Loki had searched deep and found something in the castle that was brimming with magical power and he had tapped into it, victory would still be his even with the portal being lost. Defeating Thor and his new friends would need to suffice as the culmination of his plans, the Earth could be his after all, only the Avengers could stop him and they don't stand a chance.
The Hulk was out of sight but Loki knew that the beast would stir soon, Thor stood up and raised Mjolnir "It's over Loki" he stated as he lashed out with his hammer. Loki parried the blow with his staff and laughed whatever was feeding him power was giving him more than enough to handle the job at hand. Thor's hammer and Loki's staff collided repeatedly until Captain America leapt into action driving his shield into Loki's back. Loki was pushed forward and took a direct hit from Mjolnir, sending him flying out of the castle.
Tony pulled himself back to his armor outside when Loki flew out of the castle and skidded to a stop a few hundred yards away from him. Iron Man blasted towards the God of Mischief hoping to end the fight when Loki popped up and blasted Iron Man out of the air. Hawkeye and Black Widow had stood back up and were providing covering fire from the castle as they moved to help Iron Man. Loki deflected a few arrows and bullets, "Yeah this is working really well" noted Widow who looked at Hawkeye who simply shrugged watching Thor launch himself at Loki.
The sons of Odin once again parried each other blows in the trees surrounding Garrett Castle as Cap joined Widow and Hawkeye who were closing in as the brothers dueled. Iron Man stood himself up "Where the hell is Banner?" he asked. The Avengers charged in alongside Thor all attempting to hit Loki with everything that they had.
Loki had been shocked by how quickly the Avengers seemed to be figuring each other out, he sent out another shockwave that pushed them back and gave him a little bit of room to work with and once again reached for the magic he had felt within the castle. He sent out several energy blasts that once again got all the members of the Avengers on the ground and smiled to himself. When the smile creased his lips, that was when he felt the magic starting to wane, he used his magic to pull himself away from the Avengers and took a breath. He had pushed too hard, too fast and now he had drained whatever it was that was helping his strength, he needed some time to recover but it was now a question of whether the Avengers would give him that or not.
Captain America stood up and watched as Black Widow, Hawkeye, Iron Man, and Thor joined him. "So still no Banner?" stated Iron Man with a sigh of annoyance.
"Never said the Hulk was a reliable part of the team" answered Hawkeye with a slight grin.
"Okay, Loki must be weakening, right? It's the only reason he would back off when he had the advantage like that" reasoned Black Widow as she reloaded her weapons.
Cap nodded affirmative "That doesn't really help us though, he still has enough power to take us down even in his weakened state" remarked Iron Man.
"I can outlast him" stated Thor "This is a fight that is here on Earth because of me, I will finish it myself."
Cap shook his head "No, we have to work together to bring him down, he is stronger than us individually but together he can't keep up with us. We just have to work together like we did against the Hulk" reasoned Captain America getting nods from Black Widow and Hawkeye.
"Well you got a plan Uncle Sam?" asked Iron Man prompting a grin from Captain America.
Loki stood up and looked around, he had expected Thor or Stark to come running on by now, they were clearly up to something but the magic drain had dulled his senses, he could not find them in amongst the trees. He heard an explosion nearby but saw no fire and felt no pain, all he could see was a smoke that clouded his vision even further. Loki growled in frustration knowing a trap when he saw one. He felt the prick of Black Widows electric bite which distracted him from Hawkeye's explosive arrow that sent him flying in heap a few dozen yards away.
Loki pulled himself up just in time for Iron Man to land about ten yards away from him "Jarvis, everything to the repulsors" he ordered just as a beam launched from his mechanical hand. Loki raised his own hand and fired an energy blast to hold Iron Mans attack at bay.
Captain America then landed ten yards away on the opposite side of Loki as if the heroes intended to squash Loki like a grape "Whenever you're ready Stark" shouted Cap as Iron Man raised his other hand and fired another beam just behind Loki that struck Captain America's Shield and then redirected back at Loki who then raised his other hand to send another energy blast to match the new assault. "Thor, you're up" shouted Cap and Thor landed directly in front of Loki.
