(AN: I have no excuse. Still, better late than never Right? This chapter is the 3rd version. Though I still feel that something is missing, it didn't stop me from publishing it. Hope it doesn't disappoint.)
The Helicarrier
High above the chaos of New York, inside the command deck of the S.H.I.E.L.D.
Helicarrier, tension ran thicker than ever.
Screens flickered with live feeds of destruction.
Alien forces pouring through the sky.
The Avengers holding the line.
And something else.
Something… wrong.
The dead. They weren't just standing. They were moving, scratch that, they were flying while laughing.
Nick Fury stood with his arms crossed, jaw tight as the World Security Council appeared on the screen before him.
"This situation is out of control," one council member said sharply.
"Deploy the nuclear strike immediately."
Fury didn't even blink.
"No."
A pause.
"You will reconsider that answer, Director," another voice pressed.
Fury leaned slightly forward, his voice calm but firm.
"My team hasn't lost."
"They are overwhelmed," the council shot back.
"They are holding," Fury corrected.
Another member spoke, colder than the rest.
"Your faith in these… individuals… is misplaced."
Fury's eye narrowed.
"My 'misplaced faith' is the only reason this city is still standing."
Silence followed.
Then
A new voice entered the discussion.
Measured and smooth, as if trying to prevent further arguments.
Alexander Pierce.
"Perhaps," Pierce said, "we're focusing on the wrong threat."
Fury didn't like where this was going.
Pierce continued.
"The alien invasion is one problem."
He gestured toward the screen.
"But that…"
The footage zoomed in.
The armored figure sitting on a throne of ice he casually raised after raising the dead civilians.
"…is another."
Fury said nothing.
Pierce's voice sharpened.
"We need to capture him."
A council member immediately added
"Anyone capable of raising the dead is totally connected to the devil himself. Are you sure it is wise? What if he suddenly curse us?"
Another interrupted
"Or… he could be a valuable asset."
That drew attention.
"If such power exists," the councilman continued, "it would be foolish not to consider its potential."
"Potential?" someone scoffed.
"That is necromancy."
"And yet," the man replied, "those creatures are attacking the Chitauri."
That silenced the room for a moment.
Fury finally spoke.
"We don't know what he is, yet."
"Exactly," one council member said.
"Which is why we need find out."
Pierce nodded.
"A probe."
"If he's cooperative—recruit him."
"And if not?" Fury asked flatly.
"Then you contain him."
The implication was clear. Fury exhaled slowly.
"…Fine."
A compromise.
"No nuke," he added firmly.
A long pause.
Then
"Agreed."
The transmission ended. The room fell quiet. Maria Hill immediately asked.
"Sir… orders?"
Fury didn't answer immediately.
His gaze remained locked on the screen. On the floating corpses and the armored man.
"…I already called in the big guns, so we wait."
Hill stiffened slightly.
"…What big guns exactly?"
"You'll know once she's here."
"She?"
He didn't speak any longer and watched as one of the deadites tore a Chitauri soldier apart with unnatural strength.
Then laughed and kept moving.
Fury's expression darkened, he really thought it was necessary to call her the moment he saw the dead rise.
Even the armored man alone gave such dark vibes all the way to where he is, which is in the skies.
"…Now I'm not so sure."
Back in the Battlefield
Elias sat on his throne.
A jagged construct of ice rose from the rooftop of Stark Tower, cold mist rolling off its surface.
And on it,
Arthas Menethil sat lazily, chin resting on his hand.
He was just watching, he only lacked pop corn and a soda.
His task was complete.
That was the only thing on his mind after he raised the dead.
The system didn't prompt him yet.
So technically, the task is still ongoing. He simply just don't know what to do.
"…Now what?"
There was no follow-up.
No instructions.
No reward yet.
Just… Nothing...
.
His thoughts drifted to Wanda Maximoff.
He could go back and bring her to his timeline now instead of waiting 7 days for the spell to work but feels like he might miss something in this timeline.
"…Seven days."
He glanced at the sky.
"I've got time. Maybe it'll show itself on the seventh day. Guess I'll just watch this live action in front of me for now."
He stayed and watched.
Below him
Chaos had taken on a new form.
The deadites he summoned?
He didn't control or command them.
So they did what they wanted.
And what they wanted?
Was clearly revenge.
One Chitauri soldier fired wildly
Only for a corpse to land on him from above.
Its neck twisted unnaturally.
Its grin wide.
"Found you…"
The alien struggled
Until the deadite ripped its arm clean off.
Another Chitauri attempted to flee
Only for three corpses to grab it mid-air, pulls it from different parts and tearing the alien apart.
The deadites just continued laughing.l and searched for more aliens, or victims?
Even as dismembered limbs, thr deadites kept moving.
A severed arm clawed across the ground and latched onto an alien's leg.
Dragging it down.
The Chitauri screeched in its own language probably shouting 'get off!' or maybe just pure screaming 'aaaahhhhhh!!'
Too late.
It disappeared beneath a pile of laughing corpses.
"Are… They On Our Side?"
From above
Iron Man hovered, watching the scene unfold.
"…Okay, I need someone to explain this to me."
He fired a repulsor blast
Then paused mid-air.
"…Are the zombies helping us?"
On the ground
Captain America slammed his shield into a Chitauri.
Then glanced at a deadite tackling another alien nearby.
"…I don't think 'helping' is the right word."
Black Widow flipped over a fallen enemy.
