"If you can honestly look in to my eyes
and tell me that you don't love me,
then I will let you walk out of my life,
until then I'm gonna keep fighting."
-Unknown
PART 50
"An Iron Man without his armor and a Hawk without his bow and arrow." Amora spoke slowly and seductively as she walked towards them. No other HYDRA soldiers could be seen, but the sirens were going off in the building, so she couldn't be the only one staging this unexpected attack. "This is going to be easier than I thought."
Her hands were glowing softly as she used her magic to push away the two stunned Avengers. Tony got up slowly and covertly pressed a button on his watch before clutching his ribs. Thankfully, they were only bruised, not broken, so he would still be able to fight.
"Didn't see you as one for working with HYDRA." Clint got up to ready to attack, but his eyes curiously shifted to the side as he watched Tony attempt to get some form of information from sorceress.
Amora flipped her hair as she sauntered closer to the two mortals. "While it was not my plan, it has become quite advantageous." A smirk that could easily rival Loki's was beaming brightly and her eyes completely focused on Tony, not pay any mind to Clint. "Loki has strayed. Become weak. Aligning myself with HYDRA has allowed me to see such things."
"You were the one that started that crazed Thor Twitter day." Tony spoke slowly as more of the puzzle pieces were coming together. "You couldn't let Thor find out where Loki was hiding. So you used Twitter to cause confusion. Distract him from the reindeer tracks. And that picture of me in Japan. That was you too. A way to let Loki know much you finally knew, without ever having to say it. He once told me you might know something. That day you visited him on his tea trip. But both of us brushed it off as nothing..."
Amora's smile did not vanish at Tony's astute accusations. "Very good Stark. I had my eye on Loki ever since he asked me to break the enchantment I put on your assistant." She spoke with her usual sultry tone as she stood mere inches away from Tony. "When I asked him about his plan, he would always push me away. Tell me nothing. I became intrigued. Curious as to what was actually going on. Then, several months ago, I saw you. Not just flying to, but walking straight into Loki's hiding place without your armor. I continued to press Loki about his plan. Never revealing what I knew. That he was falling for a mortal. And an Avenger no less. The hypocrite." She scoffed bitterly, but quickly brushed it off. "But still. That was one piece of information I planned on keeping to myself, then use it against Loki if I so needed to. But it looks like what was once a secret is one no more. But it does not matter." Amora's hands glowed once more, as she hit Tony and Clint with another powerful blast. "Now excuse me boys, I have to get Loki and bring him and that wonderful little cage you built to Red Skull."
However, as Amora went to walk past the fallen Avengers, she was knock down, face first into the floor. She was hit in the back by a flying Iron Man suit that promptly connected to Tony's body. As soon as the last piece attached, Tony turned to face Clint. "Better get your gear; we don't know who else may be trying to get to Loki." Tony said as the sirens wailed louder and over the speakers it was announced that the base was under a level three emergency.
Clint ran down the corridors leaving Tony alone with Amora. Tony towered over the fallen Enchantress his arms stretched out ready to blast her at a seconds notice. "You forgot one small detail in this master plan of yours." His hand began to glow as she attempted to stand up. "Me. And I won't let you take him without a fight."
Bruce turned around only to see a dark, evil grin on Loki's face. That he looks pleased. Not surprised one bit. As if, the explosion was right on schedule. Loki took a few steps back only to sit on his bench, his hands dangling between his legs as usual.
Bruce looked back towards the door, then at Loki again, debating whether or not he should stay here. Make sure whoever was breaking in, does not get to Loki. But if the Hulk does come out, will he be able to protect Loki, or will he attempt an attack on the god himself?
Bruce stared at Loki; the smug look was rapidly growing more intolerable. Loki lifted up his hand and pointed it towards the elevator door. As if he was coaxing Bruce. Saying, by all means, leave. Attempt to stop the intruders before they get to me.
