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A Cosmic Rendition: Chapter 12
🕑 Added 2023-09-20 16:30:01 +0000 UTCThor sat alone in the room he had been given on the Helicarrier, deeply thoughtful. Regret was one thing that was paramount in his mind, and he could not help but wonder just where it all went wrong.
Loki had seemingly fallen off the path of righteousness, and the more time passed, the more Thor felt he was losing his brother for good.
And sister, he thought.
Sylvie and Loki were twins. Each a half of the whole. Ever since childhood, the two were thick as thieves. Often utilizing their power over the mystics, they created mayhem whenever they could, much to the chagrin of the Asgardian guards and the exasperation of their mother.
Centuries passed, and they fought together, growing as close as siblings could. However, it was quite evident to Thor that there was something different about the way the twins started to treat each other once they grew into their adult selves.
He had kept his suspicions to himself, however. Thus, it came as no surprise to him when he stumbled upon them and found his suspicions confirmed.
Disgust was the first feeling that overcame his mind as he watched them hurriedly pull away. He kept his eyes firmly away from his sister’s naked form, instead staring his brother down. His brother — one who showed no shame whatsoever.
That was the first time Thor had wondered just how well he knew his siblings. Evidently... not very well.
He had chosen not to tell anyone else about it. He was sure Heimdall knew. Nothing escaped his sight, after all.
Years passed, and he knew Loki and Sylvie had remained lovers. They knew they could not let it be known and Thor willingly helped them hide the truth from everyone.
When Laufey attacked Asgard and the truth of Loki and Sylvie’s parentage was revealed, none had been more shocked than him. That was the day he felt he’d lost his siblings. The Bifrost had been destroyed and Loki fell into the abyss, with Sylvie following him despite all their efforts to prevent such a thing. Two halves of a whole indeed.
Now, as Thor sat in contemplation, he wondered where Sylvie was. He had no doubts that she was involved in this scheme with his brother. The sense of betrayal the twins had felt from the Allfather and consequently all of Asgard was immense.
Loki wanted the throne, and he knew Sylvie would be right beside her lover to rule over Asgard as his queen. Truth be told, Thor did not want to let them have it. Not because he coveted the power and the seat for himself. The reason was simple. None of Loki or Sylvie was suited to rule. Their temperament was not one of a ruler. They coveted power and recognition – something their father had always showered him with, much to all of their chagrin.
It was apparent to everyone in the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf that Odin favored his eldest over the twins – solely because his eldest was to be the ruler one day and as such, deserving of most of his attention and admiration. It also did not help that Thor had been the one to be chosen by Mjolnir while none of the weapons chose either Loki or Sylvie. Those two had instead devoted themselves to learning the ways of the mystics, something Odin undoubtedly valued but only as a tool to be used in battle, not to be revered.
The twins had more grievances than most, and even though they wanted vengeance upon him, his heart went out to them. However, nothing gave them the right to commit the grievous sin of genocide. Earth was not theirs to claim, conquer, or subjugate, nor were the lives of the humans theirs to play with. Their hardship did not justify the unparalleled murder of the innocent.
He understood, but he could not tolerate them to go ahead with their terrorism.
He recalled when Diana had asked him to talk to Loki, hoping against hope that he could perhaps get him to disclose the location of the Tesseract. Apparently, their doctors had failed to pinpoint any conclusive destination.
However, he knew it was futile. Loki’s goals were farfetched, and he had gone too far into this scheme of his that nothing would stop him in his pursuit of vengeance upon him. He was hoping that whatever prison they had created for him would be able to hold him, but something told him it was wishful thinking. Loki’s demeanor was a dead giveaway. He was in full control of the situation, and he knew it.
XXXXX
“Hey,” Thor said as he leaned against the open door to the office. Diana and Clark were sitting together, discussing something, when the latter looked over and smiled. The God of Thunder walked forward and took the proffered chair. “Did I interrupt something?”
“You’re not,” Diana replied, smiling when he put his hammer on the desk. Thor noticed and chuckled.
“Don’t like keeping it away from me ever since… you know…”
“You don’t have to explain, Thor,” she sighed. “New Mexico could’ve been avoided, but you’re not the one to blame. Odin should’ve exercised more caution with Loki.”
“He has a lot of responsibilities,” Thor tried.
