Chapter 446 The Beginning of the Battle for New York

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In the heart of New York City, in the Stark Tower:

At Loki's command, the old scientist approached the control panel with a smile on his face. His fingers quickly manipulated the virtual keyboard.

With a series of actions to activate the system, the energy converter, a massive apparatus ten meters high and six meters in radius located beneath the roof of the tower, immediately began to operate at high speed, fueled by the Arc Reactor within the building.

Capable of powering half the city, the surge of energy flowed upstream through several pre-installed cables and into the apparatus that stabilized the Tesseract.

*Hum-*

Upon receiving the influx of abundant energy, the Tesseract, placed in the center of the apparatus, emitted a blinding blue light as if stimulated.

"It's happening!"

The old scientist's expression became fanatical, his dark black eyes reflecting the glow of the Tesseract. Without hesitation, he pressed the final activation button.

*Shh!!!*

Suddenly, a blinding blue light erupted. Loki, who was standing nearby, did not notice that a tiny crack had appeared on the seemingly ordinary Tesseract, and its internal power surged out, erupting from the top of the transmission device like an antenna, converging into a deep blue energy beam that shot into the sky.

The moment the energy beam collided with the high-altitude sky thousands of meters above, the sky opened a small crack, revealing a mysterious and unknown starry sky over the entire New York City.

As the spatial energy ravaged the sky, the rift continued to expand. In less than ten seconds, what was originally a one-meter radius rift had become a ten-meter radius portal, with signs of further expansion.

Through the wormhole-like Portal, several massive interstellar warships floated into the dimly lit space on the other side.

Seeing the opening of the Portal, the alien army that had been waiting for some time swarmed out like locusts - some piloting small shuttle ships, others flying large insect-like fighter jets - swarmed through the Portal and entered New York City on Earth.

"Ahahaha, come, my invincible army! Let's conquer this savage planet!"

Loki looked up at the sky, spread his hands, closed his eyes, and laughed maniacally in the face of the roaring wind. He didn't look like someone who was engaged in warfare, but rather someone who was enjoying a pleasurable moment.

"Do you see this, Father? One day you will be proud of me..."

Loki thought inexplicably.

…

Outside the city limits of New York, in the airspace about a kilometer away:

A black aircraft bearing the SHIELD insignia slowly descended from high altitude, revealing its body as it emerged from stealth mode.

"What... is going on?" Natasha, at the controls of the plane, frowned as she could see countless military helicopters and armored vehicles keeping order outside the city limits of New York through the windshield.

On the main thoroughfares outside New York City, police cars cleared the way, and the streets were filled with slowly moving vehicles and pedestrians, all heading away from the city, swarming like ants in migration.

"I wonder if it's just me, but the efficiency of the military and police... is surprisingly high?" Steve remarked from the co-pilot's seat.

"Yeah," Sam was also surprised and scratched his head. "To evacuate and disperse the entire population of New York City in advance is a bold move that would require the approval of the White House and Congress."

Steve was even more astonished. He looked at the silent figures in the plane and said solemnly, "In other words, at least half a day ago, the higher-ups had already anticipated trouble in New York and taken emergency measures.

Half a day ago, Loki had just been captured!

"I wonder who had the audacity to suggest such a plan. If nothing had happened in New York, wouldn't they have been burdened with a mountain of blame?" Sam sighed.

"No need to wonder, just look there."

The usually silent Barton suddenly pointed ahead, commanding everyone to follow his gaze. They all gasped in shock.

Even from the outskirts of New York, they could clearly see a beam of blue light shooting into the sky where a massive rift had opened. From this gaping hole, a swarm of unidentified alien fighters poured out, circling and descending into the city below.

"Loki has succeeded," Thor said stoically. Without waiting, he grabbed Mjolnir and walked purposefully toward the rear cabin.

"The alien forces we were warned about have indeed arrived," Natasha said, swallowing hard. She gripped the controls of the plane so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Barton, pulling his bow from his back, narrowed his eyes with steely determination. Having once fallen prey to Loki's schemes, he is now burned with a desire for vengeance.

"Is everyone ready?" Steve asked, rising from his seat. He donned his deep blue helmet and securely fastened his iconic star-spangled shield to his left arm.

"At your command, Captain," Natasha and Barton confirmed with a nod.

"Then let's go! If Loki wants a war, we'll give him one!" Steve declared, his face set in a grim, determined expression. Words were useless; action was what mattered now.

---

The alien army under Loki's command, given to him by Thanos, consisted of elite soldiers. They were ruthless and obedient, these soldiers excelled at using advanced war machines and laser weapons in their invasion.

As they descended through the wormhole into downtown New York, many of the mechanical soldiers piloted small shuttles, darting back and forth across the streets, which had been cleared of residents and now stood eerily empty.

Confused by the lack of resistance, the alien soldiers were unaware that rocket launchers were silently trained on them from behind the windows of many of the buildings.

Inside one of the buildings, Colonel Rhodey, the military officer in charge of this operation, was dressed in a custom War Machine armor, an unpainted variant of Iron Man's Mark III, equipped with powerful back-mounted missiles.

Colonel Rhodey aimed his arm cannon at the alien shuttles outside and gave a command through his earpiece: "Three, two, one, fire!"

*Boom! Boom! Boom!

In an instant, the central streets of New York erupted with the sound of rocket fire aimed at the newly arrived alien shuttles.

Caught off guard, the first wave of alien soldiers was decimated by the human forces hiding in the deserted city. Many shuttles were blown out of the sky, exploding and raining debris down on the streets below in a spectacular display.

"Charge!"

"Drive them out!"

After the initial barrage, fully armed American soldiers burst out of the buildings, brandishing rifles and rocket launchers. They unleashed a relentless assault on the descending alien forces.

*Tanks emerged from underground garages with earth-shattering roars, their cannons firing relentlessly into the sky.

The silver war machine crashed through a window, its engines roaring as it deftly maneuvered through the streets. Its twin-armed cannons mercilessly shot down the alien shuttles.

From the top of Stark Tower, Loki watched the unexpected turn of events with a mischievous grin. "So the human army was hiding here all along," he mused. "Perfect. I was afraid I would have to hunt you down."

"Attack!" Loki ordered, his voice carrying a mixture of malice and excitement. More mechanical shuttles and fighter jets poured out of the wormhole, filling the sky.

The battle for New York had officially begun.

(End of Chapter)