Chapter 3: Extant

~§~ Lady Sif ~§~

"Pregnant?" Everyone in the chamber uttered the single word.

Katirya smiled, looking down at her feet. "Yes, I am."

"Well, that was quick," Thor teased his brother.

Loki grinned broadly, looking rather bemused.

"This changes much. There is no way you can be traipsing about the universe trying to find the sixth Stone," Loki spoke softly to Katirya.

"But, we have to find it. I will be fine," Katirya tried to reassure Loki, "First, though, we need to decide what to do. We cannot simply hare off, trying to find the Stone."

"And Jane, we must find Jane," Thor added. "I cannot leave her in Thanos' hands."

"No, we cannot," Katirya agreed. "Let us return to the city, and decide what our course of action shall be." She turned to her brother. "How did you know?"

Greiwaldt laughed, "When you read the Cartherion emissary's mind, you dropped your guard for a moment. I could sense the presence of your…" he paused, then finally said, "child."

"Since you've already let everyone know, you might as well finish," Katirya grinned at him, then looked up at Loki, "our son."

"Son? We're having a son?" Loki looked even more astounded, still not quite certain he had heard correctly.

"Yes, our son," Katirya repeated as the party began to file out, heading back to the city.

Sif hung back, waiting for a chance to speak to her brother.

When everyone had finally left, she spoke up. "Does Katirya see things like you do?"

Heimdall nodded. "Yes, anyone can see these things, if they desire. Some are better than others. She is the daughter of an Elder of the Universe. Her powers are strong. Stronger, I think, than even she knows."

"Jane Foster, is she…" Sif hesitated, "dead?"

"Her body is alive, her mind…" Heimdall considered his next words carefully. "I do not know if even the powers of all the Stones can save her."

"She is… was, my rival, though I would not wish a fate such as this upon her," Sif said.

"I know that. You are honorable."

"Katirya? Can you discern her intentions?" Sif asked, knowing her brother was capable of seeing many things, she wondered if he could see this.

"No, her mind is closed to me. We can only hope she intends to be as honorable as my sister is," he smiled fondly at Sif.

Knowing she had to be satisfied with that, Sif took her leave of Heimdall, quickly catching up to the others. Thor glanced at her, curious as to why she had remained behind, but elected not to ask her.

£• Loki •£•

The group had just reentered the city when the Warriors Three joined them. Fandral was grinning broadly.

"The Cartherions?" Thor asked.

"They have been properly spanked, and sent home to their mothers to have their diapers changed," Fandral replied happily, dusting his hands to indicate the simplicity of the battle.

At the mention of diapers, Katirya giggled. "Interesting choice of words, Fandral."

"Well, it was a rout; hardly worth the time. The hundred or so that they sent were poorly armed, and seemed to lack direction. Acted like babes being sent to battle."

Katirya frowned. "Really? That does not sound right. What is going on there?" She sighed, "I think I need to go there soon."

"Aye, you do, lass," Sean spoke up. He still had an Irish brogue, leftover from his extended stay upon Earth, "but I do not know if this is the right time. It might need to wait a bit."

"I don't know. What has Thanos stirred up there? Perhaps there might be a clue as to what he intends. Why did he take Jane Foster in the first place?" Katirya argued back.

"Perhaps a quick visit might be worth the time. I would be happy to accompany you, if that is what is decided," Sif offered.

"Let us sit down and discuss this," Loki gestured towards one of the many pubs that were found on the main level. As they entered, he was quick to note that several tables inside were filled, but he spied an empty table back in the corner; he led the way towards it.

"Perhaps we should send for dinner?" Volstagg said. "I am a bit hungry after that little battle."

"You are always hungry," Sif teased him.

"Well, battle is work, need to keep my energy up," Volstagg shot back.

As they sat down, one of the servants approached, "I can see if dinner is ready," she offered, having overheard Volstagg, "in the meantime, would you care for something to drink?"

"Ale, please," Loki ordered. As she left to see to the meal, he asked the group, "So, what exactly do we know about Thanos?"

"Well, he's not a nice guy," Fandral offered.

Sif groaned, "Really? Is that the best you can come up with? On a more serious note, we do believe he has the gauntlet, right?" When everyone nodded, she went on, "and even if he doesn't, he has Jane Foster."

"Why Jane Foster?" Hogun chimed in.

"That is what we don't understand," Thor replied, "and we believe he has some of the Aether, or knows where some is. The fact they went to Svartalfheim points to this conclusion. It might be why he wanted Jane. She did once possess the Aether."

"I believe the two are connected somehow. It does lend credence to my theory that Jane still has some of the Aether, that Malekith did not extract all of it from her. On another note, he wants to marry me," Katirya chimed in, "but that is not happening."

"He is powerful, I know that from personal experience. He is very manipulative. So he is probably trying to make us do something, fall into his plans. What would he want us to do?" Loki considered these thoughts, then added, "Thor, I think he intended for you to try to find Jane. He knows your connection to her. You must be very careful if you do try."

"Agreed," Thor nodded, "it does make some sense. I wonder what Darcy or Erik know of Jane's whereabouts, or how she got there? That might be a place to start."

"That might be a safer place to begin your search, rather than heading directly to Svartalfheim. I think we can all agree to stay away from Svartalfheim as long as Thanos is there," Loki said. "Kiri, do you want to go to Cartherion? If you think it might help, we can go there."

