(AN: Chappie for yesterday's. You wouldn't believe me but I fell asleep cooking this one. Sorry for the late update. Enjoy!)
Steel screamed as alien boots struck concrete.
The Chitauri advanced in waves—rank after rank of armored soldiers, rifles glowing with sickly blue light.
Hover-sleds screamed overhead while infantry poured through the streets, their formation crude but relentless.
The Avengers were already moving.
Steve Rogers was at the front, shield raised, deflecting a barrage of plasma fire that scorched the asphalt behind him.
He surged forward, shield-first, smashing through a Chitauri trooper before pivoting to slam another across the helmet.
Tony Stark hovered above, repulsors blazing.
"Alright, eat this." he muttered as he strafed the advancing line.
Explosions tore through the front ranks—but the gaps filled almost immediately.
Natasha Romanoff slid across the pavement, firing precise shots into exposed joints.
Every movement was efficient.
Every breath measured.
She downed three enemies in five seconds, then rolled aside as a blast scorched where her head had been.
Clint Barton stood elevated on a ruined vehicle, arrows flying in rapid succession—EMP, explosive, and more—each one removing a target or targets with brutal efficiency.
Bruce Banner was already gone.
The Hulk slammed into the battlefield like a meteor.
Concrete shattered.
Chitauri bodies flew in every direction as the green giant roared and tore into the advancing horde, ripping armored soldiers apart and smashing hovercraft out of the air.
For a moment—
They were winning.
Then the sky darkened.
More soldiers poured out from the portal.
Steve felt it immediately—the pressure.
The numbers weren't slowing.
They were increasing.
And then—
Lightning split the sky.
A thunderclap shook the city as a massive bolt crashed down into the heart of the Chitauri formation, vaporizing dozens in an instant.
Thor landed like a god of war, Mjölnir crackling with electricity.
Beside him—
Elias descended.
No impact. No stumble.
He simply lowered himself to the ground, gravity bending around him like an afterthought.
His dark robes settled gently, crimson light faintly pulsing at the saber he was holding.
The battlefield paused.
Just for a second.
"Good timing," Natasha called out, reloading.
Tony hovered closer, helmet retracting.
"You know, you really have to stop making entrances cooler than mine."
Bruce—now human again—gave Elias a look.
Curious.
Measuring.
Steve nodded once.
"You alright?"
Clint squinted at him.
"So you're the guy Nat kept talking about right after I woke up from my… let's call it a very deep nap."
He tilted his head.
"You look fine. But, uh—your aura's all gloomy."
Elias didn't answer.
His eyes weren't on them.
They were on the enemy.
Something felt… wrong.
The Chitauri weren't attacking.
They hovered. Advanced slowly. Almost—waiting.
Elias frowned faintly.
Is this some kind of rule? he wondered absently.
Bad guys don't attack while the good guys catch up and reminisce?
Then he saw him.
Loki hovered above the battlefield, staff glowing, cloak billowing in the artificial wind of the portal.
"Oh," Elias muttered.
"That's why."
Loki laughed, his voice carrying effortlessly over the chaos.
"So this is it?" he called mockingly.
"These are Midgard's defenders?"
He gestured lazily.
"A soldier lost in time. A mewling quim. A brainwashed archer playing at war. A tin can. An idiot prince—"
His eyes flicked to Elias.
"And a very irritating fool."
Loki spread his arms wide.
"Struggle all you wish. Fight with all your strength. In the end, this world will fall. You will kneel before me—and I—I—will rule Midgard!"
"You will not succeed, Loki!" Thor roared.
"We will stop you!"
Loki sneered—
—and Elias laughed.
"You?"
Elias called out.
"Someone whose ass I kicked wants to rule Earth?"
He tilted his head.
"Don't make me laugh, Frosty."
Loki's face twisted with fury.
"Kill them," he snapped.
Nothing happened.
His eyes widened.
"I said—kill them!"
This time, the Chitauri responded.
Rifles charged. Engines screamed.
The air filled with glowing blue fire.
Steve raised his shield.
"Avengers!" he shouted.
"Assemble!" Steve commanded as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
They moved instantly—forming a tight circle, backs to one another.
