CHAPTER 9: AVENGERS, SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED
The Chitauri awakened, eyes lighting up, ships activating, each one holding a pilot and a soldier. The portal was open. Their time had come. Before the portal was even fully open, they began flying through it, passing across light years of space in a second to a whole new world. A world they would conquer.
Tony looked up at it all, eyes wide, heart in his throat. "Right," he muttered, his screen switching to combat mode, glowing red. "Army." He pushed into his thrusters and flew upwards.
A Chitauri soldier let off a battle cry and fired a blue laser bolt. He dodged it and fired back, incinerating the ship. He fired again and again, blasting ships, until a shot hit him, knocking him aside. He recovered and narrowed his eyes. His shoulder panel slid open and dozens of miniature surface-to-surface missiles shot out, tracking enemies and blowing them out of the sky, carving a dent in the enemy forces. But there were so many of them, and so many were flying past him into the city. He couldn't keep up. He narrowed his eyes and fought harder.
The ones that flew past him split up, dividing into groups and openly firing on the city below. People stopped in the middle of the street, staring up in shock and disbelief as the aliens came flying out, gasping in astonishment. Those gasps quickly turned to screams as the Chitauri opened fire on them, causing the crowd to duck and cover, running for safety. Explosions went off left and right, knocking people off their feet and causing cars to flip over.
One waitress ducked as more aliens swooped by, holding two other people there. Once the coast was clear, they all ran for the nearby café, ducking inside with several other people and closing the door. They stared at the window, watching more and more alien ships shooting everything. None of them could believe what they were seeing. It was something straight out of science fiction movie. A real-life alien invasion happening right in front of their eyes. This shouldn't be possible. And yet, it was still happening.
Several blocks over, a mother and her daughter were running through the street, dodging and ducking with each blast. They were just following the crowd, everyone madly running without any purpose or direction, just trying to get away. Alien ships kept firing, blasting at buildings, cars, people, anything they could. As the mother and daughter ran, a particular blast detonated a bus, causing them to fall backwards. The daughter shrieked as she fell over. The mother desperately tried to help her but another blast, even closer this time, knocked them back again. The mother looked up and saw several aliens converging on them, blasters raised. Knowing there was no hope, she covered her daughter with her body, wanting to at least try to save her.
The Chitauri growled and prepared to fire when the axe flew out of nowhere, striking it right in the face. The soldier crumpled instantly, falling in a heap. The pilot glanced back in surprise when Sam jumped down, yanking her axe out of the fallen alien and quickly slicing off the pilot's head. The two other ships instantly moved into attack position but Sam was faster, hefting up her spear and throwing it with deadly accuracy. It struck the head of one of the pilots who slumped over, tilting the ship directly into the other, forcing both to crash into the ground where they promptly blew up.
Sam sniffed. "Headshot." She then jumped down and collected her spear before walking over to where the mother and daughter were still cowering on the ground. "Here," she said, gently helping them up. "You're ok now," she told them. "But you need to get off the streets. Get in one of the buildings, get out of sight."
"Bu-but what about you?" the mother stammered, holding her daughter closely.
Sam glared up at the alien-filled sky. "I'm going hunting," she replied darkly and whistled. Her horse materialized in front of her and she leapt on, riding off into the sky. One ship targeted her but she took it down swiftly, Stanley flying around it for her to cut the pilot down. She attacked and killed several more Chitauri soldiers but for each one she killed, another five flew by. She was barely making a dent here. She glanced up at the portal, swarming with Chitauri ships. That's where she had to go. Close that portal and end the problem for good.
"Yah!" she cried out, kicking her legs and her horse responded, whisking her upwards to Stark Tower.
Loki stared around the city as he walked to the edge of the platform, his full costume appearing around him. The explosions, the people screaming and running in panic, his army flying rampant around the city. The chaos he was sowing, the fear he was spreading, it was all so…glorious. He could feel it inside him, the feeling of power. This is what it was like to be a god.
Thor hit the lower landing heavily, hammer in hand, seething in rage that he was too late. "Loki!" he yelled.
Loki turned and felt a twinge of annoyance at the sight of his brother. Always appearing to spoil his moment. Time to remedy that.
"Turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it!" Thor warned, holding his hammer threateningly.
"You can't," Loki replied, pointing his scepter at him. "There is no stopping it. There is only the war."
Thor stared at him grimly, preparing himself for the fight to come. "So be it."
Loki leaped off the platform, yelling out and slamming his scepter down. Thor dodged around it and swung his hammer, the two weapons colliding with a spray of sparks. Loki then swung the scepter around, forcing Thor to step backwards to avoid having his throat cut, before flipping it over his shoulder and firing it. Thor deflected it off his hammer before attacking again, knocking Loki's scepter down just as it fired again, the ray blasting into the giant neon letters off the tower.
Below, Sam yelped as the giant K fell towards her, narrowly flying around it before it crashed onto the roof of the building below. She looked back up and narrowed her eyes. "Come on," she said and jerked the reins upwards, continuing her climb. She had to get up there, now.
Down below, police cars arrived, sirens wailing. Officers climbed out, staring unbelievingly at the alien ships flying above them, chasing Iron Man and doing their best to shoot him down.
Several miles away, the Quinjet swooped down over the city.
"We're too late," Percy muttered, taking it all in. His city was on fire, being destroyed right in front of him. He grimaced and thanked the gods that his family was out of town.
"Stark, we're on your three headed northeast," Natasha said over the comm, keeping her eyes peeled for any alien attackers.
"What, did you stop for drive through?" Tony snapped back, dodging around a building. "Swing up Park, I'm gonna lay them out for you." He flew down near Stark Tower, three ships on his tail. As he did, he briefly spotted Thor and Loki dueling but couldn't stop to help. He hoped Thor could handle it. Tony flew close to the street, dodging several blasts, before turning to the right sharply. One of the ships following couldn't make it in time and crashed into the nearby building, exploding on impact. One down, and about a hundred to go. Romanoff had better be ready.
Natasha flew down Park Avenue, readying the gun, eyes trained for the right moment. Stark flew by and she saw the first Chitauri appear. She opened fire instantly, high caliber bullets ripping into the alien ships and taking out several.
Tony breathed out for a second, having a slight reprieve.
"Sir, we have more incoming," JARVIS informed him.
"Fine," he said, focusing up again. "Let's keep them occupied."
