Please tell me of any mistakes, I was so engaged in writing this that i rushed and have no Beta. I'm not someone who usually enjoys their own stuff so soon after writing it, but i'm also too impatient to wait. I'll read it back later and make edits, but for now, point anything out that really bugs you.

I own nothing from MCU or MARVEL. Rating is really becoming an M now.

Chapter 9 - The War. Enjoy!

Throwing her blade sharply to the left, Aria cringed as the beast cried out and fell down. She just managed to miss a beam aimed towards her, kicking out the balance of a beast creeping up on Natasha.

A loud roar could be heard from above them as Bruce, through the Hulk, slammed six of them in one go and launched himself on-top of the larger creatures, Thor flying after him.

"Natasha, head West more. Aria more North, keep the perimeter around us clear" Cap ordered, his shield whizzing past Aria's head to prove he had the room to reach her current segment easily.

"If she get's hurt-" Tony started, his voice crackling a little from the distance.

"Shut up Tony" Aria huffed, sweat trickling down her spine and causing her to shiver uncomfortably.

"Nicely said" Natasha laughed through the ear-piece, physically shoving an injured creature Aria's way to deliver the final blow. She fit in the team like a glove.

For how long?

She stumbled tensely, before pushing his voice aside and continuing her assault on the vermin attacking her home.

I use great power talking to you from this distance.

Should I be honoured?

Aria wished her thoughts could properly portray her contempt at his existence.

Not yet, but you will be, little bird.

Ignoring the patronising tone, Aria was forcefully brought back into reality as one of the beasts sliced her arm open, blood splattering over her leggings.

"Aria!" Natasha cried, Steve's shield beating her to the punch.

"What happened?!" Tony rushed, his suit appearing in the distance.

"Keep the perimeter, i'm okay" Aria assured them, waiting for his reluctant figure to fly away again.

"Go help some people escape the buildings, take out any on the group outskirts" Steve changed her position, while she flashed a grateful smile.

Aria wanted to help, and was glad she wasn't being forced into uselessly fighting, but also not made to sit around and watch the city be snatched from them.

Taking off into the subway below, she cut through towards buildings further out, while avoiding the main havoc on the surface. Only a couple of the opposition had delved this far, making for a few easy take downs, even with her pained arm.

The blood was dripping down towards her wrist, however, when it reached the elegantly carved letter, the blood burnt into the wound.

She cried out, stumbling into the wall.

What are you doing?

Aria hated the idea of reaching out to him, but the pain was blinding her. Every time blood reached the offensive 'L', it caused an immense amount of agony to wrack her body.

Teaching you.

Arrogant bastard, she thought to herself, partially hoping her could read that, but feeling reassured he couldn't just plainly read her mind when she received no further quip.

Gritting through the pain, she town at her shirt, using her blade to release the right length material. Debating for a moment, she decided to wrap it around the 'L' instead of the wound, knowing it would stop bleeding soon, but anything else touching the letter would continue to cause pain.

Appearing on the surface, the buildings looked less destroyed than the centre street the others were in with her earlier. A car horn was blaring annoyingly down the road, glass from the windows lining the sky above the street coated the floor, a few bodies or splatters of blood were also evident. No war was without innocents lost, but she was determined to make these the last she saw.

Looking around, she thought she caught a flicker of a shadow on the higher floors of the one of the skyscrapers. Heading in that direction, Aria could make out Clint a few building back. He was evidently skilled, but Aria was curious what his abilities were once the arrows ran out. If he knew Natasha well, hopefully they shared fighting lessons.

"I've got him" Barton calls, Aria watching as Natasha flies away on one of the chariots, Loki directly behind her.

Releasing the arrow, Aria hopefully watches as it presumably flies towards Loki. However, no body falls. He must have missed or caught it. Revealed seconds later, Loki is flown off his ride from the arrows explosion and falls into Stark Tower again.

