The Avengers, being much quicker at adapting to their surroundings, managed to stick the landing quite well. Those who tumbled turned it into a roll and pose, or used their skills to steady themselves, like Sam and his wings or Wanda and her powers. You were proud of yourself for not falling this time, but you definitely stumbled like an idiot looking for balance, and probably would have fallen had Wanda not grabbed your arm. You smiled gratefully at her, straightening up and looking around.
"Welcome, Avengers," Heimdall greeted, "It is an honor to meet you all. I have watched your work over the years with great admiration."
He received nods and mumbled thanks from the team, no one really knowing what to say or who should talk. Steve looked stunned by where he was, but shook his head and collected himself.
"Thank you," he said, stepping forward, "It's an honor to meet you as well. We appreciate the help you've always given Thor in times we couldn't be here for him."
"As do I," Heimdall said, "To know our Prince has such friends with him when away on Midgard is a great assurance."
"Eh, we do our best to keep him drunk and happy," Tony said.
"I do not get drunk from earthly beverages, Stark," Thor argued like it would be an embarrassment if he had.
"You get a little too energetic," Nat pointed out.
"I'm just an energetic sort of person. Afterall, who else here has lightning coursing through their veins, hmm?"
You snickered at the thought of the Cheez Whiz line from Endgame, earning a few turned heads from those nearest to you.
"I can assure you, you'd know when the Prince is drunk," Heimdall smiled.
"If we succeed today, I'll gladly show you," Thor said, walking towards the bifrost's entrance. "I assume Father is still resting?"
"He is much stronger, but, yes, he rests a great deal between the work he's doing to return the Nine Realms to safety."
Apparently, you were the only one who picked up on the fact that the Nine Realms weren't the same due to Loki's short rule. You glanced his way and saw a solemn expression he thought no one would notice, seeing as he had slipped his way to the back of the crowd.
"Then we shall not disturb him," Thor said, "If he should ask, tell him Loki and I are off with the Avengers. I'll fill him in when we return."
Thor stepped out onto the rainbow bridge, opening his arms wide and facing the group.
"Welcome, my friends, to Asgard!"
"Well shit," Tony muttered, taking in the sight with wide eyes.
"Long way from Budapest, isn't it?" Clint nudged Natasha.
"I'll say," she smiled back.
"It's beautiful," Wanda exhaled in wonder.
"It is indeed significantly more magnificent than I initially calculated," Vision agreed.
"I'll have to show you around when we return," Thor suggested joyfully, "And treat you to a true Asgardian celebration."
"Are you sure Odin will allow that? He already is unaware of the presence of the mortals," Loki stated.
"He will understand once we have success to show for it," Thor said light-heartedly, brushing Loki's concerns aside, "Besides, he seems more...well, relaxed, since coming home. Surely you noticed, brother?"
"I did," Loki answered quietly.
"He spoke kindly of you, and on your behalf," Thor pointed out.
Loki looked up in surprise, seeming to contemplate whether his brother was lying.
"I'm sure that will change as he regains his strength," Loki grumbled, walking briskly past Thor.
"Let's get going, shall we?" Thor beamed, turning to follow Loki.
The God of Thunder evidently liked being the one ahead, as he swiftly overtook Loki and seized the role of leader. Loki let him, but didn't appear to want to be near his brother, letting himself slowly fall towards the back of the group. You were talking with Sam and Cap when you noticed Loki behind you. Waiting for the right moment, you dropped out of the conversation and fell in step with Loki.
"Whatchu doing moping back here?" you asked.
"Trying to be left alone," he sighed irritably.
"Yeah I get that. The worst is when people can't take the hint that you want to be left alone, and they insist on talking to you about whatever is getting you down."
That managed to get a smile out of him.
"That is the worst," he agreed, "Though the stubborn often never realize that."
"Funny how we secretly enjoy when those stubborn people insist on hearing our problems though. You know, when we say we don't want to talk about it, but the fact that we're openly showing something is bothering us means we really do want to talk about it. So we pretend to be mad at those people, but that's because we're unsure about whether or not we should talk about it. And when the stubborn finally give up, it isn't until after they leave that we realize we should have said something, cuz their absence leaves you with your thoughts once again and the need to share them."
Loki chuckled bitterly, "On the rare occasion, darling, you manage to sound partially intelligent."
"Or on the rare occasion, Loki, you choose to see the intelligence that's always there."
"Let's not go that far," he smirked at you, "Stick to one small compliment for now."
"So, are you going to take advantage of the wise being next to you and tell me what's up?"
Loki contemplated for a moment, looking very conflicted.
"How do I know Odin's love is real?" he asked suddenly, "You seem so sure that he has always loved me, and I have seen him say it before his death. But, what if those were the ramblings of a dying man? Just as his more affectionate personality upon returning home could merely be the result of an ailing mind that needs strength to recover?"
"First off, I don't believe that's true. He had broken free from your spell long before that moment he died. I don't think simply being away from Asgard, no matter how weak it made him, would make him change his opinion on you. Leaving the only option that he always loved you. You may have thought he was lying in the vault, but he called you his son, despite admitting seconds before that you were not by birth. Also, if you're right and he was just losing his mind, then if anything we saw pure raw emotions, unhindered by thoughts or pretenses. Odin grew rough with you because of your actions, but mostly I think he was angry at himself for his own failure towards you. If his mind was muddled, as you say, then all of those attempts to appear strong and angry slipped away, leaving nothing but what he deeply felt. Either way, the truth we come back to is that he loves you, Loki, as his son."
Loki was smiling softly and sadly.
"Well, then we come to another problem don't we," he said. "If he loves me as you say, then I have only failed at being a son. I failed my mother too. I failed at what I was supposed to be, chasing fantasies that were never real."
