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#why and how was loki getting beat up by a guy that was technically possessed
goldensunflower13 · 3 years
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Yo, even I was yelling for Loki to go through the magic TVA door at the end. Did they seriously think that he would actually listen to them with them yelling and running like they were? It's just funny that they thought he would listen, just this once, ya know? 🤣
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giorno-plays-piano · 3 years
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Vicious
Part V
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Pairing: Steve x reader, Bucky x reader, Thor x reader, Loki x reader, Peter x reader
Warnings: yandere, obsession, stalking, possessiveness, theft, all characters are adults, mildly dubious kissing.
Words: 1414.
Summary: Transferring to Stark Academy that has only allowed to take in female students last semester, you realize you are just one of three young women among hundreds of students. Your things are constantly being stolen, and soon you begin fearing for your safety.
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
_________
"What's on your mind?" Thor asked you casually, but you could see he was a little concerned with you constantly clenching your phone in case Loki would write something more.
You knew he wouldn't want to talk about yesterday's incident again, so you simply laughed it off and said something about exams coming closer. Naturally, Thor didn't believe you, but he left you to your thoughts.
You wondered if it were Bucky who really beaten those guys to the point they had to be taken by an ambulance. Technically, both Steve and Thor could do it too, considering their physic, but Steve would hardly risk it, caring about his reputation too much, and Thor had neither scratches nor any other marks on his hands, and it would be impossible if he was fighting.
That is, if only both of them didn't ask their friends to do their job for them. You could easily imagine Steve looking at others beating those delinquents.
Shit, it was getting really scary. You wondered if it was better to leave things as they were rather than ask someone for help.
Anyway, at least now you felt relatively safe: although you still didn't know a lot about Thor, you'd rather believe he was a just a guy who loved sports, hanging out with his friends, and skipping half of his classes "because studying sucks". He was from an average family, a catholic, and didn't seem to have any dangerous hobbies apart from doing some boxing when he was younger. Overall, just your regular team captain. You hoped there was nothing more to it.
Since Thor was having his usual training in academy’s sports hall, he asked if you'd prefer to stay there instead of returning to the dorm. Since the locks would only be changed an hour later, you decided it was better to stay with him: surely, no one would do anything to you in the presence of a whole basketball team?
When the two of you showed up in the sports hall, the other players met you with somewhat ambiguous smiles, nudging each other and acting like idiots around you. Thor had definitely told them about his new girlfriend, and you felt very awkward.
"Stop harassing her! She's shy, don't you see?" He flicked them off jokingly, telling you to go sit on a bench and then disappearing in the men's room along with the other guys who, apparently, wanted all the juicy details about your relationships.
You hoped he had a good story to tell because you didn't think of one, actually. Damn, you needed to make up something for each of the guys to make it look genuine for the others. Why didn't you think of it earlier?
As a result, you didn’t spend the time studying on a bench while the guys played, your thoughts constantly waving off to how you could meet Thor without making it suspicious for his friends. He seemed to be constantly surrounded by them, so it was no easy task, and you were mad at yourself for not inventing a story earlier. You should have spoken to Steve about it when you had a chance.
From time to time being distracted by guys' loud voices, you smiled at Thor and did your best to pretend you wanted to watch him play. At any other time it would be really cool - the man looked like a god in his basketball uniform - but now your mind was too preoccupied with other things for you to pay real attention to the game. When they finished, it had already been dark outside, and you were waiting for Thor to take a shower and change impatiently.
"Did you like it?" He asked you with a huge smile on his face, and you felt guilty, chewing your lips.
"Of course. You guys play like pros." Turning away so he wouldn't see your face, you made yourself sound cheerful. "I know nothing of basketball, but I'm sure the game next month gonna be awesome."
"I promise you gonna like it! I'll give you my t-shirt with our team's emblem, you'll have so much fun!"
Excited, he started talking again, and you felt slightly better he didn't mind you not really paying attention to the training today. Thor was very easy to talk to, and you were relieved, not having to focus on all this madness again.
But the closer you were to the dorm, the darker your thoughts were. Tomorrow you were going to be handed over to Peter, a guy who Steve said was once blackmailing somebody, and the thought made you feel nauseated. Was it really true? How could Steve ask a blackmailer for help? How could he trust him? Or did he say that just because he didn't like Peter and didn't want you to trust him? You’d prefer it was the latter. Anyway, how did Steve learn about the whole blackmail thing? No, he probably invented all of it himself just to scare you because he clearly didn’t like Peter.
"Thor, can I ask you a question?" You muttered, still unsure if you should talk about it.
"Yeah?"
"I've heard Peter was blackmailing someone. Is it true?"
You could see the guy was taken aback as if he had never head anything like that before. Shit, it was a mistake to ask him.
"That's bullshit, I'm sure. Peter's a good kid." Furrowing his brows, Thor looked at you like he couldn't believe you'd ask him something like that. "Is it Loki telling you this? Man, I love him, but he's paranoid, don't listen to the things he says."
"Oh, you know Loki?" You sent him a surprised look.
"Yeah, we're distant relatives. He was my best friend when we were kids."
Getting silent, he kept walking, looking at the road, his face concerned, but you didn't dare disturbing him. What was he thinking of you now? You hoped he knew you were just very nervous about all this, knowing so little about the guys who decided to help you out. You just wished Thor wouldn’t think you were ungrateful, but, apparently, now he did.
If Peter really didn't do anything, you probably looked awful in Thor's eyes, and it made you mad at yourself. How could you screw it up with someone as friendly as Thor?
"I'm sorry for saying something like that. I just... don't really know you guys, and it's a little scary to be around someone you don't know at all - especially here, in the academy." You muttered under your breath, staring at the little pebbles beneath your feet. “Blackmail, beating... it doesn’t sound too nice.”
You heard the man in front of you sighing, “It doesn’t. But we’re not that bad, you know. I swear. No one would do anything of the kind.”
“Well, then, what is your opinion on the others? The other four?” Asking carefully, you hoped he wouldn’t get upset. In the end, you only wanted to know who of them was safe to talk to, whom to seek protection from.
Stopping in front of the dorm - as an excellent athlete who received a scholarship from the academy, he lived in a separate dorm for exceptional students - Thor cocked his head to the side, thinking, while you stared at his face. Suddenly thinking he looked incredibly handsome, you started chewing your lips again, feeling very self-conscious around him.
“They all are alright, I guess. Steve gives me creeps sometimes, but that’s because he’s a control freak, can’t have anything not going according to his plans. Although Loki likes thinking he’s smarter than others, he’s not bad. Barnes’s not bad too, and Peter’s just a loud kid, that’s all.” Scratching his three days beard, Thor mused, smiling at you unexpectedly. “What, are you starting an investigation of your own? Wanna track down those weirdos who did that to you?”
All of a sudden you saw something changing in his eyes, something strange flashing in them like as if for a quick moment you caught a glimpse of someone else, someone like the other Thor hiding behind a façade of a fun-loving, stand-up guy, and for a second you got frightened with the sudden change.
_______________
“You’re a smart one. You’ll figure out what to do.” He whispered, stepping closer to you, his wide, rough palms caressing your cheeks when he kissed you ardently, burning your lips, crushing them with his when you just stood there and let him.
Part VI
Tags: @finleyjayne​ @alexakeyloveloki​   @helenaeisenhower​ @villanellevi​ @hurricanerin​ @inlovewiththefictionalcharacters @chris-evans-indian-fanfic​ @navegandoaciegas​ @rosalynshields​ @brattycherub​ @sllooney​ @angrythingstarlight​ @lookiamtrying​ @buckysbunny​ @soleil-dor​ @stargazingfangirl18​ @dillybuggg​ @literate-lamb​ @cosicas-cuquis​ @sarge-barnes-sir​ @buckybarnesplumwhore​ @jaysayey​ @megzdoodle​ @gotnofucks​ @lux-ravenwolf​ @ximebebx​ @jeremyrennerfanxxxx123​ @sourpatchspinster​ @biiskuitx​ @iheartsebandchris​ @lovelydarkdaydream​ @illyrianprincess​ @vampirestrawberries​ @stupendouslovegardener​ @goodgodimaweirdperson​ @frontmanash​ @freya-heya​ @yandematic @mariatietacapitu @d3monslust @maybesandohnos​
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nikkoliferous · 3 years
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Phase One: Avengers (Part Two)
Apparently I had so much to comment on this crappy book that I had to break this up into two parts (you can read part one here). No, I have nothing to say for myself. Lol
Let’s continue.
