"This Thanos... he has Lieutenants under his command, one of which is Hela. She ruled over our damned in a dimension that she herself had been banished to ages ago when she defied the All-father. Thanos released her and promised her retribution if she would retrieve the infinity stones from Asgard."
"Stones? As in plural?" asked Tony, who had followed in not far behind Steve. "We were only aware of the Tesseract."
"As were we," replied Thor and he paused, his hands still gripping Mjolnir as if it were a lifeline. "I was here, on Midgard when they arrived." His eyes slid to the man seated next to him. "Looking for him."
Loki met his glare, his face unreadable before returning to stare expressionless at the wall.
"My brother was hiding on your planet to escape the wrath of our people. He has impersonated our Father for nearly two of your Earth years and had only recently been discovered. With the protection of Odin gone, and no leadership, Hela was able to once more enter Asgard, this time with the destructive power of the Reality Stone at her back. She razed everything in her wake, murdered all our brothers and sisters, and took the Stones."
"How do you know this?" asked T'Challa.
"Heimdall," said Thor. "Our friend was mortally wounded but was able to send himself to me as a final warning and tell me the truth of the source of his power. He was the keeper of the Soul Stone and received his injury trying to prevent Hela from obtaining it... he was unsuccessful. After Heimdall was put to rest, I saw the news reporting on odd happenings in Wakanda and we set out immediately."
"And why is he here?" asked Natasha with a nod to Loki, her voice as cold and detached as ever.
"To defeat this evil, we will need all powers at our disposal. I have presented him with a choice: help us or die."
"And you believe him?"
"I would have Lady Wanda look into his thoughts. If they are insincere, he forfeits his life."
Loki appeared startled and the brothers stared at one another for a moment before he nodded his acquiescence and T'Challa asked one of his Dora Milaje to retrieve the young woman.
Thor's eyes passed over all in the room and leaned back in his chair. "And what news have you? Why do you no longer reside in the Tower?"
"You wanna take this one, Cap?" asked Tony, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall. They stared hard at one another before Steve turned away, his fist clenching at his side at the delighted smile that crossed Loki's features at the display between the two men.
"There are more important things we have to discuss first," started Steve. "Thor, you need to know that-"
Steve was cut off by the door flying open, a disheveled and wide eyed Jane standing in the opening. "I can't find Darcy!" she exclaimed. "I was in her room- she was asleep when I left her- but now she's gone!"
Steve moved to meet the panicked scientist, hearing the scrape of chairs as Thor got to his feet, his exclamation of 'Jane!' drowned out by her rapid fire questioning.
"Could Thanos have taken her? We have to find her now-"
"Jane, I know where she is. She's fine," said Steve, keeping his voice low, his hands going to her shoulders.
"Are you sure?"
"She's safe, I promise."
"Where? Where is she?"
"Yeah, Steve, where is she?" asked Natasha, eyes wide in faked innocence and mouth quirked in what Steve could only describe as mirth.
Steve frowned, shooting a glare over his shoulder in her direction, and she just smiled serenely in response. He turned his attention back to Jane, refusing to look at anyone else as he answered. "She's at my place."
Jane blinked owlishly at Steve before stepping back, his hands sliding from her shoulders.
"Oh," she replied, her eyes going wide with understanding. She seemed then to take in her surroundings. "Sorry to interrupt..." Her voice trailed off as she finally saw past Steve's large form.
"Jane," said Thor, voice cracking as he looked her over and his head shook in disbelief, "How did you come to be here?"
Her mouth opened and closed, hands fluttering uselessly at her sides as if she didn't know where to start.
"That," said Steve pulling out a chair for Jane, "is what I was starting to tell you..."
A half hour later, he finished telling them of the events up to their arrival, Wanda having joined them in the interim. The Prince of Asgard rose from his seat, pacing before he stopped to look at Jane. "I don't understand. If Darcy was the one who thwarted Thanos's plan, why is he after you?"
