A/N: Warning: as was implied at the end of the last chapter, they want to stop Athena. Given that she is a goddess of war, one particular method of stopping her might be a bit expected. In war, things happen. Tread onward with caution.
~8~
Strike One
It wasn't so much needing to think of a plan to stop Athena, to subdue her so they could get the Gauntlet off of her. Ares, God of War, had taken care of that. Apparently he had always feared, in the back of his mind, the day Athena might slip to the corruption. If it had happened as often as he said while they had been ON Olympus, Ares had had to think of what he'd do, what he'd be forced to do, how he'd organize the other gods to both keep her from doing harm but also keep themselves from becoming equally as corrupt. He had contingency plans, for it was his role to keep the family safe from all threats, the corruption being one of them.
He knew how to handle Athena, he proclaimed, it was more that he needed to learn about their individual skills and talents, their strengths, so he could best organize where they should be and what they should be doing, what roles they would each play.
One main point he'd been sure to make was that the other four Olympians remained on the outer perimeter, away from Athena. Not only for their safety but for their own chances of success. Artemis and Apollo were skilled with a bow, but neither were actual soldiers, the same with Hephaestus and his hammer, and Aphrodite was more likely to try and scratch someone's eyes out than actually be of much use fighting. During the Dark Days she would content herself with seducing mortal and soldiers immortal beings to guard her than taking up a weapon herself.
And it was still ingrained in them, the rules they had agreed to when they left Earth for Olympus.
They had broken the first by coming to Earth, many of them were not comfortable with breaking any more.
They were not to take up arms against each other, for it was too close to what they had nearly done during the Dark Days, they feared it would be a temptation, to have that power over each other if they could not hold power over the mortals. The only two who had ever been allowed any sort of weapon to use on each other were Ares and Athena, to spar with and only to spar with, nothing else.
Apollo, Artemis, and Hephaestus would have let whatever skill they had in combat grow too faded after they cast those days off, they were not as sharp, and he would not risk their lives in this.
Nor would he risk the temptation of the darkness either.
It was not a secret to the Avengers, the concern the Olympians had that Athena might lure them into battle, might corrupt them in turn, to gain more power and more enemies for the Avengers, to turn them on their current allies. Ares was more skilled with the fight, he was sure he could convince himself it was a spar and not all out warfare, could remind himself he was fighting to save his sister not defeat her to conquer her. That would protect him from the corruption, but he worried for the others, that they would not be as prepared.
It had been agreed, before anything else was said or done, that if the gray appeared on any of them, they would be forced into confinement in the strongest cell the Avengers could find until this was over. He did not think it would come to that though, if they stuck to the plan.
HE was the only one skilled enough and familiar enough with Athena's fighting technique and with bringing her down from the corruption, and so he determined he would go head to head with Athena, either to get through to her or to subdue her long enough for the next two parts of their plan to work. If he could not get her to relinquish her claim on the Gauntlet and cast it off, he need only distract her long enough for Artemis and Apollo to ready their bows and fire at her, both with arrows tipped with a solution to paralyze and induce slumber upon the target. Once Athena was weakened, it would be up to the strongest of the Avengers, Captain America, Thor, the Winter Soldier, Hulk, and Iron Man, to rip the gauntlet off of her and then pull back as far as they could.
Athena would be enraged to lose such a weapon, and with the darkness within her, she might burn through the solution quicker than normal. They would have but a small window to work with, but after that...Athena would fight, and Ares would be the main defense to keep her down. Without the weapon Athena would pose less of a threat, but she would still be dangerous to the humans for they were only mortal.
No, it wasn't a question of strategy, once they found Athena. She would likely have an army of her own to face down the Avengers and any threats against her. It would be a test, always a test for her, to observe them, to learn about the skills of any Avengers or allies she was not familiar with. She would watch from a secure location, assess their skills, and, when she felt confident, she would attack herself. They only had to create a path for Ares to get to her before she could actually attack, to distract her from the others who would need to handle themselves.
