Daybreak | Steve Rogers

Chapter Ten: The Battle of New York (part 2)

I jumped up, using a nearby car as a boost to somersault backwards and take a shot at the nearest Chitauri. It roared in indignation and lumbered towards me, aiming its spear at my face. Its malicious grin faded into one of shock as I plunged a knife into its chest, its legs giving out under it as I twisted it deeper. Quickly yanking the blade out and spinning around, I fired at another one until it went down.

There was a thud from behind me and I span around to aim my gun at the person's face, faltering when I realised that it was Rogers. Nat hurried over to us as we paused from fighting. "You okay?" I asked her as she staggered slightly.

"None of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal" she muttered bitterly.

"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it"

She shrugged, "Maybe it's not about guns"

Rogers glanced up at the portal before noticing the Chitauri speeders that were soaring overhead, "If you want to get up there, you're gonna need a ride"

"I got a ride," she said as she began to walk away, "I could use a boost, though"

I took a step back, watching him prepare his shield. "Are you sure about this?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah, it's gonna be fun" she murmured, not sounding entirely convinced. The agent ran forwards, using the bonnet of a car and a push from Rogers shield to launch herself up into the air and grab onto one of the speeders as it went by.

Before we had time to do anything else, a flash of light passed right by me, only missing me by an inch. Rogers and I turned, facing the horde of Chitauri fighters. I dodged another blast, rolling across the rough ground and stabbing one of them in the ankle, grabbing its gun as it fell. "That was..." I frowned as Rogers tried to finish the sentence, but his eyes suddenly widened, "Look out!"

I ducked, watching him rush forwards to beat up the creature that had attacked me. Another lumbered towards me from the side, but I caught it in the chest with a blast from the large gun. After several minutes of fighting, I noticed that some of the hostiles were moving away. Rogers made eye contact with me and I nodded, "Go, I'll be fine here"

I was joined by him and Thor not that long after, the three of us desperately fighting as our little protective circle became smaller and smaller. Rogers took a hit to his leg, making him fall to his knees in pain. My eyes widened when I saw one of the Chitauri aim their spear at him.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion.

I glanced between Rogers and the spear, trying to calculate the likelihood of him being killed by it. Before I could even realise what I was doing, I ran in front of him.

There was a bright flash of light and searing hot feeling against my chest. My legs crumpled and I fell to the ground.

The sounds of fighting became distant, as if someone had pushed me underwater. Someone suddenly knelt next to me, wrapping their arms around my back to move me into a sitting position.

"Rory? What the hell were you thinking?" I heard the Captain ask me, everything quickly moving back into focus.

I shrugged, gasping at the intense pain in my shoulder. "Didn't really think, to be honest" I murmured, my voice sounding disconnected and strange.

"Are you okay? You're gonna be okay, right?"

I nodded my head slightly and gripped onto his arm, "Yeah, don't worry about me"

He frowned, trying to push me back down when I tried to sit up, "Don't try to move too much, I... I don't know how much damage there is"

"Steve, I'm fine. I mean, this suit has a massive hole burned through it, but I guess that doesn't matter. Just help me get up"

He reluctantly did as he was told, both of us turning to look at Thor. The Asgardian seemed anxious as he gazed at the sky, "Are you ready for another bout?"

I scoffed quietly, "What, getting sleepy?"

He simply rolled his eyes and summoned his hammer.

There was a buzzing sound from my earpiece as Nat called out to us, "I can close it. Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down"

"Do it!" Steve shouted, making me wince a little.

"No, wait"

I huffed, "Stark, these things are still coming"

"I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute"

Steve and I glanced at each other worriedly, "Stark, you know that's a one-way trip?" he asked cautiously. The man ignored us, still flying towards the portal. I muttered a silent prayer to anyone that could hear me, hoping that he'd make it back.

He disappeared into the portal and all of the Chitauri around us collapsed. My legs buckled and I clung onto Steve, leaning my head on his shoulder as we waited in silence.

"Close it" he reluctantly said to Nat. The portal began to fade rapidly, closing in on itself. A tiny figure appeared in the space where it had been, hurtling back down to Earth.

"He's not slowing down" Thor murmured as he began to swing his hammer around in a circle, preparing to fly.

Before he could do anything, Hulk leapt into the air. The large, green creature caught Stark's body and raked his hand down the side of a building to slow his fall. They crashed into a car as they landed, rolling across the rubble until they slowed to a halt. We raced over to them, Steve having to carry me as I grew weaker and weaker.

He gently set me down on the ground before kneeling next to Stark. "Is he breathing?" he asked, pulling the man's mask off and throwing it aside.

We all stared at him, waiting for some kind of sign, waiting for him to open his eyes. Hulk grew impatient, letting out a loud roar. Stark gasped, his eyes flying open and staring around in panic. There was a collective sigh of relief and a triumphant roar.

"What the hell?" Stark panted, "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me"

I stared up at the sky, still clouded with thick smoke, "We won"

He sighed, "Alright, yay. Hurray. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow, let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it"

A quiet chuckle fell past my lips and I rested my head against Steve's shoulder again, letting my eyes close.

Before I passed out, I heard Thor grumble something.

"We're not finished yet"