Shattered Hearts ◇ L. Laufeyson

9 ◇ roadkill

Border of Wakanda - Wakanda, Africa

DESTROYING EVEN A single one of the huge, spiraling saws of death was a feat of its own.  Unfortunately, even with mine and Loki's combined powers, the was no way we could end this battle anytime soon.

We seemed to have the dogs under control, making weeding out the brainless mutts was on the back burner of priorities right now - at the moment, the giant metal wheels were taking out our soldiers and forcing us to retreat.  That, plus Thanos' minions putting up one hell of a fight, made me less than confident about the present situation.

At the moment, Loki and I were back to back, using each other for support as we destroyed another one of the wheels.  At the same time, I noticed the over-excited raccoon with a machine gun had taken post nearby, shooting any devil dogs that came near us.  Whoever this raccoon gunman was, I was thankful for him.

"This won't work forever," I said with a gasp, speaking over my shoulder to Loki.  As I spoke, he and I struggled against the massive spiral spikes.  With his powerful green magic, he held the spiral in place, while I filled every nook and cranny with diamonds, bursting the metal apart.

It was rough on my mental and physical strength, but feeling Loki behind me gave me a ray of hope that I held onto with an iron grip.

"Let's not be so pessimistic!" Loki replied, though his voice portrayed just how much strain he was under.

With perfect timing on his side, the metals gears gave way and the wheel burst apart above us with a fiery explosion.  Both Loki and I, using our powers, pushed the majority of the metal pieces directly into incoming dogs, killing at least a hundred of the things.

Unfortunately, not all of the pieces made it onto the dogs — a large chunk of the debris was heading straight towards the raccoon.  Within seconds, the little guy would be squashed like a bug if he didn't get out of the way.

With a shout, I leaped forward and tackled the raccoon, the two of us rolling out of the pathway of the incoming metal.  I'm not saying I'm a gymnast, but my tuck-and-roll move was pretty smooth.  The raccoon and I had soared forwards over the grassy terrain, somersaulting into a position where I landed  half on my side, half on my back.   The raccoon was still wrapped in my arms, his back against my chest, and his machine gun pointed to the sky.  As I breathed a sigh of relief, the raccoon had a different reaction.

"Get 'offa me!" he shouted, wiggling himself out of my grip.

"You're welcome," I said back, sending the rodent an amused glare.  "Next time I'll let you be roadkill."

The raccoon clicked his tongue and as he reloaded his gun, he replied gruffly, "I save your life you save mine— that's what we do, sweetheart!"

I almost laughed at his strange outlook on life, before my attention shifted towards another spiraling spike wheel from hell.  I let out a shaky breath and began to push myself up.  No rest for the weary.

Suddenly, a red glow overtook the entirety of the oncoming fleet of spikey wheels.  I recognized it immediately as Wanda's magic, and a warm feeling of both relief and pride flooded my system.  Thank gods.

I felt a hand on my shoulder then slid its way down to my bicep, pulling me upwards so I didn't have to do it myself.  My hand grasped Loki's and together we watched in awe as Wanda controlled four of the wheels, blasting them across the field in a red haze.