Not long after the earlier chaos settled, Ethan Voss suddenly pretended to answer a phone call.
He paused for a moment, listening to nothing in particular, then exploded with anger.
"Loki, you bastard!"
His voice echoed sharply across the bridge.
Ethan turned immediately toward the control crew.
"Send the order," he said coldly. "We're heading to New York."
Under Ethan's command, the flying helicarrier had already been circling the ocean not far from New York's coastline. They had deliberately remained close enough to respond quickly if anything happened.
Now that the order had been given, the carrier immediately accelerated toward the city.
The massive vessel cut across the sky like a floating fortress.
When they reached New York Bay, the sight waiting for them made everyone freeze.
A blinding beam of light shot upward from the city skyline.
The pillar of energy pierced the clouds and extended straight into the heavens.
Ethan quickly received a live surveillance feed transmitted by Bullseye.
The screen displayed the rooftop of Typhoon Tower.
Several figures moved around the roof, operating a strange mechanical device. At the center of the machine sat the glowing Cosmic Cube.
Energy surged through the device.
A beam of light erupted from the machine and blasted into the sky.
High above the city, the beam began to converge and twist together. Slowly, the sky itself seemed to tear open.
A dark circular void formed in midair.
Within that deep black opening, something enormous and terrifying appeared to be gathering.
Ethan clapped his hands once.
"Well," he said calmly, "it seems the enemy descended through that hole."
He turned toward the assembled heroes.
"Everyone," Ethan continued, "we have work to do."
He began assigning roles immediately.
"The most important and critical task will be handled by Iron Man and Captain America."
Both men looked toward him.
"Your mission," Ethan said clearly, "is to find a way to close that portal."
Steve Rogers looked completely confused.
Tony Stark, on the other hand, leaned closer to the screen displaying the machine. His brows furrowed slightly as he studied the energy patterns.
"I haven't had time to analyze that device properly," Stark admitted. "And judging from the energy readings, it's protected by some kind of shield."
He sighed.
"Breaking through that shield won't be easy."
Ethan shook his head helplessly.
"If the world's smartest and most famous scientist can't solve the problem," he said, "then the rest of us definitely can't."
Stark smirked.
"Alright, alright," Tony said. "Looks like I'll have to refresh my genius credentials and figure out how to shut that thing down."
Ethan then turned to Steve.
"Team leader."
Steve looked up.
"Stark will need to study the portal machine up close," Ethan explained. "With enemies everywhere, he probably won't be able to concentrate."
He pointed toward the city.
"So I'll have to trouble you to protect him."
Steve hesitated briefly.
Then he nodded firmly.
"Understood."
While they were speaking, the surveillance footage updated again.
Several small black dots emerged from the portal high in the sky.
They quickly spread out across the airspace above New York.
Scouts.
The enemy was probing the battlefield.
Ethan's expression hardened slightly.
"The enemy forces appear to be numerous," he said. "Our first priority is protecting civilians."
That responsibility would fall to S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and the New York Police Department.
But the superheroes had an even greater mission.
Ethan pointed to the digital map displayed on the screen.
"I need you to contain the battlefield within a fifteen-block radius centered on Typhoon Tower."
He looked at each hero in turn.
"Each of you will be assigned a specific sector. Hold your positions, maintain the perimeter, and prevent the enemy from spreading further into the city."
His voice carried absolute confidence.
"Guard your posts," he said. "And New York will be saved."
The superheroes exchanged brief looks.
Then they nodded one after another.
Moments later, aircraft began launching from the helicarrier's flight deck.
One by one, the heroes departed for the battlefield.
Above New York, the sky grew darker.
The portal expanded, and from its depths poured a massive Chitauri army.
Countless alien soldiers descended in dense waves.
Ethan boarded one of the transport jets as well.
Captain America sat nearby.
As the aircraft approached Manhattan, Ethan looked out through the window at the sky filled with alien ships.
His thoughts drifted elsewhere.
After several upgrades, his divine kingdom had changed significantly.
Even the portal connected to that realm had evolved.
It could now open much larger gateways than before.
To be honest, Ethan had briefly considered opening his own portal directly against the one above New York.
If his portal connected to the alien portal, the results might have been extremely interesting.
Unfortunately, doing that would immediately alert the forces on the other side that something was wrong.
That would complicate things too early.
For now, the people of New York would have to endure the chaos.
Still, Ethan had already prepared numerous arrangements behind the scenes.
The results would soon become visible.
The jet quickly arrived at Typhoon Tower.
Ethan and Captain America stepped out of the aircraft just as Iron Man descended from the sky nearby.
Tony's armor touched down with a metallic thud.
"You two head to the rooftop," Ethan said. "I want to see Loki first."
