They moved on from the hotel an hour or so later, and Emma's smile met Nat's as soon as they moved out, sharing a secret between them that Natasha wasn't entirely sure of. Her heart thudded with the hope that she'd done her job well enough. Though Emma hadn't outwardly agreed that Nat had convinced her, she'd seemed at least receptive to helping Nat out. She prayed. If not, well, Nat had a back-up plan: Magneto first, Frost second. She doubted she'd be able to deal with Cain, but so long as she left him for Thor then the others would be simple enough to take down. Mystique would be an absolute pleasure, payback for all the nasty comments and looks.
But she hated not knowing for certain. The airport was easy enough to maneuver, Emma helping smooth the way through with using her telepathic ability to get them to the next flight into Germany. Not surprisingly few were going, the airplane nearly empty after everyone had boarded, which only made their arrival all the easier. The recent destruction of the Berserkers had terrified many from getting anywhere near their path. She couldn't blame them. Though they made a rather conspicuous troupe, what with the enormous Cain and the very lovely Wanda, Emma, and Mystique, who'd copped a blonde-haired leggy disguise, at least there weren't many to question it. Emma sat beside Natasha in the first class section, the others pairing up save Cain, who spread out over his extra seat wtih a grin to the others, not minding at all.
"You've never been on one of these, have you?" Emma murmured quietly in Natasha's ear. She quickly shook her head, feeling a heat starting in her pocket as the stone Loki had given her burned for her attention.
Shit.
"No, I haven't," she said, looking around curiously. She'd flown before, sure, courtesy of the Bifrost and with Thor fro, time to time. But on a plane? How bad could it be?
"Don't freak out or they'll wonder why," Emma smiled. "Just think of something pleasant."
"Okay. Why?" She choked on the last word, the large vehicle finally beginning to work. Oh, hell. She hadn't thought that far ahead, and swallowed thickly. Well that made sense that they'd have to pick up speed, that it wouldn't be nearly as clean or easy as traveling with Heimdall or Thor's assistance, but dammit, dammit, dammit no! She tensed up as the plane started to turn and move down the long runway, her hands tight on the armrests of her seat. She was supposed to relax, really?! Emma tried not to smirk as she loosened beside Natasha, her shoulders dipping while Nat was surprised she hadn't ripped the damn armrests off. She had Mystique's smirk targeted on her, while the others didn't seem to pay her much mind at all. Thankfully. Though the flight wasn't necessarily long, it wasn't the most pleasant of experiences. Emma seemed to almost be enjoying Natasha's strain to keep herself from disclosing how worried and shocked she really was at the situation, even after she'd adapted as best she could to the feel of being so high up in the air and moving at such a speed. Some help she was, though Nat was certain if the places were reversed she'd have been the same way.
Right. Think of something pleasant. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to clear herself of the adrenaline that spiked zig-zagged through her veins. As it always seemed to when she was stressed, her home came to her mind, the way the snow would move through the air, carried by a gentle wind, the way it smelled, especially on the first snow of the year. Except this time she wasn't alone walking through the streets of Russia, but Loki's hand clasped hers, their fingers laced and his expression lighter, less pained, than she'd seen it in some time. Thor was on her other side, his arm anchored around her waist, his body warm against hers. She didn't think she'd ever want to leave from that place between them, never having felt so protected or complete as when she was between the pair. It helped her heart slow down, forced her lips apart as she sucked in even breath after even breath, forgetting that she was even in the plane anymore. Nothing mattered but the familiar weight of the two men at her side, their heat and presence. She loved them both dearly, and when Emma jerked her awake her heart flew into her throat. She didn't know what she'd do if she lost them.
"We're there," Emma smiled. "You slept the whole way. Good thoughts, huh?" She asked, and the light in her face showed Nat that she understood, had seen exactly what Nat had. Heat filled Nat's cheeks, about to apologize though it was Emma who'd delved into her mind, but the blonde shook her head.
"I think I've got a plan to get your lover back," she murmured as she leaned over, under the pretense of showing Nat how to fix the table in front of her. "You've got something special between those two, whatever it is. It's not often someone with our background gets happiness like that, and while I'm envious as hell," she admitted with a soft laugh. "It's a glimmer of hope and we all need that now more than ever."
