Thousands of Chitauri threatened to invade, flying on the chariots as they descended upon Earth with destructive intentions.
Thor, his eyes fierce and glaring, swung his hammer and shot high into the air, landing right atop the Empire State Building. With one hand, he held onto the tower while swinging the Mjolnir with the other. A massive bolt of lightning surged toward the portal, aimed right at the incoming army. Thor channeled the blast and aimed the surge of electricity with perfect precision, watching in satisfaction as the Chitauri soldiers were blasted back in a massive shockwave.
Their charred remains, having exploded in bits and pieces, rained down on the city below just as they had been ever since he had taken charge of bottlenecking their invasion.
Even the Chitauri leviathan was no match for the ferocious lightning storm as it glowed blue with static and exploded, raining down even more carnage on the city of New York.
All the while, Thor only hoped there was no innocent still left to be evacuated.
On top of the buildings, Selina kept a watch out with her keen eyes. She fished out the pair of AP pistols and aimed at the Chitauri soldiers that had successfully landed on the ground. With deadly accuracy, the vixen began laying waste to the creatures, blasting their heads off in a display of absolute gore and carnage.
"She might be as good as Agent Barton himself," Maria Hill remarked from her spot in the sky, piloting the Quinjet. Spotting her moment, she maneuvered the jet in the direction of the portal and let the machine gun loose.
The Chitauri that succeeded in getting past Thor's lightning storm were met with bullets to their selves. Although a significant number of those bullets ricocheted off their armored plates, many found their mark and exploded their heads off, killing them off the spot.
"Miss Kyle, Agent Hill, how do you feel about having a party?" Iron Man called out over the comms, and both young women looked over to find him leading Chitauri chariots over to a corner. There were over a dozen giving chase to the flying man.
"You know you've got a lot of those bastards right up your ass, right?" Selina called out, firing another round and killing the horde coming up the street.
"You just focus on keeping the streets clear and pay attention when I ask you to," Iron Man replied as he flew onward.
Selina rolled her eyes as she replied, "Just get them in a corner and we can get it done."
"I will roger that," Iron Man replied as he flew, weaving around tight corners that happened to be in the direct view of Selina as well as Maria. As soon as the women found their marks, they let loose. The AP Pistol did its job and so did the machine gun, taking down the Chitauri soldiers and exploding their chariots. All the while, Iron Man flew around corners and open parking lots, giving the women even more free run.
"Nicely done," Iron Man called out when he saw none of the squadrons that had been chasing him was left. "What else left?"
Selina looked around to see what was going on.
"Well, Thor's occupied with the portal."
"Needed. Dude's been doing half the job on his own," Tony replied, looking over.
"Bruce and the others are busy with a few squadrons over on 6th."
"And that bastard didn't invite me. I thought we were friends, billionaire and billionaire," Iron Man replied as he took off, earning an eye roll from the brunette who looked around. Finding the area relatively clear, she parkoured from the building she had been on to the other, crossing the lanes. The moment she found another squad, she grinned and opened fire.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Peter and Gwen were accompanied by Steve and Natasha as they battled against the Chitauri horde. Spiderman and Spiderwoman were engaged in a deadly dance of carnage as they weaved through the horde, shielding themselves against their assault thanks to the armor they had borrowed from the dead creatures as they flung sharp cobwebs straight through their necks, decapitating them on the spot.
Natasha was with Steve who shielded her as she fired energy beams through the rifle, cleaving straight through the Chitauri heads. At the first moment of respite, Steve would take charge of the assault, flinging his shield and killing the Chitauri while Natasha covered for him. He was a superhuman, demonstrating all his capabilities as he jumped over and twisted their necks with absolute ease.
The Chitauri had expected to make light work of the humans but the resistance they were facing at the hands of only a few was a humbling experience.
"We need to get that portal closed," Natasha said, a little out of breath. "Thor's not going to be able to keep them all at bay and we've got no clue how many there are. We can't keep up like this much longer."
"Diana's already at it. She would've closed it if she could," Steve replied, a little out of breath himself. "Wayne! Can you target that portal and assist Thor?"
Bruce Wayne launched himself high in the air and swung along the buildings, joining Thor in no time.
"You holding up fine?"
"Won't say no to a little help," Thor grunted.
Bruce clapped the man on his back and began to work. Out of the corner of his eye, Thor looked on as he pulled out one contraption after another. He had no fucking clue what the man was doing.
