SHADOW OF DEATH

Chapter 49: Interference

Twilight had fallen on Asgard while the legions of scattered warriors from across Yggdrasill sought to unravel the chaos on the field of Idavollr. In the aftermath of the Soul Stone's change of ownership, Hela spent the better part of the afternoon prowling across the battlefield and extinguishing any flares of violence that sought to spring up. She went so far as to isolate the Skrull across the field from everyone else, with her own little company of wolves between as a buffer. Then, she prowled around the field, glaring at any who so much as grasped a sword hilt or sputtered an invective at a neighbor. Hela, herself, met with those who remained of Thanos' forces. These interactions, more often than not, ended with a flash of violet light and Hela storming off in a temper, but the end result was a temporarily subdued set of opposing forces.

When the immediate heat of battle simmered into a confused and fragile calm, other priorities boiled to the forefront. The first being what to do with the tens of thousands of warriors who now cluttered the field of Idavollr. This battle ended with a larger population of living soldiers than it had started with and, while there were the unfortunate dead who must be buried, there was a much greater number of very confused soldiers who had no idea how they had ended up on Asgard or how long they had been separated from the Land of the Living. It also became apparent that not all of Odin's army was composed of allies and more than one skirmish broke out when warriors from opposing sides of a treaty line recognized their ancient enemies and moved to fight them, resuming a thousand-year-old conflict that only they remembered. A contingent of Aesir delegates were appointed to answer questions and clear up the confusion of the many newly resurrected warriors who had no idea where, or when, they now inhabited.

There was also the much more immediate problem of food and water. Apparently spending a thousand years or so as a corpse did wonders for the appetite. Every spare Asgardian was sent to scour the city for all the provisions they could muster. Carts of provisions rattled over the grassy field between the settled bands of warriors and tried to fill the fathomless appetites of the battle-weary soldiers – from both sides of the battle line.

Jane had consumed two days' worth of soldiers' rations without pausing to so much as take a breath. Finally satisfied, she leaned back against the trunk of a tree, her knees supporting Loki's back. All her armor was discarded in heaps around her and Mjolnir rested on the grass next to Loki's elbow. He could see the utter exhaustion in the way her shoulders slumped and how heavy her eyes had become.

"What becomes of all these people?" Jane whispered to Loki. He cast a glance at the teeming throng of figures scattered as far as the eye could see. They, too, were either reclining in the grass or fulfilling their appetites.

He shrugged. "They go back to where they came, I suppose."

"How? I mean, that group over there technically are from Midgard, right?"

"Aye."

"They don't look like anyone I've ever seen on Midgard… I mean Earth."

Loki laughed at her slip and he followed where she pointed. A few hundred Midgardians in hand-forged metal armor sat speaking loudly to each other and drinking wine from a barrel. He glanced over their axes and shields as he sought to identify their origins.

"Ah, I believe those are the best of the Varangian Guard. I suppose the Byzantine Empire does not resemble what they would remember."

"Loki, that was over a thousand years ago! For them to return to their homes only to find modern day Earth and that all the people they have ever known are dead… how are they to bear it?"

"I suppose that is a downside to resurrection," he answered. He lazily drew circles on her hand with one finger as he spoke. "Though many claim immortality as a prize, there are times when death itself may be a greater mercy."

"They did not choose this," she said.

"They are warriors, Jane. All who are on this field today. This is exactly what they chose."

She huffed in disagreement but she did not answer, which was answer enough. Despite her many newly acquired skills and abilities, Jane Foster was no warrior and would never choose to be.

"The fate of this multitude is one of many challenges we now face," he said, attempting to placate her slightly. "That is of a much greater import for now," he said and he motioned across the clearing to where the Power Stone still lay, guarded diligently by five Aesir guards.

"I guess so. What did Tony say?"

Loki, Thor, and a handful of Aesir generals had met with the Avengers and Wakandans to discuss the possibility of destroying the Power Stone with a nuclear missile. Jane had been called away to use her skills to tend the wounded and had missed most of the discussion.

Jane gasped when Loki shifted forms to resemble Tony Stark exactly. Then, in perfect imitation of his mannerisms, Loki shared Tony's exasperated concluding words.

"So, Reindeer Games, what you're saying is we have to figure out a way to launch a nuke from Asgard into space far enough so that the electromagnetic pulse from the fallout doesn't destroy your kingdom or screw up any neighboring planets, all while having no idea who big the explosion from the Power Stone is gonna be? Don't forget needing some way to monitor the rocket and the Nuke and make sure it detonates, while keeping whoever is doing the monitoring a safe enough distance away to make sure they aren't a casualty in the blast. Oh wait, we don't know how big that blast is gonna be."

Loki shifted back and turned back to see Jane's reaction.

