A cosmic explosion tore across the far side of the portal, blossoming outward like a dying star.
James exhaled — half triumphant, half collapsing.
The energy blasts immediately tore into him.
Cortana screamed:
[WARNING — MULTIPLE ARMOR BREACHES! INTERNAL DAMAGE CRITICAL! BODY TRAUMA SEVERE!]
James spiraled backward, barely conscious, armor cracked all over like a broken shell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Chitauri mothership exploded.
James' Full powered Deadzone carved through the void like a golden guillotine, slicing the massive construct apart in two. A wave of fire and fractured metal tore across the alien fleet. Every Leviathan, every sky-chariot, every Chitauri soldier suddenly went lifeless, like puppets whose strings were cut from the puppet master.
Across the sky above Manhattan, the Chitauri army all fell lifeless on the ground.
But James didn't see any of it.
His vision had already started fading to black.
His body hung in the air for a second longer, then the thrusters died in a stutter of sputtering sparks. The Nocturne armor, torn and blackened, finally surrendered to gravity.
He began to fall.
The last volley of energy blasts struck him as he dropped — a punishing rain of blue-white beams slamming into his already fractured armor. Panels shattered. Metal peeled away. Warnings flooded his mask's HUD before the display itself flickered out.
Cortana gave him an update on the condition of his suite.
[Severe damage. Flight systems offline. Kinetic dampeners offline. Brace for impact.]
Hard to brace when you're half-conscious and plummeting toward the ground.
James' entire body throbbed with pain in a deep, ugly way — a mix of fractures, burns, and internal trauma. His ribs screamed every time he breathed.
He didn't bother asking for a status report.
Instead, he whispered into the still working communicator of his helm — his last words before the world swallowed him whole.
"Shut it… down."
THE PORTAL COLLAPSES
On the rooftop of Stark Tower, Natasha Romanoff didn't hesitate.
Using Loki's scepter, she gaved it her all and drove the blade straight into the shimmering blue barrier containment field around the Tesseract's generator.
For a beat of a moment, nothing happened.
Then everything did.
The containment field shattered. The energy lights flickered, then collapsed inward. The Tesseract's power stuttered, surged, and then broke — the portal in the sky was spasming violently as if the sky itself was losing connection.
The swirling vortex above Manhattan shuddered, the edges curling inward. The universe beyond flickered once, twice, then the entire space channel imploded, collapsing in on itself like a reversed explosion.
A second later, the sky was just… sky again.
With clouds and stars faint in the daylight.
New York went quiet as the battle was over — silence filled with exhaustion, destruction, and disbelief filled people's hearts.
Tony's voice cracked over comms.
"Uh, guys? James is not slowing down."
CATCHING A FALLING GHOST
Tony Stark fired his repulsors and shot upward, tracing James' falling path.
Through the smoke, he spotted the cracked black armor flailing in the air, limbs limp.
"Don't worry buddy I got you," Tony muttered.
He angled himself, then caught James mid-air — the impact ringing through both suits with a harsh metallic clang. James groaned involuntarily; the pain spike was so strong it forced sound out of him.
Thankfully, the helmet hid his face.
Tony descended in a controlled descent, landing near the Tesseract's now-dark platform. He gently set James down.
"Alright, buddy…" Tony said, kneeling beside him. "Let's see how badly you broke yourself this time."
The Nocturne helmet retracted automatically at James' mental command. His face was pale, breathing heavy, blood marred him all over with dozens of wounds.
[Multiple fractures. Internal bleeding. At least twenty external wounds. Organ stress is critical but not terminal. You're still alive… barely.]
"I'm still fine and breathing," James murmured, "Let's worry about the Tesseract instead."
"Yeah, no, your wounds come first" Tony counteracted.
Out loud, he spoke, "I got fractures, wounds, and some bleedings, but overall fine, help me out of this armor."
He tried to move his arm. Pain detonated in his shoulder.
