mean you call the police!"

Jane sounded almost frantic now. To her, Darcy clearly didn’t understand what they had stumbled across.

"We found a stable gravitational anomaly. A real one. We can study it freely, and our only competition is a bunch of ten-year-old kids!"

"Jane—"

"No, I know." Jane waved her off. "Kids are impossible. But once you involve the police, they’ll report this up the chain, and SHIELD will swoop in and take everything."

She paced as she spoke, growing more agitated.

"The frequency is almost identical to what we detected in New Mexico. And from what I saw inside, there are signs of spatial overlap. It’s practically another world separated from ours by a wall. Do you understand what that means? If I can study it properly, I might be able to figure out how to cross over."

Her eyes hardened.

"And maybe find that bastard who dumped me and slap him across the face."

Darcy raised a finger. "I think ’claiming priority’ or ’requesting first access to research’ would be more accurate descriptions."

"Did you just—"

"Holy crap!"

A voice suddenly cut between them.

Both women nearly jumped out of their skins.

They spun around to find Evenson standing right beside them.

For a second, neither woman spoke.

"It’s you..."

Jane Foster recognized him immediately despite the years that had passed.

The last time Thor had come to Earth, Evenson had been SHIELD’s point man. Jane remembered him as outwardly easygoing, almost friendly, while being ruthlessly efficient underneath it.

Agent Coulson had merely taken her equipment and research data.

Evenson had practically packed up her entire life, carried it away, and somehow done it so politely that she’d ended up thanking him.

So, naturally, the one time Darcy called the police, SHIELD appeared.

Jane shot Darcy an accusing glare.

You had to call them.

Then she faced Evenson.

"What are you doing here? Let me make this clear right now. I discovered this anomaly first, and it has nothing to do with any external threat. SHIELD has no right to confiscate it."

She continued before he could answer.

"Even if you’re going to claim research priority, I’m involved. All data gets shared. That’s non-negotiable. Otherwise..."

She paused, trying to find the right threat.

"Otherwise..."

Jane noticed Evenson wasn’t even listening.

He was staring directly at her.

Not casually, either.

His eyes seemed to be boring straight through her.

Jane instinctively pulled her clothes tighter and stepped back.

Perfect.

If he tried to shut her out of the research, she could accuse him of harassment.

"What the hell are you looking at?"

"Nothing."

Evenson’s gaze snapped away.

He’d sensed something the instant he’d examined her.

There was something inside Jane that didn’t belong there.

Something unimaginably powerful.

Worse, it was almost completely fused with her body.

On the surface, there were no obvious symptoms, but Evenson could feel its effect clearly.

It was feeding on her life force.

And if that continued, Jane wouldn’t have much time left.

Instead of saying any of that, he merely smiled faintly.

"I was just thinking you’ve changed quite a bit since the last time we met."

Jane’s face darkened.

She’d spent far too much time comforting herself with desserts after Thor disappeared. Looking down briefly, she had to admit her waistline probably had changed.

Then she shook off the thought.

"That won’t work. What about my proposal?"

"Oh, your proposal..."

Evenson reached over and snatched the bulky measuring device from Darcy’s hands.

"You’re planning to study the anomaly with this?"

He turned the machine over in his hands.

"Honestly, this thing looks only slightly more advanced than my phone."

"That’s ridiculous!"

Jane yanked it back.

"This thing costs more than a whole crate of apples!"

Evenson gave her a dismissive look.

A crate of apples? Big deal. I can afford a crate of apples too.

"And I still don’t think you’re going to be much help with this research," he said. "If your professor Selvig were here, I’d at least consider it."

As he mentioned Selvig, Evenson briefly remembered that the man was still sitting in a psychiatric hospital being pumped full of medication.

He’d intended to deal with that eventually.

Just not now.

"More importantly..." Evenson glanced at Jane. "Do you really think you still have the energy to work on this?"

He pointed toward the warehouse entrance.

Jane turned.

And stopped breathing.

Thor stood there.

He wore silver armor, a red cape that whipped in the wind, and held Mjolnir in one hand.

Every thought Jane had about the anomaly vanished.

She shoved the measuring device into Darcy’s arms and walked straight toward him.

Evenson stayed where he was.

Then the sky opened.

Rain came down in a sudden sheet.

A moment ago, it had only been drizzling. Apparently the weather had decided to join the drama.

Jane, however, seemed completely untouched.

Ever since the strange energy had merged with her body, she had acquired an almost absurd relationship with water. The rain simply slid around her as though she had an invisible barrier protecting her.

The moment she walked away, however, Evenson got the full force of it.

He looked down at his suit in horror.

"Man... this suit cost a fortune."

He’d dressed properly for the occasion, and now the rain was threatening to turn expensive tailoring into soggy regret.

With a sigh, he lifted a hand and swept it through the air.

A transparent barrier appeared overhead.

The rain hit it and scattered harmlessly away.

Darcy edged over beside him, taking shelter beneath the barrier.

"Well, look at you. You actually have some special talents."

"I’m a special consultant," Evenson said with a shrug. "Wouldn’t be much of a title without a few special abilities."

The barrier was ridiculously convenient. Useful in combat, useful against the weather, and generally handy whenever he didn’t feel like getting wet.

