Music is "Heroes" by Generdyn Music feat. Zayde Wolf.

Picture is the Avengers.

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN: The Hole Above Manhattan

Tony crashes through the glass half a second after I begin to fall. After him, a bullet of scarlet follows. The Mark-7 Iron-Man suit opens around Tony's outstretched body, encasing him in seconds. As the helmet closes over his face, Tony blasts towards me, grabbing me by my waist just before we hit the ground.

"Bloody hell, that was close!" I exclaim, holding tightly to Iron-Man.

"You ain't never lied," Tony sighs, relieved, and we fly back up towards where Loki stands, at the edge of the hole in the Tower. "And there's one other person you pissed off." Tony hovers in front of the demigod. "His name was Phil."

Loki aims his scepter again, but Tony is quick enough to fire a blast to knock him over. The Iron-Man lands on the Tower floor just long enough to place me down. "Barnes, you gotta stop throwing yourself into danger like that. Rogers will kill me if I let you die...again."

I shake my head slightly, watching Loki carefully. "Good luck with that."

He flies over to a compartment in the adjacent room. "Hey, what's your shoe size?"

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. "Really, Tony? You want my shoe size? Now of all times--"

"--Just answer the damn question!"

I sigh, "Eight. Why?"

"You're lucky, that's why." Iron-Man returns with a pair of cuff links like the ones he slipped onto his wrists earlier. "I made these for Pepper in case of emergencies. Put them on your ankles. They'll give you boots like the ones on my suit. Not perfect, but it'll have to do for now."

He hands them to me, and I do as he says. Once they're on, metal plating covers my combat boots, giving them both added protection, durability, and flight capabilities. "Thanks, Stark," I grin as I test them out.

Before he can reply, the Tower shakes, and we make it to the broken glass opening just in time to see the Tesseract shoot a giant blue stream of energy into the sky. We hear a sonic boom, and then a black hole opens up a few hundred meters above our heads. Moments later, creatures of an alien origin start pouring out of it, flying on hover crafts that look just as odd.

"Right," Tony mumbles, flying out into the sky. "Army." He turns to me. "No more falling off buildings, you got it? Find Rogers, Romanoff, and Barton. They're gonna need help on the ground."

"What about you?" I shout over the noise of the city.

"I'm gonna go kick some alien ass."

After that, we part ways. Tony jets up towards the hole in the sky, taking out as many aliens as he can in the process. Loki is still passed out in the Stark Tower penthouse suite behind me. I use Tony's hover boots to descend down towards the crowds of New Yorkers being shot at by the intruders.

Manhattanites are screaming for help and running for cover. Cars and buses are being thrown by the explosions. Flames are everywhere, buildings are crumbling into debris, and I can hear the distinct sound of laser fire all around me. If I didn't know that this was the biggest city in America, I would have confused it with a neighborhood in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War.

I pull out my bowstaff, using it as a weapon against the aliens as I fly by. I knock off as many as I can before I make it to the street. NYPD officers swarm the streets, heading the one place where people are fleeing. The letters on the Stark Tower sign fall onto the ground below. Iron-Man flies overhead, three aliens on his tail.

I look around desperately for Steve, even for Natasha or Barton. I may be immortal, but that doesn't mean I favor taking on an alien army alone.

Then I hear the Russian assassin's voice coming from the ear piece Tony gave me before we left. "Stark, we're on your three, headed northeast."

"What? Did you stop for drive-through?"

"Where's Barnes? I thought she was with you."

"She's down on the ground somewhere. Emma, you there?"

I tap my ear piece and reply, "I'm here. Natasha, you'd better get down here. It's a war-zone."

"Swing up Park," Tony orders, referring to Park Avenue. "I'm gonna lay them out for you."

"I'm already on Park Ave.," I reply, looking towards the other end of the street. "I can see you coming, Natasha. Careful not to hit any civilians down here."

"Got it."

Moments later, Iron-Man brings a ring of aliens around the corner. The Quinjet opens fire, taking all of them out, as well as some of the lower levels of Stark Tower and Grand Central Station in front of it.

"Sir, we have more incoming," JARVIS announces.

"Fine. Let's keep them occupied."

