AN: Hi! So, yeah, not dead (yet.) I had a little bit of a... situation where i couldn't, y'know, use my brain. I like to call it... wRItErS bLoCK! Its a horrid disease that millions of writers across the globe suffer from! O NO! Basically, I was dying. Whoopee. (that wasn't enthusiasm but i mean ok) So, with all that I had, i wrote this chapter. So don't blame me if its bad. Also, its pretty fucking long. I didn't realise how long it actually is until i put it in the copy-n-paste thingy. so i didn't even have to keep writing as long as i did, i could have just stopped and put it out to the world but my stupid ass kept going. you're welcome. anyways im tired so, you can have the chapter now-
wAIT WE NEED TO DISCUSS THE NEW TRAILERS FOR ENDGAME AND THIS STORY ALMOST FORGOT SMH
ok so if you don't get on the internet much, you wont know what im talking about, but its ok bc im basically gonna explain it. if you haven't seen this new released clip, you're dead to me. ok. so, Marvel recently released a clip that i tried my best to throw in this chapter. But, you see, i realised afterwards that there was a time-skip that i missed. (fml) so what i ask of you is that you pRETEND i put in a time-skip somewhere before this situation. use your imagination, i guess, i don't know. im tired. and im rambling. hOW DO YOU RAMBLE THIS MUCH WHEN YOUR TYPING?
jesus ok just- read the chapter. please.
and don't kill me bc im already dying ok moving on-
Chapter 9 ~ Killer in the Mirror
The remaining Avengers, plus Carol and Rocket, had all gathered in the common area. Carol had changed out of her suit and was wearing something more casual. Steve sat on one of the sofas next to Natasha, who had her arms crossed. Bruce was sitting on an armchair with his head in his hands, a holographic image of those who are missing in front of him. Rocket was fiddling with his gun, earning a look from Rhodey—the former army soldier was obviously cautious about the weapon going off, and Thor didn't blame him. Rocket wasn't exactly… responsible.
Thor himself stood beside the chair Bruce sat in, leaning on Stormbreaker. He let his gaze sweep around the quiet team sitting around the room, before puffing out a breath.
"We aren't going to get anywhere sitting in silence," Thor said, straightening off from his weapon.
"Well, where are we going to get?" Bruce murmured. "Is there really much we can do?"
"Don't say that, Bruce," Natasha warned. "There's still hope."
"Hope?" Bruce repeated in disbelief. "Nat, you saw what he did to us in Wakanda. He swatted us away like flies!"
"Well, we can still fight," Rhodey said, frowning.
As they spoke, Thor slowly moved to sit down. He left Stormbreaker leaning against the wall.
Bruce took a deep breath. "If we do this now, we'd be going in short-handed."
Rhodey scoffed. "Yeah, you mean because he killed all our friends?"
His words were met with silence. Steve lowered his gaze, hands clenching into fists. Bruce frowned, Carol narrowed her eyes, and Thor tried his best to suppress the sparks of electricity gathering around his fingers at the reminder.
Natasha broke the silence. She stood, arms crossed.
"We owe it to everybody who's not in this room to try," she declared, voice wavering only once. Bruce lowered his head. Thor glanced at everybody else's reactions, but their faces were shadowed. Only Carol held her head high. Of course, she hadn't really lost anything, Thor mused.
"I say we work on figuring out who we have left," Steve murmured. "Tony went missing before the snap, along with that Spider-Man. We should find the both of them so we stand a better chance when the time comes."
"Ant-man might be able to help, if he's still around and kicking," Rhodey piped up.
"And Clint," Natasha added. The few who didn't know the archer looked at the ex-spy in confusion. "I need to know if he's okay. Laura and the kids, too."
"There were a few Asgardians who escaped our ship when Thanos attacked," Thor added. "I could start sending out signals, perhaps earn us a few more hands in battle." Bruce nodded and smiled.
