Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! Whew, this really took a long time for me, it's really hard to write a good fight scene when you're having a writer's block. And this really makes me salute to writers like Anaklusmos14, who possesses the ability to write a chapter in a day whilst working at the same time. I tried doing the same but to no avail. Nevertheless, I am sorry for the delay, and hope you guys like this chapter!
I-Have-Multiple-Problems: I'm sorry, really, I didn't mean to make you hate Loki so much. Please remember that MCU Loki is different from my verse's Loki! :) Well, a little different anyway. XD Let's see if I can make you love him again!
Disclaimer: 50 chapters in and nope, still don't own Marvel or PJO. Sadly.
"What is that supposed to even mean? Demigods?" Tyler shouted, trying not to sound hysterical.
"Look –"
"Get down!" Nico snarled, a wall of darkness rising up to block a barrage of aerial attacks from the chitauri. Those on the aircrafts who were unable to slow down in time hit the wall and shrieked as their life force was sucked away, leaving only empty husks behind.
Common sense overruled hysteria as Tyler dragged the two teens behind a building, away from being sitting ducks out there. He then turned to them and hissed, "Explain yourselves. Now." His eyes boring into theirs.
Thalia scowled, "You want the short story or the long story?"
Tyler sighed, massaging his temple, "Give me the short story now, and the long story later."
"You wouldn't believe us then…" she muttered, nocking an arrow and letting it fly, hitting a chitauri that was too close to the building.
"Whether I believe you or not is one thing, but I need an explanation now!"
She exchanged another glance with Nico, before turning back to the SHIELD agent, "Okay, short story it is then. You know Greek mythology?"
Tyler shook his head, "Heard of it, never read it. Why?"
"Because," the darker male said, "It's all true. We don't have time for explanations, but long story short, the gods are alive, and we're their children. Half god, half mortal, hence – demigod."
Tyler stared disbelievingly at them, "You're telling me that you're some kind of alien?"
Thalia sighed, "I told you, you wouldn't believe us. We're not aliens, we're natives to Earth, considering the gods are here, on earth and not out there in space. We have powers –"
"Some of us do," Nico interrupted, before Thalia elbowed him in the side, and continued her story.
"Supernatural powers if you will, and which is why we're helping you guys in this battle. On top of the fact that we live here and we don't want the chitauri to overrun this place.'
Nico pointed upwards, "Look, tell me whether or not the Empire State Building has weapons mounted on its roof."
Tyler shook his head, "Are you crazy? Everyone knows that only offices are found in the building!"
Nico's lips curled into a smirk, "Yeah? Then explain to me what is going on there?"
Tyler turned and looked at the Empire State Building, his eyes widening as he saw a ball of fire come out from the building and slam into a group of chitauri, burning them all to a crisp. "What…?" he whispered, looking closer, "Oh my god. Is that a floating island?"
Thalia and Nico exchanged shocked looks behind him, the huntress saying, "Look, if you can see that island, do you believe us now?"
Tyler turned back to them, narrowing his eyes, "Will this affect my men?"
Nico blinked, "What?"
"Will this affect my men? Knowing who you are, what you are, will they be in danger?" Tyler repeated.
Nico shook his head, "You don't have to tell them what we are exactly, just say we're mutants or something."
Thalia cocked her head and raised an eyebrow, "You don't care that we're demigods?"
Tyler scowled, "I haven't wrapped my head around it yet. Now, tell me what you both can do so that I can plan…"
The Asgardians started cheering when the number of chitauri dwindled noticeably, the gargantuan space whales no match against lightning and repulsor rays. The morale of the warriors soon began to lift, and they fought even harder, determined not to let the creatures of the Void win.
From his throne on the barren moon, Thanos chuckled, absently running his fingers over every groove and corner of his new ornament. His amethyst eyes glittered with malice as he listened to the triumphant cheers of the Asgardian warriors. A hunched figure came up beside him, "They think they are victorious." It hissed, crooked finger-like appendages flexing in bloodthirsty anticipation.
