To Tame A God (November 2001)

Tony and Isabella did not fly in the Jet with the others. Kate was pilot with Natalya as co-pilot. “Ok people, it’s very early in the morning, I Haven’t had my coffee and we’re about to spank a god. What are you doing today?” Tony said over the comms to lighten the mood. “Kate, Follow us in fairly closely. I’ve added special smoke to the missiles team so use your ultra-violet vision goggles when you halo down,” Tony said. “Kate dump a bunch of countermeasures right after the team jumps to confuse their sensors,” He added.

Kate could just barely see the feet of Isabella as she followed closely behind her. Tony was above and slightly to Isabella’s left. “Ok, Isabella…on my mark release. 3, 2, 1...mark,” Tony said then missiles flew from them both. After the missiles were expended the launchers shot away from their backs. Tony veered left while Isabella veered right and Kate flew right in. The explosions went off in quick succession and tons of smoke billowed out from the ceiling of the compound. Everyone who was going to jump raised their goggles to their faces and clicked the ultraviolet setting and then jumped. The halo chutes were designed for them to glide in quickly with very little parachute time. The SHIELD agents below couldn’t see anything in the thick smoke as they landed hard and cut loose their chutes. They had a digital readout of their surroundings. That was Shuri’s addition. Logan and Natalya had to contend with a few Agents but they made it to the elevator without much incident. Agents were nearby, they could hear them shouting and moving around but they had their orders to descend into the Elevator shaft. Natalya set the charge and they shifted to the sides. Once the doors were exploded Logan cut away what was left of them. T’Challa attached Shuri’s hacking tool on the controls and in moments they were headed down in the elevator.

Isabella and Tony attacked the shield agents before they could follow the team down. Kate circled back around in the jet to try and find a place to set down. As she did though her proximity alarm went off. Two blips suddenly appeared and she knew there was no way she was going to avoid them. They must have been fired from a battery on the roof that hadn’t been destroyed. Bruce had moved up beside her once the team jumped out. He saw it too and he turned to look at her with a desperate look on his face. “Kate....” he said just before the jet was hit.

It was just after 6 am. The sun hadn't even risen yet but the jet was in the air heading towards SHIELD HQ. Everyone was quiet as they sat in the jet. The importance of what they had to do was setting in. Tony's little quip though made everyone smile. Everyone was ready to go and Natalya was feeling antsy. She wanted to get in and get this done. Kate followed closely behind Tony and Isabella. She waited for the missiles to be fired. They left a lot of smoke and Kate guided the jet right into the center of it. Natalya got up from her co-pilot seat and she and Kate wished each other good luck. Everyone except for Kate and Bruce parachuted from the jet. Right after the team jumped, Kate dumped a bunch of countermeasures and then began to circle back around to try and find a place to set the jet down. However, before she could get the jet on the ground the proximity alarm went off and two blips suddenly appeared on her screen. They were coming in fast and she knew there was no way she could avoid them. "Shit...." she said just as the jet was hit.

Isabella's eyes widened in fear when she saw the jet suddenly explode. It lit up the early morning sky in a ball of flames. She saw The Hulk jump from the wreckage just before it crashed into the ground. "Kate!" She flew over to try and see if she could get in, but the fire was too much. "Kate!" she yelled and then waited for a response, but there was nothing.

Steve was with everyone else going down in the elevator. "Isabella...what's happening!? Isabella!? Kate? Kate!!!" Steve yelled and it took Logan, Natalya and Frank to Hold Steve back from trying to climb up into the ceiling of the elevator. T'Challa moved in front of him.

"There is nothing you can do now Steve Rogers. We still have our task in front of us. Kate knew her duty and you know yours,"He said. Back in the control room Shuri was crying but she was still doing her job and watching out for them. "I've patched into the surveillance cameras down there. They do not know what is happening. When the elevator stops, move quickly just like we planned," Shuri said. Up top the hulk was beating up the agents there. He attacked anything that moved and even looked at them in an Adversarial way. "Isabella, go down with the others," Tony said. He had plans for The Hulk though the loss of Kate in the back of his mind was like a burn that he knew he'd be feeling later. He didn't have time right then.

