Elizabeth Barton/Ghost (Avengers Fanfiction)

Victory

"There's no one I trust more to help her."

"I appreciate that Tony."

"You will be there for Pepper won't you?"

"Of course I will. Tony... I know she's proud of you. And I am too." I tried to blink back my tears as he got nearer to the portal and then vanished through. All communications with him went dead, except for mine of course. Everyone in the city cheered around me and so did the agents back on the Helicarrier who were watching everything through computer screens they had set up and cameras they had sent into the city, but all I could see was what he was seeing. I could see the endless stretch of black and the white stars. I could see the huge ship that kept releasing thousands of Chitauri.

The fire shooting out of the back of the missile puttered out and Tony let go, letting it float towards the ship. His suit froze up because of the cold temperatures and his chest ached as he couldn't breathe anymore. A feeling of drowsiness swept over him and his eyelids grew heavy. They shut as he didn't have the strength to keep them open and then his mind was consumed by darkness. I pulled out and blinked as if to wipe away the remnants of the connection. I couldn't see him anymore.

"Is he going to make it?" I vaguely heard Steve ask.

"I don't know. His consciousness is gone so I can't see into his mind anymore." My own voice sounded worlds away. A loud boom thundered and we looked up through the portal to see something, the spaceship, exploding. With the destruction of the ship, every Chitauri soldier and the last leviathan collapsed, their power source gone. I was right before about them being robots and now that their control center was destroyed, there was nothing left to keep them powered.

Chaos surrounded us as people came out of hiding and went wild with happiness and relief. The mood was festive, but we, the Avengers, stayed standing still, eyes turned to the sky. We waited and watched, hoping Tony would make it back. After a few seconds of nothing, Thor nodded to Steve and Steve told Natasha to close it. She thrust the scepter into the Tesseract and the beam that had opened the portal cut off. The circle became smaller and smaller and right before it closed completely, a small figure fell through. There was the familiar flash of red as the sunlight bounced off the red metal suit and we laughed in relief.

"He's not slowing down." Thor said with a frown. He swung Mjölnir in his hand, calling the wind so he could fly and catch him, but before he could, Hulk launched himself off the side of a building and snatched Tony out of the air. He hit the ground, making it shake like an earthquake was passing through. He threw Tony off of him in disgust and we ran over. Thor ripped the Iron Man mask off and tossed it aside. Tony's eyes were closed and he appeared to be dead.

As if Hulk was seriously annoyed, he roared and the sound startled Tony awake. "What the hell? What happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me."

I smiled weakly. Somehow, Tony was able to joke about anything and everything. He had almost died and he was still able to crack one. "We won," Steve murmured as though he was finding it hard to believe. We looked around us. The city was a mess and there had been some casualties, but yes. We had won.

"Alright, yeah, good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it."

"We're not finished yet." Thor reminded him.

Tony considered this. "And then shawarma after."

Loki was still at the Stark Tower, bruised and battered and just getting up after Hulk's attack. His bones had set themselves and though the worst of his injures were healed, he was sore all over and still in a lot of pain. Thor and Steve grabbed an arm each and hauled him up. Later that day, we all went to a patio area in the middle of a park. Small trees surrounded it and a fountain spewed water. There weren't a lot of people there because they were still recovering from the destruction done to their city which was why we thought it was the perfect place to go. We had all changed into normal clothes again, well, except for Thor and Loki, but that was how they always dressed.

Thor shook our hands firmly and thanked us before turning to Loki who was handcuffed and had a strange Asgardian thing over his mouth. Natasha, who stood by her partner's side, leaned in and whispered to him. "Oh good, they finally put a muzzle on the dog." Clint smirked. No one else was supposed to hear, but expecting that I would, Natasha looked over at me. When she saw me trying to hide a smile, she winked.

Tony opened a small box that held the Tesseract and Bruce carefully took it out. He put it in a clear cylindrical container that Thor held. When it was in, Thor made sure the lid of the container was tightly latched before he held the other end out to Loki who took it reluctantly. There was a flash of rainbow light and then they were gone. They had gone back to their home. Back to Asgard. Tony hugged me and said his goodbyes to the others before jumping behind the wheel of his red sports car. Bruce got in with him and they drove off. Steve waved to us as he got on his Harley motorcycle, revving the engine.

Clint wrapped an arm around my shoulders and this time I did not pull away. Instead I grinned and leaned into him. He led the way to a sleek black car that was waiting for us. Natasha, Clint and I got in and the driver drove in stony silence. We didn't mind that he wasn't much of a talker. We just drifted away in our own thoughts. The skyscrapers and tall buildings of New York City gave way to rolling green hills and trees that flashed by. I watched the land rise and fall as the road wound through it all, thinking about the Avengers.

I hoped that one day we would come together again. Even though I knew that could only happen if another huge world threatening event occurred, which I didn't wish for, I liked the way we were all able to come together as a team. I had also become friends with them and I knew that we could count on each other. I missed that already. Taking off my new glasses and wiping away a tear that had tried to sneak by, I thought about Phil and smiled. If only he could see how successful his plan was. He would be really happy. If only he had gotten Steve to sign his vintage Captain America trading cards. If only was not going to change what had happened so I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, letting my exhaustion overtake me.

Hello readers, there is an epilogue next so for the people who don't usually read epilogues and prologues because they don't think they're really important, this one is so you might want to read it. Many of you might have guessed already from hints inside the story, but there is a surprise in the next part.

The epilogue sort of leads into the continuation of Elizabeth's story. I wrote a story called Silver and Grey that's about what happens to Elizabeth after The Avengers. I know some people may have been bored with this story because it was basically the movie but with more stuff added in, but Silver and Grey isn't like that this time. I am debating on whether or not to post it. Please comment and let me know if you would be interested in reading it. Thanks! :)