Sections of the Nocturne frame released and folded, but some parts jammed — burnt, warped, or fused from direct hits. Tony stepped in, fingers working with the ease of a man who'd built worse prototypes in caves.
In a few firm, careful motions, he peeled the broken armor open and set James free.
James gasped as the pressure of the armored shell lifted — pain roaring through his now uncompressed injuries. He sucked in a slow breath, controlled it, and let it out.
"Okay," he rasped. "Hurts less than being dead. I'll take it."
A heavy thud shook the rooftop.
Hulk landed beside them, smashing a small vent cover under his feet. He loomed, massive and satisfied, then crouched down beside James with childlike curiosity.
He stared at James' blood-covered form.
Then let out a low, amused grunt and sat down cross-legged, as if to say, You're still alive. Good enough.
CHECKING IN
"Hey, did you guys forget about me?" Clint's voice crackled over the comms. "Whats the situation over there?"
Steve answered, relief coloring his words.
"We won," Steve said. "Get to Stark Tower. We'll regroup."
He glanced down at James — armor ruined, body broken, but still conscious.
"You did great," Steve said quietly. "You. And the team."
James grinned, just enough to show teeth.
"Look at that," he said. "Captain America approved of me. I can retire now."
Tony snorted, while Hulk was still thinking of how he crushed those massive leviathans.
They weren't just allies now. They were comrades.
James grimaced, shifted slightly, and winced. "Tony… got a new idea. When we finish that joint research complex… let's turn the ground level into our superhero base."
"A—what now?" Tony asked, already suspicious of the answer.
"For the Avengers," James said simply. "I get the feeling this team won't stay under S.H.I.E.L.D. forever. Too much power in one independent strike team — higher-ups will lose sleep over that."
Tony tilted his head.
"Is that a feeling or a prediction?"
"A bit of both," James said. "Speaking of power — hand me the cube."
Tony blinked. "You just nearly died trying to fire that energy blast past the portal and your first request is 'hand me the cube'?"
James held his stare.
"Please~." as he shows a weak begging expression, like a toddler wanting candy.
Tony felt a shiver go down his spine but gaved in. "You're a crazy one."
He walked back to the generator, took the Tesseract from its housing, and brought it over, blue light still pulsing within.
"Here," Tony said, passing it down. "Try not to explode if you're gonna do what you did with the BADASSIUM."
CONTACT
The instant the Tesseract touched James' hand, The cube vibrated faintly, raw cosmic pressure pushing outward like a tidal force. Cortana's voice chimed in.
[Energy density consistent with Infinity-class signatures. No conscious resistance detected. This one is… usable.]
James exhaled. 'That's great, start absorbing and get me healed.''
The cube's glow intensified, seeping through his fingers. Warmth bloomed in his palms, then crawled up his arms like liquid fire, threading through muscles and bone.
[Redirecting a portion of its output into your system now. Proceeding with accelerating your metabolism, purging damaged cells, and stabilizing your vitals.]
The pain started to fade.
Finally he could relax, all those injuries trying to get through the chitauri army just so he could get a clearer shot and destroy their mothership are finally healing..
Now relaxed, he closed his eyes.
He didn't notice when his body began to glow.
But everyone else did.
THE SHOW
Steve had eyes of astonishment. Tony gaved a look of curiosity. Hulk now paid attention. Thor was clenching his Mjolnir. Natasha and Clint, fresh from securing Selvig, stared wide-eyed.
James' body was glowing, blue light spilled off the Tesseract in his hands, wrapping him in a shimmering aura. The glow intensified, building from a soft sheen into a near-solid veil of energy that outlined his whole body.
"Uh…" Tony said. "This is way different than last time."
Tiny hairline fractures began to appear on the Tesseract's surface.
Steve stepped back.
"Is that normal?" he asked.
"For what?" Tony snapped. "Ancient cosmic cubes? You tell me if that's normal."
The cracks deepened, glowing brighter and brighter — until, with a sharp crystalline snap, the Tesseract shattered.
