Chapter Twelve
"Guys!" Brandt said, jumping over a piece of concrete to meet his team. "Holy shit it's good to see you guys. How'd you find us?"
"Ah, we followed the path of destruction," Benji said, still wide-eyed at the chaos around them. "Figured you had to be at the end of it."
"So you're sayin' this is my fault?" Brandt kidded.
"Well, you've been making a habit of it lately," Ethan put in, and Brandt nodded.
"Guess I have. Look, I don't have time to explain the whole thing. Just pretend they're Serbians-"
Ethan snorted.
"-and we've got to get these people out of here. Get them outta Midtown. Send 'em down toward Times Square or out toward the river, but out of here."
"And where do you plan on being?" Jane asked him. He caught her tone. She was pissed.
"My brother needs backup," Will said. Now that he had Clint back he was afraid to let him too far out of his sight. Plus, Loki was around, and who knew how his little mindgames worked... He looked at Jane. "You're pissed at me for not saying goodbye, aren't you?"
"More than I can say," Jane said.
Her tone sounded...angry. But not just angry...there was something underlying that made Brandt want to open his mouth to apologize-
"Incoming!" Ethan yelled, and the four of them dove for cover behind a covered bus stop that shattered as a Chitauri fighter slammed into it. Brandt saw the shadow of a man fly over the top of them.
"Holy…was that Iron Man?" Benji asked, his mouth agape.
Brandt grinned. "I'll introduce the two of you," he offered. "Good luck," he told Ethan and Jane.
"Good luck?" Jane repeated in disbelief. "That's all you've got?"
Brandt paused. Then he turned with a classic Brandt family grin. "Kick a few through some windows," he offered. "You're good at that."
And then he was gone.
"Serbians?" Jane repeated, looking at Ethan.
Their fearless leader shrugged. "Yep," he said.
Clint was pulling a little boy from a bus when he caught sight of his brother headed back toward them. Brandt laid down cover fire as Clint helped the boy down and told him to run like hell, hoping the kid's mom wasn't listening. A Chitauri fighter was on him. Clint slammed an elbow into the alien's solar plexus, whipped out an arrow, and fired it close range into the Chitauri's eye. Just as quickly, he yanked another one from his quiver, turned, and fired at one closing in on Natasha.
He ripped the arrow from the eye socket, jumped onto the roof of a cab and fired three more arrows, impaling the ribs where the hearts would be. He didn't know if they had them, and he didn't care. His only focus was killing as many of the bastards as possible, and keeping his family safe-
The thought brought him up short. Family. Will was, of course…but no, Natasha was too. He looked down. Nat was in trouble. He fired two arrows, then he took a dive forward and slid across the street, aiming at one that was coming at her from behind. I'll give that one some thought…later.
From behind an overturned Acura, Brandt slammed another clip into his M1 and laid down several rounds, knocking four of the warriors on their asses. A blur of red and blue whipped by him, and he saw that Steve was back to help. Cap was badass, throwing the shield like a Frisbee and taking out several of the Chitauri at once.
But more were coming.
He heard it before he saw it, and whipped around, putting the barrel of the M1 into the Chitauri that had managed to sneak up on him and blew it backwards, riddling it full of holes. He turned around. Another alien was facing him with a glowing staff not unlike Loki's. It fired, and Brandt dove behind a chunk of the concrete bridge. Rock sprayed him as he popped up and laid a row of fire. The Chitauri staggered, then fell forward, its staff clanging to the ground.
A bright flash knocked Brandt off his feet and into a car. Clint was there in an instant. "You okay, little brother?"
"Don't call me little," Brandt growled automatically. "Yeah, I'm good." Except for the broken ribs...
"Yeah," Clint said, surveying the carnage. "Yeah, I can see that."
Thor had arrived. Brandt noticed the god was holding a hand to his side. But whatever it was didn't seem to be bothering him too badly. "Greetings," he managed to say. "How goes the fight?"
"If the tide doesn't change soon, we're screwed," Brandt told him. "But that lightning bit helped."
The warrior nodded solemnly. "I shall continue doing all I can."
"You okay?" Brandt asked.
Thor considered the question. "No," he admitted. "But it will not affect my prowess in battle," he said, straightening up.
Brandt nodded. "That's the Thor we need on our side."
Thor clapped him on the shoulder, knocking Brandt forward. Brandt caught himself with his other leg. "Then that is the Thor you shall have, Agent Brandt."
"What the hell is that?" Natasha asked. Clint heard it too…a low buzzing sound. "Motorcycle engine," Clint guessed.
