Author's Note: Hope you guys are still enjoying the fic. I only get towork on then on weekends so bear with me. Got a little carried away at first, but I know where I'm going now. Enjoy!
Jane sighed as she followed Darcy. She felt apprehensive about the whole situation, but the promise of a possible scientific anomaly helped to urge her forward.
"Darcy this better not be a waste of time," she grumbled. The woman glanced behind her, a huge grin on her face.
"The readings pinpoint the signal to be coming from one of those buildings over there," she promised, running ahead. Jane sighed and glanced back at Ian, Darcy's "intern", who was carrying an armload of heavy equipment. She gave him a sympathetic look. He stumbled a bit and grabbed wildly for one of the machines that slipped from his hold, catching it just in time.
"You better not drop that equipment, Ian. I don't care if you are cute," she growled. He groaned and trudged after them into an abandoned factory.
"Jane, we definitely need better equipment," she said. The astrophysicist sighed.
"There's nothing wrong with our stuff Darcy. Now hurry up. My legs are starting to hurt from all this running," she complained. The woman scoffed, leading the way. To their surprise, they came into a room with four or five children standing over a balcony. They appeared to be dropping things down onto the floor below.
"Well this seems to be the place," Darcy announced when the machine she was carrying began to go crazy. She glanced up ahead where she saw a small group of children crowded around a railing.
"Are you the police?" one boy asked, slowly coming toward them. Darcy grinned.
"I hope not. Otherwise, I would have some pretty hefty fines," she said with a wink. Jane stepped forward, smiling reassuringly.
"No...we're scientists," she answered. The children glanced to one another in uncertainty. Then the young girl in the group shrugged and went back to dropping plastic bottles. Darcy watched with interest until she was compelled to join them.
"Oh my god Jane. This is so cool. You need to try this," she gasped with delight. Jane sighed and came to stand beside her. She grabbed the can Darcy handed her and dropped it. She looked around for it to appear again, but nothing happened.
"Sometimes it comes back...sometimes it doesn't," one of the boys said. Ian stepped forward with keys in hand.
"Cool," he breathed, releasing them into the air. When they didn't come back, Darcy slapped the back of his head.
"Idiot," she hissed. She hands Jane the machine she'd been holding and proceeds to continuously swipe and hit at his jacket. He blocks her attack as best he can while holding their equipment upright. Jane shook her head, staring down at the screen. The readings had slowed and were now pointing in another direction. She began to walk, curious as to what she would find.
After a few minutes, she came a wall. She frowned, preparing to turn around and find another way to what was on the other side. However, in the blink of an eye, she felt herself being pulled away from the course she had set for herself. She cried out as she fell and she banged her elbow on the ground. She groaned, rolling to her feet.
As she dusted herself off, she realized she didn't recognize where she was. She looked around and saw a red light wavering up ahead. Seemingly unable to stop herself, she approached it to get a closer look. All of a sudden, a feeling of warmth washed over her and the red light flowed toward her. She tried to back away, but couldn't move fast enough before the object caught up with her.
She fell back as the force of it slammed into her body and knocked her to the floor. She screamed as fire enveloped her entire being. Her vision became a sea of red. Then everything faded as the red became so dark that it blacked out even the brightest of light.
Thor left his parents rooms with doubt swimming in his head. His father had just told him of a legend involving an Infinity Stone called the Aether. The Convergence was known to be approaching and the king had feared that because of this, it would make its presence known. There was one particular enemy of Asgard that Odin did not want to have that stone in his possession again and his name was Malekith. He heard the story begin to play again in his head and a sudden shiver ran through him.
Long ago, the dark elf Malekith the Accursed sought to plunge the world back into eternal darkness using a force called the Aether. King Bor, father of Odin, led a battle with his army of Asgardians against the dark elves and Malekith's band of warriors known as the Kursed. Before Malekith could bind himself with the Aether, Bor contained it within a giant stone column and sent it somewhere that it couldn't be found. Malekith then sacrificed his army and escaped with his lieutenant Algrim to remain hidden until they could locate the Aether once again.
After what Odin had told him, he was sure that Thanos would go after it because of its immense power. He could only be glad that it had been hidden well. Perhaps it should never be found again. He shook his head.
Thor groaned tiredly as he approached Heimdal. He feared that even at his best, traveling the Bifrost so many times in a week could take its toll on a god. He smiled upon seeing the Watcher. The smile faded however once he saw the sternness of his face.
"Heimdal, what is the matter?" he asked, fearing for his brother's sake. He knew he shouldn't have left so soon.
"The Convergence draws near," he replied solemnly. Thor frowned. First his father, now Heimdal. Could he never have any good news?
