Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, nor the Avengers.

Chapter 10 – The Goddess of Thunder

The battle had not been going on for long, but already they were in trouble. Proxima had summoned an alien army who were either so mindless or so under her control that they were literally killing themselves to get through the shield surrounding Wakanda. Eventually, at T'Challa's insistence, they opened the shield in an attempt to keep the invading army in front of them and away from Stephen and Vision, who was still undergoing the procedure to remove the Mind Stone from him. Jane was watching from the window, having been banished by Shuri when she'd tried – and failed – to help with the stone's removal one too many times. She was holding her daughter and constantly looking back to Stephen who was in some kind of a trance. When they saw the army they were to face, he'd decided that now was a good time to delve deeper into the Time Stone's power and was trying to use it to see the future, specifically one where they won. It had been about a half hour and he still hadn't come out of his trance, which Jane took to mean things didn't bode well for them. Though, she reasoned, she didn't actually know how the Time Stone's power worked. For all she knew he could be viewing the future in real time and hadn't even gotten through one possible future yet. Though, she also reasoned, it was the Time Stone. Surely he could speed up the viewing? Thinking about such things was making her head hurt so Jane left Stephen to his future viewing and returned to Shuri's lab, hoping the baby in her arms would mean Shuri wouldn't yell at her to get out and would let her stay instead.

"Bringing Aerith with you doesn't mean you are welcome." Shuri saw right through her.

"But does it mean you'll yell at me to get out?" Shuri shot her a glare.

"No."

"I promise I won't try to help again, but how are things going?"

"She almost has it." Said Wanda, looking suitably impressed.

"But I still need more time." Shuri cautioned.

"How much more?" Jane asked. She didn't like the way the battle was going and was concerned that their time was almost up.

"At least an hour." Jane sighed.

"We may not have an hour." That news didn't bode well, but Shuri didn't even pause in her work.

"Then give me as much as you can and I will try to work faster." Nodding, Jane returned upstairs and found Stephen exactly as she'd left him.

"I wish you'd come out of your trance and tell us what to do to win this." She muttered, going to stand next to Ramonda who was staring out at the battle as well.

"Any progress?" The Queen Mother asked.

"Some. But not enough." Ramonda nodded and the two stood in silence for a time, just watching the battle unfold, watching as time and time again their forces were pushed back. And yet, they were never defeated. The odds were certainly against them and for every opponent they put down another four took its place, but Proxima's forces had still not broken through their lines completely. The monsters had strength and numbers but there were mindless and easy to defeat individually. Jane knew that the battle would not continue this way for much longer though. She may never have met Proxima Midnight before today but she'd certainly heard and read enough about her to know that she always had a back up plan for failing Thanos simply wasn't an option. Jane was proven right when about twenty minutes after she joined Ramonda by the window the ground started to shake. Aerith whimpered and though Jane bounced her gently to calm her, the shaking ground continued and prevented her from soothing the baby. Suddenly, Jane noticed the treeline outside beginning to move. The trees were falling, starting at the back near Proxima's ship and getting closer to the barrier.

"This isn't good." She muttered and the two royals watched as whatever was approaching breached the treeline, though did so on the inside of the barrier. Proxima had sent several machines to try and decimate their army, though they didn't seem to care if they also destroyed some of her own. "And that's my cue."

"Excuse me?" Ramonda asked.

"Will you take care of Aerith for me?" Jane asked, handing the baby over.

"Of course, but where are you going?"

"To fight." She said simply, kissing her daughter goodbye and moving towards the balcony. She stopped though as she passed Stephen. "You will come out of that trance and protect them if needed." It wasn't a question and though he gave no indication of it, Jane was sure he heard her. Moving onto the balcony, Jane raised her arm, calling Mjölnir to her, and in a move she'd seen Thor perform many times, she jumped just as the hammer approached, using it's momentum to take her flying. But that wasn't all she did. As she flew, Jane summoned her power, the one she had discovered she had gained when the One-Above-All had deemed her worthy. In the seconds it took her to get to the battlefield she was surrounded by lightning and used it to its full extent when she landed, taking out two of the machines. The battle came to a momentary stop as those nearest took in the newest arrival, trying to deem if the warrior – for like Thor always did, Jane too had had a costume change – was friend or foe. Standing up, Mjölnir in hand, Jane could feel the lightning flowing over her and knew her eyes were glowing with its power. She took in the scene around her and used their enemies' distraction to her full advantage, taking out another two of the machines with little effort. Taking off at a run, Jane summoned her lightning once more and threw Mjölnir towards a large group of the aliens who were converging on someone, whom she discovered to be Steve.

"You alright?" She asked, helping him up at the same time she caught Mjölnir as it returned to her.

"Yeah…" He said, taking in her new appearance, she wore an outfit very similar to Thor's, and the hammer she wielded. "This is new."

"Sort of." She agreed, as the two began to fight once more. "Certainly new to use it in an actual battle." The fight continued, and with Jane's added power the tide began to turn in their favour, enough so that they had a small reprieve to re-group.

