They always said the world would end in fire. Guess what? Nailed it.
New York was burning. Like actually burning, not just the "ooh, nightlife is hot" kind. Whole skyscrapers peeled apart like someone got bored and started tearing up cardboard. People weren't running so much as stampeding, while the sky split open and started vomiting aliens. Chitauri, or whatever. Metal dragon things swooping around, blasting holes in everything. The city looked like it wanted to wring itself out and vanish into the clouds.
And me? Dead center of the madness. Standing still like an idiot.
Panic? Nope. Fear? Less than zero. Honestly? I was bored out of my mind.
Some lizard-faced alien ripped through a cop barricade, pitched a burning car over its shoulder like it was tossing a soda can. There was a little girl, pinned under some metal. Blood on her face, ash in her hair. Everyone else? Bolted. Not a single glance back.
Disgusting.
I stepped up. Glass crunched under my boots. My coat trailed behind me, all dramatic and spooky. Nanomachines in my veins lit up, red pulses crawling under my skin, syncing with every twitch and breath. Felt good. Felt right.
"Target acquired," hissed the voice in my skull. That's my nanotech core. My one loyal sidekick.
"Go," I said. Didn't even bother whispering.
The Chitauri spun, maybe saw the glow, maybe just sensed the sheer bad vibes I was giving off. It howled, raised its gun.
Too slow.
The world crawled. I darted in—one step, two, three. Suddenly I'm behind it, arm cutting through armor like butter, nanomachines squirming out and twisting into knives. No scream. Just limp, dead weight.
The kid sucked in a breath, huge eyes. I glanced down at her. "You're good. Go."
She just stared, frozen. Can't blame her. I'm not exactly the knight in shining armor type.
Didn't get a chance to explain, because suddenly—BAM—something lands in front of me, all red and gold, smoke everywhere. Iron Man. Of course.
His mask tilted. "Alright, sparkle-fingers, away from the kid."
I raised an eyebrow. "You're welcome, by the way."
"You just shanked that alien like Jason Voorhees," he snapped, all attitude.
"Yeah, because it was about to turn her into street pizza. You're welcome again."
Then—THUD—shield in the pavement. Blue suit. Captain America, looking all apple-pie and disapproving.
Name, rank, serial number? "What's your name?" he demanded.
I grinned. "Rex."
He waited. "Last name?"
"Nah, one's plenty."
Cap and Stark did that silent "should we arrest this guy" look. "You with S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Cap asked.
I laughed. It bounced around the street, sharp and loud. "Do I look like I do what I'm told?"
Before anyone could get cute, something green and angry landed a block away—Hulk. And then Thor, lightning trailing behind him like he was showing off for the cameras.
Great. Full superhero buffet.
Cap tried to lay down the law. "You're interfering with an active operation. Unknowns are a problem—"
I cut in. "Unknown? Buddy, I'm the reason three blocks aren't a barbecue right now. Gratitude, ever heard of it?"
Thor spun his hammer, glaring. "Power without allegiance is perilous."
I stared right back. "Pretty sure I don't need your hall pass to save lives."
Hulk snarled. Stark's repulsor whined. The air got that pre-thunderstorm tingle.
Honestly? I live for this kind of drama.
But then—screams. Deeper in the city. Another one of those giant space-whale things plowing through a building.
I shrugged. "Show's over."
Didn't wait for applause. Took off running, nanomachines humming. Parkour'd my way across rooftops, dodging blaster fire, slicing one of their ships in half with a spear of razor-edge tech. Fireworks. Metal raining down. I landed hard, kept moving.
No hero speeches. No waiting for orders. No stopping, because this was just round one. The whole invasion, the chaos? Just a dress rehearsal.
Me? I was going to ace it. Blood, fire, nanoblades and all.
They'd remember today. Not because Earth's Mightiest did their thing.
But because Rex walked into hell—and came out grinning.