One Leviathan was already a nightmare; few among them could take on one, much less win without risk and significant collateral damage.
Much less, dealing with this many, it was a nightmare come true, a truly hopeless situation, they couldn't possibly break through that wall of monsters coming their way.
Worse yet, this was likely their own chance… if they failed to break through now, they would be pushed back, having to spend who knows how long trying to deal with just these, and none of them were under any delusion that there wouldn't come more during that time.
The one moment, the one chance they had, seemed gone, and despair started to set in.
Was this really it? would New York City be hit by a nuclear bomb? And one fired by the US military itself?
It felt like a horrible situation, having to destroy their own city, kill their own people… all to stop the invasion. But Fury hadn't lied to them.
The situation was quickly spiraling out of control; it was no longer confined to New York. The surrounding area was also under attack, and the enemy kept spreading.
There was no doubt, the situation was dire indeed.
"Everyone fall back!" Steve yelled, voice breaking with the strain. "Fall back now!"
But there was nowhere left to go.
The streets were rubble, the air thick with dust and flame. The roar of the Leviathans drowned out the screams, the gunfire, even the thunder of the Hulk's fists.
One dove, slamming into the street beside them — the shockwave sent cars tumbling through the air. Another crashed into a nearby skyscraper, glass shattering in a thousand glittering shards.
Natasha rolled behind a wrecked cab, reloading with shaking hands. Clint landed beside her, breathing hard. "So what's the play, boss?"
Steve didn't answer right away. He looked at the tower — so close — and then up at the rift. His shoulders sagged just slightly under the weight of it all.
Tony was still in the air, weaving between the giants, every alarm in his suit screaming. "Jarvis, I need a plan—anything!"
"There are no surviving paths, sir," Jarvis said quietly.
"Well, that's comforting."
"Sir, if I may—"
"Not now, Jarvis!"
Something hit him from behind — a Leviathan's tail clipping him mid-flight. He spun wildly through the air, metal screaming, until he slammed into a building. Static filled his visor.
"Tony!" Steve shouted. "Talk to me!"
No answer.
Hulk bellowed from below, leaping at one of the beasts — only to be swatted away like an insect, sent crashing through two buildings in a plume of smoke.
Ben Grimm tried to stand his ground, but when three more came down together, even he had to retreat.
Johnny was burning out, his fire dimming against the endless dark of the swarm.
And the portal… just kept sending out an endless swarm of Chitauri riders.
This was the horror of the Chitauri race, a nearly endless legion, a swarm that would descend on a world, and kill until called away; they feared not death, feared nothing, knew not fear, only to obey their orders.
More machines than anything else, yet far more easily replaced.
"Cap," Natasha said quietly, voice barely audible through the static, "we can't win this one."
Steve gritted his teeth. "We don't get to not win it."
He raised his shield again — shaking, dented, cracked along the edges — and planted his feet in the street as if that alone could stop the tide.
All around him, the others regrouped. Wounded, bleeding, exhausted. And still standing.
For a heartbeat, the world seemed to hold its breath — the swarm above, the portal's light, the earth itself trembling.
Then the Leviathans roared as one and began to dive.
The sky split open, as hundreds of tons of alien flesh and metal hurtling toward them like falling mountains. There was no time to run. No hope of cover.
Even Tony's systems couldn't lock onto them all — there were too many. He looked down through the smoke at his team, his friends, and realized there was nothing left to do.
"Cap…" Tony whispered, voice thin. "I think this is it."
Steve exhaled once. "Then let's make it count."
The Leviathans filled the sky. The air shook with the force of their descent.
And then —
The clouds tore open.
A beam of light, pure and gold and holy, speared down from the heavens.
The first Leviathan never reached the ground. It disintegrated midair, atomized in a heartbeat. The entire swarm of them all but unstoppable one moment, was reduced to less than dust the next.
A single brilliant ray of light had destroyed what moments before felt like the end of the world.
Every Chitauri in the air froze — as though the entire battlefield had forgotten how to move. The Avengers too froze, their gazes all locked towards the west.
There, a shining star floated in the air, moving towards them with great speed.
"Jarvis? Is that?" Tony asked, and Jarvis quickly zoomed in on it, allowing Tony to see it clearly.
It wasn't a star, but more a glowing stage of gold and silver, with strange half-moon rings and other shapes either connected or flying independently. It wasn't any technology he had ever seen before.
But given who stood on that building, that golden stage, he didn't think it was technology at all.
And upon that radiant stage stood her.
Armor of white and silver trimmed with gold, long golden hair trailing like a comet's tail, eyes the color of tempered emerald fire. Her cape shimmered like a cascade of light, and her presence carried both the stillness of heaven and the weight of judgment.
