Kunlun and Asgard operate on two completely different systems. Asgard values power in its rawest form—overwhelming strength, dominance, and spectacle. Their approach to battle is simple: crush the enemy with sheer force. Kunlun, on the other hand, focuses on precision, resilience, and the refinement of strength. Their style is more subtle, more tactical.
That difference is rooted in their environments. Asgard has been fighting across the Nine Realms for centuries, constantly facing unpredictable and chaotic enemies. There's no time for finesse. Their solution is always the same: overpower everything in their path.
Kunlun never had that problem. It was too powerful from the start. With its enemies subdued early on, Kunlun had the luxury of time—time to hone its techniques, to study the flow of power down to its smallest detail. Even when stronger foes emerged, Kunlun's approach remained the same: identify the weakness, target it precisely, and win through control and subtlety rather than brute force.
If Thor were standing in front of Alexandra right now, he wouldn't think twice. Hammer raised, no hesitation—he'd smash everything in his way until it stopped moving. That's how most Asgardians are wired. Even Hela, the Goddess of Death, fights the same way.
But Daniel wasn't like that.
He was a magician. His strength came from precision, from understanding the very essence of things. It's why he studied quantum theory, why he was always chasing deeper truths. And right now, that mindset was perfect for what he needed.
He looked down at the hammer in his hand. If he could fully understand the heart of the magic lightning it wielded, then he wouldn't need to worry about Odin one day yanking it back. If he could make it truly his, no one could take it from him.
Thor wasn't strong enough yet to matter. By the time Thor became the King of Thunder, it would probably be after Ragnarok. By then, he might not even care about Daniel. They might even be friends.
Daniel's hammer clashed again and again with Alexandra's black blade. Each strike echoed through the rooftop, lightning flashing wildly around them. If this kept going, Alexandra would break. She was pushing herself to the limit, just trying to stay standing under the weight of Daniel's attacks.
Then it happened.
From the western sky, a massive surge of magic erupted. Even all the way in New York, Daniel felt it—the air around him pulsed as the magical elements twisted out of balance. His rhythm faltered. Just for a moment.
That moment was all Alexandra needed.
With a shout, she slammed her foot into the ground and launched herself backward, flipping through the air. She darted away from Daniel in an instant.
She didn't strike back. The magical disturbance had hit her too. It wasn't just him—everything in the area was reacting to the elemental chaos.
She cast a long look at the hammer in Daniel's grip, then turned without a word and leapt off the side of the building. In seconds, she vanished into the city below.
Daniel didn't chase her. His eyes stayed locked on the sky, on the swirling, turbulent storm of elemental energy. He recognized the type immediately—it was a surge of spatial magic, unlike anything else on Earth.
There was only one explanation: the Tessaract had been activated.
Loki had done it. Using the scepter of the Mind Stone, he had triggered it's power again. And in doing so, he'd sent out a beacon to the entire universe.
It wouldn't be long before the Chitauri followed that signal to Earth.
If the Avengers hadn't stepped up when they did, the whole planet would've been wiped out. But they did—Earth's first team of heroes defeated the invasion and made a name for themselves across the galaxy. From that point forward, even stronger enemies would take Earth seriously. Though when those enemies did arrive, many of them would run the moment Thanos showed his face.
There were thousands of factions in the universe, but under the shadow of Thanos and the Infinity Stones, only a handful would survive. New forces would rise on Earth, of course—but the Hand wouldn't be one of them.
Alexandra hadn't seen Daniel's real face, but it didn't matter. She had seen enough of his magic. If she wanted to find out who he was, she could. It wouldn't take long.
Now that Loki had arrived, everything was about to shift.
Daniel had tried locating the Tessaract before. But in the last few decades, S.H.I.E.L.D. had hidden it well—so well that even he couldn't trace it.
He'd even tried contacting Nick Fury with an offer: knowledge of the Bifröst in exchange for access to the Tessaract. But the moment he showed the slightest interest in it, Fury cut him off completely.
Looking back, Daniel realized he'd missed his chance. If he'd remembered that Hawkeye and Dr. Selvig had already fallen under Loki's control, he could have just followed them. That would've led him straight to the Tessaract.
But there's too much going on in this universe—too many details, too many overlapping storylines. Before arriving in this world, he hadn't kept up with everything. He wasn't a fanboy. He couldn't remember it all.
He figured he'd only realize Loki had the Tessaract when the Chitauri showed up over Manhattan. But the energy surge caused by Loki's activation had shaken the world harder than expected.
From deep space, Loki had used the Mind Stone to trigger it, tearing open a portal to Earth. The resulting elemental storm was massive. Even from across the city, Daniel had felt the disturbance. Compared to that, the explosion he'd caused earlier when destroying S.H.I.E.L.D.'s underground base was nothing—just a minor quake across a few nearby states.
This storm, though… it would alert everyone.
Daniel was certain: the Ancient One had felt it. And she wouldn't be the only one. Every magical being on Earth who could sense energy would be drawn to that location. But Loki was already gone. He'd taken the Tessaract and vanished. And S.H.I.E.L.D. had locked down the site.
Not that it mattered—only powerful beings could sense the energy to begin with. The rest of the world would stay clueless.
Daniel stepped off the rooftop and disappeared.
Meanwhile...
Back during the earlier fight, Stan, the man whose son had been caught in the chaos, had already stormed into the building. He'd probably call the police any minute. Once they arrived, they'd clean up the scene. Daniel didn't need to stick around. His part was done.
He reappeared in a hangar at New York International Airport. A private jet sat quietly on the runway, scheduled to leave in just under thirty minutes.
Inside, Elektra was seated at the bar, wearing black sunglasses and a light blue silk scarf wrapped around her head. Her figure was cloaked, her face hidden. She was trying to vanish, to escape everything—The Hand, The Chaste, and whatever else the world had turned her into.
She wasn't interested in being anyone's weapon anymore. Not theirs, not his. She just wanted to disappear, to find somewhere far away and wait out the madness.
Whether New York survived or not… that wasn't her problem anymore.
She knocked back a glass of tequila, then asked the bartender for another. Just as the fresh drink arrived, a voice came from beside her:
"Make that two."
She turned.
Standing there was a man in a courtly blue-gray checkered suit, wearing a porcelain mask with gold trim—Daniel. Everyone around them gave curious glances, but Elektra didn't react.
Daniel picked up his drink and raised it slightly. "Thanks."
"Thank you," Elektra replied without looking at him.
"French accent?" he asked, tilting his head. "Nice. Keep the bottle."
He slid several bills toward the bartender, then looked her over again. "So… you're really leaving?"
Elektra downed her drink. "What else is there to do? Either New York dies, or I do. I'm not sticking around to find out which."
"Paris? Greece? I hear it's a good season for skiing."
"Greece," she said simply.
She removed her coat, revealing a white cashmere sweater beneath. Her figure was lean and graceful, though her shoulders were tense with exhaustion. Her eyes were distant.
"Greece is great," Daniel said, finishing his drink. "Skiing, shopping… you'll like it."
"I'll like it for a little while. Then I'll hate it like everything else." Her voice cracked, but she kept it together. Everyone she'd trusted had turned on her. And now, the only person who showed up… was this masked mystery.
"Maybe we could take a bath together," Daniel said suddenly, eyes twinkling behind the mask.
Elektra let out a dry laugh. "You and me? Taking a bath?"
He didn't flinch. "Why not? I'm not from New York. Maybe it's time to go back to Europe."
He poured her another drink. "Two lonely people holding each other to stay warm. It's just how this world works."