Now they just had to find Athena, for she was in possession of the Space Stone and could therefore be anywhere in the galaxy.
Aphrodite had come in handy then, though. For she was the embodiment of emotion and connection, and she always knew where her family was, every moment, no matter what realm she or they were in. She knew where Athena was, she could feel it, and when she reached out to Apollo, allowing him to join their abilities, the man could actually SEE her, see where she was, what she was doing.
It had been through Nebula, the blue woman, more familiar with different planets, that they had worked out where she was and what she'd done that had made Apollo grow so pale in his vision.
It hadn't been good.
She'd destroyed Tartarus.
It was a realm or, the Olympians supposed, a planet...they had never questioned Zeus in terms of where he'd banished the Titans to, always assuming it was some forbidden part of Olympus itself. And now they wished they had, or they would have known that would be the first place she would go.
Athena had destroyed all of them, her greatest enemies, the ones with the most chance of stopping her beyond her family and she had obliterated the entire realm. They were gone, their very ancestors, and she had taken the small minions that worshiped and dedicated and subjugated themselves to the Titans as her own followers, her own army.
It was just as Ares predicted, knowing his sister's strategic mind, she was amassing an army, for while she could fight and conquer and defeat easily on her own, especially by use of the Gauntlet, it was in her nature, in this version of herself, to toy with her enemies, to show her power over them in the magnitude and strength of her army, of those who would fight and die in her name.
They knew where she was heading next, for Apollo's vision had revealed she was going planet by planet from Tartarus to those with life on it, either conquering or destroying, one at a time, savoring her victories…
They just had to beat her to the next one.
~8~
When the Bifrost, summoned by Thor, deposited the Avengers, a handful of their allies, and the Olympians down on the surface of the next planet Athena was aiming for…it was clear to them all that they were too late. Between all those gathered…they thought they had seen it all by now, the worst of war.
They were mistaken.
Iron Man especially was glad they had decided to leave some of the massive team they'd assembled behind on Earth as back up. Spiderman…the kid didn't need to see this.
It was…pure and utter destruction. It felt like the entire planet was on fire, the sky black with smoke, the trees were burning, it looked like fissures had opened up in the ground allowing molten earth to rise to the surface. There were rocks and fallen lumber around them, metal so warped and misshapen that it took them a moment to realize this had been a city. They were standing in the middle of an obliterated city. There were screams in the distance.
"Jesus…" Bucky muttered, they weren't even in the worst of it and they could tell this was bad.
"Spread out," Steve spoke, "We need to find Athena and…"
"No need," Ares cut in, looking straight ahead.
"She's coming," Aphrodite warned them, a hand to her heart.
"I can hear the soldiers," Ares added. While Aphrodite could sense the woman, he could hear the stomping of boots, the shouting of her soldiers, the banging of their weapons.
"Brace yourselves!" Hephaestus called, seeing what was left of the trees shaking ahead of them, always better able to see through smoke after his work in the forge, moments before a swarm of…monsters…ran through them.
If Tony had to call them anything, he'd say they looked like Orcs, vicious goblin things that were snarling, with gray skin and white hair, and sharp teeth, weapons in hand, from swords to axes to spears, and they were running for them as though they were crazed and out for blood, fanatic.
"Remember the plan," Apollo shouted, begore grabbing Artemis' arm and pulling her to the side.
Everyone scattered, spreading out, trying to draw the swarm to either side of the area they'd appeared in, all part of the plan. If they could make something of a pathway for Ares, he could get to Athena sooner and end this faster.
They just…hadn't anticipated the sheer size and scope of the army Athena could have amassed in such a short amount of time. They were quickly overrun, swarmed by the creatures.
"Athena!" Ares called out, looking around, his sword and shield in hand, hacking down one of her minions, "Athena! Face me!"
"No need to shout," a voice said behind him, and he spun around, his sword automatically coming up to block the blow Athena had sent to him.
