Chapter 4: Aid

Flying through the city after having just blasted a Chitauri flyer, Mark spotted a toppled building where a woman was frantically trying to clear debris from an older woman pinned underneath.

The younger woman was crying, her face streaked with dust and tears.

He descended swiftly, landing beside them. "Let me help," he said, his voice soothing.

He started moving the debris, his newfound strength able to lift the heavy rubble with ease.

Once the debris was cleared, Mark gently checked the older woman, who lay unconscious and barely breathing.

"Please, is she going to be okay?" the younger woman asked, her voice trembling.

"She still has a pulse," Mark reassured her. "I'll do what I can."

Mark extended a tube-like tendril from his suit, covering the old woman's wounds. After a few tense seconds, he retracted the tendril.

The old woman's breathing steadied, and her wounds visibly healed.

The younger woman's eyes widened in disbelief. "You... you saved her!"

Mark nodded, giving her a reassuring smile. "She'll be okay now."

Overwhelmed with relief, the younger woman hugged Mark tightly.

"Thank you so much. I don't know how to repay you."

Mark patted her back gently. "Just make sure she gets to safety."

He carefully lifted the older woman, carrying her with his enhanced strength.

He escorted both of them toward an ambulance parked a short distance away, where emergency personnel are helping those civilians in need.

As he handed the older woman over to the medics.

Mark looked at those civilians, seeing them with no fatal injuries he decided to go somewhere else.

The younger woman seeing him leaving said gratefully. "Thank you again!"

Mark nodded and took to the skies again.

As Mark flew over the city, he noticed a young woman in an alley, covertly recording the chaos with her cellphone.

Curious, he descended silently and saw a parked van nearby.

The woman, focused on her recording, was startled when Mark tapped her shoulder.

"It's not safe here," Mark said as he tapped her shoulder. Looking closer, he recognized her as Skye from "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Skye turned and saw Mark, her tension easing as she recognized him as one of the good guys.

She had already captured footage of him battling the aliens earlier. She pointed her phone camera at him and said sheepishly, "It's fine. I promise I'm being careful."

Mark rolled his eyes and flashed a peace sign for her camera, making her laugh. He quickly turned to deal with an incoming flyer.

Two of his shots missed, but on his third attempt, he hit the flyer directly, causing it to explode in a fiery burst and showcasing the immediate danger.

"See? Not safe. Catch you later, beautiful," he said with a grin before taking off.

Skye waved and called out, "Bye! Your aim sucks!" while laughing and keeping her phone trained on him.

Mark chuckled and waved without looking back.

A Chitauri flyer targeted a damaged building that was now open. Inside, a little girl stood, gazing out at the chaos with wide, frightened eyes as the alien flyer approached.

Suddenly, an arrow struck the flyer, causing it to explode in a fiery burst. The girl's eyes lit up with wonder as she watched Hawkeye fighting the aliens.

Mark swooped down a moment later, giving the little girl a friendly wave. She waved back, and her mother hurriedly scooped her up, taking her to safety.

"Oh, right, the portal," Mark said, smacking his forehead as he spotted Natasha flying on a Chitauri vehicle.

He swooped in, shooting down the flyers trailing behind her, and then joined her on the vehicle. "Fancy running into you like this," he said with a smirk.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Having fun?"

Iron Man flew past them, noting that they were fine, and continued on to join Captain America in his fight.

"Almost. It's always better with you around," Mark replied. Natasha smiled amusedly, and together they watched Iron Man pointed his hand boosters at Captain America's shield.

The energy discharged, and Cap used it as a reflection beam, cutting through and taking down nearby Chitauri.

Suddenly, they were shot at. Both Mark and Natasha looked back to see Loki grinning at them from a flyer.

"Oh. You." Natasha said, steering the vehicle to evade the incoming fire.

Mark fired back at the pursuers, sending energy blasts their way.

The chase continued as they raced downward, weaving between buildings.

They sped through the city, dodging obstacles and each other's attacks. Mark and Loki, both pissed, exchanged fire; Mark's shots were being skillfully evaded, while Loki's energy blasts were absorbed by a black purple smoke.

Mark quickly decided to take a different approach and leaped toward Loki.

Loki ducked, watching Mark fly past him with an amused grin.

An arrow swooped in and Loki caught it effortlessly, glancing at its origin with a grin.

The arrow then exploded in his face, sending Loki flying and destroying the flyer in the process.

Flying back, Mark saw the explosion and chuckled. He then followed Natasha as he saw her jumped from the flyer.

He caught her midair in a princess carry and shot down the flyer to prevent any potential harm to civilians.

Gently, he landed her on Stark's penthouse pad.

Mark and Natasha approached the portal machine, where they found Selvig slumped down and weakened, looking at them with desperation.

The Tesseract's energy surged towards the portal, intensifying as it moved through the sky.

Selvig, looking desperate, explained that the energy from Loki's scepter was overpowering the Tesseract and that it was impossible to protect against it.

Natasha reassured him, saying it wasn't his fault and he didn't know what he was doing.

Selvig then mentioned that he had built a safety mechanism to cut the power source and noticed the scepter, saying it might be the key to closing the portal.

As Selvig and Natasha were talking, Mark approached the portal machine enclosed in an energy barrier.

He whistled in tune nonchalantly and touched the barrier, allowing his suit to absorb the energy as his hand passed through it.