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Clint Barton and Loki’s hand-picked strike team were in a stolen Quinjet with a faked S.H.I.E.L.D. call sign, 26-Bravo. That got them close enough that by the time the air-traffic officer on the Helicarrier knew something was wrong, it was already too late.
Whoa whoa whoa. I thought you said Loki didn’t care about the details. I thought you said such things were beneath him. Make up your mind.
With a last heave and twist, she freed herself from the fallen beam and ran. At that moment, the Hulk turned and saw her. She vaulted up a stairway and onto the next level. The Hulk swiped at the stairway and shredded it into scrap metal. Loki had gotten what he wanted. He must have been trying to time it so he could manipulate Bruce into becoming the Hulk right as his soldiers came to attack the Helicarrier. The Hulk would do at least as much damage from the inside as the rogue Quinjet could do from the outside.
Yes. Yes, he did. Lol
Natasha kept running, and the Hulk came right behind her. For a moment, she thought she’d lost him, but then he came at her out of the shadows, roaring. He was like walking rage, a single-minded engine of destruction. She shot a hole in the pipe over his head. Steam shot out of it into the Hulk’s eyes, stopping him for just the moment she needed to get a head start. She ran as fast as she could, but she knew she wasn’t going to stay away from him for long. He came after her, smashing through bulkheads and doorways like they weren’t even there and roaring the whole time.
Mood, though.
Steve got to the edge of the turbine mount about the same time as Tony. “I’m here!” he called out.
“Good,” Tony said, dropping into view and hovering in the Iron Man armor to survey the wreckage. He had the suit on, and Steve could hear his voice through the earbud microphone all S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel wore. At least that channel was still intact; if they lost communications, they’d be done for.
Convenient. Clint would absolutely know this, which means either 1) he's incompetent, 2) he's not as mind-controlled as we think, or 3) Loki allowed/arranged for his own team's semi-failure.Take your pick.
“What’s it look like in there?” Tony asked.
“It seems to run on some form of electricity,” Steve said.
Tony was shoving loose huge pieces of debris that prevented the turbine blades from rotating. “Well, you’re not wrong,” he said.
Steve fumed. He wasn’t here for technical support. But that was all he could do at the moment.
Ironic for Steve to call out Tony for being useless without his suit when Steve is apparently useless at anything other than beating people up. Lol
Tony stood inside the turbine housing, looking at the blades. He’d cleared most of the debris jamming the rotors. “Even if I clear the rotors,” he said, “this thing won’t reengage without a jump. I’m going to have to get in there and push.”
“If that thing gets up to speed, you’ll get shredded,” Steve said.
Hey hey hey now, I thought Tony wasn't the type of guy to sacrifice himself??
The Hulk stomped around the flight deck, roaring. He saw Thor and swung a fist twice the size of Thor’s head. Thor caught it in both hands, straining to hold both the Hulk’s arm and his attention. “We are not your enemies, Banner,” he grunted. “Try to think!”
Now, where have I heard that before...?
In answer, the Hulk punched him through the wall.
Jealous.
Thor got up and watched the Hulk coming after him. Now this was a fight! He held out a hand, waiting for Mjolnir to return to him. Mjolnir smashed through another wall and reached Thor’s hand just as the charging Hulk came within striking distance.
What's a little bloodlust between friends, amirite?
The Hulk caught the hammer, and a fierce grin spread over his face… then he toppled backward and Mjolnir pinned him to the floor of the hangar.
None but I can lift Mjolnir, Thor thought. Not even this giant.
Yes, yes. You're very special, Thor. We're all super impressed, promise.
“You like this?” Coulson asked, meaning the gun. “We started working on the prototype after you sent the Destroyer. Even I don’t know what it does.” He powered it up, and rings along its barrel glowed bright orange. “Want to find out?”
But Loki wasn’t there in front of him. Thor saw it too late to do anything. That Loki was an illusion… and the real Loki was behind Coulson.
Lokiception.
“You lack conviction,” Coulson said. He did not move from where he sat against the wall. Blood trickled at the corner of his mouth, and the enormous gun lay uselessly across his lap.
Of all the things Coulson might have said, this was perhaps the one Loki expected least. I have moved worlds out of conviction, he thought. Made bargains with beings who snuff out planets as an afterthought. “I don’t think I…”
"bargains"
“Tasha,” he said. “How many agents did I—?”
“Don’t,” she said. “Don’t do that to yourself, Clint. This is Loki. This is monsters and magic and nothing we were ever trained for.” Better than maybe anyone on the Helicarrier, Natasha Romanoff knew you couldn’t blame yourself for things you did while you were brainwashed. All you could do was try to heal and get things right the next time.
OH? DO TELL.
“Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction, I’ll give you that one,” Tony said. “But let’s do a head count here. Your brother the demigod, a Super-Soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend, a man with breathtaking anger-management issues, a couple of master assassins… and you, big fella, you’ve managed to piss off every single one of them.”
“That was the plan,” Loki said with a grin.
“Not a great plan,” Tony said.
YOU'RE RIGHT, TONY. IT'S AN OBJECTIVELY TERRIBLE PLAN. NOW ASK YOURSELF WHY HE WOULD DO THAT ON PURPOSE.
“You’re missing the point!” he said, and his tone got sharper. “There’s no throne, there is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it’s too much for us… but it’s all on you. Because if we can’t protect the Earth, you can be sure we’ll avenge it.”
Weeeeeell...
With those last words, he tapped Tony on the chest with his scepter, just has he had Hawkeye and Dr. Selvig. Nothing happened. The Arc Reactor in Tony’s chest countered the scepter’s effect.
Loki tried it again. “This usually works.…”
“Well,” Tony said, “best-laid plans. You know the saying.”
Uncomfortable with mild swear words and dick jokes, I see. Lol
Look at this!” Thor shouted, holding Loki and forcing him to gaze out over the destruction in the city. “You think this madness will end with your rule?”
“It’s too late,” Loki said. Thor thought he was beginning to understand what he had done. “It’s too late to stop it.”
“No,” Thor said. “We can. Together.”
Loki looked him in the eye… and then betrayed Thor again, stabbing him in the side with a knife hidden in his sleeve. Thor dropped to the ground, clutching the wound. “Sentiment,” Loki said mockingly.
OH MY GOD. HE'S MOCKING HIMSELF, YOU ABSOLUTE KNUCKLEHEAD. I swear to god, this author sat down and went, "Hmm. How can I systematically erase any and all complexity this character possesses so he's as generic a villain as possible?"
CASE IN POINT:
On a bridge, Cap huddled behind a destroyed car with the Black Widow and Hawkeye. “Lots of civilians trapped up there,” Hawkeye said, indicating the nearby buildings. A flight of Chitauri went over, and Cap noticed something different about one of them.
“Loki,” he said. He was shooting at the civilians fleeing through the streets. “They’re fish in a barrel down there.”
It can be admittedly hard to tell because most shots of the Chitauri vehicles firing on people are from too far away to tell who's piloting... but I checked the clips from the Battle of NY and the only person Loki can definitively be seen firing at is Natasha. On another Chitauri whatever-you-call-them. Not even aiming for the street.
Thor was still watching the Chitauri zipping overhead. “I have unfinished business with Loki.”
“Yeah?” Hawkeye said. “Get in line.”
“Save it,” Steve said. “Loki’s going to keep this fight focused on us, and that’s what we need. Otherwise those things could run wild. We’ve got Stark up on top—”
Almost as if... according to plan...
Look, I have historically not bought into the full "Loki formed the Avengers so he could lose on purpose" theory because I feel that it contradicts the canon explanation that he was being influenced by the sceptre. But... you'd have to be an absolute moron to think he wasn't sabotaging himself, whether accidentally or on purpose. I suppose one could argue that just because it was amplifying his negative emotions, that doesn't necessarily mean it prevented him from working against his "allies". But if it wasn't affecting his actions at all, I don't know why they'd bother to confirm the theory as canon.
