Chapter 3: The Aether

To say the healers were unamused by Thor's latest guest, was putting it lightly. But they did what he requested and examined Jane, while Thor and Ciara watched from the sidelines.

"What happened to Jane?" Ciara asked Thor quietly, not wanting to raise her voice and earn the ire of the women at work.

"I do not know," Thor confessed, his worry for Jane clear. "Heimdall could not see her for several hours," he said, and Ciara's brow furrowed. It was rare that someone eluded Heimdall's gaze, but it was possible. That much she'd worked out from her conversations with Loki.

"How?" deciding not to mention that small detail to Thor, Ciara played dumb.

"I feel it is something to do with whatever has happened to her," Thor murmured, not liking that he had no answers regarding Jane. "The energy that she emitted when someone touched her was...destructive," he said, and Ciara folded her arms. Thor had explained briefly about when the policeman had tried to take Jane's arm. Energy had exploded from Jane, throwing him and anyone close by off their feet.

"It's dangerous," Thor finally turned his gaze away from Jane to look at Ciara. "I can feel it. I don't know why, but I can. And everything about it is making my survival instincts scream at me to get away," Ciara looked up to meet his gaze. He was surprised by how serious she looked. She always played things off, and had done so when she had first bumped into him and Jane on their way to the Healing Room, making light of 'bumping into Jane in such a strange place'.

"I do not feel anything of the sort," Thor replied, and Ciara shrugged.

"Maybe because you're stronger than whatever it is," she said. "Or maybe cause it didn't strike out at you like it did anyone else who touched her," she considered what they had told her on the way to the healers.

"What's that?" As the two discussed quietly, Jane's curiosity won out over lying still, and she reached up to touch the floating particles above her.

"Be still," the woman in charge told her sternly. Jane's eyes went wide as a copy of her body floated up above her, made of the particles. Ciara's eyes narrowed as she saw the red flow through the particles, and Thor tensed a little.

"This is not of Earth," he turned to the trainee Healer beside them. "What is it?" Thor asked her.

"We do not know," the woman admitted, looking grave. "But she will not survive the amount of energy surging within her," she warned. She then bowed her head and walked away as Ciara cursed under her breath.

"That's a Quantum Field Generator, isn't it?" Jane asked, reaching up to touch the energy above her.

"It's a Soul Forge," the one in charge said, making her lower her hand again so they could continue studying her. Jane's eyebrow rose in a defiant look.

"Does a soul forge transfer molecular energy from one place to another?" she asked. There was no response for a moment, as the healer hesitated, looking surprised.

"Y...yes," she confirmed. Jane looked victorious.

"Quantum Field Generator," she whispered to Thor, who couldn't help but smile. Ciara hid her giggles behind her hand.

"My words are mere noises to you, that you ignore them completely?" Everyone jumped at the powerful voice that filled the room. Odin stepped in, looking unamused. Ciara winced sympathetically. She'd overheard Odin telling Thor plenty of times that he didn't approve of his feelings for a human.

"She is ill," Thor defended, but his words sounded weak even to him.

"She is mortal," Odin waved his hand, and the particles of light vanished. The healers immediately moved away, bowing to the man as he approached Thor. "Illness is their defining trait," he said, ignoring Ciara as she quickly moved away from Thor. She rolled her eyes at Jane, who looked confused by the sudden arrival.

"I brought her here because we can help her," Thor argued quietly, not wanting to make a scene as Jane frowned.

"She does not belong here in Asgard, any more than a goat belongs at a banquet table," Odin dismissed his words. Jane sat up, looking insulted.

"Did he just-" Jane started, and Ciara nodded, looking a little entertained. "Who do you think you are?" she demanded angrily.

"I am Odin, King of Asgard," Jane's anger died immediately at the cold words. "Protector of the Nine Realms," Jane looked a little nervous now, and embarrassed at losing her temper at Thor's father.

"Oh...well, I'm-"

"I know very well who you are," Odin cut her off. "Jane Foster," he turned and walked away.

"You told your dad about me?" Jane asked Thor, sounding pleased yet embarrassed at the same time.