The Quinjet flew up the side of Stark Tower, firing at all ships and narrowly dodging return fire. Percy groaned inside. "I really hate flying," he muttered, clutching his stomach. Next to him, Sadie groaned as well, but only because she was missing all the action. She was useless in here.
Natasha saw three ships target them from above and moved to dive aside when something hit the aliens, cutting them down so fast that they didn't have time to react. She smiled as she saw Sam wave briefly at her before rejoining the fray, her magical horse galloping through the air. If they weren't in the middle of a warzone, Natasha would definitely be focusing on how weird that was.
Thor swung his hammer again but Loki ducked aside, grabbing his brother and slamming him into the glass railing, Thor grunting in pain.
Both Clint and Natasha glanced over. "Nat?" Clint asked.
"See him," Natasha replied, guiding the gun over as Clint swung the Quinjet around, pointing it directly at the gods.
Loki looked up, spotted them, and quickly tossed Thor aside. As Natasha started firing at him, he fired his scepter at them directly into one of the turbines.
The Quinjet instantly jerked in the air, everyone stumbling from the blast. Clint grabbed the controls, trying to keep them in the air, but the jet was refusing to respond. He could see smoke pouring out of the turbine and the flames crawling across the metal. There was no doubt about it. They were going down.
"Oh, yeah, I really hate flying," Percy muttered, grabbing hold of the safety tethers for dear life.
Thor glared up as he saw the jet fall and let out a bellow of rage, slamming into Loki and knocking him down hard.
The Quinjet heaved in the air, flying awkwardly, the turbines spinning fire and smoke around, before diving off to the side. Sadie and Steve both latched onto the upper handles, trying desperately to hold on as Clint and Natasha battled with the controls to keep them afloat.
Sam rode by next to them, watching in a panic as they fell, knowing she couldn't do anything to help them. She just prayed they would be able to make the landing. But there was one thing she could do. Take out Loki, once and for all. She glared up at the tower and jerked the reins, riding back up.
Thor mercilessly punched Loki, never giving him a chance to recover. No more going easy, no more holding back. He had to end this, for everyone's sake.
Clint did his best to guide the Quinjet between the buildings, the plane now trailing a stream of fire behind them. He looked around for any place to land them, somewhere open and not crowded. But at this point, all he could really do was hope for the best.
Steve and Sadie swung from the handles as the jet jerked around wildly. Steve tightened his grip, gritting his teeth from the strain. He didn't know how Sadie was doing it but he just hoped that they could both hold on. He could see from the corner of his eye Percy still in his seat, strapped in tight and desperately clutching at the safety tethers, eyes wide with panic and looking like he was about to throw up.
Clint wrestled with the controls, grunting as the jet dived down and just barely managed to get them in turn. "Come on, come on, come on," he muttered. He winced as their wing smashed into a building but still managed to keep them flying. He needed to land this bird now. He leaned into the dive a little, gaining an ounce more control, and managed to dodge them aside another building right into a small park.
They came down hard, crashing right into the pavement with rubble flying all over the windshield. Everyone was shaking wildly, doing their best to hold on, until the Quinjet finally came to a stop as it hit another building, still shooting out sparks.
Clint and Natasha quickly unbuckled as Steve opened the back hatch, letting them all out.
"Oh, I'm never flying again," Percy muttered, relieved to be back on the ground and still alive.
"On your feet, soldier. We have a war to win." Percy looked up and nodded at Steve. He took a second to catch his breath, before standing up and pulling out Riptide. He couldn't let this bother him. He had a job to do and a city to save.
Steve was the first one out, followed swiftly by Sadie. He ran across their trail of destruction and looked up at Stark Tower as well as all the Chitauri swarming around it. "We got to get back up there," he yelled, running for it with the rest following him, passing by civilians screaming and running in terror. Percy winced as he saw it. The last time he had fought here, the people had mercifully been spared this, put to sleep by Morpheus. This time, they didn't get that luxury.
They all made it right to the bridge in front of Grand Central Station when they heard it. A loud mechanical growl that reverberated around the city, bringing them to a stop. They all looked up at the portal and their eyes went wide with horror as they saw what was coming through, gripping their weapons even tighter as if that would help. As they watched, an enormous ship passed through the portal, at least twenty times bigger than the other ships with spiky, armored plating all around it forming finds along its sides and spine as well as a mouth with sharp teeth that roared out as it came, like it was an actual beast.
"Well, that sucks," Sadie said.
"It's like a leviathan," Percy muttered, staring at it.
The ship flew down the side of the tower before righting itself and flying directly above them, smashing the statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt as it did so. As they watched, small pockets along the side of the mechanical beast opened up every few seconds and more Chitauri leaped out. The ones on the right slid down the building's slick walls before finding a grip while the others on the left smashed through the glass windows and instantly pulled out their guns and opened fire on the people inside. Even after that, more ships kept coming through, an endless armada now laying siege to Manhattan.
"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve asked.
"Seeing," Tony replied, flying behind the giant ship. "Still working on believing." Even after hearing Thor and Loki tell them all about the army, he hadn't quite believed it. Even with it all happening around him, it still felt unreal. But it was and they were heavily outnumbered and outgunned. "Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"
"Banner?" Steve questioned.
"Just keep me posted," Tony replied then focused on the big ship, the leviathan as Jackson had called it, flying a couple blocks parallel to it. "JARVIS, find me a soft spot," he said as the ship's fins cut straight through the top of a building, shattering glass and stone alike.
"Look at this!" Thor bellowed directly at Loki, still grappling with him. "Look around you! You think this madness will end with your rule?"
Loki did, seeing the city being destroyed as if for the first time. And he suddenly felt unsure. If he followed this path, would he be king? Would his benefactor still let him rule? And even if he did, what would be left to rule?
"It's too late," he replied, almost to himself. "It's too late to stop it."
"No," Thor told him. "We can. Together." And for a moment, looking into his brother's eyes, he saw hope. Hope that things would be made right again, that they would return to the way they were.
And Loki considered his words. For a split second, he was tempted to just let it all go, redeem himself in the eyes of his adopted family and be the man they wanted him to be. But that was it. He wasn't. He was his own man. And this was what he wanted.
And it was that word. Together. He and Thor had never been together, him just lurking in the shadow of his brother's fame and glory. He would never return to how things used to be. It was too late now. He didn't want to stop the chaos he had started because at least it set him on a new path, one that would finally give him the recognition he deserved.
