The Earth returned to peaceful days...
Contrary to the expectations of SHIELD and the Avengers, Loki, who had escaped from the Helicarrier, had vanished without a trace.
Tony had initially speculated that the trickster's target might be Stark Tower which was equipped with an Arc Reactor. After all, it was the perfect location to activate the Tesseract.
Being situated right in the heart of Manhattan, such a prominent landmark would make for an ideal stage.
Nick Fury had set up an impenetrable net around the area, but after a week, there was still no sign of Loki. If not for the confirmed theft of the Tesseract, they might have thought the assault on the Helicarrier had been nothing more than a hallucination.
The world-ending crisis they had anticipated had dissipated into thin air, leaving SHIELD and the Avengers both stunned and frustrated. Days of tense preparation had seemingly turned into a joke.
Bruce Banner, who had been enraged by Barton and subsequently went on a rampage before crashing to the ground, had returned to SHIELD.
Thor, however, had disappeared just like his brother, leading the one-eyed Director to suspect that the two had already taken the Tesseract back to Asgard.
In truth, his guess wasn't entirely wrong. Thor had been taken back to Asgard by Odin, where he was now preparing for war against the impending Chitauri invasion.
As for Loki…
Upon receiving news of the Mad Titan's personal arrival, the cunning prince of Asgard had willingly gone to pay his respects.
...
In the vast, endless darkness of space, an endless tide of steel warships surged through the void like an unstoppable army.
Loki stood at the forefront of a Chitauri vessel, gripping an ancient-looking dark-gold scepter.
"Asgardian, do not dare play any more tricks. No one in this universe fools the great Thanos!" A Chitauri elder whose body gleamed with a metallic sheen issued a harsh warning, his raspy voice grating like rusted iron.
"I am not as foolish as you." Loki lifted his chin, his handsome features twisted with a hint of wickedness, "For that great being, I hold nothing but reverence and admiration."
After his audience with the Mad Titan himself, the Asgardian prince had regained his confidence. His shattered dreams had been reignited with a sliver of hope.
Thanos had not punished him. Instead, he granted Loki another chance, to lead the Chitauri army in an assault on Asgard, surging up from the abyss beneath the realm and storming the Bifrost.
Once Asgard was conquered, the fully restored Bifrost would allow free travel across the Nine Realms. Seizing the Tesseract from Earth would then be child's play.
Gazing into the boundless void, Loki's expression brimmed with smug satisfaction as he tightened his grip on the all-powerful Scepter. Behind him stretched the endless ranks of the Chitauri army. It was an overwhelming tide of steel, capable of crushing anything in its path.
Loki couldn't help but envision a glorious future...
If Odin and Thor were to kneel before him and admit their mistakes, the magnanimous Prince of Asgard would, of course, forgive them. And once he secured what the Mad Titan desired, Thanos would fulfill his promise of placing Loki upon the throne as the supreme ruler of the Nine Realms.
"Lucky Asgardian." The Chitauri elder beside him sneered.
If not for Loki's usefulness and his silver tongue, which had earned him Thanos' mercy, he would never have been given command.
"Nidavellir... The Black Order has gone to that realm of the dwarves and forged that legendary gauntlet." The elder contemplated silently.
If he wanted to impress the Mad Titan, he would have to secure Asgard before the Black Order arrived.
To these creatures who were little more than interstellar pirates, the legendary feats and heroic tales of the Allfather Odin had long faded into obscurity. They saw no reason to fear Asgard.
"Twist off that old man's head and present it as a gift to the great Thanos." The Chitauri elder mused.
He shot a malicious glance at Loki, a sinister chuckle echoing in his mind...
....
A shimmering azure glow pulsed in the night sky, its radiant hues weaving together like an illusory river of stars.
Sean's fingers danced over the floating cube above him, his eyes alight with intoxication. He could feel it; the threshold of a breakthrough was within reach. Almost tantalizingly close.
The soft figure nestled against him shifted slightly, fiery red hair spilling across the thin sheets. A pale arm draped over his chest, fingers idly tracing circles. Smooth exposed skin radiated an alluring warmth.
The elegant and intelligent face beside him bore a faint flush, the lingering afterglow of their passionate battle.
Here, atop the Umbrella Corporation's skyscraper, the two fiery souls had just concluded another union of flesh and spirit...
"What is it you desire?" Jean asked softly.
She could sense something different in Sean tonight: a smoldering intensity, held back, waiting for the moment of release.
"Battle. War." His voice was rough, edged with something fervent.
There was a rare fervor in his usually measured tone, a kind of hunger that didn't often surface.
The power of the Tesseract had opened new doors in his mind, revealing the unseen energies threading through the universe, the deeper mysteries of space itself.
Sean reached out and grasped the cube. Flickering blue light pulsed erratically as the world's structure unraveled before his eyes, dissolving into a web of intersecting lines and points.
A single thought, and he could be anywhere; from Manhattan to Los Angeles, or even London.
The blue gem within the cube held power enough to bend the laws of the cosmos. For a seeker of evolution like him, it was an inexhaustible trove of secrets.
That Red Skull of HYDRA had treated it as nothing more than a glorified battery. It was an utter waste, like casting pearls before swine...
"I feel as though I could roam the cosmos. Anywhere I imagine, anywhere I fix my mind upon... I could be there in an instant."
Sean pulled Jean closer, her body curling against him like a lazy cat. No wonder the Red Skull had called it Odin's treasure. No wonder Fury coveted it so fiercely.
This small cube held a magic that intoxicated the soul. It was as if one could drift through the glittering expanse of the universe, unbound by time or space.
"You want more." Jean murmured.
She knew this man too well. Beneath that calm exterior lay an insatiable hunger. Even if he possessed the world, he would still reach for the stars.
It was this very intensity that had drawn the Phoenix to him and ensnared her own heart beyond escape...
"Don't worry. I can wait. First, the throne of this world. Then, the sea of stars." Sean laughed, exhilarated.
He was looking forward to the coming storm, the grand war that would sweep across the Nine Realms. Asgard against the Chitauri. Him against Thanos...
"It will be a magnificent clash. A duel unlike any other."
His lips found the redhead's neck, his breath growing ragged. Desire burned like wildfire, roaring to life once more.
Bodies entwined, the Tesseract hovered above them, its glow casting flickering shadows over their primal struggle...