Rex whirled, his fists starting to form. "Back off."
"Not the best opener," Tony quipped. He glanced at Spider-Man. "Underoos, what's the scoop?"
"He heals 'em with a touch," Spidey said. "And punches like a freight train. Both handy right now."
Rex healed another person and stood, breathing heavy. "These monsters are Evos—people hit by nanites. I can cure 'em." He wiped sweat from his brow, glancing at the growing horde. More people were twisting, the smoke infecting them faster now.
Tony's visor scanned data. "With your nanites?"
"Not mine," Rex snapped. He pointed at Van Kleiss. "His."
Van Kleiss smiled like he was on stage. "I didn't start the outbreak. The breach did. I just... helped it along."
Captain America's shield clanged against the pavement like a bell. Cap sprinted in behind it and stood firm between Rex and Tony's glowing palm. "Stark."
"Cap."
"Eyes on the threat," Cap said, nodding at the tear. "We got priorities." He eyed the chaos, shield ready, as another Evo lunged nearby. Cap deflected it with a bash, sending it sprawling.
Black Widow rappelled down from a quinjet, landing soft. She holstered one gun but kept the other ready. She sized up Rex in a second: teen, weird tech, scared, but dangerous. No gun on him yet. "This is escalating," she said coolly, firing a stun round into an approaching monster.
People ran for cover. Some tripped and twisted into monsters. Others gasped and turned back under Rex's touch. The news van broadcast it all. "The Avengers are here, and this teen metahuman is helping—"
Tony kept his hand up. "He's the hottest signal around."
"Because I'm fighting it," Rex said. "Let me do my thing."
Cap moved quick. "Romanoff, herd civilians to the south exit. Spider-Man, keep the big ones away from the medics. Stark, watch that breach. If it spits more, seal it."
Tony huffed. "I don't even know how to 'seal' it yet."
"Figure it out," Cap said.
Van Kleiss raised his hand. The smoke thickened and flowed like water into the drains. "This city has steel bones and power rivers," he said, almost to himself. "I'll fill them all."
The street buckled. A crack split the asphalt and pulled like a vacuum. Invisible force tugged at everything—and it was dragging them straight toward the tear.
Rex stepped forward and felt it yank his chest. His boots skidded. He dug fingers into the pavement. The pull got stronger, like gravity had flipped sideways. "What the—?" he gasped, his arms straining as the force clawed at him, trying to haul him into the glowing rift.
Spider-Man fired webs to a lamppost and a fire escape. He leaped down, webbed Rex's jacket, and pulled back. "I got you!" But even with his spider-strength, the tug was relentless, dragging him an inch at a time. "This thing's got some serious suck!"
Tony dropped low and grabbed Rex's collar. The force dragged all three a bit, repulsors whining as Tony boosted against it. "Hold on, kid—my suit's not built for black hole cosplay!"
"Anchor down!" Cap yelled. He wedged his shield into the street and braced, muscles bulging. Natasha clipped a line from a pole to Cap's belt, then to Rex's arm. She planted her feet, adding her weight. "Don't let go!"
The pull howled louder, wind whipping debris into a frenzy. Cars slid, scraping metal on asphalt. People farther away screamed as the force nipped at them, too. The news van's tires squealed, inching toward the tear.
Van Kleiss stepped back into the tear's light and bowed neatly to Rex. "Come along." His coat fluttered like shadows, and his eyes gleamed with dark amusement.
The pavement slid under Rex's nails. He gritted his teeth and pressed bare palms down. He sensed the nanites in the rubble, the dust, the infected metal. He commanded them to hold, pouring his will into the tiny machines. The ground trembled. The pull faltered, stuttering like a glitchy engine.
Tony's HUD spiked. "He's stabilizing the field? With his hands? That's not science." Data scrolled wildly—nanite levels fluctuating, the breach's energy dipping.
"It is now," Natasha said, her voice steady despite the strain. "Hold on." She fired another line, securing it to a hydrant for extra leverage.
The tear flickered, edges wavering. Van Kleiss's eyes narrowed, a flash of irritation crossing his pale face. He backed deeper into the light and disappeared, swallowed by the purple glow.
The pull weakened by half, like a rope snapping.
"Now!" Cap barked.
They hauled hard. Rex broke free, tumbling with Spider-Man into a mailbox and onto the curb. Pain shot through his shoulder, but he shook it off, scrambling up.
The tear slammed shut like a door, the boom echoing off buildings.
Quiet fell, broken by sirens and fading smoke. People groaned, some still twitching from partial changes. Rex rushed to the nearest, curing them with a touch, his breath ragged.
Rex jumped up fully. "He's gonna seed the city." His voice cut through the haze, urgent.
Tony's faceplate opened a sliver. "Break that down for me." He scanned the area, HUD still buzzing with residual readings—nanites lingering in the air, faint but spreading.
Rex pointed east. "Bridges, power lines, water mains—he hits stuff that connects everything. Spreads through 'em." He remembered past fights, how Van Kleiss had turned whole cities into extensions of himself, nanites crawling through infrastructure like veins. "If he gets to the grid, it'll infect everything—subways, buildings, even the water. We gotta stop him before it chains out."
Tony's HUD pinged alerts. Spikes showed on a map—thin lines moving with the wind, growing on metal. He swallowed. "Queensboro Bridge just went hot." The bridge's structure lit up in his display, nanites already burrowing into the steel cables, multiplying.
Cap was already in motion, shield up. "We're not finished. Let's move." He waved to the team, directing medics to the wounded as quinjets hovered overhead for evac.
The news van caught his words. The ticker updated: WHO'S THE TEEN HEALER? IS HE THE CAUSE? Reporters shouted questions, cameras zooming in on Rex.