Chapter 2: Arc I Battle of NY - Portal Defense
A few minutes later, Eli had arrived at the tower and saw the Hulk smash a black-haired, green-suited man with a golden crown repeatedly into the ground in a penthouse.
Eli wondered why or even how the Hulk could be here, he had just seen the Hulk in an alley two blocks away fighting chitauri by throwing perfectly accurate projectiles. But this wasn't the time to think about that.
His sword was once more in splintered form, swirling all around him wildly. And there were invaders to kill, so he didn't stay to look at the frankly hilarious situation and think more deeply on how Hulk could be in two places at once.
Eli eventually reached a good hundred meters below the portal and kicked up his powers to full throttle. Every Chitauri who left the portal immediately fell to its death in pieces. Several explosions went off around him from explosives and power sources he shredded.
Eli was in full concentration and dodged enemy fire and pieces of the enemies as best he could for a good three minutes, until he heard someone on the earpiece again.
"*Holy, are you seeing this guys? Did he gain those powers with the help of a radio-active blender or something?*" Hawkeye asked with disbelief completely lacing his voice.
"*You're 10 minutes too late on that joke. Already asked him about it. His answer was that his mom told him he was special,*" Iron Man mused with a gloating tone at first.
"*Any news on a solution yet?*" Captain America inquired to change the subject.
"*Talked to Selvig, he snapped out of the mind control. We need Loki's scepter to close the portal. Anybody got eyes on that?*" Widow inquired the team.
"Uh ma'am, I think I saw a big green giant - wait that was the Hulk wasn't it? Well, he smashed Loki to a pulp in a penthouse below the roof of Stark Tower. Maybe try there?" Eli asked, sweat soaking his entire body due to exerting his power's this long.
During radio silence, a huge energy blast hit his left side and flung him away from the portal. His arm had cuts all over, the skin was red and lightly blistering. He caught himself mid air, gritted his teeth in pain and flew back towards the portal. Raising his concentration so he wouldn't get hit any more. Which proved to be harder and harder, the Chitauri had clearly noticed that someone was blocking their advance.
Almost two minutes later, Widow talked again, "*nice job kid, I found the scepter in Tony's living room. Also call me Nat, ma'am makes me sound like an old lady.*"
"*Wait Agent Romanoff! Don't close the portal yet! Stark, do you hear me? You have a missile headed straight for the city.*" another new voice sounded out. "*How long?*" Iron Man asked.
"*3 minutes, max. The payload will wipe out Midtown*" the new voice said in a no bullshit tone.
"*J.A.R.V.I.S., put everything we got into the thrusters,*" Iron Man said before his voice cut off.
A little over three minutes later, Eli was still in front of the portal holding the invaders at bay as best he could. He had a few more cuts all over his body. Dodging another big energy blast that hit a Leviathan behind him instead, he heard the sound of thrusters moving closer and closer to him from below him. He looked down and saw Iron Man attached to a missle flying straight at him.
Immediately, he gathered his sword and moved out of the way. Eli desperately needed a breather.
He looked down towards the origin of the portal and dropped down toward it.
"Eli, good to see you," a red head in a tight black suit greeted him with a scepter in hand in front of a machine glowing in blue. She looked a little roughed up, but wow was she pretty anyway.
"Uh, by the lovely voice I'm guessing Nat?" Eli answered as he looked her up and down, his gaze lingering on the scepter for a few moments. He didn't know what it was, but he felt the power contained within it. But because Iron Man had reached the portal with a missile on his back and flew through, he was broken out of his thoughts.
All three rooftop dwellers, Selvig, Nat and Eli, looked up in rapt attention.
"You're quite the charmer, eh?" Nat said with a smirk while looking through the portal.
Eli wanted to reply, but before he could a massive explosion was seen behind the portal. There was no sound, no sense of impact but the visuals were breathtaking.
The view behind the portal might be distorted, but it looked like a ship with the size of 10 football stadiums simply broke apart in the middle, then immediately was eaten up by an ever-growing fireball from the inside.
"Is Iron Man going to be okay?" Eli asked, still looking up.
