Of course Marie demanded an explanation. It was Marie - infinitely curious, and way too scary to say 'no' to, even on the other side of a phone. So he kept it on speaker as he shoved on something more protective than his SHIELD t-shirt and attempted to explain the situation as best as he could without revealing the fact he was working with a super secret government agency.
"Ro. You get yourself involved with some serious shit." She managed to get out after Ronan had finished and he had to laugh. It sounded slightly hysterical.
"No way, Marie. I thought this was normal for everyone." The sarcasm in his tone was thick, hoping to get a laugh out of his usually carefree friend. Instead, her voice came through the phone as serious.
"Ronan, serious talk - how are you doing? I don't want to get a call like the one I got -"
"Geez, Marie, that was five years ago." Ronan could feel himself shaking and he forced himself to focus on fastening his bulletproof vest - probably no help against aliens from outer space, but whatever.
"It takes more than years to get over that urge." Her voice grew quiet and he could hear her muttering something to another person. "Listen, a few friends and I are gonna meet you near Stark Tower."
"No." Ronan's blood turned to ice. "Marie, you need to leave Manhattan as fast as you can."
"This is my city, Ronan. No power hungry psychopath is gonna take it away from me. Not without a fight." Her voice was sharp, and Ronan cursed down the phone as he turned it back to handheld, ignoring the looks from Natasha, Clint and Steve as he kept talking, allowing them to hijack a jet without much trouble. "Mind your language, Spire."
"Marie, please. Please, you'll get yourself killed."
"You're not the only one with superpowers, Ro. You don't have to do this alone."
"I'm not alone. I'm with Captain America."
"And you have me. Always. Best friends forever, remember? We made that promise when we were seven."
"I'm still under the impression you used your silver tongue to get me to agree to that." Ronan sighed, accepting defeat. "Just...lay low until we show up. Please."
"We're not idiots, Ro." He could practically hear Marie's shit eating grin through the phone. "See you in a bit." She hung up and Ronan glared at his phone like it had personally offended him, instead of Marie.
"I hate that girl sometimes."
"Who is she?" Natasha asked, trying to get a grasp of Ronan's friend, he assumed. Maybe to make a file for her. "Besides being called Marie, of course."
"She's a pain in my ass." Ronan started, and Clint snorted loudly from the pilot's seat. "We went to school together until she moved to New York when we were ten. She...she's like me. Has the X gene - says she's 'good with her mouth' and then proceeds to wink at the most attractive girl in sight."
"She's…" Steve trailed off awkwardly.
"Gay as hell." Ronan confirmed and Natasha, Bruce and Clint all snorted at Steve's jump. "Relax, Cap. It's not illegal anymore, or taboo. If it was, Marie would probably be in jail. She's not exactly shy about expressing her preference."
"I am imagining her with rainbow hair." Clint said. "Possibly a shirt saying 'I 'heart' Girls' or something along those lines."
"Go with 'something along those lines'." Ronan said, remembering the selfie she'd sent him a couple of years back, proclaiming that she 'loved vaginas'. It still traumatised him. "Plus, she into all natural stuff - her hair isn't rainbow. Sorry to disappoint."
"As invigorating as this discussion is, we should probably figure out what, exactly, to do when we reach Manhattan." Tony's voice sounded over the comms, reminding them of the bigger issue at hand. "Any reason you're not coming with me to talk reindeer games down?"
"I don't want my friends to die." Ronan said in explanation. "And the bigger issue will, obviously, be the alien army. I know I can talk Loki down, I know him...sort of."
"Reassuring, that." Clint muttered. "That...whatever he is, was inside my head. He made me do whatever he wanted. He could do that to you."
"He won't." That Ronan was certain of. "Hell, he wasn't even putting that staff's full power into possessing you. You missed Fury's heart, his head. You're a marksman, Barton - never missed a shot. Something in there was telling you not to kill Fury. If Loki could get rid of the leader of those who were trying to stop him, why wouldn't he, unless he didn't really want to succeed?"
"Where did you find this guy?" Clint asked Natasha. "That actually made sense." Ronan puffed up slightly in pride.
