A/N: I'm back! Welcome to chapter 13, aka everything goes to shit
Karina rested her head on the side of the ship, legs spread out on top of the cushions on the floor. Her sword lay on the floor next to her, glowing ever so slightly in the dark light of Svartalfheim as they made their way across the sand dunes. She looked up as Thor came over, gently placing a blanket over Jane and giving her shoulder a squeeze. Thor smiled down at his sister and Karina returned it, resting her arms on the side of the boat as she looked out across the sand.
"What I could do with the power that flows through those veins," he muttered quietly, watching Jane sleep.
"It would consume you," Thor reminded him, standing up.
"She's holding up alright," Loki noted, "for now."
"She's strong in ways you'd never even know," Thor said firmly, a hint of protectiveness in his voice.
"Say goodbye."
"Not this day," Thor growled, storming up to Loki. Karina turned away from the landscape, watching her brother's carefully, sensing the start of a fight.
"This day, the next, a hundred years, it's nothing," Loki sneered, "You'll never be ready. The only woman whose love you prized will be snatched from you."
"And will that satisfy you?" Thor demanded, glowering as he walked away, standing next to Jane.
"Satisfaction is not in my nature," Loki replied coolly.
"Surrender is not in mine."
"The son of Odin –"
"No," Thor snapped, turning his head to face his brother, "not just of Odin." He took a step towards Loki. "You think you alone were loved of Mother? You and Karina had her tricks, but I had her trust."
Karina rolled her eyes, ignoring the stinging feeling at Thor's words as her brother's began to quarrel. She was expecting it really.
"Trust?" Loki snarled, taking a step closer to his brother. "Was that her last expression? Trust? When you let her die?"
"Hey!" Karina yelled, groaning in frustration when they ignored her, raising their voices.
"What help were you in your cell?" Thor growled.
"Who put me there?" Loki yelled. "Who put me there?!" Loki launched himself at Thor who simply knocked Loki away.
"You know damn well," Thor cried, grabbing Loki's collar and shaking him, "you know damn well who!"
Karina stood up, quickly moving to stand in between the two brothers. "Boys!" She yelled, putting a hand on Thor's chest and pushing him away from Loki. "That is enough." She looked at both of them, watching Thor as he stalked away. "She wouldn't want us to fight," she said softly. "Although I doubt, she'd be that surprised."
Loki looked at his sister and laughed half-heartedly. "No, she wouldn't," he said quietly, sitting down next to the tiller.
"The sooner we do this, the sooner we can go back to hating each other," Karina said slowly, seeing the tension in Thor's shoulders. "But until then, we need to try and trust one another."
Thor sighed, turning to face his two siblings. "I wish I could trust you," he said, looking at Loki. He quickly looked away; guilt evident on his face at the fact.
Loki stood up and took a step closer to his brother.
"Trust my rage."
They'd been flying over Svartalfheim for what felt like an hour now and there was still no sign of Malekith. Karina had sat back down after her brother's fight, resting her head on Thor's shoulder when he sat down next to her. Loki had kept quiet, silently steering their skiff over the plains as they waited.
"Jane?"
Karina lifted her head of Thor's shoulder at his call and looked at Jane. The woman has finally awoken, and her eyes were a brilliant blue. Almost the same blue as Malekith's.
"Jane?" Karina called again, looking between her friend and the sky. She glanced back at Loki who was also scanning the sky for any sign of the Dark Elf leader.
"Malekith," Jane whispered as the ship she could sense finally broke through the clouds, looming over the landscape.
Karina gulped, grabbing her sword from beside her and sheathing it behind her back. Loki quickly landed the skiff on the hill above where the ship had landed and jumped out. Thor followed, helping an exhausted Jane step down as the wind began battering them. Karina followed, landing elegantly on the sand and following after Thor, Loki beside her.
They stood at the top of the hill, watching as Malekith, Kurse and the remaining Dark Elves marched off their ship and onto the large, sandy plain below them.
"All right," Thor said, looking at between Jane and his siblings, "are you ready?"
Jane nodded, rubbing her hands together nervously as the Elves approached.
"I am," Loki confirmed, looking to Karina. Karina nodded, hands shaking as the wind began biting her skin. She took a step away from the hill, hugging herself tightly as the wind picked up. The strands of hair that had fallen out of her braid whipped her in the face and she brushed them back roughly as Loki and Thor came over.
"You know," Loki said as they stopped next to Karina, "this plan of yours is going to get us killed?"
"Yes," Thor sighed, watching as Malekith stopped and stared up at them, "possibly."
Loki hummed quietly, holding up his cuffed wrists. Thor hesitated and Loki sighed. "You still don't trust me, brother?"
"Would you?" Thor asked as he released Loki from the handcuffs, throwing them to the side.
"No," Loki said slowly as Thor walked back to Jane, standing next to Karina, "I wouldn't."
