"We are still unable to restore the palace shields. Our artillery cannot detect them, even Heimdall cannot see them. We are all but defenseless." Fandral said, schematics of the palace pulled up.
"She is your prisoner now?" Thor asked, aproaching the little council with Olivia in tow. Loki wanted to be left alone for a little while, which was understandable. "Leave us." The council disbanded, leaving just Odin, Thor, and Olivia.
"I do not wish to fight with you." Odin said.
"Nor I with you, but we intend to pursue Malekith." Thor said.
"We possess the Aether, Malekith will come to us." Odin replied.
"Yes, and you will destroy us." Olivia cut in.
"You overestimate the power of these creatures." Odin told her sharply.
"No, I value our peoples lives. We'll take Jane to the Dark World and draw the enemy away from Asgard. When Malekith pulls the Aether from Jane it will be exposed, vulnerable, and I will destroy it and him."
"If you fail, you risk this weapon falling into the hands of our enemies."
"The risk is far greater if we do nothing. His ship could be over our heads right now and we'd never even know it!"
"If and when he comes, his men will fall by ten thousand Asgardian blades."
"And how of our men shall fall on theirs?"
"As many as are needed! We will fight! Until the last Asgardian breath, the last drop of Asgardian blood." Odin all but yelled. Thor could only watch the verbal sparing between his father and his sister. He knew there was a mutual loathing between them, but Olivia had been biting back far more than she used to. He made a mental note to ask her for details.
"And how are you different from Malekith?" Olivia continued. Odin chuckled, an unsettling sound.
"The difference, daughter of Iri, is that I will win." Odin said, before turning and walking away.
"He's weary, did you notice how pained he looked?" Thor asked.
"And?" Olivia asked, arms folded. Thor sighed, not wanting to start another fight. "So what do we do now?"
"We ask for help." Thor replied.
***
Dining Hall
Thor and Olivia sat alone at a table, almost no one else around. Looking up, they saw Heimdall approach them.
"You're not in Odin's war council?" Thor asked.
"The Bifrost is closed by your father's orders. No one is to come or go." The gatekeeper replied, sitting down at the table and removing his helmet. Olivia slid him a drink, though he made no move to take it. "We face an enemy that's invisible even to me. Of what use is a guardian such as that?"
"Still a good one." Olivia said.
"We need your help." Thor added.
"I cannot overrule my king's wishes, not even for you." Heimdall said curly.
"We're not asking you to." Olivia said.
"The Realms need their Allfather strong and unchallenged, whether he is or not. But he is blinded, Heimdall. By hatred and by grief." Thor said.
"As are we all." Heimdall said.
"I see clearly enough."
"The risks are too great."
"Everything we do from here on is a risk. There is no other way." Olivia said. Heimdall sighed and thought for a moment.
"What do you require of me?"
***
Local Pub
Thor and his companions discussed the plan that they had, sitting around a table. Olivia had even managed to draw Loki out from his brief solitude. The idea of vengeance was all too tempting.
"What I'm about to ask of you is treason of the highest order. Success will bring us exile and failure shall mean our death. Malekith knew the Aether was here, he can sense its power. If we do nothing he will come for it again, but this time lay waste to all of Asgard. We must move Jane off world." He explained.
"The Bifrost has been shut down and the Tesseract locked away in a vault." Sif pointed out.
"There are other paths off Asgard." Heimdall cut in.
"Now, that's where you come in, Loki. You know these hidden paths. You'll take us to the Dark World, hopefully undetected." Thor said. Loki nodded as he understood.
"Well, what then? Your lovely mortal is being guarded by a legion of our Einherjar who will see you coming from miles away." Fandral said.
"I won't be the one who comes for her." Thor said, looking over at Sif.
"And what of the All-Father?" Olivia asked.
"It is my sworn duty to notify him of crimes against the throne." Heimdall said.
"Okay... Well, assuming you can free this mortal, what good would it do? We'd all be dead the minute we step one foot outside the palace." Volstagg added.
