A brilliant column of rainbow light streaked through the vastness of space and crashed onto the rooftop of Stark Tower in Manhattan, New York. Before anyone nearby could fully process what had happened, four figures materialized at its center—Daniel, Thor, Stark, and Hulk had returned.
Daniel took a deep breath, relieved to feel Earth's familiar air fill his lungs. Though his magic felt duller here—more sluggish, less responsive—he didn't mind. Earth's environment placed a natural limit on all beings, not just him. In fact, those stronger than him would experience even greater restriction, narrowing the gap. That leveling effect was why Daniel was confident in defeating Loki on this battlefield.
Had their confrontation taken place in deep space, Loki—with his experience and cunning—could have easily overwhelmed him, even with Mjolnir in Daniel's grasp.
But here, things were different.
"What the hell are you doing?" Stark's voice snapped through the tension. Daniel turned toward the chaos erupting on the rooftop—and nearly laughed out loud.
Captain America, Steve Rogers, had just led a squad of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents onto the rooftop. They'd cornered Black Widow and Hawkeye. Every agent had their weapons trained on Natasha, who was clutching the Mind Scepter tightly in both hands.
That was the source of the standoff.
Earlier, Captain America had leapt from the roof of Stark Tower after Loki's deception—falling hundreds of meters to the streets of Manhattan. For a super soldier like him, the drop wasn't fatal. He hit the ground hard, shield-first, and though the impact left him momentarily breathless, he survived without serious injury.
By the time he recovered, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had surrounded him, confused by his sudden fall. They looked up but could see nothing. Captain America had immediately demanded they form a tactical team and head for the rooftop—warning them that Loki had transformed into Natasha and used the Tesseract to teleport several Avengers away.
He believed the space portal might be reopened at any moment.
His urgency made sense. To the agents on the ground, Manhattan already looked like a war zone. Even though Daniel's presence had minimized the destruction during the battle with the Chitauri, the damage still appeared catastrophic to ordinary people. The thought of another invasion was terrifying.
Even Brock Rumlow, a Hydra agent embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D., showed concern. Alien invaders didn't care about Hydra or S.H.I.E.L.D.—to them, both were just targets for annihilation. If Earth fell, neither organization would survive.
When Rogers led the charge back to Stark Tower, Rumlow quickly mobilized his own team, armed with heavy weaponry. As the captain of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Rapid Response Special Forces, Rumlow had enough authority to assemble and deploy a strike force instantly.
Soon, Rogers and his squad burst onto the rooftop—where Natasha, still holding the scepter, stood beside Barton.
Without hesitation, Rogers hurled his shield and shouted, "Loki! How dare you!"
He remembered too well what Loki had done aboard the Helicarrier—how he had turned Barton against them. He couldn't allow something like that to happen again.
Though Natasha and Barton weren't the strongest members of the Avengers, they were highly skilled. Against Rogers, their gap in power wasn't overwhelming.
As the shield flew toward them, the two agents immediately retreated, widening the gap. That was exactly what Rogers wanted—he rushed forward, placing himself between them.
He had no idea whether Loki had regained control of Barton. The situation was volatile.
His shield returned swiftly to his arm. He raised it again and motioned to Rumlow and the others to keep their weapons trained on both Natasha and Barton. Then he turned sharply to Natasha and shouted, "Loki, drop the weapon!"
If it had been anyone else, the command might've come with bullets. But Rogers hesitated.
"Don't shoot!" Barton shouted, clearly panicked. "She's Natasha, not Loki!"
Rogers didn't take his eyes off Natasha. He clenched his jaw and growled, "If she's not Loki, then where the hell is he?"
His paranoia wasn't unwarranted. Loki had fooled them once already—teleporting the Avengers off-world and nearly restarting the invasion. For all Rogers knew, Loki could be anywhere.
Suddenly, he remembered something. He turned and looked toward the space-time device on the platform. Just as he'd seen from the street, the device wasn't active. There was no blue beam of light shooting into the sky. The Tesseract, which should have been embedded at the core, was missing.
That realization struck him like lightning.
"Hold fire! Lower your weapons!" Rogers ordered.
He turned back to Natasha, studying her expression carefully. "Are you really Natasha? Not Loki in disguise?"
"Of course I'm me," she said, confused and a bit indignant. "I don't even know what's happening. I closed the space gate, and suddenly you're storming up here with guns drawn. What's going on?"
Her tone was full of frustration and disbelief. As far as Natasha knew, only seconds had passed since she'd shut the portal. She had no idea how much had transpired in that time.
Barton had tried to explain, but Rogers had arrived too quickly, forcing her into a defensive stance before she even understood the danger.
Now Rogers began to doubt himself. If Natasha were Loki, why wouldn't he have reopened the portal by now? Rogers had taken time to fall, regroup, and return—and yet the device remained offline. If Loki had the Tesseract, and was still here, the invasion would've resumed already.
That suggested this really was Natasha.
Still, Rogers couldn't take any chances. The stakes were too high.
"Natasha, put the scepter down. Cooperate, and I promise no one will harm you. You too, Barton. You both know what happened aboard the Helicarrier—we can't afford to repeat that mistake."
They understood immediately. Rogers had no choice. They would've done the same in his position. Ensuring control—even if it meant temporarily restraining allies—was a necessary precaution.
Natasha nodded and slowly began lowering the scepter.
She moved carefully, aware that any sudden motion could trigger panic. With everyone on edge, the situation was dangerously volatile.
Rogers, though relieved, remained on alert. He glanced at Rumlow and gave a subtle signal.
Rumlow caught it and nodded. He holstered his gun, pulled a pair of silver restraints from his belt, and approached Natasha. His deputy, Marco, moved to seize the scepter.
But Barton and Rogers both shouted at once: "Don't—!"
Too late.
As Marco reached out, he abruptly raised his pistol in his other hand and aimed it directly at Natasha. He was about to fire when Natasha instinctively gripped the scepter and unleashed a beam of blue energy. Marco was blasted backward before he could shoot.
In an instant, Rumlow's weapon was out and aimed squarely at Natasha's head.
So were all the others.
Dozens of fingers hovered on triggers. One wrong move, and the rooftop would be soaked in blood.
And then, at the most critical moment—just as the tension reached a breaking point—a second burst of rainbow light shot down from the heavens.
Daniel, Thor, Stark, and Hulk landed in its center.
They were back—just in time.