The Weight of the Universe | Avengers

0. Help in Norway

"I know we're not exactly friends, but I need your help. Please." Eve begged with despair, hoping that Jane wouldn't call the government. "I can't trust anyone."

"Your hair is black." Jane stated with a frown and stared at the raven-black curls of her guest.

"I couldn't risk being recognized." She simply reasoned and to her relief, Jane stepped aside, motioning for her to enter the wonderfully warm house. The brunette knew the risks but she couldn't help it and aided the lost woman, even though she and Thor were no longer a couple.

"Come in, quick. You must be freezing." Jane closed the door behind her and the two women walked into the living room where the hot fireplace welcomed Eve. The house owner didn't hesitate to get her new guest a few blankets, the snow on the black hair already melting to small water drops. "I'm living alone, by the way, you don't have to worry."

"Oh, okay." Eve just nodded, cuddling deeper into the blankets and warming up. Pure relief flooded into her chest, the burden on her shoulders lessening. She was thankful that Jane had been patient enough to wait for her to get rid of the cold first. "Thank you so much. I'm sorry that I put you in danger by helping me and I really don't want to force you or drag you into this."

"You're welcome, I guess..." Jane awkwardly responded, not being able to hold back her curiosity any longer. "What happened after the Sokovia Accords? Where were you?"

"Almost everywhere." Eve sighed, not particularly liking this topic. "The Avengers are no longer a team, we all got separated. But I'm not here because I need a roof above my head or a hiding place. I'm here because of Thor."

"Thor?" She raised a brow in the air, her heart slightly breaking at the mention of his name. Although they had broken up, she still cared about him but it just wasn't meant to be. "I think you're wrong here. He and I, uh, broke up, he's not here. I haven't seen him for a long time."

"Can you contact him?" The soldier didn't want to give up, needing the God of Thunder more than ever now. "I wouldn't have walked from Oslo to this place if it wasn't important. And I'm risking a lot by showing up here."

"Unfortunately, no. I'm sorry." The physician apologized with pressed lips as Eve clenched her teeth, the whole trip had just been in vain.

Jane couldn't believe that she was about to get dragged into this superhero mess again, but it seemed to be really urgent. "How did you find out that I live here? And what do you need from Thor?"

"Clint is a good hacker and has his connections." She replied shortly before glancing at Jane gravely. "You have to promise not to betray me. Don't tell anyone I was here."

"Oh, uh, of course." She promised, waiting for an answer.

Eve took off her coat and her gloves, revealing her pale hands. "My abilities...they're dying."

"Wait, what do you mean??"

"I can't– it gets more and more difficult to produce electricity." She confessed with frustration, looking down at her own hands. "My powers have become weak throughout the last few weeks, it's like they're slowly vanishing and I don't know what to do. When I first got my electricity, Howard Stark said we wouldn't know how long they could last but I don't think that's the problem."

"This is incredible... But what may be the problem then? I mean, the electricity merged with your biology, right?"

Eve nodded. "The electricity didn't come from usual lightning though, it was Thor's lightning. I don't know but what if I've been using Mjölnir's power this whole time and now my abilities are vanishing because Mjölnir is... ?"

"Wait... Do you suggest that– "

"Something happened. Nothing good, for sure. I haven't seen Thor or Bruce for two years now and I don't have a good feeling about this." Eve's voice was laced by sorrow, thinking of her teammates. She missed them as well and was concerned about her gone friends, they once had been a family together.

"Okay, before we interpret this the wrong way, how about some tea? I can also run a few tests with you to see if something's wrong and you can stay for tonight. The snow storm won't ease." Jane offered kindly and for the first time since an eternity, Eve half smiled.

"Thank you, again."

***

The tests had shown that nothing was wrong with Eve's biology, the super-soldier serum was still working, it could be only because of Mjölnir's state. After the tea and the first real dinner that Eve has had since forever, Jane prepared the couch for her visitor and was now in her own room, leaving the dark-haired girl alone to rest. She might have been walking for at least a day through the snow, a bit of rest wouldn't harm. Yet, Eve was awake as hell.

She looked through the window at the night sky, the snow storm was slowly ceasing. Her thoughts wandered around every person she cared about– Bucky, Steve, Wanda, all the Avengers and also Tony although their relationship was broken now. She missed her family. How could it just end like this?

Closing her eyes, Eve remembered how Thor had once told her about Asgard, his home. The Bifrost, Odin, the Frost Giants, the Warrior Three and Heimdall– the gatekeeper who saw every single soul in the nine realms.

"Heimdall..." Her tone was hopeful, even though she was scared that she sounded too ridiculous for believing in this. But then again, she lived in a world with aliens and gods, so it was probably normal to pray. "I know you don't really know me but Thor does. And I need him right now, more than ever. Please, it's urgent. I need Thor."

Of course, only the silence answered her but she hadn't expected words anyway. Maybe Eve needed to talk Thor directly. "Thor... Where ever you are, what ever you're doing... I hope everything's okay. I hope you're fine. And I hope you will return soon. I need answers. A part of me is dying, a part that completes me. I'm lost without my powers, I'm not Voltricity anymore... Come on... answer. Somehow. A lightning strike. Or rain. C'mon, Thor..."

"Eve!" Jane called her urgently and the soldier opened her eyes, turning around to face the physician standing in the living room. "I think Clint messaged me."

"Definitely not the Avenger I was hoping for but it'll do." Eve said and followed Jane to her little, messy room. Ignoring the mountains of clothes and scribbled note sheets hanging everywhere, the raven-haired girl walked to the laptop where a simple message in an email was shown on the screen. "Oh, Clint, you idiot. You just risked your location by sending this email."

"What does this message mean?" Jane frowned, not understanding this code.

"It'd take an eternity to explain to you how to decipher the code that Steve, Bucky and I used during the Second World War." Eve remembered their secret language in the forties with a nostalgic smile. "It's an indication for help. And it means that I'll have to leave."

"Wait, what, now already? Where to?"

"Sorry, Jane. But I can't tell, not even you. Nothing personal, I promise." She deleted the email immediately before grabbing her coat and scarf. "I'll have to go now, I can't waste more time."

Jane hastily followed her visitor to the living room while she handed her a thicker scarf as protection against the cold. "But– but the snow storm– "

"– won't bother me. It's urgent. Oh, thanks." Eve thankfully accepted the scarf and put it around her neck. "Don't worry about me. And thanks for your help again. Stay safe and take care of yourself."

Now the soldier had only one aim in her mind, Clint's message still running through her head as she started going to her next destination.

177A Bleecker Street, New York.
Doctor Stephen Strange.

A/N- I'm so excited, hehe. Sometimes I'm also tempted to post twice a week but I don't know yet, maybe I will, maybe I won't. The reason why this is written in the past is that it happens around the same time as Ragnarok (: