Alex POV – Manhattan
The sky screams.
I feel it before anyone else — the sharp burn of radiation cutting through the atmosphere, the low rumble that makes the ground itself tense.
Then I see it. A bright, white spear tearing toward Manhattan. Not an alien weapon. Not Chitauri. A missile.
My blood freezes. Then it boils.
The bastards.
They didn't launch it at the invaders. They launched it at me.
I don't hesitate. I rocket upward, punching through clouds, air tearing apart around me as I chase the weapon. The shockwaves rattle skyscrapers, blow out windows, knock cars off bridges. I don't care.
The nuke screams past fighter escorts, engines blazing. I slam into it midair, hands gripping the steel body. It fights me, rockets burning, but I am stronger. I tear it from the sky, ripping it off its path toward the city.
I glance down. Civilians frozen mid-street. Phones still recording. Avengers staring up. The whole damn world watching.
Good. Let them see who really saved New York.
I push higher. Faster. The missile vibrates in my arms, deadly cargo ticking like a heart about to burst. I don't flinch.
Through the clouds. Through the stratosphere. Toward the open wound in the sky — the portal spilling aliens like maggots.
The mothership looms, monstrous and grotesque. Its shadow swallows the city whole.
I don't slow down.
With a roar, I shove the missile straight into the beast's armored belly. A blinding flash splits the void. The explosion rips through the alien flagship, fire and shrapnel spiraling across the stars. Chitauri drones all over the city drop at once, lifeless husks raining down.
I turn, skin glowing, cape shredded, smoke curling from my shoulders.
And I dive back toward the portal.
Natasha POV – Stark Tower
My hands are shaking as I jam Loki's scepter into the console. Sparks spit. The portal thrums with unstable light, the alien gateway convulsing above the city.
I grit my teeth. One push. One stab.
The blade sinks into the Tesseract's core. A flash. A crack like thunder.
And the portal slams shut.
The city falls silent except for the sound of bodies hitting the ground — Chitauri corpses collapsing without their hive.
I sag against the console, chest heaving. Then I look up, one thought stabbing through the haze.
Where's the new guy?
A second later, the answer tears through the air.
He drops through the vanishing blue light like a meteor, landing hard enough to crater the street. Smoke and dust swirl around him. He rises, eyes still glowing, fists blackened from the bomb's fire.
The crowd erupts. Cheers. Cries. Phones everywhere.
And for a heartbeat, the Avengers — the ones who were supposed to be Earth's last line — just stand there in silence, watching him take a bow the world will never forget.
Fury POV – S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier
The council chamber feeds flicker to life in front of me. Cold faces. Tight lips. No apologies.
I don't sit. I don't smile. I glare into the cameras, my fists tight behind my back.
"You sons of bitches," I start, voice low, rough, controlled by sheer will. "You launched a tactical nuke at Manhattan. At civilians. At my team. And you didn't think you owed me a call?"
Councilor #1: "It was necessary. The threat—"
"Necessary?" I cut him off. My voice rises, gravel scraping with fury. "You went over my head. You went around S.H.I.E.L.D. And you damn near killed millions of innocents because you were afraid of something you didn't understand!"
Councilor #2: "We neutralized two threats in one stroke — the Chitauri and… him."
I slam my fist on the console. The feed shakes.
"You tried to assassinate a man who just saved the entire planet! You bypassed me, you bypassed command, you bypassed common sense. You gambled with New York like it was a chessboard."
They stay silent. Cowards.
I lean in, one eye blazing.
"And now, because of you, we've got a new problem. That 'guest' you tried to kill? He's stronger than Thor, faster than Stark's tech, and not afraid to get his hands dirty. He knows what you tried. He's not stupid. And if you think he's gonna forget that little stunt—"
I pause. Let the weight sink in.
"—then God help you. Because I can't."
The feeds flicker. Councilors avoid my stare. Only Pierce meets my eye. Calm. Smiling that thin little smile like he already moved his next piece.
I shut the feed off before I put a bullet through the screen.
Outside, engines hum, the Helicarrier steady above the wreck of Manhattan. Inside, my gut twists.
Because I know the truth.
We didn't just survive the invasion.
We created something bigger.
And for the first time in years, Nick Fury feels it — not anger.
Fear.