Chapter 19 – Man Down
The Hulk blinked out the sound of a hiss-like roar, and a high pitched scream that followed. Moving away from the unconscious Sif, the Hulk looked in the direction of the noise, grunting in annoyance and confusion. That's when he saw it.
A giant… bug clad in a tight black bodysuit and enveloped in a glowing green aura of energy. It raced at him, screaming, and the Hulk barely even had time to register it's presence, the creature rammed its knee right into the Hulk's gut. The Hulk actually doubled over in pain, and shock.
That hurt… This creature actually hurt him!
Snarling in rage, the Hulk attempted to deliver a punch, but the creature's green aura flared and the Hulk hissed as his fist was singed by the aura.
Removing its knee from the Hulk's abdomen, the creature smacked the Hulk to the ground where he skidded several feet away and into a plane. Relentless, the creature continued to go after the Hulk and delivered a kick to his face. His aura flared as he preformed the kick and the Hulk's bulky form was actually sent a few feet into the air.
The creature grabbed the Hulk's ankle, digging its sharp claws into its skin. Dark blood seeped from the claw marks. The creature slammed the Hulk down on the ground, creating a perfect indenture of the Hulk's form in the floor of the Helicarrier.
The creature hissed as it marched towards the Hulk, but blinked when it heard a horrified gasp. Looking to the left, the creature saw Sif was now awake, yet brutally beaten and clearly in no condition to fight. She was looking at the creature in shock.
"H-Hikesh?" Sif guessed, still wide-eyed. How did the Prothean achieve this power? And how was it that he was able to beat the Hulk with ease after he beat her so badly?
The creature, Hikesh, gave a smirk, flashing his sharp teeth. He spoke, and his voice was much lower than before, and rumbled slightly. "Surprised Sif? You shouldn't be considering what has been going on as of lately."
"But… how did…"
"When there is a time where we are not battling enraged mutated brutes, I will explain." Hikesh replied. "But for the time being, you must flee. You are in no condition to fight."
Sif glared. "I will not let my honor be broken by this beast!"
"There is more at stake here than your honor!" Hikesh said, frowning. "You will fight again, just not now. Now flee!"
Sif glared, and begrudgingly stood up, hissing from the pain from the Hulk's beating. She grabbed her sword and shield and quickly sauntered away.
Hikesh watched her leave, and then returned his gaze to the Hulk, and saw that he was starting to rise. His aura flaring once again, Hikesh grabbed the Hulk's head by both sides witb both of his clawed hands, and began to viciously smash their heads together. The Hulk's head was throbbing in pain with each strike, and he started to feel dizzy. Hikesh didn't relent, and continued to hammer their heads together in a violent display of dominance.
Finally stopping the assault, Hikesh spun the Hulk around by the head and eventually led go. While he was flying through the air, Hikesh gave a grunt as he pulled his hand back and unleashed a green energy wave that struck the Hulk right in the gut. The concussive force behind the blast caused the Hulk to cough up some blood, and also accelerated his descent and he crashed right through a wall. The women's restroom to be exact.
Female agents screamed and scurried out of the room as the Hulk smashed through the wall and into one of the stalls. Getting up, the Hulk wobbled, dizzy and his body throbbing in pain. Shaking his head, the Hulk looked up to see Hikesh standing in the hole in the wall, glaring down at him.
His body shaking with rage, the Hulk snarled and roared, and charged at the empowered Prothean. Glaring, Hikesh' aura returned and he charged as well.
They collided, and a shockwave created by their collision echoed through the Helicarrier. Their bodies became a tangle of limbs as they began to exchange blows. Eventually they broke apart, and the Hulk was panting, growing tired from their exchange. Hikesh glanced at a nearby commode. He grabbed it, and actually tore it out of the floor, and water spewed out of the broken pipe underneath. He lifted it up and smashed it over the Hulk's head.
The Hulk grunted as the toilet broke over his head and his eyes blinked as he wobbled around, dizzy. He eventually fell over onto a stall, which crumbled beneath his weight.
But Hikesh wasn't done yet.
