Imitations Carved Deep: Chapter 19
I didn't even realize until I wrote this chapter, that we are actually pretty close to the end. Gonna be wrapping this up soon.
Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own them...so sad.
Warnings: Severe angst. Torture (in the past). Implied rape (in past). Don't read if any of these trigger.
Over
Once the brothers were gone, the Avengers traipsed back to the common room and sat.
"And now…we wait." Steve rolled his eyes at the inventor, but didn't say anything. Fury growled something to Natasha and Clint before barking at all of them to stay put. He then swept from the room, leaving them in silence.
They each went into their own little worlds, spreading out but not leaving the room. The minutes ticked by slowly, and at the half hour mark Natasha was counting to ten in every language she knew to prevent herself from stabbing Stark in the knee. He had started pacing.
They all jumped to their feet, or stopped pacing, when the Avenger Crisis alarm went off.
"Sir, there has been an incident at a SHIELD facility in New Mexico. It appears Loki has stolen the scepter being housed there." A collective shout of "What?!" rang through the room covering up Clint's "I Knew It!" Steve only hesitated for a second.
"Everybody suit up! Hawkeye, Black Widow get the Quinjet-"
"That won't be necessary, Sirs. He has just arrived on the balcony." They all spun around as fast as they could, and Tony's suit started flying towards him. Sure enough, there standing on the balcony, was a manic looking Loki holding the scepter. The man before them looked nothing like the regal-despite-still-being-injured Asgardian that had left with Thor. No, this Loki looked like hell and like he was going to bring hell down on all of them.
Finally, Stark's suit finished coming together and he lifted his palm blasters.
"Well, Rock of Ages, didn't think we'd be meeting again so soon. Figured you'd rot in prison for a couple centuries and the fortieth generation of Avengers would have to deal with you." Tony wasn't sure what it was, but something was off about all of this. Loki's grin split his face, and they were all having flashbacks.
"I'm glad to have exceeded your expectations then, Stark. You know," Loki twirled the scepter around in his hand. "You still owe me that drink." Loki stepped forward and then winced. He paused and Bruce saw a surge emit from the scepter, but it didn't come out as a blast towards them. No, it traveled up Loki's arm. Once that happened, the Asgardian straightened and smiled again.
Bruce caught Natasha's eye and knew she saw it too. Loki was somehow getting strength from the scepter. Dr. Banner tried to slowly back out of the room, before the Hulk made his entrance.
"Ah, ah, ah, Dr. Banner. I'd rather you stay right where you are."
"Loki, why are you doing this?" A sharp eyebrow raised at Dr. Banner's question.
"Why wouldn't I is a better question. I don't like being humiliated or defeated by mere mortals. I'm here to rectify that and get a little satisfaction at seeing you all kneel at my feet."
"Loki, you're brother will be here soon, and you know he's going to kick your ass, just like last time." Loki growled at Black Widow.
"He's not my brother!" Tony smirked and snorted.
"Bet you get really tired of saying that, don't you, Calder?" 'Loki' froze.
"What did you just say, Stark?" Iron Man took a step closer at the same time Calder did. He was going to try to keep the villain's full attention on himself, to hopefully give Cap and Barton time to get their shield and arrows.
"Oh I think you heard me just fine, Calder. It must get really frustrating saying that and only having people believe it to be a temper tantrum, when in reality, it's the complete truth. Thor isn't your brother. He's Loki's."
None of them knew what to do when Calder started laughing. He wrapped an arm around his stomach and doubled over, all while still keeping the scepter trained on them. Steve heard a very quiet noise coming down the hallway and peeked to see Dummy approaching with his shield in the robot's claw. Steve held a hand out and just before Calder straightened up again, managed to get a grip on it.
"You found her, my lovely Kira. It figures that you all of people would. Did you take advantage of her in return for giving her shelter?" Whatever was funny to Calder before was long gone, as rage suddenly filled the man's face.
"You know my reputation. You tell me." Tony was not expecting the all out attack that Calder threw at him, when he continued his distracting. He suddenly found himself on the receiving end of blow after blow and was barely able to block them. Despite having all of his attention on Stark, Calder was still able to block the bullets Black Widow was seeing his way.
Cap threw his shield and it clipped Calder on the side of his head. The man didn't even pause, but he grew more frustrated and took an opening to send a blast at Steve. Cap was knocked to his knees, but Barton took a shot as he had finally gotten his hands on his arrows. Calder only just managed to knock it out of the way with the scepter. He yelled in frustration and aimed to blast Black Widow next, when they were all blinded by a sudden flash of light.
In the few seconds it took for the Avengers' vision to clear, Calder turned towards the light and scowled. There before him, stood Thor. Loki was blocked from Calder's vision, which the Trickster intended to take full advantage of.
"You!" Calder snarled at Thor, and it took the God of Thunder a second to throw off the pain at having his brother look at him so. It was not his brother across from him, but Calder, the traitor and murderer.
"You have impersonated my brother long enough, Calder. Take off his face and fight me with your own." Calder smirked with Loki's face and Thor had to reign in his temper.
"I don't think so. I'd rather see your face as you bleed out beneath me and look into his." With that, Calder launched himself at Thor in much the same way he did to Tony earlier. As before, Natasha and Clint were shooting at Calder, hoping to either distract him or get in a lucky shot. Thor was holding his own quite well, but Calder was fighting with a ferocity unlike he'd ever seen.
While Calder was engaged, Loki snuck around to Bruce who was trying to stay calm in the back. Needless to say it wasn't working.
