Aboard the Helicarrier.
Fury watched through the satellite feed as the nuclear missile detonated in space and saw Li Ming standing respectfully before a figure clad in yellow monastic robes. His mood lightened considerably.
At the same time, Fury pondered the identity of this robed figure.
Apart from discerning from the communicator that it was a female Wizard, he had no other clues. Could she be the elusive Ancient One, whose name was known but whose face was rarely seen?
Before long, Fury felt another headache coming on. The nuclear crisis might be over, but judging from the female Wizard's words, as long as Li Ming didn't wreak havoc on New York, she wouldn't interfere with anything else.
That was downright terrifying.
For the first time, Fury found the Wizards' Teleportation gate utterly nauseating—especially in the hands of one capable of conjuring nuclear explosions at will. How was he supposed to defend against that? It was practically impossible.
Massaging his temples, Fury strode out of the command center with a dark expression, heading to the deck for some sea air to cool his head. He also needed to figure out how to placate Li Ming.
At the very least, Austin couldn't be allowed to stir up trouble at this critical juncture—not until Coulson was revived. Then they could discuss other matters.
Nearby, Hill noticed Fury leaving the command center as if in a daze. After a moment's thought, she followed him. Once they reached the edge of the deck, Hill glanced around to ensure no one was nearby before whispering, "Sir, how do you plan to handle that idiot Wizard?"
"Idiot?" Fury gave Hill a strange look, shaking his head with a bitter smile. "In novels or films, Wizards are described as powerful, wise, and so on. But have you ever heard one called an 'idiot'?"
Hill narrowed her eyes, deep in thought. "Are you saying Austin has been playing the fool in front of us all along?"
Fury nodded, tapping his temple. "The so-called 'idiot Wizard' you mentioned learned to conjure nuclear explosions through self-study and a few days of lessons from Banner. Could you build a nuke just by buying a few books from a store?"
Hill pondered for a moment, her eye twitching slightly as she realized she'd been played for a fool by Li Ming. She shook her head—she was no genius like Stark, capable of crafting a nuke just by reading a few books. What a joke.
If everyone had that kind of talent, the government would immediately classify all nuclear physics books as forbidden literature, banning public access—reserved only for authorized personnel.
This was a nuclear bomb they were talking about. If homemade nukes became a thing in a country where firearms were already loosely regulated, who knew what kind of chaos would ensue?
"That's just one example of Austin pretending to be a fool," Fury sighed, continuing, "So far, we've only encountered two Wizards—Loki and Austin. They're the only ones we can compare."
"Do you think Loki is an idiot?" Fury suddenly asked.Hill shook her head. Before, she might not have thought much of Loki, but now that the Chitauri incident was over, reflecting on Loki's actions painted a different picture.
From the moment Loki revealed himself, S.H.I.E.L.D. had already fallen into his schemes.
Barton was an obvious example—directly controlled by Loki. If not for Li Ming stepping in to break the spell, the Avengers would have had to deal with Barton during the Chitauri invasion.
Then there was Banner. While imprisoned, Loki had provoked Banner with his words. Though Banner held back, the suppressed rage left Hulk on the verge of emerging. If not for Li Ming—who could suppress Hulk—being aboard the Helicarrier, Hill might have immediately advised Fury to lock Banner up and let him vent his pent-up fury.
As for Stark and Steve, though it was unclear how Loki managed it, their heated arguments made it obvious they couldn't stand each other.
Finally, there was Natasha. A spy who should have operated in the shadows, she abruptly changed tactics after interrogating Loki and chose to fight on the front lines.
If anyone claimed Natasha's shift had nothing to do with Loki, Hill would consider it an insult to their intelligence.
In short, Loki alone had altered every member of the Avengers in a short span of time.
During the Chitauri invasion, Hill also realized the sheer terror of their forces and the Leviathans. Without Li Ming, the remaining Avengers would have struggled to win.
Even if they had eventually triumphed, the superheroes would have been left exhausted or dead.