Zipping forward, Hikesh drove his foot into the Hulk's gut, knocking the air out of him. Before he could be given a chance to breath, Hikesh grabbed the Hulk by the hair and pulled him up to his feet, getting a few cries of pain from the beast. Hikesh began to slap the Hulk with great force across the face. Normally, someone's neck would snap from the Prothean's assault, but this was a different case.
Nevertheless, Hikesh let go of the Hulk's hair and delivered a powerful dark energy blast right to the Hulk's face that sent him flying back through the wall and into a different part of the hanger. By then, everyone had left the floor, eager to escape the carnage. Racing off after his opponent, Hikesh leapt at him and grabbed him by the waist. The two flew into another plane, the Hulk hitting first, and it exploded beneath their weight.
Debris flew in everywhere as a shockwave from the collision swept in every direction. When the debris cleared, Hikesh was seen standing over the Hulk, who looked like he was ready to pass out. Hikesh glared down at the beast, breathing heavily.
"Are we finished, Banner?" He said.
In response, a green fist suddenly shot up and struck Hikesh in the face. Hikesh flew back several meters before crashing into a pile of crates. Hikesh pulled himself up, shook his head, and looked at the Hulk.
The Hulk, while injured and bruised, was still up and breathing. His eyes were bloodshot with rage and he looked super pissed. He let out a loud, enraged yell, and charged at the Prothean.
Hikesh blinked in horror. While he did manage to inflict some serious damage on the Hulk, he only succeeded in doing what any person would do while fighting the Hulk.
He made the Hulk angry.
ooooo
Back on the bridge, Nick looked up to see Soladat reenter the bridge. He looked at her expenctently.
"All hostiles on engine three have been taken care of." She informed. "Stark and Rogers shouldn't have any trouble in their repairs now."
Fury nodded. "Good."
He turned towards Agent Hill. "Hill, we need full evac on the lower hanger bay."
Hill nodded, and marched up from her seat and past Fury and Soladat. But as she got closer to the door, something slid through and in front of her. Hill's eyes widened as it started beeping and she quickly leapt for cover.
"Grenade!"
The grenade exploded, and only one unfortunate agent was caught in the blast while Hill quickly leapt over the railing and down into the BridgeTech area. Fury took cover behind his terminals, while Soladat drew her 7.62x51mm NATO caliber, and ducked behind a terminal. Then, a group of armed men in S.H.I.E.L.D. gear entered the bridge, pointing guns in every direction in search of targets.
Taking a shot, Soladat hit one of the men right in the skull, and the other men jumped in surprise when their comrade slumped to the floor, dead. Spotting Soladat, the other agents instantly started firing, but Soladat unfolded her wings and soared over at them. The bullets bounced off of the vibranium alloy in her wings, and she folded then up as she landed in between two agents.
Once she landed, she spread her wings out and they struck the two agents, sending them flying in opposite direction. One of the men tried to beat her with the blunt end of his gun, but Soladat grabbed his gun and turned it towards him. She pulled the trigger and the man was shot right in the throat, and he fell over, dead. One man prepared to shoot but Soladat moved over to him and nailed his head with the barrel of her rifle. While he was down, Soladat shot him dead. She didn't even turn to face the agent behind her. She just pointed her gun in his direction and shot. He was dead.
Fury pulled himself up. "Good work, Archangel."
"No problem." Soladat said, smirking. "I love my job."
Suddenly, more gunshots verberated through the bridge, and Soladat, Fury, and Hill ducked in cover to avoid the shots. They occasionally came out from their hiding spots briefly to make a few shots of their own, Soladat having the most successful hits.
As they were fighting, an agent's voice came in over the loudspeaker. "We have the Hulk and the Prothean on research level four, levels two and three evacuate immediately!"
Hill turned towards Fury. "Sir, the Hulk will tear this place apart!"
"Then get his attention!" Fury responded, and then took a clean shot to a hostile's head.
Hill nodded and spoke into her com. "Escort 60, to wish bound and engage hostile! Don't get to close!"
The voice of a pilot came in. "Copy that!"
