Loki stood atop Stark Tower, watching the chaotic battle unfold across the skyline. No excitement lit his features—just a carefully restrained smirk and thoughtful eyes.
"Something feels wrong," he murmured.
The clash of gold and purple energies dissipated as both leaders abruptly disengaged.
Thor skidded backward a hundred meters before stabilizing midair. With a thunderous crack, he landed on the tower's spire. Meanwhile, Hong Fei's body plummeted earthward like a shattered kite, carving a brutal arc through the air. Before anyone could react, he smashed into a ruined building with bone-breaking force.
The impact buried him beneath collapsed concrete slabs, sending a mushroom cloud of gray dust billowing upward.
Loki exhaled through his nose—a quiet sound of satisfaction.
From his perch, Thor's eyes burned crimson as he took in the destruction. Spotting Loki's smug silhouette against the skyline, something primal ignited in his chest.
Mjolnir became a blur as Thor cleared a path through swarming Chitauri. The hammer's momentum carried him straight toward his brother. Loki's smirk vanished. Their clash sent debris flying before Loki retreated, leaping onto a Chitauri skiff to regroup.
Above the wreckage, Frank's team dove toward the impact site.
On the ground, Steve shook off his shock and sprinted shield-first toward the ruins. They arrived to face a ten-meter mountain of rubble.
Abomination didn't speak—just roared and scaled a nearby skyscraper, using it as a springboard to smash passing alien crafts.
Jessica harnessed her superhuman strength, launching upward to peel away slabs from the top down. Others joined the effort, Steve included, tossing aside chunks of concrete with desperate energy.
Frank's voice cut through the chaos: "Stop. This isn't the play—we've still got hostiles in the air."
Jessica whirled on him. "But—"
"No buts," Frank snapped. "Priorities. Those aliens won't kill themselves. Big Head—tell them."
The android's voice crackled through comms: "Analysis: Boss's vitals remain stable. Weak but consistent. Nanosuit's repairing damage as we speak."
Yelena's shoulders sagged with relief. Steve exhaled sharply.
Frank jerked his chin toward the ongoing battle. "Standing here helps nobody. Our fight's up there!"
The team pivoted as one, charging back into the fray. Only Steve lingered, panting atop the rubble pile. He dropped the stone in his hands, relief softening his features.
"Rest up," he muttered. "I'll dig you out when this is over."
His shield snapped into position as he launched at the nearest Chitauri patrol.
......
High above, a quinjet circled like a vulture. The feed relayed to Fury showed Hong Fei's fall in brutal detail.
"Barton—status?"
"Down, sir."
"Terminated?"
"Unknown, sir."
Fury's silence stretched three heartbeats.
"Engage. Find an opening to confirm."
"Copy that."
At S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, Fury's scowl deepened.
"Hill—you've got the chair. I'm briefing the Council."
As the director stormed out, Hill slid into command position. Her eyes flicked to the wreckage feed, brow furrowing.
......
On Asgard's Bifrost Bridge, Sif stared into the starry abyss. A thousand constellations reflected in her eyes, but no joy lit her face.
Heimdall shifted his weight against Hofund's hilt, glancing sideways at her.
"Do you see it?" he rumbled.
Sif's braids swayed as she shook her head. "You know I can't. I am not you; I do not have a pair of eyes that can see every corner of the Nine Realms."
Heimdall sighed upon hearing this: "No, I am not that powerful either. Some places are sealed and covered by mysterious forces. I cannot see or discover such areas. Otherwise, the incident with Loki and the Frost Giant would not have happened before."
Sif nodded slightly, then she suddenly frowned, and a flush of red surged onto her face. Heimdall looked at her slightly trembling back, then cast his gaze toward the sea of stars.
His eyes pierced through the spatial barrier and landed on Earth, clearly seeing the scene of Thor and Hong Fei fighting. Consequently, traces of surprise and shock could not help but appear in his eyes.
He knew of Hong Fei. Ever since Thor was sealed by Odin and exiled to Earth, Heimdall had never given up monitoring this prince; of course, such surveillance was also a form of alternative protection.
Therefore, when Thor met Hong Fei, Heimdall knew of Hong Fei's existence, and he occasionally paid attention to Hong Fei's movements thereafter. However, he clearly had not expected that Hong Fei would be able to show an equal match performance in the battle against Thor.
In addition, Hong Fei's sword...
Heimdall looked at Sif's back.
Sif took a deep breath, her face quickly returning to normal, and at the same time, her clenched fists slowly loosened. Without waiting for Heimdall to ask, she took the initiative to say:
"I can clearly feel that he awakened the part of the divine power that belongs to me, and he even actively activated the All-Father's blessing."