And to call the mastermind behind all this a fool? Who would believe that?
If not for Li Ming—who remained unaffected by Loki and even turned the tide with his own army—the outcome could have been very different.
Come to think of it, did this mean Austin had outmaneuvered Loki? Was he the smarter one?
Noticing Hill deep in thought, Fury chuckled softly. "Seems like you've figured something out."
"Loki didn't avoid scheming against Austin—I suspect he simply couldn't," Fury paused, then turned to gaze at the churning sea. "Loki and Austin didn't just clash today. They fought in New Mexico last year."
"When Loki plotted for the throne, how would you assess his plan?"
Hill pondered, crossing her arms. "First, he deceived Thor with lies, stripping him of his ambition to fight or claim the throne—even his resolve to wield Mjolnir. Then he sent the Destroyer to kill Thor, eliminating any future threats."
After analyzing Loki's scheme, Hill nodded solemnly. "The success rate was quite high, except—"
Fury cut in, "Except he didn't account for Austin's ability to delay the Destroyer, giving Thor time to awaken his kingly heart—and ultimately reclaim his Thunder God powers?"Hill nodded as Fury continued, "This time, Loki's plan was essentially thwarted by Austin. You saw how many Chitauri soldiers were deployed. Without Austin's army of Dementors blocking the Teleportation gate, the Avengers would've been exhausted long before seeing any hope of victory."
At this point, Fury gritted his teeth as if constipated and added, "Loki probably never expected Austin to actually make the Statue of Liberty join the fight."
By the end, recalling the sight of two miniature Statues of Liberty high-fiving in the streets, Fury couldn't help but curse, "And damn it, there wasn't just one Statue of Liberty either."
The corner of Hill's mouth twitched as she quietly added, "Not to mention the Iron Eagle from the Empire State Building."
"Yeah, and the Iron Eagle... Maybe this still isn't the full extent of Austin's power." Fury rubbed his temples. "A Wizard who's repeatedly ruined Loki's plans—do you really think he's an idiot?"
Glancing at Hill, Fury muttered, "When you treat others as fools, you're the one who ends up looking like an idiot in their eyes."
"So, in Austin's eyes, we're the real idiots?" Hill shot Fury a resentful look for his roundabout insult and asked, "About rebuilding New York—do you still want Austin to help? After all, he did restore Stark Tower in just ten minutes before."
"I've already sent Steve to handle it," Fury shook his head. "Hopefully, given how well Austin treated Steve before, he'll agree to help."
Meanwhile, after having his bluff called by the Ancient One, Li Ming squatted miserably on the edge of a rooftop, looking like a heartbroken man who just wanted to be left alone with his thoughts.
Damn it, threatening Fury turned into a farce... So embarrassing.
Steve walked up to Li Ming and, gazing at the ruins of New York—with only Stark Tower still relatively intact—asked, "Can you use magic to restore the city?"
Li Ming turned his head to survey the surroundings, rolled his eyes, and snapped breathlessly, "Holy crap, Cap! Do you have it out for me? Trying to work me to death?" Pointing at the collapsed buildings in the distance, his lips trembling, he added, "At my current magical capacity, even if I worked nonstop without eating or drinking, it'd still take me a month just to restore the buildings."
Hearing this, Steve actually sighed in relief. If it could be restored, that was good enough—a month was much faster and cheaper than rebuilding from scratch.
"No rush," Steve patted Li Ming's shoulder encouragingly. "Take your time. It'll be good practice for your spells."
Li Ming stared at Steve speechlessly before retorting irritably, "One second I'm threatening to blow up New York, the next you want me to rebuild it? What kind of logic is that, Cap?"
Steve shrugged nonchalantly. "Different matters entirely. Besides, you didn't actually blow up New York, did you?"
Li Ming paused, realizing Steve still didn't seem to believe he would've done it.
If not for the Sanctum in New York, wanna bet whether I'd have blown it up or not?Scratching his head, Li Ming sized up Steve, who was in the midst of a righteous "Man of God" moment, and after some thought, said, "I don't have the time or energy to rebuild New York, but you could just make a wish."
