Universe
New York
Inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, the atmosphere in the conference room was heavy as lead.
On the holographic projection, Loki's mocking smile had just faded away, leaving behind a suffocating silence.
Tony Stark leaned against the table, fingers tapping irritably on the metal surface. He had tossed his helmet aside, and there were still faint scratches on his cheek.
"So that bastard is heading to my place to throw a party?" He let out a cold laugh. "Great choice of venue."
Steve Rogers frowned deeply. The tactical pad in his hand showed the real-time surveillance feed of the Stark Tower. "Loki's target is the Tesseract. He needs a high-energy source to activate the portal."
"And the Arc Reactor in Stark Tower fits the requirement perfectly," Black Widow added, her gaze sweeping across the room.
"We're running out of time."
Thor gripped Mjolnir tightly, voice low and solemn. "Once Loki's army descends upon Midgard, this realm will face total destruction."
"Army?" Dr. Banner pushed up his glasses, his voice trembling slightly.
"You mean—an alien fleet?"
"The Chitauri," Thor nodded. "A bloodthirsty interstellar raiding force. They answer only to Thanos."
Tony blinked. "Thanos? Who the hell is that?"
"This is not the time for jokes, Stark!" Steve snapped.
"I'm not joking!" Tony grabbed his helmet.
"JARVIS, launch Mark 7! We're crashing that alien party before it starts!"
"Sir, the Mark 7 has not undergone its final calibration," JARVIS's voice came from the speakers.
"No time. We'll use it as-is!"
...….
Above New York City, Xiao Han hovered between the clouds. Golden lines on his black armor gleamed under the sunlight.
With his super-vision, the entire city lay clearly before his eyes.
"System, where are we in the timeline now?" he asked silently.
[Ding! Current date: May 4th, 2012. Three minutes before Chitauri invasion begins.]
Xiao Han's lips curved. Plenty of time to prepare.
He tuned his super hearing, filtering through the layers of noise in the city for anything unusual.
Soon, several familiar voices reached him.
"Energy readings at the top of Stark Tower are spiking!" Black Widow's voice came from the S.H.I.E.L.D. channel.
"Fury, we may need an evacuation plan," Captain America said seriously.
"I'm already on my way. This thing looks like some sort of portal," Tony said, his flippant tone hiding a thread of nervousness.
Xiao Han shifted his gaze toward Stark Tower.
Sure enough—on the rooftop platform, Dr. Erik Selvig was adjusting a strange machine, while Loki stood beside him with his scepter, smiling triumphantly.
"Let's observe first."Xiao Han chose not to reveal himself yet. He rose even higher, hiding within the clouds, quietly waiting.
Time ticked away. As Selvig activated the machine, a pillar of blue energy shot into the sky, tearing open a gigantic rift above Manhattan.
In the darkness of space, the ominous silhouette of the Chitauri mothership emerged.
"It begins," Xiao Han murmured.
The first wave of Chitauri soldiers poured out of the wormhole like locusts, riding their hovercraft and spreading chaos across New York.
Explosions and screams filled Manhattan in seconds.
The Avengers quickly assembled.
Iron Man intercepted enemies in the sky.Captain America directed evacuation efforts on the ground.Black Widow and Hawkeye worked in lethal sync.And the always-late Hulk crashed through streets like a living tank.
Xiao Han observed everything, assessing the battle.
The Avengers were coordinated, but the Chitauri numbers were simply overwhelming.
A Leviathan beast—massive and armored—broke through the defenses, smashing through several buildings and triggering panic.
"It's time."
Xiao Han took a deep breath and dove from the clouds.
He deliberately slowed down, appearing like a black meteor streaking through the sky. Nearing the ground, he halted abruptly, the shockwave blasting away a dozen Chitauri soldiers.
"What was that?!"
Captain America, who had been guiding civilians, snapped his head upward, his shield glinting under the sun.
Xiao Han landed on the roof of a half-destroyed building, his black armor stark and imposing.
He scanned the battlefield and locked onto the most chaotic zone.
"Start with the biggest."
He bent his knees and launched himself toward the rampaging Leviathan.
Mid-flight, his eyes lit up with blazing red light.
Zzz-zz!
Twin beams of heat vision shot out, striking the Leviathan's head with surgical precision.
The beast roared in agony, its metal plates melting like butter.
Xiao Han didn't stop—his heat vision traced along its spine, slicing it clean in half.
BOOM!
The colossal remains crashed onto the streets below, raising a cloud of dust.
"JARVIS, what the hell was that?" Iron Man said, hovering mid-air, eyes wide beneath his mask.
"Unknown target, sir. Energy readings exceed measurable limits."
On the ground, Black Widow and Hawkeye had just taken down a squad of Chitauri when they froze, stunned.
"Fury, we've got a new player on the board," Natasha reported into her comm.
Xiao Han paid no attention to their reactions and continued.
He soared under the wormhole—where hordes of Chitauri were gathering.
He inhaled deeply, lungs expanding—
Fwooo—!
A wave of freezing breath exploded outward.Hundreds of Chitauri were instantly frozen into ice sculptures—And a moment later, shattered into dust.
"…God."Hawkeye lowered his bow in disbelief.
Without pausing, Xiao Han flew straight toward the wormhole, his super-vision analyzing its energy structure.
"Same energy source as Loki's scepter. I can shut it down."
Just then, Fury's voice burst through the comms:"All units, be advised—the Council has authorized a nuclear strike."
"What?!" Captain America roared. "There are still civilians here!"
Xiao Han frowned.
A nuke?That wasn't part of his plan.
His super hearing pinpointed the launch site.He broke the sound barrier instantly, shooting into the sky.
Seconds later, he intercepted the missile mid-air, casually altering its trajectory and carrying it with him toward the wormhole.
"Gentlemen," Black Widow said dryly, "he's flying into space with a nuke."
Xiao Han carried the nuke through the wormhole and reached the Chitauri mothership.
He released it, watching as it detonated against the hull in a blinding burst.
Then he turned and flew back.
On the other side of the wormhole, the Avengers waited tensely.
"If that nuke explodes in there, will the shockwave—"
Before Captain America could finish, a black figure shot out of the wormhole unharmed.
Xiao Han emerged without a scratch. Behind him, the wormhole began to collapse—
And then vanished.
New York slowly quieted.Only destruction and stunned Avengers remained.
Tony was the first to land on the platform, his mask retracting."Well, whoever you are, I gotta say—nice work. But maybe start with a name?"
Xiao Han turned to face the Avengers.
Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye arrived moments later.Hulk growled not far away.Thor lifted the battered Loki while watching Xiao Han with caution.
"My name is Xiao Han," he said calmly.
"You can call me Superman."