CHAPTER 10: NEW YORK GETS TRASHED…AGAIN

Loki looked down on the heroes in contempt. It would change nothing. They would all still fall, and those that were left would bow to him. "Send the rest," he said.

Within seconds, dozens of Chitauri ships flew out of the portal along with two more Leviathans to reign havoc on the city.

Natasha was the first to look up. "Guys," she said and the others followed her gaze, glaring at the continuous threat emerging. The Hulk growled, hands clenched in fists, ready for a fight.

"Call it, Captain," Tony said.

"All right, listen up," Steve said in a commanding voice. "Until we can close that portal, our priority is containment." He looked over at nearby building. "Barton," he continued, causing Clint to look over, "I want you on that roof. Eyes on everything, call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash," he gestured for emphasis.

"Can you give me a lift?" Clint asked.

"Right," Tony nodded in his helmet, walking over. "Better clench up, Legolas." He grabbed hold of Clint and soared upwards.

"Thor," Steve continued, "you got to try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down." Thor nodded and readied his hammer. "You got the lightning," Steve added. "Light the bastards up."

Thor spun his hammer, swirling dust everywhere, before taking off and flying away.

Steve turned to Sadie. "You got the magic. Use it. Go to where you're needed most, see if you can redirect them back here."

"You got it," Sadie nodded and whistled, jumping up as the kite came down and then flying off on it.

Steve looked at Natasha, Percy, and Sam. "We all stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here." He then turned to the Hulk, almost like an afterthought. "And Hulk…"

The Hulk turned sharply at him, snarling a little. Steve held up a finger and pointed it lightly at him. "Smash."

The Hulk grinned savagely and then leapt into the air, his powerful legs propelling him upwards to the side of a building where a Chitauri soldier had started blasting him. He crushed it into the wall on impact, then leapt to the next building over with the soldier still in hand and smashed into that wall. Next to him, another Chitauri got off two blasts before the Hulk smashed it too, before throwing a third one aside and crushing a fourth, breaking through the bricks walls as he did. He took a fallen Chitauri and, as he leapt up again, tossed it screaming through the window of another building. The Hulk landed on the side of the building, slowing his descent by ripping through the wall, and then leapt up again even more. He soared into the air right through a small fleet of ships, smashing into one and then bringing his fist down on another, causing it to explode.

Thor soared up to the top of the Chrysler Building, landing on one of the ledges. He turned upwards towards the portal and lifted Mjolnir to the sky. Clouds instantly gathered and the ancient uru metal sparked as the God of Thunder called on his power. A second later, lightning shot down and struck the hammer, channeling through Thor and all over the Chrysler Building, the metallic building acting as one giant conductor, bolts of electricity lashing all around it, traveling down and shattering windows and causing large sparks to flare up. Thor kept it up, pulling the lightning from the storm and into himself.

Then, he yelled out as he sent it all back into the sky directly at the portal. Lances of lightning shot out, flashing across the sky and incinerating many Chitauri ships. One Leviathan traveling through was blasted back from the god's onslaught, the lightning tearing it apart. Thor sent one last surge and the Leviathan exploded, taking many smaller ships and another Leviathan down with it. Thor leaned back, breathing in deep, feeling suddenly empty. He had bought them some time though.

Fury looked at the multiple news channels covering the attack, showing the army's arrival, people fleeing in panic, the devastation. One reporter talked about a military aircraft crashing in the city that he knew was the Quinjet. They were there now. He just prayed his team could finish the job.

"Sir," Hill said, walking hurriedly over to him. "The Council is on."

Fury looked at her, a feeling of dread washing over him, before he nodded and turned the newsfeeds off.

As Sadie flew down on the kite, she noticed a statue on a horse charging a squad of Chitauri, cutting through a few of them before a blast broke him apart from his horse. The statue got up and took another three down before another blast destroyed his head.

"You'll pay for that," Sadie muttered, determined to avenge the death of whoever the statue was. She waved her hand and the street beneath the Chitauri suddenly became liquid, dragging them under. They cried out in alarm and tried to escape but the liquid concrete was too sticky, keeping them in it as their heads went under. Sadie sighed and then returned the street to normal. This was taxing her more and more. She didn't know how much magic she had left to use.

She did have one potion that would give her a boost of energy, but that one she was wary to use. It would only last for about a minute and then she'd be completely burned out. She had to wait on that one.

This would be so much easier with the power of Izzie on her side. With the goddess of magic on her side, she could cut through the Chitauri easily. Instead, she was just regular old Sadie Kane who was doing her best.

She missed Walt. And Carter. It didn't feel right to not have her brother either. Every major battle they had fought together. And Walt…she could really use him right now. He was her center, her anchor. She really needed him right now, more than ever. But he was hundreds of miles away. She had to rely on herself for this.

She looked up and saw another fleet of Chitauri approaching. She muttered a quick spell and lifted her hand, turning it slightly to the right. The steering on the ships followed suit, disobeying their masters' commands and smashing into the rooftops, detonating on impact. Sadie smiled. Sometimes simple was best after all.

"Alright, alien scum. Who's next?"

"Stark," Clint said as he loosed several arrows, "you got a lot of strays sniffing your tail."

Tony flew as fast as he could, dodging around the aliens now swarming him. "Just trying to…" he paused for a second, doing his best to fly and talk at the same time, "keep them off the streets."

"Well, they can't bank worth a damn," Clint smirked, firing an arrow behind him and not looking as it destroyed a Chitauri ship a few seconds later. "So find a tight corner."

"I will roger that," Tony replied, already looking around for one. He pressed his speed, dodging from street to street, an entire fleet of ships now on his tail.

Clint carefully aimed an arrow, wanting to get this one just right, before firing. The arrow sailed through the air for a few seconds before it struck the beam connecting the two sections of the lead Chitauri ship chasing Stark. Instantly, the corrosive acid inside the arrowhead ate away at the metal and cut through the beam. The two sections fell away, granting Tony a brief reprieve which he quickly used, flying back a little to get behind the next ship and blasting it into oblivion. He then dodged the upcoming fire of the other ships, but smirked as the resulting explosion caused a car to smash into another ship.

He flew through a columned archway and then back out again, swiftly turning to the next street and causing another ship to crash and explode, but there were still two on him eager to kill.

"Oh, boy," he muttered and then ducked into a small passageway between two streets, narrowly avoiding crashing himself. The two ships followed him instantly, their blaster fire causing him to hit the wall for a second before he recovered. But then he ducked under a lower ceiling that the ships didn't see coming, ramming right into it and instantly exploding, pieces of the ships following Tony right back onto the street again where they detonated on the far side in a second massive explosion.

"Nice call," Tony said to Clint, already scanning for more threats. "What else you got?"

"Thor's taking on a squadron down on sixth."

"And he didn't invite me," Tony said in mock wounded voice.

The Leviathan ship, moving slower than the other Chitauri ships flying beside it, suddenly turned to attack one of the nearby buildings, its internal programming telling it of the damage it could inflict on the city. The people inside backed away from the windows as the giant jaws loomed in front of them, knowing that this is where they would die and knowing they couldn't do anything about it.

Then they heard crashing sounds, not from in front of them but from behind. They whirled around, seeing something crashing through on the other side of the building; tables, desks, and anything else in its way being tossed aside easily as the Hulk rampaged through and out the window right onto the Leviathan's jaws, roaring all the while. His very power caused the Leviathan to lurch midair and turn suddenly, trying to dislodge the Hulk. As it did, its metal fins slashed through the building, causing the people inside to scream in panic and fear. The Leviathan kept moving around, the Hulk bashing it in the face as it did.

Natasha landed on her back on top of the car hood, the Chitauri soldier leering over her with its rifle-spear raised for the kill. She moved as it came down, it impaling the metal next to her head, and crossed her legs over the soldier's head, letting it lift her up so she could grab its head and activate her widow's bite, electrocuting it. The soldier stumbled, stunned for a second, and she used that to grab its rifle and blast it back.

She turned suddenly, hearing something behind her, rifle raised only to see Captain America swing over the side of the bridge from where he'd been fighting. She instantly relaxed, feeling the fatigue set in. They had been doing this for almost an hour now, fighting these endless waves of alien soldiers, and there was still no end in sight. "Captain, none of this is going to mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal." They both looked up at it and still saw more ships flying through to join the battle.

"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it."

"Well, maybe it's not about gun," she said, thinking. Sometimes situations required a more delicate approach rather than a brunt one. She wanted to take a look at the thing herself, see what she made of it.

Steve glanced at her, seeing what she was thinking, before looking over to see more Chitauri foot soldiers approaching from the end of the bridge. Percy and Sam were holding off forces on the other side. And if Natasha was leaving, that left him to handle them. He didn't want to, but she was right. That portal needed to close if they were going to win. And right now, seemed like she had the best idea of how to do it. So if he had to handle these creeps alone for now, he would.

"If you want to get up there, you're going to need a ride," he pointed out.