He smiled briefly at his brother, knowing what he had to do and feeling just a small glimmer of sadness at it.
"Thor, look out!"
They both jerked at Sam's warning but it came too late as Loki's knife found its way into Thor's ribs, sinking up to the hilt. Thor gasped in shock and pain, dropping his hammer and falling to his knees.
"Sentiment," Loki muttered in disappointment before turning his gaze upwards to where the Valkyrie was riding in. She held her axe firm, looking to chop his head right off, but he lashed out with his scepter, firing two blasts.
Sam dodged the first one but ran right into the second one. Her horse screamed in pain and bucked wildly. Sam cried out as she was flung violently from her seat, rolling through the air and then crashing painfully on the balcony. The horse quickly disappeared in a flash of light. Sam groaned and tried getting to her feet when something suddenly pressed down on her back.
"You really never learn, do you?" Loki asked.
"Nope," Sam replied and then shapeshifted, instantly transforming into a robin. Loki was startled for a second before looking up at her but at that point she had already shifted again, changing into a bald eagle and slicing at his face with her sharp talons.
"Gah!" he cried in surprise, flailing his arms in front of his face. "Get away!" he yelled and started firing his scepter at her but she easily dodged the blasts. "You think you can stand up to-"
He was interrupted as Thor punched him in the face, knocking him into the wall and cracking it. He slumped over, breathing weakly.
"Surrender now, brother," Thor warned him, glaring harshly at him, "and I may show mercy."
Sadie ducked as Chitauri ship blasted at her overhead. She fired off a fireball from her staff, hitting the alien pilot in the head and causing the ship to crash down. She sighed deeply, already feeling the effects of using too much magic, and the battle had barely begun. More and more alien ships kept flying through the portal, swarms of them, and with each one Sadie took down another five took its place to attack.
She wished she could merge with Izzie right about now but apparently whatever disturbance messing with the Duat was also preventing them from connecting. Sadie could feel the block there, and if she lowered her vision into the Duat she could see it, a strange energy field intertwining with the layers of Duat magic, disrupting it. So far, it wasn't blocking her from using her magic, so that was some good news. But if she tried going any deeper, she would start to feel this buzzing all over her body, like an electric hum. And she did not want to find out what happened if she went any further.
"Move!" Percy suddenly yelled and Sam yelped as he pushed her out the way right before the spot she had just been standing exploded. She looked up and glared at the Chitauri ships. With a flick of her wand, she made the ships fifty-times heavier. They faltered midair, shuddering under the new weight, before falling mightily to the ground. The Chitauri warriors cried out in the crash, struggling to remove themselves until Percy arrived, cleaving straight through them with his sword.
One managed to escape, running off as fast as it could, until Captain America's shield took it down, hitting it right in the head and bouncing back into his arm.
"How does it do that?" Sadie asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No clue," Steve shrugged. "But it makes it easier. Now come on, this way." He waved them onwards.
Loki chuckled dryly. "Surrender?" he asked sarcastically. "Why would I surrender when I hold all the cards?"
"Enough," Thor growled and lunged forward with his hammer, but his hand passed right through Loki's form. Another illusion. Thor growled again, his anger growing. He hated his brother's illusions, hated his tricks and mischief. He preferred an enemy he could fight head-on, not any of this mystical craft Loki controlled. He grimaced as he pulled Loki's knife from his ribs, tossing it aside. He also hated Loki's silver tongue. That he hated most of all.
Beside him, he saw Sam change back into her normal form and pick up her axe. "You think he left?" she asked.
"No," he replied, looking around. "He's still here. Watching and waiting."
"Right you are, brother."
They both turned suddenly at the voice, seeing Loki on the other side of the balcony. Thor moved to rush him but Sam held him back. "Wait," she said, eyeing the other god closely. She had fallen for his tricks last time. Not again. It was almost definitely an illusion. They needed some way to tell, though.
She looked at the figure of Loki again and frowned. She wondered…did Loki's illusions fool all the senses, or just sight? Because most animals didn't operate on sight. She focused and let a little of her power out, her senses heightening considerably. She could hear sounds all around them much more clearly, managing to distinguish one from another. But what she could really do was smell, her nose taking in so much more now with wolfish nostrils. And what all of this told her was that the Loki standing there grinning was a fake.
The real one was behind them, and from the low buzzing she was hearing, he was about to blast them.
"Get down!" she yelled and pushed Thor aside, the laser beam flying over them. She turned and threw her axe as hard as she could and Loki suddenly became visible, knocked down from her blow. She shifted instantly, transforming into a lioness and charging forward. Loki froze as she leapt at him, or so it seemed. At the last second, Sam sensed something different. She shifted her paws as she landed, no longer attacking but simply landing, passing right through the illusion. She focused on her hearing, listening carefully, and managed to whirl aside right before Loki's scepter came down. She reacted fast, lashing out with her claws and she heard Loki's cry of pain, feeling a rush at the noise. If she could grin in this form she would.
Before, she had been fighting angry and he had taken advantage. This time, she wasn't going to let him control her. She was in charge now. And she was going to take him down.
"How are you doing that?" Loki demanded.
"What?" Sam asked smugly, returning to human form. "Doesn't the all-powerful god know? Isn't he doing this on purpose?"
Loki glared furiously at her and raised his scepter but he was suddenly lifted up and thrown aside by Thor. The so-called god of mischief rolled on the ground but quickly got back up. Thor walked to him, his hammer now crackling with electricity. No more games. He was going to end this.
Loki raised his scepter again, pointing it at Thor. "Really brother?" he asked, looking at the electricity gathering over the other god's body. "Will you really strike me down? After all we've been through?"
Thor paused, but only for a second. No more. He refused to fall for another of Loki's tricks. "To end this," he said, gesturing behind him to the growing chaos, "I will do what I must."
Loki's fake smile faded, transforming into a snarl. He then lunged, blasting Thor with his scepter but Thor was ready, Mjolnir raised and channeling volts of electricity into one concentrated beam of pure lightning. The two forces collided midair and the world seemed to pause around them, the air rippling and shimmering from the amount of power being unleashed.
"Wait!" Percy suddenly said and they all stopped.
"What is it?" Steve asked, looking around.
"Just wait here for a sec," he said and went across the street. Once he was there, he raised his hands and yelled at the top of his voice, "come and get me, alien scum!"
