Chapter Text
Jane made her choice. And now she had to follow through on that choice for however long her body would allow her to. As Valkyrie’s steed, Warsong, opened up a portal into a large dark room filled with massive busts of figures she knew little about, she looked towards the edge of the room. Thor, her lover, was on the ground, struggling to hold against the Necrosword held by Gorr, who was pushing it into Thor.
Without thinking, she threw the broken Mjolnir at Gorr from afar, allowing blue electricity to strengthen its impact. As fortune would have it, she hit her target, and Gorr was sent a few meters away from Thor. She then heard cheering from the children that she, Thor, Valkyrie, and Korg had longed to find. Gorr had kidnapped them as leverage in order to eventually gain Thor’s axe Stormbreaker.
She briefly glanced down, noticing that the children were all glowing with golden electricity – hopefully, they can fend for themselves for now. As Thor got up, Jane summoned Mjolnir back to her hand and jumped off of Warsong. Though a mortal, the temporary godly boost she got from Mjolnir caused the stone floor to crack when she landed.
Jane nervously looked at Thor, who gave her a look of disappointment. Six months ago, Jane was diagnosed with (likely) terminal cancer. Despite her efforts, she could not solve it with science, so she took a gamble on a trip to New Asgard in the hopes that Mjolnir’s promise of good health would do the trick.
To Jane’s surprise, the broken hammer responded positively to her, transforming her into a feminine version of Thor and allowing itself to be wielded by her. But her cancer remained, as Jane found out the hard way. After the recent encounter with Gorr in the Shadow Realm, she was left in such a dire state that Thor concluded that the next time – this time – she wielded Mjolnir would kill her.
But, she made a choice. Not only did she sense Thor struggling (somehow), but it seemed as though Gorr would have killed Thor had Jane stayed in the Infirmary – but Jane had suspected that she would die regardless.
Jane made a quick nod, as if to say, I’ve made my choice. We need to make the most of it.
“Jane!” Thor muttered.
There was a pause before Jane decided to jump into action, hoping Thor would oblige. To her relief, he obliged – summoning Zeus’ golden-solid Thunderbolt. The two engaged the God-Butcher. Thor got a hit in, and Jane knocked him to the ground. Thor stabbed the thunderbolt into the ground, knocking Gorr a few yards away.
Before he could recover, Jane knocked him into the air. Thor jumped up and knocked him back to the floor.
“We destroy that sword, and he’s dead!” Thor said.
Jane, noticing Stormbreaker and what it was doing, remarked, “The gateway’s almost open. You've got to stop Stormbreaker!”
Thor briefly looked at her.
“It’s okay, I got him,” Jane assured him.
As Thor went to try to stop Stormbreaker, Jane engaged the God-butcher, who was a lot more formidable when only fighting one opponent. After a few blows were exchanged, Gorr managed to twist her arm before bringing her in front of him.
“You’ve lost, Lady Thor!” Gorr growled.
Jane head-butted Gorr, causing him to throw her a distance away. After stabilizing her glide with Mjolnir, she snarled.
“First off,” Jane growled. “The name is mighty Thor!” As she said this, she spun around and threw Mjolnir at Gorr. Gorr flicked the Necrosword, deflecting Mjolnir to his 5:00.
“And secondly, if you can’t say Mighty Thor,” Jane said as Mjolnir flew back into her hand. “I’ll accept Dr. Jane Foster!” She smashed Mjolnir into the floor, sending a burst of lightning that pushed Gorr back.
“And thirdly, eat my hammer!” She lightning-jumped and attempted to smack Gorr with Mjolnir. Gorr held his own until Jane sent a burst of power that broke the two of them apart. Meters away, Thor finally managed to free Stormbreaker – though the portal appeared to be open.
“AXL!” Thor yelled. “Get them home.” He threw Stormbreaker in the direction of the Children. Seconds later, the Bifrost descended upon them, and the children were gone.
But Jane started to feel the familiar weariness, even becoming aware of a stinging scrape on her left shoulder. Gorr jumped towards her but was intercepted by Thor. The two exchanged blows before Thor caught the sword between the split of the Thunderbolt.
Jane, however, was struggling to focus on the fight. After Thor looked over towards her and noticed, he charged the Thunderbolt with his own electricity. Gorr began to yell in desperation.
Jane struggled to throw Mjolnir towards the Sword Thor had locked in, and to her relief, Mjolnir broke the sword into pieces, causing Gorr to fly back. From the ground, Gorr summoned the handle, prompting Jane to summon Mjolnir. Mjolnir broke apart, flying back to Jane and intercepting the shards of the Necrosword that were still in the air next to Thor.
When Jane caught Mjolnir, it felt heavier than ever, and she wasn’t sure if it was due to the shards of the Necrosword lodged within the chunks of Mjolnir or her rapidly depleting strength. To her alarm, a couple of shards escaped Mjolnir to become part of the Necrosword once more. As this kept happening, she hesitated, wondering if she had enough strength to destroy the Necrosword completely. She had been present on Swarvelheim when Thor tried and failed to destroy the Aether.
