Osborn Tower.
Boom!
As a swarm of Green Goblins swooped in on their Gliders, flames erupted across the building's exterior. Chunks of stone and shattered masonry plummeted through the scorching blast waves.
"No, it's the Green Goblins!"
"So many demons! Run!"
Pedestrians nearby fled in panic, leaving the burning tower flickering alone amid the neon lights.
"Beep, beep!"
Fire engines and police cars soon raced to the scene.
But with the Green Goblins blocking their way, the police were easily suppressed, and the firefighters couldn't get into position to put out the blaze.
"Oh, shit! Those damn Green Goblins! Are they trying to destroy this city?"
George Stacy took cover behind a car door, occasionally popping up to fire at the Green Goblins overhead.
Behind him, the other officers huddled behind their cars, trembling.
"George, we need to retreat. Our weapons can't even hit those demons," his subordinate David urged, sweat beading on his forehead.
George surveyed the battered officers and gritted his teeth. "If those guys don't show up soon, we'll have to pull back."
Against a single demon, they might have been able to hold their own.
But against a whole pack of armored, bulletproof demons, the police were nothing more than ants slightly stronger than Common.
Their firearms posed no threat to the demons at all.
And requisitioning heavy weapons such as rocket launchers took at least three days.
That was why they had always been at a disadvantage against these terrifying criminals.
Now, the appearance of an entire pack of demons had plunged the officers into despair.
Unless the military intervened, there was no way to drive these creatures away.
No, there was another department besides the military that could stop them.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Just then, bright lights pierced the night sky as several helicopters rapidly approached.
At the sight, George finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"They're here. Fall back."
"Yes, sir."
The officers retreated more than a hundred meters.
As they watched, a strange figure seemed to appear aboard one of the helicopters.
He was a tall man in an old-fashioned, tight-fitting uniform and a half mask. Holding a red-and-blue shield, he faced the fierce winds high above the ground and stared straight at the Green Goblins surrounding the building.
"One, two, three, four... eighteen Green Goblins. Looks like this really will take all day."
Steve let out a breath, silently psyching himself up for his first official appearance in seventy years.
"Captain, you're clear to engage," Nick Fury instructed.
Steve nodded. "Understood."
Then, without any landing equipment, he leaped out of the helicopter.
"Oh my God! Someone jumped!"
David cried out, and George and the others stared wide-eyed.
Steve plunged in free fall, but while still in midair, he used the air resistance against his shield to steer his descent. In the blink of an eye, he collided with a passing Green Goblin.
Boom!
Sparks showered through the sky as his shield slammed into the armor. The Green Goblin staggered in midair, and Steve immediately seized the opening to climb onto the Glider.
"You adorable little green bastards, hurry up and go meet your Mephisto!"
Even as Steve ran his foul mouth, he knocked the Green Goblin out of the sky with a heavy punch.
Taking the Green Goblin's place on the Glider, he swayed precariously as it sped through the air.
"Oh my God, cotton-picker, I don't know how to fly this thing!" he cried.
Nick Fury's face darkened. "Yes, you do."
"No, I don't."
"Watch your back. They're surrounding you."
Fierce winds howled as three Green Goblins spotted Steve's intrusion and immediately swooped in on their Gliders to surround him.
Steve's expression changed.
"Oh, fuck, nigga! These bastards are way harder to deal with than the flightless Red Skull."
Cursing loudly, he jumped off the Glider and forcibly twisted his body, using that momentum to hurl his shield with all his strength.
Clang, clang, clang!
In the light of the burning tower, the shield became a cold streak, ricocheting twice between the three Green Goblins before Steve caught it again.
The three Green Goblins he had struck tumbled off their Gliders. Now unmanned, the machines crashed into the tower, triggering another explosion.
Boom!
Caught in the explosion's blast wave, Steve slammed through the glass of a nearby building and rolled several times before coming to a stop.
Half kneeling on the floor, he looked up at the Green Goblins charging toward him again, his eyes turning grave.
"Beep!"
The next moment, several Pumpkin Bombs rolled to a stop in front of him. Steve's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly raised his shield.
Boom!
Another violent explosion blasted Steve and his shield out of the building amid the flames. He finally crashed to the ground after snapping a streetlight pole.
"Fuck you... my back..."
Beside a manhole cover, Steve braced one hand against the ground and reached for his back with the other, baring his teeth as he cursed.
"Steve, watch your language."
Aboard the helicopter, Natasha kept firing a machine gun at the Green Goblins around the tower, while still remembering to remind Steve to mind his manners.
Steve forced himself upright and panted heavily.
"I can swear all day."
As he spoke, he threw his shield again, driving back the first Green Goblin to approach.
Meanwhile, the Green Goblins he had knocked down earlier had recovered. Blades sprang from their arm armor as they charged at Steve.
The pressure on Steve doubled.
The Green Goblins held an overwhelming numerical advantage, and even after falling from the sky, they retained most of their fighting strength.
Steve suspected their physical capabilities weren't much worse than his own.
Combined with their high-tech armor, that made them a real headache.
He complained as he fought off the charging Green Goblins.
"Cotton-picker, didn't you say these guys were just Common in armor? What the hell is going on now? Falling doesn't even kill them!"
In the command room, Nick Fury's brow was already deeply furrowed.
"I'm confused too. We examined that Green Goblin's body, and he was clearly just Common. But now, they seem to have been enhanced."
"Fuck, nigga! The Strategic Scientific Reserve really sucks these days!"
"Steve, hang in there. Coulson is already on his way."
"Don't you have any stronger weapons?"
"We do. They're already on the way."
"Shit, fuck you! You're treating me like the Red Skull-"
Steve let out one final curse before the growing swarm of Green Goblins swallowed him up on the battlefield.
"Steve? Captain? How are you holding up? Answer me..."
When Nick Fury received no reply from Steve, he finally began to panic.
He had overestimated the Captain's strength.
How was he supposed to clean up this mess now?
"Nick, I've got some good news. Spider-Man's here," Natasha suddenly said over the comms.
At those words, Nick Fury sprang to his feet in excitement.
"He's finally here."
"The great Demon Hunter has arrived!"
A red-and-blue figure swung through the night sky, holy light already gathering around his fist.
"Bruce, hurry up and use your finishing move!"
Following close behind him, Mary Jane frowned.
She had no idea what Bruce's finishing move was.
Whatever. Any old punch should do.