Chapter 29 – Spilt Blood-Strong Bonds
Well! This is my longest chapter for this story! And putting it together was absolutely nerve wracking. And I still need you tell me how it is, because I finally got tired so with all the rewrites and editing and changes that I never thought I would manage to finish it. But now it is, and you all get to read it and I can finally rest my hands. Probably use some Murtlap essence if I can get some.
However, I must first extend my sincere thanks to all my wonderful readers and reviewers who answered on the previous chapter and also gave me their opinions and votes on candidates for Harry Potter's romantic interest. Thank you all! It was very welcome to see the interest you all have in this story. I hope it continues as this story grows.
I also have several bags of WWW gags and pranks for everyone who reviewed – ahrondude, .77, ReadPaxJoy, HP-DG-SB-HA-RR-KB-NT-TD-LL-AJ, firebluebird2006, serialkeller, Lycan01, Silvermane1, Emanon, dogsby, johnny three tears, ECTO-DMC, BioHazard82, Gravity's Child and Alex2909. Just try not to get in trouble with all those pranks, eh? :D
I hope everyone will like this chapter. Will be waiting for your reviews! So don't hesitate!
Read and Review people! :)
While Harry and the others had been engrossed in saving Phil Coulson's life, Hill had been busy examining the videos from the recorded conversations with Loki and had come up with some interesting conclusions. The Director being momentarily unavailable, she had discussed her observations with Agent Romanoff. Fortunately, her hypothesis was corroborated by Agent Barton's statement that Loki was heading for New York, exact location unknown. To meet him there after the Helicarrier was brought down was the last command he remembered before 'waking up' in the medical bay.
Now they knew the location. Stark Tower. 'A warm light for all mankind to share.'
Hill had been glad to give over the responsibility of that announcement to Director Fury. Stark was not an easy man to manage at the best of times, but threats against his creations definitely set him off. And now, so did threats against his friends. Potter, Banner and Stark; they were an odd group, but they worked. She was distracted from her thoughts with a clear view of the Iron Man flying out, closely followed by a quinjet. And there was the Director asking for complete communications up-link. Without further deliberation, Senior SHIELD Agent Maria Hill got right down to work.
Predictably, Tony got to Stark Tower first, flying at faster than the safety limit on any manned or unmanned flying object. Letting him fly with Wyrd had only spoiled his penchant for speed and danger. Harry, who also called Stark Tower home, was the only one who understood how his friend was feeling. He felt the same. He'd felt it before, a long time ago, the fear, the desperation, the blinding rage that overcame him when the enemy threatened his home; the only home he had ever known. His rage had fueled his powers and his love for Hogwarts and its inhabitants had given him the only reason he had needed to obliterate Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Voldemort from this world.
He was ready to defend his home once more. But the years that had gone before taught him at least the value of keeping a calm head in times of "elevated stress." That came from the good Captain Rogers. Harry couldn't help but shake his head ruefully. If "elevated stress" meant transcending into his higher form and throwing around balls of living fire at potential threats, then yeah, he was all set.
"How far out are we?"
""About 2 minutes behind Stark."
"If I'm not mistaken, we're not that far out from New York, and this bird has a top speed of Mach 2.1 and you're telling me you're behind Tony?" Harry's voice dripped sarcasm. "You know where to go. You need some help making this bird go faster?"
Clint Barton, who had recovered from Loki's mind control after being hit on the head by Natasha Romanoff, twisted in his seat to look at the wizard skeptically. "We're already doing … What the hell!?"
"Oh," came Natasha's bland voice from the cockpit, "he's back."
A brilliant white flash had lit up the interior of the aircraft, almost blinding all present. It dimmed to reveal Thor standing in their midst, Mjolnir at his side, and a dawn coloured, swan sized bird on his caped shoulder.
"Memnon?" gasped Harry.
The bird chirped and hopped over to sit on the baggage hold's rail guard, looking down on the people. It was a light golden phoenix, with amber crest and wing tips and streaks of purple on the tail feathers.
Thor looked to Harry and clasped wrists with the wizard. "You have my thanks for sending your familiar to save my life. Although the cage was not difficult to escape from, it seems I needed to re-learn an old lesson. To have more faith in my purpose on Earth and my comrades in arms. Your friend helped me regain it or perhaps I would not yet have joined you here."
Thw wizard nodded absently, staring at the new bird. "What are you doing here?" asked Harry after a moment of astonished silence. The phoenix chirped at him.
"Yes, I did. But I didn't know she would rope you in." The phoenix chittered in response, ruffling his chest feathers.
