Disclaimer: I do not own the Marvel Cinematic Universe or any of its characters found in this story. What is written here is for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended and this story is not for profit.

Pepper Potts folded her arms across her chest. Despite what she told Tony over the phone, there was no way in hell she was hiding in the Stark bunker and she was definitely not going to sit there, cowering and waiting for the battle to subside while so many people were out on the streets fighting for their lives.

"FRIDAY, I'm going out," Pepper announced.

"But the boss said you should stay in the bunker," replied the AI.

"Just because I don't have a suit of armor, doesn't mean I can't help civilians outside," Pepper said. She walked over to a cabinet in Tony's workshop and took out the first aid kit. It's not going to be able to fix serious wounds but she can do some good with it.

Already she could hear faint sounds of explosions coming from the city.

Pepper turned to leave. "FRIDAY, dispatch the Stark Emergency Medical Team to the site. And get the Maria Stark Foundation for relief ops."

"You can't leave!" cried FRIDAY. "Wait!"

Pepper bristled with annoyance. "FRIDAY, this is an emergency. Damn your protocols—"

"You're right. This is an emergency. And the boss prepared for every contingency."

Pepper frowned in confusion. "What?"

A section of the wall in the workshop suddenly lit up. Pepper watched as the wall split open in half and revealed a red and gold suit of armor not unlike Tony's Iron Man, but more feminine in appearance.

Pepper walked closer, inspecting the armor. On its arm were the words "R.E.S.C.U.E."

"FRIDAY, what is this?"

"The boss made the R.E.S.C.U.E. armor for emergency situations. It is capable of sustained flight, strength, and durability. There are no offensive weapons in the armor. It is meant to do one thing: rescue civilians."

Pepper's jaw slackened as she continued to stare at the suit.

"It's for you," FRIDAY added.

Tony made this for me?

Pepper shook her head in disbelief. So typical of Tony to ask her to sit in the bunker but also prepare a suit of armor for the possibility that Pepper wouldn't wait around to be saved.

A chuckle escaped her. Tony, I love you.

…

High above the skyscrapers are smoke and explosions. From the ground, Dr. Christine Palmer can almost fool herself to believe they were simply fireworks.

But she knew better than that. The rampant chaos and screams and gore and death surrounding her told her those were no celebratory fireworks.

A gurgled scream brought her attention back to the situation at hand. A woman's arm was bleeding profusely and she was crying out in agony, struggling to move, writhing in pain.

Christine pressed hard against the wound with one hand and with the other, rummaged in her trauma bag for a bandage. After successfully wrapping up the wound, she tagged the woman and handed her off to one of the interns evacuating the patients.

She surveyed her surroundings once more. There were many EMTs as well as trauma doctors on the ground. So many had come, they were better prepared to deal with this alien invasion compared to a few years back when the Battle of New York occurred.

A few feet away from Christine was a woman, ripping the hem of her blouse in half in an attempt to stop an unconscious man's wounded leg from bleeding out. Her hands were shaking, preventing her from properly wrapping the wound.

Christine ran to her side and took over.

Underneath the grime and specks of blood spattered on her face, the woman was pale from shock but there was a fire in her eyes that Christine could see was the spirit behind this woman's selfless act.

"He was standing right next to me. And then there was a blast. I'm lucky to be alive. I'm not—I'm not a doctor," the woman stammered. "I mean, I am but I'm not that kind of doctor. I'm not sure if I—he passed out while I was working on him."

"What's your name?" Christine asked her still working on the leg.

"Betty," replied the woman, her voice breathless. Christine almost didn't hear her.

"Betty, you're doing a good job." Christine placed a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder. "Medical doctor or not, you saved this man's life."

Betty nodded, a little color returning to her cheeks as she slowly recovered from the shock of the explosion.

"Betty, I need you to help me," said Christine, reaching for the triage tags in her bag. "I want you to tag the injured that you find, alright?" She shoved the tags in Betty's hands and Betty stared at the various colors and labels.

Black for MORGUE (pulseless/non-breathing).