She looked over at him knowingly. "I've got a ride," she said, tossing aside the alien rifle and walking to the other side of the bridge. As she did, Steve glanced up at the ships passing overhead and realized what she was up to. "I could use a boost, though," she added over her shoulder.

Steve backed up and raised his shield, awaiting her. "You sure about this?"

Natasha looked at the ships passing by and felt a clench of fear but she quickly shoved it down. No time for that now. She had a job to do. "Yeah," she said. "It's gonna be fun."

She started running, charging straight at Steve and his shield. She jumped on the nearby car and used it to leap across over onto the shield where Steve pushed upwards with all his strength, launching her into the air. As soon as he did, Natasha looked up and saw a Chitauri ship passing right over her and she reached out and grabbed hold of the edge as it passed, taking her with it.

Steve paused for a second, admiring her as she was dragged away into the city, before a blaster shot blew apart part of the stonework near him, bringing him back into the present. He raised his shield and prepared to meet the next wave as the Chitauri fired on him.

Natasha strained to hold onto her grip, feeling the drag force pulling her back as the ship sailed through the city. But she had survived worse than this, so she held on and slowly pulled herself up, pushing back against the force against her and climbing onto the vessel. She could hear the Chitauri soldier blasting away and now saw him, not noticing her even when she was at its feet. Its mistake. She pulled out a knife from her belt and slashed at the cord connecting the alien to the ship, instantly cutting off its weapon's power. The soldier turned in surprise but was too slow as she kicked it off, letting it fall to the hard earth below. She then turned to face the pilot who was still guiding the ship around.

She could still feel the drag force against her and she pulled on two upraised sections of the ship to keep herself from flying off. She eyed the pilot and saw there was no way she could fly the ship without it. The thing was literally connected to the ship, the its face meshed into a metal plate that was controlling everything. Killing it would bring the ship down. So she had to come up with something else.

Thinking fast, she came up with something and took out another knife. Wasn't a great plan, but it was all she had. She prepared herself and then launched forward, leaping right onto the back of the Chitauri pilot and stabbing it in two different spots on either side of its spine. It instantly growled in surprise and outrage but couldn't do anything to stop her. "Okay, turn, turn," she said, trying to move her new handholds in the pilot in order to guide it and the ship the way she wanted. The ship moved clumsily in the air. "Less!" she yelled out as it turned right into the side of a building, managing to gain control at the last second so instead of crashing they just grazed it, still breaking part of the mortar.

Natasha breathed in deep and focused, tightening her grip on the knives. She had it now and she started to fly the ship the way she wanted.

As she flew by, Iron Man came in and blasted the other Chitauri ships swarming her before zooming down to the Park Avenue bridge and blasting away more enemies before ramming his way through several Chitauri soldiers attacking Steve. He came to a still as Steve leapt up and kicked one Chitauri over the bridge as Tony blasted another aside. They both instantly looked at each other and seemed to come up with the same idea at the same time, Tony unleashing his repulsor power directly onto the Captain's shield where it rebounded and flared out, slicing through several more soldiers. With the bridge in more stable condition, Tony flew up the side of the nearby building, blasting away and knocking off more Chitauri crawling up it trying to get at Clint who shot an arrow into the head of one that had just reached the top. Clint ducked as two alien blasts fired over his head, then carefully followed their path and nocked an arrow, loosing it where it struck the back of the ship's pilot's head, bringing it and the two soldiers on board down right onto the ground and flattening four soldiers attacking Sam's rear. She yanked out her spear from one alien's chest and used it to bash one aside, impaling a second before going back and killing the first. She then glanced over and threw her axe across the street, killing the Chitauri sneaking up on Percy. He spun around, slicing through the soldiers surrounding him, before ducking some blaster fire from a ship above. He glared up at it and then lifted his hand up, a nearby fire hydrant following his command as the water inside burst open and crashed into the ship, sending it soaring out of control and directly into the path of one of the ships chasing Sadie. She ducked some more blaster fire, diving low to the ground as she built up her magical energy and then sent it back, transforming all the ships chasing her into sand where they instantly fell apart, the Chitauri screaming as they fell to the hard ground below. Sadie then turned and saw more ships ahead, sending a bolt of energy right at the leading one and bringing it down where it crashed into the head of a Leviathan flying by with the Hulk ripping apart the metal on top and throwing Chitauri off. One leaped onto his back but he just grabbed hold of it and threw it to his feet as hard as he could before turning and facing the next enemy. As he did, Thor landed ahead of him, hammer swinging into the aliens and sending them flying. Together, the two of them smashed and bashed the attacking Chitauri soldiers off the Leviathan before the Hulk ripped off a large piece of the Leviathan's metal skin and slammed it into its back. Thor turned and lifted his hammer up, lightning piercing down from the sky into it as he brought Mjolnir down onto the protruding metal, forcing it all the way through the Leviathan and killing it. The giant ship gave one last death cry before falling, crashing straight through the walls of Grand Central and into the main foyer, smashing the central reception desk and metal globe on top to pieces as it came to a rest. Thor and Hulk clambered off, breathing in deep as they assessed the wreckage around them and nodded in triumph. Hulk's fist suddenly went out, punching Thor in the face and sending him flying. Hulk didn't even turn, merely sniffed, having proven he was the stronger one.

Erik Selvig stumbled on the ground, his arms pushing aside tiny rocks as he struggled to move. His head felt fuzzy and strange and his eyesight was all blurry. He couldn't remember much about what had happened. He could hear sounds in the distance but couldn't quite make them out. He blinked rapidly, getting up on his hands and knees, and looked up to the sky.

And then he saw it. The ships flying around the Manhattan skyline, the alien invasion. And all his memories came back, all the things that he had done for Loki. He gasped as the realization struck him, still looking at all the devastation and feeling sick to his stomach. He had brought the army here, caused all of this. He had been a puppet to the god's strings. And now, Manhattan was being destroyed.

A Leviathan suddenly dived and smashed the top part of a building into pieces, letting it crumble into ruins below, before moving between several skyscrapers. It unleashed several more Chitauri foot soldiers from its insides, letting them smash through the glass windows to cause havoc inside. Then it continued on its way to continue its trail of destruction.

But, as is passed another skyscraper, the glass windows above it suddenly smashed outwards and a legion of stone warriors dropped down. It screeched in annoyance as the statues landed on top of it and then proceeded to hammer away at the alien metal. The Leviathan released more Chitauri who leapt onto its back as well to combat the intruders. Several smaller Chitauri ships in the vicinity heard the warship's call and came back to hell, blasting away at the statues, but more kept dropping from above. One statue of William Seward jumped off the Leviathan's back and landed on a smaller ship, stabbing its quill into the two soldiers before killing the pilot as well. The statue then jumped off again before the ship went down.

The statue of Prometheus ripped up one large metal plate off and began smashing Chitauri with it while several other statues began to tear into the softer flesh beneath the metal. The Leviathan roared in pain but quickly stopped when several other statues began attacking its jaws. It did its best to shake them off but they hung on, bashing with their stony automaton strength.

Eventually, the statues overwhelmed the Chitauri forces and continued to tear the Leviathan apart until the large warship finally gave in, its armor in pieces and its insides torn apart. It collapsed into the street below and died. The surviving statues rose as one and then began moving in other directions to find more aliens to destroy.

Far above, Sadie nodded in triumph. She loved these things. A whole army of shabti. It had taken some time to command them to get into the right position, but it had worked out. Another Leviathan down. But there were still so many to take care of.

Prepping herself, she directed her kite back into battle.

Percy ducked as more blaster fire came his way. He grimaced, narrowing his eyes on the enemy ships heading his way. But before he could make any move to attack them, they moved on, blasting their way further into the city.

"Damn it," he muttered, watching them. He felt so helpless against them. He could take down as many foot soldiers as needed but those ships stayed far away. And he had already used up so much of the water in the surrounding area that there was about enough left to make one ball of water. And even if he could get more water, he would only take a few ships while hundreds tore their way through the city. If he could somehow take out a whole bunch at once, but there wasn't nearly enough water here for that.

Remember the rivers.

The words struck him like one of Thalia's lightning bolts. Athena's message to him in the last battle of Manhattan, one that had made sure that no enemy forces could attack from the rivers. Rivers that contained enough water to drown a thousand Chitauri ships.

And just like that, he had a plan.

"Iron Man!" he yelled into his comm.

"Yeah, what is it? Kind of busy."

"I need you to get me to the East River as fast as you can."

"Now doesn't seem like the best time for a swim, kid."

"I have an idea." Percy quickly told him what it was and Tony fell silent for a few minutes.

"You sure you can do that?" he asked.

"I'm the son of the sea god," Percy replied. "Yeah, I think I can handle it."

"Alright then. Coming up on your six."

Percy frowned, turning to look in several directions. "Wait, what's my six mean aga- ah!" he cried as Iron Man flew behind him and suddenly picked him up, lifting him into the sky and flying him down E 42nd street. Percy gulped, seeing the city streets zoom past him. This was definitely not his preferred method of flying. Give him a pegasus any day of the week.

