Here we are my little nublets! The final chapter! Thank you so much for hanging with me through the good chapters and the bad chapters and my terrible updating schedule. I never thought I'd actually finish a story I wrote, but here it is! Thank you all for your support and reviews! You hung in till the end of the line. I love you all! Farewell my loves!

-Enter usual disclaimers here-

"Sir," Jarvis says as a blinking green light starts to flash on the edge of Tony's vision. "It appears a second Iron Man suit has just came online."

"Impossible," the genius grunts, blasting a hole in a horde of Chitauri that started to swarm Hawkeye. "I never authorized that. Who authorized that? Jarvis. Tell me who authorized that."

"Working on it, Sir," the AI responds. "If I may, Sir, there are thirty warriors approaching from your three o'clock."

Tony whips around and fires into the group, successfully managing to take out half of them while the other half takes cover. "Thanks, J," he huffs, starting to feel the weight of battle press down on him. "How's it coming with that authorization?"

A small red X appears in the middle of Tony's vision before winking out of existence just as an alien takes aim. "It seems I have been denied access to that information," the housekeeper says while Tony obliterates the alien who almost shot and three more who decided to make an appearance. "It appears to be a suit that was not made by you."

Confusion furrows the brows of the billionaire as Clint fires three exploding arrows in the direction the Chitauri are hiding and manages to take them all out before whipping around to take out ten more who tried to attack from behind. "What do you mean I didn't make the suit?" he asks, scanning the area for the weak spot Jarvis indicated earlier. "I have the only collection of fully functioning Iron Man suits in the world, and it's not even in New York." An explosion jars his attention and he lifts a hand to shield his face from any debris. "Jarvis, get into that suit and tell me who made it and who's using it. Pronto."

"On it, Sir," Jarvis repeats, refilling the screen with the location of the ship's weak spot. "I will have a full diagnostic report in fifteen minutes."

"I don't want a full diagnostic report, J," Tony says through a grunt of exertion as he bats away a Chitauri grenade. "Just tell me who made it."

"Right away, Sir," the AI responds. "It'll be five minutes."

The grenade explodes a bit too close for Tony's liking and he throws his arms over his face to protect himself. He waves his hands to clear the smoke and spots Barton doing the same, quickly recovering as ten warriors surround him and take aim. "Barton, down!" he barks, lifting his hand and firing as Clint falls to the ground. Ten miniature rockets launch from the compartment in his wrist and bury themselves in the heads of all the attacking warriors. They explode on contact and Barton jumps up, lifting his bow to take aim at any other warriors that may or may not be attacking.

After a few seconds of scanning the area, the archer lowers his bow and turns to the red and gold clad man. "I think we cleared this level," he says, huffing slightly from the recent onslaught of aliens. So far the two have managed to clear out three floors of the ship with decreasing levels of difficulty. The two have agreed that most of the warriors are out attacking the city or were on the lower decks preparing to be launched. That would explain why there were less enemies every time they went up a floor. With that being said, the few dozen aliens still on the innermost parts of the ship manage to put up a hell of a fight.

Tony releases a deep sigh of relief at the words and leans his shoulder against the wall beside him. "Good," he says, opening his facemask in order to air out the stuffiness on the inside. "I think we've earned a break."

"I was just about to say that," the lighter haired man agrees, taking a seat beside a pile of Chitauri bodies. "How many floors did you say we had to go up again?" he asks, replacing the previously knocked arrow he was holding.

Tony huffs for a few seconds before lifting his hand in a lazy peace sign. "Two more," he replies between puffs. "Do you have enough arrows?"

"For two floors?" the agent asks, lifting an eyebrow in confusion. "No. Half a floor: maybe. But if I do that, then I can't blow up the weak spot when we get there."

The genius rolls his eyes at his companion's words and lifts a hand to rub his face. "Alright then," he says through a sigh. "We're going to have to skip the floor after this then. Save an arrow for the spot but make sure to help me when you can, ok?"

"Got it," the archer says as he raises a thumb up. "We're still on break time, right?"

"Two more minutes," Tony says with a nod. "How's the check coming, Jarvis?"

The facemask falls back into place and the screen lights up, page after page of codes and information covering every open space there is within seconds. "I have found the required data, Sir," Jarvis replies, clearing the screen until only one page remains. "The manufacturer is Ms. Toni Rebecca Stark."

"Toni has a suit!?" the older Stark exclaims, earning a look of confusion from the agent on the floor.

"Toni has a suit?" Clint repeats, tone less excited and more questioning than the father's. "Since when?"

"July 12th, 2012 is the first date I have logged, Sir," the AI says, flipping pages to a long list of dates. "It appears that is the first time she started building the suit."

Tony's brow furrows in confusion as the date strikes a memory, or at least the vague impression of a memory. "What happened that day?"

"Toni started showing the first signs of the flu on that day, Sir," Jarvis says.

"So she stayed up building her own suit instead of laying in bed and getting better like I told her to?" he asks no one in particular before a small smirk of approval pulls his lips up. "That's my girl…" He pushes himself off the wall and offers a hand to Barton. "Jarvis, see if you can get me contact with Toni's suit within the next ten or twenty minutes," he instructs as he helps the archer to his feet. "We should be done with this place by then."

"Right away, Sir," the AI responds before leaving Tony alone with the map to their target.

"We're going in hot, Katniss," the billionaire comments to his comrade, earning a disapproving glare in response. "You ready for this?"

Clint sighs deeply and rolls his shoulders to relieve some of the tension from constantly firing his bow before bouncing in place and nodding. "As I'll ever be," he finally says before notching an arrow. "Let's do this."

Iron Man nods and grabs the archer by his quiver. "Get ready," he says, raising an arm over his head and blasting a hole in the ceiling. "We're going in hot."

"Bruce!"

The doctor spins around on his heel at the sound of his name and spots a dust covered Natasha jogging toward him, a look of confusion pulling her brow together as she gets closer. "What happened?" he asks, trying to ignore the assassin's questioning look for as long as he can. "I thought you and Barton were supposed to be running perimeter."

