It took fifteen minutes to repair the engine and knock out Clint's marauders. Clint himself had been knocked out by Thor, and dragged to medical, where Natasha was waiting with Bruce.
"How many did we lose?" Grey asked Fury while she held a bandage to Maria's head. She dodged the grenade but smacked her head on the ground, leaving her with a decent cut, and a low-grade concussion.
"Phil's down," Fury said quietly. Grey dropped the bandage, but Maria was quick to catch it. "He tried to stop some of the men from getting the phase two weapons, got shot through the heart."
"We need to talk," Grey said, grabbing Fury's arm and dragging him out of the room. When he tried to resist, she kicked his knee and dropped him to the ground. "I said we need to talk, now come the fuck on."
Grey crouched down and pulled Fury into a fireman's carry. She brought him across the hall to an empty room and dropped him unceremoniously on the ground.
"What the hell, Stark," Fury demanded as he climbed to his feet.
"I know about project TAHITI," Grey said without preamble. "I know you have a Kree body and a freaky brain surgery machine that removes memories, but I swear to God, Fury, if you bring that man back, I'll kill you and run you through it. See how you fucking like it."
"You don't have the clearance-"
"Damn your clearance to hell, Fury," Grey raged, her eyes glowing furiously. "I am telling you, right now, to your face, that project TAHITI is a fucked-up torture device, and if I find out you used it on poor sweet Phil Coulson, who has already told you to shut it down, I will make the Iraqi leak look like a summer book report."
Grey left Fury laying on the floor and returned to where Clint was finally starting to come around.
"Did you get to express all your feelings?" Tony asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Is he still breathing?" Grey asked, glancing over her shoulder where Nick was reentering the room.
"Hm. Guess she kept some to herself," Pepper said. "C'mon, suit up, we've got work to do."
"How's Clint?"
"How did you get him out of my head?" Clint demanded.
"Loki wasn't in it," Grey said firmly. "He was being controlled too, Clint."
Clint's face scrunched, then went sour, then he sighed and nodded. He looked around at everyone in the room. Iron Guardian and War Machine were suited up with Iron Man standing in the hall. Steve was wearing his spangled costume, standing just in the room, looking awkward. Natasha and Maria were sitting next to him, pretending to whisper back and forth. Pepper was sending emails from her phone, glancing up every now and again. Thor and Loki were waiting by the quinjets.
"How are you feeling, sunshine?" Grey asked, walking over.
"Like I got hit by a truck," Clint said wryly.
"Well, you got hit by Thor, so it might as well be the same thing," Grey said, a hint of a giggle in her voice. "I mean it though, how's your head? Any more blue? Loki said it receded pretty quick, but Thor got to you first, so I wasn't able to use the scepter on you."
"You used that thing?" Clint asked. "Just being near it was enough to make me sick to my stomach."
"Oh, no, it felt insidious as all hell, but I had shit to do," Grey said, nodding. She held a private hope that by only allowing herself to think positively while holding it, it would help. Grey was a big believer in intentions.
"Yes, she's serious, yes, she's always like this," Pepper said dryly at Clint's bemused look. "And yes, we're on a time crunch, so wake up, suit up, and let's go."
"Selvig's getting ready to open the portal. Are you good to fight? Also, we need a pilot, are you good to fly?"
"I'll need some arrows," Clint said, nodding. "And an advil."
"Great, let's get to work," Grey said, clapping her hands. "Mom, let's go suit up. James?"
Iron Guardian stepped forward, his HUD still down, concealing his identity. His voice was steady as he said, "War Machine will direct the fliers and the Iron Family. Rogers, we're putting you in charge of the ground team. That'll include Hulk, Widow, and Hawkeye. Fliers are the Iron Family. Rescue, Peacemaker, you two are on civilian evacuation. The Maria and Margaret Stark foundations are going to be onsite starting from thirty minutes into the battle for med-evac."
"Who put him in charge?" Steve demanded, looking at Fury.
"I did, Rogers. Fury might be in charge of SHIELD, but the Avengers' Initiative and the Iron Family are solely property of Stark Industries. I am the Director of the Avengers' Initiative." Grey stood fiercely in the middle of the room, her shoulders back as she dared anyone to take her authority from her. She worked her ass off every single day, battling bad habits and mental illness to get to where she was, not something she ever expected. She was proud of her achievements and wasn't about to let someone take them from her. "If you want to work for SHIELD, you can join the STRIKE team and work under Rescue."
"You heard the woman, she's in charge," Fury said as he finally realized he'd been played. "Just go prevent the end of the world."
"Pepper," Grey said just before the two filed out. "Make sure it's one of ours that tells Phil's girlfriend, yeah?"
