Chapter 29: The Dark world part 3
"He was my brother," Thor whispered, when they reached the surface of the Dark World, looking down at the tunnel's entrance. "I know what he was, what he did… But I loved him. He was family."
Jane hugged him, trying to offer some comfort, but Thor seemed completely lost with grief. They all were. Sif, Fandral and Volstagg as well, Sif most of all.
"We failed," Thor continued, closing his eyes. "Malekith has the Aether, Loki is dead and we are stranded in the Dark World with no way to get back. When the Convergence starts…"
The end of everything, Clark finished in silence. They had truly failed. Jane was safe, but not for long; none of them was. And now they didn't even have a way to escape this planet, not without knowing the passages Loki knew.
Unless…
"Kelex, can you pinpoint the focal point of the Convergence?" he asked, suddenly.
There was a second of anticipation, a second every person there looked at Kelex, wide eyed.
"I can, sir."
For the first time since that whole thing began, Clark truly smiled. They didn't need to know a secret passage through the branches of Yggdrasil, not when the Nine Realms would be completely connected for the first time in 5000 years. They just needed to be there at the right time.
Steve looked at the sky in anticipation, fully clad in his blue uniform, his shield strapped at his back. Around him, Tony was wearing his suit, without the helmet, Dr. Banner was cleaning his glasses in a nervous tic, Natasha was checking her guns, including some menacing big cannon made from the parts of some Asgardian magical armor that had attacked New Mexico and Clint was fidgeting with his arrows.
According to Selvig, the Convergence would soon reach its peak and its focal point would be right where they were, at the Old Royal Naval College, in Greenwich. They had prepared. The place was evacuated, the army had formed a perimeter and SHIELD agents were patrolling the place. The gravimetric spikes Selvig developed to prevent the Convergence to reach its full potential were already ready and installed.
Now they were waiting.
For what? Nobody really knew. Hopefully nothing at all, except a weird natural phenomenon, but if Steve learned one thing since he woke up in this weird time was that portals leading to alien worlds usually meant trouble; thus, the many weapons.
"I bet a hundred dollars that something awesome is going to happen," Tony said, breaking the heavy silence.
"That's very specific," Clint said, sarcastically. "What do you consider to be 'awesome'?"
"You know, something amazing!" Tony answered, cheekily.
They rolled their eyes.
"Not something incredible?" Bruce asked, smiling.
"Nah, 'incredible' doesn't really convey the awesomeness of something 'awesome'," Tony retorted.
"What Clint means," Natasha explained, still checking her pistol, "is that what one person might find 'awesome' and what another person might find 'awesome' can vary greatly. Take Steve, for example," Steve sighed, tiredly, "an older fellow like him will probably shock easily at any technological advancement, like a TV or a cellphone."
It was weird that he was already getting used to being Natasha's source of amusement?
"For your information, you are wrong," Steve answered, raising his eyebrows at her. "After aliens, gods and portals, I would easily pay a hundred dollars if anything else can shock me ever again."
Natasha holstered her pistol, looking at him with a grin. "It's on."
It was exactly when she said that, that a sword-like spaceship of the size of a skyscraper appeared out of nothing, gliding over the sea and digging through the ground as it landed in front of them.
The Avengers almost jumped in surprise, readying their weapons to meet whatever was coming at them, retreating slowly as the ship stopped in front of them; an elevator, all the way to the top of the ship, began to come down.
"We have contact," Natasha warned on the radio, any playfulness on her voice gone. "Secure the perimeter, nothing comes in or out. Prepare the jets for airstrike."
They assumed a battle formation around Steve, side by side, their eyes fixed on the doors of ship, waiting to see what would walk out of it. Then the doors opened; a troop of aliens, armed and masked, came out, led by a by a menacing being clad in dark robes, with the right half of his grey face burned.
"Dark Elves!" Selvig exclaimed through the radio connection, as the aliens approached them, not fazed by their presence whatsoever.
"Elves?!" Stark asked. "Like Santa's little helpers and Legolas?"
"More like the beings that survived the extinction of their own universe," Natasha corrected, no doubt remembering Clark's mention of them while they were on the Helicarrier, in what felt like ages ago.
How could a race survive the end of their universe Steve didn't know, but it certainly made them dangerous. He didn't know if they were here to fight or what was their real objective, but the way they landed the ship and the way they were equipped wasn't exactly a good indicative for peace.
Steve stepped forward, raising his hand.
"That's close enough. Identify yourselves."
Surprisingly, the Dark Elf really did stop, but apparently not because of him; he was looking up, right in time to see the appearance of eight portals taking form in the sky. The Convergence was beginning to reach its final form. The Dark Elf studied them for a few seconds, then stared at Steve.
"It seems that mortals are still ignorant of matters taking place out of this Realm," he said in a powerful voice. "I am Malekith, ruler of the Dark Elves, but this should make no difference to you. Soon, I will end this universe and restore min–"
Whatever he was going to say was interrupted by a truly brutal energy blast fired by Natasha's cannon, made from the parts of the Asgardian's Destroyer. The blast hit Malekith directly against the chest, exploding in a weird plasma like reaction, sending the ruler of the Dark Elves flying against his own troops.
Steve, and everyone else, turned to her, jaws agape.
"What? He said he was ending our universe, I didn't need anything else."
She wasn't wrong, Steve admitted, before taking his shield. "Attack!"
The Avengers advanced against the Dark Elves still standing, dodging their firing as they approached. Tony took off, his suit unleashing a wave of missiles against them, at the same time Natasha fired her pistols, waiting for the Destroyer cannon to cool down; the explosive rounds she was using, designed by Stark himself, were doing a very good job at hurting the Dark Elves.
Clint, like Natasha, was shooting explosive arrows, blasting his enemies away with them; most Dark Elves managed to get up, but not unharmed, that was easy to see. Managing to finish the job or not, Natasha and Clint's suppressing fire was enough to hold the Dark Elves in place as Steve and Bruce approached.
