ALL NOVEL Chapter 10: Webs and Armor
The habits honed over years as a spy allowed Black Widow to keenly capture the information hidden within Peter's words.
However, with a formidable enemy before them, she had no intention of delving deeper into his cryptic remarks, especially after the traumatic experience with Hawkeye being brainwashed. Sometimes, she felt it was better not to uncover certain truths.
...
"Hey, guys!"
At that moment, Hawkeye's voice crackled through the earpiece from atop a skyscraper: "I see Loki!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Hawkeye drew his bow and aimed straight at Loki. For a man like him—an agent rather than a warrior—one of his goals in this war was to lodge an arrow directly into Loki's eye.
"Whoosh!!"
"Bang!"
Although Hawkeye's arrow was precise and swift, Loki—known as the greatest sorcerer across the Nine Realms, Prince of Asgard's, and Jotunheim's rightful king—was not someone who could be so easily taken down by a mere mortal's skills.
Just as the arrow whistled through the air, aiming for Loki's handsome face, Loki raised his hand nonchalantly and caught it. The arrow trembled in his grasp, emitting a sharp "zing," a testament to the force behind it.
Holding the arrow, Loki turned his head slightly to glance at Hawkeye, a devilishly mocking smile playing on his lips.
Yet, Hawkeye smirked back and calmly spoke into his earpiece, "Mage, it's your time. Loki's at Stark Tower."
"Beep beep beep..."
"Hmm?"
"Boom!!"
"Argh!"
While Hawkeye spoke, the arrow in Loki's hand began emitting a rhythmic beeping sound. Curious, Loki tilted his head to inspect it.
The next instant, the arrowhead exploded with a deafening roar. Even Loki's divine physique wasn't immune to the blast, forcing a painful scream from his lips.
"Bang!"
The explosion hurled Loki into Stark Tower, landing him precisely where he had just threatened Tony Stark. Despite the impact, Loki managed to flip himself upright and stand, a testament to his formidable Asgardian body.
"Roar!!"
"Crash!"
"Bang!!"
Just as Loki regained his footing, a massive green figure came hurtling through the shattered window with a thunderous roar. Hulk smashed through the glass and delivered a devastating punch, sending Loki flying into a wall, creating a deep crater on impact.
Even after knocking Loki away, Hulk wasn't done. He charged at Loki, ready to pummel him further.
"Enough!"
Having endured enough humiliation at the hands of Earth's mortals, Loki roared in frustration, leaping back to his feet.
The sudden outburst startled Hulk, who hesitated and slowed his approach, staring at Loki with a mix of wariness and confusion.
"Who do you think you are?!"
"I am a god! You, you mindless brute, you insignificant ant, you dare—"
"Smash! Smash! Smash!"
"Smash! Smash!"
Hulk, expecting some grand display of power, grew even more enraged as Loki launched into a tirade. He grabbed Loki by the legs, swinging him back and forth, slamming him into the ground repeatedly. Only after venting his anger did Hulk toss Loki onto the floor.
As he walked away, Hulk shot a disdainful glance at Loki and muttered, "Puny god."
Loki was left lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling in utter disbelief, questioning his entire existence.
Just as Hulk departed, a fiery "crack" heralded the opening of a portal. From within stepped Ned, wearing his iconic mask. Without hesitation, he made his way toward Loki.
The noise startled Loki, who, still reeling from his earlier thrashing, scrambled to sit up and tried to back away. As he retreated, he stammered, "What… what do you want? Do you think you're some supreme sorcerer? Don't even think about it, you second-rate amateur—ahhh!!!"
Having seen Thor: Ragnarok, Ned immediately recognized where Loki's rant was headed. Without waiting for the tirade to end, he executed a clean, spinning jump and landed firmly on Loki's chest, causing the god to let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Standing up as if nothing had happened, Ned dusted himself off, grabbed the Mind Scepter lying nearby, and walked away through another portal.
Meanwhile, Loki lay motionless on the floor, muttering something under his breath. With his heightened senses, Ned faintly caught the words "...mother..."
Far away, at the end of the Bifröst in Asgard, Heimdall's eye twitched ever so slightly. However, his expression quickly returned to its usual stoic calm as he stood, sword in hand, gazing out into the Nine Realms. Yet, deep within, his wariness of Earth's sorcerers—especially those under the Ancient One—intensified.
...
Back on the battlefield in New York, the Avengers continued their arduous fight. Thanks to Ned's addition and his seemingly cheat-like ability to summon clones, the situation had turned in their favor. Unlike the original timeline, the team was no longer as drained. Aside from Hawkeye running out of arrows, the others still had plenty of strength left.
For example, Iron Man was leisurely flying between skyscrapers, effortlessly clearing out Chitauri soldiers with his laser weaponry.
The massive Chitauri Leviathans had been dealt with by Ned using portals, saving Stark from expending enormous energy to pierce their armor. As a result, his suit's energy reserves were still plentiful, allowing him to "cruise" through the battlefield.
"Uh-oh."
Flying over a building, Stark spotted the rookie in a "pajama suit" surrounded by Chitauri soldiers, trembling. He let out a dramatic gasp and dove straight down, calling out, "Pajama boy, get down!"
At the same time, Peter's Spider-Sense kicked in, warning him of imminent danger. Without hesitation, he dropped to the ground.
Iron Man's suit deployed a gadget from its hands, spinning rapidly as it released a red laser beam. The laser cut cleanly through the surrounding Chitauri soldiers, slicing them in half.
"Alright, danger's gone."
Stark pulled Peter up and asked, "Where's your guardian? How irresponsible of him to leave you in this mess."
"Guardian? Oh, you've got it wrong, Mr. Stark. Ned—uh, I mean, the Sorcerer—is my good friend, not my guardian," Peter hurriedly explained. "And I wasn't scared of them! It's just… I ran out of web fluid."
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