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New York.
At the Taran Industries building.
John gazed out the massive floor-to-ceiling window, his eyes fixed on the even taller Stark Tower in the distance. He raised his left hand, watching a faint blue thread drift in one direction, gradually materializing in the air. As the thread grew longer, a figure walked into his office.
"I thought you'd go to Stark Tower," John said, turning to the newcomer. "Such small and exquisite Magic."
The newcomer, oblivious to the immense status of the man before him—or the weight of praise from the Wizard King—simply revealed himself. He slightly raised the Mind Scepter in his hand, its tip glowing with a charged blue light, aimed directly at John.
Loki. He was not at Stark Tower, but here.
The two of them stared at each other in silence for a few charged seconds before Loki slowly lowered the Mind Scepter.
"I've always known that among those people, you are the most troublesome one," Loki said, walking over unhurriedly. "Only you make me feel… difficult to deal with."
S.H.I.E.L.D.? The great God of Mischief only needed to employ a little trickery. Those so-called heroes were already blaming each other, a complete and utter mess. Except for his brute of a brother, Loki didn't care about anyone else. A crying woman, an archer controlled by his will, a playboy, and another one with a rather impressive posterior from America, currently being toyed with by a Wizard? Mortals, all of them.
The big green monster? Just a tool he could use. Thor—his own brother—had been personally tricked into a prison and then unceremoniously dropped. The so-called alliance was thus shattered.
Only one person remained—the one standing before him.
"You don't know how powerful you are, Wizard." Loki opened his palm; the blue thread John had followed was his blood. It was a signal, allowing John to know Loki was seeking him out again, ensuring John would come alone. Loki knew John would do this because they were the same kind of people.
Yes, they were both madmen. Arrogant, conceited madmen.
Loki looked at John as if he were gazing upon a priceless treasure. The closer he got, the more intensely he could feel it—the information flowing within his ancient bloodline, the throbbing resonance from the Casket of Ancient Winters. It all confirmed his suspicions.
Loki wasn't in a hurry to kill this man and seize the core of the Casket of Ancient Winters. Instead, he walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, a smirk playing on his lips as he prepared to enjoy the grand show about to begin.
"My army is about to arrive here," Loki declared, his voice laced with triumph. "They are invincible."
John applauded, his clapping insincere and slow. "Oh, that's just wonderful."
On the top floor of Stark Tower, a complex machine whirred to life.
The red and gold armor of Iron Man flew up, swaying precariously as if its pilot were drunk. Tony was back. He had discovered Loki's true purpose and rushed back immediately. Unfortunately, his attack couldn't penetrate the already activated machine; the pure energy shield almost bounced him away.
Back in the Taran building, Loki tapped the ground lightly with his scepter. In the distance, inside Stark Tower, an illusion of Loki materialized.
Tony, unable to break the energy shield, decided to switch to another suit of armor first. The outer layer of Stark Tower had an armor-dismantling device, and mechanical arms efficiently stripped away his battle-damaged suit piece by piece. Seeing Loki appear, Tony didn't suspect a thing and began to converse with the illusion.
John exclaimed, "Your illusion is truly lifelike."
Loki smiled. "You still have a chance to join my team, Wizard." He tilted his head, looking at John. "Compared to that group of incompetent mortals, we are more alike, you and I." He hadn't given up on recruiting John, it seemed.
John also smiled upon hearing this. "And what can you give me?"
Loki asked, "What do you want?"
"The thing in your hand," John's gaze shifted downwards, to the scepter.
That scepter—the one that could rewrite minds—was emitting a tempting, ethereal glow. If John remembered correctly, the gem embedded within it was one of the most precious treasures in the Universe. Unfortunately, Loki didn't seem to realize its true worth.
Loki paused upon hearing John's request and raised the scepter in his hand. "Then come and get it."
The Mind Scepter was held out, an open invitation for John to take it. Loki's smile was sincere. "As long as I can get your support, this is merely an external possession."
John reached out his hand.
Boom!
While Tony was talking to Loki's illusion, he had secretly put on the bracelet that would summon his new armor. He covertly instructed Jarvis to prepare the suit as he walked out onto his balcony to face "Loki," a drink in hand, listing his apparent trump cards with a practiced, almost casual air:
"Let's do a head count here," Tony began, swirling his drink.
"Your brother, the god of thunder;" he ticked one off.
"A super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend;" another.
"A man with breathtaking anger management issues;" he took a sip.
"A couple of master assassins..." Tony paused, a glint in his eye, "...and a mysterious Wizard who can wield Magic."
He then gestured vaguely towards Loki's illusion.
"And you, big fella—you've managed to piss off every single one of them."
Loki's illusion retorted, "I have an army."
