Chapter 103: The Fall of the Avengers (Part 1)
Hawkeye Barton fired an explosive arrow. With a resounding bang, it blasted away a chunk of necrotic flesh from the zombie Captain America.
The zombie Captain America used his shield to knock Spider-Man back, then swung it in a devastating backhand arc, sending Red Guardian Alexei sprawling.
The shield ricocheted back into the zombie Captain America's grasp.
Jessica Jones lunged for the shield, but the zombie Captain America kicked her away. With a backhanded claw strike, he tore through Taskmaster's tactical suit, blood seeping through the ripped fabric.
"Hold on, I'm coming!"
Captain Marvel's voice crackled through the comms. A streak of golden light blazed across the distant sky, rapidly approaching the rooftop where everyone fought.
Just then, a winged figure flew in from another direction, grabbed Captain Marvel mid-flight, and opened its grotesque mouth as if to devour her alive.
"Get off me!"
Carol's flight trajectory veered wildly, and she crashed through a building with the infected still clinging to her body.
Spider-Man Peter Parker rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "Am I seeing this right? That's Falcon—that's Sam?!"
"It's Falcon's wing pack, but I can't tell if it's actually Sam anymore."
Now wasn't the time for speculation. A formidable zombie Captain America still threatened them on the rooftop.
Captain Marvel, ablaze with photon energy, burst through the building and soared into the air again, the zombie in Falcon gear still clinging desperately to her.
WHOOSH!
War Machine suddenly appeared, firing repulsor blasts that knocked the zombie Falcon away from Captain Marvel.
He then increased thruster power and headed straight for the chaotic rooftop battlefield.
Just as he reached the position, War Machine adjusted his angle, and with the combined weight of his armor and flight momentum, he delivered a devastating kick to the zombie Captain America's chest.
CLANG!
War Machine landed safely on the rooftop.
The zombie Captain America, sent flying, crashed through the rooftop's safety wall and plummeted toward the ground below.
"Wow, you're still alive! That's fantastic!"
Click. James Rhodes' faceplate opened, and he greeted everyone with a relieved smile.
"Hey everyone, long time no see."
James Rhodes had been captured by the Skrulls months ago, only to be rescued by Ant-Man and Spider-Man.
Before the zombie apocalypse, Rhodey had been recovering from his ordeal. After the crisis began, he immediately retrieved the damaged War Machine armor, which had only been fully repaired today.
"Hey, brother, welcome back!" Hawkeye Barton stepped forward to embrace him.
Everyone gathered to welcome War Machine back to the team.
Taskmaster also approached. Although James Rhodes had never met Taskmaster before, he enthusiastically opened his arms for a hug.
But the next moment, Taskmaster, standing directly before James Rhodes, tore off her mask, revealing a hideous, decaying face.
"Hoooo~!"
She opened her mangled jaw and bit down viciously on Rhodey's exposed neck.
RIP!
A large chunk of flesh was torn away by the infected Taskmaster Antonia.
"Oh my God!"
"Rhodey!"
During her battle with the zombie Captain America, Taskmaster Antonia had been scratched, instantly infecting every cell in her body with the zombie virus.
War Machine Rhodes made a triumphant entrance, only to meet a tragic end.
The infected Taskmaster lunged at the others, but Spider-Man Peter Parker reacted instantly, using his web-shooters to wrap Taskmaster in a cocoon of webbing.
"What the hell is happening?!"
Scrape... scrape...
Before anyone could process what had occurred, a sound emanated from the spot where Captain America had fallen.
Turning, they saw the zombie Captain America's skull slowly rising above the edge.
He hadn't fallen completely—he'd grabbed the wall and was climbing back up.
However, the bad news didn't end there. Taskmaster tore through the webbing with enhanced strength, and War Machine Rhodes, now missing most of his face, staggered to his feet. Rhodey even attempted to activate the War Machine armor's systems.
"Retreat! Fall back now!"
Hawkeye Barton made the decisive call for everyone to withdraw.
Captain America alone was nearly insurmountable, but with Taskmaster and War Machine added to the threat, this battle was unwinnable.
The civilian evacuation plan was progressing steadily.
The planet where Thanos had retired—originally intended as a home for the Skrull refugees—had become humanity's refuge.
With assistance from the Masters of the Mystic Arts, sling ring portals opened across the world, transporting not only civilians but also essential supplies and terraforming equipment.
With modern machinery, it was believed that humans reaching that world would quickly establish sustainable settlements.
The only concerning development was the loss of contact with Hawkeye and his team, with only Bruce Banner currently reachable.
"We estimate we can complete 50% of the evacuation within a month. However, some remote populations are difficult to reach, so the sorcerers will need to make multiple trips," Maria Hill reported on the latest progress.
Nick Fury nodded grimly. "Expedite this as much as possible. Without the Avengers providing defense, the infected will soon overwhelm our positions."
