Forms of Victory

Athena was not quite certain that this plan of Jane's would actually work. But she had come to see that the humans were rather full of ingenuity and cleverness and Jane had proven herself multiple times. There was no reason to doubt her now and, even if the plan failed, she was sure that she and Thor would be able to handle this, to see it through and make sure that the Earth and all the other realms were safe.

She and Thor were on a high building overlooking the courtyard of a library in Greenwich, where Jane's scanners had been going crazy sensing something approaching it. They knew that that would be where Malekith would make his final attack. The point where the convergence would take place, right in the center. They could see the others from that point, all of them in pairs and having assigned tasks. Darcy and Ian were putting spikes into the ground at key points that Jane had given them, some sort of scanner that Jane had rigged to be a generator instead. She was hoping to create some sort of anomaly like the one in the warehouse, to give them portals to send some of the Dark Elves through and trap them elsewhere, away from the convergence. Jane and Erik were in the library, helping to get to a higher point to watch and control from.

And that meant that all there was to do was wait for Malekith to arrive.

It didn't take very long however before the water in the river across from the library began to shift and move, as though something invisible were landing in it and travelling across it. They glanced at each other, seeing that same invisible craft reach land and start to tear it apart as it moved, forcing the humans to run away. The craft flickered into view just as it reached the central point, right where the coordinates said that the convergence would occur, the Dark Elf craft now visible for all to see. It was like a giant spike sticking out of the ground, black but with red lighting.

They watched as a particular red light lit up from within the spike and began to travel down, the bottom opening as Malekith stepped out, his army of Elves behind him. They gave each other a firm nod as Thor took Athena in his one arm and used Mjolnir to have them soaring over the buildings and landing heavily before Malekith to stop him. They straightened, their weapons in hand, Athena with her sword and Thor with Mjolnir, ready for battle, ready to distract Malekith long enough for the convergence to pass.

Malekith merely grinned at them, the courtyard emptying of the humans as they fled, "You needn't have come so far Asgardian," he spoke to Thor, "Nor you Olympian," his gaze flickered to Athena who frowned at that, almost swearing she heard someone give a cheer and a shout of 'I knew it!' from a small ledge above them where Jane and Erik had gone to hide, "Death would have come to you soon enough."

"Not by your hand," Thor shook his head, giving Athena a held up hand in gesture to hold back as he strode towards Malekith.

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

Before Thor could even blink, Malekith summoned the Aether to him, the red cloud swarming around him and blasting out at Thor, sending him flying back. He quickly turned it on Athena, but she held up her shield, her breastplate, her Aegis, firmly attached to it, using it to counter the attack, to hold it off till Thor could get back up on his feet which was not a long wait at all as, moments later, Malekith ended the attack to turn it on Thor. But Thor, taking an example from her, lifted Mjolnir and used it to block the attack, the force of it sending him sliding back, making tracks in the gravel beneath his feet.

Thor groaned as Malekith ceased the attack, straightening and wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth from the first attack, "You know," he grunted, his gaze flickering to Athena for a moment, giving her a small nod before he focused on Malekith again, "With all that power...I thought you would hit harder."

Athena winced as Malekith gathered the Aether to him, only to have Thor send Mjolnir slamming into the man in the middle of it, blasting the Dark Elf back, not just through his own men, but through a column of the library, and into the cars on the streets beyond.

"Go!" Athena shouted to Thor as she ran forward, blocking his back as he took off towards Malekith, leaving her to face the army of Dark Elves that remained.

He hadn't been fond of this idea, that she would be the one facing the army of Elves while he faced off with Malekith. But she had reminded him that Malekith would be far more dangerous with the Aether and if HE was going to face a man like that, then she could face his minions. She had a better idea of what to expect now, she'd been able to look at their crafts, she'd seen their weapons in action when Loki had been lost, she could handle this better now that she had a firmer idea of what the Elves were like. She could at least hold them off till the time came.

She could hear lightning being summoned behind her and knew that Thor was doing his best to hold off Malekith as well. She focused on the Elves before her, forcing her thoughts and concerns for Thor out of her mind, they both agreed that they HAD to focus on what was going on before them, they had to focus on the plan and the battle and distracting the Elves and they could not afford to worry about each other. So she did her best.

