Another chapter before the end of the decade! Gosh, I feel old, even though I'm still in school. :( It's surprising how time flies. It feels like I was just watching the first Avengers movie back in 2012.
Chapter Twenty-Six: Disaster on Mount Charteris
The shockwave tore down the mountain before Pietro could react. The windshield shattered and Pietro could hear glass shattering in the nearby houses. The explosion had woken several people up. Already there were people out in the streets talking and looking confused and scared.
Pietro shook the glass out of his hair and shut off the radio. People were standing in their pajamas and pointing up at the mountain. Some had their phones out, most likely calling 911 or recording the disaster.
Pietro contemplated getting out of the car or staying put but then decided that he would look weird if he stayed within a car with blown-out windshield and covered in glass.
Brushing off the remaining glass, Pietro opened the car door and joined the ever-growing crowd.
Curious and nervous whispers filled the silent night. One elderly lady was clearly in contact with 911; her frightened voice shrill with worry.
"What happened?" a little girl asked, her hand tightly gripped her mother's fingers.
"We're going to die!" a teenage boy exclaimed.
"Where are the Avengers?" another man asked.
The mother with the little girl moved closer to Pietro.
"Who are you? Are you okay?" the mother asked, surprising Pietro with the question. He figured the town was small enough that everybody knew everyone and a stranger would stick out. Not to mention the spot of blood on his sweatshirt; that alone would draw attention.
Thinking quickly, Pietro came up with a cover story to not give away the fact that his girlfriend and her family were most likely dead from that explosion.
"My girlfriend and I were camping in the woods when we got attacked by a mountain lion," Pietro lied. "My girlfriend and I got separated when we were attacked. I hoped that she would find her way back down to where we parked but she hasn't come back yet."
"Do you need help?" the woman asked, her face softening. "The police are already on their way. We can get you an ambulance."
"I'm fine," Pietro said but he didn't know if he was trying to assure the woman or himself. Was he really fine? What the hell happened up there?
"I'm okay, they're okay…" Pietro muttered to himself. "I hope."
/\/\/\/\
Being alone with two enemies staring at him, Loki started rethinking his decisions. Hardly being able to stand without holding onto something, Loki wished he was anywhere but here. Although he knew that Thanos wasn't entirely himself, Loki couldn't help thinking back to the Void. Panic clawed its way up to his chest, threatening to send him into a full panic attack.
"Well, well, well," Amora said, sounding smug despite the blood drying from her nose and eyes. "Guess you found your rightful place, didn't you, little runt?"
Thanos grinned savagely at Loki. Loki tried to ignore it but it reminded him of those times when Thanos would smile like that before beginning to torture him. That grin sent shivers down Loki's spine and he almost collapsed before he caught himself on the table that Amora had strapped him onto earlier.
"Scared, princey?" Amora jeered. "Surely you can't be thinking of turning back now."
Summoning any bit of courage left inside him, Loki stood up straighter and tried to look confident. "You're dying, Amora. Surely you can't be thinking about taking over the universe when you are barely holding it together."
Amora laughed. "You don't look much better yourself."
"At least I will be alive after this," Loki retorted. "Give my sedir back to me and you can walk away in one piece, alive. We can end this foolishness right now if you-"
"I'm not going to give you anything," Amora hissed. "Except for your old life back." She nodded at Thanos, who took a step forward. "He misses your company. You probably don't want to leave him alone at night. Or any time of day, for that matter. You belong with Thanos, not with your pathetic family."
Loki's eyes flickered over at Thanos, who was standing too close for comfort.
"Are you seriously still in love with my brother?" Loki asked, trying to buy time.
A fond smile spread on Amora's face. "Of course. You will probably be too busy keeping Thanos entertained to join our wedding."
"He hates you, you know."
"I can change that," Amora said, clutching the power stone necklace. "When Thanos takes over the universe, I will be by his side. I can gain access to the mind stone. Or, maybe I can use you as a bargaining chip!"
