104 Jane's Presentation

The atmosphere inside Beveridge Hall at the University of London was electric. Scholars, students, journalists, and dignitaries from across the globe sat shoulder to shoulder in the grand oak-paneled auditorium as their attention was locked on the woman standing confidently at the podium beneath the stage lights. Dr. Jane Foster adjusted her tablet as the final slide of her presentation projected behind her that showcased a dramatic simulation of a swirling Einstein-Rosen bridge.

 “In conclusion,” Jane said, pausing to let the room settle, “Einstein-Rosen bridges aren’t just theoretical constructs. We know they exist. We watched one open over New York when Loki decided to make an unscheduled visit with his Army of Chitauri soldiers.”

A wave of awkward chuckles rippled through the crowd, but Jane didn’t miss a beat.

“And while terrifying, it gave us something invaluable: real data. We’ve since confirmed that Asgardian travel relies on these bridges, formed by manipulating gravitational singularities.”

Her fingers tapped the tablet, switching to a diagram of spatial distortions, power consumption curves, and dimensional folds.

“Our challenge now is not proving their existence, but replicating their stability. With enough antimatter that we can harvest from quantum vacuums in deep space we could, in theory, generate our own temporary bridges.”

There was a sharp inhale from someone in the front row. Jane smiled slightly and raised a cautionary finger.

“But, and it’s a big but, these bridges aren’t exactly safe. Keep one open too long, and we risk tearing through the very fabric of space-time.”

She glanced around the hushed room, letting that image hang for a moment before concluding:

“Still, the future is here. And with careful experimentation, responsible oversight, and international collaboration, we can build safer systems to monitor, maybe even one day harness, this phenomenon to travel the universe.”

Her eyes landed briefly on a familiar row near the front and smiled at the beaming group before saying “Thank you.”

The moment Jane stepped back from the podium, the entire auditorium erupted into a standing ovation. Applause thundered off the historic wooden walls of Beveridge Hall. Professors in tweed coats, students in oversized hoodies, scientists with notebooks filled to the brim, every last one of them was on their feet.

But it was nothing compared to the front row.

Thor was already standing before anyone else had a chance, clapping so hard that there were sparks of lightning crackling from his palms. “That’s my girl!” he boomed proudly.

Next to him, Natasha let out a whistle that echoed through out the room.

While the rest of the gang consisting of Steve, Harry, Clint, Bruce and Tony all clapped while hooting encouragements towards Jane.

Jane caught sight of them through the bright stage lights and gave a small, shy wave. Her cheeks were pink. She wasn’t used to the Avengers acting like she had just saved the world.

Thor beamed like a sunrise when their eyes met.

“Take a bow, love!” he shouted.

She resisted, barely. Instead, she gave a sheepish laugh and a gracious nod before quickly gathering her notes and stepping away from the podium. Behind her, the screen faded to black.

After the emcee returned to the stage and thanked the distinguished guests and speakers, the audience gave one final polite round of applause before being ushered toward the reception hall next door. A refined buffet dinner had been prepared, complete with crisp linens, ambient string music, and an open bar generously funded by the university’s science department and possibly one anonymous genius billionaire with a flair for extravagance and his magical companion.

Jane, still glowing from her presentation, was immediately surrounded by eager professors and researchers. She gave the Avengers an apologetic wave over the sea of blazers and lanyards, which they answered with warm grins and a salute or two.

Understanding the drill, the Avengers gave her space and migrated toward the dining hall.

Inside, the waiters weaved through the crowd with flutes of champagne, trays of hors d'oeuvres. The team bypassed the buffet for now and settled into the corner nook of the hall. Champagne was handed out. Jackets were unbuttoned. Thor somehow procured an entire trey of entrees and looked immensely pleased about it. Harry gave a casual flick of his hand and a shimmering distortion flickered in a soft dome around them so that there weren’t any unrequired flash photography, autograph requests, and conspiracy theorists.

