Battle of New York Part 7

- New York, Stark Tower- 

Loki stood at the top of Stark Tower watching his army wreak havoc on the city. A satisfied grin was plastered on his face. His eyes twinkled like that of an artist admiring his art. 

His machine hummed behind him; a steady stream of clear blue energy shot up into the sky keeping the portal open. More Chitauri descended out of the portal into the city below.

"Well, isn't it magnificent professor?" Loki asked with arms spread apart in triumph, he glanced at Professor Erik Selvig.

The professor remained kneeling in awe of the contraption, the machine he built, he watched the blue energy in a trance replying softly. "It's beautiful."

"And what about you assassin? Any thoughts?" Loki's smile quickly transformed into a mischievous grin as he spoke.

Realizing she was discovered, Black Widow stood up from her hiding spot behind one of the vents with her weapons drawn and emptied her magazine into Loki's chest. The bullets phased into the Norse god like he wasn't there, it shimmered and disappeared in a flash of green light.

"Now is that any way to greet your new God?" Loki teased as he shimmered into being behind the spy.

Black Widow quickly responded with a backhand with the butt of her gun. But once again it phased through the chuckling Asgardian as he vanished in a flash of green.

"You're not a god. You're just a madman with too much Power." Black Widow reloaded her gun with haste. She scanned the area for Loki, she took cautious steps back towards Professor Selvig who was still kneeling in wonder before the portal machine.

"Come now assassin, haven't you heard? All great things are achieved by madmen."

Black Widow's gun sparked in her hands. She quickly tossed them aside before they exploded. The superspy ducked and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid a swipe by Loki's scepter as he appeared behind her.

Black Widow reached behind her and brandished her combat knives defensively.

Loki blinked in surprise as a silent flash bang went off at his feet blinding him. He reflexively caught the grappling line aimed at his head. Before he could react, electricity surged through the grappling cable momentarily shocking him.

He grunted at the nuisance as he let go of the cable. The cable swiftly retracted into Black Widow's bracelets. 

"Not by mad man like you!" She glowered at Loki as she went on the offensive. She dashed towards him and took a few swipes at the God who danced around her blade with ease, his eyes still closed, the edges of his lips curved up into a cocky smile.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that." Loki chuckled, as he continued to dodge Black Widow's attacks. Black Widow pivoted on her left foot going for a roundhouse kick, but the god brought his left hand up catching Black Widow's ankle in a vice grip, his eyes finally adjusting to flash as he blinked them open. "I think I'll enjoy snuffing the life out of you."

The redheaded superspy knew that the Asgardian Prince was just toying with her, he was stronger, faster, and possessed better senses than her. She knew that and she welcomed his perception, it was a boon to be looked down upon in a fight. Most mistakes in a brawl step from an opponent underestimating their foe, a lesson she incorporated into her fighting style.

A lesson the arrogant God of Mischief was about to learn.

With her feet still caught in Loki's firm grip the spy bought one of her knives in front and pointed it at Loki's neck. In one swift motion, she clicked a hidden trigger on the hilt of the knife; the blade of the knife shot toward the god.

Loki sharply twisted his head to the side to dodge the blade, his grip on Black Widow's ankle loosened slightly when he did.

Black Widow seized the opportunity to twist her body and used her other foot to kick Loki in the chest pushing the god back a step, she used her moment to score a well-placed hit across Loki's jaw with another roundhouse kick- she threw a few explosives at the god while he was distracted as she flipped from him landing right next to Professor Selvig.

The god was blasted back before he could recover.

"Professor Selvig! Professors wake up!" Back Widow wasted no time, she quickly rushed towards the professor and began shaking the professor out of his trance. 

Erik Selvig blinked absent-mindedly, he turned his head and smiled softly at Black Widow and spoke. "Can't you see it? Look." he gestured towards the machine. "Isn't it beautiful? it's a doorway to other worlds. All my life I've theorized about this, now, here it is. isn't it beautiful"

He ignored Black Widow as he drawled on and reached his hand out to touch the machine. 

"Professor please focus, how can we stop the machine? How do we close the portal?" Black Widow urged the professor by his shoulder. 

"Why would want to do that?" Eric turned to the superspy spy with a look of bewilderment.

The redhead's frustration was visibly breaking through her usually calm and collective façade, she roughly grabbed the professor by the collar of his shirt and shook him violently. "Wake Eric, we don't have time for this." Memories of how Hawk-Eye was awakened from Loki's influence prompted the super spy to slap the professor hard across the face, while doing so she glanced back at the smoke to keep an eye on Loki's position.

