The Blackbird tore through the night sky at Mach 3.5, racing straight for New York.
On the way back, Jean laid out everything that had happened in the city. Ten minutes earlier, a massive black cloud had suddenly formed over New York without warning. Then three columns of red light had shot upward, stabbing into the heavens like spears. A moment after that, the sky itself seemed to split open. Around those three beams, endless hellfire began pouring down from above, and demons flooded out of the breach like a storm of living ash. In a matter of moments, half the city looked like it had been dragged into Hell.
Then things got even stranger.
According to Jean, the sky had suddenly reacted, almost like it was alive. Some vast force had descended and wrapped itself around the infernal firestorm, smothering it. One of the three crimson beams had gone out immediately. The second had started to dim too, but right before it fully collapsed, a massive crack had ripped across the sky over New York.
On the other side of that crack was a black-purple cosmos so deep and unnatural it looked like reality itself had been peeled back. Inside it, a single gigantic eye had opened and looked down on New York.
Even now, just hearing that part made the cabin feel colder.
The crack had vanished almost immediately, but not before making its mark. Of the three red beams that had appeared earlier, one was gone for good. Two remained. And one of those two was right beside Avengers Base.
The moment Locke heard that, something in him snapped.
This was aimed at him. It had to be.
Whoever had done this had gone straight for New York, straight for his people, straight for the base. That wasn't a random attack. That was a message, and Locke only had one answer for it.
He was going to kill them.
Jean kept relaying updates from the base while the Blackbird screamed through the upper atmosphere. A huge number of demons had already made it through. The mutants and security teams left behind had managed to organize a defensive line, but it was barely holding. There were simply too many enemies. At the critical moment, Banner had made the call and transformed into the Hulk, and that had stopped the entire defense from collapsing outright.
Even so, they were still drowning.
For the first time in a long time, Locke's eyes were filled with naked killing intent.
At Avengers Base were David and his family, the people who had followed him from the beginning. Vanessa was there too, someone he had promised Wade he would protect. So were subordinates like the Nine Spiders, the Deathly Haunted Lady, and a whole list of people and assets he actually cared about. Several of his most important research facilities were there as well.
No matter who was behind this, there was no room left for negotiation.
The Blackbird was already moving so fast the engine roar rattled through the entire airframe, but to Locke it still felt intolerably slow.
Not good enough.
He suddenly stepped forward and walked straight up to the front console, raising one hand.
"Locke?" Storm asked, glancing over in confusion from the pilot's seat. Jean looked at him too, clearly unsure what he was planning.
A grin spread across his face. "Let me borrow the plane."
The moment he finished speaking, a torrent of red fire poured from his palm.
Everyone stared in shock as the flames surged into the cockpit and spread through the entire Blackbird. At first, some of them instinctively braced for heat or pain, but none came. The fire didn't burn them. It flowed into the aircraft itself.
Then the whole plane shuddered.
No—worse than that. It didn't feel like shaking. It felt alive, like the machine had suddenly developed a heartbeat and was evolving in real time.
Outside, a flare of fire ignited across the night sky, and the Blackbird's speed doubled almost instantly. It shot forward like a meteor.
After the Hellfire enhancement, the aircraft was bigger, sleeker, and longer than before. Inside, even the seats had reshaped themselves into semi-enclosed forms that fit the body perfectly. The control sticks and manual interfaces disappeared altogether. Now the plane responded directly to Locke's thoughts, carrying out every maneuver with perfect, immediate precision.
Its speed rose to a terrifying level.
Now flying high where the air had thinned to almost nothing, the transformed Blackbird hit Mach 10. At that speed, New York was only minutes away.
.....
In another dimension, the Ancient One stood facing Dormammu with a headache she didn't bother hiding.
She already knew Hell's forces had launched an invasion of New York. The problem was that she had no strength to spare. Mephisto's move had been carefully planned from the beginning and executed at enormous cost. Not only had he chosen this moment to move, but Dormammu had appeared too, and even Cyttorak had made his presence known. He hadn't acted directly, but just his attention alone was enough to put every mage in Kamar-Taj on full alert.
Supporting New York was impossible right now.
"Ancient One," Dormammu growled, his voice rippling through the dimension like thunder in a dead sea, "you should have paid back what you owe me a long time ago."
She looked at him coldly, not giving an inch. "I borrowed it with my own skill, so why should I pay it back?" she said flatly. "You've swallowed an entire Dark Dimension and you're still whining over this little bit of power. Honestly, aren't you being a little stingy?"
"Bastard!"
Dormammu roared and unleashed a tidal wave of dark power.
The force crashed down like a black ocean. When it passed, the Ancient One stood in place with torn robes and a pale face, but her expression hadn't changed at all. She spoke a short spell under her breath, and black lines instantly spread over her face. At once, an external power flowed into her body. Her clothing restored itself, her injuries vanished, and her condition returned to perfect state, even better than before.
Dormammu's rage deepened.
"You're still stealing my power," he thundered. "Right in front of me! You want to die?"
A far larger wave of darkness surged out again.
.....
Back in New York, the city had once more plunged into catastrophe.
The two remaining red beams were anchored in two places: one at Avengers Base, the other at Midtown Financial Building in Manhattan. Around both sites, hellfire spread in every direction, devouring streets, walls, and anything slow enough to be caught. From those infernos came demons by the thousands, grinning hideously as they lunged at the first living thing they could find.
