"Well, Coulson… What are we going to do with your little friend here?" Nick Fury asked, stepping into the little private conference room, and closing the door behind him.
The room was open with the conference table unbolted from the floor and pushed up against the far wall. The room had a large glass window facing forward, overlooking the ocean the Helicarrier was currently floating on. The SHIELD director stepped into the room and glanced back to the two agents holding rifles, guarding the exit and watching their "prisoner".
Fury came to a stop beside Phil Coulson, who was currently wheelchair-bound, facing the center of the room with his hands in his lap. The director crossed his arms and glared at the center of the room, his eye on the large white wolf laying on a nest of blankets and pillows, sleeping sprawled out her side and snoring softly.
"Well, sir…" Coulson began, threading his fingers between one another as he thought. "Do you have a little wiggle room in your Avengers budget for dog food?"
"You're suggesting we just let this wolf of unknown origin run around with all the privileges of the others? We don't even know where it came from. Hell, Fido here fought Loki into retreat while guarding you. It's dangerous…" Fury spoke, still watching the canine. "We might only have this one chance to end this while it's asleep…"
"I heavily advise against that, sir. She saved my life. I realize that makes me biased, but, Frosty knew about Loki. She ran through the carrier like she knew the place, and saved over a dozen agents directly," Coulson replied, glancing up to look at the Director, who was looking at Coulson in return. "We could always see if we can find an information leak with what she knows. Besides, she could be useful to keep around if everything blows over with the Asgardians."
"…The security council isn't going to like this," Fury conceded, nodding once and turning his attention back toward the large canine, his eye twitching slightly as he thought about all the whining and complaining he was going to have to deal with. "You know, if we can train it to sniff out magical artifacts, they might be more—" Nick Fury was cut off as the communicator at his waist went off. He glanced down at Coulson, and then moved to grab the device, glancing at the screen and then flicking it to speaker phone.
"Hill," Fury acknowledged, "please tell me you have some good news."
"Well, it's definitely news," she spoke, sounding a little busy at the helm as she listened to someone in the background, and then returned to the communicator. "The good news is that Loki has been found at Stark Tower, and that your little pet project is about to be put through its paces."
"…And the bad news?"
"Loki opened a space portal in the middle of New York. Aliens are falling from the sky and attacking," Agent Hill spoke bluntly. Fury swore under his breath, and Coulson gave a sigh, as if mentally preparing himself for the following chaos.
"Send two jets with five agents each to go assist. When we can spare more we'll send more," Fury ordered. After the attack, they were short on pilots and agents they could send that weren't getting care for their wounds. They still had nearly a dozen people missing from their on-board personnel list, but Fury wasn't holding out hope.
"Already on their way, sir," Agent Maria Hill replied. Fury spoke a moment later, gazing out of the window and over the open water, far in the distance where the Avengers were battling the forces of Loki.
"Hit our local military contacts for evacuation assistance, just in case things go south," Fury moved to end the call, only for him to be interrupted by Agent Hill once more.
"You might want to check on Frosty's guards. Rogers just asked about a large white wolf battling the aliens," she warned. Fury and Coulson paused for a moment, looking down at the still-sleeping form of the large wolf on the pile of blankets and pillows, and then glanced behind themselves at the guards, who were both standing there quietly.
"We're there. Fido is still asleep," Fury spoke. He tilted his head slightly and squinted, stepping forward and coming to stand beside the large sleeping canine. He lifted a leg and pushed his boot under one of the canine's paws, before lifting it up and letting the heavy paw fall back to the little nest. "Yup. Still here."
"Well, then we've got a second wolf running around that's identical to the one currently napping. Or a clone? Maybe there's a whole pack of them?" Hill mused. "Regardless, the other wolf seems to be helping for the moment, so we aren't interfering."
"…noted." Fury ground out. He glanced at Coulson, who looked back at him with a raised eyebrow and confused expression. "Keep me posted."
Ending the call, the Director of SHIELD stood quietly for a moment, contemplating. He nudged the wolf with his boot, not getting a response at all from the sleeping canine. He moved a hand down to brush a gloved hand against the sensitive inner fluff of the wolf's ears, hoping to wake her, and only getting a light ear flick in response.
"Sir, what are you doing?" Coulson asked, squinting a little in confusion and concern as he watched his boss try to wake the massive wolf that had fought Loki into retreating.
"Getting answers," Fury replied, continuing his actions. He moved to wedge his boot under the wolf's head, lifting it up a few inches and wriggling it around, bouncing the canine's head on his foot. The wolf's head limply rolled back and forth, before falling off his boot, landing on the pile of blankets with a soft whump and a snore from the canine.
One of the guards by the door snickered, only to be immediately silenced as Fury turned to direct his glare at the agent, the silent threat clear as day. As soon as the Director turned away, the other guard grinned and elbowed her partner, making fun of him for incurring the wrath of Fury.
The large canine snuffled a little in her sleep and shifted, going quiet for a moment before letting out a deep loud snore, exhaling afterward, her jowls flapping a little with the exhale. Fury stared at the wolf, blinked twice, and then moved to grab her tail, curling the long, floofy appendage around in his grip.
