Ben?" Wasp wondered, reaching out to him.
The Alien Teen's body jerked as his upper body lurched, his back straightened, and his head looked to the sky as he gritted his teeth, like he was possessed.
Almost on instinct, Wasp's hands glowed with energy as he aimed her stingers at the roots to cut him free.
Only for Thor to stop her. "Nay, Wasp." He said, pointing to the ground where the roots entered the earth.
Blue energy flowed from the roots into Swampfire. Causing the Alien Hero's body to glow, his eyes began to glow with the same blue energy.
"Unnatural. Violation. Perversion." Swampfire spoke in an ethereal voice before his head lowered to look at Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
He continued. "Broken is the natural order. A false king sits upon the throne. For balance to be restored. Break the chains that bind that which life much flows freely."
Swampfire then groaned as he started writhing in pain.
At that point, Wasp couldn't bear to see him like this anymore. She wrenched free of Thor's grip and rushed to his side.
"Ben, don't worry. I'll cut you free." She said, aiming her hand at the vines around his right arm, ready to blast him free.
"Nay, Janet! Stop!" Swampfire protested, causing her to pause and look at him in stunned silence.
Did he just say "Nay" like how Thor talks?
"What the heck?" Hawkeye exclaimed, backing up in shock as the other Avengers all looked worried.
"What's happening? Thor, any ideas?" Captain America asked the God of Thunder.
"Nay," Thor responded, shocked by what he was witnessing.
The Planet Alien groaned as he looked at her, agony clear on his face. "It is the Tree! Yggdrasil! I discern its affliction. It is in grievous agony!"
He groaned as more energy flowed into his body.
Thor's eyes widened in shock. Surely, he must have misheard the boy. The idea of a mortal communing with the Tree of Life is baffling, to say the least.
That being said, Thor truly believed that no other Mortal could accomplish such an act. But when it came to Ben, somehow, it made sense. After all, the boy has proven time and again that he is unlike any mortal he has known.
Black Panther lowered his gaze to the ground. Narrowing his eyes, the lenses on his cowl switched to a different filter.
The visuals changed, and the Wakandan King saw the mystical energy flowing into Swampfire through his vines. Tracing the energy down through the soil, Panther found the source coming from a massive source flowing underneath them. Like a giant river of magic flowing directly under them.
"I can see the source of the Mystical Energy flowing into Ben." Black Panther reported. "It is beneath us. A massive well of magic, flowing beneath us like a river."
The Panther King narrowed his eyes as he noticed something. "Strange. It appears that the structure of the magic source bears a remarkable resemblance to Swampfire's floral physiology."
Upon hearing his allies' report. Thor immediately made the connection. "Aya. It is Yggdrasil. The World Trees' branches connect all the realms."
"So, Ben just hooked himself up to a giant magic tree like a car battery?" Hawkeye summed up with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sure that's healthy for the kid."
Wasp, Hank, Cap and Thor all adopted concerned expressions only for the Young Avengers to speak once more.
"What Loki doth to it is most unnatural. He causeth it distress. The Tree, it yearns to be unshackled."
Swampfire groaned and thrashed before going still once more. His eyes glowed brightly as he spoke once more.
"Pray, allow us to extend our aid!" he proclaimed unto an unseen presence. "What Loki doth perpetrate upon thee, we possess the means to halt. We shall liberate thee from these chains of despair. Yet, we cannot achieve this noble endeavour in solitude. Join us, and together we shall vanquish his nefarious schemes."
The Avengers recoiled in shock. The way he spoke and moved. It was like he was possessed.
Suddenly, he jolted as mystical energy flowed into him, and the Alien Teen jumped to his feet. His withered body turned green and full of life. The Plant Alien looked rejuvenated, back to his usual self.
However, the wound on his back didn't seem to heal entirely, as his shoulder showed a light green scar.
The Alien Teen let out a satisfied sigh as the vines retracted from the ground and back into his body.
Cautiously, Wasp approached the restored Teen.
"Ben? You in there, Little Bro?" She asked, hesitantly.
Swampfire smirked in response. "Yeah, Jan. I'm here. It's all good."
The Insect Themed Heroine instantly let out a sigh of relief.
"What was that?" Captain America asked, walking up to him.
"You looked like you were possessed or something," Hawkeye commented, weirded out by the whole thing.
Thor walked over and placed his hands on the Plant Alien's shoulders. "Young Ben. Is it true? Did you commune with the World Tree?"
Without missing a beat, the Alien Avenger nodded.
"Swampfire can control plants. Guess magic, reality spanning trees count in a way." The Alien Teen quipped before continuing. "But this time was different. It wasn't like it normally is, where I just think and the plants respond. This was the first time a plant actually talked to me."
Swampfire frowned as he raised his hand to his face. "I made some kind of connection to the World Tree. A sort of psychic link or something like that." He explained. "It said it wants to help."
The Heroes were in awe. The fact that the Young Hero was able to hold a psychic conversation with the World Tree is impressive enough. But to get that very same tree to side with them….
"So does that mean you can use magic now?" Wasp asked, a little excited.
Swampfire shook his head. "Only the All Father can use the Odin Force. The Tree made that part very clear."
Thor nodded in agreement. The Odin Force is a power that can only be wielded by the All-Father of Asgard. Should a mortal try to wield it, they would surely perish.
Wasp's expression dropped into a crestfallen state.
"So what did the magic tree do for you?" Hawkeye asked curiously.
Swampfire glanced down at his hand. He could feel the buzzing of power coursing through him.
"I don't know, exactly." He admitted. "I think it gave me some kind of buff to my stats."
Captain America gave him a confused look, which Wasp quickly noticed.
"It gave him a boost in power." She translated for him. The Super Soldier nodded in understanding and gave her a thankful smile.
