Manhattan, Upper East Side.
We return to the wreckage of Avengers Tower and the fallen Dark Elf flagship.
It was late at night.
But the ruins were lit up like a football stadium.
SHIELD, the military, and the government had turned the area into a high-security quarantine zone.
While the bureaucrats argued endlessly about who owned the alien scrap, the researchers on the ground were working around the clock to harvest whatever tech they could.
A couple of days ago, Luca had briefly joined the effort via the Haro Mech, disguised as a "consultant." He grabbed a few pieces of Dark Elf gear, then bailed, pretending he wasn't interested in the politics.
Nick Fury took this as a sign of Luca being "sensible" and not greedy, even sending a private message of appreciation.
Luca, knowing Fury was a manipulative old spy, ignored the "goodwill" completely.
Currently, the site was swarming with personnel from three different agencies, all trying to one-up each other. Helicopters patrolled the skies, keeping reporters and curious civilians miles away.
And yet, despite the lockdown...
Several small, grenade-like objects fell silently from the sky, completely undetected by radar or patrols.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
They landed at key points around the Dark Elf ship wreckage.
A series of muffled explosions followed.
POP-POP-POP.
The blasts weren't loud, but the vibrations were enough to snap every head in the zone toward the wreckage.
"Attackers?"
"No way. Probably unstable ordnance inside the ship exploding. Happened yesterday too."
The civilian researchers were confused, some even moving closer to investigate.
But the soldiers were sharper. Alarms blared instantly.
"CONTACT! ALERT! PERIMETER BREACH!"
Before anyone could react further, the wreckage shook again.
Billowing clouds of black-and-red smoke erupted from the explosion sites, rolling outward like a tide.
The smoke looked ominous—distinctly alien, matching the Dark Elf aesthetic. Everyone's first thought was: Biological weapon. Toxic gas.
The site commanders panicked.
"Evacuate the researchers! NOW!"
"Hazmat teams! Contain that gas! Don't let anyone breathe it!"
Chaos erupted.
Soldiers shoved scientists toward the exits. Expensive equipment was abandoned. The quarantine zone turned into a stampede.
Fortunately, the smoke spread slowly. And by sheer luck (or careful planning), no one was near the initial release points. The evacuation completed without a single person touching the fog.
The commanders wiped sweat from their brows.
"Where is Hazmat? Neutralize that smoke!"
While they were celebrating the zero-casualty evacuation, one young female researcher from the SHIELD team suddenly stopped. She stared at the smoke, eyes narrowing, then broke free from her escort and ran back toward the danger.
Her partner screamed.
"Simmons! No! It's dangerous!"
"Fitz! Come back!"
Seeing two of their own run back into the "kill zone," the other scientists gasped in horror.
But then...
The black-and-red smoke expanded, fully engulfing the largest piece of wreckage—a hundred-meter-long section of the flagship's hull.
Inside the smoke, blue lightning began to flicker. It looked like energy arcing through a storm cloud.
"Look!"
"What is that?!"
People pointed and shouted.
The blue light intensified, spreading rapidly through the smoke.
SNAP.
A crisp sound, like a massive whip cracking, echoed through the air.
And then... the wreckage vanished.
The massive, hundred-meter chunk of alien spaceship was simply gone.
The sudden disappearance of such a huge object created a vacuum. The air rushed in to fill the void, creating a powerful wind that sucked the black-and-red smoke inward before blasting it outward in all directions.
WHOOSH!
The "toxic" smoke washed over the entire crowd of soldiers and scientists.
Panic ensued.
"AHHH! I'M INFECTED!"
"MY FACE! IT BURNS!"
People screamed, clawing at their skin.
But the young researcher named Simmons, who had run back first, stood in the middle of the cloud. Her face was covered in red and black dust.
She blinked, confused. She wiped a finger across her cheek, looked at the residue, and rubbed it between her thumb and forefinger.
She turned to her partner, Fitz, who had chased after her.
"Fitz... I think this is just... chalk dust?"
---
Meanwhile.
In an abandoned alley a few blocks away from the main site.
A bizarre shape descended rapidly from the night sky.
It looked like a giant, pitch-black crow.
As it neared the ground, the "crow" seemed to sprout a body. A figure in a black robe materialized below the bird-head, feet touching the pavement silently.
The "giant bird" was actually just a specialized hood/mask shaped like a crow's head. The rest of the intruder's body had been optically camouflaged, making it look like a disembodied bird head flying through the air.
The figure, now fully visible, turned to slip into the shadows.
"Freeze! Don't move!"
"Turn around! Slowly!"
The voice behind the figure was calm, steady, and dripping with threat.
The black-robed intruder paused, then slowly turned.
Standing at the mouth of the alley was a man in a black tactical vest, holding a high-tech compound bow at full draw. An arrow was aimed directly at the intruder's chest.
"Heh. Hawkeye," a muffled female voice came from beneath the crow mask.
Before Clint Barton could ask a single question, the intruder flicked her wrist.
She threw something into the air.
POOF.
A burst of blue light exploded.
Suddenly, a gigantic, pitch-black curtain materialized out of thin air, falling directly onto Hawkeye.
Thwip.
Clint fired instinctively. The arrow punched through the curtain, but the heavy fabric still draped over him, blinding him and tangling his limbs.
"Damn it!"
Clint struggled, tearing the heavy cloth away.
By the time he freed himself, the alley was empty.
The "Magician Thief" was gone.