When Evelyn's one non-swollen eye peeled open, she was hit with a headache unlike any she had experienced before. It was like Mjolnir itself was pounding it's way into her skull, and there was no holding back the uncomfortable moan that slipped past her swollen, chapped lips. Her vision was skewed, and one eye distorted everything with a vision of red. But she was conscious enough to see she was laying in the medical bay of the Helicarrier.

As she pulled herself to a seated position, a sharp pain embedded itself in the side of her abdomen.

"Ugh!" She growled, clutching the side of her off-white medical gown. She pulled the gown up slowly to see a large white patch of gauze taped to her tanned skin.

"Loki sure got you good." A voice said from beside her. Her gaze turned towards Nick Fury who was standing at the end of her bed, his large hands gripping the bedrail between his palms.

"Where is everyone?" Evelyn whispered, her voice raspy. She glanced around the medical bay to see she was the only patient occupying the room. And she was mildly surprised that neither Steve nor her brother were there when she woke up.

With a sigh, Nick flipped on the large television that was on the wall across from her. "I didn't want to show you, but you have every right given the circumstances."

Evelyn's eyes turned blurry at the sight of her home being turned to ruble. The news-camera wobbled as it filmed the sights of New York City being attacked by foreign beings, that Evelyn had once seen in her dreams. Large alien spacecrafts were flying into skyscrapers and striking down civilians on the ground. Screams of terror could be heard over the newscaster's horrified retelling of the events that were taking place.

The camera shifted to the sky, giving Evelyn a small glimpse of the red and gold armor that belonged to her brother. Natasha's fiery red hair was shown briefly dodging an alien that was trying to slice her in half, and Steve's shield went flying past the camera – embedding itself in the chest of another enemy. Her friends and family were fighting with everything they had, and Evelyn felt sick at the sight of the death and damage that was surrounding them.

"Oh, God." Evelyn gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth. A sob fleeted past her lips, and the pain in her body was suddenly no longer her top priority.

"Phil!" She cried out, her thoughts suddenly turning to the man she had failed to save. "Is he alive?"

With a single shake of his head, Nick gave her the answer she had been dreading. His brown eyes were somber and he stared down at her, the creasing in his forehead rising all the man into his bald head.

"We have reports that there are hundreds of civilians being trapped all over the city." The newscaster reported, "New York police and fire departments, as well as the National guard are attempting to make evacuations. The hoards of alien spacecraft however are pouring in from what appears to be a portal to outer space, Preventing help from coming to those who need it!"

Nick took the seat beside her bed and the pair's singular set of working eyes never left the television. They watched in awestruck horror as their teammates and friends were getting beaten down with every passing minute. Loki had the manpower and resources to do what he came here for, and Evelyn knew they would fight until their very last breath.

"I need to be there, Nick I need to be there!" Evelyn moaned out, watching as Steve got pummeled to the ground.

"You're in no state to be fighting anyone right now." Nick responded, his eyes never wavering from the television.

"I don't care. Either you help me, or I swear to God I will portal there and fight in this fucking gown."

Nick snorted at her response before standing from his seat. He patted her on the hand before reaching onto the bed beside them and pulling out a duffle bag. He plopped it onto the bed before pulling out a S.H.I.E.L.D bodysuit and setting in her lap.

"I knew you would want to be there. I'm not happy about you going, but I can't stop you. And I'd rather not see your ass on the channel four news because you were too stubborn to find some damn clothes. "

He hesitated as he went to exit the room, his hand hovering over the doorknob. He turned around at the last second and called over his shoulder, "Be careful." before finally leaving Evelyn to her own devices.

~

It took Evelyn every ounce of energy she could muster, to pull herself out of bed to dress herself. The wound on her side burned with every motion of her body, and she grunted in frustration at the inability to tie up her long tangled hair.

With the black skin-tight uniform covering her body, and the too small boots housing themselves on her feet, Evelyn was finally able to transport herself directly into the chaos.

