Chapter 19: Avengers Assemble
Most of New York was in flames after the initial assault of the Chitauri. Loki soared above the wreckage on his chariot, his eyes falling upon the assembled heroes gathered below. Though they had succeeded in taking out many of his men, as well as one of the Leviathans, Loki was far from worried. In fact, he simply looked at his scepter and smiled.
"Send in the rest," he ordered.
From the portal still open above the city, more earth-shattering roars could be heard. The heroes looked up to see not one, not two, but three Leviathans exiting the portal into the city. Iron Man's scanners followed them as he turned to Captain America.
"Call it," he requested.
"What's the story with the Cube?" Cap asked.
"It's surrounded by an energy barrier," Iron Man explained. "My repulsor blasts did nothing to it."
"The power surrounding it seems impenetrable," Thor noted.
"At least not by conventional means," Ant-Man interjected.
"If Hank and I can get up there, we may be able to find a way to shut down that portal," Wasp added.
"Then get up there and do what you gotta do," Cap told them.
Wasp shrunk down, her wings buzzing.
"You coming, Hank?" she asked.
"You bet," Hank replied, shrinking down and jumping onto an ant.
The two then flew off towards Stark Tower, leaving the rest of the heroes to deal with the rest. Rick glanced around, seeing some scattered people still trying to escape the wreckage.
"I'm not much of a fighter, but I'm a master of evacuation efforts," he commented. "I'll go help the cops get everyone to safety and keep an eye out for trapped civilians."
"Sounds good," Cap decided. "Get them to our perimeter on 39th street."
"Roger, Captain," Rick said with a small salute before taking off down the street.
"As for the rest of us, until Ant-Man and Wasp find a way to shut the portal down, our priority is containment," Cap continued. "Barton, I want you on the roof, eyes on the skies. Call out patterns, strays, everything. Stark, Spider-Man, you two have the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash."
"Sure thing," Spidey replied. "I just love being a target."
Spider-Man then shot out two web lines and slingshot himself out into the air.
"Give me a lift, Tin Man?" Hawkeye asked.
"Right," Iron Man replied before grabbing hold of him. "Better clench up, Legolas."
Iron Man then rocketed up, carrying Hawkeye up with him.
"Thor," Cap continued, turning his attention to the Asgardian. "You gotta try and bottle neck that portal, try and slow 'em down. You got the lightning, light the bastards up."
"Aye!" Thor replied, before flying up.
"Widow, Jimmy, you stay with me on the ground," Cap proceeded. "Keep the fighting here."
"Like you even have to ask," Wolverine remarked.
"Great," Cap responded. "And Hulk…"
Hulk turned towards him.
"... Smash."
"Finally!" Hulk let out, grinning.
He jumped into the air, right at an oncoming chariot. He, the chariot, and its rider were both thrown into a nearby building with a large crash. Hulk then leapt to another building where crushed a Chitauri on impact. After grabbing another Chitauri and throwing it to the ground, he leapt towards a passing chariot and smashed it with one fist.
…
On top of a nearby building, Thor landed and aimed his hammer at the sky. He then began to summon a massive amount of lightning from the sky, strap bolts striking any unfortunately Chitauri foolish enough to get close. Once he had summoned enough, he directed it all back towards the portal.
"For Midgard!" Thor let out, shooting the lightning at the portal and frying several Chitauri, including a leviathan.
While swinging through the city, Spidey took note of the light show above him.
"Show off!"
…
"Stark," Hawkeye called, shooting down one alien after another. "You got a lot of strays sniffing your tail."
"Yeah, I know," Tony snapped. "Any suggestions on how to shake 'em?"
"Well they can't bank worth a damn," he told him while shooting down a chariot without even looking. "Find a tight corner,"
"I will Roger that," Tony replied.
Tony then rocketed towards an underground tunnel, with several chariots following suit. As he flew through the tunnel, he banked into the lane next to him. The chariots gave chase, one of two of them getting clipped by the dividers in the process. They tumbled to the ground and exploded, engulfing the others in the fire as they did so. Iron Man barely rocketed out of the way but recovered quickly.
"Thanks for the tip," Iron Man told Hawkeye. "Anything else to report?"
"Well Cap and the others just got a new batch of the boys back on the bridge."
