Chapter 34: The Return of Light

Chapter 34: The Return of Light

Baldur tore through the void at speeds that defied logic, a golden comet streaking through the cosmos, piercing through the darkness of space.

His body still ached, his reserves still burned low, but he didn't care. He couldn't care.

Because he was late.

Far too late.

As soon as he had left the Celestial Vault, the sight of Earth had confirmed his worst fear.

The invasion had already begun.

The atmosphere crackled as he broke through the planet's defenses, the reentry heat dissipating around his golden aura. The moment he was past the clouds, the destruction became clear.

New York was under siege.

Smoke filled the sky. Explosions rocked the city, flames devouring entire streets. Chitauri warships streaked through the air, their weapons cutting through buildings like they were made of paper.

Baldur scanned the battlefield in an instant, his mind racing.

There—a flash of lightning.

Thor.

He was fighting, as expected, hammer in hand, tearing through the enemy like a storm given form. But even he was being pushed back, overwhelmed by the sheer endless waves of invaders.

Baldur's eyes flickered to the portal above, the endless army pouring through like a dam had been shattered.

No more hesitation.

No more delay.

Baldur moved.

His body blurred into golden light as he descended, streaking toward the ground, past buildings, past warships, past fire and debris.

The moment he reappeared, he landed with an explosion of radiant energy, a golden shockwave bursting outward, sending a dozen Chitauri flying.

The battlefield paused for half a second.

Then—

A voice, familiar and hoarse from battle, cut through the chaos.

"Baldur?"

Thor.

Baldur grinned despite himself, turning to face his brother, who stood atop a pile of Chitauri corpses, Mjolnir still crackling with residual lightning.

"Miss me?" Baldur called.

Thor let out a relieved laugh, but his expression quickly turned serious. "Where in the Nine Realms have you been?"

Baldur rolled his shoulders, golden energy flaring around him. "Long story. Short version? Got my ass handed to me, ended up in a library, and now I'm here."

Thor frowned. That answer was not satisfying.

"Later," Baldur promised, his eyes snapping back to the battle. "Right now, we have an invasion to stop."

Thor exhaled sharply. "Aye."

Baldur didn't waste another second.

He vanished in a burst of light, reappearing mid-air just as a group of Chitauri gunships began firing toward the streets.

His hands moved instinctively—constructs of solid light forming around him in an instant. A barrage of golden spears erupted forward, piercing through the ships like divine arrows, sending them crashing to the streets below.

But he didn't stop.

Baldur flashed between the buildings, his movements so fast the Chitauri barely had time to register him before he obliterated them. Every swing of his arm sent an arc of golden energy slicing through the enemy ranks, every motion a blur of radiant destruction.

This was what he was built for.

Not sitting in halls of scholars.

Not watching history unfold from the sidelines.

This.

The battlefield.

And yet—

Even as he tore through the Chitauri forces, even as he felt his power returning, there was something wrong.

The numbers.

They weren't stopping.

For every enemy he cut down, for every ship he destroyed, another took its place almost instantly.

Baldur gritted his teeth, his golden glow intensifying.

He needed to cut the head off the snake.

And that meant getting to the portal.

Baldur shot upward, his body bending into a streak of golden light as he surged toward the massive portal above the city.

If he could get close enough—destroy it somehow—he could end this invasion in an instant.

But just as he was about to break through the enemy lines, a bolt of plasma tore through the air, clipping the edge of his shoulder.

Baldur gritted his teeth, skidding mid-flight, his form stabilizing instantly. The wound was minor, barely a scratch, but it made one thing clear:

The Chitauri weren't going to let him reach the portal so easily.

He exhaled sharply, his fingers glowing with golden energy, preparing to burn through anything in his way—

But then—

A voice, sharp and laced with disbelief, crackled over an earpiece he wasn't wearing.

"Who the hell is that?"

Baldur turned his head.

Through the chaos, a red-and-gold blur shot toward him, stopping just meters away, hovering mid-air.

Stark.

The faceplate of the Iron Man suit slid open, revealing Tony's expression—equal parts impressed and confused.

"You must be the new guy."

Baldur smirked. "That depends. You guys taking applications?"

Tony blinked, his brain clearly running diagnostics on who—or what—he was looking at. "You're—wait, hold on. Thor's brother?"

"One of them," Baldur confirmed. "The good-looking one."

Tony snorted. "I'm gonna ignore that because we've got bigger problems. Unless you can snap your fingers and shut that portal down?"

Baldur glanced toward the massive rip in the sky, still pouring Chitauri into the city.

"No fingers snapping," Baldur admitted. "But I can clear the sky."

Tony's eyes lit up behind the HUD. "Oh, I like that. Go on, then, do your thing, Mr. Golden Boy."

Baldur vanished in a burst of light.

The next second, he reappeared in the heart of the battlefield, crashing into a Leviathan mid-flight. The sheer force of his impact dented the massive war beast's armor, sending it spiraling out of control as he ripped through its body like a blazing spear.

Chitauri gunships scrambled to react, firing wildly, but Baldur was already gone, bouncing between their formations like a supernova.

He twisted through the sky, his hands carving through the air—golden constructs forming in his wake.

Hard-light blades.

Explosive projectiles.

Beams of pure solar energy, burning through the enemy ranks like they were nothing.

Then, out of nowhere—

A web shot latched onto his ankle.

Baldur blinked.

What?

Before he could react, a blur of red and blue swung past him, flipping mid-air.

"Whoa! Dude!"

Baldur barely caught a glimpse of Peter Parker before Spider-Man latched onto his shoulders, hanging upside down as they streaked through the battlefield together.

"Okay, first off," Peter continued, "you're glowing—like, a lot. Second—are you related to Thor? Because you've got, like, the whole god thing going on, but not 'lightning and thunder'—more like—"

"Kid," Baldur cut in, catching another Chitauri by the throat mid-flight and crushing its windpipe effortlessly, "do you always talk this much during fights?"

Peter kicked another enemy off a rooftop. "Only when I'm nervous!"

Baldur chuckled, dropping toward a nearby rooftop as Peter let go, landing beside him.

The younger hero tilted his head. "Sooo… what do I call you? Goldilocks? Sunbro? Thor 2.0?"

"Baldur."

Peter snapped his fingers. "Ohhh, like Norse mythology, Baldur?"

Baldur grinned. "Something like that."

"Cool, cool—so, uh—what's the plan?"

Baldur's eyes locked onto the portal again.

"We stop them from sending more troops through."

Peter nodded rapidly. "Okay, yeah, but, like—how? You got a magic switch? Or do we just punch really, really hard?"

A new voice cut through their conversation.

"I'm still working on that part."

Baldur turned—

And saw Steve Rogers approaching.

Captain America's uniform was battle-worn, his shield already dented from the sheer onslaught of combat. But his expression was as steady as ever.

Baldur nodded toward him. "You must be the famous Captain."

Steve gave him a quick once-over. "And you must be the missing Asgardian."

Baldur sighed. "Yeah. That's me."

Steve's jaw tightened slightly. "Thor said you were coming. He also said you were late."

Baldur exhaled. "Yeah, I figured."

No time for guilt.

No time for explanations.

Baldur pointed toward the portal. "I need to get up there."

Steve nodded. "Stark's on it. Banner too. But we need to buy them more time."

"Then I'll hold the sky," Baldur said simply.

Steve nodded again, already turning to Peter. "Spidey, you're with me. We need to keep the streets clear."

Peter gave a mock salute. "Aye, aye, Captain!"

Baldur watched them move.

Steve and Peter were already in action, working together like a well-oiled machine.

This was what made Midgard different.

They weren't gods.

They weren't immortal warriors.

But they fought anyway.

Baldur smiled to himself.

Then—

He launched into the air once more, golden energy exploding around him.

