DAYWALKER | n.romanoff

EIGHT

CHAPTER EIGHT
'GET MOVING.'

The Blade stood to the side in the Quinjet and watched the scenery morph into the busy floods of the city. Chitauri plagued the buildings like a swarm of locusts, explosions lighting their wake and drawing screams from the people below. It was odd, wading into a battle like this. She didn't find herself overly scared. Instead, her heart thrummed with excitement. The pressure returned behind her ears, but it wasn't painful. A buzz slithered through her veins and beneath the balaclava, a grin formed.

"Stark, we're heading northeast," Romanoff spoke from one of the pilot seats at the front of the ship.

"What? Did you stop for a drive-thru?" Stark answered through their coms. "Swing up, park. I'm gonna lay 'em out for you."

Through the window, Stark guided a trail of Chitauri in front of the Quinjet. Romanoff took hold of the ships' weapons system and shot them down. Looking past them, the Blade caught sight of Loki and Thor battling on top of the Stark Tower where a huge blue light exploded from the Tesseract and into the sky. The portal showcased the dark expanse of space, and the dots of the Chitauri flooded through the interdimensional door.

The ship swooped up, and Romanoff aimed the gun at Loki, where the bullets rebounded from his helmet. He lifted his sceptre mid-fight and pointed it directly at the ship.

The explosion hit the ship dead on, and the Blade managed to haul herself away from the impact area just before the ball of energy hit. Rogers grabbed the collar of her coat and prevented her from slipping back from the incline as Barton pulled the controls up. The ship scraped along a building, tearing off the burning wing, and the Blade managed to grab the back of Romanoff's chair.

Spinning towards the ground with speed, Barton somehow managed to prevent them crashing into a heap, and it skidded across the ground. The momentum of the stop threw Rogers and Blade against the chairs they clutched, a quiet grunt leaving her lips before their feet gained friction again.

Between Rogers' strength and the Blade's various sharp weaponry, they broke through the crushed door and into the chaos of New York. The Chitauri's riot was louder than she had expected, and the smell of gunpowder and smoke lay heavily in her nose. The Blade turned in a circle as she replaced her sword in its sheath.

They whipped around as a colossal noise punctured the air, and the Blade's eyes widened. A massive creature swept out of the portal, which plagued the blue sky. Its jaws alone were larger than a bus as it let out another roar.

"Jesus," she whispered, body moving to watch it swim through the air.

The Chitauri soldiers screamed triumphantly at the sight of the beast from where they hung from the concrete buildings surrounding them.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Rogers asked, his eyes flickering through the crowds of machine-like beasts.

"I'm seeing, still working on believing. Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

"Banner?"

"Just keep me posted."

The Blade looked between the three. "Are we going to do something or just stand here admiring the destruction?"

Rogers looked over their surroundings before he nodded. "We're gonna fight." He looked at the others and repeated, "We're gonna fight."

Loki flew overhead on a hoverboard-like machine, leading a group of Chitauri soldiers. Explosions erupted in their wake, launching people across the streets and shattering vehicles.

"Those people need assistance down there."

The Blade's eyes followed Rogers' line of sight of the upturned bus. Just as the group set off towards it, Chitauri intercepted them and began to unleash fire. Immediately, she ducked and drew her sword.