With the entrance of the Asgardian army, the situation changed completely and instantly. The Bifrost sent squad after squad down to face off against the Chitauri, filling the streets of New York with not just the slaughter of human civilians, but also of the Chitauri themselves.
From where I stood, I could see the proud and brave Asgardians cut down their enemies with ease.
It was, in all honesty, an amusing sight — the Chitauri flying around on advanced tech, shooting lasers and energy weapons, getting cut down by what looked like Vikings.
Like a clash between medieval and sci-fi, though that was merely on the surface. The Asgardians had tech just as advanced as the Chitauri, if not more. They simply used it differently. Not to mention, their baseline stats were worlds apart.
One was a race filled with elites, the other just endless cannon fodder.
I allowed myself a single breath of satisfaction.
The tide had turned.
But only just.
The portal was still open.
The swarm beyond it was still endless.
And the one responsible still hid himself like a coward.
Which is why I wasn't surprised when a blur of red and gold streaked upward through the smoke below, weaving between falling debris and stray blasts of Chitauri fire. My attention flicked toward it before Tristan even spoke.
"Someone approaches," he murmured, string tensing as he readied another shot.
I raised a hand lightly.
"No threat. Let him come."
A second later, Tony Stark braked mid-air in front of Ehangwen's bow, his thrusters flaring as he steadied himself. The armor was scorched, dented, but still holding; clearly, it had seen a few more upgrades than the one he would have used in the original invasion.
He hovered, hands raised in something halfway between caution and exhaustion.
"Okay," he said over external speakers, "full disclosure, I'm too tired to be intimidated right now, so I'm just going to pretend your flying cathedral here isn't making me question my entire worldview."
"A wider worldview will only be a good thing. Come, rest for a moment," I offered, gesturing for him to land — which he happily did.
"Damn, today really has been crazy. First the whole thing with the flying aircraft carrier and now this invasion in my own home — the world has gone to shit," he said as soon as he opened his faceplate, revealing a face marred by deep exhaustion.
"Indeed, it isn't every day something like this happens. In truth, Earth has only seen a handful of invasions like this since the dawn of time. Few are brave enough to challenge Asgard." I said gravely.
"It is foolishness that made them dare to challenge Asgard," Loki spoke up from beside him. "And they will learn why so few have ever dared."
His words drew Tony's attention. "You are Loki. I saw you in the news — lord of Asgard and what not… aren't you supposed to stop this?" His tone wasn't kind.
And who could blame him? Something like this — the stress and helplessness — needed an outlet, and right now Loki looked like the perfect one.
Loki, however, wasn't one to take such an insult. "Stay your tongue, mortal. You speak to the Lord Regent of Asgard, your rightful master!" He slammed Gungnir's end into the hull of Ehangwen.
"Sir, based on visual evidence, that weapon in his hand is able to instantly destroy Leviathan-class enemies," the voice of JARVIS could faintly be heard from Tony's suit, causing the man to suddenly calm down a whole lot.
He wasn't considered one of the smartest men alive for nothing. When faced with someone who could end his life, he knew better than to take his frustration out on them. "Well, my bad, but I'm fairly sure I heard you say something about protecting Earth once," he tried again, a bit more kindly this time.
Loki snorted, but I could see the pride in him, the joy of having someone as arrogant as Stark bow his head. "And isn't Asgard doing so right now?" Loki said with a faint smile.
A smile that caused Tony's eye to twitch — and indeed, it was a very punchable face.
"Well, it would have been great if you did it before they started destroying a city like this," Tony said, unable to hold back. The man was, after all, arrogant to the bone and easily angered thanks to his massive ego.
"Well, this is partly due to you mortals' own actions. Wasn't it a mortal who opened that portal?" Loki shot back while I remained silent and took in the larger picture and situation.
"Only because he was mind-controlled by an alien!" Tony shot back.
The smile on Loki's face only grew wider. "And wasn't that because he played around with something he shouldn't? The Tesseract is something my father placed on Midgard, something you shouldn't touch — and yet you did. And this—" he pointed the tip of Gungnir at the portal "—is but the result of that hubris."
To that, Tony didn't have much to say, mostly because he was also angry that SHIELD had caused all this mess.
"Right," he muttered, rubbing a hand over his face. "Fine. Great. Everyone screwed up. I'll make a list later. But we still have a portal vomiting an alien army into the city, and unless one of you can magically find the guy responsible, we're screwed."
"Ebony Maw," I corrected softly.
Tony blinked. "How do you know his name?"
"I know more than his name," I continued. "He is a servant of the Mad Titan. A strategist. A master of illusions and telekinesis. As long as he remains concealed, none of your weapons will find him."
"His magic might be impressive, but nothing before Asgard's might," Loki spoke up, not wanting to sound lesser than Maw.
"So," Tony started, looking back and forth between Loki and me, "you two know what is happening? Did you know this would happen?"
I nodded, seeing no reason to hide the truth. "The moment I learnt about the explosion at the SHIELD facility, I knew this would happen, so I went to Asgard to get help. After all, my knights might be mighty, but they are few."
As my words fell, the sky lit up as a beam of red light tore through it, carving three Leviathans and hundreds of unlucky Chitauri apart.
