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Hell's Kitchen.
Inside a ravaged building, not far from Satan's Mansion—
The figures in red and blue panted heavily. Dax clutched his abdomen, leaning against a crumbling half-wall. Matt Murdock wasn't much better off. Only one of his specialized batons remained, its silver spike stained with viscous, alien blood. His combat suit bore a horrifying, blasted-open wound, exposing the internal bulletproof padding—a shocking sight.
Around them, the corpses of Chitauri soldiers lay strewn across the ground.
The two of them, against all odds, had annihilated an entire Chitauri combat team.
"Need help?" Matt caught his breath and walked towards Dax, his expression a complex mix of emotions. The Night Ghost—the vigilante he'd often seen as a force disrupting the fragile order of Hell's Kitchen—was now fighting alongside him, bleeding to protect this very place. Standing amidst the ruins, for the first time, a crack appeared in Matt's deeply held convictions.
He reached out a hand, intending to check Dax's injuries.
Seeing him approach, Dax's gaze sharpened. He drew his last throwing knife and, without hesitation, hurled it.
The blade whistled past Matt's ear—so close it could have easily ended the life of the famed Daredevil.
Thunk!
Matt whipped his head around to the sound of something heavy falling. A Chitauri soldier, weapon raised for a sneak attack, lay dead.
Dax lowered his arm, his fingers trembling slightly. He had lost a significant amount of blood.
Matt rushed over to check Dax's condition. It wasn't just blood loss—there was also clear evidence of internal organ displacement from the brutal impacts and explosions. No matter how powerful Dax was, he was ultimately still human. In this desperate battle against aliens, without their advanced combat suits, they would both be long dead.
Helping Dax up, Matt struggled towards the street.
A taxi was parked outside. Robert had just carefully helped a heavily pregnant woman out of his car and into the relative safety of Satan's Mansion's back entrance. The mansion had become an impromptu shelter for fleeing residents. Robert, having received a notification on his taxi radio, had brought the pregnant woman he'd encountered here.
He drove over and saw the two figures stumbling out. "Need help?" Robert asked.
"Preferably a doctor," Matt gasped, carefully guiding Dax into the back seat. "Severe blood loss, multiple impact fractures, and internal organ displacement." After rattling off a dozen of Dax's critical conditions, a sharp pain lanced through Matt's own injured side. His face paled, and he nearly collapsed against the car door.
"I think both of you need help," Robert observed grimly, urging Matt into the car. "I was going to take you to Satan's Mansion—there are doctors there." He glanced at the two masked vigilantes and then amended, "But considering your injuries, another place might be safer."
He started the engine, driving towards Taran Industries. His friend had mentioned a medical department there.
Matt forced himself to stay alert, his lips trembling as he managed a "Thank you."
"Don't thank me," Robert said, his expression calm as he navigated the scarred streets. "I should be thanking you." These two had cleared almost all the Chitauri soldiers from the streets near Hell's Kitchen. If it weren't for them, Satan's Mansion would likely have fallen long ago.
The taxi sped through the devastated streets, heading towards Taran Industries. The army had now taken over the battlefield, tanks blocking the major thoroughfares.
Hattie ran down from the top-floor office in a controlled fury. Just as she exited the main doors, she nearly collided with Robert, who was practically carrying the two injured men into Taran Industries.
"It's you?" Hattie recognized Robert—after all, her boss had rarely given such specific warnings about someone. "You..."
"Robert, just call me Robert," he offered, his usual friendly uncle smile in place. "There are two injured people here."
Hattie walked over and took a quick look. Okay, she thought, one is the Boss's lawyer, and the other is his pet FBI undercover agent. As a capable assistant, Hattie immediately led them to the Taran Medical Department. Thanks to Dr. Helen Cho's research on the Regeneration Cradle, the department housed the world's most advanced medical equipment, and Dr. Cho herself was a brilliant medical doctor.
After ushering them inside, a heavily armed Ivan Vanko—in his Fighter Armor—blasted past the top floor of Taran Industries.
"Hahaha!" The floating cannons surrounding Ivan shot down all approaching Chitauri fliers. "That's it—tear them apart!" He stopped abruptly in mid-air, his shoulders and hips popping open, revealing concealed missile launchers. Hundreds of small missiles, trailing fire, all converged on a single Chitauri warship.
A deafening series of explosions sounded, and the warship shrieked as it crashed heavily to the ground.
The falling warship smashed into a building. A dust-covered Thor and an equally grimy Hulk emerged from the wreckage. It was lucky it was these two; anyone else would have been blown to bits.
Thor, his face dark with anger, growled, "I'm going to kill that guy!"
Hulk looked down at his pants. Hmm, still intact. He then raised a massive fist and punched Thor, sending him flying. A crooked grin spread across Hulk's face. Hulk is the strongest there is!
