Inside Stark Tower, the atmosphere had shifted from tension to disbelief.
"You actually have an army?!" Loki hissed, gripping the psychic scepter so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
His sharp eyes fixated on the colossal six-pointed star-shaped magic circle that now glowed brightly in the skies above Twist City. From that floating matrix of mystic geometry, a swarm of aerial beasts erupted — a roaring tide of massive birds sweeping across the skyline, organized and unrelenting.
And that wasn't the end of it.
In the other four battlefronts across the globe, Loki watched — stunned — as similar six-pointed arrays materialized in the sky via separate surveillance panels.
In Wudu City, the star burned like a sun of flame, spewing out fire elementals, blazing spirits that danced through the air like living infernos.
Over the Neon Coastline, the humid ocean air condensed into crystalline form, producing water elementals — creatures formed entirely from tides and foam, crashing forward with overwhelming force.
In the Australian Outback, cracks opened in the arid red earth as earth elementals emerged, massive beings of rock and soil, stomping toward battle.
And perhaps the most bizarre transformation was in Paul Cheng: the golden light of the sigil enveloped parked vehicles, and one by one, the cars began to stand. Doors twisted into arms, windshields glowed as eyes — they were transforming.
True magical versions of shape-shifting sentient machines.
The Gate of Elements — Six-Ring Summoning System.
"Magic..." Loki choked on the word.
His usual arrogance drained from his expression. Gone was the smug superiority he carried as the "Great Magician of the Nine Realms." It had been replaced by stunned silence and, worse, raw fury.
He wasn't angry at the Chitauri's impending defeat.
He was enraged because he — Loki — could not do what Joseph had just done.
A mutant... using magic at a level that made even gods look second-rate.
Loki had spent centuries mastering arcane arts, deceiving sorcerers, and charming knowledge from ancient grimoires. But what he witnessed now was something beyond his reach. Not only had Joseph summoned five elemental armies, but he'd also done it using what appeared to be civilian-powered game bracelets.
For Loki — a deity who prided himself on cleverness — that was the most humiliating thing of all.
A chilling thought slithered into his mind:
Why didn't Thanos come himself?
Could it be…
Was Thanos afraid?
Not of Earth, nor its Avengers…
But of Mutants?
That would mean the entire invasion — the entire Chitauri offensive — had never been about conquest, but a test.
A test between two chess masters.
Thanos... and Joseph.
He staggered back.
Only seven X-Men squads had been mobilized.
Professor X and Magneto had yet to appear.
Even after the cities had suffered significant damage, the magic army had been withheld. Only when humanity stood on the edge of annihilation had it been revealed.
And the most damning part?
The spell wasn't even triggered by Joseph or any high-ranking Mutant. It had been activated through bracelets given to civilians, powered by their collective faith — their whispered prayer: Let there be light.
Genius. Cruel. Flawless.
"This entire campaign..." Loki muttered, voice trembling, "wasn't even about stopping the Chitauri."
His lips curled as he stared daggers at Joseph. "This was for... training. For fame. To promote some ridiculous game — 'Oasis.'"
To harvest new Mutants. To awaken those lying dormant.
To dominate the narrative.
Loki laughed — a hollow, bitter sound.
"All my schemes, all my theatrics — the people's suffering, the cities burning — to you, it's just a grand stage play. A propaganda operation to showcase Mutant strength."
His red eyes glared furiously. "Tell me, magician… was this invasion merely your chance to push an update?"
Even he couldn't deny it anymore.
Joseph hadn't just prepared for war.
He'd engineered it.
"You have five elemental armies," Loki growled, "but I have something better — eternal reinforcements! The Tesseract's energy is infinite. The five wormholes it powers will never close. My Chitauri will never stop coming!"
He pointed upward, toward the tear in the sky. "Let's see how long your little magic show lasts! How long can Mutants hold the line? How long can the X-Men keep fighting?"
He was shouting now — less out of confidence, and more to distract from the gnawing doubt blooming in his chest.
Truth be told, he already suspected the Tesseract shield around the Stark Tower couldn't hold Joseph out forever. But it was the only advantage he had left.
Tony Stark, who had watched the five elemental armies with stunned silence, finally snapped back to awareness.
"He's right," Tony said, eyes darting toward Joseph. "We need to breach that shield. If we don't shut down the Tesseract, this war will never end."
He wasn't the only one to reach that conclusion.
Because suddenly, the skies howled.
"Woooohooo!"
A fiery streak screamed toward the Stark Tower — a comet trailing flames — Johnny Stone, better known as Pyro, blazing through the clouds.
"Outta the way!" he roared. "I, Johnny Stone, am here to save the world!"
Several Chitauri flight cruisers in his path were instantly turned into fireballs. But then—
BOOM!
Pyro slammed full-force into the Tesseract shield.
The energy wall didn't even flicker.
Johnny's flames sputtered out, revealing a dazed young man in a blue uniform falling flat out of the sky.
Tony winced. "Oof… That one's not mine, right?" He glanced at Joseph.
Joseph shook his head calmly. "He's freelance."
Loki smirked, regaining a shred of arrogance. "Foolish earthling…"
But before he could bask in his fleeting victory—
"Hey! Not polite to talk behind people's backs, pal!" Johnny groaned, picking himself off the ground. In seconds, he reignited, levitating to eye level.
Looking around at the situation, he raised a brow. "Not sure what I flew into, but there's a massive alien invasion out there. Some guy named Nick Fury called in the Fantastic Four, so…"
He pointed at the energy shield, then at the sky. "Someone tell me — how the hell do we turn this thing off?"
He sounded panicked, but somehow still managed to sound like he was cracking jokes. That was Johnny.
Loki's face twitched. "Nick Fury sent them too?"
The words had barely left his mouth before the sky rumbled again.
Thunder crashed.
Another figure descended, his hammer shimmering with lightning.
Thor.
"Loki!" Thor's voice boomed. "End this madness! Shut the wormhole, or you'll be the one responsible for Earth's destruction!"
Loki rolled his eyes. "The Tesseract's right there." He gestured toward the tower's peak. "If you think you're worthy, go close it yourself."
Thor's hammer Meow Meow (as some called it) smashed against the shield — only to bounce off with a ripple of blue.
Tony sighed. "You're not going to break it by smashing it. It's tied directly to the Tesseract's spatial frequency. Raw power won't cut it."
"If only Bifrost were still intact…" Thor muttered.
"Reed, Susan, you guys listening?" Johnny tapped his earpiece. "We've got a tech problem over here. Bring those big brains of yours and help figure this out!"
On the other end of his comm, chaotic chatter could be heard. Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, and Thing were working something out.
In the background, even Nick Fury could be faintly heard coordinating strikes.
Despite the reinforcements, Loki's smirk widened.
"So even the Avengers and the Fantastic Four can't crack it?" he taunted.
He turned toward Joseph.
"You were the first to arrive… yet you haven't tried to break the seal yourself. Why? Lacking confidence? Or are you waiting for something?"
Joseph didn't reply.
His gaze was steady.
Calm.
Unmoved.
Because Joseph wasn't waiting for anything.
He had already made his decision.
He wanted to give his enemies a chance.
A final opportunity.
One last move for those who believed they could wipe the X-Men from existence.
For those who had labeled Mutants as threats.
And now, Joseph was ready to show them what happened when you underestimated evolution.
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