Chapter 17

Soladat placed the paperwork back on the desk, glaring at the desk officer impatiently. "There. I signed everything top to bottom. Are we done now?"

"Yes. Our staff are getting Mr. Selvig right as we speak." The officer said, and started reaching below the desk, pulling out various objects. Soladat presumed that they were Dr. Selvig's belongings.

"One man's leather wallet, brown." The officer said, pulling out Erik's wallet and placing it on the desk. He then pulled out a key ring with three keys on it. "One key ring. Three keys." Next was a large clear bag. Soladat, Ward, and May each lifted an eyebrow at the sight of the bag. Peering inside, Soladat saw that it was filled with medication.

"Prescription medication." The officer informed. "Various."

"No shit..." Soladat muttered.

The officer suddenly bent down, grunting in discomfort as he pulled out the last object, which consisted of various different gadgets and... tripods? What the hell has the old man been up to?

"And..." The desk officer said, grunting as he placed the devices on the table. "These."

"What are... these?" Agent May spoke up, eyeing the devices curiously.

"You're gonna have to ask him." The officer said, nodding behind them. The trio turned to see Erik being escorted towards them. Soladat's jaw dropped when she saw him. He was wearing a mismatched outfit consisting of short-shorts and a blue sweater. And he looked dazed, seeming to stumble with each step he took. Ward and May looked him up and down incredulously. They had never met the man before, but he didn't fit the biography that Soladat had given them.

"Dr. Selvig." Soladat said, pacing toward him and the officers escorting him into the room. She nodded at them in appreciation, and they nodded back before leaving them alone.

Erik eyed Soladat wearily, causing Soladat to frown. "Dr. Selvig? You alright?"

"Who are you?" Erik questioned, his eyes narrowing.

Soladat blinked, and glanced over at Ward and May, who just shrugged. She turned back to Erik. "Doctor, I'm Soladat Wrekk. From S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Erik kept looking at her in uncertainty. Soladat tried again. "I helped you during Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., remember? The Tesseract?"

"He's delirious." May analyzed, stepping forward. "Probably suffering from post-traumatic stress."

Soladat's face darkened. Loki...

She turned back to Erik. "Doc, come on. It's me, Soladat." Pause, then a sigh. "Archangel?"

"Archangel?" Erik muttered, as if trying to test her codename on his tongue. He scratched his head, when he suddenly gave a warm smile, and to Soladat's surprise, hugged her.

"Archangel! It's good to see you again." He said, embracing her.

"Uh... you to?" Soladat said awkwardly. Since when was he ever this touchy?

Soladat slowly pulled away, brushing herself off. Erik just smiled at her, and then gave her a quizial look. "How did you find me? And who's this?" He motioned towards Ward and May.

"We saw you naked on TV." Soladat said, smirking, causing Erik to freeze. She chuckled when she saw his embarrassed expression. "And these are my teammates. This is Agent Grant Ward and Agent Melinda May. The rest of our teammates are waiting in the lounge."

"Dr. Selvig." May nodded.

"Sir." Ward acknowledged.

"Pleasure." Erik smiled. "But what are you doing here?"

"Thordis and Dr. Foster have disappeared." Ward explained. "We came to investigate, and found reason to presume they were transported to Asgard."

"Truly?" Erik said, eyes wide. The three agents nodded. "Wow. Then it's getting closer then I thought."

"What's getting closer?" Soladat said, frowning.

"I'll explain on the way." Erik said. "I'd rather leave this place first."

Nodding, Soladat led her companions out of the institute, gathering Skye and Fitzsimmons on the way out. As they walked down the corridor of the institution, Ward, who was tasked with carrying all of Erik's equipment, struggled to carry it all by himself. He almost hit the walls on the way out several times. Fitz glanced at Erik on the way out.

"I read up on yours and Dr. Foster's work on the Einstein-Rosen bridge theory." Fitz commented. "I have to say, it's quite profound."

"Thanks, though Jane should get more credit. She's the one who discovered it in the first place." Erik said, reaching into his bag and taking out some medication.

"That's a lot of medicine." Skye said, frowning at the bag. "You alright?"

"I had a god in my brain, my dear." Erik noted, his mind flashing back to the attack on New York. "I don't recommend it."