“Bless you,” Tony said, raising his glass in mock prayer.

All of them clinked glasses gently and took in the rare moment of peace.

“You must be very proud,” Steve said, turning toward Thor.

Thor practically beamed. “Aye,” he said, nodding enthusiastically, “beyond proud. She’s poured a lot of time and effort into this work. Nights without sleep. And don’t get me started on her fights with the peer-review committee.” He let out a booming laugh. “Apparently, half the reviewers didn’t even comprehend the theory. One of them accused her of mixing science fiction with mythology.”

“They weren’t entirely wrong,” Clint muttered into his champagne. “It’s just that she turned the mythology into a research paper.”

Bruce chuckled and leaned in. “That math wasn’t light reading. I had to go through it five, maybe six times just to wrap my head around how she was manipulating localized space-time curvature. And that anti-matter containment model? Genius. It’s the kind of math that needs imagination.”

“I didn’t understand a word of it,” Natasha admitted casually, sipping her drink. “But she sounded confident, and everyone else looked terrified and impressed, so I assume she nailed it.”

“She did,” Tony said, tapping the rim of his glass thoughtfully. “Most of the work I’ve seen on wormholes is speculative theory. Jane’s managed to turn Selvig’s work on opening the portal using the tessaract into something tangible and replicable.”

“Would you be able to build the anti-matter harvester Jane proposed?” Natasha asked Tony with one brow raised.

Tony leaned back against the wall, eyes squinting thoughtfully. “In theory? Maybe. In practice? Ehh…” He gave a half-shrug. “We’d need infrastructure first. Big-time infrastructure. We’re talking orbital platforms, long-duration unmanned probes, containment fields stronger than anything we've built so far and all of that assumes we actually find a stable anti-matter stream in deep space.”

Natasha tilted her head. “So not tomorrow, then.”

“Not unless you give me a few billion dollars, a decade of R&D, and permission to launch something dangerously experimental.” He paused. “Actually, don’t tempt me.”

Bruce interjected with a chuckle, “Anti-matter isn’t just hard to harvest, it’s hard to contain. One slip, and you’re dealing with a small star-sized explosion.”

Tony nodded. “Right now, we don’t even have sustained Earth-to-moon commercial flights. To go anti-matter harvesting? We'd need to build a whole new generation of space tech just to survive out there, let alone bring something back.”

Everyone laughed softly, and Natasha continued. “Still... if we could just detect their energy signatures, we’d have a warning system if someone tried another ‘Loki’.”

“I think, that’s the real takeaway from this paper. Maybe Bruce and I can work on a inter-stellar detection satellite array for us to be more prepared in the future.” Tony admitted to which everyone else in the group agreed.

“If possible,” Thor said interjected, “I would invite you to sit down with the engineers from the Nova Corps. They have excellent insight into interstellar travel. Far more advanced than most realms.”

Tony blinked. “Nova who?”

“The Nova Corps,” Thor repeated. “They are the intergalactic military and peacekeeping force of the Nova Empire. Based on Xandar.”

Tony looked around at the others who were equally puzzled as him. “Is that a real place, or is this another one of those Asgardian metaphors for enlightenment?”

“No, no it’s real,” Thor assured, waving his hand. “Very shiny. Very bureaucratic. They take their job very seriously. Their ships can travel halfway across the galaxy in the time it takes you to warm up your coffee.”

Tony raised a brow, intrigued. “Now that’s a commute. Yeah, sure, put me in touch. I’d love to compare star charts and propulsion tech. Never know when we might need to go galactic.”

“Hopefully not because of another Loki situation,” Steve muttered.

Bruce leaned toward Tony. “Just don’t get any ideas about building your own galactic cruiser.”

“I’m already sketching the blueprints in my head,” Tony replied, tapping his temple. “I’m thinking sleek, red-and-gold, maybe with an AI named... Nova?”

