So. Yeah. Onwards!
*HO*
In a secret bunker, let's just say somewhere in rural USA, a certain man found himself scrambling to figure out why so many of his underlings...er...agents had gone silent.
Three days ago, Baron von Strucker had everything in order. The attack in New York provided the perfect opportunity to move ahead with SHIELD's downfall and HYDRA's rise. The tesseract might well and truly be lost to them now but the so called Avengers were no real threat to their plans. Nearly 80 years of infiltration had yielded an organization where only 3 out of every 5 members were even loyal to it. That said HYDRA knew the strengths and weaknesses of each one more intimately than they themselves.
Then he received report of a stranger energy reading than the cube ever produced. About then, the bases around America began to go dark. Somehow. Including the one prepping the Asset for action. In fact it went off the grid first. After failing to gather any useful information, he took the hands on approach.
So here he was, standing in the middle of what amounted to a decrepit underground ghost town outside Bumfuck, USA which should be bustling with researchers and foot soldiers. Instead the base was falling apart; rust covered the wall seams, whole areas seemed to have worn away or crumbled to nothing. A thick layer of dust covered the debris as well. Back up generators all but exhausted allowing only uselessly dim light to show. Von Strucker had been here not even 4 months prior to begin operations. The place looked to have been abandoned decades ago!
Though abandoned would mean all personnel had left. The unbearable stench wafting through the air disputed that. As did the floor littered with corpses in various stages of decomposition bearing HYDRA insignia.
There was a noise and one his guards turned to aim at something in the dark. Not half a second later the man was drug screaming in fear by the leg into the shadows. A sickening crunch preceded an abrupt end to the shouts...and an ungodly amount of blood splattering all over the wall and the remaining 4 people in the hallway. So they all opened fire.
To heighten the atmosphere, the their flashlights and struggling lights above chose that exact moment to flicker wildly before going out yet the corridor wasn't completely dark. Two eerie points of bright blue light hovered in the distance before blurring. Surging forth as something cold, unforgiving and strangely hand shaped closed around Von Strucker's throat. With just enough force to be excruciating, preventing the baron from crying out. But not quite enough to stop all air flow. Unfortunately for the HYDRA leader, before he could really contemplate any of what was occurring, a raspy voice hissed a single word into his ear.
" ...decay..."
The last conscious sensations of the terrified man who would revolutionize the world? That of his very flesh melting off his bones.
*HO*
It took almost 3 days for Loki to wake up. In that time Thor had left to 'do his duty' but promised to return as soon as his brother awoke. This occurred after he and the snarky redhead had a rather heated conversation in a language that kinda hurt Bruce's ears. The good doctor made note of this fact. As well as the odd expression Steve and Natasha had during the exchange; it seemed the two were trying to place the sounds as if from a fuzzy memory.
Fury had left to deal with damage control. The media reported everything from another attack to secret government experiment gone awry.
Sure enough once Loki woke up, everybody assembled in the Avengers Tower common room. Well one of the common rooms.
"You mean to tell me my life was another of your plots?" Steve looked horrified. Loki's blood was in him?!
"It wasn't my intention to play with your lives. You must understand...Thanos has had designs on me as a bride since he first met me as but a child. At first I found it flattering." Loki blushed, looking away. "But as I came to know him and the depths of his mental disturbance, I politely rejected his affections. He...did not take it well. We Chaos Mages are gifted with the Sight, it allows us to see the many possibilities that may come to pass in the future. This is how I knew of events to come."
"But you couldn't see the clusterfuck that was 5 a months ago? Or was that just another Tuesday for you?' Stark frowned, then narrowed his eyes. "On that subject, why didn't you give us a heads up Hammertime?"
All eyes turned to the blonde god.
And the silence was oppressive.