"I do. I think we need to turn that Council upside down," Katirya spoke up.

"Then let us split into two groups. One can travel to Earth, while another goes to Cartherion. Agreed?" Loki looked around, as everyone nodded their assent.

"I shall lead the group to Earth," Thor volunteered. "Hogun and Volstagg can accompany me, while Sif and Fandral go with you to Cartherion."

"And my brothers can join our party to Cartherion," Katirya added.

"Sounds like a plan," Loki spoke just as their meal arrived. "I suggest we eat before we depart, or we shall have to deal with a hungry Volstagg."

~∫ Thor ∫~

Thor, Volstagg, and Hogun arrived on the balcony outside Jane's apartment in the early evening hours. The place was dark. They pounded on the door, peering through the windows, but saw nothing.

"Where do you think they went?" Hogun asked.

Thor shrugged, "I do not know."

"Thor!" A female voice shouted from below.

Thor peered over the edge of the balcony, spotting Darcy down on the sidewalk. Ian and Erik were with her. He waved at her.

"Wait there! We'll be right up!" The trio disappeared into the building. Lights suddenly came on within the apartment, and the door was opened.

Thor and the others filed in. "Do you know what has happened to Jane?" Thor asked the instant they were inside.

"No, I was about to ask you the same thing. Can't that one guy see people?"

"Heimdall, and yes he can. He believes she was taken to Svartalfheim by Thanos, but how did she meet up with him?" Thor replied anxiously.

"Smartville?" Darcy looked confused, "where is that?"

"Svartalfheim is where the black, or dark elves of Norse mythology live," Erik replied, "so that is where Malekith was from, correct?"

Thor nodded, "Yes, that was his home planet. Thanos seems to have taken Jane there. Kiri thinks there is some connection with the Aether. But how did Jane meet Thanos?"

"I dunno, last I saw her," Darcy moved over to the window and pointed down at the street, "she was down there, and Director Fury showed up. The two started walking towards the park. I've called S.H.I.E.L.D., but he hasn't called me back."

"What is this shield?" Volstagg asked.

"It's a group, they have all kinds of secret weapons, and crazy flying machines. I don't really know what they do," Darcy replied, "but they are super secret."

"We need to find Director Fury. Can you call them again? Maybe they will answer?" Thor asked.

Darcy pulled out her cell phone, "I can try, but maybe they'll talk to you." She dialed the number, and put it on speaker while it was ringing.

Finally, a computer voice answered. "Thank you for calling S.H.I.E.L.D. We are currently experiencing high volumes of calls, but yours will be answered by the next available agent. If you would like to leave a voice mail, please press one, otherwise, hold for the next available agent. The wait time is approximately thirty minutes."

"Thirty minutes!" Thor grabbed the phone and shouted into it. "I need to talk to Fury. This is Thor!"

A click suddenly sounded, and a male voice came on, "Why didn't you say so in the first place. Thor, where are you?"

"Fury? Is this you?" Thor asked.

"Of course, now where are you, and why are you calling? Is Loki with you? I have…"

"No," Thor cut him off, "my brother is not with me. Where is Jane?"

"Jane?"

"Yes, Jane. You met her this afternoon and went walking with her," Darcy spoke up.

"I've been in D.C. all day, I haven't seen Jane since Ireland." Fury's voice sounded confused.

"No, I saw you, down on the street this morning. You met up with Jane and started walking to the park," Darcy insisted.

"You must have gotten me confused with someone else. I've not been in New York for at least a week. Listen, we need to talk."

"Yes, I need to find out what you did with Jane!" Thor shouted into the phone

"I did not do anything with Jane," Fury replied. "Darcy, you're saying you saw Jane with someone you thought was me, correct?"

"Yeah, sure looked like you." Darcy confirmed.

"Who else could it be?" Fury asked.

Thor thought for a moment before replying, "Thanos, it had to be Thanos, as that is who she is with right now. He could easily have disguised himself as Fury."

"So, you're saying Jane left with this dude, who looked like me, and went where?" Fury asked, his voice starting to rise in pitch.

"She must have, since she isn't here, but is there." Darcy answered.

"Where is there?" Fury asked.

"Smartvillehelm," Darcy tried to pronounce the name, managing to butcher it even worse, "some place where the dark elves live; you remember them from Greenwich, right? Tried to destroy the world?"

"So, you're saying she is in this dark elf world? How the hell did she get there? Did Loki have anything to do with this?" Fury was shouting now.

"My brother did nothing," Thor replied, "this time, anyway."

"So you say, but who is this Thanos? Is he bad or good?" Fury sounded confused.

"Bad; very, very bad," Thor explained.

"Like, how bad? Loki bad?" Fury tried to compare him to one he knew.

"Worse," Thor confirmed.

"Don't go anywhere, I'll be there in less than an hour." Fury hung up.

Darcy stared at the phone for a second before pushing a few buttons. Jane's voice came over the speaker now, "Hello, I'm sorry, but I'm not able to answer your call right now. Please leave a brief message, including your phone number, and I'll return your call as soon as possible."

"Jane! Where are you?" Darcy shouted into the phone, then disconnected it.

The door to the apartment opened, and Jane walked in. "I'm right here, why?"