Karina vaguely heard Jane scream as Loki stabbed Thor with his dagger, flinging him down the hill they were on top of. She turned on her heel, sword raised to hit Loki. Only to freeze when a sharp pain hit her side. Karina stumbled back numbly, shaking hand moving to her side.
She let out a quiet gasp as blood came away, eyes raising to meet Loki's. Karina could see the regret in his eyes as her knees gave way and she fell down the hill after her brother. It was a blur of black and dark green as Karina rolled down the hill, her mind was still at the top of the hill as she rolled to a stop a few feet away from Thor. The shock had set in and she laid there numbly, hand covered in blood.
"Do you really think I cared about Frigga?" Loki growled, storming over to Thor and kicking him onto his back. "About anybody? All I ever wanted was you and Odin, dead at my feet!"
Karina whimpered quietly, weakly lifting her head as Thor reached out his hand for Mjolnir. She heard her brother roar in pain as Loki cut his hand off with his dagger and her head fell back to the ground with a thud, numb.
Loki smirked, grabbing Jane and dragging her over to where Malekith had stopped to watch the fight. "Malekith!" Loki yelled, his grip firm on Jane's arm despite the woman's desperate attempts to free herself. "I am Loki of Jotunheim, and I bring you a gift!"
He threw Jane at Malekith's feet and the Dark Elf looked down at the woman in disgust as Loki continued.
"I ask only one thing in return," Loki smirked, "a good seat from which to watch Asgard burn."
Kurse grunted something to Malekith in Elvish and the leader walked over to Thor, nudging him onto his back. Thor groaned as he rolled over, holding his hand close to his chest. Malekith slowly raised an arm into the air and Jane began to levitate into the air. Karina forced herself to sit up slightly, panting through the pain radiating from her side, as Malekith began to draw the Aether from Jane.
It was weird, seeing the red pouring from Jane. It was neither liquid or solid and just floated in the air, rippling. Jane fell to the ground with a thud as the last of the Aether left her body, floating in the air above her.
"Loki! Now!"
Karina jumped to her feet, sword flying to her hand, as Loki reversed his spell. Thor glimmered green as his hand re-appeared and his armour appeared. Karina skidded on her knees over to Jane, sheltering the woman as Thor raised Mjolnir to the sky, lightning meeting the hammer. Karina looked up as a shadow fell across them, eyes widening in surprise as Loki threw himself over the two women, protecting them the bright light of Thor's lightning.
The Aether shattered into thousands of pieces, falling to the floor around them. Loki sat back on his haunches, pulling Karina up from the floor as Thor panted from the effort it'd taken him to blow the Aether to pieces.
"Oh my god," Karina whispered as the Aether floated up from the floor, re-assembling itself in front of their eyes. As it re-assembled, it floated towards Malekith who was standing still, arms outstretched as he welcomed the power of the Aether inside him. His blue eyes turned a solid black as the last of the Aether entered his body and the Dark Elf let out a content sigh.
Malekith glanced at Kurse as he turned away and began heading back to his ship, a silent message conveyed from Leader to soldier. Kurse grunted, nodding to the Dark Elves surrounding them and followed after his leader. Thor growled as three Dark Elves marched up to him and he made quick work of them, knocking them all down with his hammer.
Karina saw it a fraction after her brother. Kurse threw a black hole grenade at them and it landed a few feet from where they were standing. Loki's eyes widened in horror and he acted on pure instinct, shoving Jane and Karina to the side as the grenade exploded and a black hole appeared in front of them.
Loki was sucked into it as he tried to throw himself out of the way and Karina felt her breath leave her as her brother floated there for a moment. Not again, Karina thought silently as she struggled to her feet, the black hole trying to suck her in too. But just as Karina thought Loki was gone, Thor came out of nowhere, tackling his brother to the ground as the black hole absorbed itself, disappearing from before their eyes.
Karina quickly scrambled over to her brother's, falling down beside Loki as he stared at Thor in shock. Loki accepted Karina's hand up and neither said anything as their attention turned to the Dark Elf ship looming in the distance. Malekith was almost on board – Kurse right behind him – with the Aether and all three of the Odinson siblings knew that they had to try and stop him. Thor glanced briefly to Karina and the goddess nodded, giving Thor permission.
Thor spun his hammer around and took off after Malekith leaving Karina and Loki alone.
"Stay there," Karina yelled at Jane as a group of Dark Elves began walking towards them. Jane nodded, scooting slightly further away, looking on in fear
Karina looked to her brother. Their eyes met for a second and Loki nodded, gripping his dagger tightly. They moved to stand back to back, Karina, holding her sword tightly as purple began to surround her. The Dark Elves stopped a few feet away from them, unsure of what was happening.
The siblings made the first move.
It was like a ballet of death. Karina and Loki knew how the other fought so well, knew every move, every stance, every defence. Together they were a flurry of death, killing the Dark Elves quickly and efficiently. Karina sliced on across the face, kicking him in the chest and pushing over to Loki who quickly slit his throat, letting his body fall to the ground.
It wasn't long before the group of Elves were dead at their feet.
