AN: Dedicated to @MitsukiCameliaSakura for the tons of votes! Thank you for voting. Hope you enjoy! 

"Humanity, look how far you've fallen."

My attention snapped to the television quicker than any of my past reactions, giving me whiplash. Loki sat at the President of the United States' desk, his arms forming a triangle that led up to his lips. He grinned, the left corner of his lip twitching as his deep blue eyes looked directly at the audience. Ira sat on the corner of the desk, legs crossed as she leaned back nonchalantly. Her purple skin glistened in the lighting and her gray eyes staring at nothing in particular. President Obama knelt on the ground, staring at the camera wide-eyed like a doe in headlights. His hands and legs were restrained behind him. Blood covered his white shirt and his blue tie hung loosely around his neck.

"You have drowned to the extent where you are all huddling and quivering together in the dark, like beasts. You should have surrendered to me when you had the chance. Yet, here you are, watching this occur through your Midgardian devices, feeling 'safe' in your chambers." Loki air quoted his words with his fingers and glared at the camera intensely. His words cut through my skin like daggers. "But here I am, in the palace of your so called 'leader', ready to demonstrate the power I could storm upon this puny realm. Claim loyalty to me, and I will give all as a King should. Or, reject my proposal. Either way," he chuckled evilly, "It's only a matter of time before this world is burdened with my glorious purpose." He stood up, stepping towards the camera slowly, dragging his fingers along the wooden desk. "Where are your heroes now?"

"Get Tony on the phone!" I yelled a little too loudly, waking Bruce up from his nap. Bruce looked around curiously and squinted his eyes tiredly. He sat up and groaned. Barton clicked a few things on the laptop in his lap. Peter stepped into the room with a bowl of popcorn and threw some into his mouth. I scrambled to the phone quickly and dialed Tony's cell number.

It rang for a few seconds until he answered, "You have reached the hotline of the handsome billionaire Tony Stark. If you're calling just to yell at me, hang up right now."

"They're with the President right now!" I cried out in a rush. I turned to Clint, who was madly typing away at the laptop. "Can you interfere with the signal?"

Peter took another handful of popcorn and declared, "We have to get it off the air before they do something."

Clint shot us a pointed look. "What do you think I'm trying to do here?" He clicked on a few things and grunted when a whole new page of gibberish came up. "Patience is a virtue."

Loki continued on the screen, his tone suddenly lifting, "I come with glad tidings. I'm trying to make this dreadful hell worth living in. You worthless mortals make it seem like I'm the villain here, but I'm not, I'm quite the opposite."

The President turned his head to Loki and yelled, "You are the villain! You are trying to rule this world, but in reality, you can't..."

Loki's foot came in contact with the President's jaw, making Obama fall to the floor and spit out blood. The villain's words dripped from his mouth like poison from the fangs of a snake, "Shut up, you mewling quim! You aren't better than the rest of them. You heathing creatures take everything for granted. Someone was bound to take this place over ages ago; I couldn't miss my chance. I could destroy this planet in a heartbeat, but where's the fun in that? I'd rather have a front row seat to watch the world burn."

"There's no way we can make it to the White House before Loki kills him," Tony replied, his breath a little shaky. "The place we searched was a trap. We're stuck here."

Peter waved his hand in front of my face and almost jumped up and down. "Let me go! I can get there in time!"

My legs were healed, but it would take at least another three hours to be able to walk normally. There was no way in hell I would let Peter go alone. "No! I won't let you go alone! He'll kill you too..." I panicked and pressed the phone harder against my ear. "I'll...Just meet us back here and we'll leave once we gear up." I hung up the phone, leaving Tony to the fight. I didn't take my eyes off of the television and tapped on Barton's leg. "Status report."

"Almost got it..." Clint mumbled to himself.

Ira dragged the President up by the arm and had him go back to kneeling. She drew her sword from the sheath on her waist and played with the handle, twirling it around a few times. Her companion's head tilted downwards, while his eyes menacingly focused on the audience. He continued his speech, "You all will kneel before Loki, of Asgard! It was my birthright to be King! I am more than just another stolen relic being kept away for years waiting to be of use!"

Obama grumbled under his breath, "This is madness..."

"Is it madness? Is it? IS IT?!" Loki got in his face, spit flying onto the President's cheek. Obama flinched and looked away, not facing Loki at all. The villain backed up and resumed his position of talking to the audience. "The Avengers can't help you now. Their blood will cover the White House's back yard, and then I can finally rule the world that I so rightly deserve. This means war."

"Barton, now!" I shouted, standing up from the couch in suspense.

"Thanks Obama," Ira stated as she lifted the sword. She swung the sword at his neck, and then the channel blacked out.

I sighed in relief. It wasn't much. The people knew he died. We just spared them from having to watch it happen. Barton exhaled and leaned back in his seat, threading his fingers through his hair in a stressful manner. Peter left to the other room to get into his suit, taking the popcorn with him as he did. Bruce set his head against the cushion, staring off into space in thought. I plopped down on the couch and set my head in my hands.