If they needed time—

Then he would make sure the sky belonged to them.

Baldur soared upward, his body breaking the sound barrier, leaving a golden streak through the sky. The portal loomed above, still spewing Chitauri forces into the battlefield. He had to end this.

His body flickered as he turned into pure light, accelerating past the warships, dodging energy blasts with movements so fast they might as well have been frozen in time.

Then—

A new presence entered the battlefield.

Baldur felt it before he saw it.

The missile.

A nuclear warhead, slicing through the air, heading straight toward the city.

Even before Tony's voice crackled in his ear, Baldur knew what was happening.

"Hey, uh, Goldilocks 2.0," Tony called, his suit flashing through the sky. "I'm gonna need you to—oh, who am I kidding? You already see it, don't you?"

Baldur gritted his teeth, eyes locking onto the missile.

The humans had chosen destruction as their failsafe.

If he did nothing, New York would turn to dust.

No.

Not today.

Baldur vanished, his body stretching into a golden beam of light, far faster than any machine made by human hands.

Within a single heartbeat, he was in front of the nuke.

Another—

And he had grabbed it.

The sheer momentum threatened to tear through his grip, but Baldur held firm, hard-light constructs reinforcing his arms, the force of his power counteracting the missile's thrust.

He twisted sharply, redirecting its path, his body flaring brighter than a dying star.

With a single burst of speed, he rocketed toward the portal, dragging the nuke behind him.

"Hold onto something!" he called into the comms, knowing the others could hear him.

And then—

He was through.

The darkness of space swallowed him instantly.

He barely had a second to process the sudden shift in gravity before he turned, hurling the warhead toward the Chitauri command ship.

The nuke struck dead center.

A shockwave erupted outward, consuming the warship in an instant, its energy cascading through the rest of the fleet.

The Chitauri's bodies collapsed across Earth, their connection to the mothership severed.

Baldur hovered in space, watching the destruction unfold, feeling the heat of the explosion against his skin.

It was done.

Midgard was safe.

He turned.

And that's when he realized—

The portal was already closing.

He had seconds.

Baldur moved.

His body became light itself, a golden streak ripping through the void, faster than thought, faster than the laws of reality should allow.

The portal shrank behind him, collapsing inward—

And then—

He was through.

The moment he emerged, he let out a sharp breath, his golden aura dimming slightly as he stabilized in the sky.

Below him—

The battlefield was silent.

Chitauri bodies lay motionless, their warships falling from the sky like dying embers.

Baldur descended slowly, his boots touching the cracked pavement.

The others were there.

Thor. Steve. Tony, collapsed but alive. Natasha, Clint, Bruce.

They all stared at him.

No one spoke for a moment.

Then—

Thor stepped forward.

"You returned," he said simply.

Baldur smirked. "Had to clean up your mess, didn't I?"

Thor huffed out a tired laugh, shaking his head.

Steve was the next to approach. He studied Baldur for a moment before nodding.

"Good work," the Captain said.

Tony, still half-sprawled on the ground, lifted a weak hand. "Yeah, yeah. We get it. You're fast. Can someone help me up?"

Baldur chuckled, offering a hand. Tony took it.

The battle was over.

But Baldur knew—

This war was just beginning.

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After the Battle

The air was thick with smoke and the fading scent of ozone from Thor's lightning. The streets of New York, once filled with screams and explosions, had fallen into a heavy silence. The Chitauri forces lay dead or lifeless, their ships smoldering in the ruined skyline. The invasion was over.

But the world had changed.

Baldur stood among the Avengers, rolling his shoulders as his golden aura flickered slightly, dimming now that the fight was over. He let out a slow breath, scanning the destruction around them. New York had survived—but barely.

A few feet away, Thor wiped blood from his forehead, stepping over the wreckage to join him. "You returned."

Baldur glanced at him, smirking despite the exhaustion in his limbs. "Told you I'd show up."

