Lucas Kane stared at the sky above Manhattan.
A vast tear had opened in the clouds, exposing a deep black void beyond the atmosphere. Blue energy surged upward from the city and poured into the rift like a column of light.
The edges of the opening flickered and crackled, as if reality itself had been violently pulled apart.
Lucas glanced down at his right hand.
For a brief moment, he wondered if the rupture had been caused by his punch.
Then the realization hit him.
No.
This wasn't his doing.
It was the Space Stone.
The Chitauri invasion.
Lucas lifted his head again, eyes narrowing as he studied the expanding portal above Manhattan.
Just as he expected.
From the swirling gateway, alien soldiers began flooding into the sky like a metallic swarm.
The Chitauri had arrived.
They rode sleek, single-person aircraft that emitted sharp mechanical whines. Dark armored plating covered their inhuman bodies, their weapons glowing with ominous energy.
Then the first shot was fired.
BOOM.
An energy blast punched through the glass façade of a nearby skyscraper, shattering the windows in an explosion of debris.
The invasion had begun.
More Chitauri poured out of the portal, shouting harsh commands to one another as they spread across the city.
Some dove toward Manhattan's streets.
Others climbed higher and swept toward Brooklyn.
And some turned toward Queens.
Lucas watched as several of the aircraft angled in his direction.
Below him, chaos erupted.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Are those aliens?"
"They're coming this way!"
"Oh my God!"
"Run!"
Residents flooded the streets, fleeing in every direction.
The sounds of panic filled the air.
Explosions.
Screaming civilians.
Shattering glass.
Burning vehicles.
Within seconds, the quiet night had transformed into a citywide nightmare.
Lucas instinctively turned toward the rooftop door, ready to head back inside.
Then he stopped.
Something made him pause.
He turned back toward the sky.
Several Chitauri riders were already racing toward Queens.
One of them spotted Lucas standing alone on the rooftop.
To an invader, terrified civilians were part of the fun.
Seeing someone standing still—calm and unmoving—was unusual.
The alien locked eyes with him.
Lucas's blue gaze remained steady.
A faint glimmer like distant starlight flickered deep within his pupils.
The Chitauri pilot peeled away from the formation and dove toward the rooftop.
"Human."
Its voice rasped through the alien helmet.
The weapon mounted on its aircraft charged instantly.
A sphere of destructive energy formed at the muzzle.
Then it fired.
The blast streaked toward Lucas.
His pupils contracted.
BOOM.
The rooftop exploded as the energy bolt struck the concrete, sending fragments and dust into the air.
Lucas had already moved.
He stood several meters away, completely unharmed.
The Chitauri pilot fired again.
And again.
Energy blasts rained across the rooftop.
Concrete shattered.
Metal railings twisted.
Chunks of debris scattered across the collapsing structure.
The rooftop began to resemble a war zone.
Lucas moved through the chaos, weaving between explosions as if he could sense each incoming shot before it arrived.
At first, he had been tense.
But less than a minute into the fight, something shifted.
His movements became smoother.
Sharper.
More precise.
Saint Seiya warriors were born for battle.
The alien continued firing.
Then—
Click.
A mechanical snap echoed from the aircraft.
The weapon had run dry.
The Chitauri pilot looked down at the empty energy chamber.
That brief hesitation was all Lucas needed.
A sudden whistle cut through the dust-filled air.
A jagged sheet of metal—torn from the rooftop's damaged water tank—spun through the air.
CRASH.
The metal slab slammed into the Chitauri aircraft.
The vehicle lurched violently.
The pilot lost control and was thrown from the saddle.
THUD.
The alien crashed onto the rooftop floor.
It scrambled back to its feet and pulled a weapon from its back—a rifle-like device powered by a glowing green energy core.
The Chitauri hissed sharply, producing a series of strange sounds.
Perhaps a threat.
Perhaps a call to its allies.
Lucas didn't care.
If they were fighting, the alien should focus on the fight.
The rooftop around them was barely recognizable now.
Large sections had collapsed entirely, exposing the floors below.
Through one gaping hole, the interior of the third floor apartment was visible.
Yet no one had come to investigate.
New Yorkers had developed a very specific survival instinct.
When disaster struck, you ran.
Immediately.
And without looking back.
The dust slowly settled.
Lucas stepped forward, emerging from the drifting haze.
The Chitauri soldier saw him clearly now.
Its green eyes flashed.
The alien raised its weapon and pulled the trigger.
"Die!"
Lucas didn't answer.
He moved.