"As helpful as that might be." Giant Man chimed in. "I don't suppose that means you can help our other teammate here?"
Following his gaze, the team turned to Hulk, still frozen in his stone prison.
Swampfire's expression dropped. "No. It didn't." He said, disappointed.
That being said, now that he was energised, the Teen Hero did consider switching to Clockwork and reversing time to turn Hulk back.
But before he could do so, Thor spoke up.
"Leave that matter to me." He said confidently. "We have idled here long enough. The battle still rages, and we must put an end to Loki's scheme now."
The other Avengers nodded. Trusting Thor in whatever he was about to do, and turning to the battle in the sky.
Iron Man was managing to hold his own against Loki. His Uru Armor manages to turn Loki's magic power against him.
However, that initial advantage was fading fast. The God of Mischief was more than just magical energy blasts.
A smug grin, and Loki waved his hand and cast a spell. The Building next to Iron Man suddenly stretched and contorted, turning into a large hand that reached out and grabbed the Armored Avenger.
The stone hand gripped Iron Man in a vice, restraining him as Loki commanded it to squeeze him to a pulp.
With his enemy restrained, Loki flew to Iron Man and grabbed his helmet with both hands and started squeezing.
While the Uru could absorb magic to make it stronger, Loki's power still exceeded the amount that it had absorbed. By using the magic on himself to boost his already godly strength, Loki could crush the mortal's head like a grape.
Seeing Tony in trouble, Swampfire quickly jumped into action.
Reaching up to his chest, the Alien Hero tapes the dial and goes Ultimate.
"ULTIMATE SWAMPFIRE!"
The Evolved Alien flexed his limbs. His body felt lighter than usual, and a tingling sensation surged through him, leaving him feeling energised.
Seeing him in that state, Wasp looked at him with a concerned look.
"Ben, are you sure you should be going ultimate right off the bat?" She asked him.
Hawkeye stepped forward. "She's got a point. Shouldn't you be saving battery life on that thing until you really need it?"
Ultimate Swampfire smirked as he raised his right hand as it became engulfed in blue flames.
"Don't worry about it." He said casually as he looked at the Avengers. "Now's not the time to worry about stuff like that. We've seen what Loki can do, and he wasn't even trying before. We can't hold anything back. It's all or nothing against this guy."
He ignited his other hand and placed them together to form a massive fireball.
"So let's give it our all!"
He then aimed his arms at the Emerald Asgardian and unleashed a powerful blast of blue fire.
The blast radiated so much power and heat that the heroes were almost blown away by the air pressure. Blue fire struck Loki in the chest, sending the God of Lies flying through the roof of the palace and into the open sky.
With Loki out of the way, Iron Man managed to blast himself out of his stone prison and rocketed after him.
Ultimate Swampfire then aimed his palms to the ground and blasted a continuous stream of fire that rocketed him into the sky after Iron Man to continue the battle.
Without missing a beat, Captain America turned to the remaining Avengers.
"You hear him, team. Wasp, you're with me. Thor, do what you need to do to help Hulk, then meet up outside. Giant Man, Panther, Hawkeye, go find a way to break Loki's connection to the World Tree. Let's move people!" The Captain ordered as he prepared to move out.
As the team mobilised, Giant Man noticed Wasp hadn't moved yet as her eyes were fixed on the battle in the sky.
The Size Changer clenched her fist and held it over her heart as if mulling something over in her mind.
"Jan?" Hank said, walking up to her.
Upon hearing his voice, Wasp lowered her head and smirked.
"I'm sorry, Hank. But, Ben's right." She said in a confident tone. "We can't hold anything back."
She then raised her hand to her wrists and removed her gloves, letting them fall to the floor.
"The gloves are off. I'm giving this my all." She stated with pure determination.
Hanks's eyes widened as he looked down at the gloves.
"Are you sure, Jan?" He asked with a concerned look. "I mean, you remember the last time? The backlash almost caused…"
Janet placed her finger to his lips to silence him.
"I know, Hank. But it's not like the last time. I'm not the same girl I was when we first met." She said with a cocky smirk.
Hank looked into her eyes and saw that familiar fire in her eyes. She certainly wasn't the same spoiled girl he had met all those years ago. She's more than anything he could possibly dream of.
"Now. Let's go save the world." Wasp said with excitement.
Suddenly, she grabbed his shirt and jumped into her tippy toes.
Before Hank could even react, Janet lifted herself closer to his face and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Hank Pym was stunned. His brilliant mind went blank as he could only watch as Janet shrank down to her Wasp form and flew into the sky with Captain America sprinting across the room to go after her.
The Size Changing Scientist couldn't even fully register what just happened before Hawkeye slapped him on the shoulder, snapping him out of his stupor.
"Ok, lover boy. That's enough of that. Any ideas on how we even find where Loki is stealing his power from?" The Archer asked.
Thor strolled past the Archer, approaching his hammer. That was still imprisoned under Loki's magic force field.
"You will find the source of Loki's trickery at the centre of the palace. Where the magic flows strongest." He explained as he crouched before the energy dome.
Hawkeye raised an eyebrow. "How exactly are we…"
"I can lead the way." Black Panther stated, grabbing Markman's attention.
Hawkeye saw the look in the Wakandans' eyes and nodded without another word, and the trio left Thor to his devices.
As they left, Thor reached his hand towards the dome. The power of the Odin Force prevented him from summoning his hammer. But he could still feel the connection. Loki's corrupted power may be mighty.
But Thor is the mightiest of them all.
Without any hesitation or fear, Thor shoved his hand into the energy dome. Pain coursed through the Prince of Asgard as the powerful magic burned his hand. Thor could feel the magic ripping at his very being.
He could see his skin blackening and flaking off as the power fought against him. But he would not yield.
Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed as the God of Thunder thrust his hand forth and gripped the handle of Mjolnir.
A lightning bolt and a shockwave erupted throughout the throne room.
From the ashes rose Thor. His eyes crackling with lightning and his hammer glowing with power. His hand had already healed from its injury, and the Prince of Thunder felt new life within him.
With his hammer freed, Thor turned his attention to his stone ally.
Hulk, his friend and ally, is as savage as he is noble. While they may argue about many things, Thor always respected the Gamma Giant's strength and bravery. No matter the foe, Hulk would face the threat without regard for his own safety.
To see a brother in arms reduced to this. It was an insult that Thor would not let stand.
"You have rested long enough, my friend. Tis time for you to rejoin the fight." Thor proclaimed as he raised his hammer to Hulk's chest.
For many who have seen him in action, one would assume that Mjolnir is merely Thor's signature weapon. Thor strikes his foes, summons lightning, generates tornadoes, or allows the Thunderer to fly.
This is a mere falsehood. The hammer is an extension of Thor himself. Thor merely channels his power through the hammer. His power is its power. Shared between them in an unbreakable bond.
But while Mjolnir is a mighty weapon in battle. It is also a tool to build.
While Thor was never a sorcerer in the same league as Loki or the Enchantress. He still has knowledge of many spells and enchantments. His hammer can help him focus and channel that magic to perform some basic spells.
One of which is the negation of magic energy.
Focusing his power, Mjolnir glowed and mystical lightning arched across the mighty mallet.
Touching the hammer to the stone statue, Mystical lightning burst forth. Blue arcs of energy surged over the Stone Hulk. The mystical energy flowed across the statue like a wave, enveloping the stone sculpture in its embrace.
Suddenly, cracks started to form across the stone Hulk, spreading all over his body until a green flash burst from within and the Incredible Hulk burst from the statue. Taking a deep inhale of air, the Gamma Giant panted heavily as he felt life within him once more.
Hulk's eyes fluttered open as he looked around, dazed and confused.
Then it all came back. The fight attack on the palace, the fight with Loki… Seeing him tear Ben's wing off and toss him to the ground.
Anger flared in Hulk's eyes as he clenched his fists, and green energy pulsed in his veins.
Looking down, he saw Thor, free and standing next to him with an eager grin on his face.
"Breath the free air once more, my friend." Thor greeted the Gamma Giant. "For our greatest battle still lies ahead."
Hulk narrowed his eyes as he grunted, and a steam cloud exited his mouth. "Where's Horn Head?" He snarled.
Thor smirked, twirling his hammer and aiming it towards the sky. "Come! Our glorious battle awaits!"
With a mighty yell, Thor launched himself into the skies above, and Hulk came leaping after him.
Meanwhile, above the palace, the battle between the Avengers and Loki raged on.
After Ultimate Swampfire blasted Loki outside the palace. He and Iron Man pursued him to the sky. Ult Swampfire utilised his fire as propulsion to maintain his airborne state.
Once he was high enough, he stopped his propulsion and aimed his hands at Loki to fire another beam of concentrated blue fire at the God.
Loki countered by raising a mystic shield to block the attack.
With him distracted, Iron Man flew in to attack. Cocking back his arm, the Armored Hero tossed his shield similar to Captain America.
The runes on his arm glowed, and the shield suddenly changed its trajectory, following Iron Man's command as it glided through the air and struck Loki in the back of the head before returning to him.
Iron Man blasted forward with his mace raised. However, Loki summoned his spear and clashed with Iron Man's weapon.
His mace got caught between the barbs of Loki's spearhead. With a twist of his wrist, Loki snapped the head of the mace off Iron Man's weapon.
While the armor was made of Uru, sadly, the metal in his weapons was not.
Quickly discarding the mace, Iron Man switched to primarily shield combat.
While his intentions with the weapons were noble. They unfortunately put him at a disadvantage. As the Billionaire was not trained to use these kinds of weapons.
His attempt to bash Loki's head with the shield only resulted in the God of Mischief catching the weapon in his hand and unleashing a blast of magic power that shattered the metal disc into pieces.
With his weapons gone, Iron Man quickly switched back to the fighting style he's familiar with.
Channeling his stored power in his chest, Iron Man blasted a mystically charged uni-beam at Loki.
The powerful blast caught the Asgardian off guard, sending him flying back.
Just as Loki composed himself to block the attack, Ultimate Swampfire launched himself behind him and cocked back his fist.
From his knuckle, a cluster of blue saplings sprouted, filled with his volatile gel-like substance.
As the Evolved Alien struck the Emerald Asgardian, the gel detonated in a powerful explosion that knocked Loki into the nearest building. Sending him crashing through several levels of the structure.
Ultimate Swampfire blasted a stream of fire to slow his descent to a nearby rooftop. He was quickly joined by Iron Man as the pair caught their breath.
However, that brief respite was interrupted when the building Loki crashed into glowed before erupting into hundreds of floating pieces of debris. With Loki floating in the centre of the mass. His eyes were shining with power, and his hands were raised above him.
A flick of his wrists and the debris froze in the air, and the God of Mischief threw his arms forth, and the debris rained down upon the Evolved Alien and Armored Billionaire.
Quickly, Ultimate Swampfire blasted globs of his explosive gel from his palms at a rapid rate. The moment one made contact with the debris, it detonated in a violent explosion that took out many nearby fragments.
Meanwhile, the remaining pieces were disintegrated by Iron Man, blasting them with his repulsors as he moved at incredible speeds and precision.
However, that only generated a dust cloud obscuring their vision as Loki emerged from the cloud, spear in hand, and batted Iron Man away before unleashing a destructive blast of magic at Ult Swampfire.
