Chapter 70: World of Marvels Part 2: A Hammer, A Key, and An Iron Suit
On the Helicarrier, Spyro was on the bridge with Director Fury and the rest of the team he put together, along with his friends, who did draw some eyes when they first saw them, but continued their work as they needed to find Loki and they needed to find him quickly as no one knows what he was planning with the Tesseract. While everyone was searching, Spyro walked over to one of the chairs around the table on the bridge, decided to meditate, hoping to find it before anything else could happen and through the Force, he could see the city of New York in flames and could hear screaming, Heartless running around everywhere and some kind of alien species attacking the city and in the center was Starks tower, a beam of energy shooting into the sky and mischievous laughter sounding out. He wanted to see more, but he then felt someone shake him, opening his eyes and saw that it was Fluttershy who was shaking him on the shoulder, pulling him out of the vision.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Spyro." Fluttershy said. "I didn't mean to disturb you."
"It's alright Fluttershy." Spyro said, getting up from the chair he was in. "What's up?"
"Director Fury said to get you." She replied. "Said they found some guys named Loki."
"Perfect, thanks Flutters." Spyro said.
He planet a kiss on her head, making the mare blush as he got up from the table and walked over to the Director, which Steve Rodger's was already there waiting on him to arrive along with his other friends.
"So the satellites found our little God of Mischief?" Spyro asked.
"Yes, they have." Director Fury replied. "They have managed to pinpoint him at Stuttgart Germany, attending a gala."
"A gala?" Twilight asked. "Why attend a gala?"
"Who cares!?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Let's go get this creep and lay the smack down on him!"
She then took off to go after the mischief maker, but Applejack bit her tail and yanked her back, the cyan Pegasus glaring at her.
"Hold on there Rainbow Dash." Applejack said. "This ain't a Heartless we're dealing with. This here is an actual person and in a whole crowd of people, we'd be breaking the world order, if we haven't already done so."
"Honestly, the order has already been broken long ago AJ." Spyro replied. "Still, for the people to see a bunch of talking ponies might just be a bit much for them to process fully."
"So what's the plan?" Twilight asked.
"I'm sending Rodger's and Spyro to go get Loki." Director Fury replied. "I need you two to bring him back alive so we get him to tell us where the Tesseract is."
"Knowing him, he might not willingly tell us." Spyro said.
"It's still better to have him in custody than let him run around free." Director Fury replied. "Tag him and bag him."
Spyro and Steven saluted and walked out of the bridge, followed closely by the ponies as they got ready to head to Stuttgart, Steve was putting on his uniform, which was red, white, and blue, probably what Coulson insisted on, and a circle shaped shield with the same coloration as the suit. When they were ready, they walked out to the runway and towards a Quinjet, but Spyro felt something wrap around his leg, looking down to see Pinkie was holding onto his leg, slowing him down.
"Spyro, don't go!" Pinkie said. "This could be dangerous!"
"Pinkie, he's handled danger before." Applejack said.
"Oh yeah." Pinkie replied, letting go of his leg. "But I bet he hasn't fought a god before, so this could get even more dangerous."
"More dangerous than fighting Hades?" Spyro asked. "Doubtful."
"Who's Hades?" Twilight asked.
"The Greek god of the underworld." Spyro replied, shocking them.
"Wait, you did fight a god before!?" Rainbow Dash asked, lost for words.
"I have and let me tell you, Hades puts up more of a fight than Loki." Spyro said, kneeling down to them. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon. This will be cake."
He hugged the mares, letting them know he'll be ok before walking into the Quinjet with Captain America, buckling in as the aircraft took off towards Stuttgart, going as fast as the jet could take them while they prepared for a fight. At the gala, Loki was disguised as a noble man, wearing a full tuxedo with his scepter disguised as a cane, walking through the crowd until he spotted his target, talking about something before he heard someone get knocked out behind him, turning to see Loki, but the trickster grabbed the man and pulled him to the stone table in front of the stage, flipping him over as he pulled out a device that, once ready, he put over the mans eye, the target screaming in pain as everyone in the crowd ran away in panic, the mischievous god taking pleasure in seeing them run away in fear until the device was finished, leaving it behind on the dead body as he walked out, reverting himself back to his normal look as he walked to the street, seeing the crowd of people run into the park.
But an illusion of himself appeared in front of them and they turned in another direction, hoping to get away from the God of Mischief and avoid dying.
