Chapter 114: Unlucky Loki

Banner finally arrived at the battlefield on his small motorcycle.

After organizing the civilian evacuation, Captain America turned around and was surprised to see Banner.

"This scene doesn't look too good."

"It’s not the worst of it yet."

The Captain comforted Banner before saying, "Tony, Dr. Banner has arrived."

"Great, I’ll be there in a moment. Let him suit up; it’s going to be a good show."

Tony successfully drew the attention of a Leviathan, leading it toward Park Avenue. The creature’s abilities were mediocre, but its massive size and high defense made it difficult to kill. The two men soon spotted the giant beast, observing its unnatural, sky-swimming form.

Looking at the massive creature, Captain America said to Banner, "Now you can get angry."

Banner walked forward with firm resolution, glancing back at the Captain. "I’m always angry."

Just as the Leviathan was about to reach him, Banner let out a roar, his muscles expanding with the texture of green marble. Hulk roared, caught the Leviathan by its teeth, and used his immense strength to force the creature to a dead stop. Tony seized the opportunity to fire an "Ex-Wife" missile, shattering the beast's spine.

"Oh, that was awesome."

After exchanging a brief word with Banner, Tony quickly flew off. Michael didn't want to speak too much, fearing that Hulk might hold a grudge and cause a mess. Fortunately, Hulk didn't have a comms device and couldn't hear Michael.

Captain America said to Hulk, "You can go ahead and smash now."

Hulk gave a wicked, charming grin, leaped into the air, and grabbed a Chitauri soldier by the head. He began slamming the soldier with lethal force, taking them out one by one with pure, unadulterated satisfaction. Everyone, heroes and villains alike, was putting on a show—only the Chitauri were on the receiving end of the beating.

Professor Selvig finally regained his senses and told Black Widow that only Loki’s scepter could close the Tesseract’s portal. Upon receiving this, Black Widow immediately contacted Michael.

"Michael, I need Loki’s scepter. Only Loki’s scepter can shut down the Tesseract."

Michael nodded, letting out a long sigh of relief; it was finally time to end this.

"Alright, head to the rooftop immediately, and I’ll throw the Mind Scepter to you."

"Understood."

Black Widow left Professor Selvig behind and sprinted to the rooftop. Michael restored the scepter to its original form, opened a portal, and tossed it through. Black Widow caught the scepter and approached the device, preparing to shut down the Tesseract. As she focused intently on the cube, Loki appeared behind her, grabbed the scepter, and sneered, "Did you forget about me?"

Loki kicked Black Widow away and seized the Mind Scepter. Black Widow looked back at him, quickly rose to her feet, and delivered a swift kick toward Loki. Loki dodged, whistling triumphantly, looking as smug and insufferable as possible. Infuriated, Black Widow threw a powerful punch. Loki tried to grab her arm, but her blow sent him flying. As she watched him fall, Black Widow realized she was still wearing the electromagnetic pulse gloves Michael had given her.

"Damn it."

A Chitauri soldier caught Loki, who regained his balance and asked in confusion, "How did that bitch suddenly have so much strength?"

"Loki has taken the scepter," Black Widow reported to the team.

"I see him."

No matter when or where, Hawkeye always knew exactly where the enemy was. It was a testament to his reputation as the ultimate support, the reason why every team he joined ended in victory. He pulled an arrow from his quiver, modified it to pack a massive explosive punch, aimed at Loki, and fired.

Loki caught the arrow and looked back at Hawkeye with a smug grin. *Too bad for you, I can catch arrows. Your anger is destined to be useless, weak mortal.*

Then, the arrow exploded. Loki was blasted away, crashing into the interior of a building. Thor flew in and looked at the disheveled Loki. "Hand over the scepter."

Seeing his brother, Loki smiled happily. "Don't even think about it."

"Loki, stop being so stubborn."

"No, brother. I will win this war."

"Do you really think they will follow you? Look around you, Loki."

"It’s too late. It’s already too late."

"We can stop this together."

Loki scoffed, "You are a bit too sentimental."

Thor finally realized that Loki had no intention of turning back. Angered by this, he swung his hammer, but Loki blocked it with the scepter. The two wrestled until Loki, unable to match Thor’s strength, had the scepter knocked from his hand. As he looked down at the fallen Loki, Thor’s heart softened, and he began his attempt at persuasion, only to be stabbed in the side for his efforts.

"Did the scepter fall to the ground?" Hawkeye asked.

"Who can go grab it?" Gwen asked. "I’m close by."

Hawkeye replied, "It's on the south side of the building, on top of a black car."

"Copy that."

Gwen summoned her silver battle-steed and flew over, easily clearing away the Chitauri soldiers with her vehicle’s weaponry. She soon reached the base of the building and, following Hawkeye’s instructions, quickly retrieved the Mind Scepter. She immediately headed toward the Angel International Tower to help Black Widow close the portal.

Michael also mounted his own steed and flew near the wormhole. With Thor no longer blocking the path, a massive Leviathan surged through. Michael pulled out his combat briefcase, transformed it into an energy cannon, and fired a shot directly into the creature's head. Following a violent explosion, most of the beast's head was obliterated, and its body plummeted helplessly. To prevent the carcass from crashing into Angel International Tower, Michael opened a portal and dumped the remains onto a different street.

Since the Leviathans also acted as transport vessels for the Chitauri army, carrying swarms of infantry, they couldn't be discarded too far away. Michael flew directly into the swarm of the Chitauri air force. Once he entered the star-filled reaches of outer space, he spotted the Chitauri base. It was massive, like a city standing in the void. Michael circled it once, but when the warship’s main guns began to track him, he opened a portal and retreated.

A nuclear missile would be arriving shortly. Michael had come to scout the best location to open a portal to ensure it hit its mark. This was going to be a grand gift—a gift that would wipe the Chitauri army from existence—and Michael didn't want any butterfly effect to cause it to miss.

After being stabbed, Thor could only watch helplessly as Loki escaped. He hated himself for his carelessness; he had been so close to convincing Loki—just a hair’s breadth away.

What a pity.