Chapter 38: Tony
Tony had dropped Loki off as close to Thor's building lightning storm as he had deemed wise and headed straight towards the Mothership. The destruction of the smaller craft hadn't killed the Chitauri, which left Thanos' ship as the only other option.
He just hoped he could destroy it in time.
"JARVIS, find the weakest point in this thing," he ordered as he approached the ship.
"There is none, Sir," the AI replied patiently.
"Come again?"
"The hull is made of an alien metal, Sir. Your arsenal will have limited effect."
"What about the Gauntlet?" Tony asked.
"Impossible to say, Sir."
"Then let's give it a go." Tony hovered in mid-air and fired the Gauntlet at the Mothership.
Split seconds later, the blast rebounded back at him. He swerved and narrowly avoided it. "Alright then," Tony muttered, shaken by the close call. "Damage report?"
"The blast was ineffectual," JARVIS replied. "More power is required."
"Okay." Tony activated the group comm line. "Guys, the Gauntlet's not powerful enough to chip the paint on the Mothership. We need more Stones."
"Loki and I can help with that," Thor's voice replied.
Tony smiled. "I'll be right over." And he sped towards the ground. He landed and walked to where Loki and Thor stood waiting, raising his visor. "How's Jane?"
"She's alright," Thor replied. "Here." He held out the Reality Stone.
Tony raised his eyebrows but made no comment on the Stone's new form. He raised the Gauntlet and Thor put the Stone in its place. The four Stones glowed temporarily, but Tony's suit kept him from feeling anything. He turned to Loki, nodding at the scepter. "Your turn."
Loki sighed, giving his weapon a nostalgic glance before lying it on the bonnet of an abandoned car. He drew one of his daggers and struck the scepter's gem with the hilt.
The blue casing cracked apart, revealing the yellow Mind Stone within. Loki used his dagger to pry the Stone free and set it in its place at the Gauntlet's center. The Stones glowed brighter than ever before, and Tony felt a tingle run up his arm like a small electric shock. He frowned at the Stone. "It would have looked better in the other space."
Loki rolled his eyes.
Above them, another wave of Chitauri emerged from the Mothership. Tony shut his visor. "Cap, we've got one Stone to go. What's your status?"
"Getting the breath knocked out of me," Steve replied over the comm. His voice sounded tight, tired. "We're being overrun."
Tony nodded grimly. "Everyone else okay?"
"It's the same over here," Natasha replied. "I don't know if we can last much longer."
"Way worse than Budapest," Barton agreed grimly.
"Wanda and Pietro went silent five minutes ago," Steve added. "The Guardians have Thanos holed up in West 33rd Street."
"Okay." Tony sucked in a long breath. He didn't want to think about the Maximoffs' ominous lack of communication. "Cap," he said, "get the Tesseract out. I'm coming to you."
"Roger that."