Steve Rogers was just leaving the gym when Jarvis's voice broke in. "Captain Rogers, the King of Asgard has arrived on the roof. Mr Stark requests that you, Dr Banner and Ms Romanoff meet him in the kitchen area. Dr Banner and Ms Romanoff are on their way up already."
Steve nodded. "Thank you Jarvis, I'm on my way"
"And Captain Rogers – you may wish to be aware that Dr Banner and Ms Romanoff appear to be... at odds. I would recommend caution..."
Steve shook his head. "I wish they'd just stop circling one another and just ... stop." Sighing he abandoned his plans to slip out to his favourite coffee hang out and headed for the kitchen area.
When the elevator door opened into the kitchen, Banner was brewing tea for himself, and coffee for everyone else, stony faced. There was no sign of Natasha. Bruce looked up forcing a smile... "Hi Steve, Coffee? Tony and Thor will be with us in a few minutes."
Steve noticed Natasha standing on the balcony, gazing at the view with almost obsessive interest. Steve sighed.
"When are you two going to sort this out? The UST is starting to give me a headache."
Banner cocked an eyebrow. "UST – impressive pop culture reference Captain. You've been reading Pepper's magazines again. There's nothing between Natasha and I we're just...friends" he finished lamely
Steve shook his head. "I don't see the issue. She is clearly interested in you – and given that you're not her usual type, she's probably pretty serious. You obviously like her. What's the problem? Even the Other Guy seems to like her..." Behind them elevators pinged as Thor and Tony entered.
Bruce glared at him... "Just leave it Steve – please. Just – leave it."
ooo0ooo
"Good afternoon Tom" Having left Jane by a taxi rank near Hyde Park corner, Hermione had apparated from a quiet spot, straight into The Cauldron.
"Good afternoon Miss Granger. Lovely to see you again. Mr Potter is waiting for you in the back room. Can I get you some refreshments?"
"Some tea would be lovely thank you. Do you have a room for me – for us actually, my husband will be joining me tomorrow evening. I'm not entirely sure how long we will be staying"
"Yes Miss Granger – err – Mrs..." Tom was clearly flustered, realising that he didn't know Hermione's married name.
"Hermione is fine Tom". The gods forbid she was going to start Tom on the whole "Princess Hermione" thing. She hefted her jacket and rucksack. "Would you pop these in my room when you have a moment please."
"Certainly Miss Granger. Just leave them there and I'll deal with them. You know your way through don't you." Behind Hermione, the door opened.
"Hermione, are you here on your own? Is Loki alright?"
"Harry!" Hermione hugged her best friend warmly. "Loki's fine Harry, he's stuck in Asgard for now - he'll be seeing us here tomorrow evening. But I haven't seen you for months. Where have you been?"
Harry looked vague – actually thought Hermione, slightly shifty was more to the point. "I've been doing some research. Family history stuff. I'll tell you about it sometime... but that's not why you needed to see me is it?"
Once Tom had delivered their tea and biscuits, Hermione cast a series of complicated silencing and privacy charms on the room
Harry's eyebrows flew up. He hadn't heard some of those charms since the bad old days. "Hermione, what the hell is going on?"
Hermione sighed. Here we go again. "Sit down Harry. We have trouble. Big trouble. Whole Nine Realms worth of trouble.."
Harry sighed. "When do we ever have anything else Hermione...? You'd better start from the beginning."
Hermione poured herself another cup of tea. "It all starts with a vault at Gringotts..."
ooo0ooo
On the other side of the Atlantic, the Avengers were gathered around the breakfast bar in Stark Tower drinking coffee listening to a similar story
Bruce rubbed his forehead. "So you're telling us that this – substance – this Aether – is capable of turning matter into dark matter, and that this – dark elf? – wants to use the alignment of the planets to turn the entire universe back to primordial darkness?"
Thor looked vague. "Yes. I wish it didn't have to be me that explains it. Jane, or Hermione – or Loki would do a much better job than I."
At the mention of "he who we would prefer should not be mentioned" the whole group fell silent. Steve and Tony looked resigned, understanding that these days Thor and Loki inevitably came as a pair. Bruce looked anxious, and Natasha looked – 'constipated' was the word that Tony would have used if he didn't have any distinct preferences about staying alive.
"Thor." She ground out reluctantly. "We have to ask. Are you quite certain that your brother is not behind this?"