The casing broke apart into shimmering fragments that dissolved into light.
At its core, freed from its prison, floated a single deep blue stone, perfectly shaped, radiating power that felt… overwhelming, like something no mortal should hold.
The stone floated gently in the air and drifted toward James' chest as it released its aura.
His external wounds healed in front of them — cuts sealing, bruises fading, and blood getting reabsorbed back into his wounds as if time itself flowed backward over his skin.
No one moved.
Except Thor.
ASGARDIAN KNOWLEDGE
Thor's eyes widened as the stone approached James.
He recognized it.
He'd seen carvings. Old stories. Told to him, when he was still a little boy.
"I did not expect this," Thor said under his breath. "I truly did not."
As the stone floated near his heart, touching him, it vanished.
The glow around his body faded.
James opened his eyes and stood up like he just woke up from a great nap, all injuries gone.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Then Steve said what everyone was thinking:
"…what just happened?"
Tony pointed. "Okay, that was not the kind of recharge I had in mind."
Thor stepped forward, expression serious.
"The Tesseract was never merely a cube," he said. "It is a vessel — a shell — for an Infinity Stone. One of six. Each tied to an aspect of existence itself."
He nodded toward James. "That one is the Space Stone — the original form of what you called the Tesseract."
Tony frowned. "So… you're saying the cube was like… packaging?"
"In a sense," Thor confirmed. "It not only protects the Stone. It Contains it. But when the Stone chooses someone… it no longer needs protection. It returns to its true form."
"And you're saying it chose him?" Steve asked.
"That is what it appears," Thor answered. "The Stone has recognized James. It… bonded to him. By the customs of the Nine Realms, the Space Stone is now tied to his existence."
INSIDE THE LIE
Cortana spoke quietly in James' mind.
[Absorption complete. The Stone is secured in your sub-space.]
James felt it now — a new presence humming in the background of his awareness. Not exactly a voice. Not a personality. Just… power. An infinite amount of energy.
James kept his expression perfectly confused like he didn't know what happened and what he did.
"Eh?" he said, looking around like he'd just woken from a nap. "What stone? What happened to the tessaract? I just had it in my hand."
Tony stared. "You absorbed the Tesseract."
"Tony," James said, managing a perfect mix of disbelief and irritation, "don't joke around. That's a cosmic artifact. You can't just 'absorb' that. I would have exploded from all that energy."
Thor put a hand on his shoulder.
"It is no jest," he said. "The Stone chose you. It has recognized you. When an Infinity Stone chooses a bearer, none can take them away by force. Even the Realm of the Gods respects such a claim."
James let his eyes widen slowly, as if the idea was only just sinking in.
Everyone explained it to him — Thor describing the Stones in solemn detail, Tony throwing in sarcasm to mask unease, Steve quietly trying to process what it meant for Earth that one of their own was now carrying something Asgardians themselves deem a dangerous weapon.
James let himself relax into an easy, slightly stunned smile.
"Life's full of surprises, I guess," he said lightly. "I thought the day couldn't get any weirder after the alien invasion."
He'd pulled off one hell of a performance. To hide his true purpose and the unexpected reaction of the space stone.
Acting, assisted by Cortana's precise control of his micro-expressions, had sold the entire scene of him knowing nothing.
Life was like theater.
The trick was never letting the audience see the illusion.
CLEANUP AND CONTAINMENT
James rolled his shoulders experimentally. No pain and no stiffness. Just a faint feeling of being energized from the space stone.
"Alright," he said. "We can unpack the cosmic anomaly later. Loki's still waiting downstairs, and we've got a city full of alien junk to lock down."
He nodded toward his shredded armor.
"Tony, the Nocturne is totaled. I'll throw what's left into your R&D graveyard, and can you contact S.H.I.E.L.D. — we need an immediate containment protocol. There's too much alien tech lying around for the vultures to resist."
Tony nodded, already opening a line.
"(Contacting Director Fury now, sir.)," J.A.R.V.I.S. reported.
"Fury," Tony said when the comm connected. "New York's safe. We've closed the portal. But… We've got a lot of Chitauri scrap on the ground. We need people, and maybe a broom, or ten thousand."
Nick Fury sighs, but didn't waste time.
The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division — S.H.I.E.L.D. — mobilized at once. The new New York Division teams were notified. So were the NYPD and National Guard.
The frontline wasn't withdrawn. It shifted into a blockade. No one in, and no one out. Not until S.H.I.E.L.D. finished sweeping every block of alien scraps.
THE GOD WHO LOST
Loki hadn't gotten far.
He lay sprawled on the polished floor where James had ragdolled him earlier — bruised with clothes torn, his Asgardian dignity was wounded worse than any bone he broke.
James looked down at him, honestly baffled.
"You're a prince," looking down at him. "You could've had a throne. Yet you chose this instead."
He shook his head.
Thor approached, expressing a mixture of grief, disappointment, and duty as his brother.
"Loki," Thor said softly, "it is over. You have failed. You will return to Asgard with me and face judgment. I hope that, one day, you will reflect on this madness."
Loki forced a smile that was half snarl, half surrender.
"Oh, very well," he croaked. "I surrender."
The laugh he tried to follow it with pulled at his bruised ribs and he flinched in pain, expression twisting.
Even gods didn't get off easy after being used as a crash dummy.
AFTERMATH: FOOD AND FATIGUE
By the time a Quinjet arrived to pick them up, everyone was running on fumes.
Bruce Banner had already reverted back to his human form — exhausted, dazed, and wrapped in a set of Tony's spare clothes. Tony flew alongside the Quinjet, then docked, exiting in a simpler suit. Natasha piloted while Clint manned the console.
They strapped in, the adrenaline from the fight finally draining.
Tony broke the silence first.
"You know," he said, "there's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. Middle Eastern place. I've never actually tried it. Kind of feel like now's the time."
Steve gave a huff. "We just stopped an alien invasion and your first thought is… shawarma?"
"Hey," Tony said, leaning back in his seat, "I just had the fight of my life. That calls for food."
James rested his head against the bulkhead, eyes half closed in mental exhaustion.
"Right now?" he muttered. "I could go for some wrapped beef and a large ice cold Coke, then eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Preferably ten."
His body wasn't tired anymore; the Stone's energy had fixed that. But his mind was another story — decision fatigue, stress, combat load, and mental strain from Cortana and his abilities getting pushed to the limit.
According to Cortana, this "upgrade" was different from the last. The physical changes would unfold over days as his body adapted. The details were murky — even for her.
They still knew too little.
So, for once, James decided not to think.
He let his eyes close and his mind to wander.
THE WORLD REACTS
By the time the Quinjet touched down on the Helicarrier deck, the sky was already darkening — the world's longest day finally dissolving into night.
They walked into the command center, with their armor scratched, clothes torn, and a bag of takeout shawarma.
The room erupted in applause.
Agents, techs, and overall staff — everyone turned to face them, clapping, some whistling, others just looking stunned that these exhausted people had stopped what the army never even got a chance to face.
Nick Fury stepped forward to his desk, gaze sweeping over the tired faces.
"You did good," he said simply. "All of you. Get some rest. We'll talk tomorrow."
No one argued.
They dispersed — to bunks, to showers, to whatever horizontal surface they could find.
While they slept, the world woke up.
LATE ARRIVALS AND CAMERAS
The United States military arrived late.
Very late.
By the time their armored infantry approached the blockade, it had been over an hour since the last Chitauri soldier fell.
NYPD officers and National Guard units continue to hold the outer line — weapons ready, and in formation. They'd fought, bled, and watched aliens die in their streets. They were in no mood to stand aside for the brass who hadn't been there.
Cameras loved conflict.
The media swarmed to the confrontation like sharks smelling blood.
Reporters broadcast live from the edge of the secured zone:
"We've been here for hours watching the battle unfold, and only now are military forces arriving on the scene. The question many citizens are asking is: where was the army when aliens were descending from the sky?"
