Linkara helped Angry Joe through the darkening hallways of the Halberd. He steadied Joe with one arm, and the other he had outstretched, prepared to shoot any sudden opponents with his magic gun.
"Honestly, I'm fine!" protested Joe. "Let me go shoot up some bitches!"
"Dude, we just got beaten up by Dr Doom," said Linkara in a loud, matter-of-fact voice. "If ever there was a time to take a few minutes break, it's now."
"So we're not going to fight back?!" demanded Joe.
"Sure we are," said Linkara. "Just not with our guns. Ah, finally!" Turning a corner, he saw a station which granted access to the ship's intercom's systems. Linkara released Joe, who, despite his complaints, was more than happy to slide to the floor for a few moments. Linkara went to the console and tried to get it to work.
"Do you really think that's still working?" asked Joe, an eyebrow raised. "I mean, the back of the ship exploded, then the front exploded, and then the middle exploded. Somewhere along the way, the power probably went out."
"Just maybe," replied Linkara sarcastically, "but there should still be enough infrastructure so that if I plug this into this, and route in some power from here, and finally patch in my wrist communicator, I should be able to..."
##
Heavy turned a corner just in time to see Spoony shoot Scar with the Zat, and the lion collapse to the floor. Spoony prepared to make his second shot.
Heavy screamed in Spoony's ear, startling him and causing him to drop his weapon. "What are you doing to Cat!?"
"Gah, Christ!" Spoony collected himself, and then glared at him. "The fuck is wrong with you?"
Heavy pointed accusingly to the lion. "Why do you try to shoot my friend?"
"What?" Spoony seemed confused for a moment, then rolled his eyes. "Look again, you idiot. That's not Vitani. It's Scar. He's evil."
"Oh," said Heavy. He examined the animal again and realized he had indeed jumped to conclusions. Through the smoke billowing in the corridor, he had mistaken one leonine form for another.
As Spoony bent down to retrieve his Zat, Heavy also hunkered down and examined the Medigun. "He had this?" he asked.
"Yeah," coughed Spoony, fanning smoke out of his face. "Now stand aside. I'm shooting him this time, and no-one's gonna interrup-"
"Hello!" yelled a voice from Spoony's communicator, startling him a second time.
##
"This is Linkara," he said into War Machine's radio, as he skimmed over the desert.
##
"As you're no doubt aware, we kind of have a situation on our hands." Linkara's words echoed through the remains of the engine room. Cole twitched in his unconscious state as they were joined by urgent footsteps.
##
"There's a device, called the Anti-Magic Field Generator, in the centre of the ship," Linkara informed Phoenix and Layton in stereo. They shared a look and quickened their pace.
##
"From the looks of things, activating it is a good idea. Our opponents are more magic-reliant than we are," he continued. Sly listened to him on his Binucucom, watching Clank attend to an unconscious Iroh. He shot a look to Jak, who returned it.
##
"Best of luck to you all," he concluded, stepping away from the console.
Joe forced himself to stand. "What about the battery? The thing's not going to work without power, obviously."
Linkara frowned. "Guess we'll have to face that when we come to it. But for now, let's get back to looking for it. I can only hope someone is closer to it than we are."
##
"Hmm, the room that thing is in isn't too far away," mused Spoony. "We can go get it after I finish Scar off."
Heavy grabbed Spoony by the collar and began dragging him down the hallway. "No time! We must get it now!"
"What?!" spluttered Spoony. "Let go of me! It'll take three seconds to make sure he's dead!"
"Three seconds too many! Go go go!"
Spoony muttered under his breath as Scar's body disappeared around a corner. He didn't see Heavy's slight smile – pleased with his small way of repaying Vitani.
Maleficent, leaving Revan where he lay, resumed firing at Aang. The Avatar was a powerful and merciless opponent, and Maleficent often found herself being batted around by gusts of air or stone walls, or having to bear bursts of fire. On occasion, Aang would even pull moisture out of the air and form it into ice, shooting spikes at her. However, the fires burning nearby eventually made this impossible.
In any case, she bode her time. Her shields, against the odds, were still holding up. She also knew that while the Avatar State was brutal, it was also directionless and animalistic. Aang didn't have the cognitive faculties at that moment to fully process his opponent's patterns or their significance. Now that she had dealt with Revan, who was the one holding the proverbial leash, this was even more true. All she had to do was wait for the moment to strike, and even the mighty Avatar would fall.
