Link sat in the back of a small jet, holding a tablet which was currently showing him footage from WWII. The old war hero Captain America, apparently he was real not just a kind of mascot, fighting soldiers with some kind of energy weapons. He moved with a force clearly beyond any human, but Link's wasn't sure quite what the point was.
"Why show me this?" Link asked Agent Hill, "Even if he was real, guy has to be a hundred years old by now."
"He is, but he doesn't look like it. He crashed a Hydra jet and froze over. If a normal human did that, they'd just die, but an unexpected trait of the super soldier serum kept him alive. He didn't age for seventy years until we found him a couple months back. Since then he's been adjusting to the modern world," Hill explained.
Link looked up, "And… you're calling him in too? Shield thinks that's a good idea?"
"Nobody knows the upper limits of what either of you are capable of. Same thing can be said of Loki. Either one of you could be a match for him, or maybe he's too much for both of you combined. Director Fury is minimizing the risks."
Link sat back in his seat, "And what do you think?"
"Doesn't matter. It's not my call. Question is, what do you think?"
Link thought for a moment, looked back the screen for a moment, then said: "I think it's risky. If we had time to train together, it wouldn't matter who was stronger out of the three of us, Loki wouldn't stand a chance. But we probably won't have that kind of time, so instead, it's possible we'll get in each other's way trying to fight this god. We might be lowering our chance at victory, not raising it. I imagine that our good captain will realize the same."
"Shield's intel suggests that isn't likely. Captain Rodgers fought alongside a dozen soldiers, every one physically average for soldiers. He knows how to work with a strength disparity."
"So why do I get the impression you don't agree?" Link asked her.
"Not exactly… disagree. I do think you two can work together. It's just… I think the power disparity is greater than Shield will admit."
"Toward whom?"
"You. I watched you freeze over and lift a hundred tons of molten rock and throw it over fifty feet away. I've seen you behead a dragon our missiles couldn't scratch with a single swing of your sword. I don't think we need anyone else."
Link looked down, he didn't like divulging his secrets but… this agent had too high and opinion of him, "Agent Hill, your missiles didn't do anything to that dragon because you didn't hit its weak point. Plus I used magic. I can't lift anything nearly as heavy as that lava monster was on my own either. I have these:" he reached into his inventory and pulled out the golden gauntlets, "they brace my arms against incoming force, but they don't increase my output. It means I can lift at least ten times what I can punch or swing a sword. It's useful, but it has limits. Everything I do has limits. I'm just very very good at playing to their strengths."
"So, what, you think the Captain is stronger?" she sounded incredulous.
"I'm saying I don't know. I don't know what his strengths or skills are. I know even less about Loki than I do him. I'm saying you seem to think this is a done deal, that I'll walk up and beat a god with minimal effort, when let me tell you: I've fought gods before. That's a really hard fight to win. I'm saying: you should be prepared for what happens if I lose. If we lose."
"If you lose, then there's nothing left."
"If that were true, humanity wouldn't have lasted this long."
Agent Hill genuinely looked confused now, "What makes you say that?"
"Well, Thor and Loki are real. Honestly, I didn't think Captain America was until today. What other myths and legends are rooted in a very real story? I mean, some portions of various folk tales and mythologies have some root in Hyrule. It's extremely unlikely that I'm the absolute strongest among them all.
"From your perspective" Link continued, "Loki, Captain America, me, even someone like Thor. We might all appear to be in generally the same tier. But from ours? I'm usually the weak one. I fight giant monsters and gods I have no business beating, and I win anyway. Not because I'm the strongest, but because I have to. That means others could do the same. And it also means it's only a matter of time before something is too far out of my league for me to win. I'm not your last line of defense, Agent Hill, and I'm not likely to be your strongest either. So, to fully answer your real question: no. I don't think Captain America isn't needed. I also don't think it's a bad idea to bring us both in. I just hope we're enough."
