One Does Not Simply Walk

Guilt was a terrible thing. Rationally, Clark knew that he couldn't have done anything to prevent what happened. He did the best he could in a terrible situation. It could even be considered arrogant of him to presume he could've solved things if he just applied himself more, when he was accompanied by warriors much more experienced than he was with situations like that.

Then again, guilt didn't really have much to do with rationality in most cases.

Alflyse sacrificed herself to give them time to escape and Frigga was in her own version of Odinsleep, trying to heal her body from the damage caused by the Kursed's claws and the magical exhaustion. Two lives. The Queen of the Dark Elves, that willingly gave her life for them, and the Queen of Asgard, his friend's mother and someone that treated him like family. That was the cost of his and Sif's lives; Clark was having trouble dealing with that.

The sound of stone cracking snapped him out of his dark thoughts.

"Damn it!" Clark muttered, quickly opening his hands; the walls of the stone bowl turned to dust under his fingers.

Clark closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Wallowing in it wouldn't change a thing and the situation was far from solved. The Aether still was in Jane, Malekith still was out there and they would no doubt attack before the Convergence ended. If there was ever a time he needed to be there for Asgard, for Thor, that was it.

Sighing, Clark shook the dust out of his hands and sank them in the water, washing his face and torso. He felt as if he were awake for a whole month, tired, even after Asgard's sun recharged all the energy he lost in Morag. He was filled to the brim with yellow sunlight, healed of all big and small injuries, but his mind was still sluggish. Well, there was no time to sleep now, even if he thought he was capable of it.

He looked around his room for a moment, unable to miss the contrast between the heavenly view with the apprehension he was feeling, and grabbed his skinsuit from the bed. Asgard and Morag? Those were just the first battles in this war and their losses were already piling up. The only good news they had was that the Aether was still in their possession; if it wasn't, Malekith would've already have in his hands the weapon he needed to unmake the universe.

The bad news? It was an Infinity Stone and Jane simply wasn't strong enough to sustain it for much longer. Sooner rather than later it would kill her and then the Aether would seek another host, since they had no way to contain it; that would be a problem even if Odin managed to find a way to take the Aether from Jane.

There was only one thing they could do: follow Frigga's plan. Go to Svartalfheim, taking Jane with them, find the Aether Chamber and then allow Malekith to remove the Aether out of her. Once the Aether was out, they would have the window they needed to trap it in the Aether Chamber before Malekith managed to take it back.

To make things even better, the only one who knew his way through Svartalfheim was Loki, the God of Mischief.

To say things could go wrong was an understatement. In fact, the chances of things go right were slim. They would be in hostile territory, taking a human with an Infinity Stone inside of her, being hounded each step of the way by an army of Dark Elves zealots. If anything unplanned happened, well, Clark didn't even know what they would do.

Regardless, no matter the risks, he wouldn't dream of being anywhere else. His friends, the entire universe, needed him and he would be there for them.

Thor looked at his mother's face, looking through the golden energy dome surrounding her, feeling the magic in the air was resonating with power. She looked so peaceful, not a worry in her expression, as if the recent battles that had costed them so much never happened.

Frigga was inside her and his father's chambers, in the golden bed where he stayed during the periods of time he went through Odinsleep. The same one he was recently, when the king of the Frost Giants, Laufey, tried to kill him.

It was odd seeing Frigga there. He had seen his father during Odinsleep before, it was how Odin managed to live well past an Asgardian lifespan and how he could keep all his power intact even with old age, but he had never seen Frigga like this. It felt out of place. Weird. Wrong.

More than anything, it made him afraid; it was a feeling all too familiar to him these days.

Asgardians were not gods. They were born, they lived, they died. Thor already lost warriors in battles before, he understood that. But he never imagined, not even in his worst nightmares, that Death would claim someone from his family, especially his mother. In his mind, Odin and Frigga were almost eternal, too powerful to fall in battle and too tied to Asgard to simply… go away.

This was certainly humbling.

"Thor," Jane whispered, touching his shoulder. For a second, he almost startled, forgetting she was there. "Look at me."

Still shocked to his core, Thor turned to her, his face a mirror of what he was feeling: lost.

"She is not going to die," Jane said, forcefully. "Frigga came back, she is a fighter. Like you."

Thor wanted to believe her, he did believe her, but that didn't make things any easier. Jane opened her mouth to add something else, but instead of talking, she turned, hearing the sound of steps approaching.

"Clark!" Jane greeted, smiling. "I'm so relieved you are alright."

Kal approached slowly, no doubt out of respect for his mother. Thor was also relieved that he and Sif came back unharmed; he did not know what he would do if he had lost two of his friends too. And by the stories they told, Kal was a big responsible for them even being able to get out of that accursed planet.

He owed him again.

"Thanks, Jane, it means a lot hearing that," Kal said, smiling at Jane kindly. He looked at Thor, a somber expression coloring his face. "Thor, I'm so sorry. I-I tried to–"

Thor interrupted the unneeded apology almost immediately.

"You and Sif are the only reason my mother even has a chance to survive," Thor said, grabbing Kal by the shoulders. "Thank you."

Kal looked down for a second, probably not really believing in what Thor said, but he didn't insist.

"I'll leave you two to talk," Jane said, touching Thor's face one last time. "I need to lie down a little bit."

Both of them nodded as Jane left the room, walking slowly; too slowly. The Aether was eating her alive and there was nothing Thor could do. He felt his hand tremble with rage. Two people he loved were slipping through his fingers like water and he couldn't do a single thing.

