ARCHANGEL (Marvel Fanfiction)

Chapter 22. His Decision

Loki stood there clenching his fist. Watching Elizabeth fighting alone down there, harmed, wounded, and worn out, almost drove him insane.

But...

If what The Other said was true, that New York City was once again attacked, there's extremely little chance that earth will live through. Humans, along with him if he stayed with her, will be killed like insects. Every nerve in his body screamed that they wanted to survive.

He must keep on living, even if that meant leaving Elizabeth alone to die.

He cursed himself for his selfishness, but at the same time, he braced his survival instinct that had kept him alive until now. He could only hope that Thor or his new friends would come for her.

He fought the urge to go down there and fight with her, as he quietly grew proud of that girl's strength and persistence. She was, undoubtedly, one of the strongest women he ever knew. Her grace and power during the fight was so close to those of Valkyrie of Asgard.

The scene of that battle looked like it came out from a masterpiece painting of an angel fighting against many demons.

When she built that barrier, Loki could see that she was exhausted. Her energy must have run out.

As if it's not entertaining enough for him, The Other then decided to control the Leviathan to push through her barrier, and Loki must hold back his tongue from disagreeing or that blue monster could suspect him of treason.

She kneeled and rested on her sword, refusing to fall down. She stayed like that for quite a moment, Loki was afraid she passed out. The barrier broke here and there, some Chitauri could put their arms through it.

His breathing got heavier at the thought of her dying in front of him with her body torn apart by Chitauri.

Just before he decided to jump to her side, Elizabeth lifted her head up, determination radiated from her face. A second later, her eyes started glowing yellow.

Loki gaped his mouth.

She still had that much power in that tiny body? If she kept going on like this, it might eat her life up. He knew some people who died devoured by their own power. It was too much than their body could handle.

She grunted as she strengthened her barrier, repaired the torn parts and made it thicker.

Just as he feared, blood flowed down from both of her nostrils, a sign that her body was giving up. Loki narrowed his eyebrows, his heart rate went up.

"She's a fighter," said The Other, "But not for long." Loki turned his head towards The Other. Only now, after he saw Elizabeth's dangerous state, he felt the incredibly strong drive to just let her live. It didn't matter if his life was the price he had to pay.

The Other drove the Leviathan to push harder at the barrier. Elizabeth trembled and she screamed as she fought back. Her struggling voice was like a dagger stabbing on his heart. The last time he felt this upset was when he found out that he was adopted.

She kept on withstanding it. Loki flinched when he saw blood, now also running down from her ears, down to her neck and her dress.

She's on the brink of her death. She didn't see that the energy inside her was destroying her body.

Loki realized then. Elizabeth didn't know that she actually never ran out of energy. Just like those people who were killed by their own power, most of the energy stayed dormant in Elizabeth's body cells. When it was forced to come out, it consumed her.

Whenever she felt weak, it was never because she ran out of energy. It was because her body was withering away from taking too much power.

He couldn't take it anymore. Her life was in grave danger.

In a blink of an eye, he moved to her side.

"You've done enough. I'll take it from here." He spoke.

"And you'll let them kill those people, won't you?" She said without turning her eyes away from the Chitauri in front of them. Her voice was barely heard.

"No. I won't. I give you my word, please let me handle this." He pleaded. The longer she put out that much force, the bigger his fear grew.

Elizabeth slowly struggled to stand on her feet again, showing him that she was still strong, even when she knew she wasn't.

"Elizabeth-"

"Piss off." Her voice could only come out as a weak whisper. What was his problem? Why did he try so hard to help her now when he chose to leave her earlier?

Loki took a deep breath. Suddenly, he put his hand on her head and said forcefully, "Sleep."

In most cases his magic wouldn't work on her, but at that moment, she was awfully weak. He could get into her head without very much effort.

The glow in her eyes died as they rolled back, her knees lost their strength, and she fell forward. Loki caught her in his arms and gently put her on the ground, stroking her hair shortly before he turned back.

Lying on her side, she vaguely saw the God of Mischief standing against The Other and his army before she couldn't hold the weight on her eyes anymore.

***

Elizabeth had stopped using her power and was resting on the ground. The energy barrier gradually disappeared. The Other and the Chitauri went closer to him slowly.

Now what?

"Well?" The Other spoke with suspicion.

Loki put on his best smile. "Instead of playing around, why don't we head straight to New York and ensure that the invasion is going well?"

He sneered. "My army is hungry. As their general it is only right that I feed them." He waved his hand and the bloodthirsty Chitauri stormed ahead beastly.

Loki created an illusion in their head and made them saw him growing a wall from the ground behind him. It succeeded to make them stop.

"I'm afraid I couldn't allow that," he said firmly.

"Then you are just as foolish as I thought you'd be," he smirked, as if he's satisfied with Loki's decision. "With this, you have declared your disloyalty and ungratefulness to my lord, and for it, you must die."

The Chitauri roared and lashed out at Loki. Undaunted, he put his horned crown on and took out his daggers.