"Nat!"

Willow threw her spear towards the assassin who grabbed it and somersaulted over an oncoming Chitauri, slicing right through its torso and hauling it over her head. The super soldier sprinted towards another, jumping to lock her calves around its neck and swing downwards to bring it to the ground, stabbing it in the face.

"Down!" Both women crouched as Steve tossed his shield that took down one, two, three, four Chitauri before Natasha caught it in mid-air and slammed it into the last of the group, sending it over the bridge. She let out a loud breath and leaned against a car, Willow wiping the sweat from her forehead as Steve trotted over to them to retrieve his shield, nodding gratefully.

"Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal," she sighed.

"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it."

At this, the assassin thoughtfully shrugged and gestured to the flying chariots speeding past overhead.

"Well, maybe it's not about guns."

"You wanna get up there, you're gonna need a ride," Willow pointed out.

"I got a ride. I could use a lift, though."

She straightened with a soft groan and backed away from the siblings as Steve angled his shield, keeping her eyes up as she tried to calculate the exact timing of her jump.

"Are you sure about this?" His tone was doubtful, but the younger Rogers was nodding almost excitedly, Natasha chuckling at her reaction.

"Yeah," she rolled her shoulders, "it's gonna be fun."

With that, the assassin sprinted towards them, kicking off of the hood of a car and landing on Steve's shield, the super soldier pushing upwards at the same time she made the deadly leap.
Willow let out a low whistle as Natasha grabbed the end of a chariot and was whizzed away, the both of them watching as she pulled herself to safety before she and the chariot disappeared from view.

"That was hot." Willow wiggled her eyebrows as Steve shook his head, bumping her shoulder with his. "Are you blushing, O pure brother of mines?"

He shrugged.

"I wouldn't say pure."

Willow gasped in mock astonishment when a particularly large chariot suddenly began to shoot at them, causing the siblings to dive for cover. She caught the glint of Loki's horns as he swooped down to terrorize the people below before rising back into the air and landing on the platform of Stark Tower. The super soldier grabbed her spear when Steve caught her by the elbow, all amusement now gone from her face.

"Don't. Let Thor handle him," he warned.

"I'll handle him myself."

Steve dropped his hand as she pulled away from him and ran for the entrance of the Tower, disappearing amongst the mob of people and authorities leading them to safety.

Willow didn't know what she was going to do nor what she would accomplish as she sprinted for the building. Only two things were on her mind as her heart pounded to the rhythm of her feet and a feeling of excitement urged her along: Coulson and Mika.

The adrenaline coursing through her veins was so incredibly strong that before she knew it, she was stepping off of the elevator and into the penthouse. Two floor to ceiling windows had been smashed right through and glass littered the floor, the only sign of destruction it seemed as mayhem reigned below.

She slowly walked into the apartment holding her spear at her side and listening for any noise as she moved further in. Her boots crunched the glass underneath her feet, the sound much louder to her than it actually was when she sighed in frustration.

The platform was empty, only a chariot with no Loki to be seen.

"I must say," Willow quickly whirled around, "it seems you have some sort of attachment to me."

The god of mischief was near the elevator and dressed in the armor that he had on the night she met him, prowling around the room with that predator-like gait of his that made him seem all the more dangerous.

"If by attachment you mean killing you, then by all means, consider it one." They began to circle each other, slowly and with faux ease, edging forward then stepping back like a strange sort of dance that neither of them wanted to do.

"You really think you can kill me? I am a god, my dear," Willow gripped her spear tighter as he drew a long dagger in each hand accompanied by a smirk, "and one with very little patience."

"Your brother's well and alive, by the way."

"A shame, really."

"Guess we're gonna have to test that immortal theory on you."

Willow lunged at him, thrusting her spear as Loki brought one of his daggers down, locking it against the floor and slashing upwards with the other. Releasing her weapon, she dodged the blade and grabbed his arm, pushing at his elbow to force him to drop it while kicking the other out of his hand.

He took advantage of her hold on him before she could take him down and twisted her around to secure her against his chest, drawing a smaller blade and putting it to her neck.

"Still eager?" He murmured in her ear.

"Mhm."

She head butted him in the nose and he fell away with a shout. Willow shoved him back and withdrew a couple of steps before sprinting towards him, jumping in the air and kicking him in the chest with both feet before landing in a crouch. He lay gasping for air while the super soldier straightened and walked over to him, digging her boot into his chest. She pressed a button on her  electronic bracelet and her spear swiftly flew into her hand.