"Then I'll go lend him a hand."
With that, Iron Man flew down towards the bridge.
…
Down below, Widow was letting loose with her stings while Cap and Wolverine were back to back, taking out any Chitauri dumb enough to try and take them on.
"Seems like old times, eh Cap?" Wolverine remarked, slashing one oncoming alien.
"Reminds me of when we stormed that HYDRA base back in occupied France," Cap remembered. "The look on the soldiers' faces when your claws came out."
"I'll never forget it," Wolverine replied.
"Though back then, they were just bone," Cap noted, bashing a Chitauri away. "Maybe once this is over, you can tell me about how they became metal."
"It's a long story Cap," Wolverine told him. "And frankly I'm fuzzy on most of it."
Just then, several Chitauri were blasted down by an incoming Iron Man.
"Need a hand, fellas?" Iron Man greeted.
"Nice timing Stark," Cap told him.
As more aliens came close, Wolverine had an idea.
"Stark!" he called out, bringing his claws together. "Hit me!"
Iron Man obliged and fired a repulsor blast at his claws. Remembering what happened with Cyclops all that time ago, he held his claws up for a moment before breaking them apart, sending out a shockwave of energy that decimated the aliens around them. Wolverine stood there a moment breathing heavily after what had happened.
"That… hurt…" he let out.
Widow jumped onto the back of one of the Chitauri, snapping its neck with her thighs as she grabbed its blaster. Without her own weapons, she would have to make use of the blaster.
"Think you can figure out how to use that thing?" Cap asked.
She let off a shot, taking out a Chitauri about to attack Cap from behind.
"Yeah, I think I can," she replied.
"... okay then," Cap replied.
…
Meanwhile, Ant-Man and Wasp finally reached the roof of Stark Tower. They both grew to normal size, so Ant-Man could get a look at the portal specs. Wasp pointed her hands at it, summoning a blast.
"Stark's repulsors failed, but maybe energy of a more biologic nature could work," she theorized.
She let out a shot, only for the shield to absorb it and send it right back at her. She flew into the large letters on the side of the building, knocking off the R and the K from STARK. Hank was by her side in an instant.
"Let's not shoot at the cube anymore until we have a better plan," Hank decided.
"Good idea… ow..." Jan let out, sitting up.
"Now from what I've read, the Cube itself is generating the energy field protecting it while it's creating the portal," Hank informed. "We just need a way to cut the power source."
Janet shook her head.
"The power's been cut to the building for a while now," she pointed out. "It's the first thing Stark did, and besides, the machine's self-sustaining."
"I don't mean the power to the building, I mean the cube itself," Hank told her.
"But how can we do that if the shield won't let us even touch the machine?" Janet questioned.
"It's certainly powerful," Hank conceded. "The only thing we've seen come close to it is…"
Both Hank and Janet perked up, an idea coming to them.
"Loki's scepter!" they exclaimed in unison.
"It gives off a similar energy signature to the one the cube does," Hank remembered.
"And if the shield is rebounding unfamiliar energy-" Janet continued.
"Then it may accept an energy signature of the same frequency!" Hank finished before activating his comm. "Guys, we have a plan, but we need Loki's scepter."
"You'll need to get it away from Loki, and fast," Wasp added. "The longer we wait, the more ugly aliens we have to clean up."
"Roger that," Cap replied. "Barton, can you take him out."
"Yeah, if someone can line him up for me," Clint replied.
…
Having heard the plan, Iron Man caught up with Spidey and told him what they needed him to do.
"So, you need me to get the attention of the Norse God of Chaos long enough for Hawkeye to shoot him out of the sky, so we can steal his scepter and use it to close the portal?" he rattled off.
"Pretty much,"
"... alright I'm game," He declared. "Not the first time I've goaded an enemy. Though you got a spare one of those comms?"
Iron Man ejected one from his suit and gave it to Spidey, who put it on under his mask before swinging off. He propelled himself up into the air, stringing up a line so he had something to stand on.
"Hey!" he shouted "Loki! I have some questions for you!"
Loki heard the cries for him and flew towards the direction of the voice.
"Hey, I just wanted to know! Is it true you gave birth to that weird eight-legged horse?" Spidey asked before he started web swinging in reverse. "I mean, how is that even possible?!"
