Aftermath

Beth Thompson got out of bed to make breakfast for her two children. Today is their father’s birthday. He would have been 36. She walks into her tiny kitchen in her tiny New York apartment and pulls out the frying pan to make some bacon and eggs. It is Sunday morning and the sky is a bright beautiful blue. Beth looks over at the desk where her husband used to sit. It is piled high with unpaid bills. The economy had been hard on their little family the last few years. Having two young children made it even tougher. Life insurance was one of those little things that they kept putting off.
She had gotten some aid money from various charities in the city for victims of the invasion. It helped sustain her this past year. But the money has run out and her little job does not pay enough to make the rent. They’ll be evicted soon. She is suddenly disturbed by a knock at the door.
“Who is it?” She queries as she looks through a peep hole.
“Delivery for a Mrs. Thompson.” Says the man at the door. He looks the part. She undoes the door chain and opens it wide. The tall skinny man with green eyes and short black hair greets her in his brown uniform with a small package.
“Sign this please.” He says. She signs his paper and takes possession of the box. It is a small 1ft x 6in box and it is very heavy.
“What do you have in here a gold brick?” She says. “I wasn’t expecting any package. Do you know what it is?”
“No my lady, I have no idea.” The man says softly and smiles.
“Thank You.” She says before quietly shutting the door. She puts the heavy package down on the counter and starts opening it. She really has no idea what it could be. Maybe some sort of gift to the family in honor of her late husband. It is his birthday today after all. It must be from a friend.
She opens the flaps and parts the paper and is stunned by what she sees. It does, in fact, appear to be an actual gold brick. There is a symbol engraved on top of the bar. Beside the bar is a small note.
“Yes it is real. I recommend taking it to Sotheby’s. They are reputable and will buy it from you at a fair price. Payment rendered as recompense for your suffering. Sincerely, the Prince of Asgard.”
Beth stares at the note and then looks back at the bar. She now remembers where she has seen that symbol before. It is the same symbol engraved on the side of Thor’s hammer. She’s seen it on the news. Thor just rescued her family from financial destruction!
Thor is out at that schwarma place he likes so much. Everybody in the neighborhood knows he goes there for lunch on occasion. He is used to having a few people stop and ask for pictures and autographs. He doesn’t understand the custom, but he doesn’t mind. What he does mind is the swarm of reporters encircling him as he eats.
“What is the meaning of this?” Thor asks with his mouth full. He’s so embarrassed. His mother would be ashamed of him.
“Prince Thor, what prompted you to be so generous after all this time after the invasion?” One of the reporters jams a microphone into his face.
“I’m not sure what you are referring to.” Thor says confused.
“How do you choose the people? Is there a priority system you use or is it random?”
“What?”
“Does the gold really come from Asgard?”
“What gold? What are you talking about?”
_________________________

Jack Anderson sits beside his daughter’s hospital bed and watches her sleep. He misses his wife more than ever in times like this. It was bad enough that she died a horrifying death, but that she did so shielding their daughter from the alien blast. Little Anna has been in a coma since. She isn’t just in a coma; she has terrible burn scars on her face and scalp. She used to be a beautiful girl. Doctors have done all they can and she is not getting better. He looks at her and a part of him can’t help but hope…that she does not wake up. Jack reads to his daughter until his eyes get heavy and he doses off.
“Daddy?”
“Mr. Anderson! Your daughter! Wake up!” Jack’s eye pop open and he looks around. The nurse is in his face with a look of shock about her. Then he peers over at his child. Anna is awake, but more than that, she is healed. Her scars are gone. She looks like she just woke up from a light nap and not a year-long slumber.
“Baby? Baby girl is that you?” Jack scoops up his daughter and squeezes her tight. He is sobbing openly as he runs his fingers through her hair.
“Daddy? Why are you sad?”
“I’m not sad sweetheart, Daddy is very happy.” He continues sobbing as medical personnel swarm the room to examine the girl. The doctors are amazed. It’s a miracle.
“Mr. Anderson, there’s a package here for you.” A nurse points out. It is sitting on the food tray table by the bed. She reaches over to pick up and hand it to him, but struggles when she feels how heavy it is. She needs both hands to lift it. Mr. Anderson gingerly places it in his lap. He pulls out his keys to use the edge to rip through the tap and pull the box open.
“Daddy? Where’s mommy?”
_________________________