He saw the East River coming up fast and he tensed up, preparing himself. "Ok," he said, as Iron Man flew up to it, "drop me in."

"You sure?" Tony checked.

"Yeah. This is my turf."

"Alright. Good luck Aquaman."

"Don't call me Aqua-" Percy didn't get to finish before Tony dropped him. He fell fast, the water rising up to greet him. He knew that at this height, the surface was closer to concrete that liquid, but not to him. He splashed down hard, sinking fast into the East River. And the second he did, he felt every nerve inside him awaken, like they'd all gotten a shot of caffeine. He suddenly felt reinvigorated, the fatigue of the battle draining away. He felt more powerful than he had in a while. The water revolved around him, as if welcoming him home. He lifted Riptide up to the surface and shot himself up, his head breaking through to clear air.

The water was ready. He was ready. Now it was up to Iron Man.

Tony rose up above the city skyline and did a quick scan, looking for the largest swarms of Chitauri ships. He focused in on a cluster near the Empire State Building, almost two dozen of them. Seemed like a good place to start. He pushed on his thrusters and zoomed towards them, repulsors charged up and ready to go.

"Hello boys," he greeted, flying by and blasting two down. "Miss me?"

The ships seemed to turn as one to face him, instantly blasting away at him. "I'll take that as a yes." He whirled around and flew off, but lowered his thrust power so that he couldn't get too far from them. He needed to give them a close chase if this was to work. He was a little dubious. Ok, a lot dubious. Sure, he had seen what the kid had done with his powers but what he was suggesting now was something straight out of The Last Airbender. But if he could pull it off, well…

"JARVIS, scout me a path to all the largest nearby swarms of ships," he said. "And maybe throw in one of those Leviathan things."

"On it, sir." A few seconds later, his screen displayed a line zig-zagging throughout the city in front of him with red clusters indicating enemy ships. Tony smiled and started following it, already seeing the first cluster up ahead. He flew right into them and blasted a couple ships aside. He heard the Chitauri scream and take up the chase alongside the rest of their brethren still on his tail.

Tony grimaced as a blast struck his armor, causing him to stumble midair. He sent a blast backwards, knocking the offender out of the sky, but the other two dozen were still firing away at him, turning the street blocks in front of him into a strike zone. He flew right into the next group, firing away at them to antagonize them and letting them join the kill-Iron-Man brigade.

"Alright JARVIS, where's th- SHIT!" he exclaimed as a Chitauri blast destroyed a fuel truck right underneath him, sending him soaring out of control into a side building. He crashed straight through into the offices inside, destroying several cubicles as he did. He groaned and got up from the wreckage of a desk and then his eyes widened as he saw all the Chitauri blasters aimed at him.

"Not good," he muttered and poured juice into his thrusters, launching himself to the side as the Chitauri opened fire and tore through the office building. Tony felt several blasts bounce off his armor, making him jerk midflight, but he ignored it, blasting his way out of the building from the side, sending glass and broken furniture raining down on the street below. He turned back to face the armada of ships now and raised his gauntlet. He aimed for a second and then sent a missile into the heart of the swarm. It flew right into them and detonated against a ship before the Chitauri even realized what had happened, five ships being destroyed instantly and another four sent spinning out of control. The rest of the ships turned to face Iron Man, blasters at the ready.

"Let's pick up the pace a little here," Tony said out loud before flying off again, the chase back on. "And kid, this had better work."

Percy stared up at the city skyline, waiting. He could occasionally catch a glimpse of flying objects in between the buildings as well as the sounds of explosions, but it was hard to tell if it was Iron Man or not. There were so many ships in the air that it was impossible to know. Hopefully this would trim down their numbers. Percy could tell that Tony doubted him and a part of him doubted it too. But he knew he could do this. Water was his element. He was finally back in his element after spending the last few battles in the middle of a forest and in a flying fortress thousands of feet in the air. Now, he had the river at his command. He could feel the power in it, his father's power and thus his power in it. He could do this. He hated what it would do to the already polluted river, but he would clean it up afterwards. Right now, he just had to take down these alien invaders.

"Come on Iron Man," he muttered. "Hurry up."

"How many have I got on me now, JARVIS?"

"52 sir."

Tony glanced back and saw a whole fleet of ships flying after him, completely blocking the street. "Yeah, that seems about right. And should be enough. But let's see if we can wrangle us a Leviathan too."

"The nearest one is ten blocks on your second right."

"On it." Tony looked ahead and then made the turn, flying a little erratically in the air to avoid the numerous blasts coming from behind him. Every now and then, he fired his repulsors or a missile at them to keep them on his tail.

He looked ahead and saw part of a building get broken apart as the Leviathan appeared, armed Chitauri troops still shooting out of its sides. Tony narrowed his eyes and increased his speed. He armed his wrist-missiles and, just as he flew by its head, launched them directly into the warship's face, the missiles striking it all over and causing it to roar in pain and rage.

"Come on, big boy," Tony said to it. "Follow the leader." He took off quickly as the Leviathan now led the charge with the swarm of ships flying alongside it. "JARVIS, what's the quickest route to the Jackson kid?"

"That would be your fifth left, sir. But I would recommend-"

"No time," Tony replied, already boosting his power even more. He had to fly fast enough to get away from the alien ships, but not too fast so that they wouldn't lose him. And that was costing him. His armor's shield integrity was already close to 25% and was quickly falling with all the hits he was taking. He needed to finish this now.

He flew close to the ground, dodging more blaster fire, before making a swift left turn towards the river where he flew right into the face of another Leviathan.

"Holy!" Tony swore, forcing his repulsors forward to push him back but it was too late. His momentum threw him right into the new Leviathan's face with his repulsor landing directly on one of its eyes, burning into it. The Leviathan screeched out and shook its head rapidly. Tony boosted up and flew off it. He saw the rest of the fleet approaching from the rear. Too late to turn back. He ducked under the Leviathan's gaping jaws and flew off to the river, the second Leviathan demolishing the buildings around it to turn and chase him as well.

"JARVIS, why didn't you warn me about that?" he demanded.

"I tried to sir, but you interrupted me before I could."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Tony nodded. He did a quick scan of the ships behind him and breathed through his teeth at all of them. "Let's hope you can handle this, kid," he muttered.

"Kid, hope you're ready!" Tony's voice came blaring through the comm, startling Percy. "Cause I'm coming in hot with a whole host of angry Chitauri on my tail."

Percy raised his hands, readying his power. "Bring them to me. I got this."

He heard them before he saw Iron Man fly out between the buildings, the screeching of alien throats, the sounds of multiple engines, and the shattering noises of explosions and blaster fire. And then he saw them, a whole armada of Chitauri ships, so many that it was impossible to see through them. And if that wasn't bad enough, two Leviathans emerged behind them, roaring in rage.

"I got this," Percy said. "Still got this." But it was a lot. Maybe too much. His heart pounded as he took in the threat. Maybe he would have the power if still had the curse of Achilles. Or maybe if he was in actual seawater rather than the polluted East River. He didn't think he could take down that many ships. It was just too much.

Then he took another look at the city. He could see all the fires from explosions, see other alien ships dive-bombing all around, could hear the screeches of Chitauri foot soldiers and the screams of innocent people. This was his city, where he had been born and raised. His hometown. And these monsters were destroying it. And unlike with Kronos's army, these people wouldn't be spared. Percy could just imagine his mom and stepdad and baby sister in there, fleeing in terror and then getting shot down in the street. And that filled him with rage.

"You're up, kid!" Iron Man shouted, flying by where he was. The ships followed Tony out, screaming and blasting at him and flying right over Percy. They never saw it coming.

Percy closed his eyes and called on his power. He reached deep inside, feeling his father's energy inside of him, and pulled on it. The water around him began to bubble in pressure, small waves forming and growing rapidly. But Percy reached deeper than that. He was Poseidon's son. All water was his to command. And he was going to unleash it all.

With a roar, he lifted his hands and the water seemed to explode out of the river, shooting out like geysers into the air, except it all moved like one living thing. Some of the Chitauri were blasted off their ships immediately while the others shrieked in terror and confusion as the water spouted all around them and tried to escape but it was too late. Percy moved the water with his power and it responded, forming into a massive tidal wave over 500 feet tall, casting a shadow over the Chitauri as it loomed over them. They gave only one last scream before the wave came down, washing them away with it and plunging them into the East River, drowning each and every last one of them.

Percy sighed and then looked up as the water began to settle again and frowned. And then he cursed. He didn't get them all. The two Leviathans were still in the air. The water had dragged them down, but not enough. And now they were recovering and flying clumsily back to shore.

"No," Percy muttered. He refused to allow any to escape. He would destroy them all.

He could feel the fatigue from the large amount of power he had just used but he pushed past it, reaching deep again. And no matter how much his body protested, he didn't take no for an answer. And the river once again responded. But this time, he didn't make a geyser or a tidal wave.

