This chapter will be going through the course of the first Avengers movie. Thank you guys for all of your support and suggestions. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Thoughts
Speech
Chapter seven: The Avengers
Shepard's phone rang stirring from his sleep, grabbing the phone he raised it to his ear.
"What" he groggily answered the phone reading the clock to say 3:26.
"I need you to go to Russia and get Agent Romanoff"
"Rescue mission?"
"No, extraction. I need you to get Romanoff and then you two need to find Banner and bring him to the carrier"
"Banner? What's going on Fury, I told you not to bother Banner unless we didn't have a choice"
"We have a level seven. As of right now we are at war"
"With who?"
"Loki of Asgard. Thor's brother, he stole the Tesseract and has Agent Barton and Doctor Selvig under some kind of mind control"
"I will meet Natasha at Banner's location. Let me give her a call"
"She's currently on mission trying to get information out of General Luchkov"
Hanging up he dialed a number "Hello?"
"Natasha Romanoff" he answered the unknown voice.
"It's for her" he hears over the phone.
"You Listen here-" Luchkov began.
"We have a missile five miles out. Put the woman on the phone, or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby"
Silence was his answer.
"Who is this?" Natasha asked over the phone.
"I need you"
"Are you kidding? I'm working!"
"This is more important"
"I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything"
"I don't give everything" he heard Luchkov say annoyed.
"Look, you can't pull me off this right now"
"Natasha, we have a level seven. Barton's been compromised"
"Let me put you on hold"
Shepard could here groans and things being broken.
"Where's Barton now?"
"We don't know"
"But he's alive"
"I think so, Fury said he was under some type of mind control. I don't know all the details but you and me are going to talk to the big guy"
"Shepard, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me"
"No, I wasn't talking about Stark. The big guy"
Natasha was silent "Срань господня" (Holy Shit)
Isolated building in India.
Natasha was hiding her nervousness as she paced slowly around the room. Noticing a gun she hid underneath the table Shepard sighed.
"The gun won't be necessary Natasha. Shooting Banner will just bring out the Hulk"
"You said you've seen him in person before right?"
"Yes. I was tracking an arms dealer who worked with the Ten Rings, this was just after they kidnapped Tony"
"You were searching for where they had Tony"
"Yes, I don't know what happened but the next thing I knew he was smashing though the wall of a bottle factory. I don't think I ever ran so fast in my life"
"Let's hope I don't end up meeting him too"
"Just don't shoot at him or make him angry and everything will be fine" he answered shifting behind a wall "They're coming" he warned as Natasha moved out of sight. A small girl led Bruce into the building before quickly running out of the window.
"Should've got paid up front, Banner" he mused to himself.
Natasha revealed herself from behind the wall "You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle"
"Avoiding stress isn't the secret"
"Then what is it? Yoga?" She asked smirking.
"You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh...assume the whole place is surrounded?" Banner asked looking out of the window.
"Just you and me"
"And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young?"
"I did"
"Who are you?"
"Natasha Romanoff"
"Are you here to kill me, Ms. Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone"
"No, no, of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD"
"SHIELD. How did they find me?"
"We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent"
"Why?"
"Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now we need you to come in"
"What if I say no?"
"I'll persuade you"
"And what if the...other guy says no?"
"You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak"
"I don't get every time what I want"
"Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe" Natasha picked her phone out of her pocket.
"Well, those I actively try to avoid" Bruce said chuckling.
"This is the Tesseract" she places the phone on the table with a picture as she sits down "It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet"
"What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it?"
"Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It omits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be"
"So Fury isn't after the monster?"
"Not that he's told me"
"And he tells you everything?"
Talk to Fury, he needs you on this"
"He needs me in a cage?"
"No one's gonna put you in a-"
Banner slams his hand onto the table "Stop lying to me!"
Natasha grabs her gun out from under the table pointing it in his face. Shepard quickly moved in between the two of them "Don't shoot!"
"I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do"
Natasha still held the gun in Shepard's face shaking slightly with fear.
"Natasha, put the gun down. You don't shoot him and the Hulk doesn't make a huge mess. Okay?" Shepard said trying to calm her down.
Natasha doesn't lower the gun "Natasha"
She lowers her gun taking a deep breath. She moved her hand to her earpiece.
"Stand down. We're good here" she ordered the SHIELD agents surrounding the building.
Banner gives an amused look to Natasha "Just you an me?"
"I advised against them being here, I am only here to make sure the Hulk doesn't come back around to play"
"And you are?"
"Commander Shepard" he extended his hand offering to shake. Banner warily accepted the offer.
