Chapter 2752 - Ch: 93-97

Chapter 93 Prelude

In the desert of New Mexico, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Pegasus Base.

Inside the laboratory, it was sweltering hot. The Tesseractstood in the center of a special bracket, and the azure energy light cluster surged endlessly, like a Beast ready to break out of its cage at any time. The instrument screens around it jumped crazily with garbled codes, and the alarm sounded intermittently, giving people a headache.

Coulson adjusted his glasses, stared at the soaring energy values on the screen, and knitted his brows into a knot.

Dr. Eric Selvig beside him had hair as messy as a bird's nest. He walked around the Tesseract three times and muttered unceasingly, "That's not right... The parameters haven't changed at all, and it started to increase energy on its own... There's no stopping it, as if it's responding to some signal."

On the high truss, Clint Barton crouched on one leg, spinning a compound bow in his hand, his eyes casually sweeping across the Tesseract, his fingertips resting on the bowstring, his whole person like a frozen statue.

"Responding to a signal? It couldn't possibly be alien relatives coming to visit." He spoke slowly, his voice passing down the steel frame, "Not long after Thor's hammer left last time, this crappy stone is acting up again. Why does S.H.I.E.L.D. always pick up such troublesome things."

"Agent Barton, watch your words." Coulson turned back to remind him, though his tone didn't carry much blame.

He thought so too.

As soon as the words fell, the laboratory door slid open. Nick Fury walked in wearing a black windbreaker, his single eye looking exceptionally sharp under the blue light, followed by Maria Hill with steady steps.

"Director." Coulson immediately straightened his posture, "Why are you here?"

"If I don't come anymore, this stone will blow up the Base." Fury walked to the bracket, looking up at the surging Tesseract, "How is the situation? Can it be forced to shut down?"

Dr. Selvig shook his head with a wry smile: "It can't be turned off. It is operating autonomously now, the energy source is internal, and we can't even touch it. If it keeps rising like this, in two hours at most, the energy barrier won't hold."

Fury's single eye narrowed.

He knew this thing wouldn't settle down.

It exuded a weirdness when it was fished out of the sea back then. After being quiet for decades, it suddenly started making trouble, which was never a good sign.

"Coulson," he commanded without turning his head, "organize personnel, transfer all core data and prototype equipment, and immediately evacuate non-essential personnel. Hill, go start the Base's defense system and raise the outer alert level to the highest."

"Understood." The two answered simultaneously and turned around to make arrangements.

Hawkeye jumped down from the truss silently, landing quietly, and stood beside Fury: "Director, do you need me to guard the Tesseract?"

"Keep an eye on it." Fury nodded, "I always feel... this matter is not that simple."

As soon as his words fell, the light of the Tesseractsuddenly surged.

The blinding blue light instantly engulfed the entire laboratory, the alarm sounded to its loudest, and several instruments exploded with crackling sounds.

The energy pillar soared into the sky, tearing open a distorted spatial rift in mid-air. Electric arcs jumped around, and the violent wind carrying the energy flow made people unable to stand firmly.

"Back up! Everyone back up!" Coulson shouted, shielding Dr. Selvig.

Fury didn't budge an inch, his single eye staring fixedly deep into the rift.

The next second, a figure walked out slowly from the blue light.

The person was dressed in a dark green robe, covered with a black cloak, wearing a horned helmet, and holding a scepter glowing with blue light in his hand. His steps were elegant and arrogant, as if he was not breaking into an enemy Base, but walking in his own palace.

He swept his gaze over the Agents holding guns all over the room, a mocking smile curling up the corner of his mouth, and his voice was low with a metallic magnetism: "Humans... are always so fussed over nothing."

Asgardian?

Fury's heart skipped a beat.

Thor had just left not long ago, who was coming this time?

"Who are you?" Fury asked in a deep voice, his hand quietly behind his back, making a gesture to Hill.

"Me?" Loki chuckled slightly, spinning the scepter on his fingertips, "I am here to give you a gift."

He took a step forward, the blue light of the gem at the top of the scepter flashing: "Rule. Eternal order. After all... freedom is life's greatest lie. Haven't you struggled your whole life, yet still lived in chaos? Might as well hand it over to me, saving you the trouble."

"Bullshit." Hawkeye instantly pulled the bow to its maximum, aiming the arrow at the center of Loki's brows, "Outsider, put down your weapon, or don't blame us for being impolite."

"Impolite?" Loki acted as if he heard some joke, laughing lowly. The laughter grew louder and louder, carrying undisguised contempt, "Just relying on you... ants?"

The moment his voice fell, he violently waved his scepter.

The light blue energy beam instantly swept across the Agents in the front row, and several people directly flew out, heavily crashing into the wall, losing consciousness.

The remaining Agents immediately opened fire, bullets densely shooting towards Loki, but they were all blocked by the energy barrier around him, falling to the ground with clattering sounds, not even touching the corner of his clothes.

"You have a death wish." Loki snorted.

Hawkeye spotted the gap and let go of the arrow. The silver arrow carried a piercing sound straight to Loki's face, moving so fast it left a lingering shadow.

Yet Loki only slightly tilted his head, and the arrow flew past his helmet, nailing into the wall behind.

"Interesting." Loki looked at Hawkeye, his eyes carrying a bit of playfulness, "A bit better than these trash."

His scepter tapped lightly, and the blue light instantly shot towards Hawkeye.

Barton only felt his brain sink, as if something had drilled into it, and his consciousness instantly blurred.

The bow in his hand dropped to the ground with a clatter, his eyes became hollow and dull, and his whole person slowly straightened up like a marionette.

"Clint!" Coulson shouted.

Loki ignored him, waved the scepter again, and the blue light swept across Dr. Selvig.

The old doctor trembled all over, his eyes also becoming blank, and he stood beside Hawkeye.

"Alright, now I have helpers." Loki nodded with satisfaction, walking towards the Tesseract, "Bring it along, let's go."

"Stop!"

Fury suddenly pulled out his pistol and fired three shots at Loki in succession. The bullets hit the energy barrier, leaving not even a trace.

Loki turned his head to glance at him, his eyes as cold as ice: "Pesky rat."

Lifting the scepter, the energy beam directly bombarded Fury.

Fury sidestepped to dodge, the energy cannon flying past his arm, smashing fiercely into the control console behind, instantly exploding into a sea of flames.

Sparks splashed onto his face, burning him to frown, yet he still stared fixedly at Loki's back.

"Director! Hurry and go! The laboratory is going to explode!" Hill rushed over and gave him a pull.

Loki didn't take them seriously at all, gesturing for Hawkeye to pick up the Tesseract, and the three of them walked slowly toward the exit. The Agents along the way were either knocked down or controlled, and no one could stop them.

When Fury and the others chased out, the helicopter outside had already been flown away by Hawkeye. There was only a small black dot left in the night sky, which quickly disappeared into the clouds.

The laboratory was in a mess, most of the instruments had exploded, the fire was still burning, and many injured Agents were lying on the ground.

The place where the Tesseract originally stood was empty, leaving only a circle of scorched marks.

Fury patted the dust off his body. The skin on his arm was scraped and bleeding, but he acted as if he didn't feel it, his face as dark as ink.

Coulson ran over, clutching half of the untransferred data disk, his tone carrying a bit of urgency: "Director, the Tesseract has been stolen, and Dr. Selvig and AgentBarton... have been controlled. Should we pursue?"

"Can't catch up." Fury said in a deep voice, his single eye staring at the night sky, "He has spatial abilities, he ran far away long ago."

He paused, turned to look at Coulson, his tone decisive: "Level 1 combat readiness. The Avengers Initiative, officially launched."

Coulson was stunned for a moment, then his eyes turned stern: "Yes!"

Having waited for so many years, the plan was finally launched.

Although the timing couldn't be worse, he actually felt a faint sense of excitement in his heart.

Fury quickly assigned the tasks, his speaking speed fast and clear:

"Hill, you immediately go to the helicarrier, preheat the power system, and get ready for takeoff. All shipboard weapons are fully calibrated and on standby at any time."

"Understood." Hill nodded, turned around and left, her steps crisp, without a shred of hesitation.

"Coulson, you make a trip to New York, find Tony Stark. Give him the energy data of the Tesseract and have him help track the Tesseract's signal. His technology is top-notch, much faster than S.H.I.E.L.D.'s team."

Coulson nodded: "Good. I'll go right now."

Yet in his heart, he quietly muttered to himself.

AI Model: gemini-3.7-flash

Tony Stark seemed to have been spending every day lately cooped up in an abandoned factory on the outskirts. Even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s satellites couldn't pick up any signals inside, leaving everyone wondering what black tech he was working on now.

Going over to find him would definitely mean getting an earful.

"I'll go find Captain Rogers myself," Fury said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "He's the backbone."

He paused as if remembering something, then added, "By the way, put Logan Howlett's profile on the list as well."

Coulson froze for a moment. "Director, you want to invite him too? But he's... never really cooperated with S.H.I.E.L.D."

In the previous Egypt incident, anyone with eyes could see Logan was involved, but he simply refused to admit it, leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. helpless.

This guy was even harder to deal with than Tony and had a worse temper. If he really didn't want to come, nobody could persuade him.

"Keep it on file for now," Fury said calmly. "When the fighting starts, he won't just sit by and watch. New York is his turf. If aliens attack, he'll make a move."

Though he sounded confident, he wasn't truly sure deep down—after all, it wasn't like they hadn't tried recruiting him before.

A guy like Logan always did whatever he pleased, living free and easy like a wild crane.

If you really wanted him to clock in on time and follow orders, it would probably be harder than scaling the heavens.

But his strength spoke for itself: metal manipulation, teleportation, and freakish self-healing. In a real fight, he was worth an entire army on his own.

