Spy Games Ch. 11

Thor: Dark World

(Greenwich, England)

Finding Erik turned out to be rather easy actually. Darcy caught a report of his arrest on the morning news and that was that. Once we had him out of the retirement home they'd stuck him in, he showed us his research on the Convergence and explained the secret map made some few millennia ago to show where the Convergence would reach its peak.

That's why we were now standing in Greenwich, England, basically waiting for something to happen. I'd already ran around with Darcy and Jane helping and planted Erik Selvig's devices all around the circumference of where the Convergence was building. Now though, that was done and Selvig came up to me scratching the back of his head, "Well we're as ready as we'll ever be, but my readings show that the Convergence won't reach its peak for a couple more days now."

I chuckle at that news, my eyes scanning the sky, "Don't worry Doctor, I have every expectation that we won't be waiting around twiddling our thumbs for long. When it begins, find somewhere safe while I save the day, alright?"

He just blinks at me, "When what begins?"

Of course dramatic timing being what it is, right afterwards a large T shaped craft uncloaked about a mile away and screams begin to fill the air as aliens once more invade Earth. I wink at Selvig, "That Doctor. Now get to cover."

Flashing over to the roof of the nearest building, I used the Aether for one of the small party tricks I'd discovered so far. In a voice that sounded like it was coming from everywhere at once, I roared out a single word, "MALEKITH!"

Everyone froze and turned to look at me. The sun was glinting off the gold lines on my Kemiya just perfectly as I stood on the edge of a roof staring down at the Dark Elves below. I could also see dozens of humans peeking out from behind cover to stare at me in wide eyed awe. A moment later, the Dark Elves all aimed their rifles up at me and fired, but I was already amongst them, breaking necks and limbs and sending them flying.

They continued to stream out of the ship but eventually even that slowed to a trickle and then stopped. As I stood amongst their corpses, secure in the knowledge that not a single Dark Elf was still terrorizing the area, I roared again for the benefit of the humans watching me face off against these invaders, "MALEKITH!"

More Dark Elves pour out of the ship suddenly, but I pay them no heed, noting how they don't go directly for me, but instead move to encircle me. I watch carefully to make sure none try to run off, but none do, their orders obviously very specific. Soon enough I am effectively cut off from any escape route, a multitude of laser rifles pointed at me as out of the ship comes the one I've been calling for.

Malekith steps down the ramp, a dark skinned warrior beside him and dozens more masked soldiers behind the both of them as they step out into the circle that's been formed around me. I smile at the sight of my prey, finally speaking in a normal tone, "Malekith. The Earth is under my protection and you are not welcome here. I give you this one chance to retreat, but if you insist on pushing my patience, I will be forced to act."

For a moment the Dark Elf leader is silent, before he looks to his companion and nods. As he steps forward again, the dark skinned warrior crushes a stone laced with red crystal in his hand and begins to change, roaring in rage as he is transformed into some more powerful form.

Malekith on the other hand ignores the huffing monster behind him, speaking directly at me, "You are fast, I will give you that. But now you are hemmed in by my men. You have what I need, and I will take it from you. Your precious Earth means little to me. It is nothing more than the point from which I will return this universe to the darkness it is meant to embody."

He smiles wickedly and raises a hand in my direction. A moment passes. Nothing happens. I raise an eyebrow and he growls and pushes the hand out harder, his open palm curling into claws, making it look like he's trying to grasp at something. Smiling, I bring up my own hand, and out of it swirls the Aether in tendrils, another trick I've been practicing with.

This brings Malekith to a stop, his eyes widening in anger as he sees me manipulate the Aether before his eyes, "You… what have you done?"

Chuckling darkly, I roll my shoulders, "I have taken your doomsday weapon from you Malekith. You will not use the Convergence to destroy the Universe. You will not harm this world. I am here to stop you Malekith of the Dark Elves. The Earth is under MY PROTECTION!"