Aria heads closer, watching Natasha land on the roof of her home. Glancing past one of the windows, Aria notices a person standing by the edge, banging against the glass.

"You've got to be kidding" she mutters, making a rash decision to help the figure. If some person stayed behind, perhaps others did.

Knowing the ins and outs of the building that had housed her for most of her life, Aria decided to take the car park entrance and sneak up through the main lobby to reach the office staircase around the right.

Chances was it was one of Tony's business associates or the cleaner he hired the other month when Pepper decided to go on holiday and the place was left a tip.

She slipped through the driveway, disappearing inside.

Her entrance illuminated all the cars, while Dummy: Skyscraper Edition roared to life and knocked a stack of paper over.

"JARVIS, shut everything down in here" she order whispered, waiting as he did so. "Thanks"

Creeping up the staircase, Aria cursed Tony for making such a stylish skyscraper, and not being practical. Decorative glass lights lit up as she walked by, JARVIS quickly shutting everything down as she went. He couldn't deactivate everything, it would be too obvious someone was inside.

Observing the floor Loki had fallen into, she saw no one inside and breathed a sigh of relief, rushing towards the service staircase that would lead her to the other floors and rooms, instead of Tony being stupidly full of himself enough to have his own personal access to his own floors.

Reaching the door to the staircase, Aria sagged with frustration of the door refused to open.

"I'd rather speak up here"

Aria straightened her back and spun into defence position facing him.

"No need to be aggressive, I just request an innocent conversation" Loki smirked towards her, his Sceptre and Helmet no longer on him.

"Innocent?" She questioned, lowering her hands only slightly.

Loki pressed a hand over his heart, yet it did nothing to lower her suspicion.

"How are you liking playing Hero among the others?" He enticed her, moving away from her to give off the impression of a safe distance.

Aria took the bait, and shuffled further into the space, not liking the idea of being corner by a locked door.

"If you can play Villain" she sung, heading towards the staircase.

"I'd rather you sat over here" the treat wasn't concealed as he indicated to one of the bar stools.

Deciding to humour the God for a while, she pressed the speaker of her ear piece while sitting.

"Sorry, my bird, but that won't be working for a little while" Loki shrugged, standing a few metres in front of her.

Not wasting time with the aching device, she disconnected the wire, letting the piece dangle across her shoulder.

"You're losing" she started, taking on the same confident persona Tony had only an hour or so earlier.

"I am?" He acted shocked, his humour slipping through, which didn't present itself as a good sign to Aria. "Well, I'd better get things really rolling."

Indicating to the smashed gap that was a window, Aria gasped and stumbled forwards as more creatures, double the amount from earlier, poured through the portal.

Loki strolled up behind her silently, before placing a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to stare at the turmoil, chaos and destruction below.

Aria had seen this all before, and when Loki squeezed her shoulder tightly, she tugged herself away from his touch.

"Don't come near me" She spat, fumbling over an upturned table.

"You'll learn never to defy me, Aria" Loki ground out, his eyes flashing with a darkness she hadn't seen before, a sinister, possessive and manipulative gaze.

This had all been a show, she realised.

"We're fools" she whispered, looking away with anguish. "We listened to Thor tell his childhood stories, and fell straight under the temperamental boy, desperate for acceptance. But it is so much more"

"Clever girl" Loki praised, sitting on the steps leading to the balcony. "I've been harbouring this plan for centuries, waiting for the right moment to collect my price, this World"

"Asgard rules the Kingdoms and Worlds, they would just let you destroy Midgard for your own personal gain?" Aria questioned, glaring sharply at him.

Loki enjoyed hearing her knowledge of his upbringing and terminology, assessing further who she really was.

"Odin would never intervene with another World unless absolutely necessary. He may despise me as a son" Loki's voice grew harsher over the words, his posture tensing, "But if he sees the whole of his World in no immediate danger, then he will not indulge himself with becoming the Hero."

Aria nodded hopelessly, eyes watering pathetically.

