Author's note: Thanks again to everyone who has read and commented on this story. It means so much to me! Only a few chapters left of this one, so I hope everyone enjoys the conclusion to this saga that I never planned would go on this long.
Tony flew him to where the jet was waiting and it took off as soon as they got on. Everyone onboard looked antsy, but Steve couldn't worry about that right now. He went over to the side where his suit was hanging and started getting dressed. If they were in this big of a hurry, there was no time to waste.
"What do we have?" Steve asked, pulling on his gear.
"All we know is robot birds are causing chaos in Jersey," Tony explained, pacing agitatedly in the small space. "Did I do the right thing? Would you rather I not have called?"
"Tony," Steve sighed, stopping his movements with his hands on his shoulders. "I'm glad you called me. No way would I sit this one out."
"Are you sure?" Tony asked, biting his lip.
"Trusting me enough to give me the option means a lot," Steve assured him, slipping on his cowl.
"Clint, did you bring the super glue?" Natasha asked, checking her widow's bites.
"For what?" Clint replied, looking around for an answer.
"To make sure your earwig doesn't fall out again."
"That was one time," Clint pouted, pushing the little device further into his ear.
"Maybe I should make everyone a helmet? That way Jarvis will always be in your head," Tony suggested.
"And cover my hair? Please," Thor scoffed.
"How would you get it to grow with the Hulk? Figuring out the pants issue was hard enough," Bruce pointed out.
"We could always go the implant in the skull route," Tony offered, miming drilling into someone's head.
"As pleasant as that sounds, I think I'll have to pass," Clint cringed, going back to manning the controls of the jet. Steve could feel they were getting close, but the team banter was helping him relax. Their last mission really had gone off without a hitch, for the most part at least. They could do the same here and be home in time for dinner
Steve bent down to grab his shield just as the quinjet banked to the side, almost sending him sprawling down to the floor. Only Natasha's quick reflexes kept him from face planting and he gave her a quick nod of thanks before he rushed to the front so he could see what they were dealing with.
There were hundreds of mechanical birds the size of geese wreaking havoc around downtown Newark. They were flying into the windows of buildings and dive bombing the people running around on the ground in panic. A few were even pecking at the side of the jet as it approached a suitable landing zone.
"What the hell?" Natasha mumbled, staring out at the rampaging creatures.
"This should be right up Katniss' alley," Tony chuckled, flipping his helmet closed.
"Wanna call it, Steve?" Natasha asked, shoving extra clips into her pockets. Steve gave one last look at the scene, then turned to face his team. This was the ultimate test. Was he ready?
"Tony, can you get a scan on one of them, see if there are any weak spots we can target and exploit?"
"On it," Tony replied, moving to the window so he could get a better view.
"As far as I can see, they are staying in the same general area, so containment doesn't look to be an issue for now, but call it out if you see that changing."
"They look pretty weak actually," Tony said, pulling up a hologram for them all to examine. "I don't see any type of weaponry on them and they look easily destroyable."
"Sounds too good to be true, but I trust your observation. Let's set up a perimeter and work our way toward the middle, taking out as many as we can along the way. Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk will take the furthest points, while Widow and I will start from this end. Iron Man, take Hawkeye to a place in the center so he can do his thing. Consistent check-ins, okay?" Steve directed, looking around for any arguments.
"I think we've got a plan," Clint grinned, slapping him fondly on the back. The rest of them agreed and made their way to the back hatch, preparing to step into battle once again.
"I love you guys," Steve said, hitting the button to open the door. They were immediately bombarded by a hoard of birds and Thor and Steve batted them back until everyone could get clear of the jet and close the doors. A couple well placed pecks triggered Bruce into the Hulk and he quickly ran off to his designated spot, flicking the birds as he went. Steve thought he might've seen Hulk bite one too, but he couldn't be sure. Thor and Tony took off to their areas with Clint in tow, Thor laughing as he went.
"These things suck!" Natasha hissed, shooting one straight in the beak.
