God of Thunder

Thor seemed…unsteady.

“If I break this, and you betray me, I will kill you.”

There was no time to form a sentence of his own. Mjolnir glimmered in the dim light and then —

— light and pain. 

Jarring pain lanced up his arm, across his shoulder and down his back, and with it came a rush of power. It was as though a dam had been released within him, and Loki howled with the intensity of it.  His own eyes took on an eerie as he let the magic  burn through his body. His arm hung limp at his side, but it didn’t matter to him.  

Too-solid duplicates flickered into existence, each with their own sceptre, glowing with acidic green light, and the smile that pulled at his lips was frighteningly exultant.

He was free.

There was a blurred movement to his left, and Loki spun, bringing his sceptre up in time to stop the pair of wicked blades before they could slice into his skin.  The creature stood still, surprise etched across its grotesque features.

“You were not to have this sort of power,” it hissed. The thing was pale, with waxy skin and a gaping mouth with too-sharp teeth that dripped with inky-black saliva. The creature wore wispy robes that gathered shadows to itself and blurred it’s presence.

Loki only smirked in reply, and the creature hissed, dipping under the sceptre to strike at Loki’s unguarded midsection.

Loki’s laugh filled the air as his duplicate fizzled and vanished at the creature’s strike. His duplicates were all laughing.

The creature howled with anger, and vanished, blurring through the space as it struck at each clone, and each one disappeared as it sliced through them.  

A vicious bolt of wicked green energy slammed into the creature, burning into its skin, and still Loki’s laugh continued. Tendrils of energy burst from the ground, wrapping themselves around the creature’s legs, and yet another nasty bolt slammed into the creature’s side.

Loki stepped into existence at Thor’s side, his expression a cold smile, his eyes burning as he watched the creature writhe in frustration from where it was held in the grip of his magic.

He pushed the thoughts from his mind, focusing instead on the battle in front of him and the searing pain spreading like wildfire down his neck. Loki's laughter filled the air, grating on Thor's nerves, as he trapped the creature. Thor looked at Loki's satisfied smile with disdain. Had the return of his might expelled any thought of rehabilitation from his brother's mind?

When Loki gave the order to finish the beast Thor straightened up. Immediately he felt nauseous again. He gritted his teeth against the sensation as he spun Mjolnir to gain momentum. With movement mastered over generations of practice, he hurled the hammer at their enemy. Such was the force of Mjolnir's impact that it cleaved the beast's head clean off its shoulders.

He felt dizzy from the throw, but Thor kept his footing. Mjolnir now back in his grip he walked to Loki, a deep frown etched across his face. Before his brother had a chance to speak, Thor knocked the irritating smile off his face. As Loki stumbled backwards from the punch, Thor grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him close to his face. The nauseating feeling returned with vengeance, yet he ignored it.

“You can not dare laugh at a time like this,” Thor bellowed at Loki, “this is not some grand battlefield, it is part of these peoples lives!” He shoved Mjonir into his brother's face for him to see the dark blood dripping from it. “On this weapon is the blood of an innocent man. His death is on my hands, brother.” Thor dropped Mjolnir beside him and gripped Loki with both hands, both out of anger and out of need to stabilize himself against the debilitating pain of the poison. “You are a fool! I could have helped you, we could have fought these vile things on our own terms.” Sirens blared blocks away. Thor knew they could not linger, but he needed to make Loki understand. Of all times, now was the most vital for him to grasp the lesson of responsibility and respect. “Loki,” Thor said, his tone softening, “your actions have direct and very serious consequences. Do not revel in the death and mayhem we are able to inflict.”

He turned to see a creature launching itself at him. Thor brought Mjolnir up to deflect its attack. The creature had two long knives, each one a blur of motion as Thor swung his hammer to parry the attacks. It was too fast for him, and one blade made it through his defense, cutting him across the cheek. He brought down lightening in front of him. The ground trembled from the impact and sent rubble into the air. Once the dust settled, the beast had vanished again.