Bruce started to set up everything and Thor's eyes widened as the process started to come to a close.
"Allfather… where did you get all that from?"
"My friends are resourceful," Bruce replied as he positioned the homing launcher straight at the portal. He swiped on the screen, and a loud click sounded as the system became active.
"All ready, Alfred," Bruce announced. "You sure you can handle this?"
Miles away in the underground bunker in Gotham, Alfred fastened his headphones as he grabbed the handle firmly, his eyes locked on to the target displayed on the screen.
"Mr. Wayne," the old butler's voice was filled with eagerness, and his face was set in a smile. "It would be my absolute pleasure."
Thor's eyes widened when he heard the whirring. The homing launcher started to power up, glowing an ethereal shade of blue and before he could blink, a powerful beam shot straight toward the portal. He whirled around, his eyes still wide in fascination, and he saw the beam start to decimate any Chitauri chariot that emerged from the portal.
"You couldn't pull this out before?" Tony flew up and joined them, asking in disbelief.
"Had to prepare for it, Stark," Bruce replied. "Come, the others need us down there. Thor, Alfred will help you with that portal."
Thor nodded and watched as the two billionaires descended the building. Glancing behind him, he saw the massive contraption hard at work and sighed. He needed a small break.
"Bruce, you magnificent bastard," Natasha whispered under her breath, a disbelieving smile on her face. She ducked under an incoming Chitauri and aimed her rifle at its face, firing and killing it on the spot.
"That's all well and good, but that portal needs to be closed," Steve remarked. "What about Loki and his sister?"
"Last I saw, they were down," Natasha replied.
Steve grimaced.
"Stark, Wayne, think you two can keep them under control?"
"A little preoccupied here, Cap," Tony replied as he fired another missile straight at the leviathan's snout, blasting it open. Another missile shot right into its open maw, exploding it into bits.
"I'm game," Wayne replied and shot toward the Stark Tower where they had last been seen.
Thor, Alfred, and Maria were doing their best to keep the incoming Chitauri horde under control. As such, the latter completely missed the leviathan that was careening toward her from behind.
It took the Quinjet warning system acting up for her to realize the predicament she and Betty found themselves in.
"Oh no…" she whispered as she pulled, trying to swerve the Quinjet away from the incoming beast.
Alas, it was to no avail as the leviathan struck the Quinjet head-on, sending it lurching forward. Chunks of metal crumbled under the impact as Maria and Betty screamed.
Suddenly, the Quinjet exploded and all they knew was warmth as they collided with hard concrete. Their cries sounded out as they came to a stop, however, they found they felt no pain.
Maria Hill gingerly opened her eyes and they shot open as she realized what had happened.
"Are you two okay?" A scratchy voice rasped and she glanced up, staring into the blazing large eyes of none other than the Hulk himself. He was staring at them in concern before he gently lowered them to the ground.
"Y-yeah," she managed, still shaking, as she looked around. The part of the city they were in was a warzone, with burning concrete and rocks strewn about.
"You two need to get away," the Hulk said firmly. Maria jumped slightly when he wrapped his arm around her once again. Holding Betty in the other, the Hulk jumped, landing on one building before he began to parkour from one to another, bypassing the perimeter they'd set up in no time.
He lowered the two women down once he deemed it clear for them to be safe. They stared up at him, gratefulness shining in their eyes.
"Bruce, give them hell," Betty urged, earning a smirk in return.
"Gladly," he replied and took off, leaving a pair of brunettes staring at him in silence.
"Come on, let's back off. I think we're done here," Betty said as she turned toward Maria who was still staring at the retreating figure of the Hulk.
"Yeah," she replied absentmindedly and turned around.
Meanwhile, Thor and Alfred were hard at work, bottlenecking the portal. Whenever the launcher needed to recharge, Thor would pick up slack and whenever he needed a break, Alfred would take up the task. The two worked like a well-oiled machine as they did their best to keep the horde at bay.
However, it was not enough. The Chitauri seemed to be numbering in millions, and no matter how many thousands of those creatures they killed, more would fill up the vacuum, descending chaotically.
On the ground, the assembled group of fighters did their best to kill as many Chitauri as possible while Tony was hard at maintaining the perimeter, ensuring none of the Chitauri escaped to wreak havoc on the civilians.
