Third POV
"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity," Loki remarked as he stepped cautiously closer to Tony.
"Actually, I'm more inclined to make threats," Tony shot back with his trademark dry wit.
"You really should've kept your armor on for that," the trickster god retorted with a smirk.
"Yeah, it's definitely seen better days," Tony conceded, casting a glance at the scepter. "You've got the, uh—blue stick of destiny. Would you like a drink?" He waved casually in the direction of the bar.
"Stalling me won't change anything," Loki replied, exuding confidence and arrogance.
"No, no, no—threatening," Tony clarified, stepping over to the counter and retrieving a bottle. "No drink? You sure? I'm having one." He leisurely poured a glass, taking his time.
"The Chitauri are coming. Nothing will change that," Loki said, his tone sharp as he turned toward the window. He looked back at Tony with a hint of pride. "What have I to fear?"
"The Avengers," Tony replied smoothly. "It's what we call ourselves. Kind of like a team—'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' type of thing. Though, to be fair, the kid would definitely argue about the branding."
"Yes, I've met them," Loki said, smirking as though recalling a personal victory.
"Yeah, we take a while to get traction," Tony admitted, sipping from his glass. "I'll give you that. But let's do a head count."
As Loki turned away, Tony discreetly slipped a pair of bracelets onto his wrists, their faint red lights glowing.
"You've got your brother, the demigod; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to his legend; a man with, uh, breathtaking anger management issues; two master assassins; a genetically enhanced clone—possibly deadlier than the assassins combined—and you, big fella..." Tony leaned in slightly, his eyes narrowing. "You've managed to piss off every single one of them."
"That was the plan," Loki said coolly, stepping toward the center of the room.
"Not a great plan," Tony countered, walking forward with his glass in hand. "Because when they come—and they will—they'll come for you."
"I have an army," Loki declared, his voice low and resolute.
"We have a Hulk."
Loki raised an eyebrow, feigning amusement. "Oh, I thought the beast had wandered off."
"Yeah—see, you're still missing the point," Tony said, setting his glass down on the counter with a deliberate clink. His tone hardened. "There's no throne. There's no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes, maybe it's too much for us—but it all falls on you."
He took a step closer, locking eyes with the god of mischief.
"Because if we can't protect the Earth..."
Loki tightened his grip on the scepter, pointing it toward Tony, but the billionaire didn't flinch.
"You can be damn sure," Tony finished coldly, "we'll avenge it."
Loki sneered, "How will your friends have time for me when they're too busy fighting you?" He raised the scepter, pressing its tip against Tony's chest. It clinked against the arc reactor, echoing in the room. "This usually works."
Tony glanced down at the glowing staff against his chest and then back up at Loki with a smirk. "Well, performance issues, you know? Happens to the best of us."
The quip only made Loki's eyes flash darker. He seized Tony by the throat and hurled him across the room. Tony crashed into a glass table, shards scattering across the floor.
"JARVIS," Tony coughed, forcing himself up on one elbow, "anytime now."
In one swift movement, Loki yanked him back to his feet. "You will all fall before me," the god promised, his voice dripping with venomous intent.
"JARVIS, deploy," Tony called out to his AI.
With a vicious snarl, Loki flung him through the massive window. Glass shattered as Tony tumbled into open air, plummeting toward the street below. The wind roared past him.
"Deploy! Deploy!"
From behind Loki, the Mark VII suit rocketed out of its casing, streaking after its creator. The bracelets on Tony's wrists lit up, locking the armor onto him piece by piece until the full suit unfolded. Just before hitting the ground, Iron Man stabilized, blasting upward in a controlled rise.
He shot back to the tower, hovering at the broken window where Loki stood. His voice hardened inside the helmet. "And there's one other person you pissed off. His name was Phil."
The repulsor fired, slamming Loki backward into the floor. The god snarled, struggling up as the device on the roof powered fully, its core igniting into a column of blue energy that tore open the sky. The portal widened, revealing the Chitauri army swarming on the other side.
