Chapter 47: This Hostage Earth

In the dark realm of Nornheim, the palace of it's Queen was under siege. She fended off the intruders with her great magical power.

"Fools!" she proclaimed. "You dare challenge the might of Karnilla?! Tell your master that he has made a grave-"

Just then, her epic speech was cut off as her skin began to petrify. She gasped and choked, stone overtaking her until she was nothing more than a stone statue. From behind Karnilla stepped a man seemingly made of stone, a lesser known villain by the name of Grey Gargoyle.

"Well done," Amora commended as she stepped from the shadows. "Zemo was right, your abilities are impressive. The Norn Queen is a formidable opponent… or rather, was. Come Skurge, the Grey Gargoyle has more than earned his…" she smirked sadistically, "reward. Then, we shall collect our prize."

Skurge advanced on Grey Gargoyle, axe raised menacingly.

Back at his secret lair, Zemo waited patiently for the return of Amora's team. The other Masters of Evil were waiting as well, all trying to do something to pass the time. Whiplash was tinkering with his whips, ensuring they were working properly. Klaw was doing the same with his metal arm, checking its vibranium core. Scorpion, one of Spider-Man's villains, was throwing darts at a dart board with Spidey's face on it. Wonder Man was just sitting off to the side, looking incredibly uncomfortable. Next to him was the Winter Soldier, who was sharpening his knives like an emotionless robot.

"How much longer do we have to wait, Zemo?" Abomination demanded, rising up from where he was sitting.

"Patience Abomination," Zemo insisted. "All will be revealed soon."

As if on cue, the Executioner's axe sliced through the fabric of reality, allowing him and Amora to emerge from Nornheim. The Enchantress had a small bag in her hand, one that clacked with the sound of several stones knocking against each other.

"The mission was successful," she declared, tossing the bag at Zemo.

He opened the bag and took out one of the stones inside, marveling it.

"Ah, the Norn Stones of which you spoke."

"How the hell are a bunch of rocks gonna help us take over the world?" Scorpion questioned.

"Patience, Gargan," Zemo told him. "All will be explained in time." He then began looking around, eyes narrowing. "Where is Grey Gargoyle?"

"His power was great, but the Norn Queen took him with her," Enchantress lied cooly. "There was nothing to be done."

Zemo narrowed his eyes in skepticism, but said nothing, simply turning to his followers.

"My friends," he proclaimed. "We stand on the precipice of greatness. Today, we become more than simple 'Masters of Evil'. Today, we become the masters of Earth!"

Meanwhile at Avengers Mansion, Hank was packing up the last of his things, preparing to depart. As he reached for his last shirt, Jan's hand grabbed it.

"Hank, you don't have to do this. None of this was your fault…"

"I wish I could believe that…"

"Ultron is the one who did all that, not you. He took was you did and perverted it. You had no way of knowing what would happen."

"But I should have," Hank replied, taking the shirt back and placed it in his bag. "After all, my mind was the basis for Ultron's."

He got up and Jan caught his arm.

"That doesn't make you responsible. You are not Ultron. Thor's alive, and we saved the world. We're going to be okay."

Hank placed a hand on hers.

"Jan, I joined the Avengers because I wanted to make the world a better place. Not only did I fail at that, I created something that nearly ended all life on Earth. That's as far from okay as I can imagine."

"Just… just promise me you'll take care of yourself, alright? You're still a good man, one of the best."

Hank didn't say anything, just shrinking down and making his way out the door. Jan watched the door open, then close, and just wiped her eyes.

Inside his own room, Thor was contemplating his last conversation with Amora.

"What could she have been referring to?" he wondered aloud. "What danger does she intend for Midgard…?"

All of a sudden, the door to the room was flung open by a somewhat disheveled, but excited Jane.

"Thor! There you are! Come on!"

She grabbed him by his wrist, pulling him from his bed and out towards the entrance to the sub levels.

"Jane, what is it?"

"We did it. We finally did it."

"You mean…"

"Yes!"

They reached the lower levels, where the rest of the Avengers were already gathered in the Assembly Hall. Bruce was still human after what Ultron did, but seemed to be doing alright. Wasp was just sitting in her chair, still clearly upset about Hank, but did her best to hide it.

