Home Insurance: "Alien invasion is an exclusion clause"

The Chitauri have arrived.

The Chitauri have left.

They slunk away, leaving behind Loki, the mastermind of this alien invasion, along with many Chitauri soldiers who failed to evacuate in time, and a New York City in ruins.

The good news.

Loki has been captured, and even the Chitauri soldiers left on Earth have gone limp, as if powered down, after losing contact with their home base.

The moment the space wormhole closed completely, the Chitauri soldiers still rampaging over New York City lost power in an instant, falling from the sky one after another like dumplings hitting a pot.

Clearly.

This sudden alien invasion and defense of Earth ended with a final victory for Earth.

The bad news.

New York City suffered severe damage, with the five blocks surrounding Stark Tower being the worst hit.

After all, that was the main battlefield; it was practically pulverized.

Other parts of Manhattan suffered less damage, though that is only in comparison to the main battlefield; if compared to the rest of New York City, the damage was still quite severe.

Next were the other boroughs of New York City.

But there was one exception.

"In Jackson Heights, Queens, there's a block that was almost leveled by the Chitauri."

"What?"

Aboard the Helicarrier, Commander Maria Hill, dressed in her combat uniform, pulled up satellite imagery of New York City. Her voice rang out in the earpieces of the Original Avengers, who had just been celebrating the awakening of Iron Man: "It's strange. Out of the entire Queens area, only that block in Jackson Heights suffered carpet bombing from the Chitauri. According to data streams, those Chitauri rampaging in Queens seemed incredibly enraged, and they all converged on that specific area."

The Original Avengers, still at the main battlefield, exchanged glances upon hearing Commander Maria Hill's words through their earpieces.

Eventually, Captain America was the first to speak.

"Why?"

"Unclear. Agents are already on their way."

Maria Hill said as much, then shifted the tone: "All Chitauri life signs have vanished. Congratulations, Captain, we won."

As soon as these words were spoken.

The Original Avengers breathed a collective sigh of relief and looked at one another.

Afterward...

Expressions of joy appeared on all their faces.

That night.

Not only television stations in New York City, but stations across the nation and even the entire world were reporting on this Chitauri invasion of Earth.

Without a doubt.

The Original Avengers, who were active on the main battlefield and served as the primary force in this great war, were officially exposed to the public.

Captain America, Steve Rogers.

Iron Man, Tony Stark.

Thor, Thor.

Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff.

Hulk, Bruce Banner.

Hawkeye, Clint Barton.

Legitimate news stations were reporting the details of the war.

Meanwhile, the less serious stations were broadcasting gossip and unofficial histories about the various Avengers.

Among them, the most popular was naturally Captain America, Steve Rogers, who had been confirmed to have returned from the dead; after disappearing for many years, he had reappeared without having aged a day.

After all, Captain America is the symbol of America in this world, and his popularity was already high; now that he had staged a return from the dead, his popularity had simply exploded.

For instance, right now.

Hawk was eating a relief meal handed out by church staff while watching the unofficial history of Captain America playing on an eighteen-inch old television nearby.

There was no helping it.

His apartment building had turned into a pile of rubble; not just his, and not just the people in his apartment building—strictly speaking, the residents of his entire block were now homeless.

Because their block had been cordoned off by a group of Men in Black wearing black suits and black ties within half an hour after the war ended.

Some residents wanted to go back to see if they could salvage any of their assets from the ruins, but they weren't allowed.

When asked, the answer was federal martial law, no entry allowed.

However, fortunately, the agency that cordoned off the block took into account that they were homeless. They found an unused hangar at LaGuardia Airport to serve as a temporary shelter for them, while also finding a nearby church to provide free food to help them get through the crisis.

But...

Just as Hawk was gnawing on his bread and listening to the unofficial history of Captain America, the sound of sobbing came from beside him.

Hawk snapped back to reality and turned his head to look.

Coming into view.

A man who looked to be about thirty-five, burly and thick-set, was currently hugging his arms and burying his entire head between his legs. The sobbing started out quiet, but it quickly turned into a loud, wailing cry.

A survivor nearby couldn't help but be curious.

"What's wrong with you?"

"My house is gone."

"It's okay."

Thinking the crying man had suffered some major tragedy, the survivor comforted him upon hearing this, "We have insurance, don't worry."

It would have been better if he hadn't said that; as soon as the crying man heard this, he sobbed even more heartbrokenly.

This left the survivor completely bewildered.

"What is it now? Did you not buy insurance?"

"No, I bought it."

"Then..."

"I just called the insurance company," the crying man sobbed, looking at the survivor who was comforting him, "but the insurance company said that an Alien invasion is an exclusion clause and isn't covered by their policy."

The expression on the survivor's face froze.

"What?"

"An exclusion clause?"

"No way."

"How can the insurance company not pay?"

"No, I need to make a call right now."

"..."

The other survivors nearby, who had been listening to the conversation between the survivor and the crying man, couldn't sit still after hearing this. They scrambled to find their phones and call their own home insurance providers.

About a minute later, a second voice of sobbing broke out.

A third.

A fourth.

In the blink of an eye, the entire hangar was filled with the wails of people who were about to become homeless.

Hawk, who was almost surrounded by the crying people, felt his own nose sting in this atmosphere as he thought about his apartment being gone and the insurance not paying out.

But he quickly snapped out of it.

Wait a minute.

That apartment of his was a welfare apartment provided by the federal government, and it would be taken back next year once he turned eighteen.

This was the reason Hawk had been scrimping and saving to scrape together thirty thousand dollars.

Because after turning eighteen, he would be kicked out of the welfare apartment by the federal government in the name of 'independence.'

After all, eighteen is considered an adult under New York City law, so he naturally wouldn't be able to enjoy the benefits afforded to underage orphans.

What?

You don't have money to rent a place?

Sorry, that's not our business. There are so many homeless people under the bridges and in the sewers of New York City; you could try asking them if they mind squeezing in.

So...

I don't even have a house to begin with, so if the insurance doesn't pay, what the hell does that have to do with me?

Hawk came to his senses, looked at the survivors whose expressions had turned somewhat ferocious amidst the sobbing, and as if thinking of something, he stood up quietly and walked toward the outside of the hangar.

He was afraid a shootout might break out here later.