Helloooooooooooooooooo everyone! Here is chapter seven, the Battle of New York City!
Disclaimer: I own nothing, only my OCs.
A special thanks to Jason Hunter for suggesting Melissa Benoist to represent Rachel McKnight! Thank you my friend!
Panther-10: You'll just have to wait and see. :)
ENJOY!
New York City
Tony rocketed through the sky, passing by three smoke towers and darting for the Big Apple, Stark Tower specifically. Scans detected a massive surge of energy resonating from the building. The Tesseract was definitely there. "Sir, I've turned off the arc reactor," the suit's AI, Jarvis, informed, "but the device is already self-sustaining."
Tony came to a halt, hovering over the rooftop while looking down at Erik Selvig, who was currently gazing at a large advanced machine with the Tesseract stored in the middle. "Shut it down, Dr. Selvig." Tony commanded sternly.
The man turned around to face Tony. "It's too late!" Selvig exclaimed gleefully before looking back to marvel at the machine. "She can't stop now. She wants to show us something!" He turned back around to face Tony again. "A new universe."
"Okay." Tony muttered before raising both his hands and fired the repulsor beams, intending to destroy the machine and put an end to Loki's plans.
But to Tony's surprise, a blue barrier formed around the Tesseract and the beams backfired and struck Tony in the chest. He spun around backwards before he regained his composure. Jarvis went to work and analyzed the machine. "The barrier is pure energy. It's unbreachable." The AI gave the results.
"Yeah, I got that." Tony noted as he looked down, seeing Loki on the open air walkway. "Plan B." And with that, Tony began to descend, intending to have an 'audience' with the mischief god.
"Sir, the Mark Seven is not ready for deployment." Jarvis warned, knowing of Tony's plans.
"Then skip the spinning rims." Tony told the AI. "We're on the clock." Tony landed on the armor removal deck. The robotic mechanisms whirred to life, removing pieces of Tony's suit as the man moved along the deck leading into the interior of the building. Tony looked to his right and spotted Loki also making his way inside.
"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity." Loki gloated once they were inside.
"Uh, actually, I'm planning to threaten you." Tony corrected casually.
Loki chuckled. "You should have left your armor on for that." He suggested.
"Yeah." Tony replied as he traveled down a small flight of stairs. "It's seen a bit of mileage, and you've got the glow stick of destiny." He pointed to the scepter, and Loki glanced down at it. "Would you like a drink?"
"Stalling me won't change anything." Loki said amusedly.
"No, no. Threatening." Tony corrected again. "No drink? You sure?" He asked as he grasped a glass. "I'm having one."
Loki moved towards the large glass window overlooking the city. "The Chitauri are coming. Nothing will change that." He turned back around. "What have I to fear?"
"The Avengers." Tony answered. At Loki's somewhat odd look, the man explained while pouring himself a drink, "That's what we call ourselves. We're sort of like a team. 'Earth's mightiest heroes' type thing."
"Yes, I've met them." Loki smirked. And he was not impressed with a rag tag team of unorganized misfits.
"Yeah." Tony said. "It takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But let's do a head count here." He then listed off, "Your brother, the demigod," Loki turned his back to Tony, and he used the time to slip on a metal bracelet as he continued, "a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend. A man with breathtaking anger-management issues. A man with an alien parasite swimming around in his guts. A couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them."
"That was the plan." Loki smiled arrogantly.
"Not a great plan." Tony said as he moved around the counter, glass in hand. "When they come, and they will, they'll come for you."
"I have an army." Loki stated.
"We have a Hulk." Tony retorted as he fearlessly moved toward the god.
"I thought the beast had wandered off."
"You're missing the point. There's no throne. There is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn sure we'll avenge it." Tony declared before he sipped his drink.
Loki stalked over to Tony, eyes gleaming ominously. "How will your friends have time for me," the god began in a tone that very much matched the glint in his eyes, "when they are so busy fighting you?" And, without warning, Loki tapped his scepter against Tony's chest, aiming to take control of one of the planet's most brilliant minds…
Nothing.
Dumbfounded, Loki tapped his scepter against Tony's chest again, only to achieve the same result. "This usually works." The god murmured in confusion.
"Well," Tony began nonchalantly, "performance issues, it's not uncommon. One out of five-" Tony grunted when Loki snatched him by the throat. Enraged, the mischief god angrily tossed Tony onto the floor.
"Jarvis, anytime now." Tony said as he slowly stood up. But Loki was already upon him and the god grasped him by the throat again.
"You will all fall before me." Loki snarled darkly.
"Deploy!" Tony wheezed out as he was lifted up off his feet. "Deploy!"
Loki hurled Tony through the window and the man plummeted down with a shower of broken glass. But soon, Tony heard another glass window shatter. The Mark Seven pod raced down after Tony, whose wrist brand glowed red. The pod transformed, sprouting out limbs. The armor latched onto Tony and assembled around his body. Tony's face became encased in the helmet and the suit powered on just before Tony hit the ground. The flight systems burned to life and Tony blasted off back up to where he was thrown out.
"And there's one other person you pissed off." Tony told Loki as the former hovered outside the broken window. "His name was Phil."
