"You won't win," Clint accused after the group left the Dark Elf's ship and stalked into the center of the soon to be battlefield. Malekith didn't reply. Since taking Clint away, the Dark Elf had become more and more frustrated with the archer and with something else. Clint didn't know exactly why he was frustrated as Malekith hadn't monologued his plan or his failings. Not that it mattered, Clint kinda had gotten the gist from Loki and from the little that the Thor from before had mentioned. Malekith intended to use the Aether to darken all the Realms once they lined together. Somehow, doing that would empower the Dark Elves and they'd be able to take over.
Malekith narrowed his eyes on Clint and looked like he was focusing harshly on the archer. Clint opened his mouth to comment but stopped went he finally felt the slight tingle of magic laying over him but it did nothing other than give him a small chill. If Malekith was trying to call to Aether to him, the Aether was metaphorically digging it's heels in the dirt and staying put. Clint pursed his lips, thinking. Had Malekith been trying this since capturing Clint? Was that why he had been so frustrated?
"The Convergence is almost upon us," Kurse whispered to Malekith in the elven language. Clint refused to mention that he could understand what was being said. Gotta love having learned the spell for the All-Speak. In his life, Clint had learned one fact. If people thought you were stupid, they'd underestimate you. And in situations like this, it was good to be underestimated. But, Malekith had nothing to focus on other than apparently attempted to remove the Aether from Clint, so the archer hadn't really had any time to try and escape as Malekith had been watching him. Not that Clint had understood until now that Malekith had been attempting to get the Aether. Clint had simply assumed the Dark Elf had liked glaring at him.
"Do not remind me," Malekith snarled back in the same language. Clint hissed when the elf spun to face him again. The elf narrowed his eyes and glared. When nothing happened, Malekith's face twisted into rage. Suddenly, he screamed in frustration. It was then that Clint decided he should do what he always did best when caught in a situation like this. Taunt the bad guy in order to distract them.
"You can't take it out of me," he stated, faking his tone to sound surprised, awed and fearful. It took Clint an extra minute before he realized that he should honestly be slightly scared. Without Malekith's ability to remove the Aether, the stone would stay inside him for until Loki, Tony and Bruce figured a way to get it out of him, if they even could. While Loki had admitted that Clint's magic and the Aether fought over power, the archer wouldn't be able to hold out forever. The Aether needed to get out. And if Malekith couldn't do it, all he could do was hope that the others could figure something out before his system burned out. Malekith growled.
"How are you supporting it? Mortals should not be able to," the elf hissed, switching to English. Clint furrowed his brow but didn't answer. Everyone that had the slightest traces of magic had sensed Clint's magic. So, either Malekith couldn't sense it or dismissed it as something else, likely thinking it was the power of the Aether. Malekith hissed and tossed a hand over to Clint in deep concentration. Something forced Clint to lift off the ground. This was new. He felt a stronger pulling on him from any of Malekith's attempts before. It hurt but before he could cry out, suddenly there was a flash of red and he dropped to the floor, stunned. This time, Clint found himself having a slightly harder time leveling out. Between the stronger pull at the Aether's use of magic, Clint was weakening. A spike of fear ran through him as he imagined his body failing just as rescue came for him.
"My Liege," Kurse muttered. Malekith waved a dismissive hand at him. Clint winced, looking to Malekith as he waited for what would come next.
"I have waited for five thousand years for my right. I will not let some mortal take it from me!" the Dark Elf cried, storming to Clint. He lifted the archer up with one hand (apparently the Aether was too weak to defend itself at the moment, not that he was fairing much better) and attempted again to remove the Aether. Clint choked a bit as Malekith purposefully squeezed his throat in anger. The Aether let out another wave. Malekith roared in pain, dropping Clint. This time Clint just laid on the floor, dazed. If this kept up, the Aether would kill him.
"Found him!" Tony called, pointing as a wave of red flashed by. As soon as they could, the group had headed off to the battle site but Malekith and Clint were not found. They waited an hour or so, until security kicked them out and they headed back to the hotel. Once they got back, Tony went straight to the equipment, hoping to find some sign of the Aether now that Bruce and him had studied it a bit inside Clint. Loki had attempted to search with his magic. But, they all knew that sooner or later, Malekith would arrive in the courtyard of the National Maritime Museum.
"That isn't good," Phil whispered. A moment later, a second flashed by. Hulk, who had refused to change back to Bruce, glanced up and muttered something like 'pretty light.'
"What is Malekith doing?" Loki murmured, unsure exactly what was happening. But one thing he did know, Malekith was still attacking Clint to send out these waves. Because the Aether was still inside Clint. Somehow, the Dark Elf was failing. Then a third flashed.
"He's gonna kill himself," Bucky cried before rushing out toward the balcony. Hulk looked up as the Sergeant jumped down on the goliath's shoulder. Bucky pointed toward the courtyard. "Hulk, Clint's over that way."
"Cupid," Hulk grumbled before turning and then jumped as hard as he could. Loki cursed and quickly cast his transportation spell, leaving the others in the dust as he chased after Hulk and Bucky.
"We'll be right behind you," Tony announced, his voice clearly pissed that he and the others had been abandoned.
Loki arrived at the location that Malekith was holding Clint at just as a forth wave of energy ran through the area. He had just enough time to cast a wall before him in order to stand his ground. The wave passed over him, pushing him back a good foot or two. He walked forward moments after it passed. A quick glance toward Clint showed the trickster that the archer was not doing well. Loki would need to distract Malekith to give Clint some time to recover. Quick successions of the Aether's power was far too damaging for Clint. "Malekith!"
"You!" the Dark Elf screamed, spinning to glare at the trickster. At his feet, Clint struggled to get up. Loki snarled even as Hulk dropped onto the ground behind him. Bucky jumped off and landed on Loki's other side. "You cannot stop this."
"Beg to differ," Clint argued from the elf's feet. Malekith snarled at him before reaching down and grabbing him by the neck once again. The wave of energy that came from the archer was much weaker this time but just enough to throw Malekith's hand away. Clint collapsed. It was clear that the Aether had been using too much energy and Loki wasn't sure how much more the archer's body could take.
"Clint!" Bucky shouted as Loki made note of a few areas in which the energy wave from the Aether suddenly 'stopped.' The Convergence was here and that meant the holes between realms were stronger. Slowly, the entire battlefield would be filling with tunnels to other realms. Hulk let out a giant roar and ran right at Malekith. Loki opened his mouth to shout out at the green giant but before he could, Hulk ran through an invisible portal. "What the-"
"This whole area is littered with portals to other realms. We must be careful," Loki warned Bucky beside him, looking about quickly before focusing on Malekith. The elf was glaring at them. From above came the noise of repulsors. Loki quickly sent out a communication spell to the genius, increasing it to include Bucky and Clint after a moment. "Tony, be careful of portals."
"I see 'em," Tony replied as he suddenly weaved to the right before steadying his path and flying right into Malekith. The elf launched into the air and disappeared through a portal. Kurse let out an angered cry and tossed something at Tony. Loki, remembering Svartalfheim, quickly used his magic to snag the little bomb and toss it across the battle field. It exploded near a building and started sucking in much of the wall before it closed. "What the hell was that?"
"Something we should avoid," Bucky retorted as if Tony didn't honestly already know that. Clint grunted as his gaze flicked about. He looked to see more of those bomb things on Kurse and a plan quickly formed. Kurse moved closer to the downed archer, ready to defend his lord's future prize. Smiling, Clint reached out to the monster's side. Loki rushed forward, knowing exactly what Clint was planning. Bucky rushed after as well. Clint yanked something away from Kurse and the creature, in anger, kicked the archer away. The red blast from the Aether sent Clint far enough away that Loki slid to a stop, catching Bucky around the gut even as a mini explosion happened at Kurse's side and the elf was harshly sucked into the mini black hole.
"That looked painful," Tony commented before letting out a huff of surprise. Loki twisted to see Malekith had found a portal back and it had been high enough that he had been able to get a hold of Tony.
"Tony!" Bucky cried. A moment later, a blur hit Malekith across the face, stunning the elf into letting Tony go and dropping to the ground. When it bounced back, Steve launched himself into the air and caught it. Loki quickly increased his communication spell as Thor roughly landed near Clint's downed form and Natasha and Phil appeared just at the edge of the battlefield.
"Malekith, surrender now," Thor ordered as he stood back up, Malekith mimicking him. Malekith let out a dark laugh.
"I will have my world of darkness!" the elf shouted back. Clint struggled to get to his feet.
"Not without the Aether," he argued. Malekith glared at Clint, too distracted to realize that Tony had gotten behind him. The genius let out his chest repulsor blast. It slammed into Malekith's back. Thor swung Mjolnir a few times, drawing lightning to it before launching the energy at Malekith. It hit the side of the elf's face and burned it. Suddenly, behind Tony, a large ship appeared.
"Tony!" Steve shouted. The genius spun and launched himself away as the ship opened and elves poured out into the area. "Avengers!"
Thor, Steve, Natasha and Loki all rushed at the force coming toward them. Bucky ran to Clint's side, the archer clearly weakened. When he got to Clint's side, the others were deep in battle. "Clint."
"I'm okay," Clint soothed as Phil appeared on his other side a moment later.
"This your version of okay or ours?" the agent retorted. Clint huffed but didn't answer. It was clear that it wasn't even the archer's version of okay. He had merely been saying he was okay in the fact that he was alive... "We need to get you out of here."
"He hasn't taken the Aether. It... It fought to stay in me," Clint grunted, nearly falling as he tried to take a step. Without thinking, Bucky lunged forward and grabbed the archer, supporting him. Thankfully, the Aether didn't respond as if it was being attacked.