The Teen Hero responded by focusing his power and blasting a powerful beam of blue fire to counter.
Magic and Fire collided as the two beings struggled to overpower each other.
Loki smirked as his eyes glowed and his magic power rose, as his beam began to overpower the Alien Shapeshifter.
Ultimate Swampfire groaned as he struggled to hold back the power.
Just then, the Alien Avenger felt a tingling sensation in his arms. Like a rush of energy as his natural instincts kicked in. His bark-like arms shifted as several holes appeared along his forearms.
Suddenly, small bursts of flames erupted from the holes, popping up along his arms one after the other.
A second later, those tiny flames grew more intense, and a powerful, glowing light brighter as Ultimate Swampfire felt a surge of power flow into him.
The flames from his palms began to contract, becoming more focused and streamlined. No longer a widespread wave of fire, but a concentrated beam of pure heat like a laser that blasted from his hands.
His focused beam cut through Loki's magic, shooting straight towards the Trickster God.
Seeing the attack coming, Loki quickly dodged out of the way. But not before the flame laser hit his hand, scorching the skin black.
Loki looked at his smouldering hand with a look of surprise. This mortal managed to harm him.
Even more surprising is that he could sense the power flowing from that beam. It wasn't just pure flames. He could feel magic within it.
Not just any magic. The power of the World Tree itself.
The vein in Loki's forehead pulsed as he shot the Teen Hero a deadly glare. This mortal dared to use his magic against him? To steal his power for his own?
Loki drew his spear and prepared to hurl it into the Changeling's heart, only for Iron Man to come flying behind him and blast him with his repulsors.
The mystically enhanced beams struck Loki in the back, causing him to grunt in pain.
Turning his attention back to the armored hero, Loki fired a beam of magic at Iron Man. The beam then divided into four parts, curving through the air like serpents before converging on Iron Man's location.
Mystical energy surged across the armor, causing Iron Man to cry out in pain. While the Uru is able to absorb magic, there's only so much it can take, and Loki was easily able to overtax the suit's capacity.
With his enemy disabled, Loki closed the gap and seized the armored billionaire by the head, pouring more magic into it as the mortal within cried out in pain.
Hearing his screams, Ultimate Swampfire jumped into action.
Rushing to the edge of the building, he leapt off, but instead of blasting his flames to fly, he tossed seeds from his body to the ground below.
The moment those seeds landed, they instantly sprouted and grew into a massive vine. Thanks to his evolved physiology, Ultimate Swampfire can grow his plants at a much faster rate.
Focusing his power, he commanded the vine to come straight to him. Landing on the vine, the Evolved Alien rooted himself to his plant and allowed the vine to carry him into the air.
A solid structure to stand on, while also using much less power than constantly using his firepower to fly.
On his command, the vine snaked its way toward Loki and Iron Man. Putting his faith in the durability of Tony's new suit, Ultimate Swampfire aimed his palms and fired a barrage of gel pods like a machine gun.
The explosive projectiles collided with Loki, knocking him off balance and away from Iron Man.
This caused the Emerald Asgardian to turn his attention to the Alien Hero. Summoning his spear, Loki hurled his weapon at Ultimate Swampfire, aiming to skewer his heart.
However, the Evolved Alien simply raised his arm, and the vine he was standing on sprouted a branch that shielded him. The branch thickened and became rigid until it looked exactly like Ultimate Swampfire's petrified bark body.
The Godly spear struck the branch and embedded itself into the thick wood.
To Loki's shock, the spear didn't blast straight through the branch; it only embedded itself halfway into it.
He hissed through his teeth. No doubt, the mortal reinforced his barrier with the magic he stole.
No matter; he still possessed more magic than whatever smidge he was able to acquire.
But before he could cast another spell, Ultimate Swampfire lowered his shield and blasted another pod from his hand.
Reacting fast, Loki prepared to block the incoming attack. However, just before the projectile could hit him, it suddenly burst into multiple smaller pods that spread out all around him.
The pods then exploded in a chain reaction around him. Disorienting the Prince of Lies as the smoke obscured him from view.
Acting quickly, Ultimate Swampfire stretched out his arms and commanded his vine. From the massive plant, multiple branches sprouted, spreading out to surround the God of Mischief.
When the dust cleared, Loki noticed the branches forming around him, wearing a confused expression about what the Changeling could be planning.
Just then, along each branch, a series of blue bulbs grew. The bulbs bloomed into dozens of blue flowers, all facing towards Loki.
The centre of the flowers began to glow as if it were charging up.
A moment too late, the penny dropped in Loki's mind as the flowers unleashed a beam of blue fire from each of them.
Concentrated blue flames blasted Loki from all directions, focusing on Loki's position.
The sheer firepower was so intense that Loki was engulfed in the inferno. Causing a massive explosion that shook the city.
Ultimate Swampfire kept his eye on the dust cloud. He knew that attack wouldn't take Loki down. But he was prepared for another volley of attacks to hit him as many times as he could.
He was so focused on the smoke that he failed to notice the unusual direction the black smog was flowing. Against the wind and gathering behind him.
When the Teen Hero finally noticed. It was too late.
Swivelling around, Ultimate Swampfire gathered a fireball in his hand, ready to blast his opponent in the face.
However, the moment he turned, Loki thrust his spear out, having conjured it in his hand, and blew Ultimate Swampfire's left arm clean off.
The Evolved Alien attempted to attack with the right arm. Which Loki easily destroyed as well.
Ultimate Swampfire tried to move away, but Loki was too fast as he reached out and grabbed the Alien Hero by the chest. Preventing him from escaping.
Dissipating his spear, Loki thrust his palm into the Evolved Alien and blasted him with a point-blank magic blast.
Ultimate Swampfire's form crumbled, revealing Ben's human form underneath. Once more, he turned back into his human form.
