81 Check Up

Natasha and Jane moved through the streets of Asgard in an ornate carriage as its golden accents gleamed under the ethereal glow of the realm’s sky. The city was breathtaking. Its tall, spiraling towers with intricate carvings stood proudly beside modern structures that seemed to defy gravity.

As they passed through the bustling streets, it was easy to forget they were in an alien realm. Children scuttled between market stalls as their laughter ringing through the air, while merchants called out in melodic voices, advertising goods that neither Natasha nor Jane had ever seen before. Exotic birds with shimmering feathers perched lazily on rooftops, and creatures resembling a cross between a horse and an elephant pulled carts loaded with supplies. If not for the towering golden palaces in the distance and the impossibly clear sky, it could have been mistaken for an old-world marketplace on Earth.

But what wasn’t normal was the attention they were receiving.

Jane shifted uncomfortably, glancing around at the many eyes subtly, or not so subtly, fixed on them. Conversations seemed to pause as they passed, Asgardians whispering behind elegantly adorned hands. Some eyes were wide with curiosity, others scrutinizing, and a few even held faint amusement.

"Uh... is something on my face?" Jane muttered, resisting the urge to check her reflection in one of the polished metal ornaments on the carriage.

Natasha, who had also noticed the unusual amount of attention, gave her a quick once-over. "Nope. You look fine," she assured. Then, following Jane’s gaze, she smirked. "I think the stares have less to do with us and more to do with who we’re with." She nodded toward Thor.

Thor, who had been waving at a few passersby with an easy grin, glanced at them sheepishly. “I must apologize,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “It seems that my escorting two beautiful women has drawn some attention.”

Jane flushed at the unexpected compliment, momentarily distracted from her discomfort. Natasha, however, merely hummed in response, her gaze back on the breathtaking architecture.

Meanwhile, Jane leaned closer to Natasha and whispered, “They’re staring at me like I’m some kind of alien.”

Natasha gave her a sideways glance. “Jane, you are an alien here.”

“…Right. Okay. Fair point.” Jane replied.

As they approached the grand entrance of the palace, they passed under a massive archway lined with towering columns. Unlike the smooth, golden architecture that dominated Asgard, these columns bore the likenesses of warriors. The statues were carved with such detail that the figures seemed frozen in time, their eyes still burning with determination. Each one stood tall, weapons in hand, with their armor gleaming under the eternal Asgardian sky.

“These are the greatest generals Asgard has ever known,” Thor said, gesturing toward the statues as they walked beneath them. “Warriors who shaped our history, whose victories secured peace across the Nine Realms.” His voice held both reverence and pride.

Natasha’s eyes were looking at something else, though. Scattered throughout the palace grounds, dozens of soldiers were engaged in rigorous training. The air rang with the clash of weapons, the rhythmic thud of shields meeting blows, and the gruff shouts of commanders drilling formations into their ranks. Some warriors wrestled in hand-to-hand combat, while others sparred with swords and spears.

Natasha’s eyes took it all in, the intensity, the sheer number of fighters, the urgency in their movements. “It feels like you’re preparing for war,” she observed.

Thor exhaled heavily. “We are at war.”

Jane turned to him in surprise, while Natasha’s expression remained unreadable.

“Ever since the Bifrost was destroyed, we have struggled to keep the Nine Realms in balance,” Thor continued. “Without our presence, old feuds reignited, warlords seized power, and chaos spread unchecked. By the time we repaired the Bifrost with the Tesseract, entire worlds had been consumed by conflict. Restoring order has required every available soldier.”

Jane frowned, glancing around at the battle-hardened warriors. “But Asgard is supposed to be the most powerful realm, right? Shouldn’t your presence alone be enough to stop the fighting?”

Thor shook his head. “Power alone is not always enough. Peace is fragile. It must be maintained, reforged over and over, no matter how many times it is broken.” His gaze swept over the training grounds. “And the harder we fight to restore peace, the harder some fight against it.”

“You’re stretched thin,” Natasha noted. “If something else were to happen, if another enemy rose, you wouldn’t be able to fight on all fronts.”

Thor’s jaw clenched. “That is what we feared but that did not happen. We are at the end of this war, and the Nine Realms are at peace once again. If we needed help, we would have asked for Harry’s help long ago. Only a few skirmishes are now left.” Natasha nodded at that and smiled. Thank god Harry didn’t have to go for another intergalactic adventure.