When Aang began sucking in air after a particularly lengthy stream of fire, Maleficent thought she had found that moment. Smirking, she raised her staff and prepared to fire.
Suddenly, a heavy weapon slammed into her side, knocking her across the battlefield and into a mound of debris. She roared in frustration, growing ever more vexed with the constant interruptions and interventions.
"Hellfire!" she cursed. "Who dares strike me?"
She watched as Mjolnir flew back to Thor's hand. He rose into the air with it, glowering at Maleficent forcefully.
"Hello," he spat. "My name is Thor Odinson. You killed my brother. Prepare to die."
Maleficent's smirk returned. "Ah, Thor. Brother of Loki. We've heard so much about you. Were I in your position, I wouldn't be quite so enthusiastic about avenging that scoundrel."
Thor snarled and advanced, but suddenly both were blown back by a strong air current. Thor fell to earth to steady himself, and Maleficent likewise crouched down to keep her position.
Aang roared, again ready to battle. His glowing eyes bounced from Thor to Maleficent, studying both. He then shot a spike of stone out of the ground, sending Thor airborne, and began peppering him with flames.
Thor shouted, more in anger than pain, and stabilized his trajectory. Maleficent leaned on her staff and watched the two fight, pleased at having a short break – complete with entertainment.
"I am not your enemy, Aang!" shouted Thor, ducking under more fire. "Try to think!"
Aang merely shot stone spikes at him in response, some successfully hitting Thor's face.
Thor wiped his nose and grimaced. "Very well." He hefted Mjolnir and summoned lightning, striking Aang on the head. Aang wobbled in the air, but remained floating.
Thor frowned and decided to repeat the action, attempting to emulate Black Widow's anti-mind control technique. However, this time Aang knew what was coming. When the lightning came down on him, he raised two fingers in the air, held tightly together. To Thor's amazement, the Avatar's hand absorbed the electricity as effectively as any lightning rod. Aang felt the energy swell in his stomach, and then, pointing the fingers of his other hand at Thor, he released it. The lightning slammed into Thor and threw him backwards, Mjolnir falling from his grasp.
Aang breathed fire in triumph and turned back to his first opponent. He turned around just in time to see a green blast fill his vision, and then, it struck him. Aang gasped, and for a moment, he stopped glowing. His eyes returned to their usual grey for an instant before dimming. Then, he fell limply to the ground.
Maleficent strode over him, chuckling. One down.
Thor slammed into the ground, dazed. The last thing he made out before his vision slipped into darkness was Maleficent pointing her staff at his face, about to damn him to the same fate as his brother.
Maleficent shot at Thor, but her aim was abruptly thrown off by a powerful bullet slamming into her arm. Her shields held, but her balance was disrupted and she missed Thor by a wide margin.
She looked up to see Deadpool dramatically posing on top of a mound of debris. In his hand, Barry Burton's silver pistol gleamed in the moonlight, the barrel lightly smoking. Behind him were Murray, Auron and Sig, glaring down at Maleficent.
"Who avenges the Avengers, bitch?!" cried Deadpool triumphantly. He raised the pistol into the air. "Charge!" The group ran at Maleficent, raising their weapons and yelling battle cries.
##
From his vantage point on top of what remained of the Halberd, Bentley had scanned the area. A shuttle was parked next to the engine room – or at least, where the engine room had been. Aang's explosion had torn a hole in the side of the ship, and it was among this wreckage that Maleficent had fought Aang and Thor. Currently, it was where Bentley saw Murray charge towards Maleficent with a group of other fighters.
"What are you doing!?" yelled Bentley fretfully to himself. "She'll kill you, Murray! Don't be a hero!"
The quartet closed in on the sorcerer, Deadpool and Sig firing their weapons. Bentley braced himself for the worst. When they all came sufficiently close to Maleficent, she blew them back with a burst of green energy. She grabbed Deadpool via some magical method, tore the pistol from his hand, and slammed him into some detritus.
Bentley saw Murray fly through the air and land in a pile of sand some distance away. To the turtle's relief, he saw Murray pick himself up and bemusedly dust himself off.
"Interesting," murmured Bentley. "Very interesting..."
Spoony and Heavy stood staring into the flaming abyss which was once a corridor.
"Are you sure this is right direction?" asked Heavy, a rare expression of concern on his face.
"Afraid so," grimaced Spoony. "But anyone going in there... They're probably not coming out."