"Quite certain Lady Natasha. My brother made some grave errors of judgement, in recent years, although to be fair, in New York he was no more the master of his own actions than Eric Selvig or The Hawk. He will carry the scars of his punishment for the rest of his days. You all saw him when you came to Asgard. Believe me when I tell you that he is not the man that he was." Thor looked around the group. "We are comrades in arms. We have fought together in the past, now I ask for your help to defeat a common enemy. And I ask you to take my word, as King of Asgard, and as a warrior, that Loki will stand beside us."
Steve looked up from his coffee, to meet Thor's eyes across the table. "What do you want us to do?"
Thor reached for the coffee pot. "This is where we are now. Hermione is currently in London meeting with a very powerful wizard friend named Harry Potter – you may remember him from our wedding - if for no other reason than his startling resemblance to my brother. Fifteen years ago they fought together in a famous wizarding war, when they were little more than children themselves. Tomorrow Loki will leave Asgard to join them in the search for the Aether here on Midgard. Hermione is afraid that whoever stole the Aether may have done so under compulsion, and will almost certainly be completely unaware of what they have, and the danger that it will put them in."
"How can they track this thing?"
Thor looked uncomfortable. "The Aether has a powerful magical signature. Both Hermione and Loki can sense it, although it is much easier for Loki as he has already been exposed to others like it. Despite its liquid state, the Aether is one of the mind gems, brother to that within the Tesseract, and Loki's Sceptre. It's powers are different though. It changes matter not minds."
Steve looked concerned. "And how does Loki feel about going up against another one?
It was an uncomfortable question. "He is aware of the dangers. But he and Hermione are not just a couple, they are a strong team, with an eye always to one another's backs. And young Harry Potter has formed an exceptional third. His bond with Hermione is forged in blood and fire, and with Loki..." Thor's voice faded away – Harry's bond with Loki was just too complicated to be described easily.. "They just ... it just works" he finished lamely
"This is all very interesting and touching" snapped Natasha, "But we are nowhere near knowing what it is that you want of us."
"Eventually, we may well need your assistance to fight against Malekith and whatever forces he can muster. In the meantime however, Jane is collecting Eric Selvig in London and will bring him here to Stark Tower. She informs me that he has already been discussing some of the issues with you Bruce. The intention is that working together, you can monitor the Convergence, and how best we can control the situation. I would suggest that Bruce Tony and Eric remain here for the time being, while you, Steve, and you Lady Natasha accompany me to Asgard.
Tony looked up from his coffee, he had been remarkably silent since Thor's arrival. "If it comes to a fight, you're gonna need Iron Man."
Thor leaned over to clap him on the shoulder. "We will indeed my friend, but for now we have a greater need of your mind. Fear not. When the time comes, Heimdall can transport you from the top of your tower to Asgard in a matter of moments.
ooo0ooo
Hunched into the brisk wind Eric Selvig turned into the unprepossessing London street where he now lived, a small bag of groceries in his hand. As he approached his front door he hesitated, seeing a figure sitting on the doorstep. After a few seconds hesitation, he rationalised that SHIELD wouldn't send one person to sit and wait for him in plain sight. Drawing closer, his heart lifted when recognition dawned.
"Jane"
She rose, smiling, but Eric thought that she looked a little distracted. "Eric" as he hugged her, he thought that she looked thinner, a little strained.
They spoke of this and that as he put his shopping away and made them both tea. Finally, when they were both sitting at his tiny kitchen table, steaming mugs in hand, he looked her in the eye.
"Why are you here Jane? Did you get my messages?"
Jane nodded. "There's trouble Eric. Fate of the Universe at stake trouble." Seeing his face she added quickly. "And no. This is absolutely nothing to do with Loki this time. He's still happy, still sane and still showing no interest in anything beyond his revoltingly happy marriage and helping Thor rule Asgard." She went on to briefly outline The Convergence, and the threat of Malekith and the Aether.
When she had finished, Eric digested all this, taking several reflective sip of his tea.
"What do you want me to do?"
"I would like you to come with me to Asgard, and have a quick chat with Heimdall, who probably knows more about this than anyone else on Asgard or Earth. Then he'll send us straight to the roof of Stark Tower. We're going to be working with Bruce Banner and Tony Stark on this."
"But not with Loki?"
Jane sighed. "I wish I could persuade you that Loki was as much of a puppet in that affair as you were. But no, in fact, Loki will be in London in just over 24 hours."
Eric stood up. "Give me five minutes to get some things together..."