The purple titan grinned, revealing a row of sharp teeth. The behemoth stood up fluidly, his armor clanking as they shifted according to his movement. The Mad Titan raised his gauntlet-covered hand, the army of chitauri falling into position behind him. With eyes that burned with hatred, Thanos gave the command, "Let the end of the world begin."
Tony spun out of the way of bright blue balls of energy, sending back his own blasts which reduced the chitauri to ashes. Well, not really ashes, he amended in his head, seeing their charred bodies fall to the ground. He weaved in between the flight crafts, aiming his repulsors at either the driver or the craft's engine. Most of the time, taking out either one of those two was a surefire way to get an entire group of chitauri to explode. He left the space whales to Thor though. Even after upgrading his suit's lasers, conducting test after test on the chitauri armor that he had managed to salvage before SHIELD took everything away, the laser still consumed a lot of energy energy which he wasn't ready to spend unnecessarily in this battle.
The genius cursed as a stray bolt clipped his side, sending him off balance and straight into the path of another chitauri. He slammed body first into the alien, bowling over them and righting himself just in time to leap off the craft before it exploded in midair. He turned just in time to see the portal – which was over that weird dome-shaped thingy which Percy had said it was called the Observatory – spit out even more chitauri, their dirty-golden armor gleaming in the sunlight which cast over the whole of Asgard.
"J? Can I get an estimate on that number?"
"I would estimate that there are several thousand chitauri sir." Came the British reply.
Tony cursed and shot up, intent on finding Thor so the prince could warn his father.
"Sir," JARVIS suddenly voiced up, "My sensors seem to be detecting something else. Something…big."
Tony paused midflight and turned back to the portal, ordering JARVIS to bring up a closer look at the blackhole. What he saw there made him pale drastically, and he cursed internally over and over again. "Shit." He swore, diving towards the thunder god who was repeatedly slamming his trusty hammer into the brain of a space whale, "Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit! Thor!" he exclaimed, firing his repulsors into a group of chitauri, scattering them off the space whale. "Thor! Damnit! Thor! Blondie! Point break!"
"WHAT?" the thunder god roared, flinging his hammer into a nearby chitauri, recalling it mid-swing to deliver a crushing blow to another alien behind him.
"Godamnit Thor, you gotta tell your dad to step up his game! Big bad is making his entrance and he's bringing a hell lot of back up with him!"
The poor thunder god looked confused for a moment, until Tony sighed and pointed a finger towards the horizon, in which he then realized that no, blond did not look good with pale skin.
The Asgardian quickly took down the space whale, vanishing to the ground where he was presumably finding his father. Tony was left alone in the sky surrounded by chitauri, and he groaned, launching himself off the quickly descending whale and starting yet another game and cat and mouse with the chitauri. He flew in circles, tripping up the chitauri as much as he could before giving a well-placed missile to one of their craft, blowing it up in their faces. He headed towards the bridge, intent on finding Percy before that alien mothership reached him.
Percy groaned as the pain finally receded enough for him to be able to move. He rolled onto his side, trying to get up on all fours. The pounding in his head now quietened a little, and he felt as though a part of him had been torn away. Looking at his bare right wrist, Percy snarled, his hand clenching into a fist. He was distracted by a low thrumming sound, as though the world's largest swarm of insects had decided to make their appearance. The demigod looked up to see a humongous ship trying to squeeze its way out of the portal. The blocky alien transport was oblong in shape, with both ends curled upwards in imitation of horns. The center of the ship bulged – as though someone had tried to stack as many Legos as they could in one area.
He watched in horrid fascination as the mouth of the portal grew, swallowing the space around. A loud screech had Percy slamming his hands over his ears, cursing at the sound as the belly of the ship scraped the side of the dome of the Observatory. The golden arch groaned and shifted, finally giving way as the chitauri ship flattened it in its path towards the heart of Asgard.
The Asgardians are not prepared for this, Percy thought to himself, his eyes growing wide at the sight of more ships behind the first one. The alien hubs moved slowly, but they didn't need to be fast, their size and presence intimidating enough for any foe. The entire air seemed to vibrate with every inch that the ship moved, the waters around it kicking up in sprays that made it seem all the more ominous.