Gripping the front of his shirt, Loki hoisted Ben into the air, his feet dangling hundreds of feet in the sky above Asgard.
"Dealing with mortals is beneath me," Loki admitted with a slight grin on his face as he placed his free hand on Ben's throat. The Teen gasped as the Prince of Lies started choking him with a sinister grin.
"But you have earned my attention!" He then pulled Ben closer as the Emerald Avenger struggled to breathe and fight against Loki's vice-like grip. "I shall enjoy making you mortals suffer."
Before the Prince of Lies could literally squeeze the life out of the Young Avenger, a small, yellow, glowing light shot towards Loki at breakneck speeds.
The tiny light collided with Loki's forehead, and the God of Mischief's head snapped back, knocking him off balance and causing him to release his grip on the young hero.
Air filled his lungs as Ben fell towards the city.
The light then zipped around and easily caught up to him and grabbed the back of his shirt, halting his fall as he remained suspended in the air like a kitten being held by the scruff of its neck.
A slight ripping sound was heard as Ben felt the tear on the back of his shirt grow bigger, but thankfully, it didn't show any sign of ripping entirely.
"I've got you, Ben." Wasp's voice assured him as Ben turned his head to see her tiny frame carrying him in the air.
To this day, he was still amazed at how easily she could carry a person of that size and still fly.
As he was about to thank her, Ben's eyes suddenly widened.
"Jan, watch out!" He yelled.
Wasps' head whipped around to see Loki's spear shooting towards them.
Reacting fast, Wasp dodged to the side, but her small body moved faster than Ben's as the spear missed both of them. Only to slice right through the remains of Ben's shirt. Severing their connection, the Teen found himself in freefall once more.
This time, Ben had his wits about him as he activated the Ultimatrix and slammed the dial down. A flash of green light erupted from his body. But what emerged surprised the Size Changer.
"ULTIMATE SPIDERMONKEY!"
The Evolved Alien opened his jaw and fired a large string of webs that spread out between two buildings. Forming a giant web that the Teen Hero safely landed on like a massive trampoline.
Wasp was shocked. He didn't even turn into base Spidermonkey first. Going Ultimate right out of the gate. That little boost from the World Tree was really paying off.
With Ben safe, Wasp turned her attention back to Loki. Clenching her fists, she built up her bio-energy, causing them to glow. Only now was the light more intense than before.
Charging up her stingers to their max. Wasp unleashed a powerful blast from her hands into Loki's face.
The beam struck the Asgardian right between his eyes. Loki let out a cry of pain as his head was knocked back and his body went tumbling through the sky.
When he eventually stopped. The spot between his eyes was smoking from the impact as Loki clutched his head in pain.
Once more, a mortal managed to injure him. But not just any mortal, one who is quite literally an insect to him.
Clenching his jaw, Loki looked for the Tiny Avenger, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of her glow or the annoying flapping of her wings.
Suddenly, something small and fast struck his cheek, knocking his head to one side. Loki whipped his arm out only to hit nothing but empty air.
Another blow was delivered to the back of his head, knocking him forward, then again to the bottom of his chin.
Dazed and confused, Loki shook his head only for his cape to suddenly wrap around his head by some mysterious force.
With his eyes covered, the sound of the wind was muffled, and Loki could finally hear the buzzing of that insect's wings.
Wasp smirked as she continued to zip around the Asgardian.
She was practically buzzing with energy. For a long time, Janet has been concentrating on controlling her power. From the day she first gained her powers, training and control were the first things Hank drilled into her.
How far she could shrink, how fast she could fly, testing the limits of what she could accomplish.
But the most critical area she focused on was her stingers. She is able to harness her body's natural bio-energy and concentrate it into focused energy blasts from her hands. Her stingers have allowed her to put the hurt on a lot of bad guys.
However, like everything, there's a limit. Much like how growing big can cause some serious issues for her if she overtaxes herself. Her stingers are the same.
If Janet goes overboard with the amount of energy she unleashes, the backlash from using that much energy concentrated in her hands could end up causing some severe nerve damage.
To ensure she doesn't exceed that limit, Hank designed her gloves to help maintain her stable energy levels. Sort of like a circuit breaker for her body.
For a long time, Janet kept that limit in place. She never minded increasing her physical strength and skills. Even if she gets an arm or a leg broken in a fight, she can recover. But her hands. Janet is a fashion designer. Her hands are her tools.
How can she design clothing or sew fabric together without them?
If she loses the ability to use her hands, then her career, the life she's built for herself. It's all gone.
She couldn't risk it, so she stayed within the limits of her bio-energy. She was still a capable heroine with that limit. Plus, her size-changing abilities have gotten better, so she can use that to make up for the power difference.
But this time it's different. This wasn't just a fight to save the world. This was to save Nine of them. Worlds with people, families and loved ones. She couldn't worry about her future when the futures of so many innocent beings were being threatened.
No. It's high time for this Wasp to show what kind of sting she's packing.
Zipping around, Wasp prepared another strafing run, charring up her stingers.
Only for Loki's cape to suddenly extend out to her, whipping and contorting, like it was alive.
Wasp immediately disengaged and tried to avoid the cape as it tried to grab her.
However, as she dodged out of the way, she suddenly found herself before Loki. The Trickster God had manipulated her into his path as he reached out his hand to crush her.
Before he could, Lady Sif's shield struck his arm, knocking it away and allowing Wasp to put some distance.
Loki looked down at the closest building to see Captain America, his hand outstretched as he caught the shield as it returned to him.
The Super Soldier fidgeted with the shield. It's been a while since he used a shield with this kind of shape and made of a different metal. He's been so used to his shield that he'd almost forgotten that he had to learn how to toss and ricochet shields that weren't made of the unique metal alloy of his.
