Hello all of you lovely and amazing readers! Here is another installment in honor of Christmas Eve or Christmas, depending on where you live. Hell, it could even be the day after Christmas. Time zones always confused me. 

Anyways, please vote and leave a comment! Most of this stuff belongs to Marvel, but I proudly claim Kristin and Laura as my own.

Oh, and PTX is coming #soon (within the next two chapters).

Love you all, my darlings.

The Hellicarrier shook under the power of the explosion. I could hear the metal warp and twist, breaking apart. Fire erupted and bloomed inside the interior. Acting on instinct, I created a shield around myself to prevent the blast from affecting me. I did not think to cover the Avengers as well, however, and the force sent them flying from the lab and to various other places, including the level below.

As soon as the others recovered from the shock, orders began being thrown about. I could hear Director Fury angrily state for someone to discover who caused the explosion and what damage had been done. Before he could get an answer, the Hellicarrier tilted to the side and began slowly descending.

I groaned. Shit. They hit an engine. Of course the enemies' aim would be to bring down the whole damn aircraft. As if I wasn't already weary of heights, these events proved exactly why I shouldn't be in large contraptions with little-to-no chances of having every person onboard survive. This might turn out to be the version of Titanic where the boat is actually flying, and instead of an iceberg, it's a highly explosive arrow.

Further chaos ensued. A mass of moving bodies took control as agents frantically began getting into various positions. I briefly heard Maria informing Fury that the third engine was down. We couldn't afford to lose another one, so Fury assigned Stark and Captain to fix it as soon as possible. Though Natasha, Bruce, and Thor were nowhere to be seen, I knew they could handle themselves. A the moment, my first priority was finding Laura, making sure she was safe, and then handling whoever was trying to bring the Hellicarrier down.

I easily found Laura. She was in the control center with Maria and Fury. Before I could reach her, I heard Maria yell out, "Grenade!" My automatic response was to duck, and the only injury I sustained was a piece of shrapnel that embedded itself in my arm. Laura was safe, but Maria was no so lucky. She hit her head, and some slight bleeding could be seen from her hairline. Thankfully, no one was severely harmed.

I caught the sight of armed gunmen moving into the premises. "Stay down!" I ordered Laura as the Director and I went into motion. Fury grabbed the guns from one of the assailants and shot him while I easily brought the others to unconsciousness. My eyes narrowed in confusion when I felt energy similar to that of the Tesseract's floating around their heads. What was going on?

The answer hit me like a freight train. Of course! Loki was controlling them! He had to have a large team in order to accomplish his plan! Taking over the world by himself would be an impossible feat, even for a god. Plus, Loki wasn't a patient man. He would have wanted the work to be done quickly and knew he could not have achieved success alone. My thoughts continued in analyzing how the God of Mischief was executing his plan.

Unfortunately, because I was preoccupied, I didn't see Hawkeye hiding away in one of the rafters above us. An arrow was shot, and before I knew what was happening, another engine was down. I felt the floor drop beneath my feet, knowing our altitude was decreasing even faster than before. Fury alerted the others, and Natasha agreed to go after Clint. "Windsor, get to the chamber Loki's in! Now!"

"I can keep this thing level!" I argued.

Fury shook his head. "This goal of this attack is to free Loki! You need to prevent that! Go! That's an order!"

I nodded and teleported myself to the room. I landed right beside Coulson. "Even I don't know what it does." He must have been referring to the weapon he was holding, a large metal contraption that looked extremely heavy and equally lethal. "Want to find out?"

I would have smiled at his comment, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Loki teleport himself with incredible speed. In the next second, the metal of his scepter was protruding from Phil's chest, and I cried out in astonishment when blood began pooling from the man's mouth. Bright green eyes met mine. "Well, hello dear. Come to join the party?"

I glared at Loki. Hatred began bubbling within me. "The only celebration that will occur will be at your grave," I spat out venomously.

Loki smirked. "I believe the graves of your friends are what you have to worry about." With that, he pressed the button that released the contraption made for Banner, and Thor, who I had briefly spotted contained within it, was no more. I could only watch, wide eyed, as the large object disappeared from view. "Oh, my dear, you are a fiery one. I do think I'm beginning to enjoy your presence. Won't you join me? We could make a wonderful team together, you and I. Just imagine, with our powers combined, we could rule the whole galaxy."

"You're going to lose. It's in your nature," Phil muttered, interrupting Loki's monologue.

Loki looked astounded at the accusation. I purposefully ignored his words and focused on Phil. I had begun to heal him when a powerful blast emitted from the weapon still grasped in his hands. I jumped back, startled. "Oh. So that's what that does." I heard the pain in his voice and returned my focus to him, pushing my magic to complete its task faster.

Fury showed up shortly after Loki disappeared. I couldn't bring myself to leave Phil and go after him. Fury was wrong. I did let my emotions control me. That was why I didn't want to be an Avenger. No matter how logical, how strong I portrayed myself to, I was just a woman underneath it all. I still had human qualities. I had feelings, aspirations, hopes, and dreams. I could kill the enemy, but I couldn't stand to leave my friends to die, especially by the hands of a man who was evil incarnate. Yeah, I was seriously considering raising Loki's rank on my list of people who ended up on my bad side. He was now in the top three.

"How extensive are his injuries?" Fury asked.

I shrugged as I finished healing him. "The wound was deep, but it didn't hit any of his vital organs. It was mostly tissue and muscle, easily healed with enough concentration."

Phil sat up straighter and placed the weapon beside him. I stood up and toed it further away. The last thing anyone needed was for it to randomly go off again. "Thank you, Kristin."

I smiled. "Don't make this a habit, Agent Coulson." I thought for a moment. "Director, do you think..."

