The Chitauri's military discipline was beyond doubt. New York quickly turned into an isolated battlefield.
The Avengers divided the work clearly. Thor and Iron Man dealt with the flying fish. Captain America and Black Widow cleaned up the ground troops. Hawkeye kept an eye on the overall situation. As for the Hulk... the Hulk's job was simple—smash.
The situation looked stable on the surface, but in truth, the Avengers were on the back foot. Captain America had tried several times to push toward the portal, but each attempt had been blocked. The area around the portal was swarming with flying fish, making it impossible to get close. The portal was the key to the whole battle. The Chitauri weren't idiots. The fact that they seized the area around Stark Tower right from the start proved they knew exactly what mattered.
Captain America knew that too. But unfortunately, the enemy had taken over the tower first, and it was hard to break through. "Tony, Thor, stop chasing the stragglers. Get close to the tower if you can."
"You want to just watch New York get destroyed?" Tony snapped back. The flying fish were terrifying—just brushing against them could shatter reinforced concrete. Skyscrapers crumbled like tofu in their path. They even opened their massive jaws to chew through the streets. A few of them were already roaming the city, wreaking havoc. Iron Man couldn't just stand by and watch the city be torn apart.
"Tony, the portal is the real problem. If we don't shut it down, New York's finished either way!" Captain America shouted, blocking enemy fire with his shield.
Iron Man gritted his teeth, realizing what was at stake, and turned back to team up with Thor to push toward the tower.
Captain America took down another enemy. He started to notice something strange—the enemies were attacking slowly, almost deliberately. It was like they were walking into death. But then he realized—they were. They weren't trying to wipe him out. They were keeping a steady pace to wear them down, draining their strength and wasting their time.
"Damn it." Captain America realized they'd been tricked, but there was nothing he could do. Reaching the portal right now was nearly impossible. The longer this dragged on, the worse it would get for them—and the higher the casualties.
In the original movie, the Chitauri had attacked in chaos, ignoring the portal. That had given Black Widow a chance to slip in and shut it down quickly. But in reality, the Chitauri were methodical. They clearly understood priorities. The Avengers had gotten a brief upper hand thanks to the Hulk, but they'd wasted that time protecting civilians. Then they realized—more enemies were arriving, and they were only getting stronger.
Captain America understood these aliens weren't mindless monsters. Just because they looked ugly didn't mean they were stupid. But the chance was gone, and there was no time for regrets. Not that he regretted it—those civilians hadn't been evacuated yet. If he hadn't protected them, he would've felt guilty forever.
But what now? Captain America frowned. He couldn't see any hope of winning.
What now?
Loki brought the answer.
He had dreamed of commanding his own army, marching across the battlefield to surpass Odin's legacy. But reality was cruel—he had no control over the Chitauri army. Even worse, he couldn't get anywhere near Stark Tower. The Chitauri had abandoned him. That made Loki furious.
He broke out the scientist who built the portal and forced him to explain how to shut it down. The scientist told him—the golden spear was the key. Its energy could disrupt the portal's electromagnetic shield and force it to close.
But Loki had gotten injured during the rescue. No way he was going back into that battlefield to die. So, at the critical moment, he thought of Thor.
Loki wasn't about to let someone else take the prize he'd worked for. The truth was clear—the Chitauri had no loyalty. That made them enemies. And the enemy of his enemy... was now his friend. Thor became Loki's friend.
Never mind Loki's twisted logic. The point was, he wasn't going to let the Chitauri get away with betraying him. Helping the Avengers beat them was the best revenge. New hate beat out old hate.
Loki's grudge against Thor had started from Odin's unfairness. But his hatred toward the Chitauri was something else—it was pure fury from being tricked and used. Loki had always been the trickster. He couldn't stand being the one getting played.
Now, it was time for payback.
Director Nick Fury stood on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, his back soaked in cold sweat. The higher-ups had gone completely insane—they wanted to launch a nuclear missile at New York. He absolutely wouldn't allow it. But S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't run on his orders alone. The top brass bypassed his authority and gave direct instructions to the pilot to take the tactical nuke from the Helicarrier and bomb New York.
Fury finally caught on to their power play. But he wasn't just going to sit back. He grabbed a rocket launcher and shot down one of the jets. Still, the other took off with the warhead. If it launched, New York would be reduced to rubble. Fury felt completely powerless. So what if he was the Director? He was still being used like a pawn. That warhead belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D., and once it exploded, someone would have to take the fall. They could blame aliens, but no one would believe it. In the end, it would be S.H.I.E.L.D. that got blamed—and that meant him.
"A nuclear strike on New York… That charge alone would destroy me." He took a breath and radioed the Avengers. "You all hear that? A nuke is headed your way."
Just then, Thor spotted Loki. "Loki, now do you believe it? They were lying to you from the start." His eyes were filled with disappointment for his foolish brother.
"I know how to shut down the portal," Loki said, cutting to the point. He wasn't here to be mocked. "Use my scepter."
Thor looked at the golden spear in Loki's hand and said, "This doesn't absolve you of your crimes."
"I know," Loki replied with a grin. He just wanted the Chitauri to learn the price of betraying him.
Thor took the scepter and went straight to Captain America. After a quick explanation, Cap nodded. He knew exactly what to do. "Thor, cover me and Natasha. Natasha, get ready. We're making a push."
They were charging in with a death wish. Natasha rolled her eyes—why was her life always like this? Still, she followed without hesitation. "I'm right behind you." She was the only one, besides Thor, who had ever been acknowledged by Mjolnir. She was pure.
Thor raised his hammer. Magic lightning shot out, turning into chains that cleared the way. Black Widow used Captain America's shield to launch herself onto an enemy ship. Then Cap followed, leaping aboard and taking out the enemies to seize control.
Black Widow kicked the soldier out of the cockpit, then stabbed a needle into the pilot's shoulder to force control over the ship.
Just as they began their counterattack, they got the worst news— the nuke was on its way. It was one blow after another.
"Tony, did you hear that? Any way to stop it?" When it came to weapons like this, they had to rely on Tony. Back when Cap was frozen, he hadn't even heard of nukes.
"I'll do my best," Tony said with a bitter smile, staring at his almost-empty energy reserves. Just great. But there was no way he'd let that missile explode in New York. Maybe… maybe he could throw it into the portal. Yeah, hit the invaders where it hurts. "Leave it to me. I got this."
Hearing that, Cap relaxed.
"Jarvis, calculate the suit's life support time."
"Yes, sir. Based on current power levels, you have thirty minutes," Jarvis replied. That meant Tony had thirty minutes max to survive in space. But the suit would burn more energy just to push the missile through the portal. Subtracting that, he'd only have around three minutes. Tony quickly ran the numbers. If he got it wrong, he'd become space dust. But he'd never been wrong before. "Start the countdown, Jarvis. We're going to space!"
Tony blasted off, flying toward New York. Ahead, he could already see the fighter jet carrying the warhead.