"Good, you're here," Tony noted.

"Stark, is what Jane said, true?" Thor questioned. "Have you actually found a way for me to return to Asgard?"

"It was a group effort, but yes, I think we finally cracked the code."

"We actually owe much of it to a colleague of mine," Bruce spoke up, hitting a few keys on a computer. "Reed Richards has done some monumental research with trans-dimensional travel, and came up with something that might help us."

Just then, a holographic image of what appeared to be a metal hexagon shaped door appeared before them.

"He calls it, 'the Gateway'. Says it allowed him and the Fantastic Four to travel to a dimension known as the Negative Zone."

"Using my research on the Einstein Rosen Bridge," Jane added on, "we believe that we can modify the Gateway to tap into the natural energies of the planet, finding a space where the veil between Midgard and Asgard is the thinnest and opening a doorway. Then, we can finally get you home."

"Ok, did anyone else get that?" Clint asked.

"JARVIS," Panther spoke up. "Holomap of Earth."

The image of the gateway was replaced with a large globe. Several glowing lines began to curl around the image, Panther pointing to them.

"This is a map of the planet's natural ley lines, the major ones at least."

"Ley lines?" Wasp asked.

"Rivers of magic that intersect between our world and others," Jane elaborated.

"Or for the magically impaired," Spider-Man spoke up, "paths of other-dimensional energy that reveal weak spots between the dimensions."

There was a moment of silence, then all eyes turned to Spider-Man.

"I thought you were supposed to be a science nerd," Rick spoke up. "How the hell do you know about Ley Lines?"

"They say magic is just science we don't fully understand, yet. And as it happens, her fiance is a major point of discussion in my Physics class."

"Alright, moving on," Tony insisted. "What we're looking for is a point of intersection. A spot on our world where it overlaps with another. Sort of a dimensional faultline."

"The map shows there are about eight of them here on Earth," Widow recognizd.

"One for each realm," Thor pieced together. "Midgard was once the center of Yggdrasyl, the World's Tree, and the remnants of those branches remain to this day."

Rick let out a whistle.

"Must be one helluva tree."

"Call it whatever you want," Tony replied before turning to Thor. "This is how we're gonna get you home."

Just then, an alarm began blaring all across the mansion.

"Alert. Magical energy signature detected."

"What's going on?" Cap asked.

"Energy spikes all across the ley lines," Tony answered, bringing up the disturbances on the map. "One at each of the places where they intersect. Except one that's in an active volcano."

Jane and Thor both exchanged glances, looking slightly relieved, but still nervous as hell.

"Someone is tampering with doorways between the realms..." Thor realized before extending his hand.

Suddenly, Mjiolnir came speeding into the room, darting right into Thor's hand. Jane took his other hand, stopping him before he could do much else.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"If the threat we face is Asgardian, I won't allow it to put the Earth in jeopardy again. I must go."

"Doesn't mean you have to go alone," Cap interjected. "We've got seven locations, and more than enough Avengers to go around."

"And if you think you're going back to Asgard without me, you're crazier than half the villains you fight," Jane declared.

Thor smiled, knowing he couldn't sway her away. He wrapped an arm around her, then nodded.

"Very well then. Together."

Wasp smiled a little, before turning away slightly distraught. As she did though, she thought she saw the silhouette of Ant-Man disappear into the hallway.

Soon, the Avengers began to depart, splitting off into either solo parties or groups of two. Widow and Hawkeye took off on the latter's sky cycle. Wasp took off solo in a Quinjet while Cap and Falcon took off in another. Black Panther and Spider-Man took the former's Wakandan aircraft, while Bruce Hulked out and started jumping with Rick on his back. Thor took hold of Jane and took off into the air.

"If you find anything, call it in," Iron Man told them. "Avengers assem- wel, actually, Avengers disassemble."

Iron Man then took off himself, flying off into the distance.

"They are coming," Amora reported. "Your time is soon at hand, Zemo. Should your team succeed today, Midgard will be yours."

"You need not worry, Enchantress," Zemo reassured, gazing into one of the Norn Stones. "I know their strengths and weaknesses now. I know the Avengers better than they know themselves."

