Chapter 42: Trick 41: Managing Thor's affairs!
Ace brought the car back and left a note on the windshield saying 'Sorry! Had to borrow your car, friend.' along with an envelope full of cash that he stole from the Shield Facility.
He walked to a payphone and pulled up his hood, making a call.
The person picked up and said "Hello?" Ace said "Wong! I need to speak with Master." Wong was silent for a few moments before saying "You shouldn't be calling this number." Ace rolled his eyes and replied "Is that really an issue right now!?"
Wong mumbled "Damn kid…" before silence and footsteps and then a new voice "Ace, having fun?" Ace looked around as more black cars were coming into town, he frowned and explained "Master, I ran into Loki just now."
The Ancient One hummed "I know." Ace continued "He said th- huh? You know?" The Ancient One replied "Of course. Quite the fellow, isn't he?" Ace was a bit speechless and said "Yeah… I guess… A bit of an asshole!"
The Ancient One cleared her throat and responded "Yes, well, he IS a God after all." Ace was just confused and changed the topic, "Anyway, Master. He said that he had never heard of Kamar-Taj?"
There was a sipping sound and then the Ancient One replied "To which you punched him in the face." Ace was stunned and defended himself, "No! He disrespected you, THEN I punched him in the face… But I healed him after!" The Ancient One hummed, "How noble!"
Ace was offended, explaining "How is that my fault!?" The Ancient One simply said "Yes, how. Hmm…" Ace was speechless, looking at the phone in his hands before saying "Anyway! After that, I apologized! Moving on! He said that Odin was dead, is that a problem?"
The Ancient One hummed, "What do you think, Ace?" Ace thought for a moment and recalled Loki's expressions before replying "I think he's lying. He was very excitable when talking about his father… Does this mean Asgard is in danger? I think we should help!"
The Ancient One was silent for a moment before asking "Do you think your shallow knowledge of magic can compare to a god who has lived for over a thousand years, learning magic from the best Witch in the Nine Realms?"
Ace was speechless, subconsciously replying "No." The Ancient One replied "Well, what can you do? You can't fight, you can't help, so what are you going to Asgard for? To start a revolution? Have you found Thor yet?" Ace replied softly "No…"
The Ancient One snorted softly, explaining "Your performance is very troubling this time, Ace. We shall talk when you return to Kamar-Taj." before hanging up.
Ace held the phone and sighed, putting it back before walking the streets of the small town. He frowned in thought at what he could've done better, maybe he should've just noticed Thor earlier?
All of this would've been avoided had he recognized Thor at the diner!
Then he froze, that's right!
Ace's eyes lit up and he turned into an alleyway, transforming into a cat and running around the town looking for that woman!
She was with the lady who called him handsome, unfortunately he couldn't remember her name. But they were with Thor! They should know where Thor is!
The only problem was that he had to find them and he had no idea where they were!
Luckily it was a small town…
Hours later!
Ace was on top of a building, looking down at the agents that were crawling all over the town. He was perched on a roof avoiding the sight of all these agents. He was around 80% sure that they would know it was him in his cat form as it was too coincidental that there was another black cat in the town closest to the facility.
He narrowed his eyes and turned his head to a repurposed old time car shop. This was the last building he had to search, strangely enough, there were no agents in this area.
Ace jumped from rooftops as he made his way to the building. It was the dead of night and he didn't think he would need to be invisible at the moment. He was barely visible in the dark as is, he could save mana at the moment.
Although it took barely any mana at all to uphold the invisibility as is…
Ace made his way to the building, seeing a light on the roof. He tilted his head at the roof top before walking inside. As he walked around the building, he found Darcy sleeping on a couch, but other than that, there was nothing inside of worth.
It was strangely empty.
He looked around for a while before finding a ladder to the roof!
He quickly climbed up before landing on the roof and walking towards the fire. As he passed two lawn chairs, he saw a woman sleeping and a man staring at the stars. Ace jumped up and landed on the man's chest, looking at him.
The man was startled slightly and said "A cat?" Ace wrote in the air, "You are Thor, correct?" Thor sat up and frowned, "Who are you, magical creature. What business do you have with me?"
Ace jumped back onto the roof floor, writing out "Who I am is of no importance. I have a message from my Master to Odin. When shall you be returning to Asgard?" Thor visibly wilted and replied slowly "Never. My Father is dead and I am in exile."
Ace froze and stared at him in shock, writing down "Impossible. I have met your brother Loki. I am quite sure he was lying about the death of Odin!" Thor suddenly got very angry and shouted "You dare badmouth my brother?! I should have your head!"
Ace frowned and wrote "Forget it. Why are you exiled? Is it related to why you cannot retrieve your hammer?" Thor frowned and retorted "Why do you need to know? Who are you to question me!"
Ace paused and looked at him for a moment before writing "You have been exiled, your power is gone, but your pride still remains? Do not force me to get my information from you. I do not enjoy cruelty. I only wish to help."
Thor crossed his arms and looked at Ace silently for a minute. Ace stood there looking at Thor calmly. Finally, Thor spoke, "I was stripped of my powers by my father, Odin. I was not worthy to wield the power of Thor and thus I was banished to Midgard. This is the reason I was not able to summon Mjolnir. I have been rejected."
He paused for a moment before continuing "My brother now sits on the throne as Asgard's King and my exile is the condition for peace between Jotunheim and Asgard. As such, I cannot, and will not return to Asgard as my actions have resulted in my father's death."
He closed his eyes and gripped his arms tightly, holding back tears. Ace was now confused, Thor wasn't lying to him about this. He could tell, but then what's the truth? Two people told him the same thing but it was true AND false?
He held his chin with a paw and thought about it, it could be that Loki lied to Thor. Judging by Thor's outburst of defense for Loki, clearly he still trusts his brother. However, Ace didn't know if it was his bias against Loki.
One thing was for sure, Loki was 100% lying to him. Ace trusted his mentalist skills. He looked at Thor and changed the topic, asking in writing "How can I help?" Thor looked at him and shook his head, saying "I appreciate the concern, friend. However, I am now a mere man. I require no assistance from the Mystic Arts."
Ace frowned and wrote in the air, "I will shadow you until tomorrow night, after which I will depart. However, the Prince of Asgard cannot be treated as a normal person. You will come with me to Kamar-Taj if nothing changes." Thor frowned and Ace added on, "You have no say in the matter. Get your affairs in order, my Master will know what to do. Perhaps you can regain your powers at Kamar-Taj. Goodnight."
He nodded at Thor before jumping off the roof and disappearing into the darkness as Thor sighed and turned to the woman.
The next morning
Ace was laying on top of the refrigerator, watching Thor serve food to Darcy and an older man. Ace came to learn this man was Erik Selvig and the woman was Jane Foster.
Thor looked up at him and he swayed his tail, glancing at him before looking away. Thor pressed his lips together and ate at the table in silence. Darcy looked at him and asked "Are you okay?"
Thor smiled and said "Never better!" before continuing to eat. Darcy looked at Erik, who looked at her groggily, apparently hungover.
Not even 10 minutes passed
Thor was doing the dishes as Jane talked to Erik about her theory. Suddenly, 4 people dressed in Asgardian armor showed up at the door!
They knocked and Thor looked over, his eyes lighting up as he walked over quickly.
The 4 walked in and laughed "Thor! We found you!" Thor laughed and hugged them, saying "My friends!" they laughed together and one of them walked up, smiling "Oh excuse me!" he gestured behind him and said "We are Lady Sif, and the warriors Three." as he spoke to Jane, Erik, and Darcy.
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