Author's Note: I am not happy with this chapter but we finally ended the movie. Avenger is overrr and now to continue the timeline. I don't know what her role will be in Iron Man 3, and I'm unsure if I want her to be any part of it. Let me know will you?

~The American Dream~

Chapter 16: Bruised But Alive

Natasha's body was humming with energy. It seemed that there would be no rest in between, no light at the end of the tunnel as more and more came her way. Taking another rifle from the monster soldier she swung it with ease and cut its throat. Death meant nothing to them, not as more and more crawled out of the portal like ants from a hill.

"You doing okay Natasha?"

Tess called out from their intercom as she flew overhead shooting down some of the flying cycles coming Natasha's way. It was not like the Captain had planned but having some breathing room did help Natasha in a way that she was not going to complain.

"I'm always fine..just...none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal." she grumbled pointing at the mouth of the thing.

"Yeah, there's only so much you can do from the ground, I agree with you"

Natasha weighed her options and she knew that there was no point in staying low to the ground.

"Well, maybe it's not about guns."

And as Tess turned to look at her, she signaled towards the cycles.

"Need a lift?"

The redhead knew the girl was smiling and smirked herself.

"Of course, and some backup if you're up to it"

"And break the rules?"

Oh Natasha was really starting to like her more.

"Just a bit..it'll be fun"

And with that Tess dove down and picked up the redhead as they boosted up towards the sky. It was clear that Natasha would not be fond of being carried and as soon as they found a clear prey, the redhead whistled. And with a boost, she was thrown overhead towards the cycle where she cut the umbilical chord looking thing and took one down before digging her knives and killing the membrane. She only struggled for a moment to take note of how to navigate it but soon enough Tess was flying beside her.

"Ew…Natasha can you not?" She made hand gestures signaling to remove the dead body.

"Not sure, not gonna risk it"

The boom caught the pair's attention and Tess' eyes widened at the scene. Seemed like the Dr Banner...no the Hulk, the Hulk and Thor were quickly making work of the leviathans and one flew straight into...

"Oh man, so much for the history museum"

"We'll be history if we don't get up there"

"Ugh, Natasha you sound like Steve" Tess mumbled as they flew higher.

"Then you must be fond of it."

"Why am I even friends with you?!"

"Because" Natasha began before jumping to another cycle and easily dismantling it like she did the other one. "You like me"

"Ugh!"

That was all that Tess could respond with.

…

Maria Hill could not believe the stupidity coming from the world security council. Not only were they not pleased at the fact these 'vigilantes' were taking on these creatures, but they wanted to end it in a stupidly simple fashion. Still she remained quiet as her superior argued for the sake of their situation.

"Director Fury, the council has made a decision."

"I recognize the council has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid ass decision, I've elected to ignore it."

"Director, you're closer than any of our subs, you scramble that jet…"

"That is the island of Manhattan, Councilman. Until I'm certain my team can't hold it, I will not order a nuclear strike against a civilian population."

"If we don't hold them in the air, we lose everything."

"I'll send that bird out, we already have."

And with that Nick shut off communication. Both were silent as they took everything in; they would not destroy Manhattan, they would not kill innocent civilians. They couldn't...it was against their code right?

By the way that he looked at her it was clear that she had asked the question aloud. She felt herself tremble in anger.

"We will not destroy the city, they will handle it, you understand me?"

"I do sir" was her only response.

…

It all seemed simple enough, stick close to Natasha, get to the black hole that forced those creatures out of there. Except, it was getting harder and harder. One second she thought she was getting ahead of the curve, and out of nowhere, she was bombarded by those creatures. It was frightening, the way they kept coming at her, one by one, her suit could only handle so much.

Yet she kept pushing the boosters, having it continue to push away as many as she could. But it happened all at once, she was shot on the leg, then pulled down in a maneuver that Tony could have easily avoided if he was in her place. But she was not a fighter like them, and even with the serum coursing through her veins, it did not mean that she was prepared for this. It seemed they all worked together to pull her down.

With a cry, she fell from twenty stories, and for a moment all went dark on her screens, and slowly, she let her eyes close.

….

Smash.

Kick.

Smash.

Break.

Smash

Punch.

Smash.

Hulk was on a rampage making sure that all these pests were taken down. He was in much higher spirits than his comrades after he had taken down the 'god'. Psh, he was so puny it was embarrassing to declare himself as superior. Yet with the perk, he grew angrier as the monsters did not lessen but rather continue to come, shooting at him.

With a swing, they were out. This was now becoming a routine, that is until something caught his attention. A pile up of these creatures as they were trying to pull something apart. He tilted his head and the puny human inside him told him to check.

Push.

Punch.

Smack.

Smash.

It was once he broke the pile he realized who it was. The blue robot. Tess. The doctor inside of him corrected Hulk. Picking up the seemingly fragile toy, he began to shake it with fever.

"Wake" Hulk grumbled.

He kept shaking her and despite the metallics she rocked like a rag-doll.

"Wake!"

As he shook her harder, he felt the heat to his chest and he was blown away from her. It seemed that as he woke her, she automatically tried to defend herself. A little too late that was. He was about to punch her when she took off her helmet.

"Sorry Dr. Banner, I-I mean Hulk. Don't smash me!" she curled up allowing him to finally realized it was an accident.

He huffed, clearly still annoyed.

"I'm really sorry" she murmured. Her head was still spinning and she tilted a bit as she tried to walk.

"You alright over there?"

"I think the Hulk shook my brain a little too hard" Tess answered Natasha in a grumble.

"I know the feeling" Thor surprisingly replied. "Watch out for his left hook"

Tess flinched and Hulk looked pleased as he heard what they were talking about.

"Enough dilly dallying, I got Doctor Selvig helping me out with the reactor. He built a safety thing to shut the power!"

….

The energy in his suit was beginning to break down. No matter how much JARVIS warned him of the power supply he refused to accept it. His body hurt, and his head kept pounding. But as he kept shooting at the leviathan,

Sir, we will lose power before you cut through that shell.

This was another frustrating part. It seemed that the lasers and boosters were doing nothing at the leviathan as he continued to follow just one through the city. That is until he got an idea. A terrible, awful idea.

"JARVIS. You ever hear the tale of Jonah?"

I wouldn't consider him a role model.

That was the last thing Tony heard before he rushed into the mouth of the creature. He was swallowed much like the tale and immediately began to turn on all the missiles in his arsenal to get out of it. The exit was the only part that he hadn't planned out but with one push of his booster it seemed he created his own exit.

He rolled down the street, as he bounced on the concrete letting the wind be knocked out of him. . The wind is knocked out of him. Looking up there were two more of those things flying and he wasn't sure his suit could do that one more time.

"Bunny, I hate to ask you this but get into the serpent-things mouth, and blast through, it'll work trust me"

All he heard was a noise of disgust before he saw a blue figure flying off into the sky and towards the leviathan. Within a few minutes, one was beginning to explode from what seemed the inside.

"Bunny?" he asked.

Silence.

"Holmes do you copy?" Tony was a bit worried.

"Tess?"

"This is so gross Tony"

He sighed in relief, but even that was short lived.

"Stark, you hearing me? We have a missile headed straight for the city."

The angry tone in Fury was surprising, and once he actually took the message in, Tony found himself sweating bullets.

"How long?"

"Three minutes, at best. Stay low and wipe out the missile."

This was stupid, incredibly stupid. Stupider than what he had done but a few minutes ago. But he had to save the city, save Pepper, the kid, the civilians.

"Jarvis, put everything we got into the thrusters!"

I just did.

And with that, Tony immediately flew towards the missile, once Fury sent him the location of the military ship.

"I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!" Natasha's tone was surprisingly filled with excitement.

But Tony had another idea as he soared towards his destination. It would be a risk, but as more leviathans were sent out there were no other options that made sense to him. He felt his heart rate pick up, it was at such an alarming rate that JARVIS was beeping.

