I tried.
Chapter not Beta-ed.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC Jackie Walker
Chapter IX
In Which London Gets Attacked by Aliens (But the Doctor Did Not Save Us)
"No!"
"See you in hell, monster!"
"No, no! Fool you didn't listen!"
"I know, I'm a fool. I'm a fool!"
"Stay with me. Stay!"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry…"
"Ssh… It's alright. I'll tell father what you did here today."
"I didn't do it for him."
"No!"
oOoOoOo
London, we were back in London.
We were back at the abandoned factory, to be more precisely. Amazing that a call from the douchebag Richard brought us back to planet Earth.
When Jane and Thor found a cave to be sheltered from the storm, I was silent.
When they talked about the oncoming storm (the convergence), I was silent.
When Jane's phone suddenly rang, I was silent (albeit a bit surprised she received signals):
When Jane found the car key in a cave on a dead planet, I was silent.
And when Jane followed her phone signal and led us back to the starting point of our Asgard adventure, I was silent.
I supposed I should be glad Jane found a way back, yet I don't feel anything.
Was it even right to leave a body behind on a different realm just like that? I mean yeah sure, we were in the middle of the crisis and simply didn't have time to bury someone properly, but this was just wrong. As those thoughts swirled through my mind, Jane pushed me into the car. I didn't resist, I complied. Jane and Thor were talking again; I don't know about what because I wasn't listening. I should be, but I wasn't.
Absent minded I touched that one spot one my cheek with my hand, the spot where he gave me kiss. It was a weak one, but I still felt the chilly cold. His body turned back to his original Frost Giant form as he died, thus dropping is body temperature, but the kiss still felt nice. Brief but nice, and unexpected.
Loki fighting that… monster. Getting stabbed. The monster disappearing into a void. Loki dying. And wanting to see me for a last time.
He didn't have much strength let in him, but apparently it was enough to grab me by the collar, pulling me down and giving me the kiss… On the cheek. And the he slipped something into my hand. I didn't know what it was, as I quickly put it into my pocket. I didn't want Thor and Jane to know about it. Who knows, maybe they'll think it was something cured he gave me, a part of some scheme. And then there were his last words.
Run, you stupid girl, and remember.
And the he was dead. It took me a moment his. I didn't know what I was doing and to be honest I still don't know why I did that.
As I looked out of the window, passing by the daily London scenery, I silently whispered to myself: "Goodbye, Loki."
oOoOoOo
"Thor?"
"There's no sign of Thor, or the weapon, but…"
"What?"
"We found a body."
"Loki."
oOoOoOo
We returned to Jane's apartment. The moment we entered it, Darcy got up from her working station and ran toward us, immediately throwing her arms around us both into a tight hug.
"Jane, you can't just leave like that, the whole world is going crazy!" Then she turned to me "And you! Where the hell have you been? You didn't came back like Jane, I was worried!"
"Huh, I'm sorry I guess?" I offered her meekly not really meaning it. I'm too tired to care about anything anymore. Yes, I know, there's some kind of danger lying outside so powerful it could destroy the whole universe, but I have spent more than three hours in a different realm, I have witnessed a prison break out, I helped Thor freeing Loki and smuggling us out of Asgard, I witnessed another person getting stabbed right in front of my eyes and die.
I really just wanna lie down somewhere and not get up for the rest if my life, is this too much that I'm asking for? Apparently yes.
Jane cleared her throat and Darcy let go of us, taking a step back. Then she furrowed her brows as she checked us out. "Did you… go to a party?"
But instead of answering her questions, the young scientist noticed an old friend not far away in the kitchen – wearing no pants by the way – hovering over scattered papers on the table. I recognized him as the man who went streaking at the famous Stonehenge. But I didn't want to leaven Darcy's question unanswered.
"Asgard standard attire." I explained lamely.
"Ah."
And then I added: "Fandral remembers you, he says hi." No he actually did not say that, but I'm sure Darcy appreciates it.
"… Who was that again?"
Never mind, she doesn't even remember him.
"Anyway," She continued "Steve Rogers said hi."
"Cool stuff, tell him I sai – wait what?" Fuck. This can't be good. God if he knows I've been away, like legit away from Earth, he'd probably never want to leave me out of his sight. To which I still don't understand why he feels like he needs to take me under his wing but okay. Not complaining much. "What did you… Tell him?"