"Have you ever lost someone close, Kal?" Thor caught himself asking when Jane was no longer close. "I… I understand the concept of death, I have seen it, but–"

"But you never had someone truly close from you dying," Kal finished, looking at him. "Thor, Frigga is not dead and she will not die. If you don't believe me, or Jane, then believe in her. I've seen what she could do on Morag, I'm sure she won't let something like this beat her."

Thor didn't relax at his words, but they were at least soothing. Maybe it wasn't true, maybe not even Kal believed in what he said, but at least he gave Thor a bit of hope. It was more than he had a few moments ago.

"I lost my father," Kal said, almost in a whisper. He was looking at Frigga right now, an unreadable expression on his face. "It was a few years ago, but sometimes it feels like yesterday."

They were in silence for a minute, then Thor asked: "Does it get… easier?"

Kal chuckled, humorless. "It won't hurt any less, if that's what you're asking. You don't heal like it's some sort of physical wound." He turned to Thor. "But you do get used to it. You learn to live with the pain and move on. To remember the good times and try to be the person they raised you to be." Kal shrugged. "That helps."

Without meaning to, Thor looked from Kal to Frigga, his mind conjuring images as his Kryptonian friend spoke. He saw himself in Kal's place, trying to move on after his mother passed; he shook his head, forcing himself to stop thinking about it.

"Your father, how did he…?"

"Heart attack," Kal answered.

Thor frowned.

"Someone… attacked his heart?" he asked, not sure he understood it correctly.

Kal turned to look at him, his face a mix of surprised and amused.

"No, a heart attack is a human condition," Kal explained. "When an artery is blocked, keeping blood from reaching the heart, which eventually fails."

Thor realized he had a stunned look on his face, but he couldn't help himself.

"Does that really happen with humans?" he exclaimed. "Their hearts just… stop working?"

"Sometimes. It's quite common, actually. Not always fatal, but never good for one's health."

Something terrible occurred to him; his eyes were wide. "Do you think Jane–"

"No!" Kal interrupted, fast. "No, of course not. Jane is still young and she is in terrific shape." He stopped, looking embarrassed. "I-I mean that with respect, of course!"

Thor was truly lost in this conversation. Something must've showed on his face, because Kal sighed and explained again.

"It usually happens to older people, people who don't exercise as often as they should and have an unbalanced diet." Kal said. "My father was an older man and, truth be told, he liked my mother's food a bit too much."

Could humans truly be this fragile? To the point that eating too much or not eating "right" could kill them just like that? How was Thor supposed to protect Jane from something like this? How could Kal?

He couldn't. And that was exactly the point, apparently.

"When it is time, it is time," Thor whispered, looking at his mother.

"But hopefully it's not her time," Kal added, holding Thor's shoulder.

They stood in silence for a while, watching over Frigga as if their presence could somehow help her get better. It was nonsense, of course, but being there was important to Thor and it meant a lot that Kal understood that. Eventually, however, he felt Kal looking at him.

"Thor, we need to talk." The way he said that left no doubt it was important; he looked at Kal. "Your mother suggested a plan so we can help Jane."

Kal looked down and sighed.

"But you are not going to like it."

"Klyntar?!" exclaimed Fandral, filling Sif's mug with mead. "Must have been centuries since I even heard about them."

"Unpleasant beings," Volstagg added, shivering for a moment, before going back to eating.

"Oh, yes, they always bothered you quite a lot, didn't them?" Fandral needled. "Afraid of the goo people?"

Volstagg growled as best as he could without stop eating.

"Not afraid, just… Deeply disturbed," he said, after swallowing. He stopped for a moment, looking down at his plate. "And apparently not without reason."

His words dispelled the distraction they tried so hard to create in less than a second, bringing forth all their worry about Frigga and the fate of Asgard. What started as a celebration of the Convergence, with a tournament that would've been remembered for ages to come, had derailed in an all out conflict against a supposedly extinct race. A conflict that had ended with Sif, Frigga, Kal and the Queen of the Dark Elves thrown on a planet infested with Klyntar.

A conflict that claimed the life of Alflyse and left Frigga in a coma.

Hard to believe not even five hours ago they were still on Morag, fighting for their lives, trying to escape that accursed place. Hard to believe that, at that moment, they had hope all of them would get to Asgard safe.

"Well, when you put it like that," Fandral sighed, breaking the silence. "Still, as unpleasant as the symbiotes are, the true guilty ones are the Dark Elves."

"That they are," Volstagg promptly agreed, punching the table. "If I could, I would twist their necks! Every last one of them!"

"Finish what Bor started," Fandral added. "And we will, we certainly wil–"

"Enough!" Sif snarled, startling both of them. "That is enough! We are Asgardians! We will fight and we will kill, but we will not stain our honor by becoming the very monsters we believe the Dark Elves to be!"

Sif's outburst surprised Fandral and Volstagg, certainly, but it surprised most of all herself. Maybe because not too long ago, if faced with the same situation, Sif knew her answer wouldn't be so different from theirs. Before Morag. Before Alflyse's sacrifice. Before she learned exactly what the Dark Elves were going through.

They were still enemies and she would fight them, but Sif could honestly say she no longer hated them, not even now with Frigga's life in danger. No, she did not hate the Dark Elves, she hated Malekith.

"We will not become monsters," Sif repeated, remembering Alflyse walking away from them with her sword, prepared to die to buy them a little time.