Loki raised his scepter to fire, but Tony was quicker and shot first. Loki grunted in pain as he sprawled across the floor. Tony then looked up when a loud noise reached his ears. He saw a column of blue energy zip into the sky, tearing a ripping hole in the fabric of space. Seconds later, multiple objects came swarming out. Chitauri riding on their battle chariots. "Right." Tony muttered as his HUD switched to targeting mode. "Army."
Without hesitation, Tony rocketed upward to go on the offensive. The Chitauri screeched in challenge when they noticed him and opened fire. Tony responded in kind, firing his repulsor beams and a few of the Chitauri chariots were consumed in balls of fire. But seeing how more aliens were arriving by the second, Tony switched weapons. The compartments on his shoulders opened, and dozens of small missiles burst out and sought their marks. Soon enough, the sky around Stark Tower was filled with crisscrossing missile trails and blooms of explosions.
Down below, the people looked up above Stark Tower in awe, but it was short lived when the Chitauri flew over them, bombarding the New York streets. Pandemonium cursed the streets. Cars were flipped over or destroyed. Terrified screams filled the air as people ran for their lives, taking cover within nearby shops and restaurants.
Loki strode out onto the armor removal deck, his own golden Norse armor forming around him. He watched with sinisterly gleeful eyes as observed the now chaotic city as Chitauri flew by him. "Loki!" He heard a familiar voice bark. The mischief god looked down to see Thor on the walkway below him, Mjolnir grasped in his hand. "Turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it."
"You can't. There is no stopping it. There is only the war." Loki declared, pointing his scepter at his brother.
"So be it." Thor growled.
Loki unleashed a war cry as leapt down to meet Thor in battle. The mischief god swiped the scepter downward, but Thor sidestepped it. The thunder god swung Mjolnir, and Loki quickly brought up the scepter and blocked the blow. Loki swung his scepter in a horizontal angle, which Thor ducked under to avoid. But Loki immediately followed with a blast of energy. Thor positioned his hammer and deflected the shot. The two brothers lunged for each other and their weapons collided. The powerful force of the two weapons caused the R and K of the Stark logo to come off and drop down onto a random rooftop of a building.
As the quinjet soared closer to New York City, Natasha got on the radio. "Stark, we're on your three, headed northeast."
"What, did you stop for drive-through?" Tony quipped sarcastically before refocusing. "Swing up Park. I'm gonna lay'em out for you."
"Ready for some action, Chaos?" Troy asked his other.
"Absolutely. I was getting bored being stuck on this tin can." Chaos answered without hesitation.
Tony swooped by Thor and Loki's fight and soared throughout the concrete jungle, the Chitauri hot on his trail, taking turn after turn while moving unpredictably to make himself harder to hit. As he passed by Stark Tower, the Chitauri pursuing him were shot down by the quinjet. "Sir, we have more incoming." Jarvis warned.
"Fine. Let's keep them occupied." Tony decreed.
Clint flew the jet up towards Stark Tower, and they spotted Loki and Thor duking it out fiercely. Natasha tightened her grip on the gunner as Clint moved the craft into attack position. Loki tossed Thor aside and lifted his scepter.
"Clint!" Natasha started as Loki fired.
Clint attempted to swerve the craft, but the blast hit the left wing. The jet jerked violently as it began to drop out of the air. Steve and Troy took that as their cue and grabbed hold of overhanging pipes. "Hang on!" Clint shouted.
"Don't need to tell us!" Troy called back.
Clint steered the jet as best as he could, avoiding crashing into a building as their altitude dropped by the second. Then at last, they crashed into an empty street. Clint sighed out of relief as he and Natasha unbuckled themselves while Steve lowered the ramp. The others wasted no time in following him out into the turmoil of the streets as police sirens wailed and people screamed.
"We got to get back up there." Steve said firmly while Chaos took over.
"We can do that." The Klyntar said.
But a low mechanical growl made the group of four pause. They stared up at the portal up in the sky, and they were shocked to see a huge worm-like creature dive out of it. It was covered in brown metallic armor and it had four massive flippers that moved gracefully. Its maw was filled with huge razor sharp teeth.
A Chitauri Leviathan.
"And I thought I've seen everything the night I met you." Troy mused. Chaos grunted in response.
Clint smirked as he turned to Chaos. "Looks like you no longer have the sharpest teeth, big guy." The archer teased, and the Klyntar narrowed his eyes, unamused.
The Leviathan dived down from the portal, destroying a statue on its way down before it flew over Steve, Chaos, Natasha, and Clint. Chitauri soldiers ejected from out its sides and clung onto nearby buildings before they began to attack civilians.
"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve demanded through the comms.
Tony flew through the sky, eyeing the large creature. "Seeing, still working on believing." He replied shakily before urgently asking, "Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"
"Banner?" Steve repeated in confusion.
"Just keep me posted." Tony said as he began as flew after the Leviathan as the beast's flipper smashed through a building. "Jarvis, find me a soft spot."
"Scanning now, sir." The AI responded.
