When The Lights Go Out (October 2001)

Ava felt her heartbeat start to increase as she realized that Frank was completely serious. She couldn't stop the tears that were shimmering in her eyes from slipping down her cheeks. The thought of marrying him and having children made her so happy. She had lost her entire family...as did he. Together, they could make a new family and leave this life of violence behind.

"Yes, Frank. I will marry you."

Frank smiled when he heard her words. And then he made love to her...slowly for a change.

After they showered, she seemed to be all smiles and affection. Their new lease on life had infected them both and they pawed at one another like high school lovers. It took them a long time to get dressed and it wasn't his fault, this time. Finally they made it out of their room, dressed and ready to go. Steve suggested that they only bring a sidearm though Ava, Steve and Logan didn't need them.

before Natalya left their room Logan pulled her toward him and kissed her passionately. "I love you, Natalya," He said. He had never told her that but he had told her now.

Tony was getting dressed as Isabella came out of their room. "Hows he doing?" Steve asked. Tony had a bit of a hangover and he was tired but he was determined to do something.

Ava was so incredibly happy. She wanted to tell everyone...she wanted to tell the world their good news, but she decided that they should wait. They needed to focus on what was going on. They wouldn't be able to start their new life together if Loki destroyed their world. Ava put on her White Tiger suit, but she currently left the mask off as everyone began to gather.

Natalya and Logan finished getting dressed and she was about to walk out of their room when Logan suddenly grabbed her and pulled her towards him and kissed her rather passionately. As they separated Logan told her that he loved her. He had never told her that before, but she knew he meant it. "I love you too Logan."

Isabella had gone to check on Tony. He had gotten some sleep and was sober now. He was a bit hungover and tired, but his determination was back. As she stepped out of their apartment, Steve approached her. "He's hungover, but he's determined to do something. I'm not entirely sure what we're going to do, but we'll figure it out."

Kate walked out of her rooms dressed in her Avenger's suit. She had her sidearm on and her hair was pulled back. She looked towards Steve and when he saw her looking at him he slowly approached her. "Be careful out there," she told him softly.

Steve wanted to talk to Kate. Wanted to try and mend the wound he had made between them. His mouth worked to say more and his arms ached to embrace her. To his surprise he just did it. Friends embraced one another sometimes, right? "You be careful to," Steve said then kissed her on the forehead. He didn't allow the hold to linger but he hoped she would hold onto him, if only for a few moments.

Kate closed her eyes as she felt Steve's arms envelope her. She leaned against him and breathed in his scent. She felt his arms begin to loosen around her, but she remained there for a few more moments before she slowly pulled back. Her eyes met his for a moment before she stepped away. Everyone was gathered now, but they were waiting on Tony. Isabella could only hope that perhaps he had thought of something.

Supper was spaghetti and meatballs. It was hot and filling and delicious ofcourse. Logan noticed Ava's smiling face and it seemed almost as if it was a permanent look for her tonight. He didn't ask about it, he just noticed it. Tony came out of the room and nodded to everyone before he made his way over to the kitchen area. Not everyone sat as they nibbled on the food and not everyone ate something.

"Ok people, We're going to lose New York. I've excepted that but this tower will not be affected. Security has been alerted. While we're out, trying to keep New York safe Jarvis will be building 2 new suits for Isabella and myself and 2 rocket booster packs. If we can't stop Loki, we will make it so he can't use satellites. I'll contact the DoD about that but right now, that's the best I got," He said. "Steve," He said to give up the floor to him. Steve stepped forward.

"Ok, we're all going to be on our own out there. Manhattan will be on lockdown. No one will be able to leave the island. That will be handled by the national guard. Our job will be to spread out into the various burrows and work with the National Guard, police and the other law enforcement agencies to stamp down any violence or looting. There will be a curfew announcement going out in a few minutes," He said. "Thus, anyone out and about will likely be up to no good. Use minimal force where you can and yes Logan, that includes you," Steve said. Logan lifted up his hands. "What!? Minimal force...I got it," He said as if he were being singled out unfairly.

Everyone was quiet as they ate. They were all anxious about what was going to happen...apart from Ava, who couldn't stop smiling. She knew this was a very serious situation, and she was taking it seriously, but she couldn't stop the smile that tugged at her lips. She was very happy. Isabella looked over at Tony as he walked out and she began to prepare a plate for him while he talked. He was starting to sound more like the Tony she knew. This was going to be tough, but she was starting to believe they could do this...they could beat Loki. 