Skye blinked curiously, and was about to open her mouth, when Soladat spoke up. "Dr. Selvig was heading the Tesseract study group when Loki first appeared. He used a Chitauri weapon to take control of Erik's mind and forced him to build the machine that opened the portal above Manhattan. As a side-effect, he's had a little..." Soladat paused, not wanting to offend Erik. "... well, he had a few screws loosened."

"It took a little hard therapy, but I came out a little more with it than I was before." Erik said, smiling. He then glanced at Soladat. "So, how are things at S.H.I.E.L.D.? What have the other Avengers been up to since New York?"

Soladat hummed in thought. "Well, the Cap's been working on covert operations with Agent Romanoff. Hawkeye is off scouting for other gifted individuals. I haven't heard from him in a while. Iron Man has been fighting off terrorists. You probably heard about the incident at Norco. Carrie and Bruce are continuing with their old lives, but we've been keeping track of them to make sure there aren't any more incidents."

"Good to here." Erik said, smiling. "I see you've been busy. Did working with the Avengers make you more of a team player?"

"You could say that." Soladat said, looking at the rest of her team fondly.

The group arrived at the building's entrance, heading through the sliding doors when the tripods Ward was carrying suddenly started beeping. "Eh, Dr. Selvig? Your equipment is beeping at me."

Erik abrubtly stopped, causing the others to stare at him in confusion. He had this goofy smile on his face, and he was looking up at the sky with a near-insane vibe. "It's happening. Sooner than I calculated..."

"What?" Soladat said, frowning. "What's happening?"

"The whole reason I came out here." Erik said. "Remember those readings I sent? Well, look up."

The group followed Erik's stare, looking up at the sky as a flock of birds flew above them. Skye blinked. "Er, birds? I'm already confused... and a little concerned..."

"They're starlings." Erik explained. "It's called a murmuration. My dad used to take me bird watching as a kid."

"Um. Erik?" Soladat said, now worried for her brilliant but slightly mad friend.

"Look." Erik said, pointing to the birds as they flew in a synchronized path, before they were suddenly consumed in a shimmer, vanishing completely from sight. Everyone gaped at the sight.

"W-Where did they go?" Simmons said, looking around wildly.

Erik said nothing, he just kept smiling. All of the sudden, the ground beneath their feet seemed to shimmer with distortion as the flock suddenly flew out from under them, flying upward and away from the ground. Everyone, except Erik, all jumped back in surprise, Fitz, Simmons, and Skye screaming frantically in shock. The birds all flew wildly in directions, confused at their sudden change in scenery, before reorganizing themselves into a clean flock and flying away from the area.

"What the hell was that?!" Soladat barked at Erik, who did nothing but smile.

"Why are you smiling?" May said, frowning at the man.

Erik chuckled. "There's nothing more reassuring than realizing that the world is crazier then you area."

The team of agents just stared at Erik like he was insane, and he walked ahead of the agents, stopping at a garbage bin. He took out his bag of medication, and just dropped it in the can. He spun around to smile at the team.

"Take me to Jane's lab."

ooooo

"I don't think I like this plan."

Loki growled. "You've said that three times now, Darcy. Just play along, and it may work."

"May?" Darcy squeaked, wide-eyed. "I'm starting to wish I had just stayed at the flat..."

"Would you focus!" Hikesh growled. "Jane is dying right now, and we have no other option available."

"He's right." Sif said. "Now, let's get started. We're landing now."

ooooo

Malekith, Algrim, and several of his soldiers exited the ship, who growled loudly. Malekith glanced at it, before bowing his head in a submissive manor. He looked around, frowning. Something's wrong. I sensed it. It should be here somewhere...

"Hey! Asshole!"

Malekith blinked, before looking up at a nearby hill, where Thordis was standing, hands behind her back, giving him a bright smile. She waved at him happily. Malekith glared at her, clenching his fists. Then, she pulled something out from behind her back.

"Look what I've got!"

Malekith's eyes grew wide when he saw what she was holding. A small container, with a red glow emanating from it. He could sense the power in it. The Aether...

"You want this?" Darcy said teasingly, waving it in front of her face. "Well, come and get it!"

Twirling her hammer, Darcy raced off, soaring over the Dark Elves. Malekith barred his teeth, and pointed towards her. "After her! Bring me the Aether!"