“And my mother always disagrees. You know very well what her opinion of your father is,” Diana chuckled. Her mother Hippolyta’s rivalry with the Allfather was legendary. There was not a single chance the two ever failed to trade barbs.
“I am somewhat surprised she is not here considering it’s Loki who attacked you,” Thor asked without asking. Diana pursed her lips.
“That is because I have asked her to stay away. You know what she would do if she were here.”
Thor grimaced. Hippolyta’s violent tendencies when treating with her enemies were the stuff of legends. He knew she would stop at nothing to extract every bit of information from Loki. Approaches that regular people would never consider were usual for her.
He was sure she would start at torture and would be ruthless at it. A part of him was surprised that Loki had even dared to attack knowing Hippolyta could get so violent. It seemed his brother’s desire for vengeance was just so high.
“It would have been easy enough to sic your mother on him and be done with this affair,” Clark muttered. “I couldn’t give a toss about what happens to that manchild as long as we got the whereabouts of Barton, Selvig, and his future plans. We’re just sitting ducks here.”
“We know how you feel about Loki, Clark, but we cannot resort to torture. That’s the wrong way of going about things,” Diana replied, glancing at the disapproving expression on Thor’s face.
“You know that’s what your mother does, right?” Clark replied with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“Just because she’s my mother doesn’t mean I have to like or even agree with everything she says or does. I don't have a harem of women, for example,” Diana offered her rebuttal promptly, making both men grimace slightly.
“Speaking of harems, what’s up with our dear girl? She’s sharing her man with another, seriously?” Clark interjected.
“We’re in a crisis and you’re here worrying about our daughter’s love life? Are you serious right now?” Diana asked with a disbelieving chuckle.
“I’m a father. Sue me,” Clark retorted. “Tell me I’m wrong to think like this, Thor.”
Thor looked like a deer caught in headlights as he blinked.
“Er… how should I know what to think? I’m not a father,” he managed. “Nor do I have any experience when it comes to two partners. I can’t even be with one right now.”
“Don’t worry about Jane,” Diana reassured him. “She’s in Austria right now. We’ve got an advanced research facility, properly secured and equipped with all the stuff she’d love.”
“Got her relocated the moment we realized Selvig’s been turned,” Clark added supportively. “You can go over and visit her whenever you want.”
“I appreciate it,” Thor nodded. “Now, getting back to the matter at hand…”
“Loki, yes,” Diana sighed. “I don’t think there is much we can do about him right now. Torturing him is out of question, and I doubt anyone could trick him to reveal his plans right now.”
“Not even Natasha?” Thor asked curiously. “Didn’t you once tell me she’s been trained in spying and subterfuge? Or perhaps your other daughter? You did tell me how she was involved in this undercover interrogation when she made her captor reveal information without even realizing it.”
Diana and Clark grimaced at the mention of Yelena’s newest expedition. They had forbidden her from carrying out the mission like that, and yet, the rebellious girl had ignored their instructions and thrown herself in the heat of the cauldron. It was great fortune on their part that they had not lost their daughter or that something even worse did not happen to her.
They had yet to have a word with the girl, and the way she had been pointedly looking away from them back when they had the debriefing was proof enough that she knew a thorough tongue-lashing was on the cards.
Clark pondered on Thor’s suggestion for a moment. They could indeed go ahead with it. After all, there was no harm in at least trying. If something came out of it, then it was all well and good. Otherwise, they were simply back to where they were right now. There was no loss.
It seemed his wife had reached the same conclusion as she nodded.
XXXXX
Natasha was surprised when her mother told her about it. Tricking the God of Mischief was something she could never have thought about. However, her mother had responded by saying that she and Yelena had been trained for it, and now was the time to demonstrate their skills.
As expected, Yelena was more than eager to prove herself, especially in the aftermath of her defiance. Anything to get back in the good graces of her parents. The blonde had been scolded a bit by both, but they agreed that she and her sister were more than capable of doing this.
Thor told them how there was a big likelihood of Loki underestimating her and her sister, alluding to his dismissive attitude and disdain toward certain individuals which the weak mortals of Midgard were at the top of.
Finally, they agreed, but Yelena suddenly volunteered to do it alone, saying that she had an idea. When they protested, she was quick to point out how Loki might know a few things about Natasha that he could use against her since he had Barton’s mind under control, which meant he must know it all.