Still, he may be rusty. But the skills were still there.
While Cap secured the shield to his arm, Hulk leapt over him. Heading straight for Loki, the Gamma Giant cocked back his right fist and delivered a powerful haymaker to the Trickster God's stomach.
Loki grunted in pain as he was sent flying across the city.
As he tried to catch himself in the air, Wasp quickly caught up to him and blasted her stingers. The force behind the blasts forced Loki lower toward the city skyline.
Once he was in range, something impacted against his back.
Before the Prince of Lies could see what it was, he was yanked out of the air and swung into a giant spider web by Ultimate Spidermonkey.
The sticky silk temporarily restrained Loki as he struggled to free himself.
Only for lightning to flash, drawing his attention as Iron Man flew above him. His armor crackling with mystical lightning, he charged up his uni-beam and fired a massive beam at him.
The blast hit Loki dead on, and he was sent hurtling into the streets below, impacting with enough force to shake the entire realm.
"Tell me again how you can see magic?" Hawkeye asked Black Panther as he led them through the Royal Palace.
Black Panther turned a corner, his eyes fixed on the floor as he led the Archer and Giant Man to their unknown destination.
"Thor allowed Wakanda scientists and shaman to study his hammer," Panther explained, matter-of-factly. "It was informative."
Hawkeye shrugged in response. Satisfied with the answer. He's come to expect little from his Wakandan friend. Panther was always a man of few words. Getting the man to share anything with him is a victory in itself.
As the trio came to the end of the hallway, they reached a massive chamber. It was structured like a dome, stretching so far up that they couldn't see where it ended.
At the top of the dome, a bright light illuminated. Almost like the sun, the light was so intense that the heroes couldn't look at it.
At the centre of the room was a large tree. It resembled a large Pine tree. Although its branches were bare. No leaves grew from the branches. Almost gave the tree a sickly appearance.
From Black Panther's point of view, the lenses of his mask could see the mystical energy flowing into it. In fact, all the magical energy from all over Asgard was flowing into this singular tree. As if it were…
"Yggdrasil." Black Panther announced in awe. "It seems to be the focus of the energy."
Giant Man seemed skeptical about the Panthers' claim that this sickly-looking tree is THE World Tree connecting the Norse Realms.
Hawkeye, on the other hand, could totally believe it. Magic does wacky things, and he's seen more crazy stuff in the last 48 hours than most humans have seen across generations.
Suddenly, Black Panther noticed something affecting the energy flow. He saw the energy flow into the tree and get halfway up the trunk, only to stop and change course. Like something was pulling it.
Walking around, Black Panther found the cause of the energy fluctuations.
Something has been embedded in the trunk of Yggdrasil. It appears to be made of stone, with bronze metal in the middle. A series of green glowing runes lines the edges, glowing brightly, while in the centre, a massive amount of blue energy is accumulating in the glass chamber.
"What is that thing?" Hawkeye asked.
Giant Man examined the item closely. "It appears to be some sort of energy syphoning device, designed to redirect the energy flowing through the tree and channel it elsewhere." He theorised.
Black Panther nodded in agreement. "Indeed. A Yggdrasil tapping device, if you will." He said, simplifying the terminology.
"So what are we supposed to do?" Giant Man asked, unsure how to disarm a magical energy syphoner. He couldn't see any wiring or circuitry anywhere on the device. It seemed like it was made purely out of rock and metal.
While he'd usually be fascinated by studying Asgardian technology. Time was of the essence, and they needed to act fast.
Fortunately, Hawkeye liked to keep things simple. Drawing an arrow from his quiver, he aimed it at the device. "When in doubt, blow it up."
Just as he was about to let his arrow fly. Black Panther raised his hand, signalling the Archer to stand down.
"What?" Hawkeye asked, raising an eyebrow.
"In mythology, the tree of life holds together all of reality. And, as all of reality seems to be feeding into this tree. Perhaps we should consider this." Black Panther explained clearly.
Begrudgingly, Hawkeye lowered his bow. He hates it when Panther has a point. But they are dealing with magic here. When it comes to this stuff, yeah, even something as simple as an arrow could cause reality to unravel.
As awesome as that would be and something Hawkeye would definitely hold over everyone's heads if he pulled it off, he'd prefer it if he didn't accidentally cause the end of reality.
Looking around the room for anything that might help them, Hawkeye saw something move out of the corner of his eye. Looking up at the tree, the Purple Archer noticed a pair of ravens perched on one of the branches.
They weren't giant ravens or had unusual features like glowing eyes, horns, or even different colours.
Simply a pair of normal, average ravens sitting in the magic tree.
Odd how something so simple brought a smile to the world's greatest marksman's face.
"Hey, look, Asgard's got birds." He chuckled, pointing the pair out to the scientists.
However, the moment they looked up at the avians. The eyes of the Ravens started to glow. Causing Hawkeye's smile to evaporate.
Before he could curse his big mouth, the Ravens opened their beaks and unleashed a loud and powerful scream.
The sound was so intense that the three Heroes instantly dropped to their knees, covering their ears to shield themselves from the overwhelming sound.
For Black Panther, it was even worse. Thanks to his enhanced senses, the intense sound waves were worse for him.
Usually, his suit could muffle the sonic vibrations, keeping his ears safe. However, due to his suit being damaged in the previous fights and the sheer power the birds were unleashing, it was too much for even his suit to take.
Biting through the pain, the Wakandan King reached for his belt and drew a vibranium dagger. Already, the blade glowed from the vibrational energy it was absorbing.
Using every ounce of willpower he could muster, Black Panther hurled the dagger at the birds.
His dagger struck the branch the birds were perched on and detonated. Causing an explosion that destroyed the branch, startling the birds as they took to the sky and ceasing their attack.