"*Widow, get ready to close the portal,*" the captain suddenly spoke up.
"*Guys, Chitauri are dropping out of the sky like leaves in fall. Tony did it, it worked,*" Hawkeye reported from his overwatch.
"Close it Nat," Eli said with squinted eyes.
Black widow sprung into action, strangely trusting Eli's word despite only having spoken a few sentences with him.
Eli watched as Iron Man fell through the portal, it closed shortly after but Iron Man did not stabilize his freefall. He made no efforts to slow down.
"I think his suit is down. Maybe he's lost conciousness. Or probably both," Eli observed as he furrowed his brows.
"You might be right. Got enough juice left to catch him?" Nat asked with a raised brow herself.
"Uh, probably," Eli said as he lifted off.
He got close to Iron Man and matched his speed falling down. That way he wouldn't put too much stress on him, when he slowed down the fall. This invasion really did wonders in training his control over his flight.
When Eli landed and shouted that Iron Man was breathing but unresponsive, Nat finally broke into laughter.
"Please let me get a picture of that," Nat managed to say between laughs. The reason for her outburst? Eli was holding Iron Man in a princess carry.
Eli gently put him down on the roof of Stark tower and wanted to turn towards Nat, but the woman was already behind him. He stumbled in exhaustion and fell towards the heroine.
His knee hit the ground, his left hand that was no longer holding the sword handle landed on Black widows... abdomen, but his right hand landed on the glowing part of the scepter she was still holding.
In a flurry of colors, Eli's eyes started shining like flash lights. A phenomenon that didn't stop immediately. Nat got flustered a few moments later.
"Shit guys, something's happening to Eli. He touched Loki's scepter and his eyes started shining. The kid isn't snapping out of it. Tony's still down too, kid said he's still breathing. Come up here quick," Nat said in a swift manner betraying none of the panic she was feeling inside.
If that's how Loki's mind control could also work, they were in deep trouble.
From his mannerism and his eyes, Nat guessed the boy was somewhere around 15-16 even if he looked older at first glance with his body frame.
But she had no illusion that it would take a team effort to take him down if he was going to fight them. And that's with them at their best, not them licking their wounds after fighting off aliens invaders. It didn't matter that Eli was exhausted and cut up too. One move of his sword shards and all but Thor and Hulk were going to go down.
Thor arrived quickly, followed by Hulk who stayed down below the roof, maybe to keep an eye on Loki who he had seen moving.
"So that's our mighty friend Eli? Here let me try prying off his grubby little fingers," Thor said as he moved closer to the pair.
One hand on the scepter, one on Eli's right shoulder, he used considerable strength to pull them apart. Thor lifted an eyebrow at how much strength he had to use. "Mighty indeed," he whispered under his breath.
Once free from his grasp on the scepter, Eli's eyes stopped glowing and settled back to their emerald green. However his eyes didn't focus, he was staring blankly at nothing at all.
"Hey Eli, you with us?" Nat asked with a hopeful tone.
When it took him moments to answer, Thor firmed his grip on Mjölnir and stood protectively in front of Nat and Selvig.
"I... I yeah I am with-" "Aaaargh!" Eli was suddenly interrupted by Natasha's screaming. Wounds swiftly began closing all over her body, but she was clutching her stomach where Eli's left hand had been.
All three men on the roof turned towards her. She muffled her screams, but the pain was still evident on her face.
"Hey, you alright there?"
Captain America arrived with Hawkeye and both rushed towards Natasha.
Once Hawkeye moved towards Blackwidow and tried his best soothing her, the captain kneeled down next to Iron Man to remove the face mask.
"Tony you still with us?" he asked with a slap.
"*Gasp* shit, did anybody here have to kiss me to wake me?"
"Language, Tony," the captain scolded with a relieved smile on his face.
"Hey Eli talk to us, what's happening to Nat?" Hawkeye sounded angry as he asked. She was still in incredible pain, they all noticed by her twisted grimace.
"I don't know, the scepter... it filled me with so much power. My mom always tried teaching me Asg- teaching me magic... but I was too young to learn everything before her death. So I can barely do parlor tricks compared to her. With the scepter though, it all felt possible..."