“Please don’t antagonize another alien race, we don’t know how they will take you naming your AI as their race” Natasha deadpanned.

Their conversation was interrupted by Jane’s arrival who was now freed from the sea of academics congratulating her. She made her way toward them with a familiar smile and three companions in tow.

“Jane!” Thor stood up immediately.

“Hey, everyone,” Jane greeted warmly. She turned to gesture toward the people behind her. “Let me introduce the brains who helped me bring this paper to life.”

“You all already know Eric,” she said, motioning to the older man, then turned to the young woman standing shyly next to him. “This is Darcy Lewis, my research assistant”

 “And last but definitely not least,” Jane said, stepping aside to reveal the third member of the group, “Hermione Granger, a PhD candidate at Oxford.”

Eric, who consulted with the Avengers from time to time, stepped forward and offered a firm handshake to each of the Avengers.

Darcy, on the other hand, approached the group like someone trying to shrink into her own blazer. She offered a quick, awkward wave paired with a half-smile, trying her best not to make direct eye contact with Natasha.vHer nervous energy wasn’t lost on the assassin, who raised one amused brow. Darcy looked like she wanted to vanish into the nearest potted plant.

To be fair, Darcy had declared Natasha her “archnemesis in love” when she assumed Harry Potter, international magical heartthrob, might be available. That fantasy had died a swift and painful death when Jane returned from Asgard and explained quite clearly the type of bond Harry and Natasha shared.

Hermione, meanwhile, stepped forward nervously. Her handshake was polite as she faced the full force of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes standing shoulder-to-shoulder in formal wear for the first time. She might be a handful of people who had the opportunity to meet them this close.

“Ms. Granger,” Harry greeted with a touch of pleasant surprise in his voice. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Hermione turned with a smile. “Mr. Potter. Ms. Romanoff.” She nodded politely. “I figured I might run into you tonight.”

“Oh?” Harry raised an eyebrow.

Hermione glanced toward Thor and Jane, who were currently deep in conversation. Thor grinning proudly while Jane tried to downplay his enthusiasm with a tug of his sleeve.

“Well,” Hermione continued, “Jane is dating Thor, and I assumed that meant the rest of you would be here in full support. It’s very on-brand, really. Earth’s Mightiest Cheering Section.”

That got a round of soft chuckles from the group.

“And how do you know Jane?” Harry asked, curious.

“Technically, I know Darcy,” Hermione admitted. “I was one of her teaching assistants at university a few years ago. We kept in touch, and when Dr. Foster needed extra hands to sort through the more theoretical math for her research, Darcy recommended me.”

“You did the math for the paper?” Bruce blinked, clearly impressed.

Hermione flushed slightly but nodded. “Not all of it, of course. But yes, I helped with the equations modeling spatial compression and antimatter energy thresholds.” She offered a sheepish smile. “It’s kind of my thing.”

Bruce straightened a little. “Well, I’d love to talk more about those equations sometime. Maybe over coffee?”

Then, realizing how that might’ve sounded, he quickly added, “You know, for, uh… scientific purposes. The work could help the Avengers predict wormhole activity or even construct warning protocols. Purely professional. Wormholes and interstellar danger and all that.”

There was a beat of silence.

Tony leaned over and patted Bruce’s shoulder. “Flawless recovery,” he whispered dryly.

But Hermione only nodded, unfazed. “That sounds wonderful, Dr. Banner. I’d be happy to help however I can.”

The two exchanged contact information, Hermione utterly oblivious to any subtext. Bruce tried not to look too pleased or too flustered.

Clint leaned over toward Harry and muttered with a smirk, “Banner’s got game.”

Harry chuckled. “He really doesn’t.”

Meanwhile, on the edge of the group, Darcy Lewis was attempting the most subtle retreat known to mankind. Unfortunately for her, there were few things more futile than trying to sneak past a trained assassin.

“Where are you sneaking off to, kiddo?” Natasha’s voice slid in smoothly beside her, making Darcy jump like she'd been caught swiping cookies before dinner.