"Heimdal," Thor said tensely. He could tell that the man was keeping something from him.
"It is not Loki," Heimdal began. For a moment, Thor's fears were quelled. "Do not panic, Thor. I am sure it is nothing," he said to the prince. Thor waited patiently. Heimdal sighed.
"It is the Lady Jane. I'm afraid I can no longer see her. She has simply vanished from my line of sight," he told the prince. Thor's heart sank. He would never forgive himself if something dire had happened to her.
"I must return to Midgard immediately," he declared. Heimdal nodded and placed his prodigious sword into its slot, powering up the bridge.
Jane opened her eyes slowly as her head threatened to pound even harder. She sat up even slower, afraid she would find herself in another dimension. To her surprise, she was back in the factory, lying on the stone floor. She looked down at herself and was grateful to see that she wasn't glowing red. She stood and stumbled outside on wobbly sounds of sirens Almost immediately
The sound of sirens assault her ears. Almost immediately she was tackled by Darcy.
"What the hell is going on here Darcy? I wanted this to stay secret. Now we're going to have S.H.I.E.L.D. crawling all over our asses by tomorrow morning," she said.
"Jane, you were gone for five hours," she said. Jane quieted, slightly dazed. Five hours of her life gone and she remembered none of it. Darcy glanced up as a drop of moisture slid down her forehead. She stepped closer to Jane and was instantly out of the rain. Both women shared a perplexed look.
Out of the corner of her eye, Jane sees the flash of a red cape. She sees it's Thor and runs to him. Darcy throws her hands up in annoyance when she is left in the rain again.
"Is everything ok with Loki?" she asks him. The god glances around her when he sees they are dry despite the rain. An officer sees this and goes to grab her.
"Ma'am, we're going to need to ask you some-" As he reaches for her arm, a wave of red energy slams into his body and throws him into the ground. The rush of power from her body makes her feel unbalanced and she begins to sink to her knees. Thor catches her before she falls.
"Jane, are you alright?" he asks. The moment her eyes flutter closed and she becomes unresponsive is when he really begins to worry.
Thor picks his girlfriend up bridal style and wills Heimdal to send down the Bifrost again. When Darcy sees the first signs of light coming to envelop them, her resolve hardens.
"Oh, hell no I am not being left here again," she growled, running to them. Fate must have been with her that day because she made it just in time.
The ride to Asgard was nothing like she'd expected, however, and she vomited on the Bifrost when the ride ended. Heimdal eyed her disapprovingly, but she didn't care. She had finally made it to the fabled promised land.
"Sorry about that. I guess I should clean that up right?" she asked. Heimdal sighed and gave Thor a look of slight annoyance. The god rushed off to get Jane much-needed help. Darcy followed closely behind, forgoing her instinct to stay and examine the material the bridge was made from.
Loki awoke to a harsh bright light shining into his pupils and a gloved hand checking his mouth. He made a sound of protest and jerked his head away from the assault. When the man continued to hold on, he bit his finger. The man gave a cry of pain and yanked his hand away. Loki spat out the taste of latex and blood. When he tried to sit up, he found that he was restrained onto a bed. He sighed in annoyance and gave up struggling.
The doctor watched Loki out of the corner of his eye as he washed his hands. He accepted the bandage from the nurse beside him before turning back to Loki.
"They told me you were quite a nasty one. Guess even after seeing the footage from New York, I was still doubtful," he said. Loki's eyes narrowed.
"Well, I do not particularly care for others digging around in my mouth. Especially while I am unconscious," he replied with a hint of snark added to his tone. The doctor shrugged.
"I was told to make sure you weren't carrying any weapons on you. I'll still need to do a full examination, though," he said. Loki frowned.
"I beg your pardon?" he asked incredulously. The nurse glanced at the doctor uncertainly.
"Doctor Anderson, maybe we should hold off on that," she said quietly. He frowned.
"I have orders to complete Ms. Taylor. If you don't like them then you are more than able to leave and let me do my job," he told her. She glared at him.
"You know what, I'm tired of having to take your shit. I was trained as an agent and I will no longer continue to be disrespected like this."
With that, she threw down her papers and stormed out of the room. Loki whistled lowly.
"It seems that there is trouble in the workplace. You should handle her before she influences the others. Then you might have a full blown rebellion on your hands," Loki said sarcastically.
"How about you just shut the hell up and try not to move. I'm authorized to shoot you if you attack me," he pointed out. Loki scoffed.
"If you lay another finger on me, I will make sure you never see it again. Do not touch me Midgardian," the god threatened. Loki winced when he heard himself. Even to his own ears, his threat sounded weak. The man backed away, seemingly convinced, however. He put a hand to the com in his ear.
