The Girl Who Can't Be Moved

Chapter Nine

Luckily, Bridgette's hunch about the Stark Tower was an accurate one. If it wasn't for the simple fact that it had Tony's name on it, it was because of the giant burst of blue light rocketing from the tower's point. Bruce felt her gasp, her torso to his back as they looked up at the sky. The beam seemed to be ripping a hole above the city causing jagged darkness to loom overhead. Bridgette pointed up at a small dot of red that was flying about.

"Look! Stark's already up there," she pinpointed.

"And for good reason," added Banner. Out of the dark rip came hundred of figures, clearly alien by their manners of transport, vague image and general aggression. They could see the little blasts of light coming from Iron Man's weaponry as he tried to force them back, but there were too many. Groups had already slipped past, the destruction in their wake obvious.

Cars were overturned, smoke was issuing from all parts of the city while chunks of buildings fell into the streets, threatening those below. Civilians were screaming and panicking, doing their best to run for some kind of shelter. Giant portions of the street had been demolished by the violet blasts that the alien weapons produced. Bridgette leaned into Bruce, pointing just off to the side.

"There!" After avoiding a purple blast, they were able to see the trademark blue spangled uniform of the Captain.

"Hey kid, you with us?" came Tony Stark's voice. Her earpiece was back online, courtesy of Jarvis most likely. She smiled at the familiar tone, tapping the piece.

"Here and ready to party," she told him.

The motorbike puttered to a stop, the team just ahead of them now. The Captain was the first to spot them and Bridgette gave a wave as the two dismounted the bike. She could have sworn that she saw the Captain smile as he brought his hand to his own earpiece. Both voices sounded throughout all systems, making the girl smile.

"We've got them."

"Banner?"

"Yes, him too."

"Good. Tell him and Ricochet to suit up."

"Ricochet? Who's idea was that?" Bridgette asked the Captain. He gave a look that clearly read Tony Stark and she nodded in agreement. "Well I suppose he is the genius."

"Get ready. I'm bringing the party to you."

A loud cry, followed by numerous pieces of architecture crashing sounded out, making the team turn and look further down the street. The Iron Man was the first thing they spotted, flying in their direction like he said. Next thing they saw was a giant beast of a creature smashing through a building, defying gravity and heading their way as well. It was massive in size and length, like some kind of alien-attack-whale docked out in a type of battle armor. To be described bluntly.

"I don't see how this is a party," stated Natasha Romanov. Bridgette unsheathed her weapon and gave it a flick of the wrist, grinning. Adrenaline was rushing through her system and she even gave a little bounce, twirling her weapon again, ready to charge. She noticed that Bruce had started to walk toward the monster, still Banner with his oversized clothes and bare feet. She watched him carefully, ready to jump in and act as back up.

"Now would be a really good time to get angry, doc," offered the Captain. The doctor gave a short laugh, looking over his shoulder at the team. The alien was getting uncomfortably closer and Bridgette took a step forward but Bruce signaled for her to stop.

"That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry."

On that note, the good doctor pivoted toward the alien. In that one simple motion, his skin shifted to green, the muscles expanded and he grew tremendously in height. Just in time. His giant fist collided with the nose of the beast, crunching it into the street. The rippling effect was astounding as the shifts in the armor slammed into each other, revealing a tender spot which Tony took advantage of with a well aimed blast, making the creature cry out. The body arched, casting a shadow over the other Avengers before finally falling onto its side, defeated as the ground quaked.

Bridgette was the first to let out a cheer as the Hulk stomped his way back over. "That was one hell of a hit, big guy!" she smiled at the green giant. He gave a short nod and grunt in acknowledgement.

Tony Stark landed on their level, mask up to reveal his face as the rest of the team circled in. The billionaire playboy gestured to the living legend.

"Call it, Captain." The blonde took a breath, looking around and assessing everyone, taking into account their abilities and strengths. Bridgette could practically see the gears in his head spinning as he mentally pulled up all their data.

"All right, listen up!" he called, loud enough for everyone to hear. "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!" He turned to the two girls of the group, Natasha's cool expression while Bridgette was giving a sneaky grin, each ready for their role.

"The three of us will stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here. And Hulk..." The gamma beast looked at the Captain who gave his own encouraging look.

"Smash."

The action began immediately. Hulk jumped from building to building like it was no more difficulty than playing monkey bars, catching the nearest aliens and crushing them like cans of soda. Tony gave Barton a lift to a rooftop, making a Lord of the Rings joke as a reference to his archery skill. Bridgette didn't know the archer personally, unable to recall him from the helicarrier, but if everyone else was fine with him, she was too. Thor took off as well, using his trademark hammer as transport, the leather strap around his wrist as he started to wind it up like a type of propeller. The next second he was gone.

