CHAPTER TWENTY —
( Performance issues. You know? One out of ten. )

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        Evelyn woke up on a couch with a massive headache and a sore back. She opened her eyes but didn't recognise her surroundings. That got her worried. Evelyn looked around, noticing a bar towards one side of the room with many windows surrounding the other. She got off of the couch and crept over towards the windows. Looking down at the smaller buildings, Evelyn instantly knew she was in Stark Towers.

"Ah, you're awake," a voice Evelyn had been dreading at that moment said. Evelyn snapped her head around and glared at him.

"Very smooth, kidnapping your daughter," she snapped.

Loki chuckled. "I've taken you to the safest building during the war. The Chitauri won't destroy this building. Now you can finally be on your father's team." He walked up to Evelyn.

"Like I would do that," Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"You won't have a choice," he smirked, holding his spear up and tapping it against Evelyn's heart. Evelyn closed her eyes, preparing for something to happen, but it never came. She opened one eye at a time and looked at Loki's confused face. "How is this not working?"

"I always knew my heart was frozen solid," Evelyn shrugged.

Evelyn looked out the window and saw Iron Man fly onto the roof. Knowing what was coming, Evelyn walked towards the bar to have a drink as Loki walked outside.

Evelyn opened up a cabinet and grabbed a bottle of bourbon, as well as two glasses, and took them out. She placed the glasses down on the counter and popped the bottle, pouring the liquid into the glass.

"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity," Loki said.

"Uh...actually, I'm planning to threaten you," Tony told him, now out of his suit. Evelyn sat down on the barstool and took a sip.

"You should have left your armour on for that," Loki said.

"Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage. You've got the blue stick of destiny. Would you like a drink?" Tony asked Loki as he stood in front of the bar.

"Boo!" Evelyn said, watching as Tony jumped before turning around.

"Evie!" Tony exclaimed, then frowned. "Evie, you are too young to drink."

"Dude, I'm older than you," Evelyn rolled her eyes and gave him the other glass of Bourbon.

"Cheers!" They clinked their glasses, then took a sip.

"Stalling me won't change anything," Loki spoke up.

"No, no, no! Threatening. No drink? You sure?" Tony asked.

Loki walked towards the window and looked out. "The Chitauri are coming. Nothing will change that." He then turned back to the pair. "What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers," Tony said. Loki frowned.

"It's what Fury named the group of us," Evelyn told him. "We're like a team, I guess. The 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes, ' you could say."

"Yes, I've met them," Loki grinned.

Tony sarcastically smiled back. "Yeah, it takes us a while to get any traction; I'll give you that one." Tony and Evelyn both took another sip at the same time. "But, let's do a headcount here. Your brother, the demi-god." Loki looked away, annoyed that Tony addressed Thor as his brother. "A super-soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend." Evelyn smiled at how Tony addressed Steve. She also noticed Tony slipping on a colantotte bracelet (a honing device) onto his wrist. "A man with breath-taking anger management issues. Your daughter, who can control the elements. A couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, have managed to piss off every single one of them."

"That was the plan," Loki said.

"Well, that was a shitty ass plan," Evelyn said.

"It's true because when they come, and they will, they'll come for you," Tony said, walking around the bar.

"I have an army," Loki said.

"We have a Hulk."

"I thought the beast had wandered off," Loki said.

"You're missing the point. There's no throne, no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes, and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it," Tony told Loki.

Loki slowly walked up to Tony, raising his spear. "How will your friends have time for me when they're so busy fighting you?" Evelyn sipped her drink as Loki tapped Tony on the chest with his sceptre. Nothing happened. Confused, Loki tried again. "It should work."

"Well, performance issues. You know? One out of ten," Tony said.

"I think your stick is broken," Evelyn told him.

Loki angrily grabbed Tony by the throat and flung him across the room.

"JARVIS. Anytime now," Tony called.

Loki grabbed Tony by the throat again. "You will all fall before me." Loki threw Tony out of the window as Evelyn took another sip of her drink, finishing it up

From behind Loki, an elevator opened, and a red pod shot out after Tony. A few seconds later, Tony flew up in his suit.

"And there's one other person you pissed off. His name was Phil." Loki raised his sceptre, but Tony fired at him, sending him onto his ass before he could do anything. "Are you alright, Evie?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Help me to the ground?" she asked him.

"Sure." Evelyn stood up and headed towards the window.

"Please stay here where I know you will be safe," Loki called out. "For me?"

"Sorry, but I'll be too busy avenging all the shit you did wrong," Evelyn told him before walking to the window. Tony grabbed onto her and flew her away from the building and onto the ground below, where a Quinjet crash landed somewhere down the road. She began to run towards it. Evelyn looked around and saw many Chitauri aliens flying out of the portal in the sky, coming down and firing at New York. The back of the Quinjet opened up, and three people stepped out.

