A/N: Thank you for the follow and favorites and alerts while I've been away. Please leave a review with your thoughts! I'd love to hear them.
Chapter 28: Greenwich
It took a few hours to coordinate, but Jane and Erik concluded that the center of the Convergence would meet at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Erik had given Darcy and Ian three metal stakes to hammer in the ground all around the campus. They were for detecting the anomalies that had been occurring, but Jane said they could also cause them which would release pulses to disturb the Convergence. Even though Jane's body no longer hosted the Aether, Thor still asked me to look after her as he flew off. So Jane, Erik, and I quickly made our way through the school's library with one of the metal stakes to place in the domed library tower. Once they were all in place, Jane would be able to activate each one from up in the old tower. A student shushed us as we sped on by, but that was the least of our worries. The ground rumbled as if an earthquake hit, making me stumble a little. Malekith had arrived.
We had to start pushing passed the students who were all now gathering by the big windows, gawking at what was happening outside. Jane nearly stopped at the bottom of the tower stairs when one woman shouted out Thor's name in shock and excitement. Erik yelled at her as I started running up the four flights of stairs to the top of the tower. Malekith's ship had carved its way into the middle of the college grounds where the Convergence was beginning. I watched Thor get thrown back as the Dark Elf shot black Aether at him. I gripped the railing.
"We're running out of time," a worried Erik said to Jane who had started turning knobs and pressing buttons on the device that would set off the metal stakes.
She told us she was almost ready as I watched lightning crackle around Thor. "I should be down there helping him," I muttered to myself, my knuckles were going white from how hard I was squeezing the railing.
Thor got to his feet, but was hit by another, more powerful blast. Jane gasped, whispering Darcy's name as she ran to the other side of the tower. Another blast of the inky Aether was shot at Thor. This time, he was able to block the stuff from knocking him off his feet, but he was still pushed back across the lawn. I watched as Malekith raised his hands, slowly conjuring a larger mass of Aether. Thor whirled around, throwing his hammer at the Dark Elf. It hit the creature in the stomach, pushing him and a few of his followers back at least ten feet. Thor's hammer came back to his hand and he flew off towards the evil creature. Our view of them was blocked by the massive ship.
Jane ran back to us and looked up. Two enormous circles opened up in the sky. "The Convergence will be in full effect in seven minutes," Erik said to us as he looked at his beeping phone.
"That just means we have to keep Malekith busy for eight," Jane shrugged. The device started beeping, showing the stakes in the ground. Jane turned a large dial at the top. "You guys might want to hold onto something."
Erik shoved his phone in his pocket and wrapped his arms around the massive structural pillar in front of him as I kept my hold on the short railing. Jane twisted the dial again and a shimmering blue mass enveloped four Dark Elves, making them disappear. A small tremor pulsed across the ground. Jane laughed as she balanced her phone between her ear and shoulder, keeping in contact with Darcy. She was explaining to her intern how she made them disappear when she quickly turned the dial again. A hoard of Dark Elves were coming for the building. Jane tried to sweep away the biggest creature holding a sword, but ended up making Darcy and Ian disappear.
"We should get down there," I suggested nervously.
"Yup. Let's go," Jane ran off.
We raced down the tower stairs and back into the library where more people had pressed up against the glass, watching Thor battle Malekith and the Dark Elves below. Most of them were recording the flight on their phones. "What the hell," I boomed at the students as Erik, Jane, and I ran by. "Get out of here!"
"You're joking," a man laughed, never taking his eyes off the fight. "Thor is out there! Waving his hammer around and everything!"
His buddy next to him turned around. My eyes flashed green and his went as wide as saucers. He beat on his buddy's arm, "Mate! That's – that's Poison!"
The phone wielding student turned around. "Holy shit," he exclaimed as he followed me with his camera.
"I said get the hell out of here," I yelled again.
We were already down the stairs to the first floor when the foundation of the library shook. The people by the windows screamed in fright as the thick glass shattered from the force. I threw an arm around Jane as the heavy bookcases started to topple over. Our feet crunched the red and blue stained-glass from the windows above the library entrance as the three of us dashed outside. Above us, two jets soared towards the towering alien ship. One of the jets shot a missile towards the ship that ended up curving upwards to a portal that had just opened up. The two jets were sucked into the portal by its gravitational pull and it disappeared in seconds. Jane furiously twisted dials, trying to recalibrate the stakes in the ground. An energy blast from a Dark Elf gun exploded the corner of the library as the three of us shielded ourselves from the debris. The creatures, now in a darker silver-grey armor like Malekith, were approaching.