"Uh, sir, I really wouldn't do that," Coulson spoke, moving his hands to the wheels on his chair and rolling himself to the side a couple of feet. He watched the Director bring the canine's tail closer and closer to her nose, angling the tip toward that wet black nose.
Fury just glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, and while staring at him, pushed the tip of the wolf's tail forward, pressing it against her nose. He swirled and wriggled and pushed the tail tip against her nose, tickling her snoot and toying with her whiskers with every pass. The canine pulled away slightly, her tail twitching in Fury's hand, but there was no response other than that.
Determined, Fury attempted it once more, assaulting the wolf's nose with those soft hairs at the tip of her tail, really working the floofy tip into and against her nose, attempting to wake up the large beast.
A sharp, powerful sneeze broke the building tension and silence in the room, the wolf curling over itself and sneezing hard enough that her head reeled back, leaving the wolf sprawled out on the nest of blankets and pillows once more.
Fury sat there for a brief moment, stunned, blinking, and then released his grip on her tail. He slowly moved his gloved hand up to his face and wiped it off in a single motion, moving his wet hand down to brush on the thigh of his pants. He grimaced and stepped away, sending a half-hearted glare at the wolf, and then toward Coulson, who failed to hide his smile and just raised his empty hands in an "I didn't do anything" motion.
Fury stepped closer to Phil, coming to stand before Coulson and crossed his arms, looking down at the wheel-chair bound man with a still slightly wet face.
"Alright. What would you recommend then?" Fury spoke, quite clearly more than a little miffed with the situation. The intimidating director grimaced slightly as a little bit of fluid ran down his cheek, much to the mirth of Coulson.
"Well, Sir, I believe we should get food to— and she's up," Coulson stated, turning his gaze away from Fury to look slightly past him. Fury could feel warm breath on his lower back through his clothing, and slowly turned himself around, arms still crossed.
He stared down at the sight of the very large wolf looking up at him with pleading eyes, flicking to Coulson, and then back to the Director of SHIELD. Her tongue lulled out slightly in a small blep, and her tail twitched and shifted on the floor, wriggling the tip back and forth ever so slightly as she gazed up at the two.
"Cut the act." Fury was not impressed, raising an eyebrow as he looked down at the large, very eager wolf glancing between Fury and Coulson.
"Aroo?" The canine asked, tilting her head, both ears flopping to one side as she gazed up at the Director, her golden eyes staring into his very soul, begging for the food that was mentioned.
Fury narrowed his eye further. He could feel those eyes staring into his soul, and that act wasn't swaying him. Not one bit. Absolutely not. He ignored the slight warmth that was building in his chest, and the peace and comfort the presence of the canine brought to him. She was clearly manipulating him, using some form of mental and emotional trickery to make him like the canine!
A soft little whine and a little shuffle forward from the wolf made the Director of SHIELD break, rolling his eye as he glanced over to the door, and the agents guarding the room. Though guarding would be a poor description, considering one of them was taking photos of the wolf in her adorable position, and the other was staring, just gushing over the pretty puppy.
"Can one of you please go get the dog some damn food?" Fury snapped.
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
Ammy had woken up as soon as she had felt her inner ear being tickled and had taken great pleasure in tormenting the serious-sounding one by pretending to sleep while he tried to wake her up. The sneeze straight to the man's face had been entirely unintentional though. Absolutely. Completely an accident! He had just tickled her nose a little too much, if he was in sneezing range after that, then it was his fault!
She had figured he wasn't a bad person from the way Coulson had referred to him and the rather reluctant way this "Fury" had talked about ending her. Not that she would let him, of course! She had occasionally imposed her will on reality, freezing time to just glance up from her laying position, looking at the duo every once in a while, before laying back down.
Now the wolf had found herself very happily eating what looked to be an omelette, some breakfast sausage, and bacon brought to her by the two absolutely wonderful guards. The two agents had to be kicked out of the room by a rather grouchy Fury after they pet the wolf behind the ears and scratched her under the chin. The twitching in Nick Fury's eye as Ammy gazed at him, being showered in pets and praise had absolutely been worth all the hassle the past day had been.
She turned her attention inward for a brief moment as she chewed, rather enjoying the meal. She felt… different. Whole in a way that she didn't before the fight. Amaterasu thought to her brush techniques. She felt more connected to the heavens. She was feeling a little colder though…
Amaterasu used her magic to tug on that cold feeling inside of her, the slightest amount, just to see what would happen.
…
Nothing.
She huffed in frustration, and several snowflakes shot out of her nose.
Amaterasu nearly choked as she ate, coughing and hacking over the plate for a moment, drawing stares from both Phil Coulson and Nick Fury. The wolf pretended not to notice their looks, though her ears folded back in embarrassment regardless. She continued to dig into her meal, paying a little more attention to what she was doing.
Ammy huffed and licked her chops, moving to sit back and pushing the plate away with a single paw, glancing up at the pair before her, who had been waiting for her. Fury raised an eyebrow, stepping closer to her with his arms crossed, staring down at her.
"Are you done? I don't have all day to—" Amaterasu flexed her will on reality and froze time, interrupting Fury in the middle of his sentence. She snorted lightly in amusement and turned her attention inward once more.
She had her connection back to the ice and cold again, that was good at least. Though, she wasn't quite sure why. Had she encountered someone that could use ice magic? Maybe it was her actions on the ship that gave her a little more belief and gave her strength. Or perhaps something to do with her magic being more flexible, but she wasn't certain.
Ammy paused for a second and hummed in thought. Could she…?
The goddess glanced at the frozen Fury and looked down at his boots. She huffed, attempting to push that feeling of cold into her celestial brush, concentrating firmly.
The wolf was immensely excited when a thin sheet of ice formed beside Nick Fury's boots. If she could do that, what else could she do? Could she make snow? Could she roll around in it, and throw it at people and have snowball fights?
She padded excitedly in place for a brief moment, her tail wagging furiously. Oh yes, this was absolutely worth all the hardship and effort she had gone through. Now, if she could get her hands on that red, white, and blue frisbee that Steve had been carrying around and throwing through the battle against the Chitauri…
She needed a break from her little pause in reality. She shifted herself a little in place and grumbled, rolling her eyes back up to focus on the frozen form of Fury, who had been in the middle of… something. She relaxed her grip on reality and settled in.
"—babysit you, I have to deal with aliens falling from the sky, and trying to keep the world from being taken over. I need answers, and needed them yesterday," Fury continued as if he hadn't been frozen in place for what had been minutes of Amaterasu's time. "You seem to like Coulson, he'll be your handler."
"What— sir, I don't think—" Coulson started, but was cut off when Fury turned his gaze at the agent, narrowing his eye at the man.
"Wuff…" Ammy swore quietly. She had thought she had been asleep for hours, maybe days due to how tired she had been. It was the same day? People were still in danger!
The large wolf jumped to her feet and looked around the room, her fur bristling a little. Her attention finally turned to the window, and the open expanse of ocean below. She wouldn't have been able to before, but with her new magic…
Ammy turned to look at Fury and Coulson, who were quietly bickering with one another. She started to creep her way closer to the glass window, her paws padding lightly on the carpet below. She was getting closer, almost there! Then she could teleport out and-
"And where do you think you're going?" Fury asked, making the wolf freeze in place. She turned around to look at the Director with her ears canted to the side as if she had no idea she had been approaching the window. "You're going to be staying here until everything settles down. We don't need more unknowns running around."
Ammy huffed and turned her gaze away from Fury to look out the window again, her tail giving a little flick.
"What part of stay wasn't clear?" Fury spoke a little louder, a little more aggressively.
The large canine glanced back at Fury, not looking directly at him, but side-eying the perpetually grouchy man. She then turned her gaze back to the window, looking out at the ocean, her leg muscles tensing a little, tail going still. She looked back at Fury once more, eyes a little wider, her jaws parted in a little canine grin as she lifted a front paw.
"I. Said. No." Fury growled out, his hand drifting down to his hip, nearing his firearm. Coulson merely watched the proceedings, lips pressed into a thin line as the pair of headstrong beings clashed.
Amaterasu huffed. What she wouldn't give to have illusion abilities like Loki, or that one nine-tailed fox from her previous life. Now that would be useful!
The wolf froze time for a moment. Her magic was being less restrictive… Maybe she could…
Ammy huffed and focused her magic on her being, attempting to turn herself invisible or disguise herself. Anything that might work. She could feel something happening, a shimmering over her body, magic working through her. She focused, and…
Nothing.
The wolf gave a huff in frustration. It was worth the try. Maybe she'd try again at a later point. She resumed time around herself, grumbling lightly.
"That's what I thought," Fury spoke smugly, his hand pulling away from his hip as he stood, gazing at the canine with an intense glare. "Now, as I said, you follow Coulson and be good, and maybe I'll let you out for a walk later, or whatever it is you do."
Ammy raised a brow in return and huffed. Well, she had tried to do this diplomatically and follow his rules. She was being good! She hadn't even ripped open a pillow or anything! Now it was time for her rules.
No rules!
Ammy grinned and gave a taunting bark at Fury, stepping closer to the window. Fury moved to take a step forward, and Ammy used her ability to absolutely slather the floor in slick ice. Now it was time for fun!
"Don't you- shit!" Fury cursed as he slipped on the ice, front foot sliding out from under him and sending the man tumbling to the floor. Nick Fury slid on the ice for several feet, scrabbling for grip on the surface.
The large wolf gave him a playful little "wuff" and lolled out her tongue, giving him a big doggy grin as she sat beside the window. She glanced over at Coulson, who was failing to hide his grin, even while in a wheelchair.
Oh, right! Ammy turned for a moment to work her magic over Coulson's leg, humming lightly in satisfaction as she watched the man's face screw up in disgust, before watching him lift up the leg that had been shattered, now fully healed.
Nick Fury finally came to a halt and repositioned himself, facing the wolf with a glare. Ammy decided to gently use her brush to swipe across his boots, sending the Director spinning across the ice once again.
"You mother fu-"
Amaterasu teleported herself outside the window, watching Fury's lips move for a brief moment as she hovered in position before gravity gripped her body and sent her quickly out of view, plummeting toward the ocean. As she fell, she focused on her magic and felt a cold shiver spread outward from her paws. She prepared herself for impact and possibly a very cold bath in the ocean.
The wolf's paws smacked into a slab of ice on top of the ocean, the canine scrambling and skittering in place for a moment from the rocking of the ice and trying to regain her balance. She eventually drew herself upright, pretending the scratch marks in the ice and her ruffled fur didn't exist, standing proud on top of the ice.
With a huff, Amaterasu crouched down and pushed her magic through her whole body, before pushing off the ice slab hard, the ice shattering and pelting the side of the floating Helicarrier as she soared through the air.
As she approached the water, she focused and tilted her body forward slightly. When she hit, her paws immediately froze the water in small platforms no larger than her feet, before she pushed off and was gone again, racing her way across the water and leaping over waves.
She glanced up in the distance to the large portal in the sky and narrowed her eyes. She pushed herself to go just a little faster and farther, slowing down every now and then to recover her magic, before launching forward once more.
She was stronger. She was faster, smarter, and more prepared.
The Chitauri better watch out, because she wasn't going to show mercy.
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
Ammy gave a quiet little grumble as she loped her way through the empty streets of New York, people hiding indoors and away from the alien invasion that had just appeared over their heads. Of course, she had to slow down to let her magic recover. It turns out that timing ice to form under your paws as you sprinted across the ocean took a lot more magic and concentration than it looked.
She glanced up, arriving just in time for the second wave of the battle to start, a near flood of Leviathans and Chitauri soldiers poured out of the portal. They were being slowed by Thor's use of lightning, but there were still too many coming through.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The wolf raced forward, coming upon a police barrier set around the battle zone, with officers at the barricades, weapons drawn and pointed toward the field of battle, keeping citizens out and hoping to prevent alien foot soldiers from coming through.
Ammy focused, and then used her powers as she leapt off the ground, using both magic and physical might to bolster herself and spring into battle.
The officers were too focused to notice the massive canine charging toward them from behind, so when she finally hopped forward, crouched, and then launched herself off the ground, they only caught sight of the wolf flying overhead.
The canine gave a happy "Awoooo!" as she soared through the air, tongue lolled out and all four paws splayed out as she flew overhead. Her tail whipped around in the wind behind her as she sailed through the air, the wolf quite happily enjoying the wind in her face.
That is until she realized mid-air that she had greatly underestimated the strength and speed of the jump, and was hurtling straight toward a building and on a collision course with a brick wall. Her happy howl was cut off with a strangled and panicked yelp, before she used her magic once more, mimicking her first jump and pushing herself off the air.
Her second jump sent the canine flying high overhead, clearing the shorter building and sending her hurtling straight into battle. She angled herself slightly and opened her jaws, her speeding and airborne form crashing straight into one of the flying alien vehicles. The Chitauri soldier standing on the back and shooting at the ground was sent hurtling off of the vehicle, while Ammy's paws scrambled to gain traction, her back half slipping off the speeding vehicle and leaving her hanging on with her jaws and front paws.
She gave a muffled grumble and whine as she tried to pull herself up, the high speed and winds not doing her any favours as she pulled herself up, re-orienting herself. Her claws gripped the metal as best as she could and looked up to observe her surroundings, coming face-to-face with a charged alien spear inches from her nose.
She froze for a moment, blinked, and then wrenched on the spear with her brush magic and slammed the shaft of the spear up into the faceplate of the alien, sending it staggering back a step. The wolf cocked her head a little, watching the alien, and then used her Power Slash to sever the safety connection the Chitauri had with the vehicle.
The massive wolf leaped forward and twisted herself in the air, spinning and delivering a kick right to the face of the soldier, sending the alien tumbling over the side of the vehicle and to the ground. As the creature fell, she snagged the spear with her jaws, pulling it close and putting it alongside the other, now happily sitting at two magic alien spears existing somewhere on her being.
Oh yeah, this was going to be fun.
The wolf gave a happy little huff as she moved to jump up and set her paws on the controls of the alien vehicle, being a little more familiar with the controls. She leaned a little harder on the controls, the vehicle dipping down below the top of the buildings as she maneuvered it jerkily into an alleyway. She would be saving this for later.
The wolf gave a huff, keeping in the back of her mind that she would have to avoid directly fighting out in the open. She really didn't want to cause any paradoxes. Though… They didn't occur the first time around… Maybe a little leniency might be acceptable?
The canine grumbled at the complex nature of time travel, mentally noting to not use it again unless in extreme circumstances. Was she too hasty in taking possession of the Time Stone? The Ancient One didn't seem to think so! That was good enough Ammy to shake off the doubt and steel herself, taking off loping through the streets, keeping to the sides of buildings or under awnings to keep out of view.
As Ammy ran down the streets on the opposite side of the area from where her other self should be, she'd dodge around people fleeing the area. She occasionally glanced up in order to cut down the Chitauri flying overhead with a Power Slash, trying to time her moves in order to cause the most impact she could.
A short and startled scream caught the wolf's attention as she skidded to a stop, whipping her head around to look for the source. A brief glimpse down the block allowed the wolf to catch the sight of a group of Chitauri pouring into a hotel lobby, weapons raised and glowing, ready to fire.
