[ Location: New York City - Airspace above Midtown ][ Date: 2012 - The Battle of New York ]
The transition was violent. One second, silence. The next, a roar that shook my bones.
We popped into existence two thousand feet in the air and below us, Manhattan was burning.
Chitauri chariots zoomed past like angry hornets. Buildings were crumbling into dust and right in the center, a beam of blue light shot up from Stark Tower, ripping the sky open like a zipper.
The air didn't just smell normal.
It tasted like Terror.
Millions of people screaming.
'Delicious.'
My chest burned as the Stone of Avarice and the Clown inside me inhaled the ambient fear.
[ Passive Active: Fear Eater. ][ Aether: Overcharged (150%). ]
"Beautiful," Esdeath breathed, free-falling beside me.
She was grinning like a shark. "A battlefield."
She snapped her fingers.
CRACK.
The water in the air froze instantly and a massive slide of ice appeared beneath her boots. She surfed down it, laughing, making icicles that skewered three Chitauri flyers before she even touched the ground.
'Show off.'
I used gravity.
'Telekinesis: Heavy Fall.'
[ Ability Active. ]
I dropped straight down, moving faster than a falling rock. I aimed for a Chitauri chariot zipping between buildings.
Impact.
I landed on the alien pilot. Crunch. The force vaporized the vehicle. I rode the wreckage down to the pavement, landing in a crouch that cracked the street.
I stood up, dusting off my trench coat.
Esdeath landed gracefully on an ice pillar nearby.
She looked around at the people running away screaming.
She frowned.
"They are running," she sneered. "Pathetic. Their Weakness annoys me. I should freeze them just to stop the noise."
"Don't touch the locals," I ordered, stepping up beside her. "They're the bait and the fuel."
Esdeath turned to me, her blue eyes narrowing dangerously. "Are you commanding me, Vivan? That's very bold."
"I'm the Team Leader," I smirked, my voice deeper in this form. "And if you freeze the bait, the prey won't come to us. Look."
I pointed up.
A Leviathan—one of those massive, armored space whales—was turning the corner around Grand Central Station. It roared, smashing through the corner of a skyscraper, raining glass and concrete onto the street.
Captain America and Black Widow were down the block, firing uselessly at its thick armor.
"It's huge," Esdeath's eyes lit up. "I want to hunt it."
She raised her hand. "Mahapadma..."
"No," I grabbed her wrist. "Save the time stop. I want to try something new."
"You?" Esdeath raised an eyebrow, looking at my sword. "You are going to cut it with that little Sword?"
"No," I said, my eyes flashing Orange. "I'm going to break its reality."
I walked into the middle of the street, directly in the monster's path.
It saw me. It roared, opening a mouth filled with rows of spinning teeth. It sped up, ready to crush me.
'Reality Warping.'
'Let's see if it bends.'
I raised my right hand.
I twisted.
'Spatial Fold.'
[ Ability Active: Reality Warping (Deadlights Essence). ]
The air in front of the Leviathan broke. I grabbed the fabric of space around the beast and wrung it out like a wet towel.
SCREEEEE—CRACK.
The sound was wrong.
The Leviathan folded in on itself. The head phased through the tail. The armor turned into something soft, like putty, before hardening again into a twisted, impossible knot of meat and metal.
The massive whale collapsed into a ball of scrap, defying gravity for a second before crashing to the pavement.
I flicked my wrist.
The ball flew sideways, smashing into a swarm of Chitauri chariots, taking them out like bowling pins.
BOOM.
Silence fell on the street.
Captain America lowered his shield, staring.
Black Widow's mouth was slightly open.
I turned back to Esdeath.
The Aether hummed in my veins.
I smiled.
It wasn't a smirk.
It wasn't arrogant.
It was a genuine, bright, "pure" smile of someone who just realized how strong they really were.
"Ice is cool, General," I said cheerfully. "But warping reality is fun."
Esdeath stared at me.