He lifted his hands up and the water copied his movements, two enormous fists of water erupting from the river, their very surface swirling and spraying. Percy remembered a couple years ago when he had used this against two gorgons. But these fists were ten times that size. And he controlled them all the same. He concentrated and brought his water hands up around the escaping Leviathans. The mechanical monsters bellowed out but Percy hardened his grip, the watery fingers now harder than steel. He knew more than anyone the power of water. Sometimes it was lazy and smooth and moved easily. Other times, it was as powerful as a raging storm, capable of tearing buildings apart. Or even giant alien warships.

The Leviathan's metal armor buckled and tore in his grip as he pulled the beasts back and down into the river. They squirmed and writhed but he never let up. He could feel his power burning up, feel it draining out of him. But he was one of the most powerful demigods in the world. And it was time to prove that.

Clenching his teeth from the effort, he closed his fists and the giant water imitations copied his movement, crushing the ships between the swirling fingers. The Leviathans fell silent, their systems broken, and Percy finally brought them down to the river, pulling them beneath the surface. He let his fist-copies drop and would have slumped over if he wasn't already swimming. That had taken a lot. He was wiped out. But he could also feel the water reviving him, giving him his strength back.

"Nice work, kid." Percy looked up and saw Iron Man. "Didn't know you had it in you."

Percy nodded and gave him a thumbs up. "Get back in there," he said, nodding towards the city. "I'll be there in a few."

"Gotcha." Iron Man then took off back to the city and to the battle.

Percy just laid back on the river's surface and relaxed for a second, needing to catch his breath from the exertion. As he did, he sensed all the ships below him, more than fifty smaller attack vessels and two Leviathan warships, and he smirked. "Let's see Aquaman do that."

On the streets, the National Guard had arrived, trucks rolling into the streets and soldiers shooting at the attacking aliens while also ushering civilians to safety. They provided a reprieve against the endless waves of Chitauri soldiers, but even that wouldn't last. The portal was still open, and the aliens were still coming.

Steve gritted his teeth, straining against the Chitauri spear above his head as the alien soldier did its best to impale him with it. He twisted it to the side so it hit the ground next to him then punched the alien twice, knocking it out. He got back on his feet and took a deep breath. But his small moment wouldn't last.

"Cap, the bank on 42nd past Madison," Clint reported. "They've cornered a lot of civilians in there."

"I'm on it," Steve replied, already moving. "Sam, hold the bridge!" he called over. She turned and nodded before pivoting and decapitating an attacking Chitauri.

Inside the bank, the Chitauri had taken over the upper floor and were now pointing their rifles over the balcony at the civilians crowded below, containing them. The people huddled together, some crying while others stared uncomprehendingly at the aliens pointing guns, still not fully believing it.

One Chitauri reached into its back pouch and pulled out a bomb, activating the countdown. At that same second, Steve leaped through the window and rolled on the floor up to his feet. He swiveled to the soldier with the bomb and threw his shield right at it. The soldier looked up just in time to have the shield smack into its face, cleaving through its helmet and causing it to fall heavily, dropping the bomb.

The other two Chitauri turned to face Steve, blasting out at him with their rifles. He leapt to one of the fallen tables, taking cover there. He looked over at the bomb, still beeping with a small knob at the top lowering with each beep. He estimated he had fifteen seconds before it went off. He had to hurry.

More Chitauri blasts came overhead and he grunted before kicking out with all his strength at the table, sending it sliding across the floor into the soldiers, flipping one over and crushing the other against the balcony. Before it could recover, Steve charged it and punched it hard in the gut. He then grabbed hold of its head and, using its momentum against it, flipped it over his shoulder. The people below gasped in shock and fear as he tossed it over the balcony to them, the crowd shuffling back as it landed on the floor.

"Everyone! Clear out!" he yelled down to them right before the other Chitauri attacked him from behind, grabbing him in a chokehold and pulling on his head. He strained against it, gritting his teeth from the effort. He could still hear the countdown going and he did not want to be up here when it went off.

He then saw out of the corner of his eye the first Chitauri soldier rise back up, its heavy blaster in hand ready to fire right at him. Acting fast, he used all his strength to flip over the Chitauri behind him, letting it take the blasts instead. The Chitauri screeched as it was hit, its armor shattering from the blasts before it fell.

The countdown suddenly increased its tempo and both Steve and the remaining Chitauri looked down at it in fear. The alien moved first, scrambling on the floor to pick it up. Steve then rolled across the floor and onto his shield, grabbing it swiftly and rolling it up in defense as he made for the window. The Chitauri lifted up the bomb to throw it just as Steve jumped up, curling up into a ball with his shield covering him. And then the bomb went off, still in the Chitauri's hand.

The world turned blue and Steve was sent flying, the blast throwing him right back out the window. He went weightless, his senses askew, until he landed on a car on the street below, crumpling the roof from impact. His body nearly exploded from the pain and he just lay there for a second, grunting and grimacing. He then got off the car and back on his feet and then just stared at the ground. He needed a minute. Just one minute to recover. They had been doing this for a while now and before he faced the next bout, he just needed a minute.

Inside, the people stared up at where the bomb went off, the balcony and one of the pillars broken and seared. They then slowly made their way out back into the street where police officers and firefighters appeared and began directing them to safety. As they did, one waitress stopped and looked over at the still form of Captain America standing amidst the wreckage, taking it all in. He stared at it all, at the war zone around him, and was reminded of how some things never changed. No matter what, life still dragged him back into a war.

"Director Fury," Councilwoman Hawley said, "the Council has made a decision."

"I recognize the Council has made a decision," Fury responded angrily, staring at their screens from his position on the Helicarrier bridge. "But given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I have elected to ignore it."

"Director," Councilman Malick said in a commanding tone, "you're closer than any of our subs. You scramble that jet-"

"That is the island of Manhattan, Councilman," Fury interrupted. Behind him, Hill stared at them with a shocked look, not believing what she was hearing. "Until I'm certain my team can't hold it, I will not order a nuclear strike against a civilian population."

"If we don't hold them here, we lose everything," Malick told him.

"I send that bird out, we already have," Fury replied. And before they could say anything else, he switched off their screens and turned away.

Sam ducked behind a car for safety, narrowly missing a Chitauri gun blast. She tried to look over the top but another blast nearly taking her head off stopped her. Thinking quickly, she transformed into a horsefly and buzzed above the car into the air.

It wasn't looking good. With both Percy and Cap gone, the bridge was being overrun with Chitauri and she just couldn't hold them all back. There were just too many of them. But she had faced worse odds. True, she had had her friends with her when she did. But she had stopped a frost giant single-handedly when it had invaded her school without any training. If she could do that, then she could take on a small army of alien soldiers when she was a fully-fledged Valkyrie.

But maybe that wasn't the best way. Her father never liked direct confrontation and, much as she hated it, maybe it was time to take a page from his book.

Still a horsefly, she buzzed her way behind the Chitauri and then swiftly transformed into a lion. The soldiers whirled around at her growl but before they could react, she was already tearing into them, slashing with her claws and ripping with her teeth. She took out seven of them when the others began actively firing on her. She transformed again, turning into a small wren, and flew away from them, leaving them confused. She flew up for a moment, catching her breath, before diving back down and transforming into a grizzly bear. With a thousand pounds of force on her side, she barreled into the troops, once again taking them by surprise and cutting them down before they could recover. She growled and with one of her large claws swiped to her right, slashing through two Chitauri and sending another three flying. She chomped down on another one, swinging it back and forth before sending it smashing into its fellow Chitauri. But at that point, the other Chitauri had begun firing on her again. She hissed as one hit her shoulder and quickly transformed again, becoming a mouse.

Sam remembered all those sessions with her sibling Alex during Ramadan where she had to transform on the spot when the whistle blew. It had been grueling, but she was more than thankful for it. It had let her become more in tune with her powers, gave her more control over herself. And now, it came easily to her.

Sam scampered across the dirty ground and between the legs of the soldiers, looking around for the best spot. She wanted to be where the Chitauri were most crowded together. She went a little further and decided this was probably the best spot, around a dozen soldiers milling together above her. She concentrated again and felt her body expand rapidly, turning from a small mouse into a massive elephant. The swift change slammed the Chitauri around her aside and before they could get up, she was already charging, stomping them into the street and smashing them into bits. She swung her tusks, catching more Chitauri and tossing them over the side of the bridge. She felt a few blasts hit her side and roared in rage and pain, crushing the soldiers before transforming again.

She took a deep breath, now a robin standing on a lamppost. She had cut a deep wedge into the Chitauri here with her tactics. But there were still more coming. They couldn't keep this up forever. Someone had to take out that portal, but Sam had no idea how to do it. All she could do was take out as many Chitauri as she could. But how many more could she take down?

She didn't even have to look out over the city still being destroyed around her to know the answer. As many as it took.

