A massive black warship hovered arrogantly over Manhattan, its domineering presence impossible to ignore...
Dozens of armed helicopters circled nearby. The Department of Defense had only recently received word of this bizarre vessel, which had first appeared in London, England, causing massive destruction before heading straight for North America.
Thanks to the Dark Elves' unique stealth technology, it had evaded satellite surveillance and infiltrated American airspace undetected.
It wasn't until the black warship breached Manhattan that S.H.I.E.L.D. finally managed to track the Dark Elves' movements.
As a global superpower, the U.S. government couldn't simply sit back and allow such an invasion to unfold. The White House swiftly issued orders, mobilizing the National Guard and dispatching aircraft carriers from naval bases.
The President himself made a public statement, vowing to make the invaders pay a heavy price! S.H.I.E.L.D. was granted full authority to handle this crisis!
After initial warnings went unheeded, the armed helicopters opened fire first. The rapid-fire 30mm rotary cannons unleashed a torrent of bullets, raining down on the black warship's armored hull with deafening explosions.
The relentless barrage of gunfire pounded the massive sword-like vessel like a storm, but unfortunately, the initial assault yielded little effect. The Dark Elves' flagship remained unscathed.
"Pathetic." Standing at the bridge, Malekith sneered in disdain.
The Dark Elf leader's eyes were filled with contempt...
"Even after tens of thousands of years, this backwater world remains so primitive. We must retrieve the Aether before Asgard reacts." Malekith had already made up his mind.
"Ignore the Midgardians. I sense the Aether's presence. It's somewhere in this city! Find our ultimate weapon, and the Nine Realms will never see light again!" Malekith barked his orders, his cold gaze sweeping over the glittering metropolis below.
Perhaps from this moment onward, the sun would never rise again. The galaxy would sink into darkness, the realms dragged into the abyss.
And the Dark Elves' resurgence would be unstoppable!
Suddenly, a violent tremor rocked the black warship. The control panel's display showed dozens of advanced fighter jets rising from the nearby sea, their cannons firing beams of laser light that struck the flagship like dazzling pillars of destruction.
This was no longer the ineffective assault from before. The energy weapons, products of Umbrella Corporation, immediately demonstrated their devastating power.
"Send out the destroyers! Tear them apart!" Malekith seethed with rage.
The very Midgardians he had just dismissed as insignificant had now unleashed a fierce counterattack, humiliating him.
It was like a slap to the face!
As former rulers of the Nine Realms, the Dark Elves, much like the Asgardians, harbored an ingrained arrogance that ran deep in their bones...
The central section of the black warship suddenly split open, releasing sleek destroyers that shot out like blades. Their elongated hulls sliced through the thick air, trailing roaring shockwaves in their wake.
"Grimm! You and I will find the thief who stole the Aether!" The Dark Elf leader ordered his subordinates to oversee the battle while he and the Kursed warrior set out to reclaim their ultimate weapon.
Without it, they stood no chance against Asgard.
The Dark Elves had studied the Aether extensively over millennia, even turning it into a strategic weapon to dominate the Nine Realms. Though Asgard had snatched it away through deceit, Malekith was not without his own contingencies.
He could sense the Aether's presence. It was faint and intermittent, like a transmitter with poor signal, yet calling out to him desperately...
....
Over Manhattan, the black warship and the U.S. Air Force clashed in a spectacular battle...
Dazzling lasers and thunderous explosions turned the city's skyline into a scene straight out of a sci-fi movie, transforming the bustling metropolis into a warzone.
At first, the Dark Elves' flagship held the upper hand. Their twenty destroyers completely outmatched the military's advanced fighters. Their technology which was tens of thousands of years ahead turned the battle into a brutal massacre.
Then, at the height of the conflict, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier descended like a fortress from the sky. Its honeycomb-like turrets locked onto the Dark Elves' destroyers. It unleashed a web of laser fire that streaked across the sky like shooting stars.
Explosions lit up the night like fireworks. The twenty destroyers were obliterated like children's toys, their hulls pierced by beams of light before erupting into fireballs that briefly illuminated the sky before fading into embers.
The Helicarrier, once Nick Fury's mobile base, had been completely overhauled by Umbrella Corporation into a colossal fortress capable of leveling cities. Its towering turrets with their massive barrels gleaming coldly were a sight of pure intimidation.
With the official implementation of Project Insight, this floating fortress could easily annihilate any nation on Earth so long as it had authorization from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s highest-ranking commander and the World Security Council.
"Demand their surrender." Helmut Zemo, who stood on the Helicarrier's command deck, spoke coldly.
Within S.H.I.E.L.D., aside from General Ross, the nominal director, and Sean, who served as an advisor, Zemo was the true wielder of power.
The former colonel of Sokovia's intelligence agency had demonstrated his ruthless efficiency and deep understanding of espionage organizations within just a month of joining S.H.I.E.L.D.
He had completely restructured the intelligence apparatus, purged Nick Fury's loyalists, rooted out HYDRA moles. He even expanded the agency's global reach, stretching from North America to the Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Africa, and South America.
Under Sean's tacit guidance, he had also covertly supported political factions, infiltrating the upper echelons of multiple governments, much like HYDRA had done.
But unlike Alexander Pierce's cautious approach, Zemo was far more brazen...
The Sokovian colonel was no fool. He knew full well that his authority came solely from the young man pulling the strings behind the scenes. General Ross was merely a figurehead. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s cutting-edge technology and security forces all originated from Umbrella Corporation.
The largest research institution in the U.S. had long since evolved into a global conglomerate, its influence spreading silently across continents like a hidden leviathan.
Zemo saw clearly that the seemingly unremarkable young man harbored boundless ambition and formidable power. As S.H.I.E.L.D.'s commander, he knew exactly whom to pledge his loyalty to.
"No response from the enemy."
Zemo's expression remained cold as he calmly input the commands, activating the weapon systems without hesitation.
The pitch-black turrets which were shaped like spears began drawing power from the artificial suns that served as their core energy source.
Six massive orbs of light provided a stable output, and the central cannon glowed with blinding radiance.
"Fire."
Thousands of energy beams erupted like a raging sea of light, instantly engulfing the black warship...