Steve deflected the firing against him with his vibranium shield, seeing the repelled energy drop some hostiles, and then he was on them; he kicked the closest Dark Elf in the face with all his strength, surprising himself at how little he actually hurt the alien. But maybe it should be expected, from a race able to go toe-to-toe against Asgardians.
The Dark Elf was not capable of ignoring the blast of his shield against his face, however.
The vibranium unleashed a powerful bash, sending he Dark Elf to the ground immediately, as Steve spun to hit another one. Natasha, Tony and Clint continued to fire from a distance, making it easier for Steve to move in the middle of them, creating chaos.
And then there was a roar; the Hulk was ready to fight.
Tony grinned when he saw the Big Guy jumping right in the middle of the fight, sending the Dark Elves flying in all directions. The Hulk was screaming like crazy, punching and kicking everyone around him, basically ignoring the firing against him; it was seriously cool seeing Bruce let out all that pent-up anger, provided he was not the target.
His repulsors took him close to the battle, so that he could fire his laser against the alien troop, managing to destroy some of their weapons. It was clear from where he was standing that the Dark Elves weren't expecting such a greeting. They were caught unaware, imagining there would be no resistance at all, and it was costing them. They were divided, without a leader and pinned down; it was almost too good to be true.
It usually was.
Tony saw only a red glow coming from the place where Malekith had been blasted, but he already knew it was bad news.
"TAKE COVER!" he yelled.
Steve, Natasha, Clint and the agents positioned nearby did what they could, hiding behind covers or shields; the Hulk, however, completely ignored him. A gigantic red wave originated out of nothing, sweeping the battlefield, tossing Bruce so high up in the sky that Tony had to dodge midair not to be hit.
The Big Guy dropped back to the ground like a meteor, making the entire place shake and dust rise up.
"I will make you suffer before I end this universe!" Malekith vowed, getting up, his armor burned, and walking towards the crater the Hulk had made.
Lifting his hand, the red cloud appeared again, going against the Hulk with the force of a train, widening the crater even more. Tony was momentarily stunned; anyone that could do that to the Hulk was someone to be feared. And right now they didn't have Superman or Thor to ask for help, because apparently those two were out in the galaxy partying or something.
Another alien force attacking Earth… Tony was beginning to think things would only get worse with time; provided, of course, they were capable to survive this one.
Diving, Tony powered his repulsors, dropping from the sky fast. Too fast for Malekith to notice and react. Tony punched the guy right in the face, feeling his armor strain at how dense that guy was, then he landed, turning to face the Dark Elf with his repulsors aimed.
Malekith simply stared at him, as if he had barely felt the punch.
"When your people was still hiding in caves and marveling at fire, I was already waging war against empires spanning thousands of worlds! And now do you presume to hurt me?!"
"Me? Oh, no," Tony answered; then he pointed behind Malekith. "But he will!"
The Dark Elf barely had time to turn before the Hulk smashed him, burying him in the ground; that was very satisfying to watch.
"It appears the mothership is deploying aircrafts, sir."
"It seems so, Jarvis. Let's greet them, shall we? The Big Guy seems to have things handled here."
Natasha grabbed her rifle, loaded with special Stark armor-piercing ammunition, and began to fire against the Dark Elves, trying to prevent them from scattering. She could see her shots dropping some enemies, the bullets made from a mix of Earth metals and Chitauri alloy, but more often than not the Dark Elves would simply get up again, well protected behind their armors; slower, harmed, but not dead as they should be.
That was beginning to annoy her.
"What the hell was that red thing?" Clint exclaimed, shooting his arrows nonstop.
"Difficult to know," Natasha answered, completely cool, as she traded her rifle for the Destroyer cannon; one single shot and five Dark Elves caught in the explosion didn't get up. "But it managed to hurt Bruce, so I would stay clear if I were you."
Pistols again? Or should she try her new grenade launcher? Decisions, decisions…
"You could at least pretend that you are not enjoying yourself," Clint mumbled, as he managed to put an arrow directly against a Dark Elf's forehead; the new arrow drilled its way in for a second, then exploded. "It's not like our universe is at stake here."
"Who says I'm enjoying myself?" Natasha asked, shooting the grenade launcher three times, scattering the enemy soldiers gathering around the Hulk.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe I got the wrong impression when I heard you giggling."
"I do not giggle," she deadpanned.
"Not with sounds," Clint agreed. "It's more like a silent giggle. An emotional giggle."
"Am I emotional giggling right now?" Natasha asked, as she noticed that the Destroyer cannon was ready for another shot.
The big weapon glowed red and then fired, causing destruction all around.
"Oh, yes, you are!"
Malekith held that green beast's fist with his hand, the Aether giving him the necessary power to resist such strength. Snarling, he used the Aether to attack him, conjuring a wave that tossed that monstrosity away.
What was happening? Nothing going on here was expected. Midgard was supposed to be a weak Realm, a perfect place where he could unleash the Aether when the Convergence reached its peak, but it was anything but. Their weapons were capable of killing his soldiers, their fighting abilities were proving to be a match even against his best warriors and that green beast… What was that thing?!
He had no time to find out. Looking up he could see that the Alignment was nearly complete. When it was, he would have seven minutes to do what he needed to save his universe, bringing the darkness back; any delay was simply unacceptable.
The green monster got up again, even madder, roaring when he began to run in his direction; it was time to end this. The beast was strong, but at the end of the day it was just a beast and beasts could easily be caged. Calling forth all the power from the Aether, Malekith brought his arms up, gathering the red cloud around the monster. Instead of recognizing what was happening and flee, the beast fought, punching the Aether, trying to even bite it, but Malekith focused, keeping the Aether from dispersing, immobilizing his limbs one by one.
And then he closed the spherical cell around him; now he would have some peace to do what he needed.
Walking forward, completely ignoring the battle, Malekith stood right under the Convergence portals, looking up, ready to see what would soon be his new universe. What he saw, instead, made his eyes go wide.
The Asgardian Prince and the Kryptonian were flying to Midgard, crossing the several portals one by one, with the Asgardian armada behind them.