If they could recruit him, their chances of winning would at least double.

"Let's gather the core team members first," Fury waved his hand. "Move out."

In the dark of the night, several teams moved simultaneously.

Hill flew overnight to the helicarrier Base. The moment she landed, she ducked into the command bridge, watching the crew calibrate the engines without even stopping for a sip of water.

The helicarrier's lights turned on one by one, and its massive rotors began turning slowly as the dormant steel behemoth gradually woke up.

Far away in the Middle East on a mission, Natasha Romanoff had just tied her target to a chair when she received Coulson's encrypted call.

After hearing the mission briefing, she raised an eyebrow, packed her gear in a flash, turned around, and rushed toward India.

Find Dr. Banner? A bit tricky, but handling tricky people was what she did best.

Coulson drove straight toward New York, browsing Tony's latest updates along the way.

Aside from recently liking a news post about the release of the Astral Gen 2 Phone, Mr. Stark had barely shown his face, leaving the media guessing every day what big move he was concocting.

Coulson sighed, bracing himself to be roasted by Tony for half an hour.

Meanwhile, Fury himself, carrying a stack of files, knocked on Steve Rogers' apartment door.

Captain America had just returned from a run. Wearing a simple T-shirt and smelling faintly of sweat, his eyes still held a hint of disorientation from being defrosted not long ago, yet his posture remained ramrod straight and textbook perfect.

Seeing Fury, he frowned slightly. "Director Fury? What brings you here so late?"

"We have a situation." Fury stepped inside and placed the files on the table. "An alien invader stole the Tesseract and plans to invade Earth. We need you."

Steve picked up the files and flipped through them. The first page was a blurry photo of Loki, followed by information on the Tesseract.

His brow furrowed deeper. "Aliens again?"

The whole business with The Fallen last time, where he had led a strike team to provide backup, had already been shocking enough.

How long had it been since then, and here came another one?

"Not just that." Fury brought up a tablet and clicked on several videos. "We're putting together a team, all people with special abilities. This is Tony Stark, Iron Man. You should know him."

In the video, Tony, wearing mark x, blasted a Decepticon's armor to pieces in a sleek and cocky display.

Steve nodded. "Seen him. Sharp tongue."

The corner of Fury's mouth twitched, but he didn't dispute it. He swiped to the next page. "This is Dr. Bruce Banner, also known as the Hulk."

The video showed footage from the battle against Abomination, where the Hulk tore up the entire street with an enraged roar.

Steve's gaze tightened as he watched. "This guy... isn't easy to control, is he?"

"Better than falling into enemy hands," Fury glossed over it and flipped to the next one. "And this one, Logan Howlett. You've probably heard of him too."

The video footage was a bit blurry, secretly filmed on the Egypt battlefield: a pale blue magnetic field erupted, and The Fallen crashed to the ground with twisted limbs.

Despite the poor video quality, the overwhelming sense of raw power was still unmistakable.

Steve stared at the video for a long while, his tone somewhat conflicted: "He's... even stronger than I imagined."

Back during the Harlem incident, he had only heard about it, and during the battle with The Fallen, he had been far away in New York providing support.

Seeing this video now, he finally realized just how terrifying this man's strength truly was.

"Will he join?" Steve asked.

"Not sure," Fury said candidly. "He's hard to recruit. But when real fighting breaks out, he won't just stand by."

Steve went silent for two seconds, closed the file, looked up at Fury, and said with determination in his eyes, "I'm in."

Regardless of how difficult the team was to lead, or how powerful the enemy was, when aliens invaded Earth, there was no reason for him to back down.

Fury let out a sigh of relief.

Even Captain America, the hardest one to persuade, had agreed. The rest would be much easier.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of New York, the underground Base was bustling with activity.

Tony stood on a hover platform, huddled together with Dr. Q and Ironhide, fiercely arguing over a foldable screen prototype.

"I told you, the material at the crease must use Cybertronian special alloy, or else it'll shatter after folding twenty thousand times!" Ironhide boomed in a muffled voice.

"You don't know shit! Special alloy is too thick—stuffing the phone in a pocket would feel like carrying a brick. Who'd buy that?" Tony shot back. "Just use the flexible glass I developed. It's thin, light, and shatterproof."

"It's not fold-resistant!"

"You're the one who's not fold-resistant!"

Logan leaned against the doorway, puffing on a cigar while watching the commotion, with Ares dozing at his feet.

He had just returned from San Francisco two days ago and was contemplating spending his forty thousand points to push his healing factor to Omega-level, while also upgrading his other abilities.

While he was calculating, Bumblebee's headlights flashed, and the radio crackled to life with a news broadcast: "Breaking news... An explosion occurred at a mysterious military Base in New Mexico, suspected to be an alien energy leak..."

Tony paused his arguing, looked up at the screen, and frowned. "Military Base explosion? Did S.H.I.E.L.D. screw up again?"

Logan raised an eyebrow.

New Mexico, alien energy...

The Tesseract? Loki?

He clicked his tongue inward.

Here it comes.

The Chitauri were being lined up already?

And here he thought he could have peace and quiet for another two months.

Just as he was pondering, Tony's personal phone rang.

Tony picked up, and after hearing just one sentence, rolled his eyes dramatically. "Coulson? Why are you calling again... What? The Tesseract was stolen? Aliens?"

He clicked his tongue, full of disdain. "Can S.H.I.E.L.D. do anything right? You can't even keep an eye on a rock... Fine, fine, got it. Send the info over and I'll take a look."

Hanging up the phone, he turned to Logan and curled his lip. "Did you hear that? Trouble's caught up with Fury. Aliens ran off with the Tesseract, probably looking to stir up trouble."

"As expected," Logan said leisurely. "Bound to happen sooner or later."

"You knew all along?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

"A guess," Logan smiled. "After all, how could S.H.I.E.L.D.go without causing a mess?"

Tony froze for a second, then scoffed. "Let them come. It's perfect timing anyway—new armor, new weapons, and the Autobots are all itching for some action. Their arrival will save me from dying of boredom."

As he spoke, he rubbed his hands together, his eyes lighting up.

Logan chuckled and shook his head.

The forty thousand points had just arrived, so using the Chitauri to farm more points would be great to see whether he should upgrade self-healing or Magnetic Field Manipulation later.

It was just a pity; he had originally planned to relax for a few more days, maybe go fishing and walk the dog.

He tapped Ares' paw with his foot, and the big dog dazedly raised its head and wagged its tail.

"Let's go, home," Logan said, puffing on his cigar as he walked out. "Before long, things are going to get busy."

Behind him, Tony was still arguing with Ironhide about the folding screen material, eventually drifting off-topic toward "adding a folding weapon bay to the armor," getting more and more pumped up, completely unbothered by the alien invasion.

Chapter 94 Active Surrender

The night before boarding the helicarrier, Logan stood on the terrace of the Villa and made an encrypted call to Charles.

As soon as the call went through, the Professor's gentle voice came over: "Logan? It's rare for you to take the initiative to contact me."

"I have something to tell you." Logan smoked a cigar and said calmly, "In a while, aliens might invade New York on a large scale. S.H.I.E.L.D. has put together a team, but it's estimated to be not enough. You take the X-Men and stand by at any time. Make a move when a real fight starts."

Charles paused for a moment, his tone becoming a bit more serious: "Alien invasion? Is the situation this serious?"

"It's fine, manageable." Logan said in a casual tone, "Mainly to find you guys a chance to show your faces. Helping to repel the aliens head-on, the media shouldn't keep harping on the Mutant threat theory every day. Although life has been a bit better these years, there is still plenty of prejudice, so we can just use this matter to turn the tables."

The other end of the phone was silent for two seconds, followed by Charles's low chuckle: "I knew it, you were never one to only care about yourself. Alright, I will gather everyone back to the academy tomorrow and stand by at all times. As for New York, I'll leave it to you to keep an eye on it first."

"Rest assured." Logan hung up the phone and casually tossed it on the table.

In the yard below, Ares chased after a frisbee, his claws rustling against the lawn.

He stretched lazily, calculating in his mind: with the Autobots supporting the ground, the X-Men as a backup, plus the Avengers gang, the Chitauri coming over would purely be serving themselves on a silver platter.

At noon the next day, Tony drove his sports car straight into the S.H.I.E.L.D. landing pad. Logan sat in the passenger seat, biting down on an unlit cigar, his hair blown wildly by the wind.

"Can't you drive slower?" He tugged at his collar, "Like you're rushing to be reincarnated."

"That blacked-boiled egg urged three times, like his ass is on fire." Tony curled his lips, parked the car, took off his sunglasses, looked up at the helicarrier in front of him, and whistled, "S.H.I.E.L.D. hides pretty deep, such a big piece of iron, and yet it wasn't dug up by the media."

The two walked up the gangway, and as soon as they entered the command cabin, they ran into familiar faces.

Steve wore his combat uniform, standing in front of the holographic screen with a straight back, listening to Hillintroduce the situation.

Standing next to him was a bespectacled man wearing a loose shirt, looking a bit fidgety; it was precisely Bruce Banner. Natasha leaned against the edge of the console, dressed in a black tight-fitting combat uniform, and raised an eyebrow when she saw the two walk in.

"Yo, isn't this Mr. Stark?" Natasha spoke first, her tone carrying a hint of teasing, "Rare guest, I thought you'd have to put on airs and make the Director personally invite you three times."

Tony raised an eyebrow and walked over, hands in his pockets: "Agent Romanoff, long time no see. Wasn't feeling comfortable being an assistant back then, so now you've changed careers to become a liaison?"

"Just work." Natasha smiled, deflecting easily, "Still better than certain people hiding in laboratories every day making black tech."

