The Avengers

POV Escanor

Closing time for the bar was approaching. The last customer had left, and I flipped the sign on the door before starting to clean up the place.

"Leon, I need to talk to you," Josie said.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Sit down for a bit, let's take a break," she said, gesturing to the chair across from her.

I accepted her invitation and sat down, watching her closely.

"I see you don't have any trouble hiding your identity anymore. And money doesn't seem to be much of a concern for you right now either," Josie noted, crossing her arms.

"How did you figure that out?" I asked, frowning slightly. There was no point in hiding anything from her she was one of the few people I could trust.

Josie smirked.

"Come on, I've been in this business for twelve years. I read people better than you think. When a guy in worn-out clothes walks into a bar asking for a job, I know right away he's not that simple. But let's leave it at that. If you're worried about leaving me behind, don't be. I think you've more than repaid me for everything. I'll be fine."

"What do you think was the reason I hid my identity?" I asked, deciding to test her ability to read people.

Josie simply chuckled and took a swig of beer straight from the bottle.

"It wasn't hard to put the pieces together. Think about the events in the city and other parts of the country you look way too much like Escanor. And your tattoo gives you away."

The tattoo again? I really should consider covering it up. But damn, I like it too much it looks great on me.

"Thanks for everything. And just so you know, if you ever need anything, you can always come to me," I said, looking into her eyes. "I'm staying here for one reason I feel comfortable, and it gives me time to think about my next steps."

Josie nodded, understanding me without unnecessary words.

"Then stay as long as you need to. And when you decide to leave, just say the word," she replied calmly.

Knock-knock.

We both turned toward the sound.

"The door wasn't locked, so I let myself in," a familiar voice said.

I looked at the newcomer and saw a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. He wasn't supposed to come back. Two years had passed, and yet here he was.

Josie just glanced at me, smirked, and got up from her chair.

"Looks like you've got some heroic business to take care of. I'll leave you to it," she said before disappearing into her office.

"So, what do you want?" I asked.

"The situation is serious, and there's no time for small talk. I need to leave in thirty minutes," Coulson said, his tone sharp.

"What, has Magneto shown up again?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

After all, he had escaped from prison. Mystique had broken him out some of the guards had tiny metal fragments implanted in them. Magneto sensed them immediately and turned the place into a bloodbath, tearing apart the guards and the prison itself. No one knew where he was now.

"No. The threat is much bigger," Coulson paused, gauging my reaction. "A god named Loki from Asgard has stolen the Tesseract a cube containing immense energy. During World War II, HYDRA nearly took over the world using its power as a weapon. Now, this artifact is in the hands of an unknown enemy."

I frowned.

"If this enemy proves too much for you, I'll join the fight," I said, thinking over the situation.

Coulson smirked slightly.

"Oh, and one more thing we've decided to grant you amnesty. After all, let's not forget that you nearly destroyed New York three times in different parts of the city," he added with a faint smile before turning serious. "But in all honesty, we need you."

The world might be facing an enormous threat. I was stronger than ever. Even at night, my power remained at a high level. It wasn't the strength of daytime, but I could feel that I was capable of holding my own against those far beyond an ordinary human.

My presence alone might be enough to crush any threat, no matter how great.

"So, are you agreeing to become an Avenger?" Coulson asked, watching me closely.

"No. But I won't abandon you in this difficult time," I finally replied, making my decision.

Coulson nodded, as if he had expected exactly this answer.

"Good to know. I don't have much time I need to leave. I stopped by on my way," he said, glancing at his watch.

"Tony Stark?" I guessed.

Lately, he had been spending a lot of time in New York. Ever since his tower was built, he had been flying around here regularly.

"Correct. I'll contact you if we need your help," Coulson said.

"I'll be ready," I nodded.

As soon as he left, I remained seated in thought. What kind of threat were we facing this time?

****************

Events of the Movie…

*****************

The last thing I expected was a damn portal opening over New York and an army of creatures pouring out of it. Stay out of this? Not a chance.

The moment I rushed out of the bar, the sun began flooding my body with power.

Power Level: 100,000

I closed the distance in seconds. Strange flying chariots buzzed through the sky, carrying humanoid aliens armed with plasma weapons. They were dropping soldiers onto the streets and buildings, slaughtering everything in their path.