Thor felt burning, intense pain radiating from the cut on his face. The sensation began to spread, making him feel nauseous. “Poison,” he grumbled. He tried to maintain a defensive stance and stay alert for the next attack, but he felt dangerously unsteady. There were no signs of his fellow Avengers, and as the burning spread into his chest, he feared that Loki may have been truthful.

This was the fifth creature, and it toyed with them. He felt the tendrils of magic searching for a crack in his own defenses, and a cold angry rage settled in his gut.

He flickered, and he drove the wickedly sharp edge of his acquisition into the small of the creatures back…only to be flung back with a sharp hit to his throat.  He coughed and sputtered, skidding back before raising his sceptre and letting loose with wicked bolts of energy.

The second creature howled with rage as Loki lifted his new acquisition, eyeing the symbiote’s scepter appreciatively. 

The ground shook, cracking beneath his feet and…he fell. Bits of concrete and dust swirled around him as he landed on his feet, and then he let out a sharp grunt of pain as the second Hunter’s fist connected with his side.  He lashed out, a silvery blade slicing through the creature’s face before he hit it hard in the chest with his boot, following the kick with a blast of energy.

Loki heard Thor’s  shout, and he turned, eyes watching sharply as  humans scurried and fled from the immediate vicinity. One woman remained, however…her leg pinned beneath heavy rock, blood streaming down her face and onto her blouse.  He sighed. He’d never hear the end of it if another human died. 

The Hunter snarled, and Loki flickered out of existence, standing in the way of the human and the Hunter, a glimmering green shield projected before him. Loki turned, his expression cold as he nudged the concrete rock from where it pinned the woman’s leg, his lips pulled into a sneer. “Flee, human.”

His shield crackled as the Hunter let loose with rapid shots of wicked blue energy that set his teeth on edge, and set his bones humming with the sheer energy.   

The woman looked up at him, terror plain on her face, and his insides twisted with something he couldn’t recognize.

The shield cracked, and the bolts of energy slammed into his back, pain blooming across his shoulders and side as he stumbled forward and to his knees. The woman peered up at him, surprise and terror etching her features, and he snarled. 

“GO!”

The woman gave a shriek and scurried back, pulling herself to her feet and hobbling away. A man helped her escape with the remainder of the humans who had been close by.

  Loki raised himself with fluid motion, silvery blades streaking through the air, one landing in the Hunter’s eye, the other in it’s throat before he let loose with another wicked blast of fiery green energy.

The Hunter crumpled lifelessly to the ground, and Loki turned in time to watch the berserker slam its meaty fist into Thor’s chest.  Loki’s lips curled, and he lifted his stolen scepter, preparing to release a bolt of energy—

A chill ran down his spine. Horrors that he could only faintly recall ghosted along his thoughts, and he turned, bloodied cheeks going pale.

The fifth creature. So it had decided to play after all.

“Thor! You’d best finish with that. We’re about to have our final guest.”

His eyes hardened, grip tightening on the sceptre in his hand.

He jumped through the ceiling after the Beserker. It lay on the ground, struggling under the impossible weight of Mjolnir. Thor scooped up a large chunk of concrete as he advanced towards it. With a war cry he leaped into the air, landing on its chest and bringing the piece of rubble down hard on the creature’s head. The concrete broke, as did the beast's skull. It struggled, weakly trying to throw Thor off of it.

Thor reached behind him and took Mjolnir off its chest. With movement as fast as lightening he brought the hammer down on its neck, nearly severing the head completely. He wrapped his hands around its skull and with great effort pulled the head off completely.

He rose to his feet, covered in blood and sweat. “What do you wish to ask, brother?” A strange feeling overcame the Norse god. His head felt tight, like there wasn't enough room in his skull. A feeling he knew, but he couldn't place the cause before it was gone again.

“Thor?” a sweet voice called out to him.

He turned, fear rising in his gut again at who he saw. “Jane! You must leave here, it is dangerous.”