"Kneel." Loki said. The crowd kept on running away from his illusions until they were surrounded. "I... said... KNEEL!" The crowd looked to him, fearing his power and so they knelt down, not wanting to die like the man he brutalized, the god himself smiling at his triumph. "That's better. Is this... not simpler? Is this not your natural state? This is the unspoken truth of humanity. That you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You... you were all made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."
However, there was one man in the crowd who did not share those ideals, standing up among the crowd as he didn't fear him, Loki looking to him, surprised that someone had the courage to stand up against him.
"Not to mention like you." The elderly man said.
"There are no men like me." Loki responded.
"There will always be men like you." The elder replied. "Tyrants who have all the power, but have no heart. Men like you will always fall."
The god of Mischief smiled, laughing at the man as the energy in his scepter charged up.
"Look to your elder people." Loki said, pointing his weapon at him. "Let him be an example."
Loki fired the bolt of energy towards the elderly man, the man accepting his fate, but the ground beneath him erupted and form it, Spyro hoped out and took the hit, standing his ground as the bolt hit his chest, but felt no damage from it, smiling at the shocked expression on the gods face.
"Killing elderly men now?" Spyro asked. "Geez, you must have a tiny pecker to attack someone who can't defend themself."
"You again!?" Loki shouted.
He charged up another bolt and put more power into it, thinking it will finish him, but as he fired, Captain America jumped down and used his shield, deflecting the bolt back at him and knocking him to the ground.
"You know, the last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everyone else, we ended up disagreeing." Steve said, Loki getting up and getting his scepter.
"The soldier." Loki said. "And the Keyblade Bearer. Two men, out of time."
"I'm not the one who's out of time." Steve replied.
In the distance, Natasha flew the Quinjet a distance away from the plaza square where all the civilians were, flipping a switch and a mini gun popped out from underneath.
"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down." Natasha said through the speaker.
Loki didn't listen, charging up another bolt of plasma and fired it towards Natasha, just missing her as she pulled away, but the captain threw his shield and hit Loki in the shoulder, distracting him and the shield came back to Steve, both he and Spyro rushing forward as the young prince called his Keyblade. The captain punched Loki and the Asgardian fought back, hitting the shield directly and then breaking the captains defense and using the blunt end of his staff to knock the captain away, but Spyro swung his blade upward, which the god of mischief managed to block and Spyro tried again, locking his blade onto the gods spear as they both pushed against one another, trying to push them back.
"I must admit, when I first saw you had a Keyblade, I was surprised." Loki said, shocking Spyro. "But, I'm more prepared for you this time." Loki pushed Spyro back, which he young prince flipped backwards as Loki swung his spear, making enough room for a few Strafers to appear out of the void. "A little gift, from an old friend of yours."
Steve then reengaged Loki, getting into a fisticuffs with him while Spyro dealt with the Strafers, dodging their ranged attacks while releasing balls of fire and ice at the mechanical Heartless, being sure not to give them a clear shot on him while they fought. In the sky, Natasha saw the Heartless and was wondering what they were while also trying to get a clear shot, but everyone was fighting all over the place, making it difficult to get a hit on any of them.
"They're all over the place." Natasha said, failing to get a shot.
"Agent Romanoff, did you miss me?" Tony said, playing music over their PA system. Spyro had finished off the last Strafer and was about to reengage Loki when he heard the music playing over the jets PA system, the three of them looking to the sky to see Tony flying in with his armor on and hit the god of mischief with a powerful repulser beam, knocking him out the stairs as Stark landed, a whole array of weapons from the armor, all pointed towards Loki. "Make a move Reindeer Games."
"Loki raised his hands in surrender, his armor disappearing at the sight of the three of them all ready to take him out as, even through he can handle one opponent, handling three was not going to happen unless he was planning on becoming Rambo. After they had his weapon and had him in cuffs, the Quinjet landed and allowed for the three of them to board the jet and took off back to the helicarrier, but on the way, the tension in the jet was thick as everyone kept quiet until Tony cleared his throat, but it was Natasha that looked back to them.
"So, what were those things?" She asked. "Those robots?"
"Got me." Steve replied. "Never seen them before."
"They're called Heartless." Spyro replied. "They're creatures born from the darkness in peoples hearts. The ones you saw are called Strafers, digital Heartless that are strong at ranged attacks."
"And when were you going to tell us this?" Natasha asked. "These things are clearly a threat."
