In which Fiona and the Avengers gather for the final battle against Thanos.
Notes:
Thank you for so many of your lovely suggestions for songs for this chapter- some I've never heard of- but I love them all now.
Chapter Text
When Fiona opened her eyes, it was to utter darkness, black as night, as enveloping as velvet, as smothering as a hand over her mouth. But she wasn't frightened. No... not scared. Nervous? Briskly shaking her hands in an attempt to loosen up, the girl smiled wryly. Her Loki, he would call this... what? "A dispiriting case of stage fright? Really, darling. Such a pedestrian emotion from such a lovely goddess." She heard the words perfectly in Loki's voice as if he was standing next to her. But Fiona was alone here, she knew that. But her Loki was alive.
Alive.
Breathing deeply, the Banshee whispered to herself, "Dance, monkey. Dance." Her booted feet slammed down in a steady rhythm. Two quick thuds, one harder one, then repeat. Again and again, as her surroundings began to light up, a long, beautiful stretch of space, a path of shining silver ribbon that began to rotate with steady streaks of vivid color until a golden light encompassed it all like a sunrise. Preparing to sing, Fiona lovingly looked around her.
The Bifrost.
"Buddy you're a boy make a big noise
Playin' in the street gonna be a big man some day
You got mud on yo' face
You big disgrace
Kickin' your can all over the place
Singin'
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you
Buddy you're a young man hard man
Shoutin' in the street gonna take on the world some day
You got blood on yo' face
You big disgrace
Wavin' your banner all over the place
We will we will rock you
(Sing it!)
We will we will rock you
Buddy you're an old man poor man
Pleadin' with your eyes gonna make you some peace some day
You got mud on your face
Big disgrace
Somebody better put you back into your place
We will we will rock you
(Sing it!)
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you..."
Each new thud of Fiona's boots started a reverberation down the path of the Bifrost, the colors beginning to leap and move with the rhythm, sparking joyfully. And one by one, the other Avengers popped abruptly onto the Bifrost. Some, like the Soldier simply hunched his shoulders and settled his weapons in place, poor Bruce stumbled, his face pale and nearly pitching over the side into null space before Fiona seized him by the arm. There was no time for a final pep talk, because the rumbling began, sounding first like an earthquake, then building to a tornado, then like the agonized screams of a million souls being blotted out into nothingness. Thanos was here, and oh, he was so very eager for a fight.
"I've paid my dues
Time after time.
I've done my sentence
But committed no crime.
And bad mistakes‒
I've made a few.
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face
But I've come through.
And I need to go on and on, and on, and on.
We are the champions, my friends.
And we'll keep on fighting 'til the end.
We are the champions.
We are the champions.
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions of the world..."
Fiona's defiant song cut through the horror of the Titan's approach, and even Stark had a moment to whoop triumphantly in his helmet's mic, shouting, "Fuck yeah, Queen! That's right!"
This time, Fiona was prepared and she could feel it- feel the filth of Thanos's power behind her, ready to wrap her entire head in some kind of hideous iron helmet and cage her voice until the bird never sang again. But there was love this time. Her love for Loki. For her people. For the Avengers. Laughing giddily, she belted out her next song with all the power and poison and beauty of her voice, thinking of Loki's reluctant smile and knowing he was smiling for her.
"Love rescue me
Come forth and speak to me
Raise me up and don't let me fall
No man is my enemy
My own hands imprison me
Love rescue me
Many strangers have I met
On the road to my regret
Many lost who seek to find themselves in me
They ask me to reveal
The very thoughts they would conceal
Love rescue me
Yea, though I walk
In the valley of shadow
Yea, I will fear no evil
I have cursed thy rod and staff
They no longer comfort me
Love rescue me
Sha la…"
Fiona tap danced cheerfully through the flood of monstrous spawn from the Titan, forms, and bodies that made no sense, whose very shape was unspeakable, glowing eyes bulging with hate and their shrill chittering trying to silence her voice, trying to overwhelm it. But the love powering her voice rang clear and true, the very sound of it filling the Chitauri and other nightmarish troops with dread. Their misshapen arms flailed as they turned in every direction, confused and trying to just kill it- whatever it was that was tearing through their dark and disordered minds, muting the orders from their master and making them almost easy to destroy. The girl swirled gracefully by a thicket of Chitauri taken out by a blow from Thor's Mjölnir, watching Steve and the Soldier run through six of the beast-thingies almost instantly. Barton was struggling, trying to send his arrows out faster than he could string them at a crowd of advancing troops, and Fiona paused to belt out "Love, rescue me!" at the top of her substantial lungs and watched several drop and dissolve into dust.