“Thor I'm scared, and cold,” she hugged herself, pleading eyes staring at him.

The air hummed with electricity, and Loki’s lips pulled into a cruel half-smile. Thor.  Of course.

Loki pulled himself to his feet, eyes watching as Thor bellowed at one of the Hunters, and he resisted the urge to chuckle as one of the energy blasts slammed into the god of thunder.  A vicious sense of satisfaction filled him as Thor lifted his hammer, violent energy arcing through the air and into Mjolnir.  And then his eyes found the intended target, and he parted his lips to protest….but it was too late. 

The smaller creature was a smoking, blackened corpse, and Loki shook his head as Thor yelled at him,  his own hand raising to project a flickering green shield as a burst of energy slammed into it, his feet sliding back along the ground, moving him closer to the smoking corpse.  

“And I was supposed to sit idly and wait for these vermin to find me and kill me in my bed? I think not.”  He bent, and his fingers wrapped around the shaft of the dead symbiote’s staff, and then he stood, spinning it easily in his hand. “You are a fool, Thor. Do not look to me, when you have that to deal with.”   

Thor blocked its first punch with the hammer, and tried to catch the second. But the Beserker powered through the Thunder god and wrapped its massive hand around his neck in a vice grip. Before he could even react the creature lifted Thor up and slammed him down. The concrete cracked as Thor crashed into it repeatedly. The beast cried out in rage with eyes bulging and slobber dripping from its jowls as it pummeled the Norse god.

The ground beneath them gave way, sending both tumbling into a crowded subway terminal. Thor took advantage of the beast's momentary shock and swung Mjolnir hard into its face. It stumbled backwards towards a crowd of fleeing commuters. With face bloodied and eyes blazing with rage, it reached into the crowd. The Beserker flung the nearest person it grabbed at Thor.

Fear filled his gut for the first time during this confrontation. Now his was not the only life he risked. Thor caught the woman, letting himself fall backwards with her to absorb the force of the impact. “Run!” he ordered after she scrambled off him. With a grunt he leaped back up and let Mjolnir fly from his grip.

The Beserker grabbed a man and tossed him into the hammer's path. “NO!” Thor reached out to stop it, but Mjolnir collided with the man, crushing bone and tearing flesh. The hammer came back to him, dripping with blood and gore. Thor pushed the dread from his mind and forced himself not to look at the mangled mass of what used to be a person laying on the ground. He dashed at his opponent, grappling with it to prevent any more innocents being caught in their crossfire.

The sky was clear, but the air was heavy. A pressure permeated the atmosphere, the sort that was quiet and set bones to humming with the feeling that something was coming. The humans didn’t notice it, really. It was passed off as a change in barometric pressure, or a random anxious thought….but it was far from random.

Loki’s eyes opened slowly as he pulled himself from his meditative state. Even where he was, he felt the slow change, the sense of something pressing in on his senses. The air felt…electric. 

The Norse god stopped in mid pushup. “Yes...?” he asked, brows furrowed.

“He is gone, sir. Last known location is Stark Tower's roof. I shall inform the others.”

With a roar, Thor summoned Mjolnir to him as he ran towards his balcony. He hurtled into the midday sun, quickly reaching the Tower's summit. Thor hovered there above the roof, searching for a sign of where his brother may have gone. A glint caught his eye in the distance, followed by a flash. The distinctive sound of an explosion tore through the air. Thor knew it to be where Loki had run off to.

A sonic boom joined the choir of explosions in the air. Thor made it to Union Square in mere seconds. He saw from above that Loki had set up a magical barrier to prevent others from interrupting his battle. The figures fighting below him scuffled on a paved area near a large statue of a man on a horse. Beyond that sat a very small forested place, with many of the trees now on fire from the explosions.

Thor spun Mjolnir and threw himself directly at Loki's barrier. It shattered like glass when he impacted it. He landed with an Earth shaking thud, quickly straightening up, hammer held ready. What he saw next both confused and alarmed him. Loki went flying past him, directly into the large statue. It crumbled as Loki sailed through it, skidding to a stop on the other side.

Taking a look to see what had thrown his brother, he locked eyes with a giant beast with a strange creature perched on its shoulder a few yards away from him. They both froze, staring each other down, waiting for one to make a move. Like Thor's expression, the sky began to darken. He spotted two Hunters circling around to flank him, yet didn't dare take his eyes off the one that challenged him now.

“Last time,” one of the Hunters circling Thor hissed, “you did not fare so well against my brother.”

“Your brother,” Thor replied, his voice as thunderous as the thick clouds that now blotted out the sun, “enjoyed the luxury of taking me by surprise.” Lightening streaked down from the black skies and struck his body, forming his glistening armor.

A moment after the brightness of the lightening passed, the Hunters fired their arm canons and leaped at the thunder god. The creature perched upon the large beast's shoulder began to cackle at him. Thor spun away from the shots and tossed Mjolnir into the chest of one hunter, sending it flying, and quickly turned to catch the other by the wrists. “Do you think I have sat idly by, awaiting your return,” Thor bellowed as he easily pushed the Hunter into the ground, squeezing and snapping the wrists as he did so. “My strength has grown far beyond-” His words were cut short by a powerful energy blast slamming into his arm.

Thor hit the ground hard, but rapidly rolled back to his feet. The cackling creature fired another shot that Thor sidestepped gracefully. With a slight grin, he summoned Mjolnir to his grip. The sky cracked open and lightening cascaded down into the hammer. All those millions of volts erupted from the thunder god's weapon and collided with the creature. The force ripped it from its resting place and flung it into a nearby building. Beyond the gaping hole in the wall, the corpse lay there blackened and smoking.

Loki’s fingers flickered  as he ran them across the counter. He couldn’t truly  feel the surface of the counter. It was more of a subtle sense of pressure against his illusory fingertips.

“I am indeed still within my residence. For the moment, at least.”

When Thor opened his mouth, however, Johnny was glad of his semblance of self control, because the thunder god was standing there calling him Rogers, and then, then, offered to make breakfast for him? And then he bent down to pick up the pan Johnny had dropped, only to look at him with eyes that seemed to…imply something?

Realizing he had to say something, anything, Johnny straightened as well and cleared his throat, holding out his hand. “Um, actually big guy, my name is Johnny. Johnny Storm, the Human Torch? It’s real awesome to meet you, it really is, but, uh, I’m no Rogers. Especially not the Rogers I think you’re talking about.” 

The rudeness of his staring suddenly dawned on Thor. He extended his hand in greeting. “I am Thor, it is my pleasure to meet you, Mr. Storm.” He shook the man's hand, then looked about the kitchen. His easy going smile melted into a confused frown. This was not the room he recalled being in last night. Apparently the previous evening's drunken haze had landed him in Darcy's living quarters. How strange.

Johnny woke up in a room that definitely wasn’t his own, which didn’t bother him too much because a) he could remember what he’d done the night before, so he must not have gotten plastered, and b) well, it wasn’t like this was the first time something like this had happened o him. It was mildly disconcerting, yes, but all the same Johnny swung his legs out of the bed and stood with a yawn and stretch, turning to crack his back—-and froze. A small kink in that good-mood feeling he’d had was brunet hair spilled sloppily over a pillow next to the space he’d just vacated. Quickly, the blonde wracked his memory but couldn’t remember doing a thing but helping Darcy up the stairs and into her apartment, and by proxy, her room.

Satisfied that nothing had really happened, Johnny wandered out into the apartment’s kitchen in small black boxer briefs, padding gently to the fridge and cracking it open. The blonde searched for a couple moments before finding orange juice, eggs, and bacon, and pulled them out, planning on making Darcy a bit of food to eat so she could swallow her pain pills for her hangover headache she was bound to have more easily. 

He smashed into the ground, sending soil scattering in every direction. With Mjolnir held high, he met the first attacker with a skull crushing blow. Quickly the dark army turned its furious gaze upon him and moved, almost as one, to surround Odinson. Thor called down the aid of lightening, fighting hard against an ever growing tide.

Long, sharp swords found their way past Thor's defenses. He cried out, swinging the hammer with desperate fury. A loud and sudden crash echoed behind him and Thor-

Woke up in the common area with Mjolnir in hand and, still in a sleepy haze, threw it at the kitchen. He immediately realized his mistake and thrust out his hand to summon it back. The hammer stopped just short of a man's head who knelt in the kitchen. Thor breathed a deep sigh of relief. With Mjolnir now back in his grip, Thor stood up from the couch he had dozed on.

Once standing, he recognized the man he'd almost maimed to be Steve. “My apologies, Rogers,” Thor yawned, still feeling slightly groggy. He blinked his eyes and rubbed them a few times, staring again at the Captain. Apparently he had decided to wear nothing but undergarments. A strange choice for the usually modest man. Thor placed his hammer down and proceeded to the kitchen. “If you desire breakfast my friend, you need only ask.”

The silence was almost deafening. There were sounds, obviously. The low hum of electricity. The soft whir of the fans that kept airflow within his…abode. These sounds were normal. Boring.  He stretched his arms, casually brushing his fingers against the glass of the walls that surrounded him. He could feel the subtle pressure against his skin, the sort of force his own wards generated. He’d placed them there to keep him aware of any… intrusions. They were benign unless activated, of course. They would be extraordinarily difficult to notice, unless one knew what to look for. He knew his own presence recorded far more energy than his wards would. 

Regardless…he was bored. Days of meditation had brought him a calm he’d almost forgotten he was capable of, but even that passed into boredom.  

Thor had been absent, lately. More focused on his mortal friends. Perhaps it was time to pay him a…visit.  Loki chuckled at the thought, and sank gracefully into a seated position on the floor, hands resting lightly on his knees. 

It was easy to slip into the sort of trance necessary to project himself elsewhere. Thor was likely to be found in his room or in the kitchens, preparing some sort of meal. He felt weightless as his consciousness floated, searching for some sign of Thor. Ah…there he was.  

The smoking crater caught his attention first, followed by the charred remains of his Audi R8. He swore under his breath as he landed beside it, seeing how far the damage extended and a crowd of people gathering quickly. Going through a number of possible scenarios that could have led to this point, he asked JARVIS to scan the perimeter for any more explosives or danger, as well as a full report on all recent visitors to the Tower and the security footage from the garage, then noticed Bucky and Thor. Something like worry hit his gut when he saw how badly the Norse God was injured.

“What the hell happened?” He asked despite having already putting two and two together and not really needing the answer. He didn’t have as much information on Asgardian biology as he would have liked, and that wasn’t really his field of expertise anyway, but Tony didn’t need it to tell him that with a bloody puncture wound in his chest and burns across his skin, Thor probably needed medical attention.

“This is bad,” he said redundantly, looking over to Bucky. “I could use some help getting those people out of here. Until the authorities get here and JARVIS finishes his scans everyone in the surrounding area is at risk. I need to work out how this happened and check on Thor and I can’t do that properly knowing they might still be in danger too.”

He turned his attention to Thor, who, to his credit, was standing upright, even if it was with Bucky’s help, but with those injuries looking as bad as they did Tony needed to check on him personally.

He started his bike, taking off after locking the storage hold. He drove through the city, eventually finding where the blast had happened. “Alright, which one of you was playing with the firewo—,” he trailed off, seeing Thor looking pretty bad. “Geez, what happened?” he asked, moving to Thor to inspect the wound. Deep red blood was sliding down his chest over his armour, and it was not looking good. 

Thor turned to the other man that had arrived. He rolled his eyes when Logan began inspecting him. "I am well, Logan. Though, still confused as to what precisely has occurred."