Chapter Twenty-Eight: Invading Alien Soldiers Don't Make Good Friends
Sometimes Peter didn't like being right. The Chitauri had discovered that he was a larger threat and now everybody wanted a piece of Spider-man. Speaking of which…
"Hey, watch where you're pointing those things!" the brightly-colored vigilante shouted at the nearest alien, whose last blast almost separated his ear from the side of his head. As it was, it left a light scorch mark on his hood and he had to twist his body mid-air to avoid the next one. He landed on one hand before using it to bounce back up and land feet-first on the nearest armored extraterrestrial. The teen quickly dispatched the remaining two, slinging a web onto another's gun and causing it to backfire, then flicking his wrist to swing away.
"We've got civilians trapped," Hawkeye informed them over comms.
"Clearly you're somewhere I haven't been," Spidey shot back. "I'm on my way." One of his shoes found its way to a Chitauri's face as he repurposed a chariot as a way to conserve webbing while he surfed the thing in the general direction of Stark Tower. As it swooped lower, the superhero took the opportunity to leap down to a rooftop perch.
Another flying vehicle zoomed by with a flash of green, but Captain America broke radio silence before he could. "Loki. They're fish in a barrel down there."
"We got this. It's good," Black Widow assured him. "Go."
"You think you can hold them off?"
"Captain," Hawkeye put in seriously, though he could hear the note of humor in his voice, "it would be my genuine pleasure."
"Don't worry your pretty little shield about it Spangles, I'm on the roof. On your left," the young spider finished when the blonde proceeded to look everywhere but at him. "There we go. Now, shoo!" In the background of his hesitation, the sound of an arrow being released rang out to sensitive ears, a thunk when it hit its target, and an odd technical sound as something else happened and three more bodies dropped.
Captain America finally decided to trust them, jumping off the elevated roadway dramatically onto a bus as yet another craft focused its aim on the American-flag-draped hero. A lucky shot flipped the car and caused him to go flying with a stumbling landing, right before the aliens themselves flipped to the side as Spider-man upset the balance of the machine with his bodyweight. His opponents fell, accompanied by unearthly twin shrieks, while the boy spared a quick laugh at their expense. But it didn't last long as he got back to work, knocking them out with a firm fist and stringing them up, then moving on swiftly.
"Just like Budapest all over again!" Black Widow called at her longtime partner as they flawlessly shot each incoming foot soldier from shallow cover.
The archer gave her an odd glance, looking like he would really rather not recall that. "You and I remember Budapest very differently."
"You know what this reminds me of?" Spidey butted in almost absentmindedly, gaining a slightly incredulous grunt from Hawkeye as the smaller flipped of the back of one Chitauri onto another, then dodged a shot without a thought.
"Do I want to know?"
"There was this guy – no, not you!" He interrupted himself as he tossed his opponent into two others. "– who was impersonating the Lizard – wait your turn! – and he threw a salamander at me." The older man did a visible double-take, blinking a couple times as he tried to digest that statement.
"What?"
"He threw a salamander at me."
"No, I heard you. But how does that remind you of this?" Landing on the bottom side of a still-standing streetlight so that he was upside down in a crouch, all the teen offered in explanation was a small shrug and an uncertain hum before launching back off acrobatically to reengage. He did more flips than Black Widow, something that seemed unnecessary at first before the aliens got so caught up in that fact that they seemed to forget he was actually effectively taking down creature after creature, the flamboyant stylings a captivating distraction.
But there wasn't much time to linger on the thought as yet another wave of Chitauri came, trampling everything under heavy-heeled steps, and it was back to fighting. A punch there, a kick here, a brief respite from the gritty battle when Spider-man tossed half a dozen of their enemy into a legitimate spiderweb between buildings. They heard the captain's voice over the comms ordering around a bunch of policemen, and Iron Man's flares were bright enough that they could see them from where they continued to clash, fists against lasers, webs against armor, bow against… face, the teenager supposed as he watched, impressed, as Hawkeye KO'ed another one. The next soldier that charged the blonde had its feet swept from under it and an arrow plunged into its head as Widow both strangled an unlucky alien with her thighs while simultaneously electrocuting it over and over.
Spidey kept a careful eye on both of his new friends, though never missed a beat in his own deadly dance with at least three at a time. The next few stupid enough to challenge the redhead were taken down by their own weapons, snatched from the bodies littering the asphalt. Another attempted to tackle the hawk, only to be intercepted by an overenthusiastic, red and blue spider that rolled with the thing into a car with a grunt and a shouted, "Behind you!" The boy was slammed into the ground by meaty hands as the Chitauri shoved its slimy face closer to his own, snarling. "He's busy right now, care to leave a message?"
