Infinity Era

by JDPrime22


Chapter 41 – Defend

41

New York, USA

Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan

8:19 a.m.

Two slabs of rubble had risen from the remnants of the fallen apartment complex, and Luke Cage was the one beneath them. He grit his teeth in agitation, using his enhanced strength to toss the slabs of building debris to the sides, roaring as he did so. The first thing that came to him was the blinding light of the blood red sun, followed instantly by the realization that it wasn’t the sun.

Surrounding the lone man, nothing but carnage remained since the blast. The city street was filled to the brim with shattered buildings, flipped vehicles, and consuming fire. The crooked skeletons of the buildings that had managed to remain standing even after the explosion and resulting shock wave hung in the distance, some eventually crumbling to the ground with a wave of dust rising from where they once stood. The morning sky was colored a sick orange and blood red, fire and ash falling from the sky and smoke rising higher to rival the skyscrapers. The air was hot. Not normally warm on a summer morning, but blistering hot. Luke was already sweating profusely and he hadn’t even been out in the open for more than a minute. It was like a nuclear bomb had gone off.

Luke prayed that wasn’t the case and brought his attention downwards, to the sound of a rising groan. To the woman he had shielded and protected with his own body. Lying on her side, Jessica Jones rolled over and pressed her forearms and elbows into the building debris beneath her, forcing herself to rise up despite the tearing pain rippling through her body.

Lifting her face riddled with cuts and dirt, Jessica glared through her long, dark bangs. She seethed heavily through her teeth, her gloved-fists clenching tighter as the seconds passed. “Ow,” Jessica growled.

“Jessica,” Luke said to her, bending down and gripping her arm. He hoisted her to her feet without effort, the young woman almost crumbling to her knees once her feet were pressed to the building rubble. She grabbed onto him to support herself, but held out her free hand to him, to tell him to hold off with his hands. To tell him that she could stand on her own.

Luke looked at her, from her head to her toes. Blood coated her cheeks and slightly above her eyebrow, rolling down the side of her eye and her nose. Her plain white shirt was scratched and torn, fresh cuts beneath the tears and blood already beginning to stain it. Her pants were slightly better, the blue jeans with hardly any tears and no blood. Nothing but filth coated it now. Still, seeing her shirt nearly ruined, the blood just making things worse, caused Luke to act. Despite what she did or said.

He removed his black jacket, revealing the simple yellow T-shirt beneath. It was practically clean. The same couldn’t be said for his jacket, to which he placed it over Jessica’s shoulders much to her dismay. “Your shirt’s cut up, Jessica. Just wear it.”

Glaring at him, she saw as he offered a strong glare in return. She still wondered if he was as strong as her. They never really did test that idea. Nevertheless, Jessica just sighed, forcefully grabbing Luke’s jacket and stepping aside. She rammed her arms into the appropriate holes, cringing a tad at the cuts on her arms. Zipping it up, Jessica looked down to inspect herself. The jacket was cut, filthy, and a size too big for her. Not as bad as the shirt she wore beneath. It would do for now.

“Something hit Central Park,” Luke stated, turning towards the massive, red fireball in the distance, where the fire and ash originated from. He raised a hand to rest over his brow just to stare at it, his eyes narrowing.

“Think it was a nuke?” Jessica asked, her eyes moving across the ravaged ground of building rubble. The place she called her home was nothing more than the concrete and brick that lay beneath her feet. She scoffed, shaking her head. “I mean… shit looks like what a nuke would do.”

She suddenly froze as her eyes trailed to a certain area upon the building debris. Luke just shook his head, lowering his hand from his brow. “If it was a nuke, I think we’d all be dead right about now. Maybe a satellite… or even a meteor.”

His voice fell on deaf ears, causing Cage to turn to Jones so he could directly speak to her. He said, “Whatever the case, we need to—”

Instead, his own voice was lost, watching only as Jessica stepped over the remnants of her apartment carefully. Cautiously. Hauntingly. She approached an area several yards away, stopping dead in her tracks and looking downwards. “Jess…” Luke said, following right behind her.

When he came to her side, it was then did he finally see it. It was then did he finally understand why she had fallen silent. Directly ahead of them, Luke Cage could only see slivers of bodies scattered throughout the debris. Some hidden, some barely poking out, some lying directly beneath and ahead of them. But Jessica had already seen them. Her focus was on the man lying dead at her feet.

At Malcolm Ducasse.

