My head throbbed. The world spun.
It felt like a troll was tap-dancing on my brain with steel-toed boots. I cracked open one eye, a sliver of light stabbing through my skull.
"Ugh," I groaned, rolling onto my back. The tent ceiling blurred above me.
I knew Thor was tough, but a drinking contest? My enhanced stats did nothing for alcohol tolerance, apparently. What a ripoff.
"Rough night, Ethan?" Gatomon's voice dripped with mock sympathy.
"Should've stuck to orange juice," BlackGatomon added, a smug purr in her tone. "It was quite troublesome when you're drunk."
They floated beside me, tiny feline Digimon, looking entirely too perky.
"Alright, alright, laugh it up," I mumbled, pushing myself to sit. My stomach churned. "Just reminding me that a high AGI doesn't stop a hangover."
My head pounded, but the guilt hit harder. I had a mission. Groundramon was still out there.
"We still need to find that overgrown lizard," I said, forcing myself to stand. The tent swayed. "And Loki's probably off causing trouble somewhere."
The Digimon exchanged a look, then Gatomon sighed. "Right. Duty calls, I suppose."
The hangover was a distraction I didn't need.
My head still throbbed, but I forced myself to focus. I spotted them, a small group gathered a little ways off, near one of the temporary SHIELD tents.
Jane Foster, Erik Selvig, and Darcy Lewis.
Thor, looking less like a god and more like a lost puppy, was right there with them, animatedly talking.
"See, Thor's learning," I muttered, mostly to myself.
"He's certainly… engaging," Gatomon observed, a hint of dry amusement in her voice.
"More like a golden retriever who just discovered squirrels," BlackGatomon snickered.
I ignored her. This was good. My earlier advice about connecting with humans must have stuck. Thor was soaking it all in, eyes wide as Jane pointed to some charts, explaining who-knows-what about cosmic anomalies. Erik, ever the professor, nodded thoughtfully. Darcy just looked perpetually bewildered, which was her natural state, really.
They seemed to have forgotten about the giant dragon-thing that tried to eat them. Or maybe they were just choosing to process it in their own, uniquely human way. That was the Marvel Universe for you. Trauma, then scientific curiosity.
"He's getting grounded," I said, mostly as a note to myself. "That's important."
A humble Thor was a less problematic Thor. And a less problematic Thor meant fewer headaches for me.
"Any luck finding that mole-dragon?" I asked Erik, approaching the cluster of human scientists. I still felt a little woozy, but duty called.
My Digivice was quiet. Too quiet.
Erik adjusted his glasses, his Swedish accent thick. "Groundramon, you called it? No. The creature remains…undetected. Our instruments show no further seismic activity since it burrowed away."
He looked a bit baffled by the whole concept, which was fair. A literal mole-dragon was probably outside his typical astrophysical scope.
"So, nothing," I stated, a frustrated sigh escaping me.
"Nothing," Darcy confirmed, looking up from a tablet. "It just…vanished. Like a really big, scaly gopher."
I bit back a comment about how gophers usually didn't level military vehicles. This was the problem with rogue Digimon. They didn't play by human rules. Groundramon was out there, underground, a ticking time bomb. The silence was unnerving.
A hand landed on my shoulder.
"Cipher."
I turned to see Coulson, his face unreadable as ever. His eyes scanned the distant crater where Mjolnir still sat, then returned to me.
"About Loki," he started, his voice low. "What did he say, exactly? Before he… vanished."
I debated how much to give him. Fury already suspected me of something. No need to add fuel to that fire. My head still hurt too much for subtle manipulation.
"He said Odin was dead," I replied, keeping it blunt. "Claimed Thor's banishment was keeping the peace with Jotunheim."
Coulson's brow tightened just a fraction. "And you believe him?"
"He vanished when he realized he was outmatched," I said, shrugging. "Gatomon and BlackGatomon saw through his illusions. He was trying to mess with Thor's head, sow doubt."
I left out the part about the entire family drama playing out in Asgard, the Frost Giants, and Loki's clear power play. No need for SHIELD to think Thor was a ticking time bomb of intergalactic politics.
"A trickster god," Coulson mused, rubbing his chin. "Figures."
He looked at the empty spot where Loki had been, then back at me.
"And the threat to Thor? You think Loki means him harm?"
"He certainly doesn't wish him well," I stated, a hint of my annoyance bleeding into my tone. "He saw Thor as a problem to be removed, and that probably hasn't changed."
Coulson nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. He pulled out his phone, tapping at the screen. The air felt heavy, like something was about to drop. It usually did when Coulson got that look.
"Just got a notice," he said, his eyes still on the phone. "Four… individuals just entered town. Dressed in what appears to be full medieval cosplay."
My eyes went wide. Medieval cosplay? No way.
"Thor's friends," I blurted out, the words escaping before I could think. "The Warriors Three, probably. And Sif, maybe."
I didn't expect them to show up this fast. Things were moving quicker than I anticipated. This whole "Thor gets banished" arc was really picking up speed.
Coulson raised an eyebrow, looking from his phone to me, then to the oblivious Thor, who was now engaged in a lively debate with Jane about the structural integrity of a wormhole.
"More of his… countrymen?" Coulson asked, a hint of weariness in his voice. He probably thought I was making things up.
"Asgardians," I clarified, as if that made it sound more normal. "His loyal companions. They're probably here to try and get him back to Asgard."
I watched Thor, who still had no clue his buddies were about to crash the party. This was going to be fun to watch. Maybe not so fun for SHIELD, though. Their containment efforts were already stretched thin.
Hawkeye, who had been listening silently, let out a short, incredulous laugh. "Great. Just what we needed. More guys in capes."
He adjusted the bow slung over his shoulder, his eyes already scanning the horizon, probably looking for incoming flying longships or something. Coulson sighed, running a hand over his face.
"Alright, Barton," Coulson said, his voice tight with forced calm. "Round up a team. We're going to welcome our new guests."
He gave me a pointed look.
"And Cipher," Coulson added. "Try not to complicate things further. We have enough variables as it is."
"Me?" I asked, feigning innocence. "I'm just here for the rogue Digimon, remember?"
My internal grin was wide. More Asgardians meant more chaos, and more chaos usually meant more opportunities for me. Plus, it would distract SHIELD from poking around my business too much. It was almost perfect. Almost.
I needed to make sure they didn't accidentally stumble upon Groundramon while trying to wrangle Thor's friends. That would be a mess.
***
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