"FOCUS! This is important!" Darcy chides Ian, "We have to hammer them in all around the site, and then Jane and Erik will activate them from the tower."

The pair of interns are unloading equipment from the back of Jane's beat-up red car, sorting through the jumbled heap in a rush. Darcy shrugs on her jacket, supervising Ian's work.

"They're taped together," he tells her, incredulously.

Darcy's voice drops, her face serious, "Do you even know what these things do?"

"....no," Ian admits, holding the still-beeping device.

She shrugs, "Neither do I."

Once they've gathered everything necessary, they rush onto the lawn and head to the first spot where Jane instructed them to place the devices. Ian spikes one into the ground, pulling out a large mallet, while he hammers it into the cold ground.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" Darcy urges him along.

Ian groans, "All right!"

The waters of the Thames splash behind them, a massive disturbance in the otherwise peaceful river running through Greenwich causing a panic in the onlookers. Several screams erupt from the crowd, while many begin running away from the riverbank as the cause of the disturbance is revealed. A massive alien ship ripple into view, and panic ensues as it moves closer and closer toward the ground.

Darcy turns, finally checking out the source of the noise, and her jaw drops, "Holy..."

"...shit!" Ian completes, finishing his work on the device and running out of the ship's path.

It cuts into the grass like a knife, sliding easily through the dirt and grass while people run to escape the oncoming ship. Thundering loudly toward the buildings, it rips through the ground mercilessly before sliding to a stop in the center of the previously pristine lawn. Rising tall above the surrounding buildings, the ship's core glows red as an elevator-like pod slides from the top of the ship down to the base.

Unfurling a ramp to the ground, the door opens to reveal Malekith and his troops. In the sky above them, a portal ripples through the cloud as the Convergence comes into effect. From a distance, however, the sound of a rapidly moving object draws Malekith's attention as Thor flies down from the sky and slams into the earth in front of the Dark Elf with a resounding thud.

"You needn't have come so far, Asgardian," Malekith tells him, taking a confident step forward. "Death would've come to you soon enough."

"Not by your hand," Thor counters, gripping Mjölnir tightly as he strides out to meet him.

Malekith ignores him, "Your universe was never meant to be. Your world and your family will be extinguished!"

Calling a swarm of the blood-red Aether, Malekith draws a cloud and hurtles it toward Thor as he shouts out the words. Slamming into him like a million daggers, the Aether throws the blonde Asgardian backward as if he is a ragdoll. Thor calls his lightning to him as a counterstrike, but it does little to lessen the powerful blow.

Inside Jane, Anna, and Erik Selvig rush through the building. The astrophysicists' shoes squeak loudly against the tiled floor, and Anna grimaces at the attention the noise is drawing toward them. Erik is carrying the largest piece of equipment, while Jane is focused on getting to the tower as fast as possible, but neither of them is well-equipped for stealth. Ignoring the glares and shushes from the library patrons, they climb to the top of the tower without wasting any more time. By the time they've reached the top, the Dark Elves' ship has smashed into the earth.

Frantically, Selvig quickly assembles the equipment he had been hauling with Anna's help. Once they're finished, he watches the chaos below with a similar surge of panic and déjà vu. He's been at the top, watching as aliens attempt to demolish humanity before, and he isn't keen on experiencing it again. Anna's heart leaps in her chest, praying that whatever it is that Jane has concocted will be enough to defeat Malekith.

"Jane..." she says, watching as Thor begins to engage Malekith on the lawn below.

Selvig frowns, seeing what Anna is seeing, "We're running out of time."

Jane remains focused on the piece of equipment she's holding, "Almost there."

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Selvig asks nervously. "These devices were made to detect anomalies, not cause them."

She groans, peeking out the tower to watch Thor get struck with another powerful blow by Malekith and the Aether, "Oh, come on. Come on, Darcy."

Anna frowns, watching as Thor evades another attack, this time using Mjölnir as a shield while the Aether drives him backward across the lawn. The Aether's power is beyond his strength and abilities, meaning all he can do is attempt to evade the brunt of the attacks to keep Malekith busy until Jane's plan can unfold.

"You know," Thor spits at Malekith, wiping a trail of blood from his chin. "With all that power, I thought you would hit harder."

Enraged, Malekith begins to call a greater swarm of the Aether. Black and red shards swirl in front of him, tiny daggers floating together in a lethal swarm as he calls their full strength.

Thor, however, capitalizes on his slight hesitation and sends Mjölnir flying toward him. The hammer smashes through the brewing storm, colliding with Malekith squarely in the chest, and sends him careening backward across the lawn. His body smashes into a column before glancing sideways and smashing heavily into the side of a black car in the parking lot.

Spinning Mjölnir, Thor takes off at a run and leaps into the air - flying above the Dark Elves accompanying Malekith - and smashes into the parking lot. He brings Mjölnir down with a crash, calling lightning with it, and sends the current of electricity through the ground toward Malekith.

On the other side of the tower, Darcy and Ian finish securing the last of Jane's devices. Ian immediately tells Darcy as the equipment comes to life, watching while she whirls around to give Jane a thumbs up.

From her perch above them, Jane smiles and looks down the device in her hands while Selvig stares at the sky. More portals are opening in the sky above them, a sign of the worlds aligning, and his forehead wrinkles with worry at the sight. It's almost time.

"The Convergence will be in full effect in seven minutes," he reminds Jane, checking her progress.

Smiling at Anna, Jane peeks out of the tower at Thor, "That means we have to keep Malekith busy for eight."

The device in her hands begins to beep rapidly, the beacons Ian and Darcy finally coming to life. She twists the controls, nodding to herself, before glancing at Selvig.

"Okay, you might want to hold on to something," she warns the two of them, taking a deep breath before twisting a knob to activate the equipment.

A shockwave erupts across the lawn, rippling from the equipment Darcy and Ian placed in the grass, and flies out toward the group of Dark Elves walking toward the building. As soon as it appears, it engulfs several of the Elves in it's blue tint and they disappear without a trace.

"That is awesome!" Darcy cries into the phone to Jane. "How did you do that?"

Jane smiles proudly, tucking the phone between her head and her shoulder, "Well, the gravitational fields interact with the weak spots between worlds, creating..."

"Oooo!" Darcy interrupts. "Get the guy with the sword!"

Jane twists the nob again, activating the equipment once more, but this time the blue shockwave ripples toward Darcy and Ian's hiding spot around the corner and causes them to disappear.

She grimaces, "Oops."

"Let's go," Selvig says, grabbing both of them and urging them out of the tower.

Now playing: "The Good, The Bad And The Dirty" by Panic! At The Disco.

*****
AUTHOR'S NOTE

We're almost at the end of the Thor: The Dark World storyline! Don't worry, this book won't end there. I've got lots of plans for you. *insert evil laugh*

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