Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
~=~
Avengers Tower; With Astrilde's POV
Her vision was blurry at the edges, and pain sifted through her body. Her hands clenched softly from her position on the ground. The rock that propped up her agonized body hurt it even more, but the familiar figure in front of her needed to be watched carefully. Her eyes met his for but a second, just long enough to see how cold they were, before they were averted.
"I didn't want to do this, love, but you've forced my hand," He gestured at the carnage as he spoke, and Astrilde's cut lip pulled back in a grimace. His voice was rough, as if he had been caught in the explosion as well. She knew better than to assume that, however. He was the eye of the storm, and as long as he didn't stray out of the safe-zone, he wouldn't be harmed in the slightest.
"Don-," Astrilde coughed painfully, "Don't d-do this. You are better than this."
"Trying to appeal to my better nature? You're way past that." Broken concrete crackled under his feet as he advanced toward her. She saw the kick before she felt it, but she didn't have enough time to try to avoid it. Searing pain filled her ribs as she was thrown several feet by the force of his kick. Finally, she stopped, ragged breaths leaving her lips. Desperate thoughts whirled within her mind. What had she done to deserve this? Why was she in this position? Please, someone save me. An abrupt end came to those thoughts. She couldn't think like this. Life threw whatever it wanted at you, and it was your job to fight against it.
Her newfound resilience burned bright in her heart, and she used it to fuel the healing magic that had already begun work on her injuries. She felt as it stitched her insides back together. She was going to fight against Ari, even if she didn't live to tell the tale.
"They'll stop you." Her mouth tasted like copper as she spoke.
"Who?"
"The Avengers." Wanda, especially. A chuckle escaped from Ari's lips. She didn't need to be looking at him to know he was looking down at her like he had already won.
"What makes you think they'll be able to stop me?" She knew the hidden meaning behind his words. His powers would make him unstoppable – unless it was dark out. In New York City, however, that was near impossible. A feeling of hopelessness creeped up Astrilde's spine. What would she do? What could she do?
The Sky and the Tower; With Unknown's POV
Wind rushed past his ears. It was oddly calming, even as the world below him increased in size at an alarming rate. That chilling calm, however, had no effect on him while he calculated his next actions. With the Asgardian princess below him, his steps would have to be careful. He needed to capture his target while simultaneously avoiding any unnecessary casualties.
