"Wait! Don't shoot!"
Daniel had just stepped out of the swirling rainbow light when he was met with a tense standoff—more than a dozen S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had their weapons trained on Natasha.
Rogers shouted, "Stand down! Lower your weapons!"
But before the agents could react, Thor's furious voice thundered from beside them.
"Loki!"
Without waiting another second, Mjolnir came flying from Thor's hand, aiming straight at Natasha.
The hammer moved at terrifying speed. In the blink of an eye, it was inches away from her. If it had truly been Loki disguised as Natasha, he might have raised the scepter to block the blow. But this was Natasha completely unarmed and unprepared to handle a direct hit from the god of thunder's weapon.
Just as Mjolnir was about to strike, a massive bolt of lightning crashed down, intercepting the hammer mid-air. The explosion of electricity lit up the entire rooftop, blinding everyone with a brilliant flash. A shockwave of thunder rippled outward, sending most of the room collapsing to the floor.
Only Captain America stood his ground, shield raised, teeth gritted as the electricity surged around him. Everyone else had been stunned to the ground by the raw force of Daniel's lightning.
Thor blinked in confusion, glancing between his hammer—now still—and the unconscious figures around him.
"She's not Loki?" he asked, bewildered.
"Of course she's not!" Daniel snapped, stepping forward to check on Natasha, who had taken the brunt of the blast due to her proximity. "If I hadn't stepped in, she'd be dead right now."
Daniel crouched down, checking Natasha's pulse and breathing. Fortunately, she was alive, though rattled and injured. She would recover with some rest, but it had been far too close.
Stark, surveying the scene—the scorched rooftop, the stunned agents, and the lingering arcs of electricity—sighed heavily.
"Well, that escalated quickly," he muttered. Then he turned to Rogers. "Mind explaining what the hell happened here? And where's Loki?"
Hearing the name, Hulk clenched his fists. His face darkened and he shouted, "SMASH LOKI!"
Rogers explained everything that had happened during the group's disappearance. He described how Loki had used the Tessaract—now clearly gone—to teleport them away and how chaos erupted in their absence.
"It was on the platform outside," he finished. "Now it's gone. Loki must've taken it."
Daniel nodded slowly. "Then his plan all along wasn't to conquer Earth. It was to get the Tessaract. The Chitauri were just pawns."
He glanced meaningfully at Thor, who caught the unspoken implication instantly.
If Loki took the Tessaract for himself, that meant Thanos—the shadowy force behind the invasion—had been deceived. And if that were true, it wasn't just the Chitauri who'd been duped. Thanos had been outplayed.
That realization shook Thor. If Loki had gone rogue, Thanos would not be pleased. And Loki, reckless as he was, had just painted a target on his back.
"So," Stark said slowly, "we don't have to worry about another Chitauri invasion anytime soon?"
"Probably not," Daniel replied, though his eyes flicked back toward Thor, concern still etched across his face.
He moved through the room, checking on the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents one by one. Though the thunder hadn't killed anyone, the blast had left its mark—muscle spasms, minor burns, and short-term shock. It could've been worse.
Daniel focused on clearing away the leftover electrical arcs still clinging to their bodies. A misfire could've been fatal—especially for anyone with a pacemaker or similar implant.
Rogers stood silently, watching.
"They'll be fine," Daniel finally said. "Give them a few minutes and they'll start waking up."
Rogers nodded with relief, then looked up at the others. "So where exactly were you all teleported to?"
"We ended up smack in the middle of the Chitauri fleet," Stark said, exhaling deeply. The memory clearly unsettled him. As he spoke, he made his way to a sleek wine cabinet tucked into the corner. He pulled out a bottle of whiskey, poured himself a generous glass, and downed most of it in a single gulp. "Anyone else want a drink?"
Rogers didn't reply, but the tension in his stance said enough.
"So you used the Bifrost to get back here?" Rogers asked, turning to Thor.
Before Thor could answer, Stark interjected. "Not exactly. First we blew up the Chitauri's command ship. Then we caught the rainbow express back here."
Rogers absorbed that in silence, his expression grim.
Before anyone could ask more, Thor stepped forward, his voice sharp and serious.
"None of that matters now. The real question is—where did Loki go?"
Everyone turned toward Daniel, who had observed the scepter Natasha had dropped.
"Yeah," Daniel said quietly. "He's got the Tessaract. That means he can go anywhere in the universe—and come back whenever he wants."