With Thor and Loki…
"Look at this!" Thor shouted at his brother, referring to the turmoil that was happening all around them. The two gods were currently in a struggle, their weapons locked tightly. "Look around you! You think this madness will end with your rule?"
"It's too late." Loki panted, tiring out from the fight. "It's too late to stop it."
"No." Thor insisted. "We can, together." He added, desperately trying to get through to his brother.
Loki wordlessly stared at Thor, before the mischief god stabbed his brother in the abdomen. Thor dropped Mjolnir, the hammer dropping onto the floor with a loud metallic clang, and groaned in pain as he stumbled back. "Sentiment." Loki scoffed.
Thor yelled out as he shot up on his feet and kicked Loki into a glass panel. The thunder god reached down, grabbed Loki, lifted him up over his head and slammed him down onto the floor. Loki groaned in pain before he quickly rolled over and fell off the walkway. A Chitauri chariot swooped in below Loki and the mischief god landed on it as other Chitauri chariots formed behind their commander. Thor wrenched the knife out of his abdomen and tossed it aside with a grimace.
Steve joined Natasha and Clint behind an abandoned cab. Chaos had ran off to God knows where, and he didn't tell the group where exactly. Then, the trio spotted a squadron of Chitauri chariots, led by none other than-
"Loki." Steve muttered as he watched the formation fire down upon the fleeing civilians. The street was littered with explosions as vehicles were tossed around like toys. "They're fish in a barrel down there." The super soldier added grimly before he flinched when a laser bolt struck the cab window, barely missing his face.
Natasha stood up and fired at the Chitauri that were advancing toward them. Crouched over, Clint moved to take cover behind a flipped over cab. Natasha ducked back down to say to Steve firmly, "We got this. It's good. Go."
Steve hesitated. Had Chaos not run off, the super soldier would have felt more comfortable with going off elsewhere as well. He looked at Clint and asked, "You think you can hold them off?"
Clint glanced back. "Captain," he started, clicking on his bow and an arrow moved into ready position, "it would be my genuine pleasure." He grinned before he rose up quickly. He notched an arrow and fired. The arrow struck a Chitauri in the forehead before it released several electric bolts, hitting two other attackers. Reassured, Steve jumped off the bridge they were on and ran along the top of a bus.
While Natasha held off the Chitauri, Clint was helping people out of a bus they were trapped in. He motioned for them to head for the subway entrance. Once the bus was cleared, Clint ran over to join Natasha. The redhead fired her pistol and shot a Chitauri in the end, blue blood gushing out of the wound as it dropped dead onto the street.
"Just like Budapest all over again." Natasha remarked.
"You and I remember Budapest very differently." Clint retorted while firing his arrows.
Elsewhere…
Officer Sam could not believe the situation he and his men were currently in. The day was going just fine when out of nowhere, freaking aliens start attacking the streets. Sam and his fellow officers attempted to shoot down the Chitauri chariots that flew over them, but he was sure that they were all missing their shots.
One of his Sam's friends, Cole, ran through the commotion to join with the former. "It's going to be an hour before they can scramble the National Guard." Cole informed.
"National Guard?" Sam repeated in disbelief. He and Cole flinched when a laser bolt struck the hood of the police car behind them. "Does the army know what's happening here?"
"Do we?" Cole retorted.
They started when Steve jumped onto the car roof in front of them. Sam raised his gun, but stopped himself. "You need men in these buildings." The super soldier started, pointing to a random building. "There are people inside and they're going to be running right into the line of fire. You take them to the basements or through the subway. You keep them off the streets. I need a perimeter as far back as 39th."
"Why the hell should I take orders from you?" Sam demanded.
An explosion went off behind Steve, who quickly stood up. He deflected a bolt with his shield. A Chituari jumped down from a chariot and lunged for Steve, who bashed his shield against the alien, knocking it down. He blocked point blank shots before punching the attacker in the face. Steve whirled around and slammed his shield against another opponent. Turning around once more, Steve seized an arm rifle from another Chituari and severed it using his shield. The alien screeched in pain before Steve bashed his shield against the enemy, flinging it across the street.
The display of skill was enough to convince Sam. He turned to give orders to his fellow officers. "I need men in those buildings. Lead the people down and away from the streets." He then spoke into his radio, "We're gonna set up a perimeter all the way down to 39th street."
Elsewhere…
Tony rounded a corner, heading for the lazily cruising Leviathan. He launched several flares form his suit compartments. The creature roared as it spotted Tony, turning while plowing through several buildings. "Well, we got its attention. What the hell was step two?" He asked himself before blasting off, the Leviathan following after him.
With Natasha and Clint…
The fight became close quarters. Clint swept his bow, knocking a Chitauri off its feet. Immediately, Clint rammed his arrow downward and stabbed it into the Chitauri's chest, killing it. Natasha climbed up on one of the Chitauri and snapped its neck. One of the Chitauri charged forward and tackled Clint onto the ground, and the archer kicked the creature off. Natasha, now armed with a Chitauir spear gun, slashed the weapon across a Chitauri's chest before shooting another. The redhead spun around and shot another attacker in the chest.
