Douglas and Flash are sitting on the bleachers, "why did you not run like everyone, I thought that was your end." he says. 

"Uh, I honestly thought I was the assassination target so I had to stay to not put anyone else in danger." I was being honest. 

"I see, I thought you lost your mind Flash smiles and says, but I was a hero directing people to safety, and that same time the Baxter building got attacked that is where Spiderman was," he says sighing. 

The phone ringing was heard.

—

"Hi, it's me Irene cousin I just wanna say don't die see you when I can love you, Douglas."

After that phone call, Irene walked to a podium in her stylish SS service tunic. The extreme contrast of jet black with the red armband and signature knee-high jackboots finishes it out. The officer's hat is the cherry on top.," Shall we begin a display of weakness is not an option those the gods wish to destroy they make us mad as a nation we are not mad, we stand now in common alliance to the crown and nation, we are not sorry we will try again you are welcome the future of Germany lies in the hands of our brightest generation for Kaiser for the fatherland, all enemy's will bow before us." ("Beginnen wir eine Darstellung von Schwäche ist keine Option. Diejenigen, die die Götter vernichten wollen, machen uns als Nation verrückt. Wir sind nicht verrückt, wir stehen jetzt in gemeinsamer Allianz zur Krone und Nation. Wir bedauern nicht, wir werden es erneut versuchen. Willkommen. Die Zukunft Deutschlands liegt in den Händen unserer hellsten Generation. Für Kaiser und Vaterland, alle Feinde werden sich vor uns beugen.")

"For the fatherland." ("Für das Vaterland.") they all shouted in unison behind the podium a red curtain fell and Irene went to sit somewhere comfortable what could be seen as strange machines with creepy symbols in them. 

Scientists were making sure everything was ready and set to go, they now poured blood from six virgin Jewish women; the blood shined darkly 

 the center of the stage, a cryogenic chamber held the preserved body of a person who had been deceased for years.

the lead scientist, checked the readings on the equipment one last time. He turned to his team and said, "This is it, the moment we've all been working toward. If our theory is correct, we can bring this person back to life."

The nanobots, programmed to repair and regenerate damaged cells, started their work. Slowly, the body's vital signs began to return. Heartbeat. Breathing. Color returning to the skin. After what felt like an eternity, the person's eyes opened, and they took their first gasping breath.

A powerful sorceress known for his command of the arcane arts. They exchanged a nod of understanding before beginning the intricate ritual.

 chanted incantations in an ancient language, his hands weaving intricate patterns in the air. The Dr activated a series of high-tech devices, each emitting a soft, pulsating light. The combination of magic and technology was essential for the process.

His incantations reached a crescendo, and the silvery mist surrounding the body began to swirl and coalesce. It wove itself into the form of the person, infusing it with ethereal energy. At the same time, the doctor's. devices began to stimulate cellular regeneration, kick-starting the body's functions.

A soft, otherworldly glow surrounded the body as it slowly rose from the altar. The person's eyes opened, now radiating a faint, mystical light. They took a deep breath, and with it, a fusion of science and magic resurrected them.

The chamber was filled with a sense of wonder and awe. The union of science and magic had defied the laws of life and death, bringing the person back from the beyond. However, the consequences and implications of such a feat remained a mystery, as they ventured into an uncharted territory that blurred the boundaries between the natural and the supernatural.

Clothes were being printed on the body of the great one in the chamber.

As he awoke the chamber door opened a steady foot stepped out; cracking his neck and clasping his hand he felt strength albeit confused.

"Hail der Führer," the crowd yelled in unison, a smile formed adorned with that icon mustache. 

Germany again, had embarked on a mission to expand its influence, by increasing its military size. In 2003, the German navy began conducting exercises and visits to some of its former territories, worrying the United States that a resurgent German Empire would instigate hostilities against it, German leaders however assured the world powers that no such thing was coming. This has been known to begin periods of cooling between Germany and the United States To get the Western powers to stop complaining, the German government officially outlawed Nazi culture and Nazi symbology, lifting Prussian-era persecution against the Jewish community, a law that had been in limbo ever since German reunification that was known but now is nazi culture still outlawed?

Now that the mustache man was back, the Advancements in the wonder weapon (Wunderwaffe) were amazing with a population of 93,267,556 million Germans. Germany has the world's fourth-largest GDP, at DM33.5 trillion = $5.5 trillion Germany currently sits at #4 in global military rankings. The German military has a completely indigenous arms industry, and the achievements of the German military make it a potential superpower. Germany is considered one of the "major technology powers and four largest manufacturers" of the world and has the fourth-largest arms exports. Its current military spending is DM546.4 billion = ₽445.4/$91.4 billion. 

While Germany was preparing itself another country was doing the same china with a population of 1.396,816,900 billion Chinese. China's economy is the world's 2nd-largest, considered a global economy, at roughly $14.75 /₽74.89 trillion(¥105.9 trillion) as its nominal GDP. Every economic industry prevails in China. China has its economic zone of trade partners In its military rankings, it sits 3rd surpassed by the Russian Empire and the USA. Its military spending is ₽1.420 trillion ($284.4 billion= ¥ 4.2 trillion ) the world's 2nd-largest expenditure. Its military is the 3rd most powerful military in the world according to most rankings, China is considered one of the world's three paramount military superpowers and has its own indigenous arms industry. The Armed Forces of the Republic of China serves as the armed wing and is divided into the army, navy, and air force, marine corps, military police currently has the world's 2nd largest navy. 

China is the world's largest manufacturing economy and exporter of goods. It is also the world's fastest-growing consumer market and second-largest importer of goods. China is a net importer of services and products. It is the largest trading nation in the world and plays a prominent role in international trade. China became a member of the World Trade Organization in 2001.

Beijing was panicking they were in steady economic growth but now aliens again they were here in 2000 and now in 2004 they were back they were delaying years of economic and military progress and they were straight up here stopping them from achieving the goal of being able to provide for 1.3 billion people as they were growing amazingly quickly and they are extremely furious since the late 1970s china lifted more than 800 million from poverty. 

While this happens in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis shady people in dark robes can be seen chanting incantations and the darkness responds to them by spreading and shining, a symbol on the floor glows as a person climbs up in an elongated matter another icon mustache man arrives to the land of the living.

—

The ever-dangerous Russian Empire with a population of 330.9 million Russians.

Russian GDP stands at ₽43.75Trillion/$8.75 Trillion is the 3rd largest in the world and the largest in Europe by nominal GDP as well as by purchasing power part It is an open, developed, Russia currently runs on an economic system in between a command economy and a free-market economy. While it leans toward a capital economy where citizens enjoy a wage and private property, the government retains control over certain sectors of the economy. Their taxed money goes to funding healthcare, education, the military, and other public sectors. The market is the 3rd largest economy in the world by nominal GDP as well as by purchasing power parity (PPP). Since the turn of the 21st century, higher domestic consumption and greater political stability have bolstered economic growth in Russia.

Russian geography is determined most vital element in making a stable economy, with some sources saying that Russia contains about 35% of the world's natural resources. The World Bank estimated that the natural resources of Russia valued at about $75,000,000,000,000. While having huge natural resources like that, it still relies on industry, specifically the military industry and automotive industry in Tolyatti and Saratov. Other elements that contributed to the economy are the light industry and consumer goods. 

The Ruble remains stable for the national economy, with 1 USD = 5 RUB. Considerably, the country still has some flaws in the late autocratic era, such as corruption (not as big as before), and oligarchy (which affected the Russian economy in the 1990s). The new oligarchs, led by Vladimir Potanin who was an oligarch, successfully balanced the oil market. By enjoying a close relationship with former Prime Minister Anatoly Chubais, he gained the control of Ministry of Economy, which he holds to this day. By gaining control of the Ministry of Economy, he introduced reforms that made Russia connected and integrated into the international economy, made it one of the most liberal markets in the world in the early 2000s, and recovered from the Era of Stagnation in the 1990s.

National integrity was also a factor to contributed to stable growth. The Polish and the Baltics, who were known for being exclusively skilled in foreign trade, were also given important positions in the Ministry of Economy, and the Russians, who were known for their administrative reforms, exclusively became the permanent heaven of the Academy of National Economy.

In case there's unemployment between the ages of 23 to 60, the Russian government would invite them to work after a year of training. However, if they have science degrees, they will immediately be admitted to the Academy of Science. Although it seems good, but Academy of Science's salary is about $39,800 per year, which is less than the average Russian salary of $56,685.

The country is expected to continue growing at that pace till 2010 with its thirteenth straight year of growth, averaging 13% until 2010. Growth was primarily driven by non-traded services and goods for the domestic market, as opposed to oil or mineral extraction and exports. The average salary in Russia was approximately $56,685 per year in 2004, up from $29,800 in 1990. Approximately 5% of Russians lived below the national poverty line in 2004, significantly down from 12% in 1997 at the worst of the post-Soviet stagnation. Unemployment in Russia is projected to reach 2% in 2010, down from about 8% in 1998. The middle class has grown from just 80 million persons in 2000 to 142.187 million persons in 2004.

Oil, nuclear energy, gas, leather products, metal, timber education, and electricity as well as having a rich agricultural belt in its southern regions and a massive makeup and fashion industry and of course the world's 3rd largest manufacturer. These are some of Russia's exports, leading it to become one of the powerhouses of the world. account for more than 50% of Russian exports abroad. Since 1998, however, exports of natural resources started decreasing in economic importance as the internal market strengthened considerably. Despite higher energy prices, oil and gas only contribute to 5.7% of Russia's GDP and the government predicts this will drop to 3.7% by 2011. Oil export earnings allowed Russia to increase its foreign reserves from $120 billion in 1999 to $450 billion in 2004, the second largest foreign exchange reserves in the world.