"I have seen your work and am quite a fan, I have also met your green friend. I am hoping this goes better"
"I am sorry about that"
"Probably wasn't your fault anyway. I promise we need your help from a lab and not a cage, I don't want to see that thing come around again, and trust me I know it's bulletproof"
Banner gauged Shepard cautiously "You know I made the Hulk trying to replicate the serum Erskine developed to use on you"
"I am aware, unfortunately I wasn't there. I could've told you Gamma radiation wasn't the key to the serum. Although I suppose in some way it wasn't exactly a failure"
"I'll come with you, but if you try anything the other guy is gonna come around and you won't like that"
"I imagine not" Shepard said with a genuine smile "We should go, we may not have a lot of time"
"I thought Coulson was gonna swoon when he figured out who you are" Natasha said walking alongside Shepard aboard the deck of the carrier.
"You mean because I lead the Howling Commandoes"
"Yup. Did he ask you to sign his training cards yet?"
"Training cards? I didn't know people even cared about those anymore"
"They're vintage, he's very proud" she added with a smirk.
They approached Banner who was standing near the edge looking out along the water.
"We should step inside. It's gonna get a little hard to breathe" Natasha said to Banner.
"Is this a submarine? Really? They want me in a submerged pressurized metal container?"
The carrier begins to lift into the air "Oh no. This is much worse"
Shepard smirked as they all turned to walk inside.
"Gentlemen. Doctor, thank you for coming" Fury said as they entered the bridge area.
"Thanks for asking nicely. So, uh...how long am I staying?"
"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the wind"
"Where are you with that?"
"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops. If its connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us" Coulson explained.
"That's still not going to find them in time" Natasha said hiding her concern for Barton.
"You have to narrow the field. Banner?" Shepard asked looking toward him.
"How many spectrometers do you have access to?"
"How many are there?" Fury asked.
"Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition" he explained.
"That will at least help us rule out a few places" Shepard said in understanding.
"Do you have somewhere for me to work?"
"Agent Romanoff, would you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please" Fury instructed.
"You're gonna love it Doc. We got all the toys" she said leading him to another room.
"I mean, if it's not too much trouble" Coulson said awkwardly.
"No, no. It's fine" Shepard answered watching the screens with interest.
"It's a vintage set. It took me a couple of years to collect them all. Near mint, slight foxing around the edges but-"
"We got a hit. Sixty seven percent match. Weight, cross match, seventy nine percent" an agent announced.
"Location?" Shepard asked. "Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding" Then he wants us to find him, the question is why
"Look to your elder people. Let him be an example" Loki said pointing his scepter at the defiant old man. Firing a blast from it Shepard barely managed to step in front of him and deflect it with his staff's shield deflecting it back at him knocking him off his feet.
"You know the last time I saw a man standing above everybody else. We ended up disagreeing" Shepard said retracting the shield.
"The soldier" Loki said chuckling as he slowly returned to his feet "The man out of time"
"I'm not the one who's out of time"
Natasha hovered above in a quinjet with its turret drawn "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down" she ordered over the PA. Loki smirked and fired a blast of energy towards her forcing her to avoid it.
Shepard charged him smacking him in the chest with his staff he followed with a punch to his face. Loki countered with his scepter attempting to stab him, he blocked it with his staff before having it sent away with the other end of the scepter. Shepard jumped in the air kicking him with both his legs he pushed off his chest rolling to a defensive stance. Charging Shepard sent punch towards his face as Loki side stepped. Swinging his scepter towards his head, Shepard leaned back under the swing and side stepped away from him slamming the opposite end down where he had been standing. Shepard punched him in the ribs then flipped over him to avoid yet another swing, landing he felt the scepter at his head.
"Kneel" Loki demanded.
"Not to men like you" he answered shoving it away and kicking him in the chest sending him stumbling back.
"He's all over the place I can't get a shot with you in the way" Natasha said over his earpiece. Suddenly rock music began to play over the PA as Shepard rolled away from Loki.
"Miss me?" Shepard heard through his earpiece. Tony landed in his Iron Man suit hitting Loki with his repulsors sending him to the ground.
"Make your move reindeer games" he taunted aiming all of his weapons at him. Loki's armor and scepter vanished as he held his hands up in surrender "Good move"
"Stark" Shepard greeted.
"Commander"
"Has he said anything?" Fury asked over the radio.
"Not a word" Natasha answered.
"Just get him here, we're low on time"
"I don't like it" Shepard whispered to Tony.
"What, Rock of Ages giving up so easily?"
"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy's a hard hitter"
"Still you did pretty good on your own, until I showed up and saved your ass of course"
"Nice to see you too Tony. Fury didn't tell me you were coming"
"Fury there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you"
"I know. You get used to it"
Suddenly a lightning storm formed around the jet "Where's this coming from?" Natasha asked confused.
"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" Shepard asked noticing Loki's sudden uncomfortable appearance.