"Sir, he's awake," he said. He listened for a response and when he got one, he nodded. He sighed, bringing his hand back down to his side.
"Well, it seems that my job is done here. You are to be escorted to a secure room and wait until someone comes to speak with you," he informed the god. Loki glared at him as he moved to undo the straps binding him to the bed.
"If you bite me I'll shoot you," he threatened. The god rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Of course, you will," Loki muttered. He didn't move however as his restraints were loosened. Once he was free, Loki sat up, rubbing his slightly chafed wrists. He raised an eyebrow as the man leveled his gun at his head.
"Is that really necessary?" Loki asked. Anderson didn't answer, only using his gun to point. Loki sighed and rose to his feet.
Thor stood by, waiting anxiously as the healers examined her. Jane flared dangerously as they tried to approach her. Eir held her hand up for all movement to stop. Nearby, Odin stood, looking on unhappily. Darcy hadn't been allowed inside because Odin had claimed her aura was "too rousing".
"She belongs here as much as a goat belongs at a banquet table," the king commented. Jane shot him a dirty look. Thor placed a comforting hand on her shoulder to calm her.
"I am sure my father meant no offense," he said. Odin scoffed but nodded anyway.
"That energy inside her...it should not be possible for her to contain it as well as she is. Its presence here will attract less than favorable characters," he said. Thor frowned.
"Can we not draw it from her? Perhaps we can look to the old texts of Bor. Maybe during his battle with Malekith, he learned of a way to control it," he suggested. Odin shook his head. He approached Jane and grabbed her wrist. As he touched her, she flared up suddenly. Odin and the others drew back as the energy was released. Jane fainted. Thor stroked her hair worriedly.
"It protects her," he muttered. Odin sighed.
"I have read them many times over. There is nothing that could help us. I am afraid Jane will have to stay here until the matter is resolved," he declared. Thor's brow furrowed.
"But you said that the Aether could be harming her," he said. Odin stared his son in the eye.
"Then perhaps we cannot change her fate. Perhaps it is meant for her to pass on to the gilded halls of Valhalla to destroy this substance once and for all," Odin told them.
"How can you say that? Jane is my girlfriend. And if and when I am crowned king, she will be the future queen of Asgard," he boomed. Odin grimaced.
"She is Midgardian, Thor. Their kind is...expendable," Odin said. Thor pressed his lips together, keeping himself silent. A plan was slowly formulating in his head and he needed time to mull it over.
"I understand father," he said quietly. Odin eyed him for a moment. Then he nodded and left the room. Thor took a deep breath and looked to the healer.
"Make sure she stays here. And care for her well," he told her. Eir nodded.
"I will try my best. But by the looks of it, she is fading quite rapidly. Faster than we thought. Whatever you are planning to do, hurry," she ordered. Thor nodded, knowing he could never slip anything past the goddess. She was just like his mother in that matter.
Far away on the realm Svartlheim, the Dark Elf Malekith had awoken from his slumber long ago and was now waiting. He looks to his second in command, Algrim, a glowing molten rock in his hand. He motions for him to approach. Algrim waits patiently as Malekith slits his abdomen open and places the rock inside. The heat from the rock causes the wound to cauterize and the skin becomes hardened as it seals enough to keep what is inside from spilling.
Malekith smiles and whispers orders into his ear. He then hands him a mask, nodding to him. Algrim bows as walks away from the small group of Dark Elves. His only thoughts are to serve his king.
Fandral grins as he kicks his attacker in the chest, knocking him to the ground. What remains of Korg the Kronan lays on the ground in the form of scattered rocks. Thor breathes heavily, wiping his bloodied nose.
He turns around, looking to the people of Vanaheim.
"You are safe now. I am Thor, son of Odin, and this realm is under my protection. You need not fear," he tells them. In reality, he has no idea what they fear, only that he arrived just in time to stop a group of mercenaries from overrunning Hogun's village. He looks to the man who clasps his arm in gratitude.
"Thank you for this my shield-brother. I know not whence these monsters came but they are defeated now. Let us celebrate with ale!" he declares. Volstagg cheers as he rises, covered in dirt. Sif closes her shield and wipes her sword off on the leg of her trousers before retracting it.
"Sounds good," she says with a smile. Thor nods, looking to the prisoners.
"First we must handle them. Then we will talk," he tells them. They follow him in rounding up the remaining mercenaries without question. After they return to Asgard, Fandral is tasked with a dozen other guards to take the prisoners to the dungeons. At first, he protests, claiming that he is too attractive to be seen among such lowly people. He finally relented when Sif offered to let him handle her sword. Thor finally relaxed when Volstagg agreed to go with him to keep the man out of trouble.
