Chapter 2

Svartalfheim

Two years earlier...

Two figures rode through a dark canyon on horseback. Both were humanoid in appearance, yet up close several noticeable differences could be seen. They were both wearing strange armor, and one's face was concealed in a silver mask. The other's face was exposed to the dark moonlight from above, and from the human perspective, he would look quite weird. He had wrinkly old skin and long white hair that went below his shoulders, and his eyes were black instead of the normal white, with red pupils.

The two rode for a few more minutes, before stopping at a cave on the side of the canyon. The unmasked Dark Elf glanced at his companion.

"Is this it?"

The masked Dark Elf smiled beneath the mask. "Yes, Maugrim. The call is still weak, but it is here."

"And you're certain that this call is... real?" Maugrim said skeptically. So far, none of the other Dark Elves had been able to sense it.

The masked Elf glared at his companion. "You question my power, Maugrim? I have been alive for thousands of years. Whatever I sensed was enough to awaken me from deep sleep. And it's coming from this cave."

Maugrim gulped. "Yes, Lord Malekith. I apologize."

Malekith the Accursed, the most vile sorcerer in the Nine Realms and leader of the Dark Elves, nodded gruffly. "Good. Now, let's move on."

The two Dark Elves got off their mounts, leaving them outside as they entered the cave. The cave seemed to grow darker and darker as the two made their descent underground.

"We are some of the few who have ever ventured this far, Malekith." Maugrim said. "This region has been long ignored. Even during the war with Bor, we neglected to explore this place."

"Until now." Malekith said.

"I'm still not convinced that this is safe, my lord." Maugrim said, his voice laced with skepticism.

"Honestly, Maugrim, I could care less about what you think." Malekith sneered. "Now be silent. There is something ahead..."

Maugrim looked ahead of Malekith, and he blinked when he saw a green glowing light. Soon, the two exited the narrow tunnel, and were surprised to find a large room. It was dark, with the only light coming from a strange elevator ahead of them. It was open, and the green lights around it were blinking, as if it were urging the two to enter.

Malekith glanced at Maugrim. "Come."

"What?" Maugrim said. "But Malekith..."

Malekith snarled at Maugrim through his mask. "No buts! I've come this far, and I'm not letting you slow me down!"

Maugrim gulped again, and followed Malekith into the eleveator. As soon as they got in, they were surprised when it closed by itself, and started moving down deeper underground. It was moving at a slow, but even pace, giving the two Dark Elves some time to think.

"What do you think is down there?" Maugrim wondered.

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it is afraid. It has been sending out calls for some time now. They were weak at first, and I dismissed them as nothing. But they've gotten worse in time." Malekith said, then he smiled. "Hopefully, it might be just what we need to bring Asgard to its knees."

Maugrim blinked in confusion. "But, the Aether. I had thought..."

"We will recover the Aether, Maugrim." Malekith hissed, eyes narrowed. "Don't think that I have forgotten."

Nodding, Maugrim looked down, but felt the urge to open his mouth again.

"My lord, there are rumors..." He said, causing Malekith to raise an eyebrow at him. "That a mortal now wields the weapon of Bor's grandson... Everyone is talking about it now. How she defeated King Laufey and the Frost Giants. If the stories are true, she could be a threat."

Malekith scoffed. "Mortals are no threats. Especially a little girl who happens to have enough fortitude to lift an Asgardian toy. She won't be a problem."

"Yes, but still..."

"Quiet." Malekith said sharply. "We're stopping."

The elevator came to a stop, and opened slowly. The Dark Elves were frustrated when they saw another dark room, but blinked when it was lit up by a strange green light. The light was very bright at first, causing the Elves to shield their eyes. Blinking, they adjusted to the brightness, and both gawked at what they saw before them.

"What in the name of..." Malekith said, shocked.

"What is that?" Maugrim wondered.

ooooo

Earth

Present day

Jane Foster cringed in disgust as that horrible broadcast played over and over again on her laptop. It was the same thing each time. Alien creatures being slaughtered by unknown enemies, and that strange robotic voice saying that we were all going to die.

"That's it." Jane said, closing her laptop. "I give up."

Darcy Lewis, aka the thunder goddess Thordis, was lying on the couch, reading a magazine, and glanced over at Jane. "You? Give up? Never thought I'd hear that."

Jane glared at her friend and assistant. "This is getting out of control, Darcy! I've tried everything, but the images just keep coming back. And it's not just happening here, you know."

Darcy just rolled her eyes. "Will you chill? Hikesh is gonna be arriving soon with that S.H.I.E.L.D. tech, and we'll be in Asgard in no time!"

Jane growled. "I still don't see why they had to send Hikesh. That lazy alien ditched us once already."

Darcy frowned. "The dude works for a top-secret government agency. You can't blame him for having to take a few rainchecks."

Jane sighed. "Whatever. At least the tech S.H.I.E.L.D. gave us last year helped. That and the formula Stark gave on the Tesseract. We might actually be able to make another Bifrost."

"But, you don't know if it will take us to the right place." Darcy said. "That's why they've sent the Prothean."

"Right." Jane muttered. She sat back in her chair. "How did this happen?"

Darcy blinked. "What?"

"All this." Jane said. "The hammer, Asgard, New York, all of it! How did we get caught up in all this?"

Darcy shrugged. "Just lucky I guess."

"Lucky?" Jane said incredulously. "I'm not sure if I'd call it lucky."

"Why not?" Darcy said, frowning. "You and I have both accomplished so much since New Mexico. You discovered an alien civilization and made a leap in science with the whole Nine Realms theory you made. And I got to be a superhero and kicked alien ass."

Jane snickered, shaking her head. "You're crazy, Darcy. But I can't argue with what you've said."

"Hey, what can I say. I'm a genius." Darcy said with a goofy smirk.

"Right." Jane said. "Anyway, where is the experiment going to be held anyway? Did Fury ever mention?"

"Hm?" Darcy said. "Oh, yeah, he did. It's in London."

"London?" Jane said, surprised. "Why not here in New Mexico? I mean that's where the first portal opened two years back."

Darcy shrugged. "I don't know the whole story of it. Erik had actually been there already for the past few weeks researching some kind of cosmic shifts. I don't know what he told Fury, but whatever it was, it was good enough to make eyepatch-man send us out here."

Jane frowned, looking down in worry. "Yeah... Erik..."

Darcy glanced at Jane, and sighed when she saw her friend's expression. "Don't worry so much about him Jane. When you have your mind possessed by a megalomaniacal mischief god, you can't expect to come out as the sanest person in the world."

"I guess. Thanks Darcy." Jane said, then smiled with excitement. "I guess we're going to England then."

Yeah. Not much to say on this chapter. Still sort of a lead in to the rest of the story, but I was bored lol. Review pleaz.