"Yeah, Val would be a big help right about now," the doctor agreed. Thor grinned. The Valkyrie would be a great asset if they were to encounter Thanos a second time, plus another opinion on how in the Nine to undo the Decimation. The rest of the team had no idea who they were talking about, which was quite amusing. The side-glances they were giving each other almost made him forget the situation they were all in.
Steve gave a solemn nod. "Well, let's get on the lookout then," he decided.
"And what makes you think this time we'll win?" Bruce asked.
"Because this time," Carol replied, brown eyes flickering over from Steve to the scientist, "you have me."
"No disrespect, new girl, but everybody here is about that superhero life," Rhodey said. "Where the hell have you been these past few years?"
"There are other plants in the universe," Carol shot back. "And, unfortunately, they don't have you."
Rhodey narrowed his eyes but fell silent. The group dispersed, each going their different ways—either to look for others, or to monitor the news.
As Steve walked away, he heard a familiar voice in the back of his head.
We're the Avengers. We can bust arms deals on a live-long day but—that up there? That's the endgame. How do you plan on beating that?
Together.
We'll lose.
And we'll do that together, too.
…
"What are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing?"
"Being a child."
"How does climbing a tree look like being a child?"
"Y'know, kids do that stuff. Soon enough I'll turn around only to turn back to you hanging upside down from your knees!"
"It's called getting a lay of the land, you moron. Looking for any sign of others."
Loki rolled his eyes, watching Sam and Bucky argue. Bucky was pulling himself to the next branch of the tree, while Sam watched from the trunk with his arms crossed.
"Do you two ever shut up?" Stephen asked.
"No," Loki answered before they could. Sam sent him a dirty glare, which he returned by smiling and gliding his tongue over his teeth.
Spider-man hopped over to the tree Bucky was climbing, eyes shining. Bucky was staring intently at the next level of branches, which Loki could tell weren't strong enough to hold his weight.
"This is as high as I can get," he called down. Spider-man tilted his head slightly.
"I got it!" He called up in return.
Loki watched in masked amazement as the boy began to climb the tree. Except, he was avoiding the branches completely. He passed Bucky quickly. Loki squinted, trying to figure out how the boy was doing it. Spider-mans fingertips were the only thing touching the tree besides his feet.
"Huh," Stephen murmured from beside him. "I guess the gimmick wasn't just a gimmick."
"That's so cool!" Cooper piped up, tilting his neck to watch.
"Does climbing a tree still look like being a child, Sam?" Bucky called down.
"Well, yeah, considering the child is climbing a tree."
"Oh, for God's sake."
Loki shook his head with a huff. "You see anything, Spider-boy?" He called up.
"Not a boy, I'm a man!" Was the response from deep within the branches. "Also, yes, I hear something in the trees to your… right? Yeah, your right!"
"How the hell can you hear that?" Bucky asked, face screwing up in confusion.
"I don't hear anything," Cooper murmured.
"I've got enhanced senses. Duh. Spider!" Spider-man replied, making his way down the tree branch by branch. He finished off with a flip and a graceful landing on his toes.
"That was.." Bucky began, before trailing off as though he were trying to find the correct words.
"Extra," Sam finished for him, sending the Spider-kid a glare.
"Are we going, or aren't we?" Loki asked impatiently, crossing his arms and tapping his fingers against his forearms.
Stephen held up a finger, reaching behind his cloak. When he pulled his hand back, we was wearing a strange (pun intended) ring. He waved his hand in a circular motion. It started off as a few sparks of orange light, before formulating into a portal.
"After you," he said, sweeping his arms in the direction of the doorway.
"Cool!" Cooper breathed, before stepping through.
"This magic shit is really freaking me out," Sam murmured as he followed. Bucky followed him, probably with a clever comeback that was inaudible. The spider-kid hopped in next, and Loki sighed.
"We could have just walked."
"Where's the fun in that? I thought you teleported everywhere—that's what Spider-boy said, anyways."
