Chapter 213: The Tesseract and the Scepter

Dr. Selvig was still maintaining the beam of energy shooting into the sky from the Tesseract. However, when he witnessed a flaming skeleton riding a fiery dragon tearing through the Chitauri mothership, he was utterly dumbfounded.

"This guy might be stronger than Thor..." Selvig muttered in disbelief, his eyes fixed on the sky.

Though his mind was under Loki's control, his memories remained intact. After all, his niece, Jane Foster, was Thor's girlfriend, making him quite familiar with the concept of superheroes. Despite the Mind Stone's grip over his will, it couldn't erase his core personality. Deep inside, Selvig still hoped someone would stop him.

And now, he saw hope.

As Chitauri soldiers plummeted from the sky, the fiery dragon flew closer, not toward him but toward another part of the building.

Jon, having shed his Ghost Rider flames, burst through the window, landing with precision inside a tower. On the ground lay Loki, clad in gold armor and a green cape, surrounded by shattered glass.

After Jon had destroyed the Chitauri mothership, Loki had been flying on one of their vehicles. Since all Chitauri tech was linked to the mothership, its destruction had caused the vehicle to lose power, sending Loki crashing through the building's ceiling.

"Hey, Loki," Jon greeted casually, reverting from his Ghost Rider form.

Loki scrambled to his feet, furious and disheveled. "Enough!" he roared, preparing to launch into a monologue.

But Jon cut him off, "Ah, save it. I know exactly what you're about to say. 'You all think you can defeat me? I am a god! You insignificant worm!' And then I'd beat the crap out of you~!"

Loki was speechless. How did Jon know exactly what he was going to say?

"Let's skip the theatrics. Just hand over your scepter. I've got things to do," Jon said, stepping forward and snatching the scepter right out of Loki's hand before the god could react. Without another word, Jon mounted Igris and flew off.

"Hey! Give that back, you foolish mortal!" Loki shouted after him, but Jon was already gone.

Riding Igris, Jon headed toward Dr. Selvig, who was still struggling to control the Tesseract's energy. The portal remained open, a gateway linking Earth to the void. Jon knew he had to close it quickly—who knew what Thanos might send next?

Seeing Jon approach, Selvig shook his head. "I… I can't shut it down."

With the scepter no longer in Loki's possession, Selvig had regained his free will. The guilt of his actions while under mind control weighed heavily on him.

"I know. But this can," Jon replied, holding up the scepter. "We'll fight magic with magic."

Selvig wasn't entirely sure what Jon meant by that. The concept of the Infinity Stones was still unknown to them, but Selvig had theorized that Loki's scepter could indeed interact with the Tesseract. Their energies, though different in nature, resonated on a similar frequency, both emitting strong gamma radiation as if they were connected.

Jon stabbed the scepter into the Tesseract's energy field. The moment the Mind Stone touched the Tesseract, a massive pulse of energy erupted. Slowly, the beam piercing the sky began to wane, and the portal to the void collapsed.

It was over.

Meanwhile, the six Avengers stood in stunned silence, staring at the now-closed portal. Captain America finally broke the silence. "Uh, is it over? So that flaming skeleton guy was on our side? Why didn't Fury recruit him for the Avengers?"

"Maybe he, like me, doesn't like taking orders from Fury," Tony Stark quipped. "Though honestly, I don't even know how to feel right now. I was all hyped up for a fight."

Tony glanced at his teammates and added, "Hey, how about we grab some shawarma? I know a great place. My treat. And no inviting Flame Skeleton."

After closing the portal, Jon's phone rang. Expecting Annie, he was surprised to see an unknown number.

He answered, and a familiar voice greeted him, "Nice work, hothead."

"Fury. Seriously? That your new nickname for me? It's worse than the last one," Jon replied dryly.

"Nah, just something I came up with on the spot," Fury chuckled.

Jon didn't bother arguing. "How's Coulson?"

"Loki stabbed him in the chest with the scepter. He's in the hospital but alive," Fury replied.

Jon paused. Though he had warned Coulson, he suspected the agent hadn't fully heeded his advice. Still, at least he had survived.

"So, what do you want?" Jon asked, knowing Fury wouldn't call without a reason.

"Simple. Stay put. I'm sending someone to pick you and Dr. Selvig up."

Jon smirked. "You mean you're sending someone to retrieve the scepter and the Tesseract."

"Of course. Those are extremely dangerous artifacts. They need to be handled with care," Fury replied coolly.

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