Enter Katherine Stark -Chapter 5-

Chapter 5
The Fight for the City


 The first thing Katherine saw when she woke up was Nick Fury kneeling beside her. Behind him, she could faintly make out a few members of the medical team carrying something off. She sat up, looking around.
"What...? Where...?" she started to say.
"Easy, Miss Stark." Fury said before she could finish her sentence, "You took a couple blows to the head." She remembered the attack on the helicarrier, and the fight with Loki. She had so many questions. Her first thought was her brother.
"Tony? Where's Tony? Is he alright?" she asked.
"Tony is fine. He and Cap are the reason we're still in the air. They're in the Command Center Center with Agent Hill right now." Fury answered. She breathed a sigh of relief at hearing that her brother was alright. Then, her thoughts turned to Thor. What had happened to him?
"Thor!" she said, "Where's Thor?!"
"Katherine, calm down." Fury said.
"Fury, where is he?" she asked. She knew that it was never good when someone kept repeating 'Calm down.' before giving you an answer. People had done it to her before, back when her brother had gone missing in the desert. She looked across the room, where the cell had been. The cell was gone. Only an open trap door in the floor remained. Her blue eyes widened as she stared.
"He was..." she started to say.
"From what we understand, Loki dropped the cell with Thor in it. It's unknown whether or not he's alive." Nick said. How could this happen? Thor couldn't be dead, could he?
"Agent Coulson is dead." Fury continued after giving her a moment.
"What? Agent Coulson?" she asked. Phil Coulson was dead? She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"From the looks of it, he was trying to help Thor." Fury said, "And, the whereabouts of Bruce Banner are Still unknown."
"What about Natasha?"
"She's fine." Fury answered.
"So, that leaves three of us against Loki and his army." Katherine said, standing up, "The odds aren't really in our favor."
"Four. We got our agent, Clint Barton back." Fury said.
"What?" Katherine said, "How?"
"Agent Romanoff knocked him out of it." Fury answered.
"So, what now?" Katherine asked.
"Agent Romanoff is with Agent Barton right now. We need to have a talk with Cap and Tony." Fury said. She and Fury went to the main area of the helicarrier, where Cap and Tony were sitting at the table. They looked upset, and disheveled, and Tony was in his casual clothes, not his Iron Man suit. They both turned to look at Fury and Katherine as they walked in the room. Tony stood up from his chair, walking over to Katherine, and hugging her. It was almost never that Tony showed emotion, but this was one of those times. He had been afraid that she had been injured or killed.
"Kat. You're alright." he said, breathing a sigh of relief. He then stopped hugging her and looked her sternly in the eyes. "Don't ever do that to me again, do you hear me?" he said, "I was afraid you..." He stopped, not finishing his sentence.
"Thor saved my life." she said, feeling herself tear up thinking about him.
"Katherine." Cap said, "Glad you're alright."
"Thanks, Cap." she said, leaning on the table. Her eyes were distant, as if her mind was somewhere else. She was still thinking about Thor. He couldn't really be dead, could he? Just like that? Her chest ached at the thought. Tony sat back down in his chair, still looking at his younger sister. He had never seen her like this, and it confirmed what he had been afraid of for awhile. Katherine was in love with Thor. As much as he hated to admit that his little sister was all grown up, he would do anything to bring Thor back. Seeing his sister like that pained him. Fury walked around to the other side of the table.
"Yes, S.H.I.E.L.D. was using the Tesseract to make weapons." Fury explained, "But, I never put all my chips on that. There was an idea. Tony knows this. The idea was to bring together extraordinary people. Together, they could do things that ordinary people couldn't."
"The Avengers Initiative." Katherine said.
"Well, it's an old-fashioned notion." Fury said, throwing some bloody Captain America trading cards on the table, "Phil Coulson died believing in that idea, in heroes." Tony got up and stormed out of the room. Cap got up and followed after him, and Katherine followed after both of them. They eventually came to the conclusion, that, even though Tony and Cap weren't happy with Fury, they agreed that the Tesseract needed to be recovered, for everyone's sake. Tony soon came to the realization that Loki would go to Stark Tower to put his plan into action. Tony's current suit was well damaged from fixing the turbine on the helicarrier. They decided that Tony would go on ahead to Stark Tower to distract Loki, all the while, retrieving a new suit. Everyone else who was left would follow. So, while Tony headed off for Stark Tower, Cap and Katherine headed off to talk to Natasha. When they entered the room, Natasha was sitting on the table alone.
"Natasha." Katherine said, "We're going after Loki."
"Do you know how to fly the jet?" Cap asked.
"I do."
They looked in the direction of the voice to see a man walking out of the adjoining bathroom. This was obviously the man known as Clint Barton.
"Have you got a suit?" Cap asked him.
"Yeah." Agent Barton answered.
"Then, suit up." Cap told him. Katherine suited up in her Omnicron/Iron Maiden suit, and the three of them made their way to the jet, where there were a few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents standing.
"Hey, you're not supposed to be in here." one of them said.
"Son, just don't." Cap said. The agents decided against standing in their way, letting them take the jet. By the time they got there, Tony was already resuited and fighting the alien creatures coming through the already open portal in the sky.
"We're here." Natasha said.
"What did you, stop for drive through?" Tony remarked. They could see Loki standing at the top of Stark Tower. He saw them, and shot the jet out of the sky. Clint still managed to keep them from crashing too severely as they crashed to the ground and skidded to a halt. The four of them got out of the jet, taking a look around them. The city was already in utter chaos. People were running in panic, things were being destroyed, explosions all around them. There were chitauri everywhere. It was hard to believe that it got that bad in such a short time. They could see Loki standing atop Stark Tower like he was the king of the world. All of a sudden, they saw someone land on top of Stark Tower. After a second look, Katherine could hardly believe her eyes. It was Thor. He was alive! Even in the current situation, she was sure that she had never felt so happy in her life. A huge smile crossed her face, and she wanted to cry out of joy. But, she knew now was not the time, and she just let out a relieved laugh. Thor was alive. Cap, Natasha, and Clint noticed her reaction. Natasha grinned. She had thought that might be the case. Clint just stood there, looking somewhat confused about the whole situation. Natasha whispered something to him, and a look of realization came across his face. Loki and Thor fought for a few moments on top of Stark Tower until Loki managed to get away from him, jumping onto one of the chitauri chariots. Thor flew down from Stark Tower, joining Cap, Kat, Clint, and Natasha. Kat took her helmet off, and she and Thor stared at each other for a moment before walking over to one another.
"Thor!" Katherine said.
"Katherine." Thor said, putting his hands on her arms, "I am relieved to see that you unharmed. If Loki had done anything to you..."
"Thor." she said, "I was so afraid you..." She was cut off mid sentence as his lips were on hers. At first, she was frozen to the spot, her head spinning. She couldn't believe what was happening. Then, she kissed him back. Natasha grinned, and Cap just watched in surprise.
"Wow." Clint said, grinning, "I missed a lot while I was gone."
Katherine broke the kiss for a moment.
"Thor," she said breathlessly, My brother is going to kill you."
"His wrath does not concern me." Thor said, smiling for a moment before his lips were on hers again. When Thor and Katherine broke the kiss again, Tony's voice could be heard over the radio.
"Do you mind, there, Point Break? That's my sister's face you're sucking there." Tony said. His voice was sarcastic, but there was no anger as there had been before. Normally, Tony would be furious if someone kissed his younger sister. But, all he could think about was the look on her face when she had thought Thor was dead. He never wanted to see his sister like that again. So, for the moment, he was just happy for her that Thor was alive and well. Besides, she had said that he saved her life, so he couldn't be all bad. Thor and Katherine both just smiled.
"Alright, then. What now, big brother?" Katherine asked.
"Let me know when Banner shows up." Tony said.
"Banner?" Cap said.
"Banner? We don't even know where he..." Katherine started to say.
"Just keep me posted." Stark said. Cap began to lay out a plan.
"Alright. Listen, we've got Stark up top..." he started to say, but was interrupted by the sound of a motor scooter. They looked in the direction of the sound to see Bruce Banner riding up on a motor scooter.
"What the...?" Kat said as they approached him. He got off of the scooter and walked over to them.
"Well, this all seems... horrible." Bruce said.
"I've seen worse." Natasha said.
"Yeah. Sorry." Bruce said.
"No, we could use a little worse." Natasha said.
"We've got him." Cap said.
"Banner? Well, then, tell him to suit up." Tony said, "I'm bringing the party to you." Just then, they saw Stark flying through the air being followed by a giant, creature. He was leading it towards them.
"Holy shit." Kat said.
"I don't see how that's a party." Natasha said. Bruce turned around and started walking in the direction of Tony and the creature. "Dr. Banner. Now might be a good time for you to get angry." Cap said. Bruce looked back at them as he was walking.
"That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry." Bruce said, before turning back around to face the creature. He suddenly transformed into the Hulk, and stopped the creature. But, the creature was so long, the end of it was flipping over and falling straight towards Cap, Thor, Natasha, Clint, and Katherine.
"I got this." Tony said, shooting the end of the creature so that it fell in the opposite direction. Though, debris from the creature's armor fell down onto where they were standing. Cap shielded himself and Natasha with his shield, Clint ducked behind a taxi, and Thor got behind something, pulling Katherine close, shielding her with his body just in case. Though Kat felt that there was probably no point in him doing so as she was wearing her suit, she still appreciated the action and his intention of protecting her. Tony then landed on the ground with everyone else.
"Call it, captain." he said. Cap began dueling out orders. Barton, I want you on the rooftops. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you've got the perimeter. If anything goes by, turn it back or turn it to ash." he said.
"Better clench up, Legolas." Tony said, grabbing Clint by the collar and flying into the air with him.
"We need to bottleneck that portal. Thor, if you've got the lightning, light 'em up." Cap said. Thor nodded to Cap, then turned to look at Katherine.
"Stay safe." he said. Katherine nodded to him and smiled. He started spinning Mjolnir and took off into the air.
"Natasha, Katherine, I want you two on the ground with me." Cap said. Natasha nodded.
"Yes, sir." Katherine said, flipping her helmet back on. For a while, they all fought the chitauri.
"Captain, none of this is going to mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal." Natasha finally said.
"She's right. They'll just keep coming." Kat said.
"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it." Cap said.
"Maybe it's not about guns." Natasha said, looking up, "I have to get up there."
"Do you need a ride?" Cap asked.
"I've got a ride." Natasha said, "I could use a boost, though."
"Are you sure about this?" Cap asked.
"Yeah." Natasha said, looking at Cap, "It's gonna be fun." She ran towards Cap, and jumped off of his shield, and he helped propel her further through the air. She grabbed onto a chitauri chariot, threw the chitauri off of it, and commandeered it.
"That does look kind of fun." Katherine said as she and Cap watched Natasha on the chitauri chariot. Thor eventually came back down to the ground to fight alongside Cap and Katherine, and Natasha finally made it to the top of Stark Tower. Cap got knocked to the ground by one of the chitauri, and Thor defeated the chitauri, and offered his hand to Cap. Cap took his hand and let Thor help him to his feet. Katherine smiled as she watched them.
"Ready for another bout?" Thor asked him.
"What, are you getting tired?" Cap asked, smiling. They all continued to fight until finally, Natasha spoke to them over the radio.
"I can close it." she said.
"Do it." Cap said.
"Wait. We've got a nuke comin' in." Tony said over the radio, "And, I know just where to put it."
"A what?!" Kat said.
"They're going to nuke the entire island of Manhattan?" Cap said.
"That doesn't seem like something Director Fury would do. He seems like a reasonable man." Kat said.
"Are you sure?" Cap said.
"It wasn't Fury. He's the one who told me about the nuke." Tony said over the radio. Everyone watched as Tony Stark grabbed the missile and flew with it up towards the portal. Katherine couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe her brother was doing this. He was going to sacrifice himself to save the city? There had to be another way... wasn't there? She took off her helmet and looked up into the sky as Tony carried the missile through the air towards the portal.
"Stark, that's a one way trip." Cap said.
"I know." Tony said. It was then that Katherine felt the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her brother knew that there was no way back from this. Everyone did. She closed her eyes as she felt the tears coming, and she felt Thor's large hand rest gently on her shoulder.
"Tony, why?" she said, her voice cracking, "There has to be another way."
"This is the only way, Kat. We both know that. I want you to know I'm proud of you." Tony said. They saw Tony go into the portal. They watched for what seemed like hours, though it must have been only a few minutes, waiting for him to come back out. They all watched, hoping that somehow he would come back out. Oh, God. Please. She silently prayed that her brother would somehow come back, even though all of the odds were against him. She had thought once before that she had lost him, and against the odds, he came back. Maybe he could do it again. After a few moments of waiting, Cap finally made the call that had to be made.
"Close it." he said. Katherine didn't hate him for making the call. It had to be done. Her brother wasn't coming back, and if that portal wasn't closed, his sacrifice would be for nothing. Captain America made an objective decision, something the rest of the group obviously wasn't able to do. But, then, Captain America always did what needed to be done, no matter what. That was how he ended up frozen in the ice in the first place. It was just as the portal was closing that they saw an unbelievable sight. Just before the portal closed, Tony came falling back through.
"Son of a gun." Cap said. Katherine's face lit up. Even she couldn't believe what she was seeing. The feeling of joy she felt was indescribable, and a huge smile came to her face. Her brother truly was one lucky son of a bitch, escaping odds like that. They watched as Tony continued falling downward.
"He's not slowing down." Thor said, spinning Mjolnir, preparing to fly up and get him. But, just then, Hulk jumped from a building and caught him, bringing him safely down and laying him on the ground. Thor turned him over so that he was laying on his back, and hulk tore the front of his helmet off. He lay there motionless with his eyes closed, and they watched, just waiting for him to wake up. Katherine was concerned now that her brother might be dead regardless of escaping from the portal. Finally, Hulk let out a loud roar, and Tony's eyes snapped open.
"Oh, what the hell?" he (Tony) said, "What happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me." Cap grinned.
"We won." he (Cap) said.
"Alright. Yay! Good job, everybody. Let's just take a day. Let's all just not come in tomorrow. Ever tried shawarma? I don't know what it is, but I want to try it." Tony said. Katherine smiled, letting out a huge sigh of relief, and even laughing a little.
"We're not done yet." Thor said. They all knew that he was referring to the fact that they still had to deal with Loki.
"Okay. Then, shawarma after." Tony said. They made their way to the top of Stark Tower, where Loki was just barely getting up after Hulk had smashed him into the floor. He looked up to see the whole group of them standing imposingly in front of him.
"If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now." he said. Tony had apparently offered him a drink when he was distracting him before.
 They took Loki and the Tesseract to Central Park, where they prepared to send him and the artifact off to Asgard.
"Katherine," Thor said, placing his large hands on her shoulders, "I will return. I swear it." Kat nodded.
"I trust you." she said. She would be lying if she said she wasn't sad to see him go, but she knew he had to, and she knew this day would come. She knew that he wouldn't lie to her, and that he fully intended to come back. She just wasn't sure when that would be. So, she forced herself to be strong, and she managed a smile. This was how she wanted Thor to remember her, smiling. He smiled at her, leaned in, and kissed her, a hungry, passionate kiss, trying to get his fill until he would see her again. He wasn't sure when that would be. He didn't want to leave her, but he knew it had to be done. Tony, of course, averted his eyes, looking in the opposite direction. When they finally broke the kiss, Dr. Eric Selvig shook hands with Thor, and handed him the Tesseract.
"Thank you, my friend." Thor said, smiling at him. He then turned to look at Katherine.
"Katherine, until we meet again." he said. She smiled and waved.
"See you, Thor." she said quietly. Thor then looked around at everyone.
"Until we meet again, my friends." he said.
"Right. And, when you come back, shawarma." Tony said. Thor smiled, and, after a moment, he, Loki, and the Tesseract were gone. Katherine looked to the ground, trying to hide the sadness on her face. But, she looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Dr. Selvig.
"He'll come back." he said, smiling. Katherine managed a small smile.
"Thanks, Dr. Selvig." she said. She then felt a hand on her other shoulder. She looked up to see her older brother. She couldn't help but smile. Sure, her brother could be a real ass sometimes, but deep down, he truly did mean well.
"Come on, Kat." he said quietly, "Let's go home." She nodded, and she, Tony, and and Bruce got into Tony's sportscar, and drove off. Natasha and Clint got into Natasha's car and drove off, and Steve got onto his motorcycle and rode off.