Up in the Arctic Circle, the Quinjet touched down as Wasp exited. She was wearing a more winter-based version of her costume to combat the cold, but still shivered from the temperature difference.

"I just had to lose the pick and end up with the arctic fluctuation… Let's just find it and get back inside where it's warm."

She shrunk down and flew down the side of an icy cliff. Once there, she saw something glowing off in the distance.

"Guys, I think I found something. Some kind of… glowy, magic looking rock."

Indeed, one of the Norn Stones was sitting on a small pillar of ice, hovering about an inch above it. It was glowing, humming slightly from power. As she reached out to touch it, something massive dropped down next to her, causing her to stumble back. She turned around to see Abomination snarling at her.

"Oh… shit."

"If you've got any last words to your friends," he spoke, moving towards her. "Now is the time."

Meanwhile, Iron Man was in South Africa, descending into an old Diamond Mine.

"Wasp!" he cried out. "What's happening?!"

"It's a trap!" she called back. "Abomination is here!"

"Wasp, get out of there!"

Before he could say anything else, he detected his own anomaly just below him. Another Norn Stone was sitting on a small outcropping, hovering on a flattened stalagmite. He walked over to it, but before he could grab it, an electric whip wrapped around his waist, flooding his suit with power. Iron Man cried out in pain as Whiplash stepped out of the shadows.

"Trouble, Stark?" he sneered. "Too bad. I'm just getting started."

"Vanko. What the hell are you doing here?"

"Something I've been wanting for long time," Whiplash replied, striking his second whip.

Wasp quickly flew upward, using her increased agility to deftly avoid all of Abomination's attacks.

"I don't know if you heard him," she spoke up. "But Iron Man recommended you run."

Abomination responded by slamming his hands on top of her, seemingly crushing her. He smirked, opening his hand slightly to see his crushed victim. Instead, an uncrushed Wasp stuck her tongue out at him, then shot him with her stingers. He reeled back in pain, allowing Wasp to fly free and shoot at him repeatedly.

"You're done, bug!" he called out. "You hear me?! Done!"

He then clapped his hands together, sending out a shockwave that knocked her back.

...

At the ruins of a Transylvanian Castle, Cap and Falcon both stepped out of their Quinjet, looking around.

"Sheesh," Falcon let out, shuddering at the eerie landscape. "I keep expecting Dracula to come out of the woodwork."

"Considering I staked him back in 43, I doubt that will happen," Cap told him.

Falcon chuckled a little as Cap kept walking.

"Wait, you serious?" he asked.

Cap just turned and gave him a little smirk before moving forward. Falcon blinked, then rushed to catch up to Cap, both unaware of a figure stalking them through the ruins. Finally, they caught sight of the Norn Stone, sitting on a small pillar in the middle of an open area. As they got closer, they finally took notice of their stalker, both freezing in place. Cap then turned on his heel, bringing up his shield second before gunfire erupted. Falcon turned and saw the Winter Soldier drop to the ground, the barrel of his gun still smoking.

"That's gonna be a problem," he noted.

"Buck," Cap spoke up, lowering his shield. "Whatever Zemo has planned, a lot of people are gonna die. I can't let that happen."

Winter Soldier just stared back blankly, clearly not recognizing Cap. Just as he raised his weapon, Cap threw his shield, knocking it out of his hands before advancing on him.

"Bucky, please!"

Winter Soldier used his metal arm to knock him aise, prompting Falcon to take to the skies and pull out twin pistols, opening fire on him.

Elsewhere in the Amazon, Widow and Hawkeye made their way on foot across the treacherous terrain. Following right behind them was Klaw, who fired on them whenever he had sure footing. He hit a stray tree branch they had landed on forcing them to leap off and fall through the air. Hawkeye quickly fired a grappling arrow and took hold of Widow, swinging them to safety.

"Panther's gonna be kicking himself for missing this guy," Hawkeye remarked, firing an arrow at Klaw.

Klaw fired a sonic wave from his arm, destroying the arrows instantly.

"Was hoping for the Panther cub myself," he admitted. "But I'll settle for the archer and his sidepiece."