Iron Man tilted his head up. "Right. Army."
Without hesitation, he blasted off toward the incoming swarm. Energy bolts lit up the sky as the Chitauri fired down at him. Tony weaved through the chaos, dodging explosions, launching repulsor blasts, and tearing apart enemy hovercrafts with precise mini-missiles.
On the ground, New Yorkers screamed and scattered. Cars were overturned in fiery wrecks, streets split with debris, and buildings cracked under relentless bombardment. A waitress and her coworkers ducked for cover as energy bolts scorched the pavement around them. The moment the fire eased, they scrambled inside the café, peering fearfully out the shattered windows at the devastation.
Up above, Loki strode onto the platform, his Asgardian armor materializing in ripples of light across his body. He gazed out over the chaos with a satisfied smile—until a thunderous boom shook the air.
Thor landed on the platform below him, Mjolnir in hand, eyes blazing.
"Loki! Turn off the Tesseract, or I'll destroy it!"
"You can't," Loki retorted, voice dripping with triumph. "There is no stopping it. There is only the war!"
Thor tightened his grip on the hammer. His jaw set.
"So be it."
Loki lunged, scepter blazing, clashing with Thor in a storm of steel and sparks. A blast sent one of the towering STARK letters crashing to the ground below. Civilians shrieked and fled as more Chitauri poured through the portal.
Police cars screeched onto the street, officers piling out. The Sergeant and a young cop froze, staring skyward at the onslaught raining down.
Above them, a Quinjet roared through the air, cutting straight toward Stark Tower—toward the beam fueling the rift in the sky.
Inside, the rest of the team watched from the cockpit.
Natasha's voice crackled over the comms in Tony's helmet.
"Stark, we're on a three, heading northeast."
Tony banked hard through the air, his HUD lighting up with targets.
"What, did you stop for drive-thru? Swing that bird around, I'll line them up for you."
He accelerated, leading a squadron of Chitauri past Stark Tower, where Thor and Loki were still locked in brutal combat. With a sudden turn, Tony cut around the building, causing several of the alien riders to smash into the structure in a fiery crash.
Inside the Quinjet, Barton and Natasha exchanged quick glances before unleashing the minigun. Iron Man streaked past the cockpit window just as they opened fire, tearing through the swarm behind him. The sky erupted in smoke and flame as the jet cut upward toward the tower.
"Sir," JARVIS chimed in calmly despite the chaos, "we have more incoming."
Tony sighed through clenched teeth. "Alright. Let's keep them busy."
The Quinjet rounded a skyscraper, its cannons chewing through Chitauri soldiers. Energy bolts ripped past, one grazing the wing and rocking the jet violently.
Meanwhile, on the catwalk, Thor slammed Loki's head against a reinforced window, the glass cracking under the force. Loki snarled, shoving him back, his gaze suddenly locking on the Quinjet.
Barton leaned forward in his seat, eyes narrowing. "Nat! I see them."
Loki's lips curled into a grin. He hurled Thor aside and thrust his scepter outward. A surge of bullets struck the Quinjet's rotor blade, flames erupting instantly.
"Hold on to your butts!" Hulk shouted from the rear compartment, bracing himself as the jet lurched.
Thor roared in fury, charging Loki again. The two gods collided, trading vicious blows as the Quinjet spiraled downward, clipping rooftops and shattering glass.
Inside, alarms blared. Natasha gritted her teeth, fighting the controls while Barton grabbed for anything bolted down. Cap slammed a hand to the ceiling for balance as the craft scraped the side of a building before plummeting into the street.
Metal shrieked as the Quinjet skidded to a halt, smoke pouring from its frame. Natasha and Barton tore off their headsets, releasing the rear ramp with Cap right behind them.
Luke stumbled out last, coughing through the smoke. He threw his arms out at the devastation in front of him. "Christ, it's a mess out here!"