Eric Selvig shocked himself awake with rapid blinks, the bright blue in his eyes flickering slightly giving way to his natural blue.

"Professor?" The superspy asked. "Are you with me? Tell me how to stop it?"

"Huh? What? Huh. Uhm… You… you can't, it's too late." he breathed out. "The, energy field is stable, it's too strong, you need something that resonates on the same wavelength to get through. "

The superspy cursed in Russian under her breath as she stood up, she noticed Loki pushing himself up across from them with an amused chuckle, she stood at the ready for another round with the god. She could hear the professor quietly and remorsefully apologizing behind her.

"I…I'm sorry, I didn't… I couldn't control myself. I didn't... No…I knew, I knew what I was doing but I couldn't stop. " He said, he kept falling in and out of his trance fighting to stay conscious and aware.

"It's alright, Professor, just focus on finding the solution." She replied, her muscles tensed beneath her suit, her grip around her combat knife tightened – the bracelet on her other wrist sparked with electricity.

Loki dusted himself as he stood up. " I keep forgetting how resourceful you humans are." He reached his free hand up and lightly traced his jawline before dragging his fingers across his cheek. He was surprised to find blood on his fingers. The knife from before nicked him, only barely across his left cheek.

" I'm beginning to understand why my brother finds your kind so entertaining." He smiled but his eyes held no amusement.

" Now die" The god of Mischief hissed pointing his staff at the assassin. The staff instantly lit up with an ominous blue glow before- *Boom* the roof of the tower shook from an explosion only it wasn't from Loki's staff.

Black Widow blinked in surprise with her hands raised to shield herself from the debris and resulting air pressure.

Loki's staff clattered to a stop in front of her feet as the blue glow dimmed. She didn't know what happened just happened, but she would not let this opportunity go to waste. An idea wormed its way into her thoughts.

She quickly seethed her knife and moved to pick up the staff then turned toward Professor Selvig behind her.

" Professor?" she asked the absent-minded professor. The Professor blinked himself awake lifting his head to face Black Widow and replied in a dreamy tone. " Yes. What, what is it?"

" The staff, can Loki's scepter get through the energy field?" The spy asked gesturing towards the staff as she spoke.

"Yes. YES. Yes, it could theoretically." As he spoke the clarity in his voice increased. He pushed himself to his feet. The light returned to his eyes. He gestured at Black Widow to move closer as he took cautious steps towards the machine " We can stop it. Come, come, we can use the tip, the angle of entry must be just perfect to puncture the energy field."

…..

Loki found himself crashing through the floors of Stark Tower. A firm hand gasping his throat as he struggled to breathe.

In the blink of an eye, they crashed into Tony Starks luxurious office. He was then thrown roughly across the room like a ragdoll smashing into Stark's bar.

The expensive bottles of alcoholic beverages poured all over him, covering his form in its sharp, pungent bittersweet odor.

He whizzed and coughed as he picked himself up. Loki growled under his breath as he spoke. "I am a god."

"How dare you?" he hissed. The god punched the floor in anger and frustration as he pushed himself up onto his feet.

He extended his hands and conjured two twin golden daggers with green Nordic designs that appeared in his palms then turned to face the fool who dared to attack him. He paused momentarily when he laid eyes on his attacker. It was a masked human with four pulsating crimson wings; his mask looked like that of a demon and his eyes were devoid of all emotions. His left eye was bright red and black where the white of his eye should have been, his left here glowed with a yellow hue with the pupils of both eyes shining brightly with an electric blue.

He pointed a dagger at the demonic-looking mortal and took long strides forward as he spoke in anger. "I will bleed the life out of you!".

His attacker made no move, only standing there in still silence and watching him like a predator would watch a prey.

"You think you can intimidate me, ME! I am GOD You fifthly-" the words froze in his mouth.

He walked a few feet closer glowering at the masked man before stopping in his tracks in shock. The blade in his hand vanished shattered into nothing in his hands. He suddenly felt his magic disappear from the around him, it was bound to his body still, but he could no longer use it.

"What?" the Norse god questioned aloud. His thoughts were in turmoil as an unsettling feeling crept into his being. He tried summoning his dagger again, but nothing came, only the sound of shattering glass as his magic once again vanished from him. 

 "What, what have you done?" Loke asked the man, he suddenly felt powerless without his magic. He tried again, he conjured his daggers and his illusions, but nothing came. He could feel the daggers materializing between his fingers only to vanish when he finished conjuring them. His illusions reacted the same way.

