//------------------------------// // Chapter 46 – Come Together // Story: Infinity Era // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// 46 Earth New York, USA Manhattan 9:26 a.m. The Defenders did all they could. They did only what they could do best. Alongside the Punisher, Colleen Wing, Claire Temple, and Misty Knight, that’s all they did and could do: defend. When more Chitauri landed in the streets, flew in the air, and tried to slaughter the civilians like they were insolent cattle, the only people standing in their way were them. And they would stand, they would fight, and they would die for whatever it took to ensure the safety of innocent lives. As Frank Castle fired bursts from his M4 assault rifle into the sky—trying to pick off the Chitauri that lingered on the rooftops as well as taking out the chariots trying to dive-bomb them—that left the streets a complete fight for survival. Claire and Misty ordered the civilians to retreat behind abandoned vehicles or buses, remaining out of the fight as they focused the majority of it on themselves. Claire and Misty hid behind cars and fired madly down the street or into the air to aid Castle. They went through several magazines, of which Misty was desperately running out of, so they each made their remaining shots count. Claire gripped her pistol tightly, breathing steadily and ignoring the sounds of warfare surrounding her. She fired. That bullet traversed down the street, shooting past Castle still focused on the skies and impacting the Chitauri foot soldier going for Murdock’s unprotected right side. The bullet tore through the creature’s skull, the dead alien landing and joining the others lying at Daredevil’s feet. As for Murdock, he and the remaining three Defenders engaged the enemy head-on, meeting their rifle fire with precise strikes and killing blows up close and personal. The Chitauri may have been trained soldiers, but the Defenders were something else entirely. They were fighters. Martial artists. Bullet-proof. Almost everything the Chitauri weren’t. Daredevil engaged two Chitauri at once, ducking once the first swung its blade right for his head. Sweeping low and fast, Murdock knocked the creature’s feet out right from under it, delivering a killing strike with his baton right into its throat. The alien screeched and gurgled, but quickly lost its breath at its shattered esophagus and died right there. Matthew didn’t stop, flinging his billy club to his left and hitting the second Chitauri square in its forehead. The strike did nothing more than disorient the alien, its helmet still ringing from the hit. In that short moment, however, Matthew took it and caught his baton mid-air, spinning and sending two devastating blows into the creature’s sternum. It hunched forward, screeching as Murdock drove his knee right into its faceplate. The Chitauri fell back, lying motionless in the street. Matt had no time to rest, already sliding into cover behind the closest vehicle once a third Chitauri started firing at him, its blaster wrapped securely around its right arm. The creature kept on firing at the car, glass spilling over Murdock as blue bolts shot over his head. But Matthew wasn’t focused on that at the moment. He connected both of his billy clubs, hearing the resounding click and snap, ensuring him the billy club was fully fastened and ready. Gritting his teeth, Daredevil listened carefully for the sounds behind him, listening as the gunfire finally stopped, and the Chitauri growled in agitation, trying to reload. He took that moment and hopped over the car. Just before it could fire again, Daredevil flung his billy club right at the creature’s neck. The steel fiber cable shot out, the other billy club wrapping around the Chitauri’s neck and the cable tightening around it. An exasperated gasp escaped the Chitauri, the alien reaching for its throat with its left claw to remove the cable, and completely left itself open for attack in the meantime. That’s just what Murdock did. Running forward, Matt closed the distance between him and the alien, the cable shortening as well. Jumping and rolling over the creature’s shoulder, Matt grunted and pulled hard on the billy club. The cable still tied tight around the creature’s neck sent the beast flying over Matthew’s back, Murdock finally releasing the cable and watching the beast land right into… Jessica Jones smacked the Chitauri’s body away like it weighed nothing. And it was nothing compared to her superior strength. She sent her signature frown towards Matthew, the two meeting each other’s fatigued expressions before returning to their own battles. Jessica wheeled her head in the direction of the screech to her right, her black bangs flying alongside her. She gasped and ducked to the side, yelping in pain as the blue bolt tore across her left shoulder. Gripping the wound, Jessica revealed the burn after removing her palm, already seeing the alien blast cauterize the wound and burn the blood. Seething at that, Jessica turned back to where the shot originated, already having to move again once the alien swung its rifle’s