"What is he doing?" Clint asked, readying his bow.
"He's going to get himself killed," Natasha added.
"No, wait," Sadie held them back, watching carefully. She didn't know Percy well, but she did know he didn't do something like this without reason. She saw several Chitauri ships take Percy up on his offer, flying right over to him, blasters at the ready. Her hand itched for her wand, wanting to take them out first, but she trusted him. So she stayed and watched, wondering what he was up to as he just stood there waiting for them.
Then, when they were only a couple yards away, Percy yelled out again and the fire hydrant in front of him burst apart, the metal pieces flying right up into the lead ship and sending it crashing into the side building. The other ships fared no better, the high-powered bursts of water blinding them and sending them careening into fiery explosions around.
"Ha!" Percy yelled in triumph. "In your face! Literally!"
Sadie saw Steve withholding a smile while Clint chuckled a little. Of course they were soon distracted by another fleet of ships attacking them. Sadie threw her staff down, the giant kite reappearing to wreak havoc on the ships and hopefully provide some breathing room. She also unleashed some of her shabti but didn't think that her baboon troop would do much good. She now regretted not making Philip a brother/sister.
She glanced over and saw Clint firing an arrow, bringing down another ship. Sadie frowned, getting an idea. She looked around and spotted a particularly large swarm of ships flying above them.
"Hey, Hawkeye!" she called over.
"What?" he asked, looking up.
"Can you take out the lead one?" she pointed. "I've got an idea."
He frowned at her in confusion but did as she asked, loosing another arrow. As he did, Sadie muttered a quick spell. As the arrow flew towards it, the air around it suddenly shimmered and a small fleet of arrows appeared around it. And as the first arrow struck its target straight through the head, the others all followed suit, magically finding their targets and striking them down with extreme accuracy. Within seconds, a dozen alien ships dropped from the sky at once.
Clint whistled and nodded at her appreciatively. "You're going to have to teach me how to do that."
"Don't think I can, but let's keep it up," she replied. They were only making dents in these forces and the army just kept growing. They needed something big to hold it all back. She just didn't know what.
Sam blinked and covered her eyes as the two forces collided, pushed back as the very air crackled around her. Sparks and bolts were shooting out randomly, striking everything that could be reached. The two gods weren't letting up, digging in deeper and unleashing even more power at each other. Sam could feel the force behind it all like a wall constantly sliding against her.
The amount of power being unleashed here was unsustainable. Pretty soon, something was going to give and she didn't think it would be either one of the gods. As she watched, she could see the energy of the two forces coalescing in the middle. If they didn't stop soon, the blowback would be immense. And she did not want to be anywhere near here when that happened. She had to put a stop to this.
She leapt in the air, already changing form into a hawk. She flapped her wings once, gaining altitude, and then dived right at Loki. She stretched out her talons, looking to rip that scepter out of his hands. He wasn't looking up, focused completely on battling his brother, teeth gritted in concentration. She had one shot. She couldn't screw it up. She dived lower and lower, coming right for it, her talons ready to grab. Just a little bit closer, and…
Loki suddenly snatched her out of the air with one hand, his other still blasting out at Thor. Sam struggled, flapping her wings, but Loki held firm.
"Did you really think that would work?" he asked, glancing at her. "Did you really think you could sneak up on me that way? I am the god of mischief, the lord of lies. No one sneaks up on me. Get it through your tiny, mortal mind. I am a god, and you-"
Sam turned into an elephant.
The transformation was so sudden and immediate that Loki didn't have time to react. One second, he was holding the throat of a hawk. The next, that throat swelled to more than ten times its size. Enormous feet crashed down on him, crushing him to the floor. His scepter's blast went wild, taking Thor's energy with it and shooting both of them at a neighboring building, causing a small explosion.
Loki groaned and Sam reared up and smashed her feet into him again, causing the whole balcony to shake. Sam stumbled a bit and saw cracks spreading across the concrete. Acting fast, she turned back into her human form and breathed out as the floor settled. Glaring down at Loki, she held up her axe and pointed it down at the god. "One wrong move," she warned, "and I'll kill you."
Sadie vaporized another ship flying by and turned two more into puffs of smoke when she saw Percy looking at her strangely. "What?" she asked.
"I…" he frowned, looking down for a second. "I think I might have an idea."
Sadie stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate. "And?"
He paused, looking at her and then behind him, paused again, and then shuffled over to her. "Do you think you can get me to talk to all the statues in Manhattan at once?"
Sadie tilted her head, staring. "What? Did you get hit in the head or something?"
"What? No. Well, maybe a little, but that's not important. Look, can you do it or not?"
"Umm…" Sadie thought it over for a second. It would take a bit more magic than she would like to spend right now, but she could do it. "Is it important?" she asked him.
"If it works, extremely," he replied, dead serious.
Sadie stared for a second longer before nodding. Together, they hurried over to the broken bust of Cornelius Vanderbilt, Sadie crafting a small figurine out of wax as she did so. They bent over the head of Cornelius and Sadie held her figurine over it. "Hi-nehm," she muttered and saw the hieroglyphic glow in front of her and the magic take hold, connecting all the statues to the figurine in front of her. "Ok," she said. "Talk."
Percy took the figurine to his mouth and cleared his throat. "Hello automatons. Command sequence: Daedalus Twenty-three. Defend Manhattan from aliens. Begin activation."
Sadie stumbled back as Cornelius Vanderbilt's head suddenly sprung to life and then looked around, as if surprised to find itself in pieces. "Uh, here," she said and clapped her hands together. Vanderbilt's pieces rose up and flew back together, reforming the statue within seconds. Vanderbilt seemed to look gratefully at her for a second before clanking off to smash into a Chitauri warrior, crushing its head.
"Automatons?" she asked.
"Yeah," Percy replied. "We used them in the siege of Manhattan. Then, when we helped fix the city, we kind of rebuilt them as well, just in case. Now we have our own army."
Sadie nodded. They walked back to the others who stared around in amazement, seeing several statues walk off their plinths and attack the Chitauri. "You two are just full of surprises, aren't you?" Steve asked.
"Pretty much," Percy said. "Let's hope we've got a few more."
Sadie nodded but still she glanced up at the portal above them, watching as the endless horde of Chitauri poured out of it. Would the statues be enough? Would anything they did be enough? She could only hope.
