CHAPTER 8: LOKI AND TONY HAVE A WHO'S BETTER COMPETITION

Fury rushed into the chamber and then paused above Coulson, looking at him lying there. When he first heard it, he didn't want to believe it. Coulson, the man he had been through so much with. The man he considered his protégé. The one he trusted above all others. And he was lying there, bleeding out in front of him. He kneeled down next to him.

"Sorry boss," Coulson said to him, eyes unfocused. "The god rabbited."

Fury pulled the weapon out of Coulson's hands, setting it aside. "Just stay awake," he ordered. He then grabbed Coulson's chin and held it up so he could look Coulson right in the face. "Eyes on me."

Coulson breathed out roughly. "No, I'm clocking out here."

Fury shook his head firmly. "Not an option."

Coulson looked at him sadly. "It's okay, boss," he said softly. "This was never gonna work if they didn't have something to…" he paused there, his breathing becoming more ragged. He took one more breath and then went still, eyes unseeing.

Fury stared for a moment, clenching his teeth as waves of anger and grief washed over him. It was something he couldn't comprehend. Even looking right at him, right at his body, he couldn't comprehend that his best friend was dead. He kept waiting for Coulson's eyes to open, to breathe out again. But he never did. Fury had lost so many people, seen so many die over the years. But he never imagined that Coulson would. The eternal optimist, the fanboy. To him, the heart of S.H.I.E.L.D.

And now he was gone.

Fury held his head down, allowing himself another moment to deal with it, to grieve, before he looked up and saw a medical team approaching. He stood up and stepped out of the way listlessly, feeling empty all of a sudden. He felt his back hit the railing, placing his hands there to support himself. He didn't really know what to do now. Moving forward felt wrong somehow and yet that was what he was supposed to do, what he had to do. He had to get back to work.

In a minute. He just needed another minute.

Hill was getting her head wound patched up when Fury's voice came over the comm. "Agent Coulson is down." She felt her insides go cold at the news, holding her hand up to the comm to hear better while pushing the medic away.

"A medical team is on its way to your location," an agent said over the line.

Natasha stood staring at nothing, not looking at where Barton's unconscious body was dragged off by two agents, just listening and hoping that there was still a glimmer of hope that her friend was alive, that he could pull through.

"They're here," Fury said softly and that hope died. "They called it."

Tony breathed in and out, not sure how to process the news, not sure what to do with himself. Coulson had been in his life since Iron Man, a constant, if not annoying, presence that continually bothered him. And now he was gone.

Steve just held his head low. He had seen lots of good men die, felt every loss. It never got easier to deal with, especially if it came out of nowhere. He should have seen it coming. If they were fighting a god, it made sense that not all of them were going to make it through. It was just that he hoped it wouldn't be Coulson.

Percy closed his eyes. He didn't know Coulson well, barely at all actually. But he still felt a deep sadness at the news. From what he had seen, he had been a good man. And Percy had seen far too many good people die.

Sadie felt the same way she did after the attack on the Dallas Museum all those years ago when those magicians died just for getting in the way. She felt like she should have done more to help Coulson. She just didn't know what.

Tony, Steve, and Percy all sat around the table on the bridge, each staring at nothing in particular. Fury stood above them, fingering something in his hands. "These were in Phil Coulson's jacket," he said, looking over at Steve. He sighed and said, "guess he never did get you to sign them," before throwing them Steve's way.

The Captain America trading cards fell flat on the table, bloodstains covering a few of them. Steve let out a long breath and picked one up, gazing at it sadly. It was of him saluting with his previous triangular shield. Coulson had been so proud to collect them all, so excited to meet him. And Steve couldn't even find time to sign them for him.

"We're dead in the air up here," Fury said. "Our communications, the location of the Cube, Banner, Thor…I got nothing for you."

As he talked, Tony listlessly twiddled his thumbs, barely paying attention. He couldn't help but think back to the last time he lost a friend, someone else who risked his life and sacrificed himself. And the pain now was just as sharp as then.

"Lost my one good eye." Fury shook his head. "Maybe I had that coming."

Percy glanced at them all, knowing what they were going through. It didn't take much imagination to see Jason in Coulson's position. Or Bob. Or Silena. Or Michael Yew, Beckendorf, Zoe, Bianca, and countless others who he had lost. And each one brought a sharp pain with it as he remembered them.

"Yes," Fury continued, "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." He paused for a moment, all of them looking up and listening now. "There was an idea, Stark and Jackson know this, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people to 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." It had taken him nearly twenty years after founding that idea to see it come to fruition. And even now it looked like it would fail. But it couldn't. He knew what was out there. And he knew what kind of person it would take to stop it. He looked over at Tony. "Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea. In heroes."

At that, Tony suddenly stood up, having heard enough. He wasn't a hero, none of them were. It was like Loki had said. They were lost creatures at best, struggling to do what they could in a mad world. They weren't a team. They couldn't work together at all. They had failed. And now Coulson was dead.