"Your mom once said that everyone fails at who they're supposed to be. But that the measure of a man, of a hero, is how well they succeed at being who they are. She said failure makes you just like everyone else. We all fail at a lot of things, Loki. You and Thor put too much pressure on yourselves, thinking failure is unredeemable. But listen to your mom, please."
Loki looked at you, and his eyes glistened like he was about to tear up.
"When did she say that?" he asked.
"That's not important. Her words, however, are."
You walked in silence for a few minutes, as the entrance to the city grew closer.
"Thank you," he whispered, walking through the group to get alongside Thor.
"You're welcome," you muttered to yourself, smiling at the sight of Loki and Thor talking to one another.
The walk through the city was as splendid as always. It wasn't often the Avengers came across something that shocked them, but Asgard did quite a number. They looked more like excited tourists than a team of seasoned warriors. Thor, and Loki for that matter, was enjoying his friends' admiration of his home.
Entering the vaults was a treat for you, one of the iconic places you had not had the pleasure of witnessing on your last trip here. You passed all of the amazing weapons they had there, including the casket from Jotunheim.
"No way, it's the magic Frost Giant box thing!" you said happily.
"Not what I imagined," Tony replied.
"What did you imagine?" Rhodey asked.
"Something bigger, flashier," he answered, "More magicky."
"How about a bowl of magic fire?" Clint asked as you approached the next display.
"The Eternal Flame!" You gasped, walking quickly up to it.
"Careful," Thor warned.
"I'm not gonna stick my hand into it, I'm not as dumb as Jane."
"I'm sorry, what?" Thor asked.
"She sees a rock with a creepy floating red substance in it, after getting sucked into a different dimension mind you, and decides to stick her hand in it? What did she think was gonna happen? What would touching it with an unguarded hand even do? Did she wanna know how it felt? It's a glowing alien substance, woman, at least poke it with a stick, not your hand!"
"Well, she's a scientist, it's what they do," Thor defended.
"Mmm, not really," Tony said.
"Well she's just braver than most," Thor fought back.
"Fine line between brave and stupid," you said, "and I think she crossed it when she didn't run like hell away from a glowing red darkness."
Thor must have seen you were teasing more than actually bashing her, because he didn't get angry.
"Yes, well, you're just jealous of her," he said like a child, grasping at straws now.
You snorted in response.
"She's a super smart scientist and girlfriend of the Mighty Thor," he snarked back, "There's plenty to be jealous of."
You thought of how that stupid bitch breaks up with him, and you were oh so close to throwing it in his face, but that was too mean.
"You're not my type," you said instead, "So I'll stick to just thinking she shouldn't have stuck her hand inside a freaky rock."
"Not her type?" You heard him mumble to himself like he was trying to understand how that was possible.
"It's ok, Thor, you'll recover," Nat said, patting him on the back and nudging him to walk down the hall.
You stared for a bit longer at the Eternal Flame, letting the others pass you.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Loki asked from behind you.
"Terrifying," you answered.
"How so?"
"Well, it raises an army of the dead and Surtur, both of which help destroy Asgard. I'd take a hose to it in a second."
"You would try something like that," he laughed, "you know it wouldn't work?"
"I know, but it'd feel good anyway."
The two of you caught up to the others who were standing around the Tesseract.
"You sure about this, brother?" Thor asked Loki as he joined the group.
"Completely," he answered, "Just think of where you want to go. Assert your will over it's own. It will feel like a power is resisting your desire, but if you remain focused it can't overcome you. Just, make sure you include that you want all of us to come along, otherwise the portal will open only around you."
"Sounds simple," Thor nodded, facing the Tesseract. He reached out, grasping it in one hand and holding it out in front of him. He turned towards the group, which had now gathered more tightly together.
"Ready?" He asked the team.
"Do it," Cap confirmed.
You took a shaky breath, nerves and adrenaline kicking in. Nat noticed, smiling and giving you a nod. Wanda grabbed your arm comfortingly, obviously seeing your nerves, and possibly feeling some herself.
Thor closed his eyes, and a portal opened behind him, growing until it consumed all of you. The next instant you were in a street, you and Wanda holding onto each other for balance. The street wasn't paved, but rather was made of dirt. You took in your surroundings, noticing the strange buildings and creatures of all kinds milling about. A few of those who were nearest to you when the portal opened were staring in shock, while others didn't seem fazed by it. You were standing in the same main area seen in the Guardians of the Galaxy, where Drax challenges Ronan.
"We in the right place?" Tony asked
"Yup, I know where we are...ha, 'know where' we are," you chuckled, apologizing for the terrible joke right away.
"Couldn't you have dropped us in the Collector's shop?" Loki complained, "The less attention we draw to ourselves, especially with an infinity stone, the better."
"It's my first time using a magic cube," Thor defended, "And there isn't exactly a manual for them, only your instruction. Blame yourself for being a poor teacher!"
"I instructed you to think of where you wanted to go!"
"And I thought of Knowhere, and here we are," Thor said triumphantly, "If you wanted something different, you should have done it yourself...oh wait? You can't."
"Well put it away before some of these miscreants notice," Loki ordered.
"Relax, brother, who would challenge us for it?" he scoffed, putting the cube in a satchel he had brought with him.
The comedic irony of the MCU never fails to impress, as a circle of armed guards stepped out of the crowd at that moment, shouting for all weapons to be dropped. You were surrounded.
Loki opened his mouth to speak, but Thor cut him off. "Don't say it," he warned, and Loki just shrugged, looking pleased.
"Who are you?" Thor demanded, "Knowhere has no law here."
