[A/N]: New goal! Let's aim for 350 Power Stones and unlock TWO bonus chapters. You know the drill! Let's get this done quickly and keep the streak going! đ„
The Skies Above Manhattan - Midtown Airspace
Iron Man's HUD lit up with target locks, tracking, missile guidance systems, and about fifty other things JARVIS thought were relevant. Tony ignored most of it, focusing on the Leviathan trying to eat him.
"Okay, that's just rude!" He fired repulsors at the creature's eyes, making it recoil. "JARVIS, tell me you've got something for the big ugly fish!"
[I'm detecting a central nervous system approximately fifteen meters back from the cranial structure, sir. A concentrated strike there should prove fatal.]
"English, JARVIS!"
[Shoot it in the brain, sir.]
"Why didn't you just say that?" Tony angled up, dodging the Leviathan's snapping jaws, and prepared to fire when a familiar sound made him grin. "Oh, that's my jam."
War Machine came in hot from the east, minigun spinning up. "Move, Tony!"
Tony barrel-rolled left. Rhodey's minigun opened up, the concentrated barrage punching through the Leviathan's eye. Blue blood sprayed. The creature's roar shook the air itself.
Tony used the distraction. Arc reactor output surged to maximum. His chest plate opened, and the unibeam fired, concentrated energy carving through the Leviathan's skull. The creature went limp mid-flight, momentum carrying it into an abandoned office building.
"Not cool, Rhodey!" Tony's voice carried his trademark cockiness, but his hands were shaking slightly inside the armor. "Trying to steal my kill?"
"Not the time to joke, Tony." Rhodey's voice was tight. "I've got POTUS on the line constantly asking for updates."
"Don't tell me you're streaming for them now." Tony fired repulsors at a cluster of Chitauri chariots. "Selling out?"
"Anthony Edward Stark!"
Tony's heart stuttered. That voice. That specific tone.
A blue and gold figure, sleeker than his armor, flew up beside him. The Rescue armor's faceplate lifted, revealing Pepper's very angry face.
"What was that stunt you just pulled in front of Loki? Flying directly to him like you're invincible? And then leaping out of the building without your armour. You could've been killed!"
"Pepper! Hi! Love the new look!" Tony's voice jumped an octave. "The gold really brings out your eyes..."
Another Leviathan roared past them, jaws open wide enough to swallow a city bus.
Tony had never been so relieved to see a giant alien death worm in his life.
"Gotta go! Love you!" Tony rocketed after the Leviathan.
Pepper and Rhodey followed without discussion. All three armors opened fire simultaneously. Missiles and repulsors and minigun rounds shredded the creature's hide.
"Focus on the brain!" Tony called out. "JARVIS calculated..."
"We know!" Pepper and Rhodey said in unison.
The Leviathan died hard, thrashing as it fell.
Tony hovered, catching his breath, when his HUD highlighted three more coming through the portal.
"This is gonna be a long day."
Lower Manhattan - Financial District
Ben Grimm in his Thing form was in heaven. Or possibly hell. Hard to tell when you were punching aliens.
"IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!" He grabbed a Chitauri soldier by the ankle. He swung it like a club, the body connecting with five more aliens in a spray of blue blood. Then he threw the corpse into a chariot. Both exploded.
"Ben, look out!" Alicia Masters called from behind him.
Ben spun, concrete cracking under his feet. A dozen Chitauri advanced, weapons raised. He planted himself between them and Alicia. His voice dropped an octave, losing the humor.
"Ya want her, ya go through me. And I ain't never been gone through."
Then Domino started shooting.
She fired her pistol casually, almost lazily, each shot going in seemingly random directions. But every bullet, charged with tachyon field, found its target. One ricocheted off a fire hydrant, through a broken window, off a metal beam, and straight through a Chitauri's eye. Another curved impossibly around a corner to hit an alien Ben hadn't even seen.
"That's my girl!" Ben laughed, crushing another alien under his fist.
Domino's next shot was completely random, fired straight up without looking. The bullet arced high, came down, and punched through a Leviathan's eye, penetrated deep, and hit something critical. The entire creature exploded, taking out a dozen Chitauri chariots in the blast radius.
Ben's rocky jaw dropped. "How the... that's not... WHY CAN'T I HAVE COOL POWERS LIKE THAT?!"
Alicia, still sheltered behind him, laughed despite the chaos. "Because you're already perfect, Ben."
"Damn right I am!" He grabbed a car and threw it at another wave of Chitauri. "Still want cool shootin' powers though!"
Domino winked at Ben, ejecting an empty magazine and slapping in a fresh one without looking. The magazine landed perfectly, locked in with a satisfying click. "Luck's not a power, sweetheart. It's an art form." She fired again, hitting a Chitauri that was sneaking up behind Ben from three blocks away. The bullet bounced off four different surfaces before finding its target.
"Okay, now you're just showin' off," Ben grumbled, but he was grinning.
