Chapter 113: Aftermath of the War.

[Hawkeye: War isn't Hell. War is war, and Hell is Hell. And of the two, war is a lot worse.

Father Mulcahy: How do you figure that, Hawkeye?

Hawkeye: Easy, Father. Tell me, who goes to Hell?

Father Mulcahy: Sinners, I believe.

Hawkeye: Exactly. There are no innocent bystanders in Hell. War is chock full of them — little kids, cripples, old ladies. In fact, except for some of the brass, almost everybody involved is an innocent bystander.]

Quotes from Mash.

…

Gwen is holding Ryan's hand who is laying on the MediQuick medical chair. Ryan is closing his eyes to rest. But he couldn't sleep.

The moment he falls asleep, he is sure that his nightmare returns. Suddenly, he is jerked back to reality by a small chime of a computerized voice.

"Sir, Mr. Stark is inviting you to go get shawarma," ALBUS notified him. Tony and the rest are apprehending Loki first before he could get away. Thor and Hulk had escorted Loki back to the Stark Tower.

Before Ryan could say anything, Gwen declined it for him.

"He can't ALBUS, there is a hole in his stomach," Gwen said sternly. She is extremely worried right now. The wounds are not closing and the bleeding isn't stopping.

"What about Loki?" Ryan asked the A.I.

"Ryan, that should not be your concern right now!" Gwen scolded. Her eyes are shaking, and her chin quivers. He brushes her hair softly and says to her.

"I won't ask you to not worry, because it will be useless. But I am fine now. I just need a little time to heal myself. As long as I'm in the chair, I won't die."

The Divine Healing energy is fighting off the demonic residue inside his body. He will be able to move in a few hours. But he still needs to do something now. From the chair, he contacted his subordinates. Gwen widened her eyes after hearing what Ryan wanted to do.

Hiddle who is three minutes away from landing in NY intercepted the order. He uses his authority with ALBUS and checks up on Ryan's condition. He didn't call during the war as he knew Ryan is focusing on giving commands.

"Ha Ha Ha, this is really… not… funny," Hiddle chucked, then said sternly. His eyes are cold and ruthless. His anger is boiling up inside of him and now is tipping over. He made a call to May and a few others. Without Ryan knowing it, Hiddle is hijacking the command that he gave.

" Don't go to the airport. Go to the Knight Industry," Hiddle commanded the pilot. The plane only needs to hover there for a while. The jet he is using is designed by Ryan. Its technological aspect is top-notch.

"Master Tim. You need to go to Ryan's house," Hiddle said to the man sitting on the plane seat next to him.

Tim nods solemnly. He knows all that Hiddle knows. He too is stirred. The mad dog duo is itchy to bite someone.

"Hiddle… Give them hell," Tim ordered Hiddle as the old butler jumped from the jet to meet up with Bryan. The jet then goes straight away to Brooklyn, where Ryan's place is.

At Stark Tower, Tony got the notification from ALBUS. The Avengers are all on the ground floor, waiting for Natasha and Tony to secure the Tesseract. Steve had secured the scepter.

"His stomach has what?!" Tony is surprised. He wants to fly there, but ALBUS advised Tony he should stay there with the rest of the Avengers as Ryan is healing himself. Gwen has blocked all visitors from coming, except two people. Hiddle and Tim.

"Tell him I will come there later," Tony said to ALBUS.

The A.I. had been responsible for a lot of things today. Luckily he doesn't need to rest.

"JARVIS, show me the footage around Ryan's apartment," Tony said as he closed back his helmet.

"What's going on Stark?" Steve asked. Tony suddenly becomes antsy. The rest of the Avengers are puzzled. Loki too, even when he is handcuffed and his mouth is sealed.

"Holy Shit," Tony exclaimed as he watches the footage of the drones fighting with the chitauri gliders. Almost a thousand chitauri gliders are felled with only 50 drones around Ryan's place. The battle is intense, and Stark saw that Ryan(shadow clone) is fighting off the gliders when the defense line falls. He is shooting a plasma gun toward the gliders, but he didn't stop commanding the battle.