Heavy looked at the Medigun in his hand. "Tell me," he murmured softly. "Is your life good?"
"I review shitty games and movies for a living," replied Spoony pessimistically. "So no."
"Jobs are not fun," scoffed Heavy. "Your friends. People. How are they?"
Spoony shrugged, not sure where he was going. "Uh, well... I got a robot friend, that's pretty cool. And a really nice puppy. I probably have a few sane fans – somewhere... And Linkara and Joe, they both have my back."
Heavy clapped him on the shoulder. "Then go find them," he said. "Go make sure they are okay. Live for your friends. I will take care of this." He strode into the fires, breaking into a run.
Spoony watched him go, blinking confusedly. "Well, if you insist..."
Meanwhile, Phoenix and Layton had hit a similar problem.
"Look at all that fire," breathed Phoenix. "How are we going to get through that?"
"We're not," said Layton matter-of-factly, readying his communicator. "I will. You're going to guide me the rest of the way from here."
"What?! You can't be..." The lawyer trailed off when he saw Layton's expression. "Are... you sure?"
"I am," said Layton. "You've paid your dues and stopped your foe, Mr Wright. I cannot say the same. There is red in my proverbial ledger, and I will take any measures to remove it."
Phoenix tried to find an objection, but nothing came to him. Nothing which he knew would be sufficient to stop the professor. "Good luck, then," he murmured.
With a tip of his hat, Layton disappeared into the flame.
War Machine hadn't had trouble finding Bison's body, given how red stood stark against the pale yellow sands which filled the desert. He had ensured the warlord was dead by a variety of means. First, he had checked for any signs of a pulse or breath. Then, he shone a light in Bison's pupils. Finally, he had fired into the body with his two machine guns for two solid minutes, riddling him completely. Once this was completed, he was willing to accept Bison as dead.
Just as he turned to leave, he spotted two figures in the sky above him. Flying up to intercept them, he discovered they were Skulduggery and Dr Horrible.
"Good to see two more alive," said Rhodes, helping Skulduggery lift Horrible.
"Same to you," said Skulduggery. "I'll complain about how you left me with three falling bodies later. What's the situation?"
War Machine filled the two in, as best he could, on the Ironwerk incident and the more recent invasion of the ship.
"Right," said Skulduggery. "We'll need the Anti-Magic Field Generator, at any rate."
"What? How did you know that?" asked War Machine.
"Got a call from Valkyrie a while back," said Skulduggery. "She's also not dead, by the way, and unlikely to die any time soon. She told me that the Avatar's gone nuts, and that there's a device in the centre of the ship that nullifies magic. We should go get it."
"Makes sense to me," said Rhodes.
"Up for a little repair work?" Skulduggery asked Horrible.
The doctor nodded. "If those guys are attacking your ship, Maleficent might be with them." Horrible smiled evilly, and Skulduggery began to see why the Scientist had chosen his career path. "I'd like to see that heartless witch try to act so superior without her magic."
Kids, he may not have said 'witch'.
Bravery is relative.
As Scar had once noted to Loki, it's far easier to be fearless when you think yourself immortal. Loki wouldn't have thought twice about traversing a burning corridor, except perhaps about the effect it may have on his clothes. Likewise, out of everyone involved in these series of events, many would gladly step into a gauntlet of flames, knowing that it was little obstacle to them or their protective powers.
Not so for Professor Layton. He had no regenerative powers to safeguard him, nor a suit of armour, nor mastery over the element of fire itself. He was not a god, nor a sorcerer, nor a superhero; he was merely a mild-mannered academic. Yet despite the flames twisting menacingly towards his clothes, the smoke which blinded him, and the omnipresent, overbearing heat, his pace never wavered. There was something which needed doing, and he would do it, regardless of how daunting it seemed. The chance of him failing was all too high, but he refused to acknowledge it. What purpose would it serve but to slow him down? Instead, he kept running, his arm over his face, going ever deeper into the seething labyrinth, following the worried but steady directions arriving into his ear.
After an eternity of heat and burning, he found the door he sought. The doorknob was metal and would have been scalding to the touch. It was quite fortune for Professor Layton, then, that he elected to ignore the doorknob entirely. Doorknobs were for those gentlemen who had even the slightest amount of time to spare.
Instead, he threw himself against the door and it swung open for him. He fell into the room inside, which was mercifully flame-free. He shut the thick door behind him – the reason the fire had not yet spread – and took a few seconds of well-deserved break to expel some of the smoke from his lungs.
