Carl saw that Tony intended to deal with the Destroyer himself, so he didn't interfere—just stood by and watched.
Recently, Tony had been taking down plenty of criminals with his Iron Man suit.
Even the Green Goblin from a few days ago had been swiftly handled by him.
That string of victories had done wonders for Tony's confidence.
Now, facing this towering, armored opponent that looked suspiciously mechanical…
Well, whether it was a robot or a remote-controlled suit didn't matter.
As long as it was some kind of humanoid machine, Tony Stark never felt fear.
After all, the Iron Man armor was the most advanced mechanical exosuit in the world.
『Tony Stark』: "Hey, buddy! Can you hear me?"
Tony flew closer to the Destroyer and called out.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!
The creature didn't respond—only retaliated, unleashing a barrage of blazing beams.
Tony nimbly dodged the attacks, twisting in midair.
『Tony Stark』: "Alright, looks like nobody's home."
『Tony Stark』: "Doesn't seem to be A.I. either…"
『Tony Stark』: "Good. That means I can hit you without guilt."
Since there was no response, he concluded there wasn't a pilot inside that armor.
Dozens of small missile pods unfolded from his shoulders and arms.
At the same time, the repulsors on his palms glowed with deadly light.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!
Explosions erupted one after another, tearing up huge chunks of the desert floor.
Thick dust and smoke filled the air, obscuring the Destroyer from sight.
『Tony Stark』: "Not bad for a knockoff, I'll give you that. Impressive firepower…"
He smirked proudly.
『Tony Stark』: "But unfortunately for you, you're up against me."
During that brief storm of attacks, he'd already deployed nearly all his weapon systems.
In his calculations, even his own armor would've been seriously damaged under such heavy bombardment—
let alone some random replica.
Just as Tony turned around, ready to call out to Carl—
『J.A.R.V.I.S.』: "Sir! Incoming attack!"
Tony froze—then a brilliant beam of energy blasted straight toward him.
He reflexively dodged, but before he could stabilize, a huge shadow loomed before him.
BAM!!
A massive hand struck him squarely, sending him flying like a rag doll.
『Tony Stark』: "F—! Should've flown higher!"
He crashed into the ground, tumbling for dozens of meters before finally stopping.
Groaning, Tony climbed back up.
Luckily, his new armor was much tougher than before.
Even after that hit, it remained mostly intact.
But when he looked toward the Destroyer, his heart sank.
The thing wasn't even scratched. Not a single mark.
『Tony Stark』: "You've gotta be kidding me…"
He had unleashed nearly everything—missiles, lasers, repulsors—
and it hadn't done anything.
As another energy beam roared toward him, he dodged again under J.A.R.V.I.S.'s guidance.
He retaliated with everything he had—yet still, no effect.
That was when several figures suddenly charged forward to help.
They were Thor's companions—the Warriors Three and Lady Sif.
Thor himself was busy evacuating civilians.
But the Asgardian warriors fared no better.
In mere moments, they were all defeated.
Even Iron Man lasted longer than they did.
『Tony Stark』: "Hey, Superman! You gonna stand there watching all day?"
He dodged another beam and shouted toward Carl.
『Carl』: raising an eyebrow "Weren't you the one who said you could handle this, Iron Man?"
『Tony Stark』: "…"
He had indeed said that earlier—and now regretted it deeply.
Normally, any kind of robot or exoskeleton armor was child's play for him.
He'd seen countless "new military prototypes" and "robotic exosuits" on the news,
all of which turned out to be clunky, barely functional jokes.
So naturally, Tony hadn't taken the Destroyer seriously.
But now, after actually fighting it, he realized—
his weapons couldn't even scratch it.
Out of options and pride set aside, he finally called for help.
『Tony Stark』: "My weapons can't even dent the thing! Superman, just vaporize it already!"
『Carl』: "Alright."
Carl nodded slightly—then two dazzling red beams burst from his eyes.
ZZZZHHHHHH!!
The heat vision struck the Destroyer dead center.
The being that Tony's bombardment couldn't even scuff—
disintegrated instantly.
『Tony Stark』: "Wha— That's it? It's over?!"
He stared, dumbfounded.
He had fought for minutes and accomplished nothing,
while Carl ended it in a single move.
The gap was brutal.
『Tony Stark』: "Man… talk about ego damage."
Still, he quickly laughed it off.
『Tony Stark』: "Well, guess I can't argue with results. Nicely done, Superman!"
『Tony Stark』: "How about a drink at my place to celebrate saving the day?"
『Carl』: "Sure."
He didn't see any reason to refuse. Drinking at Tony's place would probably be livelier than drinking alone at home anyway.