The moment the elevator door opened agents were running everywhere. Frank and Logan went left and the rest went right. Frank used the suit's repulsor beams to repel agents by two's. Logan flung himself at agents and was cleaving weapons and clawing at their legs to take them out of the fight. T'Challa, Steve and Natalya went straight for the Tesseract. Loki was conferring with Erik when he saw the odd trio running toward them.

"Well, it seems we have rats in the basement," Loki said. "Loki!" Steve yelled and went right for him. Loki smiled darkly and as Steve charged him, Loki simply stepped to the site with inhuman speed. He hit Steve in the back of the head and sent him sprawling onto the floor. T'Challa took advantage of Natalya's offensive maneuvers against Loki that forced Loki to dodge away. It gave him time to attach the resonator to outside of the containment unit that housed the Tesseract. Once Shuri got the signal of a good seal she activated the drill that began to drill through the glass.

Isabella was in shock over what had happened to Kate. It had all happened so quickly and it took Tony yelling at her through the comm to get her to partially come to her senses. They still had a big job to do and she wasn't going to let Kate's sacrifice go to waste. Back at the Tower, Ava couldn't hold back her tears. She had considered Kate a friend and hearing the panic in Steve's voice had torn her heart to shreds. 

Isabella followed the others down, leaving Tony and The Hulk up top. Natalya saw Loki hit Steve and send him flying to the floor. Natalya charged straight at Loki, forcing him away from the Tesseract. She saw out of the corner of her eye T'Challa attach the resonator to the outside of the Tesseract containment unit. Isabella covered T'Challa by using her repulsor beams to protect him from SHIELD agents.

Once everything was in place, T'Challa jumped away and into the fighting. Loki flourished his staff and moved with uncanny speed. Then there was 6 of him. "Your attempts to stop me have failed! I left you alone Isabella Stark. Now, I will take everything away from you and leave you alive!" Loki said and then they all attacked. One went toward each of them however as they began to connect, they began to flutter away like smoke. All but the one that attached Isabella. As she used her repulsors Loki shifted to the side and struck her with his staff in the side. The blow flung her into the wall so hard, bits of concrete cracked and her body left an indentation into the wall. Her suit held though and he was coming at her again.

As he did T'Challa was in mid leap. Loki shifted but T'Challa was just a bit faster than he anticipated. He kicked him forward and then Isabella hit him with a gauntleted fist that sent him flying back. Before he could get to his feet Steve was on him and bashed him with his shield. Steve's face was a mask of pain and anger. This was not part of the plan. Steve was to have placed the second resonator by now but instead he wanted to engage Loki. Both isabella and T'Challa shared a look, by the moment, the plan they had was fracturing apart.

Isabella began to feel that the plan was falling into place. She glared angrily at Loki as he addressed her directly. She hated him with every fiber of her being. She would not allow him to win. She watched as suddenly the 5 clones of him began to attack the others, but the real Loki charged towards her. She tried to use her repulsors on him, but he avoided them and then struck her hard with his staff in the side. She was flung into a wall, but thankfully her suit protected her. As Loki attempted to attack her again, T'Challa was suddenly on him. She watched as he kicked Loki forward and she then punched him and sent him flying back. She had expected that Steve would have gotten the other resonator on the containment unit by now, but to her horror she saw Steve engage Loki. He hit him over and over again with his shield. Suddenly, everything was falling apart.

"Steve...Steve! We need to finish this!"

Steve continued to try to bash Loki with his shield but Loki shifted one way then the other. When Steve tried to use the edge of his shield, when he came down with it Loki was no longer there and he hit the hardened floor instead. Loki appeared behind him and smashed Steve in the back of the head with his staff, hard. The blow made Steve fall to the side like a rag doll. Natalya and Logan had their hands full with SHIELD agents as they tried to protect the resonator that had already been placed. Isabella and Frank with T'Challa in tow came up on Loki who looked ready for them.