Blade Lounge - West Side
Johnny Storm had been having a great day. He'd just picked up his dad from the airport, they were grabbing lunch, and he was excited to head to the Baxter Building later to be there when Sue went into labor. He was going to be an uncle.
Then a goddamn alien invasion happened.
"Dad, hold on!" Johnny's flame ignited without conscious thought.
He grabbed Dr. Franklin Storm and launched skyward just as a Chitauri chariot screamed through where they'd been standing. The alien vehicle plowed through the restaurant, tables and chairs exploding into splinters.
"Jonathan!" Franklin clung to his son's shoulders. "What is happening?!"
"Alien invasion! I swear, this city..." Johnny bit off the curse, remembering his dad was right there. "Just hold on, Dad. I got you."
He flew fast, dodging energy blasts, heading for the nearest shelter. The heat built in his body, the flame wanting to explode outward. But his dad was here. Civilians were everywhere. Control. He needed control.
He landed at a shelter entrance two blocks south, gently setting his father down. SHIELD agents were there, guiding people inside. Johnny made sure his dad got through safely, waited until he disappeared into the bunker's depths.
Then he let loose.
"FLAME ON!"
The fire erupted from his body like a solar flare. Johnny spun, creating a tornado of pure flame that reached ten blocks wide. Heat washed over the streets in waves. Chitauri chariots caught in the vortex burned, aliens screaming as they fell. Their weapons melted. Their armor ran like water.
These things had threatened his father. Had interrupted his sister's baby being born. Had attacked his city on what should've been the best day of his life.
They were gonna burn.
He cleared the airspace in under a minute, then rocketed toward Stark Tower. The portal was there, spewing more aliens. He could close it. He had to close it.
But as he flew, movement below caught his eye. A school bus surrounded by Chitauri, kids screaming inside, tiny faces pressed against windows. The aliens were methodically surrounding it.
Johnny hesitated for a moment and dove, flames blazing hot enough to melt asphalt. He didn't give the Chitauri time to react. Walls of fire erupted between them and the bus. He melted their weapons, burned their chariots, gave the bus driver time to floor it toward safety.
"Go! Go!" Johnny kept the flames between the bus and the aliens, moving with the vehicle, protecting it until it reached the shelter entrance.
The bus escaped. Johnny took a breath, chest heaving. His flame flickered. He'd used too much too fast. But those kids were safe.
Sue was having her baby. He was missing it. He should be there, should be holding his nephew.
Instead he was here, burning aliens. The anger surged again, and his flame responded, burning hotter. Fine. He'd keep burning until there was nothing left to burn.
Then he'd go meet his nephew.
Midtown Shelter - Near Grand Central
The Chitauri ground forces were making progress, pushing toward one of the main evacuation shelters. Civilians were still trying to get inside, the entrance bottlenecked with panicking people. The aliens moved methodically, weapons raised.
Then a giant hammer fell from the sky.
It hit the lead Chitauri squad with a sound like a cartoon. SPLAT. The aliens literally flattened.
Slapstick himself appeared, a living cartoon, laughing maniacally. "WELCOME TO TUNES LAND, MOTHERFUCKERS!"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out an ACME anvil. He threw it straight up. It disappeared into the clouds, came back down five seconds later, and crushed another group of Chitauri.
"That's what you get for invading on a Saturday!"
Deadpool landed beside him, katanas already out and dripping blue blood. "Did you seriously just make a Looney Tunes reference? God, I love you, you beautiful cartoon fuck!"
"Less talking, more stabbing!" Slapstick pulled out a comically oversized mallet and charged.
On the roof above them, Gorilla-Man tried to maintain his Buddhist calm. He breathed deeply, centering himself. "Violence is not the answer. We must seek harmony, find balance within ourselves, let go of our anger and..."
A Chitauri energy blast nearly took his head off.
"FORGET THIS ZEN BULLSHT!" Gorilla-Man threw off his monk robes, grabbed his guns, and opened fire. "GET TO WORK, YOU FUCKING MONKEY!"
Hit-Monkey, who'd been leisurely drinking sake and watching the battle, looked up. His small monkey face showed offense. He carefully set down his sake, walked to a nearby crate, and pulled out a rotary machine gun that was way bigger than he was.
He chattered something in monkey language that definitely included curse words, then opened fire.
The machine gun roared. Chitauri died. The street exploded. And occasionally Deadpool or Slapstick took a few rounds, but they were too busy fighting to notice or care.
Machine Man and Gorilla Man continued sniping from the roof while Massacre provided covering fire. All of them were grinning. The payment Jay had promised them was going to be incredible, and honestly? After months of quiet, they'd missed this.
"THIS IS WHY I LOVE THIS JOB!" Deadpool shouted, beheading a Chitauri with one katana while shooting another. "VIOLENCE, ALIENS, AND A PAYCHECK! IT'S LIKE CHRISTMAS BUT WITH MORE BLUE!"
[A/N]: Support my work and get early access to 45+ chapters, exclusive content, and bonus material at my P@treon - Max_Striker.
If you wanna hang out, join my Discord server- https://discord.gg/HrsdTeH7