Don't tell me if I'm dying
'Cause I don't wanna know
If I can't see the sun, maybe I should go
-Angels on the Moon by Thriving Ivory
"I'm all right, don't worry about me!" Natasha called out between her coughs. Odin looked over at her and sighed. This really was just a waste of his time. It was a game of children that wanted to be adults.
"Stop this," he demanded. "This is no purpose for this needless bloodshed."
"That's not an option, I'm afraid," Steve said, rolling his shoulders. He ran up to Odin and swiped at his head. Odin leaned out of the way and swung Gungnir at the blonde avenger. Steve reached a hand up to stop Gungnir, clasping it in his fist. Odin tried to yank the spear back, but it was firm in Steve's hand.
Clint unlatched an arrow from his quiver and aimed it carefully. While the two fought for control over the spear, Clint fired. The red flecked arrow struck Odin in the arm. Odin ignored the arrow, instead choosing to swipe Gungnir back from Steve. That was his mistake. The arrow began beeping rapidly, drawing both of their attention. Steve started back, recognizing the sound. Odin moved to remove it, but it was too late.
The arrow exploded, sending Steve back a few feet. He rolled across the ground before stopping himself on the ground. He looked up at where Odin was to see the god on his knees. Gungnir was on the ground and Odin held a hand over the gaping hole where his arm should have been. Blood seeped through his fingers and pooled on the ground.
Anger lit in Odin's eye, and he whispered, "You'll regret that." Odin gripped his arm socket tightly and blue energy funneled from his hand. Clint and Steve watched with horror as bone cracked out forming a skeletal arm. Muscle grew back, soon concealed by skin. Odin stretched out his fingers, testing the movement. He grabbed Gungnir on the ground and threw it. The spear Gungnir never missed a target, not even a moving one. Clint buckled down to the ground as Gungnir pierced his chest.
Odin walked over to the downed hawk, jerking the spear out from his chest. "This is foolishness. This is a battle you could have never won from the start. Why do you persist in this, knowing that? Bravery is something to be admired, but stupidity is something else entirely. This will be the end of you if you continue," Odin said.
Steve looked into Odin's eyes and saw something he did not expect: genuine confusion. Odin, the allfather, did not know the meaning of loyalty? It surprised Steve, though he supposed that it should not. Loyalty was built through hardship. Without ever struggling, one could not feel loyalty or have loyalty be given to him. Odin had never been an underling. He didn't know what it was like to follow a leader, and feel that sense of loyalty that Steve felt.
"Loyalty is different from stupidity," Steve said calmly. "Loyalty is something that is unshakeable because you know how much the person deserves it. There are few people that I have grown close enough to for me to call myself loyal to them. That is because few people deserve it, but Loki does. What you're doing is murdering someone for no reason other than a premonition. You cannot kill a man who has not yet done the crime you are convicting him of!"
"It is the same as if it has happened. I know what will happen. I have seen these things come to pass before, and they will come to pass again. Do not doubt my judgment. I searched all the Nine Realms to find a way that I could be false, but I found none. This is how it will be, and I must stop it with my own two hands. No one else will, so I will do it. He was destined to commit the crime from before he was born, to the beginning of time," replied Odin.
"You're wrong!" Steve shook his head. He gritted his teeth tightly in frustration. "You claim to see everything, but you see nothing at all! There is no such thing as destiny! Nothing is destined to happen. The future is always liable to change. What we do now matters because we'll never get another chance. If you kill Loki, you could never take it back. You could never see the thousands of other possibilities that could have occurred if you had never hurt him. I may not be granted with an all seeing eye, but I don't need one to know that Loki isn't evil. I believe in him."
Steve crushed his hand into a fist. "Your gaze may have been cast somewhere else, but those of us who have been with Loki these past few months know how he really is! He tries to make sure everyone is happy, even if he doesn't take the credit. It's the small things that matter as well, not just how loud you are. He's been trying to improve himself whether you see it or not. He'll prove you wrong: I promise."
Odin looked at Steve before closing his eye. "I admire your dedication, but it is blind loyalty. You are a man of honesty, Rogers. I only wish we could have been on the same side. Heart makes a man stronger than his body ever could have been."
"If only you could follow your own words," Steve said lowly. He and Odin shared a glance, both knowing the outcome of this battle. Odin shot forward, snapping his hand out. Steve jerked as Odin slammed his fingers into his neck. His eyes widened for a moment before he fell forward, unconscious.
Odin set him down gently before casting a look over his shoulder. Thor had come up with "opposition". Odin turned away from his son and looked down the street. There was now only one Avenger standing between him and his target.
Author's Note: Curses. I broke Microsoft Word. Open Office just has such a weird look! I can't get used to it. D: I'm going to have to buy a legit Microsoft Word since I had been running off of starter 2010 for awhile. ;-; In other tech news, I dropped my iTouch into the tub and broke it. I have a new one, but it doesn't work with our router since it is old. Thus, the streaming fails. My technology hates me. Need I even mention only one of my earbuds works now? And I refuse to get started on my computer battery that lasts 15 minutes.
This will be my last update till Tuesday. :D Thanks so much for the best wishes on my tournament. I'll be sure to let you all know how it turns out! I'm so freaked out. /panic mode/ Thanks for reading and reviewing!