Also, like... according to this book, Loki is somehow targeting civilians and not targeting civilians at the same time ?? lmao
“Dr. Banner,” Steve said. “Now might be a really good time for you to get angry.”
Bruce was already walking toward the Leviathan. “That’s my secret, Captain,” he said over his shoulder. “I’m always angry.”
Same, tbh.
Thor reached the top of the Empire State Building and lifted Mjolnir. Storm clouds gathered and lightning struck down, hundreds of bolts reaching for Mjolnir. Thor turned the Empire State Building’s iconic spire into a lightning rod, gathering the force of the elements into it. Then he thrust Mjolnir in the direction of the portal. All the energy he had built up blazed out in a single forking bolt. It struck and destroyed every single Chitauri between the Empire State Building and the portal itself. Hundreds of them exploded and tumbled from the sky at once, including several of the Leviathans that tumbled down to smash into buildings below.
...so why didn't Thor just keep doing this for the rest of the battle? Too draining, or not exciting enough? Lol
Satisfied, Thor nodded and glanced over at the Hulk. Perhaps the scales were evened from their last fight against each other on the Helicarrier—
The Hulk shot out his left fist and smashed Thor all the way across the block-long gallery. Then it was his turn to look satisfied.
Jealous. Again.
Maybe that was just Loki, but Steve was starting to feel like the Chitauri were going to absorb every punch the Avengers could throw. They had to close that portal, or nothing was going to stop the invasion.
Well then. It sure is fortunate that Loki allowed Selvig to install a failsafe, huh?
Fury stood and listened to the World Security Council explain that they had decided to take the operation out of his hands. They were going to use a nuclear missile to destroy the Tesseract and close the portal—but at the cost of untold civilian lives. Fury protested as strongly as he could and one of the councilors cut him off. “Director Fury. The Council has made a decision.”
These crazy motherfuckers would have killed so many more people than Loki it's not even funny.
...and tbh, it probably wouldn't even have destroyed the Tesseract, so they would have killed them for literally no reason too.
The Hulk paused, confused.
“You are, all of you, beneath me!” Loki raged.
Not yet, sir, but I would very much like to be. 😏
She knelt next to him and said, “It’s not your fault. You didn’t know what you were doing.”
Selvig digested this for a moment and then said, “Actually I think I did. I built in a safety to cut the power source.”
Of note and as alluded to previously:
1) The mind control over Barton and Selvig was not absolute either; therefore, if they are not responsible for their actions over the course of this movie, Loki is not responsible for his either.
2) If The Other could hear everything Loki was up to, it's very likely that Loki could hear everything Barton and Selvig were up to as well. Meaning that, at a minimum, he knew about the failsafe and did nothing about it.
The missile had a lot of momentum built up, and Tony’s Mark 7 suit was not operating at full capacity after the amount of energy he’d expended in the battle already. It was no easy task to get the missile angled up sharply enough to clear the tallest buildings in Midtown—especially Stark Tower. That was where the missile seemed to want to go. So, Tony thought, the World Security Council is jealous of me, too.
Look, I get that he's mostly just being witty, but seriously... this dude is out here accusing Loki of being an egomaniac? Lol
He got underneath the missile and angled it upward, straining against its stabilizers, which tried to keep it on course. But slowly he forced it up, and once he got its warhead pointed at an angle, pushing it into a steeper climb got easier. A little.
Steve Rogers’s voice broke his concentration. “Stark, you know that’s a one-way trip?”
So... you're admitting you were wrong, then? 🙃
The Avengers looked up. On the roof of Stark Tower, Natasha said, “Come on, Stark.”
They saw the explosion through the portal, brilliant as a new sun. There was no way Tony could have survived that.
I was wrong about him, Steve thought. When the time came, he did make the sacrificial play.
Thanks, Steve. That's really all I wanted.
Loki had just gotten himself put back together enough to get out of the hole in the floor. Painfully he dragged himself toward the door. Never had a mortal damaged him as much as that green monster. He would be healing for a long time.
He's literally in better shape now than when he came through the portal. And the author made zero mention of his health there.
But heal he would, and then he would have his revenge. Even though the portal had collapsed and he had lost the Tesseract. Even though his Chitauri army was destroyed. Loki would show the so-called Avengers they never should have opposed him.
Raise your hand if you watched Avengers and thought Loki was thinking about revenge right after getting Hulk-smashed. Why aren't any of you raising your hands??
Seriously, there are two emotions I felt from Loki at the end of Avengers Assemble: relief and anxiety. I have no idea why Alex Irvine is so intent on turning him into a boring, one-dimensional villain, but it made this book absolutely insufferable to read.
Anyway, that's it! I hope you all found this as entertaining and cathartic as I did. Lol
↩️ Back to Part One
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thebibliomancer · 3 years
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Essential Avengers: West Coast Avengers #2: “BLANKING OUT!”
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October, 1984
"Up Against the BLANK!”
Beware his crosshatching!
So the formation of the West Coast Avengers continues! I guess! It looks like Tigra, Wonder Man, and Iron Man stuck around at least long enough to be on this cover.
We’ll see if the prospect of being on a team led by Hawkeye manages to win them over.
So last time on West Coast Avengers: Hawkeye was sent by the Vision to create an All-New All-Different Avengers team on the West Coast. A kind of West Coast Avengers. Like the Avengers but in LA.
Vision sent out invites to Wonder Man, Tigra, and Rhodey Iron Man but didn’t tell them what they were being invited for. Leading to not only some hesitance to commit once they learned what was what but also Tigra’s friend the Shroud following her to the LA Avengers Compound because the vague invite worried Tigra’s other friend Jessica Drew. Phew.
The Shroud puts up such a great fight when the hypothetical West Coast Avengers attack him (assuming that some dude breaking in is up to something) that Hawkeye offers him the open spot on the team but Shroud turns it down.
By this point in the East Coast Avengers’ history, depending on where you count it starting, they either got punked by Loki or by a Space Phantom. So, the West Coast Avengers aren’t actually doing so bad, even though they’re not technically officially a team yet.
Its all a matter of perspective.
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Huh. We’re like ten years too early for Iron Man to be trying to kill everyone.
To kinda spoil the game early, this is a training exercise.
Hawkeye is attempting to prove a point that Captain America told him “with the proper teamwork, even the strongest opponent can be beaten!”
It gets back to the Avengers’ whole Earth’s mightiest heroes banding together to fight the foes no single hero can overcome thing. It’s a sales pitch for why these reluctant West Coasts should Avenger.
And even given that Iron Man far outmuscles Hawkeye, Mockingbird, and Tigra, teamwork and skill does prove capable of bringing him down. Kinda.
Hawkeye uses some smokescreen arrows to try to cloud Iron Man’s vision but he has infrared lenses. He tries to tackle Tigra but she outmaneuvers him and jumps on his back. Distracting him so Mockingbird can bonk him in the head with her staves and Hawkeye can gum up Iron Man’s boot jets.
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Its good teamwork but while Hawkeye is explaining that it’s good teamwork, Iron Man repulsors the ground and knocks the other three on their asses to demonstrate another important lesson.
Iron Man: “Never count your enemy out, until you’re sure he’s really out!”
Although. This WAS a training exercise.
While you raise a good point, Rhodey, surely you didn’t want them to break your armor or knock you out for a training exercise?
Anyway, after the exercise is over, Hawkeye tells Iron Man (James Rhodes) that it reminds him of when they used to go at it (back when Hawkeye was an accidental villain) and Rhodey Iron Man just awkwardly says that he’s glad they’re buds now. Because THIS IS EXACTLY WHY HE QUIT THE AVENGERS IN THE FIRST PLACE!
Having to awkwardly tip toe around not being the original guy!
But on the other hand, he liked working with the Avengers in Secret Wars, which made him reconsider the team thing. While he doesn’t want to lean on someone else’s reputation, he also doesn’t want to be treated like an amateur. So awkward it is.
Hawkeye tells Iron Man maybe don’t knock him on his ass so hard next time.
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I do love Clint and Bobbi’s relationship. They’re delightful.