He stood there, pondering this for a second, before turning and walking out the door.

"Well," Fury said, watching Tony leave. "It's an old fashioned-notion."

Thor walked up to where his hammer lay in the grass and held out his hand but then stopped himself. The last time he had tried this, he had failed. He had proven unworthy of picking it up. Now he couldn't help but think it would happen again. He had never felt more unworthy. He had let Loki trick him, let his friend die, and failed so much that all of Earth was at risk because of his brother's schemes. That was on him.

He closed his fist and just stood there, staring at the hammer's handle and wishing it could just tell him if he was worthy to pick it up. But it just stayed there, handle sticking out temptingly, just waiting to be picked up.

"You fell out of the sky."

Bruce opened his eyes, blinking and groaning as he took in his surroundings. He was covered in dust with a pile of bricks and mortar around him. And he was buck naked.

It all suddenly came rushing back to him. He had transformed, become the Hulk again, and rampaged across the Helicarrier. He didn't remember much, he never did, but one memory stood out. Natasha. Her eyes on him, watching in fear. She had been there.

He winced as he sat upwards and then looked over to see who had spoken, seeing an older security guard. He was in some old warehouse, completely broken down now that he had fallen into it. He was in a crater of his own making, bricks, stones, pipes, and girders all steeped around him.

He groaned again, covering his face, imagining the damage he had caused on the ship, all the people he had hurt. Natasha. "Did I hurt anybody?" he asked, turning back to the guard, praying the answer was no.

"There's nobody around here to get hurt," the guard replied, waving his hand around. "You did scare the hell out of some pigeons, though."

Bruce sighed. So he hadn't heard anybody here. That was something. "Lucky," he said out loud. If he had landed anywhere else, it would be a much different story.

"Or just good aim," the guard told him. "You were awake when you fell."

Bruce looked over at him, wincing. "You saw?"

"The whole thing. Right through the ceiling," he gestured upwards and then down at the crater Bruce was in. "Big and green and buck-ass nude." He then leaned down and picked something up from his feet. "Here," he said, tossing over some clothes to Bruce. "Didn't think those would fit you until you shrunk down to a regular-size feller."

Bruce instantly grabbed the clothes and started pulling on the pants. "Thank you," he said. He needed to get out of here, find out what happened. He also needed to let them know where the Tesseract was, before it was too late.

"You an alien?"

"What?" Bruce asked, standing up.

"From outer space, an alien," the guard clarified.

Bruce shook his head. "No."

The guard raised his eyebrows. "Well then, son, you've got a condition."

Bruce nodded shortly. He knew that. He knew it was worse than a condition, something he had to live with each and every day, something he would never be rid of. Something he just had to deal with and pray wouldn't get out of hand. Like today.

Sam blinked, groaning in pain. Her whole head throbbed in pain, feeling like her skull was being hit with a hammer. She slowly sat up, looking around. She was in some sort of infirmary. She blinked again, trying to recall how she ended up here. The last thing she remembered was some sort of explosion and then…

It hit her. Her fight with Loki. He had toyed with her, playing her like a cat with a mouse. And then tossed her aside once he was done. Literally.

"Hey, you're awake."

Sam looked up and saw Sadie enter the room, a grim expression on her face.

"What happened?" she asked. "Where's Loki?"

Sadie shrugged. "No idea. He escaped. With his spear."

Sam groaned again. "Damn it." She then let out a few other words that Bibi definitely wouldn't approve of. She had failed. Epically. And now the world was in danger of being invaded. She had to find him before it was too late. She moved to get up and winced as her head gave a painful throb.

"Whoa there big girl," Sadie said, stopping her. "You just had your ass handed to you by a god. I'm pretty sure that qualifies you for taking a break."

"I can't," Sam replied. "I have to stop Loki."

"Well, first off, you have no idea where he is. Secondly, judging from how badly he beat you, I don't know how well you'll be in round 2."

"I'll figure it out."

"Great. How are you gonna do that? You gonna rush after him with a half-cooked plan again? Just go in and hope for the best?" Sadie raised an eyebrow. "Speaking from experience, that rarely works. I like charging in guns blazing as much as anyone, but in this case I don't think it's going to work as well. This guy is really smart and is anticipating our every move. We need to pull a Carter and think of a plan. If you don't, he'll just beat you up again, maybe kill you this time."

"Doesn't matter," Sam said, standing up. "I have to stop him."

"We all have to stop him," Sadie argued. "He is threatening the whole world here, not just you. And we're all working on it. You are not alone in this. So stop acting like it's all on you. Sit down, breathe, and just take a moment to get yourself together."

Sam stared at her for a long minute before finally relenting. Sadie was right. She was just going to get herself killed this way. She had to think and plan for a better way to take the guy down.

"You're lucky to be alive, you know," Sadie said.

