Chapter 8 – S.H.I.E.L.D. under Siege
John worked himself to his feet, his head still ringing from the blast. Everything had just happened so fast; first people started getting in each other's faces without any apparent reason, and then the lab just… exploded.
Quickly looking around, John realized with a sigh of relief that most of the damage had been cosmetic in nature. Already, Steve and Tony were up on their feet and were running towards… well, wherever they thought the danger was, he supposed.
Next to him, Fury was viciously yelling in his earpiece, wanting to know what the hell was going on. John could sympathize with the Director; he'd like to know as well. His attention was grabbed however by a shout from Thor.
"No! My brother!" the God of Thunder roared in panic, eyes wide with fear.
Before John could protest, the Asgardian had already ran towards the exit of the room, presumably making his way to where Loki was being kept.
'Wait, don't we miss-'
"Guys?!" came the panicked shout of Black Widow.
Without even thinking about it, John had moved towards where the glass wall of the room used to be, peering down into one of the many walkways that ran throughout the Helicarrier.
What he saw made the blood turn to ice in his veins.
Trapped under some kind of pipe, Natasha Romanoff was looking in panic at the hunched over form of Bruce Banner. But the Doctor wasn't looking like himself anymore, his clothes ripped and straining to contain bulging muscles, while his skin started to look more and more green.
Bruce looked up at the room and stared John straight in the eye. The Guardian was surprised to see that the man's eyes were still a warm brown colour, though they were widened in fear and… sorrow?
"Help… her…" the Doctor growled out, his voice no longer that of a human.
Nodding, John quickly vaulted over the twisted remains of what once used to be a wall. Behind him, he could Steve and Tony running off in one direction together, while Thor ran off in another. Fury was yelling more urgently in his earpiece now, probably initiating whatever protocols the Helicarrier had for a rampaging Hulk.
Working quickly, he grabbed the enormous pipe with both hands, and with a grunt threw the entire thing off Black Widow. To the assassin's credit, she worked herself to her feet almost immediately, though her fear-filled gaze was fixed on the Doctor, who was looking less and less like a human by the second.
She recovered fast enough in fact, that John started to suspect that the Russian turncoat wasn't exactly a baseline human herself anymore.
Putting it out of his mind for now, he grabbed the spy by the shoulders, giving her a firm shake. Almost the second he touched her, her attention shifted from Bruce to him, while her arms instinctively struck out in an attack.
Ignoring the soft blows as easily as he ignored bullets and the like, John gave her another firm shake, snapping her out of her daze.
"What's the shortest way out of here?!" he yelled, his back to the still changing Bruce.
It was clear that the scientist was fighting his alter ego with all that he had; from what John knew about the Hulk, it usually didn't take so long for the switch to happen. Bruce was giving them as much time as he could, and they needed to use that to their advantage.
It only took a few seconds before Natasha started answering, though haltingly at first.
"There's… uhmm.. If you go… If you go that way, then take a left, until you reach-"
Shaking his head, John tried again, peering intently at the superspy.
"No, the shortest way, from here to the outside!"
Understanding dawned in the assassin's eyes, quickly followed by a wince. Good, she seemed to finally catch his drift.
"Fury's gonna hate this." She said cautiously.
Rip!
"Grrrrrrr…"
Not looking back, John gave her a flat stare.
"I don't really think that's our biggest concern right now."
"I agree." Natasha nodded with a gulp, looking at something over John's shoulder.
Slowly turning around, John came face to chest with the largest man he had ever seen. Well, man didn't really apply here. Most obvious of course was that the skin tone was somewhat off, with it being a muddled sort of green and all.
But as John peered up into the 8 feet tall behemoth, he noticed that there were more differences between the Hulk and a regular human. For instance, several proportions were a little off, like his too-long arms, giving him a somewhat ape-like appearance with the way he stood hunched over.
Still though, he could clearly see Bruce's features in the Hulk's face as it stared down at him with a snarl. While definitely changed, the scientist was still recognisable in the monster, even through the massive eyebrows and enlarged facial features, though the eyes had remained roughly the same size.
Deciding see if Bruce was still in the Hulk somewhere, other than his appearance, John warily raised his hands, trying to make himself as non-threatening as possible. While he was pretty sure the Hulk couldn't really do him any serious harm, he had never fought the Jade Giant before and so he didn't know for sure.
Looking at the rippling mountain of muscle in front of him, John decided that he'd rather not risk it.
"Hey, Bruce. You in there? Can you hear me man?" he asked gently.
The only warning he got was a subtle shift in the Hulk's stance and a narrowing of the monster's eyes, before a giant green fist was descending towards his face at breakneck speeds.
BAM!
John strained under the pressure, as beneath his feet the metal of the walkway started to buckle in on itself. Having raised his arms at the last possible moment, John had caught the Hulk's punch, only to be shoved away a full foot as if he weighed nothing at all.
'Holy shit! His strength is ridiculous!' John thought to himself with gritted teeth, starting to push back against the green behemoth.
He could see confusion in the Hulk's eyes for only a second, before rage replaced it. The giant monster pulled back his fist and let out a snarl, body tensed up to deliver another devastating punch.
This time, however, John was ready. Not giving the Hulk a chance to attack, he shot forward, shattering the twisted metal underneath them, shoulder checking Bruce's alter ego in the chest as hard as he could.