And in an un-gore drenched corner of the Bifrost's shining path, she pulled the ragged bit of bloody cloth torn from her skirt and given to Loki as a Lady's Favor by her beloved earth witch Mavis, who'd told him, "Doan' let go of this. It'll see you safely home to her."
Kissing it tenderly, Fiona dropped it over the edge of the Bifrost, calling, "Come home to me, my Loki." She didn't have time to watch it flutter away, the thundering vibration of the Universe's path told her Thanos or his creatures were almost upon her.
"Pathetic creature..." the voice of Thanos was unbearable, horrifying, the stuff of nightmares that made children wake screaming and caused men to huddle in corners, holding their heads and rocking back and forth. "Calling to the False Prince to save you. He is meat. He is dust. But no fear, girl. You will meet him soon after your pitiful life is spent in My service."
Fiona turned to face him. She could dimly hear the screams and screeches behind her, the roars and explosions, the cursing and shouts of one Avenger to another. But she and the Titan stood in a strange bubble of space. He towered above her, yellow eyes glowing malevolently and gigantic fist clenching. Looking down, the Banshee felt a shudder ripple down her spine when she realized the purple unspeakable's hand and forearm was covered by the golden gauntlet, with four of the Infinity Stones gleaming at the knuckles. "My goodness, Thanos," Fiona mockingly emphasized his name, enjoying the quick flash of fury as she refused to cower. The colors of the Bifrost were still dancing for her, though everything withered and turned to ash under the Titan's feet. But the girl drew on the spiraling blues and greens of the Ley Lines under her feet, the paths crisscrossing the Universe, just like her home. "Me? Little ol' me? I've pissed you off that much, eh? A bit short-tempered, then? Not getting laid on the regular?"
She heard his growl and felt his fury begin to rumble the Bifrost beneath her feet, so calling on the joy she'd felt the shining path connected with her, Fiona sang playfully, which of course enraged Thanos further.
"Take this pink ribbon off my eyes
I'm exposed
And it's no big surprise
Don't you think I know
Exactly where I stand
This world is forcing me
To hold your hand
'Cause I'm just a girl, little ol' me
Well don't let me out of your sight
Oh, I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite
So don't let me have any rights
Oh, I've had it up to here!
The moment that I step outside
So many reasons
For me to run and hide
I can't do the little things
I hold so dear
'Cause it's all those little things
That I fear..."
"Heavens, a big strong whatever the fuck you are should have taken us all out by now, shouldn't you?" Fiona was still tap-dancing happily, enjoying the clunky thud of her boots and the little ripples along the Bifrost. "You managed to kill and steal from enough innocent souls to make a fist of Infinity Stones. Why aren't they protecting your poor monster horde?" Her legs were beginning to shake, the painful sparks of his monstrous rage and hate beginning to dull the clear light of the Ley Lines, but she wouldn't stop dancing, or singing as the Titan's fist rose to crush her.
"Light of the world, shine on me
Love is the answer (let it shine)
Shine on us all, set us free
Love is the answer (you know the answer is love)
Tell me, are we alive, or just a dying planet?
What are the chances?
Ask the man in your heart for the answers
And when you feel afraid, love one another
When you've lost your way, love one another
When you're all alone, love one another
When you're far from home, love one another
When you're down and out, love one another
All your hope's run out, love one another
When you need a friend, love one another
When you're near the end, love
We got to love, we got to love one another..."
There was blood beading at the corners of Fiona's mouth and eyes, and her legs felt like they'd been set on fire, but she kept dancing. Even if Thanos somehow managed to silence her, the Bifrost would stay strong if she could dance to its rhythm. "You're tiring, insect," Thanos said, almost genially as his fist clenched again, making the golden gauntlet creak and groan. "You think your little group can stop me? Kill all my troops, they are mere cannon fodder. I will wipe the Universe clean of your mortal filth."
"Cannon fodder," snickered Fiona, fighting to avoid feeling the bitterness trying to rise, "you and Odin have so much in common." Her steps were slowing and her thoughts were confused. The Banshee struggled to come up with another song about love. 'It should be easy, right?' she thought, 'Nearly every song on the planet was written about love...' but the beads of blood from her eyes and mouth were streams now, and she couldn't feel her feet. But the girl kept dancing, kept humming as she tried to find the right lyrics.
The Titan's grin stretched to grotesque proportions. "Ah. Odin. He will require my attention next."
"I fear you will not last long enough to meet the Allfather," said a cool voice, as refreshing as a rainstorm and as beautiful as the rainbow that follows. "Though I must admit I would enjoy that."
Fiona turned, and her entire being suffused with light. "Hello, my Loki. I knew you would come back to me."
"We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" - Queen
"Love Come Rescue Me" - U2
"I'm Just A Girl" - No Doubt
"Love Is The Answer" - England Dan and John Ford Coley