Darcy offered a nervous smile, hands halfway stuffed into her jacket pockets. “Oh, you know... just thought I’d give the super space-science crowd some breathing room. Maybe go check if the mini quiches are restocked.”

Natasha arched a brow. “Not going to try and charm the pants off Harry? Metaphorically speaking obviously.”

Darcy let out a nervous laugh. “Heh. Yeah, no. That ship sank hard. Besides, his fiancée could probably kill me in seventeen different ways with a paperclip and a cocktail napkin. And that’s before she finishes her wine. I mean, Jane told me that she literally fought an alien warlord and his army in Asgard. And won.”

Natasha looked at at Darcy like she was sizing up a kitten who thought it was a lion. “It’s alright, kiddo,” she said lightly. “We’re cool. Long as you’re not harboring any delusions about stealing Harry away, you and I don’t have a problem.”

Darcy’s head bobbed so fast it was a blur. “No delusions. Fully lucid. On Team Potter-Romanoff, 100%.”

Natasha gave her a brief pat on the shoulder “Good girl.”

Darcy exhaled hard once Natasha turned away, muttering to herself, “Yep. Definitely never flirting with an engaged or married guy again.”

After a few more minutes of warm conversation peppered with compliments, awkward laughs, and Bruce trying very hard not to make more accidental coffee invitations; Jane was politely intercepted by a cluster of eager professors and researchers. The scientists, all animated and speaking far too quickly, practically swarmed her with questions about the application of her theories, requesting follow-up papers and potential collaborations. Jane shot the Avengers an apologetic smile over her shoulder as she was gently tugged into the academic huddle, her entourage trailing behind her like an exhausted parade float crew.

With their small group once again to themselves, the Avengers eased back into their corner nook. While Thor and Clint immediately took the opportunity to raid the buffet again.

“Hey Tony,” Natasha started casually. “You’ve been quiet about the Winter Soldier lately. Any progress?”

Tony didn’t look up from his drink, but his jaw tightened slightly. That was all the cue Natasha needed to keep going.

“I mean, we all expected him to show up at the Triskelion, right?” she continued. “But he was a no show. And last I checked, you were pretty dead-set on tracking him down... something about avenging your parents?”

Tony looked at Natasha as she finished asking her question. Then, slowly, his eyes drifted to Steve. “The Winter Soldier,” Tony began hesitantly, “was a product of Zola’s early Hydra experiments. When Hydra got their hands on prisoners of war, Zola used them as guinea pigs for his own version of the super soldier serum. Most of them died in agony.”

He paused and glanced at Steve again, but the Captain gave a solemn nod, signaling him to continue.

“There was one survivor,” Tony said. “Just one. The one we now know as the Winter Soldier.”

A hush fell over their small circle as everyone leaned in.

“The Soviets recovered his body after the war. They patched him up, enhanced him further, and handed him over to the Hydra remnants that Zola had smuggled into SHIELD. From there they turned him into a ghost.”

Natasha’s lips thinned into a hard line. Bruce looked uncomfortable. Thor had stopped chewing entirely.

“They didn’t let him live a normal life,” Tony went on. “He was cryogenically frozen between missions to control him, and make sure he stayed off everyone’s radar. They only woke him up when they need someone dead, then put him back on ice.”

“So unless he’s active,” Steve said slowly, “there’s no way to track him?”

Tony shook his head. “Nope. No signal, no trace. I even checked the old facility listed in Zola’s archives. By the time I got there, it was empty. Abandoned for years most likely.”

“And the only person who might’ve known where he was kept?” Natasha asked, though she already seemed to know the answer.

“Alexander Pierce,” Tony confirmed grimly. “And he took that location to the grave.”

 “Until the Winter Soldier is off the board,” Steve said grimly, “we can’t let our guard down. He’s a walking time bomb. We don’t know what a rogue, mind-controlled super soldier is truly capable of.”

