Capítulo 26: [26] The Battle of New York!
Chapter 26: The Battle of New York!
—
Noon was yet to come, so it was still a bit cold outside, in the sky as Enrique flew with Anna in his arms.
He looked around a little, and soon spotted a black SUV car parked a bit far from the school's gate, on the other side of the road. That seemed to be SHIELD product, and that hypothesis was corrected when the window rolled down and Nick Fury waved his hand.
Enrique flew down there and landed on his feet, all the while Anna was clung to his chest with her face buried. Her arms still wrapped around him even after he landed and she refused to look at anybody else. She didn't talk and surely didn't respond to Nick Fury's voice.
"What happened to her?" asked the man in black.
"Don't worry about it, she'll be fine." Enrique waved it off.
Adding, "Rather, you needed me for something, director? I assume there must be a great threat ahead since you finally decided to come and meet me."
Nick Fury sighed at his direct approach; how he didn't even try to hide the strange things about himself. As in, how did he know that he was the Director of SHIELD? Strength was one thing, and such dangerous information was another. What else did he know? What were his sources? Was this magic of some sort, mind reading, or was there a spy inside SHIELD?
"Let's ignore the part where you seem to know my title. You don't seem to be the type to reveal that if asked. I am also not free enough to spend time persuading you."
Fury finally opened the door and walked out. He reached out a hand for a handshake.
"Hi, formally, I am the Director of SHIELD. You can call me Nick Fury. I am inviting you to join… the Avengers initiative."
****
"I am inviting you to join… the Avengers initiative."
Fury finished dramatically, and Enrique accepted the hand right away. It didn't indicate that he accepted the offer, however.
"Avengers Initiative? Some sort of secret group?"
Enrique played dumb. He shouldn't pretend to know everything, that wouldn't be good.
Fury nodded as the handshake ended.
"Seeing how you are rumored to be the follower of a Goddess; I am going to assume that you do believe in Gods. Long story short, a slimy God has invaded earth and plans to 'conquer' it."
Fury scoffed at his own words, in the last part, before he continued.
"Asgardian God of Mischief, Loki. The brother of Thor. Speaking of Thor, you may have heard about him, he appeared mid-last year. This Loki is Thor's brother, but unlike Thor, he doesn't seem compassionate toward us 'mere humans', as he likes to put it."
Enrique nodded. He hid his surprise and excitement at the confirmation that yes, Loki was finally here!
"Uh-huh. I believe your words; I do believe in my Goddess Mut, but I also believe in the existence of other Mythologies. Thor is notoriously strong, however, Loki isn't. As far as I know. Why is he being such a problem?"
Fury sighed. Hesitating, he spoke. "He has a weird weapon. It lets him shoot beams and mind-control people. I have lost a few important subordinates of mine thanks to both of those effects. He is planning something grand, and we need your help. There will also be other heroes, such as Ironman."
"The Avengers Initiative, in short, is a team made up of Earth's mightiest. It is a project where a group of special people form something beyond… something extraordinary. To face the extraordinary threats that threaten earth and humanity."
Anna finally peeked to look at Fury upon hearing that. The two of them stared at each other for a long moment, then Anna buried her face again.
"Are you sure she is alright?"
"She is," Enrique nodded. "About your invitation, I'll have to reject it. It's tempting but I am not in a situation to accept it."
Fury frowned at that. It appeared he was ready to negotiate. Normally, Enrique could play him into giving quite a few perks, but since he really didn't plan to join that wouldn't help.
Before Fury could speak, Enrique spoke first. He made a promise.
"Don't worry, though. If Loki does pull something big off, I am in New York to help out in taking him down. I may not be joining you, but as a hero, my goal also is to keep Earth and humanity safe."
Enrique gave him a nod, to which Fury was about to say something, but he took off in the air before that.
"…Motherfuckers, these heroes."
The Director of SHIELD growled, tired at all these supes who never seemed to work together.
Unfortunately for Fury, Enrique did plan to work together. Except not with the Avengers. It was time to introduce his own team to the world.
It was time to steal all of Avenger's glory and make it his own.
****
If his past teenage self knew he just turned down the offer to join Avengers, the face he would make would have been priceless.
