The Seventh Avenger by ElrondsScribe

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Chapter 9: Avengers Assemble

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The BoLT calls Glorfindel's helmet a "cap" so I envisioned one of those round helmets that are fitted to the head, a little like Captain America's helmet.

All rights belong to the Tolkien Estate and Marvel Studios.

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It was indeed about two and a half hours before Glorfindel first saw their destination in the distance. Stark Tower rose high above most of the other buildings surrounding it, and above it a beam of blue light streamed straight up some hundred feet before ending abruptly in a gap that seemed to have been torn open in the sky. Twisted, vaguely humanoid creatures in hovercrafts were streaming through the gap, seemingly from nowhere. They weren't quite as ugly as Orcs, but they were the closest Glorfindel had seen in many thousands of years, and they seemed bent on just as much wanton destruction. They seemed to have explosives and things like machine guns, and were terrorizing civilians in the streets, exploding and overturning cars, and spraying up blocks of asphalt.

The distant figure of Iron Man was hovering above the Tower and not far under the gap, trying to pick off the invaders as they came with only partial success. On the top of the Tower itself, Loki (distinguishable at that distance mostly by his green cloak and gold helmet) was engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Thor (red cloak and flashes of lightning), who did not seem to be any the worse for wear.

"That'll be Loki's Chitauri, I expect," said Glorfindel at he stared out of the window. Steve had given him a pair of internal earpieces which would allow him to hear anything that Fury or Hill wanted the Avengers to hear, or that Tony said from inside the Suit. He now switched them on and put them into his ears.

"Stark, we're heading northeast," Natasha reported.

Tony's voice sounded a bit strained. "What, did ya stop for drive-thru? Swing up Park, I'm gonna lay 'em out for you." And in the distance he swooped down around the side of the Tower, a stream of Chitauri pursuing him in their hovercrafts (one of them crashed into a nearby office building). This brought the herd across the street up which Barton was currently steering.

Natasha immediately activated a large machine gun on the bottom of the Quinjet, and began firing it at the Chitauri. At least, this was what Glorfindel guessed she was doing, as all he could actually see was her hands pressing buttons and switches, and shots being fired at the Chitauri from somewhere underneath them. It was really rather maddening, having to sit inactive while Natasha and Barton did all the work. He hoped that there would soon be occasion to leave the Quinjet, preferably on the ground where he and Steve could be useful.

"Sir," said a voice with a British accent that made Glorfindel start. "We have more incoming."

"Fine," said the voice of Tony. "Let's keep them occupied." And Iron Man went flying back up to the hole through which the Chitauri were streaming like a herd of mice.

Glorfindel turned off his earpieces by lightly tapping the sides of his head. "Who on

was that?" he demanded.

"That's JARVIS, Stark's AI," Natasha informed him. "He runs the Suit. You'd better get used to him. You got a shot, Clint."

"Oh yeah," said Barton grimly. He had turned sharply to avoid crashing into a large building that looked like a library, which had brought them within full view of Stark Tower again. There on top of it were Loki and Thor, still battling. Loki seemed to be trying to push Thor over the edge.

Barton hit one of the buttons Natasha had pressed earlier, and seemed to have turned the Quinjet's gun on Loki. Having just shoved Thor aside (but not over the edge of the Tower), Loki whirled round and pointed the Chitauri scepter up at the Quinjet. A burst of blue energy struck the left wing, and Glorfindel didn't have to see the damage to know they were in trouble.

"Hold on to something!" bellowed Barton as the Quinjet jerked and rocked. Steve and Glorfindel both clutched at exposed bars and pipes on the ceiling of the hold, their bodies careening through the air. The Quinjet spun wildly as it fell, and only through Barton's clever handling did they escape crashing into buildings. They crashed into an empty paved lot, chunks of asphalt flying as they bumped to a stop. Miraculously, they'd landed the right way up.

Glorfindel took a moment to catch his breath, and then let go of the pipe he was holding onto. "Is anyone injured?" he asked.

"Nope," was the reply from the three Mortals as Natasha and Barton scrambled out of the cockpit, and Steve added, "Looks like we got our work cut out for us."

Glorfindel located his helmet, and put it on. "Let's do our job, then," he said, drawing his sword and activating his earpieces again.

