Chapter 5: Clean up

Natasha, noticing Mark's actions, was surprised. "What are you doing?"

"Charging." He said with a grin.

Selvig, following her gaze, was shocked. "That's impossible…"

Natasha walked over to Mark. "Can you retrieve the Tesseract?"

Mark nodded. "I think I can." A sudden thought struck him, and he made a small circular gesture with his other hand.

Instantly, a small vortex portal opened, revealing an earlier alley on the other side.

Seeing the van still there, Mark nodded in satisfaction. He waved his hand, causing the vortex to vanish.

Natasha saw the portal Mark had conjured but said nothing. She tapped her comms and announced, "Guys, we can close the portal here."

Mark continued absorbing the Tesseract's energy, silently observing Natasha as she spoke to the team.

Natasha listened intently, her expression growing more troubled as she received updates.

After finishing, she frowned, clearly concerned. Mark, noticing her reaction, asked, "Bad news?" recalling the incoming nuke.

Natasha nodded and swore angrily, "Damn World Security Council. We've got a nuke coming."

Mark raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Perfect timing, as always. Guess those guys really want to give us a grand finale."

He stepped away from the energy barrier and patted her on the shoulder.

Reaching down with a tendril, he grabbed the scepter and pushed it toward Natasha, who looked puzzled.

"You close the portal while I help Iron Man, just in case," he said. Without waiting for a response, he flew up to clear the way for Iron Man.

Natasha glanced from him to the incoming missile and saw Iron Man closing in.

Iron Man caught up behind the missile. He grasped it firmly and wrestled it off its course.

With a powerful heave, he redirected it, accelerating rapidly and guiding it straight toward the portal.

Mark saluted Iron Man as he flew past, watching him successfully guide the missile through the portal.

Turning his gaze back to the city, he spotted a leviathan searching for a target.

Mark soared toward the beast, extending his tendrils to latch onto its organic components and absorb them until only the steel-like scales and bones remained.

Ensuring no debris would hit anyone below, he then allowed the leviathan's remains to slowly crumble down the streets.

Moments later, the remaining Chitauri forces fell simultaneously, collapsing like marionettes with their strings cut, as their connection with the mothership was severed.

As he watched the slowly closing portal, Mark waited for Iron Man to fall down.

He considered catching him and joked to himself about asking for a fee, given that he was broke and had nothing but the clothes on his back right now.

Iron Man was loaded anyway.

Finally, Iron Man emerged from the portal and rapidly fell. Mark quickly moved to catch him with a purple smoke cushion and then carried him toward Captain America and Thor, who were smiling and looking relieved.

"Cap, Thor, I'll leave him with you. I'm going to circle the city first to see if anyone still needs help," Mark said. They both nodded and patted him on the shoulder.

As Mark flew off, he heard Hulk's deafening roar coming from where he had left them.

Circling the city, Mark occasionally helped heal those who were severely wounded. He also focused on clearing the remains of the Chitauri.

"One, two, ... 33 energy rifles and staffs, 12 energy grenades. Pity all the chariots are damaged," Mark mumbled as he strapped the items onto his back.

Nearby civilians watched with a mix of awe and curiosity, snapping photos and whispering among themselves.

Mark felt a twinge of embarrassment, as if he were just picking up trash.

He quickly adjusted the straps and, wishing for a better storage solution, took off into the air, leaving the crowd behind.

Recalling that his suit could store energy and store purified organic materials for healing, he thought it might also store physical objects.

With a mental command, he engulfed the scavenged items, consciously directing them into storage. It worked.

Testing it further, he retrieved an energy rifle, scanned it, and was satisfied to find it undamaged. He hoped Nick Fury would be willing to pay for all this crap.

He continued scavenging throughout the city until he felt he had enough.

He then made his way to where Skye was, leaning on the hood of her van, typing on her laptop while enjoying a snack.

She had a bag of fast food—greasy fries and a burger that looked like it had seen better days—along with a large soda.

Mark wondered where she had managed to buy that after everything the city had just experienced.

"Hey, what illegal activity are you up to there?!" Mark asked jokingly.

Startled, Skye slammed her laptop shut as if caught in the act. Mark, seizing the opportunity, uncovered his face from his suit and sneakily grabbed a handful of fries, eating them with a grin.

Skye gave him a mock glare as he took a sip from her half-empty soda, noticing her staring at his face.

"What? Never seen anyone this handsome?" Mark asked narcissistically, grinning.

She laughed and replied, "I thought your earlier look was your real face. With the whole glowing eyes and all."

Mark rolled his eyes and pretended to be offended, "Listen here, missy. Hacking is illegal, and since I'm on the side of justice, you should leave me your phone number." He tried to look serious.

"Missy?" Skye huffed. "My name is Skye." Then, with a guilty glance and a softer tone, she added, "I'm not doing anything illegal."

"I'm Mark, and I'm leaving," he said, stretching his uncovered palm toward her. Skye looked puzzled.

"Write your number here, you criminal," he teased, clearly not believing her denial. Skye rolled her eyes but, smiling, took a pen in her bag and wrote her number on his hhand

Satisfied, Mark said, "Thanks for the meal," and flew up into the sky.

He looked back and made a playful "I'm watching you" gesture with two fingers, pointing from his eyes to her.

Amused, Skye watched him disappear, then turned back to her laptop and resumed typing.

Unconsciously, she sipped her soda, stopped, and looked at it thoughtfully.

After a moment, she shrugged and continued sipping as if nothing had happened.