"In ancient times, people believed the heavens were filled with gods and monsters and magical worlds." "Then, as time passed, those beliefs faded into myth and folklore." "But now we know the stories were true." "Other worlds, with names like Asgard, do exist." "And beings once revered as gods, like Thor, have returned." "Leaving us with more questions and an enormous mess to clean up." "Don't say I never gave you anything." "Checking for alien spectrographic signatures, one teeny rock at a time." "A necessary precaution." "We don't want anything alien getting in the wrong hands." "Still, this is definitely the type of work a monkey could easily do." "You're our little monkey." "Don't give me that look." "I'll talk to them when I talk to them." " Talk to who?" " Mum and Dad." "They want explanations and answers for..." "Well, all this." "But I don't have any answers." "And more importantly, I haven't talked to them since I was ill." "And if they knew that, they'd be even more terrified, so, you know." "Why waste any of our time, really?" "You guys may think it's old news, but it's new news to everybody else." "So, Asgardians are aliens from another planet" " that visited us thousands of years ago." " Or more." "And because we couldn't understand aliens, we thought they were gods?" "That's where our Norse mythology comes from." "That's too crazy." "Do you think other deities are aliens, too?" "Vishnu for sure, right?" "You know, it'd be nice if, for once, Thor and his people sent down the god of cleaning-up-after-yourself." "He'd probably have a magic broom for this kind of thing." "I just wish they'd left their alien ship behind." " So we can clean that up, too?" " So we could go inside." "Take a peek under the hood, maybe take it for a spin." "Come on, you're telling me piloting an alien ship isn't on your bucket list?" "I can't think of a single time when anything alien in human hands ended well." "Wouldn't mind getting my human hands on Thor." "He's so dreamy." "Sure, he's handsome, but..." "No." "He's dreamy." "Fitz, is that... um..." "Definitely not from here." "Another piece of the ship." "What are you doing?" "Out of sight, out of mind." "It's why we're here." "To keep everything under control." "Now, who would do something like that?" "Ah, who knows?" "Baby, look." ""South of the water, north of the hill," ""a halo of stones..."" ""Protect the tree, still."" "Jakob." "Is this it?" "We should check that out." "Finally, after all this time." "I can't wait to tell the others." "I told you it was real." "And that I would find it." "Are you ready?" "What you're feeling, don't fight it." "That rage, it's already inside of you." "Don't be afraid of it." "Don't hide from its power." "Embrace it!" "Embrace it!" "Oh, God!" "What have you done?" "I can climb it if you want." "Just talk me through what to do with the doodads." "Yeah, it's only about 15 feet." "I'll be fine." "I'm just a bit more wary about the height thing, since falling to certain death..." "You're afraid?" "Hmm?" "Shaken up?" "It's normal." "But some feelings will take over if you dwell on them." "Especially fear." "Now, keep your eyes ahead, focus on what you like to do best." "Yep." "Not falling." "No, research." "You're a scientist, you like to figure things out." "Yes, with my doodads." "I'm curious." "Whatever was up in these trees had to be there for centuries, right?" "At least a millennium." "Radiocarbon-14 dates some of these trees at 9,000 years old." "That sounds impossible." "You think the tree grew around it?" "I'd have to check the dendrochronology first to know for certain." "But, I mean, the Norway spruce is a rather fast-growing coniferous." "And I know you're trying to trick me into going up, but I'm going up anyway." "I'll catch you if you fall." "...screaming, so much hate in her eyes." "And you said she had a silver stick?" "Steel, maybe, I don't know." "It, um, it had decorations on it." "Could you describe or draw them?" "I didn't get a good look." "I just ran." "Who would do something so evil?" "I'm sorry for your loss." "Huh, um..." "Whatever was in here was definitely not from this world." "Fitz, you getting this?" "It's not Chitauri, is it?" "No." "No, no, don't worry." "This isn't another viral threat." "Um..." "Hang on." "Spectrographic signatures match readings from Thor's hammer." "Simmons, whatever was in that tree is Asgardian." "I can see an imprint of what was embedded." "Scanning for three-dimensional restoration." "Tell me when." "When." "Um..." "Looks like a staff or a rod." "Well-crafted, engraved." "I'll convert it, print a 3D model." "This forest is a protected reserve." "I mean, who do they think they are?" "Anything else?" "Details?" "Anything that might help us to find these people or where they might be hiding?" "Sir, it doesn't look like they're hiding." "...in an attempt to stop the growing violence." "Sending to