The Sanctuary…
"Accept this gift from the Great One. With this, you will have power to enthrall the minds of any mortal."
Loki took the scepter in his hands. A fitting tool for a god, a symbol of power and the right to rule all he witnessed. He felt the power within the gem; it burned like 1,000 stars, ready to annihilate those who dared stand in his way. His fingers tingled, the power coursing through him now that he held it.
"Our bargain is struck," The Other said, standing on the steps above him. The rocky domain floated in the infinitude of space, a throne from which to govern its ruler's domain. "We have given you the tools necessary to conquer your new kingdom. So long as you remember what you promised Him in return."
"Don't worry," the God of Mischief replied with a wolfish grin. "The Tesseract will be yours. You have my word."
May 1st, 2012; Outside Kabul, Afghanistan…
Ellen watched the jeep explode through her binoculars.
The Afghan soldiers did their best to fight back, but they were outmatched in every way. The convoy consisted of half a dozen vehicles, every man sworn to protect General Bahram Mahdavi. Unfortunately for him, he'd earned the ire of HYDRA by investigating some of their activities in the region. To preserve their secrecy, the general had to die. And none of the men escorting him could be permitted to live. Ellen had been ordered to see it through.
This was the mission.
In the five years since her battle with Black Widow and Hawkeye in Latveria, she'd learned, improved herself and her way of thinking. The plan to deal with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agents had been good, but it failed. Ultimately, it had boiled down to a lack of proper bait. For such veterans, it hadn't been enough. Ellen had spent a long time trying to perfect her strategies, hoping to one day have another chance to take down the famous Black Widow and her archer partner.
Then, it came to her. Rather than attacking enemies from without, why not appear friendly to draw them in, and then shoot them when their backs were turned? After all, she knew S.H.I.E.L.D. had given her the designation 'Viper'. Many snakes around the world were ambush predators, cautiously waiting for their prey to approach before striking.
In the early hours of the morning, she'd sent the order for HYDRA agents in the army to set the ambush point along this road. General Mahdavi was on his way to Kabul after an inspection tour. The agents, disguised as servicemen, had made it appear that they'd been ambushed by Ten Rings or Al-Qaeda. Their Humvees were scorched with blown out tires, and many of them laid on the ground pretending to be corpses. When the general's convoy came upon them, it stopped. The Afghan soldiers rushed to aid their allies, not knowing they'd willingly entered the Viper's nest.
"Soldat, strelyay," ["Soldier, take the shot"] she ordered.
Without uttering a word, the Winter Soldier peered down the scope of his rifle and fired. The crack of the shot echoed across the mountains the two used for a perch. Down below, one of the Afghans' heads snapped back with a spray of blood. The rest ducked, rifles pointed up as they tried to find where the bullet came from. Next, Ellen took out her radio and clicked the talk button three times. The HYDRA agents, all tied into the same frequency, heard it. A second later, they turned on the Afghan soldiers and started shooting.
A dozen men must have died in a heartbeat, the rest falling back in a panic. One of her agents tossed a grenade under the nearest jeep, which exploded.
Ellen watched the firefight rage through her binoculars, calling out targets for the Soldier. She first had him shoot the tires on the jeeps to prevent any of the targets from escaping. At one point, she saw one of the Afghans clutching a comrade who bled from a gut shot. The second man choked with every breath, shaking uncontrollably, all while the first man tried to keep him conscious.
She felt something on her face. Ellen touched her cheek and found moisture on her fingers. Tears. She blinked, staring at her glistening fingertip. Why would there be tears during a mission? For a moment, guilt and remorse bloomed in her mind, only to be buried by duty and loyalty. HYDRA didn't allow for a guilty conscience. These men needed to die for the greater good.
This was the mission.
Before long, the convoy had been reduced to a handful of men. The general conducted himself bravely, firing back at the disguised agents with a pistol. Ellen looked down at the Soldier, then nodded. He aimed and took another shot. She saw the general drop to the ground, a hole in his neck. The rest of his soldiers were dead in minutes.
After confirming all targets were eliminated, Ellen ordered all the bodies buried five kilometres away in a blank stretch of desert. The disguised agents left to return to their respective covers, while she and the Soldier boarded the Quinjet. As they flew over Afghanistan, she sat back in her seat and stared ahead. Another mission complete, another risk eliminated. HYDRA's secrecy ensured.
This was the mission.
Ellen blinked, her rigid posture relaxing as she shed her Photostatic Veil. Another mission complete, without any major complications. She tried to review everything in her head, but the details were fuzzy. They'd come here to eliminate a threat, that much she remembered. The Soldier had been an asset, as he sat across from her right now. Strangely, the memory of the actual mission wouldn't come. But she had the sense it had gone well. She must have been too tired to focus.
The onboard communicator started beeping, and the pilot called, "Got a priority transmission from the Triskelion, ma'am. Alpha-level clearance."
Alpha level. Only two men in all of S.H.I.E.L.D. had that, and since Nick Fury had no idea she was here, it could only be one other person. "Route it through," she told the pilot, slipping an earpiece into her right ear. After flipping some switches, he gave her a thumbs up. She tapped the earpiece and said, "Hey, dad. Mission accomplished, returning back to base."
"That's good news," he said. He sounded distracted, maybe even concerned. Something must have been worrying him.
"Is everything okay?" she asked.
"As a matter of fact, no. Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. was attacked a few hours ago." She recognized the name: a joint venture between S.H.I.E.L.D., NASA, and the Air Force to study an artifact of immense power. "We're still getting the details, but the whole facility's been destroyed. Several agents are dead, and a few are still unaccounted for."
Ellen's mouth fell open. An attack of this scale hadn't been taken against them since…ever, as far as she could remember. "Do we know who's responsible?"
"Fury's put out a general alert to all agents. Far as we can tell, those responsible are extraterrestrial in origin. We're getting visited by aliens again, and it looks like their every intention is hostile."
'Holy shit,' Ellen thought, at a loss for words.
