Temperance blew a strand of hair out of her face and whipped around with her staff held out defensively. She fired another shot of electricity at an alien, and it screamed, falling to the pavement. Her muscles were also screaming, and she was ridiculously winded compared to Steve and Natasha, but with the help of her new weapon, she was managing to hold her own - the adrenaline of survival was a fierce motivator. The three of them had been holding their ground for what seemed like ages, and the creatures just kept coming. Temperance watched even more pour through the portal and groaned. There was no way of knowing how large their forces were - they couldn't just keep killing each one individually and expect to win.
"We've got more incoming," She announced. Natasha finished killing the last one nearby, and they all took a moment to breathe.
"Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal." Natasha said, leaning against the trunk of a crushed taxi cab.
"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it," Steve replied.
"Well, maybe it's not about guns." Natasha said, watching Stark Tower with a calculating look.
"Be careful, Nat, I just brought Loki's ride down, and he's back in Stark Tower." Clint announced through their earpieces.
"This would be a lot easier if I wasn't having to fight these creatures and Banner," Thor complained from his end, voice strained. Tony exhorted him to just stay out of Hulk's way.
"We need to get Banner and Loki in the same room," Temperance lamented. She had said it thoughtlessly, as wishful thinking, but when Steve and Natasha turned to look at her, she could see that she'd been taken seriously.
"Think you can do that?" Steve asked, his expression earnest. Temperance did not think that she could do it, but she was also hyper-aware that everyone else here was just figuring it out as they went along, and she could at least try and do the same. She nodded.
"Great, I'll head for the portal," Nat said, backing up and gesturing to Steve to give her a boost. Temperance stepped back, unsure what was about to happen. "See you up there."
Temperance watched with wide eyes as Natasha took a running start and jumped onto Steve's shield. He thrust the shield up to give her a boost, and she went soaring into the air, grabbing an alien ship that soared past - just like that, she was off. Temperance watched the ship disappear around a corner and then turned back to look at Steve, who was watching her with expectancy.
"I won't be doing that," she announced. They ducked as a blast of energy came at them, bouncing off Steve's shield. "Hey Mom, come pick me up?" She asked into her earpiece, causing Steve to raise an eyebrow.
"On my way, dear." Tony replied without missing a beat. Clint directed Tony from his perch on top of the roof, and he was there a minute later, shooting an energy blast into Steve's shield so that he could direct it at the approaching aliens.
"Hang on," He told Temp, grabbing her around the waist. Temperance clung to the slippery suit as tightly as she could, resisting the urge to scream when Tony took off. "Alright, Barton. Got eyes on Banner?"
"He just crashed into Grand Central Station on one of those leviathans." Clint reported. They'd been flying right past Grand Central Station, so Tony made a quick turn and dropped closer to the ground.
"Have a nice trip!" He called, letting her go. Temp fell and rolled as she hit the ground, jumping back to her feet as soon as she got her bearings. The Hulk was just emerging from the giant hole the leviathan had created at the entrance of the station.
"Banner!" She called, scrambling up the pile of rubble toward him. He roared angrily, and she stopped in front of him, sensing that he didn't want her to come closer. She forced herself to keep eye contact with him and summoned all of her willpower. "Take me to the top of Stark Tower."
The hit was so sudden and so forceful that she didn't register what had happened until she was on laying the sidewalk, curled up in pain. He'd knocked her all the way across the street and into the side of a building, where she then fell limp to the pavement. She raised her head to catch a glimpse of the damage she'd done to the brick wall and then let her head drop, groaning.
"Temp, you alright?" Tony was asking in her earpiece. "Talk to us."
"God, I hate Nick Fury." She gasped, struggling to roll over onto her stomach. He'd been right about her enhanced durability but little else. She felt like such an idiot. She wasn't going to be able to hold up her end of the plan, and New York was going to suffer for it. Who did she think she was, that she had imagined, even for a second, that she could stop Loki? She thought of her father, probably holed up in a basement at his firm two blocks from here, and forced herself to move. She managed to roll onto her stomach, and she placed her hands flat on the pavement, gritting her teeth as she pushed herself onto all fours.
She winced when she realized that Banner had pursued her across the street. She stared at his feet as he stopped in front of her, the hairs on the back of her neck rising. She slowly forced her head to raise and looked up at him. She steeled herself, prepared for him to roar in her face like last time, but instead he just grunted, blowing damp air out of his nose at her. She flinched, screwing her eyes shut, and when she opened them, it was because he was lifting her off the ground.
"No, wait -" She gasped, but he didn't listen, tossing her carelessly over his shoulder. She barely had time to grasp the contours of his neck and collarbone before he hurtled himself into the air and began bouncing between the planes of the skyscrapers around them.
"Okay, okay," Temp whispered to herself, her face screwed up as she tried her hardest to hold tight and not look down - this ride was much more jarring than Tony's had been. "We're okay. Just don't look down. Just hold on, and don't look down."