The button that opened the door of the Quinjet was still in working order, and the foursome trotted down the ramp and out through the lot into the ruins of a big four-way stoplight. The streets were clogged with abandoned cars, some of which were flipped over; the people who had been driving them had already run away.

The two SHIELD agents and two costumed icons set off in the direction of Stark Tower, but it was mere moments before a great, metallic roar made them all stop and look up. The noise had of course come from the great gap in the sky, and now through the gap something huge was coming. Glorfindel thought it was like one of the great wyrms that had plagued Middle-Earth during its First Age, especially during the Fall of Gondolin: a dragon without wings, and yet this one could fly. It was a thing of metal, of both machinery and sorcery. It breathed no fire, but the steel of its body was utterly impenetrable; its many teeth were like great swords.

Well of all things . . . "I thought I was done slaying dragons!" Glorfindel protested aloud.

"Think again, buddy," said Steve as the beast (thing?) swooped down toward the street and passed close over their heads. On its back rode scores and scores of Chitauri, some of whom now peeled off to crash into tall buildings through the windows, no doubt to further terrorize the civilians inside. Others merely attached themselves to the outsides of the buildings, and went sliding down to the streets to wreak havoc on the ground.

"Stark," croaked Natasha. "Are you seeing this?"

"Seeing, still working on believing," said the billionaire. "Where's Banner? He shown up yet?"

"Banner?" Steve's brow furrowed.

"Just keep me posted," said Tony, and Glorfindel looked around and caught sight of Iron Man quietly flying parallel with the dragon.

"C'mon," said Steve to the others, and they followed him as he continued up the street, which eventually became a bridge over another highway. Just as they gathered in the cover of a group of abandoned taxi cabs, they saw another group of Chitauri in hovercrafts coming up the street in their direction. Loki himself was at their head. Cars were being overturned and bursting into flames by the dozens; those who didn't manage to get out of their cars and run away quickly enough were crushed or stifled to death.

"Those people need assistance down there," said Steve.

Glorfindel had every intention of saying Ya think?! But just at that moment, a dozen Chitauri that seemed to have leapt out of their hovercrafts landed on the ground near the foursome, and began shooting at them. They were, of course, far out of the reach of Glorfindel's sword, but not Natasha's handguns. She had them loaded before you could say superspy par excellence and stood up to fire right back at the oncoming Chitauri.

"We've got this," she said over her shoulder. "We're good here, go!"

"Can you hold 'em off?" Steve asked of the archer, who had just moved to get a better vantage point for shooting.

Clint Barton smiled. "Captain," he said. "It would be my genuine pleasure." And he turned, drew his bow more quickly than you could say archer extraordinaire, and shot one of the Chitauri square in the forehead.

Glorfindel reminded himself to properly acknowledge his premature mockery of Clint's primary choice of weapon later, and turned to Steve, but Steve said, "You stay here too, I'm coming back."

"Right," said Glorfindel, and as Steve leapt over the side of the bridge he turned back and cast a quick look around him.

"Barton, Romanoff," he shouted to the two SHIELD agents. "There are civilians trapped inside that bus!"

"Go, we'll cover you," Clint shouted back, and Glorfindel bolted for the bus, a shot from a Chitauri gun glancing off his helmet as he went. All the bus windows were broken, and the passengers inside were clamoring for help. "The doors won't open, we can't get out!" they cried.

Glorfindel went straight for the doors of the bus, and with a loud grunt wrenched them open. "Everybody out!" he barked, and the frightened passengers began making their way forward toward the doors, all of them staring wide-eyed at the impossibly tall figure in chainmail with a sword.

"Get off the street and stay there," ordered Glorfindel as the civilians began to stream out of the bus. Most of them wasted no time in running toward the nearest standing buildings, but a small boy stopped to hug Glorfindel's legs before his mother snatched him up, and a girl in her early teens nearly tripped over her own feet for staring at him. But before long they were all out of their prison and fleeing for cover, and Glorfindel drew his sword and went to join Natasha and Clint, who were shooting manfully as the Chitauri kept coming.

"It's like Budapest all over again!" Natasha was saying to Clint.

"You and I remember Budapest very differently," said Clint. "You want in, Tinkerbell?"

Glorfindel snorted (Tinkerbell? Really?), but said only, "Don't shoot me."