While Rhodey is rethinking his reluctance to Avenge, Tigra isn’t. This training exercise about how weaker heroes can team up to bring down a stronger opponent is not landing.
Tigra: I’ll bet Iron Man could have blown us away whenever he felt like it... He was probably just toying with us during the whole workout! I’m not anywhere near being in his league... Why did I let Hawkeye talk me into joining his new Avengers team?
There’s always one person on the Avengers whose whole thing is insecurity and the West Coast Avengers is practically full of them. Hawkeye, Wonder Man, Tigra have all served that role in the past. Mockingbird is worrying that she doesn’t belong.
I’d rather Tigra stuck with the insecurity rather than what she gets when West Coast Avengers gets an ongoing...
Anyway, over at Simon Williams, Wonder Stuntman’s house, he’s packing up his house to move to Avengers compound.
Since the house was prefab and pretty shoddily built, the whole wall swings up like a garage door so Simon can just pull all his possessions out and put them in a big crate.
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Simon’s good stuntman pal Freddy asks if Simon is really going to go back to the superhero life.
Wonder Man: “Freddy, for good or bad, Wonder Man is what I am! It’s taken me awhile to become comfortable with that. But I finally have. And you know, I think being a stuntman these last few months helped! Doing stunt work day after day has really given me a sense of my own worth. You and the rest of the stunt crews helped me find a new life... I owe you a lot! But I also owe the Avengers! When Hawkeye offered me an active role in the Avengers new west coast expansion team, I surprised myself by signing on. I guess what I’m saying is that the Avengers is part of my life, too. And I found myself missing it more than I’d expected!”
Good for you, you waffling man. But you’d better be careful you don’t end up in a Hank Pym spiral where you bounce between your superhero and civilian lives and don’t find satisfaction in half assing either. Find yourself a good work life balance.
Anyway, Simon doesn’t plan to quit the stunt work. He’s going to try to juggle it and the Avengers.
Now that I’m not sure he’ll manage. Movies and super-heroics both have demanding schedules without set hours.
Simon and Freddy take a break to go buy more nails at the hardware store for Simon to hammer in with his bare hands. But on their way, they hear an alarm at the bank.
Crosshatch man from the cover is robbing the bank, just casually strolling out with a bag of money while bullets bounce off of him.
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The Blank: “I have a gun too! And it doesn’t shoot blanks! Hah-haha-ha!!”
I’ve long held that the unspoken rule in comics book is that one of the first things someone shouts about you becomes your name.
Just ask poor Ben Grimm, the Thing.
So when a random person shouts that the bank robber is blank, the robber is like ‘huh, that’s catchy!’
Anyway, the robber confidently strolls out of the bank and right into Simon Wonder Man Williams.
The Blank shoots his gun at Simon and to his dismay finds out that he’s not the only one who bullets bounce off of.
Then Simon punches the guy twenty feet back INTO the bank.
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The Blank woozily proclaims that Wonder Man can’t stop the Blank so Wonder Man just kinda picks him up and tucks him under arm. Although the Blank does manage to pistol whip the sunglasses right off of Simon’s face.
Doesn’t hurt him but it does freak everyone in the bank out.
Dunno if you remember but due to being reborn as an energy being, Simon’s eyes are red and full of kirby krackle. He can turn it off if he concentrates but he prefers to wear the glasses.
And while Simon is telling the people in the bank that there’s no need to panic on his account, the Blank slips right out of his grip and jumps through the window.
When Simon comes out to the street, he finds that the Blank has somehow managed to disappear into the crowd, despite being a screentone man.
Probably because the Blank just turned the effect off and pretended to be a Perfectly Normal Man on the Street.
Sneaky.
The guy returns to his apartment and yuks it up at the news report about him making a clean getaway, police baffled.
The Blank: “After a lifetime of bad breaks, Lady Luck has finally smiled on me! Hah-ha! And to think I owe it to lousy bus service...”
So this origin is a lot. And its amazing.
In the Blank’s flashback, he’s waiting at the bus stop for a late bus when an ex-employee of Stark International who quit when Stane took over the company shows up and starts complaining about the bus service. And then smoothly shifts to complaining about his old job.
Very annoyed scientist: “If it’s not one thing it’s another! But it’s no wonder the world’s in the shape it’s in... Not with the quality of management today! They’re idiots... all idiots!”
He tells this random guy he doesn’t know that when he quit, he took his newest invention with him.
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Very annoyed scientist: “I put too much work into my brainchild to let that leech Stane get it! I’m going into business for myself!”
And then, as he’s boasting that he’ll be rich enough to buy and sell Stane in a year, the very annoyed scientist walks into the street without looking and gets hit by a car.
The very annoyed scientist’s briefcase lands right at the pre-Blank’s feet who definitely doesn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. So he took it home and after a few months figured out how to operate the invention: a slippery force-field.
Back in the present, he charges the force field belt up and then heads off after a big score. Not noticing a man shaped cloud of energy coming out of the charger pleading for more energy.
Huh.
Weird.
Over at Avengers Compound, the West Coast Avengers are assembled. Hawkeye has gotten the go-ahead of the LAPD to take this Blank case but Wonder Man insists that the Avengers can find him but he’s going to make the collar.
Yup, Simon has gotten a bug in his collar about letting the guy get away.
Wonder Man: “I had him in my hands, and he slipped right through them! What good am I to the Avengers if I can’t handle one gimmicky bank robber by myself?”
Hawkeye: “No good at all, if you worry more about personal performance than you do about how you work as part of this team! What do you want to do, search all of Greater L.A. on your own? That’s crazy!”
Geez, Wonder Man. That’s how gimmick criminals are supposed to work. Its not a gimmick if you beat it in the first encounter. The gimmick trips you up at the beginning of the story so you look like a smarty for figuring it out for the resolution.
The other Avengers chime in a plan divide the city into sections and each search that section. And whoever finds him will call the others.
Wonder Man admits that the plan makes a lot of sense and storms off in a fit of ‘WHAT A REASONABLE SUGGESTION, GOODNIGHT.’
Mockingbird: “Well, hotshot, you just weathered your first leadership crisis. Why the thoughtful look?”
Hawkeye: “I was just remembering how I used to be the one who always blew his stack. Honey, all of a sudden I feel old... real old!”
Hah!
You’ve wanted this for years Hawkeye. AND you’ve built up a lot of lets say debt with the universe by being a jerk about it at times.
Although, Wonder Man isn’t really a great Hawkeye. He’s pretty mellow most of the time. Of the people I expected to get a random obsession with a not very dangerous criminal, it wasn’t Wonder Man.
He has always had a streak of insecurity (which is the secret ingredient when making a Hawkeye) and not being able to stop this guy right when he was feeling good and ready to superhero again. A real situational case.
But Tigra is the one feeling the insecurity the hardest so I’m afraid you’ll need another character beat, Simon. Hothead is available.
So the West Coast Avengers split up and patrol different parts of the urban sprawl. Tigra lurks the rooftops of Chinatown, Iron Man scans the area around the Santa Monica Mountains, Hawkeye flies above the high-rises of Marina Del Rey on his skycycle, Mockingbird cruises L.A.’s freeways in her custom pink convertible, Wonder Man hangs out on the L.A. City Hall in the downtown searching by binoculars, and I learn what the different bits of L.A. are.
Productive night for everyone.
But over in Inglewood, the Blank prepares for his Big Job.
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He’s going to heist a Wells Fargo armored car.
Wait, would an armored car be a bigger heist than robbing an actual bank??
And if you somehow got the idea that the Blank is a criminal mastermind, he’s not. The armored car guards spot him coming and just decide to take off when a screentoned man starts running at them.
The Blank shoots one of the guards so he doesn’t manage to lock the rear of the money car but the other guard is locked up tight in the front and refuses to stop even when the Blank is threatening to kill his partner.
Wow. Guess other people’s money is more important to the guy than his co-worker’s life.
Since the guy tells the Blank that he’s driving the armored car right to the nearest police station, the Blank just grabs as much money as he can carry. Then he jumps out the back and slides to a stop on his belly like a penguin.
What a useful force field.