"That, my friend, is why we won't be leaving on foot."
"The Dark Elf ship is still in the throne room. We can leave in that." Olivia said.
"Exactly. Now, we have to be ready by mid afternoon tomorrow. Be ready for anything." Thor said.
***
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather just punch your way out?" Loki asked, him, Thor, and Olivia creeping down a hallway to execute their plan.
"If you keep speaking, I just might." Thor grumbled.
"Fine, as you wish. I'm not even here." Loki said, placing an illusion over himself to look like one of the guards. Olivia couldn't help but snicker. "Is this better?"
"It's better company at least." Thor said, Olivia smacking his arm. "I mean in a sense that it looks less suspicious."
"Still, we could be less conspicuous. Perhaps you'd prefer one of your new companions given that you seem to like them so much." Loki said, before changing his shape again, turning into none other than Captain America.
"Oh, this is much better. Woh. The costume's a bit much, so tight. But the confidence, I can feel the righteousness surging. Hey, you wanna have a rousing discussion about truth, honor, patriotism? God bless America!" Loki said as Steve, doing an over the top impression of the Super Soldier. This time, Olivia burst out laughing.
"Wait, wait, wait, lemme try." She said. She, too, changed her shape with an illusion of her own, turning into Natasha Romanoff. "I've got red in my ledger, and I'd like to wipe it out... By shooting at aliens with hand guns. You'd think I'd get better weapons."
"Hold on, wait." Loki said, now changing into Clint Barton. "I fight aliens with a bow and arrow. Oh, and I kind of have a crush on Agent Romanoff, even though I'm married."
"Ooh, I believe that's what the Midgardians would call a SCANDAL!" Olivia-as-Natasha said.
"Both of you shut up!" Thor hissed. The pair ended their illusions as a few guards passed by. They slowly snuck around some pillars, waiting in a more open daylight setting. Eventually, Sif and Jane approached, Jane wearing a jacket over her Asgardian dress she was lent.
"Hold on... I wasn't gonna do this at the funeral, but..." Jane said, before abruptly slapping Loki across the face, his head whipping to the side. "That was for New York."
"Jane!" Olivia said, shocked.
"Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system." Jane shrugged.
"It's okay. I like her spirit." Loki said, lightly rubbing at his sore cheek.
"I like you, Jane Foster. It's best for both of us if you would keep it that way." Olivia said, allowing a smile to creep out. They could hear the guards approaching, and fast.
"I'll hold them off, take her." Sif said to Thor. He nodded in acknowledgement, leading Jane, Loki, and Olivia to the throne room, where Volstagg and the Dark Elf ship awaited.
"I will give you as much time as I can." Volstagg said, shaking Thor's hand.
"Thank you, my friend." He replied back. The quartet carefully boarded the crashed ship. It was dark inside. Thor uncertainty pressed a few buttons.
"I thought you said you knew how to fly this thing." Loki said.
"I said how hard could it be." Thor replied.
"Well, whatever you're doing, brother, I suggest you do it faster."
"Shut up, Loki."
They could hear the guards fighting and yelling outside.
"You must have missed something." Olivia said.
"I didn't, I'm pressing every button on this thing." Thor said, getting frustrated.
"No, don't hit it, just press it gently." Olivia said.
"I am pressing it gently, it's not working!" Thor said, slamming some buttons, when suddenly some schematics appeared in front of them as the shop turned on. He gave a jovial laugh as the ship slowly rose off the ground, crashing into a few columns.
"I think you missed a column." Loki said snarkily.
"Shut up!" Thor snapped. Getting a feel for the controls, Thor piloted the ship out of the throne room and outside the palace.
"Look, why don't you let me take over, I'm clearly the better pilot." Loki said.
"Is that right?" Thor said, still piloting rather haphazardly. Then, they heard Jane collapse behind them.
"Oh dear... Is she dead?" Loki asked.
"Jane?" Thor asked.