May 3rd, 2012; S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier…
"All engines operating," Hill reported as she paced along the crew pits. The bridge of the Helicarrier was a hive of activity, men and women calling back and forth with status updates as technicians made sure everything operated smoothly. "S.H.I.E.L.D. emergency protocol 193.6 in effect." She looked at Fury and said, "We're at level, sir."
"Let's vanish," he ordered.
On the screens of his command post, the belly of the massive craft began to disappear as the retro-reflective panels engaged. Within seconds, they were invisible to anything on the surface.
Turning around, Fury approached the main briefing table, around which Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner were standing. "Gentlemen," he greeted. Captain Rogers reached into his pocket, pulled out a $10, and handed it to Fury. 'Told you,' he thought with a wry grin, stuffing the bill into his jacket pocket. Walking up to Banner, he held out a hand and said, "Doctor, thank you for coming."
Banner, not quite looking him in the eye, shook his hand. "Thanks for asking nicely. So, uh…how long am I staying?"
"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the wind."
Triskelion…
Locking the door behind him, Alexander Pierce walked over to his desk. "Activate encryption protocol, full blanket."
The room's lighting dimmed, the windows tinted to pitch-black, and an electronic voice reported, "Encryption activated."
Unbuttoning his suit jacket, he sat down and breathed a heavy sigh. Turning on his screen, he keyed for what he referred to as 'the shadow archive'. A list of names appeared, ranging from foreign officials to military officers to intelligence agents to bureaucratic figures. A hodgepodge of men and women from around the world that –at first glance– had nothing to do with each other. These were the heads of HYDRA, whether they ran individual cells of a dozen people or coordinated the entire organization like him.
He tapped two names, and their faces appeared as they accepted the transmission. The protocols installed in his computer were the finest in the world, secure from any intrusion and allowing for undetectable communication.
"Guten tag, Herr Pierce," Wolfgang von Strucker greeted, his monocle glinting.
"Alexander," Gideon Malick said, inclining his head.
Together, the three of them were the most important heads of HYDRA. The operations they oversaw encompassed the globe, and the decisions they made affected the course of whole nations. The organization had never had any official committees or councils, but the three men were in effect the ruling triumvirate.
"Gentlemen," Pierce began, "I think we can all agree we are facing an unprecedented scenario."
"This isn't the first time our world has been visited," Malick pointed out. "Even as recently as two years ago in New Mexico. And don't forget the incident with Captain Danvers in '95"
"Fair point. But those were merely skirmishes. This incident is rapidly evolving, and if the intelligence from Nick Fury is accurate, then we face the prospect of a full-scale invasion."
Malick scoffed. "Fury's gone rogue on this one. Instead of focusing on Phase 2, he reactivated the Avengers Initiative on his own authority. As if a bunch of costumed freaks can stop this 'Loki' and his allies."
Strucker smirked. "Never underestimate what an enhanced individual can accomplish, my friend. We live in a world where miracles abound, and one man can accomplish what armies cannot. The Winter Soldier and Madame Hydra are proof enough of this."
"Oh, you mean the glorified attack dogs Pierce hoards to himself?"
Pierce leaned back in his chair. "Let me guess, Gideon, you'd rather we focus our efforts on something else? After all, what are two of our greatest assets compared to a space whale that we can worship and hope will someday return?"
He and Strucker chuckled, while Malick glowered at them. He was the last of HYDRA's old guard, a line stretching back to antiquity that focused their efforts on returning an ancient god back to Earth. But that god, if it ever existed, was never going to come back. The organization had evolved beyond such superstitions. They needed to focus on real matters, things they could touch and control.
"While there is considerable danger, here," Strucker said, stroking his chin, "I believe we are being presented with a great opportunity. Loki's efforts may grant us access to technology that will catapult our research by generations. 'The power of the gods', as Schmidt himself once said." Strucker's eyes gleamed, and Pierce thought he might start salivating at the prospect.
"Perhaps," he said. "But at the very least, an alien invasion might just be the thing we've been waiting for."
"What do you mean?" Malick asked.
"We've spent decades eroding the foundations of the world's so-called order, preparing the human race for a unified rule under our guidance. But that process has been slow, and there have been failures along the way. But an incident like this…well, it's an opportunity. Something to shock humanity out of its collective stupor. Chaos has always been our greatest tool, and if we play our cards right, we can leverage this situation to our advantage."
"Maybe you can finally get John Garrett to produce results with his pet project."
Pierce nodded. "The Centipede Project is only one of dozens. The key to our success has always been compartmentalization; if one cell or project turns out to be a weak link, we sever it and move on to the others. 'Cut off one head' and all that."
"Very true," Strucker agreed. "No matter how this all plays out, I would be very interested in acquiring any alien technology we can get our hands on."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Malick interlaced his fingers. "Keep this in mind, gentlemen: if Loki and Fury's little circus proves too great a threat, I will take action. The World Security Council will vote my way. It always has. We will stop this…Asgardian, no matter the cost. I won't have him ruining this planet."
"We wouldn't want him breaking your space whale's future sandbox, would we?" Pierce quipped. "Rest assured, I will be keeping close tabs on the situation. Hail HYDRA."
"Hail HYDRA."
"Hail HYDRA."
Germany…
Thor clutched Loki by the throat as they flew through the air. He guided them to a nearby mountain overlooking a forest, throwing his wayward brother down as he landed with a thud. His brother grunted, then started laughing. "Where is the Tesseract?" he demanded.
"Oh, I missed you, too."
"Do I look to be in a gaming mood?" Thor said, his voice low as he gripped the handle of Mjolnir even tighter.
"Oh, you should thank me," Loki said, sitting up. "With the Bifrost gone, how much Dark Energy did the Allfather have to muster to conjure you here? Your precious Earth."
Dropping Mjolnir, Thor growled and hauled his brother to his feet. "I thought you dead."
Loki's mocking tone disappeared. "Did you mourn?"