"One down, more to go," Loki said arrogantly. The three attacked him in concert but the space between them seemed to warp. T'Challa had lurched forward just as Frank and Isabella shot their repulsor beams at Loki. As they did so though T'Challa was suddenly there where Loki was and their attacks hit him instead and sent him smashing into a wall in front of them. Loki appeared behind Frank but Isabella was becoming wiser to his attacks. She pivoted and hit him in the chest with a repulsor and she sent Loki flying back to skid and roll onto the floor. He got right back up though, not a good sign. That and T'Challa looked injured, his right arm was hanging at an odd angle.

This battle was going from bad to worse very quickly. Isabella was trying not to panic. She knew she needed to remain as calm and clear headed as possible to try and finish this. However, when she saw that T'Challa was injured she knew she was going to need some help. She needed to try and get the resonator from Steve, but she was going to need some backup. She saw Loki get up and she immediately hit him again with another repuslor beam shot.

"Tony! Steve is down and T'Challa is hurt. I need some extra backup down here!"

"I've got my hands full up here! I'm guarding the elevators! Their trying to send armed drones down into it!" He said as she heard another explosion and Tony grunt form an impact. They had taken too much time and SHIELD was regrouping. She could see that now. Shuri cooberated her suspicions from what she said and the ceiling shook with some kind of loud thunderous boom. Dust flaked down in certain areas. That was obviously the Hulk.

Steve's shield held 2 more resonators. One for each 3rd of the field. He was unconscious on his side against a wall and his shield was nearby his outstretched arm and there was blood from where Loki had hit him in the head. T'Challa continued to stay in the fight though injured and Frank began moving fast, taking shots at Loki and shield agents. Not staying put was working and Loki was not able to anticipate his movements.

"Get that off!" Erik shouted as he pointed to the resonator shunt that had been attached to their containment system. Shuri had already drilled through the thick, hardened glass but she couldn't do anything without the other 2 resonators in place. Now they noticed the shunt and SHIELD agents moved to pry it off and Isabella saw it.

Isabella knew that if they didn't get the other two resonators on the containment unit that they were going to fail. It was supposed to be Steve, but he was unconscious or perhaps dead. However, she knew that he still had the other two resonators. Frank was distracting Loki and Isabella knew that she needed to take this chance. She couldn't just give up. She saw several SHIELD agents trying to pry off the first resonator. She raised her hand and hit them with a repulsor beam. She then flew over to where Steve was and she removed them from his shield. She could see that he was still alive. She left his shield with him and flew over to the containment unit. Natalya and Logan continued to fight off SHIELD agents as she worked quickly to try and get them onto the unit...

"Isabella, watch out!" T'Challa said and Loki suddenly appeared within the containment area. He was bathed in a blue glow from the Tesseract and looking at her and the device. "Isabella, you're mind is open to me. Did you think this...contraption, this mousetrap would hold me?" he chuckled. She looked back. Frank was down and not moving and T'Challa was just getting up. "I told you, I will take everything you love away from you," He said in a very dark and sinister tone and he held that angry, petulant smile. He was translucent, as if just a shadow of himself. It was just one of his illusions! Loki was standing over Frank suddenly, or he always had been and had just been invisible. "Choices choices," Loki said. Both Loki's said it at the same time. His staff began to glow and Frank began to scream.

Isabella had just managed to get the second resonator secured when suddenly Loki appeared within the containment area. She blinked in surprise and then slowly began to realize that it wasn't actually him, but one of his illusions. She turned and saw him standing over Frank. As his staff began to glow, Frank began to scream. Isabella began to panic. She didn't know what to do. If she stayed to finish what she had started then Frank and perhaps others she cared about would die. She knew then that this plan wasn't going to work...that they had failed. She couldn't let Loki kill Frank though...not when Ava was waiting back at the Tower for him to return. 

She stopped what she was doing and she turned and struck Loki with a repulsor beam. She then rushed over and grabbed Frank. "Tony, the plan has failed. We need to retreat, otherwise Loki is going to kill us."