"Said you met some cute British boy and got asked out on a date, figured you might not want him to know you were missing."
Darcy, I could kiss you right now. I mean that was not the best excuse but it is certainly a realistic one.
From the corner of my eyes I saw how Thor and Erik embraced each other, happy to be able to meet again. I couldn't pick up much from their conversation, but I did head them talking about Loki. And that instantly put my almost non-existing good mood down to minus 150.
Good job, Erik and Thor.
Darcy noticed my sudden mood drop and instantly asked if I was okay. This is one of the many reasons why I love Darcy so much. In the movie she was portrayed as the comic relied character – and yes, it is never boring without her, but she is also such a great friend. Through the short amount of time I've spent with her I've learned that even though Darcy sometimes makes jokes at your own expenses, if someone else does that, then they're fucked. She'd go up to that person and tell them to fight her, because no one is allowed to make fun of her friends except her.
Giving me a last worried glance, she followed the rest of the gang into the kitchen, probably planning the last coup to take down Malekith. Instead of training after them I went to the guest room. Normal heroine in stories and movies would go and save the world in whatever clothes they were wearing, be it something a summer dress or an armor, but nope, not me. It was very nice of Frigga giving me a new dress, but if I am planning to step a foot out if this apartment and face some aliens/elves/otherworld creatures, I shall wear clothes that are comfortable and cool. As I was about to strip down the Asgardian attire, something slipped out of the dress pocket and fell to the floor.
Can I just pause a second and appreciate the fact that Asgard dresses had pockets while we female human have to deal with fake jeans pocket?
I scrunched my nose and stared at the thing that the out of my pocket. The thing seemed to be a simple ring completely made out of a green gemstone. Upon taking a closer look, I could see that in the dark green gold freckled were swimming. What is the reason of Loki giving this to me? The rational side of my brain is telling me not to trust him because who knows maybe he just gave you something cursed, but my emotional side debated that the person who gave you this was dying and you should honor his last dying wish.
Well, I have no idea what to do with this ring so I shall just put this in my suitcase for now and deal with it once I'm back in New York.
Now what? Do I stay here or do I join the club of super intelligent people in the kitchen and listen to their plans of how they are gonna save the world and hope that there I could help in some way? Seems like the only good option I have right now and it will certainly help me to get my mind off things.
I'm tired. Very tired.
I came to London to watch the 50th Doctor Who Anniversary special, not to watch one of my favorite MARVEL character die and make sure the Dark Elves take this mess of a planet. I came here to have a nice vacation, not to get emotionally compromised again for the I-don't-know how many times. And suddenly I felt very frustrated, like something got stuck in my throat waiting for me to open my mouth and scream at the sky and punch something really really hard. Just to vent a little bit.
Perhaps I really should take Natasha up on the offer to visit a shooting range and release some steam because right now shooting at something sounds really tempting.
Finally changing into some normal clothes I stepped out of the room just as Mjiolnir flew right past my nose into Thor's hand. Hundred bucks says I would have gotten hit if I left my room just a tad bit earlier.
"I getter bet my pants." I heard Erik saying.
Wow, he's getting his pants.
Which means he's getting dressed.
Which means shit is going to get real.
oOo
"So what's the plan again?" I asked as I trailed behind Darcy and the intern "And why Greenwich?". I figured following them would be the safest path, as experience wise usually the worst shit happens around the superheroe, this case that'd be Thor.
Nothing personally against you Thor, I just really value my life and also cannot bear to be near you because you will remind me of Loki and that is the last thing I need now. Thanks for understanding.
We stood outside the library with the car parked on the middle of the pathway. Normally I would be very outraged about cars being parked at well, places that are not intended for parking, but alas we needed to get the gadgets out of the car ASAP. I still have no idea what they do, and what we were supposed to do, and no Darcy did not answer my question thus I am still left in the dark.
"We have to hammer them in all around the site and then Jane and Erik will activate them from the tower." Darcy finally explained as she pushed one of the gadget into my hands.
"Sounds like an easy job to do." I mumbled under my breath and started to look around for a good empty spot. Not even five steps later the ground suddenly started to shake, making me almost losing my balance and tumbling to the ground. To make thing even worse, a giant shadow casted over us and fearing the worst I slowly looked up and look at it, Malekith's giant ship just appeared on the Thames River, coursing exactly t our direction.
