The Helicarrier limped through the sky, one engine completely destroyed, another barely functional. Emergency crews worked frantically to keep us airborne while medical teams rushed to save lives.
I sat in the hallway outside the medical bay, hands still shaking from the adrenaline. I'd just performed emergency field medicine on a dying man using equipment that shouldn't exist in this world.
The Enhanced First Aid Kit had lived up to its name—advanced coagulation agents, nano-bandages that sealed wounds, stimulants that kept the body fighting. Combined with my training and the rapid response from SHIELD's medical team, we'd given Coulson a fighting chance.
But it had been close. Too close.
Natasha found me there, sliding down the wall to sit beside me. She didn't say anything at first, just took my hand and held it tight.
"Medical says he's stabilized," she said finally. "Critical but stable. They're giving him sixty-forty odds."
"That's better than the alternative."
"You saved him. You know that, right? If you hadn't been there with that kit..." She looked at me, something complicated in her expression. "Where did you get equipment like that? That wasn't standard SHIELD issue."
"Specialized procurement. Level 4 consultants have access to advanced gear." Not entirely a lie—the system shop counted as procurement, technically.
She studied me for a long moment, clearly not fully buying it but choosing not to push. "Well, whatever it was, it worked. Phil's alive because of you."
"He's alive because he's tough. I just bought him time."
"Don't diminish what you did." She squeezed my hand. "You're a hero, Alex. Even if you don't wear a cape or swing a hammer."
"I'm just a consultant."
"You're my consultant." She kissed my temple gently. "And I'm very glad you were here."
We sat in silence for a moment before she spoke again. "The team's falling apart. Tony and Steve are at each other's throats. Thor's consumed with guilt over Loki. Banner's gone—ejected from the Helicarrier mid-transformation. They're not working together."
"They will. They just need a reason."
"Coulson almost dying isn't reason enough?"
"It's motivation, but not unity. They need to understand why they're fighting together, not just what they're fighting against." I stood, pulling her up with me. "Where are they now?"
"Common area. Fury's about to address them."
The common area was tense. Steve sat with his head in his hands, uniform torn and bloodied from the engine room fight. Tony stood apart, arc reactor visible through his damaged shirt, looking uncharacteristically subdued. Thor leaned against a wall, Mjolnir at his side, radiating guilt and fury in equal measure.
Fury entered, and everyone's attention snapped to him.
"Phil Coulson is in critical condition," Fury said without preamble. "He confronted Loki and paid the price. Right now, our best doctors are fighting to save his life."
"He's alive?" Steve asked, hope in his voice.
"For now. Thanks to Carter's quick action and our medical team." Fury looked at me briefly, then back to the group. "But he came damn close to dying today. And if we don't pull ourselves together, more people will die. Maybe everyone."
He threw something on the table—a stack of bloodied vintage Captain America trading cards. Coulson's collection.
"These were in his jacket. He never got to see his hero sign them." Fury's voice was hard. "Phil Coulson believed in the Avengers Initiative. Believed you people could work together to protect the world. He almost died for that belief. Don't make his sacrifice meaningless."
Tony picked up one of the cards, the blood staining his fingers. "Loki needs a power source for the Tesseract. Something stable, high-energy."
"He'd need something off the grid," Steve added, his tactical mind engaging. "Somewhere the portal won't be noticed immediately."
"Stark Tower," Tony said, realization dawning. "My arc reactor technology. He's going to use it to power the portal. And he's going to do it from the most visible place in New York—the top of my building."
"Showy," Thor observed. "That sounds like my brother. He wants to be seen. Wants humanity to witness their subjugation."
"Then that's where we stop him," Steve said, standing. "We go to New York, we find him, and we end this."
"As a team," I added from my position by the door. "Not as individuals. That's what Coulson believed in. That's what he almost died for."
They all looked at me—these legends, these heroes—and I saw something shift.
"Carter's right," Steve said. "We've been fighting each other when we should be fighting together. Tony, I don't agree with everything you do, but I respect your capabilities. Thor, I trust you even though your brother's the threat. We can do this if we work together."
"Capsicle's giving a pep talk," Tony said, but there was no malice in it. "But he's not wrong. We've got the team. We've got the target. Let's go be Avengers."
═══════════════════════════════════════
CRITICAL MOMENT
Team Unity Achieved
Avengers Status: Forming properly
Steve Rogers: Tactical leader
Tony Stark: Tech and air support
Thor: Heavy assault
Natasha Romanoff: Infiltration and Barton recovery
Bruce Banner: Located, being retrieved
Your Contribution: Helped provide motivation and unity without Coulson's death
Note: Timeline altered but team still forming. This is the moment. They're becoming the Avengers.
═══════════════════════════════════════
The next hour was rapid preparation. Battle plans, equipment checks, coordination with military response. I worked with Fury and the command team, establishing civilian evacuation protocols and emergency response procedures.