There was a faint, "not a boy, I'm a man!" from the portal, but neither men paid it any mind.
"I don't teleport all the time! That's a waste of seidr. I have legs, and I put them to good use."
"Whatever, just get your godly ass through that portal."
"As you wish," was Loki's reply, accompanied by a charming smile. He reluctantly stepped through the portal into whatever awaited him on the other side.
…
Thor had followed Bruce into the lab, watching the scientist as he started sifting through various items laying around. His process was filled with metallic clanks and a few curses, but eventually, Bruce whipped around with a small device in his hand and a triumphant, "aha!"
"Uh, what is that?" Thor asked carefully.
"Little something Tony and I were working on before the whole… Ultron thing," Bruce explained. "It was supposed to trace signals out of our orbit to figure out if extra-terrestrials actually exist—outside of the whole Nine Realms thing, of course. In theory, if I were to amp up the frequency, it could detect signals outside of our specific galaxy."
Thor tried nodding along to show that he understood, but the words weren't quite making sense when he put them together in his mind. When Bruce had finished speaking, Thor tried to simplify things for himself until a sigh pulled him out of his thoughts.
"You didn't understand a word of that, did you?"
"No. Sorry," Thor replied with a sheepish smile.
"Okay. Basically—you see this thing?" He held up the device in his hand and Thor nodded. "Right. This thing can detect any life within our galaxy. If I were to up the power, it could—theoretically, that is, detect life throughout the entire universe. I've never gotten the chance to test it, though," he mumbled the last sentence with a frown. Thor gives his friend a reassuring pat on the back accompanied by a smile.
"I'm sure it'll be fine. Let us go see if we can find the Valkyrie!" Thor declared, the thought of finding the rest of the Asgardians after losing so much making him happier than he had been before he'd discovered Loki hiding out as Odin.
"Right.." Was Bruce's more reluctant reply. The pair made out of the lab.
…
Natasha watched Steve carefully. The rogue Avenger was staring blankly at a hologram of the planet. Shuri, princess of Wakanda, had supposedly disappeared in the snap, but General Okoye had sent them some of her rushed work on the energy signals the mind stone produced—a frantic scrabble the princess had conducted with her limited time with the stone. With the help of Rocket, they were able to apply the energy signals to the map. If Thanos was still on Earth, and if he used the stones, they'd know about it.
The look of Steve's face was set with determination, but Natasha could still detect the sorrow behind his eyes. Honestly, she couldn't blame him. He'd risked everything back in the '40s, thought he'd died, only to be woken up 70 years later—his friends, lover, all dead. The only friend he had left had just crumpled to dust before his eyes.
Natasha swallowed thickly. How did they manage to lose? They were the heroes, Thanos was the villain. The heroes were supposed to win. The heroes were supposed to save the day, prevent countless deaths and save the day. The heroes always won.
But this time, the heroes didn't win. Instead, they were the reason countless innocents all around the universe were dead. The villain, the evil, had emerged victorious.
For now, Natasha thought to herself harshly. We may have a chance to fix this.
She briefly watched Bruce and Thor rush by, chattering to each other. They disappeared up the stairs towards the roof. She briefly wondered what they were doing, and why Thor looked like such a giddy child, before she pushed the thought away. They'd probably found a way to contact the Asgardians.
Carol was having a quiet conversation with Rocket about god knows what, and Rhodey was nowhere to be seen. Probably looking for any signs of where Tony could have gone.
Natasha sighed, turning her attention back to the map. She stared at it for a few moments, before it began to blink. A red dot had landed itself somewhere in Asia, blinking slowly.
"Has he used the stones?" Steve demanded, head shooting up.
Natasha slid over to the computer monitor.
"No," she replied. "There's been sightings of a mass murderer in Japan. Goes by the name of Ronin, adult male with swords. We should probably go and check it out."