But the Blank’s bad night gets worse because then Mockingbird, Hawkeye, and Iron Man all show up, alerted by the police report.
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The Blank at least has a realistic view of his capabilities. In that he’s not the guy that thinks a simple gimmick will let him start taking over the world. He just wants to rob a few banks and armored cars. And he does not want to fight the Avengers!
Especially not Iron Man!
Iron Man’s armor has all kinds of stuff in it and he might figure out a way through the force field!
So the guy decides to tackle some gas pumps.
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Which naturally causes an enormous fire.
Not a bad plan, really. The explosion will launch the Blank from the scene with the force field keeping him safe and the heroes will stop to save lives as heroes tend to do.
While Hawkeye and Mockingbird help the gas station employees away from the fire, Iron man picks up a dump truck full of sand and puts out the fire.
Wonder Man and Tigra arrive as he’s doing that and Hawkeye has to tell Simon that the Blank got away or exploded.
Simon actually takes it pretty chill, just betting that no way a tough customer like the Blank died in the explosion.
And he’s right. Although the guy isn’t really a tough customer.
Actually, he’s planning on skipping town.
Avengers heat is too much heat for him. Plus, yeah, the force field protected him from the explosion but he was blown three blocks away and the impact of landing knocked him silly for five minutes and he was terrified he’d be caught anyway. Plus, he lost all that sweet Wells Fargo money.
So he’s going to take the bank robbery money from the morning and move somewhere with fewer superheroes.
He’s just gonna charge the force field for the road and- whoa dang a whole ass man popped out of thin air.
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And its Graviton??
What were you doing in thin air, Graviton?
The Blank assumes this guy - wearing a costume and a cape - why he’s gotta be a superhero! And he immediately surrenders! He’ll return the money, turn over the force field device, go to jail, just don’t make him deal with those Avengers again!
Graviton is like hey buddy, I’m not with the Avengers and if you’re skipping town because of them, don’t bother. “Help me, and you’ll never have to worry about Avengers again!”
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Ruh roh.
Now Graviton is, historically, kind of a dingus considering he’s a mad scientist, but he is powerful enough that he soloed a pretty powerful Avengers roster which had Iron Man, Thor, Wonder Man, and Vision.
The West Coast Avengers has Iron Man and Wonder Man but also has the more street level Hawkeye, Mockingbird, and Tigra. They don’t have the do-anything bullshit of Scarlet Witch or Vision’s robot brain or Cap’s strategy. Or whatever esoteric power the wild card Avenger of the era has like Captain Marvel’s command of the electromagnetic spectrum, Starfox’s PLEASURE POWERS or Moondragon’s psychic powers.
If Graviton decides to set up in L.A., then the newly formed West Coast Avengers could be in big trouble.
Maybe even two issues worth of trouble!
... What? This is a miniseries! There’s only so much he’s going to be able to do in the time left!
Follow @essential-avengers​ because you want to see what happens next, probably? Also, like and reblog because you want to?
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moonflower-31 · 4 years
Text
Journey To A Dream - Sabriel Rapunzel AU
Part 6 
Part 5 
Part 4 
Part 3 
Part 2 
Part 1  
Sam immediately let out a laugh as he started running around in the grass, launching old fallen leaves into the air and splashing water from a nearby pond.
"Does grass always smell this good?!" He exclaimed, bringing a bunch of pulled blades from the ground to his nose before moving onto something else. "Water is way more cold than I thought it would be!" He exclaimed, chucklimg to himself as he dug his fingers into the dirt and sighed happily at how it felt.
Gabriel watched this turn of events with a confused expression and a raised eyebrow.  This guy really had never left that tower for 21 years. All of his life. That was something that Gabriel could barely fathom.
Gabriel couldn't even be in Heaven nowadays for that long without pulling his feathers from his wings out.
Gabriel shook his head and just watched Sam freak out. It was quite entertaining, if he were to say so himself.
Sam continues to freak out for five minutes, just being happy to be out of that freaking tower. After a few moments he finally runs back to Gabriel, laughing happily to himself.
"Thank you!! I cannot believe I'm doing this!" He grinned, pushing his dark brown strand behind his ear as he turns to leave the clearing.
Gabriel again raises an eyebrow at the strand, but shrugs it off, walking after him. Immediately, ideas began to run through his head though. This guy hasn't seen the real world, right? So Gabriel could technically scare him, right?
Sam almost danced away from the tower, running through trees and just enjoying the spring wind on his face. Sure, he knew that he would have to go back, but he was going to enjoy it while he could. Azazel obviously wasn't going to let him. And besides, what was so wrong with the world that Azazel wouldn't let him go out?
Gabriel walked behind Sam slowly, his hands in his pockets as Crowley hung onto Sam's shoulder.
"So... you live in that towet alone?" Gabriel asks, running a hand through his golden brown hair.
Sam finally stops running and shook his head, humming a tune under his breath as he walked ahead of Gabriel.
Gabriel raised another curious eyebrow. "So, who else lives with you?" He asks, lowering his head as Crowley gave Gabriel a glare.
Sam turned his head and frowned. "U-uh... my father. He's away right now. Actually thats the only reason I've been able to even get out of the tower in the first place." He says, smacking Crowley a bit for being rude.
Gabriel smirked a bit. "So, you still live with your father? Aren't you afraid he might... I dunno... come home early and find you gone? Wouldn't he search the ends of the earth for you?" He asks, plucking a flower from the ground, sniffing it innocently as Sam stopped in realization.
Sam furrowed his eyebrows, and began to worry. "He... he would, wouldn't he..." he mumbles, beginning to fret.
Gabriel fought back the urge to smile more. "And wouldn't you crush his heart, knowing you left after he asked you specifically not to?" He asks, still walking forwards, but not very fast.
Sam widens his eyes even more, beginning to pant. "Y-yeah... yeah he would..." he syas nervously, shuffling his feet.
Gabriel shrugged. "Well, if you want my opinion, I think we should just cut you out of this deal. Take you and your rat home, I get my satchel, and then you and your father will have a great relationship untainted by betrayal-" he starts, turning around to see a miffed Sam who stomped over to him.
"No! I am seeing those lanterns!" He insists, brandishing the pan in his hand. "You will take me to see those lanterns conscious or not." He threatens, moving the pan threateningly close.
Gabriel finally stops walking, and pushed Sam's pan away as he starts to try and talk himself out of the deal when the bushes begin to rustle, and a far off sound of voices make Sam jump and hide behind Gabriel.
"Is is Angels? Hunters? Have they finally tracked my hair down?!" He squeaked, making Gabriel give him a dumbfounded look.
Then, out of the bushes outsteps a moose. Gabriel snickers. "Look, its just another version of you, Samsquatch. Don't worry, it can't smell fear." He teased. Sam huffed and smacked Gabriel's shoulder.
"Shut up! Hunters and angels have wanted my hair for as long as I can remember." He says, pushing his hair back as he begins walking.
"What makes you say that? Why would, hypothetically, an angel want your hair?" He asks Sam, confused and laughing at Sam's excuse for being scared.
Sam huffed again. "My father told me-" he starts before he reevaluates his decision. "You know what? No. Its none of your buisness." He says in a scowl before he stomps forward, making Gabriel roll his eyes.
Gabriel wanted to say that it was his buisness, but that would reveal more than he wanted to. Then an idea hit him.
Gabriel quickly caught up with Sam. "You know what? I'm hungry. Are you? Cause I know a great place for lunch." He insists, smiling.
Sam raised an eyebrow, softening his face. "Really? What's it called?" He asks.
Gabriel chuckled. "Its a surprise, come on. Let's go." He says before he grabs Sam's hand and leads him down the hill towards the place he had in mind.
Sam kept looking around as Gabriel led him through the forest. He was still in awe of the world and wondering still how his father saw the world as so cruel.
Eventually, after a short while Gabriel led Sam to a building lit up in a sign that said 'Harvelle's Roadhouse'.
Sam smiled at the place. "Its nice..." He says, smiling as he admired the building.
Gabriel forced a smile onto his face. "Right? Come on, lets go in and eat." He says, grabbing Sam's wrist and dragging him up to the door and bursting the door open. "Ellen! Your best table, please." He says in a fake accent, which Sam follows up with a gasp.