"All I need to do is rule, as I've been raised too my whole life, and Odin will not be able to stop me even if he wanted too. The other Worlds wouldn't accept him playing favourites, as he's ignored some of their crisis' as they were not dire enough"

"He sounds charming" she muttered, ignoring the other figure nod and smirk at her accurate sarcastic assessment of his 'father'.

"If the King of the Kingdoms can't even stop me, how do a ragtag collection of Midgards most 'mightiest' intend too" he concluded, rising again.

"Because we have something to lose, that anything not from here does not" Aria spoke heatedly, stepping closer with more ferocity.

"You will lose something. But you, Aria, you will lose the most" Loki matched her steps, until they were only inches apart, Aria now struck by his tall, sharp and intimidating he really was in comparison to her minute, shaking and human form. "For you will lose your home, your only family and your freedom"

Lashing out, he gripping her wrist painfully, ignorant to her cries, as he tugged the material away from her blood coated arm. Purposely digging his fingers into her earlier world, she let out a pain filled hiss, struggling uselessly against his otherworldly strength.

"Fight me if you must for now, but i will always own you now, my little bird. And how i will make you sing from your new cage" he whispered darkly in her ear, his breath searing the skin.

"I'll fight every day of my life, you won't ever take me" she promised back, feeling his lips tilt into a smirk against her cheek.

"How the mighty shall fall, if they haven't already" Loki muttered knowingly.

The earpiece burst to life, shouts and harsh voices startling her.

Loki moved away from her confidently, letting her reattach the technology, trying to catch up on all the voices.

"Bruce has disappeared, one of the Leviathan creatures carried him away."

"Has anyone seen Aria?"

"My shoulder is busted, one of the creatures took a chunk"

"Barton is still unresponsive"

"No," she gasped, looking incredulously at the back of the God, "Don't do this."

He spun back towards, backing her up quickly against the bar.

"I can, and I have" he snarled, "Never presume to order me around again. This is the only warning you'll get"

"Innocent people are dying! You have to end this!" she screamed at him, eyes flaring.

The look she saw just before it happened froze time. His mouth snarled downwards as he breathed in hastily, flashing his teeth venomously, while his eyes narrowed and became overwhelmed by a dark rage, tinting slightly red symbolising his true birth.

His hand whipped from his side and backhanded her violently across the floor. Aria sliced through shards of glass, her legs and arms ripping open, a small slice along her cheek. The stinging started instantly as her eyes watered and drooped slightly. Her back slammed painfully into the steps, bruising already flaring around her spine and lower body.

Struggling to her feet, Aria's body was weak. Loki had the Gods strength, and they both knew he only accessed a small percentage of it in that meaningless slap. The first of her punishments, she couldn't let herself fall victim to this on a regular basis, it would break her eventually.

"My magic can only so much in making an example" he explained nonchalantly, letting her get up alone.

Aria's cheek was aflame, her right eye clouded slightly. She could feel multiple trickles of blood inch down her body, but she was determined to get out of her alive and free.

Standing as straight as she could, pushing through the excruciating pain, Aria stared directly into the emeralds eyes of the true Beast in front of her. She watched as he copied her stance, losing the bored and relaxed element he had during their conversation, hardening his power and body.

With the smallest tilt of his lips, he invited her to give it her best shot. And she intended to do just that.

Well, this chapter became a surprise to me honestly. I started writing Chapter 8 and felt i hadn't achieved what i really wanted with this story today, but knew it was important to establish a linear with my narrative and the intended film plot. Therefore, my creative quota was not filled personally, and this chapter appeared.
I'd like to think my version of characters are starting to come through now, and the twist in the direction my narrative will take. It was nice being able to lose myself in writing again, i haven't been this engrossed in my own imagination for a while, so it means a lot to get so much out of my own state of mine.

Review, follow, favourite, message, anything you can, i appreciate the support and everything i've received so far.

Thanks, Tayz x