"Stark Tower! The Tesseract is in Stark Tower!"
The newly awakened Clint shouted urgently. He knew what everyone was most concerned about, and now that he was free from mind control, he wasted no time informing them.
"Dr. Selvig and the Tesseract are on the roof of Stark Tower. The portal is about to open. Behind it is an alien army!"
These words made Fury's expression darken. He immediately grabbed the communicator to relay the news to Tony and the others.
The revelation caused an uproar among the group. Even Thor, who had been relatively calm until now, wore an expression of disbelief.
It was hard for him to imagine that the brother he'd grown up with had become this—a harbinger of invasion. Though Thor had initially been happy about Loki's return, he now realized he'd been wrong. Loki didn't deserve forgiveness if he'd allied with an army to attack Earth.
Everyone was preparing to take action when a beam of light shot skyward in the distance. Its source was unmistakable—the tallest building in New York, Stark Tower.
"It's too late," Tony said grimly.
His face showed his distress. The tower had been established by the Stark family, and now it might be ground zero for an alien invasion.
With a light touch to the reactor on his chest, red liquid metal flowed across his body, enveloping him completely. In seconds, Tony was fully equipped in his nano-suit.
"I have to stop that portal from opening!"
The others also sprang into action, all planning to head out together to prevent the portal from expanding further.
Only Thor walked toward Loki's cell. He wanted to confront his brother and understand how all this had happened—what had changed Loki so drastically.
Coulson followed close behind. Fury didn't fully trust the Asgardian god, so he'd instructed Coulson to monitor Thor's movements at all times.
The two arrived at the prison cell but were shocked to find it empty. Loki, who should have been locked inside, had vanished.
"Loki! Show yourself!" Thor demanded.
"Director Fury, the prisoner has escaped!" Coulson reported urgently into his comm device.
Neither could locate Loki, which greatly concerned Coulson. He immediately reported back to Fury in the command center.
"Search thoroughly. There's no way he could have escaped!" Fury ordered, frowning. He hadn't noticed anything unusual about the cell's security.
Meanwhile, Thor had opened the cell door, wanting to check if Loki might be hiding inside.
As soon as he entered, there was a sound behind him. The cell door closed again, and it was his brother—the god of mischief, Loki—who had sealed it.
"You're still so gullible, brother," Loki said with a treacherous smile.
When he'd realized Thor was approaching, he'd used his magic to conceal himself. The result was exactly as he'd expected. Thor, still as predictable as ever, had fallen for his trick.
"You don't seem to be doing much better, Bambi."
Marcus's voice came from behind Loki. Though he'd just arrived, he'd witnessed how Thor had been tricked into the cell.
While Loki might be invisible to others, to Marcus he appeared no different than before. No matter how he concealed his form, he couldn't hide the energy fluctuations surrounding him.
Hearing Marcus's voice, Loki spun around and thrust a sharp dagger toward Marcus's body—a blade so keen that even Thor couldn't defend against it.
"Ugh..."
Marcus's eyes widened as he doubled over, clutching his abdomen tightly, appearing gravely wounded.
But before Loki could withdraw the dagger, Marcus straightened up, completely unharmed.
"Is that what you wanted to see?" he asked, before driving his fist into Loki's stomach. "Too bad it won't work on me."
This time, it was Loki who doubled over, crumpling to the ground.
Beside him, another Loki appeared, gripping a dagger tightly and rushing toward Marcus.
"What is it with you sorcerers? Why do you all insist on close combat?"
As Marcus spoke, a vortex appeared in his palm, instantly dispersing the charging Loki into pure energy.
"Don't waste your effort. I'm not your dim-witted brother—I know you're the real one."
Grabbing Loki's collar with one hand, Marcus looked at the vigilant Coulson.
"Help me open the cell door."
Coulson didn't hesitate. He quickly opened the gate and let Thor out. After Marcus threw Loki back into the cell, the door was locked again.
"Keep someone stationed here," Marcus instructed. "Regardless of whether anyone appears to be in the cell, or whether this trickster seems to be inside or outside, don't open the door like Thor did."
Coulson nodded repeatedly while Thor looked embarrassed.
"Alright, after we deal with the portal, we can still make it to Bucky's wedding," Marcus said.
Bucky's ceremony was about to begin, but now it would have to wait a little longer.
Stark Tower
Dr. Selvig watched excitedly as the portal slowly expanded above him. His research had proven successful.
BOOM!
A beam of energy struck the device forcefully, but it had no effect whatsoever.
As the energy core, the Tesseract had created a special energy field when activated, blocking all attacks.
Tony's blast had been repelled by this field, not only failing to damage the device but also stunning Dr. Selvig who stood nearby.
"Um... sorry about that," Tony called out with a shrug.
He hadn't expected this outcome.
Since the portal device couldn't be shut down, their focus had to shift to the gradually forming gateway above.
"An alien army? I don't know if we can stop it," Tony muttered. "Jarvis, activate all available suits and prepare to intercept."
Following his command, multiple Iron Man suits flew out from Stark Tower, heading toward the portal in the sky.
While these suits deployed, Steve arrived with the others in a quinjet.
"What's happening with Tony? Why hasn't he closed the portal?" Steve asked, puzzled.
It seemed strange to him. Tony had hurried back first—why hadn't he shut down the portal instead of sending out so many suits?
"The device is surrounded by some kind of energy field. I can't shut it down!" Tony's frustrated voice came through the communicator.
He desperately wanted to deactivate the portal device, but his attacks couldn't even penetrate the energy barrier. How could he possibly shut it down?
"I think everyone should prepare for battle," he continued. "Though it's a shame Bucky's wedding might not happen now."
They had spent an entire month preparing, and just as Bucky was about to celebrate his special day, they were being called to fight an alien invasion.
These words cast Steve into silence. Today was supposed to be his best friend's wedding. Not only could they not attend, but they might end up causing its cancellation altogether.
"Why... is it... always... so difficult?" Bucky's voice crackled through the communication channel.
Both he and Christy had noticed the anomaly in the sky. With Tony deploying so many suits, it was obvious that something serious was happening.
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