Down came Natasha's guns. "My clips are out anyway," she announced, and without hesitation picked up some kind of polearm from one of the fallen Chitauri.

Glorfindel ducked to avoid a gunshot and ran straight at the first of the Chitauri, feeling the blade seeming to rejoice as it slew the foe. It had not so rejoiced to slay the mind-enslaved Men aboard the Helicarrier, enemies though they were. Natasha and Clint soon joined Glorfindel in fighting hand-to-hand, Natasha using the Chitauri polearm and Clint using his bow at very short range or else using his arrows for darts. Soon the Captain had reappeared, and he leaped into the fray without a moment's hesitation, using his shield both to defend and to attack, for it seemed to have a very sharp edge.

But more and more Chitauri were descending on them, and Glorfindel began to think that they might be overwhelmed. But just as he was giving up hope, a great bolt of lightning suddenly consumed all the remaining Chitauri around, and they fell dead. Down from the heavens dropped Thor, Mjolnir in hand.

"What's going on up there?" panted Glorfindel, leaning on one of the taxis as he caught his breath.

"The power surrounding the Cube is impenetrable," said Thor grimly.

"Thor's right," came Tony's voice through the earpieces. "We gotta deal with these guys."

"How do we do this?" asked Natasha.

"As a team," said Steve firmly.

"I have unfinished business with Loki," said Thor.

"Yeah?" Clint was fingering an arrow. "Get in line."

"Save it!" said Steve sternly. "Loki's going to keep this fight focused on us, and that's what we need. We got Stark up top . . ."

"Is that who I think it is?" asked Glorfindel sharply, who had been peering off into the distance at a lone approaching motorcycle with a rider that wore no helmet.

"It cannot be!" said Thor, in glad astonishment.

"Who -?" began Steve, and then he suddenly smirked. "About damn time."

Bruce Banner, dressed as quietly as ever, stopped the motorcycle and stepped off to approach his waiting comrades. He surveyed the damage as he walked up.

"So!" he said. "This all seems horrible."

"I've seen worse," said Natasha.

This seemed to have some meaning for Bruce, who grimaced. "Sorry."

"We could use a little worse," Steve put in.

"Stark?" Glorfindel reported. "He's here."

"Banner?" inquired Tony, seeming to know at once who was meant.

"Just as you said," returned the Elf.

"Then tell him to suit up," said Tony. "I'm bringing the party to you."

And a moment later, the red-and-gold Suit swung into view down the street, and began flying toward them. Behind it, great in girth and dreadful in rage, came the wingless dragon, flying so low that its underside crushed all the standing cars in its path.

Did the idiot provoke the thing?!

"I don't see how that's a party," grumbled Natasha.

Glorfindel took a breath, and gripped his sword tighter. He stepped forward, with every intention of going to face the creature, but Bruce raised a hand to stop him. Glorfindel looked down questioningly at the Man, who gave him a nod. Glorfindel, perceiving his intent, moved aside. Bruce began to go toward the great beast.

"Dr. Banner," said Steve, who had correctly interpreted the interplay. "Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

And Bruce Banner looked over his shoulder and said, "That's my secret, Cap'n. I'm always angry." And as he turned, his skin flushed green and he swelled and grew, the shirt he wore ripping and tearing. And then the Hulk slammed his great green fist into the great nose of the dragon, and the dragon's body began to flip upward as the Hulk drove the enormous head to a halt.

"Hold on!" came Tony's voice, and above them he halted midair and raised his arm to fire a small missile straight into a gap in the dragon's scales (that looks like a soft spot!).

Thor, Steve, Natasha, and Glorfindel all ducked down behind the taxis to avoid the bursts of fire as the dragon began to fall apart. When the Hulk pulled his fist out of the dragon's nose, its great head plunged down over the side of the bridge, where it lay dead.

The Chitauri who were in the air or clinging to the sides of high buildings screeched in rage and dismay. The Hulk roared back at them, and to his left Hawkeye drew his bow, seeking a mark. On Hawkeye's other side Thor adjusted his grip on a willing Mjolnir, growling; the Black Widow pushed a new clip into her pistol; Glorfindel towered above his comrades, his sword in his right hand; Captain America held his shield at the ready; and Iron Man descended to the ground.

Fury's vision had come true. At long last, the Avengers were assembled.