He glanced at Natasha, then down at his hands. “If he’s anything like me—same serum, same enhancements—then it might’ve amplified the worst parts of him too. Anger, violence, trauma. Everything Zola could twist into something… lethal.”

Natasha nodded slowly. “That tracks. If Hydra couldn’t control him completely, it would make sense they kept him on ice. Wake him up, send him in, wipe him down, put him back. Like pulling the pin on a grenade only when they had to.”

Her voice had a hint of quiet disgust. “He wasn’t a soldier to them. He was a weapon of last resort.”

Steve’s jaw tightened at that. “A trump card for assassinations. High-value targets. The ones too sensitive for even their best agents to risk. That’s why no one ever saw him coming.”

“I’ve already set up a global alert net,” Tony added, his voice clipped but measured. “JARVIS is monitoring for any signature that even remotely resembles his heat profile, biometric anomalies, movements matching his known patterns—hell, even satellite traces from cold-storage facilities that shouldn’t exist. If he so much as breathes wrong on another continent, I’ll know.”

Neither Steve nor Natasha said anything for a moment. But the flicker of appreciation in their eyes said enough. They were all thinking the same thing.

This wasn’t over.

And until the Winter Soldier surfaced, they were still fighting a war with a ghost.

“I don’t like that Hydra has a super-soldier on their side,” Clint said as he picked at a canapé. “What’s stopping them from using his blood to create more?”

Everyone quieted at that as Clint pressed on.

“And correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Maya Hansen has gone missing after the whole AIM debacle. What if they’re trying to cook up Extremis soldiers with super-soldier serum enhancements?”

Steve brows furrowed instantly. “That would be catastrophic.”

Clint nodded grimly. “The Extremis soldiers were already a nightmare to fight. But add increased strength, speed, endurance, plus regeneration, and you’ve basically got walking nukes that can punch through tanks.”

“I don’t think Hansen has fully stabilized the Extremis formula even after her getting recruited by Hydra,” Bruce said, tapping his fingers against the rim of his glass in thought. “The regenerative properties were impressive, sure, but the instability hasn’t been solved. Combine that with an unrefined version of the super-soldier serum, and you’re looking at a biochemical nightmare.”

Clint raised an eyebrow. “So you're saying it’s not possible?”

“I’m saying,” Bruce clarified, “that it’s unlikely they’ve cracked it. Both formulas were incomplete in different ways. Trying to merge them without a complete understanding of the genetic side effects would most likely cause more explosions than anything else.”

Steve folded his arms. “But that wouldn’t stop Hydra from trying.”

Bruce nodded reluctantly. “Even if they don’t succeed, the collateral damage could be enormous. These things overheat, combust, and take out entire buildings with them. Tony still has the global satellite network tracking Extremis Heat signatures after the whole AIM debacle. If hydra do restart the extremis program, we will know.”

Clint exhaled and leaned back in his seat. “Well, that’s mildly comforting. I just hope we don’t run into one of those glowsticks of death at the next Hydra pitstop.”

“We won’t,” Harry assured them. “Fury’s intel says the next Hydra site is a weapons manufacturing facility. The briefing should be in our inboxes soon. They’re double-checking to confirm it’s the right location.”

Everyone nodded and with that the tension slowly lifted from their little corner of the hall. Thor flagged down a server for more champagne. Clint stole another plate of canapés with a wink. Bruce and Tony resumed their conversation about the Iron Legion. While Harry and Natasha continued to talk about Steve finding a new friend in Sam Wilson.

And so, like any unconventional family that happened to wield superhuman power and government-grade secrets, the Avengers ignored the rest of the people in the hall to talk to themselves. They bantered over which pizza place made the best post-mission comfort food, debated whether Thor should be banned from karaoke nights (again), and speculated wildly about whether Bruce’s ‘coffee date’ with Hermione would result in a blackboard full of equations.