They had to admit that it was a very fair point, and against her wishes, Natasha agreed to let Yelena carry out this little mission. Now, as she watched her sister approach the prison that housed a bored Loki, she hoped she would pull through.
Back in another part of the Helicarrier where Loki had been housed, Yelena walked forward with slow, purposeful steps. Her gait belied nothing, and she had a focused expression on her face. Her eyes were trained on her target, and she never wavered in her sight of him.
The way he was lounging about the cage lazily, behaving as if he had not murdered dozens of innocents in the past forty-eight hours sent a wave of revulsion through her. She could not believe she had volunteered to do this, and not for the first time, she wondered just why she was like this.
Meanwhile, Clark and Diana were watching their daughter walking toward the cage with Natasha, Selina, Wayne, and Thor.
“Any idea what she’s going to do?” Wayne asked curiously.
No one replied. All were watching Yelena who had finally reached the cage.
Loki was walking back and forth inside the glass cage when he suddenly stopped. A smirk materialized on his face and he spoke without turning around, “You are skillful, I’ll give you that. Not many people can boast of having snuck up on me.”
“What can I say, I’m skillful like that,” Yelena smirked as she cocked her hip to the side and rested her hand on it. Loki turned around and his smirk widened.
“The little daughter,” the God of Mischief remarked. “Not so little anymore. I remember seeing you once. You were what? Ten?”
“Maybe,” Yelena replied. “What’s it to you?”
“Nothing,” Loki smirked. “Absolutely nothing. I did not expect you to come though. Your mother? Perhaps. She and I go a long way, after all.”
“I know,” Yelena replied. “Glad I could surprise the God of Mischief.”
“And I commend you for that,” Loki clapped twice. “I am curious though. Why are you here exactly?”
“The same reason you expected my mother to be here,” Yelena replied.
“Ah,” Loki marveled. “So you are here to be the balm to my wounds. But as you can see, I don’t have any wounds. I expected your father to inflict some on me, you know? We cannot stand each other. I believed he would torture me to extract whatever information he wanted, and when he was through with me, your mother would come like a balm to comfort me, and I would cooperate.”
Yelena chuckled.
“I guess you can thank my mother and your brother for that. Father was okay with letting grandmother deal with you, but they stopped it.”
For the first time, there was an expression of something other than smugness on Loki’s face. Apprehension was the word that first came to Yelena’s mind, and she had to force herself not to smirk. It seemed the stories they told about her grandmother were indeed true. Men were terrified of her. It made her wonder just how she had agreed to a union between her parents.
Something to think later about.
“I have a few questions, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Loki gave her an easy smile and waved his hand, gesturing for her to proceed.
“What exactly have you done to Agent Barton? He was one of the best SHIELD had to offer, and you took him out just like that!” Yelena asked curiously. Loki chuckled.
“I won’t say I took him out,” he replied. “I just… broadened the horizons of his mind. He is much freer now.”
“I see…” Yelena mused. “And when you’ve won, will he be free like he is right now?”
Loki smirked. “Is that concern I hear in your voice? Some other emotion, even?”
Yelena stayed silent.
“You do know he has a family, right? It isn’t right to have these feelings for someone who is already taken,” Loki spoke in a calming voice.
“Nothing like that. He’s just a good friend.”
“Oh?” Loki blinked as he leaned against the far end of the glass. “Do tell.”
“Nothing much to tell, honestly,” Yelena shrugged. “We’ve been on a few missions together and he’s saved my ass in some of them. You can say I owe him a bit.”
“Disappointing,” Loki sighed. “And here I thought you would have something interesting to tell. How you have some regrets, how you want to save him so that you could atone for your sins. Isn’t that the kind of things your species is known for? Committing sins and repenting for them?”
Yelena chuckled. Smiling, she replied, “Well, you’ll find I’m a bit different from the usual ones from my species. I don’t feel regret for what I’ve done, for one. I also like to set my sights much higher than people think.”
Loki looked at her, intrigued.
“Do tell me.”
“I do have a fair share of blood on my hands. Comes with the job, so to speak. Contrary to what you might think, I don’t feel bad for even a single drop. Repaying my debts though… now that is something I hold in very high regard.”