Punctuate that statement by sending the Aether tendril lashing out at Malekith. I could have made it sharp enough to stab through his throat or heart and kill him. But I have an audience of humans, and for the same reason that I just gave that little speech, I instead lowball it and use it to throw him to the ground. This causes the monster beside him to roar in anger and charge me.

He stampedes towards me, and as he closes in, I step to the side, reach out, grab his face, and push. I'm left with his head grasped in one hand as his body runs a few feet forward without it, and then topples to the ground dead. Spreading my arms wide and turning about the circle of stunned invaders, I can't resist hamming it up a bit more, "Well?! Are you not entertained?!"

They aren't it seems, as that just causes them to start shooting at me. Their little killing field is worthless against me as I once more cut down every Dark Elf in the area. Malekith gets up in the middle of this and draws his sword, but stands there with eyes tracking, helpless to stop me as he tries to catch glimpse of me amongst his dying soldiers.

I finish by appearing in front of him and kicking him back into his own ship, following after him at a walking pace instead of speeding up the ramp into his ship, knowing that cameras were following me as I went. Catching up to Malekith, I grab him by the throat and push him up against the wall of his ship, grinning wickedly and showing off my fangs. There are no cameras here, no one is watching as I finish dealing with Malekith. His hands scramble at the arm holding his throat, his eyes bulging from lack of air instead of anger now. He's barely able to choke out, "H-how?"

I speak softly to him, leaning in close, "The Aether has found a new master Dark Elf. I am your better in every way Malekith. You who would destroy everyone but your precious species have pitted yourself against a force you cannot hope to comprehend. Now, you will die."

Bringing my hand up, I grab his face by his eye sockets and mouth, pushing my fingers in like a bowling ball and causing him to scream in pain, before ripping it off of his neck. With that done, I zip through the ship, brute force my way into the armory, and utilize the anti-matter grenades there to destroy the thing before moving back out the way I came. There are people clustering around the entrance when I come running out, waving my hands for them to move back, "Back back! It's going to explode!"

My reputation helps here, as people turn and run. I spin around as the whole thing actually implodes, the majority of the ship disappearing from the universe along with Malekith's corpse. Some of the outer parts not hit by the grenades begin to fall to the Earth, and I speed forward, moving the few people under them out of the way as they slam into the ground.

Once more, the day is saved, and I'm treated to a cheering crowd and numerous fans as people who had been watching crawl out of the woodworks, feeling secure now that their precious protector has once more saved them. The smile on my face is genuine as I take in the adulation, amused at just how much Earth loves their hero, not knowing who I truly am.

That same smile slips a bit though, as a chant of "Valiant! Valiant! Valiant!" starts up. With a curt nod of my head and one final wave, I leave the battle zone behind, conveniently right as the emergency services and the British Military finally begin to move in from their safe barricades.

Quickly enough, I arrive where Jane and Darcy stand with Selvig, who at this point is staring at me with an open mouth. I raise an eyebrow at him, certain that he has something to say. When he finally speaks, I'm actually surprised by what it's about, but I suppose I shouldn't be.

"If you're capable of all that, why didn't you take down Loki when he first showed up?"

I blink once before answering with a shrug, "I wasn't in a position to do so Doctor. SHIELD was in charge, and at the time I was ordered to defend the perimeter of the facility. When the Tesseract started acting up, I was assigned to help with the evacuation because of my speed, instead of being brought down to protect the Tesseract. Agent Barton was given that task instead. And then there's the Scepter to consider."

Erik blanches at mention of the Scepter that's ruined his life, but plows on all the same, "W-what about it?"

I sigh and put on my most sympathetic voice and face, even as I dig deep at the man, "It took you and Barton and several agents with no trouble. Now imagine what would have happened, if Loki had been able to take me with it before I knew what it could do. He would have won Doctor. He would rule the Earth now, with me by his side enthralled."

That shuts him up, but Darcy has her own concerns, "Okay, but what the hell was that red stuff you used to blast back the evil dude? Was that blood? Can we do that?"

