The Lokistone

Lokistone 14

For this WHOLE CHAPTER, I listened to "Two Steps from Hell- Spirit of Champions," followed IMMEDIATELY by "Two Steps from Hell-Heart of Courage (Extended version)

Enjoy!

VVVVV

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"The enemy

Of my enemy

Is my friend."

"This is not working!"

Mjollnir slapped back into Thor's hand with such force that he winced, and only shot a look at Romanov, who had shouted. She hunched beside the tread of the Midgardian vehicle called a "tank," and fired her gun repeatedly out in front of it. The swift concussions battered the canyon of buildings, adding to the babbling, screeching cackle of battle.

Thor, panting, swept his gaze across the scene, reaching out to press his left hand on the side of the tank. The tank that carried the tesseract.

Up until ten minutes ago, this tank and three decoys had been driving headlong from various points toward Stark Tower. But their luck had run short—the Chitauri and Skrulls had decimated each tank, one at a time, until only this one was left. And now, they had set up a massively-armed blockade spanning the entire block in front of them—and Thor sensed the crawling, snapping creatures hurrying through alleys and buildings to surround them entirely. Behind the Avengers and their tank stood a mighty Midgardian force—both in vehicles and on foot, policemen and soldiers—that fired back into the enemy lines with devastating raw power. The windows of the surrounding buildings lay shattered on the sidewalks, and the streets had heaved up into rubble.

Thor could barely hear and he almost couldn't see. It was dark—dangerously close to midnight—and many of the city's lights had been blown out. Choking smoke rose into the air, obscuring any starlight. The lights that did remain cast deceiving shadows and flashed and blinked against windows and around corners like oncoming fire, disorienting him and making his skin shiver.

The air overhead screamed. A Skrull fighter—one of hundreds of hornet-like vehicles—dove down between the buildings and strafed the street and the Midgardian force just behind the Avengers. The fire pockmarked the tanks, armored trucks and cement, sending shrapnel flying.

Thor ducked down and dodged behind the tank—the only shred of cover they had. He instantly bumped into Tony, who now only wore parts of his charred iron suit, and leaned back against the tank. Thor could see half of Tony's face in the distorted light—he was covered in grime and blood.

"How do you feel?" Thor asked him.

"Like crap," Tony bit out, grimacing as he raised his hand and fired a pulse. It flashed out—a stray Chitauri on a flier blasted into pieces.

"What does that mean?" Thor asked, swiping cold sweat from his brow.

"I feel about how you feel," Tony clarified, aiming again, shooting—and obliterating a mailbox instead of a Skrull that had poked his head out of a door. The Skrull retreated.

"Hey, fellas?" Steve called from the other side of the tank. "What's plan B, here?"

"I'm with Steve. 'Cause this, what we're doing here, is no longer an option," Clint added from the top of the tank. The next instant, Thor heard an arrow whiz through the air.

An explosion rattled the ground. The night shivered.

"Nice dent," Steve commented.

"Thanks," Clint acknowledged.