But after locking eyes with Thor, she realized that the window to try was rapidly narrowing. She was doomed regardless, but she had a shot to end the fight. Steeling herself for a rapid demise, Jane raised Mjolnir and summoned the largest bolt of lightning, desiring to incinerate the shards of the Necrosword. As Jane lit up the whole room, she felt her body become numb. As she let the lightning go, she held Mjolnir for a couple of seconds, fighting against the numbness of her body, and forced herself to smash Mjolnir into the floor.
To her relief, she noticed the handle in Gorr’s hand collapse into dust. And not a moment too soon, for Jane was on her knees, unable to fight any more. For a few seconds, she was still dressed as the Mighty Thor, but her outfit quickly reverted to her hospital gown.
Gorr, meanwhile, continued to lie on the ground, twitching a little, before Jane was too weak to look up. Fortunately, Thor rushed over to her and flipped her up, holding her head in his hand.
“Not too bad for a human,” Jane muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Not too bad for a god,” Thor said.
“I think I finally found my catch phrase,” Jane muttered, disappointed she hadn’t thought of it sooner. After whispering it into Thor’s ear, he said, “It’s perfect!”
Jane felt that death was seconds away. Her body now refused to move. Only her lips could still move.
“I love you,” she whispered as her vision blurred, and time seemed to stretch out to infinity, while she felt herself stuck in a prism in which she had no movement, ever diminishing thought.
As Thor held Jane in his arms, it took him a few seconds to decide that she was gone. Her lifeless eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. After begrudgingly closing Jane’s eyes, Thor contemplated.
Frigga, Odin, the realm of Asgard, Heimdall, Loki, the Warriors Three, Natasha Romanoff, Tony Stark, and most of Asgard’s people were now gone. And now Jane was gone. Thor couldn’t help but feel that he was cursed.
His first thought was to return to Asgard and deliver the news to Darcy, Selvig, and some of Jane’s other friends. But as Thor stood up, he noticed that the gateway to Eternity’s realm was open. Gorr was lying, meters away. Kneeling, while carrying Jane, Thor noticed that Gorr was as lifeless as Jane.
Thor then turned to the portal to Eternity’s Realm and hesitated. This was a one-time wish throughout all of eternity. It has to count. He could wish Jane back to full health. But would Jane want that? Should he wish Jane back when so many people would love to make a comparable wish? Maybe he could wish for Cancer to no longer be a thing. But could there be side effects he could not foresee? Besides, Eternity was not the only Cosmic Entity of the Universe – there was also Infinity, Entropy, and Death. Could any of the others emerge and bring Cancer back once Thor wished it away?
If Thor left this place with Eternity still around, could he account for whoever might arrive after Thor left? And what wish would they make? Maybe the creator of the Necrosword could emerge and finish what Gorr could not.
Thor decided to carry Jane through the portal, causing a blinding flash of light.
After the flash, Thor found himself in a sea of water with blue skies stretching for what could be infinity. He then saw the figure of Eternity. Eternity was a silhouette of a being what appeared to be a direct portal to the cosmos. Was the figure kneeling or sitting. Thor wasn’t sure.
What wish should he make?
Suddenly, he had a vision of New Asgard, but it was not New Asgard as it was today but a frozen Iceland, with armored Frost Giants guarding every corner. Flashes of various places throughout Midgard showed them under similar conditions: cold and firmly controlled by Frost Giants. Thor then saw a darkened figure lean forward. Violet lasers shot out from where the eyes should have been. New Asgard, as well as the rest of Midgard, saw the Frost Giants blasted away and the ice melt, restoring these places to their former glory. And then Thor saw the realm of Eternity again.
Should it be Jane he restores? Or Loki? Heimdall was a worthy candidate. His Asgardian friends and family were likely in Valhalla and would not appreciate being ripped back to the realm of living. Jane, on the other hand, her fate was unknown.
Thor slowly crept up towards Eternity, still unsure of what his wish should be. He felt cold, and he saw himself back on Jotunheim, standing before a palace. The Palace was far larger than even the one on Old Asgard, with three distinct sections, a wide base, a somewhat wide tower, and a thick spire on top. Thor turned and saw Jane standing there, in her Mighty Thor form. But rather than throw Mjolnir at the palace, Jane instead sent a burst of violet lasers from her eyes, prompting the palace to explode.
Thor wondered if Eternity had a specific desire for the wish Thor was about to make. If it was, it seemed to align with Thor’s own desire. Or at least, the wish Thor was tempted to make. Thor knelt down before Eternity and raised his arm.
I wish for Jane to be restored to full health! Thor thought. I wish she could have the kind of health I enjoy.
Thor allowed this thought to play on repeat in his head. Jane had made her choice. Now he made his. But would his choice be granted by the fates? The question became paramount as Eternity burst into a blinding flash of light that even Thor had to shield his eyes from.
“Thor?” he heard Jane mutter.