Captain America sprinted across the overpass with the others at his heels. He looked up at Stark Tower—and froze. A massive, armored Leviathan burst through the portal, its scales gleaming like steel. Chitauri warriors clung to its sides before leaping off, scaling buildings, and storming into windows to fire at fleeing civilians.
Luke let out a groan, gripping his weapon tighter. "Oh, great. A flying armored kaiju with a bug army. Just what we needed."
"Stark, are you seeing this?" Cap shouted into the comm.
"Seeing. Still working on believing," Tony shot back as he banked higher into the air. "Where's Banner? Don't tell me he's still fashionably late."
"Banner?" Cap repeated, confused.
"Yeah, big, green, angry? Kind of hard to miss? Just keep me posted," Tony said, before accelerating straight toward the Leviathan. "JARVIS, find me a soft spot!"
The Leviathan plowed through buildings, roaring loud enough to shake glass. Above it, Thor pressed Loki against the balcony, gesturing to the burning city below.
"Look at this! Look around you!" Thor shouted. "You think this madness ends with your rule?"
Loki's sneer barely faltered. "It's too late. You can't stop it."
Thor's voice softened for just a breath. "No. We can—together."
Loki paused, his eyes flickering with something unreadable—before his hand slipped to a hidden blade. He drove it into Thor's side with a hiss.
"Sentiment," Loki spat.
Thor staggered but roared back to his feet, hurling Loki across the platform. The trickster rolled, then hurled himself off the edge—landing squarely on a passing Chitauri skimmer. In moments, he was soaring off with a squadron at his back.
Down in the chaos, Barton and Natasha crouched behind a taxi. Cap rushed over.
"We've got civilians trapped!" Barton called out, pointing toward the wreckage.
Cap followed his gaze, jaw tightening. "Loki."
The God of Mischief swooped overhead, blasting the streets. Explosions ripped through cars and storefronts. A terrified family sprinted as a Chitauri blast missed them by inches. One craft sliced clean through a Dr. Pepper truck before Loki's squadron unleashed hellfire onto a crowded intersection where cops and civilians scrambled for cover.
"They're fish in a barrel down there," Cap muttered grimly.
Natasha stood and unloaded her pistols into an advancing wave of aliens. "We got this. It's good. Go!"
Cap turned to her. "You think you can hold them off?"
Barton, already pulling back an arrow with a smirk, gave a small bow of his head. "Captain, it would be my genuine pleasure."
Luke snapped his retractable bo staff open with a sharp clack, twirling it before resting it against his shoulder. A grin tugged at his lips. "Relax, Cap. We'll keep the bugs busy. Go play quarterback."
Cap gave a firm nod before vaulting over the side of the overpass. He hit a bus roof hard, rolled, and dropped into the street below, shield ready.
Behind him, Barton loosed his arrow. It split mid-flight into three, each darting into a Chitauri skull before exploding. Natasha dove behind cover, pistols blazing, while Luke crashed into another group of aliens, staff spinning with deadly precision.
Luke slammed his staff into a Chitauri's chest, sending the alien sprawling across the hood of a taxi. He spun the weapon in his hands, letting its metal gleam in the firelight as if he had all the time in the world. Barton, crouched behind a burnt-out sedan, gave him a quick side glance and smirked.
"Little flashy, don't you think?" Clint called, loosing an arrow that nailed a Chitauri straight through the throat.
Luke grinned, twirling his staff before smashing it down on another alien's skull. "Says the guy who can't fire an arrow without squinting down the shaft like it's training wheels."
Clint didn't even bother answering. He just angled his bow behind his back, pulled, and fired in one fluid motion—without looking. A split-second later, the Chitauri creeping up behind Luke dropped, an arrow buried clean between its eyes.
Luke froze mid-spin, blinking down at the corpse, then at Clint. "...Okay. That's annoying."