After the two exchanged a couple of jabs back and forth, Steve turned his head, saw Tony, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

The matter of their mutual jabs in the Astral Realm comment section hadn't been flipped over yet, and meeting right now, the atmosphere instantly became a bit subtle.

"Captain Rogers." Tony drew out his tone, smiling fakely and extending his hand, "Trust you have been well. Are you used to the senior-citizen phone mode? Do you want me to specially develop a large-font system for you?"

Steve's face darkened, he reached out, touched hands with him briefly, and immediately withdrew: "No need to trouble Mr. Stark. The phone works great, more reliable than certain people's lip service."

"Hey, you old popsicle..."

Seeing that the two were about to argue again, Dr. Bannerawkwardly coughed aside, looking as flustered and helpless as a student who had walked onto the wrong set.

Tony instantly withdrew his posture of jabbing people, turned around, and took the initiative to extend his hand, his tone becoming much more sincere: "Dr. Banner, right? Long admired. I've read your paper on gamma-ray energy level regulation; the angle is superb, much better than those stubborn old fossils in academia."

Banner was stunned, hurriedly reached out to shake back, feeling a bit flattered: "Thank you... Mr. Stark reads physics journals too? I thought you only did engineering."

"Just a wide range of interests." Tony waved his hand, "After we finish this, let's have a good chat. I have a few sets of gamma-shielding equipment in my lab; you might find them useful."

The two instantly found a common topic and stood aside talking about academics, the gunpowder smell from just now completely dissipating.

Logan leaned against the pillar at the door the whole time, like an invisible person, enjoying watching the commotion.

Steve noticed him and nodded as a greeting. Logan raised his chin in response and didn't say much.

He didn't want to get involved in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s winding tricks in the first place. Coming over was purely because New York was his own territory, and he didn't want his backyard smashed up by a bunch of aliens.

Not long after, Coulson walked in hurriedly holding a stack of documents, his glasses even slightly crooked.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, he breathed a sigh of relief and distributed the materials to everyone: "Everyone, the situation is urgent, so I'll keep it short. Loki has stolen the Tesseract, and its energy signal has been constantly moving, making precise localization impossible for now. Please, Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner, join forces to use the computing system here to track the Tesseract's gamma-ray trajectory, as fast as possible."

He paused and looked at the others: "Captain Rogers, Agent Romanoff, and Mr. Howlett, the three of you please stand by at all times. Once the location is locked, set out immediately to capture him."

Tony flipped through the materials and scoffed: "I say, can S.H.I.E.L.D. even do anything? You couldn't even watch such a big stone, and now we have to clean up your mess."

Saying so, his hands had already rested on the keyboard, clacking away rapidly.

Banner also hurriedly crowded over, and the two quickly got into the zone, discussing facing the screen.

Coulson secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Passing by Logan's side, his footsteps paused for a moment, wanting to strike up a conversation but hesitating a bit.

This master was even harder to figure out than Tony. During the Egypt incident last time, S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to extend an olive branch, but he directly pretended not to hear.

Logan glanced at him and spoke faintly: "If you have something to say, speak directly."

"N-No, nothing!" Coulson hurriedly waved his hand, feeling a bit awkward, "It's just... thank you for your trouble, Mr. Howlett. Let me know anytime if you need anything."

Logan hummed in acknowledgment and said no more.

The command cabin gradually quieted down, leaving only the sound of keyboard tapping and instrument beeps.

Steve stood by the porthole, looking at the clouds outside with a solemn expression.

Natasha leaned against the edge of the console, occasionally glancing at the surveillance footage with sharp eyes.

Logan found a chair in the corner and sat down, closing his eyes to rest, calculating in his mind what kind of tricks Lokiwould pull once he was dragged in later.

He knew Loki's routine all too well.

Getting captured on purpose, infiltrating the inside, using the scepter to control minds, disrupting the Avengers, and then taking the opportunity to open the wormhole.

An old-fashioned alienation trick, yet it worked every single time.

However, he didn't plan to point it out.

For one thing, there was no evidence, and even if he said it, that blacked-boiled egg wouldn't necessarily believe it.

Secondly, if there wasn't some trouble kicked up, how could his own usefulness be shown?

A few hours flashed by.

Just as Tony and Banner debugged the tracking program to its optimal state, a strong energy signal suddenly popped up on the screen, pointing its coordinates straight at Stuttgart, Germany.

"Found it!" Banner's eyes lit up, "In Germany! The energy response is very strong, it's the Tesseract's signal!"

Coulson immediately crowded over, his face sinking: "It's Loki! He's causing trouble in the city center, injuring quite a few people!"

Steve instantly straightened his body: "Let's move!"

Natasha had already turned and walked towards the landing pad: "The Quinjet is warmed up and ready to take off at any time."

The four of them moved nimbly and quickly boarded the jet. Natasha sat in the pilot seat, pulled the stick to ascend, and the jet pierced through the clouds, flying toward Germany.

Tony sat in the passenger seat, flipping through the footage transmitted back from the scene, and curled his lips: "Terrible taste. Is this Asgard's aesthetic? All greenish like an expired avocado."

Steve frowned: "He is forcing civilians to kneel, this is going too far."

"Normal, villains all love this kind of ritualistic sense." Logan leaned in the back row, closing his eyes to catch up on sleep, and added nonchalantly, "Be careful when fighting later, his scepter can control people, don't get poked by it."

All three of them were stunned for a moment.

"How do you know his scepter can control people?" Steveturned back to ask.

"Guessed it." Logan didn't even lift his eyelids, "Otherwise, how could he take the Tesseract away from the S.H.I.E.L.D.Base? It couldn't possibly be that the Agents are all good-for-nothings."

Tony mocked: "Makes sense. That bunch under Fury's command looks fierce, but when a real fight starts, they really aren't useful."

Steve opened his mouth, wanting to refute but finding no reason, so he could only turn his head back and continue staring ahead.

The jet soon arrived above Stuttgart.

In the plaza of the city center, Loki stood on the steps in a green robe, his scepter glowing with blue light.

The civilians below were forced to tremble by him, kneeling down in large swaths.

Several injured guards lay nearby, blood flowing all over the ground.

"Too arrogant." Steve's face sank, grabbing his shield and jumping down.

Tony also pressed the armor button, and the Iron Man Suitinstantly covered his whole body, diving down after him: "Old popsicle, don't kill-steal!"

As soon as the two landed, they engaged in combat with Loki. Steve blocked with his shield, and Tony blasted with his palm repulsors, cooperating surprisingly well.

Loki was handling it with ease at first, but as they fought, he grew a bit impatient.

He never intended to fight for real in the first place, putting up a pretentious defense for a dozen moves and intentionally exposing a flaw, getting smashed in the chest by Steve's shield and staggering back two steps.

"Stop."

He suddenly stopped his hands, threw the scepter on the ground, raised his hands, his tone carrying a hint of arrogant compromise: "I surrender."

Both Tony and Steve were stunned for a moment.

Surrendered just like that?

The two looked at each other, both a bit baffled. They were fighting quite fiercely just a moment ago, how did he suddenly chicken out?

Only then did Logan leisurely jump down from the jet, landing silently.

He glanced at Loki's feigned calm face and chuckled inwardly.

He was acting quite convincingly.

Natasha walked over, put special restraining handcuffs on Loki, and escorted him toward the jet.

When Loki passed by Logan's side, his footsteps paused for a moment, and he swept a seemingly nonchalant glance at him, his eyes carrying a hint of exploration.

He had already noticed during the fight just now that this human didn't make a move the whole time, standing to the side like a spectator with an eerie calmness in his eyes, as if he had known all along that he would surrender.

Interesting.

Loki pondered inwardly, but didn't show a shred of it on his face, still maintaining that arrogant yet resigned look, and obediently allowed himself to be escorted onto the jet.

On the way back, the cabin was a bit quiet.

Tony sat aside, staring at Loki, feeling more and more that something was wrong: "I say you guy, why did you surrender so fast? You aren't brewing any bad intentions, are you?"

Loki raised his eyes slightly and chuckled softly: "Can't beat you, so naturally I surrender. Could it be that I should bring further humiliation upon myself?"

"Like hell I'd believe you."

Steve frowned, always feeling something was wrong, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Natasha leaned against the bulkhead, staring sharply at Loki, constantly vigilant against him pulling any tricks.

Only Logan leaned in the very corner, closing his eyes to rest, knowing it all too well.

Just wait, once back at the helicarrier, that's when the good show begins.

Chapter 95: Riot

The jet had just broken through the clouds when the fuselage suddenly shuddered violently, as if it had been heavily struck by something.

Alarms instantly blared inside the cabin. Natasha steadied the control stick and frowned, "Something is clinging to the fuselage!"

Before her words fell, the hatch overhead was forcefully ripped open with a loud clang.

Howling winds poured in, making it impossible to keep one's eyes open.

A figure draped in a red cape descended from the sky, landing steadily inside the cabin. He held a hammer in his hand, and crackling arcs of lightning swirled around him—it was Thunder God Thor.

"Loki." His voice was deep, and his gaze landed directly on his younger brother in the corner, "Come back to Asgardwith me to stand trial."

Loki raised his eyes, a calculating smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, but he didn't speak.

"Wait." Steve stood up immediately, holding his shield horizontally across his chest, "Who are you? Loki is Earth's prisoner and cannot be taken away casually."

"I am Thor, the Prince of Asgard." Thor glanced at him, his tone carrying a hint of unquestionable arrogance, "He is my brother, and it is only right that Asgard deals with him."

"He killed people and stole things on Earth, so he has to follow Earth's rules." Steve did not budge an inch.

