The Dark Witch: Rising (Avengers Fanfic)

Chapter 20

Ignoring the battle around me I entered Stark's penthouse and strained to breathe from the energy wave being emitted above me.

"Would this be a good time to get a drink?"

"Riley!" Barton scolds at my words.

"It's been a long day!" I shout back, equally frustrated.

Tony chuckles from the earpiece. "Bottom shelf, top corner. Knock yourself out."

"Thank you," I murmured and followed his instructions, finding a lovely bottle of scotch.

Uncorking it, I decided not to use a glass and just downed it, the spicy bitter feeling numbed my senses and lessen the pain that was eating away at my body.

"Hawkeye!"

I placed the bottle down when I heard Natasha's worried tone.

"Nat, what are you doing?" Clint says in disbelief.

Racing outside, I am shocked to see Natasha on a Chariot furiously avoiding Loki's attacks.

"Uh, little help?" She was racing towards Stark Towers and I geared up preparing to catch her if she falls.

The Chariot swings by Clint and he shoots an arrow. Loki grabbed it before it hit his face with ease and turns to Barton with a smirk.

The tip of the bow beeped blue and exploded.

I grinned as Loki crashes onto the balcony, glass shattering. The sceptre lay beside him, as he groaned, obviously pained.

"Yeah, screw you, you insidious Christmas tree!"

Natasha flies above the Towers and abruptly drops on the roof, I weaved a hand and gently set her down by the beacon.

"Thank you," She hummed.

"You're welcome-" And... the insidious Christmas tree is back up again.

Loki lunges forward but is stopped when a loud roar broke through the balcony.

I dodged, narrowly missing the hulk who crashed through to Loki and sent him flying inside the penthouse.

Blinking rapidly, I'm astonished by what just happened.

Did he really just-

"Enough!" Loki yells getting to his feet as shards of glass fly out of his green cape. The hulk slowed his attack, obviously confused.

"You are, all of you beneath me! I'm a god you dull creature and I will not be bullied by-"

He doesn't finish because Hulk grabs hold of his leg and begins to madly slam him against the floor multiple times.

Left right, left right, left-left-right.

Hulk then releases him and struts away with a huff. "Puny god."

The sights leave me laughing shitless as I yell out to Loki. "What was that? You didn't finish!"

Hulk faces me with a glare and I held my hands up in surrender. "We good, big guy?"

He doesn't say anything but throws a vase that would've hit my head if I didn't slow it.

I faced him with a scowl. "Okay, now we're even."

He jumps out of the tower and I ran out to the balcony to see the glowing beam above the tower.

"Natasha?!"

"Up top!" I see her face peeking from the edge.

"Hang on," Unsheathing my blades I forged them to shorter so I could use them as picks to dig at the wall as I climb.

The effort left me nearly breathless but I pulled through. She grabs onto my arm and we both rolled over on the upper roof.

There's blood trickling down her forehead and a busted lip marred her mouth.

"You look like shit." I chuckled.

She glares. "So do you."

Natasha gets to her feet but I was slower. My gaze is to the Tesseract.

It was right there.

Even now as I stayed on the ground, I feel the power beneath my fingertips, running through my veins, pulsing back and forth between giving and taking.

How much more will it take before it's too late?

It's already taken so much from me.

My unknown childhood, my forgotten memories. That path was laid in front of me, all because of these powers.

"The sceptre..."

A figure is laying on the edge of the roof.

Its Selvig.

"Doctor?" Natasha looks at him.

"Loki's sceptre. The energy." The doctor explains painfully, his eyes blurry and unfocused. "The Tesseract can't fight but you can't protect against yourself."

He was jabbering away and I gave Natasha a look to which she promptly ignored.

"It's not your fault. You didn't know what you were doing."

Selvig stares at Natasha, long and hard. "Well actually, I think I did." He looks over the edge. "I built in a safety to cut the power source."

Safety? An escape hatch!

"Loki's sceptre." Natasha blinks in understanding.

"It might be able to close the portal... and I'm looking right at it."

The gem lays glowing beneath us like a beacon. My mind fizzled out and I shook my head, trying to get rid of the voice.

That stupid voice Loki says I had.

It warned me. Over and over.

But this has to happen. It has too.

"Riley, you mind?" Natasha nodded at the sceptre.

How can I tell her that my abilities had wandered off? That they were practically draining away with the Tesseract?

"Nat, I'm drained," I said honestly, hoping she didn't see the obvious fatigue that plundered my body.

She nods and I know she's disappointed but she doesn't question it as she climbs off the roof, heading down inch by inch.

Once she is gone, I flip around to face the very thing that has destroyed my life.

That has gained me these abilities.

"You. You were there." Selvig's words made me stop. "While I was under its control, I could see you on the other side."

I breathe a sharp inhale. "I'm connected to it."

"Then you know what happens if two of the same energy collides."

I know. I know what will happen.

The connection would be severed.

And I along with it.