Willow pointed it right at his throat.

"Still eager?"

He raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"Come see for yourself."

A sudden sharp blow slammed against the back of her head and she crumpled to the floor as a shimmering figure of Loki dissipated, dropping one of his blades. The real Loki slowly stood up, brushing off his armor and clearly milking the fact that Willow was down.

She was struggling to keep her eyes open, but wherever she looked, black spots bloomed into existence then burst only to be replaced again and again as the back of her head throbbed furiously. The taste of dull metal in her mouth made her wince—a sign that she had bitten her tongue—and she spat a glob of blood on the floor. Loki crouched down next to her with a thoughtful look on his face before grabbing her by the hair.

He ignored the cries that came out of her mouth, her body arching as he dragged her stomach over the broken glass and to the open window before forcing her to look down at the burning city.

"All that effort," he said, relishing in the sight, "and to save what? This city is mines and very soon the rest of this wretched planet will be as well. And there's nothing you can do to stop me." He paused and lifted her by the back of her uniform until she was kneeling on the edge of the broken window, barely sliding over.

"Although you must tell me how hell really feels, won't you?"

Loki was just about to kick her off the edge when Willow tensed her legs, spun around and launched herself at him with a desperate shout, tackling the god to the ground and shoving her fist into his side. She quickly activated Natasha's cuff around her wrist that immediately sent Loki writhing across the floor in silent agony as tendrils of electricity shot throughout his body and the young woman got up, wincing and swaying a little before firmly planting her feet and pointing the cuff at Loki as he grew still.

He was already trying to get up with a murderous look on his face when she shot another electric disk right into his chest. He stiffened, eyes rolling into the back of his head, but she continued to shoot until a few clicks signaled that she had emptied her cuff on the now unconscious man.

"Bastard," she muttered.

"I can close it," Natasha's voice came through the comms and Willow snapped to attention, running out onto the platform and lifting her head, "can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!"

"Do it!" Willow cried.

"No, wait!" Tony demanded.

"Stark, these things are still coming!"

"I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute," he muttered, "and I know just where to put it."

Willow squinted as Tony blazed past the Tower and over the ocean where a nuclear missile trailed, heading right for the city. He grew closer and closer with the missile riding on his back before pulling upwards right at the tip of the Tower and steering it straight for the portal. A sudden realization seemed to hit both Steve and Willow at the same time, but he was the first to voice his concern.

"Stark, you know that's a one-way trip?"

There was no answer as Tony accelerated and Willow held her breath as he and the missile disappeared into the portal.

Almost immediately, the Chitauri collapsed on themselves, the leviathans losing power and crushing whole buildings as whatever the missile had hit exploded in space.

"Come on, Stark," she mumbled, eyes searching the skies desperately for Tony.

A bright white light began to rumble and gather before hurtling towards the opening when Steve came over the comms.

"Close it."

The towering beam sparked out of existence as Natasha closed the portal and the rip in space grew smaller and smaller until there was nothing but blue skies and—

"He made it!" Willow cried.

Tony fell through the portal just as it closed right behind him and her heart leapt with joy until she realized that he was free-falling.

"He's not slowing down!" Steve yelled.

A great roar arose in the air just then and the Hulk appeared out of nowhere, grabbing ahold of Tony and sliding down the buildings to break both of their falls before Banner landed on his back. For a moment, the communications were silent and the super soldier swore she could hear the rush of blood going towards her brain.

"He's alive...he's okay."

Willow relaxed and let out a laugh, breathlessly relieved, before sitting down at the edge of the platform and dangling her legs over the side. She finally felt the strain of using her muscles and she let the ache flow through her limbs, reminding her just how human she actually was. The glass, though it had been uncomfortable and sharp, hadn't tore through her uniform as she suspected it would save a large rip down her forearm where a scar was beginning to set. She sighed and dropped her chin to her chest.

"One day at a time, Rogers...one day at a time."

——————

"If it's all the same to you...I'll have that drink now."

"All right, get him on his feet," Tony said, "we can all stand around posing up a storm later."

Thor walked behind the god of mischief and pulled him up by the handcuffs Willow had put on him when he was unconscious. After making sure Tony was okay, the team gathered at the penthouse, arriving just as Loki was waking up.

