Bend Around the Wind by Scyllaya

Chapter 84: Pacts

Chapter Eighty-Four

Pacts

Milky Way Galaxy

Sol System

Nine Realms / Planet Earth

Hatchet was fairly disappointed that he didn't get to punch anyone yet. He was really looking forward to it. Skin meeting skin, bone crushing bone, it was primal in a way that reminded him of the early days of his youth, when he was learning to hunt with the Fae in Wolveswoods. The first knives he carved himself were made from stone and bone, crude, but still deadly if wielded right. He could never skin his game properly. His knives tore at the flesh and the fur coat, no chance for clean cuts. Using a sharp knife was easy. The slick metal slid into the body of his prey like it was butter. His bone knives though, by the time he was done skinning and cutting up the animal he was always tired, sweaty, bloody and dirty beyond words.

Babba said it taught him how much effort it took to take a life, how much energy it cost predators to survive. How you needed to think in advance whether the kill was worth the effort, if you really needed to take a life in the first place. You did not kill out of pleasure, but out of need. Need for survival, need for safety, need for revenge. This one lesson he learnt so well sometimes it felt like it was carved right into his bones, but it all started with hunting. If something was hard to do then he thought twice about doing it. He definitely ate fruit or just went fishing instead of hunting many-many times over the years.

This was no hunt though. This was a much more delicate matter. The rule still applied, that's why there was no blood spilt as of yet, because suddenly they were all in some temporary truce.

At least the more he stared at the screens showing San Diego the more certain he became that he was going to get his chance to punch someone in the immediate future. Because whoever was doing this, they definitely deserved their arse kicked... hard.

'Don't you want to take a closer look?' he asked Loki. They could easily get there.

'Without knowing what it is?' Loki asked in return. 'I'm not a fool.'

Fair point. Loki was also right about it growing, as the minutes ticked by it started to become visible even from afar, growing stronger and more solid by the second. It shimmered and grew, like a bubble... oh...

'You should warn people,' he said out loud. It took Fury a moment to realize that he was talking to him.

'Warn about what?'

'To not try to get into the city,' Hatchet said.

'Is that what it is?' Loki asked, squinting a little.

'Barrier? Yeah, that's my guess,' Hatchet said. 'What else could it be?'

'No, you're right,' Loki nodded.

'Okay, someone's pulling up a barrier around the city, why?' Stark asked, his voice coming through the speakers clearly.

'Very good question,' Hatchet agreed.

'I'm more curious about the "who" than the "why",' Fury said. 'Now tell me everything you know about this.'

Loki shrugged. 'Nothing more than what I already said. You should warn everyone you can. They may be able to cross the barrier right now, but as soon as it reaches its intended size it will be impenetrable. The traffic needs to stop, both on land, water, and in the air.'

'You want me to stop all in- and out-going traffic of a 1.3 million large city?' Fury asked.

'Nick, I'm going to express this in simple turns, so that you can grasp the gravitas of the situation,' Hatchet told him. 'If you don't, then you're going to have to watch them all get smeared on it like bugs on a windshield. It ain't gonna be pretty, believe me.'