There was a surprised 'oomph!' as the Hulk was lifted clear off his feet, before being thrown through the narrow walkway, denting both walls with his massive frame. As the Jade Giant landed with a crash that sent a shudder throughout the Helicarrier, John whirled back to Black Widow, who was pointing her gun in the Hulk's direction with a white-knuckled grip.
"Natasha! The shortest way out, now!"
Already, the Hulk was getting back to his feet, face contorted in fury. Gaze flicking from John to the rage monster and back, Natasha gave a jerky nod, before closing her eyes, trying to focus on finding a way for John that wouldn't involve breaking the very things that kept them airborn in the first place.
By now, the Hulk was back on his feet and let out a roar that was heard throughout the Helicarrier and made John wince as his ear-drums were assaulted by the intensely loud noise.
"Natasha! NOW!"
Pushing off, the Hulk started running towards them, all the while letting out snarls and growls of rage, not even appearing to notice as it smashed through several pieces of equipment that lined the walls of the walkway.
"Natasha!"
It was almost upon them, raising itself to its impressive height as it pulled back one massive fist, intent on pulverizing them where they stood-
"That way!"
-And John took off, arms outstretched as he caught the Hulk around the middle. Not letting go, he powered on at his fastest speed, letting out several sonic booms that shattered throughout the battered Helicarrier.
The Hulk struggled mightily, enormous muscles straining against John's grip, but the Guardian didn't let up. He continued flying in a straight line, smashing through several walls and rooms, desperately hoping he hadn't hurt anyone, but not being able to check.
The Hulk had now given up on prying his arms loose, and instead started hammering on John's body, making him swerve wildly out of control. Letting out a yell of effort, the superhuman strained to keep flying in a somewhat straight line, continuing to power through the various walls of the Helicarrier.
Right as the Hulk lifted both of his massive arms in order to smash them down in devastating hammer-blow on John's back, the Guardian smashed through the thick outer wall of the Helicarrier in an explosion of shrapnel and pieces of machinery.
Out of the corner of his eye, John could see what looked like Iron Man around one of the rotors of the Helicarrier, which appeared to be broken if the smoke was any indication. Several Quinjets and fighter jets flew around the crippled form of the Helicarrier like flies around a piece of carrion.
Then his attention was fully drawn by his adversary, as an incredibly powerful punch managed to nail him in the gut, blasting him away and down. Spinning out of control, John quickly tried to straight himself, trying to locate the Hulk.
A shadow falling over his face made him look up, only to see the Hulk fall towards him in a frothing rage, fist already pulled back for another punch. Rolling out of the way in a desperate move, the green behemoth passed by John close enough for the displaced wind to whip around his skin, but not close enough to actually touch him.
Something that greatly upset the Hulk, apparently, if the rage-filled roar was anything to go by, as it sped towards the ground. John looked the Jade Giant straight in his hate fuelled eyes, and gave a snarl of his own.
"You wanna go!? Fine! Let's go!"
And he sped downwards, leaving a sonic boom in his wake. He could see the Hulk trying to right himself in mid-air, but up here, the rage monster was hopelessly outmatched. Easily angling himself around the flailing green arms, John sped forwards, catching the Hulk in the chest with a massive punch, which blasted the Hulk downwards even further.
Not letting up, John quickly followed up with several more consecutive punched, each one finding their mark, and each one creating the sound of a thunderclap. By now, John's superior eyesight managed to make out the details on the ground; it seemed like it was mostly farmland for miles around, which would mean that collateral damage would be contained to a minimum.
'Good.' John thought grimly to himself, before preparing himself.
By now, the Hulk was truly consumed by rage, roaring incoherently and apparently not even aware of the fact that he was falling towards the ground at near supersonic speeds, instead flailing wildly at John whenever it could.
Taking a deep breath, John shot forward a final time, once again managing to wrap his arms around the Hulk's middle. Idly a part of John's mind distractedly noticed that Bruce's alter ego had an incredibly high body temperature, before he pushed the observation out of his mind.
Eyes watering at the amazing speeds they were now travelling, the wind screaming in his ears alongside the roars of the Hulk, John saw the ground rapidly approaching. Closing his eyes, John had a weirdly lucid thought.
'Invulnerable or not, I'm pretty sure this is gonna hurt like hell.'
And then they hit the ground with earth-shattering force, creating a crater easily a mile in diameter.
Thor paused for only a moment as the sound of an ear-busting explosion rattled his bones, before quickly continuing with his rush towards his brother's prison. The last thing he had seen of Astartes and Bruce Banner was when the Doctor was starting to chance into his other form, and Astartes preparing himself to fight it.
'It's going to be okay. Astartes never loses after all.' Thor thought, trying to reassure himself.
'Then again, he's never fought anything like the Hulk before.' A little voice replied.
He quickly put the thought out of his mind, having reached the room where Loki was being kept. With a soft hiss, the doors automatically opened for him, and he hurriedly ran inside. He ran his eyes over his brother's from, and gave a quiet sigh of relief; his brother appeared to be unharmed.
Well, not harmed any further at least.
In fact, his brother was even up and walking, though pacing was perhaps a more appropriate term. Outside of the glass cage, the Agent Son of Coul was talking to Loki in his characteristic calm voice, though if his brother's agitation was anything to go by, he wasn't really successful in calming the God of Lies down.