Karina and Loki smiled at each other, panting slightly from the fight. Karina chuckled as she twirled her sword in her hand, glancing over at Jane briefly to make sure she was alright. Up ahead, Thor was in a losing battle with Kurse, the devil giant having the upper hand after throwing a large rock plinth at his head.
Loki looked to his sister for a moment, a feeling of pride over-taking his anger at the look of sheer determination on her face as they began walking over to Kurse and Thor. He knew what he had to do.
Karina made the first move. She launched into a run, sword in hand, and vaulted off a rock, throwing herself at Kurse's back. She knew he'd feel her coming and her suspicions were confirmed when he grabbed her by the neck in mid-air and threw her into the rocky cliff face behind Thor. Prepared, Karina slammed her sword into the ground to stop her crashing into the rocks and she skidded to a halt on her knees, panting. Kurse frowned when he saw Karina smirking with glee as she slowly stood up.
Karina, was, after all, just the distraction.
Loki was the true attack.
He impaled Kurse on an abandoned Dark Elf blade he'd found on the ground, smirking victoriously as the monster slowly turned around, staggering. He stared at Loki for a split second before grabbing him and pulling him forward, impaling him on the same blade.
Karina felt herself scream as Kurse pushed Loki off the blade, sending him crashing to the ground. Kurse stalked towards Loki, the blade still sticking out of him as the god laid on the floor, shaking.
Loki smirked, as Kurse stood above him. "See you in hell, monster," he spat. Kurse frowned, realisation dawning on his face as an erratic beeping sounded from his belt. He tried to grab it off his belt, but the grenade exploded, engulfing the monster in a black hole. Kurse roared violently, trying to throw himself out of the black hole as it tore him to pieces, squashing him into a small ball of rock.
Almost as soon as the black hole appeared, it disappeared, taking Kurse with it. The violent wind died down slightly, but a storm was approaching, whipping up the sand dunes around them.
Karina ran over to Loki, falling to her knees beside him as he groaned in pain, his skin slowly losing colour and beginning to turn a rocky grey as the poison began to take hold. She tried to put pressure on the gaping wound, her hands quickly becoming slick with blood as Thor fell down opposite Karina.
"No, no, no," Thor muttered as he gently gathered Loki in his arms, looking down at Karina's bloodied hands. "Oh, you fool, you didn't listen."
"I know," Loki gasped, hands clenching Karina's arm tightly as the pain began to overwhelm him. "I'm a fool."
"Stay with me, okay," Thor whispered, holding Loki's face between his hands.
"I'm sorry," Loki whispered, glancing to his sister as she let out a broken sob. "I'm sorry."
Karina shook her head, "It's not your fault," she replied quietly, sniffing. Loki groaned, his shaking hand finding Karina's and holding it tightly. "It's okay," she cried, "it's okay."
"It's all right," Thor said quietly as Loki stopped shaking, a calm, peaceful expression over-taking over the previous pain-filled one. "I'll tell Father what you did here today."
Loki shook his head, "I didn't do it for him," he whispered, his eyes meeting Karina's one last time as the strong grip he had on her blood-stained hand disappeared and his body went limp.
Karina was vaguely aware of Thor crying out in anguish, cradling his dead brother's body, but all she could do was stare at the blood on her hands and her brother's dead body. Her dead brother's blood.
She'd seen him die once. He'd let go of her hand and fell into space. His devastated face, as he fell, was still engraved in her mind, a nightmare she'd almost overcome when he'd turned up alive and relatively in one piece. Then the new nightmare occurred. One made up of Chitauri flooding through that goddamn portal and seeing Tony fly into the portal, missile on his shoulders, only just making it out alive.
Now? Now, it was her brother dying in her arms, again. His blood slick on her hands as she tried, yet failed, to save his life. It was her mother, dying in front of her as they tried to protect Jane. And somehow, she had to stand up, wipe off the blood and carry on.
"Karina, we need to go," Thor said gently as the wind began to pick up, sand swirling around at their feet. Karina's eyes still hadn't left Loki's body, her eyes stinging furiously. "Karina."
"Yeah," Karina muttered, forcing herself to blink. She looked down at the blood on her hands and wiped her hands on her pant legs, trying to get it off. Karina slowly stood up, breathing in shakily as she did so.
Thor handed Karina her sword and she took it silently, sheathing it in its scabbard behind her back. Karina shielded her eyes as they began walking towards some form of shelter, the winds whipping their clothes and hair as they went. Thor wrapped an arm around Jane's waist, helping the woman stay upright in the fierce winds as they tried to climb up the hill.
Eventually, Thor spotted what appeared to be the mouth of a cave within the cliff face and all three of them quickly hurried inside the cave, the storm almost on top of them. The cave was pitch black until Karina summoned a ball of fire, illuminating the cave with a purple glow. She tried to ignore the drying blood still on her hands.
"He's gonna unleash it," Jane said as they clambered over a pile of loose rocks, making their way further into the cave. Thor held out a hand to Karina, helping her over a particularly large boulder, her ball of fire floating ahead of them.
