At this moment, inside the Avengers Compound.
"Damn it, Tony went after the ship!" Steve held the report Tony sent back, pacing anxiously. They wanted to stop him, but there wasn't enough time! They didn't even know what to do right now.
"Have you contacted Wanda?" Sam asked Natasha in a hurried voice. If Wanda were here, maybe she would have a solution.
"No, our communication devices can't send a signal to Asgard." Natasha shook her head helplessly. If they could have contacted her, they would have done so already. In their current situation, there was nothing they could do.
"So we're just supposed to sit here and wait?" Sam gritted his teeth, his expression grim. By now, Tony and Gwen had probably boarded that damned donut ship. Even if they wanted to chase after them, they couldn't. They didn't even know what was happening, since that damned donut had already flown out of Earth's atmosphere.
BZZT!
As everyone was discussing anxiously, a portal opened directly in the center of the office. Wong and Rhodey walked out, covered in dirt and dust.
"What happened?" Steve rushed over and asked. They were the first to arrive on the scene, so only they knew what was going on. They had received a message from Tony, but the content was too brief.
"This was Thanos's army!" Wong clenched his fist, his voice heavy as he quickly explained what had happened. When everyone heard his words, the air in the room became incredibly heavy.
"You mean, this guy named Thanos wants to take the Infinity Stones?" Sam frowned, asking with a questioning tone.
"Yes!" Wong nodded. "We have to destroy the Infinity Stones or protect them!"
Although he didn't know Thanos's exact goal, he was certain that once Thanos had all the Infinity Stones, no one knew what would happen. So, they had to collect all the Infinity Stones before that could happen! Only then could they prevent Thanos from getting them.
Considering what had happened just now, before Thanos had even arrived, they knew they wouldn't be a match for him.
"Let's bring Vision over first," Rhodey said, taking off his helmet and wiping the blood from his face. He knew how serious the consequences of this would be. And they could see that this was only the first wave of the enemy's forces. This meant that if the rest of them came, the situation would be unthinkable. Even so, they had to prioritize destroying the stones.
Natasha hesitated for a moment but ultimately called Vision. Soon, Vision landed on the balcony and walked in.
"What's the current situation?" Vision asked as soon as he entered. He had also learned that Tony had followed the ship.
"Vision, I have something very serious to talk to you about," Wong said, stepping forward. "I need to remove the Infinity Stone from your head!"
Vision was taken aback. "Remove the Infinity Stone from my head?"
"Yes, we need to prevent Thanos from taking the stone." Wong nodded without hesitation. If they could remove it, they could then consider destroying it! Only by destroying the Infinity Stones could they ensure that Thanos's plan would fail.
Stephen had already been taken, and they didn't know the status of the Eye of Agamotto. But they had to act now. They couldn't let Thanos take the Infinity Stones.
"No. I won't allow it." Steve immediately stood in front of Vision. Vision was their friend, and they absolutely could not risk their friend's life.
"Captain, do you know what we are facing?" Wong glared at Steve, roaring, "We are facing an attack from a cosmic warlord!"
"So what? If we destroy it, will he stop coming?" Steve stubbornly blocked Wong. He didn't believe that destroying it would make Thanos stop. Besides, how to even destroy it was an issue, and they couldn't make such a hasty decision.
"If we destroy it, his plan will be ruined. This is our only chance!" Wong knew that Thanos's goal was the Infinity Stones. But if there were no Infinity Stones, he wouldn't have a reason to fight Earth. Only this way could they truly protect the planet.
"What about Vision's life?! Have you even considered him?" Steve gritted his teeth, making a grinding sound. He would not allow them to harm Vision for this. No one even knew if Vision would disappear if the Infinity Stone was removed. He would not take that risk.
"If we do it carefully, he might be fine." Wong took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on Vision.
They couldn't afford to worry about such things. If sacrificing one person could protect the Earth, he would be happy to do it. Although Tony and the others had followed the ship, they didn't know what the result would be. And even if they didn't know the current situation, he had to make a plan.
BOOM!
A loud explosion shook the entire compound. Everyone instantly looked outside. A deep crater had been blasted into the courtyard outside the Avengers Compound.
A loud humming sound followed, as if a massive engine was turning above their heads.
[Warning! Detecting intruder presence!]
[Currently above the compound!]
Friday's voice echoed in the office. Everyone ran to the balcony. When they looked up, their expressions became extremely grim. The moment they arrived at the balcony, Friday had already activated the defense systems.
Over a dozen anti-aircraft guns quickly rose from various parts of the compound. Dense ammunition created a dozen arcs of fire, shooting toward the circular landing craft in the sky. The emergency missile silos also fired, targeting the ship.
But the moment the missiles approached the circular landing craft, a pale blue shield appeared around it. The missiles burst into a terrifying flash of fire as they hit the shield. Debris fell from the sky, forcing everyone to cover their eyes.
"They're here," Wong said, forming magical rings in his hands, his voice grave.
A beam of light shot out from the circular landing craft. When the light disappeared, the enemies appeared. Two tall figures with weapons in hand walked out, followed by a large group of misshapen beasts.
"They don't look too friendly, but they're better looking than that Octopus guy," Rhodey said as he walked out, his hands out in a helpless gesture. He had gone back to change into a new suit. His previous one had been damaged in the fight earlier.
"Excuse me, this is official property. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed," Steve said, leaping from the second floor. He landed on the grass, raised his shield, and faced the enemies with a serious expression.
"Earthlings, hand over the Mind Stone," Corvus Glaive said, brandishing his spear-like weapon. He calmly stated his purpose: "We'll take the stone and leave."