Steve soon joined them, but the three heroes were being quickly overwhelmed. When they cleared out one group, another would soon join in. More Chitauri closed in on the heroic trio…
Just as Chaos jumped out from nowhere, landing between the enemy and his comrades. The Klyntar's hands morphed into spear like weapons. Then, with a combination of a snarl and a grunt, Chaos stabbed the ground with the spears. Spikes shot up through the concrete ground, heading directly for the Chitauri. Many of the attackers were impaled by the deadly spikes. Chaos wrenched his spears free and retracted them.
"Where the hell did you go?" Natasha demanded.
Chaos turned to face the redhead. "We went to help people." The symbiote stated plainly.
"Without telling our teammates where we were going." Troy added bluntly.
It was at that moment Thor appeared out of the sky, landing down with a loud thud. "What's the story upstairs?" Steve urgently asked the thunder god.
"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable." Thor replied tightly.
"Thor's right. We gotta deal with these guys first." Tony agreed over the comm channel as more Chitauri flew over the group.
"How do we do this?" Natasha inquired.
"As a team." Steve answered sternly. The redhead nodded reluctantly.
"Teamwork makes the dream work." Chaos quipped casually. Troy mentally scowled at his other.
"I have unfinished business with Loki." Thor interjected.
"Yeah?" Clint chimed in blankly, checking over his arrows. "Get in line."
"Save it." Steve commanded as he turned to the team. "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him these things could run wild." He glanced around at the Chitauri. "We got Stark up top," he pointed to Stark Tower as he began to organize their strategy, "he's gonna need us to-"
Steve broke off when they heard the sound of a motorcycle. They looked around to see Bruce on the vehicle. Steve walked over toward the doctor, the others following suit. "Someone's a little late to the party." Chaos said teasingly.
Bruce ignored the symbiote as he hopped off the motorcycle while remarking, "So, this all seems horrible." He gestured to around them.
"I've seen worse." Natasha commented pointedly.
Bruce winced. "Sorry." He said sincerely.
Natasha smiled as she corrected, "No, we could use a little worse." Bruce looked pleasantly surprised.
"Stark?" Steve called into the comms. "We got him."
"Banner?" Tony asked.
"Just like you said." Steve responded.
"Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you."
"To us?" Chaos queried.
The answer came when Tony flew around the corner, the Leviathan following after him, smashing the side of a building as it made the turn. Thor snarled as he gripped Mjolnir tighter. Chaos growled at the beast. "I-I don't see how that's party." Natasha pointed out in a mix of shock and confusion.
Tony flew close to the street and the Leviathan followed suit, smashing everything in its path. Bruce turned and started down the street toward the creature. "Dr. Banner. Now might be a really good time for you to get angry." Steve called after him.
"That's my secret, Captain." Bruce said as he steeled himself. He turned back to say, "I'm always angry." And with that, Bruce turned back around to face the Leviathan, the transformation commencing. His shirt ripped apart, his pants outstretched.
Hulk's fist met the Leviathan's face, forcing it to a halt. The creature's protective casing began to shatter and split open. But it began to flip over Hulk and down towards the team. Fortunately, Tony flew in for the save. "Hold on!" He launched a single missile from his wrist at the Leviathan's exposed innards, and it exploded. The team was showered with guts and pieces of armor. Steve used his shield to shelter himself and Natasha. Chaos' right hand also morphed into a shield and he held it above himself and Clint. The now dead Leviathan crashed down onto the street below, crushing a few cars underneath it.
The area was soon filled with the angry screeches of the Chitauri, enraged that one of their Leviathans have been killed. The Avengers stood proudly in a circle as Tony hovered down to join them. Hulk roared back at the shrieking Chitauri while Chaos eyed the invaders with hungry anticipation, sliding his serpentine tongue over his fangs.
High above, Loki surveyed the scene with fatal ire in his eyes. The fools were only delaying the inevitable. The mischief god was done toying around with them. Now the real battle begins. "Send the rest." He uttered.
At his command, more Chituari swarmed out of the portal, including more Leviathans. Natasha glanced up and spotted the enemy reinforcements. "Guys." She said to her companions warningly. The rest of the team looked up as well and saw what she was looking at.
"Call it, Captain." Tony urged.
"Alright, listen up." Steve kicked off, his tone sharp. "Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof," he pointed to the nearest and tallest skyscraper, "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."
"Wanna give me a lift?" Clint asked Tony.
"Right. Better clench up, Legolas." Tony said back as he walked over and grasped the archer. Then, the two were off.
"Ha, there's something you and Tony have in common. You two like to make movie references." Troy commented, to which Chaos chuckled.
Steve pressed on, "Thor, you gotta try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You got the lightning. Light the bastards up." Thor twirled Mjolnir and he was off. Steve turned to Natasha. "You're with me, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here. Chaos," the Klyntar turned upon hearing his name, "go bite some heads off."
"With pleasure, Captain." Chaos quipped with a monstrous grin before leaping off.
"And Hulk." The green being huffed upon hearing his name. Steve pointed to the hordes of Chitauri scaling the nearby buildings. "Smash."
Hulk grinned menacingly before jumping off. The green man beast leapt from building to building, smashing any Chitauri that were unfortunate to be within his sights. He grabbed one of the invaders and hurled it through the window of an office room. Hulk jumped into the sky and collided with two of the Chitauri chariots, destroying them.