However, Enrique Nova had long since learned and vowed to work for himself and himself alone. Instead of the other way around. He wasn't going to get ordered around by SHIELD, or the shield-wielding Captain for that matter.
Shooting through the sky, Enrique held Anna in his arms as his cape fluttered behind him. The cape, under his mental control, warped into a hiking bag. One of the tendrils of the bag slipped into a chain and dragged out a phone. It dialed a number and brought it to Enrique's ears.
The phone rang. It rang thrice before the call was received.
– "Hello, Emma Frost here."
"Miss Frost, it's Enrique."
– "I can see that, Mr. Nova. I have your number saved. How can I help you this time?"
Enrique chuckled at her tone. She was used to his calls, telling her to do mundane things for him, like sending people to fill the fridge with beer and whatnot. She was being sarcastic by talking like a customer care service.
However, this wasn't a joking matter. The attack could happen tomorrow for all he knew. Loki would first steal Iridium from Germany, and a certain time later the Chitauri will invade Manhattan. He was strong, and Anna and Greer were too, they lacked flashy powers and only had super strength and such. For this mission, to attract as much attention from people, he would need someone else who could be as flashy as him.
"Emma. The world is under a threat. I want you to send me someone from your school."
Enrique demanded and there was a loud bang on the other side of the call.
– "You suddenly call for that? Explain what threat… Actually no, I am not sending one of my students if the threat is world-shattering. Don't tell me what's up, I will figure it out myself."
"Listen, Emma,"
Enrique sighed.
"The safety of your student will be guaranteed by me. I don't need anyone to really help me, but I just need someone flashy. I will keep that person protected. It will allow fame to that person, and the whole of mutant-kind in general. This is a very big opportunity, and I hope someone smart like you won't miss it."
– "…."
There was silence for an entire minute. Enrique had to check twice if she had cut the call or not. Finally, a sigh answered and her words followed.
– "Since you called me specifically, do you already have someone in mind? Or do I send someone by my choice?"
"I have chosen." Enrique smiled. "I already know whom I want."
****
Enrique stopped flying and landed in a nearly empty park. Something was wrong with Anna, and it only got worse after the call with Emma.
"Are you alright, Anna?"
Putting his hands on her shoulders, he asked gently as he looked deep into her eyes.
"Um… yeah, I am. We should continue moving."
She lied, and she wasn't good at it when it was him in front of her. With a sigh, Enrique sat down on a bench and motioned her to sit.
"Sit down. Tell me what's wrong, and we'll figure it out together."
Anna hesitated. Then she sighed and sat beside him. She appeared stiff.
Enrique wrapped a hand around her shoulders and said nothing. He allowed time to pass, minutes after minutes, as half an hour passed easily like that. She had her head on his shoulders, and her body clinging very close to his, but she hadn't said a word until then.
Around the time Enrique was growing impatient and almost deciding to leave, Anna finally made a sound.
"…I am sorry for being weak." She said, "I am sorry for not being strong enough to protect you… and not strong enough that you'd need to call for extra help."
Enrique held back a groan. He could understand her worry, but it was frustrating to see her apologize for that. After all, she had the easiest way to power up but she refused to take it. It was frustrating.
Anna pulled herself back from his chest. She put her hands on her hips and looked down at the ground. With a complicated expression, she decided on something. Then, as if she had heard what he was thinking, she looked at him and made a request.
"Enrique… I want to be stronger."
"...!"
It was immediate.
The idea that appeared in Enrique's head was excellent.
Her saying that meant she accepted the consequence that came with it. In that case, Enrique had just the power in mind that she could absorb in this event. No, he couldn't go after Thor, since he couldn't even beat that monstrously strong God enough to absorb him, but…
Enrique's lips spread into a grin and he put a hand on Anna's shoulder. While looking deep into her eyes, he assured her.
"What do you say about becoming the Goddess of Mischief?"
Perhaps the Battle of New York was going to be much more interesting than what he previously expected.
Bad days were coming for Loki.
X-x-X
From the Stark Tower, Enrique's house was around 20 kilometers away. His office, however, was between these two places. From the tower, his office was 10 kilometers away.