Tony is stunned and speechless. He thought that Ryan was commanding the battle from a safe place, but he didn't.

"Tony!" Natasha jerked him back to reality.

"Wha… oh" He looked around. Loki and the tesseract still need to be delivered to a safe place. The Avengers are staring at him.

"What is it, Tony?" Steve asked again in a softer tone. This time, it's more of a request than an order.

"It's... Ryan… Ryan Knight… The commander of the battle… he is greatly injured," Tony said as he collected the event of the battle. Ryan's sudden disappearances. His difficulty breathing during the ending moment. All of it was replayed back inside Tony's head.

"I think I need to take a raincheck on the shawarma," Tony said to the group. Hulk groaned. His body is like a living furnace. He needs food! "Grrr" Hulk growled.

"Easy big guy," Barton eases the monster as he swallowed his saliva. Why did he choose to stand next to the Hulk?

"The Knight fought well in the battle. I would like to meet him," Thor interjected.

"Let's settle Loki first then we can go," Tony replied. The ban on visitors means nothing to him. It just makes him want to visit more.

"Who got the magic wand?" Natasha asked as she looked at the scepter in Steve's hand.

"A S.T.R.I.K.E team is coming to secure it," Tony informed. As he said, a team of agents led by Brick Rumlow and Sitwell entered the tower. They are tasked to secure the scepter and bring it to the Doctor List. The right-hand man for Baron Strucker. The Baron had struck fancy toward the scepter that can expend someone's mind.

Behind them, Alexander Pierce is walking toward the Avengers. He is followed by numerous agents, flooding the entire floor.

"May I ask where are you going?" Alexander Pierce stopped Tony and Thor from going out of the tower.

"Bit of lunch, and then Asgard. I'm sorry you are?" Thor replied to the old man who has his left hand inside his pocket.

Tony introduces Thor to the man. "Alexander Pierce. He's the man behind the folks… above Nick Fury."

"Oh," Thor exclaimed as he realises the old man isn't an ordinary man.

"My friend calls me Mr. Secretary. I'm gonna ask you to hand over the prisoner to me," Pierce said as he pointed to Loki.

"Uh, Loki will be answering to Odin himself," Thor argues.

"He's going to answer us. Odin can have what's left," Pierce said confidently.

"And I'm going to need that case. It's been Shield property for over 70 years," Pierce pointed to the briefcase Stark is holding. It contained the Tesseract inside it.

"Hand over the case, Stark," An agent tries to snatch it from Tony, but Tony holds his hand toward the agents. He is gesturing for him to stop, but he is in his Iron Man armor. The agents there put their hands on the gun inside their holster as if they were waiting for things to go sour.

"I'm not going to argue who has the jurisdiction," Tony argued.

"Give us the case Stark," Pierce ordered.

Suddenly, a team of supersoldiers barges into the tower. They are wearing an exoskeleton suit and holding a plasma gun in their hand. They are led by an old man in a black suit. The old man only has viciousness inside his eyes.

"Oh, what now?" Barton exclaimed as he held his bow. Will there be another battle?

Hiddle and Bryan arrive at the Stark Tower using the land speeder Ryan allocated to the unit. The team that arrived there is the one who is participating in the battle. They volunteered to come to arrest the perpetrator when the battle was over. The destroyed street doesn't slow down the landspeeder even a second.

Tony gulped. If there is someone in the world he feared, it must be the old butler in front of him.

"Sir Hiddle, what are you doing here?" Tony asked politely. Hiddle glanced at Tony and ignored him. He turns his gaze toward Alexander Pierce.

"Surround them," Hiddle said to his team.

Bryan and the others encircle the agents of Shield who had entered the tower. Sitwell and Rumlow are not excluded even when they are holding the case in their hand. Steve had given it to them easily, knowing that they are Shield.