"I'm not overly fond of what follows" he answered.
"You mean Thor, your brother?" Shepard asked as the heard a thud on the roof. Tony opened the hatch putting his helmet back on.
"What are you doing?" Shepard asked placing his helmet on.
Thor landed on the back of the hatch entering the jet he used his hammer to send Tony flying back into Shepard knocking him over. Grabbing Loki by the throat, he flew out the back.
"And now there's that guy" Tony sighed standing up.
"Another Asgardian?" Natasha asked looking back at them.
"Yes, he's on our-"
"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost" Tony interrupted.
"Stark, you can't go up against this guy without a plan of attack-"
"I have a plan. Attack" Tony interrupted again flying after him.
"I'd sit this one out Commander" Natasha advised.
"I don't see how I can"
"These guys come from legend. They're basically gods"
"If there is a God. God certainly wouldn't dress like that. Besides who else is going to keep those two idiots from killing each other?" Shepard asked jumping out the back using his thrusters on his boots to follow the trail of lighting.
"Hey!" Shepard yelled landing near them "That's enough. I know you are on our side. So...let's just put the hammer down and talk"
"No! Bad call he loves his hammer-!" Tony tried to warn before Thor smacked him away with the hammer "You want me to put the hammer down?!" Thor yelled jumping at Shepard striking down towards him. Shepard casually unsheathed his sword and blocked the hammer sending Thor flying backwards onto his back.
"We done here?" he asked extending his hand to him, Thor accepted standing himself up.
"I'm here to put an end to Loki's schemes, bring him back to Asgard with the Tesseract in hand"
"And we are trying to find the Tesseract before Loki uses it. You help us get the Tesseract back and I will make sure you get Loki and the Tesseract to return to Asgard. Deal?" he asked offering his hand.
"Deal" Thor answered back smiling shaking his hand roughly.
"In case it's unclear. If you try to escape, if you so much as scratch that glass-" Fury began opening the floor beneath his cell "-That's 300,000 feet in a steel trap. You get how that works? Ant. Boot." he said gesturing between Loki and the switch.
"It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me"
"Built for something a lot stronger than you"
"Oh, I've heard. A mindless beast, makes play he's still a man" Loki said turning towards the camera the team is watching from "How desperate are you? That you call on such lost creatures to defend you?"
"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war, you steal a power you cannot hope to control, you talk about peace, and you kill because it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did"
"It burns you doesn't it? To have come so close, to have power. Unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share? And then to be reminded what real power is" Loki ranted. Fury smirked in response and walked away.
"Well let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something"
"He really grows on you doesn't he?" Banner asked sarcastically after Shepard closed the screen.
"Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?"
"He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract"
"An army? from outer space? So, he means to build another portal" Shepard concluded.
"That's what he needs Eric Selvig for" Banner added.
"Selvig?" Thor asked curiously.
"He's an astrophysicist"
"He's a friend"
"Loki has him under some kind of spell" Natasha informed "Along with one of ours" she added looking away.
"I want to know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here" Shepard observed looking around the room.
"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That man's brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him" Bruce said.
"Have care how you speak" Thor warned "Loki is be beyond reason but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother"
"He killed 80 people in two days" Natasha informed coldly.
"He's adopted" Thor relented.
Smooth Shepard thought with a smirk.
"I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium... what do they need iridium for?" Banner asked.
"It's a stabilizing agent" Tony said entering the room. Turning to Coulson he whispered "I'm just saying, pick a weekend. I'll fly you to Portland. Keep love alive"
"Meaning the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD" Shepard clarified.
"No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing" Tony said patting Thor on the shoulder "Also, it means the portal can open as wide and as long as Loki wants" he explained walking to where Fury's terminals are.
"Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails" he said looking out at the crew who looked back at him confused "That man is playing Galaga! He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did" he said pointing to one in particular. Covering his left eye he looked at the terminals "How does Fury even see these?"
"He turns" Hill answered stoically.
"Sounds exhausting. The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density" Tony said placing something slyly onto the terminal "Something to kick-start the cube"
"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Shepard asked smirking.
"Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?"
"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Natasha asked.
"He'd have to heat the cube to 120-million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier" Shepard said earning looks from everyone "What? I am old not dead. I read things" he defended.
Impressed Tony went on "Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect"
"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet" Banner said in understanding.
"Finally, people who speak English" Tony said walking over to them.
"Is that what just happened?" Thor asked confused.
"I didn't understand a word of it either, don't worry about it" Natasha informed.
"Good to meet you Dr. Banner" Tony said shaking his hand "Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled. And I am a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster"
"Thanks" he said awkwardly.
"I'm not. Don't you dare start messing with him Tony, I'll throw you outside without your suit" Shepard warned.