"We all did. Our father–"
"Your father," Loki interjected, holding up a finger before slapping Thor's arms away. "He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?" He walked over to the edge of the cliff, staring out into the blackened horizon.
Thor looked at him with an agonized expression. "We were raised together. We played together, we fought together. Do you remember none of that?"
Loki turned to look him in the eye. Amid all the spite and mockery, in his eyes there was a hint of the true pain he felt. "I remember a shadow," he said quietly. "Living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I was and should be king!"
"So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined sleights?"
Loki took a half step back, incredulous and hurt. Imagined? How could Thor casually dismiss everything done to him?
"No. The Earth is under my protection, Loki."
He couldn't help but chuckle. "And you're doing a marvelous job with that. The humans slaughter each other in droves while you idly fret. I mean to rule them, and why should I not?"
"You think yourself above them?"
"Well, yes."
"Then you miss the truth of ruling, brother. A throne would suit you ill."
Loki snarled, pushing Thor aside as he walked to the other end of the cliff. Above, a pair of ravens cawed as they flew through the skies. "I've seen worlds you've never known about! I have grown, Odinson, in my exile. I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it…"
"Who showed you this power?" Thor asked, his brow furrowed with renewed concern. "Who controls the would-be king?"
"I am a king!"
"Not here!" he countered, grabbing his brother's arms and trying to shake some sense into him. "You give up the Tesseract, you give up this pointless dream! You come home."
Loki stared at him for a moment, then smiled. "I don't have it."
Thor held out a hand, calling Mjolnir into his grip.
"You need the Cube to bring me home, but I've sent it off, I know not where." They stood there, eyes locked, each daring the other to make a move.
Leveling Mjolnir at his chest, Thor said, "You listen well, brother. I–"
A red-armoured figure flew from overhead, colliding with Thor and sending them both crashing into the forest below. Loki stared at the empty space, then sardonically said, "I'm listening." He looked below, watching as his so-called brother engaged in battle with the red armoured figure, one of Earth's champions. 'This will be easier than I thought.'
Loki's Hideout…
After nearly an hour of crawling through ventilation shafts, Ellen decided she hated crawling through ventilation shafts.
S.H.I.E.L.D. –and therefore HYDRA– had been working tirelessly to track down and stop the rampaging Loki. While Fury ran point on the new Helicarrier with his newly reactivated Avengers Initiative, her father had whole divisions of analysts and the best surveillance technology on the planet.
They'd noticed an upsurge in activity from notable criminal figures on threat watch: mercenaries and scientists, mostly, along with large purchases of weapons and experimental technology. Much of it seemed random at first glance, but Ellen saw the pattern. If the rumours were true, then Loki had somehow brainwashed Clint Barton and Dr. Erik Selvig. Knowing that, she'd recognized Barton's signature. The activity centred in Europe, with a few individuals traveling from North Africa and Central Asia. All they needed was a way to narrow the field.
Fortunately, Loki himself helped them in that regard. He and Barton had attacked a charity gala at a museum in Stuttgart. While the alien made a grandstanding speech, Hawkeye snuck in and stole the museum's quantity of Iridium. Since their base of operations had to be within striking distance, they calculated the most likely destinations.
The S.T.R.I.K.E. teams would simultaneously hit all three targets. Her father wanted HYDRA to acquire the Tesseract and anything else useful before S.H.I.E.L.D., so he'd sent her in ahead of Rumlow and the others to the likeliest spot.
Barton had chosen this place well, she thought. Underground with only two points of access, there were at least three layers of lead-lined flooring above it. More than enough to mask the Tesseract's energy signature. Now, finally, she reached the end of this annoying little adventure. Her small size and slim build were useful here, allowing her to move through the vents when no one else could.
Through the vent grate she heard voices, but they weren't close enough to make out the words. Tucking her legs in close, Ellen managed to orient herself feet-first. Once positive no one was nearby, she lightly kicked the grate. It didn't move after the first few times, and she pursed her lips in frustration. She would not be stuck like Princess Leia in a trash compactor. She wouldn't.
After several more kicks, the grate finally came loose. Breathing a sigh of relief, she pulled herself out and crouched on the floor.
Scientific equipment and crates were scattered across the place, shiny chrome contrasting with dull concrete. Two rows of pillars ran up to a sealed glass enclosure. There didn't seem to be that many people here, less than a dozen by her count. Based on their intelligence, there should have been three times that many. Shit. Loki must have taken the rest elsewhere, and if that were the case, the Tesseract might be gone.
She drew a pistol from her thigh holster. Anything with automatic fire might accidentally damage the equipment, and HYDRA wanted everything intact. Creeping up behind a stack of crates, Ellen heard footsteps. Two men, probably mercenaries on patrol. As soon as they came into view, she shot the first man in the leg. Just as the second man started reacting, she shot him in the throat. A knife to the throat finished off the first man before he could stand on his one good leg.
The rest of the men present reacted like a kicked hornet's nest. The scientists hid or ran, while the rest of the mercenaries converged on her position. Ellen took cover behind a pillar, leaning to the side to fire quick shots before ducking to avoid getting her head blown off. One of the mercenaries tried to rush her from the side. She grabbed his wrist with her free hand then pistol-whipped him in the throat. He choked, stunned, allowing her to use him as a human shield as she moved forward.
Amid the chaos, Ellen noticed something different about the mercenary. His eyes were a strange, fluorescent blue, and he bore a mostly placid expression. Like a puppet. When the intelligence file suggested Loki brainwashed Barton, she'd thought it referred to hypnosis and mental suggestion. But this seemed far more advanced. Even the world's greatest hypnotist couldn't control this many people at once. If that were the case, then none of these people were in control of their actions.
'No,' she thought as a sharp headache made her vision flash and her eyes narrow in concentration. It didn't matter if they were being controlled. They were obstacles, targets. And targets needed to be eliminated.
This was the mission.