your devices now." "The rioting has left 20 injured, three in critical condition." "Reports indicate that the group of about a dozen was led by this man and woman." "And though their motive was unclear, their message was hauntingly spelled out on the streets of Oslo." "Well, I guess we know who they think they are." "Jakob Nystrom, 30." "Girlfriend, Petra Larsen." "Leaders of a Norse paganist hate group." "And the numbers are growing, thanks to what happened in Greenwich, and thanks to the Internet." ""Yay, internet," she said sarcastically." "Norse paganist?" "Obsessed with anything derived from Norse mythology." "Stories of Asgard." "And now a weapon." "The scan only accounted for one side." "Too much damage to the tree for complete reproduction." "But see here?" "It's clearly broken on both ends." " So there are more pieces?" " Yeah." "Two, at least." "Which means Sid and Nancy may be looking for a complete set." " The markings?" " Asgardian symbolism." "Hard to translate with our limited knowledge." "You should give your buddy, the God of Thunder a shout." "He gets his power from his hammer, right?" "What if this is his nail to the hammer?" "I already did." "Director Fury told me he's off the grid." "And if he has a cell phone, we don't have the number." "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s investigations are on the trail of Nystrom and his followers." "We're charged with identifying the object and finding any other pieces before they do." "They seem to have some advantage." "They found this thing in 150 square kilometers of Norwegian forest." "Guys, what if it called to them with magic?" "Called to them?" "We know it's Asgardian, so the rules are a little bendy here." "Just because we don't understand something yet doesn't mean we should regress back to the Dark Ages, talking of magic and fairytale." "Actually, that's exactly what we're going to do." " Excuse me?" " Really?" "When we first found the hammer in New Mexico," "I consulted one of the world's leading experts on Norse mythology." "Elliot Randolph." "A professor at a university in Seville." "We'll leave immediately." "Maybe he can tell us more about these markings." "Well, one must adapt, Elena." "Recent events have thrown us all for a loop." "I thought I was teaching Norse mythology." "No, turns out, I'm a history professor." "So, you're not going to change my grade?" "No." "I will give you a week to rewrite it." "I think, in general, little more history, less lit crit." "But I do hope we're still on for dinner tonight." "I've included a list of books there that might help you." "I'll see you later." " Professor Randolph." " Agent Coulson." "Come in, come in." "Waterfield 44. 14 karat gold nib with mother-of-pearl inlay." "That's quite an eye you've got." "I didn't know you were a collector." "On a government salary, not quite." "Well, I'm assuming you found something on the ground in London?" "In a tree in Norway, and unfortunately, we weren't the ones who found it." "It's a 3D model." "Oh, that is amazing." "Well, based on these runes," "I'd say I'm looking at a piece of the Berserker staff." "Let's have a look." "Yeah, the myth dates back to the late 12th century." "It's all about a powerful warrior from Asgard." "Here." "A soldier in the Berserker Army." "Berserker Army?" "Oh, yeah." "A powerful army." "Fierce army, it was." "Berserkers battled like raging beasts, destroying everything in their path." "A single Berserker had the strength of 20 warriors." "So whoever wielded the staff got superhuman strength?" "Fighting with it put the warrior into a state of uncontrollable rage." "The staff contained a very powerful magic." "Or a scientific attribute we've yet to discover." "Analytically-minded and pretty as a peach." "The warrior in the story?" "Well, in the story, he came to Earth to fight, but he ended up falling in love." "With whom?" "With life on Earth." "Humanity." "He fell so much in love that, when his army returned to Asgard, he stayed behind." "What happened to the staff?" "Well, he didn't want its dark magic falling into the wrong hands." "So he broke it into three pieces, and hid each one in a different location." "The manuscript wouldn't happen to say where he hid them, would it?" "Actually, it does." "In three verses." "Now, let's all bear in mind, these are poetic abstracts from long-lost ancient texts." "So, there is one about a tree, which they found, it seems." "Another is, "East of the river, sun overhead." ""Buried in earth with the bones of the dead."" "That's a bit macabre, isn't it?" "And there's another here." "Well, this one doesn't even have a rhyme." "But the gist of it is "close to God."" " That could be anything, couldn't it?" " Could also mean nothing." "I was hoping for less metaphor, more longitude and latitude." "Well, I mean, it does stand to reason to search near Viking raid routes, doesn't it?" "There have