POV: Amora
Near the Triskelion, Theodore Roosevelt Island
Potomac River, Between Washington D.C. and Virginia.
Minutes Before the Start of the Sentinel Project.
"Cursed beasts!"
A frustrated shout accompanied another surge of pure energy, striking my three enemies and forcing them to retreat. I had certainly underestimated them; their armors may not be as powerful as the Destroyer's, but they were crafted from Carbonadium. Because of that, I needed to be extremely cautious not to get too close.
Even though I couldn't approach them closely, they wouldn't be a problem if the blasted Iron Viper weren't controlling them. These robots lacked an artificial intelligence guiding them, so they likely operated on simpler thought processes. However, under the control of the armored woman, they were acting in an organized manner, creating opportunities for her to strike me with her sword. To make matters worse, my spells didn't work well on undead beings, a weakness I regretted not giving more attention to.
Even amidst my battle, I couldn't help but observe the situation of my allies. We were clearly failing in our mission. Six of these machines were giving a hard time to all the Avengers present. Rogers was putting up a good fight against them on the Helicarrier, but he lacked the firepower to take down the armors. Fortunately, the Winter Soldier couldn't control them like my enemy could; otherwise, he'd be in a dire position. The most regrettable of all was the Rookie; he had lost his wings during the fight and was now running inside the Triskelion, fleeing. He darted down the stairs, dodging the Sentinel's shots like a madman.
Meanwhile, the three Helicarriers were nearing altitude to execute their attack, and none of us were in a position to place the damn cards in the right spots.
My three airborne enemies recovered once again and attacked me. The machines were no longer firing energy; they had transformed their hands into swords, a clear sign that their controller was becoming adept at fighting against mages. In the air, I dodged the two robots to face Iron Viper once more and her sword. I performed a small teleportation to dodge, but she fired her repulsors in the direction I appeared. I created a shield of green energy to defend myself. In that split second, while I stood still, one of the machines looped around in the air, positioning itself behind me. I spun my body and fired a blast of green energy at its face, sending it flying.
The second robot also joined the fray, forcing me to dodge once again. We continued this game for a few minutes until I started to get really irritated. Aerial combat was certainly not my forte, so I flew towards the Helicarrier I was stationed on.
{Amora, are you listening?}
On the way, Natasha spoke to me through the communicator.
"Speak quickly; I'm not in the mood for a chat right now."
{It's the Helicarriers. We need to find a way to delay them. In a few seconds, they'll be in position.}
"You're asking me to delay three buildings-sized ships?"
{Is it possible?}
"Yes, it's possible, but my enemies won't wait for me to accomplish such a feat!"
I replied after blasting one of the Hydra ships that tried to obstruct my path.
{Understood. Reinforcements are on their way; I'll send them to you immediately. But until they arrive, try to somehow make them lose sight of you. We don't have much time.}
"Easy for you to say!" I yelled back at her.
I landed back on the deck, which was ablaze and strewn with debris from the beginning of my fight. The three adversaries didn't take long to join me, landing a few meters away.
"By the Rings of Raggadorr!"
This time, I would forget about defense and go on the offensive. As I spun my free hand, nine rings of blue energy enveloped the bodies of the two machines, tightening around them, but it wouldn't last long.
"By the Chains of Krakkan!"
The second spell unleashed chains from my fingers, reinforcing the imprisonment of the robots. Iron Viper ignored her toys and attacked me once more with her sword. I defended myself with the staff handle and smiled at her, then I cast my next spell, catching her off guard.
"By the Frozen Tentacles of Ikthalon!"
Around the two of us, an iceberg formed, trapping us inside. Using Midgardian magic without hand movements was something I had recently mastered, saving it as a trump card for moments like this.
I teleported out of the ice, leaving my enemy trapped. She was still alive, giving me a few seconds until she and the robots broke free, enough time for me to deal with the Helicarrier issue.
I soared upward using a wind-type spell, ascending higher and higher above the three Helicarriers.
"Natasha, reinforcements are indeed coming. I gained a few seconds, and I'll use them to stop these cursed Helicarriers, but I'll be completely defenseless while doing so."
Up there, I quickly brainstormed ways to gain time. Unfortunately, I lacked the firepower to destroy them all at once; a spell of such scale needed to be cast from a power site.
It didn't take long for another option to present itself.
"Damn myself for agreeing to get mixed up in this mess!"
(I'm not fond of trusting strangers, but I don't have much of a choice.)
Midgard's Extradimensional Magic differed from Asgardian magic; one used the energy of Asgard itself, while Earth's sorcerers drew energy from other dimensions. Because of this, even though I learned magic from them, I couldn't use it to its full potential, as the entities I invoked didn't fully accept me. But there were exceptions, of course. After Baldur gained his own dimension by stealing power from the Entity, I could connect with him, using his magical power. He never denied me access or power from his dimension, but after my banishment, I never attempted to access it.
(But the current situation calls for it.) I thought, trying to muster some courage.
The time I gained by restraining the three enemies was running out; the two armors had already freed themselves and were now releasing Iron Viper. The Quinjets, which had previously focused on the Rookie, were now heading in my direction too. I ignored them, closed my eyes, and tried to connect with that power. With my arms outstretched, I spoke calmly.
"By the power of Baldur!"
My calm voice echoed through the sky, and then I felt it. There was no excitement or anticipation; he simply accepted my plea the moment my words were spoken.
"STOP!" I shouted now with authority.
My body was enveloped in pure golden energy, which surged and became three columns of energy that struck the three Helicarriers. The golden energy was like a liquid, enveloping all three. There was no outward change in their state, except that now they stopped in the air. Well, they continued moving, but so slowly that it was imperceptible.
"A great feat of magic," I said to myself, hovering in the air.
"Unfortunately, it won't last long."
To maintain this spell, I have to stand still leaving myself totally vulnerable to attack, and now, looking down, I see my three enemies coming towards me along with several Quinjets. Unfortunately, they left the Helicarrier before my magic hit them.
POV: Third Person.
Near the Triskelion, Theodore Roosevelt Island
Potomac River, Between Washington D.C. and Virginia.
At the Same Moment.
"I didn't say it was going to work!?"
Stark shouted as he plummeted at high speed toward the battle.
"We barely made it, and almost ended up sinking the new Base in the Atlantic Ocean!" his friend Bruce replied over the communicator, flying by his side in a suit similar to his own.
"No matter if it was a close call or not, what matters is the succe... what the hell is that!"
What caught Stark by surprise was his sensors capturing the sight of the battlefield: three gigantic ships surrounded by a golden aura suspended in the air. Several Quinjets were flying toward a woman in green leather garb with her arms raised in the air, holding a staff. The same golden energy that surrounded the ships enveloped her. But what truly made Stark yell at the top of his lungs with all these astonishing things happening simultaneously was an armor with the same design as his flying amidst two other large robots.
"The Hydra bastards stole my armor!" Stark yelled.
"That woman is Baldur's wife. She seems immobilized; we have to go help her," Bruce said.
"The Hydra bastards stole my armor!"
"Tony!" Bruce shouted, getting his friend's attention.
While Bruce had the same armor as Stark, he lacked the expertise to control it. So, to avoid accidents during his jump, he put Jarvis in charge of his armor.
"The Hydra bastards stole my armor!"
After the same shout was repeated, Stark sped toward them at high speed. From his shoulders, several small missiles were fired, precisely hitting all the Quinjets, exploding them in the air. He then positioned himself in front of Iron Viper and the two Sentinels and fired with his repulsors, hitting both Sentinels and causing them to fall. Then he and the green armor collided in mid-air. Stark didn't miss the chance to grab her, causing them both to spin in the air.
"I'm going to sue you!" he shouted at the other armor, which made no effort to respond.
She simply kicked Stark's abdomen with her knee, separating them. At that moment, she attacked with her sword, making a deep cut in the Iron Man armor's body. He hadn't noticed the sword before, but now he erased the idea of close combat from his mind and fired again with his hand, hitting the green armor and sending her flying away.
"Stark? Finally!" a voice shouted through his communicator.
"Natasha? Missed me?" he asked, sounding smug.
"We don't have time for jokes now. You need to take care of the woman in the green armor and the Sentinels. Don't let them interfere with Amora. Whatever she did, it stopped the Helicarriers from moving or attacking you," Natasha instructed.
"So, business as usual, defeat the villains, and blow up a few things."
"I'm going to help Sam now. Is Bruce with you?" she asked.
"I'm here, Natasha," he replied.
"Great. Now turn green and go help Steve; he's having trouble too."
"I didn't want to use the green code, but given the situation..." Bruce sighed, hating to summon his other half.
"Wait. Who's Sam?" Stark asked, confused.
"The Captain's new recruit."
"So my theory was correct. He really had secret dreams of starting his own Boy Band."
Stark had to stop joking when one of the Sentinels, as Natasha called it, attacked him with its blade-shaped arm in the air. Stark spun his body to dodge and fired a red laser from his wrist, trying to cut it in half. But the Sentinel raised its arm, which changed from black to silver, and when the laser hit it, it was reflected in another direction.
"Shape-shifting, neat!" he said, backing away. But as he did, the Sentinel aimed its arm at him and fired its own repulsor, hitting Stark squarely.
"How many of my projects did these damn thieves steal?" Stark asked after regaining control of his armor and then attacking the Sentinel.
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