Chapter seven
Steve defeated another Chitauri warrior. The three were quickly making their way to where the people of the city was being evacuated. Police officers met them.
Steve pressed a finger to his ear, listening to something through his ear piece.
"On my way," he said, "Get to safety," he continued, looking to Catherine, before jogging away.
"Steve, wait!" Catherine called out. She knelt down. "Sweetie, go with the nice police man. I'll be back soon."
The girl nodded and took the police man's hand; the two going into the subway station. Catherine stood up and limp-ran to catch up with Steve, who was waiting for her.
"Go back, it's not safe on the streets," Steve ordered.
"I can't just stay somewhere and wait. I can-"
"There is a missile on its way to the city. You need to evacuate. Take care of the girl and escape."
Catherine's jaw dropped.
"I'm not going anywhere. Tony is risking his life to save the city. If he doesn't make it, I want to be able to say goodbye."
Steve thought for a moment.
"Okay," he agreed, "We'll rendezvous with Thor and the others. Can you run?"
"I can keep up; don't worry."
Steve ran alongside Catherine. She knew he was purposely keeping a slower pace than he usually would. She didn't mind though.
They made it to an intersection and spotted Thor. Making their way over, Thor took out a Chitauri and grinned wildly. He joined them.
"Lady Stark, what are you doing here? You should be getting away."
"I am not leaving Tony. He's the only family I have left."
Thor nodded his head, understanding.
"Still you should hide for the time being."
"Where?" Catherine questioned.
Steve and Thor both looked around.
"There," Steve suggested, pointing to a building that was still intact.
He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a spare earpiece. He handed it over to Catherine.
"Here," he continued, "It'll keep you in contact with us."
"Thanks," Catherine replied, "Good luck and stay safe."
"And to you, as well."
Catherine ran into the building. She ducked down behind a window and peered out. Chitauri started to attack the two men outside. They threw their weapons.
Thor reached out and caught his hammer. As Steve turned, an energy blast struck him, knocking him down hard. Thor ran over to a broken car. He swung his hammer, flipping the vehicle over and over; crushing a few Chitauri soldiers.
Thor helped Steve to his feet. Steve raised his shield up.
"You ready for another bout?" Thor asked.
"What? You getting' sleepy?" Steve retorted.
"I can close it! Can anybody hear me?! I can shut the portal down!" Natasha yelled through the earpiece.
"Do it!"
"No wait!" Tony cut in.
"Stark, these things are still coming!"
"I got a nuke coming in, its gonna blow in less than a minute and I know just where to put it."
Catherine's eyes widened and she ran back out, just in time to see Tony grab the missile from behind and steer it into the sky; towards the portal.
"Stark, you know this is a one-way trip?"
Tony didn't respond.
"Tony, whatever happens, I love you," Catherine said, through the earpiece she wore.
A chuckle came as a reply.
"Don't get all sentimental on me now, kit cat. It's so not you."
"I know."
Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Catherine?"
"Yes, Tony?"
"I want you to know…I for-"
Communications from Tony cut off.
"Tony?!" Catherine called out, "Tony?! Tony!"
Tears fell down her face. The three waited. Each second that passed seemed to drag on forever. Suddenly, all over the city, Chitauri warriors and leviathans fell down. Thor, Steve and Catherine looked up at the portal; not sure if Tony would make it back.
Thor and Steve saw the supernova coming towards them. Thor gave a nod to Steve.
"Close it," Steve ordered Natasha.
"No!" Catherine screamed out.
She spun around and tried to grab the collar of Steve's outfit, while Thor held her back.
"He hasn't come back yet!" she continued.
Steve looked up at the closing portal, sorrow filled his face. A small figure fell through.
"Son of a gun," Steve exclaimed, smiling.
The other two looked up and grinned widely. The grins faltered, however, when they realised he wasn't showing any signs of slowing.
"He's not slowing down," Thor stated.
He swung his hammer around. Before he could fly up, Hulk snatched Tony out of the air. He crashed into a building and slid down. He threw Tony off of himself.
Thor, Steve and Catherine ran over to them. Thor ripped Tony's helmet off.