"Asgardian warriors have already arrived to reinforce us, and Wakanda has deployed tribal warriors and advanced airships. We should be able to hold the line for a while longer."
According to S.H.I.E.L.D. projections, the world would be completely overrun within two weeks. Aside from isolated islands and the polar regions, the only truly safe locations remaining were Celestial Island and Wakanda.
Even New Asgard would soon be vulnerable.
The rumble of spacecraft engines suddenly filled the sky above the New Asgard town square.
Nick Fury and Maria Hill stepped outside and looked up to see a Benatar-class fighter slowly descending.
The hatch depressurized and opened, revealing Thor, God of Thunder, excitedly emerging, followed by the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Thor glanced around but couldn't see Valkyrie or the other Avengers. He approached Nick Fury curiously. "Where is everyone?"
Nick Fury sighed heavily. "Come inside. We need to talk."
Inside, Nick Fury briefed Thor on Earth's current catastrophic situation.
Thor was stunned. He'd only been away for a short time, and Earth was on the brink of extinction?
Star-Lord Peter Quill was heartbroken—Earth was his first home, after all.
The other Guardians seemed less affected; the destruction of countless worlds across the universe was unfortunately commonplace to them.
"We need to do something right now," Thor declared, believing immediate action was essential.
Nick Fury had been waiting for exactly this response. "If possible, I need you to help retrieve the other Avengers who are still out there."
"No problem. I'll leave immediately." Thor hefted Stormbreaker and started toward the door.
Star-Lord followed. "Let's all go help."
When the Milano appeared over Manhattan, they saw nothing but devastation.
Buildings had collapsed, the ground was cratered, and streets were littered with fissures and severed limbs.
The once-vibrant metropolis appeared shrouded in gray ash, devoid of its former vitality, a profound sense of desolation pervading everything.
The spacecraft slowly descended, its engines blasting dust and debris through the empty streets. When the engines powered down, an eerie silence filled the air.
"A massive battle just occurred here. Only Banner and Carol possess the power to cause this level of destruction," Thor concluded, surveying the battlefield with Stormbreaker in hand.
Rocket Raccoon asked, "Where are the enemies? Who were they fighting? To cause this much devastation, their opponents must be incredibly powerful."
"Perhaps we're about to find out."
Thor followed the battle trail, the others following close behind, quickly moving through Lower and Midtown Manhattan.
Just as they were about to enter the Upper East Side, the sounds of fierce combat suddenly erupted from ahead.
Thor turned back and warned, "Be careful! I'll scout the situation." With that, he hurled Stormbreaker and flew through the air, soon arriving near Central Park.
BOOM!
An explosion obliterated trees in Central Park. In a deep crater, the Hulk was locked in combat with a group of attackers.
Thor immediately descended, Stormbreaker in hand, and struck down one of Banner's assailants.
"Banner!"
"Thor!"
The two allies reunited, but there was no time for conversation.
Banner grabbed the infected Red Guardian and hurled him into the airborne infected War Machine.
When Thor finally saw who was attacking Banner, he thought he was hallucinating. They were all members of the Avengers.
"Banner, what's happening?"
A web-line suddenly sealed Thor's mouth. The zombie Spider-Man leaped forward and bit at Thor's neck.
Thor instinctively raised Stormbreaker, but the zombie Spider-Man's teeth clamped down on the axe's edge, instantly breaking two of his teeth.
"They've become infected—completely mindless! We have to get out of here!"
With the Hulk's abilities, he should be able to escape at any time. Thor was about to ask why Banner hadn't fled when he learned the answer.
A flash of golden light descended from the sky, and Captain Marvel punched Bruce Banner in the face, followed by a barrage of photon blasts that pinned the Hulk down.
Seeing this, Thor immediately rushed to help, striking Captain Marvel with his axe, only to discover that Carol had also become infected.
"Damn it, how did this happen to her!"
"The second Falcon attacked Carol during flight. That's when she was infected," said Banner, climbing out of a crater and brushing dirt from his face.
The zombie hordes and infected superheroes were already catastrophic enough, but now even Carol had become infected—and she retained her powers. It was simply overwhelming.
The zombie Carol, radiating death energy and golden photon light, slowly floated into the air.
Zombie Captain America hefted his shield and threw it, while zombie Hawkeye nocked an arrow and fired at Bruce Banner.
Zombie War Machine and zombie Spider-Man attacked from two directions simultaneously.
Zombie Iron Fist, zombie Jessica Jones, zombie Red Guardian, and zombie Taskmaster charged from the ground.
Just as the Guardians of the Galaxy arrived and battle was about to erupt, a purple rift suddenly tore through reality between the two sides.
A pair of hands emerged from the dimensional tear and slowly pulled it open wider.
"It's Wanda!"
Banner's expression shifted to surprise, and the next moment, Scarlet Witch Wanda Maximoff emerged from the chaos magic portal.
End of Chapter 103
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