The Chitauri armor was incredibly durable, and their airships were frighteningly fast.
Daniel and Stark ascended rapidly through the skies. Despite their efforts, they couldn't stop every Chitauri soldier. The closer they got to the space gate, the more enemies they encountered, and the heavier the pressure became. It was impossible to protect every flank.
Daniel's Mjolnir released streak after streak of magical lightning, piercing the biological airships one by one. The energy surge crippled the vessels instantly, causing them to plummet.
One such airship descended directly toward Daniel, forcing him to swerve away mid-flight.
This wasn't the first time. While soaring upward, Daniel had dodged many like it. The Chitauri soldiers onboard fired recklessly the moment they got a clear shot, indifferent to their own safety. Each energy beam they fired was immediately deflected by an invisible shield around Daniel.
Undeterred, he powered upward, now ignoring the Chitauri forces around him and focusing only on clearing a path ahead. His target was the gate itself.
Daniel figured there was no point in attacking the space generator atop Stark Tower—it would've already been tried. Thor had already engaged Loki in combat below, and with Hulk wreaking havoc on the ground and National Guard units arriving, plus F-22 jets patrolling above, the chaos was mostly contained within Manhattan.
With Daniel drawing some of the pressure, Stark also gained altitude. Their shared objective was clear: reach the gate and seal it to prevent further enemy reinforcements.
Though both looked worn from constant combat, they hadn't unleashed their full strength yet. They were waiting to strike at the right moment—when they reached the space gate.
Sensing the growing power of lightning beneath him, Daniel shouted, "Tony!"
Stark looked over, surprised to see Daniel's Mjolnir no longer glowing. Instead, Daniel was pushing all his energy into flight, rushing straight into the horde above. He shot toward the gate.
Thunderclouds blanketed the sky. Stark immediately understood and flew away at an angle.
In the next instant, waves of thunder erupted overhead. The sky lit up in white as countless lightning strikes rained down, vaporizing the Chitauri soldiers mid-air. Only those who had already fallen were spared.
This thunderstorm wasn't natural. It was a combined assault from both Daniel and Thor. Their hammers, working together, had summoned a terrifying storm.
Earth's magical elements were relatively dormant. Otherwise, this kind of elemental strike could have torn through even an interstellar cruiser.
Daniel and Thor had developed a rhythm. Not just from fighting together previously, but because they both wielded a form Mjolnir.
Thor held Mjolnir, the original and most powerful. Daniel's was incomplete—a work in progress he still called the Mjolnir . He wasn't ready to name it yet.
Daniel still hoped to complete it one day. Perhaps even embed one of the Infinity Stones to create a top-tier magical weapon on par with Mjolnir.
Then, the space gate stopped expanding. For the first time, it stabilized.
Daniel let out a breath of relief. If it had kept growing, larger Chitauri ships might've come through. Earth's tactical advantage would've vanished.
"Watch out!" Stark's voice broke through just as a massive energy blast struck a nearby Chitauri behemoth.
Daniel was caught off guard. A colossal biological creature had come through. Where had it come from?
Through the space gate, both sides could see each other's worlds. The galaxy visible from Earth stirred a primal greed in the Chitauri. Yet earlier, Daniel saw only clusters of flying airships. So how had this giant monster appeared so suddenly?
A thought occurred to him—it was delayed.
Even in live broadcasts, there's a lag. A space gate traversing the cosmos would surely have one.
Even the Rainbow Bridge from Earth to Asgard took time. Daniel had used it before; he understood this delay. The images seen through the gate were from moments ago, not the present.
So, if it took time for light and matter to travel through, perhaps the Chitauri didn't see Earth's actual present either. Could this be used to Earth's advantage?
As Daniel backed away, his eyes locked onto the monstrous Chitauri creature.
Its body was clad in layers of black-gold armor, forming overlapping plates. It had five pairs of wings—slow, but good enough for gliding. At this altitude, it could easily carry and deploy soldiers to any point on the ground.
It was a transport craft.
Similar creatures likely filled the skies on the other side of the gate. Full-scale invasion ships would be next.
Stark's energy beams struck the monster's armor but had little effect. The plating dispersed the blasts with ease, reminding Daniel of Asgard's Destroyer armor.
Perhaps there was a lesson here. Daniel's own magical armor wasn't complete. Maybe he could integrate Chitauri tech into his designs.
Anything that could survive space travel was valuable. Deep space is almost at absolute zero—ordinary armor wouldn't last.
Daniel continued to retreat, studying the creature. Rushing in blindly would be foolish. They needed to learn its weak points.
The monster dropped quickly, hundreds of meters in seconds. Soldiers jumped from its back, using hook lines connected to its armor. They weren't just foot soldiers—they were airborne assault units.
This beast was a living warship.
If they didn't stop it soon, it would turn Manhattan into a Chitauri stronghold. More soldiers would land. Defeating them would be far harder.
That couldn't happen.
Daniel's hammer unleashed dozens of lightning bolts in every direction. The arcs dove beneath the beast's wings, targeting clusters of infantry. Explosions followed.
While not fatally damaging, the blasts revealed patterns. Daniel smiled.
Then, he hurled the Mjolnir with force. It struck a precise spot behind the creature's left flank.
A powerful surge exploded from the impact.
The creature tore apart midair.
It hadn't been the monster's toughness that made it dangerous. The Chitauri had installed a powerful power source inside it. Once Daniel destroyed it, the beast was finished.