Thor flew to the top of the Chrysler Building. After securing his hold on the building, the thunder god lifted Mjolnir to the sky. The hammer began to crackle with electricity while thunder rumbled within the gathering clouds. The power within Mjolnir grew before Thor unleashed it. Several blasts of lightning ripped through the sky toward the portal. Many of the Chitauri swarming out were obliterated, including one of the Leviathans.
Chaos darted down the street, leaping from car to car. The Chitauri screeched as they fired at the incoming Klyntar. "These guys can't aim for shit." Troy observed, noting the Chitauri's horrible marksmanship.
"Like the Stormtroopers from Star Wars." Chaos cackled as he leapt into the air. Troy rolled his eyes.
The Chitauri shrieked in a panic as Chaos plummeted down them. The Klyntar crashed down on top of one of the Chitauri, crushing it under his weight. Chaos' right hand shifted into a broadsword. He thrusted the great blade forward, driving it through a Chitauri in mid-lunge. With a sneer, Chaos pulled his weapon out of his victim and quickly retracted it before advancing. He lunged ahead and grabbed a Chitauri by the head and hurled it at another Chitauri. Both of them were sent colliding into a car. Chaos snarled as raced forward, moving in unpredictable patterns. The Klyntar looked to the left and spotted several Chitauri entering a restaurant.
Growling, Chaos changed course and bolted for the restaurant. He crashed through the window and slammed his bulk into one of the Chitauri. Its comrades shrieked as they changed targets and focused on the Klyntar. The talons on Chaos' hands extended and he swiped them at a Chitauri that was foolishly charging toward him. The invader's dismembered body was sent flying across the restaurant, blue blood staining the chairs and tables. Without even looking, Chaos stabbed his left elbow spike into the chest of a Chitauri attempting to sneak up on him. The Chitauri spat out a glob of blue blood as it died. Chaos wrenched his spike free before brutally punching another Chitauri in the face. The strength behind the blow was enough to kill it instantly.
With the Chitauri within the restaurant eliminated, Chaos moved to exit, but he paused when he caught sight of something. Two burgers… lying on the counter at the opposite end. Chaos grinned as he eyed the burgers that have somehow remained undisturbed during the fight, drool dripping from his fangs.
"Oh no. Don't even think about it." Troy warned, knowing exactly what his other was up to.
His warning fell upon deaf ears as Chaos shot out two tendrils. The appendages raced across the room and swept up the burgers. Within moments, the tendrils reared back to Chaos and the symbiote devoured both burgers in one gulp. "Really dude?" Troy demanded, flabbergasted but not really surprised. "The Big Apple's under siege and you're stealing burgers?"
"Can't pass up on free burgers." Chaos replied in a cheerful voice before leaving the restaurant.
Elsewhere…
Clint stood on the ledge of a skyscraper, firing arrow after arrow. Being the skilled archer he is, Clint's arrows always struck home in a passing by Chitauri. "Stark, you got a lot of strays sniffing your tail." Clint warned into the comms, not pausing in his shooting.
"I'm just trying to keep them off the streets." Tony said shortly.
Clint took notice of how the Chitauri were terrible pilots. They could use that to their advantage. "Well, they can't bank worth a damn." The archer stated before notching an arrow and fired without even aiming. A nearby Chitauri chariot exploded. "So find a tight corner."
"I will roger that." Tony responded.
Clint notched another arrow and waited. Just a few seconds later, Tony flew past him, a small squadron of Chitauri chariots hot on his trail. Clint released the arrow and the projectile soared through the air until it hit a target. The super-heated arrowhead melted through the chariot and the alien vehicle fell apart, dropping down to the street below.
Tony blasted through the city, briefly slowing his speed to shoot down a pursuing Chitauri before taking off again with more hostiles chasing after him. Tony led them on for a few more moments for suddenly taking a very sharp U-turn. One of the Chitauri slammed into a building while trying to correct its course while the other two followed after Tony. "Oh, boy." He mumbled sarcastically. He streaked into a tunnel, banking to the left to avoid a laser bolt. One of the Chitauri chariots lost control and slid out of the tunnel, across the street, before exploding against a building.
"Nice call." Tony complimented to Clint. "What else you got?"
"Well, Thor's taking on a squadron down on Sixth." Clint informed.
Tony frowned. "And he didn't invite me." He pouted with disappointment.
Elsewhere…
One of the Leviathans glided down the street before it suddenly turned its attention to one of the buildings. The people within said building gasped in horror as the creature drifted toward them. The people turned around and scattered when they witnessed Hulk charging through the office, trampling everything in his path. The green being smashed through the window and launched himself at the Leviathan, grabbing onto the creature's lower jaw. The Leviathan roared as it turned while one of its flippers smashed through a building, showering the occupants with glass.
