Escanor(Marvel)

A sudden jolt snapped me back to reality. Opening my eyes, I rushed to the window and saw columns of smoke rising on the horizon. Something had happened. Wasting no time, I threw on the first thing I could grab and ran outside. Many of my neighbors were peeking out of their apartments, confused about what was going on.

A police car suddenly sped down the street, siren wailing at full volume.

"All residents, stay indoors! Do not go outside!" a loud voice blared from a megaphone. The car disappeared around the corner at full speed.

Seconds later, I noticed something flying through the sky. Its silhouette strongly resembled a police car.

"Get back!" I shouted, pressing myself against the nearest wall. People scattered in panic, running wherever they could.

With a deafening crash, the car smashed into a nearby building, sending the entire area into chaos. Shards of glass flew in all directions, screams rang out, and people tried to flee, but the panic only grew worse.

Mere seconds later, another explosion shook the ground. Dust and smoke filled the air.

A military helicopter appeared in the sky. The recent news about the green monster flashed through my mind. If the military was here, then the one who had thrown the car into the air had to be nearby. But what were they doing in our neighborhood? How was this even happening?

"Leon, what's going on?!" Josie yelled, running out into the street in her nightclothes. Even as she came closer, her eyes remained fixed on the sky, where explosions continued to erupt.

"Looks like that green monster from the news. We need to get out of here before we get caught in the crossfire," I said, trying to stay calm.

"I can't! My bar... It's my life's work," she protested stubbornly.

"Your life is more important. You can open another bar if you stay alive," I insisted.

"Damn it! I need to grab the cash," she muttered, rushing toward the bar's entrance.

"Forget it! It's not worth risking your life over money!" I shouted, but she wouldn't listen. Josie was too stubborn.

"It's not just the cash. It's everything I have fifty thousand dollars! I'd rather die than leave it behind!" she snapped, pushing open the door and disappearing inside.

I had no choice but to follow. The noises outside were getting louder whatever was happening was moving closer to our block.

"Can you hurry up?" I called out, hoping we'd make it in time. I moved to the bar's window to keep an eye on the street, but the sounds of battle were drawing near.

"Almost there!" she shouted, rummaging frantically through her office.

The ground began to shake. A sound like the air itself being torn apart grew louder.

An explosion went off so close that my ears rang for a second. Then, a massive body came crashing through the bar's walls.

I knew immediately it was the Hulk.

And right behind him, moving at incredible speed, was an even bigger monster. He looked like the Hulk, but more terrifying, his face twisted in pure rage.

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The giant's punch landed squarely on the Hulk's jaw. The impact sent out a powerful shockwave that hurled me out into the street. Shards of glass from the bar's shattered window tore into my back, and a few cuts marked my face. Bracing my hands against the ground, I scrambled backward, trying to get as far away from the fight as possible. Staying here was suicide I couldn't do anything against them.

Behind me, the sounds of destruction roared on. They kept fighting, tearing through everything in their path. At least we were lucky in one way the battle had shifted elsewhere.

Finally, I turned around to assess the damage. A section of the building had collapsed, and the office where Josie had been was partially buried.

Without hesitation, I rushed back inside, despite the dust and the deafening sound of crumbling walls.

"Josie!" I shouted over the noise.

No response.

Struggling through the wreckage, I saw a section of the ceiling crack and come crashing down, cutting off the direct path to Josie. At the last second, I managed to jump back. The falling concrete crushed the lower part of the door, jamming it shut. I couldn't open it not without making sure Josie was okay first.

"Miss Josie, are you alive?!" I called out with difficulty.

"Leon! I'm here! The door won't open!" her voice finally came through. I saw her desperately trying to push the door open, but it was stuck fast.

"The door's blocked," I told her, scanning the room for a solution. It looked like it was made of wood maybe I could break it down. "Hang on, I'll find something to help."

Part of the wall had already collapsed, allowing me to slip inside without much trouble. But a fire had already broken out the gas tank for the stove must have exploded, engulfing the kitchen in flames. Covering my face with my sleeve, I rushed to the fire safety cabinet. Smashing the glass, I grabbed an axe and a fire extinguisher.

The flames were spreading fast. If I didn't act quickly, the fire would consume the entire bar.

I aimed the extinguisher at the fire and managed to put out a small section of it, but it wasn't enough. Realizing it was pointless to keep trying, I set the extinguisher aside, tightened my grip on the axe, and focused on getting Josie out.

Clambering over the wreckage, I reached the blocked door. Raising the axe, I swung it with all my strength against the wood. After several heavy blows, the door began to give way, but the opening was still too narrow for anyone to squeeze through.

"Josie, hang on, I'm almost there!" I shouted.

Gripping the handle with both hands, I kept hacking at the door. Finally, after a few more minutes, I had widened the gap enough for her to escape.

"Come on, hurry!" I called, reaching out to her.

We made it outside, but behind us, the fire was already devouring the bar's wooden furniture, crackling hungrily as it spread.

"We need to get out of here," I said, helping Josie move forward.

The street was a scene of devastation fires raged all around, the air was thick with smoke, and destruction stretched in every direction. It looked like the city had been bombed.

It reminded me of the fight with Juggernaut. Back then, I hadn't even thought about the consequences of our battle. The same sight pointless devastation, leaving nothing behind but ruins.

"My bar..." Josie whispered, her voice barely holding back tears. Her gaze was locked on the wreckage, watching as the flames consumed what was left.

"It's okay, you can rebuild," I tried to reassure her, though even I knew my words were empty. She hadn't just lost a building she had lost years of hard work, maybe even a part of herself.

"That was everything I had... Everything I lived for," she said quietly, her eyes never leaving the smoldering ruins.

I hesitated. Maybe this bar really had been her anchor the one stable place that kept her grounded. People, things, memories all of it had tied her to her daily life. And now, with everything gone, her world had collapsed.

How do you hold on when everything that matters slips away beneath your feet?

A fresh wave of despair welled up in my chest. No matter how much I trained, no matter what weapon I wielded, there was no standing against something like this.

No amount of bravery could hide the truth I was powerless against these monsters. They were the embodiment of an oncoming storm, something that couldn't be stopped by ordinary means. And now, standing amidst the chaos, I felt that same helplessness I had on that fateful night.

The loss weighed not only on her but on me as well.

Emergency vehicles moved through the streets, carefully clearing the wreckage and pulling survivors from the rubble. But my mind was stuck on a single question: where were the X-Men?

I understood they couldn't have made it to the fight in time. Even Jet wasn't fast enough to appear here within minutes. But they always helped in situations like this, especially when it came to saving lives in the aftermath of a disaster. I recalled stories of them rescuing people from collapsed buildings, aiding victims of natural calamities. So why weren't they here now?

Should I try reaching out to someone on the team? Though doubt gnawed at me what if they had a good reason for staying away?

***************************

That night, the news screens were filled with footage of the battle's aftermath. In the final moments, the Hulk had strangled his opponent before vanishing into the unknown.

No statements from the military. No comments from the authorities. As if nothing had happened. But the ruined streets, the burning homes, and, most importantly, the human casualties could something like that really go unanswered?

Then again, this wasn't my problem anymore.

Right now, my focus was on clearing the wreckage of the bar. Josie had been taken to the hospital; she was in a deep depression. She barely spoke, hardly ate, just sat there, staring into nothingness. I couldn't pull her out of that state, so I decided to start small I'd clear the debris on my own.

The building's load-bearing walls had remained intact. That gave me a sliver of hope: if everything was rebuilt correctly, the bar could be restored. But I didn't dare venture too deep inside. Instead, I worked on clearing out the nearest sections.

The fire had destroyed almost all the furniture and severely damaged the interior walls. Only the reinforced concrete frame and brickwork had kept the building from total collapse. Outside, many neighbors were also sifting through the wreckage some searching for salvageable belongings, others gathering debris into piles. Some houses stood on the brink of collapse, while others were already reduced to ruins.