"Told Coulson and Stark about them." Spyro replied, looking back to the widow. "Didn't they fill you in on this?"
"No they didn't." Steve replied. "And they seem to hate you."
"That's because of this." Spyro replied, calling his Keyblade, which Tony tried to scan it. "It's called a Keyblade, a weapon made of pure light. It's the only thing that permanently destroys a Heartless."
"So, what, none of our weapons will take them down?" Stark asked. "Because, last I checked, I took a few of those things down back in my tower."
"They can still be destroyed by ordinary weapons." Spyro replied. "Thought it takes about a hundred hits just to destroy a Shadow. Enchanted weapons are your best bet if you want to fight them."
Steve then looked back to Loki, seeing how calm he was before leaning towards his two companions.
"I don't like this." Steve said.
"What, that rock of ages gave up so easily?" Tony asked.
"If only that." Steve replied. "I fought the guy, he packs a wallop."
"And he also had a few Strafers with him when he could have easily called more." Spyro added. "Strafers are usually in larger groups."
"Still, you're pretty spry, for an older fellow." Tony said, addressing the captain.
"Fury didn't say he was calling you in." Steve said.
"There are a lot of things he doesn't tell people." Tony replied.
A moment later, a bolt of lightning range out, spooking their guest as he looked to the roof of the jet, worry in his eyes.
"Where did this come from?" Natasha asked.
"It wasn't there before." Spyro said, sensing something was off.
"What's the matter?" Steve asked Loki. "Scared of a little lighting?"
"Let's just say I'm not overly found of what follows." Loki replied.
The three men looked to each other, wondering what that meant, but they then heard something that sounded like something had landed on the jet's roof, Stark putting his helmet back on while Steve put his mask on and grabbed his shield. The rich guy then opened the boarding ramp to head outside to see what hit them, but then a man dropped down onto the boarding ramp, wearing black and silver armor with a red cape and had golden hair, carrying a hammer. Tony tried to take a shot at him, but the mystery guest hit him in the chest and sent him flying into ground, Spyro jumping up to avoid being hit but the flying suit of armor as the assailant took Loki by the throat, walking to the exit and spun his hammer around and flew out of the jet, leaving them alone as Stark got up.
"And then there's this guy." Tony said.
"Another Asgardian?" Natasha asked.
"Is he friendly?" Steve asked.
"Doesn't matter." Tony replied. "If he frees him or kills him, the Tesseract is lost."
"Stark, we need a plan of attack." Steve said.
"I have a plan." Tony replied. "Attack."
Iron Man then flew out of the jet, heading towards where the two Asgardians were flying to, leaving Spyro and Steve behind as the captain got out a parachute while Spyro looked down to see where they went.
"I'd sit this one out you two." Natasha said. "They come from legend, they're basically gods."
"There is only one god ma'am." Steve replied. "And I'm sure he doesn't dress like that."
"I wouldn't say that Steve." Spyro replied. "You're not the guy who met Zeus and Hades at Mount Olympus."
"Now's not the time to be joking around." Steve said.
"Who said I was joking?" Spyro asked, jumping out of the jet. "See you on the ground!"
Both Steve and Natasha were left speechless, looking to one another as they tried to process the fact their friend jumped out without a parachute. Not waiting, Steve then jumped out of the jet, following them as he tried to catchup and recapture Loki to acquire the information on where the Tesseract was at. Meanwhile, the kidnapper flew the two of them to a mountain range where he believed they would be alone, dropping Loki on the ground and caused him to groan as he was thrown to the ground hard, laughing at the situation.
"Where's the Tesseract?" The kidnapper asked.
"I missed you too Thor." Loki replied.
"Do I appear to be in a gaming mood?" Thor asked.
"Why so mad?" Loki asked. "You should thank me. With the Byfröst gone, how much dark energy did father have to conjure just to bring you here, your precious earth?"
Thor dropped his hammer and grabbed Loki as he got up, holding him be the back of the neck as he forced him to look at him, Loki seeing the pain in his eyes, but also cheer and relief.
"I thought you dead brother." Thor said.
"Did you mourn?" Loki asked.
"We all did." Thor replied. "Our father-"
"Your father." Loki said, interrupting him, breaking free from Thor's grip. "Did he tell you about my true parentage?"
"It doesn't matter." Thor replied, walking behind Loki. "We were raised together, played together, fought together! Do you remember none of that?"
"All I remember is a shadow." Loki replied, turning to face him. "Living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss, I was and should be king."