Loki merely coughed, holding his hands up in surrender, his costume crumpled and torn in a few places after being stomped on twice. Sam sniffed and leaned down to heft him up when her she felt something was wrong. It was too easy. She had that thought split second before her hand passed through his shoulder.
If she had thought about what she did next, she would be dead. She relied on pure instinct to guide her, twisting around and holding her axe in front of her just as Loki's scepter came down on it, stopping the weapon cold. He glared hatefully at her, openly seething, and pushed against her, the point of the scepter pressed towards her skin.
Sam pushed back but quickly found herself outclassed, feeling her strength give in. Loki grinned savagely at her and pushed more when he was suddenly lifted up from behind and tossed aside. Sam gasped as the pressure vanished and smiled as Thor looked down at her.
"Are you well?" he asked.
"Yeah," she replied. "I'm good."
"Very well then. Let us-"
He was interrupted by a scepter-blast to the chest that sent him reeling, his breastplates smoking from the impact. He groaned and raised his hammer but a second blast floored him.
Sam just stood there stunned for a second before she realized who the next target would be, dodging to the side right before a third blast went shooting past.
"I should have ended you in that cell," Loki growled, pointing the scepter at her. "Time to rectify that mistake."
Sam dodged Loki's next blast, turning into a bird and flying behind him. She shifted back as Loki whirled around. "A lot of people have tried to kill me," she replied. "Including the actual Loki." She saw him clench as she said that and had to suppress a smile. "So give it your best shot. I'm ready…fraud."
Loki yelled out and charged bringing his scepter down but Sam leapt back and then grabbed hold of the shaft, holding it down and using it to spin around and kick Loki in the chest, knocking him back. He stumbled a few feet but barely had time to recover before Sam was on him, managing to block her axe blow with his scepter. He swung the tail-end into her face, bashing it badly, then spun it again and made to stab it into her stomach but she twisted it aside.
Sam stepped back a few feet, spitting out some blood. Her whole right-side of her face was throbbing in pain but she ignored it. She had to end this quickly, before she ran out of steam. She focused and felt her magical spear appear in her hands as it always did. She hefted both weapons up and faced Loki again.
"You can try all you want, but you'll still only be a sad little mortal," he said in a mocking tone. "Desperate to prove she is more than what her father is. Desperate to prove she is as mighty a warrior as she claims to be. But you are in the big leagues now. And you stand no chance against an actual god."
Sam stared at him for a long moment. She felt the familiar rage, felt the effect his words had on her. He was as good with words as her father, except for one difference. "But you're not a god."
Loki stopped. "What?"
"You're not a god," Sam repeated. "You keep saying that you are, but you're not." She tilted her head slightly. "At least not like any I've met. And I've met quite a few. Those guys are really powerful, forces of nature. You're…basically a magician."
With every word she spoke, she could see the rage building in Loki's expression.
"You have illusions, parlor tricks, and a pointy spear that does all the work for you," she continued. "The real Loki would have killed me by now. He could have killed me ten times by now. His illusions would have altered reality. You're just a pretender. A pathetic copy. You'll never be able to live up to his standard."
Loki's face looked like a tomato, glowing with rage and hatred at her. "A copy?" he seethed. "What has he ever accomplished? Did he manage to do this?" he waved his hand at the city behind him being destroyed.
"No, he didn't," Sam admitted. "But that was because I stopped him, with some friends. Just like I'll stop you. And it shouldn't be too hard since you are just a copy of him."
"YAH!" Loki bellowed and leapt at her but she sidestepped the blow and struck at him instead, stabbing him in the shoulder. He winced and swung again but it went wild and she was able to duck easily and strike back, catching him in the other shoulder. He growled, angrier now, and blasted at her again with his scepter but he was clumsy and she was able to jump aside.
He was getting sloppy. Just as she wanted him. She struck a glancing blow across his armor, forcing him back, then threw her axe right at him. He ducked it, just as she knew he would, and she ran forward and planted her spear into the ground, using it to heave herself forward and kick Loki right in the face. He fell backwards hard and then heaved again as she landed on him, feet planted right on his chest and her spear in his face.
"How's that for a mortal?" she asked.
Sadie was destroying another Chitauri ship when Iron Man's voice filled their comms. "Guys, I need some help over here," he said.
"On it," she replied. She put her hands to her mouth and let out a loud whistle, running to the edge of the bridge as she did it. She leapt off just as her kite arrived, landing smoothly on its back. "Iron Man, where are you?"
"Coming up on Union Square now."
"On my way," Sam told him, digging her heels into the bird and turning it around. As they climbed into the air, she realized she didn't need Iron Man to tell her where he was. It was clear from the giant alien ship tearing apart the city. She gritted her teeth and pushed the kite faster. As they closed in, she could see all the alien warriors leaping out of the beast's insides, although there were less now. Was the thing generating them or had they been inside all along, like a transport? She shook those thoughts away. Either way, that thing had to go.
She also saw a small armored figure flying around the ship, testing out different weapons.
"Iron Man, on your six," she said, flying up. The figure turned and nodded in her direction. "Anything?"
"Nothing I've tried so far is working," he told her. "Can your hocus-pocus do something?"
Sadie snorted and then dived towards the ship. "Let's see how you like this," she muttered and held out her hands wide, focusing her energy. As she did, spouts of fire spurted out all over the creature's backside. Unfortunately, they died out pretty fast with nothing to burn, the armor too thick. Sadie growled then noticed that the underbelly was softer.
"Hold on," she said then wondered why she said that since she was the only one riding. The kite dived, ducking beneath the razor-sharp fins until they were beneath it. Sadie lifted her wand and focused her power again, letting out a blast of pure energy at the flesh.
The light shot from her wand and hit the beast, leaving a large scorch mark behind. Sadie then winced as she heard the roar and the beast suddenly shifted around, carving through the buildings on either side of it. She looked back up and felt her shoulders droop when she saw no damage had been done other than a burn mark.
"Ok, what else have we got?" she muttered to herself.
Loki grunted underneath her. "Not bad," he admitted. "But you forgot one thing. I'm still a god." He suddenly lunged forward and Sam found herself flung backwards, now landing on her back with Loki on top of her, holding her down and his scepter right above her face. "And my power is far greater than yours. I am the true Loki."
Sam glared at him for a second before breaking out into a chuckle.
