Chapter 32: Flame! It's my favorite toy!

Hawkeye, Black Widow, Captain America, and Tony Stark, Iron Man, arrived on the scene immediately, only to find themselves already locked in a desperate struggle. Compared to the endless tide of Chitauri pouring out of the portal, the four of them were far too few—a mere drop in the bucket! Against the Chitauri's human wave tactics, they could only manage to create a few ripples in the ocean of enemies.

"Hey! Tony, I'm leaving that big guy to you!"

Captain America hurled his shield. After knocking Chitauri off several flying vehicles, the shield spun through the air and returned to his hand. A shield that completely defied aerodynamic principles was being wielded like a boomerang by him; he truly lived up to his reputation as a veteran defensive fighter with maxed-out talents!

At that moment, the portal atop Stark Tower expanded further. Not only did countless Chitauri flyers continue to swarm out, but a massive spacecraft also emerged from within. No! Actually, it wasn't quite a spacecraft; perhaps it could be described as a colossal super-insect capable of flight without wings? After realizing he couldn't handle such a creature on his own, Captain America decisively called out to Iron Man via comms for assistance; they were currently operating on an open channel.

"Whoa! Cap, you really know how to pick my opponents. Jarvis, can you analyze its weaknesses?" Iron Man attempted to deal with the giant insect using lasers and shoulder-mounted micro-missiles, but he found that they were completely ineffective against its thick armor.

Against such an armored behemoth, with his weapons failing, Tony had no better options. After several more ineffective attacks, he had no choice but to use himself as bait, circling the monster while trying to urge Jarvis to complete an analysis.

"I'm sorry, sir. Insufficient data. I cannot find its weaknesses." Although Jarvis was powerful, asking it to perform a weakness analysis on a species it had never encountered before was asking too much; it was, after all, just an intelligent program!

"I suggest you lower your altitude and lure it into the streets. I've noticed its turning performance seems quite inflexible."

Perhaps it was Tony's previous attacks that enraged the giant flying insect, or perhaps it was because Iron Man was currently the only hostile target capable of flying in the sky, making him too conspicuous. The insect didn't need Tony to lure it anymore; it roared and charged directly at him.

"You're right, Jarvis. I'd better lead it away first." Seeing the ferocious insect approaching, Tony felt a hint of trepidation. After a moment's thought, he decided it was best to avoid its brunt for now.

Tony banked sharply and dove downward! After shouting a quick word to Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye on the channel, he frantically began circling the skyscrapers! Behind him, the flying crawler continued its relentless pursuit! The insect spiraled through the air, smashing into numerous buildings. Debris, steel, and concrete rained down onto the streets, claiming the lives of many unlucky souls who hadn't escaped in time.

Seeing that Tony had finally lured the most ferocious and largest monster away, the other three hadn't even had time to breathe a sigh of relief before more Chitauri swarmed toward them. Blue laser fire struck the cars they were using for cover, triggering a series of explosions. The police officers beside them no longer dared to return fire, instead fleeing in all directions! This level of high-intensity combat was clearly beyond the capabilities of ordinary police officers.

"We can't go on like this! Their numbers are growing! We have to find a way!" Black Widow, Natasha, realized her pistol was completely out of ammunition!

She had no choice but to discard the gun, twist her hips, and lunge forward, kicking the neck of a Chitauri soldier attacking from the side. Then, using the momentum, she leaped toward another direction, forcefully snapping the arm of another Chitauri before using its own laser weapon to blow its head apart!

After exerting immense effort to barely deal with two enemies, she found even more closing in on her... They were simply too many, as if they were infinite! If the fight continued like this, they wouldn't stand a chance!

"I'm out of arrows too!" Hawkeye's standard arrows were also spent. This kind of close-quarters, high-intensity combat was clearly not his specialty; he was meant to snipe from a distance, not engage in melee combat like this!

Indeed, before he could even make much of an impact, his quiver was empty! Close combat was too much for him. Although he had managed to knock out several enemies with great effort, it was utterly meaningless compared to the sheer number of foes! This was a high-level interstellar war; looking at the endless warships and massive motherships emerging from the portal in the sky, the enemy's numbers were at least in the tens of thousands! Even if the enemy just stood still, the four of them would die of exhaustion before they could finish them off!

"This is bad!"

Captain America was also being pushed back step by step by the increasing number of enemies. Finally, he, Black Widow, and Hawkeye were forced to stand back-to-back, watching as layer upon layer of Chitauri surrounded them! The muzzles of their weapons, glowing with blue light, were ready to fire at any moment! Perhaps in the next instant, they would be riddled with holes like a hornet's nest?

"Magic: Shockwave!"

Just as the three were falling into despair, a young girl's clear voice rang out.

Then, they felt a violent shockwave sweep through. The three were slammed hard into the back of a truck, while the hundreds of tall Chitauri surrounding them were all blasted high into the air.