The Quinjet circles the Tower, and I turn my attention towards those on the ground. Some of the aliens that crash-landed are still alive, and now they're focused on terrorizing the fleeing New Yorkers. I take my bowstaff firmly in hand and launch myself at a ground of them. They turn their attention from pushing over a city bus to fighting me. I use the electric shock button to stun three of them while crushing the other two in the skull.

Over my head, I hear the Quinjet explode. Fire fills the corner of my eye, and the aircraft swerves uncontrollably around a few buildings, finally crashing into the city square a few meters down the street.

I pull open the city bus door, using all my strength. "Hurry," I exclaim, motioning for those trapped inside to make their way to th subway or any other safe place. "Go!"

As the dozen people clamor onto the streets, I hear Steve yell from behind me, "Emma!"

I turn my head, seeing Natasha, Barton, and Steve hurry out of a downed Quinjet. "You could've killed someone!" I exclaim.

"So are they," Natasha points out, nodding towards the hole in the sky.

"Are you okay?" Steve asks, blue eyes locked onto my grey.

I nod, taking a shaky breath in. "Bloody fantastic."

Steve nods, looking from me to the Tower. "We gotta get back up there."

Before anyone can say anything else, a bellowing, deep, mechanical growl echoes throughout the city. The four of us turn our eyes to the giant hole in the sky just in time to see a large, mechanical beast barely fit through it. It looks similar to those aliens which are already in the city, and definitely not of this world.

I can barely breathe as it swims through the air, knocking the statues of Mercury, Hercules, and Minerva off the top of Grand Central. As it flies above us, knocking into the buildings on either side, more aliens blast from its sides and into the skyscrapers. It's unclear to me as to whether this creature is more machine or biology.

"Stark," Steve finally speaks, his voice shaking, "are you seeing this?"

The Iron-Man comes jetting in from another part of the city, aiming towards the mechanical creature. "Seeing. Still working on believing. Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

"Banner?" Steve inquires.

"Just keep me posted."

Moments later, we begin to take fire from the influx of aliens on Park Ave. Steve and I take cover behind a taxi. Barton and Natasha do the same. We all look at each other, then around us, looking for a plan. "We've got civilians still trapped up here," Barton says, eying the groups of people who can't find a safe place away from the chaos.

"Loki." Steve turns his head sharply, line of sight following a familiar emerald-caped figure on one of the flying aliens, the street going up in flames after them. The cars pile up at the end of the street, making it impossible for the people there to do anything but wait for the extraterrestrial firing squad. "They're fish in a barrel down there."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see an alien perched behind another tossed car, armed and aiming at Steve. I tackle him to the ground as the alien takes his shot. Natasha stands and returns fire, taking out that one alien. But like HYDRA, the one we kill only invites two dozen more to join.

"Thanks," Steve mumbles, pulling himself up.

"No problem," I reply, picking up my bowstaff from the pavement.

"We got this. It's good," Natasha reassures us. "Go."

"Do you think you can hold them off?" Steve asks.

Clint turns towards us with a smirk. "Captain, it would be my genuine pleasure." He pulls an arrow from his quiver, letting it fly towards one of the aliens. It pierces through his skull, and that arrow shoots more mini-arrows into the surrounding aliens.

Steve and I take that as a sign that they can handle themselves and we turn towards the bottlenecked street. We jump over the railing of the bridge, landing on a bus below while dodging fire from above. The vehicle flips, and we use that momentum to propel ourselves onto the lower part of the street. "Just like the good 'ole days, right, Captain America?" I grin, keeping up with Steve as he dodges flying debris and lasers.

He shakes his head, giving a shaky chuckle. "You and I remember remember the good 'ole days very differently."

Steve and I land on a car in front of two NYPD officers, who aimlessly fire their sidearms up into the sky. One of these men I recognize immediately. "Danny?" The name slips my lips quietly, barely above a whisper.

The man standing below me is none other than Danny Carter, Peggy Carter and Daniel Sousa's grandson. His name causes him to look up at me in confusion. "You know me?"

I pause, eventually shaking my head. Of course he wouldn't recognize me. The last time I saw him was when he was barely a teenager. He was much younger, and I had dark hair back then. And he wouldn't recognize me in my Union Jack because more of the proof of my existence has long been hidden away by his grandmother.

Steve turns their attention to himself as he orders, "You need men in these buildings. There are people inside and they're going to be running right into the line of fire. You take them to the basements or through the subway. You keep them off the streets." Steve points to the street across from us. "I need a perimeter as far back as 39th."