Loki blinked. "What?" he asked but she just kept laughing. "Stop that!" he demanded. "Stop that at once." He started shaking her which only made her laugh harder. "Enough!" he nearly bellowed. "What, pray tell, is so funny?"
"Uh…" Sam paused to compose herself. "Sorry, it's just funny that you keep forgetting something as well."
"And what would that be?"
"That my father, the real Loki, never stays in the same body. And neither do I."
Loki gaped at her and she grinned back before swiftly changing shape. She first became a cotton-topped tamarin and easily swung out of Loki's grip. Then, she was a black bear, bashing him with her large claws. Then, before he could recover, she became a large stallion, turning and kicking him right in the face with her powerful hind legs.
Loki moaned on the ground but still managed to get back to his feet. "You…you can't defeat me. I am Loki! I a-"
"And I am Samirah al-Abbas," Sam replied, looking behind him to the figure rising. "The Lioness." She then leapt, transforming one last time into her favorite form. Loki didn't even have time to raise his scepter in defense before she rammed into him, slashing him once, twice, three times before latching onto his shoulder with her powerful jaws and hurling him to where Thor was waiting.
Thor punched out with Mjolnir as Loki was thrown to him, hitting his adopted brother midflight and sending him crashing to the ground. Before he could make a move, Thor was on him again, lifting him up and kicking him in the chest so hard he smashed through the glass railing. Thor then picked him up again, lifting him right over his head, Loki flailing slightly, before pulling him back down so he smacked on the hard ground painfully.
Loki mumbled and moved to get back up before Sam appeared and kicked him in the head, a blow that sent his whole body rolling to the edge, stopping right before it. He lay there for a second, prone, and both Thor and Sam gave off quiet sighs of relief. Then Loki moved, twisting his body over the balcony and falling off the edge.
Thor and Sam looked over the side in surprise and anger as Loki fell onto a passing Chitauri ship, taking the helm and flying off with it into the city, several ships following him. Sam growled in frustration, a little lion coming out. He had escaped again. And she couldn't catch up.
Thor stared off after his brother but quickly lost focus. Loki was no longer of consequence. His army was. The city was being destroyed and unless it was contained, Earth would fall to the Chitauri army and whoever their real master was. But not if Thor had anything to say about it.
"We need to destroy that," Sam suddenly said, gesturing to the Tesseract. She started walking towards it, axe in hand, but Thor stopped her, shaking his head.
"The energy shield around it cannot be breached by normal means," he replied. "We must find another way. Until then, the city requires our assistance."
Sam watched as he gestured, seeing all the explosions and fires around, the alien ships destroying everything they could find, people screaming and running for their lives. "You're right," she said. "Let's go kick some alien butt."
Steve raced around a car to where Natasha and Clint were hunkered down, Percy right behind him. The statues were giving them a slight reprieve, but he didn't know how long that would last. He didn't know how it worked either, but right now he didn't care. He was just grateful.
"We've got civilians trapped up here-" Clint started, nodding his head over to some of the buildings when he was interrupted by another fleet of Chitauri ships flying overhead, blasting at everything in sight, except this time they were led by a familiar figure with a horned helmet.
"Loki," Steve muttered. Apparently Thor hadn't been able to stop him. He watched as Loki shot at cars, trucks, and any vehicle he could find, causing explosions all the way down the road and for everything around them to get tossed aside: concrete, other vehicles, people. It was just a hailstorm of fiery destruction consuming everything in its path.
"They're fish in a barrel down there," Steve said, watching some police officers try and get people to safety.
He suddenly ducked as a blaster shot took out the car mirror above him. Natasha stood up and fired her guns while Clint moved to crouch behind a flipped car as other Chitauri soldiers jumped down onto the bridge they were on. Percy grimaced and raised his sword.
Natasha glanced over at Steve. "We got this," she told him. "It's good. Go."
Steve looked over at Clint. He didn't feel good about dividing them all up. "You think you can hold them off?"
Clint looked back, arming his bow. "Captain," he said, "it would be my genuine pleasure." He then nocked an arrow, turned, and fired it all in one smooth motion, taking out the lead alien. The arrow then let off a small scattering of bullets, sending the other aliens panicking.
Percy grinned at Steve. "I basically do this for a living," he said and then leapt up, charging the alien lines. Steve used that distraction to run over to the side of the bridge, Natasha firing again behind him, and leap below onto a bus. He was instantly fired upon by ships flying above, blasting the bus apart. He kept running, dodging the blaster fire, and leapt down onto a car just as it was hit, sending it flying. Propelling his body forward, he used that momentum to send him soaring away, landing in a crouch and then up and running again.
Percy cut off the first alien's head then ducked before a blast could take his head off. He spun, slicing that alien's arm off before stabbing it in the gut and causing it to collapse. It was a little strange not to see them disintegrate into monster dust after he killed them but he didn't have time to dwell on it. These monsters were destroying his hometown. The least he could do was destroy them. He rolled away from more blaster fire before jumping up on a car and leaping back into the fray, striking down three more.
Natasha shot carefully, killing the Chitauri or either forcing them back while Clint helped several civilians out of a bus behind her. He then pried open the doors and let the rest out before joining her as her next bullet splattered an alien's head open.
"Just like Budapest all over again," Natasha said to him as he fired off arrows.
"You and I remember Budapest very differently," he reminded her, taking down alien after alien while also watching the skies for any more attacking ships.
Steve vaulted over a car and kept running, moving as fast as he could. He jumped over another two cars and narrowly dodged another shot, climbing up a fallen car. He had to get to those officers, give them instructions, and get the people to safety. That was all that mattered. He could see people running around, terrified, while families cowered underneath cars and debris. They were going to die if they stayed out here. He couldn't let that happen.
The police fired openly on the passing alien ships, but weren't doing enough damage. The ships were too fast and too tough. One officer ran his way through the pack of officers and patrol cars, making his way to his sergeant. "It's going to be an hour before they can scramble the National Guard."
"National Guard?" the sergeant questioned before ducking as an alien blast hit the car behind them. They both looked in panic at the aliens above them. "Does the army know what's happening here?"
The officer looked back at him, pure terror on his face. "Do we?" he asked.