Elsewhere…
Chaos opened his maw and easily engulfed the head of Chitauri. His teeth dug into the invader's flesh before he tore the head off, immediately spitting it out. The Klyntar turned around and spotted another Leviathan far down the street, advancing toward him. Sneering, Chaos took off toward a building and began to scale it. At about midway, Chaos halted his ascension and firmly planted his claws into the brickwork. He waited for the Leviathan to come closer before leaping toward it with a roar. The Klyntar grabbed hold of the Leviathan and stared into the creature's eye. Then without hesitation, Chaos plunged his claws into the Leviathan's eye. The creature roared in intense pain as blood gushed out of its wound. Chaos wrenched his now blood stained claws out the gruesome wound before he hopped off the Leviathan when it crashed into a building and the Klyntar dropped down onto the streets below. He landed in front of a Chitauri with a loud thud. Before the Chitauri could fully register what was standing before it, Chaos snatched it by the leg and repeatedly slammed it down on the street before flinging it at the other Chitauri that were surrounding him before he let go, letting the mangled Chitauri skid across the street.
With Natasha…
The redhead grunted as her back landed against the hood of a car. Natasha circled her legs around the attacking Chitauri and lifted herself up to reach for the nerve wiring in the back of its neck. The creature screeched in pain but was soon silenced when Natasha shot it dead with its own weapon. Feeling a presence behind her, Natasha whirled around and raised the spear gun, but relaxed when she saw it was only Steve. The redhead panted, becoming more and more exhausted as the fight went on. "Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal." She said grimly as they glanced up to Stark Tower.
"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it." Steve said tightly.
"Well, maybe it's not about guns." Natasha mused flatly.
Steve caught onto what Natasha was thinking, but he did not take his eyes off a nearby group of Chitauri. "If you want to get up there, you're gonna need a ride." The super soldier pointed out.
Natasha glanced up and found the solution. "I got a ride." She said as she dropped the spear gun. "I could use a boost though." She added pointedly while backing up.
Steve angled himself accordingly, bringing up his shield before asking, "You sure about this?"
"Yeah, it's gonna be fun." Natasha replied, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
She then broke into a sprint, leaping onto the car hood and then onto Steve's shield. The super soldier drew his arm in and lifted the shield again in a swift springing movement, launching Natasha into the air.
The redhead grabbed onto a flying by chariot which then darted down the street. Natasha dangled in the air as she attempted to climb onto the chariot. Succeeding in the task, she drew a knife from her leg and severed the chain tethering the Chitauri gunner. The creature screeched in surprise as it swayed before Natasha kicked it off the chariot. She then turned her attention to the pilot. Fighting against the wind current, Natasha leapt onto the Chitauri and stabbed it in the back, using the pilot to manipulate the controls. "Okay, turn, turn." The chariot performed the action, a little too well. "Less! Less!" She shouted before the chariot clipped the side of a building, but remained airborne.
Another chariot soon caught up with Natasha, its gunner firing upon her. Fortunately, Tony swooped in and reduced the Natasha's pursuer to ashes. Tony then flew down to the streets, hitting the Chitauri like they were bowling pins. Tony fired his suit's laser at Steve's shield, who brought it up to rebound the laser and the beam sliced through several Chitauri. Tony then blasted off, eliminating a number of Chitauri scaling the building Clint was perched on. The archer shot a Chitauri at point blank in the head before he notched an arrow and released it. The arrow soared through the air and pierced the pilot of one of the Chitauri chariots, which then crashed into a Leviathan.
On said Leviathan, Hulk was effortlessly pounding the Chitauri that were foolish enough to face him head on. Thor descended down from the sky and joined the green being. A chariot flew by and Chaos joined in as well. Together, three of the strongest Avengers fought side by side, covering each other's blind spots before Hulk ripped off a piece of the Leviathan's armor, only to pierce it back down. Thor slammed down Mjolnir on the piece that protruded out of the creature's armor. Lightning crackled violently throughout the Leviathan, causing it to roar in pain. The beast crashed head first into Grand Central Station, bulldozing through the large arched window and tore apart the tiled floor before finally coming to a halt.
Thor, Hulk, and Chaos gazed around, searching for any Chitauri that may have chosen to attack the station. Then Hulk, without even glancing, sucker punched Chaos in the face. The Klyntar flew across the station and crashed against a brick wall. Thor started, caught off guard by the sudden movement.
"That was cheap." They heard Chaos call out. Hulk huffed in response and Thor chuckled.
With Steve…
The super soldier was on his back, his hands gripped on a spear belonging to a Chitauri attempting to run him through. Steve forced the spear aside before kicking his attacker in the leg. As the Chitauri was coming down, Steve punched it in the face, knocking it out.
"Captain," Came Clint's voice over the comms as Steve stood up, "the bank on 42nd past Madison. They've cornered a lot of civilians in there."
"I'm on it." Steve replied before he ran down the street, heading for the bank.
Before long, Steve reached the bank. He dived and rolled through and flung his shield, hitting a grenade holding Chitauri in the neck and knocking it down. Its two comrades whirled around and fired their weapons at Steve. The super soldier dolphin dived behind a table before kicking said table. The object slid across the room and rammed into the two Chitauri, knocking them off their feet. One of them got back on its feet, only for Steve to punch it in the face before proceeding to snap its neck and tossed it over the balcony. "Everyone, clear out!" He ordered to the people below.
