Jump 13: The Last Avenger - Episode 12: Now I'm All Alone

Settling affairs on Earth took longer than I had anticipated and before I knew it, I had lost another two months. I can’t say I regret it though, as it gave me a chance to come to terms with the fact that one way or another, this would all be ending soon. I settled countless disputes amongst those that allied with me, and oversaw the liberation of the rest of Earth. With A.I.M. becoming something akin to what S.H.I.E.L.D. had been, I was seeing less time in action, and more directing the ongoings of the organization. It was strange not putting myself in danger, but at everyone’s behest, I allowed myself this lull in activity.

Eventually, the break had to end and the last target had to be dealt with. Before I could even begin consulting Alice on how we could get to Asgard, Loki sent something to invite us personally. With compounded knowledge from Hydra and A.I.M. databases, we discerned it to be the Destroyer Armor. It was likely a very formidable opponent, and would have likely given us some trouble… had I not gotten Blink to help me send it into the sun. It was a very anti-climactic way to deal with it, but I wasn’t in the mood for the trickster god’s games.

Once that threat was dealt with, I didn’t think we had much time before Loki would do something more drastic to cause us problems. So I got straight to the point with Alice.

“How can we get to Asgard?”

“Well that’s not the easiest thing in the world to accomplish and-”

“If Hydra can build a portal to Asgard with science, you can get us there with your magic can’t you?”

“…”

“Alice if we don’t go to him, he’ll just start sending things until we’re overwhelmed.”

“Asgard is a place my father warned my about explicitly before his death. He made it clear that going there would be suicide without becoming a proper Sorcerer Supreme. Asgardian magic and abilities are at their strongest in Asgard. We’d be giving Loki the advantage he wants by going to him.”

“He also gets what he wants if we sit here and wait to be swarmed by whatever else he can send from Asgard. If we’re to fall, I’d rather do so having fought with everything I had. Alice please, get us to Asgard.”

“… You’re impossible, you know that? Fine. We’ll go get ourselves killed in Asgard so you can selfishly say you’ve done all you could.”

“Haven’t you learned by know? I never plan on losing. Loki won’t be getting the last laugh.”

*                                                                           *                                                                 *

            Oh how rich this all was to watch play out. That fool really believed he could best me, of all beings in the universe. Ha! What paltry arrogance on his part, wouldn’t you say? It’s almost laughable how easily dealt with he was. His little friends were barely worth a mention. But you all read these for entertainment, do you not? That is why I shall deign to fill you mongrels in on what happens when you attempt to undermine the authority of Loki, ruler of Asgard and all the nine realms.

            The fool calling himself “King” gathered up his most trusted and capable allies and had that second-rate sorcerer open a portal to Asgard. From the moment they entered, I was aware of their every move and could have easily taken them out then and there. But I am merciful, and let them have their false sense of security as they wandered around without any sort of clue. Although that didn’t last as the one I actually had to worry about began to get a fix on my location. I’d be a fool to think that I could contest the Pheonix Force directly without the proper preparations, so I played a little trick on the mortals.

            With my command over the denizens of Asgard it would have been nothing to send myriads of Asgardian forces to destroy them. But instead, I had my ever faithful servant, The Enchantress, turn the fools against each other. It was hilarious to witness, truly. If only you could have been there in person. She started with the one that can light himself on fire. It was a riot watching them try not to hurt him. And don’t get me started with the look on their faces when the child joined in and almost crushed the sorcerer. The purple man made of energy was next, signifying that something was wrong to the slow witted mortals. They attempted to flee, but a little spell from yours truly kept them from making any progress.

            The martial artist tried to fight it off, but was no match for Amora’s magic and he too began to turn on his allies. What annoyed me was that it seemed like King’s natural resistance to magic kept him from being susceptible while conscious. Although, it was probably better this way, as I wouldn’t have gotten to see the anguish fill his eyes as he watched friends be turned into puppets. That’s a moment in time I made sure to preserve for future viewings along with events like the death of my adoptive brother and father. Watching heroes realize everything they’ve done is worthless is such a satisfying way to pass the time.

            It was a simple thing to raise a mystical fog around the remaining five of them and enact my plan. They blundered about trying to find where the others went, not realizing that they had never left each other’s presence. I was behind the host of the Phoenix Force and before she could suspect anything, I had her under the influence of a sleep spell. Anything more and the cosmic entity would have stirred to protect its host. It was nothing to warp her away somewhere for safe keeping before I left myself.

            When I lifted the fog I didn’t expect watching them panic at the loss of another member of their group to fill me with such glee. It’s been far too long since I got to have this much direct fun. Their incompetent leader managed to calm them too soon for my liking and they were finally heading in the right direction. My throne room was still a ways away, and so I let a number of Asgardian beasts test their might against the remaining four as I became acquainted with my new mortal slaves. Amora’s abilities finally proving useful to me again after so much inactivity.

            By the time they finally arrived the only one not looking overly battered and beaten was King. The look on his face was absolutely priceless. I hadn’t seen such rage in person since I killed my brother. But all the anger and hatred in Midgard wouldn’t be enough for him to have stood a chance against me. Not wanting my amusement to end just yet, I showed them their captured teammate before sending the four enchanting ones to fight them again. I was almost caught by surprise when King teleported in front of me. It looked like he was about to unleash some sort of powerful attack, but the child of all things anticipated it and blocked him. King couldn’t bring himself to hurt his ally, so I blasted him away through some columns to get him out of my face.

            I surveyed the ongoing battle between his friends a bit longer before I grew bored of it and captured the rest of the females in magic spheres. Watching them struggle fruitlessly was amusing for a bit while I waited for King to find his way back to the throne room. When he arrived I watched him fight those that were under my control and found that he had quite a few tricks up his sleeves to assist him in a fight. If they hadn’t been his friends he could have killed them all fairly easily. But that’s the problem with hero types. They always try to save everyone else before themselves. He managed to knock them all out after a while and I even gave him a little clap to show I was ever so slight impressed. He didn’t take it well and attempted to take the fight to me.

            Unfortunately for him, I had learned my lesson and had a barrier up to block any advances he might have tried. Before he could even touch the magical part of it, the barrier would send out enough force to knock him away. Quite the workaround to his troublesome ability I’d say. Watching him get up again and again and again to attempt to challenge my authority was entertaining, but only for so long. To fully solidify my complete victory I had to show his allies just how powerless he really was in comparison to myself.

            I finally rose from my throne and pointed my staff at King. He was forced to the ground almost immediately, putting up a slight resistance before faltering. His friends not under Amora’s control began to beg and plead for some sort of mercy as I slowly flew over towards their leader. Their shouting fell on deaf ears. I leaned in until my mouth was right next to one of his ears and whispered something into the. The anger he felt after that was almost tangible as he almost broke free. But it was too little, too late as I turned my back on him and let his friends all watch as he exploded. More accurately, he was at the center of one, but they couldn’t tell the difference. There wasn’t a single trace left of him, and I relished in the cries of despair from his allies.

            As satisfying as it all was, I felt there was something lacking from the whole ordeal. Something I wanted to feel back when I killed my brother and usurped the throne from my father before disposing of him as well. But there was nothing I could do about it. Maybe if he hadn’t been so disappointing of a hero I could have had more fun. Although, it is hard to try and match up to one as perfect as myself. Midgard will soon become mine to do with as I wish. I’ve grown bored with just my rule over Asgard. The remaining realms and what lies beyond shall soon know who their king is.