Widow immediately began shooting at Klaw as she ran across a branch, Hawkeye right behind her.

"If anything, he's my sidepiece!" she called.

"I'm not one to disagree," Hawkeye admitted, firing another arrow.

In a massive, derelict graveyard somewhere in Scotland, Spider-Man and Black Panther walked through the endless array of crumbling tombstones. Spidey shuddered as they walked, the entire area giving him the creeps.

"Man," Spidey let out. "This is a place that would give Stephen King goosebumps."

"Indeed," Panther agreed. "Are you sensing anything ahead?"

"Not yet… but I'm sure it's incoming."

Just then, his spider sense started flaring up, prompting him to leap out of the way as a patch of acid hit the ground.

"That was a warning shot, bug!" Scorpion's voice called out.

"Gargan!" Spidey called out, letting out a breath. "Thank God. For a moment there, I actually thought it was someone dangerous."

"Funny, but you're going to get plenty of danger if you don't back off."

"You should listen to him," Wonder Man insisted as he stood guard over the stone.

"Wonder Man," Panther deduced. "If you two are here, then the other Masters of Evil must be at the six remaining locations."

"But why?" Spider-Man asked. "What does Zemo want with Asgard?"

"Don't really know," Scorpion admitted. "Don't really care. He just promised I'd get to kill you. And get me out of this suit, and back to my old life."

"Considering your own personal life choices lead you to wear a lime green battle suit with optional butt attachment, I'd question if that life was all it was cracked up to be."

"That's it!" Scorpion cried out. "Wonder Man, watch the cat. The Spider is mine!"

Scorpion charged at Spider-Man, prompting him to swing away and allow Panther and Wonder Man to speak alone

"And what of you, Simon?" Panther questioned. "What do you receive in return for your services here? We both know this is not the life you want."

"It isn't… but I don't have a choice."

"Because Zemo is keeping you alive? I believe Wakandan science can help your situation." he started walking towards him, a clawed hand behind his back. "Perhaps we can discuss this like rational men."

In the middle of a lake in the midwestern United States, Skurge stood watch other a Norn Stone as it hovered over a fallen tree. With a roar, Hulk touched down on the small islet where the stone was. The Executioner didn't even move, just waiting as Rick poked his head up from behind Hulk's shoulder.

"Ooh, magic glowing rock. I'll bet a dozen donuts that's the source of all this trouble."

"Oh yeah," Hulk agreed before seeing Skurge. "I hate that guy."

"You go smash him," Rick told him, sliding off Hulk's back. "I'm gonna go poke the stone with a stick."

Hulk nodded, pounding his fist in response. Skruge smirked before pulling his axe out of the ground and spinning it in his hand. He and Hulk then started running towards each other, clashing hard.

At the abandoned HYDRA castle in the Swiss Alps, Thor and Jane touched down in the old ruins, looking around.

"Isn't this the place that the Avengers pulled the Tesseract from?" Jane asked.

"Aye. Considering it's long occupation in the hands of HYDRA, it only makes sense a Ley Line would be here."

"And I think I just found the source of all this trouble..." Jane said as she pointed at a glowing stone sitting in a containment pod.

"The Norn Stones… of course."

"How could anyone get the Stones away from Karnilla? She's supposed to be the greatest sorceress in the Nine Realms?"

"You insult me mortal," an all too familiar voice remarked.

Thor and Jane turned to see Amora and Zemo materialize in front of them. Both villains were sneering at the two, the Enchantress looking particularly smug.

"Karnilla's power is nothing compared to mine," she continued to boast.

"Whiplash," Zemo instructed over comms. "Shut down the Avengers' communications."

Thor quickly reached for his ID card, but all that was coming in was static.

"What is the meaning of this, Enchantress?" Thor demanded. "Why have you brought the Norn Stones to Midgard?"

"Midgard was once the center of the nine realms," she elaborated. "I intend to make it the middle realm once more. The stone will tear down the walls between Asgard and Earth."

"You're insane," Jane swore. "The chaos such a union will create… none of the realms will survive it!"

"How fortunate you don't have a say in the matter," Zemo remarked, drawing a gun with some kind of jewel on top of it.