It got louder, and Clint turned around to see Dr. Bruce Banner, wearing a pair of pants that were a size too large, on a motorcycle that looked like it belonged in the Museum of Natural History. The doctor climbed off the bike and looked at Natasha, Brandt, Steve and Clint. "Well," he drawled. "This all seems…horrible."
"I've seen worse," Natasha said slowly, her eyes on Banner at all times.
"Nice to see ya again, Doc," Brandt hailed his friend. Bruce gave him half a smile. He looked over at Natasha. "Yeah...sorry about that..." he told her.
"No, it's okay," Natasha said, glancing over at Clint. "We could use a little...worse."
Steve said, "We got him."
In his ear, Brandt heard Tony Stark from somewhere above them. "Banner? Tell him to suit up. I'm bringin' the party to you."
Brandt and Clint exchanged looks. "Party?" Clint said.
There was a dull roar in the air around them that echoed down the buildings. A giant shadow blocked the sun, and suddenly, Iron Man came zipping around the corner, followed by a… "What is that thing?" Brandt asked.
"I don't see how that's a party," Natasha gaped.
Steve looked at Bruce. "Doctor….now would be a good time for you to get angry," he told him.
"Is this a good idea?" Brandt queried. Banner looked at him. "Hey, no offense, but it didn't end so well last time."
Bruce looked at Steve. "That's my secret, Cap," he told him. He looked over at Brandt and nodded. Then he faced the Leviathan. "I'm always angry…"
The Hulk ripped from Bruce's small frame, and threw a bodybuilder on steroids fist into the Leviathan's nose. The great metal beast folded like an accordion over the Avengers' heads. Everyone ducked for cover.
"Ethan, man, are you seeing this?" Benji asked, as the Hulk roared and the three agents took cover under an overhang as the metal flying worm (Jane's description) collapsed over their heads.
"I can see it," Ethan replied. "That doesn't mean I believe what I see."
"My thoughts exactly," Jane said. She used a piece of rebar and broke the windshield of a Yellow Cab so that the occupants could climb out. "Go," she told them. "Don't stop, don't stare, just run."
The cab driver ignored her, and let loose a string of curses in Slovak as he looked up in time to see the Leviathan collapse over the top of them. "Move your ass," Jane told him in the same language.
"You seen Brandt?" Ethan asked, dropping the clip from his gun and slapping in another.
"Last I saw he was putting many, many holes into the creepy aliens," Benji said.
"Benji!" Jane's voice called a warning, and the tech ducked as a flash of blue light flew over his head and through the windows of the shopping complex they were in front of. Jane raised her gun and emptied a clip into the Chitauri. He dropped and Jane let her clip drop and slammed in another.
"Come on, guys," Ethan said. "Let's keep moving."
"Guys," Benji said, looking at Ethan and Jane. "Do you realize what we are right now?"
Jane looked at him. "Slightly terrified, beyond confused, and dying for a drink?" she asked him.
"No," Benji said. "We're totally superheroes."
"What are you talking about?" Ethan asked.
"Think about it," Benji said with a happy grin. "We are rescuing people and fighting alongside superheroes-real ones, with capes and superpowers and everything-against an invading alien army."
"Doesn't that make us sidekicks?" Ethan asked, helping an elderly couple take cover behind a giant planter as something flew over his head. He popped a couple of shots at it, nicked the flying contraption's engine, and sent it spiraling into a phone booth.
"They're still superheroes," Benji pointed out. Ethan couldn't argue with that.
"Check this out," Jane said, and even she was in awe.
The three of them turned as Iron Man landed with a metallic clank inbetween Brandt's brother and a beautiful redheaded woman that reminded Ethan of Jane, a little. Next to Clint, a great green beast roared at the sky as Clint notched an arrow and aimed it skyward, following anything that moved.
A Chitauri sent a blast of blue spiraling their way. The three IMF agents dove out of the way. Ethan heard the repeat of a gun, and something then exploded off to his left.
"Quit staring," Brandt chided them with a cheeky smile. "That'll get ya killed."
"You call it, Cap," Tony told Steve as he stood next to him.
Clint looked over at his childhood hero. Captain America, the war hero, had arrived. He could practically see the gears turning as he tactically planned their strategy. He'd seen that look before, hell, he'd used it himself. This was the look of someone totally in their element, doing what they did best. Nat said he got the same look when he was up on a building looking down over a target.