"I'm assuming his plans have moved on from just Asgard?" Karina called, stumbling slightly on a loose rock.
Jane nodded, "He's going to destroy everything."
"How?" Thor asked as they came to a halt in the middle of the cave, Karina's purple ball of fire bobbing up and down slowly in the air. "Jane, how?"
"I saw him on Earth," Jane explained slowly, trying to remember what she'd seen. "Why would he go to Earth?"
"The Convergence," Thor and Karina said in unison.
"God," Jane moaned, sitting down on a rock with a thud. "None of this would've happened if I hadn't found the Aether."
Karina sighed, sitting down next to her friend. "Yes, it would've done. Malekith has been planning this for centuries, waiting for the next convergence to occur so that he could try and conquer the worlds. None of this is your fault."
Jane laughed quietly, "I only found it because I was looking for you," she said, looking to Thor. Karina smiled softly, standing up and moving away slightly to give her brother some space.
"Jane," Thor said quietly, a sad smile on his face.
"And now we're stuck in this cave!" Jane exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in despair.
Karina jumped slightly when a phone started ringing, its obnoxious tone breaking through the howling wind from outside the cave. Jane looked between Thor and Karina, the latter shrugging.
"I don't have one," Karina informed Jane, mystified as to where it was coming from.
"It's…not me," Thor said slowly, puzzled.
It was almost as if a lightbulb went off in Jane's head. Her eye widened and she began rummaging around in her jacket pockets, letting out a triumph 'aha' when she found what she was looking for. The noise got louder as Jane pulled out her phone, flipping it open and pressing the answer button.
"Hello?" Jane asked, eyes wide as she looked around the cave.
"Hi Jane, it's Richard."
"Richard!" Jane exclaimed, "where are you?"
Richard? Karina mouthed, laughing quietly when Jane waved her off, holding the phone out of her reach.
"I'm still in the office. It's been a crazy day here today."
Jane began walking around the cave, holding her phone up in the air, wafting it about. Karina knew a bit about technology thanks to the numerous books in the library on Asgard as well as the crash course Tony gave her when she was helping them find the cube. She was amazed at the fact that it was still working on a different planet, let alone having any signal to accept a phone call.
"My god this is amazing!" Jane exclaimed, standing on top of a rock and staring at her phone in amazement.
"Is it? I quite enjoyed our lunch despite never actually ordering anything."
"How am I getting service here?" Jane asked, starring at the bars of signal on her phone.
"Beyond me," Karina replied, walking over to Jane and looking at the phone. Three bars of service.
"Is this a bad time?" Richard asked, his voice crackling over the phone, "do you want me to try later?"
"No, no, no!" Jane exclaimed, holding the phone to her ear again, "whatever you do, do not hang up the phone."
Karina hid a snigger at the oblivious Richard on the other end of the phone and the confused look on Thor's face.
"Okay then," Richard said, a suspicious undertone to his voice. "I was just wondering if you wanna try again? Uh, maybe dinner next time?"
"Uh, yeah, yeah, just stay on the phone okay?" Jane said, paying no attention to Richard.
"Yeah, I will."
Jane stopped her pacing, staring in awe at a soda can on the ground. "Oh my god," she whispered, picking it up. Jane let out a shocked gasp when she saw a pair of car keys on the floor, throwing the can to the side and picking them up
"Am I interrupting something?" Richard asked, his voice crackling as Jane headed further into the cave.
"No, no, no, nothing at all," Jane said. She turned to Karina and Thor, waving at them, "Come on!"
"I'm losing you there," Richard said, voice cutting off at the end, "are you in a tunnel?"
"More like an alien cave," Karina muttered, frowning at how many empty and squished soda cans there were on the floor.
"Wait, where are we going?" Thor asked as Jane led them further into the cave, Karina's fireball barely lighting the way.
"Hello?"
"Why are there so many shoes in here?" Thor asked, looking down at the ground, all of them ignoring Richard on the other end of the phone. Karina felt discombobulated for a second as they left the cave and emerged out the other side.
In an abandoned trailer park.
"Uh, what?" Karina said, looking around in confusion. She spun on her heel, looking back at where they'd just come from, frowning. "What?" Karina turned around again, running after her brother and Jane as they headed towards a red car which had its windows smashed in and a weird accumulation of graffiti on the bonnet and doors.
Karina pulled open the back door, brushing the chunks of glass off the back seat. She unsheathed her sword, setting it down on the seat next to her and slid in, shutting the door behind her. The whole car jolted as Thor struggled to squeeze himself inside the tiny car, sitting squashed in the passenger seat, much to Karina's amusement.
"So," Karina drawled, leaning forward with a smirk, "who's Richard?"
"Oh, shut up," Jane grumbled, shoving the car into first gear and taking off out of the abandoned trailer park.