"I try."
"If he throws me out of one of my glass windows, I will pitch a fit." Tony stated.
"You are a grown man." Bruce sighed.
"Also it's your fault for making an entire wall a window." Ronan added. Steve may have snorted.
"Such support." Tony said. "Here's to not dying."
XoooX
It didn't take them long to spot Marie and her friends, much to Ronan's relief.
She was knelt in front of two young kids, maybe nine or ten years old, and judging from the scarily calm expressions on their faces, she had her persuasive power on full blast. Her dark hair, usually curly and loose, was pulled back in two dutch braids, dark brown hands moving as she spoke. Despite the fact her attention was on the two young children, she kept glancing around the area, making sure that none of the chitauri were getting too close.
Yes, the portal had been opened, Tony unable to break through the barrier around the device and unable to convince Loki to call off the order to attack. Ronan had expected that - he had wished for more time to prepare, but no, his luck had not kicked in for that.
Their jet had been shot down by a blast from Loki's sceptre, but no one was terribly injured, just shellshocked, and Ronan had managed to stop Bruce from freaking out enough for the Hulk to make an appearance too early in the program.
Their race to the base of Stark Tower led to this current moment in time, where Ronan found himself frozen in fear as Marie failed to notice the chitauri making to shoot at her, attention focused on the children.
Ronan didn't manage to get out a yell of warning before a blonde woman was at Marie's back, one hand flung up. A shield, made of light blue energy, was flung up, deflecting the blast from the weapon and making it hit the chitauri. The woman blew a strand of hair out of her eyes, focusing on keeping the shield intact as she beckoned them over with her head, hands still outstretched in front of her.
"You must be Ronan." She said when the group had ducked behind her shield, Natasha and Clint shooting at some of the enemies on their dart over. "Heard a lot about you - Kirsten Grace. I would shake your hand, but I would rather keep this shield up."
"Of course Marie makes friends with others with the X gene." Ronan commented and Kirsten flashed him a grin.
"Stay still." Marie's voice was hefty, and it took all of Ronan's strength to resist the urge to become a human statue at the sound of her voice. His childhood friend turned to face him, eyes dark and worried. "Once again, you deal with some serious shit, Ro."
"No need to tell me that." Ronan retorted, glancing over at the Avengers. "This is Marie. Marie, these are -"
"Very attractive people." Marie finished with a grin. "Especially you - I dig redheads."
"There is a time and place for flirting." Natasha responded, though her lips twitched in amusement. Marie lost her grin, face turning serious.
"Right. Alien invasion. How you holding up, Kirst?"
"It would be useful if you could move the kids somewhere safe before the shield flickers out of existence. But, you know, take your time." Kirsten's voice sounded strained and Marie nodded. She turned back to the kids, eyes flickering to an entrance to the subway.
"Run down that tunnel and stay under there until someone comes to move you somewhere safer." Ronan forced his feet to stay still, to not follow the children who obediently followed Marie's instructions. They were almost followed by Steve, but Marie grabbed his arm, pulling him back. The super soldier blinked, appearing to come out of a trance.
"What -"
"I'm...pretty persuasive." Marie said in explanation and Kirsten let the shield fall, stumbling where she stood. Her eyes scanned the sky, lighting up when a bird swooped low.
It was an eagle, much to Ronan's surprise, until it hit the floor and transformed into a human. They were tall, with dark skin and long brown hair, his features marking them of Native descent. They were also naked, and seemed unabashed about it.
Everyone but Marie and Kirsten averted their gaze, oblivious to the fact that they could see breasts, and the person sighed.
"For God's sake, you all have nipples." They said, and Natasha snorted loudly.
"Eli, you're traumatising Captain America." Marie pointed out, and the person - Eli - sighed heavily.
"Old fashioned sensibilities...why is he even called Captain America? He's not even native."
"Now is not the time for another impassioned rant about the whites, although I will gladly join you with that at a later time. What did you see?"
"Crazy person in green is still up Stark Tower, Stark's leading a group of chitauri away from civilians. Oh, another guy in a cape showed up. Got a hammer. One of yours, I'm guessing?" Eli turned to Ronan, who nodded, still slightly stunned.
"...Don't you want a shirt or something?"
"I'm shifting again soon. Eli Locklear, by the way - Native American, shapeshifter and I prefer he and him pronouns." He offered a grin. Ronan gave an awkward salute, before Eli was off, transforming into an eagle mid run and soaring around skyscrapers, goading the Chitauri into chasing him. Bruce blinked.
"Is he always so…"
"Bold? Brash?" Marie suggested.
"Rude." Kirsten corrected, rolling her eyes. "That boy honestly has no manners."
"It's not like he ha - watch it!" Marie ducked, pulling Ronan down with her as a blast from a Chitauri weapon missed them. Steve retaliated with a throw of his shield, Marie wincing as she watched the alien fall. "Cover me."
She ignored the yell of warning as she ran out of cover, grabbing the dropped weapon amidst the firing of weapons. Ronan felt his stomach swoop as she ducked one blast and dodged another, ducking behind a car wreckage on the way back to where they had ducked down.
She was shielded by Kirsten on the way back, and as soon as she had vaulted the debris, Kirsten let the energy field drop, slumping against it, sweat beading her brow. Clint looked concerned.
"You alright?"
"Just tired." Kirsten wiped the sweat from her brow, flicking it away with an elegance Ronan envied. He noted the rings on her fingers, the bangles, the way her blonde hair was curled in a way you could only achieve from a salon. The fact she looked so high class, so much like a woman who wouldn't want to fight, made her next words surprising. "Does anyone have a gun?"
"A gun?" Natasha raised an eyebrow, passing one of her pistols over. "You know how to shoot?"
"I am a woman living in a society where men think it is perfectly alright to force themselves on women, with an overprotective uncle who is in the police force and a family background in the military." She replied, eying the weapon speculatively, before nodding, seemingly satisfied. "Of course I know how to shoot.
XoooX
True to her word, Kirsten could shoot. Pretty damn well, actually, especially if she had never actually used her training to hurt someone before, never mind kill. Marie was using the weapon she'd scooped up earlier like a staff, twirling it and hitting aliens, allowing the more experienced members of the team to actually finish them off.
It was Eli that impressed Ronan a great deal, soaring above the flying Chitauri, transforming into a bear and crashing into them, sending them both plummeting to the street, before returning to eagle form just before his feet - er, paws - hit the ground, soaring off to look for his next victim.
Thing was, there were just too many of them, not to mention that every time one of the larger aliens came through, it deposited another troop of Chitauri, before wreaking it's own brand of havoc.
"Ronan, think you can talk to Reindeer Games?" Tony's voice came through the comm unit and Ronan nodded, before realising he couldn't actually see Ronan's answer.
"Yeah. This is...bigger than I thought. Still no luck on disrupting the energy barrier, I'm guessing."
"Impenetrable. There must be a trigger, and Loki will know what it is."
"Gotcha - don't suppose I could get a lift?"
"What do you take me for?" Ronan spun, hearing the sound of the repulsors behind him as Tony landed, face piece retracting. The genius looked tired, and Ronan just admired the armor. Tony managed to flash a wink. "Like what you see?"
"Let me bask in the glory of your armor." Ronan retorted and Tony snorted.
"After this, you and me are gonna do some science, kid. Make you your own set if you can talk the primadonna down." He held out his hands and Ronan took them, letting out a shriek of surprise as Tony pulled him in closer, wrapping arms around his midsection before blasting off.
"Ronan?" Steve's voice came through the comms, worried.
"Getting a lift - Jesus, Stark, give a guy a warning!" The only response Ronan got was a deep chuckle.
They hit the landing pad of Stark Tower pretty quickly, and Ronan glanced up, taking in the portal.
"Want me to stay with you?" Tony asked, and Ronan noted his voice was quiet, almost gentle, so unlike Tony, who was all flash and performance. Ronan managed a nod.