"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him" Fury said entering the room.
"I'd start with his scepter. It worked an awful lot like a Hydra weapon" Shepard advised.
"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys" Fury said.
"Monkeys? I do not understand" Thor said confused.
"Can't be, the scepter has some sort similarities to the Tesseract but the Tesseract isn't able to take control of people" Shepard pointed out "The monkeys thing was just a reference to an old movie" he added in Thor's direction.
"Shall we play doctor?" Tony asked gesturing towards the lab.
"Stark, Banner. Something's off about all of this" Shepard said entering the lab.
"I agree, that's why I am hacking into SHIELD's secure files"
"Good, update me if you find anything. Banner...I can tell something is bugging you. Mind telling me about it?" Shepard asked.
"Loki's quip 'A warm light for all mankind' I think that was meant for you" he said pointing to Stark.
"You mean because of Stark tower?" Shepard said.
"Yes, why wouldn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project if they were just trying to make an endless supply of energy?"
"I only know that Hydra used that energy to make weapons and vehicles. If SHIELD is doing the same thing, they are meddling with a power they can't control"
Shepard noticed the readings on the scepter looking closer he asked "That thing is emitting gamma radiation?"
"Yes, similar to the Tesseract. Why?" Banner asked.
"I think Loki is playing us, if that thing is emitting the same signal as the Tesseract, then Loki's mind controlled buddies can possibly be tracking us. Keep me posted I am going to inform Fury and see if I can find anything while you search their database" he said leaving the room.
Picking up his phone he called Natasha "Romanoff, I need you to tell Fury to keep an eye out. The scepter is emitting the same signature as the Tesseract. We may have someone tracking us" he ended hanging up the phone heading for secure storage.
Shepard broke open the door to secure storage and entered climbing to a higher level he found old wooden crates among new metal crates. Opening them up he found pieces of Hydra armor and a Hydra weapon.
Fury you son of a bitch
"What are you doing, Mr. Stark?" Fury asked walking into the lab.
"Uh...kinda been wondering the same thing about you"
"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract"
"We are. The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile" Banner said pointing to the computer behind Fury.
"Yeah, then you get your Cube back. No muss, no fuss. What is 'Phase 2'?" Tony asked curiously.
Shepard entered the room loudly clattering the weapon onto the table "Phase 2 is SHIELD uses the cube to make weapons. Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me" he directed to Tony.
"Shepard, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean we're making-"
"I'm sorry Nick. What were you lying?" Tony said turning the screen to him.
"I know what the Tesseract can do Director, we cannot control that power" Shepard said authoritatively.
"Did you know about this?" Bruce asked Natasha as she and Thor entered the room.
"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?"
"I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed"
"Loki's manipulating you"
"And you've been doing what, exactly?"
"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you"
"Yes, and I am not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy. I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction"
"Because of him" Fury pointed at Thor.
"Me?" he asked confused.
"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but that we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned" he explained.
"My people want nothing but peace with your planet"
"Loki doesn't share that sentiment" Shepard pointed out.
"But you're not the only people out there are you? And your not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, that can't be controlled"
"Like you controlled the cube?" Shepard asked accusingly.
"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war" Thor explained.
"A higher form?" Shepard asked.
"You forced our hand, we had to come up with something-" Fury began.
"A nuclear deterrent. Because that always calms everything right down" Tony interrupted.
"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark" Fury taunted.
"Wait, hold on. How is this now about me?"
"I am curious to that as well" Shepard said defending his godson.
"I thought humans were more evolved than this" Thor said insultingly.
"Excuse me? Did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" Fury defended.
"You treat your champions with such mistrust"
"Are you boys really that naïve?" Natasha asked in disbelief "SHIELD monitors potential threats"
"Commander Shepard's on threat watch?" Banner asked sarcastically.
"We all are"
"Wait, you're on that list? Are you above or below angry bees?" Tony asked Shepard.
"That's not your concern, Doctor" Fury pointed out.
"Stark, I swear to god if you make one more wisecrack-" Natasha threatened.
"Threat! verbal threat! I feel threatened!"
"Show some respect, Tony" Shepard reprimanded.
"Respect what?"
"You speak of control, yet you court chaos" Thor chastised.
"That's his M.O. isn't it? I mean what are we a team? No, no, no, we are a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We are...a time bomb" Bruce said annoyed.
"You need to step away" Fury ordered.
"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Tony said placing his hand on Shepard's shoulder.
"You know damn well why! Back off!" he ordered pushing his hand away.
"I'm starting to want you to make me"
"Excuse me?"
"You people are so petty and tiny" Thor laughed.
"Yeah we are a team" Banner said sarcastically.