Tony had long since lost his patience. His armor zipped across his entire body in a flash, and his repulsors lit up with blue light as he bantered, "Point Break, do you think this is your backyard? Come and go as you please? Did you ask me first?"

"Midgardian, do you wish to stop me?" Thor frowned, bringing his hammer down onto the ground with a thud as lightning crackled, "Don't force me to fight."

"Fight if you want, who's afraid of whom!"

Tony made the first move, blasting forward with his repulsors blazing in dazzling white light.

Thor swung his hammer in defense. The lightning and the energy blast collided, bursting into a blinding orb of light that shook the jet three times over.

The two of them rushed out of the cabin one after the other, starting a brawl amidst the clouds.

Having undergone dual upgrades from Cybertrontechnology and Stark Industries, the performance of the mark x was more than ten times stronger than the Mark VI from the original timeline.

With its thrusters fully engaged, its speed was so fast it left afterimages. Shoulder missiles, wrist blades, and repulsor cannons took turns greeting him, actually managing to trade blows evenly with Thor.

The longer they fought, the more astonished Thor became.

He had originally thought the Midgardian's armor was just for show, but he hadn't expected it to withstand several of his hammer's lightning strikes head-on and occasionally cause him trouble.

"This is somewhat interesting!" Thor laughed heartily, swinging his hammer in a full arc downwards, "But it's still not enough!"

Tony dodged to the side. The wind from the hammer brushed past his armor, causing the internal systems to glitch with garbled code.

He cursed inwardly; the power of that hammer was truly outrageous. Taking a few more hits like that, and the armor's plating wouldn't be able to hold out.

As expected, a god is still a god; relying purely on technology alone still fell a bit short.

Seeing Tony gradually falling into a disadvantage, Steveinside the jet was just about to go out and help when a pale blue magnetic field suddenly spread out from the cabin.

The two individuals locked in combat within the clouds abruptly paused.

Thor felt as though his entire body were wrapped in an invisible iron net. His armor, his hammer, and even the metal elements within his body were being pulled. His whole body stiffened, freezing him dead in mid-air, and he couldn't even muster the strength to swing his hammer.

"What is this?!" Thor was both shocked and furious, struggling with all his might, but the magnetic force tightened further, preventing even a spark of lightning from being discharged.

Tony was also stunned for a moment, but he quickly reacted, turning back to shout at the jet, "Logan! Nice one! You should've stepped in sooner, my armor was about to get smashed flat!"

Logan walked leisurely out of the cabin, hovering in mid-air with pale blue magnetic ripples surfacing across his body. His tone was casual, "What's the rush? Just letting you guys stretch your muscles first."

He turned his head to look at Thor, raising his hand slightly to loosen the magnetic force a bit without pushing him too hard, "Thunder God, right? Let's talk things out properly; fighting hurts the harmony. Loki committed crimes on Earth, so there has to be an explanation. Taking him away directly isn't appropriate."

Thor held back his breath, yet remained unable to move.

He could feel the terrifying nature of this power; if they really contested it, he might not necessarily come out on top.

Steve also seized the opportunity to fly over, saying in a deep voice, "Mr. Thor, Loki stole the Tesseract, which will summon an alien army. Now is not the time to investigate jurisdiction; we must first prevent disaster. Once the matter is resolved, you can take him back to Asgard, and we will certainly not block your way."

Thor fell silent for a few seconds, looked at the seemingly innocent Loki inside the jet, then looked at the mysterious human who had frozen him in place, as well as the eyeing Iron Man nearby. Finally, he let out a cold snort, "Fine! I'll go with you. But I'm warning you, if you dare pull any tricks, I'll tear apart this piece-of-crap aircraft of yours."

Logan smiled and withdrew the magnetic field.

Thor stretched his stiff arms, glared fiercely at him, but no longer brought up taking Loki away directly.

The group returned to the jet, and Natasha pulled the hatch closed again, piloting the jet to continue flying toward the helicarrier.

The atmosphere inside the cabin was a bit subtle. Thor sat opposite Loki, staring fixedly at his brother for fear he would pull another trick.

Tony removed his armor faceplate, panting, but his mouth remained unrelenting, "I'm telling you, Point Break, this brother of yours causes way too much trouble. If you can't keep him under control, don't let him out."

"Loki is Asgard's business; it's not your place to comment." Thor said in a deep voice. After a pause, he still couldn't help looking at Logan, "What was that ability of yours just now? Metal manipulation? To think there's a powerhouse like you among Midgardians?"

"Magnetic Field Manipulation." Logan leaned back in his seat, biting down on an unlit cigar, "Simply put, it's controlling magnetic fields. Metals, electric currents, even stellar gravity—anything remotely related can be managed."

Thor's eyes lit up as he listened, "That powerful? Even stronger than Asgard's sorcerers! Just now, I couldn't even swing mjolnir; anyone else would have been crushed flat by the pressure."

He was a straightforward person; respect was respect. Most of his previous dissatisfaction had dissipated, replaced instead by a growing curiosity toward Logan.

Tony, standing nearby, rolled his eyes, "Alright, alright, stop praising him. Praise him twice and his tail will stick straight up to the sky."

Logan rolled his eyes, ignored him, and closed his eyes to rest and recuperate.

The jet quickly arrived at the helicarrier.

Loki was escorted into a specially constructed blast-proof cell, locked behind layers of energy barriers. Forget escaping; not even much sound could pass through.

Fury personally came over to take a look, then hurried off to busy himself with deployment.

Tony and Banner dove straight into the laboratory, continuing to track the Tesseract's energy data while typing furiously on their keyboards.

With nothing to do, Steve strolled along the helicarrier's corridors, wanting to familiarize himself with the environment.

As he walked, he turned into an unlabelled warehouse. Pushing the door open, he saw rows of weapons neatly stacked inside, their barrels glowing with brilliant blue energy, with a placard right beside them clearly reading—Tesseract Energy Weapon Prototype.

Steve's expression darkened instantly.

He turned around and strode toward the command deck, kicking open Director Fury's office door, his voice carrying heat, "Director Fury! You'd better explain what those Tesseract weapons in the warehouse are all about! You asked us to stop aliens, yet you're secretly using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction?"

Fury raised his head, his expression unchanged, "CaptainRogers, these are defensive weapons meant to counter alien threats."

"Defensive?" Steve sneered, "HYDRA said the exact same thing back in the day! Building weapons with alien energy—what difference is there from playing with fire? Sooner or later, you'll burn yourselves!"

While the two of them were arguing, Tony sauntered in, leaning against the doorframe with a sarcastic tone, "Oh, and here I thought it was some big deal. Standard operating procedure, right? S.H.I.E.L.D., all smiles on the surface while plotting behind your back—I saw it coming ages ago. Otherwise, why do you think I secretly built my own armor? If we relied on them to protect Earth, we'd all be dead and buried by now."

"Stark!" Fury's expression sank, "This is the Council's resolution, for global security!"

"Global security?" Tony raised an eyebrow, "Building weapons with the Tesseract is global security? The day the energy goes out of control and blows up half of North America, is that security too?"

The office erupted into a chaotic argument, with everyone talking over one another, thick with gunpowder smoke.

Thor leaned against the wall holding his hammer, watching with great relish and not forgetting to complain to Logan beside him, "You Midgardians are truly interesting. The enemy is already at your doorstep, and you're starting internal arguments first."

Logan stood leaning against the door with his arms crossed, acting as a pure spectator. Hearing this, he raised an eyebrow, "You'll get used to it. Wherever there are people, there is infighting; it's the same everywhere."

Watching the few people arguing until their faces were red, he waited until the timing was about right before speaking calmly, "Have you argued enough? Keep arguing, and the enemy will be right at our doorstep. Infighting makes it easiest for others to exploit an opening. You don't need me to teach you a simple truth like that, do you?"

As soon as his voice fell, the entire helicarrier suddenly suffered a violent jolt.

"Boom—!!!"

An explosion came from the engine room, and flames instantly dyed half of the corridor red.

The alarm wailed shrilly, and Hill's urgent voice came over the loudspeaker, "Director! The engine room has been attacked! Engines three and four are offline! Power systems are damaged! The helicarrier is falling!"

Everyone's expressions changed drastically.

"It's Barton!" Fury reacted instantly, "He's been controlled! An inside job!"

Steve immediately grabbed his shield, "I'm heading to the engine room!"

Tony also put on his armor faceplate, "I'm going to fix the engines!"

In the time it took for the two of them to rush out, several more explosions rang out.

The helicarrier tilted more and more severely, the massive vessel plummeting toward the ground like a plummeting weight, while the clouds outside the windows surged upwards at high speed.

People on the command deck stumbled this way and that, and instruments crashed down with a clatter.

Thor was just about to rush out to help when he felt the hull suddenly pause.

The downward momentum stopped.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, raising their heads to look out the window.

They saw that the entire metal hull of the helicarrier was enveloped in a layer of pale blue halo.

The vessel was steadily supported by an invisible force. The previously tilted hull slowly leveled out, the speed of the descent completely vanishing, leaving it hovering right there in mid-air as steadily as if parked on the ground.

The command deck fell pin-drop silent.

Everyone followed the direction of the blue light—Loganstood at the entrance of the command deck, wearing a magnetic field amplifier on his left hand, his palm facing upward and slightly lifting. A pale blue magnetic field spread outward from his palm, enveloping the entire helicarrier.

His expression was calm, his breathing hadn't even grown slightly irregular, and he looked completely at ease, without having used even half of his strength.

"Th-This..." Coulson adjusted his glasses, his tongue practically tangling up.

Fury's single eye widened into circles; he knew Logan was strong, but he hadn't expected him to be strong to this degree.

