#98 - The Avengers: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Yang Le used his tail to wrap around Tony and, finding him motionless, knew he had fainted.

This was for the best, saving unnecessary explanations. Yang Le accelerated and passed through the portal, returning to the skies above New York once more.

Diving all the way down, Yang Le came to an abrupt stop just before hitting the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

With a flick of his tail, he tossed the unconscious Tony onto the ground. He was about to leave when he saw a large, green figure charging toward him.

Dodging Hulk's charge with a spin, Yang Le shot two beams of green light from his eyes, straight at Hulk.

The thick-skinned Hulk never bothered to dodge attacks, so Yang Le didn't mind giving this country bumpkin from Earth an eye-opener.

Hulk jumped towards the light, believing nothing could stop his attack. However, this time he miscalculated.

Struck by the light, Hulk crashed straight into the ground with the force of his momentum.

This was another of Ray's abilities besides super-speed flight: neuro-shock rays that could shut down organic nervous systems.

This ray could be considered quite a bug. As long as you were an organic being, it could cause considerable damage to your nervous system, even if you had strong regenerative abilities, you would be stunned.

Lying on the ground, Hulk struggled to stand up, roaring incessantly. Clearly, Yang Le had caused him considerable damage, but Yang Le knew that Hulk would recover soon.

"Roar!"

Hulk roared and slammed his right hand forcefully on the ground, finally managing to stand up. This also woke the unconscious Tony.

"Oh! Cough, cough!"

Tony was startled by Hulk's roar and accidentally choked on his own saliva. He tore off his mask, gulping in the Earth's air.

Hulk stopped. Tony's awakening lessened his desire to attack. Seeing this, Yang Le also stopped, and both of them turned their gaze to Tony.

"Huff... Jar... Jarvis?" Tony gasped for breath.

"I'm here, sir."

"Good to hear you speak."

"Likewise, sir."

"Oh, right, Pepper didn't answer my call. Dock her a year's salary," Tony said weakly, collapsing onto a piece of rubble.

"With all due respect, sir, you have no right to dock Miss Potts' salary."

"Thanks for reminding me," Tony retorted weakly.

"You're welcome, sir."

"So, what's the situation now?" Captain America and the other Avengers, arriving late on the scene, looked at the triangular relationship before them with confusion.

Tony leaned weakly against the rubble, seemingly out of mortal danger. Hulk stood beside him, warily watching Yang Le across from them.

"Glad to see you again, Cap," Tony said, his posture reminiscent of Ge You's signature slouch.

"Are you alright, Tony?" Steve walked unsteadily to Tony's side, looking as if the recent battle had caused him considerable trouble.

"Oh, I'm fine, just craving some Arabian barbecue. I remember there's a good restaurant nearby. How about we go later?"

"Looks like you're okay," Steve said, a relieved smile appearing on his face now that Tony was joking around.

"Captain," Hawkeye reminded him from the side, also watching Yang Le warily.

"We have another guest."

Steve had, of course, noticed Yang Le, but he wanted to check on Tony's condition first, and with his teammates around, he hadn't dealt with Yang Le immediately.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you," Tony said, his tone suddenly cheerful.

"This is a new friend I made in outer space. I don't know his name. He's the one who brought me back to Earth."

"I'm Ray," Yang Le introduced himself, following Tony's lead. If he wanted to hide his true identity, being an alien visitor was indeed a good idea.

"Oh, I didn't expect you to speak English," Tony said, his voice weak, making one worry he might fall asleep.

"I don't speak English, but I have a translator." Yang Le wasn't lying. His English hadn't improved since before. After all, the Omnitrix came with a translation function, so he didn't need to waste time learning.

"Mr. Ray," Steve said with a friendly expression, expressing goodwill to Yang Le. Unfortunately, his handsome face looked somewhat strange due to his injuries.

"We are very grateful to you for saving Tony, but we would like to know your intentions. This may cause you displeasure, but please understand, after all, we have just experienced an invasion from space."

"Understandable," Yang Le landed on the ground.

"I'm happy to deal with someone like you."

"Thank you for your understanding," Steve said, breathing a sigh of relief. If he could, he didn't want any more trouble while he was exhausted.

"I come with good intentions," Yang Le said, hobbling on two legs to Steve's side.

Although Ray was an amphibious life form, his two legs couldn't support him running; even walking was difficult.

"I know the mastermind behind this invasion," Yang Le said, dropping a bombshell that caught everyone's attention.

"Who is it?" Steve asked.

"Aren't you afraid I'm lying to you?" Yang Le asked.

"If it were something on Earth, I probably would be," Steve shrugged.

"But the universe... Today, it seems we know nothing about it. It's no use you lying to us."

"Alright," Yang Le grinned.

"This isn't the place to talk. Are you all done with your business?"

"There's still a little something, but I've sent the most suitable companion," Steve said with a smile.

"I think no brother doesn't want to see his brother. As for a place to talk..."

"I know a good restaurant," Tony said, struggling to raise his right hand.

"Believe me, I really need it right now."

"Director?" Steve reluctantly pressed his hand on the communicator.

"Go, I'll take care of everything." Although Nick Fury's face was black in this universe, his heart wasn't completely black. Tony had just saved New York, and he didn't mind fulfilling a small request.

He found the restaurant Tony mentioned, which was already deserted, with even the ceiling gone. But he still had agents set up a large table there and arranged for S.H.I.E.L.D. chefs to be there, inspecting it inside and out.

Even though he couldn't find a single intact item, he didn't forget to set up S.H.I.E.L.D.'s listening devices there.

"The decor wasn't like this the last time I came," Tony said, having taken off his armor, which was a burden since it was out of power.

He looked at the ruins before him and said,

"Hopefully, their taste hasn't changed because of the renovation."