Again, I am just feeding these characters, letting them grow, I don't own them!
This chapter will retell the ending of the Dark World. Interspersed with familiar events will be more conversation and introspection into the characters.
Thor led the way through the palace, pulling Jane along with them. Volstagg followed and then appearing from behind came Loki. They reached the heavily damaged hall of audience. The ruins of a small craft sat among the pillars. Yet more guards appeared, and now it was Volstagg who urged them on, and with a great shout of laughter sprang among the guards.
Thor brought Jane into the craft and gestured her to stand to one side. Loki came up behind Thor. They began to bicker, as Thor struggled to start the craft. It moved off, leaving a mess behind it. It gained the open air, and now Jane lost her struggle to remain upright. She fell nearly unconscious to the floor.
A sudden rush of frigid air roused her. She sat up in a skimmer, with no memory of how she had come there. She was still very weak but Thor was close by and the cold air was reviving her.
"Jane, this is Swartalfheim, the home of the Dark Elves. I have a plan, Jane, but some of this is going to seem inexplicable to you. Trust me, I do all to save you, and hopefully destroy this evil forever," Thor explained.
She nodded, having no strength to speak. Thor half carried her across the rough terrain. In the distance Malekith's ship appeared. It stopped a good distance away, and several figures stepped out.
"Trust me now, and if you can, trust Loki. He can conjure even better than Mother," Thor whispered to her.
"All right, are you ready?" he asked them both.
Jane nodded, and Loki replied, "I am."
The two men moved forward, and stood side by side. They conferred a moment and then to Jane's horror, Loki pulled a small knife and stabbed Thor. He cried out, and falling, rolled down the hillside. Loki leapt after him, and Jane ran and stumbled behind.
Thor reached the bottom of the slope and glanced quickly around, placing Jane, Malekith, Loki and his hammer in his mind's eye. He reached for his hammer, and as Loki spoke he bent down and with one swift blow struck off Thor's hand. Thor cried out in pain.
"Malekith, I am Loki of the Jontunheim and I bring you a gift. All I ask is that you give me a seat from which I can watch Asgard burn," said Loki.
He picked up Jane and threw her at Malekith's feet. The creature next to Malekith spoke something incomprehensible. Malekith strode over to Thor, and spurning him with his foot turned him over.
"Look at me" he said in rich, controlled voice.
Lifting his hand he gestured at Jane, who rose into the air. Jane was terrified, sure she was about to die. It would almost be a relief, she thought. All the struggle and pain would soon be over. The Aether started to flow from her, and now the pain was excruciating. She wanted to die! It felt as if it were being drawn through her body as fine shards of glass. As she lost consciousness she saw into Malekith's mind. Her beautiful home, the Earth, spun in space in her mind's eye. Suddenly blackness blotted out the surface of the Earth. The blackness spread in curling ribbons of evil. Beyond the Earth a massive, glowing sun came closer, then darkened. The darkness spread, threatening to envelope everything. With this image fixed in her mind, suddenly the agony stopped. She fell to the ground, nearly unconscious.
She heard shouting, and then suddenly there was a body over hers, pressing her down. She turned her head and was shocked to see Loki. There was a deafening explosion. She turned and saw Thor standing whole and undamaged, wielding Mjolnir. Around him the red shards of the Aether began to gather together, and then sped toward Malekith. It enveloped him and then disappeared into him. He turned toward the creature and together they started back to his ship.
The beast or creature grabbed a grenade off his belt and tossed it toward Loki and Jane. Loki knew instantly what it was, and shoved Jane out of the way. He was caught in the field of the singularity the grenade generated and started to fall upwards toward it. At the last moment Thor shot through the air and saved him.
But now Malekith had gained the ship, which was soaring away. The beast picked up Thor and flung him away. A ring of dark elves had surrounded Loki. Everyone had seemed to have forgotten Jane. She could hear Thor and the beast battling, and right in front of her Loki fought the Dark Elves. It looked like a terrible dance, the way he spun, twisted, and grappled with them. Shortly they all lay dead at his feet.
Loki now scanned the horizon, and seeing the beast pummeling Thor a short way off he grabbed a spear like weapon and a grenade. He ran at the beast, and impaled him on the spear.
Jane struggled to stand. The agony was gone, but the memory of the pain still weakened her. She looked toward the battle just in time to see the beast turn and impale Loki and the point of the spear protruding from his chest. Thor's cry of rage and grief split the air. Jane stumbled in his direction.