"Stay your hand, villain," Thor swore, stepping in front of Jane. "lest you face the wrath of-"

Zemo then shot Thor point blank, the resulting energy sending him flying back into a wall.

"Thor!" Jane shouted, growling before grabbing Mjolnir and charging herself.

"What do you mean all communications are down?" Iron Man asked, firing repulsor blasts to fend off Whiplash's attacks. "How?"

"External interference," JARVIS explained.

Whiplash took the opportunity to strike Iron Man in the arm, cracking his armor slightly.

"Having problem Tony?" he jeered.

"Several, actually. One of them is what this magic rock is all about."

"Zemo wants it for something. Never asked what, just promised me chance to kill you."
"Dreaming big, aren't ya?" Iron Man remarked before jetting towards him.

Wasp was on the ground, groaning from a hard hit she took. Abomination towered over her, sneering in disgust.

"You're useless, bug," he mocked, still trying to smash her as she got back into the air. "You know that, right? Even the guys with no powers, with the shield and the bow. Even they put up more of a fight! You? You're nothing!"

Wasp flew over to an ice wall and darted up, causing Abomination to punch into the wall, getting his hand stuck.

"That right?" she remarked. "well this 'nothing' is about to kick your sorry butt!"

She started blasting at the ice above him, causing it to give out and fall on top of him. With Abomination seemingly buried, Wasp landed on the massive pile of ice in triumph.

"Wow," she let out. "I just KO'ed Abomination… I should have brought my camera. No one's ever gonna believe-"

Just then, a hand shot out from the ice and grabbed hold of her.

Hulk and the Executioner continued their massive brawl, throwing each other across the lake. While they did that, Rick nochalauntly hummed to himself, using a stick to poke the Norn Stone. He heard a massive splash as the Executioner managed to slam dunk Hulk into the water.

"You doing alright back there?" Rick called over his shoulder.

Hulk came out of the water, smirking and popping his neck.

"Finally a real challenge!" he cheered, launching at Skurge again.

Skurge took a swing at Hulk with his axe, but he quickly ducked under it. Surge then struck Hulk in the chest knocking him to the ground. Skurge tried bringing his axe down on Hulk, but the jade giant rolled out of the way before it hit. Hulk then picked Skurge up and threw him across the lake, making him skip along the surface as he did so. Once he settled down, Skurge swung his axe again, splitting the ground beneath the lake and creating a massive wave that completely swallowed Hulk. Hulk sank deeper into the water as Skurge swam after him, looking to finish the fight.

Back with Thor and Jane, the former had reclaimed Mjolnir and was facing off against Zemo. Jane was keeping on her toes, deftly avoiding Amora's attempts to blast her.

"Captain America acted exactly as I knew he would," Zemo boasted as he swung his magically imbued sword. "He divided the Avengers. And while they may have defeated my Masters of Evil as a team, individually, they will fall!"

Zemo continued swinging his sword, Thor doing his best to block the strikes with his hammer. He then managed to get some distance, throwing his hammer in an arc to not only block one of Amora's magical blasts aimed at Jane, but to strike Zemo from behind.

"You are a fool to test your strength against mine, Zemo," Thor challenged.

"I have no need to," Zemo remarked. "Your defeat was planned before you even arrived."

Amora then turned towards Thor, firing a magical blast at him. Thor quickly brought up his hammer to block it. While Amora's attention was diverted, Jane grabbed a fallen pipe off the ground, wielding it like a bat. She tried swinging it at Amora, but Amora summoned some magic to block it midair, before charging it with magic energy. The feedback caused Jane to cry out in pain before dropping to the ground.

"Jane!" Thor cried out.

Taking advantage, Zemo quickly shot him in the back, causing him to drop as well. He attempted to reach for Mjiolnir, but Amora stepped on his hand, preventing him from doing so.

"I gave you the chance to escape this," she told him, using her magic to bind both him and Jane, suspending them in the air and trapping Mjolnir in a magical dome. "But you turned your back on me. Deciding that this speck of a world and this mortal harlot was worth more than the love I could give you. Now for your arrogance, Midgard will pay the price."

Amora then turned her attention to the Norn Stone, focusing her magic on it and intensifying the glow.