Bruce Wayne, however, soared toward Stark Tower in search of Loki and his sister. They could not be allowed to rejoin the battle. It was already mightily challenging and they could not handle a pair of demigods on top of it.
On his way, he had been joined by Selina and together, they traversed the battleground, eliminating the distance between them and Stark Tower. Any stray Chitauri was killed with precision.
However, as they jumped from building to building, there was one sight that gave them pause. A few individuals garbed in ancient robes were fighting the Chitauri, but what was peculiar about them was their choice of weaponry. Glowing an ethereal shade of orange, their weapons seemed as if they were burning. Swords, bows and arrows, and even age-old fans that he knew the Asians used to employ in battles. It made for an astounding sight.
"Who are those people?" Selina could not help but ask.
"No idea," Bruce replied. "The others might know though. We'll ask them when we get the chance."
Selina nodded and they left the monks to their devices.
They found Superman first. The Kryptonian was leaning against the wall of the balcony, breathing heavily. There was a green sheen to his skin as he stared into the distance with unseeing eyes.
"You alright?" Bruce asked, his voice deep as usual.
Clark slowly glanced at him and breathed slowly, nodding.
"Kryptonite," Bruce muttered as he patted the man on the chest. "Absorb the sunlight. That helps, right?"
Another nod and Bruce looked around.
"Where's Loki and his sister?"
Clark's response was to gesture downward with his eyes and Selina looked over the railing.
"They're down there," she called out. "She seems relatively fine. Can't say the same for him though. Looks like you did quite a number on him, eh?"
Clark managed a small smirk at that.
"Still, we better made sure they're confined properly," Bruce replied, earning a nod from his girlfriend. He stood up and wrapping an arm around her waist, jumped off the balcony. Clark glanced at them and sighed.
As they descended, Bruce threw a sling where it attached to the building right opposite the Stark Tower. They swung around, their eyes on their targets, and Selina wasted no time.
Right as they almost reached the ground, she tapped Bruce's chest twice and he released his hold on her waist. She shot forward as if fired by a slingshot and took Sylvie with her.
She grunted as they rolled over on the rough ground and a painful cry escaped out of Sylvie's lips as her back collided with a traffic pole, denting it.
Selina offered her no respite, however, as she delivered two swift kicks to her ears in quick succession. She grabbed her hair harshly and pulled her to her feet, glaring.
"Nat told me to give you some on her behalf too," she hissed and kneed her in the abdomen. The half-Asgardian woman, reeling from her fight with Diana, gasped as she breathed heavily, trying to gather all her energy.
Selina pressed her advantage and aimed another kick straight under her chin. Her eyes widened when a dagger materialized out of thin air and shot straight toward her face. In the nick of time, she rolled over. The dagger sliced a thin cut across her cheek and soared behind her.
With a grunt, she glanced up from where she had fallen and saw Loki's sister push herself to her feet.
"Creature," Sylvie hissed. "You dare lay your feet on me…"
Selina seemed to be in no mood to listen to any lecture and she quickly brandished her pistols. Sylvie seemed entirely unbothered as the barrage of bullets shot toward her and she held her ground, confident in her ability as the superior being to withstand the metal pellets.
She cried out when the bullets exploded upon contact. Selina smirked as she watched the woman get blasted back and she showed no restraint. Aiming the pistols, she let loose. Sylvie failed to catch her bearings in time and was assaulted by explosion after explosion as Selina's bullets rained fire on her.
Selina refused to hold back. She knew how resilient the other woman was and she kept firing. Sylvie could not have retaliated even if she tried as the barrage of exploding bullets kept raining down on her, sending her rolling away with every contact.
Suddenly, Sylvie's body transformed into Bruce's, and Selina's fingers paused for a mere second. Unfortunately, that was all the time she needed as she quickly sent a barrage of knives straight at her opponent, forcing her to let up the assault.
"You've done it now, creature," Sylvie hissed.
Off to the other side, Bruce slowly walked toward Loki who gasped as he was roughly pulled to his feet. Fisting his collar firmly, Bruce glared at the demigod before he began to lay punches to his abdomen, knocking the breath out of him.
Both Bruce and Selina kept the half-Asgardians firmly under control, skillfully making use of the fatigue from their previous battles against the other two supernatural beings themselves. They were under no delusions that they would've been toast if these two had been at their best but after their fights with Superman and Wonder Woman, these two did not have much left, and it was apparent for them to see.
