Equis, Canterlot
Twilight Sparkle would be the first to admit when she was freaking out. Her friends knew her well enough to know when she was. And Twilight was fairly anxious by pony standards. Right now, she was freaking out pretty bad. After all, the entire kirin tribe had been forcefully transformed and were overrunning Canterlot, trying to burn everything to the ground. Luckily, the Avengers were there to contain the damage. Twilight managed to force herself to relax a little. If they were here, there was nothing to worry about. Everything would be fine. With the Avengers on their side, nopony would get hurt, they'd find out which pony was responsible for this, and-
Suddenly, the air around Twilight began to drop in temperature, even with the niriks still running wild. When she exhaled, she could see her breath in the air. Twilight's eyes suddenly snapped open to maximum width as she realized exactly what could be causing this. But it couldn't be. They were supposed to have been wiped out so long ago...
Then she heard the unholy shriek.
A blast of frigid air came from behind Twilight, knocking her onto her stomach. Grunting, she clumsily got to her hooves, turning on them to look up at the sky above her.
What had been a peacefully sunny day was now replaced by a swirling winter fog. Moisture in the air was condensing to form snow-white clouds, which were beginning to spin in midair. And above those clouds were several ethereal, transparent, horse-like creatures, breathing icy mist and howling as their eyes glowed red. Twilight's jaw dropped. There was no mistaking those things.
"Windigos!" screamed Thor, snagging his axe off his back. Twilight couldn't have put it better had she tried.
The windigos were descending closer and closer towards Canterlot, the flood of negative emotions from the raging niriks clearly drawing them to it like moths to a flame. They uttered their terrible screech once more, raising their heads skyward, before casting them down and beginning to breathe ice all over the city. A thin layer of frost began to form on the walls of the city, and several niriks were caught in the first blast, leaving them encased in small glaciers. It didn't stop there either, as the ice began to creep outwards from everywhere it touched, extending like cold spider legs, determined to consume all.
"Oh great," Tony grumbled, dodging the frosty blasts that rained down from the sky. "Friday, give me a scan on those things, see what we're dealing with."
The AI obeyed, focusing on the windigos, but as soon as it did, Tony's HUD sparked into static, forcing the inventor to shut his eyes and turn away from them.
"Sorry, boss," said Friday. "There's too much ambient magic around them. My scanners can't get an accurate reading."
"Twilight, we seriously need to upgrade this thing's magic processors," Tony quipped. "Otherwise, I'm gonna start hating this planet."
Twilight wasn't listening, however. She was too busy pounding away at the ice that'd encased the niriks, alongside Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Twilight was pouring on a heat spell, trying to melt the ice away, but it was having no effect. She cursed quietly, remembering the stories of the windigos' magical ice, capable of withstanding extreme temperatures. Dr. Strange came up to the ice, forming a golden circlet on his hand and placing it against the surface.
"I don't think we're gonna get through this with bare force," he noted. "I'm detecting high amounts of dark magic in its composition. And it seems like its being reinforced through some kind of feedback. Whatever those things are feeding on, it's making them pretty strong."
"That doesn't mean we can just give up!" retorted Rainbow Dash, bucking against the ice. "And who are you, anyway?"
"They're wizards! From Earth!" yelled Thor, as he jumped away from another ice blast.
"We're here to help," said Wong. "You're in a lot more trouble than you realize."
"Well if you're gonna do something, I suggest you do it fast!" shouted Spider-Man. He activated both web-shooters, firing a massive net towards the windigos. Unfortunately, before the creatures could be captured, the web was frozen solid, before falling to the ground and breaking into pieces. "Can anybody touch those things?!"
"Let me try!" said Thor, his fingers sparking with lightning. He reared back and pitched the bolt of electricity at the windigos, only for a sphere of green light to surround them, blocking his attack completely. "What?!"
"Sorry, Odinson," said a voice, "but we can't have you doing that."
Thor's eyes narrowed at the sound, realization dawning on his face. He turned around, finding the exact figure he'd expected.
"Amora," he growled, raising his axe, "I should've known you were involved in this."
