Luke looked around the room. "So… does anyone have a solid idea where Loki ran off to?"
He didn't say what he already knew. If this team was going to work, they had to arrive at the answer together.
Thor was the first to speak. "Loki does not act alone. He never has. He has allied himself with a force beyond this world—a legion that promised him an army in exchange for the Tesseract. Their goals align, at least for now. "
Steve frowned. "An army from where?"
Thor turned slightly, meeting his gaze. "From beyond Midgard. The Tesseract can act as more than a power source. In the right hands, it becomes a doorway. Loki opens it. They come through. Earth becomes the battlefield."
Tony's expression sharpened. "So we're not talking about a sneak attack. We're talking about an invasion."
Natasha nodded. "And Loki still has Selvig. He understands the Tesseract well enough to push it past safe limits. If Loki wants a portal, Selvig is how he gets one."
Banner adjusted his glasses, thinking aloud. "But to keep a portal open—one large enough for an army—you'd need an absurd amount of sustained energy. Way beyond anything portable."
The room went quiet for a second.
Tony leaned back slightly, realization settling in. "Actually… there is one place that could handle that kind of load."
Steve looked at him. "You're thinking—"
"My tower," Tony finished. "Self-sustaining arc reactor. Vertical structure. High altitude. Direct line of sight to the sky. If you were going to punch a hole through space and keep it open, that's where you'd do it."
No one argued.
Luke watched the exchange, saying nothing, but there was a small nod of approval in his expression. This was it—the moment they stopped talking past each other and started connecting the dots.
"Then that's our destination," Luke said finally. "It's been almost an hour since Loki escaped. If he's moving the way I think he is, he's already close. We need to move before he finishes opening anything."
Right on cue, Tony's phone chimed with a sharp alert.
He glanced at the screen, and JARVIS' voice followed immediately, calm but urgent.
"Sir, there has been a breach at Stark Tower. Multiple systems are being overridden."
"Of course there is."
Luke exhaled slowly. "Looks like he didn't waste time."
Tony slipped the phone away. "Then we don't either. Because if that portal goes live—"
"—New York turns into a battlefield," Luke finished.
No one disagreed.
***
The team set out for New York at full speed.
Tony flew ahead in his armor, a streak of red and gold cutting through the clouds. The Quinjet followed behind him, while Luke kept pace beside Tony in open air, blue mana faintly shimmering around his body to keep him aloft.
The city skyline was already visible on the horizon.
"Hmmm…" Luke muttered. "I suddenly have a disturbing feeling."
He slowed just a fraction as they crossed over New York, eyes scanning the streets below. The feeling tightened in his chest—sharp, unpleasant, and wrong in a way he couldn't put into words.
It wasn't fear exactly. More like his instincts were screaming while his mind had nothing concrete to grab onto.
Something was off.
Before he could say more, a calm female voice spoke from behind him.
"Found you."
Luke stopped midair and turned.
A woman stood there, suspended effortlessly in the sky. She wore a military-style general's uniform that hugged her figure neatly, her posture straight and confident.
Long light-blue hair flowed freely behind her, and her cold blue eyes locked onto him with a predatory interest.
Luke's eyes widened.
"What the fuck?" he muttered.
Of all the things he'd expected to see in the skies over New York, this wasn't one of them.
He recognized her instantly.
Anyone who knew even a little anime would. She wasn't obscure, wasn't niche—she was infamous. A well-known sadist, wrapped in ice and confidence, someone whose presence alone promised violence.
Esdeath.
But that only raises a bad question.
What the hell was she doing in the Marvel world?
And how did she even get here?
Tony stopped and drifted back toward him, glancing at the woman. "Your acquaintance?"
"No," Luke said flatly. "A new problem." He didn't look away from her. "You go deal with Loki. I'll handle this."
Tony didn't argue. He nodded once and accelerated toward the city.
Calling her "trouble" would be downplaying it.
She was a calamity.
A born general with a twisted sense of joy in battle—someone who believed in survival of the fittest so completely that war became entertainment, and bloodshed a language she spoke fluently. To her, strength was truth, mercy was weakness, and suffering was just another way to measure worth.
Although she was undeniably beautiful, Luke had to admit something uncomfortable—this woman scared him a bit.
Not because of her strength alone, but because she was a full-blown psychopath. Zero morals.
"You seem to know me?" Esdeath asked, noticing Luke's expression—the kind of wariness that only appeared when someone truly understood their enemy.
"I do," Luke replied. "But the real question is—why are you in this world?"
That was the part that mattered.
Esdeath laughed softly, a sound far too pleased for the situation.
"So you really do know me," she said, tilting her head slightly, blue eyes narrowing with interest. "Then you also know the truth—I'm from another world."
There was no hesitation in her voice. No confusion. Only curiosity, sharp and predatory.
She hadn't expected to find anything worth her attention the moment she arrived in this world. She had approached Luke for one reason only—because the power inside him felt strong. Worth testing.
"Yeah," Luke replied flatly. "Your name's Esdeath. And you're a crazy woman."
Instead of anger, Esdeath laughed—clear, delighted, almost musical.
"Hahahaha… good." Her smile widened as she looked him over, like a general finding a worthy opponent on the battlefield. "Then this world won't be boring after all. I've already found something interesting."
Luke shuddered.
'Fuck me, I really should've kept my mouth shut. '
The way she looked at him wasn't curiosity anymore. It was possession. Interest sharpened into intent.
"Now fight me," Esdeath said calmly, as if issuing an order. "Show me your strength."
She raised one hand.
The sky above New York answered.
Dark clouds rolled in instantly, blotting out the sunlight. The temperature plummeted as freezing winds tore through the air. Snow didn't fall—it descended, thick and heavy, carrying killing cold.
In the clouds, ice began to form.
Thousands of perfectly shaped ice spears manifested at once, their tips aligned, all aimed directly at Luke. The air vibrated with pressure, the sheer scale of it bending the atmosphere.
Luke's left eye twitched.
Why does this woman feel far stronger than she ever was in the show?
*****
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