His heart stopped for a brief moment, seeing her in such a state.
For a time, he had been able to convince himself, trick himself into thinking she wasn't as far gone as this. He thought, maybe the humans just didn't know what they meant by the Dark Days, maybe they thought 'gray skin' was splotches or spots, 'red eyes' were mere flashes and not solid…he had hoped, perhaps, they just didn't know what they were saying and that she wasn't as lost to the throes of the corruption.
But it was all for naught.
She was, she was entirely gray, her eyes blazing red, her hair dulled to its natural brown…and he could see her sword in her hand, one he had not seen since the Dark Days, one that should have been destroyed ages ago and the Gauntlet on her other hand.
He swallowed hard, gripping his sword tighter, shaking his head at her. Wishing he could deny this was happening. He had not lied to his family when he said she was always the most vulnerable, the one most in danger of falling back to these ways. But when the timing had come up, a mere 3 days before Athena had succumbed to this...and he knew, no matter how much he and Athena had always hoped, each time the gray faded and the red disappeared, that it meant she was free of the temptation ever taking hold of her again, it was never so. It had been there, it clearly had always been there, never gone away, only taken root in some form and waited, waited for the right time to fully take hold.
How she managed to keep the corruption back this long, knowing what he did now, knowing she had kept a sword which would only have ever been used to cut down her family instead of destroying it…he could not begin to say, perhaps it was her love for her family, for her Thor, that kept her strong.
He hoped it was, for that was another part of his plan, the reason why he thought the family had to be there, to face her, because if she cared for them at all, it would prove difficult for her to harm them, and maybe there was more chance for him to get through to her than if someone like Steve or Tony tried to talk her down, perhaps even Thor would fail where he might succeed.
He could see signs of the Athena he knew in this version before him, though he knew not to let his guard down in hopes it meant she was still there or near the surface. When they would spar, if they snuck up on each other, he would go for the brute strength attack, throw himself at her from behind, while she would sneak and attack with his back turned. They always made sure the other could hear or was aware of them before hand, never intending to harm the other.
He got the impression she did intend it this time.
"Surprised?" Athena smirked at him.
"Athena," he breathed, "What have you done to yourself?"
"Stopped fighting," she told him, "Which is what you would do, if you were wise…oh," she paused, "That is not your jurisdiction, is it?"
He grit his teeth, lunging to the side when she swung at him.
"Tell me, brother, how do you think this strategy of yours will fare against my army?" she continued to taunt, swinging and stabbing at him.
And he knew shew as merely toying with him, provoking him. She wanted him angry, because he never thought best when he was angry, he relied too much on his reflexes and ability...and she knew all his moves too well.
"Let me guess," she continued, still at ease, "The family at the perimeter, the humans closer, so I can see them, so I know they fight against me and will fight against me, but not near enough to actually engage me," she snorted, "Did you think it would work?" she taunted, "Did you not think I could use any number of these," she held up her other arm, showing him the Gauntlet, "And destroy you? Your fall would leave the others open."
Ares shook his head, "I will not allow you to corrupt them," he warned her, "If I must fall, I will take you down with me."
Athena kicked him in the chest, sending him falling back onto his back, before she tilted her head and frowned at him a moment, "You think…" before she laughed loudly, "You think I mean to corrupt our family? To what end?" she dared ask. But stepped to the side when he pushed to his feet and ran at her, turning to him and swinging, managing to slice his arm with her sword while he was distracted turning back to her, "You think I would use you as a wall against the mortals? As fodder, perhaps? Have you all fight them so they could not get to me? Distract them with your threat so I can continue on my way?" she shook her head, moving easily to slide to the ground as he twisted his sword, swinging her leg out to topple him, on her feet again with her sword aimed at his throat, "Oh Ares, you have grown soft in my absence," she tsked him, before crouching down beside him, "I need no army to fight my battles," she reminded him, "I need no family to guard me," she stood, "There is a flaw in your logic."