"Don't overextend too far—help immediately if someone's overwhelmed!"
Thor grinned fiercely.
"It is an honor to fight alongside all of you—for Midgard!"
Tony locked his helmet back in place.
"I'm gonna need a cheeseburger after this."
Hulk roared.
The rest said nothing.
Above them—
Loki raised his scepter.
So did the Chitauri.
The battlefield ignited.
The Chitauri hit like a tide.
Energy bolts screamed through the air, tearing chunks from buildings and turning pavement into molten scars.
The perimeter Steve called for barely held—but it held.
Because Elias moved.
He didn't charge.
He stepped.
The world bent.
A squad of Chitauri surged forward, rifles raised—then stopped mid-stride.
Their bodies locked in place as if reality itself had clenched a fist around them.
"Now!" Steve barked.
Captain America moved like a coiled spring.
His shield crashed into the first immobilized alien, snapping armor and sending the body flying into two more.
He pivoted, striking with precision, never wasting momentum.
His shield wasn't the only thing that flew, his fire axe also found it's target squared on the head of another Chitauri soldier.
Natasha was already there.
She slid beneath a group of frozen soldiers, blade flashed in her hands as she slashed like it was a dance rehearsal, then flipped backward as Elias released them—they dropped almost simultaneously.
The Elias found another group, held up his hand as if grabbing them which he did, then slam them into the ground with crushing force.
Efficient.
Controlled.
Natasha glanced at him mid-motion.
"You always fight like this?"
Elias deflected a plasma bolt with a flick of crimson lightsaber.
"First time."
Steve caught the shield on return and nodded once. His fire axe probably already back to his inventory.
"Then don't stop."
They moved as a unit.
Elias controlled the space—pinning, redirecting, isolating. And sometimes took action with his saber himself.
Steve struck where openings appeared.
Natasha finished what slipped through.
The ground fight stabilized.
.
.
.
Elsewhere—
The sky screamed.
A Leviathan burst through the cloud layer, massive and unstoppable, its armored bulk blotting out the sun.
Hulk looked up.
Grinned.
"BIG ONE."
He leapt.
Thor followed—Mjölnir spinning, lightning roaring around him as he crashed into the creature's flank.
Hulk slammed into its head with enough force to make the beast reel.
They were alone up there.
And that was exactly where they belonged.
"Try harder!"
Thor shouted as lightning tore across the Leviathan's spine.
Hulk roared back and punched the 'Big One.'
They tanked the worst of it—plasma fire, kinetic shockwaves—drawing the heaviest hitters away from the ground teams.
Steve didn't look up.
He trusted them.
Above the city—
"Alright, Legolas," Tony said.
"Hold on."
Clint hooked onto Iron Man's shoulder plating and climbed into position as Tony angled upward.
"Can you handle my weight," Clint muttered.
"It's fine. I've carried worse ideas."
From above, Clint had a clear view of the battlefield—routes, choke points, enemy movement.
"Left flank's thinning," Clint reported.
"But they're trying to slip units through Fifth."
"Not today," Tony replied.
Repulsors flared.
Iron Man became the perimeter guard.
Intercepting stragglers, collapsing escape routes, herding the Chitauri exactly where Steve and Elias wanted them.
The Avengers weren't reacting.
They were directing the fight.
.
.
.
Far above the battlefield—
Nick Fury stared at the council's screens.
"You're looking at a city with no civilians,"
one council member said coldly.
"That was luck. Not planning."
"They're holding it," Fury shot back.
"My team is holding."
"For how long?" another voice demanded.
"You cannot win a war of attrition against an interstellar army."
Fury's jaw tightened.
"We haven't lost."
A pause.
Then—
"We're authorizing a nuclear response."
Fury slammed his hand on the console.
"You fire that missile, you kill my people."
"The city is empty," the council member replied.
"Your team is expendable."
Fury cut the feed.
He stood there for a moment.
Then turned sharply.
On the Helicarrier deck—
An alarm wailed.
Hill looked up from her console, face draining of color.
"Sir," she said quietly.
"A plane with a nuclear missile has taken off without authorization clearance from you."
Fury closed his eye.