"Clint's in the Chitauri ship with Tony," she relays quickly. "So I was left alone…until I almost ran into Thor with my flying scooter. So now he's on perimeter detail looking for Loki and Toni while I take you to put out the fire in the Stark Tower."

"We were on our way there," Steve responds as he approaches, holding a hand up to catch his shield after it takes out an approaching warrior. "We just got a bit sidetracked." He slides the shield on his back and extends his arms out toward Banner. "I'll take the girl," he says, slightly winded by the horde he just stopped. "I need a break."

"We can't take a break yet, Cap," the Widow responds, watching as the blond accepts the girl from the doctor's arms. "We need to get to the Tower, put out the fire, find the girl's parents and stop the rest of the Chitauri. Then we can take a break."

Steve shifts the girl into a comfortable carrying position as Bruce grabs whatever he can of his shredded pants. "We're waiting to drop her off on the helicarrier," he replies as he lifts his eyes to the sky. "We'll find her parents after this whole thing is over."
"Until then, we have to take care of her," the brown-haired man says. "But we don't have time for that. Right now, we have to put out the fire in the Stark Tower before it spreads."

"Right," Romanoff says, reloading a full clip into the handle of her gun. "This way. Although I'm not too sure how Fury will react to be treated as a babysitting service…"

"It's not like we have a choice," Rogers responds as they take off into a brisk jog, trailing behind as the Hulk makes an appearance and launches himself in the air. "We can't hold her the entire time. Not only is it a hassle, but we can't risk her getting hurt in the crossfire."

"I bet," the red haired woman says as she turns a corner and fires at two unsuspecting aliens. "That's why I don't want kids."

Steve furrows his brows in confusion at the woman's words and slows his pace when the enemy starts to return fire. "Why would you bring your children into a situation where they could get hurt anyway?" he asks, having to shout to be heard over the gunfire.

Natasha shrugs and pushes forward after all the Chitauri in the alley are dead. "I never said I would," she replies easily. "But some times shit happens. I can't always control the situations I'M put in, Steve. What makes you think I could do any different for my kids?" No response. This causes a small smirk to twitch at the edges of her lips as she scans the street for aliens. "That's why I'm not having kids…"

"Good point," Steve says after a while, leaning against the same wall Natasha peers around. "There go my dreams of having kids."
Natasha's smirk grows and she shakes her head before starting out into the deserted street. "Don't say that," she responds, aiming her gun at anything that shifts without help. "Tony has a kid and she's doing just fine. I highly doubt you can raise a kid worse than Stark can."

Steve ponders the thought for a moment before nodding his head slowly in agreement. "You're right," he says while his eyes search the streets. "Thanks."

The redhead nods once in acknowledgement as she quickens her pace slightly. "Besides," she continues, "you have a kid now and she's not getting hurt in the middle of one of the biggest wars in history. So even if your kids do get thrown into a battlefield, you'll take care of them."

"You could be a motivational speaker," the blond says through a chuckle.

Natasha shares the chuckle as she takes down an alien who crossed her path without knowing. "You flatter me," she says. "I'm just telling the truth."

"That's what makes the advice so good," he replies. "Are we almost to the Stark Tower?"

"Close," Romanoff says, replacing the smile with her game face again. "Just another block and a half. I hope you're ready."

Toni smiles as she uses another blast from her hand cannons to send Thanos tumbling into the side of a hollowed out bakery, the force of the impact causing the entire wall to collapse on top of him. "I hope insurance covers that," she mutters, lowering her hand to set up in another offensive posture. It's been thirty minutes since the start of what Toni deemed round two and the tides have already turned. With a new suit and the smallest amount of injuries, the teen has managed to inflict twice the amount of damage to him than he had to her.

Already she can see the Titan's movements growing sloppy, the effect of the wounds finally starting to get to him after all. Thanos struggles to his feet from underneath the rubble of the building she collapsed on him, still holding tightly to the long sword Toni broke long ago. "You're going to suffer for that, Loki-pet," he growls, lifting the broken weapon to point it at her.

The smile on Toni's face grows underneath the mask and she flexes her fingers at her side. "I think I'd like to see that happen, Ape," she taunts in response, watching some of the black smoke from before gather at the end of the shattered blade. "Come at me."

Thanos bellows out a war cry and the smoke launches forward, easily being countered by Toni's chest beam. The two opposing forces have it out for a decent three seconds before the smoke dissipates, revealing Thanos crouching just underneath the width of the beam of light. His sword slices through the beam like butter and he angles it so that the metal is reflecting the beam back toward her. Toni is thrown off her feet from the force of the blast and sent flying backwards, crashing to a stop just inches from where Loki stands.

"You know," she coughs, willing away the multiple warning lights that light up her screen. "As I said before, he is YOUR enemy. Meaning YOU could be helping."

"I'm trying," he responds, eyes sliding past her and landing on the slowly limping Thanos. "But you are not giving me enough time for a decent window of opportunity. You are moving too fast and not keeping him down long enough."

From underneath the mask, Toni rolls her eyes in mild annoyance, finally able to dismiss the warning lights as she turns to face Thanos once again. One of the warnings doesn't leave, though, and she glances at the full body projection at the bottom of the screen. Major damage to the torso piece of the suit that can't take another hit like that in the future? Great. At least it's held its own this far into battle without proper Beta testing. How long will it last though?

She quickly blinks away thoughts and returns her shielded gaze to Thanos. "He's slowing down a lot," she comments, watching the titan struggle to apply heavy pressure to his left leg. "If I can slow him down a bit more, do you think you could make the kill?"

"Of course," Loki says, shifting his sword back to his natural-born dominant hand. "But how exactly do you plan on slowing him down?"

"Just let me worry about that," the teen says, taking up a defensive posture as Thanos raises his broken and now white sword. "Keep watching for the opening. I'll try to make it obvious this time."

Thanos launches himself at the two but Toni is quick to meet him in the middle, clamping her hand around the wrist brandishing the sword. "Just give up, Monkey Man," she taunts, struggling to hold the titan's hand at a safe distance from her head. "You're not going to win this."

