By the time Steve and the others dragged their exhausted bodies back to the Skyhammer Bureau, Bant and Tony had already left for space together.
To be precise, they were inside the Skyhammer Bureau's satellites.
"We need to speed things up."
Tony stood inside one of the satellites. He wasn't wearing his armor, just a signal transmitter on his head. The device amplified the signal from the implants in his body, making sure he could control multiple machines simultaneously.
Jarvis displayed dozens of different feeds before his eyes.
Tony's gaze flicked between them.
"Mark 31, cut off the satellite's solar panels. They're in the way."
In one of the feeds, a suit clenched its fist and fired a laser from the back of its hand, slicing off the satellite's wings.
"Number 27, tighten the third screw on the left."
"Number 18, take a swimsuit photo..."
He laughed at his own joke.
Outside the satellite, dozens of remotely controlled suits moved in unison, swarming like bees around a hive, constantly modifying and constructing the satellite.
It placed an enormous strain on Tony's mind. Too many details were difficult even for human hands to manage, yet he had to control so many machines at once. Jarvis could only share a small part of the burden.
Nearby, Bant's situation was similar, except he had transformed into a Cerebrocrustacean.
The Cerebrocrustaceans were a species from the planet Cerebrocrus, ranked among the most intelligent races in the universe, rivaling even the Galvans. Aside from Azmuth, who was an outright anomaly among Galvans, no other Galvan could confidently claim to be smarter than a Cerebrocrustacean.
From Bant's perspective, a Cerebrocrustacean's brainpower was extraordinarily developed, capable of handling far more computation than a Galvan like Grey Matter.
A Cerebrocrustacean's brain took up more than half its body volume. Crack open an ordinary crab's shell and you'd find delicious roe. Crack open a Cerebrocrustacean's shell and you'd find pink brain matter. Their brains had even evolved the ability to discharge electricity.
Right now, Bant didn't need any AI assistance. In his vision, every object seemed interactive, like something out of a game. All the world's data appeared clearly annotated before his eyes.
If Grey Matter's intelligence was like a genius's inspiration, capable of bursting forth with dazzling brilliance, then a Cerebrocrustacean's intelligence was like a rigorous program, an incomparably advanced supercomputer.
Under his control, hundreds of steel soldiers were operating in space.
After buying out Hammer Industries and all its production lines, Bant had manufactured quite a few steel soldiers. He'd stationed some of them in Queens, turning it into the lowest-crime area in the entire country. The rest sat in warehouses.
Bant's progress was far faster than Tony's, but it would still take at least a few days.
So when he heard Tony cracking jokes to himself over the comms, he joined in.
"Number 18's not bad, but Number 21 is the real heavy hitter."
"She really is!" Tony nodded in agreement, then asked, puzzled, "Why does your voice sound weird?"
"Caught a cold..."
Bant, whose voice had turned shrill after becoming a Cerebrocrustacean, awkwardly tapped his hard shell with a claw.
Tony didn't press further. He said, "You know, I was planning to launch a satellite too."
"To house my big guy. I call it Veronica. I built it specifically for the big guy."
"The Hulkbuster armor?" Bant knew immediately what he meant.
"No, no, no. It's the Four Arms Buster armor."
Tony said smugly, "I gave it six arms. If that many-armed freak ever becomes a threat, Veronica will handle him for me."
"And it's not just Veronica. I've built the Pyronite Buster, the Diamondhead Buster... I've got them all."
"You think adding a few extra arms means you'll win?"
Bant rolled his eyes at Tony's words. "Sometimes I think you're really childish, always believing you can beat someone at their own specialty. But the truth is the exact opposite. Those things should be called 'Get Beaten By Whoever You're Trying to Counter' armors."
He added one more line.
"And that's me being polite."
Inside the Skyhammer Bureau.
Peter and the others had already learned everything from Norman.
"Honestly, I'm not sure I can fight aliens," Peter said anxiously.
Steve patted his shoulder. "Believe in yourself, kid. If even you can't do it, then none of us here can."
The others nodded in agreement at his words. During their time fighting crime together in Hell's Kitchen, they'd all deeply witnessed just how terrifying Spider-Man's strength really was. He could snap steel bars several centimeters thick like twigs and lift a dozen-ton truck without even breathing hard.
Now the Avengers were gathered in the conference room, holding a battle strategy meeting.