"Something is within her, Father. Something I have not seen before. Ciara even-"

"Her world has its healers. They're called 'doctors'. Let them deal with it," Odin refused to listen to what Thor was telling him. Ciara rolled her eyes at how dismissive the man was. "Guards!" Odin's voice echoed. "Take her back to Midgard," he ordered. Ciara groaned, and took a few steps back as two guards strode over. When one reached out to Jane, Thor's eyes widened.

"I would not-" as soon as the man touched Jane, he and the other guard were flung several feet away with a scream. "Touch her…" Thor finished with a sigh, hurrying over to Jane. The scientist had fallen over again, looking weak.

"Wow, now that's some real power," Ciara giggled, impressed by the distance the men had been thrown.

"Jane, are you alright?" Thor asked gently, putting a hand to her face.

"Yeah…" she murmured, but struggled to open her eyes for a moment. Not letting his surprise slow him, Odin was straight back over, and held his hand over her arm. As he moved his hand, red light emitted from under her arm, reacting to his presence. Ciara frowned, and moved forwards to stand on Jane's other side.

"Out of curiosity...you didn't happen to come across a big stone pillar with red light inside, did you?" she asked, and as Jane's eyes opened to focus on her, Thor frowned at Ciara's words.

"I...maybe?" she couldn't remember clearly. When she'd been pulled through one of the strange portals in the abandoned building, her memory had become hazy, and she'd apparently been missing for several hours.

"It's impossible," Odin murmured.

"The infection, it's...defending her?" the healer asked as she approached again, fascinated by the reaction.

"No…" Thor shook his head as he realised it too. "It's defending itself," he said.

"Come with me. Ciara, you as well, as this involves you too," Odin barely even looked up at the woman, turning and striding back out. Ciara tilted her head, a little surprised that he'd even acknowledged her, but followed without a word.

"How do you know about what I saw?" Jane asked Ciara, as Thor helped her off the table. Ciara offered a faint smile.

"Dreams," she said simply. Jane frowned, confused, but Thor just shook his head. It was pointless trying to get anything more out of her.

The three followed Odin to the library, and Jane kept shooting Ciara curious looks. She wore Asgardian clothes, and seemed adjusted enough that she had been there for a while. Even Odin seemed to acknowledge her, while he was ready to have Jane thrown back to Earth, her presence was accepted.

Jane had to admit, she was completely baffled by that. Finally she was reunited with Thor after two years, she was on Asgard, and Odin was there telling her that she didn't belong. And yet the woman who had helped Thor 'for fun' was there.

She had wondered what had happened to Ciara after what happened in New Mexico. She'd vanished, and shortly after returning all of her equipment, Coulson had requested for Jane to get in touch with him if Ciara reappeared. He didn't elaborate why, but shortly after the events of New York, Darcy had told her that SHIELD were looking to arrest her, according to a message from a mutual friend between Darcy and Ciara.

Ciara finally met Jane's gaze, and a shiver ran down her spine. Something inside her - the new, mysterious thing that was causing her to let out explosive bursts of energy - reacted to Ciara's presence. It wanted away from Ciara, and judging from the wary look Ciara wore, the feeling was mutual.

"There are relics that predate the universe itself," Odin finally spoke as he walked into the library. Jane inhaled sharply at the massive tree that towered over everything inside, with different coloured lights shining from different branches. "What lies within her appears to be one of them," he warned, and Jane returned her attention to him, wondering just what that meant. "The Nine Realms are not eternal. They had a dawn, as they will have a dusk," Odin led the three to a restricted, quiet part of the library, where Ciara had been chased away from before. "But before that dawn, the dark forces - the Dark Elves - reigned absolute, and unchallenged," Odin lifted a book and opened it.

"'Born of eternal night, the Dark Elves come to steal away the light'," Thor recited something from his memory. "I know these stories, mother told them to us as children," he walked over to look at the book.

"Makes for spooky bedtime stories," Ciara murmured, looking around at the other books in hopes of spotting something interesting.

"Their leader, Malekith, made a weapon out of that darkness, and it was called the Aether," Odin stated. "Or so he would have others believe. Instead, he harnessed the power of one of these ancient relics. While the others often appear as Stones, the Aether is fluid and ever-changing," Ciara turned, suddenly finding his story interesting. "It changes matter into dark matter. It seeks out host bodies, drawing strength from their lifeforce," Ciara and Thor both looked at Jane, all of them realising. "Malekith sought to use the Aether's power to return the universe to one of darkness. But...after eternities of bloodshed, my father Bor finally triumphed, ushering in a peace that lasted thousands of years," Odin explained.

