First foray into the fandom of The Avengers.
For those who read my other story "Mortality" from the Forever fandom, this story has another appearance of The Traveler, Endymion. This time alongside The Avengers.
Everyone else just enjoy the read.
Now I am an avid Steve/Natasha shipper. However I am not sure if this story will have a romance subplot or just best friends. Either way they are really close. Let me know what you all think in the reviews. I can go either way.
Enjoy.
"Status?"
"Five minutes to the drop Captain Rogers."
Steve nodded his head at the words. He glanced over at the other occupants of the quinjet. Of the avengers he and Natasha were the only two present. Thor would meet them there but the rest of the avengers were busy on other assignments or projects. Everyone else on board were normal SHIELD agents in assault gear.
The mission was fairly simple. A group of rogue Asgardians had stolen a powerful prototype weapon from the vaults of Asgard and fled to earth. The weapon would be devastating but thankfully it was only a prototype and was not supposed to be functional. The numbers they were going against was a toss up between twenty and thirty, no one was really sure.
Steve was still a bit nervous though. These were Asgardians they were dealing with. He had sparred with Thor enough times to know that these guys would be extremely tough. This was why Thor pretty much told them he would be going on this mission with them as soon as he was able to catch up.
Across the aisle from Steve sat Natasha. The women with fiery tresses was slowly drumming her fingers on her knees until she caught Steve's eyes on her. She flashed him a smile with a wink.
Before Steve had a chance to say something to the female avenger the quinjet suddenly lurched as the pilot cursed loudly. "What the hell was that! Evasive maneuvers!"
Steve felt the aircraft twist again mid-air but this time the vehicle shook heavily.
"We're taking heavy fire! Weapon is operational. I repeat, weapon is operational!" The pilots were yelling to both the assault team in back and Fury on the radio.
The Asgardians had it working? That was not supposed to be possible according to Thor. If they had it working then this fight was about to get a lot harder.
"Get us on the ground!" Steve yelled. If they were hit while in the air and crashed they were doomed. Steve had a good chance of surviving that but not everyone on board was a super soldier. They needed to get in on this fight and now.
"Workin' on it captain." The quinjet pulled another sharp turn that, had Steve not been strapped in, would have thrown him both against the ceiling and the opposite wall.
SHIELD pilots were good, but all it took was a single lucky shot and they would go down. They were good yes, but no one was perfect. If they did not get on the ground then eventually they would be taken out of the sky.
"All units, once on the ground I'll take out the guy with the gun. The rest of you fan out and eliminate any hostiles in the area." Steve gave out the orders to the men in his assault team. He did not need to pass a single word on to Natasha. She would know exactly where to go and what to do.
Steve had to give the men some credit, few showed signs of fear or unease. These were Asgardians after all, the same men that could throw a human around like a ragdoll.
Steve again found himself wishing Thor would arrive already. His help against his fellow Asgardians would be invaluable. Not to mention the presence of a third avenger would bolster morale quite a bit among the SHIELD agents.
Perhaps the sight of the prince of Asgard would even make the rogue group surrender. Thor had told him once that that happened before, maybe it would again.
Either way, if the quinjet did not reach solid ground soon then the Asgardian taking potshots at them was going to get lucky.
"So Steve, how's your day been?" Natasha asked across the way with an arched eyebrow.
Despite the fact that they were in a flying tin can being shot at, Steve found himself laughing. Only Natasha would act so nonchalant at a time like this.
"Just fine, how about yours?" Steve responded with a small grin.
Now Natasha was laughing.
Before she got a chance to speak then quinjet shook once more, but a lot heavier this time. Steve felt the aircraft start a swift nosedive toward the ground. Steve did not need to hear the pilots screaming to know what had happened.
They had been hit.
"All hands brace for impact!"
Steve knew he would be fine, it would take a lot more than a quinjet crash to really critically injure or harm him. In truth he was more worried for the redhead across the way. She was strong yes but she was still human.
Natasha flashed him another smile with a thumbs up. She knew him too well to not know what he was thinking.
Steve was going to try to say something but just then they hit the ground.
Hard.
Steve hit his head fairly heavily upon impact, but he was only slightly dazed nothing more. Hitting the emergency release on his harness he climbed to his feet.