"And that is?" he demanded, needing to keep her gaze on him, to keep her from looking at those fighting, noticing their weaknesses the way she often did. He needed to give Artemis and Apollo time to ready their bows for he had to trust they were free enough to do so if he could just keep her back to them long enough.
Athena sighed, sounding like she was disappointed in his lack of foresight or thought to his strategy, "If I corrupt you, or any of the others, I could use this," she looked at the Gauntlet, moving to step on his wrist without looking as he tried to make one more attack, stilling him, "The Mind Stone is quite adept at enslavement," she murmured, "But I would not use it upon you," she looked down at him, "Nor the others, it has been proven fallible, shown that others can break through it. If you were as I am now…it would not be a guarantee you would not turn and attack me," she pointed out, "To obtain this," she waved the Gauntlet at him, "That is the flaw."
Athena began to smirk as she looked at Ares, tilting her head, observing his expression, the way he stiffened, in a manner only someone who had been forced to face something they had overlooked could, "You truly thought I would wish to corrupt you?" she asked, sounding more amused than she had right to be, enough so that Ares began to frown, doubt creeping in when Athena shook her head, "Oh, dear brother, you are losing your touch," she took a step back from him, though he noticed how she tightened her grip on her sword in her non-Gauntleted hand, "You should have seen that if I do that, you would fight me for this," she held up the Gauntlet, "And you would then be competition…"
"No!" Ares cried out, when Athena suddenly turned, thrusting her sword into the man who had tried to sneak up on her.
"Now why would I want that?" Athena asked the man she had run through, his eyes wide as he looked at her, before he fell back to the ground, Athena's sword still in her grip, coated in his shining blood.
"Apollo!" Ares could only look on in horror as a pool of blood began to grow beneath his brother; Athena, in her dark glory, only looking down at the man who had once been her cherished brother as though he were a mere victory she had gained.
Athena had run him through, without hesitation, without a care for who he was or what he was to her.
And it was then that he realized the true foolhardy nature of this attack, of his strategy. The entire reason he and the others had risked Zeus' ire, broken their oaths, not only to set foot on Earth, but to stop their sister…was because he had thought they might save her from this corruption. That the care they had between each other would break through to her as it had in the past.
…as it had when they had all been together, when he had been able to see the signs of it returning to her on Olympus and could quell it before it grew to take too much a hold on her.
They had not been together in…a long time.
There was no care there any longer.
He lunged at Athena, swinging his sword, not to land a blow, for he knew she would easily retaliate against him, that she would not hesitate to end him as she had Apollo. He attacked in a way that was meant to force her to step back, a close swing, an upward swish, that would have her lean back and step back, giving him space to get between her and Apollo.
"Ares, I know your tricks," she seemed to sigh, "If you wished to tend to our brother, you need only ask."
She was taunting him now in how she stepped back a few paces with her arms out in a mocking gesture of innocence and meaning no harm. She was delighting in this, in felling an opponent of great power. And she was reveling in the fact that there was nothing he could do to save Apollo now. Apollo was the healer among them, not the soldier, there were none with them who could save their brother from this wound.
Their brother who had gone to Earth to save HER.
And she had killed him.
Ares shook his head, gritting his teeth, "You will pay for this."
"I am one enemy down," she tsked, shaking her head in denial, "How many more do you think I can fell in this battle?"
He knew it was a ploy of hers, she may be the Goddess of Wisdom, but he was adept at working out strategies as well. Not as quickly as her, he knew, but he knew enough of her and how she was in this state of mind...and he cursed himself for underestimating how far she'd delved into it...to know when she was threatening him and when she said exactly what she knew would force his hand.
"Retreat!" he gave the order, grimacing at how she laughed at him, at how she knew he wound.