The police officer next to Danny asks, "Why the hell should I take orders from you?"

Before Steve can think of an answer, a car blows up behind us. Three aliens fall on either side of us. Steve blocks the first blast with his shield. I fight off a pair, while Steve covers my six. We bash and blast our way through the battalion of extraterrestrials.

When we've completely obliterated the aliens, the police officer next to Danny turns, ordering, "I need men in those buildings. Lead the people down and away from the streets. We're gonna set up a perimeter as far back as 39th Street." Other officers scurry about, doing as the officer says.

Steve runs off towards another ground of aliens, but I hesitate because of Danny's gaze on me. "I know you," he states. "I remember you."

I hop down from the car, standing eye to eye with him. I smile, replying, "As I've always told you, you look so much like your grandfather."

Danny Carter smiles widely. "I knew it. It knew it was you, Aunt Emma. Sorry, I didn't recognize you with all your..." He motions to my uniform.

I chuckle, patting him on the shoulder. "Be safe, Danny. Please, for your grandmother."

Danny nods. "I'll see you after this is all over?"

I nod. "Abso-bloody-lutely."

We hurry off in separate directions. I find Steve, Natasha, and Barton cornered outside of Grand Central Station. I jump into help them fight off the aliens that are quickly overwhelming us. "Well, it was nice knowing you guys," Barton states.

"Shut up, Clinton," Natasha chastises.

Just before it becomes too much for the four of us to handle, lighting rains down from the sky, destroying all of the aliens in one swoop. They fall to the ground as Thor descends from the sky, his mighty hammer clenched in his hand.

"What's the story upstairs?" Steve asks as Clint hurries around to collect his arrows. I help Natasha off the ground, offering her a hand.

"The power surrounding the Cube is impenetrable," Thor replies.

Another voice pipes in through my ear piece, "Thor's right. We gotta deal with these guys."

"How do we do this?" the red-headed Russian asks.

"As a team," Steve replies.

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

Clint scoffs while putting the arrowheads back onto the arrows. "Yeah? Well, get in line."

"Stop it, both of you," I interrupt their bickering. "Keep your super-egos in your pants. We still have an alien invasion to deal with, mind you."

"Emma's right," Steve agrees. "Loki's going to keep this fight focused on us, and that's what we need. Without him, these things could run wild."

"An army without a leader, more often than nod, turns into a mod," I add, nodding to Natasha. "It happened with the Bolsheviks. It happened with the Bosnians."

"We got Stark up top," Steve continues. "He's going to need u to--"

Steve is interrupted by the sound of a motorcycle approaching through the rubble. It carries Bruce Banner. We walk towards him as he leans the bike against one of the overturned cars.

"So, this all seems horrible," the doctor observes with a hint of sarcasm.

"I've seen worse," Natasha comments.

Bruce looks to her apologetically. "Sorry."

She nods. "No, we could use a little worse."

"Stark," Steve says, "we got him."

"Banner?" the Iron-Man inquires.

"Just like you said."

"Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you."

Iron-Man rounds the corner, the large, flying monster on his tail. It crashes through building, trying to catch its prey. Thor snarls and grips his hammer tighter, and Natasha comments, "I don't see how that's a party."

Tony leads the creature to a lower level. It crashes into the street but keeps advancing. Bruce begins to walk towards it. Steve exclaims, "Doctor Banner, now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

Bruce turns to glance at Steve over his shoulder. "That's my secret, Captain. I'm always angry."

He transforms quickly before our eyes, launches his fist into the face of the monster, and digs his feet into the street to slow it down. At it slows, the tail curls up into the air, its armor coming apart.

"Hold on!" Tony shouts, and he aims his fist towards the monster. A small missile fires into one of the cracks in its' armor, destroying it from the inside. Steve shields Natasha and I, as well as himself, with his shield. Thor withstands the blast, and Barton dodges it.

The monster falls apart, the head crashing into the street. The aliens around us roar in anger. Hulk clenches his fists and roars back. The rest of us back up into a circle, back to back against each other, protecting one another. We draw our weapons and prepare for another round of fighting, this one even more exciting than the last.

High above, we turn our eyes to Loki. He looks displeased with how easily his army is falling apart. His mouth moves, and I can just make out the words which he mutters: "Send the rest."

END CHAPTER SIXTEEN: The Hole Above Manhattan.