Clark landed back on Earth together with Thor, breaking the ground. He looked around for a second, quickly noticing that the ones fighting the Dark Elf invasion were the Avengers, assessing if any civilian was at risk; to his relief, there wasn't. They could fight.
"You will pay for what you did, Malekith!" Thor roared, lifting Mjölnir.
"You needn't have come so far, Asgardian! Death would've come to you soon enough!"
"Surrender, Malekith," Clark ordered. "Give back the Aether and surrender. Please."
Malekith laughed. "If you are that afraid, abomination, kneel. I swear I will grant you a swift death."
"It's not my life that I'm worried for," Clark answered, looking deeply into Malekith's eyes.
The Dark Elf sneered. "Your universe was never meant to be! Your world and your families will be extinguished!"
Saying this, he summoned the Aether and attacked them. It seemed peace was not an option.
"Was that Thor? And Clark?" Tony asked Jarvis.
"I believe so, sir. And they brought reinforcements."
An Asgardian armada was crossing the portal, the Viking-like ships flying fast, firing their cannons against the red and black Dark Elven ships. Finally some help around here! Tony flew forward, targeting the closest enemy ship and blasting it with his repulsors, before maneuvering to avoid a yellow energy blast.
"I'm on your side!" he yelled, landing on an Asgardian ship for a moment to reprimand them.
The big axe the even bigger Asgardian lifted seemed to indicate he hadn't really heard him.
"Volstagg, stop!" yelled a very attractive lady by his side. "It is that metal man Thor keeps talking about! You know, the weird one."
Weird one? What sort of lies was Thor spreading through the galaxy?!
"Oh, apologies, Metal Man," Volstagg said, embarrassed. "I will just help the ground effort. You can handle the sky."
And saying this, he jumped down, apparently not concerned that they were hundreds of meters up in the sky.
"Wait for me!" the lady warrior said, before jumping too. "Fandral, you and Metal Man can deal with the ships!"
"It is you and me, Metal Man!" a blond Asgardian said, turning his ship.
"It's Iron Man!" Tony yelled, before taking off in pursue of a Dark Elven ship. "And I'm not weird at all!"
"It seems you are famous on Asgard as well, sir."
Somehow, that didn't make Tony feel any better.
Thor was thrown against a car by an Aether blast, the vehicle bending under him. Malekith's troops were being handled, his ships were being countered, but the Aether was a problem that they were struggling to solve.
Clark was using all his speed to dodge the blasts, knowing they would hurt him a hell of a lot more than they hurt Thor, but the ever-changing nature of the Aether made that complicated; it was not so different than fighting Liquid Geo, except Liquid Geo couldn't drain his energy just by touching him.
Dodging a spear made of Aether, Clark dashed as quickly as he could and blasted Malekith right in the chest, throwing him against a stone pillar. Thor tossed his hammer while Malekith was still in air, the extremely heavy weapon crashing against the Dark Elf like a mountain; Malekith was tossed down.
But before hitting the ground, he simply disappeared.
"What?!" Thor asked, frowning.
Clark opened his mouth to answer it probably had something to do with the Convergence, but before he could Malekith appeared again, right behind him, his Aether-covered fist punching his face.
It hurt more than any other punch he had ever took and it tossed him back; but not to the ground. Clark felt only an extreme heat, before opening his eyes and seeing himself in a place that could very well have inspired the descriptions of Hell, complete with magma rivers, fire everywhere and creatures that seemed to be comfortably burning.
He was beyond shocked, though as soon as his mind whispered the word "Muspelheim" to him, his body passed through another rift; he fell against the ground, back in London.
"Good to see you, Clark," he heard Natasha's voice saying. He opened his eyes to see the lovely red-haired assassin smiling at him, while holding a very big cannon. "Had fun in your trip?"
"Is that a fucking bruise on your face?!" Clint asked, very much alarmed by the whole situation.
"It's, um, I'll explain later!" he said, taking off with a parting wave to Natasha, when he saw Thor and Malekith falling from a skyscraper on the other side of the city.
Clark crossed the distance in the blink of an eye, noticing Thor was not holding his hammer for some reason; that reason might be why he could hear something breaking the speed of sound as it flew through the city in their direction. He arrived at the same time Mjölnir did, going back to Thor, and suddenly Thor dashed down quickly, bashing Malekith with his hammer, now able to fly again.
Malekith, surprisingly, blocked the blow, sustaining his body in the sky with a cloud of Aether. Electricity clacked across his body, but he opened his arms and tossed Thor up against the building; he was not quick enough to avoid Clark's punch, though.
He clashed so strongly against Malekith that the shockwaves broke windows all around. The Dark Elf flew back, but instead of going over the city, he crossed another rift, disappearing; Clark followed him immediately, arriving at a frozen world.
To his surprise, Thor was already there, trading blows not with Malekith, but with a white, huge monster, set on eating him; a monster Malekith clashed against, still flying back because of Clark's punch. Both of them crashed against the ice mountain behind them and suddenly everything began to shake.
"Avalanche!" yelled Thor, unnecessarily, as pieces of ice of the size of trucks began to fall.
However, they never hit the ground, disappearing alongside them, when a rift opened, tossing them back to Svartalfheim. Clark, Thor, Malekith and pieces of ice fell against the ashes of the Dark World, rolling the hill before they could control their flight. And as soon as they could, the three of them flew against each other.
There was a never-ending storm of punches, red energy attacks and hammer blows, the sounds so loud that they echoed through the Dark World; Clark was pretty sure he was on the receiving end of some of those hammer blows, but at the moment he didn't care.
Getting some distance, Thor alongside him, Clark's eyes flashed red; he unleashed his heat vision, just as Thor unleashed a powerful lightning bolt.
Except none of the attacks reached Malekith, disappearing into a rift opened inches away from the Dark Elf's chest.
That was not good.
Steve had a second, maybe, to hide behind his shield when a very familiar pair of red energy beams and a blue lightning bolt appeared out of nothing, devastating the battlefield around him, sending the Dark Elves flying in all directions.