"You're not going into combat," Fury told me firmly. "Your role is crisis management on the ground. Civilian evacuation, coordination with emergency services, keeping the chaos contained."
"Understood. What about Natasha?"
"She's going in with the team. We need her to free Barton from Loki's control if possible, and she's the best we have for infiltration." He looked at me seriously. "I know you want to protect her. But she's one of our best agents. Trust her to do her job."
"I do. Doesn't mean I have to like her being in danger."
"Welcome to caring about someone in a dangerous profession." His tone was almost sympathetic. "She'll be fine. And you'll be helping in your own way."
The Avengers assembled in the hangar. Steve in his Captain America uniform, shield strapped to his back. Tony in the Iron Man armor, repulsor ports glowing. Thor in full Asgardian battle gear, Mjolnir crackling with lightning. Natasha in her tactical suit, weapons secured.
And standing slightly apart, looking uncomfortable in borrowed SHIELD gear, Dr. Bruce Banner.
"Nice of you to rejoin us," Tony said.
"Sorry about the whole 'turning into a rage monster and nearly destroying the ship' thing," Banner replied. "I'm working on the control issue."
"Well, now's your chance to practice. We could use the big guy in Manhattan."
"I'll see what I can do."
I approached Natasha as she checked her weapons. "Be careful."
"Always am." She looked at me with those green eyes that could freeze enemies and melt me simultaneously. "You too. Civilian evacuation can be just as dangerous as fighting aliens."
"Aliens?"
"Fury's intel suggests Loki has an army. Probably Chitauri, based on Norse mythology references. Extraterrestrial warriors with advanced technology."
"Of course he does. Because giant portals and mind control weren't enough."
She smiled despite the gravity of the situation. "This is what we signed up for. Impossible situations, impossible odds."
"Together though. That's what makes it possible."
"Together." She kissed me, brief but intense. "I'll see you after we win."
"After you win," I agreed.
Steve approached as Natasha headed to the transport. "Alex. Thank you for everything. For helping me adjust, for believing in this team. For saving Coulson."
"That's what friends do."
"Friends." He smiled, and I realized how much he'd changed from the lost man I'd helped wake up. "Yeah. Friends. Stay safe down there."
"You too. And Steve? Give Loki hell."
"Plan to."
Thor clasped my shoulder as he passed. "When this is over, we will celebrate properly! With feast and drink and tales of battle!"
"Looking forward to it."
Even Tony stopped. "Hey, consultant. Thanks for not letting Coulson die. Guy was growing on me."
"He's not out of the woods yet."
"But he's got a chance. That's more than he had." Tony's faceplate closed. "Try not to die down there. Nat would kill me if I let something happen to you."
"I'll do my best."
The battle for New York began with a beam of blue light shooting into the sky from Stark Tower.
I watched from a SHIELD command vehicle positioned ten blocks away, coordinating with NYPD, FDNY, and emergency services. The portal opened, swirling with energy, and the Chitauri poured through.
Alien soldiers on flying chariots, firing energy weapons. Massive flying creatures that looked like mechanical whales. It was an invasion force, and Manhattan was ground zero.
"All units, begin evacuation protocol!" I commanded over the emergency frequency. "Get civilians into buildings, away from windows. Subway stations are temporary shelters. Move, move, move!"
I could see the Avengers engaging on screens and through direct observation. Iron Man flying through the air, taking down Chitauri. Captain America on the ground, directing civilians and fighting with shield and tactics. Thor summoning lightning, his power obvious even from this distance.
And then, to everyone's shock, the Hulk appeared. Banner had transformed, and instead of rampaging, he was fighting alongside the team. Smashing Chitauri, roaring defiance, a green force of nature directed against the invaders.
"They're holding," an operator reported. "The Avengers are actually holding the line."
"For now," I said. "But that portal's still open. We need it closed or we're fighting forever."
Natasha's voice came through on my secure comm. "Alex, I'm at Stark Tower. Selvig's here, he's breaking through the mind control. He says there might be a way to close the portal."
"What do you need?"
"Loki's scepter. It can interact with the Tesseract's energy. But I need to get past about fifty Chitauri and Loki himself first."
"The team will handle it. Focus on the mission."
"Always do. Love you."
"Love you too. Stay alive."
The battle intensified. I coordinated evacuation efforts, directed emergency responders, and watched as the Avengers fought with increasing coordination. They were learning each other's styles, supporting one another, functioning as a team.
Captain America giving orders that Iron Man actually followed. Thor and Hulk working together to take down a Leviathan. Natasha and Hawkeye—freed from mind control—covering each other as they fought toward the tower.
It was working. Against impossible odds, they were actually winning.
Then came the missile.