Reaching one of them, I grabbed it and tore it in half. Their bodies weren't particularly durable, and their weapon blasts did little more than make my skin tingle.

"You shouldn't have come to Earth," I muttered, hurling debris at the flying chariots with pinpoint accuracy.

I caught another alien and ripped it apart with ease.

Taking them down one by one would take too long. I needed to strike at the source the place they were coming from.

Cutting through enemy forces as I advanced, I made my way toward the portal.

Standing directly beneath it, I raised my hands to the sky. The sunlight began condensing at my fingertip, forming a burning sphere.

The air grew hotter. The creatures ignited one after another. The light intensified with each passing moment, and the temperature soared. The sphere reached two meters in diameter… then three… then four…

When it expanded to five meters, the air turned dry, and everything around me started melting into liquid slag.

I released it upward.

As the solar sphere ascended, the glass windows of skyscrapers cracked and melted into molten streams. The moment the fireball vanished into the portal, a massive explosion erupted. A wave of flames burst outward in a blinding flash.

Through the raging inferno, I saw a figure moving within the fire. It was far away but heading straight for the portal.

I had wiped out a significant portion of the attacking forces, but this was just a drop in the ocean compared to what was coming.

*************************

A massive fireball appeared in the sky over the city, vanishing into the portal. A moment later, a terrifying explosion followed, blinding everyone around.

"Stark, do you see that?" came Romanoff's tense voice.

"Looks like Escanor decided to join the fight. Let's hope he's on our side," Tony replied, weaving between skyscrapers and continuing to take down alien invaders.

"We need to coordinate our efforts. We need to establish contact with him," Natasha said.

"Who's Escanor?" Captain America asked as he deflected another blast with his shield. He quickly sidestepped, then hurled his shield in a perfect arc, slicing through several aliens before it returned to his hand.

"Think of him as a lot like the Hulk. A few years back, he nearly wiped this city off the map along with Juggernaut," Stark answered.

Another blazing solar sphere shot upward toward the portal. The moment it entered, a brilliant flash lit up the entire city. Even those in hiding squeezed their eyes shut, and those fighting momentarily lost their sense of direction.

"At this rate, he'll burn down the entire city along with the invaders," Tony muttered, flying toward Escanor.

"He bought us time. We need to use it. How do we close the portal?" Cap asked.

Stark landed next to Escanor.

"So, it's you," he said.

"Here, take this. You're with us, right? Or should I be worried?" Stark handed him an earpiece.

"I'm on your side," Escanor replied calmly, tilting his head slightly as he took the device. It was far too small for his massive wrists, so he simply attached it to his ear.

"Tony, we need to shut that portal fast. How do we do it?" Cap asked.

"Dr. Selvig is up there. We should ask him," Stark replied, shooting into the sky.

"Romanoff, I'm leaving this to you. Stark, give her a lift while we hold off enemy reinforcements. Shut that portal!" Cap commanded.

He then addressed Escanor over the comms.

"Can you hold back the portal like that?"

"All day if I have to," Escanor replied, his power still surging.

"Then do it. We'll focus on evacuating civilians!" Cap ordered.

Giant alien warships began emerging from the portal one by one. The vortex expanded rapidly, turning into a massive rift threatening to swallow the entire city. In the depths of space, a colossal dreadnought, the size of a city, loomed.

Escanor soared into the sky, rising above the buildings, and landed atop a skyscraper. In his hands, a miniature sun pulsed with raw energy. He hurled another blinding sphere at the enemy fleet surrounding the city, obliterating a vast number of ships in a fiery explosion. But the dreadnought remained untouched it was too far away.

Controlling the sun was difficult. The moment he fully merged with it, it destabilized and slipped beyond his grasp.

"A little out of reach," Escanor smirked quietly.

"We need to take Loki's scepter," Romanoff's voice came through the earpiece.

"Blondie is already on it," Stark replied, switching through cameras in his tower.

At that moment, Thor slammed into Loki, only to phase right through him.

"Brother, you're so predictable," Loki smirked only to be met with Mjolnir smashing into his chest, sending him crashing to the floor.

"So are you," Thor countered, engaging in close combat. "This can still end differently. You've lost. Surrender."

"You're mistaken, brother. Earth will be mine!" Loki growled, dodging Thor's strike and slashing him in an exposed area. Seizing the moment, he drove a blade into his brother's side.