Amora clapped delightfully. "Oh, yes! I can offer you in exchange for Thor's hand in marriage. And then never give you over. Trick him. It's a splendid idea; he would definitely want to rescue his poor, little brother."
Amora's little speech distracted Loki so much that he only noticed Thanos standing behind him when the Titan's large hands wrapped around his arms, pinning them to his sides. Loki gave a yelp of surprise and struggled to get free but Thanos didn't relent. In fact, Thanos dragged Loki up towards Amora and forced him to kneel.
Loki's knees slammed painfully onto the hard ground. Thanos kept a hand on the top of Loki's head, tangling his fingers through Loki's hair and forced him to look up at Amora. Amora clutched the railing and sneered down at Loki.
"Say good-bye to your freedom, little runt," Amora jeered. "After today, you will be nothing but a slave."
Loki growled but the hand on his head brought even more painful memories rushing back. He suddenly had a feeling of déjà vu, a horrible feeling of helplessness. A large knot settled in his stomach, making him feel nauseous. Not again, he cannot be taken again, used, tortured, forced to oblige to Thanos's every whim.
Just when he thought that he would forever be stuck serving Thanos, Amora screamed. The shrill sound rang loudly in Loki's ears; he felt the start of a headache. His neck remained stretched as Thanos kept his head facing upwards.
Out of the corner of his eye, Loki saw Amora double over and cough out blood. She collapsed to her knees and coughed. Blood continued to leak from her nose, ears, and eyes. She was literally coming apart at the seams.
"You don't have to do this," Loki exclaimed. He tried to sound confident but the presence of Thanos standing behind him was unnerving. "Release my sedir and save yourself. You can't marry Thor if you are dead."
Amora didn't respond. She couldn't respond. Loki heard a little thud; he could only guess that Amora passed out.
The grip on his head suddenly disappeared. With nothing to keep him upright, Loki fell forward. He rolled onto his back and pushed himself up on his elbows to see what happened to Amora.
Thanos glowed green, sparks flying off his body. Amora was back on her feet, using Thanos as support. She stared at her hands in horror. Her hands flared green; her whole body had a green gleam to it.
Loki felt a surge of energy pulsate out of Amora's body. The light burned brighter and brighter, becoming more intense.
"NO!" Amora shouted. Loki squinted up at her, the energy tearing her apart. She couldn't hold it for much longer.
Amora let out a high pitched scream as Loki's sedir ripped through her, splitting Amora into millions of pieces as the sedir detonated.
/\/\/\/\
The force of the explosion knocked Loki back, hitting his head on the floor. He could feel his teeth rattling together and the possible start of a concussion.
The shockwave shattered every glass surface in the room and the entire base. Lights burst, sending shards of glass raining down on him. Loki rolled onto his stomach and covered his head with his hands. Glass wouldn't harm him but if the ceiling were to start caving in on him, then he would be in trouble.
He felt the surge of energy rumble down the mountain, reminding him that many people lived down there.
When Loki felt like all was clear, his slowly uncurled from his spot on the floor and surveyed the damage.
The explosion had completely evaporated Amora, taking Thanos with her. A ball of green energy hovered in the spot where she stood, lighting up the room with a soft glow. Glass covered the already slick floor, making the ice shine like diamonds.
Cracks snaked up the walls and on the ceiling. A chunk of concrete fell next to Loki, making him jump. Looking up, he could see the stars from empty space the chunk left.
More chunks fell, breaking on the floor much faster than Loki expected. The floor, itself, started cracking.
The base was collapsing, with him in it!
Loki tried to stand up, but a sudden headache blinded him and forced him back down. He waited for the headache to pass but it only faded a little, the presence of it reminding him that he needed to get checked out for a concussion.
He needed to move fast if he didn't want to get crushed by tons of concrete but his limbs refused to work.
Sigyn and Thor crossed his mind as Loki lay on the floor, trying to summon enough energy to move. They would miss him, for sure. The kids would miss him. They needed their father. Sigyn needed her boyfriend. Thor needed his brother. They all needed him. He wouldn't die without putting up a fight. He survived worse; he surely could survive a ceiling caving in on him.