I chuckle and shake my head, "That was the Aether. You can't repeat the feat, but with a little push…"

Activating the fragments within both her and Jane, I watch as they both straighten up and blink. Though the only visible change is faint glowing red lines now running across their exposed skin, I know that they are now both stronger and faster. I can tell they recognize it too, and a moment later I pull it back and they return to normal.

Smiling, I shrug, "If you're near me and in trouble, I will make sure to strengthen the odds in your favor. Not that I expect either of you two to get into many fights. Jane is a scientist after all, and Darcy… Darcy what are you again?"

Darcy blinks at that before grinning widely, "Well I was a political science major. Now though, I figure I'll be a super heroine!"

I snort at that and shake my head, "Better than being a politician I suppose." Unlike with Trish, I don't dissuade Darcy from her course. Trish still has a purpose for me later on, but Darcy… well I'll always feel affection for her, but if she gets herself on the radar of those who could possibly kill or capture her, I won't be too inconvenienced.

That's when my phone rings. Blinking at it, I answer it, "Hello?"

Fury's voice comes over the other end, "Vali what did you do to Greenwich?"

I scoff vocally at that, "I saved Greenwich, along with the entire Earth Nick. Again. Oh and there was some talk by the bad guy about destroying the entire universe as well, so I guess I saved that too."

"… How long did you know about this situation?"

I affect a bewildered tone even as I wink at the three people currently listening in, two on the entire conversation, and one on my half, "How long? Well Nick, I was just here studying a strange special anomaly the experts have taken to calling the Convergence, when the aliens showed up and started attacking! Luckily I was nearby to help eh?"

"The Council is going to demand I rein you in again because of this Vali. You've been pulling fucking cats out of trees across Europe for months now, and you just happen to find yourself in the middle of the second alien invasion Earth has faced in two years. More than a little suspicious."

I pout visibly at that and Darcy has to cover her mouth to hide the giggles as I respond, "Hey! I resent that! I've also been foiling purse snatches in between saving those cute wittle kittens! As I said though Nick, I'm here because of the Convergence that my scientist friends have been tracking. You know them well enough, Doctor's Foster and Selvig. I'm sure these new aliens were connected to the Convergence, and I just happened to be the First Responder on the scene. Their boss made some claims about it I think, while I was tearing his insides out."

"Vali, you screamed the name of their leader twice, and then he told you he was here for something you had in a very clear voice."

"… Well now, I wasn't really expecting you to have audio so quickly. Fine Nick, you caught me. Yes, I knew the invaders. I even knew they were coming. The Dark Elves have been trying to destroy the Universe for a bit more than five thousand years, since the time of the last Convergence. Part of the reason I was sent to Earth was to stop them and make sure this Convergence passes without incident."

"… You originally said you were exiled. What's this about being sent?"

I smile at that, my two newborn hybrid eavesdroppers completely engrossed in the conversation since they can hear both sides. Selvig just looks confused, "Sent, exiled. They're the same in this case. It was decided that because I argued the most for an end to my species' inaction, I should be the one to be sent to take the action I called for. I can't complain even if I never get to go back though. Your earth has proven so very much more interesting than my old world."

"I'm sure it has. Watch your step Vali. There will come a time when Earth doesn't need you anymore, when we humans can stand on our own two feet. What will you do, when the world no longer wants or needs an alien protector?"

Ah, he's talking about Project INSIGHT, the three helicarriers SHIELD's working on that Hydra intends to subvert and use to cleanse Earth of those who might oppose them. When those things were done being built and everything came to a head, I expected I'd finally have to make a decision on whose side I was really on. I was also half expecting Hydra to try to shoot me once they were in the air though anyways so I may have that decision made for me by idiots.

Chuckling, I finally respond, "Well Nick, if that ever comes to pass, I suppose I'll use the numerous donations I've been getting to buy an island and retire to a life of luxury. And then when your preparations all blow up in your face and you ask for my help, I will graciously save your world… again."