The Elves seemed to not know what to do with someone standing up to them though. They were hesitant in attacking, were shifting around her, slow to approach, but the few that did met their end quickly. She was sure that they were doing the same thing to her that she had to them, trying to observe her and understand what her fighting style was like, testing her limits and reactions, so she kept it varied, which seemed to keep them from attacking all out as well.

She tried to keep her focus on the Elves as well, but there were portals above her, rifts in the space of the sky, starting to form, revealing the Nine Realms through them. She could even see Asgard through one and that was not a good sign. It meant the convergence was happening, it was happening now and she wasn't sure if Jane and the others were in place and ready to put the plan in motion. She had lost sight of Darcy and Ian and she couldn't risk looking up to Jane and seeing if she could make out where she was.

She spun around, punching one of the Dark Elves that had tried to sneak up behind her out, and turned, about to throw the dagger from her hair at one of the others…when a small handful of them disappeared in a flash as they neared one of the spikes that Darcy and Ian had set up. She let out a breath of relief at that, realizing that it meant the spikes were working, that their plan was coming together. She fought two more, managing to slice her sword through both of them, when another round of Elves disappeared from around her. She saw a moment, a small break in the fighting, the other Elves being too far away and wanted to look up to thank Jane if just a small salute…when she saw something that she wasn't entirely sure she was actually seeing.

Thor was falling through the sky, Malekith with him, from an anomaly in the sky.

"Thor!" she shouted, even though she could see a faint shimmer of Mjolnir in his hand and knew he was safe.

In the blink of an eye though, Thor and Malekith disappeared again, falling through another anomaly.

"Wonderful," she muttered, turning and quickly punching one of the Elves as they drew closer.

The only good thing she could see in this was that at least Malekith was distracted enough as he and Thor went tumbling through the different anomalies and rifts, fighting across the Realms she would assume. So she focused instead on fighting the Elves, taking them out, taking out as many as she could in the hopes that she could make some sort of dent in them before the convergence happened.

But she found only minutes later…her efforts were in vain when she found herself blasted back across the courtyard and into the walls of the library, falling to the ground with a groan at the unexpected and unforeseen attack. She pushed herself up, seeing that it was Malekith, he had returned. The majority of his Elves had been dealt with, she had taken care of them, but the man seemed unperturbed by that information as he merely strode towards the ship, towards where the portals had aligned above him, the convergence was happening now. She struggled to her feet and ran forward, but Malekith had released the Aether, it was swirling around him, surging upwards in a terrible tornado of power, heading for the portals, being sucked into them and infiltrating the Nine Realms at once.

"No," she breathed, pushing herself up and rushing out into the courtyard.

"Thor!" she heard someone shout and turned to see Jane and Erik were at the end of it, Thor rushing up to them.

She let out a breath of relief and ran over to them, "I couldn't stop him," she told him, a grim solemnity to her words.

"We're too late," Jane frowned.

"The convergence is at its peak," Erik agreed.

"Could those things stop it?" Thor nodded to the spikes that Erik held in his hand, three of them, the spikes that had teleported the other Elves to different realms using the anomaly that Jane had found.

"Not from here," Erik shook his head.

"We can't get close enough," Jane elaborated.

Athena and Thor looked at each other and started to grin, "WE can," Athena realized.

Thor held out his hand to Erik, taking the spikes, handing one to Athena as she restrapped her shield to her arm. He gave her a pointed look as he handed it to her, Jane and Erik watching as they seemed to communicate with their eyes, as though they both had an idea of a battle strategy and were agreeing upon it. It made sense, after so many years together, after so many battles fought together, they both likely knew how to assess the situation and determine the best manner of attack.

Athena nodded and took the spike from him, Thor holding two himself, one in each hand, as they turned and made their way to the swirling vortex of Aether.

Thor paused before the edge of it, looking at Athena intently and intensely, "WE can," he agreed, silently thanking her with his eyes for doing this with him, for facing this danger and enemy at his side.