Agent Hill didn't say anything for a long time after that. She seemed lost in thought. Link supposed he couldn't blame her, his monologue had been fairly dire, really. Unfortunately, it was also true. In all those memories of facing enormous boss monsters and grand villains like Ganondorf, never once did he remember feeling like he was strong enough for what had to be done, he'd just done it anyway, somehow.
Or he'd failed. It had happened a few times, he thought, but those memories were a little hazy. At the very least, he assumed he must've failed once, when planet Earth had stopped belonging to Hylians and eventually become humanity's.
"It's not just you two," Hill's said, breaking Link out of his introspective trance.
"I'm sorry?" Link asked.
"Shield asked Stark to come in too. I'm… not supposed to tell you that."
"Stark?" Link asked, "The… Iron Man, right? Why wouldn't we be told he was coming in?"
"Well, partially because we don't know he will. Stark does his own thing, he doesn't take orders."
"Oh, I see. Well, from what I know of him, he might well be more powerful than either of us. Could be the edge we need."
"He could. Or he could start some in-house fights and ruin everything. He doesn't… play well with others."
"Yeah, I've heard. But hopefully he'll realize we're all on the same side."
"Hopefully," Hill agreed.
Captain Steve Rodgers sat in the back of an odd combination of helicopter and jet, called a quinjet, watching footage of a frankly terrifying beast when he sensed Agent Coulson walked over.
"So, this Doctor Banner was trying to replicate the serum that was used on me?" he asked.
"A lot of people were. You were the world's first superhero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula," the agent answered.
Steve watched 'The Hulk' roar as he battered a jeep to shreds.
"Didn't really go his way, did it."
"Not so much. When he's not that thing though, guy's like a Stephen Hawking."
Steve looked at him for clarification, he'd never heard of the man being referenced.
"He's like a... smart... person. I gotta say it's a real honor getting to meet, officially."
Steve smiled at him, feeling awkward.
"I sort of met you, I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping" the guy kept going as Steve closed the laptop and stood up, "I mean, I was... I was present while you were unconscious from the ice. You know, it's really, it's just a... just a huge honor to have you on board."
"Well I hope I'm the right man for the job," he said, meaning it but also hoping to move away from the uncomfortable topic.
"Oh, you are. Absolutely. Uh... we've made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input."
"The uniform?" Steve asked, surprised, "Aren't the Stars and Stripes a little… old fashioned?"
"With everything that's happening, the things that are about to come to light, I think people might just need a little 'old fashioned'."
Steve pondered the potential meanings of that statement while the jet landed on an aircraft carrier. As he and Agent Coulson stepped out onto the ship, they were greeted by a red-head agent.
"Natasha Romanov, Captain Rodgers," Coulson said with a hint of pride in his voice.
"Hi," Natasha said to Steve, the she turned back to Coulson, "They need you on the bridge, they're starting the face-trace."
Coulson nodded and headed off right away, "See you there."
"It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?"
"Trading cards?" Steve asked, bemused.
"They're vintage, he's very proud."
Ahead stood two figures talking together who didn't fit the rest of the scenery. One, a nervous looking shorter man in a brown jacket. The other, a maybe late-teen with unkept hair, worn clothes that had been torn and patched a number of times with a sword and and silver, reflective shield buckled to his back. The shorter man, Dr. Banner unless Steve missed his guess, saw Steve and Natasha coming and pointed them out, and the one who had to be Link turned to face them as well.
Steve's body hadn't been the only thing enhanced by the serum, his mind had been as well. It wasn't that he was smarter, but it somehow enhanced his speed of thought and reaction times. Now, honed for combat over the course of WWII, it searched the 19 year-old in front of him to see what it was made of. Superhuman strength did not a warrior make.
Despite the boy's relaxed demeanor, Steve got the distinct impression that he was by far the most alert person on the ship. He also got the feeling Link was scanning Steve the same way Steve was scanning him, though there was no visual evidence of it. As Steve and Natasha drew near, the boy held out his hand and Steve took it. They grasped each other's hands firmly each putting superhuman pressure into the hand shake. After only a few seconds of upping the pressure, Link and Steve smiled at the same time and released.
