Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers.
The Man Underneath
Jessica Adams' day had started out perfectly normal. She had gotten up with the rising sun to go for her morning jog. This was one of her favourite times of day, when she could watch as the city of New York slowly woke up and become that active and bustling place it was known as. She loved to watch people, still scrubbing the sleep out of their eyes, climb into their cars to drive to work, or nod to fellow joggers who were getting their morning exercise.
Upon arriving home, she went upstairs to her two children to make sure they were getting up and ready for school. Her son Jake was in grade 2 and her daughter Jenna was in grade 4. Neither child enjoyed mornings, something they must have inherited from their father, Jonathan. After a slow start, she ensured her children had everything they needed for school and her family climbed into their old but faithful minivan.
First, she and Jonathan dropped off their children at school, giving them plenty of kisses good-bye. Jenna happily received the affection from her parents, but Jake scrunched his nose and squirmed to get away. Then, Jonathan dropped her off at her own workplace, which was only a few blocks away from the school.
She was working in her office, staring with slightly glazed eyes at the boring paperwork she had to fill out, when she first noticed something was off. The floor she worked on was situated near the top of the sky-scraper she worked in, and her cubicle was next to a window, allowing the natural light she preferred to illuminate her work space. Therefore, Jessica's attention was quickly drawn away from her work when something streaked past outside. Looking up, she saw that it was Ironman who had distracted her. Seeing him fly by was not unusual in and of itself, as it was not uncommon for him to be zipping across the sky for one reason or another.
She smiled to herself, wondering if Jake had noticed Ironman's appearance. He absolutely loved Ironman. He would sequester himself in his room with his Ironman figurine and play for hours, saving people from whatever evil his seven year old mind came up with for the day. Jessica marveled at the world in which she lived, where superheroes actually existed, and the figurines young boys owned were based on real people. Of course, if Jessica knew what the next few hours were going to be like, she might have wished that real live superheroes were as weird as her world would get.
For the next few minutes, everything carried on as usual, but her gaze was once again drawn to the window when a pillar of light erupted from the top of Stark Tower. She stood to get a closer look, and noticed others in the office doing the same. Jessica watched as a black spot appeared in the otherwise clear blue sky. For the next few moments New York seemed to hold its breath, and then black figures fell out of the hole and dived towards the city. They swarmed like flies or mosquitoes around the pillar of blue light before spreading out.
Jessica continued to view the scene along with her coworkers with a growing sense of foreboding. Whatever was happening was certainly not normal, and was not likely to be a good thing. Her thoughts were confirmed when she saw a glint of red and gold shooting towards the flying figures, followed by a series of explosions. She had a fleeting thought about how much Jake would love to see Ironman actually in action before her brain shuddered into gear. There was obviously some sort of attack happening in the city! Her fear for herself bloomed, but was quickly overshadowed by panic for her children and husband. Jonathan was too far to reach, but the school her children attended was only a short walk away.
Jessica's feet were carrying her towards the elevator almost before she realized it. She smashed the down button against the wall and waited impatiently for the elevator before reconsidering and dashing to the staircase. Her office was high enough in the tower that normally taking the stairs would take much longer than taking the elevator, but in her state she was unable to stand still and wait for it to arrive on her floor. Besides, she thought, if an attack is really happening and the building gets damaged it probably isn't a good idea to be in the elevator at all.
As she entered the stairwell she noticed that many other people had followed her line of thought and were trampling down the staircase, causing a racket on the metal stairs that didn't quite drown out the blast of an explosion that took place uncomfortably close to the building. A few people let out short screams, and the pace of the mob increased in the rush to reach the bottom.
Jessica got carried away with the crowd, trying desperately to keep her feet. She had heard stories about people who got trampled to death during Christmas shopping rushes, but the tense panic choking the air reminded her that what was happening was much more terrifying than a mall trip. The people surrounding her pushed and shoved and yelled. She heard someone nearby exclaim that the city was being attacked by aliens.
Her initial doubt about the statement was closely followed up by the image of the swarm from the hole in the sky. It was possible, she considered, but any further thought on the matter was ended when her feet finally hit the bottom of the staircase and she exited the building to find absolute chaos reigning on the streets.
People were running about screaming, abandoned cars were left with their engines on in the middle of the road, and there was evidence of the explosions that were heard from inside the building. Charred vehicles were flung on their sides and the concrete was torn up in places, tripping the desperate New Yorkers that ran on the streets. Most terrifying of all were the figures that flew overhead on some sort of flying craft, raining destruction down on innocent lives.
Jessica stopped momentarily in shock, gazing up at the figures – aliens, her mind supplied – that attacked her city. However, she only hesitated a moment before dashing in the direction of the elementary school, intent on finding her children.