The military tried to push in. The police held their line. National Guard troops stood still in support.
Then S.H.I.E.L.D. arrived.
Agents stepped into the gap, backed by the quiet authority of an organization that had actually been on the frontlines.
They ordered the military to withdraw.
The army did not like that.
But with cameras rolling and public sentiment still rising, they didn't press for a confrontation. They pulled back — for now — under the weight of unspoken pressure and too many watching eyes.
The FBI and CIA stayed smartly out of the public pissing contest. They knew the alien technology wasn't going anywhere. Why rush? There were always… other methods. Paperwork, Subpoenas, Back channels, and Political leverage.
Stark Tower, being the center of it all, where the Tesseract's portal machine was being used, remained one of the least damaged structures in the affected areas. Other buildings suffered less luck — a Leviathan had crashed across the rooftops of two skyscrapers, sending steel and stone into catastrophic collapse.
S.H.I.E.L.D. would need days of manpower to secure and sweep everything.
THE NEXT MORNING
The Avengers slept like no tomorrow.
For all his newfound energy, James slipped into sleep fast.
In the morning, they gathered in the Helicarrier cafeteria.
No one talked much.
Just ate their fill to continue tackling the aftermath.
Only after they'd eaten did Nick Fury summon them to a separate conference room.
He stood at the front, one eye taking in the team — Tony, Steve, Bruce, Thor, Natasha, Clint, and James.
"First things first," Fury said. "Where's the Tesseract?"
Everyone turned to James.
He was the only one who could answer.
"I… absorbed it," James said.
It was technically true.
Thor could handle the mythology. James preferred to keep his explanations on a need-to-know level.
"I'll let Thor explain," James added. "I don't really get the cosmic side of it."
Fury's eye widened. "You what?"
Thor stepped in, explaining the Infinity Stones, their nature, their relationship to the Tesseract, and how the Space Stone now recognized James as its bearer. He confirmed, from the perspective of Asgard and the Nine Realms, that the Stone could not simply be taken from him.
"Is that so?" Fury muttered, surprised despite everything.
Thor spread his hands slightly. "No one fully understands the Stones. Not even in Asgard."
Fury absorbed that, then moved on.
"Fine. I'll set aside the Tesseract topic for now. Here's the situation on the ground."
He tapped a console. Screens lit up around them, showing a montage of news footage.
"The military tried to take over the battlefield," Fury said. "We stopped them. They backed off. Now they're getting hammered on every news channel for showing up late."
On the screens, reporters interviewed civilians.
"I didn't think our planet had people like that," a middle-aged man said, his wife standing beside him. "Seeing them fight… I feel safer knowing they exist. At least someone stepped up when that thing opened in the sky."
"Those heroes…" another voice said, over footage of Tony flying past a plume of smoke. "I don't know who they answer to. But I'm glad they were there."
Streets full of people cheering. Makeshift signs. Kids in homemade masks. A spontaneous celebration built on survival and adrenaline.
The most recognizable face in the coverage was Tony Stark — of course. People were already styling their hair and beards like him. Imitation was fast.
But not all the coverage was praise.
Fury switched clips.
A suited politician appeared on the screen, standing before a sea of microphones and flashing lights.
"We have to ask the difficult questions," the man said. "Who are these people? Where are they now? Are they under any form of government oversight? What happens if they decide to turn against us? We cannot ignore the existence of such power. Without accountability, they are an unstable element."
The room's mood shifted immediately.
Tony rolled his eyes. Bruce looked down. Natasha bit her lip. Steve's expression was that of reminiscing old memories of propaganda and politics flashing in his mind.
James leaned back, completely unsurprised.
Public praise and public fear.
An equation as old as power itself.
"There are always trolls just stirring up trouble," James said finally, voice flat but unconcerned. "You can't control their mouths."
And that, he thought, was fine.
As long as they didn't overstep and try to control him.