Thanos's signature spine-tingling smirk spreads across his lips as he locks his eyes with the eye slits in her mask. "You think?" he rumbles, applying more pressure to the sword that causes Toni to grunt and use her other hand to help hold him back. Just as her hand shifts to move, Thanos drops one hand from the hilt and it snaps out to grabs her wrist. The titan smirks wider as he clenches a fist and crushes the metal in his fist, causing a hidden look of terror to pin itself on Toni's face. The teen quickly releases her hold on Thanos's wrist and fires a hand beam from her palm just before the titan has a chance to crush actual bone.

The entire right hand of Toni's suit is torn from its spot when Thanos flies back from impact, leaving nothing behind to defend her normal hand if anything should happen. "Well shit," Toni grumbles, once again blinking away the warning lights as they tell her of the missing piece. "That could be a problem…"

Thanos picks himself from the rubble once again and throws the ruined hand back at her feet, the smirk growing again as he gathers his sword from the ground. "You new armor will do nothing to defend you, girl," the blue-eyed titan sneers. "I will admit, your offensive attacks have improved greatly, but the material used will do nothing to defend you. I will tear it apart piece by piece before driving my blade through your heart."

"Thanks for the imaginings," Toni comments snidely, rotating her newly exposed hand in preparation for the next attack. "And the compliment. But you're still going to lose. To me…or Loki. I haven't decided."

A scoff of disbelief falls from Thanos's smirk as he retakes his sword into both hands. "You underestimate my strength, child," he responds, causing Toni's eye to twitch once in annoyance. "I will no longer be holding back in my attacks. I was, as you mortals say, warming up."

For the first time since round two, Toni feels her stomach flip with unease. Her suit is already damaged to the point where she may need to shed it within the next hour in order to avoid being killed if the chest piece fails and causes the entire suit to shut down. If Thanos is doing as he says and kicking it up a notch, the suit may not hold out for that long. No, Toni thinks firmly, puffing her chest out slightly to help the words sink in. You've done plenty of damage so far. He can't hold out much longer. Just give Loki and opening an-

The thought is cut short as Thanos appears in front of her, grabbing the suit harshly by the throat and lifting it so her feet dangle in the air. Before Toni can even process a proper response to the action, the titan is swinging his arm and releasing the suit, sending Toni flying from his grip and spiraling in the air. Her suit collides with the ground in a brilliant display of sparks as it bounces a few times before grinding to a screeching stop in front of a broken fire hydrant. "Holy shit," the teen mutters hazily, still trying to process the happenings as water drenches her from the hydrant. "Holy shit."

Thanos appears again and snatches Toni up by an ankle, once again tossing her aside like nothing. She manages to readjust herself in the air and land roughly on her feet, but Thanos is too fast and he sends her flying again with a punch to the jaw. Toni's entire left side collides with the glass front of an antique shop and she rolls to a stop on the floor inside. Glass and ceramic figurines shatter on the floor around her as she struggles to blink herself back into focus.

"Son of a bitch," she breathes as she finally regains her footing. "He wasn't messing around… That may make it a bit more difficult…."

"Prepare yourself, flea," the titan calls from his spot in the middle of the street. "For this is the last battle you're ever going to live for."

With a smoke stack that's already three and a half stories high and a second building showing the first signs of combustion, Banner is happy they were lucky enough to make it here when they did. Already most of the interior and parts of the exterior of the Tower have been incinerated, making the structure even more unstable than it already is. The local fire department and police force have been ordered not to enter the war zone when Thanos arrived, being told to instead help direct civilians to safety outside the city. That left the flames in the Stark Tower completely unchecked for the past half hour.

"It's not as bad as I thought it would be," the doctor says, already feeling sweat start to bud on his forehead at the intense waves of heat that roll from the building. "At least nothing else is on fire."

"Not yet," the red haired woman to his right comments. "But that hardware store looks like it's about ready to start."

"So what's the plan?" Steve says, brushing away the sweat the rolls from his forehead.

"Working on it," Natasha replies while her eyes scan the area for anything useful.

"Well work faster," Banner comments, earning a half glance from the assassin. "We have company."

Steve and Natasha both whip around at the doctor's words, instantly locating the horde of sixty Chitauri and ten air scooters that line up down the block. "Shit," the woman hisses, spotting an undamaged fire hydrant halfway between them and the army. "I think I have a plan," she starts warily. "But we're going to have to put the girl down."

Steve raises an eyebrow and glances at Natasha, shifting the girl into a more comfortable position in his arms. "Where exactly do you suggest we put her?" the captain asks. "Cause I don't see anywhere safe."

"I'll be with her," she says quickly, lifting her weapon just as the army does the same. "Get inside the tax building," she says, firing six times before her clips empty. "Now!"

The group beelines for the mildly undamaged building, narrowly avoiding the beams of energy shot by the enemies. Only slightly winded, the trio take cover inside the building, ducking behind the first undestroyed desk they come across. "We can't stay here forever," Bruce informs as he carefully peeks around the side of the desk. "They'll pin us before we get anything accomplished."

"That's why I'll only be saying this once," Romanoff responds coolly, replacing the empty clips with the final ones from her shoe. "Bruce, do you think you can Hulk out and open that fire hydrant we passed?"

"Of course," the brown-haired man responds with a quick nod. "It'll be easy."

"Good," the redhead replies. "After that, you just go and take out as many of those warriors as you can. Try to keep them away from the Tower and this building. I'll be in here with the girl while she sleeps."

"Where does that leave me?" Steve asks, already feeling a slight worry work into his core at the thought of leaving the girl alone.

"You'll be using your shield to redirect the water from the hydrant to the fire in the Tower," the assassin retorts, redirecting her gaze to him as one of the windows in the front is blasted. "Banner and I will cover you, so all you have to worry about is the fire. Keep an eye out, though. Those blasts look pretty unpredictable."