The way she said it made Sam look up. She then saw Sadie's expression and felt herself go cold. "What happened?"

"Coulson," Sadie told her. "He died. Loki killed him."

Sam closed her eyes. She had barely known Coulson, but he had seemed like a good guy. And because she had failed to stop Loki, he was now dead. "This is my fault," she muttered hoarsely.

"How?"

"What?" Sam asked.

Sadie sat down next to her and looked her straight in the eyes. "How is it your fault? You didn't kill him."

"No, but I didn't stop Loki!" Sam told her. "If I could have just been strong enough, fast enough, I could have taken him down and then that guy would still be alive. If I ha-"

"Shut up!"

Sam stopped, looking at Sadie in surprise.

"Shut up," Sadie repeated. "It is not your fault Coulson is dead. It's Loki's. This is not on you."

"Yes it is!"

"How?"

"Because I'm his daught-" Sam stopped herself, realizing what she was about to say.

"His daughter?" Sadie finished for her. "That's what you were going to say, right? His daughter. Well, guess what? You're not his daughter. You're the daughter of some other asshat called Loki. They might be similar, but they are not the same person."

Sam covered her face in her hands. Sadie was right. Again. She was confusing the two, mixing her feelings. This wasn't her father. He was another evil villain with the same name. And he knew that. He had used it to get under her skin, make her act irrationally. She had gone in with no plan, filled with rage. And he had taken advantage, made her lose.

She nodded her head and then sat up, clearing her head. She couldn't afford to think like that anymore. She was a Valkyrie, a warrior of Odin, and she had a mission to complete. "Tell me what's going on."

Sadie told her everything. Thor and Banner were both AWOL. The tracking system for the Cube was down. And the ship was still damaged. Basically, they were screwed.

"Alright," Sam nodded again, standing up this time. "Then let's get to work and find this guy. And…thanks."

Sadie shrugged. "Hey, look, I've kind of done the same thing. Well not the dad thing, I have my own father issues, but I have kind of rushed into things without thinking through. And sometimes they worked out, but sometimes they didn't. Once, I accidentally helped unleash a bunch of fire spirits and a hummingbird griffin in a museum."

Sam blinked. "I'm sorry, did you just say a hummingbi-"

"It's a long story," Sadie told her. "What I'm trying to say is that, I have been where you were. At the end of the day, just keep a cool head and think on your feet. Sometimes it's better to plan ahead, and sometimes it's better to improvise." She paused there. "Huh, maybe I should write a book on all this. Or a podcast! Yeah, I'd be a great motivation speaker. And I could give advice-"

"Sadie," Sam interrupted, frowning.

"Right, later. Let's go."

Sam nodded and walked out the door, her axe handle gripped tight and ready to bring down a whole new level of hurt on Loki.

Barton shook his head, trying to clear his mind. It was fuzzy, a mesmerizing display of colors. But mostly blue. That was definitely what stood out the most. It had been covering him for days and he hadn't even been aware. But now he was and he tried to fight it off. He shook his head again and his hands twisted into fists as his whole body tensed up. He could feel beads of sweat all over, dripping down. This was the greatest strain of his life, but he had to endure. He had to fight it off.

He blinked and groaned again, hearing a soft ringing. He pulled out with his arms and felt restraints against them, holding him back. He was in a bed of some sort, held down.

"Clint." He heard his name, clear as day, breaking through whatever spell he was under. "You're going to be all right." It was Natasha. His best friend. The one he counted on the most. Her voice cut right through to him, helping him see a way out.

He blinked and tensed up again, his body shaking from the effort, and then felt the spell break. And felt all of it come rushing back to him. "You know that?" he asked dryly before chuckling. "Is that what you know?" He was never going to be all right again.

As he talked, he saw Natasha stand up and walk behind him. He leaned back, head flat against the pillow. "I, uh," he started, breathing deep. "I've got no window. I have to flush him out." He could still feel Loki's influence all over him, in his brain. Could feel the need to serve him, but it wasn't as strong as before. It was fading, slowly but surely.

He heard Natasha pour a drink as she said, "you got to level out. It's going to take time."

"You don't understand," Clint said back. "Have you ever had someone take your brain and play? Pull you out and stuff something else in?" He stared up at the ceiling, lost in the past, in all those things he did. He hadn'didn't cared what he did, just as long as his orders were followed through. He had been a puppet, pulled along by Loki to do whatever he wanted. And so many had died because of it. "You know what it's like to be unmade?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Natasha stared at him. "You know that I do," she replied evenly. They both were remembering what had happened to her, what had been done. And Bartonhe knew what had happened to him was nothing compared to what had happened to her.

Clint slowly sat up, feeling more and more of the blue leaving him, feeling more like himself. But it was still there. He had a feeling it might always be there.

As he sat there, he realized something. "Why am I back?" he asked, looking around a little, as if seeing it all for the first time. "How did you get him out?"