A golden and red figure dropped out of the sky and landed beside him, making Percy shift in surprise before he recognized the laidback Avenger.
"Whoa kid, the hell happened to you?"
Percy scowled, "Loki." He growled.
Unseen by the demigod, Tony winced behind his mask, mentally chastising himself for asking such an obvious question. He looked at the behemoth ship that was slowly approaching them though, and told Percy, "Kid, I think we should go."
Percy didn't respond, he just kept staring at the alien ship.
The center of the ship shifted, blocks sliding against each other to reveal a barrel – several barrels, Tony amended in his mind – glowing white hot with energy.
"Kid!"
The chitauri fired just as Tony leapt forward and grabbed Percy with one hand, blasting off into the sky with his remaining repulsor and the thrusters on his back and legs. The two of them narrowly avoided being disintegrated into ash, seeking solace in the sky.
The barrels swerved upwards, a loud click signaling their locked positions.
"Shit." Tony cursed.
"Drop!" Percy commanded, bracing himself as Tony cut the power to his thrusters, sending them plummeting towards the ocean before activating them again, blasting across the waters to escape the –
"Are those lasers?" Tony cried out, swerving to avoid an attack on his right flank. He had no doubt that if it had connected, he would resemble shish kebab right about now.
Percy groaned, feeling dizzy from the way Tony had been flying. "Stark I need to get on your back, carrying me like this isn't going to help either of us."
"What?" Tony exclaimed, shooting up at a right angle all of a sudden to throw of the chitauri's aim, "I have thrusters on my back!"
"Yeah but they're in the middle of your shoulder blades and lower back!" Percy shouted back to him, trying to cling on to Tony's arm for dear life and hoping the genius didn't drop him. "If I can balance on your shoulders I'll be fine!"
Tony groaned, he had forgotten how exasperating the kid could be, "How the hell are you gonna get on my back?"
Percy grinned, "Get in the water."
Seconds later, the two of them burst from the water, with Percy clinging on to Tony's back for dear life now, and not his hand, while the genius had both hands free to fly that much faster.
The demigod was on his knees, trying not to put too much weight on the genius' shoulders, although Tony had said that the suit could take the weight. "We need to destroy the lasers at least, the Asgardians don't stand a chance against that kind of weaponry."
Tony sighed, "Agreed. J? Give me a rundown of the guns' mechanics." He said, dodging yet another laser beam that sliced way to close for comfort. He returned the favor with two of his own repulsor blasts, scorching the barrel slightly, but doing no more damage than that.
He cursed under his breath, swerving around to the back of the ship, narrowing his eyes at the sight of more ships coming through the portal. "JARVIS? I need that rundown like right now, preferably yesterday."
"Time traveling seems to be beyond my capabilities sir, but it appears that the guns have a weak spot within the shell of ship, where they are connected to the internal body of the ship."
"Within the shell of the ship? Damn it. JARV, if I use enough power, my lasers can get through that ship yes?"
"That is correct sir, but I would not recommend that mode of action as it would deplete energy levels to critical. At such proximity to enemy territory I would advise that you look for another option." JARVIS responded.
Tony hissed, firing another round of repulsors at the guns, and then some at the wall beside it. It didn't even scorch.
A tap on his head reminded him of his extra passenger, "What did JARVIS say?"
Tony sighed, "The guns have weak points, but they're hidden in the ship itself, my repulsors aren't powerful enough and if I use my laser I won't be able to get out of here."
Percy frowned, "How much power do you need?"
Tony relayed that to JARVIS, and then back to Percy, "A lot." He supplied helpfully.
Percy raised an eyebrow, "Enough to injure an Asgardian?"
Tony frowned, digging a hard left – the ship was now halfway across the Bifrost, if they didn't take out those guns sooner, lots of Asgardians would die. He nodded to Percy's question though, making the demigod think furiously.