The building rattles harshly from the sudden increase in fire that has concentrated at it, causing the trio to cower slightly as a piece of drywall collapses. "Sounds good," Bruce says, standing and already turning green at the edges. "Let's go."

Before anyone could respond, the Other Guy takes the place of the small man and launches one of the office chairs at a warrior on an air scooter. After three enemies fall to the attack, the Hulk releases a mighty battle cry and charges the beasts, sending the ground forces scattering in all directions to avoid the beast. Only a forth do.

"I can't be of much help at the moment," Natasha admits, steeling her voice as Steve lays the girl on the floor. "I'm down to my last two clips. After this I'm out."

"Then don't try to shoot the bastards unless they're on the front steps," Rogers replies, his tone changing from normal Steve to Captain America in a heartbeat. "I understand that your instinct when you see an enemy is to instantly shoot. But you can't do that with the girl here. Just wait and use your bullets sparingly. Only fire if Banner doesn't take them out first or they come within three meters of the building. Clear?"

Natasha smirks at his tone and nods once in reply. "Yes, Captain," she says with a mock salute, watching as Steve stands and checks for an opening. "Be careful."

"You too," the blond responds before leaping over the desk and sprinting out the door. As soon as he exits the office, the captain lifts the shield from his back and slides it on his arm, batting away two Chitauri the didn't even see him coming. The Hulk lands a few feet away and crushes the still squirming aliens under his feet, following and defending Steve from debris as they beeline it to the hydrant.

With a roar of little effort, the green man grips the sturdy metal in his hands and uproots it with ease, instantly causing gallons and gallons of water to erupt from an unseen underground source. "Thanks," Steve says as he takes a better grip on his shield. The Hulk roars once more before launching itself back into the chaos and throwing the crushed hydrant at the remaining air scooter. Rogers doesn't waste any time looking at the explosion he feels and slams his shield into the water, grunting with effort as the high-pressure beam is slanted slightly toward the burning Tower. That lasts for a total of three seconds before his arms give and he's sent stumbling backwards.

"Damn it," he mutters to himself, listening as a few shots are fired from Natasha's guns. "Come on!" The blond steps back toward the current and takes an even sturdier grip on his shield and setting his feet defiantly. With another determined grunt, the captain shoves his shield into the water and redirects the beam, applying even more pressure this time around to prevent falling. His arms throb in agony as he watches the flames rise in protest for a few seconds before shrinking away to nothingness.

It takes a total of over twenty minutes to put out all of the flames and when it does, Steve stumbles back in exhaustion. A steady arm stabilizes him from behind and he regains his footing, turning to see a grinning Bruce Banner, still clutching the even small remains of his pants. "Good job, Cap," he says with an approving clap on the shoulder.

"That looked tiring," Natasha says, trotting forward with the semiconscious girl in her arms. "I almost passed out just watching you."

Steve nods and huffs for a few seconds, dropping his shield on the ground due to the pain in his arms. "I see you cleared the street," he comments through huffs. "Nice work."

Natasha nods and scans the area around them, passing the squirming child back to Bruce in the process. "Looks like they're thinning out," she says, using her now free arms to brush a stray hair from her face. "But that doesn't mean our job is done."

"Right," Rogers responds, crouching down to reclaim his shield. "Stopping the fire only crosses one thing off our to-do list. We still have to drop the girl off with SHIELD and take down the last of the Chitauri."

Bruce nods once and lets the girl down to stand on her own. "Stay close, ok?" he says in a tone that makes the girl smile. "We don't want you getting hurt."

The girl nods a few times in enthusiasm before sliding closer to Steve. With one more nod, Steve shifts his shield to his dominant hand and turns to the nearest alley. "Let's finish this…"

"How close did you say we were to that weak spot, Stark?" Clint says through breath as he uses his knife to slash the throat of the nearest Chitauri. In the past ten minutes, the agent has managed to loose every last arrow he had left, including the arrow he needed to blow up the ship. Since that happened, Barton has been forced into using his knife and close combat skills to aid Iron Man in taking out the aliens for the only weakness the entire fucking ship has. That fact of course pisses him off because that seems to be where most of the enemies are. The only thing that's keeping him going right now is anger and the promise of a well-deserved nap once this is all over.

"A few more yards, buddy," the billionaire calls back, locking his gaze on the glowing red spot up ahead. "Just keep that arrow ready!"

Clint hisses slightly at the words and throws Sparta kicks an attacking line of enemies and stabbing two more in the face. "About that…" he starts, using his blade to slice the chest of an incoming warrior. "I sort of shot my last arrow way back when."

There's a moment of silence between the two filled only by the dying and battle shrieks of the aliens around them. "Please tell me you're joking…" Tony responds after a moment. "Cause that's one of the only things I asked you to do since we got up here."

"I over counted how many arrows I had left!" the archer defends, lifting his arms to block a downward sting of an alien gun. "It's not my fault! It's kind of stressful around here if you hadn't noticed!"

"Can't you reuse one you already fired like you did last time?" the genius questions, taking a second to shoot his comrade an unseen look of expectance.

"That would mean I have to double back thirty yards and fight my way back up here before I even get a clearing big enough for me to actually shoot it!" the brown-haired man retorts, throwing his arms up in exasperation before blocking from another attack. "We don't have enough time for that to happen!"

"Well then we'll make time!" Iron Man shouts back. "We need that arrow!" He pauses and takes a deep breath, being snapped out of concentration when an alien throws itself on him. He easily takes it out with a chest blast. "The way back to the arrow is clear," he says once he's sure he's calm enough to speak. "I'll keep them distracted up here while you go get one and then we can take this thing out once and for all."

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Barton asks, taking out one more warrior before slowly backtracking to the hall of dead aliens. "There's still a lot of them coming."

"Just go and keep your head down," the genius states, locking another laser in place. "But a little hustle is greatly appreciated."