"Cognitive recalibration," she told him, walking back in front of him. "I hit you really hard on the head."

"Thanks," he said. It wasn't always that he thanked someone for hitting him in the head, but he really needed it. He didn't even want to think about how much more damage he could have done. He didn't want to think about the damage he'd already done. He looked at Nat closely, needing to know this answer. "Natasha," he said softly as she took off the restraints, "how many agents did I-"

"Don't," she interrupted him, looking him in the eyes. "Don't do that to yourself Clint. This is Loki. This is monsters and magic and nothing we were ever trained for."

"Loki, did he get away?" Clint asked, moving on. He knew that. He did. He knew he'd had no control over his actions, knew he couldn't have done anything. But it had still been him. He had still fired those arrows and killed those men, blown up the turbine, attacked the bridge. He had done all that. He had even tried to kill his best friend. Maybe not his mind, but his body. His hands. Him. How was he supposed to deal with that? By focusing on the one that had done it to him. That was a start.

"Yeah," Nat said with a tiny nod. "I don't suppose you know where."

Clint shook his head. He wished that he did. It might up somewhat for what he had done. "I didn't need to know. Didn't ask."

Natasha stood up, walking to the door and looking out the window. She knew that had been the answer but she still had to ask. And she still felt the sting of disappointment. If they didn't do something soon, it would be too late. But what could they do? How could they find him?

"He's going to make his play soon, though," Clint said, taking a drink. "Today."

"We got to stop him," Natasha said, turning to face him.

"Yeah? Who's 'we?'"

"I don't know," Natasha replied, shrugging. "Whoever's left."

Clint nodded. "Well, if I put an arrow through Loki's eye socket, I'd sleep better I suppose." He smirked at that and then looked at the floor.

Natasha sat down next to him. "Now you sound like you," she told him, smiling. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed him, the real him, until he'd changed into the unsmiling assassin. She needed him in her life. He was the one who showed her she could be better. And she still needed him to be there for her.

Clint looked up at her. "But you don't," he said, eyes narrowing slightly. Natasha's smile faded as he went on. "You're a spy, not a soldier. Now you want to wade into a war. Why?" He looked closer at her. "What did Loki do to you?"

She glanced back. "He didn't. I just…" she trailed off and looked down at her hands.

"Natasha," Clint said softly. They had known each other for years, knew each other better than most anybody else. And he could tell something was bothering her.

"I've been compromised," she said, staring straight ahead. Clint nodded, understanding now. She looked over at him. "I got red in my ledger. I'd like to wipe it out." After all these years, she still hadn't made up for all the damage she had done. Not even close. Maybe…maybe this would help. Maybe saving the world, would help make things better.

Tony stood on the edge of the platform, staring at the large empty chamber in front of him. This is where he had died. Right here, in this room, trying his best to stop a madman. Tony wondered what Coulson's last thoughts had been in those moments. What would be his, when his time came?

He heard Steve and Percy walk in, saw Steve walk to the opposing platform while Percy leaned against the wall from the corner of his eye. He was tempted to ask them to leave, to let him wallow here alone. But he also didn't want to be alone right now. For most of his life, without even realizing it, he had been alone some way or another. And he didn't want to keep feeling that way.

"Was he married?" Steve asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"No," Tony replied. "There was a…cellist, I think," he said. And now that woman had lost someone important to her. He wondered if that would ever happen to Pepper, to one day get the call that he wouldn't be coming home.

"Sorry. He seemed like a good man."

Tony snorted softly. "He was an idiot," he replied, looking over at Steve.

"Why? For believing?"

"For taking on Loki alone."

"He was doing his job."

"Like any of us would have," Percy added.

Tony scoffed. "He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have…" he trailed off there, not sure how to continue.

"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony," Steve said, walking up to him. He knew that better than anyone. Except he got lucky and found a way out.

"Right," Tony nodded sarcastically. "I've heard that before." He was done with this. He didn't need any of this self-righteous help from this guy. He headed for the exit.

"Is this the first time you lost a soldier?" Steve asked as he walked past.

"We are not soldiers," Tony practically spat, twisting around to look at Steve again. "We're exactly what Loki said. Lost creatures. A man with a piece of metal for a heart. A super soldier from another time. And a kid barely 18 who apparently fights monsters and gods for a living."

Percy looked up at that. "I'm almost 19 actually," he said.

Tony chuckled dryly. "So what? You shouldn't even be here kid. You should be out there, enjoying your life, trying to live a normal one. Not be dragged into all of this."

Percy snorted. "You think I don't know that? I want that more than anything. I haven't had a normal childhood, and I haven't been a kid since I was 12. But it doesn't matter. I have seen a lot of people die. Good people, friends." He stopped, remembering their names and faces. "I've fought in two separate wars in my world and each one took its toll. Each one took people too young from this world. If I can help prevent that from happening…" he stopped, taking a shaky breath. "Then that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I will keep fighting so they don't have to."

