Beetlemon charged, his armored legs pounding the desert floor. Electricity sparked and sizzled around his oversized fists. He aimed a heavy punch at where he thought Loki might be, the motion a blur of blue and yellow.
CRACKLE
Loki, always the trickster, shimmered. Three identical Lokis appeared, each in green and gold, each smirking. Beetlemon's fist passed through thin air as if hitting smoke.
Gatomon darted low, a white streak across the sand, aiming for the legs of one illusion. BlackGatomon circled wide, her crimson eyes scanning, trying to find the tell, the slight imperfection in Loki's magic.
"Clever," Beetlemon grumbled, his voice a deep thrum of thunder. "But I've played enough video games to know a clone spell when I see one."
The commotion of crackling electricity and multiple glowing figures outside the tent did not go unnoticed. Hawkeye, already tense from the weirdness of the day, burst out, bow drawn and notched. He processed the chaotic scene instantly. His eyes, trained to find the smallest detail, flicked between the shimmering Lokis. A subtle difference in the way one's shadow fell, a fractional delay in another's movement – those were his targets. He wasn't aiming to kill, just to disrupt.
TWANG
An arrow zipped through the air, striking one of the illusory Lokis. The figure dissolved into shimmering green particles. Another arrow followed, TWANG, and a second Loki vanished. Hawkeye was a human aimbot, a player with perfect precision.
Beetlemon slammed a fist downward, shouting, "Thunder Fist!"
THUD-BOOM
The ground shook as a shockwave of electrical energy erupted. One of the Loki illusions shattered like glass, dissipating into green light. That was three down.
"Nice shot, Hawkeye!" Beetlemon yelled, even as he spun, tracking the remaining Lokis.
Gatomon and BlackGatomon, using their sharpened senses, moved with renewed purpose. Gatomon's ears twitched, picking up a faint, almost imperceptible shift in the air. BlackGatomon's crimson eyes narrowed, locking onto a flicker of true malice from one of the duplicates. They both lunged, striking at separate targets.
ZAP
SLASH
Two more illusions vanished, leaving only one Loki standing. This had to be the real one. Hawkeye's next arrow flew, a silent, deadly projectile aimed for Loki's shoulder. The trickster god sidestepped, the arrow WHOOSHING past his ear and embedding itself in the sand with a THWIP. Loki's smirk faltered. The pressure was definitely on. This wasn't just a drunk guy and his weird cats anymore. Hawkeye was playing to win.
Loki, surrounded by sand and frustrated opponents, assessed the situation. He recognized the growing threat. The armored giant was faster than he looked, hitting like a freight train. The two feline creatures, though small, were agile and relentlessly precise. Then there was the archer, a mere mortal, yet his arrows were uncomfortably accurate. This was no longer a simple game of psychological torment against Thor. This was a proper fight, and he was outnumbered. Loki had better things to do than duke it out in a desert with a giant beetle-man and some cats.
A subtle green light began to shimmer behind Loki, forming a portal, a tear in reality. He gave a final, disdainful smirk.
"This is hardly worth my time, mortals," Loki announced, his voice echoing with dismissive superiority. He stepped backward, the portal sucking him into its emerald depths.
FWOOSH
Just like that, he was gone, leaving behind only the scent of ozone and a lingering feeling of frustration.
"He got away!" Beetlemon roared, his voice filled with raw annoyance. The energy around his armored form pulsed violently, then faded. Loki had escaped, like a cheap boss in a game who teleported out of bounds just before the final hit. Ethan felt a wave of anger, a deep, bitter taste of failure mixed with the lingering sweetness of the cheap diner beer. The bastard.
"That trickster god is a real piece of work," BlackGatomon grumbled, flicking her tail.
"I still do not understand why he lied about Odin," Gatomon added, her voice a low rumble.
The golden and blue armor of Beetlemon shimmered, losing its solidity. The electrical energy that had powered Ethan's form dissipated into the desert air. The weight of the fight, combined with the earlier drinking, suddenly hit him like a concrete wall. His augmented strength and agility melted away, leaving him feeling heavy and vulnerable. His legs buckled, refusing to hold his weight.
Ethan collapsed onto the sandy ground, his consciousness fading. The last thing he heard was the distant shout of Hawkeye, followed by the soft crunch of sand as Gatomon and BlackGatomon moved closer, their familiar purrs a comforting, if fading, sound. Everything went black.
Hawkeye lowered his bow, his eyes narrowed, taking in the strange scene. The glowing giant had reverted to a lanky kid. The kid lay unconscious on the sand, flanked by two more of those… Digimon. What the hell was going on in New Mexico? First a god, then a giant hammer, now a kid who turns into a bug-themed Transformer with pet cats. His comm crackled.
"All agents, secure the perimeter," Hawkeye ordered, his voice calm and steady despite the internal alarm bells ringing in his head. "Monitor for any residual energy signatures. And somebody get medical over here for the kid." He approached Ethan cautiously, his gaze sweeping over the unconscious form and the two Digimon, who looked at him with an unnerving mixture of suspicion and protectiveness. This was going to be a very interesting report to Fury.
Hawkeye, ever the professional, moved with quiet efficiency. He secured Ethan, then turned to the Digimon.
"Alright, cats. Let's get him back to the tent."
Gatomon, with a calm authority, nudged Ethan's side. BlackGatomon, though usually prickly, helped support Ethan's other side. They moved with a surprising strength, a synchronized effort to lift Ethan's limp body. Hawkeye watched, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.
Thor, meanwhile, stood frozen, the desert wind whipping his long hair. Loki's words, "Odin is dead," echoed in his mind. He clenched his fists, the sand gritty beneath his fingers. Could his own brother truly lie about something so sacred? A wave of confusion washed over him, battling with a deeper, more primal rage. He knew Loki. He thought he did.
***
Donate Power Stones to support this novel
Advance chapters in patreon.com/Najicablitz