"They're not attacking us."
"Yet," Clint added from above.
Hawkeye released another arrow.
"Big difference."
Thor landed beside them, lightning crackling.
"These creatures are abominations."
He crushed a Chitauri soldier.
"They must be destroyed."
"Yeah," Tony replied, "but right now they're destroying the other guys, so maybe we table that discussion?"
A deadite suddenly landed near them.
Eyes empty and mouth curve, clearly has been laughing far too long.
Cap raised his shield immediately.
The deadite stared at him, its head tilted in confusion.
Then, it just walked past them.
Straight into a group of Chitauri.
"…I don't like this," Cap muttered.
Back on the rooftop of Stark Tower
Loki appeared.
His expression was a mix of anger and irritation.
"This… spectacle…"
He stepped forward.
"…is becoming tiresome and irritating."
Arthas didn't move.
Didn't even look at him.
Loki's grip tightened on his scepter.
"…Who are you?"
Silence.
Loki's eye twitched.
"And why," he continued, voice sharpening, "are you meddling in my conquest?"
Elias, beneath the armor, barely paid attention.
Instead
A thought crossed his mind.
What if I summon my Loki? His right hand.
A version of Loki that belonged to him.
He imagined it.
Two Lokis. Same face. Same arrogance. He was curious what would happen. Will his Loki erased this Loki?
"…That'd be hilarious."
But he didn't.
Loki mistook the silence for disrespect.
His expression darkened.
"You dare ignore me?"
He raised his scepter.
Energy gathering at its tip.
"I am a god you-"
Before he could fire—
His body froze completely.
What
His arm wouldn't move.
His legs wouldn't respond.
His voice caught.
The scepter
It flew out of his hand and floated straight toward Arthas.
Loki's eyes widened.
Impossible
Arthas finally moved.
Slowly, he caught the scepter and walked toward Loki.
Each step was deliberate and heavy.
Then, he raised the scepter and was about to press its glowing tip against Loki's chest.
Loki's breath hitched. There was uncertainty.
"…What are you…?"
"LOKI!"
Lightning struck the rooftop and thunder roared.
Thor landed hard, Mjolnir spinning in his grasp.
His eyes locked onto Arthas.
"What are you doing to my brother?!"
The air crackled with power and Thor stepped forward, ready to strike.
Arthas didn't stop while looking at Thor.
He pressed the scepter lightly against Loki's chest.
Loki, unable to move, could only glare.
"Enough!"
Lightning surged as he stepped forward again, hammer raised.
"Release my brother!"
Elias didn't answer.
Instead, he simply flicked his hand again, sending Thor, Loki, and the scepter flying once more toward the portal machine.
Then he exhaled.
"…This is getting boring, really fast."
His boredom returned almost immediately.
So he decided to fix the bigger problem.
A golden light formed in his hand.
The Epirus Bow appeared, elegant and radiant.
High above, Clint froze mid-draw.
"…Okay," he muttered, staring.
"That is definitely not normal."
Elias raised the bow and pulled the string.
An arrow formed instantly—pure energy, glowing gold.
But he didn't release it immediately and instead held it in.
And the arrow grew brighter and heavier.
The air around him began to shift as the energy intensified.
Tony's voice came through again.
"Uh… Cap? He's charging something."
"How bad?" Cap asked.
Tony hesitated. "…I don't have a number for that."
Thor looked up, feeling the divine power coming from the bow.
"That weapon… it is no ordinary artifact."
Elias narrowed his gaze at the portal.
"…Let's try this."
He released the string and the arrow disappeared.
Not flew—disappeared.
Then a streak of golden light shot into the sky, so fast it was almost impossible to follow.
Clint tracked it by instinct, his eyes widening.
"…That's not how normal arrows work. No wonder he aimed upside."
The projectile didn't slow, didn't arc. It tore straight through the portal and into space as if distance meant nothing.
On the other side, the Chitauri mothership loomed.
Massive and dominant.
And completely unprepared.
The arrow struck.
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
Then the ship erupted.
Light consumed it, reducing the entire structure into dust in seconds.
In another world, the same bow produced the same arrows to destroy a prison which sealed the titans. What were the titans? Enemies of the gods. Which meant their prison was not a normal prison.
Back on Earth, the effect was immediate.
Chitauri soldiers froze mid-action before collapsing lifelessly.
Leviathans dropped from the sky.
Their massive bodies crashing into the city below.
The invasion ended in an instant.
Tony hovered in place.
"…Okay. That just happened."
Cap lowered his shield slowly.
"…Is it over?"
Thor looked around, the silence settling in. His brother beside him was already cuffed.
"…It would seem so."
On the rooftop, Elias sat back down.
"…There."
He waited for the system's prompt.
Still nothing. No notification at all.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Then he noticed movement again.
From below, the deadites were gathering.
One by one, they climbed, floated, or dragged themselves back up to Stark Tower.
Some missing limbs. Some barely intact.
Yet all moving with the same purpose.
They gathered before him and then knelt.
All of them.
Elias blinked.
"But I didn't give any orders at all."
No response.
They simply stayed there, heads lowered.
Waiting.
After a moment, he sighed.
"Alright. No point on keeping you out."
He snapped his fingers and they vanished instantly.
They were sent to the summoning realm.
Silence settled over the rooftop.
The sky was clear now.
The battle was over.
And Elias leaned back on his throne, staring upward.
"…Now what?"
No answer came Though.
End of Chapter