"They went around me," he said.
Below them—
The Avengers fought on.
Unaware of what was coming.
.
.
.
The battle shifted.
High above the streets of Manhattan, Loki hovered at the edge of the chaos, watching with narrowed eyes as the Avengers refused to break.
So they were not falling easily.
His lips curled.
"Send in the rest."
The command rippled outward.
The portal flared.
More Leviathans surged through—massive silhouettes blotting out the sky as their armored bodies poured into the atmosphere, one after another.
Clint saw it first.
"Uh—guys?" he said sharply from his vantage point.
"We've got company. Big company. A lot of it."
Steve looked up, eyes tracking the dark shapes emerging from the portal.
"Thor," he said into the comms, calm but urgent.
"Light the bastards up. Buy us time."
There was no hesitation.
Thor broke away, landing atop the nearest tower in a thunderous crash.
He raised Mjölnir skyward, planting his feet as storm clouds twisted and gathered above him.
Lightning poured into the hammer—layer upon layer—until the air itself screamed under the pressure.
He roared and unleashed it.
A blinding column of lightning erupted upward, branching and arcing as it tore into the portal's edge.
Four Leviathans were caught mid-emergence, their massive bodies convulsing as electricity surged through their armor, forcing them back and locking them in place.
The advance stalled.
For a moment—
It worked.
But Natasha was already shaking her head.
"That won't hold for long," she said.
"Not if they keep coming."
She looked toward Stark Tower.
"We have to shut the portal down. The machine on the roof—take that out, and this ends."
"I need a lift."
Steve turned instinctively, shield already rising—
—but Elias stepped forward instead.
"I've got her."
Natasha didn't question it. She simply nodded.
A moment later, gravity loosened its grip.
They rose smoothly into the air, Elias guiding their ascent with effortless precision as Stark Tower grew closer beneath them.
"Careful," Tony warned over comms.
"That thing's got recoil. Big one."
On the rooftop, Selvig stirred, groaning as he pushed himself upright. Long enough to hear them trying to stop the machine from opening that portal in the sky.
The glassy haze in his eyes was gone.
"I'm… myself again," he said, blinking. "The barrier—it reacts to energy. But not to the same signature twice."
He looked at Loki from a distance.
"The scepter. It can pass through."
Elias didn't hesitate.
"I'll get it."
Steve's voice came in immediately.
"You sure?"
Before Elias could answer, Thor cut in.
"I will stand with him."
Elias allowed himself a thin smile.
"Why not?"
Just then another threat looms.
The warning came.
Tony's HUD flickered.
"Fury," he muttered.
"Stark," Fury's voice snapped through the channel.
"They've launched a nuke."
Tony's breath caught.
"You're kidding."
"I wish I was."
.
.
.
Loki saw them approaching.
His brother.
And the irritating one. He could feel it in his bones, that guy wasn't human.
His sneer sharpened as he gestured, sending another wave of Chitauri soldiers screaming toward them.
They never reached.
Elias raised a hand.
The air locked.
Dozens of Chitauri froze mid-flight as Thor surged forward, lightning exploding outward in a cascading arc that tore through the immobilized swarm, reducing them to smoking debris.
"Give me the scepter," Thor demanded.
Loki laughed. "No."
They argued.
Elias didn't wait.
His telekinesis flared—and the scepter ripped free from Loki's grasp as if it had never belonged to him at all.
Loki's eyes went wide.
"You—!"
Magic knives formed in his hands and flew.
Elias caught the scepter with his left hand.
His right ignited crimson.
The blades shattered against his lightsaber, sparks scattering into the air as Elias stepped back, already turning toward the rooftop.
Thor moved to strike—
And then—
Time corrected itself.
A massive green hand closed around Loki.
"Aaaagggghh!..."
The god of mischief vanished from the air as Hulk leapt, dragging him into the nearest building.
"NO—!"
The impact shook the structure.
"Enough! You are, all of you, are beneath me! I am a god, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by..."
Hulk grabbed his leg and slammed him into the floor.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Then Hulk three him away while saying.
"Puny god."
Loki could only whimper as his body fails him to move with all the pain he's feeling.
End of chapter