"All of us?" Carol asked. "What if Thanos uses the stones while we're gone?"
"Yeah, I agree with the blonde space lady," Rocket piped up. "I don't want to miss a chance to kill that crazy-chinned purple grape with the powerful jewellery."
"Well then we'll only send a few of us," Steve decided.
"Hold on, there are recordings," Natasha interrupted as video files popped up onto the screen. She opened the first video up and turned on the TV, projecting it there as well.
It showed the dark streets of a city in Japan. Everything was normal for the first minute or two; the odd civilian here and there would pass. Natasha was starting to suspect this was some kind of false alarm. That is, until things started to get interesting.
There was a black streak that flashed down from one of the buildings. It landed—or they landed, Natasha assumed, and several men dropped dead. There was a glint of light, reflected off a blade of some sort, before the hooded figure disappeared into an alley.
The movements seemed oddly familiar, but Natasha couldn't quite put her finger on it. She closed the tab and clicked on the next file. This video was recorded from street-level, either on a phone or a camera held by a human if the shaking of the footage was anything to go off of.
It showed the hooded man land in a crouched position, sliding out with his two swords and killing two men. The camera-holder backed up, and the audio was filled with screams of terror and panted breaths. It showed the hooded figure kill a few more, before turning his head back slightly. The only thing shown was a nose and a tuft of dark hair, before the figure was gone.
The room was in silence. Natasha was narrowing her gaze thoughtfully because this man was all-too familiar. But she couldn't think of anybody who wielded a sword such as the one this figure carried.
"Wow," Rocket said, breaking the comfortable silence. "That was the coolest fight sequence ever."
"Rocket," Carol chided with a tut. The raccoon raised his hands (again, paws?) in surrender.
"So who goes?" Steve asked.
"Do you really think it's a good idea to go?" Carol replied, head tilting every so slightly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rocket scoffed.
"I mean is it a really good idea to divert our resources to this?" She repeated, glancing at Rocket.
"He's killing innocents," Steve pointed out calmly.
"Thanos killed millions of innocents and we still haven't stopped him," Carol shot back. "We should be focusing on reversing the snap and bringing back the half of the universe he eliminated!"
"And in the process let hundreds of others die?" Steve sounded exasperated. "I mean no disrespect, ma'am, but you haven't been here for the past however many years! We, as the Avengers, have a responsibility to eliminate threats to this planet!"
Carol seemed to stop and think for a moment, but Natasha wasn't sure why. It didn't look like she was considering going after this Ronin guy, but was thinking something else over. Perhaps she was considering just stopping Thanos herself? That idea seemed impossible, but Natasha didn't know this person well enough to know if she wouldn't try. Finally, Carol blinked coldly.
"Did Nick ever tell you I was the original Avenger?" She asked, voice as cold as ice. Natasha blinked with pure confusion. The original Avenger?
"Nick never mentioned someone else as being apart of the Avengers Initiative," Natasha replied slowly.
"Well, that'd be because I wasn't." The sentence caught Natasha off guard, and she exchanged a glance with Steve. Rocket seemed to have gotten bored of the conversation and had begun screwing with the computers—probably hacking them.
"Explain," Steve said, his tone making it sound like more of an order than a request. Carol raised an eyebrow but didn't comment, which Natasha was internally grateful for; she wasn't sure if they could afford to fight amongst themselves, or to create another powerful enemy. Not right now, at least.
"I used to be a pilot, and they used to call me Carol 'Avenger' Danvers. I'm sure Fury would have dug up some of my old files after I left to help the Skrulls and—"
"Wait, what the hell are Skrulls?" Natasha interrupted.
"A shape-shifting alien species, we thought they were evil but they weren't—anyways! I knew Fury. I wouldn't be surprised if he used my old life as inspiration."
"That's nice and all," Steve said, "but you weren't the original. I became Captain America in the 1940's."