"Agent Romanoff, would you please escort Dr. Banner to his-"
"Where? You rented my room"
"The cell was just-"
"In case you needed to kill me. But you can't. I know, I tried" Everyone looked at him oddly "I got low, I didn't see an end. So, I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it out. So I moved on. Focused on helping people, I was good. Until you people dragged me back here and put everyone here at risk. You want to know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You want to know how I stay calm?"
Fury and Natasha's hands moved to their weapons "Dr. Banner" Shepard said grabbing his attention "Put down the scepter" he ordered. Bruce looked at it confused not realizing he had even picked it up. Placing it back on the table the computer began beeping.
"We got it" Tony said.
"Sorry kids, you don't get to see my party trick today" Bruce said walking past him.
"You located the Tesseract?" Thor asked.
"I can get there faster!" Tony yelled walking towards the door.
"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard. No human is a match for it"
I agree that's why- You aren't going alone!" Shepard said grabbing Tony by the arm.
Smacking it away "You gonna stop me?"
"Don't act like this right now, Tony"
"I am not afraid to hit an old man"
An explosion tore through the ship knocking everyone down and throwing Banner and Natasha through the glass window onto a lower section.
"Put on the suit!" Shepard ordered.
"Yep!" he called back running out.
Shepard slowly pulled himself up clutching his head in pain. Placing his helmet on he heard the Hulk roar loudly "Romanoff! Where are you?"
"Headed to the hanger!" she yelled back terrified.
"I am on my way!" he yelled running in that direction.
Natasha was thrown onto her back as she made her way into the hanger by the Hulk. crawling away from him she begged "Please, Bruce. Don't!" She yelled as he raised his fist to her. An explosion hit Hulk in the back.
"What the hell?" she asked aloud turning to see Shepard approaching with a grenade launcher hitting Hulk with another one as Hulk ran to pick up a shred of the wall he just tore through to block the third grenade. Tearing off a second piece for a shield he placed both in front of him blocking a fourth grenade, growling as he did.
"Remember me!?" Shepard yelled as Hulk separated the shields he fired the final grenade into Hulk's left arm sending him stumbling backwards. Shepard climbed his back within seconds and jumped tossing the grenade launcher aside and drawing his pistols he landed on the catwalk, firing four rounds from each at Hulk's face. Hulk roared in anger and swung his left shield at the catwalk shattering it. Shepard flipped over him firing three more rounds from each he landed perfectly and fired five more rounds from each into his back.
Hearing a click from each weapon indicating they were empty he groaned tossing the away as he jumped back to avoid Hulk swinging his left arm towards him as he turned. Shepard spun downwards underneath a swing form Hulk's right shield and flipped sideways over a horizontal slice with his left shield. Jumping onto his back to avoid Hulk using the left shield to scrape the ground upwards at Shepard. Shepard pushed himself backwards quickly to avoid a vertical stab made with the sharp end of the right shield with a roar barely avoiding losing his foot as he separated his legs.
Oh my god. He's keeping up with him
Shepard tucked his legs together pushing off of the weapon Hulk embedded into the floor he slid away from Hulk as he slammed the shields into the ground trying to keep up with him. Using his hands he flipped himself backwards up on his feet and prepared for Hulk's next attack. Hulk roared and charged before being tackled by Thor knocking the weapons from his hands.
Shepard ran over to Natasha and picked her up bridal style running to the exit of the hanger. Natasha looked up at him in awe as he made his way back to the upper levels.
How did he do that without getting a scratch on him?
"This is Fury, Barton is heading to the detention level! Does anyone copy?"
"This is Shepard. I copy" he said placing Natasha down "I'll be right back, head to the bridge" he ordered receiving a crisp nod in response. Shepard headed to the detention block. Sneaking up behind Barton, he turned around aiming his bow at Shepard. He moved the bow away at the last second with his hand, Barton kicked him in the abdomen causing him to stumble back and swung at him with his bow. Shepard spun around the attack and kicked him backwards before slipping underneath the walkway and coming back around the opposite side kicking him in the chest with both legs sending him on his back.
Barton fired an arrow at him which he dodged by swinging over to the second walkway by the supports. Barton followed after him and swung his bow in a fury of attacks. Shepard ducked under the first and side stepped the second before grabbing the bow string and pulling Clint towards him. Barton hit him in the head with the other end of the bow and pinned him against the railing. Shepard kicked his leg making him fall lose his footing and back handed him while clutching the bow getting it away from Clint.
Barton unsheathed a combat knife, he struck at him being blocked by his left arm he hit him with an open palm to his chest then hit the underside of his elbow with the top of his fist as Barton groaned in pain. Tossing the knife up he caught it in his opposite hand and swung for his throat. Shepard ducked under it and caught his next strike, Barton rammed him against one of the supports forcing the knife towards his eye. Shepard resisted, he grabbed Shepard by the strings coming out of the back of his helmet. Shepard used his own weight to twist around his arm in a flipping motion and slam his head into the railing.