He was seized from behind. The Chitauri wrapped one arm around Steve's neck while beginning to rip his mask off. Steve elbowed the attacker once, but he noticed the other Chitauri recovering and aimed its weapon at Steve. Acting fast, Steve flipped over the Chitauri holding him, and the shots from the other Chitauri struck its comrade instead. The beeping from the explosive device was increasing in volume. The last Chitauri hastily reached down to grab it. Steve ran for the window and raised his shield just as the explosive detonated in the Chitauri's hand.
Steve, now unmasked, was blasted out the window and roughly landed on a car roof. He painfully picked himself up and surveyed the scene around him. Despite being an enhanced super soldier, not even Steve was beyond the grasp of exhaustion. Natasha was right. As long as the portal remained opened, the number of Chitauri they eliminate won't matter.
With Natasha…
After a while, the redhead managed to get used to manipulating the Chitauri pilot and thus, the controls of the chariot. However, a laser bolt streaked by her and struck a building. Natasha glanced back and ascertained the identity of her pursuer; Loki. "Oh, you." She mumbled. Loki fired several more times, each shot barely missing. "Hawkeye!" Natasha called into the comms.
At his position, Clint spotted the situation. "Nat, what are you doing?" He asked in disbelief.
"Uh, a little help?" Natasha requested urgently.
Clint smiled as he clicked his bow and notched an arrow. Time for some payback. He aimed accordingly, adjusting the trajectory. He soon saw Natasha on the chariot, Loki hot on her trail. "I got him." He said before released the arrow.
The projectile ripped through the air, whooshing towards Loki…
And without even glancing, the mischief god's hand shot up and lazily caught the arrow. Loki gave the arrow a quick look over before sending a smug grin at Clint. But, the arrow suddenly beeped and exploded in Loki's hand. His chariot was blown to atoms and Loki roughly landed back on the outside catwalk of Stark Tower.
He had just begun to get up when Hulk jumped up from out of nowhere with a roar and tackled Loki through the glass and into the penthouse interior. Loki grunted when his back collided with a wall and he fell to the floor. He lifted up his head to glower at Hulk, who smashed his fists on the floor.
"Enough!" Loki shouted vehemently as he leapt onto his feet. Hulk ceased his advance as Loki ranted, "You are, all of you, beneath me! I am a god, you dull creature. And I will not be bullied by-"
Loki yelped when Hulk seized him by the leg and the green being proceed to ruthlessly smash the mischief god several times into the floor, creating craters within said floor. Hulk stopped after the fifth slam. Embedded in the ruined floor, Loki stared up at the ceiling with wide eyes, his entire body screaming in immense pain. "Puny god." Hulk spat as he stomped off, leaving Loki behind to whimper in agony, a sound unbecoming of a god.
With Chaos…
The Klyntar swiped his claws at a Chitauri, disemboweling it easily. Several laser bolts whooshed by from behind him, and Chaos whirled to meet them in battle. His left hand shifted into a scythe and he swung the deadly blade, dissecting a few Chitauri with extreme prejudice. "I hope they find a way to shut down that portal soon, because this could drag on forever." Troy pointed out.
"More heads for me to bite off." Chaos remarked as he sent out two bladed tendrils. The appendages found homes in the chest of two Chitauri. The creatures gurgled before they went limp. The tendrils wrenched themselves out of their victims and retracted back into Chaos. "Wonder how the others are doing?"
With Thor…
The thunder god had boarded on of the Chitauri chariots. He bashed Mjolnir against the heads of the occupants, knocking them off the vehicle. Thor looked ahead and was startled when one of the Leviathans appeared bursting out of a building with a loud roar. Thor quickly launched himself off the chariot and flew off.
At that moment, Tony flew in from around a corner and drifted alongside the beast, firing a laser from his suit gauntlet. "Sir, we will lose power before we penetrate that shell." Jarvis informed, since the battle was draining Tony's suit of energy by the minute.
Tony relinquished the laser and flew ahead of the Leviathan, an idea hatching with in his brilliant mind. He took a left turn and increased speed, rapidly closing the distance between himself and the Leviathan. "Jarvis, you ever hear the tale of Jonah?" Tony asked.
"I wouldn't consider him a role model." Jarvis replied.
A bomb compartment opened on the legs of Tony's suit. The Leviathan opened its jaws as it zeroed in on its prey. But Tony wasn't prey. Tony flew into the Leviathan. The beast was ripped apart from the inside as explosions billowed within it. The Leviathan exploded, and Tony was hurled through the air, shattering a glass kiosk and roughly bumping into a yellow cab. Tony shook the pain off, but as soon as he rose to his feet, two laser bolts struck him in the chest plate, knocking him down while the Chitauri closed in on him.
"Stark, do you hear me?" Tony was surprised to hear Fury's voice. "You have a missile headed straight for the city." The World Security Council believed that the Avengers were incapable of stopping the attack and decreed that the obliteration of New York City was the only way to put an end to the attack.
A nuke? Tony's heart skipped a beat. "How long?" He asked as he attempted to get up, but one of the Chitauri bashed the bottom of its spear gun against his head.