"Please Loki, anything you could tell us-"
"I've already told you! I was supposed to be captured and led to your flying fortress, sparing me the trouble of finding the damned thing myself. Once here, I would set the Hulk free, crippling S.H.I.E.L.D. without any effort on my part, while my people could easily track me through the sceptre. Then I would free myself and escape with them, sceptre in hand and unopposed by the only people that could be a threat to my… to his plans." Loki bit back, though he finally stilled his pacing when he saw Thor standing in the same room.
The brothers shared a quick glance, Thor gaining hope when he saw Loki cooperating, no matter how reluctant, while Loki merely seemed wrung out, almost... hollow, at mreely mentioning the plans that his twisted mind had come up with under the none-too gentle guidance of the Mad Titan.
"But how would you escape? Don't you-"
The Son of Coul was cut off by a scoff of Loki.
"Please, as if such a cage could contain me."
Thor frowned at the words. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something was wrong. It was as if the voice hadn't come from inside the prison-
Whirling around with Mjolnir raised above his head, Thor could feel his mouth fall open as he stared in his brother's face, which now sported a smug grin. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw the Loki still inside the cage give a cheeky wave, before falling apart in a wave of golden-green light.
Next to the cage the Agent stood with one hand on the gun in his waistband, though to the man's credit he hadn't pulled it yet. Seeing Thor's look, the Son of Coul let go of the weapon and instead crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking at Loki with his signature small smile, though his tone was as hard as steel.
"Impressive. Very impressive. Please refrain from doing so again."
Looking back at his brother, Thor could see Loki give a roll of his eyes, though one of the corners of his mouth tugged upwards in a small smile.
"I'll stop doing that when people stop falling for it." The Prince of Lies replied with a smirk.
"Brother-" Thor started, but stopped himself.
This was the closest he had been to a conscious Loki in over a year. There was so much that he wanted to say, that he had realized he should have said either a lot sooner, or a lot more. But now that he stood face to face with his brother, without a prison to separate them, he found himself at a loss for words.
"- why did you not get out sooner?" he asked instead, though he could see that Loki knew that had not been what he had intended to say at first.
"Getting punched in the chest by the most powerful being walking around on Midgard might be something for you to laugh about and walk away from without a care, us lesser beings tend to feel somewhat more... discomfort. Honestly, I was fine with being ferried around on my bunk, my needs taken care of, maybe eat some grapes, read a magazine..." Loki said smoothly as he stepped around Thor to glance at the Son of Coul.
"Sadly, my little me-time was interrupted by the agent here, who has been going on, and on, and on, about who's attacking us, trying to pump me for every scrap of knowledge he thinks I possess." the God of Mischief drawled.
"When my people get mind-controlled by a sceptre of alien origin into attacking their own people, then that is something I would like to know more about. Especially from the man holding the scepter." the spy calmly smiled back, making Loki bristle.
"You presume too much, human. Thanos does not let others play lightly with this toys; the sceptre was mine to command, but it is his will now guiding its actions." Loki hissed furiously, though Thor noted the slight undertones of beginning panic when his brother mentioned the Mad Titan.
Thor frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. This wasn't his strength. His highest academic feats had always lain either in battle tactics (and even then, those mostly consisted of 'hit the other thing, until it can't hit you back. Then hit it again.') or the history of Astartes and the Guardians.
This whole mind-control business was way above his head, and he felt uncomfortably out of his depth. But still, his brother was involved, he had to think of something…
"What if you used the staff? It gave you control over them the first time, maybe-"
"NO!" Loki shouted in a panic, startling both Thor and the Son of Coul.
Coughing into his hand in embarrasment, Loki tried to play off his earlier outburst, trying to talk coolly and in control, though his tone was warning.
"I will not touch that vile thing ever again! And if you valued your mind undisturbed by forces more evil than you can imagine, brother, than neither will you, nor will you let anyone else on Midgard thouch it either. It has been crafted in the deepest pits of the universe by the most craven minds within Thanos' Legions. It is evil given form, corruption caught in metal and gold and someting... more. The mind who made that staff is wrong, brother, twisted by a sickness very few can understand, but within it, lies a mind of its own, something else entirely. No, if for the next thousand years I will never lay my eyes upon it again, then it shall be too soon." Loki said, his sunken eyes lying deep in a gaunt face staring into Thor's with an intensity that was uncomfortably reminding him of that fateful moment on the Bifrost, a year ago.
"Right. No touching the incredibly evil thing made by incredibly evil people. Got it."
Loki slumped in defeat, his hand rubbing against his forehead in a painfully familiar gesture.
"Yes Thor, no touching the evil thing. Really, it's like you never learn."
At that, the Asgardian brothers shared a weak smile, one that made it clear to the both of them that, while their bond had endured much, and had been strained to its limits, it had not yet broken. It would never be quite the same, but that didn't mean that they couldn't at least try. The surprisingly warm moment was broken by the voice of Tony Stark blasting through the speakers of the room, his tone more urgent than either god had heard him use so far.
"Avengers?! Come in Avengers! Hancock?! Point Break?!"
The Son of Coul ran to one of the various terminals that Thor couldn't make heads or tails off, fiddling with some of the button whose function was lost to the Thunder God's understanding.
"This is Agent Coulson, repeat, this is Agent Coulson, what is your situation Stark?" the Son of Coul said in a steady tone, his voice still calm even in this crisis.
"Ah, Agent, you know, I never thought I'd say this in, like, ever, but it's good to hear your voice right now."