Groaning in pain Barton pushed himself up on his knees and looked at him "Commander?" he asked before getting knocked out. Shepard tied his hands together with a rope from his grappling gun.
"This is Stark, I need someone at turbine three right now!" he yelled.
"Just stay put! I am on my way!" Shepard yelled running towards that location "Romanoff, Barton is unconscious and tied up in the detention block" he reported running faster as he did so. Arriving at the turbine he found a completely obliterated room "Stark, I am here!"
"You see that red lever? I need you to turn it when I tell you"
"Got it" Shepard yelled jumping and climbing his way over there. Three SHIELD agents came into the room and threw a grenade at the turbine, Shepard jumped and hit it away from the carrier and engaged them. Shepard grabbed the first one by the throat and kicked the second's rifle out of his hands and out of the carrier. He tossed him backwards out the carrier attaching one end of a grappling hook to his belt and the other end to the door frame before kicking the second's leg out from under him and using his other leg to kick him in the face. Grabbing the last agent's rifle he pushed it into his face and pulled his legs out from under him with the other hand, he snapped the mans arm and punched him in the throat knocking him out.
The first agent stopped screaming having past out from shock. Shepard jumped back up to the lever as the floor fell out from under him. He barely managed to grab onto a wire hanging from the wall stopping himself.
"Pull the level" Tony said over his earpiece.
"I need a minute here!"
"Lever. Now!" he said nervously as he pushed the turbine by hand.
Using his thrusters he propelled himself into the lever.
"Help!" Tony yelled as he bounced around the turbine.
Shepard pulled the lever as a fourth agent came in and started shooting at him.
Stark flew right into him knocking him out on impact.
"Agent Coulson's down" Fury reported over the earpiece
"A medical team is on it's way to your location" came through from another agent.
"They're here...they called it" Fury responded back solemnly.
"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket. Guess he never did get you to sign them" Fury said tossing the cards covered in blood onto the table "We are dead in the air up here, our communications the location of the Cube. Banner, Thor...I have nothing for you. I lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming"
Shepard picked up the cards and looked at them sadly shaking his head "Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea that you know about, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together remarkable people and see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in heroes"
Tony got up and stormed out of the room "Well, it's an old fashioned idea"
Shepard followed after Tony.
"Why am I back? How did you get him out?" Barton asked curiously.
"Cognitive recalibration" Natasha answered sitting down next to him "Hit you really hard in the head"
"Thanks"
"It wasn't me...Shepard was the one who saved you"
"He's a good guy"
"Yeah he is" Natasha agreed with a small smile.
"Whatever Loki is planning, he is doing it soon. Today"
"We have to stop him"
"Who's 'we'?"
"I don't know, whoever is left"
"Putting an arrow through Loki's eye socket might help me sleep better"
"Now your sounding like you"
"But you're not. You're a spy not a soldier, and now you just want to wade into a war?"
"I have been compromised. I have red in my ledger. I would like to wipe it out"
They were silent for a short while "Ever since I met Shepard I can't stop wanting to make myself better than I was...than I am. I just...he's always so genuine and pure, never lying to get what he wants and always doing the right thing. I just want to be a little like that you know? Someone people can look up to, someone I can be proud of being"
"You're a lot better than you give yourself credit for...I know what you mean about Shepard though. I have only known him for a short time. There's just something about him that makes you want to help him to follow him into the depths of hell without fear of not coming back because you know he'll be there when you need him and you'll be then when he needs you"
"That sounds about right" she said smiling a real smile for once.
Tony looked over the spot where the cell used to be silently. Shepard stood at the opposite end and leaned against the railing with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Was he married?"
"No. The was a cellist, I think"
"I am sorry. He was a good man"
"He was an idiot"
"Why? For believing?"
"For taking on Loki alone"
"He was doing his job"
Tony scoffed "He was out of his league he should've waited...he should've..."
"Sometimes, there isn't a way out, Tony"
"Right, I've heard that before"
"This is the first time you've lost a soldier"
"We are not soldiers"
"He was"
" I am not marching to Fury's fife"
"Neither am I. He has got the same blood on his hands that Loki. But right now we need to put that behind us and get this done"
"It's personal"
"That's not the point"
"That is the point. That's Loki's point. He hit us where we live. Why?"
"To tear us apart"
"Yeah, divide and conquer is great. He knows he has to beat us to win, right? He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience"
"Right, I caught his act in Stuttgart"
"That was just the previews this is opening night. And Loki, he's a full-tilt diva, right? He wants flowers he wants parades. He wants monuments built to the skies with his name plastered-" Tony paused in realization "Son of a bitch"
"Stark Tower" Shepard said in realization.