This mortal, whatever power he held erased magic from space around him. It was as if the laws governing Midgard were rewritten and deemed his magic and error-like reality itself rejected the notion of magic- Loki could feel it in the very air around him. An invisible presence exuded by his foe erasing every bit of magic in the space around him. Magic not contained within his body simply stopped being. 

For the first time in his existence, the God of Mischief felt true fear. A terror like no other, a helpless feeling that reminded him of his childhood days. He could feel the stranger's intent from where he stood- the masked man's overwhelming desire to kill him.

Suddenly the mortal no longer looked like a human, the crimson demonic mask that covered his lower face pulsed with a devilish grin- it was lined with crimson fangs and sported two tusks on the edges of his lips like that of a demon. His eyes took an ominous glow and his wings pulsed and writhed behind like they had a mind of their own.

At this moment Loki felt like a death itself was standing before him, and it frightened him.

His attacker said nothing, only choosing to watch the god squirm under his gaze. The masked man took a step forward prompting Loki to take a step back.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait…" The god of Mischief raised his arms in a panic and chuckled lightly with a reassuring smile. " Now, there's no need for violence, we can talk about this."

The masked man took another step forward but vanished from Loki's sight for a moment before appearing right in front of him. An arm's length separated the two.

Slap!

Loki felt his ears ring as he stumbled back a few steps. He blinked rapidly as his mental faculties finally caught up with the moment. The right side of his face went numb from the hit and he was sure his lips were cut and bleeding right now. He didn't even see the slap coming. His jaw felt a little loose. Did... Did this mortal just slap him?

"How-"

Slap!

"Stop thi-"

Slap!

"Lise-"

Slap!

Slap!

Slap!

Slap!

Each slap hurt more than the last one. Each step forward by his attack forced the god to take a step back. He had no time to think, plea, or even formulate a single word, He didn't even have the chance to blink before another slap came.

He felt a tooth fall loose and his jaw was numb from the pain. All Loki could feel was pain, never in his fifteen hundred years of life has he ever felt this humiliated, this weak, this helpless.

Not him.

He was God! This made him feel like… like a mortal. Rage filled him as the thought set in, with every ounce of strength he had at his disposal he forced his magic to the surface then out of his being in a show of power.

"Enough!" He roared, green energy burst from his body in a wave of green energy and forced the masked man back a step. " You cannot treat me like this, I am a GOD!" cried out in rage pointing at the masked man.

The man only tilted his head before Loki found himself unable to speak once more. One of the men, no, monster's wings flowed out of him like liquid flesh transforming into a tentacle-like appendage and wrapping itself around the Norse god's throat. It held him up in a firm grip until Loki could no longer feel the floor beneath his feet.

Loki glanced down at the demon masquerading as a man and found nothing in his eyes. Not a single emotion was present. This man, this beast, this monster, it simply did not care. It did not care about his status, his power, his words, it cared about nothing.

This thing simply wanted to kill Loki and that thought terrified Loki even more.

Without warning the tentacle slammed Loki into the floor, then lifted him and slammed him into the floor again, and again, and again, and again. Loki found himself crashing into walls, ceilings, wooden objects, glass objects, and metal objects until Starks luxurious office was wrecked into oblivion.

He felt pain like he'd never felt before and finally, he was slammed headfirst into the floor for the last time. A crater formed out of the god's body from its repeated abuse. 

His body was battered and bruised and his face all purple and red. He wheezed in pain and took raspy breaths struggling to breathe through his sour throat.

His vision was painted red and blurry. The Asgardian prince could hear the footsteps of this demon as it approached.

Loki felt a hand grab him by the hair, the demon forced Loki to look at him. His eyes one swollen shut and the other could barely make out the images in front of him. The demon's Mask took a life of its own as its maws opened up and Loki could see the saliva dripping down its lips through the fanged mask. He had no strength left to summon his magic. There was nothing Loki could do to fight this demon. 

Living shadows danced around the demon's form and something whispered words Loki could not make. There was that feeling again, like fear and terror filled him, in the edges of his vision he could make out a figure resting on their palms with eyes of yellow, their form covered in black mist. It smiled at him.

It felt like death.

The masked demon then spoke words that would haunt Loki's nightmares for the following months.

"I've always' wondered what a god tasted like. Tell me what you think you taste like?" Its mouth opened wide as it drew close to his neck.

Loki's eyes rolled into the back of his skull, and he passed out from pure terror.

'Brother, help me.'

-Chapter End-

Apologies for the delay, had to move houses so i was pretty busy this last few weeks.