Protector (EN)

Chapter 33

Tony's view

I couldn't concentrate on the fight any longer because I saw Loki holding my daughter in his arms. Did he save her? On the one hand I was really angry, and yet on the other hand I was a little relieved. Could Loki not do what I asked of him just once? Is it really so hard to stay home and do nothing? If Loki really saved my daughter, then it was kind of good that he was there.

Unfortunately, Juli wasn't in his arms for long, because one of my suits grabbed Juli as if they had a mind of their own. The suit, with Juli inside it, flew into the wrecked hall and landed there as well. If those metal machines weren't there, I would have flown to her on the spot. But those rusty metals were persistent. They just wouldn't let up.

Loki's view

Juli was in the suit in the wrecked hall. I just tried to set Juli as my target. That is, I fought my way through the metals. I took a metal rod to hand, which was even a bit pointed in the front, because apparently something heavy fell on the tip. Because with the metal rod I could do more than with my bare hands, which already ran bloody. I didn't know exactly what I had to destroy with these things, because they weren't living creatures after all. I hit the head of the first one several times. Sometimes the sparks flew into the air. So I decided to hit it again and with full force. I managed to separate the head from the body. Unfortunately it was a machine that didn't need a head to continue fighting. With the tip of the stick I stabbed once through the metal body into a gap, which was rooted with many cables. The machine stopped rooted to the spot and then went airborne before my eyes. I flew a few meters away. I then put my hand in front of my face. My ears felt numb. And then there was this piping. A figure then appeared from my eyes, which I could only see blurredly. I could not quite define who it could be. This figure reached out his hand to me and quite bluntly I could hear how he said:" You did that very well. The first one out of our way now." It was Cap. It was actually Steve Rogers. Was he paying me a compliment? I reached for his outstretched hand. He then tapped my shoulder with one hand as a sign to pride. Now the battle against these things continued.

I ran as fast as I could towards the shattered hall to save Juli. When I reached this debris field, I looked around. I still had the metal rod with which I destroyed the rusty monster, and held it in front of me for protection in case something unexpected tried to attack me. My surroundings were somewhat fogged by the dust of the stones and walls of the building. Breathing in too much of the dust made me cough. I could barely breathe and the further I went in to the pile of rubble, I felt a thick smoke. It was starting to burn nearby. Something apparently got into an open fire here and caught fire. Juli had to get out of here as fast as she could. She was already so weakened and the fire might suffocate her. I panicked and hurried to find her.

"Juli? Where are you? If you hear me give me a sign!" I shouted. I didn't care if any of the things heard me, found me and attacked me. What mattered to me was that Juli got out of here and was safe.

I heard a loud roar behind me. My heart stopped for a short time and one could speak of fear. I turned around slowly to find that this suit Juli was in was ripping out a long metal pipe. I swallowed and clutched the rod in my hand tighter. Out of the suit I could suddenly hear Juli's voice. She started screaming in pain. Understandable. What she had to go through.

"Juli? Are you all right?" I shouted to her. I could only hear her screaming subside and she just moaned.

"I don't think it matters anymore if she's okay. It will still take a while until her body is completely weakened and she fails completely. It won't be long and there she won't be. Master Viper just wants revenge and you should just go home and let her die" the suit said to me.

"And they say to me I am a monster. You attack your own kind and know no mercy. You know no more than hate. I hurt others and the innocent atone for your guilt" I gritted my teeth. I just couldn't watch anymore. I didn't know how to start the fight without hurting Juli until the thing decided to fight me. I fended off the blows and didn't think about how to get Juli out of there.

"You know what? Why should she die like that? This suit offers so much more to kill a human" the AI started talking to me again. It hurled me against the destroyed walls and flew into the air. What was that thing up to?