What did you guys eat at the victory celebration banquet?

The smog in Manhattan had not yet cleared, and the setting sun painted the shattered skyline like blood.

Steve Rogers stood on a pile of rubble, looking down at his palm.

The magic wand that had been shining with divine light just minutes before had now lost all its warmth and luster.

It turned into a short, gray, stone rod with a rough surface.

The ocean of light within my body has receded.

The feeling of being able to shatter mountains with a single punch vanished without a trace, replaced by the heaviness and exhaustion unique to the mortal body.

"Is the trial card... over?"

Steve ran his thumb along the rough stone texture, feeling not disappointment, but rather a sense of reassuring peace.

He solemnly stuffed the petrified Spark Lens into the inside pocket of his suit, close to his chest.

"See you next time, big guy," he whispered.

"Gurgle..."

An extremely untimely clap of thunder shattered the solemnity.

Not far away, Tony Stark had just shrunk the symbiote armor back into its core form.

He clutched his stomach, his face filled with resentment.

"Can anyone tell me why saving the world is more tiring than running three marathons?"

Tony plopped down on a half-broken stone pillar. "I'm so hungry right now I could eat a horse, without even spitting out its horseshoes."

He raised his still-feeling finger and pointed to a rickety neon sign in the ruins at the street corner.

It said "Turkish kebab" on it, but the word "meat" was drooping and still sizzling with electricity.

"I glanced at it when it flew by just now, and it seems like this thing is still in operation."

Tony licked his chapped lips. "Although I've never eaten this before, now it's a Michelin three-star restaurant."

"I second that," Barton said listlessly, raising his hand. "I'll eat anything that's high in calories."

No one objected.

The weakness that follows the adrenaline rush is deadly. Even the strongest Hulk reverted to Dr. Banner, leaning against the wall, his face pale.

"Let's go."

Thor is still full of energy.

He swung Thor's hammer in one hand and gripped a thick, specially made alloy chain in the other.

At the other end of the chain was an unidentified object that looked like a rice dumpling.

That's Loki.

This arrogant god of mischief had a dirty rag torn from somewhere stuffed in his mouth, his hands were tied behind his back, and Thor was dragging him along like a dead dog.

His eyes were vacant and dull, and he would occasionally twitch nervously, clearly still recovering from the double blow of the "Hulk fall" and "dog pee on his head".

Several new faces joined the team.

Jane, now freed from her diamond form, is helping Darcy along.

Meanwhile, Peggy Carter, a little girl who looked only twelve years old but was wearing an ill-fitting trench coat, was solemnly stuffing the last piece of chocolate into her mouth, trying to maintain her authority as a superior.

A large group of people walked through the ruins and pushed open the glass door of the Turkish kebab shop, which was now only half open.

"Welcome... welcome..."

The shop owner, a balding middle-aged man, was trembling behind the counter.

Upon seeing this group of guests, covered in blood, exuding murderous intent, and dragging an alien war criminal behind them, he nearly dropped the meat cleaver in his hand.

"Give us some... never mind, bring us everything you can."

Tony slumped down next to the greasy red plastic table, propping his feet up on the chair opposite him without any regard for his image.

Soon, several plates of sliced ​​roast meat and flatbread were brought out.

The store was deathly silent.

Only the ceiling fan overhead, which looked like it was about to fall, made a creaking noise.

Steve picked up a burrito and took a bite.

Click.

The sound was crisp, but not in a crunchy way; it was more like biting into a piece of old cowhide that had been dried for three years.

The meat was shockingly dry and mushy, with no juices, and only a strong spice flavor trying to mask the lack of freshness.

Steve chewed a couple of times, and his masseter muscles started to ache.

He instinctively tried to swallow it, but his throat instinctively resisted the rough foreign object.

He looked up and glanced at the others.

Thor, on the other hand, ate with relish. After all, the teeth of the Asgardians might be different from those of the people here, or perhaps he simply regarded this as some kind of post-war penance.

Dr. Banner took only one bite and put it down, adjusting his glasses to hide his embarrassment.

As for Tony, his expression was as if he had just swallowed a fly.

He took a disposable plastic fork and poked around in the plate of barbecue.

But he didn't say anything.

After all, it was his suggestion.

After all, they are heroes. Heroes should not be bound by trivialities. Heroes should eat dry rations in the ruins. Only in this way can they fit the tragic and epic style.

An atmosphere of "suffering for the sake of saving face" permeated the small shop.

until……

jingle.

The wind chime by the door, which was swaying precariously, rang once.

A refreshing popping sound of iced cola bubbles abruptly entered the space.

Li Ang, dressed in a well-tailored haute couture casual suit, strolled in with a large glass of iced soda in his hand.

He didn't look like he had just experienced an alien invasion; he looked more like he had just taken a stroll in an afternoon tea salon on Wall Street.

Everyone stopped moving.

Ignoring everyone's stares, Li Ang walked straight to Tony's table.

He lowered his head, brought the plate close to his nose, and then stuck out his little finger, dipped it into the brownish-yellow sauce on the edge of the plate, and put it in his mouth to taste.

One second later.

"Pooh."