“And what would you do if he is returned safe?”
“Not let you out, for one,” Yelena chuckled.
“I’m not asking for it either,” Loki smirked back. He had to admit he was quite liking this little conversation. Who knew the usually uptight Diana could raise such a spontaneous young woman?
“I’m not surprised. You’re one of the only ones who looks like he wants to be here,” Yelena replied distastefully.
“I take it you don’t like it here, hmm?”
“Not one bit,” Yelena sighed. “Surrounded with weapons and these advanced gadgets? Give me a nice recliner and an umbrella on a beach over this any day.”
Loki sneered. Such basal instincts.
“I’m pretty sure I could make it worth your while if you wanted,” the blonde continued, and Loki was slightly taken aback when she leaned forward. Yelena smirked and dropped even lower, exposing her cleavage for his eyes to feast on.
Batting her eyelashes coquettishly, she continued, “I told you I like to set my sights quite high, didn’t I? Well… I’m sure all those prudes on Asgard must’ve bored you to death for all these years. A bit of delight that Earth has to offer would surely stimulate your taste buds, if you catch my drift.”
Shocked looks were exchanged by everyone watching this interaction over on a monitor as they saw Yelena try and seduce Loki.
“This won’t end well,” Thor muttered.
“Just what is this idiot thinking!?” Natasha hissed looking at the screen. Clark and Diana watched with pursed lips.
“Is that so?” Loki mused, watching the girl with amusement as she slowly dragged down the zip at the front, exposing her breasts encased in her blue bra.
“Very much so,” Yelena purred, her eyes gleaming in wicked seductiveness as she pulled her top apart and exposed her bra-clad mounds. “I’m sure I could show you a much better time than whatever slut you fuck over in Asgard. You’d like that, won’t you?”
Loki’s eyes pulsed in rage as Thor gripped Mjolnir firmly, gritting his teeth.
“Have care how you speak, peasant,” Loki hissed.
“Ooh! Peasant! So you’re into the degrading stuff, huh? No matter, my lord. You can degrade me all you want,” Yelena whispered seductively, pushing her chest out even more. Her breasts strained against the fabric of her bra as she continued, “And from that reaction, I can tell you do have a slut back home. Well, no matter. Once you have a taste of this, you’ll forget that slut in an instant. I can guarantee you of that.”
Rage coursed through Loki’s veins as he glared.
“You think you could get me to succumb to baser instincts like a lesser being!?” he snarled. “You are a child in the grand scheme of things. To think that your world is in peril and all you can think about is seducing a higher being? Pathetic! If anyone is a degraded slut, it’s you.”
Yelena jerked back as if slapped. She stared at Loki with wide eyes.
“How dare you call me that!” She cried out, her attitude suddenly doing a complete 180. Loki did not care to notice though.
“Silence, woman!” he hissed through clenched teeth, his eyes gleaming maliciously. “You, who kills and lies in the service of killers and liars! Who thinks herself beyond the others, who doesn’t feel remorse for the blood on her hands and yet tries to dissuade a godlike being like me from his righteous path! You think being nonchalant about it and putting a pathetic act like that will mollify anyone? Nothing will ever!”
Loki was now close to the front. Yelena flinched and jerked back once more when he slammed his palms on the glass surface. A loud bang echoed throughout the chamber they were in.
“You want Barton’s life in exchange for being my slut? I vow I won’t kill him. I will make him kill you instead! But before that, I will make him degrade you. In every possible way you could think of! Like a true slut that you are! And only when he has destroyed you to my heart’s content will I release my hold on his mind. The moment he sees his handiwork and the despair and horror settles in, I’ll pull his intestines out and tie you two in an everlasting embrace. That is the bargain you are going to get!”
Loki did not remember ever being this enraged, but something went off inside him when this little bitch degraded his Sylvie, his other half, like that. No one had the right to say anything about her!
Meanwhile, Yelena stared, horrified, at Loki’s snarling face and she stumbled back, shivering.
“Dad was right. You are a monster,” she whispered, turning around to walk away.
“Your father is indeed right, girl,” Loki hissed, looking at the back of the girl who was too terrified to hold his gaze. It was all in vain now. She would suffer for daring to utter those words. “I am the monster. And you better believe when the mercenaries from hell rain down on that pathetic beacon of light, I will be there, ensuring you watch it all fall apart in front of your eyes. Only then will I make dear Barton destroy you, in full view of everyone. That will be your punishment for daring to utter those vile words!”