The mention of a wish made Steve's eyes light up as he chuckled, "I almost forgot about that Genie Lamp."
With that, Steve reached out his hand to ask for the lamp, saying, "I owe you one."
Li Ming smirked. Having the "Man of God" owe him a favor seemed pretty good on the surface, but getting him to actually repay it would be tough.
First off, illegal requests were out of the question—Steve would absolutely refuse. Secondly, anything morally questionable was also a no-go.
Was this really about asking Steve for help? More like finding an excuse to have him play ethics teacher, constantly lecturing in your ear.
After some consideration, Li Ming pulled the Genie Lamp from his satchel and said, "I don't need your favor. Just make sure Fury delivers the guy who ordered the nuke launch to me."
Steve nodded. Even without Li Ming's request, he'd planned to confront Fury about this. No matter how deep the conspiracy ran, he owed it to the people of New York—who'd nearly been reduced to ashes—to demand justice.
Especially since this mess had almost cost Odin his lineage. One misstep could've sparked an interstellar war. There was no such thing as being too cautious about this.
Seeing Steve eagerly about to rub the lamp, Li Ming hastily retreated into Stark Tower on his dark cloud. If Jafar spotted him there, he'd probably spit at him instead of granting Steve's wish.
Genies couldn't harm humans, but spitting wasn't harmful—just humiliating.
At that moment, Stark was sitting at the bar icing his wounds. When Li Ming barged in looking panicked, Stark glanced behind him, wondering if the bald woman had returned—why else would Li Ming be so scared?
Seeing nothing behind Li Ming, Stark was about to ask, "What's wrong?" when suddenly, a creature with a red humanoid upper body and a swirling smoke lower half appeared before Steve.
Startled, Stark immediately shouted, "Jarvis, where's my battle suit?!"
Perhaps the commotion from Steve's wish was too loud, because the resting Avengers at the bar abandoned Loki—still in his special shackles—and rushed to Steve's side, weapons in hand.
But what they saw next left them stunned.
The scale of the Chitauri invasion wasn't massive, but it wasn't small either.
Compared to the movies, the number of Chitauri soldiers New York faced this time was much smaller. After all, even the Dementors had admitted they were full—they probably wouldn't need to feed for another year or so.It was clear how many Chitauri soldiers had been intercepted by the Dementors, rather than how many mistakes they had made.
Because of this, far fewer civilians were killed by the Chitauri compared to the movie.
However, unlike the handful of Leviathans seen in the film, Li Ming had angered the Chitauri commander into deploying all of their Leviathans this time.
The destruction caused by these massive creatures was far more severe than in the movie.
As a result, after Steve made his wish, the scene of Jafar restoring the buildings was nothing short of astonishing.
The entire city was filled with floating ribbons made of shattered building fragments.
As chunks of concrete, steel, and other debris returned to their original positions like swallows returning to their nests, one skyscraper after another—previously collapsed at the waist—stood tall again before everyone's eyes.
During this, some brave civilians ventured out of the shelters and onto the streets to witness the surreal sight of buildings reassembling as if time were rewinding.
Only after confirming that the collapsed and cratered ground had fully restored to its original state did Steve finally relax. He removed the communicator from his ear, bowed to Jafar in gratitude, and said in fluent English, "Thank you, Mr. Genie. Now, please return to the Genie Lamp."
Jafar frowned, sighed, and then retreated into the lamp.
As for why Jafar sighed, Steve understood perfectly well—it was simply the Genie's desire for freedom. But even if Steve wanted to help, he was powerless.
First, he wasn't the owner of the Genie Lamp and had no authority to release Jafar.
Second, he didn't know Arabic. Hadn't it been obvious that he needed to call for external help just to make a wish? How was he supposed to grant Jafar freedom in Arabic?