"You're sure about that?" questioned the wizard. The bird whistled at him, one beady dark eye glaring down at the impertinence of the question. Harry sighed.
"If you two bird-brains are done, you mind telling us what just happened?" snarked Barton, uneasy with the scene he'd just witnessed. This Harry guy could be demented for all they knew; wizards and magic and … talking to a god-damn bird! But it could just all be on the Director's head for all he cared. The orders were to just take Loki down and he was itching to put an arrow in that god's eye.
Rousing himself from his contemplations, Harry gestured at them to retake their seats before beginning. "Memnon is my familiar Nyx's new consort. It seems when Thor fell and I asked my Nyx to make sure he got back alright, she called in some support. Him," he pointed at the listening phoenix. "Thing is, Memnon is no ordinary phoenix. Not like any of them are, anyway, but he's still different. Memnon is actually the reincarnation, many times over, of Memnon, son of Eos, Goddess of Dawn, a hero of the war of Troy back in the day. Yes, I know it seems unlikely, but that's what both of them have told me. You can choose to accept that or not. It's not really important at this point and frankly none of your business anyway." He looked up at the bird, ignoring the incredulous looks of most of his companions and continued, "What is important for us now, however, is Memnon's ability to sense conflict. While we know that Loki is going to try to open the portal and bring in the Chitauri, according to Memnon, this possibility is fact. At least I'm going to treat it as such." Harry nodded to the golden phoenix before turning back to the others.
"The next few hours are going to be long and hard and we will need all the allies and resources we can get. Each of us has abilities and something to offer to the battlefield. But it won't be easy. It's just the seven of us against an army. And seeing how well the soldiers at the Nevada facility fared against Loki when he first arrived, I'm not anxious to ask for help from SHIELD apart from who we already have." He paused and looked at the rest of the Avengers. "Would you like me to amp you up a bit?"
"What do you mean?" asked Steve Rogers, curious to know if this Potter was as magical as the one he'd known so long ago.
"I mean, I can give you some powers and protection and a way back to safety if we need a way to bug-out. The offer is for all of you, if you want it."
"I'm game," replied Bruce, answering Harry's surprised stare with a wicked chuckle. But they didn't get to do anything, because the next second, there was a loud boom and the skies were gouged open. Loki's Tessaract powered machine had opened up the portal into open space and as they approached Stark Tower, everyone could see the aliens coming through the torn fabric of time and space. The Master of Death felt a shiver run down his spine; Death would have a field day today.
Working quickly, Harry pulled out eight lengths of string from his pocket. Levitating them horizontally, he pulled out his white wand and cast several charms on them all along with the localized Radial charm he had perfected with Wyrd. Finished with his spell-casting, he moved the wand in one more complex motion and at once all eight strings were sent directly to the left wrists of their intended recipients. Seven for their group and one for Fury back at the Helicarrier. Tapping into the magic of the strings he spoke directly into their minds.
"Avengers and Director Fury, be advised that these strings you now wear were sent to you by me. I would advice you not to take them off. So long as you wear them, I will be able to find you and help you if needed. They are also pretty nifty for mind-speak, though if you want to use your comm links, feel free. Just think of who you want to talk to and the connection activates, like a regular phone. They can only be removed by you so you won't lose them unless you lose them. They are also a one-time portkey or teleportation ticket to a safe house which is a location known only to me. If you need to take that way out, do not hesitate. Activation password is Memnon. I can promise you, Director, you will be safe. I don't want an alien army on Earth any more than you do. Consider me on your side for this one."
"Understood, Lord Potter. Thank you," came Fury's distinct voice across the link. "Everyone, you know what to do. Let's get this done."
"Great, you guys. If you're about done with the meet and greet, wanna come down to where the action is? Honestly, you're overdue for a visit."
They were almost to their destination now and the aliens were clearly visible flying in from the wide gaping wound in the sky. "I'm coming in, Tony. Where are you?"
"Where the action is L.P. At the portal."
"Get your metal ass away from that thing, you daft git! I'm coming to you now." Harry huffed impatiently. "Alright, for now, here's what we do. Thor, get to Stark Tower and see if you can do something about the Tessaract device. We need to shut it down as soon as possible." Nodding tightly at the wizard, Thor opened the hatch swinging his hammer and flew out of the quinjet. Several alien hover crafts flew past the quinjet and Natasha opened fire from the plane's Gatling.
