CHAPTER NINE.
BATTLE READY, NOT TESTED.

BULLETS FIRED WITHOUT REMORSE at the Centauri army. None of them felt any remorse actually, especially Clint. They fired relentlessly and watched their battle automobiles explode in the air, killing the aliens in the process.

"Hey, you guys know I can do that with my hands, right?" Alexios asked rhetorically.

Clint slowed the jet slightly as they neared Stark tower, witnessing the two Asgardian brothers fight. It seemed like an over glorified sibling wrestling match. Hit after hit, the brothers continued without any motivation to stop.

"Hey, Nat?" Clint asked, glancing at Natasha.

Natasha nodded in confirmation, "I see him."

Clint turned the jet around, facing the brothers and Natasha aimed the gun towards the god. Just as Loki had pushed Thor down and away from him, Natasha fired the automatic weapon at him. Loki was easily unfazed by the constant rain of bullets towards him and raised his scepter, glowing blue as he fired it towards the jet.

Alexios grunted as the jet was shaken to the side, the bean hitting one of the engines. She watched as Clint tried to gain control, but wasn't able too. In a hurry, Steve protectively grabbed Alex and reached up to get a tight grip on the bars above them.

Clint did his best to avoid the buildings as he neared the ground at an astounding rate. Steve hung from the bars shakily while Alexios was still in his grip, all of them struggling to hold onto something as they hurried towards the streets below.

"Oh my god," Alexios breathed when Steve let go of her once they were safely on the ground.

Clint and Natasha unstrapped themselves from the seat quickly as Steve opened the hatch. Alexios nearly gasped at all the destruction that happened so fast.

New York City looked like hell.

They followed Steve out of the quinjet and into the streets while glancing around the city and the army that Loki had let loose.

"We've got to get back up there," Rogers stated, running into the middle of an intersection.

The four of them ran the streets until they came across a government building. Whether it was a bank or something else, Alexios couldn't tell by the soot that decorated the white building and the streets. They stopped near overturned cars and people screamed as they ran past the superheroes. The four superheroes couldn't help but look at the giant hole in the sky that released the Centauri.

"Well, this is fun." Alexios muttered sarcastically. She looked to her teammates, "This is just a walk in the park, guys!"

"What park have you been livin' in, Alexis?" Tony asked through the comms while Alexios groaned.

"For the last f–cking time, Stark, my name isn't Alexis." She snapped, earning a look from the three in front of her and she shrugged in response. "Oh sh–t!"

Alexios jumped the side as a leviathan swooped down low to the streets and crashed through the buildings. She watched in horror and awe at the alien creature. They watched as more of the Centauri jumped from its side, landing on the ground and on the sides of buildings, then sliding down or hopped through windows.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve asked, looking above him at the aliens flying around.

"Seeing. Still working on believing," Tony replied. "Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

Steve casted a look at his teammates, raising an eyebrow under his helmet. "Banner?" He questioned, confusion lacing his tone.

"Just keep me posted," Tony requested.

A Centauri had fired at the four, causing them to run for cover. They ran until they found it, behind a soot-covered and turned-upright taxi. It was definitely something, Alexios thought.

"We've got civilians trapped up there," Clint reported, but looked up when Loki flew by with one of his alien soldiers.

Steve grumbled, "Loki."

Alexios watched in horror as the soldier shot his weapon, exploding cars and threatening the safety of innocent civilians. She released a shaky breath and raised her hand, watching the fire from a car being lifted into the air. Alexios flicked her fingers and the fire climbed through the air, exploding one of the chariots.

More fires down the street sparked as the Centauri continued to fire. They could still hear the screams as people ran for their lives away from the chaos, but only to be met with more.

"They're fish in a barrel down there." Steve pointed out, watching the scene unfold messily.

A shot came towards them, making the heroes jump back slightly. Natasha stood up and fired her double wielding pistols at nearby soldiers. Clint quickly moved to a different cover that was feet away, unsheathing an arrow and shooting towards a Centauri. They landed on cars, crushing the roofs and smashing windows.

Natasha looked at Steve. "We got this. It's good. Go," she told him.

"Do you think you can hold them off?" Steve questioned.

Alexios laughed, "Come on, dude. You're talking to the Earth's Mightiest Heroes."

Clint looked back at the trio and nodded, a slight smirk spreading across his lips. "Captain, it would be my genuine pleasure."

He was quick to turn around and shot an arrow towards a Centauri, aiming perfectly so he didn't miss. Natasha stood up again, firing at the soldiers as Steve went off and did something else. Alexios stood up as well, flipping her palm up and created a soft glow in the middle of her hand. She faced her palm towards the Centauri and thrusted her hand forward, shooting the ball of flame and hitting the alien.

It screeched in pain and writhed around as the fire grew, consuming the alien. It dropped to the ground, unmoving as the other Centauri paused and stared at the fallen in confusion. They looked up slightly confused at Alexios and cocked their ugly heads to the side. The hesitation that they held gave Clint and Natasha just enough time to take out the small group.

"Hey, we work pretty well together." Alexios grinned, looking back and forth between the two assassins.

The trio looked back as they heard screams that too close for comfort. Clint ran towards the bus that locked civilians inside as someone opened one of the windows. He helped them down as they climbed out, letting them run towards safety.

Natasha continued shooting and Clint came back by their sides after he pried the bus doors open. Around them, the civilians ran and aliens fell down.

"Just like Budapest all over again," Natasha yelled to Clint over the commotion, but never let her attention waver.

Clint scoffed, "You and I remember Budapest very differently."

"What the hell happened in Budapest?" Alexios asked, throw more flames into the air and attacking the Centauri with it.

They kept coming and the trio kept fighting. Alexios could feel the stares of the civilians as they passed and saw that she was controlling fire without touching it. Some stared in awe and others stared in horror. That didn't stop Alexios from fighting, she had bigger things to worry about — literally.

Things were becoming hairy quickly as the Centauri kept coming with no end in sight. Steve jumped in front of Clint as a cluster of aliens surrounded them. The trio became the quartet again.

Alexios looked up, seeing the lightening the crackled down and fried the soldiers easily. She desperately wanted to crack a joke, but decided against it again.

Thor landed on the street with a thud and slammed his hammer down on an alien, crushing the thing to its death. Thor stood up and weakly walked towards the quartet, meeting them halfway in the street.

"What's the story upstairs?" Steve asked, hooking his shield on his arm.

"The power surrounding the Cube is impenetrable."

"Thor's right," Tony came through on the comms, causing them to look to the sky for the iron suit. "We got to deal with these guys."

Alexios rolled her eyes, "Great."

"How do we do this?" Natasha asked, turning back to the blond men.

Steve answered, "As a team."

"I have unfinished business with Loki." Thor stated.

Clint replied, fiddling with his arrows. "Yeah? Well, get in line."

"Save it," Steve interrupted. "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him, these things could run wild."

"Those things are Centauries, Captain, get it right." Alexios joked, quickly earning a glare from the other four. She grumbled, catching one of the aliens in the corner of her eye. She flicked her wrist, taking the fire from another car and throwing it at the soldier.