They aimed their plasma guns toward the agents there.

"What is the meaning of this?" Alexander Pierce asks in a calm tone, but inside, he is not calm at all. He knows Hiddle. He has met the old butler multiple times before and always keeps a good relationship with him. But now…

"Alexander Pierce. You are arrested on suspicion of an act of treason against the country," Hiddle accused him ruthlessly.

"You have no jurisdiction to do that Mr. Butler," Alexander Pierce replied solemnly.

Natasha and Steve stepped into the confrontation.

"Mr. Hiddle, please calm down," Natasha said. Steve holds his shield up and stands between the plasma gunner and the agents.

"Agent Romanov. Please return the suit," Hiddle said as he saw what Natasha was wearing. It is among the list of items needed to be stored away.

He then ignored the stunned Natasha and held his hand up to his chest. A holographic projection comes out from his watch.

"At 9:52 a.m., Shield releases a nuclear missile toward the center of Manhattan," Hiddle explained the accusation.

"It is what the World Security Council decided at that time. It's to stop the invasion from spreading to other areas," Pierce replied calmly.

Hiddle smirked. "Is it?"

"Miss Romanov. What time did Ryan Knight inform you of the way to close the wormhole?" Hiddle asks without turning against Natasha. She had removed the suit and give it back to the Knight Industry people.

"It's…9:45 a.m," Natasha replied honestly. Hiddle nods. Even if she lied, the logs of the orders are still in his hand.

"The time is irrelevant. We didn't know about the method Ryan Knight thought or when he thought it. And who's to say it will work?" Sitwell interjected out of fear. The gun is right next to his face.

"That's true," Pierce supported Sitwell. He thought he was untouchable. With the World Security Council at his back, he has nothing to fear. Hydra did send the nuclear missiles at that time. Not only can they solve the alien, but also kill the Avengers. Otherwise, the team will come to them next.

Hiddle grinned one more time.

"This log shows all the records of the orders given by Ryan Knight. And this… is the one Director Fury heard from Natasha and Barton's communication line," Hiddle shows the evidence, shocking the Avengers there.

"You!" Tony starts to get mad. He understands it if the order comes before the method is found. But this is to kill them, isn't it?

"What is going on?" Thor asks, puzzled.

Steve walks away from protecting the agents there and stands next to Thor. " I'll explain later."

"You know full well about the method, but you send out the nuclear missiles anyway. Even when… the battle is contained. You will follow us for interrogation. All… of… you," Hiddle pointed to all the agents there. All of them are arrested. Except for Natasha and Barton.

"We will look into that. Even if that's true. You still don't have the jurisdiction to arrest us," Pierce replied with an anxious tone.

"I thought Shield would be better than this," Hiddle said. He then takes out the agreement Ryan has with the President of the United States. Even if Shield is outside a country law, they are stepping on America's land now. Not to mention the terror attack is toward a major city in the country.

" If you didn't know about the agreement, you're the most incompetent intelligence organization on the planet," Hiddle mocked.

The agreement allowed Ryan to become the sole commander of the battle. That's how he commanded the army fighters that come to help the entire New York City.

"Any objection, and you can be court-martial. Resist the arrest, and you can be executed on the spot. So, please… Resist." Hiddle said coldly.

The guns of the plasma cannon are glowing red. If the Knight team wants it, they can kill all the agents there in 5 seconds.

Shield has no backing to say that the nuke is the one who killed all of the aliens. The nuke exploded at the same time the wormhole closed. Why didn't the wormhole close become the reason for the aliens to crumble?

Pierce is solemn. It seems that if they move, they will die.

"I will follow you for the interrogation," Pierce said, surprising the agents there.

"Sir!" Brock Rumlow is startled. If they lose the chance, the scepter will be locked tightly at Shield. Worse, locked up with Ryan.

