Dean's world became white noise and rib fractures. The **STATUS SCREEN** flickered through damage reports as he tumbled through zero-g:
**HP: 77% → 41%**
**CONCUSSIVE DAMAGE: [3 FRACTURED RIBS]**
**PHOENIX RADIATION: [58% LETHAL DOSE]**
Something grabbed his ankle—Loki's green magic yanking him behind a shattered console just as a Phoenix-fueled plasma beam vaporized the wall where his head had been.
"You're welcome," Loki hissed, pressing a dagger to Dean's carotid. "Now where's my Tesseract fragment?"
Dean coughed blood onto his **STATUS SCREEN**. "Later." He swiped left. The hologram displayed the warship's schematics—a pulsing red dot marking the overloaded Genesis Core. "We need to—"
Jean's scream tore through the bulkheads. The **STATUS SCREEN** glitched violently:
**WARNING: [PHOENIX MANIFESTATION COMPLETE]**
**RECOMMENDED PURCHASE: [REALITY STABILIZER - 5000 SP]**
Loki's dagger drew blood. "That's my exit strategy."
Dean headbutted him. The **STATUS SCREEN** logged the impact:
**LOKI HP: 100% → 97%**
**RELATIONSHIP STATUS: [TEMPORARILY PISSED OFF]**
Golden fire melted through the ceiling. Dean rolled right as Jean descended—no, not Jean anymore. The Phoenix's eyes were event horizons.
"Interesting," it mused, catching Loki's thrown dagger midair. The metal vaporized. "A god and a thief."
Dean's **STATUS SCREEN** projected the only solution in crimson:
**SACRIFICE PLAY: [DISTRACT PHOENIX - 98% FATALITY]**
He bought three grenades with his remaining SP. Pulled all pins.
Loki's grin was all teeth. "Finally."
The explosion shattered the observation deck.