The Battle Begins

Kona sat stiffly in the jet as Natasha flew the plane through the buildings of New York. She didn't like flying, she didn't like not being on the ground. In the air…there was no ground, there was nothing to hold onto, nothing to feel around her. It was disorienting, this entire thing was disorienting. From the moment she'd been taken from her apartment and brought onto yet another aircraft, she'd been dragged around and told she was apparently from some place named Asgard and handcuffed and knocked out and attacked and…she never ever would use her blindness as an excuse for anything, she hated when people defined her by her lack of sight but…it was hard, everything that had happened, it was hard to endure it and not be able to see what was happening.

She tried breathing deeply, tried to keep calm but…she also knew that, wherever they were headed, it was into a fight of some sort. She honestly hadn't known what came over her when Natasha had attacked her, she'd just…reacted, but she doubted it would happen again. Or maybe it would. She just…she didn't know.

"I've got visual on Loki," Stark's voice came over the radio, making them all look over, "I'm going in."

Kona closed her eyes, hoping that nothing bad would happen, but feeling like that was all that could happen.

~8~

Loki stood on the balcony of Stark Tower, outside the room that Tony himself lived in, knowing that Selvig was on the roof, had managed to start the Tesseract, initiating the sequence that would allow the Chitauri passage to Earth. The beloved Iron Man had tried to stop it, and failed, of course he did. The Tesseract could not be stopped.

He stood there with the scepter in his hand, watching as the iron suit deconstructed as the man within walked into the penthouse, eyeing him carefully. He smirked at that and stepped in, paralleling the man's moves across the room.

"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity," Loki smirked at the man as he moved behind a bar.

"Uh, actually, I'm planning to threaten you," Tony remarked.

"You should have left your armor on for that."

"Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage. And besides, I don't exactly need the armor, do I?" he smirked, "Not when I've got the best weapon of all."

"And what's that?"

Tony's smirk widened, "Kona," he said simply, watching as Loki tensed at that, stopping in his idle stride across the room, "You attack me, I order them to attack her."

Loki shook his head, "I am connected to all the Tesseract touches and has touched," he warned the man, "I am well aware of Agent Barton's drive to see her protected," he let out a small laugh as Tony's smirk fell, "And if you dared harm her…then you need not worry about me conquering this pitiful world."

"No?" Tony scoffed.

"I would see it destroyed," Loki finished.

Tony's jaw tensed, there was something in the man's voice that told him it wasn't you're your everyday threat by a loon who thought he could really destroy the world, but…it was a serious promise, "You've got the uh, blue stick of destiny," he eyed the scepter in Loki's hand, "Would you like a drink?"

But Loki shook his head, "Stalling me won't change anything."

"No, no, no, threatening," he corrected, "No drink? You sure? I'm having one," he held up his own cup.

"The Chitauri are coming, nothing will change that. What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers. It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' type of thing."

"Yes," Loki smirked, "I met them."

"Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But, let's do a head count here. Your brother, the Demi-God;" he grinned as Loki rolled his eyes and turned away from him, allowing him to slip on two bracelets, "A super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins; a nifty little blind psychic…"

"Kona is NOT on your side!" Loki spun around, aiming the scepter at Tony as he glared at the man for even implying that Kona would side with them.

But Tony just continued, though a bit smug he'd managed to get one over on the so-called god, "And you, big fella, you've managed to piss off nearly every single one of them."

"That was the plan," Loki's eyes narrowed.

And it had been, get them all so worked up that they would fight amongst each other rather than focus on seeking him out. Keep them distracted so that he could advance his plans. Even make them focused on him, on capturing him, on keeping him locked up…while all the while the Tesseract was being completed, and they had no idea till it had been too late. It had worked marvelously, and he had gotten to make sure that Kona was safe as well. It was…rather genius really, to involve her. With her at his side, he could protect her, failing that, he knew the Avengers, no matter what, wouldn't let harm come to her, not when he knew they would attempt to use her as a bargaining chip. Harm her and he would end them all.

Tony shook his head and started to make his way to the center of the room where Loki was standing, "Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they'll come for you."

"I have an army."

"We have a Hulk."

"Oh, I thought the beast had wandered off," Loki laughed.

"Yeah, 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. Cause if we can't protect the earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it."

Loki turned and eyed him a moment, "Then you understand."

"Understand what?" Tony frowned.

