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"This isn't exactly what I was expecting," Loki muttered to Dr. Doom. The seemingly endless rows of the ancient alien race stood before them, all identical. Each held either a blaster gun or a high-tech crossbow system. The grass whispered in the wind by their feet as the moon shone brightly from above.
Loki had come to dread the times when they made the journey to the stretching field where they had first retrieved Schmidt from the galaxies. Schmidt himself was standing a slight distance away, admiring the outcome of their work. The machines were in place and even from this distance, Loki could hear the hum of the Tesseract as it sat atop its stand. The multicolored lights of the Bifrost had long since disappeared into the darkness.
"This couldn't have turned out any better, my friend," Doom said darkly. His metal suit glistened as the full moon reflected off of it. Loki's emerald cape billowed out behind him as the breeze picked up. "Just watch."
Doom took a step forward as Loki took an equal sized step back. The way the Skrulls stared so vehemently back at him made him wary. Trust levels for the shape-shifting species were low in Loki's mind.
"Welcome!" Doom greeted, voice booming out from behind his mask. As if they were one body, the entirety of the Skrulls nodded sharply in synchronization. Loki repressed a nervous shudder. "We have brought you here tonight to assist in the conquering of the mortal world and to share in the glory it will surely bring. I have been in contact with your leaders these past months, and we have agreed that our time to win has arrived."
Loki shifted his weight from foot to foot as he listened to Doom's speech. As helpful as the man had been in Loki's attempt to rule Midgard had been, Doom was coming across as more of a psychopath each day.
"We beings from other worlds have been written off as myths and legends," Doom continued. "The human race does not recognize the good we have done for them in everything they accomplish. This is not right. We are here to put them in their place. They should worship and fear us, not scoff at the thought that we truly exist."
'What was Doom talking about?' Loki wondered. He was speaking as if he was a supernatural creation as well, when he was nothing more than a man himself. Loki shook his head and continued listening.
"Our goal is simple," Dr. Doom called out. "We will destroy New York City and everything that stands in our way. Our greatest enemies are no match for the numbers our army will add up to. The Avengers will be defeated in a heartbeat, and the world will be ours to take."
Loki swallowed painfully at the talk of destroying the Avengers. His own brother was a part of that team.
He cleared his head. No, no. He had no brother. Not anymore. Thor meant nothing to him, nothing at all. Yes, the Avenger Initiative would fall as quickly as Manhattan would once they attacked.
"We will invade the city in one week's time. Prepare for the greatest battle Earth will ever see. Prepare to extract revenge on the mortals. Prepare to win," Doom finished with a flourish. The first row of aliens face's contorted into a sickening sneer and like a wave in a pond, it rippled out until each Skrull wore a matching grin.
The sight was eerie, unnatural, and irregular. It made the god of mischief's heart tighten. He knew then that no matter how convinced Dr. Doom was that they could manipulate these creatures, there was room for fault. There always was.
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The buzzer on my pager went off, rattling shrilly against the wooden surface on which it sat. I blinked, setting my book aside, and snatched it off the table. A little window popped up as I pressed the main button.
"Avengers to meeting room, ASAP," the message read. I tossed the device back on the nightstand and slid out of my warm bed. There was more thunder tonight. It was the reason I was still awake at midnight, reading a book.
I quickly changed into my uniform and slipped the coin into my dress pocket. I bent down, laced up my sandals, and headed out the door.
I met Tony in the hallway and he fell to my side, matching my pace. The walk to the meeting room was spent in silence. A grim look settled on Tony's face as we drew ever nearer to the room. It almost made me want to ask him what exactly this spontaneous meeting was all about. I changed my mind when I noticed how tightly his lips were pressed together. He was clearly in deep thought and I didn't want to disturb him. I looked away and we continued our trek.
Tony and I were the first to arrive, besides Thor. The god of thunder was sitting despondently in his chair, blue eyes glinting with a nervous light. His face was paler than I had ever seen and he seemed more restless than usual. The blonde hair he was so fond of fell messily down his shoulders, waving in unnatural patterns as if he had just woken up.
