I'd Bleed for You

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

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"Stark, we have Banner." Steve said into his earpiece.

"This all looks horrible." Bruce frowned as he looked around at the once perfect city that was now being destroyed. He wasn't wrong, it wasn't a very pretty sight.

"I've seen worse." Natasha met his gaze with her own. Even though I had the urge to hit her I knew she was right. It was safe to say that we were both thinking of the incident on the hellicarrier with Bruce hulking out. That hadn't been pretty either.

"Sorry," Bruce gave Natasha a sheepish look.

"No, we need worse." I gave him a smile. At my words he nodded and looked around at the sky that was starting to fill with smoke from the small fires the aliens had started, along with the burning aliens that I had taken care of.

"Tell him to suit up, I'm bringing the party to you." Tony's voice filled my ear again. Without a second thought I pulled the earpiece out and stuffed it into my pocket. I had already had enough of Tony in my head for a lifetime.

"Dr. Banner, you might want to get angry." Steve suggested as he took a small step back from Bruce.

"That's my secret Captain," Bruce said, "I'm always angry." The next second his clothes were ripping as he grew and his skin took on a familiar green tint. Standing before us was the Hulk.

At that moment we all watched as Tony appeared over our heads as he turned the corner. Right behind him though a building seemed to explode as glass went everywhere. A huge metal whale like creature appeared, chasing after Tony in his Iron Man suit. No one needed to say anything as the Hulk went running and jumping upwards, smashing the thing.

Is it wrong that I was a little jealous that he got to handle the thing?

"What's the plan, Captain?" Tony asked as he landed on the ground next to us. Since when were they getting along with each other?

"We need to get the portal shut." Steve told us the same thing I'd said just a few minutes prior to Bruce showing up. "Stark you need to be in the air, run the perimeter. Barton on the roof, pick off any strays."

"Give me a ride?" Clint asked Tony.

"Hang on tight Legolas." Tony got a good hold on him before he flew off with Clint in tow.

"Thor try and take care of as many of those things as you can and get to Loki. You have lightning, blow that thing up." Steve moved on. Thor only nodded before swinging his giant hammer and taking off into the sky like Tony had. That just left Steve, Natasha, Bruce, and I. "Natasha, Nichole you're both here on the ground with me. We'll try and take care of as many as we can and keep the civilians safe. And Hulk?"

"Bruce." I muttered under my breath as Bruce turned his large green head to look at Steve.

"Smash." At the instruction Bruce gave a large grin and took off running, destroying any alien that he came close to.

"Time for some fun." I smirked as I ran ahead of Natasha and Steve. I could feel them both watching me as I sent cars and rubble that used to be parts of buildings at the aliens without even touching the things.

"Didn't think to mention any of this before?" Natasha yelled at me as she fought with an alien, she ended up shooting it right through the head so it dropped dead.

"No one bothered to ask!" I called back at her as I looked up to see some of the aliens flying around on what looked like chariots. There were too many of these damn things and there were still people here on the streets.

"Give me a lift?" I heard Natasha ask Steve but I still didn't look back at them. I pulled my earpiece back out of my pocket and shoved it back in my ear before I took off running. Steve had it handled here, we needed to be spread out more.

"Nichole! Where are you going?" Steve's voice filled my ear as I ran around the corner. Sure enough I spotted a couple aliens gaining on a woman who was trying to run as she carried a little girl in her arms.

"Hold that thought." I charged at the aliens. I sent a ball of fire at one of them while I jumped on the back of the other one, making sure to dig the heels of my feet sharp into its stomach. The woman didn't bother to look back as she kept running but I could see the little girl watching me over her shoulder as I snapped the alien's neck. I quickly set the now limp body on fire and looked around, setting nearly a dozen others on fire where they stood.

"You rang, Captain?" I mused as I headed in the direction of Stark Tower.

"What are you doing?! We need to take care of these things!" He yelled at me from his end. No one else was talking but I knew they were all listening in.

"That bastard took the only good thing I've had in years." I could see Phil's face flashing through my mind. "I'm going to make him wish he'd stayed in Asgard."

"Get in line!" Clint piped up.

"I am and I'm at the front." I sent fire covered ruble at every alien I passed.

"Agent Falconeri-"

"I've got it! I can close the portal!" Natasha cut Steve off before I could.

"Close it!" Steve ordered.

"No, wait!" Tony argued.

"Stark, we need to close it before more of these things come through!" Steve pointed out. From the grunts he was giving every so often I could tell he was still fighting.

"There's a nuke coming in and I know just where to put it." Tony explained, I could almost see his smirk.

"Stark, you're not going to make it. That's a one way trip." Natasha pointed out the flaw in his plan. I froze where I stood, craning my neck to look up at the sky, spotting a flash of his armor flying up above, with the nuke in tow.

"You can't do that." I spoke in almost a whisper. Panicking, I dug through my mind, trying to remember his file. One name stuck out. "What about Pepper?! Think of her Stark!"

"She'll understand." He grew closer and closer to the portal. I couldn't let this happen.

"No." I focused on the air surrounding Tony and the nuke and sent the two flying in opposite directions with all the force I could muster. Tony went flying back towards the middle of the city while the nuke went flying right into the portal. I gave a tired grin as I fell to my knees, I'd never used this much power before, it was exhausting.

"Close it." Steve instructed. I watched the sky as the blue portal started to disappear. With its disappearance though came something else.

Pain.