Percy leaned down and told Tony, "If I can blow a hole in that ship, can you take out the gun?"
"Yeah I can, why? Do you have some sort of bazooka on you right now?" the genius snorted.
Percy smirked, "Maybe. Get me close enough to the ship, when I make the hole, blast it to kingdom come."
Tony just sighed and decided to trust the kid, after all, he hadn't gone wrong with doing that so far.
The demigod braced himself on Tony's back, his right hand stretched out, water swirling around his palm. With a bit of concentration, the water took shape and solidified into a trident, the ends sharpened to a point. He stared at the ship, internally counting out the number of guns there were – he couldn't miss any shot, or Tony could die if the chitauri caught on to what they were doing.
The genius shot up, making the lasers follow them, before dropping down rapidly, faster than the guns could shift. Above him, Percy angled his trident and aimed –
A bright bolt of blue energy crashed into the wall of the chitauri ship, blowing a big hole in the side, revealing the gun's inner mechanism. Tony shoved his surprise to the back of his mind and fired his repulsors at the gun, watching in satisfaction as the barrel dropped to the sea, the gun becoming useless.
Percy fired another blast of energy at the second gun, taking out an entire section of the wall with it. The two of them continued like this, swerving in between lasers and reducing the number of weapons the chitauri had. A silver-red streak landed on the top of the chitauri mother ship, sending cracks throughout the ship from its impact. Tony grinned and flew away from the ship depositing Percy on the bridge as he joined the thunder god in hammering down the mother ship.
On his part, Percy summoned water, making it cover the entire bottom of the ship. He froze the water, but the ship's trajectory cracked it, though it was now slower than it was before. He looked up to see the two red clad Avengers slowly chipping away the ship's defenses. A compartment opened to release chitauri fliers to take care of the Avengers, but Percy hissed, he wasn't going to allow the aliens to take out his friends while they weren't looking.
A part of his mind focused on creating more and more ice beneath the ship, while another part created ice shards. He let them fly, impaling several chitauri until they realized that there was a third person fighting them. The aliens flew towards him, and he gripped his trident tightly, meeting the chitauri head on. He fought them on the bridge – again, stabbing, slashing and breaking the necks of the chitauri that dared to come near him. A loud groaning sound alerted him to the danger present, and he allowed all of one second to gape at the monstrous ship before he vanished into mist, appearing at the end of the bridge just as the ship broke into two from the force that Thor had slammed into it with, the two halves crushing the chitauri right beneath it and falling into the waters below, the black ship sinking rapidly.
The three of them grinned – one unseen – at each other at their victory, before turning to face the other incoming ships.
"Get to the mainland!" Tony shouted to Percy, "Help the others, we'll destroy as many as we can!"
Percy nodded, shouting a "Be careful!" to the two Avengers before turning and running back to the heart of Asgard, allowing his trident to dissipate and unsheathing his sword.
The chitauri horde flew across the waters, all of them intent on getting to the mainland as per their leader's command. They fired at anything that moved, chittering excitedly as buildings crumbled under their assault and the pain filled screams of the fleshy insects pierced the air. This was what they were created for, destruction, death and madness.
The aliens didn't care about the ones who fell to the gunfire of their opponents, if they died, they were weak – and in the chitauri, only the strongest survived. The space whales that had come out of the portal were being bombarded with missiles and lightning bolts, though the latter was infinitely more powerful than the former. There were still chitauri pouring out of the portal though, and Tyler didn't think that SHIELD would appreciate it if he called them again to shout at them.
The scientists back at SHIELD were desperately trying to recreate the scrambler that Tony and Bruce had come up with – the thing had been proven to work back in Alaska, but since the current portal was nowhere near accessible – being in the middle of the sky tended to do that – they were trying to incorporate the technology into a missile or a long-ranged weapon that could be fired.
The SHIELD agent had already informed his team to cooperate with the demigods, though he didn't tell them what they were – there wasn't enough time to explain that whole can of worms to them. They were fighting with all they could, trying to hold the line to prevent the chitauri from getting past their defenses to get at the civilians. The jets – which were normally not allowed to fly below building level – were given an exception this time round to fire on any chitauri craft they saw.