"Did you make it?" Phoenix asked over his phone.
Layton gave another rattling cough before answering. "I have indeed," he said, his watering eyes landing on the Anti-Magic Field Generator. The device lay innocuously on the table where Linkara had left it days before. "The device is undamaged and in my possession. But I'm afraid it's not all good news."
"Why, what's wrong?"
Layton noted the smoke which was curling into the small room from under the door. "The fire is intensifying. I was capable of arriving here unscathed, but managing the same on the way back is improbable to say the least."
Phoenix ran his hand through his hair anxiously. "Alright. Hold on, professor. We'll think of something."
Layton lowered the communicator he had borrowed and sat on the table, gathering his wits. He tuned out the crackling noises outside and tried to work out a solution to this dilemma.
After a time, he realized that there was another sound among the burning; heavy footfalls, bearing down on his position. He saw the doorknob move slightly, touched from the other side, and then a Russian voice crying in pain and swearing loudly. Layton opened the door from his side – keeping his hand within his sleeve to be safe – and ushered in his new companion, shutting the door behind him.
Heavy Weapons Guy gratefully sucked in a few lungfuls of uncontaminated air. He held the Medigun in one hand, and leaned on the table with his other. After a coughing fit, he focused his eyes on the device on the table. Skipping pleasantries, he asked Layton "Is this Anti-Magic machine?"
"It is," said Layton. "The problem now is how to get it safely outside."
Heavy went to say something, but Layton's communicator interrupted. "Professor! Are you there?"
"I'm here," said Layton, bringing the phone to his ear. "What is it?"
"I've just been joined by three people. One of them is a Scientist, and says that he can fix the Field Generator. The other two say they can help get you out, and since they're a guy in huge armour and a skeleton, I don't really doubt them."
"But we're too far inside the ship," replied Layton soberly. "A rescue party couldn't get to us. I'd wager we'd at least have to get to one of the sides."
"I can get you there!" said Heavy loudly. He hefted the Medigun. "We run. You first, and I behind you. This will protect us from flames."
"Are you sure?"
Heavy shrugged. "Da. But, it may explode your heart. We will see, no?"
Layton grimaced. "I'm hardly in a position to decline..." Speaking into the phone, he said "Mr Wright, tell the others to wait starboard of the ship."
"That's...?"
"The right."
"Ah."
"We'll be there shortly." He clicked off the phone, brought the AMFG close to his chest, and opened the door. Heavy began using the Medigun on him, and nodded to him.
"You know, you are brave little man to come here," he remarked.
"I hadn't an option," replied Layton solidly. "I had to recompense for what I lost during these events."
"Da..." was all Heavy said. "You and me."
"Well. After me, then," said Layton, and ran back into the fire.
##
Skulduggery did his best to mitigate the fires in their chosen corridor, using a combination of his fire, water and air elemental powers. War Machine stood ready, prepared to grab Layton from the blaze as soon as he saw him. Nearby, Phoenix and Horrible looked on fretfully.
Suddenly, the professor and mercenary appeared. Layton looked extremely uncomfortable, but the fires clutching at his black clothing seemed not to be taking hold. The Medigun extinguishes its target, meaning that Layton was by and large unharmed.
The same could not be said of Heavy. His entire being was wrapped in flame, and he was obviously in great pain. Layton appeared to be unaware – Heavy was behind him, and was bearing his agony silently.
War Machine shot forward, grabbed Layton, and pulled him to the safe zone. As soon as Rhodes' metallic arm wrapped around the professor and pulled him to safety, Heavy appeared to relax. He released the Medigun and sank gratefully to his knees. By the time Skulduggery dragged him forward with the air, he was dead.
Dr Horrible took the AMFG from Layton as the professor looked down on Heavy. "My word," said Layton, eyes wide. "He said that we would be protected... What have I done?" He pulled his hat over his eyes, having caused yet another death.
"Professor," said Skulduggery softly, examining the Medigun, "this device isn't charged."
Layton raised his gaze to look at him. "Excuse me?"
"He knew what he was doing," explained Skulduggery. "He knew he would die. The only guarantee was your safety."
"And your safety was the priority," added Rhodes.
Layton slowly sat on the ground. It was ungentlemanly, but he decided to make an exception. "His sacrifice won't be forgotten."
"It sure won't," said Horrible. He crouched over the Anti-Magic Field Generator. "But for now, let's get to work."