"I sent Jennifer," Pepper said. "She's taking the Stark Jet from LA up to Portland now. She's going to stay with her for a few days."
The Avengers
Erik Selvig was on top of the world. He had an understanding of the universe few people were ever blessed enough to gain, a machine that was going to open a portal to deep space, and a fever dream bringing the stars to earth to study. Oh, but if Jane could see him now, she would be so impressed.
Erik Selvig stood on the tallest part of Stark Tower and circled his machine, making sure everything was where it was supposed to be before he powered it on.
"Hold still," Pepper said, licking her thumb and wiping a smudge of eyeliner off Grey's face.
"Mom!" Grey laughed, pushing her hand away and stepping up so Bambi could suit her up. "Just let my makeup smudge, it'll make for a better post-battle photo for the press. Or so Jayne says."
"I won't have my daughter go into battle being anything less than amazing," Pepper said, also holding still as Bambi fastened their suits on. They would have to change when they got to the tower – Bambi and Jarvis were rushing production on battle suits for the four of them.
"Ready?" James asked, stomping into the room, his helmet retracted as he looked at them. Rhodey was just behind him, a fierce look on his face. Grey smiled at him, and nodded, just before her helmet came up and encased her. The HUD snapped up, revealing glowing orange eyes.
"Let's go stop an alien invasion."
"National Guard is enroute," Jim reported as Grey looked at him. It was five minutes till noon. "They'll be there in twenty minutes."
"Show time," Iron Man said as he came in. His suit was beat up from fixing the engine. "We're flying ahead to get the new suits – ready?"
"We've got this, right?" Grey asked, suddenly unsure. She looked around at her family – none of them were doubting her.
"I'll follow you anywhere," James said as his helmet came up.
"Clear comms," Pepper said firmly. "Pepper's hot."
"Rhodes' clear," Jim said, a hint of a smile on the corners of his mouth.
"Guardian, ready to fight."
"Birds' flying," A female voice came. "Standing by for medevac."
In New York, standing in the lobby of Stark Tower, was Allie and Sam, suited up in the EX0-7 suits, with the legacies. They would direct the National Guard, and the foundations that came out to help so the Iron Family could focus on it.
"Dugan, ready."
"Twins are online," Lizzie said, turning to her brother.
"Go for Captain America," Steve said, leading the ground fighters to the quinjet. Grey couldn't wait to introduce the legacies to Steve. Sharon was sure to cry with excitement. If Trip didn't first.
"Widow."
"Hawkeye."
"Go for Peacemaker," Grey said, taking a deep breath. "Let's get to work, see you in the big city, Captain!"
With the press of a button, the floor opened up beneath the Iron Family, and one by one, they dropped down, letting themselves fall before kicking on their thrusters and flying toward the city. Iron Man took the lead, even with his sparking left thruster. A moment behind them, two quinjets took off, one holding the rest of the Avengers, one holding a STRIKE team to lend ground support.
"Alright, everyone listen up. Erik Selvig is operating under the control of an alien artifact. He is not of his right mind, so use non-lethal force only on all human combatants. If it's an alien, it's shoot on sight, we got that?" Jim ordered as he flew behind Pepper, sitting on her eight o'clock. Thor was also flying, staying behind the quinjets, and bringing up the rear.
Fury stood on the bridge, an old pager in his hand as agents bustled around him, moving the Helicarrier over the ocean in case the engine gave out again, and getting eyes in New York to follow the battle and start planning clean up.
"I've turned off the arc reactor," Jarvis said in the suits of the Iron Family. "But the device is already self-sustaining."
"Shut it down, Dr Selvig," Iron Man said as he flew up to the top. The rest of the suits quickly landed and started switching suits. They knew they'd need something stronger to face the aliens. James stayed in his flight suit but found a high spot to set up a sniper's nest. Tony had designed him a high-powered rifle, one that could easily penetrate any armor the aliens were wearing.
"It's too late!" Selvig shouted at him. "She can't stop now. She wants to show us something! A new universe."
Tony could see the mania in Erik's eyes. The same mania he got when he went on an engineering binge. The same mania Grey got when she had an idea for the Initiative. Tony blasted the portal machine. The repulsor blast quickly backfired, slamming into a barrier. Selvig was thrown back and hit his head. He was knocked unconscious.
"The barrier is pure energy," Jarvis said. "It's unbreachable."
"The scepter will get through it," Grey called through the comms. "Get the scepter here, Fury?"
"Copy that."
Tony landed on the platform, and Jarvis quickly set about stripping the suit off of him, powering up the mark eight as he did. It still took time, time they didn't have, but Tony was constantly working on it. He had an idea for nanotech, just didn't have the capability for it yet.