Asgard was mourning. And at the same time was furious. But if Sif had anything to say about it, they would focus all those emotions into stopping Malekith, not destroying the Dark Elves.

It was a small distinction, but an important one.

"We need to speak with Thor," Sif said, suddenly, getting up and pulling Fandral and Volstagg with her.

"So your plan is to ask Loki to take us and Jane to Svartalfheim," Thor repeated, incredulous, "find the Aether Chamber we know it's there, trick Malekith or some other Dark Elf there to remove the Aether from Jane and then, while he is doing it, trap the Infinity Stone." Thor looked down and then back at Clark again. "And after all that we fight our way out of Svartalfheim, through Malekith himself and whatever forces he has. That is your plan?"

Well, Clark didn't have much to add to that, so he looked at Frigga.

"It's more of your mother's plan, actually," he said, truthfully, but feeling a little embarrassed even so. "I'm just the messenger."

Thor turned again and gazed at Frigga, the shocked look still on his face. Clark couldn't actually blame him; it wasn't the most brilliant plan in the universe, he had to admit. Unfortunately, it was all they had and Thor realized that.

"We can do it," Thor said, his voice low. He looked at Clark and smiled. "We can do it! We will go right now!"

"Absolutely not!" Odin's voice boomed from the room's entrance.

Clark and Thor stopped in their tracks and he couldn't help but feel like a little kid caught doing something wrong. It was a very weird feeling, especially when he noticed Thor felt the same; Superman and the one thousand year old God of Thunder looked like two misbehaved kids at that moment. Clark was there and even he could barely believe that was happening.

Odin entered the room, his one eye severe.

"Loki is not leaving his cell. Jane Foster is not setting foot on Svartalfheim while she has the Aether inside her. And you two are not leaving Asgard."

The King of Asgard walked to the middle of the room, stopping right in front of them, almost as if challenging them to disagree. Thor, of course, did just that.

"We are still unable to restore the palace's shields, our artillery cannot detect their ships, even Heimdall cannot see them!" Thor began, steeping forward. "Each second we stay here, doing nothing, is a second they have to gather their forces to attack. And all the while Jane is being consumed by the Aether."

"You overestimate the power of these creatures," Odin dismissed. "Gone was the time when they were a threat to us. We possess the Aether. All we have to do is defend Asgard until the Convergence is over."

"Jane will not survive that long!" Thor snapped. "You have not found a way to take the Aether from her and even if you did we do not have a way to contain it, unless we are willing to let it kill another in Jane's stead!"

"And if you fail?" Odin asked, as incensed as his son. "If you cannot do as you planned, then you are handing over the Aether to Malekith during the Convergence! Can you comprehend what that means, my son? The end of the universe! Is the life of one mortal worth the lives of the entire universe?"

"She is not just any mortal!" Thor yelled back.

Odin's face was almost touching Thor's.

"All this time and you learned nothing!" Odin thundered. "You are the future King of Asgard, act like it! No life is worth more than the lives of the Realms. Not mine, not yours, not your mother's, not Jane's! You want to be King, Thor? Then learn to make sacrifices for the greater good!"

Thor's face was full of anger, his hand actually shaking, but he didn't say anything in response. Clark also didn't know that to say. Truth was, Odin was right, both of them knew it. If they failed to prevent Malekith from taking the Aether the universe was over. Not only Asgard and the rest of the Nine Realms, everything. Was Jane's life worth more than all lives? Clark was pretty sure if they asked Jane, her answer would be "no".

But it didn't mean they could just watch Jane die and do nothing.

"Can't you help?" Clark asked Odin; the King looked at him. "Give us a few troops of Einherjar?"

"Send an army to the Dark World?" Odin answered. "What use will they be? When Malekith senses the Aether he will go towards Jane. The Einherjar can defend her here, but not in the middle of Svartalfheim." He turned to Thor, his face losing the severity it held just moments ago. "Son, believe me when I say that, despite what I think about your choice, I do not wish any harm to fall upon Jane. I am looking for a way to help her. But I cannot, in good conscience, send her to Svartalfheim when the price of failure is that high."

Thor seemed to lose any will to fight too, even if his face was full of pain. Odin touched his shoulder and walked to Frigga's bed.

"Now I want some time alone with my wife. Leave me, please."

The conversation was over, so they did what Odin asked and left the room. Of course, Clark should've known Thor wouldn't just give up like that.

"What I'm about to ask of you is treason of the highest order," Thor announced, looking at the people sitting at the table. "Success will bring us exile and failure shall mean our death."

Clark, Sif, Fandral and Volstagg looked back at Thor, not knowing exactly what to say in response to that; Sif rolled her eyes.

"You always know exactly what to say to convince us to follow you, Thor," she said, sarcastically.

The slight joke made Thor grin a bit, but it did little to alleviate the heaviness of the moment.

"I want you all to know, in no uncertain terms, the consequences that shall befall upon us if you agree to this," Thor explained, looking at his friends. "There will be no honor, no reward, no tales of bravery to tell in the taverns. If we do this, we may very well be banished, or worse, share a cell with Loki."

That particular thought made all Asgardians shiver a little bit, but it did not convince any of them to leave. Soon after their discussion with Odin, Thor had brought all of them to a tiny tavern in the city, under cover of darkness, to discuss the very plan the King had forbade them to follow.

Clark still didn't know if disobeying Odin was very brave or very, very stupid.

