Fire! My Favorite Toy!

Hawkeye, Black Widow, Captain America, and Iron Man Tony, who had been the first to arrive at Stark Tower, were already locked in a bitter struggle. The four of them were far too few against the endless Chitauri pouring out of the space portal—a drop in the bucket! Against the Chitauri's swarm tactics, all they could do was stir up a few ripples.

"Hey! Tony, that big one's yours!"

Captain America hurled his shield, knocking Chitauri off several flying craft before it spun back into his hand. A shield that defied all aerodynamic logic, yet he wielded it like a boomerang—truly a veteran defender maxed out in talent!

Just then, the space portal atop Stark Tower expanded further. Not only did countless Chitauri flyers continue to pour out, but a colossal ship emerged from within... No! It wasn't really a ship—perhaps a giant wingless bug that could fly without wings? Captain America took one look, judged he couldn't handle that thing alone, and decisively called Tony over the comms for backup. They were teaming up, after all.

"Whoa~! Cap, you sure know how to pick 'em... Jarvis, can you analyze its weak points?" Iron Man Tony tried using lasers and shoulder-mounted micro-missiles on the giant bug, only to find them useless against its thick armor.

Against a heavily armored behemoth like this, with his weapons failing, Tony had no good options. After a few more futile attacks, he could only bait the monster into a chase, circling around while urging Jarvis to hurry up with the analysis.

"Sorry, sir, insufficient data to locate its weak points." Jarvis was powerful, but analyzing a never-before-seen species for vulnerabilities was a tall order—it was just an AI program!

"I suggest you lower altitude and lure it into the streets. I've noticed its turning radius seems limited."

Maybe Tony's earlier attacks had enraged the giant flyer, or maybe Iron Man was the only airborne target worth noticing, but the bug didn't need luring—it roared and charged straight at him.

"You're right, Jarvis. I'll lead it away first." Seeing the bug bearing down, Tony felt a twinge of fear. After a moment's thought, he decided discretion was the better part of valor.

Tony banked downward! After shouting a quick warning to Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye over the channel, he frantically wove between skyscrapers! Behind him, the flying reptile gave relentless chase! It spiraled through the city, smashing into buildings, sending debris—concrete and steel—crashing onto the streets, claiming unlucky souls who hadn't fled in time.

Once Tony had lured away the biggest, meanest monster, the other three barely had a moment to breathe before more Chitauri swarmed them. Blue laser fire struck the cars they used as cover, triggering explosions. The nearby cops, who had been returning fire, now dropped their weapons and fled in panic! This high-intensity battle was clearly beyond ordinary police.

"This can't go on! There are more and more of them! We need a plan!" Black Widow Natasha realized her pistol was out of ammo.

She tossed the gun, twisted her body, and kicked a Chitauri soldier's neck, snapping it. Using the momentum, she flew toward another, wrenching its arm off and using its own laser weapon to blow its head off!

After a hard fight to take down just two enemies, she found even more closing in... Their numbers were endless! Fighting like this was hopeless!

"I'm out of arrows too!" Hawkeye's regular arrows were spent. Close-quarters combat wasn't his forte—he was meant for sniping from a distance, not brawling up close!

And so, his quiver was empty after just a few exchanges. Hand-to-hand was too much of a stretch for him. Sure, he'd knocked out a few enemies, but against their numbers, it meant nothing! This was high-level interstellar war—look at the portal in the sky, with its endless ships and massive mothership! The enemy count was in the tens of thousands at least! Even if they stood still, the four of them would die of exhaustion before killing them all!

"This is bad!"

Captain America was also being pushed back by the growing horde. Finally, he, Black Widow, and Hawkeye stood back-to-back, surrounded by layer upon layer of Chitauri! The muzzles of their bladed guns glowed blue, ready to fire at any moment! Any second now, they'd be riddled like pincushions!

"Magic: Shock!"

Just as despair set in, a little girl's crisp voice rang out.

Then a violent shockwave swept through, slamming the three into a cargo truck. The hundreds of towering Chitauri surrounding them were blasted into the sky...

As seasoned heroes, the Avengers weren't seriously hurt by the impact. Seeing the tide turn, they ignored the pain and scrambled to their feet. Looking up, they saw little Annie had saved them!

