The sound of thunder rolled across the city. Far above the streets, two familiar figures moved through the air with enough force to shake the buildings around them. Thor's hammer struck against Loki's magic, lightning illuminating the sky before another blast sent Loki crashing through the side of a damaged building. Eirlys could feel the conflict even from a distance. She stood inside the Avengers Tower with Sif and the Warriors Three, watching the situation unfold through one of the screens Tony had brought up. Every time Thor and Loki collided, another wave of destruction spread through the streets below.
Sif tightened her grip around the Tesseract. "If Loki refuses to stop, we give this to him."
Steve immediately looked toward her. "You're seriously suggesting we hand him something powerful enough to open portals simply because he demands it?"
Sif's expression hardened. "If it keeps Thor alive, yes."
Tony folded his arms. "And what happens after he gets it?"
Sif had no immediate answer as Tony pointed toward the screen, where Loki had just sent Thor through the side of a building. "He gets exactly what he wants. Then we have no leverage."
"He may stop once he has it," Fandral argued.
"Or he may decide he wants something else." Steve's gaze remained fixed on the battle. "We can't assume he'll stop."
Eirlys listened quietly Because she understood why Sif was willing to take the risk. Thor was her prince, her friend, her family. If surrendering the Tesseract could prevent Loki from killing him, she would naturally consider it. But she knew something the others did not. Loki was not fighting Thor simply because he wanted the Tesseract. There was something personal behind this, something wounded which she had failed to understand. "We shouldn't give it to him," she finally said.
Sif turned toward her. "Eirlys…"
"I know why you want to." Her voice was gentle rather than accusing. "But Loki will not stop simply because you hand him an object. Whatever has happened inside his mind, this is not about the Tesseract anymore."
Tony looked at her curiously. "Then what is it about?"
Eirlys hesitated, she could not explain everything. Not here, at least not yet. Instead, she looked toward the screen again. "I can make them stop."
Steve raised an eyebrow. "You can?"
Eirlys nodded. "I only need to speak to them."
Tony gave her a skeptical look. "They're currently trying to kill each other."
"I know."
"And you think walking between them and asking nicely is going to work?"
Eirlys looked at him. "Not nicely." For the first time, the corner of her mouth lifted faintly. "I know both of them."
That silenced the room. She knew Thor's stubbornness, Loki's pride, and the wounds hidden underneath Loki's anger and the loyalty buried beneath Thor's temper. Whatever had happened between them, they were still brothers. And perhaps that was precisely why everyone else was struggling to stop them. They were looking at two gods preparing for war.
Eirlys was looking at two brothers who had forgotten how to stop hurting each other. "I will talk to them," she said again. "I believe they will listen to me."
Sif studied her for a long moment before finally nodding. "Then we go together."
Eirlys looked once more toward the distant flashes of lightning. "okay"
Because she had not crossed realms merely to watch another person she loved disappear into a battle that never needed to happen. Tony listened to Eirlys in silence, but he was not convinced. Her confidence was almost impressive. She claimed she knew both Thor and Loki well enough to stop them, insisted that neither brother truly wanted the other dead, and seemed completely certain that talking to them would be enough.
Tony had met enough people to know that confidence and truth were not always the same thing. And there was one detail he could not ignore. She had walked into the Avengers Tower without knowing what half the technology around her was and somehow managed to interfere with several of their security protocols. She had done it without even realizing she was doing it. That made her dangerous. Perhaps not intentionally or even consciously but dangerous nonetheless. So while Steve discussed the situation with Sif, Tony quietly began considering another possibility. A contingency.
If Eirlys could actually reach the two brothers and make them stop, then wonderful. Everyone went home, the Tesseract remained secure, and the city avoided becoming another battlefield. But if she failed? Tony looked toward her again. He had already concluded that she was important to both Thor and Loki. Her concern for them was obvious, and if what she said was true, he was sure that the brothers cared deeply for her as well. That made her something else entirely. A leverage.
Tony did not particularly enjoy the thought, but he had no intention of trusting an unknown Asgardian simply because she had spoken sincerely. If Loki refused to stop, and Thor refused to stand down, perhaps the one person they would both hesitate to hurt could force them to listen. He discreetly gave Natasha a look and understood immediately.
Steve noticed. "Tony."
"I'm not doing anything yet," Tony said quietly. "I'm preparing for the possibility that our very optimistic princess is wrong."
Eirlys turned toward them, apparently having caught only the last part. "I am not wrong."
Tony gave her a faint smile. "I hope you're not."
Because if she was, he intended to make sure there was another way to end this. The plan was simple. Let Eirlys approach them first, let her talk and try whatever magic, persuasion or family influence she believed would work. And if that failed, they would intervene. Not to kill Loki or to fight Thor but to take Eirlys out of the equation and use the one thing both brothers appeared to have in common: their unwillingness to let harm come to her. Once the brothers were restrained, they could be separated, the Tesseract secured, and the Asgardians sent back where they belonged. Tony knew it was risky but so was trusting a stranger who had walked through their defenses by accident. And as the distant thunder grew louder, he silently hoped Eirlys really was telling the truth. Because if she wasn't, everyone in that room was about to discover exactly how complicated an Asgardian family dispute could become.
Eirlys stepped out onto the tower's upper platform and immediately looked toward the sky. The sight of Thor and Loki fighting above the city made her stomach tighten. Lightning tore across the clouds while green magic flashed between the buildings. Thor's hammer struck against Loki's conjured weapons, each impact echoing through the streets below. Eirlys swallowed, she could fly, technically. She simply did not want to. Not from this height.
She looked down once and immediately regretted it. "I suppose there is no graceful way to get up there."
A metallic voice sounded behind her. "I can think of one."
Tony appeared in his Iron Man suit, the armor humming softly as he extended a hand, Eirlys eyed it suspiciously. "You?"
"Me."
She hesitated before accepting. A moment later, the suit carried them upward, depositing Eirlys on the highest accessible section of the tower while Tony hovered beside her. The brothers noticed them almost immediately. Eirlys looked between them. For a moment, she simply watched. Thor looked furious but Loki looked worse. There was something almost desperate in his expression, something Eirlys could not understand. She stepped forward. "Come down for a minute," she called calmly. "Let's talk about the matter before you both cause more damage."
Neither moved, Thor's grip tightened around Mjolnir. "Eirlys, stay out of this."
Loki's eyes narrowed. "Of course."
Eirlys scoffed. "Loki…"
"So this is why you came." His voice was cold, but there was something wounded beneath it. "You came to save him."
Eirlys stared at him in disbelief. "I came to stop both of you."
Thor looked at her sharply. "And you still defend him after everything he has done?"
"I am not defending him!"
"Then why are you here?"
"Because you're both behaving like children!" The words escaped before she could stop them.