"Three minutes, max. The payload will wipe out Midtown." Fury responded as Tony blasted the Chitauri away from him.
Tony knew exactly what to do. "Jarvis, put everything we got into the thrusters." He ordered.
"I just did." The AI replied quickly before the flight systems burned to life and Tony was up and away.
With Steve and Thor…
Chitauri were surrounding them on all sides. Mjolnir and Steve's shield returned to their respective owners and they began to fight off the attackers. Any Chitauri that came too close were fiercely dealt with. Steve grunted when a laser bolt struck him in the stomach and he fell to the ground. Upon hearing his comrade, Thor whirled around and deflected several shots with his hammer before smashing a car, sending the vehicle tumbling into the offending group of Chitauri. After they were dealt with, Thor offered Steve a helping hand, which the super soldier gladly took. "You ready for another bout?" The thunder god asked.
"What? You getting sleepy?" Steve joked, though his breathing was heavy. Thor smiled grimly before Mjolnir returned to his hand.
A loud thud sounded from behind. Steve and Thor spun around, ready to fight, but relaxed when they saw it was only Chaos. "Mind if we join in on the fun, gentlemen?" The Klyntar asked with a toothy grin.
"Yeah, be our guest." Steve nodded.
Suddenly, they heard Natasha's voice over the comms. "I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!"
That's exactly what Steve wanted to hear. "Do it!" He commanded.
"No, wait!" Tony shouted sharply.
Steve, Thor, and Chaos exchanged puzzled looks. "Stark, these things are still coming!" Steve pointed out.
"I got a nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute." Tony responded. "And I know just where to put it." He added grimly.
"Who's the asshole who thought it would be a good idea to send a nuke?" Troy wondered bitterly.
They all looked up at the portal, and the realization struck them like a frigid blast. "Stark, you know that's a one way trip?" Steve told him sternly.
"Save the rest for return, J." Tony said to Jarvis, dodging Steve's question.
"Sir, shall I call Ms. Potts?" They heard Jarvis ask.
Tony was silent for a few seconds before answering lightly, "Might as well."
Steve, Thor, and Chaos looked up at the portal, watching anxiously as Tony flew into it with the nuke. Within seconds, the Chitauri around them dropped to the ground, deactivated, signaling that the control ship had been destroyed.
The portal gave a faint boom, and they could see the nuclear explosion heading towards the portal entrance. They waited for Tony to come out, but they had yet to spot him. Thor looked over at Steve and gave him a short nod. Reluctantly, Steve quietly ordered, "Close it."
With somber eyes, they watched as the portal closed… just as they spotted a small figure fall out of it.
Tony.
"Son of a gun." Steve murmured in disbelief.
The trio stared up in relief, but it was short lived when they noticed Tony continued to free fall down. "He's not slowing down." Thor muttered, twirling Mjolnir and readying himself to catch Tony.
But it wasn't necessary. An almighty roar boomed throughout the area, and Hulk jumped out from nowhere and caught Tony. The green being slammed into a building with one hand, using its grip to slide down before he leapt off and landed heavily onto the street, cradling Tony in his other arm.
Steve, Thor, and Chaos ran over as Hulk gently placed Tony's still body on the ground. Thor flipped the prone body over and removed the Iron Man mask as Steve checked for breathing. The super soldier checked Tony's chest, and saw that the arc reactor was dark. A somber silence fell upon the group as they registered the fact that Tony Stark had passed away…
But Hulk was having none of it and roared loudly in Tony's face. The man gasped as his eyes bolted open in shock. The others jumped. Steve's face morphed into a disbelieving smile. Chaos and Thor grinned. Hulk roared triumphantly, beating his chest proudly.
"Why didn't you say he was still alive!?" Troy demanded of Chaos.
"Wouldn't be as dramatic." The Klyntar replied casually.
"Oh my god." Troy drawled.
"What the hell?" Tony gasped before he stared at Steve. "What just happened?" The man's eyes jumped from one companion to the other. "Please tell me nobody kissed me."
"No one would want to kiss those filthy lips of yours, Stark." Chaos snorted amusedly.
"Yeah? Tell that to Pepper." Tony countered. "But seriously, what happened?"
"We won." Steve said simply.
Tony sighed. "All right, yay! Hurray. Good job, guys." He continued on. "Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day." He then added randomly, "You ever tired shawarma?" Steve couldn't help but chuckle. "There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it."
"We're not finished yet." Thor stated calmly. His companions knew who he was referring to.
Tony blinked, then tried, "And then shawarma after."
In Stark Tower…
His body still aching in pain, Loki groaned as he dragged himself across the glass littered floor. But he froze when he felt a presence behind him. He turned to find all of the Avengers glaring at him, with Clint drawing back his bow, arrow aimed right at Loki's face.
The mischief god's eyes went to each face- Iron Man, Hulk, Chaos, Captain America, Hawkeye, Thor, and Black Widow. "If it's all the same to you… I'll have that drink now." Loki said to Tony quietly, smiling slightly as if trying to alleviate the tension in the air. Hulk and Chaos merely growled at him.
As always, thank you for reading! Please leave a review and until next time, have an awesome day!