"Ok. I think we can work together," Steve said, and Link nodded.
"What just happened?" Dr. Banner asked, drawing Link's and Steve's attention.
"Excuse me," Steve apologized, "Dr. Banner, word is you can find the cube," he said holding out his hand.
Banner looked a little confused and concerned at that statement but took the hand as he asked, "Is that the… only word you've heard about me?"
"Only word I care about," Steve said, he noticed Link giving him an odd look as he said it, but Banner seemed grateful for the gesture. "It must be new to you, all of this," Banner said, gesturing around.
"Well… this is actually kind of familiar," Steve replied, looking at the agents running in formation or tying down jets. It really was very much like an army base.
"Yeah, I guess a military will always have the same core no matter how much technology changes," Link said, surprising Steve.
"You have some experience?" he asked.
"Lots, actually. I often trained in the Hyrule guard. At least before a more… personal mission would rise up."
Steve wanted to probe at that point some, but before he could Agent Romanov spoke: "Gentlemen, you might want to step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breathe."
The three of them looked around after hearing that, and Steve noticed for the first time that Shield agents were running around putting on air masks and tying down everything that could possibly be lose.
"Is this a submarine?" he voiced his guess.
"Really?" Banner asked, "They want me in a submerged, pressurized, metal container?"
"Can't be that…" Link dissented, "The jets would have to all be moved below deck…"
They moved to the side of what they had all taken for an aircraft carrier in response to a loud noise starting up there. The water was clearly being disturbed by something below, but what…? The turbine burst free of the water as the entire boat began to lift free of the ocean surface and all three of them stepped back from wind suddenly picking up.
"Oh no, this is much worse!" Dr. Banner shouted over said wind.
Link and the other two let Agent Romanov lead them indoors and to the bridge, which turned out to be far more futuristic-looking than any sci-fi movie or TV show he'd ever seen. Agents sat in rows and rows of computers, calling out that the particular systems they were responsible for were completely operational. Agent Hill seemed to be heading everything, with a man who must be the famed Director Fury standing above it all.
Once all was apparently found to be satisfactory, Fury called out that they should vanish, and another series of instructions were sent out from Hill, though no particular change was apparent to Link, the use of the term 'reflector panels' made him think they were likely using some kind of optical illusion to appear invisible from below, which would clearly be a great advantage.
Captain Rodgers handed Fury a ten-dollar bill as he passed him, and Link briefly wondered what that was about, but pushed the thought away. As Dr. Banner was greeted by Fury, something tugged at Link's mind, but he couldn't pin exactly what down. He just felt that something was wrong.
Dr. Banner was led out to begin his work finding the cube and Captain Rodgers asked a question Link's mind picked up on: "Is there somewhere for Link and I to train? We need to learn to fight together. Sound good, kid?"
"Uh, yeah, actually that's a great idea," Link said, realizing he hadn't thought about that as an option.
Fury nodded, and pointed to an agent how snapped his focus to the present, "Uh, yeah there's a gym this way."
Link stood swordless, shieldless, and wearing grappling gloves facing down Captain America himself in the ring. They'd decided that they shouldn't start with the weapons, since there was a greater possibility of injury, and they didn't know when they'd be called to fight. If facial recognition picked up Loki or Agent Barton or (less likely) Dr. Selvig, they'd have to head out immediately.
Link breathed deeply, readying his mind and body for the match. He nodded, and the Captain attacked. The first blow Link deflected with his forearm, making it a glancing hit instead of a direct one. The second Link blocked with his arm, but this one was direct, and Link felt it, no normal human could've hit him that hard. Still, the pain was minor and he didn't bend under the pressure.
Link counterattacked with a combo of three punches, alternating on which side they struck from. The Captain parried all three easily, and now they both knew they could up the game. Neither had put all of their ability in to the blows, and they both knew it.
