LIGHTNING STORM |b. barnes| [2]

CHAPTER 07

THEY ALL SUITED up and made their way towards the Quinjet, but without Tony as he flew towards his tower ahead of them. As the five made it on, a SHIELD pilot approached them, "You are not authorized to be here-" He began,

Steve held up his hand to stop him from continuing, "Son... just don't."

Barton and Romanoff got into the pilot seats and they took off. Rogers, Jacq, and Ana sat in the back, gearing up. "Stark, we're on your three, heading northeast." Romanoff said through the earpiece as they approached New York City,

Ana looked out the window in awe as she noticed a beam of blue light shooting into the sky from Stark's tower and small specks coming out of the portal that appeared in the air, "What, did you stop for drive-thru?" He responded, "Swing up, Park, I'm gonna lay 'em out for you."  

As the Quinjet flew between two skyscrapers, Ana was able to see Stark fly by. A machine gun dropped from the jet and Natasha fired as the aliens passed by.  The jet flew upwards around the Stark tower, firing at the Chitauri. Soon Loki was in their sights as he fought Thor on the balcony. 

Cliff aimed the gun at Loki while Loki pointed the scepter at the jet and fired a blast of energy, setting the jet on fire. Ana, Steve, and Jacq held tightly onto the bars in the jet while Romanoff and Barton tried to gain control. 

The jet crashed into the street and the five left, weapons in hand. The group walked over to the middle of a bridge and everything seemed to stop. 

Something was coming. Something big. Ana could feel it.

There was a roar coming from the portal above them and, just as she though, something big came out of it. The large Chitauri Leviathan passed over the five while carrying soldiers. 

From both sides, Chitauri soldiers jumped and attached themselves to the sides of skyscrapers before sliding down. Some crashed into the buildings and began firing their weapons at random citizens. 

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve asked,

"I'm seeing, still working on believing." Stark replied, "Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

"Banner?" Ana questioned, looking at the others with confusion on her face,

"Just keep me posted." Stark said before continuing to fight off the Chituari.

The group ran behind upside taxis. They looked up and saw Loki taking his band down the street and fired at the street in a chain of explosions. Frightened people were running from Loki, looking over their shoulders. Rogers looked down the bridge to see the event, "Those people need assistance down there." He said,

Chitauri soldier landed near them and began firing at them. Ana and Natasha pulled both pistols from their holsters and fired. 

Ana turned to Steve, "We got this. It's good. Go!"

He turned to Barton, "You think you can hold them off?" he asked,

"Captain." He pulled a trigger on his bow and an arrow was mechanically chosen, "It would be my genuine pleasure." He shot an arrow into the creature's head. Steve squeezed Jacq's arm before he jumped from the bridge.

Ana ran over to a bus full of people while Natasha, Jacqueline, and Cliff fought off the Chituari. She ran over to the jammed door and jerkily opened it. People began to run out and Ana went back to help her fellow agents and Jacquline fight off the alien army.

Ana drained a car battery and began shocking any Chitauri soldier that came near. Jacqueline would freeze their legs to the cement and Cliff would fire arrows at them.  Steve joined back in and using his shield, whacks any oncoming Chituari soldiers. 

"Time to end this." Ana growled before raising her hand in the air. Lightning struck down onto the soldiers, making them convulse and drop dead to the ground. 

Thor touched down and stumbled over while the others walked to him, "What's the story upstairs?" Rogers asked,

"The powers surrounding the cube is impenetrable." Thor answered,

"Thor is right. We gotta deal with these guys." Stark commented on the earpieces,

"How do we do this?" Natasha asked,

"As a team."

"I have unfinished business with Loki." Thor growled,

Barton took a step forward, "Yeah, get in line."

"I think we all have a bone to pick with him." Jacqueline stated.

"Save it." Rogers began walking and turned to give orders, "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him, these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us-"

There was the sound of a motor behind Rogers. Ana looked over his shoulder to see Banner pull up on a small motorbike. He got off and looked around at the damaged city,  "So, this all seems horrible." He commented,

"I've seen worse." Natasha replied, eyeing him.

 "Sorry." He apologized with a sheepish smiled,

Romanoff shook her head, "No. We could use a little worse."

"Stark?" Ana asked in through the earpiece, "We got him."

"Banner?"

"Just like you said." Ana confirmed,

"Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you." Stark came out from behind a building with a Chitauri leviathan following, impatiently.

The rest of the Avengers looked up, getting ready and standing still.  "I... I don't see how that's a party." Ana stated,

Stark swooped down the street. The Leviathan swooped down, barreling down the street like a freight train. Banner looked at the group and began to walk towards the monster. 

"Dr. Banner. Now might be a really good time for you to get angry." Steve suggested,

"That's my secret, Captain." Banner smirked, "I'm always angry."

Banner's body started to swell and stretch and harden. Green shot through his body. Suddenly Banner wasn't standing there anymore, it was the Hulk.

The Hulk popped the Leviathan in the nose when it reached them. The creature flipped over and Stark, in mid-flight, extended his arm out and fired a rocket. The rocket hit a soft spot and ­the leviathan hits the pavement.

From above and on the buildings, the Chituari army watched in horror as a group of Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves.

Ana smirked. They could do this.