Chapter Sixty

"Ta-da!"

Loki's words rang through Ada's ears. She rolled her eyes in annoyance as she struggled to maintain her composure. Ada wasn't sure what had been worse – putting up with the bickering between Thor and Loki, or surviving Loki's piloting skills.

"You're an even bigger asshole than the last time I saw you," she muttered under her breath. The Trickster threw her a mischievous look. "How the hell is it that you can be worse than before?"

"Perhaps you should try spending a few months in prison to find out," he replied without missing a beat. Ada crossed her arms over her chest. She knew Loki was playing with her emotions. He could sense that she was on the verge of losing control, and it took everything she had to maintain her composure. Not for the first time, she silently thanked Natasha for teaching her how to mask her emotions. "It is clear that you could use it."

"Spending time in seclusion is one of the easiest ways for someone to lose their mind," she retorted.

She'd watched enough interrogation videos from SHIELD to know that was the case. It was one of the best tactics they had to get someone to talk, other than instilling fear in their victim's mind. Ada quickly learned how to use those tactics on her enemies when they were needed. Though admittedly, it was one of her least favorite tactics simply because it could cause one to go crazy.

"Are you certain the same has not happened to you?" The smug look written across his face added insult to injury. Ada reacted purely out of instinct. She moved to slap him across the face, hoping to wipe that smirk off when he caught her wrist. "I wouldn't try that trick again, mortal," he warned her with a sneer. "Thor will not always be around to protect you. Nor will that Captain of yours."

Ada only glared back. Thor's distraction with Jane was the only reason that Loki had gotten away with his actions thus far. She knew that she was likely going to regret fighting back, but she couldn't resist allowing flames to appear at the palm of her hand. Loki immediately released his grip the moment his own hand began burning from her contact.

"I don't need his protection," she snapped, her voice barely a whisper, "Or Steve's, for that matter."

The trickster wasn't given a chance to argue when Thor finally joined them. His expression morphed from a look of fury to calm as Thor looked between the two of them. As naive as Thor was to their argument, he did notice the tension between them.

"We have arrived in Svartalfheim," he informed both Ada and Jane once the ship had finally landed.

It wasn't exactly a smooth landing either. Ada hadn't missed the fact that most of it was smashed into pieces after Loki crashed it into the soil beneath them. The ship had been flung from one world to another, and it was hard to maneuver it around the sudden change in worlds.

As they emerged from the ship, Ada felt a lump form in the back of her throat.

Svartalfheim looked as if it had been left in ruins. Any signs of life couldn't be seen. Even the ground beneath them seemed dead. This world had been destroyed by Malekith. She could make out bits of armor and destroyed ships scattered across the landscape.

A knot formed in her stomach as she wondered if this was what a dead planet looked like. There was enough evidence to go around that dead planets existed. Worst still, it made her wonder if this was what the Aliquid had fled from when they left their own planet. Nadia never once explained why the Aliquid left their planet in the first place. Then again, Heimdal had mentioned that her people shared a similar fate to the Dark Elves. A shiver of unease swept through her at the thought. Life on any planet was fragile enough without a madman making it worse.

She glanced in their direction, noticing that Thor gently laid Jane to the ground and carefully placed a blanket over her. The woman looked paler than ever. Unease swept through Ada when she realized that Jane didn't likely have much time left. The Aether had taken its toll on her, and the energy was slowly sucking her life dry.

"What I could do with the power that flows through those veins," Loki mused as he too watched Thor tentatively care for Jane.

"It would consume you," Thor reminded him with a pointed look.

While he did his best not to let Loki get to him, it was obvious that their arguments had taken a strain on him. Ada chewed the bottom of her lip as she looked ahead doubtfully.

What would happen if I lost control? she couldn't help but wonder.

Then she recalled what had happened back in Killian's compound. She did lose control that time. It had been terrifying, especially because Tony had also been there at the time. She hadn't realized until then just how close she had been to hurting him.

