After getting confirmation from Dr. Selvig, Black Widow didn't hesitate. She immediately went to where Loki had been thrown, finding the Scepter that had fallen to the ground.
Then, Black Widow went to the device, pointing the Scepter at it. She called out over the comms, "I can shut it down! Does anyone hear me? I can close the portal!"
"Close it now!" Captain America commanded without hesitation.
"No, wait!" Tony Stark's voice followed immediately.
"Stark, the enemy numbers are increasing!"
"I've got a nuke coming in, it'll explode in a minute!"
"So, this is what you were talking about earlier, Stark sending the nuke through the portal?"
Captain America couldn't help but glance at Tony Stark as he spoke.
He still found it hard to believe that the extremely arrogant man before him would make such a self-sacrificing decision in the future.
"Whoosh!"
Black Widow stood on top of Stark Tower, waiting for the opportune moment.
Before long, Iron Man flew past her, carrying the nuclear missile. He flew straight up and into the portal.
Boom!
Faintly, Black Widow heard a muffled sound, like thunder, coming from within the portal.
Undoubtedly, it was the sound of the nuclear explosion.
Iron Man had succeeded!
At this moment, the camera cut to a new scene, showing the Chitauri attacking the Avengers, all of them suddenly dropping to the ground.
They just died.
Even the huge, insect-like ships flying in the air lost control and plummeted.
Everyone had instinctively assumed that even if Stark destroyed the fleet within the portal with a nuclear missile, they would still have to fight a tough battle.
But it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
"The Chitauri… are they like a hive mind?" Tony Stark said, incredulous. "Kill the Mother Queen, and the whole race collapses?"
The others were also stunned. This was completely unexpected.
It had to be said, the Chitauri were a bit messed up!
So many of the Chitauri's lives were actually controlled by a "Mother Queen." If that Mother Queen died, everyone would be finished.
What kind of evolutionary path could possibly lead to such a screwed-up ecological civilization?
"Thor, are the Chitauri really like this?" Captain America turned to Thor in disbelief.
"I've only heard their name, I don't really know the details," Thor shook his head.
He only found out about this now.
Next, the camera returned to Black Widow, whose face was filled with excitement. She could close the portal as soon as Iron Man flew out of it.
However, Black Widow didn't expect that after waiting for a while, she didn't see Iron Man fly out of the portal.
Obviously, he had encountered some kind of accident.
Black Widow stared up at the portal, secretly worrying for Iron Man: "Come on, Stark!"
After waiting a moment, Captain America made a decisive decision: "Shut it down!"
Black Widow, upon hearing Captain America's order, gritted her teeth and forcefully plunged the Scepter into the energy barrier of the device.
The energy beam that shot into the sky was instantly destroyed, and the portal in the sky began to shrink at a visible rate.
Just as the portal was about to disappear completely, Iron Man plummeted from the sky.
"He's not slowing down!"
Thor immediately noticed something was wrong and quickly swung his Hammer, intending to fly up and catch Iron Man.
However, before Thor could act, the Hulk leaped dozens of meters into the air and caught Iron Man.
In a rather primitive way, he slammed onto the ground.
However, the Hulk had turned around, landing on his back, so Iron Man was unharmed.
"Stark!"
Thor, Hulk, and Captain America all rushed over to check on Iron Man. Thor immediately ripped off Iron Man's helmet.
Iron Man's eyes were closed. No one knew if he was unconscious or dead. They couldn't remove his suit to check.
"Hulk!"
At this critical moment, Hulk roared at Iron Man, and Iron Man's eyes snapped open.
"What happened!" Iron Man looked at everyone in confusion. "Don't tell me someone kissed me."
Captain America, watching on the screen, was speechless. After going through the gates of hell, this guy was still the same.
"We won!"
On the screen, Captain America sighed deeply.
This declaration of victory officially marked the end of the alien invasion initiated by Loki.
The image froze on Captain America's face.
"I finally know what happened after the nuclear explosion," Tony Stark said, shrugging his shoulders and speaking first.
This question, which had been bothering him for months, finally got an answer, and he had to admit, it surprised him a bit.
He never expected that the big guy who lost his mind when he turned green would be the one to save him.
"Director, Banner's situation is much better in the future," Black Widow said to Nick Fury, quite pleased.
In the future, it was clear that the Hulk had some level of rationality, unlike now, where he would only angrily smash everything around him.
"The analysis is complete. Let's summarize, as usual," Nick Fury said, nodding to Black Widow and then addressing everyone present.
"There's not much to summarize, really. Thor, just keep an eye on your brother when you get back, and none of this will happen."
Tony Stark turned to Thor, his expression serious.
Indeed, there wasn't much to summarize; everyone basically understood all the information presented in this scenario.
Except for the Chitauri's messed-up ecological civilization.
"I've lost my godly powers, even the right to wield my Hammer. I've been exiled, and I don't know how to go back."
A look of dejection appeared on Thor's face.
"Thor, there's always a way," Captain America comforted him. "In the future, you wield your Hammer again."
"Thanks, Rogers, but it always feels a little strange coming from you," Thor said honestly.
It was indeed a bit odd to be comforted about being able to lift his Hammer again by someone who could already wield it.