"So you wish to take the Earth as your recompense for your imagined strifes?" Thor asked. "No, the Earth is under my protection Loki."
"And you're doing a marvelous job at that." Loki replied. "The humans slaughter each other like drows, a Keyblade Bearer walks among the people of Midgard while you idly fret. I mean to rule them."
"You think yourself above them?" Thor asked
"Well yes." Loki replied.
"Then you miss the truth of ruling brother." Thor replied. "A throne would suit you ill."
Loki growled at him, pushing past his brother as he walked out the edge of the cliff he was standing on, angered by his brother and his words as he looked out to the sky.
"I've seen worlds you've never known about!" Loki exclaimed. "I have seen the many evils out there and the destruction a Keyblade can bring to a world. I have grown 'Odin son' during my exile! I have seen the true power of the Tesseract and when I wield it-"
"Who showed you this?" Thor asked. "And how do you know of the destruction a Keyblade can bring? Who would control the Would-be king?"
"I am a king!" Loki shouted.
"Not here!" Thor shouted back, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "You give up the Tesseract and give up this pointless dream! You come home."
Loki laughed at his brother a bit, smiling at him as he found the current predicament funny.
"I don't have it on me." Loki replied. Thor let him go, reaching his hand out as his hammer flew to him and was ready to swing. "You need the cube to bring me home, but I have sent it off to I don't know where."
"Listen here brother." Thor said, pointing his hammer to him. "You-"
He was then interrupted when Iron Man tackled him, flying off with the god of thunder while Loki remained where he was, not even fazed by what had happened.
"I'm listening." Loki said to nothing.
Iron Man held onto Thor, flying down to the ground until he released him, throwing him to the ground and caused the god of thunder it grunt, sliding across the ground until he stopped, Iron Man landing a distance away from him as Thor got up, not pleased with being tackled and attacked by the iron suited rich kid.
"Do not touch me again." Thor said.
"Then don't take my stuff." Tony replied, the face plate opening up.
"You have no idea what you're dealing with." Tor warned.
"Uh, Shakespeare in the park?" Tony asked, making fun of Thor. "Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?"
"This is beyond you, metal man." Thor replied.
"And it's beyond you as well Asgardian." Spyro said.
The two of the looked up to see him gliding down with his wings out, gently landing as his wings retracted, both of the men starring at him in confusion.
"Jarvis, what am I seeing here?" Tony asked.
"It appears sir that Mr. VanVickle had the appendages of a creature once thought to only be a myth." JARVIS replied. "They appear to be reptilian in nature and have the ability to grant him flight."
"You have the wings of a dragon?" Thor asked.
"And so much more." Spyro replied.
He then called his Keyblade, holding it in his hand, but Thor looked down at the magical weapon, shocked to see the Keyblade as his grip on his hammer tightened.
"You carry the Keyblade?" Thor asked.
"Wait, you know about the Keyblade as well?" Spyro asked.
"Ok, everyone, time out." Tony said. "What is all the fuse about his weapon?"
"His Keyblade brings destruction to the worlds he visits." Thor replied. "A weapon that unlocks any door and bringing with it calamity."
"Only if you're one of the Keyblade bearers who's nothing but pure evil." Spyro replied, raising it. "And I have equal parts light and darkness in my heart."
"It doesn't matter." Thor said. "Loki will face judgement."
"Once he gives up the Tesseract, he's all yours." Tony replied. "Until then, stay out of the way."
Both Spyro and Tony turned to head up to get Loki, but they then heard something behind them, both turning around to see Thor's hammer flying at them, but ended up hitting Tony in the chest, sending him flying through a tree. Thor then raised his hand and the hammer flew back to him, leaping towards Spyro as he yelled out, but Spyro blocked the attack and kept blocking the powerful blows, surprised at how strong they were when iron Man hit Thor with an energy beam and pushing him back before drop kicking him, but it didn't seem to phase the god of thunder as he got up and raised his hammer, bolts of lightning coming down from the sky and hitting the hammer. He then pointed it at the two of them, but Tony got in front of Spyro and took the full barrage of the lightning, but instead of frying Iron Man, it only seemed to have made him stronger. Without thinking, Spyro leapt up on tin the air and used his wings to hover in the sky, charging up the chaos energy in his chest and firing a multi-colored beam of energy at Thor while Iron Man fired three repulser beams at the god of thunder, all four hitting him at the same time, sending him flying backwards but he managed to land on the ground, knocked for a loop, but still in the fight.