"We've got a problem," Fury's voice came through. "World Security Council authorized a nuclear strike on Manhattan. Missile launched, ETA two minutes."
"They're nuking the city?!" I couldn't believe it. "There are millions of people here!"
"I tried to stop it. I failed. Stark's been informed."
On screen, I watched Iron Man break away from the battle, flying straight up to intercept the missile. He caught it mid-flight and changed its trajectory, heading not toward the city but toward the portal.
"He's going through," someone whispered. "He's taking it into space."
Tony Stark, carrying a nuclear weapon through an alien portal into the void of space. Either the bravest thing I'd ever seen or the stupidest.
Possibly both.
The portal on the other side must have been chaos—the Chitauri command ship, the vast army ready to invade. And Tony, with a nuclear missile, doing what had to be done.
The explosion was visible even through the portal—a massive blast of light and energy.
Then, silence.
The Chitauri on Earth collapsed, their connection to the command ship severed. Just fell from the sky, dead or disabled instantly.
"We won," someone said in disbelief. "We actually won."
"Close the portal!" I heard Natasha order over comms. "Before anything else comes through!"
"Tony first," Steve's voice. "Where is he?"
The portal began to close. And at the last second, I saw a figure falling through—red and gold armor, tumbling through the sky.
Iron Man.
"He's not slowing down!" Hawkeye shouted. "He's unconscious or dead!"
The Hulk leaped, impossibly high, catching Tony mid-fall and sliding down a building to bring him safely to the ground.
I couldn't hear what happened next over comms—just frantic voices, then relief.
"He's breathing!" Steve confirmed. "Tony's alive!"
The city erupted in cheers. Emergency services were already mobilizing, but the immediate threat was over. The portal was closed, the aliens were dead, and the Avengers had saved the world.
"All teams, begin damage assessment and civilian assistance," I ordered, forcing myself back into professional mode despite the relief flooding through me. "Medical priorities first, then infrastructure. Let's help these people."
Hours later, when the immediate crisis was past and the city was beginning its long recovery, I finally found Natasha.
She was at a temporary SHIELD command post, debriefing with the team. Dirty, exhausted, but alive and whole.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey." She turned, and despite her exhaustion, she smiled. "We won."
"You won. I just helped with the cleanup."
"Cleanup was crucial. You saved lives, Alex. Just in a different way than we did." She pulled me into a tight embrace, not caring about the grime and sweat. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Same. When I saw that portal close and Tony wasn't through yet, I thought—"
"I know. But we all made it. Somehow, impossibly, we all made it."
The rest of the team was there too. Steve, looking tired but satisfied. Thor, his armor scorched but his spirit unbroken. Barton, free from mind control and recovering. Banner, back in human form and wearing borrowed pants. And Tony, alive despite carrying a nuke into space.
"We should eat," Tony said eventually. "There's a shawarma place two blocks from here. I want to try it."
And somehow, that's what we did. The Avengers, plus me, sitting in a destroyed restaurant eating Middle Eastern food in silence because we were all too exhausted to talk.
It was perfect.
═══════════════════════════════════════
MAJOR EVENT COMPLETE
Battle of New York - Victory
Your Contribution:
Saved Phil Coulson (timeline altered)
Coordinated civilian evacuation (minimal casualties)
Emergency response management
Supported Avengers team unity
Results:
Manhattan saved
Chitauri defeated
Tesseract secured
Loki captured
Avengers formed successfully
Casualties:
Civilian: ~74 (far less than original timeline)
SHIELD Personnel: 12
Military: 6
Phil Coulson: Survived (critical change)
Rewards:
+5,000 SP
+8,000 EXP
LEVEL UP! 13 → 14 → 15
New Title: "Avenger Adjacent"
All Avengers Relationships +10
SHIELD Reputation: Maximum
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: "Survived the Battle of New York"
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: "Changed Fate" (Saved Coulson)
═══════════════════════════════════════
Three days later, Coulson woke up.
I was there, having basically camped outside his medical room at the SHIELD facility. Fury had kept me informed of his progress—slow but steady recovery, against all odds.
"Alex?" Coulson's voice was weak but clear. "Did we win?"
"We won. The Avengers worked together. They saved the world. Just like you believed they would."
"Good." He smiled slightly. "I was hoping I'd get to see that."
"You will. You're going to make a full recovery. Doctors say you're too stubborn to die."
"That's accurate." He closed his eyes, still exhausted. "Thank you. For not letting me die. Fury told me what you did."
"Had to. Someone needs to keep those Avengers in line. Figured you were the best candidate."
"Damn right I am." He gripped my hand weakly. "Make sure Fury knows... I'm coming back. Soon as I can."
"I'll tell him. Rest now."
As I left his room, I felt a profound sense of accomplishment. I'd helped save the world, saved a friend, and helped forge the Avengers.
Not bad for a consultant.