But not only him…

Directly ahead of them… Jessica gazed in horror at the limp, motionless, and bloody bodies of Oscar Arocho and his son Vido.

“No…” Jessica gasped, her pained voice stuttering. Luke watched on in silence, only acting when he saw Jessica fall to her knees, pulling at the debris that lay over Malcolm’s body. His blank eyes stared up at her, Jessica’s paralyzed expression trying to focus on the debris. “God… no, no, no, no!”

Her mind screamed at her, tried to convince herself that they were still alive, that she could still save them. Despite what her mind actually told her, despite what her heart was trying to break to her, and despite Luke grabbing her shoulders and forcing her back, all Jessica could do was deny and fight. Two things she was particularly skilled in and ashamed of.

“Jessica,” Luke began, holding Jessica still with his enhanced strength as she slashed about and jammed her legs outwards, desperately trying to fight him off. She sent several curses his way, constantly trying shout over him if she couldn’t overpower him. “Jessica! Get back! They’re gone!”

“Get off me!” she cried, voice cracking heavily, legs flailing about.

“Jessica, look at me! Look at me!”

He placed his palms against her cheeks so her head was between them. At first, it was to keep her still, to stop her from doing something rash. But after seeing the look on her face, the red in her eyes, Luke slowly began to release the pressure he put in his hands. And she didn’t fight back. Instead, even when she felt his strength leave him, Jessica just shut her eyes, breathing steadily as the smoke and ash filled the air between them. Her breathing was ragged, in pain, a certain wetness building in her eyes the longer Luke held her.

Feeling his warmth, Jessica opened her eyes and stared into Luke’s own. The sympathy was there, as strong as ever before. “I’m sorry,” his powerful voice told her, wiping her cheek free from the tear that had managed to escape her. “But we need to move and search for other survivors.”

She couldn’t say a word, and just nodded in defeat. Neither one of them could say a word as they stepped out of the building and entered the streets. Jessica forced herself not to look back.


Things didn’t look any better the longer Luke Cage and Jessica Jones searched the streets of Hell’s Kitchen. They didn’t even know if they were even in Hell’s Kitchen anymore. Everything just looked the same. Like a firestorm had swept through the city. Like a bomb had gone off.

Both Luke and Jessica were starting to wonder if they were the only survivors. That dreaded thought became more and more apparent as they lifted debris and pushed them aside, screaming out for anyone to hear or respond. Entire blocks were covered in building debris, not a single structure remaining. The heated wind blew against the smoke and ash, making it appear like a monsoon had filled New York with how hard and fast it all fell and rose.

Jessica was already becoming winded, the heat from the firestorm in the distance and the residue cascading over them making her more and more delirious. She tried to find shade under a building that hadn’t fallen, but even then, it hardly helped. Her long, black hair stuck to her sweaty forehead the more she tried to push it behind her. Luke's black jacket was almost unbearable to wear, but she kept it on in fear of her cuts getting exposed to the ash.

Luke hardly fared any better. Although his skin was free from any cuts due to his impenetrable abilities, that hadn’t meant he wasn’t feeling every ounce of the heat and struggle that laid ahead of them. It was like walking in the heart of Death Valley, the sun still barely rising in the sky yet feeling the intensified heat from the fire and smoke. Sweat practically poured down his head, arms, and chest as he tossed building debris aside and shouted for anyone still alive. His yellow shirt was already stained with sweat, Cage wiping his brow with his arm as he moved on to the next building. And the next.

And the next.

And still nothing.

Bodies pockmarked the roads, many lying face down and scorched from the initial blast. Luke took a moment to count his and Jessica’s luck for being inside when the explosion hit Manhattan. Still, with every body he checked, finding no pulse in any that remained in the streets, he was growing more and more hopeless, shaking his head as he rose to his feet.

Breathing rather heavily, Luke looked back to see Jessica leaning against the remains of a building, the shade covering her as she stared aimlessly above. “Jess!” he called to her, watching as Jones slowly forced her attention his way. Both of them were already reaching their limits, as evident by their heaving chests and sweat covered faces.

“Come on!” he urged her, watching as Jessica groaned and pushed herself off the building face. “We need to find shelter so we—!”

Hello?!

The two of them instantly froze. Luke spun around, Jessica focusing his way, where the voice was birthed down the street. The voice came again, much louder from previously, probably indicating it was getting closer. “Anyone out there?!”

“We’re over here!” Jessica screamed, palms surrounding her mouth to amplify her voice.