"Did we just do the same thing at the same time?" Tony asked.
"Don't know, you tell me." Spyro said.
He was then hit in the face with the hammer Thor had thrown at him, knocking him out cold while Thor called it back and flew towards Tony, which the iron suited man flew at him, tackling him again and caused the two of the to spiral for a little while, slamming into the cliff side, which Iron Man dragged Thor against it before the two of them flew away from the cliff and back into the forest, which Spyro was just getting back up when he saw the two of them crash through another tree, toppling it before the two of them started to exchange punches, Thor then grabbed Tony's arms and started to crush them, which the billionaire used a blast to hit Thor in the face, disorienting him for a moment before tony tried to head butt him, but it did nothing as Thor returned the favor, sending him flying backwards and possibly giving him a concussion. Spyro got back up and ran to the fight, Toy getting up and flew at the god of thunder, grabbing him and throwing him towards Spyro, which he uppercutted him and jumped up, flying towards him as the two then started throwing punches of their own, both equally matched in strength once the they were in the air as they flew to each other several times, each one dealing a serious blow to the other, before Spyro dodged an attack and used the guard of the Keyblade to his Thor in the head, stunning him for a second before kicking him to the ground.
As the god of thunder fell to the ground, Spyro flew towards him and flipped himself over, extending his right foot out to kick him as flames surrounded his entire body, looking like a meteorite about to crash into the crust of the Earth, but Thor got up and saw what was coming, jumping out of the crater as Spyro slammed into it, releasing a wave of pure heat and power that washed over the ground and the trees, setting them on fire and turning the ground into an ash covered area. Before Thor could do anything, the trees then came to life and wrapped their roots around the god of thunder, who tried to get out, but was then encased in a cocoon of wood and dirt, Spyro walking out of the crater to catch his breath, but a bolt of lightning show down and destroyed the cocoon, Stark using his repulsers to avoid being blown away, but Spyro extended his left arm and immediately a tendril of dark energy shot out, creating a shield that protected him from the incoming blast. As Thor had freed himself, he looked over to Spyro and saw the dark wall that protected him, but when the wall disappeared, fearing for the worst, but was then pull back to reality when Stark flew at him and grabbed him, spinning him around and tossing him into a fallen tree trunk, knocking him down, but he got back up again and charged forward, uppercutting Iron man and picking him up like it was a WWE wrestling match, slamming him into the ground.
He then reached back and his hammer came to him, taking it and raising it up to deal a lethal blow, but Tony activated his thrusters shot through his legs, knocking him down before coming back to punch him in the head right as Spyro got his blade out and blocked Thor's hammer, spin kicking him to the ground and swinging his Keyblade down, but the God of thunder rolled out of the way and raised his hammer again to continue the fight.
"HEY!" Steve shouted, his shield hitting Spyro's Keyblade and Thor's hammer, almost knocking their weapons out of their hands as they watched the shield return to him, standing on a destroyed tree and putting the shield back on his left arm. "That's enough!" he then hopped down from the tree and landed on the ground without effort. "Now, I don't know what you're doing here..."
"I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes." Thor replied.
"Yeah, so were we until you dragged him out of our custody." Spyro replied.
"this is Asgardian business." Thor said. "We need not be enemies
"Then prove it." Steve responded. "Drop the hammer."
"Yeah, cap, that's not a good idea." Tony replied. "You see, he really loves his-"
Thor then used his hammer to smack Tony away, Spyro just barely dodging the hit as it sent Iron man flying.
"You want me to put the hammer down!?" Thor shouted.
Thor then ran towards Captain, jumping into the air as Steve raised his shield and blocked the attack, making it sound like a bell was ringing as a flash of light shot out, Spyro raising the shield again, but this time with light magic as a white barrier appeared in front of him, a lot of trees being knocked down, covering everyone in fallen branches. Everyone got up, starring at one another before looking at all the damage that had been caused by Thor after he hit Captain America's shield, everyone breathing heavily.
"We done here?" Steve asked. "Because I really hope we are."
"Thor, I know this is your brother that we have in our custody." Spyro said, getting his attention. "And you want to end his scheme as much as us, but fighting among ourselves won't get us anywhere. If we wish to stop him, we need to do it together, or not at all."
"And why would I listen to the word of one who wields a weapon that brings calamity to worlds he visits?" Thor asked.
