Wanda had almost been enjoying herself, despite the concern she had for her brother. Still, it would be hard for anyone to stay in low spirits when eating such good food, and in such pleasant weather. In Sokovia, the weather was always very moody. The hot ball in the sky always peeked through the clouds, never fully gracing the people with its light, and the snow made itself known even after the cold seasons had passed.
As for the pizza, she had never tasted anything with so much cheese. Her eyes hadn't been pleased by its look, but it turned out that looks truly could be deceiving. She had downed three before she even realized it.
As for the people around her, she couldn't say that they gave her any reason to dislike them. Aside from Stark, who had fortunately skipped out on the meal, everyone else was perfectly normal. Still, she felt like an outside looking in, and she had no way to enter their conversations. She had no idea who Nick Fury was, and she didn't know where Budapest was located.
She saw Natasha lean over to whisper something in Clint's ear, something that made him smirk. It reminded her of how she and her brother would talk, trading secrets that they would never tell anyone else. Her heart suddenly ached again, and her appetite was lost.
"If you're not gonna eat that fourth one, I'll take it off your hands," Clint generously offered. Wanda wordlessly handed the greasy food to him before getting up from the table. Banner, who had been slurping on some soup he had ordered on the side, stood up to.
"Well, I'm done with my meal. I think Stark could probably use some help." Wanda gave him a smile, knowing full well that he was doing this to be nice to her. Strucker and his men had certainly never shown as much consideration.
At the table next to theirs, a teenage girl looked upwards. "It wasn't supposed to rain today, was it?" The bespectacled girl asked her possible boyfriend, causing the boy to stare curiously at the sky. Wanda and the others at the table exchanged glances before peering upwards themselves. The sky had darkened considerably, and yet, it wasn't necessarily cloudy. Wanda had never seen anything like it, and judging from everyone's reactions, neither had they.
Everyone in the area hushed as a part of the air seemed to bend into itself, creating a circular area. Clint sharply sucked in his breath, and Widow muttered something that Wanda didn't catch.
She squinted her eyes. What she was seeing couldn't be right, and yet… There was a man, floating down from the hole in the sky, a billowing green cape seemingly confirming his importance. He didn't seem to possess any weapons, but there was a dangerous air about him, and it got stronger the closer and closer he got.
For the first time since the sky had darkened, Steve said something: "Loki." Even in Sokovia, Wanda had heard of this man, no, alien. He had led an invasion on New York, and the Avengers had somehow stopped him before he could cause too much damage.
The Avengers encircled Loki as he landed on the ground without as much as a thud. Wanda did as well, scarcely even knowing why. She had no reason to stop Loki. But then again, she needed the Avengers to help her find her brother. Logically, she couldn't let Loki kill them.
"This is about the welcome that I was expecting, although I see that your own leader didn't see fit to be here. Pity, he was the only one who could match me on a verbal level." Loki's eyes, which twinkled with a humor that Wanda suspected she wouldn't like, scanned each member of the group, until he stopped at Wanda.
"I don't believe we've met. Ah, and I sense a power in you. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was sorcery, but I very much doubt that a human could have such a gift." Steve moved to stand in front of her.
"She isn't your concern at the moment, Loki, we are. I suggest that you surrender and come with us quietly. We have some questions." Loki gave the captain a withering look.
"No, I don't believe that would be in my best interest. I never perform the same trick twice." Turning to face Hawkeye, who had a sharp arrow pointed at the trickster's throat, Loki grinned. "So don't worry, bowman, I have no plans to manipulate you like a puppet again."
Hawkeye spit a curse at Loki, who just laughed it off. Wanda had the feeling that the man was used to hearing such comments, and now rolled with them. Or perhaps he was so insane that it simply didn't register on a certain level.
"Believe it or not, heroes, I didn't come all the way to your planet for you. I came for the stones, and make no mistake, I don't plan on leaving without them." Hawkeye wasted no words as he sent the pointed arrow at Loki, who ducked with an inhuman speed before sweeping his golden staff to trip up Steve.
"Do try harder," Loki goaded gleefully, pointing his staff at Wanda, firing off a red energy stream. Instinctively, Wanda held her hands up, managing to erect a barrier around her body. She thanked her lucky stars that Stark had removed her power inhibitor an hour earlier; she would be dead otherwise.