With their ears no longer being assaulted by the sonic waves, the three heroes rose to their feet.
"So, are we cool on blowing it up now?" Hawkeye snipped at the Wakandan, who gave the archer an exasperated sigh.
"If these birds are protecting the device, destroying it doesn't seem like the likely course," Giant Man theorized.
"But are they protecting the device or the tree itself?" Panther questioned as the ravens cawed above them, drawing their attention.
"Who cares?" Hawkeye responded, notching two arrows on his bow. "Let's stuff these pigeons and wreck that thing."
Before he could take aim, Giant Man stopped him.
"Oh, what now? Don't tell me you're gonna go all PETA on me?"
"Those birds. I think they are Odin's pet ravens, Munin and Hugin," Giant Man explained.
Hawkeye gave him a disgruntled look. "If they're Odin's birds, what are they hassling us for? Shouldn't they be on our side?"
"Not unless they serve whomever is sitting on the throne of Asgard," Panther pointed out. "So long as Loki rules, their loyalty lies with him."
Hawkeye rolled his eyes. "Fine. I won't kill them. But I will clip their wings."
He then aimed his bow and fired the arrows at the two birds. Aiming for their wings.
However, before his arrows hit their mark. The Ravens glowed with a yellow aura before multiplying into two. Making four ravens instead of two.
Hawkeyes jaw dropped as the birds repeated the process. Dividing over and over until an entire flock of ravens were divebombing the team.
Outside, the battle was raging on. Loki blasted Iron Man with a wave of magic.
While the armor was able to absorb the mystical energy, the force of the attack still sent him flying into the side of the palace walls.
Captain America then tossed his shield at the Trickster. Only for Loki to flick it away like it was a leaf in the wind.
Loki aimed his spear at the Super Soldier and blasted multiple bolts of mystical energy from the tip.
The bolts arched through the air as Captain America jumped from his platform, just before the mystical energy struck his position. Reducing the structure to dust in an instant.
Rolling across the ground, the Sentinel of Liberty rushed to find cover. Along the way, he picked up a battle axe of one of Loki's minions and proceeded to toss the weapon at Loki with expert precision.
Again, Loki easily swatted the weapon aside and tried to attack the Super Soldier. Only for a blinding pain to shoot up his hip.
Swinging his arm in response, the Trickster caught a glimpse of Wasp as she buzzed around him again. Her small size and speed allowed her to easily move out of his line of sight.
Travelling up his back, she charged up her stingers once more, and as Loki turned to face her, she blasted another full-powered stinger beam directly into his eye.
The Emerald Asgardian cried out in pain as he clutched his eye.
However, Wasp also let out a yelp as she pulled her left arm into herself, clutching her hand as she felt the most intense pins and needles in her life.
Looking at her hand, she could feel slight numbness in her fingertips along with an intense tingling sensation as the appendage wouldn't stop shaking.
Gritting her teeth, she forced her hand shut. She'd reached her limit. If she goes for another full-powered blast, she's looking at one serious hospital bill. Wasp wondered if she could get Dr Steven Strange on such short notice? He's familiar with nerve damage.
However, medical appointments will have to wait as Loki regained his composure. Lowering his hand to reveal his bloodshot eye.
The Asgardian Sorcerer summoned his magic and unleashed a wave of magic at Wasp.
She tried to avoid it, but the magic was too widespread and fast. Catching up to her and knocking her out of the air. Sending her plummeting to the ground below.
A roar from behind him caused Loki to turn and see the Hulk jumping towards him, preparing to land another blow.
With a smirk, Loki extended his hand, engulfing it in his magic and prepared to catch the limb.
Suddenly, a glob of webbing struck him in the eyes. Covering them in the sticky substance, obscuring his vision.
Loki immediately tried to remove the webbing, distracting him long enough for Hulk to land his blow, knocking Loki out of the air towards the ground once more.
However, Loki wasn't about to repeat that as the webbing covering his eyes started to smoke before being vaporised by the mystical beams blasting from Loki's eyes.
The Prince of Lies surrounded himself in magic power before vanishing from sight.
A flight of light and Loki teleported directly behind Hulk, ready to strike the beast down with all his might.
However, another webline struck Loki's back, drawing his attention.
Instantly, Loki spun around and grabbed the web line with his right hand and yanked it with all his might.
From his position, Ultimate Spidermonkey was pulled off his spider legs and whipped into the air towards Loki.
Acting fast, the Evolved Alien opened his jaw and blasted a stream of webbing on his right fist. Covering the limb with a thick layer of webs as he zoomed closer to the Villain.
Just as he was within Loki's reach, Ultimate Spidermonkey used his padded fist like a boxing glove and delivered a devastating uppercut to Loki's jaw, knocking him out.
At the same time, Hulk pivoted in the air to face Loki and performed a devastating thunderclap directly into Loki's face.
The power of the uppercut and the shockwave sent Loki soaring into the clouds as the pair let gravity take them, and they descended towards the city.
However, a rumbling above them caught their attention as a burst of blue energy split the clouds and even the sky, revealing a blanked of stars and planets as Loki glared furiously at the pair.
In the blink of an eye, Loki blitzed towards Hulk, stabbing his spear into the Gamma Giant's stomach, causing him to cough up blood.
Loki then unleashed a burst of magic from his spear, blasting Hulk into Asgard's surface with enough force to bury him deep underground.
The Emerald Sorcerer swiftly whipped around before blasting Ultimate Spider Monkey with a magic beam, instantly shattering the form, turning him back into Ben, who free-fell towards the palace.
Ben gasped as he felt the wind knocked out of him, and heard it roaring all around him. He reached for the Ultimatrix to transform, but his out-of-control free fall made it difficult to pull his arms together.