After being driven around London in what Karina could only describe as 'rally car' style, Karina was very grateful when Jane finally turned left down a quiet street, pulling up on the right opposite an apartment block. Karina frowned as she stepped out of the car, grabbing her sword and dusting stray chunks of glass off her cloak, and looked around. The sound of cars from the main road could only just be heard and there were hardly any lining the pavement. Jane led them to the apartment block door, unlocking it with her keys and holding the door open for them.
"I'm on the third floor," Jane said as she hurriedly walked down the corridor, "and the elevator isn't working so…"
"Great, stairs," Karina said tiredly, grabbing on to the railings, using it to pull herself up the stairs. Thor chuckled quietly behind her as they ascended the stairs, turning right into the third-floor corridor. Jane stopped in front of apartment 21B and quickly unlocked the door, letting it swing open. She hurried inside, leaving Thor and Karina standing in the doorway awkwardly.
Thor shuffled his feet and Karina sighed, brushing past him and into the hallway. She set her sword against the wall and followed Jane into the main room.
"Really?" Karina asked, watching as Thor hung Mjolnir on a coat hook.
"What?" Thor shrugged, closing the door behind him and following after an exasperated Karina.
"Jane!" Darcy exclaimed, jumping up from the sofa and rushing over to her friend.
"Hey," Jane replied, pulling her coat off and flinging it on the back of a nearby chair.
"You can't just leave like that," Darcy said as she began pacing, "the whole world is going crazy. All the stuff we saw is spreading –"Darcy stopped her rant as she finally took in what Jane was wearing. "Did you go to a party?"
"Erik!" Jane exclaimed, rushing over to the scientist.
"Jane! How wonderful." Erik hugged Jane tightly, pulling back and holding her at arm's length, examining her clothes. "You've been to Asgard."
Jane frowned. "Where are your pants?"
Karina struggled to hide a smile as Erik looked down at himself, puzzled.
"He says it helps him think," someone said from behind Karina. "I'm Ian," he said, noticing Karina's confusion.
"Karina," she replied, glancing to Jane for an explanation. The woman merely shrugged at her, waving the question off.
"Okay, I'm going to need everything you've got on this," Jane said, turning to the dining table filled with diagrams, notes and computers. "All the work you've been doing on gravimetricanomlies, everything."
"Are you well, Erik?" Thor asked, stepping forward.
Erik laughed, turning to them, his face falling serious as he looked at them. "Your brother's not coming, is he?"
"He's dead," Thor said sadly, and Karina ignored the pang that echoed in her chest, clenching her fists tightly.
"Oh, thank god," Erik exclaimed suddenly. He coughed, "I mean, I'm sorry."
Thor nodded, "thank you." Erik stepped forward, hugging the god tightly as Karina chuckled, leaning against the wall.
"Hey," Jane called, waving them over. Karina pushed herself off the wall and walked over to the table, sitting next to Darcy. Darcy waved at her and Karina winked back.
"Malekith is going to fire the Aether at a spot where all the nine worlds are connecting," Jane explained as Thor sat down next to her.
"Amplifying the weapon's impact," Erik added. "For each additional world, the power will increase exponentially. The effect would be universal."
"Yes, but the alignment is only temporary," Thor said, "he must be in exactly the right place at the right time."
"Well, how do we know where that is?" Darcy asked, sipping on her coffee.
"We follow the directions," Erik answered, standing up. "This has happened before, thousands of years ago, and the Ancients were there to see it." He grabbed a large map from the self, pushing everything on the table onto the floor and spreading it on the cleared table.
"What, you mean the Romans?" Karina asked, frowning as Erik grabbed a black sharpie and a ruler.
"Exactly!" He exclaimed, uncapping the pen. "All the great the constructions, the Mayans, the Chinese, the Egyptians. They made use of the gravitational effects of the Convergence and they left us a map." He grabbed the ruler, the pen squeaking as he drew a line from Stonehenge, Snowden and the Great Orme. "All these, are coordinates taking us…" he joined the lines up, circling the area, "here."
"Green-wich?" Darcy clarified, thrown off by the name.
"I'm pretty sure its Greenwich," Karina corrected, eyes scanning the map.
"But it says, Green wich," Darcy replied, pointing to the name on the map.
"Yeah," Karina sighed, "English people are weird."
"Huh." Darcey sat back in her chair. "
"Anyway!" Jane called, drawing attention back to the map, "This means the walls between the world will be almost non – existent. Physics is going to go ballistic. Increases and decreases in gravity, spatial extrusions…the very fabric of reality is going to be torn apart."
There was a thud as Thor called his hammer to his hand, gripping it tightly. Karina jumped, glaring at her brother as an uneasy silence fell across the table.
"I better get my pants," Erik said quietly, standing up and hurrying off to his room.
Darcy handbrake parked the car, tyres squealing and jumped out the car. All five of them – minus Thor – had squeezed into the car, holding on tightly as Darcy flew through the London traffic.
"Everyone know their job?" Jane asked, unlocking the boot and picking up her equipment.
"Yup," Darcy replied, pushing Ian out of her way as she began unpacking her stuff from the boot.