Annie hovered in midair, her left hand still gripping one leg of her bear, Tibbers, while her right hand was outstretched, palm open. Clearly, she was the one who had sent the enemies flying.

"Annie!" Captain America started to greet her, but Annie ignored him. Instead, she kept her right hand extended, a fierce blaze of magical energy gathering in her palm.

"Oh! God! Get down!!!" Captain America barely had time to shout to Hawkeye and Natasha before he covered his head with his shield and hit the deck. His battle-hardened instincts screamed that this was the only way to survive! Anyone who stayed standing would die horribly!

"Metamagic: Focus!"

Annie paid no attention to the three on the ground. With a sharp cry, a red magic circle appeared beneath her feet, spinning rapidly as more magical energy converged on her hand. She aimed her open palm at the enemies, who were still flailing in the air, struggling to regain balance as they fell.

"Magic: Incinerate!"

A massive fan of magical flame erupted from her palm, blanketing the sky above the street and roaring toward the hundreds of enemies!

When Captain America and Hawkeye jumped up to help Natasha put out her singed hair, all they saw were white ashes drifting down like snow, coating the ground and abandoned cars in a thin layer—the remains of enemies burned to cinders?

The three turned to stare at Annie in shock, mouths agape. Her move had terrified them. They had always assumed Annie's power had limits—that S.H.I.E.L.D. had only let her join the Avengers because of her powerful pet bear, Tibbers?

But they never imagined Annie herself was the real powerhouse! And so absurdly strong? She had wiped out hundreds of Chitauri soldiers with such ease, without even breathing hard? The three of them had struggled to take down maybe a hundred or two hundred?

"Hey! Guys! Help! Give me a hand!!!" Just then, Iron Man Tony came flying back, haggard from his chase with the giant bug.

A massive bug was right on his tail! He had no choice but to beg for help. He'd tried countless attacks on every part of the bug, but nothing worked! The bug seemed unfazed, still chasing him all over the place.

Before the three below could figure out how to help Tony, Annie, still hovering in midair, didn't even look back. She casually tossed a Shatterfire behind her. The fireball grazed Tony's back and plunged into the roaring bug's faceplate. The magic exploded, melting the bug's head into a flaming skull! The lifeless bug crashed into a building, collapsing the ten-plus-story structure into rubble...

"Oh! Well, you win. I'm convinced!" Tony, who had always been at odds with Annie, finally conceded as he watched the bug that had given him so much trouble get taken out with a flick of her wrist. That bug had seemed ferocious to him, but this little girl was even more savage? Not someone to mess with!

But Annie didn't care about their thoughts. She looked up at the portal atop Stark Tower! There seemed to be a device there, endlessly powering the portal. Maybe that was the key to going home!

Because she sensed a spatial treasure there—a power unlike anything she'd ever seen! That had to be the Space Stone, no doubt! And more importantly, she noticed the portal's fluctuation was very similar to the one that had brought her to Earth! Her arrival here must be connected to this treasure! If she could get it, maybe she could go home? It had to be!

Annie made up her mind: she would get that Space Stone. She declared it hers now! If anyone dared to stop her or take it from her, she would burn them, burn them all, burn everything!!!

Earth was fun, but it wasn't her real home. Don't mess with a girl who misses home! Especially when that girl has immense power. If not for the innocent civilians around, Annie would have already turned the area into a blazing inferno! And once she formed a Flame Inferno, with her Flame Domain's boost, no matter how many bad guys came, they'd all be burned to ash!

Their swarm tactics were useless against her—she was a genuine Demigod Mage! If only Tibbers could fly, she'd just toss him out to block the portal's exit! Useless bear, making her do everything herself... Hmph! For now, she'd just have to take out the nearby bad guys.

Lost in thought, Annie began accelerating toward the top of Stark Tower. Layers of burning flame enveloped her, wrapping her in a cocoon of fire. Countless fireballs materialized and spiraled around her, until she was no longer visible... From a distance, the Avengers could only see what looked like a massive fire dragon charging at the tower's peak. Any Chitauri flyer that dared attack or approach was caught and destroyed by the orbiting fireballs...