Chapter 53: The Battle of New York! (1)

Author Note: Monthly updates to remind yall that no this isn't dropped, but simply surprised by my urge to write the other three stories.

—

Noon was yet to come, so it was still a bit cold outside, in the sky as Enrique flew with Anna in his arms.

He looked around a little, and soon spotted a black SUV car parked a bit far from the school’s gate, on the other side of the road. That seemed to be SHIELD product, and that hypothesis was corrected when the window rolled down and Nick Fury waved his hand.

Enrique flew down there and landed on his feet, all the while Anna was clung to his chest with her face buried. Her arms still wrapped around him even after he landed and she refused to look at anybody else. She didn’t talk and surely didn’t respond to Nick Fury’s voice.

“What happened to her?” asked the man in black.

“Don’t worry about it, she’ll be fine.” Enrique waved it off.

Adding, “Rather, you needed me for something, director? I assume there must be a great threat ahead since you finally decided to come and meet me.”

Nick Fury sighed at his direct approach; how he didn’t even try to hide the strange things about himself. As in, how did he know that he was the Director of SHIELD? Strength was one thing, and such dangerous information was another. What else did he know? What were  his sources? Was this magic of some sort, mind reading, or was there a spy inside SHIELD?

“Let’s ignore the part where you seem to know my title. You don’t seem to be the type to reveal that if asked. I am also not free enough to spend time persuading you.”

Fury finally opened the door and walked out. He reached out a hand for a handshake.

“Hi, formally, I am the Director of SHIELD. You can call me Nick Fury. I am inviting you to join… the Avengers initiative.”

*  *  *

“I am inviting you to join… the Avengers initiative.”

Fury finished dramatically, and Enrique accepted the hand right away. It didn’t indicate that he accepted the offer, however.

“Avengers Initiative? Some sort of secret group?”

Enrique played dumb. He shouldn’t pretend to know everything, that wouldn’t be good.

Fury nodded as the handshake ended.

“Seeing how you are rumored to be the follower of a Goddess; I am going to assume that you do believe in Gods. Long story short, a slimy God has invaded earth and plans to ‘conquer’ it.”

Fury scoffed at his own words, in the last part, before he continued.

“Asgardian God of Mischief, Loki. The brother of Thor. Speaking of Thor, you may have heard about him, he appeared mid-last year. This Loki is Thor’s brother, but unlike Thor, he doesn’t seem compassionate toward us ‘mere humans’, as he likes to put it.”

Enrique nodded. He hid his surprise and excitement at the confirmation that yes, Loki was finally here!

“Uh-huh. I believe your words; I do believe in my Goddess Mut, but I also believe in the existence of other Mythologies. Thor is notoriously strong, however, Loki isn’t. As far as I know. Why is he being such a problem?”

Fury sighed. Hesitating, he spoke. “He has a weird weapon. It lets him shoot beams and mind-control people. I have lost a few important subordinates of mine thanks to both of those effects. He is planning something grand, and we need your help. There will also be other heroes, such as Ironman.”

“The Avengers Initiative, in short, is a team made up of Earth's mightiest. It is a project where a group of special people form something beyond… something extraordinary. To face the extraordinary threats that threaten earth and humanity.”

Anna finally peeked to look at Fury upon hearing that. The two of them stared at each other for a long moment, then Anna buried her face again.

“Are you sure she is alright?”

“She is,” Enrique nodded. “About your invitation, I’ll have to reject it. It’s tempting but I am not in a situation to accept it.”

Fury frowned at that. It appeared he was ready to negotiate. Normally, Enrique could play him into giving quite a few perks, but since he really didn’t plan to join that wouldn’t help.

Before Fury could speak, Enrique spoke first. He made a promise.

“Don’t worry, though. If Loki does pull something big off, I am in New York to help out in taking him down. I may not be joining you, but as a hero, my goal also is to keep Earth and humanity safe.”

Enrique gave him a nod, to which Fury was about to say something, but he took off in the air before that.

“…Motherfuckers, these heroes.”

The Director of SHIELD growled, tired at all these supes who never seemed to work together.

Unfortunately for Fury, Enrique did plan to work together. Except not with the Avengers. It was time to introduce his own team to the world.

It was time to steal all of Avenger’s glory and make it his own.

*  *  *

If his past teenage self knew he just turned down the offer to join Avengers, the face he would make would have been priceless.