"It's not that your pep talk isn't good, Temp," Tony's wry voice came from over the earpiece, "It's just that it's not universally applicable."
"Shut up," Temperance shot back, her voice rising at the end when Hulk took one final, giant leap onto the balcony of Stark Tower. Temp let go once they were over the balcony and fell to the ground, cringing as she rolled over a layer of stone debris. Hulk charged forward, his sights already on the target, as he knocked Loki through the large windows of the penthouse. Temperance jumped to her feet and followed them inside. Hulk slammed both fists on the ground and began to charge again at Loki, who jumped up, flinging his cloak behind him.
"Enough!" He shouted, causing Hulk to stop in his tracks, hesitating. Of course he would stop for Loki and not her, Temperance thought wryly. She took a few steps forward, knees bent just slightly in a defensive stance - she wished she still had her staff. "You are, all of you, beneath me." Loki continued, seething. "I am a god, you dull creature. I will not be bullied by -"
Before he could finish, Hulk reached out and grabbed his leg, flinging him into the stone floor. Temperance winced, throwing her arms over her head as debris flew everywhere. Hulk slung him back and forth over his head, slamming him into the floor each time. After many brutal hits, Hulk grew tired of the ragdoll, dropping him on the floor, where he lay unmoving.
"Puny god," he muttered, walking back toward the balcony. Temperance's arms came down slowly, her eyes wide. She'd suspected that Hulk would be the best one to put up a fight, but she hadn't expected it to be this easy for him. She tensed as he sulked past her. It occurred to her that she should probably try and stop him, in case Loki recovered and she needed him again, but she allowed him to leave, not wanting to meet the same fate at the Asgardian at her feet. She stepped closer, looking down at the man. His eyes were wide, but they stared right past her, at the ceiling. She cleared her throat and reached up, adjusting her earpiece.
"Loki's taken care of." She reported to the others, her voice shaking just a bit.
"I need the scepter," Natasha replied immediately, "Do you have it?"
"Uh," Temp began, spinning around. She rushed out to the balcony where Hulk had first encountered Loki. The scepter lay there abandoned, and she stooped to pick it up. "Yeah, I got it."
"Bring it to the roof." Natasha demanded.
"On it." Temperance ran back through the penthouse, hesitating for a moment to look down at Loki. He was conscious, but it looked like he was in too bad of shape to move. He probably wasn't going anywhere. She ran over to the door of the stairwell and opened it.
"Ward, where are you?" Natasha asked.
"Some of us have to use the stairs." She grunted as she ran, taking them two at a time. A minute later, she burst through the door to the roof and rushed over to Natasha, handing her the scepter. Another man, the scientist that Loki had controlled using the scepter, stood by a control panel, prepared, presumably, to help them. The portal generator was engulfed by a blue forcefield. Natasha walked over to it and slowly pressed the tip of the scepter through the barrier. It penetrated.
"I can close it," She announced, relieved. "Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down."
"Do it," Steve replied immediately.
"No, wait," Tony said, causing Natasha and Temperance to exchange a wary look. "I've got a Nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute, and I know just where to put it."
Temperance's chest constricted as he spoke. She didn't know what made her more terrified. That someone had decided to solve the problem by wiping New York off the map, or that Tony was apparently carrying said nuke right now.
"Tony," she began, her voice cracking. She stopped, though. She wanted to tell him - beg him - not to do it. But how many thousands of people would die if they didn't get rid of it?
"Stark," Steve picked up for her, "you know that's a one way trip."
Temperance brought up a hand to cover her mouth as she caught sight of Tony coming into Manhattan with the missile on his back. She desperately wanted to turn away but couldn't make herself actually do it. She faintly heard Tony telling Jarvis to save the rest of his power for the turn, and Jarvis asking if he should put a call through to Pepper. As he approached Stark Tower, he managed to turn the trajectory of the missile up, and Temperance ran over to the edge of the roof, watching as he soared past her, straight into the sky. Nobody said a word as he disappeared into the portal with the missile. Ten seconds passed, then twenty.
"No, no, no." Temperance whispered, her throat tight and aching. The missile went off and the portal filled with fire. The creatures began to die, falling to the ground or crashing their ships in a fiery constellation. Nearby, a leviathan collapsed and fell onto a building. Temperance didn't see any of it, eyes focused on the portal.
"Close it," Steve's voice finally said. A sob escaped Temperance, but she continued to stand at the precipice of Stark Tower, watching. Behind her, Natasha thrust the scepter further into the portal generator. The hole in the sky immediately began to shrink, replaced by sky - a sky so blue it seemed to mock them. It wasn't until the hole was completely gone that Temperance was able to see the figure that had fallen out. She gasped.
"Son of a gun," Steve announced in disbelief. They all watched as Tony accelerated toward earth. Something wasn't right. He was spinning.
"He's not slowing down," Thor observed.