"Those two idiots!" he heard an Asgardian woman yell. "They could have killed someone!"
That was very true, but since some Dark Elves were still fighting he didn't have much time to be mad. He got up, ready to continue the fight, but before he could he saw Thor and Malekith appearing out of nothing, falling heavily on the ground, trading punches.
The Dark Elf managed to kick Thor away and then blast him with that red cloud, before looking up; following his eyes, Steve saw the Alignment was complete.
"Attack! Do not let him unleash the Aether!" the Asgardian lady screamed and everyone was already moving to intercept, but there wasn't time.
A huge red cloud formed around Malekith, growing quickly, taking the form of a spiraling hurricane; a hurricane that reached for the portals in the sky, completely closing itself around Thor and Malekith.
"Oh, no," whispered the Asgardian woman. "It has begun."
Steve could only assume that she was referring to the end of their universe; he didn't know what to do.
Thor groaned in pain, spiting blood while he got up. Everything around him was red, fearsome, dark. The Aether was beginning to change the universe.
"Darkness return, Asgardian," he heard Malekith saying, barely able to see him. "Have you come to witness the end of your universe?"
"I've come to accept your surrender," Thor said, calling Mjölnir, feeling the weapon traveling to him from who knows where.
Mjölnir or not, Thor would fight. He lunged forward, arm raised to punch Malekith, but something pulled him back; it took him a second to understand what. They were immersed in the Aether, everything there was under Malekith's control. The Aether grabbed him and tossed him down, face first.
He felt Malekith's armored foot stomping his head.
"You presume too much, boy." The foot pushed him down and Thor grunted, trying to fight back. "I was here before your race even existed. I was here before your very universe existed. And you believe you can stop me from saving my people?"
Thor was lifted in the air, completely under Malekith's control, until the Dark Elf grabbed him by the hair and forced him too look into his pitch-black eyes.
"Know this, Asgardian: it brings me great joy to have Bor's descendant here to witness your end."
Saying this, Malekith tossed him back and walked to the center of the Aether tornado, looking up. Thor could see the Aether entering the other Realms, infecting the Yggdrasil, where it would seep all around the universe until nothing of their universe would be left standing.
Malekith opened his arms and began to float, guiding the Aether to fulfil its purpose; and there was nothing Thor could do.
"Jarvis, what the hell is happening?!" Tony asked. "Selvig? Anyone?!"
"My readings indicate that the energy we are witnessing is somehow changing matter, sir."
"To what?"
"Dark matter."
Tony had no words, he could only watch as the red cloud oozed into the portals, while he observed from the sky. This would be, literally, the end of the universe. Game-over. And he wasn't talking about Earth or even their solar system, it was the End, capital "E".
"Alright, everyone, listen to me!" Tony yelled on his radio. "Concentrate everything we got on that thing!"
"Will it help?" Steve asked, sounding strangely defeated.
"I have no idea, but I have no intention of going out without trying!"
Saying this, Tony powered his repulsors and flew directly at the red tornado, dead-set on passing through to continue the fight. The moment he touched it, however, the red dust simply tossed him aside, launching him against the college building.
"TONY!" Steve yelled.
God damnit! This was not good, Tony thought, assessing the damage on his suit. He couldn't cross that thing, not without turning his suit, and himself, into dust. Maybe someone stronger? He couldn't see Superman anywhere and Thor and the Hulk were inside that mess.
"Steve, pass your radio to some Asgardian there!" he yelled.
There was a second, then a woman spoke. "What?"
"Look, I'm going to be blunt, unless you can cross that red stuff we are all going to die. Can you?"
Silence.
"I cannot."
Tony Stark sighed and closed his eyes.
"Kelex, where the hell are we?!" Clark asked, flying through unknow sky.
"I believe this is Vanaheim, sir."
Oh, great, stupid rift! "Can you find me another rift?"
"Keep going forward, sir."
Clark did as he was told and in seconds he was flying through another sky; not Earth's as well.
"Oh, my god, what is this place?" he whispered, feeling a truly cold chill fill his body.
It was dark, darker even than Svartalfheim, and somehow the cold was even more piercing than Jotunheim, full of mist and shadows. This was not a place he wanted to be.
"Another rift!"
"Go up."
Clark dashed up, feeling relieved as ever when he felt the warmth of Earth's sun; a feeling that quickly disappeared when he saw what was happening. He exploded downwards, going to the middle of the Avengers and a group of Asgardians close to the Aether tornado.
"Clark!"
"Kal!"
"Where is Thor?" Clark asked.
"Inside," Steve answered. "But none of us can get in, that thing is too strong."
"Can you?" Tony asked, approaching him.
Clark hesitated; he didn't know. The Aether was not only powerful, it was particularly harmful against his physiology. He had no idea if he could get in and, even if he could, how long he would survive in there.
But they didn't really have an option.
Nodding, his expression completely serious, Clark took the Aether Chamber in his hands.
"Sir, I must warn you, there is a high probability you won't survive this," Kelex said.
Everybody around looked at him, shocked.
"If I don't do this, Kelex, there is a high probability none of us will survive this," he answered.
Clark looked at his friends for a last time, smiling at them, them looked up; and took off. He flew so fast that in a matter of seconds he was seeing Earth from the space. He closed his eyes for a moment, basking in the sunlight, recharging his energies completely. Then, looking down with resolute eyes, Clark advanced. He could feel the atmosphere burning around him as he reentered the planet, but he completely ignored that, focused only on the goal; he prepared himself.
Then clashed against the Aether.
He felt pain beyond anything he had ever experienced, his very skin cutting when he passed through the walls of Aether; he could feel his muscles losing their power, his senses diminishing, his ability to fly vanishing, but he kept going, using all his force of will. He raised his arm.
And stabbed Malekith on the back with the Aether Chamber.
Clark crashed against the ground and didn't see anything anymore.