"What's going on Stark." The spy said, his tone not demanding, but still forcing Stark to get back on track.
"Right, right, I need a flier, either Point Break or Hancock will do. The rotors of your back-left turbine are stuck, and I can't get them going on my own power. Steve is-
The staccato of gunfire interrupted the message, alongside an odd ringing sound, which was accompanied by several pained screams.
" - Busy. Like, really busy. Damn, that man can move."
"John Hancock left the Helicarrier while trying to remove the Hulk from the premises. I do have Thor here with me."
"So that was the massive shockwave I saw about three minutes ago. Good to know. If only I had a camera… wait, Jarvis, don't we have some satellites in orbit right now? Think you could rig them to catch the fight-"
"Stark." The Son of Coul said in a warning tone.
"Right, right. Can you send Thor to my position then? Either for help pushing this thing, or for keeping the bad guys off my back, because these people just don't give up."
More gunfire, the odd ringing sound accompanied once more by pained screams, followed by curses from Tony, before a now familiar whine sound was heard. After that, the sound of gunfire was noticeably absent.
"Even though they really should." Came the satisfied voice of Iron Man.
"Copy that Iron Man, Thor is on his way, hold out a little longer, okay?"
"Just hurry." Tony replied, before cutting off the transmission.
Nobody had to comment on the unusually serious note Tony ended on.
The Son of Coul looked at Thor, expression grave.
"You up for this?"
Thor almost reflexively nodded in confirmation, before stopping himself. He glanced at his brother, who was still wounded, in more ways than one. Should he leave him all alone, and go run off into danger without a second thought? He'd like to think that his time on Midgard, however short, had changed him. Sure he was still himself, he still loved to fight, to drink, to have fun with this friends, but had he not become wiser as well? To know what others needed instead of what he wanted? But on the other hand, there were people out there that needed him now, while he wanted to stay close to his brother, who without supervision might either slip away, or get himself hurt-
The Thunder God's internal worrying was cut off by a scoff from Loki, who rolled his eyes as Thor had started muttering and twirling his hammer.
"Just go out there and do your thing, you big oaf. I'll be… well, not fine I suppose, or even safe for that matter, but I'll be… out of the way I guess." His brother said in a sarcastic tone.
Thor made to protest, but was this time cut off by the Son of Coul.
"Don't worry Thor. Your brother is safe with me."
Loki scoffed at this, and Thor couldn't help but inwardly agree. While he had a great deal of respect for the spy and considered him a friend of sorts, he was still a mortal, while his brother was considered a god.
True, an injured, and mentally scarred god, but a god nonetheless.
"And how do you propose to keep me safe, mortal." Loki sneered, the 'mortal' spat out as if it were some sort of disease.
As Thor frowned at his brother's vitriol, the Son of Coul however merely answered with a beaming smile.
"Oh, with this."
Turning around, the spy walked towards one of the other doors lining Loki's cell-room. Quickly typing in a code and getting his eye scanned, the spy stood back with a happy grin on his face as the doors slowly hissed open.
Behind the doors there was a walk-in closet, fully stocked with the biggest guns Thor had ever seen in his life, which included the giant monstrosity Steven Rogers had shown about ten minutes ago.
Walking towards a dais in the middle of the closet, the Son of Coul almost reverently picked up a massive black gun, only identifiable as such, due to having some sort of handle on one end, and a nozzle on the other.
Standing in front of the armoury, with the gun raised in front of his chest, the spy pressed a hidden button and the weapon lit up with an ominous hum and a vibrant orange glow around the barrel.
"What does it even do?" Thor heard his brother say in a mix of awe and apprehension.
"I don't know. Can't wait to find out, though." The spy said, with an enormous grin on his face, looking for all the world like a kid in a candy store.
Now Thor shared his brother's apprehension.
John struggled to his feet, the clouds of dust making it difficult to see even a foot in front of his face.
'Guess I was right; that did hurt.' The superhuman thought to himself with a wince.
He couldn't remember the last time he had actually felt pain. Sure, during his fights with Mary and Thor he had felt the strength of their blows, and he had been sore afterwards, but actual pain was something he had very little experience with.
The only other time he had truly been in pain was in the hospital, when Red Parker's men-
'NO! Don't think about it John! That's behind you now, you've got other fish to fry.' John thought furiously to himself, shaking his head in order to free himself from those memories.
"Focus." He whispered to himself, standing on steady legs and ignoring his ripped apart suit.
"They're not the enemy right now. But where-"
BAM!
A green fist to the face answered that question. John was thrown back across the ruined field of the farmland he and the Hulk had crashed in, while the clouds of dust were blown back by the Hulk's punch. He travelled the entirety of the field he and the Hulk had slammed into (though the only green in that field now belonged to a raging berserker, while all the other green that had been there had now turned to dirt), and slammed down into the ground into the next field, bouncing a couple of times, each crash accompanied by a spraying mound of dirt and an annoyed expletive, before John finally slided to a stop, leaving a deep furrow in his wake.
Quickly jumping out of the trench he had created, John vaulted over the massive form of the Hulk, which crashed down where he had been lying mere moments before. Seeing the giant monster whip around to look at him in an uncontrollable rage, John steeled his resolve.
'I'm sorry Bruce. I hope you won't remember all this when you wake up again.'
"You want some of this!? Huh!? Then come and get some asshole!"
"GRRAAAAHHHH!"
