The Chitauri came.
The Chitauri left.
They left behind Loki, the mastermind of this alien invasion, many Chitauri soldiers still on Earth who couldn't retreat in time, and a devastated New York City as they slunk away.
Good news.
Loki had been captured, and even the Chitauri soldiers remaining on Earth had been paralyzed in place, as if suffering a power outage, after losing contact with their main base.
The moment the spatial wormhole completely closed, the Chitauri soldiers still rampaging over New York City instantly lost power and fell one after another from the sky, like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
It was clear.
Earth had ultimately won this sudden alien invasion and planetary defense battle.
Bad news.
New York City was severely damaged, with the five blocks centered around Stark Tower being the worst affected.
After all, that was the main battlefield; it was almost completely destroyed.
Other parts of Manhattan suffered less damage, though this was primarily in comparison to the main battlefield.
Compared to other parts of New York City, however, the damage was still quite severe.
Next were the other boroughs of New York City.
But there was one exception.
"In Jackson Heights, Queens, an entire block was almost leveled by the Chitauri."
"What?"
Aboard the Helicarrier, Commander Maria Hill, in her combat suit, was pulling up satellite images of New York City.
Her voice echoed in the earpieces of the First Avengers, who were just celebrating Iron Man's awakening: "It's strange, but in all of Queens, only that block in Jackson Heights experienced an area bombardment by the Chitauri. According to data streams, the Chitauri rampaging through Queens seemed very angry and then converged on that location."
The First Avengers, still on the main battlefield, looked at each other, listening to Commander Maria Hill's words through their earpieces.
Finally, Captain America spoke first.
"Why?"
"Unclear. Agents are already en route," Maria Hill said.
Then changed the subject: "All Chitauri life signals have disappeared. Congratulations, Captain, we won."
At these words.
The First Avengers collectively let out a sigh of relief, then looked at each other.
Afterwards...
Joyful expressions appeared on all their faces.
That night.
Not only New York City television stations, but also national and even global television stations were almost all reporting on the Chitauri invasion of Earth.
Undoubtedly.
The First Avengers, who were active on the main battlefield and the primary force in this great battle, were also officially unveiled.
Captain America, Steve Rogers.
Iron Man, Tony Stark.
Thor, the God of Thunder.
Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff.
Hulk, Bruce Banner.
Hawkeye, Clint Barton.
Reputable television stations were mostly reporting the details of the battle.
Less reputable stations, on the other hand, were broadcasting gossip and unofficial stories about the various Avengers.
Among them, the most popular was naturally Captain America, Steve Rogers, who was confirmed to have died and been resurrected, reappearing unchanged after years of disappearance.
After all, Captain America was a symbol of America in this world, already very popular.
Now, with his resurrection and return, his popularity had skyrocketed.
For example, right now.
Hawk was eating a relief meal handed out by church staff while watching unofficial stories about Captain America playing on an eighteen-inch old television nearby.
There was nothing he could do.
His apartment building had been reduced to a pile of rubble.
Not just him, and not just the people in his apartment, but strictly speaking, all residents of his block were homeless.
Because half an hour after the battle, their block was placed under martial law by a group of men in black suits and black ties.
Some residents who wanted to go back and see if they could salvage their belongings from the ruins were not allowed.
The answer was always federal martial law, entry prohibited.
Fortunately, the agencies enforcing martial law, considering their homelessness, found an unused hangar at LaGuardia Airport to serve as their temporary shelter, and also arranged for nearby churches to provide free food to help them through this difficult time.
But...
As Hawk munched on his bread and listened to the unofficial stories about Captain America, he heard a sobbing sound nearby.
Hawk came back to his senses and turned his head to look.
He saw.
A burly man, who appeared to be around thirty-five years old, was hugging his arms around himself, burying his face between his legs.
His cries started softly but quickly turned into loud wails.
A nearby survivor couldn't help but be curious.
"What's wrong?"
"My house is gone."
"It's okay."
Thinking something serious had happened to the crying man, the survivor, upon hearing this, consoled him: "We have insurance; don't worry."
That didn't help; in fact, when the crying man heard that, he cried even more sadly.
This stumped the survivor.
"What's wrong now? Didn't you buy insurance?"
"No, I did."
"Then..."
"I just called the insurance company," the crying man sobbed, looking at the survivor who was comforting him.
"And the insurance company said that alien invasion is an exclusion clause and not covered by their compensation."
The survivor's expression froze.
"What?"
"Excluded?"
"No way."
"Why won't the insurance company pay?"
"No, I need to call immediately."
"..."
Other survivors listening to the conversation between the crying man and the first survivor immediately couldn't sit still upon hearing this.
They all pulled out their phones and called their home insurance companies.
About a minute later, a second crying sound emerged.
A third.
A fourth.
In the blink of an eye, the entire hangar was filled with the wailing of people about to become homeless.
Hawk, almost surrounded by the wailing people, felt a pang in his nose, thinking about his lost apartment and the lack of insurance coverage in this atmosphere.
But he quickly snapped back to reality.
Wait a minute.
His apartment was a welfare apartment provided by the federal government, and it would be taken back once he turned eighteen next year.
This was why Hawk had been living frugally and saved thirty thousand US dollars.
Because after he turned eighteen, the federal government would evict him from the welfare apartment in the name of "independence."
After all, at eighteen, one is an adult under New York State law and naturally no longer eligible for the treatment of a minor orphan.
What? You don't have money for rent?
Sorry, that's not our problem.
There are so many homeless people under the bridges and in the sewers of New York City; you can try asking them if they mind making a little room.
Therefore...
I don't even have a damn house, and if insurance doesn't pay, what the hell does it matter to me?
Hawk came to his senses, looked at the survivors whose expressions had turned somewhat ferocious amid their wails, seemed to realize something, and quietly got up and walked out of the hangar.
He was afraid a shootout might happen here soon.
(End of this chapter)
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