Part 11
The five Avengers fell back into a circle, facing outward in all directions, back to back. They were all fighters; they knew basic strategy. And as they watched hundreds of girls appear and arrange themselves around the courtyard, strategy told them that back to back was the only option. One thing was clear: over the course of less than a minute, their situation had changed from an opportunity to protect hostages to something far more sinister.
An ambush. Surrounded and outnumbered.
There were girls everywhere. The loud, yelling one on the roof had been joined by nearly fifty other archers. Like her, they had been crouching down behind the short walls on top of the walkways. Now each one of them was nocking a lethal-looking arrow on a bow as they stood up, lining the courtyard from above on all sides.
On ground level, girls poured in through all entrances, the first group of them carrying long spears that vaguely resembled track-and-field javelins, others behind brandishing all sorts of impromptu weapons – softball bats, curtain rods and other clubs and staffs of various sizes. They fanned out and formed a huge ring, filling the walkways beneath the archers and blocking all entrances. The spear-carriers stood in front, the line of them bristling with sharp points to discourage any ideas of escape. The rest of the girls stood behind, reinforcing the spear line and looking threatening.
Finally, up on the stage behind Loki and his scepter-throwing assistant, the hostages stood up as well. The ropes tying their hands together shimmered and disappeared, nothing more than illusions. Each of the ex-hostages reached up and grabbed one of the weapons floating above them. The kitchen knives and shards of glass became long swords and short sharp daggers in their hands. All two hundred of them stood at a loose attention, determination behind their eyes.
The first girl on stage raised her sword again. "For Loki!" she yelled.
The answering roar was deafening. "For Loki!" Nearly a thousand voices cried out all at once, raising weapons of all kinds high into the air. The Avengers walked slowly, turning their defensive circle as they warily regarded the army around them.
"Okay," Tony said through his helmet. "I'll admit, I didn't see that one coming."
"There is something seriously wrong with this school." Natasha said quietly.
"Stay calm, everyone." Steve said.
On stage, Loki raised a hand and the shouting died down. "Perhaps," he said, addressing the heroes below him. "You would like to reconsider my offer? As I would hope is now apparent to you, I once again have an army, and you seem to be lacking your Hulk."
"They are rather young for an army, Brother." Thor said, concerned.
"Hey!" The loud girl called from the roof. "I turned 18 last month, Thundercat! I'm a legal adult. Not all of us have millennia to do something meaningful with our lives, Mr. I-Live-For-Thousands-Of-Years-because-I'm-Asgardian. 'Kay? Don't tell me I'm too young!"
"Xandra." The leader on stage said flatly. "You're ruining the moment."
"I don't ruin moments, Anna. I enhance them." Xandra relaxed her draw and lowered her bow, falling into the same ready position as the other archers around her. They kept the arrows nocked and looked ready to draw back and take aim at any moment.
"Don't mess with this moment. I was handcuffed, cut with glass, and more than a little bit emotionally abused for this moment." Anna gave Loki a pointed look. He raised an eyebrow and smiled back, smugly unrepentant. She pointed to her cheek. "Did I mention cut? Wounded?"
Xandra pointed a finger. "You got to be held in Loki's arms for a quarter of an hour. You've lost the right to complain about pretty much everything for the rest of your life."
"That has… You…" Anna stuttered, her mouth dropping open as she glanced over at Loki nervously. He turned toward her and raised a questioning eyebrow. When his eyes met hers, she turned quickly in embarrassment, trying to hide the bright blush spreading across her face. Her friend on the roof laughed loudly.
"I'm with Tasha." Clint said, looking between the two girls and the other Avengers. "This school is crazy."
"Crazy, yes." Tony said, his armor clinking as he turned. "But an army, no. Thor's right. A bunch of girls with pointy sticks aren't really much of a threat to us. Why are we still listening to this? Let's grab Loki, get back to New York, and make sure that we double-tie his knots this time."
"Hey! Not much of a threat?" Xandra said. She raised her arm, and the archers on the roof lifted their bows and took aim. "Make a move, soda can. I dare you."
"Stark." Steve said. "Back down. Loki's a negotiator. Let's try to settle this without a fight."
"You scared, Cap?" Tony asked.