Amora chuckled, her hands glowing with eldritch magic. "Ah, you remain as oafish as ever. But not to worry. I didn't come to this little party alone."
"This...doesn't seem like much of a party to me," said Pinkie Pie, even as she tensed into a fighting stance.
Another swirling portal of sparks appeared in midair, revealing a familiar group of figures. They wasted no time in charging the Avengers.
Steve raised his shield to block a flying kick. "Batroc," he grunted, as he swiped his shield forward, trying to clock his assailant on the head. Unfortunately, Batroc just backflipped away.
"It is a joy to see you again, Captain," Batroc said in French. "And to crush you beneath my boots!"
He jumped forward with a spinning kick, but Steve managed to block the blows with his shield. Steve responded by chucking his shield at Batroc, who nimbly leaped over the spinning vibranium disk. With another bounce, he made his way back over to Steve, attempting to kick him in the head, but a metallic arm grabbed him by the collar, yanking him off his feet. Batroc was tossed backwards into one of the small glaciers that was spreading around the battlefield. Grunting, Batroc climbed to his feet, facing Captain America and the White Wolf.
"You're saying this idiot gave you trouble once, Steve?" asked Bucky, clenching his mismatched fists together.
"Hey, he's tougher than he looks!" Steve protested, grabbing his shield again. "And he seems to have gotten a lot stronger since last time."
"That'll just give me more bragging rights," replied Bucky, as the two charged Batroc.
Discord and Heimdall had gathered together, watching the chaos erupt around them, as the Avengers and the Elements of Harmony did battle with the newcomers.
"Oh for Pete's sake," Discord complained. "This is ridiculous! Can't we have one little party without some inconsiderate scoundrel trying to ruin it?! I know that's a bit hypocritical on my part, but still—"
"Discord, focus!" yelled Heimdall. "I can see beyond that portal. This attack is worse than they realize. We have to stop this, warn the Avengers!"
"Oh, fine," Discord acquiesced, "but I hate being the end-all problem solver."
He raised his eagle talons to snap them, but suddenly, one of the windigos altered the direction of its ice breath, focusing on Discord. Before he could snap his fingers, his found his entire arm encased in a thick block of ice. Grunting, he tried to snap the fingers on his lion's paw, but that was soon frozen as well, along with most of his lower body. Heimdall noticed that Amora, using one arm to bind Thor with green chains, was directing the windigos towards the two of them with her other arm, smirking maliciously as she did so.
"Sorry, Heimdall," she sardonically quipped. "Sorry, Discord. But you two are our top priorities right now."
Grunting, Heimdall attempted to charge her, only to find himself hit with more blizzard blasts, encasing him in ice. Discord screamed in anger at the sight, before the ice breath consumed the rest of his body.
"Discord! Heimdall!" Twilight yelled, rushing up to the frozen statues of her two friends. She immediately began pounding them with magic blasts, trying to free them, but to no avail. Behind her, Amora attempted to direct the windigos to freeze Twilight as well, but Thor managed to break free, and Amora was forced to relinquish her hold on the spirits to dodge his thrown axe.
"Twilight!" exclaimed Princess Celestia, flying down to land beside her student. "What's going on?!"
"It's the hate mongering spell! By forcing the kirin to transform, somepony ensured that their anger would attract the windigos! But I still don't know who cast it!"
"It was Neighsay," said Princess Luna, coming down beside her sister. "Ex-Chancellor Neighsay, and Abacus Cinch. They planned for this because of their misguided beliefs that we've been brainwashed by you and your friends for some—ARGH! It's so foolish!"
Twilight gasped. While she certainly disagreed with Neighsay, she didn't think he'd stoop to something quite as low as this. It was quite a shock. But she had no time to process that now. The Avengers were being swarmed by their new assailants, some of whom they seemed to recognize, oddly enough, which was preventing them from making any moves against the windigos. Twilight had to act, now.
"Star Swirl!" she called, searching for her idol. "Star Swirl, we need to know how to stop the windigos!" She finally discovered him, standing besides the rest of the Pillars. "Please tell me you know how to fight them."