Both powerhouses took off, the Hulk shattering the ground beneath his feet as he jumped up, John leaving a sonic boom as he flew down. Both pulled back their fists, yelling at the top of their lungs.
Their fists collided with a noise that more a physical thing than mere sound, as a shockwave of displaced air expanded from where they struck eachother, flattening the grass in the entire field with a rushing sound. The Hulk, once again at a disadvantage in the air, was violently blown back into the ground, creating a small crater, while John was punched back as well, twisting end over end before crashing down.
Quickly working himself back to his feet, John glanced at the Hulk, who was recovering as well. Not letting up, John shot forward, ripping up the ground underneath.
'He's getting stronger, but I'm still faster. And I can fly.'
However, John had underestimated the green behemoth's speed, as when he was about to smash into the Hulk, it clotheslined him in the face, making him twist around in the air before crashing down with a pained grunt.
Before he could get back up, the Hulk descended on him, mindlessly punching away at John, digging him a little deeper with every punch, creating tremors that could compete with mild earthquakes.
In a desperate move, John lifted both feet, and mule kicked the Hulk with all of his strength, not holding back in the least. There was a sonic boom and a rush of air as the Hulk was lifted off his feet and blasted several yards away, landing harshly on the ground with a dull 'thump'.
Getting to one knee, John looked over at his adversary, who was trying to climb out of a new crater made with his body. His hearing picked up the Hulk's laboured breathing, indicating that his last attack had finally done some significant damage.
The Jade Giant's breathing was evening out at a worrying pace, however, and John could already see that the Hulk was standing steadier on his feet.
John meanwhile was getting tired. Only yesterday had he fought Thor in a no-holds-barred slugfest, and while he had been the winner U.K.O. (Unconventional Knock-Out), it had still wore him out. A lot. And now he was fighting the Hulk, trying to go all out while at the same time trying to not accidentally kill his friend's alter ego.
'Shit, this is getting nowhere. I'm gonna need to change tactics. But how?' John thought, now standing straight himself.
The Hulk let out a challengin roar that rattled John's bones and bounded towards him with great strides, each step shattering the ground. Preparing himself, John slid into a low stance that for some reason felt familiar, though he couldn't tell why, having no memory of ever using it before.
Pushing the frustrating thought out of his mind, John narrowed his eyes and closely watched his adversary. The Hulk was now almost upon him, having pushed off and flying through the air, one massive fist pulled back in order to deliver a brutal punch to John's face.
Again.
'Guess he's isn't too bright, huh?' John thought to himself, before ducking down at the last possible moment, the Hulk's fist passing mere inches above his head.
Twisting, John pulled back one fist as the Hulk sailed overhead, waiting until his belly was right above him. Then his fist shot out, backed by him straightening his entire body, putting all of his strength in the attack.
While underneath his feet, the earth cracked in a spider-web pattern, his fist buried itself deep into the Hulk's stomach, the green flesh around it rippling in an odd wave pattern. The Hulk let out a strangled sort of gasp, before he shot up straight into the sky, moving at near supersonic speeds as the air was displaced in great gales of wind.
John squinted his eyes, his sunglasses long since crushed and discarded, following the form of the Hulk as it kept on getting smaller and smaller as it travelled upwards.
'Come on, think John! What would Steve do?! What would Ray do-'
Right then, he had a sort of epiphany. Because high up in the sky, barely even visible, was the moon. With a gigantic heart painted on it.
A grin formed on John's face, before he blasted off, leaving a shattering sonic boom in his wake, ripping the pitiful remains of at once had been nice, idyllic farmland to pieces in his powerful take-off. He quickly closed in on the airborne Hulk, who was gripping at his stomach with a pained expression on his face. It was immediately replaced by one of utter hate, though, the moment he saw John approaching.
Nimbly avoiding the Hulk's flailing arms, John vaulted over the green behemoth, settling himself on his shoulder, slinging both arms across the Jade Giant's massively thick neck. Bracing himself, John took off once more, with a yell of effort that managed to match the roar of rage from the Hulk.
In moments they had passed the limping Helicarrier, and shot even further upwards, towards the clouds. John felt worry gnawing inside of his chest, but forged on, knowing that letting the Hulk loose while he was in such a mindless state would be even worse than whatever fate awaited the crippled S.H.I.E.L.D. base.
Soon after, they shot through the clouds, leaving a trail of vapour behind them as they flew even higher than the veil of mist behind them. John could feel the Hulk still a little underneath his arms, apparently taken aback by the peaceful scenery as they stared at the sea of fluffy white in near-silence, the ruffling of the wind the only sound this high up. While John could sympathize, he couldn't stop and admire the impressive view, and poured on even more speed.
By now, the air was getting noticeably thinner, as the sky turned from a light-blue to an inky black. John could see the earth start to curve at the edges, while the entire continent of North-America started to get smaller and smaller. Around them, the friction of them leaving the atmosphere lit up the air surrounding them in a yellow-reddish glow, while the temperature began to skyrocket.
The Hulk noticed as well, since his struggles continued with even greater desperation, the primal mind of the rage monster apparently recognizing just how far up they were.
And how much further John intended to go.
'Bruce, for your sake, I really hope the Other Guy can survive space.' John thought to himself, closing his eyes against the white-hot glow of the atmosphere burning up around them.
All sound, a keening combination of a wail and roar that had continued to grow increasingly louder, suddenly cut off completely, along with the Hulk's roars of rage, as the glow started to fade away.