"The Collector is the law," one guard growled back, "He wishes to speak with you."
"Well then, he can gladly walk out here and deal with us," Thor said.
"The Collector does not come for anyone, they come to him. And you must do so unarmed. Turn over all weapons and possessions now."
"If he knows we are here then he knows who we are," Thor spoke again, sounding more and more like he was losing patience, "He does not want to make an enemy of Asgard. We have no wish to hurt any of you."
The guard turned his head, as if listening to something, before addressing Thor again.
"The Collector will see you now. You can maintain possession of your weapons."
"Not bad," Loki told his brother, as the lot of you were led to the Collector's shop.
You noticed the Avengers let down their guard only slightly, having drawn their weapons or readied themselves for a fight.
Maybe I should get into that habit? you thought, as you hadn't changed your stance in the slightest or made any move towards the weapon on your belt. You were used to watching them handle situations that went awry, so your instinct was just to watch and nothing more.
The collector's shop was bigger than you remembered it being on screen, but then again movies only showed oh so much. You walked through what seemed like a warehouse, filled with hundreds of clear boxes or, more precisely, cages. He was called the Collector for a reason after all, and he had many species stashed away in his humble abode.
"He's a pet person I see," Clint said, looking at the many strange animals with curiosity.
"He likes more than pets," Steve replied, nodding to the noticeably sentient, humanoid being in a cage on the right.
"Don't let your morality ruin our objective," Loki said, noting the disapproving tone to Cap's voice.
"Then maybe our objective should change," Cap argued back, causing Loki to stop and face him.
"Yes, let's try to free hundreds of creatures under the nose of their master," he said sarcastically.
"They're not just creatures, they're living beings. And they shouldn't have a master," Cap retorted, "Not that you would understand that."
"Loki is right," Thor stepped in before Loki could lash out another remark, "As despicable as this man's occupation is, we have neither the time nor resources to free so many."
"Asgard has never had the time or resources?" Sam challenged.
"Asgard has no jurisdiction out here," Thor answered.
"Still, being unable to stop him doesn't excuse willingly doing business with him," Cap stated.
"The filth of the Collector is exactly what made him the perfect person to hide the Aether. No one would expect to find an infinity stone in such a disgusting place, nor would they think him capable of housing one anyway," Thor explained.
"Yeah, the Collector is a bit of an idiot," you added, "So you could argue hiding it with him is a genius move. Technically it backfires later, but you didn't know Thanos was a thing when you brought the stone here."
"Exactly," Thor agreed.
Cap didn't look pleased, but he didn't argue either. You followed the guard in front of you until he paused in a familiar place.
"Well hello," the creepy voice of Taneleer Tivan spoke from the shadows. He stepped into the light immediately after, and you have to say he was actually rather intimidating in person.
"What brings the Asgardian royalty and their..." he looked at the rest of you as if thinking of a word to describe what he saw, "...friends to my humble world?" He bowed his head dramatically, if not a bit sarcastically, to the brothers.
"You know why we are here," Thor said firmly.
"Ah, yes. So you have come to reclaim that which was entrusted to me?"
"You have done your part to guard it, now it is no longer your concern."
"As much as I would love to be of service to gods, I'm afraid my business with the Aether is not finished."
"What business could you have with it?" Thor demanded, "You are not strong enough to wield it, attempting to do so would be suicide."
The Collector tutted at Thor, looking disappointed.
"I am no fool," he said, "I know the consequences of trying to yield an infinity stone. But that doesn't mean there is nothing to learn from one...and knowledge is its own power."
"Give up the Aether or we will take it by force," Thor loudly threatened.
Tivan looked unimpressed, walking over to a table and picking up an electronic pad of some sort.
"I have an alternative deal," he said, pushing a button on the pad. The prisoners in the cages nearby reacted immediately, writhing in pain. Each being was wearing what looked like a shock collar, which you'd noticed all had the same red light on the side...or at least, what you thought was a red light. You realized a bit late that the red had an all too familiar glow about it. The Aether attached to them was disappearing, apparently the source of the pain.
"Did you inject them with the Aether?!" you asked in shock.
"In a manner of speaking," Tivan answered, "I said there was much to learn from it. I cannot harness the power of the Reality Stone for myself, but experiments showed drastic results in subjects exposed to its energy. Took months of tests, very dangerous work," he bragged, "In the right dose and proper brain-wave manipulation, courtesy of my brilliant scientists, I can implant my own reality, or own will, into their minds."
"Thor, Jane had it in her before, yet she wasn't mind-controlled. Is he lying?" you asked.
"He is," Thor growled.
"Let's not rush to conclusions, brother," Loki stepped in, "No one was trying to force their will on Jane at the time, but we know the Aether has a kind of instinct or mind of its own. We have to be open to the possibility that, with enough time and study, a person could use the Aether's will to overcome another's, implanting their own."
"So another magic rock that can control minds," Tony groaned, "Why not just call them all Mind Stone for God's sake."
"This is different than simply controlling a mind," Loki sighed, "He is physically implanting his own reality, his own false illusions, into their heads, thus having their will and actions be equal to his own. The Mind Stone forcefully takes control of the mind, forcing you to do something even when your will is still present."
"Yeah, no one asked for a geology lesson, Antlers," Tony snapped.
"The Prince is right," the Collector said, cutting off the argument, "The end result is that my will becomes theirs, which is a problem for you."
He pressed another button, and all the cages opened, the residents stepping out swiftly to form a wall around you. You looked back the way you had entered, trying to see just how many cages had been opened. The vast majority of the warehouse-like room was not visible from here, but prisoners lined the passageway as far as the eye could see. There was a very real possibility that hundreds of adversaries had just been unleashed.