been some recent interesting findings of Norse relics on Baffin Island, off the coast of Canada." "Yeah, a virtual treasure trove of new artifacts." "We'll start there then." "Thank you, Professor." "Did you know there's a Mount Thor on Baffin Island?" "I did not." "You know what's not on Mount Thor?" "Anything Asgardian at all." "Our agents on the ground haven't found a thing." "What about you?" "Nystrom's Deep Web message boards are just abuzz with psychos." "They believe they're gonna ascend to be the" ""gods of destruction and death." People suck, sir." "That's your progress?" "People suck?" "These people do." "And there's also chatter about going underground." "Could mean going incognito..." "Or searching for the next piece." "Randolph said to check Viking routes." "Find any others?" "There's some sites along the Volga River in Russia." "Some in Kiev, and, weirdly, here." "In Seville, Spain?" "It's a long shot, but Vikings sacked Seville twice." "We found one promising location with Viking relics." "El Divino Nino, a church built on the ruins of an 8th century crypt, built on Roman ruins from 206 BC." " East of a river." " And lots of bones." "Let's see what we can dig up." "See what I did there?" "Must be nice." "Have a mandatory nap time." "Siesta isn't mandatory." "Just very pleasant." " How you doing, Agent Ward?" " Wishing I was shorter." "Nothing yet." "All my readings are normal." "What about you, Skye?" "Any luck?" "I'm lucky my S.O. volunteered to take the super creepy hallway, instead of the slightly less creepy dungeon room place." "I got nothing." "Sorry, nada." "Ward, your spectrograph is reading something near you." "I don't see anything." "Well, it's right in front of you." "Oh, wait, no." "Uh, okay, hold on." "It's moving." "Northwest." "Visual contact." "Okay, Ward, turn left." "I have a wonderful explanation." "Ran into some unexpected..." " Ward, what's happening?" " His device just went down." " Skye, can you get..." " Already on it." "Ward, are you all right?" "Hey, hey, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa." "Grant, calm down." "Oh, my God, please." "Calm down." "The staff, he has it." "Somethings wrong with Ward." "The staff's gone." "Someone took it." "I have one, too." "He can't just disappear." "He'll have to turn up somewhere." "There we go." "A block south of the church." " Professor?" " I screwed up." " This is ridiculous." " It's anything but." "Ward, you passed out." "And you were acting not right." "Coulson ordered me to give you a full work up, and that's exactly what I'm doing." "Um, before you lost consciousness, were you feeling claustrophobic?" " Why?" " She's ruling out a panic attack." "I don't panic." "Ever." "There we go." "Ruled out." "Touching the staff caused it, right?" "Any residual effects?" "Are you exhibiting any extra strength?" "Why don't I find out on that guy?" "Why don't we not do that?" "What's the last thing you remember before you lost consciousness?" "This is a waste of time." "We need to find the staff." "What exactly did you remember?" "Something I hadn't thought about in a long time." "Why don't we leave it alone?" "I mean, he just pulled his arm out..." "Quiet!" "I want to hear this." "One of my men is hurt, the staff is gone..." "I didn't want any of that to happen." "What did you want?" " The staff's power for yourself?" " Nothing like that." "You know, I just wanted to be the first to study it." "To prove that the Berserkers were actually here, a part of history." "You think about that." "Oh, I'm thinking about it." "What are you doing?" "Your heart rate's rising, adrenaline's spiking." "You need to calm down, not get worked up." "The memory, was it about your brother?" "Drop it." "Ward, if you need to get it out, I am here..." "Right." "To talk." "Because that's what you do." "Talk and talk." "Don't you ever get tired of hearing your own voice?" "Ward, stop." "Well, this makes more sense." "Ward, what you're experiencing, this feeling?" "It's chemistry." "Hope so." "Yeah, spikes in his adrenocorticotropic hormone." "It's like those stories you hear when a mother is able to lift a car to save her baby." "An adrenaline surge can create a massive..." "Stop talking!" "Just fix it!" "I wish I could." "We can relieve some of the symptoms." "I'm going to give you 1 O cc:'s of benzodiazepine." "Chill pill." "Good idea." "A sedative?" "Not gonna happen." "Yeah, well, be reasonable." "Look how you're behaving." "And if I'm sedated and we cross paths with those juiced freaks, the ones who flip cars and smash people up, are you gonna take them on?" "Keep us safe?" "Or am I gonna have to save Simmons' ass again?" "That was just a biochemical reaction." "He didn't mean all that." " No, I know." " No explanation necessary." " How'd they find it?" " I have no idea how they found it." "They may have the original texts." "I wasn't involved." "You know, it