The carriage rolled to a gentle stop in front of the grand palace gates and the three of them stepped out, immediately met by attendants and guards who bowed deeply in greeting. Inside the palace, every passing servant, soldier, and noble dipped their heads in deference as they made their way through the halls.

Jane and Natasha exchanged a glance as they walked through the palace. “This is… a lot,” Jane muttered under her breath as they passed yet another group of palace staff who bowed the moment they made eye contact.

Natasha gave a slight nod in return to a passing guard but leaned in to whisper, “Just keep walking. Acknowledge them too much, and we’ll never make it to the medical wing.”

Jane stiffened but took the advice, focusing straight ahead as they moved through the gleaming halls.

Finally, they arrived at the palace’s medical wing. The moment they stepped in, a group of robed healers approached them instantly. The head healer, a stern-faced woman with silver threading through her braided hair, inclined her head respectfully as Thor stepped forward.

“She has been touched by something ancient and dangerous,” Thor explained without preamble. “We need to know what is happening to her.”

The healer studied Jane carefully, then gestured toward an ornately carved examination table. “Please, lie down,” she instructed.

Jane hesitated for a fraction of a second, then nodded and climbed onto the table. The healers immediately set to work as hands hovering over her body and golden energy flaring from their palms as they scanned her with silent concentration.

As they began their examination, Jane exhaled, trying to steady herself. “This is normal, right?” she asked, glancing toward Thor and Natasha. “Like, glowing hands and everything?”

Thor gave an encouraging nod. “You are in the best hands, Jane.”

Just as the head healer was about to start a deeper scan of Jane, there was a sharp pop, and Harry materialized in front of the medical wing.

“How many times do I have to tell you, Lord Potter,” the head healer said without even looking up, “that popping directly into the hospital is not allowed? If you must use your magic, at least have the courtesy to appear at the gate like a civilized person.”

Harry, completely unbothered, held up his hands in surrender. “Sorry, sorry! But in my defense, this time it is an emergency.”

The head healer sighed, rubbing her temple. “It’s always an emergency with you.”

Thor chuckled while Jane, still lying on the examination table, raised an eyebrow at the exchange.

Natasha, however, noticed something else entirely. The moment Harry appeared, the younger healers and nurses straightened up, fixing their hair, adjusting their robes, smoothing out their attire. One even quickly swiped a hand over her face, as if to check her reflection in a nearby polished surface.

Natasha’s brows furrowed slightly. Still, she said nothing, filing it away for later.

The head healer merely shook her head before refocusing on Jane. “Well, since you’re here, Lord Potter, try not to disrupt my work.”

Harry gave her a two-fingered salute. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Jane, however, being the ever-curious scientist, was far more interested in the medical equipment than in lying still for the examination.

“Oh, is this scanning for anomalies at a molecular level?” she asked, tilting her head to inspect the glowing runes hovering over her body. Before the healer could answer, Jane reached out to poke one of them.

The head healer caught her wrist mid-air. “Be still,” she instructed, her tone carrying the patience of someone who had dealt with far too many fidgety patients.

“But this is fascinating,” Jane protested, already reaching toward another set of floating symbols with her other hand.

The healer sighed and gave Thor a pointed look.

Thor, looking apologetic, placed a gentle but firm hand on Jane’s shoulder. “Perhaps, you should let the healers heal before attempting to dissect their methods.”

Jane huffed but reluctantly settled back down. “Fine. But afterward, I have so many questions.”

The healer muttered something in Old Norse that sounded suspiciously like "I miss treating warriors. They don't ask questions."

Harry scuttled over to Natasha and Thor, looking thoroughly drained.

“You good?” Natasha asked, eyeing him with mild concern.

“Magically exhausted, but otherwise, yeah,” Harry assured her, rolling his shoulders as if shaking off the lingering fatigue.

Thor chuckled, clapping him on the back. “I do not pity you, brother. Compared to the trials Mother put you through while training, this must have been a mere inconvenience.”

Harry shot him a tired glare. “Easy for you to say. You weren’t the one conjuring ten thousand elementals while upside down.”

Thor laughed heartily. “If not for Jane and Natasha arriving when they did, I imagine she would have made your punishment even more grueling.”

Harry sighed. “No doubt.” He glanced toward the door as if expecting Frigga to reappear with another impossible task.

Their conversation was cut short when one of the nurses approached nervously, sneaking glances at Harry as she bowed slightly. “My prince, Lord Potter.”