The thought sent a shiver of fear through her. Was it right for her to use her powers in public? Her powers were the reason SHIELD allowed her to join in the first place. Avoiding the problem was never the right answer, but it made her realize that she could do better. She couldn't rely on them forever.

Unfortunately, she didn't have time to dwell on the matter when she noticed Malekith's ship arrive. Another shiver of dread swept through her when she noticed the Dark Elves slowly emerge from their imposing ship.

"Malekith," Jane whispered in a warning tone as she stood up.

"Are you ready for this?" Thor looked between Ada and Loki uneasily.

Even he wasn't happy with the plan they had in mind. In order for it to work, they needed to make the plan look as convincing as possible. Ada gave a reluctant nod, while Loki remained impossible to read.

"I am," he replied without hesitation. "You know this plan of yours is going to get us killed."

"If it means keeping the rest of the world protected, it'll be worth it," Ada muttered under her breath.

"Your death will be meaningless, mortal," Loki sneered with a roll of his eyes.

Though, he did look impressed that she was willing to sacrifice herself.

Thor looked between the two, still unsure whether he should intervene or not. After the way Loki had acted on the ship, Ada was hardly surprised that he noticed the tension between them. They weren't at each other's throats, yet. She suspected the only reason Loki hadn't lashed out was because Thor had been keeping an eye on them.

They paused during their approach, with Loki holding up the cuffs still wrapped around his wrists.

"You still don't trust me?" he asked, frowning when Thor hesitated.

"Can you hardly blame him?" Ada countered with a snort of disbelief, "You haven't exactly given us any reason to trust you, especially given everything you stand for."

"No…" Loki paused and smirked as Thor released the cuffs around him, "I wouldn't."

Ada watched with a mixture of worry and anger as Loki suddenly stabbed Thor in the stomach with a piece of metal. She had to remind herself that this was part of the plan. They had already discussed how it would fall into place, but to watch it unfold before her and not do anything made it that much worse. Ada clenched her fists to keep herself from interfering too much. Even if they had planned everything, that didn't mean she wasn't willing to throw a fireball at Loki every now and then.

"Do you really think I cared about Frigga, about anyone?" Loki sneered while kicking Thor violently in the side. "All I ever wanted was you and Odin dead at my feet!"

Thor raised his hands in self-defense in the vain hope to convince Loki otherwise. Ada flinched when Loki retaliated by cutting his hand off with a blade and kicked him down the hill. Though the scene looked entirely real and to the point where she felt her stomach clench, she had to remain vigilant. Unfortunately, Jane wasn't made aware of the plan. She finally reached Thor after realizing too late that Loki was going to kill him.

"Thor!"

Jane had already reached his side and collapsed to her knees as Ada kept a wary distance from them. Loki didn't give her a chance to figure out why he betrayed them. Instead, he grabbed hold of her and began making his way towards the Dark Elves.

"Malekith, I am Loki of Jotunheim and I bring you a gift!" As Loki said this, Ada caught Malekith looking in the direction where she had been hiding. The last thing she wanted was to give away her position. She was only there to make sure that things didn't get out of hand, even if it seemed like they already had. Every instinct in her body kept telling her to fight off Loki and make sure that Thor and Jane were okay. She had to keep reminding herself that this was part of their plan. "I ask only one thing in return, a good seat from which to watch Asgard burn."

The troll-like creature that Thor had described earlier whispered something to Malekith in their language. Ada narrowed her eyes, wondering what sort of ancient language they were speaking in. It sounded Norse, yet it had a strange accent that she couldn't quite pinpoint.

Malekith finally seemed to consider what Loki told him and approached them both confidently. With Thor struggling to sit up, Malekith simply looked down at him in amusement. Not for the first time, Ada struggled not to intervene as Malekith looked between Thor and Loki.

"Look at me," he sneered after using his foot to force Thor on his side.

