Loki's eyes, gleaming with bored malice, flicked over him before dismissing him entirely. The insect was not part of the show. He turned back to Thor, the Scepter rising. "Now," he purred, "where were we, brother?"
The window was closing. Leo's mind raced. He couldn't win a straight fight. But he could start one. He knew the script. He knew the bomb to drop.
He sucked in a breath and shouted, "He's not your brother! He's just a giant frost monster Odin found!"
The reaction was instant, but not from Thor. The Thunder God's face tightened, not with shock, but with pained recognition. He knew. This was an old, ugly scar. "Silence, mortal!" he boomed, his grip on Mjolnir tightening. "Those words hold no power here!" It was less a denial, more a defense of the brother he still claimed.
But the true target was hit.
Loki's entire being went rigid. The elegant, amused mask didn't just crack; it shattered. The truth was one thing. Having that truth—his deepest shame, the core of his self-loathing—shouted as a taunt by a mortal insect… it was an unforgivable violation.
The air around him grew cold enough to fog with his breath. His features seemed to sharpen, the handsome prince giving way to something colder, ancient.
"You…" The word was a whisper, colder than space.
Tony Stark, utterly done with the family therapy session, threw his hands up. "Wow. Okay. Frost monster? Seriously? What is this, a soap opera? Are we here to fight or just unpack a thousand years of family issues? Can we maybe focus?"
But Loki heard none of it. His entire world had narrowed to the teenager.
Leo didn't cower. A slow, deliberate smirk spread across his face. He stared right back at the enraged god. Why should he fear? The sun was a warm, constant pulse of power in his veins. His [Unbreakable Vessel] and [Sun Drenched Immortality]had tanked a Leviathan's tail. A energy blast? Please. He felt invincible. Let him come.
That smirk. That utter lack of fear. It was the final straw.
With a shriek of pure, unhinged fury that was nothing like his usual theatrical villainy, Loki abandoned all pretense. The Scepter came up in a violent jerk. The blue gem blazed like a captured star.
"YOU DARE?!" he screamed, his voice raw.
And he fired a thick, annihilating beam of pure energy directly at Leo's chest.
The world narrowed to the beam of screaming blue energy. It wasn't just light; it was pure, concentrated annihilation, the kind of power that erased cities and toppled kingdoms. It was the fury of a god, and it was aimed straight at Leo's heart.
And he stood there. A defiant, almost lazy smirk plastered on his face.
Inside, his body was singing. The energy of Earth's yellow sun wasn't just a power source; it was a constant, comforting hum in his veins, a promise of invincibility. The system's boast echoed in his mind: Skin like iron, bones like steel! He'd already tanked a Leviathan's tail. This?Let the god of mischief see. Let them all see.
The blast connected.
WHUMPF!
It wasn't the searing, piercing pain he might have expected. It was a tidal wave of pure, concussive FORCE.
His [Unbreakable Vessel] held perfectly. The skin on his chest didn't break, didn't burn, didn't even redden. It was like being hit by a train made of solid light. The energy didn't penetrate; it simply… pushed.
Physics, it turned, was still very much a thing.
The smirk was wiped from his face by the sheer, overwhelming kinetic energy. His feet left the floor. For a glorious, weightless second, he was airborne, flying backward like a home run ball hit by a giant. The world became a dizzying blur of sky, alien portal, and Tony Stark's very expensive penthouse.
Then he met a wall. Not just any wall—a floor-to-ceiling, undoubtedly million-dollar, decorative glass wall.
CRASH-BOOM-TINKLE!
The sound was spectacular. He plowed straight through it, vanishing into the next room in an explosion of glittering shards and twisted metal framing. He landed in a heap on what felt like a very expensive couch, which promptly collapsed under the impact with a sad sigh.
A system notification, utterly unbothered by his aerial journey, pinged in his vision.
[Blunt Force Impact Absorbed. Energy Resistance +5%! Cosmic Energy Signature Analyzed!] [Sun-Drenched Immortality: Cellular stability maintained. No damage sustained. Commencing micro-debris expulsion.]
For a moment, there was silence from the main room, broken only by the gentle patter-tinkle of falling glass.
Then, a rustle from the wreckage.
A hand emerged from the pile of shattered glass and splintered furniture, pushing a shredded cushion aside. Leo sat up, shaking his head like a dog after a bath. A cascade of glass shards fell from his hair and clothes. He blinked, his enhanced vision clearing instantly.
He got to his feet, standing ankle-deep in the ruins of Tony Stark's interior design. He looked… perfectly fine. Annoyed, but fine. He brushed at his torn shirt, the motion sending a fresh shower of glass tinkling to the floor. Beneath the ripped fabric, his skin was utterly unmarked. Not a scratch. Not a bruise. Not even a dust smudge.
He stepped out of the wreckage, crunching over the debris, and back through the giant, Leo-shaped hole he'd made in the wall.
He emerged into the main penthouse room. Three pairs of eyes were locked on him, wide with a mixture of shock, disbelief, and utter confusion. Loki's furious smirk was gone, replaced by a look of pure, uncomprehending astonishment.
Leo ignored them for a second, picking a final piece of glass from his sleeve. He looked down at the destruction he'd caused, then back up at the group.
His expression wasn't one of pain, or triumph, or fear. It was pure, unadulterated annoyance.
"Okay," he said, his voice flat and unimpressed. He pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the demolished room. "That? That was actually kind of rude."