With Mercy We Decay [Open]

[Loki Laufeyson]

It began with the odd sight of a swirling, transparent, mirage-like object in the center of Fifth Avenue. As the mirage grew larger, a cold wind blew out of it, giving the warm New York day a sudden chill. Cars stopped and passersby stared at the strange sight. That sight was made even stranger by the unexpected protrusion of an arm, then a leg, then an entire body. A large, blue body, taller than the mortals around it could fathom.

The creature surveyed the scene through narrowed red eyes, turning his head slowly. Laufey frowned briefly, then smiled, if an expression so filled with malevolence could be considered a smile. Then he took a step forward, and let out a loud, vicious roar that seemed to reverberate among the buildings that lined the street. Behind him, a legion of Frost Giants followed, all growling and roaring, leaping forth from the swirling portal.

The Casket of Ancient Winters was in Laufey's hands, and, as he paused again, a gust of wind and snow blew from it. A layer of snow and ice covered the area, at a radius of one yard, then a hundred yards. One foot of snow, then five. Everyone standing too close to the Casket was frozen solid, everyone else, those who had the sense to flee, felt a sudden cold fall upon them, a cold greater than they had ever felt.

Laufey continued forward. This realm would be his, and there was nothing the mortals could do to change that fact. Already they fled before him and his kind, terrified by the sight of them, by the sudden cold, by the helplessness. Nothing stood in his way.



Farther down the street, another portal opened, this one more discreet, hidden in a deserted alley in the wall of a building. Loki felt the chill the moment he stepped out of it. There was snow on the ground and a chill in the wind. There was shouting and the sound of machine gun fire, which Loki had already guessed was proving fully ineffective. Peering around the corner, he noted the contingent of soldiers battling the massive creatures, and being tossed aside, frozen solid by touch, or sliced in half by ice blades. Glancing at Sigyn, he reached for her hand and squeezed it before leading the way into the fray.

They would be an odd sight, dressed in battle armor, minus Loki's helmet. Then again, since the city was currently being attacked by massive blue creatures, they would probably not be given a second glance. "We fight our way to Laufey, reclaim the Casket, and push his army back through the portal, if we don't kill them all," he instructed Sigyn as they walked quickly, ignoring any remaining passersby and the local police and National Guardsmen who still fought valiantly but pointlessly.

His sword materializing in his hands, Loki charged a nearby giant, felling him in one swoop due to the element of surprise. The next foe put up more of a fight, its arms sharpening into swords of ice, which Loki parried with until shattering them. He lost sight of Sigyn quickly in all the madness, but he could feel her presence, and could call on her if he needed her. Magic had brought this upon Midgard, and it would take magic to defeat it.



At the heart of the battle, Laufey looked up to see Loki and Sigyn fighting against his forces. He frowned again, considering the implications of this choice. Interesting.

His lust for battle suddenly refueled, he flung aside a few soldiers and began to fight his way down the street toward Loki.

Tag: Sigyn, then open!

[Sigyn Laufeyson]

They had not been wrong assuming that warm clothing would be advisable for this fight. When she stepped out of the portal after Loki, the cold almost slapped Sigyn in the face like an invisible fist. She did not wince or cry, of course, but she respected Laufey's most powerful weapon instantly.
Not too long ago, she had seen her husband turn Jotunn, his true nature. She had touched him. If not for her magic, she would have suffered from severe frostbites on her hand, if not worse. Loki was better equipped in this environment than her, for the cold would not harm him. It was part of him. Sigyn's eyes turned golden as she fueled her magic up, warmness developing from her insides right away. The golden blades of her double ended spear warmed up just as much. They'd cut through any ice like a knife cut through warm butter. She knew, her spear alone would not win this fight. How foolish would she be to refuse using magic in this battle?

Her armor sat flawlessly on her body. It was not a female version of Loki's, but it still had gold and green in it, inevitably proving that they were fighting as one.
Sigyn nodded, grabbed Loki's arm and pulled him in. The kiss was very quick,hasted even, because they surely had other issues. No words were necessary. Then, they took off. Sigyn swirled her long spear on her palm, making it turn gracefully. She had practiced to fight with this weapon for aeons. She had perfected it.

Some people were staring at the couple that was walking towards the centre of the battle, instead of running away. The couple dressed too oddly for Midgardian eyes. Poor people, at first, monsters from their nightmares infiltrated their realm, then, the fighters they believed to be their saviour were defeated effortlessly. How could the 'police' or 'army' have anything on the Jotunn?

Sigyn and Loki put some distance between each other as their fight commenced. If Frost Giants could be sexist, the one approaching Sigyn surely was. The being almost carried an arrogant grin on his face. He was not thinking this through, however. Lunging towards her, he believed the combat to be won before it had actually started. It was easy for Sigyn to pirouette out of his way. At the same time, she directed her spear around her body and finally, stabbed the being trough his back, the blade hot like embers, cutting through his flesh easily.
However, another Frost Giant came to his fellow's aid. It was too late to save him, of course. So the Jotunn lifted his arm, a terrible, indescribable weapon made of ice falling down in order to crash Sigyn. She barely made it, rolling over the ground. The weapon hit the floor inches away from her head. This made her angry. Her gaze golden and fierce, she jumped to her feet.