The grenade that Loki had attached to the handle of the spear exploded and the beast cried out. Whatever he was made of fought the gravitational forces within the miniature singularity the grenade had created. Flames curled and twisted within the ball of light, and then went out.
Thor flung himself to Loki, and they spoke. Jane was now crawling, desperate to reach them. She came over a rise, just as Loki died. Thor cried out and his head fell forward in grief. Jane gathered what little strength she had, and stood. Thor's head and shoulders slumped forward, and he was wracked with sobs. Jane approached him slowly, and gently laid a hand on his shoulder.
"He fought so hard, and risked so much to save me, Thor," said Jane, "He wasn't who I expected at all."
Thor looked up, and composing himself, choked out, "You saw the brother I loved. He was at his most noble, and he did it for me, he saved you for me." As he spoke the wind intensified, carrying with it particles of choking dusk.
"We must get you out of this wind and dust," said Thor despairingly.
"I'll last a while yet," replied Jane. "What can we do for Loki? We can't just leave him here."
Thor sighed, and stooping down straightened Loki's limbs and removed his coat. Then he folded his hands on his chest. He placed his coat over him and pillowed his head on the smoothest stone he could find.
"I would make a cairn, if there was time. I hope to come back to this place, and return him to Asgard. He truly deserves a place among the stars for his sacrifice," sighed Thor.
He turned to Jane, and taking the ends of her mantle, wrapped it around her shoulders, and put one end over her head as a scarf. Suddenly he paused and looking down at her, he realized the Aether was gone!
"Jane! How do you feel?" he asked
"I feel exhausted, but I can tell I'm free of it, Thor. It hurt horribly as it left me, I wanted to die," she replied. "But now I'm free of it," she repeated. She hadn't had time to process what it might mean yet.
Thor turned and eyed the awful slope he had recently tumbled down.
"We need to at least return to the skimmer. Come, let us start in that direction, and perhaps we can find some shelter, to wait out this storm," suggested Thor.
Supporting each other, they struggled up the slope. Jane had to wrap her mouth and nose in her mantle, the grit and dust making it hard to breathe or see. Thor called Mjolnir to himself, and holding the Hammer in one hand and Jane with the other, they moved slowly forward.
Two thirds of the way up the slope they happened on a small opening in the rock. Thor led the way in, checking for any hazards. Jane, grateful for the respite from the wind; sat on a rock. The images from Malekith's mind were beginning to make sense to her now.
"Thor, he's going to unleash it! Not just on Asgard or on a star. He is going to destroy everything!" she cried out.
"How?" he demanded. "Jane, how?"
"I saw the Earth, why would he go to Earth?" she asked.
"The Convergence," breathed Thor, now realizing the magnitude of Malekith's plan.
"Oh, G-d, none of this would have happened if I hadn't found the Aether," said Jane.
"Then Malekith would only have found it that much sooner," Thor said, trying to console her.
"I only found it because I was looking for you!" she cried. "Your mother, your brother, they're dead. Malekith is about to destroy everything. And now we're stuck here."
He suddenly remembered that Jane was not of Asgard, and not a soldier or warrior, even if she had a warrior's courage. He knelt down in front of her, and took her hands in his.
"Jane, do not do this to yourself. What if's and maybe's will only compound your grief. I can scarcely believe it myself; it is like a raw agonizing wound in my heart. But we can't give into it. Right now, we have to find a way off this world. We need to get to Earth."
Jane looked at him, and realized his pain must be far greater than hers. She reached out, and caressed his face, pushing his hair away from the wound on his head.
"I'm sorry, you're right," she said. "What can we do?"
Just then, incredibly, her phone began to ring. Startled Jane looked at Thor. He was totally confused. What was that awful noise, he wondered. And where was it coming from?
"It's not me!" said Thor.
Jane remembered she had put her phone in the pocket of her gown the previous day. It was just a habit to keep her phone with her. She dug down to the bottom the pocket and pulled it out.
"Hello" she said.
"Hi Jane, it's Richard," came the tiny voice.
"Richard, where are you?" demanded Jane.
I'm still at work, it's been a crazy day," said Richard.
Jane and Richard continued to speak, and Thor, following the conversation, was suddenly irrationally jealous. Who was Richard? And why had Jane been having a meal with him? Suddenly Jane gestured Thor forward. She took him by the hand, and led him toward the anomaly.
"Get ready," she warned. Thor gripped Mjolnir, unsure of what he needed to be ready for. Suddenly the cave winked out, and they were falling through the air. Thor lifted Mjolnir over his head and they shot straight up. Inexplicably to Thor they went up, but now they were coming through the floor of the cave, and then back into a building.
