Home Insurance: "Alien Invasion Is an Exclusion Clause"

The Chitauri came.

The Chitauri left.

They left behind Loki, the mastermind behind this alien invasion; many Chitauri Soldiers who had remained on Earth and failed to evacuate in time; and a devastated New York City before slinking away in disgrace.

The good news was:

Loki had been captured, and even the Chitauri Soldiers left on Earth seemed to have shut down on the spot after losing contact with their headquarters.

The moment the spatial wormhole closed completely, the Chitauri troops still rampaging over New York City lost power in an instant and fell from the sky one after another like dumplings dropped into a pot.

Obviously.

This sudden alien invasion and battle to defend Earth had ultimately ended in Earth's victory.

The bad news was:

New York City had suffered severe damage, with the five blocks surrounding Stark Tower at the epicenter suffering the worst.

After all, that had been the main battlefield. It had practically been blasted to pieces.

The rest of Manhattan had suffered comparatively less damage, but that was only compared to the main battlefield. Compared with the rest of New York City, the damage there was still considerable.

Then came the other boroughs of New York City.

But one place was an exception.

"A block in Jackson Heights, Queens, was almost leveled by the Chitauri."

"What?"

Aboard the Helicarrier, Commander Maria Hill, dressed in combat gear and reviewing satellite footage of New York City, spoke through the earpieces of the Original Avengers, who were still celebrating Iron Man's awakening. "Strangely enough, that block in Jackson Heights was the only place in all of Queens subjected to blanket bombing by the Chitauri. According to incoming data, the Chitauri rampaging through Queens seemed extremely enraged, then converged on that area."

The Original Avengers, still at the main battlefield, exchanged glances as they listened to Commander Maria Hill through their earpieces.

Captain America was the first to speak.

"Why?"

"Unknown. Agents are already on their way."

Maria Hill said this, then changed the subject. "All Chitauri life signs have disappeared. Congratulations, Captain. We won."

As soon as she said that.

The Original Avengers all let out a breath of relief and looked at one another.

Then...

Joyful expressions appeared on all their faces.

That night.

Not only New York City's television stations, but stations across the country and even around the world were reporting on the Chitauri invasion of Earth.

Without question.

The Original Avengers, who had been active on the main battlefield and served as the core force in this war, had officially been revealed to the public.

Captain America, Steve Rogers.

Iron Man, Tony Stark.

Thor, Thor.

Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff.

Hulk, Bruce Banner.

Hawkeye, Clint Barton.

The respectable television stations were almost all reporting the details of the battle.

The disreputable stations, meanwhile, aired gossip and apocryphal stories about the various Avengers.

Among them, the most popular figure was naturally Captain America, Steve Rogers, who had been confirmed to have returned from the dead and reappeared years after his disappearance without having changed in appearance at all.

After all, Captain America was a symbol of the United States in this world. He had always been immensely popular, and now he had returned from the dead and stepped back into the world. His popularity had instantly exploded.

For example, right now.

Hawk was eating a relief meal handed out by church workers while watching an apocryphal story about Captain America playing on an old eighteen-inch television nearby.

It could not be helped.

The apartment building where he lived had become a pile of rubble. Not only him, and not only the residents of his apartment building—in fact, everyone living on his block had become homeless.

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

Some residents had wanted to go back and see whether they could salvage any of their belongings from the ruins, but they were not allowed to.

The answer was simply that the area was under federal lockdown and entry was prohibited.

Fortunately, the agency that had locked down the block took their homelessness into consideration. It found them a rarely used hangar at LaGuardia Airport as a temporary shelter and had nearby churches provide free food to help them through the crisis.

But...

As Hawk gnawed on the bread in his hand and listened to stories about Captain America, he heard sobbing beside him.

Hawk came back to himself and turned to look.

Before his eyes.

A burly man who looked about thirty-five was hugging his arms around himself and burying his entire body between his knees. His crying had begun quietly, but it soon became loud wailing.

The survivors nearby could not help being curious.

"What happened to you?"

"My house is gone."

"It's okay."

Thinking something terrible had happened to the crying man, the survivor comforted him after hearing this. "We have insurance. Don't worry."

It would have been better if he had not said that. The crying man only cried harder after hearing those words.

That left the survivor completely baffled.

"What now? Didn't you buy insurance?"

"No, I did."

"Then..."

"I just called the insurance company." The crying man sniffled and looked at the survivor comforting him. "The insurance company said alien invasion is an exclusion clause and isn't covered by their compensation policy."

The expression on the survivor's face froze.

"What?"

"Exclusion clause?"

"No way."

"Why isn't the insurance company paying out?"

"No, I need to call right away."

"..."

The other survivors who had been listening to the conversation between the crying man and the survivor could no longer sit still after hearing that. They all pulled out their phones and called their home insurance companies.

About a minute later, a second voice began crying.

Then a third.

Then a fourth.

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

Nearly surrounded by crying people, Hawk felt his nose sting as he thought about his apartment being gone and the insurance refusing to pay.

But he quickly came to his senses.

Wait a second.

His apartment had been a federally provided welfare apartment, and it would be taken back next year once he turned eighteen.

That was why Hawk had been living frugally and saving thirty thousand dollars.

Because once he turned eighteen, the federal government would kick him out of the welfare apartment in the name of "independence."

After all, eighteen was already the age of adulthood under New York State law. Naturally, he would no longer receive the treatment afforded to underage orphans.

What?

You have no money to rent a place?

Sorry, that is none of our business. There are so many homeless people under New York City's overpasses and in its sewers. You could try asking whether they minded squeezing in together.

So...

I don't fucking own a house in the first place. What does it have to do with me if insurance won't pay?

Hawk came back to himself. Looking at the survivors whose expressions had grown somewhat savage amid the crying, he seemed to think of something. He quietly got up and walked toward the outside of the hangar.

He was afraid there would be a shootout here later.