Hulk didn't stop after the first hit.
The Leviathan's body barely hit the ground before the green giant was already on top of it. He grabbed its head, ripped into its armor, and smashed it like it was made of paper. Metal plates crumpled under his fists. Sparks flew, and alien fluids sprayed out as he tore its head from its body. Then he slammed it into the ground again and again until the street cracked beneath them.
When the creature finally stopped moving, Hulk let out a loud roar that shook the air. He beat his chest once, then looked up at the sky. More Chitauri soldiers were flying overhead. Without hesitation, he jumped, grabbed one of their hovercrafts in midair, and crushed it with his bare hands before moving to the next.
Natasha watched him go. She sighed and lowered her guns. "Well," she said dryly, "that's taken care of."
She turned around, her eyes landing on Liam — the stranger Bruce had brought with him. Cap looked at him too. Both of them were curious now. The fight was still raging, but they wanted to know who this guy was and why Bruce Banner had trusted him enough to bring him along.
Liam noticed their looks right away. He smirked and cracked his knuckles. "Yeah," he said. "I get it. You're wondering what I'm doing here."
Neither of them said anything, but their silence told him everything.
"Alright," Liam said, "guess it's only fair I show you what I can do."
Just then, a Chitauri soldier fell from a damaged hovercraft nearby. It hit the ground with a heavy thud, then stood up again. Its armor hissed and clicked as it aimed its plasma rifle straight at them.
Natasha instantly raised her pistols, but Liam stepped forward and said, "Hold up. Let me show you something."
Before either of them could react, Liam's skin started to change. A faint cracking sound filled the air as his arms hardened. Dark, jagged plates spread across his skin, forming tough armor. The ground beneath his feet cracked as he stepped forward, the weight of his hardened body pressing down on the road.
The Chitauri screeched and fired. Blue plasma bolts shot through the air toward him.
Liam didn't move. The first blast hit his chest and fizzled out, leaving a scorch mark but doing no damage. The alien fired again and again, but each blast bounced off harmlessly.
In one step, he closed the distance. He moved fast — too fast for a normal person. His arm swung forward, fist hardened and glowing faintly red.
CRACK!
The punch hit the alien square in the chest. The force of the blow sent it flying backward. It slammed into a nearby car so hard the metal dented inward and the force pushed it back. The alien's weapon fell from its hand as its armor cracked and sparked.
Liam stood straight, flexing his fingers as his hardened skin faded back to normal. "And that," he said, grinning at them, "is why I don't need rescuing."
Natasha lowered her pistols a little, still watching him carefully. "Noted," she said.
Cap nodded once, clearly impressed. "Good punch."
Liam chuckled. "Thanks, Cap. Been working on it."
Above them, another explosion lit up the sky. Tony's voice came through the comms, loud and sharp. "Alright, team — playtime's over. We've got dozens more incoming."
Liam looked up. More Chitauri ships poured through the glowing blue portal, swarming over the burning city.
Cap didn't waste a second. The sound of more explosions rumbled through the city, and his voice snapped into command mode immediately.
"Alright, listen up," he said, raising his shield as he looked between them. "Clint — keep to the rooftops and provide cover fire. Natasha, you stay on the ground with me. We'll push through the main street and clear as many as we can until Stark gives the next update. Move fast, stay alert, and don't get separated."
Natasha gave a sharp nod. "Got it."
Cap then glanced at him, his expression firm but not unfriendly. "What's your name, soldier?"
"Liam," he said. "Liam Walker."
Cap gave a quick nod. "Captain Steve Rogers." He offered a brief, almost old-fashioned handshake before turning to Natasha. "Romanoff, give him a comm."
Natasha moved over, unclipping a small black earpiece from her belt. "Here," she said, handing it to him. "Left ear. It'll sync automatically once it's on."
Liam slid it in place. A faint click followed, and static filled his ear before Tony's voice came through, fast and sarcastic as ever. "Cap, I see movement west of your position. And who's the new guy? You recruiting civilians mid-invasion now?"
Liam tapped the side of the comm with a grin. "Civilians? Nah. Think of me as… part-time alien pest control."
There was a short pause before Tony fired back without missing a beat. "Oh, great. Another wiseass. Just what we needed — because we were definitely running low on those."
Liam retorted, "Really? I figured with you around, the quota was already overflowing."
For a second, the line went silent — then Tony muttered, "Alright, Cap, I officially don't like him."
Liam frowned at the voice coming through the comms. "Who's the guy, Cap?" he asked, acting curious.