Nat hardly had time to choke out a thanks before they were being led off the plane, the aircraft having landed while she was asleep, and the group of them hurried into Stuttgart's airport. It looked like it had taken a blow from some huge, outside force, likely Asgardian as much as Nat didn't want to think about it. It would be hell for Odin, Thor, Loki, or anyone else who was in a diplomatic position to try and help them recover from this blow. She didn't look forward to the headaches it would give them all. Magneto led the way, his shoulders straightening as his gaze zeroed in on another group just off in the distance, a bald man in a wheelchair being pushed towards them.
Emma let out a soft sigh. "Of course Xavier would be here."
"Who?" Nat asked, tipping her head closer so they could whisper.
"Charles Xavier, head of a school for Mutants in America. He and Erik were good friends once upon a time."
"What happened?"
"They picked sides." Emma said cryptically.
So it would seem. The man didn't come alone, and as they neared Nat watched Magneto pull on a large, red helmate, rounded over the top, and slip it on his head. She frowned. What the hell was that for?
"Worried about what's in your head, friend?" The man in the wheelchair said. "I'd have thought Miss. Frost could help to block it all out."
"Emma has other things to worry about. This is none of your concern, Charles," Magneto said very quickly, eyeing the others that had surrounded his friend. Nat took quick stock of them as well, from the growling man just to the left of Xavier to the man with sunglasses guiding him on. Their numbers were far greater than Magneto's own, and Nat couldn't help but wonder whether there would be anything left of the airport after they'd all finished with it. All around her, her fellows were stiff and silent, mentally preparing for a fight. Xavier's eyes focused on Wanda and Pietro for a half a moment, and with a nod he seemed to consign them to the opposing side.
"I'm not here to fight with you."
"Yet you're not here to fight with us, either, are you Charles?" Magneto asked, folding his arms across his chest.
"You know my stance on this situation. You'll only cause more harm, and you're using this as a platform-."
"I'll not be weak and at the mercy of others again."
"I'm not asking you to be, but just consider-."
"I've considered it all," Magneto assured him with quick, curt words, tone dark enough to cut bone-deep. "This is the only path. I would ask that you stay out of my way, friend. I do not wish to hurt you but if you are not with me, then you are by definition against me."
Xavier seemed hurt but unsurprised by it. The man at his side, the one with oddly styled black hair who'd been growling, shifted, as though preparing to spring into action, and all it took was the slightest flick of one of Magneto's hands and the man went stock still, face in one of extreme pain.
"Wolverine, you truly think you would be able to beat me?" Magneto asked with a smirk. "Best stay out of the way and let the adults handle this." He shoved the dark haired man back without even having to touch him, though how Nat couldn't be sure when the man looked as solid and fleshy as the rest of them. The opposing force sprang into action, each of them immediately on the offensive before Xavier called for them all to calm down.
"We are not adding more injury to this city than it has already seen," he said, tone sharp as he looked once more at Magneto. The others near Nat had looked about ready to fight as well, all save her she supposed, who'd stuck near the back to avoid detection. It would make her life far simpler if she could remain as anonymous as possible. Doubtful, she supposed, but it was worth a shot.
They managed to get out without causing a scene, a miracle in itself, and Xavier and his crew remained in the airport as Magneto his own men out. Nat took the quickest headcount she could manage, roughing out the other's numbers to those of thirty or so, though how they'd gotten there so quickly was a surprise to her. How they were expected to keep from letting them over take Magneto's own was also beyond her. She'd been in rough situations, number wise before, but with these sort of powers, genetic mutations, whatever it was Emma had called them, how was it she was expected to stand a chance?
Her pocket burned once more, a reminder that she'd yet to talk to her husband. She held it tight in her fist, wishing she had a moment to steal away and try and answer, to let him know she was fine, to hear how he was. It didn't present itself, though, Magneto, Natasha and Cain piling into a car that Frost had tricked the owner into giving up without question while Mystique and the twins took to a second one taken the same way, and soon they were all set out following the path the Berserkers had left behind. Nat could only hope Loki would be understanding, that things weren't so awful back in Asgard-. Her heart caught in her throat, trying not to think about that, about what could've been so bad that Loki had tried to contact her three times.