"Hawkeye," Steve turned to Clint. Clint stood up a little straighter. This was Captain America, after all. "I need you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you've got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or turn it to ash."
Clint glanced up. That roof was about 30 stories high. He studied it. It would give him an excellent vantage point over midtown Manhattan. He turned to Tony. "Wanna give me a lift?" he asked.
He was sure inside the helmet Stark was rolling his eyes. He wasn't a damn airline. "Right," he heard Tony sigh. "Better clench up, Legolas." He fired his thrusters and grabbed the back of Clint's vest before rocketing into the air.
"Jesus Christ!" Clint swore as Tony set him on the ledge. It felt like he'd just been shot from an ejector seat. If he was shorter after this, he was taking it out of Tony's ass.
"Thanks for choosing Avenger Air," Tony told him. "And for not throwing up on my shoes."
"You're welcome," Clint said dryly.
Clint waited until Tony had rocketed around a corner before throwing up on the rooftop. He took a couple breaths...and then went to work. He punched the code for his regular arrows and felt the cylinder vibrate on his back as the heads screwed into place. "Legolas, my ass," he muttered as he took aim at a passing Chitauri fighter and dropped him with a shot that severed its spinal cord at the neck.
"Ah," he said. "Hey Will, got a little tip for you. Aim for the base of the neck."
Down on the ground, Brandt nodded. "Gotcha." He looked at Ethan, Jane & Benji. "OK," he said. "Here's the plan. Take 'em out with head shots or aim for the base of the neck, sever the spinal cord." He looked at Benji. "Benj, you need to get to the top of Stark Tower and see if you can shut down that thing on top of it."
Benji looked at him. "You're serious?" He pointed up at the roof. "Seriously?"
"Deadly," Brandt responded. "It's okay, I'll go with you. You're a smart guy and it's probably got some kind of computer trigger. Nobody knows them better than you. Ethan and Jane, Cap and Natasha are gonna need help keeping the fight here." He grinned. "Show 'em what superspies can do."
"When did you become our fearless leader?" Jane asked him.
"I'm okay with this," Ethan responded. He looked at his teammate with a smile. "His plans have been pretty good as of late."
"The last one ended with him in the hospital," Jane countered.
"Guys, I'm still here," Brandt said. "Just don't stop shootin.!" He grabbed Benji's arm. "Ready, buddy?"
"No," Benji replied as Brandt dragged him away. "Clint, do me a favor, man, don't let anything shoot me," he told his brother as he and Benji started to weave their way through the destruction.
"I'm a little busy," Clint shot back from the roof. "I don't have time to babysit you."
"We're headed for Stark Tower," Brandt said. "Just keep the path clear."
Up on his roof, Clint rolled his eyes. "Yes, Dad," he said. He glanced four blocks away and caught sight of Iron Man. "Stark, you've got a lot of 'em on your tail," he told him.
"Yeah, noticed," he heard Tony mutter in his ear.
"Well, they can't bank worth a damn," Clint told him with a smirk. He'd been watching. Those flying machines couldn't corner for anything. An engine was revving behind him, and he aimed his bow backwards and fired an arrow as he watched Stark come flying down the street in front of him. Behind him, he heard a satisfying explosion.
He looked down. Shit, he thought, and took aim.
Four Chitauri came pouring out of an office building just as Brandt and Benji turned the corner. Brandt swore, this time in Russian. "Got your gun, Benji?" he asked his friend.
"Yeah," he heard Benji say mutely behind him.
"Hey." Brandt looked at him, putting his hands on his friends's shoulders. "Remember Mumbai?" he asked. Benji nodded. "Just like that." Then Brandt fired at something over Benji's head as Benji took aim and mowed down a Chitauri like it was a paper target.
Another alien was coming up behind Brandt, and Benji sighted it before a black arrow with black feathers lodged itself in the Chitauri's eye. Benji's jaw dropped. "Ah…Will?" he asked.
"Yeah?" Brandt asked, throwing an elbow into a Chitauri's neck, grabbing its spear and shoving it through its ribcage.
"How far are we from your brother right now?"
Brandt thought about it. "Mmm….nine hundred yards?" He frowned. "Well, and that's before the thirty stories. I was never good at math, that's Clint's job."
"Twenty-seven hundred feet…plus thirty stories…" Benji muttered as he started running again. "With an arrow. Wow."
"Without a scope," Clint added in Brandt's ear, knowing his brother's teammate couldn't hear him.
"Show off," Brandt mumbled, but he knew his brother would hear it. In his ears, he heard Clint laughing.
