Once again, thanks to everyone reading. I hope you had a fun Valentine's Day!
Guest: Sorry, Lex Luthor won't be appearing in this story. He's stuck at DC world for now. :P
"Considering that I have your infinity stone, you should be a lot more worried than you are," Natasha calmly remarked, nodding to the red stone that powered Loki's scepter. Loki, unflappable as always, gave her a smile.
"You figured out that was an Infinity Gem. Well, the Power Gem, to be precise. If you're so confident about your new-found invincibility, try it." He spread his arms out, leaving himself open. Natasha didn't believe for a moment that Loki would actually let her blast him with his own scepter, but at the same time, she didn't see the harm in trying.
Bracing herself for the potential recoil, Natasha pointed the glowing scepter at Loki and willed it to fire a blast from the Power Stone. Almost to her surprise, it worked, and a concentrated blast of crimson light spewed from the tip of the center. However, with godly reflexes, Loki teleported out of the way, appearing only a few inches from where he had last stood.
"Having power is a fine thing," Loki began loftily. "But it matters not if you can't even hit your target." As he spoke, he quickly teleported again, and Captain America's shield embedded itself into the dirt where the god had been.
"Avengers, he can't dodge all of us. Combine your attacks." The next few moments were a flurry of activity. If Loki wasn't avoiding one of Hawkeye's arrows, he was outmaneuvering one of Wanda's spells. The god didn't even break a sweat, and Natasha was forced to consider the possibility that the Loki they were fighting wasn't even the real one, but an illusion.
"Thinking in the middle of a heated battle? I'm disappointed." Loki's bored tone cut through Natasha's thoughts. When had he gotten so close? Before she could react, he reached for the scepter –
An energy bolt slammed against his hand, and a scowling Loki was forced to step back. "You little witch. You were waiting for me to attempt to snatch the scepter." He addressed Wanda, who stood behind Natasha, hands at the ready in case she needed to fire off some more projectiles.
"I don't know you personally, but letting you get your hands on that stone isn't in my best interest, not if I want to find my brother." Loki shook his head slowly.
"I care not for your sibling; I have enough problems in that area as it is. But tell you what, after I dispose of you, I'll make sure to find him straightaway, so that I can send him after you." Wanda's mouth tightened as she thrust her hands forward, sending another magical bolt his way. This time, Loki merely put up a green shield to block the attack.
"You'll need another century before you can match your magic against mine," Loki sneered as he ducked under the vibranium shield once more. He retaliated by teleporting behind the captain and punching him upside the head. Steve tumbled down to one knee, but Hawkeye shot off a round of defensive arrows to force the god away from the injured Steve.
"Did you really think that would work?" Loki laughed, and then stopped when he realized that one of the arrows hadn't missed – it had struck the upper-side of Loki's right forearm. With a strangled yell, he ripped it out of his arm and threw it down on the ground, but that one moment of pause was all Natasha needed to point the weapon and Loki and fire. Loki looked up just as the blast was about to knock him down for the count.
But the attack that was meant for Loki smashed into another object and dissipated. Widow's first thought was that Loki had somehow countered with some form of energy attack, but her hunch proved to be less than accurate. Her eyes met a pair of hardened ones. A female warrior garbed in silver armor stood between her and Loki, and judging from the smoke billowing off her shield, Widow decided that it was safe to assume it was the mysterious warrior who had stopped the blast.
"So Loki finally found himself a partner," Widow murmured. The stranger frowned at Widow's words.
"I know not of what you speak, human, but I do know that any who would dare to attack Father Odin will answer to my blade." With a smirking Loki as a backdrop, the warrior lunged at Widow, swinging her glimmering sword. Her speed was inhuman; even Widow, with her superhuman reflexes, was barely able to dodge the blade – and it still cut some strands of her red hair.
