Liam sprinted through the chaos beside Cap. Explosions tore through the street, lighting up the smoke-filled sky. The next blast came from a nearby building — a Chitauri hovercraft was firing wildly into the lower floors. Glass shattered, flames burst out, and people screamed inside.
Liam's head snapped toward the sound — a faint, panicked cry cut through the noise. Without thinking, he broke formation and ran toward the burning building. Cap started to call out to him, but when he saw where Liam was going, he stopped.
Inside, the lobby was half-collapsed. Smoke filled the air, and the ceiling was on fire. Through the haze, Liam saw movement — a small boy trapped under a fallen beam, crying, his face covered in dust and tears. The kid couldn't have been older than ten.
Liam rushed over and crouched down. His skin cracked and hardened as he jammed his arms under the concrete beam. With a deep growl, he lifted. The concrete creaked and then snapped apart. He threw it aside like it weighed nothing.
"Hey, hey — you're fine, kid," Liam said, lowering himself to the boy's level. The boy grabbed his arm tightly, shaking.
Then Liam heard the hiss of plasma rifles outside. His eyes narrowed. The Chitauri had followed him. He turned, hardening his body again, and stepped between the boy and the doorway just as two aliens stormed in. Plasma bolts hit him square in the chest and shoulder — but he didn't move an inch. The blasts bounced off harmlessly.
Liam lunged forward, smashing the first alien into the wall so hard its armor cracked, then stomped on the second one's head until it caved in.
"Alright, kid," Liam muttered, picking him up. "Time to get the hell out of here."
He ran out through the broken doorway. The building behind them groaned, then partially collapsed as he sprinted down the street. Dust and chunks of debris rained from above. Liam shielded the boy with his own body, taking a few small hits to his hardened back.
He spotted a police barricade ahead and slowed down. "Officer!" he yelled.
A cop turned, his face covered in soot. Liam handed the boy over carefully. "He's shaken, but alive. Keep him safe."
Before the cop could speak, another explosion boomed down the block. The ground shook. The Chitauri were moving in again. Liam cursed under his breath and ran straight back into the smoke.
---
Moments later, he was back in the fight. Plasma fire tore through the air as three Chitauri hovercrafts swooped down. Liam dove behind a wrecked taxi, ripped the door off, and threw it like a damn discus. It smashed into the lead hovercraft, sending it crashing into the others. All three blew up in a flaming mess, raining metal and fire.
He barely had time to breathe when he saw them — a group of civilians huddled behind an overturned bus. Men, women, an elderly couple — all terrified, cornered between wreckage and a squad of Chitauri soldiers closing in.
"Shit," Liam muttered. Fighting was easy. Saving people was hard.
He hardened his skin again and charged. He hit the first alien like a freight train, sending it flying into another one. Both crashed into the wreckage. Plasma bolts lit up the air, slamming into his chest. Each one left a glowing scorch mark — but the burns healed instantly.
"Go!" he shouted to the civilians, waving toward a side alley. "Run while I'm still pretty!"
The Chitauri regrouped and fired from both sides now. Liam crouched low, grabbed the bus, and roared as he pushed. The ground cracked under his feet. With sheer force, he shoved the whole damn thing sideways, forming a makeshift wall between the aliens and the escaping civilians.
Plasma bolts slammed into the bus, burning holes through it but slowing the fire just enough for the civilians to run. Liam stayed there until the last one disappeared into the alley.
Then he moved. Fast.
He jumped over the bus, grabbed one alien by the neck, and slammed its head into the pavement — crack! Concrete shattered. Two more went down before they could reload — one got punched through a car door, the other kicked straight into a wall so hard its armor split open.
By the time Cap and Natasha caught up, Liam was standing in the middle of the wreckage. Smoke rose around him, his skin returning to the normal form. He activated and deactivated the Unbreakable form of his quirk whenever necessary as it really slowed him down a lot. And he'd do the same with hardening too when quicker moments were required.
He turned as Cap and Natasha ran toward him through the haze, their outlines sharp against the flames burning behind them.
"Cap!" Liam shouted, wiping the grime from his face. "This isn't ending unless we shut that damn portal!"
Steve slowed beside him, shield raised, eyes locked on the sky. Above them, the blue rift over Stark Tower pulsed brighter, spewing out another wave of Chitauri soldiers.
Liam pointed up, voice rough but steady. "With more of those ugly bastards flying out every second, they'll cover all of Manhattan. It won't matter how many we drop — they'll just keep coming. We can't fight and protect everyone forever."
Cap didn't answer right away. He stared at the portal, jaw clenched tight as another explosion shook the air.
Finally, Cap exhaled and nodded. "You're right. We end this at the source." He tapped his comm. "Stark — we need eyes on that portal. How do we shut it down?"
Tony's voice came through, full of stress and sarcasm. "Oh, you mean the giant hole in the sky vomiting aliens onto my city? Yeah, I noticed."
"Tony," Cap snapped, "focus."
"Relax, Cap. I'm already on it," Tony said. "There's a massive energy surge from the top of Stark Tower — that's Loki's stabilizer. It's keeping the portal open. But I can't shut it off without Banner or someone cutting the power manually."
Natasha suggested. "Then we cut the damn thing."
"Not that simple," Tony shot back. "Do it wrong, and we turn half of New York into a crater."
Cap looked between Natasha and Liam. "Alright. Barton's got the high ground for cover. Romanoff — get to Stark Tower and find a way to shut that device down. Liam, you're with me. We hold this line and keep the streets clear."
Natasha nodded sharply. "Got it." She reloaded her pistols, gave Liam a look — part respect, part curious — and took off down the street toward the nearest building.
Cap turned to Liam. "We hold the ground and give them room to move. You good?"
Liam smirked, rolling his shoulders. "Yeah. Still got enough left to punch a few more of these freaks."
Cap's lips twitched into a small grin. "Good. We're gonna need it."
Then, from above, the air split with a deep, rumbling roar — louder and heavier than before. Both men looked up as another Leviathan tore out of the portal. It was bigger, thicker, its metal scales glinting orange in the firelight as it snaked between buildings.
Tony's voice came through again. "Heads up, team — Leviathan incoming, two o'clock! I'll try to slow it down, but it's not exactly a paper plane!"
Cap raised his shield. "Stark, lead it toward Park Avenue. Banner's nearby — maybe we can use him."
Before Tony could answer, the Leviathan's massive shadow fell over the street. Its roar shook the buildings, cars lifted off the road, and the heat from its engines rippled through the air.
"Move!" Cap yelled.
They dove for cover as the beast tore through another skyscraper, glass and metal crashing down around them. The sound was deafening — a wall of destruction swallowing the city block.
And then, cutting through the chaos, Tony streaked overhead, firing missiles into the creature's armor. The blasts lit up the sky as he guided the Leviathan toward Park Avenue.
Liam and Cap scrambled back to their feet, side by side. The street was wrecked, but both men still stood, ready for more.
Liam glanced at Cap, his hardened fists glowing faintly red. "Guess it's round two, huh?"
Cap raised his shield, eyes steady on the incoming swarm. "Then let's make it count."
They charged forward together — a soldier and a powerhouse — diving headfirst back into the chaos.