"Jane is dying," Thor said, with no warning; his eyes seemed devoid of light. "Her body is not strong enough to sustain the Aether and it will not take long for her to be consumed by it. I do not believe she will even resist until after the Convergence is over."

"So we need to take her to Svartalfheim," Clark said, all eyes on him now. "We have no way to take the Aether out of her, but the Dark Elves do. Malekith does."

"And if we can trick him to do that, we can use the Aether Chamber to trap the Aether," Thor continued. "It will be the end of Malekith's ambition, Jane will be safe and the Dark Elves will not have a reason to attack Asgard again." Thor looked down and sighed. "That is what we need to do. The problem is 'how' to do it."

Fandral tapped the table.

"Question: how do we get to the Dark World?" the handsome Asgardian asked. "The Bifrost is closed and the Tesseract is locked away in the vault. It would take too long to reach Svartalfheim with a ship."

"There are other paths off Asgard," Thor answered, seriously. "Ways through the branches of Yggdrasil known to only a few."

"One, actually," Sif corrected, having already heard the plan from Frigga back on Morag.

There was a brief silence as Fandral and Volstagg imagined who was this person; it was easy to see when they reached the obvious conclusion when their eyes got wide.

"No!" Volstagg exclaimed.

Fandral looked at Thor. "He will betray you."

Thor didn't even try to argue. "He will try."

"And what about your lovely mortal?" Sif asked, turning to Thor with one eyebrow raised. "Assuming you can convince Loki to help us, there is still the matter of getting to her when she is being guarded by a legion of Einherjar who will see you coming from miles away."

Guards put there by Odin to protect Jane from the Dark Elves. And, most likely, Clark thought, to prevent Thor from doing something rash; which was exactly what he was planning to do.

"I can take her," Clark said, suddenly. "I can fly her down the windows. If it all works well, they won't even know she is missing until we are too far for they to try anything."

Thor smiled and nodded, thanking him.

"You are forgetting a very important detail," Volstagg interjected. "The Einherjar may not see Kal flying with Jane, but there is someone who can see everything."

Heimdall, the Guardian of the Bifrost and the only person Clark knew who had a better vision than he had; that would be a problem.

"There is no way around that," Sif finally said, after a long silence when they were all trying to think of a solution. "Heimdall will see us. We will just have to be fast enough to leave before he can warn the Allfather."

"It is my sworn duty to notify him of crimes against the throne," said a deep voice behind them.

Clark and the four Asgardians were up in a flash, ready to fight; at least Clark, Sif, Fandral and Volstagg were. Thor wasn't even holding his hammer as he looked to the cloaked stranger approaching.

"Took you long enough, my friend," Thor said as Heimdall removed his cloak and pulled a chair in the almost empty tavern, completely ignoring the four people ready to battle around him. "Did you listen to what we said or do we need to repeat it?"

"I can listen grass growing on the ground and wool growing on the sheep," Heimdall answered, ignoring the apprehension around the table as he sat. "I think you, of all people, would know that, my Prince."

Thor laughed. "Yes, the number of times Mother was warned just in time to prevent me and Loki to do something stupid was a very clear evidence someone was watching us."

Heimdall gazed at Thor with his golden, unblinking eyes. "And yet, here we are."

The God of Thunder didn't shy away from his gaze.

"The only person I know who could hide from you is Loki," Thor shrugged, "and even if I knew how to do it, it is not my way."

"You can say that again," Sif sighed.

There was a moment of silence. "You wanted me here," Heimdall concluded.

Thor nodded, still staring at Heimdall. "We will do this, Heimdall, no matter what. Jane's life depends on it and with her off-world Malekith has no reason to kill any more innocent Asgardians, which will happen, since our defenses are meaningless against them. But it would be easier if you helped us."

Heimdall was in silence for so long that Clark was beginning to think he wouldn't answer; then, closing his eyes for the first time since he arrived, the Guardian of the Bifrost sighed.

"What do you require of me?"

"Thor! After all this time and now you come to visit me," greeted Loki, approaching the golden barrier of his cell with his hands behind his back.

Thor stopped in front of Loki's cell, looking at him in silence, the fire illuminating the place clacking. The prison hallway was empty, every Einherjar available guarding the palace now, trusting the restored barriers to keep the prisoners under control. While that may be risky, right now Thor could only see it as good luck.

Loki leaned closer, his unblinking eyes staring at Thor's.

"Why?" Loki snarled. "Have you come to gloat? To mock?"

"Loki, enough!" Thor interrupted what he knew would be a long speech. He looked around Loki's cell for a moment. "No more illusions."

As he said that, Loki closed his eyes; and started to disappear, like reality itself was being unmade right before his eyes. The pristine jail cell that stood in front of him, with bottles of wine, fruits, books, tables and chairs was no more; in its place was complete destruction. The walls were broken, as was the floor, the furniture was reduced to splinters and the very barrier holding Loki was damaged, like a cracked window glass.

Loki himself was far from the composed, well dressed figure standing in the cell a few seconds ago. His dressing was still impeccable, of course, like always, but his demeanor was not. Gone was the calm and calculating God of Lies and in his place was the personification of wrath.

That was weird. Loki, like Thor, was quick to anger, but their responses weren't the same. While Thor's fury was like a thunderstorm, destructive and impossible to miss, Loki's was like a dagger in the dark. Thor would punch someone who angered him and after a brawl he might even end up drinking with a new friend; Loki would smile, seem as nonthreatening as possible, convince the one who angered him that they were close as best friends, and then, when the whole thing was already forgotten, Loki would slit his throat.

