Mischief on Midgard

The first wave

Tension sang in the air like a thick fog. Thanos' fleet was on its' final approach. All of the various warriors had gathered and were ready to move at a moment's notice. A mix of Asgardian warriors, Wakandans, Mystics, Tony's drones, and robots all stood, or hovered, waiting for the signal to move.

Given that they still did not have a lock on Thanos' troops' exact landing point, they couldn't set up in one specific spot. To do so would leave them open to an attack. Instead, with the Mystic's abilities to 'portal' them to various locations, the heaviest hitters had been gathered together within one large room with a group of Strange's Mystics. Other groups were set up similarly and would follow after the Heavy Hitters led the charge.

What they could do, however, was try to force Thanos' troops away from at least two areas. Carol Danvers, AKA 'Captain Mar-vel', and Vision were already up in the Stratosphere. Their job was to do what they could to take out as many enemy ships as possible. The Guardians of the Galaxy would be using their own ship to support the super-powered pair in their efforts.

Lastly, they had decided to focus on Thanos' 'Children' as they appeared on the battlefield. As the enemy troops' heavy hitters, the Avengers knew that the 'Children' needed to be taken out. Quickly. Bruce and Steve were tasked to take down Cull. Wanda, Tony, and Sam Wilson had been assigned to neutralize Proxima Midnight. Thor, Rhodey, and Scott Lang would challenge Corvus Glaive. Doctor Strange, Clint, and Natasha would face Loki's former tormentor... Ebony Maw.

Or, that is, that was what the last group had been told. Loki had not said anything, acting calm and collected around the others, but he fully intended for Ebony Maw to fall to his hands alone. He had a score to settle with the grey-skinned bastard.

For the moment, Loki was biding his time. He was seated in the 'analytics room.' Those who were suited to keeping an eye on all ongoing battles and keep the various groups connected and updated had been gathered together. That group consisted of Pepper, Loki, Happy, Maria Hill, and Shuri. Loki glanced over the group. It was a good thing that he felt so confidant that the group could work together and work together well. He was intending on abandoning the group. Thankfully, he knew that Pepper could handle his disappearance. She was a born leader and knew how to keep a calm head.

She'd managed Tony this long after all.

Loki's head jerked back around as his screen beeped at him. He looked the information over and winced. Several blips had appeared on the screen. He ran the calculations, heart hammering in his chest. This was it...

"Twenty minutes before they enter firing range of Earth's defense grid," Loki announced to the others.

He looked over to the group of those gathers and noticed that the boy, Parker, seemed to be shaking like a leaf. He was pale and looked about to pass out. Tony gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder that made him jump.

"Hey, calm down. It's going to be okay, kid," Tony assured the youth in a soft voice. "Remember what we talked about. You're to stay away from the front line. Your job is crowd control. Keeping people safe. I know it doesn't sound as fancy as what we'll be doing, but it's important and something you can handle easily. You got this."

"I... yeah, I know, sir," Peter said with a nod, though Loki could still see the kid's fingers shaking as he tried to put on a brave face. "I... I just don't want to be in the way. I want to help."

"And you will be helping," Tony said with the smile of a teacher who was proud of his student. "You've got this, kid. Remember, you're an Avenger now."

"Y-yeah," Peter responded with a shaky, awkward smile.

Loki didn't buy the kid's bravado in the slightest. Parker still looked like he was one good spook away from fainting. He also knew that the kid wasn't just going to stay in the back, making sure that people stayed safe. He'd observed some of the footage that Tony had on file about the kid. Parker was the kind of person to rush head-long into danger to help. No matter how absurd the danger, if people were calling for aid, the youth would charge in to help.