"Oh boy," you whispered, doing a 360, adrenaline racing through you in a way it had never before.
What are the odds of me surviving a fight? you thought, I wasn't supposed to actually have to use this stupid stick!
"Hand over the cube and I let you leave Knowhere alive," Tivan said blandly, "That is your only choice."
"We've fought worse odds," Nat said confidently.
"And believe me, they've won," Loki warned, getting smirks from everyone.
"Then I apologize for this great inconvenience," he sighed, pressing a few more instructions into his handy dandy pad.
"Kid, get in the middle of us," Tony ordered. You didn't need to comply, seeing as everyone naturally made a circle around you, pushing you to the center.
"I hope you're still confident in your whacking capabilities," Loki said to you in a low tone.
"I'm confident in my Plan B," you said, managing to make yourself smile a bit. It felt good to alleviate some of the dread with a joke, and you now realized the MCU stereotype of banter and comedy during a fight wasn't so unrealistic. Loki smirked back, before facing the hoard with a fierce and determined look.
"Here we go again," Clint moaned, as the flood of foes charged.
Fights were much different off screen. There was no dramatic music, allowing you to hear every groan, every cry of pain from the enemy. Those sounds, paired with the blasts of Tony and Rhodey's suits, Sam's guns, Thor's hammer and lightning, Cap's shield flying around, Vision's beams, Loki and Wanda's magic blasts, and the body's thrown to the ground by Nat and Clint, made for an immensely loud environment.
The team fought as one, working seamlessly together to hold off the waves of hostiles. Sam, Rhodey, and Tony utilized the air space as well as the ground, defending the group from the Collector's species that could fly. Their absence on the floor left openings for beings to get through to you. Thankfully, these weren't trained fighters, but they were still angry and set on murdering you with their bare hands. You took Thanos' advice and made sure to aim for the head with most of your swings, which was working out for you surprisingly well.
As far as first battles go, you were lucky this wasn't a trained army. However, the Collector had some fearsome, battle-trained warriors in his wide variety of assets...like that damn Dark Elf seen in the background of one scene. Naturally, you turned to find him, or possibly another Dark Elf, approaching you. You quickly glanced to see how busy Loki was at the moment. He had just defeated another wave, dramatically stabbing down onto one of the enemies he flipped to the floor.
Perfect, you thought, backing your way over to him as you tazed some bat-like thing that landed next to you. He faced you as you reached him.
"Dark Elf is all yours," you said breathlessly, putting a hand on his back and nudging him towards the dangerously close elf. You didn't wait to see Loki's response, whipping around to take on his previous area.
The Avengers were holding their own, but the waves seemed to never end, and Tivan was nowhere to be seen. Minutes passed like this, before someone decided to say what you were all thinking.
"These guys aren't slowing down," Sam spoke, his voice coming clearly in the ear-piece Tony had given you.
"On the bright side, we're seeing the universe's most extensive zoo," Tony chimed.
"I prefer Central Park's," Nat said through the effort of taking out a green, scaly snake thing.
"Has anyone else fought a Gremlin? I swear I just shot a Gremlin out of the sky," Rhodey said, swooping low over your head to help clear a concentrated bunch in front of you. His bullets splattered different colored blood and guts on your clothes and face.
"Thanks, covered in guts now," you muttered to yourself.
"Next time I'll let you take them out yourself, New Girl."
"Damn these stupid earpieces!" you exclaimed, "Does it ever get annoying hearing everything?"
"Tony can be a bit much," Clint said, and as if to prove your point, Stark's voice came over the com at that moment.
"Guys, I found a Teletubby, and I'm keeping it. His name is Geo---Rhodey! You just blasted George!"
"I'll get you a dog," he said in response.
"We really connected there for a minute," Tony continued, ignoring Rhodes.
"We need a plan," Cap spoke up, "We're tight on space as it is, and this area's filling up quickly."
He was right about that. The Collector had made sure that you were in a pinned down area when the fight started, and the endless waves made it difficult to stretch the battlefield. Now dead bodies were piling high, making it hard to maneuver.
"Tivan will be long gone, even if we hold out," you added, grunting in pain as some type of cat got its claws on your leg.
"Kid you ok?" Tony asked.
"Fine," you mumbled, whacking the cat hard on the back with your stick, igniting the taser and stabbing it down on the creature til it went limp. You had to dodge to avoid an oncoming fist from some cyclops looking man. Your reflexes were not as finely tuned as the others, so he got a piece of your head. Thankfully you'd dodged enough to avoid serious damage, but it hurt nonetheless.
Instinctively you dropped your shoulder and threw your weight into the man's chest, only causing him to take a slight step back. That was all you needed to bring your taser up into his stomach. It took a hot second and a few more beatings to get him down, but he fell. There was no time to celebrate though, as there was only another enemy after him, and another and another.
"We need Tivan's pad, shut this army down Phantom Menace style," you said.
"Anyone have a visual?" Cap asked.
"He exited through the hall behind the desk," Vision said.
"If he gets off-world with that stone, our mission just grew a whole lot harder," Nat said.
"I'm sorry, did you reference Star Wars in the middle of a fight?" Tony asked randomly.
"Did you want to adopt a Teletubby in the middle of a fight?" you defended.
"It's no coincidence the most resistance is between us and that exit," Cap noted, "We can blast our way through, but we can't all leave. If these things get outside, who knows what they will do to civilians."
"So we keep the fight here," Tony agreed, "Thor, you're up. And take Ms Pop Culture with you."
"What?" you asked in surprise, once realizing he was referring to you, "I'll only slow Thor down."