"They are flashy if nothing else," Loki chuckled as we turned to look at the source of the beam — which was naturally Mordred, who was having a blast fighting the endless horde.
"It's scary how strong she is while clearly not being serious at all," Tony couldn't help but mutter at the sight.
Because indeed, Mordred clearly didn't look like she was fighting in a war, but just having fun — after all, the Chitauri couldn't even hurt her.
"What is that armor made of? It shrugs off their weapons as if they were nothing," Tony couldn't help but ask as he witnessed Mordred completely ignoring enemy fire as if their deadly lasers were nothing but flashlights.
"It isn't her armor — though that is impressive. It's simply that her level of existence is higher than their weapons," I explained.
Tony just nodded… before looking at me like I was an idiot. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
Loki sighed overly dramatically. "Ah, ignorant mortals," he scoffed.
Tony bristled at his attitude.
Before he could snap back, I raised a hand.
"Enough," I said, letting a hint of my authority bleed into my voice. The wind around us shifted subtly, responding to my will. Even Loki fell silent — if only because he enjoyed theatrics enough to respect a dramatic pause.
I turned back to Tony.
"Your science measures energy. Power. Kinetic force. Heat. Radiation. But these are things that act within the laws of your world."
I lifted Excalibur slightly, letting its internal light pulse along the blade.
"My knights — and myself — are not bound by those laws. We are constructs of higher concepts. Legends. Ideals given form. When a weapon forged of mortal understanding strikes at something born of myth, the two are not equal."
Tony stared blankly for a moment.
"…So what you're saying is: you're cheat codes."
Loki snorted. "Quite literally."
I allowed myself a faint smile. "If that helps you understand, then yes."
Tony exhaled, rubbing his forehead. "Yeah, no, that tracks. Honestly, today everything is cheat codes, so sure. Why not."
Down below, another explosion shook the city — glass shattering, alarms wailing, Leviathans roaring as Asgardian steel tore them open. The world had become a battlefield of gods and monsters.
Tony finally put his helmet back on, his voice more focused.
"Look, philosophical debates about metaphysics aside, I need help. We all need help. We can't close that portal without finding this Maw guy. JARVIS can't locate him. Cameras can't pick him up. And we can't touch the generator, it's protected by a shield — nothing can get through."
He paused, then pushed on, looking at me. "Unless you can get through it?"
I shook my head. "To get through that would need something of equal measure, or strength beyond the mortal realm. To call on such things could destroy the city along with the shield — maybe even the state itself."
Tony swallowed. "Yeah, that isn't really something we want to do without being totally out of options. But that means we need to find the key. You got a plan?"
"Naturally we do," Loki said proudly. "Now that Asgard has joined the fight, Ebony Maw is likely to panic. He would try to get the Tesseract and flee, which means if he does have a way of turning off the portal, he will do it soon — or at least stay close enough to do it at a moment's notice."
Tony stared at Loki. "…So you're telling me the evil space wizard is hiding somewhere close enough to push the off-switch at any time?"
"Quite," Loki said with a grin that suggested he enjoyed delivering bad news. "He is a coward. Powerful, but cowardly. He will not risk facing either Asgard or Albion directly — not unless cornered."
Tony rubbed at the bridge of his nose through the helmet. "Okay. Okay, fine. Great. So the plan is: find the wizard, punch the wizard, close the space hole. Nice and simple."
He paused.
"…Too simple."
"Not simple," I corrected. "Predictable. If he is near the machine, we force him to reveal himself. He will not allow the anchor to fall."
Tony hesitated. "Right. But the shield—"
"He doesn't know we can't break it," I said. "Which means he has to worry that we might be able to. No matter how confident he might be, he would stay close just in case."
Tony let out a long, shaky exhale. "Right… he might not think vaporizing Manhattan is too big a price, so he would worry."
Below us, a chunk of a Leviathan slammed into a skyscraper, sending burning debris cascading into the streets. Screams echoed through broken avenues. Asgardian and Chitauri warriors clashed across rooftops. The portal pulsed, swelling wider as more Leviathans forced their way through.
Time was running out.
Tony pointed toward the tower. "Look, if Maw is really nearby, then he's probably watching us right now. Maybe waiting. Maybe planning something."
His voice dropped. "We can't just react anymore. We need to move."
"I agree," I said.
Loki twirled Gungnir with theatrical flourish. "Then let us corner him. I am most eager to see the look on his face when he realizes the trap has closed."
Tony glared sideways at him. "You enjoy this way too much."
"Of course," Loki said proudly. "It is my nature."
"And it's unhealthy," Tony muttered.
Loki raised a brow. "Mortals have such fragile sensibilities."
Tony opened his mouth to argue — but froze.
His helmet flickered.
Static.
A twinge of distortion.
"Uh… JARVIS?" Tony asked. "What was that?"
The AI crackled, voice fragmented by interference. "Sir—there—appears—to—be—an—energy—"
And then the sky roared.
A pulse of thunder rolled across the city — different from the portal's energy, deeper than the Chitauri engines, older than the Bifrost strikes. Clouds churned violently overhead as lightning gathered in twisted vortices.
Loki went utterly still.
"Oh, for Niflheim's sake," he groaned.
(End of chapter)
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