She winced when Malekith managed to lift Jane in the air. When she noticed the strange red substance surrounding Jane's body, she knew that was the Aether.

How could something so small be so dangerous? she wondered with a frown.

Odin mentioned to them that the Aether acted as its own entity. She wondered for the first time how that was possible. The Aether and the Tesseract sounded similar in some ways.

"Loki, Ada, now!"

The moment Thor shouted those words was when Ada emerged from her hiding place and threw a fireball in the troll-like creature's direction. Loki used Malekith's momentary distraction to let Thor's hand reappear, and Mjölnir returned to it seconds later. Loki managed to form a barrier around the Aether in the attempt of stopping Malekith from taking the substance for himself, but it shattered just as he formed it, causing the Aether to form into what looked like a cloud of red dust.

She suddenly grabbed Jane and pulled her out of the way just as Thor and Loki tried to keep Malekith and his monster distracted. Once Jane was out of the way, the brothers managed to hold their own for the first few minutes. Ada swallowed hard when she realized that even with the three of them wielding their powers, the Dark Elves were still too strong.

The monster that looked more like a troll had begun stalking towards Thor while he was distracted. All Ada could think to do at that moment was fight back before it could strike. Even if they were outnumbered and outmatched, that didn't mean she was planning on letting them win. She threw a fireball at the monster to keep it from reaching Thor, and she winced when Jane's eyes fluttered open in time to see the monster approaching them.

"Ada, what are you doing?" she asked in a weak voice.

"My job," Ada replied without missing a beat. After seeing what Malekith and his people were capable of doing, she knew Thor and Loki could use all of the help she had to offer. Protecting Jane was the most important task she had, but that didn't mean she couldn't throw out a fireball or two at the Dark Elves. "Just stay here and wait… Thor wouldn't forgive me if I let anything happen to you."

Jane just looked as if she was about to argue when she seemed to think better of it. Even if she could stand up and join in the fight, she was still too weak to do so. She simply nodded and tried to put some distance between herself and the fight while Ada rounded on the monster. The monster itself was now close enough that Ada had a better view of the beast, and a shiver of unease swept through her as she realized just how terrifying it looked. She rounded on the monster by swinging a fist into its chest, wincing at the sudden pain that bolted through her.

Are these things made of rocks? she wondered after trying to shake off the pain.

She tried using the same tactic, this time with her leg and aiming in a different spot. Relief swept through her when the monster finally lurched forward from the impact of her kicks. She used a combination of her kicks and her powers to keep it at bay, and to keep it from getting any closer to Jane. Yet, for all of the fighting techniques she used on the monster, they only seemed to slow it down. Ada's eyes narrowed with frustration as she realized that nothing was working.

It wasn't until she glanced at Jane that she noticed the blond was struggling back to her feet. Ada nearly rolled her eyes at Jane's stubbornness, and was about to reach her side when the monster suddenly grabbed her by the throat. Her heart nearly skipped a beat as she realized too late that the monster had a strong grip. Despite her efforts at struggling free, it only seemed to tighten its grip. Black spots were beginning to appear along the edge of her vision when the monster slammed her on the ground seconds later.

Pain bolted through Ada the minute she landed on the ground. Her mind began spinning with horror when she noticed the metal blade that the monster pulled out. The tip was aimed at her throat, and it only took a few seconds for her to register what the monster was planning. These Dark Elves weren't above death. Experience on Asgard taught her that she shouldn't have turned her back. Her stomach twisted in knots, and she knew at that moment this could be her last battle.

All Ada could do at that point was brace herself for the pain that would follow.

The monster raised his weapon, ready to strike the final blow when someone pushed Ada out of the way. She tried to bite back the cry of pain that threatened to follow as she looked at whoever pushed her. The shouting in the distance left her ears ringing from the shock that followed. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she saw that someone was Loki. And the monster had impaled him with the metal that was meant for her.