"Time to go" Shepard said entering the room.
"Where?" Natasha asked surprised.
"Stark Tower, that's where Loki's making his play. Can you fly one of those jets?"
"I can" Barton said coming forward.
"Suit up" he ordered placing his helmet on.
Walking aboard the jet an agent stopped them "Hey, you guys aren't authorized to be in here"
"Son, just don't" Shepard said icily.
"Stark we are at your three, headed northeast" Natasha reported as the jet approached the city.
"What did you stop for drive thru!? Swing up Park. I'm going to lay them out for you"
Barton and Natasha fired upon the aliens killing a few before hovering above where Thor and Loki were fighting, Thor was thrown aside as they opened fire on Loki. Loki fired an energy blast into their rotor causing Barton to direct the landing as best he could as they crashed into the street. Shepard pulled his rifle off his back leading them out of the jet and onto the chaos of the streets.
"We've got to get up there!" he yelled as a flying Chitauri beast came through the portal "Stark, you seeing this?"
"Seeing. Still working on believing. Where's Banner has he shown up yet?"
"No sign of him so far"
"Keep me posted"
"We have civilians trapped down there" Natasha informed as they took cover behind a taxi.
"They're fish in a barrel down there"
"We got this, go" Natasha assured as the Chitauri moved.
"You sure you got this?"
"Commander, It would be my genuine pleasure" Barton said with a smile as he stood up firing arrows at them with Natasha doing the same with her pistols.
Shepard leapt down off the bridge onto a bus as the bus exploded he jumped to a car which flew due to an explosion pushing off with his feet he flipped away from the explosions landing safely.
"Just like Budapest all over again!" Natasha yelled to Barton.
"You and I remember Budapest very differently"
"It's gonna be at least an hour before they can scramble the national guard" an officer told his partner.
"National guard! Does the army know what's happening here?"
"Do we?"
Shepard landed on the car in front of them "You need men in these buildings. There are civilians inside who are going to be running straight into the line of fire. Get them to the basements or through the subways, keep them off the streets. I need a perimeter as far back as 39th" he ordered the officers.
"Why the hell should I take orders from you?"
An explosion sounded behind them, as Chitauri landed around them. Shepard punched one hard in the face then use his rifle to hit the one behind him in the face before kicking him away, turning around he shot down six of them then unsheathed his sword he cut the arm off of another head-butting it away from him.
"I need men in those buildings, take the civilians down and off the streets. I need a perimeter back behind 39th" he instantly ordered into his radio.
Shepard quickly rejoined Natasha and Barton as Thor landed near them both taking down several Chitauri as they arrived.
"What's the story upstairs?" Shepard asked approaching Thor.
"The power surrounding the Cube is impenetrable"
"Thor's right we have to deal with these guys" Stark said in agreement.
"How do we do this?" Natasha asked concerned.
"As a team" Shepard answered.
"I have unfinished business with Loki" Thor pointed out.
"Ya? Get in line" Barton answered annoyed.
"Enough! Loki is goin to keep the fight focused on us. That's what we need. Without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top. He's going to need us to-" Shepard stopped seeing Banner ride up on a motorcycle.
"So, this all seems horrible" Bruce said stepping off the bike.
"I've seen worse" Natasha pointed out.
"Sorry"
"No, we could actually use a little worse"
"Stark, Banner is here"
"Tell him to suit up, I'm brining the party to you"
Tony came from around the corner with the Chitauri beast behind him.
"I don't see how that's a party" Natasha joked.
"Dr. Banner. Now might be a really good time for you to get angry"
"That's my secret, Commander. I'm always angry" Banner transformed into the Hulk and punched the beast in the snout stopping it in its tracks.
"Hang on!" Tony yelled firing a missile at it blowing it apart.
Shepard opened his staffs shield and covered Natasha from the debris.
"Guys" Natasha nervously took notice of more beasts coming though the portal.
"Call it, Commander" Stark said.
"All right, listen up. Until we can close the portal our priority is containment. Barton, I want you on that roof eyes on everything calling out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter, anything gets more than three blocks out you turn it back or turn it to ash"
"Can you give me a lift?" Barton asked.
"Right, better clench up, Legolas" he answered flying him to the roof.
"Thor, you gotta try to bottleneck that portal, you've got the lightning, light em up. Romanoff, you and me hunker down and keep the fighting here. Hulk"
Hulk turned back expectantly "Smash" Hulk grinned then jumped off fighting Chitauri as he went.
"Stark, you've got a lot of strays on your tail" Barton pointed out.