"Please." Much to Ronan's dismay, his voice cracked, but Tony made no note he had heard it, heading inside via the landing pad, armor coming off as he went. Ronan followed close behind, noting the bands still on Tony's wrists. A back up plan. Ronan had no such safety net. He hoped he wouldn't need one.
Loki was watching the destruction from a window, and didn't turn when he addressed them.
"You can't stop it." Was all he said, Tony making his way to the bar, and Ronan snorted. Loki turned, startled, as though he hadn't expected Ronan's presence. His eyes grew wide, stunned, a startling moment of vulnerability, before the mask came up.
"I'll offer you a drink again." Tony held up a bottle of brandy, shaking it. Loki gave him a look of disdain. Tony shrugged, pouring some into one glass. "Ro?" Ronan shrugged.
"Why not? Give it here." Ronan caught the glass that Tony slid across the bar to him. He sipped it, Loki watching his actions with sharp eyes. Ronan downed the drink, burning his throat. Liquid courage. He needed it.
"Care to tell our dear Asgardian what you realised?" Tony asked, and Ronan hummed.
"I suppose." Ronan drawled, and Loki's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"What do you believe you realise?"
"That this - this taking over the world - is not what you want. I realised, after watching the footage of when you first arrived. Pale skin, sunken, dark eyes, profuse sweating, lack of sleep. Thor told me about the portal, how you fell through it - whatever was on the other side, whatever gave you that staff, did something to you." Ronan noticed how his hand gripped the staff tighter, knuckles turning white with the strength of it. "When you came through, when you...changed Erik Selvig and Clint Barton, you left just enough of them left. Enough that Clint would only wound, not kill, Nick Fury, that Selvig, as all scientists do, has probably created a way to shut off the portal, despite what punishment may befall you for it. Because you never wanted the earth."
The next thing Ronan knew was that Loki had him pinned to the wall, a dagger at his throat, eyes wild and manic and panicked. Tony had risen from his seat, looking like a man on a mission. Ronan shot him a look, telling him to not move.
"Do not presume to know me." Loki hissed. "You know nothing."
"You won't kill me." Ronan said. He felt the dagger dig in a little deeper, felt a sting of pain. He didn't flinch.
"I won't hesitate to." The god hissed. "You are nothing but a little Midgardian."
"Yes. But you like me." Ronan retorted. "Because I treated you like something other than a monster. Because I told you stories about the heroes who are my teammates, my friends. I made you grow attached to them, which is why you couldn't kill Phil Coulson. Why you could only hurt him. You knew I liked him, you knew his death would hurt me, and you couldn't bear it. Because I was the only one down here who looked at you and saw a broken man."
"I am not broken!"
"You are being manipulated! You and your silver tongue and your sharp mind!" Ronan could have laughed. "You said you wouldn't hesitate to kill me. Do it."
"Ronan -" He heard Steve's worry through the comm, the sharp intake of Tony's breath. He saw Loki's grip on the dagger tighten, his mouth thinning.
He felt more than saw him curl into Ronan's form, the dagger falling to the floor with a metallic clang. He felt his shoulders shake, and Ronan let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"You made me weak." Loki sounded broken. Ronan resisted the urge to run a hand up and down his back. Tony was staring. "You make me break."
"You care too much for one little Midgardian." Ronan said, and Loki let out a sound that sounded like a sob. "The god of lies opened his heart to a little Midgardian, and his mask and ruse fell away."
"I hate you." Loki hissed. Ronan knew he didn't mean a word of it.
After all, he was still alive.
XoOoX
There is so much of this I hate.
Eh, whatever. I quite like the Loki confrontation, but that might be because I like writing Ronan and Loki interacting and the fact they don't know what to make of each other.
I can't write action scenes so I skipped, like, all of the battle hahaha we sorta get the gist of what happened anyway.
No clue when the next update'll happen - prolly soon. I shall be writing The Dark World next, but quick question - I have multiple other stories planned for Ronan's 'verse, would it be easier for you guys to post them all as one fic, or to do each movie separately, as well as the bits that happen in between?
Anyways, hope you enjoyed! ~ Jazz xx