"Natasha and Barton, as long as you're airborne, keep after those things. If you lose it, I want Barton on a rooftop calling out patterns and strays and Natasha and you Captain on the ground. There are going to be civilians down there who will need to be protected and taken off the streets. Take them below ground into the subway. Until we're able to shut that portal, containment is our best bet. Call if you need help. All good with that?"
Barton was looking as if he wanted to question the orders, but Captain Rogers nodded. "If you could give Doctor Banner and myself a lift to the ground, we can get started."
Itching to get to Tony's side, Harry looked at Bruce and deadpanned. "Bruce, it would be real nice if you could wait a while to Hulk up and smash some aliens."
"Well," and Harry felt a mental nudge from the Russian agent, "if you insist, Lord Potter." His eyes glinted with suppressed mirth.
"Will you quit horsing around and get to work?" came Fury's long-suffering irate voice over their link.
"Aye aye, Director." He grabbed hold of two arms. "Captain, Bruce, hold on." A whump of air sounded as Harry pulled them all from the quinjet to land a little ways away from Stark Tower. He handed Bruce a Glock 19 and a 9mm and several clips of ammunition. "This is from my own cashe, so don't feel bad about losing it," he winked at the doctor. Leaving the two to help the civilians, he sped inside the tower and called for Jarvis.
"Update me, Jarvis."
"Welcome back, Mr. Potter. Mr. Stark arrived here about an hour ago and had me shut down the arc reactor that powers this building at once, but the device on the rooftop was already self-sustaining. It creates a barrier of pure energy which is unbreachable. Mr. Stark tested this by firing a repulsor beam at it which was reflected off the barrier back at him, simultaneously knocking out Dr. Selvig who was monitoring the device. He has since changed his suit to the new Mark VII after exchanging words with Loki. He became strangely silent for a while after that and Loki threw him off the building. Fortunately Mr. Stark took this in the right spirit and made his way up towards the portal firing at the invaders. Approximately 10 minutes ago, Mr. Thor arrived en scene and entered into a fight with Loki. And I do believe they are still on the roof."
"And Tony?" asked Harry, accepting the news.
"Mr. Stark is now in the city, taking down several targets as we speak."
"Thank you, Jarvis. I'll be going out to join Tony now. I'll give you a shout if I need you."
"Very well, sir. Good luck."
Without another word, Harry ascended, making his way outside, where he could see Thor locked in battle with Loki. He appeared to be trying to talk sense into his younger brother. To make him stop the war and the Tessaract. Neither of which was possible any more. This war would happen one way or another. Just as Loki stabbed Thor in the stomach, Eclipse stepped onto the patio.
Loki gave the advancing demon one look and dropped off the edge, leaving behind the spear he had dropped in his fight with his brother. Thor and Eclipse watched him ride off on one of the alien crafts, several others falling in behind him, following his clear command. Thor looked sad.
"Be of good heart, Thor. I have reason to believe that your brother may not be as lost as he seems."
Well, he certainly had Thor's attention now. The god whipped around to meet his dark gaze. "What do you mean by that? Speak!"
"Patience, Thor Odinson. The time will come when I will bring back your brother. But at the moment, we must go to the aid of our fellow warriors and put aside out personal feelings." Switching back to himself for a moment, he smiled at the worried god. "Have faith."
Thor watched as Eclipse returned and sprouted a set of huge black satiny wings from his back, opening and flexing them as he tested the wind currents around the tower. "Go down and help the others, I think I hear Hulk roaring somewhere. I'm going to help Tony. Be ready when I call."
Thor swung Mjolnir, gathering the impetus to fly off to help the other members of their team. Eclipse raised his wings and bent his knees, and in one mighty flap, pushing his wings sharply back and down, he flung himself off the roof and into the air, at the same time willing himself to be invisible to all but the team. With a loud whoop, the pure joy of flight a remnant of his original human form, he let gravity pull him down, before flexing his wings and swooping up at a steep incline, rapidly gaining altitude with every beat.
"Uh, guys, if you see a giant bird flying around, don't shoot! Its just me," he sent over their 'private' line.
"And there I'd thought those things were just for show," shot back Bruce, while smashing down a few of the alien foot soldiers. He's long since run out of bullets and had finally changed into his more … fun counterpart.
Eclipse chuckled. From his position in the air, he could see how far the damage had spread and to what extent the invaders had spread out in the area. He called out those patterns to the Avengers, to take up as they saw fit. All the while looking for a certain metalhead while shooting down several of the aliens with Tony-esque energy blasts from his hands.
