Di…di… di
The harsh electronic alarm blared through the command center. Banner's gamma tracker lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Gamma energy signature, 99% match!, We found it. Right there!"
His finger jabbed at the screen. "Beside the aircraft carrier!"
"Wait. No… something's wrong."
Too late.
A massive explosion shook the sky, the shockwave slamming into them. People were thrown off their feet. Sirens screamed. Flames burst onto deck.
It was a trap.
Loki had let them catch him. All to trace the location of the SHIELD helicarrier. The whole thing had been a setup.
Barton, no longer himself, led a team of heavily armed mercenaries in a brutal assault, targeting one of the carrier's engines.
Detonations rocked the ship. Smoke poured from ruptured metal.
Banner staggered, his breath caught in his throat.
The Hulk… the explosion had been right where he was.
A roar tore through the hull. Walls buckled. Hulk emerged, seething and furious, eyes glowing like molten emeralds.
The explosion had pushed him where he didn't want to be, he hadn't had time to inject the suppressant serum Soren had given him.
Rage.
Uncontrollable, devastating rage.
If he didn't calm down, the damage he would cause could be catastrophic.
With the Hulk rampaging, Thor, realizing the severity of the situation, rushed to intervene.
"Banner, STOP!"
God against monster. They clashed in a barrage of fists and lightning.
Explosions erupted everywhere. To keep the Hulk from losing control, Thor battled seemingly not to notice he was causing just as much destruction as the Hulk.
Meanwhile, Fury gritted his teeth, watching the fight tear through his precious ship.
"Launch the decoy fighter, draw the Hulk away!"
A sleek jet veered toward Hulk, guns blazing, flares flying.
"Mayday, he's turning toward us! He's!"
The jet vanished in a fiery burst.
"Damn it…" Fury whispered.
"We lost one of our best."
Elsewhere during the madness, Iron Man and Captain America scrambled toward the damaged engine, dodging bullets and holding the line against Barton's elite forces.
"Cap, go left, I'll draw their fire!" Tony yelled over the comms.
"I can handle it!" Cap shouted back, shield up. "You just fix the damn engine!"
Together, they pushed through the fire and chaos, eventually disabling the mercenaries and getting the engine back up after the captain let Tony blend for a minute.
Back inside, Thor gained the upper hand.
Then it clicked.
Knowing his brother.
All of this, the explosions, the Hulk, the assault, it was all a diversion.
He raced to the holding cells.
Late again.
He arrived just in time to see Loki walk out of his cell, smirking.
"LOKI!" Thor lunged right into an illusion.
The cage sealed around him. Thor snarled and pounded the walls.
Loki's smirk grew as he materialized outside the reinforced glass.
"Brother."
"You really do have the worst memory. Illusions, remember? My specialty. And yet you fall for them again... and again…"
Thor slammed his fists against the cage. "Let me out!"
Loki ignored him and tapped into the console.
"You know, Midgardians always believe we're practically unkillable. Regenerative healing, magic, all that."
"But let's put that to the test, shall we?"
He pressed his hand over the red button, the emergency drop function.
The cage would plummet from 10,000 meters. Even a god could die from that fall.
"Don't!"
Phil Coulson appeared, a massive weapon in hand, dragging behind it a faint energy hum.
The mercenary behind Loki turned, but Coulson was faster, one shot and the attacker hit the floor.
He raised the weapon, leveled it at Loki.
"Step away from the console."
Loki turned, raising a brow. "Agent Coulson."
"This." Coulson said, tapping the trigger. "Was made for someone like you. Experimental. Unregistered. Not even tested yet."
"You want to be the first?"
Loki's smile didn't falter.
"Tempting. But I've already had enough firsts today."
Chhkk!
A horrifying sound of metal piercing flesh.
Coulson's mouth opened slightly. Blood dripped from his lips.
Thor roared, slamming into the glass.
A spear, a cold, elegant blade of Asgardian design, had emerged from Coulson's chest.
Loki stood behind him.
An illusion.
Again.
"Such loyalty." Loki whispered into Coulson's ear as he let the body fall.
"So predictable. So very... human."
Coulson's weapon clattered to the floor, still glowing.
The room was silent, except for Thor's bellow and the soft hum of the cage, still poised to drop.
Ignoring the dying agent like an afterthought, Loki turned to the console and casually slammed his palm onto the red button.
Above them, the reinforced cage that held Thor shuddered, detached from the carrier.
Alarms blared.
The cage fell, tumbling down from 10,000 meters above the Earth, plummeting like a meteor.
Loki watched its descent through the observation screen, eyes.
"Bye, bye… brother."
And with that, he turned away, walking calmly toward the waiting escape Barton had prepped.
Blood was pooling now. Coulson's breaths came shallow and slow, each one harder than the last.
His vision blurred.
If only… I hadn't wasted that card the doctor gave me…
His head drooped, the world tilting sideways. Darkness crept in like water filling a sinking ship.
But…
A figure appeared.
A shimmer in the air.
He materialized in front of Coulson like a shadow being pulled into shape.
"…Damn it." Soren murmured, glancing at the wound.
"I was too late."
His voice was calm, but behind his eyes was… regret.
He knelt beside Coulson and reached for him, ready to extract him~
Click!
A gun cocked.
"Let him go!"
Soren's body tensed. Slowly, he turned to face the source.
Nick Fury stood at the corridor entrance, gun aimed squarely at him, one good eye burning with fury.
"Fury?" Soren raised both hands slowly. "It's me."
Fury's stance faltered for a moment, his gun lowering an inch. "Soren…? The hell are you doing here?"
Soren sighed and muttered under his breath, "Should be asking myself the same damn thing…"
He nodded toward Coulson's limp body. "I came to save him. I was… too late."
Fury's rushed past Soren and dropped to his knees beside Coulson.
"Phil? Phil, come on." He gently shook the man's shoulder. "Stay with me."
Coulson didn't respond.
His chest no longer rose.
Blood had stopped flowing.
"No, no, no…" Fury shook him harder. "Phil!"
He glanced up, voice cracking. "Can he still be saved?"
"Not if you keep jerking him around like a plaything."
Fury froze.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
Dare you peek into my other tales? The opening three chapters of select stories are free to all.
PhantomDream