The Completely Out-of-Control War

Fury stayed in the concealed command center, watching the sun slowly rise.

He had not slept for many days.

Deliberately luring the alien army to Earth was without a doubt the most dangerous decision he had ever made. If it failed, he might become a sinner condemned for all eternity.

But compared to those already-corrupt politicians, he was more willing to trust the heroes before him. If they truly failed, it would merely mean bringing everything forward a little.

"Director." Coulson stood behind him. "Everything is ready."

"Mm." Fury acknowledged him, then asked, "What about the Avengers?"

"They're ready too. Tony has taken control of all the automated weapons, while Natasha and Loki will protect the portal. If anything goes wrong, we can shut down the portal at any time," Coulson reported.

This was their greatest source of confidence. If they discovered that they could not stand against the enemy, they only needed to close the portal, and everything would come to an end.

"Then let's begin," Fury said.

Then he waited quietly.

"Are you ready?" Steve looked toward where Black Widow stood. "Activate the Tesseract. Everyone, the rest is up to us."

"Just give the order."

"That's right. We'll definitely win."

"I'm fully prepared to lose my temper at any moment. Just stay away from me."

The superheroes had all taken their positions. They truly were fully prepared.

The Chitauri were not particularly powerful in the universe. According to the images Loki had brought back, they could completely defeat them.

And so—

Natasha activated the Tesseract.

A tremendous surge of energy stirred up a powerful halo of light. A beam shot straight into the sky, opening a massive passage high above the ground. The dark void of space on the other side could be seen clearly.

Everyone fell silent.