"Bullseye," Clint quipped, not even breaking stride as he nocked another arrow.
Natasha, crouched behind the remains of a cab door, shot three rounds clean into the skulls of incoming Chitauri before snapping her head toward the two men. "Hey! Less pissing contest, more killing!"
"See?" Luke said, pointing at her with his staff. "Mom's mad."
Natasha reloaded, rolled her eyes, and popped out from cover again. "You're both children."
Luke snorted. "Children don't dismantle alien invaders with glorified sticks and sticks-with-strings." He blocked a Chitauri blade, twisted his staff, and cracked the creature's jaw with enough force to dislocate it.
Clint fired another arrow, one that split into three mid-air and impaled a cluster of enemies. "You keep talking, science project. I'll keep saving your ass."
"Oh, that's rich," Luke shot back, bashing a Chitauri into the ground. "Coming from the guy who still has to label his arrows so he doesn't blow himself up."
Natasha suddenly ducked as an alien blaster whizzed past overhead. Without hesitation, she rolled forward, vaulted onto the hood of a flipped car, and unleashed a storm of gunfire into the horde swarming the intersection. Smoke and sparks filled the air as bodies dropped. She landed smoothly, pistols clicking on empty.
She looked back at the two men, her face stone-cold. "Keep up—or stay out of my way."
Luke raised a brow, clearly impressed, before muttering under his breath, "...Okay, yeah, that was hot."
Clint just smirked. "Told you. Don't underestimate her."
Luke twirled his staff one last time and pointed it toward the next wave of Chitauri pouring down the avenue. "Fine. Less talk, more breaking. But when I outscore you, Barton, I want bragging rights."
"Count on it," Clint said, loosing another arrow with deadly precision.
The three of them surged forward into the chaos, moving in perfect sync despite their banter—Natasha striking with ruthless efficiency, Clint's arrows finding their marks with impossible accuracy, and Luke carving a path through the aliens like a storm made flesh.
Natasha fired blindly over her shoulder, her pistols barking as she spun and kicked a Chitauri square in the chest, sending it crashing into the wreckage of a taxi. She smirked, breathless but sharp.
"Just like Budapest all over again!"
Barton loosed an arrow that split midair, shredding through three aliens before clattering onto the pavement. "You and I remember Budapest very differently."
Luke, already holding one Chitauri by the throat and swinging it like a club into another, raised an eyebrow. "What the hell happened in Budapest? You two go on vacations in war zones or something?" With a grunt, he flipped both enemies over his shoulder and slammed them into a burning car.
"Not up for discussion!" Barton barked, loosing another arrow without breaking stride.
Natasha, reloading in one fluid motion, echoed flatly, "Not up for discussion," before planting two rounds into the skull of a Chitauri that got too close.
Luke twirled his staff, "Yeah, sure. Totally not suspicious at all." He cracked a Chitauri across the face, its jaw snapping audibly. "I'll just assume it was something embarrassing. Like karaoke."
Natasha didn't even look at him. "Focus."
Luke sighed, blocking a bladed strike and twisting the staff so the alien's arm broke cleanly at the elbow. "Fine. But I'm filing a formal complaint later."
Meanwhile, a few blocks over, Captain America sprinted down the street. Gunfire and alien blasts echoed all around him as he vaulted onto the hood of a crushed SUV and leapt toward a group of NYPD officers exchanging fire with Chitauri.
A young cop ducked behind cover, shouting over the chaos, "It's gonna be an hour before they scramble the National Guard!"
"National Guard!" the police sergeant barked, firing his sidearm until it clicked empty. He slammed a fresh clip in with shaky hands. "Does the army even know what's happening here? Do we?"
Before either could react, Cap landed hard on the hood of a car directly in front of them. The impact jolted both cops into silence.
"You need men in those buildings," Cap ordered, gesturing firmly toward the shattered windows above. "There are civilians inside, and they're running straight into the line of fire. Get them to the basements or through the subway—keep them off the streets. I want a perimeter as far back as 39th."
The police sergeant blinked, stunned. "Why the hell should I take orders from you—"
Two Chitauri dropped from the sky, screeching as they lunged at Cap. Without hesitation, he spun, smashing one with his shield, then kicking the other through a windshield. Both fell motionless in seconds. Cap straightened, turning back to the officers as if nothing had happened.
The cops just stood there, dumbfounded. The sergeant's jaw clenched as he grabbed his radio. "I need men in those buildings! Lead civilians down and away from the streets. We're setting up a perimeter all the way back to 39th!"
He barked the orders with conviction now, no hesitation. The young cop gave Cap one last wide-eyed look before sprinting to join the others.
Cap tightened his shield on his arm, eyes shifting back to the skyline where the portal pulsed above the city. There wasn't much time.
In the skies above, Iron Man unleashed a storm of bullets into the Leviathan's armored face. The massive creature bellowed, its head snapping toward him.
"Well, we've got its attention," Tony muttered over comms, banking sharply to the left. "What the hell was step two?" The Leviathan roared and thundered after him as Stark shot off down the avenue, repulsors blazing.
On the ground, the trio was knee-deep in chaos. Barton tripped a Chitauri with his bow, rolling up onto one knee before jamming an arrow into its chest. Luke was at his side in an instant, gripping Barton's arm and hauling him back to his feet.
"Appreciate it," Clint grunted, shaking him off.
"Don't mention it," Luke shot back with a grin. "Though I think you owe me one now."
Natasha, locked in a chokehold by another warrior, lit up her Widow's Bite. Sparks danced across the Chitauri's body as she twisted free, then kicked it down. Without pause, she scooped up a discarded Chitauri rifle, flipping it in her hands and firing a spray of energy bolts into the crowd.
Luke sprinted forward, spinning his bo staff in a blur before hurling it like a spear. It impaled one warrior clean through the chest. He leapt after it, slamming into two more with brutal precision. "You'd think they'd stop charging when they see their buddy get skewered."
One alien lunged at Natasha, blade raised for her neck. She slid low, sparks kicking up under her boots, then popped up and slammed the jagged edge of her stolen rifle into its head. Blood hissed against the hot metal.
Clint, meanwhile, drew another arrow, his movements sharp despite the sweat running down his temple. Without looking, he loosed it behind him—striking a Chitauri that had been lining Luke up from behind.
Luke blinked, genuinely caught off guard. "Okay, not gonna lie—I did not think you could actually do that."
Barton gave him a cocky smirk. "I don't miss." He was already moving toward another enemy, bow raised.
Natasha was swarmed by three more. She shot one square in the chest, pivoted, and drove her blade into another's throat. She spun with lethal grace, flipping the rifle to her other hand and stabbing the last in the gut.
Clint didn't fare as smoothly—he was tackled hard to the pavement by a snarling warrior. He groaned, slamming an arrow into its ribs before shoving it off. But another came barreling in, boot-first, kicking him onto the hood of a cab. His head rattled against the metal.
Natasha impaled another Chitauri with her weapon, then cracked the stock over another's skull. She dropped to her knees and pivoted sharply, firing in every direction, bolts streaking across the street.
Luke rejoined with a burst of speed. He grabbed one Chitauri by the jaw and yanked it sideways into the path of another's blade, impaling both. "Thanks for the teamwork, boys," he quipped before spinning out of reach of another strike.
Natasha's arms trembled as two warriors forced her back against a cab. One wrenched her rifle from her hands, the other swung at her head. She twisted away, only for her legs to be kicked out from under her. She crashed onto the roof of the car, crying out in pain as the air left her lungs.
Barton, dazed, still fired through the swarm. His arrows were dwindling, but his resolve wasn't.