Cautiously opening his eyes, John grinned as he saw the Earth spinning away underneath them; they had managed to leave its atmosphere and were now in space. Quickly checking if the Hulk was still alive, John gave an inaudible sigh of relief as he saw the behemoth's bloodshot eyes flicker around in fear.
Not wasting a moment, John shot off for the final leg of their journey, flying past satellites and the odd space station at impossibly fast speeds. Without any air-resistance slowing him down, John's immense speed was increased even further, and soon the Earth began to rapidly shrink behind them.
Meanwhile the moon was steadily getting larger.
It took maybe all of fifteen minutes before John reached the moon, though it felt longer, due to worry not only for Steve and the others on the damaged Helicarrier, but for the Hulk as well; the Other Guy's struggles had begun to progressively weaken the longer they remained in the harsh environment of space.
'Hold on Bruce. Just a little longer.'
By now, the moon had almost filled John's entire view; it wouldn't be long before they would reach the surface. Putting on a final burst of speed, John led out a silent yell of effort, before twisting his body and letting go of the Hulk, throwing the Other Guy much like an Olympian would perform a hammer throw.
Though they usually didn't send 8 foot tall rage monsters hurtling through space at the moon.
As low as he was, well within the moon's thin atmosphere in fact, John could see the Hulk's body smash through the top of a mountain, sheering it off completely, before making several ground-shaking impacts on the pock-marked surface of the moon.
Gently floating down towards the final crater the Hulk's body had added to the moon, obscured by a cloud of grey dust, John tried calling out to the green ragemonster.
"Hulk?! Buddie?! You okay man?!"
…
"Hulk?! Bruce?!"
"GRAAAAHH!"
John's eyes widened in shock as a car-sized boulder was sent flying from the dust cloud, missing him only because he managed to drop down several feet at the very last moment, making the rock fly harmlessly overhead.
Well, when I say harmless, I mean that nobody actually got harmed.
Though the now significantly damaged mountain behind John would probably beg to differ.
"Allright, allright, I see that you got some issues, so I'll-"
"GRAAAAAHHH!"
Another boulder, this one even larger than the last, which John had to dodge by rapidly dodging to the left, letting the enormous rock sail by without being hit by it, though the wake its passing created merely sent him spinning to the ground.
"-right, imma leave you alone for now, alright? Just, you know, to let you cool off. Okay? Whoa!"
This time it wasn't a moon-rock John had to dodge, but the Hulk himself, having jumped out of the crater, blasting away all of the dust with the sheer force of his take-off. Quickly grabbing one arm the size of a tree trunk with both hands, John preformed another hammer throw, hurling the Hulk back towards the ground.
The Hulk managed to land safely on his feet though, shattering the ground underneath with the sheer force of the impact and stared back up at John, letting out a rage-fuelled roar. John floated upwards a little, giving his friend's alter ego a pained look.
"Just hang tight, big guy. I promise I'll come get you after this mess is sorted out, allright? Just… just try and cool off, okay?"
Getting only another roar as an answer, John sighed, before looking back towards the Earth up ahead, the blue planet no larger than a basketball at this point. Frowning, John set his mouth in a firm line, before shooting off towards the Earth, leaving the moon and the roaring Hulk behind him.
His other friends still needed him after all.
Loki sat on the cot inside the glass cage, elbows resting on his knees and hands clenched together. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Agent Coulson, who stood at attention outside of the open door to the prison, though his back was turned to the God of Lies.
The human spy had been filled with a giddy energy after Thor had run off to assist Iron Man in keeping this flying fortress in the sky, clearly itching to use his humongous humming and glowing weapon, despite admitting he wasn't really sure what it even did.
However, that excitement had died down after it appeared that they wouldn't be getting any unwanted visitors any time soon, most of the attacking forces either making their way towards the command deck, where Nick Fury and Maria Hill were making their stand, or were held up by Captain America, who was now engaging what seemed to be half of the enemy forces on his own.
And winning, apparently.
Instead, Agent Coulson had silently taken up his guard post after Loki had made his way back into the glass prison, a bland smile still on his non-descript features. After about ten minutes of this, Loki had enough, and finally spat out the question that had been nagging at him ever since this man had vowed to keep him safe.
"Why?"
Not turning around, the spy replied in his usual polite tone, appearing unbothered by the fact he was speaking to a murderous god while carrying a monstrosity of glowing and humming parts of which he didn't know the exact function.
"Why what? Could you clarify please?"
"Why do you wish to keep me safe?" Loki spat, though he was somewhat ashamed to admit that he was glad the spy wasn't looking in his direction right now.
The only person to have seen him in such an agitated state before had been his mother in his youth, and his father and brother during those final, horrible moments on the Bifrost.
Both hadn't ended very well for him.
"It's in my job description. It's what I do. It's what S.H.I.E.L.D. does." Came the reply, the agent's tone still a bland and polite, though there was a conviction in the man's face that took Loki by surprise.
"I'm a criminal." Loki said tiredly, surprising himself by saying it out loud. He hadn't really meant for that to happen.
The spy simply chuckled warmly.
"I have some experience with criminals. They usually turn out to be less bad than most people think. Themselves included."
Finally, the agent glanced over his shoulder, taking in Loki's battered, tired form, though there was an odd warmth in the man's gaze.
"You could say I have some, affinity, for strays."
