Meanwhile, in Manhattan, New York, inside Stark Tower.
After Axel disappeared, Tony Stark stood there in shock.
"Jarvis, did you see that, or did I just imagine it?"
"Mr. Stark, your observation is correct. The individual disappeared in a burst of flames."
"Wow."
Tony pursed his lips, still staring at the spot where Axel had vanished.
"Teleportation on that level would require an absurd amount of energy. Does he have a few hundred arc reactors strapped to him somewhere, big ones at that?"
Tony frowned as he kept thinking.
"And those flames. That's the weird part. I've run plenty of teleportation simulations, but fire has never been part of the equation. Could those flames be the key to whatever the hell that was?"
As he spoke, Tony's eyes gradually lost focus.
His brain was already racing through calculations.
Before he could dive deeper into the numbers, Natasha Romanoff suddenly jumped down from the staircase at the south corner of the room.
She rushed toward Loki and the Mind Scepter while shouting at Tony.
"My God, Stark, what the hell is wrong with you?"
"Huh?"
Tony snapped out of his thoughts. Then he quickly moved his hand away from covering his private parts.
"Damn it, I'm not scared. That guy's insane entrance just caught me off guard."
Natasha rolled her eyes.
"Right. Maybe you should find some clothes and another suit of armor first."
She glanced at him briefly.
"Otherwise you're going to die here looking ridiculous."
Without waiting for his reply, Natasha sprinted toward the massive window. She leaped through it, rolled across the floor outside, and landed beside the Mind Scepter. In one smooth motion, she grabbed the staff.
But just as she was about to run with it...
"Hey."
Loki suddenly appeared beside her with a grin.
Before Natasha could react, the dagger in his hand pressed lightly against her neck.
"If I were you," Loki said calmly, "I wouldn't try to steal my scepter."
His smile widened slightly.
"You didn't think those childish tricks of yours would actually hurt me, did you? Delayed explosions? I've been bored of those for centuries."
With that, Loki casually grabbed the scepter from her hands.
Natasha inhaled slowly, forcing herself to stay calm. Then she looked at him.
"If you're bored with our little tricks," she said quietly, "what about the big guy?"
She glanced toward the window.
"Are you bored with him too?"
Loki frowned.
"What big..."
He turned his head, slightly uneasy.
Then his eyes widened.
"Whoa..."
He never finished the sentence.
A massive green figure burst through the window.
Hulk crashed into the room and immediately grabbed Loki by both legs before he even landed.
Then he started swinging him around like a rag doll.
WHAM. WHAM. WHAM.
"Woohoo!"
Thor burst into the room at the same time, clearly thrilled.
Without wasting time, he hurled Mjolnir straight toward the ceiling.
The hammer blasted through the structure, carrying a surge of lightning with it. Outside, it tore through dozens of Chitauri rushing toward the tower, then continued spinning through the air above the battlefield.
Thor glanced toward Natasha.
"Loki is busy with your big friend," he said.
He pointed upward toward the open portal.
"I'll deal with the Chitauri!"
Natasha nodded quickly.
"I'll bring the scepter!"
She sprinted toward where Loki had dropped it while Hulk was smashing him into the floor.
While Thor headed for the rooftop and Natasha moved for the scepter, Tony swallowed nervously.
Then he hurried toward his armor lab.
He had not prepared another Mark VII suit, but there were still several Mark VI armors stored in the workshop.
Running through Stark Tower half naked, Tony muttered to himself.
"Nobody look at me... nobody look at me..."
Then fate decided to mess with him.
Just as Thor jumped toward the hole in the ceiling, he suddenly got caught for a moment on exposed rebar.
Dangling there briefly, Thor looked down.
Right at Tony.
Thor blinked.
Then his eyes widened.
"Why the hell are you so pale, buddy?"
"Fuck!"
Tony didn't even look back. He sprinted harder, running at a speed that would impress a teenager despite being well into his thirties.
He disappeared into the lab.
Thor stared after him, then burst out laughing.
"That show off finally has an embarrassing moment!"
He shook his head, amused.