Loki's eyes narrowed, aiming his scepter at Spidey to try and knock him out of the sky. Luckily, his Spider-senses kept him from getting killed.
"I mean, was it like when Zeus gave birth to Athena?" Spidey asked. "Did he like pop out of your skull?"
Loki continued blasting at Spider-Man, but he just kept jumping and dodging.
"And don't even get me started on how this whole thing started," Spidey continued. "Did you, like, lose a bet or something? Also, what's with the helmet? I mean, Thor's I get, but antlers? Seriously? You look like a kid pretending to be a demon on Halloween."
As Loki was flying, Hawkeye took aim with his bow and arrow. He let loose a shot, his aim true. However, Loki caught the arrow just before it hit him. Surprisingly, Hawkeye didn't seem phased.
"Tick, tick, boom," he said to himself.
The arrow in Loki's hand ticked twice, then exploded in his grasp, sending him tumbling off his chariot.
"Ooh that looks like it hurt," Spidey let out, landing on the side of a building.
...
Meanwhile, Rick was running down the various streets, looking for other people who needed help. While he ran, he spotted several Chitauri making their way into a bank. His instincts told him something was wrong, so he moved in to investigate.
...
Being a demi-god, Loki was barely phased by Hawkeye's exploding arrow. He'd landed hard on the Stark Tower, recovering quickly as Ant-Man and Wasp came down towards him, growing back to normal size.
"Alright, Loki," Wasp declared. "Hand over the scepter before things get ugly!"
Loki chuckled in response.
"You think I can be so easily deterred by insects?" Loki jeered.
Wasp chuckled right back.
"You obviously have never been attacked by a swarm of black carpenter ants," she replied.
Loki looked around and saw the swarm of ants starting to surround him. He simply summoned an energy beam in his hand and spun around, destroying them all easily.
"Is that all you can do?" he asked.
"Not entirely," Ant-Man replied.
He quickly turned into Giant-Man and tried crushing him, but he disappeared before he could lay a massive hand on him.
"Huh?" Wasp let out. "Where'd he go?"
Giant-Man looked around for the trickster, only to get blasted in the face by the scepter. Before he fell off the edge of the tower, he shrunk back down to normal size so his whole body would fit on the roof. Angry, Wasp flew around Loki, zapping at him as she did so.
"Nobody touched my boyfriend!" she screamed with every blast.
Loki just stood there, unphased by the repeated blasts. He simply swatted her away as she came close to his face. As she fell to the ground, he raised a foot over her.
"And now to squash this pest," he said to himself.
Before he could put his foot down, a massive roar rang out. Loki turned, just in time to see Hulk flying at him, tackling him to the ground.
"No crushing tiny girl!" Hulk bellowed.
Hulk then threw Loki into the penthouse, where he collided with the wall before falling to the ground.
"Hulk smash antler man!" he shouted out.
"Enough!" Loki yelled. "You, all of you are beneath me. I am a god you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by-
Before he could finish, Hulk grabbed Loki by the leg and smashed him on the ground like a ragdoll. He slammed him repeatedly, at least five times, before finally letting go of his leg, leaving him in a Loki-sized crater. Hulk gave a sniff, then pulled the scepter from his hand.
"Puny god," he remarked before turning to Wasp. "Tiny girl need this?"
Wasp, who was standing on the balcony with Hank, blinked slightly before taking the offered scepter.
"...Thanks."
…
"Sir, you have a telephone call from a payphone downtown," JARVIS informed Iron Man out of the blue.
"Seriously?" Tony asked. "Now? Alright fine. Put it on."
There was a click, then Rick's voice filled his helmet.
"Mr. Stark, the Chitauri have about two dozen hostages in the bank down 42nd past Madison," Rick informed him. "I would have called sooner, but my cellphone is probably somewhere in the forest."
Now possessing a communications device, Spider-Man was able to pick up on the conversation.
"Hey, I'm right near there," Spidey chimed in. "I'm on my way."
"I'll join up with you in a minute," Cap called.
"Please hurry," Rick requested. "They're armed to the teeth and I don't know how long the hostages will survive."
"Don't worry," Spidey reassured. "I'll be there soon."
