Author's Note: Hey! Hello readers. Here's the new chaper. Hope you enjoy.
Thor frowned when there was no response. "Heimdal! Open the Bifrost!" he repeated. He waited a while longer. "Maybe they're having a party and can't hear you." Darcy suggested. "Highly unlikely. Celebrations are usually held until after a victorious battle."
"Oh well. If you can't get this thing to Asgard can we keep it?" Thor stared at her. "What ever for?" he asked. "So we can sell it to the President of course! He must make like a billion dollars a day." she exclaimed. Jane rolled her eyes. "Darcy, the President only makes around $400,000 a year." "Wow. Well that really sucks. No wonder he looks so much older than he really is." She sighed and sat down in the truck.
Heimdal looked once more at Loki's retreating form then turned away. He grabbed his sword and pressed it into the proper slot, his shoulder still aching from his previous impact. The bridge opened, sending a bright flash of light to fill te darkness. Minutes later an angry-looking Thor appeared with a metal contraption behind him.
"Where have you been Heimdal?" he demanded. "I have been waiting for over an hour for you to respond." The Watcher retrieved his sword and sheathed it across his back. "My prince we do not have much time. The Other has arrived and is headed to the palace this very moment. He attacked me when he arrived which was why I was unable to open the Bifrost." Thor's eyes widened. "Truly?" Heimdal nodded.
"We must get this to the palace at once." the thunder-god said. "I think that is the least of our worries at the moment." Heimdal pointed to the still open portal spitting out thousands of Chitauri soldiers. Then it flickered for a moment and closed, having run out of power to stay active.
"We must destroy the creatures that have already arrived. I fear that when the Other gets his hands on the Tesseract he will unleash more of them against the other realms. As for us...I have no doubt that should we encounter any more of them we will not be able to hold out any longer."
Tony was in the middle of tinkering with his suit, wishing he was in his lab where there were many more materials at his disposal, when the first shouts began. He tossed his tools aside and rushed out into the corridor. Steve and Bruce followed him just as curious. The engineer grabbed the first person he saw and demanded to know what was going on.
"The Other has come! He will kill us all!" the man cried hysterically as he promptly sank to the floor, sobbing. Tony suited up and checked his energy levels. He looked over at the other two men and advised them to do the same. "Suit up guys. Looks like the dread hour is nigh." Bruce stuffed his hands in his pockets, nodding. "C'mon Bruce. If this s as big as we thought it would be then we're gonna need some 'Hulk Smash!' out there." Bruce sighed.
After they had prepared-Bruce still in his human form since he'd been afraid he would break something as Hulk-they went down to the ground floor of the palace to see a full-blown battle already being fought. It was painfully clear that the Asgardians were greatly out numbered, but they still fought on.
The three gathered Avengers joined the fight and began blasting Chitauri left and right. Then there was a flash of light and a moment of confusion as whole group of Chtauri shrank to charred bits of skin and dust. Ton glanced up and smiled when he saw Thor above them on a ledge blasting Chitauri with a metal cannon-like weapon.
"Hey! Tropic Thunder's here!" the inventor exclaimed. Steve frowned as he blocked a shot of energy with his shield. "What?" he called over. Tony rolled his eyes. "Sorry Father Time. I'll fill you in later!" Tony grunted as a creäture jumped onto his back. He tried to get up into the air and shake it off but it weighed him down. "JARVIS how's my power looking here? I need to put some extra thrust into the repulsors." There was no response.
"Greta. This is just perfect. Just when I really need you I get abandoned." he pouted. There was a slight burst of static and he smiled. "Hey JARVIS buddy you're back! Now I need you to tell me the condition of the suit." he ordered.
"Stark-" Static. "...are you?" Tony gaped at the voice. "FURY?!" he exclaimed. "Tis channel is private. Between me and my AI only." he snapped. He finally managed to throw the creäture from his suit and blasted it to pieces. He got himself into the air, ensuring that didn't happen again.
"Stark where the hell are you? You're-" More static interrupted the line. Tony sighed and flew closer to the Bifrost. Maybe being closer to it would help since it was connected to Midgard.
"Stark? Answer me dammit!" Fury fumed. "Hey there One Eyed Willy. Listen. I'm kinda in the middle of something here so I'm gonna need a minute." he replied. He stared in disbelief as a few of the dead Chitauri began to piece themselves back together and begin fighting again.
"Uh...something just happened. Gonna need a lot longer that a minute."
Loki stared at all of the building chaos around him. And he felt nothing. He didn't even look down at the soldier he'd just slain before moving on to the next. And the next. And the next...and the next... He was just so tired. He wanted this to be over so he could just...be.
He felt the Other summon his attention through the scepter he carried. He turned, knowing exactly where to look. He knew what was going to happen next. He knew what he had to do.
He turned just as the soldier slashed at him. The tip of his weapon sliced the mn's throat open easily. Loki resisted the urge to spit the blood from his mouth as it splashed on him. Some day that would be him. He spun around, suddenly dizzy. The smell of blood surrounded him. It was on him. Everywhere. He screwed his eyes shut and willed the images to go away.
He would not think of his time in those dungeons with those children. Their blood clawing its way toward him as he could only watch...hearing them scream.
