Learning To Love

Chapter 17

They raced through the palace, heading for the courtyards. Hardly anyone occupied the hallways, only a few people scurried about. Outside, a whole different scene greeted them. An army of Chitauri poured in through the gates, and the Asguardian army battled them relentlessly. Sierra spotted Thor off to one side smashing down Chitauri with his hammer. Sif and the Warriors Three fought among the army as well and more Asgardians surged in to aid. Loki and Sierra looked to each other.

"Watch my back," he said nonchalantly and he shrugged, accepting the job at hand. Sierra set her jaw, drew her sword, and advanced into the crowd. An alien targeted her immediately and she let it come. As it ran, it raised a gun and shot. It blew past Sierra as she ducked, stumbling forward. She regained her balance and rushed the alien.

The Chitauri contemplated for a split second and then dropped the gun and pulled a short, wide sword out from behind it. Sierra raised her sword and the alien slashed with theirs. They clashed for a minute and she struggled to get the upper hand, but Sif taught her well and soon it laid dead in front of her. Her first kill. Sierra saw Loki on her right. He'd returned his sword to his sheath and instead he fought with his magic and a dagger in each hand.

With no immediate adversaries, Sierra took a moment to catch her breath, and she watched Loki as he appeared behind a Chitauri who had been focused on the copy of Loki in front of them. The real Loki grabbed it and slit its throat with his dagger. As he dropped the body to the ground, he met Sierra's eyes and they nodded to each other once before facing the battle once more.

Sierra fought viciously for longer than she could keep track. Her muscles trembled with exhaustion, sweat plastered her clothing to her under the armor. The dawn had just began to light up the sky. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she whirled around, at the attack. However, it just Thor.

"What do you need?" Sierra asked, catching her breath, thankful for the short rest. He glanced at the fighting around them.

"I need your help. The Chitauri are too much for us. We need backup." Thor watched her face carefully.

"Backup? Like wh- wait, the Avengers? Is that what you mean?" Sierra said, surprised.

"Exactly," Thor said. "I need you to go to Midgard and get help. We can hold them off long enough for you to do that." She straightened and bobbed her head.

"I can do that."

**********

Sierra arrived in New York only a few minutes later, still clothed in armor. Nobody was around upstairs, so she ran down to the lab. There, she found Tony and Bruce. Bruce raised his eyebrows at the sight of her.

"Hey Sierra, what's up with the armor and sword and stuff?" Bruce asked. "You realize that will get you arrested here in New York." Tony grinned at this.

"He's right. We'll have to bail you out, and there will be a boatload of paperwork..." He chuckled. She glared at him.

"I need your help. We need to assemble the Avengers. Get Steve. Get Clint and Natasha," she told them in a hurry. Bruce gave her a confused glance.

"Why?"

"Because Asgard is under attack from Thanos right now, and we can't handle them alone. Thor sent me to get you all." Sierra watched the two men worriedly. Tony exhaled and looked over at Bruce.

"If Thor has personally asked for help, it's got to be bad. Let's go. Hey, Jarvis?" he asked, and the machine's voice replied,

"Yes, Mr. Stark?"