"It's Amora out there." Bruce finally said to Loki, deciding not to take the taunt. "She is coming to free you."
Loki leaned over and picked up the whiteboard, writing an answer.
If you consider taking me in this cage to Red Skull as freedom. Then yes. She is.
Bruce didn't know how to take that answer. What Loki means by it? It could go one of two ways. One, Loki has another crazy messed up scheme that somehow involves him handing over this cage to Red Skull. Or Amora is actually working against Loki. That she knows the truth now as well. And she doesn't agree with whatever was going on between Tony and Loki, so now she is taking matters into her own hands. "And how would you know this?" Bruce asked, deciding to stay with Loki in case what his claimed becomes true.
Amora knows too much. I have had my suspicions for some time. But now I know for sure. She thinks me a corrupted hypocrite that will not follow through with the plan that I had laid out.
By teaming up with Red Skull she thinks it will be easier to take down the Avengers. That without Stark's intelligence or technology the rest of you will fall. Then she will finally have Thor. And the only way she knows how to take Iron Man down is through me.
Bruce carefully studied the pristine words Loki wrote. "So you are happy to go from SHIELD captive to HYDRA prisoner."
Loki wrote once again on his board, the smug face looking more conceited.
I never said I was going to let Amora take me to Red Skull as a captive.
This made Bruce think even more so that Loki was fifty shades of crazy. "You are in a cage, where you can't use magic. How do you plan on wiggling your way out of this?" Another crash was heard, causing Bruce to turn his head back towards the door, but no one appeared. He and Loki were still alone. He turned back to look at Loki, but no response was written on the board. He just sat on his bench, eyes closed, like he was meditating. Waiting for the right moment to put whatever idea he had into effect.
Another crash was heard, and amidst the smoke and broken concrete, glass, and metal, Amora stood with a smile that could easily rival Loki's
Amora's head shot up, her snide grin radiating as she finally got to her feet. "Oh, don't worry Stark. I didn't forget about you while concocting this plan."
Tony shot a repulsor beam at her, but she quickly put a shield around herself, making the beam bounce, and fly over Tony's shoulder.
"Jarvis any ideas?" Tony asked, as he attempted blasting her a few more times, but only to produce the same results. Amora put her hands together attempting to blast Tony, but being quick on his feet, he missed being hit by inches.
"To not get hit sir." Jarvis said while still trying to find some weakness that could help take her down.
"Thanks J. That's helpful." Tony muttered as he continued to blast both her and the infrastructure of the building. The only plan he could think of for the moment was to bury her, but the down side to this was that he also is in the closed confined space of SHIELD Headquarters. But protecting Loki. Making sure HYDRA does not get to him. Keeping Loki as close to him as possible. To not have a repeat of Pepper. All of that was more important than anything else.
As the dust began to settle, Tony saw that a ray of green was heading straight towards his chest. He flew several feet away from one of the two elevators that would lead to Loki's cage, hoping that destroying it would keep the god safe for a little while longer.
The dust had cleared, and now several HYDRA soldiers stood behind Amora. "Well this doesn't seem very fair." Tony said counting ten green and yellow jumpsuits all holding vast arrays of guns. "I think I need to even the playing field a bit."
A small section on his right shoulder lifted up and several small missiles locked on the jumpsuits, causing another puff of smoke and piles of rubble to fall around him. "Jarvis where is Amora?" Tony asked as he turned his head trying to pick up her heat signature among the settling debris.
Before he could turn around to scan the area, his body was flung towards the fallen HYDRA soldiers. "Hey guys." Tony said switching on his com hoping that his teammates were on. "I'm being tossed around by Amora like Raggedy Andy down here. What's your guy's status?"
"I'm kind of busy with Ophelia, Stark." A grunt was heard from Natasha along with heavy breathing.
"Cap and I are busy too." Clint said pausing for a moment to shoot. "Since when have the HYDRA soldiers become lemmings? They are not even fighting back."