As powerful members of the Avengers, such an impact wouldn't truly injure them. Seeing a turn in the tide, they ignored their pain and quickly stood up to look. It was little Annie who had saved them!

At this moment, Annie was hovering in mid-air, her left hand still clutching the leg of her teddy bear, Tibbles, while her right hand was extended forward with a small, pale palm. Clearly, the move that had blasted the enemies away was her doing.

"Annie!" Captain America was about to greet her to express his gratitude, but to his surprise, Annie ignored him. She continued to hold her right hand out, and intense fiery energy began to coalesce in her palm.

"Oh! My God! Get down!!!" Captain America only had time to warn Hawkeye and Natasha before using his shield to protect his head and pressing himself flat against the ground. His battle-hardened intuition told him that this was the only way to survive! Anyone who dared to stand up would surely die a gruesome death!

"Super Magic Technique: Concentration!"

Ignoring the three on the ground, Annie let out a soft cry. A red magic circle appeared beneath her feet, spinning at high speed. More and more magical energy gathered in her hand. Looking at the enemies struggling and losing their balance as they fell from the sky, Annie aimed her outstretched right hand at them.

"Magic: Incineration!"

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

When Captain America and Hawkeye jumped up to help Natasha extinguish her ignited hair, what they saw was a sky full of white ash. It drifted down like snow, covering the ground and the surfaces of abandoned vehicles in a thin layer. Was that the residual ash of the enemies being burned to nothingness?

The three turned simultaneously to look at Annie in shock, their mouths agape, speechless. Annie's move had terrified them. Previously, they had assumed that no matter how strong Annie was, her strength had its limits, and that the reason SHIELD had allowed her to join the Avengers was likely due to her powerful pet, Tibbles.

But how could they have known that the true powerhouse was Annie herself? And it seemed her strength was absurdly disproportionate! Hundreds, perhaps even thousands of Chitauri soldiers, had been dealt with so easily? Without even breaking a sweat? How many had the three of them managed to kill with such agonizing effort? A hundred? Two hundred?

"Hey! Guys! Help! Someone help me!!!" Just then, Tony Stark, looking disheveled from being chased by the flying insect, came flying back.

A massive flying insect was right on his heels! He had no choice but to scream for help. He had tried countless attacks, hitting various parts of the insect, but it was all in vain! The insect seemed completely unfazed, continuing to chase him in a chaotic frenzy.

Before the three below could think of a way to help Tony, Annie, still floating in mid-air, didn't even look at the situation behind her. She casually tossed a "Shattering Fire" toward her back. The fireball grazed Tony's back and dove straight into the roaring insect's faceplate. When the magic exploded, the intense energy melted the insect's head into a flaming skull! Subsequently, the lifeless insect crashed into a building, turning the ten-story structure into a pile of ruins.

"Oh! Okay, fine, you win! I surrender!" Tony Stark, who was always at odds with Annie, couldn't help but concede after seeing the giant crawler he had struggled so much with being dealt with so casually by her. To him, that insect was terrifying, but he hadn't expected this little girl to be even more ferocious. She was someone he couldn't afford to provoke!

However, Annie ignored them. She looked up at the portal atop Stark Tower! There seemed to be a device there providing a continuous supply of energy to the portal. Perhaps that was the key to her going home!

Because she could feel a spatial treasure there—a powerful spatial force unlike anything she had ever seen! It had to be the Space Stone; there was no mistake! And most importantly, she discovered that the fluctuations of that portal were very, very similar to the one she had used to arrive on Earth! Her arrival on Earth must be related to this treasure! As long as she obtained it, she might be able to go home! It had to be!

Annie made up her mind: she must obtain that Space Stone. She declared to herself that the object now belonged to her! If anyone dared to stop her or steal her things, she would resolutely burn them—burn them all!!!

Earth was fun, but it wasn't her original home after all. No one should mess with a girl who misses her home! Especially when that girl possessed such immense power. If it weren't for the many innocent citizens here, Annie would have turned the surrounding area into a purgatory of fire long ago! Moreover, once a fire purgatory was formed, with the enhancement of her Flame Domain, no matter how many villains came down, she would have more than enough to burn!

Those villains' human wave tactics were useless against her; she was a genuine demigod mage! If only Tibbles could fly, she could have thrown him out to block the portal's exit! What a useless little bear, making her have to step in personally... Hmph! For now, she could only temporarily eliminate the nearby villains.

Lost in thought, Annie began to accelerate toward the top of Stark Tower. Layers of burning flames began to manifest around her, enveloping her in red fire. Countless fireballs appeared, circling the central figure of Annie. Now, her silhouette was no longer visible. From a distance, the members of the Avengers could only see what looked like a massive fire dragon lunging toward the top of Stark Tower. Any Chitauri flyers that dared to attack or approach her were caught and destroyed one by one by the circling fireballs.

(End of Chapter)