"I'm okay." Jane replied, sounding a little weak. Then, they crashed right into a defense tower.
"Not a word." Thor said when he noticed both Loki and Olivia about to open their mouths with some snarky quip. Then, they heard some smaller Asgardian ships fly behind them.
"Now they're following us." Olivia said. Blasts rocked the ship.
"Now they're firing at us." Loki added.
"Yes, thank you for the commentary, you two, it's not at all distracting." Thor snapped as they wove through more buildings. One of the sides of the ship sliced right through a statue of the former King Bor right before an arch leading out to beside a bridge.
"Well done, you've just decapitated your grandfather." Olivia quipped. Thor grimaced. It was like there were two Loki"s behind him. They sped along the side of the long bridge, the Asgardian ships still shooting at them.
"You know this is wonderful. This is a tremendous idea. Let's steal the biggest, most obvious ship in the universe and escape in that. Flying around the city, smashing into everything in sight so everyone can see us. It's brilliant, Thor! It's truly brilliant!" Loki said, before Thor shoved him out the side of the ship. Loki yelled as he fell below.
"Thor!" Olivia snapped at him, before diving after Loki. Neither of them landed gracefully or on their feet in the little skiff being piloted by Fandral. They saw Thor leap out of the Dark Elf ship next, Jane in is arms. He landed far more smoothly.
"I see your time in the dungeons has made you no less graceful, Loki." Fandral laughed.
"Now, do as you promised. Take us to your secret pathway." Thor told Loki. He smiled and took control of the skiff, going in every which direction to avoid the other Asgardian ships. Though, eventually, more ships started to approach. Thor motioned for his friend. "Fandral."
"Right." He replied, grabbing a rope. "For Asgard." Leaping off the skiff, Fandral landed on a nearby Asgardian ship and started taking out the guards on there.
Continuing to pilot their skiff, Loki was quickly leading them to one of the rock formations jutting out from the water.
"Loki..." Thor started uncertainly.
"If it were easy, everyone would do it." Loki said.
"Are you mad?"
"Possibly."
They slowly crashed through a narrow opening in the rocks, portal magic enveloping the skiff.
"Hold onto something!" Olivia said, gripping the edge of the skiff. With the blink of an eye, they crashed onto a dark and sandy plane. The Dark World.
"Ta-da!" Loki said with sarcastic triumph as they slowly skidded along.
***
"I have a bad feeling about this." Olivia announced as they calmly rode along the sandy plane.
"I don't think it's possible to have a good feeling about this." Loki replied.
"Well, do we have a plan? All we know is that we have to get the Aether safely out of Jane so we can destroy it. How do we do that?" Olivia asked, glancing at the still unconcious Jane.
"Easy. Tricks." Thor said. Loki's face almost seemed to light up. "I mean, think about it, we can't extract the Aether, but Malekith can. We somehow need to have him take it out, then we destroy it."
"Okay, I have something, the beginnings of an idea. When Kurse was breaking everyone out of the dungeons during the attack on Asgard, as is protocol, the other cells went on lockdown. Problem was, I was in Loki's cell at that time, so I couldn't get out. I wasn't let out for a little bit, but it was enough time for Kurse to see both Loki and I in there. Maybe he thinks we were enemies of Asgard? Maybe we could use that?" Olivia explained.
"Good idea. What if we do something like pretend to attack Thor, give up Jane, then we do the whole 'blow-the-Aether-to-Hel' thing?" Loki added.
"That's actually not a bad plan." Thor admitted.
"You doubted us?" Loki asked, semi-serioulsly shocked.
"It's dangerous and can go bad at any given moment, but it's the best plan we've got." Thor said.
"Here's an even better addition: what if us as 'enemies of Asgard' were Frost Giants? We don't have to show it, though." Olivia suggested.
"It's sounds crazy. It might actually work." Thor said.
"H-hey, guys? Do we have any sort of plan?" A suddenly waking up Jane asked.