Yelena suddenly turned around, completely poised.
“I see. Thanks for your cooperation,” she said, zipping her top back up. Looking over at the camera, she smirked.
Diana and Clark exchanged an exasperated look as Natasha shook her head in disbelief. Meanwhile, Loki stared, frozen, at the girl’s retreating figure in silence.
“Told you I’ll get something out of him,” Yelena said smugly when she joined the others. “I hope you understood what he meant?”
“Perfectly,” Clark said as he looked at his daughter pointedly. “We shall be having a very lengthy discussion about a few things, young lady.”
Yelena rolled her eyes as she linked her arm with her sister.
“I’ll see if I can get you in with, you know, my schedule being so tight and all,” she winked. Natasha clicked her tongue in annoyance as her sister dragged her away.
The others watched them until they turned a corner before Diana looked at her husband.
“So Stark’s tower is the target. We had a hunch, but Loki just confirmed it.”
Clark nodded.
“We need to act soon.”
XXXXX
“Alright, I’m here. What is it?”
Tony looked over and gestured for the man to grab a seat. Steve sighed and obliged. Peggy sat right beside him and looked at Stark’s son expectantly.
“We’re just waiting for a few more,” Tony remarked and resumed his tinkering with his tablet. “Anyhow, did I mention how weird it is to see you two looking younger than me? ‘Cause it’s very weird. You’re older than my old man would’ve been, for sure.”
“We’re sorry about Howard and Maria. We didn’t meet her but she must be a wonderful woman for your father to choose her,” Peggy said with a small smile. Tony glanced at her and nodded.
“The best I could’ve asked for,” Tony replied.
The sound of approaching footsteps alerted them and they looked over. Wayne entered, followed by Selina and Banner. Once everyone was in, Tony nodded and gestured for them to sit.
“What’s with all the secrecy?” Wayne asked curiously. Tony responded by throwing a few stapled stacks of papers on the desk.
“Put those brains to use, folks. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”
Looks were exchanged around the table as everyone reached forward and grabbed a stack each, leafing through the pages. All the while, Tony continued to fiddle with the screen while glancing at them every few seconds and taking note of their reactions. So far, as expected.
“How sure are you of this?” Wayne asked, his voice grave.
“More than the fact that I’m a male,” Tony replied curtly. “Got a trojan in the network and uncovered all the crap they could’ve hidden. What say now, Cap?”
Steve had not taken his eyes off the papers. He was staring furiously at the image of a HYDRA Assault Rifle printed on the paper.
“So this is Phase 2. Using the Tesseract to make weapons of mass destruction,” Selina muttered. “Honestly, I’m not surprised. An organization this big and it doesn’t do anything shady? Even petty thugs do.”
“It seems I was wrong. The world hasn’t changed one bit,” Peggy muttered. “To think Diana would hide something like this from all of us though…”
“I don’t think she knows,” Steve intoned softly. “Neither of them do. It is as you said.”
He looked over at Tony who stared back.
“They are not the entirety of SHIELD. This was done behind their backs. I refuse to believe they have been operating under ulterior motives.”
“That’s all well and good, but we need to do something about this. No way SHIELD can get away with this,” Wayne said firmly, looking at Tony who nodded.
“Where are the others? Why tell this to only those present here?” Steve asked suspiciously.
Tony turned around and chuckled.
“Doctor Banner can’t be near that scepter, and I’d rather not involve the SHIELD guys yet, no offense to those who have close friends there.”
There were a few grimaces around as they stared at the papers.
“They should know about this,” Steve said firmly.
“Yeah, I think not,” Tony snorted. “For all we know, they all are involved as well. Won’t surprise me considering the nature of the organization—”
“They are people of integrity. They are not involved!” Steve retorted.
“They might be, but you cannot say that for certain!” Wayne replied in place of Stark, who slapped the man on the back.
“Finally someone who sees sense!”
“So what’s your big plan? That you’d keep it from them and weed everything out like you extracted this information?”
“If it comes down to it, then yeah,” Tony shrugged. “These people here are dabbling with things they should have no business with. Controlling something like that cube? Quite arrogant.”