Tony, undeterred, simply replied, "We have a Hulk." He then added, a touch of grim satisfaction in his voice, "There's no throne; there is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes, and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it."
He took a sip of wine, appearing as calm as an old dog, but in reality, he was panicking. Especially when "Loki" walked over and raised the scepter that could control people's hearts.
"Jarvis, what are you waiting for?" He glanced at the floor-to-ceiling window, tightened his grip on the glass, and roared, "Activate!"
The glass was smashed against the window, and he rushed outside, leaping down to create distance. The building wall exploded, and a suit of armor flew through Loki's illusionary body, heading straight for Tony. In mid-air, scanning and positioning were completed, and the armor seamlessly attached itself to him. The moment the faceplate snapped on, Tony transformed back into Iron Man.
He flew back outside Stark Tower, wearing the brand-new armor, and raised his palm cannons. "You've also offended someone else—his name is Phil."
Tony attacked without hesitation. The palm cannon blasted "Loki."
Tony's expression froze. He saw the Loki that had been pierced by his palm cannon, his body gradually disappearing. The smile on that face seemed to mock Tony's foolishness. In other words, he had been babbling there for so long, but Loki wasn't even here?
Just at this moment, the energy of the spatial portal installed on Stark Tower reached critical mass. A huge beam of energy rushed from the top of the building towards the sky, and a dimensional gate gradually tore open.
The Chitauri on the other side of the Universe received the attack signal simultaneously. Like locusts, they rode in sleek, alien flying vehicles and poured out of the spatial door.
The War began.
Tony didn't care about Loki's illusion anymore. He flew towards the spatial door to stop the invasion of the army. The Chitauri army, flying into New York, began indiscriminate attacks. Wherever they went, alien weapons destroyed streets and buildings.
In the Taran Industries building.
John's hand was about to touch the Mind Scepter. Loki's smiling face was not affected by the arriving soldiers.
At the moment of contact, John's hand stopped. He shifted his gaze. "You are very confident in your illusion. Has it never been seen through?"
Loki was startled, then smiled and shook his head. "Never."
John turned around, his wand now in hand, and waved it towards his back. "Relashio!"
Sparks erupted, hitting a human body, which quickly moved away from John's side. The Loki who had been standing next to him gradually disappeared. This, too, was an illusion. The real Loki had been behind John all along, waiting for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.
John couldn't help but shake his head. "You are far too confident."
Loki rolled in the air, landed firmly, and the scepter in his hand fired an energy ball. John waved his wand, and an Iron Armor Charm collided with the energy ball, deflecting it away. Within a few seconds, the two exchanged more than a dozen attacks.
It was John who found the opening. "Expelliarmus!"
Bouncing off an attack, John raised his right hand and squeezed hard. Loki's body seemed to be held by an invisible, giant hand. His movements paused, and he was struck by a red light that transformed into a bird, passing through him and hitting Loki in a roundabout way.
Loki flew out and fell heavily to the ground. The scepter in his hand spun as it flew towards John. John reached out to catch the Mind Scepter, simultaneously waving his wand at the now-unarmed Loki.
However, he didn't know that this was all part of the God of Mischief's calculation. Taking advantage of John waving his wand, Loki sneered, "Taste this!"
Turning his hands, a deep blue, ornate box appeared in front of Loki's chest—the Casket of Ancient Winters. The moment he held it, an irresistible, bone-chilling cold current surged towards John.
John's body was frozen inch by inch, the movement of his wand gradually stopping. He was completely encased in ice.
Loki got up and walked over, not bothering to conceal his triumphant smile. "Surprised?"
In the ice block, John's eyeballs trembled.
Loki pulled the Mind Scepter—which had embedded itself in an office desk—free and said leisurely, "Now, I should go and rule my world."
One problem solved. There were still a few small problems left. When everything was resolved, Loki would personally find the core and reawaken the Casket of Ancient Winters.
The Chitauri controlled their flying vehicles, swarming over Manhattan. Weapons fired lasers that landed on a building, causing ripples in the air. Just as the Chitauri were feeling strange, a whip cut one of them in half at the waist.
In the chaotic crowd below, a two-meter giant covered in metal walked step by step. The faceplate popped open. Ivan looked at the flying Chitauri army, and he grinned.
"Come on—let my Fighter armor step onto a bigger stage."
Closing the faceplate, Ivan flicked his hands. Two electric whips extended, crackling with energy.
At the same time, General Ross received the news. New York was under attack by an alien army. He extinguished his cigar. "It's time for the Steel Soldiers to move out."
With an order, the heavy bodies of the Steel Soldiers in formation activated their back thrusters. Column after column of Steel Soldiers flew from the military base, heading towards New York.
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