Thor had his eyes completely wide now. Kal had just punched a hole in the Aether tornado with his own body and clashed with all he had against Malekith; the Dark Elf fell hard against the ground, breaking it with a powerful bash.
And impaled in his back was the Aether Chamber.
The hit alone was enough for Malekith to lose his hold over Thor, but the presence of the Aether Chamber did more than that; it was absorbing the Aether from inside Malekith against him will. For the first time since he got there, Malekith was not in complete control over the Infinity Stone. That meant two things: Thor could move.
So could the Hulk.
The spherical prison Malekith made for the Hulk crumbled in seconds when the enraged green monster forced his way out, more furious than Thor had ever seen him. Malekith had only time to look terrified, before the Hulk delivered an uppercut so powerful that the Dark Elf was sent flying out of the Aether tornado.
Thor grinned; now it was his turn.
Opening his hand, he recalled Mjölnir; the hammer opened a path through the weakened Aether and was in his hand in a moment. Then, spinning it, Thor flew. He broke the Aether barrier and went high up in the sky, passing a spinning Malekith on his way up. And then, using every single bit of power he possessed, Thor summoned all the storms he possibly could.
The sky became a black dome of hurricanes and lightning.
Thor raised Mjölnir, absorbing all that strength; and hammered Malekith's head on his way down.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The bright glow of lightning could be seen from all Nine Realms.
Odin felt the power of Mjölnir all the way from Asgard; he smiled. It was finally over. Thor had defeated Malekith, this time permanently. Words failed to express how proud he was at him in that moment.
And how proud he was of Loki.
Despite what he might demonstrate, Odin loved his adopted son. He took him in when he was baby, raised him, taught him… And when the time was right he would've helped him reclaim the throne he was born to rule, Jotunheim's, so he and Thor could lead the Nine Realms in peace and prosperity for millennia.
Nothing happened as he planned.
Loki found out he was adopted before Odin and Frigga had the chance to tell him and he didn't know what to do with that new information. And at the same time, Odin fell into Odinsleep, Thor was banished and Laufey was scheming to start another war. Before he could set things right, Loki fell from the Bifrost, apparently to his death, only to return even more poisoned by his anger.
Odin had no choice but to send him to prison. It brought him no pleasure, no satisfaction, but a King had to be fair and Loki had attacked and killed thousands of innocents. That could not go unpunished. As a King he had no doubt; as a father, sadly, he had all of them.
He was prepared to be hated forever by his son, but maybe, just maybe, Loki would learn something while in prison. Maybe he would allow that thick head of his to understand that he had made a terrible mistake and he had to atone for that.
He was not sure that had happened, only Frigga could talk to him these days, but whatever Loki was thinking, he helped Thor to defeat Malekith. Odin was no fool, he knew the only reason he helped was to avenge Frigga and, of course, to try to escape; but the fact that he still cared so much for his adopted mother gave him hope.
That was why he felt cold when he saw a Einherjar approaching the throne with a grim expression; and Loki's horned helmet in his hands.
"Forgive, my liege, but I bear grave news," the Einherjar said, holding he helmet so he could see. "It seems Loki–"
"Learned nothing from all this," Odin finished, sighing.
The Einherjar widened his eyes for a second, before disappearing completely; Odin heard a blade cutting the air from behind him. The gall of this kid! Not even turning, Odin unleashed his power, stopping the dagger, and Loki, without moving a finger. Then he turned.
Loki was immobilized, frozen in place by Odin's magic, capable of only widening his eyes and speaking.
"And here I thought you were beginning to regret your actions," Odin said, taking the dagger from Loki's gloved hand.
"Please, I have learned everything I need," Loki scoffed, the action somehow dampened by his immobility.
"And yet here we are," Odin replied, gesturing towards Loki paralyzed form. He walked closer to him. "Your brother just defeated Malekith. All the Nine Realms witnessed him saving the universe. You could have shared that honor, earned your forgiveness. But you chose to fake your death and try to assassinate me."
"At least I'm honest!"
"No, you are not, God of Lies," Odin said, immediately. "Especially when it concerns your own faults."
"The Allfather, knower of everything, omnipotent and omniscient!" Loki recited, mockingly. "How tiring must be to be right all the time!"
Odin smiled, sadly. "If only you knew how many mistakes I made, Loki… You were the most recent."
Loki glared at Odin, losing his composure for a moment. Odin sighed.
"You are not the mistake, Loki, what I did was," he explained, to a suddenly silent Loki. "I kept the truth from you, tried to protect you, and that only made things worse. I failed you, you are right to be angry. But either you like it or not, I AM YOUR FATHER!"
His son recoiled from the sudden outburst as best as he could while paralyzed.
"I love you, Loki, even if you never love me anymore. And that is why I will do whatever it takes to teach you, no matter how harsh I must be. You killed innocents. You almost destroyed not only Midgard, but Jotunheim before that. You tried to murder your own brother. Believe me, Loki, if I did not love you, you would be dead a long time ago."
Loki seemed incapable of speaking, just staring at Odin in silence.
"Now I want to know the real reason of what you are doing here."
"I came to assassinate you," Loki answered, immediately.
"Doubtful. You might be arrogant, Loki, but you are not stupid. You know you do not stand a chance against me, not even with your tricks."
The God of Mischief grinned. "Funny you should call me arrogant, Father. I am beginning to think it is a family trait, passing even to adopted members."
Throwing insults now? Odin almost sighed; he should have expected this. To his surprise, however, Loki continued talking.
"You see, you believe yourself unbeatable. And as far as I know you might very well be. But we all have flaws, Father, and yours is the arrogance to think you are always a step ahead."
"I saw through your trick, did I not?" Odin asked, showing him the dagger Loki used to try his assassination.
"But what if that was the trick?" Loki countered, grinning. "There are a lot of interesting beings in the Dark World, Father. Spiders that eat light, sea creatures big enough to feed on gods, dream eaters… There is also a flower so poisonous that it can even put gods to sleep with one single touch. Guess what I found while I was on Svartalfheim?"
