fiction | Part of the journey is the end

5. New York, 2012

In New York, 2012, the Chitauri roared angrily. Hulk roared back louder as Clint notched an arrow next to him and Thor raised Mjolnir while Natasha loaded her guns. Steve stood with his shield as Tony descended next to him. The Avengers had assembled in a circle.

"Oh man, this takes me back," said Clint.

"Everything was so much simpler back then," Natasha grinned. "Honestly, compared to Thanos, Loki seems like the weird cousin that no one likes." She sent Loki a smirk, who rolled his eyes. He wasn't looking forward to reliving the Battle of New York again.

"Do you remember when Steve was the one who said to not go poking around SHIELD's secrets?" Tony snickered. "He said that we have orders and we should follow them."

The Avengers roared with laughter, while Steve rolled his eyes. "Ha. Ha. Very funny. How was I supposed to know SHIELD was HYDRA?"

Bucky was still laughing. "Steve said that? He's never followed a rule in his life!"

Scott and Peter were watching the screen with wide eyes.

"I remember this day! I was in prison and everyone was stuck to the TV," said Scott. "Even the prison guards. No one could believe what was happening."

Bruce chuckled. "We couldn't believe what was happening ourselves."

"I was ten years old," said Peter. "It wasn't that bad in Queens but everyone was still really scared."

"Shit, you're making me feel old, kid," said Sam.

In a nearby alley, Steve, Tony, Bruce and Scott appeared as their Quantum suits disappeared, with Steve telling them they had two Stones uptown, one Stone down.

Everyone was anxious. They needed to get those Stones at any cost.

They had to stay low and keep an eye on the clock. Then they noticed 2012 Hulk angrily smashing a Chitauri with a car before throwing its tire while another scared Chitauri ran off. Hulk jumped on the car, crushing it, before running off. Bruce put his hand on his face, embarrassed.

Bruce winced.

Tony laughed. "You've come a long way since 2012!"

"Why are you embarrassed? The Hulk is cool," said Rocket.

Bruce looked horrified as Steve told him to smash a few things along the way.

Bruce sighed.

Bruce said he found it gratuitous but agreed, ripping off his shirt and giving out fake half-hearted roars as he lightly smashed a car and threw a bike.

Everyone erupted into laughter.

On the New York Sanctum, Ancient One was using her Eldritch magic to cut down any Chitauri flying nearby.

Strange sucked in a breath at the sight of his mentor.

Sam furrowed his eyebrows. "Who's she? Where are you?" he asked Strange.

"That's the Ancient One. I wasn't a sorcerer yet," answered Strange. "I think I'm performing surgery at that moment."

Clint looked at the Ancient One destroying the Chitauri easily. "Couldn't your wizard group have helped us then? We needed it."

"We leave the physical threats to you, but we do defend the Sanctum."

"But Thanos is a physical threat?"

"Thanos also wants the Time Stone, which we're sworn to protect."

Bruce jumped onto the roof of the Sanctum, and was about to go in until Ancient One said the floors were waxed. He said he was looking for Doctor Strange. "You're about five years too early," said the Ancient One.