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"Is that everybody?" Clint's voice echoed through my radio.
I pressed the talk button on the side and replied, "I think so, but I'll do another scan of the area."
"Sounds good," he said back, and I heard the little beep signaling the conversation was over. I slipped the handheld communication device back into my pocket and took off, soaring through the streets of lower Manhattan, searching for any stragglers.
There was nothing- literally nothing. No people, no sound, no traffic, no anything. It was eerie. It seemed strange to think that only three days ago, people had been going about their lives normally, well, as normally as they possibly could in a war like this. Now they were all gone, relocated to New Jersey and Boston and anywhere else we could afford to put them.
I drifted through the barren alleys, looking in every possible crevice where somebody could be hiding. No one. I checked the apartments and the office buildings. Not a living, breathing thing. Even the mice and rats that frequented this area seemed to be absent.
There was silence surrounding me, an unnatural still; the calm before the storm. All the while, I could've sworn I felt somebody staring at me, silently lurking. There wasn't anyone. I had only the uncomfortable quiet to keep me company.
Clint, Thor, Natasha, and Bruce were doing their rounds in the other parts of the city. Tony and Steve were somewhere in Brooklyn, securing anything that needed securing and keeping a lookout. We hadn't heard from either of them in almost two days. They wouldn't respond to any of our radio calls. Director Fury had sent out a search crew, but we hadn't received any feedback so far.
I stopped short as I turned another corner. A rustle of claws on pavement sounded out from behind me. My eyes widened, and I whirled around, dropping to the ground to walk. My feet hit the grimy pavement with a thud.
I back-tracked, heading towards the lone mailbox on the sidewalk. Something furry and black was slightly sticking out from behind it. It swished a bit, and I recognized it as a tail.
My hand went up to the owl pendant around my neck, preparing to yank it off at any moment. Because when you see a tail in the middle of a deserted city right before a supernatural fight, you really ought to be wary.
I crept towards the blue steel box, always on guard. Suddenly, it darted out from its hiding place, fleeing to the mirroring alley. I jumped back a little bit, startled by its quick exit. Nothing but a cat, I told myself. My heart rate started to drift back to normal.
But... It was a cat, a living thing. It didn't deserve to die anymore than a person did. So I chased after it, making a split second decision. I flew into the alley, skidding to a stop when I saw it.
It was sitting atop a dull silver garbage can, calmly staring back at me. Cautiously, I approached it. It didn't budge. It flicked its tail again, giving me a curious look. In the darkening twilight, it cast a shadow on the soiled brick wall behind it.
As I drew nearer, I got a better look at it. It was skinny, with glossy black fur. Its whiskers were slightly bent at the tips. A tiny white mark adorned the crest of its head. It was a beautiful cat, despite the fact that I had always been more a dog person than anything.
It blinked as I stepped up next to it. Gently, I stuck out a hand and stroked it behind the ears. It leaned into my touch without even the slightest bit of reluctance. It must have been a house cat, judging by how easily it accepted my presence.
Building up the courage, I reached my other hand in and scooped up the little creature, cradling it to my chest. I was sure the black hair would look lovely on my white dress. It nuzzled under my chin and looked up at me with its bright green eyes.
I froze. Bright green eyes. Green eyes. Eyes glinting with mischief. Green.
I ripped the cat away from me and held it at arms length to get a better look. It seemed confused at my abrupt gesture. Yes, I was right. I released the animal and it dropped to the ground with a hiss.
"You really need to leave me alone," I snapped. The cat stared at me, and those eyes seemed amused. "Loki. Go!"
If anything, it only seemed to smirk, the corners of its mouth curling up. I didn't know that cats had the ability to smirk.
"Go! Get out! Leave!" I shouted. It only continued to stare. I met his gaze.
I groaned and dropped to the greasy cement, hiding my face in my hands. It took a moment, but soon I heard the light sound of cat paws approaching me. Something warm and furry leaped up and curled onto my lap, purring. It was a deep, throaty sound, almost comforting. A stray piece of cat hair tickled my nose.
"Why do you keep doing this?" I sighed. "We aren't fighting on the same side. You're the enemy."
A loud beep from my pocket startled the both of us. The cat jumped and hissed again, streaking away to hide behind the garbage cans. I fished the radio out my pocket and pressed the answer button.
"Ande?" Thor's voice came through. "We need you back at base. Steve and Tony just arrived, and they've spotted my brother and his army approaching."
"Loki? They saw him?" I asked.
"Yes, yes, he was leading his soldiers in." he explained impatiently. "Hurry."
"Oh. Okay, I'll be right there," I said and hung up. I guess I was wrong. The cat wasn't my ex-best friend after all. I stood up, brushing the hair and dirt off my cape.
I was about to take off, when I remembered my new friend. I hesitated before crossing to its hiding place and picked the poor thing up. His eyes were more a blue-green anyways. They weren't even the same shade as Loki's eyes.
