So it goes with saying that only things I own with any connection to MARVEL I bought on Ebay or Etsy. MARVEL COMICS & MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE are their own creatures and I have nothing to do with either of them aside from the fact I enjoy reading or watching them, and am grateful for the ability to play in their world. I claim nothing, and I receive nothing for this, expect the pleasure of putting something out into the world.
You can also find this story on ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN under the same title and pen name along with a place to post suggestions.
Don't forget to check out the Photobucket album listed on my profile page too. (My apologies. I didn't realize FF removed the links. I have corrected the problem in what way I can, so for those who like the visual additions, feel free to check them out.)
DAY FOUR
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1017 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK
W 72ND ST
AR(NORA)
We came in from the north side, taking the section of 65th St. that went through the park, and passed under the Delacorte clock. Dancing animals, playing music while the world went to hell. That made me mad, as if it was audacity and not gears that made that machine continue on, the hippo and bear twirling to their tune without any acknowledgement to the city's suffering.
It turned out that letting the world make me mad would be very useful in the minutes that followed.
Duncan barely acknowledged the clock, being the saner of the two of us. I know he heard it though. It was surprisingly hard to miss in the silence between the explosions.
We made it as far as beyond the first gated pathway by the seabird house before we ran into trouble. Or maybe I should say trouble ran into us, when it's crashing chariot clipped one of the center turrets of the Arsenal building, and threw bricks and debris in our direction.
Duncan simply reacted. He either didn't know, or didn't care that an Asgardians body is able to withstand much more than a human's. Either way he just dropped down into a kneel and wrapped as much of his mass around me as he could to shield me from the falling chunks.
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1017 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK
W 72ND ST
DUNCAN AKA ALEXANDER
Even though it didn't break or puncture anything, when the only thing shielding me is the padding of a hoodie, the feel of a brick's edge finding the gap between my ribs really hurt, the one that landed on the back of my calf didn't feel good either.
That didn't stop me from getting us moving again though. I dropped the arm that had been holding her legs out from under them. I'll need it to hold a weapon now, and at this point carrying her will only slow us down. She understands that too because she doesn't miss a step when we both start running.
The cover sucks but it's better than nothing. The closest thing that offers any security is the decorative archway over one of the entrances. It's not attached to anything, but on each side it has a pair of double pillars that are made of brick. It will at least make taking a shot at us difficult, if they take it.
"Hey, you okay?" She nods, but smirks too because that's sort of a dumb question. We almost just got ran over by an alien in a space glider after all. "Yeah." She bobs her head again a bit breathlessly from her pillar, since we can't both fit behind the same one. Then her words roll right onto "You're hurt."
She's worried about me. That's cute, considering less than a hour ago she tried to murder me in a hole. "I'm fine..." Even though I'm talking I'm keeping myself busy, my hands are doing a quick inventory of my weapons. "Nothing got broke or cut." While my eyes are scanning the area.
I'm hoping to god I'm wrong about this, but I really imagine I'm not. An alien army, is still an army. And there may be a massive cultural rift between whatever those things are, and earth. But army implies unit, and units imply groups. Groups imply whoever piloted that thing might have buddies that are going to show up soon.
"You got your knife still?" She nods way too hard, her own eyes picking up on the movement in mine and looking around. Untrained as she may have been kept, you can't hang out with people like us and not pick up on a few things. "Good. Here." She fumbles the catch a little, but palms the sheathed blade easily enough.
Ideally I don't want her to have to use them at all, but I'd much rather she have the option. That also leaves me with two knifes of my own, and two guns. I'm keeping those. Not because I don't trust her with them, but I know firearms wasn't something they taught her much of, so that makes me the better shot, and my ammo supply is limited.
Now that only leaves us with two more problems. There's not a convenient door within range we can take cover in, and a fucking alien just landed on the roof behind us!
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1018 HOURS
SANCTUARY
CHITAURI SPACE
THE OTHER
I saw her. The setting and her attire have changed, but I recognize the woman's face I can see through the Chitauri's neural link.
I saw her kneeling at the Asgardians feet, sobbing, and strike at him. The fact that he did return that blow, and the expression on his face told me all I needed to know. She matters to him, whoever she was. I have no trust in this would be king's honor. A man who wishes for a kingdom ultimately wishes for power, and the scepter is a great source of it.
A man is creative and greedy as he would try to keep it, but perhaps his desire for her will make his cooperation more certain.
If they can not deliver her, perhaps the master would accept my suggestion and send Nebula. She would enjoy breaking the Asgardians whore. It would be a fitting reward for his arrogance and disrespect toward her.
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1018 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK
W 72ND ST
AR(NORA)
"STAY!...STAY!" There's a gap in there that may have been a third word, but it got drowned out by the sound of brick exploding behind my head, and the sight of the same happening behind his. I didn't plan to run, but I'm not offended by his order because feeling brick dust sprinkle down on my shoulder from the gap between the pillars is really disconcerting.