Back in the Amazon, Widow opened fire on Klaw, who used his sonic cannon to destroy the bullets before they could hit him. He then fired a blast at the two heroes, forcing them to split up to avoid the shot.

In Transylvania, Winter Soldier easily avoided Falcon's barrage of fire, taking cover before firing on the flying hero. Falcon ducked down behind some ruins, looking over at Cap.

"Thought I saw the last of this when I left Iraq."

"For some of us, the battle never really goes away-"

Cap was cut off by Winter Soldier's metal hand busting through the ruins, forcing him to roll out of the way before tossing his shield to try and knock his former friend off his feet. As the fight continued, none of them noticed the Stone beginning to glow.

In Scotland, Spider-Man leapt on top of a tombstone to avoid an attack from Scorpion. The villain swung his tail out to strike Spider-Man, only for the webhead to leap over it and web a nearby tombstone. He yanked it out and swung it at Scorpion, prompting him to melt it with acid in response.

"Well… that's a problem," Spidey let out before avoiding another strike.

Panther was in similar straights, running up the side of a tombstone and leaping off to avoid an energy blast from Wonder Man. As the fight continued, the Norn Stone began glowing.

The power of the stones was radiating all across the planet, sending out branches of power that latched onto the corresponding realms, reforming the mythical tree with Midgard in the center. Because of the amount of power the stones were giving off, the barrier between the realms began to grow thin, allowing the creatures of the Nine Realms into Midgard.

Abomination closed his fists tightly around Wasp, crushing her in his grip. She cried out in pain as he laughed.

"Goodbye, you little pest."

That's when a massive fist came out of nowhere, stomping down hard on Abomination. The shock of the blow made the gamma mutant release Wasp, who fell into the snow gasping for air. As she coughed, she looked up to see Giant-Man towering over the icy crater, a mask of pure rage on his face. Abomination attempted to lift the fist off of him, but that just sparked a mad barrage of punches from Giant-Man. The blows continued until the villain was left a groaning mess half buried in the ice.

"Hank?" Wasp called, slowly flying up to Giant-Man's faceplate.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah… What are you doing here? I thought… I thought you left."

"I-" Giant-Man was cut off when the Norn Stone suddenly began pulsating, seemingly opening a massive portal. "Uh… we'll talk later."

Out from that portal, came three towering creatures seemingly made of ice. They towered even over Giant-Man, making both heroes step back in fear.

"Uh… what are those?!" Wasp exclaimed.

"If I had to wager a guess… Frost Giants."

"That's what I was afraid of…"

In the Amazon, a similar pulse was going out, causing the trees themselves to glow.

"What the hell is that?" Klaw let out.

"How should I know?" Hawkeye replied. "It's your plan."

Just then, several bright lights shot out from the trees, flying upwards. Widow looked at them, blinking and rubbing her eyes.

"Are those… fairies?"

"Please tell me we didn't get transported to Neverland," Hawkeye lamented.

That's when white-haired figures in green and gold armor began to manifest among the trees. The pointed ears and angular features clearly identified them as elves. All three of the combatants stared at them in surprise.

"More like Middle Earth," Widow quipped.

In Transylvania, Winter Soldier had Cap by the throat and slammed him against the wall. Falcon tried striking him with his wing, but he used his metal arm to grab it and toss him aside. As he did though, Winter Soldier froze up, as if he heard something off in the distance.

"Who's there?" he called out.

He looked around, seeing several shades closing in on him, whispering in various languages as they did.

Back at the HYDRA Castle, Zemo watched in delight as Amora continued manipulating the Norn Stones energy.

"You are a fool, Zemo," Thor spoke, getting Zemo's attention.

"Am I now?" he asked.

"If you actually believe the Enchantress will just hand Earth over to you, then yeah," Jane agreed.

"Whatever she promised you, it is a lie," Thor continued. "To her, mortal lives are nothing. They are insects to Asgardians. Not equals to be bargained with."

Zemo just chuckled in response, pulling out a bag and reaching into it.

"It is you who are the fool, if you honestly believe that I ever trusted her."

He pulled out a golden collar from the bag, snapping it around Amora's neck. Upon seeing her new decoration, the Enchantress turned to Zemo in a rage.