"Fancy digs," Tony said as he caught sight of the girls in their new suits. He adjusted the bracelets on his wrists. The mark eight was one autonomous piece, fabricated as one unit. It would lock onto the bracelets the family wore daily. Pepper, Grey, and Jim were already suited up, Tony's suit was still deploying from the elevator.
"Come on, slow poke," Grey teased as she took a running leap off the balcony, whooping as she fell. Tony laughed and threw himself off the tower without his suit. If Jarvis had had eyes, he would've rolled them heavily as he sent the suit to catch his wayward creator. At the top of the tower, the portal opened. "Bambi, send the shelter in place alert. Get the governor on the phone with either Sam or Christine, they'll give him a rundown. Then have them get DC on the phone. Give them the same rundown. Have Happy call the FAA and shut down all flights in the area. For the next twelve hours, New York needs to be a no-fly zone."
"Right, army," Tony said as the Chitauri poured forth from deep space. Tony and Grey surged upward, blasting them out of the sky as fast as they could, while Pepper raced down to the ground to start getting people out of the way. War Machine chased after those that got past Tony.
"Let's get to work," Allie barked as she left the safety of Stark Tower, walking out on the street and immediately pulling people into the building. The legacies and Sam fanned out around her, all doing the same.
In the building, Samantha Kim and Happy Hogan were working in tandem, getting those already injured up to medical, and triaging people with minor scrapes. The open space Grey had practically demanded would already be earning its keep.
"Stark, we're on your three, heading northeast," Natasha said as she and Clint flew the quinjet into the fray.
"What? Did you stop for fucking drive-thru?" Pepper demanded, blasting a Chitauri away from a mother and son.
"Swing up Park, I'm gonna lay 'em out for you," Tony said. He flew lower, hoping to shake a few off his tail with a sharp turn. Nine chased him around the corner and past Grand Central Station. Three survived the gun of the quinjet. Only one survived the explosion that followed. That remaining chitauri died as the wing of the quinjet clipped it, blowing up one of the engines, grounding the quinjet.
Loki and Steve carefully braced Bruce, holding him steady as they crashed onto a mercifully empty piece of land. The fountain they hit may have been a loss, but it was better than the alternative of civilians in harm's way. The five evacuated the jet and ran as fast as they could to the base of Stark Tower, where they could see the first leviathan come through the portal.
"That is so much bigger than I thought," Grey said as she turned to see it. "Oh fuck."
Bambi muted her comms as she panicked, wondering what she was doing in an active war zone. Taking out terrorists was one thing, but that space whale was three times the size of the biggest semi-truck she'd ever seen, did they even have the firepower to take that thing down?
"Hey, what's happening in your head?" James' voice cut through the panic, and Grey opened her eyes. Bambi had connected just the two of them, switching the suit into autopilot.
"James, can we do this?"
"We already did, you saw it, remember?" James said. Grey let out a shuddering breath, fear blatant on her face. "Hey. We've got this. You've got this. We planned something solid. Go work with your mom and get people to safety. Leave the big ones to us."
"Stark, you seeing this?" Steve asked as the comms flooded open.
"Seeing," Tony replied, just as stunned as everyone else. "Still working on believing. Jarvis, find me a soft spot on that thing."
Chitauri jumped off the leviathan in droves, landing in and on buildings, trapping civilians in their offices. Natasha, Steve, Clint, Bruce, and Loki stood there, watching as explosions sent people running in all directions, scattering like skittles.
"They're fish in a barrel down there," Steve said. Natasha popped to her feet and fired a few shots, felling two chitauri.
"Go, we've got this," she said, looking around for her next target.
"You think you can hold them off?" Steve asked.
"Captain, it would be my genuine pleasure," Clint said, drawing an arrow. The single arrow took out four chitauri. Green surrounded Loki as he changed into his armor, pulling out twin daggers.
"There are people trapped in that transport," Loki said, pointing it out as Steve took a running leap off the bridge.
"Take out those chitauri, I'll start evacuating the bus," Clint said, already moving to shatter a window. Loki took the order and flew at the two standing nearby, slicing them with his daggers until they fell. When Loki turned around, there was a blue goo on his armor. Clint started pulling people out of the bus, handing them to Bruce to set them on the ground. Loki had to use his Asgardian strength to yank open the jammed door, releasing all the people. Bruce ushered them straight into the subway entrance, telling them to stay low.
The mother of two scared children hugged Loki for helping them get off the bus. He stood there stunned for a moment.
"This is just like Budapest all over again," Natasha said, lining up a shot to take out two chitauri that were too close to each other. They fell like dominos. Natasha grinned, finding enjoyment in the fight, in the victory.
