Early the next morning—7:00 a.m.
Maguire rose slowly. Aunt May was still lost in sweet dreams.
He dressed, moved on tiptoe, and slipped out of Holland's house.
Moments after he left, Aunt May on the bed blinked open her sleepy eyes. "What a bad boy…"
Meanwhile, at a hidden S.H.I.E.L.D. base, a vast hangar held three colossal constructs—their in-development helicarriers.
Nick Fury's figure approached from the distance. The agent in charge of the Helicarrier Program, Agent Hill, hurried up to meet him.
Seeing Fury's grim face, Hill asked, "What happened, Director Fury?"
Fury glanced around and said nothing until they were inside an office.
His voice was low and heavy. "War has begun."
"What exactly happened?" Hill pressed.
Fury quickly explained that the Tesseract had been stolen by a sudden intruder—Loki—and that Hawkeye had been mind-controlled.
Hill's expression hardened.
"Given his attire, he's likely from Asgard," Fury said. "So this may be an Asgard-sanctioned operation. We have to be ready to go to war with Asgard. Accelerate construction on the three helicarriers."
Fury departed.
An hour later, at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, the director's office was packed: Tony Stark, General Ross, Dr. Banner, and Black Widow Natasha sat waiting, wearing various shades of confusion.
The door opened. A man in a blue-and-white uniform walked in. Everyone stared, stunned—a single name flashed through their minds: Captain America.
The legend who once saved the United States was known to nearly all. Seeing him appear so suddenly left them incredulous.
Fury entered behind him. "I don't need to introduce the Captain, do I?"
Natasha's eyes showed frank respect. Tony, however, drawled, "You dragged us all here for what, Fury? If it's nothing, I'm leaving."
Steve Rogers frowned but held his tongue.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has been developing a project that could provide a vast new energy source and push science forward," Fury said. "Yesterday, it was stolen by an unexpected visitor."
The room stiffened.
"Judging from his getup," Fury went on, "he's almost certainly from Asgard. Which means war between humanity and Asgard is on the table."
The seriousness sank in.
"If it really comes to a large-scale fight with Asgard," Tony said, "we should consider whether to inform the Spider Alliance."
Fury had already filled Steve in on the Avengers present, but not on the Spider Alliance. Steve spoke up: "If it's going to be a full-scale war, we have to unite every force we can. Lately the Spider Alliance has been… unusual. Spider-Man hasn't appeared publicly in a long time, and they've established their own tower and headquarters. Oscorp Industries and the Fisk Group are both subsidiaries of the Spider Alliance. Their strength is already frightening. Furthermore, not long ago, their core members all went to Asgard—it's very likely they've established contact there. So it's entirely possible the Spider Alliance is already allied with Asgard."
Tony cut in. Steve then asked, puzzled, "Director Fury—who is this Hellblood Demon?"
Fury sighed. "To be precise, I don't think he's human at all. He feels like a true spirit."
On the big screen, footage began to play: at Oscorp Tower, Maguire single-handedly slaughtering hundreds in a lizardman army; a 4.1-second execution of a giant lizard and a giant scorpion; on the streets of New York, one blow felling the Abomination; in outer space, elementalizing—taking on his God of Thunder form, descending like a spirit to shatter heaven and earth; in New Mexico, thunder roared as he assumed the Thunder God shape, the sky itself changing color.
Everyone gaped, a single thought flashing through their minds: Can we really win against someone like that?
Steve's brows knit in thought. "He's beyond anything we imagined… but from these clips, he's protecting civilians. His methods are brutal, yes, but—"
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