"This isn't a 'who is older' competition!" Natasha interrupted before Carol could reply. "We get it, Steve, your ancient. Might as well put you in a museum. Could we focus on the task at hand, please? Who is going after this Ronin guy?"
"Well, why don't you go if you care so much?" Rocket piped up, turning away from the TV he was taking apart—when he saw his actions, Steve gave him a death glare. Natasha shrugged.
"Fine by me. I'll go to Japan and get rid of the Ronin, you guys make sure Thor and Bruce don't explode the compound."
…
When Loki stepped through Stephens portal, he was.. confused, to say the least. They were on an empty pathway through the forest, and there was no sign of life at all.
"Hey, Bug-boy, I think you need a hearing check!" Sam called from where he had wandered further up the path.
"Its Spider-man, thank you! And I swear that I heard something!" Spider-man called back, crossing his arms with a huff.
"If you don't mind me asking," Loki started carefully, "what exactly did you hear?"
Spider-man paused for a few moments, seeming to think it over, before replying.
"It was a strange growling noise.." he murmured. Then, his eyes widened and he gasped.
"What? What is it? Did you hear something?" Bucky asked, whipped his head side-to-side as though there was something lurking behind them.
"No! What if what I heard was a demon?"
"Oh, for the love of everything sacred—there is no demon, child!" Loki snapped.
"I dunno," Cooper murmured, "this forest is giving me the creeps. Maybe it's haunted!"
"I agree with short stuff over there," Sam added, walking back to the group. "This place has some sketchy vibes."
"You just want attention, Sam," Bucky huffed.
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Everybody shut up!" Stephen snapped. The group fell silent. Loki let his gaze wander. There was a faint rumbling, and the vibrations set his seidr into motion. Green wisps appeared at his fingertips.
"What is that?" Cooper murmured, cowering behind Sam.
"I don't know," Spider-man murmured in reply. "The vibrations are too strong to pick out anything specific. Could be anything."
"It sounds like footsteps to me," Bucky replied in a hushed voice.
"I agree with Wakandan Jesus," Sam whispered. Bucky shot him a look, and Loki rolled his eyes. Out of the millions that faded to dust, he had to be stuck with these two. The Norns hate him, obviously.
"Well, whatever it is," Stephen whispered harshly, "it's coming this way."
And he was right. The noise was steadily growing louder. Spider-man's helmet formulated over his head and he crouched down; Bucky drew his fists up in a defensive position; Stephen held, several arm movements later, two shields; Sam stuck his arm out, herding Cooper further behind him; and Loki allowed his magic to flow freely from his veins and brought his hands up to showcase the green wisps crawling out from his fingers.
The bushes rattled once. Twice. Three times.
Loki narrowed his eyes and slid his foot out to help his balance.
Four.
The prince glanced at the people he was stuck fighting with. If this thing was a huge threat, he was doomed.
Five.
A man burst through the bushes, seemingly running for his life. His face was white as a ghost, and Loki could tell it wasn't his natural tone—don't as him how, he just did. Behind him came an insect-looking lady, a man covered head-to-toe in red tattoos, and a tree—the tree that came with Thor.
"Quill!" Stephen exclaimed that Spider-man said, "Star-lord!"
"Get out of the way!" The man—Quill, Star-lord, Loki hadn't decided which name he trusted—screamed.
Before Loki could ask what in the Helheim he was talking about, a dark muzzle burst through the undergrowth.
"Oh, Norns help us all," Loki breathed, shuffling back a little bit. Quill and his three companions tore past the group as Fenris, Hela's wolf, emerged from the brambles, lips curled in the beginnings of a snarl.
"What the hell is that?" Sam screamed.
"We're gonna die!" came the faint scream of Quill.
Loki heard the fading footsteps as everybody behind him ran, but he knew better than that. Fenris was fast—they'd be caught. So he'd have to face the beast.
But maybe not kill it. Just.. face it.
And like that, Loki had a plan.