Red for IMMEDIATE (life-threatening injury).

Yellow for DELAYED (non-life-threatening).

Green for MINOR (minor injuries).

Betty has seen this before. She was an army kid. She had spent enough time in medical centers on various bases to know how these work.

She nodded at Christine and then got to work.

…

Under normal circumstances, Darcy Lewis would be overjoyed at the prospect of being surrounded by so many animals.

BUT NOT WHEN ALIENS ARE INVADING EARTH AGAIN! She screamed mentally as she struggled with carrying three dogs in her arms. Some of the cats she's released have all scrambled to god knows where. She hoped they'll survive.

"Well, no time like the present to test out the nine lives theory," she said to herself.

Darcy deposited the dogs in the back of a nearby pickup truck before running back to the pet store and getting the rest of the animals.

A shrill ringing sound interrupted her rescue mission and Darcy answered the call out of habit. She tucked her phone in between her shoulder blade and ear while carrying another batch of dogs.

"I'm a little busy!" Darcy cried to the caller.

"Darcy! It's Jane. Are you still at the store?"

"Yeah, why? Ouch! Ohh, you ungrateful hairless creature!" Darcy glared daggers at an aggressive sphynx.

"Excuse me?"

"Not you. The cat. It scratched me!"

"Nevermind that! Do you have a crow bar in there?"

"I can't find anything in here except fur and poop and animals."

A few blocks from the pet store, Jane Foster was tugging unsuccessfully at the door of an overturned school bus packed with screaming and crying children.

"It's jammed," cried the driver who had tried kicking at the door a few moments earlier but to no avail.

"There's a bus filled with kids and the door won't open," said Jane to Darcy.

"Break the windows," Darcy replied simply. Something must have happened back at the store because, she immediately cried, "NO, DON'T EAT HER," before hanging up.

Jane picked up a broken pipe lying on the ground and proceeded to smash the windows of the bus open. One by one, the kids were lifted out by the driver into Jane's awaiting arms.

They all huddled behind her, scared and unsure of what to do.

"There's another one here. She's trapped under the seats!" cried the driver.

"Can you lift it?" Jane asked, fearful of the answer.

"No!"

Jane ran a hand through her hair. Where were the medical response teams? Where were the firemen? The police officers?

"Need some help?"

Jane looked up and hovering above the bus was Iron Man! No, wait. Jane tried to get a better look as the armored hero ripped the outer portion of the bus in half and after a few seconds, deposited the last remaining kid and the driver to the ground.

All around her the kids were crying out in excitement at the sight of the hero.

"Iron Man, Iron Man!" they yelled.

"Call me Rescue," said the hero. She walked over to Jane who stammered her thanks.

The face plate opened and revealed Pepper, grinning. "Jane, it's me! You okay?"

"Pepper!" Jane wrapped her arms around the armor in relief. "Thank God you have a suit! Tony really thought of everything, huh?"

"I know! It can't shoot at aliens, though." said Pepper. "Listen, the subways are being used as relief centers. Bring the children down there. There are medics and volunteers. They'll be safe… I hope."

"You're a lifesaver," said Jane.

"So are you!" and then Rescue flew out.

…

"Water is now being distributed. Please stay where you are and wait to be approached by volunteers," said a man talking through a megaphone. He was addressing a crowd of civilians huddled in the subway. "If you are missing a child or a loved one, there are representatives going around who will take note of all important details."

Jemma Simmons turned her attention back to the task at hand. She and Fitz were currently reinforcing the subway tunnels.

"This might be able to stop the subway from collapsing in on itself but it's not gonna mean anything if the aliens use the stairs and walk in here," said Fitz as he fiddled with a machine.

"Well, if we manage to set this up, we can stand guard by the entrance and then we can—"

"Excuse me, Dr. Simmons," interrupted a young medic. He was panting. He probably ran over to where they were. "We need you."

"Go," said Fitz. "I'm almost done here."

"I'll find you at the entrance," said Simmons before dashing away with the medic.