"But, the tesseract must return to us," Pierce said to Hiddle. The butler is in no mood for negotiation.

Fury didn't know and resisted the order for the nuke. He is safe this time. He will be responsible for making the negotiation later on for the Hydra agents' freedom.

The agents are transported to a military base to be interrogated. The scepter is brought with them to the base, as Hiddle thought Ryan didn't care about it.

They are not fighting Shield, but if Shield's mistake created an event of this scale, then why should they get off scot-free?

Hiddle led them away after nodding to the Avengers. He still has a lot of jobs to do after this. The Department of Damage Control that Ryan founded before the battle, needs to be directed. And his favorite part. The interrogation. He even does the Avengers a favor and locks up Loki with the rest of them. If Loki moves even one step from the prison, then 20 plasma guns will be blasted onto his face. Thor is satisfied with the care his brother is having.

Ryan even contemplated killing Shield at the moment. The Avengers are pushed into the public eye and they will get all the blame. While Shield will still hide in the shadow. He calmed himself down after a while and discarded the idea. Anyway, they will destroy themselves. He didn't have to do anything.

Coulson walks into the Stark Tower after he lands his quinjet on a building nearby. He saw the solemn face of Natasha and Barton. "What happened?"

"Go get food!" Hulk said in a loud voice as all the talking frustrated him.

"Buddy, I don't think the restaurants are open," Barton said to the creature.

*HonkHonk* A food truck suddenly appeared outside the tower as the Avengers walked out.

"Hey, Natalie! Where's Kai!?" Domingo yelled toward the ones he knew as he parked the food truck.

"At the hospital. Why are you here?" Natasha said as she and the team approached the food truck.

"Hospital? But he ordered 300 burgers and told me to come here?" Domingo is puzzled.

"What… " Natasha is stunned. Domingo takes out the boxes of burgers! The best burger on the planet. The Krabby Patty is served!

"Food!!!" Hulk yelled in excitement!

"This is great! ANOTHER!" Thor yelled as he finished the burger in three bites. The Hulk only needs one.

"Slow down. Here," Domingo takes out a 10-liter plastic cup filled with soda and gives it to the Hulk and Thor.

"He is the shareholder there right. Is this an abuse of power?" Tony said teasingly as he chewed on his second burger.

"I don't care. I hope he abuses it more," Barton replied.

"This is pretty good," Steve exclaimed.

"Pretty good? Your taste buds must have aged even if your body doesn't. This is magnificent," Tony scolded. This is his favorite burger. How dare the old fossil undermine the deliciousness.

"When did he order it?" Coulson asked Domingo.

"I don't know. Around 8.30. 9? Why?" Domingo replied.

"That was even before the battle," Natasha said as she smiled. Kai ordered the burger when they were on the way to New York. It seems that Kai had trusted them to win even before the battle started.

The rest of the Avengers realize it, and their heart flutters.

" What's the deal with his wings anyway?" Barton asked.

"I sensed a magic contract coming from him. You know, the wings," Thor replied, surprising the rest of them.

Natasha then remembered the parchment Kai had torn up during the start of the battle. That's great. She thought he was a fallen angel or another alien. But he just borrowed it. Not that anything will change even if he isn't a human.

"Wait… magic?" Tony asks dubiously.

"Magic is real my friend," Thor smiles and says to Tony.

"Nah, it's just science we haven't figured out yet. So tell me more about his wings, why did it turn white," Tony pestered Thor.

The banquet makes Thor run off his mouth. With the soda and the burger, he is in a great mood. Asgardians like to tell stories around the banquet table. The atmosphere here is the same for him.

" It turned white… when he burned off his life force," Thor said, pouring cold water onto the warm atmosphere. The rest are suddenly silent, making Thor puzzled. Hulk is still pouring the burger down his throat. His number of burgers almost reached three-digit.

"Thor. Explain," Natasha asks him in a cold tone.

"Well…" Thor scratched his cheeks. He didn't know how to explain it. Natasha runs to the hospital after she hears what Thor said.