I do take comfort in the fact I can see him working on a solution. They're still firing at us, but he's counting the seconds between the shots. I imagine he's smart enough to know an energy weapon has a lot more ammo than a traditional gun, but it still takes time to fire the next blast.
"5th and 59th!" He shouts over the report of the blast, before he twists around and fires a few rounds up at our enemy on the roof behind us.
5th and 59th? That's a street? His window closes and he ducks back behind the very relative safety of the pillars, swearing in frustration, before growling out the words again. And then I get it. That's not a street, there's a subway entrance there.
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1019 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK
W 72ND ST
DUNCAN AKA ALEXANDER
Oh, she's 'so thrilled' about that idea. That's at least 5 blocks away from us, with questionable coverage. But we have aliens with ray guns behind us, these pillars are dying fast, and I can't provide cover fire across the entire sky! Not to mention we're right next to a zoo that I know has bears and snow leopards! Two things I also really don't want to fight!
"I can..." Ah mother fucker, that blast made debris clip my ear! "...control a subway tunnel, not a sky! We gotta move!"
She doesn't like the idea, but I can see her agree. Just like I can still see the fear. We're about to abandon our cover and expose ourselves to a force with better fire power. She's not stupid, and not dumb enough to pretend she's too brave for fear, but she's ready. There's this look in her eye, this familiar acceptance of violently inevitability. I don't know where the hell that's coming from, but I'm gonna take it.
"5th & 59th..." I remind her as I quickly put a fresh clip in the gun for this, pocketing the partial one for later. "...stay low, hug the trees, and move fast." And here is where I see the realization creep in. "You hit that subway, don't stop, I'll catch up with you." And the worry.
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1019 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK
W 72ND ST
AR(NORA)
He just told me to leave him behind! I knew that he was going to provide the cover fire, but there's something else in that sentence, and it sounds too much like sacrifice. "Alex..."
I've been using the name, Duncan, for him. Both in thoughts and in words because it was the one I knew him by longest. I know his real name though, not the alias belonging to an assignment. He risked his life to give me his real name, and he's about to risk his life again. The least I can do is start using it.
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1020 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK
W 72ND ST
DUNCAN AKA ALEXANDER
Alex... God damn it, why'd she have to say my name like that,say it all?! I liked it better when she said my name with hate, not like she can see the sword coming down. "No. Later, save that for later."
Though I'm not gonna lie, I like that she cares. That despite every horrible thing I was forced to do to her, she still thinks my life is worth worrying about. "I'll keep you safe, I'll keep my word. You gotta trust me, okay?"
I get another sharp nod to that, her lips trying their best at a quick smile as she changes her grip on those knives, and shifts into a better position to sprint when I start counting down from five.
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1020 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK
W 72ND ST
AR(NORA)
I heard two shots, and then in the middle of the third one I heard a screeched roar. He hit it. I was happy about that enough to laugh but I was also busy making my feet hit the pavement as fast as I could.
It wasn't fast enough. I realized that half a second late too late as the remains of a vendor cart came into view. It was mixed in with the wreckage of half an alien craft, and the limping shape of said alien with his weapon in his hand!
I managed to clear the pathway and the set of park benches to find cover behind another pillar before it took a shot at me, but Alex was three seconds behind me, and he was only able to reach the cover of a cement eagle!
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1020 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK
W 72ND ST
DUNCAN AKA ALEXANDER
"Go, keep going!" She can see me. All panic and concern in her eyes at the sight of me curling in to avoid the debris. So much for promises. It's not enough cover, we both know it. The head of the eagle cracking makes that even more clear.
I'm screwed, but she's got a good chance now. Where she is, she has a corridor of pillars surrounding her, and if she just keeps running like hell, they should have a really hard time getting a shot through those!
I just need to give her an opening, and 'he' give me an opportunity to do it. He only has one firearm by the looks of it. Some sort of spear gun, and when he fires at her pillar I give him a few rounds of my own. It doesn't stop his shot, but it throws it off. The blast killing a trash can and not her.
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1021 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK
W 72ND ST
AR(NORA)
I lived among the Northmen, the Vikings. I was a goddess, a holy woman, a healer to them. I was also a woman of the North. I didn't leave on the raids, or seek out the fights, but that didn't mean I never learned how. I knew the weight of a knife in my hand, and axe, and a shield.
The blast just took out a trash can, and the round metal cover of it, is pinwheeling to a stop within my grasp. It takes me three deep breathes before I make myself lean out to snatch it up, grateful and offended that the alien didn't bother to take the opportunity. One of the three legs is quickly wrapped in my hand while the second one is gripped just as tightly in the curve of my arms.
It's not a shield worthy of a shield wall, it barely covers the fore arm holding it, but it's something I know how to wield. It's not the only thing I know how to wield. I'm surrounded by bushes.
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1021 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK
W 72ND ST
DUNCAN AKA ALEXANDER
The damn thing roared, but that's not what caught my attention. It was the chunk of what looked like a broken park bench recoiling off its helmet. Did she just throw a board at an ALIEN! What the hell is she doing?!