Thankfully, Iron Man rocketed to his rescue. Catching Ben in his arms and lowering him to the ground.
Loki glared down at the heroes only to feel something small impact against his cheek.
Turning his eyes in that direction, he saw Wasp pathetically attempt to attack him with her stingers. The blasts were much weaker than before, as the Heroine was sweating bullets. Her arms ached from the pain of overuse. She pushed herself too far, and now her hands feel like they're on fire.
All she can manage are these weak little stings that pack no more punch than a regular wasp sting.
But that didn't stop her from giving it her all to at least give Ben and Tony more time to regroup and attack.
As she flew around him, Loki swiped his hand through the air and caught Wasp in his grip. Wasp groaned as the Trickster's hand squeezed her tightly. Compressing her lungs and causing her bones to crack.
Loki held the helpless heroine in front of him, his expression jaded.
"Now you bore me." He said in a disappointed tone. Glancing down, he saw the other heroes, all panting heavily and struggling to stand.
"How pathetic. I expected more from you mortals. But your strength is no different from your lives. Short and fleeting," Loki claimed as he summoned his power. "Even though you are no match for me, I will admit, you were entertaining."
He looked at Wasp and frowned. "But that time has passed. Now you are a little more than a nuisance. It is time to end this charade."
His magic aura surrounded Wasp as she screamed in pain. Loki grinned as he tightened his grip, ready to crush her into oblivion.
Seeing this, Ben quickly activated the Ultimatrix. But even he knew that he'd never reach her in time. The teen looked up in a panic as he watched helplessly to stop it.
Suddenly, something shot past Ben at breakneck speed. The wind was blowing his hair over his eyes as the projectile struck Loki in the chest with enough force to send him flying and dropping Wasp in the process as she fell to the ground below.
With her free hand, Wasp focused her stingers, building up the energy in her hands.
Pain shot through her limbs, causing her to hiss, but she pushed on. Holding her hands together, she let the energy build up between her palms until it reached its breaking point.
Suddenly, Wasp started to grow. Her wings retracted as her body enlarged to her giant state.
The energy she's been building up grew with her, just like it did with the Destroyer Armor. Only this time, Janet wasn't holding anything back.
Her bio-energy isn't usually effective at long range in her giant form. But maybe that was because she was limiting herself.
Well, no more.
With a cry of determination and pain, the Wasp aimed her arms at Loki and fired a powerful beam of yellow bio-energy from her hands. A pure concentrated beam of yellow energy fired across the sky like a missile.
The electrical energy unleashed by the Size Changing Heroine pulsed across the city, causing Iron Man's systems to malfunction slightly.
Had this suit contained more of his standard equipment, he would have been in trouble. According to his readings, that was one of the strongest EMPs he's ever seen.
The beam struck Loki, causing him to cry out in pain as he was blasted away from the power of the Wasp's ultimate sting.
Wasp was panting after firing that beam. Her arms flared in pain, and her vision went blurry. She pushed her stingers and her size too far, and the pain was too much.
Shrinking down to size, Wasp's consciousness slipped, and she fell from the building to the street below.
Reacting instantly, Ben turned the dial and slammed it down.
"ULTIMATE GRAVATTACK!"
Raising his hand, the gravity alien caught Wasp in a gravitational field and floated her to his hand as he gently cradled her small form in his massive, stony palm.
She was unconscious, but still breathing. She was ok.
The Evolved Alien let out a sigh of relief as she held her close.
Thunder boomed overhead as Ultimate Gravattack and Iron Man looked up to see Thor flying overhead.
Thunder clouds swirled around him as lightning crackled from his eyes.
Extending his hand, Thor summoned Mjolnir to him. The Mighty mallet crackling with magic lightning as the wings howled around him.
"Loki! I would have words with thee!" Thor's voice boomed over the city.
In response, Loki flew into the air to meet Thor as he chuckled.
"Oh, Thor. I would have far more stimulating conversations with a maggot." Loki hissed at the Thunderer. "You bore witness to the power I wield, and yet you still wish to test your might against mine?"
Magic energy surrounded Loki as he summoned his spear. The air pressure between them grew so intense that Iron Man could feel it through his armor.
Ultimate Gravattack had to generate a force field to keep them safe from the insane amount of pressure being exerted between the pair.
Thor gripped Mjolnir tightly as lightning flashed behind him.
"Aye, brother. For it matters not how much power you wield. You will fall the same as any Villain. Have at thee!"
With a mighty yell, Thor launched forward. Aiming his hammer at Loki.
Loki did the same in kind. Thrusting his spear forth with his own battle cry.
The Sons of Asgard clashed, unleashing a shockwave that could be felt across the Nine Realms. Pure Godly power radiated from them as they battled in the skies above the Golden City.
Not wanting to let Thor have all the fun, Iron Man activated his thrusters. His armor finally adjusted to the output of magic power, strengthening the suit as he flew into the sky to join the action.
Meanwhile, Ultimate Gravattack didn't want to leave Wasp alone. With all this power being thrown around, he couldn't risk leaving her somewhere in this helpless state.
Looking around, he saw Captain America running through the palace courtyard.
"Cap!" The Ultimate Alien called out before floating down to him.
Without wasting time, he quickly handed Wasp to him, the Super Soldier gently cradling her in his hands before turning back to Ult Gravattack.
"Look after her," The Alien Teen requested.
Cap nodded in assurance. "You have my word."
Ultimate Gravattack smiled warmly at the Super Soldier and nodded his giant floating head before turning his attention back to the fight and shooting into the sky at incredible speed despite his massive size.
Wasting no time and fully aware of what was about to occur. Captain America bolted for the doors to the palace. Best to take shelter inside than attempt to interfere in a battle way above his level.