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On the ground, a profound, religious silence descended upon the panicked citizens. They stared up at the sky, at the small figure silhouetted against the elemental chaos—the thunder, the ice, the black-and-red fire. Hermione was no longer a curious child or a helpful witch; she was an icon, a terrifying, beautiful deity who had descended from the heavens to deliver divine punishment.
"Is that… a miracle?" a woman whispered, tears streaming down her face.
"God is a girl," a man murmured, dropping to his knees on the ruined asphalt.
The Avengers were equally stunned. They had thought the struggle against the Chitauri was the zenith of the supernatural. But Hermione's effortless control over the elemental forces—the raw, cosmic power of her Ancient Magic—proved that they were still fighting in the minor leagues.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.
The main screen in the command hall showed Hermione floating amidst the dissipation of her own manufactured storm. Agents were packed around the console, silent witnesses to a power that defied every briefing and every protocol.
"I… I'm not dreaming," a technician whispered, pinching his arm.
Fury stood at the front, his dark face a mixture of shock, profound relief, and deep-seated fear. He had listened to her lecture on magic, but he had never truly comprehended the scale of her power. I thought she was a genius sorcerer, he thought, his chest tight. She's a demigod. A nature goddess who we have, thankfully, managed to offend only mildly.
Hill stared at the tiny figure on the screen, struggling to reconcile the casually apple-munching consultant who complained about homework with the entity who had just erased an army with a wave of her hand.
Stark Tower.
Loki watched the screen from his penthouse prison. His earlier arrogance had been replaced by a tense, feverish excitement. He quickly contacted the Chitauri fleet leader, "The Other," who was far away in deep space.
"Loki did not disappoint!" The alien leader's voice boomed over the secure line. "The defenses are down! We are sending the second wave! Prepare for overwhelming force!"
Loki watched the last remnants of the magical fire fade, a cold, calculating smile on his face. She is powerful. Far more powerful than I anticipated. But a powerful Earth defense only justifies the need for overwhelming force. The Chitauri were numerous. Incredibly numerous.
The Battlefield.
The elemental storm had passed, leaving behind a profound stillness and the smoking wreckage of the first invasion force. Hermione slowly landed beside the Avengers.
She had barely touched down when a terrifying darkness fell over the city once more. Through the swirling black smoke of the portal, a new, massive wave of Chitauri began to emerge. They were packed shoulder-to-shoulder, a seemingly infinite supply of armored soldiers and a fresh swarm of three massive Leviathans, their bodies glinting menacingly.
"Damn it! They're endless!" Tony cursed, his voice thick with renewed despair. He pushed himself upright, his damaged armor groaning in protest.
The Avengers, exhausted and pushed to their limits, prepared for a desperate, final stand. They had drained their energy; they had no missiles, no fresh lightning. They were going to fight this out with whatever was left. They felt the guilt of relying on Hermione for the last fight, and their determination to protect the exhausted witch was absolute.
"Professor," Steve said grimly, raising his shield. "You need to get clear. We'll buy you time. You need to rest, you're clearly drained of power."
Hermione looked at the incoming tide of darkness, then at the noble, self-sacrificing expressions on the faces of the weary heroes. She let out a long, theatrical sigh.
"Who said I was drained?" she asked. "I'm not drained. I'm just efficient. Why would I waste my own magical energy on something this tedious?"
She turned, her face lighting up with a proud, conspiratorial smile. "I expected this, of course. That's why I took a quick trip back to Hogwarts before coming here."
She unclasped her enchanted bag, turned it upside down, and shook it violently.
CRASH!
A massive, echoing sound filled the battlefield. An impossible volume of green, leafy matter poured out of the tiny bag, piling up into a small hill that was easily three stories high.
Tony stared at the mountain of vegetation. "Cabbage?" he asked, his voice cracking with disbelief. "You came all the way back to Hogwarts to get cabbage? Are you going to feed the enemy into submission?"
"What do you know?" Hermione snapped, crossing her arms. "This is no ordinary cabbage! This is the yield of six months of careful cultivation! Pure, organic, naturally enhanced by magic!"
She walked over to the pile of kohlrabi, her expression one of immense, gardening pride.
"You actually look down on the kohlrabi I raise?" she asked, a dangerous edge to her voice.
The entire pile of kohlrabi suddenly turned in unison. Their leaves folded back, revealing enormous, ragged mouths filled with razor-sharp, serrated teeth. The air filled with a chorus of low, hissing, chattering snarls.
Tony and the Avengers staggered back, their eyes wide with disbelief.
"What in the actual hell are those things?" Natasha whispered, her voice laced with a mixture of terror and scientific interest.
"My lovely Biting Kale," Hermione said with a triumphant, deeply sinister smile. "You see, I've been busy. Now, why waste my energy when I have a self-propelled, auto-harvesting army of homicidal vegetables ready to go?"
She raised her wand, pointing it toward the dark, oncoming wave of Chitauri. Her voice, clear and cold, rang out across the ravaged street.
"Come on, my lovely Biting Kale! Lunchtime!"