The trio arrived back at the apartment within half an hour, tired, angry, bloody, and beaten. Natasha's jaw clenched tight and her intense stare sent a chill down my spine. She sat down on one of the chairs, contemplating our next move in silence. She stared straight ahead of her, but at nothing in particular. Tony didn't get out of his suit and charged it while he stood against the wall, motionless. The metal was scratched and torn in a few places. Steve pushed passed everyone and headed towards the only room in the apartment.

I followed Steve and closed the door a bit behind me. He dragged a hand down his face and set it against the window frame. His other hand balled up into a fist, shaking angrily. He peered out onto the city, the bright lights twinkled under the lit stars and the moonlit sky. I stepped closer to him and set my hand on his shoulder. The fear, the anger, the anticipation, it all welled up in my chest. I whispered, "We're not going to make it out alive, are we?"

He didn't move from his spot and fixated his stare on a tall building. His muscles tensed up underneath my touch. Steve exhaled and his lips formed a tight line before saying, "That was the game plan all along. Wasn't it?"

"Yeah," I sighed and let my hand fall to my side. I was fine with giving my life up for the greater good. That wasn't my problem. Yet...it almost felt quite selfish to feel this way. "I didn't think we'd end up like this. For this to be over so quickly before it began..."

He tore his gaze away from the window and furrowed his brow. He blinked a few times in confusion. "What do you mean?"

God this was stupid to even bring up. I should be more worried about the fight and the state of the world...not this. I thought in frustration and my lips faltered to a frown. I glanced away and focused on nothing in particular. "Us, Steve. We've been dating for almost a year and we've been so focused on the mission that we haven't really..." I paused at a loss for words.

"What?"

My eyes flickered up to his blue ones and bit my lip. Steve is so oblivious. I rubbed the back of my neck and watched as he stared at me dumbfounded. Clueless was an adorable look on him. "We haven't had our first kiss. We haven't had another date. We haven't...lived as a couple. If we go out in a blaze of glory, we never will. I feel helpless. Scared. Nervous. Weak. Like I'll never get to do that with someone I really do like. And leaving Amelia without saying goodbye...How could I do that? We were planning on adopting her and to just leave her life like her father did, it's..."

Steve hugged me, hooking his arms under mine and pulling me close. I stopped talking and wrapped my arms around him, closing my eyes and taking in the feeling of his arms around me. He rested his head against mine and spoke softly, "We'll be okay. The end game is giving our lives for the cause. That doesn't mean this battle is the end. It might be another battle. A battle in the far distant future." He backed away a little bit and peered into my eyes. "We will have our firsts for everything. Don't even question it."

"Steve Rogers, I..." I trailed off and continued in thought. Think I'm falling in love with you. Without a second thought, I pulled Steve into a kiss. He was thrown off for a few seconds, but he melted into it and kissed back. His lips were cracked a bit from dehydration, but it didn't matter to me. His kiss was so soft, so gentle that it almost seemed like he didn't know what he was doing for a second. For a first kiss with Steve Rogers, it wasn't as horrible as I thought it'd be.

Peter walked in, but immediately shielded his eyes from the scene. "God guys, get a room!" He cringed in disgust and accidentally backed away into the door frame.

"We have a room. You're in it," I remarked with a roll of my eyes. Steve chuckled lightly and glanced over at my cousin.

"Clint and Natasha thought it would be best to head out before the sun rises. Use the shadows to our advantage. If you two would stop eating each other's faces, we could move on with our lives and I can burn the image embedded in my mind," He opened his eyes warily and grimaced at the thought. He shook his head and shivered before leaving the room.

I turned back to Steve and backed away. The nervousness had alleviated, but all that was left were fear and anger, two emotions that always seemed to stick with me. "I hope I didn't freak you out. I just wanted something special to happen before we went to fight."

Steve blushed, color rushing to his cheeks like a waterfall, and sheepishly stated, "No, that was completely fine. You don't know how long I've been trying to muster up the courage to make the first move." He stood there for a moment, his eyes slowly fixating on me and formed a look of bewilderment. "You didn't finish what you were going to say."

What? No...I'm not going to tell him that! Not until I know for sure if I am falling in love with him... I contemplated and shook my head. When the time comes, I would. I crinkled my nose and scratched the back of my head. "I'll, uh...I'll save it for another time."

I began to turn around and walk away, but he grabbed my hand and tugged me back to him. Steve set his hand on my cheek gently and kissed me again, this time with more power and meaning. I blinked in surprise a few times and Steve smiled as he pulled away. He whispered, "One for the road."

A bubbly feeling formed in my stomach and I nodded, adding a grin of my own. Wasn't expecting that to happen. "Come on, Romeo. The group is waiting on us." My hand held onto his as we made our way to the living room to meet up with the rest of the Avengers.