"Perhaps," replied Starswirl, "but it would take more than our combined magic to try and beat them back. We need to find a way to—"
He didn't get to finish that sentence, as a massive thump resounded next to them. All six Pillars turned to the side, discovering the massive form of the Sphinx bearing down on them, her wings spread wide, and her fangs on display.
"Somnambula," she hissed. "At last, I take my vengeance on you, and all of your allies! I will delight in watching you crumble!"
With that, her eyes began to glow, and chains appeared on the ankles of the Pillars, anchoring them to the ground. Looking up, the Sphinx gave a nod, and the windigos' blizzard found its way over to them. Flash Magnus and Rockhoof raised their weapons, trying to defend against the arctic winds, while Mist Mane and Starswirl both fired bolts of pure magic into the icy storm, but it just wasn't enough. They, along with Somnambula and Meadow Brook, were swallowed by the pounding snow, leaving them frozen in ice.
"No!" screamed Twilight, as she pounded uselessly on the ice.
Everything seemed hopeless. Queen Novo, Thorax, and Prince Rutherford had already been frozen as well, along with dozens of ponies and Asgardians, and the ice was spreading faster and faster. Twilight began to hyperventilate, panicking over what to do next.
"Twilight!" Celestia yelled into her ear, grabbing her former student by the wings and shaking her, "Focus! We can stop the windigos, we just have to get past these assailants!"
Twilight took a few more deep breaths, and slapped herself in the face, bringing her back to reality. "You're right, let's get moving!"
Picking a target didn't turn out to be difficult at all. Nearby, Tony was grappling with another figure wearing an armored suit, though this was far larger, and green. The hulking metal man wrapped his entire fist around Tony's leg, slamming the Iron Man into the Canterlot streets, before lifting him and squeezing him with both hands.
"I've long awaited this moment, Iron Man," said Titanium Man, his thick Russian accent coming through the helmet. "And now I will relish this opportunity to crush you with my own hands!"
"Nice—urk!—knock-off suit you got there, pal!" Tony grunted, trying to force the giant hands apart. "But the Boris Badenov voice isn't doing anything for ya!"
Grunting, Titanium Man reached for Tony's helmet to begin crushing it, only for two powerful magic blasts to strike him squarely in the chest. Gold and magenta light clashed on his armor, pushing him a good distance away, but not knocking him over. The good news was that Tony was released from his grip, allowing him to fly over to Celestia and Twilight. Titanium Man, angered, opened a pair of slots in his shoulders, revealing two bays of missiles, firing them at the trio.
Tony, Twilight, and Celestia prepared to defend themselves, but there turned out to be no need. Dr. Strange and Wong stepped in front of them, and with a wave of his hand, Dr. Strange opened another sparking portal, swallowing all of the missiles whole. Wong copied his action, creating a portal of his own, and releasing the missiles once again, allowing them to fly back and bombard their sender, blasting Titanium Man several feet away.
"Hey, thanks, Dr. Strangelove," said Tony, smirking under his mask.
"Never heard that one before," said Dr. Strange, sarcasm fully evident in his voice.
Meanwhile, Spike was having his own problems, flying above the crowd, with Garble hot on his tail, spewing fireballs at the young dragon.
"I see ya finally managed to grow up enough to get your wings, ya little pipsqueak!" Garble laughed as he continued to pursue Spike. "Doesn't mean I won't grind you into a pulp, of course!"
"Garble, what are you doing working with these guys?!" Spike demanded, ducking under another blast of fire. "Aren't you supposed to be a big, proud dragon?"
"That ain't gonna save you, punk! I'm getting exactly what I want from them: The chance to tan your hide!"
Ember joined the arial pursuit, attempting to club Garble with the Bloodstone Scepter. "Garble!" she yelled above the screech of the windigos, "As Dragon Lord, I order you to—"
"Oh, stuff it, girly!" Garble snapped back, swinging his tail in an arc and catching Ember in the chest. The blow didn't hurt her much, but unfortunately, it sent her directly into the path of the windigos' ice breath, which covered her and left Ember a frozen statue. Spike gasped as he watched his friend fall to the ground, but breathed a sigh of relief once she didn't shatter upon impact.
