Chapter 34 - Battle of New York XVIII

The moment Tony released the missile, his suit activated a sub-program codenamed survival.

This sub-program was only ever run under the strictest circumstances, and it was no more a program than chaotic code that gave Jervis free reign over the remaining functions of the suit.

It was more of an 'intuition' than code.

Jervis, with the increased authority afforded to him under these specific circumstances, did the only thing he could, activating the wind flaps on the suit's rear, barely managing to alter Tony's trajectory back towards the portal.

There were no calculations or trajectories mapped, just the opening of the rear-flaps and the altering course, hoping for the best outcomes.

Tony drifted towards the only outlet of gravity nearby – the portal – not that he would be able to remember this in his unconscious state.

As he drew nearer to the portal between infinite space and New York City, Tony's eyes snapped open for a second, witnessing the moment a tesseract-infused nuke collided with a country-sized alien armada.

The resulting explosion expanded as if space, itself, had caught on fire.

The explosion rivaled those of supernovas, only this supernova-like explosion was a couple of kilometers away from Earth's foremost technological genius.

In Tony's eyes, few things could rival what he was currently witnessing, and perhaps, the only thing that could be more beautiful than this moment would be the moment he finally held a child in his arms.

The power and size of the explosion were on a continental scale, and the terrifying thought that such power was in the hands of moody politicians scared Tony to no end.

Tony, at that moment, instantly grew newfound respect for a man like Nick Fury – the Secret Agent probably ensured the world wouldn't end itself regularly.

It was as if Fury's schedule was 'Ensure Russia doesn't launch a nuke on Wednesday – Stop US Intelligence from researching black holes on Thursday'.

Tony barely managed a wry smile as his mind drifted into unconsciousness once more, barely managing to drift through the collapsing portal of tesseract energy.

The continental explosion was an instant away from incinerating Tony, but luckily, the portal collapsed just in time.

۞۞

The moment Mirio released his grip on the Tesseract Energy, the portal started to implode, explode, and Omni-plode, causing his sore body to find a moment of relaxation at last.

The pain Mirio had felt until that moment faded like an illusion.

With no resistance against the Tesseract energy eating away at his body, Mirio no longer felt any pain.

Of course, this was not a good thing, but Mirio couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of relief.

In the end, Mirio could even feel the void coming to get him, it felt distinctly different from the nothingness that came with permeation.

Mirio didn't fight it – he couldn't and he didn't want to.

BOOOOOOM

BOOOOOOM

An explosion rang aloud from atop Stark's Tower.

The Stark Tower shimmered with Arch Reactor Energy as Jervis activated the internal shielding, directing most of the volatile Tesseract energy into the skies.

Mirio, like a feather in the ocean, was at the mercy of the Tesseract's Energy, swept away by the raging ocean.

The Tesseract Energy burned through Mirio's body like a cigarette smoked on infinity fast-forward, rendering any attempt at using his quirk useless.

Never before had Mirio experienced such a certain premonition of death, but even at the door of Hades, Lemillion would not go so easily.

A Hero's job was to never make death easy.

All Above One flared to life, allowing Mirio a brief moment of reprieve, reigniting some hope in his heart.

Mirio clung to that small hope - the infinitesimal chance that this was not the end Nighteye, his respected teacher, foresaw for him.

All Above One started with a familiar tingle in Mirio's spine, and soon, the sensation expanded to different pathways, consuming the Tesseract Energy in Mirio's body.

'It feels the same,' Mirio thought.

It felt the same as when he arrived in the Marvel Universe.

Mirio's mind remained unaware of the outside world, only focusing on that peculiar sensation, chasing it with all his might.

Yet, reality waited for no man.

Mirio was carried away by the volatile Tesseract Energy, carrying him hundreds of feet into the air.

The explosion of Tesseract Energy should have disintegrated his body as Thor had stated, but by some miracle, Mirio survived the explosion and was simply tossed across the skies.

۞۞

Steve, Natasha, Clint, Hulk, and Thor watched in surprise as Mirio was tossed from atop Stark's Tower.

This was not the end they expected to see.

They didn't know if he was alive, but after the previous explosion, they would be happy if Mirio's body was intact enough for them to give him a proper burial.

