Chapter 11: War

Ciara had to admit, goading the Freedom Force into a fight might have been a mistake.

She came to this conclusion as she flew through the air, having ricocheted off the Blob's stomach as he charged at her. She landed heavily in the debris of a damaged building, crying out as a jagged brick dug into her leg and tore through the fabric of her suit. Her leg immediately sang with pain, spreading up from her calf.

"Not so tough now, huh Mercs?" Toad laughed as he hopped up onto a slab of concrete. Ciara glared up at him through watery eyes, getting to her feet and trying to ignore the pain in her leg. Toad's tongue burst from his mouth, stretching out several feet, and wrapped around Ciara's wrist when she lifted her arms instinctively to shield herself. A shiver of repulsion ran through her, as she looked down at the slimy, slobbery tongue pulling at her.

"Wart boy," she looked up as he pulled her towards him and the others. "I've warned you about putting your slimy self near me," Ciara hissed, and started to spin. Toad shrieked, forced to let go, and slammed into a wall.

"Toad!" Blob shouted as the lanky young man sank to the ground, groaning as blood ran from his head. The winds battered them all as Ciara continued to spin. "Mercury!" the massive blond roared over the winds, furious. The ground shook, but this time from his footsteps as he thundered towards the spinning speedster.

"You should think with your head for once, big guy," at the last second, Ciara moved, balanced in a crouch on his shoulder, before leaping off. Blob slammed into the wall, causing it to crumble, and the structure started to collapse around him. "Then again, she smirked to herself as she stepped away. "There were really only two thinkers in the Brotherhood," Ciara stated as Blob groaned under the wreckage.

"Please tell me that you're not referring to Maximoff," she stopped at Pyro's cackle. "That boy definitely didn't inherit his father's-" the Pyrokinetic mutant was cut off as Ciara's fist collided with his fist. The punch was hard enough to crack his helmet, and the man collapsed in a heap.

"Why is everyone dumb enough to mention that name?" Ciara hissed as she clutched her hand, which sang with pain.

"Because he makes you angry. And an angry speedster, ain't smart," she turned to Avalanche, her silver brow deepening. "Still have feelings for him after what all this time? After what he did to us, to you?" he taunted, and Ciara's rage built, clouding her mind and making her forget about the pain in her leg.

"Shut your mouth!" she snarled, running at him. Too angry, she couldn't react as Toad leapt over Avalanche's head. He spat goo at her face, which splattered against her face. She cried out, forced to stop as it covered her goggles and blinded her, and Avalanche tacked her. They crashed to the ground, struggling as Ciara fought back.

"Give it up Ciara," he growled as he grabbed her wrists, pinning her to the ground. His nose gushed blood freely, stinging from the hit she'd somehow landed. "You're done," he told her as she glared, having managed to uncover her eyes.

Ciara breathed heavily, calming down as the fearful feeling returned, making her skin feel like it was stinging where Lance was holding her. Tears stung at her eyes as she berated herself, realising just how easily they had manipulated her. The nausea caused by the shackle-like grip on her wrists cleared her head of her previous anger, and after a moment, she laughed.

"Yo, I hate when she laughs like that," Toad complained, a hand to the bloody wound on the side of his head. "It ain't ever good for us," he grumbled. Lance scowled, knowing his team-mate was right.

"Well, you losers have two choices," Ciara smirked, hoping her bravado was believable. She could barely focus past his grip on her wrists, and beneath the splattered goo stuck to her face, her skin was clammy and paler than usual. "Either try and take me in, or save yourselves and the people around here from them," Ciara turned her head, and they followed. Lance swore as Chitauri landed nearby, their weapons raised.

"You gotta be kidding," Toad whined, backing away. Lance growled, looking back down at Ciara, who smirked at him. He could feel her pulse pounding, and had only grown while he had her in his grasp. He knew she wasn't as confident as she seemed, but as to why, he wasn't sure. She already knew he had no choice.