"You're not making any sense kid, what's happening to her?" Hawkeye asked again, this time he was a little calmer. It was clear the young man in front of him had meant Natasha no harm.
"I uh, don't really know how to explain it. It felt like I could hear her voice in my head and she asked for the pain to stop... so I tried healing her with the little magic I know... I... the spell was much more powerful than anything I ever did before... I think," Eli had by now sat down on the ground with his knees in front of him, arms resting on them. He noticed his cuts were closing too, the redness and blisters from the burn receding, turning back into healthy skin.
Pale and drenched in sweat, Natasha suddenly relaxed in Hawkeye's arms a few minutes later.
With a weak voice and incomparably soft look towards Eli, Natasha reassured everyone she was okay.
"He's right, that was one powerful healing spell. Next time you cast something like that, give a lady a headsup," Nat defended Eli in a very weak voice.
"Is the pain gone? Why'd it hurt so much?" Hawkeye inquired.
She was hopeful, but she still did not dare speak out loud what she believed happened. So she whispered her guess into her friend's ear and his eyes turned wide like saucers.
"Please, don't say it out loud Clint, I want to be sure first," Natasha said, once again training a soft look towards the young miracle worker.
"Okay gang, are we done here? Can we go get something to eat? There's this Shwarma place 2 blocks from here. Don't know what it is, but I feel like eating Shwarma," Iron Man, now peeled out of his armor, addressed the gathered heroes whily still lying down spread eagle.
"My brother is still not put in chains, I would rather we do that first before he weasels away," Thor said, a suspicious look turned towards Eli.
"Yeah Tony, the war might be over, but we still have things to do, people to save," Captain America declared with a determined glare towards the burning city.
"Backup suit and cold pizza from the fridge it is," Tony said as he began to head downstairs.
With a little effort, Natasha stood up and moved towards the exhausted Eli. But before she could lift him up to give him a big hug for what he had probably done for her, Thor asked a question nobody on the roof had anticipated.
"That sword, is it Shatterstar? How did it come to be in your possession? It was my mother's sword from her time as a Valkyrie, but it was lost 20 years ago."
Eli didn't dare look into Thor's eyes, but answered him anyway, "my mother gave it to me when I was born. She never mentioned how she came to possess it."
With a fond look towards the sword he hoped would mask how uncomfortable he was with the situation, Eli did not look up at Thor. Thor looked like he wanted to ask more, but didn't when he remembered he had just talked about how his mother was no longer in the world of the living. He was brash, but not totally insensitive. They had better things to do now anyway. He would ask Heimdall later to look for the boy.
Though Eli's hiding act couldn't fool the two spies still left on the roof. They noticed from his body language and deliberate lack of eye contact that he didn't want to talk to Thor, his presence seemed to make him uncomfortable.
Clint narrowed his eyes, but Natasha didn't care at the moment. She held out a hand towards Eli to pull him up and swept him into a big hug. He could feel some tears wetting his shirt, he was after all a good head taller than her.
"Thank you," he could hear a muffled whisper.
"Uh, sure. I don't know why though, all I did was cast a healing spell on you," Eli was a little overwhelmed. This reaction was a little too much for what he did, at least that's what he felt.
"It meant everything to me, Eli," Natasha softly whispered as she released the hug.
"Should we head down guys? I feel like punching a god," Clint suggested, likely because he could feel Eli found the situation to be a little awkward.
"I shall start with the first punch, then we shall see if there's anything left of him to punch," Thor ordered in a boisterous tone as he moved downstairs first.
Natasha, who didn't pick up on Eli's feelings of awkwardness moved with him, while holding one of his arms rather intimately. They were at the back of the moving group.
"Hey uh, it's okay. You can release my arm now. I should be fine now," Eli said avoiding Natasha's gaze.
"Nah, I feel like holding your arm. Do you not like it?"
It wasn't the first time someone flirted with him, but the fact that it was coming from a heroine that just helped end the end of the world, that was a first. Wait, was it even flirting? She looked at him like his mother did when he was a toddler.
"Fine, do what you must Nat," Eli sighed.