An Avenger deserved at least this much.

In the end, Mirio was just a kid, forced by his power to participate in a battle that ultimately claimed his promising life.

"Above Mirio," Natasha was the first to notice, bypassing Mirio to see the Red Iron Suit that should have been lost to the space beyond the portal.

But it had returned, just like Mirio.

Another ending that had been defied.

Now, they had two Avengers falling from the skies, and quite possibly, they had both died during the completion of their final missions.

Stark carried a nuke on his back – who survives that?

While Mirio withstood Cosmic Energy born at the beginning of the Universe – who survives that?

Thor frowned and scrunched his nose "Something is afoot. The magic in the air is chaotic," he stated, and as if to prove Thor's observation, Mirio's body started to shimmer with blue energy.

"That's the energy around Loki's body when he first arrived," Clint whispered, his eyes could spot Mirio even three hundred feet in the air.

"Thor. Banner. We need to get Mirio and Tony. If they're alive, they definitely won't survive the fall," Steve ordered, wishing to catch them himself, but he lacked flight capabilities.

Thor spun his hammer, ready to take a giant leap that would take him to Mirio's side, but something unexpected happened instead.

There was someone else more desperate to save the young Avenger.

BOOOOOOM

BOOOOOOM

There were two loud steps behind The Avengers, and the next second, Jessica shot into the air with the firmness of magically charged javelin, blurring to reach Mirio's side in a burst of displaced air.

Jessica simply appeared at Mirio's side, mere feet away from caressing his body in her desperate arms.

Jessica didn't know how she achieved this, but the moment she saw Mirio falling to his inevitable death, her heart pulsed with unknown energy, and her limbs flooded with energy.

It was as if the weight of the world disappeared from around her, granting free reign for a couple of seconds.

Gravity had no meaning.

The Material Universe had no meaning.

The only meaning in the world was Mirio.

Somehow, Jessica instantly knew she would be able to save Mirio, and the rest became as natural as breathing.

But she was too late.

Mere inches from taking Mirio's body into her loving embrace, Jessica was forced to watch in absolute terror as Mirio disappeared from the world, turning into specs of blue energy.

As if she had lost her soul, the earlier power in Jessica's body disappeared, and she became the person that needed rescue, instead of doing the rescuing.

She passed out and started falling to the ground.

۞۞

A silent tear slid down Natasha's cheek, but this was all the mourning she was allowed.

Everyone knew Mirio had died.

They felt it, and it ached them.

"Thor, get the kid. Hulk, get Tony," Steve ordered with a heavy heart, this time the 'kid' he was referring to was, obviously, Jessica.

Lightning sparked as Thor flew into the air, snatching the falling Jessica with an arm, then reorienting his body to fly back to Steve's position without any trouble.

Jessica was unconscious, but still sobbing painfully.

It was as much emotional pain as physical pain.

"This one has harmed her spirit," Thor bellowed in a sad tone, remembering several such cases amongst the warriors of Asgard.

Then again, a Warriors spirit should always bounce back, and the girl didn't strike Thor as weak.

Still, even for a warrior race such as Asgardians, men and women could break.

The ground shattered as Hulk also leaped into the air, snatching Tony's Iron Armor into his arms, using the buildings to slow their momentum until he finally crashed back into the ground.

Hulk tossed Tony aside, and everyone came rushing over.

Natasha took Jessica from Steve's arms, tending to the girl.

Clint walked forward, removing Tony's mask to check if he was still alive, but the answer was obvious.

Or at least it was until Hulk gave a mighty roar that startled Tony awake.

Tony's face was blue from oxygen deprivation, but it was not severe enough to warrant an emergency room visit.

Color rapidly returned to the billionaire's face.

With that worry addressed, Clint looked at all the collapsed Chitauri Soldiers, Elites, Chariots, and weapons.

"We won," The Archer whispered, thinking about his wife and children who were probably watching the events from home.

He could imagine that they thought he wouldn't make it back this time, but obviously, he would, and he owed that blessing to the kid who gave his life to achieve this outcome.

"But at what cost?" Steve questioned, snatching a small part of Mirio's shirt floating in the air. 'At least this piece of him didn't disappear as well.'

Steve, Clint, Natasha, and the rest of the Avengers slumped onto the ground, feeling all strength drain from their bodies.

What to do next?

It was not time to mourn, but that was all they could think about at this moment.

Agent Coulson had died.

Mirio had died.

Dozens of SHIELD Agents had died, and possibly, thousands of civilians had died as well.

May more buried under rubble.

By all reasonable thought, there was no upside to this matter – other than surviving, of course.

"The job is not finished yet," Natasha was the first to speak up.

Clint stealthily recovered an arrow from the body of a nearby Chitauri Elite, and switched the tip to the sharpest head,

"Will we kill him?" Clint asked, and everyone knew who he was referring to.

There was one tricky problem left unattended.

Even Jessica regained consciousness, her hollow eyes blazing for an instant, needing someone to blame for the loss of Mirio.

Needing someone to blame for all this destruction.

Thor took an offense to Clint's statement, and his hammer briefly flickered with lighting, showing his stance on the matter.

"Loki will face Asgardian justice," Thor growled.

"Maybe he is better spent in our hands," Natasha replied with a cold glint in her eyes, not backing down from the God of Thunder. "He killed Phil, and Mirio is gone because of him."

"A very tragic loss indeed," Thor's voice was a bit more subdued. "But he is a Prince of Asgard, and I ensure that his punishment will be greater than what you Midgardians can deal. There are things more important to a god than physical pain."

"This is not our choice," Steve interrupted, gesturing for everyone to be quiet. "Let's finish the job."

۞۞

A couple of minutes later, The Avengers arrived atop Stark's Tower.

It was damaged badly, but the building would survive.

Almost immediately, they could hear the shallow breathing and painful grunts of Loki – The God of Mischief.

Clint and Natasha flipped into action, drawing arrows and aiming willow bites.

Tony activated his repulsors, charging the arch energy to the maximum.

Steve placed his shield in front of his body.

Thor began charging Mjolnir with lightning, the storm inside the weapon hungering for another fulfilling battle.

But while everyone was preparing for battle, one person was already at the battle.

Jessica's dazed eyes refocused – the unfamiliar energy returned - and before anyone could react, her body had blurred, taking her directly atop the weakened Loki.

Thor and Steve moved simultaneously, having keen battle instincts that told them what would happen next.

Jessica dug her fingers into Loki's eyes, hoping to penetrate his brain, but instead, she merely managed to gouge a couple of centimeters into The God of Mischief's eyes before Thor's hammer shot in her direction, and Steve's shield flashed forward, blocking the hammer.

The loud boom and concussive force created a shockwave that tossed Jessica from atop Loki.

BOOOOOOM

Everyone else took a couple of steps backward, except Hulk who kept his standing.

"Arrrrghhhh!"

A couple of seconds later, Loki's painful screams were all that could be heard, and such a terrible noise was unacceptable to Thor.

His hammer charged with lightning, rage about to cloud his mind, but the next instant, Thor was forced to calm down.

Natasha held a gun to the base of his skull.

Clint had a blade against his neck.

Steve held his shield ready for battle, guarding the collapsed Jessica.

Hulk was towering over his body like a beast, ready to repay an earlier defeat above the Helicarrier.

Even though it was not explicitly said, Thor knew that the current Avengers also viewed him as an enemy of sorts.

Loki attacked this world, and Loki was an Asgardian, so even if Asgard was not responsible, the blame was shared with the realm that raised such an unforgiving monster.

Seeing Thor had regained his calm, Steve turned to Natasha.

"Check Loki, check the damage," he ordered.

Natasha nodded and walked over to Loki, examining the semi-empty slots where his eyes used to be.

"The damage is severe but far from permanent," Natasha reported in displeasure. "He is already healing."

Jessica rose to her feet, half-conscious and still desperate for blood, unaware that she had almost caused Earth to go to war with Asgard.

Clint removed his blade from Thor's throat and moved Jessica to the side like a ghost, and when she tried to fight him, a quick chop to the back of the neck rendered her unconscious.

Nobody blamed Jessica for the brash action.

They would have done the same if they weren't trained to control such impulses.

And just like that, the battle of New York had come to an end.

Everything else had to wait for another day.