Theta-McBride: It's probably not that great of a family secret but you find out what it is in this chapter! :D
AdonCa: I know the whole thing with Tony was callous, but there was a small point behind it and not just her showing off her 'family secret'. Tony likes to joke and that's what all that was and it's stated in this chapter.
Cara Tala: Woo another review! :D You'll find out what her 'family secret' is in this chapter, but I highly doubt it's anything amazing. It came to me after watching a TV show and figured 'hey I should use that!' XD Thanks again!
~R~
Rory reached Stark Tower after dodging attacks from the Chitauri. Upon reaching the door she found it wasn't locked. She raised an eyebrow but brushed it off and ran inside for the elevator. She pressed the button for the top floor and leaned against the wall. The elevator came to a sudden stop two floors below her destination. She sighed and pressed a hand to her ear piece.
"Tony did you have anything to do with the elevator shutting down?"
"Nope, it was shut down from the inside."
"So Loki has control of the top floor, right? I'm going to need to find an alternate route."
"I remember telling you I wasn't going to help you."
"When life depends on it you always come through in the end. Now please, does the hatch above me open?"
"Planning on climbing your way up?"
"Exactly. Can I expect the doors to be open once I'm up there?"
"There open as we speak. Got to go and Hayes, try not to wreck my home too much."
"I'll try not to, Tony." She rolled her eyes.
Rory opened the hatch and pulled herself up on top of the elevator. She looked up gauging how far she had to climb. Without the proper equipment it would be harder, but she'd manage. She reached up and grabbed a hold of a ledge and began her climb. Rory continued to climb until she reached the floor. She pulled herself up onto the ledge and tried to pull the door open.
"Tony, the door is not open."
"Give me a second."
The door pinged a few seconds later and opened. Rory stepped through and ran down the hallway to a stairwell. She ran up the stairs but when she reached the top floor she stealthily climbed the last stairs. The pad beside the door was green letting her know it was open.
"Steve, I'm in."
"Be careful of Loki's scepter. If you need to get out of there don't hesitate to."
"Got it." She replied gently pushing the door open. She slipped through the door and quietly shut it. Loki stood out on the balcony overlooking the destruction going on. Rory flicked her wrist and the dagger slid from its sheath. She was light on her feet as she approached the god. When she reached the bar Loki turned around only to find the room empty. His brows furrowed as he turned back to the city. Rory peeked around the bar before staying low and walking out onto the balcony. When she made her way to the stairs Loki's icy voice behind her made her freeze.
"Well if it isn't the Major, or should I say assassin?"
"Actually, I'm more of a retrieval specialist or Fixer, but how do you…" Rory asked not turning around.
"Know that? This isn't the first time I've encountered one of your kind, then again you're not like the other ones. You're well trained in the art of killing and know how to not make mistakes. It's no wonder you were able to sneak up on me; you did better than that mewling quim. You'd make a perfect ally. So what do you say, join me and I'll spare your life."
Rory scoffed and turned around with narrowed eyes and a smirk. "Sorry, I already have a team and I won't betray them no matter what you say."
"You insolent little wench!" Loki said raising the scepter. Rory brought her dagger up and blocked the scepter. She pushed the scepter away and rolled behind him only to be caught in a chokehold.
She gripped Loki's double's arm as the real Loki walked toward her. Her eyes remained on the scepter as it stayed by his side. When he was directly in front of her, he reached for her chin and forced her to face him.
"What would your father think if he saw you like this? His daughter and most trusted retrieval specialist in trouble. Maybe you aren't as great as I believed. How pathetic."
"Then why don't you go ahead and kill me."
"Why do that when I can control your mind?" Loki devilishly grinned. Rory's eye widened when he raised the scepter toward her heart. Her mind was racing trying to think of a way to escape. She glanced over at the edge of the tower when she saw Thor flying towards them. She braced herself as Thor grabbed his brother, making the double disappear and drop her. Thor glanced down to make sure she was okay before turning all his attention on Loki.
"Look at this! Look around you! You think this madness will end with your rule?"
"It's too late. It's too late to stop it."
"No. We can, together."
Loki pulled out a knife and stabbed Thor. "Sentiment. Do you even know who you ally yourself with? Do you know who she truly is and what she does? Is she any better than I?" he turned toward Rory and threw a few knives at her and watched as she screamed in pain as they embedded in her shoulder, thigh and stomach. Thor knocked Loki to the ground and watched as his brother rolled over the edge.
"Rory! Rory answer me! What happened?"
Rory ignored Steve's cries as she blinked through the pain. Thor knelt down beside her after tossing a knife to the side.
"I am going to remove the knives. It will hurt but only for a few seconds." He said gripping the knife in her shoulder. She nodded and closed her eyes waiting for the knife to be removed. Thor gripped her shoulder and swiftly pulled the knife out. Rory stifled a shout as she bit her lip causing it to bleed. Thor gripped the one in her stomach and started to remove it, but Rory stopped him.
"No don't. It's too deep. I'll pass out from blood loss before the battles over."
"You cannot fight with those in. They must be removed."
"I'll manage. Can you get me down to Steve and the others?"
Thor nodded and gently picked her up making sure to not hit the knives. He swung his hammer and took off into the air before landing down beside Steve, Natasha and Barton. Steve turned to look at them only to find Rory leaning against Thor for support.
"The powers surrounding the cube are impenetrable." Thor said.
"Thor's right, we gotta deal with these guys." Tony said through his suit.
