Chapter 9: Home Insurance: "Alien Invasion is an Exemption Clause"
The Chitauri came.
The Chitauri left.
Loki, the mastermind behind this alien invasion, and many Chitauri soldiers who remained on Earth and couldn't evacuate, along with a devastated New York City, slinked away.
Good news.
Loki had been captured, and even the Chitauri soldiers left on Earth seemed to short-circuit and became paralyzed on the spot, as if they had lost contact with their main base.
At the moment the spatial wormhole completely closed, the Chitauri soldiers still rampaging over New York City instantly lost power, dropping one after another from the sky like dumplings.
Clearly.
This sudden alien invasion and Earth defense battle ultimately resulted in Earth's victory.
Bad news.
New York City was severely damaged, with the five blocks around Stark Tower being the worst affected.
After all, that was the main battlefield; it was almost completely destroyed.
Other parts of Manhattan suffered less damage, which was relative to the damage in the main battlefield, but compared to other areas of New York City, the damage was still quite severe.
Next were the other boroughs of New York City.
But one place was an exception.
"In Jackson Heights, Queens, one block was almost leveled by the Chitauri."
"What?"
On the Helicarrier, Commander Maria Hill, in her combat uniform, accessed New York City's satellite imagery, and her voice rang out in the earpieces of the original Avengers, who were just celebrating Iron Man's awakening: "It's strange, the entire Queens, only that block in Jackson Heights, suffered a carpet bombing by the Chitauri. According to data streams, those Chitauri rampaging in Queens seemed very angry and then converged there."
The original Avengers, still on the main battlefield, looked at each other, listening to Commander Maria Hill's words in their earpieces.
Finally, Captain America spoke first.
"Why?"
"Unclear, Agent is already on the way."
Maria Hill said so, then changed the subject: "All Chitauri life signals have disappeared. Congratulations, Captain, we won."
At these words.
The original Avengers collectively breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at each other.
Afterward...
Their faces all showed expressions of joy.
That night.
Not only New York City television stations, but almost all television stations nationwide, and even worldwide, were reporting on the Chitauri invasion of Earth.
Undoubtedly.
The original Avengers, who were active on the main battlefield and were the main force in this major battle, were officially exposed.
Captain America, Steve Rogers.
Iron Man, Tony Stark.
Thor, Thor.
Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff.
Hulk, Bruce Banner.
Hawkeye, Clint Barton.
Reputable television stations were almost all reporting the details of this major battle.
And the less reputable television stations were broadcasting gossip and unofficial histories about the various Avengers.
Among them, the most popular was naturally Captain America Steve Rogers, who was confirmed to have returned from the dead, reappearing after many years with no change in his appearance.
After all, Captain America is a symbol of the U.S. in this World, and his popularity was already very high. Now, with his resurrection and return, his popularity has directly exploded.
For example, right now.
Hawk was eating the relief meal distributed by church personnel while watching the unofficial history about Captain America being broadcast on an eighteen-inch old television nearby.
No choice.
His apartment building had become a pile of rubble; not only him, and not only the people in his apartment, strictly speaking, all residents of his block were homeless.
Because their block was cordoned off by a group of men in black suits and black ties half an hour after the major battle.
Some residents wanted to go back to see if they could salvage their assets from the rubble, but they were not allowed.
When asked, the answer was federal martial law, no entry allowed.
However, fortunately, the agency that cordoned off the block, considering they were homeless, found an unused hangar at LaGuardia Airport to serve as their temporary shelter, and also found a nearby church to provide free food to help them through the difficult time.
But...
As Hawk was munching on his bread and listening to Captain America's unofficial history, he heard sobbing beside him.
Hawk came back to his senses and turned to look.
Before his eyes.
A man who looked about thirty-five years old, large and burly, was hugging his arms, burying his entire body between his legs, his crying starting softly but quickly turning into wailing.
A nearby survivor couldn't help but be curious.
"What's wrong with you?"
"My house is gone."
"It's okay."
Thinking something big had happened to the crying man, but hearing this, the survivor comforted him: "We have insurance, no need to worry."
It would have been better not to mention it, but when the crying man heard this, he cried even more sadly.
This left the survivor at a loss.
"What's wrong now? Didn't you buy insurance?"
"No, I did."
"Then..."
"I just called the insurance company," the crying man sobbed, looking at the survivor comforting him: "The insurance company said that alien invasion is an exemption clause and is not covered by their compensation."
The expression on the survivor's face froze.
"What?"
"Exempt?"
"No way."
"Why isn't the insurance company paying?"
"No, I need to make a call quickly."
"..."
The other survivors, listening to the conversation between the survivor and the crying man, immediately couldn't sit still. They all pulled out their phones and called their home insurance companies.
About a minute later, a second crying sound came out.
A third.
A fourth.
In the blink of an eye, the entire hangar was filled with the sounds of crying from those who were about to become homeless.
Hawk, who was almost surrounded by the crying people, also felt a pang of sadness in this atmosphere, thinking about his apartment being gone and the insurance not paying.
But he quickly reacted.
Wait a minute.
His apartment was a welfare apartment provided by the federal government, and it would be taken away next year after he turned eighteen.
This was also why Hawk had been frugal and saved thirty thousand U.S. dollars.
Because after eighteen, he would be kicked out of the welfare apartment by the federal government under the name of 'independence'.
After all, at eighteen, one is considered an adult under New York State law, and naturally would not receive the treatment of an underage orphan.
What?
You don't have money for rent?
Sorry, that's not our business. There are so many homeless people under the New York City overpass and in the sewers; you can try asking them if they mind squeezing in.
So...
I don't even have a house, so what do I care if the insurance doesn't pay?
Hawk came back to his senses, looking at the survivors whose expressions had become somewhat distorted amidst the crying, as if he had thought of something, he quietly got up and walked towards the outside of the hangar.
He was afraid there would be a shootout here later.