"You're pretty cute, you know," I cooed, scratching its black ears. "I think I'll keep you."
The cat meowed in consent and I leaped into the air, heading for the helicarrier.
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"What is that?" Tony asked when he saw the cat clutched in my arms.
"He's cute, huh?" I said, holding the cat out for the other Avengers to see. I had just walked in, finding them clustered around the table. They stared at me with incredulous and shocked expressions, as if questioning my sanity.
"Did you really bring a cat with you?" Clint raised his eyebrows.
"Yep. His name is Mercury," I announced, depositing the cat on the table. Mercury took in his new surroundings, before padding over to paw at Clint's arrow quiver. The archer gave the cat a disgusted look and shoved him away. I opened my mouth in protest, but I was cut off.
"You named it?" Natasha smirked. She rolled her eyes, but I ignored her.
"This really isn't the time to be messing with cats," Director Fury said sternly, his lips pressed in a straight line.
"I'm keeping him." I folded my arms across my chest, daring him to challenge my statement.
"I don't like cats," Bruce grumbled, pushing Mercury away when he went to investigate Bruce's hair.
"Hey, be nice!" I cried, dashing over to grab the cat away from where Thor was now examining his long, shiny tail. I gathered the cat up in my arms and stalked back to my chair. I glared at the others.
"Alright," Fury dismissed. "Keep the cat if you must, but if it interferes with the Initiative, it has to go."
"Okay," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Mercury is a good cat. He won't cause problems."
"Have I ever told you how I lost my eye? There's a reason I don't like cats," he growled. "Anyways, I called you all back to discuss a very important development. Loki has been spotted. He's heading our way now."
Silence fell around the table. The only sound was the various beeping and ticking coming from the monitors against the side wall. I couldn't believe this was happening so suddenly. When I had joined the Avengers, I had expected we would have at least a few months of more training before we actually went to war. I gaped at the others, trying to wrap my head around all of this. It was too soon, far too soon.
"We all know the battle plan, correct?" Fury said, and without waiting for a response, continued, "This is the time to act. We have no time to spare."
"Right," Steve spoke up, taking charge. "Let's go."
He stood up, and the rest of us followed his lead. Fury studied us for a moment, taking in our appearances. I felt his eye linger distastefully on where Mercury was still curled up in my arms. The cat seemed satisfied with the whole situation. I vaguely stroked his back, staring off into space.
Fury brought me back to reality. He cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair.
"Gentlemen... You're up."
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The Skrulls made no noise as they crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, heading into Manhattan. Their foot-falls were silent. The only noise was the distant sound of rushing water emitting from the polluted river below.
The bridge itself was vacant. In place of the usual stream of vehicles, there was only the army and its leader.
Loki marched swiftly in front of the ranks, confident, a determined expression obvious on his face. The afternoon light was darkening rapidly. Soon it would give way to nightfall- the perfect time for a battle such as this.
Perhaps it would have been wiser to go about this invasion more cautiously, sneaking in rather than walking boldly through. Loki had to remind himself several times that this was the plan: remain visible and conquer. Nevertheless, he was always on guard.
His eyes scanned the short distance left until they reached the city's boundaries. Only twenty yards until the war began. Twenty yards until he came face to face with his brother and his ex-best friend. No, he couldn't focus on that now. Thor and Ande were unimportant. He had to concentrate on the task at hand. Still, though, he promised twenty yards were depleting at a faster rate than he would have liked as they marched ever onwards.
The Red Skull was in the back of the army, keeping the Skrulls in line. Dr. Doom was stationed comfortably at their base, in control of everything.
Unbeknownst to the Skrulls, Doom had fitted them each with a small microchip. It enabled him to track the whereabouts of each shape shifter, and, if need be, destroy them all with a flick of several small switches. A handy tool, certainly, but a risky one. Loki wasn't sure how fully he trusted the mechanism.
Ten yards left. Loki raised his left hand and snapped his fingers, giving the signal that the soldiers should raise and ready their weapons. A resounding click from behind told him that the crossbows were now loaded and the guns were cocked.
Five yards. Loki took in a deep breath, palms tingling with magic just itching to be used. In his right hand, he held his newly crafted spear. He had modeled it after Odin's Gungnir, but he also had it fitted with even more destructive tendencies. It was a useful weapon, designed specifically with his own sorcery in mind.
Three yards. A dangerous smirk grew on his face. In a few short steps, he closed the gap separating him from pure destruction. The sun in the sky blazed down on them. A trickle of sweat beaded down his pale face. This was it, he told himself.
This was the end of Midgard. It was the very moment that he had been waiting many months for.
They entered the city. From far away, he heard the sharp sound of a bow being fired. Behind him, the first Skrull dropped dead at Loki's feet; the first of many.
The war had begun.
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Author's Note: Was it good? Sorry about the wait for this chapter. I've been working on improving my writing a lot this week.
Please leave a review telling me what you think! Thanks for reading!
-Loki's Little Helper