A hundred-thousand-ton helicarrier, and he caught it just like that? And so effortlessly?

Tony, who had just rushed to the door, looked at the blue light outside and also stopped in his tracks, cursing, "Holy crap... If I'd known you were this fierce, why would I bother struggling to fix the engines."

Dr. Banner pushed up his glasses, his face full of shock, "Magnetic Field Manipulation to this extent? This already violates common sense in physics..."

Thor also clicked his tongue, "Even more impressive than I thought. This power could easily rank high among the Nine Realms."

Logan paid no heed to everyone's shock and spoke calmly, "Stop standing around stunned, hurry up and fix the engines, I can't hold on for too long."

That's what he said, but in his heart he wasn't panicking in the slightest.

With just this little weight, holding it for a day wouldn't be a problem; he was just putting on an act so as not to be too Earth-shattering.

Only then did everyone snap back to reality, hurriedly rushing to their respective duties.

Steve led people to suppress the attacking Agents, Tonydove into the engine room for emergency repairs, Hillorganized personnel to evacuate the wounded, and Furywent to check Hawkeye's location.

The chaos was quickly suppressed.

Meanwhile, far away in the clouds, Loki had just been rescued by Hawkeye and was standing on a spacecraft, waiting to watch the good show of the helicarrier crashing.

As a result, after waiting for a long time, all he saw was that big hunk of iron sway a bit and then actually come to a steady stop, not even puffing out many extra wisps of smoke.

Loki: "?"

He furrowed his brows tightly, full of puzzlement.

What on Earth was going on?

The engines all blew up, yet a hundred-thousand-ton helicarrier didn't fall?

Could S.H.I.E.L.D. have some hidden technology?

He couldn't figure it out, but he also knew that waiting any longer was meaningless. Letting out a cold snort, he turned his craft around and flew toward New York Manhattan.

It didn't matter if the helicarrier couldn't crash; there was still Plan B.

Atop Stark Tower, Selvig was almost done calibrating the device.

Once the wormhole opened and the Chitauri army descended, let's see how you guys would hold out then.

Loki's cape fluttered as his gaze turned sinister, quickly disappearing into the end of the clouds.

Back on the helicarrier, Logan withdrew his magnetic force and stretched his wrists.

He gazed in the direction of New York, the corners of his mouth curving upward.

It was just as well that he ran.

If they were going to fight, they would fight in New York.

Right on cue, the Autobots and X-Men were waiting down below.

When the Chitauri arrived, they could wipe them out all at once.

He dusted off the dirt from his hands and turned to walk into the command deck.

Fury was issuing orders into his communicator with a solemn expression.

Seeing Logan enter, he took a deep breath, his tone unusually carrying a hint of solemnity, "Mr. Howlett, thank you for this time."

"Don't mention it." Logan waved a hand, "Hurry up and repair things, there's a big battle coming up later. Loki ran off, he's definitely going to open a wormhole."

Fury's heart sank, and he nodded immediately, "I know. Everyone, speed it up! Over in New York, trouble could break out at any second!"

The command deck grew busy once again, the atmosphere much heavier than before, yet no one engaged in infighting anymore.

Everyone understood clearly that the real trouble was only just beginning.

Chapter 96 Flying Dragon Face-Riding

The emergency repairs on the helicarrier were still clanging away. Logan leaned against the porthole of the command cabin, tapping out two messages on his Astral phone—one sent to Charles, and the other to Optimus Prime.

The message to the Professor was concise: "Loki will open a wormhole in New York within half an hour, and the Chitauri fleet will invade. Bring the X-Men to stand by, prioritize evacuating civilians, wait until the frontal battle starts before making a move, and do not show your faces too early."

The one to Optimus Prime was more direct: "An alien fleet is about to land in New York. Bring the Autobots to deploy defenses in the city, protect the buildings and do not tear them down too badly, and charge the repair costs to the account of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Dr. Q and Jetfire stay at the Base to guard it and prevent anyone from stealing our home."

After sending them, he tucked his phone back into his pocket and turned his head just in time to see Tony rushing over with a darkened face. The screen of the tablet in his hand was blindingly bright, with a red dot firmly pinned to Midtown Manhattan.

"I knew it! I knew that green-skinned dwarf had bad intentions!" Tony was so angry he forgot to wear his helmet, and the veins on his forehead were throbbing. "Stark Tower! He actually installed the teleportation device on top of my building! That panoramic floor-to-ceiling window I installed just last month! My newly replaced rooftop pool!"

Logan raised an eyebrow: "That is great, saves us the trouble of looking for a battlefield. Your building is tall and your territory is big enough for him to toss around."

"It is easy for you to stand there and talk!" Tony glared at him, swiftly snapped his mask on, and his armor thrusters hummed to life. "In a bit, I am definitely going to snap off those two horns of his and use them as coasters!"

The Quinjet quickly cut through the clouds and flew toward Manhattan. The atmosphere in the cabin could not be called tense; instead, it had a bit of an eager, raring-to-go feel.

Steve marked points on the tactical map, occasionally looking up to remind them of the evacuation routes.

Dr. Banner clenched his fingers, his brows knitted into a knot. Part of him was afraid that his transformation would go out of control, while another part could not help wanting to go up and beat up the aliens.

Thor placed mjolnir on his thighs, tapping it thump-thump, his eyes filled with excitement.

Fighting an alien army like this was solid military merit back in Asgard, and it was just right for stretching his muscles here in Midgard.

"When we land in a bit, Barton and Romanoff will take the high ground for cover, I will lead the ground team to evacuate civilians, and Stark will be responsible for airborne interception..." Steve raised his eyes to look at Logan, his tone pausing for a moment. "Mr. Howlett, how are you arranging your side?"

"I will improvise." Logan leaned against the bulkhead with his eyes closed to rest and recuperate. "Wherever there are more aliens, I will go. You guys busy yourselves with your own things, do not worry about me."

Steve choked up slightly, wanting to say a couple more words about discipline, but ultimately nodded anyway.

He had pretty much figured out that this master was never someone who played by the rules. With his strength right there, letting him loose to fight was actually ten times more efficient than tying his hands and feet.

Just as the fighter jet entered the airspace above Manhattan, everyone in the cabin paused.

The sky overhead was forcibly torn open with a deep blue breach. The Tesseract's energy beam shot straight into the clouds, and blinding energy turbulence surged at the edges of the wormhole.

Dense swarms of Chitauri flyers crawled out from the hole like a dark swarm of locusts, followed by Leviathan beasts comparable in size to office buildings. Their armor gleamed with a cold light, and wherever they passed, building windows shattered in sheets, crashing down like hail.

On the ground, sirens, screams, and explosions mixed together, turning everything into a chaotic mess.

Yet even so, there were still reckless young people on the streets holding Astral phones, live-streaming while walking towards the sky. The camera shook violently, but their mouths were not idle:

"Family members! Did you see that! The alien army! Right fifty meters above my head! That big worm-like thing that just passed by is thicker than the Empire State Building!"

The bullet comments scrolled faster than the flyers:

"Anchor, run quickly! Have you lost your mind!"

"Holy shit, a wormhole actually opened? I thought it was movie promotional material!"

"Quickly film Wolverine! Where is Iron Man? Come out and work!"

"No wonder there are so few foreigners..."

Flying outside the fighter jet and looking at the dazzlingly bright blue-light device on his roof, Tony was so angry his teeth were itching. With a single blast from his repulsors, he blew away a charging Chitauri flyer: "How dare you tear down my building! Today, not a single one of these alien scumbags will get to go back in one piece!"

The fighter jet made an emergency landing on Fifth Avenue. The moment several of them jumped down, a dozen Chitauri flyers swept across at low altitude, energy blasts striking the road and kicking up a string of sparks.

Steve raised his shield to block at the very front, his brows tightly knitted—with just the six or seven of them to defend all of Manhattan and evacuate millions of civilians, their military force was simply nowhere near enough to fill the gap.

Just as he was about to speak and have Natasha contact S.H.I.E.L.D. to request reinforcements, his arm was gently tapped by Logan.

"Do not be anxious." Logan raised his chin at him, his tone casual, "Reinforcements have arrived."

Steve looked in the direction he pointed and instantly froze.

On the other side of the street, more than a dozen figures walked over quickly. The man at the very front sat in a wheelchair, his gentle gaze sweeping across the battlefield—it was Charles Xavier.

Behind him, Raven pushed him. Beneath Scott's red glasses, energy was poised and ready. Ororo's white hair fluttered, and small electrical arcs already lingered at her fingertips. Jean stood by the Professor's side, pale golden telekinetic halos floating around her body, and even the wind wrapped around her.

Further back, Colossus's entire body gleamed with a cold metallic light, like a moving fortress.

Iceman's fingertips exuded cold air, while Pyro's palms burned with orange-red flames. The two of them stood left and right, looking just like a pair of door guardians.

Nightcrawler Kurt teleported from time to time, and Shadowcat Kitty followed beside Hank, her fingers already able to penetrate walls.

Angel Aaron spread his white wings, hovering at low altitude above the team, ready to dive down at any moment.

The X-Men had all arrived.

Before Steve could even digest this surprise, a deafening roar of engines came from the street behind them, causing the ground to vibrate slightly.

A dozen cars of various shapes came roaring over, the screech of brakes unified, their tires scraping long trails of black smoke across the ground.

The next second, the clacking sounds of metal dismantling, recombining, and interlocking rang out one after another. More than a dozen tall Autobots stood in a row, blocking out the sky and sun.

Optimus Prime walked at the very front, his red and blue-colored armor gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight, his energon axe shimmering with a cold light.

Ironhide and Hound stood on the left and right, carrying their main cannons on their shoulders looking murderous, each with an energon cigar clamped in their mouths.

