Blue Moon| Book 1 | An Avengers fan fiction series| *under editing*

61- "Her" Last Fight (*)

"Thea..." Kyle says from a few feet away from me, battling two Imeldi at close hand. "I know this is weird, but I need your help." 

"How?" I ask, jumping over the body of a fallen, still-twitching Imeldi. 

"I need you to be my left eye. My gun's not doing a damn thing, not with these guys." It's true- the Imeldi are so quick that many times, they can dodge even the speed of a bullet, and their armor is tough. 

I jump in front of him, fending off an Imeldi that is sneaking around him, its disgustingly long, snake-like tongue logging at me. I finish it off with a throw of my dagger. 

The Imeldi are backing us up, into the shallow water, and it's splashing against my skin, which is a bit refreshing. There are reeds around us, making the way difficult. 

"THEA, NO IT'S-"

Kyle's shout is too late. The reeds, as it turns out, are alive, or at least have a mind of their own. They snake around my ankle and before I can react, have yanked me down, splashing, into the water. 

It's not deep at all- I can sit up in it- but they're pulling me into deeper and deeper water. They're going to drown me if I don't slice it off with my-

Oh crap. My dagger is on the shore- I must've dropped it in surprise. Kyle is fending off two Imeldi, and his shouts are worthless at the moment. I grapple with the reed, but it's too tight, too slimy around my leg. I scream as I dig my nails into the wet, gravelly ground, trying to stop myself from being pulled, but the sound is lost in the din around me. 

Someone grabs my shoulder, yanking me up. Before I can react, Loki has bent down, slicing the serpentine reed in half. The ends twitch like tentacles. 

"The dagger..." I gasp. "It's-"

"Use this." says Loki, who is fighting an Imeldi with one hand. He tosses me something large- it's a sword, glittering in the odd blue light. 

"I don't know how to use a sword!" I exclaim, my voice higher than usual. "It's too heavy! Too bulky! Too-" 

"Of all the useless things..." growls Loki, decapitating the Imeldi beside him (I wince). "Fine then!" He flings his hand out to the side and the emerald dagger appears in it. He hands it to me. "And don't lose it!"

"Of course your majesty," I say sarcastically as the Imeldi circle us like vultures. "Anything you wish."

"That's more like it," Loki grins and with a flourish, blasts two Imeldi at once with his scepter. "Now Thea, darling, it would have benefited you so much if you had learned that much earlier in your life." 

"Shut up, Loki!" 

Meanwhile, Peter has swung up onto some of the columns in the back of the room. He's perched there, spider-like watching over the fight like a gargoyle on a cathedral. "Heads up! he shouts, flinging some spider silk around one of the three Imeldi I am trying to fight off. It wraps around it like a lasso, sending it toppling to the ground.

"Thanks!" I yell up at him, flinging Loki's dagger into its skull. 

A shuddering, humming sound fills the cave. I look up quickly, trying not to get myself impaled, and see that the Mantra is lowering and lowering. We don't have much time. 

Tony flies around the pond, beaming down three or four Imeldi that are nearing the Mantra's slow descent. I run over to the pedestal. Gingerly, I reach out and touch the edge, but gasp as it burns me. 

Natasha has joined me, evidently because the Imeldi have forced her to. As I eye the approaching creatures, I say, "What are we going to do about it?"