"I'm sorry, what now?" Tony asked.
"From one prince to another, you have my word, I am not here to do any such thing." Spyro replied, confusing them.
Thor took a closer look at his attire, noting how, despite the purple and yellow cloth, he was wearing mostly black with hints of white while his jacket was black and white gems on it and two shoulder guards in the shape of dragons wears, one black and the other white, finally putting two and two together as he relaxed.
"Very well." Thor said. "We'll do this your way, your highness."
"Highness?" Steve asked. "Wait, did I miss something here?"
"I'll explain on the carrier." Spyro replied. "Right now, let's get Loki locked up where he won't hurt anyone."
After a little while, the quinjet set down, where everyone boarded the aircraft and resumed their journey to the Helicarrier, where an armed escort was waiting for them and escorted the prisoner to the brig while Spyro went with Tony and Steve to the lab, where Twilight was helping Dr. Banner out with his machine, Rainbow Dash was outside of the carrier flying and everyone else was talking with the crew, except Pinkie who wanted to try and throw Loki a 'Welcome to the carrier' party until she learned what he did, which all she did was smash the cake she baked into his face. After that, they all went to table, listening in on Fury's conversation with Loki until it reached the part about a mindless beast, upsetting Bruce while everyone else listened carefully to what they were talking about. After a while, the conversation ended and Fury walked out of the room, the holoscreen turning off as it did.
"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Bruce asked.
"Yeah, like a rash you can't get rid of." Spyro replied.
"He's going to drag this on." Steve said, looking up to Thor. "Thor, he's your brother, you know him better. What's his play?"
"He has an army called the Chitauri." Thor replied. "They are not of Asgard or of any of the known worlds."
"So, where do they come from?" Twilight asked.
"That's beyond my knowledge, little unicorn." Thor replied, not even phased by the talking pony. "In the end, they will win him the Earth, and I suspect in return for the Tesseract."
"Who cares if he has an army, let them come!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "We can take them."
"Your courage is admirable." Thor said. "But if he successfully brings them here, courage won't do you any good."
"So, he's planning on opening another portal?" Bruce asked. "That's why he needed Eric Selvig."
"Selvig?" Thor asked.
"You know him?" Spyro asked.
"I do, he's a friend." Thor replied.
"Loki has him under some kind of spell." Natasha said. "Along with one of our own."
"Loki allowed us to take him and I want to know why." Steve said.
"We shouldn't focus on Loki." Bruce said. "His mind is like a bag full of cats, you can smell crazy off him."
"I have to agree." Rarity said. "Plus, he has no sense of fashion if he came in with that kind of attire."
"Be careful how you speak." Thor said. "He maybe beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. He's my brother."
"He killed eighty people in two days." Natasha pointed out.
"He's adopted." Thor said.
"Whatever the reason, I think we should focus on the mechanics." Bruce said. "When Loki was at the gala, he used the lead scientists eye to open a secured section of location, stealing Iridium. Now, what does he need Iridium for?"
"It's a stabilizing agent." Tony said.
Everyone looked over to see Tony stark walk towards them, but when he saw the ponies, he immediately froze, trying to process what he was seeing right now before turning to Spyro.
"These horses with you?" Tony asked.
"Ponies." Applejack replied, spooking him. "We're ponies."
"And they talk." Stark said. "Well, looks like a double at the bar tonight."
"What this about a stabilizing agent?" Spyro asked.
"Well, the portal that brought both Loki and Spyro here collapsed because they had nothing to stabilize it." Tony replied. "With the Iridium, the portal won't collapse on itself like it did last time."
"And with this mineral, they can hold the portal open for however long it takes." Spyro said, putting the pieces together.
"Exactly." Tony said, walking over and sitting in an empty seat. "Now, let's discuss his little playmates, these... Heartless."
Everyone turned to look at Spyro and his friends, waiting for en explanation until he pulled out a crystal and tossed into the air, the large gemstone hovering in the air for a moment before a projection of a Shadow appeared on the middle of the table, everyone leaning in to look at it.
"Heartless are creatures born from the darkness in everyone's hearts." Spyro said. "Their numbers are near limitless. They come in many shapes and forms. What we're seeing now is the weakest form, a Shadow. They may be weak, but they are numerous. And the one who I'm suspecting has brought them here is Maleficent." The image then changed to Maleficent, which Stark just flinched away just from seeing her. "You think she's bad as an image, wait til you meet her in person, she worse. She controls some of the Heartless and is bent on conquering all the worlds."