They were doing well enough, considering that there more aliens pouring out of that hole in the sky, outnumbering them 7 to 1 at any given time. He couldn't tell if it was worse on the ground or in the air. Squadrons of them flew around, keeping to the streets, shooting everything that moved. The foot soldiers moved in groups, firing on sight, civilian or otherwise. Many had taken prisoners or hostages in a few of the buildings and Harry passed this information on to the Captain. The destruction was wide-scale and abandoned vehicles everywhere were burning. Local police in trying to help only added to the confusion and panic when they started shooting at the aliens and made themselves easy targets.
On the other hand, the team was putting its new communication link to good use. Information about alien activity hotspots and civilians under fire was being swiftly and smoothly passed along the link. With the team functioning as a well-oiled unit with this bit of magic to help them, they had the city well in hand. At least as well as could be expected with the increasing number of incoming invaders flying in from the portal that they were no closer to shutting down.
The Captain and Thor were fighting together on the ground, having taken turns to evacuate the civilians to safe building and into the subways. Bruce, having run out of ammunition, had let Hulk take over, taking huge, gravity-defying leaps to reach aliens wherever he could, smashing them into the concrete or into pulp. The agents were apparently playing tag with groups of airborne aliens, shooting at and blowing up their crafts, while keeping an eye out for Loki. Tony was picking strays off the streets and the stragglers in the air, keeping too many of the invaders from descending en masse on the others. Eclipse helped where he could, though he stayed close to Tony by force of habit.
Harry fought like the demon he was. He had always been instinctively good in a fight and all his years of training before and after the War back home, his own dexterity in aerial combat followed by training under Nobert, and with Azazel's memories and experiences bolstering his own resources, he had a lot to hand out to their enemies. He flew alongside his friend, covering him as much as possible, while sending bolts of energy at any unfortunate alien that crossed his path. Or he just slashed them to ribbons with his claws. The first time he'd done that while facing down half a dozen alien hovercrafts shooting at them, Tony's response had been, "Cool." His best friend was crazy.
He didn't get much time to muse on that when he saw the quinjet get hit in the distance. One of its engines was trailing thick black smoke as it fish-tailed through the air. Harry sped toward the falling aircraft, blasting a few more aliens along the way, cutting them open with his claws and smashing them into the nearest surface with brute strength to rival Hulk's.
"Natasha! Barton! Are you alright?"
"We're fine Potter. Just the jet got taken out. We're gonna find a place to land and circle back to join up with the Captain. Hawk's gonna need a lift though, if you want him to be your look-out guy."
"On my way. Hang tight."
The SHIELD agents fought to keep the falling jet under control long enough to land in relative safety, away from heavy civilian population. As they neared the buildings, getting a wing tip clipped for their troubles, the plane jerked and righted itself, wrenching control of its movement from its pilots, and descending slowly but smoothly to a clear plaza where it was gently set down. The agents all but ripped their harnesses apart in their haste to get back into the field. Opening the hatch, they stepped outside to be greeted by Thor and Eclipse. They should have been unsurprised at finding Eclipse at the business end of an arrow in 2 seconds flat; Barton had after all never seen this side of the wizard.
Thor moved to take a stand between the amused demon and the high-strung agent (no pun intended), glaring down at the man. "Put away your weapon, Master Bowman. This … being is our friend and no danger to you or any of us."
Barton never wavered. It would only take him a single second to skewer the monster right in the throat. He waited patiently for Thor to move.
"I don't think the good agent will see sense any time soon, Odinson.," came a crackling voice from behind Thor, black eyes peeking over the god's broad shoulders. "I propose a change in plan. I will escort Natasha to the good Captain. We must not leave him alone for too long, even though I have told Tony to cover him. And you must take Agent Barton to a convenient rooftop. Before you go, I must tell you that I had previously charmed your quiver to not run out of arrows so long as you have need of them." He stepped out from behind the tense form of the god and extended a hand to the Widow.
"Wait a minute Nat! Where do you think you're going with this thing?"
"This 'thing' is Harry Potter, Clint. This is one of his combat forms." She looked at her friend, seeing the confusion in his narrowed gaze. "Trust me, Hawk. He's okay." A sneer twisted Barton's lips and black eyes narrowed.
Captain Rogers' voice came over the link, "Guys. Are you seeing this?"
"Seeing. Still working on believing," replied Tony.
The group at the quinjet looked up to the sky. An enormous bio-mechanical creature like some prehistoric hybrid of a piranha and a crocodile emerged from the portal, sinuously winding its serpentine way through the air, while hundreds more of those Chitauri soldiers jumped off several pods on the creature's side.