"Go," I shouted at Jane and Erik – who was still carrying a stake – as I pulled my knife from my thigh holster. "I got this! Get those portals working!"
Without another word, the scientists took off down the side of the building. Jane was still fiddling with the device as another blast hit the library again. I growled at the threat. I threw my left hand out and a green poisonous mist surrounded five of the rushing Dark Elves. They each dropped their weapons and fell to the ground as the poison dissipated. A larger Dark Elf sprinted at me, jumping over its dead comrades. As it raised its sword to attack, I shoved my knife deep into its neck, spinning it around to use it as a shield against three more energy blasts. The burning smell was horrific. I ripped my knife out of its flesh and shoved the body towards two more approaching Dark Elves.
Five of the invaders broke off from the group as I dodged a hit from another's sword. They ran down the same way Jane and Erik had gone. Shitshitshit shit, I yelled in my head as I fought my way down the covered corridor they took off in. Pain erupted from my shoulder as a blast hit me, making me fly forward and hit the broken marble walkway. I rolled over, raising my hands, surrounding myself and the Dark Elves in the corridor in thick poisonous gas. The pain in my shoulder and the strain of keeping the poison contained to the corridor pulled an unearthly scream from the back of my throat. I finally dropped my arms in exhaustion with the sound of at least a dozen metal breastplates hitting the marble around me. I pushed myself up, rotating my newly healed shoulder as Thor's hammer flew by, nearly hitting me in the face.
The sky was growing dark as the Convergence neared. Up in the sky, four gigantic portals displaying the scenes of different worlds were moving towards each other. From my position, I could see Malekith staring up at them as he slowly walked towards his ship. The wind picked up as it swirled around the leader of the Dark Elves, turning black with Aether, dust and pieces of rubble. As he raised his arms, the swirling wind intensified with sparks of red Aether. The dust and rubble around his body became so thick that I couldn't see him anymore. My gaze was torn to Jane and Erik as their footsteps neared. As I approached them, I gave Jane a once over to make sure she was alright. Thor would never forgive me if she did make it out of this alive. And I couldn't have another friend angry at me…
Above us, the portals had grown in size. The rip in the fabric of space and time now stretched the span of the entire college grounds. The one closest to us showed a lush green forest with a crystal clear river flowing through a green valley. "Holy shit…" I muttered.
"We're out of time," Jane took off running.
Erik and I shouted after her as I followed Jane down into the campus courtyard. The wind picked up as it swirled around Malekith's ship, tearing apart the foundations of the college and crawled up towards the portals. The dark red Aether was consuming everything in its path. The cloud was getting so thick that I couldn't see Jane anymore. I pushed on, shouting her name a few more times. Above, the Aether twisted like thick vines into each portal of the Convergence. I felt something take my wrist and I heard Jane shout at me as she tugged me in the opposite direction. We stumbled out of the dangerous cloud of Aether and debris and back to the library doors. Erik was there, helping students out of the crumbling building to safety.
There was a look of relief on his face when he saw us. The column of black and red cloud was expanding behind us. "We have to move," Erik shouted.
"Where's Thor?"
"I don't know," I told Jane. Her hand was still on my wrist. "But Erik is right! We've gotta go!"
The three of us took off down the green as the column enveloped the library. Jane's device started beeping wildly. She stopped us to look at the screen. Another of the metal stakes went offline. Erik balked, clutching the one he was carrying closer to his body. Someone called out Jane's name and Darcy and Ian were running at us with two stakes of their own. They stopped when they saw the column.
"That's insane," Darcy shouted. "What are we going to do?"
"We have to get back in there," Jane looked down at her device. "If we can get these close to Malekith, I can triangulate the frequencies and we might be able to stop him."
"Yeah, but, how are we going to do that?"
Jane looked at us with worry in her brown eyes. She shook her head. I cracked my knuckles, "We'll take those. You two need to get out of here."
