Manhattan was already engulfed in chaos. Fires raged, smoke from explosions filled the air, and beams of energy rained down from the sky without warning. In a flash, anyone could be killed before realizing what had hit them.
All across the city, Chitauri soldiers swarmed the streets and stormed buildings. They were ruthless, tearing through the financial district and massacring anyone they found.
The Avengers had been split up. Captain America was coordinating efforts with the local police and military units to hold back the invasion. Meanwhile, Hawkeye had stationed himself on a rooftop, sniping enemy troops while feeding intel to Rogers and Hulk. Wherever large groups of Chitauri appeared, Hulk would smash through them like a wrecking ball.
Natasha, the Black Widow, had made it to the top of Stark Tower. She arrived just in time to see Thor take to the skies, his hammer swinging wildly as he wiped out groups of enemy Chitauri. Nearby, Natasha spotted Professor Selvig, unconscious beside the space generator. Her eyes lit up—this might be their chance.
Through intel from Hawkeye and S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha already knew Selvig played a central role in the space gate's operation. He was likely the only person who could shut it down.
With Loki having fled aboard a Chitauri vessel to parts unknown, there was no one left to stop her from waking Selvig and getting him to disable the gate.
Closing the portal was the only way to halt the invasion. Once sealed, no more Chitauri forces could enter Earth. The invaders already on the ground would be trapped—and easy pickings for the Avengers and military forces.
Despite Thor and Daniel having already wiped out waves of enemies—and even one of the bio-beasts—the area around the gate was once again swarming. A new tide of Chitauri soldiers surged through, and worse still, another massive biological creature was approaching.
The only silver lining was that the gate wasn't expanding. It had stabilized, and for now, only one giant creature could squeeze through at a time. Had it grown any wider, two or three monsters could have invaded simultaneously—and no one could've stopped them.
Just as Stark prepared to unleash a destructive blast at the creature's core, Daniel intervened.
Hovering in the sky, neither of them spoke. Thunderclouds churned overhead as Daniel's Mjolnir spun faster and faster. Lightning flickered above while massive raindrops began falling—splatting against rooftops and soaking the battlefield.
Daniel ignored the chaos below. Holding his wand tightly, he murmured a spell, casting it with precision toward the portal. A wide ring of freezing white energy formed beneath the space gate, locking around the bio-beast's body as it tried to pass through. The creature was stuck, caught halfway between worlds.
Stark immediately understood. By freezing the creature in the portal, Daniel was creating a living blockade. That bottleneck would slow down the Chitauri reinforcements considerably. It wouldn't close the gate, but it would buy precious time.
Stark pivoted and flew down to help the others clear out the remaining enemies.
Daniel stayed aloft, focusing on keeping the beast immobilized. Magic pulsed through him as the freezing energy spread deeper into the monster's body, ice crystals climbing its limbs and joints.
This would've been impossible under normal circumstances. But Daniel had calculated everything.
Deep space is near absolute zero—so the creature had just come from a place of unimaginable cold. The ice magic worked faster because its body hadn't fully adjusted to Earth's temperature. Without protective gear or a life-support system, even a creature this massive couldn't survive long.
From the time it left the Chitauri mothership to entering Earth's orbit, less than 15 minutes had passed. That meant the entire attack on Manhattan had unfolded in under half an hour.
Without Daniel, Stark, and the others intervening, Manhattan would have been obliterated by now.
Suddenly, with a deafening explosion, the frozen bio-beast shattered into pieces. The space gate was now unblocked, and more Chitauri soldiers began flooding in again. They barely noticed Daniel suspended midair—until it was too late.
A low rumble echoed across the sky.
The Chitauri troops, soaked from the rain, shivered as the temperature around them plunged. Within seconds, a thin layer of ice formed on their skin, quickly followed by jagged spikes that burst outward like glass shards. Each spike pierced armor and flesh with ease, extinguishing their lives before they hit the ground.
Yet, wave after wave of Chitauri soldiers kept pouring through the gate.
Daniel was forced to drop lower, closer to the ground. He unleashed more magical attacks, but the numbers were overwhelming. Despite his strength, the battle was beginning to tilt in the enemy's favor.
Then, Daniel's voice rang out, calm but commanding: "Seal!"
A thick sheet of ice spread across the sky, encasing the space gate in a frozen dome that extended more than 50 meters in diameter. Suspended in the air, the ice blocked the portal entirely.
But only for a moment.
A blast from a Chitauri energy cannon smashed through the ice, shattering it like glass. The portal was open again.
It looked futile. Daniel couldn't kill all the enemies or permanently seal the gate—but he wasn't trying to. All he needed was a little more time.
Down below, Stark, Thor, and Hulk fought like men possessed. Each of them tore through dozens of enemies, holding the line until Daniel could be reinforced. They were almost finished clearing Manhattan. Once done, they'd rush to help Daniel.
Though Daniel looked like he was giving it everything, he hadn't yet released his full power. Mjolnir still spun above him, not just shielding him from attacks but also watching for Loki's sudden return.
In the original timeline, Hulk had famously grabbed Loki and slammed him into the floor like a ragdoll. But that hadn't happened here. Hulk hadn't encountered Loki. And now, Natasha was trying to shut down the portal without any interference.
Despite the mounting tension, things were going surprisingly well. The Chitauri troops on the ground were falling fast. Although technologically advanced, they weren't invincible. With enough tanks, artillery, and sniper fire aimed at weak spots—like the eyes or skull—they could be brought down.
Natasha had already adapted her tactics. Police and military snipers followed suit, targeting the vulnerable areas and dropping Chitauri soldiers with deadly precision.
No nuclear bombs had been launched. The World Security Council hadn't escalated the situation that far. Natasha had retrieved Loki's scepter—the one powered by the Mind Stone—and was now preparing to use it to shut the portal.
On the other side of the gate, a massive Chitauri beast roared, frustrated and trapped. Daniel remained cautious, continuing to thin out enemy ranks, never letting his guard down. He knew they were close, but also understood it could all fall apart in an instant.
Through his communicator, Daniel informed the others that he had a plan to close the portal. Stark, Hulk, and Thor immediately changed course, flying or leaping toward Natasha to protect her. If Loki tried anything, they'd be ready.
But strangely, Loki was nowhere to be seen. Even Hawkeye, high on a rooftop, couldn't spot him.
The sky darkened further as Daniel dropped lower, the Chitauri swarming beneath him. Yet every drop of icy rain that hit them sapped their strength, slowed their movement, and finally froze them where they stood. Daniel's mastery of semi-legendary ice magic was on full display.
Though lightning was now his primary power, ice magic had once been his original path—and he still wielded it with deadly grace.
The rain chilled Daniel too, but it also kept his mind sharp. Something still felt off, as if he'd overlooked a critical detail.
Everything had gone smoothly. Too smoothly.
Because of Daniel's efforts, far fewer Chitauri had entered Earth than expected. The gate was limited in size, allowing only one massive beast at a time. Natasha had reached Stark Tower faster than in any previous timeline and awakened Selvig in time.
Even S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't escalated to nuclear-level response. It had all happened in just half an hour.
Then, finally, Rogers' voice echoed across the comms: "Do it!"
Natasha, clutching Loki's scepter, drove it hard into the energy core of the space generator. The scepter pierced the Tesseract's protective field, sending a pulse of light through the device.
Above, the space gate began to close.
A monstrous Chitauri beast tried to force its way through, but was cut clean in half as the portal snapped shut.