"Okay," Eclipse sighed. "We have places to be and I've had about enough of this discussion." A snap of his fingers divested Barton of his weapons and encased him in the same smoky shield he had captured Loki with. Before either of the others could protest, he erected a ward around himself and the archer, and dived straight into the man's mind.
There it was; the anomaly he'd sensed in the man since he'd first seen him at the Helicarrier. A blue gelatin like film still covered the memory and behavior centers of the brain, with numerous tiny roots as yet embedded in the soft muscle. Undoubtedly, this was the residue of whatever mental changes that Spear of Loki's had caused in the minds of all the agents that had turned as well as the intruders as yet aboard the Helicarrier.
Although Natasha had hit Barton hard on the head, knocking him out of his Imperius daze, the magic still remained. The trauma to the brain had shifted the overlying magic allowing the human mind to surface for a while. But now, as early as he had caught it, tendrils of the foreign magic were once more beginning to burrow into the man's brain, affecting the mind. He had no choice; the magic would have to be completely removed if SHIELD wanted its agent back and not a Loki sycophant.
All this took less than a minute for Eclipse to grasp, and another minute for him to rip the magic from Barton's brain ensuring there was no more damage to the soft tissue, and repairing as best he could the damage that had already occurred. Crushing the failing magic withing the embers of his own fiery magic, he withdrew from the agent's mind to see Natasha looking at him in concern, questions in her eyes. "I asked Thor to return to the battle," she offered in explanation.
Accepting the statement, Eclipse removed the stasis shield and moved back. He was satisfied to see that when Clint Barton came around, his eyes were clear and aware. There was no sign of the foreign magic in his mind. Natasha helped him back to his feet and Clint nodded at Eclipse though he flinched when the demonic creature grinned showing his sharp black teeth. Eclipse took an arm each of the agents and flamed them right to Captain Rogers' side. Under attack the moment they arrived, the group separated and fought back with guns and arrows and blasts of magic.
The remains of the hybrid creature were lying in the street with Hulk standing over them grinning happily.
All around them the Chitauri screamed and roared in anger at the loss of their draconian vessel. Hulk roared back at them in defiance.
Natasha readied her guns, charged the Widow's bite bracelet-gloves and passed a hand over her daggers, checking for quick release.
Barton ran a check on his quiver mechanism and arrows, smoothing his fingers over the specialized glove of his string hand.
Thor returned to the group having crushed a group of aliens under a bus, hefting his hammer to a more comfortable but ready position.
With a low thrumming sound, four more leviathans floated through the portal, all flying in different directions, deploying the Chitauri troops in a wider area than they had as yet managed to cover.
Tony returned to stand ready with the team. "Call it Cap'n."
Rogers fit his Vibranium shield back on his arm, thinking fast. "Alright. Like Harry said earlier, until we can get that portal closed, our priority is containment. Stark, you and Potter are in the air. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash." He gulped at the maniacal look of glee on demon-Harry's face.
"Thor, get up high somewhere. I want you to try and bottleneck that portal. You've got the lightning. Fry 'em." Swinging his hammer, Thor took off immediately.
"Barton, I want you on that roof," he said, pointing at a rooftop near the center of their assumed area of containment. "Call out patterns and hotspots and anything else you see that we should know about. Remember to use the link Potter gave us."
"Agent Romanoff, you and I will stay here and keep the fight focused on us. Loki's going to have them all concentrate on us here and that's exactly what we need. Without him, these things could go wild."
He looked at their last member. "And Hulk, smash them to bits."
Eclipse leaned over and patted the green giant on one ripped muscled arm. "Have fun, big guy."
Hulk grinned and jumped away, swatting Chitauri out of his way like flies and smashing others under his heavy blows.
The archer looked Iron Man. "Give me a lift?"
"Sure. Better …" Tony stuttered to a stop at Eclipse's low growl. "Err … better hold on tight." And grabbing the nape of the archer's suit, he shot straight up into the sky, neatly depositing him on the designated rooftop. Flying away towards the enemy, he met up with Eclipse, who lightly swatted at him with a wing. "Whaaaat!"
"Be nice," the hybrid creature growled. "And listen. You take the north half of the block and I'll take the south half. Leaves me more room to blow things up and I won't have to worry about hurting you by mistake. But you better stay in touch at all times. You hear me, Stark?"
"Yes Mummy."