"We do actually. Though, we do have a question for you." Olivia said.
"Yeah...?" Jane asked, albeit a bit skeptical.
"How good are you at acting?"
***
Trudging up a little dune of black sand, the quartet got a good look at the massive Dark Elf ship. Olivia took a deep breath and turned to Jane.
"Remember the plan and how to fall down safely, okay? This isn't gonna be easy in any way, shape, or form, but it's the best plan we've got." She told the other woman.
"I understand." Jane said.
"Well, then after you." Olivia said, gesturing her forward, Thor following suit. Just as they had rehearsed. She and Loki walked in step behind them. Then, they shared a glance and a quick nod. Acting quickly, Olivia grabbed Jane from behind as Loki pulled a 'dagger' (it was an illusion one, would not be harmful in any way) out and drove it into Thor's gut.
"Thor!!!" Jane cried as he tumbled down the hill. Then, she was pushed from behind by Olivia and was also sent rolling down. Though, she didn't get to Thor in time when she stood up. Loki, having followed Thor down, 'kicked' him right in the face. Grunting, Thor reached out to attempt to summon his hammer, but Olivia suddenly teleported to him and 'cut' his hand off with her sword.
Jane managed to make her way to a seething in apparent pain Thor, who gripped at his wound. She barely had time to process it (really, any of it. If she were being completely honest, she wasn't expecting it to go this far, but she kept the facade up) before Olivia roughly grabbed her at swordpoint. By then, the Dark Elves had approached.
"Malekith, we are Olivia and Loki of Jotunheim and we bring you a gift! We ask only one thing in return, a good seat from which to watch Asgard burn." Loki proclaimed as Olivia threw Jane to the ground.
"They are enemies of Asgard, they were locked in a cell." Kurse said in their native language that could still be understood with the All-Speak the Asgardians had. They apparently bought the story, though Loki was ready in case they required some sort of proof. He could change forms just fine, and he could use illusions on Olivia.
Jane struggled to get to her knees. She had landed fine, sure, but it was a mix of sudden fear and emotional taxation that caused her to shake.
Malekith suddenly raised a hand and Jane had begun to float off the ground. That's when the Aether slowly poured out of every orofice on her face.
Olivia hadn't ever actually seen the Aether for herself before. It radiated a dangerous energy, she could tell. No wonder it could be used to destroy worlds. Then, Jane fell to the ground, all of the Aether having left her body.
"Loki, now!" Thor called. Loki raised a hand, a green flash coming from it as Thor's hand returned, as well as his full armor. His hammer flew to him and he began to send a barrage of lightning at the Aether, beginning to destroy it. Loki dove to shove Jane out of the way as Olivia used magic to also help destroy the Aether.
Then, it exploded, shaking the world. The little red shards fell to the ground, dust settling.
It was dead quiet.
Then, the little red shards began to reform themselves into the red sludge it had started out as.
Sikudi nopazmi. Olivia swore in her head.
Once the Aether reformed, it was sucked into it's new owner. He immediately radiated a new and dangerous energy. His job finished, he sent his soldiers to deal with the Asgardians.
"Can it get any worse?" Olivia asked.
"I hope not." Thor said, readying his hammer for a fight. He found himself squaring off against Kurse, Olivia and Loki each taking half of the elves. Jane was still in an unconscious state.
The elves were taken care of quickly, Loki using knife work to deal with his half, Olivia using her sword to deal with her half. They both noticed Thor essentially getting his ass kicked in. Olivia noticed one of the weird black hole grenades attached to Kurse's belt. She and Loki exchanged looks and went to Thor's aid.
Thor's face was getting pounded in to the point that no one could really notice Olivia creeping up to activate the grenade, or when Loki used her sword to impale Kurse until it was too late. Kurse turned around to face Loki, and Olivia managed to process what was going on quickly enough.
"Look out!" She said. Before Loki could be impaled as well, she dove and shoved him out of the way, tackling him to the ground. It was just in time, too, because the grenade activated and sucked Kurse in. It horribly mutilated him in the process, but in a moment, he was gone.