"Do you want to stick together or will you be fine on your own?" Steve asked, throwing his shield through an approaching swarm. Natasha didn't really have any sort of defense from these things, like his shield.
"I got this," Natasha assured him, grabbing a bird out of the air and ripping its wings off before tossing the whole thing to the side.
"If that changes, I'm here," Steve said. At Natasha's nod he took off, using the shield as a battering ram as he ran full force into the melee.
"In position on a tall, gray building," Clint informed them, sending out an arrow with a quick swish.
"So descriptive," Natasha snorted, shooting off a few more rounds.
"Has anyone run into trouble so far?" Steve asked, knocking a bird down then stomping it.
"I had a slight moment of panic when I thought one of these beasts had scratched Mjolnir, but I'm relieved to inform you that I was mistaken. It was but a strand of my own hair," Thor responded.
"You still oppose that helmet?" Tony chuckled, sending out a blast that caused a small explosion that Steve could hear above the chaos, even without the comms.
"That sounded expensive," Natasha noted.
"Low five figures, at most," Tony brushed off. Steve smiled at the commentary, knowing that joking meant they were okay. He got to the edge of where he was going and started working his way in, smashing birds as he went. There weren't too many civilians where he was, so that was one less thing to worry about.
"Go inside the nearest building," Steve directed to a group of men who were hovering near a car. Most of them listened, but one stayed behind. "Sir, it's not safe out here."
"These are mine!" the man shouted, staring up at the sky. Steve immediately got into a defensive stance and forgot the birds. Had the evil mastermind just revealed himself so nonchalantly?
"I may need backup at my location. Possible suspect identified. Standby for confirmation," Steve announced. In the past he would've just dealt with this on his own, but now he understood the security of having a team by your side.
"You good?" Tony asked, a sliver of worry snaking into his voice.
"If I don't check in within the next five minutes, head over," Steve replied. Steve approached the man with his shield raised, keeping a close eye on any moves he might make. "Who are you?"
"I'm the guy who's out of business, that's who I am!" the man spat, pulling at his hair.
"And what business is that?" Steve asked.
"Toys," he moaned.
"Toys?" Steve repeated, shaking his head in surprise. "These are supposed to be toys?"
"They are supposed to be the hottest new toy of the upcoming holiday season!" the man whined, dropping to the ground to fondle a pile of metal carcass.
"A metal goose was supposed to be the most popular toy?" Steve mumbled, looking around at the monstrosities. Was this what kids wanted these days?
"It wasn't just a bird, it was a best friend. A smart pet with cutting edge technology," the man explained, resting his forehead in his hands. "Something went wrong in the system and they all went into attack mode. Two years of development down the drain!"
"So, this was an accident?"
"Of course! Who would want this?"
"You'd be surprised," Steve muttered. At least this wasn't another evil doer trying to take over the world. "Backup is unnecessary."
"You sure?" Tony asked. "I can still do a flyover."
"No thanks, I'm good," Steve assured him. "Do you know how to stop this?"
"The system is too far gone to be fixed now," the man sighed, slumping forward even more.
"I suggest you seek shelter until the threat is neutralized," Steve said, rushing over to pull the man up.
"But they are my babies. I can't let you destroy my babies," the man cried, and Steve tensed, expecting some sort of attack. All he got was the man falling into his arms dramatically, knocking his shield out of his grip. Steve leaned him against the side of a building so he could grab his shield.
It must've been purely bad luck and just the right angle for it, because when Steve bent down, the inventor got spooked by a flock of the birds and jumped on his back. It was technically more like his head and neck area and Steve couldn't stop his forward momentum in time. He barely got one arm out and when his body finally crashed down to the ground, he heard that familiar crack.
"Son of a gun!" Steve gasped, rolling onto his back. His mind temporarily flashed back to that mission in Russia, but he pushed away those memories. It wasn't snowing, it was early spring. The quinjet hadn't blown up, and even if it had, they were only a state away from home. And the team was family now.