"Good. Now fly along." Eclipse made a shooing motion with one clawed hand, baring his teeth at the pouting silence behind the suit's mask. As Tony flew away, he allowed his humanity to ebb to its lowest dregs, letting instinct take over before launching himself at the nearest hovercraft riding alien. A single swipe of his claws cut the entire craft in two and it fell like a stone to a timely death. Swinging around, he set a trio of flaming balls loose among a bunch of alien hovercrafts which soon burnt to a crisp. The aliens were extra well done in fact.
When the aliens tried to rush an attack on him, he used a power called Dragon Claw, which transformed his arms into the front limbs of dragons. Any blows that fell with those hands utterly crushed the creatures that came against him, until treading air, Eclipse was dropping dead aliens like flies, his wings shielding him from attacks from behind.
His attention caught by bright flashes of light, he watched in amazement as Thor, standing on the Chrysler Building, drew massive amounts of lighting to his hammer and then threw that stored energy into the portal, killing several of the incoming Chitauri hordes. Again and again, the god sent up his lighting, killing thousands of the enemy, until weary of the power required to sustain the storm clouds, he let them dissipate and took a moment to rest before returning to the fight on the ground.
Making sure that the god had reached Rogers and Natasha safely, he turned his attention to his own bunch of enemies and snarled. Flicking his fingers, he collected smoke and ashes and shadows in his hands, creating two semi-solid balls. Aiming at the Chitauri at the relative center of the horde, he flung his Shadow Balls at the creature where they detonated on impact, showering fiery shrapnel at the surrounding soldiers creating a chain of detonations which wiped out about half the airborne Chitauri fleets. Pleased at the results, Eclipse roared in challenge, wings stretched to the skies.
In the distance he could see Tony fly into the mouth of the flying stack of metal bones and come out the other end, having set off a half a dozen explosions inside the beast, effectively blowing it apart from the inside out.
On the ground, he observed Captain Rogers and Black Widow using their more physical skills to keep winning against the Chitauri ground troops, beating them back time and time again, as often as they pushed back their growing exhaustion. While Rogers used his Vibranium shield and serum-enhanced athletic abilities to great effect, Natasha had lost her guns at some point and was now wielding her daggers with deadly accuracy, jabbing, blocking, kicking, slicing, occasionally picking up some dead alien's weapons to fire off a few long shots, keeping the enemy off the Captain's back.
Even as he watched, Natasha and the Captain tapped into their mind link and spoke to him. "Natasha has an idea about the Tessaract device. But…" Natasha budged in with, "But I could use a lift."
"One express delivery coming right up," replied Eclipse, twisting away from a few circling hovercrafts and diving straight down to the asphalt, leaving behind a thick smoke screen behind him. Unfortunately for the Chitauri, it wasn't just a smoke screen. When they tried to fly through it, the smoke turned dense and messed up their rides causing them to fall to their twisted deaths.
"I'm going to do a fly-by," he said, transmitting to Natasha and Rogers. "I need you to give Natasha a push. I'll catch you."
The Captain looked at Black Widow and asked, "You ready for this?"
She smiled and answered, "Sure. It'll be fun." Getting a running start, she used the debris of a few cars to give herself a boost just as Eclipse came into view. As Steve Rogers pushed Natasha off his shield into Eclipse' waiting embrace, they realized the maneuver had been timed perfectly. And not a moment too soon, when a few shots from the approaching aliens whined uncomfortably close to Rogers' head. He turned and flung his shield at them, cutting them down where they stood. Above him, Eclipse and Natasha were almost out of sight.
Up in the air, on the way to Stark Tower, Eclipse and Natasha observed Thor and Hulk fighting side by side atop another leviathan. The Chitauri had finally learned that they would have to protect the large freight vessels they had arrived on and were fighting the two strongest members of the Avengers on the large creature. Until, observed Harry, blasting away a group of soldiers who came too close to the archer before flying away, Hulk tore off a piece of the beast's own metal hide and shoved it into the armor just behind the its head. Seconds later, in a synchronized move, Thor brought sparking hammer down on the lodged piece of hide pushing it further in, cutting off the circuitry and killing the beast. As it dropped like a dead weight, Thor and Hulk jumped off it, pulling it away from the fragile buildings and letting it drop in the street.
Well, that took care of two monsters out of four and he simply couldn't be left out of getting a trophy of his own. Stepping onto the roof of Tony's nod to a cleaner, safer science, Eclipse let go of the Black Widow, watching as she revived the unconscious man sprawled near near the machine.
While it was all well and good that the Avengers team knew about him, it would hardly be good form to allow a mundane to see him and ask questions. Even if he'd met Thor and was consulting with SHIELD. Murmuring a soft 'goodbye', he dropped backwards off the roof, twisting in mid air and taking out an alien craft as it sped by him. Harry ripped out its pilot's throat, grinning darkly as he let the limp body drop overboard followed by the craft itself.