Once again, the Dark World was quiet.
"Is everyone okay?" Olivia asked.
"Never better." Thor said sarcastically, rubbing at his head.
"Well, that went well." Loki said, also sarcastically. Jane eventually stirred and woke up.
"Why didn't that work?" She asked. "I mean, it-it just reformed in about six seconds."
"Six... One of six... Oooh, I'm such an idiot." Olivia griped, burying her face in her hands.
"What? Why? How?" Thor asked.
"Dove, you're not an idiot, we just screwed up." Loki tried to reassure her.
"I am, though, I completely forgot. The Aether has another name. The Reality Stone. It's an Infinity Stone. It can't be destroyed by common means. Really, you'd need a very extreme power source greater than what we have or some sort of strong energy with a similar molecular composition. This was doomed to fail from the start." Olivia said, picking at her lip.
"So this was pointless?" Jane asked.
"Well, no. It's not in you anymore, and that counts for something. But we have to find a way to get to Midgard, and fast. The Convergence is coming. We don't have a lot of time left." Thor said. They sat in silence for a few moments. They didn't have all that many options.
"So where do we go from here?" Jane asked.
***
A storm was picking up, sending the black sand in a whirlwind. The four of them attempted to find shelter until they figured out a plan. After a little while of walking, they found a small cave on the side of a rocky foothill mountain. They clambered to get inside, grateful for the shelter it provided.
"He's gonna unleash it, but not just on Asgard, or a star. He's gonna destroy everything." Jane piped up all of a sudden.
"How? Jane, how?" Thor asked.
"I saw him on Earth. Why would he go to Earth?"
"The Convergence." Olivia said simply.
"God. None of this would have happened if I hadn't found the Aether. I only found it because I was looking for you." Jane said, slumping in her seat.
"Jane..." Thor sighed.
"And now we're trapped here."
An odd sound came from inside the cave. It sounded like music, but it was more... Electronic.
"It's not me." Thor said.
"Really? Never would have guessed." Loki said sarcastically. Jane pulled something from her jacket pocket and pressed a button.
"Hello?" She said into it.
"A device that can be used for communication across the worlds? How did she get one?" Olivia asked.
"Richard?? Where are you?" Jane said, shocked at the voice she heard on the other end. "Oh my god, this is amazing." She held up the device in front of her, examining it.
"I'd say so." Olivia said, attempting to take a look at the device.
"How am I getting service here?" Jane asked, walking around a little. A voice emerged from the phone, a little too hard to hear for Olivia. "No no no, whatever you do, don't hang up."
Apparently Loki could make it out. He glanced at Thor, an innocent smirk on his face. Thor rolled his eyes.
"Okay, stay on the phone... Oh my god." Jane continued. She bent down and picked up a purple colored object, likely a crushed soda can. Next to it, she found a keychain with a colored cube on it.
"Aren't those things from Midgard?" Olivia asked.
"I thought I lost these when they fell through that portal." Jane said. A pause. "Oh no one, just a friend."
"Portal? Jane, this is a world overlap. We can get to Midgard this way if this stuff is from there." Olivia said, finding a soccer ball and kicking it across the room, when it disappeared. "Come on, we don't have much time."
Jane hung up the phone quickly as the four of them stepped through the portal. A moment later, they were in a rainy parking lot full of large crates stacked very haphazardly. Seemingly spotting something, Jane ran over and unlocked a red car nearby.
She got into the driver's seat, Thor in the passenger's seat, with Loki and Olivia piled into the back.
"So, who's Richard?" Thor asked, shutting the door, glass from the broken windows tinkling inside.
"Really?" Jane replied in frustration.
"Bad time, Thor." Olivia said, leaning forward in her seat.
"Where are we going?" Loki asked, almost bored.
"My lab." Jane replied.