blade right for her head. The blade impacted the street where Jessica once stood, the Chitauri watching as Jones’ boot came down and split its rifle in half. She didn’t stop there, fighting through the pain and blocking the Chitauri’s right arm trying to elbow her. Jessica’s nose curled upwards as she snapped the creature’s arm in half just as well, as easy as snapping a toothpick. It wailed in her grasp, Jessica ending its pain by slamming its face on the roof the car directly in front of her. Letting the creature’s dead body fall to the ground, Jessica spun around and very nearly rammed her fist into the charging alien. Had the black palm gripping its shoulder not appeared, that is. Both Jessica and the Chitauri froze at that, the alien unable to move as the palm gripping it completely halted its forward mobility. The man behind the palm let go shortly, only after flinging the Chitauri’s entire body back and into the building on the side of the road. Brick and glass exploded from the impact, raining down into the street. Luke Cage huffed at that, spinning around and meeting Jessica’s constant frown. He could have sworn he saw a bit of relief in her eyes, overcome quickly by the rising exhaustion and adrenaline trying to fight one another for dominance. The adrenaline won, more Chitauri swarming the both of them. As Jessica struggled with dodging and punching back against the aliens, Luke Cage moved rather slow, knowing fully well that nothing the aliens threw at him so far had done anything but leave burn marks on his clothes. The few Chitauri that attacked him next were no different. One hopped on the hood of a car, firing numerous shots from its rifle right at Cage. The blue bolts struck him, but did nothing more than that. He walked forward and lifted his palm, blocking and snapping the blade swung for his head. He grabbed the Chitauri that tried to slice his head off, flinging the creature right at the other on the car’s hood with devastating force. Their bodies snapped and broke upon impact, their dead forms falling in the road and joining the others. Luke rolled his shoulders, driving his right forearm low and sweeping the charging alien right off its feet. The creature flipped in the air from the hit, Luke delivering the final blow by sending his fist straight down onto its chest. Several cracks appeared in the cement once the creature hit it, blood already spilling from its mouth and indented chest cavity. Danny Rand was busy fighting an unfair fight. Usually, that would entail the scene of four Chitauri at once swinging at Danny with their claws and swords, but no. Danny saw it unfair only for them once the power of the Iron Fist flowed through him once again. Danny offered quick and destructive blows from his glowing fist onto the aliens that tried to slice him apart. He blocked the oncoming punch from with his right elbow, swinging with his left fist and hitting the creature in its chest. He ended it with his right fist, the fist that glowed, the fist where the power lied. He struck it across the face, the Chitauri spinning several times in mid-air and landing dead instantly. Danny roared and spun to his left, ramming his golden-glowing fist into the unfortunate Chitauri that landed in his line of sight. Once the fist connected, that’s all that was needed. Its body completely blew apart from the punch, the remaining limbs and body fluid flying outwards and blinding the Chitauri to Danny’s further left. Rand didn’t hold, slamming his left elbow into the creature’s chest and ending it with another punch from the glowing fist. Not as hard as last time, but equally as deadly. The alien flew back like a bullet from the hit, impacting the side of a car and practically tearing the vehicle in half. Alien blood and sweat flew from Danny’s face as he ducked on instinct from the sword, rising back up and slamming the face of his fist into the face of the final Chitauri that stood against him. He watched as the creature’s body flew straight into the air, its last screeches sounding off as it hit the pilot of a flying chariot. Danny’s eyes shot open, the Iron Fist quickly retreating back and diving to safety once the chariot impacted the road where he once stood. Luke swiveled his head further down the road, towards the sound of the crash. He acted quickly and ran back, the burning body of the Chitauri chariot crashing further and further, spinning over vehicles and closer towards his friends. Jessica and Matt were nearly back to back, giving Cage all he needed to tackle both of them to the street, Jones crying out and Matthew cringing as the burning chariot flew over them. All three turned towards the chariot, Luke rising up and allowing Matt and Jessica to get back to their feet. Neither looked particularly in a hurry, slowly easing themselves up to stare dreadfully towards the remaining carnage. Both Frank and Colleen sent the burning chariot a sideways glance, the ship finally coming to a rest just mere feet in front of them. More alien cries and screeches came down the road. Frank Castle turned his gun away from the sky and