"Anyone seen Bruce or Thor?" Tony asked getting up and scanning the room, but still could not see or detect Amora.
"Thor was on his way to Loki before the attack. If he is not with you Stark, he must be fighting." Steve said after he threw his shield. "As for Bruce. I have not seen him."
"Sir, Amora is heading for the elevator it is still operations despite the damage." Jarvis spoke up finally getting a lock on the invisible sorceress.
"Well, we will have to fix that." Tony said raising his hand, aiming for the elevator button, the blast hit it dead on and a few sparks flew.
Amora became visible again, smiling at Tony. "So, Loki really is down there then."
"Um I think I was trying to stop you from escaping." Tony said trying to distract Amora from the truth. "You villain. Me hero. That's generally how this thing works."
"Come now Stark." Amora said not moving from her spot. "I have been watching for some time now. You have grown attached to Loki. Despite chaining him up, you will still keep him close. You cannot lose him like you did your precious assistant." Tony clenched his teeth and let a repulsor blast go straight to Amora. But much like Loki, her body shimmered and vanished, and instead he blew up the rest of the elevator. "And this time, I'll make sure you don't get the one person you truly love back." Amora's voice came from behind him, and Tony saw his whole world fading into black.
Bruce could not believe it. Amora actually made it through. She got past the rest of the team. Found where they have been hiding Loki. Bruce made a fist and the rage began pumping in his veins. He knew it was a dangerous game to Hulk out with Loki in his cage. But fighting Amora as plain old Bruce Banner, he would lose. There was no doubt in his mind.
For just a moment, Bruce turned around to see Loki, a final reaction. Despite the emeralds being closed, Loki could not hide the smirk on his face. Bruce could feel the shift coming. His body changing. He knelt down as his clothing began to rip at the seams and his skin transformed into green. The Hulk's eyes opened, the first thing he saw was Amora and his initial instinct was to smash her to a bloody pulp.
The Hulk ran towards Amora through the shards of broken glass that once separated the cage from the entrance. She put her hands together once more and blasted him with an attack. He roared in pain, but kept pushing forward. He grabbed Amora and flung her across the small room, her body hitting the thick glass-like layer of the cage.
Despite the ruckus, Loki did not move from his place, nor open his eyes. He calmly sat in his spot, slowly breathing, as if he were waiting for the right moment to implement his own plan of attack.
Amora glared as she rose, her hands now glowing a soft shade of blue, almost white, as she aimed at the Hulk. The blast encased him in some shell that melded into in skin so Amora was able to control him to some extent. She flung him against the glass, breaking the rest of the outer layer leaving the cage completely out in the open. The Hulk tried to move, break free of the spell, but all it resulted in was him being flung against the wall closest to the cage.
The Hulk roared, not enjoying his confinement, where Amora strutted towards him, laughing in her musical voice. With a flick of her wrist, she flung the Hulk to the side, hitting Loki's cage once more in the process, but still paid no mind to it. Stark was no fool. The real cage. The box containing Loki, was most defiantly Hulk proof. She was only inches away from the massive green face; the eyes were closed, and his breathing steady. With a smirk, Amora went to look up at Loki, but her body met the opposing wall as the Hulk's eyes snapped open in a surprise attack. Before she could perform a spell or even take a breath, the Hulk snatched Amora and once again chucker her against the wall with all his strength.
Groaning, Amora tried to get up, but the Hulk punched her in the gut and tossed her to the side once more. Having to fight the Hulk was not part of her plan and she needed to think fast. And by fast, she needed a plan before she was flung against another wall. She knew she could not take as many hits against concrete and glass like it appears the Hulk can.