"Loki! What the hell are you standing there for? Run!" Bucky yelled from behind him. Loki raised his hand, not speaking a word. His determined green gaze was focused on Fenris's approaching dark from. Green eyes met green, and Loki's lips formed a snarl of his own.
He was a spitting image of Hela (how is he the adopted one?) so maybe he could control Fenris as she could.
He held his hand forwards, the skin seemingly smoking with neon green. Fenris seemed to slow down with confusion at his actions. Loki counted that as a small victory, but he wasn't done yet.
Fenris stopped directly in front of the young god, and Loki narrowed his eyes. He took a reluctant step forwards, every other part of his body but his legs unmoving. Fenris's eyes followed his hand until he carefully pressed it against his nose.
The group behind him was silent, if they were even still there. It was possible they had all fled already, but he paid it no mind. All that he was focused on right now was taming the overgrown wolf in front of him.
"They think you a monster," Loki whispered, running his hand along Fenris's muzzle. "I know the feeling."
He earned a low growl from the wolf, but he still had his hand, so that was a win.
"You aren't so bad, are you, Fenris?"
Another growl, softer this time. Loki risked a smile. He moved his hand further down Fenris's muzzle, getting closer to his mouth. Suddenly, Fenris snarled, all previous calmness gone. Loki frowned, his hand freezing.
He slowly lifted his limb away from the wolf, took a deep breath, and held it under the wolf's nose. Fenris sniffed him, before edging away ever so slightly.
Fenris didn't seem all as menacing as he did with Hela, Loki noticed. How curious.
Loki furrowed his brows in confusion. He looked down at his hand, then back at Fenris. The wolf had locked eyes with him, vibrant green staring into vibrant green. In these moments, Fenris looked almost.. human. Aesir, more like. He was a wolf, yes, but he wasn't. And, with a faint smile, Loki understood.
"By Norns, what have they done to you?" He breathed.
Fenris made a small whining noise, and Loki carefully stroked his muzzle again.
"I won't hurt you like they did, I promise."
Fenris backed away again, as though he still didn't trust Loki's word. Loki sighed, lowering his gaze. Then, he forced his seidr away and held his hand under Fenris's mouth. Fenris met his eyes again, almost curiously, before his jaws parted. Not breaking eye contact, Loki stuck his hand into Fenris's mouth. Fenris closed his mouth in a swift, strong motion, his fangs digging into Loki's flesh.
There was a chorus of horrified gasps behind him, letting him know everybody was in fact still there. Wonderful. He let out a hiss through clenched teeth, but other then that, showed no more signs of pain. With his other hand, he ran his fingers along Fenris's nose again.
"See?" He breathed.
Something sparked into Fenris's eyes, and he slowly opened his mouth to allow Loki to pull his hand out again. The limb he retracted from the wolf's mouth was mangled and coated with both blood and saliva.
Loki immediately put his seidr to work, his hand swirling with green, and he smirked slightly at the wolf before him.
"Jesus, when did Loki turn into Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon?" He heard Sam whisper. Loki sighed and turned his head. Sam, Cooper, Bucky, Stephen, Spider-man, Quill, and his three companions were grouped together on the forest path, quite a few feet away.
"I am Groot?"
"No, they are not siblings—why would you even think that?" Quill snapped, turning to the tree who spoke.
"I am Groot."
"Okay, yes, they look a little alike.."
"I am Groot!"
"Mantis? What does Mantis have to do with this?"
Loki sighed and brought his free hand to the bridge of his nose. More fools to deal with. Wonderful. He'd have to deal with that issue later.
First, healing his hand and making sure nobody would kill Fenris.
After all, adopted siblings had to stick together.
ooh cliff hanger. sorry not sorry-
ONE FAVOURITE = Loki gets casted as Hiccup for the HtTYD reboot (it'll happen i swear)
ONE REVIEW = one nickel for every time Carol has to explain what a Skrull is (srry bb)