Man Out of Time - A Captain America / Avengers Fanfiction

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Steve felt like an overwound spring, ready to spring into action at the release of a mechanism. This was a feeling which had not changed in the time he'd been asleep, the feeling of overwrought anticipation as they waited for a mission to go down. He sweltered beneath his suit. Mosquitoes the size of hummingbirds swarmed the places his flesh was exposed. He swatted at them, waiting for the shipment S.H.I.E.L.D. had gotten intelligence was due to arrive via boat from tonight.

"Captain," Nick Fury's voice came over the intercom. "This is Command. A small craft has launched from the target and is headed in your direction."

"Roger," Steve responded. "Everybody hear that? Target approaches."

"Black Widow in position," Natasha called.

"Hawkeye in position," Clint called.

"Banner … um … Hulk … ah … still Banner in position."

"Thor in position," Thor called.

"Yo," Stark said.

Steve suppressed his annoyance. Stark was deliberately baiting Thor. Not him. Stark had come through for them in a big way in New York. Say what you would about the deeply flawed billionaire-genius-playboy-philanthropist, he was no shrinking violet. They waited, tracking the positions of the suspected agents. The tension in the air was palpable.

"Small craft tying up at the dock," Natasha called over the radio. "Looks like … three men … and an assortment of crates."

"Any insignia?" Steve asked.

"Two … same as the guys by the cantina," Natasha called out. "Black shoulder patch. One silver bar. No pins. The third one is still in the shadows. Skull-pin-man went over to chat with him."

"I've got movement," Tony Stark shouted into the radio. "Thirty or forty men just piled out of the shed behind one of the houses. Don't know how they even fit."

"Same here," Thor called. "Got another fifty piling out of the church. All wearing those black patches."

"This ain't Sunday!" Banner said. "I've got six just came out of a house? They let the door … I can see inside. There's people inside crouched on the ground … screaming. Hostages?"

"Didn't think there were that many adults in this entire village," Natasha said. "Briefing said a population of 145."

"Hawkeye?" Steve called out. "What do you see?"

"Something's going down here at the garage," Hawkeye called. "These two guys suddenly jumped up and opened the garage bay doors … oh … shit!"

The high-pitched whine of engines let the Avengers know Hawkeye referred to Chitauri gliders. The same single-rider aircraft the invaders had used over New York City.

"Move move move move!" Steve shouted into the radio as he ran towards the two suspects he'd been shadowing all night. "Command … this place is crawling with gliders!"

Chaos erupted as Banner switched into his alter-ego. With a roar, he began leaping into the air to pluck Chitauri gliders mid-flight as though he was a cat batting at moths. The whistle of an arrow being released from its bowstring, then an explosion, signaled Hawkeye was following through his mission to prevent any vehicle from exiting that garage. They'd been expecting a couple of trucks, not dozens of Chitauri gliders. How the hell had the Chitauri gotten so many ships in under the radar? Lightening erupting from one corner of the village paired with the high-pitched whine of pulse reactors exploding showed where Iron Man and Thor had temporarily set aside their differences to work together.