Last Avenger

Chapter 6

The tent was tense with silence. Ryan had everyone who wasn't Steve, Thor or Celeste's field team clear out for the recon debrief, so the sudden sink in the atmosphere around the table was much more palpable.

"They're working with them, not for them," Ryan said, clarifying Steve's statement.

"That's right," Steve said.

"They seem to be operating out of the northern area of the island," Thor said.

"Brigantine," Ari said.

The table looked at them.

"It's all that's up there," they said.

Ryan nodded, his head resting on his thumb and forefinger. "One way in, one way out."

"Just that bridge, right?" Thor said.

Ryan nodded, slowly this time.

"So, let's blow the bridge, leave those fuckers stranded," Thor said.

"Not that simple," Celeste said. "Otherwise we would have."

"So what's the problem?"

"Because of its location, it's easily defensible," Ryan grunted. "Plus, they can just escape across the inlet up to Long Beach. They could be there a while."

"Of course it's fucking Gennisians," Ari muttered.

"And they've got air power," Steve said.

"Which no one else does," Ryan said.

"So, why don't Rogers and I just go?" Thor said. "We're a small team of two, we just slip in there and pick them off. Easy-peasy."

Ari leaned on the table, their eyes narrowed on Thor like he was a child just making noise. "No, it's not fucking easy-peasy."

"Oh, c'mon," Thor said with a wave of his hand, looking to his friend. "Right, Steve? Like, this isn't new for us. Okay, first of all, we got out of Atlantic City on our own and that place was crawling with Gennisians. Plus, Ari, before your day, in our day, we went head-to-head with Thanos' Dark Order. Big, gross aliens with fancy alien weapons and powers. The Gennisians are just cowards who think Thanos was the rapture or something. Small tomatoes for someone like the–like us."

The entire table stared at Thor with flat, exasperated faces.

"Someone like the what?" Celeste said.

"It's potatoes, Thor," Steve said, right over Celeste.

"What'd I say?" Thor said.

"Tomatoes," Ari said. "It's not tomatoes, it's potatoes." Ari chopped the phrase up on the table with their hand. "Small potatoes."

"Ah, yes, the Gennisians are comparatively small potatoes."

"Alright, look," Steve said, firmly interjecting, "Ari's right, it's not easy. They've likely got an army up there and just two of us won't stand a chance. We need a strategic, tactical response."

Ryan huffed. "Yeah, and that would wind up in likely a prolonged engagement, if we actually cleared the town. Which we wouldn't, because they'll just ship in reinforcements from New York."

Steve's eyes shot to Ryan as the name rang like an ache in his head.

"And then they come here for what's left," Pete said with a quiver on his lip. He looked to Thor with a faint glint of optimism. "Well, not as long as you're here."