"Clint!" Evelyn ran up to him at full pelt, then leapt into his arms. "You're alright!"

"Of course I am," Clint chuckled. "You're alright, too!"

"Of course I am!" They laughed as Evelyn let go.

"Are you okay, Eve?" Steve asked.

Evelyn smiled. "Never been better." There was an explosion from down the road. "That was a lie."

"I was hoping you were still alive after the whole Bruce incident," Natasha said, going up and wrapping her arm around Evelyn's shoulder.

"It wasn't the first time I've gone up against him, you know," Evelyn told her.

"You went up against the Hulk?!" Steve asked, eyes wide.

"No time for reconciling; there's a war going on," Clint said, handing Evelyn her katanas.

Then, out of nowhere, a humongous chitauri worm came out of the portal and wiggled towards them. It flew above the quartet when some Chitauri aliens jumped out from the beast's side, landing on the building's walls and sliding down. Natasha stepped beside Evelyn and gave her an earpiece. "Thank you," Evelyn mumbled in Russian.

"You're welcome," Natasha smiled as Evelyn slipped it on her ear.

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

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

"Banner?" Steve asked.

"Just keep me posted."

The Chitauri came shooting down at the group so they quickly ran and hid behind some cars. They looked up to see Loki taking his band of Chitauri aliens down the street, firing at the street in a chain of explosions. Smashing cars and hurling people as they went.

"Those people need assistance down there," Steve ordered as he looked at the people below the bridge. Chitauri aliens landed near the group, and Natasha began firing at them with her two pistols.

Evelyn turned to Steve. "Go! We got this!"

Steve turned to Clint. "You think you can hold them off?"

"Captain." Clint pulled a trigger on his bow, causing an arrow to be chosen mechanically. "It would be my genuine pleasure." He stood up and shot an arrow into the alien's head.

"Look after yourself," Evelyn warned Steve as she stood up.

"You too," He said, then jumped off the bridge.

Evelyn ran forward towards some Chitauri's and held her hands out. "Oh, you're gonna love me," She smirked as she conjured up some ice spears and began throwing them at rapid-fire directly into all of their heads.

From the corner of her eye, Evelyn noticed Clint running towards a bus full of people. From the windows, small children were held by their parents so Clint could pull them out to safety. Evelyn ran towards the door and ripped it off, letting everyone else off.

Natasha emptied her clips as Evelyn ran towards her. Clint came up next to them and fired arrows into the ranks of the Chitauri, hitting their mask each time he shot. Evelyn rapidly fired into every one of the Chitauri's heads on her side.

"Just like Budapest all over again!" Natasha yelled out.

"Yeah, now that you mention it," Evelyn said as she threw ice spear after ice spear. "Except there were no aliens then, no gaping holes in the sky, or giant space worms. But yeah, despite that, it's a lot like Budapest."

"In other words, you and I remember Budapest very differently," Clint said as he shot arrows.

"What's the story upstairs?" Steve Approached with Thor.

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable," Thor informed them.

"Thor is right. We gotta deal with these guys," Tony said over the earpiece.

"How do we do this?" Natasha asked.

Steve and Evelyn shared a look. "As a team," they said.

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

"Yeah, get in line," Clint told him as he admired his arrows.

"Save it. Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us which is what we need," Evelyn said.

"Without him, these things could run wild. We got Stark up top. He's gonna need us..." Steve was cut off by a motorbike coming towards the group.

Evelyn turned around and saw Bruce rock up on a motorbike. Getting off, he looked around the city. "So, this all seems horrible." He looked at Evelyn. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she told him.

"Stark? We got him," Steve told Tony.

"Banner?" Tony asked.

"Just like you said," Evelyn said.

"Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you." Iron Man emerged from behind a building with the Chitauri worm following him.

"I...I don't see how that's a party," Natasha voiced everyone's thoughts.

"This reminds me of one of Starks old parties," Evelyn said.

"Ha-ha," Tony said.

Iron-man swooped down the street, the Chitauri worm following. It came barrelling down the street like a freight train that kept building and building its intensity. Bruce looked behind at the group, then began to walk towards the worm.

"Dr Banner now might be a really good time for you to get angry," Steve told him.

Bruce looked at Steve and smirked. "That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry."

Bruce's body started to swell and stretch and harden. Green shot throughout his skin, turning into the Hulk before everyone's eyes within a matter of seconds. He stepped forward and punched the Chitauri worm on its nose. The worm flipped over and Iron Man shot into its skin. The worm blew up and shards began coming down on the group. Steve grabbed onto Evelyn and Natasha and shielded them with his shield.

Evelyn looked around at each of the members of the group. Earth's mightiest heroes ready to fight. To fight aliens coming out from a hole in the sky. Fighting something no on else could beside them. The Avengers assembled.