"Shit," he released her, and got to his feet, raising his hands as the weapons the aliens held began to glow. The ground began to shake and burst up around them, and the Chitauri stumbled, falling. Bright lights shot from their weapons and flew into the air, some hitting others that flew by.

"You're lucky Wart Boy," Ciara got to her feet and cracked her neck. "Under lesser circumstances, I might have killed you myself for getting this crap on me. These guys might just do it for me," she stated idly as she cleaned her goggles on her clothes, and returned them to her face. As soon as she confirmed she could see through them, she was moving, taking out the Chitauri around. The ground rumbled again, and Blob burst from the wreckage, yelling as he ran at the attacking monsters.

Leaping off a piece of the pavement that broke and jerked up, Ciara landed on a Chitauri and grabbed its weapon as it collapsed. Using it, Ciara helped to clear them out; shooting reinforcements out of the sky.

"You see what we can do with your help? You really should have joined us when you had the chance, Ciara," Lance commented as he gestured for people nearby to run. She snorted.

"I would rather visit that Captain America exhibit every day for the rest of my undoubtedly short life," she replied, slamming the weapon against the ground and making it smoke and spark dangerously. "You guys sold yourselves out. Freedom," she scoffed.

"You're just being stubborn yo," Toad commented as he landed, having used his weight to collapse one of the Chitauri.

"Arrogant is more like it," Pyro grumbled, a hand to his swollen jaw as he got to his feet. "Seems to be a common trait for you speedsters," he glared at her, and Ciara glared back.

"Care to have the other side of your face match that nice bruise?" she snarled at him, tossing the weapon aside.

"Focus on clearing these things!" Lance snapped. Pyro rolled his eyes and turned, manipulating the fire pouring from the gloves he wore. The Chituari screeched in pain as the flames engulfed them, and Ciara turned away, disgusted as he cackled.

"You're not my leader anymore Lance," she told him, walking away.

"Thank god for that," he muttered in response, and heard her give a quiet laugh before speeding off. "Man, they're gonna kill us for this," he complained.

Ciara stopped a few miles away from where they were fighting, in a quiet part that had been cleared out by Iron Man not long before. She took a breath, and looked down at her leg, which was still humming with pain. She found a long but thankfully shallow gash along her calf, with blood already drying around the edges.

She then looked up at the hole in the sky, where more Chitauri still came through, and sighed, shaking her head. Okay, she had to admit, this was a little more than she had initially expected. A grin returned to her face. But it was still the most excitement she'd felt in a long time.

Nobody could remember how long the fighting had been going on for, but the Chitauri were still coming. Even Ciara had stopped, her breathing unsteady as she tossed a broken weapon aside. Her outfit was torn and a little scorched from close calls, with her cloak unscathed. Despite starting to grow tired, she was still grinning, watching as Iron Man shot overhead, followed by more Chitauri.

Roars echoed through the city as Hulk leapt from building to building, taking out any of the creatures in his path, and thunder boomed overhead occasionally as lightning flashed. Ciara cracked her neck, watching as the battle raged on around them, showing no signs of stopping as the Chitauri continued to come. Thor was working to cut off any that came through the portal, but some slipped by, avoiding his attacks.

"This was definitely the fun I was missing," Ciara chuckled, enjoying the rush of adrenaline that continued to flood her body. As she looked around, her breathing settled, and she pushed off the wall she had been leaning against. A scream echoed through the air, earning her attention, and her brow furrowed. "I thought everyone had been evacuated from here..." she murmured, and darted in the direction of the noise.

She stopped, body frozen as she saw Penelope, the girl who had sneaked up on her, kneeling beside the fallen leader of task force who had been hunting her for so long. Blood was oozing from a deep burn in his chest, and his breathing was ragged.

"I can't hold them off here Tournes!" the man with them shouted as he emptied another clip into the Chitauri trying to reach them.

"I am not leaving him," Penelope snarled back, unusually aggressive as she tried to stop the bleeding. More Chitauri leapt down from their ships, but Penelope didn't move as tears stung her eyes. Marcus was unconscious, barely breathing after knocking her and Collins out of the way of a blast of destructive power. A gust of wind kicked up, and the Chitauri suddenly shrieked.