But it was not enough.
Tyler knew, deep down, that sooner or later, they were going to run out of ammunition and unless the portal was closed, the chitauri would just keep coming.
At the Hudson Bay, the dirty waters were churning. The chitauri flew over it without a care, dismissing the waters of Earth easily and focusing their attention on the mainland – where all the fighters were.
That was their first mistake.
With their superiority in aerial combat, the chitauri failed to anticipate an attack from the water. As a result, they were thrown for a loop when a humongous jaw snapped shut over three of the crafts, metal, flesh and bone crunching between sharpened sabers. The chitauri turned and fired, but the creature disappeared back into the ocean, its form blending in perfectly with the waters around it.
Jormungand waited patiently as the chitauri kept firing into the water, hoping that the blasts would find their mark. The son of Loki flicked his tail, a beat of his powerful wings propelling him through the water faster than a bullet. The serpent opened his jaws as he burst out of the water a second time, this time using the claws on his feet to tear the chitauri apart in addition to his razor sharp teeth. Behind him, the king of the ocean led his own assault, seemingly too trigger-happy as his trident ripped into alien flesh like a hot knife through butter.
Jormungand gave the elemental god a dry look – as much as he could with reptilian features – but it conveyed the message. The middle-aged looking god grinned savagely at the serpent, his eyes darkening to a raging black despite his casual stance. "These aliens took away my wife and killed my son," Poseidon growled, clenching his trident tightly, the ancient symbol of power glowing dangerously, "I will slaughter every one that I come across until all are dead."
The serpent, a mighty beast in his own right with enough power to match the elder gods of Midgard, felt a shiver run through him at the deadly threat that the god had uttered. The normally laidback deity that Jormungand had come to know was nowhere to be found – in his place was a stern, war-faring god that was looking for vengeance wherever he could find it. The serpent gathered himself and nodded, raising his head – a roar echoed across the waters, sending shudders down the spines of the chitauri, who's fear of their master was the only thing that kept them from obeying their instincts to flee. Jormungand dived back into the ocean, his streamlined form slicing through the waters rapidly as he launched himself at the chitauri craft that poured out of the portal, a single thought thrumming through him.
Woe be to those who scorn a vengeful father.
Natasha flipped gracefully over the aliens, her unorthodox method of fighting gaining her many weird and disgusted looks, especially when she hid behind convenient structures and debris to protect herself while she shot at the chitauri. The assassin had tried warning the asgardians earlier, telling them to take cover before they were killed by the chitauri – either by running into direct fire or not taking cover from aerial assaults. The warrior that she had talked to had laughed at her, calling her a coward who didn't dare to face the battle honorably. She had merely pressed her lips together and turned away, not even able to bring herself to feel remorse when he died but a minute later, a smoking hole in his chest where a stray shot had caught him. She clamped down on the wave of nausea rising as the body's charred form dropped into her path, her face set in stone against the horrors of war around her. Of all the Avengers, perhaps only Steve and Thor could deal the best with all these blood and carnage. Natasha and Clint were assassins – which meant clean, quick kills that usually left little mess behind. But this - this was war. It was messy and bloody and Natasha had never seen anything like it. It made her almost glad that the Red Room had prepped her for being an assassin.
A sudden thud beside her made her whirl around, her Widow's Bite humming with energy. She lowered her hands when she realized it was the thunder god who had landed, looking slightly worse for wear. "Where is friend Banner?" the god rumbled, casually flinging Mjolnir into an incoming chitauri.
Natasha followed suit, delivering her own bite to the aliens before answering, "I don't know, I sent Steve to get him, but I think Cap got caught up in the battle!"