A few minutes later, Fitz packed up his gear and stood by the staircase at the entrance of the subway. From his position on the steps, he could see the occasional blasts and hear the frequent explosions.

His grip on his own handgun tightened as he heard numerous footsteps approaching. Suddenly, a group of children came into view and Fitz put his sidearm back in his pocket, ready to assist them down the steps.

Then came a trail of running cats and dogs. A young woman followed the animals, clutching a Pomeranian in her arms.

"What are you doing?" cried Fitz. "There are injured people in here! You can't bring animals to—"

Two alien stragglers passed and Fitz sucked in his breath. He grabbed the woman's arm, pleading at her with her eyes to keep quiet in the hopes that the extraterrestrials wouldn't see them.

"Arf!"

Fitz's eyes widened. Too late.

"Thor, get back here!" cried the woman but the dog she named after the Norse God had jumped out of her arms and straight into the direction of the aliens who were walking towards them.

Fitz fired with his gun but they were too fast.

The children screamed at the proximity of the gunshot sounds.

"Darcy!" cried another woman who had come with the children.

Fitz could hardly believe what happened next.

A raccoon dropped down from the sky and shot one alien with a gun that was just as big as the animal. Then, it tackled the next alien, biting through its shoulder and then emptying its magazine on the alien's face.

Then, the raccoon hissed at the dog before moving on as quickly as it arrived.

Fitz was temporarily unaware of the dumbstruck look on his face. Snapping back in attention, he shut his jaw and said, "Did you—Did you see that?"

The woman named Darcy was just as shocked.

"Arf!" the dog barked again. It seemed to spur Darcy back into action. She started to run up the stairs but Fitz pulled her back.

"Are you mad? It's raining aliens out there! You can't risk your life for a dog!"

Then the ground shook as an explosion went off. Smoke filtered in from the open air and down into the subway.

Fitz and Darcy squinted their eyes, trying to see through the smoke. It was thicker outside in the open air.

There was a yelp and then a dark figure could be seen approaching them. As the figure came closer, Fitz could see the outline of the dog in one hand.

"Thor!" cried Darcy, running up the steps.

The smoke cleared somewhat and Fitz could begin to see who it was.

"I think someone wanted to go for a walk," said Spider-Man, handing the Pomeranian to Darcy. He ruffled the dog's fur and said, "Next time, listen to your mommy."

Spider-Man turned to Fitz, stating, "I'll direct all the civilians down here, sir. There's a truck of elderly on its way. Get ready." Then, he shot webs out of his hands and slung back out to the street.

"Right," mumbled Fitz. "Elderly." He ran back down the stairs calling for medics as he went.

"Thor, I think I'll change your name to Spidey."

…

When the Battle of New York happened, Peter and his aunt May were hiding in a dessert shop. Peter couldn't see everything that was happening outside. Whenever he tried to get a peek of the action, May would duck his head back between his knees.

Peter remembered feeling so scared. He remembered worrying for his uncle Ben who was still out there, having gone to help. But that all changed when he saw Iron Man in the sky. He was carrying a missile on his back and right up a black hole!

Fear was replaced with wonder, wonder turned to hope.

Now, as Peter swung from one building to another, he could feel that same hope thrumming in his chest. He didn't dare let go of that feeling.

He couldn't afford to lose it. Not right now.

Peter dropped down to the ground, landing on an Outrider who was about to fire at Iron Man. Mr. Stark was too busy helping people out of a collapsing building to notice the threat.

"Mr. Stark, behind you!" cried Peter over the comms.

"There's nothing behind me!" came Tony's reply.

"What? But—" Peter quickly stole the Outrider's weapon and took the alien out with it. "But you're right there. Is that… Is that you?"

"Peter?" came an all too familiar voice.

Peter turned to find May exiting the building, her arm around an injured woman.

Peter ran towards her, noticing as he neared that the person he thought was Iron Man was actually an entirely new superhero and a female one at that.

"Everybody, head to the subway. There are makeshift medical centers there," stated the iron woman. She adjusted an unconscious kid in her arms before flying off.