Loki's eyes grew huge when he realized what had happened, he was now stuck in the perfect trap, if he raises his hands to defend against Thor, the combined might of Iron Man and Captain America's joint attack would overwhelm him but if he did nothing Thor would crush him and in that instant Loki knew it was over.
Thor raised Mjolnir ready to strike at Loki, he would do what he was bid to do by his father and bring his adopted brother to justice, but here he was an opportunity to finish the job himself but he was hesitating. The hammer was weighing more and more in his hand, the image of his little brother locked in a vice of energy wrecked his very soul.
The sound had fallen away now, all Thor could see was the life he had lived alongside Loki. Captain America and Iron Man were yelling at him now, he lowered Mjolnir to his side.
Iron Man sighed "Perfect, the final shot of the plan and he chokes."
Captain America looked around "We need to figure something out then" he said hoping that the solution would present itself.
Thor heard a loud thud behind him and turned to find the Hulk staring back at him. The Hulk yelled at Thor who moved out of the way as the Hulk surveyed the situation. "No idea where you've been big guy but I am glad to see you" stated Iron Man.
Loki looked around realizing what was about to happen "Hulk Smash" yelled Captain America. The Hulk charged at Loki delivering a massive kick that sent Loki flying through the air.
Loki wasn't sure exactly how many things he ran into but he was positive that the number was very high and most of them had been trees. His chest was collapsed and several of his joints were dislocated not to mention the tree that toppled on top of him. He managed to get himself out from underneath it and pulled himself to a sitting position with the felled tree working like the back of a chair. Iron Man was the first to arrive to greet him followed quickly by the Hulk who was carrying Hawkeye and the Black Widow with him. Captain America seemed to have ran to Loki's position which Loki found to be quite impressive given the beating the red, white, and blue hero had taken during the last hour or so.
Iron Man raised his hand towards Loki and charged up his repulsor "So we capture this guy and Thor takes him back to his place and he ceases to be our problem, right?" he asked just as Thor landed in front of the group and took a few steps towards Loki.
"Well you can take it from here Thor" stated Iron Man lowering his repulsor and taking a moment to catch his breath and check the damage to the suit.
Thor looked at Loki carefully knowing that he had to take Loki home to his father who would no doubt turn him over to the Jotuns for Loki unleashing the Destroyer on them. The whole affair seemed so long ago now but the wounds were still fresh, and it time was coming for Loki to pay.
Thor raised Mjolnir up ready to call Heimdall to pull Loki and himself to Asgard, Loki spoke up from the ground "Just do it already." Thor looked down at Loki who looked at Thor in the eyes "Odin wants me dead but clearly lacks the guts to do it himself, so either you kill me here and now or Odin hands me to the Jotuns and I die there. I would rather just get this whole business over with."
Thor understood his brothers demand but couldn't bring himself to fulfill it, and he made a decision that would certainly cause more damage than prevent but Thor saw no other alternative "Run Loki" whispered Thor. Loki looked more closely at Thor "Get out of here, I'm letting you go. Run brother."
Loki laughed "You just can't do it, can you? How disappointing" he said as he pulled himself up. "If you won't do it, I'll make you wish you had" said Loki before pulling that last little bit of magic from the area and vanished from sight.
"What the hell was that?" asked Iron Man popping himself out of the armor and taking a few steps toward Thor.
"I'm sorry, but I will not condemn my brother to death" explained Thor.
"Yeah, well you can explain that to the families of the Shield agents he killed when this whole thing started" stated Hawkeye turning and starting the long walk back to the castle.
The Hulk ran behind a tree and yelled out in pain "Now what?" stated Captain America raising his shield ready for anything.
Bruce Banner popped his head out from behind the tree "Hey guys, did we think to bring a change of clothes for me by any chance?" he asked holding the shredded pants up to his waist.
Widow shrugged and Coulson's voice came over the radio "Way ahead of you Doctor." A quinjet came flying into the trees and landed amongst the debris of the fight. The quinjet opened up and Coulson came strolling out with a gym bag "Everyone is welcome to get on board and we can head back to the Helicarrier" Coulson explained handing the bag to Banner and then leading everyone back to the quinjet.