The next blow was met by her spear. For a second, red eyes met golden ones. It was not her spear throwing the being back, but a rush of energy coming from her body. Now that the being was on the ground, Sigyn had the advantage for a moment.

In the distance, Laufey's attention had been caught by the people fighting against him, who he had believed to be his allies.
Sigyn noticed him closing in on them as she was running her spear through the next giant. The moment the life had left the being's body, she was making, fighting her way towards her husband. She would not let him face Laufey by himself. He was not only the strongest of the Jotunn, a respectable enemy, but also Loki's father. No one knew what that'd do to the God of Mischief.

[Frank Castle]

It didn’t take long for Frank to know something was wrong. He’d been cleaning his weapons after a night out on the town, and he suddenly felt the cold shill enter the small apartment. He didn’t think much of it until he let out a breath and watched his breath mingle in the air. No way it had just gotten that cold, naturally anyway.

He turned to his window and looked into the street, watching the ice and snow appear out of nowhere. Then he saw the giants. Watched them start a slaughter that was soon overtaking the police and even the national guard who had gotten there in record time.

He turned away and walked back to his table, grabbing the M4 on the table and assembling it in several seconds. He slapped a magazine into the well and took a quick look at his vest. It was loaded up with magazines of several sorts, but he knew from watching the fight outside that bullets weren’t going to do it.

His brain analyzed the situation in seconds and came up with a single conclusion. Creatures of ice. Ice was the opposite of fire. Fire…

Unclipping the pouches and dumping them all unceremoniously onto the bench, he went to work reloading the vest, this time with grenades. Incendiary, mainly. Napalm. Sticks to something like glue and burns hot enough to incinerate a human being. Seemed like a good idea. He set the M4 back onto the bench and pulled the Milkor from his cabinet. He loaded it and snapped it closed, pulling out the biggest handgun he had in the place next. S&W .44. He slipped it into the holster at his right hip and grabbed a few speed loaders. He was about as ready as he could be.

Opening his window and hopping out onto the fire escape, he shimmied down as quickly as he could and walked out onto the sidewalk like he owned the street. Shouldering his grenade launcher and flipping the safety off, he aimed through the electronic leaf sight and fired a 40mm incendiary round at the closest giant he could find.

[Thor Odinson]

Thor, Odin's son!
Protector of mankind,
Ride to meet your fate!
Your destiny awaits!

Donald Blake looked out of his apartment and was very concerned. The city had gone from blistering hot summertime to a winter wonderland overnight. Well, minus the wonderland part. It was more like a winter hellscape, with giant monsters rampaging through the city. He knew just what they were. He had read all about it, in his books on Norse mythology. He had seen them in his dreams. Jane Foster stood by his side, a look of horror on her face.

"What are they?" she asked, incredulous that they even existed in the first place.

"Frost Giants," Donald said. He held a drawing pad in his hand, something he had not shared with Jane, for fear she would think he was insane. It would be hard for her to think that at the moment however. Whatever was happening here, he couldn't shake the feeling it had something to so with him...and the damn hammer he had sketched on the pad.

He decided now was a good time to tell her about it. He walked to the dining room table, and motioned for her to follow him. She sat down across for him, waiting for him to reveal whatever big plan it was he had been brewing. He had told her previously that he had something important to do, before it was too late. He hadn't said what. And now it looked like it was too late. Well, the eleventh hour was just the moment for him to pull something out of his ass to save the day. The only question was what. He wasn't in the operating room, this time. Donald Blake might have been very much in over his head today. She sighed, waiting. Donald looked to the pair who stood in the doorway of their apartment. An Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a woman from another world. Someone who had an interesting story to tell.

"This is Mjolnir," He said, " The hammer of Thor."

"Ok..." Jane said, looking concerned about Don's sanity.

"I need to get my hands on this, because...it is the key to something inside of me that is..."

He struggled for the best way to say it, the best way to put it. The situation being so dire, it was almost obvious. He had to just put it bluntly.

"Important for the fate of many worlds," He said looking to the woman who called herself Sif. Jane was not at all amused by how the woman had looked longingly into Donald's eyes. Like they were once lovers, or something. She was not usually jealous, but there was something about all this that gave her a bad feeling. Like there was more to Donald Blake than she knew. It made her very uncomfortable, given how close they had been. To think there was something she didn't know...it was too much. She was strong though, and she had to face it head on.

"Okay, then," She said cautiously, "So do you even know where it is?"


"I do," chimed in the suited man, a fellow named Phil Coulson. He was middle aged, and average looking, hard to think he was some big shot spy secret agent or whatever. But he was, and he knew things most people would never believe. Well, today it was hard not to believe in anything. Even myths. Especially myths...


"Where?" Jane and Donald, asked in unison.