Just then, Steve Rogers landed on the car in front of them, shield at his side and costume on full display, startling the two men. "You need men in these buildings," Steve said, gesturing to his right. "There are people inside and they're going to be running right into the line of fire. You take them to the basements or through the subway. You keep them off the streets." As he talked, he could see the expression of disbelief on the sergeant's face but he ignored it. "I need a perimeter as far back as 39th." He pointed for emphasis.
"Why the hell should I take orders from you?" the sergeant asked disbelievingly.
Before Steve could answer, a loud explosion came from behind them as two ships blew up several cars as they flew by. The officers stumbled back as they saw alien warriors dropping down now to fight, but Steve took the first blow with his shield just as two soldiers landed on either side of him. He knocked the first one back with his shield to make room before turning to the other one, deflecting its fire and then its fist, punching back hard and making it fly off the car. He then whirled around as the first Chitauri attacked again, knocking its head askew with his shield and then slamming it into the creature again for good measure, dropping it. He turned again as the second Chitauri came back, grabbing hold of its gun and slicing through the arm with his shield as hard as he could, severing it like a hot knife through butter. The Chitauri screamed in pain but he knocked it into another car with a hard blow to the head with his shield where it fell silent.
The sergeant eyed him for a second before turning back to his officers. "I need men in those buildings," he ordered, gesturing behind him. "Lead the people down and away from the streets."
"You got it." Several officers ran off.
The sergeant pressed a button on his radio. "We're going to set up a perimeter all the way down to 39th street."
Steve breathed a little easier. The people were getting to safety now. Of course, that moment didn't last long. He still had work to do. Back to it.
"Sadie, anything?" Tony asked.
"The damn thing's too big and powerful," she replied. "It would take a lot of magic to take it down. Like a hell of a lot. It would wipe me out."
"Hmmm," Tony mumbled to himself. He got her hesitation. There were still plenty of Chitauri soldiers coming in and this might not be the only Leviathan they had to deal with. Much better to save her power for now. Of course, that left them with a problem currently tearing its way towards Washington Square Park.
They didn't have enough firepower. But maybe with the rest of the team…
"Ok, hold on sorceress, I think I have a plan," Tony said. He then flew around the creature past a couple blocks, aiming to cut it off before it went any further. "JARVIS, ready the flares."
"Yes, sir."
Tony pushed the boosters and rounded the upcoming building, the Leviathan now looming right in front of him. He moved to the side and fired off his flares right in the creature's face. It let off a roar of anger and turned towards him, its fins smashing through the side of a building as it did and the debris smashing into the ground below.
"Well, we got its attention," Tony said, looking at the thing coming right at him. "What the hell was step two?"
He then took off, the Leviathan right on his tail.
Sadie flew below it, trying to think up ways to take this thing out. She could always use her favorite spell, Ha-di, but to really kill the thing would require a lot of her magic. She would save it as a last resort. Til then, she'd try and think of something else. She just hoped Stark actually had a working plan. She nudged her kite forward and flew off after him and the giant alien warship.
Percy cut down another Chitauri, watching the thing gurgle once before falling and landing in a heap. He breathed out and allowed himself a few seconds to rest. He really wished he had his invincible skin right now. It would make his life so much easier right now. At least he had the automatons. It freaked him out a little to have to use them again, he knew all too well how volatile they could be. But right now, they desperately needed those things. He also wished he had his friends beside him, but then again he was glad they were far from all this. He didn't want anyone else he cared about in danger. Still, it would be a big help if Leo could burn the aliens away with some fireballs or if Frank could turn into a dragon and take them all out. Or if Annabeth could come up with the perfect battle strategy that would end this in a matter of minutes. Or if she could just fight beside him, like they'd done for years.
"Percy!"
Percy jumped and then looked over to see Clint running over to him. "What is it?" he asked.
"Got two squads of Chitauri converging on either side of the bridge," Clint told him, pointing down the street where Percy now saw a line of Chitauri moving towards them. He then looked back and saw more alien soldiers crawling up the side of the bridge and around Grand Central Station, all coming to them. "Can you take those ones?" Clint asked, pointing at the ones marching forward.
"Yeah," Percy replied, eyeing the two dozen alien soldiers with large guns. "No problem."
He started running, sword at the ready. As he did, he felt around, searching for any water. Then he saw all the manhole covers, each spread around the street. And he could feel the water underneath them, all the sewage right beneath his feet. "That'll do," he muttered and lifted his hands up, summoning his power up with him.
The sewers responded, several manhole covers blown right off as the water exploded out of them, flowing right over to the Chitauri. Then the fire hydrants exploded, more water gushing out, all it rising and washing into the alien soldiers. The Chitauri stood no chance, knocked right off their feet and carried around. Percy gave a savage grin and dove right in, literally. The water carried him all over, forming once more into his own hurricane that obeyed his every command. He swam right through it all, constantly swirling it around as he attacked and cut down each soldier. They never even knew what hit them, screaming in their strange alien language before Percy's sword silenced them forever. Within minutes, Percy was standing up again, the water flowing away, and the bodies of two dozen Chitauri soldiers scattered around him. He was more drained now, more tired. But at least he had taken care of this lot. They wouldn't be hurting anyone else today. And that was more than worth it.
He then heard more explosions and sounds of blaster fire behind him. He turned and saw the bridge below Grand Central Station lit up as the aliens descended on Clint and Natasha. "Damn it," he muttered and started running.
Clint knocked the Chitauri soldier's feet out from under it before stabbing it in the chest with an arrow while beside him Natasha blasted enemies with a stolen Chitauri rifle before jumping up and wrapping her legs around one alien's head, frying it with her Widow's Bite.
Clint tried to move carefully to sneak up on the enemy behind a taxi but another soldier spotted him, charging into him headfirst and knocking him into the ground. He just managed to grab a fallen arrow and stab the Chitauri in the chest before it could strike.
Natasha swung the rifle around her, holding back two Chituari. She then blasted one away before flipping the rifle over her shoulder and spinning around to blast the other one but then more came and she found herself dueling them as well. They couldn't hold this position forever. Pretty soon, they would be overrun.
Speaking of which, several more Chitauri dropped out of the sky, flattening cars with their weight and openly firing on them. Clint slid across the ground to avoid the shots and past the soldiers, spinning around and firing an arrow into one of them.
Then, Captain America was there as Steve jumped back onto the bridge and shoved two alien soldiers away before whirling and striking a third one aside and slamming his shield's edge into a fourth. On the other side, Percy leaped up and cut down one Chitauri from behind. When the other two turned, he cut one's arm off before dodging a rifle blast from the other one. He grabbed hold of the weapon and then stabbed Riptide right into the alien's head. When the other Chitauri got back up, he quickly stabbed that one too.