She wished Magnus was here. With one blast of his power, he could remove all their weapons in his Peace of Frey move. Then she could attack and kill them all. Not very peaceful, but certainly effective.

"Well, back at it," she muttered and flew down into the Chitauri, transforming back into human form. She swung her axe around, severing an alien's head, before ramming her spear through another's chest. She ducked to avoid a blast, throwing her axe at the attacker with deadly accuracy. She picked her axe up again then changed into a rhino, using her larger bulk to trample straight through the Chitauri lines. But before she could change again, a Chitauri blast caught her in the side of her neck.

Her thick muscle and skin there held off most of the damage, but she felt searing pain and she quickly lost her concentration, turning back into a human. She pushed past a Chitauri and ducked behind a station wagon, pausing for a moment. She winced as she held her neck, the burning sensation fading but still hurting badly. She tried to transform again but instead felt the pain increase and stopped. So no transforming powers and she still had an army to take down. Great.

"Percy, Steve," Sam muttered. "I sure hope you get back here soon."

"Well that's a little hurtful."

Sam's head jerked upwards at the voice and she grinned as she saw Sadie hovering above her on a circle of mist. "You ask the boys for help when you got all the girl power you need right here," Sadie said, gesturing to herself. "Oh," she added. "And I brought some backup." She nodded her head forward and Sam looked over the station wagon and smiled even more at the sight. Sadie's giant bird was flying straight into the attacking Chitauri, leading a score of statues into battle alongside it who proceeded to smash and break the alien troops or, in the case of two stone lions, gouge and tear them apart.

"Gotta say, I am loving these guys," Sadie smirked. She hopped down to the ground next to Sam and handed her a small bottle. "For your neck," she said. "But not too much."

Sam frowned but drank a few drops and instantly felt a warm feeling spread around her body, rejuvenating her. Her neck pain faded fast, feeling as good as new. "What was that?" she asked.

"Healing potion," Sadie replied. "Pretty potent. My friend Jaz made it for me. But too much can do more harm than good. Now, shall we give our stony companions a hand out there?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "I think I'm up for that."

Together, the two hefted their weapons and charged into battle.

Natasha carefully flew down the street, still on the back of the Chitauri pilot, trying to guide it back towards Stark Tower, when a Chitauri blast destroyed part of the building to the side of her. She glanced back and grimaced at what she saw. "Oh, you."

Loki flew right on her tail, shooting out at her with his ship, trying to blast her out of the sky. These so called Avengers had caused him enough trouble and he wanted to be rid of them. And he'd start with the weakest member. He blasted out again, following her closely as she swerved to avoid him.

"Hawkeye!" Natasha called out.

A few streets over, Clint looked over and saw her piloting her ship with Loki behind her. "Nat, what are you doing?"

"Uh…" Natasha struggled to answer as Loki's next blast took out part of her ship. "A little help?"

Clint clicked a button on his bow, unlocking a section of it that then locked onto the tip of his arrow. He raised it up and carefully aimed, following Loki's path through the sky, still blasting away at Natasha. "I got him," he said, smirking. And then he fired.

The arrow sailed across the streets, directly on target, and landed directly in Loki's grasp, the god catching in midair. He stared at it for a second, before looking back at where Clint was incredulously, wondering why on earth the man thought he could take a god down with a simple arrow. And then the arrow beeped once and exploded.

His ship was instantly torn apart and he was sent flying, crashing down on the nearest building which just happened to be Stark Tower. His ship demolished the first two letters on the side of the building while he crashed right onto the balcony, groaning in pain and seething in humiliation at being bested.

At that moment, Natasha managed to guide her ship right above Stark Tower as well and, timing it just right, leapt off and dropped down below, landing on the dirt-covered roof of the building and rolling right before hitting the wall, getting on her hands and knees fast. She had made it.

Below, Loki shot to his feet, his face a mask of rage as he mentally prepared for the wrath he would inflict on the puny mortals who had dared attack him.

And then the Hulk shot up from the street below, roaring as it leapt right at him. He landed once on the balcony before shooting right into the god and launching both of them through the window and into the main room of the building. Loki smashed into the far wall, destroying several bricks, before falling heavily onto the floor but was instantly moving again. The Hulk landed a few yards away and, seeing Loki getting back up, pounded his fists once as he moved to attack.

"ENOUGH!" Loki bellowed, holding his hands out high and stopping the Hulk. "You are all of you beneath me!" he seethed at the beast in front of him. "I am a god, you dull creature. And I will not be bullied by a-"

He was interrupted when the Hulk moved, grabbing hold of his leg and, before he could react, swinging him up and then smashing him into the ground before lifting him up and smashing him down two more times, cratering the floor with the impacts. Then he held Loki up, looked at him for a second as Loki grunted in shock and fear, and then smashed him into the ground another two times for good measure. Loki lay there, stunned, his body writhing in pain and him unable to move, just gaping at the ceiling.

The Hulk slowly walked away, looking at Loki behind him in disdain. "Puny god," he said.

As Loki lay there, on the floor motionless, the only thing that came out of him was a long whimper.

Natasha walked up to the machine, the Tesseract glowing brightly in the center and shooting up its energy into the sky. She analyzed it as she approached, trying to think of some way to stop it.

"The scepter."

Natasha turned and saw Dr. Selvig lying a few feet away by the edge of the roof. "Doctor."

He looked at her for a moment and seemed to be composing himself. "Loki's scepter," he said, glancing over the side of the roof. "The energy. The Tesseract can't fight, but you can't protect against yourself."

Natasha crouched down beside him. "It's not your fault. You didn't know what you were doing," she reassured him.

Selvig looked back at her closely, but his eyes seemed far away. "Actually, I think I did." Natasha frowned at him as he continued. "I built in a safety to cut their power source."

Natasha blinked, his words dawning on her. "Loki's scepter," she said in realization.

"It may be able to close the portal," Selvig confirmed. He then turned and looked over the side of the roof again. "And I'm looking right at it," he said, staring straight at the scepter on the balcony below where Loki had dropped it.

Thor landed on the Chitauri ship and grunted as he fought with one of the soldiers, swinging Mjolnir into it and causing its shot to blast the pilot instead. Thor then punched the other soldier off the ship before lifting his hammer and whirling it around to keep his balance as the ship began to lose control, careening left and right.

Just as he was beginning to assert control, the building in front of him suddenly exploded in a shower of debris and glass as a Leviathan erupted out of it, smashing the ship into pieces and tossing Thor aside. It continued on its way, ignoring the fallen thunder god, and letting the building slowly collapse behind it. However, before it could, Iron Man flew out from the debris and began trying to slice through the Chitauri metal with a laser beam.

"Sir, we will lose power before we penetrate that shell," JARVIS warned him.

Tony grimaced and shut down the laser, knowing he was right. He wished he had Percy with him now. That kid had taken down two of these things in a matter of seconds. But that was only over water. Out here on the streets, he probably wouldn't be as much help. Plus, Tony kind of wanted to take down a Leviathan himself. The first one didn't count since Banner helped him. But how could he take it down when it was so heavily armored on the outside?

Then the stupidest idea he'd had yet hit him. He took off, flying around it to get in front of it, while the beast dive-bombed a building, flattening the roof. Tony rounded the block and then found himself flying straight at the warship.

"JARVIS," he said, assessing his armor integrity, "you ever hear the tale of Jonah?"

"I wouldn't consider him a role model."

Ignoring his advice, Tony armed his lower missiles and boosted his power, aiming straight for the monster's mouth. He yelled out as he flew right at it just as it saw him and roared perfectly on time, allowing Tony perfect entry into its mouth and down its slimy throat. He instantly unleashed the missiles. The Leviathan jerked midair and several sections exploded in a mixture of metal, flesh, and fire before Iron Man burst out the other end in a massive explosion that finally killed the beast, sending it crashing into the ground and sending Tony flying out of control and smashing through a bus stop and into the side of a taxi where he bounced off and hit the street.

He groaned and winced, all his systems on the fritz from the series of impacts. But just as they were beginning to stabilize and he stood up, a Chitauri blast out of nowhere hit him followed by another one which shot him across the street, downing him again. Around him, several more Chitauri appeared, converging on him.

Clint whirled around, reaching for an arrow, as a Chitauri dropped down behind him, nocked it and then fired, killing the soldier before it could even begin to attack. Clint then turned to face another Chitauri that had climbed up the building, reaching for another arrow but grasping at nothing. He inwardly cursed as he realized he had run out of arrows without realizing. Acting fast, he swung his bow like a club, meeting the Chitauri's own strike and knocking it off balance. He then hit it again across the face before kicking it in the chest, hurling it over the side of the roof.

Clint then turned, bow at the ready as he heard more ships coming. He looked up and his eyes widened as more than a dozen ships converged, heading straight for him. He felt a surge of panic rise in him but he squashed it down fast. Glancing at the roof's edge again, he whirled around and grabbed the arrow out of the fallen Chitauri's body, placing it back in his quiver. He pressed another button on his bow and the bottom section of his quiver whirled around, revealing a hidden metal arrowhead which attached itself to the arrow.

