The Fall of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes

An Adapted Short Story of The Avengers

Dear Gods, how I despise those Avengers! I, Loki, am to be King of this worthless realm, and the Chitauri will make it so. I did not endure months on end of the Other's ruthless torture to lose to sentimental Midgardians in tight costumes. To this moment, they have not only managed to relieve Agent Barton of my control, but the green monster has returned, and they are destroying my Chitauri forces before my eyes.

"Send the rest," I growl, flying on one of the dead Chitauri's vehicles away from the awkwardly shaped building on which I placed the portal, which is still at the hands of Doctor Selvig.

Hundreds of Chitauri soldiers fly down through the wormhole, along with six more of the giant Leviathan monsters, the vessels of the Chitauri, which can level a city block in less than two minutes. The soldiers begin to destroy the very concrete beneath the buildings, sending their structures tumbling to the street.

I fly around the streets of New York, avoiding getting too close to the 'heroes,' but close enough to shoot at them whenever possible. I see Agent Romanoff riding atop one of the Chitauri vehicles and follow suit, shooting cosmic balls of pure energy at her. She swerves back and forth to avoid being hit.

Suddenly, out of my peripheral vision, I see an arrow whizzing at my head. I reach out and catch it, rolling my eyes back at Agent Barton before dropping the beeping stick. A light on the tip flashes faster and faster until it explodes about five meters below me. I chuckle to myself and continue my pursuit of Romanoff.

I continue chasing her for another few streets as she continuously veers around corners, obviously trying, and failing, to return to Stark's Tower. Finally, as she was trying to make a fifth turn, I manage to hit the back of the vehicle, sending her spiraling to the street in a cloud of black smoke and fire. I hear her screaming over the whirring of the vehicle's engine, and it is the most pleasing sound I have ever heard. Laughing, I fly back towards the Tower, scanning the streets for the red and blue soldier.

I see him fighting alongside my imbecile brother against more than thirty Chitauri. Thor kills all of them with one blast of lightning, and the two of them double over, clutching their ribs and panting. I see Rogers glance up at me and shout something before I click a button and blow up the street beneath their feet with blue cosmic energy. There is a beautiful explosion of concrete, trees, cars, and glass, along with the sounds of crashing rumble and screaming. When the smoke clears, there is no sign of either of them, save Mjolnir, which has embedded itself in the concrete.

I fly down to street level and slip off the vehicle, scanning the smoking debris for any signs of life. My green cloak swishes in the light breeze as I step carefully around the holes in the ground, which are so deep they reveal tunnels full of putrid water below street level. The wind is wafting the lovely scents of gasoline and burning flesh into my nostrils, and I inhale it greedily.

Then I see it. Only three meters in front of me lays the bright red, white, and blue shield which Rogers fights with. Cautiously, I maneuver around the craters until I reach it. Slowly, I pick it up to examine it, and half of it falls back to the street. I smile triumphantly, pick the other half up, and head back to my vehicle. I place the broken shield carefully on the back before mounting it again and flying back for the Tower.

I land on the roof of the Tower, grab the shield pieces in one hand and my scepter in the other, and stroll to Doctor Selvig.

"Hey, Loki, great news! I was able to hack onto their transmitter, and I heard Stark telling S.H.I.E.L.D. that Romanoff, Rogers, Barton, and Thor are dead, and he can't find Banner!" Selvig shouts excitedly.

"Barton is dead, too?" I ask happily, scanning the sky for Stark. Sure enough, I see him flying at full speed straight for us. I calmly step sideways so he has a clear area to land. He hovers two meters above the ground and points his hand blasters at me.

"You bastard," he growls. "Fury said there is a nuclear missile headed straight for us. It'll be here any minute, and it's going to level the island."

"Well then, we should get going," I say to Selvig, who immediately starts packing up the equipment.

"You're not going anywhere," Stark hisses, his blasters whirring to life.

"Oh, no, not me," I sneer at him, "I said 'we.'"

He drops his arms and falls to the roof. "Excuse me?"

"As I have lost all of my slaves, save Selvig, I will need people to work the infernal Midgardian machinery I cannot use," I say. "Since I cannot take over your mind, Stark, you will either come with me willingly, or you will join your friends," I throw the broken shield to the ground and point my scepter at his head. "Your choice."

He hesitates for a moment, but then his suit powers down, opens, and he steps out with his hands above his head.

"Very good," I smirk. I motion with my scepter for him to step to his left, and when he does, I blast his suit to pieces. Waving my hand, I use my magic to gather the pieces, create a knapsack around them, and throw it at Stark, along with the shield.

I walk back to my vehicle, climb back on, and Selvig climbs on the back with two bags of equipment. I call for a Chitauri to come, and wait for Stark to climb onto that vehicle before taking off.

I stop in midair above the city and shoot a blast from my scepter into the sky. "Chitauri!" I shout, and they all stop to look at me. "We have won this battle!" They begin to screech excitedly in their language. "However," I say, stopping their moment of victory, "We must evacuate this city, as it is about to be destroyed by the very government which we are about to overthrow," I turn my attention to Stark. "You will tell this Chitauri which direction in which to fly in order to arrive at the head of your government," I order.

"And then we'll teach you how to not talk like that," I hear him mumble. "Go south. We'll go to the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters."

"Very good, Stark," I say, and the Chitauri flies south. I follow, directing the rest of the army to follow.

From the east, I see a red and white missile flying over the water. I order the Chitauri to fly faster, and the only sound in the air is the whirring of engines as the vehicles fly at full speed to get out of the city before the bomb explodes.

We speed south, and I glance over my shoulder at the tiny buildings still smoking on the horizon as the small speck of a missile reaches its destination, exploding on contact. The noise is deafening even at the distance away we are, and, after about a minute, the force of the impact reaches us and sends all of the vehicles lurching forward.

I smile broadly. If Banner was still alive, that will have taken care of him, Hulk or not. I glance over at the horrified look on Stark's face, and my smile grows. Satisfied, I begin to mentally prepare my first speech as the first King of Midgard.