February 2013, Downtown London
"Back up. So this goo is currently inside Jane and is attacking people?" Harry asked Thor incredulously. He was just doing a bit of shopping when the lightning and magic in the air pointed at his Asgardian Teammate being in the area. Coming to check it out he found Jane blasting some constable on his back with reddish energy.
"That's correct. I must get her to Asgard, our healers are much more advanced than the ones here." Thor explained as he approached Jane who was leaning heavily against the wall. Harry stood there for a moment tempted to just ignore the problem and return home to go back to his workshop. Sighing he took out his phone and sent a few texts before he put his phone away and pulled up his cowl. His Hero outfit flashed onto his form.
"I'm going with you." Harry said with some defeat in his tone.
"Excellent! Mother has mentioned how she had enjoyed the discussions of magic you had last time you visited." Thor said as he pulled Jane close and hefted his hammer skyward. Harry was smiling softly as the rainbow light fell down on the group. The trip was short and they walked through the Bifrost chamber.
"I did enjoy the conversation with your mother. She is nearly as knowledgeable as the person who taught me, and that's no easy feat." Harry told Thor as he approached Heimdall. Heimdall was already standing to the side of the Bifrost's key slot with a chariot waiting behind him.
"Greeting Heimdall, I am thankful for your quick response and summoning a chariot, Lady Jane is ill and must be brought to the healers, post haste." Thor said as he bustled onto the flying chariot. Harry greeted Heimdall quickly before jumping onto the already moving chariot. He gave Thor the stink eye for nearly leaving without him but saw that Thor had only eyes for Jane. Harry decided to watch the view as it flew by them, Asgard had only gotten more beautiful with time. It didn't take long for them to slow down and land next to the wings of the palace. Harry followed Thor as he carried Jane into a room just off the side entrance to the palace. Harry looked around the area and noticed a few people in healer's robes, or something similar. He casually looked the area over finding a small specialized library, some rooms designed for teaching, and several rooms with empty beds. Humming he entered the room Thor did and found him talking with a woman in robes, Jane was laying on a bed he had seen in other areas as a projection of her body was floating above her. "-it is not of Earth. What is it?" Thor asked as he gripped his hammer tightly.
"I am sorry my Prince, we do not know. I do know that whatever it is is putting out enough energy that it will kill her eventually." Another healer was still using the machine to pull up an image of the object in question. Harry moved forward and looked it over.
"Is that a quantum field generator?" Jane asked in awe.
"It's a soul forge." The healer said as she manipulated the images trying to discover more about the ailment.
"Does a soul forge transfer molecular energy from one place to another?" Jane asked.
The healer stopped and looked down at Jane in surprise, "Yes." Jane looked over at Thor and whispered 'quantum field generator'. Harry watched Thor give her a soft smile.
"Are my words mere noises to you that you ignore them completely?" Odin asked as he walked into the room.
"She is ill." Thor said.
"She is mortal. Illness is their defining trait."Odin said easily as he looked over the soul forge.
"I brought her here because we can help her." Thor implored, knowing his Father was about to send her off world.
"She does not belong here in Asgard anymore than a goat belongs at a banquet table!" Odin said as he sneered at Jane. She was propping herself up, before Harry's voice came from where he stood leaning against the wall.
"Pretty sure I saw you at the table not that long ago you old goat." Harry said with a bit of a cold edge to his voice. "Do I need to remind you what you learned the first time I stepped foot on this planet?" Harry had stepped away from the wall.
Odin spun around and narrowed his eyes at Harry. "Do I not remember banning you from my realm?" Odin asked.
"Try it and I'll be sure someone else sits on the throne before the day is out." Harry said as the shadows behind him started pooling like liquid and his eyes started glowing leaving a wisp like effect as his head moved. He stalked forward his eyes constantly holding Odin's own. "Do not forget to whom you speak, mortal." Harry spat as he bypassed Odin, the effects of his magic disappearing like wind. He left the room in its silence needing to get some air. He walked out of the building to a nearby garden where he sat and sighed looking over the waters nearby.