Everyone turned their attention to Steve, when Tony gave him the floor. They all listened closely and nodded to what he said. Natalya was sitting next to Logan and when Steve singled him out about using minimal force she couldn't help but smile and she patted his hand. 

"So who is going to be in what burrow?" Kate asked.

"Tony will take Manhattan and coordinate. He can move between boroughs quickly and coordinate between law enforcement agencies. Isabella, you will take Staten Island. For the remaining 3, we will double up. Kate and I will take Queens, Frank and Ava, you take Brooklyn and that leave The Bronx for Logan and Natalya," He said. "Saweet!" Logan said excitedly. "I mean...The Bronx? Really?" He said as if he was bummed about it.

Tony reached for the tv remote and he turned it on. The mayor was on and was handing down what was going to happen tonight. He had police chiefs and fire chiefs behind him and his speech was short and to the point. Curfew tonight starting at 8pm which was around sundown. Violators would be arrested and put in jail. As he continued though a large, blue energy beam shot up into the air. From the tower it was distant but it was clearly visible. It drew the eye and everyone shifted from the screen to gaze at it.

"Here it comes," Frank said softly.

It looked like the kind of beam you saw on movies about alien invasions. It was straight and went high up into the darkening sky. Everyone slowly began to move over towards the windows to look out. Screams and shouts could be heard from the streets. Kate stood next to Steve. Ever so slowly, she reached out and took his hand into her own. She felt his hand tighten around her own and they both slowly looked over at each other for a moment before looking back out over the city. Suddenly, lights started to go off all across the city. It happened systematically and quickly.

"Ok, Kate, please prep the jet. We will do rooftop drop offs. Set the jet for auto return. I can't say how long we will be doing this but it will continue until enough has been repaired that a curfew is no longer necessary. I know this isn't what you all signed up to do but helping people is our primary function and that is what we're gunna do. Ok, lets hit it...Isabella?" Tony said and then stepped away toward the lab to get suited up.

Kate stepped away to go get the jet prepped while the others quickly cleaned up the plates. Isabella followed Tony to the lab to get suited up. Before they did though, she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around him and kissed him quite thoroughly. She slowly pulled back and rested her head against his. "I love you Tony."

The others joined Kate and boarded the jet. Natalya took the co-pilots seat and quickly got the jet in the air. She first dropped off Frank and Ava in Brooklyn and then, Logan and Natalya in the Bronx. Steve moved up to the co-pilots seat as she flew towards Queens.

The city below was eerily dark. So dark in fact that Kate had to fly using instruments. and the ultra violet vision of the plane just to see buildings. They were alone in the plane and Steve was decidedly silent. Which meant to Kate that he had alot to say but didn't. Steve was very good at that. One of the things he knew drove her crazy. It was obvious that they still cared for one another, deeply.

"I hope Phil gets out of this ok. I hope all of them do," Steve said as the hum of the jet and the small sounds in the cockpit were the only noises.

Thankfully, Kate was a very skilled pilot. She had actually trained with the Air Force and was the best pilot the team had. Kate glanced over at Steve as the silence built between them. She knew that if Steve was this quiet it meant that he had a lot to say, but wasn't saying it. Steve did that often and though it drove her crazy, she still cared very deeply for him.

When Steve finally did speak she glanced over at him and nodded. She didn't want anything bad to happen to the people she cared about. She was quiet for a while longer before she finally spoke.

"I still love you Steve."

"I missed you last night. I don't think I slept much at all. You said an apology wouldn't cut it, so then, what is it you want from me? I'm willing to give you time. But here we are, about to go into the darkness. I don't want to go into this knowing that we're not going to come back together. I tried to bully you and bet our relationship on my bluff and I lost...we both lost. I know you're still upset with me. What can I do to fix this?" Steve asked.

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Tony landed and began to get the situation from the mayor.

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Isabella landed in a small national guard encampment and began to get a situation report.

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Frank and Ava made contact with several precinct chiefs and it was decided that they'd split up to try and coordinate on 2 fronts.

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Natalya and Logan hooked up with several members of the police. They moved to the retail quarter of the borough while the police patrolled the smaller, wealthier section of the Bronx. Even as they arrived they saw a gang of young men trying to break through windows. The police shined their spot lights and Logan and Natalya got to work.