Of course, that didn't help once Garble came after him again.
"Once I'm Dragon Lord, there's gonna be some big changes!" laughed the bullying beast— "I'm gonna ensure that you get pulverized for every time you've gotten in my way! I'm gonna teach you exactly what I—"
And that was when Rainbow Dash and Sam Wilson slammed into his side, nearly cracking his scales, and sending the teenage dragon spiraling out of the sky, to land with a thump on the clear Canterlot ground.
"Need a little help there, Spyro?" asked Sam, firing up his wing pack once more.
"Would you please stop calling me that?" complained Spike. "I still don't know what it means."
"Yeah, you really need to teach us some Earth references," said Rainbow Dash. She would've said more, but a fast, faded blue blur tackled her out of the air, sending her plummeting to the ground, to land on her back. Rainbow yelled with pain as she landed on both wings, pinned down by the strength of her assailant. She struggled valiantly, gripping both of the attackers' forelegs with her own, looking up into his face.
"Wind Rider?!" she exclaimed, recognition dawning on her with the speed of a lightning bolt.
The older pegasus grinned maliciously down at Rainbow, pinning her forelegs down with the sheer strength of his wings. "Glad to see ya again, Rainbow Crash!" he grunted. He reeled back with one hoof and punched Rainbow in the face, forcing her to spit out a small amount of blood. "You ruined my Wonderbolt career, now I'm gonna dismantle your life. Let you see how it feels."
"What're you—!" Rainbow demanded, before another punch cut her off.
"You get away with ruining whoever you want, just because you wore that stupid Element of Harmony!" Wind Rider snarled. "Now, you're gonna get exactly what you deserve!"
He raised his hoof to punch Dash again, but a bolt of bright blue magic hit him in the side, causing him to lose his grip on Rainbow. Dash took advantage of his weakness, bucking Wind Rider off of her with all of the strength she had, sending him tumbling through the air. However, Wind Rider had once been a Wonderbolt, and he easily managed to recover in mid-air, landing on all four hooves, facing Dash down.
As Rainbow Dash stumbled back onto to her own hooves, she was joined by Rarity, her horn still smoking from the magic blast.
"Leave my friends alone, you uncouth ruffian!" threatened the unicorn. "Or else I will resort to more force!"
Wind Rider wiped the blood away from his lips, smirking at the two ponies that faced him. "Perfect," he chuckled to himself. "I've got a score to settle with you, too."
Spreading his wings, he charged the two of them, Rainbow and Rarity bracing themselves for the attack. The three ponies crashed together, clumping into a large ball and rolling across the ground.
At the same time, Thor was continuing his duel with Amora. Sparks of lightning flowed from his fingertips, clashing with Amora's magic, causing small bursts of explosive energy around the battlefield. His frustration growing with each failed attack, Thor raised his new axe, aiming to wound Amora, but she projected a force field, blocking his blow completely.
"Still the same unimaginative brute you always were, Thor," chuckled the Enchantress. "It's hard to believe I actually loved you once." She thrust both hands forward, sending bolts of green magic towards the King of Asgard, but Thor blocked the attack with the head of Jarnbjorn.
"If there's one thing I'm thankful for, it's that you don't anymore," Thor retorted. "Honestly, you were the worst admirer I've ever had to deal with." He threw his axe in a boomerang motion, only for Amora to teleport out of its way. Thor caught the returning axe easily. "Amora, what are you up to this time? Who put you up to this?"
"Oh, yes, like I'm actually going to tell you everything, Thor," Amora laughed back. "Great job so far as King, by the way. Only a few days, and you've already gotten the remainder of your people encased in ice. Odin would by so proud." Indeed, she was right. The only Asgardians spared from the windigos' breath were Thor, Loki, and Valkyrie.
That did it. Thor roared in fury, charging Amora with his axe raised high, intent on killing. Amora smirked, thrusting her hands towards the ground and sending magic into the ground, where the energies would blast Thor off his feet, directly into the path of the windigo breath.