Norman, as the official head, naturally sat at the head of the table. Next to him was the Avengers' spiritual leader, Steve Rogers.
The seat across from Cap was empty, reserved for Tony. The others took their places as well.
"Will the protective barrier be ready in time?" Cap asked.
"The completed satellites will launch together tomorrow. As for Hacker and Tony's end, we can only hope they speed things up," Norman replied.
"In a battle of this scale, I honestly don't know what we can do," Natasha said, half tempted to just give up.
"Then we need a plan," Steve said.
The information on the Chitauri army was then projected. Loki had brought the intel on the Chitauri, and he hadn't lied about this part. The Plumber Headquarters already had the files.
"The good news is, the Chitauri don't have weapons of mass destruction. Their technology is advanced, but they still rely primarily on soldier-based combat. One thing worth noting: every Chitauri is a modified semi-mechanical warrior. Strong, but not so strong we can't handle them."
Seeing Steve speak with such composure, as if he already had a plan, Norman asked, "Do you have a good idea, Captain?"
Steve's gaze swept across the room, and then he smiled faintly.
"The old playbook."
"First, the ideal scenario: the energy shield keeps all the Chitauri out."
Everyone nodded.
"Then, Tony and Plumber's massive numbers of suits and steel soldiers will serve as the vanguard, engaging the Chitauri head-on."
Steve drew a line across the table.
He continued, "And we will infiltrate the bodies of those Leviathans and take out the enemy's commander."
It really was the same old playbook. Steve had led the Howling Commandos with the exact same tactics.
"Just try not to turn into a cosmic popsicle this time," Natasha said with a grin.
Steve laughed at that.
"Don't worry. I don't have a date waiting for me this time."
Then he said, "If any of you have a dance you haven't danced yet, I suggest you go do it now."
Peter lowered his head, wondering whether he should confess to Liz. The others showed little reaction. Natasha had no attachments. Clint had long accepted the possibility of sacrifice. T'Challa had never imagined he would die. Matt planned to settle his law firm affairs later. Sam also intended to resign from the Veterans Affairs Office once the meeting ended. After his discharge, he'd been working there to help counsel soldiers struggling to move on from war.
Seeing everyone's solemn expressions, Steve smiled reassuringly.
"Don't be so grim. At least this time, we're all here. And we've got Hacker."
But Peter still felt uneasy. His hands fidgeted on the table, twisting together. "But, uh, if we're going into space, how do we get there? Wear spacesuits?"
"Just hide inside the charging steel suits."
The plan was set. The Avengers dispersed to make their own preparations, waiting only for the war to arrive.
Norman was about to leave when Hill approached with several people who looked like ordinary citizens. He was about to ask why Hill had brought them into the Skyhammer Bureau when he saw the indescribable look on her face.
"Director, these people... no, these things want to see you."
"Hm?"
Then Norman watched as colorful, slimy substances suddenly emerged from their bodies.
"Hello, Earthlings. We are special agents from the Andromeda Galaxy. Two of our companions have gone missing, but that's not important right now."
The red symbiote at the front spoke first, introducing himself and stating their purpose.
"I deeply apologize for bringing the Chitauri to Earth, but right now, only the Aesir have the power to deal with them," the symbiote said.
Even now, they still thought they were the ones who had led the invaders here.
"Earth has always been under the jurisdiction of the Asgardian gods. I assume you have a way to contact Thor, the God of Thunder."
Norman's face took on an odd expression.
"I can indeed find Thor Odinson. It's just..." He hesitated.
The symbiotes didn't catch it. "That's wonderful. Please, you must take us to him."
Norman obliged.
The scene shifted.
Several puddles of symbiote goo arrived outside a small mobile home in New York. Multiple pairs of eyes stared into the house together, and a washed-up Thunder God fell squarely into their collective gaze.
Thor was staying at a female doctor's home, looking every bit like an ordinary Earth man blissfully wrapped up in a sweet romance.
The red symbiote said, "It's him..."
The symbiotes' hive memory contained the image of Thor defeating the Symbiote Dragon. Every symbiote remembered the Thunder God's appearance clearly.
But the Thunder God had lost his divine power!
They all found it incomprehensible.
At that moment, the sky suddenly darkened.
The symbiotes looked up and saw, in the distant heavens, a colossal Chitauri Leviathan blotting out the sun.
"We are so screwed!"
/-\
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