"No, wait! Not yet Romanov"

"Stark, these things are still coming!" Rogers was annoyed.

"You don't get it! I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put it."

Tony took a deep breath, his own emotions getting the best of him as he rushed through the Brooklyn Bridge and over the sea until he saw the missile coming. JARVIS signaled that they were at top speed and he nodded.

"Tony?" her voice was so small. "Don't do it, please don't"

His throat felt tight at the worried tone in her voice. But he would not slow down, it was their only way of surviving and getting rid of these things. He grabbed the missile, wincing at the heat radiating off of it. But as he gripped it tightly, he fought to wretch it off it's course and instead towards the portal.

" Stark, you know that's a one-way trip?"

He ignored Steve instead paying attention to Jarvis.

"Save the rest for return, J." he muttered unsure himself if there would be a return.

Sir. Shall I call Miss Potts?

"You might as well."

…

The suit was running out of juice, she could tell by FRIDAY's beeps and signals so Tess flew down towards Park Avenue. When she saw Thor and Steve fighting off those things on land, conservation of energy be damned. She forced FRIDAY to release more missiles to get them out of her own mission. Landing immediately, she pulled off her helmet and turned to get them to help.

"We have to help Tony, he cannot go up there! Thor is there something we can do? You and me fly up there and help?"

Her desperation must have been palpable as both men winced at the pitch. Thor shook his head.

"Unfortunately I do find his plan to be logical."

"Fuck logical" she hissed. "He's going to get killed! I refuse to let him die. Steve please help him understand"

Her eyes were filling up with tears begging for someone to help but Steve shook his head. He grabbed her arm, ignoring the feel of metal.

"Look, you might not like it but at war, we all must make some sacrifices."

"I hate you" was the last thing she muttered before putting on the helmet.

If they weren't going to help she was going to. The serum coursed through her and with no other feelings but rage she began to fly up towards Tony.

"Tess no! He knows what he's doing!" Steve yelled, clearly angry at the insubordination. "Hulk! Grab her"

Hearing his order, she was confused for a second, only for her to be tackled from ten stories down to the ground of Park. She groaned in pain as the weight was on her. The Hulk refused to take a lot of direction but it was clear this time around he knew better. She felt the boosters putter.

"Tony please...come back" she whispered softly.

Mass force has shut down boosters on the left leg, unable to fly. Energy at 20 percent

But with that diagnosis from FRIDAY, she threw her helmet off as hot tears fell down her face. She had failed him.

….

The calls failed once more. Pepper was not responding.

"Tony please...come back"

That was the last thing he heard before he had gone through the portal as their communicator shut down. It didn't matter though, he had done it. He had saved everyone. But as he flew further into space, everything felt colder. JARVIS was panicking.

Sir, oxygen levels are failing. Power is at 10 percent.

But it didn't matter. Because as the missile hit the ships, and everything exploded, he felt a sense of calmness within him. Yet in all that destruction, he had to admit it was beautiful. The stars were bright, and the warmth that fell against him from the explosion felt...calming.

…

"Natasha, close it"

Tess didn't dare look up at Steve as he gave the order. She ignored the way that the light beamed through the sky seconds after his command signaling that the portal was closing. All that mattered to her was that she had failed him. She had failed Tony, Pepper and everyone as she let him just die.

"Son of a gun!"

Steve's awe was the only reason she looked up. And in the blur of smoke she saw something falling down. It was Tony, but he was not flying, he wasn't slowing down.

"He's falling!" she cried out.

Before she could even attempt to do anything though, the Hulk caught him and they both fell as graceful as any two people could. And the moment that Tony was on the ground, she began to run towards him.

Pushing the Hulk away, she flipped Tony over and inspected him. He didn't seem like he was conscious.

"Take off his-"

"I got it" she hissed at the men before she took off his helmet.

She immediately pressed her hand on the center of his energy core knowing that the dimness of it was not a good sign.

"Tony" she whispered softly as she pressed her covered hands against him.

"Is he-" Steve began.

