Chapter 58: Heroes Assemble

Gunfire erupted as dozens of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents opened fire, tranquilizer rounds pelting the epicenter of the explosion.

It didn't make a dent.

Even after multiple enhancements to the serum's potency, S.H.I.E.L.D. had severely underestimated their target, the descendant of the Frost Giants. His physiology was far beyond human comprehension.

Loki hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Is this how you intend to subdue me? With your shiny little toys?" he sneered.

With a devilish grin twisting his features, Loki caught a bullet mid-air between his fingers, examined it with disdain, and let it clatter to the floor. He chuckled coldly. He was a god, especially now, with the Scepter gifted by Thanos. The moment it fused with his will, he became a god in truth.

His grip tightened around the Scepter, his gaze growing feverish. A scholar of arcane and cosmic knowledge, Loki had begun to suspect the Scepter's true nature, particularly the gleaming gem embedded at its head. If it was what he thought it was…

Even the power of a Skyfather would pale in comparison. If he could master it, he would ascend, to universal scale.

"Die, all of you." Loki spat, coldly.

Natasha Romanoff sprang into action, vaulting across the battlefield in a blur. She rolled across the ground, came up in a slide, and struck hard, targeting the most vulnerable part of Loki's anatomy.

Too slow.

Loki's reflexes were leagues beyond hers. He snatched her ankle mid-kick and slammed her sideways like a ragdoll.

"I will bring war and ruin to Earth!" Loki roared, his voice thundering with fury. "You have no idea what you're facing. You've spent your entire lives circling this pathetic rock. You are insects—"

BOOM.

A golden comet blazed through the sky and crashed through dozens of floors with devastating force. The shockwave leveled the sub-basement.

Captain Marvel landed, her body radiant with pulsating energy, and drove a titanic punch straight into Loki, sending him hurtling over a hundred meters underground.

"So this is the last god Asgard has left?" she said, voice dry with disappointment. "Seriously?"

SHWIP!

"Watch out!" Coulson shouted.

Loki was already back, lunging with the Scepter, aiming it directly at Carol Danvers' chest. The blade pierced flesh… or so he thought.

Blood trickled from his lips as he grinned savagely. "Become my loyal servant… pathetic human."

Carol stared at him. Cold. Unimpressed.

Loki's grin froze.

He looked down, stabbed again, cautiously. Nothing. The blade wouldn't penetrate.

She was too strong.

In the next instant, Carol slapped him, hard. The impact shattered the air around them, the blow strong enough to punch through a meteor.

But it passed through him.

A hologram.

The real Loki emerged behind Hawkeye, his dagger already embedded in Clint Barton's chest. Laughing wildly, he unleashed a wave of illusory magic, disappearing in an instant along with the Tesseract, vanishing without a trace.

Everyone went rigid.

Carol closed her eyes, attempting to track the Tesseract's unique energy signature, but her expression quickly darkened. "I can't sense it. And whatever that Scepter is, it interfered with the Tesseract's signal. Temporarily scrambled its frequency…"

"War is coming," Coulson muttered grimly.

He reached for his belt, pulled out a secure comm, and dialed one number. He said only four words:

"Avengers Initiative is go."

The signal went out, calling upon every name on the list. The chosen were summoned.

A few hours later…

Inside a covert S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, Steve Rogers stood tall and resolute.

"I'm ready to serve," he said simply. "If it's for the good of the world, I'll do whatever it takes."

Others had answered the call, too.

Mutants, enhanced individuals, technological geniuses, each had their reasons, but all converged aboard a massive airborne fortress: the Helicarrier.

It was larger than anything previously fielded. Upgraded with new weapon systems, some reverse-engineered from the Tesseract itself.

Tony Stark flew in clad in his latest Iron Man armor, landing smoothly on the deck floating just above the ocean.

He eyed the group warily—supers, soldiers, and strangers.

"So... is that the famous Stars-and-Stripes?" he quipped, spotting Cap. "My dad used to talk about you. Said you were a real stick in the mud, zero sense of humor. Seventy years on ice must've been refreshing."

Then, catching sight of the blonde standing beside him, he added, "And who's the golden goddess? First time meeting, but hey, I'm open to interstellar diplomacy."

Tony's helmet retracted as he stepped out of his armor, dressed in a ludicrously expensive suit. His eyes flicked across the assembled team with his trademark mix of skepticism and calculation, until they landed on Captain Marvel. His expression shifted. Serious. Intent. Interested.

But before he could make a move, Steve stepped forward, calm but commanding.

"We're all stepping onto the same battlefield," he said. "That makes us comrades. Let's try to get along."

Fury stood nearby, arms folded behind his back. His face gave nothing away, but in truth, he was concerned. This was the best roster he could assemble on short notice, and against a foe nearing Skyfather level… it might not be enough.

Tony, meanwhile, was already mentally sizing everyone up, including the S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives like Natasha. His sharp tongue and probing sarcasm tested their responses one by one. Behind the quips, though, was a tactical mind assessing his allies' mettle.

After all, they were up against aliens, and if anyone dropped the ball on the battlefield, people would die.

And Tony Stark did not plan on dying for someone else's mistake.

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