Her eyes were closed, but she could hear the stomping of his feet. She had a plan. Treat the Hulk like the Silent Ones. She opened her eyes, and blasted his head, causing him to flinch. Using that brief moment of confusion, she casted a spell that she was not terribly familiar with but felt confident enough it would work. A bubble like sphere appeared over the hulk's head, his breath becoming short and sporadic. It was taking away his oxygen. After a few more moments of struggling, the Hulk finally collapsed to the ground. She flung him over to the side, causing the bubble to pop, and the Hulk began reverting back into an unconscious and very naked Bruce Banner.
With a sigh of relief, Amora took a deep breath, and regained her composure before turning around to face Loki.
Loki's eyes were finally opened, a terse smile on his lips as Amora sauntered towards his cage. Yet, he didn't move from his spot. He stayed sitting, his grin refusing to fade.
Amora stood in front of the glass, her hand only inches from the pin pad on the cage. With a smirk of her own, she retracted her hand. "Loki." She said her head gently shaking from side to side as she took a few steps back. "After discovering your relationship with Stark, you didn't truly think I was still working for you. Your mortal has blinded you more than Thor does me." A soft laugh escaped from her lips, as she continued looking pleased with herself.
Loki also laughed as he stood up from his bench. Nothing Amora could say or do could faze him. "Amora, how little you truly see. How impatient you are. Karnilla was right to reject you as her apprentice." Loki's voice actually spoke, which caught Amora off guard.
"What? How are you speaking?" She asked her eyes narrowing, but as soon as she asked Loki vanished from sight. She rushed to the pin pad, placing her hand on it, using her magic to open the cage, and walked in. The gas was gone. She was about to leave the cage, but the door shut before her, and the gas began seeping through the vent.
Loki appeared in front of the cage, his grin even wider. "You should pay more attention to your surroundings while you fight Amora." Loki said slyly as his eyes shifted over to the box and tube that put the gas into the chamber. "While Stark made sure the glass was beast proof, he was not so thorough with the pipe that carries the gas into the chamber. When you tossed the Hulk around, he hit it, and dented the pipe at the perfect angle. It gave me a few moments without the gas, so I able to put a shield over myself, and fix the pipe so you would never notice. Then all I had to do was wait until the right moment. Have you enter the cage, and use magic on that machine, so you believed the gas was not working. Then in the few moments you are too stunned to think, I would just turn the gas back on before you could even plan an escape. And I must say it worked far too easily. So thank you for that Amora. You will make a beautiful peace offering to Red Skull."
Amora hit the glass, shouting at Loki, but no words escaped her lips. Loki laughed at the sight before him, guessing the obscenities she was attempting to verbalize.
"Loki!" The familiar voice shouting his name caused him to lose all sense of joviality he had moments ago. Loki turned around to see Tony in a half working Iron Man armor.
"Thank you for the cage Stark." Loki attempted to spat, but his heart began to quicken and lighten at the wide eyed look he was getting from Tony. He was doing everything in his power to make sure Tony would not affect him in these final moments. But forcing himself to emit such hatred was harder than he remembered and the ache in his heart was incomparable to any pain known before. "It will be quite advantageous. Now if you pardon my abrupt departure, I have an old ally to visit." With a wave of his hand, both he, and the cage containing Amora vanished from sight. In the last few seconds before Loki disappeared completely, Steve, Clint, Thor, and Natasha made their way to the cell block only to see Tony doing nothing. That he was just watching Loki evaporate into thin air and that Bruce was knocked out in a corner.
"Tony what happened?" Steve asked making Tony snap out of his surprised daze.
Tony was silent still processing all that he just saw. How seeing Loki free from his cage made his heart stop beating and the world around him froze. "Amora was trapped in the cage." Tony spoke slowly, still not wanting to believe what he saw. "Loki escaped…taking her and the cage with him." Tony finally turned around facing his teammates, but still in an unbelieving daze. "And I think he is taking them to Red Skull."
A/N: Thank you for reading, and are looking forward for what is to come. Also a big thank you to those of you who have reviewed, faved, follow. It really pushes me and inspires me, so think you. So until next time.