Together, both Luke and Jessica stood in the center of the street, watching as two figures emerged at the very edge, just rounding the corner. The heavy smoke in the air and the ash falling made it hard to decipher who they were, but as they focused their attention their way and began to quickly approach, both Luke and Jessica realized who they were sooner rather than later.

And they couldn’t be happier to see them, Luke more so than Jessica.

Danny Rand and Colleen Wing slowed to a halt, narrowing their eyes to see if who they saw was actually there. Their assumptions were correct, relieved gasps and smiles spreading all around as they moved forward, meeting Luke and Jessica halfway.

“Danny?” Luke said, spreading out his arms and meeting Rand for a hug, the two slapping each other’s backs. They both broke away at the same time, Luke’s right palm on Danny’s shoulder and Rand’s right hand gripping Luke’s bicep. He noticed that Danny’s green flannel was already drenched with sweat, the first few buttons already unhooked and revealing the dragon tattoo beneath. Colleen fared no better, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. They were all in the same boat. “Are you and Colleen all right? What the hell just happened?”

“One question at a time,” Danny said, breathing rather quickly. Luke nodded as a response. With his free left hand, he held it out to Luke, saying, “We’re fine… and we’re just as lost as you two. Do you have any idea how this could have happened?”

As the two tried to tell each other that they didn’t know a thing about the current situation, Jessica stepped forward and found herself trapped when Colleen wrapped her arm around her, bringing in Jones for a quick hug. Jessica hardly even returned it, patting Colleen’s back with her left hand. Breaking off, Colleen smiled weakly at Jessica, the private eye not really having much to smile about.

“How are you doing, Jessica?” Colleen asked.

“Oh, I’m fine,” Jessica sarcastically began, nodding her head. “Just lost my apartment… some good friends…”

Colleen’s smile completely faded, her gaze falling to the ground. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she said. After noticing the burnt body to her left, she quickly brought her gaze back to Jones, asking, “So… how did you run into Luke?”

“Tried to offer me some coffee before the…”

Her voice trailed off, eyes staring back to the fireball hanging over Central Park. Colleen followed her, both shielding their eyes at the onslaught of light that met them. The blistering breeze blew in their faces, both women turning back towards each other. “You have no idea what it was either, do you?” Wing asked.

“Was kinda hoping you guys did,” Jessica admitted. Turning over, she looked to see Danny and Luke still lost in their own conversation. “So… you and Danny, huh?”

Colleen blushed lightly at that. “Yeah…”

Jessica just nodded and said, “Nice.”

“Hey, Jessica.”

Both turned accordingly, facing Luke and Danny. Jessica nodded his way, saying, “How’s it goin’, Karate Kid?”

Not too keen on that nickname just yet, Rand shrugged his shoulder, looking off in the distance. “Pretty awful,” he said, facing them again, his tone and voice far more serious than it had been previously. “But right now, we can’t spend anymore time complaining about it. We need to find as many civilians as possible and get them to safety.”

“You didn’t find anyone on the way over here?” Luke asked.

Danny turned his way. “You didn’t either?”

The silence between them was as dreaded as the sounds of far-off buildings finally crumbling to the earth, finally succumbing to the devastation and fires surrounding them. More sirens, more screams, more chaos unleashed. Danny tried to not let it get to him just yet, shaking his head, palms on his hips. “Crap…” he muttered, scratching his chin scruff in thought. “Okay… okay, then maybe we should—”

“You gotta be shitting me.”

Jessica’s voice was so distinct they could tell who it was without even a second thought. It just gave off that certain vibe of not giving a shit and being damn proud about that fact. But even then, even when she said those words, a hint of surprise could actually be heard. The remaining three of the group turned accordingly to Jones, watching as she stared and slowly glared up to the building directly behind the group. They followed her piercing glare, their eyes landing on the lone survivor amongst the ruin standing at the very edge of the rooftop. He nearly blended in to the red skylines behind him, but everyone could instantly tell who was standing high above them, looking down their way.

Watching them.

Overseeing the madness unfold in his city. They almost couldn’t believe it.

They almost couldn’t believe that Matthew Murdock was still alive.

The Daredevil pulled out his billy club, breaking it apart and holding the pieces directly in front of him. Between each club, a steel fiber cable hung tightly. He proceeded to swing one end of the club out in front of him, throwing his grappling hook to a lamp post and leaping off the rooftop. The lamp post managed to hold his weight, Daredevil swinging through the air and coming to a grinding halt in the streets. The grappling hook retracted, the billy club resting in Daredevil’s right glove.

