ripped at every edge (but you're a masterpiece) (Hp x Mcu) by Lissy

Chapter 3: full of broken thoughts

Summary:

Tony has a revealing nightmare.

Chapter title:
Hurt - Johnny Cash

Notes:

Timeline:
[x] (2012) The Avengers
[x] (2013) Iron Man 3
[x] (2013) We are here
[ ] (2013) Thor: The Dark World
[ ] (2014) Captain America: The Winter Soldier; Guardians of the Galaxy; Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2
[ ] (2015) Avengers: Age of Ultron; Ant-Man
[ ] (2016) Captain America: Civil War; Spider-Man: Homecoming
[ ] (2017) Doctor Strange; Black Panther; Thor: Ragnarok
[ ] (2018) Avengers: Infinity War

The portal is open again. There are monsters flying down to the streets of New York City, people running around screaming in terror, being snatched up or torn apart by vicious, gleaming claws and sharp, bloody teeth.

The Avengers assemble as quick as they can. Steve tries to direct citizens to safety, enlists the help of police officers and EMTs to lead the people to the subways. There's too much panic, too many people scrambling for safety and being picked off one by one.

It's a massacre, utterly horrible, and this time there is no way to close the portal. They fight and they fight and they fight, but there is no scepter, there is no Tesseract, just a portal pouring out an endless sea of monsters into the world.

They're the Avengers, though, and they keep fighting as Natasha and Clint try to figure out a way to stop the endless assault.

Steve is the first to fall. Just before his shield can arc its way back to him, he's pierced by wicked claws, torn apart before he can even scream, a hot spray of blood and entrails coloring the sky.

Tony has no choice but to wipe the blood off the helmet and keep going. He repulses as many monsters as he can, JARVIS faithfully in his ear offering help, direction, battle plans upon strategies, and they all work, but Tony is one man. He can't handle them all.

Clint is next, half of him gobbled up by a large creature with multiple, slimy legs, the other half still standing next to Natasha, who lets out the most wounded, pain-filled scream of anguish he's ever heard from the Russian assassin. She goes out in a blaze of glory, bullets flying, tearing apart some monsters with her silver blades before she, too, is gone.

It's just Tony and Bruce left, the Hulk smashing this way and that. He's successful, but it's not enough.

They're not enough.

Earth's mightiest heroes? What a joke. God, they got lucky with the Chitauri. That must have been the scouting party, testing Earth's defenses, sending reports back to the mothership so that the real invasion could begin.

That was the dress rehearsal, and this is opening act, finals, the endgame, and they're not fucking enough.

Before Tony can even blink, the Hulk is lifted off his considerable feet by a small army of monsters, and then he's being hauled away to the portal. Tony flies after him, screaming, his arm outstretched, repulsing some of the smaller monsters. It's too late; the Hulk is through the portal, out of sight, and the enemies keep coming.

Tony is the only one left.

There isn't anything else he can do, but he can't just stop fighting. He can't give up, won't lay down and concede defeat. He couldn't protect the Earth, so he'll have to settle for Avenging it.

There's a nuke overhead, flying to his tower, STARK printed boldly on the side. No, no, they can't!

He grabs the nuke, pushes it towards the portal. He did this once before, he can do it again. He can still leave behind some kind of Earth for everyone else.