Or at least that's what it was supposed to do. What actually happened was that the magic phased through Thor's body, leaving a faint, green glow in its wake. Amora frowned, confused, as the Thor in front of her suddenly disappeared. She didn't have time to react as the real Thor emerged from an invisibility illusion behind her, and landed a lightning infused punch directly into Amora's spine, pitching the Enchantress like a basketball. Satisfied, Thor gave a thumbs-up to Loki, who appeared from beneath his illusionary spell, smirking with satisfaction, before racing after Amora.
"You owe me for that, brother," Loki muttered to himself.
Spider-Man grunted as he rolled away from the massive paw that came down. The Sphinx responded with another hiss, before raising her paw, claws unsheathed, to try and crush the webbed hero once again. Spider-Man leaped to the side, firing a blast of webbing into the Sphinx's eyes, blinding her.
"Anybody—or anypony, I'm not picky—wanna give me a hand here?!" he yelled. "I'm fighting a twenty-foot eagle-cat-pony...thing, this isn't exactly easy!"
I'm on it, Spidey!" yelled Pinkie Pie, bouncing over to the scene of the fight.
The Sphinx, hearing the sound of the bouncing pony, attempted to stomp on her as well, but Pinkie's Sense kicked in right on schedule, her tail twitching and allowing her to jump out of the way. Leaping upwards like a frog, Pinkie reared back and bucked the Sphinx squarely between the eyes, dazing her. Spider-Man followed her example, swinging around and landing with both feet on Sphinx's neck.
"Hey, this is actually going pretty well!" he exclaimed, as he fired another web line, aiming to circumvent the Sphinx for another blow, "We may actually have a chance—" He stopped as he felt his spider-sense kick in, but it was too late.
A massive, metallic green tail emerged next to him, coiling around Spider-Man's waist. Peter's quip was cut short as the appendage knocked all the air out of his lungs, before whipping to the side, sending the webbed teenager plummeting down to the earth. He barely had time to feel the impact of the crash, before a large, green, pincer claw snapped down, pinning him to the ground by his neck. Peter coughed in pain as he stared up at Scorpion.
"Welcome to the pain train, Spider-Punk!" growled Gargan, picking Spider-Man up by the neck. "You probably don't even remember me, but I sure as hell remember you!"
"Who—?!" coughed Peter, trying to pry the claw from around his throat. "Wait, I know you. You were that creep on the Staten Island Ferry."
"Oh, good!" Scorpion chuckled. "Now you'll know exactly who it is that's goring—"
"Yeah, yeah," Spider-Man muttered, shooting a blast of webbing into Scorpion's face.
Grabbing the sides of the pincer claw to balance himself, he kicked off, striking his opponent in the face with both feet. Jumping onto the Scorpion's back, Spider-Man pushed off with his legs, sending Scorpion diving forward to crash onto the ground face-first. Peter then scurried off to help Pinkie with the Sphinx.
"Oh no ya don't!" Scorpion snarled, as he climbed to his feet. He whipped his enormous tail in an arc, slamming Spider-Man in the back, and sending him flying across the battlefield.
Pinkie, meanwhile, hadn't been having the greatest amount of luck against the Sphinx. Sure, the legendary beast wasn't able to hit the fast, sixth sensing pony, her blows instead leaving indents in the brick, but Pinkie's own blows, even with her earth pony enhanced strength, did very little to actually hurt the Sphinx. Still, Pinkie thought she was doing alright. At least, until Spider-Man crashed into her, something even her Pinkie Sense hadn't predicted. Grunting from the pain, the duo got to their feet and hooves, pressed back to back, finding themselves facing the Sphinx on Pinkie's side, and Scorpion on Spider-Man's.
"I don't suppose you have any huge, tide-turning tricks up your mane, Pinkie?" asked Peter, trying to remain calm in the face of danger.
"I dunno," replied the party pony, "I could bake them a cake, maybe that would calm them down."
"Somehow, I doubt it."
"Hey, you! Get off their backs!" yelled a new voice.
Spider-Man and Pinkie turned to the side, to see Korg actually hurl Tempest Shadow at the advancing Sphinx. The unicorn curled into a ball, turning into a rolling sphere as she struck the legendary beast on her nose, before unrolling herself and kicking Sphinx in the eye. The Sphinx reached up with one massive paw, attempting to swat down Tempest, only for the unicorn to grapple onto the limb with her front legs, swing around it, and fire a bolt of magical lightning directly into the Sphinx's neck. The beast hissed with pain and fury. Korg, meanwhile, caught Scorpion by the tail, yanking him off his feet and punching him in the stomach, before tossing him off to the side.
"Wow," said Spider-Man. "Even for a guy made completely out of rock, I didn't expect that from that guy."
"Meh. I was a gladiator for a while," said Korg.
"Come on, everypony!" yelled Tempest. "We've got a battle to win here!"
Fluttershy, meanwhile, was naturally terrified. The worst part was the endless screeching of the windigos as they blew ice all over Canterlot. But the battle raging between the Avengers, her best friends, and whoever these newcomers were was providing plenty of panic fuel as well. That, in addition to Fluttershy's reasoning that she wouldn't be much use to the others in this fight, convinced her to get out of the way. She spread her wings, taking off and flying away to try and find someplace safe to hunker down. Dodging blasts of ice, magic bolts, lasers, and bullets, she was rushing towards a hiding place behind a couple a marble columns that hadn't been frozen over yet, when a misdirected blast from Iron Man came flying at her face. Fluttershy froze in sheer fear. Seconds before the blast could hit her, a hand seized her by the tail, yanking her out of the way.
Fluttershy squeaked at the sudden pulling on her body, looking over to find her savior, Natasha. The Black Widow wrapped Fluttershy in her body's embrace, diving to the side to avoid another volley of blasts.
"Sorry about the rough handling," said Natasha. "I didn't have time to be gentle."
"O-oh it's okay," said Fluttershy, quivering in the woman's grip. "T-thanks of h-helping me."
"Don't mention it," Natasha started to say, before something else caught her eye. A black boot-covered foot came flying in an arc, aimed at her head, forcing the Black Widow to roll away, still gripping Fluttershy in her arms. With a quick jump, Natasha got back on her feet, releasing Fluttershy and turning to face her opponent.
"Yelena?!" she gasped, actually surprised, even as she drew her batons and relaxed into a fighting stance.
"Indeed, Romanova!" Yelena spat, drawing her own electrified batons. "I've come to finally pay you back, traitor!"
She thrust her baton forward, but Natasha blocked it with both of her own. Twisting the weapons in her grip, Natasha managed to squirm out of the lock, throwing Yelena off balance. Natasha kicked her opponent in the side, but when she went to throw a follow up kick, Yelena managed to actually catch her foot in mid-swing, and flip Natasha sideways, sending the Black Widow sprawling onto the ground. Yelena charged again with a roar, but Natasha tossed one of her small taser disks onto her leg, the electrical charge shocking Yelena and halting her in her tracks. Getting back to her feet, Natasha drew both pistols, and fired a few shots at the retreating Yelena, who dived behind a cover of rocks. Natasha was then forced to find her own cover behind a pillar, as Yelena poked her head out to return fire.
Fluttershy whimpered as she watched the two woman continue their duel. This was the last place she wanted to be. Not only was she almost caught in the middle, but if Yelena saw her, she could use her as a hostage against Natasha. Fluttershy wanted more than anything to just flee, but she couldn't bring herself to just abandon Natasha, even if there was the slimmest chance Fluttershy could help her. Gritting her teeth, Fluttershy waiting until Natasha had to reload her guns, then flew over to Yelena's hiding place, and shoved the enemy spy with her front hooves as hard as possible.
The blow wasn't very powerful, but it had the intended result. Yelena was knocked out of her shelter, and she dropped her guns, preventing her from firing on Natasha. Enraged, Yelena drew her batons and rounded on Fluttershy, but the pony had planned this. Bracing herself, Fluttershy hit Yelena with the biggest Stare she could muster.
At first, it seemed to have no effect. Yelena actually paused for a second to laugh at the yellow pegasus' attempt at intimidation. However, as she continued to stare into Fluttershy's bottomless gaze, her aqua-colored eyes boring into the Russian agent's soul, she started to see something in it that gave her pause. Yelena's grip on her batons weakened, and she began shivering, and it had nothing to do with the windigos.