Ammy used her Power Slash and cut through a couple of the aliens, and then launched herself forward, enhancing herself with magic. She rocketed down the street, jumped, and pushed off the air at an angle to crash her way through a large glass window looking into the lobby. Glass shards cut at her body and were sent skittering across the floor as she leaped in. Already several people were down, having gotten stuck trying to reach the elevators and ended up at the back of the group, unable to escape.
The massive wolf wasted no time tearing into the foot soldiers, using her Veil of Mist to give her more wiggle room to attack them. She launched herself at the soldier at the front, whose spear was charged and ready to fire at the still fleeing crowd.
She froze reality for a moment and used her Power Slash to cut the wrists off the alien soldier. Seeing as she could split her attention, in the same moment, Ammy launched herself forward, cracking the wooden floor under her paws as took off, slamming her body into one of the Chitauri. The soldier's torso caved in and was sent flying toward one of the walls, punching through it in a shower of rubble.
Ammy pushed herself off the air and bit down on the neck of another, crushing it with a sharp crunch and tossing the soldier to the side. Time returned back to normal and Ammy willed her own spears into existence, shoving them through the chest of the handless soldier.
The last two aliens whirled around, raising their spears and fired at the massive wolf. The canine leaped upward, clearing the shots and pushed off the roof, careening toward one of the aliens. Two raised spears were angled toward her, the one in front ready to catch her head on and spear her through the middle, while the one behind the other was charged, preparing a shot of energy.
Ammy twisted herself and pushed off the air, all four paws hitting the floor once more as she barreled forward again. She used her Power Slash to shove the charged spear to the side and cause the charged energy blast to catch the alien in front with the shot, allowing the wolf to lunge forward, using her spear and whipping it around, the sharp blade slicing clean through the alien's neck and sending it to the floor.
Amaterasu huffed for a moment, feeling drained after the immense use of magic in a short period. She looked down and shook herself off, sending the alien blood away from her fur and onto the floor, leaving her fur pristine and white once more.
The canine padded forward to the injured people crowded around the entrance to the stairwell as well as those too stunned to move and approached the closest person. She used her Brush on a woman that was curled up, clutching her leg with a chunk blown out of her thigh, and pulled away, already moving on to the next as that injury was healed.
The wolf gave a soft little whine as she padded up toward a young woman who had her hands pressed against a young man's stomach, blood seeping from between her fingers and soaking into his shirt. The young woman was looking panicked, looking between the wolf, the corpses of the alien attackers, and the woman gingerly feeling her leg, finding it whole once again.
Slowly, the young woman pulled away, her hands bloody, unsure of the canine before her. Amaterasu gazed back at her, her gold eyes warm and inviting, gradually calming the lady down as she shuffled away from her bleeding friend.
"Don't… don't hurt him…" she whispered, "please…"
Ammy gazed at her and gingerly stepped closer, looking up at the young woman, and grasped the man's shirt with her teeth, tugging it up to expose the deep and burned hole in his middle. She used her Rejuvenation on him, using up her magic once more. She had to pause as she recovered, the deep wound growing more shallow as she regained her magic, and expended it on the injured young man.
In less than a minute she had sealed the hole in his middle, sealed up, fresh skin covering the wound, leaving him looking like he was just laying on the ground, a little exhausted and bloody but otherwise uninjured.
"I… how did you—" The young woman cut herself off, moving to grab the man's hand with her own, and looked at Amaterasu with a watery smile. "Thank you."
Ammy gave a soft little "wurf" and stepped closer to the pair, leaning in to give them both a quick lick on the cheek, the wolf's tail wagging happily. The pair laughed and got to their feet, moving to stand off to the side, giving way for the wolf to work her way over to the other less injured people, luckily only four people had any injuries at the bottom of the stairwell.
After she had fixed up the last little scrape on a child's knee, she trotted her way off to the entrance of the hotel lobby. She looked back over her shoulder, watching the last of the people making their way up the stairs with assistance from others.
Her little detour hadn't taken more than three minutes, but who knows how many other people in the city were having the exact same situation. She had work to do.
She shook herself off once more and leaped out of the broken window, taking off into the street, moving toward the next loud sound she heard. Knowing that this would be over soon took a weight off her shoulders, but in the meantime, there was work that had to be done.
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
The Hulk had been having a wonderful time letting loose. It was cathartic, being able to treat the city like his own personal playground and not get shot at. It was a unique feeling, and he was going to enjoy this for as long as he could.
Leaping off of buildings, turning aliens to paste, crushing Leviathan skulls with his bare hands. He was working with people too! Decently strong humans and some "god" that just got lucky in a fight aboard the flying ship. He would get him back, eventually.
Hulk let out a roar of rage as he launched himself off of the top of a building, hurtling through the air toward a flying squadron of those annoying alien vehicles. He spread his arms and grabbed for the two further ones, crushing the fronts in his hands and then swinging his hands together. Three of those flying machines got caught up in the move, mangling and twisting and wrapping together.
Hulk grinned and twisted himself at the hips, swinging himself around and hurling the mangled mass of metal and alien body parts toward one of those large flying creatures. He caught it in the side of the head with the metal mass and drove it away from a building it was aiming for, the large creature turning back up to the sky.
The Hulk's trajectory sent him crashing into the side of a building. He reached a hand back to dig into the stonework and slow his slide, stopping himself. He tensed his legs and prepared to jump again when a flash of white on one of those alien vehicles caught his gaze. He glanced and looked at the form of… a dog of some kind on the vehicle, clipping the top of a building and then flying further away.
Just as he moved to follow, another commotion caught his eyes. A wolf appeared briefly in an alleyway below him and to the side, and at the same moment, a pair of aliens flying overhead had their vehicles cut in half, exploding in mid-air a moment later. The canine glanced up at him and then turned and ran into the alleyway and out of view again.
Hulk remembered that wolf. From the basement of that flying ship. He had been hurt, and when everything was clear there was only one person nearby, who had run. Clearly, she had been at fault and he pursued the red-headed woman. But that wolf had pulled her out of the way and been hit instead.
Hulk hadn't meant to hit the canine, but if the wolf was protecting the one that hurt him, then clearly it was a bad dog! But it had evaded all his attempts to grab at it, it was too quick, and then jumped on his face! He almost had it, when the strong lightning person started to fight him instead.
Hulk growled under his breath at the memory and clenched his fist, the stone of the building he was clinging to crumbling under his hand. Why was the wolf helping them now? The red-headed human was on his side now, so maybe the wolf was too?
Regardless of the reason, he was going to find out. Hulk pushed off the building and hurtled toward the alleyway, hitting the concrete hard enough to shatter it under his feet. He took a couple steps after the landing to bleed off the energy and walk deeper into the alley, walking slowly as he looked around.
He could hear something breathing quickly, like a dog panting. As he glanced around though, there was nothing near him. Though there was a large garbage bin… He cocked his head to the side and stepped a little closer to the sound.
Hulk narrowed his eyes and lunged forward with both hands, grabbing the trash bin and hefting it up. A sharp and startled yelp sounded out and the canine stumbled back from its place behind the bin, its white form with red markings visible to him. The wolf darted backward to avoid his grasp, so he dropped the garbage bin to the side and lunged forward, hands coming together to—
The wolf suddenly vanished from his sight, reappearing a few feet back. Hulk stared at it, his green eyes locking with its' own gold ones, and he felt a moment of peace, the frustration starting to cloud his mind over the creature escaping his grasp fading. Instead, a moment of realization came to him. Maybe he was scaring it? Like he did those other humans all those years ago.
Before the Hulk could ponder more on this thought, a loud roar of one of those flying creatures broke his brief moment of concentration. He looked up at the sky as the large form flew overhead, casting the alleyway in a large shadow.
Hulk looked back at where the wolf had been, only to find himself alone in the alleyway once again, not even a sound to accompany him this time. He scowled and let out a growl of frustration at the large flying creature for scaring off the wolf, crouching down, and launching himself back up, hands gripping onto the metallic armour on its' belly as he lost himself in the fog of battle once more, content on putting an end to these annoying invaders.
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
Amaterasu had not been a fan of her brief encounter with the large green beast, the Hulk being easily capable of crushing her in his bare hands. She had been exhausting her magic between healing people and cutting down the aliens, so she had been woefully unprepared for the violent green humanoid to drop down near her.
Her magic hadn't helped much, she had been breathing too hard from running around and exhausting her magic reserves. Thankfully a Leviathan flying overhead had distracted him long enough for her to teleport herself through the brick wall to her side, leaving her on the bottom floor of some random office building.
She kept herself hidden and waited for a minute before sighing in relief as she took a moment to recover her magic and gather her resolve. She shook herself off, huffing to herself as she re-evaluated her usage of magic. She'd try to keep her usage just below half unless necessary to save people. She was more than skilled physically, she should use her abilities.
The wolf, sufficiently recovered, teleported back out into the alley and began moving again, working through the city and helping wherever she could.
The second time she encountered the Hulk hadn't been more than 10 minutes later. She was guiding people into a large, empty-looking building with a large glass window overhead. She hadn't seen any aliens in the general area so she had been herding people toward the building. It had been working so far, around 50 humans being directed into the hallways deeper in the building, with more stragglers pouring in every time she left and then returned.
Unfortunately, her make-shift safety zone had been rudely compromised by having a massive Leviathan crash through the wall and roof with both the Hulk and Thor on its back, the creature dying only moments later.
Ammy stepped out of the hallway just to watch the green creature punch Thor in the side hard, sending the God of Thunder hurtling across the open room and into a wall. It didn't seem malicious, more playful than anything, but she wouldn't be taking those chances.
The wolf used her brush magic to shove people toward the hallways and away from the area as well as she could, light pushes to the shoulder and back guiding them toward the safety of the deeper layers of the building. Once everyone had cleared out, she pulled on her magic and used that connection to the cold to quickly fill the entrances to the hallways with thick layers of ice. The solid expanded rapidly, digging into the walls of the hallway and growing to be several feet thick, ideally enough to deter the Hulk for a few moments.