Sam's eyes wander the restaurant, seeing hunters everywhere. A few at the bar, a few playing darts, some looking through lore books, before they all looked up at Sam and Gabriel.
Gabriel forced Sam through, almost dragging him through the crowd of literally blood covered hunters. "Joe, nice to see you, Ah, Polly, nice to see you got that stab wound fixed up." He says, making up names for each of the hunters as they walked. "See, these giys are nice. But if they unsettle you that much, why don't we just ride on back to your little tower-" he starts before he bumps into a larger hunter, one who looked like a real drunkard.
Sam gulped as he looked into the hunter's blue eyes, backing away from the man. Then, another hunter, one who had her name etched onto her cap 'Jo' picked up Gabriel by the collar. She pulled out a wanted paper and showed it to him.
"This you?" She asks, smirking at him.
Gabriel looked at Jo for a moment and shook his head. "No. Trust me you definitely have the wrong guy-" he starts. Then, another female hunter comes up, gripping a fistful of Sam's hair.
"Really? Why would someone come in here, looking exactly like the fugitive Loki, with a sissy of a partner with this much fucking hair?" The blonde hunter hissed, glaring at Gabriel with her own blue eyes.
Sam yelps and pulls his hair out of the hunter's grip and accidentally bumped into the other hunter again. The hunter grumbled and looked at him again.
"Would you stop that? Can't any of you idjits leave me alone?" He grunts. Sam sighed and muttered a 'Sorry' before he sunk away.
Gabriel raised his hands and almost admitted defeat. "N-no, look, that isn't me. See? The faces don't match! Especially the nose!" He insists, trying to be put down.
Then, finally, another hunter grabs the wanted poster and chews out the nose portion. "Now does it look like you?" The hunter asks, murder in his eyes.
Gabriel gulps somewhat and the hunter smirks. "Ooh I'm gonna love sending you off to get your head cut off like the vamps that I kill." He smirked, hoisting Gabriel up by his collar and hanging him on the wall as all of the hunters in the room began to discuss what they were going to do with the prize money.
The hunter Sam had accidentally bumped into multiple times sent a hunter by the name of 'Garth' out the door to go get 'Dean'. Sam could only guess that 'Dean' was the guards.
"Go on, ya idjit! Go send for Dean! You know how much he wants this mother's head." The hunter huffs before he goes to try and break up the fighting. But Sam beat him to it.
Sam stood up on top of a table and launched his hair, pulling back one of the loose rafters before calling out. "Hey!" And letting go, hitting the dark skinned hunter who had put Gabriel up on the hook on the head.
Immediately everyone's attention turned to Sam, and they started to move towards him.
Sam then began to panic. "L-look, I get it. You all probably aren't able to afford much. And him falling into your laps is probably a godsend. But please, he's my only ticket to see the lanterns the kingdom is sending off tomorrow before I have to go back home. It's been my dream forever. Please, find it in yourselves to let him go. Haven't any of you had a dream once in your lives?" He asks in a huff and with limited air.
The gruff hunter that Sam accidentally kept bothering got extremely close and took a long swig of his beer before he tossed it into the garbage, where it promptly shattered.
"What's your name kid?" He asks in a rough voice.
Sam gulps before he answered. "Sam, my name is Sam." He answered.
Gabriel face palmed against the door, knowing that was a stupid mistake with hunters.
Bobby ponders this a second before he extends his hand. "The name's Bobby Singer. You a hunter?" He asks. "You don't look like one. All that hair would get you killed." He says.
Sam chuckled nervously. "N-no, no I'm not...B-bobby." He says.
Bobby nods before he starts speaking again. "Well Sam, yeah, I did have a dream. A long time ago. My dream was to marry the girl of my dreams. Keep up my ranch of horses. But that all caved in on me when a demon possessed my wife and I had to kill her." He answered, opening a new beer.
Sam raised his eyebrows, frowning at Bobby's story. "I... I'm so sorry." He says, suddenly feeling bad for the hunter.
One of the female hunters stepped up. "Me? My dad was possessed by an angel. The angel got him killed. My mom died cause of one too. Don't let them fool you. They aren't cherubs." The blonde hunter hissed. "You know what my dream was? To have my family back." She says.
Sam sighed, grippimg his hair. Then, another hunter stood up, this was the darker skinned one. "My dream? To avenge my sister. She was turned into a vampire amd I had to kill her. But revenge never satisfies anything." He says, sharpening his knife against the table.
Sam looked around, seeing multiple hunters step up and tell their stories and their crushed dreams. It made Sam's heart ache. He flashed his puppy dog eyes at everyone, feeling terrible.
The very last moment, one of the other hunters took hold of Gabriel's collar and put him down. "What about you, Trickster? Ever had a dream?" The hunter asked.
Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Sorry guys but uh, I don't share well with others." He says, before a few hunters took out their knives and Gabriel rolled his eyes again.
"Fine. My dream, was to get away from my family. Start a new life full of sex, riches and lots and lots of sugar!" Gabriel started out meaningful, like he was going to actually take it serious, before he finishes, giving a seductive pose that no one was fazed by.
Bobby scoffed. "That's a terrible dream." He says. Gabriel shrugged.
"You asked." He says, trying to walk away triumphantly. The other hunters lifted him up again, aiming their blades near his body. He looked almost unfazed, but he had to keep up the facade. So he made a look of terror and gulped.
Bobby turned back to Sam. "Now you, Sam. Tell us your dream." He says, sitting back and sipping his beer.
Sam smiled and stood up a bit taller. "Well... mine isn't as precious as yours. But, for me? Every year on May second, I open my window from my tower and I see almost a thousand lanterns launched into the sky. I always wondered what they looked like in person. My father never let me out of the tower." He says, leaning towards Bobby for a second. Bobby gives him a skeptical look, before continuing to listen.
"So, since Loki has been to the kingdom I'm asking him to take me to see them. The agreement was that he'd take me and then take me home but... if I'm honest? The more and more time I spend outside of my tower? The more I want to stay out." He admits, smiling to himself.
Bobby smiled and opened his mouth to speak as Garth charged into the bar again, fixing his hat.
"I found him! And the guards!" He exclaims. Bobby widened his eyes and grabbed Sam's wrist, pulling Gabriel along with him. He pulled them behind the bar, and pulled a lever, showing that there was a tunnel let out under the floorboard.
Bobby sighed, and smiled at Sam. "Go on, live your dream. Find peace or whatever." He says.
Gabriel stares into the dark cavern and smirked. "Oh I will, don't worry..." he says in a whisper. A loud thud is heard above the bar as the horse from earlier stamped his hooves against the bar counter.
Sam covers his mouth so his yelp isn't heard. Bobby rolls his eyes and smacks Gabriel in the back of the head.
"Your dream, stinks. I was talking to him." He says in a scowl. Sam smiled nervously and hugged Bobby for a moment.
"Thank you," he whispers before he escapes into the tunnel behind Gabriel. Bobby then closes the hatch, hoping to give them some time.
As Bobby stands back up, Dean walks over and greets him in a hug.
"Bobby, long time no see, huh?" He asks. Bobby nods, smiling a bit as he hugs back.
"Well if you weren't so busy all the time," he starts in a huff. Dean chuckled.
"Bobby, we've talked about this. You know why I search so much. I need to find him. I promised him I'd protect him the day he was born. I failed him on that. So now I gotta find him. Bring him home." Dean says, looking over at the horse.
The horse tries to mess with the floorboards where Sam and Gabriel had been able to escape through.
Dean raised an eyebrow. "Cas? You find something?" Dean asks, walking over. He sees the boards are unusually cut, and starts to inspect it a bit.
Castiel rolled his eyes and pressed his hoove against a hidden lever, opening the tunnel.
Dean smiled victoriously. "Great job Cas. Now, lets get this filthy Trickster." He grins before one by one the guards start to pile into the tunnel, making Bobby sigh and hope for the best for Sam and unfortunately, for Gabriel.
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iwritethat · 5 years
Text
Raven: Gods and Demons
A/N: Because Raven is wonderful and I warn it’s not the best but I did want to write something.
