Worthy

A Reunion of Warriors

As the Destroyer continued to tear up everything in its path, Thor and Dean led a group of people in the opposite direction. In the midst of the maelstrom, a thick beam of light shot down from the sky and hit the ground between the Destroyer and Dean and Thor. As the light receded, four figures became visible.

"Friends!" Thor shouted enthusiastically.

The four figures, three men and one woman, stood in a line facing the Destroyer. They were clad in armor and wielded a variety of weaponry.

"Okay, you've got backup," Dean said in amazement as three of the warriors charged the massive being. "So where's mine?"

The fourth, the female, faced Thor. "Your brother schemes while you are in exile, Thor. He has manipulated the All-father into banishing you. And now, while our king is in his Odinsleep, Loki has taken the throne. He will do anything to keep this- even sending the Destroyer to kill you."

Thor looked at her in disbelief. "Loki would never..."

"I do not have time to prove my point, Thor. But the mortal is right. You must flee." She withdrew her sword and ran after her comrades.

"Thor, let's make sure everyone is safe," Dean urged as Thor's broken heart seemed to exude from his eyes. He wrapped an arm around his waist and squeezed. "Thor, we'll talk after this is resolved, okay? I promise, I'm here for you. But these people need us first."

Thor nodded again and blinked back the tears. "Then we will protect them."

As Dean and Thor worked to get people out of their hiding spaces and running, one of the warriors went flying across the street. He skidded along the asphalt and smashed into the front end of a smart car, completely totaling it. He stood, shook it off, gave a mighty roar and then jumped several feet through the air and landed back in the fray as if he had been slapped on the wrist.

"Are you that strong when you're fully-powered?" Dean asked as he picked up two small children, their frantic parents trailing behind them.

Thor laughed as he hefted three children in his arms and took off. "I am stronger!"

"You'll have to show me," Dean said as SHIELD agents began to swarm the area in their SUVs.

Whatever Thor was about to say was drowned out by the sudden arrival of the Destroyer. It had leaped across the street, cracking pavement when it landed in front of them. Reaching down, it hefted up a piece of concrete, ripping away a huge chunk of the street. Thor was knocked off balance by this and thrown into the windshield of a parked car.

"Oh...I felt that," he gasped as the Destroyer advanced.

Loki narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "No, Destroyer. The mortal. Kill the mortal first."

The Destroyer suddenly turned and moved toward Dean, its face glowing.

"You will fall first, for daring to threaten my plans!" Loki spoke in rage.

The beam of energy sailed over Dean's head as he ducked. It obliterated a tree and Dean had to roll over to avoid being crushed. He looked up to see the suit of armor moving toward him, its facing gleaming as if it were charging up for another blast.

"Oh, shit," he gasped.

One of the warriors, a large man with long red hair and a thick beard, jumped onto the enemy's back and began to throw blow after blow at it. The Destroyer reached back, plucked him off and tossed him through the front end of a semi. Then it set its sights on Dean again.

The second blast came and he again rolled aside in time to miss it. The force of the impact shook the ground near him. Reaching for the gun he kept holstered under his shirt, he took careful aim and fired a few rounds. They bounced off of the adversary without leaving so much as a dent.

"You've got to be kidding me!" He shouted as the Destroyer leaped through the air.

Dean side-stepped and was grabbed from behind by the female warrior. "You need to go!" she urged. "We will keep the Destroyer back. Get Thor and leave!"

The other two warriors had leaped at the Destroyer and begun to rain heavy blows upon them. The woman lunged forward as well, but the look on her face told Dean that none of them could possibly defeat this atrocity.

Dean rushed toward Thor, who had recovered and was moving toward him. Several SUVs converged on the scene. Coulson jumped out of one of them before it stopped and took aim with a combat shotgun. "What the hell is that? One of Stark's?"

"No," Dean shouted as he and Thor approached. "It's from Thor's world. His brother sent it to kill him."

Coulson blinked. "From Asgard?"

Dean didn't feel particularly moved to argue that Thor was, indeed, an Asgardian. Instead, he directed Coulson to help evacuate any civilian he and his people could find. "Did you bring what I asked?" he added.