At Times Square, the minds of the superheroes went completely blank; try as they might, none of them could fathom who had brought in such formidable reinforcements, or from where.
Dark clouds pressed down and lightning raged at the wave of his hand, like the Thor of ancient mythology.
Even those capable of manipulating electricity, such as Electro, Max Dillon, could not match such an immensely fierce display.
"If I'd known we had a guy like this around, I would've just slept through until now," Tony Stark joked, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere.
No one paid him any mind, however. The ground beneath them was heaving and collapsing continuously, while bolts of lightning occasionally slammed down from the sky with a deafening crash, tearing deep into the earth.
Evidently, the Frost Giants were not dead; a desperate struggle was currently unfolding beneath the surface.
Aside from the Hulk, none of the heroes present felt capable of intervening in a subterranean battle, but Captain America stepped forward nonetheless.
"Guys."
"Does anyone recognize that man from just now?"
Seeing the bewildered glances turned his way, Captain America grew exceptionally stern.
"If no one recognizes him, we must prepare for battle."
"We don't know whether he stands on our side or not. We have to be prepared for the possibility that after he finishes off those giants, he might turn around and come for us."
"Also, those who can still fight will regroup on the spot. Hawkeye, Black Widow, Daredevil, Jack Monroe—you're responsible for getting the severely injured away from the scene."
"Hey! Big guy!" Captain America shouted toward the Hulk.
The Hulk snapped his head round to glare at Captain America.
"If a conflict breaks out in a moment, I need you on the front lines," Captain America ordered.
The Hulk glanced around the area. Seeing no sign of Batman, he turned back to Captain America, grinning widely to show a mouth full of white teeth.
Doctor Octopus felt his heart sink. He quickly scuttled his mechanical tentacles forward to get closer to the Hulk, whispering low:
"Hulk, listen to him for now."
Doctor Octopus was deathly afraid that the Hulk might throw a punch at Captain America first out of sheer displeasure.
"Hmph," the Hulk snorted through his nose. "Got it, Octopus."
Only then did Doctor Octopus breathe a sigh of relief, though his body suddenly swayed right after.
It wasn't that he was under attack; rather, the ground of Times Square was quaking. Cracks kept appearing on the surface, as if an earthquake were imminent.
The tremors grew violent, and the fissures widened rapidly. The broadest gap was as thick as an adult man's thigh, pitch-black inside with no telling how deep it went.
Bursts of lightning erupted from the fissures every now and then, accompanied by faint, furious roars echoing from deep underground. The battle below was clearly intense.
Unable to predict what would happen next, the superheroes could only try their best to avoid falling into the cracks.
They couldn't just walk away, either. As Captain America had said, God only knew whether that guy would turn his wrath on them after dealing with the Frost Giants.
If they scattered now instead of uniting as one force, no one would be able to stand against him when the time came.
A few minutes later, the shaking stopped and the cracks ceased spreading, but the ground of Times Square began to sink continuously.
Those with guns readied their firearms; those without raised their respective weapons. The superheroes stared warily at the collapsing ground.
Rumble! Under the watchful eyes of the superheroes, a bottomless crater suddenly tore open. Immediately after, a burly figure clad in silver armor with a thick red cape, his metal helmet flanked by two small wings, leaped out from the depths.
It was none other than Thor, the God of Thunder.
"I am Steve Rogers. We mean no harm!" Captain America called out at the top of his lungs the instant he laid eyes on Thor.
The superheroes were heavily battered, and considering the raw power Thor had just displayed, Captain America knew he had to do everything in his power to communicate.
If another fight broke out, the casualties wouldn't be limited to Elijah Bradley, Patriot.
Vigilance and precaution were one thing, but reality was another; Captain America wasn't about to order an attack the moment the newcomer appeared.
"I am Thor, Son of Odin!" Thor declared, his voice booming with majestic authority.
"Thank you for your timely reinforcement, Thor," Captain America said, glancing at the hammer held in Thor's hand. "Like you, we are warriors willing to step forward and protect others at critical moments."
"Who freed me from the Realm of Silence?" Thor asked, looking around at the relieved superheroes.
His gaze lingered for a moment longer on the Hulk, who was eyeing him fiercely.
No one could answer Thor's question; in fact, no one here even knew what the Realm of Silence was.
Enchantress had already whisked herself and Skurge the Executioner away back when the Hulk smashed down a building, though those two M16s—"Des"—and "Troy"—were still left lying on the ground.
Thor soon noticed the two rifles. As his eyes swept across the ground, taking in the magic circle patterns torn apart by the fissures, his voice turned quizzical:
"Is this a magic array mimicking the Bifrost?"
Once again, no one could answer his question. Thor seemed to be merely talking to himself, and he soon looked back up at the others.
"Has any of you seen Loki?"
Doctor Octopus and Doctor Michael Morbius exchanged a glance. Doctor Octopus subtly shook his head, signaling him not to speak.
However, not all the superheroes present were ignorant of mythology. At least someone had heard the name "Loki."
"You're Thor. The person you're asking about must be Loki, the God of Mischief, right?"
"Indeed." Thor turned to the speaker, who was Iron Man, Tony Stark, his armor now completely scrapped.
"I don't think anyone here has seen Loki," Iron Man said. "But if you're looking for him, I can help."
"Man of iron armor, what scheme do you propose?" Thor spoke with a archaic, Shakespearean cadence, sounding somewhat out of place.
Iron Man felt as though he were listening to a stage play.
"No scheme, but I have satellites," Iron Man said.
"Satellites? What powerful relic is that?" Thor asked again.
Just as Iron Man was about to explain, Captain America spoke up, though not to him or Thor, but to the rest of the team:
"The misunderstanding is cleared up, guys. The injured will evacuate first as I mentioned earlier..."
He intended to move the wounded superheroes out of harm's way before anything else.
"I'm afraid you won't be leaving here today, Captain America," Loki's voice echoed from a distance.
Thor tightened his grip on his hammer and glared at the unfamiliar face, but spoke to the one projecting Loki's voice:
"Depart from the Midgardian's body, Loki."
"Whether I leave or not makes no difference; I'm not in Midgard anyway," Loki shrugged indifferently. "As for the rest of them, leaving won't be quite so easy."
"Isn't that right, Latveria's slaughters of over a thousand people... Should I call you superheroes, or butchers?"
Behind Loki stood ranks of heavily armed police officers, holding riot shields in front of them and firearms in their hands.
Even though these officers possessed far less combat capability than the supervillains and Hydra from earlier, the current situation was even trickier than before.
Captain America's face turned as dark as stagnant water, silent. The hearts of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and the others sank in unison.
Has this trouble finally come knocking on our door?
On the outer perimeter of the superheroes, Eddie Brock faithfully recorded this entire scene, broadcasting it to every corner of the world via the internet.
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