{Chapter: 301 The War Begins}
The Chitauri army had arrived. The vanguard formation descended through the swirling wormhole in waves—sleek alien aircraft, each carrying two heavily armed Chitauri soldiers. Their invasion began not with words, but with fire.
Without warning, the air was filled with the high-pitched whine of energy beams, which rained down on the city below like divine punishment.
Explosions tore through the streets. Screams echoed between crumbling buildings. Cars were hurled into the air like toys, set ablaze by the barrage of alien fire. Chaos reigned. New Yorkers, caught in the horror of an unimaginable assault, scattered in every direction, their faces painted with terror and disbelief.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom...
Wave after wave of Chitauri vessels surged from the open sky like a swarm of mechanical locusts. The alien army bombarded New York with relentless aggression, acting as though the city were defenseless—and in that moment, it was.
Who could have predicted an army descending from the sky?
From a distance, the distinctive outline of a S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet—bird-shaped and sleek—cut through the smoky clouds. It raced toward the enemy with engines roaring, engaging the alien crafts with heavy firepower. Explosions bloomed around it like fiery flowers in a storm.
But for every enemy downed, more appeared.
Overwhelmed by superior numbers, the Quinjet shuddered under the hail of alien plasma fire. Thick, dark smoke trailed behind it, and with a dying groan of engines, the craft spiraled downwards.
Inside the downed Quinjet, a familiar figure pushed his way through the broken hull. Steve Rogers—Captain America—rose to his feet, brushing off dust as he gripped his vibranium shield. He looked skyward, where enemy ships screamed overhead.
"Damn," Steve muttered, shielding his eyes. "That's a lot of company."
Just then, a voice crackled in his ear—cocky and unmistakable.
"Relax, Cap. You're not the only one fighting for freedom today."
Steve glanced up, a wry smile forming. "Tony."
Iron Man rocketed into view like a blazing comet, repulsors flaring from his palms and feet. He didn't waste time. As he swooped into the fray, tiny guided missiles launched from his shoulders, each finding their target with surgical precision.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Several Chitauri ships erupted midair, debris showering the buildings below. Stark didn't stop moving—he looped, dove, and twisted through the sky like a veteran dogfighter. But his success came at a cost. The alien fleet began to converge on him, dozens of aircraft zeroing in on his position.
"Okay, okay!" Stark shouted over the comms. "That's enough attention for one guy. Anyone wanna pull some aggro off me?"
Down below, the streets descended deeper into chaos. Fires raged unchecked, and civilians scrambled for shelter. Despite Iron Man's impressive offense, it was clear this was no quick battle.
Suddenly, the sky split open with a violent crack of thunder. Clouds swirled, and lightning raged in furious streaks across the heavens.
Then, he descended.
Thor, God of Thunder, streaked down like a lightning bolt given form, his red cape billowing behind him. He landed atop Stark Tower with a mighty thud, Mjölnir crackling with power in his hand.
He stormed forward, glaring at the figure standing beside the Tesseract-powered device. "Loki!" Thor bellowed. "End this madness now, or I swear I will bring this device down with my own hands."
Loki, ever the trickster, turned with a grin that dripped with arrogance. His horned helm gleamed in the Tesseract's glow.
"Oh, dear brother, still so dramatic. Can't you see? This is already beyond your control." He gestured grandly to the skies. "Behold my army! They shall reshape this world, and I—I—will rule it!"
Thor's response was not with words but with action. He raised Mjölnir high and summoned the wrath of the storm.
KRA-KOOM!
A massive bolt of lightning slammed into the machine, but instead of destroying it, the energy was absorbed into the protective barrier. The feedback exploded outward in a blinding shockwave of light and force.
"Ugh—!" All three men—Thor, Loki, and Dr. Selvig—were hurled from the rooftop, sent tumbling through the air like leaves in a storm.
Loki crashed into one of the Chitauri flyers mid-fall, instinctively grabbing the controls. With a sneer, he redirected the craft downward and began firing at fleeing civilians, delighting in the destruction.
Thor, mid-fall, righted himself with a blast of wind, then dove to catch the unconscious Selvig before he hit the ground.
Landing heavily, Thor gently laid the scientist down and looked up to find Captain America approaching, still holding his shield.
"Nice entrance," Steve said.
Thor gave a grim nod. "The portal remains open. And Loki—he's become more deranged than ever."
Steve's eyes scanned the sky. "Then we close the portal and stop his army. Together."