Sideswipe and Drift unsheathed their dual blades, the silver-white cold light dazzling to the eyes.

Arcee and her two sisters had agile figures, forming a triangular guerrilla formation.

Bumblebee flicked his headlights, the energon cannon in his hand already loaded.

Skids and Mudflap huddled together, still whispering and arguing over who would rush up first to take the kills.

Except for Dr. Q and Jetfire who remained behind at the Base, the Autobots had fully assembled.

"Holy crap..." Steve cursed under his breath, almost losing his grip on the shield in his hand.

He knew Logan had extensive connections, but he never expected a single call to bring out such a massive display.

On one side were the fully assembled X-Men, and on the other were the fully organized Cybertronian Autobots. With this lineup, let alone one Chitauri fleet, even two more could be pressed to death right on the streets of New York.

The live-streamer holding up his phone was completely dumbfounded, the camera shaking back and forth between the two teams, his speech stuttering: "I-I did not see this wrong, right? The X-Men! And those big robots! They are the ones from the Egypt battlefield! They really are friendly forces! Not enemies!"

The bullet comments directly exploded, the number of viewers in the live stream room instantly breaking ten million, and the server even lagged for a moment:

"I said there were alien allies! Who was arguing with me earlier? Come out and take a beating!"

"Charge, X-Men! Long live Mutants!"

"Holy shit, that red and blue big rig is so handsome! Must be the leader, right? Aura maxed out!"

"The prestige of Wolverine is completely maxed out! A single call brought so many big shots!"

"It is over, I suddenly started feeling bad for the aliens... This wave is truly coming to deliver free kills."

"Attack!"

Charles's voice was simultaneously transmitted into the minds of every X-Men member through brainwaves. The next second, the energy of the entire street exploded simultaneously.

Scott raised his hand and fired a thick red laser beam that swept across. Three Chitauri flyers were cut in half on the spot, smoking heavily as they crashed into a roadside shop.

Ororo flapped her wings and flew up into mid-air, waving her hands. Dark clouds instantly gathered beneath the wormhole, and several bolts of purple lightning smashed head-on into the alien formation, blowing the flyers scattering in all directions like frightened sparrows.

"Scott, three are flanking from the rear-left. Kurt, there are civilians trapped on the rooftop of Building Number 7, bring them down." Charles's voice was steady and clear, calling out positions precisely like the calmest battlefield brain.

Nightcrawler Kurt's figure instantly vanished from where he was, and when he reappeared, he was already holding two children as he landed in a safe zone. Immediately following that, he teleported back, sending civilians down trip after trip, so busy that even the tip of his tail was swinging.

Shadowcat Kitty directly phased through the wall and into a crashed Chitauri transport plane, dismantling its weapon system into absolute pieces in just a few moves, and did not forget to pocket two energon batteries along the way.

Colossus roared and charged at the very front. The energy guns of the Chitauri couldn't even leave a white mark on him. He swung his fan-sized fist down, directly smashing the enemy's flyer flat like an iron disc.

Iceman and Pyro fought in coordination from left and right. An ice wall blocked the raining bullets, and a fireball blasted into the enemy cluster. The two didn't forget to bicker while fighting:

"Move your ice wall farther away! It's blocking my fireball!" Pyro yelled.

"Is your fireball's aim any good? It almost burned my hair!"

Iceman immediately retorted, yet the ice wall in his hands thickened by another thirty percent.

Jean floated in mid-air, her telekinesis turning into an invisible giant hand that caught several concrete slabs falling from the building and steadily placed them on the roadside.

She looked up toward the depths of the wormhole, her brows slightly furrowed—the energy fluctuations inside were growing stronger and stronger, and obviously, bigger guys had yet to come out.

Over on the Autobots' side, the fighting was even wilder, entirely relying on heavy-firepower suppression.

Optimus Prime took the lead, charging straight toward a Leviathan.

The giant beast roared and swung its tail hammer, kicking up a whistling wind. While dodging sideways, he fiercely cleaved his energon axe into the opponent's head armor, sending sparks splashing over three meters high.

"For freedom! For Earth!"

His voice boomed like a bell as he kicked the giant beast right in the joint, forcing the Leviathan to drop to one knee on the spot.

"Stop wasting words with it! Just blast it!" Ironhide's main cannon was already fully charged with energy, firing a shot right into the Leviathan's abdominal armor and blasting out a huge crater.

Hound was not to be outdone either. The multi-barreled cannon on his shoulder blazed with gunfire, smashing a barrage of bullets down like rain. With an energon cigar clamped in his mouth, he shouted indistinctly, "Old Ironhide, care for a wager? Whoever blows up more treats the loser to ten energon cubes!"

"You're on! Who's afraid of whom!" Ironhide instantly got fired up, spinning his muzzle at lightning speed and specifically picking large targets to attack.

Sideswipe and Drift played a game of speed, their two figures weaving through the buildings and specifically targeting the joints of the flyers.

Sideswipe's energon blades flickered, and Drift's twin swords left afterimages in their wake. Wherever the two passed, flyers dropped to the ground like dumplings being tossed into a pot.

"You were one flyer too slow." Drift sheathed his blades, his tone calm.

"Bullshit, that one of mine was accounting for the lead!" Sideswipe immediately retorted, speeding up his pace even more.

The Arcee triplets circled around to the back of another Leviathan, three energy beams striking the engine compartment simultaneously and directly paralyzing the giant beast's propulsion system.

Bumblebee was even more agile, leaping back and forth among the buildings. While hauling trapped civilians to safety, he squeezed in a couple of shots at the Chitauri, occasionally transforming into a sports car to show off a Drift, running the alien soldiers chasing him completely ragged.

Skids and Mudflap originally wanted to charge up to help, but ended up fighting over the same firing position and almost knocked each other's cannon barrels askew. They were yelled back by a roar from the arriving Ratchet: "You two idiots! Go to the back and fix the damaged barricades! Don't cause trouble here!"

The two fellows retreated crestfallen, yet didn't forget to glare at each other, blaming each other for stealing their spot.

The Avengers weren't idle either, quickly getting into the groove of battle.

Tony flew at the highest altitude, responsible for clearing out the vanguard formation near the wormhole.

mark x went all out with firepower, taking turns with micro-missiles, repulsor rays, and wrist laser beams. Wherever he passed, enemy aircraft exploded one after another, looking just like fireworks.

While fighting, he didn't forget to complain through the communicator: "I say, Point Break boy! Can you please keep an eye on your brother! The bill for demolishing my building—I'll settle accounts with both of you after the fight!"

Thor swung his hammer to smash a flyer to pieces, lightning crashing down right after as he shouted loudly, "Once we catch Loki, you can dispose of him however you like!"

"You said it!" Tony chuckled, turning his head just in time to see a second Leviathan charging over with its maw wide open. He immediately accelerated to meet it, "A big guy has arrived! Who wants to join me in greeting it!"

"I'll take it!" Hulk's roar came from the ground; Banner had transformed after all.

The green giant leaped into the air, jumping a full dozens of meters high, and slammed a fist directly onto the top of the Leviathan's head. The giant beast let out an agonizing roar, crashing headfirst into a nearby empty office building. Dust and smoke soared into the sky, and half the building shook along with the impact.

Steve commanded and coordinated on the ground, his shield knocking away a Chitauri soldier and then smoothly catching the rebounding shield with a backhand, his movements as smooth as flowing water.

Natasha used a modified rifle to pick off the escaped enemies, occasionally shielding nearby civilians from stray bullets, her movements as deft as a cat.

"Squad on the left, cover civilians entering the subway! Squad on the right, push forward with me!" Steve's voice was transmitted through the communicator into the ears of every S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, steady and powerful. The previously chaotic defense line gradually stabilized.

Everyone was charging forward except for Logan, who stood in the middle of the street, leisurely putting on the magnetic field amplifier.

The surrounding Chitauri soldiers wanted to swarm over to pick up easy pickings, only to see him raise a hand and gently clench it.

"Hum—"

A pale blue magnetic field instantly expanded, enveloping the entire Fifth Avenue.

The two dozen or so Chitauri soldiers charging at the very front instantly froze in place. The metal armor on their bodies twisted, squeezed, and contracted out of control, being wrung into two dozen iron balls in barely two seconds. They clanged onto the ground and rolled far away.

Following closely behind, the dozen or so Chitauri flyers in mid-air were also gripped as if by an invisible giant hand, losing control one after another and spiraling downward.

With a flick of Logan's fingertips, all the flyers were simultaneously pulled by magnetism, crashing toward the same direction. A series of chain explosions bloomed into a brilliant cluster of fireballs, dyeing half the sky orange.

Logan curled his lips in boredom, looking up at the third Leviathan charging over with a roar.

The giant beast roared and spat out an energy blast. He raised his hand to erect a barrier using magnetism; the energy blast hit the barrier and bounced right back, blowing soot all over the Leviathan's face.

Logan leaped into the air, his left hand sliding down along the gaps in the giant beast's armor. The magnetism drilled in without a single loophole, tightly wringing the opponent's energy core.

"Get down here."

As his voice fell, he violently clenched his fist.

"Crack—"

A muffled cracking sound came from within the giant beast's body. The Leviathan's massive body stiffened abruptly, immediately losing all power and crashing heavily onto the ground, stirring up a sky full of dust and smoke while shaking the ground three times over.

A series of prompt sounds kept ringing in his mind. Loganlanded and patted the dust off his hands, feeling quite good.

At this monster-farming speed, if enough of them came, not only could his healing factor push to the Omega-level, but even his Magnetic Field Manipulation could rise to the Omega-level.