"Because the God of Blunder had been thoroughly indoctrinated into the Cult of The All Fucktard." Sagittarius spoke once it became clear Thor wouldn't. At the same time, Thor looked like he wanted to bash Cupid's head in with MewMew for that remark...but didn't want a repeat of earlier. Instead glaring at the red head, clenching his mighty fists. "It's not really his fault. From birth Asgardians are heavily discouraged from using any form of magic unless it is there station to do so. They associate it with trickery and dishonor. And being feminine, let's not forget that."
"So what you popped down here during WW2 for shits and giggles? Give us something to play with and watch the monkeys muck about in the dirt?" Fury growled.
"No. That's not what I wanted. I had seen the threats this world would soon face or rather had some sense of them. The other realms were safe from such forces as they could close off their borders any time, leaving Midgard defenseless. In the eyes of the council, that is what the realm of 'lesser beings' is for- to serve as a buffer."
"Whoa! Asgard was just gonna let us burn?!" Tony yelled.
"That sounds fair." Banner mumbled.
"You're missing the point. I do care for this realm, regardless of what you believe-"
"So you attempted to take it over." Natasha raised a brow.
"No." Mortals and their obliviousness! "I felt it unfair that you were all left so defenseless. So, I set in motion a domino effect; by removing the binds that stifled this world's development, kept you all stupid and unrealized. I know now that they were there because Odin knew in time you would be able to match and surpass Asgard. Does it not strike you as odd that only a century ago, humans still believed the letting of 'bad blood' cured all ails? That the idea of actual travel to the stars was beyond ludicrous? Or your life spans, general health, quality of life, etc have increased so rapidly?" Loki sighed. "Unfortunately my efforts were greatly hampered by both Odin and Thanos. And I am not altogether sure it was not a collaborative effort on their part. The whole slowly losing my sanity issue didn't help either. Then when Thanos captured me, well you know. Only now the danger is to all worlds."
Loki explained what caused him to blackout: releasing all the pent up energies Thanos' influence had caused to build up in him. Their reality no longer subject to imminent collapse, the issues of a 'mad' Mad Titan who may be coming to claim his 'bride' by force and/or beat the shit out of Odin and Loki's missing kid could be addressed in all their equally depressing glory.
Yay.
"So, let me get this straight; a whole lot of drama llama bullshit we had nothing to do with screwed not only earth but everyone living it up in cloud city because nobody really thought your crazy stalker would do anything too outrageous. This is the same guy who had a history of giving you macabre presents and once declared to quote snuff out all that is light so your darkness could shine for all to behold end quote. That, that's about the long and short of it?" Clint clutched the ice pack to his head. Several days of rest and an hour or so of exposition later he still felt like shit. Hawkeye understood what happened to be necessary. It just sucked ass. Now this bullshit-
Everyone began to shiver as the temperature in the room dropped rapidly. Almost everyone. Loki and Sagittarius seemed unaffected. Thor briefly looked constipated before his eyes widened.
"Wha-?!" Steve didn't even get the word all the way out. A black misma erupted around his feet before enveloping him completely. A blurry figure could be sort of seen within the smokescreen behind Captain America. Arms wrapping around the blonde just as the plume dissipated. Leaving nothing behind other than partially corroded floor tiles.
"What the fuck was that?!" Fury roared.
"Somebody who took his sweet ass time showing up to grab his mancandy. Seriously,dude fully woke up like right after Loki's light show. Cap's gonna be fine, no worries."
The answer didn't come from the sarcastic ginger. Oh no. It came from the busty brunette nobody noticed calmly and delicately munching a chocolate cupcake in a chair near the a window.
"Because why the fuck not." Tony deadpanned.
"Oh come on. Depowered or not, you didn't really think a normal taser could drop the god of thunder didja?" Everyone's favorite Poli Sci majoring intern winked at the speechless heroes.
*HO*
And suddenly...Darcy. Yeah, one guess as to who just kidnapped Steve. Siren got a hold of the beginning of this chapter and I didn't stop her. Any guesses as to their powers?
And FYI this renders pretty much anything beyond the beginning of CA:WS moot. In case that wasn't clear.
So, love it? Hate it? Let me know! Reviews are like hugs! Sirensoundwave out!