***
Jane's Lab
"Jane! You can't just leave me like that!" A woman with glasses said as the three Asgardians followed Jane inside. Uncertainly, Thor hung Mjolnir on a coat hook, which surprisingly held. "The world's going crazy, all that stuff we saw earlier is spreading. Wait, did you go to a party?"
All of them realized that Jane was still in an Asgardian dress.
"Erik?" Jane asked, turning and spotting a man at a desk.
"Jane!" Erik said excitedly, getting out of his seat to give her a hug... While wearing no pants. "You've been to Asgard!"
"Where are your pants?"
"He says it helps him think." Another man, younger, said to her.
"Okay, well, I'm gonna need everything you've got on this, all the work you've been doing. Everything." Jane said, wasting no time.
"Are you well, Erik?" Thor cut in. Erik finally seemed to notice the three Asgardians standing awkwardly in the study.
"This is awkward." Olivia muttered when Erik and Loki made distinct eye contact.
"Would now be the best time for apologies?" Loki asked.
"Maybe later. We have more pressing matters." Olivia said.
"Thor's sister?" Erik asked, pointing to her. I think I saw you after New York."
"I'm not really his-" She sighed. "Yes, I'm his sister. Pleasure to meet you properly. Who are the other two?"
"Darcy Lewis. I'm Jane's intern. This is Ian. My intern." The other woman, Darcy, greeted. "So you're not-Sigyn?"
"Who?" Olivia asked.
"Nevermind. So that's Loki?" Darcy asked, pointing to Olivia's right.
"In the flesh." Loki said, semi-sarcastically.
"Hey, say hello to your kid for me." Darcy said.
"My what?"
"Thor said you-"
"We'll give him your greetings, Miss Lewis." Olivia interrupted, glancing at Loki while tapping lightly on his shoulder eight times. He took the hint.
If Thor doesn't get himself killed, I swear I'll do it myself. Loki said in Olivia's mind.
She's cultured, I'll give her that. I like her. Olivia replied. Loki only rolled his eyes in response.
"Well, thanks! And you can just call me Darcy." The intern replied.
"Guys, meeting. Now." Jane said from the doorway, now back in regular clothes. Everyone gathered around a table with computers and papers strewn about. "The Aether is going to be fired at the point where all the Nine Worlds are connected."
"Amplifying the weapon's impact." Erik added. "For each additional world, the power will increase exponentially. The effect would be universal.
"Yes, but the alignment is only temporary, you must be in the right place at the right time." Olivia said.
"Well, how do we know where that is?" Darcy asked.
"We follow the directions." Loki said. "Does anyone have a map of Europe?"
Erik scrambled to the side and pulled out a rolled up paper, clearing a table and laying the map across it.
"This has happened before, thousands of years ago, and the ancient Midgardians were there to see it. All your great constructions, the Mayans, the Chinese, the Egyptians. They made use of the gravitational effects of the Convergence. And they left a map all across Europe." Loki explained, taking a marker and drawing lines from seemingly random points.
"Stonehenge, Snowdon, the Great Orme. These are all coordinates taking us.... Here." He pointed to a specific point on the map.
"Greenwich?" Ian asked.
"The walls between worlds will be almost non-existent. Physics is gonna go ballistic. Increase and decrease in gravity, spatial extrusions. The very fabric of reality is gonna be torn apart." Jane said. Thor summoned Mjolnir from the coat rack, startling everyone.
"I'd better get my pants." Erik said.
***
Greenwich
"This is important. We have to hammer them in all around the site and then Jane, Loki, and Erik will activate them from the tower." Darcy said.
"They're taped together!" Ian said, pulling the twist of metal out of the car.
"Do you even know what these things do?" Olivia asked, taking a pole in her arms. She and the two interns were tasked with placing the devices around the library area.
"No."
"Frankly, neither do I."
"Really? Isn't Asgard like, super advanced?" Ian asked.
"It is, but the technology isn't really my department. This is." Olivia replied, proceeding to take the rest of the poles out of the car with her magic, then shutting the trunk. Darcy and Ian blinked a few times as Olivia handed them the extra poles. "Come on, we don't have much time."