"Why I came to Earth in the first place," he tilted his head, "I came for Kona and for Kona alone. I wanted her back, I wanted to avenge what had been done to her. I wanted Thor to grant her safe passage back to Asgard, to our HOME," he spat, "If I needed to take the Earth hostage to do so…so be it. The Chitauri were merely a means to an end. They wanted the Tesseract, I could get it. I wanted to get to Earth, they could get me there. We had an accord," and then he started laughing as he walked over to Tony, pointing the scepter at him, "For all this talk of avenging…I wonder, how will your friends have time for me, when they're so busy fighting you?" he placed the tip of his scepter on Tony's heart…but it merely clinked against the arc reactor fused into his chest. Loki frowned, "This usually works," he muttered, clinking it again.

"Well, performance issues," Tony shrugged, "You know?" but Loki glared at him and grabbed him by the throat, throwing him across the room, "JARVIS, anytime now!" and then Loki grabbed him again, lifting him up by his neck.

"You will all fall before me," Loki threatened him, "ALL of you will fall before me," his grip on Tony's neck tightened, "I will never let anyone harm her again," before he shoved the man away, sending him crashing through the windows and plummeting out of the tower.

"JARVIS Deploy!" was the last thing Tony shouted as he fell.

Loki ducked down as something metal flew past him out the window and, moments later, Iron Man appeared, flying before the broken opening.

"And there's one other person you pissed off!" Iron Man called, "His name is Phil!" before he fired a repulsor blast at Loki, knocking him back.

~8~

"LEFT!" Kona suddenly screamed, grabbing onto the arms of the chair she'd been strapped to.

Barton didn't even hesitate to bank a hard left, just barely managing to avoid a beam of blue light as it blasted out of the machine around the Tesseract and into the sky. He, Natasha, and Steve looked up, out of the windows of the jet to see a dark portal open up in the sky, hundreds of thousands of Chitauri swarming out of it.

"What's happening?" Kona called and they could hear her voice shaking.

They looked at each other…not quite sure what to say.

Kona closed her eyes tight even though she couldn't see anything to begin with and panted, she really REALLY hated flying. She hated being around people that didn't answer her, that didn't tell her what she couldn't see. Loki…she let out a breath, she got the feeling HE always told her, no matter what. She shook her head and prayed as hard as he could that he would be ok as her mind raced, trying to think of a way to get out of there, to get to him and to help him.

Because the others would try to kill him, and that wasn't what needed to be done.

Loki needed help…but not the help they thought someone might give him, as an ally.

No…she needed to help him in a way that she knew only she could, because clearly she, the blind girl, was the only one who could see what was really going on.

~8~

Loki walked out onto the balcony of Stark Tower as Iron Man blasted off, grinning as he watched the army invade, as he saw the humans get out of their transportations and step out of their homes to look up at the sight…before they were attacked and started to run for their lives. He grinned, closing his eyes as he listened to their screaming…

Only to wince a moment later, his face scrunching as though in pain, hearing a faint…crying, like a little girl. A familiar voice and a familiar sound.

"Kona…" he breathed, remembering that, remembering how scared she'd been, just after she'd lost her sight, how he hadn't been able to bear hearing her in pain.

'Remember Loki,' he heard her speak in his mind, 'Remember the truth. Remember who you really are.'

He opened his eyes, hearing instead the laughter of children as he entertained them in Asgard, when he and Kona would walk through the Realm, how they cheered and clapped…

He winced again, hearing the cheers of the Chitauri as they invaded and looked up at them. He shook his head, no…it was a trick. It was something Thor had done to him it had to be. Clearly the man was aware of how…different and not himself he was around Kona, how he…forgot the mission at hand when he was with her and had come up with some way to trick him into hearing her when she wasn't there.

He…honestly didn't know what it was, why he was so…different around Kona. It was like…when she was there the pain that he felt radiating through him at all times he wasn't focused on the Chitauri's mission was just gone. She made him feel safe and comforted and…warm and just…at peace. Ever since he'd been released from the Chitauri world he'd felt constant pain that was only ebbed away when either he was near Kona or when he was actively working towards advancing the Chitauri's goals with the Tesseract.

He let out a breath, he…could remember something now that he thought more on that odd detail. He felt…pain, such terrible agonizing pain before he'd arrived on Earth. He'd been alone, he recalled, at the start of his own exile, he'd been alone and desperate to return to Kona, to find her. He'd stumbled upon the Chitauri and they had taken him in…and that was when the pain started. It was…crippling, he felt suffocated, he felt like he could hardly move or think or feel…unless…

Unless he was thinking about Kona.