"Good, try and get them in position as quickly as possible," Jane ordered as her, Erik and Karina walked off, heading the university's library.
"Hey, Erik?" Karina called as they hurriedly walked down the pathway, "do you have your phone on you?"
"Here," Erik said, rummaging around in his pocket, pulling out his phone and handing it to Karina.
"Thanks," Karina replied, scrolling through the contacts, hoping that one specific one would be in there. "I'll catch up with you!" She called, stopping behind one of the domes. Jane waved a hand behind her in acknowledgement as she hurried off, disappearing inside the university. Karina crossed her fingers as she dialled the number, looking around at the people strolling about.
"Please pick up," she muttered, nibbling on her thumbnail.
"Selvig?" A tired voice answered, "it's 7 o'clock in the morning."
Karina sighed, "I thought S.H.I.E.L.D agents were meant to be used to random wake up calls."
"Karina?!" Clint exclaimed. "Why are you back on Earth?"
Karina groaned, "Minor alien invasion."
"Again?" Clint moaned and Karina chuckled quietly as she poked her head around the corner, checking to see what Darcy was doing. "How bad?"
"Well," Karina began, "that depends on if our plan works. If it does, not that bad."
"And if it doesn't?"
"Potentially worse than New York."
There was silence on the other end of the phone and Karina pulled it away from her to check that Clint hadn't hung up on her.
"Ok," Clint said slowly, "what do you need me to do?"
Karina pocketed Erik's phone, making sure it wasn't going to fall out should the worse happen. She unsheathed her sword and began walking down the path, towards where Darcy and Ian were on the other side of the campus.
Clint had gotten S.H.I.E.L.D to set up road closures around the university, ensuring that no civilians were going to stumble upon the mess they were going to cause. Somehow, he'd also managed to gain access to the security cameras around the site, allowing him – and Maria Hill – to watch what was going on and plan for a mass clean-up crew.
Karina began to walk across the campus when someone started screaming. She slowly stopped in the middle of the grounds and turned to face the Thames. Malekith's ship had appeared right in the middle of the river and was heading straight for the university. Karina swore as the ship burst through the gates, slicing up the pavement as it headed straight for her.
Knowing she couldn't run away, Karina kept facing the ship, even as it destroyed the statue that had stood in the centre of the grounds, walking backwards slowly. She heard a crack of thunder and Thor appeared in a blaze of lightning in front of her, protecting her form the approaching ship
"Nice of you to turn up," Karina muttered, glancing at him as Malekith marched off the ship.
"You needn't have come so far, Asgardian," Malekith growled, his face now black with the Aether, "death would've come to you soon enough."
"Not by your hand," Thor replied, eyes narrowed in determination.
"Your universe was never meant to be. Your world and your family will be extinguished!"
Malekith threw his arm out and the Aether flew out, hitting Thor and Karina and sending them crashing to the ground.
"Ah," Karina muttered as she stood up, "I forgot about that."
Malekith threw another blast of the Aether at them, hitting Karina in the chest and throwing her back. She slid across the wet grass, wincing at the pain from the Aether. Karina groaned as she stood back up, sword raised and glowing purple as Malekith threw another blast at them.
This time, they were ready.
Thor summoned his lightning, blocking the blast at the same time as Karina threw up a forcefield, taking the majority of the impact aimed towards her. Thor skidded along the grass on his knees, stumbling to his feet as the blast disappeared and Karina relaxed her stance slightly, allowing her magic to simmer.
"You know," Thor sighed, cracking his shoulders, "with all that power, I thought you'd hit harder."
"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Karina sighed as Malekith threw his arms out and the Aether began to swirl around him. As Malekith was about to release it, Thor threw Mjolnir at him, causing the Dark Elf to fly backwards through the Dark Elves standing behind him.
"Find Jane!" Thor yelled at Karina as he took off after Malekith.
Karina nodded and took off towards where she'd last seen Jane and Darcy. She rounded the corner and skidded to a holt, staring at the Dark Elves who were surrounding a young woman. Karina threw a blast of fire at them startling them enough for the woman to run away. The three Dark Elves began walking towards Karina, guns raised at her. Karina growled, raising her sword up high and moving into her fight stance.
The lead Dark Elf's gun whined as he clicked the safety off, his finger pressed the trigger and –
They disappeared.
Karina frowned, looking around in confusion.
"Hell yes!"
Karina looked up and saw Jane and Erik leaning out the top of a window. Jane had her fancy machine with her and a triumphant look on her face.
"Thanks!" Karina yelled, waving at her friend. Jane waved her off with a smile, disappearing from the window. Karina rolled her eyes fondly, turning around and running back towards Malekith's ship knowing that Jane was safe.
A small group of Dark Elves began firing at Karina as she emerged onto the grass and she quickly ducked behind a pillar, shielding herself from the blasts.
Karina's head fell back against the pillar with a thud when Selvig's phone started to ring. "Now? Really?" She muttered, rummaging in her pocket for the device.