"What was it you wanted? Subjugation of this planet?" Bruce grunted as he jammed another punch under Loki's chin. Blood splattered on the road as Loki heaved helplessly, suffering the relentless assault from this creature.
Suddenly, Bruce felt something approaching at a furious pace from behind him and he grunted when it collided with him. He was sent tumbling over across the street as Loki dropped to his knees, glaring feebly.
He rolled over on the hard ground and gasped as the wind was knocked out of him. However, he was not alone as he felt his girlfriend's weak moan of pain as she lay right atop him.
'So that's what happened. She threw Selina over me,' he thought, wincing in pain as he looked over at Loki and his sister regrouping together, their twin glares menacing. A small smile etched on his face when he noticed something behind them and he leaned his head back against the building, staring straight ahead.
As Sylvie dashed over to check on Loki, a foreboding feeling washed over her. Before she could even move though, she felt her legs being seized by something powerful. A shrill cry of surprise emerged from her throat as she was violently lifted off the ground.
Upside down and her eyes wide in shock, she stared at none other than the Hulk who had her lifted in the air with one hand while he held her lover in the other. Both Sylvie and Loki gave each other incredulous gazes before their eyes narrowed and they turned their glares toward the Hulk who brought them in front of his face.
"You dare mock us like this, you filthy creature?" Loki hissed through his pain. "You dare treat us as mere playthings!?"
"Do you realize who we are!?" Sylvie continued. "We are gods, you dull beast! Beings beyond your comprehension, and you dare—"
She was cut off when the Hulk pulled them away before bringing his hands together, slamming her against Loki. Their grunts and cries echoed in the relative silence of the battlefield around them as the Hulk kept slamming them repeatedly against each other, much like a toddler would slam a pair of dolls together. The Hulk showed no restraint and mercilessly smashed them against the ground, treating them as nothing more than a pair of rags before he smashed them against each other once again.
Both Bruce and Selina stared at the spectacle with wide eyes, disbelieving of what they were witnessing. The Hulk was treating them as if they were dirty laundry in need of a severe beating as he kept smashing them without stopping.
"He'll kill them," Selina muttered.
"Nah, they won't die," Bruce replied.
"You sure?" She asked.
Bruce merely shrugged.
"To be honest, I don't care," he replied.
Sighing, she leaned against him as they continued to witness the absolute carnage the Hulk rained down on the two demigods.
"If he's like that when he's in control, I really don't wanna see what he'd be like if he loses control," she muttered.
It was minutes later when the Hulk deemed it enough and he violently threw the pair away. They collided with the building and smashed through the concrete, falling flat on their backs. Not even a faint whimper was heard as they lay on the broken floor with their unseeing eyes staring into the distance, their bodies crushed.
"Now if only that portal is dealt with," Bruce muttered, staring up. The abyss was aglow with explosions and a tempest as Thor and Alfred blasted as many Chitauri as they could.
XXXXX
Back in the Helicarrier, Nick Fury was surrounded by suspended screens. Each screen featured a member of the World Security Council. He had an idea of what they wanted to discuss.
"Director Fury, the council has made a decision," the first Councilman intoned.
"I'm well aware that the council has made a decision, but given it's not been ratified by their graces, I've chosen to ignore it. Not to mention it's a stupid ass decision that's better ignored anyway," Nick Fury replied.
"Look Director, there isn't any other way to—"
"This is the island of Manhattan we are talking about. Their graces are down there, fighting with their lives at stake. There's no way a nuclear strike will be authorized. Don't forget who heads the council, people."
"No one is suggesting we nuke the place with them still present. The brave fighters shall withdraw and we will tackle this challenge in the air," another of the councilmen whom Fury recognized as Alexander Pierce, spoke. "Let's face it, Director. If we don't stop those things in the air, we lose everything."
"And if we take any rash decision, we lost more than this everything you're speaking of," Fury retorted. "That portal is being sustained by an energy source powerful enough to perpetually power up anything we or our future generations can come up with. Tampering with it in any violent manner could very well spell doom for our planet as a whole."
The Council stared at one another for a long moment, possibly deliberating what to do.
"As long as that portal is sustained, we'll not be doing anything," Fury said firmly and shut off his viewscreen.
"Fucking cunts," he muttered under his breath as he glanced at the screen that was displaying the ship that had arrived in the orbit. "Can't catch a breath."