The sprint down the road felt simultaneously endless and yet as if no time had passed. Jessica cried out when the school came into sight. It had been stuck during the aliens' initial attack and there were gaping holes in the walls. A section of the school appeared to be on fire. Her eyes frantically scanned the surroundings, searching for her children.
For the moment it appeared that the aliens had moved on to a different part of the city to attack, and the ringing sound of explosions was sounding more distant. People were still dashing everywhere, and the cries of the wounded could be heard in the air. Jessica slowed her pace and tried to think. She took a couple deep breaths and viewed her surroundings. She noticed a few brave teachers had herded a group of children across the road from the school into the clothing store that was there. Heading in that direction she recognized one of the teachers as Mrs. Jenkins, her daughter's teacher. Mrs. Jenkins saw her coming and called out, "Jessica! Over here!"
Mrs. Jenkins turned her attention to the children and pulled two of them over. With an exclamation of relief Jessica recognized them as Jenna and Jake. There were shaken up and had tears streaming down their faces, but were otherwise unharmed.
"I've gathered most of the children from my class here," Mrs. Jenkins said. "Jake saw Jenna near the beginning of the attack and I made sure they stayed together."
"Thanks for keeping my children safe," Jessica replied, not bothering to lessen the raw relief in her voice that she felt upon knowing her kids were uninjured.
When Jenna and Jake spotted their mother, they ran to her and latched onto her. Jessica hugged them back, feeling tears gather in her eyes. However, a crescendo in the sound of explosions and screams reminded her that she couldn't let her guard down yet. She guided her children into the clothing store, reasoning that being inside was safer than outside and exposed.
Looking back out the shattered windows, Jessica saw a group of aliens flying down the street. This time, instead of just sweeping by and shooting, some of the aliens leapt off of their flying craft and landed on the asphalt below.
Jessica felt her heart race and her breath catch when she caught sight of the creatures that were invading her city. They were grotesque beings, with armor and metal masks concealing their faces. There were about ten of them, and they carried weapons that they pointed at the crowds, releasing purple blasts and screeching and growling like animals.
Glancing up Jessica saw some more craft flying by. A man stepped out onto the road, and either bravely or very foolishly took aim at the aliens. With a loud crack the gun went off, causing one of the craft to falter and crash onto the cement. The aliens turned and attacked the man, leaving a charred and nearly unrecognizable body on the ground. Jessica tried to turn her children's faces into herself, preventing them from seeing what was happening.
Jessica refocused on the action taking place in front of her. She started when she realized that the craft that had been shot down by the man hadn't been carrying another of the aliens, but rather a human figure. He lay for a moment on the torn up ground before he stirred and sat up. He shook his head dazedly, causing his black hair to fall into his face. Although he appeared human, his clothing was unusual. It appeared to be like leather, and was black except for a few highlights of green and gold.
The man – alien? – shook his head again before looking up and taking in his surroundings. Jessica caught a glimpse of green eyes as they widened, and then narrowed in determination. He staggered to his feet and crouched into a ready stance, glancing around for some sort of weapon to use.
Jessica was distracted from her appraisal of the man when she realized the aliens that had landed first had succeeding in killing or scaring away the people who had been on the streets. They now turned their attention to those that were hiding in the buildings nearby. A few of the creatures turned their weapons to the clothing store and fired. Jessica screamed as a shot blazed by, hitting the crowd. She cried out when she spotted Mrs. Jenkins on the floor of the store, her dull eyes staring at the ceiling.
Jessica firmly grabbed onto her children's hands and dashed out of the store. What had seemed like a haven before turned out to be more of a trap. She ducked as another shot flew overhead and ran for some cover behind a blackened car. However, as she reached it an alien fired, causing the car to overturn and spin away and leaving her and her children in the direct line of fire. Three of the aliens turned their weapons on her and Jessica frantically tried to push Jake and Jenna behind her in a futile attempt at protection.
Just as she was waiting for the flash of light and pain that would come, the man that she had seen fall earlier leapt at one of the aliens, twisting and breaking its neck before taking its weapon from limp hands. He turned the weapon on the two other aliens, firing at and killing one before being forced to duck and roll to avoid being hit by a shot from the last alien. He used to roll to close the distance between him and his enemy, coming up and striking the alien with the gun. As the alien stumbled back he fired his stolen weapon again, killing the third creature that had attacked Jessica.
The man glanced briefly her way, revealing a pale face and emerald eyes, then ran to attack the seven remaining creature in the area. Jessica, weak-kneed from the close call she had just had, only stood and watched as he twisted and spun, using the weapon in his hands for both close range and far range combat. He weaved between the aliens and the debris strewn around the street, avoiding the deadly fire from the aliens. The creatures, for their part, had stopped attacking humans and turned their attention to the green and black clad man wreaking havoc among them.