The ground quaked as Algrim leapt off the ground with superhuman stamina, and flew towards Darcy. Blinking as a dark shadow caste itself over her, Darcy glanced back and let out an eep when she saw Algrim closing in on her. Swerving to the side, she just barely avoided the enhanced Dark Elf as he crashed on the ground, only to leap back up towards her again.

Thinking fast this time, Darcy spun around in midair, and nailed Algrim right in the skull, sending him hurdling off to the side and into the wreckage of an old Dark Elf ship. Algrim flew straight through the wreckage, coming out the other side face first into the dirt. Growling, he pushed himself up and turned his wrathful gaze to Darcy, who was flying aimlessly while sticking her tongue out at him.

Suddenly, Darcy was struck in the side by a volley of blue lightning, and she yelped as she plummeted down and landed hard on the ground. Grunting in slight pain, she stumbled up, looking to see Malekith and two other Dark Elves standing over her.

Malekith smirked at her, and held out his hand. "Give me the Aether."

"Maybe I don't want to give it to you." Darcy said, glaring.

"I wasn't asking permission, girl. You will give it to me." Malekith growled. He then glanced up behind Darcy, and smiled evilly. "Or perhaps you'd like to... take your chances?"

Darcy blinked when the sound of gigantic footsteps came behind her, followed by an enormous shadow. Turning around slowly, Darcy's eyes grew wide when she saw the ship. It seemed to be gazing down at her, its occulus glowing as if preparing to blast her at point blank. She looked back at Malekith, then back at the ship.

Great.

"One last time." Malekith said to her. "Then I'll kill you. Give me the Aether."

Deciding to weigh her chances, Darcy glared at Malekith. "Say please."

"What?" Malekith said, glaring.

"Say. Please."

Malekith regarded her quizzically, a soft growl in his throat. Above them, the ship seemed to moan in silent conversation. The sound made Darcy shudder. When she looked at Malekith, it seemed as though he were intently listening to the sound as if it were a known language. This caused her to frown, and she looked back at the ship suspiciously.

Malekith gave one last growl. Then, polite as a calculating child, he said, "Please."

The word was her cue. She threw the Aether towards him with all her strength. Reaching out, Malekith caught it easily on his palm. He laughed at the girl's apparent stupidity, and then undid the seal that kept the Aether contained in the box.

However, when he attempted to will the Aether out of the container, something peculiar happened. The red force within slithered out on its own, hovered briefly above the container, and then formed to make a shape.

Or rather, a word.

'GOTCHA'

Then, the 'Aether' and the container it had been in were engulfed in a shimmering glow, before fading away completely. Malekith gaped at his now empty hand, closing it, and then his face contorted into a hideously enraged snarl. He turned his furious face to Darcy, who was barely containing her laughter.

She shrugged helplessly. "Wasn't my idea."

Malekith let out an enraged yell as he pointed his arms out towards her and a torrent of blue electricity raced out towards her. Quickly, Darcy jumped to the side, and looked up when she saw a shadow hovering over her. She screamed and quickly flew away to avoid the gigantic leg of the mothership as it attempted to crush her. She quickly flew off, leaving a furious Malekith in the dust.

ooooo

Nearby, Sif, Loki, and an exhausted Jane were peaking over from behind a hill. Sif lifted an eyebrow.

"An illusion? I'm impressed, Loki." Sif complimented. "Although I don't see how this little game will win us this battle."

"It won't." Loki said. "This is only a minor diversion. The rest of the plan will resume momentarily."

"You never told me what the rest of this plan entails." Sif said, glaring at his suspiciously. "I'm not sure I can go along not knowing."

Loki glanced at the shield maiden. "You still don't trust me, Sif?"

"Would you?" Sif questioned doubtfully.

"No." Loki paused. It was then that the cuffs he was wearing vanished in a shimmer of light. "I wouldn't."

Before Sif could react, Loki took a dagger out from his holster and drove it right into Sif's shoulder. Sif gasped, unable to form a scream as she looked into Loki's eyes with shock. It was only after he wrenched the dagger out that she let out a slight hiss, and gripped her shoulder, which was bleeding heavily.

She glared furiously at Loki. "You..."

Sif suddenly felt weak, and fell to her knees. She glared up at him, realizing that her vision was getting hazy. "You... what did..."

"Poisoned dagger. Like the ones used on Vanaheim." Loki explained, looking at her impassively. "No hard feelings, Sif. Really. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made."

