Guardian

Chapter 55

(Liv's POV):
Erik, Jane, Jane's intern Darcy, Darcy's intern Ian, Thor, and I sat around a desk cluttered with paper as Thor explained in greater depths what we were up against. As a result, we came to the conclusion that Malekith was going to find the spot on Earth where all nine realms connected in order to amplify the Aether's power.

Erik was the one to pinpoint the location using ancient structures as a guide leading us to Greenwich. Thor explained that he had to release the Aether at the right place and the right moment, which meant that we didn't have to kill Malekith, we simply had to keep him occupied long enough to make him miss the window of time that he had to delve the universe into darkness.

In order to get there as quick as possible, Thor and I flew his friends to Greenwich, which prompted a discussion about my wings and how cool they were. I bit back my comment about how humans typically reacted and pretended to be flattered by their admiration. As soon as we landed, Jane and Erik began to explain their equipment and how they might be able to adapt it to aid the fight.

Darcy and Ian went to set up the gravimetric spikes on one end of the location, while Erik and Jane took the other. Thor and I stood by for Malekith, so that we could protect the bystanders and hold him off. He certainly didn't make a subtle entrance; Malekith's ship shimmered into existence, created a giant wave and property destruction that would have made him impossible to miss. Everything immediately erupted into chaos, the air filled with screams, and debris was showered everywhere.

I ushered people to safety, surprised when they actually trusted me while Thor kept his eye on Malekith, promising me that he could handle him on his own for a bit while I helped minimize casualties. I knew my efforts to get people to safety were going to sear my face into many memories and most likely get me captured on video, but at the moment my only concern was stopping Malekith so that Loki did not die in vain.

Thor was thrown back by a blast of the Aether when I returned to help him and I cringed as he fell harshly on his back. But he pulled himself back up and managed to block Malekith's next attack, though he had to dig into the earth to prevent himself from being thrown back.

Thor rose from the ground, "you know, with all that power, I though you'd hit harder."

Don't antagonize him, Thor! I mentally screamed at him, but I did not reveal my location, taking the time to survey what we were up against. Malekith had brought quite the crew to help him spread darkness across the universe and I knew Thor wouldn't be able to fight Malekith on top of all of the other Dark Elves accompanying him.

As I planned my attack, Thor sent his hammer into Malekith, which forcefully threw him back and knocked over a few of the Dark Elves as well. I used Malekith's moment of weakness to advance upon his backup, checking to make sure that Thor wouldn't let Malekith get away. As I fought against the Dark Elves, I could hear the crackle of Thor's lightning, but remained focused on the swarm of Elves trying to kill me.

Suddenly a number of the Elves disappeared and I glanced up to where Jane was hiding and flashed her a grateful smile. It would be so much easier to fight these creatures in smaller numbers. Still, I was full of rage and they were of the same blood of those who killed both Loki and Frigga. So now, for their sakes, I was going to fight harder than I ever had.

Taking to the air to deflect a blast from one of the Dark Elves, I used my magic like a bomb, the explosion causing many of the Elves to be thrown back. I was sure that not all of them had died from the impact, but it allowed me to focus on the ones still standing, at least until the others managed to pick themselves up.

As I plunged my sword through one of the last Dark Elves that had not been whisked away by Jane, I noticed Malekith rolling across the green and much to my annoyance, Thor did not stumble out after him. Which meant that Thor was god knows where and I was left to deal with Malekith myself. No big deal, right? I had been fighting for my survival for years, except maybe not against alien species with the power of an infinity stone.

Malekith began to release the Aether and I charged at him, attempting to stab my sword through his heart, if he even had one of those. However, the Aether's power forced me back and Malekith became alerted to my presence.

He gave a cruel smile and spoke, "you cannot win, child. It has already begun and any attempt to stop it will result in your death."

"You had the love of my life killed and now I'm pissed off, so I think I'll take my chances," I growled, sending a beam of magic at him, hoping to at least break through the Aether.

Something tightened around my throat, my power flickering out as I grasped at the object. But instead of being able to pull it from my throat, my fingers went through it as though it were nothing but mist.

Malekith glared at me, "you had this power, but you never figured out how to use it. Let me demonstrate what the Aether is capable of."

I was lifted in to the air, still gasping desperately for breath, and was suddenly thrown back, smashing into the building behind me. My body crumpled to the ground and my vision blurred, but I became aware of three Dark Elves surrounding me with their weapons out. Despite my dizziness, I stood up and called my sword back into my hand, waiting for one of them to make the first move.

While I fought, I flickered my attention up to the dark cloud surrounding Malekith as he released its darkness into the Nine Realms. As soon as killed the last Elf, I flew over to Erik and Jane, who had just noticed Thor's arrival.

"We're too late," Jane announced as she jogged up to him.

"The Convergence is at its peak," Erik concurred and I began to blame myself for not being strong enough to stop Malekith. I was the last defense and had failed.

Thor turned to Erik, noticing the gravimetric spikes in his arms, "can those things stop him?"

Erik shook his head, "not from here."

"We can't get close enough," Jane spoke dejectedly.

But Thor was resolved as he took the equipment from Erik's arms, "I can."

Thor ran into the dark cloud and I peered over Jane's shoulder to track his movements. Each time he landed one of the spikes on Malekith, Jane twisted a knob, causing the area around the spike to disappear. We had no knowledge of if Thor's plan was working until the cloud exploded on the last spike, leaving Thor unconscious on the ground and Malekith no where in sight, undoubtably on a different realm somewhere.

Jane called his name as she ran to make sure he was ok and I shouted after her to be careful, noticing how unstable the Dark Elf ship was. As she rolled him over and tried to drag him out of the way of the falling ship, I flew in after her. The ship came barreling down at us and I threw my hands out, managing to stop it with magic.

"Erik, Jane, get him out of here!" I cried out, already feeling the effects of how much magic I had been using. "I cannot hold it much longer!"

"Liv," Thor began, but seemed unable to continue in his weak state.

"Just go!"

I strained to keep the ship from hitting the ground, cursing stupid gravity for making it so difficult. Then suddenly the ship disappeared and I looked up at Erik who had the tablet in his hands. I collapsed on the ground in both exhaustion and relief, glancing over to Thor who was still on the ground with Jane's arms around him.

We did it, we had stopped Malekith. But the cost had been great and I found part of me wishing that I had been crushed by the ship, so long as Thor and Jane had made it to safety.

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(A/N): Did I post yesterday? Time has become an illusion, I have no recollections of the past day as the entire week has melded together. Apologies if I failed to post, especially since we're so close to the end and I have everything pre-written! I hope you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless, I was really just trying to get through the battle quickly 😂