"You and I remember Budapest very differently," Clint said, sending Natasha a bewildered glance.
The Avengers
Steve took a running leap off the bridge, landing on his shield on a bus in a roll. The bus quickly exploded underneath him as he ran. A leap onto a car turned into another flip as the car was launched by another explosion from the chitauri weapons. Steve ran, aiming for the grouping of police.
"The National Guard is already on the way!" A sergeant reported to his captain. "Stark called them in!"
"National Guard? What about the army, do they know what's happening here?"
"Do we?" The sergeant asked, looking at his captain incredulously. Aliens were falling from the sky like raindrops, leaving fire and destruction wherever they went. A portal had opened up in the sky, and it felt like the end of the world. But if Stark had called in the National Guard, then it meant he was aware of what was happening, and the Iron Family was likely hard at work in the middle of it all.
Captain America jumped and landed on the hood of their car. Their guns were up before they realized it was just a man in a weird costume. Something about the man felt familiar to the officers, but they couldn't quite put their fingers on it.
"You need men in these buildings," Steve said, pointing out the closest three. "There are people inside and they're going to be running right into the line of fire. You take them through the basements or through the subway. You keep them off the streets. We need a perimeter as far back as 39th street."
"Why the hell should I take orders from you?" the police captain demanded. A nearby building exploded as two chitauri ran out, and Steve immediately engaged them in battle, using his shield as the weapon it was. The two fell quickly, and the police captain turned without a word.
"I need men in those buildings. Lead the people down and away from the streets," he ordered.
"Copy," someone replied, moving to do as ordered.
"We're going to set up a perimeter all the way down to 39th," the captain said into his radio. "And keep an eye out for the national guard!"
The Avengers
"That's not helping!" Grey shouted, straining as she held up a giant chunk of concrete, letting Rescue duck underneath and grab the two that were almost smashed underneath it. The leviathan turned, rubbing against the building like a cat did their owners ankles.
"Got its attention, what the hell was step two?" Tony asked. He had a headache, and his shoulder was killing him. They needed to wrap this battle up fast.
"Get it to Banner!" Rescue barked as Peacemaker tossed the concrete away.
"Fuck that was heavy. We're going back to strength training after this," Grey bitched as she powered her repulsors on.
The Avengers
Natasha was fighting two chitauri with their own weapon when Steve returned, tackling two and taking them out of the fight. Thor arrived with lightning that took out four. Clint used the brief reprieve to gather any used arrows that could be fired again, carefully checking the fletching before rehousing them in the quiver.
"What's the story upstairs?" Bruce asked, coming out of his makeshift shelter.
"Still waiting on the scepter to arrive with Fury's men," Thor said. "How do we do this?"
"We need to keep the fight focused on us while we get the people to safety," Steve said. "We need to take out that big one."
"Banner, I'm bringing the party to you, time to suit up," Stark said, swinging around a corner and heading up the street, the leviathan on his heels.
"I don't see how that's a party," Natasha said. She momentarily wished she was somewhere else – even the red room – before she pushed it aside and took a deep breath. Tony flew lower and lower until the belly of the beast was dragging along the ground.
"Dr Banner now might be a really good time for you to get angry," Steve said. Bruce glanced over his shoulder at his team and smiled.
"That's my secret cap, I'm always angry," Bruce said as he turned to face the leviathan. Hulk. Help.
Hulk appeared, Bruce's skin turning green and stretching as Hulk took over, with one punch taking out the leviathan and its armor. The head crumpled in like a car in a collision, knocking the armor off its back as it flipped. Tony used a missile to blast it away from the team. Loki shielded Clint while Steve protected Natasha with the shield.
The remaining suits, including James, appeared, flying above the team as they observed. The chitauri screamed as the leviathan died, and Hulk roared his victory. Two more leviathans poured from the portal, and dozens of additional chitauri on chariots.
"Guys," Natasha pointed it out. Grey thunked down on the ground and snapped her HUD up.
"War Machine, what's the plan?"
"Until the scepter gets here, and we can close that portal, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, work with Guardian, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Tony, you and I are on perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, turn it around or kill it."
"Wanna give me a lift?" Clint asked Tony.
"Right, better clench up, Legolas," Tony said, grabbing the archer by his quiver and hauling him up to the rooftop. Guardian pressed his helmet to Grey's, before taking off, heading back to his sniper nest.
"Thor, try and bottleneck the portal, you've got lightning, light the bastards up," Rhodey said. Thor nodded and flew off. "Pepper, Grey, keep working on getting everyone to safety, pitch in with the perimeter or the general fight when you can. And Hulk? Smash."
