Life aboard the helicarrier had settled into a rare, comfortable rhythm.
No alarms, no enemy fleets, no explosions, just the quiet hum of machinery and the sound of workers hammering and welding on the deck above.
And oh, what a transformation that deck had undergone.
Where once there had been a sleek airstrip lined with launch bays, weapon emplacements, and all the lethal hardware S.H.I.E.L.D. could cram into the space… there was now a massive swimming pool.
Not a standard pool, either, a sprawling, stadium-sized basin of polished tiling and elegant metalwork, the kind that wouldn't have looked out of place in a billionaire's mountain resort.
The last stages of construction were nearly done. The heating system was already in place, promising to keep the water at the perfect temperature twenty-four hours a day. Once filled, it would be less "pool" and more "floating hot spring in the clouds."
Honestly, it was ridiculous. This was the finest engineering team the U.S. military had, men and women capable of building stealth fighters and impenetrable bunkers. And here they were… building a pool.
But Wanda and Sharon didn't see a problem with that at all.
The two women were practically glowing whenever they looked at the finished space. They had already started daydreaming about lounging in steaming water while the helicarrier drifted over snowcapped mountains, sipping drinks under the stars, maybe even hosting sunset swims over tropical seas.
A pool party was already in the works. The guest list was absurdly high-profile: senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, such as Natasha Romanoff and Maria Hill, and apparently, even the First Lady of the United States.
Luke had no idea how the President's wife ended up on their contact list, but when he asked, both women just exchanged a knowing smile and refused to explain.
Still, Luke didn't mind. A happy Wanda and Sharon meant a peaceful Luke. And besides, the party sounded fun. Well, except maybe the First Lady part, he wasn't exactly eager to host someone's grandmother on his sky spa. Unless, of course, she brought a daughter, or two.
But lately, he couldn't shake a strange unease.
The Marvel world's storylines had been ticking forward, sometimes with him in the middle of the chaos… and sometimes without him.
Thor's first arrival on Earth? Missed it completely.
The brawl between Tony Stark and Ivan Vanko? Didn't even bother to check the news that day.
Just those two incidents had cost him over ten plot points, and he needed fifty more to push his system to level six.
At this rate, Thanos might show up before he'd even scratched the surface.
And Luke really wanted level six before the Mad Titan's arrival. Because at that level, the system wouldn't just manipulate space, it would even twist time itself. With that kind of ability, even if Thanos had the Time Stone, Luke figured he could still dance circles around him.
So the pressure was on. He needed a big plot, and soon.
One in particular came to mind, one that had bothered him even in his past life. Queen Frigga's death.
He'd always admired her calm strength and kindness, and watching her die at Malekith's hands had left him oddly sad. If he could save her, he'd rack up a mountain of plot points and maybe even alter the timeline in his favor.
Before, the idea would have been laughable. But now, with level-five space travel unlocked, Asgard was no longer unreachable.
Even if he was a bit late, he still had to try.
…
That afternoon, he found Wanda and Sharon in deep discussion, heads close together over a stack of brochures. Judging by the pictures of mountain lakes and crystal springs, they were debating where to source the "perfect" water for the pool.
"The water has to sparkle," Wanda was saying. "If it doesn't look like diamonds under sunlight, it's not worth it."
"It also has to taste good," Sharon added seriously. "For… uh… a-aesthetic reasons." she stammered at the end.
Luke grinned and stepped forward. "Forget lakes and springs. How would you feel about water from Asgard itself?"
Both women froze mid-sentence, then turned to stare at him.
"…What?" they asked in unison.
"Asgard," Luke repeated casually, as if he were suggesting a trip to the next city over.
Wanda's eyes narrowed. "The Asgard? Golden towers, rainbow bridge, literal gods walking around?"
"That's the one," Luke said, clearly enjoying himself.
Sharon crossed her arms. "Luke, even if we wanted to, how exactly would we get there? I don't see any space shuttles parked outside."
Wanda reached up and touched his forehead. "You feeling alright? Fever? Hallucinations? Did you watch too much porn and fried your brain?"
Luke smirked. "You two know the grocery store's, how to say it, yeah, a little unusual, right?"
They exchanged a glance and nodded. That much was obvious. Strange things happened there often enough that they'd stopped questioning it. But "strange" and "space travel" were very different categories.
Seeing their skepticism, Luke leaned in. "I've discovered it can open doors. To other places. Far-away places."
That was his cover story not to reveal the system, everything was the grocery store's fault. It was conveniently mysterious, and they'd already accepted its weirdness.
Sharon tilted her head. "Doors to anywhere? Or just random places?"
Luke hesitated a fraction too long. "I… think I can choose. I tested it, when I wanted to return to the helicarrier, it dropped me right back."
"Convenient," Sharon muttered, but she didn't press further. One thing Luke liked about them: they didn't interrogate him about every little thing.
"Alright," he said, rubbing his hands together. "Let's go visit Asgard."
And before they could argue, he snapped his fingers.
Causing the helicarrier to vanish around them, replaced by the familiar warmth of the grocery store.
Wanda blinked, then slowly looked around. "We were just outside. How?"
Sharon raised an eyebrow. "That was fast, I didn't feel anything."
"That's what she said" Luke quipped, "wait, no, that didn't sound right…"
Both girls rolled their eyes at this.
It distracted them enough that they almost failed to realize something.
"Wait a minute," Wanda said sharply. "Didn't you just say this only works from inside the grocery store?"
Luke froze. Oh, right, he had said that.
Busted.
He scratched the back of his head with an awkward grin. "Ah, about that… don't mind the details. Anyway! Did you know Asgard's water is supposed to be the purest in the entire universe? We could, uh, fill the pool with it or something."
Sharon stared. "You want to import water from another world?"
Luke winced. Okay, maybe not his smoothest save.
"Let's just go," he said quickly, waving them toward the stairs. On the second floor, a ripple shimmered in the air like heat above asphalt. One step forward, and their whole world shifted.
…
Asgard
Golden spires rose into a sky so blue it looked painted, their tips catching the light like molten sunlight. But the air was tense.
Inside the palace, Frigga and Jane Foster stood together in the queen's chamber. Outside, chaos reigned, guards clashing with the dark elves who had breached the city. Odin was rallying forces to push them back, while Thor was chasing escaped prisoners through the lower halls.
The door to the chamber burst open. Malekith himself stood framed in the archway, flanked by a few armed dark elves. His gaze locked on Jane instantly. The Aether inside her called to him, and he followed its pull like a predator smelling blood.
Frigga stepped forward without hesitation, her expression calm but eyes sharp. She had known they would come for the mortal woman.
In a blink, a short sword appeared in her hand, gleaming with enchantments. "You will not take her," she said, voice cold and regal.
The first clash rang like a bell through the chamber, steel against steel. Frigga moved like flowing water around Malekith's strikes, which were heavy and wild, but she parried or evaded each one with the grace of someone who had trained for centuries.
Then, without warning, a shadow loomed behind her.
The kursed warrior, fresh from the prison break, had just arrived.
…