On the scarred streets of Manhattan, Felicia Hardy moved with lethal grace. Her vibranium claws sliced through the chest of a Chitauri warrior, and with a light tap of her toes, she vaulted through the air, landing softly beside Peter.
"Spider-Man," she said, her voice a low purr. "Where's Ben?"
Felicia had no intention of joining this war. She had been safe in Primus Tower with Mary Jane and the Parkers, but after watching the battle unfold on the newsfeeds, a single question gnawed at her: Where was Ben? Under the pretext of a bathroom break, she had donned her Black Cat suit and slipped away.
Peter, meanwhile, was a whirlwind of dark, fluid violence. A thick spike of the Venom symbiote shot from his arm, skewering three Chitauri soldiers at once. These things were so grotesquely alien that he felt no hesitation in unleashing his full power.
Hearing Felicia's question, he turned, the white eye-patches of his mask widening in surprise. Before he could answer, Felicia casually slit the throat of another enemy that had tried to flank him. Peter flinched, a shiver running down his spine. He still couldn't get used to how casually violent his cousin's new girlfriend was. He vividly remembered Ben's one, simple rule: Don't interfere in your cousin's affairs.
He pointed a thumb skyward. "I don't know. He's probably still on the satellite." Peter looked up at the sky himself, a confused tilt to his head. "But according to the plan, the planetary shield should still be active. I don't know what happened…"
Felicia followed his gaze. The sky was mostly clear now. Falcon and Harry Osborn circled high above, hunting down the last remnants of the Chitauri fleet. Just then, a purple-black figure shot through a nearby building like a cannonball and crashed to the ground beside them.
Tony's voice, tinny and full of static, crackled over the comms. "Ben is so unreliable!" he complained, not even bothering with a greeting. "Now that he's gone, who's supposed to subdue that big guy? Who brought the green monster here, anyway?"
"You did," Peter retorted flatly.
"I was looking for the other one," Tony said stubbornly, completely ignoring how relieved he had been when he first heard the Hulk was coming.
T'Challa pushed himself up from the ground, clutching his head. "Conventional weapons are useless against him," he groaned. "I tried using my claws. It only made him angrier."
Captain America sighed, the exhaustion clear in his voice. "The last time we faced him, we were helpless. I think we might need something more powerful."
"I had something," Tony grumbled, thinking of the Veronica armor, which was now little more than scrap metal.
At this, T'Challa hesitated. "I have… another weapon," he said, his voice uncharacteristically uncertain. He lowered his head, glancing at his own battle suit, which was still glowing with a pulsing, violet light. "Barely a weapon."
Suddenly, a second head, grotesque and grinning, burst from Peter's shoulder. "Whoa, hold on!" Venom shrieked, his long tongue lolling out. "Don't tell me your plan is to whip out your other weapon and… oh, wow, that's just… you're even crazier than Wade! Is everyone on this planet this messed up?!" The last question was directed at Peter.
T'Challa's brow furrowed in deep disapproval, though his anger was eclipsed by concern. "Spider-Man, what is that thing on your back? Some kind of space parasite?"
"You're a parasite!" Venom snarled back.
Peter quickly shoved the symbiote's head back into his shoulder. "It's fine, just ignore him," he said apologetically. He looked T'Challa up and down. "But I'm also curious. What weapon?"
"My suit," T'Challa explained. "Vibranium can absorb immense kinetic energy, but that capacity is not infinite. Once it reaches a tipping point, it looks like this." He gestured with a clawed hand to the purple cracks spreading across his habit. "Then, it will collapse, releasing all the energy it has absorbed at once."
"How powerful would that be?" Tony asked, his mind already running calculations.
"I am not certain," T'Challa admitted. "But before it reached this state, I withstood countless direct attacks from The Other, the energy blasts from his axe, and a freefall from low orbit…"
"Okay, stop talking!" Tony interrupted frantically. "Find another way. The energy from the fall alone would be enough to level New York City."