Thor acknowledged her with a nod, while Natasha raised an eyebrow at her lingering gaze on Harry.

“Have you found anything?” Harry asked.

The nurse hesitated before shaking her head. “Not yet, Lord Potter.”

Thor frowned. “If this is not of Earth, then what is it?”

“We do not know,” she admitted, her voice growing more somber. “But whatever it is... she will not survive the amount of energy surging within her.”

Harry, Natasha, and Thor exchanged tense looks before turning toward Jane, who, completely oblivious to the news, was still poking at the medical equipment with a fascinated expression.

Jane, still completely oblivious to the grim diagnosis, pointed at a glowing device above her. “That’s a quantum field generator, isn’t it?” she asked excitedly, her scientist instincts kicking in.

The head healer, momentarily taken aback, responded, “It’s a Soul Forge.”

Jane’s eyes lit up. “Right, but… does it transfer molecular energy from one place to another?”

The head healer blinked, impressed. “Yes, in a manner of speaking.”

Jane turned to Thor with a triumphant smile, mouthing, It’s a quantum field generator.

Thor smiled back, but there was a sadness in his eyes. He didn’t have the heart to tell her of her diagnostics.

“She’s going to be alright,” Harry assured Thor. “Whatever this is, if there’s any place that can find a solution, it’s Asgard.”

Thor nodded, his tension easing slightly, only for a commanding voice to cut through the room.

“My words must be mere noise to you, that you ignore them so completely.” Everyone turned as Odin entered, his presence immediately dominating the space.

Thor squared his shoulders. “She’s ill.”

“She is mortal,” Odin said dismissively. “Illness is their defining trait.”

Thor’s jaw tightened. “I brought her here because we can help her.”

"Would you not do everything in your power if it were Frigga who was ill?" Harry interjected before the argument between father and son could escalate further.

Odin’s gaze shifted to Harry. "Yes, I would." Odin replied with an air of finality to it. "But this is not the same."

"How is it not the same?" Thor demanded, stepping forward. "She is suffering. She needs our help!"

Odin’s eyes narrowed. "Because this girl is a fleeting muse, a distraction from the greater purpose of your life. You waste your time on someone whose existence is but the blink of an eye compared to yours." His tone was cold, dismissive, as if Jane were nothing more than a passing cloud, soon to fade and be forgotten.

Thor clenched his fists. "She is not a distraction, she is important to me!"

Odin scoffed. "You are a prince of Asgard. Your duty is to your people, to the realms. Not to a mortal who will wither and fade long before you even begin to understand the weight of eternity."

"For someone who values wisdom above all, how can you be so blind to the power that love holds?" Harry challenged.

Odin’s expression remained unreadable, but there was something in his gaze, something deeply personal. "It is not love that I oppose," he said, his tone quieter, almost weary. "It is because I know so much that I see where this road leads" His voice was vulnerable as it carried the weight of a caring father. "This love is not the force you believe it to be. It is fleeting and it ends in ruin. You call me blind, but it is you who are naïve. You speak as if love is a force of boundless joy, but you ignore the pain it leaves behind."

"Pain is part of life," Harry countered. "That doesn’t mean we should run from it."

Odin exhaled sharply. "You are young. You do not understand what it means to watch someone you love slip away, powerless to stop it. You do not understand what it means to outlive them, to carry their absence like a wound that never heals."

Harry’s jaw tightened. "You think I don’t understand loss?" His voice was quieter now, but no less intense. "I have buried more people than I can count. I have lost family, friends, people I loved. And yes, it hurt. But I would never trade the time I had with them just to avoid the pain of losing them. Nothing lasts forever, not even you. So does that mean even life has no value? Just because something ends, does that mean it wasn’t worth experiencing?"

Odin exhaled sharply, his patience thinning. "Thor is the prince of Asgard. He has a duty to his people, a destiny that cannot be weighed down by mortal attachments. This girl is a passing phase. She will age, she will wither, and she will die. And Thor will be left alone, burdened with a grief that should have never been allowed to take root. I do not wish that burden upon him."

Harry shook his head. "That’s not your choice to make. It’s Thor’s. And Jane’s."

"You believe I do this out of cruelty," Odin said, his voice carrying the weight of ages. " I have seen what happens when an immortal binds his heart to a mortal. The pain is unlike any other, and I would not wish it upon my son."