Tony stared. He couldn't even begin to imagine that. At Percy's age, he had been partying, hanging out with friends, doing crazy stuff. What Percy was describing, he couldn't have survived. Not emotionally, anyway.

"But you shouldn't have to either," Steve told him.

"Yeah," Percy nodded. "But that's not the world we live in. This is. So we have to keep fighting."

"Well not under S.H.I.E.L.D," Tony said. After all the revelations about the Tesseract and Phase 2, he wanted nothing more to do with it. Besides, he hated taking orders. "I'm not marching to Fury's fife."

"Neither am I," Steve agreed and Percy nodded as well. "He's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does. But right now we got to put that behind us and get this done."

Tony looked at him for a second before his eyes drifted down to the bloodstain on the wall where Phil Coulson had died. And as he did, he realized something.

"Now Loki needs a power source," Steve continued. "We can put together a list-"

"He made it personal," Tony interrupted.

Steve sighed. "That's not the point."

"That is the point. That's Loki's point," Tony said. That had been what Loki had been doing from the start, taunting them, drawing them apart. "He hit us all right where we live. Why?"

"To tear us apart," Steve said.

"Yeah, divide and conquer is great," Tony shook his head slightly, "but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants." He was on a roll now, mind racing a million miles a minute like he was designing a new engine in his workshop, figuring it all out. "He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it." He nodded his head and gestured at Steve. "He wants an audience."

Steve nodded, following now. "Right. We caught his act in Stuttgart," he said, nodding at Percy.

"Yeah," Tony agreed. "That's just previews. This is…this is opening night," he clapped his hands for emphases. "And Loki, he's a full-tilt diva, right?"

"Yeah," Percy said, nodding as well now. "Most gods are. They all like audiences. They want the fame, the glory, to be front and center. To show off their power. They need it to feel like gods."

"Exactly!" Tony clapped his hands at Percy. "That's what Loki wants. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered-" Tony stopped himself, realizing just then where Loki was. A power source and the perfect place to taunt him, a monument to his own ego.

Steve raised his eyebrows, figuring it out as well.

"Son of a bitch," Tony muttered, running off, Steve right on his heels.

"Wait, what?" Percy shouted after, moving to catch up. "Where are we going? What did I miss? What did I miss?"

Selvig walked around the machine, checking all the wires and circuits, the Manhattan skyline surrounding him, the Stark name on the tower etched below him.

Percy found Sam and Sadie in the hallway. "We found him," he said.

"Where?" Sam asked instantly.

"New York City," Percy replied. "The Stark Tower. We're going there now. Grab what you need and meet up in the hangar in about ten minutes."

They both nodded and rushed off. He sighed and pulled out a drachma, heading to the bathroom again. He closed it behind him and made sure it was empty before turning on the hot water and splashing it against the mirror, making a small rainbow. He made the incantation and threw the coin in. "Annabeth Chase," he said and the rainbow shimmered, revealing her sleeping face on the table.

Percy stared for a long minute. She looked so peaceful there, so angelic, her hair plastered over her face, snoring softly. He was the luckiest guy in the world for having someone like her in his life. And now he was going to have to ruin this image. "Annabeth," he said softly.

She woke up with a start, blinking rapidly and wiping her face. "Percy," she said sleepily before blinking and focusing on him. "Percy," she said again, smiling. "Hey, how's it going over there…" she stopped, seeing his expression. "What's wrong?"

"Loki escaped," he said. "We…we know where he is, but…" he sighed, "but we're pretty sure we're too late. We're going to try, but it's not looking good." He took a deep breath and then looked Annabeth in the eyes. "I need you to warn the others. Chiron. Frank and Hazel. Anyone you can. Tell them what's happening, what might be coming. Get them prepared."

"Right. Of course," she nodded. "I'll call them immediately. What about your parents?"

"They're on book tour, remember? They're in Chicago right now. They should be fine." Percy took a deep breath. "Look, things might go south here, so-"

"Don't," Annabeth interrupted him. "Don't say whatever you're about to say. We both know you've survived worse than this."

Percy smirked. "An alien invasion?"

"If there's one thing I know after all this time it's not to bet against you," Annabeth said. "I know you can survive this. You better survive this. Otherwise I'll hunt your spirit in the Underworld and kick its butt." There were tears in her eyes as she said this.

"I know you will, Wise Girl," Percy said, smiling sadly. "And I will come back to you. I promise." They both knew he didn't swear on the River Styx for a reason. They looked at each for another few seconds before Percy waved his hand through the screen, dissolving it. He wiped his eyes once before standing up straight and removing his shirt, showing off his suit. The trident glowed its greenish-blue in the center. He smiled as he looked at it. Guess he was a superhero now. Time to go save the world.