He was met with the awestruck expressions of three out of the four people he wanted to see again. The fourth expression, the furious one, belonged to none other than Jessica Jones. Matthew was apprehensive at first about confronting them, but knew that greater matters laid ahead, and what happened in the past could wait later.

He hoped for that. “Hey,” Matt began, trying to offer a tiny smile and nod. He only managed one of those, his thin lips refusing to curl upwards. “I thought I heard your voices.”

No one moved. Their heartbeats, from what Matt could hear, were fast, yet their movements were frozen. All except for one. Jessica started off at a walk, then quickened her pace once Murdock turned her way. He said, “Jessica, I’m sorr—”

Jones slapped him. It caught everyone by surprise. The sound was so piercing that it left a ring in Matt’s left ear. Daredevil let his head rest to the side, his tongue already feeling around and tasting the trickles of metal. “Ow…” he muttered.

“You’re lucky I didn’t break your jaw, asshole,” she told him, grabbing his shoulders fiercely, tightening her palms ever so slowly and forcing his attention on her. “Now, you better have a damn good reason why you’re still alive, or I’m gonna make you wish you stayed dead.”

“Easy, Jess! Back off!” Luke said, pushing her aside. She sneered at him, Luke glaring right on back. He broke away from her rather quickly, shifting his concerned gaze over to Murdock. He spit out the residue of blood Jessica had inflicted on him from the strike, wiping his mouth with his forearm.

“Thanks, Luke,” he said, turning to Cage and slapping his shoulder. “It’s good to see you again.”

“I can say the same for you,” Luke said, slapping his shoulder back, much harder than Matt had done. He groaned at that, rubbing his shoulder as Luke asked, “You doin’ all right?”

“Little sore, but I think I’m good to go,” Matt said, rolling his shoulder and feeling a satisfying pop shortly. He turned accordingly, staring at the astounded expressions that still gripped both Danny Rand and Colleen Wing. “Danny…”

Before anyone could have reacted appropriately, Danny walked over and hugged him. Jessica looked somewhat taken aback by that, frowning either way and stepping aside. Once Rand broke the hug, he held Matt’s shoulders, staring into the red eyes that the mask offered, seeing nothing beyond them. “Matt, what the hell happened?” he asked, almost breathless.

“Let’s just say someone pulled me out of the rubble and nursed me back to health, and leave it at that,” Matthew responded, stepping back from the group to give them all enough space.

“What about your girlfriend?” Jessica asked, not even trying to hide the sneer in her tone. That sneer quickly died when she saw whatever portion of his expression he allowed. His shoulders slumped, a tiny sigh leaving his nostrils as he gazed to the tattered street. “Oh… sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Matt whispered. He sighed once more, raising his head and staring straight ahead. The light of the morning sun and the fireball over Central Park gave his costume even more detail and light. They could see why he performed his vigilante deeds mainly at night. He was a clear target during the day.

The pain in his voice was gone, replaced only with forced determinism. “Right now, we need to focus. There are people in New York who still need our help.”

“Well, sniff ‘em out,” Jessica told him, her voice resembling a mocking tone, obviously focused around Matt’s enhanced smell.

“I can hear them instead,” Matt stated, no sense of humor in his voice. Jessica frowned and watched him dart his head back and forth, his neck twitching in several directions. “All right… I got someone. Several, to be exact.”

“Lead the way, Matt,” Luke said, nodding him forward.

Matthew nodded and pushed past them, already hearing their conjoined footsteps behind him. A particular pair came up to his side, Daredevil not even having to turn to hear Danny’s heartbeat to his left. He said, “Despite how Jessica acted… we’re all glad to have you back, Matt.”

For that, Murdock finally smiled.

They searched the ruins of New York together for survivors. They had long left Hell’s Kitchen and already lost track of which section of the city they were in. They were practically lost, Matt’s enhanced senses being their only guide to the survivors he had managed to catch with his hearing. Other than that, everything else was barren, dead, a burning husk of what once was the city they grew up in. Their home. Jessica didn’t let the sappy parts get to her, but Luke, Danny, and Colleen definitely showed their emotion to the bodies littered in the ravaged streets. Luke could have sworn he saw Matt getting a little choked up after they had left Hell’s Kitchen in the ruin it was already in.