"Coulson's down," he stated over the coms, catching the direction of my thoughts. The Avengers needed a common reason that would convince them to unite their forces instead of arguing with one another like kindergartners. If leading them to believe that Phil was dead would work, then why not try it? It was definitely worth the shot. I mean, Earth would be in a state of complete destruction if Loki were to win this war and rule over mankind.

"A medic team is on their way," someone responded.

"They're already here." In reality, it was just the three of us. "They called him."

An eerie silence fell over the Hellicarrier despite the commotion still happening. "I should go," I whispered to Director Fury before leaving. I wanted to find Laura.

"Kristin!" she called as she spotted me from the other end of the hallway. She ran into my open arms. "You're all right!"

I held her at arms' length and assessed her for injuries. "Are you okay?"

Laura nodded. "I'm fine. I was on the opposite end of the Hellicarrier when the first explosion occurred, and I was far away when that arrow took out the second engine. Do you know what's going on?"

"Loki is controlling a team of people. This whole fiasco was him getting bailed out. Fury's planning on sending the Avengers after them, indiscreetly of course. I can imagine the Council is not happy about this at all."

"Agent Windsor?" an agent asked, intervening in our conversation.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Agent Romanoff sent for you. Agent Barton has been detained, and Agent Romanoff requires your presence." Clint must have been having serious problems. Natasha wouldn't have sent for me otherwise.

I inclined my head in acknowledgement. "Laura, I'll see you later."

She nodded. "Yeah, we're scheduled to watch the finale of the Sing-Off this weekend. Don't forget!"

Finding Natasha and Clint wasn't difficult. They were in a small but comfortable room located in the lower chambers of the metal deathtrap. I entered to see her worried face. Clint was thrashing and cursing, obviously fighting off some invisible force and in pain because of it. "Can you help him?" she asked me as more sweat began beading on his forehead.

I went to work. "Clint, calm down," I whispered in a velvet voice. The soothing effect worked immediately, and Clint stopped fighting against the restraints. "I know he hurt you. You're all right now. You're safe, and he can't control you anymore."

Clint groaned. "I'm going to kill him," he eventually said.

I smirked. "I believe there's a line for that, Agent Barton." I turned to Natasha. "He should be fine now."

Natasha thanked me, and I stepped out into the hallway. I began assessing the damage done to the overall framework of my current residence, offering my magic to help those who were working on the more difficult tasks.

Laura ran up to me about an hour later. "Aliens are attacking Manhattan. The Avengers are working on it, but Director Fury thinks they need your help."

I was hesitant. "But what will the media think of me? I'm not an Avenger?"

Laura glared. "Does that really matter? Thousands of lives are at stake here, Kristin. You're possibly the most powerful individual on this planet. Go protect it."

I was shocked by her attitude but understood where she was coming from. "I'll go."

Laura smirked. "Good, because I'm coming with you."

We landed in Manhattan shortly thereafter. The alien soldiers, also known as the Chitauri, were attacking furiously and with no remorse. Debris from the utter destruction and dead bodies were strewn about the streets. I was surprised the whole city hadn't been leveled yet.

I fought to keep my own mind focused. I needed to stay calm and protect those around me. "Laura, I need you to help civilians and keep yourself safe. Do not engage the enemy. Do you hear me?"

She nodded and hugged me quickly before disappearing from sight.

Endless moments appeared to pass. Time meant nothing when fighting against a seemingly unstoppable enemy. I would kill one of the Chitauri, and ten more would take its place. It was a never-ending, brutal cycle that required all of my energy. But, something caught my eye.

Stark! He was leading what resembled a nuke of some sort, and he was heading directly to the portal. No! Was he crazy? He wouldn't survive in there! Not after all the damage that must have been done to his suit! I swiftly flew after him into the portal. I grabbed his arm and dragged him through the rim right as it closed. I held his much larger body to mine as I slowed our descent and landed softly on the ground. I placed him down on an area of unbroken concrete. The rest of the team surrounded us, surprised to see me but saying nothing of it. All attention was on Stark.

After a few minutes, Hulk roared in his face, startling Stark awake. "What the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me."

"We won."

"All right. Hey! Good job guys! Let's just not come in tomorrow; let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? I don't know what it is, but I want to try it." I stared at Stark. Was he mental?

The other Avengers appraised him with mildly amused and relieved expressions. Thor spoke. "We're not finished yet." Ah, yes. Loki was still about somewhere.

"And then shawarma after," Stark commented. I rolled my eyes. "You can come, too, Cupcake."

"Cupcake?" I questioned, somewhat angered by the very feminine nickname.

"Hey, I just saved the world. I don't think now is the time to start questioning my decisions."

"I believe people have been doing that all along, but whatever you say, Mr. Stark." I turned to Thor. "I would offer further assistance, but I'm afraid your brother has become slightly obsessed with me."

Natasha was alarmed. "What has he said to you?"

"The powerful magic that Lady Windsor has shown today would not have gone unnoticed by my brother. He will more than likely covet her."

"So, Point Break needs some loving? That's not surprising, considering his upbringing and all. I hope you're not interested in deranged gods, Cupcake."

I growled. "I will be nobody's object or bride without my consent." I stood, brushed off my S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform, and began walking away.

"Where are you going, ma'am?" Captain questioned.

I took a moment to revel in the silence. The fighting was done, but was the war won? "I need to discuss some things with Fury. I'll see you later, Natasha." And with that, I teleported back to the Hellicarrier.

I must have landed in the middle of a conversation, because Fury and Maria were talking when I arrived. "They'll come back."

"Are you really sure about that?"

"I am."

"Why?"

"Because we'll need them to."