Before long, the NYPD's G3 combat unit also arrived at the battlefield. After taking down a few Chitauri soldiers, they were immediately assigned a task by Steve.
Protect civilians in the combat zone and escort them safely out of the battlefield.
"By the way, why did Commissioner George tell us to follow this guy's orders?" one G3 operative asked his teammate, sounding puzzled.
"Probably because he's on our side—he wants to beat the hell out of these invading aliens too. And honestly, his arrangements make sense," another operative replied.
"Instead of talking nonsense, you'd better focus on protecting the civilians and put some real effort into dealing with these alien scum," Commissioner George's authoritative voice cut in.
Meanwhile, at Jessica's detective agency.
"An alien invasion?" Jessica stared at Danny Rand in disbelief, her expression clearly saying are you messing with me?
Danny nodded seriously. "There hasn't been any news coverage yet because it happened so suddenly, but the information from Rand Enterprises is absolutely reliable."
As he spoke, he took out his phone and projected a virtual screen, playing footage of the Chitauri rampaging through Manhattan.
"So you called us all here—what exactly do you want us to do?" Daredevil, Matt Murdock, asked after a brief moment of thought.
Ever since Elektra's resurrection, Matt—having regained the woman he loved—had been planning to abandon the Daredevil identity, return to being a lawyer, and live a peaceful life with her.
He hadn't expected something like this to happen so suddenly, with Danny Rand summoning everyone together.
"At the moment, the aliens are still confined to parts of Manhattan," Danny said gravely. "But judging from what's happening on-site, there will be a continuous stream of them invading."
"In other words," Jessica's eyes shifted slightly, "if things get worse, it's only a matter of time before they reach Brooklyn too?"
"If even the military can't stop the aliens, what can we really do…?" Luke Cage said with a bitter expression.
Though his skin was as tough as steel and he could ignore most conventional firearms, that only applied to ordinary guns.
Luke had no confidence at all that he could withstand the energy weapons the aliens were using in the video.
"In fact, aside from Danny and Jessica," Matt analyzed calmly, "the rest of us would have a very hard time fighting aliens equipped with advanced technology. One mistake, one direct hit from their weapons, and…"
He didn't finish the sentence, but the meaning was obvious.
Aside from Danny and Jessica—who possessed Gaia Memories—everyone else would most likely be unable to survive a direct hit from Chitauri weaponry.
Truth be told, even Danny and Jessica would have been in the same situation if they hadn't obtained Gaia Memories.
Jessica's defense was inferior even to Luke's, and her combat skills were far below Matt's and Elektra's.
As for Danny, while he wielded the power of the Iron Fist, his overall cultivation of qi was too shallow. His fists, empowered by the dragon's power, were indeed indestructible—but the rest of his body wasn't. His internal energy simply wasn't enough to cover his entire body.
"No matter what, we can't just sit here and wait to die, can we?" Jessica said. "There are plenty of powerful people in the video fighting those aliens."
Danny nodded. "My plan is for Jessica and me to head to Manhattan and help deal with the aliens.
"If we can keep them contained within a certain area, that would be ideal. The rest of you should be mentally prepared as well."
"What's there to hesitate about? Just beat the hell out of those ugly freaks," Ao Xing, the small dragon perched on Danny's shoulder, declared proudly.
As a being from beyond Earth with hostile intent, the Chitauri triggered Ao Xing's instinctive hatred.
"If the aliens really do manage a full-scale invasion, we won't be able to avoid it in the end," Elektra said, turning to Matt beside her.
Feeling the slight pressure of Elektra's hand gripping his, Matt smiled softly.
"You're right. Running away won't help. We might as well face it head-on and do what we can to stop the worst outcome.
Luke looked around at his companions, all of whom had made their stance clear, and chuckled.
"Then let's go together and beat the shit out of those alien sons of bitches."
Just as they were about to set off—
"You being able to show this kind of resolve is actually quite impressive."
A sudden voice rang out.
"Eternal?!" Jessica and Danny immediately went on guard as the man calling himself Eternal—Dan Kuroto—appeared out of nowhere.
"What are you doing here?" they demanded.
Dan Kuroto waved his hand casually. "Relax. I'm here to provide support. From the corporation's standpoint, we also don't want aliens occupying Earth."
"Then why hasn't your so-called corporation done anything to fight the aliens?" Jessica asked bluntly.
"Isn't that exactly what I'm doing now?" Dan replied as he opened his briefcase.
He distributed Gaia Memories and Drivers to the appropriate people.
Luke Cage received the Metal Memory and a Lost Driver.
Matt Murdock received the Skull Memory and a Lost Driver.
Elektra received the Taboo Memory and a Gaia Driver.
"Alright then, chosen warriors," Dan said, spreading his arms theatrically. "Use the power of your Gaia Memories to save the world."
With that, he disappeared cleanly, vanishing from sight in an instant.
"So… are we really going to use the Gaia Memories this guy just gave us?" Danny asked, holding the Metal Memory and Lost Driver as he looked at the others.
"Why wouldn't we?" Elektra replied without hesitation. "With the power of the Gaia Memories, we can contribute more against the invading aliens—and our own safety will be better protected."
Based on Danny's and Jessica's previous experiences with Gaia Memories obtained from "Eternal," there didn't seem to be any negative side effects.
"Taboo."
The transformation sound rang out as Elektra transformed into the Taboo Dopant.
"Even if the appearance is a bit strange, this is truly unimaginable power," Elektra said, floating in midair as she felt the strength surging through her body.
After that, Matt and Luke didn't hesitate either, activating their Memories and completing their transformations.
"Th-this… this is—" Matt suddenly reacted strongly after transforming, his voice trembling with emotion.
"Matt, what's wrong? Did something go wrong?" Elektra asked with concern.
"I can see," Matt said, trying to remain calm—but the intense emotion in his voice betrayed him.
"Your eyes are healed?!" Elektra exclaimed in shock and joy.
Matt fell silent for a moment, then deactivated his transformation, frowning slightly before shaking his head.
"No. My eyes aren't healed. It's just that when I transform using the Memory, I can see again.
"The armor must be bypassing my dead optic nerves and directly transmitting visual data to the corresponding processing centers in my brain."
"There'll be plenty of time to study that later," Danny said as he took out the W Driver and transformed together with Ao Xing. "Right now, we need to get to the battlefield and fight the invading aliens."
Matt nodded and immediately transformed again.
The Defenders—now fully equipped with Gaia Memories—set off at once for Manhattan to confront the invading Chitauri.
(End of Chapter)