MUSES: Thor, Bucky, Troy, Natasha, Bruce, Hilde, Jimmy, Zap...? TOPIC: God Save the Queen. DATE/TIME: Sunday, 10-28-18 @ 5:00pm (UK). LOCATION: Holland, International Criminal Court. RATING: B for Buttrock.
The Allfather's ship and only his ship landed outside the military base where Eva and James were being held. Hazy gray clouds and the rumble of distant thunder rolled in from the sea from behind the airship - a wake of storms that projected Thor's current humor. Despite the violence in the altitude, the mood near the ground was an eerie calm - the eye of the emotional hurricane.
Thor knew the other two ships were in the vicinity and had ordered them to remain hidden unless the situation deteriorated further. What did that look like? They had wondered aloud, to which the King hadn't had a solid answer for.
The monarch stood. "Stay here," he instructed Brunnhilde. "If I require you..." he trailed off, only to allow his stern expression to morph into something of a pessimistic smirk, "you'll know." Thor turned from the cockpit and passed Troy without a pause in his stride. "Come."
When the door opened and the plank struck the dirt below, Thor descended toward the ground with Troy in tow. They reached the bottom and Thor's hand raised to stop Hemlock there. "Do not leave this spot unless Eva is aboard this ship." He did not feel the need to reiterate, then quickly continued toward the gate, sans Hemlock and any visible weapon.
Halfway between the ship and the entrance, the gate to the military base opened, and between a small group of soldiers, a familiar man with a familiar suit appeared. Thor strode, his cape uncharacteristically still in the bubble of low pressure his emotions had formed in the atmosphere. The two men met in the middle, but still several feet from each other. "We are a long way from New York," Thor noted to the United States Senator.
"Yes, sir," he agreed with the taller man. "They thought I'd be a good choice to speak to you... because of our prior relationship."
"They were wrong," Thor responded quickly. "I demand the return of my people." The King stated his terms simply for all to hear. Which included the news cameras he spied in the distance.
The senator chuckled at Thor's first comment, "Agreed." But when the Asgardian continued he suddenly became a used car salesman haggling over price. "Well, we could get into whose people exactly they are..." he started but noticed Thor's eyebrow twitch. "But... let me tell you, Thor. This wouldn't have been my course of action. You know how the generals get when they think they know what's best," he added with a chuckle. "Anyway, the bottom line is: until we've gotten all the information we need..." His mouth twisted into the expression someone would make after they took a sip of unsweetened lemonade. "Course, I don't think you thought we'd just hand them over. And I know if you were going to take them... well, you'd have done it by now. So, the question is Thor, what's the third option?"
"Let them go. Allow them to walk through here and onto that ship..." Thor pointed back toward Troy then allowed a long sigh to escape his lungs. "And I will stay and I will tell you everything you want to know about my brother."
"That's a very tempting offer," the senator admitted, hands inside the pockets of his slacks. "But how do I know you'll stick around?"
"You have my word. Thor Odinson, King of Asgard and the Allfather." His shoulders rose on the first time he'd publicly proclaimed himself with Odin's full title. "And if I leave before you have agreed, it will be considered an act of war. For which I proclaim here and now for all in attendance." His arms at spread wide both for the soldiers within earshot and the cameras in the distance.
"Alright. I'll see what I can do," the senator assured Thor, pleased with the progress they'd made today.
"Right through here." Thor pointed again to where Eva and James needed to walk. "Those are my terms."
"Can I just state for the record that I hate this plan?" Natasha told the microphone perched just below her lips, which had been set to "skeptical" since Thor's plan had been revealed. Besides Bruce, who still sat beside her, Nat knew that Brunnhilde and the king himself had heard her. "Thor, I've dealt with this kind of people my whole life. You bifrostin' outta here right after Eva gets on the jet isn't going to change a damn thing they do." Her eyes shifted and locked with Bruce, who Nat silently hoped would help her talk some sense into the 'Allfather'. Black Widow's fingers even left the throttle between their seats and wrapped themselves around his mellowed-out hand. Nat squeezed, which was his cue to talk.
"Thank you, Natasha. I understand," Thor spoke to seemingly no one. The area around him had been vacated once he and the Senator had reached their tendentious deal. "If we plan to be taken seriously internationally, we need to prove our word... my word is worth something." And to show the world how outrageous these people were being.
Bucky watched, with Thor centered inside of his crosshairs, from the high ground Nat had dropped him off onto. The World War II sniper had been given strict instructions not to kill anyone, but at the moment, he seemed like his services would not be needed. He, however, shared Natasha's misgivings. But she and Banner knew the Asgardian better, so he'd leave it to them to make their case.
The White Wolf's target shifted when he spotted activity at the gate of the military base. Through his scope, he watched Eva and Jimmy emerge seeming unharmed, with a small escort of armed men. Bucky quickly focused on the group of soldiers but kept his vision close enough to Eva to make sure things stayed kosher. "Heads up," Barnes said simply into his own headset.
Thor broke the unspoken no man's land between himself and the walls and started towards Eva. She looked, well she looked stressed, but Thor could see how she carried herself with pride. The Asgardian appreciated her conviction, the refusal to let these bastards have the satisfaction in the knowledge she'd been rattled. Zap was indeed his Queen. When he neared, the soldiers tensed, but Thor ignored them. He snatched her up in a mighty hug, which he dared to not release her from. "I feared the worst..." he'd begun once tightly secured in the embrace. "I would have done the worst..." he admitted, a nod to the example she'd set. "I love you, but you need to go to Troy." The Native was still beside the ship, where Thor had ordered him to remain. The terms of his agreement too difficult for him to explain if they hadn't already been. "I need you safe and our people need their infinitely wise Queen."