"About a hundred miles north of Oslo, Norway." He said with a wry grin.


"But I have a trick that should get us there real quick..." Sif said unsheathing her sword and cutting into the air. Well, more like into the fabric of space-time, and creating a mystical portal. She smiled and winked at Donald, and motioned for them to follow her through it.

On the other side, they found themselves in a government installation, and sure enough, they stood before a hammer. It matched the one on the pad, to every detail. Donald even saw the inscription. That was the important part. The hammer was outdoors, with the thrown together base seemingly built around where it had fallen. This was Mjolnir, that was plain as day. A man approached the group.

"Hello, Donald Blake," He said, " My name is Erik Selvig, and my friends at S.H.I.E.L.D seem to think this belongs to you..." He pointed to the hammer. "The only question, is are you worthy?"

Donald wasn't sure, but he had to try. People depended on it. He had lives to save, a world to protect. He had a responsibility. A duty. He had done much good as a doctor, but there was good left undone. There was a world to protect, a world to...avenge.

He grasped the hammer, and hefted it high. It felt so right in his hands, like it was made for him. A flash of light in the sky, and the sound of thunder...comforted him in the cold of this unnatural winter. Suddenly, a bolt of lighting lunged toward him from the sky. But he was not afraid. He welcomed it. The power surged through him, changing him. The lightning dissipated to reveal a man in armor, a red cloak, a winged helm. The Thunderer lived again.

Jane looked on, in fear.

"What happened to Donald?" She cried out.

"Fear not, Jane Foster," Thor said, " Donald Blake and I are as one. His self lies deep within my mind, waiting until the Thunder God's work is done."

Sif ran up and embraced him, and the two kissed passionately. "Sif, my darling, it has been ages. But now is hardly the time. We must make haste to New York, and lift this fell curse from Midgard."

"Yes, my love," Sif said. Thor swung his hammer mightily, and opened a portal in the heavens, and flew through it, as Sif followed suit with her enchanted sword. Soon, the found themselves finally in the fray. Thor flew the skies above New York, and in his wake came the Storm. Lightning tore the sky asunder, and thunder roared a triumphant clarion call to those who would be his allies. And a warning to his foes. The Thunderer's wrath was upon them.


Thor swung his hammer and felled a frost giant, and mighty Mjolnir returned to his hand. He called forth the lightning, and decimated their ranks. Sif came running with sword and shield, cutting them down, in a fury like Thor's own. Then Thor saw the face of his enemy. Laufey the fool! Why would he dare to attack Midgard? Had Loki failed so utterly? Was Odin not yet recovered from his slumber? Did Odin even live...no, Thor knew this was his fault, in the end. He had sought war with Laufey. He had hurt his father grievously. All that came to pass...it was his own arrogance to blame. But he would set things right...

"Laufey!" He shouted as he flew headlong toward the Jotunn king.

"The Thunderer comes for you!" He shouted, his voice like the thunder he commanded. He would end this here, and now. Cut the head off, the body dies. Thor would be victorious this day...

[Fiona Kingsleigh]

Fiona loved summer. The sun and the warmth always made her feel happy and relaxed. It wasn't so much that she played outdoors a lot in the summer as a kid, but because she simply hated wearing winter gear. The only item of winter clothing she didn't mind were scarves, and nothing more, and Fiona needed not think about winter clothes in the middle of July. Instead, she was lounging in her apartment in shorts and tank top, enjoying a nice glass of wine.

All of that changed suddenly. The chilling wind blew through her wide open windows as bits of frost appeared alongside her wine glass still in her hand. The temperature took a drastic dip into the negatives, and once Fiona got up to investigate, she found the city covered in snow. What the heck?

Then came the blue giants. Huge man-like beings rushing down the streets of Manhattan as people fled in all directions. The news report filled Fiona in on the situation with the rest of the city. The monsters were everywhere, and the footage of the police and National Guard's efforts in stopping their menace showed bravery, with futility. Still, Fiona waited in her apartment, unwilling to act. It wasn't her problem, and she wasn't going to expose herself to the public. The giants look strong too, and who knows if she was actually strong enough to fight them and make a difference? At worse, Fiona would pack her bags and fly away from New York to a safer city until everything settled down, if it ever happened. And so, the small blonde lounged about, put a nice red scarf around her dainty neck, sipped her very chilled wine, and watched TV.

As the events continued to unfold, Fiona saw weird looking people, dressed in superhero costumes of some sort, running into the blue giants and actually fighting them. They looked human... perhaps they had super powers like herself. Superheroes in costumes... Fiona perished the thought. She didn't want to be a heroine. Those other fools could go ahead and risk their lives... right?

Fiona was in the middle of putting together a superhero costume when the lightning came. The streaks of lightning were all surrounding the epicentre of the main battleground. The on site news reporters still remaining caught footage of a man wielding a hammer descending from the sky. The hammer shot off lightning bolts, annihilating the giants in his path. Such power from the weapon... Fiona simply could not resist. In a hurry, she put on the random clothing she found in her closet for a makeshift costume, while wearing her red scarf around her waist instead of her neck so it wouldn't blow right into her face when she took flight. It would suffice to keep her identity... just this once.

