Chapter 36 – New York, New York (7)

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As Kal opened up his eyes, he was momentarily blinded, forcing him to bring his hand up to his face to block out the bright rays that were pouring over him. As he tried to adjust to the light he let out a slight wince as the ringing in his ears that he had just noticed spiked, causing a forceful groan of pain to escape his lips. Just as he was about to regain focus, he felt something jump onto his stomach forcing him to lurch upright and grab hold of it.

"Wake up daddy! You promised you'd take me to the Tannhäuser Gate today." The voice of a young girl caused Kal to regain focus and look down at a very energetic and very blonde girl wearing a blue dress, who looked eerily similar to someone Kal knew.

Kal quickly glanced around and realised that he was on Asgard again, not just on Asgard but within his own rooms with everything exactly as he had left it. Well, almost everything, as a groan escaped from the other blonde person lying next to him.

"Uhhhh Lara, please just five more minutes." Carol's voice sounded out from the woman who was still horizontal with her head fully buried in the pillow next to him.

"No mommy, Uncle Loki said that I can't let you sleep in, or I'll miss the C-Beams. We have to get up first thing!" The little girl named Lara was now firmly seated on Kal's lap and leaned over to playfully poke her mother's side.

"Okay, okay, I'm up, I'm up." Carol groaned groggily in defeat as she got up, knowing it was futile to try and win a fight with her daughter. As she got up she leaned over and gave Kal a small kiss on his cheek, whispering "Remind me later to kill that brother of yours, I swear Loki tells her half these things just to mess with me."

"Loki?" Kal stated in confusion as he sat there in total confusion blinking at Carol trying to make sense of the sheer insanity that was occurring.

"Is Uncle Loki joining us?" Lara suddenly perked up in Kal's lap as she thought the mention of her fun uncle meant he was joining her.

"Oh, no sweety, Uncle Loki is busy with your Uncle Thor and that today so that we can take you to the gate." Carol stepped in and gave Lara an affectionate touch on the cheek as she smiled down at her daughter. "But when we get back, I'll make sure that you spend the whole afternoon with your dear uncle Loki."

"YAY!" Lara threw up her arms in triumph and also to Kal's amazement started floating in the air, causing Carol to chuckle and catch the small blonde girl, bringing her into a loving embrace.

"Hey you, no flying indoors." Carol chuckled, giving Lara an affectionate squeeze and kiss before putting her on the floor. "Okay, give daddy a kiss and go and get ready will be with you shortly."

"Okay, love you, daddy," Lara raced over to Kal who was still frozen in confusion when she planted a small kiss on his cheek and raced out of the room.

"Oh, honey, look at you. I swear every morning after a night with you and Haldor together, you're useless until midday." Carol chuckled at her husband believing his state was due to being hungover, rather than having no idea what was going on. She leaned in close and whispered into his ear a playful smile on her face. "How about I take a quick bath, and when you are ready, come and join me, I promise to get you focused."

Carol gave him a quick but passionate kiss before moving off towards the baths swaying her hips slightly and giving him a playful wink over the shoulder before she disappeared from view. With Carol now gone Kal quickly pushed himself out of bed and rushed over to the windows throwing open the blinds to see a sight he thought he might never see again. The glorious golden streets of Asgard were sprawling before him. stretching out to the horizon that was bathed in the fantastic golden rays of the cosmos as dawn broke.

Kal, although very confused, allowed a small smile to grace his face as he looked out at his home that his senses told him, even impossibly as it seemed, was all real.

"It's perfect, is it not, my son?" Kal turned around swiftly to see that Jor-El was standing in the middle of his room with a smile plastered on his face.

"Father? How are you her-" Kal cut himself off as he released a sigh casting a glance at the door that led to the baths and Carol. "This isn't real, is it?"

"What is the last thing you remember?" Jor-El replied with a question of his own, an understanding look on his face. His question caused Kal's eyes to close for a moment, and remember his conversation with Zod, the missile and the…

"The blast," Kal whispered with a frown on his face. "I remember the blast and an explosion of cosmic energy… Am I dead?"

"My son," Jor-El said with a sigh moving over and for the first time ever was able to put a physical hand on his shoulder. "You bore the brunt of an explosion of pure cosmic energy from a weapon powered by an Infinity Stone. Very few beings could survive something like that."

Kal looked down feeling a sudden crushing weight as his father's words washed over him. However, his mind did not linger on himself but rather images of his friends, his family and Carol flashed before him. A deep bitterness was setting in and he realised that he had failed them, that he had left them in their time of need.