Tony's eyes were closed and he looked as if he were dead. Catherine fell to her knees and hovered her hands over his body, unsure of what to do. Hulk roared out in fury, causing the group to jump. Tony jolted awake with a groan.
"What the hell?" he questioned, "What just happened?" he looked around the group, "Please tell me nobody kissed me."
"We won," Steve said.
Tony got to his feet and was almost knocked back down by Catherine who embraced him in a teary hug. He pulled away after a few heartbeats.
"Alright. Hey. Alright. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried Shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it."
Thor looked up to Stark Tower.
"We're not finished yet," he said.
"And then shawarma after?"
Loki crawled onto the stair, looking terrible. He took a few breaths. Sensing someone behind him, he turned to find the Avengers staring at him, furious.
"If it's all the same to you. I'll have that drink," Loki said; a half-smile on his face. Hulk snorted at him.
#
A few weeks later, the Avengers were taking Thor and Loki, who was handcuffed and muzzled, to a blocked area.
Thor shook hands with the team and gave Selvig a hug. Tony opened the case that held the tesseract. Bruce took it out and placed it inside a glass tube that Thor held.
Thor gave Loki the other end. The Asgardians leapt into the energy beam and disappeared. One-by-one, the group splintered off; strolling in different directions.
Bruce and Tony climbed into Tony's sports car; Steve rode away on his Harley; and Clint and Natasha climbed into SHIELD cars.
"Where's Catherine?" Bruce asked, his question aimed at Tony; even though he wasn't facing him.
"She's back at the tower. Didn't want to see reindeer games again."
"I don't blame her. I'm surprised at how brave she was."
Tony snorted.
"Brave at first, stubborn and stupid at the end," Bruce rolled his eyes, "I told her to stay at the tower. She would have been safer there."
"I doubt it. Loki was there and would have found her if he won. She would have died. Besides, she saved that little girl; reuniting that family."
"Don't get me wrong; I'm glad she saved the kid, but she was injured because of it. I just wish that she didn't come after me."
"You two are each other's family. You would do anything for each other."
"Yeah, I know," Tony cleared his throat, before changing the subject, "Okay big guy, I'm renovating the tower. Any suggestions?"
Bruce thought for a moment.
"How about a yoga studio?" he suggested, remembering the yoga session he had done with Catherine a few weeks prior.
"Didn't know you were into that sort of thing."
Bruce shrugged.
"Yeah, it's a great anger release."
Tony mulled it over.
"Consider it done."
#
Back at Stark Tower, Catherine was sitting on her bed. The room's door was closed. A nose bandage covered her nose; three stitches sealed her head wound; and five on her leg.
It had been a few weeks since the attack, and yet Catherine didn't like to sleep. She had nodded off a few times, however, it never lasted any longer than a few hours, due to the nightmare she suffered.
With a groan, she pushed herself into a standing position. She had a quick shower and dressed in a singlet and a pair of shorts. Catherine wiped the steam off the mirror and looked at her reflection. Dark circles hung under her eyes. a large bruise on her nose. Her skin looked pale.
With a somewhat, annoyed sigh, she exited the room. As she walked into the kitchen, JARVIS spoke.
"Miss Catherine, Mr Stark and Mr Banner have arrived."
"Thanks, Jarvis."
She grabbed an apple and sat down on the couch, munching on it. Tony had been making sure that she had been eating properly. He had gotten mad after the first week. Catherine wasn't eating much during that time and starting to lose weight.
Since then, Tony had made sure to either cook or order take out. He would always make sure to sit with her and watch her eat her meals. It was starting to get on her nerves.
She was about halfway through the fruit, when Tony and Bruce came up to the floor. Catherine turned to them; a forced smile on her face.
"Hey," she said.
"Hi," Bruce and Tony replied, in unison.
"Alright," Tony clapped his hands together, "Due to the renovations, I'm having Bruce's floor done first. He'll be staying here in the guest room for the time being."
"Only if it's okay," Bruce quickly countered, "I wouldn't want to be in your way."
Catherine waved a hand.
"No, it's fine. Make yourself at home," she replied.
"Thanks."
"Sir, Miss Potts wishes to see you to finalize the blue prints," JARVIS spoke up.
"Be right there," Tony replied, "Make yourself comfortable. I'll be back later," he directed to Bruce.