"Loki is at Stark Tower?" Tony's voice crackled over the comms, filled with disbelief.
"Only if that fighter jet on your roof isn't yours!" Finney replied, hovering in the air.
As they drew closer, the scene became clear. On the penthouse deck of Stark Tower, Dr. Erik Selvig and a team of brainwashed scientists were frantically assembling a massive device. Finney didn't wait. He leveled his palm and unleashed a focused 'Burst Spell' at the equipment.
However, a spear of brilliant white energy shot out from the building, intercepting Finney's magic mid-air.
Loki, clad in full Asgardian gold and green armor with his signature horned helmet, stepped onto the terrace. He gripped the Mind Scepter, his eyes gleaming with mischief.
"Loki!" Thor roared, dropping like a meteor toward the roof. Finney tried to signal him to wait, but the God of Thunder was beyond listening.
Tony, ever the tactician, didn't land. He flew into a lower bay of the building. His Mark suit was trashed, and he wasn't about to confront Loki without showing him whose name was on the building in a fresh set of armor.
"You've recovered well, brother," Loki sneered at the disheveled Thor. Then, he turned his gaze to Finney. "And you... where is your dragon? You still have a chance to bow to a God. Serve me, and you can have anything."
"Anything?" Finney asked, tilting his head. "What if I use my magic to turn you into a woman and marry you off to Thor?"
"???" Thor froze, an unwanted mental image making him shudder violently before he quickly thought of Jane Foster to cleanse his mind.
Loki's face twisted in fury, his knuckles whitening around the Scepter. "Mortal, you blaspheme! Feel the rage of your 'friend' instead. Hulk, KILL THEM!"
With a roar that shattered the surrounding glass, a massive green shadow burst through the windows. The Hulk landed beside Loki, his eyes glowing with a faint, hypnotic blue light.
Finney felt a surge of genuine anger. Hulk was one of the few beings he considered a friend. Seeing him used as a puppet was the final straw.
"I guarantee you'll regret coming to Earth," Finney said, clenching his fists.
"Naivety suits you, brother!" Loki sneered at Thor's pleas for peace. "Hulk, SMASH!"
The Hulk charged. Simultaneously, elite Chitauri soldiers—the vanguard who didn't need a mothership's signal—swarmed the roof.
Thor, underestimated the Hulk's rage. Thinking he could handle him with bare fists to save his hammer for the Chitauri, he threw Mjolnir at the soldiers. Big mistake. Hulk delivered a monstrous punch that sent the God of Thunder flying off the skyscraper like a ragdoll.
"He'll be fine," Finney muttered, watching Thor plummet.
Just as Finney prepared to open a portal to drop Hulk into the ocean, a massive, bulky shadow fell over the roof. It wasn't a Mark 7. It was the Hulkbuster Armor.
"Finally, some payback," Tony's voice boomed from the massive suit. He clearly hadn't forgotten the punch Hulk gave him years ago.
But Loki wasn't done. He tapped the Tesseract with his Scepter. A wave of blue energy rippled through the air. Suddenly, the spatial energy around the tower became chaotic and unstable—like a gentle girlfriend suddenly hitting a bad mood.
"Damn it," Finney growled. He couldn't open a portal now without risking sending Hulk to a random black hole.
Thor returned, wielding Mjolnir and looking pissed. "Go help Tony with the Hulk!" Finney shouted to him. "I'll handle the 'God' myself."
Finney flew toward Loki, his voice echoing with a dark chant:
"Blacker than black, the deepest darkness... Merge with my crimson! Explosion!"
A massive magic circle engulfed the sky. New Yorkers below looked up in awe at the 'Knight of Divine Punishment.'
Loki's eyes widened. He raised the Mind Scepter, drawing power from the Infinity Stone to create a brilliant white shield.
BOOM!
The explosion rocked Manhattan. The shockwave sent Tony, Thor, and the Hulk tumbling. The penthouse deck was turned into a scorched wasteland.
As the smoke cleared, Loki was still standing, his shield flickering but intact. He was pale, breathing hard. Finney, too, was drained—that was a full-power blast.
"No more games," Finney growled.
He descended, but he didn't reach for his wand. Instead, he activated his new seventh skill: Total Concentration Breathing.
The silver 'Evil Spirit' armor began to glow with a faint, pulsating red light. With the triple stack of Demon Possession, Breathing Technique, and Golden Grand Evolution, Finney's physical stats hit a level he had never felt before.
He took one step. CRACK. The concrete shattered as he vanished, reappearing instantly in front of a terrified Loki.
"Today," Finney whispered, his fist glowing with heat. "I'll be a melee mage!"
His punch connected squarely with Loki's "Godly" face.
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(End of Chapter)