"See you in hell, monster," Loki sneered after revealing what looked like a grenade.

It took everything Ada had to ignore the pain that followed when she staggered towards him. The monster all but exploded into a rain of flesh and ash. The sight was enough to send shivers through Ada as she finally reached Loki's side.

"Dammit Loki, this was not supposed to be part of the plan!" she hissed through gritted teeth.

She desperately tried using her powers on the injury the monster inflicted, only it didn't seem to be working. Her heart sank as she realized too late that the wound was too deep. He was losing too much blood, and her own injury was just slowing her down.

"Don't… Don't waste your powers or your life on me," he stopped her by grabbing hold of her wrist carefully enough that it wouldn't cause further damage. Ada swallowed hard as their eyes met. "I'm not worth the risk."

"You're worth a hell of a lot more than that, Loki," Ada shook her head in disbelief. The Asgardian just stared at her in surprise as she offered a guilty smile. "I'm sorry for what happened to you… and to Frigga. None of it should have happened."

It looked as if there was more he wanted to say. But he didn't get the chance when Thor finally reached them, having fought off the rest of Malekith's army.

"No, no! You fool, you didn't listen!" Thor exclaimed after gently holding Loki in one arm.

Ada squeezed her eyes shut at the pain of not just her injury, but of losing yet another life. It didn't seem fair. While Loki wasn't a saint, he certainly didn't deserve to die like this.

"I know, I'm a fool… I'm a fool!" Loki winced in pain at the jerkiness of Thor's movements, and Ada suddenly wished there was more she could do to help him.

What use is having the ability to heal if I can't use it to heal his wounds? she wondered bitterly. She kept asking the same question over and over when it came to trying to save innocent lives.

"Stay with me! Stay!"

"I'm sorry!"

By now, Ada had to look away when she felt tears brimming the edge of her vision. She didn't realize until than that she was crying. She would never get used to losing the people she cared about. That sort of pain was something that would never go away.

"It's alright," Thor whispered. He glanced at Ada anxiously, as if begging her to use her powers to heal his injury. She only shook her head, knowing that wouldn't get her anywhere. After trying to use them before, she doubted they would work now. "I'll tell father what you did here today."

"I didn't do it for him," Loki retorted.

Something flashed within his eyes. A look that told Ada he had done this for Frigga. Yet, Ada also saw something else. Confusion swept through her as Jane joined them, watching the scene with sympathy. Even she wasn't sure what to say after noticing just how distraught Thor was over losing both Loki and Frigga.

They sat there for what felt like hours when Loki drew his last breath. Thor didn't move from his spot until Jane finally put a comforting hand on his shoulder. While she didn't understand what he was going through, she did know how to provide what little comfort she could.

"I couldn't do a damn thing to help him," Ada whispered guiltily. She hadn't moved from where she was sitting at an awkward angle, trying to ignore the dull pain throbbing in her leg. "Sometimes I wonder what the point of having this kind of power is."

"Ada, you need to stop blaming yourself for something you have no control over," Jane suddenly snapped. Ada glanced at the older woman in surprise as she caught Jane eyeing her self-consciously. "Look, all I've ever seen you do is help people who wouldn't give a crap. And you beat yourself up if anything goes wrong. All I can say is, you're stronger than you realize, and there are some battles that you just can't win."

Thor stood up as Ada just stared at Jane in disbelief. She wasn't expecting to hear that kind of speech, especially from someone who hadn't been all that keen to see her again. But, hearing those words from Jane meant more than she would ever admit out loud.

"Jane Foster is correct," Thor put in helpfully. "You are a good warrior, and an even better Midgardian."

Despite the situation they were in, Ada couldn't hide the small smile that followed, "Well, it's good to know that some people believe that."

The three of them continued limping on in solemn silence. Ada's movements were painfully slow thanks to her injury. With Thor and Jane using one another for support, the progress they made seemed even slower than before. Jane used their trek as a chance to talk about what she saw when Malekith sucked the Aether from her body.