Captain Rodgers punched again, much harder than before, and Link deflected it, but it had been a distraction, and a second blow took Link in the jaw. This one made him step backward. He shook himself a bit, but never took his eyes off his opponent. Link considered, he didn't have any hand-to-hand training in his memories. He didn't have any skill in this area. He might be the greatest swordsman to ever live, but Captain America had the strength to keep up and the skill to overwhelm Link in this type of combat. Or at least, well, neither of them were using everything they had yet.
Link decided to try speed. He stepped in and launched a single blow at his opponent's side much faster than either of them had done yet. The Captain didn't even react in the entire time the blow was in the air. The punch landed squarely and it was Captain Rodgers turn to step back.
Link's natural style of probing for weaknesses and avoiding damage worked almost perfectly after that. Most of the blows landed were his, and he found the Captain, while much faster than any human, wasn't nearly as quick as Link. Still, his inexperience in specifically hand-to-hand combat showed, and the Captain suddenly managed to catch Link's punch after it had landed, and easily flipped him off his feet.
Link landed hard on his back and opened his eyes to find Captain Rodgers holding a punch over his head.
Link laughed, "You got me there Captain." "Call me Steve" Steve said, holding out his hand.
Link took it and stood, "Steve then. You're really good. I'm pretty sure you're the only human who could do that to me." "Well, you're fast I'll give you that. But you've got an odd habit of going for the same tricks over and over once it works the first time."
Link considered, no wonder the Captain had caught a blow that had been previously too fast.
"Yeah, most of my opponents are monsters, they tend not to learn from their mistakes, guess I gotta watch out for that now, huh."
"Still, if this was you fighting in a way you never learned to do before, I doubt you have much to worry about with a sword and shield in your hand" Steve said.
"Thanks, think you could teach me some moves, if I'm in trouble just because I don't have a weapon..."
"Yeah, your stance is great, but you need to work on how you hold your arms..." Steve began.
They went on for two hours, Link was a quick learner, but he had no idea how to use his legs as weapons, and he struggled with it. Presently, however, Agent Coulson arrived.
"Captain, uh... do I call you Link?" he asked.
"Link is fine, do we have something?"
"Loki's been spotted in Germany, its been confirmed. Your uniforms have been prepared, if you'll follow me..."
They followed the agent out of the gym as directed. It was a shame they hadn't had more time to train, as things were they were going to have to hope natural ability was enough.
Steve new uniform was fairly tight, but not constraining; he felt he would be able to fight perfectly fine in it. Looking over Link's gear, though, he had to wonder what this kid was about. His travel clothes were gone and had been replaced by a small shirt of chain mail armor, covered by a greed tunic of some kind. He was also wearing a strange green hat Steve had never seen the like of before. It looked like it should fall off, but maybe it was pinned underneath or something.
Now that he was paying attention, he realized there were quite a number of oddities about his companion's garb. The sword and shield were still slung over his back, despite the fact that he was sitting down. He wore an earring as well, a small dangling red gem hanging from his right ear. Over his forearms sat a set of gauntlets that, as for as Steve could tell, were actually made from real gold, which couldn't be practical at all. At his neckline there was another oddity, though Steve couldn't see the whole thing, what appeared to be a single blue scale was embedded in Link's skin.
"You got a strange taste in clothes, kid. There a story in there?"
Link looked up, apparently awoken from some introspective thoughts, then looked down at his garb and laughed, "Yeah, I guess. This was simple battle gear for Hylians, at least it was in some eras. We had plate armor, of course, but for travelers or town guards or well... me, this was more effective."
"And the gauntlets? Those look like real gold."
"They are, but they're enchanted, they won't bend or break, and they also magically brace my arms. Doesn't help me swing my sword any harder, but it means I can lift several times my normal capacity."
"So it's magic? The things you can do?"
"I have a lot of magic items, yeah. My people crafted them in times of need. Eventually, almost all of them would find their way into my hands. The magic isn't easily dispelled, so I've found several of them around old Hylian temples and cities."
