Zzzt zzzt—
Energy blasts crisscrossed the sky, firing at their targets. Jason's heart almost stopped when he saw flashes of light in the sky ahead. Those Chitauri ships heading toward the expo must be carrying the royal family trying to escape. And now, the Chitauri were hunting them down.
'That stupid kid, this time you've really screwed us!' Jason slammed the gas pedal, ran a red light, and sped toward his destination.
Meanwhile, the concert audience had no idea a war was raging in New York. They were completely unaware of the danger heading their way. Right now, they were screaming and cheering for Elsa, mesmerized by her performance. The ice-and-snow visuals onstage were as stunning as a Hollywood blockbuster—absolutely incredible.
"Perfect," Ben cheered, still clueless about the disaster he'd caused. Like everyone else, he was waving his arms and fixated on Elsa's every move on the big screen. It had already been over an hour, and if it were any other singer, they'd be drenched in sweat and gasping for air by now. But Elsa looked just as flawless as she did when the concert started. That's what made her perfect—an idol who stayed elegant no matter the place, unchanged for a hundred or even a thousand years. No wonder people worshiped gods.
Elsa might not be a god, but her singing was divine. In myths too, many goddesses had voices like heaven. Elsa was definitely going global. Her voice reached deep into the soul.
Liu A'dou smiled to himself, thinking he'd made a great choice in picking these songs—they suited Elsa's youthful voice perfectly. Even the stage crew had paused their tasks to enjoy the music. Their minds and bodies felt refreshed just listening.
"She's an angel," Pepper murmured. While her man was out risking his life in New York, she was having a surprisingly relaxing time here.
In the sky above, the Elves of Álfheim dropped their disguises, revealing their elegant features. They were piloting a stolen ship and being chased by Chitauri fighters.
"Princess, keep your head down!" The royal guards were firing back at their attackers while trying to shield the princess. Only four of the six guards were still alive. They all knew they might not make it, but their mission was clear—get the princess to safety.
Boom!
Another ship was blasted out of the sky. Two more guards died. Only one ship was left, but the enemy still had three. One of the guards told the princess to crouch down and fired back from the transport bed. "Where are our reinforcements?"
"They'll be here soon—ah!" The pilot was hit by a stray shot and fell out of the ship.
"Damn it!" The guard captain rushed to the controls. "Princess, no matter what happens, don't lift your head!"
Jason's eyes welled up with tears as he watched more of his people die. These were his comrades, his kin. 'Faster, I need to go faster!'
Ahead, strange buildings came into view. Stark's huge logo gleamed under the sunlight—this was the Stark Expo. Elsa's beautiful voice echoed from the stage, carried far and wide.
It was like nature itself was calling out to her. Though the captain had warned her again and again not to lift her head, the princess couldn't resist. Drawn by the music, she peeked out from the transport bed and looked down at the stunning scene below. The war in New York hadn't touched this place.
So beautiful. The princess felt like dancing to the melody, as if she were back in the forest, carefree and happy.
"Look out!" The guard captain's shout snapped her out of it. Bullets came flying—but she didn't even see them.
Everything turned red. The captain had jumped in front of her, using his own body to block the bullets and protect his princess. He fulfilled his sacred duty with his life. "Princess, run…"
His chest torn open, the captain tumbled from the ship. The princess sat helplessly in the back, watching the unmanned ship spiral downward.
It was her fault. She had disobeyed orders and caused the captain's death.
But regret couldn't change anything now. Wiping her tears, the princess reminded herself why she'd come to Earth—to save her home. She couldn't die here. Not yet. She had to avenge the guards who'd died for her.
She reached for a Chitauri rifle beside her, lifted it, aimed, and fired. The recoil sent her flying off the front edge of the ship. The shot missed completely, of course.
She'd failed again. As she fell through the blue sky, all she felt was guilt and frustration.
"Princess!" Jason saw a small figure falling in the distance. With his Elven eyesight, he instantly recognized her—it was the royal princess.