And that was when Natasha body slammed her, sending her stumbling across the ground, where she slipped on a patch of ice and fell on her rear.
"Not bad, Fluttershy," said Natasha, giving the pony a rare smile, "but we're not done yet."
Indeed she was right, as Yelena managed to get to her feet again.
For the Hulk, the biggest dilemma of this whole mess was who he should smash first. There seemed to be plenty of options, with the Avengers going up against various enemies he'd never seen before. But then the part of his brain that he hated, the part that was Bruce Banner, reminded him that he they'd probably frown upon him killing these people, no matter who they were.
So naturally, once he saw the familiar, bony Abomination emerging from the portal, he smiled. Finally, a challenge!
The two massive beings charged each other with everything they had, their shoulders colliding in a massive slam that sent shockwaves rippling throughout the battlefield. Hulk grunted as he pulled his fist back for a massive punch, only for Abomination to backhand him, knocking him to the side. For all their evenly matched strength, Abomination did have the advantage of being a trained soldier, one who excelled at hand-to-hand combat. Hulk just tended to punch anything that got in his way.
"Nice to know you're still around, Banner!" growled Abomination, charging Hulk again. He raised his arm, preparing to stab the Hulk with one of his protruding elbow bones, but the Hulk caught the arm, forcing the beast back. "I've been looking forward to this!"
"No Banner, only Hulk!" roared the green giant, punching Abomination in the stomach. Rearing back, he charged his enemy, striking him between the pectorals with his shoulder. He shoved the Abomination further and further back, into one of the marble pillars surrounding the castle, and slammed him into it. He reached over Abomination's back, attempting to grab the processes of his spine and twist them, but Abomination seized both wrists in his vice-like grip, and the two monsters began to grapple with each other.
"Banner, Hulk, who cares?!" Blonsky snapped, head butting the Hulk right in the nose.
With the Hulk staggered, Abomination moved in closer, delivering a series of quick blows designed to cripple his pressure points, even stabbing Hulk in the arm with his elbow spike. However, the Hulk was made of stronger stuff, and he managed to weather the blows, swinging outwards with both arms and striking Abomination, driving him backwards. With another furious roar, Hulk reared back and punched Abomination in the face, dropping him on his rear.
Eager to press his advantage, Hulk grabbed the marble column, ripping it right out of its concrete base. He raised the impromptu club over his head, preparing to smash Blonsky over the head, but before he could, an invisible force ripped the column out of his grip. Hulk froze where he stood, confused, until to column dropped onto his head so hard it actually split in half. Abomination roared with laughter at the sight.
"Such a simple brute," said Amora, her magic glowing in her hands, as she watched Abomination get back to his feet. "Even compared to Thor, it's honestly pathetic."
The bony monster delivered a devastating punch directly to Hulk's face, but when the green giant tried to retaliate, Amora's magic surrounded him once again, and he was frozen where he stood, leaving him open to another punch from Abomination. Every time Hulk tried to dodge, tried to fight back, tried to do anything, Amora was always there to stop him. Soon, Hulk was lying flat on his back, bleeding green blood from various wounds all over his body.
"You're pathetic, Hulk!" Blonsky snarled, reeling back for another punch. "YOU ARE!" Smash. "NOTHING!" Smash. "TO ME!" Smash. Reaching down, he picked up the wounded Hulk, holding him high over his head, before dropping the beast down onto his knee with a resounding crack. The Incredible Hulk landed with a thump, defeated, at the feet of the Abomination.
As Blonsky and Amora watched, the Hulk actually began to shrink. His muscles diminished as his flesh retreated inwards. His skin began to pale, changing from green to peach, and in no time at all, Bruce Banner was lying before them, unconscious.
"Hmph. Lightweight," grunted Abomination, raising his foot directly above Banner's skull, ready to stomp down and end his life once and for all.