Clint nods and takes off toward the arrow, pushing himself faster despite the battle exhaustion that starts to set in. This needs to end, he reminds himself mentally as he spots an unbroken arrow. And it's not going to end with you sitting around on your ass like a bitch. He grabs the arrow and shoves it back into the quiver, taking a couple of seconds to steady his breath before turning and jogging back to where they left off. A third of the remaining aliens lie in dead halves on the floor, deep red gashes carved into the walls and floors not stacked high with corpses. "What the hell?" he asks, tightening his grip on his knife before throwing himself back into the fray. "What happened!?"

"One time trick," Tony responds, glancing at him quickly to see if he accomplished his mission. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," the archer responds, stopping in his fighting to notch the arrow into place. "Get-"

"Don't shoot it yet!" the billionaire cries, lifting a hand to stop Clint in his movements. "Shoot it now and we both blow to hell."

"Then what?" the lighter haired man asks, unhooking the arrow to throw his arms up again. "This can't last forever you know."

Iron Man turns to the wall behind the spot, creating a large hole that starts sucking aliens out to plummet to their deaths. With the hole made, Clint loses his footing and slide toward the hole despite all of his fighting. Once he comes close enough, Iron Man hooks an arm around the archer's waist and hauls him over his shoulder. "Aim fast," Tony says, turning to the spot and taking off toward the hole. "We only have one shot."

"Loki!" Thor calls, landing harshly beside the smaller god and wrapping his arms around him in a tight embrace. "Thank the Norns! I thought I had lost you!"

"Get off of me, you idiot," the green-eyed man says while squirming harshly in the older god's arms. "For Odin's sake! I'm not dead! Let me go!"

Thor squeezes tightly one last time before releasing his hold on his younger brother, ignoring the multiple curses he receives as he glances around the devastated area. "Where is Toni?" he asks once the swearing stops. "Did you two split up?" His eyes grow wide in panic and he whips back around to Loki, firmly grasping both of his shoulders and looking him dead in the eye. "Have you two encountered Thanos?" he asks in a tone that struggles to remain steady. "I have failed to spot him while running perimeter, but I was told-"

"Toni is fighting Thanos," the black haired god blurts, successfully silencing any further rants from Thor. "They have disappeared around a corner a few seconds ago and I was about to see how the battle fairs until you stopped me."

Thor's shock causes him to release his firm grip on Loki's shoulders and the smaller god rolls his arms to relieve the minor ache they acquired. "Why are you not fighting?" he asks in a half daze. "How is Toni able to face Thanos alone?"

"Toni has built her own Iron Man suit," Loki responds, nudging Thor to the east before pushing past in a quick walk. "They are moving too fast for me at the moment. Thanos has stopped concealing his full power and the Iron Man suit seems to be the only thing strong enough to handle it…for now." They round the corner to where Loki saw the fighters go, but they stop in their tracks when it comes up empty. "They just came down here…" Loki says, panic starting to blossom in his voice as he sweeps the area with his eyes. "I saw them myself."

"Maybe they moved again, Brother," Thor responds, keeping his tone gentle as he starts jogging down the street. "They could be-"

The sound of crunching metal draws both of the gods' attention behind them, where the badly damaged blue and silver suit grinds to a screeching halt on the sidewalk. "Toni!" they both cry, rushing over as the teen struggles to her feet.

Loki arrives first and awkwardly motions his hand around the suit, eyes darting as if looking for something he needs to heal or remove. "Are you alright?" he asks shakily, watching in relief as the face piece opens.

A large gash runs over the bridge of Toni's nose and under her left eye, which is swelling rapidly and blackening at an alarming rate. "Cuts and bruises," she hisses as Loki taps her nose. "I'm fine."

Thor chuckles flatly and points to her blood-covered nose. "Your face tells a different story, Young Stark," he replies, earning an annoyed eye roll from Toni in reply. "How fairs the battle with Thanos?"

The brown haired teen releases a deep puff of air through her mouth before turning back to where she just was. "Bastard's strong," she says, watching the titan strut out confidently. "My suit can't take much more of this. I already lost sight in the entire left side of the screen inside and I think I managed to rebreak everything Loki fixed. Plus I lost power twice and nearly crashed into school bus when my left leg jet gave out."

"Then let me take it from here, Young One," Thor says, stepping in front of Toni with Mjolnir raised protectively. "You have done enough. Let Loki heal you then take cover. I will finish this myself."

Toni opens her mouth to protest but Thor launches himself at Thanos before she has a chance to form words. "Not very amusing when it is you being ignored, is it?" Loki comments in a slightly teasing tone. "Some would call that reckless."

The teen scoffs and flexes her fingers, holding back a hiss of pain when her right hand completely protests the action. "Tell me something I don't know, Frost Bite," she sighs, rightfully estimating that she broke all of her fingers in that last attack. "I now understand your need for a-"

The entire sky rattles with the deafening sound of the large explosion overhead, painting the darkening sky with vibrant blues, reds and greens that light up everything. All eyes lift to the giant fireball formally known as the warship slowly tilts downward, the entire weight of the ship being held up only by the three propellers that have yet to lose power. "Plan…" Toni finishes as the defeat cries of the remaining few aliens ring out into the night. "Plan. Plan! I have a plan!"

"It better be a damned good one," Tony's voice says from inside the helmet, causing Toni to jump into a defensive posture against nothing. "Cause I'm just about ready to call it quits."

"Dad?" Toni asks, allowing the face piece to fall back into place. "How did you…"

"Jarvis picked up the Iron Man frequency as soon as it became active," the older Stark replies. "I have to say, I admire your determination and your ability to keep another big secret from me for this long. How did you do that anyway?"

"I'll explain everything later, Daddy," she responds quickly as she watches Thor smack into the side of a building. "I promise. Right now, we have bigger things to deal with."

"Right," the original Iron Man says snapping back into focus of the war. "What's your plan?"

"First things first, how much power do you have left?"

Tony furrows his brow in confusion as he glances at the little symbol at the bottom of the screen. "More than half," he responds. "Why?"

"I need you to move the ship," Toni responds definitely, earning a very confused look from Loki. "You, Loki and Thor need to move the ship away from the city and into the ocean."