"Until we have that control pad, these guys won't stop. You've managed to stay alive, but losing Thor is gonna make all of our work harder. We won't be able to help as much, so you're going outside where it's safest."
"Makes sense," you grumbled in agreement, getting up after some tentacled freak sent you flying a few feet
"When the path is clear, run for it," Tony ordered.
"Whenever you're ready, Thor," Cap said, getting in a stance with his shield facing the exit.
Thor launched over to Cap, slamming Mjolnir against the vibranium and sending a wave of vibration and lightning into the sea of opponents.
The gap it created would be overrun soon, so you wasted no time in sprinting to the hallway, smacking away arms that reached up from ground.
Thor landed next to you, blasting the surrounding area to give you a clear shot.
The silence that ensued as you ran further from the fight was eerie, strange compared to the chaos that had seemed to last forever.
Thor ran with you, but you paused, grabbing his arm.
"Thor, you can fly, what the hell are you doing on foot right now?"
"I'm not leaving you alone."
"I just survived how many men and beasts attacking me? What could possibly go on out here that is worse than in there?"
Thor looked reluctant to agree, though clearly knew you were right.
"Tony said it was safest out here. I'll follow, just on foot. We need that stone Thor."
"The Collector is after this as well," Thor said, removing his satchel and handing it to you, "Do not follow me. Stay here, where it is safe. When I have the Aether and the control for his hoard, I will return."
"I'm not sure how Reality-induced mind control works, but if you can shut them off, do it right away," you said.
Thor nodded, swinging his hammer and taking off like a jet.
You looked around the room. It was dark, with a bunch of tables and weird machinery. Going back to help the others wasn't an option, both because there wasn't much you could do and because of the Tesseract now in your possession. You desperately wanted to take it out and look at it, but you remember what happened to Red Skull. The cube was unpredictable, and you weren't about to mess with it.
Sitting down sounded delightful, but you had a feeling that, once down, you weren't getting up any time soon. You couldn't have been fighting for more than ten to fifteen minutes, but it had felt much longer...to the point where you actually weren't sure how long it had been. Regardless, you were drained. Adrenaline was wonderful for blocking out most of the pain and providing its own energy, no matter how tired you were.
You looked at the cuts on your leg from that damn cat, not terribly deep, but most likely more painful than you felt at the moment. Your head ached a bit from the cyclops, and various other bruised areas were tender to the touch. Yet the nerves and adrenaline kept the pain minimal. Sitting and relaxing would change that, so you remained standing and on guard, pacing back and forth and jumping at any noise. Your mind was firing at a million miles per second, coming to terms with what you'd just experienced and where you currently were.
Just chill, you told yourself, you're in a superhero world, so try acting like this is normal.
***Following Thor now***
"Tivan!" Thor bellowed in the face of the man he had pulled from the wrecked ship, "Where is the Aether?!"
The Collector chuckled, before coughing on the smoke from his crashed escape.
"You can search what remains of my ship, but I'm pretty sure it isn't there."
Thor picked the man up by his collar and slammed him against the nearest wall.
"Enough games! Your plans are over, Tivan. Hand over the Aether and your device that controls the prisoners!"
"A pity," he sighed, "I was hoping you'd bring the cube with you. Who did you give it to? Surely not your mischievous brother? Oh well, guess my children will have to go on a little hunt. Bye bye," he grinned with a little wave. A shock of electricity went through his neck, yet the limp corpse that fell to the floor was not Taneleer Tivan.
***Back to normal POV***
You had kept the ear-piece on, listening to the Avengers as they continued their battle. You were smiling at some remark of Tony's, when Thor's voice boomed over the others.
"Tivan used a decoy to cover his escape, a changeling he had control over."
"You lost him?" Tony shouted.
"I expect he is off-world by now, but he's after the Tesseract," Thor explained, "He said he was going to send his minions after it."
"Then get it out of here!" Cap yelled, grunting as he fought.
"I don't have it."
"Who does?" Tony asked in a frighteningly calm manner.
"I do," you cringed, biting your lip in preparation for the protests that were sure to come.
"What is she doing with it!" Clint shouted.
"I didn't want to bring it to the Collector, which was the right call because it was a setup. I assume he had some poorly thought out plan to get it from me, which changed when I didn't have it."
"Thor, get to Wren," Cap said, "If the Collector has ordered them to find that satchel, then it won't be long before they realize none of us in here have it."
"I may have a slight problem doing that," Thor said apologetically, "Tivan has sent some of his men on the civilians. I'm a bit preoccupied."
"Stay where you are, kiddo, I'm on my way," Tony said, "Wanda, little help clearing that doorway?"
"On it," Wanda replied.
A minute later Tony was flying into the room, touching down in front of you and retracting his helmet.
"Cube now," he ordered, sticking out his hand.
"Gladly," you obliged, handing him the bag.
"Cap, it looks like they're catching on," Sam warned.
"Tony, you're going to have some company," Steve said, "We'll hold them off from here, but some are peeling off in other directions. I don't know where else Tivan has these guys stored."
"Rhodey, Sam, fly a perimeter if you can, let me know where to expect the party," Tony replied.
"Already on it," Rhodey confirmed.
"Let's get moving," Stark said to you, "Dark creepy rooms aren't my ideal aesthetic."
The two of you made your way from the room, running down halls to places unknown.
"Friday, give me a scan of the building, find me the most defensible position."
"There appears to be a room on the upper floor that has only one entrance and windows for a quick escape," she told him, "Displaying the schematics now."
"Tony, you'll have company approaching from the south side of the building," Rhodey's voice warned.
"Got it. Friday, keep an eye on it, let me know when anything gets too close for comfort."
"Sure thing, Boss."