was just a chance to uncover something that the gods brought down from the heavens." "Aliens brought it." "From space." "I've spent some one-on-one time with aliens before." "Didn't work out too well." "So cases like this are personal to me." "That's all I know." "Get comfortable." "Help me!" "Please!" "Help me!" "Help me!" "Ward!" "Hey, Ward!" "You should be more careful." "I'm fine." "You?" "I'm working it out." "You're punching things." "The last thing you need is to punch things." "You got a better idea?" "Let me help you." "The only help I need is to stop those guys before they hurt somebody else." "We are the new order!" "Our world is being taken by gods!" "We will become gods and take it back!" "This is the new order!" "Are you ready to take back the power?" " A moment, sir?" " Come on in." "I'm concerned that my exposure to that weapon has compromised my ability to do my job." "Go on." "You're familiar with my family history?" "So, for obvious reasons, I don't think back to childhood." "Ever." "There are things I put away a long time ago, on lockdown." "Because to do this, I have to be focused, tactical." "I can't be distracted." "Especially by things that happened a lifetime ago." "You're saying touching the staff unlocked certain memories?" "My worst memory." "The first time I felt hate." "And it won't go away." "I don't trust myself." "The way I went off at Skye and Fitz-Simmons in the lab..." "Grant, you telling me this makes me feel I can trust you." "Him, on the other hand..." "I can't get the Professor to talk." "You've got some rage built up." "Maybe it's time to let it out." "You need to start talking." "I told Agent Coulson everything I know." "You're lying." "Tell me what that thing did to me and how to fix it." "I swear, I don't know." "Okay, then." "You were right." "He's Asgardian." "Good thing." "Otherwise that would've been awfully embarrassing." "Okay, I have to know." "How did you figure me out?" "Did the math." "One, you're not the first Asgardian I've had in custody." "You guys don't flinch or panic in captivity." "Two, a Waterfield 44 on a lit professor's salary?" "I don't think so." "And lastly, when I tell someone I've had some one-on-one time with an alien, they tend to be a little curious." "Well, you're certainly more observant than most, Agent Coulson." "So, you're the Asgardian warrior who stayed." "Please don't tell anyone." "I had no clue." "Did you?" "Hidden in plain sight." "An actual Asgardian." "Brilliant." "How long do you suppose he's been on our planet?" "A thousand years, maybe more." "If we could just cut him open a little bit, get some tissue samples, maybe some bodily fluids, we could find out." "Or we could just ask him, weirdo." "This is way, way better than The History Channel." "I mean, this guy has lived through all the scary stuff." "The Crusades, the Black Death, disco." "What're you doing?" "Sealing the interrogation room door." "Coulson's orders." "Ah, locking me in." "Well, I've been in tighter spots." "This room is made of a silicon carbide-coated vibranium alloy." "Meant for prisoners like yourself." "But you're in here, too." "And eventually, somebody will open that door." "Not if I tell them not to." "So, the myth is your autobiography?" "I didn't write it." "I didn't want anyone to know about me." "Then I had to open my big mouth." "Were you captured?" "Tortured?" "Horny." "I met a French girl in 1546." "God, she loved stories." "So I told her a great one." "All about the peaceful Asgardian warrior who stayed." "Now, how was I to know her brother, the priest, would write it all down and turn it into," "I don't know, a thing?" "Do you know Thor?" "Oh, sure." "I spent all my days palling around with the future king of Asgard." "No, I don't know Thor." "I was a mason." "I broke rocks." "For thousands of years, if you can imagine that." "So when they came asking for people to fight, yes, 'course I signed up." "I think, really, I just wanted to travel." "But you had the staff." "I hated that thing." "Other guys loved all the power that comes with the rage." "No." "I didn't like it at all." "And you don't either, it seems." "What did it do to me?" "It shines a light into your dark places." "Doesn't matter if you're human, Asgardian, the effect is the same." "Unpleasant." ""Shines a light"?" "That's no explanation." "It was forged from a rare metal and reacts to whoever is holding it." "Or interacts." "I went to such great lengths to make sure that the staff wasn't found." "Unfortunately, since the myth was written down, people have been searching for it for centuries." "I need your help to stop them before they get the last piece of your staff." "No." "I am a pacifist now." "And you don't want to risk your identity being discovered." "Listen, I wouldn't worry too much about these angry youths." "They always calm down." "And eventually, they die of old age." "And that is