Here's the next (rather short) chapter! Thanks for the reviews and enjoy- the battle is almost over. Next chapter should be the end of the battle, and there's only about 5 more chapters after that.
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Hulk smashed two Chitauri into the roof and kicked several more away. Mini-Hulk was right behind him, following his actions to a T.
Brenda tensed as a blast of energy hit her shoulder. She turned, along with Hulk, to stare as a full battalion opened fire on them.
Hulk threw his arms out, shielding Mini-Hulk as the world exploded in flames. Brenda whimpered, which only seemed to enrage Hulk more, as he roared defiantly and threw a Chitauri corpse at his comrades.
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Tasha slowly shoved herself to her feet, wincing in pain. She held out a hand to Tony, who took it and pulled himself up as well, killing several more Chitauri as they tried to kill the two Starks.
"Stark, you hear me?" Nick Fury said quite suddenly. Tasha started and missed her shot, cursing as it exploded a car.
The next words sent a shiver down their backs.
"You have a missile- headed straight for the city!"
Tony groaned and said, "How long?!" A Chitauri brought him to his knees as the butt of their gun crashed into his helmet.
"Three minutes! Max! With a payload to wipe out midtown!"
"Jarvis, put everything we've got into the thrusters!" Tony ordered, sounding exhausted.
"I just did," Jarvis reported.
Tasha kicked off the ground and shook off several Chitauri that were trying to catch onto her suit. Tony did the same and together they blasted into the air.
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Thor grabbed his hammer out of the air as Lena summoned more lightning to her fists. Steve caught his shield and Stephanie sprinted forward and blocked a sneaky Chitauri who thought it could get the jump on Steve.
Thor knocked a spear out of the way and used Mjolnir to throw the Chitauri away. Lena swept in and killed some of the others quickly.
Steve and Stephanie were fighting side by side, matching each other as best they could. Steve let his guard down for a split second and was shot in the side. He cried out in pain and fell like his feet were swept out from under him.
"DAD!" Stephanie shouted, realizing too late that everyone could hear her as she fell to her knees next to Steve. "Are you ok?!"
"'Dad'? Who called who 'dad'?" Tasha asked suspiciously.
"Stephanie," Lena said. "Steve got shot."
"Blackmail!"
"No, it isn't. Dad, talk to me," she said, helping him sit up, fear clouding her blue eyes.
"I'm alright, Stephanie," Steve said wearily. He clutched his side and hissed. "For the most part."
Thor came over and extended a hand. Stephanie shoved herself to her feet as Steve took the hand and pulled himself to his feet. The Asgardian barely moved, testament to his other-worldly strength.
"You ready for another bout?" Thor asked.
Steve was quiet for a moment, before saying, "What, you getting sleepy?"
Mjolnir returned to Thor as Stephanie wrapped an arm around her foster-father's waist. Lena grinned at her friend and examined her hands, sparking with power.
"I can close it!"
Stephanie felt her heart rate spike.
"Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!"
It was Natasha. She could hear Nathan in the background, helping Dr. Selvig to his feet.
"Do it!" Steve shouted, hand flying to his ear.
"No, wait!" Tasha yelled frantically. "Hold off!"
"Stark, these things are still coming," Steve said tensely.
"I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute."
Dead silence fell over the comm waves. Stephanie looked around her, noting Steve and Thor's shocked and slightly fearful faces, and at Lena's determined one.
"And I know just where to put it."
There were a few tense sentences exchanged. Tasha sped overhead, as Tony shot by, with the missile pressed tightly to the back of his suit.
"Tasha Stark. You will NOT go into that portal, do you understand me?" she said suddenly. "Not under any circumstances."
"Steph, I can't just sit by while Tony goes in," Tasha said tersely.
"If you go in, you make sure you come out. You and your crazy original. Understood?"
"I am not crazy!" Tony protested, but they ignored him.
"Understood."
"God bless you both," she whispered, as Tasha used all of her thrusters to help kick the missile into an upright position.
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Tony shot upwards, focusing on getting the missile through the portal. "Right a bit," he said quickly, and Tasha used her thrusters to center them.
"Sir, shall I try Miss Potts?" Jarvis' mechanical voice asked.
He paused, swallowed. "You can try."
Then they were at the blue-tinged hole and shooting through it. Tasha immediately felt the weight of the gravity-less space press into her. She gasped slightly and loosened her grip.
"Let go!" Tony shouted, and together they released the missile.
It flew steady and true on its path to the Chitauri mothership, as they watched fearfully. There was silence in space, but they could feel the "whumph" run through them as it hit- and exploded.
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Those still on the ground stared up at the portal. Unlike the rest of the world, they didn't stand up and cheer. They were silent.
"Close it," Steve said heavily.
Natasha complied, and Nathan hurried forward to help her push the scepter into the cube. He sighed heavily as the blue stream vanished and the portal began closing.
"Come on, Tash, Stark," Claire whispered.
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The two Starks sighed in relief as the mothership exploded. Tony tilted his head to Tasha, who was finding it hard to breathe, and reached out a metal arm. He pulled her to his chest and wrapped both arms tightly around her, for some reason he couldn't explain.
Tasha's eyes flickered closed, and her suit lights turned off suddenly. Tony sighed heavily and stared over her head at the flickering stars, as his suit lights turned off. The last things he saw were the stars, and Pepper's face.
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