"I'm guessing you're Asgardian, though I suppose your speech patterns made that obvious," Widow stated, almost out of breath as she jumped over another sword swing and kicked her opponent in the head. Even while wielding the Power Stone, her opponent only briefly faltered. "The only question is: why? Were you two jailmates? Is this a Bonnie and Clyde situation?" Her opponent feinted with her sword before lashing out, elbowing Natasha in the face. Widow's head rang for a moment; fortunately, Steve took that moment to wedge himself, shield first, in front of the warrior's sword.
"Hand over the stone, and I, Lady Sif, will show you mercy." Natasha and Steve quickly traded a glance; Thor was very boastful about Asgard, and as such, all the Avengers were pretty knowledgeable about many of its inhabitants. Wasn't Sif supposed to be one of the good guys?
"We can't do that, ma'am," Steve responded firmly. "And I think you'll agree, once we tell you –" Cap's hurried words ended in a gasp as Loki teleported beside him and brought a fist against his ribs.
"Do not let them deceive you. Demons such as these will attempt to wedge a wall of mistrust between comrades with their foul words." Sif nodded grimly, and Natasha decided that Loki was most likely using some sort of magic spell to manipulate Sif's mind, or at least her eyes.
Fortunately, Widow thought to herself, we have a magician of our own. And she allowed herself a brief smile.
The buildings all passed by as a blur. Ultron and Iron Man had their boosters on full throttle to keep up with Thor, who filled them in as they headed to their friends.
"So Loki pulled a Jedi Mind trick and fooled everyone into thinking he's Odin, and now he's ordering them to collect all the Infinity Stones, which he'll then presumably hand over to Thanos. Does that about cover it?" Thor shook his head at Tony's sarcastic words.
"No, friend Tony, it goes even further than that. My brother has also convinced Asgard that I myself have been bewitched by Thanos, and that I am to be subdued as well." Thor's grip on Mjolnir tightened. "Even the fair Lady Sif and the Warriors Three would not believe my earnest words."
Ultron, tapping into the nearby satellites, was able to get a visual on the other Avengers, who were fighting Sif at that very moment. "Hey, once we knock Loki for a loop, his spell should wear off, and then the others will see him for the sheep in wolfs clothes that he is." As he spoke, his heat sensors picked up three incoming signals.
Before he could get a warning out, a spear shot from under them and pierced the center of Iron Man's chest. Ultron watched in horror as his father yanked the spear out. "Father, don't! Your heart –"
"Is perfectly fine," Tony finished. "Thank goodness I finally got around to removing that shrapnel, eh?" Ultron nodded, embarrassed that he had forgotten in the heat of the moment. Still, whoever had thrown that weapon had a lot to answer for. Thor beat him to it, however, shooting a lightning bolt down between the two buildings that the spear had allegedly originated.
On cue, three winged horses flew into the air, and by the look on Thor's face, Ultron had a hunch that he recognized the trio riding the flying beats. The one in front, who could easily be described as handsome with his golden hair and chiseled face, pointed his sword at Thor.
"Thor, please tell me that you have come to your senses. I think of you as a brother, and have no wish to smite you. But I would also never disobey a direct order from the Allfather. Hand over the stone." Thor's face turned very grim.
"You will have to pry it from my cold fingers, friend Fandral. The stone is far too powerful to be given to the likes of Loki." Fandral sighed theatrically.
"And once again, you speak utter nonsense, not that I expected anything else. Thanos has his hands deep inside you, but I don't mean to let him keep you. En guarde!" Fandrall, using one hand, tightened the reign, and the white horse swooped towards Thor.
Ultron wasn't worried about Thor at all, especially if half the stories he had read were in any way true, but he had to make sure that his father was OK. He spied Tony firing a small missile at a second horse, ridden by a grim-looking figure in black. The silent man cut the projectile in half with an oversized axe, and didn't even flinch at the explosion the split missile spewed.
Ultron was fortunate that his sensors were on high alert, or he may not have noticed the spiked steel club that almost slammed him in the face. He dodged, before berating himself. His body was made of vibranium. Some blunt metal weapon couldn't even scratch him.
His opponent, that aside, didn't seem very threatening anyway. The other two looked and sounded like warriors; Ultron's foe was, quite frankly, overweight, and had a face like Santa Claus – only the beard was a gaudy orange color.
