The Collapse Begins
The explosion ripped across the chamber—fuel tanks detonating in a chain reaction that sent a shockwave through the entire facility. Metal buckled. Walkways tore loose. Sparks rained from shattered lighting fixtures.
Sue braced for impact and expanded her shield dome, taking the brunt of a collapsing ceiling panel. The force vibrated down her arms.
"Johnny! Move!"
Johnny leapt through the fireball, heat rolling off him harmlessly. He landed beside her as debris came down in sheets.
Below, Fury staggered to his feet, coughing through the smoke.
The Tesseract pulsed violently in Loki's hand—charging, responding.
Clint Barton moved in perfect synchrony next to him, aiming automatic fire at any SHIELD agent who came too close.
Loki didn't run.
He walked.
Calm. Focused. As though the collapsing world around him was an inconvenience rather than danger.
Sue lowered one edge of the dome.
"Johnny—go loud."
"Thought you'd never ask."
Johnny launched.
He blasted forward—this time weaving, shifting, zig-zagging through falling debris and smoke trails. He fired short, rapid bursts, pushing Loki from multiple angles.
Loki blocked the first two—
The third shot forced him to pivot—
The fourth made him adjust his stance—
Johnny smirked.
"Yeah, keep dancing, Pointy."
Loki responded with rapid counters—sharp spear strikes wrapped in green energy. Each swing cut through air with precision, forcing Johnny to dodge sideways.
Sue raised a shield ramp beneath Johnny, launching him upward in a controlled arc.
"Take the high angle!"
Johnny twisted mid-air and sent a spiraling blast down toward Loki—
Who raised the Scepter and fired a beam straight through the center of the flames. The blast hit Johnny dead-on, cancelling his attack and throwing him into a metal support beam.
Sue cushioned his fall again—but the impact still rattled him.
You okay?"
"I've had worse Mondays."
Loki kept walking.
"You fight well," he called back, voice carrying over the roar of collapsing steel. "But you fight to delay. I fight to leave."
He tapped Selvig with the scepter as he passed. The scientist's eyes went glassy, then sharp again—wrong kind of sharp.
Selvig smiled like someone else was using his face.
"I can open the door," he said.
Loki didn't break stride.
Clint hot-wired an armored transport in four seconds flat. The engine growled to life.
Sue and Johnny sprinted after them.
The main corridor was a war zone—pipes bursting, lights exploding, floor cracking open into black pits.
Johnny flew ahead, weaving through falling debris.
"Stop the truck!"
Loki stood in the open bed, Tesseract glowing under one arm. He looked back once.
Johnny fired everything he had.
Loki flicked the scepter. A concussive ring blasted outward. Johnny ate the full force, spun out, and cratered into the wall.
Sue caught him before he hit the ground a second time.
Johnny coughed smoke. "Okay… new plan."
Regroup," Sue ordered. "We're not losing anyone else tonight."
They watched the truck barrel toward the exit tunnel.
Sue's voice was quiet, deadly calm.
"He's not getting away forever."
Johnny's flames dimmed to embers.
"Not even close."
The truck smashed through the half-open blast doors and disappeared into the night.
Moments later the entire facility gave one last shudder and imploded behind them.
Surface – Nevada Desert
March 18, 2025 – 02:14 local
The mountain looked like it had been punched by a god.
Dust and fire billowed into the sky. Rotor wash from evac choppers whipped the smoke into spirals.
Coulson ran up beside him.
"Sir! We've got multiple collapses—south wing is gone—"
"I'm aware," Fury muttered.
Sue and Johnny sprinted out from the crumbling main entrance, both covered in dust, both breathing hard.
Johnny pointed at the fleeing transport.
"He's got the cube!"
Fury did not look surprised.
"Yeah. I saw."
They all watched as the truck grew smaller, driving into the distance.
Fury exhaled.
Slow.
Heavy.
Not defeated—but calculating the enormity of what just happened.
"Well," he said quietly, "that's a damn problem."
The facility behind them groaned one last time—
And collapsed entirely.
Dust rose into the sky.
Sue looked at Fury.
"What's next?"
Fury's jaw tightened.
"Now?" he said.
"Now we find out who thinks they can make war on our world."
Coulson approached with a tablet—barely functioning, screen cracked but displaying a final reading.
"Sir… those energy signatures. They weren't local."
Fury didn't blink.
"Yeah."
He looked at Sue, Johnny, Coulson, the burning ruins of the facility, the agents gathering what was left of their gear.
Then he looked toward the distant darkness where Loki escaped.
"We're at war."