“A bit rich, coming from you, don’t you think?” Steve chuckled mirthlessly.
Tony ignored him. Turning toward the rest of the small crowd, he continued, “Their tinkering with the Tesseract probably brought Loki’s attention toward us. How else would he have known that someone was using it? It’s an Infinity Stone, isn’t it? You’re telling me these people have the ability to control a force like that?”
“I’m not saying that,” Steve replied. “I’m just saying we need to talk to Diana and Clark about this, and the possibility of a mole in their organization.”
“And when did I say that we won’t tell them about it?” Tony asked in exasperation. “You’re making it sound as if I have some ulterior motives, when in reality it’s probably your dear friends who are dabbling with something they cannot understand or hope to control. That doesn’t concern you, does it? Put your faith in your friends on the backseat for once and look at the reality as it is, Cap.”
Affronted, Steve stood up. The chair went clattering back.
“You are one hypocrite, Stark. You make your fortune making weapons of mass destruction and yet show such vehemence when someone else goes for it.”
“How the hell’s this about me now?” Tony asked agitatedly, taking a step forward. “You’re a bit behind the times so I’ll spell it out for you, big man. Stark Industries no longer makes weaponry.”
“Yeah? Forgive me if I don’t take you at face value.”
“I really don’t care if you do,” Tony smiled mirthlessly. The two men were face to face now while the others were either staring or arguing amongst themselves.
“Back off, Stark,” Steve said quietly.
“How about you make me?” Tony replied.
“Big man in a suit of armor,” Steve smirked. “Take that off, what are you?”
“Genius. Billionaire. Playboy. Philanthropist. Take your pick, big man.”
“So much pride. I’ve seen men with none of that cockiness and yet they were worth ten of you. The only thing you’d ever fight for is yourself. Don’t think you’ve fooled me with this finding. You could never be the one to make the sacrifice, to lay down on the wire and let someone else crawl over you to safety.”
“I prefer to cut the wire. More logical that way.”
Steve’s lips curled.
“Always with a comeback, aren’t you a witty one? You may not be a direct threat, but stop pretending to be a hero.”
That did it. Tony glared, gritting his teeth.
“A hero? Like the great Captain America, huh? Oh, I crashed an aircraft in the frozen shithole. Worship me, peasants!” He said mockingly, his eyes hard. “You are a lab rat, Rogers. The result of an experiment. What am I without my suit of armor, huh? At least I’ve worked for it. What about you? Chosen for an experiment. You didn’t even work for anything to get where you are. It was all handed to you.”
“You have no idea what you’re—”
Steve was cut off when Peggy suddenly slammed her palms on the desk, rattling it. The bang echoed around the room and everyone looked at her.
“We don’t have time to bicker like children here. Loki’s still kicking and scheming from that little cage of his. We can discuss this later. You two can even fight if you want, but Loki is the priority right now.”
She looked at her husband pointedly, who looked away.
“Don’t think I’d be ashamed to hit an old man,” Tony remarked, earning a pointed look from the woman as well. He rolled his eyes as he glanced at her face.
No one noticed the gleaming blue gem on the scepter as it pulsed.
XXXXX
Clark and Diana were walking with Thor toward the laboratory where the scepter was housed when suddenly they were thrown off their feet. They collided with the metallic wall of the Helicarrier and grunted.
Emergency alarms went off as pandemonium erupted inside the Helicarrier. Clark shot to his feet followed by Thor and Diana and they sat agents scrambling about.
In the bridge, Fury and Hill tried to keep the situation as much under control as possible.
“Status, Agent Hill?”
“Engine 3 is down, Director. One more and we are going down,” she replied in as professional a voice as she could.
“Get someone on it quickly then!”
“Yes sir.”
Maria Hill walked out of the bridge, only to stumble on a few more agents who were running around.
Meanwhile, Barton emerged from one end of the corridor flanked by a few men in SHIELD combat attire.
“The bridge is this way,” he grunted and walked forward, followed by the men. “Feel free to blow up whatever you’d like.”
At his command, the men started firing rounds around at everything. A few agents were caught in the crossfire, either going down or dying on the spot.
Over to the other end of the Helicarrier, Clark, and Diana suddenly stumble upon Tony and Steve in a destroyed corridor.