"The Aether left me with something," she replied with a sigh and lifted her hands, pulling off her gloves and setting her palms on the table top. Loki leaned forward with interest and Thor's expression became thunderous as her hand blackened up her forearms. "I've done some experiments with lower level life forms but I suspect I will kill anything I touch when I'm like this. The good news is I seem to be able to control it. I just wear the gloves as a precaution."
Loki started to laugh and Thor was on him, lifting him by his collar and dragging him backwards to slam him against the wall.
"Careful, brother-mine, " wheezed Loki around the fist at his throat, "or do you wish to be the last Asgardian in all of existence?"
"You will explain."
"He knows what's happening to me?" exclaimed Jane, standing abruptly.
Thor kept Loki pinned against the wall, his eyes still boring into the mocking green of his brother. "Aye. When Loki first called the Chitauri to Earth it was due to a deal he made with Thanos." With a warning tilt of his head, he released him and Loki made a show of straightening his clothes before facing Jane, a broad grin spreading over his face.
"When I first heard of Thanos, it was said he liked to court death by challenging the most powerful warriors in the universe. I thought this was unnecessary metaphorical drivel to frighten any who opposed him. Later, I learned its meaning was quite literal. He seeks companionship from Lady Death who has always shunned him. Either he thinks you are her or that you may be a way to get her attention."
"That is... just... absurd," said Jane, looking horrified and Thor turned away, his palms going to rest on the table.
"More absurd than gods of thunder, giant green monsters, and a sorcerer who can fly?" asked Natasha gently from her seat.
"Sure makes you nostalgic for the simplicity of the Cold War, doesn't it?" spoke up Tony.
"I will take Jane away, hide her," said Thor, straightening and directing his words at Steve.
"What? No!" shouted Jane, moving around the table to stand in between the two.
"Jane, you do not understand. This is power beyond Ultron, the Dark Elves, anything you or I have seen before. You must let me conceal you from him."
"What even makes you think you can?"
"I have to try."
"No. I won't. As long as he wants me, that gives us an advantage."
"Dr. Foster is right," said T'Challa. "Our last encounter with the Black Order nearly lead to the death of many of my people. At least with her and the mind stone, we know Thanos will come to us. We can use that to concentrate the fight to a remote area."
"Where?" asked Tony.
"Utah," said Natasha confidently. "SHIELD had a large facility buried in the Colorado Plateau. It's over 150,000 square miles of empty land that offers some strategic opportunities. It should be abandoned after the Hydra infiltration but still well stocked with supplies and weaponry. And if it is not empty, well, I'm sure we can handle it."
"How would we all get there?"
"Darcy," said Jane confidently.
Steve shook his head, "She can only travel to places she's seen. She has to visualize it."
"I could take the location from Natasha's mind," said Wanda, "and then put it into Darcy's. It worked on the ship."
T'Challa nodded. "We could move much of my army and scientists with ease."
Slowly they all confirmed their agreement.
"Alright then," said Steve. "So Thanos has the Reality Stone, the Space Stone, and the Soul Stone. Vision has the Mind Stone, Strange the Time Stone. Do either of you know where the Power Stone is?"
Thor shook his head, "No, but I did hear rumor of some who may. They have come in contact with the Power Stone."
"Wait, so there are others? Others who've survived touching the stones?" asked Tony.
Thor shuffled uncomfortably and frowned. "Yes."
"Well... will they join us?" asked Steve watching Thor's uncharacteristic unease with rising alarm. "Or are they going to be a problem?"
"Yes."
"To which question?" asked Steve, blinking through his confusion.
"Both."
"Big guy, help us out here," snapped Tony, his patience wearing thin.
"These people, they have fought for righteous causes in the past but have less than honorable histories. They are known to be quite... difficult..."
"Well, who are they?" asked Wanda.
Thor breathed deeply, his eyes finally meeting the others in the room.
"They call themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy."