The Tower and the Lie
"Should we have an airborne base?" Nicolás asked with a mocking grin.
"I'll pass. I like staying grounded," Banner replied immediately without even looking up.
"We could do like the Professor and the X-Men—build our base in an open field, surrounded by forest. That way, if it blows up into a thousand pieces, at least there won't be any civilians nearby," Owen commented calmly.
"Why do you assume it's going to blow up?" Jean asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
"How many times has your mansion exploded while mutants were still in hiding?" Owen replied with a shrug.
"Way more times than we'd like to admit," Ororo said seriously.
"Do you think they'll be okay?" Steve asked suddenly, still burdened by guilt over the Helicarrier's fall.
"You're way too sentimental," Tony said, activating a screen with security footage. It showed Barton walking through the Helicarrier's hallways, completely unbothered, freeing Loki without resistance. The evacuation had left the corridors deserted, and the escape was almost insultingly easy. Loki even looked straight into the camera before leaving, a look of irritation on his face. His plan hadn't gone as expected. Within minutes, they had boarded a plane and disappeared.
The scene eased Steve's tension—if only slightly.
After a short flight, the group finally arrived at the V.I.T.A.E. base.
Steve looked around. The building had a distinctly military feel. Soldiers patrolled the perimeter, and though the main army base wasn't exactly close, it wasn't too far either. The structure was two stories tall, solid, functional. Not far from it stretched a training field covered with scattered massive stones—obvious signs that Hulk had been using it.
"Welcome to our home, Captain. Make yourself at home," Nicolás said, patting Steve on the shoulder before strolling inside. He casually dropped his briefcase on the couch and headed straight for the fridge, grabbing a soda. "Want anything?"
The rest of the group settled in without much ceremony, like they were just getting back from a long day.
"I just want to find the cube and finish this mission," Steve said firmly.
"I'm on it," Banner replied, walking by with a laptop in his hands.
"What do we do with this?" Tony asked, lifting the briefcase containing Loki's scepter.
"Keep it with us," Owen said without hesitation. "Last thing we need is one of you getting mind-controlled. Fighting any of you would be a pain in the ass."
"Hey! I found it!" Banner suddenly exclaimed.
"Where?" Steve asked, turning quickly.
Banner looked up at Tony.
"That son of a bitch!" Steve growled, understanding instantly. He dashed toward his suit.
"Oh great… we just got here," Nicolás grumbled, going to retrieve his briefcase again.
…
Tony flew at full speed through the city, heading straight for Stark Tower.
"Sir, I shut down the ARC reactor, but the cube is now self-sustaining," Jarvis reported.
Tony reached the tower just as Dr. Selvig stood in front of a massive machine. The cube pulsed with intense energy at its core.
"Turn it off, Dr. Selvig!" Tony shouted while hovering mid-air.
"It's too late… It can't be stopped. She wants to show us something. A new universe," Selvig murmured, eyes glowing with madness.
"Okay…" Tony sighed, clearly exhausted, and fired at the cube without hesitation. The blast rebounded instantly, slamming him back.
"The barrier is pure energy. Impenetrable," Jarvis stated.
"Yeah, noticed," Tony muttered. "Alert the X-Men. Get every civilian out of here."
"They've already started, sir. The moment you left V.I.T.A.E.'s base," Jarvis confirmed.
Tony glanced downward. V.I.T.A.E.-marked trucks were racing through the streets, civilians already being evacuated from ground zero.
Then, Tony turned to the balcony of his tower. Loki stood there, prideful, a smug smile on his face.
Tony flew up to meet him and aimed his repulsors.
"Where's my scepter?" Loki asked bluntly.
"I think it sank to the bottom of the ocean. Maybe you can ask a sea sponge… or his starfish friend," Tony replied mockingly.
"You think evacuating those people will save them? What's coming… you can't stop it. No matter how far they run," Loki said, completely ignoring the weapons aimed at him.
"How about we wrap this up with one of my trademark sarcastic threats, and you just surrender?" Tony offered, dryly.
"Even in that armor, you can't touch me," Loki declared, confident.
Tony fired without another word—right at Loki's chest.
The beam passed right through him.
An illusion.
"The Chitauri are already coming. Nothing can change that," Loki said as his image split into five identical copies.
"Jarvis, can you detect the original?" Tony asked, now serious.
"It'll take a few seconds, sir. He's using magical distortion to hide all biological traces."
"Looks like even your tech is useless against a god's magic," Loki mocked. "Why should I fear any of you?"
"Well, let's do a quick roll call," Tony said theatrically. "Even though S.H.I.E.L.D. named us, we'll stick with it: the Avengers. Think of it as a separate alliance from V.I.T.A.E."
