For more than a year, life in New York had been almost too comfortable.
It made sense—ever since the Frost Giant incident, nothing big had happened in New York; just the usual muggings and murders. People who chose to live here were long used to it.
But today felt different: a thick beam of energy suddenly shot from a rooftop, punching a huge hole in the sky.
Stunned, nearby New Yorkers reflexively checked Thor's schedule, because freak weather often meant one of his promotional appearances.
Dark clouds and rolling thunder were the standard opening act whenever Thor showed up.
At first the weather change terrified them, but they soon grew blasé, even critiquing that this time the lightning wasn't as loud as last time.
Yet it quickly became clear Thor had no event—nor did any other Superhero.
So what was that giant hole in the sky?
"Get away from there!"
The quick-witted were already putting distance between themselves and the building; whatever it was, abnormal meant dangerous.
While others still thought them melodramatic, countless black specks burst from the rip overhead. As they neared, people realized they were aircraft—swarms of them.
And those craft opened fire on the streets below without hesitation.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Chitauri energy weapons slammed into New York's busiest avenues, causing heavy civilian casualties instantly.
Suddenly the sky darkened; a barrage of lightning crashed into the Chitauri fliers, forcing a brief lull in their assault.
"Crackle-crackle!"
"Bang-bang!"
Tony, Howard and Rhodes rocketed out in their Iron Man Suits, dogfighting the Chitauri craft.
On the ground, Steve led Bucky, Natasha, Hawkeye and four super-human Howling Commandos against the landed Chitauri troops, covering the civilians' retreat.
"Roar!"
Of course the big green guy couldn't miss out; Hulk hoisted a car and hurled it at a Chitauri flier as a shocking welcome gift.
"It's the Avengers!"
"We're saved!"
The crowd cheered, but Captain America Steve yelled at the top of his lungs, "Stop gawking—get into the subway or far from the fight!"
He was exasperated: public faith in the Avengers was nice, but too much faith was risky—Avengers arriving didn't auto-solve a crisis.
"Captain!"
The New York Police Commissioner arrived with his officers.
"Every NYPD officer is at your command; the National Guard is on the way!" the Commissioner said.
Steve was surprised—though an Avenger with Level-8 S.H.I.E.L.D. clearance, he held no official post. Why would the top cop defer to him so quickly?
"All Military channels are down, but we've received the Chief Sorcerer's mission: assist the Avengers at all costs!" The Commissioner held up his phone showing Fang Yuan's assignment to every Outer Disciple.
"I'm also an Outer Disciple of Kamar-Taj; I'll do my part to protect Earth!"
Though if you ignored the 20,000-contribution-point reward flashing on the screen, his declaration might have sounded nobler.
Steve didn't care about motives; anyone fighting beside him right now was a comrade.
"All Police and Firefighters: evacuate civilians—move them to safety!" Steve ordered, rattling off a string of detailed plans.
He'd commanded troops in World War II; getting back into it was effortless.
The Commissioner didn't hesitate; over the radio he relayed every instruction at once.
With cops and Firefighters helping, the evacuation finally gained order.
But New York is a mega-city—Manhattan alone holds over a million. Even with Police aid, the indiscriminate Chitauri barrage left a horrific casualty count.
Chitauri still poured through the Portal; unless it was shut, the battlefront would keep widening.
"The Tesseract's energy is too powerful; we can't shut it down," Tony's frustrated voice crackled in the Avengers' earpieces.
Can't close it?
A shadow fell over everyone. They'd seen the Chitauri's tech: energy weapons far ahead of Earth's. The Portal kept expanding; if enemy numbers spiked, they'd be overwhelmed.
"Big guy incoming!" Howard warned suddenly.
Looking up, the heroes saw a colossus squeezing through the rift—an armored whale-like behemoth swimming through the air.
But it was far larger than the other Chitauri craft; the Portal had already doubled in size, and the creature barely squeezed through, crushing dozens of smaller Chitauri fliers as it did.
"The Chitauri Leviathan isn't just a heavy cruiser—it's a troop carrier!" Thor shouted to the team.
"And it's tough as hell!"
Howard launched several missiles without even scratching the armor.
"Damn it—there are more of them!" Hawkeye's sharp eyes spotted a queue of Leviathans lining up beyond the Portal.
"Are the civilians out of that building?" Fang Yuan's voice cut in.
He'd stayed out of the fight until now, publicly claiming he'd gone back to Kamar-Taj for reinforcements.
"Evacuated!" Tony answered instantly.
Fang Yuan was decisive. "Blow the whole building."
"The Sorcerer Supreme is still injured—right now it's just us," he added.
Everyone's heart sank a little, yet no one lost heart.
They hadn't become superheroes expecting someone else to save the day.
"Roger!"
Tony agreed at once; he understood Fang Yuan's logic—if the Tesseract couldn't be shut down, destroying the tower that housed it might collapse the Portal.
After ending the call Fang Yuan glanced at Ancient One beside him. "You're sure you can take it?"
Ancient One nodded.
Fang Yuan opened a Portal and stepped straight onto the New York battlefield.
Watching the sky-filling Chitauri army, he muttered, "Can't slack off this time."
He'd stick to magic alone.
Since Earth rarely got an alien war, Fang Yuan had Loki craft an expanded battle plan, doubling the Chitauri numbers over the original story—for maximum impact.
Naturally, wherever Fang Yuan appeared, his side projects followed.
Every TV station on the planet now carried the New York feed—
"This is Vought Television, reporting from New York—Earth is under alien attack!"
"The Avengers are resisting the invasion; Vought Television will broadcast live to the end!"
On-screen the reporter declared passionately, "If we fall—remember us, and fight on with our spirit!"
That opening line seized every viewer and lent the broadcast a flawless banner of justice.
"Give that reporter a raise after the fight," Fang Yuan said, pleased—now that was a Vought reporter worth his salt.
Mana surged through Fang Yuan as he rained arcane bolts at swooping Chitauri craft, each shot finding its mark—turning the name "mage artillery" into living proof.
His spectacular display drew Chitauri attention; every ship opened fire on him.
Facing the barrage he calmly raised a Portal, stepped through, and reappeared elsewhere—his cloak untouched, a perfect display of sorcerous poise.
Tony's voice crackled over the comm: "Damn—so that's why Loki skipped Stark Tower. He built a new Giant Arc Reactor here."
"Someone else can build reactors?" Thor asked. "I thought that tech was yours alone."
"I know who!" Rhodes interjected, dodging a flier. "There's one other person capable of it."
"Ivan Vanko," Tony said grimly.
He sighed. "I doubt Loki even needed mind control—Vanko would've helped him willingly."
Given his family's history with Ivan, Tony spoke with absolute certainty.
"I'm about to detonate—wait, I see Professor Selvig."
"Thud!"
A dull impact sounded, then Tony said, "Professor Selvig's awake!"
Tony had applied some Physical Consciousness Correction—commonly known as "punching him awake."
"Once the Tesseract is active it sustains itself; even if the tower collapses the Portal won't close!" Selvig cried, clutching his head at the devastation. "My God, what have I done!"
"No time for regrets, Professor," Tony snapped. "How do we shut the Portal?"
"I built a Fail-Safe—Loki's scepter!" Selvig blurted. "Its energy matches the Tesseract; the scepter can close the Portal!"
"Good scientific reflexes," Tony praised, then called over the team channel, "You all heard that?"
"Heard it," Steve said, exasperated, "but where's Loki?"
Fang Yuan glanced at the trickster god he'd stashed in the Mirror Dimension, then frowned. "Yeah—where the hell did Loki go?"
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