I took my designated chair as Natasha and Clint entered the spacious room. Clint appeared almost bored, while Natasha shot me a fierce glare. I sighed and dropped my gaze. They too fell into their seats.
Steve and Bruce were the last to show. Steve looked as dignified and as serious as ever- a natural born leader. He held his chest out and walked like he knew exactly what he was doing. Bruce was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, yawning every now and then.
From a doorway to the left entered Nick Fury, dressed in his usual floor-length black duster and matching eye-patch. His one good eye was intimidating as it glanced about the room. He cleared his throat.
"Glad to see you all made it. I assume you're wondering why we are here so early in the morning and… Well, I'd like to ask the same question. We were called to this meeting by Thor. Thor, if you would please begin?" Fury said and sat down at the head of the table, folding his arms in front of him and leaning back in his chair.
Thor gave an audible sigh and stood, towering over the rest of us.
"The Skrulls have invaded." His voice echoed throughout the room.
"Uh... Who?" Clint asked, eyebrows raised speculatively.
"The Skrulls are an ancient shape-shifting race of aliens that hold a particular grudge against Asgard and Midgard," he explained. "They are back."
"I see. And what do you propose we do about it?" Clint said, absently fiddling with a stray arrowhead that he had pulled out of his pocket.
"Stop them," Thor said as if it should be obvious. "They are under the control of my brother now. He has his army."
A nervous titter ran throughout the room. I blinked and glanced down. Loki. It seemed as if every problem related back to him. My heart filled with a strange heaviness.
"I saw all of this- the arrival, the welcoming, the plan- all of it in a vision while I was sleeping," the blonde man continued, a scowl forming on his face.
"Are you sure it wasn't just a dream?" Natasha smirked.
"Yes, I am sure." His glower deepened. "I know this was true. Loki formed a link through my mind many centuries ago. It enabled us to communicate through thoughts. We have not used it in years. I believed it had closed permanently. And somehow... It reopened tonight."
Steve exchanged a glance with Tony. Tony nodded at him and Steve stood up as well, his height almost matching Thor's.
"We need a plan then. When and where will they attack first?" he spoke. His deep voice was gentle, yet commanding.
"We have a week. One week until they attack Manhattan," Thor announced and he collapsed in his chair, holding his head in his hands.
"We better get to work then," Steve said grimly. The rest of us nodded and murmured our consent. "We'll need a battle strategy."
"Ande and Thor," Tony said suddenly. I looked up in surprise. He shrugged. "Isn't Athena the goddess of strategy or something? And Thor knows Loki better than anyone-"
"Hardly," Thor cut in bitterly.
"You still fought with him for years, right? You have to know some of his tactics, at least," Tony urged.
"I suppose you're right..." Thor muttered, sighing. Across from me, Bruce fell asleep, his head making a loud thunk as it hit the table.
"And Natasha and Clint are our best spies. Maybe they should try and plant a link to Loki and find out more about his army," Tony continued. The two nodded in agreement. "I'll work on some new weapons. I have one I've been dying to try out that's in development now."
"I nominate Steve as our leader," Thor spoke up. Everyone stared at him. "Well, he was the first of us. He's a good leader."
"Thanks Thor, but this is up to the team. If they want me as the leader, then I will be," Steve said humbly.
"I support it." Clint shrugged his shoulders. "We need a captain for this team. Steve's a captain."
"I agree too," I said with a smile. Steve really was the best choice. He was a great leader, but he was a good man as well.
"Thanks everyone, but we can vote on this later. Now, we should focus on the task at hand." Steve sat back down, though a grin was still present on his face. "So, let's get to work on winning this war."
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Author's Note: Yes, short, I know. I didn't want to overdo the scene, so I cut it down. I'll attempt to make the next chapter longer. Sorry about the wait for this chapter as well- I've been taking a break from writing this past week, just to get my life back in order.
I spent longer than I usually do writing this chapter, adding detail and scouring it for grammar errors. It still isn't perfect, but I like how it turned out.
Thanks for reading and please review!
-Loki's Little Helper