As she looked over she saw Logan kneeling over Natalya, protecting her body as SHIELD agents shot him over and over. His body jerked but he remained over her. Another loud, BOOM happened above and more dust fluttered down from the ceiling. Loki didn't bother to get up. He just looked over at them. "Yes, retreat Isabella, run away, you won't be able to hide from me!" He said threateningly. Frank was not moving and it looked like some of his armor was crushed inward. Blood seeped through the crushed in areas. Loki had used Telekinesis on his armor. "Isabella, get out of there! Drones are coming!" Tony said in the comms. T'Challa looked over at her. He was sitting up on his hip and he cradled an obviously broken arm.

"You need to go, Isabella Stark," T'Challa said.

Isabella looked over at Frank and she saw that some of his armor was crushed inward. Blood was pooling underneath him, but she believed he was alive. Time was running out and she knew that she couldn't save everyone. Her heart shattered at the thought, but there was no other option. This was the most difficult decision she had ever had to make. She grabbed T'Challa and then she grabbed Frank. Her suit was starting to run low on power, but she knew she could make it. She shot up through the elevator shaft and to the top of the building. She and Tony met back up and he took Frank to lighten her load. They quickly took off back towards the Tower. Ava and Shuri were waiting anxiously. Frank and T'Challa were taken immediately to the medical suite to be placed in the biobeds. Isabella looked over at Tony.

"We have to go back! We have to get the others!" she said in desperation as tears came to her eyes.

The biobed tried to cut the suit off where sharp edges had cut into his flesh but it seemed to be doing just as much damage as it helped. Ava could do nothing as Frank's vitals grew weaker and weaker. The robot arms on the other biobed set T'Challa's arm. Shuri was with him and she seemed to need more comforting than he did. They both looked over as Frank's lifesigns flat-lined. The bed went into code mode and tried to resuscitate him but he had lost too much blood. It had gotten half of the suit off of him but part of the rest had been crushed into his flesh. Ava shoved the robot arms away as she hugged him and wailed.

"Logan will either make or not...What happened down there? We had a plan? I know we lost Kate but Steve too?" Tony asked accusingly as he took a long swallow from his glass and then threw it, hard. It smashed against the far wall.

Isabella was an emotional wreck. She was just barely holding on, but tears shimmered in her eyes. "T'Challa got the first resonator on the containment unit, but Steve he just...he just lost it when he saw Loki and he attacked him." Tears began to stream down her cheeks. "Natalya...I think she was killed too. Logan was protecting her body from the SHIELD agents, but she wasn't moving. Loki was just too powerful."

Tony's hands were shaking and rubbed them together as he tried to figure out what to do. They were in the office when they heard Ava begin to wail. Tony had failed them again. Or they were just too ill equipped to handle Loki. It could be that but...if Steve would have just followed the plan! He thought. 'Would you do any different?' A voice chimed into his head. Tony scoffed at that voice. It certainly didn't help to second guess now. He and Isabella moved quickly toward the elevator.

A bloodied and bedraggled Logan hobbled forward with Natalya in his arms. She had bullet wounds, at least 6 that Isabella could see. Logan knew she was gone and still wouldn't leave her behind. She could see it in his eyes. When Tony moved to help him he growled.

"Don't you TOUCH HER!" And Tony slowly backed away. He moved past them toward the infirmary. "Fuck..." Was all that came out of Tony's mouth.

Isabella's eyes widened when she saw Logan get off the elevator. He held Natalya's body in his arms. She was covered in blood and riddled with bullet wounds and her head and arms limply moved from side to side like a rag-doll as Logan moved. Logan's eyes were a mixture of pure fury and heartbreaking anguish. Natalya had been his entire life and now she was gone. She knew that Bruce was not going to handle her death well either. 

She watched him hobble away with her body and she could hear Ava's wails of despair and she realized that Frank must not have survived. She was overcome by heartbreak and she sank to the floor and put her head in her hands and began to sob.

There was little that Tony could do so he just let her cry.