The Chitauri started firing, blowing up the roof he was on. He ran for the roof's edge, his heart pounding wildly, and leapt off just as it all blew up behind him. As he fell, gravity quickly taking hold, he twisted around in midair while reaching for the arrow again. He nocked it and aimed at the building, firing the new grappling arrow which instantly attached itself to the concrete wall. He held on tightly to his bow and grunted when it jerked strongly in his hand as the rope went taut, nearly losing his grip. His fall transformed into a swing as his body now moved horizontally, swinging right at the building's large glass windows.

Clint braced himself as he crashed straight through and rolled on the floor, glass shards showering all over him. He gasped and groaned in pain from the impact, clenching his whole body. He was out of the fight now. The rest was up to the others.

The Hulk smashed two Chitauri into the rooftop, their dying screeches fading in his fists. He then kicked another soldier aside and grabbed a third by its head, squashing it into black pulp before throwing it aside. A blast hit him but he barely felt it, ignoring it. He then felt another blast hit his back and he turned, angrily, to see the attacker so he could destroy them as well.

But when he turned, growling, he suddenly faced a whole fleet of alien ships above him. He roared at them, ready to leap into battle, but before he could the Chitauri on the leap ship dropped its arm at him and all the ships opened fire, dousing him in a barrage of explosive blasts. Smoke and sparks erupted around him as he struggled to hold off the attack. He couldn't fight back or even run. All he could do was hold up his arms in defense as the bombardment continued and roar his frustration.

Sadie muttered a spell and sent a squad of Chitauri flying. Then, pointing at two more soldiers, she transformed them into sand, letting them fall apart. She wiped some sweat off her brow but had to quickly dodge to avoid a blast from a ship above. She conjured a fireball, hurtling it at the pilot who panicked and flew wildly into another ship.

Her breathing was ragged and she had never felt more drained. In all her other big battles, she had the power of Izzie on her side. Now, she was just herself. Granted, she was pretty awesome by herself. She was considered one of the most powerful magicians in the world now without Izzie's power. But, she had a limit and she was reaching it rapidly. She didn't know how much more she could do. She just hoped she could take as many as she could when she did.

"Sadie!"

Sadie looked up at Sam's call and then to where she was pointing, feeling her heart stop as she did. A whole swarm of ships was converging on them fast, around thirty of them.

"Looks like we pissed them off," Sam muttered and Sadie just nodded.

The head Chitauri let off a war cry and started firing, the others all following suit, blasting away at Sam and Sadie with massive firepower.

"N'dah!" Sadie screamed out, calling on her remaining magic to form a shield around her and Sam. A shimmering blue wall appeared around them as a bubble just as the blasts rained down. Sadie winced and pushed back as the shield came under fire. Her magic was fading fast. She couldn't keep this up forever but judging from the Chitauri attack, they could.

Outside, she saw all the statues get demolished under the barrage. She hoped they could be fixed later or else the city would be pretty mad after this was over. If they made it through. Her heart twisted as her kite was blasted apart, turning into a broken staff. That was one of her favorite staffs.

"Sadie, look!" Sam yelled and Sadie looked up again to see something even worse. A Leviathan was approaching, except this one was fitted with large laser cannons and was now blasting away, utterly obliterating the street below it. In less than a minute, that would be them. And Sadie didn't have the strength to withstand it.

It was time then, for her Hail Mary. She fumbled a little as she reached for her pouch and grabbed the energy potion. Pulling the cap off, she downed it before she could think on it further. That was Carter's job. Her, she just went with her gut and right now, she knew they wouldn't survive if she didn't do this. Even if it was a little experimental and could hypothetically blow her up.

Her stomach felt like she had swallowed a glob of fire but her magic was suddenly blazing again, her shield stronger than ever. But even that wouldn't last. She had about a minute before the effects wore off. All the time she needed.

She reached out with her magic, commanding it to do what she wanted. She concentrated on every Chitauri soldier and ship out there, especially the Leviathan. She had only one shot. So she wasn't going to fumble it now. She poured all her magic together, pooling it into one massive spell in her mind. She felt ready to burst as she did, but she held on just long enough to utter her favorite Divine Word.

"Ha-di."

The effect was instantaneous. Every Chitauri soldier and ship in the sky burst apart, erupting in an explosion of fire, metal, and black fluid. The Leviathan above looked like a bomb went off, blowing apart magnificently, its pieces going everywhere. The street became littered with the alien bodies and tech, all of them falling apart in a massive pile.

Sadie grinned in triumph. She'd always wanted to do something like that. A true blaze of glory. That was her last thought before she collapsed.

"Whoa!" Sam said, yanking Sadie up before she hit the street. She was completely out and Sam couldn't say she was surprised. That had been a massive use of magic. She didn't know anyone other than Odin could pull something like that off. But Sadie had done it. "Nice job," she said, even though she knew her friend couldn't hear it. She smiled at the mess but it soon faded as she knew more would come. This wouldn't end unless that portal was taken out.

The jet lifted up through the Helicarrier to the main deck, ready for takeoff.

"Director Fury is no longer in command," Councilwoman Hawley said over the comm. "Override order 7-Alpha-1-1."

"7-Alpha-1-1 confirmed," the pilot responded. "We're go for takeoff." Above him, the panels lifted allowing him access to the main deck.

On the bridge, Hill looked at the warnings flashing across the screen in alarm, seeing the jet come up to the main deck and knowing what it meant. "Sir, we have a bird in motion!" she said. Instantly, Fury moved, running for the door. "Anyone on the deck, we have a rogue bird. We need to shut it down!" she yelled, people scrambling around her as she desperately pressed the alarm buttons. "Repeat, takeoff is not authorized."

Fury reached the main deck after grabbing a rocket launcher from the armory on the way. He hefted it over his shoulder as he ran, the sliding doors opening in front of him. He ran out onto the deck and instantly saw the jet taking off. In another seconds it would be gone. He had one shot at this and he couldn't miss. He followed its path carefully, waiting for just the right moment, before firing the launcher. The missile streaked across the deck and hit the back end of the jet, detonating instantly and knocking the jet off balance, forcing it into a slide across the deck in a cloud of fire and smoke to the edge of the platform where the front wheel rolled off before it came to a stop.

Fury gave off a small sigh of relief which was quickly muffled as he glanced over to the lower deck and saw a second jet taking off. He dropped the useless launcher and grabbed his gun, pointing it at the now-taking off jet but didn't fire, knowing it was pointless. The jet was out of range and bullets wouldn't do anything anyway. He had been tricked. And now Manhattan was in even more danger than before.

He walked back inside and shut the sliding doors behind him before activating the comm link to Stark's suit. "Stark," he said, "you hear me? You have a missile headed straight for the city."

Miles away in the heart of Manhattan, Tony felt a rush of adrenaline flow through him at those words, giving him the boost he needed. "How long?" he asked, trying to get up only to get knocked back down when a Chitauri slammed its rifle into his armored head. He groaned as his head hit the ground, the other Chitauri also hitting him as hard as they could.

"Three minutes, max," Fury replied as Tony raised his repulsors to shoot out at the soldiers. "The payload will wipe out midtown."

"JARVIS, put everything we've got into the thrusters," Tony ordered.

"I just did," JARVIS replied, the thrusters activating while Tony still blasted the closest Chitauri aside. As he was taking off, one soldier jumped on his back but he just knocked it back and then kicked another clinging to his foot, shooting off into the air at maximum speed.

The jet flew out over the Lower Bay of New York, the pilot's thumb resting on the trigger. He felt some hesitations over this, destroying the city and everyone in it, but it wasn't his call. It was the Council's. And if it would stop this invasion, then it was worth it.

He pushed the button and the bottom of the jet opened up, dropping the missile which fell for a second before its engine activated and it took off straight for the city.

"Package is sent," the pilot confirmed. "Detonation in 2 minutes, 30 seconds, mark."

Steve and Thor both held out their arms, their weapons returning to them simultaneously and, as one, they twisted around and knocked aside the attacking Chitauri with shield and hammer respectively. Steve hit his Chituari again with his shield while Thor swing Mjolnir into the enemy again and again, sending the alien soldiers flying. Then, as Steve lowered his shield, he got hit in the stomach by an unseen shooter, knocking him flat.

The shooter, leading a squad of several more Chitauri, fired again but Thor came up and deflected them with Mjolnir and, as Steve got up to his hands and knees, charged the enemy. He ran right up to a car and slammed his hammer into the undercarriage. The car instantly went airborne, flipped over and over and crushing all the Chitauri in its way until there were none left.

Thor then turned and saw more Chitauri coming in the opposite direction and threw his hammer at them full force, the aliens screeching in pain as he did.

With them taken care of, Thor went over to Steve and held out his hand which Steve gratefully took, rising back up, grunting in pain and holding his stomach gingerly.

"You ready for another bout?" Thor asked him, looking at the wound.