Flying as fast as she could towards the storm, Fiona helped herself to a few stray bolts, intercepting the electricity before they hit the ground. Every stream of lightning made her stronger as she absorbed their energy. She then flew lower, closer to where a man wielding a hammer and dressed as a Viking was threatening a blue giant, holding a cube that was glowing blue. She also spotted few other "superheroes" taking the fight to the giants and succeeding. There was also a man pelting a giant in the face with grenades. Brave one, he was.

Fiona was eager to finally test her strength against a worthy challenge, but she was still cautious, and opted to continue observing the situation before making a move. She was in full energy absorption mode hanging in mid-air, lightning zagging diagonally and striking the blonde woman regardless of their origin. Little did she think her actions may interfere with the hammer's lightning trajectory.

[Bonita Juarez]

Bonita had seen this coming. Well, not this, but she definitely had seen some sort of tragedy befalling the city she had found herself in. Such it was whenever she had her visions, brief, uncontrollable, and never the full story. When she had seen the snow and ice in her visions along with the slaughtered cops, she had believed whatever was going to happen was going to happen months from now in the depths of winter's grasp. Imagine her surprise when she discovered ice forming on the window of her hotel, peering outside of it to see the sudden onslaught of winter's touch, in July!

Not only did she see the new conditions that were taking the city quicker than naturally possible, she could also see strange bluish creatures battling with police off in the distance. For a moment Bonita frowned, for she could tell that this was most likely the very event that her vision had been foretelling. Death had come to those who had risen to protect the citizens of the city, the deaths she had hoped to prevent by being here. Alas, all she could do now was prevent the death toll from rising too high and sending these foul invaders back to whatever domain they came from.

Donning on her custom made gear, Bonita lept from her window and began flying towards where the fighting was the thickest. That was where she could do the most good and save the most lives, so that was where she was needed. However what surprised her was the bouts of lightning that erupted from almost nowhere and were striking the ranks of these large creatures. They almost looked as if they were entirely made up of ice...

Landing herself in front of a score of the beasts, Bonita decided to put her theory to the test in the most literal of fashion. "And thy righteous flames shall burn the wicked down where thou stand!" Bonita yelled as she shot forth a stream of fire upon the giants as if she was yielding a flamethrower. Her foes would taste the flames that were hers to command.

[Loki Laufeyson]

The battle was simple for Loki. He knew how to fight these creatures, knew their weaknesses. This would be the fist time he was set against them in a neutral territory however, and the difference was notable. There were innocent bystanders to consider, the weakling mortals. Normally, Loki would not have cared what happened to the mortals, but he would look less a hero if he allowed any of them to come to harm. So he skirted around the considerable number of mortals still seeking cover, and avoided getting in the way of the authorities, who were still fighting back valiantly, if feebly.

He focused on the giants in front of him, as more and more of them were noticing their attackers and rushing toward him and Sigyn. His wife was on the other side of the street, out of sight, but still fine, as far as he could tell. He did not notice that she was making her way closer to him, or that Laufey was also closing in. He was cutting down giants as they approached him, this one to his knees, that one in the leg, the next one in the abdomen. Their size daunted Loki not at all; to him, they were big, dumb creatures that served as nothing but practice.

Still, they were close to twice his height, and so as one dodged his attacks, he ran up on the hood, then the roof of a nearby car, covered in snow, Slipping past the creature's jab, he jumped in close enough to cut across its chest, then leaped forward to slice open its neck. Loki landed on the ground in a crouch, and the giant fell next to him, sending up a flurry of snow.

Something exploded nearby, and Loki whipped his head around to locate the source of it. A giant had caught fire, and was melting down to a more manageable size. Loki strode toward the incapacitated giant. Apparently one of the mortals had just figured out that when faced with fire, Frost Giants shrank down quite a bit. It was nothing for Loki to walk up and run his sword through the surprised creature. Glancing back, he nodded at the man who was carrying the grenade launcher. Perhaps some of these mortals had sense, if "sense" could be described as wading into battle with massive mythological creatures.

New fighters entered the fray as well, on the defending side. A figure flew above, absorbing lightning strikes as she observed the happenings below, and another dove in with flames directed at the giants. Each giant she hit shrank in the same manner, becoming smaller and somewhat weaker, making the job of those on the ground easier.

The sound of whooshing caught his ear just as a blade of ice caught his armor below his shoulder, opening up a cut in his skin before he jumped away. There was little time for him to react, though, as a sudden rumble of thunder and flashes of lightning twisted the sky overhead.

Even the Frost Giants knew what that meant.

A sudden surge of strength overtook him, and Loki struck out at another giant, only for the foe to fall forward, having been hit by a bolt of lightning. There was little time to think as Loki finally noticed Sigyn rushing toward him. She stood out easily in her green and gold armor, somehow managing to appear graceful and fearsome at once. But he was not questioning why she was running toward him, as he should have been.