'Not long now,' she promised herself. 'Not long and Thor will be back, and Steve, and Sif, and we'll be back. We'll set up new arrangements to visit Midgard, and make sure that everything that happened gets fixed. Not long and we'll set everything right.'
The symbols on her wrist burned a little, as though to tell her she was an idiot.
It didn't take long to track their quarry down, Emma behind the wheel simply needing to lock onto their thoughts. More than that, though, was the sheer amount of destruction. If Natasha thought that what she'd seen before was bad, well, it was nothing in comparison to this she had to admit. Her throat tightened as they passed homes that had been literally stripped down to nothing but the bare base boards, the rest of it scattered as though ripped apart by the whirlwinds Thor could conjure-likely had conjured. People were crying, bloodied up and watching as their homes burned, or else were irreparable, and all the while Natasha wondered at the other Asgardians that had been sent to deal with the Berserkers. The guards, the warriors three who had been sent down after them. What had become of them? How had they let it get so bad, and how had Heimdall not alerted the Allfather to send more troops? If Thor, Sif, and Steve were truly this powerful, how was it that he, Odin, had not come down and left Loki and Frigga in his stead while he dealt with the troubles of his son? How was it that for being a deity, and more than that a monarch, he left his people to suffer when so much was riding on the public opinion of his son, who would one day inherit the throne and all of Odin's responsibilities?
She'd once heard, before the war that had brought her to Asgard, that God was omniscient, that just because he could stop things from happening didn't mean he would. That there were lessons to be learned from the disasters, from the pain. She looked over to Magneto, sitting just beside Emma, watched the way his face tightened with every passing mile, and felt her throat tighten even further. What deity was Odin if he simply left those he professed to care about to simply fend for themselves against men and monsters they could not hope to beat, not with a thousand men, not with a thousand Asgardians.
And how the hell were they supposed to do this, with so few of them on their own side, and if Wanda and Emma's predictions were right, with more against them?
How was she, Natasha, supposed to consider getting away in time to save her lover and her best friends?
She caught Emma's glance back in the rearview mirror and tried for the smallest nod of her head.
The destruction only got worse as the Berserkers headed into the city, and the highways running opposite them were teeming with people trying to get away, as Emma sped down the empty other half of the road towards the destination, Magneto shifting cars out of their way to ensure that they got there quickly enough, Nat watching as the needle pointing to the speed kept rising. Her own tension went with it, swallowing hard as she forced herself to remain level headed. She clutched at the knives within her clothing, watched as Cain beside her tensed, the very atmosphere in the car growing thick with apprehension as burning buildings came into sharp relief against a quickly darkening horizon line. How was it that night had fallen so quickly?
The loudest rumble of thunder Natasha had ever heard shook the car and Nat's heart with it, stealing her breath and her courage for the quickest of seconds. Thor was in rare form if he was strong enough now to blot out the sun with his thunder clouds. Spikes of lightning rained down from the sky, connecting ahead of them as they passed a burning sign welcoming them to the city. The last chance to turn back.
Emma's foot pressed harder to the pedal.
Above them there was more thunder, but more than that black, SHIELD jets cut through the sky, followed by another, far larger one that Natasha didn't recognize. From his place in the front seat Magneto growled, the sound murderous.
"So Xavier has joined with SHIELD, the very same who would put him away if they got their chance," he said, voice darkening. "The traitor."
Nat thought she recognized the gold and red arc speeding past them, before a jag of lightning nearly hit it. One of the SHIELD jets was not so lucky, going down and landing within the city, crashing through buildings as it went.
"I'll not lie to you and say our task will be easy," Magneto said. "We are few against many. But our cause is true, and our strength will be our greatest asset. Keep your wiles with you, my dear," Magneto turned to lock eyes to Natasha. "And take your vengeance when the opportunity arises."