"I guess it's a bit more complicated than I originally thought."

"I believe you gave more thought to the Stone's destruction than the aftermath of that destruction. As methods go, I believe you would have been quite successful."

"And murdered all these people without knowing it."

He clasped her hand and placed a kiss on it. "At least, you would have done so accidentally."

She sighed. "And we could claim they were all a 'necessary sacrifice for the greater good.' Whatever. It doesn't make it right."

"When, in politics or power, are decisions every purely right or otherwise? Any who would claim to be entirely justified in all their decisions is either deluded or a liar. Back to your original question, your Man of Iron believes it is possible to design what we will need, but it will take time and there is no guarantee of success in all areas."

"Based on a lot of lucky guesswork from data we really don't have."

"We have more than he knows. We have the data from the destruction of the Mind Stone and Time Stone. We also have you, oh Wellspring of Knowledge, who had help guide our efforts along the most efficacious paths. I have my own means of assistance, but we will hold council further to determine how to make the most of our conjoined efforts."

"Earth is gonna have a field day with this. The Avengers – back from the dead? It's unbelievable."

"The fate of entire realms is still precariously in the balance and all you can think of are 'Earth's Mightiest Heros'?"

"Of course not. Weren't you paying attention earlier? I was also quite concerned with the Varangian Guard."

"How could I forget? Why dwell on the fates of the trillions currently alive across Yggdrasil when you can fret over men who died a millennium ago?"

"Cause we are all beyond exhausted. I feel like I could sleep for a week. How long has it been since you've even slept?"

"Far too long. It has been a rather trying day. I suppose a byproduct of dying is a state of extreme exhaustion, despite all your magnificent healing efforts."

He felt a shudder run through her and he found her arms wrapped around him, her had pressed against his back. "Yeah. Then there's that. I don't know whether to hate Hela or express my eternal gratitude. I mean, it was her fault you died, but then she fixed it again. Is she… I mean, is she ok?"

"Are you inquiring into her physical well-being or her sanity?"

Jane snorted a laugh and looked up so she could seek the object of their conversation. Hela was there, far across the field, her head held in her hands and her entire body motionless. No one dared approach her and so she remained a little island of purple light surrounded by a little ocean of empty grass.

"I know not. Thor attempted to heal some of her deeper wounds, the ones invisible to the eye, but he was not able to complete his efforts before she pulled away. She, too, is caught in a fate she did not choose and bound to the will of a master she did not court. It is ironic, isn't it? How many times have I decried in the injustice Thanos inflicted upon my mind and will with the Mind Stone and yet, how is Hela's fate any different? Simply because she is forced to behave in a way amenable to the good of the universe rather than to its detriment, she still is robbed of her own autonomy and enslaved to the will of a force outside of herself."

Jane squeezed his shoulder but she knew no more how to answer his musings than he did. She watched the woman in question rise and begin to pace a path in the grass.

"What will become of her?" Jane asked, though by her tone, he did not think she expected an answer.

"I will add Hela and the Stone who wields her as another item for future discussion. Our first priority must be to destroy the Power Stone. Allowing it to linger unblemished is courting disaster. It would not take long for the greedy eyes of the universe to descend upon Asgard with hopes of claiming the Stone as their own, and with this gathering of witnesses, we cannot hope to keep its location hidden."

Jane stared down at the ground, her fingers clasped uncomfortably in her lap. "I could do it, if there's no other option."

"No. Absolutely not," Loki said, his tone not allowing debate. "How many Stones ask for your life in exchange? How many times must I refuse to pay it?"

"I see. The fate of trillions in the universe are at stake and yet all you can think of is a single Midgardian," she said, one eyebrow arched in daring.

"I never claimed universal compassion or general good will nor will I pretend otherwise. I would gladly give half of the universe away in exchange for those I value. You may chastise me for my selfishness, but I cannot be other than what I am."

"Yet, you'd give your own life in a heartbeat if it would save your brother's."

"Well, I have a very select number in the universe that I claim as my own. The rest, I cannot be bothered with."

"I understand with your brother, but why me?" she asked, her blue eyes earnest and searching. "How did I get added to such an elite list?"

"Why, Jane, you carry Mjolnir and yet you wonder why I would consider you worthy? Even the Mighty Thor was felled by your charms. How had I any hope of escaping?"

"You are teasing me."

He grinned and caught her arms around him again. "Always. Yet, you know I speak the truth."

"Yeah…very carefully and with leaving out a lot of possibly incriminating statements you wish to avoid."

"Would I ever?" he asked, his voice dripping with mock sincerity.