Eyes wide, he was asking himself why? Why had Thor reappeared now, of all times? Why with Sif? Clearly Thor had regained his memories and hammer, but why now? Could it not have waited? This was Loki's battle to win, not Thor's! Furious now, he gritted his teeth and turned away from Sigyn-

-only to come face to face with Laufey himself. The leader of the Jotunn had crushed past the local forces that had tried to stop him, with barely a scratch to show for the effort. Growling, he glared down at Loki, clearly unhappy that their arrangement had taken this turn.

"LOKI-"

Before he could finish, the frost giant was in turn distracted by the shouting of Thor, and quickly raised the object in his hands against the thunder god. The Casket of Ancient Winters released a gale of cold and ice, slowing Thor to a stop as a thick layer of ice began to grow on his skin and armor.

Raising his sword, Loki advanced as Laufey leaned in to share a word with the temporarily frozen Thunderer. "You should advise your brother against double-crossing me…."

Laufey raised his arms to crush Thor, but was stopped by a beam of energy from Loki, strong enough that it unfroze Thor and knocked Laufey off his feet. As the Frost Giant leader struggled to stand in the massive snowdrift he had fallen into. Loki glanced at Sigyn, and the two silently agreed on a plan of attack. Running together, they raised their weapons and slashed as one, aiming for the tendons in his feet. It would be enough to disable the giant, but not to kill him.

Not yet.

[Sigyn Laufeyson]

Sigyn had clearly not expected the mortals to react like this. Well, some of them, it seemed. While most of them ran away in absolute horror, some few, fierce specimen were joining Loki and Sigyn in this battle, running towards the giants, even flying towards the scene, instead of trying to get away. Some of them were sporting powers that could easily be magic, only that it didn't feel like there was more magic around than Loki's and hers. They'd have to look into the matter later, once this battle was over. It was indeed a curious thing. However, given that two Frost Giants had just decided to close in on her, Sigyn did not have too much time to stare in awe.

She swung her spear yet again, pushing herself off the ground. From the corner of her eye, she could see a grenade going off. Someone was well-equipped. Sigyn flew against the first Frost Giant, the impact knocking him right off his feet. As they landed, her spear went through his icy body, staking his poor heart.
However, this was giving the other Frost Giant enough time to attack her. Sigyn ducked as the beast was about to lunge forward and possibly, crush her badly, when a loud sound of thunder sounded.
This was no regular thunder.
This was his Thunder.
Goddess and Frost Giant alike stalled and tried to find the origin of this noise.And there he was, in all his divine glory. The Thunderer, Thor of Asgard, in all his glory, with his hammer and the Lady Sif by his side.
Sigyn's mouth fell open at best. Thor. Obviously having regained his memory. In battle.
At this point, she was not sure whether she should be utterly happy or very mad about this. On the one hand, Thor's and Sif's presence ensured that they'd come out of this battle less harmed, they were supporting a common cause. And frankly, everything that would improve Loki's chances of not getting hurt found Sigyn's fancy. Above everything else, she wanted to go home with a husband that was in one piece, alive.
On the other hand, Thor was raining in Loki's parade yet again, as he did for all of his life. After all this time the God had been cast out, why did he have to return now, stealing Loki's moment? Why did he have to step in, when her and Loki would be able to take care of the situation somehow? History was repeating itself over and over again. This was not good.

However, the distraction gave Sigyn yet enough momentum to stab the other Frost Giant. Gracefully, she rolled over the ground, making sure the dying Jotun would not crush her as he fell down to the ground. There was no time to brood or ponder, for Laufey had reached Loki. Quick, she thought.

For a second, Sif's and her gazes met. Sigyn smiled slightly, nodded. Sif was a true warrior, Sigyn had been confined by her position as princess before. She believed Sif had never truly seen her fight, even though Sigyn had never made a secret of her practice and training.

But then, Laufey released the Casket. The world started to freeze even more. Sigyn ducked, covered her face with her arm and put all her magic into keeping her body heated, hotter than average, hidden. She managed to keep herself from being frozen, but heavy drops of ice were hanging from her lashes and eyebrows. The tip of her nose was blue from the ice. Nothing that would not melt in time, she hoped.

A moment later, she was running towards Laufey. As did Loki. Sigyn, whose eyes where shining more and more golden as her and Loki united their magic, swung her spear over her head, its blade facing Laufey's feet. She understood Loki's plan. With their magic strong like this, they were faster, stronger. And so they manage to cut Laufey's feet, sending the giant falling. Sigyn fell herself, but she caught herself, braced her fall and unwound by rolling over her back. She stepped back, spear at hand as she watched Laufey growl. Her gaze was on Loki a second later, making sure he was safe, too.