Kate hated being apart from Steve. She needed him. She needed her best friend back...her partner. Yes, he had hurt her...deeply, but this whole thing with Loki was making her realize that she didn't want to hold onto that anger anymore. Steve made her feel whole. He and Phil were the closest thing she had to family and at the moment she felt incredibly alone. 

She was quiet a moment before she looked over at him. "You can promise me that you will never do something like that again."

"Kate...I made a mistake in judgement. It wont happen again...I promise," Steve said. Now can you put this thing on auto pilot a moment and kiss me?" Steve asked urgently as if he really needed her to kiss him. And he really did.

Kate felt herself on the verge of tears. She hit a button that put the jet into auto pilot mode and she moved as close to Steve as she could as he moved over to her and they kissed each other like they had never kissed each other before.

Steve bailed out first and then steadied Kate as she did. Once she hit the button on her wrist comm the plane slowly rose up and headed for home. The roof was black but they had lights on their wrists to help them navigate to the edge. They climbed down the fire escape and hopped down to the sidewalk. They had to run toward the police and they saw that they were among a large group of the FBI. They were all in vests and were roaming around in two's in cars with blue lights on them. Kate and Steve tagged along with one of the officers who had been assigned to them. After the first hour they encountered 2 fires and a melee between two groups of gang members. Steve and Kate waded into the melee and luckily they recognized Steve and they all broke off the fighting to regard him. Steve spoke to them and ended up handing out several autographs. The FBI stood back while he and Kate handled them. The men broke up and stepped away into the night.

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Logan and Natalya spent most of their evening fighting looters. Natalya pulled a woman who had a waitress outfit on out of a jewelers window that she broke into. They were going to have a busy night! Logan tossed 2 men bodily out of the same shop through the window they broke into. The two men bounced hard on the sidewalk and they got up and limped away into he darkness. "God I love my job!" Logan said happily.

Knowing that they were back together made Kate feel strong and whole again. The awkwardness was gone and with that came back the coordination between them. Steve and Kate worked extremely well together. They were both very focused, despite the intense kiss they had shared in the jet. Thankfully, for the most part people recognized them and decided that they didn't want to mess with them and would leave peacefully on their own. 

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Isabella had worked with the National Guard out on Staten Island to coordinate patrols. She was able to just fly around the streets and alert them to where she could see trouble brewing. After a while she called Tony. "Hey. How soon are those new suits going to be completed?"

Tony did not respond. He had gone back to the tower. He had failed to stop Loki and failed to have suits made that could handle the tasks that they needed to perform. He decided that he needed to do something unexpected. In hopes he could disrupt what Loki's plans were now that he had a successful test. Even a delay would help and so he decided to use Veronica, aka, The Hulk Buster. He had built the massive suit and system incase the Hulk ever came to town in full hulk mode. His plan? To crack SHIELD open like an egg and do as much damage as he could. He knew this was not how The Avengers were supposed to be. But he blamed himself for allowing this to happen. The wall of the lab shifted and the massive suit that was held by servo arms presented the suit for boarding. Tony got inside of it and began to go through his initial tests.

Isabella got a call from the mayor.

"Isabella, Tony was here but we haven't seen him in a while. Is he with you?" He asked.

Isabella started to become worried when Tony never responded. Then, she got a call from the Mayor. She shook her head at his question. "No, he isn't with me. I was just trying to get in touch with him, but he didn't respond. I'll see if I can track him down." She hung up with the Mayor and then contacted Jarvis.

"Jarvis, where is Tony?"

"I'm not certain Mrs. Stark. Mr. Stark has removed his transponder from my program," Jarvis said.

Isabella blinked at what Jarvis told her. "That means he's going to do something really stupid." Isabella tried calling him again using her communicator.

Tony heard his wrist comm going off again and he didn't answer. Isabella would just try to talk him out of what he was doing and he needed to do this. He did his checks and Veronica checked out. He launched into the air and judged how close he was from SHIELD to how far he was from Isabella. There was no way for her to catch him now so he decided to call her.

Isabella's wrist comm went off, it was Tony.

"What's up babe, ya miss me already? Hows it going? Has everyone checked in?" he asked as if he wasn't doing anything wrong just then.

Isabella had just finished talking to Steve when Tony called her. Isabella wasn't an idiot. She knew he was up to something. "Tony, why did you remove your transponder from Jarvis? What the hell are you doing?"