The New Avenger

Chapter Fourteen: The Return of a God

I peeked out of the doorway, making sure that Bruce had gone into his bedroom, then ran down the hall and downstairs, where the guests from the party were dispersing. Thor was leaning against the bar, talking to a group of men and women who were listening intently to whatever he was saying. He caught my eyes, and I nodded my head to him. "Excuse me," he said to the group, and walked over to me.

"What do you need, Jordyn?" he said, setting his glass down on the bar. 

"Where is Loki right now?" I asked.

"Asgard. He is on trial for his crimes. Why do you ask?"

"Is it possible that he could have escaped and gotten his hands on another scepter?" 

"I suppose anything is possible when it comes to my brother. Are you concerned that he is back on Earth?"

"Bruce's eyes are bright blue."

"What does that have to do with anything?" 

"His eyes are brown,"

Thor's eyes hardened, and his fist clenched against the surface of the bar. 

"I'll get everyone together. Man, can't I have a normal party for once?" Tony whined, standing behind the bar. He had been listening to our entire conversation. Thor nodded, turning and walking toward the armory, where he kept his hammer. I headed back upstairs, intending to put on my suit and find my bow and arrows. My room was dark, but I could see the outline of a figure sitting on the edge of my bed. I flicked on the light, realizing too late that I shouldn't have come back up here.

"Oh, excuse me, I thought this was my brother's room." a man with slick black hair, holding a glowing gold and blue scepter, smirked at me. Loki. I turned, bolting out of my room and down the hallway towards the stairs. I heard footsteps behind me, and a force smashed into my back. I yelped, falling forward, but he caught me by my shirt and pulled me back towards him. He turned me around and shoved me against the pane of glass at the end of the hallway, the one I had broken during my rampage. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Loki. You are?" his hands were on the glass on either side of my head, the scepter slung over his back. I moved my wrist over and shot a ball of fire straight into his chest. He stumbled back, and I turned the corner, running desperately towards the armory. Loki materialized in front of me, and I slid under his outstretched arm, dodging a blast of blue power from the scepter. I flew down the steps, skipping three or four at a time, and stopped short when I realized I was leading Loki right to the armory. I needed to lead him to somewhere isolated where we could surround him. I saw a flash of red fabric run past the doorway ahead of me, and yelled,

"Thor!" He turned back, as I ran up next to him, shooting a ball of ice behind me, which collided with another blast of blue power. I ran behind Thor, watching the reunion between the two godly brothers. 

"Well, hello, big brother. Care to introduce me to this new one?" he said, keeping his eyes locked with mine. I glared at him, but my hands shook. Loki was unbelievably powerful, much like his brother. But, Thor was on my side, and he had proven once already that he was capable of defeating his younger brother. 

"Why are you here?" Thor asked, ignoring the question. "I am sure you do not wish to repeat the pain inflicted upon you during your last visit," Loki chuckled.

"Of course not. I intend to return the favor," Loki said, and with that, he vanished into thin air. 

Thor turned to me, twisting the leather strap of his hammer around his wrist. "I hate when he does that." 

"Me too, Thor. Me too." I said, as Clint and Nat joined us. 

"So he's back?" Clint said, a tone of disgust in his voice. Thor nodded.

"I'm going to go out and see if I can summon him once more." Thor turned and walked determinedly away. Clint rolled his eyes, and I couldn't help but smile. 

"Wait, Bruce. Did you guys find Bruce?" I asked, and Nat nodded.

"He's recovering downstairs," she said. I breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing we needed was for one of us to again be in the clutches of Loki's powerful mind control. 

"What about you?" Clint asked, slinging the bow he held in his hand over his back. "Loki nearly had you there," 

"I'm fine. He's powerful, but in an arrogant way, and it's easy to use that against someone," I said, and Clint smiled.

"That's my girl. Come on, everyone's meeting in the conference room," Clint said, and I followed him and Nat to the glass walled conference room Tony sometimes used for meetings. I sat in a swivel leather chair, moving my feet back and forth across the thick glass floor. Below it, water flowed through pipes and swished around in small filtration chambers. Tony loved showcasing his inventions and how they worked. Around me, everyone assembled(**pun intended**) at the table. Pietro, Wanda, Vision, Clint, Natasha, Steve, and a tired, but brown-eyed, Bruce. Thor was out looking for Loki, and Tony sat the head of the table, as always. He insisted.

"So. He's back," Tony said, twiddling his fingers around his watch. "Bruce, wanna go knock him around a bit like you did last time?"

"I'm afraid it will not be that easy. He seems much more powerful. Whatever is powering his scepter is different than before, seeing as how the stone that previously powered it is inside of me," Vision said. I nodded.

"I've never met him, and I don't know much about the battle of New York, but he was almost giddy with power," I said, Clint grimaced, leaning back in his chair.  

"He was always arrogant about his power, but he wasn't reckless," Clint said. He had a special hatred for Loki, after he spent weeks under his control. 

"Clint is right. We need to find him and stop him before he has a chance to destroy another city," Steve said, standing with his palms outstretched on the table. 

"We need to track his movements. He can move anywhere he wants at any time, but something tells me he won't go far from the city. His intention is revenge. On us, and everyone who associates with us. I say we spread out, look for any signs of him, a good old-fashioned manhunt. Who's with me?" Tony said, and we all nodded and murmured agreements. 

"Civilian clothes, but keep some weapons close. We have to be ready for a fight," Steve said, standing up. We all spread out among the tower. I changed into jeans, a hunter green shirt, and slung on a worn leather jacket, lacing up brown combat boots. I headed down to the armory, where Steve was stuffing his shield into a black backpack. He handed me a watch, equipped with a screen that showed me where everyone else would be in the city. I grabbed a few of my custom throwing knives and put them in pockets on the inside of my jacket. I grabbed a handgun and stuck it in the back waistband of my jeans, and clipped my earpiece into my ear, which would allow me to talk to anyone on the team any time. "You gonna be okay?" Steve asked, his blue eyes searching mine.

"Of course, Steve. Why wouldn't I?" I asked.

"Loki could have hurt you, or killed you, or put you under his control back there," he said, and I rolled my eyes.

"You're still under the impression that I can't protect myself. Steve, in case you didn't know this, I can shoot goddamn fire out of my hands,"

"I know Jordyn, you've just been through so much in these last two years, and I-"

I cut him off. "All of you, especially you have been through so much in the last few decades. I've barely even begun to experience what all of you are used to by now. I can handle it, and I will be fine. I intend to make this a career, not just being an Avenger, but being a spy like Nat or Clint, and saving people, hiding secrets, for the rest of my life. So yes, I am gonna be okay, because this is what I want to live for," I said, and his mouth twitched up into a smile.

"Well, alright then, let's get going."

We met up with the rest of the gang, where Nat was mapping out the city on a touch screen table.

"Tony, take Chinatown. I'll take the upper west side, Clint will take the lower west side. Pietro will make circles around the outside of the city, and Bruce will stay here and watch the radar for any sightings.  Steve, take Brooklyn. Wanda, Queens. Jordyn, search the upper east side and the more concentrated portions of the city, like Times Square and 5th Avenue. Everyone got it?" We all nodded, ready to go. 

This was going to be one hell of a manhunt.