Spartans Never Die

Speed Limit Enforced by Aircraft

The fresh battlegroup filled the sky as it headed straight for Stark Tower, with no intention of slowing or stopping for any reason. However, a disturbing reading appeared on the ship's sensors, indicating a bizarre electrical storm was spontaneously appearing.

The Empire State Building

Thor, lighting upon the highest spire of the Empire State Building, looked out toward the crashed Covenant flagship and saw a buzz of new activity as the battlegroup swarmed forward. The Crown Prince of Asgard grinned, unable to help but savor the challenge of this new enemy, "At last, I can test the mettle of these new foes."

Seeing the new wave of Covenant air forces forming, Thor again gathered the darkened clouds and harnessed the intrinsic power of the Earth. This attack had wasted an entire wave of Chitauri reinforcements a few minutes prior, and it seemed the Covenant hadn't seen him use it yet. In a mighty shout that even the Covenant pilots could have heard, Thor cried, "COVENANT! KNOW THAT THIS WORLD IS UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THOR ODINSON, GOD OF THUNDER!"

Unleashing his furious attack, Thor sent magical lightning to tear into the Covenant formations. Like lifeblood pumping into oxygen-starved tissue Thor's lightning cleansed the Earth's skies of the cruel new invaders. A streak here chained through a Banshee squadron, tearing it apart; another there broke the shields and obliterated a Seraph flight. The Covenant ships, in amazement, could only hope to weave away from this destructive attack and save themselves. What was an ordered battlegroup of nearly 150 aircraft was cut down to a scattered swarm of less than 60.

Long Night of Solace - Bridge

"Fleetmaster! Some unknown human weapon has channeled lightning into our reinforcements' ranks, decimating them!" A Sangheili bridge officer cried out in shock.

Stunned, Rho 'Barutamee thought in a frenzy, "What is wrong with this planet? Their technology is backward even by human standards, and yet they're capable of firing a weapon such as that? What is going on?!" The Fleetmaster, after carefully observing the viewscreen, then ordered, "Give whatever's left of Banshee squadrons 71 and 72 the coordinates of the tallest human structures on that island. The humans may use them as catalysts for that weapon. Order the Banshees to MOW THEM DOWN!"

Stark Tower

"It's about damn time" Vorn muttered as a Phantom pulled up by Stark Tower. Lowering the doors, the new Phantom's pilot ordered, "Demonslayer, quickly! We must get the Holy Relics back to the Solace!"

Nodding, Vorn helped Targ, scepter in hand, to his feet and directed him toward the Phantom as the Ranger blasted Loki back behind the suite's bar with his concussion rifle. Calling out to his allies, the white-armored Zealot commander shouted, "Finish the blasphemer now! The relics must now return to the Solace, and this may be the only Phantom we get!" Desan then leapt onto the bar, sword in hand, hoping to forever silence the god of mischief, but stopped when he heard a massive disturbance just outside the tower.

Leaping into Tony Stark's suite off a spiraling Phantom, the Incredible Hulk arrived, leaving a crater where he landed. Roaring with rage, the Hulk swiftly seized a Skirmisher and threw it hard enough into Desan that the collision broke both of their overshields and sent them spiraling over the bar. In a panic the other Kig-Yar emptied their Needlers and the Sangheili Rangers fired madly at the muscle-bound berserker, but their plasma bolts, supercombine explosions, and concussion rifle blasts only slowed the beast down.

The Hulk bullrushed the four remaining Rangers, clotheslining two with his massive arms and incapacitating the other two with brutal, downward hammer-fists to their heads. After a few seconds of ground-pounding the reptilian invaders, Hulk's ferocious assault utterly sundered their environment suits, leaving the gamma-monster's fists caked in their thick, purple blood.