Sadie quickly briefed Amos on what was happening and he promised to have the House of Life mobilize a defense but he honestly couldn't make any promises. "Word got out," he said. "And most Nomes are bunkering up, defending their own homes. And the Nomes in the New York area have all but abandoned their headquarters."

Sadie gaped. "What about Brooklyn House?" she asked.

He sighed. "They are willing to return but there is another problem. For some reason, all portal magic in the area surrounding Manhattan is no longer working."

Sadie cursed. "The Tesseract," she muttered. "This must be what Setne meant by its true capabilities. It must be draining all teleportation magic as energy."

"Most likely," Amos agreed. "I'm sorry, Sadie. We tried to enter through the Duat but it is similar to the situation in Nevada. Whatever this Tesseract is doing is also interfering with the Duat, making it even more unpredictable. We almost lost a few magicians, including Walt."

Sadie felt her heart clench at that. "Carter?"

"Still no word. I have sent some magicians after him now. Hopefully they will find him and alert him to the situation."

Sadie swore if she made it out of this, she would find her brother and Zia and smack both of them. Ok, so maybe she had suggested they turn off all communication so they could enjoy a true romantic weekend, and maybe she had promised she would handle everything but she hadn't expected a bloody alien invasion to come tearing out of the sky. "So, basically, we're on our own here."

He sighed. "I am sorry, but yes. It does seem that way. We'll keep trying. If not, I can at least gather some magicians to try air travel but we wouldn't get there in time. Even if we did, this incident will not be obscured from the mortals. So travel will soon be restricted."

"Right," she nodded. The hopelessness of it all was beginning to weigh down on her. They really did only have each other now. Well, she and Carter had managed to save the world with just each other. Now she had several other super companions to help out. She prayed that would be enough. "Alright Uncle. I'll call you when it's over." If she was still around, but she didn't want to add that bit and Amos seemed to get it.

"Good luck Sadie," he said to her. "May the Gods be with you." And then he was gone.

"Let's hope," Sadie muttered. She then looked through her contacts and sighed as she found him. It took only a few seconds for him to pick up after she called.

"Sadie?" Walt asked desperately.

"Hey there, Death Boy," she said. "It's good to hear your voice."

"Sadie, I'm on my way as soon as these damn travel restrictions are lifted!" She could hear the growl of frustration in his voice. "I'm pretty sure I can navigate the Duat better this time, now that I know what to expect. Plus, I have Anubis fully on my side so that should help. I'll be there as so-"

"Walt, stop," she said. "Don't."

"Sadie, I'm not leavin-"

"Yes, you are," she interrupted again. "You're not risking your life in the Duat. We both know how temperamental it is down there. With this Tesseract messing stuff up, we have no idea what might happen."

"Then…then I'll get on the next plane," Walt said. "Or one of my amulets. They fly faster. I'll get there and then-"

"This is happening now, Walt," Sadie told him. "I hope you get here in time to help, but just in case, thank you. Thank you for always being there for me. Thank you for being the best bloody boyfriend a girl could ask for." She was crying now and she didn't care. "Just thank you, for everything."

"Sadie," he said and she knew he was crying too. "I will get there. I promise."

She chuckled and wiped her eyes. "I know you will, Death Boy. I'm counting on you to come in at the last minute and save the day." She took a shaky breath. "I love you."

There was a pause, and then, "I love you too."

Unable to take anymore, Sadie hung up the phone and put it away. She stood there for a moment before wiping her eyes and getting her game face on. Time to move out.

The door slid open as Steve walked in. "Time to go."

"Go where?" Natasha asked.

"I'll tell you on the way," he replied. "Can you fly one of those jets?"

The door at the side of the room opened and Clint walked out, towel in hand. "I can," he said.

Steve glanced at him and then over at Natasha questioningly who nodded back. "You got a suit?" he asked Clint.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Then suit up."

Thor looked down on his hammer again and decided enough was enough. He couldn't keep waiting around here wondering if he was worthy or not. He was wasting time now and Loki could have already begun the invasion for all he knew. If he wasn't worthy, then at least he would do his best to prove he was.

Then, after a deep breath, he reached down and grabbed Mjolnir's handle. And then he heaved it into the air, almost sighing in relief as he did so. He lifted it up into the air instead, electricity crackling around it and a storm brewing around him, lightning flashing down onto the metal. A mini tornado formed, swirling dust into the air. The lighting crackled even more and his armor appeared all over him, summoned by his power. He was the God of Thunder. And now he was going to prove it.

Steve picked up his shield, Clint his bow, and Nat armed herself with her Widow's Bites while Tony fixed up his helmet, lighting it up with his welding torch. He put it on and the systems came online, ready to go. Percy readied his costume, the trident glowing in the center, and twirled Riptide in his hands. Sadie pulled out several potions and readied her staff and wand. Sam pulled up her hijab and summoned the horse of Odin. She would be leaving alongside Stark. All of them had comms linked to one another. All of them were ready.

