Nearly to the end, guys. :) I think one or two chapters to finish up Asgard, maybe a chapter or two with Jessie's peeps on Earth, then epilogue time!

The battles reach their finales here. Enjoy, all!

+++

Loki was good. Very good. And he nearly killed her several times, too.

Jessie was just lucky she was fighting with Thor on her side. Every time Loki's vibranium knife even swung towards her, Thor pushed himself in front of her to fight against the knife, Jessie ducking around so she would be fighting on the side with the scepter. Even then, Loki was using several different magic tricks, from fireballs to telekinesis to try and reach her.

She wasn't going to last forever. And Thor was starting to tire as well.

"Thor? Vertigo?" Steve's voice called. "We've still got enemies coming in!"

"We're a little busy!" Jessie barked, dropping to the ground to avoid getting a haircut.

"The portal is not here!" Thor reported.

"The very top!" Fitz called. "Massive amounts of radiation is broadcasting from the very top."

"Thank you, Fitz." A dull thud from Steve's end. "Stark?"

"I can see it," Tony answered. A moment later, the building shook, sending Thor and Jessie staggering, Loki regaining his balance quicker. "Uh, I think I'm going to need the scepter to take this thing out."

"Uh . . . " Jessie eyed the scepter glinting in Loki's hand. "I think that's going to be easier said than done."

"He's fighting with it, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is."

"I hate that thing," Coulson's voice muttered.

"Yeah, I bet you do." She paused, eyes wide, then quickly stammered, "No offense, sir."

A snort from the other end. "Nightshade, you're an Avenger now. I don't think you have to call me sir."

"All right, so we need to get the scepter from Loki," Steve got them back on topic.

"I'm open to suggestions!" Jessie somersaulted backwards to avoid the knife aimed right at her shoulder. "And preferably quickly!"

"And avoid dying, if possible."

"Oh, yes, did I mention the vibranium knives he has?"

"He has what?!"

That came from May, Grant, and Steve. "Yes, he has vibranium knives!" Jessie nodded, watching Loki duck to avoid a swing from Thor, then stab at the god of thunder's leg. Thor avoided, and the two were back at it again. "So yes, avoid dying. That'd be nice."

"Has he hurt you?" Saleen asked worriedly.

"No, but I'm starting to get a bit tired here."

There was the sound of a gun being shot on the other end, then Saleen said, "I'm on my way up."

"What?!"

But then Saleen was blasting her way up, covered completely in ice. Loki turned to take on the new thread -

Saleen brought her hands up, icicles shooting out of her hands constantly. Loki was forced to alternate between using the scepter and knife to avoid being hit.

It was exactly the opening the two others needed.

Thor barreled into Loki, knocking him off balance. That gave Jessie time to run forward and grab the scepter. "Stark!" she shouted. "Need you!"

Loki's eyes widened, and he struggled to escape Thor's grip, but Thor just dropped his hammer on top of him. Tony flew down and took in the scene, then scooped Jessie up, flying her to the top of the Empire State Building. There sat the portal, the Tesseract inside. "Right," Jessie got her balance, narrowing her eyes, feeling the cold wind sting. "How do I do this?"

"Aim it, right at the crown," Natasha answered. "That's how we closed it last time."

Jessie looked up to see Chitauri and Frost Giants still pouring from the portal. "OK." Jessie took a deep breath, looking at the Tesseract. "God, I hope this works."

"Hang on . . . " Tony took in the stats of the portal, then pointed. "Right there."

Jessie braced herself, then pushed the tip of the scepter towards the Tesseract in the center of the portal. At first, the energy shielding it resisted, but Jessie pushed more and more, and finally, the scepter broke through. The moment the tip of the scepter touched the Tesseract, the entire thing just shut down.

The portal sputtered, then shut, severing the next Leviathan coming through in half. The Chitauri down below started screeching in pain, unable to focus. While the Frost Giants seemed unaffected, they were as confused as a kindergarten student would be in calculus.

The battle was finished less than an hour later.

+++

Thor had been in the middle of horrible weather before, but the force behind the massive waves of Aether was worse than any kind of hurricane or blizzard. He could barely see Loki anymore. "Loki?" he called.

"Almost there!" came his response.