"Leon, looks like you weren't spared either, huh?"

A voice behind me made me turn. It was Foggy.

"No, we weren't so lucky," I replied with a weary smirk. The feeling of powerlessness surged through me again I hadn't been able to do anything. It tore at me from the inside. When would my strength fully return? Though, even if it had… would it have made a difference? The night was always my time of weakness.

"How's Josie?" Foggy asked.

"She's physically fine, but she's devastated about the bar," I answered, noticing that he looked exhausted, though he carried himself with steady resolve. "What about you? Are you alright?"

"We were lucky our place wasn't hit," he nodded. "Need some help?"

"Wouldn't turn it down. But don't you have work today?" I asked, surprised.

"Nobody's working today. Right now, paperwork and laws don't matter. We need to do something useful," Foggy said with a small smile.

"Then welcome aboard," I replied, gesturing for him to join in.

Working together made everything easier. When you have someone beside you who can support and help, the job goes by much faster. We were covered in soot and grime from head to toe, but that didn't stop us.

At some point, the firefighters approached us to make sure no one was still trapped under the rubble. They had just finished clearing the most difficult areas and had checked every building, despite a long, sleepless night. True heroes.

To our luck, we found a couple of intact beer bottles in one of the bar's surviving corners. After a long day of work, I allowed myself to relax and have a drink. It was slightly warm, but after such exhausting labor, it felt like a real celebration. Working in a bar had taught me to appreciate alcohol, to truly savor its taste.

"Leon, you're a good guy," Foggy said, comfortably settling on the bar's steps.

"What makes you say that?" I asked, glancing at him in surprise.

"Well, you stayed. You helped Josie. You could've just walked away, found another bar, or moved to a neighborhood that wasn't hit," he replied.

I simply shrugged. In the end, I had nowhere else to go no documents, no real way to start over. And leaving Josie wasn't an option. She had trusted me.

"This is just a small favor in return for her kindness," I said.

"Still, a lot of people in your position would've run," Foggy pointed out.

"Maybe," I admitted.

"To the resilience of Hell's Kitchen and its unbreakable spirit," he grinned, raising his beer.

I lifted mine and clinked bottles with him. "To Hell's Kitchen."

We sat for a while longer, unwinding after a long and grueling day, when an energetic young woman appeared before us. It was Foggy's colleague Karen Page. She worked as something of a secretary at their firm, though she handled a ton of other responsibilities as well.

"There you are!" she said, planting her hands on her hips. "I've been looking for you. We need to get to the office right now! The mayor and city council refuse to allocate funds for the district's restoration. This is serious."

"What? They won't help? We need to talk to Matt immediately," Foggy said, springing to his feet.

"He's already on his way I texted him, but you weren't answering," she replied.

"Sorry, Leon, I have to go," Foggy said, getting up.

"It's alright, you've already done plenty for us," I said.

Sitting in the dirt no longer appealed to me, so I decided to find the nearest hotel. Fortunately, it was still intact. I had nowhere else to sleep anyway.

Once inside, I relished the feeling of washing away the day's exhaustion under the hot water. The moment my head hit the pillow, my thoughts started racing until a sudden realization hit me: the street where the gang was based might have been affected too.

Bolting upright, I threw on my clothes and rushed out of the hotel.

I reached the building in record time, only to find nothing but absolute emptiness. No lights, no parked cars, no people. They were gone. But why?

The area was untouched the fight hadn't reached this part of the city.

Come on, Leon, think.

Right now, the district was swarming with FBI agents and other law enforcement, combing through every inch of the wreckage. Doing business, let alone staying here, had become too dangerous for them. The city authorities seemed eager to flex their power, using any high-profile case for their own benefit.

If I were in their shoes, I'd have disappeared as quickly as possible too.

Why didn't I realize this sooner? Maybe I could've figured out their escape route. Now they were gone, leaving no trace behind. Had I wasted all this time for nothing?

No. Get it together. Not all is lost.

I have photos of many gang members. I just need to track them down again and gather more information. There's still a chance.