"Speaking of special consultants..."

Darcy glanced nervously to the side.

A heavyset police officer was walking toward them.

"I think we’re about to get arrested."

The officer stopped in front of Evenson.

"Sir, do you know Jane Foster?"

The man was nothing if not dedicated to the job. There was one man standing around with a giant hammer while dressed like a medieval warrior, and another casually standing beneath a perfectly transparent rain shelter.

Neither looked remotely normal.

Yet this officer had still walked over to confront them.

"This is private property," he said. "You’re trespassing."

Evenson sighed.

He produced his credentials and held them up between two fingers.

"SHIELD business. Everyone else can stand down. If you have a problem with that, have your superior’s superior contact us."

The officer stared at the badge for a moment.

Then he spread his hands helplessly.

"Right. Fine."

He turned around and began calling his men back.

As he walked away, his expression soured.

SHIELD. Wonderful. One day those people are going to get what’s coming to them.

Meanwhile, Jane had finally reached Thor.

She stopped in front of him, trembling.

She stared up at the man she’d spent so long longing to see.

For a moment, words failed her.

Jane slowly raised one hand toward his face.

Then—

Smack!

She slapped him.

From more than thirty meters away, Evenson and Darcy both winced.

"Damn."

That had to hurt.

Apparently Jane agreed.

Smack!

A second slap followed, this time with her other hand.

One cheek each.

No favoritism.

"The first one was to make sure you were real," Jane said. "That one was because you deserved it."

Thor rubbed his face.

Jane’s anger finally began to crack.

"I waited right where you left me. You never came back."

Her voice trembled.

"Then I cried. I actually cried."

Thor’s expression softened.

"The Bifrost was destroyed. The Nine Realms were thrown into war. I had to do everything I could to stop the killing."

Evenson rolled his eyes from beneath the barrier.

Wrong answer.

This was not the time to discuss geopolitics.

This was the time for lines like I missed you and I thought about you every day.

He couldn’t believe Thor was getting away with it.

Even more unbelievable was that Jane actually softened.

The hard edge vanished from her voice.

She was almost ready to forgive him.

Evenson stared.

"She forgives him that easily?"

Darcy smiled.

"That’s what happens when the man looks like that."

"Huh..."

Evenson nodded thoughtfully.

"Then tell me something."

He turned to Darcy with complete seriousness.

"Does someone like me count as handsome?"

Darcy looked him over.

Then she pointed at Thor.

"That guy is handsome."

She pointed back at Evenson.

"You’re pretty."

Evenson stared at her.

"I’ll take that as an insult."

"It was."

He turned and started walking away.

"You people have no appreciation for refined beauty. Enjoy standing in the rain."

By then, Thor and Jane had finished their conversation.

The two looked into each other’s eyes.

Their faces slowly drew closer.

Evenson noticed.

"Oh, come on."

Just as their lips were about to meet, Evenson appeared between them.

"Thor!"

Both of them recoiled in surprise.

"It’s been a while!"

Thor’s expression fell.

"Evenson..."

He looked like a man who had just watched a perfectly good moment die.

"What are you doing here?"

Evenson raised an eyebrow.

"You only noticed me now? We’ve fought side by side before. I’m hurt."

Thor stared at him.

Why would I notice you?

The first time, Loki was plotting against Father and framing Thor, and Evenson showed up.

The second time, Loki was messing with the Tesseract and bringing the Chitauri into New York, and Evenson was there again.

At this point, Thor was beginning to suspect Evenson was some kind of cosmic bad-luck charm.

Evenson ignored his expression.

"So why the sudden trip to Earth?" he asked. "Don’t tell me you came all this way just to see your girlfriend."

He nodded toward the sky.

"I could feel the Bifrost. From the way it felt, it must have been repaired for quite a while."

"That’s correct," Thor said immediately. "We repaired the Bifrost not long after the Tesseract was returned."

Jane’s smile disappeared.

Smack!

Another slap.

Thor slowly rubbed his cheek.

All right. Note to self: never answer a question honestly around Jane Foster.

"I’ve been asking Heimdall to watch over Jane," Thor said quickly. "But just now, Heimdall suddenly couldn’t see her. I was worried."

Evenson looked at Jane.

"See? Thor has someone keeping an eye on you."

"Evenson!"

This time Thor reacted instantly.

Mjolnir rose into his hand.

"If you say one more word, we’re done as friends."

Evenson immediately raised both hands.

"Sorry. Sorry. The joke’s over."

He straightened.

Then his expression became serious.

"The reason Heimdall couldn’t see Jane is because she just went somewhere very strange."

Thor’s eyes hardened.

"Somewhere Heimdall couldn’t see?"

His attention snapped back to Jane.

"Are you all right? Do you feel anything unusual?"

"I’m fine..."

"She isn’t."

Jane had barely begun answering when Evenson interrupted.

He stepped toward her.

"Sorry."

He lifted one finger and lightly tapped her arm.

The response was immediate.

A violent surge of energy erupted from Jane’s body.

The blast threw both Evenson and Thor backward.

Jane didn’t even have time to react.

Her entire body locked up before she collapsed flat onto the ground.