Tony and the team gather around the table that has the gold bar and the note. They are running tests on the items to see if they can find any kind of booby trap or evil spell. Admittedly scientific instruments are not the best tools for detecting magic, but really-what else can they do?
“That is Loki’s handwriting. I recognize it.” Thor states.
“What about the gold bar? Where did he get it? It has that symbol on it like your hammer, but I doubt he got this from Asgard.” Steve says. Thor looks pensively at his friends. In order to answer Steve’s question he is going to have to give away a state secret of Asgard’s finances. A secret so closely guarded that only the royal family and a handful of skilled sorcerers know it. In Asgard gold is not mined, it is manufactured, by magic. Like the secret of Chinese Silk making, the source of Asgard’s wealth is well hidden. The reason the entire city of Asgard is coated in gold is because long ago one of Asgard’s sorcerer’s discovered a spell to create it with just a few simple ingredients. Only a handful of mage’s are taught how to make it, to keep the knowledge from escaping Asgard. Loki was given the privilege of learning this spell because he was a prince.
The reason there are no taxes in Asgard and that Asgard is able to trade for the finest items from other realms is because the Royal Family produces its own wealth practically out of thin air. Thor is filled with trepidation. He looks down at the items which Tony purchased from one of his own employees. She’d lost a husband during the invasion. Thor wonders how many of these are out there, and what Loki’s purpose is.
“What I am about to tell you cannot leave this room. Anthony if you would be so kind as to turn off the talking walls, I will elaborate.” Thor says.
“Jarvis stop all recordings and turn off video.” Tony orders
“Yes sir.”
“Loki made this gold himself, with his magic.” Thor explains.
“Wait! What? Are you telling me he conjured this out of thin air?” Tony exclaims. Just because Tony is a Billionaire doesn’t mean he never learned the value of a dollar.
“Essentially yes. The spell is a well-guarded secret in Asgard. Even I do not know the entirety of the process. I would have learned if I had shown an interest in magic as Loki did as a child. As Prince of Asgard it was well within my rights to learn the spell. But I never showed any interest. Loki learned it.”
“I can understand why it is a secret. It is the inherit rareness of gold that makes it valuable. If there is too much floating around it becomes less valuable. I imagine Asgard would want tight controls over how much are made and who makes it.” Tony says.
“So we know that Loki did this? But why?” Clint asks. He doesn’t believe for a second that Loki did this out of charity or benevolence.
“When last I spoke to Loki, I encouraged him to repent for his crimes. I did not think he listened to me. He hasn’t attacked the city in months. I dare to hope that I might have gotten through to him.” Thor says. The others look at him with a mixture of doubt and anger. Is Thor really that gullible? Loki tried to kill him twice and has maimed him several times. Thor’s blind spot for Loki is glaringly wide.
“Do you think he did something to the gold, like enchant it to hurt the people he gave it to?” Natasha asks.
“If he did that would be really fucking evil. The people that are getting these bars are victims and survivors of the invasion. Is he really that much of a sick twisted son of a bitch?” Bruce asks. There is a long awkward pause as everyone looks at each other. Clearly some in the group believe that, yes, Loki really is that fucking evil.
“Even Loki has his limits.” Thor says, though it assures no one.
“What about the bars? Do you think they are enchanted?”
“I don’t know. I have no way of telling just by looking at them.” Thor states sounding at little exasperated. This whole conversation is starting to make him angry. Things are getting tense and Bruce can tell it is time for the group to decompress.
“We should lock these up and commence with tests tomorrow. It is getting late.” Bruce says. Everyone nods, mostly because no one really believes that any kind of testing they do will yield any conclusive results. They leave the lab and head upstairs to the penthouse for some much needed relaxation.
Everyone has been on pins and needles all day. Ever since news reports came out that “Thor” was compensating the invasion victims with Asgardian gold. Stark Tower staff members were inundated with phone calls after that. Even the mayor wants compensation for the damage to the city. Thor, Tony, and Pepper are still trying to figure out what to put in the press release. If they deny that it is Thor doing it, then people will figure out it is Loki giving the gold out. The public would go into a state of panic, assuming Loki was up to no good. If Thor lies and says he is responsible, it opens him up to public attack for holding out so long and his “selection method” being picked apart. It’s a PR nightmare, and perhaps that is Loki’ real plan behind all this.
The thought that Loki might actually be apologizing for his actions only occurs to one person.

Notes