Loki frowned at the words.
"The assassin and the bowman."
It wasn't a question. Both knew how Loki managed to gain that information, and neither one of them really wanted to talk about it. So instead, Coulson simply nodded, a fond smile on his face.
"The assassin and the bowman," he agreed, "though they go by Black Widow and Hawkeye now."
"And the fact that I… harmed your Hawkeye, it doesn't fill you with hate against me? Or my other… deeds?"
At this, Coulson shrugged, making the massive monstrosity in his hands heave uncomfortably up and down. Loki swallowed a gulp.
"At first, yes. While I didn't know any of the victims of your arrival on a personal level, they were still my colleagues. Not to mention you had taken control of Hawkeye, one of my Wards, which would almost inevitably bring him into conflict with Black Widow, my other Ward."
Again, the spy glanced back over his shoulder at Loki, though the god could now easily see the hidden steel in the man's gaze.
"They both have had rather unfortunate lives up until now, and have largely each other to thank for it being better now than it used to be. So you can imagine the kind of fall-out this will have, emotionally and otherwise, for the both of them."
Loki winced, trying and failing to not let it show, before forcing himself to continue, finding that he was filled with a need to know, to understand this mysterious human, this mortal that defied everything that Loki had thought he knew from his time in Asgard and… afterwards.
"Then why do you not hate me? My ledger is flowing with red, Agent Coulson."
Hearing the man chuckle, Loki's eyes shot upwards, expecting to find a look of derision sent his way, like his father, and brother, and the friends of his brother had done for millenia now, anger quickly and eagerly blooming in his bruised chest, poison ready to spit from his lips. However, he was surprised when he saw that the Agent wasn't looking at him with a sneer or even pity.
Instead, there was… understanding?
"So is that of Natasha. And Clint's wasn't exactly clean to begin with. None of ours are, here at S.H.I.E.L.D. We try to be the good guys, by fighting the bad guys, but sometimes, the only way to do that is to do some pretty bad things." The spy said sadly, obviously regretting that part of his life.
"So, your, less than stellar, ledger isn't something I haven't seen before. But the real reason why I've stopped hating you is because of what I saw when you and your brother had your talks. Both times, in fact. Of course, Hancock figuring out that you weren't operating on your own power helped-"
"That's not true." Loki whispered, eyes fixed on the noses of his shoes, somehow finding himself unable to look the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent in the eye.
"Oh?" he heard Coulson ask, and was that his imagination, or was the humming of the gun just a little louder now?
Quickly forging on, Loki continued.
"The scepter enforced its malicious will upon me, yes, but it didn't control every action like I was some kind of puppet on strings. It took all of my hate, and all of my pain, and all of my fears and enlarged them, until I couldn't even think straight. Then it pointed me towards Earth, whispering dark, beautiful lies in my ear, promising all that I could ever want, if I would only submit to… to him. And I did." Loki spoke, surprised to find that his voice had an unsteady tremor as he told his tale.
He didn't know why he was spilling his guts to a spy he hardly even knew, but he felt somewhat better now that he had told someone at least. It was as if an invisible weight had been lifted off his shoulders, or an unnoticeable vice released from around his neck.
His hearing picked up the footsteps of the Agent as he stepped into Loki's cell. The God of Lies closed his eyes, accepting what was to come.
'This is it then. This is where I die, where I finally pay for all of my sins. Thor… Mother…. F-father….' Loki thought to himself, a part of him incredulous that he, of all people, he, who had suffered so much already, allowed it to end it all here, but another, significantly larger part of him was... tired.
So monumentally, bone-achingly tired, that honestly, Loki had begun to wonder why he shouldn't let it all end here? Indeed, had he not suffered so much already that he now finally earned his rest? There was no return to Asgard for him, no life awaited him there save one in a cage. His dream of conquering Midgard had revealed itself to be just that; a feverish dream, a spell of the mind. The people of Midgard were too diverse, too violent, too powerful in some cases to wholly subjugate. Search his fortune in space then? He had seen the horrors that lurked there, he had no wish to return to that cold, oppressive void in his lifetime ever again, thank you very much.
No, better to sit on this cot, with its surprisingly comfortable mattress, head bowed in a quiet, yet dignified pose as he awaited the final blow, the final chapter to the Tragedy of Loki the Trickster, Loki of Nowhere.
But the final blow never came. Instead, he felt a warm hand firmly grip his shoulder, giving him a gentle shake. Opening his eyes in confusion, Loki looked Coulson straight in the eye, who was bending over towards him with a serene look on his face.
"It's okay. I forgive you."
'W-What?'
Loki's brain screeched to a halt. Did that just happen? It couldn't have, right? Surely not?
People didn't just do that; you didn't just forgive people, you got even with them. This wasn't just Loki talking, Asgardian history, hell, Midgardian history was filled with examples of it! Odin had been the terror of the galaxy thousands of years ago because of such an attitude, Asgard had thrived and prospered because of it! Being forgiven, by some lowly human, who thought he had the gall to look at him like that, it felt... it felt...
Weird. And nice. Very nice, in fact.
Looking up at the spy with confusion clear on his face, Loki opened his mouth, maybe to give a clever retort? Maybe offer words of gratitude, even? Say a simple thank you, or perhaps something more profound? He would never find out.
As if stuck in slow-motion, he saw over Coulson's shoulder how the door to his room hissed open, three men in S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform running though. Coulson, seeing his attention was focused on something behind him, and probably having heard the hiss of the door, straightened himself and turned around, massive gun at the ready.