Suddenly, an arrow flew past Hill's face, causing her to jump back in surprise. It was about to hook up to one of the terminals, but with great precission, Soladat shot it out of the air. She looked up to the source of the arrow, and glared when she saw Agent Barton, who quickly fled from the bridge.
Fury scowled, and spoke into his com. "It's Barton! He's headed for the detention lab. Does anybody copy?"
There was a brief moment of silence, before a shaken, yet stable voice came in. "This is Agent Romanoff. I copy."
ooooo
Hikesh and the Hulk broke in through the floor and into a laboratory. Hikesh flew over on his back, tired, and his aura flickering. He could not keep up his transformation for long.
Suddenly, he was pulled up by his shoulders and thrown into a terminal, which sparked and crumbled beneath his weight. The Hulk roared and pushed a small crate to the side as he marched toward the Prothean. He didn't notice the fighter jet positioning itself just outside the viewing port.
"Target engaged." The pilot reported.
The pilot pulled a trigger and the jet started to fire its ammunition at the Hulk. The Hulk grunted in annoyance as the bullets just bounced off his flesh, and he turned around to face the idiotic attacker. Hikesh quickly raised a dark energy field to protect himself from the bullets, and watched as the Hulk roared at the jet in rage and quickly raced towards it.
The pilot's eyes widened in horror. "Target angry, target angry!"
The Hulk leapt out of the viewing port and towards the jet. Hikesh, eyes widened, quickly raced after him. When Hikesh reached the edge of the viewport, he fired an energy blast at the ground below his feet, and the prepulsion sent him rocketing after the Hulk.
The Hulk was just a few mere inches from the jet, but before he could reach it, something grabbed onto his waste. He looked down to see Hikesh gripping him tightly. The Hulk grunted in horror as he and the Prothean started falling out of the sky. As the image of the Helicarrier grew smaller, the Hulk started to beat against the Prothean's head.
Hikesh's vision grew blurry, and he eventually released his grip, and his aura faded. The Hulk grunted as the two separated, but couldn't stop his rapid descent.
The fighter pilot looked down as the two disappeared from sight. Shocked, he quickly paged Agent Hill.
"The target has disappeared." He said. "So has the Prothean."
ooooo
Loki glared down the woman before him. He studied her, and scoffed at her garb. She lacked armor or the necessary protection to withstand his great strength. Plus, she was mortal! Yet she dare have to strength to actually knock him off his feet?
"You're going to regret doing that, mortal." Loki hissed. Claire just smirked.
"I am no mortal."
Claire suddenly jumped up and vanished in a cloud of smoke. Loki blinked when Claire suddenly appeared in front of him in another smoke cloud, and she delivered a swift kick to his face that caused him to jerk back. Loki grunted in pain as he turned his head around and his neck popped as a result.
He gripped his neck, and glared daggers at the blonde woman. He drove the scepter forward, intending to impale her face, but she just casually moved her head to the side. She gripped the scepter and jerked it at him, and the blunt end struck him in the face. Loki grunted, but didn't have time to move away as Claire locked the fingers on her right hand and slammed it knifelike through Loki's armored chest plating. The armor actually shattered as Claire's hand penetrated it, and Loki backed away in shock.
He looked up at Claire. "How did you do that?"
"I know your every week point, Jotun." Claire smirked, and Loki's eyes widened in shock.
"How do you…?"
"How do I… what?" She said. "How do I know that your daddy dearest took you in after your real father left you to die? Or how you lived a thousand years jealous of your big brother?"
Loki's eyes twitched in rage. Claire grinned and continued. "Is that what all this is about? You trying to prove to mommy and daddy that you're the good son? It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic."
"Shut up!" Loki snarled and leapt at Claire. He tried to strike her with the scepter, but Claire just somersaulted out of the way and away from him. Loki turned to her and attempted to drive the spear down to impale her, but Claire grabbed the scepter and drover her heel up into Loki's crotch. Loki doubled over in pain, but Claire grabbed the back of his neck and flipped herself over on top of him. Her weight pushed him down on his knees, and she drove him down further by driving her heel onto the back of his head.