"Are you okay?" the man blubbered, falling to his knees next to Steve.
"I'll be okay if you go into that building and stay put," Steve ground out, pushing himself painfully to his feet. The man scampered off, finally listening to his direction. A few minutes too late, but Steve would take what he could get. He grabbed the shield and batted down a few more birds, completely annoyed with this mission now.
Steve moved to a more covered space to give his arm a quick once over. From what he could tell, it didn't seem so bad. A little pull and keeping it still for a while would probably do the trick. But then he thought of the team and how they would react to that. If they found out he was hurt and didn't say anything like before. Steve wasn't that same guy anymore, was he?
"Natasha, I'm coming to you," Steve called out, jogging toward her section of battle.
"Are you sure? I don't need assistance," Natasha said in slight confusion.
"I do," Steve sighed, preparing himself for the wave of concern. "I might've broken my arm again."
"You what!"
"Again?"
Hulk roared in the distance.
"I'll explain later," Steve mumbled, picking up his speed. The faster he could get to Natasha, the sooner she could tell everyone that he really was okay and they could go back to focusing on the mission.
"You are in such big trouble!" Natasha hissed as soon as they were in sight of each other. She shot the birds in their path and rushed over to him, zeroing in on his limply hanging arm. There wasn't much to see due to the sleeve, but she gently took it into her hands anyway.
"It's not that bad," Steve assured her, wincing at the glare she shot him.
"We're gonna let a doctor be the judge of that this time, right?" Natasha asked.
"Yes," Steve sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Can you still fight?"
"I can do this all day."
"He's okay," Natasha announced, giving him a quick pat on the cheek. "But let's hurry up and finish so we can get him in private and scold him."
"I think Hulk likes that plan," Tony said just as their green friend let out another roar. Steve swore he could see the buildings around them shake from the force.
They kept fighting for a few more minutes, making a lot of progress. These things really were easy to break, it was just the sheer number of them that were causing problems. Steve and Natasha were working in tandem, with Natasha taking out as many threats in the distance and Steve smashing any down that got close. The rest of the team had a running dialogue going, with Tony teasing Clint about having to fight his own kind and Thor moaning about how they had taken a particular liking to his hair.
"They just want to make a nest, Thor. Sharing is caring," Tony cackled. "They should ask Hawkeye for advice."
"I'm changing my name," Clint grumbled.
"As if that'll help," Natasha scoffed.
"The itsy bitsy spider is probably right."
"How are things on your end?" Steve asked.
"It's looking beautiful. I'm already scoping out a place for lunch," Tony replied.
"Our side is thinning out as well. I think we might be finished soon," Steve said with a grin. Even with the threat of a lecture looming over him, he was eager to be finished. "Hawkeye, how are things looking from your vantage point?" When Clint didn't answer right away, Steve didn't panic. He was just talking about a minute ago, wasn't he? He was probably busy.
"Hawkeye, come in," Natasha called out. But there was still nothing. "If this is a joke or your earwig fell out again, I'm going to kill you." Steve sucked in a sharp breath. This couldn't be happening again. Clint would not play around like this.
"Iron Man, get to Hawkeye's location now!" Steve demanded, ignoring everything but the sounds coming through the little speaker in his ear. It couldn't have been more than thirty seconds, but they were the longest of his life.
"Hawkeye is down," Tony gasped. Steve felt his whole body go numb. "Unconscious, but alive." This was his biggest fear and it was happening again. He wanted to curl up in a ball and give up, but he couldn't. Steve had worked too hard and people were depending on him. He had to stay strong.
"Fly him to the nearest hospital. The rest of us will finish up and meet you there as soon as possible," Steve dictated.
"Are you sure?" Tony asked.
"Stay with him," Steve confirmed.
"I'll keep you updated," Tony whispered, performing his task. Steve looked up and saw Tony flying their injured teammate away. He sent up a long since forgotten prayer after them, begging whoever would listen to protect his friend.