"That... Doesn't sound good," Bucky muttered, silently noting the absence of the red power attack. It was good that Malekith couldn't get a hold of the Aether but also bad as the Aether was still inside Clint. And with the amount of power the Aether had been expending, Bucky was surprised Clint wasn't dead already. It had to be due to Clint's own magic.
"We need to get you out of here," Phil announced as if it wasn't the most obvious thing in the world. A spray of dirt suddenly came over their backs even though nothing had hit the ground behind them. Phil and Bucky winced, almost expecting the Aether to dislike the 'attack' done on it's host. Clint hardly reacted. "Clint, come on!"
"Huh?" Clint replied, looking to his old handler in surprise before nodding distractedly. Bucky grimaced but helped pull Clint out of the battle zone. Until Phil took a step to the left and vanished. For a moment, Bucky almost continued on walking but instead stopped. Without knowing where the portals were and where they could end up, it'd be dangerous to lead Clint about. A moment later, Phil stumbled back, pale.
"Not that way," the agent mused as if it had been a question. Bucky pursed his lips but followed the agent's lead as Phil pushed them over a bit and walked forward again. This time more carefully then before. They needed to get Clint to the jet, which had been sitting, hidden inside Greenwich Park.
"Clint, come on," Bucky begged when the archer began to slow.
"Sorry," Clint whined, pushing himself to move a little faster but it was hard. He was just so tired. Bucky and him stumbled when Clint's lack of energy had him over balance. "Sorry."
"It's okay, lets ju-" Bucky started but stopped when an explosive force picked them and Phil up off their feet and tossed them aside. Clint landed harshly on his back and the Aether exploded out. Bucky was ripped from his side and fell heavily a good distance away. Phil ended up tossed into a Dark Elf that had just stepped through a portal a few steps away. They crashed in a tangle of limbs.
The explosion of Aether energy raced across the battlefield and through the portals and out into space. Calling attention to those that search for the Infinity Stones.
Bucky was quick to get to his feet and rush back to Clint's side. He looked to see that while Phil was battling a Dark Elf, the agent had the fight well in hand. Knowing that, Bucky focused on the archer. This time, Clint had fully lost consciousness and that fact that it didn't return in a few moments was a terrifying thought. The Aether had used so much energy. Grimacing, Bucky grabbed Clint and lifted him into a bridal carry. If anyone (Tony) saw them, Bucky was pretty sure that Clint would get made fun of. But Bucky didn't care.
Distantly, he heard Steve ordering the Avengers about in an attempt to control the elves and keep everything contained. Loki had already admitted that the Realms only lined up for at most a half hour. That's all the time they needed before Malekith likely called for a retreat. But, this wouldn't be a good story without this happening. Bucky was nearly out of the battle field when Hulk slammed into the ground in front of him. Crying out, Bucky and Clint were tossed backwards and through a portal, red trailing behind them. Bucky hit hard and his head cracked painfully against a rock and everything went dark.
Got a little more writing in this week. Still having energy issues but a bit better in the morning. Crashing around nine (after waking at around five thirty). Ugh. Can't wait until CVS gives me my new meds and they kick in/work.
Darius is doing good. Got him cleaning up better after learning he is 'frightened' of some creature that a youtube duo made a video on. The Shadowman, or something. Either way, I told him a few days ago that if I woke up in the morning, because I woke up long before him, if he didn't have his toys put away than I'd do the ritual to summon the Shadowman. Every day since then, the room has been picked up. Yeah, there are still a few things laying about but nothing as bad as it has been in the past so I've been mostly letting it slid but warning him that it should be EVERYTHING but that he had done good. Don't know how long this trick will work but hey, as a parent you learn to milk every trick for as long as possible, lol.
Been going through a New England heat wave this week so I got to spend some time in my open pool. First day, Darius attempted to grab me while my back was turned to him. He dropped in. Not all that far, I don't think he even went fully under as not all of his hair was wet but he went down enough that he got some water in his mouth and was a bit frightened. Still went back into the pool after wiping his face off a bit on his towel. Then just yesterday, I accidently tricked our dog Appa into falling into the pool. Yeah... Darius has a water gun that we've found Appa likes chasing when you shoot it, but I also recently learned it was a good way to help clean out our pool vacuum (rather than dragging the damn thing to the other side of the house to our hose). So, I was shooting at the dirty vacuum nets with Appa all in my way. Wanting him away, I would turn around and shoot a small bit of water off toward the deep end of the pool (mostly toward the grass back that way but I was in the shallow end of the pool so my angle was a bit awkward at times). Well, one of the times I did it, I must have twisted a bit too far as the water went mostly into the pool and Appa lost track of where the pool edge ended in his haste to get the water. Well... He got the water. A bit more than he wanted, lol. Poor thing. He actually ended up cracking his back foot/one of his nails and bled a bit but is doing okay now. Sad thing is, he didn't learn his lesson as I hadn't finished cleaning the vacuum and when I turned back to it, he returned to chase after the water gun again...