She got off of him, and then grabbed his head and through him over to the side and he crashed into a metal support beam, which was dented by the impact. Loki slid down onto the floor and quickly picked himself up.
Claire grinned and jogged towards the prince of lies, but just as she reached him he spun around, scepter outstretched, and the bladed end impaled her stomach and came out her back. She hissed, but nevertheless seemed to take in the pain like a drug. Loki blinked as the girl breathed heavily, and pulled the scepter out of her. He grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around, slamming her into the dented beam.
Claire grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around to the opposite wall, but Loki flipped her around again so she was against the wall. He swung his scepter and she quickly moved away; the blade scraped against the wall. He snarled as he tried to strike her again, but she dodged each attack. He brought the scepter down, but she moved away and the scepter struck the floor. Smirking, Claire delivered an up-kick to Loki's face, and he oomfed as his head was drawn back from the attack.
She grabbed him by the throat and slammed him face first into the wall, and he grabbed her by the head and slammed her into the wall. She pulled away and delivered a sift backhand, and Loki countered with a swift punch of his own. Claire stumbled back slightly, and Loki quickly drove the scepter into her torso, and Claire hissed in discomfort as the blade penetrated her body. Loki smirked in satisfaction, but his smirk quickly turned into a look of confusion as Claire smirked.
Suddenly, a white glowing mist seeped from Claire's open wound when Loki pulled the scepter from it. The mist touched the exposed flesh on Loki's hand, and Loki gripped his wrist and yelled in pain as a powerful burning sensation overcame him.
Claire stood up, breathing in, and Loki blinked as he wound just seemed to disappear. She smirked at him, and he looked at her in horror.
"What are you?"
Claire smiled. "I can be whatever I wish."
Claire put her arms out, and her body suddenly disappeared in a wash of fire. Loki's eyes widened as the flames seemed to take shape and washed over him. The fires surrounded and circled him like a vortex, and Loki jerked his scepter forward and fired an energy blast, but it just exploded harmlessly against the flames.
Suddenly, Claire materialized in front of him, and Loki nearly had a heart attack when she ran her leg up against his side and stroked his cheek seductively. She smirked at him, and suddenly grabbed his throat with both hands and started scaling up his body with her feet. Once her heels were at his throat, by which he was gagging from, she brought her foot back and drove it heel first into Loki's face. She released him as she was forced back out of the fires. He hit the wall, and looked up at the swirling flames as they faded away, and Claire casually walked out of it.
Loki quickly got up and backed away, pointing his scepter and preparing to fire an energy blast, but Claire quickly raced at him. She jumped at him, hitting his torso, and the scepter fired aimlessly. The blast struck the ceiling, sparks raining down on the room. Claire and Loki flew over the closed hatch that the glass cell was once suspended over, and struck the wall, which actually crumbled and cracked from the impact.
They hit the ground, and Claire landed feet first while Loki stumbled. Claire delivered a swift punch to his face, and Loki grunted as spit flew from his mouth. She grabbed his arm and pulled it back behind his back, and Loki yelled in pain. With his free hand, he delivered a right hook to Claire's face, causing her to let go.
He grabbed Claire by the throat and flipped her over his shoulder, but instead of landing on her back, Claire landed on her feet and grabbed Loki by the throat. She quickly flipped him over onto his back so she was on top of him, and smirked down as he scowled at her.
He kicked her off of him, and she stumbled back as he got up and prepared to deliver a punch. Claire brought her arm up to block the punch. Loki attempted to deliver a kick to her thigh, but she lifted her leg up and blocked that as well. Smirking, Claire delivered her out punch to Loki's face, and his head jerked back, only for it to jerk the other way when Claire punched him with her other fist.
Then, Claire spun around and delivered a kick that knocked Loki down on his side. He grunted as he slowly got up, but Claire grabbed his hair and pulled him up, getting a hiss of pain from him in the process. Letting go, she merciessly punched Loki twice in the face, and then delivered an uppercut with her other fist. Loki groaned as he stumbled back, and grunted as Claire drove her fist up into his get. Gripping his stomach in pain, Loki doubled over onto his knees, but Claire leapt up and delivered a kick right to his face. Loki yelped and fell on his back. His face was bruised, and he was groaning in pain.