Dealing with his brother usually brought very final consequences.

It was rare for Loki to lose his cool like that, but then again he and Frigga were always very close, no matter how much he denied that. Thor just couldn't possibly tell if that was a good thing or not.

"How is Frigga?" Loki asked, abandoning the pretense that everything was fine.

Thor sighed and approached the cell by the other side, getting closer.

"She is still in her own version of Odinsleep. I do not know when and if she will wake up." His expression grew hard. "But I am not here to share our grief. Instead, I offer you the chance of a far richer sacrament."

Loki tilted his head slightly. "Go on."

"I know you seek vengeance as much as I do," Thor started, looking at the destroyed cell. "Help me escape Asgard and guide me through Svartalfheim and I will grant it to you." He looked directly at Loki's eyes. "Vengeance. And afterwards, this cell."

The God of Mischief held his stare for a second and then laughed.

"You must be truly desperate to come to me for help."

Well, he was not wrong, but Thor wouldn't admit it.

"I need to–" Thor began, but was promptly interrupted.

"No, don't tell me, let me guess," Loki said, making a big show of pretending to think. "Your little mortal is being eaten alive by the Aether she so foolishly absorbed and now you need to go to Svartalfheim to force Malekith to take it out of her. But to do that you need to find the Aether Chamber first, that is hidden in an old Elven temple. And the only person that knew the way and was willing to help was Mother. Odin, obviously, disagree and you have no way out of Asgard. Am I correct?"

Thor just sighed again, nodding.

"What makes you think you can trust me?" Loki asked, raising both eyebrows.

"I don't," Thor answer immediately. "Mother does." He approached the barrier again, getting as close as possible from Loki. "But you should know that when we fought each other in the past, I did so with a glimmer of hope that my brother was still in there somewhere. That hope no longer exists to protect you. You betray me and I will kill you."

They stared at each other for what seemed to be hours; then Loki smiled.

"When do we start?"

Jane was pissed. Bored too, a little cold and feeling sick as a dog, but mostly she was pissed. What gave Odin the right to basically put her under house arrest? So he was the King of Asgard and Protector of the Nine Realms and one of the most powerful beings in the universe, but there were rules about that kind of thing!

The only reason she didn't put more of a fight when they guided her to her room was because of Frigga. It wasn't the right moment to make a ruckus, not when Thor's mother was between life and death. She sighed, feeling the anger leaving her body, being quickly replaced by sadness. Frigga was the only person in all of Asgard who accepted her, who looked at her not as foolish, weak mortal, but almost as a daughter.

To even imagine that she could die and that she would never see her again made her heart clench.

Still, this situation was not acceptable. Odin might justify that it was for her own safety all he wanted, but even so it wasn't right and Jane could only hope Thor would solve the situation. Bored, she walked around the big room, that looked like something out of a palace of a roman emperor, trying to occupy her mind with something. The place was filled with books and beautiful paintings and it even had something Jane could assume it was the Asgardian version of a radio, but nothing could hold her interest right now.

Maybe a bath? That sounded nice.

Distracted, barely registering anything around her, Jane started to take her clothes off. Asgardian dresses, what was she thinking? It was a good thing Asgardians lived thousands of years, because the women probably took a few hundred just to learn how to wear the damn things! The worst part? She couldn't even tear it in a fit of anger, because the cloth was just too damn strong.

"God damn it! Get out of me, you son of —AHHH!"

Clark Kent was flying right in front of her window. Super-fucking-man was watching her wrestle her dress for who knows how long; she could only be glad that she didn't win. Stomping her feet, Jane went the to windows and opened them, allowing him to enter.

"What are you doing here?! What if I wasn't wearing anything?" Jane asked, happy to finally have someone to take the brunt of her bad mood.

"Well, to be honest, the way things were going with that dress that would take hours to happen," Clark said, smiling; Jane wanted to punch him, but she knew, by her experience in punching Thor, that she would break her hand.

"What are you doing here?" Jane asked, quickly looking at the door. "Where is Thor? Can I leave? How is—"

Clark stopped her.

"I'll tell you everything on the way, but we have to leave, quietly. Now!"

"Where are we going?" Jane questioned, lowering her voice and looking again at the big doors. "And how?"

"We are going to Svartalfheim to take the Aether out of you," Clark answered, fast. " But, um, Odin didn't like the idea that much so we can't be caught, so we are going through the window."

Jane immediately looked down, feeling a cold in the spine at the height.

"I-I'm, um, I'm not so sure about this," Jane stuttered.

"You rather stay here?"

Jane looked at the door and back down, barely able to see anything from that distance.

"Point taken. Okay, let's go," Jane agreed reluctantly, moving before she could lose her nerve.

The moment she touched Clark's shoulder, however, the Aether glowed under her skin; and before she could try to do anything it exploded in a storm of red, sending Superman flying to the other side of the room, alongside everything in its way.

So much for leaving unnoticed.

"This is so unlike you, brother," Loki quipped, unusually giddy. "So clandestine! Are you sure you wouldn't rather just punch your way out?"

Thor sighed, looking around to see if they were still not being chased by guards.

"If you keep speaking, I just might," he answered, walking fast.

"Fine, as you wish," Loki conceded, too quickly for Thor's tastes. "I'm not even here."

And in a flash of green, he truly wasn't anymore; in his place was now an Einherjar lieutenant, with golden armor glowing under the fire.