"Clint, I'm kinda busy right now!" Karina yelled, ducking back behind the pillar as the Elves continued to fire at her.
"Is this going to plan?" Clint asked and Karina could hear his smirk.
"Oh shut up," Karina replied, moving behind a different pillar quickly.
"Karina," Maria called over the phone and Karina realised that she was on speaker. "What's going on?"
Karina grunted as she threw a fire ball at the group of Elves, using the distraction to leap over the bannisters and duck behind the wooden doors leading to the church.
"This guy called Malekith is using the convergence to try and invade all the nine realms at once. He has this infinity stone called the Aether and Thor is currently trying to distract him long enough for –" she stopped talking as a Dark Elf approached, somehow holding the phone to her ear and killing the Elf with her sword, "our plan to work."
"It sounds like it's going swimmingly," Clint drawled as Karina grunted, attacking another Dark Elf.
"Oh yeah," Karina blew a piece of hair out of her face, "it's all going to plan." She swung open the church doors and stepped out, hands glowing purple with fire as she prepared to attack the large group of Elves waiting for her.
But the Elves were nowhere to be seen.
Karina jumped as a car honked at her and she quickly moved out of the road and onto the pavement.
"Um, what?"
"Karina, where are you? We can't see you on the cameras," Hill said over the phone as Karina looked around mystified.
"I have no idea," she muttered, looking down at the Thames below. "I'll call you back." Karina put the phone back in her pocket, ignoring the strange looks everyone was giving her. She saw a police officer standing by the fence and walked up to him, highly aware of what she looked like.
"Excuse me," she called, and the police officer did a double take at her appearance.
"Yeah?"
"Where am I? I'm a bit lost," Karina explained, smiling.
"Bloody Comic Con," the police man muttered, rolling his eyes. "Tower Bridge, love," he replied.
Karina nodded, "Tower Bridge, right." She paused. "Where's Greenwich?"
"Greenwich?!" The police man exclaimed, "aren't you after the Excel centre?"
"The what?" Karina asked, frowning. Suddenly a loud scream interrupted the conversation and Karina spun on her heel as a Dark Elf emerged onto the bridge, gun in hand. The cars on the bridge stopped moving, starring in shock at the weird creature in the middle of the road. An impatient taxi driver honked at the Dark Elf and the wing mirror of the cab was promptly shot off.
"Ah," Karina sighed, jumping over the barrier and walking towards the Elf, "portals everywhere." She groaned, cracking her back as she approached the Elf. The Dark Elf turned to face her, and Karina readied herself as he fired his gun at her. She ducked behind a car, throwing a fire ball in the general direction of the Elf. Using the distraction to her advantage, Karina pulled herself onto the roof of the car, standing up straight as he magic began to swirl around her.
"Oh my god, its Karina!" Someone exclaimed and the scared onlookers immediately started cheering and screaming in excitement. Karina sighed in despair at the complete lack of fear the onlookers where demonstrating when a literal Alien stood in front of them.
The Dark Elf turned to face her as two more emerged from the portal, standing behind the first. Karina took a deep breath in and ran down the windscreen of the car, jumping off the bonnet onto the roof of the car in front as the Dark Elves started firing at her.
As she leapt of the car in front of the Elves, she bought her power to the max, slamming it directly into the Elves as she landed in front of them, knees bent. The Elves fell to the floor as Karina stood up, glowing a bright purple. She twirled her sword around, making quick work of the dazed Elves.
With a grunt she pulled her sword from the last Elf, watching it fall to the ground with a thud. The people around her were still staring in shock – the majority of them filming her – as she stood up, wiping her sword on her leg. Karina jogged over to the shock police man, smiling.
"I think this road is closed, Officer," she said, patting the man on the back as she rummaged in her pocket for her phone.
"Jane!" Karina exclaimed as soon as the scientist picked up. "Can your device open a portal on Tower Bridge or not?"
"Why are you on, you know what? Never mind." Jane said with a sigh, "I can try."
Karina cried out in surprise as the ground disappeared from underneath her and she fell onto the wet pavement in front of Malekith's ship.
"Sorry," Jane whispered as Karina stood up, dusting the rubble and mud off her.
"Don't worry," Karina replied, flexing her fingers, "where are you?"
"Down the path you're on there's a alley on the right," Jane answered and Karina nodded, hanging up the phone as she began following Jane's directions. She glanced up at the sky, panic swirling inside her when she saw that the Convergence was nearly in full effect above them.
Karina skidded to a holt as she almost ran straight into Erik. The scientist put a hand on Karina's arm as she stumbled to a holt, panting.
"Are you alright?" he asked, checking her over. Karina nodded, waving off his concern despite knowing she looked like hell. She was covered in sweat and had a burn on her right side where a gun had grazed her on the bridge. There was a large cut on her eyebrow that kept dripping blood onto her face and her hands and knees were covered in mud and grazes.
"We're out of time, aren't we?" Karina asked, glancing to Jane who looked up at the sky worriedly. Malekith had reached the Ark and the Aether had begun swirling around him and the ship like a Tornado, ripping the tiles and windows from the domes and walls.
