Under Steve's arrangements, Thor took up position directly beneath the spatial portal above Stark Tower, summoning a raging thunderstorm to unleash wide-area, indiscriminate attacks. His goal was to wipe out as many Chitauri soldiers as possible right at the gateway, cutting them down the moment they emerged from the portal.
Hawkeye and Natasha remained on the rooftop of Stark Tower to protect Dr. Erik Selvig, while trying to find a way to shut down the device that was keeping the space portal open. They did not join the front-line battle.
Although Hawkeye and Natasha were elite S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, they were still, ultimately, ordinary humans. In terms of raw power, they simply couldn't compare to the Chitauri soldiers, who were half biological and half mechanically enhanced.
With advanced weapons and refined combat skills, dealing with ten or twenty Chitauri soldiers wasn't a problem—but ammunition was limited.
Hawkeye only had the quiver of arrows on his back. Even though they were all high-tech arrowheads, the number was still finite.
Natasha's weapons amounted to a handgun, along with the electric discharge bracers on her wrists known as Widow's Bite.
Once their ammunition was spent, how many Chitauri could they really defeat? At best, it would be little more than a drop in the bucket.
They were flesh and blood, and in the face of the Chitauri's overwhelming numerical advantage, they honestly couldn't contribute much on the battlefield.
Moreover, shutting down the space portal was the most critical objective—and also the most effective way to resolve the crisis.
The portal itself hovered directly above the launch device. While Dr. Selvig was working to find a way to close the wormhole, someone had to protect him.
Otherwise, if a passing Chitauri soldier casually killed Selvig—the man who created the portal device—they would be in serious trouble.
If the portal couldn't be closed, then no matter how many Chitauri were destroyed, enemies would continue to pour through endlessly, and Earth's impending catastrophe would remain unavoidable.
"A big one's coming. Get ready."
While maneuvering through the air, darting around and drawing the Chitauri's attention, Tony suddenly warned Steve, Kent, and Banner on the front line.
"That thing's huge. Didn't Thor take it out?" Steve asked, watching as a massive, metallic, fish-like Chitauri… ship?—trailed after Tony, circling ominously in the sky.
"Just one that slipped through the cracks," Tony replied as he dodged the pursuing leviathan. "The Chitauri sent five of those freaky fish-ships in total. Thor already destroyed four of them."
"I'll handle this one."
Bruce Banner spoke calmly. As he looked at the city being torn apart by Chitauri bombardment—buildings ruined, civilians screaming in agony—anger surged within him.
Yet he remained clear-headed, fully aware of his intent.
Wipe out every last one of these alien pirates invading New York.
The Rage Memory responded to Banner's will, activating and drawing upon the cosmic laws hidden within his body, unleashing a constant torrent of overwhelming power.
A brilliant light erupted from Banner as his body rapidly expanded, growing even larger than when he had transformed into the Hulk before.
He leapt toward the Chitauri leviathan, the recoil blasting a massive crater into the ground. His body shot upward like a fired shell, triggering a sonic boom as he slammed straight into the alien ship.
Then he clasped his hands together and brought them down like a colossal hammer.
A dull, lingering thunderous impact echoed outward, rippling through the air like waves across water. The leviathan's outer armor twisted and warped, before completely collapsing and disintegrating.
The Chitauri soldiers inside had long since been pulverized by the terrifying shockwave, their corpses tumbling down like dumplings mixed with the shattered wreckage of the ship.
"Banner's angry… that power is terrifying," Tony muttered, clicking his tongue as he watched the destruction. "But yeah—this is exactly the right moment."
"Tony, if more of those big things show up, lure them toward Banner and let him deal with them," Steve instructed over the comms.
"Roger that," Tony answered without hesitation.
"There are too many Chitauri. We're seriously understaffed—we can't cover everything," Kent said, sprinting forward and finishing off a Chitauri soldier with a flying kick, saving a panicked woman in the process.
But the moment he turned back, another scream rang out. More Chitauri opened fire on a nearby building sheltering civilians. Steel and concrete offered no protection against Chitauri energy weapons—the structure exploded violently from within, turning into a sea of flames.
"The police can't fight these things at all. All they can do is evacuate civilians," Kent said as he smashed another Chitauri with a punch, his voice tinged with frustration. "We need more manpower—strong fighters who can actually deal with the Chitauri."
"I might be able to get us some help," Tony suddenly said, as if a thought had just occurred to him.
Holy City Hospital.
"Tony Stark, what is it?" Elena asked as she accepted the call.
"I need your support," Tony said urgently.
"We haven't detected any outbreak of Bugster virus activity here," Elena replied, puzzled.
"It's not the Bugster virus. This is worse—far worse."
Tony stopped explaining and directly transmitted live footage instead. The images spoke louder than words.
"…What the hell is that?!" Elena stared at the feed in shock.
"The aliens I mentioned last time? They've really invaded Earth."
"But you only said some guy named Loki came to Earth to cause trouble," Elena said, staring at the unmistakable Stark Tower on the screen, struggling to process it. "You didn't say anything about an entire army of ugly aliens launching a full-scale invasion. And how did they suddenly appear in Manhattan?"
In an instant, reality had turned into the plot of a science-fiction movie—an alien civilization invading Earth.
"I'll explain the details later. Right now, I—no, all of New York—needs your help. More and more Chitauri are pouring through the portal every second, and innocent civilians are dying constantly."
"…Alright. I'll notify Li and Gwen immediately," Elena said, her expression turning serious.
"Guys, hang in there. Powerful reinforcements are on the way," Tony told the Avengers over the comms.
No sooner had he finished speaking than a streak of crimson light shot across the battlefield like a meteor, blasting Chitauri soldiers aside wherever it passed.
Clad in red armor, Frank leapt off his motorcycle. As he dodged fire from a Chitauri craft, he swung his sword, releasing a blazing, fiery sword-wave that cleaved the flying vessel cleanly in two.
"So this is the backup you called? They showed up fast," Kent said in surprise. "As the saying goes—speak of the Devil and he doth appear."
Tony shook his head. Having recognized Frank and the Accel Memory, he more or less guessed who had sent him.
"He's not my reinforcement."
Nick Fury's voice suddenly came through the comm channel.
"I'm the one who called him."
Frank had no intention of chatting with Tony or Kent. Sword in hand, he charged straight back into the swarm of Chitauri.
(End of Chapter)