When he hangs up on me I just smile broadly. Ah it felt good to piss him off instead. Of course then my phone buzzes again and I roll my eyes. Now it's Tony calling and I answer with, "Seriously? I'm beginning think there's no privacy on Earth anymore."

Tony's response is accusatory, "You should have invited me to your alien invasion! You know I would have come. And what do you mean by privacy? You just singlehandedly wiped out an army of aliens and blew up their ship in public. That's like the exact opposite of private Vali."

I smile and say good-naturedly, "Shut up Tony. Is there anything else you called for besides berating me for not calling you in? I already got the third degree from Fury. The threat is dealt with, there was no need for an Avengers Assemble."

"Sure, let's talk about that weird red thing you used to throw the leader guy to the ground. Can I do that? Can Pepper do that? How do we do that?"

"You can't do it Tony, no. It's a consequence of taking the thing that Malekith wanted to use to destroy the universe into myself, instead of letting him have it. I'm gaining some… unique abilities from it. In exchange, it's taken up residence within me, much like a parasite."

Tony actually sounds slightly concerned at that, "A parasite? Is it harmful? Come back to America and I can get started on getting it out of you within the day."

I can't help but laugh at his concern, "Tony! I didn't know you cared! While I'm thankful, you don't need to worry. It's not harmful to me, mostly because I don't run out of the energy it sustains itself on. I appreciate the call Tony, but I don't need your help on this. Aliens are defeated, Convergence will pass without any sort of apocalypse because the tool needed to start it is under my control, and the guy who wanted to use that tool is very dead."

Changing the subject, I turn things back onto him, "Now then, tell me how things are going with Pepper. Following my instructions?"

"… Yes. We're doing fine, learning some of the fundamentals of being immortal as we go along, but everything is going well. I've been making sure I get Pepper's opinion before I give my own so she's not just agreeing with me. Jarvis has been helping keep me in check."

I smile at the idea of that, "Wonderful." Before I can say anything more I hear a familiar noise in the distance as the Bifrost transports someone to Earth. I can imagine who that is and I sigh, "Tony, I'm going to have to cut our conversation short. Thor himself has now come down to Earth to berate me for not inviting him along on my happy fun times."

Tony sounds confused, "Thor? What? Why the hell would he show up now?"

As I get ready to hang up the call and face the Asgardian I could even now hear approaching me and the others, I throw out nonchalantly, "Ah well, probably because the aliens I just beat the shit out of were Asgard's mortal enemies some five thousand years ago."

Tony doesn't get a chance to respond to that, as I hang up and tuck my phone away before turning to Thor with arms spread wide and a smile on my face, "Thor! It's so good to see you again! What brings you back to Earth?"

Thor doesn't look nearly so happy to see me. In fact, he's holding Mjolnir in a way that makes me thinks he wants to attack me. Still, he remains relatively civil and manages to bite out, "Vali, you must return with me to Asgard immediately."

I step towards him and cock my head to the side, "Must I? Is this a request from a friend, or a command from the King of Asgard?"

Thor clenches his jaw at that, "You may consider it a request Vali, but it comes from the Allfather himself."

Smiling, I nod, "Then I suppose I can hardly refuse hm?"

Stepping closer to Thor, I turn and wave farewell to Jane, Darcy, and Erik, "Goodbye Doctors, goodbye Darcy. Have fun with the Convergence, it should be mostly benign now."

And then Thor's hand is on my shoulder and the Bifrost picks us both up and I'm treated to a first-hand experience of what I imagine flying through the time vortex from Doctor Who would be like without the Tardis. Not remotely fun.

-x-X-x-

If you'd like to read more of my work not seen on this website, check out Hentai-Foundry.com and QuestionableQuesting.com! I'm known as 'Cambrian' on those websites.

If you'd like to contribute to funding my writing at all, check me out on P atreon.com/Cambrian

Thanks for reading!