focused towards the screams, unloading his magazine down the street. Colleen twisted her head in the direction Frank shot at, her jaw falling. “Guys…” Jessica muttered, facing in the same direction. Both Luke and Matt slowly spun around as well, seeing a sight none of them were pleased to meet. Hidden behind a burning vehicle, Danny tried to crawl outwards into the middle of the road, but paused to grip his bleeding side. Grumbling at that, Danny lifted his shirt to see long, ugly scratches on his rib cage. Blood coated each one, Danny tightening his teeth together and shutting his eyes tight, feeling the strength leave him and the pain just build higher and higher. The strength leaving him… Danny shot open his eyes. “No…” Danny muttered, staring at his dimming fist. “No, no, come on! Not yet!” Then he heard the screams. The cries. The alien shrieks reverberating from down the road. Danny planted his palm on the hood of the car he lay behind, forcing himself up but falling to his knee in the end. He, alongside everyone that stood behind him, all saw as more and more chariots flew between the buildings, dropping off more and more Chitauri in the street. Even more than last time. Alien starships filled the air, all flying in their direction. All numbering to a far greater threat than they had ever faced before. More than the Hand. More than the first few waves of aliens. More than anything. And it was all blown away before they could even comprehend it. The missiles shot down from above, raining like fireworks and impacting like bombs once they struck the chariots and blew apart the aliens standing in the street. Danny shielded himself and eventually fell back from the shock waves that followed, the similar screams from the Chitauri coming shortly. But they weren’t to spread fear over their enemies. They were in pain. Dying once the enemy fire blew them away. All heads turned skywards, every last head in the street that wasn’t alien turned to gaze in shock at the War Machine flying over them. James Rhodes hovered several yards in the air, just above and in front the group of civilians. His HUD locked on to the remaining Chitauri in the road. They numbered close to fifty, forty-seven in total. More chariots flew his way, all centering towards the War Machine Mark IV. Rhodey shot out his arms, unveiling machine guns within his suit’s gauntlets, shoulders, and even his backside. Numerous missile launchers fell open, all aiming at a specific target down below. “Heads up,” James said, proceeding to fire and mow down all the Chitauri in the street. Bullet shells fell from the suit of armor like snow, the missiles trailing off of him in wisps of smoke. Frank Castle lowered his assault rifle, he and Colleen, Misty and Claire, and all four Defenders watching the bullets fly from the War Machine, all slack-jawed and hardly breathing. Hardly any of them saw the Chitauri getting ripped apart from the bullets and missiles. They were all too focused on the flying robot shooting a golden beam of energy from its forehead. The remaining chariots in the air were instantly blown to bits once the Vision flew by. Every civilian shielded themselves as the chariots exploded, fully expecting the remains of each to come falling down on top of them. But they didn’t. Not a single piece of shrapnel did. Everyone, Defenders included, turned around and stared at the flying android. With all the chariots in the vicinity destroyed, the android spun and hovered behind the crowd, his golden cape flapping in the wind and the sun’s light blocking his identity. It was all they could focus on before the alien blaster fire came above and behind them. A Chitauri starship managed to slip past War Machine’s line of sight, Rhodes busy standing in the road and finishing off what remained of the Chitauri threat. The starship fired away at the crowd, blowing cars into the air with its blasts and quickly approaching where Danny Rand lay. The rising screams from the crowd assaulted his eardrums, Danny’s eyes only on the starship as it flew past the buildings and fully intended on crashing into him and the civilians that stood behind him. It would have… had the repulsor blast not completely blown it out of the air. The starship erupted into a flurry of orange and yellow lights, its remains flying down and impacting the street to Danny’s left and right. Not a single piece of shrapnel touched him, miraculously enough. Danny shielded himself all the same, only lowering his arms as the fires above his head quickly died down. That was one of the reasons. The main reason he lowered his arms was to stare at the second suit of golden and red armor that landed directly in front of him. It landed on its right knee, both palms shot outwards with bright blue repulsors glowing in each hand. The suit of armor slowly stood back up, facing the carnage that remained of the starship and watching as the War Machine finished off the remaining Chitauri. The crowd of civilians gasped in awe, Foggy and Karen sharing similar expressions of shock. Trish couldn’t even breathe any more, her mouth refusing to close