Steve walked through the hangar, Clint, Percy, Nat, and Sadie at his sides. They all went straight for the Quinjet at the end. The agent on duty inside took one look at them and walked up as they entered. "Hey, you guys aren't authorized to be in here."

"Son," Steve all but interrupted him, "just don't."

Fury fiddled with the playing cards in his hands idly, not thinking about anything in particular. He didn't really know why Coulson was such a fan. He remembered making fun of the man, cracking jokes with him many times at how he still went out to buy new comic books. It was still hard to believe he was gone.

He sensed Hill walking up behind him. "Sir?" she said.

"Agent Hill."

"Those cards," she started questioningly, "they were in Coulson's locker. Not in his jacket."

Fury held them up, looking at the fake blood he had added in. After the arguments before, after seeing the team all but fall apart, he knew they wouldn't be up to the task. And he couldn't have that. Not after Coulson gave his life for this. That had to mean something. "They needed the push," he said in explanation.

Hill looked over frowning, still confused.

Just then, outside the window, they saw Iron Man fly away followed swiftly by a glowing horse and a Quinjet. "We have an unauthorized departure from Bay 6," an agent on the PA announced.

"They found him," Fury said simply. It was out of his hands now. The rest was up to them. Then, louder, "get our communications back up, whatever you have to do." He turned to leave. "I want eyes on everything."

"Yes, sir," Hill said.

Tony flew on ahead of the others, pushing his thrusters to the limit to get to Manhattan as fast as possible. He had News alerts in the top corner of his screen and so far they were in the clear. Nothing had happened yet. But he didn't know how much time he had.

His thrusters shorted out a little as he passed over the East River, causing him to drop and bump into the side of the Queensboro Bridge before righting them again. The turbines had done a number on this suit. Hopefully it would last for a little while longer. He flew on ahead, straight for Stark Tower.

He could see it as he approached, the machine on the top section of the tower with a glowing energy signature at its center. Dr. Selvig stood at a computer nearby, watching it.

"Sir, I've turned off the arc reactor," JARVIS told him as he came to a stop, hovering above the tower, "but the device is already self-sustaining."

Of course it was. Because everything had just been too easy so far. "Shut it down, Dr. Selvig," Tony ordered.

Selvig turned to look at him, eyes glowing blue. "It's too late!" he pronounced with a wide smile. He turned back to gaze at the Tesseract with awe. "She can't stop now. She wants to show us something!" He smiled broadly at Tony. "A new universe."

"Okay," Tony said. This guy had clearly lost his mind. Time to shut him down. He lifted up his thrusters and fired. They struck the machine, but a glowing blue shield suddenly appeared around it, blocking the shots and then firing them right back, sending Tony rolling away in the air from the blast. Selvig was also sent flying into a power box, knocking him out cold.

Below, people gasped looked up in shock and surprise at the blast, seeing Iron Man trying to recover midair.

"The barrier is pure energy," JARVIS explained as Tony righted himself. "It's unbreachable."

"Yeah, I got that," Tony replied. He looked down and spotted Loki on the patio below, rage filling him at the sight of the god who stared smugly at him. "Plan B." He began to hover downwards as he brought up his next suit.

"Sir, the Mark 7 is not ready for deployment," JARVIS informed him.

"Then skip the spinning rims. We're on the clock," Tony told him. He came down for a landing and began walking inside. The platform came to life, his machines rising up behind him and encircling him, taking apart his suit piece by piece as he walked along. His helmet came off first and as soon as it did, he glanced back over at Loki and saw the god walk back inside, a look of confusion on his face. He clearly hadn't expected Tony to take off his suit. Good. Tony wanted to keep him guessing. It was taking all he had not to blast away at that greasy face but his suit was already damaged and he had barely held his own against Thor. He couldn't risk losing right now. He had to buy some time.

"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity," Loki said, walking up.

"Uh, actually I'm planning to threaten you," Tony replied, staying on the upper level.

Loki smirked. "You should have left your armor on for that."

"Yeah," Tony agreed, walking down the steps. "It's seen a bit of mileage, and you've got the glow stick of destiny." Loki looked down at his spear with a smile. "Would you like a drink?" he asked, heading for the bar.

"Stalling me won't change anything," Loki told him, still smiling. He had won. There was nothing this man could do. But if he wanted to play these strange games, then Loki would oblige. For now.

"No, no, no, threatening," Tony reminded him. "No drink? You sure? I'm having one." He turned to the bar, pulling out a glass and a bottle of his finest scotch. If today was the day he died, he was at least going to go out with this in his belly.

"The Chitauri are coming," Loki said, staring out the window, waiting for the moment when his army would emerge. "Nothing will change that." He turned back to Tony. "What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers," Tony said casually, pulling out the stopper from his bottle. Loki frowned at him and Tony rolled his eyes. "It's what we call ourselves. Sort of like a team. 'Earth's mightiest heroes'-type thing." He started pouring his drink.

