The Chitauri were easy enough to get rid of. They were plentiful in number, but they weren't horribly intelligent. So even if they were an awful inconvenience, the Chitauri alone weren't enough to make Stephen truly struggle. It was what came after them that really made Stephen want to complain.
A portal had opened up beside him. And not just any portal. It was a ring of golden sparks, the signature of a sorcerer. Stephen frowned when he saw who had come through, blinking several times before his brain accepted that he wasn't seeing things. "..Kaecilius?" ..hadn't Dormammu dragged him off to the dark dimension? How the hell had he gotten out?
Before that portal closed up, yet another familiar face would join Kaecilius' side. And this particular face had Stephen bewilderedly scratching the back of his head. "..Loki?" Full gold armor and all. Neither looked pleased to see him.
Stephen couldn't really use the excuse that he was out of practice with the whole fighting thing. He stayed in shape, both physically and with his spells. But other than Bugland, the last time he had honest to god fought anything was back in his own reality, and that had been half a year ago.
..so maybe he was a tiny bit out of practice. Hence why it was so easy to get him face-down on the pavement with Kaecilius forcing his arms behind his back. Those hazel eyes glanced up at his fiancé, his words slightly muffled due to the unfortunate position he was in.