He delivered a hard slap to Sif's face, knocking her down. He then glanced at Jane, who had watched the exchange with horror. Loki gave her a smirk, before reaching down and picking her up.

ooooo

Darcy yelled out in pain when she was knocked down by Algrim. The deformed Dark Elf rapidly beat her repeatedly, knocking the wind and living daylights out of her. Picking her up by the throat, Algrim smashed her into the ground, and then threw her to the side. As she stumbled up, Darcy was knocked back once again, this time by a bolt of lightning.

Getting up weakly, Darcy glared up at Malekith. He pointed his hand out towards her, smirking evilly. "The time for games is over, Darcy Lewis. Try not to blink."

Darcy closed her eyes. Dammit Loki, where the hell are you?!

"MALEKITH!"

She opened her eyes, and saw Loki, strolling forth, carrying a bleeding Sif over his shoulder and dragging Jane along by the arm. He tossed Sif aside, causing her to land on her back. She looked like she was slipping in and out of consciousness. Loki gripped Jane harshly, presenting her to Malekith.

"Looking for something?"

Malekith frowned, when he sensed the familiar aura. His suspicions were only confirmed when he saw Jane's eyes. Loki glared at him. "You want the Aether? Then give me the girl."

Malekith lifted an eyebrow, glancing briefly at Darcy before back at Loki. "That's a strange request. Why exactly do you need her?"

"Does it matter?"

"Not really." Malekith shrugged. "But you've piqued my curiosity."

Loki stood proudly, defiantly. "I am Loki of Jotunheim and sworn enemy to all Asgard. That girl you hold by the throat is to die by my hand. Not yours. In exchange for her life, I will give you the Aether you so proudly seek."

Malekith glared at the prince of lies suspiciously. He was about to question him again, when Algrim leaned closer, whispering something in his native tongue. "He is an enemy of Asgard. He was locked in the dungeons when I encountered him."

Malekith frowned, contemplating. Then, finally, he nodded at Loki. "We have a deal."

The Dark Elf leader lifted his hand out towards Darcy, who gasped when she suddenly found herself being lifted off the ground. With a flick of her wrist, Malekith tossed Darcy over to Loki. At the same time, Loki harshly threw Darcy to Malekith's feet. Darcy quickly clambered up to her feet, moving over to Sif. She looked up at Loki, who glanced at her without expression.

Malekith approached Jane's pitiful form, watching as she squirmed around, gasping as the Aether infested her.

"Look at me." Malekith uttered forcefully. He waved his hand out, lifting Jane into the air. Jane gasped as her vision blurred, and Malekith began extracting the Aether from her body. The Dark Elves all backed away, forming a circle around the scene while the mothership loomed in the distance, watching the event with satisfaction.

Jane's mind became clouded in red. She could feel the Aether's power. It seemed to cling to her, unwilling to leave her. She then experienced a vision. The red was orbiting a planet. Earth. It formed a black hole. From the hole emerged dark shadows, which swarmed over the Earth, clouding it in darkness. Then that ship appeared. That damned ship!

Malekith ushered the Aether out of her slowly, and it formed into a mass of red that floated in front of him. Loki and Darcy both watched in awe as the cosmic substance was ripped from Jane, who collapsed on the ground, gasping for air as she blinked. She now appeared to be wide awake, if not severely drained. Malekith then waved his hand, and the Aether started to draw itself to him.

At that moment, Loki yelled. "Hikesh, NOW"

The Dark Elves all paused when a green light illuminated the setting, before a wave of green energy washed over each of them, forcing them all away. Malekith managed to stay his ground, and saw the Prothean, enshrouded in a green aura, rushing at him at super human speed.

Malekith's eyes widened in horror, realizing his vulnerability at the moment. No. NO!

The mothership wailed in displeasure as the Prothean quickly closed the distance between him and the Dark Elf leader, drawing his fist back and letting out a yell as he drove it towards Malekith. As his fist slammed harshly against Malekith's face, Loki quickly grabbed Jane and leapt over by Darcy and Sif, shielding the women from the enormous red mushroom cloud that engulfed the pair.

Wala. Chapter seventeen. Next chapter, the duel of Svartalfheim comes to a close, and the motley crew must find a way to get off the barren world before its to late. Thanks for reading :)