"The hell?!" the shocked cry from her colleague finally made Penelope look up, and through her tears she saw Ciara take out the Chitauri at a pace they couldn't keep up with. She stopped when she grabbed one of their weapons, slamming it across the head of one, before blasting another. She didn't say a word, finally looking up at Penelope, who was still by Marcus as Collins stared at her. She cocked her head, staring at Penelope as tears ran down the woman's face.

To see someone so upset over another injured in the battle felt so foreign to Ciara. The strange feeling had stirred up in her stomach again, and she was reminded of Coulson, bleeding out by Loki's cell, and she finally realised what the strange sensation was. Guilt.

"Dammit..." Ciara muttered, tossing the weapon aside.

"You..." hearing Ciara's voice, Penelope finally snapped back to reality, and her fury grew. "This is your fault!" she screamed, her voice amplifying and making Ciara flinch, forced to put her hands to her ears. "You helped bring these monsters here! You'll pay for it!" Ciara struggled to focus as the deafening volume forced her down on one knee.

"Get revenge later!" Penelope stopped at the shout that reached her sensitive ears. Ciara looked up, blood leaking from her ear. "You lot are better off focusing on helping people first," she said, getting back to her feet as her ears sang with pain. Penelope's face scrunched back up in a furious scowl, and she opened her mouth to continue her bombardment.

"She's right," she stopped as Marcus spoke weakly. She hadn't even realised he was awake. "Don't cry over me kid...you need to keep...yourself alive...and...and help others," he managed to say, his eyes still closed.

"I will," Penelope whispered.

"Good," Marcus chuckled. "Proud of you kid," he let out another weezing breath, before his chest stilled. A sob forced its way from Penelope's chest, and the tears started anew. Ciara looked away, willing the guilt in her stomach to go away, before running off, trying to escape the noise of Penelope's cries.

"You what?!" Lance roared into his com link, causing another vibration to run through the earth.

"Hey, watch it!" Blob snapped at him as he was knocked off balance, landing on a Chitauri unfortunate enough to be unable to dodge.

"Fine, we're on our way," Lance ended the call, and turned back to the fight as Pyro cackled, manipulating pillars of fire to keep the Chitauri at bay. "We're moving out, get ready to leave!" he ordered the rest of the team.

"You what?" the Australian Pyrokinetic turned to him, scowling. "I'm still having fun!" he complained.

"You won't be once the Nuke gets here!" Lance snapped at him, and his scowl lightened.

"Uh, what?" Toad demanded as he landed nearby.

"Damn, SHIELD is that desperate huh?" they looked up at Ciara as she leaned against a wall. "Launching a nuclear missile into the city to take out these things won't work though," she shrugged as Lance turned to her completely. "So you guys are just giving up and leaving?" she smirked, her face coated in dirt. Sweat trails were visible through the dirt, and her breathing was uneven, making Lance's brow furrow. She was pushing herself. He hadn't seen that in a long time.

"Looks like you're the one who's ready to give up," he accused.

"Please. Still more Chitauri left around here to fight, I'm not giving up just yet," Ciara snorted. "Are you really going to? There's still people here who need help," she smirked, before looking up as more Chitauri descended on them. Lance growled as the others watched him, waiting for his decision.

"You really know how to piss me off Mercury," he said. "You guys have a choice," Lance turned to the rest of his team. "Leave now and avoid the nuke, or keep fighting," he told them. Pyro let out a cackle, and turned. Flames burst from the jets attached to his gloves, torching the Chitauri around him. "I guess that answers that," Lance rolled his eyes.

"Hell, if this gets Ciara off our case, I'm all for it," Toad nodded, hopping off.

"You and me both," Blob charged after him.

"Aww, I'm motivating you guys," Ciara laughed, putting a hand to her chest as if touched. "I'm honored," she taunted.

