Chapter Four: Assemble by Midnight
But none of the heroes were about to halt now; like a car crash, Max could see it start, as unstoppable as the laws of physics. He drew breath to yell again, as loud as he could, then gold and violet blazed from the two downed heroes, wrapping around their teammates and halting the conflict before it could begin; magical bonds froze all of the heroes in place, impervious to all the struggles the seven heroes and one security 'bot put forth to get free.
Max swallowed hard as Clint and Booster pushed themselves up, both glowing with power: wild, untamed, defiant. "Enough," Clint ordered, violet curling around her, blazing from her eyes, and making her hair fly out as if she was standing in the center of a wind storm. "We cannot fight each other, not if we hope to help those we are sworn to protect." Her voice was echoing, both young girl and mature woman at once.
"If we reach midnight and the spells are not broken, they will remain for all time," Booster agreed, golden light dancing around him. His voice, too, was both young and mature at once; his irises were solid gold.
"Spells?" Thor demanded, straining even harder to break loose; lightning danced around him, but failed to affect the gold-hued magic holding him in place. "When I am free, you will regret your treachery, golden one."
Booster turned, meeting Thor's angry stare with unnatural calm. "My treachery, Son of Odin? I have done nothing, as Mjolnir herself will tell you." The young man began to tremble with the force of the magic speaking through him. "No, Odinson," he continued, his double voice shaking a bit, "one disguising himself as Loki, god of trickery and lies, cast these spells. One, as Maxwell Coulson has already surmised, to turn all of us into our costumes, and one to turn these poor people to stone." He shook his head. "I cannot hold for long, not with this spell pressing in on me, but please, hear me. We are friends, not enemies. We should be standing together, standing united, not baying and tearing at each other's throats."
"My brother is right," Clint agreed. "I cannot hold either; I do not have the magical reserves; but we must not fight each other. If we do, then we fall, as Loki intended us to from the start."
"Why?" Coulson asked, desperate to know.
Violet and gold fixed on him; Clint spoke. "Revenge, for last All Hallow's Eve, when we defeated him and his gang; when we humiliated him, at least in his eyes. He cannot abide defeat, particularly not at the hands of those without magic and those he sees as newly introduced to magic."
Both heroes shuddered, sinking down as violet and gold dissipated, releasing their teammates. In seconds, the magic was gone, but the effects remained as the two teams eyed each other nervously, but with much less hostility. A large part of that was thanks to the fact that Clint and Booster had, somehow, ended up next to each other, shoulder to shoulder as they leaned into each other to keep from falling on their faces.
Coulson moved first, kneeling next to the pair with a worried look on his face. Siblings, siblings wearing costumes from different teams…if they'd ended up fighting… He shook the fear away; they hadn't, instead their magic had intervened to prevent disaster, but not without cost. The dazed expressions from both proved that, without a doubt.
"Talk to me," he ordered softly, dropping his voice low enough to offer the illusion of privacy. "You two okay?"
Clint groaned without moving and her brother encircled her shoulders with his arm. "Just give us a minute?" he requested. "I think our magic had to fight through the Halloween spell to do that; we don't have enough magical reserves to do that for long."
One brow hiked. "Do you…remember?" Max questioned.
Twin head shakes. Clint gathered herself enough to speak. "I did, but as soon as the magic faded, the Halloween spell took over again." She met Max's eyes. "I know Booster's my brother and that I can trust everyone here, but nothing more than that. Sorry."
"No, you two did great," Coulson countered. "I couldn't stop the fight, but you did." He pushed himself back up. "You two stay down as long as you need to." Brown eyes narrowed and he turned to face the now sheepish Avengers and Leaguers. "Stark, how long until midnight?" he demanded.
Iron Man rocked, but accepted the reveal of his true identity with no more than a minor grumble. "JARVIS?"
Over the suit's external speakers, JARVIS replied, "We currently have approximately three hours until midnight, local time."
"Not much time," Cap mused, his eyes darting between his own team and the Leaguers. "How many of you can fly?"
"Booster and myself," Miracle replied, crossing his arms. "I shall guess that Iron Man, War Machine, and Thor are your flyers."
Nods came from the Avenger flyers. Cap stepped forward, meeting Miracle partway. "I suggest we pair up; flyers with non-flyers, so no one gets grounded while we're hunting for Loki."
A considering nod. "That is reasonable," Scott agreed. "Have you any ideas on who will be paired with whom?"
Skeets drifted forward. "I propose that the pairings be cross-team if possible," the little 'bot remarked. "That would be the most expedient method to ensure team cohesion and unity in our current situation."
Cap scowled, clearly unhappy about the idea, but Coulson agreed with the 'bot. "Captain, may I?" he requested, inwardly amused that his internal Captain America fan-boy routine had been cut off by Maxwell Lord's cynicism and pragmatic attitude.
It took a minute, but then Max received a go-ahead gesture from both Scott and Steve. In the background, Booster and Clint pushed themselves up, though they still looked a touch unsteady. Beetle and Widow immediately moved to hover over their friends, concern writ large on their faces.
"Captain, if you could pair off with Scott…Mister Miracle," he added at Steve's confused expression. The two traded surprised looks, but obediently shifted to stand side-by-side. Turning towards the four grouped heroes, Max continued, "Booster, with Black Widow, please." He ignored Natasha's outraged expression at being paired with the flashy gold and blue hero. "Hawkeye, pair up with Thor."
"You got it," Hawkeye agreed, shifting to be next to Thor. Coulson didn't bother to throttle his warning Look at Thor, promising dire consequences if Hawkeye was injured. The agent bestowed the same Look on Natasha, on Booster's behalf. The two siblings rolled their eyes; Max suspected they understood his reaction more than he did.
"Beetle, you're with Stark," Coulson continued on briskly. "Which leaves me with Colonel Rhodes." Blue Beetle stalked over to Iron Man, unhappy to be separated from his best friend, but clearly resigned. Coulson shifted over to War Machine, eyeing the pairings and measuring them, as best he could, against his double memories.
"Charmingly to the point, as always, Agent Coulson," Loki purred from above, drawing instant attention. "I do wonder, though, if your strategy will suffice for the nonce." He ignored Thor's growl and his immediate snatch at Mjolnir. "Let's find out, shall we?"
Magic roared around them, rising and crashing down on each pair of heroes. Seconds later, Loki laughed as he surveyed the dance floor, littered with statues of Halloween goers dancing, but with no sign whatsoever of the Avengers or the Leaguers.