Several more Chitauri stalked forward across the bridge, ready to attack, when lightning bolts struck them from the sky, electrocuting them. They writhed in pain for a few seconds before crumpling. Thor then landed where they stood. He stumbled for a second, grabbing hold of a fallen car for support. He hadn't fully recovered from Loki's attack.
Percy looked around for any more aliens when he heard something behind him. He instinctively ducked and the blast went over him. He turned but then had to dodge a second blast, hiding behind another car. He moved to swing over and attack the thing from behind when an axe came whirling out of nowhere, slamming into the Chitauri's face and killing it instantly. Seconds later, a bird flew down and landed on the ground before turning into Sam.
"Thanks," Percy said, relaxing for a second.
"Yeah, you know how hard it is to transform midair, throw an axe accurately, then turn back?" Sam asked him with an eyebrow raised.
"Uh…" Percy hesitated. "Thanks a lot?" he offered.
"Better," Sam nodded.
"What's the story upstairs?" Steve asked as Thor approached.
"The power surrounding the Cube is impenetrable," Thor told him. They all looked up as more alien ships flew by.
"Thor's right, we got to deal with these guys," Tony chimed in.
"How do we do this?" Natasha asked.
"As a team," Steve replied.
"Yeah, like that's worked out well for us before," Sam muttered.
"I have unfinished business with Loki," Thor informed them.
"Yeah?" Clint asked, scrounging up fallen arrows to reuse. "Well get in line."
"Way in line," Sam added, already itching for another round with the trickster.
"Save it," Steve interrupted. He looked over at Percy. "Those statues of yours? Think you can mobilize them?"
Percy shook his head. "They only understand simple commands. They're volatile at best. Right now, they know to defend Manhattan from alien threats. They'll attack any they encounter. Anything other than that…" he shrugged.
Steve nodded. "Alright then. Loki's going to keep the fight focused on us, and that's what we need. Without him these things could run wild." He held out his hands. "We got Stark and Sadie up top. They're going to need us to…"
They all turned at the sound of a motorcycle behind them and saw none other than Bruce Banner riding one to them, coming to a stop a few yards away. They all walked over as he got off.
"So," he said, gesturing to all the damage and debris around him. "This all seems horrible."
"Understatement," Percy muttered.
"I've seen worse," Natasha eyed him.
Bruce looked at her. "Sorry," he said. He was glad to see her okay as well as the others. At least that was off his conscience.
"No, we could use a little worse," Natasha told him. He nodded and blinked in surprise that she was so cool with it.
"Or a lot worse," Percy said. He could already imagine the damage the Hulk could wreak on the Chitauri. It would certainly give them an edge they desperately needed.
"Stark, we got him," Steve reported.
"Banner?"
"Just like you said."
"Then tell him to suit up," Tony told them. "I'm bringing the party to you."
He flew around the corner and up the street towards Grand Central Station, the Leviathan right on his tail. It tore chunks of brick and concrete out of a building as it did, sending them flying. Behind them both was a large bird.
All of their eyes widened at the sight flying right towards them. Thor growled and hefted his hammer while Sam readied her axe and spear, already visualizing the best way to take it down.
"I don't see how that's a party," Natasha commented.
Tony flew lower to the ground, trying to bring the creature closer to them, and it followed, smashing and crushing cars and vehicles left behind with its large belly as it did so, constantly snapping at its elusive prey.
Bruce eyed the creature, looked back at the others, then turned and started walking towards the Leviathan as it flew right at him, swallowing uncomfortably. He hadn't made a voluntary change in years. But the city needed him to do it. The city needed the Hulk.
"Dr. Banner," Steve said, walking closer. "Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."
"That's my secret, Captain," Bruce told him wryly over his shoulder as he walked on. He stopped and turned for a split second and said, "I'm always angry."
The transformation was instantaneous, as if the Hulk was just waiting for Bruce Banner to give it permission. Green spread all over, muscles thickened, and clothes ripped as the other guy came out, ready to go. The Hulk's hand closed into a fist and with one solid move it punched the Leviathan right in the snout as it came, stopping it cold. The Leviathan's massive size pushed the Hulk back a couple yards but he just bellowed back and held firm, not giving any more ground. The alien creature rolled over from the immense power, its armor and gears folding over and twisting onto each other, parts snapping off altogether all over and opening up many new chinks.
"Hold on," Tony said, flying over and firing off a small missile right into the open flesh. As he did, Sadie landed on the ground and cast a quick spell on the missile, strengthening it even more than before. Steve quickly covered himself and Natasha while Sam, Percy, and Clint dove for cover as the Leviathan erupted in a massive explosion sending pieces flying all over. The creature flopped over the side of the bridge and smashed into the ground below before collapsing completely.
All around the area, on the walls and ledges of buildings, Chitauri soldiers lifted up their masks and helmets and roared defiantly at the group below them.
The Hulk roared back with its arms raised threateningly. Beside him, Sadie held up her staff, Clint nocked another arrow, Thor spun his hammer once, Percy raised his sword with both hands, Natasha reloaded her gun, Sam lifted her axe and spear, Steve hefted his shield in front of him, and Tony lowered himself to stand beside them, all of them looking around at the army surrounded them. They heard the sounds of the Chitauri's screams echo down the streets but in that moment, none of them were afraid. They were a team now, and they were going to destroy every last Chitauri soldier. Standing beside one another, they all felt it inside them.
They were Avengers.
Ok, I know, corny ending but I was feeling it.
Whew. A month. More than. Really, really sorry for the wait. Had some essays that took out a large chunk of time. I'm already working on the next chapter so hopefully the wait won't be as long. Thank you for sticking with it so far and I hope you stick with it longer cause I'm really excited for what's coming.
I'm glad I thought of the statues cause if there's another invasion, obviously Percy would use them. And I decided to extend the Loki fight scene because I wanted to show why he was the main villain of the film, give a him a real final duel with the heroes. Hope you enjoyed it.
One chapter left. That and an epilogue. I'll get them to you all as fast as I can. And to all your comments and questions, I'll be posting responses in my final chapter. Til then, stay safe and healthy and leave a review if you can. Thanks and keep reading.