"Always," she smiled at him, leaning in to kiss him quickly before she stepped into the vortex, lifting her shield to help her navigate, even being a warrior, being as muscular as she was, she weighed less than him and the winds were a little harder for her to get through than they would be for him.

Thor straightened, gripping the spikes in his hand, giving Athena a moment of a head start before he stepped into the Aether after her, walking straight ahead, towards the center, where he could just make out Malekith standing, his head back, his arms out, through the red haze, "Malekith!"

The Dark Elf leader turned, grinning when he saw Thor appear before him, "Darkness returns Asgardian," he laughed, "Have you come to witness the end of your universe?"

"I've come to accept your surrender," Thor told him, before throwing one of the spikes like a javelin at the Elf.

Malekith caught it in one hand, only for it to disappear, taking the Elf's hand with it. Thor quickly used his distraction to throw the other spike, nailing the Elf in the other shoulder, it and the creature's arm disappearing as well.

Malekith, however, did not appear at all alarmed by this, "You think you can stop this?" he sneered at Thor, so focused on him that he didn't see Thor's gaze flicker past him, to the other person with a spike sneaking up behind him, "The Aether cannot be destroyed!"

Thor's attention turned back to Malekith, "But you can!" he told the man, holding out his hand as he leapt into the air, summoning Mjolnir to him and flying towards the man.

He could see Athena behind Malekith, the woman reaching up, leaping into the air as well and slamming the spike into the man's back, into his heart, right as Thor caught the hammer and used it to send Malekith blasting backwards towards his ship, impaling him against it…

Malekith disappeared in a flash with the spike, the Aether disappearing with him, the blast sending both Thor and Athena flying back in either direction from the backlash.

They both landed hard on the ground, Athena wincing as she merely rolled on the ground for a short distance before managing to pull herself up. She looked around for Thor, only to see him lying, unmoving in the middle of the courtyard.

"Thor!" she grimaced as she stood, nearly falling over as she felt her leg give out, her knee was rather badly bruised from the landing but she staggered over to him, falling to her knees beside him as gently as she could. She reached out to check on him, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that he was breathing, merely knocked out

"Thor!" she heard Jane calling, "Athena!"

"Over here!" she shouted back, seeing Jane and Erik entering from one side of the courtyard, Darcy and Ian on the other…before she stiffened, hearing a groaning noise behind her. She slowly turned and nearly sagged when she saw the Dark Elf ship starting to collapse in on itself at the base, teetering towards them, about to fall on her and Thor. She grit her teeth and stood, gripping Thor's forearm tightly and half-dragged him to the side just as the ship began to fall…

Only to disappear in what was left of Jane's spikes still set up and functioning in the courtyard.

Athena sunk to the ground at that, shaking her head at how she'd just pulled him away only for the ship to not even land on them.

Erik grinned as he finished with the controls, having activated the portals, before looking at all of them and smiling calmly, as though the battle hadn't happened, "Everybody ok?"

~8~

Athena frowned as she stood beside Thor, both of them before Odin Allfather as he sat on his golden throne. Thor was speaking softly, sadly, telling his father about the outcome of the battle and their reasons for doing what they had, knowing very well that it could be seen as treason to the man, knowing that the fact that all of the ones he trusted implicitly had been accomplices in the plan would shake the Allfather's trust and perhaps even spark his paranoia. Frigga was not there, and she knew that it was a testament to either how outraged the man was or how broken he was that she had agreed with their plan instead of supporting his decision on the matter. She had seen Sif earlier, as she and Thor had been making their way towards the room, had been told that the woman seemed…lighter in spirits than she had been when they'd left. She hoped that it would mean that Odin would be more lenient, that, in their absence, some sound advice had made it through to the man and that he would see the error in his own plans and understand the reasons for theirs.

She had wished to speak, to help Thor talk about it all, but Odin had forbid her to, and she truly felt terrible for Thor to have to speak of this on his own, to recall that terrible moment when Loki had passed. Even if said brother had proven himself an enemy of Asgard numerous times, at one point he HAD been Thor's brother and for that the recollection of his death would be a horrible thing for Thor to relive. She had dealt with her own fair share of mad siblings and betraying relatives, she understood how difficult it was to talk about it.

