The aftermath hit New York hard.
Streets were torn apart, glass and metal scattered everywhere, smoke still rising from buildings that hadn't finished burning yet.
Emergency sirens echoed nonstop as rescue teams moved through the wreckage, pulling survivors out, treating the injured, counting losses. It was messy, loud, and far from over.
And the people responsible for stopping the invasion?
They were sitting in a small restaurant, eating shawarma.
The conversation drifted to the flight—who nearly got clipped by debris, who almost missed a turn, who was still annoyed about comms cutting out at the worst possible moment.
Loki, meanwhile, was not enjoying the experience.
He lay on the restaurant floor, tied up like a caterpillar, armor dented, hair a mess, dignity completely gone. The occasional glare he shot upward went completely ignored. After being treated like a rag doll by Hulk, whatever fight he had left was long gone.
"By the way," Tony said between bites, glancing sideways, "where did you disappear to? One second you're here, the next you're gone. All because you spotted that woman."
Natasha didn't even look up from her food. "What else would it be? If there's a woman involved, Luke wandering off is basically expected behavior."
Steve frowned slightly. "In the middle of an invasion?"
"No," Luke replied flatly, cutting in before it went further. "Not like that."
That got a few looks.
He leaned back in his chair, shawarma still in hand. "She wasn't a distraction. She was a problem. A big one. One I couldn't ignore."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Bigger than aliens falling out of the sky?"
Luke shrugged. "Different category. I can say she's worse than an alien invasion. Trust me—you wouldn't want to deal with her."
Clint glanced over, skeptical. "What can a single person really do?"
Luke opened his mouth to answer—
—and froze.
Two arms slid around his neck from behind, not tight enough to choke, just close enough to trap. A soft weight pressed against the back of his head, warm and very intentional.
"I can do quite a lot," a familiar female voice murmured near his ear.
The table went quiet.
Luke let out a long sigh. "Can you at least leave me alone while I'm eating?" he said, not even turning around. "Can't you see I'm with my friends?"
Esdeath finally released him just enough to look at the table properly, her gaze sweeping over them with open disinterest. "Friends?" she repeated. "These ones? They're weaklings."
Thor's brow furrowed instantly. "Weak?" he echoed, clearly offended. He straightened in his seat, voice calm but firm. "You speak boldly for someone who does not know us."
Luke didn't even let the exchange build. He stood up and firmly removed Esdeath's hands from his shoulders, putting a clear step of distance between them. "Don't talk to her," he said to Thor, tone sharp but controlled. "Trust me. Engaging only encourages her."
"You guys continue. I'll deal with her," Luke said simply, already turning away from the table.
Esdeath didn't hesitate for even a second. She followed him out of the restaurant like it was the most natural thing in the world, as if the rest of them had never mattered to begin with.
As the door swung shut behind them, the table went quiet again.
Tony broke the silence first, frowning slightly. "Okay… serious question. Why does it look like Luke gets more tired dealing with her than with an alien army?"
Before anyone could answer, JARVIS spoke through the suit's external speakers.
"I may have an explanation, sir," the AI said evenly. "Approximately thirty minutes ago, above the southern Pacific Ocean, sensors recorded a large-scale anomaly."
Tony straightened. "Define 'large-scale.'"
"An event capable of causing total environmental collapse within a one-hundred-mile radius," JARVIS replied. "Ice formation, atmospheric temperature inversion, electrical storms, and ocean evaporation were recorded simultaneously."
A holographic projection flared to life above the table.
Frozen seas shattered into steam. Entire stretches of ocean boiled, then flash-froze. Lightning carved through the sky while massive ice formations tore upward from below.
At the center of it all—two figures.
Luke, wrapped in blue energy.
And the woman from the restaurant, standing amid ice and storm like it belonged to her.
No one spoke for several seconds.
"…That's not collateral damage," Banner said quietly. "That's a natural disaster made personal."
Banner was sure of one thing — even the Hulk didn't cause damage on that scale.
Thor stared at the projection, expression grim. "That woman wields power rivaling the gods " he said.
Natasha exhaled slowly. "So when she called us weak…"
Tony finished for her. "Yeah. She wasn't trash-talking."
Steve's gaze stayed on the frozen hologram for a moment longer. "Just imagine if that fight had happened on land."
No one answered him.
They didn't need to.
Everyone in the room could picture it clearly enough—cities erased, streets torn apart, millions of people caught in the middle with nowhere to run. Not an invasion. Not collateral damage.
An extinction-level event happening in minutes.
Outside the restaurant,
Luke stopped and turned, rubbing his forehead.
"Just say it. What do you want—aside from me."
Esdeath didn't hesitate. She stepped closer, boots clicking lightly against the pavement, blue eyes sharp and amused. "Then I'll stay with you," she said simply. "Until you accept me."
Her smile widened, calm and dangerous. "Or, if I get bored waiting… I'll entertain myself by conquering this world."
Luke stared at her for a long second.
"So those are my options," he said flatly. "Either you conquer me… or you conquer the planet."
He was lucky that such a beautiful woman wanted him—
unlucky that the woman was Esdeath.
"Correct," Esdeath replied, pleased.
*****
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