Shit, I better start running.
Holding the device tightly in my hand, I ran to the side as fast as I could. The ground started shaking again, signaling that the ship landed in the middle of the ground. I guess it's nice to know Dark Elves don't know how to park either. A sudden wild frantic knock coming from the library window caught my attention and I turned my head around to see Jane pointing wildly at the thing I was holding in my hand and making gestured that I should stab stab this thing to the ground, which I did then. Looking back at Jane she gave me two thumbs up and then gestured me to go to the door and wait for her.
Meanwhile Thor arrived and battled against Malekith. Also Dark Elves were running around causing havoc.
"Where's Darcy?!" Jane inquired as she met me at the door.
"I don't know, I lost sight of them when the ship crashed!" Seeing the worried face of her, I looked around and spotted Ian and Darcy not far away from us, placing what seemed to be the last of Erik's device to the ground. Tugging at Jane's sleeve, I pointed at them.
"The Convergence will be in full effect in seven minutes." She said "Which just means we have to keep Malekith busy for eight."
"Eight minutes?!" I shouted out, earning a surprised look from her. Eight minutes is an eternity, that's forever. Anything could happen in eight minutes. If there is one thing I have learned, it's that every minutes and every second counts in a life-and-death situation.
A ringtone blasted through the chaos. Jane fished it out of her pocket and told me to pick up the call for her as she needs to do something with the devices. Looking at the screen I saw that it was Darcy calling us so I picked up.
"Tell them they might want to hold on to something." the young scientist instructed me to tell them, which I did. Then she pushed some buttons and BAM, Dark Elves suddenly disappeared.
I stood there with my mouth open and phone in my hand. "Holy shit how did you do that?" Not really expecting her to explain to me how it really worked, I spotted another Dark Elf with a sword approaching Darcy and the intern. "Jane, there!"
Jane used the device again, probably wanting to make it go away too, but instead she accidentally made Darcy and Ian disappear.
"Oops."
"Ops? Where did they go?" I asked.
"Eh, probably some other parts of London. Don't worry they'll be fine." Erik answered for me "Let's go now. We need to move the people out of the library."
Trust me, that task sounded way easier than it actually is in practice. You see, we have a God outside fighting some other species. By now everyone who watches the news knew who Thor was, so naturally instead of screaming and running for their live, most of the people - or at least the young ones - whipped out their smartphone and started recording everything.
This video is probably gonna go viral soon.
Speaking of that, how come every time when something big happens the others do not come for help? Like I'm pretty sure Tony would love to get his hands on some of the Dark Elf tech. Or Steve, he'd probably just want to make sure there's peace. And maybe say hello to his homie. What the fuck is Clint Barton doing the whole time anyway? I haven't seen that dude in ages.
A dozen of Dark Elves crashed through the library window, destroying everything that was in their way. I turned my head back to the guy filming everything and pointed at the Elves, saying "Now might be a good time to run, eh?" To which he only nodded and then ran.
I did the same of course.
Jane and Erik were already outside, also running away from Dark Elves. Man this would be such a fun game of Cats-and-Mouse if we wouldn't get killed. It seemed like luck wasn't on my side, because as I run into the opposite direction of them, I tripped and fell down. Didn't have enough time to scramble up and run away again because the Dark Elf was basically towering over me. In situations like this I either wish someone would magically appear and save my sorry ass, or I would wake up in my bed and realize that this was all just a bad dream, or worst-case scenario my death will be quick and painless. It's like Tony sometimes would say: Live fast, die young and leave a good looking corpse behind.
So I closed my eyes and embraced myself for the death, praying Steve will never find my secret stash Captain America merchandise. I collect for reasons.
But just like countless times before, the final hit never came. When I opened my eyes again, the Dark Elf simply stepped back and then walked away, which left me stunned at first, but then I remembered why: Must be the weird cosmic energy of the Tesseract flowing inside me. Always there to save my ass.
I started to look around for Jane again when suddenly out of nowhere Darcy and Ian appeared next to me, kissing each other. I should note that Darcy was french dipping Ian.
"Darcy?" I spoke out, taking her by surprise as she let go of the intern, who ungracefully landed onto the ground.
"Jackie! And Jane!" She shouted back, announcing Jane's and Erik's arrival. And then something else whooshed past us. "Meow-meow!"
