(2)The Avengers: The Goddess of the Sea

23

Loki was prepared. He immediately attempted to throw me off, shimmering in and out as he appeared in front of me, behind me, beside me and genuinely causing chaos. Wanda stayed in one spot, clutching Eira to her chest and for that I was grateful. Everyone else spread out, hoping to catch Loki slacking. Strange busied himself throwing out portal after portal, opening them all directly in front of me, hoping the god would land at some point.

I stood still, waiting for the moment I'd feel a shift; waiting for the moment he would screw up. It was only a moment later that I saw it: the imperfection in his illusion. Standing just behind the Hulk (who lunged for Loki but came up with empty space) was a distinct shimmer in the air, an imperfection that only I was standing still enough to notice.

How was I to get over there without him knowing my intentions? Thankfully I hadn't lost my focus yet, because I noticed the shimmering was moving. As effortlessly as the ocean, the shimmering slowly but surely made its way closer to me. No...not me.

What was the one thing on this roof that I would jump in front of to save? What was the one thing that would be leverage enough for me to take off the enchantment and die? Eira.

Iron Man flew around the rooftop, trying and failing to catch Loki in each place he popped up. I watched as the man in the suit dive bombed, nearly taking out the actual Loki, but flying past to pursue a fake. The shimmering picked up its pace, skirting carefully around the Avengers in its way. Without another moments hesitation, I lunged for Eira and Wanda, landing in a roll and throwing my body in front of the two.

My trident lashed out in a blur, stabbing and slashing in the same motion. All chaos slowed slightly as the real Loki flashed into place, my trident sticking out from his thigh.

He looked at my trident then back at me, his head tilting. "You did that on the Bifrost bridge too...you little bitch."

I smiled before ripping my trident out of his leg. He roared in pain, blood dripping from his wound. Before he could attack, I turned and thrust my arm out at Wanda and Eira. Water spread over my hands to my fingertips and shot out to build a protective cage around the two girls. The bars sizzled with electricity; it wouldn't hurt the girls, but it would hurt Loki if he dared try anything. At least...I hope that's how it worked.

Loki was upon me then, barely giving me time to throw my hands up to protect my face. He got a good hit to my face before I was able to hold my own. Blood dripped down into my eyes, blinding me, turning everything red. I swiped it away with the sleeve of my dress, smearing it into a mess. Loki lunged again, but I was ready. My trident slashed upwards, catching him on the cheek enough to draw blood but not enough to cause too much damage.

Neither of us could get the upper hand. All I needed was for him to slip up even the slightest, but he was completely immune to everything around him. Nothing broke his focus, there was no way he'd make a mistake.

Even with my newfound power, I was beginning to tire. My arms felt liquified and only worsened with each swing of my trident. Finally, he lunged for the kill, but his scepter missed, slipping harmlessly through the small amount of space between my arm and my torso. He knew that he had messed up.

I grabbed the handle of the scepter with both hands, my trident clattering to the ground, showering droplets of water everywhere. The scepter hummed angrily in my hands, protesting against my touch. Nevertheless, I was able to twist it out of Loki's grasp and turn it on him.

"You don't know what you're doing with that, Celestial," he warned, hands up in surrender and slowly backing away.

I glared at him, holding the scepter in both hands and waiting in a fighting stance. He only seemed to get angrier when he realized I had called his bluff. A good distance away from me now, he began attempting to throw his magic at me. In the form of glowing blue fireballs, one after the other he threw them at me. I wielded the scepter like a baton, twirling it as fast as I could in my hands, blocking each fireball.

Dr. Strange opened portals to catch the fireballs, sending them Lord knows where, but keeping everyone safe. Loki's scepter twirled manically in my hands, deflecting each and every attack Loki made. One of the fireballs glanced off the scepter and threw itself back at Loki, only this one flew back at him differently.

Not only did it not spin as it barreled towards him like it did coming from him, but it was also turning purple. The blue was slowly being overtaken by the purple; the ball of straight electricity didn't waver in the slightest as it locked onto its target. Loki lunged out of the way, the fireball barely missing him.

As we watched it fall over the side of the building, tumble down among the buildings and leave an ethereal purple glow behind, I noticed the sun was rising. The buildings burned with the fiery glow of the sun as it slowly slid above the horizon. The glow of the fireball disappeared, gone for only a moment before all hell broke loose.

An explosion shook the ground, the building we stood on and all the buildings within a four block radius. A second later, the blast reached all of us. Events seemed to move in slow motion then. Everyone on the rooftop was thrown back, some went completely over the side and disappeared.