Chapter 28

The battle wasn't over.

A resounding crash from over the top of the car brought them back and they leapt to alert. They were in a warzone.

Thor straightened up, leaving Maria cowered against the underside of the vehicle, eyes scanning the street for what he could do. He would not leave Maria, but he wasn't out of this fight yet. When had so many Chitauri come? There was a small group of them on the street now - all against the Captain.

The god saw his oppertunity.

"Maria," he grunted, hand stretching to the side to call his hammer to him once more. "Move."

Thor didn't look down to see if she'd done as he'd said, but the piercing cry of pain and the scuffle on the dust covered road told him she had. He heard a quiet, soft thud behind him. A part of him wanted to turn, to check she was alright. There was no mistake that that sound was her falling to the ground...

But right now, someone else needed him more.

The Captain fell.

Mjolnir found his hand and he slammed the hammer into the underside of the car where Maria had sat moments ago. The structure turned with the force, rolling forward fast and wiping out the wave of Chitauri closing in over the superhuman. A few quick swings and the rest were vanquished too.

He glanced over his shoulder when the street was clear again: Maria had somehow worked herself to her feet, leaning against the pillar of a building heavily. She sent him a gasping smile.

Thor breathed out, a combination of relief and exhaustion. The dust on the ground scuffed as Maria staggered out to him, near falling back into his arms. Thor opened them to her willingly. He was careful not to hold her against him, keeping his hands on the backs of her shoulder blades rather than her waist.

His face buried in her neck, her arms locking tight around his body. The god inhaled her essence, breathing in the scent of her through her hair.

It was like an energy boost by the time he reluctantly exhaled again. Like a bolt of electricity had shot through him. He had his purpose, his reason for fighting and existing right there with him again.

His eyes rolled over her shoulder to the Captain, still sprawled out on the ground. He straightened himself up and shifted Maria into one arm.

He offered his spare hand to the Captain. "Ready for another bout?"

The Captain took it and the god hauled him to his feet. "What?" the man gasped as he righted himself. "You getting sleepy?"

Maria stared up with them as their gazes lifted numbly to the sky and all the chaos that still blazed. How?, she wondered. How could four men, one woman and a ... Hulk stop all this? It just seemed hopeless. Too much, too many warships, too many Chitauri... the portal hadn't grown but it didn't seem to matter; they were overwhelmed anyway.

Then Agent Romanov's voice cracked through the Captain's intercom and all eyes lowered to him: "I can shut the portal down."

Maria's heart leapt with hope, lips parting in a smile her face muscles were too exhausted to form.

"Then do it!" Rogers shouted instantly.

Maria's eyes flickered back to the sky. She imagined the agent up on the roof with Selvig. They must have the scepter, she thought; the only thing that could close the portal save for her.

Yes, she agreed, do it.

"No, wait!"

Maria's eyes shot to the Captain again as Stark's voice cut through the intercom. Her brow furrowed hard. Had she heard that right? He wanted to wait?

The Captain looked just as perplexed at the genius's words as she was. "Stark, these things are still coming." he barked down the line.

"I got a nuke coming in." Stark chipped before another confused thought could cross Maria's mind. Her jaw dropped with alarm, eyes darting to the skies again. A nuke?! Oh God... "It's gonna blow in less than a minute."

That was it, Maria thought before she could help herself. Not even Roger's shield could save them from a damned nuclear explosion! Her throat ran bone dry as she saw the unmistakable form of a missile creep into view through the Heavens. Tony should have just let her crash from that building, she couldn't help think. They were all dead anyway...

She wasn't sure if Thor understood what a 'nuke' was but he seemed to get the 'danger' message just fine; his arm stiffened tightly around Maria's shoulders. His hammer shot back to his hand.

This wasn't something his hammer could protect them against though, she thought with dread.

Maria couldn't take her eyes off the missile that would end their lives as it crept into view amongst the sky scrapers, knowing it would blow them to oblivion...

Then a flash of red glinted alongside it in the sunlight and the breath caught in her throat - Stark. Her eyes were wide, gleaming with apprehension and appreciation as the genius that had already saved her life once that day angled the destructive capsule upwards.

Oh my God, she breathed in her head, her uninjured arm reaching up for Thor's arm; the danger was moving up, away from them. Maria's teeth ground into her bottom lip as they watched in tentative silence, all their senses razor sharp. Tony was taking it away. Even as Stark's plan started to set in in Maria's mind, she found her nerves still ground into place. He's going to put it through the portal, she realised. Her mouth hung open, a tidal wave of emotions crashing through her.

This could work, she thought. Her hand clenched on Thor's bicep but she wasn't sure he could feel it through his armour - but it might not.

If it didn't, Maria wanted to spend her last minutes with Thor, praying to whatever god that would hear her that they could be together in the next life somehow if they couldn't in this one.

Then both Stark and the missile vanished through the electric blue of the portal and her attention was snapped back to the here and now.

