Thor swung his hammer, but Malekith, calm and leisurely, blocked the once-unmatched lightning with a casual wave of his hand. The Aether swirled around him, a shield of pure chaotic energy.
Dark Elf soldiers advanced, their weapons raised. Thor hurled Mjolnir, smashing into Malekith and sending him crashing into his own troops. The soldiers opened fire. Even with Thor's superhuman durability, the alien projectiles still stung. He summoned Mjolnir back and unleashed a torrent of lightning, blasting the soldiers away.
Inside a nearby building, Jane and Dr. Selvig worked frantically, adjusting their equipment. The Convergence was making the space around them extremely unstable. The edges of the world blurred, causing random teleportations and bizarre gravitational anomalies as the Nine Realms bled into one another. Finally, they succeeded.
The instruments they'd placed throughout Greenwich began to emit strange pulses, and the Dark Elf soldiers started vanishing, teleported away one by one. The Dark Elves were far fewer than the Chitauri, but their individual combat strength was immense. A single blow from Thor could shatter a Chitauri drone, but it would only send a Dark Elf flying, ready to get up and fight again—until Jane's devices whisked them away.
A young couple, unlucky enough to be walking near Greenwich, screamed as a Dark Elf materialized out of thin air before them. The soldier raised his weapon to kill. Just as they scrambled to flee, a man in a tailored suit slid across the hood of a car, raised a strange, sleek pistol, and fired.
A purple beam of light struck the Dark Elf, and it dropped, dead.
The agent landed stylishly, flicked his golden bangs from his eyes, and asked, "Are you all right?"
The couple, having narrowly escaped death, could only stammer in response. Just then, another wave of teleportation brought more Dark Elves. The agent didn't hesitate, pushing the couple aside and firing with perfect precision. A Dark Elf crept up behind him, ready to shoot, when another suited gentleman struck with his umbrella, knocking the weapon away. He hooked the soldier's neck with the umbrella's handle, slamming him into a car window, then drew a pistol from his pocket and shot the Dark Elf cleanly in the head.
Strangely, even after such a fierce fight, both agents remained impeccably dressed, their white pocket squares still pristine.
They exchanged a glance.
A flashing red bomb arced overhead, landing among several Dark Elves and blasting them away with a concussive pulse. They turned to see a black-haired girl in a tactical suit, who raised an eyebrow and teased, "Remember to stay elegant, gentlemen."
Although Jane's machines couldn't kill the Dark Elves, they could manipulate the local anomalies to split them up.
Elsewhere, Daisy and Ian, accidentally teleported themselves, saw a Dark Elf land on a car nearby and fled in terror. A red beam of light zipped past Daisy's ear, striking the Dark Elf. His weapon flew from his hand and landed squarely in Daisy's arms. She stared at it, stunned.
So was the person who'd cast the spell—a young woman in an outdoor jacket. Next to her stood a slightly chubby man, who sighed. "Delphi, you need more practice with nonverbal spells."
The girl, Delphi, blushed. "Mr. Lawrence, let's deal with these aliens first."
"Remember the Auror Handbook," Lawrence said, drawing his wand. "Impedimenta!"
He moved quickly. The Dark Elf suddenly found his legs bound by invisible force, tripping and crashing hard to the ground, his attack completely halted. Delphi followed up, waving her wand. "Expelliarmus!"
Daisy and Ian ducked behind a lamppost, wide-eyed as the two wizards cast spell after spell. Each time Delphi waved her wand, a red light disarmed a Dark Elf. Lawrence provided cover, using Stupefy and Sleep Charms to subdue the disarmed enemies.
Seeing Delphi's flawless spellwork, Lawrence praised her. "You're becoming more and more like the boss." Encouraged, Delphi redoubled her efforts.
Ian whispered to Daisy, "Is that… magic?" As a top university student and an intern's intern, Ian was stunned to see real magic cast before his eyes. Daisy was equally shocked—she knew John, but had never seen other wizards.
Across the Greenwich battlefield, a new reality was unfolding. You could see wizards—calling themselves Aurors—saving civilians with their wands, or elegant agents in suits taking down Dark Elves with impossible grace.
As Thor and Malekith fell through another portal, the Aurors and agents made a strong impression on the public. Students in the library started recording on their phones, eyes wide. After seeing an alien god, magic didn't seem so unbelievable anymore.
Thor and Malekith fought from Earth to Svartalfheim and back, crossing the boundaries of the Nine Realms. Thor, constantly shifting locations, lost track of his hammer, which played a comic game of "find Thor" across the dimensions. The two exchanged brutal blows. With the Aether, Malekith was nearly invulnerable, trading two hits for every one from Thor.
The Aether slammed Thor down hard. Once again, they fell through a spatial tunnel, crashing onto a rooftop. The M-02 Ghost sniper still couldn't find a clear shot.
This battle drew the world's attention. For the first time in a year, Earth was facing another alien invasion. Even S.H.I.E.L.D., aware of the situation, couldn't respond in time. But through the internet, Nick Fury watched what was happening in Greenwich.
When he saw the wizards appear, he instinctively frowned. For a long time, wizards had been S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hypothetical enemy. But now, they were openly fighting aliens in London.
"Thor's there." Catching a glimpse of the Asgardian, Fury felt something slipping out of his control. Young agents, young wizards—what was Britain planning?
Images of the Nine Realms' portals appeared, and the Convergence neared its peak. Thor broke free from Malekith, and the two fell through the air, teleporting again. They landed in Jotunheim, with giant beasts and other creatures teleported along with them. This time, Thor was sent to a subway station—without Mjolnir, he had to take the train back to Greenwich.
Malekith was luckier. He was teleported back just as the Convergence brought the Nine Realms into perfect alignment. Now, the Aether's power would multiply exponentially.
Aether surrounded him, growing like a dark, twisted tree, its branches spreading toward all the Realms. It was a scene of utter destruction and despair.
Hoofbeats sounded in the sky—skeletal horses appeared.
Thor would soon arrive, but the Aether's darkness was already spreading.
How could it be stopped?
[Chapter Complete]
***
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