Hulk roared and leapt off flinging himself from building to building like a giant green Tarzan. Grey would've made a spiderman reference, but she didn't think anyone would get it. He flew, taking down chitauri after chitauri with just his strength.
Thor grabbed the top of the Empire State building and summoned his lightning, causing a blockage in the portal. Several dozen chitauri fell to the ground, dead or dying, some still convulsing from the electric shock. A leviathan let out a scream as it died from lightning, still half in deep space.
The Battle For New York
"And that is those complete," Jayne said, smacking Grey's profile on top of the stack. "Medical profiles are online for you, Hali."
"I appreciate everything you're doing, Jayne," Hali called, leaning under the desk to plug in the machine she was half under. "You didn't have to help us."
"Hali, my other option was sit behind Christine and watch her feed Jim and Grey information on the catastrophe that's happening outside," Jayne said, turning to look out the window. She had a lovely view of New York burning as Chitauri tried to run wild. She could see War Machine take down a chitauri chariot with another chariot. "And then I'd have needed sedating."
"That's… entirely fair," Hali said, nodding along as she sat up. "I don't know how Dr Cho is doing trauma intake downstairs. I'm useless in a crisis. All flight, no fight."
"You've met Allie, right? She's always claimed to be like that, but I've seen her in a crisis, she does well. And so would you," Jayne said confidently.
"As if," Hali said. "Tell me about the news stories you've got written up. I've been hearing you type all morning!"
"Team profiles," Jayne said with a shake of her head. "Press packets for each person. They'll be distributed to the usual news outlets and posted on the newly created Avengers' Initiative website. I think Bambi had too much fun designing it."
"Wasn't me," Bambi said adamantly. "That was entirely Grey and her mom."
"That doesn't surprise me either," Hali said. "I wish I had that relationship with my stepmom. Those two could take over the world if they wanted to."
"Good thing they don't want to," Jayne said. "Could you imagine the nonsense people would say? Could you imagine the PR nightmare that would cause?"
"You say that like it's not currently raining aliens outside." Jayne conceded Hali's point, nodding in her direction. Aliens were currently falling from the sky, a fact that Jayne was trying very hard not to think about. Her best friend was out there fighting those things.
"The battle has ended, and the portal is closed," Jarvis said to the room, flashing the lights. "Everyone is alive and accounted for. There are several injuries, but everyone is alive. They are returning."
"Oh thank God," both women said, collapsing against their workstations. It was 1:03PM, and the battle was over. It was 1:03PM and the world hadn't ended. Hali crossed the room to hug Jayne, already crying.
"Girl you ain't got time for this!" Jayne said, even as she pulled the nurse into a hug. "Oh Hali, honey. It's okay, it's over!"
"Was this how you felt after the expo?"
"This is how I feel every time they go out," Jayne said, pulling back from Hali. "We'll either get used to it, or we'll cry a lot. But there's nowhere else I'd rather be."
"We should get down to medical. Get them patched up so they can fix the city tomorrow."
"You should, I have to go down and check on Christine, get her report so I can finish up the book I'm doing on the battle. Need everyone's post-battle reports."
"You're writing a book on the battle?"
"Well, I was going to just write a book about Grey, make it her biography, but she is involved in so much stuff, I'm going to write it as a series. I'll get you a proof of their first book, I'm calling it Iron Family: Los Angeles." Jayne led the way to the elevator, and stepped in. The screen in the back was reading science trivia from history.
On this day, in 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space, flying a 15-minute suborbital flight in the Freedom 7 spacecraft.
On this day in 1998, Steve Jobs introduced Apple's first iMac, a very successful personal computer.
The Avengers
Christine Everhart felt like she had found her element. With Bambi in her ear, and ten screens monitoring satellites and various newsfeeds, with one screen solely dedicated to the vitals of the Iron Family, Christine felt like she could do anything.
Christine spent the battle calling out patterns on satellites, giving troop movements to Jim, who passed them along to the other Avengers, sending people where they were needed. She monitored 911 calls, sending Rescue, Falcon, or Penguin off to get people away from the chitauri, or sending medical to people trapped by falling debris. When something happened, she was the first to know about it. At 1:01 she had been the first to know Grey survived her trip into space. At 1:03, Christine was already on her way down the stairs to medbay, intent on smacking Grey for scaring her like that.
The Avengers
"Sir, the council is on for you," Maria said to Nick. Nick sighed, put the pager back in his pocket and accepted the call. He knew whatever they had to say wasn't going to be good.
The Avengers
"Tony, you gotta lotta strings, clinging to your tail," Hawkeye called, noticing the half dozen flying chariots chasing after Iron Man.