"He's gonna unleash it, not just on Asgard or on a star… Malekith is going to destroy everything," she whispered as she clutched onto Thor's arm.

Ada looked down at the ground guiltily as she thought of everything that had happened thanks to the Dark Elves. None of this would have happened if it wasn't for Malekith and his greed for power.

"How, Jane?" Thor asked anxiously. "How?"

"He's going to use the Convergence," Ada muttered crossly. "I'm willing to bet that Malekith is going to use the Convergence to spread the Aether's power from one world to the next. He won't be satisfied until everything's consumed."

Jane nodded in agreement, looking grim at the thought of what would happen if Malekith succeeded in his goal. Ada could only imagine… if the results were anything like the homeworld of the Dark Elves, the rest of the universe wouldn't look much better.

"Oh God… None of this would have happened if I hadn't found the Aether," Jane whispered as realization dawned on her.

"Then Malekith would have located the Aether and possessed it that much sooner," Thor reminded her.

"Besides, you can't exactly blame yourself for being curious about those readings," Ada put in.

The blond made a face at the mention of exploring those readings. Truthfully, none of this would have happened if she'd moved on from Thor. Ada wasn't going to point that out, especially when she knew that Thor was right about Malekith.

"I only found it because I was looking for you."

By now, Ada's injuries had begun healing themselves as they finally reached what looked like the entrance to a cave. Ada looked around warily as she wondered if this was the last refuge the Dark Elves opposed to Malekith's plans hid themselves in. A lump formed in the back of her throat at the thought. She couldn't help but wonder if there were those who had opposed his idea, and if they had been killed because of it.

She was ready to say something when an unfamiliar object caught her attention. Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Ada walked over to what looked like a pile of the shoes that had been thrown into the 'portal' those kids discovered. Jane's eyes lit up with interest when she too noticed all the shoes. Just as she reached the shoes, Jane's phone began to ring with the same ringtone from at the warehouse. Ada nearly rolled her eyes at the scowl written across Jane's face, until she realized that she finally had full service on her phone.

Ada flinched when she felt her phone vibrate a dozen times from messages left by Tony. He would have likely called her phone, her Stark Pad and just about any other means of communication since she disappeared. Not being able to call back had been hell, especially since she knew he'd be pissed when she returned.

"Hello?" Jane asked after answering her phone.

Tony's going to kill me when we get back home, Ada thought after wincing at the dozens of messages that were left by him. Though, she was surprised to see that one message had been left by Steve of all people. For a moment, she was caught off guard when she noticed Thor watching over her shoulder curiously.

"I did not know you and the Captain were together," he remarked thoughtfully.

"We're not," Ada answered a little too quickly. She let out a heavy sigh when Thor rose an eyebrow while Jane tried keeping in touch with Richard. "It's complicated."

She shook her head and ignored the quizzical look the Asgardian threw her. Luckily, Thor didn't dwell on the subject. The discovery of the shoes and their phones having full service told Ada that there was a portal nearby. Jane must have reached that conclusion as well, because she kept looking for stronger signals on her phone.

"Why are there so many shoes here?" Thor asked when he finally took notice of all the shoes.

Ada only laughed at Thor's question as she reached a pocket of air different from that of the world they were on. She couldn't quite describe it, but the damp, cool air reminded her of the weather in London. She almost grinned when all three of them stepped through the portal. Relief swept through Ada when she finally found herself in familiar territory. They were finally back home.

AN: Blah, this scene was so hard to write... I think you've already guessed by now that I'm not the best at writing action scenes. I hope I didn't butcher it from the movie. But I did my best to write it out as much as I could remember from the movie, so hopefully it's okay. Thank you UltimateFan-girl15, kaia, Lavenderstiches and coffeemusings86 for reviewing!

kaia - She definitely should have, but she's holding back for a reason. I think Malekith's monster kind of did that for her.