Míriel laughs. "Probably," she says, "if he has his way about it. Although I've actually been alive since not long after my husband passed. I remained living in the Halls, serving the Weaver, until the same attack of some new Enemy that took half of you took her."

The elf is horrified. "Is it a new Enemy?" she asks, at a whisper. "Or has the old one come back to us as well, with powers yet greater than before?"

"No, not Melkor. I ought not say more.

"I need to get to Endórë. Although—you said two mortals passed through here? That is unusual, and probably significant. What did they look like and where were they going?"

She osanwës the image. "A grown man and a youth, perhaps in his forties were he one of us; I know not how mortals mature. Olórin was with them. I believe that they were enemies of the new Enemy, and were headed to Endórë as well, by way of Tirion. You'll be able to check at the train station, though."

She goes to the train station and greets the attendant there.

"First of all, do not be so astonished by my appearance. Do people actually believe I swore an oath to stay dead forever? I know that sort of foolishness runs in the family, but Finwë could have dealt with his problems, had that been the cost.

"Second, I have urgent business of which I can speak little. I need to know what became of two mortals and a Maia who passed this way a little while ago. Supposedly they may know how the new Enemy may be defeated."

"I can't say that I've ever believed one way or the other, my lady," he says. He's a Noldo by his voice and features, but not one she recognizes. "But I don't think anyone thought you were, ah, like your son in that regard.

"And is that why Mandos sent them back? I suppose that's a reason at least as valid as 'Eru is a sucker for true love', if it's true. Here, I can check where they went—"

He runs a search on his computer. "Original destination was Tirion. But they changed trains at Valimar and are now in—Formenos." He says the word as though it were only a slightly more desirable destination than Angband.

"Book me passage there as well, please."

"Yes, my lady," he says, trying not to think she's insane for it—she's his mother after all—

Her great-grandson greets her on the platform when she arrives.

"Grandmother*," he says. "You won't believe the messages Nolofinwë has been getting from World's End—'The Battle of Battles is upon us indeed! She returns from beyond the hills who was sworn to death unending ere the rising of the Sun'—but I guess people who choose to live at a place called World's End probably have a tendency to melodrama. Though I can't say I'm unsurprised to see you," he adds.

*Quenya only has one word per gender for ancestors more distant than a parent; otherwise, with the number of generations that tend to be alive at once among the Elves, the 'great-' compounds could get quite long.

"Thankfully I was not required to swear not to return to life—the Valar didn't have any reason to go that far and I'd have refused them if it had been a condition—"

They are alone on the platform, but she dares not speak the next part aloud. Fëanáro believes the Silmarils were used in the attack, she sends. He has a plan to get out of Mandos that's probably going to be a disaster but is still probably our best chance of doing anything about this situation—the Valar can't, whoever this was can kill them too. I need you to take a message to a group called the 'Avengers' in Endórë—I know you're probably busy, but he was very insistent about only going through very trustworthy people. And supposedly two Returned mortals also arrived here? I'd like to know more about that.

Celebrimbor osanwë-laughs. And I suppose Fëanáro's definition of 'very trustworthy' is 'blood-related to him and not to Indis'! But you can deliver your message and answer your questions all at once: the two Returned belong to the Avengers, and a third appeared from thin air in the Great Hall not long after they arrived—sent, apparently, by Varda herself. They say that the attack was done by someone called Thanos, using something called 'Infinity Stones'—perhaps these could be the Silmarils, though I haven't asked too deeply into it. If Fëanáro's jewels can kill the Valar he was right to keep that knowledge secret.

But if you still need a messenger I am otherwise occupied. I am helping the Avengers restore their equipment—one wields what is for all purposes a Ring of Power, and making those is, I daresay, a more specialized skill than carrying a message, Fëanáro's classified-information policies be damned.

"I'd like to talk to them—wait, how have you been communicating? Surely they don't speak Quenya."

"Osanwë, at first, but one of them has software that does speak Quenya—probably from Tolkien—and the first thing he did when I gave him access to the nanite printer was make translation earpieces for him and his companions. We still have to use osanwë to understand them, but I've been working on learning their language that way."

Míriel doesn't understand the technobabble but she gets the point.

Celebrimbor leads her to where Stark, Strange, and Spider-Man are.

"A star shines on the hour of our meeting, Avengers."

"Uh, hi. Who are you?"

"I am called Míriel Therindë. You would not have heard of me, but my son may be...uniquely able to help you. Unfortunately, he's currently dead."

"That doesn't seem to be much of a setback around here."

"Your companions have been returned to life by the the special grace of Mandos, Doomsman of the Gods. Only once before has such a boon has been granted to one of mortal race."

"I hope your god of doom realizes that we plan on repeating it a few trillion more times before this is all over. Also, I'm fairly sure you're not 'of mortal race' so I don't think this is relevant."

"I am assuming that is the plan and Mandos is not just doing it now because it would be difficult for him to reembody that many.

"Ordinarily the Eldar who are slain return to life after a time of rest and healing, but Fëanáro is...not permitted. He is considered too dangerous to live."

"We need dangerous right now, as long as it's to Thanos rather than us."

"His dangerousness is primarily due to an inviolable oath he swore long ago, to recover at all costs three small objects. Which Thanos currently has, so Fëanáro will be your ally as long as you do not withhold his jewels from him once this is done."

Well the plan as far as he's concerned is to destroy the Infinity Stones once they've brought everybody back but they can burn that bridge when they come to it. There's just one problem—

"Uh, three objects?"