As soon as the man are gone, a masked Algrim reveals himself. He forces his hand into his abdomen and pulls out the rock. The other prisoners in the cell look on in terror as he crushes it in his fist and the heat of the room becomes stifling.
They begin to yell for the guards. The blast pulverizes the other prisoners, leaving nothing but ashes behind. The blast breaks the force field that kept him contained him in the cell. He steps out calmly as several guards come rushing in.
He kills the men and proceeds to smash the force fields on the other cells to free his allies. They ran ahead to clear the way. He paused as a sudden blur of motion caught his eye.
A beautiful woman smiled at him, waving shyly. He approached the cell.
"Who are you?" he asked, his voice like grating rocks. She laughed pleasantly, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
My name is Lorelei, sweet elf," she replied. Algrim eyed her skeptically, but his interest was peaked.
"They said that you had escaped," he pointed out. Her smile tightened to the point of looking painful.
"I did. But...I was captured again when I sought to further my reach upon Midgard. That bitch Sif forced me back here," she spat bitterly. Algrim continued to eye her with interest.
"If I were to free you, what could you offer me?" he asked. Lorelei smiled.
"I assume you may have heard of me. If not, then I can bend any man to my will. If you can get me close to Odin...well let's just say your master can rule the realm of Asgard from the safe distance of his homeland. No one would need to know of his return." She paused for a moment, considering her words.
"Am I correct to assume that you serve Malekith?" she questioned. Algrim narrowed his eyes, his gaze betraying nothing. Then he smiled widely.
"You are correct," he told her. He came closer to the forcefield.
"You have intrigued me little Asgardian. But can you do the same for my king? It will be his choice whether you live or die this day," he warned.
He curled his hand into a fist and drew his arm back to smash the shield. Lorelei leaped back from the force of the release of energy. She smiled when she saw the barrier was gone.
"I thank you for that. May I repay you with a kiss?" she asked, sliding closer to him. He grabbed her head when their lips were mere inches apart. He threw her away from his body in disgust.
"That will not work on me sorceress," he growled. She smiled sweetly.
"May I, at least, have the name of my savior?" she asked softly.
"Algrim," he replied, walking ahead. Lorelei raced after him, slightly angered that her tricks had not worked for the first time in her life.
Heimdal raised his head, feeling a sense of foreboding. His sharp eyes searched the air for any signs of disturbance. He saw it almost instantly.
Heimdal ran down the Bifrost and jumped. He landed on the invisible ship creeping past and used a dagger to damage its engine. It sputtered for a moment, then crashed into the waters below. He then rushed to activate the shield of the palace before going to take down more incoming ships.
From a distance, he sees the shield he had placed on the place begin to fail. He looked on in terror as more ships came into view and flew onward to the palace, missing the top of the shield by mere inches.
A ship larger than all the others comes into view and Heimdal's fear grows until it is all he can see. He forces it down and draws another weapon to fight off the Dark Elves coming toward him.
In the infirmary, Frigga draws a dagger from her belt, prepared to fight. Malekith enters the room with Algrim following behind. The Dark Elf had been pleased with the lieutenant's offering and had decided to keep the sorceress for future plans.
"Hello, Allmother. Have you seen what belongs to me?" he asked. Behind the queen, Jane peeks out from a pillar. Malekith sees her and smiles.
"I think you have," he says, answering his own question. He lunges for the woman. Frigga's blade slices him across the face and he staggers back in surprise. He touches a hand to his cheek and it comes away red. He licks the blood from his fingers.
"Alright. I suppose it is only through you that I shall reclaim what is mine," he says. He lunges again but anticipates the queen's attack this time. He twists away from the blade and his arm lashes out, knocking the queen to the floor.
Malekith reaches the woman and grabs for her. He frowns when she slips through his fingers and disappears.
"Run, Jane!" he hears Frigga order behind him. He whips around and sees that Algrim has already blocked the Midgardian woman's path. She backs into a corner, shaking with fear. All of a sudden, Algrim is knocked to the ground. Thor appears behind him and swings his hammer roared in outrage.
Malekith roared in outrage. He grabs Frigga and plunges his dagger into her ribcage. Thor yells and bashes Algrim's head in when he tries to rise. The Kursed Dark Elf lies on the floor in a steadily growing pool of blood that spills from his head. Malekith drops Frigga.
Thor throws his hammer at his head. Algrim rolls away from the thunder god and drags himself over to his master in an effort to protect him.
Malekith, seeing no other option, he grabs his Lieutenant and drops off the open balcony onto a ship below. Thor wants to follow them but sees that his mother needs his attention more.
Odin arrives then and sees evidence of what has happened. He kneels beside his son, bowing his head.