"Always."

ooooooo

In the darkness of night, a lithe, blue figure wove in and out through the shadows of the surrounding trees. She was more machine than woman and so she did not rely on her natural senses to direct her through the dark undergrowth. She had waited, far beyond the field of battle, until night had fallen. Now, small fires dotted the dark field like fireflies and bands of soldiers slept or talked between them.

All her life, since as far back as she could remember, she had only had one purpose. Well, her father had always had his own purpose for her, but she only ever supported his aims out of a desire to achieve her own.

She reached close enough to see clearly where the handful of Asgardians watched over the Stone. It sat on the ground as if it were any other stone, any other trinket, and not the condensed power needed to destroy an entire planet in an instant. From her pocket, she removed a small drone. It flew silently and without a single light. Her own circuitry commanded it and it expanded her own computerized senses to the point where she could even identify each individual blade of grass. She made a shrill call from her hiding place. The guards looked up in unison, their eyes searching where she hid. It was just long enough for her to release a metal net around the Stone. Then, she vanished back into the darkness.

Oooooooo

Loki's heart stalled in his chest when a shrill call pierced the night. He woke from the deepest sleep imaginable in a start and he hoped it had only been a dream, a memory of days better left forgotten. He struggled to catch his breath as his eyes searched the darkness.

"What was that?" asked Steve Rogers nearby, his acute hearing catching what most of the other Midgardians could not detect.

"It was a signal," Loki said, when he realized it could not have been a dream, not if it was heard by another. Without another word, both men leapt to their feet with their weapons drawn and began walking in the direction of the call.

"You recognize it?" Steve asked.

"Unfortunately. It was one of the distinctive signals of one of the daughters of the Mad Titan."

"The who?"

"An enemy who was bested earlier today. He is not to be underestimated."

"Brother, where are you…" Thor began, but before he could finish, a shadow fled across the field.

The trio ran in the direction of the shadow. They had not quite reached it before they saw the figure run straight in the direction of where the Flerkin now lay, fast asleep on the grassy ground. The figure did not hesitate or even slow down. Instead, it directed its path straight towards the Flerkin until it was within an arm's length. Then, the figure held a gun to Goose's head and pulled the trigger.

Just as the gun exploded in a shower of light, Goose leapt up with a resounding growl and the tentacles exploded from its mouth. Whoever, or whatever, it was swallowed up faster than any mortal eye could see. Loki, though, saw the figure's arm outstretched, it's fingers flayed, and saw the brief flash of orange light when the Power Stone flew into the palm. In the next moment, the Stone, the figure, and the tentacles were all gone.

oooooo

"Did that cat just…" Bruce Banner said. His mouth which had first opened to yawn now remained open in surprise.

"Si paka," Shuri replied. She rolled over on little mat on the ground and fell back to sleep again.

"It's not a cat," Jane said, though not even she was sure if she was simply clarifying or translating for Shuri.

Thor, Loki, and Steve Rogers returned to the little camp of Midgardians, their faces set in frowns.

"What's happened?" Bruce asked.

"The Flerkin has the Power Stone," Loki explained. "Or, at least, a being inside the Flerkin has the Power Stone."

"I'm confused. What's a Flerkin?"

"An irritating beast who has a propensity for collecting relics of inestimable power," Loki explained. He glanced over at Thor with a forced half-smile. "It swallowed Mjolnir once, whole."

"Tis a worthy beast!" Thor boomed. "Worthy even of the throne of Asgard!"

"Or it has simply mastered bending the rules of Mjolnir and utilizing dimensional pockets to transport the unwieldy, inelegant excuse for weaponry," Loki answered. "Afterall, it may have swallowed Mjolnir, but it did not wield it, as far as we could see. Lady Jane, on the other hand…"

"Hey, guys, uh, I think something's happening," Bruce interjected.

Sure enough, Goose began to turn in a circle. Then, it began to heave. The heaves morphed into a caterwaul so loud and terrible that none on the field were left awake. Groans and protests swept across the field, but still the cat screamed.

Then, it began to paw at the ground in front of itself before the entire creature burst open in a torrent of golden light. In the center of it all, a massive figure appeared. At first, it fell on the ground in a crouch, a sticky slime covering him from the top to bottom. He rose to his full height and all could see the bright blue glow of his eyes from the deep violet face. In the metal gauntlet on his wrist, an orange stone radiated light and heat.

"I'm guessing that wasn't supposed to happen?" came Tony Stark's voice.

The Mad Titan stepped forward, away from where the tentacles still writhed on the ground around him. He gave the Flerkin a disgusted sneer and kicked at one of the tentacles. His eyes swept over the battlefield where all now focused solely on him. Then, Thanos lifted the gauntlet into the air and a burst of gold light sprinted towards them. Before the wave reached them, they were enveloped in a burst of frigid wind and all faded into darkness.