Steve nodded, it wasn't like magic was any less of a path to strength, he supposed. He'd been a weak kid, once. Now he was the strongest human alive, assuming Link really wasn't human anyway. He hadn't been wearing those gauntlets when they had first met, and the kid had matched him in that small test of strength, if Steve had put that force into any other handshake, he'd have crushed bones.
"I hear that shield is pretty spectacular too," Link said.
Steve took that as an opening for conversation, "It's made of a metal called Vibranium. It's the strongest in the world, but unbelievably rare. This is the world's entire stock." Link's eyes widened in surprise, "That rare huh? I wonder if it's really from Earth then."
Steve frowned, "From Earth? What do you mean?" "Well, if that's literally all humanity's ever found, I just wonder if it fell to Earth instead of originating here. We know now that there are other worlds. Can't be that odd to assume there's other elements out there." "Guess I never thought about it that way" Steve said, a little surprised, "How old are you again?"
Link laughed, "I'm nineteen in this body. But I have lifetimes of memories stuffed in my head, all from past incarnations of me. Plus I was always good at puzzles."
Steve had to wonder about that. Reincarnation. This kid was powerful and skilled, he was certain of that. When he and Link had grasped hands, they hadn't been testing strength, they'd both been testing the other's restraint. Having incredible muscle power was all well and good, but Steve had wanted to see if Link knew how to use it without going overboard. His only real worry about fighting alongside Link had been addressed then. But... there was the possibility that Link was... delusional.
Magic items were a fact of the world, Steve had seen the Tesseract in play back in WWII, but reincarnation, or at least the memory of such things as 'past lives' was... well maybe not unheard of, but also... unbelievable. That said, the claim about him being non-human was maybe less contestable, but when SHIELD had explained Link to Steve, they had been clear that they didn't quite buy it.
"You're really not human?" he asked, hoping it was an easier branch of his worries to bring up.
Link smiled, "I'm really not human, captain."
"But, your people are extinct except for you?"
"Me and one other, though I haven't been able to find her." "So how..." "How were we born if not from our own people?" Link finished the question.
"Yeah."
"I don't really know. But I know some. Zelda and I: our souls don't... end when we die. We're not immediately reborn either. We're born again and again to save the world from one very particular threat. Technically, it's a curse. I don't know how much Shield told you, but Zelda and I have an ancient enemy, Ganondorf is usually his name, but he has occasionally taken others. In our first lives, we fought him and won, but he cursed us to an eternal cycle of conflict. All three of us are reborn endlessly to fight over the future of the world. That fight's happening again, in this time. Not really sure why, I would have thought the end of my species millions of years ago would have ended it for good, but apparently not. In any case, I can only assume the curse caused us to be reborn again despite that limitation. And so: here I am, a Hylian born to human parents."
Steve tried to wrap his mind around all of that information. It could still be madness of some kind but... looking in Link's eyes... there wasn't a hint of madness. This boy had a strength of mind most humans could only dream of, and a level of experience to back it up that trumped anyone else. Besides, in war, you had to be at least a little crazy to fight. Otherwise you died. If he and Link were to fight a Norse myth come to life, they needed to trust each other. Steve needed to decide to trust Link.
"You know, you've got a pretty crazy story yourself" Link said, apparently unconcerned with Steve's perhaps less than polite probing before, "How long have you been awake?" "Only a couple months," he answered, wondering if Link had a point.
"What've you been up to in that time?" he asked, and Steve stiffened.
"Just... trying to adjust," he said, dismissively.
"No offense, Captain, but your reaction doesn't make it look like you've been doing a very good job of 'adjusting'," Link said.
The words struck home. Steve really hadn't been doing much, and he was having a very hard time adjusting. His difficulty sleeping was symptom of that.
"The world's just... so different. It's not just the technology it's... it's the people. I don't even know where to start."
Link nodded, seeming to understand, "America isn't the same country you fought for is it?"
"No," Steve said, 'They've... lost something. Or a lot of things, I'm not always sure what."