"Is this better?" Loki asked, his voice completely different now.

"It's better company, at least," Thor agreed.

Loki shook his head. "Still, we could be less conspicuous."

Before Thor could say anything there was another green glow, this time surrounding both of them.

"Hmm, brother, you look ravishing!"

Thor immediately looked down at himself; except he was looking at Sif. He rolled his eyes, seeing Sif's reflection do the same in a passing mirror.

"It will hurt no less when I kill you in this form," he assured.

His brother was obviously very amused. "Very well. Perhaps you prefer one of your new companions, given that you seem to like them so much."

He almost reached for Loki, but he was faster and they were surrounded by the green light again. Steve Rogers, wearing his Captain America uniform, was in Loki's place now.

"This is much better!" Loki said in Steve's voice, the 'vibranium' shield even making its usual sounds. "Ooh! The costume is a bit much. So tight! But the confidence… I can feel the righteousness surging!"

Was this really how Loki saw his friends?

"Hey, do you want to have a rousing discussion about truth? Honor? Patriotism? God bless Amer–"

Thor pushed him against the wall, closing Loki's mouth with his hand as the illusion started to dispel; his brother's eyes were wide.

"What?" Loki asked.

Thor didn't speak, he just nodded towards the hallway, where two guards were patrolling.

"You could at least furnish me with a weapon," Loki suggested. Thor didn't even bother himself to answer. "I'm not Superman, you know? Or maybe I am!"

He almost strangled his brother when he started to glow green again, this time assuming Kal's form, complete with his blue Kryptonian skinsuit.

"Take your filthy hands of me, primitive!" Loki demanded in Kal's voice, except he'd never heard Kal sounding so harsh or arrogant before. "Barbarian, with you long hair and unshaved beard, going around swinging a hammer in the Allfather's name! I should eradicate your entire race!"

Thor looked back at "Kal's" face and frowned. "You have no idea how Kal is, do you?"

Loki groaned and dispelled the illusion. "Give me a break, I don't know him."

"Steve's impersonation was not that good either."

"Oh, is that what you are going to do now? Teach me how to impersonate your friends? Give me a weapon! My dagger, something!"

Thor sighed again and took his hands to his belt.

"At last!" Loki exclaimed, happy. "A little common sense!"

And he was happy until the moment the cuffs closed around his wrists. He lifted his hands, looking murderous.

"What? I thought you liked tricks," Thor laughed.

That seemed to shut him up, but Thor knew it wouldn't last, so he began to walk fast again, going to the throne room. They couldn't outrun the Asgardian troops on foot and any ship in the palace would be either heavily guarded or being used; except for one.

The Dark Elf vessel that crashed right in the middle of the throne room.

"Are we going to get the mortal now?" Loki asked, proving Thor's theory that silence wouldn't last.

"Kal is handling that part."

Loki's little laugh wasn't a good sign. "Are you sure that is a good idea, brother?"

"What do you mean?" Thor asked, confused.

"Well, I don't know the man, that is true, but the guards do like to talk," Loki began, grinning. "By what they said, the Kryptonian is a lot like you. And when I say he is like you, I mean he is a highly destructive person."

"He is not! And neither am I, for that matter. What happened in Midgard wasn't his fault. Mortal's buildings are just heavily flawed! They still didn't learn how to build things that well, but they will."

"If you say so, I'll believe you," Loki agreed, shrugging.

Right when a huge explosion made the entire palace shake. They looked at each other, Thor with his eyes wide and Loki with an arrogant smile.

"I'm sure that had nothing to do with Kal, but we should make haste," Thor said, purposely avoiding eye contact with Loki.

"You are probably right, brother, everything will be just fine."

"Oh, shut up, Loki!"

"That's not good," Volstagg said, as the palace started to shake. "Not good at all."

Sif couldn't help but agree with him. Something in that crazy plan had already gone wrong and since the sound came from the direction of Jane's quarters, then she had a pretty good idea where it went wrong.

"We have to hurry," Sif stated, urging Volstagg to run.

Their part of the plan was simple: secure the getaway vehicle, or so Kal had defined. In this case, the vehicle they were supposed to acquire and defend was the Dark Elven ship in the middle of the throne room. Something fast, showy and hopefully not enough guarded that they could use to get some distance between them and the palace.

Thor and Loki, like Kal and Jane, were supposed to meet them there, but Sif had no idea if the plan was still going the way they hoped. While she and Volstagg quickly moved to the throne room, she could see several armed guards running in the direction of the explosion; useful for them, but not so much for Kal and Jane.

Regardless, there was nothing she or Volstagg could do right now. They needed that ship. She could only hope things hadn't gone wrong with Heimdall's part of the plan; because if he failed in taking Odin out of the throne room, none of them would be leaving the palace today.

"You called me here on an urgent matter," Odin spoke, arriving at the Bifrost, looking Heimdall. "What is it?"

Heimdall looked from Odin to the palace, watching the different parts of Thor's plan coming together, but not without a few setbacks. Well, there was nothing he could do, so he looked back at Odin.

"Treason, my lord," Heimdall said, stopping by his sword's side, the key to open the Bifrost.

"Whose?" Odin quickly asked.

Heimdall took his sword.

"Mine."

The guards jumped in front of Odin expecting an attack, but Heimdall would never raise his blade against Odin. Instead, he offered the weapon to his King, just as Tyr, the commander of the Einherjar, appeared.

"My King, Loki has escaped and there is some commotion in the mortal's quarters!"