Harry met his gaze unflinchingly. "But isn’t that his choice? He deserves the right to love, even if it hurts in the end. And maybe, just maybe, the time he has with Jane will be worth any sorrow that follows. Scars are proof that we’ve lived. That we’ve fought. That we’ve loved. And sometimes, those scars are the things that make us strongest of all."

Odin, weary of the argument, swept his gaze over Jane and with finality said. “She does not belong here in Asgard any more than a goat belongs at a banquet table.”

Jane, who had been quietly observing the exchange, suddenly sat up, her eyes widening in disbelief. “Did he just—?” She glanced at Thor and Natasha, as if expecting them to confirm that she had, in fact, been compared to livestock.

Then, her shock turned to indignation. She turned her full attention to Odin. “Who do you think you are?”

Odin’s lips thinned. “I am Odin. King of Asgard. Protector of the Nine Realms.”

Jane blinked, momentarily thrown by the sheer weight of his title. “Oh.” There was a split second of hesitation before she recovered. “Well, I’m—”

“I know very well who you are, Jane Foster,” Odin interrupted.

Jane’s gaze flicked to Thor, eyes narrowing slightly. “You told your dad about me?”

Thor shifted uncomfortably but said nothing.

Natasha smirked. “Oh, he didn’t just tell his dad. I’m pretty sure half of Asgard knows.”

Jane’s face turned pink as she looked at Thor, who was suddenly very interested in the ceiling.

Thor cleared his throat as he tried to shift the conversation. “Something is within her, Father. We have never seen such an affliction before.”

Odin’s gaze remained cold and unwavering as he regarded Jane. “Her world has its healers. They are called doctors. Let them tend to her.” His voice carried the weight of finality as he turned to the guards. “Escort her back to Midgard at once.”

Jane bristled at the dismissal, but before she could protest, Harry stepped forward. “Allfather, please. The Convergence has created unstable wormholes all across the Nine Realms. Jane fell into one for five hours. Something happened to her in that time. If you send her back now, you may be sending her to her death.”

Thor took a step closer to Odin. “If there is even a chance we can help her, we must try.”

“Yes, Father,” Thor added. “She was lost in a place where even Heimdall could not see her.”

Odin’s expression tightened as he considered Thor’s words. But whatever thoughts flickered behind his gaze, he ultimately remained unmoved. With a final look at Jane, he turned to his guards. “My order stands. Send her back to Midgard.”

Two Asgardian guards stepped forward, but the moment their hands reached for her, a violent surge of energy erupted from within her as a blinding flash of crimson light sent a shockwave through the room.

The guards were flung backwards, their bodies crashing into the stone walls. Healers gasped and scrambled away, shielding their eyes from the pulsing, chaotic energy.

Reacting on instinct, Harry cast a Protego Totalum! Instantly, a shimmering dome enveloped Jane, containing the swirling energy before it could lash out again. The crimson light pounded against the shield’s surface like waves against a barrier, testing its strength, before gradually retreating back into Jane’s body.

“Jane!” Thor was by her side in an instant, his voice filled with worry. He knelt, cradling her head in his large hands. “Jane, can you hear me?”

Jane’s eyelids fluttered weakly. She gave a small nod, her breath shallow.

Odin, however, was no longer looking at Jane. His eyes were locked onto the traces of crimson energy still flickering along her skin, his face darkening with disbelief.

“That’s impossible,” he whispered, more to himself than anyone else.

The head healer stepped forward, her face pale at what she had witnessed. “The infection… it’s defending her.”

“No.” Natasha, who had been silent until now, shook her head, her sharp eyes narrowing. “It’s protecting itself.”

A heavy silence fell over the room as the implications sank in.

“Now do you see, Father?” Thor pressed. “This is not something Midgard’s healers can treat.”

Odin, however, seemed lost in thought, his gaze lingering on Jane as if searching for something. Then, he moved closer and cast a golden light from his hand on Jane. The crimson energy within Jane flared violently in reaction to Odin, pulsing like a heartbeat, the tendrils of light coiling and writhing before settling back beneath her skin. Odin’s eyes darkened at the confirmation.

“No,” he murmured, straightening. “This is not something Midgard’s healers can cure.” He exhaled, his jaw tightening. “Nor can ours.”

Silence gripped the room. Thor and Harry exchanged uneasy glances while Jane, still weak, tried to sit up.

Odin turned away, already lost in contemplation. “Freshen up and meet me in the archives within the hour,” he ordered. “I need to confirm something.”

Without another word, he strode out of the healer’s chamber, his crimson cape trailing behind him.