Fic: I Had a Date (8/?)
Title: I Had a Date (8/?)
Author: Babette babettew54
Fandom: Captain America/Avengers Movieverse
Characters: Steve/Peggy, Thor/Jane, Col. Nick Fury, Tony Stark
Rating: M
Summary: Peggy and Steve will soon learn that in dreams and in love, nothing is impossible.
Word Count: 3,000
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or its characters; this is strictly for my own amusement.
Author's Notes: This is the big one folks. I hope you enjoy it. I admit the Avengers trailer played a big part in my decision to continue writing Steve and Peggy's story. So here goes! In this next chapter, Thor hoped to convince Loki to leave, but in spite of his efforts, the battle rages on, but who will be the victor? Let us not forget that in war no one is the victor. Please read and review. Thank you! :D
Previously:
(Chapter 1) (Chapter 2) (Chapter 3)(Chapter 4) (Chapter 5)
(Chapter 6)(Chapter 7)
Chapter 8: The Darkest Heart
Back at the monitoring center in New York:
Col. Fury continued to make preparations for the coming confrontation. After receiving Jane's coordinates, the entire team was dispatched to Loki's location. Unfortunately, there hadn't been enough time to contact the military to take control of the city and the enormous job of evacuating so many millions of people would not be done in time. The authorities had done their best, but there were far too many civilians still in the city.
The military had been informed of the coming threat, and so they prepared for what lay ahead. Alien weaponry was out of their domain, but they came prepared with the highest level of weapons available to them including: semi-automatic handguns, long-range sniper rifles, machine guns, grenade-launchers, and modified assault rifles. Armored personnel carriers (or tanks) were located all around the city at locations garnered from the Avengers, but it may not be enough to protect them or the countless number of citizens who were vulnerable to attack.
Thor had returned earlier the previous evening after Jane had located Loki. He was determined to confront him first in the desperate hope that he could convince Loki to leave Earth and to spare lives. His heart would be on his sleeve with his brother, even after their recent falling-out. They were still brothers. He would always feel their connection and in spite of everything that had happened, he still felt it. He just hoped it was not too late.
Nick wasn't so sure about Thor's plan but considering what they would be up against, with so many people still in the area, he decided to let him try at least.
~o~o~
Meanwhile, in a special section of the bunker:
Erik Selvig had infiltrated the inner workings of the Avengers bunker at a secret location in the city. It had been left unguarded which suited him perfectly. He knew how to access the location and where the Cosmic Cube was located.
Once inside and still being manipulated by Loki, he found the Cube and replaced it with a similar-looking object. The Avengers were too busy preparing for the battle, and were unaware of this occurrence up and until they had managed to locate Loki now in New York.
After being released by Loki, Erik had come to his senses and realized what he had done, possibly being the cause of a war. He immediately contacted Col. Fury hoping that there was a way of stopping what appeared to be the inevitable.
~o~o~
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the city:
All during his preparations to come to Earth and to defeat his brother, Loki had inner doubts about conquering Earth. Earthlings were made to be ruled, but he couldn't help but remember his older brother and the many years they had become close, that sometimes he thought that they were the same inside and out. They looked different of course, but inside they were still the same. He truly believed that to be true.
But everything had changed once he had found out his true heritage and his father's betrayal. He had felt utterly lost and alone. He couldn't talk to anybody about what he had found out. Now, it was too late to stop it, too late to even think about the past and what could have been.
He was brought out of his thoughts by Kl'rt, also known as Super-Skrull, a leader of a race of reptilian humanoids with large pointed ears, red or green eyes, and corrugated chins. Kl'rt informed Loki that Thanos, the mad Titan, was on his way to Earth probably in search of the Cosmic Cube.
Loki had enlisted this small band of shape shifters with his mission to conquer Earth. They were easily manipulated and he had no problem enlisting their unique support in his diabolical quest.
Loki also knew of Thanos and his ultimate goal to destroy all sentient beings in the universe, and he also needed the Cube to complete his sadistic plans. There was no stopping what was about to happen. Even with his power, Loki knew no one on Earth would be able to stop the mad Titan.
~o~o~
On Thanos' ship not far from Earth:
Thanos checked his navigational instruments and it was only a matter of a few hours and he would have the Cube. His ultimate success depended on it and he would not let a few Earthlings stand in his way. He considered himself a genius because he possessed superhuman intellect, and was a master of all fields of advanced science and technology. It did not take him long to locate the Cube and set his course for Earth.