With that, he turned and walked toward the elevator.
Behind him, Steve suddenly shouted in surprise.
"Wait a second! What are you doing?"
Tony answered before Ethan could respond.
"The elevator's too slow," Stark said. "I'll carry you up there."
Steve immediately protested.
"That doesn't mean you need to carry me like a princess! Put me down!"
Ethan clenched his teeth.
What terrible language.
He refused to turn around.
His personal elevator inside Typhoon Tower was a glass sightseeing elevator. Two entire walls were transparent, offering a panoramic view of the city outside.
From that height, the battle across New York was clearly visible.
Alien ships streaked through the sky.
Explosions erupted across rooftops and streets.
The city was beginning to collapse into chaos.
According to Ethan's original plan, Frank Castle had been waiting in ambush on the rooftop the entire time.
The moment Dr. Erik Selvig activated the portal device, Frank had appeared from the shadows and knocked him unconscious.
Then he used a portal seed to open a gateway into the divine kingdom and dragged Selvig inside.
With the scientist gone, the portal device would be far harder for Tony Stark to decipher.
More importantly, the Mind Scepter had always remained in Ethan's possession.
Stark had never had the opportunity to study it.
That meant Tony was extremely unlikely to immediately realize that the scepter held the key to shutting down the machine.
And Stark's personality worked perfectly with Ethan's plan.
As a proud and brilliant genius, Tony's first instinct would always be to solve the problem using his own knowledge and intelligence.
Ding.
The elevator doors opened.
Ethan stepped out into his luxurious penthouse suite.
Beyond the interior living space lay a rooftop garden that stretched beneath the open sky.
Loki stood near the garden's edge, staring upward.
Iron Man flew past him a moment later without stopping.
When Loki turned and saw Ethan approaching, a wicked smile slowly appeared on his face.
Ethan's gaze drifted briefly toward Loki's left arm.
White bandages wrapped tightly around it.
He couldn't help smiling to himself.
Logan's claw strike must have hurt quite a bit.
"Oh, Mr. Voss," Loki said smoothly. "You finally decided to show up?"
Loki walked in from the hanging garden, his expression filled with mocking confidence.
"Yes," Ethan replied calmly. "I came to accept your surrender."
"Stubborn," Loki said casually.
He walked over to the sofa and sat down as if he owned the place.
A bottle of expensive red wine rested on the table in front of him. Loki poured himself another glass and took a slow sip.
He looked extremely satisfied.
Ethan glanced toward his wine cabinet.
His eyes flickered slightly.
"That bottle costs sixty thousand dollars," he said. "It's a shame to waste it on you."
Loki set the glass down elegantly.
"It's barely drinkable," he replied with a cold snort.
"Compared to the wines of Asgard, this is nothing."
Ethan smiled faintly.
"Asgard's wines, huh?"
Loki's expression darkened slightly.
"I will become the king of Midgard first," Loki said firmly. "And one day, I will also become the king of Asgard."
Ethan said nothing.
He simply smiled.
"You're awfully confident," he said after a moment. "Does your father know about this plan?"
Loki ignored the remark and gestured toward the massive windows behind him.
Outside, the alien army poured into the sky above the city.
"My army," Loki said proudly. "Can you stop them?"
Ethan sat down across from him.
"Your army?" he asked calmly.
He tilted his head slightly.
"Since when did you acquire an army like that?"
Ethan leaned back.
"To be honest, I find something about this situation very strange."
He studied Loki carefully.
"You're relying on someone else's power to wage war. That sounds suspiciously like making a deal with the devil."
Ethan smiled faintly.
"Aren't you worried that once they get what they want, they'll deal with you next?"
Loki's expression turned icy.
"No one will break our agreement."
Ethan chuckled softly.
"You're hundreds of years old," he said. "How can you still be this naive?"
He leaned forward slightly.
"In every deal, in every contract, the stronger party can cancel the agreement whenever they want."
His eyes narrowed.
"Especially when the stronger side can crush the weaker one without effort."
Ethan smiled again.
"So tell me," he said. "Between you and your mysterious ally…"
"Which one is the giant?"
"And which one is the ant?"
"I am a god!" Loki roared.
Ethan shook his head slowly.
"Wait until you possess Odin's power before saying that."
He sighed.
"Otherwise, repeating that title over and over just makes you sound ridiculous."
"You dare call me ridiculous?"
Loki's eyes burned with fury.
Ethan stood up calmly.
"Whether you're ridiculous or not," he said, "you'll find out soon enough."
He gestured politely toward the rooftop garden.
"Shall we step outside?"
"Snort."
Loki stood up.
"I'd like to see what kind of tricks you're planning."
.....
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