Having deftly blocked Loki's magical assault with his Block skill, Alex glared at the Asgardian with a fiery intensity burning in his eyes, his anger surging as he recognized the disdain in Loki's godly demeanor, treating him as though he were an insignificant insect unworthy of notice.
"Oh? How intriguing," Loki remarked, his eyes flickering with a trace of curiosity as he observed Alex standing tall after deflecting his attack with such composure, prompting him to regard the human with a deeper, more calculating scrutiny.
Nearby, Nick Fury, sprawled on the ground amidst the chaos, witnessed this exchange with a sharp focus in his gaze, his mind racing as he pieced together the unfolding scenario. Clearly, the scepter-wielding intruder was no ordinary being, but this stranger who had crossed dimensions, claiming to be an Earthling, was equally extraordinary, his capabilities hinting at a power that belied his unassuming appearance.
With fury coursing through his veins, Alex wasted no time on words, activating his Shave technique, his figure blurring into a streak of lightning as he closed the distance to Loki in an instant, the Peerless Sword thrusting toward the Asgardian's chest with deadly precision. His mastery of the Dugu Nine Swords, combined with the blistering speed of Shave, left Loki unable to react, the sword's tip striking true.
"What an incredible physique!" Alex thought, his heart sinking as the Peerless Sword met Loki's body, only to feel as though it had struck an impenetrable steel plate, leaving him astonished at the Asgardian's resilience.
He gripped the Peerless Sword tightly, yet it failed to pierce Loki's skin—a shocking realization, given that this blade, capable of slicing through steel with a single stroke, had proven ineffective against Loki's unnatural durability. The SHIELD agents' gunfire had bounced off Loki harmlessly, but for Alex's sword, renowned for its sharpness, to be rendered useless was a testament to the Asgardian's extraordinary constitution.
It made sense that Thor, the warrior, or the Hulk, the berserker, might possess such formidable physical strength, their reputations built on raw power, but Loki, categorized as a magician, was not supposed to be this resilient.
Upon reflection, however, Alex recalled Loki's heritage as the prince of the Frost Giants, a lineage that endowed him with enough prowess to engage Thor in close combat briefly in their tales, not to mention surviving the Hulk's brutal thrashing in the Avengers saga, a feat that underscored his exceptional endurance, given the Hulk's ability to tear apart tanks as easily as paper.
"Foolish human," Loki sneered, shaken by Alex's speed and swordsmanship but unimpressed by the strike's lack of force, swinging his scepter with a strength that sent Alex staggering back several steps, his mocking tone dripping with condescension.
Stung by Loki's taunt, Alex's expression darkened, but he pressed forward undeterred, launching a swift kick toward Loki's torso, mentally invoking his Kick skill.
Bang!
The mocking grin on Loki's face froze as the force of Alex's kick, amplified by his skill, struck like a runaway train, hurling Loki's body backward through the air, crashing against the facility's wall with a resounding thud.
At that moment, Nick Fury struggled to his feet, his resolve unbroken despite the chaos, while Hawkeye, rising beside him, assessed the situation with a practiced eye. Though the identities of Alex and Loki remained unclear, the battle lines were evident—Loki was a hostile force, while Alex, for now, could be considered an ally in this desperate moment.
Bang!
Fury and Hawkeye fired their pistols at Loki, but the bullets, like those before, proved futile against his impervious skin, incapable of even scratching the surface that had withstood the Peerless Sword's edge.
Loki rose, his face flushed with humiliation, the sting of being knocked back by a mere human—a self-proclaimed god brought low—fueling his rage. His earlier taunt, dismissing Alex as insignificant, now seemed a bitter irony, the swift reversal a blow to his pride.
Yet Loki, ever the cunning strategist, suppressed his anger, recognizing that prolonging the fight served no purpose. With a sudden lunge, he closed in on Hawkeye, pressing the Mind Gem-encrusted scepter against his chest, its power instantly seizing control of Hawkeye's mind, bending him to Loki's will.
"The Mind Gem…" Alex murmured, his breath catching as he witnessed the gem's power firsthand, its ability to dominate minds a chilling reality.
Bang!
Loki unleashed a magical shockwave toward the ceiling, shattering it in an explosion of debris, massive rocks tumbling down toward Alex and Fury as he and the now-controlled Hawkeye made a swift exit from the base, their figures vanishing into the shadows.