A simpler, more streamlined tax code adopted in 1992, reduced the tax burden on people and dramatically increased state revenue. Russia has a flat tax rate of 13 percent. This ranks it as the country with the second most attractive personal tax system for single managers in the world after the United Arab Emirates. According to Bloomberg, Russia is considered well ahead of most other resource-rich countries in its economic development, with a long tradition of education, science, and industry. The country has more higher-education graduates than any other country in Europe except for Germany even with a smaller population it is number one. Growth is primarily driven by weapon and automobile exports, as opposed to oil or mineral extraction and exports in Russia. Sugar imports reportedly dropped 82% between 2000 and 2001.

As for education, Russia contains some of the world's largest global university partnerships and foreign exchange programs. Russia is the most popular study-abroad country in Yugoslavia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Scandinavia, Turkey, and Egypt, and the second-most popular in China, India, Ukraine, France, Brazil, and Japan, second from the United States. 

The Russian military is the largest in the world, and the largest indigenous (i.e. exempting colonies) 

one of the world's military superpowers, with the largest air force, ground force, and largest navy. It also has the largest rocket arsenal. Its yearly defense spending is 3rd largest in the world at ₽830.50 billion ($166.50 billion= 2.49 trillion yuan), 

It is divided into the Army, Navy, Air Force, Rocket and Nuclear Forces, Commissariat, and Space Force.

There are more subdivisions of these branches, as well. The Russian military is known to be very effective and powerful. The KGB and the IRSA are not officially aligned with the military but they are very close. The Russian tank fleet and APC fleet are the largest in the world, and are arguably the most technologically advanced army in the world, having created the first stealth fighter in 1976 and also the first UAV in 1983. The country has a large indigenous arms supply, and the vehicles are made up famously by UAZ and Lada.

It has its own indigenous arms industry and is considered one of the world's most advanced technologically, rivaled only by the United States and China. It also has the world's 2nd largest arms export. In terms of its overseas presence, Russia currently has 66 overseas bases.

Russia also has a multi-layer air defense system, making it nearly impossible to penetrate Russian air space.

Being one of the competing military powers of the world, one of the most mechanized militaries, having the largest overall robotic military units (china is second). It currently contains the largest unmanned aircraft and the largest stealth bomber force. Russia currently has the world's largest submarine fleet. The Russian military is a global superpower and has been able to, once more, project itself globally, having allies in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

The armed forces also contain the Civil Defence, the paramilitary component of the Russian Armed Forces.

Russia is currently the world's only operator of an Aerial moon base allowing people to go to the moon for the cheap price of $55 million.

Russia is generally considered to be a stubborn, aggressive nation, dealing with anyone who inconveniences them with force. However, Premier Dimitrov is trying to make Russia less militaristic and more negotiable.

Now the country with the most motivation to destroy this new Chitauri invasion. In the world the USA even with Damage Control; it took 4 years and 5 trillion dollars to rebuild New York City it could have taken decades or more and way more money to fix even if New York has the most supervillain and superhero population in one city.

It's still the USA and they wanted revenge with a population of 308.9 million Americans. The US GDP stands at $21.43 trillion/₽107.43 trillion market economy with enormous natural resources, particularly timber and natural gas. It has the largest economy in the world by nominal GDP and by purchasing power parity (PPP). Since the turn of the 21st century, higher domestic consumption has bolstered economic growth in the USA. Growth averaged 3.48% annually between 2000 and 2004. Growth was primarily driven by refined petroleum, petroleum gas, petroleum crude, cars, and integrated circuits as well as the world's 2nd largest manufacturer.

The US military has a completely indigenous arms industry, and the achievements of the US military make it the number 1 military superpower in the world. The USA is only rivaled by the Russians. The USA has the largest arms exports. Its current military spending is $778.40 billion. (₽3.890.40 trillion/¥11.67trillion)

The military branches are divided into air forces, army, coast guard, marine corps, and space forces.

—

"Sir, we have counted fourteen ships that have lowered themselves into the atmosphere around the globe."

"Nine more are approaching, sir!"

"The World Security Council is waiting for you," Hill cut in. Her tone was crisp and impatient, betraying some of the concern and weariness everyone felt.

Steve watched as Fury left his post and disappeared into another room. He could only imagine what the World Security Council wanted him to do; these were the people who'd prepared – and tried – to nuke Manhattan to stop an alien invasion – an invasion the scale of which hadn't seemed like much compared to what was going on now.

A cacophony of voices echoed across the bridge. Calls and messages kept coming in, tracking the movement of the alien ships that were now orbiting Earth – and in many cases lowering themselves into the atmosphere. Steve hadn't slept well since Nicaragua and he doubted he would find rest anytime soon, watching the progress and dreading the next step.

The Chinese fired a missile at one of the ships and the aliens showed what they were made of by shooting something but Radioactive Man hurled through the sky towards it hitting that thing mid-journey to stop it resulting in a crater-shaped hole a couple of thousand square miles wide as a result, the entire world had been on its toes, waiting for someone to make the next move; there had been no contact from the ships, no demands, threats or information as to why they were here. There had been no sign of what lay inside those ships, either, so they couldn't tell with whom they were dealing. Were they hostile, or was it the attack from China that had provoked them to retaliate?

People walked in and out past him, trading information and progress reports from around the world. He had gotten so used to the hubbub that he didn't even notice when Bruce entered, taking a seat next to him. "Twenty-three ships hovering in the stratosphere and we have no idea who they are or what their next move is," the scientist summed up, looking around. It looked like he had a headache and it didn't seem like he had slept much either.

"I'm sure we'll know sooner than we would like," Steve observed.

Bruce nodded. "There are crisis meetings everywhere, between governments, NATO, UN… For now, no one has taken another shot at those ships but it's only a matter of time before someone's trigger finger twitches." He observed the screen in front of him, tapping and scrolling for a moment, then switched it off with a flick of his wrist. He slid off his glasses and closed his eyes, a pained expression on his face. "We know they pack enough firepower to potentially destroy whatever we aim at them."

"Some have a theory that if it's the Chitauri, they would have already made their move," Steve mused. He wasn't sure he bought it – and Bruce seemed to agree:

"They attacked us head-on last time – and lost. Maybe they learned their lesson. They've had some time to think about that, and… we have no way of knowing how many of them, whatever they are, are inside those ships. What we do know, though, is that they've spread around the globe, not focusing on one spot, which means we may be looking at a full-scale attack or even an invasion."

It sounded like a bad sci-fi film. Steve had once thought it was surreal that they were fighting aliens. Perhaps this was what he got for being a skeptic.

Another message came from an observatory somewhere in Alaska and agents flashed back and forth delivering it to whoever needed to know about it. Erik Selvig and the young man, Benjamin Pollack, had barely been seen after their first briefing and Steve was certain they were busy figuring this out – and perhaps finding a way for them to fight back. Steve had been a soldier in his time and knew the importance of weapons and gear.

He wouldn't be doing much damage with just his shield and a rifle, although that wouldn't stop him from trying if need be.

Hill barked orders to get some diagnostics and data transferred, then Steve saw a flash on her screen that caused her to fall silent mid-sentence. Her entire posture froze until she snapped out of it and turned around, looking for something, landing her gaze on Steve and Bruce. "It's starting," she said, striding over. "One of the ships has lowered itself down to a couple of thousand feet."

"Where?" Steve asked, already getting up, ready to move out. Fury had told them the Avengers would be the first on the scene, if possible.

"In Japan, above the coast of Niigata Prefecture."

"What's over there?" Steve frowned. "Have the Japanese made contact?"

Hill shook her head then barked at another agent: "Inform Director Fury that he needs to return to the bridge." The agent in question ran off without so much as a 'Yes, Ma'am'.

Bruce thought about it for a moment, fingers drumming over his chin, and then something seemed to come to him. "Kashiwazaki-Kariwa."

"Ka-what?" Steve had to ask.

"It's the biggest nuclear power plant in the world after going back to full commission in the aftermath of various earthquakes."

"Is there something else in that area?" Hill asked.

"Nothing that pops into my mind," Bruce shrugged.

"So they're here for… what, energy?" Steve wasn't certain whether he wanted to know the answer.

"Agent Hill!" an agent shouted from across the room. "Another ship is lowering its altitude."

"Where?" Hill called back.

"In Canada, near Lake Huron in Ontario," came the reply.

"I have to ask; what's over there?" Steve looked at Bruce.

"Among other things, Bruce Nuclear Generating Station," the scientist smiled grimly. "I assume we're heading that way?"

"You assume correctly, Doctor," Fury's voice carried over the din as he strode towards them, looking just as flustered and irritated as he had been for the past few days. "Call the Avengers together and go to Canada. We'll clear it with the local authorities while you're in the air."

Steve nodded; he didn't need to be told twice. "Assemble," he murmured and turned, Bruce following him. "What do you think they're doing?" Steve asked the other man, needing to know even if it was guesswork at this point.

"Either they are after power or the control over that power…"

"Is that all?" Steve pressed.

Bruce may have looked a little green for a moment. "I think we both know it isn't."

Clint and Daisy Johnson picked them up in the Quinjet.

Thor, unfortunately, was back in Asgard and unable to join them. Steve had assumed he would have returned to Earth by now; Thor had told him that this man called Heimdall could see all that went on in the Nine Realms and would alert him should a need for his return arise. If this wasn't big enough for the God of Thunder to join them, then nothing was.

"Are they doing something other than hovering?" Clint asked about the alien ships as he flew them northwest.

