Jack Banks glanced at the enraged Thor, the God of Thunder, then at the two twitching legs on the ground.
"My bad." He shrugged, looking utterly innocent. "He yelled at me."
"You—!!" Thor was about to attack.
"Thor, stop!" Captain America intervened just in time.
"Steve," electrical energy crackled on Thor's hammer, "he attacked my brother!"
"You might want to look outside, Thor. See how many people your brother has killed," Steve said coolly.
"Well... he's not my actual brother," Thor lowered his hammer and stood awkwardly to the side.
Steve then turned to Jack Banks, his tone appreciative. "Friend, we thank you for your help. But we must know, who exactly are you? Are you one of Nick Fury's people?"
Homie turned around, his face set in an effortlessly charming smile. "Just doing my part, Captain Rogers."
"You know me?" Steve was taken aback.
"Of course," Homie walked toward him, extending a hand. "Steve Rogers, Captain America, World War II hero. Your story is inspiring."
Steve shook his hand. The grip was warm, powerful, and full of "righteousness."
"I am..." Homie was about to introduce himself.
Nick Fury's frantic voice cut through everyone's earpieces: "Stark, do you hear me?"
"Those idiots! They've launched a nuclear missile! It's heading straight for Manhattan!"
"How long do we have?!" Stark was shocked.
"Three minutes, tops! Its warhead could flatten downtown!"
"I can handle it!" Tony turned and flew out the window without hesitation. "J.A.R.V.I.S., route all remaining power to the thrusters!"
"Tony, are you insane!" Steve yelled.
"No choice!" Stark pushed with all his might, grabbing the missile and struggling to fly toward the portal in the sky.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., tell Pepper..."
"What a touching sacrifice, Tony." Homie's voice suddenly sounded right next to Stark's ear.
Stark looked back in terror, only to find this "Superman" was flying backward, neck and neck with him, at an even greater speed!
"Tony Stark," Jack Banks's voice was gentle. "You are a hero, you shouldn't die here..."
"You...?"
"The people need you, Tony."
"And I..." Homie gave Stark a tragic, "heroic sacrifice" smile. "I was born for this."
"You're crazy! You'll die!" Stark roared.
"Someone has to sacrifice themselves, don't they?"
Tony, who was still "pushing" the missile, suddenly felt the weight beneath him disappear.
"What the...?" He looked down. The nuclear missile was gone?!
That red and blue figure was carrying the missile, charging toward the portal at several times his speed.
"...That Superman cosplayer?!" Stark was dumbfounded. "He stole my nuke?!"
"No!!!" Tony Stark stopped outside the wormhole, watching helplessly as he disappeared.
On the ground.
Steve Rogers took off his cowl, looking up at the sky, his expression complex.
"...We owe him one."
...
Endless space.
The Chitauri mothership was right ahead.
"Alright, throw it and go home."
Jack Banks was about to let go, but his "X-Ray Vision" instinctively scanned the entire mothership.
He saw the engines, the command center, and tens of thousands of Chitauri soldiers.
Then, he saw a peculiar chamber.
In another area of the mothership, confined within a giant energy shield were...
"Holy shit! Kids?"
A hundred unconscious human children were stacked like cargo in a huge biological life support container.
"...They're not just invading; they're 'stocking up'?"
Jack Banks's mind raced.
A "sacrificed" hero would, of course, gain massive popularity.
But...
A hero who "sacrificed" himself, then miraculously returned, and also managed to save a ship full of children abducted by aliens...
That would be... a God among men!
A look even more "saintly" than all his previous smiles combined crossed his face.
"This is a script sent from heaven!"
There was no time to lose.
He adjusted his direction and let go of the missile.
He then flew directly through the mothership's outer shell!
Alarms blared deafeningly inside the mothership.
Ignoring all the soldiers attacking him, he unleashed his Heat Vision, clearing a path like a maniac.
He charged straight up to the massive container.
"Open up!"
He punched the energy shield!
Bzzzz—!
Blinding electric sparks erupted between his fist and the shield.
Not strong enough!
"Aaaarrgghh—!!!" The red glow in Jack Banks's eyes intensified. His Heat Vision and his fist simultaneously struck a single point!
CRACK!
The energy shield shattered!
He grabbed the container's shell with both hands, wrenching the entire life support unit from the mothership floor.
"Hold tight, little ones!"
Jack Banks pushed the giant container, reversed direction, and charged back through the hole he had created.
Behind him was the world-destroying flash of light.
...
New York, below the portal.
"He's been inside too long?..." Natasha's expression was grim.
"...He's not coming back." Stark hovered in the air, his voice low.
Captain America looked up, clenching his fists.
Just as the portal was about to close—
"Look! What is that?!" An agent on the ground pointed to the sky.
A streak of fire shot out of the portal!
It was the Superman!
He was pushing a massive object!
Homie burst out of the portal, and the portal closed behind him.
The remaining Chitauri forces fighting below lost all power and began to fall.
The war was over.
"He did it..." Stark murmured.
"Look... he looks unconscious!" Cap noticed the anomaly.
Jack Banks lost momentum in the air, pushing the huge container, and began to freefall.
"Quick! Tony!"
"I'm coming!" Stark was about to rush over.
Suddenly, the falling Jack Banks opened his eyes.
"Act the part, play it all the way," he told himself internally.
He "awoke," "struggled" to stabilize his body in mid-air, slowly decelerated, and then, supporting the massive life support container, executed an incredibly visually impactful "Superman-style" landing.
BOOM—!!!
He landed in New York's Grand Central Terminal Plaza.
Surrounding him were the survivors and countless reporters who had rushed to the scene.
Every camera, every gaze, instantly focused.
In full view of the public.
To appear more "strained," Jack Banks slowly knelt on one knee, placing the massive container on the ground.
Then, he "struggled" to stand up.
A reporter's voice trembled: "Wh-who are you?"