Once the Genie had returned to the lamp, Stark, standing nearby, stroked his chin and circled the lamp curiously. "What is this? What kind of creature is inside?"
"Ever heard of the story of Aladdin's lamp?" Steve explained somewhat helplessly to the group.
Meanwhile, at the bar counter, Loki lounged diagonally across from Li Ming, smirking as he said, "You've fooled everyone. They think you were just bluffing with the nuclear threat, but I can tell—you genuinely don't care."
I've long become the kind of person I once despised—why would I care about New York? Li Ming glanced at Loki, casually grabbing the nearest bottle from the liquor cabinet and pouring drinks for himself and Loki. As he did, he remarked, "What's your point? Since your invasion failed, are you here to say, 'I'll be back'?"
Loki's lips twitched. He picked up a glass, took a sip to steady himself, and said with a roll of his eyes, "Do I look stupid to you?" After another sip, he added, "Others might not realize just how powerful that Wizard who told you to behave really is, but I've glimpsed a fraction of his strength. Do I seem like someone who enjoys being tortured?"
Li Ming swirled his glass thoughtfully and nodded. "Actually, yes. Otherwise, why do you keep provoking your brother? You just love it when Thor smacks you in the chest with his little hammer."
Damn it, that's Mjolnir—it could kill someone! Loki felt there was no reasoning with Li Ming. The man's ability to infuriate was too strong; Loki was more likely to have a stroke from frustration before extracting any useful information.
Taking a few deep breaths internally, Loki fixed his gaze on the pendant around Li Ming's neck. "What exactly is the energy source from my staff?"
Before Li Ming could spin some lie, Loki gritted his teeth and said, "Earlier, when I controlled Stark, I sensed something off about the staff. Then, when the Ancient One mentioned the pendant, it clicked—my staff was in your hands for a while. I'm certain you swapped out its energy core."
"I know you. You wouldn't face me unless there was something in it for you," Loki continued, adopting a knowing tone. "Just like in New Mexico, where you got your hands on the Uru metal from the Destroyer. This time, your goal was the energy source in my staff."Loki glanced at Li Ming's single-strap bag, then shook the shackles on his wrists to indicate his current status as a prisoner. He whispered, "I'm not asking you to return my power source—after all, it's your spoils of war. I'm just curious, what exactly is that thing?"
Loki's lengthy speech made Li Ming's murderous intent flare up, especially since Loki's strength was currently sealed by the shackles—this was a rare opportunity.
But when Li Ming glanced at the others still examining the Genie Lamp, his expression turned gloomy. If Loki dies, Thor would probably chop me to pieces immediately. At the end of the day, I'm just too weak—can't even fight a god properly.
This life is impossible. Frowning deeply, Li Ming thought for a moment before mysteriously leaning in close to Loki and whispering, "Ever heard of the Mind Stone?"
"One of the Infinity Stones—of course I know of it," Loki replied, looking at Li Ming with slight surprise before subtly pointing at the necklace. "Is this the Mind Stone?"
The essence of a good lie was nine parts truth and one part falsehood—with the falsehood being the key.
Li Ming rolled his eyes disdainfully. "What kind of eyesight do you have? If this were the Mind Stone, do you think someone as weak as me would dare wear it around my neck? That'd be suicide."
Loki had to admit that made sense. Not to boast, but he genuinely looked down on Li Ming's strength. Without the shackles, he could crush Li Ming with a single finger—even if all those Dementors ganged up on him, it wouldn't matter.
Sure, the Dementors might seem invincible against the Chitauri, but if Thor hadn't been playing hide-and-seek with him, forcing him to stay grounded instead of tearing the Dementors apart mid-air, the tide of battle might have turned.
At this thought, Loki blinked in confusion. "What are you getting at?"
Li Ming shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "This thing is a high-quality replica of the Mind Stone. Since you've used it, you should know it boosts your mental strength and enhances your control-based spells."
"The real Mind Stone contains immense energy," Li Ming lied, narrowing his eyes. "But does this feel like it has that kind of power to you?"
