The President’s Fault

On the azure Pacific Ocean, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Helicarrier cruised across the sea at thirty knots. Black smoke drifted from the carrier, lending it a desolate air.

Inside the carrier’s office.

The King of Agents looked around at the gathered elites, exhausted in both body and mind. "The Tesseract’s whereabouts are unknown. Dr. Banner found a trace of it, but unfortunately, we’ve lost him… and Thor. Other than contacting intelligence networks around the world, there’s nothing I can do. Do any of you have any good ideas?"

The superheroes looked at one another. They had gathered together full of ambition, only to be toyed with by Loki and easily provoked into fighting separately, ending up in their current predicament. This alliance of the strong proved that one plus one did not merely equal two—it could also equal B.

"Barton, do you have any thoughts?" Unlucky looked toward the clear-headed Hawkeye. He had spent some time at Loki’s side and might know some clues.

"He hid himself very well. I’m afraid only Dr. Erik Selvig knows," Hawkeye said, shaking his head.

"Damn it!" Unlucky sighed, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples with both hands, considering whether to ask Duke.

"Perhaps we can use elimination. Activating the Tesseract requires a massive amount of energy, and there aren’t many places in the world that meet that requirement." Seeing everyone’s low spirits, Steve tried to get the ball rolling. "For example, Stark Tower!"

Stark rolled his eyes. "Why my tower? Just because of the Arc Reactor?"

"Because it’s the only massive energy source I know of." Having lived in Brooklyn all this time, the captain said that he saw the word "Stark" every day during his morning runs, and it seriously ruined his appetite.

"We’ve considered that. Stark Tower isn’t the only place in the world that meets the criteria. Every country has its own independent, secret energy centers. There are too many interests involved…" Unlucky shook his head in rejection. Let alone him, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., even the Security Council could not make every country spread its legs and expose its vital assets.

"Then pretend I said nothing." Steve spread his hands, indicating that he was out of ideas too.

A thought suddenly struck Stark, and he continued along the captain’s line of reasoning. "Loki is an egomaniac, vain and obsessed with appearances. People like him crave flowers and applause. He wants everyone to witness his victory… He needs an audience, and he wants his name held high…"

"That sounds a lot like someone!" Dottie quipped.

"Mr. Stark, now isn’t the time to discuss your terrible personality. That’s not important," Natasha added.

"No, it’s extremely important." Stark abruptly rose to his feet and paced back and forth across the room. "Guys, what do you think of Stark Tower?"

"It sucks."

"It sucks horribly."

"It sucks like nothing ever has before."

"Nothing could possibly suck more."

Stark acted as though he had not heard a word. Muttering to himself, he came to a realization. "Looking across the entire world, there isn’t a place more flamboyant than Stark Tower… That son of a bitch!"

With that, he rushed out of the conference room and began repairing his damaged Iron Man Armor.

Nick Fury straightened his expression and immediately spoke into his communicator. "Mobilize the satellites at once. I want eyes on Stark Tower."

Less than ten seconds later, the large screen before them displayed the top of Stark Tower.

In the high-definition image, Dr. Erik Selvig was assembling a strange-looking device. After pressing a button, a blue energy barrier enveloped the Space Stone, making it spin rapidly in the center. The entire power supply of Stark Tower was concentrated on the top floor, while nearby buildings were affected as their communications and electricity were completely drained.

"Damn it! Contact Triskelion Headquarters immediately and send everyone to Stark Tower!" Unlucky stared in horror at the Space Stone beginning to activate on the screen, slamming the table as he shouted.

The superheroes immediately got up, geared up at top speed, boarded a Quinjet, and rushed toward New York. Just as the aircraft lifted off, a gold-and-red Iron Man Armor streaked past it. With a burst of acceleration, Stark left the aircraft far behind.

New York, a city plagued by misfortune. A look through Hollywood blockbusters made one thing obvious: Aliens had a particular fondness for this city. Today, the people of New York were living as carefree as usual. A few ambitious young people were planning a protest, but the school shooting and police killing Black people in the street had already been talked to death, and for the moment, they could not find a suitable excuse.

"If only Aliens invaded Earth. Then we’d have a reason to protest."