Thor couldn't nod, he was trying to stay upright. Finally, the Aether started to clear, and he could see Malekith in the center of it all. "Malekith!" he bellowed.

Malekith turned, a dark smile on his face. "The darkness returns, Asgardian. Have you come to witness the end of your universe?"

Thor just narrowed his eyes. "I've come to accept your surrender."

Malekith scowled, then Loki brought his arm back and threw one of the gadget spears at Malekith. He caught it with one hand, then his arm disappeared, taking the gadget with it. Malekith looked surprised - so surprised that when Thor threw the next spear, he caught it without thinking, and that gadget disappeared as well, taking the arm with it. Malekith snarled, looking angrily at the two. "You think you can stop me?" he glared. "The Aether cannot be stopped!"

"But you can," Thor smirked.

Loki's magic swirled, and he threw everything he had at Malekith, catapulting the Dark Elf back towards his ship. He saw Malekith make one last desperate gesture, and the Aether buckled, then seemed to vanish. He saw Malekith then vanish, Jane using her gravimetric device to transport him to the rest of his body on Svartalfheim.

That was when he heard his sister's bloodcurdling scream of pain.

The two spun around, eyes wide, to see the Aether swarming around Jessie, seeping into her skin, her eyes glowing, her fingers crackling with electricity and fire. "Oh, my God!" Darcy screamed, backing away, eyes wide.

"Jessie!" Thor shouted, running over just as she buckled, catching her just before she hit the ground. "Jessie, no!"

"Thor, move!" Loki shouted, running towards them as well, watching Malekith's ship start to crumble to pieces.

Jane quickly worked her device again, and Malekith's ship vanished, just as Jessie went completely limp in Thor's arms. "No, no, no, no, not after we got this far," Thor shook his head desperately as Loki ran over, reaching out with a trembling hand to check Jessie's pulse.

"What happened to her?" Erik asked as the four others came over to check on her.

"It's the Aether," Loki answered, checking the back of Jessie's hand. "Look at her veins."

Jane clapped a hand over her mouth when she saw the sickly dark red and black sheen. "Oh, my God."

"How is she still alive?" Ian asked, surprised.

That made the two others look at each other, too. "I have no idea," Thor admitted.

"She's survived this long," Loki checked Jessie over again. "And our mother's magic is connecting the Aether to her." He looked up, eyes wide. "The Aether can't be taken out of her without killing her completely."

"She's going to die if we don't!" Thor argued. "No mortal could hold this much power!"

"I know!" Loki shouted, looking completely frustrated. Abruptly, it froze into a thinking face, then Loki's face cleared, leaving him looking stupefied. "But . . . "

"But?" Thor leaned forward.

Loki looked at him, eyes wide. "What if she wasn't mortal?"

"Can you do that?" Jane asked in surprise.

"The process of turning her completely Asgardian could kill her, too," Thor shook his head.

"It would," Loki conceded. "But not if she was made half Asgardian."

Thor took a deep breath. "Loki . . . can you do it?"

Loki looked up at him. "I can . . . but we must return to Asgard." He braced himself. "And it needs the King of Asgard's permission to turn her."

Thor swallowed and looked at Jane. Disappointment was in her eyes, but she nodded. "Save her."

Both brothers gave matching looks of determination, and Thor looked up. "Heimdall!" he bellowed.

***

"If this is another trick, Heimdall," Odin growled as he, Sif, Fandral, and Volstagg approached the Bifrost with Eir, the Asgardian healer, "you will need to find a new occupation on Asgard."

"It is no trick, my King," Heimdall shook his head, gold eyes determined, but there was also a worried look in them. "But you are needed for this."

"For what?"

Heimdall just inserted his sword into the Bifrost, and rainbow lights abruptly blinded them all for a few seconds. Then Sif let out an anguished cry and ran forward, dropping her sword as she ran to where Thor and Loki were staggering, a limp girl in a skin-tight black suit held between them. "Jessie!"

Eir gasped when she saw Loki, and Odin snarled, but Fandral blanched and moved forward. "What happened to her?"

"Malekith is dead," Loki answered shortly. "His last act was to make the Aether latch onto her."

"That should have killed her immediately!"