Hearing that, Peter and Felicia both took several large steps away from T'Challa as if he were a ticking time bomb. The Wakandan prince sighed, looking down at himself with a weary helplessness.
Just then, a figure wreathed in lightning descended from the sky.
"Do not worry, Midgardians! Your savior has arrived!"
Loki landed like a god, Mjolnir in one hand, the unconscious form of Ebony Maw in the other. Having learned from Odin that Thor would not die, his grief had subsided, replaced by his old, theatrical arrogance. He was the lead dancer in the ballroom once more, eager to show off the power of the God of Thunder. He tossed Maw's body aside and began swinging Mjolnir in a wide circle, the hammer spinning like a propeller.
"What in the hell are you doing?" Tony asked, his tone flat.
"Apologies. Still getting used to the power of this hammer," Loki said with a cocky grin. He flew over to Steve. "Hello, soldier. Admiring the new clothes?" He then offered the hammer to Steve, handle-first. "Sorry to steal your thunder," he said with false sincerity. "But you're welcome to have a go."
His eyes gleamed with mischief, practically daring the Captain to try. Go on, lift it. Oh, you can't? What a shame.
Steve just glared at him. "Alright, Loki. You know I can't lift it now. You're the only one qualified. Go."
Loki's chest puffed out, a wave of pure satisfaction washing over him. If only Thor could have said that.
"Then I shall take the lead!" he declared, rocketing off toward the sound of destruction.
Watching him go, Captain America sighed. "How can he be thousands of years old and still act like a child?"
"A unique case of Asgardian mental underdevelopment," Tony quipped.
The Hulk was still rampaging, smashing buildings to rubble. Loki hovered directly in front of him, instantly capturing his attention. In Loki's mind, this green creature was no different from the black dwarf he'd seen defeated. A mindless brute. He let his guard down completely.
"Calm yourself, big fellow," he announced grandly. "You do not wish to anger a god. Especially not me, Loki, the God of Thunder!" He raised his arms high, reveling in the crackle of lightning that danced around him.
To his surprise, the Hulk actually stopped his rampage. He simply stood there, tilting his head as he stared blankly at Loki.
He sees my power and knows his place, Loki thought, preening. He turned his head to shout proudly back at the others.
"You see? I can make him submit without even lifting a finger—Ahhh!!!"
Before he could finish, a huge green hand grabbed him by the cloak. Hulk snatched him from the air and began smashing him back and forth into the pavement like a ragdoll.
SMASH. SMASH. SMASH. SMASH. SMASH.
After a solid five repetitions, Hulk casually tossed the dazed god aside like a piece of trash.
Steve covered his face with his hand, shaking his head. "And there it is. Some people never learn."
Lying in the Loki-shaped crater, Loki felt his life was hopeless. Why has it come to this? I lifted Thor's hammer… I obtained the power of a king… Two happy events combined, which should have brought even greater happiness… But why? At that moment, the emo trickster god was having a full-blown existential crisis. He couldn't understand how this green beast, so clearly inferior, could be so strong.
I say… you are a bit too pleased with yourself, are you not?
The voice of the green symbiote echoed in his mind, awakened by the raw power of Thor flowing through him.
"You? Why are you still here?" Loki groaned.
I wouldn't miss this for the world, the symbiote said sarcastically. I didn't realize you were so powerful. So why are you lying on the ground? Napping is not permitted here.
Loki painfully pushed himself up from the crater. "He seems to be influenced by the Mind Stone as well. Can you calm him?"
I can purge the influence, the symbiote replied. But you'll have to calm him down physically first. I can't do anything while he's still moving.
"That is simple enough," Loki said, a grim smile returning to his face. There was an old trick he hadn't used in a thousand years.
He threw Mjolnir.
CLANG!
The hammer struck Hulk squarely in the chest, and the unstoppable force met an immovable object. Hulk stumbled backward and fell, with Mjolnir landing on top of him, pinning him to the ground. He roared and struggled, but he could not move.
Then, the green symbiote flowed off Loki's body, a predatory slime that slithered across the ground and rushed toward its trapped, raging prey.
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