"Stark, do you know that metal man in the sky?" Barton's voice crackled over the comms, his mouth twitching. If it weren't for the fact that the airborne menace was also attacking Chitauri, he would have assumed it was some new villain. Thor and Hulk had been clearing out a warship when Ivan's missile barrage had rained down, blasting both of them, along with the warship, out of the sky.
"Uh, you could say I know him," Tony replied, genuinely suspecting Ivan was using this chaos as an opportunity to settle old scores. "Don't worry about him."
"Alright," Barton said, loosing an arrow that blew up a Chitauri flier. "But there are more and more of them coming."
Tony knew this. They had to find a way to close that spatial portal.
Steve's voice cut in. "Has anyone seen Loki?"
Barton replied, "Haven't seen him. Is he hiding somewhere?"
"Then we're in trouble," Steve grunted, knocking down a Chitauri soldier with his shield. "The top priority is to find a way to shut it down."
"No weapon we have can do it."
"Maybe it's not a weapon," Natasha interjected, still fighting fiercely. She wrapped her legs around a Chitauri soldier, her electric gauntlets discharging, killing it instantly. Then she double-tapped the bracelet John had given her, adjusting the deployed fortress's cannon positions to aim at a new wave of incoming Chitauri.
"Fire!"
The automated fortress, a testament to Ivan's design philosophy—simple, brutal, and overwhelmingly armed—unleashed a barrage of cannon fire that cleared the entire street of Chitauri.
Just as Natasha caught her breath, she saw Steve stride over, his shield flying out to break the neck of a Chitauri attempting a sneak attack.
"We need to get up there," Steve said, gesturing towards Stark Tower. "We need a ride."
Natasha glanced at the Chitauri, already swarming again like locusts, and her eyes locked onto a nearby Chitauri flier. "I have a ride in mind," she said, "but I'll need a little help."
Following her gaze, Steve immediately understood. He took a few steps back, planted his feet, and asked, a hint of doubt in his voice, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes," Natasha nodded decisively, John's audacious grin flashing in her mind. "It's bound to be exciting." Unknowingly, she too had started to pursue the thrill of the impossible.
Just as the Chitauri flier was about to pass overhead, Natasha sprinted towards Steve, leaped forcefully onto his shield, and with a powerful upward shove from Steve, she was launched onto the alien vehicle.
Steve looked at the Chitauri soldiers now closing in on his position on the ground, let his breathing steady, and said with a sigh of resignation, "At least leave me the controls next time." He knew he'd have to find his own way up.
Loki, knocked down by John, still wore a calm, almost unfazed smile.
"How did you get out?" Loki stood up, his eyes assessing. "Magic?"
John twirled his wand between his fingers, a slight smile playing on his lips. "It's cold, yes—but it's not as if I haven't encountered something like it before."
Loki's mind stirred. "It seems you truly are..."
Staring intently at John, Loki flipped his hands, and two wicked-looking short blades appeared in his grasp.
"You made a mistake," he tilted his head, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "A Wizard shouldn't have appeared before me now."
The moment he raised his hand, an intense cold current condensed from his short blades and slashed through the void.
John sidestepped, the chill brushing his cheek, a delicate layer of frost forming instantly on his eyebrows.
Loki's eyes turned an icy, piercing blue. His entire demeanor became more sinister, more predatory.
"I don't remember Thor having this move," John observed, raising his wand, an eyebrow arched in feigned surprise.
Loki smiled wickedly. "Don't compare me to him."
John's own smile widened slightly. "I wouldn't dream of it."
"Expelliarmus!"
A jet of red light flew, colliding explosively with the wave of cold. An Iron Armor Charm shimmered into existence, blocking the approaching short blades. John's right hand shot out, grabbing Loki's arm.
Bone-chilling cold radiated from Loki's palm, and John's gaze sharpened. Loki twisted, gripping his short blade in a reverse hold, and slashed at John.
John turned and vanished, reappearing in a crackle of red lightning, his counterattack sending Loki flying backward.
Dust kicked up from the impact.
Two short blades flew out from the sides, only to be deflected by the shimmering phantom of another Shield Charm.
John's face turned serious. He reached out into the void with his free hand, his fingers clenching.
The cloud of dust exploded outwards, and ten Lokis appeared, all raising their hands simultaneously. A powerful, concentrated wave of frigid energy surged towards John.
John took a deep breath, his pupils contracting into vertical slits. A golden flame ignited on the tip of his wand. From the back of his hands and along his cheekbones, scales like burnished gold began to appear, one by one. As the crushing cold wave arrived, the golden flames also erupted, meeting it head-on.
Fiendfyre—also known in some circles as Eternal Fire.
White frost met golden flame.
Eternal Ice and Eternal Fire.
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