She looked at the twisted whale. She looked at how relaxed I was standing in the middle of a war zone and then she looked at my smile.
Her pupils got huge. A blush—real and honest—crept up her pale neck.
'He is strong,' her thoughts practically radiated off her. 'He destroys without hesitation. But he smiles like a pure child. He is... perfect.'
She walked up to me, ignoring the Avengers completely.
She stepped right into my personal space, looking up at my face.
"Vivan," she purred, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "When this is over... I am going to keep you."
I blinked. "Keep me? Like a pet?"
"Like a mate," she whispered, tracing a finger down my chest. "Do not die or I will kill you myself."
'...I think I just seduced a war criminal. Is this a win? This feels like a win and a threat.'
"Uh... noted," I cleared my throat. "Let's climb the tower."
[ Location: Stark Tower - The Ascent ][ Time: 2:15 PM ]
"Hey!" Captain America jogged over. "You two! Who are you!"
"You don't need to know" I said, drawing my Chakra Sword.
The blade glowed white with Aether.
"Are you with SHIELD?" Cap asked.
"Ugh!! We are freelancers," I said. "We're going to the roof to close the portal."
"The roof is swarming," Cap warned. "Thor is up there fighting Loki."
"Good," Esdeath drew her rapier. "I hope the 'Loki' puts up a fight."
"We need a lift," I said, looking up at the tower.
It was too high to jump in one go.
"I can create stairs," Esdeath offered.
"Too slow."
I pointed at a passing Chitauri chariot.
'Telekinesis: Yank.'
I pulled the pilot off. He fell screaming.
"Get on," I told Esdeath, hopping onto the alien vehicle.
She climbed on behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. Tight. Very tight.
"Hold on," I said.
We shot up the side of the building.
Chitauri soldiers fired at us.
"Weissschnabel!" Esdeath shouted.
Hundreds of icicles launched from her free hand, skewering the aliens mid-air. She was laughing. She was having the time of her life.
The chariot jerked.
The alien controls were locked.
'Annoying.'
'Hive Mind Control.'
[ Ability Active: Hive Mind Control (Mind Flayer Origin). ]
I reached out with my mind.
I hacked the signal. As the Chitauri were a hive mind. I slammed my will into the local frequency.
'OBEY.'
The chariot stabilized instantly. Nearby Chitauri flyers paused, confused by the conflicting command.
"Clear path," I grinned, accelerating.
We crested the roof.
[ Location: The Penthouse Balcony ]
We crashed the chariot onto the landing pad.
Loki was there and he looked messy.
Hulk had just... left the building (judging by the crater in the floor).
Loki saw us and saw the glowing sword.
He saw the ice spreading from Esdeath's boots.
"More ants?" Loki sneered, standing up.
He held the Scepter.
The Mind Stone glowed menacingly.
"I am no ant, Green animal," Esdeath stepped forward, her aura flaring blue. "I am the Empire's Strongest."
"And I," I said, my eyes flashing Violet, "am here for your stick."
Loki raised the Scepter. "You will kneel."
He fired a blast of blue energy.
I didn't dodge.
'Absorb.'
I caught the blast with my left hand.
My AetherCore drank the energy, converting it to Aether.
Loki's eyes widened. "What..."
"Wrong move," I said.
I moved.
Not with speed, but with Apparition.
CRACK.
I appeared instantly in front of him and grabbed the Scepter.
"Let go," I ordered.
Loki struggled. "You cannot... I am a God!"
"Puny God," I quoted.
I headbutted him.
THWACK.
Loki stumbled back, dazed.
I ripped the Scepter from his grip.
The blue gem hummed in my hand. It felt... heavy. Like it contained a universe of thought.
'The Mind Stone.'
Esdeath walked up, kicking Loki in the ribs to keep him down. She looked at me, her eyes hungry.
"You have it," she said. "Now what?"
"Now," I said, feeling the stone resonate with my maxed-out Telekinesis.
"I-"
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