He fired upon and killed one alien, knocked another one down with the end of his borrowed weapon, dragged a third into the line of fire from a fourth alien, using it as a shield as he took down the one that had fired and two more. Finally, he closed in on the last creature, dodging one more shot before he killed it with a strong blow to the head.
The man now stood alone in the middle of the street, while the people around him stared, their faces tinged with awe and the remnants of fear from how close they had come to death. He was breathing heavily as he looked around to make sure that he had killed all of his enemies.
Jessica hesitantly stepped forward, still holding onto her children. Her mouth open and closed a few times before she pushed out a choked "Thank you".
The dark haired man only glanced at her before tossing away the weapon he held in his hands. He suddenly cried out as if in pain, his hand flying up to grab the side of his head. He looked up at the people standing around him. "Go! Run away. Stay away from here. Stay away from me".
This was all he managed to say before he let out another cry and fell to his knees, one hand on the ground, the other braced against his head, his eyes tightly shut. Most people took his advice and began to run away from the scene. Jessica did the same, but continued to look back at the man who had saved her life. He remained kneeling, breathing deeply. He appeared to be muttering, as if he was struggling against himself. Then he let out a desperate scream, filled with pain and frustration, which was abruptly cut off. Jessica watched as he seemed to relax. He stood up fluidly, with his head held high and shoulders back, exuding an air of pride and arrogance. He eyed the destruction surrounding him, and Jessica caught a fleeting glimpse of a feral smile and glowing blue eyes. She spent a moment longer watching the man as he jumped onto an alien craft that flew close to the road and was carried out of her sight before she turned and ran with her children.
A few hectic days later Jessica was to be found sitting near a hospital bed where Jonathan was sleeping. During the attack he had been struck by some falling debris, injuring him enough to need the hospital, but not enough to be cause for too much concern. She silently watched as his chest rose up and down, the sound of his breathe echoed by the lighter, quicker breathing of Jenna and Jake, who were sleeping in chairs nearby.
She had no words to describe how thankful she was that her family had all survived the alien attack. After running away from the mysterious man who had appeared and rescued her and her children, she had found refuge in the basement of a building farther down the road. The attacks had seemed to move on to different parts of the city, and they had remained safe as the fighting continued around the rest of New York. Eventually, they emerged from their hide-out to find that the aliens had all suddenly collapsed and the attack was finally over.
As the people of New York began to recover their tattered and shaken lives, Jessica had taken her children home, miraculously finding it standing and undamaged. She spent most of her time calling her friends and particularly trying to get ahold of her husband. For two days her worry increased and she desperately tried to deflect her children's queries about where their father was before he phoned her from the hospital to tell her he was safe. After spending a few moments to let a few tears of relief escape, she gathered her children and went to the hospital, where she had stayed since, waiting for Jonathan to recover enough to come home.
Now, in the middle of the night she found herself unable to sleep, her thoughts stuck on the man who was the only reason her children and herself were still alive. She recalled watching the news on the television in the waiting area of the hospital. She was surprised when she was finally able to discover the identity of her savior, only to discover that he was being blamed as the leader of the attack itself. Loki, the embittered brother of Thor, an Avenger who had helped save the city, was shown to be a power-hungry maniac.
But what she had seen of the man on the road did not line up at all with how he was being portrayed. The clips of his speech in Germany confirmed what the news was saying, but Jessica had seen a different side of the man who was under such public scrutiny. During the few minutes she had seen Loki, he had saved many people's lives, including her children's, and had then warned people away. The only part of their brief interaction that aligned with the supervillain he was supposed to be was in those last few moments when he had taken in the destruction and death around him and smiled, with sharp and evil glee.
That moment caused Jessica even further confusion. She was sure that when he was fighting against the aliens his eyes had been green, but when his personality had shifted his eyes had definitely changed into blue. It was like he was two different people in his mind, fighting to gain control of his body.
After a few more minutes of contemplation, Jessica sighed and gave up that train of thought. In the past week her world had gone from being safe and independent from the rest of the universe, to being embroiled in the middle of an intergalactic conflict. Her brain was overwhelmed with the amount of shocks and incomprehensible things that had happened in the past week to tear up her life and throw it into a violent whirlpool. She decided that it would be simpler to just privately thank whatever part of the man spared her family, and leave the rest to the people higher up who were dealing with the situation.
Jessica finally felt her eyelids drifting shut, and her last sight before she fell asleep was that of Jonathan, Jake, and Jenna all curled up safely in front of her, taking comfort in each others' presence.
The End