She had proven she would kill all of them if they came after her, as they had planned to do. They had hoped to overtake her, that having her fight her family would give her enough pause for the strategy to work. That would not be the case, and he could not, would not, risk more of his family to her tactics.
"Retreat!" he repeated, ignoring how Athena was clapping as though he'd done a good deed.
He knew he had fallen into her trap.
This wasn't ever going to be a way to capture her, subdue her, he had been foolish to think it had a chance. Nor would it be a massacre, though it easily could be. Athena could kill them all, and she would, but in this state she'd always had a sadistic streak, wanting to torment and toy with those she deemed lesser than her. She wanted them to suffer, she wanted fear and doubt to spread.
She wanted them to retreat with the knowledge that they couldn't beat her.
Either to force the Avengers to surrender, a humiliation she would thrive upon, seeing the 'greatest heroes of earth' unable to fell her.
Or to encourage them to do better, to give her a real challenge, so when she took them out later, it would be even more of a show of her strength and strategy.
This was child's play to her, there was no challenge on this field of battle.
She either wanted full surrender or something interesting.
Because, to her, she would not lose, there was no realm of possibility where they could defeat her…
And she knew it.
He did, too.
He had relied too much on brute force and strength for this strategy, his greatest failing in all the times he went against her. She could out think him. She could see through his strategies easily with one glance of the battlefield. And she knew the enemy, she had been family to half of them, and teammate to the others, she had seen them fight, fought with them, she knew their strengths and weaknesses, their kills and weapons.
There was no way she would lose, knowing them as well as she did.
"Retreat!" he gave the call again, forcing himself to keep his gaze on Athena, even as he gathered Apollo into his arms and backed away from her.
That she merely stood there, smirking, giving him a taunting wave of her Gauntlet-clad fingers, even as he stepped through the portal that had been created for him, told him she was allowing this. She could have stopped it, she truly could have killed them all…he had underestimated her and the power of those Stones.
"Pollo!" was the startled gasp of Artemis, pulling him back to the present as the portal closed, distancing them from Athena, but reminding him with each second that she could easily breach through to them should she wish it…but he knew she would have more endeavors to handle first, more conquests, more planets to occupy her time. T
hey had proven in this failing that they were of no concern.
He shook his head, laying Apollo down on the ground as Artemis ran to their side, dropping to her knees beside him.
"Pollo, no… " Artemis breathed, gripping his hand as tears filled her eyes. This was her fault, this was all her fault. His bow had been broken during the battle and he had seen Ares distracting Athena. Before she could move to stop him, he had begun running, trying to sneak up on Athena with his tipped arrow in hand. She could not shout out a warning or call him back without their sister hearing and becoming aware of his approach.
It seemed she had no need to worry about that, Athena had clearly known all along that Apollo was drawing nearer.
Aphrodite and Natasha moved to Apollo's other side as Ares backed away, checking the wound, but both of them knew it was too severe.
Thor could only watch, grim, knowing the man's time was limited. As Athena had been injured in a similar way before, by the Dark Elves, and his medicine, his science, the healing of Asgard, had not been able to help her, only Olympian healing could…and Apollo was the only one of them who could use such a gift. There was no one else to help the god, and he was too weak to save himself.
"'tmis…" Apollo spoke, his words slurring as he turned his head to his twin, trying to smile at her as she sobbed beside him. The fiercest Goddess behind Athena, weeping over him? He would not have it, but...she was his twin, one half of him, and she would be losing half herself in this, "Do not let it take you too…" he murmured to her, "Promise me."
Artemis sniffled, and nodded, pressing a kiss to the back of his hand, "I promise," because if she lost herself to the same corruption Athena had, over the loss of a man she loved, she would be no better. And her brother, her twin, would have died for nothing if he lost her too. She would not tarnish his memory by falling to that, "I swear I will not…"
He smiled, "This…" he swallowed hard, "This had to happen," he told her.
"No, no it did not," she shook her head, squeezing his hand tighter, "It should not have."