The Chitaurians that had already landed on the ground were quickly approaching, attracted to the three as they were the primary contenders for the war Loki was desperate to create. They quickly fell into a three-man formation, backs to each other so that they could fully focus on the threat without having to be so concerned with their blind spot.

"Ready?" asked the Captain, vibranium shield raised. Agent Romanov nodded, guns fully loaded and ready to discharge. Bridgette held her weapon in her right hand at bat length, stance steady and free hand open to grapple.

"Born ready, Cap."

The arrows flew from his fingers. Target after target fell with each perfect hit. Center of the target. Not an arrow was wasted.

Clint Barton, codename Hawkeye, was the best marksman. A master assassin in the trade. His stance was secure at the rooftop's corner, unwavering as he pivoted to gain the perfect angle for the next moving target. His expression was collected as he was trained to be, even if his jaw was tightly clenched and his uncovered eyes were focused on each alien with a glare. It was strange, to be without his usual sunglasses. It allowed some of his true emotions to bleed through, unintentionally of course.

The shots fired were powered by anger, not the smooth, businesslike manner he usually performed. His ears perked up at the sound of an approaching alien and it's vehicle. Fingers found the arrow, it slipped into its notch and fired. He didn't look, the explosion clarified that his target was hit.

They were all targets. For him. He was going to be the one that struck them down. After all the mind bending hell he had to go through, he was going to be the one that got to them first. Whether it be Loki or the Chitaurians, he didn't care. If there was an eye then he wouldn't miss.

"You've got a few strays on your tail," he warned Iron Man via com.

"Great. Any advice?" he returned. The Hawk smirked.

"Well, they can't bank worth a shit." Bam. Bam. Another two down, one colliding with the other. Only had to use one arrow. "So try a tight corner."

"Got it."

It drove him crazy that he couldn't remember anything after the portal incident at their old SHIELD base. He could clearly recall Loki walking up to him, talking his greater-than-thou lunacy and Clint couldn't stop him from touching his chest with that alien spear of his. The sensation was skin crawling, it still made him want to be sick just thinking about it. The feeling of darkness creeping through his veins, of numbness addling his brain.

And that was it.

The next moment he was waking up in a small recovery room, strapped down like a criminal or some patient that wasn't to be trusted by themselves. Natasha was there too, sitting at his bedside. She appeared cool and collected but he knew better. Of course he did. He knew her better than anyone. While her expression betrayed practically nothing, there was a tightness in her jaw, a stiffness to her posture and her eyes were near glassy. Like she was tryiong so hard to hold it all inside because she was instructed to, because she was a SHIELD agent, a spy, and dammit, she was Natasha Romanov and she would not cry for anything.

And it was his fault that she was so close to her breaking point. His fault. He was suppose to be her partner, her back up, her support when she needed it. What did he do? He allowed some Asgardian god with a daddy complex unmake his mind and force him into his servitude where he very well nearly killed his partner.

No matter what Natasha said, this was entirely his fault.

Thor reached the building's highest point in hardly any time. He held Mjolnir outstretched and willed the skies to darken and the thunder to rumble, in which they complied. The lightning sparked at first, lengthening into static and finally a bolt of pure electricity raced to his hammer. The power jolted throughout his body and the god smiled at the familiar sensation. With a steady movement, he directed the lightning to the portal. Fingers of white light stretched and touched numerous invading enemies, zapping them out of the sky.

There were far too many of Chitaurians. Thor willed the lightning to continue its attack but even nature's own strike could not reach all of them, every individual. He could stave the flow, but not for very long.

Suddenly, more of the floating giants started their way through the portal. Gritting his teeth, the god of thunder poured more energy into the intensity of the blasts. The beams of light only bounced off their thick armor, nothing more than shafts of light to the beasts. Sweat dotted the god's brow as he willed the lightning to continue, to at least take down the ones that were susceptible to his method of attack.

His side throbbed from where Loki had stabbed him. His own brother. He tried again and again to bring him home. To take him away to safety where he could recuperate and try to salvage his mind. He needed him to come home. Loki was his little brother, he had to save him and bring him home. Home, to their mother and father. Home, to Asgard and their kingdom. Home, to him, his own brother.

How far gone was his brother if he did not feel the same? How badly was his mind altered after his fall from the Bifrost?

What if he would never return to his former self? The younger brother Loki who caused tricks and mischief, but yet omehow always knew where the line was and would dare not cross it. The Loki who would use his silver tongued words to slip Thor out of trouble when his own loud, brash ways got him into trouble.

Fueled by the threat of losing his brother for good, Thor let out a mighty roar and joined the fray, hammer raised and ready to strike down the enemy that dared to threaten his little brother.

The Iron Man's figure shot across the sky, the Chitaurian aliens on his trail. They aimed their technological weapons at him, firing the blasts that he was able to evade. Luckily, they were strictly straight shooters, not one had tried some specialized or intricate move to shoot Tony out of the sky. Also lucky for him, Tony Stark was all about the moves that were intricate, fabulous and way out of line.

Small missiles rose from his shoulders, turning so to take aim behind him. The screens at Tony's eye level were the crosshairs that took their proper places on the targets. With a shrill scream, the missiles shot from the place and took out each desired target.

"Damn," he swore. More fell into the places of their fallen comrades, still gaining. "A little more to the thrusters, Jarvis."

"Already on it, sir." The suit gained a bit more of a distance from the extra push. While it did allow him a bit of a break from the minions from the dark abyss, it also pushed him into a clear viewing of more of the giant monsters that the Hulk had taken care of earlier. The genius swore.

"How about that soft spot, Jarvis?"

"I'm afraid I'm still working on it, sir," the computer butler answered. Groaning loudly to show his irritation, he flew after one of the few that had slipped past the breech that connected the two worlds.

The red and gold figure was flying alongside the beast, trying to locate a "soft spot" in the armor, or a glitch, a flaw, anything that could be possibly useful in taking down the thing in one hit. Shifting weaponry, he held out his hand, a steady power blast connecting with the armor hide.

"Sir, we will run out of power before we penetrate that armor," chided Jarvis. If the computer could sigh, he would have done so at his master's antics.

"At least I'm trying," he grouched. "I don't see anything out here-" Tony stopped midsentence, an idea coming to mind. His brow raised as he contemplated the idea for a brief moment, before deciding that it was a go. Putting on an extra burst of speed, he maneuvered himself around the creature, sending a couple of blasts just to piss it off. For good measure, he dealt a shot to it's rather small optic, which made it roar in protest. Perfect.

"Hey Jarvis," began Tony, smirking. "Ever hear the tale of Jonah?"

"I don't believe that he is exactly a good role model, sir."

The Iron Man suit prickled with its machinery, weapons poised and ready to fire. The beast opened it's mouth widely to roar again, Stark threw the suit into motion and directed himself into the belly of the whale, mask eyes glowing bright.

As soon as he was down the throat (at least he was guessing that it was the throat. He didn't exactly attend Alien Biology 101) his weapons started to fire into the dark and damp unknown. He forced himself to keep flying down the alien's intestinal track, setting off as many firearms as he could. The thrusters toasted the soft, tender tissue in his wake and he could tell that the beast was in distress. Now he was ripping past organs, membranes and other vitals, throwing every possible harmful projectile that he could rig the suit to perform. Sensing that the end of the body was near, he set the hand blasters to full and the thrusters to high, blasting his way out of the belly of the whale.

Daylight surrounded him once more as he secured a spot in the sky in order to look back at his work. One alien whale down, more to go.

"A rather unorthodox method, sir," commented Jarvis, his distaste clear.

"Now you're getting it," smirked Tony Stark. "C'mon. Still have to save the world and all that."

The corner building had been providing citizens with temporary safety. That is, until the Chitaurian soldiers discovered the haven. Steve Rogers made his way into the building, deflecting oncoming blasts with his trademark shield. Entering the perimeter was rather simple and he found himself on the higher level easily enough. The alien soldiers spotted him immediately, turning to face him.

As Captain America, he didn't carry a weapon besides his shield and the aliens were well armed with their high end gadgetry and whatnot. His enhanced reflexes allowed him to duck one, two blasts and deflect the third with his shield, knocking the sender completely off his feet. There was a small clatter as a handheld device fell, but there was little time to dwell on it. The others quickly approached him and he threw the first punch, shoving the other away with his shield. Allowed the temporary lull, he turned to the citizens in the lower portion of the building.

"Hurry, get out as fast as you can-!" The Captain was cut off when an alien grabbed him from behind, pulling him into a type of headlock, causing his shield to drop as he tried to wriggle free. It's other hand was pulling his mask up, slowly revealing his face to the public.

Tick...tick...tick...

Taking a breath, Captain used his weight as leverage and managed to flip the soldier off his back and over the railing. The body landed with a crunch on the marble floor, the people backing away quickly while some screamed at the sight.

"Get out, now!" ordered the Captain.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The people started to scuffle around the body to make their way to their wide double doors. Ducking, Steve avoided a hit to the head from the alien's counterparts who were not yet finished. Taking a breath, he dealt a few good quick hits of his own, clocking them each a good strike to the jaw before they could get their hits in

Tick! Tick! Tick!

The Chitaurians then heard the small sound, looking back to see their small bomb counting down and almost to its final point. The Captain dove for his shield in a roll, returning to his feet just in time. There was a split second of silence and he jumped high, taking full cover behind his ever faithful shield.

BOOM!

The blast rebounded from the vibranium and the Captain was sent flying, smashing through the large paneled windows.

