Sun Xiaoxiao surveyed the battlefield. Gemini's blue fire phoenixes occupied the left side. She pinched her fingers, dropping hand seals toward the right. Lightning struck down precisely, hitting every Chitauri without harming even Barton in close combat—just leaving him slightly numb from the electrical afterglow.
The scene instantly became fantastical—fire phoenixes dancing and crying on one side, thunder crashing repeatedly on the other.
Tony stood alone in the air, feeling somewhat useless.
"Guys, Dr. Selvig's awake and knows how to close the portal. How are you doing?" Natasha's voice reached everyone.
"Then close it!" Steve swatted away a Chitauri, clearing the area around him.
"The only problem—has anyone seen Loki's scepter? We need it to close the portal," Natasha said.
Tony immediately responded. "Ask Master Lu—the Chinese guy in my living room. They took down Loki, should know where it is."
Natasha turned to look at Master Lu sitting on the balcony edge, hesitated, then walked over.
After hearing Natasha's words, Master Lu looked embarrassed. "Do we really need that thing?"
Natasha got a bad feeling.
Master Lu stood up, sheepishly pulling out a pile of fragments from under the sofa. "His stick wasn't very sturdy. I just tapped it a few times and it became like this. Not my fault—he kept poking my chest with that little stick. It hurt."
Natasha stared at the fragments. The piece that most resembled a scepter was the yellow-glowing head, and the longest piece was barely palm-sized. She didn't know what to say.
"Bad news—Loki's scepter is destroyed," Natasha opened the voice channel.
"What?! Then how do we close that portal?!" Tony was shocked.
Master Lu said sheepishly, "Well, do we really need this thing? I could try fixing it..."
Natasha immediately turned. "Do you have another way to close that portal?"
Master Lu stroked his pipe. "Pretty simple. I watched when he built it. Just dismantle the base. You foreigners—cough—those aliens aren't very skilled. The energy circuits are messy, and there are fake parts inside. Probably can't shut it down instantly. Dismantling should take about 5 seconds."
Natasha's mouth twitched. Was there a difference between 5 seconds and instantly?
"Did you hear that?" Natasha asked.
Tony had Jarvis connect to his living room's system. "Master Lu, please go ahead. This is extra work—I'll include the payment in the renovation costs."
Master Lu's eyes lit up. His pipe suddenly became a hammer and chisel. "Don't worry, leave it to me. How about I keep what I dismantle as payment?" Master Lu was delighted. China's tech level still lagged behind these developed countries. Despite his earlier criticisms, that was from a mystical perspective. These components, once taken apart and given to the country for research, would definitely be useful!
"No problem!" Tony agreed immediately.
Master Lu immediately approached the portal device, eagerly making practice motions. "Give the order, boss! I'll start right away!"
Just as Tony was about to speak, Fury contacted them. "Wait! Tony! A nuclear missile is heading your way! I couldn't stop it! The UN authorized the launch!"
Fury's words reached everyone. Gemini was startled—she wasn't like those ignorant wizards. She knew exactly what a nuclear bomb was.
"Nuclear bomb?! UN?! You mean America's UN, right?! Are they trying to start World War III?!" Gemini's shock loosened her Fiendfyre control. The phoenixes immediately collapsed into scattered blue sparks.
Harry behind her was ready. He raised his wand and plunged it into the ground. A golden ring expanded outward from him, dispersing all the Fiendfyre it swept over.
Sun Xiaoxiao's lightning also went askew, directly blasting off a building's roof. "Master Lu! Can we handle this?"
Master Lu pulled out his pipe and took a puff. "Sigh, we really can't handle this thing, unless..." He looked up at the space portal.
"Unless what?!" Tony asked while flying toward the incoming missile.
"Unless it flies right under this portal. I can knock it into the hole," Master Lu said.
Tony's eyes lit up—that matched his own idea, except he'd originally planned to carry the nuke through himself. Whether he'd make it back was up to fate.
"Leave that to me. I'll make it fly right under the portal!" Tony said, flying to the missile's underside and grabbing it tightly, beginning to accelerate. "I'll reach the portal in one minute!"
"Boss, let's agree beforehand—don't follow the nuke in. I'm afraid I might accidentally knock you in too," Master Lu said, constantly pulling out materials and hammering away.
"I know!" Tony's expression was serious. "You're sure your action won't detonate it on impact?"
"Are you underestimating me? Know what 'highest good is like water' means?" Master Lu stopped working, stroking the object in his hands. "Told you foreigners don't understand anything. How much longer?"
"10-second countdown!" Tony said, eyes fixed on the portal's position, instructing Jarvis to prepare—worst case, just throw him out and let the suit carry the nuke through.
Master Lu swung his hammer. "Come on!"
Jarvis began counting down. 3! 2! 1!
Master Lu swung his hammer forcefully. "Away you go!"
A silver light shot out. When Tony saw Master Lu's motion, he'd already released his grip, giving the nuke a little push so it could smoothly reach directly under the portal.
The silver light struck the nuke's tip perfectly without making a sound. The nuke instantly changed direction. Master Lu immediately swung his hammer again—the silver light hit the nuke's tail, and it shot toward the portal as if freshly launched.
In a blink, the nuke disappeared into the hole. Master Lu dropped his hammer, grabbed his tools, and hammered away at the base. Not a second more or less—5 seconds later, the base completely scattered into components. The blue Tesseract flickered once and fell to the ground. The sky portal disappeared with it.
The Chitauri running around on the ground lost power like unplugged machines the moment the portal closed, collapsing motionless.