"I-i don't know"

She looked up at the two blondes, distraught at not knowing how to fix this or him. He was here, he looked...unconscious but dead? She wasn't sure. Apparently that was not what the Hulk wanted to hear as he slammed his hands on the ground and roared.

They all flinched in fear, including.

"What the hell?!"

Those were his first words and to her they were the most beautiful words she had ever heard. Her smile only grew wider as she heard the rest of his thoughts.

….

A roar was the thing that had spooked him awake. He was disoriented and his vision blurred for only a moment before he took in the sight of his teary-eyed mentee. She was smiling at him so softly, and even softer as he cried out. She was covered in guts and her face was sweaty but you couldn't tell him she wasn't happy as she looked down at him.

"Bunny, thank god it's you! Please tell me nobody kissed me?"

She laughed softly and he smiled as she launched herself on him, both groaning as they realized they had suits on. It was silly, it was immature, but it was all them.

"We won." Steve murmured, as he finally let his exhaustion out.

Tony smiled hearing the phrase. Hell yeah they won and he was alive. What a relief.

"Alright. Hey. Alright. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it."

That even got a grin from Steve.

"We can't do that Tony" she said softly, her head tilted in amusement. "You have to be at my grandparent's house for dinner"

"Ah, yes, Dinner with my favorite family. What do you say guys? You in?"

And that got her as she laughed alongside him.

"I don't think we're finished yet." Thor said

Tony sighed.

"Alright, Bunny get me up, then food after"

….

This was nice. The way that he looked so pathetic as he crawled across Tony's former penthouse in hopes of escaping. The sadistic part of her took more glee out of it than anything. He looked so cowardly as he took the gang in. She smiled from the bar as she opened the bottle of rum, taking a swig and ignoring the burn.

"If it's all the same to you. I'll have that drink now." Were Loki's last words.

Tess grinned. It was over.

….

A Week Later….

The wind in her hair was nice and she couldn't help but like the way the leather in Tony's sports car hummed. It was eerie how things had gone slowly back to normal. The city was rebuilding, and Tony spared no expense as he threw donations into organizations that helped bring the city back to life. But today was not necessarily a day of celebration. They had a mission to complete.

"We're here" Tony said.

Sliding out of the car, she noticed that everyone looked so different once they were in casual attire. Dr. Banner had the cutest yellow plaid shirt that made him look softer than ever. She smiled remembering how the moment he had returned to his normal self he had apologized for tackling her down. She had waved him off knowing that it was perhaps for her own good for him to have done that. Her emotions had simply gotten the best of her. Natasha and Clint wore leather jackets and jeans. She rolled her eyes at how when they tried to blend in, they popped out like sore thumbs. Meanwhile Steve looked handsome as always, all the more so when she realized that he was wearing the outfit she had picked out for him. And Tony.

"What?" he asked, lifting his brow as he realized she was looking at him.

"You look immaculate in that suit Tony" she flirted a grin plastered on her face.

"I knew you wanted me all along" he winked.

She bit back a laugh as they realized who had arrived. She looked warily as she saw Thor pulling Loki along in his chains. His mouth was covered and the cuffs from his wrists were connected to his ankles. It was clearly not only to protect them from his magic, but also from his mouth. His blue eyes trailed to each and every one of them, glaring moreso as Natasha and Clint were clearly taunting him. But as Loki's eyes rested on hers, they remained there and she was determined not to flinch.

He was no longer so untouchable as he once had been. Now he looked cowardly as he was being pulled like a pet by his older brother. A smirk slowly formed on her face, one that clearly caught his interest, all the more as she winked. Their own match had ended and she finally felt a bit at ease.

But as Thor said his goodbyes they all were glad to have met one another as the camaraderie was palpable from everyone. It was nice for Tess to realize that Coulson's death was not in vain, but rather fulfilled as they all waved goodbye to Thor.

As they all walked away, Tess leaned against one of the balconies of Central Park and sighed. It was over and they were all sadly returning from where they came from.

"Are you all going to fit in that sports car?"