Not only did he possess a brilliant mind but he was also a member of the race of superhumans known as the Titanian Eternals. He possessed enormous strength, stamina, and particularly durability. He was able to absorb and project vast quantities of cosmic energy; is virtually ageless and immortal; does not need food, drink or oxygen; and is capable of certain telekinesis, as well as telepathy and matter manipulation. The advanced technology within his transportation warship included force field projection, time travel, and movement through alternate universes, space flight and teleportation over interstellar distances.
Soon the planet Earth appeared before him in the port hole of his ship. As the computer spoke to him of Earth's specifics, he listened, but he knew all there was to know about the massive planet:
Earth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the only planet known to have an atmosphere containing free oxygen, oceans of liquid water on its surface, and, of course, life.
Earth is the fifth largest of the planets in the solar system - smaller than the four gas giants, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, but larger than the three other rocky planets, Mercury, Mars and Venus. It has a diameter of roughly 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers), and is round because gravity pulls matter into a ball, although it is not perfectly round, instead being more of an "oblate spheroid" whose spin causes it to be squashed at its poles and swollen at the equator.
Roughly 71 percent of Earth's surface is covered by water, most of it in the oceans. About a fifth of its atmosphere is made up of oxygen, produced by plants.(1)
Thanos continued to listen to the computer then an evil smile appeared on his face, as multiple plots of destroying all life on Earth ran rampant inside his mind.
~o~o~
Back on Earth in lower Manhattan:
Loki was ready, and with the Skrulls now in place waiting for his word, the Cube would do all the work required to conquer the Earthlings.
He was about to unleash the Cube's power when he spotted Thor alone, and it was too much of a temptation not to talk to him. Maybe he could convince Thor to join him and defeat the humans. They were a race bent on destroying each other. Why not do it for them?
"Hello brother," Loki sneered at him. He was alone, which didn't surprise him.
"Loki, you have to stop this. You don't know what you are doing. Millions of lives are at stake," Thor pleaded, but he had a feeling he was wasting his breath.
"Do you think I care for them, like you do, brother?" Loki asked then shook his head, he continued, "What has become of the Thor I knew, ready for any battle, ready to conquer any and all worlds for our Father?"
"Father wouldn't want this and you know it. Loki, these people have done you no harm. Please leave and take the Cosmic Cube with you. You don't know the power of it. It could start a war and no one would win, not even you," Thor told him, but Loki seemed even more intent on this insanity. Yes, Thor knew his brother was insane. He had to be to do something like this.
Col. Fury and the Avengers were listening through their communication devices and knew things were not going well. Thor was not getting through to him. He had no choice now. He spoke to him, "Thor, listen there's an alien ship approaching and we have no idea who it could be. Ask him if he knows anything about it. If he doesn't, demand that he stop this insanity."
"Loki, please listen to me," Thor tried again.
"I'm through listening to you. Now get out of my way!" Loki screamed at him then he unleashed the power of the Cube. Explosions of disintegrations of buildings, cars and people suddenly began happening all around Thor and he was barely able to move out of the way moments before he was destroyed as well.
Loki suspected the Cosmic Cube had unlimited power and even he was surprised by what he had done. He then contacted the Skrulls and they immediately shifted back into their alien likenesses and began blowing up the city with their weapons of destruction. The military and the police were no match for their alien weaponry.
Iron Man lifted up into the sky when the fighting began and launched weapons from his powerful hands, startling Loki, who managed to avoid his blasts when he disappeared right before their eyes.
Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye did their best against the Skrulls, but their ability to shape shift into humans was causing a rash of problems for them.
Thor knew about the Skrulls and instructed the Avengers not to look directly at them while in in their alien form, because of their ability to hypnotize humans at will.
It wasn't long before battles were soon raging all over the city with no end in sight.
~o~o~
Back at the bunker, Peggy watched the monitors of the news reports and had to do something, so she ventured into the city with the very reluctant help of Agent Coulter and she was able to do some good helping the military with the massive evacuation efforts. Agent Coulter warned her to stay clear of the fighting. She reluctantly agreed, but it was not in her nature to run from a fight.
Suddenly, Peggy was tapped on her shoulder. It was Jane. She and Thor had returned to New York together and he had told her about Peggy, how he had brought her there to the present, and finding her here in the mist of the battle was not surprising. They quickly introduced each other and continued to help the police and the military to evacuate more civilians.
Agent Coulter spotted Jane and he had a bad feeling about them begin here in the mist of the battle. Steve and Thor would not be happy about this. He warned again to please be careful of the fighting.
Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye and Black Widow were doing the best they could against the Skrulls and had hoped to find Loki. He had disappeared and it wasn't long before they realized they were fighting a losing battle, as even more of the Skrulls appeared out of nowhere. The military were firing at will. The Skrulls were fierce in hand-to-hand combat because of their ability to shape shift into any form of weapon they desired. Hundreds of innocent people were getting needlessly killed.
After an hour of intense fighting, Col. Fury alerted them that Bruce was now in the heart of the city and that the massive alien spaceship was visible from space. The remaining Avengers were too busy trying to locate Loki and fighting the Skrulls to venture into the city. Bruce was on his own now. Whoever and whatever was inside that alien ship would have to get past the Hulk.
Suddenly, the Hulk shifted into his massive form and he managed to take many of the Skrulls out of commission with just a swipe of his huge hands, but then an alien spaceship appeared in the sky hovering just beyond the skyscrapers. All fighting stopped for a full minute, as everyone looked up at massive ship.
Thanos made his presence known as he teleported down to the street and appeared before the startled populous in his huge alien body. He was a massive being, an alien if anyone had ever seen one. He stood there waiting for anyone who may have the insane need to approach him.
The Hulk slowly moved forward knowing he was the only one who could stop him. The ground shook beneath his feet. Thanos and the Hulk both stood a good ten feet tall. The Hulk came closer then he growled in his face and Thanos felt he finally had an opponent, someone he would enjoy beating to a pulp.
Thanos took the first swing and knocked the Hulk a good twenty feet into the air and he landed on the ground shooting concrete into the sky. He shook it off and charged Thanos with all his power behind him. The fight continued as they bashed and fought all over the street. Everyone wanted to watch this historic battle, but common sense prevailed and they had to run to get out of the way.
Thanos did not come to Earth to fight. He had come for the Cube and his senses had picked up on it and it was close, but he had to dispatch this huge beast before he could even consider getting his hands on it.
Meanwhile, among those 'smart' humans running away from the two beings fighting in the street were Peggy and Jane, but suddenly one of the buildings shaken from its foundations from the fight had shifted and began to collapse. Peggy rushed to help people out of the way including Jane, but a few were not fast enough as tons of concrete and rock began to collapse.
All you could hear all over the city were screams … screams of agony, pain and defeat.
~o~o~
The portal to Earth on Asgard:
Odin, the All-Father, had seen enough. It became clear to him that the humans were fighting a losing battle, and it was up to him to fix this, to right the wrongs caused by him with his lack of understanding and compassion for his sons. And so, with his magical spear Gungnir, 'The Spear of Heaven,' in his hand and the Odinforce behind him, he teleported to Earth.
As he stood before the startled Earthlings and aliens alike, many would describe him later in their many tales of this day:
With Gungnir, his mighty spear held high over his head, a magic artifact one would imagine that allowed him to channel his magic for an even wider variety of effects, as well as his armor, that shined in the bright light of day, Odin of Asgard landed in the heart of the city surrounded by a blinding beam of light that caused everyone to stop what they were doing and take notice.
Col. Nick Fury suddenly received an urgent communication from Agent Coulter. "You are not going to believe this, but Thor's father just appeared and he's standing right there in the middle of the street. I think he's here to help. He's already dispatched one huge alien with that staff in his hand. I can't believe what I'm seeing."
"What, what is it man?" Nick urgently asked.
"Thor's father just located Loki. He just appeared right before him, along with all the other shape shifting aliens. He just raised that staff above his head then they all disappeared right before our eyes, just like that."
"I'm on my way," Nick replied.
"Wait ... there's one more thing …" he hesitated knowing what this could mean.
"What is it?" Nick asked, as everyone headed to Agent Coulter's location. "Peggy and Jane have been wounded, and I don't know how bad it is. Both of them were unconscious and are being transported to city hospital now."
Thor and Steve glanced at each other, both with the same thoughts. They quickly informed the others then they headed to the hospital, both dreading what they would find.
Meanwhile, the other members of the Avengers continued to help with the wounded civilians, as well as the inevitable responsibility of assisting emergency personnel locate the unfortunate victims.
TBC!
~o~o~
(1) Note: Space(dot)com
A/N: This chapter was tough, but I hope it satisfied you. Odin interfering in Earth's troubles was not pulled out of thin air, and I could well imagine him doing it in the movie too. It's in the comics, so it is canon. Also, the trailer was all I had to go on and, of course, my vivid imagination, and with the Mad Titan added to the mix, it was a last minute problem they weren't expecting. Ok, then, you have to come back to see what happens next. Thanks for reading. Reviews would be so awesome. Thanks everyone.