Chapter 29: Visitors

A/N: Thor has come up with a great idea for how he's going to prove he's worthy to his father.

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"You sure about this, Thor? Really think this is how you're gonna prove your worthiness?"

Thor chuckles at the disbelief in his new friend's voice. Unlike Tony Stark, Thor has faith. That might seem a little foolish, a God having faith, but gods were prone to having faith more than most mortals, really. In this case, Thor had faith in the All-Father. Odin had had a plan when he threw Thor down to Midgard. That, Thor knew for a fact.

Looking over at the Midgardian man he'd become fast friends with Thor grins.

"You told me yourself, Stark! My father would not have dropped me and Mjolnir so close together if he did not intend for me to find a way back to Asgard! And what better way than this, really?"

Yes, Thor had meditated long and hard on Tony's words and his father's desires before Loki had shown up to spread her poisonous lies. Tch… his sister had truly forgotten herself this time. Thor didn't want to believe that Loki had truly done all of this just to get him out of the way so she could become Queen of Asgard. But… his new friend had made too good of an argument, truth be told.

Who HAD let the Jotun into the Vault? Odin had told Thor and Loki the story a thousand times. When he'd defeated the Frost Giants and pushed them back, the All-Father had put an end to their conquering ways by taking the Casket of Ancient Winters, their most powerful artifact. Not only did the Casket bolster their power and strengthen their realm, but it also allowed the Frost Giants of Jotunheim to traverse the roots of the World Tree much as the Bifrost did for Asgard… albeit in a far more limited, far less cool way, to be clear.

However, the Casket had rested within Asgard's Vault since the end of the war. So how had the Frost Giants gotten off of Jotunheim? How had they gotten into the Vault? Perhaps if Thor were a bit smarter, a bit slower to act and faster to think, he might have realized something was amiss and taken a moment to consider the situation, rather than immediately rushing off to destroy Jotunheim for their transgressions.

He was starting to see the error of his ways now. And starting to see how it was that his sister Loki might have manipulated him into the course of action that had ultimately doomed him.

His father wasn't dead. Thor refused to believe it. Loki had lied to him, both to cover up her deception with the Jotun but also to usurp the throne. Thor wouldn't stand for it! He would prove himself worthy, regain his powers and Mjolnir, and return to Asgard to confront Loki for her transgressions once and for all!

… But first he had to prove himself worthy. And he'd come up with the perfect way to do so.

"I see now the folly of my ways, Tony Stark! See, before I only used my powers to destroy! But a king must be more than a conqueror, more than a destroyer of worlds! A king must be able to nurture, to build and grow his kingdom! That is why I will prove I can build with a hammer just as much as I can demolish with one!"

With that said, Thor brings the Midgardian Hammer that Tony had gotten for him down on the nail held between his fingers, smashing it into the two planks of wood and connecting them together. Haha! He was doing it already!

"… Sure buddy. Look, you've got my unconditional support here Thor. But… do you really have time for this? What was it you were going to try to make again?"

"A longhouse, my friend!"

Initially, when Thor and Tony had last spoken after Loki had very nearly succeeded in making him succumb to despair, Thor had hoped that just the realization of what he needed to do would prove him worthy again. He'd rushed to Mjolnir in the central courtyard and thought very heavily about building things instead of destroying things as he'd reached out to give the hammer's pommel a tug.

He definitely wasn't just thinking about building and nurturing and growing things for the sake of getting his powers back! He was completely sincere in his new outlook on life! But alas, Mjolnir had refused to budge and Thor had found himself forced to concede the truth… he would need to actually prove he could build something before Mjolnir would believe the veracity of his newfound beliefs!

Of course, that was easier said than done. Thor was a warrior, not an architect. He'd never constructed a single building in his entire life. However, he HAD seen some built before. In particular, he'd watched a longhouse be built here on Midgard hundreds of years ago! So he figured he'd start there!

Of course, the first problem he ran into was a matter of supplies. He needed wood and he needed tools. And he had absolutely no idea where he was going to get any of that. Fortunately, late last night while he'd been trying to figure out a solution to his problem, he'd run into the Lady Jane Foster.

