POV: Baldur.
HYDRA Research Base, Sokovia
Bordering Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Two Weeks Later.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The Hydra artillery explosions bombard the forest around their installation, setting it ablaze. The energy shots from the weapons, created using remnants of Chitauri technology, wreak havoc. All of this is an attempt to delay us or, with a bit of luck, intimidate us.
"You were right, brother, this battle does not disappoint me!" Thor says beside me, smiling.
We're a few kilometers away from the forest being bombed, standing on a small hill with a clear view of everything.
"It just takes a bit of patience, my brother," I say to him.
Then, a bit behind us, Angela lands, riding Sleipnir. She dismounts and joins us.
"Thor's been annoying you for two weeks, Baldur, and now that the battle's begun, he's here just watching," she says to me.
"I'm waiting for the attack order, sister, and only Baldur can give it," Thor says.
"I'm not the leader of the Avengers, Thor."
{Agreed, of course, the leader is me,} Stark interrupts, speaking through the communicator.
{I'd rather leave the Avengers than obey you, Stark,} Clint says next.
"Stop fooling around, let's begin the attack," Steve intervenes before a fight breaks out.
After several days of putting the plan into action, we're finally about to reap the rewards. A few days ago, Stark finally managed to access the information we stole, and it did not disappoint. We obtained a list of all the top Hydra members worldwide.
Before, we were pretending to follow the orders of the UN, so we didn't attack their other bases. But once we got the list, we moved immediately.
First, we posted the information online to justify our actions and not give the culprits a chance to pretend innocence. While chaos ensued, we coordinated the attack with the Wardogs, then struck simultaneously.
We captured many, killed many as well. Of course, some managed to escape, but they fled to where we wanted them to go: Sokovia.
Our action created a significant public reaction, but the majority supported us. With the names, we could also investigate them, and all this information was made accessible to everyone. As a result, other nations were left powerless.
With all the snakes in one place, the final battle began with the appearance of the Níðhöggr signal a few kilometers from the Research Base. The base's aerial defenses proved futile; all the shots and ships it launched couldn't penetrate Níðhöggr's force field.
Our attack was swift and precise. In seconds, the enemy ships were destroyed. Normally, I wouldn't mind bombarding the base to end the fight, but it was protected by the force field. An attack with Níðhöggr's maximum power would be enough to break this shield, but it would take down the entire base, and civilians inside it, as well as our new allies.
Níðhöggr didn't take any further action after that, but its presence left Hydra completely frightened. They began firing mortars and all their weapons into the forest surrounding their installation; I think their goal was to pressure us. But this is clearly a bluff; they don't have enough energy to sustain an attack of this level for long. Bruce and Stark agreed with this assessment too, so we just watched from afar, waiting.
A few minutes later, the shots stopped.
"How kind of them to create a proper battlefield for us," I say, looking ahead.
"What do you mean?" Thor asks.
"Are you truly chosen to be king? Look at what's left of the forest; now we can move much better," Angela responds.
Hydra's bombardment destroyed the forest, which is actually advantageous for us. Fighting in the midst of trees is very difficult, but now the path is much wider.
"Steve, are we ready?" I ask through the communicator.
{We're ready.}
"Now, Alice!"
With my command, Alice teleported all the Avengers members who were on Níðhöggr to the ground. They were divided into groups at four different points around the base to separate Hydra's attacking forces. This was already happening; from inside the Base, a large number of men with heavy weaponry began advancing through the destroyed forest, ready to take their positions. Behind them, several tank-like vehicles also emerged. It didn't take long for the attack to begin.
"Now, you two, why don't you take your positions," I tell my siblings.
"I'm on my way now!" Thor replies, spinning his hammer and flying upwards.
"I'll take the long way around," Angela says, drawing her sword and running into battle.
She could use Sleipnir to get to her position, but she chose to cut through enemy lines.
"She's certainly much smarter than Thor, but there's a lot of Asgard in her," a voice beside me says. Amora appears, holding her staff.
"The hunger for battle is something all Asgardians possess; it's just those who know how to control it better."
Amora simply smiles at me. Actually, I'm surprised she's still helping the Avengers, but knowing her, it must be because she already agreed to help Steve before, so she'll only stop helping them when it's all over.
"It's time to join the fight, Baldur," Amora says, looking towards the horizon.
While the Avengers are fighting against the ground troops, Amora and I are waiting for Hydra's trump card to reveal itself. It doesn't take long for some Sentinels to fly out of the castle's force field and quickly head towards my friends. They were smart not to fly too high; if they did, Níðhöggr would have hit them.