Li Ang made no attempt to hide his disgust, his face showing an expression of utter disdain as if he were looking at trash.

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Li Ang shook the cola glass in his hand, the ice cubes hitting the glass with a pleasant, crisp sound.

"Hey everyone, I know S.H.I.E.L.D. is short on funds, but is it really necessary to torture yourselves like this?"

He pointed to the piece of meat on Tony's plate that resembled a shoe sole, his voice clear and bright, with a hint of mocking laughter.

"Is this the reward for the heroes who saved the world? Anyone who didn't know better would think you guys didn't go fight aliens, but robbed a bank and got caught, and are now sitting here eating your last meal before being executed."

"..."

Steve, unable to swallow the piece of meat he was chewing, quietly spat it into a tissue.

"Captain, I know you have a habit of reminiscing about past hardships, but this stuff is as dry as a camel hide found in the desert."

Li Ang showed no sign of stopping. He walked behind Steve and patted Captain America on the shoulder.

"Eating too much can easily cause constipation, it's true."

He then turned to look at Loki, who was bound in the corner, staring at the floor with a deathly expression.

"Look, even this war criminal can't stand it anymore."

"Although he is a prisoner, it is still wrong to mistreat prisoners according to the convention, even if it is with food that is of biological weapon grade."

Li Ang's words were like a needle, piercing the balloon of tragic grandeur.

"That's enough!"

A crisp sound.

Tony finally snapped.

He slammed the plastic fork on the table. The fork bounced up, spun twice in the air, and fell into Thor's cup.

"I knew it! This is absolutely inedible!"

Tony stood up, his playboy arrogance and haughtiness returning.

He took off his sunglasses, which were already half broken, threw them on the ground, and stomped on them until they shattered.

"Why should I suffer here? I am Tony Stark!"

"I just delivered a nuclear bomb to that damn alien fleet! Why would I eat this stuff that looks like it's made from rubber tires?!"

The shop owner was so frightened that he shrank under the counter, trembling with fear as he covered his head.

"Jarvis!"

Tony roared at the air.

"Sir, I'm here."

"Get Chili on the phone! Tell her I'm throwing a party! Now! Right now! Immediately!"

Tony waved his hand and pointed to the Stark Tower outside the window, which still towered into the clouds and, despite the missing words, still exuded an imposing aura.

"Right on my rooftop! Get all the best chefs in New York...no, the whole country, with their freshest ingredients!"

"I want Kobe beef! I want Alma caviar! I want to drink that bottle of Romanée-Conti that I've been storing in my cellar for thirty years!"

He turned around, looked at his dumbfounded teammates, and flashed that arrogant, smug smile.

"Gentlemen, although we have won the war, it does not mean that we should live the life of ascetics."

"Get up! Throw away this damn burrito!"

"Tonight's entire expense will be on Mr. Stark!"

"yeah!!!"

Darcy was the first to cheer, ignoring his back pain, and pulled Jane out.

"This is the superhero life I've always imagined!"

Little Carter stopped pretending to be profound, spat out the candy wrapper from her mouth, and her eyes sparkled with longing for the feast.

Steve shook his head with a wry smile, but stood up and dusted off his pants.

Admittedly, Kobe beef is much more appealing than that hard, chewy tortilla.

"Tin Man, I don't know what kind of wine you're talking about, but if it can get me drunk, then I'll admit it's good wine!"

As he spoke, Thor grabbed Loki from the ground.

"Come on, little brother, I'll show you the banquet in the central courtyard!"

Loki: "..."

The group filed out, and the oppressive and gloomy atmosphere from before was swept away.

However, before leaving, Tony left a thick roll of US dollars on the table as compensation for the shop owner's emotional distress.

This is the real Marvel.

This is life.

……

Thousands of meters in the air, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.

On the deck where the cold wind howled.

Nick Fury stood with his hands behind his back, his once-cool trench coat now showing signs of wear and tear from the war.

His single remaining eye was gazing down at the city below, a city ravaged by war yet still gradually coming to life with lights.

On the large screen in the command center behind him, hundreds of news channels around the world were broadcasting the same scene simultaneously.

Those were moments of battle captured from countless angles.

A 50-meter-tall giant of light tears apart a colossal beast...

The Hulk, clad in golden light, shattered the warship with a single punch...

Iron Man's ruthless silhouette as he creates a black hole that swallows a nuclear bomb...

And then there's the god who wields a thunder hammer and summons thunderstorms.

The world is no longer silent.

All the doubts, fears, and speculations merged into one voice at this moment.

"Sir."

Agent Hill walked up behind Fury, holding a thick data report in her hand, her eyes brimming with excitement.

"The Security Council's phones have been ringing off the hook; the whole world is asking, who exactly are these people?"

Fury turned around and looked at the group photo frozen on the screen.

That was the image of everyone standing amidst the ruins after the battle, their backs straight despite their disheveled state.

A meaningful smile slowly appeared on Fury's perpetually dark face.

That was the smile of an ambitious person's triumph, and also the smile of a guardian's satisfaction.

"Tell them."

Fury's voice was deep, yet carried an undeniable power that resonated throughout the command room.

"They are... the Avengers!"