Loki thought for a moment, then shook his head.
Seeing this, Li Ming internally sighed in relief. Looks like my guess was right—the Mind Stone's energy is mostly sealed by Thanos. No way someone at Loki's level could sense it.
"So, if a mage of your caliber can get a mental boost from this thing, imagine what it could do for me?" Li Ming raised an eyebrow, grinning. "Worth scheming over, don't you think?"
Though Loki felt there was logic to Li Ming's words, something still felt off. Suddenly, he snapped his gaze back to Li Ming. "Wait—how do you know this is a replica of the Mind Stone?"
Every time he opens his mouth, my brain cells have to work overtime. Good thing I already thought of how to cover this up.
Li Ming gave Loki a disdainful look. "Just because you're a god doesn't mean you're good at everything. Some things require innate talent—like—"As he spoke, Li Ming casually held a floating water sphere. When Loki exclaimed in surprise, "Time magic!" Li Ming withdrew the time stop spell and then conjured a 3D projection-like image before them.
Loki heard his own conversation with Stark in the projection and saw the scene where he had attempted to control Stark. Turning to scrutinize Li Ming, he asked, "Can you see the past and future?"
Seeing Li Ming nod, Loki half-doubted and half-affirmed, "So you saw that the thing in my staff is a high-quality imitation of the Mind Stone?"
Pausing, Loki grabbed Li Ming's hand and used his remaining divine power to cast a truth-detecting spell, saying, "I need to know if you're lying."
Li Ming glanced at his hand, now glowing with magical light, tilted his head in thought, and said, "I saw this stone being destroyed by an Earthling in the future." He added after a moment, "And the one who destroyed it wasn't even a Wizard—just a superhuman who could be killed with a gun."
This isn't a lie, Li Ming thought to himself, because in Avengers: Infinity War, the Mind Stone was indeed destroyed by an Earthling, though Thanos later restored it using time.
Loki observed that his spell showed no reaction. Considering that an Infinity Stone couldn't possibly be destroyed by a mere Earthling, he concluded that Li Ming wasn't lying.
Just then, Steve walked into the building holding the Genie Lamp, prompting Loki to drop his inquiry about the necklace.
"Thank you," Steve said, returning the lamp to Li Ming. "On behalf of those who nearly lost their homes, I appreciate it."
Li Ming took the lamp and, under Stark's envious gaze, tucked it into his shoulder bag. Waving his hand dismissively, he said, "Don't mention it. Just keep an eye on Fury and see what that bastard does next."
"Don't worry, I'll keep my promise," Steve replied. Then, pointing at the Statue of Liberty standing in the building's underground area, he added helplessly, "Now that the war's over, shouldn't you return the statue to its rightful place? It's an American landmark, not Stark's personal doorman."
Natasha stepped forward to make her presence known, chiming in, "And don't forget the Iron Eagle and the two miniature Statues of Liberty."
Stark pouted and muttered under his breath, "What's wrong with the Statue of Liberty guarding my company? I'll even pay it a salary if I have to."
Unfortunately, Stark's attempt to flaunt his wealth only earned him a collective eye-roll from everyone present.
Only Li Ming seemed to brighten at the idea. Slumping lazily onto the bar counter, he said, "The two small statues are easy—since they're on the ground, I can just withdraw my magic. As for the Iron Eagle, I'll use what little power I have left to send them back to the Empire State Building. But the real Statue of Liberty..." He sighed weakly. "As you can see, I'm running low on magic. How about letting it stay as Stark Tower's doorman for a few more days? Once I recover my power, I'll send it home."Just as Li Ming felt he had made a convincing argument, Loki, standing nearby, smiled and exposed his lie.
"Don't listen to his nonsense. I clearly sensed that he has already recovered most of his magical power. The only reason he left the Statue of Liberty here was to use it as leverage to force Fury to expedite the capture order for launching the nuclear missile."
Li Ming glared at Loki in annoyance: Damn it, if you didn't speak, no one would think you're mute.