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It was a stormy night when Thor showed back up on the Helicarrier with his brother in chains. Loki was swiftly hurried off by SHIELD agents to the rebuilt glass cell that they had contained him in the first time he came to Earth. The Avengers gathered together for the first time since the failed invasion and the Aesir brother's send off 4 months ago.
As they gathered in the spacious conference room, all of them had varying thoughts as to why Thor had brought Loki back when they had been assured that they would never have to deal with the god again. The World Security Council were already putting their noses where they didn't belong and attempting to further their plans and ideals. The Avengers were more wary of possible further hostilities, for why else would Thor have dragged back his psychotic brother other than so they could interrogate him on another plan for invasion.
"Well, we're all here now," Fury was impatient with waiting around before he could get the information that he wanted. "Why the hell would you bring back that crazy bastard?! We let you take him back for punishment with the agreement that we would never see him again!"
"Peace, Man of Fury," Thor began. "We are here on order from the Allfather, he wishes you to take part in Loki's punishment for the crimes he has committed. It is by the Allfather's judgement that it has been decided that he is sentenced to be altered and bound in that form for the rest of his natural life, and it is to mortals that the decision of what form he is to take will be made."
The Avengers exchanged confused looks before Tony piped up with the question they were all thinking, "What do you mean by 'bound in that form'? And what do we get to decide?"
"Father can force Loki to assume the form of an animal, into which he will be locked with no chance of reassuming his natural form," he replied, eyes downcast and sadness for his brother in his heart. Being transformed against your will into a base animal would be a terrifying fate, made even worse by the consequences of the change.
"So, the little psychopath gets changed into an animal? How is that punishment for the lives he took the last time he was here?" Fury was not that impressed over the sentence this 'Allfather' had given. He was hoping for a more permanent and final decision.
"It is not a fate that I would wish on anyone, least of all my own brother," his anger at the chosen sentance shining through his tone. "The change is only the first step. Over time, be it weeks or, more likely, months, the animals instincts will subjugate Loki's mind and intelligence, essentially turning him into that animal." Thor looked around those that he considered shield-brothers and compaions with pain filled eyes. "He will lose his mind, Loki's greatest fear, and my brother will be dead for all intents and purposes."
While Clint looked a little too happy at that, Steve patted Thor's shoulder in commiseration. "I'm sorry. He deserves to be punished for what he's done, but I am sorry for how it's affecting you, for no matter what, he is your brother."
Thor just looked at him with tears shimmering in his eyes, but he nodded in understanding. He knew that others would probably be thrilled with this punishment, just as his friends on Asgard had been. He just hoped that the Avengers would not taunt and tease like Sif and the Three did during the months that his brother was locked underneath the palace.
"So we get to pick what type of animal we want Loki to be?" Clint asked, a gleam coming into his eye along with an idea.
"Yes, since he has wronged your world most severely, it was decided that you would pick the form the punishment would take," and he watched as they began discussing ideas between themselves.
Fury called for silence before turning to one of his best agents, "Agent Barton, since Loki caused you more trouble than the rest, I leave it to you to choose an appropriate animal."
"Thank you, sir, I appreciate it and have already made my decision," he smiled smugly. He turned to Thor who was looking on worriedly, "I think it would be appropriate to turn him into a little dog, like one of those Maltese ones, he can be a pet and wear those little pink bows." The wicked grin he sent the others was not returned by many, especially when he continued. "And as per state law, when a dog is rehomed they must be desexed before their new owners take possession."
Thor was confused at this, "Desexed?"
"He means that most dogs on Earth, especially male dogs, are castrated before homes are found for them," Steve was uncomfortable in discussing such a subject about a sentient being, and the glare he ssent Clint told them that he thought this a low blow.
"You mean to castrate my brother," the bellow came along with the crash of a chair splintering on impact with the wall. Thor was enraged at the indignity that one he called friend wished to do to his little brother.
"I think it only fair for what he did to me, not to mention that it is the law and will prevent him from procreating here on our planet," he was inordinately pleased with his idea, though most of the others didn't seem to comfortable, but what did that matter to him. He was finally going to get his revenge on that bastard, and one that Loki will never forget.
OoOoO
Loki paced inside the cage they had shoved him into, thoughts on how to escape the planned sentence of Odin going through his quicksilver mind. There didn't seem to be anyway of escaping the punishment entirely, but the Aesir had never truly paid much attention to him and that led to underestimating his abilities.
While he might not be able to stop the spell from going ahead in its entirety, Loki was himself a talented shapeshifter with millennia of experiance. When they came to force a change on him, he was ready to throw everything he had into one last bid to thwart his supposed family and to ruin Odin's carefully considered plans to get rid of him.
Mind made up he sat down to wait for the time to act. That chance came a few minutes later when Thor, along with the Avengers and Fury, came down to his cage to begin Odin's sentence.
"Brother, you will stand for your punishment," Thor commanded as he moved to stand before the glass wall, a stone softly glowing held in his palm.
As the others spaced themselves behind him, he watched Loki move forwards, weighed down by numerous chains. Clint came to stand beside him, ready to do his part in the commencment of the sentence.
"Loki," he spoke with a ring of ritual in his voice. "You have been found guilty of the crimes of treason to Asgard and attempted genocide of Jotunheim. As if that was not enough, you also attacked with the desire to rule Midgard, which is under the protection of Asgard. You are hereby sentenced by Odin Allfather, King of Asgard, to take an altered form chosen by Clint Barton until death. Your fate after the change will also be decided by the mortals, and you will never see Asgard again."
So saying this, Thor raised a hand and spoke the words that released the shackles that still bound Loki, then turned to Clint and held out his hand. Clint grinned a smile devoid of humour and placed his hand over the stone.
"I've chosen to turn you into a little Maltese dog, which should suit your girly figure, freak. But you'll be pleased to know that here on Earth, we neuter dogs so that they can't make other dogs without our permission," his smile turned evil at that pronouncement. "We have the vet lined up and ready to go the second your a dog. You should say goodbye to those balls of yours, soon you'll be of no use to anyone except for use like a woman."
The glare of fury that Loki leveled at him made him laugh. Yes, this was the revenge he wanted, to make the god as impotent as he felt under the mind control and to lord it over him.
He concentrated over the stone, focusing on the form of the dog that he wanted Loki to assume. The small white dog with yards of long fur that many people liked tying up in pretty little bows regardless of gender, another reason he was enjoying this, big badass Loki would soon be wearing little pink bows.
From inside the cage they could see flashes of gold that steadily built into constant pulsing glow all over Loki's body. As the Avngers watched, they saw him lift his hands and inspect the energy that was currently mapping his genetics and body, preparing to change him at the base code so that he would never be able to change back into his original form.
Then, he lifted his head and smiled, a smile that indicated he knew something that they didn't. "I'll see you soon, count on that."
With those ominous words, the stone flared and disintegrated, and at the same moment the golden glow over the god shone as bright as a star. That was when they noticed the figure inside began to change, the body started to shrink, falling towards the ground before the limbs and head also started altering shape. That was when Clint truly started to feel elation that he had finally punished the brat for what he had done to him.
Unfortunately for the Avengers and the Asgardians, that was when Loki took control of the spell. He was a natural shapeshifter and knew the intricacies of the art more than even Odin could ever hope too, no matter how much he enjoyed changing those he wanted forgotten and despised into monsters.
Whereas Odin and Clint only thought about the shape of the creatures they turned people into, Loki thought about the genetics and the very things that made up the beast he wished to transform into. This was a far more potent way to initiate a change and so easily overpowered the failsafes built into the spell that Odin had given Thor. The spell wanted to do only one thing, transform the intended into the animal that the spell was told to, but Loki's innate ability to shift allowed a degree of focus and knowledge that Clint couldn't hope to match in a thousand years.
It was Tony that noticed something wrong first, the shape of the limbs and head did not correspond with the dog that Clint said he was going to change the god into. Then he noticed that the figure was not shrinking down to the size of a toy dog, if anything it appeared to be growing.
"Uh, Thor?" Tony was hesitant to annoy anyone, but something just wasn't right. "Does he appear to be getting bigger to you?"
With a start, almost all of them suddenly looked closer at what was happening inside the cell. Clint lost his smile as he also noticed that Loki wasn't getting any smaller, but in fact, growing. Fury started yelling for more agents to surround the cell, many of them carrying Phase Two weapons, the strongest ones they had.