Jane nodded, opening her mouth but before she could say anything, Thor arrived, strolling over to them. Karina approached him first, eyes scanning him over, noting that he seemed fine other than the giant cut on his head. Thor put an arm around Karina's shoulders, giving her a squeeze as he subtly checked her over.
"Thor!" Jane called, running over to him. "We're too late."
"The Convergence is at its peak," Erik added, looking up as the worlds began to align with one another.
The roar of wind from the Aether tornado was growing stronger, debris from the crash being picked up and swung around inside the deadly red haze.
Thor sighed, glancing down at the equipment in Erik's hands. "Can those things stop it?"
Erik shook his head, "not from here."
"We can't get close enough," Jane elaborated, glancing up from playing with her machine.
"I can," Thor replied firmly, a steely look in his eyes.
"No," Karina said suddenly, shaking her head. "We can."
"Karina," Thor said quietly, glancing down at his sister.
"I'm coming with you," Karina told him, her tone leaving no room for an argument. "We got this far together."
Thor nodded slightly, taking the equipment from Erik. He glanced to Karina and the two siblings took off towards the swirling Aether. The wind stung Karina's cheeks as they struggled through the Aether, Malekith only just visible through the red haze.
"Malekith!" Thor roared; his feet firmly planted on the floor as he struggled against the wind. Karina stood slightly behind her brother, magic swirling about her.
Slowly, with his arms still outstretched, Malekith turned to face the siblings, a smirk on his face.
"Darkness returns, Asgardian," Malekith snarled, "have you come to witness the end of your universe?"
"I've come to accept your surrender," Thor corrected. "NOW!"
Karina released her magic at Malekith, the fire hitting him directly in the chest as Thor launched one of the poles at him. It hit Malekith in the arm and his arm disappeared. Karina groaned as she struggled to keep her magic at full blast on Malekith, feeling the Aether beginning to pierce away at her. Thor, noticing his sister's struggle, threw the other pole at Malekith and it speared his opposite shoulder rendering the Dark Elf armless.
"You think you can stop this?" Malekith roared, Karina's magic flickering slightly as the Aether continued to build power. "The Aether cannot be destroyed." Malekith waved a hand and Karina's magic flickered out completely as the Aether finally hit her. She fell to her knees as the Aether invaded her mind
"No," Thor replied, tearing his eyes away from Karina and smirking at Malekith "but you can."
Thor reached out his hand for Mjolnir, his trusty hammer flying into his hand as Thor launched himself at Malekith. Malekith finally snapped out of his trance, eyes widening as Thor threw the last pole at Malekith, impaling the Dark Elf on the Ark. Thor slammed his hammer down onto the pole and lightning met the Aether.
The Aether exploded, knocking the siblings out and sending them flying through the air. As Karina and Thor fell to the ground, Jane turned the dial on her machine and Malekith disappeared, the Aether disappearing with him.
Jane emerged from behind the wall she'd been hiding behind, stopping when she saw Karina and Thor lying unconscious on the ground. There was a loud creaking sound as the Arc began to topple over, it's intended impact zone exactly where Karina and Thor were.
"No," Jane whispered as she ran over to them, falling to her knees beside Thor. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to drag either one of them away in time, Jane threw herself on top of Thor, reaching out a hand for Karina as the Arc's descent sped up. Jane closed her eyes tightly, bracing herself for the impact.
Except it never came.
Jane slowly looked up at Erik who stood a few feet away with Jane's machine in his hands. Erik grinned, waving the device in the air as Jane laughed in relief, resting her head on Thor's chest.
"Everyone okay?" Erik called, looking around at the destruction they'd caused to Greenwich.
Karina groaned as she came round, squeezing her eyes shut as her head throbbed furiously. Erik's phone in her pocket began ringing again and she fumbled around for it, pressing the answer button and holding it to her ear.
"Yeah?" Karina asked blearily as Jane helped Thor sit up beside her.
"What the hell was that?"
Karina sat up, rubbing her eyes, "Fury?"
"You've got a lot of explaining to do," Fury grumbled, "you've also made a hell of a mess."
Karina groaned as she stumbled to her feet, "that wasn't just me. Besides, most of it's harmless anyway."
Fury scoffed on the other end of the phone, "I doubt that very much, Karina." Fury paused for a second. "Everyone alive?"
"Just about," Karina replied, smiling as Jane leaned in and kissed Thor passionately. Thor kissed her back, hand running through her hair. "I think we're all okay."
A/N: I was going to split this into two, but there was no point so. I haven't written much past this point so I probably won't update again soon, I will update though. I'm sticking with this all the way until Endgame!
Also, I've been to Greenwich and it's a lovely place, very beautiful and full of history.
Incorrect Quote:
Tony: what was your street name on Asgard?
Karina: Fire Breathing Bitch Queen
Tony: you lived on a street name fir-
Karina: Oh, you meant where I lived.