"This way," he said, veering off through a door and up some stairs. From the upper level you ran along a balcony that overlooked the vast expanse of the Collector's house.
"Whoa," you said, pausing with Tony to look down at the sea of creatures. They were all mindlessly flowing in the same direction, presumably towards the Avengers and the fight. Thankfully, it looked like the last of them, no more support bringing up the rear. Hopefully the team could hold out a little longer, as this army, unlike the Chitauri, had a limit.
"Redundant to say that's too close for comfort?" Friday asked.
"I'd say," Tony replied, grabbing your arm and pulling you along.
"You know, under different circumstances this would be totally cool," you smiled, trying to lighten the mood.
"Under what circumstances exactly would being chased by that be cool?"
"Well those would be the circumstances that would have to differ now wouldn't they? Seeing a zombie-like hoard would be fine if they weren't after us."
"When we get out of here, not one more Walking Dead episode for you," Tony said rather seriously, "Or movies in general, I'm having Friday lock you out of the TV."
"If I get out of this alive, I'd say I've earned a pardon."
"You can bring your complaint up at the next faculty meeting, though I wouldn't hold your breath. You know how complaints in the workplace are, 'he eats my lunch, she never replaces the staples, he chews too loudly.' Lots of paperwork, and no one really cares."
"Yeah and I've heard the boss is a real douche when it comes to listening to others."
"Well you know how office gossip is...though bribery and flattery do help I hear. He loves chocolate frosted donuts with sprinkles."
"I'll keep that in mind, thanks."
You'd reached a set of double doors, and Tony barged through them, scanning the area before letting his guard down. It was a decent sized room, with a high ceiling, that appeared to be a storage place for random junk. Two large windows decorated the wall opposite from the entrance, your escape plan should things get out of hand.
"Help me move some of this in front of the door," Tony said, grabbing equipment and lifting it over to block the entrance. After a few minutes, there was a pretty thick barricade. You wandered around the room, looking at large cylindrical containers holding some yellow liquid.
"Well this is certainly not how I saw this day going," you chuckled to yourself.
"You get used to it around here," Tony said, "Fortune favors the brave, but not before it kicks your ass down the stairs."
"It can't favor you if it doesn't first make you brave I guess."
"Yeah, the son of bitch gets a real kick out of it."
"I mean seriously though, what are the frickin odds? Does everything in this universe have to play out like a movie? It couldn't just be a simple time grabbing the stones three years in advance, nooo, of course not."
Tony had his 'I'm thinking about something I don't like' face on, as he stared at the ground.
"What? I know that face."
"Oh really, you know stuff like that? Never mentioned it, only about a gazillion times."
"So what's up?"
"I said when you mess with the universe it tends to mess back. Maybe there's no changing fate."
"Did Tony Stark just say those words?" you joked, though you were genuinely surprised.
"Seeing that the fate you've feared since 2012 is real gives new perspective. I tried to stop it with Ultron, and you see how that went. We try to stop it in the future, and purple E.T. wipes the floor with us. The only thing that lets us win is my death. And Nat's and Vision's and Cap's, or, sorry, "Cap's", cuz he gets quotations," he said, giving you a look. "But the point is maybe that's how it's meant to go down...our legacy. In order to win, some of us have to lose. I mean, that's life isn't it? Part of the journey is the end."
"Don't say that," you blurted quickly. "Those words, just...choose a different phrase please."
"See?" he said, catching on to what the words meant, "We're playing out your movies now, just a little earlier. A little sneak preview, early release."
"Just because we have a setback, doesn't mean we won't win. And saying some lines from the future doesn't mean anything besides the fact that I've brought up discussions or scenarios that wouldn't typically have prompted you to say those things until later. That doesn't mean the events following that are gonna be the same."
"It also doesn't guarantee that they won't be."
"Nothing's guaranteed, Tony. But we have a chance at a different ending, and that's enough."
Tony nodded, lost in thought.
"That's enough," he repeated.
"Tony, they're thinning out down here," Cap's voice came over the com, "But we don't know how many dozens made it out in search of the cube."
"We've sealed ourselves in a room, one entrance for them to enter, good choke point," Tony replied.
"That's also only one way out, Tony."
There was a pause before he spoke again.
"Loki asked Wren if she's ever seen a horror movie," Steve added, amusement in his voice.
"Tell him we have windows for that, what kind of dumb movie slut does he take me for?" you laughed.
Funnily enough, Nat relayed the message.
"She asked what kind of movie slut you take her for....no, there are windows...are you forgetting he can fly?" she said, clearly answering responses from Loki that the two of you couldn't hear.
"Boss, incoming, from the left of the hall," Friday warned.
"How many we looking at?"
"I'm scanning fifty plus, possibly more on the stairs. Their density makes it hard to pinpoint."
"They'll have to do better than that," he huffed, pulling you to the back of the room. "Stay quiet," he whispered.
"Tony, what's going on?" Cap asked.
"Guests have arrived," he answered in a hushed tone. Remaining quiet was unnecessary, as the doors started pounding in. "And they're eager to start the party," Tony yelped, standing ready to blast the first person that made it through the barricade. The pounding continued for twenty seconds or so, before stopping suddenly.
"Friday, why'd they stop?"
"I don't know, Boss, but there's something big approaching."
A loud grunt or growl-like sound rumbling from the hallway accompanied her observation.
You tilted your head and scoffed, "They have a cave troll."
"Not another pop-culture reference out of you," Tony said, pointing a finger at you.
"You're the nerd that understands them, otherwise you'd never know," you mumbled.