It was like she had been his own shield against the pain, the place his mind went to escape it, him and her sitting in their meadow. He could see it even now, him resting against one of the tallest trees, her lying down with her head on his lap, a flower in her hair as he read to her. It was…peaceful and it was free of pain and it was the only place his mind could travel to instantly to escape it. She had become his safe haven, she always had been. She had been the comfort he always sought when happiness eluded him.

And now he knew for a fact that Thor was trying to use that against him, to halt the Chitauri's plans. Well he would NOT let it happen. He owed the Chitauri so much, they had…shown him everything, everything he had been blind to himself. They had shown him strength in the pain, they had shown him the truth in the Tesseract, and they had shown him the reality of his former brother's actions and feelings and regards of him. The Chitauri had given him the truth of the world, and the Chitauri had given him back Kona, and for that he would serve them in this.

He would let nothing stop him.

He took a breath, his Asgardian armor appearing around him, when there was a hard thump beside him. He looked over to see Thor had landed on a slightly lower platform.

"Loki, turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it!" Thor threatened, holding up Mjolnir towards him.

But he just laughed, perfectly at ease, perfectly confident, "You can't. There is no stopping it. There is only the war!"

And what a magnificent war it would be! Soon he would have control of the Earth, soon he would have every single human that Thor held most dear in his power. He could demand of Thor what had been taken from Kona. He would finally get what he had come there to do, her avenging. He didn't care if Earth stood or fell, he didn't care at all…but he knew THOR did. If he could gain control of Earth, he could trade it…for Kona's return.

That had been his plan from the start…till he'd seen those men attacking her, and realized humans needed to be controlled, they needed to be ordered around and they needed to be ruled over. If left to their own devices destruction was the only thing that followed, destruction and pain. He would NEVER let Kona feel that pain and that fear again. It was even more imperative that he get her off of Earth as soon as possible.

Thor glared at him, "So be it," he determined, readying to strike…

But Loki leapt at him first, the two of them fighting back and forth, Loki with his scepter, Thor with his hammer, waging an epic battle between brothers among them. Loki sent a blast of the scepter at Thor, missing him and sending one of the letters of Stark Tower falling to the ground, creating more destruction. He would NOT let this happen, he would NOT let Thor win, he refused to let the man harm Kona again.

~8~

Steve looked back over his shoulder, frowning when he saw Kona gripping the chair, FAR too tense than was probably good, her eyes eyes clenched tightly shut, panting, seeming near a panic attack, "Are you alright?" he made his way over to her.

"I can't see, I'm being held against my will, and I'm in a plane, miles above the ground, and I have NO idea what's going on around me…" she swallowed hard, "I'm wonderful."

Steve eyed her, knowing that it was a defensive line. He…actually hadn't thought about what this would mean for her. They hadn't even stopped to consider that the girl might have some sort of fear of flying or heights or…anything. They'd just grabbed her and dragged her off. He was starting to…feel guilty about it. He…he honestly didn't blame her for insisting Loki was innocent in all this.

She was clearly a woman in love and love made fools of us all didn't it? He knew what it was like to have someone have that much faith in you, even when you didn't know if you deserved it or what you'd done to deserve it. He knew how important it was for that faith to continue for the other person and…he could understand her denying all that Loki had done (and admitted to doing). Who would want to believe that the person they loved was an evil, soulless, monster?

"Stark!" Natasha called as the jet turned and flew away from the Tesseract, needed to get back to Tony, having seen him dart off to stop some of the army, It wouldn't matter if they closed the portal or not with all the beasts that had already gotten through. And Army was not an entire civilization, it was small, and sure, they might be powerful enough to take over the world (or so they thought, but they'd prove the aliens wrong) but they weren't infinite. They needed to make sure that all those people down there weren't going to suffer or be harmed.

The Tesseract could wait.

"We're heading north-east," she reported to Tony.

"What, did you stop for drive-thru?!" the man shouted back, "Swing that park, I'm gonna lay 'em out for you."

"Oh no, please don't!" Kona pleaded as the craft turned hard once more, flying after Iron Man, Kona wincing at the sudden move.

Barton glanced back as he and Natasha piloted the jet, before he pulled a lever and a cannon gun began to fire on the Chitauri troops before them, making Kona flinch and put her hands on her ears.

Steve looked at her, at the pained expression on her face and realized something else they'd forgotten, Kona's other senses, because of her loss of sight, were stronger than most. The ringing and the blasting they heard was probably twice as loud and three times as jarring for her to be unable to see it. He moved to her side and put his own hands over hers, helping to block out the noise…which may not have been a good thing as the jet was fired upon as well, one of the blasts jolting them as the wing was struck and destroyed…

"Nat!" Barton shouted as they struggled to gain control of the jet as it went down.

"I see 'em!" Natasha cried, turning the gun on a few more Chitauri as they sent more beams and blasts at them.

~8~

Loki looked up as he threw Thor to the ground, seeing the jet and he knew…Kona was on board. He felt his hands curl into fists at the thought, felt his jaw tense at the notion, Kona was blind! And they put her on a plane in the middle of a battle!? He aimed the scepter carefully, not willing to risk damaging the jet too much…and fired at a single one of the rotor blades. It caught fire and, as he watched the jet start to fall to the ground (slowly enough where he knew Agent Barton would be able to steer it to a semi-gentle landing, on the ground, with no way to take off again), Thor attacked, using his distraction to his advantage.

Loki let out a breath as he was tackled to the side before punching his one-time brother, the fight resuming.

~8~

"Hang on!" Barton shouted back to Steve as the man tried to brace Kona for impact, feeling the girl shaking in his arms as the entire situation overwhelmed her.

The jet grazed into the buildings around them before coming to a crashing (though far less jarring than they were all expecting) halt in the streets. Natasha and Barton exchanged a look before pulling their headsets off and unstrapping themselves. They turned and got up, Barton moving to help Kona up.

"Please…" Kona swallowed, trembling, "Please tell me we aren't doing that again."

"We're not," Barton reassured her as Steve hit a button, sending the ramp of the jet down for them to all step off. Barton held his arm back, making sure to keep Kona close but protected as they reached the streets below.

"We gotta get back up there though," Steve, no, Captain America, remarked as he stared up at Stark Tower. They ran across the street, just reaching an overpass…when a large, armored, alien ship appeared above them, coming through the portal, a warship if ever there was one, carrying with it even more warriors than before, all of them jumping down on the buildings, attacking not just the structures, but the people as well.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" the Captain called into his communicator.

"Seeing," Iron Man agreed, "Still working on believing. Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

"Banner?"

"Just keep me posted."

Barton looked around at the massive amount of aliens, more and more still coming, and stepped closer to Kona, keeping her near…

~8~

Thor held Loki down and forced him to look down at the chaos erupting below them, "Look at this!" he spat at his brother, "Look around you! You think this madness will end with your rule?"

Loki glared at him, shoving him back at the mention of madness, "It's too late," he warned, "It's too late to stop it."

"No," Thor grabbed his arm, "We can, together."

Loki paused, looking at Thor.

'Listen to him Loki,' Kona's voice begged him, 'Please, listen. Be a better man than he was and LISTEN to him.'

Loki's lips pursed at that, at the reminder of how Thor hadn't listened, at what had happened as a result, at what had become of Kona because of it…and then he reached out and stabbed Thor in the side, "Sentiment!" he sneered at his so-called brother, shoving him back.

But Thor got quickly to his feet, only momentarily stunned, before he grabbed Loki and threw him away.

Loki grunted as he hit the side of the floor, looking over the edge once more at the streets below…when he stiffened, spotting a flash of gold even from that height, golden hair he'd recognize anywhere.

"Kona," he breathed, spotting her in the middle of the battle…held back by his enemies. He glared and leapt off the side of the building, landing on a passing Chitauri craft as Thor looked down.

~8~

Natasha crouched beside a taxi, glaring at Kona as Barton kept hold of her hand, keeping her down as they hid from the Chitauri till the Captain ran back over, "We've got civilians trapped," Barton began…ducking down when Loki flew past them.

"Loki," the Captain glared.

"Where?" Kona shook her head, she hadn't been able to hear anything over the shouting and the explosions going off.

"Nowhere you're going," Natasha muttered, "We need to get her out of here," she told Barton.

"Nat, I CAN'T," Barton insisted, he'd tried to let Kona go but…he'd ended up taking her hand instead.

"She's a sitting duck," Natasha argued, "She refused to help us. She won't fight. She can't even see!"

"That doesn't mean I can't still help!" Kona cut in, not liking the idea of civilians, of children, being in danger, "Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm useless."

Natasha scoffed at that.

"Your 7 o'clock," Kona added, "20 feet away."

Natasha frowned but stood and looking in her 7 o'clock direction, quickly whipping out her guns and firing at three Chitauri that were trying to sneak up on them, staring at them stunned. SHE hadn't even heard them coming.

"Right, Kona stays," the Captain determined, before he pointed at them, "If you think you can hold them off…"

"Captain, it would be my genuine pleasure," Barton remarked, grabbing an arrow and turning to shoot another one in the head, the arrow separating into pieces and firing through it, killing even more Chitauri aliens around it.

The Captain nodded and turned to run off, needing to help get the city secure as the two fought, Kona trying her best to guide them to where she could hear aliens approaching that they couldn't see.

"Do you hear that?" Kona put a hand on Barton's shoulder.

"What?" he glanced at her.

"I…children," she looked in his direction, alarmed, "They're trapped!"

Barton nodded, "Lead the way," he took her hand and she pulled him off, Natasha following them, firing at the aliens that popped up before them till they turned a corner to see a group of people trapped in a bus. The two agents ran over, Kona with them, Barton wedging the side doors open as Natasha turned and had his back, firing at the Chitauri that were trying to stop them.

"Come on," Kona helped a small boy as he stumbled, running over to him, only for the boy to scream…a Chitauri rushing for them before the agents could turn.

Kona ducked down, covering the small boy, tensing as she waited to either be attacked or for the alien to be struck by the agents…only for neither to happen. She looked up in the direction of the alien, feeling it there, able to feel it breathing on her as it just…stood there, before turning to run off and start firing on a building instead.

"What…" Kona breathed, completely confused, when she felt someone grab her arm and help her up, the young boy pulled off by someone else.

"Guess I wasn't the only one Loki ordered not to hurt you," Barton muttered in her ear.

She turned her head towards him, stunned, not just about the entire situation, but…apparently the aliens, or creatures, or monsters, or whatever they were, were forbidden to hurt her…

"That could come in handy," Natasha called, firing on more Chitauri as they closed in on them.

Barton shook his head at that, not about to let it reach that point where it would be needed, as he pulled Kona back towards the bus, stationing her behind him as he pulled out more arrows, him and Natasha firing away at the enemies surrounding them.

"Just like Budapest all over again!" Natasha shouted.

"You and I remember Budapest very differently!" he countered.

Kona panted as she stood braced against the bus, trying to listen to what was happening but it was too much, there was too much noise. There were blasts and shouts and grunts and screams, firing, thumping, slamming, groaning, it was everywhere. She could hear Natasha and Barton fighting, she could hear them getting the upper hand but also being injured as well. She didn't know what to do, run in there even if she was safe might distract them, stay behind and they could be hurt!

She looked to the side, hearing a new noise, the sound of a shield hitting something and knew that the Captain had returned…and then she heard another noise that made her freeze…the sound of lightning as something landed before her.

"What's the story upstairs?" the Captain asked, not seeming to notice Kona stiffening behind him at Thor's appearance.

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable," Thor replied.

"Thor is right," Iron Man agreed, "We gotta deal with these guys."

"How do we do this?" Natasha looked at them.

"As a team," the Captain nodded.

"I have unfinished business with Loki," Thor argued.

"Oh yeah!" Barton scoffed, "Get in line."

"Save it," the Captain cut in, "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us to…"

"There's someone else," Kona called softly, reminding them all that she was there, but…their attention was pulled away when a motorbike got nearer, Bruce Banner getting off it.

"So, this all seems horrible," the man remarked.

"I've seen worse," Natasha gave him a look.

"Sorry."

"No, we could…use a little worse."

"Stark, we got him," the Captain called to Iron Man.

"Banner?" Iron Man asked.

"Just like you said."

"Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you."

They looked up to see an alien warship heading for them.

"Why do I get the feeling it's not a party," Kona murmured, starting to shake again, this was one of the few times she was regretting and thankful for being blind. She couldn't see what was coming, she had no idea how bad it might be…but that was just it, she had no idea.

"Dr. Banner," the Captain called as Banner started to walk towards the large ship, "Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

Banner turned to smile at them, "That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry."

Kona felt Barton take her arm and tug her behind him, her frowning as she heard a grunting and a straining, the sound of ripping…before something let out an inhuman roar that made her stumble back…

A/N: And so the battle begins... }:)

Some notes on reviews...

Loki will hesitate a bit yup ;)

The Chitauri might be involved, we'll have to wait and see though }:)