"Either shove off, or shut up," Lance snapped at her, using his powers to crack open a hole in the ground beneath more of the Chitauri. They shrieked as they plummeted to their deaths, and with another laugh, Ciara started to run again, ramming into the others that were starting to swam, realising that they were a threat.

They continued to come, starting to focus their attacks on either the mutants, or the Avengers, attacking in bigger and bigger droves. Toad yelped as he was tossed aside, and even Blob was straining to toss back the creatures that crawled all over him. Pyro's flames were getting smaller and smaller, and Avalanche's quakes were weakening as well, some not even bringing down the damaged buildings around them.

"There's just no end to these buggers," Pyro complained as his hands fell to his sides. His muscles were straining from overuse of his powers, and his face still hummed with pain from Ciara's punch.

"There won't be till the portal closes," Ciara warned, still grinning as sweat ran down her face. She couldn't remember the last time she had pushed herself so hard. It was somewhat liberating. Hearing a low rumble, they looked up to see Iron Man fly over their heads, holding onto something. "Is that...?" she started with a laugh of disbelief.

"What the hell is Stark doing?" Avalanche stared up, and let out a cry of pain as a blast of energy clipped his leg, the force knocking him onto his hands and knees. "Shit!" he snarled at the pain, which burned through his leg as the Chitauri continued advancing. They were rammed out of the way, and Ciara pulled Lance back to lean against a wall.

"Come on pebbles, I thought you were better than that," she smirked, before she was gone in another gust of wind.

"I dunno how much longer we can keep this up," Toad had blood running down his arm as he clutched at it. "They just keep coming...I think we shoulda gone with the first option and bailed," he complained.

"Do you ever stop whining?" Ciara asked him as she suddenly stood beside him.

"Only when you're not around," Toad bit back, and was surprised when Ciara laughed.

"Not bad," she allowed, and tossed him the weapon in her hands. "Let's see if you're smart enough to work that," she said as she walked by him.

"Of course it takes the end of the world for you to lighten up," he muttered.

"Do not make me use one on you, wart boy," Ciara warned.

"That's more like it," Toad said as he fiddled with the weapon, and shrieked when it suddenly went off, exploding on contact with one of the Chitauri.

"Nice shot," Pyro laughed, but it quickly faded as slowly but surely, the group were overwhelmed.

"I don't think we're gonna make it out of this one," Avalanche admitted as Ciara skidded to a stop near him. She breathed even more heavily, her muscles aching from overuse.

"Probably not," Ciara allowed. "But it's been fun," she told him. He snorted, not looking at her.

"Yeah it has," he admitted. Suddenly the Chitauri all jerked, screeching, before dropping dead where they stood. Ciara tilted her head, before letting out a cry as a sharp pain stabbed through her head, knocking her to her knees. The pressure from before built up, and as she looked up, the light flowing into the sky faded, and the portal shut. A figure fell from it, and as Ciara's vision cleared again, she realised who it was.

"Stark..." she muttered, before Hulk leapt through the air to catch him. A hand still to her head, Ciara looked around at the destruction around them. "They must have been connected mentally," she realised.

"And when the nuke hit whatever was on the other side of the portal, it wiped them all out," Lance caught on as well. He then glanced to Toad, and nodded. Ciara glanced down idly when the purple tongue wrapped around her arm.

"What did I tell you about that?" Ciara asked as he pulled at her.

"You might have helped us out there, but you're still a fugitive," Lance was back on his feet, supported by an exhausted Pyro. "And we're under orders to take you in," he smirked. Ciara looked from the tongue restraining her, to Lance, and then to Blob as he approached to grab her.

"Yeah...not happening," Ciara started to spin, ignoring her aching muscles. Toad screamed as he was tossed into Blob, and the winds knocked them all backwards. Lance strained against the winds, not having expected as much of a fight from the exhausted speedster. The winds finally died down, and when they looked up, she was gone.

"I'm telling you now, I'm not doing that again," Toad warned with a tired groan. Lance sighed.

"Well, at least that'll get the bosses off our case for now," he shrugged.