Arthuria Pendragon had come, and she had done so in style.
Tony's breath caught as he steadied himself midair. Then, a dry, weary smile crept across his face.
"Damn," he muttered, exhaling with something that sounded halfway between laughter and relief, "here I was worried she'd be late."
For the first time that day, the weight pressing down on his shoulders vanished.
As Tony let out a sigh, the world too seemed to regain its breath, and the Chitauri regained their minds. Countless of them immediately swarmed towards her flying platform, tens of thousands of them coming from every direction, as well as nearly a hundred giant Leviathans.
A lineup that could crush nations, yet Tony saw no fear on Arthuria's face, none at all.
She just opened her arms wide and started speaking; her voice carried far, covering the city, her words calm and slow, as if there weren't an army rushing towards her.
"By the covenant of Heaven, I raise the standard of kings.
Let those who defy the light be judged beneath its crown.
O golden firmament, open your gates —
O stars that watched over man, remember your oath.
For I am she who rules between Heaven and Earth,
The lion crowned by both mercy and wrath.
Arise now — Ehangwen, Throne of the Sacred Dawn!
Shine forth… and let the false be unmade!"
As the final words left her lips, light exploded from the back of the platform, countless streaks of holy light, beams of power divine power filled the air.
The sky itself ignites — not in fire, but in divine light, as if dawn itself has descended. That sacred radiance engulfs every Leviathan, every Chitauri, every machine of darkness, their forms dissolving into particles of light.
It wasn't destruction. It was erasure.
The radiance swept through the city like a tide — and when it finally passed, silence fell.
The smoke had been burned away. The sky, moments ago a scar of black and violet, was clear blue once more, streaked only with light.
And below, New York still stood — scarred, yes, but whole.
Every human on the ground — soldier, hero, civilian — stood frozen, unable to speak.
Even Hulk stopped mid-roar, blinking at the glowing horizon.
Tony hovered in the air, staring at the readouts on his HUD as they scrambled to process what had just happened. His sensors had flatlined. There was nothing left to target. Nothing to fight.
He laughed — quietly, breathlessly.
"Okay," he said to no one in particular. "That's one hell of an entrance."
Down below, Steve slowly lowered his shield. The light reflected off the star emblazoned on its surface, gleaming brighter than it ever had before.
He looked up at the golden figure standing above the world, her sword still glowing faintly from the divine act it had unleashed. "Is that…" he started, then stopped, unable to find words.
"It's Arthuria," Natasha whispered.
"Holy fuck!" Johnny exclaimed, "I knew she was supposed to be powerful, but that? That's on another level entirely!"
Not even Steve could bring himself to say anything about his crass language, not right now, because that sight was truly unbelievable.
Yet, after only moments, roars once more filled the air. While that blast had wiped out countless Chitauri, millions had gotten through the gate so far, so there was still plenty left.
Some moved towards Arthuria, in smaller groups, more spread out as if to avoid her area of effect attack, while most just ignored her, and instead went back to kill civilians, or left the area entirely.
After all, not matter how powerful she was, how devastating that attack had been she was but one woman, even if a goddess, she couldn't be everywhere at once.
Even still, hope surged once more.
The heroes who had been ready to die seconds ago now stood taller, the divine light reflecting in their eyes. For the first time since the portal opened, the fight felt winnable — possible.
Tony exhaled shakily, voice low through the comms. "Alright, team. Let's not waste the miracle."
Steve's grip tightened on his shield. "You heard him. We move now — while she's drawing their fire."
"Finally," Clint muttered, knocking another arrow. "A god that's on our side."
"Don't jinx it," Natasha replied, already sprinting through the shattered street.
The light from Ehangwen still bathed the city, its radiance cutting through the smoke, but new shadows stirred at its edges.
The Chitauri were reorganizing — less a horde now, more a coordinated army. They swarmed around Arthuria's position like insects around a flame, but hundreds peeled off toward the city below, their movements erratic, desperate, relentless.
The roars of a new wave of Leviathans coming through the portal only reinforced the need to close the portal, after all, if the enemy kept coming like this, seemingly endless in number, then it didn't matter how strong Arthuria was.
Arthuria raised her gaze toward it, calm yet unyielding, the golden halo behind her burning brighter.
Tony banked hard toward the tower, HUD flickering as he scanned the field. "She just vaporized an entire species in under ten seconds," he said under his breath. "And we're still not done. Someone tell me how that's fair."
Steve's voice came through the comms, steady again — a soldier finding purpose in the chaos. "It's not supposed to be fair. It's supposed to be finished. Move out!"