Thankfully, the heat was beginning to clear, the blood red in the skies fading once the clouds were breaking apart and the sun began to unleash its rays onto the devastated city. It hardly helped, but they would take whatever was offered to them. Soon enough, they were stopped once Matt raised his gloved-fist, shifting his head over to the alleyway ahead of them. He waved them forward, the group remaining silent as they stepped onto the sidewalk and approached the alleyway.

It was practically cloaked in shadow, hardly any light managing to reach inside between the two building. The five of them stopped when Daredevil stopped, staring into the darkness and waiting. Waiting for Matt to say something. Waiting for practically anything to happen.

It was still somewhat of a surprise to see a pair of pistols jutting out of the shadows, followed by a female voice that declared, “Freeze, assholes!”

While some like Danny, Colleen, and Jessica begrudgingly raised their hands slowly while at gunpoint, Luke didn’t even move, knowing from experience that no gun would be able to hurt him. Then there was Matt, who refused to move and instead stared straight ahead, already knowing who was hiding within the darkness. Already knowing who were behind the triggers.

It came as a surprise for everyone else when they finally stepped out.

“Misty?” Luke stated, narrowing his eyes to see if he saw her correctly. There was no misjudging her, especially with her robotic right arm gripping the pistol alongside her left. Detective Knight furrowed her brow at them, instantly noticing Luke Cage but actually being surprised to see the rest with him.

“Luke?” she said, dropping her pistol. “Danny, Colleen, Jessica…?”

Everyone she mentioned by name dropped their hands and nodded her way. Her eyes trailed over to the far left, widening just at the sight of him. “You?!” she gasped. “You’re alive?!”

Daredevil just nodded.

The short moment of shock was followed by several unsettling seconds of silence between the groups. Truly, there were two groups. Luke Cage may have saw and focused mainly on Misty Knight to begin with, but his eyes slowly turned to the right, where he saw the woman he really hoped had stayed at home. He knew her, he knew Claire Temple. He knew she was a helper—as well as a strong-willed fighter—and wouldn’t turn away from the suffering of others. Claire’s jaw fell the same time her pistol did, the firearm resting on her side. Neither she nor Luke could turn away from each other.

As for the rest of the group behind Misty and Claire, they consisted mainly of random civilians, the many of which managed to survive the blast. Several were injured, some holding their blood-covered wounds and holding onto one another. Probably close friends. Probably families. All under the protection and watchful eyes of Detective Knight and Claire Temple.

But there were others. Others that knew more to those like Jessica Jones and Matthew Murdock more so than the random faces in the crowd. One in particular was Patricia Walker—Trish, for short—the successful radio talk show host and former best friend to Jessica. Their falling out revolved around close and personal ties to Jessica’s family, the murder of Jessica’s mother by Trish’s own hands to be exact. Nothing was ever the same after those terrible events, and even then, Trish couldn’t stare at Jessica’s growing glare at her forever. She clutched onto her purse, staring sadly to the concrete floor beneath her. Jessica didn’t change. She glared only at Trish a moment longer before turning away and swearing never to look again.

Then there were two others. The people that Matthew Murdock considered to be his only true family left in all the world. At least, he used to think that before his mother came back into the picture. Still, seeing Karen Page and Franklin Nelson made him catch his breath. Matthew knew Franklin best as Foggy, his best friend and co-founder of Nelson and Murdock. He knew Karen as one of his closest friends, and a former lover, only to break off when Elektra came back into his life. Their relationship was complicated. Matt could only assume that him dying and coming back to life was only going to make it even more complicated.

The expressions on their faces assured him of that.

That moment of silence finally ended when Luke took the first few steps forward to personally greet Misty with a hug. As the group congregated—offering hugs, handshakes, and several other side conversations about health, safety, and whatnot—there were a few who remained where they were, shifting their uneasy stares to the people they didn’t expect to find.

Luke stared at Claire after breaking away from Misty, the two eventually hugging despite the past behind them. Trish didn’t even move from her spot. Neither did Jessica. Danny and Colleen offered quick hugs to Misty and Claire. Foggy and Karen stared at Matt, simply failing to speak as they watched Claire offer a powerful and almost tearful hug to the Devil. And although they couldn’t see his eyes behind the red lenses, they could just feel that he was staring right at them. Despite being blind. Despite seeing a world on fire.

And he was.

“This is crazy,” Luke said, turning back to Misty. “What are you doing here?”