Everything had moved so fast, that the moment the danger had left their world it all seemed to slow down again. It was surreal. Like what she was seeing through the portal was on a cinema screen or something rather than being real. Their position, so close to the tower, gave them a perfect view of the world on the other side of the magical gateway. One moment it was all black. Then Maria blinked and it was a fiery orange inferno as the devastating weapon detonated in the foreign world.

Maria wanted to smile, to flutter her eyes shut with relief, but she couldn't - now she was waiting for Romanov to close the portal. To seal off the danger once and for all. She wasn't sure how far in the bomb had exploded... but she was sure it wasn't far enough for the blast radius to not include the portal.

They might not be out of this yet. Not until the portal was down.

Her eyes were glued to the sky, waiting for any sign of Tony to fly through before that could happen.

Around them Chitauri warriors dropped. Just dropped. Like once their controller had been destroyed, they shut down too. Like robots, she thought. She couldn't pretend she understood anything about the race other than that it was dangerous, but as the warriors fell, even from building ledges and rooftops, she was reminded of shutting down technology, all life vanishing in a draining second.

It was almost too good to be true, she thought. Enemy defeated, threat avoided - almost. They really needed to close that portal.

But where was Tony?

Vital seconds ticked by.

Finally, the Captain had to make a call: "Close it." Steve sighed reluctantly, his eyes locked on the Heaven's with as much will and hope as everyone elses. Maria could practically see the prayers that the billionnaire would somehow find a way back to them gleaming from his orbs.

It wasn't looking good. She gulped back her anxieties and turned her gaze upwards again. He had to make it, she thought. It wasn't fair. He risked his life so casually to put the whole city out of danger ...it wasn't fair, and Maria willed with everything she had that they'd see a flash of red amongst the slowly closing blue. Romanov was starting to close the portal.

"Please." she murmured to the skies.

Dread started to settle in her heart, the last of the blue fringing away. Her life was saved, the danger was gone... so why were tears tracking through the dirt on her face, thicker and faster than she would have thought possible?

It wasn't fair, she thought, a shoot of anger flaring through her. Why did all the wrong people always have to die?

The last of the portal fizzled away.

Maria's knees felt weak with horror, and suddenly she hated herself. If it weren't for Tony she'd be dead. Why had he saved her? If the world wanted a life, it should have taken hers - God only knows Tony could do more good in the world than she ever could! If only he could live, she thought, she'd happily take her rightful place with death.

But a part of her knew that even if Tony had let her fall and die, he still would have taken the missile. Her death would have solved nothing. There would have just been two tragedies rather than one.

Still, the guilt ate her up inside and she let it, willingly.

Then a solid shape blurred from the portal sight, red and gold glinting in the glorious sunshine. The smile finally cracked on Maria's face, a sigh of absolute relief leaving her aching lungs. Incredible, she thought, he'd made it. So close...

He'd saved her, saved the city, escaped the blast and had made it back in one piece! Mind you, Maria's mind started to prick worryingly, the smile slowly slipping from her face, he was moving awfully fast. She knew he must have flown at an incredible speed to avoid the bomb but still... this looked too much like falling for her to relax. It was too uncontrolled. Too reckless. Even Tony wouldn't be that careless now.

Fly, she willed, not liking the speed he was falling at. Why weren't his jets blazing? Why wasn't he flailing at least? Her throat ran dry.

Thor's hand cupped Maria's shoulder and moved her gently away from him. "He's not slowing down." So she wasn't the only one thinking it, Maria thought as Thor's stiff words rumbled darkly from his body. The familiar magical whoosh of Thor's swinging hammer sung through her ears.

Get him, she thought, her body too numb to speak the words out loud. Stark plumetted lower and lower, a cruel echo of exactly what he'd saved her from the first time. Somebody get him, please!

The genius's body started to fall through the sky scrapers, and hope fell with it. He was going too fast. It would be mere seconds then it would be too late to save him. Maria's hands rose to cover her mouth, holding back the horror as she watched Tony Stark fall to his oblivion.

Then a green shape crashed into him and their two bodies ground down the nearest building with a grate. Maria wanted to flutter her eyes shut with relief, but she found herself running instead, running with Thor and the Captain as the Hulk lowered Tony's body down the building. The pair crashed down onto the ground. Maria flung herself down at Tony's side as the Hulk straightened away from him.

"Oh my God." she breathed, hands hovering uncertainly in the air as her eyes scoured over his face. He wasn't moving. He wasn't even breathing.

Her palms flew to the center of his chest - the light in his suit dim - before she realised how pointless it was. She couldn't do chest compressions through a metal armoured suit! Her mind started to flitter with panic. Her fingertips brushed helplessly over Tony's chest again, tears forming at the back of her eyes. She didn't know what to do.

Her hands moved up to cup her face before she started to cry.

"Wait." Steve's voice said from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder at the superhuman. "Do that again."

A frown nudged into her brow. "What?"