It was just then that he heard Hulk's defiant, angry roar, and wondered if he should join the big guy. But it was apparently not needed. A few scant minutes later, he heard his friend roar again and this time the undertone seemed happy, even smug. Wondering what could have happened to make Hulk happy in the middle of a battle, Eclipse almost turned towards the sound, but stopped mid-motion when he saw a trophy collecting opportunity right at his doorstep. This would be fun.
Dead ahead of him, one of the leviathans was wandering aimlessly, destroying buildings around it, having delivered its cargo of fresh Chitauri soldiers. Flying straight towards the enormous creature, Eclipse pulled up sharply right in front of it and allowed his built up momentum to launch a Wind Blast attack on the beast, pushing it back from the building it was going to plow face first into. He decided to get rid of that ugly mug.
Spinning in place like a top, wings forming a tight circle around him, he drew in the wind, pulling it in from all directions. Building them up in layers, he created a storm funnel centered on him and fed a few of his fire balls into the mix. Flames licking at the edge of the tornado class winds, he turned horizontal to the ground and sped towards the creature. The raw force of nature, aided by the focus of Harry's strong Will, dug into and ate away at whatever the leviathan was made of, tearing the metal apart bit by bit, but touching none of the buildings around it. Instead of letting the debris fall to the ground, Eclipse kept it in the tornado using to make the funnel grow, until the mouth of the funnel had completely eclipsed the serpentine creature. Several minutes later all that could be was a huge tornado made of the pieces of the alien beast.
And yet, none of the surrounding buildings were even scratched by the sucking strength of the winds. Eclipse, a black dot of a figure in the neck of the funnel, could only just be seen by the rest of the team.
He might have turned into a human natural disaster, but there was apparently more in store for them. A man-made disaster of nuclear proportions had just been sent off from the Helicarrier, and by the sound of it, Fury was downright pissed by the Council usurping his position, simply because he refused to sacrifice a city of innocents. They were willing to turn New York into a mass grave. Eclipse could hear the stoic man's panicked concern in his voice as he spoke to Tony.
The more he heard of the plan being unfolded, the more he knew it was a stupid plan. They had forgotten about him. Minutes later Natasha broadcast that she could close the portal but Tony stopped her. Harry's mind was on overdrive. There was one thing he could do. He just had to time it right.
Still fighting on the street, the Avengers looked on apprehensively, now under heavy fire from the Chitauri fores who had finally decided to eliminate the opposition before getting on with the world domination bit. Natasha watched from atop the Tower's roof and Thor was still on the Chrysler. Tony had caught the trail of the nuke flying in and was herding it in.
On board the Helicarrier, Agent Maria Hill and Director Fury watched impassively on the many communications screens at the bridge.
Meanwhile, over the mind link, Eclipse called out to Thor who was perched on the Chrysler Building, gazing with awe at the fury of the winds howling in the middle of the city. "Thor, direct your lightning into this tornado. Give me all you can gather. Now."
"It will destroy you, young mage!"
"Trust me, Thor. I can control this. Now give me your lightning."
Uncertain, but willing to help the wizard who held such power in his hands, Thor thrust Mjolnir up towards the skies, using his authority as the god of thunder and lightning to call upon his favored element and draw it into his hammer. The steel spire of the building acted as a super conductor of lightning and drew down the thick, wild electric strands which were then stored in Mjolnir. When it was done, Thor broke the storm's connection and released the lightning towards the heart of the tornado.
It struck with a flash and a crack of thunder. The energy of the lightning swirled around the tornado, crackling and fighting against the hold of magic like an angry beast that refused to be tamed. Within the eye of the storm, Harry as Eclipse shook with the strain of holding on to the immense destructive forces he was now commanding. One element was easy enough to control; two were considerably more taxing for the human body, no matter how magically enhanced. Still he persisted, drawing on all the stubborn strength and will Harry Potter was known for, and still the storm whirled and howled around him, waiting for the right moment to be released.
Not a second later, Tony appeared in the skies, the suit's thrusters fully open, forcing the flight of the nuke upwards into the portal. As Harry had known he would do. The stupid man.
It was a good thing he had a backup plan ready to put into play.
The moment Tony hit Stark Tower Harry contacted JARVIS on the comm link he alone was wearing. "JARVIS, as soon as Tony gets close enough to that portal to unalterably ensure that nuke's flight path, shut down the Mark VII. You will only activate it once Tony is a good bit away from that rip in the sky. Understood?"