"What, you getting sleepy?" Steve asked sarcastically after a moment.

Thor gave him a small smile before lifting out his hand, Mjolnir flying back into it. The truth was, they were both tired. They had been fighting non-stop for a couple hours now and it was taking its toll. And the Chitauri hordes were endless. Sooner or later, something would give, and it probably wasn't going to be the Chitauri. And it probably wouldn't be later.

The two heard the Chitauri war cries and turned to face them but an explosion of water interrupted them. The wave washed right into the aliens, knocking them off balance. As they struggled to stay upright, Percy leapt into them, cutting the first two down easily. He turned his head slightly to dodge a laser blast before grabbing the rifle and using it to club the shooter down. He then twisted around and cut another shooter's arm off before impaling it. He then used the water to whirl him around and managed to slice off the remaining Chitauri's heads in a single move. He released his power and landed on the street, the alien bodies dropping all around him.

"Thought you could use some help," he said, walking up to Steve and Thor.

"Think you can keep up?" Steve asked him.

Percy gave him a look. "I'll try, old man."

"Here they come," Thor said, nodding at the charging aliens.

"No time like the present," Percy said and together, they charged.

Selvig pulled his monitor back into position and lifted the screen up to check the readings. "Right at the crown," he told Natasha, pointing at the machine. She hefted up Loki's scepter and turned it to face the top of the machine, slowly pushing it forward. She felt resistance as it came into contact with the force field, the blue wall shimmering and crackling with energy but the scepter went through and she let off a sigh of relief. She kept going, all the way through, the force field sparking and spitting almost in anger but letting the spear pass right up to the Tesseract.

"I can close it," Natasha said over the comms. "Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down."

Steve instantly turned as Percy finished off the last of the Chitauri. "Do it!" he yelled into the comm.

"No, wait," Tony interrupted.

"Stark, these things are still coming," Steve said in confusion, unsure of why Tony was hesitating.

"I got a nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute," Tony explained, locating the missile on his screen coming over a bridge now. He instantly adjusted his course to intercept. He came to a stop just below the bridge and then shot straight up. The missile shot over the bridge and then he followed just seconds after that, both flying out straight over the bay at top speed.

"And I know just where to put it," Tony continued, almost to himself. He pushed more power into his thrusters, catching up fast until he was directly beneath the missile. He moved up and carefully grabbed hold of it, grasping it tightly and following its trajectory into the city while also guiding it a little.

"Stark," Steve said, "you know that's a one-way trip."

"Save the rest for the turn, J," Tony said, shutting off comms and addressing JARVIS now. He would need all his power on the thrusters for this.

"Sir, shall I try Miss Potts?" JARVIS asked, showing her image and number on the screen for him.

Tony hesitated, unsure if she would want to get a call like this and if he wanted to call her like this. But if this was it, if this was truly the end, then he wanted her voice to be the last thing he heard. "Might as well."

On the Stark Industries jet several hundred miles away, Pepper sat on her chair staring at the onboard television alongside the rest of her staff, her heart in her throat as she saw all the destruction and chaos in Manhattan.

"The streets of New York City have become a battleground," a reporter said in voice over. "The Army is here trying to contain the violence but clearly, it is outmatched."

Unbeknownst to Pepper, her cell phone vibrated on the armrest behind her with Tony's face on the screen. But her attention was glued to the TV, unaware of anything else.

"And I have to say, in all my years of reporting, I have never seen anything like this."

On the Helicarrier, every agent and worker were also watching the same newscast, all praying that the screens wouldn't turn into a nuclear cloud, all praying that Tony Stark would come through. And Nick Fury prayed most of all, knowing it was his superiors who had caused this.

"We have limited information on the team but we do know that billionaire Tony Stark's Iron Man…"

Tony flew above the streets on a direct b-line for Stark Tower and the massive sky beam above it. It was taking all his power to keep the missile from its intended target, continuously forcing it upwards.

Below, Thor, Steve, and Percy all looked up as they saw him approach. Clint looked out from a window as he flew by, and Sam and Sadie watched him from the street below, all of them wishing him godspeed.

Tony activated his chest thrusters, forcing him and the missile up even further. This was the critical moment. He would need all his power for this. And if he failed, well, he wouldn't live long enough to realize it. He grunted from the effort but kept going, pushing more and more, forcing the missile to change direction from down to up.

The Hulk, covered in wreckage, glanced upwards at him in confusion.

Tony saw his ruined name coming right for him and he pushed even more. He was turning, moving at an angle now, and he pushed even further as he flew right at his building, pushing with all his power until his armor glanced off the side of the building right at the top and then he was flying upwards, straight for the portal.

Natasha and Selvig's gazes flew up after him as he rocketed past, both praying for a miracle.

Tony flew, still holding onto the missile as it tried to escape him and head back down to its intended target. He was now parallel to the sky beam, the portal directly above him. He braced himself as he approached, not sure what to expect, but he couldn't give up now. He kept going up and up, the portal looming in front of him closer and closer until it was right on top of him.

And then he and the missile flew through it.

The instant Iron Man and the missile he was carrying vanished, all personnel aboard the Helicarrier cheered and clapped and hugged one another in celebration that a catastrophe had been avoided. Hill merely breathed out in relief before turning to look at Fury who nodded back at her. Then his head lowered as his mind turned to Stark and if he had paid the ultimate price for the Council's actions.

One minute, he was flying through air, and the next all the air was gone, replaced by an expanse of darkness and distant stars. Tony kept flying, staring in amazement at it all, but his armor started giving out almost immediately, unable to take the pressure anymore. He gasped, his oxygen gone, unable to breathe.

"Sir, Miss Po-" JARVIS said, his voice garbled as it faded away, losing power. The picture on the side of the screen showed his call had failed to Pepper. Then everything vanished as the power went out, Pepper's face being the last to go. Tony gasped again, desperate for air but unable to get any. He was in space without any power. This was it. This was where he died. There was nothing he could do anymore.

His suit slowly let go of the missile, letting it fly steadily on without him, and he fell backwards from it, watching it fly on without him. As he fell, his shoulder plates broke off, pushing him even further back as they separated.

He kept his eyes opened, unblinking as he watched the missile. He watched it fly by even more ships and Leviathans, watched it sail past all of them to one massive ship, the mother ship, and strike it. For a second, nothing happened. And then a large ball of fire formed in the center of the ship, before a bright flash occurred and the ball enlarged, consuming the ship and everything around it.

All over the streets of Manhattan, the Chitauri soldiers suddenly dropped to the ground, the light going out of them. Thor, Steve, and Percy all watched in amazement as a dozen alien soldiers collapsed around them like puppets with their strings cut.

Over the city skyline, a Leviathan suddenly lost power and fell down heavily on the top of a building, landing flat on its back.

Tony kept watching for as long as he could, needing to know that his death wasn't in vain. But then he couldn't do it anymore, the lack of oxygen finally claiming him, and his eyes closed and he knew nothing more, his armor still drifting slowly to the portal below.

Steve kept his eyes on the portal above. The job was finished, the army was down, and the missile away from the city. But Iron Man hadn't returned, still on the other side of the portal.

"Come on, Stark," Natasha muttered, also watching carefully for any sign of the man. He was too stubborn to die.

But all they saw was the explosion in the far distance. They all slumped, knowing that their comrade was almost certainly dead. They couldn't waste any more time. The portal had to go. Who knew what other threats were on the other side.

Thor glanced at Steve and Percy just sighed, them all knowing what had to be done. Steve took a quick breath and then said the words none of them wanted to say. "Close it."

Natasha kept her eyes on the portal for a second more, just in case, and then turned back to the scepter, pushing it directly below the Tesseract at the top of the machine and halting its energy release. She grimaced as she kept it up while Selvig backed up right before the last of the Tesseract energy shot into the sky into the portal.

The portal above glimmered for a second before it flashed a bright blue, the clouds around it rumbling as they began to collapse it on themselves. Steve, looked down, his heart heavy at the loss of another friend as the portal closed.

But as it collapsed, the suit of armor fell inside just in time, passing through it right before it closed for good, and reentering the sky above Manhattan. And in a second, the portal was replaced by a clear sky and a falling Iron Man.

Below, all the Avengers smirked at the man who had once again cheated death. "Son of a gun," Steve muttered.

Tony fell hard, oblivious to the world. Thor was the first to notice, his smile fading. "He's not slowing down," he said as he whirled his hammer around to gain speed.

But before he could launch himself upwards, a sudden roar echoed like thunder and the Hulk leapt through the air, grabbing Tony's iron body and slamming into the side of a building, sliding down it to slow his fall, debris flying everywhere. The Hulk then kicked off again to the bridge below, cradling Iron Man in his body to protect him as he squashed a car before sliding across the ground to a stop. He grunted once then shoved Iron Man off him, getting back to his feet. The others rushed over and Thor lifted Tony up into a flat position.

"Is he breathing?" Steve asked.

