Shadowfax (An Avengers fanfic)

Loki's Never Gonna Live This One Down

Taboo slipped down the darkened streets of New York, melting in and out of the shadows like a great panther. A deep, snarling growl echoed in her throat as she searched the night for her prey.

The Creator had told her that as soon as she had taken care of her prey, she could do whatever she pleased. Taboo was excited by the idea of roaming free once again, feeling that primal joy as she ripped through her victims like they were paper. And the screaming. Oh, the screaming. That lovely sound the prey made when it knew there was no escape. That squelching sound of blood as it flowed around her fingers and slipped to the ground. Yes, she was looking forward to that. All that was left to do was extinguish the Avengers. Exterminate the disease. Then the Creator would free her.

Taboo laughed. It was a terrible, ugly sound. It was the sound of a crazed beast.

...

Natasha bit her lip as she watched Jade's hardly recognizable form pad through the darkened, unusually quiet streets of New York. Watching as she disappeared from view yet again, she felt a pang of foreboding like a stab in the heart.

"She's getting closer to the Tower," Vision stated quietly. Beside him, Sphinx quavered. Her lip wobbled as a tear fell down her face. Vision put an arm across her shoulders, squeezing gently. Sphinx buried her face in his shoulder.

Nutsy smashed a fist into the wall, wincing as the skin on his knuckles split. "Crap," he hissed, cradling his hand. He shot Loki a venomous glare.

"This is your fault," he growled. "Jade would never have gone to that club if it wasn't for your major league screw-up."

Loki's eyes narrowed at him, his jaw working. Without a word, Loki stalked out of the room, a fiery anger in his eyes. He ignored Thor as he tried to stop him, side-stepping him in one quick motion. Directing his glare at Thor, he sent him a clear message: Back off.

Acknowledging his brother's wishes, Thor backed off. Everyone watched him leave the room warily.

"Uh, shouldn't someone go with him?" Tony piped up. "All of our data's kind of out in the open."

Hawkeye snorted. "Do you want to watch the 'god of temper tantrums' right now?"

Tony though about it for a moment before shrugging. "Eh, he probably can't use a computer anyway."

Bruce raised a hand, clearing his throat. Surprised, everyone looked at him. The scientist shifted uncomfortably. "So, um, how do we, er, fix her?"

Taking a shuddering breath, Sphinx straightened up. A reassuring purr sounded from at her feet, and Sphinx looked down to see Smokey curling around her legs. She picked the tomcat up, scratching beneath his chin.

"There is one way to snap Jade out of it," she said. "It's dangerous, though. We'd have to get close to her without getting killed."

Nutsy interjected. "Or maimed, clobbered, turned into sushi, torn to ribbons-"

"They've got it," Sphinx cut him off, holding up a hand. "Anyways, in order for us to return Jade to her former frame of mind, she needs something to calm her down. If Nutsy, me- and even Smokey could get close enough, we should be able to remind her of who she is."

Nutsy nodded his head vigorously. "Yeah, but we'll need some bait. And it can't just be anyone. It has to someone who can hold their ground against a pissed-off Taboo."

Every head turned to Bruce. The poor man's shoulders slumped. "Crap."

...

Taboo stalked towards the Tower, the enormous 'A' emblazoned across the surface of the building shining like a beacon in the moonlight. She chuckled darkly, her crimson eyes flashing again. Flexing her clawed fingers, she advanced towards the doors.

A growl issued from her throat as a man came into view. It was the angry one. She could sense it in the shadows that rolled off of him, shifting and swirling as they warred between the two different personalities inside of him. She eyed him warily. He would be the most difficult of her prey to kill.

"Jade," Bruce attempted, holding his hands up. "I don't want to hurt you."

Taboo grinned at him. "Jade is currently unavailable at the moment. Please leave a message after the beep." Her voice was distorted and gravelly.

She lunged for him, diving into the shadows only to reappear behind him and slash at his back. Her daggers cut an angry red gash down across his back, the metal searing into his flesh.

"Okay," Bruce said through gritted teeth, grasping at his back. "Have it your way."

With an earth-shattering roar, the Hulk broke free of his mental cage. His fist flew at Taboo with the force of an airborne dump truck. Taboo, wisely, immediately moved into the shadows. She reappeared on his shoulders, dancing out of reach with lightning speed.

She jammed several of her throwing knives into his arm, grinning again when he bellowed. Arms flailing as she continued to dance across his shoulders, Hulk shook her off forcefully. Taboo hit the ground, rolling to her feet to avoid another punch. The ground shook where the fist made contact.

Taboo leaped backwards, flipping out of reach. Realizing the battle was getting serious, Taboo drew out her poisoned daggers. Taboo shadowed directly behind the Hulk again, stabbing deep into his shoulder.

Leaving the blade impaled there, she danced out of reach again. Blinded with anger, the Hulk charged straight for her. Smirking, Taboo melted into the shadows yet again. She was enjoying this, like a cat playing with a mouse. She was so distracted with the Hulk, though, that she never saw Sphinx before she barreled straight into her.

Taboo kicked, thrashing as Sphinx pinned her beneath her. Eventually, Taboo seemed to realize her struggles were pointless, and she relaxed. Nutsy approached the pair cautiously from the door of the Tower, fists clenched. "Jade? Jade come on, snap out of it. We need you."

For a moment, a bit of the old Jade seemed to shine through Taboo's dark demeanor. However, it was immediately extinguished as Taboo snarled at them, escaping into the shadows.

"Sorry to disappoint," she cackled, "But I'm pretty happy with how I am. Now, scream for me."

With that, she let the knives fly.

The small blades hit home, right in the middle of their chests - right before they dissolved into mist. It had been an illusion. As soon as she had disappeared, the real Sphinx and Nutsy had done the smart thing and ran like the dickens.

There was only one person who could make such convincing illusions. The person with those captivating eyes...Taboo shook her head. What was she thinking? She was this close to getting her freedom from the Creator. She readied her weapons, reaching for the sword and vial that the Creator given her. Uncorking the bottle, she put a few drops of it on the blade.

Her eyes searched the gloom Loki had created, eyes narrowed. She whipped around at the sound of soft footsteps behind her. It was Loki, dagger in hand.

Taboo took a fighting stance, but was surprised as Loki did something completely out of character. He dropped the dagger.

Taboo was on him in an instant, her blade aimed at him throat. Her eyes flashed, and Loki's entire body was outlined with a red light.

He met her gaze unflinchingly. "Before you kill me," he told her, "I want to say I'm sorry, Jade Tarrow. It's my fault you're in this situation. But please, don't let such a vile and repulsive man guide your actions. If you choose to end my life, may it be of your own accord."

Taboo jerked back as if he had stung her, staggering. Her eyes grew wide. The crimson light faded from her gaze, the sword slipping out of her grasp. Her hair lost the mane-like quality, and her nails became less claw-like. Only her shadow marks remained. She fell into Loki, her entire body having gone slack.

Taking a shuddering breath, she tilted her chin up to meet Loki's eyes. "Sorry, mate. I think I may have nicked your sword a wee bit." She released a shuddering laugh before she sunk into Loki's chest, peace written on her face as she sank into sleep's warm embrace.

A/N Yay!!!!! I got this updated pretty fast! No one has to kill me! I hope you like the chapter! Please comment soon! (I'm using a lot of exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)