Chapter 22 - Battle of New York VI

Both Mirio and Loki were surprised staring at the shield embedded in the ceiling…

A quick glance through the window confirmed that Steve was still on the ground battling Chitauri Soldiers…

Mirio was instantly aware that Steve's super-soldier enhancement was probably more potent than he led everyone to initially believe…

Steve was able to throw the shield with enough strength to travel nearly three hundred feet in the air, while bashing through glass windows, and ceilings…

Thor could perform a similar task with Mjolnir, and Steve had strength that rivaled an Asgardian so such a feat should not have been unexpected, but Mirio was still surprised…

Judging from Loki's frozen stature, he was also surprised by the might of what he called a 'mortal man'…

---BANG---

While Loki was distracted, Mirio jumped into the air and retrieved Steve's shield from the ceiling, bashing Loki into the glass window with all the might he could muster…

What Mirio didn't have in strength, he made up for with tenacity…

Now, Loki's and Mirio's positions were reversed…

Mirio pressed Loki against the glass window, while The God of Mischief fought hard to regain his balance…

However, always the unpredictable God of Mischief, Loki found an opportunity to expel a pulse of green energy that shattered all the glass windows…

As much as he hated being forced to such levels by a mortal, Loki had to admit that battling Mirio and the Avengers was forcing him to utilize his magic in new ways…

After all, as an Asgardian, time was not viewed with the same urgency as humans, so why hone your abilities today when you could do it sometime within the next ten years?

With the glass windows shattered, Loki was on the verge of being forced out of the building, which would no doubt lead to a nasty fall, but The God of Mischief had a card to play…

Loki glanced at the opposite building…

It was damaged to the point that a sudden collapse was inevitable, and Loki planned to use that to his advantage…

He took note that a crowd of people, including women and children, who were attempting to leave the compromised structure…

The crowd gathered just outside the building, looking around desperately for a route that could lead to their survival…

Loki shoved Mirio away, creating enough space between them to safely execute his plan…

Mirio tanked Loki's powerful shove with Steve's shield, and readied his muscles to toss the shield with enough force to blast Loki out of the building…

But Loki aimed his scepter at the opposite building and the usual superior smirk graced his face…

---BOOOOOOOOM---

"You can battle me or you can save the humans…" Loki offered, leaping out the window and grabbing a Chitauri Charito passing by…

Even as he left on the Chitauri Chariot, Loki grinned at the fact that the humans remained frozen as a huge chunk of the building was about to collapse on their heads, ending their feeble lives…

'If there is one thing you can depend on humans to do, it is to remain stagnant in the face of danger…' Loki thought disdainfully…

With Loki's departure, the world in Mirio's eyes slowed, and he dashed towards the window…

One glance outside, and Mirio was aware of Loki's plot….

The huge chunk of the opposite building was falling towards a crowd of survivors below, and there was no way everyone could get out of the way in time, especially not the children…

Without hesitance…

Without a single thought…

Without preparation…

Without any reaction beyond the need to protect those who could not protect themselves…

Shield in front to cut through the wind, Mirio dove through the window, maneuvering his body to approach the concrete slab cutting through the air…

Mirio – 275 feet… Concrete – 200 feet

Mirio – 230 feet… Concrete – 170 feet

Mirio – 200 feet… Concrete – 150 feet

Mirio – 150 feet… Concrete – 120 feet

Mirio – 100 feet… Concrete – 80 feet

Mirio – 50 feet… Concrete – 40 feet

Mirio got closer and closer to the falling slab of concrete, but he still could not reach it…

Irritation clouded Mirio's mind, but as a trained hero, he was quick to dismiss such a negative state…

Irritation would lead to hasty actions, and hasty actions will lead to mistakes so Mirio calmed his mind and focused only on reaching the falling slab of concrete…

He could already hear the screams of terror from those who couldn't get out of the way in time, and that motivated Mirio to extend his hand that much further… and that made all the difference.

A couple of feet away from the ground, Mirio felt the tip of his finger brush against the slab of concrete and he permeated in that instant…

There was a faint feeling of struggle before the slab of concrete joined Mirio in his exile of nothingness, continually falling even through the solid streets of New York…

The crowd of civilians was shocked when the rubble just passed through their bodies, and a couple of seconds later, the stronger men in the group led everyone away…

Mirio drifted in a state of nothingness, unaware of time, space, or thoughts…

Then Mirio deactivated his permeation quirk, and since he nor the slab of concrete could occupy somewhere where solid matter already existed, they were sent shooting to the surface…

Mirio emerged from the ground like a ghost, carrying the slab of concrete on his back like a champion, but honestly, momentum was doing most of the carrying and Mirio was just along for the ride…

