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Chapter 38:

Police, ambulance and fire crews rushed around him. He could hear their voices in the background, but his attentions remained on one individual.

Kitty remained where she was on the ground. She barely moved, and she didn't say anything. Not matter what he tried, he couldn't get through to her. He'd tried to approach her again, and she'd thrown him backwards. He'd tried to reach her across their mental link, but she ignored him. He'd even resorted to shouting her name across the distance, but she remained silent.

Hours ticked by, and soon, they were the only two left on the remains of the building in the dark. It was so quiet that you could hear a penny drop. Neither of them moved from their respective positions, refusing to give in to the other's wishes. He knew he could wait her out. And eventually his patience paid off.

Why do you stay?

Because I love you

How?

With my heart

Can you love a monster?

I can love my wife.

And if your wife is the monster?

Then I will protect her from those who seek to harm her.

You would risk death?

Death cannot stop true love.

How can you be sure?

Because nothing can. And nothing will.

All things break, given time.

Love cannot be broken, not with a thousand swords. I will wait for you, no matter how long it takes, because we have an eternity ahead of us. That finally broke through her self-imposed barriers. She lifted her head, and gazed at him with tear sodden eyes. Mere words could not convey how he felt at that moment, so he bounded across their mental link, delving into that special place that they reserved for each other.

They stood alone in an empty ballroom. The floor was clean and shone with brilliance. He looked down and saw he was wearing a black tuxedo, while she wore he blue and silver dress.

"May I have this dance?" He asked, holding out his hand as music began to play from nowhere. She accepted it, and he led her to the centre of the empty room. They began to sway to the slow beat of the music. For hours they continued, turning on the spot. He gazed into her crystal clear eyes and relayed the words he had spoken to her after their first kiss.

I am more sure that I want to be with you than I am of anything else in the world, Kitty.

They both leaned in for a kiss. A kiss that brought them from the meta-physical world back into the real world. They stood together, lips locked in a tight embrace that did not break for several long minutes, not until their senses went off.

He spun around, instinctively placing himself between Kitty and the perceived danger. A silhouette of a man could be seen, his features distorted by a light behind him. But he didn't need to see the man's face to know who he was, only one Avenger carried a bow and arrows.

"Hawkeye," Peter spat, disgusted that the world's greatest archer chose now to show up, of all times. But he wasn't alone. More shapes dissolved from the black nothingness of the night. Soon Black Widow, Hawkeye, Mary-Jane, Dr Octavious, and Venom formed a semi-circle around the two of them.

"No...no, not quite, arachnid," Hawkeye jeered. "I think I've had my fun with this charade." Hawkeye's face contorted and twisted. He became taller, and his hair darkened. His body armour changed into a green cloak. Similarly, Black Widow's form changed. She was no longer the Russian redhead, but an Asgardian Enchantress.

"Loki!" Peter shouted.

"Yes...that's right..." Loki jeered. "it's been such fun, meddling with your life, arachnid."

"Why?" Peter snapped.

"Quite simple," said Loki, "So my plan would succeed. Four years ago, I was visited by myself...from the future. He told me that if I wanted to rule Asgard, as is my birth right...all i needed to do was... destroy the mighty Avengers."

"Why me? Why the Avengers?" Peter asked.

"Because, time and time again, the Avengers rallied, led by Captain America and my oafish brother. No matter how hard I tried, they always defeated me. So I came up with a new plan: You." Loki sneered. "I learned from my future self that you would eventually come to lead the Avengers alongside the great Captain. You became the greatest one of them all. So I decided that you would be my new weapon of choice. But to do that, I had to go back farther. I had to destabilize you and your friends. What better way to do that than with the death of a close friend?"

"You killed her!" Peter roared.

"Yes, mortal," Loki replied with a grin, "It was I who 'convinced' the mortal Nitro to go into that particular building. There were so many others to choose from, but you had to suffer first and foremost, changing your future and destiny forever. From then on, It was a simple matter of me biding my time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. I must say that I played my parts most convincingly. The President. The Newspaper Publisher. The Archer. All parts of my scheme."

"Fate, it seems, played to my advantage. How quickly you fell for the mortal girl. How easy it was to guide your friend into that alley, so she would see what was going on. I turned them against you and you against them, and that was only the start."

"I had already assumed the identity of Clint Barton many years ago. I always knew that it would be useful to know what my brother was up to here on mid-guard. I sought to capture the girl, in hopes that you would go to the ends of the earth to save her, but your willpower seemed to overcome mine, and you escaped with both your lives, to my advantage. I then realized that I had to strengthen the bond you had with her. So I was the one who shot her, missing on purpose. Marvelling in how you fought to save her pitiful life."

"Then my plan started to come to fruition. You led the X-men against the Avengers, destroying bonds forever. Weakening yourselves for my eventual dominance. At that same time, I began recruiting an army, an army to crush you all. But i reserved my piece d' resistance for her. The mighty Phoenix, the sum of all life, under my enthral. How it would destroy you if your enemy was your heart."

"So I separated you from your potential allies. I used my best pawn to lure you into a trap I had so eagerly waited to spring. To defeat so many Spider-men was my ultimate desire. Sadly, he failed to finish you off, but succeeded in bringing me the Phoenix for my own machinations."

"If you want her," Peter snapped as he tightened his fists, ready for a fight "you're gonna have to go through me first."

"As you wish," Loki snorted, "I have been looking for someone to use the full power of the Odin-force on, anyway." He raised his staff, and a white energy blasted forward, rocketing towards Peter.

And everything went black.

A/N: The board is set, and the pieces are moving.