"Whoa whoa whoa!" yelled Tony, swooping down and blasting both Abomination and Amora with blasts from hand mounted repulsor cannons, "Hands off!" He flew down, landing next to the unconscious Banner, and scanned his body. "Uh, guys? Not to induce panic, but we've got a Hulk down over here! We may want to consider a strategic retreat!"
"I agree!" yelled Dr. Strange, as he fended off another attack from Titanium Man. "Even with us on your side, you're not doing too well!"
"Hey!"
Twilight gritted her teeth as she fired off several more magic bolts. She hated to admit it, but Tony was probably right. They'd been caught off guard, unprepared for this fight, and the way the windigos kept blowing ice all over everything, they'd soon end up as ice statues if they kept hanging around. There was no other option, they needed to get out of here.
With a thought, Twilight ignited her horn, opening a tiny dimensional pocket in which she'd stored the mirror portal to Wakanda, before telekinetically pulling the mirror out. She'd been planning to use if it Rhodey and the other Avengers who couldn't attend were able to get away from their business long enough to show up. Placing her hoof on the crystal embedded in the mirror frame, Twilight activated the portal, creating the familiar swirling blue vortex in the air.
"Everybody! Everypony! Get in!" she shouted, before diving into the portal.
Tony came after her, flying through the portal while carrying Bruce Banner on his shoulder. They were followed shortly by T'Challa, Natasha, Fluttershy, Princess Celestia, Rarity, Spike, Tempest, Korg, Dr. Strange, and Autumn Blaze. But just as Wanda passed through the portal, Vision close behind her, a bolt of green energy came from the side, blasting the mirror as it continued to generate the vortex. With a snap, the mirror shattered into tiny shards, and the portal disappeared into the air.
"Running away?" laughed Amora, her hand still glowing with power. "How cute, yet utterly pathetic."
"WANDA!" Vision screamed, futilely grasping at the spot where the portal had stood, as though trying to get his beloved back somehow.
"Forget about her! What about us?!" yelled Valkyrie, grabbing Vision by the cape and dragging him out of the way of another blast from Amora.
Nick Fury, meanwhile, was racing around the battlefield, desperately trying to find some shelter. But as he rain, the continuously forming ice slipped underneath his boot, causing him to trip where he stood, and fall flat on his rear. With a grunt, Fury attempted to rise, but found that the ice had begun spreading up his leg, leaving a chill in his body colder than anything he'd ever felt. He pulled at his leg, but it was frozen solid already, and Fury only had seconds before the effect spread to the rest of his body. Groaning in resignation, Fury made a decision. It was time.
He reached into his back pocket, one he almost never touched, and pulled out the familiar pager, the device from a long gone era that he always kept with him. Frantically pushing the send button, he turned around.
"Cap!" he shouted, throwing the outdated communications device towards Steve, who turned just in time to catch it. "Keep that with you! Don't let it go no matter what—" He didn't get to finish, as the ice spread up his body, freezing him completely.
Steve gasped briefly at the sight, before looking down at the pager in his hands. It meant nothing to him, being a piece of technology that had worn out long before he'd emerged from the ice. The device kept beeping, displaying the message 'Sending...' before suddenly shifting to a symbol of a white star, with a red and blue background. Steve couldn't make heads or tails of it.
But there was no time to ponder the meaning. Amora and the others were advancing quickly, backing Steve and the remainder of his group were surrounded on all sides. Steve raised his shield aggressively, but even he knew there was no way they could win like this.
"Splendid," Loki quipped. "I don't suppose anyone has any bright ideas."
"Shut up, Loki," Thor growled.
"I might have an idea," whispered Wong, nudging Luna and Starlight. "If I could boost your teleportation magic..."
"We don't have many options right now," said Luna. "Let's do it!"
Luna and Starlight flared their horns, at the same time as Wong formed a long rope of eldritch magic in his hands. With two quick gestures, he'd connected both of their horns, sending tons of excess magic into them. Closing their eyes, Luna and Starlight focused all their magic, enveloping the group in a massive bubble shield. With a blinding flash of white light, the entire group vanished, teleporting away.
Amora, Blonsky, and the others were left to stare in bewilderment.
"Well," said Wind Rider. "That was unexpected."