"Magic..." Darcy whispered as they found a small field. They planted one pole inside just as the water behind them started to churn by an unseen force. People around them started fleeing once the threat unveiled itself.
The Dark Elf ship.
"Holy. Shit." Darcy said. The ship continued forward, plowing through the stone and grass courtyard.
"Back up, back up!" Olivia said, tugging on both of their arms to pull them away. People ran for the library as the ship came to a stop. A portal started opening up above them. Alfheim maybe? That was Olivia's best guess.
"How many more do we have to place?" Darcy asked.
"Still a few." Olivia replied. She saw figures begin to emerge from the ship. "Okay, scary Dark Elves are coming supercharged with primordial energy. We might wanna move it."
"Noted." Darcy replied as the three of them made their way around the back of the library. Placing their last few poles, Olivia signaled to Loki (in the tower with Jane and Erik) that they were good to go.
Another portal opened up above them. Vanaheim was the best possibility.
"Okay, you guys stay here and hidden. I don't want either of you dying." Olivia said, peeking around the corner.
"Got it." Ian said, visibly skittish. Olivia teleported up to the tower.
"You might wanna hold onto something." Jane said as she readied her computer. Olivia peered down as Jane turned a knob on her device. One of the poles whirred, and the elves around it vanished into thin air.
"That was awesome, how did you do that?" Darcy's voice ran out. Jane had put her phone on speaker.
"Well, gravitational fields interact with the weak spots between worlds, creating-" Jane started to explain.
"You could just say magic, I know it exists for-" Darcy said, before her voice abruptly cut off.
"Oops." Jane said. Darcy and Ian had been caught in one of the poles' waves.
"How much more time do we have?" Loki asked.
"Five minutes." Erik reported. "We need to get the people out of the library."
"Let's go." Jane said, tucking her computer under her arm.
Managing to avoid threats, the four of them ran inside the library, people crowded around the windows.
"What are you doing? You need to get out of here?" Jane said.
"You're joking, right? That's Thor out there, he's waving his hammer around and everything!" One man said.
"Yeah, well I'm his sister and I know severe threats. You guys need to go!" Olivia said, frustrated. The windows suddenly shattered as people finally seemed to get the hint. Their job finished, Jane, Loki, Erik, and Olivia fled the library.
"What are you doing?" Erik asked.
"My signal's not connecting." Jane said, just as the column behind them exploded, Dark Elves following them in droves.
"Jane!" Erik called as she tried to use her technology again, but was pushed along, hopefully to safety. They turned a few more corners until the energy ring emerged, sucking the elves away... And leaving Darcy kissing Ian.
"Darcy?" Jane asked, confused. Darcy let Ian fall to the ground.
"Jane!"
"Ian." Erik said.
"Selvig!"
"Myuh-Myuh!" Darcy said as Mjolnir flew by.
"Mjolnir." Loki corrected.
"Portals!" Olivia said, rushing outside of the enclaved area.
Sure enough, the portals between the worlds had begun to allign themselves as the wind picked up.
"Where's Thor?" Loki asked.
"I haven't seen him." Darcy said.
"Well, thanks, that's helpful."
"We're out of time." Jane said, breaking into a run.
"What's that cloud?" Darcy asked.
"Oh, seven hells." Olivia swore. "It's the Aether. Where the hell is Thor?"
"There!" Jane said. She, Erik, Loki, and Olivia ran to Thor who was in a nearby alley. "We're too late."
"The Convergence is at it's peak." Olivia said.
"And those things stop it?" Thor asked, gesturing to the spare poles Erik had.
"Not from here." Erik replied.
"We can't get close enough." Jane said.
"I can." Thor said, taking the poles and running for the cloud of Aether.
"Can he?" Jane asked.
"He can." Loki assured her. A moment went by before Jane's device beeped.