Stephen Strange had been dealing with Astrid Mordo, the daughter of Baron Mordo. She had been draining the monks of their power and Dr. Strange had been in the fight of his life to stop her. It was Clea that had told him about what was happening in New York and in the United States. Loki had made his bid to become the ruler of Earth and was well on his way to succeeding. Clea had seen what happened to the Avengers through her magical abilities and she relied the devastation to him. Wong had contacted him also and told him how many times they had contacted him. In a moment of respite, Strange used the Eye and replayed the fight over and over. In most of the replays, they lost or failed but only in a few did they win and in only one did they win without casualties. He could not stop hunting Astrid but he could give them some help when they had so desperately needed it and asked for it.

---------------------

5 hours earlier...

Isabella was sleeping soundly. Being in bed with a healthy Tony Stark could be...exhausting but it was not unexpected nor was what he did to her last night...anything less than amazing. Stephen came to her in what felt like a dream but it was also much much more. Unlike a dream the colors were so vivid and bright. Especially the red and gold of his cloak.

"Hello Isabella Stark. You are still dreaming and also...not. I'm sorry I've been away. I'm dealing with my own problems right now. I want you to know that I heard your call for help and I will only tell you this. Have Natalya Sokolova pilot the Jet instead of kate Blackwell," was all he said.

Isabella felt like she was somewhere between a dream and reality. She felt that something had happened...something tragic, but she couldn't recall what it was. She saw Dr. Strange come to her. His voice sounded distant, but she heard what he said and she knew she needed to follow it. As he disappeared, she awoke and sat up. The Tower was quiet and dark. She slipped out of bed and put on her robe. She stood in front of one of the windows and looked out over the peaceful city. They had to win...and for the first time she truly felt like they were going to win.

As the team was getting ready, Isabella approached Steve, Kate, and Natalya. "Kate, I know that you usually pilot the jet, but today I want Natalya to pilot and you to co-pilot." The two women glanced at each other and then Kate looked back at Isabella. "Any particular reason why?" Isabella looked at them. 'It's just what I want."

The two women looked at her curiously but, Isabella was team leader and they would do what she said. T'Challa was talking with Bruce about His Hulk personae as they were helping Shuri set up the monitors. "So, why is there such an adverse disconnect between you, Bruce Banner and This Hulk? Why do you treat him like he is a curse? He is apart of you that science helped to reveal," he said as he helped Bruce attach another monitor to the stand. "Because it's a mental and emotional disconnect, clouded by rage," Bruce said. "Why is rage something to fear? it is just another emotion. Useful when it can be controlled," T'Challa said. "Well, I can control...some things when I'm the Hulk. I mean, there was a little girl in front of him...me, and I avoided her. There has to be some, strong emotional attachment for him to be able to react to it," Bruce said. "Well, perhaps that is the secret then. The more you, Bruce Banner becomes emotionally aware, perhaps it will filter to him?" T'Challa said curiously. "I really don't know," Bruce said as Shuri turned on the monitors. "Thank you! IT works!" She said excitably.

The team prepared themselves and Tony stepped up to Isabella. "Ya know, I like this confident side of you. I think maybe we need to explore it further later," he said with a grin as he gave her a few small kisses on the lips.

Frank and Ava had said their goodbyes. Logan and Natalya had shared a moment and Steve and Kate had shared theirs. Tony and Isabella were off and as the last person buckled into the jet, Natalya lifted off into the sky.

When they got close, Tony and Isabella fired their rockets. As the smoke covered the area everyone bailed out in their halo parachutes. Bruce moved up to the co-pilot seat. "I was wondering when we could get another change to be alone," he said as a joke and not into the headset.

Natalya had a strong feeling that Isabella knew something that she wasn't sharing. However, if this led to them beating Loki then she would do whatever she needed to. After sharing a private moment with Logan, Natalya went to start the pre-flight checks on the jet. Once everyone was ready, they boarded the jet and Natalya took off. Isabella and Tony flew beside them and after they fired their rockets, Natalya guided the jet into smoke and everyone except for Bruce and herself bailed out. Natalya glanced over at Bruce as he moved up to the co-pilot's seat. She heard what he said and she gave him a little smile and was about to say something when suddenly two blips appeared on her radar. They were coming in fast and there was no way she was going to be able to avoid them. She looked over at Bruce. "Bruce..."