Nat nodded, setting her face into that of hardened determination, her brow pulled tight and her hands fisted on her knees. Emma pulled the car to a stop just before the carnage of what Nat could only assume would be central Stuttgart, the ground too pockmarked for even Emma to make her way through, craters smoking from where Nat could only assume Thor's lightning had struck. Everywhere was death, everywhere was destruction. Though the city crackled with danger and fire and smelled of ozone and death it was silent as ever, the only noises coming from the loud, angry rumbling above and further, through what Nat could only assume Hell looked like. She swallowed hard as they piled out of the car, Mystique, Wanda, and Pietro behind them. Without another word, Pietro took off, nothing more than a blur that Nat couldn't hope to trace, and half a second later he was back, not even out of breath.
"Shield is just landing now, they're getting prepared to attack. Might be to our advantage. Xavier, however, isn't having any of that. He wants containment. Trying to get the other humans out of the surrounding areas, but it looks as though they're going to try and peacefully bring the Berserkers down. What do we do?" He asked, his eyes falling to Magneto.
Emma sidled next to Natasha, reaching out to squeeze her hand, and Nat felt a quick burst of strength from the connection.
"You take them down however you can. Join with SHIELD, or even Xavier's lot if you must but I want Thor Odinson's head on a platter," Magneto said. "How it gets there I don't care. Cain, be wary of his hammer. I'll control it as best I can-it is metal, after all, but he's just as deadly without it."
"Right." The man nodded, his expression darkening, having pulled a deep red helm on himself while they were in the car from the one bag he'd brought with him.
"Mystique, get as close to the others as you can. If you can turn them against one another, do it. Wanda, Emma, Pietro, confuse them. Natasha, take what shots you can." He said.
They all consented quickly and quietly before taking off at a run towards the destruction, Magneto actually hovering and hurrying ahead to assess the damage, Pietro disappearing with him.
Natasha stopped just short of the scene, her eyes wide and her jaw all but dropping to the floor. Thor, Sif, and Steve stood in a half circle, their backs to one another, fending off agent after agent, Clint Barton firing arrows that seemed to almost bounce off of their skin as though they were armored, Tony Stark's Iron Man shooting repulsors that Thor let rebound off of his hammer, before throwing it towards the man's chest. She barely kept herself from shouting as an enormous green beast came running out to try and take on Steve, though the once super-soldier now turned red-eyed brute fended him off as best he could with strength that surprised even Nat. Sif was taking on Wanda, who'd tried to get into fist to fist combat. It wasn't going well for her, despite the pink and red energy that seemed to spike off of her and strike at Sif's face.
There was another thrum of energy as Thor gave a roar of frustration, blond hair matted with blood and eyes wide and wild. A beam of lightning hit Mjolnir and connected soon after with Tony's suit, hitting him straight in the chest. The man went down just enough to make Natasha start to run forwards, just as another team of mutants surged forward, trying to get to the Berserkers, eager to join the fray and defend their planet.
A familiar, low hum stopped Natasha where she stood, forcing her to whip around just as Emma swept past her, the air thick and thrumming with a familiar, old energy. A rainbow bolt of light hit the ground and there stood Loki, his eyes wide as he took Natasha in. He was covered from the waist up in blood and her heart nearly jumped from her chest. No sooner had his name left her lips then there was another shout from Thor, another rumble of lightning, as Nat ran towards her husband and enveloped him tight in her grip. They both turned just in time to see Thor, Mjolnir in his hands once more and surrounded by enemies, bringing the hammer's head to the ground, hard enough to crack the surface wide open, lightning striking the ground at the same time. The concrete split open, and from beneath surged thousands of green-skinned beings, their eyes yellow, ears pointed, and mouths widened in grins and shrieks of glee as the rest of the fighting stopped, the combatants having been blown back by the force of Mjolnir's strike on the ground. Natasha and Loki were no exception, the pair of them flying backwards, Loki landing on his back and wrapping his arms around her to prevent Nat from taking the worst of the blow.
When the world stopped spinning around them, and the ringing stopped in her ears, Nat felt blood oozing down from a cut above her temple and gawked as more and more of the green-skinned invaders surged forward, taking on new appearances. Familiar appearances. At least three of herself stared back at her before sprinting off and into the city, and still more came from whatever crack it was Thor had opened up.
What in the hell had he done?