The two of them fought alongside each other, a well-oiled machine as deadly a pair as any other. That was the thing about the Avengers, they had team dynamics like no other. While they usually had their own preferred pairing – Steve and Thor, Tony and Bruce and Clint and her, they could work equally well with the other team members outside of their pairing. As was evidenced now, the red-haired assassin and the thunder god worked seamlessly together – the former providing quick, deadly strikes while the latter crushed the aliens underfoot. She gestured to Thor and the thunder god bent slightly, gaining affronted looks from his warriors as he let Natasha use his back as a spring board, leaping up to catch a chitauri unawares mid-flight before dropping down again, landing in a crouch – much like a feline. She smirked up at him, and the thunder god couldn't resist the grin that spread across his lips.
He twirled Mjolnir's strap rapidly, flinging the hammer straight into the heart of the chitauri mob, the singing metal crushing flesh and bone easily. As he called his weapon back to him, the elder prince of Asgard ducked to avoid an attack, his right fist slamming into the chitauri's face-plate, denting the metal and everything beneath it. He cocked his elbow backwards in the same motion, catching the chitauri creeping up behind him while his swinging his arm around as Mjolnir flew into his palm. He brought the hammer down onto the ground, electricity sparking and shocking those it touched. The ground shook with tremors from the force with which he had brought his hammer down. While in his crouched position he sensed more than saw the chitauri darting in for an attack. A black and red blur leapt over his bent over back and tackled the chitauri, bolts of electricity flying from her hands and arcing over the alien as Natasha delivered a brutal uppercut that snapped the alien's neck. In the same fluid motion she twisted and delivered a back kick that sent the chitauri flying backwards, ducking under the arm of another and pressing both hands to its back, activating her Widow's Bite which drew a scream out of its throat. While it convulsed, Thor slammed his hammer down on its head, the disgusting squelch that resulted from the action telling Natasha that the alien was very much dead.
She looked up at the god, who told her in a deep voice, "Go and find friend Banner, I need to return to Stark, he cannot hold off the chitauri ships for much longer."
The assassin turned to follow Thor's flight path back to the bridge, swallowing harshly at the sight of a red and gold figure flying in circles around a humongous ship. Of all the Avengers, Tony had been the only one to see the actual mother ship when Loki first invaded, and though he tried explaining to them how big it was, none of them could ever comprehend – not until now, when she could finally understand why Tony Stark of all people had gotten freaked out by the ship. She turned and ran for Asgard's inner halls, praying to a god she never believed in that her team mates – family – would make it out alive.
In a world where people grew so afraid of the dark that they created objects to chase it away, it was surprisingly easy to find shadows. After all, the brightest of lights cast the darkest of shadows. It wasn't a problem for him to flit from shadow to shadow, his form not even close to corporeal as he observed the battle. His brothers had joined in the battle already, but he chose not to – not for a lack of care. There was already too much firepower involved and he knew that the mortals would pick up on it – sooner rather than later by the looks of it. The commanding officer might already know about it, and so did his men, but they knew nothing of the demigods' true nature. Hades narrowed his eyes from where he stood, cloaked in shadows. He followed the battle all over New York, staying away from the waters where his younger brother was frolicking around with the spawn of the Trickster.
The Lord of the Dead didn't interfere with the battle unless his intervention was truly needed. He didn't really give much care to the mortals, but he did care about his son – whatever anyone else said. He had lost too many people too many times to allow himself to be frivolous when it came to his children. Unsurprisingly, it was Poseidon who understood him – the younger god always did have a close relationship with his children after all. Hades had known that Poseidon understood, but millennia of being cast out from Olympus for nothing more than his domain had created a cruel streak in him and hardened his heart. To the point where he even hurt his own son because of it.
It took a single demigod with a heart too big for his own good to open his eyes before it was far too late. Percy Jackson had always been a remarkable demigod, a fact that Hades himself knew when he had sent the Fury after him. But it wasn't until the demigod had marched down to the Underworld himself and told him in no uncertain terms what he was doing to his son that it shook the god to the core. He had been caught in a stupor, and snarled and raged at Percy, but Percy had just stood his ground, staring defiantly at an elder god with no care for the power that was raging around him.
He would never know how close he had been to becoming a permanent resident in his realm that day.
