"A nuclear missile?!"
Tony's voice immediately exploded with anger.
"Do you even realize how many people live in New York?!"
"Give us more time and we can push them back!"
Tony cursed loudly over the communication channel after hearing Nick Fury's warning.
If the nuclear missile detonated over Manhattan, the entire city would be reduced to ruins.
Even the Avengers themselves would likely be killed by the blast.
The "him" Fury referred to was obviously Karl.
Only Karl possessed the power to either stop the nuclear explosion or redirect the missile entirely.
"What?! A nuclear missile?!"
Natasha's face changed immediately.
"The World Security Council has gone completely insane."
She cursed under her breath.
But there was nothing she could do.
If the bomb detonated, even she wouldn't survive the intense heat and shockwave.
Tony immediately opened another communication channel.
"Karl! Karl!"
"A nuclear missile is heading straight for New York!"
"You said you could handle this!"
"So what do we do now?!"
Tony's voice was tense.
Karl's calm voice came from the other side.
"Alright. I know."
"I said I could handle it, so I will."
"Leave it to me."
Karl sounded completely unconcerned.
To him, humanity's most terrifying weapon—the nuclear bomb—didn't seem frightening at all.
After saying that, Karl hung up the call.
At that moment—
A fighter jet approached New York from outside the city.
The pilot launched a nuclear missile directly toward Stark Tower.
After releasing the weapon, the jet immediately turned around and retreated.
Many people across the city saw it.
A nuclear missile had been launched over New York.
Even Steve Rogers couldn't remain calm anymore.
He turned toward the others, about to ask if anyone had a solution.
Then—
Something unexpected happened.
A man wearing a white shirt suddenly appeared in the air.
He was floating calmly above the battlefield.
The temperature around him began to drop rapidly.
It was Karl.
Karl had arrived shortly after receiving Tony's call.
He looked toward the direction of the incoming missile.
After calculating its trajectory, Karl slowly raised his hand.
He drew a circle in the air.
A portal with a black-and-blue edge instantly appeared in front of him.
The nuclear missile flew straight into the portal.
At the same time—
Another portal opened near the Cosmic Cube portal above Stark Tower.
The missile entered the first portal near Karl.
Then it exited through the second portal above the battlefield—
But instead of hitting the city, it shot straight through the interstellar portal.
The missile continued flying directly into space.
Its final destination—
The Chitauri command ship on the other side of the portal.
BOOM—!
The nuclear warhead detonated against the alien warship.
A massive mushroom cloud erupted in space.
Instantly—
All the Chitauri soldiers on Earth lost power.
Their bodies collapsed to the ground one after another.
The invasion army had been completely disabled.
Karl slowly descended from the sky.
Inside Stark Tower, he saw Hulk violently smashing Loki against the floor again and again.
After glancing around, Karl quickly located Loki's scepter.
He raised his hand.
Using telekinesis, he pulled the scepter directly into his hand.
Tony also flew over at that moment.
The two of them immediately flew toward the top of Stark Tower.
Karl inserted the scepter into the energy barrier mechanism.
With a flash of blue light—
The portal in the sky slowly began to close.
Moments later, it completely disappeared.
"Damn…"
Tony stepped out of his massive armor and opened his helmet.
"It's finally over."
He sat down heavily on the rooftop and let out a long breath.
"If that nuclear bomb had exploded…"
"We'd all be dead."
Karl calmly replied.
"Even if it had exploded, I would have saved you."
"You wouldn't die."
After saying that, Karl casually placed both the Tesseract and Loki's scepter into his system space.
Tony blinked.
"Wow. Thanks."
"But wait…"
He suddenly frowned.
"You already knew the scepter could close the portal."
"Then why didn't you—"
Tony suddenly froze.
His eyes widened.
"Wait."
"You knew the nuclear missile was coming the whole time, didn't you?!"
Tony wasn't angry.
Instead, he looked at Karl with confusion.
Karl knew many things.
But Karl was always cautious.
More importantly—
Karl was Tony's friend and family.
Tony trusted him.
Karl nodded calmly.
"Yes."
"I knew."
"That's why I told you I could handle it."
"Even if I knew, I wouldn't change it."
"If I interfered earlier, the future might shift in unpredictable ways."
Karl looked toward the ruined battlefield.
"This invasion was a warning."
"A reminder to certain people about what they shouldn't touch."
Tony sighed.
"Alright."
"I don't really have an opinion about that."
"Besides, you've never cared much about other people's opinions anyway."
Tony stood up and climbed back into his armor.
"The 'certain people' you're talking about…"
"They're after the Tesseract, right?"
Karl simply smiled.
Tony activated the armor again.
Then the two of them flew down from Stark Tower.
By that time, Loki had already been captured.
Almost everyone involved in the battle had gathered on the first floor of Stark Tower.
When Karl and Tony landed, Thor immediately walked over.
He hadn't expected Karl to appear at the last moment and resolve the crisis.
"Hey, Prophet!"
Thor called out loudly.
"Could you keep Loki for me for a while?"
"I want to go see Jane."
"I'm worried they might not be able to hold Loki."
"So I was hoping you could help."
Thor then looked around.
"Tony… where is the Tesseract?"
Before Karl could answer—
Tony spoke first.
"Your prophet took it."
"What do you need it for?"
Tony asked curiously.
Karl nodded.
"I know what you want."
"You plan to use the Tesseract to return to Asgard and repair the Bifrost, right?"
Thor looked surprised.
Karl continued calmly.
"Loki can stay with me for now."
"The Tesseract is also with me."
"But I need to use it for a while before returning it to you."
Karl only needed the Infinity Stones long enough to unlock the seal on the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
After that, the Tesseract had little value to him.
At that moment—
A bald man suddenly walked forward with several armed agents.
"Sir."
"I heard the Tesseract is in your possession."
"I'm an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.."
"We're here to retrieve it."
Tony immediately smirked.
He looked at the bald man with obvious amusement.
Tony knew very well—
Karl had never liked S.H.I.E.L.D.
BOOM—!
Karl glanced at the man.
"Oh?"
"A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent?"
"Or a Hydra agent?"
Karl raised his hand.
With a burst of telekinetic force, the bald man and several agents behind him were slammed violently into the wall of Stark Tower.
Karl looked at them with a faint smile.
"What?"
"You want to fight me?"
Karl looked toward the others.
"Captain America?"
"Hawkeye?"
"Or you?"
"Black Widow?"
Steve Rogers instinctively raised his shield.
Tony's helmet closed again and his weapons locked onto them.
Thor lifted Mjolnir and pointed it forward.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
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