"So, what now?" Clint asked, going over to the bar.

"Food. I'm dying for some food."

Tony had removed his suit and was carefully placing the Tesseract in a briefcase when the elevator doors opened, spitting out a few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents for the purpose of detaining Loki. Willow watched the head of STRIKE take the scepter from Nat before heading over to Clint who gifted her with a glass of whiskey.

"Well earned, I'd say, little Rogers."

"Much appreciation."

She sipped at her drink, shuddering at the bitterness and welcoming the brief buzz it gave her as Nat accepted her own.

Truthfully, Willow was exhausted.

It had been the longest few days of her life, from the moment Steve came home with a folder on the wretched Tesseract telling her Nick Fury approached him to fighting off an alien species surging out of a black hole in the sky. But, she had to admit, the team Fury had gathered was excellent in all aspects.

Two assassins, one of them an ex-Russian spy and the other a professional marksman who could hit things the naked eye couldn't see. A brilliant scientist turned rage monster, a witty genius with a high tech suit, a god of thunder from a whole other planet whose brother was the cause of all the trouble and two super soldiers from the 1940's.

Their professions sure made for good icebreakers.

"On my way down to coordinate search and rescue," Steve said into his comm, marching past them with the determination of a man on a mission.

"On my way down to coordinate search and rescue." Loki imitated Steve before dropping the facade and revealing how disgusted he actually looked.

"Honestly, how do you keep your food—"

"Shut up," Thor demanded.

He slapped a device over his mouth to quiet him.

Willow put her glass down and followed them into the elevator, settling on the other side of Loki and watching him in case he decided to pull anything. She was surprised to see he was watching her as well, but a troublesome glint in his green eyes made her wary.

When the doors opened, she was glad to be free of his penetrating gaze and fell in step between Thor and Tony.

"Munch time!"

"Indeed," the god of thunder happily rumbled, "I have the appetite of a hundred men and it is painfully unsatisfied."

"You said schwarma. What is that?"

Before Tony could answer Willow's question, they came to a halt at the group of unknown suits walking towards them. The older man at the head of the procession held up a hand.

"May I ask where you're going?"

"To lunch and then Asgard," Thor pronounced.

Willow casually put a hand over her gun as the man's eye caught sight of the case.

"I'm sorry, you are?"

"Alexander Pierce. He's the man, one of the folks behind Nick Fury."

Tony took a slight step backwards, Willow angling herself in front of him as the relaxed atmosphere turned into a quite serious situation. He was speaking, she could clearly see that, but it was the hand that tried to reach for the case that made her react. She quickly grabbed the wrist attached to the hand and shoved the man away from Tony.

"Willow," Thor said in a warning tone, pressing his hand against the man's chest to prevent him from moving forward.

"Hands off," she snapped.

"I'd watch myself if I were you, Rogers," Pierce said stiffly.

"I'd like to see you do something about it."

"Give us the case!"

Two men lunged forward, one grabbing Tony and the other trying to yank the case out of his hand as the billionaire began to shout for them to back off. Willow moved to jab the men in their throats when Tony suddenly froze with a jolt. He fell to the floor and the case was forgotten by all as he began to convulse, the veins on his neck prominent and his muscles spasming as he tried to breathe.

"Tony!"

"Give him some air!"

She quickly knelt down, trying to hold him still as Thor dropped onto one knee.

"Speak to me!" Thor said urgently. "I—Is it your chest machine?"

"Medic!" Willow shouted and scrambled to her feet. "He needs help!"

More people gathered around the scene as she whipped her head back and forth desperately.

"Please! He needs—"

She froze.

The very briefcase they'd all been fighting over was sitting a few yards away, it's lid open and the Tesseract gone. It was the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent laying on the ground that Willow went to help on his feet when she was yanked back by the cold metal of chains around her throat and greeted by the pulsing blue Tesseract right in front of her face. It was of natural instinct that she pulled her baton from her hip, extending it and yet before she could utter a single word, a swirling cloud of dark gray surrounded her.

The last thought she had before going unconscious was when that S.H.I.E.L.D. agent sat up and turned around, he looked like a spitting image of Tony Stark.

—————-
☀︎ celine's corner ☀︎

their fighting scene looked so good in my head, if I could
project my thoughts for you guys, I totally would—