So there was a chance that the Chitauri assault might reach here. Ten kilometers was far, but it wasn't courtiers apart, after all. It'd be bad for his reputation and also repair costs if the attack reached here and destroyed the building, killing the employees.
While stopping the building from getting possibly destroyed was hard, the same didn't apply to the people. He could save them, and he should.
So Enrique pushed open the window in his office, the exclusively made window in his boss's chamber that could be easily opened by him from the other side. Pushing open the door of his chamber next, he stepped into the general office with Anna in his arms.
"Hey, guys. Sorry for the sudden visit."
Dropping her to her feet, he allowed the other to stop working for a moment as they gave Anna a surprised look. While they did, Enrique's costume finished changing into his business model.
"All right, people."
Enrique cleared his throat.
"Something great happened to me, so I am announcing an office vacation. Three-days Hawaii trip sounds good? The company will pay. You can bring one friend or family member along. I might join too if I have free time. It's time to rejoice."
The employees who were staring at Rogue, who had come to the office for the first time, all snapped their heads at Enrique. There was a short silence before they broke out in a cheer.
"Hey, have I said how you're the best boss?"
One of the 7 female employees, a typical blondie who was in her early 20s, cheered out. Amelia was one of the more cheerful employees, thanks to being the youngest here.
"You did. You said the same thing three times this week."
Enrique chuckled and watched the girl smile goofily. In a joking tone, she spoke her next words.
"But boss, I am not married, nor do I have a boyfriend. Isn't it a shame to go alone? As a concerned employee, I think we should save money. I suggest you don't buy a ticket for yourself, and just use my spare. What do you think?"
Enrique laughed it off while sending a slight jolt of electricity to Anna who looked ticked off by the joke. The jolt told her not to do anything stupid.
"Haha, young people are so humorous. Sadly, I will have to reject that offer. But I do agree with your idea of saving money. In that case,"
Enrique turned his head around to look for someone. Only a second later did he notice the red-headed MJ running towards him with papers in her arms. It seemed she hadn't heard his announcement yet and was only leaving her office when she noticed him.
"Miss Jane can use your spare. Since she too is single, sadly."
MJ froze on her spot, blinking in confusion at why her marital status was being brought up. She tilted her head and looked around.
Before this, she was about to grab Enrique and hand him over the paper works, but now she was confused. Sadly, she stayed confused until the last moment since Enrique had to leave and do other things.
"Anyhow, everybody. I will send you emails with more details. Please explain the situation to Miss Jane here. The flight is tomorrow, 8 P.M. Goodbye."
While MJ looked around disorderly, Enrique grabbed Rogue and flew off through the open window.
****
In the meantime, a certain Harry Osborn was going through an episode. Inside his penthouse, the lavish bedroom, he stared at his reflection in the mirror.
"Tomorrow…"
"Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow."
In this dimly lit room, Harry Osborn continued muttering under his breath.
His eyes stared at the eyes on the other side of the mirror. Until the other eyes flashed with a green light… and the reflection revealed a nasty grin.
****
Enrique didn't have to take any other detours. He flew to his mansion, located in one corner of Highland Park, and dropped before the gate gently.
"Get off?"
He asked Anna, but she didn't get off. She clung to him as he was holding her in a princess carry. She wore a grumpy look but didn't look into his eyes.
'Perhaps that time of the month is nearing.'
With a sigh, Enrique went along with her whim and ordered his cape to press the bell. Not long after the bell was pressed, the door parted open and revealed a worried Tigra.
"Gosh, you're finally back! That Emma Frost woman is waiting for you inside. It's been a while." said Greer, in her human form, as she wore a sports bra and shorts.
Enrique blinked. "Ah, she's here already? I envy her teleporter assistant."
Nudging his chin at Greer, he followed her inside the house. Moving in, he found Emma sitting on a large sofa with another girl by her side. Her teleporter assistant stood behind the sofa like a diligent butler.
Noting Anna wouldn't still get off his arms, as she rather pushed her face onto his chest, Enrique nodded at Emma with a smile.
The Ice Queen returned the nod with an icy stare. "I brought her, as per your request. However, keep in mind your promise. If she is hurt, then you'll have to pay."
"Big words coming from a sore loser,"
Enrique scoffed with a smirk, seeing her glare at him.