Thor chuckled, shaking his head. "Late as always."

"Fashionably," Baldur corrected.

A heavy thud came from behind them as Hulk unceremoniously dropped Loki onto the cracked pavement. The trickster god groaned, his body bruised and limp from the beating he had received.

Tony exhaled dramatically, glancing at Loki's barely conscious form. "Well, that was fun. We should do this again sometime. Maybe without the intergalactic genocide attempt."

Steve was already adjusting his shield, scanning the area. "We need to secure the perimeter, help with civilian rescue efforts."

Baldur turned his gaze toward the civilians peeking out from behind the wreckage, their eyes wide with shock. Some had their phones out, already recording. Others whispered among themselves, their eyes bouncing between the heroes who had just saved their city.

He could feel it—the shift.

This wasn't just another battle. This was the moment everything changed.

Thor nudged Loki with his boot. "Brother, you look well."

Loki groaned, muttering, "I suppose I should be grateful I still have bones."

Tony sighed. "Alright, who's picking up the trash? Because I'm assuming 'alien war criminal' doesn't fall under NYPD jurisdiction."

As if on cue, the hum of Quinjet engines filled the air.

Baldur turned his head just as a fleet of black aircraft descended, their sleek forms cutting through the smoke. The back ramp of the lead Quinjet lowered, and a figure in a long black coat stepped out.

Nick Fury.

His one good eye swept over the battlefield, assessing the damage, the destruction, the bodies of fallen Chitauri. His face betrayed nothing, but Baldur could tell—he had expected this.

This was why S.H.I.E.L.D. existed.

Fury's gaze locked onto Thor first, giving him a brief nod before his eyes flickered to Loki, then to Baldur. He studied him for a second longer than the others before speaking.

"Well," Fury said, his voice sharp, unreadable. "That was one hell of a show."

Tony put his hands on his hips. "Yeah, I give it a solid eight out of ten. Would've been a ten, but the collateral damage kinda ruins the score."

Fury glanced at him, unimpressed. "Stark."

"Director," Tony shot back with an equally flat tone.

Steve cleared his throat. "We need to get Loki into custody before he tries anything else."

Fury's expression didn't change. "That's the plan. And I'm assuming your… late arrival," he said, nodding toward Baldur, "is an ally?"

Thor smiled. "This is Baldur, my brother."

Fury raised an eyebrow. "Yes i know, but seen your other brother it's a adequate question."

Baldur smirked. "You sound thrilled."

"I don't like surprises," Fury said simply. "And you? You're a surprise."

Baldur shrugged. "I get that a lot."

Fury exhaled, rubbing his temple before turning back to Loki. "And what about him?"

Loki, still flat on the ground, weakly raised a finger. "I am burdened with—"

"Shut up," Tony and Natasha said in unison.

Thor sighed. "He will return to Asgard to answer for his crimes."

Fury's jaw tightened slightly. "You sure about that?"

Thor met his gaze. "Yes."

For a long moment, Fury said nothing. Then, finally, he nodded.

"Alright. But before you leave," he turned back to Baldur, "you're coming with us."

Baldur raised an eyebrow. "I am?"

Fury tilted his head. "You just dropped into a warzone, tore through an alien army, and can apparently move faster than light. You think I'm gonna just let you fly off without a conversation?"

Baldur sighed dramatically. "You humans and your questions."

Tony clapped his hands together. "Alright, great, we're all making new friends. Can we get shawarma now?"

Steve blinked. "Shawarma?"

"Yeah, there's this place down the street. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it."

Baldur glanced at Thor, then back at Tony. "Is this what you do after battles? Eat?"

Tony grinned. "Yeah, sometimes. You in?"

Baldur smirked. "Sure. Why not?"

Fury sighed. "Gods and billionaires," he muttered under his breath before turning back to his agents. "Get Loki secured. We're done here."

As the team started moving toward the waiting Quinjet, Baldur glanced once more at the city around him.

The invasion was over.

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