Ever since then, Hades had resented the demigod and thrown every monster he could think of at him. Until Nico had confronted him and demanded the reason why he was acting like he did. The king of the Underworld had sneered and dismissed his son, only to regret everything he had said when word came that his son was alone, in danger and trapped behind enemy lines.
That one event had brought back everything that Percy had ever said to him, and clarification came almost too late. Hades had been undeniably grateful to Percy when he found out that the elder demigod had ignored all warnings to stay put and gone off in search of his cousin alone. And brought him back.
It was that devotion which changed Hades' mind. He still detested Zeus for what he did, but he never failed to show his gratitude towards Percy Jackson for giving him a chance and opening his mind.
It was with that thought in mind that he extended his powers throughout the city, fading into the shadows that brought death upon all it touched.
And if it happened to save the lives of demigods along the way, well, it could only have been coincidental.
Her heart pounded furiously in her chest as she ran, her training kicking in as she weaved through the throng of bodies pushing and shoving against each other. Natasha faded into the background, slipping through the mass like water through fingers. Any alien she came across died a quick and unseen death as she slew a path towards the main hall of Asgard. Her throat constricted involuntarily as she caught sight of the double doors that opened to the heart of Asgard – or rather, what was left of it. What was once a set of grand doors now lay in pieces on the ground, half of it was torn right off its hinges while the other half was broken in several pieces on the ground. Black scorch marks marred the golden doors, evidence of the chitauri's onslaught.
The assassin withdrew her gun – which she had kept holstered while running – keeping a part of her focus behind her, wary of backstabbing aliens, and the rest in front of her. She held her gun close to her body, her finger brushing the trigger. Gingerly stepping over the rubble, she entered the hallway, her footsteps muted. Her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, and she tread carefully through the hallway, keeping her back to the walls. She didn't know if any chitauri got in, or if the doors just got caught in crossfire, but she was not about to take the chance and get gutted for not paying attention.
Natasha slid smoothly into the shadows, hey bright green eyes adjusting to the darkness easily, her pupils dilating to compensate the lack of light. When she heard the screams, she clamped down on her urge to run ahead, instead, she slowly slid towards the corner, peering past it cautiously. The sight that greeted her sent her stomach churning. A few rampant chitauri had caught up with the guards who were guarding the main halls of Asgard – and it wasn't a pretty sight. The aliens had savagely tore into the Asgardians, broken bones, torn flesh and organs decorated the once pristine hallway. It was disgusting enough to make any normal person gag.
But she wasn't called the Black Widow based on her looks only, and so Natasha steeled her nerves, taking a deep breath before leaping outwards, firing off three consecutive shots. She tucked herself into a roll even as the bullets found their targets, taking out another two chitauri the same way before the aliens recovered their wits – or lack thereof – and jumped at her, screeching loudly all the way. She smashed the barrel of her gun into the face of a chitauri when it got too close to fire safely. Spinning on her heels, she drove her fist into the gut of an alien, the electricity traveling through its metal armor to its body.
A heavy blow smashed into her back, sending her flying into the wall. She crashed against it painfully, forcing her body to move through the haze of pain. A muted scream clawed its way out of her mouth as a blast singed her left side, sending her sprawling on the ground. Natasha gritted her teeth and forced the pain back, lashing out with one leg to catch an alien in the jaw, snapping its head backwards. She leapt to the right, biting her lips as the wound on her side pulled painfully. A metal boot connected with her middle, throwing her backwards forcefully. She gasped as her back hit the ground, arms instinctively crossing in front of her midriff. She struggled to her feet, hunched over protectively as she glared at the chitauri. They had gotten in a cheap shot and she hated it. The aliens laughed – a throaty gurgle that sounded like a drainage pipe problem – and aimed their weapon at her. She tensed, her calf muscles coiled and ready to spring the moment they attacked.
But it never came.
The chitauri at the back suddenly stiffened and collapsed, drawing its brethren's attention. Natasha's eyes widened as she caught sight of the responsible party – just as the chitauri did. The female Avenger leapt forward, her wrists crackling with energy just as the chitauri fired their weapon.