He turned around and walked out of the room. As he made his way back to the bridge, he saw the Helicarrier resume its path back to New York.
"Sir, we have a situation!" The female agent looked alarmed as she rushed toward him. "The Council has authorized a strike on Manhattan."
"No jets are operative on the Helicarrier," Fury replied curtly as he resumed walking.
"The strike is from the HQ, Director," she said softly.
Fury's steps paused, his face grim.
"So they've gone and friggin' done it," he muttered and activated the comms. "Stark, you hearing me? There's a missile heading straight for the city."
"How long?" Tony Stark asked as he blasted straight through a Chitauri Leviathan, sending it exploding across the street.
"Five minutes tops. Monitor the east coastline and wipe out the missile."
"Yeah, no shit," Stark scoffed. "Jarv, put everything into the thrusters."
"I just did," JARVIS' voice sounded inside the suit.
Iron Man shot into the sky and headed eastward to intercept the incoming bird.
On the ground, Steve fought with Peter and Gwen while Natasha provided support from the top of a building.
"4 o'clock, Cap," Black Widow called. Steve threw his shield in the direction, crushing the head of a Chitauri soldier. Peter quickly shot a web toward the shield and pulled, sending it right toward Steve who caught it mid-air. Suddenly, an energy blast hit in right in the side, sending him tumbling over. Gwen easily spotted the attacker and blasted its head off.
Steve tried to get up and Peter held his hand out, helping him to his feet. Breathing heavily, the former held his shield back up.
"You ready to continue?" Peter asked.
"What? You need a break?" Steve retorted, earning a chuckle from him.
Deep inside the Stark Tower, Erik Selvig worked meticulously on his laptop, his fingers clacking away on the keyboard as he immersed himself in full scientist mode. Diana stood poised, Loki's scepter in her hand, as she aimed it toward the force field surrounding the Tesseract.
"How much longer now, Dr. Selvig?" She asked, slightly exasperated. She could not believe they had taken so much time already.
"Almost done," Selvig muttered as he kept at it. "Almost… any second now…"
"We're done here!" Diana called out over the comms. "Steve? Wayne? Stark? Anyone? We can get the portal closed."
Selvig nodded, signifying his agreement.
"It's done," he said, earning a nod from the woman who listened for a reply. She could simply get it done but she had no idea what the situation outside was. They needed to be cautious when artifacts such as Infinity Stones were concerned.
"You can close it? What are you waiting for, then? Do it!" Steve urged.
Diana pushed forward, probing against the force field. The shield sparked and pulsed.
"No, wait!" Tony called out, making Diana pause.
"Stark?"
"A missile's on the way, and I know the perfect place for it," Tony replied, making everyone's eyes widen.
"Don't be mad, Stark. That's a one-way trip," Steve called out, earning a chuckle from Iron Man.
"Guess it's my turn to re-enact something my father used to tell me in my childhood. The story of someone who also made a similar sacrifice to save the people. I better have my place of glory in the museums all over," he called out as he flew toward the nuke.
Steve pursed his lips and closed his eyes.
From his position atop the balcony of Stark Tower, Clark utilized his advanced vision and quickly spotted the incoming nuke.
"Who authorized a nuclear strike on civilian population!?" He asked, enraged, as he stood up.
"We can discuss the paperwork later, big man," Tony replied. "Right now, I gotta take care of this nuke."
His eyes widened when he felt something approaching at a breakneck pace.
"Jarv?"
"It's Mr. Kent, sir," the AI responded and Tony glanced toward the man who closed the distance between them in no time.
"What are you doing up? Weren't you taking a nice nap?"
"Get ready, Stark," Clark, having sufficiently healed up, said firmly. Both men turned toward the nuke as it approached, and the moment it was about to pass them, they skidded to the side and grabbed it on either side.
At once, both men swerved upward and shot straight toward the portal, flying parallel to the blue beam that sustained it.
"Now!" Clark commanded, and Diana wasted no time. She thrusted the scepter through the energy barrier and slammed it against the CMS device, shutting it off.
The blue beam dissipated into nothingness right when Iron Man and Superman shot into the portal, disappearing beyond it.
The Earth's atmosphere disappeared right when they shot into the portal, replacing it with nothing but pitch blackness with distant stars being the only source of light.
As they gazed forward, their eyes widened as they witnessed the sheer size of the Chitauri armada. There were hundreds of ships in a vague cluster with thousands of leviathans swimmingly flying about.