You could hear the footsteps now, loud thuds growing closer to the door, shaking the floor. It grew deathly quiet, and you held your breath waiting for the inevitable. The door was launched inwards, taking some of the barricade with it. A few more swings and the rest of your defenses had been knocked aside. You ducked behind Tony as debris flew in all directions.
Standing back up, but in a defensive stance, you whipped out your rod. The giant that had pounded his way in stepped into the room, followed by other creatures pouring through the gaps around him.
"I'm gonna need a bigger stick," you whispered in fear, looking up at the Kronan that towered above you.
"Don't think I didn't pick up on that Jaws reference in there," Tony said, launching into the air and blasting the rock giant with all he had.
"Kid, this guy's barely crumbling, you'd think rock would be easy to blast!"
"The armor doesn't help I'm sure," you grunted, swinging your weapon left and right as every being besides the Kronan was coming for you now. Although they were still attacking as they came, it was half-hearted and unfocused, as if not as motivated as before. This made it easier to strike them down, especially when using the equipment in the room to narrow their attack, forcing them to come at you practically one at a time. Funny how instinct kicks in in life threatening situations, because you had to admit, though not as polished or smooth as the Avengers, you had whipped that stick in ways and with forces you didn't know you had.
"They don't seem as vicious," you yelled to Tony.
"Tell that to Everest over here," he replied, and you glanced up to see him struggling a great deal. The Kronan looked rather worked up, swinging at Tony with a wild fury. He was doing his best to keep the behemoth on the other side of the room, but soon enough the Kronan would catch him if he stayed crammed in that space.
"Your lasers really doing nothing? Thor's hammer made ruins out of one of those in a instant."
"I'm sorry my advanced human technology isn't on par with a magic hammer," he sassed, "I've only managed to knock some boulders off this guy, but it took a lot to do it. I'm not sure how long I can keep this boat afloat with a pissed Jaws."
"Is that a movie reference I hear you joining in on?"
"You started it first, so it doesn't count."
"But you added onto it---"
"We'll talk logistics of who takes the blame later, now is there anything in your movie trivia mind about how to defeat these guys?"
"I told you, Mjolnir destroys one in seconds, but Thor's a bit preoccupied right now."
"Great, the one time I need the Shakespearean Wonder, he's not available."
One three-eyed alien had snuck around the pile of scraps on your right, making it behind you and grabbing you in a chokehold. You kicked back hard into its knee, then flipped your stick around and stabbed the taser into his abdomen. He squealed and fell backwards, taking you with him. As you pushed his arms off of you, and bludgeoned him one more time for good measure, you noticed big metal canisters next to you, the kind that looked like they could contain some sort of gas.
"Tony!" you exclaimed, an idea coming to you. "You remember how they gutted Jaws? Also your whole Jonah maneuver in the Battle of New York?"
"On it," Tony answered, understanding what to do.
You had your work cut out for you fending off the number of foes that had reached you during your squabble with the tri-eyeballed freak, so you weren't aware of how Tony did it. But seconds later he landed in front of you, pulling you into his chest and crouching over you as an explosion shook the room. Rocks catapulted through the air, knocking creatures off their feet. When the rubble settled, Tony released his hold on you.
"Nice call, kid," he said in a sigh of relief.
"Does this mean I get my TV back?"
He moved to respond, but was cut off by another wave entering the room. This group seemed more determined, less lethargic than the ones you'd been fighting, and more like the initial attack downstairs.
"They certainly seem eager," Tony noted, firing at the animals in the lead.
Despite receiving some attackers, it was clear they were charging Tony with greater intensity.
"Why do they like you so much?"
"Well, you know, I tend to have that effect on people."
It was no coincidence, you realized, that they were after Tony, as one made a swipe for the bag hanging at his side.
"The cube!" you said in understanding.
"Yea, I pieced that together too."
"Hover above us, Tony, distract them and snipe them down. I'll be able to take out more if they aren't fully focused on me."
The plan worked, and the two of you were still handling yourselves pretty well when the others arrived. Any stragglers were swiftly eliminated, and the battle was finally over.
"You guys ok?" Cap asked.
"Yeah," you said, breathing heavily with your hands on your hips, "F-fine."
You rubbed your face and put your hands on your head, taking your first calm and deep breaths since the battle started. "Whooooa, ok," you spoke to yourself more than anyone, letting out a long shaky breath of air.
"You sure you're ok?" Clint asked again, and you noticed they were all looking at you.
"Yeah, yeah no, I'm---I'm good," you said tiredly, still shaking from the adrenaline. "It's just, you know..." you gestured your hands in the air, looking for words, "...it."
"A natural wordsmith," Loki teased.
"You know what I mean," you laughed, though the laugh was weak and tired too. "Creatures...aliens...guns, and-and-and magic and fighting and Kronans and outer space and the Avengers and Asgardians and..." you took another big breath "...ok, sorry," you said, shaking your head and attempting to compose yourself. Wanda stepped forward with an understanding look on her face.
"Hey, I hid in a building my first fight. You don't have to apologize for being skittish after yours."
You nodded, smiling gratefully.
"You did good, kid," Tony said, patting you on the shoulder as he walked by.
"Did well," you corrected before you could stop yourself from being so lame.
"Nooow she's worried about grammar," Tony eye rolled.
"She is correct," Vision chided.
"Also, can I petition for a longer stick? You know, almost double-bladed action, like Darth Maul style?"
"Yup, she's back," Sam groaned.
"Give me a little while to chill out over this, and you'll get a whole lot of fangirling over how cool this was, I promise."
Thor walked into the room just then, drawing everyone's attention.
"Now he decides to show up," Tony complained.
"Forgive my absence, but I continued the search for Tivan....he's nowhere to be found."
The news was upsetting enough that you didn't even capitalize on another chance at making a terrible 'Knowhere' pun.