Odin looked at Tyr and then back at Heimdall, raising an eyebrow.

"Stop Thor," he ordered, already knowing what was happening. "By any means necessary."

Clark was a pretty resistant man. It was one of the benefits of being a Kryptonian under a yellow sun, few things were strong enough to hurt him. He had shrugged off knives, bullets, explosions, alien weapons, punches from beings as strong as he was, godly lightning bolts and who knows what else.

That red burst of energy, however, was painful.

He groaned in agony, getting up from the remains of broken furniture, feeling his body aching in ways it never did before. The Aether was an Infinity Stone, Clark knew that, but he wasn't expecting such a painful hit. The shock he felt, however, was nothing compared to the surprise of seeing the reflection of his face in the remains of a cracked mirror.

Seeing the bruised reflection of his face in the cracked mirror.

Clark was speechless for a moment, taking his hands to his cheek to actually confirm that it was real. He had never, in all his life, been bruised; he didn't even know if his body was capable of bruising. Apparently, though, he was and very capable, because his face was black and blue.

And then, just like that, the bruising began to disappear, healing itself. Faster than he could process, his body was all right.

"The Dark Elves had a special distaste for Kryptonians. They are made from darkness as much as you are made from light. Your kind is the highest form of heresy to them and the Aether will sense that. Keep that in mind."

Odin's words came rushing through his mind as he started to move in Jane's direction and suddenly his bruising made sense. His powers came from light; the Aether, for lack of a better word, devoured light. It turned it into darkness. Clark wasn't harmed because Jane unleashed such a powerful attack, he was harmed because the Aether destroyed the "light" inside him. No light, no superpowers.

He couldn't imagine what would happen if he was hit by a truly powerful blast from the Aether.

Well, now wasn't the time to think about it; he had to get Jane out of there. Running to her fallen form, Clark approached her slowly, imagining if the Aether would lash out again, but apparently Jane didn't have the energy to sustain another energy burst. That was both good and bad.

"Jane, can you hear me? Jane?!"

"Wh-Clark?" Jane slurred, opening her eyes.

"Yes, it's me, we are getting out of here."

He took her on his arms and went to the window, right at the moment the doors were kicked open and a bunch of guards entered the room, swords pointed at him.

"Put the mortal down!" the Einherjar leader yelled.

"This is not what it looks like," Clark answered.

"So you are not taking her away?"

"Well… Maybe it is exactly what it looks like," Clark admitted. "But I have good reasons. So I'm really sorry for this."

As he said this, Clark's eyes became red; all the guards stopped in their tracks. And without saying anything else, he unleashed a powerful burst of energy, the red beams cutting the floor under the Einherjar troop's feet. They disappeared in the newly made hole, falling down screaming, and Clark took his chance to jump out of the window with Jane.

They needed to move faster now that they were being pursued.

"I don't think those Einherjar are moving," Sif said, pointing at the group of soldiers guarding the Dark Elf ship.

Whatever Kal did had sent the Einherjar running in his direction. That was not good for him, but it made Sif's job a lot easier, since the throne room was basically empty; she should be glad at least some of them stayed behind so she could do something.

"I take the ones on the right and you take the ones on the left?" Volstagg suggested, grabbing his huge axe.

"Sounds fair."

And before the guards could even process what was happening, they were upon them. It couldn't even be called a fight, Sif thought while she kicked a guard in the face. They were caught by surprise and they were fighting two of the best warriors Asgard had to offer. Even if they were holding themselves back so they wouldn't kill anyone, their resistance was pitiful.

"This is embarrassing," said a familiar — and hated — voice behind them. "It makes me wonder if I shouldn't have just escaped by myself, if those were the people guarding me."

Loki, the God of Mischief, the Liar, Thor's brother and, once upon a time, a friend Sif would die for. How things had changed…. It didn't happen out of nowhere, Sif knew, no matter how much Thor liked to think so. She too didn't see it coming, but thinking about it now, she should have.

Jealousy, anger, fear… Loki was filled with those emotions and he always had been. And somewhere along the line he had allowed them to fester so much that it became all he knew.

He was a friend once, but now Sif had no doubt he would kill any of them without a second thought. And this was the man they were trusting to guide them through the Dark World.

"If you tried, my axe and her blade would be in your way," Volstagg answered, punching the last guard standing. "So perhaps you are right, you should have tried."

Loki just laughed, not bothered by the threat one bit.

"My friends, the commotion… It was not you, was it?" Thor asked, dragging Loki towards the ship.

Sif shook her head. "That was Kal, most likely."

Thor and Loki looked at each other and the younger brother raised a single eyebrow; Thor just pushed him to the ship's entrance.

"I think we should go to him," Thor said. "The guards probably blocked his path, it will be easier to meet him in the air."

"Do you even know how to fly this thing?" Loki asked, gazing at the ship.

"How hard can it be?"

Very hard, apparently, Sif concluded when all of them entered the Dark Elf ship and looked at the controls; they were nothing like the Asgardian's. Thor, after a small shocked pause, began to press the buttons seemingly at random.

They were going to crash, Sif was certain.

"Well, whatever you are doing, brother, I suggest you do it faster," Loki needled. "I can hear steps approaching."

"Shut up, Loki," Thor answered, still pressing buttons.

"He is right, though," Volstagg said, apprehensive.

"You must have missed something," Loki said again, looking at the controls.

"I didn't!" Thor exclaimed, losing his patience. "I am pressing every button on this thing!"