>>>>—————————>
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"(Y/n) you're not going... being human and all without any abilities suited to visiting Hell... you'd put yourself in danger." Starfire quietly noted, the others apparently in unanimous agreement. This was not what you wanted to hear, the complete opposite in fact.
The villains of this planet were simply agitating, you could deal with the petty plots of world domination which inevitably were brought to an end by the heroes but Trigon's Demons dabbling in kidnapping was another story.
"I can handle myself, now I would like to use one of Raven's spellbooks to open a dimensional portal, then I can go get her back." It was an effortless statement, hands on your hips in determination as you stared down the Titans.
Part of you was grateful that they were attempting to protect you but they did not know you like Raven did, they saw you as an average civilian who'd be of no use in the battlefield - though you had never given them a reason to believe otherwise.
"You must understand why we can't let you do that (Y/n)! We've got Titans East on their way as backup." Nightwing slid in front of you, blocking your path with the best intentions.
"You either let me through birdboy or I get through by force." It was a warning, one that admittedly concerned the others - there was something about your voice that made your threat believable, like you could take them all out with ease.
.
It was apparent this wasn't going the way you wanted, your friends valued your safety and with a flash of lightening sparking outside it was clear your inner frustration was growing. Finding the necessary components was simple as you knew Raven’s bedroom like the back of your hand, and once hauling a familiarly engraved box from the bottom of her wardrobe you silently thanked the demonic woman for keeping your battle armour. You'd equipped yourself with your own personal weaponry and headed back to the centre of the tower only to find a combo of the Titans and Titans East prepared to greet/stop you.
"Damn Midgardians." You scoffed, twirling your royally crafted golden dagger and readying a battle stance of your own.
.
Kid Flash was fast, but the millisecond he sped towards you he ended up on his back, Kori came next but she wasn't as strong as you were especially with your determination empowering your movements. You caught her burning hands effortlessly, Starbolts fizzling out in your palms as you sent her pummelling into the opposing wall - the display halting all oncoming attacks from the others. You'd taken down one of their strongest with little less than a test of strength as you didn’t wish to cause harm instead opting to dissuade them from stopping you, it seemed like a fruitless battle to continue. Brushing off your armour, you cast open a Nethergate and briefly throwing a glance back to an awestruck group of comrades.
"Now, if any of you wish to accompany me to Hell you are very welcome." With that, you soon found yourself surrounded by grotesque demons in the fiery pits of Trigons playground but the lightning blazing off of you like a live wire certainly assisted in your assault.
.
The heroes stumbled through battle ready, however dropped all offensive actions when they witnessed your utter trail of destruction and could only watch on in sheer disbelief. They'd obviously accompanied you to save their beloved comrade but were simply awestruck by the amount of power a 'human' possessed. It was clear you were no ordinary civilian like they had originally perceived and the screeching demons were proof of that. Raven was in wrapped in your arms as soon as you could reach her, clutching the enchantress with joy radiating from your figure.
"(Y/n)! What are you doing here?!"
"Here? I survived Valhalla lest we forget, this was a piece of cake Angel." You grinned back at your girlfriend, offering a laugh to ease her worries. Despite the furrowed brows and flushed features at the nickname she nodded in acceptance, enjoying the comforting warmth you’d always emit.
Gently you placed an arm around her waist so she could lean her weight on you since she was basically exhausted, but still strong enough to make it back to her team.
"My father approves of you by the way, says you're a formidable opponent love." Raven smiled to herself, voice quiet but grateful as a gleam glazed over her crimson crystal.
"Hah, well you'd know that well enough. Us Asgardians are strong warriors, my Master Thor is one of the most famous 'myths' here in Midgard." You responded with a smirk, your girlfriend was the only one who knew about your sacred heritage.
"Asgardian?! As in Asgard, like Odin, Thor and Loki?! You're one of them?!" Beast Boy exclaimed, skidding to a halt in front you and Raven who only sighed in exasperation.
"Yes, that's correct."
"Raven! You're dating a god/goddess and you didn't even think to tell us friend?" Starfire flew over this time, eager to understand your origins and relationship with her comrade.
"I didn't think the details were necessary. (Y/n) is a big part of my life - I did technically tell you about them." Your partner was rather smug about her answer which is why you loved her so much.
.
Eventually you made it back to the tower and we're bombarded by a horde of questions that you could barely keep up with, meanwhile Raven began to heal herself beside you finding her friends pure disbelief amusing.
"How does your hair look so good after battle?" The green furred member brightly inquired, before receiving a comment from Kid Flash.
"Huh maybe it's Maybelline."
"Maybe it's the blood of my enemies."
Raven gave you a playful nudge in the arm at your quick witted reply, Kid Flash stiffening slightly which caused you to laugh.
“Thank you (Y/n), truly I’m honoured to have such a kind partner.” Raven managed, offering you a shy smile and as always she was ever grateful to have you in her presence.
With a pleased demeanour, your fingers intertwined and you joyfully pulled your girlfriend along with you as you backtracked across her lounge.
"Anytime Rae, you’d do the same for me. It was nice to properly meet you guys but I originally came here for a particular reason. So are ya ready to see Asgard?"
"WHAT?!" Their mouths fell agape, sure they now knew you were a God but to find out Raven was taking time off to visit Asgard was more than they could take in a day.
.
"Raven knows how to pick 'em huh Dick?" Kori beamed, practically radiating positivity.
"Yeah... I still can't believe (Y/n) beat us and those demons so effortlessly, Asgardians are probably just as strong as Diana." Nightwing added, contemplating the possibilities of your race.
"Aside from the fact (Y/n) can control lightning too." Damian added with his deadpan tone.
"..."
"-TT- Thor is her teacher Nightwing, and you think that lightning storm was just coincidence? No, (L/n) can control it. This is exactly why I'm the blood son." The youngest brother tutted with a shake of his head. Maybe they should consider asking you to join the Titans when you both returned.
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maximumsuckage · 5 years
Text
In the Beginning: Part 7
Part of @archangelgabriellives​‘s collab
Last time on In the Beginning: “Everything was just perfect for him, until he met another deity.  Kali.” (@callmemisshorizon​ 2018)
Word Count: 1937
Pairings: Gabriel/Kali
Warnings: nothing worse than reminders of awkward teenage days
Previous Parts: Masterlist,  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6
The blade was designed to mimic an angel blade, brought back by a Viking trader from one of his expeditions.  It had exchanged hands a few times in the interim- the metal had been touched by souls in India, then Jerusalem, then Constantinople, before taking a straight shot northwards.   If he closed his eyes and focused, he could follow the path, reading each soul that had left fingerprints on the blade in the past three years since its forging.
It had been offered up to him in sacrifice- the trader who had bought it had returned home only to find that his wife had died in childbirth and the baby was stricken with fever.  It was a valuable weapon- the metal could only be found in India, and traveling there was a harrowing journey- but the man had declared that he would give up that and everything else if it meant his child would get better.
Gabriel had taken him at his word.  The man, once so consumed with worldly possessions that he would leave his pregnant wife on a rumor of wealth, lost everything.  His ship, safe in harbor, was wrecked in a freak storm that didn’t even touch the other boats.  His servants abandoned him, carrying off his gold and expensive fabrics and jewelry.  His large house, envy of all his neighbors, went up in flames.
Loki demanded sacrifice, after all.  That was the pagan way.
The virus that had stricken the babe’s lungs vanished.  She chortled at her father’s face, reaching up to tug on his hair, red as her own.  She would grow up strong and healthy, never touched by sickness or injury.
And as soon as Gabriel had doled out the justice, he forgot the tiny family.  He had only eyes for the weapon, because it had his name on it:
Saint Gabriel the Archangel.
That really wasn’t fair.  He was doing a great job on Earth, and now some Christian was trying to drag him out of hiding by making pretty weapons with his name?  He tossed it aside; it hit the stony ground with a clatter.  “I bet you can collect the full set,” he grumbled, spreading his invisible wings.  “Let’s get Michael and Raphael too- yay!  Collectible weapons!  Next they’ll be selling cards with our kill stats on them.”  He pumped his wings against the air to launch himself into the ether between dimensions.
A second later, he set down near a forge in India.