"Maybe, and maybe not. I wasn't there to see your America, but I've been all over the world in the last four years. I think people are just people, wherever you go. And I think they need more heroes than they currently have. I think more people than Americans need Captain America." "Whoever that Ganon-dwarf guy is, that's your fight, Link." "I'll handle Ganon dorf , but that's not what I'm talking about. Shield deals with threats on a global scale, from what I can see. Work with them, or don't. Just... be a hero. The world hasn't had Captain America for a long time. They've had Shield and maybe a few others, but it hasn't given them hope, not like you did back in the day. Maybe all they've been missing is you."
Steve was silent while his mind tried to come up with a counter argument. The kid's logic wasn't exactly sound, but hard to actually argue against. Thinking about it, though, there was one other reason.
"There isn't anything they need me for, Link. Like you said, Shield's been handling everything perfectly fine. This is the first time the world has needed me to step in since WWII. Even now it may not be absolutely necessary." Link looked perplexed, "Need you for? What... where do I even begin..." he looked lost for words, had Steve said something that ridiculous? Link took a breath and started again, "Captain... first off: do you think your abilities make you, I don't know... above any fights that someone else could do?"
Steve blinked, "Well of course not..." "Then... do you really think there are no fights that need to be fought? If you really don't know where to start, sign on with Shield, or for that matter you could always come with me. A hero, especially one as qualified as you, could never possibly run out of things to do." Steve mentally reeled back at the rebuke, for that was what it was. It might not have been intended that way, Link was clearly far too respectful to put it that way, but he wasn't wrong either. Steve might've come to this realization on his own, but somehow this kid has just... known what was wrong. Link was right, It wasn't that there was nothing for 'Captain America' to do, it was just that a fight only Captain America could do would only come along every now and then.
Before, there had been a war. Now that there wasn't one, he'd felt lost, and maybe there was something else in that he needed to work out, but for now, realizing he still had a purpose, and beyond that, one he'd been neglecting, oddly... strengthened him.
"Ok, so," Steve said, finally pulling himself together for what felt like a long time, "Any of that experience tell you anything about what we're walking into?" he asked.
"I've fought a few gods before, and it's never easy. I'd say we should expect to be outmatched," Link answered, "That scepter of his seems to be how he brainwashes people, Director Fury said he touched it to the heart of his victims, which I'm sure you're aware of. But that means we need to try and get it away from him first. It might be his only real way to fight, and if not we'll at least limit his options."
"Right, any ideas on how to do that if he's stronger than us?"
"Well, both of our shields should reflect those energy blasts Fury said it can do. That will at least let us get in on him. I suppose after that we can try and hit the weapon at a bad angle and knock it free from his grip. To start with I can probably get the jump on him with my magic cape. It turns me invisible but also intangible. I'll have to take it off to attack. Think you can give me an opening?"
Steve nodded, it was a solid analysis of their options and a good strategy. This kid was clearly as good as Shield had said. A boy who could fight with gods and dragons. Steve was starting to wonder if he'd be needed.
"We're coming up on his location, and HQ says he hasn't left," Agent Romanov said, she'd been sent as their pilot.
Link stood up, reaching to his side and producing a red cape from nowhere, "Unless you have a better idea?" he asked.
Steve shook his head, and strapped picked up his Shield. The Vibranium metal hummed slightly as it always did when in motion, though he'd learned most people could only hear it when he sent it flying or was used to block something.
"Oh, and Link?" Link looked at him questioningly, and Steve continued "He's not a god, just an alien."
Suddenly their earpieces came to life and an agent spoke through them. "The situation just got complicated. He's herding the people out onto the street."
Link watched the quinjet's door open to reveal the site of his next battleground. Loki had apparently failed to notice the quinjet's approach, it was a surprisingly silent machine, but Link noticed four of him around the kneeling crowd. He quickly pulled out his Lens of Truth and set it in his eye. Immediately, the extra three Lokis became translucent to his vision, since one eye had the Lens, and the other did not, it actually allowed him to see illusory Lokis while still knowing truth from fiction, a useful trait of the Lens.
"The one at the head of the crowd is the only real one" he said to the captain, "And that staff of his looks longer than it is. He has illusion powers."
Captain America nodded and Link flung the cape around his shoulders, vanishing. He jumped down and landed smoothly, the great height not being an issue for his Hylian body, and moved towards Loki, who was apparently giving a speech.
"There are no men like me," he said.
"There are always men like you," came the reply of a much older individual and Link realized his mistake.
He looked at the crowd, and one elderly man stood where all others kneeled.
Loki chuckled and raised that scepter of his, which began to glow blue, "Look to your elder, people. Let him be an example."
Link was too far away, he'd instinctively tried to work around the side of the crowd, and was nowhere near the man who was about to be blasted, plus he'd have to take off the cape and...
Loki fired but Captain America intercepted. Link found himself grinning like a fool at the irony of Loki telling everyone to look to their elder and having Captain America, a hundred-year-old war hero from the greatest and bloodiest conflict in human history, drop out of the sky and reflect the energy blast right back into him.
"You know, last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everyone else, we ended up disagreeing," the Captain said.
Link hurriedly began sneaking up to Loki again. He had to take that scepter away from him, but at least his theory that their shields would reflect the blasts was correct.
"The Soldier," Loki said, picking himself back up, "A man out of time."
Something about that line stood out to Link, but he didn't have time to analyze it. "I'm not the one who's out of time," Captain Rodgers said.
The quinjet looped back around and hovered in the air a bit behind the captain, it's machine gun clearly primed.
Link was in position, ready, he just needed the right angle...
"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down!" Agent's Romanov's voice rang out from the jet.
Loki reacted quickly, raising his scepter to fire, Link got his moment and whipped his Magic Cape off his shoulders with his shield hand, and brought down his sword on the scepter right next to Loki's hand with all the strength he had. Unfortunately, the weapon had a kick to it. The blast fired out, and the weapon recoiled backwards, placing the gem under Link's sword. Instead of knocking spear out of Loki's hand, the gem reacted to the force of the blow and retaliated, blasting Link's sword to shards. He felt two pieces of shrapnel stab right into his chest.
Link staggered backwards in shock and pain as Loki turned to him, "The Wanderer, the primitive from the dawn of time."
Link's eyes widened as he finally figured out what had been bugging him all this time, but he didn't have time to do anything. Loki was raising that magic staff again to kill him and he had metal shards in his chest. He couldn't... Cap's shield slammed into the god, drawing his attention away from Link.
Grateful to his partner, Link gritted his teeth and dug his fingers into his own flesh, he had to get those shards out of himself before he healed over them. The pain was excruciating, and it blocked out everything else, he stopped being able to pay attention to the fight going on. His fingers finally found the piece he was searching for and he wrenched it free, tearing his body even more. He dropped it without a thought and dug into the second wound, looking for the shard. The pain was so much worse this time, and he was having a hard time breathing now too, but the piece was easier to find, as it had apparently lodged itself into a rib. He pulled it free and grabbed a health potion from his inventory, downing it in a second.
His vision cleared and the pain receded quickly, and he looked up to find the captain on the ground. His ears cleared too though, and he heard... heavy metal music? He looked up towards the quinjet, where the music was coming from, to see the Iron Man rocketing in towards Loki. Link smiled and pulled out the massive hammer he had from his inventory, Loki wasn't looking at him at all and when the Iron Man blasted the god backwards, Link swung his hammer hard.
The hammer connected with his head and Loki's whole body flipped, and his head slammed into the ground face-first. Tony Stark, builder of the world's most incredible suit of armor, landed and the suit unfolded in a dozen places to reveal a dozen different weapons, all pointed at the prone Loki.
"Make a move, reindeer games" he said, probably referring to the odd goat horn helmet the god wore.
Loki tried for a moment to pick himself up, but collapsed again, all the illusions vanishing. Link walked over and checked his eyes.
"Looks like we knocked him out," he said.
The Captain caught up at that moment, "Mr. Stark," he greeted.
"Captain," he responded.