Tonight was destined to be sleepless. New York lay in ruins, the air thick with smoke and dust. Nearby skyscrapers bore countless scars of devastation, while entire neighborhoods bordering Brooklyn looked as though they had endured a brutal artillery war, reduced completely to rubble.
When dawn broke and the night shrouding New York receded, people poured into the streets. The homes that had once held their happiest memories had now become nothing but shattered walls and broken ruins.
The terrifying battle that had shaken New York finally came to an end. In the aftermath, the government promptly dispatched large rescue teams, while organizations from every sector of society called for donations to help citizens whose property and personal safety had suffered harm. Many wealthy elites joined in, and even the medical conglomerates that usually acted like vampires were, under the pressure of public opinion, willing to treat the injured for free. Overnight, the country seemed to have returned to wartime, with everyone united and closely bound together.
Of course, that was merely the surface ordinary people saw. Those powerful figures and wealthy people were no kindhearted philanthropists. The compassion they handed out now could be reclaimed later by other means.
Numerous insurance companies became the second-hardest-hit group in this incident. The battle's aftermath covered an enormous area: Iron Man's carpet bombing, the Hulk's rampage, and the Sentry's demolition show destroyed countless buildings. Wrecked cars and collapsed shops were everywhere. Faced with massive compensation claims, insurance companies unable to pay could only announce bankruptcy in despair.
Another point of criticism was that the Superheroes who had once claimed they could protect the public and save the world had failed to perform as expected in this battle. Iron Man, who had boasted that he alone could defend New York, was driven back