“Stark, good that you’re here. We need that engine up and running pronto. Come with me,” Clark instructed and took off, followed by Tony. Diana looked at them before she turned toward Steve.
“Where are the others?”
“Off to check on Doctor Banner,” he replied.
“Good. We need to get to Loki.”
“What about Thor?” Steve asked as he rushed behind her.
“He’s off to check up on something,” she replied. “Let’s go.”
Suddenly, there was a massive roar in the distance and they staggered, eyes wide.
“Oh no, it’s happened again,” Diana muttered and took off. Steve could barely keep up with her pace and he had barely a second to brace himself as the large metallic wall in front of him burst open. He grunted and was slammed back against the wall when someone collided with him, and he heard the groan of pain from his wife.
“What’s the big deal?” He muttered as he gingerly stood up, helping her back to her feet.
“A little green problem,” Peggy muttered as she grabbed the handle of her sword that was yanked into the wall. With a grunt, she pulled it back and held it aloft. She turned toward Steve and said, “Doctor Ross has been abducted, and it sent Doctor Banner in a rage… again. There is no way to calm him down without her.”
Steve looked over and saw Bruce Wayne and Selina fighting a few men clad in SHIELD attire while Diana tried to keep the Hulk at bay. Her energy beams seemed to have no effect whatsoever and all she did was enrage the angry creature even more.
“What a mess…” Steve sighed as he and his wife rushed forward. “Take care not to kill him.”
Peggy ignored the man and slammed the flat side of her Vibranium sword on the creature’s torso. Right when she pulled back, Steve threw his shield and rammed it in the exact same spot. All it did was earn a feral growl from the Hulk.
“Bruce, Selina, get away from here, you two!” Diana shouted. “We’ll handle this. You two go and make sure Loki doesn’t escape.”
“Got it!” Selina shouted as they took off toward where Loki was kept.
“Doctor Banner,” Diana said softly as the Hulk growled. “I need you to calm down right now. Remember how well you learned to control this power. This rage is not what we need. I promise we will get Doctor Ross back—”
The Hulk cut her off as it charged with a fierce roar. Diana quickly maneuvered around the massive fist the creature sent toward her and flipped over its head, coming to land behind it. The Hulk looked around in confusion as its target disappeared.
Steve threw his shield once again, hitting the creature in the nape of its neck. He knew neither he nor Peggy could combat it in a battle of strength, so the best they could do was play distraction to aid Diana to somehow subdue it.
The Hulk turned around and growled again. Diana dodged another blow as she jumped high, but the Hulk showed surprising agility for its size as it grabbed her in its fist and threw her over to where Steve and Peggy were standing together. Their eyes widened in shock and they could only brace themselves as all three went tumbling over, slamming against the wall and crashing through it.
A loud cry was heard as Maria Hill stared at their groaning selves while Fury stared in shock. They had crashed through the bridge.
They looked over and winced as the Hulk let out a massive roar, its malevolent eyes gleaming in the distance.
Diana got up gingerly and stared the creature down. There was no way they could let it get through into the bridge. She knew it was useless to reason with it. Doctor Banner had told them that he had managed to control the power of the Hulk, but twice now he had lost control. Even though she could understand the reasons, it made him a subject of massive risk, which meant they needed to treat him as such from now on.
“Steve, Peggy,” she said slowly. “We need to keep him out of there.”
“Way to state the obvious, Diana,” Peggy muttered, wiping the blood off the cut on her cheek. “Still, for safety purposes, it’d be better if we made a safe landing somewhere before we are forced to.”
“Already on it,” Fury replied from behind them. “Approaching the nearest landmass in fifteen minutes. Unfortunately, we are going to be a bit further away from home.”
“Where are we, Nick?” Diana asked in a whisper.
“Bermuda, Your Grace,” Fury replied.
Eyes widened as they stared at each other.
“Well, fuck.”
“Language, Diana,” Steve responded automatically, earning a disbelieving look from everyone.
“Seriously!?”
However, before they could speak anymore or do anything else, another massive roar shook the entire Helicarrier as the Hulk ran straight toward them.
They braced themselves, hoping against hope that they somehow managed to stall this raging beast for at least ten minutes. Hundreds of lives depended on it.
To be continued…