…
In the bank, the hostages were all huddled together, eying the Chitauri nervously. Amongst the hostages was Gwen Stacy, who was doing her best to try and keep everyone calm.
"It's okay," she whispered to a mother with a small child. "We're all going to be okay."
As she tried her best to comfort the scared child, a Chitauri took out what looked like a grenade and began activating it. Suddenly, a large strand of web took hold of the explosive and pulled it out of the Chitauri's hand.
"Dude," Spidey let out. "Be careful with that. It might go off!"
As Spidey flung the explosive out of the way, the other Chitauri started shooting at him. He easily dodged the blasts as the hostages watched on. Gwen found herself staring in absolute amazement.
"Spider-Man…?" she let out.
Spidey quickly webbed the faces of the Chitauri, stunning them while he leapt onto the railing above the hostages.
"Everyone clear out of here!" he cried out.
As he looked down, he saw Gwen among the crowd, causing him to go wide eyed a bit.
"Gwen?" he said to himself. "What's she doing-"
"Spider-Man, look out!" Rick shouted from outside the bank, where he had been ushering hostages to safety.
Spidey quickly turned around to see the Chitauri back on their feet and shooting at him. He dodged one blast but got hit by another, causing him to fall to the ground. As the Chitauri were about to shoot him down, Captain America burst through one of the windows and threw his shield at one of the Chitauri taking it out. He quickly ran towards another and knocked the gun out of its hand. The alien tried punching him, but Cap caught the hand. He then wrapped an arm around the alien's neck before snapping it and throwing him to the ground. After reclaiming his shield, he dropped down and went to check on Spider-Man.
"Son, you okay?" Cap asked, his fingers going to Spidey's throat to check for a pulse.
"Just sore Cap..." Spidey replied before groaning in pain. "Really, really sore."
Rick ran in, joining Cap around Spidey.
"The hostages are clear and are making the way to your barrier." Rick told Cap before turning to Spidey. "Need a hand?"
"Yeah," Cap replied. "Give me a hand with him."
Together, Cap and Rick pulled Spidey to his feet, then Spidey's senses went haywire.
"Hit the deck!"
Cap and Rick turned around to see another Chitauri behind them throwing a grenade. Cap instinctively ran forward and blocked it with his shield. As it contacted with the shield, it went off, sending the three of them flying out of the bank and onto the streets. They rolled hard in separate directions, their ears ringing and everything a bit blurry. Cap was the first to regain his senses, and the first thing he saw was Rick on the ground. He felt a cold lump in his throat, his mind flashing to a similar image from back during the war, with Bucky on the ground instead of Rick. Shaking his head to clear it, Cap ran over to the downed teen.
"You alright?" he asked, overly concerned.
Rick groaned loudly, rolling onto his back before slowly sitting up.
"I think my Advil wore off..." he mumbled.
Cap sighed, then the two of them glanced around for Spider-Man. They eventually found him half pinned under some rubble. They quickly got to their feet, running to his side.
"Get that stuff off him and I'll pull him free," Rick declared.
Cap nodded and began lifting the wall of rubble off the web head while Rick grabbed him and pulled him out.
"C'mon Spider-Man..." Rick let out,"Don't you dare die!"
Spider-Man then let out a groan of pain, before slowly waking up.
"Anyone get the number on that bus…?"
Rick and Cap let out a sigh of relief.
"Gave us a scare for a minute," Cap told him.
"Trust me, I've had worse," Spidey replied before wincing in pain. "Though, this might be in the top five."
"You should get some medical attention," Rick suggested.
"Not a chance," Spidey replied. "We've gotta get back out there. We have to-"
Spider-Man winced in pain again, causing Rick to rush to his side.
"You're not going to do much fighting like this. There's a S.H.I.E.L.D set-up at the edge of the border to help with the injured. We can head over there and get us both checked out. I know I'm probably down for the count, and at the very least, you need some bandages and pain meds."
"No way, I can't-"
"Listen to him, son," Cap insisted. "Help yourself before helping everyone else. Otherwise, you're of no use to anyone. Now hurry, before another wave of these things gets out."
Spider-Man looked at Cap, before sighing in response.
"Fine. But don't think I'm sitting this one out for long."