"Somebody get him," Temperance said, her voice panic-stricken. Just when she feared nobody was going to catch him, Hulk leapt between two buildings and intercepted him, bringing him safely to the ground below. The comms were silent for a full minute, and Temperance was afraid to ask. She felt Natasha put a hand on her shoulder, but didn't turn around.
"Is he-?" She finally asked. Still, nobody spoke. Temperance's heart hammered in her chest as she tried to make herself accept the news.
"He's alive." Steve announced suddenly. Temperance placed a hand over her eyes, letting out a relieved sob that soon turned into a laugh.
"Good, because I'm gonna kill him."
When they all met back in the penthouse, Loki was just starting to regain the use of his limbs. They cuffed him, and Temperance fussed over Tony briefly before helping load the tesseract and the scepter into the cases that SHIELD provided.
"How do we know we should be giving this to them?" Temperance murmured, careful not to let the SHIELD agents overhear her. Fury was insisting that SHIELD hadn't been responsible for that nuclear missile, but the World Security Council had still found a way to launch it from the helicarrier using moles within the agency. Though they trusted Fury well enough, the Council's oversight was unsettling.
"We don't." Tony said simply. Natasha handed the scepter over to them, but Tony held onto the Tesseract case, insisting that the Avengers would be taking care of it personally. The agents seemed displeased but didn't stop them, and Temperance was relieved. The team piled onto the elevator, along with Loki, and Tony took a seat on the black case, having shed his damaged Iron Man suit. Everyone shouted as Banner, who was still Hulk, attempted to join them.
"What?" Hulk grunted.
"What do you think?" Tony sneered, raising his arms to gesture to the full elevator, "maximum occupancy."
"Take the stairs." Thor suggested, and Hulk roared and punched the floor as the doors closed. The elevator was quiet for a long moment - everyone was exhausted - before Natasha finally bit the bullet and started the conversation that couldn't wait.
"We have to have a plan for that thing," She said, nodding toward the case. She was right - someone would no doubt be waiting to intercept them in the lobby. They weren't just going to let the Avengers walk off with it. "We can't let them take it."
"It should be taken back to Asgard," Thor said immediately. The space was quiet again as everyone considered it.
"Works for me," Temp chimed in.
"Me too," Tony said, though he seemed to still be turning it over in his mind. "I think it's less likely to become a threat to Earth again if we send it away."
"And what about him?" Natasha asked, looking at Loki with narrowed eyes. His eyes narrowed right back - Thor had gagged him with some kind of device so that he couldn't speak.
"He's coming with me as well," Thor answered, and this time it wasn't a suggestion. Temperance wasn't sure how she felt about that, and the others didn't seem convinced either.
"How do we know he'll pay for his crimes? He should answer to us." Clint said. The coldness of his tone reminded Temperance that he'd practically been a slave to the Asgardian earlier that same day, and she felt a pang of sympathy.
"My father will not take kindly to this news, believe me," Thor assured them. "Loki will be imprisoned. And our prisons are designed to hold him, unlike yours. He only poses more of a threat to you if he's left here."
The conflict wasn't completely resolved, but they'd reached the lobby, so their time was up - and they weren't going to go before the World Security Council as anything less than a united front. They all exchanged exhausted and weary looks, falling into a silent agreement.
"Alright," Temperance announced, weaving her way to the front of the group as they exited the elevator. "Let me do the talking."
Temperance had needed to play hardball in her negotiations with Pierce (who she learned was a member of the WSC), and his men had even tried to put their hands on Tony at one point to retrieve the Tesseract, but in the end, they had managed to come to an agreement. Both the tesseract and Loki would return to Asgard with Thor. Loki, however, would first spend a couple of days in a holding cell, where SHIELD could attempt to extract more information about what happened - where the army came from, how the tesseract worked, etc. Temperance didn't anticipate that they would glean anything useful, but caved under the condition that Thor and the rest of the Avengers had to be granted full access to Loki in the interim, to ensure that he wouldn't be secreted away or otherwise gotten rid of.
"You did great, kid." Tony told her as they successfully exited Stark Tower with the tesseract in hand. "We're all gonna go out for Shawarma. You in?"
"I need to call my Dad, first," Temp said, pulling her phone out of a zip pocket on her jacket. She groaned when she saw the shattered screen - she was lucky it was working at all after the day she'd had. She exhaled in relief as she unlocked the screen and saw the three missed calls from her father. She dialed him and placed the phone to her ear, stepping away from the group.
"The cleanup for this is going to take years," Natasha lamented, looking around at the debris littering the streets.
"We need to work with the city and the first responders and get organized. Come up with a good strategy for dealing with the aftermath." Steve said, also surveying the damage.
"Right," Tony agreed. "After food. Temp, you ready?"
Temperance turned around slowly, pulling the phone away from her ear. Tony's eyebrows furrowed, concerned by the look of her. She had gone pale.
"What's wrong?" He asked, causing the others to also turn and look at her.
"He's not-" She tried, her bottom lip quivering. She cleared her throat. "He's not answering."