The Chitauri motherships—those colossal "leviathans"—were armored with impossibly tough outer shells. Unless one possessed the raw destructive power of the Hulk or Thor, brute force simply wouldn't work.
This time, Tony Stark chose another path.
Tony flew straight into the leviathan's gaping maw, tearing through it from the inside until the beast was ripped apart from within.
These leviathans were semi-mechanical lifeforms. No matter how hard their armor was, the interior was still flesh and blood. Tony's method worked—but after killing the beast, he found himself completely surrounded by enemies.
On the rooftop, Clint Barton had also reached the end of his ammunition. Using his final specialized arrow, he blasted himself through the side of a building and collapsed to the floor, utterly spent.
In every battle, there were always a few troublemakers dragging everyone down.
This time, it was the politicians—far away, safe, and watching from the clouds.
Seeing the endless Chitauri pouring through the portal, the congressmen panicked. Their solution was simple and horrifying: launch a nuclear strike, annihilate the invaders along with Manhattan. In their eyes, one city was nothing compared to the world.
Because S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarrier was closest to Manhattan, they ordered Director Nick Fury to fire the nuke from the carrier.
"That's Manhattan Island!" Fury snapped. "Congressmen!"
As a seasoned statesman, Fury understood the gravity of nuclear weapons. If the situation truly became hopeless, he would launch one himself. But the Avengers were still fighting—there was still a chance. Yet these politicians were already reaching for the nuclear option.
Fury refused outright and cut the video feed.
Minutes later, however, two fighter jets took off without authorization—each carrying a nuclear warhead.
Congress had stripped Fury of his authority within two minutes and issued the strike order directly.
Fury shot down one jet with a rocket launcher. The other one… he couldn't stop.
"Stark, a jet carrying a nuke is headed your way!" Fury barked over comms. At this point, only the Avengers could act.
"How long?" Tony demanded.
"Three minutes at most. It'll wipe out the entire district!"
…..
At the top of Stark Tower, Clara finally saw the Tesseract—the glowing blue cube that powered the portal. It was dazzling, almost hypnotic. Beautiful enough that, for a brief moment, she wanted to claim it as her own.
"Hey! Clara!" Natasha Romanoff grabbed her wrist sharply. "The energy shield will hurt you!"
"S-Sorry…" Clara pulled her hand back, embarrassed. "It's just… it's really beautiful…"
Selvig and Natasha worked frantically around the Tesseract. Clara could only stand aside and watch—there was nothing she could do to help.
Loki's scepter passed smoothly through the Tesseract's energy shield. With a bit of force, Selvig's failsafe would shut the Tesseract down and close the portal.
"I can do it!" Natasha said excitedly over the comms. "I can close the portal!"
Steve's voice came instantly. "Do it. Close it now."
"No—wait," Tony cut in. "I've got a nuke. One minute to detonation. And now I know exactly where to send it."
Iron Man seized the nuclear missile and accelerated toward the portal. He planned to take it through to the other side—let it detonate in the Chitauri home fleet.
It was an enormous gamble. Even if Tony succeeded, there was a very real chance he would never come back.
"Sir… would you like to contact Miss Potts?" JARVIS asked softly.
JARVIS knew Tony better than anyone. In this moment, he believed Tony deserved to say goodbye to the person most important to him.
On a plane, Pepper Potts was watching live coverage of the battle in New York. She didn't notice her phone lighting up—muted.
The entire world watched as Tony carried the nuke through the portal. The world cheered.
Everyone except Clara.
She wasn't celebrating.
She only cared about one thing—how Iron Man would come back.
Beyond the portal lay the cold, silent void of space. There was no signal, no network. Tony's call failed. When JARVIS reported the failure, Tony felt his heart sink.
Then he saw it.
The Chitauri mothership—an enormous, monstrous presence hanging in space, capable of swallowing Earth whole.
Clara stared at the portal without blinking. She wanted to know what was happening on the other side—desperately. Tears streamed from her eyes, yet she refused to blink.
And then—
She saw it.
The colossal mothership.
The countless leviathans swimming out from it.
The blinding flash of the nuclear explosion.
And finally—
Iron Man falling back through the portal.
"Close it," Steve said quietly. "The mothership is destroyed. Stark hasn't returned. He's… not coming back."
"No!" Clara suddenly grabbed Natasha's arm, refusing to let go. "He'll come back! He already is! Just wait a little longer—please!"
"Enough!" Natasha snapped. "Stark is dead! If we don't close the portal now, New York will suffer nuclear fallout! Doctor—pull her away!"
Selvig pulled Clara back as Natasha slammed the scepter into the control mechanism.
"He's not dead! Don't close it!!"
High above, the portal began to collapse without the Tesseract's energy. At the final instant—Iron Man's falling speed outpaced the portal's closing speed.
Tony Stark returned to Earth.
The armor was completely out of power. Tony plummeted—saved only because the Hulk caught him mid-fall.
Clara shoved Selvig aside and rushed into the elevator.
Stumbling, Selvig exclaimed, "That girl's incredibly strong! Why such a reaction? For a moment I thought the man who went into space was her father!"
He meant it as a joke.
Natasha smiled knowingly. "Because she cares too much."
"Cares about what?" Selvig asked, confused.
Steve, Thor, Natasha, Barton, and Banner walked toward Stark Tower together. None of them had the energy to fly anymore—elevators would do just fine.
Tony was already rambling about a Turkish kebab place two streets away, insisting they all go eat after delivering Loki to S.H.I.E.L.D.
Clara burst out of the elevator, face glowing with joy, and ran toward them.
Steve was at the front. Based on experience, he expected flowers—young girls always offered them to returning heroes. His helmet had been torn off in battle. Surely she'd recognize him as the "soldier" from the park.
But Clara ran straight past him.
Steve felt an indescribable, awkward silence.
"You're a hero…" Clara said, stopping in front of Tony and raising both hands.
In her palms lay a pink Hello Kitty paper crane.
"…Mr. Iron Man."
Several pairs of eyes were watching. What could Tony say?
He forced a smile and took the paper crane.
"It's… cute… thank you. Ahem."
Clara hopped away like a rabbit.
Barton nudged Tony with his elbow. "Looks like your little fan only has eyes for you, Stark."
For once, Tony didn't brag. He just smiled faintly.
He'd expected her to shout Daddy, you're a hero.
Instead—
Mr. Iron Man.
Such a distant form of address.
For some reason, that hurt more than any battlefield wound.
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T/N:
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