She turned her attention back to Odin, eyeing the old man critically, noting that he wasn't quite…holding himself in his typical fashion. At first she had thought, perhaps he was happy they had returned, that he understood their actions and was more at ease with the threat of the Dark Elves destroyed…but that wasn't the case she realized. It was more…HOW he was sitting that was niggling her. He was leaning to one side, almost…lounging, quite unbefitting a manner for such a king and…in a position that was quite familiar for only one other Asgardian.

"Athena," Odin stood, calling her full attention to him as he thumped Gungnir to the ground in the process, "Leave us."

Athena frowned and looked at Thor a moment. He gave her a small nod, thanking her for being there with him as he confronted his father and told him the report of the events, but also telling her it was alright for her to depart, that this was something he had to speak to his father about alone. She gave him a small nod in return, turning to Odin and placing her fist to her heart in respect before she too turned to leave.

Odin waited till the doors had closed behind her, leaving just him and Thor in the room before he focused on his son, "You once said there would never be a wiser King than me," he began, "You were wrong. The alignment has brought all the Realms together. Every one of them saw you offer your life to save them. What can Asgard offer its new King in return?"

"My life," Thor spoke freely, "Father, I cannot be King of Asgard. Not yet. I will protect Asgard and all the Realms with my last and every breath, but I cannot do so from that chair. Loki for all his grave imbalance understood rule as I know I never will. The brutality, the sacrifice…" he shook his head, "It changes you. I'd rather be a good man than a great King."

Odin nodded slowly, "Is this my son I hear? Or the woman he loves?"

Thor gave him a small smile, "I know of only one way to remain unchanged in the face of that brutality and sacrifice. I have not yet obtained it. Perhaps…when I have…I shall feel more ready to take up the throne. But until then father…"

Odin let out a long breath and sat back on the throne, "One son who wanted the Throne too much, another who will not take it. Is this my legacy?"

"Loki died with honor in the end," Thor defended, the last shred he had left of his brother, "I shall try to live the same. Is that not legacy enough?" he looked down at Mjolnir and offered it up to Odin.

But Odin held up his hand, "It belongs to you. If you are worthy of it."

"I shall try to be," Thor agreed.

"I cannot give you my blessing, nor can I wish you good fortune," Odin warned him.

"I know," Thor consented.

"If I were proud of the man my son had become, even that I could not say, I would speak only from my heart," he eyed Thor a long while, "I may not be able to give you my blessing to leave…however," Thor looked up, "I can give you my blessing for the reason you wish to go. For the reason you tried to leave before the Aether was detected."

Thor opened his mouth a moment before closing it, "You are…aware of that?"

Odin smiled, "Go on, my son. And know that…I should be proud of the Queen you have selected for Asgard."

"Thank you father," Thor gave him a smile as well, before he turned to leave the room, Odin watching him go.

A moment after the doors closed, Odin's image shifted, revealing Loki sitting on the throne, Gungnir in his hand, "No," he grinned, "Thank you."

~8~

Thor stood against a tree as he watched Athena sit at the ledge by the waterfall, he knew he'd find her there. He couldn't help but just look at her for a short while, taking her in, sitting there still in her battle armor, her breastplate now on her chest instead of her shield, her shield on her back with her sword strapped to her side. She was leaning over slightly, her hand skimming the surface of the water. Her armguards were off, revealing her charm bracelet that she wore, a gift from her family before she'd left, she'd said once. He was curious now about the charms on it. It seemed like everything she wore and owned related in some way to her family, perhaps the charms did as well.

He felt slightly foolish, as he'd told her when he'd realized who she really was, that he hadn't worked out that she was the Athena that the mortals seemed to think of as the Goddess of Wisdom. He could understand it though, she was the wisest woman he had ever met, she was so skilled in battle which could likely only come from a Goddess of War. He knew a few 'myths' about the woman the mortals thought her to be. When he had been banished to Earth, on the way to the Bifrost to leave, Darcy had told them a few of the more famed myths about 'Athena.'