"Well then we'll just have to find him," Cap said, with that notoriously giddy optimism and determination.
"Where does a guy like that go to hide?" Nat asked, and it took you a hot second to realize they were all looking expectantly towards you.
"How should I know? Do I look like a walking Marvel guide--ok don't answer that....yup, ok, I see your point. Unfortunately, I have no idea. The Collector has always played such a small role, I never even knew he was capable of something like this. His end credit scene about collecting all the stones never led to anything, he literally is a scummy guy who just dies later."
"I'm going to give you a second to choose your words carefully," Tony said, "And when I ask 'What end credit scene?' you better pray to God I hear that it was a slip of the tongue...you ready? What end credit scene?"
"Umm...it was a slip of the tongue?" you tried hopefully.
The group just groaned.
"You knew he was after the stones!" Rhodey yelled.
"That would have been helpful to know before we casually strolled up and demanded it from him!" Thor added.
"Would you have done any differently anyway Thor? Honestly?"
"She's not wrong there, brother," Loki noted.
"Shut up Loki!" he snapped back.
"I'm by no means defending her stupidity," Loki said in a defensive tone, turning to address you. "You let us bring the Tesseract to him?"
"OK, everyone just, just shut up for one damn second, alright?!" you shouted. "It was an end credit scene, an insignificant one at that. For those of you who are not familiar, an end credit scene is a short clip at the very end of all of the credits in a movie. It usually is a little teaser for another film to come. However, this particular scene with the Collector led to literally nothing, because we never get to see what he does with the Reality Stone before Thanos murders him for it, and he never makes an attempt to get his hands on any of the others, besides the Power Stone, which he doesn't get. It's forgettable and doesn't come back into play at all, serving no purpose other than showing the audience where the Aether is being kept, ok? So, yes, when we talked about coming here to get it from him, I never dreamed that he had some brainwashed army, because we never see it, so I never thought he would deny two Asgardian warriors and their squad of superheroes. As for him collecting other stones? We never see him do this, literally ever, so red flags never came up when the Tesseract was brought into the picture. Just because I know some things people say, doesn't mean I can predict everything that is going to happen!"
"Which is why you have to tell us everything you know before we go into a mission," Cap explained calmly. "We don't expect you to predict the outcome of events, but we'd stand a better chance of preparing against the unexpected if you tried to give as many details as you can, no matter how insignificant they may seem."
"Well I see that now!" you exclaimed sarcastically, "But this is all new to me, ok? My brain has been hardwired for ten years to remember certain things as important and others as not so much. Just because it's all real now, which is a lot to grasp as it is, doesn't mean my brain is going to start thinking 'Hey, remember that random scene that never meant anything? Better watch out for that!' I get it, this was another major wake-up call. I will try to remember every scene and detail about a place or person before we go on another space adventure, but there are 20 plus movies to filter through here, and I can't guarantee that I won't forget some minute detail that turns into some climactic battle."
Arguing had made your head hurt, which wasn't a surprise given the lack of adrenaline to keep your pain and fatigue away. You subconsciously rubbed your head, clearly not nonchalantly enough.
"Hey, hey, kid, take a break," Tony said, easing you down to sit on a big piece of metal.
"What?" you asked, confused as to why he seemed worried over a little head rub.
"You don't look so good," Nat answered.
"Well there's nothing different there," you smiled.
"You said you weren't going to go climb an Everest," Loki scolded, "Yet instead you fought a battle."
"And fought an Everest," Tony added.
"Oh I'm sorry, Loki, next time I'll ask them politely to let me sit out!"
"As entertaining as you are riled up, it was merely an observation," Loki explained, "Your head was not up to full strength." He saw the look on your face and tilted his head inquisitively at you. "You hit your head, didn't you?"
"I...may have bumped it. Not hard though."
"Hard enough," he tutted.
"Well, let's get her home then," Wanda said.
"It's just a headache guys! You all look just as worse for wear."
That was true, given the blood, sweat, and grime that coated them as it did you.
"And Clint's limping again, because I take it his leg wasn't, how did you say it Loki, up to full strength?"
"She's got a point," Sam said.
"Clint's mind hasn't had to process being thrown into a movie fight scene," Tony argued.
"Nor is this his first conflict of such a nature," Vision backed the argument.
"Shock will fade, and I'm just a bit tired from the crash off of my adrenaline rush."
"So until you're used to that like the rest of us, take it easy," Steve ordered gently, "It's not an insult to how much you can take."
"I don't know how much the cameras show, but I was a mess after Sokovia," Wanda offered helpfully.
"And the first mission I ever flew wasn't the easiest," Sam said.
"Accepting that it's hard the first time isn't embarrassing," Nat told you.
"Thanks guys, I know it'll take some getting used to. But I swear, I'm fine."
"We should head back to Asgard regardless," Thor stated, sticking his hand out to Tony for the Tesseract.
"I'm ready to get out of this place," Rhodey voted.
Tony had Friday hack into the Collector's system before you all prepped to leave, looking for any information or clue as to where he may have gone to hide or who his contacts were. Unfortunately, Tivan had wiped everything clean, and alien-tech wasn't Tony's specialty, so no help was found.
"Circle up," Cap directed when everyone was ready.
"Please don't just think 'Asgard'. I don't wish to be dropped into the sea, thank you," Loki mocked.
Thor glared sideways at his brother, but didn't say a word. Closing his eyes in concentration, the blue portal expanded around him and to the rest of the team.
The Asgardian vault was a welcomed and familiar sight, something you never thought you'd be thinking. Yet there was something bittersweet about standing where you wanted to be, but doing so empty handed. It was back to the old drawing board.