one of the pleasant aspects of life here." "Everything changes." "I'll tell you what's gonna change." "Your anonymity." "Unless you help us find the final piece of your staff." "You may not know Thor, but I do." "My first love on this planet was Ireland." "There was a monastery, and the monks gave me a nice warm place to sleep, some soup, and some mulled wine." ""Near God."" "The effects of the staff, are they permanent?" "The strength wears off." "You will feel exhausted." "Afterwards, you'll need sleep." "What about the other effects?" "Oh, that dark, nasty ache in the pit of your stomach?" "The rage in your chest that makes you feel as if your heart's about to explode?" "It's worse on humans." "But give it a few decades and it'll wear off, too." "Great." "Are you sure Ward's okay to go into the field?" "He's not exactly acting like himself." "But he knows it." "He'll be fine." "I'm with Coulson." "It's been a while." "I wonder..." "Ah!" "Yes." "There it is." "Still here." "Well, the nose isn't quite right, but..." "That's you?" "Yeah." "They venerated me a bit as a saint." "They're idiots." " Where's the staff?" " It's upstairs." "Was that the normal Ward, or the new, angrier Ward?" "I can't tell." "It's quiet." "Why do you think I trusted them with my secret?" "They take a vow of silence." "But when you get them talking, they squeal." "If you want to defeat a god, you must become one." "We need to help him!" "I'll get her." "How is he?" "I don't know what to do." "He's not human!" " He's dying." " Yeah, we know, but she doesn't understand his anatomy..." " Oh, my God!" " What in God's name..." "Sometimes you have to just jump in and figure things out." "Now, Asgardians regenerate faster than we do." "Maybe we can keep him alive long enough..." "For his body to heal itself." " Okay, what am I looking for?" " His heart." "Help me!" " Oh." "Okay." "I think I got it." "Heart." " Oh..." "Yeah." "Can you feel a tear or rupture?" "Clamp down hard on his heart." "Try to slow the bleeding." " Grant." "Drop the staff." " Get away from me." " Agent Ward..." " This isn't you." "Get back." "Help me!" "Please!" "Please!" "Grant!" "Help me!" "Grant, please!" "Help me!" "Grant!" " Not yet, Grant." " Help me!" " But he's gonna..." " Not yet." "Throw him the rope, and I throw you in there, too." "Please!" "Grant!" "Oh, my God, are you okay?" "Come here." "Oh, you've got to be kidding." "This time, let me help." "Yeah." "Come on." "I am not afraid of you." "Am I dead?" "Apparently not." "You're easily the most beautiful thing I've seen in a thousand years." "Coulson did that?" "He just shoved his hand inside?" "Well, he had to." "I froze." "Didn't know what to do." "Hey, you didn't freeze." "You just weren't up for the idea of putting your hand inside somebody else's chest." "Maybe I should jump in." "Yeah." "Hi, Dad." "Yeah, it's great to hear your voice, too." "I've been meaning to call you for a couple of days." "It's been a difficult few weeks." "When you held it, did you see anything?" "Then how?" "How did you hold all three?" "Because I see it every day." "I know that look." "You're tempted." "Now, what is it you wanna see?" "You and I have a lot in common." "We've both been stabbed in the heart." "I was killed." "Well, almost." "I'm hazy on that." "Afterwards, it's kind of a blank." "I have no memory of being revived, of being in a hospital." "Just woke up a few months later." "And are you haunted by it, Mr. Coulson?" "No." "Not exactly." "Then what's the problem?" "I suppose you're right." "Can we give you a lift back to the university?" "Well, you know, with Europe's new fascination with all things Asgardian," "I'm wondering if it's time to start over somewhere else." "A nice beach?" "A life of tropical drinks and massages?" "Mmm..." "Well, I'd get bored." "You should consider the American Northwest." "Maybe Portland." "Good food scene." "Great philharmonic." "Well, if you will come and visit." "It's not everyone I get to share my stories with." "Sure." "And if Thor's in town, I'll introduce you." "Hey." "I could get used to turndown service and little mints on my pillow." "Overnights aren't standard." "We deserve a nice night." "You especially." "How are you feeling?" "Not great." "I'm sorry." "For before." "Um..." "I'm not that guy." "You're a guy who saves lives." "I can overlook a little Hulk rage." "No harm, no foul." "Does everything just roll off your back?" "No." "If it helped, I'd rage all the time, but it doesn't." "What I saw," "it was about my brother." "I figured." "I know you're not one to talk, but like I said, I'm here." "My shoulder's free." "I'm beat." "Another time maybe." "Well, you know where I live." "Did I fall asleep?" "For a little while, but, uh, that's good." "It means you are relaxed." "That's precisely how I'm feeling." "Relaxed." "Honestly, Tahiti's too good to be true." "I know." "It's a magical place."