Darcy looked back at Jane. She nodded at her intern. Darcy and Ian handed their beeping stakes to Erik. With a quick hug, Darcy told Jane to be safe. Then she grabbed Ian's hand and they ran in the opposite direction for safety. Erik, Jane, and I ran around a corner and down a narrow street where cars had been pressed together. Newspaper from a busted vending box were flying all over in the wind. Ahead of us, Thor was standing in the middle of the road, staring at the swirling mass of Aether.
"Thor," Jane called out to the God of Thunder. He didn't spare us a glance as the three of us came to his side. "We're too late."
"The Convergence is at its peak," Erik whispered. Thor looked at the three beeping stakes in Erik's hands.
"Can those things stop him?"
"Not from here," Erik shook his head.
"The mass inside will rip us apart," I told Thor. "We can't get close enough."
"I can," Thor blinked. Without another word, he took the three stakes from Erik and took off at a run for the Aether mass ahead. Jane took a few steps forward, shaking as she watched Thor disappear. I looked down at the screen on the device in her hand and saw the stakes were moving rapidly along the street map.
The device started beeping and Jane gasped. She turned the big knob, activating the stake. The swirling picked up. A second beeping went off and Jane repeated her action. Two down, one to go, I thought as more debris picked up on the outside of the Aether mass. It started pulling up the road, digging deeper into the ground. Suddenly, the Aether crackled with blue lighting and cleared away as we saw Malekith slam into his ship with the last metal stake embedded in his chest. Jane twisted the dial as far as it would go and the shimmering blue portal consumed Malekith and part of his ship, making the Dark Elf vanish in a flash. When the dust settled and the Aether disappeared, I ran back towards the center of the college with Jane right behind me. I could hear the ship start to crumble but remained upright as we stepped and jumped over large fragments of stone that had been pulled from the buildings.
We stopped under the safety of a colonnade. In the middle of the grounds, Thor was lying face down; his hammer was only a few feet in front of him. Above us, the Dark Elf ship finally started to fall to pieces as the lower T-shape collapsed in on itself, scattering earth and more debris. I didn't know much about physics, but I assumed the ship had minutes before it toppled over. My feet shuffled as I pushed myself away from the column I was leaning on.
"Jane, get back! NOW," I yelled at the scientist as my feet finally hit the ground, propelling me towards Thor's body.
I shouted Thor's name in urgency, hoping he'd get up at the sound of my voice. When he didn't, I feared the worst. I fell to my knees, grabbing Thor's shoulders and strained to turn his heavy body over. He was completely unconscious. Jane was shouting at us both as behind us, the Dark Elf ship teetered side-to-side. I didn't have time to be angry that Jane had stayed put. I grabbed Thor's wrist and sent bursts of healing energy into his body as I tried to pull his body to safety. Jane was suddenly at my side. She took Thor's other arm and together, we slowly dragged Thor. But it wasn't enough. I looked back in horror and saw that the Dark Elf ship split at the bottom, making the top half start to fall towards us. Jane dropped Thor's arm and threw herself over Thor's body, protecting him with everything she had. I wrapped my arms around Jane, knowing I couldn't protect her but would try anyway.
My eyes were squeezed shut, waiting for the end. A blue light filled the darkness and my eyes snapped open. The top half of the ship had disappeared. Erik Selvig was cheering. I unwrapped my arms from Jane and stared at the older scientist. Erik had Jane's device in his hands and a shit-eating grin on his face. "Everybody okay," he waved at me pleasantly.
Jane shot up and looked around, just as confused as I had been. The square all around us was littered with rubble from the ship and buildings and the ground was scorched beyond repair. When Jane saw Erik and the device, her body deflated in one big exhale as she laid her head back down on Thor's chest. I sighed, pressing my palms into my eyes. The college and parts of the surrounding area had taken the most damage and would take SHIELD ages to clean up. I hoped they'd give me a vacation after this mess.
Thor gasped raggedly as his eyes blinked open. Jane pulled away from Thor, letting him have room to breathe. I placed my hands on his battered face, healing his superficial wounds until the skin was smooth and clear. Thor coughed as he sat up, looking into my eyes which were still glowing.
"Thank you, Macie," his voice was low and thoughtful. I squeaked as he pulled me into a hug. I patted the back of his armor awkwardly.