However, upon seeing the familiar uniforms, Coulson didn't press the trigger, instead starting to lower the gun. But something felt wrong to Loki, something that itched at the back of his mind. It all clicked when he saw one of the men carrying the damned scepter, while another started to raise his gun.
"Coulson! Watch out!" he yelled, as he sprung up, but it was as if he was stuck underwater, trying to move against the current, his movements slowed and the sound of his voice sounding as if it was muted somehow.
In mounting horror, he saw understanding dawn on Coulson's face, as the spy started to bring the monstrous gun to bear.
He was too late.
Far, far too late.
The guns barked like thunder, releasing bursts of lightning, and before Loki had been able to do as much as move a muscle or take a breath, blood spurted from Coulson's chest, the man thrown against the wall of the prison by the sheer force of the bullets slamming into his body.
Slowly, the Agent's body slid down towards the ground, gargantuan gun still gripped tightly in his hand, leaving an enormous red smear on the glass wall of the cage.
"NO!" Loki yelled, eyes wide in shock.
He found his body moving without input of his mind, saw as he threw himself on Coulson's body, as he started putting his hands on the man's torso, trying to stop the bleeding, but there was just so much of it…
"Damn it all, Coulson! Don't die on me now! Don't you dare let it end here! It didn't for me, and it won't for you!" Loki was cut off in his tirade by the sound of heavy boots hitting metal, which made his head snap up, seeing the three shooters in S.H.I.E.L.D. fatigues peering down at him.
All of them with icy blue eyes.
"Well, this won't do." The one who had pulled the trigger said, his tone flat and emotionless.
"Agreed, the plan must be carried out." The one on the left said, irritation clear in his voice, though it felt… off, somehow. Distant, in an unnatural way.
"The plan must be carried out." The last one echoed, lifting the scepter he held securely in one hand.
Loki was frozen as his green eyes were glued to the softly glowing blue orb in the head of the scepter. He didn't even notice that he had started shaking, his bruised ribs twinging with pain in protest. Even from this distance, he could feel a pressure against his mind, insidious threats and honeyed whispers, tumbling inside his mind in a rush of unintelligible words.
He felt a sheer panic at the damned thing's mere presence, but he felt an even greater fear at himself. Because even now, he could feel part of his mind succumbing to the tantalizing offers of power and glory offered by his instrument.
'And why not? Is it not my due, to be King after all-'
'NO! I refuse! Never again! Please, not again!'
Slowly, the mind-controlled soldier brought the tip of the scepter closer and closer to Loki's chest, appearing as if he was only moving an inch per second. Loki screamed internally at his body, to do something, anything, to just move!
"You will carry out the plan." The scepter wielding soldier said, a twisted grin on his face.
And the scepter was now almost touching his chest, and still his body wouldn't move, by Odin's Beard, why couldn't he move-?!
A sudden explosion slammed into the three soldiers, lifting them clear off their feet and sending them sailing into the far wall of the room, the scepter torn from the mind-controlled mortal's hand and flung to the other side of the room.
Looking back at Coulson with wide eyes and open mouth, Loki saw smoke coming from the now brightly glowing muzzle of the gun, while Coulson himself had a small satisfied smile on his face.
"Ah, so that's what it does."
And then Phil Coulson closed his eyes.
"Coulson!? COULSON!" Loki yelled, his body finally responding to his will again.
"Don't you dare die on me Coulson. I won't let you! I am a god, if I say that you'll live, you're going to live you upstart mortal, you understand?! Come ON!" Loki yelled, his hands coming alive with a golden-green glow as he pressed them against the wounds that littered the spy's body.
Hearing the doors hiss open once more, Loki glanced up in alarm, only to slightly relax when he saw Captain America stand there. The Captain quickly glanced around the room, famous shield at the ready, before his eyes landed on Coulson's bloodied form.
All the colour drained from the soldier's face, before he shot a suspicious glare at Loki. Loki, however, didn't really have any time to care about that.
"What are you standing around there for, you fool! Get me a medic! NOW!" he yelled.
He turned back to Coulson's bloodied form, missing how Captain America's eyes widened in surprise, before finally noticing the crumpled forms of the S.H.I.E.L.D. clad attackers. Mouth pressed into a thin line, the supersoldier turned around and ran off, trying to get help.
Loki didn't see any of this, magic draining from his hands into Coulson's damaged body, leaving him shaking and sweating, every single muscle screaming at him in protest as they were taxed far beyond what they had endured ever before, his travels from the Bifrost to here having left a harsh toll on his abused body which he felt even now. He didn't care though. He simply gritted his teeth, and poured even more magic in the mortal's body, beads of sweat forming on his brow.
"Come on Coulson! Just hold on!"
The soft hum of the lights overhead was his only answer.
"Please hold on…"
AN: In my original chapter, Loki was way to OOC (even crying and hugging at one point) so I edited that all out, though I then found that as a result of that, Coulson's and Loki's bond was a lot less believable. So I tried to make sure that it came through that Loki was at just about his lowest point, both physically and emotionally. At that point, he can't help but lean on Coulson, with his steady calm presence, no matter how reluctantly. I'm not really sure how well that came through, or even how believable that is, so please let me know.
Fun Fact: Darth Vader was inspired by Marvels Dr. Doom.
