I've been very hopeful, so far.
Now for the first time, I think we're going wrong.
Hurry up and tell me,
This is just a dream.
Oh could we start again please?
I think you've made your point now.
You've even gone a bit too far to get the message home.
Before it gets too frightening,
We ought to call a vote,
So could we start again please?
Could We Start Again Please,
Jesus Christ Superstar.
The music filled Callie's ears as she rested her forehead against the wall of the jet, trying to get herself as far away from what was to come as she could. She had left the S.H.I.E.L.D uniform back at the ship and was instead wearing cargo pants and a white singlet with black combat boots. Her swords were strapped to her back, with the hilts coming above each shoulder so that she could grab them quickly, a gun was strapped to her thigh in a holster that she borrowed off Clint, daggers were hidden on random parts of her body and a blade was strapped to her left forearm.
All she wanted to do was be back in British Columbia in the small apartment that she shared with Bruce, snuggled under the blankets as he flipped through book after book, sometimes forgetting that she was beside him and dropping the book on top of her. He was heartbroken after leaving his girlfriend, desperate to find a way to get rid of the other half of him. She was escaping after nearly killing someone trying to read their mind as they lied to her over and over again, she still didn't know what happened those three months that they had wiped her memory of.
Perhaps she never would know.
She knew that Bruce would have slipped back under the radar again whilst S.H.I.E.L.D was down, ashamed of what he had done and how much fear he could provoke in people. Pulling the headphones out of her ears, she threw her iPod down on the planes floor in hurt and shame. Curling her legs up against her body she tried to press herself in to the wall and make herself vanish.
"I don't know which love you are mourning..." Steve said, moving to sit next to her and wrap an arm around her shoulders, bringing her body against his. Sometimes the only thing people need is a hug, and right now he knew that's what Callie craved beyond any words that he could give her. "But please try and get them out of your head for now. It is not wise to go in to a war with a lover on your mind."
"Love sucks." Callie whispered, leaning in to the cuddle before pulling away. "Or maybe I just don't know how to do it right."
"Everyone knows how to love, they just need to believe that they are doing it right." Steve stated, pulling away when Clint announced there were about to enter New York. Callie stood up and took hold of a handle that had been put in to the side of the jet to let people stand during air pockets and looked out the front window.
I would give anything to just have one more kiss before this happens. Callie thought, looking down at Clint. Just one more of Bruce's sweet kisses before Hawkeye puts the arrow in my head. Stopping herself just in time before the small sob escaped from her lips, she was soon distracted by Tony's voice over the coms.
"What the hell took you so long? Did you stop for drive through?"
No, my father was planning my assassination. Callie thought, shaking her head and putting her mind in to 'battle mode'. She hung on to the handle as the jet manoeuvred around the streets of New York, picking off Aliens as Tony got them in to a good shooting position.
"Clint look." Natasha said, pointing to where Loki and Thor were battling on the edge of Stark tower.
"I see them." Clint said, positioning the jet so that he could shoot at Loki.
"Clint don't! He'll shoot us out of the...!" Callie tried to say, but Loki had already shot an energy ball at them which caused the plane to descend to the Earth. "Sky..." She mumbled, being grabbed by Steve as the plane crashed landed in a park area and threw them both to the floor.
"Oh yes, let's shoot at a magician and see what happens!" Callie snapped at Clint as they ran for cover, sliding behind an overturned cab as they all looked around to get the scale of the attack. "I mean, it's not like he'll shoot us out of the sky!"
"Shut up, Callie!" Clint snapped, opening up his bow and grabbing an arrow. "Steve?"
"Those people down there are sitting ducks! The police don't know what they are dealing with, they will all die!" Steve said, looking down at the people running around the streets screaming.
"Then go help them!" Natasha said, shooting off three rounds towards the aliens and smiling when she saw two fall, the third one only got hit in the stomach. "We've got down here, go!"
Steve glanced at Callie and then to Clint, who was eyeing Callie off, but stopped as soon as he saw Steve watching. With a nod of his head Steve ran to get the police in line, wondering what training they did now a days that meant they would melt down in an emergency like this.
"Callie, seeing as you only grabbed one gun, go rescue the people from around here. We'll have your back." Natasha said, shooing Callie away towards the upturned buses and cars with people still in them. "I know what Fury wants you to do." She said, turning to look at Clint before going back to shooting the aliens.
"I'm sorry Tash, but it might be the only way." Was all Clint said before going back to attacking the aliens once more.
"Guys, tell me when Banner arrives!" Tony called over the coms. "And Callie, take off the sunstones."
Clint spun around just in time to see Callie throw the sunstones away from her body and pause as she listened to Loki in her mind. He raised his bow, an arrow already notched and pointed it at the back of the younger girls head.
"Your father already has guessed, but it seems you've been to preoccupied with worrying about the man-beast to realise what this bond means." Loki's voice seethed in Callie's mind, making her flinch at herself for not looking in to the bond more. "You share my powers now, I won't tell you how to figure them out, just that you have them. Keep the sunstones off and you'll be able to use them."
Callie frowned as she processed what Loki had just told her, spinning around to see herself come face to face with Clint, who had an arrow pointed at her forehead, she glared and waved her hand to the side, causing three Aliens on the ships to blow up after being hit by an Emerald energy ball. "Don't even think about it, Clint!" She snarled, before spinning back around her collecting a few more people from the bus.