Ha! Pathetic. He was Loki, the god of mischief. He survived falling into the Void, being tortured by a Titan, being beaten by the Hulk, impaled by a Dark Elf. He's been tortured to the brink of death countless times and always came back from it. What was a little base compared to being choked to death by Thanos?
Refusing to give up for his family (and possibly a little bit of his pride), Loki reached out his arm, calling the energy towards him. He had never been drained of it before so he didn't know the side effects of absorbing it again but he had to try. For Sigyn. For Thor. For the kids.
The energy curled around his fingertips and snaked down his arm. Every nerve lit up with sedir, making his entire body glow. It was quite painful, to say the least. The sedir felt like lava being pushed through his veins. Sweat trickled down his back and face, blurring his vision.
This mixed with his concussion and already current state of weakness almost shorted out his heart. But he pushed through until he absorbed it all.
Just in time as the ceiling toppled down on him.
/\/\/\/\
They were halfway down the mountain when an unseen force knocked them all down. Sigyn landed on her knees, catching herself before she slipped down the small cliff in front of her. Hela collapsed beside her, just as equally shocked.
Sigyn heard a loud snap and cry of pain coming from behind her. Looking back, she saw Bucky holding his right wrist. A white glint of bone shone in the pale moonlight. The bone had broken through his skin, blood streaming onto the ground.
Sigyn crawled over to him and gently took his wrist into her hands.
"This will hurt," Sigyn said. "But it will be better afterward."
Bucky nodded and gritted his teeth. Sigyn closed her eyes and summoned her healing magic.
Nothing happened. She felt nothing.
Opening her eyes, Sigyn grimaced and tried again.
Again, nothing.
She was mentally and physically drained; she couldn't heal anyone right now.
Sighing, Sigyn sat back on her heels and pushed the bone back into place. Bucky flinched and stifled a yelp. Sigyn tore off a piece of her cape and wrapped it around his wrist. It would have to do until she could use her magic again.
Bucky slowly laid down on the grass, clutching his broken wrist with his metal hand. Soon after, he was asleep from exhaustion.
Sigyn plopped down next to him and stared up at the trees. Tears started forming her eyes. Loki was up there. He couldn't have survived that.
Off in the distance, she could hear sirens. The shockwave most likely had found the town at the bottom of the mountain. At least they had help, unlike themselves who were too tired to go any further.
"What happened?" a quiet voice asked.
Sigyn propped herself up on her elbows and looked around their mess of a group.
Fenris was sitting up, his chocolate brown eyes wide with shock. "What did I do? Where's dad?"
Thor, thankfully, took the onslaught of questions. He explained the events, not even taking the time to sugarcoat anything for the kids. It was a common rule in their household that everyone had to be truthful, even if it hurts. Loki had said that he had dealt with enough lies and lying only made the pain of the truth worse.
The usually joyful youngest boy deflated in front of their eyes. It broke Sigyn's heart, even more, to see Fenris look so dejected.
Jormungandr scooted closer to his younger brother and, surprisingly, gave him a hug. Fenris leaned into the hug and closed his eyes. Jormungandr rested his chin on his brother's head and closed his own eyes as well.
"Is dad going to be okay?" Hela asked.
If there ever was a time that Sigyn wanted to lie and say that everything was going to turn out just fine, it was now. But that would be going against everything she stood for. No amount of lying could bury the truth. They all knew that the odds of Loki surviving were slim.
"I don't know," Sigyn admitted. Those three words broke something inside her and she broke down crying. Thor slid over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.
She could hear Thor's breaths and quiet sniffles. He was trying to hold it together, to be strong for the rest of them, but she knew that he was hurting, too.
Looking past Thor's shoulder and up the mountain, Sigyn could barely see the Hydra base. It blended in well with the trees and rocks but she had seen enough of it in the past several hours to be able to pick it out even in the dark.
She watched, through the trees, as the base collapsed, taking her boyfriend, the love of her life, with it.
Next chapter coming soon! Please review! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year/Decade!