If He Be Worthy...

balderoncebrave:

peraudacia-adastra:

Jane watched as Balder carefully pushed himself to his feet, shrinking from Sif and Thor’s help. As he half sat, half sank from the floor, she stepped forward and offered him the blanket.

“It’s okay, Balder. You’re safe here. Nothing bad’s going to happen.”

Balder shook his head at the assistance offers from his friends, squeezing his eyes shut against the ache in his head as he propped his upper body up on his hands. “I’ll–I’ll be fine,” he insisted, bringing himself to sitting. “I do not need–”

Jane offered a blanket as his eyes opened, and unsure of how to react, he took it in hand. “Why … was I angry before I fell?” he asked, bringing his fingers into the fleece. He drew it to his lap and stayed there, seated still upon the carpet.

“You’ve helped quite enough,” she snapped at Thor. Sif’s anger bubbled under the surface like an active volcano, ready to explode at a moment’s notice. She was no fool. She had already figured out that Thor had purposefully argued with her before to provoke just this reaction from Balder.

It sickened her. 

“I believe it was because Thor does not think you are fit to make your own decisions,” she answered Balder shortly, sitting back on her heels where she still crouched beside the couch. “But now that I have seen first hand what can happen when you are put under stress I am unfortunately inclined to agree with our Prince on the matter.”

Sif glared at Thor from her position, annoyance thick in her breast. 

“I will bring an Vanir healer here to Midgard to help with your recovery from your ordeal.” The announcement brooked no argument. Perhaps she could not bring Balder to Asgard but she could still bring the equivalent of the help he would actually require to his current home upon Midgard.

Thor’s fist closed and his arm tensed, but he resisted the urge to pump it in a cheer that he had successfully changed Sif’s mind on the matter. “It is not that I think you cannot make your own decisions,” he amended, backing off a little at Sif’s insistence. “I just think you’ve underestimated how much of a toll it has taken on your body--or how much it would if we allowed you to go to the trial you insist on.”

He leaned back from Balder’s prone form but still kept his hand out in offer should he reach for the assistance. He gave a glance at Jane before posing his next question.

firstsonofasgard:

For an intelligent woman, Jane often jumped to frustrating conclusions. 

 “I am not asking you to stay here because I do not believe that you can fight.” If anything, Jane had proved herself capable when they had faced Malekith, “I am asking you to stay here because it caters to your strengths! Not only this, but it is of utmost importance, as you pointed out yourself, that I find him quickly and get him out just as fast, and I do not have time to wait for someone else to come and watch Karnilla – not to mention whoever I asked would be a stranger for her to hurl her magics at.

“Leaving Karnilla behind on her own is just an inter-realm incident waiting to happen. You are good at setting boundaries with those who are…unaware of societal norms on Midgard. I need your support in this.”

Jane’s anger vanished as quickly as it had appeared. He was right and she knew it and while she might not want to babysit Karnilla, there was nobody else who would be able to do so without risking property damage. She raised her eyebrows at Thor’s description of her talents. 

“Setting boundaries with those who are…unaware of societal norms on Midgard?” she repeated, mouth quivering. “That’s the fanciest version of ‘telling someone no’ that I’ve heard in a long time.”

A small chuckle left him but he commented no further on her incredulity with his phrasing. 

firstsonofasgard:

He wheezed out a laugh at Jane’s first suggestion, folding his arms across his chest as he observed her moving to look at Karnilla. His brow furrowed heavily at Jane’s question.

“I do not know,” he admitted, “by all accounts she ought to be fine…But perhaps it is the blood magic. I do not know all of its costs…Nor how often she has chosen to utilize it since her arrival on Earth.”

Thor let out a heavy sigh. 

“Waking her now would be fruitless,” he guessed. “So we are stuck here until she does awaken…” Thor gazed long and silent at Jane.

“…I do not like the idea but…perhaps if you stayed here with her until she awakens, and I go out to begin the search now?”

Jane’s reaction was immediate: anger and disbelief. “You’re gonna leave me here?!” 

She straightened, glaring at him. “C’mon, Thor, I know I’m not much of a fighter but that doesn’t mean I’m useless!” 

Even though she knew why he’d been incommunicado after their first encounter, even after all these months with him, Jane was still sensitive about what had happened. She knew she was overreacting, knew that Thor had a point in that it was better that she stayed with Karnilla as she was the neutral party in this group… but knowing that didn’t stop her resenting the suggestion.