After a pause, Sif added: "Twice."
Heimdall: "I didn't see the last time, but I saw the scene just now. You should be right; he almost fought Thor to a draw."
Sif turned her head abruptly, her shock undisguised, and at the same time, she was filled with doubt.
Heimdall nodded: "Although I cannot truly see all the corners of the Nine Realms, I don't think my eyes deceived me regarding the scene just now."
Sif was stunned: "How is that possible?"
"The fact is just that. Well, there is a very powerful energy in his body, and he is thoroughly converting this energy into a part of himself. Although this process is very slow, he has been improving all along."
After finishing, Heimdall added another sentence: "That is the power he obtained only after you left Midgard."
Sif frowned slightly and asked again: "And Thor?"
"He won."
"That is not strange." Sif shook her head and then stared into Heimdall's eyes: "You know what I am asking."
Immediately, Heimdall's eyes moved slightly. The two confronted each other for a moment before Heimdall finally said: "Fine. Actually, you already know, don't you? You saw it yourself."
Hearing this, Sif paused, then suddenly smiled, a sense of freedom rising in her expression: "That's right. You are right. I knew it long ago."
Seeing this, Heimdall couldn't help but smile, though he couldn't help but sigh inwardly: I am afraid young Thor does not yet know what kind of difficulties and resistance his love with a Midgardian will encounter.
......
What is Hong Fei doing? He is taking a shower in the room he lived in for a long time on the top floor of his building in Queens.
The nano armor on his right arm showed tears extending to his shoulder, and these ruptured wounds extended all the way to his chest. This was because Hong Fei was holding the sword with his right hand, so his right arm received the greatest impact. Fortunately, a major feature of the nano armor is self-repair, so these armor scars were not significant.
Putting away the armor, the clothes underneath had long been shattered into strips of cloth or even threads. When these rags fell from his body, Hong Fei's body was finally completely exposed.
Every inch of his skin had turned an unnaturally red color, like a cooked shrimp. His arms were even more startling—beneath the crimson skin, blood vessels of varying depths stood out like a spiderweb, shocking at first glance.
These were clearly the aftereffects of his continuous fighting.
The "Equal Match" state had certainly lived up to its name. Hong Fei hadn't taken much damage from colliding with Thor. He could still fight if needed, but there was no point now. The Chitauri invasion was nearly complete. Dragging out this stalemate wouldn't secure him victory from the Equal Match state, and frankly, he was burning up and exhausted.
Right now, his entire body felt like it had been shoved into a steel furnace or dunked in molten lava. Every breath seared his lungs—not with life-giving air, but with liquid fire. The heat radiated from his core outward.
He cranked the air conditioner to max, then ripped off his tattered clothes and bolted for the shower.
Icy water cascaded over his head. The moment it hit his skin, it hissed like water on hot coals, instantly vaporizing where it made contact. Within seconds, the bathroom filled with thick steam.
Gradually, the temperature dropped. The mist cleared, the angry red flush faded from his skin, and the grotesque vascular patterns on his arms dulled.
After rinsing off the sweat, Hong Fei grabbed a towel to dry his hair while reaching for the door.
His right hand snapped up like a viper. Thud. He caught a baseball bat mid-swing. His leg was already cocked back, milliseconds from delivering a devastating kick—only to freeze.
"Mei?"
They both stared, stunned.
When Mei finally processed the sight of him, her gaze slid downward against her will. Her pupils contracted sharply at the sight of his defined pectorals and abdominal muscles. Then lower—her mouth fell open, her face flushing darker than Hong Fei's skin had been moments ago.
A strangled gasp escaped her before she clapped both hands over her mouth, spun on her heel, and fled.
A distant door slam echoed through the apartment.
Hong Fei blinked at the baseball bat in his hand. "Should've locked the door," he muttered.
Who'd have thought Mei would still be here during a full-scale Chitauri invasion?
He crossed to the window. Beyond the glass, endless streams of alien soldiers still poured through the dark portal high above New York. On the human side, only Thor, Tony, and Hong Fei's seven-man team held the line.
Truth be told, his squad was outperforming Fury's precious Avengers—better numbers, tighter coordination.
With a tired shake of his head, Hong Fei pulled on fresh clothes and collapsed onto the sofa. The energy surge from all that chaos still hadn't settled in his system.
Let them fight outside all they wanted—just so long as they didn't wipe out the Chitauri before he could reap the benefits.
Until that energy stabilized, he wasn't moving.
One more chapter to go—this arc should wrap up tomorrow.