"Ah, so my earliest instincts were correct," Loki mused, annoyingly not out of breath. "You possess some form of magic, however pedestrian. Unfortunately for you, my power dwarfs your own, and that is before adding the Infinity Stones to the equation." Wanda's eyes widened as Loki uttered something under his breath. Whatever spell he chanted seemed to work, as his staff turned bright crimson.
Strengthened, the energy stream broke through her barrier as if it was glass, slamming her to the cobbled ground. She opened her mouth in a gasp; the blow has knocked the air out of her. Never had she been hit that hard.
"Get away from her!" Steve jumped in between her and Loki, his shield taking the brunt of Loki's vicious attack. Loki scowled briefly, before shrugging. Wanda supposed that he didn't care who he killed first.
"We really weren't in a rush to see you again," Widow stated as she tackled Loki from behind, snatching the scepter from him. In an ironic twist, she now held Loki's own weapon against him. But then, Wanda wondered, why doesn't he look worried?
"Thor? Man, am I glad to see you!" Stark and Ultron had been about to fly off when Thor literally crashed into the building. Stark decided that he really didn't want to know who, or what, had done that to the thunder god.
"Son of Stark, it is good to see you," Thor panted, looking as happy as someone could when their face was caked with blood and sweat. "But we have no time for niceties. Loki has arrived, intending to find the remaining stones and use them for a nefarious purpose." Ultron leaned down to help Thor up as Tony scoffed.
"As if Loki ever does anything else." Thor glared at Tony, who clammed up.
"Loki shouldn't be a threat," Ultron reasoned as he plucked a shard of glass out of Thor's hair. "Weren't you guys able to defeat him the first time? If he's alone, then –"
"He isn't alone," Thor interrupted, staring at them with a sense of urgency. "And this time, it isn't Chitauri that he leads." Stark quickly made a mental list of creatures that Loki could be controlling.
"Frost giants. It must be frost giants," Stark exclaimed triumphantly. "In that case, Loki made a big miscalculation, because he has no idea how hot New York can get in the summer." Thor shook his head.
"I am loathe to say it, but the people that my brother lead into battle are fellow Asgardians." Thor's fists, tightly clenched, were turning white. The man hadn't been lying about not wanting to admit that dark little truth.
"I know that your brother is apparently adept at lying through his teeth, but surely your race knows that. Just how were they sweet-talked into this?" Stark winced at Ultron's sharp words, but sometimes Thor responded best to people who were upfront.
"They believe he is Odin, and with his power of illusion, it wasn't difficult to do. Even I was fooled briefly; however, he intentionally let me find out." Stark had the feeling that Loki really wanted to rub it in Thor's face; the trickster was probably a horrible secret-keeper.
"As nice and reasonable as I'm sure your people are, I can't promise that I'll go easy on them," Stark warned. Ultron chuckled.
"If many of them are as powerful as Thor, they wouldn't give you a chance to hold back either way. But don't worry, I've got your back." Ultron patted Stark on the head, reminding the inventor of their height difference. It was a burden at times, being one of the shortest Avengers.
"In that case, what are we waiting for? Signed invitations? I say we send Loki home, and this time, we wrap in him in adamantium chains." Tony and Ultron headed towards the door, when Thor stepped in front, holding something in his fist. A glow seeped from between his fingers.
"Hold, friends. This time, Loki wields the power of two stones. However, I may have the counter to that." Opening his palm, Tony had to fight the urge to cover his eyes at the sight of the orange gemstone. It almost seemed to speak to him, and somehow, he felt like he could share his biggest secrets with it.
"This, my friends, is the Soul Gem, which I managed to swipe from Loki before his arrival on Midgard." Stark, who wanted nothing more than to take it to his lab and study it, couldn't help but blurt out, "What does this one do?"
There was a sheepish pause before Thor admitted, "I do not know. Most of the gem's abilities are self-evident." Stark had to admit that Thor was right; the Power Gem gave one strength, and the Mind Gem gave one power over the brain. But the soul gem?
"Maybe it can give an object a soul," Ultron chirped. He received two blank stares, making him shrug. Stark knew that he shouldn't have let Ultron watch Pinocchio so many times.
"We'll just have to figure it out as we go along. That method has always worked for me." Thor and Ultron didn't share his enthusiasm for test runs, but they couldn't think of any alternatives.
Author's Notes:
Well, we're basically in the home stretch now. Did Loki's inclusion surprise you?