"So why haven't you defeated her yet?" Thor asked. "If she's their leader, taking her down should have put these things down as well."
"That's the problem, every time we put her down, she get's back up." Spyro replied. "And she isn't the only one who commands them either. There is another faction called Organization XIII that also commands the Heartless, but also Nobodies and Unversed."
"What are those?" Fury asked, walking in.
"Nobodies are what remains after the heart's been taken." Spyro replied. "Shells of their former selves, the body and soul. The organization has ten of their strongest members, who are Nobodies. Well, nine now. The Nobodies are an even bigger pain in the rear than the Heartless as thhey're more coordinated, strategic even. Universe are monsters born from Negative emotions; fear, anger, hate, rage, despair, stuff like that. Only one member of Organization XIII controls them; Vanitas. And if Loki brings the, what you call them, Chitauri? If he brings this army, this world is going to be an all you can eat Buffet for Vanitas, which will also bring the Organization."
"So it's imperative we get the Tesseract back before that happens." Fury said. "Spyro, I want you to brief all the agents and crew on this new threat, you and your friends are experts on these things."
"I'll do what I can." Spyro replied.
"I'll make sure there are folders and documents for everyone." Twilight said, her eyes lighting up.
"Do that little bookworm." Spyro said. "In the mean time, Loki has one of the main components, what else would he need to make his portal?"
"Well, it would need to be a power source powerful enough to sustain the portal." Tony said.
"And it would need to be one that can heat the Tesseract up to 120 million Kelvin just to break through the Coulumb barrier." Bruce said.
"Unless someone has figured out how to stabilize the Quantum tunnel effect." Spyro said. "And if they did that, they can achieve heavy Ion fusion at any reactor on the planet."
"Finally, two people who speak English." Tony said.
"Is that what happened?" Steve asked.
"Ugh, too much nerd talk." Rainbow Dash said. "Give me a bunch of Heartless to fight any day."
"Well, whatever they just said, we need to find a way to find that cube." Applejack said.
"Agreed." Steve said. "Try that staff Loki had. Might be magical, but it works a lot like a hydra weapon.
"I don't know about that." The director said. "But it does seem to be powered by the cube. And I like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into a couple of his flying monkeys."
"Monkeys?" Thor asked. "I don't get it."
"I do." Steve said.
"So do I." Spyro said.
Everyone who understood just rolled their eyes while those who didn't were left confused about that.
"Well, we might as well get to work." Tony said.
"Right." Spyro replied. "Twilight, take the crystal with you and upload the information into the ship and transfer it to the Helicarrier computers, AIVA will guide you on how to do it, then meet us in the lab once you're done. Rainbow, AJ, Pinkie, you three are on guard duty. Keep an eye on Loki and don't let him get to you. He's known as the God of Mischief for a reason because everything he does or says has deceit in it."
"Ya'll can count on us." Applejack said.
"Fluttershy, Rarity, you're with me." Spyro said. "We might need an extra set of hooves to help out in the lab." As everyone was getting up, they walked to the door to head to the lab and to the places they have been assigned to, but Spyro stopped, leaning back to look at one agent on the computer playing a game. "And you stop playing Galaga and keep an eye on your station."
In the lab, Spyro was helping with analyzing the gamma radiation coming from the spear, the doctor finding it's level were similar to the Tesseract with salvaged parts from it, but said it would take weeks to analyze it while Stark was talking about a bypass, which he wasn't;t listening to as he was busy analyzing and cross referencing possible locations the Tesseract could be at. Fluttershy and Rarity helped out however they could, but with how everyone was talking, it went right over their heads.
"Good thing we packed the necessities then." Spyro said. "And from the sound of it, we'll be here a while."
"Oh, I hope not." Rarity said. "Unlike you people, some of us have other priorities."
"Believe me, nothings more important than this." Tony said, picking up a rod. "You know, you guys should come by Stark Tower sometime. Top ten floors all RND, you two would love it, it's candy land."
"Well, thanks, but the last time I was in New York, I kind of broke, Harlem." Bruce said.
"Well, I promise a stress free environment." Tony said. "No tension. No surprises."
He then jabbed the metal rod into Bruces side, Spyro hearing something electrical as it shocked the doctor.
"OW!" Bruce said, looking annoyed with Stark.
"Hey!" Steve said.