Jesus christ, this woman sucks at running away! I'm trying to draw its fire so she can run the hell away. Then I realize something, she is doing the same thing. Firing another shot at it makes it turn its attention back to me, and this time she throughs at a piece of metal at it! Like were playing a fucked up game of monkey in the middle!
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1022 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK
W 72ND ST
AR(NORA)
That caught its attention, but those consequences turned out worse than I anticipated. Its next shot took out most of my pillar, making me think it might have turned up the power of its blaster. It barely gives me time to shake my senses back in place and take cover behind another pillar. It's chasing me into arm's reach and starting its attack.
That's okay, because that's what I wanted. These things may be unfamiliar, but they're bipedal creatures, and I know how to fight those.
It tries to swing at me, the blade at the end of it coming uncomfortably close to my face as I duck and dodge, then counter attack by stepping in and shield bashing it on the left side of its head. I don't stop there, and immediately force my swing to change direction. Punching it in the helmet compacted my knuckles but I let the momentum slide my fist off its face before I go back for another shield blow.
That one doesn't succeed though because it catches my arm, and plants its large foot into my stomach, kicking me back in a sloppy roll across the landscaping.
The spears is the next thing to touch the ground, half an inch inside the space my head rolled away from when I dodged, with a smile. I'm pulling a page from the black widow's book. This bipedal, and she knows how to fight those better than I do. It's tall, but it had to lean down to try and stab me in the face, and that brought its neck in reach of my legs.
Wrapping my thighs around its throat, I let it try to haul my weight back up, before I shift all of mine to the side and throw it off its center of gravity, taking both of us in the roll.
It knocked the wind out of me a little, the combining force of its weight and the impact with the ground. That didn't stop me from grabbing the ornamental ridge of its helmet and yanking its head to the side. It didn't stop me from stabbing it in the throat several times either with serrated knife Alex gave me, and shoving a piece of infused wood inside.
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1023 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK
W 72ND ST
DUNCAN AKA ALEXANDER
I was equal parts furious and afraid when she started fighting that thing. I couldn't get a clean shot to help her, and she wasn't even supposed to put herself in danger for me in the first place!
Then it switched to just whistle worthy levels of impressed.
She rolled off that thing like it was nothing, her skin and her clothes a little worse for wear with a few dirt smears and scrapes, and kicked its grasping hand back to the dirt, where it started to weave into the dirt! The thing was snarling and wheezing in frightened rage as the branch in its neck started sprouting leaves, and what looked like bloody roots forced their way out of its chest!
She just planted a tree in the damn thing! Holy shit! She's amazing!
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1023 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK
W 72ND ST
AR(NORA)
"Are you okay?" I know that look, and the mindset that always went with it. He was just standing there with wide eyes that barely blinked, only seeming half aware of my approach or the knotted piece of wood I picked up along the way.
The look of full awareness didn't kick back in until I spoke, and then he just looked amusingly confused. "Yeah I'm fine. I should be asking you that."
"Are you sure?" The look of nervousness appears next, but not because of my sentence. I lifted my hand up, and his feet carried him back a step. "Yeah, I'm sure."
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1023 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK
W 72ND ST
DUNCAN AKA ALEXANDER
I wasn't trying to, it was just animal level self preservation that made me back away. It recognizes her touch as something dangerous, a bit like an animal would probably recognize the danger of a poisonous frog. But she's not a frog, she's the lady who just fought an alien to keep me safe, and I just made her look sad.
"It's okay. " She makes that smile pull higher at the corners, as if that makes it hurt less. "I can shut it off. I won't hurt you. I can heal you if you're hurt."
She can heal me? Of course she can. She was doing that to Barton in the woods. I want it, hell we both know that. My face is an open book, and it's got that printed on the title page, I want that so bad. But I remember her energies being tapped by two, and as much as I want her to fix me, it's better that we don't waste any of it while we still might have to fight.
There's also the fact that I can see the flash coming half a second too late to start moving us out of the way. Or, me, really, when blast two completely skips her and almost separates my leg from the rest of my body! REALLY?!
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1024 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK
W 72ND ST
AR(NORA)
The first shot is from the pathway roof. I heard the alien land right before the glow of the blast illuminated Alex's hoodie and drilled into his collarbone. The second one came from the ground, and it tore up his leg from the knee down!
I screamed his name just like a did Clint's in the woods, and tried to catch him. His leg was ruined! It couldn't hold his weight, and his hands pulled me down with him is he fell. Unlike in the forest I didn't have the same options. There was no sniper far enough away for me to drag him to safety and try to heal him. All I could do was stop the worst of the bleeding of before their presence demanded my attention.
There was four, five, seven aliens around me as I rose back to my feet and stood on stone pavers.
There's trees and bushes all around me, and animals. But the only things in the circle around me is the branch in my hand and Alex. If he doesn't bleed out first, he will certainly die if I try to borrow some of his energy. I don't want him to die.
So I choose the branch, and make it a cudgel of thorns.