An Avenger's Tale

18|| For The Love Of War

I suited up hastily and then rushed out of the tower, without throwing a second glance at Loki. The only thing that mattered was getting to the battle in time and helping my friends and family before any of them got killed.

I still haven't retrieved my bracelet so I couldn't locate where they were exactly. All Steve mentioned was Times Square and that was where I was headed. I rushed through the traffic towards Times Square and when I got there, half the building was already demolished and objects were on fire.

There was a big portal in the sky where a variety of weird creatures emerged from. Hulk jumped and caught an enormous serpent-thing out of sky and smashed it into the ground.

"Sage!?" My head shot up towards the sky and Peter was clawing onto the side of the building. His suit was darned in several places. "How did you get out?"

"Long story!" I yelled back. "Update?"

"Well, there's not really much to go by. Thanos hasn't exactly made his appearance yet but the portal was opened and all monsters of the nine realms are infiltrating earth."

"Where's my father?"

Peter jumped down from the building and walked towards me. We stood amid the chaos that was raging around us. I looked into his Spiderman mask as he stopped in front of me.

"He's fighting off the monsters in the sky with Rhodey and The Falcon. Nat is on the ground with Steve and Hulk. Clint is on the roof. Thor's somewhere amid the chaos. Wanda is everywhere. We're all just scattered around the place."

I nodded my head and then tightened my grip on the daggers in each hand. "Any sign of Hela?"

"Not yet, fortunately."

A group of Chitauri thudded toward us and Peter webbed himself back onto the building to take them from above while I battled them on the ground. I plunged my dagger into one of them and they fell to their knees, gurgling up a green liquid and then falling to the ground.

Peter strangled two together with his webs and I used the wind to slam them into the opposite building. "Go! I'll handle the rest!"

"Sage. . ." Peter started.

"I said go!"

Peter crawled up the building reluctantly and then disappeared. My gaze came back to the monsters that surrounded me and I smirked.

"It's just you and me, guys."

I ran into the heat of their crowd and slashed at them. They fell around me and I plunged my fists into the ground, making the earth split down the middle and their bodies fell to the earth's core. I stood up straight and watched as the earth sealed itself again.

"What the hell are you doing here? How did you get out?" Nat asked as I joined them on the otherside of the building.

"It's a long, boring story really, but you need the help so clamp it and let me help!" I said heavily and created a ring of fire around us so neither the Chitauri nor the Frost Giants could cross.

Clint's arrows shot past our heads one at a time. The monsters fell from the sky in abundance and the few of us that were enveloped by the ring of fire glanced at each other as a horde of Frost Giants and Chitauri alike thudded towards us.

"Don't die!" Nat yelled as I waved my hands and the ring of fire evaporated into thin air.

We rushed into the large crowd of monsters and blood littered the ground. I could not see either of the Avengers anymore as I plunged my dagger into the neck of a Frost Giant and he fell to the floor, motionless.

When I looked up from his body, I sucked in a deep breath because I was surrounded. I cursed under my breath as my eyes danced across their faces. I loosend my shoulders and aimed my daggers at them, as they inched closer.

One of the Chitauri prodded me in the stomach with its scepter and I tumbled backwards at the force, my daggers skiing out of my reach as I hit the ground. I gasped for air as the fall knocked away my breath. The Chitauri lowered his scepter towards my head and I veiled my face, waiting for the searing pain but it let out a skrill scream instead.

My eyes shot open and I scanned my surroundings frantically. A orange-gold surrounded me before it disappeared, along with the Chitauri and Frost Giants that surrounded me. A tall man in a blue suit and red cape came into view and next to him stood five other people.

I scrambled to my feet and collected my daggers before walking towards him. I recognised him from somewhere. I remembered there was a picture of him amid the rest of the Avengers in the hall.

"Are you Doctor Strange?"

He nodded. "Doctor Steven Strange. These are Peter, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot. They're here to help."

"Good. We could really use the help."

I heard rockets swishing above my head and tilted my head to the sky and then saw my father as he hovered above our heads.

"How good of you to finally join us, Strange."

"I've been busy, Stark." Doctor Strange stated seriously.

While they were bickering, a small bomb-like thing landed in the middle of us. Peter's eyes widened before he yelled. "GET DOWN!"

My father ascended into the sky and the rest of us fell to the floor, sheltering ourselves from the blast. My eyebrows creased when I didn't feel such an impact as I was supposed to. I pried my hands away from my face and opened my eyes, meeting the malicious green emeralds of Loki. He was crouching over me, shielding me from the blast.

My anger towards him have long subsided and I was half relieved to see him and the tone of my voice matched my relief. "Loki? You're here. . ."

"Unfortunately." He extended his palm and hoisted me up from the ground.

I wiped away a trail of blood on my mouth before peering at him from beneath my lashes. "What do you mean 'unfortunately'? You don't have to be here. Go back to Asgard then."

"Sage. . ." He trailed off.

"We have a war to win." I hissed angrily and turned away from him, heading into the opposite direction but as I expected, his fingers gently closed around my forearm and he pulled me into his chest. "Loki, I--"

My words were cut short when his lips crashed onto mine, devouring me. For for a moment I didn't know what to do - what to think. Loki was kissing me amid the chaos in the presence of all the Avengers. I finally acceded that I would never win this battle with myself and kissed him back like he was my oxygen and I was running out of air.

When we pulled away, he pressed his temple to mine and his gaze dropped to my lips. "I returned for you, Sage Stark."

I smiled at him and pulled away, staring into his eyes. I pulled him in for a chaste kiss before running in the opposite direction. "Don't die!" I yelled over my shoulder and he simply laughed.