If she died in this fall, he'd have no choice but to end his own life. The royal family had entrusted her safety to him. And now Ben had ruined everything.
"?" Liu A'dou's microcosmos suddenly shuddered. He looked up and saw a strange, unmanned, out-of-control flying vehicle heading straight for the concert venue. It looked like a tricycle without wheels wobbling its way over. If it crashed into the crowd, it would definitely kill people.
But what really caught Liu A'dou's attention was that the ship looked like a Chitauri transport. Could this really be the alien invasion Professor X predicted? Was the scene from those American alien-fighting movies actually happening right now?!
This was bad. "Pepper, tell Elsa to create an ice dome! Trap all the audience inside it!"
"Was that part of the show?"
"Just do it!" Liu A'dou took off running.
Pepper didn't hesitate. She quickly passed the message to Elsa. Elsa didn't hesitate either. She raised her hands above her head and crossed them. A crystal-clear blue dome of ice formed overhead. It was amazing. The audience didn't understand what was happening, but it looked so cool they just assumed it was part of the show.
Thud.
Something crashed into the dome, but everyone thought it was just some dumb bird hitting it. Only Spider-Man sensed something wasn't right. He made up an excuse to go to the bathroom and slipped out.
What the heck was going on? Outside the dome, Spider-Man used his enhanced vision and spotted aliens approaching in the sky. "Damn, I really hope this isn't one of those surprise concert stunts." But clearly, it wasn't. "S.H.I.E.L.D., S.H.I.E.L.D., what's going on?" No answer. Then he spotted someone falling from high above. No time to waste—he ducked into a corner, pulled off his clothes, put on his mask, and sprang into action.
Just then, Liu A'dou stepped out and saw Spider-Man swinging away. 'Perfect. Now I don't need to rush.' But then he thought about the alien invasion hitting New York and felt bad for his wife. Ada was in charge of cleanup, and if the city turned into chaos, she'd be buried in work. If Ada ever felt it was too much, he'd tell her to change jobs. Being a civil servant wasn't worth dying over, especially for that kind of salary.
Liu A'dou was still watching the show when suddenly a car came speeding toward him like it wasn't going to stop. Actually, it really wasn't stopping. As it got closer, he saw the driver wasn't even looking ahead—he was staring at the sky. Dangerous driving like this needed to be handled. Liu A'dou planted his feet and threw a punch.
Boom!
Jason felt his whole body lurch forward and slammed headfirst into the airbag. His head was spinning. He knew he'd hit something. He also knew he'd been going way too fast and hadn't been paying attention.
He climbed out of the car, holding his forehead. He didn't even check what he'd hit. He just kept looking at the sky.
Liu A'dou frowned. 'This driver's life energy feels weird. Not human. But judging from his panicked face, he's probably not an invader.' So what was he looking at?
Liu A'dou followed his gaze and saw Spider-Man land with a delicate young girl in his arms. 'No way a Chitauri would look that good.'
Spider-Man also noticed something was off about the girl he just saved. Pointy ears. Pale, flawless skin. Green hair. Yeah, she definitely wasn't human. But the moment he rescued her, those ugly aliens started attacking from behind. That sealed it—the girl was a good guy, and the shooters were the bad guys.
In midair, Spider-Man spun and fired off webs, sealing up the Chitauri's eyes and mouths so they couldn't breathe or fly. Liu A'dou silently cheered. The way Spider-Man landed those pinpoint web shots with no anchor points was insane.
"Princess!"
Huh? Liu A'dou heard that. The driver had called the girl 'Princess.'
Could it really be? The legend of a beautiful planet invaded by the ugly Chitauri… The princess, narrowly escaping death, fled to Earth and made contact with her people in hiding. Using this invasion as cover, she disguised herself and came to Earth to find her kin.
In a flash, Liu A'dou mentally pieced together the whole story—and it actually made a lot of sense.