"Agent Barton, you must concentrate," Thor pulled Clint's attention back to what he was supposed to be doing. "The spell uses your thoughts on what you want the end form to be to force it onto Loki. If you lose focus the spell could react in ways we don't know, you have to make him assume that form."
"That's what I'm doing! I'm not the one that's thinking of whatever creature that is," his anger growing when no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't get Loki to shrink.
By this time, Loki was standing on all fours and his shoulder was now as tall as Thor and still growing. His muzzle elongated with sharp, fang-like teeth showing, his legs thickened and talon-tipped feet grew. A tail whipped about behind him, seeming prehensile in ability, growing quickly and strong like the rest of him. Suddenly, a change occured, his back seemed to bulge upwards, before splitting into two distinct shapes, growing astonishingly quickly.
Loki had now reached a size where he was pressing against the ceiling and the walls, augmented by the spiderweb cracks that started to appear across the surface of the glass. Everyone stepped back in nervousness as the screeching of metal straining under great weight filled the air. While they eyed the cell that was splitting apart at the seams, Fury hit the 'drop' button.
The entire cell suddenly dropped out of view, Thor crying out in surprise as his brother fell from his sight. "What have you done?!"
"When that cell hits the ground, whatever that thing that psycho was changing into will die. It's what should have been done the first time we had him here," he'd had enough of this mystical bullshit that had been going on and he wanted Loki out of the way as quickly as possible.
"What the hell happened?" Tony interrupted before Thor could start a war between SHIELD and Asgard. "That was not a Maltese dog!"
Thor turned away from Fury to answer, "Somehow the form that Clint Barton chose was not the one that ultimately made its way into the spell. He is not a dog, but something I fear is far more dangerous."
"Whatever it was, it was far bigger than any canine from Earth," Bruce cut in, looking over the side to the distant ground.
Before any more was said, the entire ship shook viciously and then began to tilt aftward as alarms started blaring all over the carrier.
"All hands. Red Alert. Red Alert. Prepare to brace. I repeat, prepare to brace," Hill's voice came over the PA system moments before she contacted the Avenges on their coms. "Sir, we've lost engine 3 sir and we've exceeded our maximum weight capacity."
"What the hell is going on up there, Hill?"
"We can't keep her in the air anymore, we're going down. And there's something outside you've got to see." With that disturbing piece of information they all ran for the exits before the carrier tilted too far.
OoOoO
Thor was leading as they burst through the hatch onto the deck of the Helicarrier, seeing for the first time the debris that littered the deck from the destroyed planes that used to line the landing strip. Now all that was left was scraps and fire that burned with intense heat.
Over by the wreckage of what used to be a top-of-the-line fighter jet, they saw a talon that had speared right through the plane and sttached to that talon was a creature from myth and legend.
A Dragon.
An actual, breathing dragon.
There was a real life dragon clinging to the aft end of the ship.
A fact that had all those present staring in shock at something no mortal believed to be real. It was massive, a single talon was larger than the plane it had punctured, the huge head was tipped with great horns that spiraled to wicked points. The gigantic body was strong and powerful, the great limbs ripping through reinforced steel like a hot knife through soft butter. You could fit half a dozen Helicarriers under the incredible expanse of its wings that carried most of the weight of the giant beast. The long tail trailed behind with flared tail-tips stabilising the balance it maintained while hanging onto the destabilising ship.
Burning eyes like miniture suns gazed predatorily at the puny beings that had come out to confront it. Red and black scales thicker than any bulkhead and unbreachable by any weapon ever forged or any power ever born, covered it completely. Thor stared up at it, fear and fury warring on his face.
"Loki!" he yelled as he stepped forward, raising Mjolnir in readiness. "What have you done?!"
"Thor, what is that?" Tony's repulsors were primed and ready to fire upon the beast.
"That, my friends, is a Dragon. They were creatures of limitless power and strength, rivaling the Titans for their influence on the universe. There are none in all creation that can stand against their might. They can shatter stars and remake worlds, and they are not to be trifled with." Thor looked very uneasy as he told them this, something that unnerved them greatly. "And somehow, Loki has taken the form of one."
