Meanwhile, on the ground.
"Captain, we can't hold them back! There are too many of these alien freaks!"
A police officer crouched behind a patrol car, shouting into his radio.
Captain America hurled his shield, knocking a Chitauri soldier off its sled.
"Hold the line! Stark is working on shutting down the portal!"
"He better hurry," Black Widow cut in.
"Another one of those giant worms just slipped through!"
At that moment, the Hulk took a brutal hit and roared in pain as several Chitauri pinned him down.
A Chitauri strike squad noticed the opening. They dove low, charging their blue energy cannons and aiming directly at Captain America.
"Get down!" Steve shouted, lifting his shield.
He braced for the explosion.
It never came.
"Huh?"
Steve looked up, stunned.
A pair of red boots hovered three meters above the ground.
A man.
A man in a blue suit, floating in the air without effort.
Behind him, several Chitauri skimmers fell apart in midair, sliced cleanly in half before crashing down in flames.
"Who… who is that?"
The officer behind the squad car stammered.
Steve was equally speechless.
"Sir," a young soldier said quietly, "is that… Superman? My dad showed me the comics when I was a kid."
"Shut it, George," the older officer snapped.
"Superman is played by Henry Cavill. Who the hell is this guy?"
"SHIELD?" Steve tapped his earpiece.
"Fury, is this one of yours?"
Silence.
Inside the SHIELD Helicarrier, Nick Fury stared at the monitors, his one eye narrowed.
"Hill, analyze that target. Who is he? Do we have any record of him? And why does he look like he walked straight off a movie set?"
"Sir," Maria Hill said as her fingers flew over the keys, "there's nothing in our database. He just appeared out of nowhere. And his heat signature… my god. He's practically a walking reactor."
Back on the battlefield.
Marcus Lee hovered above everyone, basking in the flood of shock, awe, confusion… and worship.
Ding. Popularity +120
Ding. Popularity +45
Ding. Popularity +109
"Still too little," he muttered with a frown.
He needed a bigger stage.
A Chitauri soldier lunged at him, spear aimed at his heart.
"Watch out!" Steve shouted.
Marcus did not even turn around.
The spear struck his back with a dull crack.
It went no farther.
Marcus turned slowly, a trace of irritation on his impossibly perfect features.
"Trash."
He grabbed the alien by the head.
Steve watched, stunned, as Marcus casually squeezed.
Like crushing a tomato.
Green blood and gray matter splattered outward.
The headless body collapsed in a heap.
Marcus flicked the blood off his fingers in disgust.
"No wonder the Homelander prefers using heat vision. Too messy."
He snapped his gaze upward.
A squadron of Chitauri gunships dove toward the streets.
Heat surged behind his eyes.
Two deep red beams shot out and carved through five skimmers instantly, slicing both pilots and machinery in half.
Molten metal rained down.
For a moment, the battlefield fell silent.
"Oh my god…"
Officer John dropped his pistol on the asphalt with a clatter.
"Nick," Steve panted, "tell me this isn't one of your secret weapons."
"Are you sure he's not actually Superman?" Hawkeye whispered from the rooftop.
"He's strong," Natasha replied through the comms, "and he's enjoying this."
Up in the air, Tony Stark braked sharply and flipped up his faceplate.
"Hey, Stars and Stripes! We having a costume party next week? Who is this guy? Fury's new toy?"
Marcus floated up to his eye level, smiling like the cover of a magazine.
"The armor makes you look like the toy. I'm just helping."
"Helping? You call that helping, Cape Boy?"
"Thanks for the compliment."
"That isn't a compli "
"Tony!" Steve cut in. "Less talking, more fighting! We have a problem!"
"A Leviathan is charging toward Sector Five. Hulk and Thor are tied down by the other two."
"On it." Tony's mask snapped shut.
"No need, Mr. Stark."
Marcus moved before anyone could react.
A streak of red and blue blurred through the sky.
Tony's sensors caught only an afterimage.
In the next instant, Marcus stood in front of the massive Leviathan.
Then he flew straight through its skull at supersonic speed.
A perfect three-meter hole was punched through the creature's head.
The beast crashed down, carving a crater into the street.
Marcus hovered beside it, spotless and composed, turning slowly with a flawless heroic smile.
"Do not be afraid," his voice echoed across several city blocks.
"I'm here."
He waved politely at a news helicopter as if posing for a poster.
"Don't worry. I'll save everyone here."