He jerked as is arm came up suddenly against his will. He blocked the sword inches away from his chest and pushed it back. As its owner fell, he glanced over at the Other who was watching him. Anger flashed across his face for a moment. 'Focus.' the new look said, echoing in his mind.
Loki turned back to the fight and continued on.
Thor couldn't believe it as the Chitauri that had already been killed now rose again. But then he noticed tat the ones who had been killed the first time by the weapon, stayed down the second time they were killed. He continued firing. A sharp pain knocked him off the high vantage point he ad been using. He rolled to his feet and grabbed his hammer from where it hung from his waist. He slammed it into the ground, creating a shock wave that threw all the enemies advancing on him back.
He swung his hammer again, summoning bolts of lightning to rain down on his enemies. He whipped his head around and spotted Odin. The king was busy swinging his staff around, hitting Chitauri.
Thor looked up to see a red and gold suited Tony blasting the wretched creatures beneath him. The god looked up at the ledge from where he had been knocked down from. He had to get back to the weapon. He swung his hammer around by the strap and took off into the air. He landed beside the weapon and began using it again.
His body jerked as a sudden pulse of energy ripped through him. He staggered back, still firing the weapon. His head began to feel foggy and his muscles slowed following his commands.
He gasped as another pulse went through him bringing him to his knees. They were coming faster now. He tried to stand again, only to be pushed back down by the next wave. He looked out below him, and saw that his fellow soldiers were experiencing the same effects.
He groaned as it came again. He couldn't move. His body refused to obey him. And he feared that this was the end.
Loki stood beside the Other, watching as he continued on with the spell. The man was expected him to take over the spell while he continued on to lead his army.
He didn't even have enough magic left for a simple illusion. He couldn't do it. He knew he wouldn't be able to.
And then he felt the signal. "Trickster. It is time. Hold the spell." Loki gasped, pushing away. "No...I cannot. It is too much. I don't have enough magic left to-" "I have had enough of your excuses. Now maintain the spell or you will know a fate worse than death." he growled.
They had managed to get inside the palace, fighting their way further in. They had somehow managed to sneak past the majority of the Asgardian soldiers and were now facing a much smaller group they had managed to push back. Loki couldn't believe they had actually made it inside. He wanted to turn against the Other and stab him in the chest with the sharp point of the scepter, but a force greater than his own restrained him.
Loki shuddered as he felt the spell pushed onto him. The burden was almost too much for him to handle. It was too much. He could feel his reserves depleting rapidly. There was a growing pain in his abdomen. He ignored it and pushed on.
He felt the exact moment when his power ran out. The pain blocked out all other sensation, and he sobbed at te torture of it. He felt something wet drip down from his nose but made no motion to wipe it away. The action would require too much energy. Energy that he could not spare.
He was exhausted. Beyond that even. He lost his battle with trying to continue standing and dropped to his knees, his whole body shaking.
His eyes snapped open and he sucked in air. He hadn't even realized he'd stopped breathing. Then he felt the spell slipping away and had to halt his breathing to maintain it. His body fought him, but he could not stop. Deep down inside he wanted to live. No matter what he told himself, how much better it would be to just let go he still wanted to live god dammit!
Vaguely he remembered something his mother had told him as a young man, after his daughter had grown into her kingdom.
' "A sorcerer must never push their self past their magical limits before they are ready. The result is a guaranteed death, full of an agony one's body simply cannot hope to cope with. The very core will burn away to leave an empty vessel, poisoned and beyond hope of ever returning, no matter how generous Hel is feeling." '
Loki almost fell over when the Other placed a hand on his shoulder. He didn't fight as he was pulled to his feet. The Other sighed in disgust as the god sagged against him. He pushed him over to Thanos who gripped hs throat. The Other hissed at the action. "Leave him alive. I still need the Tessaract fool!"
Loki fell to his knees, no longer being supported when Thanos let him go. "Get up." he commanded, kicking his side. Loki groaned and struggled to his feet.
All around them lay twitching Asgardian soldiers and a few of the Chitauri who had also received the effects of the spell. Thanos teleported them to where Odin was rising to his feet along with a few other recovering soldiers. "Halt. Come no closer Other. Leave this realm." he said. Thanos smiled.
"Oh Allfather. Who are you to give orders in such a weakened state. Look around you. Your men have all been defeated and we stand victorious.
"Your Trickster shall lead us to the Tessaract and then we just might leave the rest of you alive." He gripped the back of Loki's neck and pulled him forward. "Lead." he snarled.
"Brother what have you done?" Thor asked, making his way down to them, weapon in hand. "Thor...I-" "Quiet! Now bring me to the Tessaract or feel my wrath." the Other said. Thor stepped forward with his hammer. "Unhand my brother. You've no right to do this. The Tessaract is not yours by right."
The Other smiled. "Neither is it yours." He waved his arm and a powerful blast of magic pushed them back.
"Now lead on Trickster. And perhaps I may let you live after I have what I came for."
Author's Note: So? Anything? Is it suspenseful enough? Or is it not all that great? Been feeling down lately and it may reflect in my writing. Sorry. Will try to be more up beat. But not yet. There's still the Tessaract to encounter again.