For a second, the city was quiet.
Too quiet.
The kind of silence that comes before something terrible happens.
Homelander stood there, eyes glowing, grin still plastered on his face, as if this was just another day for him to prove he was god.
Alex's fists tightened. Butcher was ready to swing.
The New Avengers braced.
Deadpool whispered to himself, "Here comes the trailer moment."
And then—
RRRRRIIIIIIPPPP.
It wasn't thunder.
It wasn't lightning.
It was like the sky itself was tearing open.
The air trembled. Buildings groaned as if the world had suddenly become heavier.A low, deep rumble rolled through the streets, louder than anything they'd ever heard.
Pedestrians dropped to the ground, clutching their ears. Car alarms screamed in chaos.Every phone, every radio, every single signal went static.
Bucky flinched, covering his ear. "What the hell is that sound?"
Ghost's voice came glitching through her mask, shaky for once. "It's… everywhere. It's not coming from a direction. It's like the air itself is screaming."
Homelander looked up, jaw tightening.
The cocky smile finally disappeared.
He could feel it.
A pressure.
Not physical—something worse.
Something that pressed against the mind.
A cold wave of instinct hit everyone in the street at once: run.
Alex staggered, gripping his head. "That… sound—feels like it's inside my skull."
Butcher's hand went to his temple too, eyes narrowing. "Whatever that is—it's not human."
Red Guardian cursed in Russian. "I fought space bugs, killer robots, a bear once—but this? I don't like this."
Yelena glared at the sky, but her usual snark was gone. "That's because it's not a fight. It's a warning."
Even Homelander stepped back a half-step, looking around as the sound deepened. His pupils dilated.
"What—" he muttered, scanning the horizon, "what the hell is that?"
Then came a flash—not light, not color.
Just absence.
Like the air blinked.
The world darkened for a single breath.
Every shadow seemed to stretch, to look back.
And just as suddenly as it came—
silence.
No wind.
No traffic.
No sound.
Even the neon lights of Times Square dimmed, flickering as if the city itself had lost power.
Homelander's chest rose and fell. For the first time… there was no arrogance in his face. Only recognition.
He whispered, more to himself than anyone else—
"…why does this always happen… when I come back here?"
Alex looked at him, confused. "What do you mean—'always'?"
Homelander's gaze didn't leave the sky. "The last time I came here… that giant monster showed up. The kaiju. Remember?"
Deadpool leaned in. "Ohhh, so it's your fault. Fantastic. So, what is it this time? A celestial? A budget cut?"
No one laughed.
Because they all felt it.
That thick, suffocating air—the dread crawling under the skin.
Alex's system glitched in front of him—text flickering violently:
[WARNING: UNREADABLE ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED]
[SOURCE: UNKNOWN]
[STABILITY: CRITICAL]
Butcher looked around the emptying street, gripping his crowbar tight.
"Whatever's coming… it ain't gonna be friendly."
Homelander's eyes darted across the sky one last time before he muttered, almost bitterly—
"This planet's cursed."
Then, faintly—
A single, distorted whisper came through the air.
No one could place it, not even Deadpool.
"...he watches... again..."
And just like that—
The sound vanished.
Leaving only that dreadful silence.
And a city that no longer felt safe.