Iron Man falls from the sky. They realize he's not slowing down. Just in time, the Hulk catches him…but Stark is not moving. Hulk rips off his face mask. Rogers and Thor look at Stark's lifeless body and realize that even the light in his chest has gone out… the Hulk's sad bellow seems to shock Tony Stark back to life…
The alien invasion of New York had been stopped. The devastation of Midtown Manhattan was nearly incomprehensible. Even as alien carcasses were still falling from the sky, people had begun to move. The National Guard and other first responders began tending to the most severely injured on the streets. More people streamed out of buildings and subway exits. Every military and civilian piece of equipment on the East Coast was already on its way to New York.
Agent Natasha Romanoff stood injured and dazed on the top of Stark Tower, Loki's scepter still in her hands. Dr. Selvig had collapsed. She checked to see if he was still alive, and satisfied that he was, she tried to contact the rest of her team. Team? A rather strange team, but Fury had been calling them that for so long that Natasha had the name stuck in her head.
"Romanoff here…" she questioned the air.
"Rogers here, we're on the ground. Stark is alive."
"Glad to hear it," she sighed out, "Barton, do you read me? What's your position?"
Silence.
The team on the ground looked at each other and realized they hadn't heard from Agent Barton in several minutes.
On the roof, Natasha frantically looked to the building position where she last saw him. That roof was no longer there.
She summoned all the strength she had left to call for him one more time, thinking that God or the universe, or whatever could not possibly be so cruel as to take him from her now. Now that she just got him back. "Barton?"
"I'm here. I- I'm somewhere in an office building – I think." He stuttered.
Natasha sat down, silently thanking God and the universe for sparing him again.
"Barton, can you move?" questioned Rogers.
"Not so much right now." Barton coughed out.
"I can find him." Offered Thor. He spun up his hammer and jumped away.
Clint was still trying to sit up, hoping that the dent in his body made by landing on his quiver would not be permanent when Thor jumped through a busted out wall of windows.
Clint managed to stand up and face Thor squarely. The guy was bigger than Clint remembered.
Clint could also still remember the rage Loki felt for his brother.
"So that asshole is your brother?" Clint asked him
Thor nodded - the pain obvious on his face.
"I had a brother. He went bad and I had to kill him."
Thor understood what Barton was telling him. Clearly when Barton had been overtaken by Loki, Barton realized that Loki could not be killed by humans.
"Perhaps my father can get through to him…" Thor said heavily.
Clint shook his head "so that's your plan? Take him back? For what? What do you people do to someone like Loki?"
"I don't know." Said Thor, as if he had already thought of every possibility and realized how each one wouldn't work.
Thor shook off his pain and decided to face the challenges of the moment.
"Let's get back to the others, archer." He grabbed Barton by the vest and jumped back out the window, Clint cursing all the way down.