"It didn't," Thor said as he laid Jessie down on the bridge, Sif crouching by her head. "Because when Mother died, she passed on part of her magic to Jessie."

Volstagg's eyes widened. "How?"

"I don't know," Loki shook his head. "But since she died, Jessie has been showing signs of controlling elements of the air and fire. And currently, it is the magic warring inside of her that is allowing her to live."

Thor looked up at Odin to see him staring at Jessie, an unreadable look in his eye. "Jessie is innocent in this," he growled. "She found the Aether on accident because of the Convergence. She never meant for Mother to die protecting her. She never meant to bring Malekith and the Dark Elves to Asgard. And it is because of her intelligence that Loki is in his correct mind and is here with us now. She does not deserve to die this way."

Eir slowly made her way over. "If I may?" When neither Thor nor Loki moved away from Jessie, Sif reluctantly stood, allowing the healer to take her place. Eir leaned down over Jessie and spoke a few quiet words in Norse, watching Jessie's veins flash between dark red, smoky grey, and fiery orange. "They are right," she looked up at Odin. "It is the magic keeping her alive currently. The Aether has taken hold. It cannot be removed without ending her life. It appears the Aether has chosen her to be its host."

"But she's mortal," Volstagg frowned.

Thor looked up at his father. "She does not have to be entirely mortal to ensure she survives."

Odin finally tore his gaze off of Jessie to look at Thor. "You would rather have her live with the overwhelming power she has than let her die?"

"I have already lost one member of my family to Malekith," Thor nodded firmly. "I will not lose another."

Odin bowed his head, then nodded. "Eir, you know what is needed, as do you, Loki. Allow Lady Nightshade to join our ranks."

Eir turned to Thor. "She will need your blood."

Thor looked himself over, then Loki handed over the last knife he had, now unarmed except for his magic. Thor took the blade and without hesitation, made a slice in his forearm. He barely winced as his blood beaded around the cut. Eir took Jessie's wrist and made a similar slice with another knife, although her cut did not bleed. Loki brought the knife that had Thor's blood on it and held it over Jessie's cut and gently tapped the blade. One, two, three, six, nine drops of Thor's blood landed on Jessie's cut, and with a wave of Eir's hand, instantly healed. Loki began whispering in Norse, watching Jessie with an eagle eye. Thor gripped her hand tightly, hoping beyond measure that this would work -

Abruptly, bronze metal covered Jessie's hand, making Thor let go and jerk backwards slightly. Loki grinned as he kept speaking, watching as Jessie's body was covered in bronze breastplate armor, a glinting violet sheen to it as well. "It worked," Sif smiled in delight.

Jessie's hand squeezed Thor's slightly as she started breathing easier. "She will live," Eir said unnecessarily.

Thor let out the breath he was holding in one whoosh, and Loki smiled. "She's a fighter," he said.

"Runs in the family," Thor smiled at his brother.

Both looked up as Odin approached, considering Jessie as she slept. "Take her to the chambers next to yours, Thor," he said, and Thor blinked. Those were reserved for the royal family. "If you feel she is your sister, then you best treat her that way when she wakes." He turned to Loki, who stiffened slightly. "As for you . . . "

"Back to the dungeons?" Loki asked sarcastically.

Odin narrowed his eyes. "I trust Lady Sif, Fandral, and Volstagg to ensure you do not plan anything else, Loki. And perhaps, if you help Lady Jessie use her powers to the best of her abilities, then you shall be free to roam as Prince of Asgard once again. This is your only chance, Loki. You will not have another."

Loki bowed his head, and Odin turned on his heel, walking back down the Bifrost towards the palace. "Did he just let you go?" Fandral asked in shock.

"More like what the mortals call 'house arrest,'" Thor looked down at Jessie, smiling when he saw the color returning to her skin.

Sif sighed as she crouched back down. "You will have to explain to her what happened when she wakes up."

"Right now, I'm glad it's 'when' and not 'if,'" Loki remarked.

"Agreed," Thor nodded, lifting Jessie into his arms. "Let's go."

***

In the words of Loki Laufeyson, ta da. :)

Man, this book is nearly finished! And then . . . I think my DW muse is about to return. ;)

Keep an eye out, guys! Hoping to finish this soon!