As he said that, his eyes looked down to the dagger Odin was holding; except that, after a brief green glow, it wasn't a dagger he was touching anymore. It was a black flower.
"So much for arrogance, huh?" Loki said, seeing the black tendrils flowing through Odin's unprotected hand and arm, like a moving tattoo.
Odin dropped the flower immediately, but the harm was already done. He had lost the sensibility on his arm, and the poison was quickly traveling towards the rest of his body; he couldn't stop the infection anymore.
"Of course, the flower was barely alive when I found it," Loki continued. "Svartalfheim is not the place full of life it once was. That is why I stopped by your Vault first and used a spark of the Eternal Flame to put some life back into it. Do not worry, it will not kill you, you are far too powerful for that. But it is getting difficult to sustain this magic, isn't it?"
Saying this, Loki used all his power and broke Odin's hold over him, quickly banishing him against a pillar; Odin tried to defend himself, but his body just wouldn't listen.
"The hard thing was keeping you from noticing that the dagger was not really a dagger, but illusions were always my specialty. And with Heimdall's eyes on Midgard, well…"
Loki crouched near Odin, still smiling. Odin was trying to move, to do something, anything, but the poison was too strong. If only he could keep Loki talking for a few minutes, he could flush the toxicity away with his powers, but until then…
"Arrogance, Father. My fatal flaw, Thor's fatal flaw… And yours too." He touched Odin's face, almost with care. "That is why I better hurry, before you can overpower this poison."
Odin stared at Loki with his one eye, expecting a dagger against his throat, but Loki began to chant a spell. He could feel the dimensional energy flowing, Loki's own focus, even Asgard's energy being used.
"Mother really is the one who developed this spell," Loki explained. "I read her grimoires and I had a lot of time to perfect it while in my cell, didn't I? I certainly didn't spend all that time doing nothing."
There was a green light and runes began to appear all over Odin's body. He couldn't tell what the purpose of the spell was, at first, but suddenly he felt weak; he was sealing his Asgardian Force, just like he did with Thor when he banished him.
"Like I said, I won't kill you," Loki said, looking into Odin's eyes, serious. "But I will send you away for a while. Something is coming, sooner than we think. Something terrible. And you and Thor, with that misplaced sense of honor, will not be able to prepare Asgard as it should be prepared. I will. But don't worry, when it arrives, I will come to get you."
Odin widened his one eye, trying to speak, trying to ask what Loki was talking about, but before he could his son touched his forehead.
"Sleep."
The Allfather closed his eye and didn't see anything anymore.
Clark was still feeling pain, even after being under the sunlight; the Aether really did a number on him. But at least it wouldn't be a problem anymore, now safely trapped into the Aether Chamber and ready to go back to Asgard.
"I will make sure this tale is told all across the Nine Realms!" Thor exclaimed, gathering around the Avengers to say goodbye. "What a battle it was!"
"Just make sure to tell them that my name is Iron Man and that I'm not weird. Come on, look at me, I'm already stuff of legends all by myself!"
"That you are, Stark," Natasha agreed, maybe not in the sense Tony meant.
"Do not worry, friend, I will!" Thor guaranteed, turning to talk to Jane.
According to him, he would come back right away, this time to stay. Clark wasn't sure what Odin would say about that, but Thor was stubborn, so he would probably get his way. Sif, Fandral and Volstagg, however, were going back for good; or until a good fight presented itself on Earth again.
"Make sure to practice Torquasm-Rao every day, Kal," Sif said, as she approached to say goodbye. "If I find out you are being lax with your training, I will come back and personally beat you up."
"If it makes you visit…" Clark joked and Sif punched him; she was smiling, though.
"Asgard is in disarray right now, it need us, especially if Thor intends to stay here for longer. With the Dark Elves attack, Frigga's condition and the escape of several criminals from the prisons we will have our hands full." She looked at him and smiled again, kindly. "But as soon as I can I will accept your invitation."
Then she kissed him on the cheek – punched his chest real hard – and turned to the place where the Dark Elf prisoners were contained, so Heimdall could take them to Asgard. Fandral and Volstagg said their goodbyes too, also with punches, and left with Sif on the Bifrost.
"You are not going to Asgard?" Natasha asked, appearing out of nowhere. "You seemed very friendly with Lady Sif."
"She taught me a bit of martial arts. A Kryptonian one," Clark explained, fast, flushing for some reason.
By the way Natasha raised her eyebrows knowingly, he had fooled nobody.
"Maybe we could practice together some time, then," she said, grinning, using a very sultry voice that made Clark blush hard.
Yep, easy to embarrass, that was him; Natasha finally had him back to torture. Steve met his eyes as Natasha turned, nodding in understanding.
"Now do you see what I go through?" he asked and Clark laughed.
Tony was still hounding Thor, probably to make sure the Asgardian would really say good things about him when he told the stories, much to Jane's nuisance, who wanted some alone time with Thor before he left; Clark would not stick his nose there. Natasha, probably overhearing Steve's remark, was making him blush and stutter for some reason; was that a hundred dollar bill Clark saw Steve giving her? Clint was sitting with Bruce, eating a candy bar; he noticed Clark's look.
"Hey, Clark, how was the trip? Good?" he asked.
"Well, before our universe was almost destroyed, yeah, pretty much."
"Apocalypses always do ruin everyone's fun," Bruce agreed, still shaking a bit because of the transformation.
"How are you doing, Bruce? Alright?"
"Same as always, it will go away. How about you?" he asked, shrewdly, seeing that Clark was not at 100%.
"It will go away. Kryptonians and the Aether… We don't do so well together."
"Good thing it's going far away, then, isn't it?" Clint said.
It really was, that was true. Clark only hoped that it would be kept safe; he would hate to face another alien set on destroying everything using the Aether.
Thor kneeled before his Father, respectfully bowing his head.
"You once said there would never be a wiser King than me," Odin said, standing in front of his throne, Gungnir in his hand. "You were wrong. The Alignment has brought all the Realms together. Everyone of them saw you offer your life to save them. What can Asgard offer its new King in return?"