"Not after the two ships came significantly lower than the others," Daisy Johnson replied; she was in radio contact with S.H.I.E.L.D., monitoring what went on. "Wait, something's happening in Japan…" She fiddled with some dials and then brought an image to a few screens around the aircraft. They watched as the bottom of the alien ship began to open, like flower petals in the morning, and then a shape fell out through the gap.

"What the hell is that?" Clint asked, watching as well.

The shape unfolded itself into an almost human-like form, only it was much larger. It fell through the air and then hit the ground, hard, landing on its feet and rising to full height. It was hard to tell from the image but Steve guessed it was at least five or six stories tall, with long legs and arms yet not disproportional from the usual human shape.

"It's some kind of robot," Bruce frowned at the screen, leaning closer, changing the settings to zoom in. The machine had begun to walk, its movements strangely graceful – heading directly towards the nuclear facility that loomed ahead.

"It looks like a mix between an Evangelion and Godzilla, only slimmer," Clint commented.

Steve knew only the latter but thought the robot looked too human to be modeled after a giant lizard. Well, that was until the robot reached the nuclear plant; a small army had gathered at the gates, alarmed by the approach of the ship. Tanks and armed vehicles were spread out between the robot and the facility. The machine halted as if surveying the situation, then something sprouted from its behind: a tail. Its entire body shifted slightly forward and then it moved forward again. The tanks got a few pretty good shots in as well as some RPGs, but as the smoke cleared the robot was still moving without a dent in its surface.

The army pushed relentlessly, refusing to budge, and perhaps it was working because the robot stopped, looming over them.

"They're calling in fighters," Daisy Johnson spoke up, listening to the radio. "The planes will be within striking distance in one point five minutes."

"I don't think they're gonna survive that long," Clint noted and all of them looked intently at the screens.

Steve narrowed his eyes as the robot's fists clenched. He hadn't even paid attention to see it had fingers although they seemed slightly different; more reptilian. Something popped out from each forearm, sliding out past the fist, and ending in some kind of blade, almost.

"That can't be good," Bruce murmured.

The mechanical body shifted, the tail rising higher, then it punched down arm first, thrusting the strange blade through one of the tanks with such force it looked like piercing tomatoes with a barbeque stick. The other arm stuck out, cutting through the tank on its left then whirled and dragged the first tank along, sliding it free only so it could carve a path through the remaining military forces. People were running for cover, abandoning their posts in a mad dash to survive.

With the threat dealt with, the robot straightened itself and stepped over the fence protecting the nuclear facility.

"Fighters are less than a minute out," Daisy Johnson narrated in a hushed voice.

"Can they hit this thing while it's in the middle of a nuclear facility?" Steve jerked up suddenly, imagining the catastrophe that might follow.

Inside the plant area, the robot swung its body, the tail cutting clean through a building. With the top severed off, the robot moved closer, the blades withdrawing back into its arms. It gripped the remnants of the structure, clawed fingers digging in, slowly prying the building apart, exposing equipment and lab areas.

Bruce swore in at least five different languages. "That was the containment building," he finally managed in English.

"It's going to expose the rods!" Clint's tone jumped with alarm.

"They're not here to harvest energy, are they?" Steve asked, leaning back, feeling sick to his stomach. The robot abandoned the building, sparks, and smoke filling the air as it moved on to the next. The robot had destroyed most of the second structure when suddenly something slammed into it, turning the air into a fiery inferno, followed quickly by another impact. Missiles. The explosions echoed across the area, covering everything in smoke and fire, making their screens turn to static.

"Did they get it?" Clint asked hopefully. 

 Daisy Johnson brought her hand up to the headphones, listening intently. Her face was blank – too blank. "Multiple explosions," she told the rest of them; there was still some feed from the area, some cameras working, or perhaps some unmanned aerial vehicle. "It's… We're getting a feed from a satellite…" She swore in Spanish. "It's still moving, tearing through the reactors. They won't have time to shut any of the cores down and all personnel are either down or unresponsive."

They all sat in silence for the longest while. Daisy Johnson looked like she was listening to the chatter on the radio very distantly. After a while she sat up, concern crossing her face. Her eyes moved over to Steve. "The ship above Canada is doing the same maneuver, opening up. The robot emerged and has just landed."

"What are we going to do?" Clint asked, his hands gripping the controls. "If we don't get trampled or caught in an explosion…"

"It's attacking," Daisy Johnson said. "Clint, change direction; there's nothing we can do. Fury is asking us to re-route, to… intercept the robot if it moves to another location."

"Does he know what's going on down there?" the archer muttered but slowed their speed to wait for new directions.

"Better than most," Daisy Johnson murmured. "Armies are mobilizing. They consider this a declaration of war – extreme terrorism." She listened for a bit longer. "The robot in Japan is moving. No clear damage to it can be seen. It's heading away from the nuclear plant. The fighters are circling to take another shot."

"This means we can expect the other one to move as well," Bruce decided. "We'll take it down before it reaches a populated area – or worse, another nuclear facility." He was already unbuttoning his shirt, which was a controlled version of planning to unleash the Hulk.

Steve was glad he was on board with that idea because he was certain they couldn't afford to lose the upcoming fight.

Clint could admit his hands shook slightly as he guided the Quinjet lower. Beneath them on the ground the sleek robot moved steadily eastwards, unaffected by the destruction at Bruce NGS. The Canadian government was busy dealing with the nuclear disaster and the Avengers were, for the time being, on their own. That might have been how S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted it, too, because for now, everything the military had done had not affected things.

"Okay, take her down," Steve commanded, pulling his cowl on. His body was tense, eyes hard, no doubt knowing what was at stake. Well, if it was unclear to anyone then they didn't deserve to be handling this.

"It seems there are only minor levels of radiation hanging onto the robot," Bruce announced. He stood there in just his pants, looking naked beside the rest of them but once he let the green part of himself out, it wouldn't matter.

Clint guessed it was good news, everything considered, and took the Quinjet down as close and as quickly as he dared. He didn't want to see those blades reappear and cut them in half in mid-air.

"Another spaceship is moving lower above Europe," Daisy Johnson said. "Possibly heading for France. The authorities have been alerted but they're not shutting down their reactors fast enough." She sighed and pushed the earphones away with disdain; Clint could tell she knew what was at stake and that she might be a little scared, too. Scared never helped in a battle, however, so she was working furiously to replace that with something more useful. "We're going to have a global nuclear disaster on our hands if this goes on. These things are moving too quickly for us to respond."

"Then let's slow them down," Steve decided, and as soon as they touched down, Clint lowered the ramp and took off after the rest of them.

The thing was huge up close. With one foot it could step on all of them at once and Clint had no delusions that he would survive that. The feet in question had toes, just like they had fingers, yet they were clawed as well, digging into the earth with each step.

"It's ingenious, really," Bruce noted as they moved closer to it although every fiber in Clint's body suggested moving away might be smarter. "The tail works as extra balance, not just a weapon, yet it's retracted right now, perhaps for smoother mobility. Its toes create stability, burrowing into the earth, making it less likely for it to fall over like a human body would when unbalanced."

"Will that knowledge help us to stop it?" Steve asked.

"Well, we know it's been designed to stay upright," Bruce noted, stopping, his eyes starting to turn green.

"Then we shall take it down!" Steve decided.

Behind them, Bruce's body swelled with green, joints, and bones popping with sickening sounds. It was over soon, though, a roar from the Hulk louder than the robot's thundering steps.

Clint cringed. So much for a stealth approach.

The robot stopped, twisting around to watch them. It had strange eyes, filled with inner light and it seemed to cock its head to the side as it regarded the four of them on the ground, like large insects next to it.

"What's the plan, Cap?" Clint asked.

"Hit it with everything you've got!" Steve commanded then moved forward. Hulk raced past him with a wide grin which forebode destruction all around him.

"That's helpful," Clint quipped then followed the others with Daisy Johnson. Right now he doubted whether he could do any good but Clint was willing to play distraction and then wait for an opening where one of his arrows could bring this thing down. He had no fear either that the Hulk wouldn't be able to do what the armies had failed to do.

Not wanting to be left waiting, however, Clint attacked the robot first; he chose an arrow and sent it flying, hitting the machine square in the chest, electricity exploding from the arrow. It had been enough to shut down other robots and doomsday machines in the past.

The robot's smooth surface seemed to hang onto the energy and transform it into angry, twisting blue lines that traveled almost faster than the eye could follow. It reminded Clint of a huge plasma globe, only no one was touching it to direct the current – not until Cap's shield went flying through the air and hit the robot just below Clint's arrow. The energy seemed to concentrate there, curling into itself – then shot out in a beam that carved a crater in the ground. Cap barely managed to avoid it by throwing himself aside with half his usual grace.

"Okay," Clint hesitated, his steps slowing slightly. "That didn't work very well."

By that time the Hulk had decided to make an appearance, roaring and jumping up high, clearly aiming for the head. The robot, however, slammed up its arm, fist connecting and the green beast went flying off into the nearby woods, taking down trees.

"It knows what we're trying to do," Daisy Johnson murmured. "It keeps seeing our attacks coming."

"So not only is it a very strong, chaos-causing hunk of metal, but it's also smart? That's never good. What happened to the good old days when the bad guys were dumb as a rock?" Clint complained and pulled out another arrow. If the Hulk never even got close enough to land a hit, what were they going to do? Wait for the thing to rust? Maybe it could be a surprise, though…

Cap had moved to another attack, sending his vibranium shield flying, yet it did little but bounce back. "We need a plan," he stated a moment later through the comm signal.

