CHAPTER EIGHT.
NEW YORK REVELATIONS.

STEVE AND ALEXIOS SET off to find Tony. The blonde followed Steve until he stopped at the large room where the cell used to be. It was just empty now, the cell was gone and there was no telling where it was.

They found Tony on the other side of the room, staring blankly in the silence. Steve crossed his arms and leaned back against the rail. Alexios swallowed, her expression remaining cold as she stood next to Steve, resting her hands on her hips. She cocked her head to the side slightly, wondering what was going on through Stark's brain. Alex sighed softly before glancing at Steve and raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Was he married?" Steve asked, looking up from his feet to the genius.

Tony answered, "No. There was a cellist, I think."

"I'm sorry," Steve apologized gently. "He seemed like a good man."

"He was an idiot," Tony scoffed, turning to look at the two blondes.

"Phil Coulson was not an idiot." Alexios snapped, feeling slight anger at the attack on the man who was dead. "Phil wasn't anything but, and you know that, Tony."

"Why? For believing?" Steve questioned.

Tony walked backwards away from the platform and turned to walk towards them. "For taking on Loki alone." He replied.

"He was doing his job." Steve reminded.

Alexios rolled her eyes, "He was doing what a lot of us would've done."

"He was out of his league," Tony stated, "He should've waited. He should've..."

Tony stopped in tracts and Steve pushed himself up from the railing. Alexios watched as he approached Stark, her eye level falling a little bit lower than it should have as Steve walked off. She quickly returned her attention back up and to the conversation of the men.

"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony."

"Right," Tony muttered, rolling his eyes. "I've heard that before."

"Come on, Stark." Alexios warned, her tone dropping lower as she groaned.

"Is this the first time you lost a soldier?" Steve asked as Tony walked past him, turning around to face the genius.

Tony spun around quickly, glaring at Steve. He snapped, "We are not soldiers!" He went quiet for a moment, seeming as if he regretted his sudden outburst. Tony shook his head, "I'm not marching to Fury's fife."

"Neither are we," Steve motioned between him and Alexios, having discussed that moments earlier. "He's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does. But right now, we got to put that behind us and get this done. Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list..."

Steve was interrupted by Tony as he looked up.

"He made it personal," Tony reveled.

Steve sighed, "That's not the point."

"That is the point." Tong argued, "That's Loki's point. He hit all right where we live. Why?"

Alexios pushed herself from the railing, stepping forward a few feet to join the boys. She crossed her arms and nodded.

"Tony's right. Like Bruce said earlier, it's his M.O. to tear us apart."

"Yes!" Tony cheered, "Divide and conquer is great, but he knows he has to take out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it."

"Attention whore," Alexios muttered and quickly received a disappointed look from Steve that made her wince. "Oops. Did I just say that out loud?"

Tony continued and got jittery as he did so. Alexios smiled slightly, knowing that he was putting all the pieces together. "He wants an audience."

"Right," Steve nodded, "We caught his act in Stuttgart."

Tony began walking off, still in the middle of his revelation. "Yeah," he agreed. "That was just previews. This is opening night. And Loki, he's a full-tilt diva, right?"

Alexios scoffed, "You can say that again. I hate that pathetic god."

"He wants flowers, he wants parades." Tony paused, turning around to face Steve and Alex. "He wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered..." he stopped again, the realization crossing his face. He sighed, "Son of a b–tch!"

Tony ran off, leaving Alexios to share a look of confusion with Steve. They didn't share a word before running off, attempting to follow Tony.

•  •  •  •

THE QUARTET OF MISFITS didn't hesitate to suit up and gear up, then head to the hangar. They knew exactly where Loki was putting on his show and three of the four them were ready to take Loki on with determination written in their faces.

Agents avoided them like they were the popular clique at school, something that Alexios often avoided at high school. It sent pride through her veins knowing that the jerks at school weren't doing anything as cool as this.

So, Alexios followed the three in front of her and kept her chin up with confidence. They strode up to the open quintjet in front of them, walking onto the ramp with a vibe that really only happened in the movies.

The young mechanic on the jet quickly stood up and stopped the group. "Hey, you guys aren't authorized to be in here."

"Son, just don't." Steve quickly shut him down and Alexios had to stop herself from snickering.

The mechanic swallowed, intimidated by Steve, the two assassins and whatever Alexios was. He nodded pathetically and ran off, like a dog with his tail tucked between his legs.

Alexios smirked, hitting the switch that closed the ramp. "Let's hit it."

Clint and Natasha moved to the front, taking over controls while Steve and Alexios stayed where they were. It was decently quiet, except for the chatter between the two up front as they set up for take off. However, Alexios did send a reassuring smile to Steve, who then returned it politely.

"You two ready?" Natasha asked, looking back. "Then I'd suggest you two hold onto something."

Steve and Alexios reached up, holding onto the handles that were attached the ceiling of the jet. They lurched forward as Clint took off and began piloting the jet.

"Know where we're going?" Steve questioned.

"Got an idea," Clint smirked, "Ever been to New York, fellas?"

Alexios scoffed, "I partially grew up there, dumba–s."

Silence fell over the quartet as they rushed to New York City, reaching the large city in minutes. However, those minutes could mean life and death for millions people.

Though, her mind should've been on saving people, the view outside the windshield made Alexios marvel at the sight. In all her years, she hadn't seen anything like the calming waters miles below them. It sent a sense of calmness through her veins.

By the time they made it to the city, all hell had already broke loose. A portal was opened three hundred feet above Stark tower and Loki's army of the Centauri were rushing through.

Alexios almost made the joke about it being hell on earth, as it resembled, but went with her better judgement.

"Stark, we're on your three, headed northeast." Natasha spoke through her comm to Stark, letting him acknowledge their arrival.

"What? Did you stop for drive-through?" Tony remarked.

Alexios shrugged, "I could honestly go for food for about now."

"Really?" Tony scoffed into her comm, "We're in the middle of saving New York and you want food?"

Natasha and Steve both glanced at Alexios as she smiled slightly and laughed.

"Hey, I worked up an appetite over here." She joked, "But seriously, we should get food after this."

"Anyway!" Tony interrupted loudly, "Swing up Park. I'm going to lay them out for you."

Clint directed as Tony said, swinging past and in between buildings. All them noticed their surroundings and the Centauri with their chaos and warcrys. This was going to be in the history books.