Natasha in turn smiled and giggled like a little girl. Surely she did this on purpose, Eli was thinking.
"Hey Eli, over here pal," Tony waved them over.
They were downstairs now, most heroes were menacingly surrounding a bloody and bruised Loki.
As they moved closer, they saw Tony tinkering on an armor that apparently took a stray shot during the battle even when it wasn't used.
"Sorry kid, I had J.A.R.V.I.S. try to figure out who you are and he immediately found you. You're Elias Collins, 14 years old, orphaned almost a year ago, living with a maid called Misty Sundqvist in Brooklyn right? The young musician giving little impromptu concerts in parks across town? If you try to hide your identity, please use a different name. Eli was a dead give-away. No worries though, only the Avengers and Selvig heard the name, I think and I had J.A.R.V.I.S. scramble or delete as many close up shots of you as he could find," Tony spoke to them, though it felt like he was talking more to himself.
Hearing he was only 14, Natasha's soft gaze turned even softer. It gained an even bigger touch of something only a mother would use on their children.
"Got any ideas for a hero name yet? What about Iron Blender? Yeah I know, sounded cooler in my head. Storm's already taken, I think. Stormbreaker? No that sounds more like a weapon. Passing Breeze? Nah, makes you sound like a fart," Tony rambled on as he turned around and threw something to Eli.
"That's a new phone, free of charge. Was never good with gifts, especially for kids. Anyway it's a Stark Industries prototype. Will hit the market in about three years. Yours has a few extras. I'm not gonna spy on you, but you can use it to get a hold of me. Always nice to have a veritable one-man-army on call. That's what my contact is called by the way. Don't drunk dial me."
"Stark, the boy is 14!" Nat interrupted in exasperation.
"So? I drank at that age," Tony answered with a wave of one hand as he fiddled with his suit.
Natasha shook her head.
"Okay guys, let's head out and see if we can't find and save a few more people. The city is in rubbles, criminals could find and use those Chitauri weapons. We need to get on clean up as soon as possible," the captain said as he gained everyone's attention with a clap.
"Eli, feel free to sit this one out. I don't mean to patronize you. You look exhausted, so let the grown ups handle this. You and me already won us this battle anyway," Eli heard from behind him.
He turned around to see Iron Man back in his suit, the face mask was still up, so he could see that Tony was actually rather concerned about his well being and not just 'patronizing him' after he found out his real age. That concerned look quickly evaporated though as he regained his trademark arrogant smirk and addressed the others with a clap much like Cap did before.
"Okay guys. Thor, keep an eye on your brother. Natasha you gather up the Tesseract and the scepter. Dr. Selvig, please move with Agent Romanoff. Clint, keep them save. Hulk, is it okay if Banner comes out now? Smashing is over, you did a great job," Tony said with a thumbs up towards Banner at the end.
The green giant huffed in annoyance but he still smirked as he turned away.
Everybody moved into action, but nobody gave Eli anything to do. Thor gave him one long last look, but didn't say anything in the end as he cuffed his brother and moved towards the elevator. It's a miracle that through all the damage it would still be operational.
With a briefcase in one hand, scepter in the other, Natasha came back down from the roof with Selvig and Clint on her heels.
"Take a break Eli, you earned it," Clint told the young man with a warm smile. What the boy did today probably saved thousands of lives. And gave his best friend hope, that one was still what gave him the most brownie points in Clint's book.
Natasha moved closer, stood on her tiptoes and gave Eli a peck on the scarf-covered cheek.
"See you soon, Eli."
With that, they left towards the elevator with Thor and Loki waiting in it and Eli was left entirely alone. He moved towards the couch, slumped down and waved his hand. The result of the gesture was his clothes slowly getting cleaned.
Before, they were drenched in alien blood and other unpleasant things. Afterwards, they quickly changed back to his previous pristine dark grey chinos, green and white shirt and scarf.
"I somehow turned into an empath, increased the power of my magics and gained minor telepathy... Just what is that scepter? Will I keep the power up?"
After a short look to his hands, Eli closed his eyes and immediately fell asleep.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone