"How much longer?"
Natasha watched the door warily, then turned back to Stark, who was welding parts while wearing a welder's mask.
"Don't rush." Stark was unusually patient and did not angrily tell her not to disturb him, because he clearly knew that only Natasha could protect him now.
"Our original plan was for you to take me back to where Osborn and Hammer had dumped that pile of armor so I could replace my armor's energy source. But things have gone beyond what we expected."
Hearing Stark's words, Natasha sighed as well. She looked toward the distant horizon, where a faint azure curtain of light flickered at the edge of her vision.
People in the city were calling it the aurora, but it was actually a shield sealing off the new city.
About half an hour earlier, people had seen the floating island in the sky seemingly spew out wave after wave of alien troops. The first thing those aliens did upon arriving in the new city was spread out to the edges of the massive metropolis and erect an enormous, towering protective barrier.
The entire city was now completely cut off from the outside world. Whether telecommunications or satellite signals, everything was blocked by the mysterious shield. No physical matter could get out, and nothing could get in.
Even New York, a city accustomed to alien invasions, had never seen aliens this overbearing. If they wanted to destroy the city, then destroy it. If they wanted to kill people, then kill them. What was with putting a dome over everyone and trapping them inside?
But Natasha had gleaned some unusual information from the aliens now roaming the streets without restraint.
"They're looking for someone." Natasha said with certainty. "They're searching for something, probably a person, but they haven't