"You… DARE!"

"A prototype HYDRA device from back during the war," Zemo replied, pulling out a remote. "A means to make soldiers more compliant. The Red Skull never could get it to work."

He pressed a button on the remote, causing Amora to straighten up as her eyes glazed over. Her will was completely at the mercy of Zemo

"But I have perfected it," he finished, walking over to her. "Now Enchantress, you may continue your spell. However, when the armies of Asgard come to Earth, I want them to follow my command."

Like a complete zombie, Amora returned to her spell.

Rick was still poking the Norn Stone when the Executioner came flying out of the lake. The young beast tamer looked up, watching the villain soar across the sky and disappear into the distance. He smirked, then turned towards the water to see Hulk walking back to shore, the Executioner's axe in hand.

"Did you have fun?" Rick called.

"Hmm. Lightweight."

"Cool axe at least. You're keeping it, right?"

"Oh yeah."

Just then, the water began rising up, forming itself into several humanoid shapes. Hulk gripped his axe tight, feeling as though there was going to be a fight.

The shades closed in on the Winter Soldier, their whispers growing more and more menacing. He was trying to get away from them, the fight all but forgotten in the wake of these terrifying spectres. Cap and Falcon, who remained surprisingly untouched by the enclosing spectres, just watched as they closed in on him.

"What's going on with him?" Falcon asked. "What are those things?"

"Not sure, but I'm betting it has something to do with that."

Cap gestured to the Norn Stone, which was still pulsating with energy.

"I'll deal with that," Falcon offered. "You keep those things from tearing him apart."

Cap nodded before running to help his friend.

In the Amazon, Klaw continued his search for the two heroes.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are."

Peaking out of some brush, Hawkeye fired an arrow at Klaw. He quickly caught sight of it and blasted it out of the sky.

"Come on!" he called out. "Is that all you've got?"

As he continued blasting, Black Widow quietly snuck out onto a branch just above him. She waited for the right moment, then jumped down and landed on top of him. She pinned him to the ground, wrapping her legs around his neck before pulling hard on his prosthetic arm, prying it off.

"Aw come on!" Klaw let out as Widow picked him up and threw him against the base of the tree. "You can't just go and-"

He was cut off when Hawkeye fired an arrow beside him that dispersed a foamy substance that encased him. Once Klaw was dealt with, Hawkeye pulled out his ID Card, trying to contact the rest of the team.

"Still down," he lamented.

"Something else must be blocking communication," Widow deduced. "We need to find out what so we can stop this… whatever it is."

"And hopefully soon," Hawkeye remarked, glancing over his shoulder at one of the elves surrounding them. "There's an elf here that's giving me a dirty look."

Back in Scotland, Spider-Man was thrown up against a tree, barely given time to recover before Scorpion wrapped his tail around his neck.

"I've been waiting a long time for this," he mused.

Reacting quickly, Spider-Man shot two webs in opposite directions, snagging opposite tombstones.

"While you're waiting… hold these for me."

Spidey then pulled on the webs, pulling the tombstones out and causing them to hit Scorpion in the head. The impact disoriented him, causing him to release Spider-Man. He quickly backflipped, kicking Scorpion in the chin and knocking him back. Spidey kept up the momentum, by snagging another tombstone behind him and pulling hard on it, sending it flying into the back of Scorpion's head. This knocked him forward as Spider-Man clocked him on the jaw, finally knocking him to the ground.

"And stay down!"

Meanwhile, Panther laid in hiding as Wonder Man flew by. He came out and leapt off a tombstone into the air, slicing Wonder Man in the back and causing him to drop to the ground. He quickly turned around and blasted at Panther, forcing him to leap back. Just then, several shaded hands grabbed Wonder Man by the ankles, causing him to panic. He blasted at the ground before taking off upwards, seeing more shadowy creatures emerging from the ground.

"What is this?!" he let out. "What's happening?!"

"I do not know," Panther admitted. "But it is time to ask yourself, do you truly believe there will be a world left for you to live in if you help Zemo?"

"You don't understand, I don't have a choice. I'll die if I don't do this."