It would only be later that Peter would learn from an extremely grateful Mr. Stark that Peter had saved Tony's girlfriend.

"Pe—Spider-Man, you okay?" asked May, putting her hands on Peter's shoulder, trying to look for wounds that she only just realized were conveniently concealed by his suit.

"I'm—AAAH!"

Another Outrider came out of nowhere knocking Peter aside.

"Four arms versus two?" cried an incredulous Peter who jumped to his feet and began to dodge all four limbs. "This is so not a fair fight."

"Oof!" Peter buckled over as one arm hit him in the gut. The Outrider tackled him back to the ground. It leered its face over Peter's and used two of its upper arms to restrain Peter's own.

Then there was a beam of energy that managed to knock the alien off of Peter.

Breathing heavily, Peter quickly looked for his savior and found May wielding the first Outrider's discarded weapon, the one Peter himself had used to save the iron woman only moments before.

May's eyes were wide, her knees were shaking. She let the weapon clatter to the ground as she ran to her nephew.

"You can be really scary when you're mad, you know that?" Peter said, hoping to bring some lightness to the situation.

It worked. May cracked a smile. "Go on. We'll be alright."

…

Betty couldn't find Christine anymore. They had separated amidst the chaos.

Betty didn't have any triage tags left either. She had taken to writing on people's forehead with a lipstick she found.

She started to wonder at what Bruce would say if he saw her, using lipstick as a pen, her blouse turned into a crop top from all the tearing she had subjected it to.

Betty shook her head. She couldn't think about Bruce right now. She couldn't be distracted by every roar and shake of the ground, she couldn't let her eyes wander in search for a flash of green.

She focused on the task at hand.

GRN.

YLW.

YLW.

RED.

GRN.

GRN.

BLCK.

...

Shit, shit, shit.

Christine slowly backed up, her arms spread out wide in a futile effort to protect the three teenagers behind her from the advancing alien.

"I'm too rich to die!" trembled the kid named Flash.

With her eyes on the alien, Christine quickly rummaged through her trauma bag, feeling for anything to use as a weapon.

Her hands enclosed around a pair of scissors at the same time the alien stuck out a hand and wrapped it around Christine's throat.

The bag fell to the ground. Michelle crouched to snatch it and spotted the scissors Christine dropped.

Without a second thought, she grabbed it and stabbed the alien in its leg.

It quickly let go of Christine with a painful howl.

The doctor grabbed the kids and ran to the opposite side of the room.

The alien screeched and went after them.

Suddenly, a scarlet hole appeared from underneath it and the alien fell, disappearing from the room.

"What just happened?" asked another kid who Christine remembered was called Ned.

Suddenly, a head popped up in thin air before them, a red glow surrounding it. Stephen Strange grinned through the portal.

"Everything alright in here?"

All four civilians screamed in surprise.

Recovering from the shock, Christine rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to slap him.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to do that!"

...

Mantis could feel everything. Grief… pain… hope… relief… shock… fear… death.

Death was the easiest to absorb. It was simply nothing.

The hardest was grief. It rolled over her in waves of agony and pain. Tears were leaking out of Mantis' own eyes as she once more tried to ease the pain of the survivors around her.

She gently caressed the forehead of a dying soldier. She took away his pain and brought forth the seed of hope that still lurked in his heart. It grew under her touch and he smiled.

"What did you do to me?" he whispered.

"I simply let the light shine brighter."

The man closed his eyes and mumbled, "thank you."

Mantis turned to the woman sitting beside the man. She had introduced herself as a nurse before asking Mantis to do something, anything to help the soldier.

"You may rest now...?" Mantis only just realized she didn't know the nurse's name. "I'm sorry. I do not know what to call you."

"Claire. Claire Temple."

"He's at peace, Claire."

Claire nodded. Both women rose to their feet. The nurse went to help some more of the injured while Mantis prepared to leave.

Almost everyone was hiding in various subway stations now. The Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Inhumans, and a group called the Defenders were all that was left up there.

I should be heading back too, Mantis thought.

Outside, the battle had subsided. The first wave was over.

The next was about to begin.