Jane yelled, "Turn to the side, the next time through!"
Again they rose through the floor of the cave, shot up, but then just as emerged into the light again, Thor twisted to the side. They soared beyond the building and Thor, now recognizing the warehouse area brought them down to the tarmac.
"We're on Earth!" exclaimed Thor.
"Yep, and there's my car," said Jane. She realized suddenly that she was feeling much stronger, and more clear-headed than she had in several days. The Aether was gone, but she wondered why she wasn't exhausted.
Jane got into the car, and Thor wedged himself into the passenger seat. He looked at her, and trying to sound casual asked, "Who is Richard?"
"Seriously?" responded Jane. "No-one you need to worry about." She reached over and gave his hand a squeeze.
"Are you still doing the energy transfer thing? I can't believe how well I feel. I should be exhausted. If you need to, you can turn it down, or off, or whatever," she told him.
"I don't know how to control it yet," he admitted. "Let me concentrate a moment."
He mentally tried to withdraw from her, but surprisingly it caused intense discomfort. Jane actually gasped.
"Ok, let's not do that again, at least until I am not driving a car," she panted. "I felt like I was being torn apart inside."
Thor was shocked. He didn't think the bond between them should cause this kind of discomfort. He had no idea what was going on.
"For now let us leave it. It doesn't weaken me at all," he said. "We can ponder what is happening later. Where are we going?"
"I have a flat here in London. Darcy and Ian should be there. And they may have more information that can help us decide what to do next," explained Jane.
In a very few moments they were entering a small house. Darcy, Ian and surprisingly, Eric were all there.
"Jane, you can't keep doing that. You got to stop disappearing," shouted Darcy.
"Eric, you're here," exclaimed Jane. "Where are your pants?"
"He says it helps him think," broke in Ian.
"Jane, it's good to see you. Have you been to Asgard?" Eric asked, looking at her dress.
"Eric, I'm gonna need everything you have on these gravimetric anomalies," Jane said.
Eric turned to Thor. "Forgive me Thor, but I have to ask. Loki isn't going to show up, is he?" he asked.
Thor's face clouded over. "No, Eric, Loki died on Svartalfheim, saving Jane and me," he answered.
Eric looked shocked. "I don't know what to say, or even feel. I am sorry for you, but relieved for myself."
"You suffered much at his hands, Eric." Do not feel guilty about your relief. All I'll say is that Loki tried to redeem himself at the end," finished Thor.
Jane went to her room, and called out details of Malekith's plan to the others while she hunted for 'normal' clothes. She laid the gown carefully on the bed.
When she came out in a shirt, jacket and leggings, she explained to Eric what was going on.
"Every world in the convergence will expand the effect of the Aether exponentially. The affect will be universal," he noted.
"Yes, but the alignment is only temporary," clarified Thor. "He will have to be in exactly the right place at the right time."
"Well how do we know where that is?" asked Darcy.
Eric worked with a map and found that the Convergence would be concentrated at Greenwich. Thor suggested he and Jane fly there while the others drove, as her little car couldn't possibly hold all of them and their equipment. Jane brought the gravimetric manipulator with her.
Once they were all there Darcy and Ian started setting up anomaly detectors around the square, but they had hardly started when Malekith's ship appeared, and crossing the Thames it ground into the earth of the Naval College.
Malekith emerged from the ship with a number of Dark Elves and an epic battle ensued. Thor and Malekith flitted in and out of the increasing anomalies, while Jane, Eric, Darcy and Ian scrambled to avoid the elves and place the field generators strategically around the ship.
Malekith reappeared, but to their horror Thor did not. He stood beneath the distortions that opened in the sky. Jane could see many vista's through them. Malekith stretched out his arms and the Aether began to flow from him, curling upward in dark ribbons, has Jane had foreseen. A tornado of red energy, dust and debris began to swirl around him. Jane, Eric, Darcy, and Ian looked on in terror. There didn't seem to be anything they could do to stop it. Quickly the swirling energy rose upward, blocking Malekith from view. Jane was despairing when suddenly Thor came running around the corner of one of the remaining buildings. She ran to him.
"It's too late, we can't stop it," she cried.
"Can these devices stop him?" asked Thor.
"Maybe, but we can't get close enough," shouted Eric over the wind.
"You can't, but I can," Thor declared. He took the spear like objects and gave a last despairing look at Jane. He really didn't know if he could stop Malekith, but he had to try, even if it meant dying. Turning he ran into the maelstrom. Desperation now drove him. He headed across the winds, which pelted him with dust and debris. Even with his strength he could barely keep his feet. Finally he saw Malekith in the heart of the storm. The Aether continued to flow from him and Thor was terrified of what it was doing in the Convergence.
