Not An Avenger

Battle Of New York

Tony immediately began to repair his Iron man suit and Steve went to get Natasha. I was asked to secure a jet.

"Have you found him, then?" asked Nick Fury, when I asked him for an override.

"Yeah. He is at Stark Tower." I told him. "Look at the irony."

"We only have one functional jet left aboard. You are sure you'll be able to contain this?"

I looked at him blankly. "Me? Sir, the best I can do is provide them tech support. You should ask them." I saw Steve coming towards us with Natasha and Barton. So, they finally got him out of the compulsion.

"I'm asking you. You're the one that can contain the Tesserect. Look me in the eye and tell me you'll shut it down."

People were normally afraid of Nick Fury, with the eye patch and all, but this was the only time he scared me. "I will." I told him, having no idea, whatsoever, how.

I was sitting beside Steve, while Natasha and Barton were flying the jet.

"Phase 2, did you know about it?" This was the first time he was speaking directly to me since I woke up after the attack. Now I knew the reason. Tony's virus had indeed been able to fish out SHIELD's darkest secrets.

I didn't say anything; I didn't need to. He already knew the answer. All I was able to do was look down in guilt.

He sighed and walked towards the cockpit. He was clearly disappointed. Maybe he was secretly hoping that I'd say no.

When we reached Central Park, a blue beam was already shooting towards the sky from roof of the building. Tony had put on a new suit and was fighting off aliens that were coming out of the portal in the sky.

We were late.

I rushed towards the Stark tower as soon as we landed, while the others tried to stop the alien army. Tony had somehow managed to contact Thor and Banner and they had arrived too.

As I reached the top, I could see a full blown battle from there. People were dying like insects getting smashed below vehicles. Freakin' buildings were falling down. I had to shut down the portal.

I was easier said than done. Cutting off the power didn't help. The Tesserect had already broken off the coulomb barrier and was self-sustaining.

I found the dead body of and elderly male, lying in a corner. A sharp object had been driven through his chest, just like Phil. He was probably Dr. Leinsher and he probably knew how to shut this device down. Well, he wouldn't be able to help now.

To make matters worse, the World Security Council had already ordered a nuclear strike at New York to prevent the aliens from spreading elsewhere.

"Tony, there's a nuke coming in at 2 minutes' mark. Its nuclear." I said as Tony landed on the roof.

"Any closer to shutting down the portal?" he asked.

"No, the barrier is pure energy. Our biggest guns couldn't touch it. And there is an override program in the machine, so it can't be shut down."

"Cut off the power." He said.

"I'm not stupid." I answered, irritated. "It's self-sustaining. Wait…" Then it hit me. "Go, get that missile into the portal, I'll shut it down."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Go." I shouted.

All I had to do was to get the Tesserect's coulomb barrier back up. The only way to do that was to let its energy flow through organic matter. Organic matter had a greater affinity for Tesserect energy than the magnetic field generator. A gap of energy flow for a few seconds to the machine would be enough to build up the coulomb barrier and shut down the portal.

I looked around to find any organic matter on the roof. There was not even a leaf to be found. I cursed Tony's highly efficient cleaning staff. The only options left were Dr. Leinsher's dead body and me.

The body was too far away and too heavy for me to get to get to the machine in time. The nuke was going to explode in seconds and though Tony had set its course into the portal, the explosion could still propel through it, if I didn't close it in time.

I had to make the decision in time. I knew there was no way I could survive if that much amount of Tesserect energy flowed through me. Even my body would be reduced to ashes. I didn't have a death wish but it was my life against millions of others. There was really no math here.

I made my decision as I saw the missile disappear into the portal. I put my bare hand over the Tesserect.

I didn't think I would survive long enough to feel the pain, but I did. I could feel every cell in my body burning, every nerve on fire. The pain so severe that death was a welcome though. I wanted to lose consciousness and fade into the oblivion. That was when I saw the light, but unlike popular belief it wasn't white. It was a blue light, like the Tesserect. So blue that it hurt the eyes. I shut down my eyes tightly.

And I knew no more.