What was the Mechanical Tide?
It was endless. Boundless. Limitless.
From every direction, an ocean of mechanical war machines surged into the battlefield.
The storm of firepower that followed was overwhelming so fierce that it halted the Chitauri's rampage in an instant.
Though the alien invaders were vast in number, they had long scattered across the city. Those remaining in the heart of New York were only a fraction of their true force.
Yet even this small fraction was enough to plunge the city into hell.
The sheer scale of the interstellar war was beyond imagination. For the first time, countless people witnessed what true destruction looked like a battle between flesh and metal, between humanity's creations and the horrors of the cosmos.
Each model of robot fought with precise, unrelenting efficiency. Their only common trait was the absence of emotion or fear only cold, mechanical obedience to the command to attack.
Nolan stood amid this storm of steel and fire, his expression unreadable as mechanical legions roared past him.
Tony Stark and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the tide.
Atop Stark Tower, Loki watched the sudden arrival of the mechanical army. His face twisted into a grimace not of fear, but irritation.
Yes, this was unexpected. But in his mind, the final victory was already assured.
No matter what tricks the mortals used, the Chitauri would prevail.
And yet… he couldn't help feeling annoyed.
Even knowing the Chitauri's power, he found it infuriating that his grand invasion had been met by a swarm of mindless machines.
Thor, watching from the other side, allowed himself a faint grin.
"So, brother," he shouted through the storm, "what's your plan now?"
He laughed thunderously. "Your army looks pitiful they're getting torn apart by a bunch of scrap metal! Is this the glorious war you dreamed of?"
Loki glared back at him, his voice sharp with fury.
"You understand nothing, Thor! You have no idea how powerful the Chitauri truly are. This insignificant planet has no chance of victory!"
Thor frowned. His brother's tone was too calm, too certain. That alone was troubling.
Down below, the battlefield raged on. The arrival of the mechanical legions had turned the tide, stabilizing what had moments ago been a desperate struggle.
But Nolan knew balance was fleeting. The machines were strong but not infinite. Their numbers were already dwindling under the constant assault.
He understood this better than anyone.
The units currently deployed were only reserve forces from Rock Technologies, automated systems designed for rapid response.
He still had his trump cards but some were too dangerous to reveal.
Because once he did, all the trust he had built over the years would shatter.
If people discovered the extent of his control, the backdoors hidden in every product he'd ever sold, the entire world would turn against him. His carefully crafted image the hero, the genius, the savior would crumble overnight.
And that was something Nolan Lock could not allow.
This battle in New York wasn't meant to destroy his reputation it was his opportunity to elevate it.
So while the mechanical army kept the frontlines in check, the true key to victory lay elsewhere: closing the Tesseract and severing the Chitauri's control link.
"We need to shut down the Tesseract," Tony Stark said firmly.
Nolan nodded. "Exactly. That's the real objective."
The others caught on immediately. With the machines buying them time, their job was to strike at the source not waste energy in a war of attrition.
The team sprang into motion.
The Hulk roared, leaping across the rooftops toward Stark Tower.
Tony activated the Hulkbuster's thrusters, his massive suit rising into the air.
Nolan exchanged a brief smile with Steve Rogers and Hawkeye, then engaged his jet boosters, vanishing into the smoke ahead.
The two men glanced at each other and sighed.
"Can't compete with that," Steve muttered.
Without flight gear, their only option was to improvise. A moment later, both of them hijacked Chitauri hovercrafts and sped toward the tower.
Tony reached Stark Tower first and froze.
The scene was strange.
Thor seemed trapped inside some kind of invisible field, while Natasha was fighting off Chitauri soldiers below instead of completing her mission.
"Tony!" Natasha shouted when she spotted him. "We can't get through! The whole tower is sealed off by some kind of barrier!"
Tony frowned. "Magic?"
He knew Asgardians were capable of it Nolan had even told him about the Ancient One.
Without hesitation, Tony fired a repulsor blast directly at the air above the tower.
BOOM!
A ripple shimmered across the air like disturbed water but quickly faded.