Natasha snarled and brought a fist crashing down on them, her pain all but a forgotten memory now. She caught the alien in between her legs, snapping its neck easily. She had already moved on to the other chitauri by the time the corpse hit the ground. In a few seconds, she stood with both feet firmly planted on the ground, adrenaline pumping through her veins while alien bodies lay at odd angles behind her. The cold-blooded assassin made her way towards the only fallen figure in the hallway that she cared about.
Sylvi, the young maiden who had served them in their time on Asgard, lay on the ground, gulping for air as she held a shaky hand over the gaping hole in her stomach. The pale face was drenched with sweat, her eyes wide and afraid. Natasha knelt down beside her, silently tearing a strip of cloth from the maid's dress to press against the wound. Even as she took the girl's hand, the assassin knew in the back of her mind that she would not live to see the next sunrise.
"Idiot." She chided, pressing her lips together, ignoring the warm liquid that was steadily coating her hands.
To her surprise, the maid just smiled. She whispered two words, "Thank you." Before her eyes went vacant and her chest stopped rising.
Natasha knelt there for several minutes, trying to suppress the emotions she felt from facing the death of a person she barely even knew. She swallowed harshly, reaching out a hand to gently shut the girl's eyes. The assassin bowed her head in respect, then stood up, intent on continuing her mission. Turning away from that body seemed to be the hardest thing she ever did.
She ran down the hallway, still wary about potential chitauri but there didn't seem to be anymore. When she neared the healing room, the guards outside pointed their weapons at her at first, before letting her through once they recognized her. Natasha stepped into the room, her eyes scanning the area before landing on a brown haired doctor.
"Bruce," she said, panting slightly, "We need the Other Guy outside."
The doctor, to his credit, didn't so much as bat an eyelid, "Now?" he said, frowning slightly, finishing wrapping up a soldier's wound in bandage. "The wounded –"
"Can be handled by Lady Eir." Natasha cut in, nodding respectfully towards the head healer, who spared her nothing more than a glance before she tured back to her patients. "On the other hand, Thor and Tony are up against fleets of chitauri motherships, which they can't handle alone. I sent Steve to help Clint, and I don't know where Percy is. We've got more incoming and we need the Hulk. Now." She stressed.
Eir deftly took over Bruce's patient, the stern elder healer telling him, "Go, or the number of wounded here will increase much more."
The last Avenger stood up, washing his hands in a basin before moving to stand by Natasha. When he caught sight of her injury, he hesitated, but Natasha waved him off, leading the man to the courtyard. They stood in the shadow of the archway, the noise of the battle drowning all attempts at conversation.
Bruce took a deep breath.
A long, drawn out horn sounded, all creatures stilling in its wake.
Green eyes met brown, their hearts pounding in their chests.
Across the waters, Tony and Thor landed on the Bifrost, looking at each other desperately.
In the middle of the crowd, Percy craned his head towards the portal, his hand clenching his sword tightly.
And standing atop the largest and ugliest ship, was a figure made small by the distance, but whose presence struck fear in the hearts of all who saw him.
Stroking his treasured weapon, the Mad Titan's amethyst orbs drinking in the sight of thousands of warriors cowering from his presence.
Thanos grinned savagely at their tangible fear, his low voice resonating throughout the whole realm.
"Lady Death shall be pleased."
And somewhere in the heart of Yggdrasil, the Norns chimed with laughter.
And that's a wrap! So, unconventional pairings are unconventional. Hope you guys liked the random Avengers fight scenes where they fought together. I love the pairings as seen in the movies. Really, I do. But I also thought that it might be cool to see the Avengers mixing up with one another. :)
A random Hades interlude there, but in case you guys are confused, Hades might be cool with Percy but that doesn't mean he is cool with all demigods. He's mellowed some, but the negative feelings are still there because of his millennia under Zeus' rule. But that's a story for another time. :)
Please leave a review on your way out! :) Reviews are much appreciated.