"We need to find a weak spot," Clint added, "although I can't see any yet."

"It's not attacking us directly, only deflecting," Daisy Johnson said from beside him.

"Should we try and piss it off?" Clint mused. "Can you make a robot lose its cool?"

A deafening roar rose as the Hulk came crashing back right then, running across the distance, fists tight, a very angry, serious look on his face; the Hulk liked smashing but didn't much appreciate being smashed in return – plus he had a bit of a thing about 'Hulk is the strongest there is'.

This time the Hulk didn't attack the robot's face, however, but latched onto the offending arm, hanging onto it. The weight of the impact made the robot bend backward, trying to catch its balance in a very human-like fashion, and Clint took the opportunity to send an arrow flying, hitting the face just beneath the eyes. It didn't cause damage but the sudden pressure of the explosion delivered the final push to send the machine down onto its back.

"Avengers!" Cap called and they all moved in, seeing their chance.

The Hulk was on top of the robot's chest, banging it with huge fists, snarling and growling. Perhaps Bruce had been right in his first assessment that the robot would be defenseless once down.

They should have known not to celebrate early.

"Shit!" Clint exclaimed in frustration as the robot twisted beneath the Hulk's onslaught. An electric current began to form on its body once again. The Hulk roared in pain and annoyance, caught in the middle of it; some of it had to be hurting the rage monster, prickling through the skin that could take more punishment than anything Clint had ever seen. The current seemed to intensify, lighting the Hulk from the inside, making him arch back and bellow out in apparent distress – then one giant robot arm came up and swatted the Hulk off its body as if getting rid of an annoying fly.

However, Clint could see there was damage, which meant they just had to get a little closer, hit a little harder –

The robot rolled over to its side and then got up to its knees, lifting itself. A few sparks spat out of its chest where the Hulk had managed to get through.

"Now!" Cap shouted.

If anyone replied, Clint never heard it; a piercing sound vibrated through the air, blocking his ears, and freezing his brain in an agony that lasted forever. It felt like his ears would blow from the inside out and all the blood vessels broke beneath his scalp, the pain so intense he couldn't even breathe.

When he came to, he heard someone – Steve – groaning and Daisy Johnson was standing her ground far from him. He didn't even remember falling. He saw Steve struggling to his knees then trying to hoist himself up by leaning on his shield, yet soon enough gravity pulled him back down. It was nice to see even the super soldier was affected.

Daisy Johnson was much better after Absorbing the vibrations, as the towering 6-story(64 feet) robot loomed over the fallen Avengers. Its mechanical limbs whirred with precision, showcasing its advanced technology capabilities. Standing defiantly in front of the colossal machine is Daisy Johnson with the power of vibration manipulation.

As the battle commenced, Daisy Johnson unleashed her powers, sending powerful shockwaves through the air. The ground beneath her feet trembled as she channeled her energy, causing cracks to form in the asphalt. With a fierce determination in her eyes, she directed her vibrations towards the robot's legs.

The vibrations rippled through the metal structure, causing it to stagger momentarily. But the robot quickly regained its balance, shrugging off the woman's attack as if it were nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Undeterred, she intensified her assault, unleashing a barrage of sonic waves that reverberated through the air.

The robot retaliated with a barrage of laser beams from its glowing red eyes. The woman skillfully dodged and weaved between them, narrowly avoiding their deadly impact. But one stray beam grazed her arm, leaving a searing burn and a trail of smoke rising from her scorched flesh.

Undeterred by her injuries, she focused her powers once again. This time, she directed a concentrated blast of vibrations toward the robot's chest plate. The impact was tremendous, causing sparks to fly and circuits to short-circuit within the machine.

For a moment, it seemed as though victory was within reach for Daisy Johnson. But just as quickly as she had gained ground, the robot unleashed its counterattack. Its massive fists pounded against the ground, creating shockwaves that sent debris flying in all directions.

Caught off guard by the sheer force of the robot's attack, the woman was thrown off balance. She crashed into a nearby building, her body bruised and battered. Gasping for breath, she struggled to regain her footing as the robot advanced towards her.

With a final burst of energy, the woman summoned every ounce of power within her. She unleashed a devastating sonic scream that rever.

 not trying to get up for the time being. There was a thin line of blood running from her nose.

Some distance away, where the Hulk had landed, Bruce lay on the ground, unmoving.

"Fuck," Clint finally commented and plopped back down onto his back, then grimaced as he felt the quiver press against his spine.

Although he wouldn't say it, Steve seemed to agree, defeat and pain playing catch on his face. It was hard to say which was winning.

Their first battle had been a sound defeat. Bruce knew they couldn't win every fight, but right now they needed to win a war and had no time to waste; while the Avengers had been recuperating from a rather simple sonic attack that managed to bring almost all of them down effectively, their enemies had not stopped: nuclear facilities and factories had been systematically destroyed all over the world.

There were no bombs. There were no real attacks on the human population except for Collateral Damage. The robots merely seized what humanity had built and took it apart. While civilians were not directly faced with the alien threat, they were subjected to radiation – and after the destruction of many critical factories, a shortage of supplies. Food, electricity, clean water, spare parts… it would all be running out too soon.

Bruce saw a pattern and didn't like it.

"Please tell me there is good news," Fury said as he strode inside followed by Agent Maria Hill.

Bruce glanced up from the notes that he had been making ever since waking up. The battle had been a blur but the Quinjet had recorded most of it and he had accounts from the other Avengers. "Good? At this rate I consider any information as good news," he sighed, looking down at the screen and his written notes once again. He didn't trust technology would be with them forever at this rate and paper was so much more reliable when the apocalypse loomed ahead.

The rest of his team was quiet, as were all the other specialists in the room.

"What do we know?" Fury sighed. His shoulders hunched as he leaned forward against the back of a chair; he looked like a man stretched too thin. Bruce knew how that felt.

The scientist glanced at Erik Selvig and Benjamin Pollack, the older man nodding at him. Bruce turned back to his screen and pressed on one, raising a hologram before all of them. "Four hours ago more of the ships lowered themselves to the troposphere. Instead of these… mecha robots," he halted, glancing at Clint who had dubbed them as 'mecha' after their battle against one, "we got a fleet of Chitauri. This confirms for the first time whom we're up against," he stopped again, allowing clips of the film to roll on the screen, showing a very familiar sight of their old enemy on their flying vehicles. "Their weaponry and means of transportation are slightly different than during the attack orchestrated by Loki; that we can deal with, thanks to Mr. Pollack's tireless work with the R&D department."

"You don't sound too happy with that," Fury noted.

"Oh, I'm thrilled we have something to fight back with," Bruce huffed. "The Chitauri are not the problem. The mecha are; we don't know how to fight them and they've already laid us bare against the Chitauri assault. They're destroying our resources, they're polluting the earth, the skies, and the water, and have cut off the production of numerous items we will need to survive and treat the wounded – not to mention give the living a chance to survive this."

Fury nodded brusquely. "What do we know about the mecha?"

"Other than that they wiped the floor with us?" Clint muttered unhappily.

"We went in there unprepared," Steve soothed the burn of the archer's words yet he didn't seem happy with the result either; he was their leader and Bruce knew the man blamed himself for their inability to stop the mecha and prevent it from taking countless other lives as it tore through the rest of the Canadian nuclear power plants before moving on to other critical locations.

"We are still a step ahead of them," Hill commented. "We have surveillance. We have our military. We will fight back when we find out how."

"How is the key, but we haven't discovered it yet," Bruce noted. He shut down the screen of the Chitauri forces attacking a dam in China; they had already heard the news of the destruction that followed there. He pulled up another screen with schematics and facts he'd been able to collect of the mecha they had fought and footage shot of the others. There were over a dozen of them on Earth right now, all of them still operational regardless of the localized efforts to take them down in some parts of the world.

"Their design is advanced. The surface material is difficult to penetrate and unknown to us; we can't analyze it until we get a sample. The surface also houses an electrical current that serves both as a shield and a weapon – and can adapt depending on the target. That's how he dealt with the other guy." Bruce could still feel an aching in his bones and muscle tissue. "Also, they seem to have a vast knowledge of human biology; the sonic attack proved that. The correct frequency puts the brain in an almost seizure-like state, stopping all coherent activity. Even Steve's super soldier serum couldn't compete with it – or the gamma radiation that usually protects the other guy. They are very basic techniques to overcome our opposition."

"So it's possible it can stop an entire army by emitting a simple sound?" Benjamin Pollack frowned. "Is there a way to block it?"

"Perhaps," Bruce thought about it for a moment. "It is also entirely possible the mecha would then change the frequency and find another way to disrupt the human brain, regardless of high-tech earplugs."

"Let's not assume that before we've seen it happen," Fury decided. "Get the scientists working on that. Perhaps there's also a way to neutralize that surface charge and get us a clear shot at these things."

Bruce nodded.

"Do we know what their power source is?" Pollack asked. "Moving that much mass effortlessly – and the charge they have to maintain or produce… it has to come from somewhere."

"That's another angle to consider. So far we haven't seen anything that points to a recharging of energy," Bruce mused, tapping his lips thoughtfully then closed his eyes and sighed.

"Dr. Banner?" Selvig asked after a moment, prodding him to hear if there was something on his mind.

Bruce took off his glasses without opening his eyes, wanting to imagine it just for a moment. When he looked at the room again, the reality was harsh and unforgiving. "I wish he were here," he said quietly, looking at the screens, then away, searching for something that wasn't there.

"Who?" Hill asked, clearly confused.

Bruce knew he couldn't say it. He wondered if he would have time to visit Malibu in the middle of all this, to strengthen his resolve to face this. Not that there was anywhere in the world he could run to escape this.

"Stark," Fury finally offered the answer.

Bruce looked at him, facing the expression that revealed so very little, yet he saw his thoughts reflecting from the brown eye; if Tony were here, he might be able to crack this. Robotics had been his specialty. Weapons like this, an energy source, tracking it down, hacking it apart, finding that missing piece of data…

"We'll just have to make do without him," Selvig said gruffly, crossing his fingers under his jaw.

A knock came from the door and an Agent – Sitwell, Bruce recalled from some meeting – poked his head in. "Sir, the Chitauri have moved their attacks to areas with civilian population. The robots seem to be joining them. A branch of them is headed for New York City."

"Alert the Army. Get our men ready," Fury replied, then looked around the table at the remaining Avengers. "We need you. The world needs you."

Steve nodded slowly, looking at the three of them in turn. "Let's suit up."

Clint didn't protest; Daisy Johnson said nothing at all but was the first to get up. Bruce, who was already on his feet, exchanged a look with Steve and felt the other guy stir inside him, ready for revenge and payback.

He wondered if the Hulk would still feel that way by the time this was over, one way or another.

—

"Benny!"

Benjamin Pollack turned to look and saw Claire running down the hall. His girlfriend appeared just as energetic as always as if the world wasn't falling to ruin around them.

"I've been looking for you," Claire announced, reaching up to hug him tightly.

"I was in a meeting," Benny explained.

"With the Avengers?" Claire asked, eyes shining a bit.

"They were there."

"That's so awesome," she grinned, then slid her fingers through his hair. Benny tried not to look as bashful as he felt. "Come on, admit it: it's awesome. They're superheroes and you get to go to meetings with them!" Claire enthused.

"With a bunch of other people," Benny shrugged.

"Do they know your name?"

"Yeah," he admitted.

"Then you're way ahead of most of the Agent-what's-his-names!" Claire reached up and kissed him deeply as if it were a reward. "I told you this would turn out great. You're so smart and they need you here."

Benny felt like pointing out how things hadn't gone all that well for them after finding the alien weapon and getting it to work – which almost landed them in jail or got them killed, whichever you chose to believe. Then again, he had just sat in a meeting with the Avengers, and got to work on defending the world from another alien invasion… which reminded him of how close they were to being taken over by said invasion.

He pulled Claire closer, cheer disappearing from his mind.

Claire noticed the change. "Benny? What's wrong?"

He wondered how much she knew, but then, any working news station was blasting their broadcasts with horrible images so even if she hadn't been officially notified of the situation – although he doubted anyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. was unaware of the disaster unfolding before their eyes – she would have seen it on TV. "I'm worried this won't end well," he admitted.

Her smile fell somewhat and she held him closer, too. "It will be okay, Benny."

Maybe she said it to cheer him up, to give him faith, yet he didn't see right now how it would end in any way but badly. Even if the aliens were up and left right now, there were thousands of people, if not millions and more, affected by the nuclear disasters.

"Miss Wise," a man called from the other end of the hallway. Benny looked up, recognizing Agent Blake. The man seemed to be in a hurry, but who wasn't these days?

"Yeah, right," Claire cleared her throat and then looked up at Benny. "We're going out with another Helicarrier. That thing's awesome, I've been told, and I'll hear from you soon, right?" She smiled brightly and then pulled him into another kiss. "Go save the world – if I don't beat you to it," she grinned and then left. Perhaps she knew what was at stake and would rather not mention it. Well, Helicarriers were pretty safe, having the best cloaking devices in the world, so Benny decided not to worry about it. They wouldn't drag her into a war zone, assistant or not.

"Pollack," a voice called from behind him, and Sitwell appeared there. "She'll be safe," the agent went on.

"I know," Benny replied.

"No, you don't know that," the agent corrected him. "You need to focus right now. I'm going with Claire and Agent Blake, and I promise you I'll do all I can to keep her from harm, should the worst happen."

Benny frowned. The worst? What was he talking about? "Okay," he replied hesitantly.

Sitwell placed a hand on his shoulder. "A lot is riding on you, I realize that. You've brought us far but we still ask a lot of you. Help us defeat those alien bastards."

"Yes, sir," Benny tried standing a little taller, a little more confident.

Sitwell nodded, pep-talk over, and strode down the hall to follow Claire and Agent Blake.

Benny suddenly got a funny feeling he might never see them again but pushed that to the far reaches of his mind and headed down to his lab to run a few more tests with Dr. Banner's calculations. The guy was smart, frighteningly so, and he wondered if that intellect wasn't wasted on him turning into the Hulk. Then again, the rage monster was their failsafe against any enemy so he guessed they would have to take the bad with the good.

The first city battles were brutal, not just in New York City but everywhere around the world.

While the Chitauri were not a new enemy their weapons had slightly changed over the gap of a few years. It was nothing their scientists couldn't handle in the short amount of time they were given to respond, but coordinating defense and attacks in multiple countries, under various chains of command, was nigh on impossible. Some people in command were arrogant and wanted to test their theories instead of accepting information and orders from someone else. Nations stood divided when it mattered most, holding onto their independent decision-making.

Most of the fights ended worse than the few small bursts of success. As humanity was lacking a worldwide response, their enemy had the upper hand – and that was before the mecha arrived in the cities; the force that had torn apart factories and brought down entire buildings, unaffected by the chaos and screams of terror.

The evacuations weren't fast enough.

Their responses were ineffective.

While they concentrated their efforts on one mecha, the Chitauri were free to wreak havoc elsewhere, which in turn made them divide their forces too thin.

The loss of human life from the first few days could not be calculated at the time.

The armor wasn't made for running, Rhodey realized, storming across the hallway after smashing in through a window of Pepper's office at Stark International headquarters in California. He had tried calling her before the phones went dead. The communications with the Air Force were going all glitchy on him as well, separating him from the base. If the plans were still in effect, the fighters would be engaging the advancing enemy while the Army pulled as many of its forces from the evacuations as they dared.

Los Angeles had been hit just an hour ago and it didn't look good.

"Pepper!" he called out, popping open the faceplate.

Rhodey kept moving down the hall, scanning rooms with his eyes. Every once in a while a person would poke their head out of an office and stare at him. Hadn't they gotten used to Iron Man being their boss? War Machine's armor wasn't that different and he sure as hell couldn't afford the time to explain his hasty entrance. He simply told whomever he encountered to leave, to take their family and get out of the city right now.

"Happy!" he finally shouted, seeing a familiar shape. The man was just getting out of the elevator and Pepper followed him, looking a bit flustered. "Pepper, we need to leave right now. Happy, take her to the car and drive. I'll cover for you."

The bodyguard was already moving, grabbing Pepper's arm, but the woman resisted.

"What's going on, Rhodey?" she asked.

"They're coming, the aliens. They bombed and attacked L.A. just a moment ago and are moving north along the coast."

"No one's said anything –"

"The communications are down," Rhodey snapped, stepping forward, grasping her other arm. "Damn it, Pepper! We need to go."

"You should be out fighting," she said, voice quieter. As if those were words she had only ever said to someone else. She had. Well, maybe she had prepared herself to say them to Tony, one day if he ever fell behind on the action.

"I will be, but when I realized I couldn't call you I had to come," Rhodey told her, pushing her towards the elevator. "Sound the alarm when you're down. Get out of the city. Take the small roads if you can; the big ones will be crowded after the people realize what's going on."

"Aren't they going to evacuate?" Happy frowned, holding the elevator door open.

"They are trying to block the attack at Santa Monica. Seeing how much success we've had with every other attack, I'm not going to put too much stock in that," Rhodey admitted. He hated how they hadn't stood a chance, even the Avengers; the enemy was spreading them too thin and attacking too fast for anyone to properly mobilize. They needed more time to respond but if they did that, thousands of lives would be lost.

Happy finally pulled Pepper into the elevator and once it stopped at the garage floor, Rhodey walked back out to the window he had broken, then smashed a fire alarm on the way out. As he lowered the faceplate and looked out, he could see smoke in the distance.

It was too close.

They were coming in too fast.

He stepped off the ledge and fired the repulsors, shooting up into the air, and circling the building until he saw Pepper's car speeding away. As if on cue, the city-wide sirens began to wail, causing immediate chaos on the streets.

Rhodey knew he had already been selfish coming here, but had it been Tony…

Three fighters passed above him and he moved to join them, moving south, towards the smoke pillars. The fighters fired missiles at something and Rhodey kept tracking them all the way, seeing a shape move on the ground along the Pacific Coast Highway.

He squared his jaw. A mecha. He had been briefed about them, and seen footage, but hadn't seen one in real life until now. "Time to see what your little robot insides are made of," he said and dove lower. The traffic was jammed, and people abandoned their cars and ran for safety. The army was nowhere to be seen. The radio was still silent – something he hadn't known to happen in prior attacks around the globe.

Rhodey looked around but didn't see Chitauri anywhere. Maybe they had stayed in L.A. Where was the mecha headed, then?

"Let's go and ask it," he mused, not expecting the suit to respond, of course, but it felt like he wasn't alone when he was wearing it. Maybe that's how Tony felt – although he'd always had J.A.R.V.I.S. for company.

He prepared the weapons and dove lower, waiting until he was in range, and then let the robot have it. Rhodey couldn't say he was surprised when even the ammo of the biggest caliber didn't slow it down, merely bouncing off the smooth surface. With an annoyed huff, he stopped, hovering in the air, and then decided to try something else; he aimed his hands at it and fired the repulsors, the beams hitting the thing square in the chest. He had heard how unfortunate others had been when trying to fire at a mecha with energy-based weapons but he didn't see any of that. Instead, the rays seemed to grow more focused, making the robot's surface gleam and glow with a charge, creating ripples of sorts.

He was making some kind of impact because the mecha stopped, regarding him – then a long blade-looking thing slid out from its forearm.

"Shit," Rhodey swore and started moving, the blade swinging through the air, ready to cut him in half if it hit him. He dodged, flying closer, sliding between the giant legs, and shooting the robot a few more times before coming up behind it. The mecha followed, swinging again, fast and agile. Its back panels seemed to shift and it sprouted a tail, almost whipping Rhodey to the ground as it came at him rather unexpectedly.

He dodged and attacked for a moment until there was a sort of a mechanical roar and Rhodey looked around long enough to see another mecha approaching. This one was coming from the north which made his heart sink a little.

"War Machine?!" his radio suddenly burst into life, almost giving him a heart attack. "We're sending you coordinates to a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier; Director Fury wants a word with you." That was an indication this contact was coming from S.H.I.E.L.D., not the Air Force.

"I'm a little busy here," Rhodey noted, firing at the oncoming mecha, then was slammed down as the first one struck him from above. He crashed into the road, picking himself up as fast as he could, stumbling to the side as his suit tried to catch up with the impact. The sword-like weapon struck hard into where he had just been, embedding itself deeply into the asphalt.

"We have sent a team to extract Ms. Potts and Mr. Hogan and to bring them safely to the Helicarrier. We need you to come in," the voice on the radio insisted,

A huge explosion skirted his vision as he rose into the air again to dodge any further attacks. Flames rose high in the direction of Los Angeles and he had a sinking feeling he couldn't do much else here. "Fine," he grunted then weaved past the two mecha, giving them a couple of parting shots before flying higher.

The last time he turned to look towards Malibu, he saw a huge spaceship hovering near the shore. It was unlike any he had seen before, bigger and different in design. Currently, it just seemed to be sitting still in the air – waiting for what, he couldn't tell.

He doubted it would be anything they'd like.

The coordinates came in and he turned to follow them, focusing on that, seeing as he had a bit of a flight ahead of him and he didn't want any of the enemies following his trail. He wondered what Fury wanted with him – other than maybe to try to fill Tony's shoes.

Claire Wise watched the screens in silence. It was unlike her to be so still, so focused – so concerned.

The attacks were spreading from one city to another – from one continent to another.

Somewhere out there Benny was working to counter the strange armed space lizards called the Chitauri. He had been smart enough to get their weapon to work in the first place, before anyone else. He was important right now, helping real heroes to save the world.

Her optimism was beginning to crack. They hadn't won yet, people kept dying, and as easy as it may have been to pretend nothing horrible was going on while they flew among the clouds… It was happening, and it was very real.

The Helicarrier, after the first few hours of amazement, was beginning to feel like a cage. No ships were coming in or out. They were floating hidden in the sky, receiving messages and data, monitoring and forwarding information. She hadn't seen or talked to Benny since they parted ways in a S.H.I.E.L.D. base. She was confident he was safe, though, because he was important.

That didn't mean everyone else was.

"West Coast is being hit hard. We've lost communications with everything between Costa Mesa and Santa Barbara in California," an agent announced from one of the stations.

There was a collective silence for about three seconds, everyone paying their respects to those who had died, but whom no one mentioned anymore. There were just too many. They wouldn't have time to talk if they mourned all of them.

" the USA Avengers have succeeded in slowing down the robot with great damage to Houston's." Agent Blake announced after a moment. "They were able to stop one of the mecha with a massive explosion. The energy seemed to rebound and destroy everything around it. No survivors within a fifty-mile radius and that goddamn robot is still moving."

"Did they at least dent it?" Agent Sitwell asked, walking into the room, files in hand.

"Not that the satellites can detect, no," Agent Blake grunted.

Sitwell nodded. "Log that. Someone needs to find a way to get past that protective surface." He glanced at the screens, several feeds from satellites showing the progress of both the enemy and their allies.

Claire looked at them as well, knowing she wouldn't recognize the places and maybe it was better that way; less personal. A little less real.

But it was real and had to be dealt with.

"If you were invading a planet," she mused out loud, biting her thumb thoughtfully, "wouldn't you first make sure your enemy wouldn't be able to track your movements? These are aliens, with spaceships, yet they haven't shot down or disabled our satellites or communications, other than when destroying our power supplies and being on a rampage."

Agent Blake gave her an annoyed look but before he could comment, Agent Sitwell raised his hand. "Why would they do that?" he seemed to agree. "They have paralyzed us on many fronts, but they've left our best communication and observation channels untouched."

"You think someone hasn't looked into that?" Agent Blake frowned. "Maybe we've just kept them busy." He didn't seem to believe it himself, though, and Claire kept looking at the images for a bit longer until another agent approached her.

"Ms. Wise, there's a call for you."

"From whom?" she asked in surprise.

"Benjamin Pollack from R&D."

"Don't take too long," Agent Blake told her and turned back to his screens.

She went over to an empty chair at the side of the room, finding the correct button to connect the call. "Benny!"

"Hey, Claire," Benny's familiar voice greeted her. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she replied earnestly. "I was just thinking about you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she grinned. "You're safe?"

"Safe as I can be. Look, I can't talk for long –"

"Me neither."

"– but I wanted to hear your voice, and, uh, you know… make sure everything's going well."

He sounded so tired that Claire wanted to tell him to go to bed, but while the world was being torn to pieces there was no time to rest. "How are the Avengers doing? Have you seen them?" she asked instead, trying to make him think of something positive.

"They're fighting. They refuse to think it's a losing battle but so many people are… gone… Dr. Banner came down to our labs yesterday, to try to work out some things, but they needed him back on the field before he got any real work started."

While Banner's identity as the Hulk may have been a secret before, this war had blown it wide open inside S.H.I.E.L.D. Everyone knew the man was their most valuable ally – in either form. He was the only one so far to make a dent in one of those robots and his brain might eventually find a solution to all their problems.

The problem was, that Banner could only be in one place at a time, and that was either fighting beside the Avengers or in a lab spinning theories and conducting tests.

"I need to go," Benny said suddenly. "There's… so much I need to do, but not before I tell you I love you."

Claire smiled although Benny couldn't see it. "I love you, too."

"Stay safe."

"You, too."

In their current situation, such simple words shouldn't have made her feel better, but they did. Perhaps the harsh reality simply hadn't hit her yet, and she would be happily living in blissful ignorance until it did.

Asgard

They had traveled to a faraway world to help settle a dispute between two warring nations. A peace had been brokered and Thor was anxious to return home to Asgard with his friends; a feast of success would await them upon their arrival and they all had marvelous stories to tell. The Lady Sif and Warriors Three had once again proven themselves worthy allies yet Thor thought of others as well – his fellow Avengers in Midgard.

Perhaps once the festivities were done he would speak to his father and return to Earth once more, to meet his newest allies and perhaps enjoy the simpler life of Jane Foster whom he missed.

As a familiar sight finally greeted their eyes, he felt a sense of calm; with the Bifrost still broken, traveling between realms was harder and time-consuming. He longed to bathe before the feast, to wash the grime from his skin and feel like a man reborn. Yet all that was merely an old routine; nothing compared to the unexpected joys of Midgard.

"Do not look so glum!" Volstagg slapped him hard on the back. "We shall feast tonight and regale everyone with our latest feats!" He marched off, his mighty axe slung over one shoulder.

Hogun followed him like a silent shadow, giving Thor a brief nod.

Fandral, who no doubt planned on amazing several Asgardian ladies tonight with beautiful stones he had brought with him, smiled and hurried after the others.

Sif was the only one who remained, sword on her side, shield strapped to her back. "You are thinking of Midgard," she mused.

"Aye," Thor admitted. "It has been too long since I traveled there."

"We need you here as well – in Asgard," she insisted.

Thor shook his head. "You have many mighty warriors here and the Realms are peaceful. Should there be a danger, I shall of course return, but Midgard needs me."

Sif sighed, looking displeased by this but not enough to protest. Those looks had been more frequent after the Chitauri attempted to invade Earth and Thor united his power alongside the champions of Midgard. He had more reasons to return to the Middle Realm now than he'd had after his exile there – and Sif knew this.

"Perhaps you will join me," Thor offered. Perhaps if Sif saw what he did, she would understand.

"It is not my place there," she objected.

"But you would be welcomed."

Sif opened her mouth to speak then closed it, looking past Thor. He followed her gaze, finding Heimdall standing there, his face grim with concern; that was always a poor omen.

"Heimdall," Thor greeted the gatekeeper.

"Thor Odinson," Heimdall bowed his head. "I need to speak with you."

Thor knew better than to assume this could take place after his bath. The shadows of concern on Heimdall's face pierced a deep fear into his heart and he followed the man back to his observatory. "What concerns you?" Thor asked once they were alone; Sif had fallen back, knowing Heimdall would have stated clearly if this was for her ears as well.

"Midgard has come under an attack," the gatekeeper announced gravely. "The Chitauri forces have traveled across space and are bringing a war upon the human race."

Thor blinked, unable to believe it, and then his fingers squeezed around the handle of Mjolnir. "How dare they?! Was one defeat not enough for them?"

"They have found new weapons," Heimdall spoke. "Something the Midgardians cannot defeat."

"Weapons?"

"Nothing I have ever seen before. They remind me of the Destroyer, yet they do not require a spirit within them; strange machines that are bringing the humans to their knees."

Thor could no longer stand still, pacing back and forth, Mjolnir heavy in his hand. "How long ago did the attack begin?"

"It has not been long but the enemy is advancing quickly," Heimdall told him. "If you wish to join your Avengers, you must make that decision quickly."

Thor nodded grimly and swung the hammer in his hand, taking off into the air, and flying out towards Odin's palace. He would have words with his father.

Odin's rooms were silent when Thor entered. Distant sounds could be heard from the Hall, echoing along the massive hallways, yet when he closed to door of his father's room, it all disappeared. Odin was alone, seated in a chair, staring out a window. He must have known Thor was coming – and why.

"Father," Thor greeted hastily. "Midgard is in danger. We must go for their aid."

The Allfather was silent for a long time, testing Thor's patience. Heimdall's concern had sparked Thor's own, making him wonder just how many of the Chitauri there were, and how much havoc they were wreaking on his beloved Midgard.

"Earth is lost," Odin finally replied in the solemn voice Thor had gotten used to after they thought they had lost Loki.

Thor's concern sparked anger and defiance. "Earth has not been lost yet. Its champions will defend it to their deaths!"

"And how do you know they have not yet fallen?"

"If they have, I will avenge them all," Thor vowed, yet he would not believe it; the noble Captain, the mighty Hulk, the far-sighted Hawkeye, and the clever Quake; could out-match this enemy as they had before, yet they needed his help – and they would have it. "I will go to Midgard," Thor spoke louder. "And if Earth is truly lost… then I shall die defending it."

Odin let out a heavy sigh. "I cannot keep you from going," he said, "but know this, Odinson: if the Earth falls and its champions with it, it is only a matter of time before the Chitauri turn their eyes on another prize. Asgard may yet need you. Do not throw away your life in a war that is but a taste of what is to come."

"It is my decision, father," Thor replied. "I am the protector of Earth, and I have neglected my duty. If I can stop it, Midgard shall be saved, and our enemies will be beaten, no matter the weapons they wield this time."

His father nodded, knowing him well enough to not fight. Thor had defied him before and this was for a nobler reason than any of their prior arguments.

He strode out, breathing hard, dread twisting his insides. How bad was it that his father deemed Earth lost before the fight had even ended? Was this new weapon of the Chitauri truly so mighty that the Allfather dreaded the safety of Asgard?

All the more reason for Thor to stop them before it came to that.

"Thor!"

He stopped and turned his head to see Sif and the Warriors Three advancing.

"Is it true that Midgard is being attacked by the enemy you once defeated?" Fandral asked.

Thor nodded solemnly. "Had we come back earlier, I may have been there to prevent it…"

"It is not your fault," Sif reassured him. "You have other duties –"

"I am going to Midgard," Thor interrupted her. "You will not stop me. My father thinks Earth has already been lost but I refuse to believe this until I have done my all to defend the Middle Realm."

Volstagg nodded along then tore a last strip of meat from a bone he was holding; he had already made it to the feast before Sif sought them out to meet Thor. "And we shall come with you."

"My friends," Thor started.

"Our minds are made up," Fandral smiled tensely. "This enemy seems formidable and we have stood by your side before. We will join you to defend the Realm you love so much."

Hogun nodded his approval between them. Had he found a reason to object, he would have spoken up, but his silence bore all the marks of agreement.

"We should go," Sif added, taking a small step forward. "The rumors promised nothing good and Heimdall and Allfather must have told you more than we already know."

Thor nodded his head, smiling at the four warriors. His confidence was lifting. "We shall go. However, there is something I need to take there with us."

Loki glanced up as the door of his prison was opened. The darkness flooded with light and it was as if life pumped through him again instead of cold, dark nothingness. He knew not whom to expect yet he was still surprised to find his brother at the door, flanked by his warrior friends.

"Have you come to mock me?" Loki asked.

"Nay, brother," Thor shook his head sadly. "There is something I require of you." Lady Sif and the Warriors Three looked ill at ease, as if they had not expected this nor liked the plan now that it was unfolding, whatever it was.

"Require?" Loki's mouth twitched. "I do not understand."

"We are returning to Midgard, to battle the Chitauri that are at war with the humans. You will come with us and assist us in defeating the enemy you first brought to their doorstep."

That was unexpected. The Chitauri had found their way back to Earth? And for what purpose? The Tesseract was safely locked away by Odin, so there was nothing left for them on Earth.

Other than revenge.

"And what if I do not desire to partake in your little trip?" he asked carefully. Loki was not about to place himself in the hands of the Chitauri; even if the defeat had not been entirely his fault, he doubted the Chitauri would see it that way. They had lost the Tesseract and would hold Loki responsible for this.

"It was not a request," Thor's voice was filled with steel which he usually reserved for anyone but Loki. He was serious and Loki doubted there was anything he could do to refuse the man he used to call brother.

He got up to his feet and followed the five of them out into the brilliantly beautiful day. That he felt sick in the stomach had nothing to do with the relief of finally tasting freedom again.

—

The skies were still rumbling as the dust settled. Thor straightened, breathing in the air but finding its aroma very different from his last visit. He looked around, seeing nothing move but his allies.

"I did not remember it was this… quiet," Fandral observed.

"It wasn't," Thor frowned. "Something's not right."

They had chosen the familiar Bifrost site in a park in the heart of New York City, yet most of the trees looked like they had been unearthed or burnt. The few that remained standing had lost their leaves and appeared dead, the grass and other plants shriveled. The city skyline was different, lined with half-destroyed buildings and smoking ruins.

"This is a battlefield," Sif spoke, voice hushed.

"I don't see anyone to fight," Volstagg complained.

"Nor defenders," Hogun offered the most grim observation of all.

Thor had to agree with all of them. "We must find the Avengers," he deemed next.

"Where do you presume we start looking?" Fandral asked.

Thor looked around once more, wondering about it himself, and then his eyes landed on Loki. He had not said a word, looking around slowly, a measured expression on his face. "What do you think, brother?"

Loki shook his head, eyes narrowing, but he didn't snap at him nor did he speak. He kept glancing around, from the city to the husks of trees then back again, his expression more cautious every second. "We are not alone," he said finally.

"I cannot see anyone," Volstagg declared.

"Can you not silence him? Even the dead hear him," Loki snapped.

Volstagg took a step towards him but Thor raised his hand and the large warrior huffed and hefted his axe, glancing around suspiciously.

"What do you mean, we are not alone?" Sif asked, clearly not liking the situation.

"We should move," Fandral appeared to agree with her concern. "Until we know where we are headed, perhaps we should –"

A strange roar echoed in the air and something large moved between the buildings. A shadow was cast by the sun, following the movements of whatever was approaching, and then they finally saw it; a metallic creature, easily more than twice as tall as the Destroyer, its fingers digging into a nearby building and making chunks of it fall to the abandoned street. Its glowing red eyes looked straight at them. It looked fairly human in shape, save for the tail swinging behind it, making it lean forward like a predator ready to attack.

"Is that the new weapon of the Chitauri?" Volstagg frowned. "It doesn't look like much."

Thor held Mjolnir tighter. "Let it taste the weapons of Asgard!" he roared.

The metal creature roared back, bracing its body, moving towards them across the distance, its feet crushing cars and small buildings under its weight. Thor raised Mjolnir, urging the clouds to gather, summoning the lightning, and then hitting the machine hard. Its metal skin lit up, the lightning licking across the smooth surface then slowly began to vanish. When the last flicker was gone, the machine seemed completely unaffected and resumed moving toward them in measured steps.

The metal creature roared back, bracing its body, moving towards them across the distance, its feet crushing cars and small buildings under its weight. Thor raised Mjolnir, urging the clouds to gather, summoning the lightning, and then hitting the machine hard. Its metal skin lit up, the lightning licking across the smooth surface then slowly began to vanish. When the last flicker was gone, the machine seemed completely unaffected and resumed moving toward them in measured steps.

Thor raised Mjolnir once more but felt a hand on his arm. He looked to find Loki beside him, intently staring at their mechanical opponent. "It absorbed the lightning," Loki spoke. "Do not feed it again; I don't want to know what happens when it's had enough."

Reluctantly Thor agreed. It hadn't seemed to hurt the creature in any way.

"What would you like us to do, then?" Fandral asked bitingly.

"Attack it," Loki replied, unaffected by his tone.

There was no time for further planning before the machine was above them, the ground trembling beneath its approach. Thor sent Mjolnir flying at its head but the creature dodged at the last moment, following the hammer's movements as if beginning to circle back. It moved aside again at the last moment but Mjolnir almost hit it in the shoulder. Thor snarled and the others moved towards it, weapons at a ready. Volstagg was the first to strike one tall leg with his axe, his victorious roar cutting the air. It turned into a bellow of pain as the leg lit up upon contact, with a blue flash that sent the warrior flying back through the air, taking down a tree as he crashed down.

Fandral and Sif closed in on the other leg, eyeing it suspiciously, then Fandral tested his sword against the surface, drawing back at once when a similar zap of light began to appear.

"We cannot touch it!" Sif shouted.

Hogun threw his morning star at the limb Volstagg had tried attacking, the weapon colliding then being thrown back, almost striking its owner as it was deflected from the metal surface without making actual contact.

A sound almost like a huff came from above them and then one leg moved, tearing into the ground, sending them flying for cover or being crushed beneath earth and metal.

"Any other ideas?" Sif shouted at Loki.

Thor glanced at his brother, seeing a familiar expression on his face; he was plotting. "Loki," he warned loudly. "The return of your magic was conditional upon your willingness to help us."