"Bruce, you need to leave. If the Hulk gets unleashed here, one of your friends will get hurt. I will not have that happen, and I will not have you hate yourself for the rest of your life." Dr. Banner gave a shaky nod and after what Loki supposed was to be an encouraging pat on the back, the good doctor retreated swiftly. Loki took a deep breath. That's one large hazard out of the way.
He scowled at the space they were in. It was no place to battle. It was too small, confined, and with seven of them all together… Loki needed to end this now. Just as he thought it, Calder gave a mighty bellow and released a spell onto the Avengers, sans Thor. They were all frozen in space and could not move. Loki was able to cast the counter spell in the knick of time, but his eyes widened in surprise. That spell was extremely advanced and Calder would never have been able to accomplish it on his own. Also, the counter spell Loki had done to end Calder's curse took away his power from Calder, so how…
Then he saw what the other Avengers had noticed earlier: the surge from the scepter through Calder. The man was gaining his strength from the scepter. Loki knew now that it wasn't just a blasting weapon, but he had more pressing things to deal with. Later. He would deal with that later. First things first, he had to stop Calder from killing Thor. Speaking of which-
Thor cried out in pain as Calder managed to stab him in the shoulder. The blow was enough to drive the God of Thunder to his knees. Thor tried to swing Mjolnir, but it was his dominant arm that had taken the hit, and Loki could see right away that his brother would not be able to react fast enough. Calder could see it too. The villain smirked and raised the scepter for the killing blow.
"Calder!" The man impersonating Loki stopped at the voice and turned. Before him stood his beloved Kira, holding out her hands, beseeching him. Once Kira had his attention, she called for him again. "Calder…my love, please. Leave this." Calder dropped the scepter so it pressed against Thor's neck, daring him to move, all the while his eyes soaked up Kira's visage.
"I cannot. He has hurt us both too many times to count. Can't you see!" Thor winced as the point of the scepter dug in to his flesh. "I'm doing this for you!" Kira shook her head and stepped closer.
"No, Calder. You are doing this for you. He is not worthy of your time! I am here now. Let us leave this place." Calder's eyes suddenly narrowed in suspicion.
"I wanted to leave with you before, but you refused. You let those disgusting monsters take advantage of you, and I had to teach you a lesson. Then when I gave you a way out, you spat at me." Kira clenched her jaw and stepped closer until she was within touching distance of the villain.
While she kept Calder's attention on her face, one palm was aimed towards the frozen Avengers. She was silently unweaving the spell Calder had cast and was almost there. Kira carefully laid her other hand on Calder's arm.
"I was confused, Calder. I had been hurt and disoriented and dealing with the betrayal of my family. Then Thanos…" Kira shuddered and winced for dramatic affect. It worked. Calder's expression softened, and he turned more fully towards her, causing the scepter to pull back from Thor just enough.
Kira finished the spell, freeing the Avengers then turned her palm towards Thor and blasted him a safe distance away from Calder. The villain was frozen in shock for the two seconds all of Kira's magic took, but then he lost it.
Calder bellowed and slammed the scepter into Kira's temple. He grabbed ahold of Kira's arm, dragging her to his chest. She was disoriented from the blow and couldn't fight as he flipped her around so his chest pressed against her back and the scepters blade cut into her throat.
"I loved you. We were going to rule Asgard together and burn Midgard to the ground. Thor and the Allfather and the Allmother would have licked the dirt from our boots. We would have ruled," Calder hissed in her ear. "But I guess you are too much of a sentimental whore. You fell right back into their arms as soon as they smiled at you, didn't you!" By the end of the rant, Kira was struggling against Calder's hold. The scepter seemed to be interfering with her magic, blocking her from using it.
"Calder! Let her go!" Kira's eyes flicked to where Tony had his arms raised and ready to blast as soon as he got an opening. The other Avengers, likewise had their weapons at the ready.
"No! She is mine! She always has been!"
"Calder, release my sister this instant! If you loved her then you would not hurt her!" Thor stood and held Mjolnir in his other hand, already starting to swing it 'round. Kira managed to hiss out a few words.
"What did you say?" Calder slid the side of his face forward against her own, so his ear was closer to her mouth.
"I said," she grunted, "that I don't belong to anyone." She spat the last word and then did the only thing she could. Kira turned her head, causing the blade to cut her skin, and bit Calder's ear clean off.
The villain screamed in pain and pulled back enough for Tony to get in a shot. The blast from Iron Man's suit was true and hit Calder directly in the shoulder, burning through the leather and muscles and tendons. The problem…was that Calder still had a hold of Kira.
As Calder stumbled back, he dragged Kira with him. Kira whipped her head around and saw that they were dangerously close to the edge of the outer balcony.
Despite the two excruciating wounds, Calder managed to straighten and fire back. It was then that Kira knew what she had to do. She had to separate Calder from the scepter or he would have a near endless supply of energy. Tears burned in her eyes, and she scowled at the inopportune timing. Now was not the time for fear. Now was the time to act.
Kira met her brother's eyes and tried to tell him how much she loved him. She looked once more on the Avengers, her friends, and took a deep breath.
Before Calder could get off another shot, Kira stomped on his foot and shoved her elbow into his ribs hard enough to crack two of them. The force was enough to send the villain toppling backwards and over the railing.
As Kira fell back with him, she couldn't stop the scream erupting from her throat.
Rather short...ends on a cliff hanger...sorry not sorry! *Runs away laughing maniacally.*
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