"Too bad there isn't a royal painter here. I would have him immortalize Stark's shirtless panic."
"Ahem," Natasha's voice came through calmly.
"I already took a photo."
In the distance, she had just grabbed the Mind Scepter while knocking two charging Chitauri aside with it.
She sprinted toward Thor, then jumped toward him.
Thor immediately understood what she was doing. He grabbed her arm and lifted her up onto the rooftop.
Natasha landed in a smooth roll.
Thor followed right behind her.
Then he looked at her curiously.
"What is a photo?"
Natasha smirked slightly.
"After we survive the disaster your brother caused, I'll show it to you."
She shrugged.
"Trust me, Stark looks like he's about to cry."
Thor laughed loudly.
"Excellent!"
He raised his hand and summoned Mjolnir.
The hammer shot back into his grip.
The moment he caught it, Thor spun forward and smashed through dozens of nearby Chitauri soldiers, clearing a path across the rooftop.
Natasha immediately ran through the opening he created and reached the portal generator.
At the center of the machine, the Tesseract floated inside a glowing blue energy barrier.
She raised the Mind Scepter and thrust it toward the barrier.
The moment it touched, the energy field pushed back violently.
Natasha gritted her teeth and forced the staff forward.
The resistance was immense.
Just as she was struggling against the barrier...
A burst of flames appeared beside her.
Axel stepped out of the fire, now wearing a completely different coat.
He looked at Natasha and chuckled.
Natasha jumped in shock.
The sudden distraction caused her balance to break. The repulsion force slammed into her and threw her backward.
She landed hard on her butt and slid more than a meter across the rooftop.
Axel looked down at her with exaggerated concern.
"Hey, did your leather pants rip?"
"What?"
Natasha blinked.
Her brain froze for a moment.
Leather pants?
Axel used that exact moment to grab the scepter from her hand.
But Natasha Romanoff was a professional.
Even though her mind lagged for a split second, her body reacted instantly.
She flipped upward and drove her knee straight toward Axel's head.
Axel casually tilted his head to the side.
Her knee missed.
That movement brought Natasha's lower body dangerously close to his face.
Natasha reacted immediately.
She extended her legs and clamped them tightly around Axel's head with her powerful thighs.
Then she twisted her body, trying to swing him off balance like she had done to countless enemies before.
Except this time...
Nothing happened.
Axel didn't move at all.
Even using her full strength, Natasha could only hang there awkwardly upside down, her legs locked around his head.
"Ugh..."
Axel frowned as her thighs squeezed both sides of his face.
He grabbed the scepter and looked up at her.
"What are you waiting for? Get off."
He smirked.
"Or I'm sticking out my tongue."
Natasha's eyes widened.
"You!"
She immediately released him, flipped down, and pushed herself back onto her feet.
Axel ignored her.
He examined the scepter for a moment, turning it casually in his hand.
Then he scoffed.
"Tsk. The Mind Stone."
He shook his head.
"Looks impressive, but it's basically useless anywhere outside this universe."
He turned toward the portal generator.
With a lazy motion, he shoved the scepter straight into the energy barrier protecting the Tesseract.
The barrier that Natasha had struggled desperately against popped like a soap bubble.
The scepter pierced through effortlessly.
The moment it touched the Tesseract, the massive portal above Stark Tower stopped expanding.
Then it began shrinking rapidly.
High in the sky, the gateway started closing.
Natasha stared upward.
Relief finally appeared in her eyes.
She looked at Axel's back, then quietly spoke into her comm.
"The good news, the portal is shrinking. It should close completely in about three minutes."
She paused.
"The unknown individual, Axel, may not be hostile. He closed the portal himself."
Her voice turned serious.
"The bad news, Loki's scepter is now in Axel's possession. He will likely take the Tesseract as well."
She flexed her fingers and activated the taser built into her wrist.
"I can't stop him. But I'll try to interfere."
She inhaled once.
"Wish me luck, buddy."
Then Natasha charged straight at Axel without hesitation.
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Powerstones?? (´ε｀ )
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