Gunshots were not new to her. She has heard them countless times, many times because she was the shooter, others because she was the target. They were not scary. They did not make her fear for her life, they never did. They were small things. Small, quick and powerful. Maybe that was why it was her weapon of choice. Guns were easily disguised, a garter under a distracting dress, a discreet item in a handbag, or even in it's proper place in a holster strapped to her leg. She also liked them because there was no room for hesitations. Once you pull that trigger, even if it's a light tremor resulting from nerves, the decision is made. That bullet is shot and it's done. The end, no questions asked.

Chitaurian after rotten Chitaurian fell as her bullets found their marks. She didn't waste unnecessary ammo to make sure they were down for the count, she knew they were for a fact. There were too many of them for her to double check her kills and she didn't have nearly enough ammunition to afford that luxury. Swearing in Russian, she threw the guns to the ground when they were out, no more magazines on her person to refill them again. She changed her stance to something more fitting for physical combat and she could have sworn that she saw one of them smirk at her.

Because she was some mortal woman. So she must be helpless.

Sharp eyes narrowed as she took down the closest attacker in a few short hits. The next one fell just as quickly. Quick hits, going for the vital points that would bring a full grown man to his knees. She needed to keep as much energy as possible, no need to go for an elaborate attack if it's not needed especially with such a large attacking party.

Natasha struck each and every one of them as hard as she could, an overkill for her but she didn't care. She had been compromised on this mission. They had taken her best friend, her partner, away from her and warped his mind. They had unleashed the Hulk on her, something she truly feared. She couldn't smooth talk herself out of a Hulk encounter. She couldn't bat her eyelashes, wear distracting outfits and say sweet things in order to escape. Her guns wouldn't even work against his body. She had to be rescued.

Natasha Romanov had to be rescued by some no name girl. A girl with no proper training or background. A girl who did not fear the Hulk. Agent Romanov saw the video, saw her take on the Hulk head on. Saw her in person talk him out of a rage that threatened both of their lives. Saw her smile at him, like he wasn't a giant destroying machine gone haywire. The girl even checked on the Russian, to make sure she was all right. Dared to grasp her shoulders and look her right in the eye. No one checked on her besides Barton and that was because she was Natasha Romanov and she did not need to be checked on. She did not need help. She always figured a way out.

Now she owed this girl a debt.

Yanking the alien's gun from his limp grasp, she used the weapon on it's own kind, taking multiple others down with it. A gun was a gun and Natasha Romanov pulled the trigger without hesitation.

He moved quickly for his size, muscles more than enough to carry his own weight. The buildings crunched under his grip as he pulled himself higher and higher, taking down as many enemies as he could get his giant green hands on. It was clear enough to see which figures posed a threat. Since Bruce had willingly shifted to the Hulk, clarity was a feature given in this transformation. The aliens flying around destroying whatever they could were the bad guys. The other powerful figures fighting back and protecting the smaller, weaker people, were the good guys.

A giant alien figure floated near his level and he jumped off from the building. His fists bashed against the armor only they resulted in no damage. Angry at the fact, he gripped a plate of armor and ripped it up, using the sharp edge to stab the beast's exposed skin. The Iron Man and the one with the hammer joined him with tackling the big monster. The Hulk could recognize the metal man, Tony? Bruce liked him so the Hulk liked him well enough. The one with the hammer, Hulk did not care for. He could recall him in their previous fighting. The hammer had hit him very hard and yet, he was not strong enough to lift it from the floor, like the blonde man was able. Still, the Hulk did not like him very much.

The alien was falling, defeated. It crashed to the ground and Hulk looked around for his next bad guy, ready to take them down as well. There was a particularly loud crash and he followed the sound to see a girl slamming a group of aliens back into a building farther down the street. She jumped back to maintain a safe distance, but they did not get back up. She wiped her face with the back of her hand, smearing some of the dirt but she paid no mind. She looked about and he was able to see her face.

Bridgette. Her name was Bridgette. Hulk could remember her. She did not move when he pushed her back. She did not run away from him. She spoke to him. She smiled at him. The Hulk could remember her better now, after multiple encounters with the girl. Bruce liked her as well, it made her clear to him. Bridgette and Tony, Bruce liked them. The Hulk couldn't recall very much about Tony, just fragments of what Bruce had full memory of and the general emotion about him. Positive, not bad emotion. Hulk could remember Bridgette better than Tony. Bruce liked Bridgette too, there was a general emotion about her but not like Tony's. Different.

He saw Bridgette use her weapon as a type of vault, throwing her high onto a building called Stark. She put the silver weapon away and she began to climb and jump to different levels, gaining height quickly. Exhaling loudly, the Hulk followed her, footsteps like thunder.

REVIEW! Please and thank you, your input has been amazing so far with this story. I hope it's long enough for everyone, a little bit of a filler but next chapter we get some (more extensive) Bridgette fighting! Yay!

Hope you enjoyed!