Arachne, which, he supposed, explained her fear of spiders. If she had turned a woman into one, it would make sense that the woman would be rather unhappy and wish to attack her. Her breastplate, the Aegis, was often thought of as just snakes at first, not many people really noticed carvings and designs on the weapons around them after so long spent wielding them. But it wasn't just snakes, it was a woman's head with snake hair, Medusa, Darcy had called her. Athens, the city founded in her name, and her uncle Poseidon who nearly drowned her whenever she was around water for jealousy and anger that she had won a city he wanted. Even her status as a Virgin Goddess, given some of her past remarks, were explainable, she had been on Earth but never showed interest in men so they assumed she never would, that she didn't ever want to be with a man.

He felt himself grin smugly at how HE had disproved that last thought.

It truly should have made him more suspicious than he had been, even with her golden hair, just her name and how similar she was to the other goddess. But he supposed it was his own fault, before he'd been to Earth, he hadn't even really given much thought to the gods of the other worlds. He had just seen her as another warrior, something he knew she appreciated. But he should have worked this out ages ago. She had even given him clues about it, how her family was so large and how they had so many issues, how they had cut themselves away from the problem, the mortals, and how she understood him. They were similar in so many ways.

But truly, what should have done it, was his banishment. Odin had forbidden any Asgardian access to the Bifrost. The king himself was the only exclusion to that decree. But both Athena and Loki had had access to it. He had taken her word that it had been Odin that had ordered Heimdall to send her to Earth, but what if it hadn't been that? It made sense now, his father, after making that decree, would not be able to go back on it, not even to send her there on his own order. Loki had been able to access it, he was a Jotun. Athena had been able to access it as well…because she was an Olympian.

So much made sense now as well, by his father had been so…open with Athena, how he'd taken her under his wing as a future advisor. What better advisor for a king than a goddess of wisdom herself? It made sense how Athena was even there in the first place. It would be a good connection between worlds to have the woman be like an ambassador of sorts. That they had hosted her and built loyalty and allegiance with the Olympians. His father would only accept someone like that if it was to build connections and this wasn't just between Realms but between Worlds now.

"Are you going to stare at me or join me?" Athena's voice cut into his thoughts.

He chuckled and made his wan over, sitting beside her on the ledge, but snatching her hand as she moved to sit back more, taking it gently as he observed the charm bracelet on her wrist, "Your family?" he guessed.

"Clever boy," she smiled, nodding gently as she began to point out the charms, "Ares," she motioned to a small sword, "Apollo," a lyre, "Artemis," an arrow, "Aphrodite," a heart, "Poseidon, Hades, my father, Zeus," a trident, a skull, a lightning bolt, "My step-mother Hera, Hestia, Demeter," a peacock feather, a small fire, a grain plant, "Hermes, Iris, Persephone," wings, a rainbow, a flower, "Hephaestus, Dionysus," a small hammer, a goblet, "Asc…"

"I understand," Thor chuckled, placing a hand on hers to lower it, there were many more charms on it, more than he was sure he would recognize, "You must miss them."

She shrugged lightly, "At first I did, enormously so," she admitted, "I had never been apart from them for so long. Even when we fought on opposites sides of the Trojan War, we were still gathered together on Olympus. But…I started to enjoy it here," she looked around, "It is lovely Thor and…I wanted to be here. To train at first," she smiled at him, "Then for friends and…and love."

He smiled at that, lifting the hand he was still holding to his lips, "I do love you Athena," he told her.

"And I you," she leaned in and gave him a soft kiss, pulling away to rest her head to his, "How was Odin after I left?" she had to ask, worried for him.

"I have requested two things of father," Thor began, and she knew that it was his way of saying that it had gone better than he thought it would, "The first was…it appears, something he had given his blessing for ages ago."

"And what's that?" she frowned, shaking her head, confused.

"We have been…together, for a short while," he looked at her, lifting his other hand to touch her face, "But…I cannot imagine my life without you Athena. I cannot imagine ruling Asgard without you by my side."

She smiled at that, "Thor I will always be there," she reassured him, "At the very least I would be your advisor and…"

"And at the very most, you would be my queen?" he stated, though it came out more like a question than anything else.