SHIELD had descended on Greenwich in less than an hour. Jane, Erik, Darcy, Ian, and I all had to stick around to give our statements to the secret organization. There was hardly any time to talk over what had happened before Thor called Heimdall for the Bifrost. Some of the SHIELD clean-up crew watched in awe as the column of rainbow light hit the earth behind Thor. He had said a quick goodbye to each of us before stepping into the Rainbow Bridge and disappearing into the sky. As soon as I could, I was gone. I had texted Agent Maria Hill personally to tell her I wasn't sticking around. I had fallen into this mess – literally – and I wanted to go home – stateside. I missed my students.
As I started packing my things, there was a knock at my door. I frowned. I looked through the eyehole on the front door and sighed deeply. A fairly tall man with shaggy blonde hair and dark blue eyes was leaning against the doorframe. He was wearing all black and a dark grey bomber jacket with a SHIELD logo on the breast. His grin pulled at the small shiny scar on his cheek near his mouth. Dean.
He raised his phone. "Hill," he confirmed what I had been thinking. Agent Hill had told him I was gonna bounce. I made a sharp noise of discontent as I stepped to the side, allowing my brother inside the flat. He placed his hands in his pockets, looking around the small London flat and the finished boxes. "So," he started as he picked up an apple off the counter that divided the kitchen from the sitting area. He bit into it. "Where're you going this time?"
"Wouldn't you like to know," I crossed my arms defensively over my chest.
"Actually," Dean said through his chewing. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "Mom wants to know."
"Of course she does," I murmured.
"Look, I don't want to have this fight again," Dean set the apple down with a firm look in his eyes. He was referring to our spat before London. "But you need to fucking try, Macie."
"I have tried, Dean! But every time I look at her, I see the woman who abandoned me. I can try my hardest, but I tend to run from my issues. So, if you'll excuse me, I have some running to do."
I turned around to continue packing when Dean grabbed my upper arm in a vice grip. If I hadn't had Accelerated Healing, his fingers would have left deep angry bruises on my skin. I scowled at him and tried to pull my arm back. Dean gripped it tighter, nails digging sharply. "Something is coming," my brother snarled darkly. "You can't run from it. No one can."
"What are you talking about," I frowned. My voice was equally as low as my brother's. There was a dark glint in his eyes as they flashed towards the drapes covering the windows.
"Gryadet krasnyy omega," Dean whispered.
"What the hell does that mean," I questioned in a huff.
"You must be careful, sorellina. A war is coming and soldiers are on the move."
Dean released my arm. There was a sickening interest on his face as he watched the dark bruised outline of his five fingers fade from my skin. Something curdled in my stomach. Dean looked scarily like Zachariah in that moment; his face darkened and his eyes narrowed. For a single moment, I was afraid. I took a step back, holding my breath should he try something. I wouldn't hesitate. I did it twice before, what was one more family member… It was self-defense…
As quickly as the look came, it passed over Dean's face and was replaced with a small, uneasy smile. "Contact Hill before you run…again," Dean told me, shoving his hands in his pockets. It sounded more like a demand than a request. My brother sauntered back over to the kitchen counter and picked up the forgotten apple. He took another bite and grinned as he chewed the fruit. "Oh," he lowered his voice as an afterthought, "Might want to touching base with Rogers, too. Your war buddy has separation anxiety. Either that, or he really wants to strangle you for keeping secrets from him." Dean was in the doorway when he looked over his shoulder, grinning like the cat that ate the canary. He winked and disappeared out the door.
When Dean was gone, I remained rooted to the spot for a long time. It took even longer to calm my racing heart. My older brother's threat weighed heavily on my mind. I was pretty sure whatever he'd whispered to me was in Russian. I didn't know Russian. I didn't even know Dean knew Russian! I gathered that whatever he'd said had to do with that war and soldiers he mentioned. I had to confirm with Hill. But I didn't trust my phone anymore. Dean knew something big was coming. He was either warning me; or threatening me. And I prayed it was a warning. Because if it was a threat…it would be the last thing he'd ever do.
A/N: Dean's use of Russian and Italian were brought to you by Google translate! Sorry if the Russian phrasing is weird or doesn't make sense. I'd tell you what it means…but I can't just yet!