"Now!" Olivia said. Jane turned the knob, a loud noise emerging from the Aether cloud. It beeped again and Jane turned the knob again.
The cloud suddenly vanished as Jane turned the knob one last time.
A peaceful silence emerged, debris floating around. The four of them ran around a pillar to see Thor lying on the ground, unconcious.
The bottom of the ship suddenly exploded as it began to fall forward.
"Thor!!" Jane cried as she ran across the field to him.
"Jane! Look out!" Olivia called after her. Jane tried to pull Thor away, but he wouldn't budge. She braced herself for the impact.
The ship suddenly disappeared above them, falling into a portal.
"Everyone okay?" Olivia asked as Thor stirred awake.
"Never better!" Loki said with sarcastic brightness. Olivia smiled and rolled her eyes.
***
Asgard, Two Days Later.
"You once said there would never be a wiser king than me. You were wrong. The alignment has brought all the worlds together. Every one of them saw you offer your life to save them. What can Asgard offer it's new king in return?" Odin said. Thor was knelt before the throne as Loki and Olivia stood off to the side, watching. They had their things ready to make the move to Midgard to stay with the Avengers. Not permanently, of course.
They also knew what Thor was going to do.
"My life. Father, I cannot be king of Asgard. I will protect Asgard and all the Realms with my last and every breath, but I cannot do so from that chair. The brutality and sacrifice of rule... It changes you. I'd rather be a good man than a great king." Thor said.
"Is this my son that I hear, or the woman he loves?"
"When you speak do I never hear Mother's voice? This is not for Jane, Father. She does not know what I have come here to say. Now, forbid me to see her, or say she can rule by my side, it changes nothing."
"One son who wanted the throne too much, another who will not take it. Is this to be my legacy?"
Olivia rolled her eyes as Loki bit his lip. Did Odin even realize they were even present? No, of course not. They were invisible to him unless he was chastising them.
"You've raised us to be the people we are today, is that not legacy enough?" Thor asked. Olivia couldn't help but snort once with laughter. It was a two meaning compliment, because Thor knew full well it was Odin's bad parenting that led to what happened in New York. Odin seemed to take no notice of it as Thor raised Mjolnir to him, non-verbally asking him if he wanted it back.
"It belongs to you. If you are worthy of it." Odin said.
"I shall try to be."
"I cannot give you my blessing. Nor can I wish you good fortune."
"I know." Thor said as he started to walk away. Loki and Olivia started to follow.
"If I were proud of the man my son had become, even that I could not say." Odin called after them. "It would speak only from my heart. Go, my son."
"Thank you, Father." Thor replied as he, Olivia, and Loki left the throne room. They began to make the trek to the Bifrost.
"So, to Midgard?" Olivia asked. "I hope Stark kept his word about having rooms ready."
"I have one stop to make first before we go to Stark. You two explore a little bit first." Thor said.
"To Miss Jane, perhaps?" Olivia said slyly. Thor coughed and continued walking. "You two are so adorable."
"We'll have to explore disguised, of course." Loki said, rolling his eyes.
"Well, hopefully that won't last forever." Olivia said. "Do you have something in mind?"
Loki thought for a moment before placing an illusion over himself. He looked largely the same, except for he was in Midgardian clothes, his eyes were a grey-blue color, and his hair was shorter, blonde and slightly curly. Olivia snickered.
"I dunno, I kind of like it. No one will easily recognise you, Loki." She said.
"Who's Loki? I'm Tom." He said. Olivia laughed as Loki turned back to his normal self.
"You'd better take me to a bakery at some point." Olivia told him. "Midgardians make the best cinnamon buns."
They arrived at the observatory and stood in front of the gateway.
"Heimdall... To Midgard please." Thor said.
***
A/N
I'm putting it on record that I DID do this, and I just deleted it because, y'know. But I screenshotted it for proof:
If you get that ref, you get a cookie.
(Also can I get a crew in here to help me fix the fourth wall, I broke it at the end there. Oops 😏)