[Frank Castle]

Thoomp. Another round exited the barrel of the launcher, finding it’s mark in the chest of the latest giant. It staggered a bit before it realized that it was bursting into flames, quickly trying to beat them out. Frank realized that he was providing more of a support role than an offensive roll, and he was ok with that for now. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Knowing he was empty, he flicked the Milkor open and turned the cylinder upside down, watching the empty shells fall to the ground. He started to pick rounds from a pouch on his chest when he felt something plow into him from the side. One of the smaller giants that hadn’t been killed was on him. It was charred in places, it didn’t have any ice blades, but it was still about seven feet tall and plenty pissed off.

It stalked toward Frank and picked him up by the throat, intent on choking the life out of him. Not bothering to try and fight the hold, Frank instead went for the revolver at his side. Pressing it to the giant’s left temple, he fired. The giant recoiled from the shot, but it wasn’t quite dead yet. The fact that the round pierced at all was enough for Frank, so he tried again. And again and again. Four .44 hollow points to the head, and the creature let him drop to the ground as it fell over. Well, at least that worked.

Slipping the revolver back into the holster to reload later, he picked up his primary weapon and slipped several grenades into the cylinder. Snapping it closed and looking for a target, he saw for the first time how many other supers had joined the fight. Big guy with a hammer, who apparently could fly and control lightning. Check. Gal flying around being struck to lightning. Check. Gal shooting fire. Check. Those, along with the two who looked like rejects from a renaissance fair. Apparently the world did come together in a crisis.

He was vaguely aware of an exchange going on somewhere across the field. Not only did he not care, but it was dangerous to try and stop to listen in. He needed to find a better position. He’d already been caught from the blind side, he didn’t want that to happen again. Quickly deciding that the best place to be was behind the woman shooting fire out of her hands, he made his way over and took up a position to watch her back. She was doing the same thing he was, on a scale he couldn’t match.

[Thor Odinson]

The treacherous Laufey unleashed the power of the Casket. Thor was not pleased. He was even less pleased about being the target of the magical assault. He would not long be frozen. By his own power, or by Loki's, he would be free. And Laufey would pay dearly. Of course, Laufey was not going pass the opportunity to kill Thor, and that as an issue. Thankfully, Loki unleashed a beam of magical energy that interrupted the Frost Giant king in mid swing.

But the giant's words enraged Thor more than anything else about the present predicament. The giant was claiming that Loki had dealings with the Jotunn chieftain of some kind. That was absurd. His brother might have his flaws, he played at mischief and trickery, but he was not wicked. He was not evil. Thor refused to accept the possibility it could be true. The lies of Jotunn, nothing more.


"You should advise your brother against double-crossing me…."

Thor burst from the icy shell and raised his hammer high, as Sigyn and Loki savagely assaulted the king of giants. Thor looked at the felled giant with burning rage. He had tried to turn brother against brother to serve his own ends...

"You dare to besmirch the name of an Asgardian prince?" Thor asked, seething with every syllable. He was not going to give the giant a quick death. He would make him suffer for all his sins against Asgard, for this sin against Midgard. He would pay for everything evil he had wrought. Thor swung his hammer overhead, and slung the hammer headlong into the fallen giant's massive torso, the resulting impact would shatter his ribs. He would be in much pain. Thor grinned as the hammer returned to his hand...


"I am the Thunderer! The Odinson!" He shouted, " And your life ends today, Laufey of Jotunheim!"

He lifted the hammer once more, to call the power of the storm to bear upon the giant.


"You will know the vengeance of the storm!" He cried as he unleashed a bolt of lightning from Mjolnir, electricity driving like a spear into him. The power of the storm surged through the giant's body.

Thor was not going to relent this day. He careened headlong toward the giant, Mjolnir raised, readied to strike the killing blow. He would crush the giant's skull in, if he had his way. He would end this war...once and for all.

"On this day, no one will question that Thor is MIGHTY!" He exclaimed, his voice like thunder. The sky echoed him. Such was the way of the Thunder God.

[Fiona Kingsleigh]

It was definitely a different sort of lightning, Fiona concluded. She had fed off of lightning before, but somehow this thunder storm that brewed up once the Viking arrived tasted... foreign. It was overwhelmingly energizing. The time had come to join the fight.

Swooping in from the sky, the blonde woman dove straight for a giant swatting his giant axe at a few police officers. With great impact, Fiona drove both her feet squarely into the monster's chest, sending it flying through the shop window beside him. Landing gently on the ground, the frightened officers started firing their pistols at Fiona. Small arms fire didn't wound her, but every bullet that bounced off her durable body still stung like hell.

"Knock it off, morons!" shouted Fiona, before flipping the nearest car on the road in the cops' direction, sending them all scrambling to avoid getting crushed beneath the ruined vehicle. Resuming her focus on the battle ahead, she spied another giant, pointing a huge spear in her direction as if it was a challenge. Fiona smirked.

"You want to fight? Drop your weapon and face me, fist to fist!" Fiona yelled out to the giant, putting up her dukes and showing she was unarmed. She wasn't sure if these creatures understood English, but when the giant started running at her and dropping its spear to the ground, Fiona braced herself. The blue giant roared as it picked up speed, and when it got within five yards, Fiona grabbed the parking meter beside her, ripped it up from the cement sidewalk, and swung it at the side of the charging giant's skull. The monster dropped with a huge thud as Fiona stood over its bashed head.

