First, they had to capture Loki. Once they had him and his scepter, they could disable the space rift generator, and the remaining Chitauri ships would stand down.
In hindsight, Tony Stark's nuclear missile had been largely irrelevant.
The Chitauri couldn't have relied on just one mothership, and they possessed space-jumping capabilities.
Their years-long withdrawal from Earth wasn't due to inability to return or the destruction of a single mothership. It was likely because this initial invasion had been a near-apocalyptic event for humanity, leaving a profound psychological scar.
For Tony Stark, it left him haunted by nightmares for years. But for Thanos, it had been merely a probing attack, a test of Odin and Gu Yi's reactions.
So, when there was no follow-up, there was no follow-up.
Yet this single, tentative strike had haunted Tony Stark with recurring nightmares for years.
This was the crushing weight of power, the overwhelming dominance of a higher civilization.
Meanwhile, Loki watched the Chitauri ships and aircraft dive from the sky, utterly bewildered. Especially since so many of them were being intercepted by his own clueless big brother.
In his memory, his elder brother had never possessed such capabilities. How could his strength have increased so dramatically in just a few years?
Moreover, those suddenly appearing robots, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent teams, and the like all seemed perfectly prepared, as if specifically arranged.
Even his arrival itself hadn't caught them by surprise; they were able to anticipate it and open fire immediately, leaving him no chance to show off.
If he hadn't decisively used his Illusion Technique, the consequences could have been catastrophic.
While ordinary people's weapons could hardly harm him, they weren't entirely harmless.
Later, he questioned the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents he had captured, but none could explain why. They only knew that six months prior, they had been stationed at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, as if awaiting something.
He couldn't figure out what was happening. Could there be a traitor?
But that seemed impossible. Earthlings hadn't even managed to leave their home planet. In the universe, they were still considered backwater dwellers.
How could they possibly have developed a traitor within the Chitauri ranks?
Or perhaps it was one of *that Lord's* subordinates?
That made no sense at all!
Loki didn't quite understand what was happening, but it didn't matter to him. The spatial rift had already been opened; the rest was just a matter of time.
Even if his brother Thor was the greatest warrior in the universe, it was useless. Under Thor's onslaught, Chitauri soldiers were dying in droves every second, but it was all for naught.
Loki remained unfazed. Unless one could reach Celestial-tier power, mere numbers were meaningless.
Suddenly, at a street corner in New York, a ripple in spacetime materialized, and a group of people in specialized suits appeared on the street.
If Lin Feng had been there to notice, he would have recognized them as the Avengers from *Endgame*, having traveled through time to this era.
Seeing the chaotic, desperate battlefield of the Battle of New York, their moods grew complex.
After shedding their nanosuits, they revealed their true forms.
These Avengers were Ant-Man Scott, Iron Man Tony Stark, Captain America Rogers, and Professor Hulk Bruce Banner—all present at the Battle of New York.
"We split up!" Captain America immediately issued combat orders. "Two Infinity Stones, one in the upper district, one in the lower district!"
"Keep it low-key and watch the time!" he instructed.
Suddenly, they saw Hulk in the distance, brutally slaughtering Chitauri soldiers and crushing a car under his foot.
The scene was both brutal and savage.
Meanwhile, Professor Hulk Bruce Banner from *Endgame* stood awkwardly watching it all. He was no longer just Hulk, nor just Bruce Banner; they had merged into one entity: Professor Hulk Bruce Banner.
"Why don't you smash some stuff too? Get in the mood?" Captain America asked.
"I don't think it's necessary, but whatever," Professor Hulk replied. He tore off his shirt and began smashing things half-heartedly.
For a moment, silence hung heavy in the air, and the scene became deeply awkward.
"I wasn't there for the Battle of New York, but are you sure that's Thor?" Ant-Man Scott asked, pointing to the distance where Thor, the God of Thunder, was slaughtering Chitauri soldiers at incredible speed beneath the spatial rift.
"He seems way stronger than the Thor we know," someone remarked.
