In the starry void, war had already begun.
With the arrival of Steve Rogers and the other heroes, plus massive support from Pleiades' steel soldiers, Tony was instantly rescued from the Chitauri horde.
The energy shield around him was still active, but claw marks were clearly visible across his armor.
"You okay, Tony?"
Steve punched a Chitauri soldier's head into pieces while shouting the question.
Clearly, he still wasn't used to fighting in a suit of armor.
"You could have shown up a little later," Tony said irritably. "Just in time to collect my corpse."
"Don't talk like that, Tony."
Rhodey had come too.
"Rhodey?" Tony recognized his good friend's voice, then asked with obvious displeasure, "Why are you wearing Pleiades armor?"
"Don't blame me. That old suit of yours doesn't have an oxygen supply system," Rhodey said helplessly.
Hearing that, Tony clicked his tongue. "Alright, my bad."
"Hey—"
Peter shouted. He was already surrounded by the surging Chitauri soldiers. Countless of them raised energy weapons, firing violet bolts that bombarded toward them.
"Can you guys chat later?"
It was the first time he'd ever thought that talking during a fight might not be such a good thing.
"You hear that, old soldier?"
Tony pulled his hands in tight against his thighs. "Don't keep the kid waiting!"
The next instant, flames erupted from his palms, and he shot forward like a missile, plunging once again into the densely packed Chitauri army.
In that moment, nothing but countless energy bolts flickered through the cosmos.
All the heroes charged forward. Even so, the Chitauri still vastly outnumbered them.
Even if Steve and the others could each take on a hundred foes, it was still a drop in the ocean.
Fortunately, he had no intention of fighting head-on.
"Stick to the plan."
Captain America spoke, then shot like a spear deep into the Chitauri forces. In an instant, he vanished into the surging sea of enemies, like a tiny pebble.
Dozens of minutes later.
BOOM!!
A thunderous explosion.
Steve blasted open the skin of that colossal Chitauri Leviathan, then rushed inside at top speed.
Immediately after, his armor opened up. Steve strode out from within, pressing his earpiece.
"This is Steve Rogers. Infiltration successful."
On the other end, Natasha's voice came through at once. "Natasha. Infiltration successful."
"T'Challa. Infiltration successful."
"Wait wait wait, I've got a little trouble here—" Peter yelled over the comms. "A few of those alien things are on me—I can't shoot webs—"
He chattered on frantically for a good while, then everyone heard a loud crash.
After that, Peter exhaled in relief, patting his chest. "Spider-Man, infiltration successful. God, I can finally get this thing off..."
"Anyone still not in?"
"I can't break through over here, Cap!" Falcon immediately said.
In the same situation were Rhodey, Barton, and Tony Stark.
"I'm telling you, I'm taking at least thirty percent of the firepower. Those Chitauri are still chasing me, dammit!" Tony shouted as he weaved evasively through space.
"You're too flashy, Stark," T'Challa remarked.
He wasn't wrong.
Pleiades' steel soldiers were built for practicality, mostly in dark tones. Only Tony's armor remained that gaudy, provocative gold and red. In space it was just like Steve's shield, a perfect target for mockery and aggression.
The Chitauri spotted him and naturally chased him down like crazed bulls seeing a red cape.
"I'm coming to support you."
Seeing Stark in danger, Rhodey immediately abandoned the infiltration and began clearing the pursuers from Tony's tail.
Inside the Chitauri Leviathan.
The scattered heroes began to move.
Even within this colossal creature, countless Chitauri warriors still surged forward in endless waves, charging out into space.
They hadn't yet realized their side had been infiltrated.
Steve sprinted rapidly through the corridors. Every enemy in his path was taken down in a single move.
More than a few Chitauri soldiers were still preparing to deploy. Then they turned a corner and saw a round disc hurtling at them like a crimson bolt of lightning!
The shield ricocheted violently through the confined space, instantly clearing a path for Steve.
So that's what stealth is. Killing every enemy who spots you.
He mused to himself.
Then he spoke into the earpiece. "We'll regroup at the main control chamber. Lady Eunice—"
Eunice's voice came through the earpiece.
"Please hold. Full scan of the giant Chitauri Leviathan requires ten more seconds. Ten, nine... seven... two, one. Scan complete. Data has been imported. I will now provide forward routes for all of you."
Immediately, a projection of an enormous whale appeared before everyone's eyes. Eunice had mapped out most of the Leviathan's internal structure through the scan, including the passageways leading to the main control chamber.