"The light." he clarified urgently, and Maria turned back round to face the genius's unconscious body. Her hands hovered over his torso. "Touch the light in his chest again. It flared up. It brightened when you touch it."

Maria's fingers still hovered. "But... I don't understand." she stammered. "There's no light. There's nothing there."

That part of his suit looked dead; the faint glimmer of light that had been there was flickering. Maria didn't understand. It lit up when she touched it? Tentatively, she lowered her hands back down and flattened her palms over the deadly cool metal. And through her fingers she saw it - the sudden blaze of white light from Stark's chest, illuminating from his suit. Maria's breath hitched; it was a miracle, but... why? He was as good as dead a moment ago.

Then something inside her ripped and she cried out. Her body jerked forward over Stark's as the pained sensations from the Tower took over again. Only this time, she was in control. Maria knew what was happening now. She gritted her teeth against the cries and forced her hands to stay down.

Steve went on. "His suit runs on energy -"

"And Maria is full of energy." Thor finished for him, fist clenching around Mjolnir.

"If she gives him her power it might bring him back." Steve breathed on. "It's his only shot."

"Will work on just the suit though, or the man inside it?"

Steve's head shook lightly. "I don't know. There's nothing else we can do though. There's a core in his body. If the energy can reach that it might give the rest of him the jolt he needs."

Maria fought the trembling that threatened her body but she couldn't help it in the end. She shook like a leaf; it hurt just as much as it had when Loki had drawn it from her. It's for good this time, she told herself, the only thing that kept her going.

Her eyes screwed shut against the endless stings of pain. She wouldn't cry. Not in front of Thor; if ever there was a time to be his little warrior, this was it.

She would prove herself every bit a hero as they were, prove she was worthy of him in some way. And Stark had saved her life. It was only fair she tried to return the favour. Her heart felt like it was splitting in two and she forced her joints to lock in place so she couldn't surrender to the fleeful urges.

Thor watched with a pained conscience. His throat ran dry watching Maria's face pale as it did, her cry still fresh in his ears. His heart clenched. "How much is enough?" He asked of whoever would answer him. He wanted it to stop. He didn't want Maria in pain. She looked in agony; her barrier of teeth broke and sobs and cries gave finally over, stabbing into Thor's heart like daggers. "Enough." He growled, and dropped to his knees beside Maria, arm wrapping around her body to pull her away.

She shrugged him off. "No!" Her pained, glistening eyes lifted to his and Thor's heart broke all over again. "I have to." she gasped, a bead of sweat dropping from her hairline. "It's telling me. The - ah! - energy. I have to. Then I can be free. Then h-he can be okay. Please."

Thor just stared at her. Maria was indeed a remarkable woman. He hadn't known how much drawing the energy out of her body had hurt her, but now he could see it and he wished more than anything she did not have to carry this burden. And now she was embracing that same pain willingly for the sake of bringing back another. He didn't know what to do. All he could do was wait until it was over, for when he could hold her in his arms again.

It felt like a lifetime, watching his Maria suffer so, but he didn't dare try and pull her away. She'd hate herself if she failed, even if it was his fault. He knew that suffering would last a lot longer than these few minutes reviving the billionaire.

Aim for the core, she tried to will. She didn't possible feel like she had the power to direct this energy but if that was what Tony needed, she had to try. Aiming for the core in his chest was his best hope. She tried to picture it; the glowing light underneath his shirt, like back on the Helicarrier before she'd seen him in his armour. She thought of that, and bringing it back to life.

Then a bolt shot through her and she was thrown back hard.

Her head smashed down into the pavement and she yelped, hand flying to her skull. Then her body froze.

She stared at her bloodied fingers with wonder as Thor flew to her side. Her hand, her wrist... it didn't hurt anymore. The wrist that had been broken was absolutely fine again. Her eyes flickered down to her torso and tentatively she pressed against her collar bone. Fine. Her hand roamed down, experimenting with her ribs.

A smile gasped over her lips: she was healed. Everything that had been cracked and broken before was as solid and healthy as it had been back in England! She was fine again.

Thor's eyes washed over her with concern and seemed to piece together the same pieces she did. His hands reached for her shoulders and eased her to sit upright, Maria still staring at her hand with glazed eyes. She still couldn't believe it. Thor gently reached to the side of her head, brushing his thumb lightly over where she'd crashed down onto the road. It came back red.

Maria tried to click the rest of the puzzle together, her fuzzy head not making things easy. She'd been thrown back - was that good or bad? And she was healed. So many confused thoughts ran through her head, making it pound harder. She leaned into Thor's palm unconsciously.

Then her eyes flickered under his arm, just in time to see Tony's body jolt to life. His eyes shot open, his mouth gasped in a breath. Maria traced every rapid rise and fall of his chest and thanked God for it, too numb to do anything but stare under her god's arm to see the genius jerk back to life on the concrete.

"What happened?" Stark gasped, chest heaving. His eyes scanned around the team looming over him wildly. "Please tell me nobody kissed me!"