He smiled, looking at his father. "My life."
Thor did not want to be king, nor he thought he was ready. A king would have allowed Jane to die, instead of giving Malekith the opportunity to reclaim the Aether while trying to save her. A king would not have released Loki, for any reason, giving his brother the opportunity to die a noble death and to redeem himself. A king would not have fought side by side with his companions, in the front lines of the battle, to save the Realms.
Once upon a time, Thor wanted nothing more than to be the King of Asgard, but he knew nothing back then. So little time had passed, especially to Asgardians, but Thor felt like a completely different man.
"Father, I cannot be King of Asgard," Thor continued, standing up. "I will protect Asgard and all the Realms with my last and every breath, but I cannot do so from that chair. Loki, for all his grave imbalance, understood rule as I know I never will."
His father widened his eye for a very brief moment, probably because of his last admission, but Thor meant it.
"The brutality, the sacrifice… It changes you," Thor said. "I'd rather be a good man than a great king."
There was a long silence, then Odin asked: "Is this my son I hear, or the woman he loves?"
Thor smiled.
"When you speak, do I never hear Mother's voice?" His father sighed, tiredly, recognizing the truth in his words. "This is not for Jane, Father. She does not know what I came here to say. Now, forbid me to see her or say she can rule by my side, it changes nothing."
Odin sat down, sighing again.
"One son who wanted the throne too much… Another who will not take it. Is this my legacy?"
"Loki died with honor," Thor assured him, remembering his brother's sacrifice. "I shall try to live the same. Is that not legacy enough?"
There was a long silence again, then Odin nodded. Thor looked down at Mjölnir, the weapon his father gifted him so he could rule Asgard; he offered it back. It pained him to do so, but it was a trade he was willing to make.
His father waved his hand. "It belongs to you, if you are worthy of it."
"I shall try to be."
For a long time both of them stared at each other.
"I cannot give you my blessing, "Odin started, "nor can I wish you good fortune."
"I know," Thor answered, sadly, even if understanding. He turned to leave.
"If I were proud of the man my son had become," Odin continued, making Thor stop, "even that, I could not say." Thor looked back at his father. "It would speak only from my heart."
Odin smiled at him.
"Go, my son."
"Thank you, Father," Thor said, feeling warmth inside him as he left the throne room.
Leaving before he could see a strange green glow inside Odin's eye.
"No, thank you."
Sif followed the pink-skinned servant as she entered the building, Volstagg at her side, looking carefully around. The place was big, but cramped, full of every single object one could imagine. Rare objects, valuable ones.
And, also, specimens.
Plants, animals… people. Sif had to clench her hand tight, so she wouldn't break those tanks.
"I present to you," the servant began, doing an overly-elaborated greeting gesture, "Taneleer Tivan, the Collector."
Sif looked at the man approaching. She knew what to expect, but even so the appearance of the man was weird. The Collector was an older man, clad in expansive clothes, with white fur on his shoulders. His hair was also white, pushed back and up, and his lips had make-up on them.
It wasn't his appearance that made her recoil, however, it was what the man was.
Collector wasn't just how Taneleer Tivan was called, it was what he was. He was obsessed with collecting rare things, to the point that his entire life and fortune were channeled into finding and acquiring said artifacts; whatever it took to get them.
Usually, Sif would not care about that. If the man was obsessed, that was not her business. The problem was, however, that the Collector also liked to collect living beings. Rare plants, animals in extinction and even unwilling people who were captured and taken there to be exposed in his collection like things.
So no, Sif wanted nothing more than to take her sword and decapitate that man; unfortunately, Tivan had his uses and they would need him now.
"Whoa… Oh! Asgardians, what an honor," Taneleer Tivan greeted them, bowing, making an exaggerated greeting gesture even more elaborated than what his servant had done.
Sif didn't want to deal with that man longer than she had to.
"You know why we are here."
Tivan stood straight again, blinking.
"Of course," he answered, speaking each word very slowly. He approached them. "But if I may ask, why not keep it secure in your own Vault?"
"The Tesseract is already on Asgard," Volstagg answered, no trace of his usual good humor. "It is not wise to keep two Infinity Stones so close together."
"That's very wise," Tivan agreed, but he was barely interested in the conversation anymore.
So Sif showed him what he wanted to see. She moved her cape to the side and lifted the Aether Chamber, now glowing red because of the Infinity Stone trapped in it. Tivan approached and slowly, very carefully, picked it from her hands.
"I can assure you," he said, holding the Aether Chamber possessively, "it will be absolutely safe here, in my collection."
"See that it is," Sif threatened.
The Collector bowed again, while they turned to leave and hopefully never return. Before they could, however, Tivan spoke:
"There are whispers that a Kryptonian helped to capture the Aether," he said, in his very slow speech. "The last Kryptonian."
Sif felt herself fill with dread; she stopped, breathing deeply, and turned.
"Keep the Aether safe and your mouth closed."
The Collector bowed again, immediately, in his exaggerated gestures; Sif had a very bad feeling about this.
Hela observed the dark sky of her prison, Hel, especially crafted by Odin to keep her sealed in Niflheim; she was doing that for a long time now, without blinking, without moving, without breathing.
Hel was dark, cold, but most of all, it was boring. Predictable and tedious, forever unchanging. But not today. Today something had crossed the skies of the same Realm her prison was, someone, and it was such an event that Hela couldn't do anything else but stare at its direction.
It was a day to be remembered. She knew every speck of dust in that accursed prison, every particle of mist and ice. Nothing changed there. The air remained the same, there was no sound, no light, no new smells or sights… Until that moment. Until someone used the Convergence to pass through Niflheim and Hel.
Hela would never forget that feeling, as if a sun had shined upon that Realm for the very first time. She could feel his heat, taste his power, listen to his heart… Sense his life. She had never, in her very long life, felt such vitality.
It made her want to snuff it out; the Goddess of Death smiled for the first time in millennia.