She turned to see Steve surprisingly talking to her in a much more delicate tone than before. They weren't the same anymore, the change was palpable to her but she was okay with it. She chuckled as she saw Tony inviting Dr. Banner to his car to take him to his temporary home.

"Oh I'm not going. They're going to be chit chatting about a field of science I have no interest in. Tony knows this was a one way trip for me."

He raised his brow.

"Then how are you getting home? Is Natasha-"

She laughed. "No she definitely won't be taking me home. I think...I think I want to walk through the city, see how everything is going and just take a cab or the subway."

"I thought that route to your apartment was broken," he reminded her.

She shrugged. "The whole building is broken remember?"

She waved by to Natasha and Clint as they sped off and nodded as Tony signaled her that he was leaving with Bruce. If he wasn't happy leaving the two of them alone though, he was not showing it. But she didn't care or mind.

"Do-do you want me to take your temporary home before I head out?" he asked sincerely.

Ah, that was right he was leaving. Based on their last conversation, it was clear that they had things that they needed to talk about but had not yet had the courage to do so. And while he was opening up the opportunity something stopped her from taking his hand as he signaled his bike. Maybe it was because she was scared of rejection again, or maybe because she was not sure she loved him, but she shook her head.

"I'm okay. I can take care of myself." and with some courage she pulled him into a hug and sighed once she felt him holding her back almost immediately. This was not good. "I'll see you around Steve..don't be a stranger okay?"

And it was her that pulled away this time, and he who had a red tint on his cheeks. Maybe things had shifted a lot more than either of them expected. But while she no longer felt her face redden, her stomach still had butterflies. Damn it.

"You have my number" she called out as she walked down the stairs towards the center of Central Park, and simply walked at her own pace, ignoring the lingering eyes on her.

She would not wait for him or do anything anymore because now, maybe it was his turn to do something for her. Show her that maybe this time around she really meant something. Or maybe simply show her that her sacrifices was not all in vain.

...

Four Weeks After…

It was amazing how New Yorkers bounced back after having the city nearly demolished. The clean up crew had immediately showed up in the morning and everyone took part to fix it up. Her grandparents had been horrified once they learned the truth and so they had decided that since everyone had left the nest, they would be returning to Los Angeles. A much safer and calmer place to properly retire and while Tess agreed, it was news that she had been sad to hear.

Still, flipping through channels, she couldn't help but grin. Parades, paraphernalia from Captain America Shields, Hulk punching gloves, Stark authorized beards. All of it looked amazing and she could not help but feel a bit patriotic the way that they all celebrated her friends.

Yes her friends. Because while it had been a month, it was only a week after Natasha's departure that she found a shiny new phone waiting on the table of her new apartment in Manhattan. Yes Manhattan. Because now that she was part of the executive board at Stark Towers, she needed to take her job more seriously. At least that's what Tony told her. She didn't buy it until Pepper had requested the same.

But the phone was a symbol of something, maybe a real friendship because the moment she turned it on, a text was already waiting from her. A greeting and a promise that they would really be keeping in touch.

Tess smiled at the memory as she flipped through channels.

"You're still looking at that, I would think you would pay attention to me since I'm here"

That was the first thing Tony said as he kissed her cheek. She laughed softly and hugged him as Pepper walked in after him with Middle Eastern food. It seemed that once Tony had tried the Shawarma's from that little hole in the wall, it was easily replacing Chinese as one his favorite meals.

So while she began to take the plates out and set the table, she smiled realizing that things had indeed gotten better. The Avengers Tower was not slowly being built, and her two favorite people still visited quite often now that she was closer.

One thing was clear to her. She was no longer the innocent girl who waited for Tony Stark to come save her. No, she was a woman who was taking life in her hands and making something out of it. Still….as he cut half of his chicken kabob to hand it over to her as he took half of her meat and half of Pepper's salmon, she couldn't help but maybe depend on him..just a tiny bit.

And while the blond had still not gotten out of her mind, she knew she would be okay. Some things were not meant to be and she would let the crush fade. Because all crushes tended to fade right?