Mirio, with the slab of concrete on his back, was shot nearly twenty feet into the air, and with a loud bellow, he forced the slab of concrete a little to his right, directly in the path of an oncoming Chitauri Chariot…

---BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM---

The explosion shot Mirio towards the ground, blasting Steve's shield off his hand…

This time, Mirio was too exhausted to activate his quirk, forcing him to take the impact with open arms…

"Ugh… ugh… ugh…"

He collided with the ground and attempted to roll to disperse the momentum, but the pain stopped him from executing a proper roll and he instead just floundered about uselessly…

When he finally came to a stop, Mirio felt a bit speechless because it was near a collapsing building…

"The greatest irony in the world…" Mirio murmured, too exhausted to even permeate his pinkie finger…

Luckily, there was no need to…

Just before he could be crushed by the falling rubble, Natasha sped to his aid, lifting Mirio in her arms as she shot a retractable rope at a traffic sign that pulled them both out of danger…

Within a couple of seconds, Natasha and Mirio were safely tucked behind a wrecked car…

"You okay kid?" Natasha questioned, pushing Mirio out of her arm as she rose to her feet…

"Honestly?" Mirio shakily pushed himself up from the ground "I have to admit that I've been better…"

"It's good to have a sense of humor at times like these…" Natasha complimented, extending her hand for an introduction "Natasha Romanoff…"

Mirio extended his hand, meeting hers for a firm shake "Mirio Togata but they call me, Lemillion…"

"Who are they?"

"Excuse me?"

Natasha quirked her brows "You just said 'they' call me Lemillion so I am asking… who are 'they'?"

Mirio scratched the bag of his head embarrassingly for a moment before a wide smile bloomed on his face "Everyone will soon know of 'Lemillion'!"

Natasha shrugged dismissively, it was just her nature to distrust anyone so fishing for extra information had become second nature to her at this point…

"Well…" Natasha scanned the nearby environment for hidden Chitauri Soldiers, and then gave a signal to follow her when she found none "Time to earn the name…"

Natasha rushed towards the sounds of battle at the speed of a top athlete, and Mirio followed closely behind her while trying to conserve as much energy as possible…

Something told him that the battle was far from finished…

-------------------

Even though fighting so many Chitauri required most of his attention, Steve was still aware of his surroundings…

So it was easy for him to spot Mirio shooting into the air carrying his shield and a huge slab of concrete…

---BOOOOOOOOOOM---

When the explosion followed, Steve raised his hand into the air and caught his shield effortlessly…

The explosion caused the shield to drift in his direction, and Steve had become accustomed to the fact that his shield would always return to him, some way or another…

Steve blocked a Chitauri beam using the shield, and dashed forward, responding with a kick that sent the Chitauri Soldier flying into his comrades…

Just as the Chitauri Soldiers were about to stand once more, an arrow shot through the air, exploding on contact…

Steve nodded at Clint, and he returned the nod while sniping Chitauri Soldiers with his arrows…

Using that moment of distraction, a Chitauri Soldier leaped onto Steve's back, attempting to pierce his neck, but Steve was quick to toss the creature over his shoulder…

Then he brought down his shield on the Chitauri's neck, severing its head…

Still, Steve was not naïve enough to think that the ambush was finished…

He rolled on the ground just in time to dodge a spear aimed at his back, then a quick toss of his shield blasted the Chitauri away before returning to his hands…

Clint also faced similar challenges, but in his case, The Chitauri never got the chance to get too close…

Every Chitauri that peeped its head from its hiding spot was met with an arrow, and the occasional few that made it too close quickly learned that Clint was more than just his bow and arrows…

Steve and Baton battled Chitauri back to back without stopping…

A Chitauri Soldier tossed a bomb at Steve and Clint…

"Bomb…" Steve shouted, hoping that Clint would get to cover in time…

However, the cover was not necessary as Natasha slid between both men, grabbing the alien bomb, twisting the nob at the top, flicking the switch at the side, and then tossing the bomb back at the Chitauri…

What followed was not a single explosion, but several synchronized explosions from all Chitauri bombs within twenty feet of the one Natasha tossed…

Clint and Steve gave Natasha weird stares…

Natasha tapped her com twice "Stark figured a way to synchronize Chitauri bombs after it has been activated but I don't suggest you try it… these types of things require a woman's touch…"

"You're welcome…" Stark's voice rang out across the coms, and just as Mirio arrived on the scene, his watch was already hacked as well "You're welcome too, kid… I recalibrated the sensors in your watch to stop it from overloading…"

Mirio was instantly surprised because Brian made his watch, and despite his joking nature, Brian was one of the smartest people Mirio had ever met…

Hacking Brian's tool so easily would require some major skills, but Mirio didn't have time to focus on that piece of information…

The small tingle in his spine disappeared and Lemillion was ready for battle once more…