"Of course Mr. Potter. You will know as soon as it is done."
"Thank you JARVIS."
"It is no problem, Sir. If what I have been told is correct, beyond that portal is another world. Although the Chitauri seem to have no problem with breathing in our atmosphere, the same cannot be said for humans. And the suit is not yet compatible for space-flight."
"Very good. And I think that's high enough JARVIS. Shut down that suit now."
He was cutting it close, too close. Tony was already within the opening of the portal, surrounded by the bluish flare that outlined the rip between worlds. On cue, the team, all looking hopefully at the Iron Man, saw him falter and fall, his arms slipping from around the nuke. Heavy as a shot in that armor, Tony shot to the ground at a chilling pace. Everyone heard a shout of disbelief from the stunned genius.
The only person not looking was Azazel. Hidden from the world, Eclipse changed once more, letting the Greater Demon take over the control of the magic with far greater ease than Eclipse's more human body allowed.
Magic had done many things to Harry Potter's body. One of them was to make him the willing vessel of a being of unimaginable power, who could exist literally anywhere in the Nine Realms without a care what world he was in. And so when Azazel caught the falling nuke within the wind currents in the eye of the storm and let the twin energies of the tornado drive it through the portal, it was as normal as crossing the threshold of a room to pass into the one beyond.
The entire team watched in morbid horror as one of their members fell to the fast approaching earth, while the other had just vanished into another realm. A 1000 feet from the ground, just as both Hulk and Thor were getting ready to catch him, Tony's armor came back online and he righted himself, treading air. He was too far to do anything more than to watch his best friend disappear into another world, a world he himself had barely glimpsed, a world he now wished he had never seen.
As Harry disappeared into the portal, they assumed the nuke must have done its job, as the Chitauri around them dropped bonelessly to the ground and the last remaining leviathan crashed into the buildings under it. Once the connection to their mother ship was destroyed, the bio-mechanical creatures 'died'.
They waited … they really did. They waited for the wizard to reappear. The singularly different creature who had befriended them and helped them when they needed it, heedless of danger or their own distrust. He'd done exactly as he had said; he had been there for Stark and Banner, the rest just happened to benefit from that friendship. For the sake of those two, they hoped Harry Potter would return.
But they couldn't leave the portal open for too long either. As seconds ticked by and turned into minutes, there was greater danger of something else emerging from beyond the world. Everyone with the wizard's link on their wrist heard the Captain's order.
"Close it."
The beam rising from the Tessaract device that was holding the portal open pulsed as Natasha used Loki's scepter to close the device on Eric Selvig's instructions. Flickering momentarily, it collapsed and the portal throbbed and thrummed, falling in on itself without the stabilizing energy of the Tessaract. Its edges sucking at Earth's atmosphere, it retreated into itself, until with a massive expulsion of air, the rip in the sky slammed close, leaving behind clear blue skies, monotonous in their silence.
Tony shut down and fell. Had it not been for Hulk, he would have crashed into the ground. Once on the ground, grief allowed Hulk to change back into Bruce. He had been worried about his lack of clothes, but the string around his wrist flared briefly enveloping him with light and leaving him clothed when it dissipated. The doctor checked Tony's pulse, and found it thready but present and the arc reactor in his chest was still active. The genius was alive, but unconscious.
There was nothing more to do but regroup at Stark Tower where they could let JARVIS take off the armor and help Tony rest.
Soon after, Loki was captured and taken into SHIELD custody with Thor's help. The battle of New York had ended. But one of their number had fallen. And Pepper despaired of Tony recovering from the loss of the one person who loved him like a brother and whom he trusted above all others.
Weeks passed and none of them had much to say. The Avengers remained, the team having shifted into the Tower, staying on the lower floors while the upper section was renovated and rebuilt on plans that JARVIS revealed Tony had been working for quite a while. Tony himself remained reserved and withdrawn, speaking only when spoken to, and then mostly with Pepper and Bruce. Steve had tried to apologize for his harsh words on board the Helicarrier, but Tony's blank gaze stopped him, knowing he wouldn't be able to get through to the man.
The world seemed quiet and gray and a bit less bright. A glowing, shining star had disappeared from the vast glittering firmament of joy and hope, blinking abruptly out of existence.
Well, I didn't know my readers would be quite so put out by the cliffhanger ending above. So, I'm going to add three little words here. Hopefully, they will help.
To Be Continued . . . :)
See you all soon.