"Yeah, it’s all the President’s fault!"

Just as the passionate youths looked up at the sky, a sky-blue pillar of light shot into the heavens from the roof of Starrk Tower. Three thousand meters above the ground, the beam struck empty space amid the clouds, and the space there twisted as though it were melting.

Space distortion!

At the point where the beam struck, a patch of darkness appeared in the white cloud. It immediately expanded outward in a circle, and within several breaths, a black hole roughly thirty meters in diameter stabilized high in the sky. Through its massive opening shone a brilliant expanse of cosmic stars.

As the passionate youths stared in stunned disbelief, wave after wave of shrieks echoed from the black hole…

On the other side of the Space Portal lay the vast emptiness of the universe, somewhere in a star system an unknown number of light-years from Earth. In the silent starry sky floated an enormous warship like a fortress in space, surrounded by countless biomechanical entities of unknown life forms swimming back and forth.

These half-biological, half-mechanical monsters resembled a dense school of fish roaming the sea of stars. Their vicious, terrifying bodies were covered in sturdy armor over stiff, ash-gray muscles. When their enormous mouths occasionally opened, they revealed teeth that seemed eager to devour people alive.

The metal behemoths, altered by alien technology, had countless Chitauri hanging from the ribs on either side. Each was armored and savage-looking, their bloodthirsty eyes constantly shifting. Strands of killing intent continuously spread forth, gathering into churning clouds. The entire void trembled beneath this murderous pressure.

Their boiling desire to kill brewed in their chests. Filled with a longing for destruction, the Chitauri erupted when a faint ripple appeared and spread through the void. Their thirst for slaughter climbed to its peak, and everyone was set ablaze.

Halos bloomed like flowers in the dark starry sky. Brilliant sunlight shone through them as the shadows gradually turned to light, projecting before them the human world waiting to be slaughtered.

"Kill—"

Countless Chitauri swarmed like locusts into the Space Portal and poured into the skies above New York. They shouted wildly as they rained energy beams down upon the city. Although Unlucky had already contacted his superiors, New York City’s evacuation seemed far from ideal. Many people were not even aware of what was happening. Those people now suffered the consequences, facing the Chitauri’s merciless bloody slaughter.

The first hero to step forward was Iron Man. Wearing the Mark VII built specifically for combat, Stark flew into the air and stubbornly held back the Chitauri vanguard. But he was only one man. Even with his advanced and powerful fire-control system, he was too isolated and outnumbered to reverse the tide of the invasion.

Explosions and fire filled the sky!

Stark used laser-guided miniature tracking missiles to successfully eliminate a wave of Chitauri soldiers. Unfortunately, the disparity in numbers between both sides was simply too great, and Stark had to constantly evade energy attacks. After barely more than ten seconds of combat, he was being chased around in a panic.

Chitauri soldiers continued pouring endlessly from the Space Portal. In groups of three or five, they scattered in airship-like flying vehicles. The invading Chitauri had no tactics or strategy whatsoever. The only things driving them were slaughter and destruction. Grinning viciously, they swung their weapons and killed panicked civilians.

Fortunately, the size of the Space Portal limited the speed of the Chitauri army’s invasion. Otherwise, New York would likely have been destroyed in an instant. Even so, countless Chitauri covered the sky and the ground, while thick smoke rose from street after street and building after building.

Stark darted around everywhere under pursuit, frantic yet able to do nothing but watch helplessly. Just as he was at a loss, the Avengers team arrived in time. Driven by his obsession with his brother, the grim-faced Thor also flew to the top floor of Starrk Tower and blocked Loki’s path.

"Did you come here in an ox cart?" Stark complained as he dodged an energy beam, spun around, and destroyed a flying vehicle.

Under his expectant gaze, the Quinjet piloted by Hawkeye and Natasha, carrying Steve, Dottie, and Gold, rushed into the battlefield. Then, under the Chitauri’s encirclement and interception, it joined him in fleeing for its life.

"Are you here to be a joke?" Stark roared, utterly enraged. They were simply terrible teammates.

Three seconds later, the Quinjet was hit and crashed into a building. This time, Stark was completely speechless.