"So now there's a Goddess of Thunder." Tony's smart remark would usually have earned at least a glare, but Jane was just glad that they were all still alive; she couldn't find it in herself to even be annoyed.

"We have to stop them from coming." She said. "There's got to be more than just Proxima's one ship out there, there has to be for this many to be coming through."

"Tony, do you think F.R.I.D.A.Y. can get a readout of the surrounding area and find the hidden ships?" Steve asked.

"Sure thing." He took to the sky and began scanning. "There's four of them!" He called. Now that he knew to look for cloaked ships, they weren't that hard to find.

"So let's destroy them." Said Bucky. "If they took pains to hide them, no doubt there's a reason for it. If we destroy the ships,"

"We should destroy the army." Sam agreed.

"Tony, if you and Rhodey can hit them with one of your missiles it should do enough damage to deactivate the cloaking device." Said Jane. "Once I can see them, I can take out the two nearest each other in one strike. That leaves the other two for the rest of you." It was as good a plan as any and it went off without a hitch, surprisingly enough. The ships were taken out and they began to take out the remaining aliens. As they fought it quickly became apparent that Bucky had been right and this time, as each alien was destroyed four more didn't take its place. Of course, this did not sit well with Proxima, who joined the fight in earnest now, and headed straight for Jane.

"Do not think your powers match mine." Proxima snarled. Jane merely smirked.

"I don't think. I know." She replied. "Especially when the One-Above-All himself gave them to me." This wasn't necessarily true, they weren't sure how big of a role the One-Above-All had played in her getting Mjölnir back and gaining the powers of Thor, or if it had been Odin's enchantment, and the One-Above-All had merely brought her to a place where Mjölnir could be re-born. Regardless, it was a name Proxima knew and one that had her hesitating now as she faced Jane, which is exactly what she'd hoped for. Summoning her lightning once more, Jane grabbed Proxima and held fast as the lightning descended, hitting them both, though it could not harm the Goddess of Thunder. Jane felt Proxima go limp as the lightning vanished and let her fall to the ground. The child of Thanos was still alive, though only just and though it pained her to end any life, Jane could not hesitate and quickly dispatched her enemy. Jane was about to turn to find another opponent but she quickly became aware of a commotion among the Avengers; she cursed herself for not having a headset.

"What is it?" She demanded of Natasha, who was nearest.

"Some big purple guy just appeared in the lab with Shuri. Wanda's holding him off, but she needs help." She said and Jane felt her heart drop.

"Thanos." She whispered, though it was loud enough for Natasha to hear. However, before the Black Widow could even whip around to face her Jane was gone, having used Mjölnir to fly her back to the building. She passed Ramonda and Stephen, who was still in his trance, and spared barely a glance at her daughter, glad at least that the battle taking place downstairs hadn't yet disturbed those upstairs. Jane moved quickly and it wasn't long before she reached the lab, and unsurprisingly found Thanos about to crush his opponent.

"No!" She screamed, throwing Mjölnir with all her might and watching as it made contact, the lightning she'd infused it with satisfyingly making a sizzling sound as it hit Thanos in the shoulder. The Mad Titan turned to face her then and smiled sadistically when he did.

"Asgard's little queen." He said. "I was wondering if I'd get to face you. Your husband wasn't much of a challenge. I doubt you will be either."

"Your taunts won't work with me, Thanos." She said. "I'd know if Thor was dead, for least of all the powers of Asgard would pass to me, and yet they haven't."

"Not if I destroyed Asgard itself." Jane actually laughed at that.

"The Realm Eternal can never be destroyed, not fully, and only Ragnarok, which has already happened in this lifetime, can change it to be unrecognizable." She was now buying time, hoping to let Shuri finish and Wanda to destroy the stone. "You really are pathetic if you think I don't know that's impossible. Even for you. Of course, while you couldn't have killed Thor, Proxima was quite easy to destroy." A flicker of annoyance entered his eyes and Jane held Mjölnir a bit tighter, ready for the attack.

"You will pay for her life with yours." He said and the attack came. She was expecting something strong, especially given the three Infinity Stones he already had, but she was still unprepared for it, and found herself thrown backwards. Jane knew without a doubt that were she still human that attack would have put her out of commission at least, though as one of the Aesir she was much more resistant and though she knew she'd be bruised, Jane was relatively uninjured and quick to get back up. She engaged Thanos directly now, but it was no use, he was too strong. Still, Jane knew her goal here wasn't to destroy him, for quite simply she couldn't, but to stall and from the corner of her eye it seemed like she would meet her goal. However, she did not anticipate Thanos realizing her goal. When finally Shuri had separated the Mind Stone from Vision, Wanda immediately attacked it, using all her strength to destroy the stone, but one short attack was never going to be enough to destroy an Infinity Stone and Thanos was quick to use the time needed to his advantage. Closing his fist, Thanos activated the Power Stone and knocked everyone in the room backwards. His path to the Mind Stone was then left clear and he was quick to add it to his collection.

"Dammit." Jane muttered as she helped Shuri up, Wanda having gone to Vision who was quite disoriented without the stone, though he was thankfully alive.

"Four down, two to go." Said Thanos, smiling sadistically once more. "And soon it will be one to go." He turned his gaze upwards towards where Stephen was and activated the Power Stone once more, bringing the roof down and allowing him a direct path to the other Infinity Stone on Earth. Jane and Wanda quickly followed, leaving Vision in Shuri's care, and they were relieved to see all the Avengers, as well as several of Wakanda's best warriors, standing protectively in front of Stephen and Ramonda, who stood as far back as possible while clutching baby Aerith. Thanos did not appear to be in a talking mood any longer and simple attacked. They all fought together against him, but it was no use. He had four Infinity Stones, and beyond that was quite powerful in his own right, there was little chance that they would win this battle.

"Anytime now, Harry Potter." Tony muttered as he was knocked back, landing beside Stephen who still sat in a trance, the Time Stone glowing against his chest. Jane herself had gone for another attack, and joined forces with Wanda, the two combining their power and actually managing to land a powerful blow. However, this only angered Thanos who turned his sights on them. They managed to dodge several attacks, but one eventually hit and Jane found herself flying towards the wall, though she never hit. An arm had reached out and grabbed her around the neck, Thanos bringing her close to glare at her, while the battle came to a stop, none of the others wanting to hit her.

"Looks like this is the end of Asgard's Queen." He snarled, tightening his grip and Jane felt her breath leave her.

"That won't be necessary." A voice spoke and everyone turned to see that Stephen had finally come out of his trance and was now approaching Thanos.

"The only way this ends is with her dead." Thanos said plainly. "Unless you hand over the stone." Everyone tensed, knowing neither was an option. At least, they had thought that neither was an option.

"Gladly." Stephen waved his hands and opened the Eye of Agamotto, the stone inside glowed green as he brought it forth and used some unseen hover power to hold it out to a suspicious looking Thanos without actually touching the stone. "Let her go, leave Earth now, and I will give you the Time Stone willingly."

"What the hell are you doing?!" Clint hissed, his question echoed in the incredulous looks of the group.

"Stephen…" Wong also spoke up, looking more than a little uncertain, though there was also no small amount of trust in his eyes. Stephen ignored them both.

"This is no trick. Release her and leave Earth. That is all it will take for you to get this stone without a fight."

"I could just destroy you all." Thanos said.

"You could." Stephen agreed. "But it would take time. We're not without our own powers, and if, instead of handing the Time Stone over, I was to use it against you…you could be stuck in endless looped time like Dormammu and Hela. I don't think you want that, do you?" Thanos was silent for a moment, but eventually he released Jane, who dropped to the ground gasping for air.

"This is only a reprieve." He said as he approached Stephen. "I will return and destroy you all."

"I have no doubt you'll try." Stephen replied in an infuriating tone, though he quite willingly handed over the stone. "But this way we live to fight another day." The bargain struck, Thanos took the stone and placed it on his gauntlet, the power of yet another Infinity Stone washing over him. When finally it stopped, Thanos looked to the group once more before smiling and activating the Space Stone, the blue glow surrounding him as he disappeared.

"What the hell?!" Several voices cried out in anger, though Stephen ignored them all, instead going to help Jane.

"Are you alright?" He asked and she nodded, though the doctor in him still gave her a once over, particularly at her neck, which Thanos had squeezed quite hard. "The bruising is pretty bad, but if you heal anywhere near the rate that Odin did, you'll be fine soon." Jane nodded her thanks and the two then turned to face their friends, all of whom looked incensed, though Jane herself asked the question none of them would think to.

"I take it that giving him the stone like that is part of the future in which we win?" Stephen smiled and nodded.

"That, and keeping you alive."

"Ok, what is going on?" Tony broke in. "Why did you just give him the stone?!"

"While you were all fighting, I was using the Time Stone to see possible futures." He explained. "Millions of them, in which only very few did we defeat Thanos. That changed when he grabbed you." He looked down at Jane. "The future is always changing and once he grabbed you, there become only one future in which we won this fight. The future in which you lived."

"Ok…I'm not sure how that works though." And she didn't, Jane could not understand how she would play a key role in Thanos' defeat.

"I can't explain it." Stephen said. "Partially because I don't fully understand it, and partially because, as I said, the future is always changing. But what I do know is that you need to live for us to have a chance to defeat him." Jane nodded.

"Ok, let's go with that plan then." Said Steve.

"Since he didn't give us another choice." Tony muttered.

"What do we do now?" Steve asked, ignoring Tony.

"Now we get to Asgard and end this once and for all."

A/N - Sorry for the delay, it's our busiest time of year at work. Anyways, hope you liked it, and only 1 (possibly 2) chapters left!

Review please!