once her eyes landed on the familiar suit of armor. Misty Knight and Claire Temple lowered their pistols at long last, they—as well as everyone who stood behind them—just as frozen at the mere sight of it. Frank Castle did nothing more than glare. Colleen Wing nearly dropped her katana. Luke Cage remained somewhat indifferent, his lips slightly parted to show his surprise. Jessica Jones furrowed her brow in confusion, those brows slowly rising when she finally realized who it was. Matthew Murdock knew instantly who it was. He could hear him coming from a mile away. The Daredevil slowly smiled. As for Danny Rand, he could do nothing more than gaze in utter shock and awe at the Iron Man standing mere feet in front of him. And Tony Stark finally turned around and away from the fires, finally meeting the startled and astounded expressions faced his way. It wasn’t uncommon. Stark had seen plenty of similar faces turned his way from time to time. The last one he saw belonged to the young man with the dragon tattoo lying on his back in front of him. Stark lowered his head, the Mark 50 analyzing him and instantly catching his identity. But Stark didn’t need a suit of armor to tell him what he already knew. He knew the kid’s identity the second he finally saw him. The remaining Defenders—alongside Castle and Colleen, with Claire and Misty trailing—proceeded to step forward to Danny, watching as Iron Man offered Rand his hand. “Well, well… if it isn’t the lost son.” Danny breathed at that statement, forcing his eyes away from the golden and red mask and facing instead towards the golden and red palm offered to him. With slight reluctance, Danny gripped it and was pulled back up to his feet, nearly face to face with Tony Stark himself. Both men, both billionaires seemed to analyze each other with that quick second, Stark staring at the strange tattoo and Danny seeing nothing but the blue of his mask’s eyes. It wasn’t long before the others arrived. “Wait…” Luke interrupted, both Danny and Tony turning accordingly to Cage. He pointed from Rand to Stark, then the other way around, asking, “You two know each other?” “Not really,” Danny muttered, Stark twisting his neck back towards him, his suit making the appropriate noise to his movements. Jessica Jones and Colleen Wing found themselves almost transfixed by the Iron Man armor, both quickly focusing instead on Rand’s answer. “Just because we’re both billionaires doesn’t mean we keep tabs on one another.” Stark nodded, his mask materializing back and revealing his face. There were a few gasps, probably those who still hadn’t believed it was Tony Stark himself who came to their aid. He ignored it and said, “Hardly. Almost non-existent relations. If anything, my company overshadowed yours.” While Rand didn’t take Stark’s comment about his family’s company particularly as well as Stark had hoped, he could already tell that Tony was focused elsewhere, moving on to the next set of eyes turned his way. There were several, Tony waving once to the crowd of civilians and addressing them all. It gave him plenty of time to focus on someone else… “The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen…” Stark sighed, everyone turning to Daredevil. Murdock did nothing more than force a closed smile, nodding Stark’s way before facing the ground. Tony didn’t push further—finding no interest with the current situation still plaguing him—and instead moved on to the other man he had the unfortunate pleasure of running into a couple years back. “Castle,” Tony stated. Plainly. Flatly. Frank felt no different, gripping his assault rifle tightly in both palms. “Stark.” “You’re still wanted by the government, you know that?” “Not anymore,” Frank said, Misty frowning his way at the information Stark offered. “They made me a deal.” Tony pursed his lips, slowly shaking his head. “Well, I guess I wasn’t informed of that.” Before anyone else could even open their mouths next, they were silenced once the War Machine landed on Tony’s right, causing Danny and Jessica to take a precautionary step back. They knew the Avenger wasn’t going to hurt them, yet after seeing what he did to the Chitauri, they didn’t want to be too close. Luke stayed where he was and Matthew continued to look away, his last encounter with War Machine not going particularly well for either of them. “Streets are clear, Tony,” James said, his mask retracting back and unveiling his face to Stark. “Good work,” Stark told him with a nod, his eyes turning skyward. “Vision, keep your eyes up and open! Make sure nothing comes near these civilians!” The Vision nodded without a word, keeping his head on a swivel, constantly scanning the skies for a threat. The Chitauri were far off, nowhere near their vicinity. A short moment of clarity and rest would be just what the civilians below needed. He shot his head to the right when an anomaly appeared quickly, swinging closer and closer to the street where the citizens stood. Vision stared a moment longer, his guard lowering when he spotted the large, black spider on his chest. Both Rhodes and Stark lowered their guards