For an intelligent woman, Jane often jumped to frustrating conclusions. 

 “I am not asking you to stay here because I do not believe that you can fight.” If anything, Jane had proved herself capable when they had faced Malekith, “I am asking you to stay here because it caters to your strengths! Not only this, but it is of utmost importance, as you pointed out yourself, that I find him quickly and get him out just as fast, and I do not have time to wait for someone else to come and watch Karnilla -- not to mention whoever I asked would be a stranger for her to hurl her magics at.

firstsonofasgard:

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. 

Thor scraped a hand through the thick mane on his head, feeling the rasp of his blunt nails against his scalp. Of course. Wasn’t it just like Balder to get into this sort of trouble?

He might have laughed at the nostalgic feel of it if it weren’t so…

“And what are we to do with Karnilla?” He gestured at the unconscious woman on the bed, gritting his teeth.

“Put her in the closet with a bottle of champagne and some chocolate chip cookies for when she wakes up?” Jane suggested, only half-joking.

She approached the bed and bent over slightly, examining Karnilla’s deep breathing and her pallor. “Why is she so tired, Thor? You always talk about her like she’s this unstoppable force… she hasn’t even been here a day and she’s exhausted. That didn’t happen to you on your first visit and you didn’t have any of your powers then.”

Jane filled a glass of water and put it on the bedside table. “We can’t just leave her, if she wakes up and we’re gone, she’ll probably trash the place just to teach us some kind of lesson.”

He wheezed out a laugh at Jane’s first suggestion, folding his arms across his chest as he observed her moving to look at Karnilla. His brow furrowed heavily at Jane’s question.

“I do not know,” he admitted, “by all accounts she ought to be fine...But perhaps it is the blood magic. I do not know all of its costs...Nor how often she has chosen to utilize it since her arrival on Earth.”

Thor let out a heavy sigh. 

“Waking her now would be fruitless,” he guessed. “So we are stuck here until she does awaken...” Thor gazed long and silent at Jane.

firstsonofasgard:

“I – y-yes…” Thor squeezed his eyes closed, trying to remember, then opened them again and stared at him, flexing his fingers at his sides. Remember. 

His blue eyes flitted across the scene that he’d taken recording of, his mind working almost in overdrive. “Greks. The junior healer called him Doctor Greks.”

Jane sucked in a breath. “Him…” She put the phone down carefully on the table, repressing the urge to fling it across the room.

“He was struck off for… illegal experimentation. On human subjects. He was trying to… manipulate certain genes.” She hugged herself. “If he’s the one in charge of Balder’s treatment… he won’t stop until he’s got everything he needs. We need to find Balder and get him out immediately.”

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. 

Thor scraped a hand through the thick mane on his head, feeling the rasp of his blunt nails against his scalp. Of course. Wasn’t it just like Balder to get into this sort of trouble?

He might have laughed at the nostalgic feel of it if it weren’t so...

firstsonofasgard:

“I – we were…She insisted…that she use the link that the two of them share to attempt to access Balder’s subconscious.” Thor fidgeted, frowning at his feet against the carpeted floor.

“Blood magic…She used the bowl as a means of showing me what she could see, so that I might take record of it and…Perhaps we could find him more easily in that way.” In retrospect it did not seem like the easier way.

“The symbols are what he saw when he was briefly conscious before they put him back under with whatever poison they have pumping through his system. You said that Donald Blake identified the toxin, or at least its effects?” Thor hardly remembered, and it had only been a few moments ago.

Jane glanced at him. She could tell Thor was in shock. If only they had more time… 

“Yes… they’ve managed to specifically tailor the toxin to Balder’s DNA. It will cause his muscles to go into overdrive, then interfere with the signals between the brain and the body. So he’ll stop breathing.”

She squinted. “Wait… this guy… I’ve seen him somewhere. Did you happen to catch his name?”

She held out the phone so Thor could see the man’s face.

“I -- y-yes...” Thor squeezed his eyes closed, trying to remember, then opened them again and stared at him, flexing his fingers at his sides. Remember. 

balderoncebrave:

peraudacia-adastra:

“He had an episode while we were out,” Jane went on in a lower tone. “It was mild compared to this but… I don’t think he should be travelling in this state.”

She put some cushions into the armchair and grabbed the woollen throw that Balder seemed to find so comforting, ready for when he was able to move.

“It’s … Midga–it’s Earth,” Balder corrected himself. He blinked down at the hand Sif put on his chest. “The Lady Jane–or rather Doctor Foster’s residence … or at least the floor of it.”

His eyes then clenched shut as a swelling ache rolled through his skull, rippling down through his senses. With a sharp and sudden defensive motion, he swept Sif’s hand away from his person, pushing himself up to sitting.

The sensation ebbed as he rose upward, and he blinked again, startled at himself. “I–I’m sorry,” he said in a disconcerted softness. “I was … very suddenly, I was … I got–angry,” he identified with a sense of near disbelief.

Sif started a little as Balder pushed her hand away defensively. That was normal. This was normal. Mood swings were to be expected after a seizure. 

“You were angry before you fell,” she told him gently. “Would you like to be helped to the couch? Do not do too much at once.”

“Hopefully this will convince her of that fact,” Thor whispered back to Jane. He observed Balder’s confusion with a mixture of guilt and resolve--Sif had to see it, had to see how affected he was, how difficult it would be. Even just being nettled had pushed him--certainly travel and a trial would be out of the question.

Still, it was hard to intentionally hurt his friend--to hurt both friends, he considered.

nornqueenkarnilla:

Karnilla’s strength waned, and her head sank more deeply into the pillow. Doctor Foster and the Odinson’s talking drifted to murmurs, becoming indistinct before her as her eyes drew downward heavily.

“Find–save him …” her last intelligible murmurs slipped into Nornir. “Never … let you go …” 

Depleted of seithr and strength, she slipped into oblivion.

“Oh shit.”

Jane ran forward and put the phone down for a moment, shifting Karnilla onto her side and into the recovery position. She put two pillows beneath Karnilla’s head and put a hand on her forehead.

“She feels warm but she’s not ‘burning’. I guess all we can do for the moment is let her rest. What I wouldn’t give for an IV but given how she reacted to Don asking her for blood, I don’t think she’d be happy about an intravenous drip…”

Jane knew she was babbling but she couldn’t help it. She picked up the phone again and inspected the symbols. “Some of these look familiar… what exactly were you doing here?”

“I -- we were...She insisted...that she use the link that the two of them share to attempt to access Balder’s subconscious.” Thor fidgeted, frowning at his feet against the carpeted floor.

“Blood magic...She used the bowl as a means of showing me what she could see, so that I might take record of it and...Perhaps we could find him more easily in that way.” In retrospect it did not seem like the easier way.

balderoncebrave:

peraudacia-adastra:

“I didn’t mention Loki,” Jane said, keeping her voice steady and quiet. “I said ‘anyone’. Do you really want to bring Balder back so he can be punished? So he can punish himself?”

She stepped back as Balder spoke and went to Thor’s side, taking Thor’s hand. He was watching Balder as well, his eyes dark, concentrating on some thought inside his head.

Jane lowered her voice to a murmur. “Do you really think there’s no ulterior motive behind this, Thor? As someone who grew up in Asgard? I don’t mean Sif… I mean whoever sent her. I don’t like that he’s been down here all this time and Asgard sends someone now… when he’s vulnerable and unable to defend himself. IF they were keeping tabs on him, why didn’t they do something when he was abducted? Why would they let Karnilla rescue him?”

Balder’s brow furrowed with the ache that continued behind his eyes as he passed them from one face to another, picking up the snippets of their conversation until he heard the question addressed to him.

“I … I’m Balder,” he answered, hesitating over it in confusion as to why it would even be asked. “You know that, Sif.”

“Why is it–why are you all making such a fuss over me?” he shifted himself to try to sit up. “And why am I on the floor?”

“You seized,” Sif informed him, pressing a placating hand at Balder’s chest to keep him in place a moment longer. “As you may recall, standard Einherjar practice is to ask basic questions to determine the extent of the damage done by the seizure to assess the patient’s fitness to be moved, and what further action might need to be taken.” 

It was possible he did not recall that. Sif smiled at Balder gently. 

“Do you recall where you are?”

She chose to ignore whatever Jane Foster might be whispering to Thor for the time being, more concerned for Balder’s health. Perhaps he truly could not be brought home to Asgard as yet. She still believed that he required Asgardian medicine. 

Thor was being reckless in this. 

Thor’s expression was grim at Jane’s murmured suspicions. “I do not like it either,” he agreed in a low tone, “and while I trust Sif, I do not trust this situation.” He and Jane were on the same page with that. “That’s why I’m working to have her keep him here.”