Maxima was beyond bored. She was sitting on her throne, playing with her long bright red hair, as suitors approached her. Kings, princes, emperors, warriors, practitioners of the Mystical Arts… Beings of every corner of the universe arrived on that day on Almerac with entire entourages and presents and offerings.
And none of them could hold her interest for more than a second.
She was not interested in alliances or pretty baubles, Maxima had no use for that. Almerac was the center of an Empire that spanned thousands of worlds and she was the sole ruler. Queen absolute of an army so powerful that few would dare to challenge.
No, Maxima didn't want political or military power. She was not interested in trade routes or magical artifacts. There was only one thing that Maxima wanted: a worthy mate.
The Royal family of Almerac thrived because of this, it was the source of their strength. Powerful genes from powerful mates. It didn't really matter to her which race they were, as long as they were powerful Almeracian science was able to make it work. And Maxima? She was the most powerful Queen in ages, maybe ever.
She, more than any other Queen before her, deserved someone outstanding.
For a time, Maxima wondered if she should have pursued the Asgardians. Odin, and even his sons, were powerful. But Odin was not interested and the blond one, the one who liked to swing the hammer – damn it, she couldn't recall his name! – was still a runt back then. Maybe he had grown stronger? His brother was remarkable in his domain of the Mystical Arts, she remembered that, but he was thin like an arrow; Maxima liked a little more muscle.
Maybe she should pay them a visit again. At the very least they couldn't be any worse than the disappointment she was being forced to tolerate that day; perhaps she could try her luck with Odin again, she thought, grinning.
"My Queen, I have news!" one of her servants yelled, interrupting a long speech from a Kree suitor. She ran, passing the Kree entourage, and stopped at her throne.
"Speak," Maxima ordered, knowing she would not have interrupted if it wasn't important.
"There was a war on Asgard and then on Terra," the overly excited servant begun. "Apparently the Dark Elves weren't extinct at all and they returned to end our universe–"
"Please, girl, get to the point," Maxima sighed, tiredly. The last thing she needed now were reports of meaningless battles.
"They say there was a Kryptonian fighting amongst the Asgardians!" she finished, excitedly.
Maxima's eyebrows raised fast; a living Kryptonian? That was wonderful news! If there was a being worthy of her out there, it was a Kryptonian. Maxima grieved when she heard of their destruction, not only because an old and respected race had vanished, but because any chance she had to bear a child with such powerful genes was gone forever.
But maybe there was still a chance.
She got up fast from her throne, feeling full of energy, excited in a way she hadn't been in a very long time. Her transparent green dress swayed as she walked, every step followed by the eyes of every man in the room, as it was expected; Maxima was the most beautiful woman in the universe, she never had any doubt about that. With pale skin, long red hair, a figure that exhaled sensuality and shining green eyes, Maxima was without a doubt an avatar of beauty in this universe.
And she was as powerful as she was beautiful; fitting for a Kryptonian, she thought, grinning.
"Y-You can't leave just like that!" someone yelled from behind her.
Maxima rolled her eyes and stopped, looking behind. It was the Kree suitor with the never-ending speech that she barely heard. Apparently he had more courage than she gave him credit for.
"And why, pray tell, I cannot leave my own palace?" she asked, raising a single eyebrow.
"B-Because I'm not done speaking yet. I believe a union between our Houses will be beneficial for us all! I have an old fortune, connection within the Kree military, influence–"
"So what you 'have'," Maxima interrupted, "belong to others?"
The Kree blushed for a moment, his blue cheeks becoming even bluer.
"Influence is power," he replied, raising his chin.
Maxima laughed, feeling tears on her eyes. She looked at him, raising both her eyebrows; then unleashed a powerful Psychic Blast that sent all his entourage to the ground, cracking the stone of her palace. And before he could even understand what was happening, she dashed forward, lifting him by the neck.
"No, my dear. Power is power," she whispered, close to his face.
And bashed him against the floor.
"Find everything you can about the Kryptonian!" she ordered her servants as she left the throne room, leaving a multitude of suitors properly scared behind.
It was time for Maxima to find her future mate.
Sanctuary was an extensive asteroid field lost in space, surrounded by stars and nebulas, floating in the eternal vastness of the universe. It was big enough to have gravity, even if potentialized by an artificial generator, and it had its own atmosphere. The asteroid field, however, was not known because of its landscape, but because of who owned it.
Thanos, the Mad Titan; the most powerful being in the universe.
The Other walked across the asteroid, approaching the floating throne of Thanos. It was turned away from him, as his master observed the vast space, even though he knew Thanos was aware he was there.
"I received news from the Black Or–"
"Where is the Aether?" Thanos interrupted, his voice echoing mightily.
The Other closed his eyes for a second, both intimidated and in awe of the raw power Thanos exuded by merely speaking.
"The Asgardians managed to stop Malekith from using it. There was no need for them to interfere in the battle," he answered, fast. "The Dark Elves were defeated and the Aether was taken back to Asgard. And then moved somewhere else."
"Where?"
"I-I do not know yet."
Thanos did not say anything in response, but his disappointment could be felt like fire touching his skin.
"We will find it! Now that the Reality Stone resurfaced–"
"I asked for the Stone, not for excuses," Thanos interrupted again.
The Other looked down, prepared to be erased from existence at any second; it was not him who failed Thanos, but he would gladly accept any punishment his master deemed necessary. But before that, there was a piece of information he needed to give.
"There was a Kryptonian fighting against the Dark Elves," The Other spoke, quickly, before he was killed. "One that somehow escaped the death of his race."
The pressure of sheer power that threatened to crush him at any second vanished; there was only silence. Then Thanos turned the throne to look at him. As always, The Other was in awe of his master. Fully clad in his golden armor, Thanos was an extremely intimidating being, his size alone dwarfing The Other. He was built of pure muscle, every fiber of his body a weapon by itself, and his face was harsh and threatening; it was impossible to stare at him and not feel small.
"Nobody escapes Death," Thanos uttered; then he smiled.
The Other was more afraid of his smile than he was of his stare; whoever this Kryptonian was, he was doomed.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone