A/N: Chap 11 review responses are in my forums like normal. Thanks for reading.
Chapter Twelve: Bird Toss
"What is this?"
Swan looked up from the grease-stained box that was fitted through the air-tight passthrough of her cell, to Rogers.
"Well, I'm still catching up on things, but what you're holding has been around for a long time. Pepperoni pizza."
She opened the box to see a large, flat bread covered in melted, congealed lactate with thin slices of red, seasoned protein. It was cut into eight roughly triangular pieces. She took one by its doughy end and took a bite. "This is very good," she said. "Thank you."
She quickly devoured the rest of the piece. Rogers had a kind smile, though she could see lingering doubt there as well. It was difficult to blame him.
"You were telling us the disposition of Loki's forces," the Earth champion said. "What are these Chitauri?"
"The Chitauri are a cybernetically enhanced insectoid species," she explained. "They are controlled by queens who hold complete dominion over every member. They can produce servitors, war drones or Others-males that serve as administrators and coordinators. Each queen can produce over a million eggs in her lifetime, and there are one hundred queens at any one time. A queen's last eggs are new queens, who consume her and take her place."
"Sounds lovely," Rogers noted grimly.
"If Thanos does not get the Tesseract from Loki, will he come here?" Thor asked.
"Perhaps. Or he will send others. He likes to use tools. The tesseract is too powerful a tool for a planet like this to possess it. If not Thanos, then the Kree. If not the Kree, then the Sovereign, or the Ravager clans, or the Marauders. There are a hundred interstellar groups that would gladly see this world razed to obtain such a powerful device."
She began eating another piece of the delicious pizza when the craft around them shook violently. Swan could hear the reverberation of a massive explosion ripple through the deck plating below her, and the abrupt shift in motion sent both Thor and Rogers stumbling. Swan braced herself with her wings; her cage did not move at all. She was sad to see the box with the last two pieces of pizza fall.
The lights overhead flickered, went off briefly to throw the room into absolute darkness, and then flickered back on. A second later, claxons began to howl harshly.
Rogers touched his ear, likely a communications device. "There are hostiles on board."
"Loki!" Thor growled the word. Both men gave her a look before turning to run out of the chamber. Alone, Swan walked to the end of her cage where the pizza box fell. Somehow, both pieces remained within the box. Worried about those she'd given herself up to, but also strangely pleased that her meal survived, she lifted the box and finished eating.
"How quickly they domesticated you."
Though his voice startled her, the fact Loki stood outside her cage did not surprise her. She looked at him as she continued eating.
He still bore that manic grin; somehow he'd already attained his scepter. "I had no doubt you planned to betray me," he said. "But to betray your father as well? I would tell you well done, but…" He motioned toward her cage.
"Your brother told me the symbols were the names of the Vanir."
"Oh, to be sure," Loki said dismissively. He grinned at her. "Runic prayers of protection. Though Thor would not know them, your other arm prays to the Olympian gods of Earth's mythology. If you would care to strip naked for me, I'm sure I could tell you what the rest means."
"Am I Asgardian?"
The villain laughed. "Oh, my dear. I'm not here to answer your questions. I'm here to gloat! I've won. There's nothing you or your new friends can do about it. More importantly, Thanos will learn of your betrayal. When I hand him the Tesseract, I will make sure to hand you to him as well."
Swan started her second bite while he stared at her, hungry for her reaction. "Nothing to say?" he said.
She held up the half-eaten last piece. "You should try some pizza. It may be the best thing I've ever eaten."
He seemed to deflate. "You're a fool."
"I am," she agreed. "Twice over. Each time for saving your life."
That made his chin rise. "I owe you nothing."
"You owe me your life. If you owe me nothing, then it's because you believe your life is worth nothing." She finished her meal and then sat on the bench and stared.
He smirked, bowed his head, and then let his flawless illusion fail.
Minutes later, a second explosion rocked the helicarrier. Swan braced herself as this time the massive craft tilted violently. From her stomach alone, she knew they were falling.
Inexplicably, the floor underneath her cage opened, and her entire prison cell shot down so fast she found herself tossed against the ceiling. Retro rockets fired a moment later, slamming her back down into the floor, but evidently the containment unit was too low for the rockets to stop it in time.
She was tossed about like a toy as the containment unit crashed into something. The impact did not hurt her, but the experience left her discombobulated and confused. What happened? Slowly, she stood but found the transparent wall facing down into crushed concrete and steel. The only light was a dull red glow on one corner of the cage.
It was enough to find the entrance. With no reason not to, Swan opened a hole with her wing, and then pried her fingers in enough to rip the door free. Doing so allowed streams of dust-hewn sunlight to shine in, as well as the screams of the injured.
