All Along - Steve Rogers {1}

Chapter 24: We Could Use A Little Worse

The God of Mischief felt the infernal rage rise inside of him. Who was this human to think he could defy him? To think he could beat and outsmart him? They would all bow before him, even if it meant millions had to die. He raised his sceptre, the golden staff vibrating in the palm of his hand as it charged and pointed towards Tony Stark.

Tony's reflexes were much quicker. Loki had let his emotions get the better of him and his next intentions were very clear. Tony raised his hand, and let his repulsor fire, the energy building that half a second quicker than the sceptre. The blast and Loki collided, the force sending him whirling back into the penthouse, a cry of pain bursting from him chest.

On the Quinjet Nellie suddenly became frozen, the ripple down her spine had now turned to a searing heat. Her vision suddenly became engulfed in the blue hue she only saw when fighting, and she felt her own energy straining to be released.

"Nel?" Steve noticed the change in her first, how her body had become rigid and unmoving, her face expressionless, the colour drained from it. He stepped around her to look at her face, an immediate frown forming as he looked into her glowing and icy eyes. "Eleanor!" He sputtered tossing his shield to the side, his hands gripping her shoulders.

Suddenly Nellie's body dropped to the floor, her legs giving way completely just as a glowing blue light sky rocketed high into the sky above Stark Tower. Steve dropped with her, moving to the side of her so he could pull Nellie's unresponsive body into his chest. The beam of light shimmered, stopping about three hundred feet above the highest point of the tower, and then the sky around it seemed to fold in on itself, rippling into a circle of darkness. "What the hell is that?" Natasha gasped suddenly, her words drawing Steve's attention away from Nellie's face.

Nellie felt a sudden surge of energy course through her entire body, sending her body into an uncontrollable jolt. Much like before, when the portal had opened before her on the Valkyrie, she no longer felt in control of her own body. It was as if the Tesseract had latched onto her, linking them both involuntarily together.

The sky above the tower continued to grow dark as the hole expanded, the crashing boom rolling towards the jet like an unstoppable wave. Nellie gritted her teeth, trying to snap herself out of the hold the cube had on her but her vision suddenly became blurred and all she could see was the surge of aliens heading straight for the city of New York.

"Eleanor! Breathe!" Steve shook her fiercely, trying to bring reality back to her before she suffocated. Nellie's face was gaunt, her mind somewhere else as she stared blankly ahead. Over his shoulder he could see the blue beam of light scorching the sky and he knew that Nellie was linked to it. "Nellie!" He shook her again and then Nellie blinked, her head lolled back unsupported and then she jolted back into reality, the blue fading from her eyes.

"They're coming." She whispered, a panic Steve had never seen on her face before sending shock waves through him. "There are thousands." She warned just as the black hole split open like a spider's nest, and the offspring began to tumble out in swarms.

"Right. Army." Tony stated suddenly, rushing forward to meet the Chitauti army head on.

Steve helped Nellie to her feet, her eyes glued to the portal as Tony began his charge, sending missile after missile against the aliens but they just kept coming. Uselessly, the four watched as the Chitauri descended on the city, smoke and plumes of fire and smoke began to rise up from the streets, their flying chariots wove in and out of the buildings, small blooms of blue lasers fired down upon the civilians of the city. The chaos and destruction already at a deadly high.

"Stark, we're on your three, headed northeast." Natasha called out over the comms, the jet roaring as it sailed over the top of the skyscrapers towards Tony's location.