"It had to," he repeated, wincing as he tried to turn his head to look at Ares, "It had to," he said again, as though trying to tell him something that had the man frowning, not understanding, before he let his head roll back to Artemis, sure that Ares would come to understand in time, and not wanting his sister to not be the last thing he saw, "We came to save her…"
"And she has killed you," Artemis spoke, her voice cracking, because he was growing paler, and his words were slurring even more, and his hand was so cold in her grip, "Our sister…" she shook her head, unable to bear even thinking of it let alone speaking it.
"Our sister," Apollo repeated, "Our family…" he took a shuddering breath, "It had to happen…not like before…"
"Shh…" Artemis tried to soothe him when he began to struggle to speak, his eyes blinking rapidly, trying to stay awake, "Shh, 'Pollo, rest…" her face scrunched, knowing it would be a permanent rest, not even their Uncle, Hades, would be able to restore him…not from this, not a wound made by that sword.
"This…" Apollo kept trying though, "…save her," he strained to keep speaking, "Forever…" his eyes began to flutter closed, but he fought it, to offer his sister one last smile, "Save…you…all…" he tried in vain to squeeze her hand, one final time, "'mis…love…you…"
Artemis broke completely then, "I love you too, 'Pollo," she managed to say, only moments before his head slumped to the side and she sobbed.
Aphrodite was at her side in an instant, pulling her into a tight hug as she wept for her brother. Ares had kept his gaze on Apollo, even as he reached out to grab Hephaestus by the shoulder, preventing the man from leaving, knowing the blacksmith would give in to his anger and smash the next thing he could find outside the room and they needed each other now more than ever.
All around them, the Avengers looked away, slowly backing out of the room to give the family privacy to mourn in peace.
~8~
Athena smirked as she tapped her fingers on the stone of the throne she sat upon, looking down from the high platform it was built upon, the windows high and wide, the stone walls strong, with doors that led further into the fortress she had claimed as her own. A pale blue light shone through the windows, the moon of this world bathing the planet in that color. It was a good place to created as her main temple of worship. The people had recognized her god-like nature when she first appeared, the light of their sky glistening off her skin, much like the gods they worshipped were depicted to have. They all fell over their feet to worship her, to dedicate themselves to her, dropping to their knees in praise. She could do we new devotees, especially after the victory she had secured.
All would be perfect if not for one thing.
She let out an irritated breath, closing her eyes for a moment and twisting her head to the side as though there was a kink in her neck, before her Gauntlet-clad hand curled into a fist, the Soul Stone glowing…
When she opened her eyes she was still exactly where she had been, but the room was bathed in a faint red light instead. And there was someone else in the room with her, kneeling at the base of the platform, her head bowed, her wrists in chains, her pale blonde hair hanging free and limp over her face.
"You have been banging around enough," Athena spoke down to the prisoner, "Speak and be done with it."
The woman looked up at her, revealing it to be Athena as well, though enchained, with pale skin, gray eyes, and the lighter hair, glaring at the brunette on the throne, "You won't win."
"You still have such faith in your allies?" she taunted the weaker version of herself, "You think they can save you?"
The one on the ground shook her head, "I would gladly give my life if it means they can stop you. And they shall."
"Hardly."
"THOR will stop you."
"Thor could no sooner harm us than he could his brother, he is weak."
"He's stronger than you realize."
"He is weak when it comes to you," she clarified, "And you…or should I say, we…will be his downfall."
"I won't let you hurt him," the chained woman tried to rise, but the shackles kept her in position.
"You are in no position to stop me," the woman taunted, "You never were, or I would not exist even now," she tsked in a mocking fashion, "Oh, you didn't realize, did you?" she laughed, "I exist because you weren't strong enough to defeat me, not really, not entirely. This is your fault."
"I beat you back!" the chained woman cried.
"But you didn't beat ME," the throned one reminded, "You can beat an enemy back and not defeat them. They merely bide their time, grow stronger, and come back more vicious than ever," her expression hardened.