"Though worry not, she will be fine. It'd be a pity to let such a beautiful young woman die."
Seeing him add that, Emma narrowed her eyes. "Another thing, you can't touch her. If you do…"
"I am not a sex offender. Disrespectful woman." Enrique sighed and dramatically shook his head. "If I was, I would have demanded that body you're so proud of after I defeated you that day. Be respectful before I blow your head off."
"…."
Perhaps he shouldn't have said that. Emma looked grumpy, but that wasn't a problem. The problem was the young lady sitting beside her, looking quite scared at the empty threat.
With locks of blonde hair flowing over her back, the young lady looked to be just as old as Anna. Her cheeks were a shade of orange as if a natural blush. From time to time, her veins flared up in an orange light, as if lava was running through her veins. Then again, that was exactly the case.
Going by the name [Magma], she was a part of Emma Frost's Hellions. She was the young lady who had a level of destructive power that made Enrique choose her for the Battle of New York.
It was apparent that she was fearful of Enrique. As a mutant, she obviously knew about the X-Men, and also that her own group of Hellions was inspired by that group. She should be aware that her group is weaker than the X-Men.
So this man who had taken down the X-Men so easily, and threatened to kill the Hellions back then, was someone who could send chills down her spine every time he spoke. Despite all her powers, she felt stared at by his cold gray eyes.
She really wouldn't have come if Principal Emma didn't request her specifically and said the future of Mutant Kind may be dependent on this mission.
Emma looked at Magma and then looked at Enrique. With a grumpy look, she just sighed and said nothing.
'She hadn't tried anything with Greer, has she?'
Enrique asked in his head, and the answer came swiftly.
["She has not, no. That human-tiger hybrid little girl is quick-witted, so she prayed for her mind's safety to me the moment she saw Emma. After which, I would have known if Emma tried to invade her mind. On that note, this ascertains our 2nd Super believer. Good job!]
Enrique smirked down at her. "Good grief, Miss Frost, I am proud of you. Is this character development? You didn't try to get into Greer's head this time."
"Allow me to apologize for the threat I just made. The same goes for Miss Magma… Ah, what's your real name?"
He tilted his head, making Emma's eyes twitch. He wanted her to believe he didn't know her name, while he had access to other top-secret information.
'Bullocks.'
Emma said, "Her name is Amara Aquilla. However, I am sure that's none of Mr. Nova's concern. Given that this is merely a short-term team-up, you can refer to her as just Magma. That's more professional, no?"
Amara Juliana Olivians Aquilla was born in the country of Nova Roma, a colony of the Roman Empire founded shortly after the death of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. The colony was hidden in modern Brazil and was ruled by the immortal mutant sorceress Selene.
Amara was the daughter of Lucius Antonius Aquilla, a prominent senator of Nova Roma. If something happened to a girl of such a background.
Emma added, "On that note, this mission, what's it about? I am trying to look into it, but it will take a while before I am able to get a clear picture. Since you're taking one of my girls, some information exchange should be plausible, right?"
Enrique shrugged his shoulders. "I am just going to say that, keep your kids out of Manhattan for the next few days. You will thank me if you do."
"…."
Emma narrowed her eyes, disappointed at that little information before she sighed. She stood up.
"All right, Mr. Nova. As it appears I am quite a busybody, I will have to take my leave. Once again, don't you let harm touch my girl, and don't you touch her in any shape or form. See you later."
Emma gently raised an arm, and Azazel quickly walked over to her side to grab that arm. Then they vanished from their spot, leaving red smoke to float in the area.
Smiling, Enrique walked over to Magma and slumped down beside Magma. Anna was still in his arms, but he didn't seem to care.
"Now, Miss Amy. I am hoping for great cooperation and reasonable understanding throughout this mission. I am not as scary as you think, but, if you intentionally mess something up… then I can be scarier."
He whispered into her ears, leaning closer eerily, and smirked seeing goosebumps happen on her forearm.
….
That evening, Loki attacked Germany for Iridium, and everything afterward happened just like in canon. Enrique watched it on TV as Loki was arrested by Iron Man and was taken away to the sky.
Enrique was getting excited. The day was just here.
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