Jane Foster, renowned astrophysicist and the girlfriend of the Prince of Asgard, sat alone in a London restaurant, her eyes fixed on the menu but her mind drifting far from the choices before her. The memory of Thor lingered like a half-remembered dream—one she desperately chased but could never quite catch. She had searched for him, followed every lead, but he was always just out of reach. When she awoke from her reverie, she saw the news: Thor had fought a great battle in New York, but by the time she arrived, he was gone, having escorted Loki back to Asgard. Jane told herself she was moving on, but her heart still clung to hope.
Even with three doctorates, Jane found herself struggling with the simplest of choices. She stared at the menu so long that the British gentleman across from her finally slid a note under her menu, a polite attempt to break the silence.
Startled, Jane looked up. The man smiled warmly. "Is something on your mind?"
Jane fumbled for composure. "Why would you think that? I'm fine."
He chuckled. "Since we met, you've been studying that menu as if it holds the secrets of the universe. There are only three choices—fish, chicken, or vegetables. I think you're distracted, and I suspect it's about a certain man."
Caught off guard, Jane managed a weak smile. "It's a long story."
"Is he still here?" the man asked gently.
"No," Jane replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "He left."
He nodded knowingly. "Breakups are painful, aren't they?"
Jane wasn't sure if it counted as a breakup. Thor had promised to return, but that promise had faded with time. The man shared his own story—a long-distance relationship that ended in heartbreak when his girlfriend left for New York and never came back.
Just then, Daisy Lewis appeared, her energy filling the room. Richard, the man across from Jane, mistook her for a waitress and asked for some red wine. Daisy grinned, "Sure, I'll have some too." Jane introduced them, bracing herself for Daisy's unpredictable antics. Richard watched, bemused, as Daisy pulled up a chair and joined them.
Daisy wasn't there to cause trouble, though she had a knack for it. She pulled out a device Jane had built, eager to share her latest research findings. The device beeped incessantly. "You should go," Jane said, exasperated.
Daisy gave Richard a wink, stood up, and remembered to return the chair to its place.
Richard tried to salvage the date. "I think I'll order the sea bass."
"Sea bass, sea bass is delicious," Jane muttered, lost in thought.
Richard smiled softly. "Jane, go find your friend. It's okay." He offered her an escape, and Jane gratefully accepted, apologizing as she hurried outside.
She found Daisy waiting by the car, accompanied by a new intern—a surprise that left Jane momentarily speechless. The three of them drove off, heading toward an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city, unaware that they were being watched.
A sharply dressed agent observed them from a distance, speaking into his communicator. "Three people approaching. Looks like an exploration."
A voice crackled back, "Retreat. Professionals are coming."
The agent scoffed, "Wizards? Again? We can handle it."
"Orders are orders. We don't know how dangerous those things are. Fall back."
Reluctantly, the agent slung a guitar case over his shoulder and disappeared into the shadows. Moments later, a taxi pulled up. John stepped out, paid the driver, and muttered, "Are there others here? Mycroft said this place was secure."
Inside the factory, Jane and her companions discovered a scene that defied explanation: a child lifting a truck with one hand, bottles thrown from the upper floors vanishing before they hit the ground, only to reappear suspended in midair. Jane, ever the scientist, realized that the gravity in this space was somehow altered.
She tossed a bottle herself, but it failed to reappear. A young girl, the first to discover the phenomenon, explained, "Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don't."
Jane examined the readings on the device the intern carried. "I've only seen values like this once before," she murmured.
"In New Mexico," Daisy finished for her.
Jane nodded. The readings matched those from the day Thor first appeared on Earth. Her heart raced with hope and dread. She dashed off, calling over her shoulder, "Don't touch anything!"
Guided by the device, Jane wandered deeper into the abandoned building. A strange wind brushed past her in the corridor. Before she could react, an invisible force pulled her toward the wall. Her shoulder grew heavy, and then—she vanished.
Jane reappeared in a dim, cavernous space, facing a bottomless abyss. Terror seized her as she realized something had stopped her from falling. Slowly, she turned her head and saw a skeletal hand, adorned with a silver ring, gripping her left shoulder. A chill ran down her spine. She opened her mouth to scream.
"Silencio!" A flash of light silenced her. Jane clapped her hands over her mouth, trembling, as the figure before her raised a finger to his lips. "Shh." He flicked his wand. "Lumos."
A soft light filled the darkness, and Jane squinted, recognizing the face. "John?" Relief flooded her voice.
John surveyed their surroundings. "Looks like ruins, but we're definitely not in our world."
The familiar face gave Jane courage. John tossed a glowing orb into the air, illuminating the vast chamber. Massive stone pillars surrounded them, the largest split down the middle. Inside, dark red particles swirled, whispering in a language Jane couldn't understand. She stepped closer, mesmerized by the movement.
John joined her. "What is this?" Jane asked.
He hesitated. "This thing—" Before he could finish, the particles surged toward Jane. She barely had time to react.
"Protego!" John cast a shield, but the particles slipped through. He grabbed Jane's shoulder, teleporting them ten meters away. Jane gasped, feeling a strange sickness. John saw the particles clinging to her hand—she was infected.
"What do we do?" Jane asked, her voice shaking.
John tried an explosion spell, but the particles absorbed the magic, growing stronger. "It's changing my magic," he muttered, alarmed. The silver on his right hand began to glow, and the particles recoiled, retreating back into the pillar. John used invisible force to seal the split. The pillar crashed to the ground, and Jane collapsed.
John knelt beside her, frowning. "Did it all go in?" He checked the base—no particles remained. "It's not a curse. Something else." He glanced at Jane. "Let's get you back. I'll extract it."
Whatever the entity was, it had chosen Jane, not him. It seemed to fear the gem on his hand. With time, John could study it. The silver faded back into a ring. He levitated Jane gently, his eyes shifting to vertical pupils as he searched for a way out. Together, they vanished, returning to their world—unaware of the new danger now lurking within Jane Foster.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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