"What happened?" Jane asked.

"He killed them all," Odin said coldly. He still didn't approve of her being there.

"Are you certain?" Thor asked. "The Aether was said to have been destroyed with them, and yet here it is," he pointed out, seeing the words in the book. However, his suggestion only seemed to annoy Odin more.

"The Dark Elves are dead," he said, his words quiet and serious enough that even Ciara knew not to push it.

"Does it say how to get it out of Jane? If it's killing her, then she can't be its Guardian," she asked, leaning closer to look at the book.

"Guardian?" Jane repeated.

"No. It does not," Odin closed the book with a heavy thud, and walked away.

"What's a Guardian?" Jane asked as Thor sighed heavily. Ciara met her gaze, and Jane felt the shiver again.

"The relics that Odin mentioned, they have Guardians," Ciara said, her voice quiet. There was a tone to it that Jane didn't quite understand. "They're meant to protect their own relic, and can use the power of that relic to an extent," she explained. Jane looked from her, to Thor, who looked grave.

"Well, that power came out of me, right? Why am I not its Guardian?" she asked, before pausing. "And how do you know about this stuff?" Jane couldn't stop the questions from spilling out. Ciara's brow furrowed.

"Ciara is-"

"I'm not," she cut Thor off, frustrated. Jane watched as they started to have a discussion that seemed to have been repeated multiple times. She realised quickly, the reason why Ciara was allowed to stay on Asgard. She was one of the 'Guardians' that she'd mentioned. And it didn't seem like she was happy about it.

"Ciara," Thor sighed. "You utilise the power of the Tesseract. Not only in the Throne Room that day, but you've been seen using its power. You cannot deny being a Guardian, especially if you are reacting to another relic like it," he told her. Ciara didn't reply, instead opening the book that Odin had left.

"You're not using that power. It's using you as a host to defend itself. And when you die, it'll move onto another host, just like some kinda parasite," Ciara told her without looking up. Jane squirmed, but didn't back down. She wasn't weak, and although she was scared, she had faith they would figure out how to get it out of her.

"Perhaps finding its Guardian might help?" Thor wondered.

"Maybe…" Ciara hummed, before shaking her head. "I don't know. I only have experience with the Tesseract, this is the first time I've come across another…" she trailed off, deep in thought for a moment, before shaking her head. "I'm not saying I accept being a Guardian or whatever, but from what I've experienced, I can only take on a small amount of power from the Tesseract, and I have to recharge to keep using it. I don't have that much of its power in me," Ciara looked up.

"So if we found the Guardian for the Aether, they might only be able to take a little bit...and not take it out of me completely," Jane summed up, and Ciara nodded.

"Again, I have no idea for certain, I'm only going off my experience here," she defended, scratching her head. "And another problem...we have no idea where to start when looking for the Guardian," Ciara pointed out, and Jane sighed.

"We can work this out later. For now, I think you should get some rest," Thor said, seeing how exhausted Jane looked. Ciara had to agree. She looked like she was about to collapse again.

"I'm fine, I-" Jane stopped her weak protests when they heard Ciara's stomach growl. Immediately she went red.

"Sorry, haven't eaten yet today," Ciara laughed, embarrassed. Jane couldn't help but laugh too.

"I guess I could rest for a little while," Jane agreed.

"I will show you to a place you can rest," Thor offered, walking over and putting a hand on her back. He looked around when Ciara didn't follow, and saw her looking a little wistful. "Ciara?" he called.

"Yeah...guess I can't really stay here," Ciara sighed, turning and following.

"Is there something you wish to read from there?" Thor asked as they walked along. Ciara shrugged, not quite meeting his gaze. She didn't want to let on the real reason she was reading so much. After all, she made a huge fuss about refusing to be the Guardian of the Tesseract. If they found out that she wanted to know more about the other 'relics', as Odin had called them, they might get suspicious. Or worse, think that she accepted being what someone else told her she was.