Claire breathed in excitement. Loki looked up at her, glaring. "You will burn for this, woman. I will make sure of that!"
Loki gagged as Claire grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall, and she gazed at him with a sadistic grin.
"I've already burned, Loki." She hissed. "Now you will!"
Loki's eyes moved down to Claire's other hand as she lifted it up, and he could sense the imminent death behind the touch. He lifted his hand up and gripped her wrist, but her strength was overpowering his own. He fought to keep the hand from reaching his forehead, but it drew closer and closer.
Growing desperate, Loki looked around wildly and spotted his scepter. With his free hand, he reached for it, but it was a foot out of his reach. He grunted as Claire's hand drew nearer, and he could feel the heat of hellfire drawing closer. Then, with a yell, he finally grabbed the scepter, jerked it forward and impaled it through Claire's chest.
Claire gasped in surprise and stopped to look down at the scepter. She looked back up at Loki, who jerked the scpeter forward, and a blew energy blast sent Claire sailing away from him and through a wall across the room. Breathing heavily and gripping his throat, Loki grunted as he pulled himself up. He looked at the hole that Claire was blown through, and quickly left the room.
Claire grunted as she pulled herself up, and hissed in anger. A soul escaped from her. That rarely ever happened…
She pulled herself out of the hole and looked around. Loki was gone. Suddenly, a door slid open and Fury and Soladat entered. They blinked when they saw her.
"You?" Fury said. "What happened? Where's Loki?"
Claire said nothing. She just looked at them without emotion. Suddenly, a groan of pain was heard, and the three looked to the side to see Coulson, bleeding heavily but still breathing. Soladat's eyes widened and she ran over to him.
"Phil!" She said, and knelt down by him. "Oh my god… oh my god…"
"Heh…" Coulson laughed, but cringed in pain. "I'm looking pretty old now, aren't I."
Fury came down next to Soladat, and put his hand on Coulson's shoulder.
"Just stay awake." He ordered. "Eyes on me."
But Coulson shook his head weakly. "No. I'm clockin' out here."
Soladat felt tears forming in her eyes. "Phil…"
Coulson just smiled at her. "Don't worry, Soladat. I've been at this for years. Maybe I need a break…"
"Not an option." Fury said seriously, but Coulson shook his head.
"It's okay, boss." He assured. "This was never gonna work if they didn't have something to... to…"
Coulson's breathing started to weaken, and Soladat's eyes widened and she looked around wildly. She settled eyes on Claire.
"You." She said. "You do something!"
But Claire did nothing. She just turned emotionlessly, and slowly strode out of the room. Soladat's teeth grit in anger, and she turned back to Coulson. He wasn't breathing.
"Is he…?"
Fury checked his pulse. After a few moments, he slowly pulled away, his expression sad. Soladat choked a sob, and slowly forced Coulson's eyes closed. She looked down mourning, and the medics came in to late.
ooooo
Hill sat on the bridge, letting the medics attend to her injuries, when Fury's voice came in on the com.
"Agent Coulson is down."
Hill blinked, and gently pushed the medic away from her as she listened in on the convo.
In another part of the ship, Agent Romanoff listened in shock as medics took Agent Barton, who was unconscious away. In the hanger bay, Carrie's eyes were watering as she listened in in shock, with Sif, who was still injured, sitting near her. In the wrecked third engine, Iron Man and Captain America listened with shock.
Agent Sitwell's voice came up next. "The medical teams are on their way to your location."
"They're here." Fury said bluntly. "They called it."
ooooo
On the outer area of the Helicarrier, Loki limped onto a lone quinjet with only a few surviving henchmen. He breathed heavily, tired from the tirade. He watched the Helicarrier shrink as the quinjet took off.
Loki forced a smirk. He escaped. Now there was nothing left to stop him.
Oh how heroes fall. In this case, Coulson. Next chapter, the Avengers put aside their differences and finally race to confront Loki once and for all. I loved writing the action for this chapter. Especially the fight between Hikesh and the Hulk. Review pleaz.