Four years later, I finally felt revitalized about this story. I apologize for the long wait. I am currently beginning my work on Chapter 2. To the reviewers that questioned some of my choices with this story, I am sticking to my guns. There is very likely to be some eventual FrostIron in this fic. If that is not to your taste and you can't stomach this story with it in it, then I bid you farewell.

That resolved, let's get a move on!


Tony

It was a cold, numb feeling that spread from his chest outwards- his armor doing nothing to protect him from the chill. A dreaded feeling of plummeting formed in his gut, causing it to clench painfully. The suit grew heavier as he fell, watching the aftermath of the nuke going off just before it hit him The force of the blast sent him spiraling even faster towards the Earth. His eyes were just beginning to shut when a blinding light filled his gaze and pain shot through his body. Tony's torso arched upwards, his eyes rolling up into his head as he tried to scream. No sound left him. In fact, there was no sound at all. Nothingness consumed him. Nothing, that is, except for the pain.

The one time I do something right and it fucking kills me, he thought.


Loki

Emerald eyes looked upwards as the milky blue melted from Loki's irises. His head was aching as Thanos's influence receded. Loki's eyebrows furrowed only slightly at the sight just through the walls of broken glass.

The portal he opened for the Chitauri was shifting, as if something had caused it to grow unstable. A dot fell from the portal just as it snapped closed. Before he could even drag in a ragged breath in reaction the remaining pain in his body from being thrown around by the green monster, a distinctive pop sounded loudly in his ears. His eyes widened as the area of sky where the portal had previously been was tugged upward as if being pinched and pulled away from the planet. Struggling to stand, he managed to stumble and drag himself towards the broken glass that covered the smooth floors in front of the shattered window. Wind tugged at silky black locks just before a bright, white light blinded emerald eyes and Loki was sent flying through the air.


Tony

His suit twisted around him, cutting and tearing at his very flesh as he was viciously yanked upwards. JARVIS had long since silenced his warnings about the various system failures. The suit was shutting down with Tony Stark as its prisoner of iron. He couldn't see, couldn't hear- he was at the mercy of whatever was doing this to him. The pain was overwhelming and beginning to drive him beyond his tolerance threshold as he was hurled through. The suit groaned, cracking in several places at once as his body began to stretch whilst twisting at the same time. At first, the twisting and pulling of metal upon his skin was his only explainable pain. That is, until the first chunk of debris slammed into his back. Out like a light went the great Iron Man, unaware of where he may awaken or if he would ever awaken again.


Loki

Debris knocked Loki around as he flew into the sky, most likely fracturing- if not breaking- several bones. He snarled at the air, struggling to use his magic and only managing to create a cushion against the many chunks of stone and metal that attempted to be slammed against him. For one moment of clarity in sight, Loki spotted a giant 'S' hurling straight towards his head. Before he could move, the large letter crashed into him, finally succeeding in knocking out the trickster god. His limp body soared through the air, dragged in by the upside down tornado looking vortex.


Natasha

Natasha looked up in time to feel the jerk on her body, yanking her off the roof of Stark's tower. Shocked, she reached out blindly for something to hold on to. An arrow came from her right and she grasped it by the shaft. Her eyes followed the cable than ran from the end of the arrow and caught sight of Clint in a nearby building, braced against what appeared to be the remains of a wall as the building's roof seemed to crumble. Looking up, Natasha noticed that the force dragging her upwards was some type of vortex that had split open as soon as the inter-dimensional portal had collapsed in on itself. There was a tug on the arrow and her eyes went back to Clint's. Even across all the distance between them, Natasha could recognize that look in his eyes.

"Hold on, Natasha! I'm going to pull you out of there!" Clint's panicked voice buzzed through Natasha's ear piece. He was always the more emotional of the two. Her grip tightened around the shaft of the arrow.

"What's going on up there?" Captain America's voice came in, crackling through the distortion.

"It would appear that the portal collapsed in on itself when I used the scepter, creating a vortex," Natasha supplied, feeling her body being stretched as Clint pulled on his end of the chord but the vortex continued pulling at her ankles.

"Where is Stark?" Rodgers asked and Natasha found herself without an answer. She watched him go up into the portal with the nuke. Looking back up, she realized that wherever Stark was now, the vortex would lead.

"In the vortex! We need to go after him!" Natasha shouted over the sound of wind rushing through my ears. The vortex was shifting slightly, as if about to fold in on itself, never to be opened again. If they allowed it to close, there would be no telling how or if they would ever get Tony back.

"It's too risky!" Rodgers argued her. She knew he was right as she looked away from the vortex and began pulling herself down the chord and away from the pulling force.


Shepard

Magnus Shepard had one goal in mind at the time as she walked towards the cockpit of the Normandy, helmet tucked beneath her arm: Find out what the hell had EDI waking her up. Her muscles were sore, still getting back into the feel of battle. Mordin offered several times since they brought him onto the Normandy to run some diagnostics and prescribe some medicine to help with relaxing the muscles or some other medical babble; but Shepard was too stubborn to accept the Salarian's offer. The best cure would be time. Reaching Joker, Magnus waited as the pilot turned around in his new favorite chair to face her.

"Commander," he greeted, his lips going up at the corners to form a grin but his eyes remaining grim. Shepard clasped her hands behind her back. She turned her eyes to EDI as her blue orb appeared at the terminal.

"It would appear that there has been a disturbance near Omega. The Illusive Man has requested that we investigate considering the fact that we are currently docked at Omega," EDI informed me. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Magnus considered her statement carefully.

"What's it look like?" Magnus inquired, moving over to the switch that would move the shutters out of her view and grant a clearer look at what was going on outside the Normandy's cockpit.

"There appears to have been some type of fluctuation. EDI is running scans right now," Joker pitched in, his voice not holding its usual sarcasm.

"And?" Shepard prompted, looking at the AI expectantly.

"Scans have indicated that there is an unusual substance now scattered near the Omega Relay," EDI informed Magnus readily. "It appears to be pieces of ancient Earth architecture."

Turning on the switch, Shepard watched as the shutters moved up and out of view. Looking out into space, she had enough time to register what seemed to be large chunks of rock before something loud hit the side of the Normandy. The ship didn't shake or show any other sign of collision.

It must have been some of the debris, Magnus reasoned.

"What was that?" Magnus questioned, already making her way towards the air lock and thankful that she had thought to put on my armor. It was always best to be suited up just in case a fight was about to occur.

"I am detecting two lifeforms- one of which just made impact with the Normandy. Neither appear to be hostile, nor are they showing many signs of life besides weak pulses. I would advise bringing them inside quickly if you wish to resuscitate them, Commander," EDI replied in her emotionless tone.

"Call up Mordin and have him on alert. Then, get Miranda and Jacob out here so that we can investigate," Magnus Shepard ordered, putting on her helmet so that she could figure out what the hell was going on outside her ship.


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