"Have you come to see your death?" asked Malekith.
"I've come to accept your surrender," mocked Thor.
Thor threw one of the tripods at him. Malekith easily snatched it out of the air. But to his shock suddenly his arm completely disappeared. Again, Thor heaved a spear at him, which lodged in his shoulder and now that arm disappeared as well. Malekith seemed to be beyond pain.
"Fool, nothing can destroy the Aether," retorted Malekith.
"No, but I can destroy you, Thor shouted. He held his right hand down at his side, knowing that Mjolnir must be nearby now, willing it to come to him. He raced toward Malekith, and hurled the last tripod into his chest. Mjolnir sang in his hand as he leapt into the air. With all the strength in his body and mind he dealt Malekith an incredible blow. There was a blinding flash of light and then everything went black.
Jane gave up trying to pull Thor to safety, he was just too heavy. But she couldn't bear the thought of leaving him to die under Malekith's ship. She bent down over him, afraid to look at the falling ship. There was a sudden rush of air, and the sense of impending doom left her. She looked up and saw that Eric had the gravity manipulator and had sent the ship away. She looked down at Thor, and seeing that he still hadn't regained consciousness, she bent down to embrace him. She wondered if she could help him. She remembered what he had down for her, to control the Aether. She knew he had continued to support her as much as he could, only withdrawing his strength during the height of his battle with Malekith. She concentrated on gathering together her energy, and visualized passing it to Thor. She immediately felt exhausted, but Thor began to stir. His eyelids fluttered, and he woke up. Realizing what Jane was doing he pushed her away gently, murmuring, "No, Jane, don't surrender anymore of your lifeforce to me. I am recovering, stop." He sat up, and gazed at Jane wonderingly.
"Jane, how is it that we are still alive?" he asked. "And what did you just do?"
Jane smiled at him and said, "You did it, Thor, you defeated Malekith! I think it must have nearly killed you, and you were unconscious. Malekith's ship was about to fall on you, but Eric saved us. It's done, Thor, it's done. The Aether is gone, Malekith is gone. We're safe."
Thor stood, and pulled Jane up with him. He was still very weary, but felt his strength coming back. Mjolnir hummed at his side. He looked down at Jane.
"But what did you just do, Jane?" he persisted. "I felt energy coming from you. How did you do that?"
"I just did for you what you had done for me on Asgard," she answered, puzzled by his apparent confusion.
"Jane, I didn't think it was possible for a mortal to do this!" he exclaimed. "This is beyond a miracle!"
He crushed her to him, overcome with joy. Jane accepted his embrace, elated that she has apparently made him very happy, and certainly relieved that the worst was over.
Eric came over, waving the manipulator. "Are you ok? That was close! Jane, you are certifiable!" he shouted.
Darcy and Ian ran up, holding hands. "Is it over? Is the creepy guy gone?" she asked.
"Thor defeated Malekith and Eric sent his ship away. It's all over!" Jane responded.
"What does this mean, that she is 'certifiable'?" asked Thor. "What has Jane done?"
"When she saw that the ship was going to fall on you, and you didn't move, she rushed in and tried to pull you to safety," explained Eric. "She couldn't budge you and tried to protect you with her body. If I hadn't still had the manipulator you both would have been crushed."
Thor was aghast. "Jane, you must never put yourself at risk that way again!" exclaimed Thor. "I may not have survived, but as you have seen, I am much more resistant to injury than you are. Why would you do such a thing?"
Eric put a hand on Thor's shoulder, holding him back. "I think she would rather have died, than lost you again," he said simply. "She may not be as strong, but I think you'll find she is no less courageous than you are."
Jane looked up a Thor, all the fear and grief of the past week plain in her eyes. Thor understood. He had been willing to risk everything to free her from the Aether. He knew she returned his love, and she, in turn was willing to sacrifice everything for him. He pulled her closer, murmuring into her hair, "By all the gods, you are truly wonderful. Come, let us get away from this place and recover."
As a group they walked away from the buildings of the College, toward Park Row. Beyond the broken fence palings was a short ramp that led to the water. They found a pair of benches and sat down, just as many police cars screamed into the area. Exhausted, they just waited for the authorities to come to them, but as they approached Thor stood. There would doubtless be many hours of explaining to do. And after that he would have to return, at least briefly to Asgard. He knew he would have to answer for his treason and accept whatever punishment the Allfather decreed. Hopefully subsequent events would soften his mood.