She stumbled down the rubble and onto a plaza of some kind. Across the small, paved plaza she saw an ornate metal-work sign serving as a purely ornamental gate with lettering facing away. Reading it backwards, it said Kemah Boardwalk. Turning back the way she came, she saw how the container cut a swath through a brick, steel and glass building near its side.
Most humans were screaming and running away from the wreckage, but a few were approaching her cautiously. Two wore uniforms of some kind, similar to that worn by George Tso. They even carried their weak little side-arms as they approached.
"Ma'am, are you injured?" one of the men called.
Swan ignored them as she looked for clues as to what happened. All she had to do was turn around toward the wrecked building to see. A thick contrail of black smoke hung low in the sky. She ignored the surprised shouts from the officers as she flexed her wings and then flapped them down as she jumped, giving her enough lift to clear the damaged building. Her wings caught the air as she fell, slowing her fall to the far side enough that she barely had to bend her knees.
On this far side of the damaged building, she saw a wide, pleasant walkway with tables, chairs and umbrellas. More mortals stood about, staring in shock at the helicarrier in the distance. She ignored them as she pushed forward for a clearer view.
The helicarrier had crashed side-ways into what looked like a shallow bay. The starboard side jutted up at a sharp angle as the port side was ground into the water and the bay floor. Even as she stood watching, she could see the starboard side slowly beginning to sink as gravity overcame the suction of the bay floor.
"You! Hands in the air! Turn around!"
Swan turned and saw the two uniformed humans from before running toward her. She'd become so engrossed in what was happening in the Bay that she hardly noticed the other humans backing away from her in fear. The arrival of the two armed humans drove them further back.
Whatever the two males intended was subverted by an unexpected arrival.
A massive troll slammed down through the wood walkway and shattered bits of concrete. As green as jade, the giant rose to his full height as water dripped from his muscles. To Swan's shock, he stood taller than Thanos.
The two humans decided in a heartbeat that the troll was the greater threat. One stumbled away with a scream and fired his weapon. The projectile did not even cause a depression on the creature's skin. It did, however, irritate him.
The beast roared and charged the two small humans. Swan knew instinctively both would be killed in an instant. Without hesitation, she jumped between them as the beast swung a fist as large as her head.
She caught it in both hands and set her feet. The utter, numbing power the beast transmitted through her body pushed her legs like nails into the concrete. The only being more surprised than the two humans that she wasn't crushed was the beast himself. The troll backed away, roaring and occasionally slamming a fist onto the crumbling concrete.
Swan kicked free of the concrete and watched the creature. The massive green hands twitched nervously, and in that moment she remembered what the human Stark said.
"Banner," Swan said.
He spun to her and then roared with deafening volume. Behind her, she heard glass shatter and people scramble away. The uniformed humans scrambled up from where they'd fallen and began pushing others away.
Banner rushed at her; his fists bunched. Her mind began parsing through aggressive displays of animals from various known worlds, and she realized that this monster was engaging in a threat display.
She didn't want to fight him; the fact he could jump from the helicarrier showed he was strong enough to keep her from her task. Instead, she slammed her wings into the pavement behind her and closed her eyes.
No blow came. She opened her eyes and saw he'd come with an inch, but then backed off, growling and roaring but never taking his eyes off her.
"Banner…"
"NO BANNER! HULK!"
Not quite as dumb as he looks. Then again, neither was Cull Obsidian.
"Hulk," she said with a nod. "You're very strong, aren't you? Will you help me save the people on that ship?"
He turned to her pointing hand and grunted, while wiping his face. "No swim." Though he didn't roar the first time, the thought agitated him enough that when he repeated "NO SWIM!" he did so with a roar and a slammed fist.
"Then help me save them," Swan said. He spun back, growling.
She pointed out to the bay. "Throw me, Hulk. Throw me toward the helicarrier, so I can help them. I can't fly on my own, but you can throw me."
The beast stared at her, and for one second she thought she saw a glimmer of Banner in his eyes. "Bird girl."
"I am," she said. She stepped slowly toward him, and then bent a wing forward. "Feel my feathers. My wings help me jump far. Throw me, as hard as you can, and my wings will cushion me. I won't be hurt, and you can help me."
"Hulk hurt," he said.
"I'm strong, Hulk. Like you. But...just smaller."
"Small." He agreed with a nod. With astonishing gentleness, he reached out a massive hand and picked her up by her waist. "Throw bird girl?"
"As hard as you can," she agreed.