"Alright, plan B," he muttered.
He charged the Hulkbuster's servos and slammed full force into the invisible wall.
The ground shook with the impact.
Again and again, he rammed into the barrier, leaving massive ripples of distorted light but no breakthrough.
Watching from above, Loki smirked. "That's Earth's smartest man? How disappointing."
Thor's brow furrowed, lightning flashing across his hammer. "Enough!"
He swung Mjolnir with all his might, and thunder exploded across the barrier. For the first time, Loki's grin faltered the attack had actually worked.
But the shield held.
Loki exhaled, regaining his composure. "Brother, one more swing like that, and you'll kill yourself before you even scratch it."
Thor glared at him, his fury growing.
Tony was already analyzing the readings, while the Hulk pounded the barrier in frustration, roaring louder with every failed attempt. His muscles swelled, his form growing even larger yet the barrier remained unbroken.
"There has to be another way," Tony muttered.
"There is," Nolan said dryly. "Magic."
He rolled his eyes inwardly. Loki wasn't a fool his barrier was formidable.
As they debated, Loki appeared before them, his figure materializing with a smug smile.
"You pathetic insects dare challenge the might of the greatest sorcerer in the Nine Realms?" he sneered. "You can't even touch me."
Tony's face darkened.
The Hulk roared again and lunged, slamming his fists down but hit nothing.
Loki laughed, looking at him like one might regard a dumb animal.
"No one can stop me," he said coldly. "But I'm merciful. Kneel, and I may allow you to serve me when this world falls."
He paused, his eyes glinting with malice. "Except you, Tony Stark. You can die first."
Nolan spoke suddenly. "If I surrender right now, will you let me in?"
Loki blinked, momentarily thrown off.
"…No," he said cautiously.
He wasn't about to fall for the same tricks Thor always did.
Nolan shrugged. "Didn't think so. You're not even half the man your brother is. At least Thor has muscles."
Loki's expression twisted in rage, but he didn't move. Victory, in his mind, was already his. All he had to do was wait.
Nolan sighed. "Fine. If magic won't solve it… I'll use brute force."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "We don't exactly have that kind of firepower."
Nolan's lips curved into a grin. "Don't we? Tony, remember that big toy I told you about?"
Tony's eyes widened. "No way. You're actually deploying it?"
"Time to make history."
Back at the Hive Base, alarms blared through the facility.
Nolan stood before an enormous mech the Titan Armor.
"It's time," he whispered.
The Titan's cockpit opened, and Nolan stepped inside. The hatch sealed shut, and with a deep mechanical hum, the massive machine stood tall, towering like a steel god.
"Evacuate sectors C3, D5, and T1," Red Queen's voice echoed through the base. "All personnel, clear the launch zone."
The ceiling panels split open, revealing the night sky.
The Titan's engines roared to life, and the ground trembled as it ascended through the clouds.
From above, its sensors locked onto targets across the city.
Then launch.
Dozens of missiles erupted from its shoulders, splitting midair into hundreds of warheads.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The explosions lit up the sky, vaporizing everything in their path. When the smoke finally cleared, not a single Chitauri remained in sight.
Inside the cockpit, Nolan smiled faintly.
This… was power.
He hadn't wanted to use the Titan Arsenal its energy consumption was monstrous, and even with his upgraded arc reactors, its cost was astronomical.
Every launch, every missile, every plasma round came directly from the system's inventory each deployment costing him over a million dollars.
But as he gripped the controls, feeling the sheer might of the Titan respond to his will, he couldn't deny it.
Having this kind of power felt damn good.
Back at the tower, Loki continued his mockery, unaware of what approached. "Whatever schemes you have are meaningless," he sneered.
Tony smirked. "Oh, you're about to eat those words."
Loki frowned. "What "
Then he saw it.
A shadow blotted out the sky.
A colossal machine descended, obliterating everything in its path.
Before Loki could react, two apocalyptic missile pods on the Titan's shoulders opened and fired.
The world turned white.
The heavens themselves roared.
And the so-called god of mischief finally understood what true terror meant.
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