"Never trust humans, okay?" she said to the dying monster before laughing and taking flight once again. The grunt giants were boring. Fiona had more energy to expend, and she wanted a more worthy foe. Wait, where did the Viking go? Surely the hammer man would be fighting where the strongest giants were. As soon as the pretend-superhero spotted the Viking beating on a giant with his hammer, Fiona made a bee line for the location. It seemed the giant was being surrounded by the Viking and a couple of people in weird costumes. Well, as weird as what Fiona was wearing maybe. She slowed her flight speed to give herself more observation time before arrival.

The National Guard, however, didn't appreciate Fiona trying to kill police officers with a car, and tank shells started whizzing through the air around her. She turned just in time to take a shell to the stomach, where it exploded on impact. The explosion knocked the wind out of Fiona's body and sent her flying backwards, falling through the air and landing hard on the triumphant Thor, right after he uttered the words ".. Thor is MIGHTY!"

[Wade Wilson]

"You have no idea what is going on, Wade."

"But it looks SOOOOOO much fun!"

"Didn't anyone ever tell you --- oh Christ!"

"BANZAI!" Deadpool screamed at the top of his lungs, not entirely sure what he was leaping headfirst into. The only thing he knew for sure was that there was a giant battle being waged in Manhattan and that nobody bothered to call him, text him, poke him on Facebook or even send him an e-vite.

"I know right! You guys are SO MEAN!"

"BANG! BANG! BANGBANGBANGBANG!" Brandishing two Glock 9mm handguns, Deadpool began to fire at will. Every gunshot was accentuated by Deadpool's vocalization of gunfire. The majority of his bullets went in some random direction, not really hitting anybody or anything. A few bullets actually managed to destroy something, but that was mostly any nearby windows that were unlucky enough to be caught in this situation.

"Can inanimate objects have luck?"

"That shouldn't be something worth contemplate right now, Wade."

"Why?"

"You're about to get crushed by a giant foot."

"Huh?"

Deadpool looked towards the sky, only to be smashed by a Frost Giant's foot. For anyone else, this spelled death. For anyone else, they would have met their doom by becoming the equivalent of the gum that's stuck to your heel. However, Deadpool does not fall under the 'anyone else' category. As the foot raised back up, Deadpool had run one of his swords into the Frost Giant's foot and was firing his Glock 9mm without hesitation.

"NOBODY WORRY! I GOT THIS THING RIGHT WHERE--" Deadpool was able to yell out before the foot crashed back down to the earth. To Frost Giant, Deadpool was nothing more than a bug that refused to die. A cockroach if you will.

"Nobody thinks Deadpool a cockroach and lives to tell about it!"

"-- I WANT HIM. HE'S ON THE ROPES!" Deadpool was able to finish his thought as the Frost Giant brought his foot back up. Instead of firing an endless stream of bullets into the monster's foot, Deadpool dropped his handgun to remove his second sword from it's sheath. Stabbing the Frost Giant in the side of it's foot, Deadpool was able to swing from the bottom onto the Frost Giant's ankle. He continued this upward climb until he was sitting firmly on the shoulders of the giant.

"BESTRIDE EVER!" Deadpool yelled in a child like glee as he began stabbing and slicing the Frost Giant with his swords.

[Loki Laufeyson]

Unfazed by the Thunderer's threats, Laufey staggered to his feet, his tendons having been severely damaged by Sigyn and Loki. Laufey had just gotten up when Mjolnir came crashing into his ribcage, knocking him right back down. The injury made breathing extremely difficult, and would take some time even for his body to mend. "You fool…." Laufey growled at Thor, displeased by his defense of Loki. "The trickster has blinded you…."

Loki had scrambled out of the way as the giant fell twice, and now looked up to see a bolt of energy slam into Laufey. On the one hand, Thor clearly intended to end the giant here and now, which would have the advantage of shutting the dumb giant up before he could say any more. However, Loki had wanted the giant's death at his own hands, so the glory would be his. The giant's body shuddered as it absorbed the lightning, leaving little relief for the king of the Jotunn.

Then, something unexpected: Jsut as Thor began to deal his death blow, one of the flying humans crashed into him, having been hit by something Loki had not seen. This gave him an opening. Lafuey staggered up again, more slowly this time, snorting at the state of things on the field.

"ENOUGH!" Laufey roared, his arms forming ice blades, which he swung toward the fallen Thor and the blonde. Circling around, Loki was able to block the swings with his sword, and the two began to battle, with Loki matching every stroke deftly, even with just one sword. He should have brought two swords like the costumed figure that had just arrived on the scene. Alas, he had not, and he lacked the time to get another.

With one wide, heavy swing, Loki broke through the ice blades, but lost his sword as Laufey staggered into him. The giant picked Loki up with his bare hands, not so much choking him as trying to freeze him to death. And it would have been Loki's death, should have been, but - as Sigyn had already seen - all it did was force Loki to turn blue, into his natural Jotunn form.