With her hands still gripping her pistol, both the prosthetic and the human, Misty stepped out only slightly and stared out into the fire. “After the explosion, the NYPD sent out officers throughout the city. They wanted us to try and find as many civilians as we could and bring them back to the station. Lucky for me,” she said, turning back to the alleyway and gazing towards the crowd of civilians, “I got quite the batch to look after.”

We got quite the batch,” Claire corrected her, holding out her own pistol. Misty nodded to that.

Breaking their stares, both women turned to Luke Cage. He addressed not only himself, but the rest that stood alongside him. To Danny, Colleen, Jessica, and Daredevil. And he told them, “You might need some help, then.”

However, the reaction he got was not what he expected. Misty scoffed lightly through her lips, offering an amused smile his way. “You sure you want to work with the law this time?”

Before Luke could even react accordingly to that statement, almost everyone’s side conversation had fallen silent when the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen spoke.

“Guys…”

Luke, Misty, and Claire turned accordingly to Daredevil. Danny, Colleen, and Trish joined them, several other citizens behind them doing the same. Jessica, Karen, and Foggy were the final ones, everyone remaining silent and watching as Daredevil twitched his head back, his lips slightly parted, hardly a breath leaving him as he listened. And he listened. But they didn’t need to hear it.

They could already feel it.

“I probably should have told you beforehand… but we got incoming,” Daredevil whispered.

“Incoming?” Misty repeated. She and everyone else watched as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen slowly turned his head to the east, to the skies breaking apart and letting loose the natural sunlight. Not only that. She followed Daredevil’s gaze to the sky. Everyone did.

And watched as the clouds broke apart and the alien warship emerged over Manhattan.

“Jesus Christ…” Misty gasped, hands falling to her sides. The citizens around her reacted differently, several screaming out. Children crying to their parents and many more backing away deeper into the alley. Claire and Misty tended to the crowd, assuring them of their safety. Karen and Foggy remained close by each other’s side, Trish Walker clutching onto her purse like it was her lifeline, gazing up onto the alien warship with fear gripping every detail of her irises.

The few that remained stood their ground, even going so far as to stand openly on the sidewalk, surrounding the entrance of the alleyway. Those few were Matt Murdock, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Danny Rand, and Colleen Wing. “That’s not man-made,” Danny muttered, stepping even further into the street.

“Let me guess,” Jessica began, groaning as she did so. “Aliens?”

The very second after she said that dreadful word, the warship howled, unleashing its army onto the defenseless city of New York. They scattered across the sky like flies, flying downwards and already firing upon the buildings that remained standing from the impact, at the citizens that survived that first strike. The civilians quickly began to panic even more, falling back into the alleyway. Once Misty and Clair tended to them, Jessica just sighed.

“God, this day sucks,” she said, the increased wind whipping at her hair. It was colder. Slightly.

Taking notice to every sound, every heartbeat, and every explosion that rocked the city of New York, Daredevil looked back towards the closest heartbeats. Towards the crowd of people who could hardly defend themselves. Claire and Misty could only do so much. They needed protectors to get them to the police station. They needed those who could defend them.

They needed…

“We need to defend these civilians,” Murdock stated loudly. The four by his sides heard him, all turning his way as he took another step out onto the street. Even Claire and Misty turned back to him.

“Get them somewhere safe,” Luke said, clenching his fists and glaring at the alien army. Danny Rand did the exact same, his right fist shimmering a bright gold. Colleen unsheathed her katana slowly, gripping the handle with both palms. She, as well as Misty Knight, Claire Temple, Danny, Luke, and Daredevil, all stared upwards, watching as the aliens fired upon the city.

Danny looked over to Jessica, who kept her head low. “You ready for this?” he asked, still keeping his fist tight and holding the power of the Iron Fist strong.

Jessica turned to him, then back to the street, then… slowly up to the skies. To the alien army attacking her home. “One last time?” she asked, looking to Danny, Luke, Colleen, and Matt. None of them even moved, but their expressions gave her the answer she really wasn’t hoping to find.

In the end, she just nodded, facing the skies once more. “Screw it. I hope I’m the one who dies this time.”

New York City was covered in fire. For miles and miles, innocent civilians ran for their lives, not knowing where to go, only to run from the alien swarm directly over their heads. Police did all they could, but even they weren’t enough when the Command Center blanketed New York in a massive shadow. The aliens screeched out, dive-bombing the city and unleashing their wrath on the populace.

The Second Chitauri Invasion began.

And the Defenders stood ready, stood together, for whatever space could throw at them and their city.