Hiding in the Shadows

Chapter 41 - The Invasion

Loki trained with me for a week before having to head back to Asgard. In that week I got little sleep as we could only train late at night, but my skills had grown tremendously. I could now create solid illusions of myself, ones that would not dissipate when touched as all my previous ones had, and had discovered how to more efficiently use my magic.

When Loki left, he gave me strict instructions as to what I should continue working on as well as going over the plan with me once more. I had to admit, I did miss him when he left. I wasn't used to having someone around who shared my talent and could teach me so much, and I enjoyed verbally sparring with him. Everything I had learned up to that point was rudimentary and self-taught. But now I had advanced skills that made me more unstoppable.

About a month later, I realized that the time of action was approaching, making me a little nervous that I would fail at my task. However the first step of the plan for me was simply to try to get involved in the fight, but end up staying behind so that I could meet up with Loki once he arrived. He planned on faking his death again and then joining me to go to Wakanda, where the final showdown would occur. I was upset that I wouldn't be able to fight by Peter's side on Titan, but I knew that this was the only way to save his life.

Peter and Ned sat together on the bus ride to our school field trip the day of the invasion, while MJ and I shared a seat. I tried to calm my nerves and act as though I didn't know that we were about to receive two ambassadors for probably the most powerful being in the galaxy, but I noticed myself fidgeting a lot more than was normal. Thankfully MJ didn't seem to pick up on that, or if she did she didn't say anything.

I noticed Peter sit up suddenly, peering out the window, before whispering something to Ned. I looked up with Ned to see what was going on, noticing a donut shaped spaceship descending onto New York. Ned immediately starting panicking, crying out something about everyone going to die, while Peter leapt up from his seat and used the chaos to slip out of bus window, making eye contact with me before disappearing from view.

Making sure that everyone was still focused on the ship, I teleported closer to where the ship was descending, quickly changing into my suit as soon as I landed. Tony, Bruce, and two other men I didn't recognize were talking with the two aliens that Thanos had sent. It didn't take long for Tony to piss him off, my cue to jump into action with them.

"Tony, how many times must I tell you that your sarcasm's gonna get you killed," I reprimanded my father as I threw a ball of energy at the reptilian-looking alien. "It's nice to see you again, Bruce."

"Do I know you?" He asked, clearly very confused, making me remember that he has been missing and therefore wasn't aware of my identity.

"We'll explain later, now you need to focus on getting the Other Guy out," Tony ordered, sending a glare my way. "And you, Shadow, you need to stay out of this."

"No I don't, you clearly need backup, so I'm backup," I replied, turning back to the aliens in front of us.

"This is an alien invasion, (Y/N), go back to the compound and alert the other Avengers. I will not have you risking your life against such a threat."

"Oh, but you'll let Spider-Man do that?" I questioned, actually feeling a bit angry knowing that Peter was going to join Tony on Titan but he didn't think I was capable enough to.

"What are you talking about, of course I'm not going to let Spider-Man join the fight! And if he comes I'll send him back to the compound as well. Now go home, Shadow, the most important role you can play is getting the other Avengers here to join in the fight," Tony argued, causing me to huff in frustration although I was secretly glad that a moment had come that I could head back to the compound.

However, that's not where I chose to teleport. Instead, I opened my eyes to the skyline of Manhattan, one that I had grown used to when we actually lived in the building I was now standing on top of. Memories came flooding back to me, memories of the good times I had spent at Stark Tower.

"I was wondering if you were ever going to show up," Loki spoke from behind me, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Well I kinda had to fight with my dad so that I could get sent away and avoid suspicions. So, what's the plan until Thanos gets here? My father doesn't own this tower anymore, so we won't be able to stay here for long," I replied, keeping my eye on the door that led out the ledge we were standing atop of.

"You still get exhausted teleported long distances?" He questioned, clearly having multiple plans percolating.

"If you mean to Wakanda, then yes. But I'm sure I'll be able to rejuvenate in no time."

Loki shook his head, "we don't want to risk that. Besides, I wanted to do some last minute training with you in case our plan goes awry. Is there a quinjet at the compound we can steal?"

A smile spread across my face, "of course there is."

I took Loki's arm in mine and teleported the both of us to the hangar bay. All of the quinjets were accounted for, which let me know that the Avengers hadn't left for Wakanda yet. I knew it was only a matter of time before they realized that they needed to get the mind stone out of Vision, so I tried to be as efficient as possible as I slipped into the pilot's seat of one of the quinjets.

After hacking into the system to allow my take off, disable alarms, and disable the tracker on the ship, I prayed that I still remembered my flying lessons from Natasha and Steve as I few the quinjet out of the hangar.

"You do know what you're doing, correct?" Loki inquired as I flew us into the sky.

I glanced up at him as I turned the ship onto stealth mode, "it's a little late to be asking that now, isn't it? Landing is the hardest part about flying a plane and now I really have no choice but to land."

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(A/N): it's opening night of my musical, but I'm taking my bit of resting time to post this! I hope that you enjoy the chapter!