He hadn’t realized how accustomed to the winter weather he’d became.  Landing in India was like stepping into a sauna; immediately he began to shed layers, vanishing them one by one back to his home on the shore of the North Sea.  Only when he was barefoot, wearing just his tunic and light pants, did he turn towards the man making the archangel-inspired weapons.
“Alright,” he called out, walking into the wide open door of the forge (and certainly not bothering to knock).  It was like walking into a wall of heat, somehow even hotter than the tropical sun.  “What’s this I hear about making archangel blades?”
The smith turned around, confused by the sudden entrance.
Gabriel opened his mouth to give him a good talking to- probably call it blasphemy, or something along those lines.  It would be just enough to scare him into stopping his work, or at least, not putting Gabriel’s abandoned name and title everywhere.  But he was distracted by a sudden presence outside, and he turned.
His breath caught.
Gabriel had seen beauty.  He had seen the vastness of the cosmos, the galaxies that swirled in eternal dance.  He had seen continents rise from the ocean, had seen the birth of plants and animals and birds and fish.  He had seen angels and archangels, seraphs and cherubs, powers and dominions.
But in an instant, he forgot all of those.  Behind him, the smith fell prostrate, but Gabriel only stepped forward as though in a daze, to stand in the yard and face her.
On the surface, she was no more than a pretty southern girl.  Her patterned dress was cheerful and bright against the deep tan of her skin.  She stood lightly on her toes, as though ready to dance, but she stood with the straight, strong posture of a queen.
In his angelic vision though, Gabriel saw a flash of the truth.
Eyes burning with mischief and chaos.  Midnight blue skin freckled with stars.  Fangs glinting between plump, slightly parted lips.  Four arms- the hidden two were playing with a lotus flower.  A sword hung at her hip, clinking against a skirt of bones.  She was a monster.  An absolutely stunning monster.
(But wasn’t he also a monster?  His true form burnt people to dust, after all).
“Oh, uh, hi,” he said, and cursed himself, face flushing hot (it was probably just the heat of the forge behind him).
“Loki the Trickster.”  The goddess’s hips swayed with each graceful step as she approached him.  “What a surprise, finding another chaos god here.”  She paused, and gestured around at the jungle.  “A bit far south for an Asgardian, aren’t we?”
Gabriel forced his eyes to remain on her face, to not wander lower.  Her human form was lovely, and her true form was toned and athletic, the skin raised here and there with scars from past battles.  “Yeah, no, I mean- Just checking out this guy’s swords.  Um- I found one.  Up north.  Back home, you know, so I wanted to figure it out- So, you got a name?”
You stupid idiot!  He felt his blush deepen and he tried to focus on her thick black braid- there was nothing exciting about hair, right?  It was just sleek and long with not a single strand out of place, and okay, maybe he liked good hair; was that so wrong?  Seriously, what was wrong with him?
But the goddess only chuckled.  “Kali the Destroyer.  I’m sure you’ve heard of me?”
He gasped out loud- or more likely, choked on air.  Kali the Destroyer?  He had heard stories about her- vague rumors about a creature so powerful that she could stomp out the sea, who destroyed evil with a zest that terrified even her own pantheon.  She was good, technically, but she was gleeful in her destruction.  She had consumed demons and punished sinners and fought in battles that would have made Mars himself tremble.
And dear gods, she was beautiful.
“Yeah, uh, once or twice,” he choked out, gaze shifting down from her face.  That was a mistake- now he was looking at her breathtakingly long legs, deep midnight blue skin dappled with sunlight shining through the trees surrounding the yard.  Her feet were bare and muddy.
“Mmhmm.”  Though it wasn’t even a word, it was the smuggest noise Gabriel had ever heard.  He was struck dumb, and she knew it as she began to pace around him, like a lioness surveying an antelope.  “Why are you here, Loki?”
Her forearm brushed Gabriel’s as she passed him.  It sent a tingle down his skin, unlike anything he had ever felt in Heaven.  He shivered, but not, he realized, in discomfort.  He wanted to feel it again.
“Was this man giving you trouble?”  She nodded at the smith, who was still laying with his face pressed into the dirty ground.  He whimpered at being included in the conversation.
Gabriel had to lick his dry lips to talk.  “No, no, nothing like that- just checking out his work, is all.  Um…”  He felt prickly all over.  It was too hot here, and Kali was close- too close.  He could sense her power, rolling around the clearing.  It was near tangible- even the fire in the fire in the forge sprang higher, crackling in the quiet.
“Was his work satisfactory?”  Kali picked up a blade from the outside display and tested the sharpness with her finger- a droplet of red appeared against the midnight blue of her skin.  She licked it off, glancing over at Gabriel quizzically.  Her tongue was blood red.
He swallowed hard.  “Yeah, it was fine,” he said, voice coming out just a bit too high pitched to be natural.
“Pity.  I was hoping for a kill.”  She set the sword back and stepped towards the door.  Gabriel wrenched his eyes upwards- in the humidity, her dress clung to every curve.  He took a deep breath to try and compose himself.
“Although,” she mused, standing in the doorway and watching the smith breathe, “Before I caught wind of you, I found a man beating on his wife and son.  Blood might still flow today.”  She half turned, studying Gabriel with an unfathomable expression.  “How would you deal with such a thing up north?”
He was being tested- he didn’t know what she wanted to hear, but he wanted to impress her.  Needed to impress her.  She still looked more amused than anything, like he was a curiosity giving her a modicum of entertainment. Gabriel’s muscles clenched uncomfortably at the thought of her growing bored and moving on.
“I would destroy him slowly,” Gabriel said.  He swallowed hard, considering how he would do it.  His mouth felt too dry to speak.  “First, I would give his wife and child the money and means to run away.  Then I would bring a plague of locusts on his fields.”
Kali nodded, crossing her arms as she listened. The lotus flower twirled between two fingers.
Gabriel tried not to think about his sweating palms and continued.  He spoke slowly, carefully trying to think out the hypothetical course of action.  “Once the harvest fails, I would turn his neighbors against him, one by one, so that nobody will allow him over for dinner in the wintertime.  And then, when he goes out to chop wood, he’ll realize that the rats chewed a hole in his boots.  So he’ll get frostbite and trip when the wolves go after him.”
He froze, considering.  Kali raised an eyebrow.
“Wait- no.”  He shook his head.  “A lynx instead.  She’ll play with him while he tries to run away.  But the axe will have stuck in the tree he was trying to cut, so he won’t have any weapons.  And then maybe he falls into an ice river and hallucinates his wife…”
Kali’s lips were quirked up in a smile.  “You’re a sweetie,” she said with a little chuckle.  “Going through all that trouble.  Good work ethic.”
Gabriel blinked.  “Work ethic?”
“To be frank, I would just stab him.”  Kali reached out and patted his arm.  “But your idea is good too, Loki.”
His breath hitched when she touched him- he hid it in an awkward cough.  Somewhere outside the little forge, a hunting horn sounded, and Kali straightened.  “Ah, my people.  I’m off.  Get out of here, Loki.  Winter Viking god like you will pass out in this summer weather.”  Stepping out into the yard, she smiled at the sun.  “You have to enjoy these good days before the monsoons roll in.  I’ll see you around, I’m sure.”
When she stepped past him, one of her true-form arms reached out and tucked the lotus flower into his pocket.  Then she vanished like she had never been.
Gabriel pulled the flower out of his pocket with shaking fingers and sniffed.  It smelled like ash and smoke.
“Oh brother,” the smith said, finally getting the nerve to lift his head off the ground.  “Don’t fall for her, man.  She’s crazy.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Gabriel murmured, smoothing his thumb over one of the petals.
Special thanks to @scrollingkingfisher for the grammar check
Author List:  1. @revwinchester 2.@ttttrickster 3.@phantomwarrior12 4.@anxiety-fuel 5. @sugar-high-viking 6.@callmemisshorizon 7.@maximumsuckage (meeee) 8.@tricksterxangel 9.@archangelgabriellives  10.@nobodys-baby-now 11.@thewhiterabbit42 12.@warlockwriter 13.@lastsavinggrace 14.@archangelsanonymous 15.@archangelashiah 16.@archangel-with-a-shotgun
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