all the same when the Spider-Man swung completely over the building, firing a strand of web and slowing his descent to them. He landed on both of his feet, frightening Jessica and Colleen to his right only momentarily. Luke and Danny stared quizzically at the young man, Matthew just further keeping his attention off of old scars. Peter Parker rose up to full height, the glowing blue of his mask’s eyes widening as he pointed back where he swung in from. “Mr. Stark, that flying snake thing’s armor is too tough, but I managed to take out one of those ships!” he exclaimed excitedly, that excitement quickly dying once Stark just yawned. “I still got twelve—scratch that, make it thirteen—on you, kid,” Tony said, Peter’s hand falling and slapping his side. “You need to start catching up.” While Peter was busy letting his optimism crumble, the crowd behind him all conversed amongst themselves. Peter managed to catch them say his name, his head swiveling over to see the civilians pointing to him and staring in awe. Some even managed small smiles. Others, like most of the crowd, stared in disbelief, seeing so many heroes standing before them. Then there was Jessica Jones, frowning at Parker and groaning. Peter turned towards the woman, watching as she closed her eyes and shook her head, her black hair shaking as she did so. Jessica sighed, murmuring, “Oh, great, the Spider-Kid from Queens.” Peter’s eyes widened, both his mask and what lied beneath. “You know about me?” he asked. Jones just stared at him, still holding that famous frown. “Kid, everyone in New York knows about you,” she stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. At least, that’s how Peter caught it, his optimism quickly rising back up to full spirit. “Oh… that’s awesome,” Parker said, almost sounding breathless. The looks he got from the New Yorkers behind Jessica and the others seemed to make sense now. Spider-Man was becoming a bigger hero than Peter had realized, if what Jones said was true, that is. He was definitely bigger than Peter Parker. He was so lost on that idea that he almost didn’t realize that Tony’s mask wasn’t on… while his still was… in front of civilians. “You… You don’t have your mask… Your identity…” Looking down to Parker, Stark stared at him for moment longer before eventually shrugging it off, instead saying, “Everyone knows me.” “Oh, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Peter said, almost hitting himself for having forgot about that crucial fact about Iron Man. He slowly lifted his head, looking over to the civilians and then stepping to his left so that Jessica blocked their view. Before Jones could even question why he did that, Peter turned back to Stark, raising his hand and pointing towards himself. “S… S-should I…?” “It’s… not mandatory. You do you, kid,” Stark told him. That was somewhat good enough for him. Letting his mask materialize back into his suit, Peter stepped forward to Jessica, holding out his hand. “I’m Peter,” he said, his voice lower than usual as to not attract attention to his name from the crowd several yards beyond them. Jones frowned at that. At his hand. At him. “I don’t care.” Nodding to that rejection—as if it wasn’t the first time—Peter turned further to his left, offering his hand once more to Luke. “I’m Peter,” he said again. That time, he was met with a powerful handshake in return, Luke offering a strong, small smile. “Luke Cage,” he told him, watching as Peter said it was nice to meet him before breaking the handshake and facing Danny to Cage’s right. “Peter.” “Yeah, Danny Rand,” Danny replied, looking away after shaking Peter’s hand. By that time, Parker was already facing the last member of the Defenders, a certain Devil of Hell’s Kitchen who really didn’t want to gain Peter’s attention. It was fruitless, the young Spider-Man shooting out his hand and waving Murdock’s way. “Hey, man!” Peter exclaimed, watching as Daredevil turned to him. Peter’s smile suddenly fell, both of his hands held outwards, towards Daredevil. “N-no hard feelings, right?” To his relief, he watched as Daredevil waved it off, saying, “No, no… it’s… it’s fine.” He was expecting it a mile away, but it already came faster than Matt anticipated. The looks he got from his fellow Defenders, from Jessica and Luke especially. “Wait… now you two know each other?” Luke asked, his voice louder than before. “Guess I forgot to mention my little skirmish in Germany, huh?” Matt said, offering a weak chuckle to damper the rising flames he could see from Jessica’s person. It hardly did a thing, Jones stepping forward and nearly slapping Murdock again had Cage not put his arm across her, blocking her approach. “How much more shit are you gonna keep from us?” Jessica snarled instead. “I’d hate to break this up, but we’ve got bigger problems on our hands!” Rhodes yelled, his mask covering his face once again. Both Peter and Tony’s masks materialized back over their faces, their eyes lighting up a bright blue. The confrontation between Murdock and Jones ended prematurely, all four Defenders slowly turning in the direction Tony and Peter