The man was also plainly gaping at him. "What manner of metallic being are you? I have never seen the like." Ultron was all ready to respond, but the man forged on ahead. "It matters not. All beings, be they flesh and blood or otherwise, quake at the mention of Volstagg!" Ultron wanted to mention that the only one who seemed to be trembling was Volstagg himself. Or perhaps it was the horse, buckling under its rider's weight.
"I've never heard of you before," Ultron confessed, and Volstagg puffed up even more than he already was.
"You must have been born yesterday," was the indignant response. "My heroics are spread across the nine realms like a wildfire, don't you know?" Ultron was starting to feel that the conversation was just a ploy to buy time while Sif and Loki stole back the Power Stone. Shrugging, Ultron fired a repulsar blast at the horse. Encumbered by its rider, the horse was unable to dodge, and plummeted to the street below.
"I will destroy you for this affront!" Volstagg howled. "After, of course, I tend to my faithful steed." Ultron wondered at the authenticity of that threat. But thinking about that oaf for another nanosecond would just be a waste of time. He had to go see how his father was doing.
He needn't have worried. His father flew towards him, holding his unconscious opponent over his shoulder. Ultron quickly put a look of pure serenity on his metal face.
Tony deposited his foe on the nearest building before pointing at Ultron. "You were totally worried, weren't you?"
"Oh shut up."
Tony almost certainly would have continues his verbal teasing, but Thor thankfully chose that moment to return, also holding his fallen adversary. Thor did not look pleased.
"You won already?" Tony marveled. "I didn't even hear any thunder." Thor looked insulted.
"Of course. I would never unleash the full strength of Mjolnir on an ally. I merely subdued him with physical strength." Tony and Ultron both stared at the painful looking bruise on Fandrall's handsome face.
"Uh, yeah, Thor, you sure went easy on him." Tony patted Thor on the shoulder, before grabbing Fandrall and dumping the body on the same rooftop.
"How do we know they won't just wake up and attack us again? That would get annoying pretty fast." Ultron had the feeling that Loki wouldn't stand around and wait for them as they re-fought the same opponents.
"I plan to defeat Loki quickly. Hopefully, by the time they awake, the battle will be long over. After all, we have strength in numbers."
Ultron, who had turned his attention back to the Loki fight, decided that Thor must have jinxed it. "I wouldn't be so sure…"
If Natasha hadn't been living through it moments ago, she wouldn't believe it. Most of the Avengers having trouble with a single Asgardian who wasn't named Thor sounded absurd. Yet Sif wielded her sword with the air of someone who had been in combat for over 100 years. She weaved around her opponents with a grace that Natasha was almost jealous of, but her body had enough muscle where she could even knock down Captain America.
Natasha had managed to "sting" her a few times with her Widow's Bites, but she couldn't even be sure that Sif felt them. It didn't help that Loki would once in a while step in to blast someone at the most inopportune moment. If only she could stall, perhaps Wanda could somehow undo whatever mind tricks Loki was using.
"I am honored that you would fight by my side," Sif thanked Loki as he fired an energy blast at Hawkeye, "But you needn't concern yourself with the likes of these." Loki smiled at her in what must have looked fatherly.
"I would never dream of abandoning any of my own," Loki spoke softly. "However, perhaps you are right. This battle has gone on far enough." Loki raised his head to shout to the skies, "Heimdall!" The next moment, a large rush of light and energy crashed into the ground. Even as Natasha shielded her eyes, she paled at what was to come.
On the ground, standing on top of the newly tattooed symbol, stood what must have been dozens of Asgardian warriors. Natasha's heart sunk, and she saw Wanda sink to her knees. Clint cursed nearby. The odds were stacked against them, there was no sign of Iron Man or Ultron, and she knew that Loki could summon even more Asgardians if the need arose. Worse, there were too many Asgardians for Wanda to use her magic on.
"I don't think they'll be giving us any more trouble," Loki smirked.
Author's Notes:
Apologies to fans of the Warriors Three, as I kinda gave them the short end of the stick...