Unfortunately, that move had used a decent amount of her magic, once again leaving her to recover as she stood facing the Hulk. She didn't want to fight, but she would protect people if the green rage being decided to turn on them.
She locked her eyes with the Hulk and crouched down a little, claws digging into the floor, her muscles bunching up as she prepared to react to the beast. She would likely try to slow time and enhance herself with magic, and if possible, tackle the large being through the hole in the wall and outside, before running. Unlikely strategy, she realized.
Ammy contained herself as the Hulk stepped closer to her, the footsteps echoing in the large, open area. The wolf kept herself still, ready to move into action at a moment's notice, her eyes locked onto the eyes of the Hulk, watching his movements closely.
The Hulk came to a stop right before her, and Amaterasu contained herself, letting the massive green humanoid stare down at her.
The two watched one another closely, neither moving.
Hulk dropped himself to one knee, the giant steadying himself as he reached forward with one hand, his palm open and relaxed before the large canine. He didn't move as he held his hand out, watching the wolf closely.
Ammy focused on her magic for a moment and figured she'd be able to escape if things turned sour. She relaxed out of her crouch and shifted forward slightly, breathing out and releasing the tense breath she was holding. She pushed her nose against the Hulk's hand and shifted slightly to look up at him.
A grin split the giant's face, his teeth showing as his fingers curled up a little, big digits rubbing lightly under the canine's jaw and along her neck floof.
Ammy gave a soft little huff and her tail gave a flick of joy, allowing herself to lean a little more into the Hulk's touch. He returned the gesture by bringing both hands up to cup the wolf's face and use his thumbs to rub at her cheeks and ears.
"Good puppy," Hulk rumbled out, his hands rubbing at the soft fur of the wolf's face.
"Woof!" Ammy replied, and the Hulk grinned, his teeth showing a little more. He used his thumbs to push against the wolf's cheeks and squish her fur to the front of her face, smooshing her face lightly and making the canine look goofy.
In response, the wolf wagged harder, and looked up at the Hulk, opening her jaws and letting her tongue lull out to add to the goofy expression. The regal red markings on the canine's face absolutely didn't match the silly squished expression, and the Hulk laughed softly. It was a pure and joyful sound.
The giant moved his hands to wrap around the wolf's middle and picked her up, lifting up the 200 pound wolf like she weighed nothing. He brought her up, his hands supporting her front legs as the Hulk held her upright, bringing her close to his face.
The canine gave a happy little bark and leaned in, dragging her tongue across the Hulk's face and leaving a big wet trail of wolf slobber across his cheek and nose. The giant grimaced and pulled away a little, before bringing the canine in close to his chest in what felt like a hug, though the Hulk was clearly hesitant about actually wrapping his arms around the wolf, keeping her in his grip still.
"Puppy friend," Hulk stated, moving to set the canine down on the ground again, and used a hand to lightly pat the canine on the head, still strong enough to force the wolf to brace herself with her front legs. He stood up to his full height again, backing away from the large canine and turned away.
The wolf gave another little woof, causing the Hulk to grin over his shoulder, before tensing up his legs and leaping away from the canine, shooting through the shattered roof and back into the fray. Thor stumbled his way out of the hole in the wall a moment later, only to catch Hulk's exit.
Ammy gave a short bark and padded up to the God of Thunder, her tail giving a light wag. The Asgardian watched the wolf approach with a hint of curiosity in his eyes. He let his hammer hang by his side as the wolf approached and sat down in front of him, giving a soft "wuff" in greeting.
"Greetings to you as well," Thor replied, as every good prince should. "It is not safe to remain here, you should flee with the other mortals."
The wolf chuffed softly in negative, refuting the God of Thunder's words. Ammy gave a soft "wuff" in explanation, and hummed softly as Thor's large hands gently pet her head, rubbing lightly behind her ears.
"Oh, helping? What can a being such as yourself—"
A loud roar interrupted Thor as the body of a Chitauri soldier was hurled through the broken window, its body streaking across the floor. Thor turned back, but the wolf was gone, leaving Thor crouched and alone in the room.
Thor glanced around the room, seeing nothing more than ice blocking some hallways. He stood still for a moment and looked around before another roar from the outside caught his attention. He spun his hammer, following out of the hole after Hulk a moment later, rejoining the fight.
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
They had done it! It was over! Amaterasu found herself in yet another alleyway, double-checking that yes, all the aliens were down.
As soon as she was able to, she bounded her way to the roof between the two buildings and made her way through the city of New York once more. Using what felt like a larger magical pool, she went around fixing buildings and roads, healing people, and using her Bloom ability on people to give them additional energy and heal minor scrapes.
She killed time doing this, staying out of sight and recovering magic when needed, but as the hours passed, she didn't run out of magic once. Amaterasu used this to her advantage, sneaking her way into small medical buildings, and then healing as many injured people as she could before having to take a break and move to the next closest area.
Eventually, enough time had passed for the canine to make her way toward the New York Sanctum, sitting at the front door and smacking at it with her large paw, knocking and waiting patiently. She tilted her head and attempted to teleport through the door, only for her magic to fail. The building clearly had protections set up. Cocking an ear, she wasn't be able to listen in either, the building sealed completely to the outside observer.