With her in his hand, Hulk took four steps toward the damaged restaurant, and then with another roar stutter-stepped back to the water before throwing her with enough power that a mortal would have been reduced to sludge.
She kept her wings tight against her back as she gained altitude. When at last the momentum and inertia began to bleed off, she spread her wings to catch the wind and began a gradual glide toward the helicarrier over the water. The ship settled flat with a resounding crash that sent waves across the bay and threw hapless survivors off the tarmac where they had been clinging.
Hulk's throw was so powerful she had to circle twice to bleed off speed and not over-shoot the deck. She landed lightly just as more survivors were emerging from within the ship. It astonished her that any survived at all, seeing how terribly the port side of the ship had been crushed.
She began making her way toward the bent, misshapen hangar opening when the armored man, Stark, flew toward her. His armor appeared to be dented, and one of the thrusters under his feet was flickering unsteadily when he landed with a loud clank. He held up both his hands, each glowing with his repulsor weapons, while the pauldrons of his armor opened to reveal a row of small missiles.
His attention diverted immediately as Thor arrived on the deck of the ship. The Asgardian brimmed with fury. With Mjolnir in hand, he met Swan's gaze in challenge. "Do you keep your word?"
"It's all I have left," she said.
Before Thor could speak, Stark looked up. "Oh, shit!"
The Hulk landed with so much power the tarmac shattered under his feet. SHIELD agents scattered in fear as the troll struck his chest and roared. "Bird girl!" he roared. "Water not deep! No swim!"
Smiling at the beast's pleased declaration, she stepped to his side and took his hand. "Hulk is strong and wise," she said, as much for Stark and Thor as for Hulk. "He gave me the boost I needed to come help. Surely, such a powerful being could help you now?"
Hulk slammed a fist to his chest. "Hulk strong! Help!"
Thor bellowed laughter. "Strong indeed! Let the troll help, Friend Stark. Where can we mighty beings be the most help?"
Stark looked defeated. "Fine. We need to make sure people have a way up from the lower decks."
"And my armor, Stark? If I am to help against Loki, I must be able to fly."
"She has given her word, Stark," Thor declared. "If she breaks it, I shall deal with her. Until then, where is her armor?"
The armored figure stepped back away from them both. "Fine. Your armor was on the port side, deck Eight, Section C 25. That's the lowest deck on the side that crashed first. It's either under water in twisted metal, or on the bay floor."
"Thank you. But first, I will help. We all will."
She saw the beast twitch, but the corners of his broad mouth curved. Stark must have seen it. "Yeah, sure, we can use some muscle. Come on, guys, let's go break some things."
"Hulk smash!" The Hulk agreed enthusiastically.
When she reached the interior of the ship, Swan found the central hallway bent from the sheer force of the crash, but still passable. As she continued down it, she saw many people covered in a strange white foam. People were groggily picking themselves up and wiping the quickly dissolving substance from their uniforms or suites as they did.
Curious, Swan knelt down and felt at the substance. It was surprisingly firm to the touch, but even as she studied it she could see it sublimating away. She quickly realized that it was some type of crash protection, and it explained why there were so many survivors from a crash that should have killed everyone in the craft.
The crew was so stunned and injured, they barely noticed as Swan made her way down into the depths of the ship. She lost track of the levels she dropped down, until she caught a brief glimpse of a bright blue uniform disappearing down a corridor.
As she followed, she realized that they were below the waterline of the bay as she saw various chambers flooding through bent doors and windows. Several had people in them who were desperately trying to open doors sealed either by locks, pressure, or the bent frames.
She used her wings to cut the locks and tore the doors away. Of the three times she did so, those within eyed her in concern before running out to seek safety above. Finally, she reached the stairwell where she saw Rogers disappear to. Within, she saw a partially flooded well with the red-headed woman, Romanov, standing speaking to Rogers, who was still in the water.
Both looked up at her in concern. "I gave the Odinson my word," she told them. "It's all I have, now. How can I help?"
Romanov did not look convinced. Rogers took a deep breath and moved past his own doubt. "How long can you hold your breath?"
"Weeks."
He climbed further out of the water and pointed back into it. "We have people trapped in a ventilation shaft under the water. There's heavy debris blocking the way."
Swan walked down past them. "Go. I'll fetch them."
Romanov said, "Do you know where Thor is?"
"I crashed in some place called Kemah. Thor crashed north of there. He is above, now, helping."
Natasha bit back her relief. "And Banner?"
Swan found herself smiling. "He prefers to be called Hulk. He gave me a boost to reach you from Kemah. He does not like to swim, though."
