"You mean to tell me, Reindeer games and Svengali are our best hope to get out of this alive?" Stark asked as he landed near the others. 

"Focus, Stark," Steve snapped. "At least we've got a plan which is more than we had before."

A black humvee slid to a stop nearby before anyone could say anything else. Banner got out of the passenger side and they all hurried over to greet him. "I see you guys destroyed the city without me," he said, a half-smile twisting his lips. 

"Blame Stark," Natasha said. "It's good to see you, Banner."

Bruce tilted his head. "Thank Alyx. Left to my own devices I probably would have turned up on a scooter or something."

They all glanced over as Agent Oliver slammed the driver's door shut. "Hello, team."

"You shouldn't be here," Stark said with a frown, his eyes worried.

Steve agreed but it wasn't his place to say anything. He wondered why Stark thought it was his. As far as Steve knew they hadn't met until the helicarrier. 

"Nobody should be here, but here we are," she said with a shrug. "What's the plan?" 

Stark looked like he wanted to argue, but just shut his helmet instead. "Call it, Captain."

Steve divided everyone up, giving them their assignments and reminding them all to be on the lookout for the scepter. It was the key to ending this whole thing. The Avengers stepped into their roles, prepared to defend the city and the people within. They were the last line of defense against the alien menace after all.

***

Isolde stood behind Loki, her stance wide so her body could move and roll with the vehicle she stood on. Surprisingly, Loki was doing a fantastic job steering the unfamiliar contraption. They had been making loops of the city taking out several of the flying aliens while they searched for the one on charge of it all.

"Where is he?" Loki hissed. 

She knew he was upset because of his role in all this, but he was doing everything he could to make it right. To fix what had gone wrong. Aliens continued to pour from the hole in the sky. "How many of them are there?" Isolde asked, leaning close so he could hear her over the sounds of the battle and the wind.

Loki glanced around. "More than you could possibly imagine, my love. They seemed endless to me, and maybe they are."

An endless army of armored Chitauri. The thought made her shudder. The aliens made for tough opponents for their trained companions. What devastation could they cause amongst the untrained Midgardians?

"There," Loki announced leaning forward. "I see the general. Hold on."

Isolde did as instructed as her prince steered the flying contraption into a steep dive. He banked to the right and they seamlessly slid into the space behind the general. "We've got eyes on the scepter," Isolde said into the ear piece. 

"Roger that," the archer responded. "Eyes on. Be alert."

Isolde frowned at his words wondering what exactly it was he meant to do. Couldn't they just speak plainly? Her eyes widened as an arrow flew threw the air and embedded itself in the side of the craft. "Well, that wasn't terribly effective," she muttered. Then the arrow in question exploded, sending the general and his craft crashing back down to the top of the large tower. 

The blow rocked their vehicle as well but Loki managed to keep it steady. He landed them on the roof and hurried after the alien. Isolde shot him one last look then headed for the scepter as she spotted it laying on the roof below her. 

***

"What are you talking about, Coulson?" Agent Oliver said in her earpiece. Her head was bowed and a hand was cupped over her ear so she could hear him better. The battle waged around her as the others continued to fight, oblivious to the conversation she was having with her old friend and mentor. 

"The council made the decision. Fury tried to stop them but he was too late. It's on the way to you now. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? All of these people are going to die and you're sorry? How do they know blowing them up will even work? What if the device keeps functioning and the portal stays open? The aliens will keep coming but there won't be anyone here to fight them. Did they even consider that?" Her breath came in pants between her words as every horrible possibility of what could go wrong flashed through her brain. 

"Breathe, Alyx," Coulson ordered and she sucked in a ragged, deep breath. 

"I've got to go," she said and pressed the earpiece to sever the connection. She struggled to focus and breathe. This was not the time to be having a panic attack. "Tony, did you hear that?" She knew the genius had his AI tap into everything he could, including private com channels.

"Yeah, I'm already on my way to intercept. Fury called me while you were talking to Coulson." He paused. "This isn't how I intended to do this, but I'm sorry." 

He wasn't talking about this moment, about the missile he was trying to stop. No, he was talking about a desert on the other side of the world and what had happened when she'd attempted to rescue a certain billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist. "It wasn't your fault, Stark. It's just one of the hazards of the job. Keep me from getting blown up and we'll call it even."

"That's a deal, Agent Oliver," he readily agreed. "J, let's save the city."

***

Isolde retrieved the scepter and ran for the machine, ready to shut it down. The green beast they called the Hulk had shown up and beaten the Chitauri to a pulp. He hadn't twitched since the last time he was slammed into the ground so she assumed he was dead. Loki was standing guard however to make certain. 

"I'm prepared to close the portal," Isolde announced. "Once I do, the Chitauri that are here will be stuck here. We'll have to eliminate them all. Should even one escape the result could be horrific."

"Understood," the captain answered. "Do it."

"Not yet," the metal man said and she paused with the scepter halfway through the force field that surrounded the device. "There is a  missile flying into the city and I know just where to put it."

"Would that be up a Chitari's ass by any chance?" Raven Barton asked. Isolde smiled despite the circumstances. She liked these people that fought alongside them.  

"Inappropriate, agent," the Captain chastised. "Are you sure about this Tony? That's a one way trip."

Tony hummed. "I promised a pretty lady I wouldn't let her get blown up. I'm a man of my word."

They all watched as Stark and the missile flew into the portal. After a moment, the Chitauri fell dead around them. Even the large beasts that appeared to swim through the sky, fell, crushing the buildings beneath them. However, the metal man did not reappear. 

"Close it," the captain ordered.

Isolde  shot one last look to the sky but eased the scepter through the protective barrier until she could press the plate on the machine. The device powered down and the portal began to close. Their savior fell through at the last moment but he did not slow. Just as Isolde was about to yell for someone to save him, he was snatched from the air by the Hulk. 

Isolde tossed the scepter to the side and sank to the roof in exhaustion. In moments Loki was there, wrapping his arms around her. He held her against his chest before leaning back to look her over for injuries. He cupped her face in his hands. "I love you, my princess."

She looked into his clear, green eyes and smiled. "And I love you, my prince."

The Hulk let out a roar which caused both of them to jump just before the captain's voice came over the earpieces. "Stark is fine. I repeat, Stark is okay."

Relief flooded through Isolde and she sighed. Their companions had all survived. And they had saved Midgard. Surely, Odin himself would be proud of their success. 

***

A/N: Only a couple of chapters left guys. Whose story do you want to see next? Everyone else's kind of overlap so it doesn't matter as much. There's Bruce, Bucky, Tony, Thor and Steve.