He raised a finger with each count.
"Your brother, the demigod. Two super soldiers—one more charming than the other. A man with terrifying control over rage. A general's son who can shoot a coin between your eyebrows blindfolded from over a kilometer away. A couple of stunning mutants. Me, obviously. And you, my friend… you managed to hit bingo on every number in the 'collective beatdown' game."
"That was part of the plan," Loki replied calmly.
"I don't know exactly where you're hiding… but when Owen shows up—you know, the guy who can see you—it's over."
"I have an army."
"And we… have a Hulk," Tony said with a relaxed grin.
Jarvis spoke over the radio, his voice firm:
"I've developed an algorithm that can detect him, sir."
Without wasting a second, Tony raised his hand and fired toward a seemingly empty corner of the ceiling. Loki's illusions vanished instantly, and the real one was sent flying back, crashing violently into a wall.
But before he could get up, a beam of blue energy fired from the machine. A laser shot up into the sky, and within seconds, a massive hole began to open between the clouds.
"Oh right… the troops," Tony muttered, looking up tensely. Through the portal, hundreds of Chitauri ships and soldiers began pouring down en masse.
Wasting no time, he ascended higher, unleashing a barrage of repulsor blasts at anything that moved.
"Hey, hey! Don't hog all the fun!" Nicolás's voice crackled over the radio—just as a bright blue streak zipped past Tony, vaporizing a whole column of enemies in an instant.
Tony turned mid-air and spotted Jean flying overhead. With fluid, graceful gestures, she slammed Chitauri into each other like chess pieces. The sky darkened as Ororo raised her hands, summoning a massive storm, her power crackling across the clouds.
Thor watched the scene with interest before lifting his hammer. A thunderclap roared as he added Asgardian lightning to the tempest, amplifying its destructive force.
"Not fair if you all can fly," Owen remarked with a playful tone as he descended from the aircraft beside Banner.
"This isn't a game," Steve said as he landed behind them, eyes focused on the chaos ahead. Even with their overwhelming power, the sheer number of enemies spilling from the portal was staggering.
"Maybe not… but I'm at 256," Tony added with a grin beneath his mask.
"Banner… it's time," Owen said, rolling his shoulders as he warmed up.
Banner nodded. In seconds, his body began to transform, and Hulk's roar echoed across the battlefield.
Steve didn't wait. He dashed forward and leapt onto one of the Chitauri hover bikes, knocking its rider off mid-air and stealing its weapon in a smooth motion.
Now fully transformed, Hulk stood tall, surveying the battlefield. Chaos reigned—and he was ready to join it.
"Let's go, big guy," said Owen, drawing both daggers. With a swift motion, he attached the threads running from his wrists to the hilts.
Hulk crouched, planting one massive hand on the ground, palm up.
Owen took a few quick steps, leapt onto Hulk's hand—and was launched like a missile into the sky.
From below, the others watched with a mix of awe and anticipation.
Once airborne, Owen extended his blades and spun like a lethal tornado. His body became a whirlwind of steel, slicing through dozens of Chitauri in a fifty-meter radius. The corpses fell like metallic rain.
"Hey, Cap… can you do that?" Tony asked, half-joking.
"No," Steve replied without hesitation, firing the alien weapon as he soared past on the stolen bike.
Just then, a massive Chitauri Leviathan emerged from the portal, roaring as it descended over the city.
"Hulk, your turn," Owen called.
Without hesitation, Hulk charged forward with earth-shaking speed, then launched himself upward. He tackled the beast mid-air, grabbed it by the head, and slammed it down through several buildings like a meteor.
Meanwhile, Owen maneuvered effortlessly mid-air. He threw his daggers at distant enemies, then yanked on the cables to reel himself forward or swing across the battlefield like a deadly pendulum. In one seamless move, he flung both daggers into two separate Chitauri, pulled, and made them collide violently mid-flight.
He landed again. And repeated the cycle.
Every jump, every twist, was a deadly dance in the sky ablaze with war.
A sudden whistle cut the air. An arrow.
Owen twisted, kicked it away—but it exploded nearby, sending him hurtling toward a building. Mid-spin, he rebounded off a wall and launched himself back toward the source of the attack.
With surgical precision, he deflected more arrows mid-air with his daggers, used the heads of Chitauri as platforms to leap and vault, and closed the distance with relentless speed.
On top of a rooftop, Clint Barton stood waiting, firing arrow after arrow.
"Ah, right… still mind-controlled," Owen muttered as he dodged another shot. "Told you not to make a habit out of this."