PART TWO
Assemble

"Where's Thor?" Natasha yelled over her shoulder to Steve. They were in the middle of a firefight, and arguably their best long-range weapon was currently missing in action.

"Last I heard, he was going one-on-one with Loki at the Tower," Steve answered, in between smashing his shield into the faces of nearby Chitauri. The infantry in their area were thinning out, but a new wave of them had just started coming out of the portal. In a brief minute of calm, Steve walked to stand next to Natasha. The two of them had been on the ground fighting for the past twenty minutes straight, and hadn't heard or seen any news of the gods.

Tony's voice came in through their earbud communicators. "Well he's not there now, I just flew by. It's a mess. Jarvis can't find Loki anywhere either, and that portal's still open."

Natasha glanced up to where Clint was perched on a nearby skyscraper. "Hawkeye, can you see Loki?"

"No," came the response over the comm after a moment. "But I see more Chitauri coming through now. Two more big guys. This is bad."

"Oх боже," Natasha muttered, wiping her brow with the back of her hand.

Steve gave her a sympathetic look. He wished he had a water bottle or something to offer her. Captain America was still up for the fight, but he could only do so much. And Natasha and Clint were incredible fighters, but they were normal humans, and would become exhausted within the next couple of hours. If they lasted that long.

"Where's Dr. Banner?" Steve asked into his comm.

Tony zoomed past over their heads, followed closely by two Chitauri fighters. He rounded the corner of Clint's skyscraper sharply, sending one of the Chitauri tumbling out of its steering mechanism, and the other whole fighter exploded as it hit the side of the steel structure.

"Hawkeye," Iron Man called as he cut his thruster's power for a moment and fell sharply.

"Got him," Clint said as he released a C-4 arrow, destroying the remaining damaged fighter.

"Nice shot, Legolas," Tony quipped as he flew over to land next to Steve and Natasha. "I actually have no idea where Mr. Hyde is... Jarvis?"

The AI's voice tapped into their comm system. "Dr. Banner is currently surrounded on the roof of a building at the corner of 9th and New York Ave. I'm also tracking two more Chitauri Leviathans inbound on that location."

"Damn," Tony said, and immediately rocketed off down the street.

"Oh. Well. Can someone get us a lift?" Steve asked rhetorically.

"Watch your back," Clint said, and fired several arrows at a small cloud of fighters that were speeding towards them from down the street.

"I have an idea. Give me a boost!" Natasha yelled to Steve, and the Captain wasted no time arguing. Natasha climbed onto the roof of an abandoned taxi and readied herself to jump off onto Steve's shield.

"Now," Clint said, and she jumped, and Steve propelled her into the air. Luckily she got ahold of the tail of one of the undamaged fighters without the Chitauri's knowledge, climbed aboard and killed the gunner, then managed to hack the steering system through some well-placed daggers in the pilot's back.

"Okay, I've got us a ride. I can't control my speed, but I'm coming back, get ready," she said as she banked wide and flew up to Clint's rooftop. He shot a cable anchor into the fighter as it passed, then jumped off and hung on. As the cable retracted, he was able to climb onto the fighter's gunner platform.

"Captain, how can we pick you up?"

"Double-back and try to get lower to the pavement. I'll run ahead," he said, and sprinted down the rubble-strewn street.

"Alright, closing in," Natasha warned a few seconds later, and Steve slowed down and turned. He saw the commandeered fighter coming in fast. There was a metal stairway next to him that had been detached from a street bridge and fallen sideways, with its end angled at least thirty feet in the air. Steve ran up its side, then jumped off of the end into open air as Clint and Natasha flew directly under him.

He landed with a force that rocked the small craft, but managed to hold onto the railing and his shield. The three of them sped towards Tony and Bruce's location.

"Guys, this is bad," Tony's voice sounded somewhat pained over the comm. "The Hulk is on a roof over here, and he's taking a beating. There are twelve fighters in front of him in two rows of six, and at least seven more on foot on the roof. They're already shooting at him, but I'm hiding and waiting for you. Should I get their attention?"

"No, wait there, we're almost to you. Start firing in about ten seconds and we'll back you up," Steve advised.

"Here's hoping they're dumb enough to stay in a tight group," Natasha said with a smile, then glanced over her shoulder at Clint. "Got many arrows left?"

"Just two, with explosive cartridges. They'll do some damage."

"Good. Get ready to jump."

"We're coming around now. Engage them!"

Iron Man flew out from his hiding place and got above the fighters, then released the last of his missiles while also taking shots with his repulsors.

The Chitauri turned their fire from the Hulk to Iron Man, and in a second the other three Avengers sped around the corner and jumped from their craft, hitting the gravel-covered roof alongside the Hulk. They immediately began attacking the remaining eight fighters and infantry. Steve and Natasha took on most of the ground combat, while Clint fired his last two arrows into the upper row of fighters, causing them to explode and fall down onto their distracted comrades.

It was over in a matter of seconds. Bits of debris and washes of alien gore rained down onto the roof.

"Good work," Steve said.

"Uck," Tony remarked as he landed and almost stepped on a partially shredded Chitauri corpse.

The Hulk grunted as if in agreement, and stood up from where he'd fallen over on the gravel, looking pretty tired but visibly undamaged.

The Avengers regrouped.

"Got any ammo left?" Steve asked, and Natasha and Clint both shook their heads.

"The two Leviathans will be at your location in fifty-three seconds," Jarvis' voice said over the comm. Then to Tony, "Sir, you are out of missiles, and the prototype suit is at nine percent power."

Tony sighed heavily. "I know, Jarvis."

Tony opened his visor and looked around at his friends. "We can't keep this up forever. Where'd Thor get to?"

"And where's Loki?" Clint squinted up towards Stark Tower. "How can we get that portal closed?"