[A/N]: New goal! Let's aim for 350 Power Stones and unlock TWO more bonus chapters. You know the drill! Let's get this done quickly and keep the streak going! đ„
Manhattan
Peter Parker sat at a small outdoor café table, nursing his third cup of coffee. His leg bounced under the table. Across from him, Gwen Stacy studied for her chemistry exam while Harry Osborn scrolled through his phone, occasionally showing them memes.
It should've been normal. Should've been just another Thursday. But Peter couldn't shake the weird tension crawling under his skin, the hyperawareness of every sound, every movement.
"So," Gwen said without looking up, "how's that spider bite? The fever any better?"
Peter's hand went to his neck instinctively, touching the spot where that exotic spider had bitten him three weeks ago during the Baxter field trip. The wound had healed within hours, but everything else...
"It's fine. Totally fine."
Harry finally looked up from his phone. "Is that why you've been absent for weeks? Dude, not cool. You should've at least told me."
"I know, I know." Peter scratched the back of his neck. "It's just... too much has been happening. After the whole Stark Expo thing, Aunt May and Uncle Ben were already worried, and then the spider bite on top of that..."
"Your aunt still thinks terrorists are gonna blow up every public event now," Harry said with the classic Osborn smirk on his face. "Maybe she's not wrong. Between Stark's incompetence and whatever the hell happened at that Expo, this city's becoming a warzone."
"Can you blame her? We literally watched robots attack people."
Gwen finally closed her textbook. "At least we're safe now. I mean, after Captain America came back and all those heroes at District X, it feels like New York's actually protected, you know?"
Harry was about to respond when a sound cut through the morning air.
It wasn't loud at first. Just a high-pitched whine that made their ears pop. Then the wind picked up, flowing in one specific direction. Coffee cups rattled on their table. Car alarms started going off down the block.
"What is that?" Gwen asked, standing up.
Peter felt it before he saw it. A ringing in his head, sharp and insistent, like someone had stuck a tuning fork against his skull and let it vibrate. Every instinct screamed at him.
RUN. RUN NOW. RUN AS FAST AND AS FAR AS POSSIBLE.
"Peter?" Harry was staring at him. "You okay? You look like you're gonna puke."
Then their phones rang.
Not just theirs. Every phone on the street, every tablet, every device with a screen suddenly lit up with the same alert.
EMERGENCY ALERT: Proceed calmly to the nearest shelter. Follow the blue line on your screen. This is not a drill. Do not panic. Help is available.
A map appeared on Peter's phone, showing a route to the nearest bunker. The blue line pulsed.
"What the hell?" Harry stood up, nearly knocking over his chair. "Maybe this is one of the government's emergency plans! We need to run!"
Peter looked up.
A portal was opening above Stark Tower.
It started as a pinprick of blue-black nothingness, then expanded rapidly.
Through the widening breach, something massive pushed through.
A giant worm-like being emerged. Its armored hide gleamed with bio-mechanical plating, and when it roared, the sound wave shattered windows for six blocks. Car alarms screamed. People on the street covered their ears, some dropping to their knees.
Behind the Leviathan, hundreds of smaller shapes poured through. Humanoid figures riding flying chariots, their weapons humming.
People on the street stood frozen, phones out, recording. Some ran immediately. Others just stared.
Peter's spider sense screamed louder.
He grabbed both Gwen's and Harry's hands and pulled them away from the table with such force that all three stumbled.
"Peter, what..." Gwen started.
"RUN!"
The mental ringing in Peter's head sharpened to a needle point. He yanked them to the side just as a Chitauri chariot screamed past where they'd been standing. The alien vehicle slammed into a parked taxi, the impact crumpling metal and shattering glass. The explosion threw them back, Peter instinctively shielding Gwen and Harry with his body.
The Chitauri soldier recovered quickly, turning its chariot around. Its eyes focused on the three teenagers. It raised its weapon, the barrel glowing.
Peter stepped in front of his friends, fists clenched, not sure what the hell he could do but knowing he had to try something...
A golden fist punched through the alien's head.
The impact was so sudden, so violent, that Peter barely registered what happened. One second the Chitauri was aiming at them, the next its head exploded in a spray of blue blood. The chariot sparked and died, crashing into a nearby storefront.
A man in a green suit and yellow mask stood where the alien had been, his right fist still glowing. He was breathing hard, blood from the alien splattered across his costume.
"Iron Fist," Harry breathed. "That's Iron Fist from Heroes for Hire!"
Danny Rand touched his comm. "Yeah, I got one, but we're gonna need a lot more than that." He looked at the three teenagers. "Hey! You kids need to run! Follow the map on your phones and get to the nearest shelter. We'll hold them off!"
Peter wanted to stay. Wanted to help. But Gwen and Harry were here, and they were in danger.
He grabbed them both, lifting them easily, too easily, under his arms and ran.
"Peter!" Gwen yelped. "How are you..."
"Not now!"
They blurred down the street, Peter's enhanced speed carrying them faster than any normal person should move. Behind them, Danny Rand leaped back into the fight, his Iron Fist glowing as he engaged another wave of Chitauri.
Danny touched his comm again as he punched through a chariot's hull. "Just saved some kids. I think one of them might be a mutant, but that's not the point." He dodged an energy blast, rolled, came up swinging. "We need serious firepower!"
A shadow fell over him.
Danny looked up just in time to see the Hulk arc through the air like a green missile. The jade giant crashed directly into a Leviathan's open mouth, disappeared inside, and then the entire creature convulsed. The Hulk tore through it from the inside out, roaring "SMASH!" the entire time.
The Leviathan died with a shriek. It crashed into the street, sending Chitauri soldiers scattering. The Hulk emerged from the wreckage, covered in blue blood, and roared his challenge at the sky.
Danny stared. "I think we got the firepower."
Six Blocks South - Near City Hall
Captain America's shield ricocheted off three Chitauri soldiers in rapid succession before returning to his hand. Steve caught it without looking, already moving toward the next group of aliens threatening civilians huddled behind an overturned bus.
"Keep moving!" Steve's voice carried across the chaos. "Follow the blue lines on your phones! There's a shelter three blocks that way!"
A car flew past his head. Steve's body dropped into a combat roll, shield coming up automatically. The shield caught the alien's follow-up energy blast, reflected it back. The Chitauri dropped, smoke rising from its chest.
"Cap, on your six!"
Luke Cage barreled past him, bulletproof skin gleaming in the sun. He grabbed a Chitauri chariot out of the air mid-flight, spun with it like a hammer thrower, and released it into a group of advancing soldiers. The impact scattered them like bowling pins.
"Man, I grew up with your picture on my wall!" Luke's grin was wide despite the blue blood splattered across his yellow shirt. "Thought you were just stories my grandma told me. Now here I am, fighting aliens next to Captain America. She's never gonna believe this!"
Steve couldn't help but smile as he shield-bashed another alien. "Your grandma sounds like a smart woman. Make sure you survive this so you can tell her yourself."
"You got it, Cap!" Luke's expression sobered. "These things picked the wrong city to invade."
He grabbed two cars and hurled them at an advancing group of Chitauri. Metal shrieked. Aliens scattered. Luke was already moving to the next threat.
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