"You can't blame me! I didn't even know dragons existed," Clint threw up his hands in surrender as he came under scrutiny.
"They aren't supposed to exist, they were thought to have died out millennia ago."
Dark laughter floated over the sound of the wind howling around them. The great head swung lower towards them, sending many of the agents that had come outside scurrying back into shelter.
"Not quite, Odinson," came the hissed words in Loki's voice but with a dual tone echoing it. "They never died out, they just left for better pastures. This universe is expansive, and there are many places that Odin and you Aesir no nothing about."
"What have you done, Loki?" Thor demanded again. "The Allfather sentenced you to be confined in a form of the mortals choosing, and he did not choose this!"
"No, he did not. I did," came the most pleased answer they had ever heard.
Thor was totally flabbergasted, "H-How? How did you do that? Father himself cast that spell."
"Odin is not as powerful as you think. He knows not how true shapeshifting works, but as a natural-born shifter, I do. His spell took its direction from the one who could give it the most detail, not some mortal ant who's never seen a shift."
Clint bristled in absolute fury at this. He'd come so close to achieving his revenge, to find out that he'd never truly had it at all. The slimy little snake had tricked them all once again.
Fury had let the others cause a distraction while he had co-ordinated with Hill and the carriers escorts to form a strike against the so-called dragon. He could see the planes that had been flying alongside gathered into formation on the far side of the ship and they were, even now, on approach. He just had to ensure a few more minutes of obliviousness from Loki.
"So you think you've outsmarted us, do you?" he said as he moved forward to catch the attention of the great beast. "All we have to do is get Odin to personally come down here with another spell. Then you'll be right back to where we want you, weak, useless and unwanted. Someone's little pet."
Thor looked uncomfortable for a moment, before the same laughter as before rolled across them. "Ah, the little thunderer did not tell you then."
"Tell us what?"
"The spell cannot be cast over one already affected by it again. There is no way to undo the results of it, either. Loki's true form is now that of a dragon, and it will forever be so," sadness coloured Thor's words as he gazed up at the monstrous beast his brother had become.
Fury was livid, this was not working the way it should have been. "Do you mean to say that we're stuck with a crazy would-be-god that's larger than my entire ship?!"
The dragon threw back his head as he burst out laughing in great mirth. Revenge on these simple-minded fools that had thought for a moment that they were better than him was a beautiful thing. Witnessing their frustration and rage at their own impotence to stop him. It was a truly glorious feeling.
It was at that moment that the missiles fired by the approaching fighters hit Loki directly in the side and the barrage from the weapons platform on the Helicarrier started to fire upon him. A chorus of cheers erupted from the watching agents as they saw the ordnance hit its mark.
The explosions from the detonating missiles tore through the air, rocking the deck they stood on and causing the dragon to swing round with hissing in anger to face the oncoming threat. But to the dismay of the mortals, nothing came of the barrage. The missiles had not even scratched the thick scaly armour he wore, and the bullets of the ship mounted guns bounced harmlessly off him as well.
With a bellowing roar, Loki unleashed a a river of flame at the fghters that ripped the air asunder. The three leading planes exploded on impact with the living flame, but the two rear fighters managed to avoid most of the deadly flow. They peeled off, hulls smoking and glowing from intense heat, engines labouring under the strain of half melted components and spewing a trail of debris as they rushed to escape the danger zone.
While he distracted by the planes, Bruce took the opportunity to awaken the Hulk. It was easy, all he had to think about was the devestation in New York after Chitauri invasion and the pilots of the planes that had been destroyed. The Hulk roared as he ripped through the meagre clothing of Banner's human form, green washing over the skin as he grew in size and strength.
As Loki's head came back round to fix his eyes on the Avengers, Hulk launched himself at the behemoth Loki had become. With a cry of rage the green giant slammed his fist directly into the dragon's nose. There was a sickening crack of bone, before the Hulk fell away screaming in pain.
The Avengers watched in horror as they saw the damage the blow had done to their most indestructible friend. His arm was clearly broken in at least three places, and his hand and wrist were mangled beyond recognition, bones peircing through his flesh. Tony had never seen his friend hurt like this, for no matter what method his enemies took, none could injure the Hulk in such a way.