"No, don't hit it, just press it, gently."

"I am pressing it gently, it's not working!" And then, for some reason, it suddenly did. The ship powered up, lighting its panels. "Ah-Ha!

"Shut up and fly, Thor!" Sif yelled, listening to the soldiers arriving.

The engines roared and the ship took off, exploding forward, destroying every single column in its way.

"I think you missed a column," Loki provoked.

"Shut up!"

And then they were in the sky, flying over Asgard, seeing the buildings becoming small under them. As soon as that happened the artillery began to fire against them, the energy bursts passing close.

"Why don't you let me take over?" Loki offered. "I'm clearly the better pilot."

Sif didn't like the idea of Loki in control of their ship, but with the way Thor was flying she wouldn't object.

"Is that right?" Thor countered. "Out of the two of us, which one can actually fly?"

"Is that Thor?" Jane yelled in Clark's ear, making him wince as he flew towards the ship dodging the defensive weapons.

In normal situations, Clark could reach that ship in a second, but Jane couldn't fly that fast; at the speed they were she was already having problems. The plan, of course, wasn't that. It was to take Jane out of the room and to the ship, before it took off. Apparently, Thor had forgotten that part.

"Close your eyes, Jane, I'm going to go faster," Clark said.

And as soon as she did, he dashed forward. She was almost curled up in a ball and Clark was doing what he could to protect her from the wind, but there was a limit. The ship was flying fast, maneuvering to escape the defenses, and soon enough small Asgardian ships appeared pursuing it.

The good news was that Thor was making such a ruckus that Clark and Jane could fly unnoticed; to the sea, then.

"Now they are following us!" Loki yelled. "Now they are firing at us!"

"Thank you for the commentary, Loki, is not at all distracting!" Thor yelled back.

Things were not going as planned. Thor was doing what he could, but the amount of fire he was being forced to evade was absurd! His father truly must've been mad about what they did. He turned the sword-like ship around, dodging the energy bursts, going through the middle of a mountain.

Except the ship hit one the statues on the entrance.

"Well done, you just decapitated your grandfather!"

Loki was one commentary away of being punched.

Soon enough the city was left behind and Thor could see the sea, passing quickly under them. They were close.

"You know, this is wonderful," Loki started. "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 bril–AHHH!"

Thor looked behind, eyes wide; Sif met his stare.

"He was annoying me," she explained.

"Oh, you'll get no complaints from me!" Thor guaranteed. "I just hope it wasn't too early."

"No, it's time, I can see Fandral," Volstagg said. And without waiting, he jumped off too.

Sif and Thor followed him, abandoning the ship, falling to a smaller Asgardian ship piloted by Fandral close to the sea; he could watch the Einherjar following the Dark Elf ship, not realizing it was empty.

Fandral was laughing when Thor landed.

"I see your time in the dungeons has made you no less graceful, Loki," he said, as Loki got up disheveled.

Loki didn't even bother to answer; instead he looked at Thor.

"You lied to me," he accused; and smiled. "I'm impressed."

"I'm glad you are pleased," Thor answered. "But keep your eyes open for Kal and Jane."

The four of them looked around, flying fast over the water, just in time to see two Asgardian ships approaching.

"We are being follo–"

Before Sif could finish a pair of red beams cut the sky, hitting the hulls of the two ships and dropping them; they all laughed, knowing what that meant. Suddenly Kal was over them, landing on their ship.

"Jane! I'm glad you are alright!" Thor exclaimed, embracing her as soon as Kal released her.

"Thor, good to see you!" she said, hugging him tight.

They all greeted each other and then Thor looked at Loki.

"Now do as you promised, take us to your secret pathway."

Loki nodded and assumed command of the ship; and before any of them could say anything, he turned it towards a mountain.

"Loki!" Thor yelled, as the huge mountain approached fast.

"If it were easy, everyone would do it," Loki answered, not slowing down.

Thor, Kal, Sif, Fandral and Volstagg got closer to each other, around Jane, preparing themselves for an eventual crash.

"Are you mad?!" Thor screamed as the mountain got bigger.

"Possibly!"

And then the ship went against it; but instead of crashing, they entered a very small fissure in the mountain, the ship scratching against the rocks as they continued flying nonstop. Energy began to build up against them, sparks flying as they bounced and then a white light.

They were not in Asgard anymore.

"They did it," Heimdall said, seeing the exact moment when they reached the pathway and disappeared.

He was still at the Bifrost, by Odin's side, at the same place he was when he informed his King of his treason. Except there weren't any guards there anymore and Heimdall was not a prisoner.

Odin sighed in what could only be described as relief.

"I still cannot believe Thor did this," he said, shaking his head.

"Really?" Heimdall asked, smiling.

"You are right, it would be strange if he did not do anything against my orders," Odin admitted, chuckling. "I wanted to see if he would really take the risk."

"Are you sure it is wise?" Heimdall asked.

"Wise? No. It is not the action a King would take, that is why I couldn't," Odin said. "But it is the action a good man would take and I am glad my son took it."

"I just hope they can take the Aether from the girl," Heimdall said. "And not lose it to Malekith."

"Well, that is up to him now." Odin turned to Heimdall and suddenly he could see the face of the warrior feared across the universe. "But regardless of Thor's success, Malekith will be there to claim the Aether. We know where and when they will show up."

With a single gesture, Odin gave the Bifrost Sword back to Heimdall.

"Prepare yourself, my friend. The Asgardians are going to war."