So, I know people are waiting for my other stories, but I promised a friend that I would write her whatever fanfic she wanted by the end of February as a Christmas present, and it's the fifth of March, so this came first. I'll do my best to update the others soon though. This is an Alex Rider x Avengers fic, where Alex is eighteen and in NYC the day Loki attacks. I hope you enjoy!

I do not own Alex Rider or the Avengers, though I do have a nice movie and set of books, plus an extreme longing for April 23.

Alex Rider hummed to himself as he walked through New York City. The sun was shining, the scientific world had gained a new wonder in the form of arc-reactor-run Stark Tower, he was having a wonderful summer vacation before his first semester at Cornell University, and he hadn't heard from MI6 in three years. The ex-spy broke off his humming, and said to himself, "Today is a perfect day." Then he realized what he had just done. "Ah, great..." Alex groaned. "With my luck, New York City will be blown up by a nuclear missile or invaded by..." he jerked his head upward, even as he was crouching out of unforgotten instinct, and finished with a whispered "aliens" as a giant portal opened up in the sky and hundreds of strange beings flew through.

Immediately, his hand flew to his gun, concealed under his jacket and given to him by Smithers. At the same time, he was pressing a button on his watch that sent a signal to Director Joe Byrne of the CIA. "This totally qualifies as an emergency," he muttered, then started shepherding the people near him into the closest buildings. "Stay inside," he directed, "Unless it become too dangerous, and in that case head for somewhere underground or out of the way."

"Why should we listen to you?" A thirty-year old muscular man shoved his way to the front of the crowd, a scowl on his face. "You're just a teenager."

"I'm an adult," Alex shot back, refraining from mentioning that he was only eighteen, "And I'm in law enforcement." He reached into his pocket and, after scanning through the contents of his wallet for the right card, showed the ID he had thought he would never use to everyone. "I work for the CIA, and I'm used to dealing with situations like these. Granted, they usually don't include aliens, but I have been in war zones before. So unless anyone out there needs help, stay in here." Without waiting for a reply, Alex turned around and, drawing his gun and releasing the safety, ran for a good position to assist people and kill the aliens that were already preying on those still outside while also causing a huge wreck.

Alex swerved through the streets, an alien's vehicle that he had stolen - shoot the alien, the vehicle crashes - steady beneath his feet. He was thankful that it was easy enough to drive with only one hand, allowing him to use the other to hold his gun and shoot. It did, however, complicate things when he turned around, taking his eyes off of what was happening in front of him in order to point his gun in the direction he had come and fire at the alien he sensed flying up behind him, and pivoted back around to find a giant whale shaped creature about to collide with him. Giving a yell, Alex abandoned the vessel and, as he spun in midair, fired up at the alien tech. He smiled in satisfaction as the mess literally blew up in the beast's face, and then focused on the fast approaching ground. Preparing to roll and do his best not to break too many bones, the ex-spy was startled when he was snatched out of the air and buffeted from the side with wind. He twisted, trying to figure out what had just happened, and then froze as he felt what seemed like arms tighten around him. "Stay still," a voice rumbled. "I do not wish to drop you before delivering you to the Captain."

"Excuse me?" Alex asked in what he hoped was an indignant tone, but was probably more of a squeak as he realized he was being carried through the air in the arms of a flying person. His stomach rose in his throat as, instead of an answer, he was dropped. A scream replaced his stomach for the split second before he hit the ground and the air was knocked out of him. As fast as he could, Alex scrambled to his feet and looked around wildly, gun held at the ready by his side - only instincts and training had helped him hang onto it. Above him, a man wearing armor and a red cape flew towards the sky with a giant hammer held out before him and lightening crackling about him. A few meters down the road a living impersonation of the American flag flung a round shield at a group of the aliens, even as arrows pierced a few about to attack Alex. Picking up his jaw and leveling his gun, the teenager ran towards Mr. Red White and Blue. "What's going on?" he called, noting the man's style and shifting to position himself at his back.

"What are you doing here, kid?" the person - Alex guessed he was the "Captain" that Thor had referred to - questioned instead of answering. "Thor, why didn't you take him to safety?"

Alex frowned in confusion, then simultaneously realized that one, Thor must be his rescuer and two, the men were connected by comm links, while also wincing in sympathy for the costumed figure's ear as even he heard the flyer's voice boomed, "He is a warrior, Captain! I discovered him falling through the air after making an excellent attempt to kill one of the large beasts!" There was silence for a few moments, during which Alex figured another person linked to them was talking, and then Thor continued in what was still a loud voice, but quieter than before. "My apologies, my fellow Avengers. I am still adjusting to this magic."

The Captain snorted and muttered what Alex thought was "You and me both," but he was too distracted by a fresh wave of aliens pressing forward in an attempt to engage in hand to hand combat.

"Captain!" Alex cried, grabbing a knife from the sheath in his boot. "You might want to pay attention!"

"Don't worry about me, kid," the man grunted, and Alex risked a glance backwards as he slid the blade through a chink in alien armor to see the Captain successfully push an alien away. "But know I'm gonna ask questions when this is over."

The ex-spy grunted, "Me too," in acknowledgement, but otherwise didn't bother answering.

As Loki was escorted onto a SHIELD plane to be taken back into custody, Thor's hand resting on his brother's shoulder to discourage an escape attempt, Steve finally turned his attention to the kid. He almost expected to find empty space where the boy had been standing, as he'd been looking more and more uncomfortable as the crowd grew larger, but Steve was pleasantly surprised to see him standing still, hands fiddling with each other and all his weapons safely put away. "So," Captain America began. "Do you mind -"

"Well I'll be," Fury interrupted, and all of the Avengers minus Thor, plus the kid, turned to look at the director as he walked up to them.

"Director Fury, sir," the boy nodded. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Joe's told me a lot of good things about you."

"I would hope so," Fury huffed. "I'm the one who kicked him out of SHIELD with an excellent recommendation for the CIA when he started building a family."

"So I've been told," the kid grinned. "Honestly, I've been hoping to meet you ever since he told me the story. Anyone who can boss him around is either extremely stupid or exceptionally brave, but I had the feeling you would be the latter."

"And I've been wanting to meet you, too," the director said. "Even if you're no longer serving, you still help Joe out on occasion, and the things you've done for the world are just incredible. If you ever want to get back in the business, SHIELD would be happy to have you."

Steve, his wide eyes bouncing back and forth, caught a glimpse of Tony's face and suppressed a groan. 'Here it comes,' he thought.

"Wait a sec," Tony cut in. "How do you two know each other?"

"We don't," they chorused, and all the Avengers blinked.

Captain America figured all their thoughts were somewhere along the lines of 'Fury just talked in unison with someone.'

"Didn't any of you wonder what a teenager is doing with such skills?" the director barked. "Barton, Romanoff, I know you two have reasons not to question it, but the rest of you?" He shook his head. "Constant vigilance! Never be caught unprepared, and never, ever underestimate someone! Just because they don't look like they could hurt a fly doesn't mean you completely disregard them, and overestimating is just as bad! A normal teenager cannot do what Rider can!"

"So what, he has superpowers?" Tony questioned, and Steve could see the irritation at being lectured written all over his body.

"'He' is standing right here," the kid snapped. "And no I don't have superpowers, but I also can't just discuss sensitive information on the street. I haven't been gone from the game so long that I forgot that."

"Speakin' of sensitive information," Fury started, "I need all of you to come up to the helicarrier and debrief. That includes you, Rider."

"You're going to debrief the kid?" Steve asked incredulously. Only Fury's raised eyebrow as the man turned with a swirl of his coat to board a plane answered him.

"So what's the deal?" Tony huffed once the Avengers - rejoined by Thor - plus Fury and the kid were all seated in a secure conference room. "Steroids? Alien? Cyborg? No, wait, all robot?"

Steve's eyes narrowed in warning at the billionaire, and the kid's eyebrow raised in an eery imitation of Fury's. "Nothing like that."

"Then what?" Tony groaned, impatience lacing every word.

With a completely straight face, the kid stated, "The name is Rider. Alex Rider."

Barton snorted in amusement, then said, "Let me guess. Teenage James Bond."

Steve opened his mouth to tell the archer it was a bad idea to start imitating Stark's craziness - even he knew who James Bond was - but was interrupted by the kid - Alex - stating, "Actually, yeah. I was blackmailed by MI6 into following my dad and uncle's footsteps. I was loaned out to other agencies, though I mainly worked for MI6, until their Head was fired and the new Head released me. I still help out the CIA on occasion, but the director - Joe Byrne - asks me nicely and I only do minor field work."

If it was possible, Steve's eyes would have popped out of his head, and judging by the looks on all the other Avengers besides the spies, theirs would have too.

"You're joking," Tony stated.

"Blackmail?!" Thor thundered.

Bruce's teeth clenched and his eyes tinged green.

"Still help out?" Steve questioned.

Alex smiled slightly at their reactions, but moved his hand to his pocket as he felt it vibrate. He pulled out his phone and groaned. "Director, would it be possible to have a plane fly me down to NYC? I was supposed to meet my adopted sister, and then with everything going on she called me I don't know how many times. She's probably really worried."

"Of course," Fury said, standing. "Don't forgot about my offer, and say hi to Joe for me."

Alex nodded. "Thanks. Nice meeting and fighting with you!" He waved to the Avengers, flashed a smile, and walked out behind the director.

As the door closed, Steve turned slowly to the others. "What just happened?"

"We finally got to meet Alex Rider," Barton grinned. "A nice pick-me-up after the day we had."

Natasha nodded, "It was a plus. I am surprised by how young he seemed though, even years after he left MI6. All the stories really built him up into a legend, but then they are normally only based on fact."

"Teenage spies exist!" Tony shouted, and grinned at his fellow Avengers. "Shawarma?"

I hope you all enjoyed! Please review!