Following the very fast movement of the hammer, I finally noticed that above us in the sky that there was this giant hole, enabling us to look through and see what was behind the universe. A bunch of other worlds that were about the be aligned into one line. Right in front of the portal, Malekith readied the Aether. Whatever he was planning to do, it can't mean anything good at all.
Hm, didn't Jane say something about seven minutes before? Because it sure as hell didn't feel like seven minutes passed. Just then Thor arrived in time to stop Malekith, who by now has surrounded himself into a… Ball made of the Aether? Either way that didn't stop the God of Thunder from grabbing the gadget spear in Erik's hand flying up to the Dark Elf. Jesus Christ what is he planning to do?
From down here we saw how Thor threw the spear at Malekith, but he of course caught it with ease. Jane immediately activated the device and his arm disappeared. Thor then threw the next one, Malekith caught it again and the same thing happened again. Now with all his might Thor smashed Mjiolnir against the Dark Elf, making him crash into his own ship and Jane pushed the button again. The vessel was still there.
Jane handed the device to me and run off to find Thor. Right in that moment the ship started to crumble, threatening to fall apart.
"Jane!" We all shouted and rushed after her, finding her already next to Thor, who was lying on the ground. She tried her best to pull him away, but it wasn't hard to tell that he was just too heavy. In that moment the ship did start to fall apart. Not being able to witness how my friends are gonna get crushed by it me and Darcy we closed our eyes and hugged each other tightly, waiting for the loud crashing sound to echo through the library ground.
It never came.
Instead the whole ship disappeared through another portal, thus Jane and Thor survived.
"They're alive, they're alive!" I shouted in excitement and pointed at the couple. Darcy also screamed in joy and then proceed to passionately kiss Ian.
… Okay…
Akwardly shuffles away.
"Guess you guys saved the world again, huh." I commented, trying to strike up a conversation with Erik.
"That we did. And I had my pants on the whole time." Erik replied rather proudly "What about you, how have you been? Since, you know, New York and stuff."
I just shrugged my shoulders and made an 'I'm okay' gesture with my hand, to which he nodded in understanding.
"Must be hard with the Tesseract energy flowing inside you, eh?"
For a nanosecond I was shocked about how he knew it, but then I remembered that he himself was a victim of Loki's brainwashing and played with the Cube to open the portal, but it needed my blood to be activated fully. Damn I can't believe that all happened what, a bit more than a year ago?
"Watch it." He said as he fatherly (?) put a hand on my shoulder "It's only gonna get more crazy from here."
I know Erik.
I know.
oOoOoOo
"You once said there would never be a wiser King than me. You were wrong. The alignment has brought all the realms together. Every one of them saw you offer your life to save them. What can Asgard offer its new King in return?"
"My life. Father, I cannot be King of Asgard. I will protect Asgard and all the realms with my last and every breath, but I cannot do so from that chair. Loki for all his grave imbalance understood rule as I know I never will. The brutality, the sacrifice, it changes you. I'd rather be a good man than a great King."
"Is this my son I hear, or the woman he loves?"
" When you speak I never hear Mother's voice. This is not for Jane, Father. She does not know what I came here to say. Now forbid me to see her or say she can rule at my side, it changes nothing."
"One son who wanted the throne too much, another who will not take it. Is this my legacy?"
"Loki died with honor, I shall try to live the same. Is that not legacy enough?"
" It belongs to you, if you are worthy of it."
"I shall try to be."
"I cannot give you my blessing, nor can I wish you good fortune."
"I know."
"If I were proud of the man my son had become, even that I could not say. It would speak only from my heart. Go, my son."
"Thank you, father."
"No. Thank you."
oOo
"You know why we're here."
"Of course. But if I may ask, why not keep it secure in your own vault?"
"The Tesseract is already on Asgard. It's not wise to keep two Infinity Stones so close together."
"That's very wise."
"I can assure you it will be absolutely safe in…in my collection."
"See that it is."
"One down, five to go."
Well, I have no more words to offer.
Life's been keeping me busy but I do miss writing fanfiction. I try from time to time to write stuff but I definitely don't have my regular update schedule anymore like in high school.
For now I won't write any more stories according to movies that has been released already, instead I'll just frequently update "Stepping Aside", which will basically be a collection of one shots or so? idk...
"Anyway, so what's up?"