"Beautiful isn't it." Harry looked to the side to find Queen Frigga sitting next to him. Sighing he leaned back and ran his hands over his face, he was ready to apologize. No matter how much he detested the hypocritical fool, he was still the husband of Frigga and the Father of Thor. "Don't worry too much. I, out of everyone, can understand my husband's shortcomings. He is worried for Thor. We may not be immortal," she said, giving Harry a look, "but we are incredibly long lived. Jane has merely a fraction of the life span my son does and when she passes his heart will break."
Harry chuckled humorlessly, "You don't need to preach the failings of a long life span to me. I may have watched my world burn, but even if it didn't I would have watched my friends die either way."
Dropping the topic Frigga asked how his enchanting was going. Harry started talking about his first foray into space and the ways he did so. He talked of the magical trees meant to curb the pollution of Midgard. Soon they were walking back to the palace as they chatted.
/OO-HP•SoS-OO\
Thor was standing near Jane looking at the door Harry just walked through. Everyone in the room seemed surprised by the way he was talking to the All-Father, some were more worried about the feeling they got when the shadows seemed to coalesce around him. Odin shook off the feeling first before he scowled, "Guards, send the mortal back to Midgard."
"Father I wouldn't-" He was cut off when one of the guards tried to grab Jane but was blasted back by a red energy. Odin moved towards her quickly and scanned her arm, showing a red pulsing below Jane's skin. Frowning, he moved back.
"Follow me." Odin said succinctly as he moved out of the room. Thor and Jane shared a look before they got up and walked after Odin. They were led down the hall to a nearby knowledge repository. Odin moved through the stacks and grabbed a book before bringing it over to the table. "There are relics that predate the universe itself. What lies within her appears to be one of them. Before the Nine Realms there was darkness, the only inhabitants of that darkness were the dark elves. The dark elf leader, Malekith, took that darkness and forged it into the Aether."
"Born of eternal night, the dark elves come to steal away the light. Yes I've heard these stories, Mother used to read them to me." Thor said as he moved forward to look at the book on the table.
"The other relics often appear as stones, the Aether does not. It changes matter into dark matter, switching host bodies drawing strength from their life force. Malekith attempted to use this power to reign eternal. My Father, Borr, however stopped them. He killed the dark elves and brought peace to the nine realms that lasted thousands of years."
"Does this mean there may be dark elves still around?" Thor asked.
"It is impossible, my father killed them all." Odin said brooking no argument.
"It also said the Aether was destroyed. If it is still-" Thor said but was cut off by Odin.
"They are dead!" Odin stated. The stare down between father and son was cut off when Jane spoke.
"Does that book mention how to get it out of me?" Jane asked as Odin stared off into space. His eyes quickly moved over to her before he shut the book.
"No it does not." Odin said before he put it back and left Jane and Thor on their own. Thor gave Jane a smile as he grabbed her hand.
"Do not worry, we will figure something out." Thor said as he led Jane off.
/OO-HP•SoS-OO\
Harry brought up some issues he was having finding specific runes or enchantments. He gave a brief overview of how his enchanting worked and the way he used runes to imbue crafts with abilities. Frigga told him of the Asgardian way of enchanting things.
"We imbue a type of spirit to our crafts. That is why there are so few truly enchanted items on Asgard. Any magical item we create has a spirit or will be imbued in the very foundation of it." Frigga said as they rounded the corner leading to the royal suites. "Creating something that has a willpower close to an actual life form," Here she paused and frowned, "Well it means everything we create has a very special place in the creator's heart. This means the few weapons and armors that we enchant are truly special."
"I can definitely understand that. Creating something that has a will or spirit to it makes that item feel like a part of you. I could see that being a deterrent in making many of them." Harry said as he thought back to the connection he had to Thor's hammer for the few moments he held it. "Mjölnir is quite the weapon. I know it was crafted by the Dwarves of Nidavellir, but I could see Odin's enchantments on it."