The Iron Man suit began to flicker as they darted closer to the mothership of the Chitauri and together, they let the nuke loose. Right when the thrusters began to flicker as well, Clark grabbed hold of his companion and did a 180 in the vacuum, shooting straight toward the closing portal.
Behind them, the nuke collided with the mothership, exploding upon impact. A massive supernova enveloped the entire armada, creating a stunning display of interstellar marvel.
On the ground, the Chitauri soldiers and the leviathans suddenly started to convulse and keel over before they all fell over, unmoving. Everyone stared at the portal as it slowly shrunk. Diana quickly emerged out of Stark Tower and flew up, hovering in the air as she stared with a tumultuous expression on her face.
Her expression transformed into one of pride when her husband shot out of the portal with Iron Man held firmly in his arms right before the portal vanished entirely.
From his spot atop the Empire State Building, Thor shook his head in amazement and launched himself toward the center where everyone was gathering. Clark slammed down on the ground, creating a small crater, and gently lowered Iron Man onto the rocky terrain. He grabbed the faceplate of the helmet and pulled it off, revealing an unconscious man inside.
"Son of a gun," Steve muttered, mightily impressed.
"Unconscious," Clark added as everyone came over.
"This might help," Thor said as he pointed Mjolnir toward the unconscious man and fired a bolt of lightning at the suit, instantly restarting it. The static shocked Tony Stark and he gasped awake, to everyone's amusement.
"Sonofabitch," he muttered, shaking his head as he looked around. "Eh yeah, we won, heh. Good job, peeps. Let's take a nice, long break now. No need to show up tomorrow, or next week, hopefully next month as well. Wanna have some shawarma, by the way? I know a shawarma joint two blocks away from here. I don't know what it is, but I sure wanna try it."
"We're not finished here," Thor said gravely as he looked at Clark and Diana. "Where are those two?"
As if on cue, a loud roar rang out and they whirled around to find none other than the Hulk come flying toward them. He slammed violently on the ground, sending dust and debris high in the air.
"Looking for something?" he rasped in his usual scratchy voice and as the dust cleared, they stared at the sight they were greeted with in absolute shock.
Loki and Sylvie looked shaken. Their eyes, wide and unseeing, stared into nothingness.
"What the hell happened to them?" Diana asked, her voice a faint whisper.
Suddenly, Clark snorted and hastily glanced away when his wife turned to him askance. He shook his head, trying to keep his mirth hidden.
"Yeah, I might've done a number on them," Hulk looked almost embarrassed to admit it. "At least they're not dead. That's a positive, right?"
Diana gave him a disbelieving look as everyone looked back at the stunned forms of the two half-Asgardians.
"Dr. Banner," Steve sighed. "You can transform now. I think we're done here."
The Hulk shrugged before its body began to lose its green hue. The massive muscular form began to shrink and in no time, Bruce Banner stood before them, clad in his spandex outfit that remarkably still fit him perfectly.
"I better join Dr. Selvig in preparing the Tesseract for transport. Care to join me, Stark?"
Everyone watched the two geniuses walk together back toward Stark Tower when they heard twin gasps from where Loki and Sylvie were sprawled on the ground. They gingerly refocused on their surroundings and were taken aback when they realized the predicament they were in.
"Well then, let's get this over with, shall we?" Clark said firmly as he glared at Loki who could only stare back in exasperation.
Back in the Helicarrier, the SHIELD agents cheered on the successful mission. Nick Fury watched the live relay with a smile of satisfaction.
However, his smile was marred with the knowledge of the ship that was hovering in the Orbit. The ship had done nothing since it had appeared. It remained stationary as if content in merely observing the happenings on the planet. He had no concrete idea as to what its purpose was, but if his long and illustrious career had taught him anything, it was to trust his intuition. And right now, his intuition was screaming at him that the ship was anything but friendly.
XXXXX
It had been a few days since the Battle of New York, as it was being called by the international media. Public opinion was divided, with some lauding the AVENGERS for their service whereas there were voices that held them responsible for the destruction wrought upon the city.
"This was their fight, not ours. Why did we suffer?"
"What? This was somehow their fault? They saved our lives! I don't care what you have to say. Wherever they are, I just wanna say thank you so much."
Opinions differed, but life went on.