Gemini and Harry exchanged glances, then Apparated directly to Stark Tower's balcony.
The bound Loki sniffled hard, struggling to open his swollen eyes. Finally over—he wanted to go back to Asgard!
After everyone gathered, looking at the devastated city center, Tony sighed. How much would this cost?
"Congressman Stark!" The American Auror Department head directly dragged away the melancholy Tony. They had to seize this opportunity. Outside media was already operating, and that American nuclear missile gave them the final key. If handled well, American wizards would have recognized territory! This was huge! Plus post-war reconstruction—Auror Department Head Robert Wilkinson's face was red with excitement. For post-war reconstruction, wizards claimed no one was faster or more convenient! No one!
Before being dragged away, Tony only managed to shout about dinner tonight before disappearing.
Sun Xiaoxiao and Master Lu quickly packed up the high-tech components and took their leave. Before leaving, they received a small gift Tony had Jarvis prepare—civilian technology data about 2 years ahead of America's current level. This wasn't small at all—for rapidly developing China, this was truly a great gift.
Master Lu immediately beamed, saying Tony was welcome to visit China anytime—they'd guarantee he felt at home.
Thor had just seen Loki's miserable state and was about to rage when he saw Master Lu apologetically holding fragments, saying he'd accidentally broken Loki's weapon. Thor shuddered—easily smashing Loki's weapon to pieces like this, was this someone he could provoke? He immediately laughed heartily, thanking Master Lu for helping educate his brother. He explained they had to return to Asgard quickly and take the Tesseract too. Steve was more than happy to see it go—this thing caused too much trouble on Earth. Thor mentioned the Immortal-Binding Rope Sun Xiaoxiao had given him, grabbed the Tesseract, and shouted skyward, "Heimdall!"
A rainbow descended. Thor and Loki disappeared, leaving runic symbols on the balcony floor.
After sending everyone away, Gemini collapsed on Tony's sofa, sighing. "Feels like I worked for nothing this time. What a loss."
Steve rubbed his nose. "Banner and I are getting paid. Tony negotiated for us."
Gemini stared blankly at the ceiling. "Keep that money for yourselves. I don't need it."
Just as everyone discussed dinner plans, the elevator opened and several agents emerged.
Natasha approached them. "Agent Sitwell, Rumlow, what are you doing here?"
Sitwell nodded to Natasha, pulling out a paper. "Pierce sent us to recover special item 084."
Natasha took the paper and scanned it. "You're too late. The Tesseract was taken by Thor—we couldn't stop him. As for the scepter, it's over there." Natasha pointed at the pile of fragments.
Sitwell was speechless for a while, then pulled out a case and had someone carefully place the unrecognizable fragments inside with gloves, trying to reconstruct the scepter's shape.
After roughly assembling it—nothing seemed missing—Agent Sitwell closed the case. "Thanks for cooperating. We're heading back to report."
With that, he led his group into the elevator and disappeared.
Gemini frowned. "Your people are really rude. I've decided—all future S.H.I.E.L.D. commissions cost 30% more, including potions!"
Steve smiled. "I'll notify Ben."
Just as the All-Purpose Shop team prepared to use Tony's fireplace, Fury emerged from the elevator. "Where are you going? Where are Loki's scepter and the Tesseract?"
Everyone frowned. "Didn't your S.H.I.E.L.D. people take them? Natasha handled it," Gemini said.
Fury's eyes widened. "Fuck! I didn't sign that order!"
"It was Pierce's order, so I let them through," Natasha said.
Gemini sneered. "What an interesting director you are. You launched a nuke without signing orders, and missions bypass you without signed orders. Are you the director or a puppet?"
With that, Gemini ignored Fury's expression and started to leave with her people.
"Captain! I need your help with this! This concerns..." Fury panicked, calling out to Steve.
Gemini grabbed Steve's arm and pulled him back, positioning herself in front of him. "Payment required—sign a contract. Steve costs $300,000 per day, Banner $500,000 per day. How many days do you need?" She wouldn't let her employees work for free again.
Fury's face turned green. "This is about world affairs—you want money?!"
"We just saved the world. What do world affairs have to do with you, or with me? We haven't even settled accounts about that nuke! You're the real culprits wanting world chaos!" Gemini mocked mercilessly.
Fury wanted to argue but couldn't find grounds.
Gemini wasn't being unreasonable. That nuclear missile would have hit what people? Central Land Daoist Sect's Master Craftsman and core disciple Sun Xiaoxiao, all American Ministry of Magic Aurors and adult wizards, British Ministry of Magic Auror Department Head and Savior Harry Potter, the last Black family bloodline. Gemini could shamelessly say—if anything happened to these people, America would be ashes by tomorrow. They wouldn't even need other countries to act. Just the remaining American wizards could put the US President on headlines!
"Besides, this is your business. Steve is my shop clerk, my knight—not your subordinate! Please see clearly!" Gemini stood protectively in front of Steve, speaking aggressively.
Fury opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. "Alright, I understand. Will the All-Purpose Shop be open tomorrow? I need the All-Purpose Shop's help." Fury said seriously to Gemini. "I'm very sorry about the nuclear missile. This isn't the place to talk. If you're open tomorrow, I think we really need to discuss things."
Seeing Fury's attitude change, Gemini reluctantly softened. "Tomorrow won't work. We just finished fighting—tomorrow's a rest day. Day after tomorrow is fine!"
Fury nodded. "Alright, I understand. I'll visit the day after tomorrow. I'll also honor my promise about the American wizards' situation."
Gemini rolled her eyes. "That's your own oath—what's it to me?" With that, she proudly led her employees away.
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