faced. Frank Castle growled, lifting up his assault rifle and reloading it. Colleen stood by Danny, gripping her katana in both palms as she and many others faced the road ahead. The long road ahead. The one currently being refilled with even more Chitauri than ever before. Misty and Claire checked their magazines, standing in front of the crowd of panicking civilians. A single Leviathan roared, charging downwards and practically tearing between both of the buildings to its target. Peter gulped, saying, “There it is.” Tony Stark looked back, saw the fear in the eyes of every civilian that stood behind them. The last line of defense standing between them and the Chitauri forces. Stark slowly faced forward, his palms forming into fists. “They don’t get through us, not even one.” Daredevil lifted his billy club and broke it apart, twirling both. Jessica Jones licked her lips and stepped forward, tightening her fists. Luke Cage did the same, instead cracking his knuckles at the end. Danny Rand followed suit, shooting out his fists and fighting an internal conflict for more strength. More power. More light of the Iron Fist. Nothing came, but he stood his ground anyway. With them, his friends. With Tony Stark, James Rhodes, and Peter Parker. With the Avengers. As for the Vision… he didn’t waste another second. He flew straight ahead and down towards the street, firing away with the Mind Stone and meeting the Chitauri Leviathan head-on. And so began the madness, the chaos, the sickness of warfare once more. And the Defenders weren’t alone this time. The wave of chariots and Chitauri came like an unstoppable flood, faster than they could have anticipated, but not fast enough where they didn’t react. While the Vision dealt with the Leviathan, that left the Defenders and the remaining Avengers to fend off against the foot soldiers, the commanders, and the Elites that walked amongst them. The battle that followed near ripped the street completely apart. Bullets and repulsor beams flew, meeting the Chitauri rifle blasts in the crossfire. War Machine and the Punisher moved forward down the street, firing away at any Chitauri they saw. Spider-Man and Luke Cage fought side by side, Peter webbing up any alien he saw and flinging them to Cage, to which he quickly put down before they could break free. Danny and Jessica fought alongside with Colleen, the three meeting the Chitauri close and being more than enough of a match for them to handle. That left Daredevil and Iron Man, one rushing by ground and the other by air. Daredevil roared as he pushed himself off the hood of a car, flying in the air alongside Stark and driving his foot into the nearest alien he could find. Matt quickly engaged with a group of Chitauri while Tony flew down and landed on his feet, skidding across the concrete and firing a single repulsor at a Chitauri Elite. The Elite blocked the blast with its shield, growling and smacking its blade against it. Lowering his glowing palm, Stark analyzed the Elite, watching as it grew nearer to him, a squadron of Chitauri foot soldiers and commanders behind it. “Aren’t you a big boy?” Tony called out, the Elite growling and swinging its blade forward. The Chitauri cried out, charging right for Stark and the people behind him. Stark narrowed his gaze, shooting his head back. “Rand, on me!” From his backside, Stark unleashed a cluster of miniature missiles, each one firing off and striking a single Chitauri, killing every last one in front of him, leaving just the Elite. Stark launched himself forward and drove his fist right into the Elite’s head. It raised its shield before he could do so, leaving just enough room open for Danny Rand to strike. He slid forward, sending his fist right into the creature’s abdomen with such power that it nearly caused the alien to crumble right then and there. But it stood its ground. It fought off the Avenger and the Defender with much more fury and strength than any Chitauri foot soldier ever could. It wasn’t enough. Danny managed to disarm it, flinging the beast’s shield across the road. As the Elite swung for his head, Rand ducked and drove his foot into its exposed sternum. Stark capitalized, blowing the creature’s hand right off its arm and causing its sword to fly off down the road. He didn’t stop there, grabbing the Elite by the throat and flinging it to the ground. Stark raised his foot to bring it down on the Elite’s head, but froze when Rand let out a heavy cry, driving his glowing, golden fist right into its visor. It died instantly at the punch, several cracks appearing in the cement where its head used to be. After Danny brought back his fist and the gold flushing underneath his skin faded away, all Stark could do was stare at it a moment longer, Rand eventually turning his way. “You wouldn’t happen to have ever heard of Extremis, have you?” Stark asked. His question went without an answer, Colleen Wing’s piercing cry breaking out. Danny instantly twisted his attention towards the scream, he and Stark spotting Colleen lying on her chest, her katana strewn from her reach. She struggled to rise, constantly