Everyone turned to look. Indeed, Thor beneath the spatial rift seemed like the true God of Thunder had descended. An aura of endless lightning surrounded him, forming a domain. While he couldn't completely block all the Chitauri soldiers and Leviathan Ships, anyone trying to pass him was immediately struck down.
Numerous Leviathan Ships swarmed him, attempting to force him away from the space rift, but they couldn't stop him.
At this moment, Thor, the God of Thunder, was clearly far more formidable than the Thor they all knew.
"This... I feel like my memory might be wrong. Was Thor really this strong back then?" Tony Stark asked. "This definitely isn't the Thor we know. That battle was so brutal. If Thor had been this strong, we would have had it so much easier."
The others all nodded in agreement. That battle had been so harrowing that even now, the mere thought of it gave them nightmares.
They had been on the brink of despair. If Tony Stark hadn't fired that critical shot at the Chitauri mothership at the last moment, Earth would have been truly doomed.
Yet, none of this seemed to fit with their memories.
But they couldn't be sure. The battle had been so chaotic, who had had the mental capacity to observe how others fought? Everyone had been fighting with everything they had.
"Tony, did you build these things?"
Captain America, Steve Rogers, spoke up, pointing at the swarm of mechanical soldiers flying through the sky.
Not just one or two, but dozens, and more were visible in the distance. Clearly, this wasn't a minor incident.
"What the hell... Oh my God..." Tony Stark stammered, his voice filled with disbelief.
He desperately wanted to deny any involvement, to claim these Iron Soldiers weren't his and had nothing to do with him.
But he knew better. Those catfish-faced Iron Soldiers... who else could have created them but him?
This design was uniquely his, with no other manufacturers. The problem was, he had long abandoned developing the Iron Soldier army.
After the Ultron incident, he had lost all faith in artificial intelligence. In fact, everyone else was equally wary, unwilling to let him develop AI further. That's why he hadn't pursued building a robot army.
The memory of Ultron was too deeply ingrained, too unforgettable.
How could they forget? The series of devastating battles had torn the Avengers apart, reducing them to a brawling, fractured mess. Cities had been lifted into the sky, nearly pushing humanity to the same fate as the dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago.
Though they had ultimately saved most of humanity, the cost in lives and injuries had been catastrophic.
He never dared to look at the final casualty figures. Even now, Stark Industries was still dealing with the aftermath and paying out war reparations.
So what was this robot army all about?
Even worse, he spotted another group of war robots. These weren't his familiar catfish-faced designs; they resembled the Iron Soldier army that Ivan Vanko had created before his death.
And they were also swarming in, sniping at the aliens in large numbers.
Tony Stark was even more bewildered. How was this possible? Ivan Vanko had been dead for years, killed long before the Battle of New York. How could he still be alive and creating this?
He felt completely disoriented. What was going on with this Battle of New York?
Everything felt... off.
He even wondered if he was dreaming.
"Things are getting even worse over there," Captain Rogers pointed. "Look at that—isn't that the Extremis Virus Killian developed?"
It was a combat team from a security company under Tony Stark's command. Each member glowed with a red light, looking both dangerous and eerie. Wasn't that the signature of the Extremis Virus?
They even saw the members of these combat teams sustain severe injuries—severed limbs—only to have them regenerate in moments.
But the problem was, the Extremis Virus wasn't even close to being successful yet. It remained a half-finished project long after the Battle of New York.
"Look at the insignias on their combat uniforms. Aren't those the trademarks of your Stark Industries Group?" Captain America continued.
Tony Stark glanced over and confirmed it was indeed their unique Stark Industries insignia.
What was going on here?
The problem was, they had never produced the Extremis Virus.
While he had considered it later, he had never actually implemented it.
Moreover, even if he had, it couldn't have been now. He knew the Extremis Virus was supposed to emerge after the Battle of New York—it couldn't possibly exist before it.
Tony Stark was completely bewildered.
He couldn't make sense of it all. This world seemed far too bizarre.
"Are... are you sure your memories aren't mistaken?" Ant-Man Scott asked.
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