Soon enough, a familiar face and a pair of voices reached her ears again as the front door creaked open.
"-faith isn't going to protect the planet! Without that stone, the Eye of—" Kaecilius paused in the middle of his rant, his jaw clicking shut as the Ancient One, Mordo, and Kaecilius all peered through the door.
"Awuff!" Amaterasu greeted, getting to all fours and, with the door now open, teleported herself through the entrance and behind the trio. The Sorcerer Supreme raised an eyebrow and shut the door with a flick of her wrist, the magical seal enveloping the building once again.
"Back so soon?" The bald woman asked, looking down at the large white canine with an expression somewhere between confusion and amusement. Mordo blinked and turned his head back to face where the courtyard was, while Kaecilius merely stood silently, his jaw working to try and formulate some sort of understandable wording.
"Awoof!" Ammy supplied, following up with a short whine and a little growl.
"But… didn't you just leave?" Mordo asked. He squinted, focusing on the canine, those previously faint red marks coming into focus and on full display around her eyes and on her forehead. "Wait, did you just speak?"
"Please, Master Mordo," the Ancient One spoke, lightly chastising the man with a wave of her hand. "Time travel you say? Well, you certainly carry a new presence with you. I take it you were successful?"
At that, the wolf folded one ear back and tilted her head, a whine trailing off in a high note leaving her. She then stood up and gave a huff, tossing her head and moving toward the meditation room where Amaterasu and the Ancient One had first met.
The canine approached the door and teleport through it, not even pausing in her stride. The Sorcerer Supreme didn't even flinch at the newly displayed abilities, Kaecilius continued making confused gestures with his hands, and Mordo seemed to be processing that the wolf could talk.
Ammy moved herself to sit down on one of the mats and positioned herself, humming softly as she gave a little growl and a short yip, to which the Ancient One kneeled on the still unfortunately tea-stained mat and listened.
"That was rather irresponsible of you," the woman spoke, narrowing her eyes at the wolf for a moment. The wolf agreed with a short whine and a little huff, before surprising all three of the humans in the room by shaking herself out for a moment, her fur glowing a bright green and gathering toward the end of her nose.
The Time Stone formed in front of the wolf, and she gave a little croon, the stone floating back over toward the Ancient One. The woman looked for a moment, and then glanced back at the canine, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion for a moment.
"Are you certain? You did succeed, after all," the woman asked. "You have far more wisdom and presence about you than you did mere minutes ago- my apologies, I meant yesterday."
Ammy merely nodded and gave a soft "awoof" in encouragement. The Ancient One raised an eyebrow, and then smiled, raising her hands and opening the Eye of Agamotto. The Time Stone floated back into the center of the amulet and sealed once more.
"Well, now I know I made the right choice," the Sorcerer Supreme spoke. She stood up and stepped forward, coming down to kneel in front of the downtrodden canine, and used one hand to lift the wolf's head up, the two looking directly at one another. "You willingly gave it back, owned up to a mistake, and were honest. The reason I gifted it to you was because I felt your presence outside the Sanctum moments after humouring the idea to give it to you."
The wolf tilted her head a little, ears cocking to the side in confusion.
"That, and I would have taken it from you after that stunt," the woman said bluntly, narrowing her eyes a little. The canine shifted her eyes to the side, tail giving a little flick, before looking back up at the Sorcerer Supreme, eyes widening as she let out a soft whine, pulling on her adorable wolfish looks to charm the woman.
The Ancient One blinked, and sighed, pulling away with a soft laugh.
"I'll keep it safe until you are ready for it. In the meantime, I suggest you head back to your new friends," The Ancient One spoke, turning away and moving her way toward the door, completely ignoring the stunned Masters shadowing her. "A new world is a scary place alone."
As she opened the door, stepping outside of it with Mordo and Kaecilius following, she turned back for a moment and looked in through the doorway.
"Amaterasu…" the Ancient One trailed off, weighing her words as if coming to a difficult decision, "…if you need guidance or council, you are always welcome here. Just… don't terrorize the students, please."
The wolf gave a happy bark and, deciding to continue her mischievous streak, bounded toward the Sorcerer Supreme with joy, her tail wagging and paws thumping the ground as she rushed forward. She saw the woman starting to move her hands in a gesture. Amaterasu responded by using her magic to dart her way forward, slowing time with her brush technique, jumping and aiming for the woman's face.
A flash of green interrupted the slowed time, and the Sorcerer Supreme took a step back, the Eye of Agamotto opened and in use. She raised an eyebrow and watched the canine flying by where she had been in slow motion, the wolf's tongue extended in an attempted lick right across her face.
"I warned you. Bath time," the Ancient One spoke.
With a whirl of her hand, a portal opened and time resumed, the canine hurtling forward faster than Mordo and Kaecilius could process, disappearing into a swirling orange portal as quickly as they could blink.
The Ancient One smiled slightly, hearing the anguished and betrayed howl echoing through the city as she closed the portal after a moment. Amaterasu found that the Ancient One held true to her promise, sending the great white wolf hurtling into the river closest to Central Park, giving the large lupine a very unwanted and unplanned bath.