Civilians tried to flee, but the roads were already clogged. Police units had set up whatever defensive positions they could, fighting desperately with pistols and rifles that might as well have been toys. Against demons from Hell, small-caliber firearms were laughable.
In just a few minutes, thousands had died.
Some people called the police. Some called the army. More than anyone else, they called for the Avengers.
.....
At the White House, President Ao Guanhai felt his heart stop all over again.
He had lost count of how many times disaster reports like this had landed on his desk. In the main conference room, senior officials packed the space shoulder to shoulder while satellite feeds and live broadcasts showed New York burning on every screen.
"Where are the Avengers?" he barked.
Someone answered immediately. "Yesterday afternoon they went to Texas to deal with a demon-related incident. They're returning at maximum speed now."
He exploded. "Texas? Texas? The biggest demon problem is in New York!"
Another official spoke up more cautiously. "Sir, I believe they were lured away. The demon incident in Texas was probably a diversion. New York was the real target all along."
That made him calm down, but only barely. "How long until they're back?"
"Two minutes."
An uneasy silence followed. Then someone began carefully, "Mr. President, an invasion on this scale…"
Ao Guanhai shot him a sharp look. "You think the Avengers can't handle it?"
The man went stiff. "…No, sir."
The president stared at the images of fire slowly spreading over New York, then let out a long, exhausted breath. "What's the backup plan?"
No one answered.
His eyebrows rose. "I asked you a question. What's the backup plan?"
Still silence.
At last, someone stammered, "Mr. President… we don't have a backup plan for a situation like this."
Ao Guanhai ripped off one of his shoes and slammed it onto the table. "I remember you idiots even had a backup plan for an alien invasion! And you don't have one for this? Are all of you parasites? I should send every last one of you to Alaska to plant potatoes!"
One of the officials nearly cried. "We didn't know demons were real!"
"Then start thinking right now, damn it!"
The room went dead quiet after that. Everyone could see it. This president, after surviving one catastrophe after another, was getting dangerously close to breaking.
The officials looked at each other, none of them wanting to be the one to speak. Finally, a Pentagon representative cleared his throat and asked weakly, "What about… a nuclear strike?"
Every head in the room turned toward him.
Then a leather shoe flew across the room and hit him in the face.
Ao Guanhai stood there with his hands on his hips, furious. "You want me to nuke New York? Is that how you plan to kill me too?"
Clutching his bleeding nose, the official still forced the words out. "Mr. President, we may not have another option."
"Fake squid!"
Ao Guanhai started pulling off his other shoe, and this time several people lunged forward to stop him. Before things could escalate further, Vice President Lao Deng let out a faint sigh.
"Mr. President," he said quietly, "maybe… he's right."
Ao Guanhai froze, then seemed to lose every ounce of strength in his body. He dropped back into his chair.
"Then…"
.....
At Avengers Base, the situation was collapsing fast.
More and more demons kept pouring through. The guards were nearly out of ammunition. Even Hulk, who should have been the strongest thing on the field, had been swallowed by the sheer mass of the enemy. Demons clung to him from every direction, burying him beneath layers of claws, fangs, and bodies. He fought his way out of the pile over and over again, only to be dragged back under every time. The mass of demons around him had literally turned into a hill.
Death, the Nine Spiders, Elektra, Iceman, and Pyro had all gone to the front line. Even Anton and his son had joined the battle using the weapons they'd invented. But in the middle of all that blood and fire, none of them could see any path to victory.
The demon army had already overrun more than half the base. Only a few research buildings were still standing, and even those were close to collapse.
Then a horn sounded.
The demons suddenly became restless, as if they had received some fresh order. Their eyes flashed with excitement. Roaring to the sky, they turned as one and charged.
"Da-da-da—da-da—"
The guns ran dry.
As the demons rushed in, people prepared themselves to die. Some of them even shut their eyes.
Then a crack of blinding white light split the battlefield apart.
Thunder fell from the sky.
At the same instant, a figure came crashing down into the demon mound like a meteor, blasting demons in every direction and freeing Hulk in one violent impact. The defenders saw it happen and shouted in pure, desperate relief.
Locke.
The savior of millions had returned.
He didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat. Lightning exploded out of him in all directions, hundreds of bolts spreading across nearly the entire battlefield in a single storm. Behind the line, Anton saw the display and suddenly grabbed Ivan, who had been cackling while firing a palm cannon into the demon horde.
Two words came out of his mouth.
"Armor. Now."
Ivan froze, then nodded hard. "It's not finished yet, but it'll work!"
The two of them turned and ran for the underground lab.
Locke had already dumped nearly all the thunder in his body in one burst, but that didn't matter. He still had Hellfire.
With a single thought, a huge wave of flame erupted around him. The burning skull emerged into full view, and everyone saw it clearly. He spread his arms wide, and Hellfire surged across his body. From his back, two giant wings of fire burst outward.
Hellfire: Wings of Flame.
With one casual sweep, the enormous wings slashed through the battlefield like twin blades, cutting demons clean in half. He didn't even need to flap them. His body lifted into the air under their own power.
The next second, he dove like a low-flying bomber, sweeping the field with his wings of fire.
....
Join my P@treon FOR FREE and get 5 advanced chapters.
Paid members can get upto 60+ chapters ahead of the public release.
Link : [email protected]/thebookaddict