A brilliant mind cloaked in a beautiful face, Lady Foster and he had talked for quite some time. He had told her more about the Bifrost, which was apparently something that the people of Midgard had theorized existed but did not know or understand until now. Lady Jane called it an Einstein-Rosen Bridge of all things, how quaint!

But she'd also helped him with his own issue by suggesting that he petition Tony Stark for his assistance in securing the building materials. His new Midgardian friend had said that he would help Thor after all, and apparently Tony Stark of House Stark was not just a Lord… he was quite a wealthy, influential figure on Midgard!

In fact, Thor was beginning to suspect that Tony might actually be a King in his own right. Only Tony's original warning that most of Midgard didn't 'do kings' anymore had stuck with Thor. Perhaps Tony was a secret king, or a king in hiding, and thus it would not behoove Thor or his new friend for him to 'blow up his spot' as the Lady Darcy Lewis would say!

Thor had learned so much in the past couple of days since he found himself on Midgard! While he certainly would have preferred to have the experience without the exile and the loss of his powers, he was still grateful for the good things that had come with the bad!

"Right. A longhouse. That's… a tall order, Thor. Are you sure you have that much time to waste?"

Thor chuckles again, shaking his head as he picks up another nail and waves his Midgardian hammer at Tony.

"A longhouse is not tall, Stark! It is long! It is in the name, my friend! As for time… some things cannot be rushed! My father lives still, I can feel it in my bones now that you have helped me to get my head on straight! And my mother no doubt watches over him. My sister is very clever and very good with magic… but she learned everything she knows from our mother. She will not be able to get anything past her!"

Shrugging, Thor positions the nail and raises his hammer up, preparing to bring it down.

"Besides, my father would not have given me a task too large! I shall complete this challenge and-!"

"THOR!"

The sudden familiar voice of Lady Sif calling his name makes Thor badly misjudge his swing… and bring his Midgardian hammer right down upon his poor thumb instead of the nail. Cursing at the sudden burst of pain, Thor brings his thumb to his lips, sucking it even as he spins on the spot, his blue eyes widening at the unbelievable sight before him.

"Lady Sif and the Warriors Three! My friends, you came!"

And indeed they have. Sif, Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun! All of them walk towards Thor and Tony from seemingly out of nowhere… though of course, they must have come by Bifrost. Heimdall must have deposited them nearby. But then, that might mean…

"My friends! Has my father woken already?! Does he send you to retrieve me in light of Loki's treachery?!"

The four Asgardians stop and glance at one another at that, before Fandral takes the lead, brow furrowed.

"No, Thor. The All-Father remains in Odinsleep. We came to bring you back of our own accord, because we do not trust Loki's motives."

Sif scoffs and speaks up next.

"That is an understatement! She is making a mockery of her stewardship! Your place is on Asgard and yet she refused to let us come here! Luckily, Heimdall saw reason and sent us all the same!"

Part of Thor wants to frown at that. By all rights, for as long as the All-Father rests in the Odinsleep, Loki is the rightful Queen of Asgard. His friends should not have come here against her wishes. Nor should Heimdall have let them either. And yet… knowing that Loki did in fact lie to him makes Thor all the more certain that she was behind ruining his coronation as well. And that… that trumps any issues with Sif and the Warriors Three ignoring her orders, at least in Thor's mind.

Even still…

"If the All-Father sleeps and has not decreed my return, I must stay on Midgard my friends."

His shield-brothers have matching expressions of dismay at this news, but Sif is the one who growls and stomps forward.

"Why?! Why would you leave Asgard in the hands of that… that snake?!"

Thor winces. Once upon a time, he had thought Sif and Loki would become the best of friends. Sure, Sif preferred martial pursuits over healing and magic like Loki did, but they were both women who spent a lot of time around Thor so… surely they would have things in common, right? Only, then Loki had cut Sif's hair off while she slept and refused to admit she'd done it. Instead, Thor's sister had made the snide remark that Sif looked more like the man she pretended to be now, so what reason should she have to be upset anyways?

… Suffice to say, it was definitely all downhill from there. Their relationship had never recovered and the most that could be said was that the two women tolerated one another for Thor's sake more than anything else.

