Aftermath

Sokovia had become a wasteland.

The acrid stench of scorched ash mixed with concrete dust, drilling into everyone's nostrils.

The battle was over, but the embers of war still scorched the city. Not a single intact building could be seen on the streets. Twisted rebar jutted from the ruins like the skeletons of enormous beasts.

Overturned cars still belched black smoke, while shattered glass gleamed coldly beneath the setting sun.

Survivors crawled out of basements and subway stations, their expressions numb as they stared hollowly at homes reduced to scrap metal. There were no cries, no wails. The overwhelming grief had robbed them of speech.

They simply walked in silence, rummaging through the rubble, hoping to find something familiar—or a loved one who had gone missing.

The Avengers were scattered throughout the ruins, rescuing people—or rather, trying to make amends.

Steve carried a baby covered in ash out from beneath a crumbling apartment building and turned to hand the child to its mother.

The woman took the baby without thanking him, looking at him only with eyes filled with fear and hatred. A man rushed over, pointed at Steve's face, and roared, "Get out! You monsters! Look what you've done! Get out of our country!"

Steve said nothing. He merely turned away in silence and headed toward the next stretch of rubble.

He knew any explanation would be hollow. He understood that war always came at a cost, but this time, the price had been too great.

Against the setting sun, his back looked like a silent mountain bearing an invisible weight.

In midair, Tony's armor carefully used a tractor beam to lift a bus hanging over the edge of a broken bridge.

He listened to the undisguised curses of the civilians coming through the comm channel, his expression hidden