Rogers actually chuckled. "Thank you for your help. We'll wait here for you…"
"We are in shallow water. It will be more efficient for me to just take them out into the bay. There are rescue boats here. Go. I will save your colleagues."
With that, Swan entered the water. It was not very cold, but smelled awful, like industry and dying fish. Even so, she ducked into it and followed the dim emergency lighting until she came into what had been the spacious command deck. The domed window that provided such a spectacular view from altitude now provided an open channel for silt and water.
There were easily a dozen bodies floating or resting lightly at various stations-the crash foam did not save everyone, she saw.
The sound of metal against metal alerted her to where the survivors hid. She used her wings to swim up to the mouth of a long metal vent. It was angled in such a way to prevent the water from entering. She pushed her head through into a small, stale pocket of air. In the pitch darkness within, she heard many labored breaths. "How many are you?"
"Who is that?" a familiar voice asked.
"Swan. How many are you?"
Fury didn't answer immediately. Finally, he said, "There are five of us, two are injured."
"Fury, the water is not deep. The ship has sunk but the tarmac is still well above the water line. I can get each of you out in two minutes or less."
"Hill's been shot, she's closest to you. Take her first."
Swan reached in a hand and felt a boot heel. "This is Hill?"
A pained, weak gasp was followed by a "Yeah."
"Take a breath and brace yourself."
Swan pulled the woman out of the vent, gripped her with her other arm, and then used her wings as paddles to shoot herself through the body-strewn command area and out the window into the silty water. Her estimate was overly conservative-it took less than 90 seconds to reach the surface.
A clear, cobalt sky let her way toward a small, nearby boat. She heard someone calling, "Hey! Over here!"
She used her wings and propelled herself quickly through the water. "She has been shot, others are coming," she told the startled helpers when Swan easily lifted the woman onto the ship.
She evacuated the others quickly, until finally Fury came. "Where are the others?" he asked. "Thor, Banner, Stark or Rogers?"
"Atop the vessel," she said. "All are here."
"Good. I need to get up there, then."
She got him out into the sunlight. Instead of one of the boats, she instead took him to a large bay door that had opened on the hull of the vessel. The ramp was just below the waterline, but only just to allow a foot or two of water that those within had blocked off with bags of sand.
With Fury secured, Swan left him and swam quickly around the vessel.
The port side of the vessel was crushed beyond repair. In this place, the crash foam did nothing to save those within. Most were crushed into paste and body parts, so badly she barely saw any evidence of humans. Below the waterline was just as bad.
How was she ever going to find her armor in this?
Turbulence shook the silt around her. The water was shallow enough that sunlight allowed her to see even through the silt, so she was surprised to find that Stark's armor operated in the water. He sank down beside her, lifted one of his hand-repulsors, and fired a short, partially-powered blast.
The blast ricocheted off something far too black to be from the ship. With sudden understanding, she flapped her wings to the spot his blast exposed and saw her control vambrace partially buried in the silt.
It felt very good as she slipped it over her forearm. The moment she did, the arcane science within it came to life and called to its kin. She found the second vambrace by the ethereal blue glow of its control interface three meters away.
The main body armor did not glow, but with her vambraces she just scanned for the hyperdense neutronium alloy until she found it. It fit snugly against her, even if the grainy silt within it irritated. She felt it latch closed over her lower back as it began to drag her down into the silt from its weight. She would have sighed in relief when her nullgrav system activated without issue, if not for being under water. More scanning found her helm, her thruster pack and finally her sword.
Maw's improvements to her equipment's durability paid off tenfold. The thruster connected to her back plate with little difficulty, and she saw through the murk on her vambrace that it was functioning at full power.
Fully armed and armored, she turned to look at Stark. Within his armor, he appeared ready to fight if she betrayed her oath. Instead, she pointed up and he nodded. The water pulled at her as her thruster sent her toward the sky, with Stark right beside her. The air felt delicious after the silty, filthy water. She spread her wings wide and let the wind of her passage start to dry them, before banking and heading down.
Fury was already on the deck of the craft, and people were bringing equipment out with tents as they used the surface for triage and coordination. She and Stark landed just outside the tent.
The moment Stark landed, his face plate snapped open. "You told Fury Loki's people were heading to New York."
"That's what they told me," she said.
"Then what the hell's that?"
She turned to see where he was pointing to the horizon to the north and slightly west of them. In the far distance, barely visible, she could see a clearly artificial distortion in the atmosphere that seemed to be creating a cloud bank out of nothing. Her stomach dropped. "He did not trust me either, Stark. Before the crash, he sent an illusion to taunt me. He said it was too late.'
"Yeah," Stark muttered. "We'll see about that."