"How do we do this?" Natasha asked.
"As a team." Steve replied.
"I have unfinished business with Loki."
"Yeah, get in line." Barton butts in.
"Save it. 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 on top, he's gonna need us…" Steve began to say but paused when the sound of a motorbike pierced the air.
Everyone turned to find Bruce riding up to them. He turned off the bike and climbed off. "So, this all seems horrible."
"I've seen worse." Natasha added.
"Sorry."
"No, we could use a little worse."
Steve pressed a finger to his earpiece, "Stark, we got him, Banner, just like you said."
"Tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you."
Rory stumbles backwards into Steve as Tony rounds the corner along with a Leviathan on his tail. Steve steady's her before she could fall over, his hand brushing against the knife. Rory hissed in pain and clutched her side.
"I don't see how that's a party." Natasha commented.
Bruce turned around and walked toward the flying Leviathan ship. Rory watched as he didn't change as the ship got closer.
"Dr. Banner now might be a good time for you to get angry."
"That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry."
Rory's eyes widened as she watched Bruce transform into the giant green rage monster Tony called him. She remembered seeing an image of him but she never seen the Hulk in person; at least not until now. She took another step back along with everyone else as the Hulk smashed the Leviathan's head causing its tail to go over its head. Tony flew forward and fired missiles at the tail blowing it to pieces. Steve shielded Rory as debris fell around them.
"Please tell me there's no more of those things…" Rory said with a cringe of pain.
"You should get somewhere safe. You can't fight with those knives hindering your movement." Steve said gripping her uninjured shoulder.
"I'm a part of this team and I refuse to leave anyone of you. I'm staying and this is the only time I'm pulling the 'I'm a Major card'." She replied giving him a small smirk. Steve shook his head and smiled.
"Guys…" Natasha said pulling them from their little moment.
Steve and Rory turned and saw more Leviathan's come through the portal.
"This is gonna be fun..." she muttered looking up.
"Call it Captain." Tony said landing next to Rory. He turned his helmeted head toward her, keeping his mouth shut from commenting on what occurred between her and Loki. He had purposely cut the feed from her earpiece to the others to keep them from finding out her 'secret'.
"Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, 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 turn it to ash."
"Wanna give me a lift?" Barton asked Tony.
"Right. Better clench up, Legolas." Tony replied before grabbing Barton and taking off.
"Thor, you've gotta try and bottleneck that portal, slow them down. You've got the lightning, light the bastards up. You, me and Rory, we'll stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here. And Hulk, smash."
The Hulk grinned before jumping and landing on a building before taking out a few Chitauri soldiers. Rory pulled out her gun and loading it; the gun would be easier to fire instead of throwing knives. She'd save them as a last resort. Natasha and Steve went to work disposing of the enemies. Rory busied herself with a few stray civilians before joining the fray. Once the last civilian was away from harm a few Chitauri surrounded her with weapons raised.
"Really? Can't you see I'm busy?" she sighed turning around.
The Chitauri fired at Rory but she side-stepped their energy blasts and shot them in the head. She spun around just in time to see the Captain's shield bounce off two of the Chitauri and knocking them away from her. She nodded her head in thanks and proceeded to fight, Steve watching her back. They stood side by side as they fought off the Chitauri. Rory cringed and exhaled sharply as the knife in her stomach was bumped.
"Captain, I'm going to need you to cover me for a few seconds." Rory said gripping the knife.
Before Steve could ask her what she meant she pulled the knife out and quickly clutched the wound. She closed her eyes and took in a few deep breaths and exhaled slowly. Her eyes slowly opened as she threw the knife at an incoming Chitauri hitting him in the forehead. She turned around and threw another knife at the Chitauri behind Steve. He turned to see the downed alien before giving Rory a nod. They headed toward Natasha as she took out a few Chitauri with their own weapon. She swung around about to shoot at Steve and Rory but lowered the weapon. She leaned against the car.
"Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal." Natasha said.
"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it."
"Well, maybe it's not about guns."
"You wanna get up there, you're gonna need a ride."
"I got a ride. I could use a lift though." She replied looking up. Rory looked up and saw the hover boards. She stared at Natasha before getting out of her path. Steve took a few steps back and readied himself.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yeah, it's gonna be fun."
Rory shot at the Chitauri advancing on them as Natasha grabbed onto the hover board and climbed on.
"So Hayes, are you busy?"
"What is it, Tony?"
"I need another sharp eye on a roof. Mind volunteering?"
"Just so you know I don't have a rifle…" Rory answered killing another Chitauri.
"National Guard is two blocks from your current location. Let me know when you're in position and I'll send some of these guys your way."
Rory shot one last Chitauri before bolting down the street. She rounded the corner and found the National Guard. She jogged over and nabbed one of the spare sniper rifles in the back of the jeep. Once armed, she made her way back to the bridge and located Barton.
"Tony, where do you want me to go?" she asked looking at the building across from Barton.
"The building in front of you and across from Legolas there."
"Got it." She took one last look around to see Steve had disappeared. Turning back to the building Rory sprinted across the street and took the stairs two at a time to the roof. The roof door burst open and banged against the wall. Rory ran over to the ledge and set up the rifle.
"I'm here, Tony."
"Get ready to have some fun, Hayes. I'm bringing another party to you."
~R~
…I wasn't sure where to end this chapter, but I think that's a perfect spot! The conclusion to the battle will be in the next chapter. And if anyone knows where the Retrieval Specialist is from will get a virtual cookie! :D