Sighing, Thor raises his hands to placate Sif.

"Sif… I am exiled. My father saw fit to strip me of my power, to strip me of the power of Thor. Mjolnir itself does not come to my aid. I am little more than a Midgardian in strength at this point."

"Hey now!"

Tony Stark doesn't actually sound all that offended as he speaks up at that, and when Thor glances over, his new Midgardian friend is grinning more than anything. Still, the man's exclamation has the intended effect of drawing the attention of Thor's friends, who all look at him curiously. Sif narrows her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Who is this man, Thor? And… what are the two of you doing out here, exactly?"

Thor blinks at that and considers the question for a moment. Looking at his work so far on the longhouse, which mostly just amounts to him having managed to nail two wooden boards together, and then at all of the crates of wood and other supplies Tony Stark has brought him… Thor suddenly finds himself feeling a little self-conscious.

Instead of telling his friends about the longhouse, Thor grins and steps over to Tony, hiding his Midgardian hammer behind his back as he grasps his new Midgardian friend by the shoulder with his free hand. A little bit of misdirection! He'd learned that from Loki over the centuries!

"This, my friends, is Lord Tony Stark of House Stark! Do not let his short stature fool you, for he is a warrior without parallel here on Midgard. More than that, he has been a solid font of wisdom in the wake of my exile, showing me that my father always intended for me to regain my powers and prove myself worthy of Mjolnir once more. Thanks to him, even when Loki tried to come and whisper lies into my ear about our father's supposed dead, I did not believe her!"

He leaves out the part where he believed Loki for a little bit. They don't need to know that. Fortunately, Tony doesn't 'blow up his spot' thankfully.

"Pleasure to meet all of you."

Sif and the Warriors Three exchange glances again at that, before Sif finally steps forward and puts out her hand with a smirk on her lips.

"Well met, Lord Stark. We thank you for supporting Prince Thor in these trying times."

"The honor is all mine, gorgeous"

Thor's eyes narrow at the same time that Sif's do. She has never liked being talked down to, especially not by mortals. However, before he can warn Tony, Sif has already engulfed the Midgardian man's hand in her own. Which is not good. Thor had really hoped that his friends from Asgard could get along with his new friend from Midgard.

The God of Thunder quickly opens his mouth to try and explain away Tony's words as simple cultural differences, especially as he sees the muscles in Sif's toned bare arm clench as she clearly grips down on Stark's hand with considerable strength to put him in her place.

However, rather than the grinding of bones like he's expecting to hear… nothing happens. Thor can only watch, a little bewildered as Sif's smirk turns into an expression of honest surprise while Stark… Stark just smiles right back and shakes her hand without a care in the world.

Thor had known that Tony Stark was strong even by Midgardian Standards. But to take one of Sif's infamous crushing handshakes without so much as a flinch?! Truly he was exactly what Thor had named him to be… a Midgardian without parallel!

A moment later and the handshake is over, with Sif instinctively relaxing her grip once she realizes it's having no effect and Tony pulling his hand free before she can remember herself.

"Come on, let's head inside so you guys can meet the others and we can discuss game plans."

At this, Volstagg finally speaks up.

"… Game… plans?"

Looking at him with a raised eyebrow, Tony Stark just chuckles.

"You four just admitted to coming down here without your Queen's approval. After we already had Loki try to convince Thor that their dad was dead so he would give up on ever trying to return to Asgard. Now, Loki is only Acting Queen of Asgard right now, right? So maybe I'm just being paranoid. You guys tell me… what is she going to do when she finds out you've gone off the reservation and come here?"

The Midgardian man has a strange way of speaking that Thor is still trying to learn, but the meaning of his words is not lost on the God of Thunder… nor is it lost on his friends who all go wide-eyed and look to him, to their Prince for answers. Straightening up, Thor clenches his jaw. Even powerless… he will not falter.

"Tony Stark is right. Loki will not take this lying down. We must prepare for battle."

-x-X-x-

A/N: Thankfully Thor's plans to build a longhouse didn't last for, heh, long. That would have made for a bit of a boring interlude :P

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