"Toni," the father says questioningly. "You do realize the ocean is fifteen miles from where the ship is crashing, right? There's no way we're going to be able to move that beast that far before it hits the ground."

"That's why we have Loki," she says, turning to face the green-eyed god through the unbroken side of the screen. "He can use his magic stuff to help support the ship while you and Thor push it." She can hear her father open his mouth to argue more, but Toni sighs deeply and cuts him off. "If you don't, thousands of people will lose their homes and their lives when it hits the ground," she blurts through a breath. "There's no doubt that the ship's weight will crush the ground and shatter into the drains and subways that a hell of a lot of people are in, killing off hundreds of people instantly. Then it'll drag from momentum and kill more people. Maybe even us depending on where it goes. I don't know about you but I don't wanna take that risk…."

There's a momentary silence between the Starks before the older one sighs deeply on the other end. "You know, your persuasive skills are terrifying. You could be the one to take over the world one day. I'm on my way to the ship. Make sure Rudolph and Sparky are there to back me up."

"On it," she replies through a smirk of victory. The line cuts off and Toni points out a large building to the black haired god beside her. "Go up there and hold the ship up," she instructs, lowering her hand and turning to Thor. "I'll get Thor up there with Dad. Make sure to hold it!"

"What will happen to Thanos?" Loki calls, causing Toni to pause and turn to face him.

The face piece lifts and reveals Toni's smirking face, the expression coming off as unsettling do to the dried and fresh blood on her face. "Let me handle Thanos," she says, pausing another moment before the mask closes and she's off again. "Just stick to your job!"

Loki takes a second to attempt a guess at what's going on but comes up blank. Nothing that Toni does on the spot has ever made any sense to Loki in the past. Why would now be any different? He shakes his head to clear the distracting thoughts before blinking once and appearing on top of the building Toni specified. The god mutters a few spell words and throws his hands up, causing a deep green mist to flow from his fingertips. The mist floats high into the sky and covers the entire bottom of the ship, causing the tilting end to straighten as it pushes it back skyward. At the opposite end of the ship, Tony extends his arms and places his palms flat on the slightly heated metal and pushing with all his might.

"Jarvis!" he says through a growl of effort as he feels the ship slowly start to edge forward. "Put everything into the thrusters!"

"Right away, Sir," the AI says a few seconds before the extra power kicks in. Thor appears beside Iron Man and mimics his actions, face almost touching the side as his muscles strain under the pressure. The ships movement gains speed. "Where's Toni?" Tony asks while Jarvis estimates they should be at the ocean in about ten and a half minutes if they maintain this speed.

"She is fighting Thanos," Thor replies through tightly gritted teeth, summoning a strong wind to aid them in their struggle. "She said she'll meet us at the bridge!"

Tony can barely manages the small grunt of response at Thor's words as he feels every muscle he has groan in protest of the action he's doing. Whatever Toni's plan is, it had better be a good one.

Toni groans in pain as she feels another punch sink itself into her chest, knocking the already battered teen back a few feet before she throws her arms up in defense at another hit. "Give it up, pest!" Thanos laughs darkly, sending another sharp kick to her arms, sending her skidding back another few feet and pulling another groan from her lips. "Your Avengers may have been able to defeat my warriors and take down my ship, but I still stand. That is all I need to assure myself a victory over your pathetic planet."

"Why do you want Earth so bad anyway?" the teen asks, dropping her arms limply by her sides. "There's nothing much to do on it except breathe."

"That isn't the point," the titan sneers victoriously, suddenly in front of her with his hand around her throat. "The point is that I get to watch you and your wretched race squirm under my boot and beg for mercy as I kill off everything you've ever loved."

Toni chokes out an amused snort as she attempts to pry off Thanos's hand. "For a ruthless killer," she starts, struggling to hold the gasping out of her voice. "You think you'd look a bit less like an ape."

The smirk vanishes off of Thanos's face and is replaced by a terrifying frown. With an enraged growl, the titan slams the teen on the ground and places a heavily booted foot on her head, applying so much pressure another dent appears in the metal. "I will make you regret that, pest," he hisses, applying more pressure that causes one of the eye slit pieces to shatter. "I will make you regret that dearly."

"Ma'am," Jarvis says, voice cracking and fading from the damage. "I am… ship… ocean…."

A victorious smirk plasters itself on Toni's lips at the words. "It's about time," she groans, straightening out as best she can. The thrusters on the bottom of her feet kick in and she skids across the ground in a successful act of freeing herself, sending Thanos scrambling to regain his footing. Toni doubles back and aims herself directly at Thanos, slamming her head into his gut at speeds that make him spit blood. The brown haired girl wraps her arms around Thanos's core and picks up speed, using whatever small amount of battery she has left to rocket herself toward the designated meeting spot.

As they reach the halfway mark, the titan slams his hand against her back, his fingers piercing the metal and barely brushing against Toni's back. The titan yanks his hand forward and cuts large gashes in the back of the suit, sending multiple warning signs flashing on Toni's screen and almost causing her to lose control.

"Dad!" she calls, hoping the connection didn't fully dissipate into nothing. "Tell Loki to be ready to undo the spell! We're going to drop the ship on Thanos!" The teen reaches the Manhattan bridge and breathes a heavy sigh of relief, spotting the ship still being supported by a very tired looking Loki. "Eject!" she shouts through gritted teeth, already trying to estimate how much the impact is going to hurt.

Suddenly, she's in the air. The momentum she built kept her going forward, but there's no doubt she's going down. Within seconds, the brown haired girl is crashing shoulder first onto the cooling concrete of the bridge, releasing multiple swears and yelps as she bounces to a stop on the complete opposite side. The suit continues going though, Thanos shouting unintelligible curses and promises about return as the distance between them grows farther and farther. That is, until the burning remains of the ship hits him and drags him into the water.

The only sound that fills the air is the sounds of the dying Chitauri onboard as the water swallows the impressive ship. The entire sinking lasts about three minutes before an unsetting silence fills the air.

The clank of metal on pavement is heard, followed by an electric whirl and Tony's footsteps as he jogs over to his daughter. "Toni!" he says, carefully helping the hissing teen to a sitting position before gathering her into a tight embrace. "You are so stupid," he mutters, feeling one of Toni's arms lift and tighten around his back. "That was the stupidest thing you've ever done."

"I beg to differ," she says through a pained chuckle as she pushes her father away gently. "You clearly forget the time I painted the entire Stark Tower light purple."

Tony laughs loudly in response and listens as the two gods approach. "I believe we have won," Thor says, earning the joyful gazes of both Starks in the process.

"Obviously," Loki comments, arm draped over Thor's shoulders for support. In Toni's eyes, his naturally pale skin has taken on a level of paleness that makes a corpse look tanned. She's just thankful he's alive and chalks it up to the amount of magic he must have used to keep the ship up. "We just buried the most lethal creatures in the Nine Realms at the bottom of the ocean with a very large battleship pinning him down. I do not think there is any downside to this."

Toni snorts in amusement at the comment. "Have you seen yourself lately?" she asks in a tone that makes Loki hesitant on whether she is joking or being serious. "Your face is a pretty big downside."
"You do look pretty bad, Vixen," the older Stark agrees. "I think we all deserve a little R&R now."

"I couldn't agree more," Banner says, drawing everyone's attention to the left. The rest of the Avengers and the small girl slowly trudge their way to where everyone else sits, all of which almost collapse on the spot with relieved sighs. "Too bad we can't go to the Tower."
Tony groans in annoyance and places a gently palm to his head. "Don't remind me," he responds in annoyance. "Now we have to find another place to crash for the night."

"I think you all have done enough crashing for a lifetime," Nick's voice says, drawing all eyes to the right. Nick and a few armed SHIELD agents stand in a half circle surrounding the tired Avengers. "Especially you, Loki," he says, directing his one good eye to the green eyed god. "This is the second invasion you've caused this year. I think that leaves a good warrant for an arrest."

"Whoa!" Toni says, jumping to her feet then having to stabilize herself on her dad's head before she falls over. "Loki didn't cause this invasion! Thanos did! And Thanos is the one who caused the first one too! Loki was brainwashed! He didn't have any-"

"If you would let me finish," the director snaps, causing the teen's jaw to snap shut instantly, "you'd know that I was getting there." He returns his gaze to the green-eyed god before continuing. "Under any other circumstances, your sorry ass would be in chains right now, preparing to be dropped in the ocean like that ship. However, some very unlikely sources have brought forth new information and persuaded me to change my mind."

All of the people surrounded in the circle plaster the same look of confusion on their face. Clint and Natasha never even had a chance to report Loki when they found him, the invasion started too soon. "Who was that, Sir?" Natasha questions, being the only one who could gather enough strength to ask.

Nick and his soldiers step aside, creating a wide path for the two people who step forward. The woman has long blonde hair that is tied back in a neat braid down her back, the spotless white dress she dons flowing about her legs as she walks. The man has straight white hair and, like Nick, an eye patch covering one eye, his attire appearing more as if he came to battle rather than talk.

"Frigga?" Loki finds himself saying, his voice barely over a whisper as he looks at the woman he claimed as a mother. "Odin?"

"My sons!" Frigga cries, breaking into a run and throwing herself into the arms of the two gods. "Thank the Norns you are both alright!"

"These two are the reason we had to stop in Mexico," Fury explains, locking eyes with anyone but the hugging people. "They caused quite the disturbance when they crash landed on someone's fruit stand. It didn't take us long to piece things together."

Toni furrows her brow in confusion as she watches the two men embrace the smaller woman, relief causing all of the tension flow from their bodies as they hold each other. "So that's Frigga," she comments to herself. "I almost thought she'd be taller."

"I could say the same to you, Young One," an unfamiliar male voice says from in front of her, causing the teen to jump harshly at the sudden appearance. Her eyes come lock onto the golden eye patch as the All-Father smile down at her. "Peace, child," he says, holding hand up to show he means no harm. He fails to notice Toni's annoyed eye twitch at the name that will never leave. He lowers his hand and looks over the teen before him. "So. You are the one who took in my rebellious boy when he escaped?" he asks, making the brown haired girl question if she was supposed to answer. "That was very brave of you. Very brave indeed. But it was also very stupid.

"Loki is a supposed war criminal who was to be punished according to his actions. His escaped would have warded the death penalty and harboring him would have mean the same for you."

"You keep saying 'would have' and 'supposed,'" Toni interjects matter-of-factly. "Meaning something has come up, right?"

Odin's smile grows. "You are correct," he replies with a curt nod, "Our gatekeeper, Heimdall, has brought forth the information that Thanos had bent Loki into his will by means of torture and mind control. Meaning his actions where not of his own bidding. We can not punish someone whose actions were not of their own deciding."

"So Loki's free?" Steve asks tiredly, lifting a lazy finger in the air for clarification.

"Yes," Odin says with a nod in his direction. "Loki is free. Instead, we will punish Thanos-"

"Thanos died," Tony chimes, resting his head on one of the bridge's support beams. "We dropped a ship on him."

"It was interesting to watch," Toni agrees with a nod.

Odin's face has a mixture of confusion and disbelief before settling with another nod. "Well then," he starts, straightening his back to appear as if he knew that the entire time. "I guess since we have no further business here, we shall be taking our leave."

Toni's brow furrows in confusion and she sends questioning looks to all the Asgardians. "Already?" she asks. "I think Thor and Loki should have a few days to recover before trying to make the trip back to Mexico."

"We aren't going back to Mexico," Thor clarifies, arm still wrap around his mother though the embrace has broken. "Heimdall can open the Bifrost from anywhere within the Nine Realms."

"That's convenient," Natasha mutters.

Loki gently removes his mother's arm from his shoulder and sets it back at her side, earning a very confused look from her in response as he turns to face Odin. "Will I be returning as a prince," he starts with hesitance in his voice. "Or a prisoner?"

Odin turns slightly to look him fully in the eye. "You will return as a prince once again," he says, causing Loki to nod slowly in reply.

"I see…" the black haired god says slowly. "In that case, I would like to say my goodbyes before I leave."

"As would I," Thor says, taking a step forward to level with his brother.

The white haired man nods and turns to face the parted agents once again, gently taking Frigga's arm in his to lead her away.

With the older gods out of the way, Thor turns and beams brightly at the still tired Avengers. "Farewell, friends!" he booms with more energy than any of them possess. "We shall meet again soon. That is a promise!"

Toni catches the thunderer's contagious smile and steps into his arms, thanking everything that he doesn't give her another bone-crushing hug this time. "See you around, Big Guy," she says, breaking the embrace to allow Steve to move forward. "Don't be a stranger!"

"I will not," he assures, shaking Steve's hand firmly and doing the same with the others. "Fare thee well, friends!" he says as he follows his mother and father through the crowd. "Until we meet again."

All eyes fall to Loki as Thor leaves, allowing a mildly uncomfortable silence to lapse into the area. "I want to thank you all," he starts, eyes scanning each dirt-covered face in front of him. "For whatever the reason, you all have saved my life, a debt I can in no way repay."

"How about letting me punch you in the face a few good times," Clint mutters, earning an elbow to the ribs from Natasha.

Loki rolls his eyes at the comment and folds his arms behind him. "You are all the strongest, bravest and most loyal warriors I know for coming together on a simple request of a friend. I may not be here if it weren't for that. I-"

"Loki," Toni interrupts, a small smile fighting its way onto her lips. "We know you love us and are grateful and all that junk. But we are bleeding and stuff so…" She circles her finger in the air a few times beside her head. "Wrap it up."

The green-eyed god finds himself chuckling at the teen's familiar impatience before turning and placing a caring hand on her shoulder. "I have to thank you especially, Toni," he says, earning a confused look from the teen. "You were the first person to listen to me and help me when you had every reason not to. There are not enough words in all of Yggdrasil to explain the full of my gratitude."

"You could simply say thank you and be done with it," she says through a chuckle. "That would do it."
Again Loki chuckles before gathering the teen into his arms, careful to avoid hurting any of her injuries. "Thank you," he whispers, feeling her arm wrap around his back and squeeze. They stand like that for a few seconds before breaking apart, Loki still holding Toni's shoulders as she lifts her arm to swipe away a few tears. "I will return," he promises, moving a finger to brush away a tear she missed.

"I know," the brown haired teen replies, voice hitching slightly at the threat of more tears. "I'm just thinking about all that money I spent on clothes that I wasted on you…"

This time Loki actually laughs, the sound spreading to Toni and causing her to laugh as well. "You will find some use of them," he says, finally releasing her to move to the others. "I am sure of it."
"I know," the teen calls back. "I'll donate them to charity or sell them on Ebay! That way I can earn my money back!"

"Even though I highly doubt you need to," the god responds, taking his spot between Thor and Frigga as Odin calls to Heimdall. "Farewell, Toni Stark!"
"See you later!" the brown haired girl replies, though she doubts he heard it. There's a loud crash of thunder, followed by a bright white light and then they're gone, leaving nothing but strange markings and distant thunder in its wake.

There's a moment of awed silence in the air before Clint stands and walks over to Toni. "How come you're the only one who got an individualize goodbye?" he asks, placing a gently hand on her head and rocking it back and forth slightly. "Were you two dating?"

Horror flashes across Toni's face at the thought before she turns bright red and shakes Clint's hand off. "No way!" she nearly shrieks, holding back a flinch at the shooting pain in her head. "Don't say things like that!"

"Alright, kids," Nick says, grabbing everyone's attention through Clint and Toni's bickering. "Since there's nowhere else to go at this time, everyone here is going to spend the night in the helicarrier."

Toni throws her good arm in the air in excitement. "Whoo!" she cheers happily. "All tech, all night!"

"Nope," Nick corrects. "You guys are to do nothing until you have made a full recovery, am I clear?"

The Starks exchange a knowing look before returning their eyes to Nick. "How long do you think that's going to last?" the older Stark asks. "Really? There are two of us tech people in a group. Three counting Bruce."

"We're not sleeping tonight," Toni says through a smirk.

Nick sighs in defeat and Steve lifts a finger. "What about her?" he says, pointing to the little girl in his lap. "Her parents are still out there."
"Her parents are right here," the director says as two agents rush forward and collect the child. "Iris's parents are SHEILD desk agents on board the helicarrier. She was staying a week at a friend's house before the attack and got stuck there before we got back. We're lucky she found you."

"So she was talking about her friend's mom when she said they went down," Toni mutters to herself. "They must let her call the friend's mom her mom and dad too. Weird. I don't think I could imagine anyone else calling my dad their dad."

"Luckily you don't have to," Tony says, carefully draping an arm over his daughter's shoulders. "I am a one kid parent."

Tasha pushes herself to her feet with a tired grunt and stretcher her arms over her head. "Well that wraps everything up nicely," she says as she watches the parents take their child on board. "Now what?"

"Now we rest," Nick says. "I'll assign rooms an-"

"I want the room closest to the lab!" Toni shouts before taking off toward the ship. "It's mine!"

"Slow down!" the other Stark calls, clicking a button that causes the Iron Man suit to fly in the helicarrier. "We're sharing a room remember!"

The remaining Avengers sigh deeply in response and slowly trudge after the Starks. "Where do they get all this energy?" Bruce nearly whines, barely even truing to clutch his pants up anymore. "It can't be healthy."

"They're Starks," Steve comments back. "It's been like this for as long as I can remember."

"And I highly doubt it's going to change," Clint groans in agreement. "Where can I sign to get out?"

"I think we're in too deep with them," Natasha replies. "But hey. At least they make life interesting."

The last of the Avengers slowly trudge into the helicarrier, listening as the door hisses closed behind them. Slowly, the large base rises from the ground, the camouflage panel kicking in not long after. Soon, there is neither sight nor sound indicating that there was ever a base there to begin with, leaving only the sounds of the slowly recovering city in its wake.