"Yes my husband was quite proud of his first weapon." Frigga saw Harry's surprised look, "While Odin now uses Gungnir, Mjölnir was crafted for Odin's use. Borr, Odin's father, was the original wielder of Gungnir; it became a symbol of the throne. When Thor showed his raw talent for lightning but lacking interest in magic, much to my dismay, Odin brought forth Mjölnir for him to use and help channel his powers." Frigga said as they finally got to the royal quarters. Through the opened doors they could see Thor and Jane sharing an intimate moment. "Oh ho ho, looks like my son is quite besotted." Frigga's lips curled up and she gained a mischievous glint in her eyes. Walking in, she stepped a little harder with her heels, alerting Jane and Thor of their company. Both stepped away from each other in embarrassment.
"Mother! I would like to introduce Lady Jane Foster, my intended." Thor said with a blush as he pulled Jane forward, "Jane this is my mother, Queen Frigga."
Harry decided not to intervene as they talked. He was happy for Thor and Jane, Frigga seemed pleased with the pairing. They spent a few minutes getting to know one another when a loud rumble was heard from nearby. Harry frowned and walked out into the hall seeing the guards rushing around. Thor walked out to stand next to him as Volstagg came running up to them, quite out of breath. "The prisoners are rioting. We need help to put them back." Thor nodded and looked at Harry who nodded. They both flew off as Thor led him to the dungeons.
They landed in the middle of a giant melee, Thor shoved his hammer skyward as a lightning blast, followed by a loud clap of thunder gathered everyone's eyes on them "I am Prince Thor, you are breaking the laws of Asgard. Return to your cells and you shall be unharmed, continue and I shall deal with you." Nothing happened for a moment before one of the aliens who was fighting the guards jumped at Thor, "Very well." Thor's hammer tore down and splattered the chest of the alien leaving bits and pieces of the creature on the ground. This seemed to pull everyone else out of the momentary pause, because the melee restarted.
Thor used his hammer to bash back the front line of prisoners, giving the guards a moment to regroup. He used overwhelming strength and his lightning to knock out or kill anyone who walked in front of him. It took a few moments for the Warriors Three to show up and join him in battle, using team attacks and guarding each other's backs.
Harry started by waving his hand bisecting half a dozen aliens before he jumped forward landing on his feet sideways into a short slide, but as he slid the ground in front of him rose up like a wave, burying and killing several enemies. Stomping he flattened the ground back out leaving various alien parts sticking out of the ground. He waved his hadn't back and forth creating a pack of wolves that jumped into the fight, ripping limbs and weapons away. He tossed lances of fire and blades of wind everywhere as he pushed the rioting prisoners back. Some seeing the overwhelming force laid down and surrendered, others ran back to their cells, refusing to fight a losing battle.
Harry was getting a bad feeling about this, so he moved forward until he saw a cell still closed and avoided heavily by the aliens and Asgardians. Looking in he saw Loki sitting on a chair and reading a book. Narrowing his eyes Harry sent a stinging hex towards the trickster, who barely had time to look up before it tagged him in the arm. Yelping he scowled as he raised his head and saw Harry staring at him. Gulping he moved away from the door and laid on the bed instead. Nodding to himself Harry was about to move on when a large ship appeared in the sky. Narrowing his eyes Harry looked at the guards who were cleaning up so he approached Thor.
"They don't need us any longer, we should quickly return to Frigga and Jane." Harry said. Thor nodded and summoned his hammer from where it was sitting in the chest cavity of a furred alien. Harry grabbed him and faded them back to the room they were in. Seeing Frigga being held up against the wall by her throat as a giant creature in armor was moving to skewer her with a sword was all they needed. Thor tackled the creature. It dropped Frigga as it was sent sprawling to the ground. Thor lifted up his hammer and brought it down on the creature's head. It used its arm to block the strike grunting in pain before kicking Thor off itself. It was about to engage Thor when it noticed Harry across the room.
Harry saw another alien holding Jane as he was attempting to pull some red stuff out of her body. Harry sprinted forward and jumped, his feet striking the dead center of the alien's back sending it flying through the open balcony nearby. The creature engaging Thor jumped out after him. Thor checked on his mother as Harry stood as the red liquid hung in the middle of the air. Jane wilted and fell to the ground when the rest of the liquid left her body. Harry had almost no time to react when the red goo shot towards him striking him in the chest. He felt power like he never had burning through his body for only a moment before everything went black.