Yet the carnage at the scene was still underway, as frenzied lunatics ignited by sheer insanity kept stacking abandoned cars higher and higher, blocking all exits. They clearly did not intent for anyone to leave.
Even after S.H.I.E.L.D deployed three stealth fighters, all which ended up destroyed, Natasha couldn't help but curse. What on earth was the American customs department doing? How did these people get their hands on anti-stealth devices?
"We need to get to the street over there," Stark, hiding in the bank's office, looked down and said after a second glace, "The robots from Osborn Group and Hammer Group have been chasing me, but all those robots have been disabled."
"They were nothing but moving heaps of junk to begin with, with terribly designed transmission systems, which is why they can be taken down by ordinary weapons. The energy device on them, however, is somewhat useful. if we can get it, I could power up my Mecha."
"And throw this place into even more chaos?"
"We can discuss our disagreement later," Stark looked grimly below and said, "This situation isn't as simple as you think. It won't be too long before all of New York is plunged into war."
Stark's words were eerily prophetic.
Initially, it was lunatics upstream of Gotham River who had their weapons pointed at New Yorkers who mistakenly entered, but the bombing quickly spiraled out of control, spreading rapidly to Queens District and Bronx across the river.
The citizens of these two districts are no strangers to battle. Although they didn't have as much firepower as the Gothamites, they were numerous. Queens District and Bronx are the two largest districts in New York with the most population and vast strategic depth. Additionally, they're rather open-minded.
So rather than cowering at home waiting for government aid, or they bravely picked up arms and began to fight back against the lunatics.
At first, it was just spontaneously organized armed groups, stacking sandbags on the streets, blocking roads with vehicles, concentrating weapons in the hands of those capable of fighting, while others were handling logistic support, initiating several short and narrow fronts.
The advantage of a closed front is its high defense power. Yet, it shares the same disadvantage as the Maginot Line: if the enemy wants to bypass it, they can. The lunatics came to hunt, not to gnaw on hard bones. Instead of attacking a fortified position, why not just go somewhere else?
With this, the communities with quicker responses and the courage to step forward successfully defended their own territories. Still, the price for this was increased attacks on neighboring communities, causing heavy casualties due to insufficient preparation.
Therefore, more people began to follow the example and organized armed battles spontaneously.
Some might argue that the population in the upstream aggregation zone is only tens of thousands, and the lunatics who came out might only be about 10,000 to 20,000. They were all scattered soldiers and fought each other, so how could they cause such massive destruction?
Indeed, there weren't many lunatics. But many who have read the history of war would know that the most terrifying thing in the war era is the bandits, in short, those who cause chaos. The oft-quoted phrase "armies pass by like a comb" might not necessarily refer to the regular armies, but rather these opportunistic marauders.
Bronx and Queens District are notorious for high crime rates, even higher than Gotham. This implies that there would be more such people here. Where there is chaos, they go; where there are opportunities, they seize.
The lunatics' minds were ablaze, paying no attention to looting, destroying houses, and simply moving on. Naturally, the riches in the houses fell into the hands of these tailgaters.
Later, they realized that this place had completely lost order, the government was inactive, and the police were powerless to turn the tide. Then why pick leftovers by following others? Why not just form an armed mob by themselves?
So, they too began to occupy strongholds, set up defenses, and take over one base after another, and then due to uneven division of booties or mutual mistrust, they split into even smaller bases.
The war resources within a region are limited. Later, the spontaneous defending civilians turned into robbers while fighting for resources. These robbers built strong bases and staked their claim over certain territories.
The warlord fight of the New City began. Initially, it was just at the vicinity of Gotham and the upstream, Queens District, and Bronx. Then, it gradually spread over the entire Queens District—which is one-third of all New York.
Later it spread over the entirety of Queens District, further into Brooklyn District, and finally nearing Manhattan Area.
After the Queens District merged with Lower city area of Gotham, both parties mingled and fought for their own territories and ransacked each other's after the war began.
To differentiate the influence of both sides, New Yorkers raised the New York Flag, and naturally, Gotham also brought out the Gotham Flag. A flag was planted for every street conquered, and over time, the New City was filled with fluttering flags.
The speed at which the wildfire spread was beyond everyone's expectation. From the media's initial fanning of flame and sensationalism, to later chaos and an attempt to response was later reflecting, to finally not daring to spin the story anymore.
However, various rumors still circulate among the people. Fortunately, those initially misled by media finally found the truth through developments of the events.
A bunch of unlucky New Yorkers mistakenly wandered into Gotham, and a conflict ensued with local residents. To defend their honest dignity, a protracted battle erupted between two parties—historically known as The Battle of the Twin Cities.
On another clear morning, the Batman of the Prime Universe finally finished planning this phase's strategic tasks. He finally had time to do something else.
What else could he do? Of course, finding his old home that had flown off somewhere. He couldn't just let them float indefinitely.
Luckily, when Batman was modifying the power system of Sky Island, he left a backdoor, allowing him to directly reach Sky Island through the space-time portal.
What he did not know was that Darkseid would never ignore the clues related to the life equation. He had never forgotten the equation that Batman possessed.
When Batman passed through the portal, the fluctuations were fully recorded by a spy device placed nearby and transmitted back to Darkseid's base on Apocalypse Star, leaving Darkseid in deep contemplation.
The first thing Batman did when he returned to Sky Island was, of course, to look down. He wanted to ensure that the power system of Sky Island was still working normally and keeping the height steady.
Then, he was stunned. The scene below was oh so familiar.
Batman looked back at Sky Island Gotham which had been battled not too long ago and hadn't been fully rebuilt, and then he took it in the heated battle in New City below. For the first time, Batman began to seriously question－
Could he really be a jinx?