He looked up at the wormhole, where spaceships were still continuously pouring out, densely packed and endless, like a poked hornet's nest.

"Right on time." Logan loosened up his hands, "Saves me the trouble of hunting them down one by one."

The first wave of the Chitauri assault was quickly suppressed, and the scattered enemies on the streets were mostly cleared out.

Everyone gathered one after another downstairs at Stark Tower. Each of them bore a few minor injuries, yet every single one was spirited, not even wanting to waste a moment to catch their breath.

Tony took off his mask, his hair messed up like a bird's nest. Looking at the unrecognizable bottom floor of his building that had been bombed, he sucked in a breath of heartache: "My building... my limited-edition sculpture... Fury has to reimburse me! Full reimbursement! Emotional distress damages must be included too!"

Thor shook the dust off his hammer and laughed heartily, "That was a satisfying fight! The warriors of Midgard are much more formidable than I imagined! Afterwards, I'll treat you all to mead in Asgard!"

Steve walked up to Charles and Optimus Prime, solemnly saluting them with a military salute: "Thank you both. Without you, New York couldn't have been defended."

Charles smiled gently, "Protecting Earth is also the responsibility of the Mutants."

Optimus Prime nodded slightly, his voice steady: "When allies are in trouble, the Autobots will never stand idly by."

Logan leaned against a roadside streetlight pole with an unlit cigar clenched in his mouth, raising his chin to point toward the wormhole: "Don't rush to thank us yet. It's just an appetizer. The main force inside hasn't even come out yet."

Everyone followed his gaze and looked up. Deep within the wormhole, the silhouettes of a more massive fleet loomed faintly, their energy fluctuations growing stronger wave by wave.

The atmosphere grew heavy for just a second before Tonyscoffed and snapped his mask back on: "Bring it on, I'll take down however many come. It just so happens I haven't had enough testing of my newly developed cluster cannon yet."

"Exactly!" Hound clamped his cigar in his mouth, speaking in a muffled, rumbling voice, "My cannons aren't even fully warmed up yet! Ten more big bugs wouldn't be enough to fight!"

Iceman rubbed his hands together with an excited expression: "Bring on some more! I haven't even used the ice tornado I just practiced!"

Logan looked at this bunch of eager-to-try fellows and smiled, shaking his head.

With a flying dragon riding right into the opponent's face, he couldn't even fathom how they could possibly lose.

Chapter 97 Omega-level

On the top floor rooftop of Stark Tower, Loki stood beside the energy device gripping his scepter, his cape snapping loudly in the airflow.

He had originally been curling the corners of his lips with a winning look, waiting to hear the wails of humans and the deafening crash of the city collapsing, but after standing there for nearly half an hour, the commotion below was sounding increasingly wrong.

According to his expectations, with the Chitauri army pressing at the border, mere humans should have long since collapsed in disarray, crying and shouting to beg for surrender.

Yet the reality was that spaceships from the wormhole kept drilling through endlessly, and instead of hearing many screams from below, wave after wave of explosions and battle cries rang out—all of them screams from the Chitauri.

"What the hell is going on." Loki furrowed his brows tightly, took two steps forward, and looked down while holding onto the railing.

Manhattan within his field of vision bore no resemblance to the chaotic flight he had imagined.

On the streets, blue magnetic force, red laser beams, purple lightning, and orange flames intertwined into a net, and Chitauri aircraft fell down like dumplings, being blown into fireworks barely two seconds after drilling out of the wormhole.

Those dozen-meter-tall Leviathan beasts suffered an even more miserable fate, tumbling headfirst within three minutes of charging in, their heads either split apart by an axe or smashed into buildings by the Hulk, leaving not even a complete body behind.

"Trash! Complete trash!" Loki clenched the scepter in anger, his knuckles turning white. "Is the Chitauri Commandereating chaff for a living? They can't even beat a bunch of Midgardians?"

He had originally intended to rely on this army to secure his throne on Earth, but now look at it—people were harvesting them like leeks wave after wave, and no matter how many he sent to die, it made no difference from delivering their heads to their doorstep.

Gritting his teeth, he sent a message to the ChitauriCommander through the scepter, ordering the other party to dispatch a heavy fleet and concentrate firepower to smash through the defense line.

Yet half a minute after the order was issued, all that came back was crackling current static, without even a single response.

Loki: "?"

His face turned green with anger.

Was he really going to put in all that painstaking effort to seize the Tesseract, open the wormhole, and pull off such a massive spectacle, only to end up delivering XP packs to them?

On the streets below, Natasha was rapidly shuttling under the cover of the building structures.

She had just dealt with two stray Chitauri soldiers when Hill's voice came through her earpiece: "Agent Romanoff, Agent Barton is at the clock tower on 42nd Street, and he has been controlled. Be careful."

"Received." Natasha lowered her posture, vaulting a few times to dash to the back of the clock tower.

She climbed up against the wall with movements as light as a cat, and as soon as she reached the window, she heard the crisp sound of a bowstring tightening. An explosive arrow flew past her ear, nailing into the wall and exploding into a spray of sparks.

"Clint." Natasha stood at the window, looking at Hawkeyeinside with his bow drawn to the limit, her tone calm. "Wake up, you're being controlled."

Barton's eyes were hollow and expressionless. With a loosening of his fingers, another arrow shot out.

Natasha sidestepped to dodge it, smoothly rolling into the interior as the two instantly locked in close combat.

Hawkeye's combat skills were ruthless and fierce, with every move targeting vital points—completely treating her like an enemy.

Yet Natasha held back at every turn, only defending without delivering heavy blows, shouting his name as she fought.

"Don't waste your energy." Barton's voice was hoarse, the short blade in his hand stabbing straight toward her throat. "I am very lucid right now."

"Lucid my foot." Natasha sidestepped to dodge, her elbow slamming heavily against his wrist, causing the short blade to drop to the floor with a clatter. "Did you forget about Budapest? You said I owed you a life, and now I'm returning it to you."

As her words fell, she abruptly raised her leg to kick him in the chest, simultaneously reaching out to grab the back of his neck and slamming it hard against the concrete pillar beside them.

With a muffled thump, Barton's body went limp, and he shook his head. The hollowness in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by confusion and exhaustion.

He leaned against the pillar to catch his breath, looking up at Natasha with his voice still somewhat hoarse: "... Natasha? What am I..."

"You were controlled by Loki." Natasha handed him a gun. "You killed quite a few Agents; we'll settle this score later. Let's get to work first."

Barton took the gun, moving his stiff shoulders with a hint of guilt on his face: "Sorry."

"Alright." Natasha patted his arm. "Let's solve the trouble right in front of us first."

The two walked side by side toward the window, just wanting to check the battle situation below, when the explosions outside suddenly stopped.

Not just the explosions, but even the battle cries, the roaring of energy cannons, the buzzing of aircraft—all sounds belonging to the battlefield ceased abruptly in the exact same instant.

Barton and Natasha exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes, and hurriedly crowded to the window to look down.

At this look, both of them were stunned.

High in the air, Logan floated quietly beneath the clouds, his body surrounded by a pale blue magnetic halo like an invisible veil, shrouding the entire city within it.

He closed his eyes, his fingertips drooping slightly, while the system prompt tones in his mind kept ringing ding-ding-dong continuously:

'Detected...'

The numbers jumped rapidly, shooting upward like a stopwatch, watching as the total steadily broke through the sixty-thousand mark.

"Sixty thousand." Logan chanted silently in his heart, "Enough."

He had accumulated forty thousand from fighting Vampires previously, and this wave of Chitauri delivered over twenty thousand, just enough to make up the total.

'Do you wish to consume 60,000 points to upgrade [Magnetic Field Manipulation] to Omega-level?'

"Yes."

The moment the order was given, an indescribable power surged out from the depths of his body.

It was not an explosive sense of impact, but a silent and pervasive sense of fulfillment.

The magnetic field that could originally only cover a few streets instantly spread outward like ripples blown open by the wind, crossing the high-rises of Manhattan, crossing the East River, crossing the rooftops of Queens, wrapping the entire New York City inside it.

He could'see' the position of every piece of metal, could 'touch' the metal framework of every aircraft, and could clearly perceive the steel bars underground, the steel pipes in the buildings, and the armor on the soldiers. Everything magnetic or iron-containing was within his perception, like chess pieces on a chessboard, entirely at his disposal.

"So this is Omega-level." Logan opened his eyes, a trace of extremely faint blue light flashing across the depths of his eyes, so fast it seemed like an illusion.

He had no Earth-shattering roar, nor any posture of gathering strength; he simply lifted his right hand gently and then slowly clenched his fist.

"Hum—"

The air trembled slightly.

The next second, the Chitauri army throughout all of New York City simultaneously met their doom.

High in the air, the Chitauri aircraft lining up to drill out of the wormhole suddenly stiffened in place collectively.

The metal armor of the fuselage uncontrollably dented, twisted, and squeezed inward, and the soldiers inside the cabin didn't even manage to let out a scream before they were wrung into balls of scrap metal along with the fuselage. Dozens upon hundreds of aircraft deformed simultaneously, like soda cans clutched by an invisible giant hand, falling toward the ground with a crackling clatter and exploding into balls of fire across the sky before even hitting the ground.

Those few Leviathan beasts roaring forward suffered an even more miserable fate.

Their massive metal skeletons began to twist from the inside, the armor at their spines, ribs, and joints snapping and tangling inch by inch, and their originally dozens-of-meters-long bodies were forcibly twisted into a braided dough-twist shape.

The giant beasts let out painful whimpers, but the sounds were crushed the moment they reached their throats, and their massive bodies slammed heavily down from mid-air, crashing into the open space and kicking up a sky full of dust and smoke, unable to even struggle for a moment.

