Several things happened, then.
Even as Tony and Steve walked – calmly – back toward the compound, there was a sharply barked order behind them. The two men had only made it halfway or so before there was an incredibly loud thump behind him them. They stopped and turned, just in time to see columns that looked like solid stone come crashing to the earth all around the shield behind them.
"Son of a bitch…" Steve said, softly, as the columns suddenly opened and each seemed to spew a horde of unworldly creatures that looked like something out of Ghost Busters – the old one, not the new one that Peter had roped them all into watching one night.
"Language," Tony said, absently, equally amazed at the sheer number of creatures that were snarling on the other side of the shield – and were beginning to spread out, each testing the area closest to them and yelping in decidedly doglike fashion every time they touched the energy barrier.
They just kept coming as more and more pillars landed, and even more creatures or different types joined them, all milling outside the perimeter of the shield, with Thanos standing in the middle of it all, watching.
OOOOO
Inside the command center, the room was silent as those in the building watched the same thing that Steve and Tony were seeing.
"They're mindless killers," Gamora said into the quiet awe. "They cannot be reasoned with, and will show no mercy. Make sure that you don't, either."
The warning was met with nods.
"I'm going to the roof," Hawkeye said, not surprising anyone who knew him.
"Wong is bringing in the other magicians," Strange said, also leaving the room. "We'll put them on the roof, as well, so they can be in position to assist wherever they are needed. He looked at Natasha. "I'd suggest a call to T'Challa? We could use the extra forces."
"Already done," she confirmed. "They're assembling and will be ready when we open a portal large enough to bring the tribes through."
"Let's do it, now," the sorcerer supreme said. He and Wong were the only magicians who'd been to Wakanda and would be the ones who'd need to create the portal to bring the Wakandans in. "That will give their leaders a chance to see what they're facing and best decide how to utilize their people."
Natasha nodded and Pepper caught Peter's arm before he could follow.
"I love you," she reminded him, with a smile that didn't reach her eyes – even though the love that she had for him did. "Be safe."
"I will," he promised her. "Be careful."
He knew she was heading out to meet up with Tony, now.
She nodded and left, and Natasha gestured for Peter to follow her. They were followed by Groot, while Quill, Drax and Rocket all joined the small crowd of military and SHIELD agents who followed Pepper, everyone readying weapons that they'd been holding. Peter lost track of everyone else when he followed Natasha and Strange out to the field, which was already bustling.
A movement above him made him look up as they entered the large clearing, and he saw one of the giant flying armored turtle-looking things flying overhead in the distance. The creature was lit up by the shield's glow and the numerous spotlights that were already installed on the compound. There was an awesome concussion and a bolt of light intercepted it, breaching the shield from the inside with ease and slamming into the flying creature. It screamed, and crashed into the shield, then bounced off the energy barrier and rolled down the dome shape and landed with a final thud into the trees beyond the shield and was still.
The first shot of the new battle had been fired, and Shuri's anti-turtle rail guns had proven that the Wakandan princess knew what she'd been talking about.
"Earth 1, aliens 0," came Clint's voice over Peter's communications.
"Let's make sure we stay ahead of that," he heard Tony reply.
He didn't look for either man, just then, watching as Stephen stopped, suddenly, and waved his hands, forming the largest portal that Peter had ever seen. On the other side, the bright African sun was shining, and there was a huge mass of Wakandan warriors, all dressed in their traditional garb waiting for orders. Standing in front of them, T'Challa was dressed in his Black Panther habit – without the helm active, just then. He stepped through with Okoye by his side, and moved to stand beside Natasha, Stephen and Peter, and then gestured for his commanders to take charge – even as he stared at the seething army massing on the other side of the shield.
The Wakandans formed up in the side of the compound grounds, filling much of the area between the building and that portion of the shield, watching the other side of the shield, impassively. Waiting for their part of the battle to come.
"What do we know, so far?" T'Challa asked.
"We know they have a lot of creatures to throw at our shield," Natasha said. "If they manage to break through the shield, we need to keep them from the building, if we can. The rail guns will be vulnerable if they get to the people manning them – and we need to keep the command center safe to allow the military communication lines open with what's happening here."
Stephen pulled Peter aside while Natasha was talking to T'Challa and Okoye.
"Whatever happens, I don't want you using magic," the sorcerer told him, somberly. "I have a feeling you'll be tempted to. But it'll wipe you out, and you need to be on your feet for anything that might happen."
Peter nodded; Alec was agreeing with Strange, just then.
"I won't."
"You know how to trigger the portal to Asgard if you need to."
"Yeah."
His expression must have told the magician that he had his own doubts about going through it, though.
"Don't look like that," Stephen told him, seriously. "The battle hasn't even started, really, and it certainly isn't lost. But you're the key to it. If something happens, just remember; there's a stone on Asgard that can move you anywhere in the universe without the side-effects that the teleportation rock has."
Peter heard – and felt? – Alec suddenly start, as if the alien was suddenly aware of something else. Something that he didn't share with Peter, who was distracted by a streak of light going across the sky at a low level, just under the shield. Carol hadn't been dispatched to take care of protecting any other area, just then, and she was eager and anxious to join in the fight that hadn't even started, yet.
The creatures outside the shield kept coming, until they were hundreds of feet deep, all snarling into the night – at the shield, and at each other – until the entire compound was surround by the shield, first, and then the alien creatures so eager to get at them.
A booming voice sounded in the night, and a light that didn't come from the compound suddenly shone on Thanos, again. This time he wasn't alone; he had a small handful of varied beings standing with him, flanking him. They all knew from Gamora's description that these were his lieutenants. His children. His black order.
"Last chance, Stark," Thanos said, calmly. "Give me Clyde, or I'll level your little facility and take him by force."
The night might have hid the confused looks on some of the faces of the defenders, but it didn't hide the snicker of amusement that came over everyone's communications. There was a flare of light, and then another – and then two more. Suddenly Ironman, Rescue, Carol and Wanda were all in the air, hovering in a phalanx looking at the titan.
"Go to hell," Tony told him, matching Thanos' calm tone. "Take your peanut gallery with you."