"Goodbye, dear brother," Loki sneered, but his smirk disappeared the moment Mjolnir struck him in the head, knocking him unconscious.

Thor picked up the scepter, took to the sky, and hurled it toward Black Widow.

"I have the scepter! Closing the portal!" Romanoff reported over the comms.

"No, wait! A nuclear missile is headed for New York!" Iron Man's voice broke in as he sped toward the incoming threat.

"We can't wait!" Romanoff argued.

"I know where to send it," Stark responded, intercepting the missile and redirecting it toward the portal.

The Security Council had decided that wiping out the city was the best way to eliminate the threat along with anyone they couldn't control.

Another solar blast from Escanor cleared the skies for Stark. Holding onto the warhead until the last possible moment to ensure accuracy, Tony finally let go. His consciousness started fading due to the lack of oxygen.

"I'm closing it! We can't wait any longer!" Romanoff said as she inserted the scepter into the Tesseract. The portal began collapsing rapidly.

The portal was seconds away from closing when the nuclear warhead reached its target, triggering a massive explosion. At the last moment, Iron Man shot out of the portal, but the extreme forces caused him to lose consciousness, and he plummeted toward the ground.

Below, the enemy forces began collapsing and disintegrating, having lost their connection to the mothership.

"It's Stark!" Steve called out, spotting the falling figure in the sky.

Thor was about to take off to catch him, but the Hulk beat him to it. Leaping between buildings with immense force, he grabbed Tony midair and crashed into the pavement below, leaving a deep crater upon impact. Placing Stark's body on the ground, the helmet retracted, revealing his face.

"Rough landing," Tony coughed out.

Steve approached and extended a hand.

"I was wrong about you," he admitted.

Stark smirked, took the offered hand, and got to his feet.

"Must've had something in my eyes I couldn't see where I was going," Stark muttered, blinking. Then, glancing at the Hulk, he added, "Thanks, big guy."

***********************

As soon as the portal closed and all the aliens were wiped out, I didn't linger I disappeared just as suddenly as I had arrived. My help was no longer needed here.

I had never considered that intelligent life could exist beyond Earth. And yet, they had an entire intergalactic army.

The city hadn't suffered as much as it could have. Most of the destruction was concentrated in the downtown area, where buildings now required major repairs, but overall, the damage was minimal. The strangest part came later in all the news reports from the scene, it was as if I had never been there. Not a single frame, not a single mention. That was concerning.

Did I have enemies after all?

Could Stryker have been just one piece of a much bigger puzzle?

I had hoped that at least for a while, I wouldn't have to face another catastrophe like this.

But my hopes were in vain.

Earth was changing rapidly.

In recent years, the internet had been flooded with hundreds of videos of people with extraordinary abilities. And not all of them used their powers for good. Many sought personal gain, using their abilities for far more selfish purposes.

Superpowers were spreading at an alarming rate, and ordinary people had no way to fight back. But alongside these new threats, heroes had also emerged those who stood against them.

"Harlem's been out of control lately," one of the bar's patrons muttered.

"What else is new? That place has always been a mess," another replied.

"I saw something crazy yesterday some guys jumped a man in an alley and shot him at point-blank range. The bullets bounced right off him! Can you believe that?" a third chimed in.

"Oh, come on. You probably had one too many drinks and imagined it," someone scoffed.

"You calling me a liar? Aliens nearly wiped out this city not long ago, and you're telling me this is impossible?!"

The skeptic fell silent, clearly at a loss for words.

At that moment, the bar door swung open, and Colleen Wing walked in. I immediately noticed how tense she looked. I stepped away from the counter and gestured toward a table in the back.

"You said it was urgent?" I asked.

"I don't know who else to turn to, but I really didn't want to ask you for this," she admitted, clearly uneasy.

"Don't worry. If anyone can count on me, it's you," I reassured her.

"I can't believe I'm asking you for this. You're only eighteen," she added.

"Hey, keep it down. Around here, people think I'm twenty-six," I chuckled.

"Sorry. If you're willing to help, we need to talk at my dojo," she said.

"Alright. I'll drop by in the morning. You know I've got my shift," I replied.

"Thank you. You're a good friend," she said.

I could see the worry on her face. Whatever it was, it was serious.