She stole a bike from the streets and rode it dangerously toward the hospital Kai is in. What Thor had said was replayed inside her mind.

"Lifeforce for the mortal is… your life span. Kai had burned off almost all of his when he wanted to save the little girl from being crushed. I don't know how he knows how to do that. I do know some warriors from Midgard who have the knowledge thousands of years ago. Kai may be their descendant."

She gritted her teeth as the next line lingers inside her mind.

"After the life force is burned off, they will be in immense pain. Nothing similar to the pain an ordinary mortal would feel."

Natasha thought about the time Kai puked out a lot of blood. She should have stopped him right there!

At the food truck, Thor didn't feel that he had said anything wrong. A warrior will be honoured to die in a battle. He saw Kai smile as he saved the child. Kai isn't a warrior, but he is a healer. If he can save someone, he will gladly exchange his life for it. That's what Thor thought and he respected Kai for it.

Natasha arrived at the emergency ward at the hospital. She said to the doctor there. "Where is Kai Vera?"

Dr. Christine Palmer replied. "Dr. Vera? He is in surgery right now."

"Is his condition serious?" Natasha asked, panicking.

"No. I think you misunderstand. He is doing the surgery. Not the one getting it," Dr. Christine Palmer explained before she goes to grab another injured patient from the ambulance.

"He…" Natasha is stupified when she hears it.

The emergency ward is a mess. Although the battle is contained, many people are still injured. Some are too stubborn to evacuate. Some are police officers. Some are reporters. Even April O'Neil is here as debris from a building falls to her head, leaving a tiny bump.

Kai is in the operation room wearing a scrub, gloves, and surgical cap on his head. He takes off his bloody gloves and finishes his operation. He comes out of the room to check up on other patients when he sees Natasha walking toward him.

She suddenly pulled his shirt up, revealing his bruised body.

"What are you thinking? Do you want to die so much?" Natasha yelled at him. She was trained to control her emotions her entire life. But now, she exploded.

Kai brushes off her hand. There are many patients there. He didn't have time to go through this farce. He walks past her to get the medical report of another patient.

*Click* "Stop right there," Natasha pointed out her gun at Kai's back.

"AAhhh!" The nurse who saw it yelled.

Kai turns to face Natasha.

She ordered him with her eyes moist and her chin quivers. Dr. Christine Palmer is calming down the scared patients.

"You are to stop moving. You need to lay down on the bed, and get some help."

"I am fine," Kai said dismissively, not scared of the gun at all. He is reading the medical sheets of another patient who needs surgery.

"For god's sake, a building fell on you!" Natasha yelled. Dr. Christine Palmer is shocked after she hears what Natasha said.

"Dr. Vera, is this true?" Christine asked.

Kai is a little annoyed. With the aliens and the demons, he wants to focus on saving people right now. He didn't have time for the drama.

He walks to the nuzzle of the gun pointed at him. He grabbed the nuzzle and pulled it toward his forehead.

Natasha's eyes shook.

"I say again. I am fine. If you want to stop me. Then shoot. That's the only way I will stop doing my work here," Kai said without hesitation as he locked eyes with Natasha.

"Kai…" Natasha said as a drop of a tear fell from her left eye, stopping at her cheeks. Her heart is crushed. The man that she loves, is killing himself.

She remembered the scene Loki tortured Kai with. 'Is this the end that Kai wants?'

To die… while saving people? Can't she change it?

As she didn't shoot, Kai ignored her and left. He takes another patient to enter the operation room. She dropped the hand holding the gun. Her shoulder dropped. Her tears fall.

Then, she slapped herself. 'No, I won't let him.'

She then called the only person that could stop Kai.

"Hello. Skye. "

…

In Ryan's house.

"Son, when did you become a swiss cheese?" Tim asked.

"Dad, the aliens must be from Switzerland," Ryan joked with his solemn dad.