"What the hell was that?" Steve asked, jumping in front of Natasha and deflecting an energy ball that one of the alien guns sent their way.
"I-I don't know!" Natasha stuttered, dropping the empty cartridge from her gun before reloading. She was just about to move off to start shooting again when they heard a motorbike come towards them, spinning towards the sound she smiled softly when she saw Bruce.
Callie spun around, half of her wanting to run to him and get him to tell her everything was going to be ok, that she wasn't going to be killed and an energy ball did not just throw itself from her hand when she got angry, but she knew he would push her away. She lowered her head and walked back to the others, knowing that Bruce saw what she had done.
"Well... This looks like something I would actively try to avoid..." Bruce said, walking up to the group with his hands in his pockets. "Not as much damage as the other guy did, but they are getting up there."
"They haven't touched Harlem yet." Callie said, glancing at Bruce from behind her bangs, shyness taking over her whole body as she heard Loki laugh in her mind. She closed her eyes as Bruce let his fingers trail across the small of her back, the only form of comfort he was going to give her in front of people.
"What's going on down there? I just saw a lightening show up here and I'm not sure where it came from! Is Banner there yet?" Tony asked, dodging a building and rolling his eyes as the Leviathan just went straight through it.
"Yes, Dr Banner just showed up. And the lightening show was from Callie... Loki's gift to her I suppose." Steve said, eyeing Callie nervously before looking at Bruce with a small smile. "Tony said suit up, he's bringing the party to us."
They looked up just in time to see the Leviathan burst through the building and roar after Tony, who instantly sped up and stopped just after The Avengers, a small smirk on his face hidden by the Iron Man mask.
"I don't see how that is a party..." Natasha mumbled, cocking her gun and pointing it at the beast.
"Doc... I think now is the perfect time to get angry..." Steve said, glancing at Bruce as he started to walk towards the Leviathan.
"Bruce wait!" Callie called, running to him and cupping his cheeks. "If I don't come out of this alive, I love you." She whispered to make sure the others couldn't hear her. She blushed softly as he brought his lips down to hers in a sweet kiss that was over far to soon.
"Don't die." Bruce whispered, before shooing her back to the others and turning to face the Leviathan once more.
"Great, now how is he meant to get angry?" Steve asked, giving Callie a glare.
"That's my secret, 'Cap. I'm always angry." Bruce called back, before turning in to Hulk and punching the Leviathan to the ground, before Tony blasted it to make sure it didn't fall on top of anyone, though it did spray them with purple innards.
"Oh, so the beast actually kissed you. My, my, does that mean he thinks one of you are not going to come out of this alive? I can promise you Callie, you'll be the one coming out alive..."
Loki's voice in her head was enough to create two emerald green energy balls in her palms as she looked around at the Aliens, the others moved to stand around Steve, each with their eyes on a different part of the city. The energy balls soon vanished from annoyance as Hulk started to happily pat her hair, something he did a lot of back when they were in hiding and when Bruce lost control. Something she did not want the others to see, but thankfully they were to preoccupied with the end of New York to see it.
"Oh now he pats you like a dog..."
That was enough to get the energy balls back up once more.
"Call it, Captain." Tony called, looking to Steve who looked put out for a minute before instantly snapping in to the role he was perfect at.
"All right, listen up! Until we can close that portal up there, what we need is containment. Barton: I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark: you've got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash. Thor: you've gotta try and bottleneck that portal, slow them down. You've got the lightning - light the bastards up!" Steve paused as he turned to Natasha and Callie. "You and me: we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here. And Hulk; smash!"
With a roar of delight Hulk gave Callie one more pat on the head with his index finger and took off up the building, happily attacking Aliens as he went.
"And what of me?" Callie asked, watching as Tony took off with Clint after calling him Legolas. "What do I do? Stay down here and dance around in hopes of a stray arrow, bullet or power serge gets rid of me?"
"No." Steve said, turning to look at her, his eyes filled with pity. "Take out the shi-" His voice was cut off as an arrow bounced off his shield.
"That wasn't Barton." Natasha stated, inspecting the arrow. "It's not his arrow!"
"It's Felicity!" Callie said, spinning around and spotting her friend up on the roof of the closest building. Without asking permission from Captain America, Callie did the only thing she could think of. "HULK LIFT!" She called, grinning at the two shocked faces of the Avengers left on the ground as Hulk dashed past and grabbed her, throwing her up on the roof once they got close enough that she wouldn't be hurt.
"The beast listens to her?" Steve asked Natasha, dodging a few Alien attacks and countering them with his own.
"I guess he doesn't want to make his girlfriend mad..." Tony's voice came through the coms, dripping with sarcasm and amusement.
Ok guys, I had only planned to do one chapter of actual battle scene, but my muse had different ideas xD! And now I quickly explain something before I hide away from irate fans!
Yes, the Hulk listens to her and also cares for her, we saw that at the start of this story when he checked on her before going after Natasha, this comes from the fact that Bruce loves her, and that love comes through to Hulk, making him listen to her and sometimes doing what she asks. He only gave her the lift because it meant he could smash more buildings on his way up, if she had of asked him to stop he would have patted her on the head with his finger and ignored her wishes. The feelings coming through will be very important in how Loki is captured once more, for those of you who have seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about xD!
The funny thing is I had this story panned out before I went to see The Avengers and when I saw that happen I was like 'JOSS WHEDON AND I HAVE THE SAME IDEAS! -faints-' xD!