Athena blinked and looked at him, "Your…queen."

He nodded, "I want you with me Athena, in all walks of life," it was only a small voice in his head that reminded him that marriage was the only means where he and Athena would be together even in the afterlife as well, "Facing every challenge I am to face as I would wish to be at your side to face anything you encounter. I can think of no better advisor…than my wife."

Athena let out a soft breath at that, before a gentle laugh followed, "Are you sure you can handle that, almighty Thor?"

He grinned widely, "I love a challenge, wise-Athena."

She leaned in and kissed him again, not even needing to speak the words for him to know that she was accepting. She pulled back a moment later as a thought hit her, "What was the second thing you requested?"

"Freedom," he told her, "To leave Asgard for a short while, to find my way without the pressures of being king just yet."

"Have you an idea of where?" she searched his eyes.

He reached up to touch her face, "I should like to see your world, Athena. I have heard only a few stories of your home…I wish to see it, I wish to see YOU."

Athena beamed at that and kissed him again, "Shall we depart now then?"

He smiled and nodded, standing and offering her a hand up. She turned to the waterfall, to the mist, knowing that if she did this Iris would open the portal to allow them passage back to Olympus. It had taken the woman years to be able to open a portal from this side instead of her home, but she would take this opportunity, to finally be able to share all of her past with Thor and show him who she truly was, where she came from, what her family was like.

If he could still wish to marry her after meeting all of them…he would certainly be the man she wished to spend her long life with.

She saw Iris appear as she held her necklace up to the mist, calling her to open a window, and gave her a pointed nod, the window opening and solidifying to a portal. She squeezed Thor's hand tightly before the two of them stepped through, appearing on the other side. Athena glanced at Thor, seeing his eyes open wide in awe at the land beyond. They were standing on a rainbow bridge of Iris's own making, in the middle of the clouds, a series of stark white pillars and structures rising before them, forming buildings that were so pristine they could only be seen by the light blue of the sky around them.

She turned her gaze to her home once more, recalling a time when she'd wanted nothing more than to be away from it and be somewhere with more life…and now she was rather pleased to be back.

"Beautiful," Thor murmured and she looked back at him, only to flush, seeing he was staring at her now instead.

She blinked though, when she realized that her hair had turned back to brown…and she was now wearing a floor length, sleeveless white, draped gown, "Iris!" she huffed at the woman, knowing she had likely transformed her when she stepped through the portal, but Iris merely giggled and flitted past them, creating a rainbow bridge up to the buildings for them to walk upon.

She reached for a lock of her hair, about to turn it blonde once more when Thor put a hand on hers, "Leave it," he requested, "I wish to know all of you Athena," he reminded her, "Who you truly are."

She smiled and nodded, squeezing his hand before turning to lead him along the bridge, knowing that Iris had likely moved ahead of her to warn her family of her arrival with Thor, who was still dressed in his Asgardian attire, and she could only pray that this would go well.

But, so long as there was no imminent danger in any of the realms that would threaten all their lives…it shouldn't be too bad.

Though she had to smirk, what she wouldn't give to have Sif there beside her when Thor met her father.

To be continued...in...TBA! (I have to wait till the next movie with Thor to be able to title it ;))

A/N: Lol, just imagining Zeus and Thor meeting...oh boy :)

But that's all for Athena till the next movie with Thor in it :) I tend to title the stories based on Athena's skills or qualities. She's the goddess who is often a patron of humility (Thor being banished), the Goddess of War (the battle of New York), and of Strategy (working out the Dark Elves' strategy to save Frigga, etc). So the next story will be based on some sort of quality or characteristic that she favors that is present in the next one ;)

I just wanted to also say thank you to anyone who's read/reviewed/favorited/followed/anything this story :) It really means so much to me that you're enjoying it and I'll do my best to keep it up in the future with the next installment ;) I love you guys so much! :')

Last note...for anyone who's interested, I'll be posting a Doctor Who story featuring an OC who is the Doctor's Wife from Gallifrey in 2 days. I'm going to give 1 day break and then post that story so on the 24th ;)

No real notes on reviews so I'll just say again, I love all of you! ^-^