Natasha dragged herself up, chest heaving. She dashed toward Clint, firing at any Chitauri in his path. Clint slid across the hood of a car, loosing an arrow point-blank into another's skull. The two fought back-to-back, but the swarm pressed in tighter.
Just when the tide threatened to break them, Captain America charged in, shield-first, knocking Chitauri aside like bowling pins. "Perimeter's holding," he shouted, rallying them.
Before either could respond, the sky cracked with thunder. Thor slammed into the street like a hammer himself, Mjolnir sparking with a bolt of lightning that tore through a column of Chitauri.
Luke tilted his head at the god of thunder, smirking as he twirled his staff back into his grip. "Glad to see you up and about, Prince Charming."
Thor gave him a puzzled look but said nothing, swinging Mjolnir into another wave of Chitauri, annihilating them.
Cap asked as he strode toward Thor, "What's the story upstairs?"
Thor's eyes narrowed. "The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable."
Luke tilted his head, voice edged with thought. "Impenetrable... like some kind of energy field shielding it?"
Thor gave a curt nod. "Precisely."
Before Luke could spin out further theories, Tony's voice crackled through the comms. "Well, before you give us a thousand science fair projects, kid, we gotta deal with these guys."
Natasha cut in, practical as ever. "How do we do this?"
Cap didn't hesitate. "As a team."
Thor gripped Mjolnir tighter. "I have unfinished business with Loki."
Barton smirked, sliding an arrow into place. "Oh yeah? Get in line."
"Save it," Cap barked. "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us—that's what we want. Without him, these things scatter and tear this city apart. We've got Stark up top, and he's gonna need us to—" He stopped mid-sentence, eyes catching on Banner rolling in on a beat-up motorbike.
Banner dismounted, taking in the chaos with unnerving calm. "So... this all seems horrible."
Natasha's tone was dry. "I've seen worse."
Luke cocked his head at her, visor flashing. "Worse than this? I'd love to see the highlight reel."
Banner raised a brow. "Sorry?"
Natasha smirked faintly. "No. We could actually use a little worse."
Luke pointed at her with his staff, sarcastic bite in his voice. "See? She's onto something. For once, chaos is a strategy."
Cap tapped his comms. "Stark, we've got him."
Tony's voice perked. "Banner?"
"Just like you said," Cap replied.
Luke added with mock seriousness, "Showed up riding a mechanical war horse, in case you're wondering how he got here."
Tony chuckled. "Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you."
Around the corner, Iron Man swooped into view, the massive Leviathan barreling close behind.
Natasha's eyes widened. "I don't see how that's a party..."
Luke stepped forward, his staff retracting with a sharp click as he positioned himself between her and the oncoming chaos. "Yeah, pretty sure that's the opposite of a party. Time to take cover." He gave her a quick nod, more protective than playful.
The Leviathan skimmed the streets, skyscraper-sized jaws snapping. Banner started walking directly toward it, calm as ever.
Cap called out, urgency sharp in his voice. "Doctor Banner, now might be a really good time for you to get angry."
Banner glanced back with a small smile. "That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry."
In a flash of rage and transformation, Hulk burst forth, slamming a fist straight into the Leviathan's head, smashing it into the pavement with bone-shaking force.
Iron Man shouted, "Hold on!" He launched a missile into the beast, detonating it in a massive explosion.
The shockwave rippled outward. Barton rolled to safety. Thor absorbed part of the blast with Mjolnir, bracing himself. Natasha ducked into cover, while Luke, without hesitation, lifted a car with one arm and held it like a shield in front of her and Cap.
The dust settled. Chitauri screeches echoed across the streets.
In a circle they formed, Hulk roared, Hawkeye nocked an arrow, Thor swung Mjolnir in readiness, Natasha reloaded with steady precision, Cap's shield gleamed under the firelit sky, Luke's retractable blade snapped free above his wrist, humming with deadly intent, and Iron Man descended from the smoke to land beside Hulk.
The Avengers have assembled...
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To be continued...
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