Ciara stood on the balcony of Stark Tower, looking out at the destruction all around the city. The Chitauri, not to mention the battle to stop them, had devastated the city. Few seemed to have gone without damage, as even Stark Tower had taken a beaten. Ciara's blue eyes landed on one such unharmed building in the distance, with a beautiful stained glass window, and she smiled slightly, shaking her head.

"How obvious," she murmured, before turning and walking back in. "Oof, looks like you had fun with the real big guy," Ciara commented, hands behind her back as she approached Loki, lying in a hole cracked through the ground.

"Must you always be here? You really are like a fly asking to be swatted," Loki glared up at her, covered in scratches and bruises. She crouched beside him, and he took in her own battered features. She was exhausted. "What do you want, girl?" he asked, looking away to glare at a ceiling.

"To thank you," his brow furrowed, and he found himself looking at her again. "This was a hell of a lot of fun," Ciara admitted, watching him with an entertained smile. Her eyes shone, despite her exhaustion, and she seemed happier than he'd seen in the short time he'd been forced to put up with her. "And hey, now you don't have to put up with me anymore, so in a way, we both win," she laughed, and got to her feet as Loki stared at her, admitting to himself that she utterly baffled him. "Well, goodbye Loki," Ciara winked, and with a casual wave, she was gone in a gust of wind. The God let out a sigh, staring up at the ceiling.

Despite the destruction around the city, there was an air of victory around the newly dubbed "Avengers", who had gathered together the day after the battle. Cleaned up with their injuries tended to, they all talked and chattered together, before it faded as Thor arrived with a truck from SHIELD, and agents helped escort Loki out. Nearby, Penelope stood with Bianchi, her arms folded as she scanned the area.

"You sure she'll be here?" Bianchi asked gently. She wanted to ask if Penelope was okay to continue working on the taskforce to track down Ciara, but the determined look in the young woman's eyes told her that it was pointless to try and have her take some time to herself, even after such an event had taken place. Despite being the newest to the team, she'd been hit hardest by Marcus' death, and was even more determined to take down Ciara.

"She's driven by the adrenaline rush of causing trouble and getting away with it. She'll be here," Penelope said quietly.

"True," Bianchi agreed. "Plus that psycho is here, and from what experience tells me..." she continued as she watched Loki glaring at Thor. Her own brow furrowed, not liking that he was simply being taken away after all the damage he'd done. All the people he'd killed. She took a deep breath. "Crazies love to gather," she finished. Penelope nodded, neither noticing Ciara in the shadows of a truck nearby, the hood of her cloak up.

Ciara's body hurt from so much activity, and she'd barely slept even after running herself ragged. After a long shower, she'd felt a little better, and couldn't resist spying on the farewell. Leaning against the truck, she could feel the flow of energy through her body from the cloak that kept her hidden from everyone.

At least, almost everyone. Loki had immediately spotted her. His eyes narrowed very slightly, feeling the hum of magic as well. It didn't seem like anyone else could, as nobody reacted to the speedster who was wanted for assisting him. Not that he could say anything, considering the muzzle they'd slapped on him. He noticed, as well, when her eyes were drawn to the Tesseract; her sharp gaze fixated on it. She'd mentioned something about being drawn to it before, and there was no doubt of that now.

Ciara suddenly blinked, and shook her head. Fighting the allure of the beautiful blue light, she looked back up at Loki, and brought a smirk back to her face. She waved, and he rolled his eyes, turning his own attention back to the Tesseract and ignoring everyone else there. Thor turned his attention back to him, having said his goodbyes, and turned the device that carried the Tesseract.

Pain suddenly shot through Ciara's head again, as blue light flooded from the Tesseract. She put a hand to her head, feeling the pressure starting to build, and her breath caught as she saw the blue lights starting to swirl around her hand.

"What the hell is going on?" the pain had faded, but the pressure was still there, building as the blue lights spread up her hand and around her arm. She looked up, seeing as the lights engulfed Thor and Loki, just before it did the same to her, and as the two vanished, she did too, completely unseen by anyone else.

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