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Cap told him.
"I'm no stranger to avoiding armies," Rick remarked. "You best go join the rest of the heroes."
"You sure you can make it to the border on your own?" Cap asked.
"Absolutely," Rick assured him. "Besides, right now the city needs Captain America more than it needs Rick Jones."
Cap froze for a moment, those words making him flashback to his last moments with Bucky, and the words his lifelong friend had told him. A distant explosion pulled him from his reverie as Rick turned towards the border.
"Kick their alien butts, Cap," Rick called out as he ran off.
Cap shook his head, gaining focus on the matter at hand.
"We need to end this now! Dr. Pym, how's it coming on the portal?"
…
Hank and Janet were standing over Loki's machine, the latter still gripping Loki's staff as the former examined it closely.
"I think I figured out how to shut the machine down," Hank declared. "I can do it whenever you're ready."
"Then what are you waiting for?!" Cap asked. "Close it!"
Hank the nodded to Jan, giving her the go ahead. She then thrusted the staff through the barrier and at the cube, cutting its connection. The stream of power to the portal snapped, and the portal began to shrink. As it did, one final leviathan attempted to slip through to the city but found itself severed about halfway through as the portal closed around it. As Iron Man was flying through the city blasting stray Chitauri, he looked up and saw the Leviathan head falling towards the roof of the tower.
"Hank, Jan…" Tony let out. "JARVIS, put everything we got into the thrusters!"
"I just did sir."
Iron Man then rocketed towards the tower. As he got to the roof, he unleashed every rocket and explosive in his arsenal at the head. The head began to explode with the sheer force of all the weapons, reducing it to chunks. It also produced a shockwave that hit Iron Man and sent him colliding with the roof of the tower. He bounced hard, then nearly went skidding over the edge before Hank and Jan grabbed his legs to stop him. They pulled him back onto the roof, then they all turned towards the city.
Every Chitauri still alive suddenly slumped forward, falling to the ground in lifeless piles. The Leviathans sank towards the ground, crash landing before letting out what could only be described as death rattles.
"Uh… what just happened?" Hawkeye asked, looking over the fallen aliens.
"The Chitauri must not be able to breathe our planet's atmosphere," Ant-Man deduced. "When we closed the portal, it cut off their connection to whatever was allowing them to survive here."
"So… it's over?" Wasp asked, unable to believe it.
"It… appears so," Ant-Man replied.
Suddenly there was a groaning sound coming from below them. The two looked down to see Iron Man slowly getting up and lifting his face plate.
"What just happened..." he asked.
"We won Tony," Cap informed him over the comms.
"Alright…" he let out, obviously dazed from the multiple blows he'd taken. "Hey. Alright. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it."
Thor landed on the roof to join the heroes, his face still grim.
"We're not finished yet," He informed them all.
There was an uncomfortable pause.
"Then shawarma afterwards," Tony added at the end.
…
Loki finally managed to pull himself out of the hole Hulk had beaten him into. He was in serious pain but was determined to rise from his defeat. As he sat up slightly, he found himself staring down the shaft of Hawkeye's arrow. Behind him, all the heroes were standing at his back looking down at Loki. He gulped slightly, a nervous grin on his face.
"If it's all the same to you," he said, trying to sound confident. "I'll have that drink now."
Hulk just gave a sniff.
…
Thor disappeared with Loki and the Tesseract not long after that. He promised to return directly after, mentioning something about a date and Jane. Once Loki was dealt with, Thor rejoined the others at the Shawarma restaurant that Iron Man recommended. Tony was out of his armor, Cap and Wolverine had their masks removed, and Spider-Man had his mask rolled up to his mouth as they all dug in.
"I gotta say," Spider-Man spoke up. "This shawarma stuff is pretty good. You called this one, Stark."
"Agreed," Wasp replied. "I still can't believe we saved the world."
"Eh, you get used to it," Tony replied with a shrug. "Though usually, I don't have this much help."
"You'll get used to that too," Fury declared.
The heroes turned to see the director entering the restaurant. Behind him, Agents Hill and 13 followed.
"The ten of you saved a lot of lives today," Fury congratulated. "Did you recover the cube?"
"Aye," Thor replied, giving Fury a cold stare. "And it is now sealed in the vaults of Asgard, where it belongs."