Thor ripped the faceplate off, letting it bounce behind them, showing Tony's comatose form. Steve knelt down, trying to read a heartbeat, but it was impossible with all the armor in the way. They all stood there, unsure of what to do next. He didn't seem to be breathing or moving at all. They had all been in combat before, all seen dead bodies. And to each of them, Tony Stark looked like one.

Then the Hulk suddenly roared and Tony gasped in shock, his eyes flying open. Steve looked at him with surprise and relief and the Hulk roared out in triumph, pounding his chest for good measure. Percy grinned, glad that he didn't need to add another death to his conscience, while Thor merely smiled.

"What the hell?" Tony asked, looking around at them all. "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me."

Percy briefly considered pointing to the Hulk but decided that since Tony had just nearly died (and that the Hulk was very much capable of tearing him apart) just shook his head.

Steve sat back on the street, finally relaxing. "We won," he muttered as he nodded his head, loud enough for them all to hear it.

Tony closed his eyes as he sighed in relief, letting his head lie back. "All right, yay. Hurray. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day." He suddenly looked over at Hulk. "Have you ever tried shawarma?" Steve and Percy smiled as Tony went on, all of them just happy to be alive right now. "There's a shawarma joint about 2 blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it."

"We're not finished yet," Thor said, looking up at where the cause of all this was.

They all looked over at him and instantly knew what he was talking about. "And then shawarma after," Tony said.

Loki groaned and grunted as he crawled on his hands and knees, his whole body throbbing in pain from what the Hulk had done. For the last ten minutes, he had been unable to move. Now, he pushed himself up into a seating position, using the stairs, and then stopped, sensing something. He slowly turned around, his eyes widening in fear and loathing at what he saw.

All of them stood there, weapons in hand with Hawkeye pointing an arrow directly at him.

Loki took them in for a second, knowing there was no way he could take them now. "If it's all the same to you," he said, sighing in defeat, "I'll have that drink now."

The Hulk growled loudly at him in response.

On the various screens, continuous news reports of the attack jumped as the world did its best to recover.

"Despite the devastation of what has been confirmed as an extraterrestrial attack, the extraordinary heroics of the group known as the Avengers has been to many not only a cause for comfort, but for celebration," one news reporter said. Around him, shots of mourners leaving messages and memorials for the fallen as well as candlelit vigils were shown. One screen showed men in hazmat suits clearing away alien debris.

"It's just really great knowing they're out there, you know," one civilian said to the camera, surrounded by several other smiling people. "That someone is watching over us."

"I love you Thor!" a woman pushing her way in front suddenly cried out.

Below, a shot of a man getting his hair cut to resemble Tony Stark was shown as other shots of tattoos and parades in his honor. Another shot showed the statues of Frederick Douglas and Susan B. Anthony strangling each other.

One screen revealed the senate calling an emergency session before switching to another interview of a young boy with his family. "And then these guys were like 'pew, pew,'" the boy described. "And then the air goes PWAGGH, and then this green guy walks up and goes RAAWWRR!" The boy threw his arms out in a mimicry of the Hulk.

"This young woman just came out of nowhere and saved us," a woman said, holding her young daughter. "It was like she was flying."

"I don't know," another man said in an interview. "I don't exactly feel safer with those things out there."

"It just seems like there's a lot they're not telling us," the woman next to him added.

Other shots of face masks and costumes of the heroes were shown. Camera footage on one screen revealed someone in the river bringing down an entire fleet of alien ships.

"Superheroes, in New York?" an older man sitting at a chess table asked disbelievingly. "Give me a break." He then turned back to his game.

Below him, one shot showed a graffiti artist writing the words THANK YOU, AVENGERS on the side of the wall while another shot showed more artistry displaying Tony Stark with two of his suits flying by him. Another shot showed citizens going out in a parade to show support for the Avengers.

"These so-called 'heroes' have to be held responsible for the destruction done to this city," the New York Senator said in an interview. "This was their fight. Where are they now?"

"Tough questions are being asked about the Avengers themselves," one reporter said. "Their sudden appearance and equally sudden disappearance…"

"What, that this is all somehow their fault?" a waitress said to the camera. "Captain America saved my life. Wherever he is, and wherever any of them are, I would just…" she paused there, collecting her thoughts. "I would want to say thank you."

Nick Fury looked up from the screens back to the Council.

"Where are the Avengers?" one councilman asked.

"I'm not currently tracking their whereabouts," Fury replied, arms crossed. "I'd say they've earned a leave of absence."

"And the Tesseract?" Hawley asked.

In Central Park, in an isolated area surrounded by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, the Avengers all came together as Thor walked a shackled and muzzled Loki to the center of the area. Selvig removed a small, metal container while Tony opened up a case, revealing the Tesseract inside, picking it up carefully with prongs and placing it inside the container while Steve watched with narrowed eyes.

"The Tesseract is where it belongs," Fury told them. "Out of our reach." After the missile fiasco, it had become clear to him they couldn't be trusted with the power.

"That's not your call," Malick warned him.

"I didn't make it," Fury replied. "I just didn't argue with the god that did."

"So, you let him take it and the war criminal, Loki, who should be answering for his crime."

"Oh, I think he will be," Fury said.

Thor patted Selvig on the shoulder, smiling. Loki looked up at them all, seething inside. He watched as Natasha leaned over and whispered something in Clint's ear who then smiled broadly. Sam glared at Loki before shaking hands with Thor, nodding at him. Thor walked over to Loki and handed him the other handle of the container which Loki grabbed hold of. Thor looked around, nodding at his fellow Avengers, before twisting the handle and activating the Tesseract's power. Both he and Loki suddenly glowed blue as the power took hold before vanishing into the sky back to Asgard while the others looked on from below.

Steve then shook Tony's hand and patted Percy on the back who smiled back at him. Sadie and Sam grasped hands, nodding at each other. Natasha took a duffel bag out of her car and handed it to Bruce before getting in with Clint while Bruce got in with Tony. Sam took off into the air, vanishing from sight, while Sadie and Percy walked away down the street, laughing. Steve drove off on his motorcycle, finally ready to embrace this new world.

"I don't think you understand what you've started, letting the Avengers loose on this world. They're dangerous."

"They surely are," Fury agreed, "and the whole world knows it. Every world knows it," he emphasized.

"Was that the point of all this?" Malick asked dubiously. "A statement?"

"A promise," Fury replied before turning off the screens and walking out of the room back into the bridge.

"Sir, how does it work now," Hill asked him as they walked to the window. "They've gone their separate ways. Some, pretty extremely far. We get into a situation like this again, what happens then?"

"They'll come back," Fury replied simply.

"You really sure about that?" Hill asked.

"I am."

Hill looked at him curiously. "Why?"

Fury turned slightly to her, not looking away from the windows in front of him. "Because we'll need them to."

Hill pondered that for a moment before nodding at him and walking away, taking a file from a passing agent.

Fury stared out over the clouds, knowing that there many more threats out there. And many more allies. This was only the beginning.

In Stark Tower, surrounded by buckets, ladders, and other work tools, Tony unrolled a pad that lit up with data screens. He picked one, sliding it over to the main pad where Pepper lifted it up into a hologram of the tower, Tony spinning it around to discuss extensions and plans to it that could be made.

Outside, on the side of the building, all the letters of STARK had broken off except for the A which stood there as a beacon and a symbol to the rest of the city.

In the Sanctuary, the Other kneeled before his master. "Humans," he muttered. "They are not the cowering wretches we were promised. They stand. They are unruly, and therefore cannot be ruled."

His master suddenly stood up from his chair. The Other bowed lower for a minute before lifting his head back up slightly. "To challenge them is to court death."

The Mad Titan Thanos turned at those words and smiled.

Wow. Ok, so I know this is getting really old but I am very sorry for sending these chapters out later and later. Work just picked up this month with essays and other stuff. Plus, I wanted to make this as good as it could be. Thank you for sticking it out, so grateful to getting more than 400 likes and to have 300 people favorite my story. It means so much that all of you like my writing and this story. Just stick a little bit longer cause I have an epilogue that will wrap up Percy, Sadie, and Sam's storylines as well as answer some questions and tease some other stuff. I promise to be faster in delivering it since it won't take too long. Hopefully by Monday if not sooner.

I hope you liked Percy's big moment, since you've all been clamoring for it. I would like to say that I am getting tired of everyone saying how powerful Percy is. Yes, he's powerful. But he's not Thor level. Sorry, he's not. Yes, he did defeat Ares at 12 but that was because Ares underestimated him. Once Percy stabbed him, Ares was definitely going to kill him until Kronos stopped him. Also, the sky thing doesn't prove anything. Percy held it for like a few minutes. I think Annabeth held it for like an hour or something. Look, Percy does have an insane amount of power. But not all the time. Polybotes took him out fast in BoO. And he barely stood a chance against Atlas. However, I do believe he has access to insane amounts of power, like with the volcano and Ahklys, which I will address later. But for now, this is the Percy I'm going with.