Thor threw Mojlnir into a direct attack that should, given the damage the hammer had manage to inflict in previous confrontations, have torn right through the dragon's armoured hide and ripped out its heart.
OoOoO
It bounced.
OoOoO
Mojlnir impacted the immence chest of Loki's new form and was deflected by scales the size of a car's hood, infinitely stronger and more durable than anything the mortals or Aesir had ever created. There was nothing but the utmost disbelief in the hearts of all those on board the helicarrier as they watched the hammer fall towards the ocean they hovered over.
Thor recalled the hammer to his hand, as even the Hulk backed away, the green giant feeling fear for the first time in his existance in the face of an opponent he could not smash into submission.
"OK, that's not good," Tony stated, fear and amazement warring inside him. On the one hand, such a creature as the dragon was turning out to be was incredible, but it also meant that there was nothing any of the Avengers could do to stop him if even Thor and the Hulk couldn't make a dent. "What are we supposed to do now?"
"Dragons, in legend, are undefeatable. They have the strength of ages and unmatched elemental powers that no other have ever mastered. There is no myth or story that speaks of the defeat of such a one by any other than another dragon, there is nothing we can do."
No-one moved forward to try again, lest they bring the wrath of the beast down on them.
Fury lanced through Thor's heart at the thought of the blatant mockery Loki was making of the sentence that Odin and the Court of Asgard had passed in jugdement of his crimes. Odin's good name had been tainted by the insane quest his youngest son had embarked on, and the punishment he had devised was to restore his honour and show that no matter who you were, no one excaped Asgardian justice. But Loki had done just that, he had twisted the punishment into his gain and not suffered in repentance for his crimes.
"Do you have any idea about what you've done?" Thor yelled at his brother. "The disgrace and shame you bring upon father and Asgard by not only your crimes, but for the way you mock and disregard our laws and punishments. Why can't you just submit to the just ruling of our father? Do the honourable thing for once in your life and restore honour to our house."
"Honour! Your dare speak to me of honour? Where was Asgard's honour when they condemned my children to be monsters and then made them suffer for millennia, their only crime, being born. Where was Asgard's honour when they named me liar, deceiver and trickster for telling nought but the truth and doing my duty for Asgard. You know nothing about honour, not you nor Odin, and you can tell that father of yours, there is a reckoning coming. And I will be the one to bring it," and with that last hissed out, he spread his wings even more and let go of the ship.
To the disbelief of the mortals, the massive creature seemed to float on the winds, rising as gently as a feather above their heads.
Then he let loose a roar that shook the entire ship, a roar that echoed around the world. It was a call sent forth for just one being on the whole planet. A being that responded.
The ocean far beneath the helicarrier writhed for a moment, before a colossal serpant's head broke the surface, rising far above the white capped waves all around it. It sent a deep bellow up to the flying dragon, attracting the attention of its parent, all the while continuing to head upwards.
It was already taller than any building mortal eyes had ever seen, when it started to glow a soft blue, still rising even as it called again to one it had not seen for many years. The dragon replied with a cry of great longing, and with a crack the serpent transfomed into the young man he was born to be.
The Avengers had all rushed over to peer over the side of the carrier to view the serpent, and then the man as he fell back towards the ocean he had called home for far too long. With another cry, the great beast above them bent a wing and heeled over into a dive of incredible speed, catching up quickly to the tiny figure far below them. He swooped underneath him and allowed him to catch hold of his back before his wings snapped open into a glide.
A shimmering green energy surrounded them, before, with a few great wingbeats and a snap, they disappeared into nothingness.
Thor watched them go with trepidation, Loki had won once again and escaped. There was nothing he could do now to try and rein in any further punishment that Asgard would seek to apply to the trickster. Odin would be beyond furious that Loki had once again thwarted his legitimate punishment.
But that paled in comparison to what he had just seen. Loki in dragon form had just freed the Great Serpent, Jormungandr, child of Loki, from his two thousand year slumber under Midgard's oceans. He would now be after the rest of his children, and then he would attack Asgard with his monstrous get.
They must prepare for the devestation that Loki could inflict on the golden realm of the Gods.
OoOoO
In another realm, a dragon smiled.