The twins knew something was wrong. They reached for each other and touched hands, wondering what they should do. Around them, alarms and sirens blared. They heard explosions from outside the Leviathan Chamber. Soldiers ran to take up defensive positions. Before them, the scepter stood in its housing, the blue energy from its gem crackling in the air above it.

The Avengers charged through a snowy forest toward the fortress that was their target, at the edge of the city of Sokovia. Enemy soldiers fired at them. Hawkeye located one of the soldiers’ firing positions and blew it up with an explosive arrow. Thor smashed another gunner’s nest with his hammer. The soldiers inside tumbled out, falling out of the tree. Hulk took on the heavy equipment, smashing a tank and looking around for another one.

Zooming overhead, Iron Man crashed hard into an invisible energy shield protecting the fortress. He swore as he tumbled to the ground.

“Language, Stark,” Captain America said. “Jarvis, what’s the view from upstairs?”

Jarvis was feeding information into the displays inside Iron Man’s helmet. “It appears the central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker’s use of alien technology is well beyond that of any other HYDRA base we’ve taken down.”

All the other Avengers could hear him because of their communication devices on a secure -team-​-only wavelength.

“Loki’s scepter must be there,” Thor said. “Strucker couldn’t have mounted this defense without it. At long last...”

“At long last is lasting a little long, boys,” Black Widow said.

“Yeah,” Hawkeye commented from behind a tree, where he was picking off HYDRA soldiers one after another. “I think we’re losing the element of surprise.”

Soldiers poured out of the fortress, lining its exterior walls and counterattacking. The Avengers were closer to it now. On the other side of the fortress was the city. Iron Man soared over the fortress. He couldn’t get through the energy shield protecting the main keep, but the soldiers on the walls were outside the shield. He fired repulser beams at them and dodged their return fire. Some of them had Chitauri weapons.

In the forest, racing toward the fortress, the rest of the Avengers fought Strucker’s troops. Captain America skidded to a halt on his motorcycle and threw it at a jeep. The jeep swerved and crashed into a tree.

Inside the fortress, Baron Strucker strode through the command center, looking for the officer on duty. “Who gave the order to attack?”

The soldier nearest him stammered, “Herr Strucker, it’s...​it’s the Avengers.”

Another soldier, more calmly, added, “They landed in the far woods. The perimeter guard panicked.”

“They have to be after the scepter,” Strucker said. “Can we hold them?”

“They’re the Avengers!” the first soldier said, as if he couldn’t believe the question.

The Avengers , Strucker thought. Everyone fears them . “Deploy the rest of the tanks,” he ordered a waiting officer. “Concentrate fire on the weak ones. A hit may make them close ranks.” He turned to a scientist accompanying him, Dr. List. “Everything we’ve accomplished...​we’re on the verge of our greatest breakthrough!”

“Then let’s show them what we’ve accomplished,” Dr. List answered smoothly. “Send out the twins.”

“It’s too soon.”

“It’s what they signed up for,” Dr. List pointed out.

Strucker shook his head, watching the soldiers deploy out of the command center. “My men can hold them,” he said, but inside he wasn’t sure. pPnmY307sMJ8EblpGiLOTgFYDf6F85nsCHrU0UJUVuUOKV1cxIV0KQuw30rtdThu