"You, get on the radio and get word to fury. If Thor or backup don't get here soon we're in deep trouble." Steve began giving out orders. "Everyone else on your feet, those still capable of doing so rally by the door. We're about to have company."
Most of the men were injured but there did not seem to be any casualties. Almost everyone however was sporting some kind of injury.
When Steve's eyes fell on Natasha they shot wide open in terror.
Steve had been expecting her to be up already, already checking her weapons and moving over to the door with the other uninjured men. Still smiling and saying the Asgardians were going to have to try harder next time.
Instead he was greeted with the sight of Natasha still strapped in her seat. A long shard of metal protruding from her abdomen and blood slowly running from her lips.
"Nat!" Steve was beside her in an instant. One of the other SHIELD operatives was already on her other side.
"Hey... Steve..." Natasha spoke slowly with heavy breaths and a surprising small smile. The fact that she was not screaming in pain spoke volumes to just how tough she was.
Steve gently took hold of her hand and squeezed softly, a gesture she returned with a tiny, weak squeeze of her own.
"Hey Nat." Steve did not have any idea what else to say, thankfully the other SHIELD agent spoke up.
"It missed anything vital from what I can tell, she will be fine for now but the moment its removed she'll bleed to death fast. We need an emergency medivac, and soon." The agent was not trying to sound cruel, simply telling the truth.
Steve responded with a nod. Hopefully some progress was being made with that radio. Natasha's life might just depend on it.
A heavy thud from the back of the quinjet caught Steve's attention. When he looked over, Steve saw that some of the uninjured men had managed to get the back ramp open. It was a step in the right direction at least.
Giving Natasha's hand one last soft squeeze, the super soldier made his way over to the man at the radio. He was not having much luck, the radio was busted in the crash. If they were lucky it was fixable and they could call in backup but it was going to some time.
Time Natasha may not have.
"Captain! Big problem!"
Steve rushed toward the back of the quinjet where the ramp was down. Two of the only uninjured members of the assault team were crouched at the opening with weapons drawn. He followed the men's gaze out, his eyes shot open.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
The quinjet had crashed in an open field, but that was not the issue. The real problem was the force of more than twenty Asgardians arrayed before them.
Steve never wished for Thor to make an unexpected appearance more than he did now.
To make matters worse, towards the back of the Asgardians there was a taller one holding a large weapon of some kind. It reminded Steve of a flamethrower, it consisted of a large backpack with a wire hooked to a tube like device in the Asgardian's hands.
Steve chose to hazard a guess that the weapon they were warned about was this device.
The super soldier lifted his shield up and held it aloft. This was bad, if that weapon was as strong as they thought it was, enough to bring a quinjet down, Steve was unsure if even his shield would be enough to stop it.
Even if it was, the odds were not in their favor. It was three men against over twenty Asgardians. Steve would be able to fight many of them but not enough. To make matters worse, if even one got past them everyone else was wounded and unable to fight.
The alien weapons soon began to glow as if charging for a shot.
Steve quickly ordered the two men behind him. If the Asgardians were going to try to kill them, they would have to get past him first.
Over his dead body.
Steve felt time nearly stop as the weapon released a large burst of energy directly at him. Steve lifted and gripped his shield tightly, moving his head behind it and closing his eyes.
He heard the sound of the weapon discharging but after several moments, the blast still never came.
Slowly lowering the shield, Steve risked a look at their attackers. He did not fully understand what he was seeing.
A man had appeared in front of him by a couple dozen feet, the only physical detail that could be seen was the long black coat that he wore. What the newcomer was doing is what confused Steve. He held an arm up, as if holding a shield of his own, but instead of a solid object there was a pale blue light coming forth from his arm forming a barrier larger than the crashed quinjet. The Asgardian weapon's shot had hit the phantom barrier stopping it dead in its tracks.
The laser like weapon was still railing against the shield but did not seem able to breach it. As the beam lingered on it, the light began to glow brighter and brighter with each passing moment.
The stranger stood still as a statue, if he felt the alien weapon through the shield, it seemed he was creating, he did not show it.
Soon the beam faltered and went out. The Asgardians were staring in utter disbelief, the same exact expression Steve and the two SHIELD agents wore.
The glowing shield did not drop however.
A few moments after the beam stopped its attack, the man swiftly lowered his arm. Then in a flash of movement he thrust his opposite palm forward against the barrier. At first it shattered like glass, but in the blink of an eye it exploded and released a massive discharge of energy.
Straight at the Asgardians.
The aliens standing in the front of the group were obliterated on impact of the wave of energy. The ones behind them were blown off their feet like ragdolls. Then the ones further to the back were shoved back several steps.
Steve watched it total shock. Whoever this man was just took down almost half of the Asgardian pirates in a single attack.
Before Steve could have another thought, the mystery man was already moving. In a flash, he pulled two short blades from beneath his coat and hurled both weapons, with only a few second delay between throws, straight toward the group of Asgardians.
Both knives sailed through the group of aliens, somehow missing all of them, and hitting the one holding the powerful cannon. The first blade lodged in his shoulder, sending the Asgardians holding the weapon spinning down to the ground. This allowed the second weapon to hit the power source on his back.
The moment the blade hit the backpack, the Asgardian carrying it began to frantically try to pull it off himself. He was not fast enough, the device exploded and completely annihilated him as well as a few more around him.
In just two attacks, the newcomer had taken down more than three quarters of the Asgardians.
Steve did not know what to say or do. If this man turned on them, Steve was not sure he would be able to fight him off. He obviously possessed powers of some kind but to what extent he had no clue. Enough to represent a dire threat should be decide he wanted to do more than decimate Asgardians.
Thor had better arrive fast.
The man's next move was to reach behind his neck, he pulled a small metallic rod from beneath the material of the coat. With a flick of his wrist, the weapon extended until it was almost his height.
Steve had enough time to blink before he saw the man charging the Asgardians.
The aliens were certainly not expecting the frontal attack. Especially since many were still trying to get back to their feet.
Moments before the stranger reached the Asgardians, he disappeared from sight for a fraction of a second before reappearing behind one of the first Asgardians to try to intercept him. The alien was instantly struck with a heavy blow from the quarterstaff to the back of the head.
He went down instantly.
Two more try to jump him from behind but he twirled around with inhuman speed. The first ones sword was swatted aside by the staff, while the second one lifted an axe for a heavy overhead chop but the man again vanished from sight to appear behind the two just like the other one. Shoving his staff forward between the two Asgardians he spun again, this time striking one in the stomach and the other in the back. He moved in the reverse before the pair could react, hitting both the opposite way they were hit first. While they were dazed the man disappeared and reappeared once more, this time in front of them both. He struck both in the face with his staff at once.
That time the pair went down, the entire battle against the duo taking place over the course of a few seconds. Almost faster than Steve could see.
Asgardians were supposed to be extremely durable, so much so that a human almost did not have a chance to defeat one in melee combat like this.
Steve was beginning to doubt this newcomer was even human. Perhaps he was another friendly Asgardian like Thor? If so the backup was certainly appreciated.
Barely a handful of the Asgardians now remained, but these were taken down just as brutally and just as swift as the first three.
As soon as they were all down the stranger shortened the staff with another flick of the wrist. He then began walking toward Steve and the downed quinjet.
As he moved, one of the downed Asgardians attempted to rise back to his feet. The man did not even look, instead he pulled a revolver like pistol from under his coat and pointed it at the Asgardian. The weapon shot out a green burst of energy, killing the alien instantly.
The whole time he did not once cease or slow his approach of Steve.
The first thing that Steve noticed about the man when he got closer was his eyes. They were a gleaming silver. The next detail to catch his attention was the strange markings covering his neck and throat. The front of his coat was open, if Steve was correct, then he was wearing some kind of combat armor under that coat. Along with god only knows how many weapons.
"Hold fire unless he attacks first, he may be a friendly." Steve whispered the orders to the two agents, whoever he was it was someone that conflict with was best avoided. They nodded and lowered their weapons but still held them tightly.
"Captain Rogers, we don't have much time." It was the first time the strange man spoke. Before Steve could respond he somewhat gently pushed past him and into the quinjet.
Steve was about to speak up when he noticed Natasha was unconscious. The stranger had made a beeline approach for the wounded assassin. He did a quick once over look at the young woman.
"Captain, I need your help. Get over here." The man spoke with an authority that reminded Steve of General Phillips. Steve's body was already moving in response to the tone of voice.
"Who are you?" Steve asked as he kneeled on the opposite side of Natasha. The shard of metal was still protruding from her abdomen but blood was running from her lips freely. She did not have long left.
"Endymion, proper introductions shall be for later, if Miss Romanoff is to be saved we must act with haste."
Endymion? So that was this man's name.
"When I give the word, pull the shard free." Endymion spoke as flexed his fingers of his right hand.
Steve was about to argue how bad an idea that was when Endymion's hand erupted in what looked like bright green flames.
"After the shard is out, I will need you to hold her down should she awaken. This is going to be extremely painful but it is the only thing that will save her life. If she is fortunate she will remain unconscious during. Are you ready?"
Steve swallowed heavily and nodded his head as he gripped the offending piece of metal.
"You will want to stop me, this will be very painful to watch, but you must restrain yourself. If you stop me during, she will die." Endymion's words sounded almost rehearsed, as if he had to say them many times before.
The next actions happened so fast Steve thought it took only an eye blink.
The super soldier ripped the metal shard free and tossed it aside just as Endymion pressed the flaming hand to the wound on Natasha.
The scream that came from Natasha's lips was nearly loud enough to shatter glass. She tried to pull herself away from the source of the agony but Steve did as he was told and held her in place. Thankfully he was far stronger than her so it was easy, at least it was physically. Mentally was a whole different issue.
Endymion was not making a joke when he said Steve would want to stop him, in fact, Steve had almost done just that until he looked at the wound on Natasha's abdomen. The flames on Endymion's hand were not acting like flames at all, they did not burn or skin or clothes, instead as Steve watched the gaping wound began to slowly close itself.
Natasha was thrashing around wildly trying to break Steve's hold but the super soldier held fast. She did not seem to be the only one in pain though. Steve caught a glimpse at Endymion and saw the same look he had seen many times back during the war when a man tried not to let his pain show. Endymion's jaw was clenched tightly and he was sweating heavily. If his face was any indication, he was in more pain than Natasha was. He must have an abnormally high threshold for pain, he was not making a single sound. His eyes said it all though.
After what felt like an eternity, Endymion pulled his hand free. He sucked in a heavy breath as he wiped his brow on his sleeve. Whatever he had just done seemed to have taken quite a bit out of him.
Natasha had stopped her struggling the moment he let go. The wound having completely vanished, not even leaving a scar. The only evidence of it having been there was the torn catsuit and blood.
At first Steve started to panic when Natasha ceased her resistance. This faded quickly once he realized she was only unconscious, but her breathing was steady. Either way she was going to be fine.
"She'll be alright, the healing process is more than a little traumatic with a wound that severe. She will be weak when she wakes but after a little bit of rest she will be fine." Endymion spoke as he stood to his feet. "Sorry about that, I would talked first but she did not have the time."
Steve looked up at the newcomer and saw the hand extended out to him. Steve took the offered hand and Endymion helped him to his feet. The silver eyed man shook his hand slightly.
"The Traveler, Endymion, at your service. Nice to meet you Captain Rogers." For the first time, Steve saw a small smile grace the man's face.
A large figure suddenly landed outside the quinjet. Steve did not get a chance to say more before Thor was rushing into the compartment, hammer held ready for battle. "Steven! Natasha! My friends are you unharmed?"
Steve let out a soft breath. Better late than never though. "We're fine Thor, thanks to him." Steve motioned to Endymion.
Instead of offering a handshake like he had Steve, Endymion bowed slightly to Thor. "Hail, Thor Odinson, prince of Asgard, it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance."
To the best of Steve's knowledge that was more like how you were supposed to greet a prince, like Thor, on Asgard. Something like that, also as far as Steve knew, no one on earth ever did. The look on Thor's face supported such an idea.
For that matter, Steve noticed something else odd about Endymion, his speech was occasionally changing. He would talk like someone from modern times but then he would randomly switch to a more old fashioned way of talking and back and forth.
Just who was Endymion?
This is going to be a multi-chapter story. Also a clue for everyone, Endymion is not an Asgardian.