"Holy Shit," Evelyn breathed out as she stepped out of her large blue portal. She staggered as an alien flew by her, and many immediately began shooting in her direction. In an instant defensive maneuver, she was able to blast the five that were rushing at her fairly quickly. They were horrendous looking beings, with gnashing teeth and inky black skin. And yet Evelyn had seen them many times before – in her nightmares.

This was what the tesseract had warned her about – this war being brought to earth. And as she looked at the damage that surrounded the streets of Midtown, they were losing terribly.

She pressed the button on the com in her ear, the one Fury left for her – and hoped a member of the team was able to answer.

"Hey, guys. You need a hand?" Evelyn grunted into the earpiece, holding her side as a bolt of pain shot through her abdomen. As one hand held her side, the other shot at any alien that came near her.

"Eva!" Tony gasped in surprise, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Couldn't let you guys have all the fun." She told him.

Suddenly, remembering an even bigger fighter that was missing – she opened a portal beside her that led to the grand canyon. Bruce's hesitant figure slowly came waltzing through a minute later. He was sweating profusely, his black hair chaotic on his head, and he was missing whatever shirt he had been wearing before.

"I'm so sorry, Bruce!" Evelyn apologized, looking over his disheveled figure. "I had a little accident with Loki, or I would have brought you back sooner."

"No worries." Bruce told her, his eyes shifting to look at the scene around them. "I think we need the other guy though."

"I think that's best." She agreed. Bruce nodded to her before he was transforming right in front of her, his large green form soon ran off down the street. He roared loudly, taking a couple stray cars out with him.

"I brought the big guy with me." Evelyn told them.

The sounds of running footsteps pulled Evelyn's attention around to the other end of the street. She placed her hands in a defensive motion before noticing who it was and lowering her hands.

"Hi," she breathed out, seeing Steve, Natasha, and Clint several yards away from her. They looked worse for wear, with blood leaking in various spots on their body and dirt covering their uniforms.

Steve didn't hesitate in throwing his shield to the side and pulling her into his arms. She grunted at the impact before sliding her own arms around his massive frame. "I thought we lost you this time." Steve mumbled into her ear, his breath tickling her skin. Her heart started to race just like it had been doing recently whenever he was close, and she could hear his equally thumping heart against his chest that was pressed to her ear.

"You should know I don't go down easily, Rogers." Evelyn said, pulling away with a smirk on her face. Steve rolled his eyes before allowing his hands to ghost along her facial injuries. His eyes went from sadness, to a menacing look Evelyn had never seen before in three seconds flat. He marched over and yanked his shield off the ground before securing it to his left arm.

"We've been fighting them for hours, we aren't even making a dent." Steve told them, glancing up to the portal that was leading to outer space. "Eva, you look like you're about to fall over. But we could really use you right now."

"I need to get these trapped civilians out of her before I do anything. I saw on the news there are hundreds directly in the line of fire with nowhere to go." She told them. Even from where she stood she could hear the cries of panic around the city.

"Okay, good plan. Clint, you go with her." Steve said.

"I'm quicker on my own," Evelyn said with a shake of her head. "No offense." She told Clint.

"None taken." Clint shrugged, fiddling with the arrow in his palm. "But I'm coming anyway. Everyone isn't going to be able to walk right through your portals to safety, and you don't have the strength to be doing any heavy lifting."

Evelyn knew Clint was right, so she nodded her head in agreement.

"We will keep the fighting down here, Tony and Thor are in the air, and we need to figure out a way to close that portal. But Eva's right, we have to get these civilians out of here. I've already seen too many deaths today." Steve told the team, his voice carrying off at the end.

"Right on, Cap." Clint said, wrapping an arm around Evelyn's waist and leading them down the street.

"Eva!" Steve's shouts caused Evelyn to whip around to her best friend. "If you see Loki, just walk away. Please, just walk away."

Evelyn smiled through the pain radiating in her side and sent him a wink with her one good eye. "You're one to talk." She joked before the pair separated for their own missions – the worry for each other never far from their minds.