"Ah you know," she managed a smile that Thor didn't quite believe. "At the rate I read, I'm gonna run out of books here. Then how will I keep myself entertained?" Ciara asked. Thor's brow furrowed, but he didn't press the matter. He was too worried about Jane to press it.

Ciara parted from the two with a light comment, and only once she was out of view, did she let her powers kick in. She ran through the palace and out into the air, finally allowing herself to take the breath she'd been holding without realising it.

"Whoever came up with all this crap really didn't want the Stones together, huh?" she wondered aloud. When her stomach gave another demanding growl, Ciara laughed quietly to herself before turning and walking away, deciding to get some food in hopes that it would help ease her reaction to the Aether.

Ciara gave a happy moan as she finished off the last of the small fruit pie that she'd stolen once again from the kitchens. A faint warning echoed in the back of her mind about stealing after Astrid had only just told her off, but there were just some habits that she couldn't kick. Or didn't want to kick.

'These pies alone are worth the risk of getting caught,' she thought to herself. Not that she thought she would be caught. The only time she had been, was when Frigga had caught her, the day that she'd arrived. Ciara chuckled as she thought about how different things were now. If her former friends could see her now. She was pretty much a tamed stray cat.

Ciara quickly shoved that thought aside. She had no intention of living her life on Asgard, even if that's how it seemed to everyone else. Even Thor seemed convinced that she was set to stay.

"Thor? Thor!" a hissed voice made Ciara jump, and she looked around quickly, trying to find the source of the hushed, yet angry voice. "This is the crap I gotta deal with, huh? Guess I'll just handle it alone," the gruff voice complained, and Ciara followed, curious about just what was going on. The last she'd seen, Thor was leaving Jane to rest.

"Who's-" Ciara stopped when she turned a corner and found nobody there. At least, nobody at first. When she heard a startled gasp, she looked down and found something that she never thought she'd see on Asgard.

A raccoon.

Ciara stared down at the raccoon, who was wearing a small leather suit and carrying a strange needle-like device. Ciara blinked down at him, and he stared back up at her. Finally he opened his mouth.

"What the hell are you doing here, speedy?" Ciara immediately cursed and stumbled backwards, tripping over her own feet. She landed with a heavy thud, and scrambled away.

"Okay, they definitely put something in those pies," she declared as the raccoon followed her.

"What are you doing? Why are you here? You're supposed to be in New York with the other-what are you wearing?" The raccoon gave a derisive snort of laughter, but Ciara was too stunned to be insulted.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, and then groaned. "No, what? I'm talking to the raccoon now. A raccoon that talks, of all things?" Ciara put her hands to her head.

"Hey!" Now he was the one who was offended. "I'm not a-wait," he stared at her, and was suddenly over in front of her. Ciara couldn't help but laugh nervously as he stared at her. "Crap. Wrong you. Why didn't you warn me that you'd be skulking around this place?" he asked, more to himself than her.

"Yeah, I've officially lost it," Ciara declared. The Raccoon raised his eyebrows at her, and Ciara started to laugh at the expression. She found him absolutely adorable, but something told her that he wouldn't appreciate it if she told him.

"I'm glad you didn't have this reaction the first time we met. Bah. Can't believe I have to use this already," Ciara stared at him, baffled as he pulled a small gun from his side and checked to make sure it was loaded. "Need you to not remember me, kid. Otherwise we're gonna have some big problems in the future," he told her, and Ciara was too confused to let her survival instincts kick in as he moved to press it against her arm.

"The future? You're a talking Raccoon from the future," she summed up, deadpan.

"Yep. And you're gonna help me cause a lot of hell," he smirked, showing off a row of sharp teeth. "But don't worry. You won't remember a thing," the Raccoon said, and Ciara flinched as there was a click, and a pinch.

When Ciara blinked, she found herself sitting on the ground, and shook her head.

"What the hell am I doing here?" she wondered aloud, and stood. Pain stung at her arm, and when she looked down, she found a small bruise forming there. "What have I done now? I'm supposed to be durable, but I bruise like a peach," Ciara complained aloud, seeing the bruise on her wrist growing darker. She then sighed, and ran a hand through her hair, walking off, unaware of the sharp, dark eyes watching her from behind a pillar.

I watched Endgame around the time I wrote this chapter and I just had to include this end scene.

Let me know what you think!

Please review!