"Caution. Within the main control chamber, there is an individual with exceptionally high life energy levels."
Steve glanced at the route map and committed it entirely to memory.
He might not have much formal education, but his enhanced brain worked extremely well.
"A unique individual. This is likely the ruler of these Chitauri."
Elsewhere, Peter had also memorized the route map. Compared to Steve, he was actually choosing true infiltration.
Right now he crawled along the ceiling like a spider. Several groups of Chitauri soldiers passed right under him without ever detecting his presence.
Not because they were blind, of course, but because Bent had added new toys to his suit.
To be precise, this was something Connors had developed.
Using a variable device to control a single species' ability for targeted, individual mutation had given his research vast new possibilities.
This time, the technology he brought out borrowed the mimicry ability of chameleons.
Then he used biomaterials to create a suit that could change color. In conditions where visibility wasn't great, it was enough for Peter to stay hidden.
The one having the easiest time infiltrating was T'Challa.
This son of the Black Panther, relying on his vibranium suit, had simply activated Musou mode, killing every enemy he saw.
"Mr. T'Challa, your advance route is problematic," Eunice reminded him.
"I don't think so."
According to the Leviathan's internal structure, he should now be taking the left fork, circling around through several levels of pathways before reaching the main control chamber.
But T'Challa had a shortcut.
He used his claws like spears and stabbed them directly into the inner wall of the creature's semi-modified body. Right after, like a blade, he sliced an opening straight through the beast's flesh.
"Faster this way. Don't you agree?"
Eunice was silent for a moment, then said, "Recalculating your route. You will reach the main control chamber before the others."
"Then let me have the first dance with that fellow."
He feared nothing.
Elsewhere, Natasha headed in the opposite direction from everyone else.
Eunice had given her a different mission.
"According to scan results, there is an incubation chamber located in the abdominal region of the Chitauri Leviathan. An endless stream of Chitauri soldiers is being hatched from there. We need to destroy it first."
"What I hate most are these soldier-farming houses," Natasha said.
At this moment.
The War Lord had already noticed that his giant Chitauri Leviathan had picked up a few fleas.
He wasn't sure how many, but he didn't care.
Those Earthlings had come courting death on their own. What did he have to worry about?
He even gave orders for his Chitauri warriors not to stop them, intending to let these people come straight to him.
His battle axe was already thirsting for blood.
"Come then, prey!"
On the other side.
The battle line in space.
As more and more Chitauri appeared, Stark and the others found it increasingly difficult to hold on.
Of the several thousand steel samurai, at least a portion had already been destroyed by the Chitauri soldiers. The battle line was being pushed back step by step.
Tony had long since fired off all his armor's missiles. Only his energy beams could still be used.
"Hacker, you still haven't gotten it done?"
He yelled.
Over the comms.
Watching the Chitauri forces gradually approaching Earth's atmosphere, Tony was frantic now, nearly turning into King Anxiety.
The smaller Chitauri Leviathans had also begun to move.
"Small" was a relative term. They were still several times larger than the ones that had appeared during the Battle of New York.
Right then, one of the creatures rammed straight into Tony Stark.
BOOM—
It felt like a skyscraper had collapsed directly onto him. Tony let out a pained cry and was sent hurtling away.
Jarvis's voice sounded. "Left arm damaged, sir."
Feeling the pain radiating from his left arm, Tony rolled his eyes in irritation.
"I can feel that!"
Over the comms, Bent's voice came through. "Stall them for another half hour."
"Why don't you just tell me to die!"
Tony sucked in a sharp breath and cursed.
He said that, but Tony still turned around at once and charged the Chitauri Leviathans again. He flew directly into the mouth of one of the smaller ones, then blew it up from the inside.
BOOM!!!
The creature let out a mournful cry.
"Tony!" Rhodey shouted in worry.
Right after, they saw Tony's battered armor stagger out of the fiery blast.
By now, his suit was damaged in multiple places.
"Sir, armor damage at thirty-five percent. Energy emission port malfunction." Jarvis's words only made Tony's expression more grim.
But he remained fairly composed.
"Activate Veronica."
The moment the words left his mouth, back on Earth, atop Avengers Tower, an enormous platform slid open.
Right after, a red device shot straight toward space.
Veronica—also known as the Hulkbuster armor.
Though now Tony called it the Four-Arms-Buster armor.
And its debut performance was about to be dedicated to those Chitauri Leviathans.
The armor rocketed skyward in reverse, blasting toward space. And soaring toward space alongside the armor was something else.
Venom.
/-\
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