"Seriously?" Spyro asked, looking disappointed in Tony. "You know if you provoke the bear, better be ready to become lunch."
"What do you mean Spyro darling?" Rarity asked.
"Bruce was exposed to Gamma radiation and if he gets angry, he turns into a massive green beast known as the Hulk." Spyro replied, working his magic on the computer. "Hence why I asked Fluttershy to be here. She's good at calming down anything from animals to rampaging monsters."
"She can do that?" Bruce asked.
"Of course, it's my special talent." Fluttershy replied, looking to her flank. "That's what my cutie mark means."
"Cutie mark?" Tony asked, looking to Spyro. "I feel sorry for you pal if you're stuck on their world."
"Eh, I don't mind." Spyro replied.
"Anyway, how do you keep him under control?" Tony asked Bruce. "What's your secret?"
"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve asked.
"Funny things are." Tony replied.
"Threatening the lives and safety of the personal on this ship isn't funny, no offense." Steve said.
While those two were at each other, Spyro decided to get some air, leaving the lab while telling his friends to remain in the lab and help out however they could, heading outside and onto the run way to look out into the night sky, but the reason he wanted to get away from them was to figure out why Loki allowed himself to be taken prisoner so easily in the first place. After a few minutes to think, it started to get hard to breath, so he went back into the Helicarrier and to the lab, see what he could do to help out when he noticed Steve was walking around in a place the director marked as off limits to them, wondering why the captain would be going through a restricted area, so he decided to follow him until he reached a secured storage area, trying to open a door with brute force, but taking a break to catch his breath.
"What are you doing here?" Spyro asked, getting Steve's attention. "You do realize this is a restricted area."
"I'd ask the same of you." Steve replied. "Following me?"
"Only because I got curious." Spyro responded. "So, why are you here anyway?"
"It's something that Stark said." Steve replied. "Why did Fury wait until now to bring us in and why he didn't bring Stark into the project with the Tesseract when he's an expert on this, sustainable energy."
"Yeah, that does raise some red flags, doesn't it?" Spyro asked. "Well, let's find out together, shall we?"
Spyro then called his Keyblade and pointed it at the lock on the door, a few stars appearing at the tip of the Keyblade before a beam of light shot out and they both heard a click and the door swung open.
"Um... what?" Steve asked.
"The Keyblade can unlock and lock." Spyro replied. "Comes in handy when you need to get somewhere."
Spyro walked past the captain and into the storage room, which was the place that was marked as restricted to all but level seven personnel, so it had to be something the director didn't anyone to come see. Steve leapt up to get the high ground, walking the railing to see what he could find from above while Spyro walked on the ground, reaching out with the Force to see if there was something that it could find, but found nothing that stood out, unable to sense anything with any kind of power or anything that might seem like a threat until he felt something above him. He looked up and saw a small room where Steve was entering and Force jumped up there, walking in to see that his face looked pale, but filled with rage at what he found.
"What's wrong?" Spyro asked.
"Now I know why this section was off limits." Steve said, looking to Spyro. "In these cases are Hydra gear and weapons." Spyro walked over to see what he was talking about, looking into the case to see that what he was saying was true as there was some kind of gear in it, helmet, suit, some kind of storage devise, even a weapon in it that looked far more advanced than the weapons this world had now. "He's not planning on using it as a source of clean energy, he's going to use it to power these weapons up."
"Who?" Spyro asked. "Who are you talking about?"
"Fury." Steve replied. "Fury is going to use the Tesseract to make weapons like what Hydra did."
Spyro understood too well what he meant as he did watch the movie when he wasn't a prince or a Keyblade bearer and knew what these things were capable of, but couldn't fully understand why Fury would have them on board in the first place, but knew these things were too dangerous for anyone to have and the Tesseract was too powerful for anyone to use and needed to be locked away.
"Spyro." Fury said in his earpiece. "Natasha needs you in the lab. Loki is planning on unleashing the Hulk."
"I'm on my way." Spyro replied. "Natasha, take the girls and bring them to the lab and away from Loki. We might need some backup."
"No problem, we're on our way." Natasha replied.
"Steve, bring the rifle." Spyro said to Captain America. "We need some answers and we need them now."
Not arguing, Steve reached in and got the first weapon he could get, Spyro walking ahead of him as the two of them went towards the lab to see what they could do about making sure the Hulk didn't get loose and about getting some proper answer from the director and why he wanted to Tesseract int the first place.