"Fair enough," Fury relented. "Besides, I never put all my chips on that idea because I was playing something riskier."
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"I think I speak for everyone when I ask you to explain," he said curtly.
"You," Fury answered. "The Avengers Initiative. Bringing together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. You've proven that could work, and if we make this a permanent thing, I know you all could make a real difference in the world."
"No way," Hank interrupted, stepping forward. "Need I remind you that this is all your fault?"
"Aye," Thor agreed. "Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it. This battle is a symbol to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war."
"I have to agree with Pym and the Asgardian on this one, Director," Natasha noted. "S.H.I.E.L.D. messed up, and we're going to be feeling the repercussions of this for some time."
Everyone paused for a moment, before Cap finally spoke up.
"I think Fury's right," Cap said.
"Wow," Tony let out in a complete deadpan voice. "Do you just roll over for anyone ranked higher than you?"
"No, I agree Fury's a punk," Cap corrected. "But he's right about making a difference together. Look, one at a time we can take down supervillains and arms dealers, but with threats like this, none of us can do it alone. Together though, united, we have a chance. Together we saved the world, and I believe we can do it again. Not as some S.H.I.E.L.D. task force, but as a team all on our own. Together we can protect the world and avenge the wrongs caused by the likes of Loki, HYDRA, and worse."
"We can be Avengers!" Janet declared.
"Good name," Hulk shared.
"Yeah," Tony agreed. "Sort of an 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' vibe to it."
"I could get behind it," Hank allowed.
"Aye," Thor interjected. "You have all proven to be capable and honorable warriors. I would be honored to count myself among you."
"That's five," Cap noted. "How about the rest of you?"
"I suppose someone from S.H.I.E.L.D has to keep you loose cannons out of trouble," Clint volunteered.
"And someone has got to keep you out of trouble," Natasha added sardonically.
"Well, if Hulk's in, then I'm in," Rick added. "After all, we're kinda a package deal."
"Fair enough," Cap allowed. "How about you kid?"
"Sounds pretty good," Spidey declared. "I'm in."
Cap chuckled a bit.
"How about you, Jimmy?" He asked, looking over at Wolverine.
Wolverine pulled his hood back, giving Cap a small shake of the head.
"A lot has changed since the Commandos, Cap," he answered. "I'm not as much of a team player as I used to be."
"Well this isn't exactly the most ideal team in the world," Cap retorted. "We're all loners and outsiders, but put us together, we can do some real good."
Wolverine let that sink in, then let out a snort, chuckling.
"You always had a way with words, Cap," he said. "Alright I'm in."
"Really?" Clint let out. "I thought his loner's disease would keep him away."
"Eh, he's just scared I'd beat him in a rematch," Hulk retorted.
Wolverine straightened up at that.
"You wanna go Jade Jaws?!" Wolverine let out, extending his claws.
"Bring it, claw guy!" Hulk challenged.
"Outside!" Hill exclaimed quickly. "Outside!"
Wolverine tackled Hulk outside of the restaurant as the two had at it. The heroes just looked on as Agent 13 walked over to Cap.
"Heck of a team you've assembled here," Sharon told him, smiling slightly. "They're gonna need one hell of a leader."
"I know…" Cap replied. "I just hope I'm the man for the job."
"I know you are," Sharon told him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
...
Elsewhere, out in space, a cloaked creature simply known as "The Other" approached a massive throne where a large figure sat overlooking space.
"Master," The Other spoke. " The Asgardian has failed to bring us the Tesseract."
The figure growled a bit in response.
"Then it would seem these humans aren't the cowering wretches he promised," he said in a booming voice.
"No," the Other confirmed. "They stand. They are unruly and therefore, cannot be ruled."
The figure remained silent for a moment.
"If they cannot be ruled," He declared, beginning to rise from his chair, "then they will be destroyed."
"Master, wait!" The Other pleaded, lowering his head to him. "The might of these humans is not to be dismissed. To challenge them... is to court death."
The figure then turned towards the Other, showing himself as a purple alien in blue and gold armor and helmet. A twisted smirk grew across his face.
"My plan exactly."
...
Woo! What a rush! But the story's not over yet. In fact, it's barely begun.