"Just trying to keep them off the streets," Tony said, already planning some way to fire at things behind him for the next suit.
"Well, they can't bank worth a damn," Clint offered. "Find a tight corner."
"I will, roger that," Tony said, Jarvis already adjusting their flight plan to include an open parking garage – they were full of tight corners. Three explosions later, Tony was free, and looking for something else to do. "Nice call. What else you got?"
"Thor's taking on a squadron over on 6th," James said.
"And he didn't invite me?" Tony asked, changing directions to fly in that direction. He passed Rescue who was fighting back-to-back with War Machine, who kicked a chitauri in the face, before slinging it over his shoulder for Pepper to blast. Further down, he swore he saw a bird carrying an injured woman away from a restaurant. He wasn't sure if it was Sam or Allie piloting the wings, but he was grateful for the assist anyway.
Just before he reached sixth, he passed the building James was posted on. He wasn't wearing his flight suit – it was standing sentry behind him – he was casually leaning over the edge of the building with his sniper rifle, taking out chitauri before they could get too close to Grey, who was fighting back-to-back with Loki, only a few feet away from Natasha and Steve.
"Package has been dropped, Agent Romanoff, your signature is required," Maria's voice cut through their comms. Nat and Clint sighed in relief.
"I could use a boost," Natasha said, looking upward at the chitauri chariots zooming past them. Steve looked up and saw what she was looking at.
"You sure about this?" Steve asked, readying his shield.
"Yeah, it'll be fun." Natasha took a breath, forced herself to think of anything other than what she was going to be doing, then took a running leap toward Steve. He was quick to put the shield under her feet and throw her upward with as much strength as he could. With a ballerina spin, Natasha caught onto the bottom of a chariot, and quickly pulled herself up, slicing the connection between the driver and the shooter. The chitauri with the laser gun fell to the ground, where it died in a fiery crash.
Seeing the chitauri still surrounding them, Grey and Steve worked together, Grey firing her repulsors in a beam to reflect off the shield, taking out ten chitauri that were trying to swarm them. Four more that were trying to sneak up on them were taken out by gunfire as James dropped down, without his suit. A nearby explosion sent a car flying at them. James jumped in front of Loki and threw his left arm up, forcing the car to deflect off the adamantium arm, where Grey was able to blast it backward.
"Bucky?" Steve choked out, able to recognize his best friend anywhere.
"Not right now Steve, there are aliens," James said. Steve turned to Grey, who shot at another Chitauri that was approaching.
"Uh, he fell and was taken by Hydra forces, where he was further enhanced to be their version of you. He spent some time being brainwashed and tortured, and I had a vision of him a few years before dad was kidnapped," Grey explained, giving him a very watered-down version of what had happened. "Now can we focus on the threat and not my boyfriend?"
Another car exploded, causing Grey to let out a string of swears. She ducked down on instinct, then popped back up and fired at the remaining chitauri, still cursing.
"Damn, kid, do you even have a filter?" Clint teased through comms.
"Sure, she does," Pepper replied dryly. "Problem is, she left it in the coffee pot this morning."
Clint laughed until he wheezed, somehow still able to fire exploding arrows at the chitauri while he did. Several other people on comms were laughing too, a moment of brightness despite the battle raging around them.
Meanwhile, Thor and Hulk worked together to bring a leviathan down, accidentally wrecking Grand Central as they did. Hulk roared out his victory, grinning as he leapt away again.
The National Guard arrived, and their commander met with War Machine, who barked out orders of evacuation and containment. The two tanks they had with them were practically useless with how quick the chitauri chariots were.
"There are too many of them, get the civilians out of the way while we work on shutting down that portal," Jim said. The incident commander snapped a salute, then turned and repeated the orders to the soldiers gathered. They fanned out, several immediately heading into buildings to get people evacuated.
"Captain, the bank of 42nd, past Madison, they have a lot of civilians trapped there," Clint said as James summoned his suit to get back to his post.
"Right, copy," Steve said, shaking himself. Bucky was alive? Bucky was like him now? Bucky was working with the Starks? The girl, Grey, Tony's daughter, called him her boyfriend – what the hell did that mean?
"Steve, focus," Grey said softly, her HUD up as she looked at him in worry. "Are you okay?"
"He's alive?" Steve asked, hesitating.
"He's fine, and so are you. Now go finish beating up the aliens so we can properly hug this out." Steve took off, running up the street to reach Madison.
When he reached the bank, it was a disaster. Three chitauri stood watching over the employees. One of the chitauri was programming something that Steve assumed was a bomb.