However, Enrique Nova had long since learned and vowed to work for himself and himself alone. Instead of the other way around. He wasn’t going to get ordered around by SHIELD, or the shield-wielding Captain for that matter.

Shooting through the sky, Enrique held Anna in his arms as his cape fluttered behind him. The cape, under his mental control, warped into a hiking bag. One of the tendrils of the bag slipped into a chain and dragged out a phone. It dialed a number and brought it to Enrique’s ears.

The phone rang. It rang thrice before the call was received.

– “Hello, Emma Frost here.”

“Miss Frost, it’s Enrique.”

– “I can see that, Mr. Nova. I have your number saved. How can I help you this time?”

Enrique chuckled at her tone. She was used to his calls, telling her to do mundane things for him, like sending people to fill the fridge with beer and whatnot. She was being sarcastic by talking like a customer care service.

However, this wasn’t a joking matter. The attack could happen tomorrow for all he knew. Loki would first steal Iridium from Germany, and a certain time later the Chitauri will invade Manhattan. He was strong, and Anna and Greer were too, they lacked flashy powers and only had super strength and such. For this mission, to attract as much attention from people, he would need someone else who could be as flashy as him.

“Emma. The world is under a threat. I want you to send me someone from your school.”

Enrique demanded and there was a loud bang on the other side of the call.

– “You suddenly call for that? Explain what threat… Actually no, I am not sending one of my students if the threat is world-shattering. Don’t tell me what’s up, I will figure it out myself.”

“Listen, Emma,”

Enrique sighed.

“The safety of your student will be guaranteed by me. I don’t need anyone to really help me, but I just need someone flashy. I will keep that person protected. It will allow fame to that person, and the whole of mutant-kind in general. This is a very big opportunity, and I hope someone smart like you won’t miss it.”

– “….”

There was silence for an entire minute. Enrique had to check twice if she had cut the call or not. Finally, a sigh answered and her words followed.

– “Since you called me specifically, do you already have someone in mind? Or do I send someone by my choice?”

“I have chosen.” Enrique smiled. “I already know whom I want.”

*  *  *

Enrique stopped flying and landed in a nearly empty park. Something was wrong with Anna, and it only got worse after the call with Emma.

“Are you alright, Anna?”

Putting his hands on her shoulders, he asked gently as he looked deep into her eyes.

“Um… yeah, I am. We should continue moving.”

She lied, and she wasn’t good at it when it was him in front of her. With a sigh, Enrique sat down on a bench and motioned her to sit.

“Sit down. Tell me what’s wrong, and we’ll figure it out together.”

Anna hesitated. Then she sighed and sat beside him. She appeared stiff.

Enrique wrapped a hand around her shoulders and said nothing. He allowed time to pass, minutes after minutes, as half an hour passed easily like that. She had her head on his shoulders, and her body clinging very close to his, but she hadn’t said a word until then.

Around the time Enrique was growing impatient and almost deciding to leave, Anna finally made a sound.

“…I am sorry for being weak.” She said, “I am sorry for not being strong enough to protect you… and not strong enough that you’d need to call for extra help.”

Enrique held back a groan. He could understand her worry, but it was frustrating to see her apologize for that. After all, she had the easiest way to power up but she refused to take it. It was frustrating.

Anna pulled herself back from his chest. She put her hands on her hips and looked down at the ground. With a complicated expression, she decided on something. Then, as if she had heard what he was thinking, she looked at him and made a request.

“Enrique… I want to be stronger.”

“...!”

It was immediate.

The idea that appeared in Enrique’s head was excellent.

Her saying that meant she accepted the consequence that came with it. In that case, Enrique had just the power in mind that she could absorb in this event. No, he couldn’t go after Thor, since he couldn’t even beat that monstrously strong God enough to absorb him, but…

Enrique’s lips spread into a grin and he put a hand on Anna’s shoulder. While looking deep into her eyes, he assured her.

“What do you say about becoming the Goddess of Mischief?”

Perhaps the Battle of New York was going to be much more interesting than what he previously expected.

Bad days were coming for Loki.

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Master4thWall Note: Between a God, and a False God, the fight is easily predictable. The problem is the brother of the God, if he smelled the plans of these two humans things won't end well.

Oh, there’s also Harry Osborn. What’s up with him?