Alex, shielded by his Armament Haki, emerged unscathed as the falling rocks struck his hardened body, their impact barely registering. Fury, however, was less fortunate, a heavy stone crashing onto his leg, swelling it painfully and rendering him unable to walk, let alone run, his face contorted in agony.
Alex knew the underground base was on the verge of collapse, its structure compromised by Loki's attack, but seeing Fury's helpless state, he hesitated, his conscience wrestling with the urgency of escape. With a reluctant sigh, he waved his hand, activating his ability to manipulate metal.
The machinery nearby groaned, its components cracking apart as countless metal parts tore free, flying toward Alex and coalescing into a thin, sturdy metal plate, its surface gleaming under the flickering lights of the failing base.
Hoisting Fury onto the plate, Alex sprinted toward safety, controlling the metal platform to glide behind him, carrying the injured director with steady precision.
"There's an elevator nearby, and a helicopter waiting on the roof!" Fury shouted, clinging to the metal plate as it skimmed the ground, his voice urgent despite his pain, focusing solely on survival rather than marveling at Alex's extraordinary powers.
Maria Hill, just as depicted in the original tales, gripped the steering wheel tightly and sped through the underground passage in a rugged vehicle, her eyes locked on Loki's retreating figure as she initiated a high-stakes chase, her determination unwavering despite the chaos erupting around her. Alex, however, had no intention of joining the pursuit, his focus solely on survival as he guided Nick Fury toward the elevator, swiftly entering it and ascending directly to the roof of the crumbling base, the groaning structure threatening to bury them at any moment.
Yet, before they could reach the waiting helicopter, the base's foundation gave way with a thunderous roar, the entire building collapsing in a cascade of concrete and steel, the aircraft caught in the devastation and crashing before it could even lift off, its wreckage consumed by the rising dust and debris.
With swift precision, Alex summoned his chain mail, its metallic links shimmering as he willed it to envelop him protectively, while simultaneously controlling the iron plate bearing Fury, manipulating it with his ability to lift them both into the air, soaring away from the collapsing base just as the ground beneath buckled and gave way.
From their vantage point high above, Alex gazed down at the catastrophic scene unfolding below, where the earth itself seemed to cave inward, a massive sinkhole forming and rapidly expanding outward, swallowing everything in its path with terrifying speed. The sheer scale of the destruction sent a shiver through him, the explosion's shockwave rippling through the air like a frenzied tempest, shaking the very atmosphere with its raw power.
Fury clung desperately to the edges of the iron plate, his knuckles whitening as he fought to avoid being thrown off by the turbulent ascent, his face etched with the strain of enduring the chaotic escape.
It was only when the iron plate reached a stable altitude, the air growing calm and the shockwave's fury subsiding, that Fury turned his gaze to Alex, his voice steady despite the ordeal. "By the way, you mentioned you're from Earth? What's your name, and where exactly do you come from?"
Faced with Fury's probing question, Alex paused briefly, his mind racing to craft a plausible response that would shield his true origins, knowing that Fury's sharp intellect would likely lead to an investigation once the dust settled. "My name's Alex," he said carefully. "I'm indeed an Earthling, born on this planet, but I didn't grow up here—I was raised on a distant world and only returned to Earth today."
Alex wove a half-truth, drawing inspiration from tales like Star-Lord's, who was born on Earth but whisked away to the stars as a youth, a story that could plausibly deflect scrutiny.
"Can you fly after Hill and the others?" Fury asked, nodding as he shifted focus to the immediate crisis, his tone urgent but practical, recognizing that now was not the time for lengthy interrogations.
"It's not possible," Alex replied, shaking his head with a hint of regret. "While my ability allows me to lift people into the air, the speed of flight isn't fast enough to catch up with a car on the ground, not like what you're hoping for."
Though his powers had grown significantly, enabling him to maneuver through the sky with greater ease than during his earlier days the speed of his flight still fell short of matching a vehicle's pace on land, a limitation he acknowledged with a tinge of frustration.
Fury let out a quiet sigh, his expectations not surprised, having observed the relatively measured pace of their ascent moments earlier, his mind already shifting to the next steps in their precarious situation.
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Author's Note:
Where are my Power Stones, huh? Don't be stingy, brothers and sisters—if you're enjoying the story, throw some my way! 😤
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Shouting like this feels like breaking a stone on my chest… but I'll do it for you all! 💪