The kneeling woman shook her head, as though not wanting to believe that.
"Oh yes," the brunette nodded, "I have always been there, and you were never strong enough to stop me, not on your own. So I waited, and waited, till you finally were. Till you left the security of your pitiful little family. Till that blonde buffoon was finally gone from your side and I could get control again. And it was you who let me, refusing help, not speaking a word about what was happening, going after weapons you knew you should not touch, until…" she took a deep breath, "Finally, the Gauntlet," she looked down at it on her arm, "Now I am back and YOU can settle in the farthest recesses of our being for once."
The imprisoned Athena swallowed hard, "They will stop you," she repeated, firm in her belief, "They will stop you and release me."
"I have no doubt they shall try," she conceded, "And you will lose either way."
"Defeating you is not a loss."
"Isn't it?" she taunted, "If they face me down and fail…well…we have already seen what happens then, dear little 'Pollo," she took incredible delight in how the broken woman flinched at the mention of her slaughtered brother, "And if they succeed?" she shrugged, "You truly think I will ever leave? That you could ever be rid of me?" she scoffed, "And even if you could…you realize what this will mean for you, do you not?"
"I'd be rid of you," Athena repeated.
"And left to face the aftermath of all that I have done," her darker self spoke, smirking, "YOU will be the one to live with the consequence of all this, not I. You will be the one with the memory of it, the knowledge that your hand caused such havoc. Imagine what everyone who looks at you shall see. A traitor, a villain, an enemy, a would-be hero one step away from falling over the edge for all eternity. There will be no escaping me, even if you could defeat me."
"You're wrong…" Athena tried to argue, but the crack in her words belied her fear that the woman was in fact right.
"I suppose we'll see, won't we?" her dark self taunted, "Ooh, look at that," she gazed down at the Gauntlet on her hand, the green Time Stone starting to pulse, "It appears there is more to do."
She smirked and closed her eyes, taking a breath and opening them, back in the pale blue room, alone, without her 'better half' there to prod at her. She waved her hand, bring up a projection in the air, the Space and Time Stone revealing four images…
"Well, well, well," she murmured, watching the scenes play out, "What have we here?" she smirked, before pushing off the throne and standing, "Time for some fun," she mused, her mind racing with a new way to cause more chaos, and torment her 'better half' while she was at it.
The fallout from this dip into darkness would be felt for some time to come, she was going to ensure it.
A/N: O.O
Apollo! T.T
God, you have no idea how much I feel like George RR Martin right now, no one is safe :'(
To paraphrase Boromir...One does not simply stand against the Goddess of War and Wisdom and walk away unscathed D':
If that doesn't prove to them just how dangerous Athena is, how much a threat, and how much they cannot risk underestimating her...I think that did :( Poor Thor, having to see her living out her literal worst nightmare :'(
This was sort of my attempt at paying homage to the first part of Endgame, where the Avengers get together and decided to go after Thanos a second time, only they're too late to stop him :( Here we have the Avengers and Olympians together, deciding to attack Athena as soon as they can possibly find her, because the longer she's like this the harder it'll be to get her back, and they're too late. She expected it, given what she knows about them, and really was just sort of 'flexing' her power and knowledge and forethought at them :'(
I do hope that end scene was clear that it was where Dark!Athena was after the battle, and how she's using the Soul Stone to sort of look inward to where the Good!Athena, the one we've been following for 6 stories, is sort of locked away and fighting to stop her. A sort of reversal of how Dark!Athena was locked away but always there, so is this Athena :( It's not REAL, though, it's not something happening in reality, there aren't two Athenas running around with one locked up, it's entirely internal, in her mind and soul :(
Only have one general 'note on review' which is to say I'm so glad you're all excited to see where this goes. I bet this chapter put a bit of a downer on that excitement though :( Maybe made it more of an anxious hope/dread, but I hope you'll still like what's still to come };)