Both Bruce and Natalya knew what that meant. SHIELD had some sort of rocket system on the ground. The missiles would only take seconds to hit them. And if they hit them...Natalya would die.

The team was on their way down in the elevator. Steve's team were to get the resonator attached and Isabella's team was to run distraction. As they descended there was a massive explosion that rocket the building. "The Jet, the Jet! It...it just...exploded!" Shuri said into their headsets. Logan was on the distraction Team. "Natalya! Natalya!!" He yelled in a furious rasp. '

Bruce only had a moment but he had to save her. If he did anything good ever again, it would be to save the woman he cared about. In a blink he had grown green and massive. His clothes ripped off of him and he broke Natalya free of her seat restraints and pulled her toward him. Just as he curled up into a ball the plane exploded into a fireball. Natalya felt the immense heat and there was pain as heat and pieces of shrapnel from the pain pierced into flesh that the hulk was not able to cover. The concussive force from the explosion had dimmed her senses and the smoke had made her cough. There was a sharp tug and more pain as the Hulk pulled out a large piece of metal from her shoulder then guided her hand, gently to cover the wound. She could hear men and women screaming and talking but there were a large pair of eyes above her in the smoke. She knew those eyes, those were Bruce's eyes. He seemed relieved to see hers open and her hand instinctively pressed down on the wound. Bruce grunted in relief.

Natalya believed she was about to die. Seconds was all she had left and there was nothing she could do. Suddenly, everything seemed to happen so quickly that she didn't know what was happening. She saw the Hulk and then felt him pull her into his arms. She heard the explosion. The heat was intense and the sound ripped through her entire body. She felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and then everything went black....

...She felt a tug at her shoulder and pain as The Hulk pulled out the large piece of shrapnel. She coughed from the smoke that had gotten into her lungs and she gasped for air. As she opened her eyes she saw a pair of eyes that she knew well staring down at her. The Hulk hovered above her, but she knew he wouldn't hurt her. She knew she was safe with him. She pressed her hand down on the wound on her shoulder. She felt warm blood seep out from her fingers, but she knew she was going to be alright. Her ears were ringing and her head was spinning, but she would live thanks to Bruce and The Hulk. She reached out and she gently touched The Hulk's face. A few tears came to her eyes as she looked up into his.

"You saved my life. I don't know how I'm ever going to repay you for that. You are an incredible man. Don't you EVER call yourself a monster again. You're truly my hero."

She slowly lowered her hand and then checked her comm link. She knew that Logan was likely flipping out. Thankfully, her comm link had survived the explosion.

"Good news is that we're ok....the bad news is that we're going to have to walk home" she told the team.

Bruce wasn't certain why but it was the familiarity he felt. It held back the urge to pound and rip and beat at everything around him. Her voice kept his mind there, with her. But he also knew others were there. Somewhere close, beyond the smoke. The urge to beat them into jello was strong. When she reached to touch his hand he had an urge to pull away, to become angry but it went away as quickly as it came.

Logan fought with the ferocity of his namesake. He, Frank and Isabella were laying waste to the men and women, SHIELD agents, who tried to stop them. Maria Hill was there, knocked unconscious by T'Challa before she ever got off a shot. Kate used a tranq dart on Erik and had another ready for Phil, if he were down here. T'Challa was hard to pin down and he bounced around with inhuman speed and agility. Loki tried to fight him with just himself but that hadn't worked and he wanted to put the man down. While the diversion happened, Steve had set up the first resonator. Once it drilled through he could set down the second one. Once Loki was near, all he'd need to do is set down the third and trap him.

"You...hide," Bruce said in a grumble as his head pivoted to listen to the SHIELD agents getting closer. There was so much smoke but Natalya was prone and it was just above her.