As the alien ship sucked away into the atmosphere, quickly becoming a pinprick in the clear blue sky, New York and anyone else watching held their breath. Many reacted with grace, falling into line with protocols set in place after the Incident. There was a sense of organized chaos in New York long before the rest of the world let out a sigh of relief. But a crescendo was rising online. A crackle of hastily uploaded videos of Iron Man disappearing into the afternoon sky led to a fast-growing din of fear and anger.

Night fell on New York and people fell exhausted into bed.

Dawn broke on Edinburgh and unease heightened there too. An early morning tweet from a traveler on the tram claimed they'd just spotted several heavily geared individuals facing off under the fluorescent lighting of Waverly station. This matched the dismaying mess discovered in the station when it was unlocked in the early hours, and it matched also the uploaded tourist pics of St. Giles Cathedral as it was being cordoned off.

Until Iron Man returned with that smarmy grin and piece-of-cake attitude, no one aware of the crisis could spend their day relaxed. Many pretended to, many dismissed the threat, but there was an electric current in the air raising hairs along the backs of necks in every community. Aliens had returned, Iron Man had left, and the fugitive Avengers had stirred—classically leaving destruction in their wake.

To some, that meant all was well. Nothing worse had happened, their saviors had obviously done their work and silently returned home. To others, it marked the beginning of a new sticky mess politicians and corporations would "have to" detangle like the last one.

A full day passed.

At first, it seemed like the precursor to a volcanic eruption, or offal from a large furnace. Fine, feathery ash drifted over any place humans existed. It clung to windshields, sighed across carpets, nestled in people's hair, and tickled their mouths and ears. Some woke up to it in their beds, their kitchens and backyards. Some saw it rush the ceilings of airplanes as their hearts jumped into their throats, while others saw it miles wide coating the waves. Some even found it tainting the playgrounds and cradles.

From Earth there came a low, animalistic groan, one that echoed across the galaxy before rebounding as a many-tongued chorus. On some planets it was barely a murmur, on others a pained roar.

The universe fell to its knees and wept.