"They're more numerous than I thought," I say, counting ten Sentinels.
"Perhaps they've prioritized quantity over quality," Amora suggests.
"I suppose we'll find out."
Then, I soar through the sky towards the Sentinels, while Amora simply glows green, and when I look ahead, I see her already in battle.
POV: Third Person
HYDRA Research Base, Sokovia
Bordering Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
At the Beginning of the Battle.
Steve Rogers hurls his shield, which consecutively hits two enemy soldiers several meters away. Before the shield returns to him, Steve raises his arm to cover his face as he advances toward another soldier in front of him, who mercilessly fires at him.
However, the bullets simply ricochet off Captain America's suit as he finally reaches the soldier. He grabs the soldier's weapon and wrenches it from his hand. Then, with his free hand, he grabs his shield, which has returned to him, and strikes the soldier in the face.
With no time to spare, he twists his body and hits a grenade with his shield, sending it back to the one who threw it, causing it to explode. He then begins to run towards the small squad of men with a tank behind them. They're a few kilometers away, something Steve can easily cover at high speed. His enemies continue to fire at him, and the bullets that hit his body do not pierce his suit, while the tank shots can't aim properly due to his speed.
"Let me lend a hand!" a voice shouts from above.
A man wearing a red suit with white details flies over Steve and heads towards the soldiers. Unlike Captain's suit, Sam not only got a super-resistant suit but also an upgrade.
When Sam is right above the target, he makes a movement with his arm, and his transparent red wings, resembling glass, shoot several red "feathers" that hit the tank, causing it to explode.
"BOOM!"
The explosion hits the nearby enemies, causing them to fall to the ground. Before they can get up, they're struck by Captain's shield.
"It seems like you've gotten used to your new suit," Steve says to Sam, who's circling above him.
"This thing is incredible; it doesn't even feel like I'm wearing a suit. It's like a second skin, besides my new wings, of course," Sam responds from above.
"I agree; I'm not too fond of relying on this suit. It'll probably make me drop my guard, but it's certainly very useful in a battle like this."
"Another squadron approaching from the North, Captain!" Sam then warns.
"Then let's get back to work."
So, the two of them return to the battle, running towards the enemy.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest, two former assassins were also fighting. But unlike the other fights happening elsewhere, this one is very different.
Several armed soldiers are walking through what's left of the forest, moving slowly, with total attention to their surroundings. It's unusual for soldiers defending themselves from invaders; normally, they would be the more aggressive side of the battle while the invaders would be more cautious. But they were acting correctly because, at that moment, one of the soldiers furthest from the others had his heart pierced by an invisible dagger. They only noticed this because of the sound the body made when it fell to the ground. They aimed their weapons at the spot where the body fell and fired wildly, trying to hit anything.
While all the fools were shooting at nothing, two golden arrows crossed the air and hit two of them in the back, killing them.
"Show yourselves, you bastards!" a panicked and frightened soldier shouted.
"I'm here!"
A voice replied from behind him as it pierced him with a dagger, killing him.
Now, Hawkeye and Black Widow weren't soldiers or heroes; they were hunters, calmly hunting their prey.
{Do you have to scare them so much?}
Clint asks as a golden arrow passes close to Natasha and hits a transport vehicle full of soldiers. The arrow hits the wheel squarely, causing it to lose control and flip over with its wheels up.
As the forest was destroyed, there were no places to hide if you weren't invisible, so he was several kilometers away in the trees untouched by Hydra's shots. Normally, at this distance, it would be impossible to hit a target with a bow, but Clint had a divine bow, as well as the vision of a god.
"A bad habit I developed after gaining these powers."
Natasha replied after cutting down another target. The companion beside him reacted faster than the others and pointed the gun at her position. Natasha aimed her wrist at him and fired a dart that hit him in the neck; the venom dart made him immediately fall to the ground. That was the only change her new suit had; it still maintained her black style from her days at S.H.I.E.L.D. The only difference was a set of gauntlets that Baldur specially created for her. The gauntlets have various functions for close combat, as well as a set of darts of different types.
"I've always wanted to ask you something," she begins.
{What?}
"How do you manage to use these powers so well?" she asks.
{I don't know; they seem quite natural to me, as if they were specially made for me.}
"Mine just don't feel right," she says, cutting down another enemy.
{Maybe because you're no longer an assassin.}
Those words made Natasha stop; something in her seemed to have understood something, but she pushed that thought to the back of her mind and focused her attention once again on her enemies.
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