The wound in the sky had healed, but the city's wailing had not stopped.
Without the sun-blotting Leviathan behemoths, New York's skyline looked tattered and empty. In distant blocks, the sounds of explosions and the shrieks of energy weapons firing were incessant, interspersed with alarms, indicating that the fires of this battle had not yet burnt out. Those Cosmic Pirates stranded on Earth had all gone mad, like cornered beasts.
On the roof of Stark Tower, the wind blew, kicking up a swirl of dust, scorched smells, and the stench of blood.
Everyone surrounded that red-and-gold tin can; it lay quietly in the Hulk's arms, the reactor in its chest extinguished and pitch-black.
"Medical readings... no heartbeat." Steve Rogers' voice was low; he had just tried every first-aid method he knew, but the heart beneath that iron shell still showed no response.
The atmosphere was heavy, weighing down so much that everyone found it hard to breathe.
The Hulk looked down at his motionless teammate in his arms. Those eyes were devoid of pure savagery, instead revealing a hint of Banner's anxiety. Seeing that Steve's compressions were useless, he tilted his head in confusion, as if thinking about something.
He extended a thick finger and gently poked Tony's faceplate; there was no response.
He suddenly opened his huge mouth and roared with all his might at Tony Stark's chest!
"ROAR—!!!"
This wasn't just sound waves, but a precisely controlled burst of gamma energy that slammed heavily into the already deformed breastplate of the mark armor!
Hum—
That circle of extinguished blue light suddenly flickered once.
Then a second time, a third time!
The light struggled to brighten, and finally, it managed to stabilize!
"Cough... cough-cough!"
A fit of violent coughing came from beneath the metal faceplate.
Tony Stark's brown eyes snapped open, and he took large gulps of the turbid post-war air, his chest heaving.
"Tony!"
"You're alive!"
The oppressive atmosphere vanished instantly.
Tony looked around, seeing the faces of his teammates mixed with dust, blood, and tear streaks, and he gave a weak smile.
"Hey... Dr., no, Hulk, I wasn't blown to death, but I was almost killed by you." His voice was dry and raspy, but it still carried that teasing tone. "Anyone want to eat Shawarma? I know a great place, though now... it's probably been smashed to pieces."
...A few hours later, on the top floor of Stark Tower, in that newly cleaned laboratory.
The Avengers were sitting slumped over, the air drifting with the scent of disinfectant and exhaustion. Tony had changed into casual clothes; his face was still pale, but his spirits were much better.
"It's quiet in the sky, but not on the streets." Steve wiped his glowing shield, his brow furrowed. "We still have many guests who haven't been sent away. I don't think this is over yet."
Just then, there was a "bzzzt" sound.
All the functional screens in the lab, regardless of size, lit up simultaneously.
Alexander Pierce's slicked-back face filled every screen. He wore a crisp suit, his expression wearing just the right amount of a politician's sorrow and majesty.
"Avengers."
His voice came through the speakers, flat but chilling to hear.
"First, I regret to inform you that due to a serious loss of control in the Singularity Engine project led by Mr. Stark, as well as the Avengers' improper handling of initial threats, a disaster has swept through Manhattan."
Tony was about to retort but was cut off by Pierce's next sentence.
"The World Security Council applauds your bravery but expresses the gravest concern regarding the consequences you've caused. To prevent the situation from escalating further into a global catastrophe, the Council had to authorize a final solution." He was referring to that nuclear missile.
He spread his hands, making a pained and helpless expression.
"Effective threat control outweighs ineffective heroism. Now, to prevent secondary disasters, I announce that starting immediately, the post-war cleanup, security maintenance, and investigation work in New York City will be fully taken over by a special task force established by the World Security Council."
His gaze swept over everyone in front of the screens.
"The Avengers are to disband immediately on the spot. All members must remain on standby and cooperate with the Council's subsequent investigations at any time. Before receiving new instructions, no unauthorized actions are allowed. We will handle the remaining mess."
After speaking, he gave the camera a politician's "encouraging" smile, and then all the screens went black.
"That bastard!" Steve's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fist.
This humiliation of being used as a scapegoat while all the credit was snatched away felt worse than a direct punch. They knew full well that Pierce was pulling the strings behind the scenes, but now, the opponent stood on the moral and power high ground.
Just then, the private communicator in Lin Huai's pocket vibrated gently.
It was an encrypted line.
He walked to a quiet corner and answered the call. Nick Fury's one-eyed face, wrapped in bandages, appeared on the virtual projection. The background was the bridge of the Helicarrier, which was equally chaotic.
"They bypassed me." Fury's voice was very raspy, filled with irrepressible anger. "The instruction to launch the nuke, the order to take over—everything bypassed me, the Director. I've become a blind and deaf man. Lin, you're not in my system; you're the only variable. Tell me, what do you see?"
Lin Huai closed his eyes, his fingers tracing through the air.
"I see a giant shadow lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D., Director." He spoke slowly, his voice ethereal and drifting. "It uses order as a pretext and takes control as its food. It believes that for absolute security, absolute freedom must be sacrificed. And today, this damn venomous snake has declared war on us."
Fury's single eye stared intently at him.
Lin Huai continued, his voice dropping even lower. "In its eyes, the Tesseract is not just an energy source, but a key. And now, this key is in our hands. I will have Thor take it back to Asgard; this thing is not something we can control right now."
"...I understand." On the other end of the projection, Nick Fury was silent for a long time. The anger on his face vanished, replaced by a cold expression.
The communication cut off.
Lin Huai turned around and walked up to Steve. "Captain, the time for reckoning has come."
Steve looked up, his eyes full of questions.
"Pierce wants us to stand by, so we'll stand by." Lin Huai let out a cold laugh. "Those Cosmic Pirates trapped in the city—not one can be allowed to escape. They are the biggest variable in Pierce's play and our best breakthrough point. We're going to drag them out one by one and ask everything we want to know. You should know, the Universe doesn't have many nice guys."
He looked at Natasha, then swept his gaze over the others.
"Since the Avengers have disbanded, let the Cleaners take the stage."