The two warriors—one a man out of time, the other a god from another realm—stood side by side, their shared purpose written in their expressions. The war for Earth had truly begun.
---
On the rooftop of the Hammer Industries building, William, Alice, and Ada stood side by side, gazing out across the burning city skyline. The chaos of the Chitauri invasion unfurled before them like a scene from a nightmare—sky ablaze with explosions, alien aircraft streaking past like dark comets, and the distant cries of terrified civilians echoing between collapsing buildings.
Alice tilted her head, her sharp eyes locked onto the carnage. "Are you seriously just going to stand here?" she asked, crossing her arms as she looked at William. "Still think this isn't shocking enough?"
William gave a small, amused chuckle. His expression remained calm, almost indifferent. "This is just the vanguard, Alice. The opening act. Let Thor, Stark, and the rest of the team burn some energy first. If you're itching for action, no one's stopping you. Go enjoy yourself."
A crooked smile tugged at Alice's lips. "You know, watching cities fall really does get my blood pumping." She turned to Ada with a grin. "You ready?"
Ada's eyes narrowed as wind began to swirl around her body. Her voice was cool, composed. "Always."
In an instant, Ada launched herself into the air, propelled by a sharp gust that rippled the rooftop beneath her. Her form became a blur as she ascended into the thick of the battle.
Alice shook her head with mock exasperation. "I can't let her hog all the fun." Her pupils narrowed into triangular shapes, glowing faintly with a supernatural light. With a thought, her body lifted off the ground, suspended by a swirling field of psychic energy.
In the air, a formation of Chitauri aircraft honed in on Ada, unleashing a barrage of energy blasts.
"Tch." Ada scoffed, unimpressed. "You'll have to do better than that." She hurled her hands forward, conjuring a massive fireball that spiraled toward the alien squadron.
Boom. Boom. BOOM.
Seven or eight Chitauri ships were incinerated in the blast, spiraling into flames. The rest scattered like startled birds, diving to evade.
More energy blasts came. Ada didn't flinch. She raised her arm and summoned slabs of jagged stone from thin air, forming a wall in mid-flight.
Bang! Bang!
The stones shattered on impact, exploding into clouds of debris. But Ada was already on the move. Clasping her hands together, she summoned a massive wind blade nearly ten meters long. It hummed with elemental force, sharp enough to slice steel.
With a fierce cry, she swung it— whoosh!—cleaving through three aircraft in one powerful arc.
At a distance, Alice floated higher, watching her companion with a flicker of admiration and challenge. "Show-off," she muttered with a smirk. "Guess I better stop holding back."
She closed her eyes, drawing deep into her telekinetic focus. The city's sounds dimmed as her mind expanded outward, sensing the movement of every enemy, every aircraft, every pulse of hostile energy.
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, glowing with intensity.
A swarm of more than twenty aircraft converged on her, energy cannons blazing.
Alice didn't move.
Instead, a massive telekinetic pulse erupted from her in all directions. The air rippled and shrieked with the force of it.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
In the blink of an eye, all twenty aircraft detonated mid-air in a ring-shaped explosion centered perfectly around her. The shockwave lit the sky.
Then came the roar.
It was deep, guttural, and shook the bones of the earth.
All eyes turned to the wormhole.
From its swirling maw, a monstrous maw emerged—lined with jagged metallic teeth, followed by a serpentine body the width of a building. It writhed forward with unnatural grace, like a mechanical leviathan.
"A beast-shaped battleship…" William murmured from the rooftop, brows raising slightly. "Now that's a bit more interesting."
The dragon-class Chitauri carrier screeched as it descended, knocking over buildings with its massive frame. Its tail swung out and obliterated a skyscraper in one mighty blow. The tower crumbled like sand, crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust and metal.
From the behemoth's armored sides, hundreds of Chitauri infantrymen deployed like parasites, dropping onto streets, rooftops, and plazas. Each held energy rifles and opened fire without hesitation.
The chaos reached new heights.
Ada flew beside Alice, the two hovering above the falling city.
"One giant flying alien snake," Ada quipped, eyeing the creature. "Remind me why we waited again?"
Alice cracked her neck, eyes gleaming. "Because now it's actually worth our time."
Their auras surged—wind and psychic force radiating around them as they prepared to dive into the heart of the battle.
Far below, the dragon-shaped battleship continued its advance, carving a swath of ruin through the city like a blade through silk.
But the real fight was just beginning.
*****
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