CHAPTER ELEVEN.
COLD DEATH.

LOKI WAS SHOT FROM the sky and Alexios found so much amusement from it. Both Clint and Alexios watched Loki land on the tower and kept an eye on Natasha until she landed where she wanted. The Hulk roared as he also jumped to Stark tower, landing on top of Loki and throwing him through the glass.

"I feel like watching Loki get beat up the Hulk would a great Netflix show." Alexios shrugged. "Can I get Stark to fund it?"

"I don't work with streaming sites, sweetheart." Tony stated.

Alexios didn't get the chance to reply before her and Clint were fighting Centauri that had managed to gang up on them. Clint knocked the two down before noticing the large group coming towards them.

"Alright, we gotta hit the road." Clint told Alexios. He grabbed her by the wrist and stood in front of her near the ledge. He wrapped her arms around his waist before loading his bow again. "Trust me. When I say go, you go."

"Okay," Alexios muttered uneasily, tightening her grip around his body.

Clint jumped backwards, enticing a yelp from the blonde holding onto him. She shut her eyes in fear as he shot the bow, a grappling hook connecting securely into the concrete of the building. They swung towards the building and Clint shouted once they were feet away from the glass.

"Go!"

With the momentum from the swing, Alexios jumped from Clint and through the window. She rolled away as he did the same, landing on the shards of glass. She grunted in pain as she pushed herself and rushed to Clint, helping him to his feet.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." He muttered, brushing the shards of glass from his biceps.

"I can close it!" Natasha spoke through the comms. "Does anyone copy? I can close the portal!"

"Do it!" Steve replied.

"No, don't!" Tony countered.

"Stark, these things are still coming." Steve warned.

"I've got a nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute." Tony paused shortly, focusing on chasing the nuclear missile. "And I know just where to put it."

Alexios groaned, sharing a glance with Clint. He huffed, once again gently grabbing Alexios' wrist and taking off, dragging her with him. He dragged her towards the stairwell and they clambered down together.

Alexios nearly tripped over many different stairs, but Clint caught her each time. He threw a smirk her way.

"Gettin' a little clumsy there, Rhodes."

Alex scoffed, "You're about to be getting clumsy here in a minute, Barton." She snapped.

He only laughed and ran a little faster. Alexios was on his tail the entire time. By the time they reached the bottom of the stairwell on the main floor, she was out of breath. Clint turned around and sent another smile, but she scowled, shutting the archer up real quick.

They stepped outside just in time to see Tony flying deathly close to his tower and into the portal with the nuke on his back. Alexios gasped as her and Clint broke out into a sprint, seeing their teammates just blocks away.

Alexios fought to catch her breath as she stood with Thor, Steve and Clint. They looked to sky, waiting for Tony to come back. No one said a word while they waited patiently for their teammate to come back from the portal.

Centauri soldiers fell down around them, and leviathans fell from the sky into buildings. The explosion could be seen from portal and the sound was muffled slightly. The Avengers couldn't tear their eyes away from the destruction in the sky.

"Close it." Steve demanded softly, his words filled with regret for their teammate.

Alexios continued watching the portal as the men put down their heads. The portal shrunk and she gasped as it closed completely.

"Oh my god." Alexios muttered, causing the other three to look up. She shook her head. "Dang it, Stark."

"Son of a gun." Steve smiled.

Thor looked panicked as he commented. "He's not slowing down."

He spun the Mjolnir, ready to fly up and catch the billionaire. However, the Hulk jumped from a building and caught Tony before Thor even had to leave the ground. The Hulk crashed into the building and slid down with Tony tucked safely into his arm.

They ran to meet the Hulk down the street. Thor flipped over Tony and ripped off the mask. Steve placed his ear next to Tony's face, checking to see if the man was still breathing.

Tony was lifeless.

Alexios stood back, her shoulders slumping at the loss of the teammate, even if she did dislike him. She even refused to let the emotion show on her expressions.

Hulk was fed up, leaning forward as he roared loudly. Tony shot forward and gasped.

"What the hell?" He muttered. "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me."

Steve smiled, as did Thor. Alexios crossed her arms, shaking her head.

"Don't worry, Anthony. No one kissed you." Alexios reassured him.

"Thank god," he breathed.

Steve sat back on the asphalt, panting heavily. Alexios stood behind him, placing her hand on his shoulder as he caught his breath and smiled.

"We won."

Tony sighed, leaning his head back. "Alright. Yay! Hurray. Good job, guys. Let's not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day," he struggled, "Ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it."

"Dude, I'm down." Alexios shrugged, "I could definitely use some food right now."

"We're not finished yet." Thor stated, and Alexios whined.

The group glared at Thor, the disappointment written into their faces.

"And then shawarma after." Tony nodded, letting his head down and clinking the helmet against the asphalt road.

•  •  •  •

THE AVENGERS SURROUNDED LOKI as he came back to consciousness. He tried to crawl away, but stopped and turned around. Loki sighed in defeat with the Avengers above him and slumped to the ground. None of them were happy at the moment.

"If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now." Loki attempted, but knew he failed when nobody even blinked.

Clint didn't faze as he swung his bow, knocking out Loki again. The god was slumped against the stairs again and Alexios couldn't help the smirk.

"Hey, even though we all make a great team, I hope we all meet again under different circumstances." Alexios started, looking at the Avengers. "Let's say, maybe when the world isn't in danger?"

"That sounds nice." Clint muttered.

"We should meet up for dinner one night." Natasha suggested, "Maybe coffee?"

Alexios smiled minutely. "Whenever you're in D.C., hit me up."

"Will do," Natasha nodded.

She crossed her arms as they fell silent again. Thor stepped forward to handcuff and muzzle his brother. Alexios even had the heart to crack a joke.

"He looks like bear," she commented, "But I'm cool with it. Hope he rots in a cage."

"Me too," Clint agreed, looking back to the blonde. Tony looked over at Alexios as well and nodded.

"He destroyed my tower!" Tony muttered, "It was my baby."