The ground was even more exaggerated.

The armor on the Chitauri soldiers who were charging forward with guns suddenly began to contract.

Helmets, breastplates, greaves—all metal components squeezed inward simultaneously, crushing the biological bodies inside to smithereens.

Soldiers fell in droves, turning into pools of foul blood wrapped in metal debris, leaving not even a complete corpse behind.

Those reinforcement troops who had just jumped out of the transport planes were even more unlucky; the entire transport plane was wrung into an iron ball by magnetism, and the people inside didn't even get a chance to show their faces, turning straight into scrap metal along with the spacecraft.

In barely two or three seconds.

The Chitauri army that was previously dense and endless had just vanished cleanly like this.

There was no buzzing of aircraft in the air and no roaring of soldiers on the ground, leaving only the sound of wind blowing through the streets, along with a few sporadic aftershocks of explosions.

The entire battlefield was ridiculously quiet.

Everyone stopped.

Tony flew in mid-air, his palm repulsor still glowing, maintaining a shooting posture. The mouth beneath his mask was wide open, failing to close for a long time.

He had originally been chased and beaten by three aircraft and was preparing to unleash a unibeam to counterattack, but with a blur before his eyes, those three planes directly twisted into an iron lump and smashed downward.

"Holy shit..." He muttered, looking down at the hovering figure in the center of the street. "This guy... isn't he hiding a bit too deep?"

Thor raised his hammer, just about to strike down with a bolt of lightning, when the Leviathan in front of him directly twisted into a dough-twist shape and crashed right beside his feet.

AI Model: gemini-3.5-flash

His Highness Thor maintained his hammer-swinging posture, stunned for a long moment before looking down at his mjolnir, then looking up at Logan, clicking his tongue, "Odin above... this power is even more exaggerated than Heimdall's vision."

Steve raised his shield, having just deflected an energy blast and preparing to charge, when the Chitauri soldiers opposite him were suddenly compressed into a ball of scrap metal.

He lowered his shield, looking at the metal debris covering the ground, and then up at the light blue figure in mid-air. His Adam's apple bobbed, but he was speechless for a long time.

He knew Logan was strong, but he had never imagined he could be strong to this extent.

One man, destroying an entire army.

This was no longer something that could be described by the word'strong'.

The X-Men's side also fell completely silent.

Scott's optic blast was still charging in his eyes, forgotten to be fired.

Ororo's hand was raised halfway, and the dark clouds had already gathered, but the enemies were gone. She froze in mid-air, her white hair blowing wildly in the wind.

Colossus maintained his punching posture, but the enemies in front of his fist had already been crushed into metal pancakes.

Iceman and Pyro stood with their mouths agape, completely forgetting to bicker.

Charles sat in his wheelchair, his deep blue eyes filled with shock, even losing himself for a brief moment.

He was the one who knew best what an Omega-levelMutant meant.

Every Omega-level existence possessed the power to rewrite the course of a battle, or even overthrow civilizations.

He had always known Logan had immense potential, with an unfathomable Healing Factor and rapid progress in Magnetic Field Manipulation, but he had never expected him to break through directly to Omega-level during this battle.

"Omega-level..." Charles murmured to himself, his tone filled with awe. "He actually made it to this step."

Jean stood beside him, the telekinetic aura around her body fluctuating unsteadily.

She could clearly feel that magnetic force enveloping the entire city—heavy, majestic, unfathomable, like a boundless ocean.

She considered her own telekinesis to be strong, but compared to this power, it was like a stream meeting a vast ocean.

Within the Autobots' camp, there was an even deeper dead silence.

Optimus Prime's grip on his Energon Axe tightened, his optics flickering.

He had seen Cybertron's top warriors and the power of the Primes, but he had never seen any carbon-based lifeform possess such terrifying global control.

"Is this... the power of humanity?" he said softly, his tone filled with respect.

The energon cigars in the mouths of Ironhide and Hounddropped. The two stared with wide eyes at the Chitauriscrap metal covering the ground, then at the figure in mid-air, unable to squeeze out a single word for a long time.

Just moments ago, they were competing over who could blow up more enemies. Now, with just one move from him, everything was cleared out, not leaving even a single straggler for them.

"...Simply ridiculous," Hound said in a muffled, rumbling voice.

Ironhide, for once, didn't argue, nodding in agreement. "Indeed."

Sideswipe and Drift sheathed their blades, looking at each other.

They were just competing over who had shot down more flyers, but now, that comparison felt like child's play.

Bumblebee flashed his headlights, emitting a few beeping electronic sounds as if in awe.

Skids and Mudflap were completely dumbfounded, standing there looking at each other, forgetting even to bicker over their positions.

The internet exploded even more.

The streamer holding up an Astral phone to livestream had a shaky camera as he frantically dodged artillery fire, but the screen suddenly went dead quiet as the alien spaceships filling the sky completely vanished.

The streamer was dumbfounded. Holding up his phone, he panned it around the sky, then around the ground, stammering, "...G-gone? Where are the aliens? How are they all gone?"

The bullet comments were lagging like a slideshow, densely packed with exclamation marks:

"Holy crap??? What happened? I blinked and the enemies are gone??"

"It's Wolverine! He did it, right?! I saw a blue light just now!"

"One person wiping out an entire alien fleet? Is this fucking power that a human can possess??"

"Omega-level! This is absolutely an Omega-level Mutant! A textbook-level of global control!"

"Who said before that Wolverine was just 'a bit strong'? Come out and get beaten! You call this a bit strong? This is a god!"

"My mom asked me why I'm watching the livestream on my knees..."

The number of viewers in the stream room surged like crazy, quickly breaking fifty million. The Astral server lagged for a full three minutes, and the entire technical department worked overtime to expand capacity, busy beyond belief.

On the rooftop of Stark Tower, Loki froze completely.

He almost lost his grip on the scepter in his hand. Looking at the spotless battlefield below, and then at the light blue figure in mid-air, his mind went completely blank.

How is this possible?

That was the Chitauri vanguard fleet! Three entire fleets! And heavy Leviathans! How could they be gone in just a few seconds?

A human?

Just one human?

He stumbled back half a step, bumping into the energy device behind him with a loud clang, before suddenly snapping back to his senses.

No, something must have gone wrong.

It was because the Chitauri were too useless, not because his plan was wrong.

Gritting his teeth, he tried to contact the main fleet in the rear through his scepter to have them intensify their offensive, but there was only static crackling in the communication channel. The other side seemed to have been scared out of their wits, not even daring to respond.

Loki's face turned pale and green in turns.

He had originally come to be the King of Midgard, but now he had ended up as a free meal, unable to withstand even a single move from them.

Run?

The thought had just arisen before being suppressed by him. No, he was the Prince of Asgard, Loki Odinson! How could he flee in panic?

But staying... even if he stayed, he couldn't win!

For the first time, the God of Mischief fell into a dilemma. Standing on the rooftop, unable to advance or retreat, even his cape seemed to droop listlessly.

In mid-air, Logan slowly descended to the ground.

As the blue light dissipated, he patted the non-existent dust off his hands, acting as if nothing had happened.

Everyone around was staring at him with eyes full of shock, awe, and admiration. Countless gazes converged on him, yet he didn't feel the slightest bit of discomfort, casually kicking a crushed ball of metal by his feet.

"What are you looking at me for?" He raised his chin, pointing in the direction of Stark Tower. "The wormhole is still open, and Loki is still up there."

Only then did everyone snap out of it.

That's right, there's still the wormhole! And Loki!

Tony was the first to react, soaring into the sky. "I'm going to grab that green-skinned dwarf! He dared to tear down my building; today I'm definitely snapping those horns off his head!"

Thor also flew up after him. "Wait for me! I'm going with you! That's my brother! If there's to be punishment, I must be the first to deliver it!"

The two went up to the rooftop, bickering all the way.

Steve immediately organized personnel to clear the scene, evacuate civilians, and treat the wounded.

Natasha and Barton re-occupied high vantage points to watch out for any stragglers.

Charles directed the X-Men to help search and rescue civilians trapped in the buildings.

Optimus Prime also ordered the Autobots to help clear roadblocks and reinforce damaged buildings.

The once dead-silent battlefield became lively again, but this time, there was no smell of gunpowder, only the relief of surviving a disaster.

Charles rolled his wheelchair over to Logan, his eyes filled with gratification and wonder. "Logan, congratulations. Omega-level, I knew you could do it."

"Just a coincidence." Logan shrugged, his tone nonchalant. "I just happened to feel it, so I leveled up."

Felt it?

Charles was stunned for a moment. What a foreign concept; he had lived for more than half his life and had never felt such a thing.

"In any case, you saved this city," Charles smiled warmly, "and you saved countless lives."

Logan didn't reply, looking up in the direction of the wormhole.

No more spaceships were emerging from the hole; presumably, the Chitauri had been scared off and dared not come over again.

He flexed his fingers. The Omega-level magnetic force was still slowly circulating within his body, and his sense of control was stronger than ever before.

"Alright, stop crowding around me." He waved his hand at the onlookers. "Go do what you need to do. The wormhole still needs to be closed, and there's still a mess to clean up."

Though he said so, the people around still looked at him with eyes full of awe.

One person destroying an entire army.

No one would believe such a thing if told, yet it had unfolded right before their eyes.

Logan, however, didn't have any awareness of being possessed by a god. He slowly pulled a cigar from his pocket and lit it, calculating in his mind:

Having spent sixty thousand points to upgrade Magnetic Field Manipulation, the remaining points were still enough to raise his Healing Factor to Omega-level as well.

Once the wormhole was closed, he would look for any stray Chitauri to gather more points, aiming to upgrade his Healing Factor tonight as well.