clutching her stomach. “Colleen!” Danny screamed, rushing over to her. Only Stark was the one to see the Chitauri standing over her, its feet planted on the roof of a car it fired from. Tony shot out his palm towards the Chitauri to blow it to kingdom come. And he very nearly would have if someone had not already done it for him… In the form of a yellow, spiked crystal of all things. The crystal came practically out of nowhere, shooting down and stabbing the Chitauri right in its back. As if that wasn’t shocking enough, the Chitauri bellowed out a horrific cry, its body convulsing for nearly five seconds before it crumbled off the car and lay dead in the street. Tony lowered his palm and turned around, his eyes shooting upwards. Danny slid to a stop right next to Colleen and checked her wound, barely moving her hands and cringing just the same to see the large, red splotch resting over her stomach. More Chitauri cries, now all around them, sounding off at once. Danny barred his teeth and lifted his burning eyes, fist raised and already glowing with newfound strength and ferocity. All of which would never have to be used. Several more crystals came from above, being just precise and accurate enough to take out every last Chitauri that stood. They pierced them from the back, the front, took out starships and chariots alike. All at once. The Chitauri that stood face to face with the likes of Daredevil and Spider-Man now just convulsed where the were, dropping dead before ten seconds had even passed. All of them did. Leaving nothing but humanity in the streets. The Vision hovered over the remains of the Chitauri Leviathan in the road, slowly spinning around to gaze at the fluttering, red cloak slowly descending down to the street where his fellow Avengers remained standing. Curious enough, the Vision followed suit and landed in the street, cautiously approaching the cloaked figure from behind. They all watched him descend like an angel, his long, red cape flowing in the wind, keeping him airborne, and eventually kept him hovering just above the center of the road. His arms—which were presented in a more unique stance, an X-formation—were covered in silky, blue robes alongside the rest of his body. His fingers were even stranger, two fingers on each hand pointed upwards and the others curled inwards, nearly forming two fists. Tony Stark slid his mask away, revealing the confusion that gripped not only him but every last member of the Avengers and the Defenders, as well as the Punisher and the civilians with him. As if things couldn’t get any weirder, an orange portal appeared right next to the man, another stepping out and appearing just as mystical and off-putting as the man that descended like an angel no more than five seconds ago. Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones all shared the same expressions, just as bewildered as everyone else. Danny was busy tending to Colleen, finally shifting his head over to the man he could only define as... a wizard. Doctor Strange looked to all of them, his eyes finally settling on one man. And he said, “Tony Stark… Avengers… we need your help.” After hearing nothing but silence as a response for several seconds, Stephen Strange realized that hovering right in front of them probably wasn’t a good first impression. He needed to meet them on their level, ground-level to be exact. His feet touched the ground, the Cloak of Levitation falling alongside his arms. He took a few steps forward, already pausing when Tony Stark pointed his way. “I’m sorry, are you givin' out tickets or somethin'?” Stark finally asked. Ignoring that, Strange proceeded with what his intention in the warzone was to begin with. He stared right at Tony and said, “I don’t think I have to explain that the fate of the very world is at stake… but what I do… is that the fate of two now are. And the fate of the universe.” It took a second or two for Tony to process that, Jessica and Luke behind him already looking skywards. “That world?” Stark asked, pointing directly above him, a few more eyes shifting to the alien planet barely seen through the clouds. Doctor Strange’s expression remained unmoved, his lips pursed and his tone unchanged. He offered his hand to the portal still open, Wong by his side doing the same. “If you all will come with us, we can offer a safe haven,” Strange said, speaking not only to the Avengers, but to everyone. All the civilians looked to one another, Misty and Claire still unsure of what to make of the situation. But Frank did. He stepped forward before anyone else did, shouting, “Hey, listen—!” “More so,” Strange interrupted him, his tone far-more unapologetic and fiercer, even more than Castle’s. He spun his neck around, meeting Frank’s glare and offered one of his own. He finished by saying, “… than what you have planned, Frank Castle.” Frank didn’t question how or why he knew his name. A question that could be saved for later, as he, the civilians, the Defenders, and the Avengers all followed closely behind Doctor Strange into the swirling portal. Not having much of a choice in the matter.