Shooting her human shield in the head, she took cover behind another pillar. She checked her clip. Out of ammo. Luckily, Ellen always came prepared. Tapping a button on her right gauntlet, she extended a long whip. It began to crackle with electricity, fed by a micro-generator in the gauntlet. While it couldn't slice through cars or concrete like Ivan Vanko's could, this whip could still pack a punch.
Stepping out from cover, Ellen aimed at one of the mercenaries and swung at him. The whip cracked against his vest, flashing brightly as the electricity discharged all at once. It knocked the man off his feet, and he crashed against one of the pillars. The others paused, startled by the appearance of such an exotic weapon. Taking advantage of the distraction, Ellen lunged at the next target.
Ever since Doctor Oberst and her team had developed a working prototype for Project Whiplash, Ellen had practiced with it. Almost four months of intense training, familiarizing herself with something so unusual. Her instincts told her a whip would be next to useless in combat, but the combination of resilient, cutting-edge materials and powerful conductive current made for a useful weapon.
Using a combination of the whip and hand-to-hand techniques, she managed to eliminate the rest of the mercenaries. One man tried running from one side of the room to another, so she wrapped the whip around his ankle and yanked her arm, tripping him. He slammed head-first into the corner of a metal table, dying instantly. Another tried to throw a knife at her. After dodging, Ellen wrapped her whip around the man and cranked up the electricity. He convulsed and sputtered, his heart finally stopping a few seconds later. The rest were mopped up in a similar fashion.
With the mercenaries dealt with, she circled around the empty glass enclosure. The four scientists were hiding behind a table, and they stared up at her with uncertainty. Ellen's first instinct was to let them live, given they might know something valuable. Then she reconsidered, and picked up one of the fallen mercenaries' pistols. Without even blinking, she shot all four of them in the head, blood splashing over her catsuit and her face.
This was the mission.
Retracting the whip back into her gauntlet, she started rifling through all the various materials and crates and shelves. From somewhere in the distance came a muffled explosion, and she hid behind a pillar. She heard a number of footsteps approaching, and lowered her centre of gravity in anticipation of a fight.
A dozen black-clad figures appeared, M4s in hand with flashlights shining. Recognizing the green and yellow S.T.R.I.K.E. patches on their shoulders, she relaxed and stepped out from behind the pillar.
They aimed their carbines at her. "Stand down," Rumlow said. They lowered their weapons, spreading through the hideout. He walked up to Ellen, giving her a once-over. They didn't have many opportunities in the field together when she wore her Sarkissian disguise. "Hm," he said after a moment. "I prefer you as a blonde."
She said nothing.
He gave her a smile that chilled her to the bone. Then, "Any sign of the Tesseract?"
"None," Ellen replied. "Looks like Loki cleared out with most of his flying monkeys before I got here."
"Shit!" He stalked off, tapping his earpiece. "This is Rumlow. Put me through to Secretary Pierce."
Ellen turned to the rest of the team and ordered, "Find and catalogue everything of value. Plans, devices, materials, weapons, anything. If it isn't bolted down, we take it with us." As they went to work, she stepped over to the glass enclosure. This must have been the main lab, given the space and the number of footprints. In the centre were three impressions, maybe from a tripod or some sort of device. Whatever Loki wanted to accomplish, this was central to his plans. Given the depth of the impressions, it must have been heavy.
She frowned, wondering just what an alien demigod would have as his endgame.
May 4th, 2012; New York City…
"Okay, here we go. Here we go," Tony said, mashing buttons on his controller. Samantha sat beside him on the couch, mashing her buttons just as hard. She scrunched her nose in concentration just like Maria did when focusing on a problem. They were playing LEGO Lord of the Rings on the new 60 inch plasma tv he'd bought a few weeks ago. Tony played as Aragorn, while Samantha played as Legolas.
"They have a Cave Troll!" Samantha cried as the monster appeared.
"That they do. Let's show these CHUDs who's boss."
As they played on the couch, Tony's mother worked in the kitchen. "Would you guys like some chocolate milk and grilled cheese?"
He looked down at his daughter, who nodded absently. "Samantha's not hungry."
She giggled. "Dad, come on! Yes, grandma, I'd like that."
His mother arched an eyebrow at her. "What do we say, young lady?"
"Please?"
"That's better. Tony, what about you?"
He gave a whoop of victory when they took down the troll. "What? Oh. Yeah, Ma, that'd be great." As they kept playing, he surreptitiously glanced at Samantha. She'd been excited to see him home so soon, especially considering it was Maria's week to have her. He wanted to keep her happy and distracted so she wouldn't start asking questions. The call from Maria had been so sudden, and she'd been so insistent.
"Get Samantha, keep her at your place."
He could tell she was under a great deal of stress, but as usual she didn't see fit to share the details with him. He'd shut off his second phone and kept the anonymous emails silent for the time being.
"That was great," Samantha said when they finished the level. "Do you want to play some more?"
"No, baby girl, you go ahead. I'm all quested out for now." Setting his controller down, he kissed her on the head and walked over to the kitchen. He grabbed a knife and helped his mother butter the bread before tossing it on a pan.
Keeping her voice low, she asked, "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, of course," he replied.
She fixed him with a firm stare and touched his arm. "Tony, are we okay? You've never come back from work so fast and taken Samantha when it's Maria's week. Are we safe?"
"We're safe, I promise," he assured her.
"And what about Maria?"
He paused, considering what to tell her. He'd seen the alerts on the S.H.I.E.L.D. network about the attack on Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. and Fury's notice to all agents of hostile extra-terrestrials. His contacts, both legitimate and criminal, were in the dark about most of it. Apparently there'd been some sort of altercation at a museum in Stuttgart, but the intelligence blackout was the most extensive he'd ever seen. Something big was going down, but no one had any idea what. He hadn't been able to contact Maria since her call. She'd been stationed at the newly commissioned Helicarrier with Fury, so a lack of communication could simply be radio silence for the mission.
Or it meant something bad happened on the ship itself.
"Maria's fine," he decided to say, not wanting to worry his mother. "She's the most capable woman I've ever known. Hell, she put up with me for six years, so nothing should phase her."
She didn't look fully convinced, but didn't press the issue.
As they finished cooking the grilled cheese sandwiches, they heard Samantha call, "Uh, dad?"
"Just a minute, baby girl."
"Dad!" she said more insistently.
Tony turned around and saw her pointing at something out the window. He followed her gaze, then frowned. Off in the distance stood the new Stark Tower, latest in a long line of vanity projects by Iron Man himself. Tony hated the thing since they started building it, and that eyesore ruined his view of the Manhattan skyline. Now, however, there was a bright light at the tower's roof, building intensity. His first guess would be some weird piece of tech Stark developed, but something in his gut told him to worry.
The light flashed an angry shade of turquoise, accompanied by a light tremor that shook the apartment. Tony's mother gasped. Then, just when things couldn't get any weirder, the light produced a beam of energy that reached into the sky. It tore a hole open that stretched wider and wider until it seemed poised to swallow the tower.
"What in the…?" Tony said, not believing what he saw.
From the hole emerged dozens of little dots, impossible to tell from this distance. Then, the sky around the hole flashed with little explosions. More dots kept pouring out, an endless stream, and they began to spread out like a blooming flower of destruction. Booms and quakes sounded in the distance.
"Dad? Dad, what is that?" Samantha asked, sounding nervous.
"We need to go," he said, grabbing his phone from the living room table.
"But–"
"Don't argue! Ma, get your coat. Make sure she's dressed." He hurried into his bedroom, opening the false bottom of his closet. Inside were a handful of passports under different aliases he'd created over the years, the second phone he used for criminal contacts, and a small black case. Taking the case out, he entered the code on the keypad. It popped open, and he pulled out the gun and clip he kept inside. Loading the clip, he pulled back the slide to load it then stuffed it into the back of his belt, making sure to cover it with the bottom of his shirt.
Putting everything back, he rushed out to the door, where his mother and Samantha were dressed with their shoes on. "Everything's gonna be okay, honey," his mother soothed, holding her hand.
Kneeling to look his daughter in the eye, Tony cupped her cheeks. She practically shook from fear, face scrunched in confusion. "We're gonna go outside and get into the car. I know this is scary, and I'm sorry. I need you to be brave for me, baby girl. Can you do that?"
She nodded.
"Okay." He kissed her on the forehead. "I love you. We're gonna be fine."
Grabbing his car keys, he led them out the door and locked it behind him. The short elevator ride down to the parking level felt like a small eternity. Tony kept his breathing even, clenching his hands into fists. Years of training helped him stay outwardly calm, even as his chest threatened to explode. This had to be related to all the chaos of the past few days. Whatever the cause, it definitely warranted Maria's call to take Samantha.
All that mattered now was keeping her and his mother safe. They were his family, his everything, and he'd roast in hell before letting them get hurt.
Loki strode onto the platform, gazing out at his new kingdom. The Chitauri rained down from the portal above, unleashing their potent firepower on the puny mortals below. Fire and smoke rose from the buildings and streets as the people of Earth fled to save their pathetic lives. He breathed deeply, smiling. Victory had never been so close, so sweet.
Something thudded nearby, and he turned to see Thor glaring up at him. "Loki!" he bellowed. "Turn off the Tesseract, or I'll destroy it."
"You can't," Loki snarled, leveling his scepter at the 'God of Thunder'. "There is no stopping it. There is only the war."
"So be it."
With a savage roar, he leapt from the platform and swung the scepter.
Reaching the parking level, Tony led his mother and daughter to the car. A few other tenants were doing the same, no doubt having witnessed the portal's opening like they had. Once inside and buckled in, he drove out onto the street. A trio of police cruisers zoomed past with flashing lights and sirens. Turning right, he pressed down on the gas pedal hard, moving around other cars and speeding through red lights. The last thing he worried about was tickets.
More and more explosions echoed. At one intersection, Tony glanced down the street to his right and saw a taxi flying through the air after getting hit by a blue beam of energy.
As he focused on driving, his mother looked back and comforted Samantha. "It's okay honey, we'll be out of here in no time. Your daddy's gonna keep us safe."
Turning a corner, he let out a growl of frustration. Cars stretched ahead in a gridlock, creating a cacophony of horns. Everyone else wanted to get out of the city at the same time, clogging the streets in true New York fashion. He couldn't afford any stops. Just then, his phone started ringing. It was Maria. "Hey, good to hear your voice again."
"Tony, where are you?"
"Trying to get out of Manhattan, but there's so many cars on the road we can't go anywhere. I'll try to swing around and see if I can find another exit."
"Is that mom?" Samantha asked. Tony nodded and put the phone on speaker. "Mom?"
"Samantha! Thank God," Maria said, sounding relieved. "Are you okay, Gumdrop?"
"Yeah. I'm okay."
He handed the phone to his mother as he started to reverse. "I'm here, too, Maria. We're all fine."
"That's good to hear, Regina. The city's in chaos right now, so your best bet is to…"
A quartet of flying…chariot…things appeared behind them. They started blasting the busy street indiscriminately with some kind of blue plasma bolts. Some cars exploded, while others were thrown into the air like discarded toys. One of the cars directly behind them sped forward in a panic. It smashed into them square in the rear driver's side, knocking them into the cars stopped ahead. The rear windows shattered, and Samantha screamed, shielding her face as Tony felt the impact quake his every bone.
"Tony?" Maria asked through the phone. He groaned, noticing it had fallen between his seat and the console. "Tony, what's going on?"
Before he could reach for it, another car sped forward. The driver, heedless of what lay ahead of him, smashed into the driver's side and sandwiched them between the other cars. Meanwhile, explosions and screams sounded all around them in a symphony of death and terror. The flying alien chariots zoomed out of view, firing down on anyone and anything.
Tony managed to unbuckle his seat belt, grimacing as his left side lanced with pain. He still had feeling in his arm and leg, so nothing was broken, thankfully. Shaking his head, he forced himself to focus and said, "You guys okay? Ma?"
He looked over at his mother, who winced. Blood ran down the right side of her face from a fresh gash. The crashes probably smacked her head against the window. A quick inspection didn't show any major injuries, and he thanked the universe. Twisting around, he looked at Samantha. She clutched her arms tightly around her head, bits of broken glass on her jacket and hair.
"Samantha? You okay? Come on, baby girl, talk to me."
She sniffled, then looked up. She didn't look injured, only terrified.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
Satisfied his family was safe enough for the moment, he reached down for his wedged phone. Yanking it free, he saw the screen cracked beyond repair. It wouldn't respond to any of the buttons. Perfect. Tossing it on the floor, he reached under his seat for the stashed emergency hammer. Aiming for the top of his window, he gave a single good hit, causing the window to crack. A bit of applied force then popped the whole thing free.
Reaching out onto the roof, Tony pulled himself out through the opening and onto the hood of one of the cars pinning them. "Come on, Ma. This way." His mother unbuckled, then managed to crawl out the window as he helped her. Leaving her next to the car, he reached inside and held his hand out to Samantha. "Come on out, Samantha. Please, I just need you to move out here. Can you do that for me?"
"I-I think so," she said, her voice small and terrified. Unbuckling, she moved between the seats towards him. He wrapped an arm around her stomach and carried her out of the car. She held him tight, pressing her face into his shoulder as he hopped down onto the street.
Looking up at the sky, he said, "We need to get moving before those things come back. Here, follow me."
Leading his mother by the hand, he weaved through the wreckage of cars and trucks before entering a nearby alley. Stopping behind a dumpster, the three of them hid and took a moment to rest. Tony flexed his left arm, which felt sore but otherwise fine. His mother winced, touching the edge of the gash on her head. Taking off his jacket, he tore off a shirt sleeve and wrapped it over the wound as a temporary bandage.
"Okay," he said. "We need to keep moving, find somewhere safe."
"And then what?" his mother asked.
Wiping her eyes, Samantha said, "Iron Man will save us. He saves everyone."
Tony pursed his lips. Now wasn't the time to share his views on Stark. If the thought gave his daughter hope, then that's what she needed to get through this hell. "We just need to hold out until they send in the army. These alien freaks aren't gonna take our home from us." His mind played through 1,000 different scenarios. The government could react to a crisis like this in any number of ways, and he shuddered to think of the more nightmarish options.
With something this serious, those options were more likely. But he couldn't afford to dwell on that. Right now, he needed to get them somewhere safe.
Back on their feet, they kept moving down the alley until reaching yet another busy street. Right as they stepped onto the sidewalk, they stopped and looked up. The portal above Stark Tower gaped like a glowing sore, disgorging more and more invaders ever since it first opened. Now, it spat out a gargantuan creature covered in armour plating with fin-like spines running along its body. The leviathan roared, swimming through the air as its spines carved through buildings.
A number of the flying chariots flew overhead, and the aliens riding in back leaped down onto the street. They landed without injury, suggesting a stronger skeletal structure than humans. That, combined with the armour plating fused onto their bodies, made them formidable opponents. The aliens drew thin metal poles which extended into long, exotic rifles, then began shooting anyone they saw with energy bolts.
Two of them looked in their direction.
"Stay down!" Tony barked, drawing his gun. His mother and Samantha hid behind a car. He shot both aliens before they could act, each twice in the head. They staggered, bluish-purple ichor leaking from the bullet holes, but didn't die. 'Great,' Tony thought to himself. Time to improvise. He charged forward and, wrapping his arms around the throat of an alien, he hit the other in the face with a spinning kick. In the same motion, he applied as much pressure as he could and twisted until he heard the first alien's neck snap with a crunch and a screech of twisted metal.
Using the corpse as cover, Tony shoved it at the second alien, which easily sidestepped. But it gave him enough time to leap onto the alien. He wrapped his legs around its neck and twisted, throwing it onto the street. He'd seen Romanoff perform the move countless times, either in training rooms or from security footage of her missions. Stepping on the alien's chest to pin it, he unloaded the rest of his clip into the thing's face. This time, it stayed dead.
Looking up, Tony saw a trio of aliens coming at him. With his pistol now emptied, he needed a new weapon. Fortunately, the first alien he'd killed laid before him, rifle waiting to be used. He rolled forward just as the trio started shooting at him, grabbed the rifle in a smooth motion, then entered a crouch and shot all three aliens in the face in less than a second.
Just when he thought they were safe for now, several bestial voices called out in some guttural tongue he'd never heard. Whirling around, he saw seven more approaching from further down the street, executing fleeing civilians.
Clenching his jaw tight, Tony ran towards them. Some held bulkier weapons that enveloped their whole arms and fired more powerful energy bolts. One of the aliens pointed at him, barking something in its species' language. All seven shot at him, and thankfully they had shit aim. Jumping, Tony reached out to touch the hood of a car and propelled himself in a forward handspring. Having watched the last Summer Olympics with his mother, he was able to perfectly replicate the twisting gymnastic flips and land behind the farthest alien.
It whirled on him, inhuman eyes narrowing in anger. Smashing the butt of his rifle against its face, he used it for a human –or not so human– shield that absorbed all the energy bolts fired into it. Looking down at the alien's thigh, he noticed a rectangular grenade with a row of lights on the side. When he pressed the button on top, the lights activated, a bright shade of cobalt. They flashed in a row, accompanied by a series of beeps. The alien's panicked grunts were all the confirmation Tony needed. Shoving it forward with his shoulder, he ran to the side walk and threw himself into the empty patio of a restaurant.
He flipped a table over and took cover behind it just as the grenade went off. The explosion shook the street, the sound reminding Tony of intense feedback from stage speakers at a concert.
Peering over the table, he saw a glowing scorch mark on the street, bits of tech and chunks of charred meat scattered all over. He wrinkled his nose at the stench of cooking flesh and burnt metal. Finally, the street looked clear. With a heavy sigh, he stood and jogged back to his girls. His mother openly gawked at the aftereffects of his fight, mouth hanging open. Samantha, meanwhile, looked up at him with complete awe.
"Dad, that…" she said, obviously struggling to find the right words. "That was amazing!"
"Why thank you, ma'am," he said, smiling and tipping an invisible hat to her.
"How did you do that?" she asked.
His mother composed herself, then answered, "Your daddy's special, sweety. He always has been."
The distant booms and thundering roars reinforced the urgency of the situation. "Come on, let's go," he said, helping both of them stand. Hi-tech rifle in hand, he led them down the street heading north. More and more aliens flew overhead, shooting into buildings or leaping through windows to kill the people trapped inside. A pair of high-pitched whines came from the skies to the left, followed by a number of explosions. Then, a red-armoured figure streaked by, chasing after more of the aliens.
"I told you Iron Man would save us!" Samantha cried.
"Yeah, I see him," Tony said, picking her up with his free arm. They soon turned onto an abandoned street. Fortunately there was a subway entrance just up ahead. Heading down the stairs into the tunnel, they found dozens of people taking shelter. A police officer, uniform covered in dust and cheek marked by bloody scratch marks, ushered them in. Just as they started to relax, some of the people screamed and backed away from the entrance.
Tony turned and saw two of the aliens rushing in, weapons primed. Bracing the rifle against his shoulder, he shot both of them before they could do anything.
"You bastards are not getting in here," he muttered, standing by the bottom of the stairs.
"I'm bringing the party to you," Stark said over comms.
Rogers, Romanoff, Thor, Barton, and Banner all turned and looked up as Stark came flying into view up ahead. The Chitauri Leviathan came charging after him, tearing through the side of the building with its armoured spines. Thor growled, brandishing his hammer in anticipation.
Romanoff could only stare at the oncoming creature. "I-I don't see how that's a party."
Stark flew low to the ground, and the Leviathan followed until it crashed onto the street, plowing through wrecked cars and chunks of debris. Banner glanced at the others, then started calmly walking towards it. "Dr. Banner," Rogers said. "Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."
"That's my secret, Cap," the mild-mannered doctor replied. "I'm always angry."
He tensed, and his skin turned green as his body swelled many times its normal size, ripping his shirt to shreds but somehow leaving his pants intact. The Hulk turned and, clenching one of its massive hands into a fist, smashed it into the head of the Leviathan just as it reached him. He roared in animalistic rage, digging his feet into the asphalt as he stopped the creature dead in its tracks. The sudden loss of momentum caused its body to spring forward, threatening to crush them all. Several of its armour plates bent and broke loose, revealing the flesh underneath.
"Hold on!" Stark said, hovering above them. He fired a missile into the exposed portion. Thor stood his ground, while Rogers covered Romanoff with his shield and Barton found cover behind a flipped car. The missile exploded, scattering chunks of meat everywhere. The Leviathan slid off the street and crashed below, finally neutralized.
The Chitauri clinging to the sides of the nearby buildings screamed and howled in rage. All six of the team gathered together in a circle. Hulk roared as a challenge to the invaders. Hawkeye knocked an arrow and readied his bow. Thor spun the mighty Mjolnir in his hand. Black Widow emptied the clip of her pistol and reloaded, expression stone-cold and focused. Captain America flexed his left arm, holding his legendary shield at the ready. Iron Man readied the repulsors on his gauntlets in anticipation of the fight to come. All six heroes were finally united as one, ready to face the impossible and conquer the unstoppable. They were so much more than soldiers or spies or vigilantes.
They were Avengers.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Field Station, Philadelphia…
Ellen crossed her arms as she watched the battle unfold in New York. Around her were all four S.T.R.I.K.E. teams, as well as every other agent in the field station. They'd all stuffed themselves in the building's mission control hub once word reached them about the invasion. The large monitors were all displaying news coverage of New York. Much of Manhattan was on fire or damaged, chaos spreading out from the epicentre of Stark Tower.
She considered the money she invested in the project well-spent. HYDRA missions accomplished important goals, but Ellen wanted to contribute to something that felt worthwhile, something that made her feel like she added a positive into the world.
Several hundred feet above the tower gaped a glowing portal into deep space. The aliens poured through it like water through a broken faucet. Somehow, Loki had managed to use the Tesseract to open it. His endgame seemed to be world conquest, and at this rate, he just might accomplish it.
Except for Nick Fury's ace in the hole.
Ellen heard from her father that Fury reactivated the Avengers Initiative, which sounded like something out of Science Fiction when she first heard about it. But then, extraterrestrial gods obliterated a town in New Mexico, and now they were fending off a full-scale invasion. The news footage cut to several different cellphone and security feeds around Manhattan, showing the so-called 'Avengers' fighting off the enemy.
Iron Man flew around, blasting aircraft with his repulsors and doing his best to contain the aliens. From the roof of a high-rise, Hawkeye fired arrow after arrow, sniping from his vantage point. Thor, brother of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s number one target, clung to the top of the Chrysler Building and blasted the bejesus out of the aliens at the portal, creating a bottleneck. Hulk, the Gamma-infused alter ego of Dr. Bruce Banner, burst out of a skyscraper and caught the lower jaw of a flying leviathan, altering its path away from the building. Down on the street, Black Widow used her pistols and hand-to-hand expertise to fight the alien foot soldiers. Beside her…
Beside her fought none other than Captain America, dressed in a slightly garish red, white, and blue costume that emphasized every muscle on his perfect body. He moved just like she remembered from the old World War II footage, leaping and punching and throwing his shield. A legend brought back to life in the modern age. Ellen found herself captivated watching him through the shaky cell footage, unable to tear her eyes away from the hero who fought so desperately to save them all from destruction.
"Jesus," Rumlow muttered, shaking his head. "I've never seen anything like this."
"Kind of makes you think, doesn't it?"
He looked at her, brow furrowed in confusion. "About what?"
"About our place in the universe. I mean, we're just people with guns who kill other people. But that? That is gods and heroes rising to fight off terrors from beyond the stars. Next to that, we're…insignificant."
Rumlow shook his head in disgust, looking back at the monitors. "Bunch of hippy bullshit."
"Right. I forgot you have the intellectual capacity of a toddler. Maybe I should get your sippy cup, make you less grouchy."
"Kiss my ass, Princess."
She surreptitiously glared at him, digging her fingernails into her arms while trying to keep her anger down. No matter the situation, he could always find ways of pushing her buttons. He had ever since they first met ten years ago. Forcing herself to breathe evenly through her nostrils, Ellen looked back at the monitors. The newly created Avengers continued to give it their all, but they were fighting a losing battle against a never-ending tide.
A few minutes later, her PDA beeped, as did everyone else's. Taking it out of her pocket, she opened the notification, marked EMERGENCY/OMEGA AUTHORIZATION. Ellen frowned. Omega level clearance was reserved for directives given by the World Security Council, who almost never got directly involved. They usually acted through her father, who passed on orders to Fury. When things went right, everyone was happy. When things went wrong, the council did what every other calcified bureaucracy did: passed blame on someone else so they could stay in power. The notification opened, and her eyes nearly bugged out of her skull when she read the words.
In accordance with Directive 99.4, all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and personnel are hereby ordered to vacate the New York Metropolitan Area forthwith. This mandate cannot be countermanded, and Director Fury is temporarily relieved of command. Any agents found communicating with or accepting orders from him will be summarily court-martialed and prosecuted.
"Holy shit," Ellen breathed, not quite believing what she saw.
"You don't think…" Jack Rollins said, looking as stunned as she felt.
Rumlow stuffed his PDA back in his pocket. "Yeah, I do. The situation is unprecedented, so they think their best bet will be glassing New York to stop the aliens."
Ellen shook her head. "They can't seriously be thinking of wiping out millions of innocent people?"
He shrugged. "Innocent people die in war all the time, Princess."
"But we don't even know if that'll affect the portal," she pointed out, gesturing to the monitors. "For all we know, New York getting flattened will only clear the way for those bastards to establish a foothold. The council's just acting out of fear."
"Hey, I don't make policy," Rumlow hissed, keeping his voice low. "And this order comes from the top, so you can't go to daddy and get him to stop it. It's too late."
She looked back at the footage, noting the occasional shots of families and innocents just trying to survive this insanity. All those people, all those lives about to be snuffed out. And why? Because some spineless bureaucrat decided to push a button? Because they didn't have any faith that Captain America and his allies could beat this?
The next few minutes were agonizing, watching the desperate battle on the ground and in the air. The Hulk was subjected to a mass firing by dozens of alien craft that obliterated the building he stood on, while Captain America suffered a few shots to the gut and shoulder. Hawkeye swung from a grapple line as his vantage point was strafed. Bit by bit, the Avengers were losing. Then the monitors switched to S.H.I.E.L.D. surveillance feeds, which showed an F-22 firing a nuclear missile at New York. Ellen closed her eyes, unwilling to watch such wholesale slaughter.
She opened her eyes when the agents around her started whooping and shouting in excitement. The missile –previously rocketing towards the city over the bay– was now being carried on the back of none other than Iron Man. Maybe –just maybe– this wouldn't all end so horribly. He guided it between the high rises, then arced up into a sheer climb before disappearing into the portal.
All the other agents cheered and pumped their fists into the air, shaking hands and hugging in celebration. Ellen and Rumlow shared an incredulous look.
Moments later, the portal finally closed with a flash of light. The alien horde, poised to lay waste to civilization, seemed to drop dead en masse. Foot soldiers collapsed, aircraft wavered and tumbled, and the massive leviathans fell, crushing even more buildings under their massive weight. It all reminded her of the Phantom Menace. Despite all the odds, they'd narrowly avoided Armageddon.
Ellen stared at the miraculous sight, a part of her still not believing what she saw. It seemed too good to be true, and yet nothing more terrible happened. They'd faced annihilation and won.
Rumlow tapped his earpiece. "Go ahead, sir." After a few seconds of silence, he nodded and said, "Consider it done."
"What was that about?" she asked.
"That was your old man. He wants us at Stark Tower ASAP to get our hands on the Tesseract and Loki's tech. We need to be there before Fury or anyone else can get their hands on it."
Ellen nodded, anxious for something to do and simultaneously giddy at the Avengers' victory. Turning around, she gently shoved her way through the press of people and called, "Okay, people. Make a hole."
"S.T.R.I.K.E. teams, move out," Rumlow ordered as they marched out of the room.
New York…
Hulk thundered a monstrous, bellowing roar, shocking Stark awake after his near-death experience flying the nuke into the portal. He screamed, gaze flitting between Rogers and Thor. "What the hell?" he demanded, narrowly avoiding a coronary. "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me!"
Rogers sat back, exhausted, bloody and covered in soot. He looked up at the buildings and nodded. "We won."
Stark breathed a sigh of relief. Almost dying in deep space hadn't been for nothing, then. "Alright, hey!" he said, his voice low and half-hearted. "Alright, good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day." Remembering a sight from his earlier flights in the battle, he asked, "You ever tried Shawarma? There's a Shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it."
Thor looked up at the wrecked peak of Stark Tower. "We're not finished, yet."
A moment of cold silence washed over them, remembering the task at hand before they could celebrate. Then, Stark asked, "And then Shawarma after?"
That scene of the Avengers assembling for the first time as the Chitauri surround them was one of the greatest cinematic moments I've ever experienced. I still remember how giddy/amazed I was the first time I saw it. That scene cemented the MCU as the juggernaut it is today.
Let me know if you're enjoying the story so far! I welcome any and all constructive criticism, and I'd love to know what you guys think.
Enjoy!