And in the face of the Asgardian prince Lafuey saw something much more terrifying than he could ever have expected.

Himself.

A split second later, a grenade from the human and a fireball from the flying woman slammed into Laufey at once, rocking the giant's body and forcing him to lose his grip on Loki. The trickster landed in the snow in a crouch, braced by one arm, the other held out to balance him. His sword was somewhere in the snow; it took him a few seconds to find it. By then, Laufey was charging him again.

This Laufey was smaller, having been cut down to size by the fire and explosives, and was still staggering from the blows the Asgardians had dealt him. Loki blocked his advance easily, dealt him an uppercut that sent him flying backwards to the ground, and, as the giant struggled to get up once more, Loki drove his sword into Laufey's heart, pinning him to the ground and killing him at last.

It happened slowly, to Loki at least. He'd had full knowledge of what he was doing. He had just killed his biological father, yes. But for what incredible ends! He would be revered as a hero now, for slaying the king of the horrid Frost Giants and beginning the end of this attack on Midgard. An attack he had engineered, of course, but who was to know that?

Returning to his natural color, he tossed his sword aside and looked around for Sigyn. The battle was not yet over; they still needed to find and stop the Casket of Ancient Winters, and there were some giants elft to battle who did not seem to want to retreat. As far as Loki was concerned, though, the battle was won. He felt exhausted all of a sudden, a satisfied sort of exhaustion that also had a morbid quality to it.

He and the blonde who had crashed into Thor seemed to spot the Casket at the same time. Gesturing for Sigyn to come with him, he took a few long strides forward, hoping to get to the Casket before the blonde did. Touching it would kill the mortal, and now that the battle was done, he needed no more casualties on the Midgard side.

[Sigyn Laufeyson]

Sigyn was fighting for their dear lives next to Loki. It was good to put all her practice to use, she did not get the chance to, often. However, she realized that not actually having much experienced with battle had her at disadvantage. You could practice ever so often with different partners, but you'd figure a lot about them out sooner or later. This was totally different. Morever, her opponent was a Frost Giant, not her husband or Greta's son, that happened to be a great sparing partner.

Laufey roared, while a woman crashed into Thor, sending him out of his place. Loki took the advantage to fulfil the deed he had wanted to fulfil. But Laufey got a hold of him. Sigyn cried out in fear, gathered her magic to send it through her spear and somehow remediy the situation, when Loki turned Jotunn. Sigyn froze for a moment and stared. She did not even know whether she was staring in awe, but Loki just looked beautiful. Even though there were similarities to the Frost Giants, he still looked different. More graceful, less the monster Laufey was. He just looked absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful and menacing. The element of surprise caught Laufey off-guard.

Sigyn then watched how her hsuband put his biological father's life to and end. She was so wrapped up in this that she did not realize the other Frost Giant approaching her. This was exactly the reason for her lack in expertise, she got distracted by the scene in front of her. An icy fist met her abdomen and sent her into a couple of trash bins, that crashed loudly. Sigyn - now being concentrated again, after having messed up - used the magic she had gathered before. Her spear shot forward with such precision that she stabbed the Frost Giant right through the heart. It roared as it fell. Sigyn's spear returned to her, like a boomerang. Just in time, she caught Loki's gaze. She had a little gash on her forehead, that was bleeding, but apart from that, she felt okay so far. There was no time to ponder possible injuries anyway, as there was more to do, more to take care of.

Such as a blonde woman, that had just crashed into Thor, who had possibly put her eyes on the casket. Sigyn cut her off on the way, flipping her spear on her palm. "With all due respect, do not even think about it. It will kill you," Sigyn explained with a strong voice. Even if the woman fought back, she might have bought Loki enough time to get to the Casket.

[Thor Odinson]

There comes Lopt, the treacherous
Lusting for revenge
He leads the legions of the dead
Towards the Aesir's realm

Thor's moment of triumph was at hand! He would end the life of the Jotunn King once and for all. Or so he thought. The larger battle had been put out of his mind, such was the fury and rage he had felt toward Laufey . He couldn't hear the lies of Laufey over that rage, or perhaps he wouldn't. The giant was trying to save himself from Mjolnir's death blow, that was all...

In the chaos of battle, a projectile woman careened toward him. He was caught off guard, and tumbled away, his strike ruined. He cursed the woman, the giant king, and this damn world for sending interlopers into his battle.


"Foolish woman!" He shouted, about to harangue her for taking his moment away. Then he saw Loki battle Laufey, and was shocked to look upon his brother's face. The face of a jotunn. Then Loki killed Laufey. Thor was supposed to do that. Thor was thoroughly confused by all of this. Had Laufey been right? Had Loki planned all of this, to this end? Or was he after more than that...?

"LOKI!" He shouted to his brother.


"We must bring the Casket to Asgard at once."

He looked at his brother, hoping Loki was still on his side. He couldn't be sure. He had to just wait for the answer...

"This madness is over, isn't it?"