Cap answered right away. "That's Tony Stark. Iron Man."
Liam blinked, then snorted. "Oh, that guy. Figures. Sounds like a rich asshole who thinks sarcasm counts as strategy."
Tony didn't miss a beat. "Careful, rookie — I've got more money than patience, and I'm running low on the second one."
Liam spoke. "Money and patience, huh? Shame you ran out of humility first."
Before Tony could respond — and before Cap could jump in — a deep BOOM shook the ground. The blast sent dust and bits of debris raining down
Cap's voice came through next, firm and no-nonsense. "You can bond later. Right now, focus — we've got hostiles closing in."
Liam hardened his arms, the jagged armor forming once more, and followed close behind. The time for bickering was over — the real fight had begun.
He ran beside Cap, the ground trembling under their boots as plasma bolts and alien fire lit up the street. The Chitauri were swarming in from every direction — hovercrafts diving low, foot soldiers crawling over overturned cars, energy blasts ripping through the air.
Cap raised his shield and deflected a plasma bolt that was about to hit Liam. "On your left!" he shouted.
Meanwhile Liam, quickly activated the unbreakable form of his quirk, ready to pounce on nearby aliens.
A Chitauri charged him head-on, firing. The blasts hit him square in the chest — but they didn't even slow him down. They fizzled out harmlessly, leaving only scorch marks that quickly vanished as his Wolverine-like regeneration kicked in. The charred spots on his hardened armor healed instantly, the jagged skin fading back to normal.
Liam grinned. "Cute toy."
He lunged forward, punching the alien so hard it launched through the windshield of a car and out the other side. The vehicle flipped over from the force, crashing down on top of two more Chitauri behind it.
Another alien fired from the roof of a bus. Liam took a chunk of concrete from the road and hurled it with his full strength. The slab hit the alien like a cannonball, sending it flying off the bus in a cloud of sparks.
Three more surrounded him, hissing and firing plasma rifles at point-blank range. Liam didn't even dodge. He tanked every shot, the blasts bouncing off harmlessly — and then he spun, his hardened fist smashing through the first alien's helmet, kicking the second in the chest hard enough to snap its armor, and headbutting the third into the ground.
Cap, meanwhile, deflected a barrage of plasma bolts and threw his shield. It ricocheted off a car door, struck two Chitauri, and curved back in different direction— only for Liam to leap up and snatch it midair.
He hurled the shield back toward Cap, and the two fell into perfect rhythm — like they'd trained together for years. Cap slammed the shield into one Chitauri's head and threw it again; Liam caught the rebound with a metallic clang, spun, and used the momentum to crush another alien's ribs.
"Nice shield," Liam shouted back, hurling it with perfect aim. It struck two aliens in a clean line before Cap caught it again without breaking stride.
They fought back-to-back — Cap deflecting incoming fire, Liam smashing through Chitauri soldiers like wreckage. Liam's unbreakable form made him the perfect frontline tank, and his regeneration kept him moving no matter how many plasma burns he took.
At one point, a Chitauri blade sliced into his shoulder — but before Cap could even react, Liam yanked it out and grinned as the wound closed in seconds. "Perks of the job," he muttered, driving his elbow into the alien's throat.
Cap stole a quick glance mid-fight, blocking another bolt with his shield. The kid's movements were sharp, efficient — too clean for a rookie. He fought like someone who'd been trained — military maybe, or special ops. Each move had purpose, no wasted motion, no hesitation.
"Walker!" Cap called out.
"Yeah?" Liam ducked under a swing and uppercut the alien into the air.
"You ever train with SHIELD?"
Liam chuckled, catching another plasma blast on his forearm. "Not really."
"Well," Cap said between strikes, "you fight like one of us."
Liam cracked his neck as another wave approached. "Guess that makes me an honorary Avenger then, huh?"
Cap smirked. "Earn it first."
"On it."
Liam charged forward, slamming into another Chitauri wave. His hardened form took every blast they threw, and when one lucky shot grazed his side, the wound sealed up almost instantly. He tore through them like a living wrecking ball, fighting side by side with Captain America — two completely different men moving with the same purpose.
Above them, Iron Man's voice broke through the comms again. "Alright, ground team — you're making a mess down there, but it's working. Keep it up. More company inbound!"
Cap raised his shield, eyes narrowing. "We'll handle it."
Liam cracked his knuckles, grinning as more ships descended. "Good. I was just getting warmed up."
And with that, they charged again — soldier and powerhouse — straight into the next wave of aliens as the Battle of New York raged on.