"Hey, Stark," Clint said. "Not all of us are wearing bulletproof armor. And most of the archers seem to know what they're doing with those bows. Fifty arrows versus five of us, not to mention the other thousand sharp points they've got trained on us right now. I don't really like the look of those odds, Stark."
"Regardless," Steve said firmly, looking quickly at the team before turning back to keep an eye on the enemies around them. "We're not fighting a group of teenage girls. It's not right."
"How chivalrous." Loki said, laughing lightly. "That old-fashioned sense of honor will get you killed some day, Captain."
The soldier looked up, meeting Loki's amused eyes. "Then I'll die an honorable death."
"There is no such thing." Loki said, his expression growing dark. "Honor is but a word. It rests not with the living and is of no use to the dead."
"Rogers," Natasha said. "I'm with Stark on this one. We can't let Loki get away – teenage girls or not."
He glanced at her, insistent. "Look, I'm not going to-"
"Listen to me." She said, cutting him off. "I've killed men because they did the exact thing you're doing right now. The fact that I was a woman made them hesitate, and I used that. I'm not about to let you make the same mistake they did.
"These girls do not need your protection. They're armed. They're threatening us with violence. And they're old enough to understand the choice they've made. If they've decided to side with him, they don't need or deserve your mercy, especially not just because they're female. Trust me. Loki's playing against your weaknesses, like he's done with all of us. Make the call. Do what needs to be done, Captain."
"I must disagree. I cannot believe attacking is the right course." Thor said solemnly. "My brother can be incredibly persuasive-"
"Yeah. He's a real charmer." Natasha muttered.
"-and we cannot hold these young girls' actions against them." Thor continued, ignoring the interruption. "I admire their bravery to stand as they do. If compassion for my brother's situation is their crime, I am as guilty as they."
"You're not pointing a spear at us, Thor." Clint said. "It's a bit different."
"Yes, but I can understand why they have chosen this all too well." Thor said. "Our difference lies in that they are simply too young to understand what is best for him."
"What's best for him?" The leader on stage said, stepping forward forcefully. There was a fire in her eyes. "Or what's best for you, Thor? Is returning to Asgard in chains – humiliated and degraded, to be locked away in the dungeons for ages – really what would be best for him? And do you honestly believe you're more suited to make that call than he is?"
"My brother is… confused." Thor said trying to defend himself. "He does not see-"
"No." She cut him off, shaking her head. The embarrassed, blushing girl from before was gone completely. In her place stood a confident leader, speaking with conviction. "I can see it in your eyes and hear it in the way you speak. You've got this idea in your head that if you take him back, somehow, eventually, things are going to go back to the way they were. All will be forgiven and you can be one happy family again."
She looked over at Loki, who seemed surprised and somewhat taken aback by her defense of him. Though she continued to address Thor, her eyes stayed locked on Loki. "Can't you see? He's different now. No matter what you do, things aren't going to be the same. It's not that easy. Life's not that easy. I'm mean, you know what it's like to have your world torn away; you better than most, Thor.
"But the difference is this: you got it all back. Your family, your friends, your home; everything went back to the way it was for you." She paused, looking down, her voice growing soft. "He hasn't gotten it back. He isn't going to. You see, the world he thought he knew was a lie. He didn't just lose everything.
"None of it was ever even his to begin with."
When she looked back up, she met Steve's eyes and her voice was steady. "You should listen to Natasha. She's right. We knew what we were getting into when we picked up these weapons. We've made our choice." She raised her sword, pointing to the group of heroes with the point. "Now it's time to make yours. Surrender and give up the tesseract or face the consequences. I'll ask one more time. Do you concede?"
The Avengers glanced at each other, each of them nodding to the others in turn. They all knew what they needed to do. There would be no surrender. As they prepared to fight, Steve hefted his shield, staring down the length of the sword to meet the hard eyes of the girl at the front of the stage.
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, however he was interrupted as static sounded in each of their earpieces, followed by a familiar voice.
"Uh, guys." Dr. Banner's shaky voice came over the radio clearly. "We might have a problem out here."
"Banner!" Tony said. "He's still back at the jet!"
The other four looking at each other, alarmed.
"The tesseract!"