Avengers: Some Assembly Required

Last Resort

Thor gently dropped Mongoose to the ground before flying back up to meet Hulk on top of the massive leviathan. The two of them thrashed the enemies together, battering them into a pulp with their combined might. Just one of them would have been enough, but their partnership assured that destruction was instantaneous and permanent.

Hulk tore a huge chunk of the flying beast's armor and slammed the jagged edge into its back. Thor charged Mjolnir and slammed it down upon the embedded shard of armor. A burst of lightning coursed through the creature and it went flying into a nearby museum.

The creature gave a death rattle before collapsing. Thor and Hulk stepped off of it and surveyed their work. Thor was about to turn to Hulk to share in a moment of victory when the green beast struck him from the side with a playful punch that sent him through a nearby window. He corrected his flight and shook his head. Perhaps this meant they were now friends.

"What do you need, Cap?" Mongoose asked as he moved in and drew his G-18.

Cap spun around, body slamming an alien before tossing his shield into an incoming horde. It battered several of them as it bounced from each before returning to his hand. "Just keep doing what you're doing, my friend," the super soldier said with a grin as he continued the assault on the creatures.

Mongoose sighted several others and executed multiple head shots in rapid succession as Thor swooped down to join them.

"The last of the bigger monstrosities has been destroyed," Thor shouted as he tossed the hammer through several forces before drawing it back to him, a tail of alien blood following in its wake.

"Good, now we just need Widow to shut the portal down," Mongoose said as he moved to Thor's side and holstered his empty G-18 He drew the desert eagle and obliterated the cranium of another alien.

Fury's voice came in loud and clear over their radios. "I've got some bad news, team. The Council has just been in touch with me. Seems they've passed judgement on New York. They've ordered a nuclear strike."

"Say again?!" Mongoose asked.

"You heard me right, Dean. They don't trust that you guys can stop this. I...did all I could but it's on its way to you now. I'm sorry."

"But we can close the portal!" Widow argued.

"Doesn't matter. They've already sent the damned thing."

Mongoose looked at Thor and shook his head.

"Jeez, you guys are a bunch of wet blankets," Stark shouted as he soared overhead. "I'm going to intercept it!"

"Stark?" Cap asked.

"You heard me right. You all keep doing what you're doing. I'm going to catch that thing. And I know exactly where I want to put it."

Mongoose, Thor and Cap watched as Iron Man rushed to meet the missile. He flew up beneath it and grabbed hold. From their vantage point, they could see him engaging his thrusters.

"He's doing it!" Mongoose cried out as he watched Iron Man guide the missile up and away from the city.

"Son of a bitch," Cap gasped as he watched Iron Man and the missile disappear through the portal.

"Tony," Mongoose spoke up. "I don't know if you can hear me...but you're incredible."

Static met all of their radios.

Cap lowered his shield and gazed solemnly up at the sky.

From his rooftop perch, Hawkeye fired several arrows at a cluster of aliens seeking to get in Iron Man's way. "You're all clear, Stark. Godspeed, brother," he said as he looked away, his eyes watering.

Widow looked from the Tesseract to the massive expanse of space on the other side of the portal as Iron Man went through. She shivered at the thought of what he was facing.

Hulk had managed to capture Loki in his grasp. He had been attempting to stop Widow from reaching the tower and had been knocked off of his chariot by one of Hawkeye's explosive arrows and into the waiting path of Hulk. The green Goliath was now throttling him back and forth across the ground in Stark's penthouse. "Puny god," he muttered as he left Loki in a heap on the floor and walked toward the window to see Stark's flight.

Mongoose reached out and grabbed Thor's hand and rested his head on his shoulder. Thor pulled him into his chest and held him tight.

Everyone's breath was being collectively held, along with all of the occupants of the helicarrier. A terrible explosion could be seen from beyond the portal. The fallout of the nuclear weapon was gaining size, gradually approaching the portal entrance. Though he was loath to say it, Cap told Widow to close it.

She thrust the spear into the energy field that encased the Tesseract, disrupting its power. The portal closed, but not before Iron Man plummeted out of it and descended from the skies.

"He did!" Mongoose said as he looked over Thor's shoulder. "He actually did it!"

Cap watched Stark's descent with sudden alarmed.

"He isn't slowing down!" Hawkeye warned as he used a repelling arrow to scale Stark Tower.

"Thor!" Cap shouted.

Mongoose leaped back as Thor took off in Tony's direction. Then, with a great, shuddering roar, Hulk launched himself across the sky and plucked Tony from his fall. He landed against a building and dug his fingers into the concrete, sliding down it all the way to the street.

"Tell me he's alright," Widow sighed as she rested against a wall and wiped sweat from her brow.

Thor, Mongoose, Cap and Hulk surrounded Tony's still body. Thor reached out and tore the face-plate off, revealing Tony Stark's slack face.

Mongoose shut his eyes and shook his head slowly. "This can't be happening."

Suddenly Hulk roared loudly at Tony and he awakened with eyes wide. "Whoa! Whoa! What...what...". He looked around frantically at everyone. "Please tell me no one kissed me." He looked quickly at Mongoose and Thor and smiled. "Not that I have a problem with all of that!" He paused. "Has anyone ever had shawarma? You know, those...uh...those Middle Eastern things that have thinly sliced meat wrapped in a...I've never had one before but I suddenly want one."

"Stark," Mongoose said as he knelt beside him. "We did it."

Tony grinned. "We...yeah, we did it."

Cap shook his head and smiled up at the sky and then back at his teammates. "We won."

Thor shook his head. "Our work is far from finished."

Tony nodded. "Right. But then shawarma after?"