"All I am willing to do is to survive through this ordeal," Loki hissed back at him. He looked up next, bringing his hands together, his lips moving without a sound coming through. When his palm parted, a bright orb floated between them, which he then sent at the metal creature. It screeched, light exploding all over it. Smoke wafted off its metal skin yet no apparent damage remained. However, the creature didn't seem happy, which meant Loki must have done something none of them could.

However, with the creature's wrath upon them, it strode at them again, one long arm swooping down. Thor lifted Mjolnir, daring the machine to touch him – then a beam of light shot through the sky at the thing, hitting its back, making it straighten up. For a brief moment, Thor imagined he was dreaming, a suit of armor coming to a halt mid-air, one hand raised, its familiar glowing weapon ready to shoot again.

It wasn't Iron Man, however. The colors were wrong, and the body was bulkier. "Run," it called out to them in a male voice.

"I am Thor –" he began.

"I know who you are. I'll keep it occupied and then come find you," the man in the armor cut him off impatiently and shot at the machine again, making it turn and chase after him, back in between the buildings.

"I think we found one of your friends," Fandral said cheerfully, helping Volstagg back to his feet; the larger man still seemed disoriented from the blow that sent him flying.

"Nay, he is not the Man of Iron I fought with," Thor shook his head, the loss gripping him once again. They may have had their differences in the beginning but Thor had respected Iron Man's strength and valor – and later, his sacrifice to save his world. Thor felt he was obliged to follow in his footsteps and protect Midgard. However, to be asked to retreat…

"We should go," Sif said, looking back in the direction where the machine had disappeared. "Your… The warrior in flying armor told us to leave here."

Grudgingly Thor led them away from the buildings and further into the dead forest although he had no idea where they should be headed. The sounds of battle had ceased behind them and Thor wondered if this new Man of Iron had survived. A while later he heard a familiar sound, however, and the gray shape flew past them then curved back and landed.

"You took care of the machine?" Fandral asked.

"Led it away is more like it," came a reply. "You cannot really… We haven't found a way to defeat them yet." The armored face looked at Thor. "I'm War Machine. Once we noticed you arrived, Fury sent me to pick you up. We need to regroup and get our bearings."

Thor nodded slowly. "Your armor is…"

"One of Tony's," came a quick slash of a reply. "He… gave it to me. Sort of."

Loki was regarding War Machine with curiosity. "You knew him. Stark."

"He was my friend," War Machine admitted.

"I grieve his loss with you," Thor offered. "He was a good man."

You didn't know him. But… Yeah, I guess he was." The subject seemed to trouble their new friend and he turned away slightly. "We have a bit to go on foot. We have to be careful not to lead any enemies back to base."

"Lead the way, War Machine," Thor nodded.

The glowing red eyes looked at them again as if there was something he wanted to ask. "You are… not from around here," War Machine stated.

Thor chuckled. "Nay, my friend, but we are here to help."

"Him, too?" an armored finger pointed at Loki and the edge was back.

Loki's face froze slightly. "I would have rather stayed back home," he replied. "I wasn't given what you might call a 'choice' in the matter."

"Well, you might just wish you had stayed at home," War Machine noted. "Some people won't be happy to see you."

Loki may be able to help us," Sif said surprisingly. "His magic might be able to damage those mechanic creatures."

That seemed to be enough for War Machine to consider the idea. He turned away again, then rotated back and looked them over once more. "Are you all feeling well?"

"Yes, why?" Volstagg asked defensively.

"Well… there are lingering amounts of radiation in the air due to a nuclear meltdown in the area. None of you seem particularly affected."

Thor exchanged looks with his friends and then returned to War Machine. "I'm not sure I understand. Is that why the air smells so strange?"

He wasn't sure but perhaps War Machine chuckled. "Okay, you're not from around here… This way," he then motioned and began to walk ahead of them into the trees.

—

The room was pitch black, closed off from the elements and fresh air. A far-away murmur of the rolling sea against stone cliffs reverberated up the outer wall. Distant yet close. Like a different world just beyond the walls.

Inside, the room was as quiet as it was dark as if waiting to be proposed again. 

A hum broke the silence, increasing, triggering other sounds; life returning to the darkness with brief blinks of various small lights. A processor ticked faster and faster until the sounds were too frequent to be told apart.

On a dust-covered desk, a screen flickered and filled the space with a steady stream of light.

A signal had come in and it had been acknowledged.

—

When he was first brought to a Helicarrier, Steve had never thought to ask whether there was more than one.

On the brink of this war, he had come to understand just how many weapons S.H.I.E.L.D. had at its disposal. The Helicarriers were spread around the world, serving as highly sheltered bases of operation, remaining in the air and undetected by their enemies. The largest served as Fury's own, more reclusive and hidden than the others which meant hours of maneuvering as they tried to arrive at it without being found out by possible alien spies.

Once there, Steve found the other Avengers were already present. They had fought together and separately depending on the situation in the last few weeks. Clint and Daisy Johnson had provided some great recon on the movements of the Chitauri but the mecha still eluded them all; whoever controlled them was harder to track and much more difficult to anticipate. They had just tried to ambush one a few days ago and Steve wasn't sure if he could ever scrub the dirt and dried blood from his skin; when the call to back off had finally been given, there weren't many left to return home and the mecha was still moving, although with a limp.

Tell me you've found something," Steve asked as he walked into the lab where Bruce was currently seated, looking like he hadn't slept in months; he didn't have enough time to recuperate from his transformations into the Hulk, or to heal the injuries even the beast had sustained trying to destroy the mecha. By far the Hulk had been the only one to make a dent and give the rest of them an opening to strike, although it always came with a cost.

Bruce looked up, his eyes a little red. "Yes and no," he replied. "Good news is that Thor arrived today with backup."

Steve halted, surprise and relief flooding him. "Yeah?"

Bruce nodded. "They appeared in NYC, Rhodey went to pick them up before they got trampled by one of the mecha we've sighted in the area."

"Perhaps Thor has it in him to take one of them down."

Unfortunately not, my friend," a familiar voice boomed from behind them and Thor strode in, catching Steve into a mighty hug.

Steve held him back for a moment, dismissing his protesting body. Behind Thor were gathered a woman and three men that Steve had only seen on file – and Loki. He pulled back once he spotted their enemy but knew better than to question it; knowing Thor, he was attempting to let his brother redeem himself. As long as Loki didn't work against them, Steve would allow him to stand with them. If not… the Hulk could finish him off this time.

You fought a mecha?" Steve asked, returning to the previous topic.

"If that is what you call that giant metal creature," Thor nodded. "It seemed most resistant against our attacks." He sounded almost like a child whose game had been foiled by someone stronger than himself.

"We still haven't cracked the surface barrier," Bruce spoke up.

"It seems to adapt very quickly," Loki agreed.

There was a brief, tense silence before Bruce nodded. "Yes, it does. All of our energy-based weapons are useless and feed it. That charge is then used against us – in worst case scenario released all at once and decimating everything around the mecha." He tapped his screen and brought up an image from what used to be a city in Germany. "Inside its advanced mechanics, whatever we've gotten to see of it. So far we haven't been able to get a specimen because regardless of the damages, they've always walked away – or if unable, another mecha is always at the ready to show up and defend the injured one."

They are like pack animals," Erik Selvig noted, appearing from behind a door, and giving them all a court nod. Benjamin Pollack followed him, hand moving across the surface of a tablet as he walked. "We've watched their behavior. Although they seem to be able to act alone, there is always another mecha nearby. They protect each other and are careful not to be caught by us. In a few instances, we've won because they backed off."

Yet they always come back," Steve noted.

They don't take risks, knowing they can overthrow us later," Bruce mused unhappily. "They have the time to wait. We don't; we're losing ground, losing too many people and we can't protect those who can't fight." A note of desperation rang in his voice.

"We will find a way together," Thor assured them all.

He introduced Lady Sif and the Warriors Three to everyone. Although the Asgardians looked completely alien standing in the middle of a high-tech lab, Steve was willing to welcome them all.

Even Loki, he supposed, although that would take a bit more work.

James Rhodes walked in a moment later, free of the suit. After West Coast was overwhelmed by enemies, Fury enlisted him, convincing the Air Force and Rhodes that he could help S.H.I.E.L.D. and Avengers more. "Fury wants to see us," he noted.

Bruce sighed, putting away his current project. Selvig and Pollack followed them to the bridge, the Asgardians looking around in mild wonder – well, all save for Thor and Loki who had already seen it all.

They entered the bridge and a female voice called out: "Rhodey!" Pepper Potts pushed her way through to them and briefly hugged Rhodes. He embraced her back – something people did a lot these days, knowing every time could be the last. "I heard you went to New York," she said.

Rhodes nodded. "The Tower was still standing," he replied, clearly speaking of the Stark Tower.

Pepper nodded then laughed nervously. "It must sound stupid, in the middle of all this…" She pushed at her hair nervously then went and took a seat at the large table, picking a spot beside Happy Hogan, her bodyguard – and perhaps lover, Steve was sure the signs were there. Daisy Johnson and Clint were already present and for the time being, it seemed Daisy Johnson and Pepper were actually on talking terms again, for the first time since Tony's death.

The Asgardians were introduced to the rest of their allies then Fury stepped up, giving them all a long look. Agent Hill followed him, sliding up the opaque walls to block the noises of the rest of the bridge.

"Thor, it's good to see you," Fury greeted the God of Thunder.

"I'm sorry to come so late," Thor replied, voice filled with regret.

Fury just nodded. "The situation hasn't changed drastically in the last few days but we're still losing this war," he finished. Silence circled him for a long moment.

"My friends!" Thor finally stepped up. "Certainly you are not giving up?"

"Of course not," Daisy shook her head. "We're fighting this one to the end."