"Yes, I've met them," Loki replied.

"Yeah," Tony smirked. "It takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But, let's do a headcount here. Your brother, the god of thunder." Loki grimaced at that and turned away. As he did, Tony slyly reached over the counter and grabbed one of his Colantotte Bracelets. "The super soldier, the living legend who kind of lives up to the legend. A man with breathtaking anger-management issues. A magician from ancient Egypt. A demigod who can control water as well as one who can apparently shapeshift. A couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them."

Loki winked at him. "That was the plan."

"Not a great plan," Tony said, walking away from the bar now, drink in hand. "When they come, and they will, they'll come for you." The fun, banter-like tone was gone now, his voice harder, his eyes glaring openly at the god.

"I have an army," Loki reminded him.

"We have a Hulk," Tony shot back.

"Oh, I thought the beast had wandered off," Loki said mockingly.

"Yeah, you're missing the point. There's no throne," Tony told him. "There is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army come and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you." He stared at Loki for a second and in that realized why Fury chose the name. "Cause if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it." He then took a nice long sip from his glass, savoring the taste, and then, before putting the glass down.

Loki walked up to him, an air menace around him, his eyes glinting darkly. "How will your friends have time for me," he asked, raising his scepter, "when they're so busy fighting you?"

Tony's eyes widened in alarm as the scepter came up, unable to react before it reached out, glowing with power and touched him right in the chest, clanging slightly. The energy then dissipated. Loki stared for a moment, surprised, and brought the scepter up again and again it just clanged off Tony's chest, the energy disappearing. Tony breathed out in relief, realizing what had happened. It had hit his chest piece, not him. It couldn't affect him that way. He was still him, not Loki's puppet.

"This usually works," Loki muttered aloud, looking at the scepter in confusion.

"Well, performance issues, it's not uncommon," Tony said in a mocking way, causing Loki to look up at him. "One out of five…"

He choked as Loki suddenly grabbed him by the throat and threw him aside. He grunted as he hit the floor. "JARVIS," he said, getting back on his feet, "anytime now."

Before he could do anything else, Loki grabbed him by the throat again and pulled him in close. "You will all fall before me," he promised, seething.

"Deploy!" Tony shouted, seeing the panel on the opposite wall sliding aside. Loki lifted him up higher then and he managed to yell out "deploy!" one last time before Loki threw him through the window, shattering it. He cried out as he fell, the street looming below him, doing his best to straighten out his body.

Loki peered after him until he heard a noise. He whirled around in time for something to shoot out of the wall, striking him down and flying out the window. As it did, a few pieces of it flew off to release inside mechanics which sprouted out. It began scanning the area around it, locking in on Tony's outraised bracelet and beeping confirmation. It flew down to him and began to assemble around him, gears and panels sliding into place all over him, forming a suit. Each one clicked and locked into place perfectly, completing the task in seconds. The helmet was the last one, sliding into place just as the ground came up. Tony powered up the thrusters and stopped himself before he could hit the sidewalk, several people crying out in alarm as he flew right by them, heading back up the tower.

Loki was waiting for him, glaring as he came up.

"And there's one other person you pissed off," Tony said to him, hovering several meters away in his brand new suit. "His name was Phil."

Loki lifted his scepter up again but Tony was faster, blasting him aside with a repulsor blast. Loki grunted as he hit the floor, his cloak smoking.

Tony was about to follow when he heard a whirring sound above him and looked up. The Tesseract machine was spinning around now, coming to life. Before he could move, a blinding light shot out of it into the sky. He followed it and saw to his horror a large tear forming above him, surrounded by a rim of glowing blue energy, the very air around it twisting unnaturally. He was too late. The portal was open.

And here's chapter 8. I know I said I would try to finish before Christmas but that clearly didn't happen. So, sorry. Anyway, it's almost done, only a couple more chapters to go. And I am so excited about them. The big battle scene. I won't change much about the Avengers fight scenes, but I am really pumped to show you all what I have in store for Percy, Sadie, and Sam. Also, so excited that over 300 people are now following this story and over 200 have favorited it. That means a lot.

I decided to block all the Magicians cause I really wanted to sell how alone the Avengers are. Plus, the Magicians all bailed when Apophis came, so when it comes to big threats they really are kind of cowards, so… Anyway, I also needed to block everyone else from coming cause I just wanted to focus on these 9 heroes only.

You also may have noticed I changed the title of the story. I did that to show off that this wasn't just Percy's story.

Br0kenThOrn – I have looked at your questions and I promise to answer them soon. I will be putting my responses along with other information regarding the future of this story posting them in the final chapter which should be up soon (hopefully).

Until next time, keep reviewing, stay safe, hope you all had a great Christmas and let's all pray that this New Year will be a Happy one.