When Lock arrived, the abandoned warehouse was already surrounded by London police.
Several police cars lay overturned on their sides, glass scattered everywhere. The officers crouched behind them with pistols raised, nervously aiming at the space in the middle.
Thor stood protectively over Jane Foster, ignoring the police as long as they didn't open fire — he had no intention of hurting them.
Jane lay unconscious on the ground, her eyes shut tight.
Faint streams of dark-red liquid energy pulsed across her body — the Aether, the Reality Stone in its liquid particle form.
From the looks of it, Jane had discovered the gravitational anomaly inside the abandoned building. Just like in the original story, she had accidentally fallen into a spatial rift and been infected by the Aether.
When she returned, Darcy must have panicked after Jane had been missing too long and called the police.
The officers' attempt to approach had triggered a violent energy backlash from the Aether, flipping cars and knocking them unconscious.
Now, the Aether was fusing with Jane's body, transforming her on a cellular level.
If Jane eventually became the "Mighty Thor," the Aether's contribution to her survival and strength would be undeniable.
But Jane was human — if she couldn't control the Aether, it would eventually kill her.
That was why Thor's expression was grim.
He could feel Jane's life force slowly fading.
Lock stepped forward through the line of police and said flatly:
"You should leave. This isn't something you can handle."
One of the policemen frowned — just some ordinary-looking man, and he thought he could order them around?
But before they could react, Lock simply walked straight through their defensive line. No one could even touch him.
The officers froze.
Since the Battle of New York, police forces all over the world had grown used to the existence of superhumans — and knew how powerless they were against them.
The best protocol was to back off, secure civilians, and let S.H.I.E.L.D. or other specialized agencies handle it.
And this group wasn't even hostile — just… too powerful.
"Lock, you came." Thor looked up in relief.
"Yeah. How's Jane?"
Thor shook his head grimly.
"Stable for now, but the Aether is draining her. If we do nothing, she won't last."
Lock crouched beside Jane and extended his senses.
He could feel the Aether resisting any touch. When he tried to probe deeper, the red energy lashed out defensively, threatening to harm Jane in the process.
That was why Thor hadn't dared to forcibly extract it.
Right now, the Aether was bonded to Jane. Without the control method of Malekith, the Dark Elf King, there was no safe way to remove it — except by killing Jane.
"Thor," Lock said slowly, "I have a method I can try. But I can't guarantee it will work."
"As long as it doesn't put Jane in more danger — try it," Thor answered firmly.
"Then stand back."
Lock placed one hand gently over Jane's abdomen and drew on the power of the Tesseract. A faint stream of blue energy seeped into Jane's body.
Under Lock's mental guidance, the Aether responded cautiously.
All Infinity Stones shared a common origin, so the Aether didn't reject the Tesseract's energy. Slowly, Jane's body lit with intertwined red and blue light.
Seeing the reaction stabilize, Lock pulled gently — trying to coax the Aether out.
But the moment he did, a violent counterforce erupted.
With a deafening BOOM, red and blue waves exploded outward from Jane's body, slamming into the surroundings like a shockwave.
Police cars were thrown back, and officers were knocked to the ground.
Luckily, the previous blast had already warned them to keep their distance, so the injuries were minor.
But Jane…
Jane's body convulsed violently. The dual energies had torn her apart inside, rupturing her organs. She coughed up blood, life hanging by a thread.
Lock immediately pulled out a vial of recovery potion and poured it between her lips, repairing her wounds and stabilizing her.
At that same moment — across the distant void of space — in a silent, desolate dark region…
A gigantic, ancient ship came to life.
Its systems lit one by one, glowing with a dim, ominous red.
In the central chamber, a pale-skinned figure slowly opened his eyes.
Malekith — the King of the Dark Elves.
He whispered to himself, or perhaps to his awakening kin:
"Hahahaha… the Aether is stirring. The Convergence has begun. Our era has come again."
Across the ship, cryo-pods lit up as countless dark elves awoke from their millennia-long slumber.
Back on Earth, Thor didn't know any of this — he was focused entirely on Jane.
"Lock, you can't try again," Thor said firmly.
Lock nodded. This had been just a cautious attempt, yet Jane nearly died.
If he pushed harder, she might be killed instantly — and no potion could bring her back from death.
"I'll take her back to Asgard," Thor said gravely. "Maybe Father can help."
Lock agreed. Asgard might not have the means to remove the Aether, but at least it was safe — and they had fought and defeated the Dark Elves before.
Earth had no chance against what was coming.
Thor was about to summon Heimdall when a voice called out:
"Wait!"
They turned. Daisy Lewis ran up, slightly out of breath.
"Take me with you!"
Lock frowned.
"What for?"
Daisy shrank back a little but said softly:
"I can take care of Jane. You two don't exactly look like you know how to nurse someone back to health."
Her gaze lingered far longer on Lock than on Jane — anyone could see what she was really thinking.
Thor nodded immediately.
"Good idea. You're Jane's friend. She'll need someone she trusts nearby."
Lock shot Thor a look, silently asking, Are you seriously giving me trouble right now?
Thor, utterly preoccupied with Jane, didn't notice at all.
Left with no choice, Lock gestured for Daisy to come closer.
Her face lit up like sunshine. She skipped over and clung to Lock's arm, hugging him like she had every right to.
Lock froze.
"Uh… why are you hugging me?"
"I'm afraid I'll fall when the Bifrost opens," she said sweetly.
Technically… that was a good reason.
After all, even Thor and Loki had been thrown out of the Bifrost by Hela in the future, landing them on Sakaar.
If Daisy fell out, even a two-story drop might kill her.
So Lock allowed it — though she clung even tighter, clearly enjoying herself.
He sighed inwardly. This was going to be… complicated.
Thor lifted Jane in his arms, then called to the sky:
"Heimdall!"
Moments later, the Bifrost beam struck the ground with a roar.
In a flash of rainbow light, Thor, Jane, Daisy, and Lock disappeared — leaving behind only an ancient rune scorched into the pavement.
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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