"I'm just trying to keep them off the streets"
"Well they can't bank worth a damn, find a tight corner"
"I will roger that"
Natasha is taken off her feet by a Chitauri soldier and slams her onto a car hood. She tiresomely takes him down by cutting his throat with his energy rifle's blade. Standing up she slumps back tiredly as several more charge her. Shepard lands in front of her and takes them down with his staff quickly.
"What happened to your guns?"
"Same as yours. Out of ammo"
"Commander, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal.
"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it"
"Well, maybe it's not about guns"
"You wanna get up there your gonna need a ride" he said gesturing to the flying chariots.
"I could use a lift" she said with a smirk backing up for a running start.
"Are you sure about this?" he asks tossing her his grapple gun.
"Yeah, it's gonna be fun" she ran at him using his shield as a boost as he sent her soaring into the air as she latched onto a chariot with the hook and accelerated towards it.
She's as crazy as I am he thought to himself with a smirk.
"Shepard! You hearing me? We have got a missile headed straight for the city" Fury yelled over the earpiece.
"How long?"
"Three minutes at best"
"I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!" Natasha announced.
"Do it!" Stark yelled.
"No!"
"Shepard? These things are still coming!"
"I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put it" he says catching up to the nuke. Shepard accelerates the missile with his thrusters using his staff as a handle to pull it up into the portal.
"Shepard, you there?" Fury asked over the earpiece.
He got nothing in response.
"Come on, Shepard..." she said shifting in place with the scepter in the energy field.
"Close it" Shepard came through with static.
"But you'll die"
"Do it!" came the less clear reply. She closed the portal. Shepard passed out as he fell though just in time plummeting towards the earth.
"Son of a bitch" Barton says smiling.
"Guy's he isn't slowing down" Natasha said nervously.
Thor and Stark quickly fly towards him, Hulk grabs him out of the air crashing and sliding down a building then smashing into a car.
Thor grabbed Barton and Stark grabbed Natasha brining them down to him as Hulk tossed him off his chest. Natasha ran over to him taking his head in her lap she pulls his helmet off.
They all stare in shock, Tony looks on the verge of tears "He...he can't be dead. He can't be" he said dropping to his knees with Thor's hand on his stopped herself from crying even though it was extremely tough. Hulk roared in anger startling Shepard awake.
"What the hell! What happened?" he asked sitting up slightly before falling back in pain. "Please tell me nobody kissed me?"
They all laughed happy that he was alive Hulk grinned. Tony grabbed him into a bone crushing hug.
"Ow...that hurts Stark"
"Shut up you old bastard" he said through sobs. "Alright. Hey, 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 wanna try it" Tony ranted righting himself.
"We're not finished yet" Shepard said looking up at Stark Tower as he was helped to his feet.
"And then shawarma after" Tony said breaking the tension.
Loki crawls onto the stairs, looking like a beat to shit ragdoll. He takes a breathe turning to see the Avengers staring back at him with pissed looks on their faces.
"If it's all the same to you...I'll have that drink"
The Hulk snorts at him.
"Superhero's? In New York? Give me a break!" an old man said interviewed by a news team.
Switching to senator Boynton "These so called heroes have to be held responsible for the destruction done to the city. This was their fight. Where are they now?"
Switching to a waitress "What? That this was somehow their fault? Commander Shepard saved my life. Wherever he is, wherever any of them are, I just wanna say thank you"
"Thor has taken Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard" Fury informed Shepard entering the room with Natasha and Barton in tow.
"I am aware. Thank you for letting Thor take it back where it belongs"
"Out of our reach" Fury replied with a smirk "You did good, Commander. You kept this whole thing from going to shit, and not just in New York but here on the carrier as well"
"It wasn't just me, Fury. That's why I was able to do all this today, because I wasn't fighting alone" he said with a smile on his face.
"Indeed, so what do you plan to do now?"
"Take some time off, I plan on settling down someday you know. Just call me if you need me" he said walking towards the exit "Natasha can I talk to you?"
"Sure, Shepard" she said leading him out of the room.
Barton smirked as they walked out of the room "They totally like each other"
"Really?" Fury asked surprised.
"Oh ya" he said grinning.
"What'd' you want to talk about"
"I saw your interrogation of Loki. I know not all of that was fake, which was why it worked. I don't know what you did in the past but I know that whatever it is, you're a better person today. All the red you say you have in your ledger. It's only there so long as you hold onto it"
"You really think I can wipe out all that read?"
"I don't think, I KNOW. You did good out there today Natasha" he said walking out of the room.
Natasha's heart fluttered at the compliment and the use of her first name, for some reason when he called her that, it made her feel happy. She shook the feeling away walking back onto the bridge.
Love is for children, don't fall for him
That's it for this chapter. Longest chapter yet! Sorry this took me so long to finish, my computer was giving me problems. Hope you liked it!
