Illusions (The Avengers)

23. Maro's Victory

Austin slammed into a window, shattering the glass and flying through a room of very startled people. Tumbling over a desk, he hit the floor. The office workers around him approached cautiously, talking in hushed voices as the stood over his body.

"Kid, you okay?" a guy with a strong Hoboken accent asked him.

Austin spat out blood, getting up on his elbows to accept the out-stretched hand.

"That was quite a hit you took," Hoboken guy said once he was back on his feet.

"Yeah, well." That was his life," Thanks."

The sound of explosions shook the ground, and a large green flurry flew through the air outside of the window. Not good.

"Alright, listen, you all need to get somewhere safe- a basement, a storage room; somewhere with no windows!" Austin ordered.

"Now!" he added after they all just stared at him. A few of them jumped before scurrying for the exit, pushing and shoving to get to the nearest staircase.

Breathing heavily, Austin made his way back to the shattered remains of the window, watching the chaos beneath him.

He'd been in the process of trying to stop the giant beam of destruction penetrating the city when something large, silver, and indestructible had appeared from out of nowhere and sent him into flying. He could have sworn that it was the Destroyer from Asgard, but that was impossible.

He flinched as Tristan shouted into the com-link, "AUSTIN!"

"I'm fine!" Austin snapped once his ear had stopped ringing," What the hell was that? It looked like the Destroyer."

"It is the Destroyer, idiots!" Tanya informed them.

"How? I thought only Odin could control it!" Austin said.

"Anyone can control it if they have the right tools," Tanya told him.

"Thor beat It last time, didn't he? He can do it again," Tristan pointed out.

"The thing is indestructible, Tanya, I'm telling you, there's some spell on it or something." Austin searched below him, finding his father's red and blue shield strapped to his back in the midst of the chaos.

"Austin! I need you down here!" Tony suddenly shouted into the com.

"Got it." Austin backed up before leaping into the broken window, flipping forward so that the jagged glass on the bottom of the window grazed the back of his practically indestructible new suit (one that Tristan had actually designed a few months ago). As he flew out of the window, he flipped back over, the jets on the bottom of his boots firing up, creating a cushion as he landed on the streets. 

People moved around him like the Red Sea, screaming as they sprinted in all different directions. Steve was atop a crashed vehicle, speaking in rushed tones to the cops.

"Austin!" Tony hovered in the air above him.

"Tony, there's some kind of protection on that thing," Austin informed him," There's no way to penetrate it!"

"Yeah, the Hulk just figured that out," Tony replied heatedly," I need your help to try and contain the damage from that!"

He indicated the giant beam invading the atmosphere, and Austin swore that the destruction radius had gotten wider.

"Is it just me, or did that thing get bigger?" he asked.

"The beam didn't, but it's diameter of destruction did," Tony said," And it's still growing, if we don't stabilize it, it'll grow to a point where it can demolish the whole city."