"…Which apparently you are now," Jor-El remarked a smile on his face that caused Kal's head to whip up and look at him in confusion. "You are not dead my son, merely… well the best word is unconscious, as your body recovers. The blast merely rendered you into a state that will allow you to heal."

"What is this place, then?" Kal asked glad he was not dead but also confused by the world around him that seemed so real. "A dream?"

"Something a little deeper, dreams are windows, small glimpses if you will, into other realities of the multiverse. What you are seeing is a world that you could possibly have lived in. One where everything you want exists, a world you could have had…" Jor-El explained with an understanding and fatherly look on his face.

"... but can't," Kal whispered as he looked up at Jor-El releasing a deep, almost sorrowful sigh. "This world, it's not something I can have, is it"

"No, my son," Jor-El said in a regretful tone as he looked at his son with sympathy. "At least not all of it, but you can still have the life you want."

"How? Every time I seem so sure of my path, so sure of what is true, it all seems to fall apart." Kal stated a tired look on his face as he looked back out at the shining golden near-perfect version of Asgard. "I'm just so tired of fighting when every time I win, I also lose something. I'm afraid I'm failing everyone"

"Oh, my son," Jor-El gave Kal a look that only a father could as he moved forward and placed his hands on his son's shoulders affectionately. "It is only when we fail that we learn, and it is only when we fall that we can learn to fly. Know that I am so proud of you, and though I wish we could have more time like this, it's time to wake up."

As the words hit Kal, he suddenly felt a rush of sensation return to him and a feeling of weightlessness wash over his body. His eyes opened up and he found himself staring at the sun through a wavy layer of water as dawn broke on the horizon. Kal closed his hand into a fist and felt the water begin to swirl around him as one feeling of weightlessness was replaced by another, as Kal pushed himself up and back into a world that needed saving.

(Atlantic Ocean - Somewhere off the East Coast – May 4th, 2012)

"Carol, stand down!" Fury's voice called out as he looked at the raging bleeding intergalactic superheroine who looked ready to punch a hole through the head of the man that she was lifting off the ground.

Steve wasn't sure what to do; he and Tony had been called back in after they had helped stabilise the Helicarrier, only to find the resident superheroine ready to kill the other billionaire on the vessel. Apparently, Lex had been responsible for the explosion that had rocked the vessel when he had gotten a Phase 2 prototype missile working and then launched it at the two Kryptonians. The resulting brief explosion had almost torn the Helicarrier to pieces and had also been the last time he or anybody had seen Kal or Zod.

"HE KILLED KAL!" Carol's voice was one of pure rage and violence, as she tightened her grip on Lex's throat causing him to start to turn blue.

"And Loki killed Coulson, and his attack took out nearly a quarter of the crew." Fury's voice was calm and measured, the news causing Steve to release a deep sigh and Tony to wince.

"Coulson's dead." The rage left Carol's face as her grip slackened on Lex's throat allowing the man to breathe. She remembered the man when he had been a young rookie SHIELD Agent and since her return had found him a warm and generous person.

"Yes, and I've just about had enough of people dying today, so put him down." Fury stated, releasing a deep regretful sigh and seeing that Carol still not dropped Lex fixed her with a glare. "I am not happy with him either but right now I need every hand I can get, including his. So Carol, please just drop him."

Carol's face was one of consideration as she looked at Fury for a moment, however, despite his words the anger, the rage and the feeling of emptiness were still there. She curled her right hand back into a fist, ready to end the source of her pain despite her old friend's words, however, a gargled noise from Lex's throat stopped her.

"What?" Carol started slackening her grip on her soon-to-be victim enough so that he took in a deep breath wanting to know what he wanted to say before she ended this.

"Loo-ok be-hind Y-You." Lex gasped out hoarsely, lifting his arm up to point at something behind her.

"What are you -" Carol turned her head and what she saw stopped her in her tracks, causing her to release her grip on Lex as well.

Standing in the near-destroyed doorway of the command deck was Kal, his armour was slightly singed, his hair looked to have ash in it and he appeared to have one hell of tan but otherwise he appeared to be fine. His eyes scanned the room before settling on Fury and he strode up to the man, his face one of calm rage.

"You used the Tesseract to make weapons." Kal's voice was one of pure fury as he stared down at the battered and still bleeding spymaster. "What infantile, moronic, arrogant stupidity could possess you to-"

"Kal," Carol's soft voice cut him off as she placed a hand on his chest stopping him from going towards Fury any further, a sigh escaping her breath as she too had already gone down this route. "Coulson is dead, Loki is gone, and Thor is…... Thor is missing."

Kal looked at Carol for a few moments before a grimace appeared on his face, releasing his own deep sigh. He closed his eyes briefly and cursed the Norns for the way fate was playing out.

"I lost my one good eye." Fury's voice sounded out causing Kal's and everyone else's attention to the spymaster who released a pensive breath. "Maybe I had that coming. Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. Because we were afraid, afraid of beings descending down from the Heavens and instead of being angels, they would be monsters that we couldn't possibly hope to fight."

Fury looked at Kal and Carol, both of whom glanced away from Fury feeling regret, one for not being here to alleviate that fear and the other for causing it.

"I personally never put all my chips on that number, though, because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea, Stark knows this, called the Avengers Initiative." Fury spoke slowly and with great weight as he moved around the room slowly circulating his eyes moving between the living icons, the almighty gods and genius inventors in the room. "The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people to see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles we never could."

Fury paused as he cast his gaze around the room, at the people that he had pinned all his hopes on to be the people he needed them to be. Despite what people thought and said about him Fury didn't have all the answers, nor did he believe in cold hard facts, and in truth, he didn't really believe in people either. What Fury believed in was hope, he had seen people overcome incredible near impossible obstacles all because they had hope.

Which was something that the world desperately needed at the moment.

"Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea," Fury's eyes lingered on Stark for a moment before moving over to rest on Kal. "In the dream of heroes."

As Fury finished talking Tony abruptly got out of his chair and walked out of the conference room slamming open one of the few remaining doors left on the ship.

"Well, it's an old-fashioned notion." Fury sighed out as he watched Tony leave, moving back over to his command platform leaving the others to ponder his words.

As he moved off, Lex took the opportunity to straighten himself up and also leave the conference, not that anyone moved to stop him. However, as they were all distracted none of them noticed him removing a slender cylinder from his jacket pocket and placing it on one of the spots where Carol had bled on him. A slight vacuuming noise sounded out as the patch of cosmically-energised blood was pulled into the device, once it was gone Lex brought the sample up to his eyes with a small smile on his face.

(Loki's Cell - SHIELD Helicarrier – Lower Decks)

Kal was standing on the platform that once led to the cell that had contained Loki, but was now empty, as he looked down at the warped metal barrier below a feeling of frustration reigned over him. He felt someone enter the room and turned his head expecting to see Carol approach but instead was surprised to see Tony who just stopped staring at a patch of blood-stained wall where his friend had died. Both were quiet for a long time neither acknowledging the other as they both ruminated on how everything had gone so wrong for the two men that were supposed to fix the world.

"Why?" Tony's voice finally sounded out barely above a whisper as he still stared at the blood-stained wall. His question's meaning was obvious as the look of sad resigned rage washed over him as he stared at the blood stained wall.

"My bro- Loki, thrives on pain and chaos. Killing the son of Coul was meant to break our spirits. You can-" Kal had released a sigh and tried his best to answer what Tony was asking.

"HIS NAME WAS PHIL COULSON." Tony's firm and angry voice sounded out staring daggers at Kal. "What I want to know is why? Why did any of this happen? You're supposed to be so much nobler than us, more evolved. You criticised SHIELD for making weapons, but your brother still did all this, killed all this partly because he found it fun."

"…You're right," Kal spoke softly, taking a heavy breath. As he turned his head, he saw that Carol and Steve had arrived as well, likely drawn by Tony's raised voice. "I made excuses for my brother, all his life. I protected him even when I knew he was wrong because he was…he was my brother. I am sorry about the son of c-…..Phil Coulson, he seemed like a good man, I have met too few of those."

"Me too." Steve's voice drew Kal's attention to the man, the living American icon looked resigned and tired at having lost another comrade.

"He was an idiot." Tony scoffed, causing everyone to turn to him, a disbelieving look was etched on Carol's still bruised yet healing face.

"HEY, whatever your problem is, have some goddamn respect." Carol's voice barked back a disgusted look on her face as she took a menacing step toward Tony.

"What?" Tony asked rhetorically, raising his arms in disbelief. "He was, for taking on Loki alone, how else did he think that was going to end?"

"He was doing his job," Steve replied, his voice calmer than Carol and he released a sigh recognising Tony's behaviour, it was similar to what Howard used to do, lash out to hide the fact that he was hurting.

"He was out of his league. He should have waited." Tony continued shaking his head in disbelief, a look of almost anger forming as he talked about the fallen SHIELD Agent. "He should have…"

"Sometimes…... Sometimes there isn't a way-out Tony." Steve responded, moving towards Howard's son, releasing a painful sigh. "I know that better than anyone."

"Right, I've heard that before," Tony said, giving Steve a mock smile that looked more like a grimace, as barraged past Steve heading for the exit. "My dad used to say that all the time."

"This is the first time you've lost a soldier?" Steve asked, remembering Howard had acted similarly after one of their missions together that had gone bad resulting in a few of their friends dying.

"We are not soldiers" Tony suddenly whirled around and looked Steve dead in the eyes, all pretension of civility gone. He then steadied himself taking a deep breath looking at Steve then Carol and finally Kal before continuing. "I'm not marching to Fury's fife."

"Neither am I," Steve responded, agreeing with Tony that the Shield director was not the man to lead them.

"None of us are." Kal's clear calm voice sounded out causing Tony to look at him then Carol who also nodded showing her support. "Fury's hands, despite his intentions, are stained with the same blood Loki's are"

"Agreed, but we have to put that behind us and get this done. Loki and Zod are still out there, if what they did to Helicarrier is any indication of what is coming we need to stop them." Steve stated, bringing everyone back on the same page. "Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list-"

"He made it personal." Tony cut off Steve looking down at the blood-stained wall for a moment before looking back up at Steve realisation etched onto his face.

"That's not the point." Steve released a sigh thinking that Tony was letting his emotions cloud his judgement.

"No, it is." Kal's face was also becoming one of understanding and also anger with himself for not recognising it sooner. "This isn't a strategy, it's preening, posing. Loki knows he needs to beat us to win but wants, NO, needs to be seen beating us."

"Right, right," Tony agreed, clicking his fingers together as it all started coming together in his head. "He wants everyone to know, he wants an audience."

"Like Stuttgart," Carol stated she too saw where Tony and Kal were going, turning to face Steve. "You saw him, all dramatic speeches, grand declarations, and remembered how pissed he got when those kids ruined it for him? He looked like a theatre kid whose main lines were being ruined at the main performance "

"Exactly." Tony clicked his finger and pointed at Carol as he moved around the group getting his brain in gear. "But that was just a preview. This is opening night. And Loki he's a full-tilt diva, right? He wants flowers, he wants parades. He wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered…Son of a bitch."

Tony stopped talking and started moving past everyone causing the remaining heroes to look at each other and give each other a quick shrug.

"Anyone else confused by what just happened?" Kal asked from his position, thinking this was another strange Midgardian custom he was not aware of.

"No, I'm lost too," Carol said also with a look of confusion on her face.

"Ah good," Kal said more confidently as he glided across the room and began to follow Tony. "I was worried I was the only one."

(Stark Tower – New York City – Morning May 4th, 2012)

"So boys, what's the plan?" Nat's voice sounded over the coms as she and the recently freed Barton flew the Quinjet into New York. "Because we are down a few and, no offence, but I don't think any of us are at 100%"

"The Tesseract is definitely at the tower and my security system is showing a single occupant. My money is on Loki" Tony's voice sounded out as he lumbered through the air, almost willing his suit to keep functioning despite its heavy damage. "Kal, do you want to take this one?"

As Kal along with Carol flew alongside the Quinjet and Stark he scanned the approaching area himself. He quickly spotted the Tesseract on the roof of the building tied into an impressive machine which itself was tied into the tower's arc reactor. A grimace formed on his face as he also saw a group of heavily armed men occupying the street in front of the tower and a solitary black figure hanging in the sky above. Kal adjusted his flight path and started to gain altitude heading towards the hanging figure.

"We have hostiles on the ground, and it appears Zod also survived the explosion," Kal said, directing everyone's attention to the two obstacles he had spotted. "Loki wants me distracted, Zod is the larger threat. Tony, you deal with Loki, me and Carol will deal with the general."

"And I'll clear the street." Steve's voice sounded out over the radio as fastened his shield to his arm. "I could use the help Barton, if you are up for it?"

"More than happy to, Cap," Barton stated as he left Nat to pilot the Quinjet and equipped his bow, as Tony started his final approach towards the tower.

"Sir I've deactivated the building's arc reactor but the device is already self-sustaining." Jarvis' voice sounded out in Tony's helmet as he levelled off to survey the strange pulsating device on his roof.

"Shut it down, Dr Selvig," Tony ordered, raising a hand at the possessed and mad-looking Norwegian scientist who was simply staring in awe at the device.

"It's too late!" Selvig screamed, his voice sounding almost euphoric as he stared at the Tesseract like it was his child, never once looking at Tony. "She can't stop now. She wants to show us something! A new universe. It's going to be glorious!"

"….Okay," Tony said after a few moments to really appreciate the true level of crazy he was seeing.

After which he lifted his hands and let off two powerful blasts at the device, hoping to end all of this in a single move. However, as his attack struck it hit a strange convulsing barrier that redirected the beams back at him with extra force. Whilst Selvig was knocked down, Tony had to act quickly to prevent himself from spinning out and dying, and as he turned back he saw the Tesseract was completely unaffected.

"The barrier is pure energy sir." Jarvis informed his creator as his sensors registered what had just occurred. "It's unbreachable."

"Yeah. I got that." Tony stated in his usual cavalier tone.

As Tony directed his vision down, he saw Loki leaning with his back on the Tower's arching balcony, a smile on his face amused by what had just happened. The god even had the audacity to give Tony a small wave before he pushed himself off the balcony and moved back inside.

"Okay, plan B." Tony said quietly as he headed back down to the tower. "Jarvis roll out, my evening attire please."

"Sir, the Mark 7 isn't ready for dep-" Jarvis tried to protest as Tony's latest project was nowhere near ready for a field test, let alone battle.

"Skip the spinning rims. We're on the clock." Tony snapped before releasing a sigh, regretting his anger. "I know Jarvis, just please do it. We haven't got a choice."

Whilst Tony approached Loki ready to threaten the god with the forces he had unleashed, Kal and Carol approached their own opponent. Hanging in the sky Zod appeared to have fared far worse at enduring the Phase 2 rocket than Kal had. Zod's armour was cracked and charred, his helmet was gone revealing his corpse-like nature to the world which was made worse by the massive scarring on one side of his face.

"Kal-El the time approaches." Zod's broken raspy voice sounded out as Kal and Carol levelled off before him. He somehow sounded worse than before, the effects of the blast as evident in his voice as they were on his appearance. "I give you one last chance, join me and we can create a New Krypton together. Or you can oppose me and die."

Kal's eyes scanned the general and what his senses told him was bleak and grim. The kryptonite poisoning was reaching its zenith, with every remaining cell still left in Zod's body breaking down on a fundamental level, the only thing keeping them together was the last remnant of solar radiation that lingered within them. The Phase 2 missile had also done its damage, most of Zod's major bones were fractured or outright broken, and that was not to mention what the state of his organs was like.

"You're dying." Was Kal's only reply to the general as he looked at Zod feeling remorse for the only other member of his kind. "Stand down, I can help you."

"So much like your father …and your mother. They too had compassion, even for their enemies" Zod's voice had an almost wistful quality to it as a smile graced his face for a moment before it turned into a hard icy stare of determination. "However, I am not the one who will be needing help."

The sound reached Kal's ears before the beam of light did, it was a sound like the shattering of a thousand mirrors hurtling through the fiercest hurricane ever. As he turned he saw a beam of light erupt from the Tesseract as he also saw Tony hovering outside his tower wearing new armour, his attempts to threaten Loki having failed. Time seemed to slow for a moment as the pure beam of crackling blue light shot past him, Carol and Zod before it crashed against an invisible barrier.

The sound then stopped, as the end of the beam swirled into a hue of vibrant colours some of them even Kal had never seen before, it was truly beautiful.

However, the beauty and serenity ended as the swirling colours opened up the sky into a massive ominous portal, revealing a vast dark emptiness, which then moved. It took Kal a moment to realise that it wasn't emptiness, but a ship, a very large ship that forced its way through the portal. As it did so an audible boom sounded as it forced its way into Earth's plane of existence, the boom was then followed by an even louder cracking sound as every window in New York broke.

Kal and Carol moved to intercept the vessel but their momentary distraction allowed Zod to strike both of them with his heat vision, causing the two to spin in the air before correcting themselves. As their chance was lost the ship soared past them all, tearing the tops of buildings off as it went, its brief flight led it to crash into the bay off Staten Island.

It then released a massive hissing noise that caused Kal to wince and Carol to cover her ears, as the dark black ship opened up with three massive legs plunging into the sea. The ship then lifted itself up and a massive beam of light erupted from its underside striking the water and turning it into steam, as a maelstrom formed in New York's harbour.

"Kal, what is that?" Carrol yelled her voice almost drowned out by the voice the ship was causing.

"It's a world engine," Kal replied, his voice quiet as he stared at a relic of his people attempting to recreate the Earth into Zod's vision of paradise. "We have to-"

Kal was cut off by a series of explosions behind them and a guttural almost animalistic scream emerging from the portal behind them.

"WE'VE GOT INCOMING!" Tony's voice screamed over their radios as he soared upwards unleashing a salvo of massive blasts.

"Kal?" Carrol turned her head to him but kept her eye on Zod who was still hovering in front of them with what she assumed was a smile due to the degradation of his face.

"GO! Get the portal closed now." Kal stated firmly as he turned his body fully towards Zod, withdrawing his sword. "I'll join you shortly."

Carol didn't wait; she turned and rocketed back towards the tower unleashing her own salvo of blasts, reducing the attacking Chitauri to ash. Out of the corner of his eye, Kal saw a streak of silver and crimson land on the tower and saw that his brother Thor had arrived to confront Loki. Kal however took little notice of that as the last two sons of Krypton stared at each other, battle and destruction raging all around them.

Kal moved first, his arm flicking forward with all the speed he could muster as it launched Gram at Zod like a missile. The solar blade soared through the air like a shimmering golden fallen star promising death upon its fall. However, Zod managed to twist his body causing the blade to slice across his chest releasing a large burst of sunlight and then started to spin away from them heading towards the ground below.

Kal wasted no time launching himself forward, despite the sickening and weakening feeling he was getting from being so close to Zod's poisoned body. Zod likewise wasted no time, launching himself as well toward Kal raising his fist behind him and summoning all the strength he had left in his being. He would not fail Krypton a second time nor would he allow another member of the house of El to stand in his way.

As the two collided, the mere sound reduced the building directly underneath them to rubble.

(New York City –May 4th, 2012 – Midday)

The battle had been raging for a few hours, most of Manhattan had been levelled and Steve was starting to get tired, there seemed to be no end to their foes. The Chitauri felt like an endless horde that continued to pour forth from that goddamned portal in the sky. What made the situation worse, was that no matter what they did the destruction was only growing.

Carol had been unable to reach the Tesseract as the tower was being swarmed by the Chitauri. Whilst she could cut through them easily, that wasn't the problem. The issue was every time she got close they started dive-bombing the city and targeting civilians, forcing her to peel off and go to the recuse.

The ground shook again, reminding Steve of the other major issue they were having, the very large alien ship blasting away at New York's harbour. Whilst Steve wasn't certain he was sure that gravity was starting to get funny and the air was starting to get thicker as well, where he looked he saw civilians starting to cough and choke.

The building next to him then collapsed causing him to raise his shield to protect himself from the debris as he saw the blue-shaped figure of Kal being knocked through it. His strange alien-God comrade crashed next to him, causing Steve to rush over to the small crater the impact had made and saw that Kal was bleeding and looked pale. However, as soon as he noticed the cuts and Kal's paleness, they disappeared as the midday sun struck him before the god rose off the ground and back onto his feet.

"You two doing, okay?" Barton's voice sounded out as he and Natasha appeared out of side-street firing at passing Chitauri craft that exploded.

"I am well, and the Captain appears uninjured." Kal sounded out looking at Steve who gave an affirmative nod. "What is the situation?"

"Screwed is what it is." Tony's voice sounded out as he too landed next to them, his arrival was joined by Thor and Carol to the surprise of Kal.

"I thought you were trying to turn off the portal?" Kal asked Carol who responded by looking pissed off.

"I am trying, but those bug boys swarm the civilians every time I get near it," Carol stated with fury building in her eyes as she tensed her hands into fists.

"She is not the only one," Thor came to Carol's defence with a look of frustration upon his face as well. "I cannot get to Loki since he fled from the tower, he is the one directing the Chitauri. And every time I do get close to him he slips away."

"Well, it would help if someone stopped punching city blocks into rubble," Tony stated, directing his vision to Kal whose fight with Zod had caused by far the most damage. "Can't you just take your fight with the Goth Space Ranger somewhere else? Like SPACE?"

"I am trying," Kal stated a grimace on his face as he too felt frustrated by the destruction wrought by his hands. "Zod is staying low and weaving through the buildings, to prevent such an action. He is weakened and knows that I won't risk using my full strength whilst amongst the people of the city."

"We need to change tactics," Steve said, taking command of the situation before their frustration could cause them to fracture.

"I can lend a hand if you want?" The group turned and saw a very dishevelled Dr Banner arriving on a low-powered motorcycle.

"Dr Banner, are you sure you're up for this?" Steve asked knowing full well from the Doctor's file his aversion to his other half.

"I think you can start calling me Bruce and, well, given all this..." Bruce gestured to the burning state of New York and the rubble around him. "I think for once I'm going to do less damage than the other guys."

"Good, we can definitely use the help." Steve gave Bruce a nod before returning his attention to the battle at hand. "We got four targets: Zod, Loki, the Tesseract and that ship in the bay. Kal, you want to fill us in on that one?"

"It's a World Engine, a relic of Krypton, Zod is using it to terraform your world into my birth world, its shields are basically impenetrable even for me " Kal explained, he briefly turned his eyes to the sky and blasted a pair of passing Chitauri to pieces. "If it succeeds, everyone on the planet will die."

"I thought your crazy brother wanted to conquer the planet, not kill everyone." Barton cut in a look of concern on his face as an image of his family flashed through his mind.

"He does, but Zod has no care for Loki's wants. He is dying and that has made him desperate although I suspect this was always the plan to begin with." Kal spoke, releasing a frustrated sigh as his eyes lingered on the World Engine blasting away in the bay.

"We can use that," Steve stated, with a tactical look on his face causing everyone to look at him. "Zod and Loki are keeping the fight focused on us and are trying to distract us. One attacks, the other misleads but they are divided, disunited. We can use that to distract one and then take out the other."

"So, which one do we take out first?" Nat spoke up looking between her teammates wanting to know who they were going to get out of the way first. "We also still have to deal with the ship and the portal."

"Zod." Kal's voice sounded clear and confident, knowing what they needed to do first. "Loki is focused on beating us and is the one directing the Chitauri to focus on us, but Zod doesn't care. Without Loki the Chitauri would run wild and destroy more of the planet than just this city. As long as he's in charge of them, they will stay in the city trying to kill us."

"You sound like you have a plan?" Steve asked, recognising Kal's voice from his days in the army.

"Indeed I do," Kal said giving Steve a smile and nod, he then turned to Carol and Thor pointing to a position above a tall skyscraper several blocks over. "Thor and Carol, if you can get Zod away from the street and there for a moment. I can take him out and then deal with the World Engine."

"Shouldn't be a problem, you ready muscles?" Carol gave Kal a smile before giving Thor a punch on the arm.

Thor gave Carol a broad smile and lightning crackled along Mjolnir indicating that he was more than ready. With Kal, and his side set Steve turned to the others, his fist tightening on the strap of his shield as he took a deep breath.

"Call it, Captain!" Tony said, giving Steve an encouraging nod.

"Alright, listen up." Tony's words did the trick, with Steve feeling calm and in control again, ready to lead men into battle. "While they deal with Zod and until we can close that portal, our priority's containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out; you turn it back or you turn it to ash."

"Want to give me a lift?" Barton turned to Stark stretching his neck and arms as he limbered up to get back into the fight.

"Right. Better clench up, Legolas." Tony quipped as he moved over to Barton lifting the man up into the air.

"You and me, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here." Steve turned to Natasha who gave him a respectful nod and readied herself. He then turned to Bruce releasing a deep breath and giving the doctor a confident nod "Bruce now is the time."

"Okay then," Bruce said shakily, releasing a deep breath before he started running off towards the sound of battle, his skin turning green and his muscles bulging as he went, as the Hulk took over a feral roar escaping his lips.

As Bruce left Kal, Thor and Carol took to the sky leaving Steve and Natasha on the ground with a group of Chitauri foot soldiers coming toward them. Steve gave Nat a slight grin and gestured asking if she wanted to go first with an outstretched of his arms. Nat gave him a friendly smile and actually curtseyed like a ballerina before she leapt into a roll withdrawing two pistols and firing at their assailants, Steve merely shook his head and dived in after her.

(Shield Helicarrier – New York bay – 4th May 2012)

"I want a better answer than we have no idea, AHHH!" Fury yelled at his staff, just as his vessel jolted again causing him to land on his severed arm causing pain to erupt across his whole body. His eye immediately went to the large black ship that was blocking their way and causing his vessel to almost be ripped in half. "AND SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THAT THING IS DOING."

"It's altering gravity and the atmosphere. Obviously" Lex's voice sounded out from underneath a series of control consoles. The bald billionaire was on his back, his suit jacket was off, whilst his shirt was stained with grease oil and his sleeves were rolled up as he was busy trying to fix the station he was at. "Now come on you little piece of sh- HA!"

Lex's laugh of triumph was accompanied by the rows of previously dormant computer screens flickering to life. Their function quickly became evident as the Helicarrier's automated weapons systems quickly roared back to life lighting up the surrounding sky as they started shooting at every hostile in range.

"Finally, being useful I see." Fury huffed out as he gave Lex a quick indignant glance still remembering how the man had nearly killed them all a few hours ago.

Lex moved to speak but was cut off by Deputy Director Hill who was still dripping blood from a nasty cut on her forehead as she moved in between the two men.

"Sir the council is on the line." She reported as she turned her head and gestured for a group of SHIELD operators and technicians to occupy the stations Lex had just brought back online.

"Just what I need." Fury stated, with a grimace on his face as he gave Hill a nod before turning to the communication console next to him.

"Director Fury." Councilman Mallick's voice and face appeared on the screen before him along with the rest of the World Security Council, with the exception of Alexander Pierce. "We need a report. Are you able to hold New York?"

"We're holding for the moment." Fury stated, being honest about the situation knowing now was not a time to try and be deceptive. "The response team is on the ground, and so is Kal and Thor. They are containing the situation."

"Hmmm…..That is not ideal, Director, given the decision the council has reached, despite our beliefs we don't wish them any harm." Mallick's voice went cold and calculating as he leaned to empathise his next words "However, we are ordering to deploy a tactical nuclear strike on the Tesseract's location immediately."

"…..No." Fury stated bluntly his eye remained fixed on Mallick not giving an inch.

"Nick," Councilwoman Pamela Hawley's voice sounded out with a sigh, causing Fury to look at one of his oldest and few remaining friends. Her heart was clearly not in what she was about to say but her duty meant that she had to say it. "Director Fury, the council has made a decision."

"I recognize the council has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it." Fury replied bluntly not caring about being delicate or diplomatic as he was fast running out of patience.

"Director, you're closer than any of our subs." Mallick's voice had gone soft as he was understanding about what he was asking but still required Fury to do it. "You scramble that jet now and -"

"THAT is the island of Manhattan, Councilman!" Fury's voice raised to such a level that even technicians in the back wielding metal together stopped to look at him. "Until I'm certain my team can't hold it, I will not order a nuclear strike against a civilian population."

"DIRECTOR FURY!" Mallick's own voice raised as well as his fist slammed into the table. "I am ordering you to launch that jet now, or so help me God. I'll have you arrested and place Luthor in charge of SH-"

Mallick's voice was suddenly cut off as the communication system cut off, Fury first looked up at Hill who looked as confused as him. He then spotted the culprit, as Lex was standing by a console with his fingers still on the keyboard as the screen reading COMMUNICATION SYSTEM DEACTIVATED.

"Since when did you like me so much?" Fury asked, raising a single questioning eyebrow at Lex.

"Oh please, I don't. However, the council's tactic is idiotic, it would result in needless destruction and I calculate that it won't work anyway." Lex said casually as he turned back to the console, programming in improved targeting code for the defence systems.

"I thought you believed in Phase 2 and that you were against the Avenger's program?" Hill asked, her eyes narrowing at Lex, who merely scoffed at the woman.

"I did, however, the paradigm has shifted," Lex stated in his cold, almost machine-like way, his eyes still on the screen before him as he tried to improve the ship's operating system. "Currently, this team of ours is our best chance."

"Ours?" Fury asked, his surprise at Lex's words for the moment out waying the war waging outside his window.

"Yes, yes. I know, shocking, the great Lex Luthor being a team player." Lex said, waving a dismissive hand at Fury. "We can either all stand around, playing 20 questions about my motives OR we can save the world."

Hill glanced at Fury who just gave her a nod, indicating to let Lex be for the time being. He may distrust the man and dislike Luthor personally but for the moment he believed Lex was on his side.

'Me and Lex on the same side…... War really did make for strange bedfellows.' Fury almost shivered at that thought, but kept his cool as he watched New York burn.