"I guess you don't plan on leaving then," Steve said, crouching slightly, his face full of caution. Since they were here with bad intentions, he could only fight.
Hawkeye took the longbow from his back, its string half-drawn, ready to fire at any moment. Natasha moved to a covered position, taking out a laser pistol made by Stark Industries. The others were also ready, with their weapons prepared.
Now that the enemies had appeared, they had to drive them away before they could decide what to do next.
"Bring me the Infinity Stones!" Corvus Glaive raised his glaive and gave the command.
The Outriders rushed out from behind him. They were genetically engineered creatures created by Thanos, walking on four legs, like wolves but larger, with fanged mouths and sharp claws.
The Outriders ran across the lawn, looking like an endless tide, a terrifying sight. In just a few seconds, they had covered hundreds of meters!
"Rhodey!" Steve shouted, taking a few steps back. "Rockets!"
"Copy that, Cap!" A row of rockets shot out from the back of Rhodey's armor, flying toward the Outrider army. With a sharp sound, all the rockets were launched. They flew toward the densest parts of the Outrider forces.
BOOM!
With a series of explosions, countless Outriders mixed with dirt were blasted into the air. It was like countless fireworks exploding on the ground. The ground was scorched and scalding hot. The air was filled with smoke and fire.
"These new missiles are awesome!" Rhodey said excitedly, examining his weapons. He had learned from his last fight and immediately equipped his most powerful missiles.
They were far stronger than he had imagined. And with the help of the AI, he didn't even have to control the missiles; they would accurately fly to different locations. But the Outriders didn't back down. They still charged toward the heroes.
Corvus Glaive's face turned grim as he looked at the piles of bodies. He raised his glaive and threw it at Rhodey with a roar.
WHACK!
The glaive flew like a cannonball, carrying a terrifying force that made the air itself explode. The tip of the glaive glowed faintly. It was like a shooting star, arriving in front of Rhodey in an instant!
"CRAP!" Rhodey's eyes widened. The speed was too fast… At that moment, he could only move his body as much as possible. Even though he tried to dodge, the glaive was as fast as lightning and struck his chest. He was sent flying uncontrollably, slamming into a wall and then sliding to the ground.
"Rhodey!" Steve looked worried and ran toward Rhodey to check on him.
SWISH!
A swift figure blocked his path. A spear came down with a powerful strike. Steve raised his shield just in time.
CLANG!
With the collision, sparks flew. Even Steve was forced back a few steps by the powerful blow.
"Your opponent is me," a beautiful figure said, appearing in front of him. It was Proxima Midnight, and a faint smile was on her face.
"Get out of my way!" Steve threw his shield, but Proxima Midnight simply used her trident-like weapon to block Steve's attack.
"Looks like you're not bad yourself," Proxima Midnight sneered, swinging her weapon and bringing it down hard on Steve. The force of the strike was so strong, you could hear the air crackling. Steve rolled on the ground, picked up his shield, and raised it to block with his right hand.
BAM!
The full-force blow made Steve's body sink. Steve wasn't afraid of Proxima Midnight, but he was worried about Rhodey. As she swung her weapon again, he had to quickly move his head to the side. The blow struck a nearby wall.
CRACK!
The durable wall was ripped open by the blow!
While Steve and Proxima Midnight were fighting, Corvus Glaive also charged toward the heroes.
"Damn it, they're here!" Hawkeye ran toward Corvus Glaive, his bow string pulled taut. Several explosive arrows shot toward Corvus Glaive, but he simply dodged them all!
"This guy is a monster..." Hawkeye cursed to himself. His archery skills were top-notch, but he couldn't land a single shot. As he gritted his teeth and raised his bow again, he saw Outriders charging at him from the side.
Hawkeye could only roll on the ground to dodge. The vicious Outriders continued to attack him. His face grew darker. It was as if they were endless. He had just taken down a few when more came at him.
Hawkeye rolled back, then leaped up. He pulled three explosive arrows from his quiver and shot them in three different directions, hitting the Outriders.
BOOM!
The explosions cleared a large area of Outriders. But the others still kept charging toward him.
Meanwhile, Falcon Sam used his advantage of being in the air to dodge the Outriders, and his machine guns continuously fired at Corvus Glaive.
BZZT!
Corvus Glaive raised his hand, and the glaive that was stuck in Rhodey's chest flew back into his hand. He held the glaive up, and a golden light gathered at the tip. With a hum, a brilliant beam of light shot out, repeatedly striking at Sam in the air.
Sam could only spin around rapidly in the air to dodge the beam.
"Hey! Over here!" Rhodey yelled, gritting his teeth as he crawled up from the wall. He was lucky; the glaive had only pierced a few centimeters deep and had missed his heart. Otherwise, he would have been dead. He raised his hand, and two missiles launched from his wrist, striking Corvus Glaive.
BOOM!
The two missiles exploded on Corvus Glaive!
"Nice one!" Sam shouted, clenching his fist excitedly. These enemies weren't so tough after all!
"Is he finally dead this time?" Rhodey sighed. He was about to get up when his expression suddenly turned grim. His armor detected a life sign. Through the dust, Corvus Glaive was surrounded by a purple light, which had blocked most of the damage. But he was covered in injuries.
"You're looking to die!" Corvus Glaive's angry voice echoed in the air as he charged toward Rhodey. He flew like a cannonball, slamming into Rhodey. Rhodey was sent flying backward through the air. In the next second, Corvus Glaive followed and brought his glaive down hard.
SMACK!
Rhodey was sent flying backward from the hit. The durable armor on his chest was split open by a crack almost a foot long!
[Your armor's damage has reached 40%!]
[Chest armor is completely offline!]
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