"Everybody out of the bank!" Steve ordered, immediately jumping into the fray. The bomb started beeping slowly, warning Steve that he was working on a clock. While holding one chitauri in a headlock, another one grabbed Steve from behind, painfully pulling his helmet off his head. Rescue chose that moment to appear, kicking the chitauri Steve was holding, causing its neck to snap. Steve dropped it just as he was dropped.
The last remaining Chitauri tried to throw the bomb at Steve and Pepper, but just as Steve ducked behind his shield, it exploded, destroying the top floor of the bank, killing the last chitauri, and sending Pepper and Steve flying out of the shattered windows. Pepper retracted her helmet and started standing Steve up.
"You okay?" Pepper asked, looking him over for injuries. He had a gash on his shoulder that was bleeding sluggishly, probably a few bruised ribs, according to Bambi in her ear, but was otherwise okay.
"It's a lot of destruction," Steve said lowly.
"We've got the foundations on it, and New York is strong, we'll get through this." Pepper clapped him on his arm, smiling gently at him.
"And Bucky – he's?"
"Part of the family," Pepper assured. "Grey fished him out while Tony was in Afghanistan, brought him home. He does go by James now, though."
His Bucky hated being called James. Something was wrong with this – Steve knew it. But now wasn't the time. He pushed it to the back of his mind. He'd demand answers later. Much later.
The Avengers
"Director Fury, the council has made a decision," Hawley said firmly.
"I recognize that the council has made a decision. But given that it's a stupid ass decision, I've elected to ignore it," Fury said back, wanting to shake his head at the stupidity of the council. He rarely had to report to them, Pierce was content to let him run SHIELD the way he saw fit. Malick on the other hand, had started playing a more active role in the past year, becoming paranoid and more controlling.
"Director, you're closer than any of our subs," Gideon Malick said. "You scramble that jet."
"That is the island of Manhattan, Councilman," Fury said, seething that his authority as Director of SHIELD didn't mean anything in the face of this group. "Until I'm sure my team can't hold it, I will not order a nuclear strike against a civilian population!"
"If we don't hold them here, we lose everything," Malick protested.
"If I send that bird out, we already have," Nick said. He disconnected the call and hoped that that would be the end of any nuclear discussions.
The Avengers
Natasha steered the chariot using her knives and the nervous system of the chitauri. Another chitauri shooter was on her tail, making it hard to concentrate, which caused her flying to become erratic.
"Hawkeye!" Nat called. He saw her struggling, flying while being chased, lasers flying at her from behind.
"Nat, what are you doing?"
"Little help?"
"I got him," Clint said, lining up the shot. He fired, but the chitauri caught the arrow. It exploded in its face, sending it flying from the chariot. Chitauri and chariot crashed into the side of Stark Tower. It knocked off the R-K as Natasha leapt from her own chariot, flipping into a tight roll to kill off her momentum. The locked package with the scepter in it was lying nearby, where SHIELD dropped it off.
"The scepter," Erik said, having come to minutes ago. "Loki's scepter, it will get past the barrier."
"Dr Selvig, how are you feeling?" Natasha asked, kneeling down beside him. She checked his eyes, the manic blue that had taken over both Clint and Loki had already faded. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, that Loki-"
"Was also being controlled by the scepter," Natasha said gently. "He's helping us evacuate civilians from the danger. Are you okay?"
"I'm okay," Erik said. He knew better than to hate on a man also being controlled by outside forces. Sure, he'd hold a little grudge, close to his heart, but ultimately, he would let it go.
"Selvig's come to," Natasha said into her comms. "I'm getting him to medical."
"Copy that, Black Widow, they will know to expect you," Bambi chirped in Nat's ear. Natasha helped the scientist to his feet and brought him over to the service elevator. The doors opened quickly, and the floor for medical was already selected. A screen was offering science trivia in the back of the elevator.
"Copy that," Grey echoed. "Thanks, Tash! Dad, that's a terrible idea."
Tony was using the laser in his suit to try and cut through a leviathan's armor.
"Sir, you will lose power before we penetrate that armor," Jarvis said. Tony continued looking over the leviathan.
"Jarvis, you know the tale of Jonah?" Tony asked.
"I wouldn't consider him a role model," Jarvis said. Tony activated the missiles in the thighs of the suit and dove in the mouth of the leviathan. Grey circled the perimeter, heading east. Tony exploded out of the leviathan, flying out uncontrolled, bouncing off a taxi before landing in front of a shawarma shop. He had just enough time to acknowledge that the shop was open before a chitauri fired its laser at him.
Clint's rooftop became compromised the same time he ran out of arrows to shoot. He had one left, two chitauri on site, and four chariots closing in. He shot one chitauri, kicked the second off the building, and took his arrow back. He rehoused it, then selected a new arrowhead. He took a running start, leapt off his now exploded building, and drew his last remaining arrow. He used a grappling hook end to latch onto the building and swing in through a window.