Spider-man jerked his head to the left at the buzz in the back of his head, an armored fist leaving a crater where his head had been. The owner of said fist growled in frustration, a click-clacking sound coming from its mouth. "Great! I'll tell him!" Another punch, another crater, but it had his arms pinned down in such a way he couldn't escape, its knees – maybe? – pressing his legs down. Hidden behind a taxi from the sight of his allies, it had a terrible opportunity to get up close and personal with the arachnid. The thing's face was just half a foot away from Spidey's kerchief and its face somehow conveyed gruesome delight at the thought of the many ways to torture, kill, and maim.
The brunet's nose wrinkled underneath the fabric. "Dang, do you ever brush? That's just nasty!" Not that it could understand him. The Chitauri drew a harsh hand up and brought it down with a spike of some sort, a small, knife-size weapon that fractured the left lens of his goggles with ease. Drawn back out with an agonizing squeal, it left a little, jagged hole in the gold-tinted glass. He was quiet now, all serious, knowing that another hit would cave, then another to finish him off if the second did only blind him.
A tiny cut was opened high on his cheekbone, near the corner of his eye, from the strange spike-knife, but Spider-man was focused on shifting his legs ever so slightly… just so… just a little bit, so that he could do something. A grin spread across his chapped lips as he finally maneuvered without notifying his captor and he wasted no time with clever quips, as much as he enjoyed them. One strong push allowed him to curl his legs up, like he was about to do a backwards somersault, and he stuck his feet to the head of the Chitauri on top of him, thankful for the practically paper-thin, worn-out soles of his shoes that let him utilize that ability. Bringing his legs back down, hard, he smashed its flailing body into the ground, where it remained motionless while he stumbled to his feet with less than his typical fluidity.
A second-long peek over his shoulder showed him the same scene he left earlier with his "friend": a pair of super-spies taking down platoons of extraterrestrials with impeccable aim. Apparently, Captain America had returned to join the two and he was just in time to watch Thor fry a few with lightning as he swooped down to the ground, bracing himself on an overturned car. Only Hawkeye noticed his approach, somehow, without even turning around. "Nice of you to join u – man, what happened to you?" the man finished with a question, finally seeing his dirtied hoodie, the cracked lens.
The teen waved a hand halfheartedly in the air. "Oh, you know. Just making friends." Through the half-inch hole, a round brown iris peered out and met the archer's eyes, a trickle of blood making its way out of sight from a slice near it. The fingers of his other hand had blackened tips from scrabbling at the road and they trailed along the crushed hood of a truck as he made his way over.
"… whatever you say, Spidey," the archer hesitated, before dropping it as he took in the scrawny figure's appearance. The blonde went back to fiddling and fixing his arrows.
"What's the story upstairs?" Cap' spoke up, directing his query at Thor.
"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable," the response came solemnly.
"I thought we established that earlier?" Spider-man muttered to himself and crossed his arms.
"Thor is right," Iron Man said over the comms while completely ignoring the youngest's commentary, "we gotta deal with these guys."
Widow posed the question they were all thinking. "How do we do this?"
"As a team." The vigilante almost scoffed at that. What else would come from Captain America's mouth but something as clichély inspiring as that? Maybe he was out of character, but it had been a long day, and he'd just come back from almost being stabbed through the eye by E.T.'s evil twin. So, cut him some slack if his sarcasm was a bit darker than usual.
"I have unfinished business with Loki," Thor protested.
"Oh yeah?" Hawkeye called over with a glint in his eye. "Get in line." Spider-man made a sound of agreement and the only woman of the group nodded much more elegantly with a similar gleam in her piercing eyes.
"Save it," the man-with-a-plan cut them off. "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us to—" A soft puttering broke into what was bound to be a rousing pep talk and an old motorcycle that looked like it was on its last legs sputtered to a stop behind the captain, none other than Dr. Bruce Banner riding it. The man looked like he had seen better days with his wind-ruffled hair, presumably borrowed clothes, and general filthiness, though he seemed to be enjoying the slack-jaw look of shock he'd created.
"Science bro!" Spidey cheered over everyone's heads, hands up in the air as they all gathered closer to the dismounting figure. He received a two-fingered wave as hazel eyes scanned the chaotic destruction.
"So, this all seems horrible," he summed up.
"I've seen worse," Black Widow countered cautiously.
"Sorry."
"No, we could – use a little worse," she amended, and the tension was palpable.
"Stark, we got him," Captain America said into his earpiece.
The comm unit crackled slightly to life with a voice. "Banner?"
"Just like you said."
"Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you." They all looked up at just the right time to witness Iron Man bank around a corner, down the street they were gathered on, followed by an angry… whatever those flying worm things were called. The boy jumped a little as it crashed through a building without care and proceeded to tear up the pavement, trees, cars, and everything in its way in its quest to catch the metallic billionaire leading it onwards.
"I-I don't see how that's a party," Widow stuttered in a way that made Spider-man question if it was sarcasm or shock while Thor adjusted his grip on his hammer with a growl. His own masked jaw might have clenched a bit when the worm-monster crashed its underbelly into the road but didn't so much as slow, but nobody needed to know that. Dr. Banner began to stroll towards it like it was just an everyday walk in the park. A decimated park with wildlife from the cretaceous period.
"Doctor Banner," Rogers cautioned uncertainly, "now might be a really good time for you to get angry."
"That's my secret, Cap'n." The man glanced back over his shoulder, irises flashing green. "I'm always angry." With that, he turned back, skin changing to green, muscles thickening, growing several feet in a way that had Spidey shifting back on the balls of his feet. Suddenly, where there once stood Bruce Banner, there was now a shirtless, raging Hulk that promptly slammed a giant fist into the… snout?... of the worm-thing, grinding it to a halt. Thanking the laws of physics as he ducked behind a vehicle with Hawkeye, the teenager watched as the tail end of the monster flipped over, bending the armor plating in such a way that it disconnected, allowing Iron Man to launch a missile into its flesh and explode it all over them. Yuck. But hey, the car got the brunt of it.
Captain America had covered himself and Black Widow with his shield like a patriotic turtle and Thor had just stood there, more bothered by the light of the explosive than the debris. As the massive carcass flopped down, they gathered again in a circle, watching each other's backs while the Chitauri clinging to the buildings screeched at them. Some removed their masks, revealing alien faces that the young superhero really hadn't wanted to see again. The Hulk answered back with a roar of his own, matching them in volume and strength. Everyone with a weapon put them at the ready, Spider-man adjusting his stance tensely.
"Guys?" the fire-haired assassin cautioned, staring at the onslaught of chariots and more worm-monsters pouring out of the portal.
"It had friends," Spidey whispered to himself.
Surprisingly, Iron Man turned to the soldier. "Call it, Captain."
"Alright, listen up," the blonde started firmly. "Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than ten blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash."
"Wanna give me a lift?" the archer asked the robot.
"Right. Better clench up, Legolas." The young brunet snorted as they took off.
Rogers continued with decisive gestures and a solid strategy. "Thor! You gotta try and bottleneck that portal, slow 'em down. You got the lightning, light the bastards up." The god of storms spun his hammer by the strap and shot off without a word, eager to get back to the fight. Spider-man bounced his weight back and forth between his feet as he watched the red strands of Black Widow's hair fly about in the wind and their leader addressed her next. "You and me, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here. Spider-man, you're more mobile, keep doing what you're doing, take out the chariots, the soldiers, whichever you can get to. And Hulk!" The behemoth jerked his glare towards their group of puny humans with a grunt. Not even missing a beat, Captain America simply pointed upwards. "Smash."
ON YOUR LEFT! You know, that was unintentional until I realized it was a reference. Then I just about died 'cause I love that part of CA: Winter Soldier with Sam. Sam's great (and that's without mentioning Falcon and his Redwing pack). The random dude throwing lizards is a nod to the strangeness of the Lego Marvel Superheroes videogame where their Curt Conners literally throws lizards at you. Just… what?
My excuse this time for being late is that I fell asleep before I could post. Sorry! With the way things have been going lately, let's just say updates are on Tuesdays OR Wednesdays, yes? I'll still try my best to get them out on Tuesdays, though.
Lucky
To MidnightStar (Guest): Aw, thank you! Harry'll turn up in a few chapters… but I'm not telling you which one! ;P
To winfield56: It's always too short for the readers… I should know, I've read enough of these things. I guess part of that is the whole "leave them wanting more" thing? Mostly I just need to cut it off SOMEWHERE and these tend to be the best places.
To Vladimir Mithrander: Of course! But I'm afraid you might have to wait a couple chaps for that part!
To MerlinGryffindor: Hope I didn't disappoint, 'specially since this is Peter's crazy experience.
To SoraMalfoySlytherin: (1st review) Haha, yeah. I don't do it enough… (2nd review) Thanks! And I believe Loki might play a part that has something to do with that later... but I'm not going to spoil my own story! =)
To I Love My Brown Eyes: Well, thank you for reading and for the wonderful compliments! All in good time!
To twilightserius: *singsong* But I'm gonna make you! Hehe…
To SilentProwler: Ooo, you just wait! I'm not forgetting anything when it comes to the let's-beat-up-Loki scenes.