『Tony Stark』: "Great! Let's get going then."
『Carl』: "Alright."
And with that, the two heroes left together—destination: Tony's mansion.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents just stood there, speechless.
Coulson had wanted to speak to Superman, maybe even thank him—
but before he could, Carl and Tony were already gone.
『Agent 1』: "Did… did a mortal just take down the Destroyer?"
『Agent 2』: "A human? Took out Odin's weapon?!"
『Agent 3』: "I… I don't even know what to say."
Meanwhile, Thor and his companions looked equally stunned.
『Thor』: "A Midgardian defeated the Destroyer… incredible."
They hadn't even contributed—
it was Carl, a "Midgard man," who resolved the entire crisis.
———
Soon after, Carl arrived at Tony's mansion.
No one else was around. Tony ordered food, and the two sat down to drink.
Carl didn't think much about "changing Thor's story."
He wasn't about to stand by and let S.H.I.E.L.D. agents die just to "preserve the plot."
As for Thor, Carl believed he'd eventually find his strength again.
After all, the God of Thunder was a hero through and through.
As long as he remained true to his heart, his power would return sooner or later.
———
Sure enough, the next day, Thor regained his divine power—
after helping an old man, no less.
It wasn't about what he did, but about what he was.
A heart of justice made him worthy once more.
Thor soon returned to Asgard and exposed Loki's schemes.
But Loki wasn't ready to surrender.
He tried to use the Bifröst to destroy Jotunheim and prove himself.
The brothers fought fiercely.
Thor won, but the bridge's energy couldn't be stopped.
Left with no choice, Thor shattered the Bifröst itself.
As the bridge collapsed, both brothers nearly fell into the abyss—
until Odin appeared and saved them.
Yet whether from guilt or despair, Loki let go.
And fell into the endless void of the cosmos.
———
But Loki didn't die.
He was found by a strange army.
Surrounded and seemingly captured, he was ready to face humiliation—but soon, with his cunning words and wit, he won their trust.
He learned that they served a mighty warlord—one who called himself the Emperor of the Universe.
Loki scoffed at the title,
but he couldn't deny the size of this force.
Through them, he learned of Thanos—and of the being's interest in the Tesseract.
Using his knowledge of Earth, Loki struck a deal.
He would lead the invasion, wielding a new weapon—the Scepter of Mind—and command the Chitauri Army.
If successful, Loki would gain dominion over Earth and Asgard both.
In return, Thanos's faction would claim the Infinity Stone and the rest of the cosmos.
A win-win, at least on paper.
『Loki』: "Even if things go south, I'll still have the Scepter—and I can always run."
But Thanos… was no fool.
He possessed immense strength—and a far-reaching strategic mind.
The Scepter contained the Mind Stone, one of the most precious gems in existence.
For someone seeking the Infinity Stones, it was invaluable.
Still, Thanos didn't need its power yet.
He had loyal generals, and his own might was enough.
The gem would be safer in Loki's hands—for now.
If the trickster succeeded, good.
If he failed… Thanos would simply collect what was his later.
『Thanos』: "Patience. The time will come. That planet still hides powers even I must heed."
When the opportunity arose, he would strike personally.
Loki bowed slightly, suppressing his excitement.
『Loki』: "As you command, my lord. I shall depart for Midgard at once."
『Thanos』: "Go."
Just as Loki turned to leave, a voice echoed through the chamber.
『???』: "Quite the gathering you've got here."
Gasps rippled through the army.
Someone had dared to interrupt Thanos himself.
Before anyone could react, a dark-haired man appeared before the Mad Titan—broad-shouldered, clad in a tight black suit and flowing cape.
It was Carl.
『Loki』: "You…! You're here?! How—how is that possible?"
He still remembered Carl—the one who had destroyed the Destroyer.
Even with Thanos's army present, Loki felt a flicker of unease.
『Carl』: "Why am I here?"
He chuckled lightly.
『Carl』: "Got bored. Thought I'd come out for a little fun."
And indeed, that was the truth.
After watching a movie at home, Carl had started casually observing the universe—and stumbled upon some "familiar faces."
Thanos. Loki.
So, naturally, he came over.
『Loki』: "Bored? You came here out of boredom?"
Before Carl could answer, one of Thanos's lieutenants barked out:
『Chitauri Commander』: "Insolent fool! How dare you speak so casually before our Emperor! Who do you think you are?!"
Carl turned his gaze toward the man—and smiled.
『Carl』: "The one who's about to kill you."
Twin beams of crimson light flashed from his eyes.
ZZZZHHHHHH!!!
In the blink of an eye, the Chitauri commander was vaporized—gone without a trace.