Nine-year-old Kate Bishop watched from her destroyed home, and thought it was the coolest thing she'd ever seen. It was her turn to protect the family now, and she'd need a bow and arrow to do it – just like Hawkeye.
"Ouch," Clint groaned to himself as he sat up awkwardly. Landing on his quiver, on his bow, on broken glass meant that he was in four kinds of pain, and likely in need of medical attention, He was fairly sure he cracked a rib.
Meanwhile, Hulk was facing twenty-one chitauri chariots. They all opened fire on him, causing Hulk to roar out in pain.
Meanwhile, a pilot was getting ready to launch.
"Director Fury is no longer in command," Councilwoman Hawley said to the pilot through his radio. "Override order 7-alpha1-1"
"Seven alpha one one, confirmed. We're go for takeoff," the pilot confirmed.
"Sir, we have a bird in motion," Hill noticed, calling it out to Fury. "Anyone on the deck, we have a rogue bird. We need to shut it down! Repeat, takeoff is not authorized!"
Fury ran, sprinting for the hatch to get outside. Bazooka in hand, Fury shot at the moving quinjet. He caught the tail and the left rear tire, causing it to spin out on the runway. Another jet took off before Fury could reload. The World Security Council had sent their nuke. Fury seethed as he stormed inside.
"Stark, do you hear me?" Fury demanded.
"Go for Peacemaker," Grey said, already knowing what the call was for.
"You have a missile headed straight for the city. Three minutes max," Fury said. Grey nodded even though she couldn't be seen. "The payload will wipe out Midtown."
"Bambi, put everything we've got into the trusters. Kill all weapons systems, just flight," Grey barked, adjusting her flight path as Bambi hacked through SHIELD to get the pilot's path.
"Package is sent," the pilot said just as Grey locked on to his position. Bambi clocked the missile and took over steering. Detonation in two minutes, thirty seconds, mark."
Around the city, Thor and Steve were battling together. Steve took a gutshot from a chitauri laser and fell to the ground. After clearing the field of battle, he helped Steve to his feet.
"Are you ready for another bout?" Thor asked.
"What, you getting sleepy?" Steve teased. Thor gave him a half smile.
At the top of the tower, Natasha was using her fingerprint and her SHIELD credentials to open the scepter's case. She needed two hands to hold the weapon, carefully ignoring its insidious feel. Taking Grey's quickly whispered advice, she thought of positive things as she held it. Peace for the city. A family for her. No more aliens. Safety, for the innocent.
"I can close it," Natasha said into her comms as she fought to push the scepter through the energy barrier. It went through, but like a knife pushing through half dried clay. "Does anyone copy? I can shut the portal down!"
"Do it!" Steve barked.
"No, wait!" Grey said, Bambi opening her comms up fully.
"Stark, these things are still coming," Steve said incredulously. If they closed the portal they might have a shot at saving the city. But if any more of those leviathans came through, there wouldn't be a city to save.
"I got a nuclear missile inbound, it's gonna blow in less than a minute," Grey said. Her HUD was counting down until it exploded. She caught up to the missile at the bridge, and quickly turned around, lining herself up with the missile. She grabbed onto it and slowly started making adjustments to the flight path. The guiding system in it fought hard, but Grey was determined, and was able to shift course to line up with the portal. "And I know just where to put it."
"Grey, that's a one-way trip," Pepper shouted.
"Mom, I got this," Grey said breathlessly. "I know I can do this."
She was lying. She had no idea if she'd be able to pull off the same miracle her dad did in her visions. With a yell, she shoved the missile upward, her foot catching the S-T of her name on the side of her building. Grey flew through the portal, the missile on her back.
The Avengers
Helen nearly cried when Jim led the team into her domain. He was already out of his suit, slightly bruised with a laceration above his eye, but he looked mostly whole. Grey was carried in by James – but Helen knew that was likely just his over-protective tendencies.
Jim smiled at his girlfriend, relieved to see her after a hard battle, then stepped aside to let Grey get looked over first. Hali and Jayne poured out of the elevator next to them, Hali reporting straight to Helen, with Jayne stopping to interrogate Tony and Natasha.
Erik Selvig was already sitting on a bed, an IV line in his arm to help with the dehydration from his few days not in his right mind.
Hali directed everyone to a bed, then started ordering Jayne around. When Christine appeared from the stairwell, Hali started ordering her around too.
"Everyone gets checked out before they're allowed to rest," Helen said loud enough to be heard by everyone. "So, choose a bed and stay put."