In a restricted area, all the Avengers sans Clark and Diana walked toward Thor who stood on the other end of the field. Loki and Sylvie, with their hands cuffed and their mouths muzzled, walked between them. Thor glanced at his siblings and a small grimace crossed his face.
"Well, here you go," Tony said and opened the case that contained the Tesseract. Thor glanced at it and nodded with a small smile.
"Dr. Banner," Tony urged his companion who took the Tesseract out of the case and placed it in a glass tube Thor held in his hand.
"Back where it belongs," he said with a nod as the tube sealed automatically.
"I'll be seeing you all then," Thor said with a nod toward everyone as an energy beam struck the spot where he stood with his siblings. They nodded and watched as the Asgardians disappeared, leaving nothing but an inscription marked on the grass where the beam had struck.
"Well then, I sure hope we won't have to see each other for a long, long time," Tony remarked as he walked toward his sportscar. "Eh, who am I kidding?"
Smirks were shared all around as the group splintered off. Natasha and Selina joined Bruce Wayne in his sportscar while Steve climbed on his Harley with his wife Peggy taking her seat behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist tightly.
Bruce Banner and Betty walked toward their car but not before exchanging smiles with Maria Hill who climbed into a SHIELD car with Clint Barton.
Peter and Gwen looked around at everyone dispersing before they exchanged a look. Shrugging with matching smirks, they shot forth webs and swung out of the area.
"We need to get a car as well," Peter called out as they swung along the buildings in the facility.
"Or a bike. I'm sure you'd love feeling me behind you just as Cap must love his wife," Gwen teased.
"Or maybe I'd like you doing something else as I drove," Peter quipped back.
"Ideas, ideas," Gwen replied in a singsong voice as they swung ahead.
XXXXX
"I'll ask for the last time. Why authorize the nuke?" Clark thundered, glaring at the gathered members of the World Security Council, all of whom exchanged nervous glances. Beside him, his wife sat with her arms folded across her chest, looking entirely unimpressed.
Nick Fury stood on his other side, his mirth entirely unhidden if going by the small smirk on his face.
"You must understand, sir. We had to do something otherwise we could've lost everything. In your absence, the council had to make a tough choice. You know better than anyone the decisions we must take in tumultuous situations," Alexander Pierce replied respectfully.
"Is that so, councilman? I'm sure Director Fury told you not to go ahead with it, even arguing why it was unwise."
"And we deliberated on Director Fury's words. However, leaving things up to chance would have been a very reckless approach."
Clark merely scoffed.
'Reckless. Yeah, that sounds about right.'
"What about the Avengers, sir?"
"We're not tracking their movements. They are not beholden to us, councilman," Diana replied from her spot. "I believe they have earned a well-deserved leave of absence."
"Naturally. And the Tesseract?"
"Back to where it should be," she replied calmly. "It should've never fallen into the hands of humanity."
"Are you sure that's wise, madam?"
"You are free to discuss this with the god who made this call," she shrugged.
"He took the Tesseract and the war criminals with him? They should be answering for their crimes!"
"And they will," she replied.
"With due respect, I don't think you realize what you have set loose in this world," Pierce continued. "The Avengers. Beings capable of feats most humans can only dream of. They are dangerous, and they need to be kept in check."
"You're right, councilman," Diana replied. "They are indeed dangerous, and now the entire world knows it. Every… world knows it."
A gleam entered Pierce's eyes as he stared at the woman.
"So that was the point of all this? A statement at the expense of hundreds of lives and loss of millions of property?"
"A promise, councilman," she retorted calmly. "A promise that Earth is not as weak or as unmanned as some might believe."
Without bothering to say anything further, she terminated the conference and walked out, arm-in-arm with her husband, with Nick Fury walking beside them.
"Any further development with the ship, Director Fury?" Clark asked.
"None, Your Grace," Fury replied. "They are content with simply observing."
"I see," he muttered. "Don't let surveillance up for even a second, Director. We need information on even the slightest of changes."
"You think we'd need to call everyone in sooner rather than later?" Fury asked as they made their way to the bridge.
Clark remained silent, staring straight ahead.
"I sure hope not."
To be continued…
Thanks for reading, everyone, and if you'd like to access chapters early or have a say in what goes, check out the link on my profile. Chapters 17, 18, 19, and 20 are already available.
There are also character artworks for the ladies if you're interested in seeing what they might look like.
I'll be back soon with the next update for this fic. Meanwhile, check out my other fics if you haven't yet. Cheers!