𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒 | parker²

xxi. a one-way ticket

With a flick of his wrist, Maw sent Tony flying into the air. With his other hand, he unrooted two trees from the sidewalks on either side of himself and sent them flying at the rest of the heroes. 

Wong took the lead, joining his Tao Mandalas together to make one giant one. As his right-hand man provided a shield of protection from the oncoming trees, Strange turned to Bruce and said, "Dr. Banner, if the rest of your green friend won't be joining us..." He circled the air with one hand, forming a portal underneath Bruce's feet. The scientist fell through with a fading scream, though Aster left herself no time to ponder where Strange sent him.

She shot into the air and manifested dozens of throwing stars in each hand, flicking them down at Maw. With his telepathic abilities, Maw lifted a car from the street and used it as protection. Though, one star slipped past his makeshift shield and knicked him in the face. Even angrier now, Maw launched the vehicle right back at her.

Behind her, Tony used his thrusters to intercept its path toward Aster and send the car right back at Maw, who cut the vehicle in two with a single finger, splitting it just before it could collide with his body.

Aster landed back on the ground next to Tony and Doctor Strange. The former turned to the sorcerer and said, "Gotta get that stone outta here, now."

"It stays with me," Strange firmly insisted.

"Exactly." Tony powered up his thrusters. "Bye."

Understanding that he was attempting to draw Maw away from Doctor Strange, Aster shot into the air after Tony. The two of them did their best to dodge the concrete slabs being thrown at them, but when Obsidian hurled a chain hammer their way, Tony took the hit. He was knocked through a row of buildings, all the way to the park a block over. 

Swearing under her breath, Aster flew after him, dropping herself onto the grassy clearing and running over to the limp suit that had collided with a tree. "You okay?"

Bruce came running up behind her, yelling out, "Tony? How we doing? Good? Bad?"

Still laying in the crater his body created, Tony sent both of them an exasperated look through his faceplate. "Really, really good. Really good," he sarcastically hummed, shifting his attention to Bruce. "Do you plan on helping out?"

"I'm trying," Bruce emphasized, resting both hands on his knees. "He won't come out."

"Think of something that makes you angry," Aster hurriedly told him, helping Tony back to his feet.

Before anything else could be said, Obsidian crashed through the neighboring building, launching his hammer at the three Avengers. "Hammer!" Tony called out, pushing Bruce and Aster out of the way.

Aster flicked both palms forward and formed a forcefield, blocking the hammer from hitting them. She grabbed the chain with her powers and held it still as Tony flew into the air, directing his energy beam at Obsidian. The alien stopped the laser with a shield, deflecting the energy into slicing down the trees surrounding them.

One tree cracked, tipping and falling right on top of Bruce. Knowing that Tony had Obsidian handled for the time being, Aster dropped her powers and ran over to him. "Bruce, you okay?"

Crawling out from underneath the fallen tree, Bruce heaved out, "No." He sat up on his knees and curled his hands into fists, crying, "Come on, Hulk! What are you doing to me?"

When he still failed to transform into the Hulk, Bruce looked at Aster pleadingly. "Aster, slap me."

Aster's jaw dropped. "What? No—"

"Do it!"

"I'm not—"

"Slap me—!"

Aster reared an arm back, cracking the back of her hand into Bruce's face. The sheer force of her hit sent him flying back into the leaves of the tree. Covering her gaping mouth with her hand, Aster winced. "I didn't mean to hit you that hard."