"Excuse me for chiming in," Spidey spoke up, swinging over to them. "But how many people will die if you do? And more importantly, can you honestly say you can live with that?"

Wonder Man let those words sink in, then he flew off into the distance. With him gone, Spider-Man and Panther turned back towards the shades coming out of the ground towards them.

"Something tells me it's gonna be one of those days," Spidey noted.

"Perhaps."

"You take the left, I take the right?"

Panther nodded, and the two rushed at the shades.

Back in the Diamond Mine, Iron Man kept dodging Whiplash's attacks, but the rogue Russian maintained the assault.

"JARVIS," Iron Man spoke, landing on the ground. "Prepare for energy absorption on my mark."

Whiplash then shot out both whips at Iron Man, wrapping them around his body and shocking him with electricity. Struggling against the pain, Iron Man took hold of both whips with his hands.

"Now!"

Iron Man then began absorbing the energy of the whips into his suit. After a while, the energy build up was becoming too much.

"Energy release! Full power to unibeam! Now!"

The energy in his arc reactor began building up, much to Whiplash's surprise. Finally, the unibeam fired, hitting Whiplash dead on and knocking him back. Iron Man maintained his hold of the whips, causing them to tear off as Whiplash collided into the cave wall. Iron Man then tossed the whips aside before walking over to Whiplash, still groaning in pain.

"You lose," Iron Man remarked before punching him in the face and knocking him out.

Once that was done, Iron Man ripped the arc reactor from Whiplash's array, destroying it and killing the power. As soon as he did, JARVIS spoke up.

"External communication reestablished."

"Bout time. Thor, you there? Could use some tips on how to turn off a magic rock."

As he spoke, several shadowy eyes watched him from a distance.

As Amora continued to perform her spell, Zemo went over to Thor with his sword in hand. Realizing time was running out, Thor and Jane both shared a barely perceivable nod. They then both extended their hands, trying to summon Mjolnir together.

"I've never slain an Asgardian before," Zemo remarked, unaware of Mjolnir trembling in the magical dome. "I'm looking forward to it."

With their combined wills, the hammer was able to tear through the magical barrier, striking Zemo in the back. He fell and Jane dropped her hand, letting Thor take on the hammer and summon his thunderous might. Lightning shot out and hit the Enchantress, destroying the collar and breaking her concentration. This caused the magical binds on them to dissipate so they could drop to the ground safely. Zemo quickly drew his gun to shoot down the two, but Thor easily deflected the blast right back at Zemo, knocking him out.

"We need to destroy those stones before they do some irreparable damage to the realms!" Jane exclaimed.

"Verily," Thor agreed, pulling out his ID card. "Avengers! Destroy the stones! No matter what, they must be destroyed! The fate of all the realms depend on it!"

Across the planet, everyone prepared to destroy the stones. Falcon shot at his, Hawkeye sent an explosive arrow at his, Hulk swung the Executioner's axe, Iron Man lined up a repulsor shot, Wasp set her stingers for max, Panther threw a Vibranium dagger, and Thor tossed Mjolnir to Jane, who raised it over her head. Almost in perfect unison, the stones were destroyed and the immediate areas blanketed in white light.

The stones gone, the power connecting the realms faded away, the barriers restored to the way they were. In the Avenger's Mansion, JARVIS did a quick scan of everything to make sure the job was done.

"Magical energy has subsided. Threat level; zero. Connection to Iron Man armor lost. Connection to Avengers ID cards, lost. Avengers bio signatures… not found."

Thor groaned in pain, his head throbbing as consciousness slowly returned to him. He rubbed his eyes, looking around to see that he was no longer in the ruined castle. Next to him, Jane was still unconscious, and he quickly rushed to her side.

"Jane..." he called, getting her to rouse from her forced slumber.

"Ugh… Where are we?"

"Well, this is certainly an unexpected surprise."

Thor looked up, seeing that he was in the Throne Room of the palace of Asgard. What was even more shocking, and all the more horrifying, was on the throne wasn't Odin, but Loki.

"Nay..."

"It can't be..." Jane gasped.

The God of Mischief looked down at the two, a cruel smirk on his face.

"Welcome home, Brother," he greeted before a sadistic laugh slipped out.