Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Battle of New York

Stark and Steve analyzed Loki’s motives and concluded that Loki planned to open a portal on the rooftop of Stark Tower in New York. They decided to set out immediately to stop him.

Tony Stark donned his armor and flew toward New York, while Steve Rogers, accompanied by Natasha and Barton—who had just been freed from mind control—piloted a transport combat jet in the same direction.

Tony Stark, unaware of Thor and Banner's whereabouts, knew he needed more allies. He had Jarvis call Arthur, who had been out of contact for some time.

“Ring… ring… ring…” As usual, no one answered. It seemed Arthur still hadn’t returned. Just as Tony was about to have Jarvis hang up, the call connected.

“Hello? What is it, Tony? You woke me from a great dream!” Arthur’s familiar voice came through.

“Oh, thank God, you’re finally back! Where have you been this past year?” Tony asked, elated.

“I went to the realm of Asgard. Just got back yesterday. Still adjusting to Earth’s time zone,” Arthur replied, sounding weary.

“Asgard? Thor’s kingdom? Did you come back with Thor?” Tony asked.

“No, I returned alone. Thor’s back too? What happened?” Arthur asked, confused.

Tony recounted everything that had just occurred.

“Damn, I nearly missed all the excitement. Wait for me, I’ll be there soon!” Arthur replied, frustrated that Loki had already begun his plan and he had almost missed it.

Tony then called Peter Parker, gave him all the details, and told him to suit up and head to Stark Tower.

...

Stark arrived on the rooftop of his tower and saw Dr. Erik busy with a massive device. The Tesseract was mounted inside—just as he’d expected.

“Sir, I’ve already cut power from the arc reactor, but the device is self-sustaining now!” Jarvis reported.

“Shut it down, Dr. Erik!” Tony commanded.

“It’s too late. It can’t be stopped now. It wants to show us something—a new universe!” Dr. Erik gazed at the Tesseract, entranced.

Tony raised his hands and fired a laser at the device, attempting to destroy it. But a shield of pure energy formed on the device’s surface, blocking and reflecting the blast. Tony and Dr. Erik were both thrown back by the explosion.

“That shield is pure energy. It can’t be broken!” Jarvis reported.

“I can see that. Change of plans!” Tony replied.

“Sir, Mark VII isn’t ready for use yet,” Jarvis noted.

“Forget the wheels—I’m out of time,” Tony insisted.

Tony Stark walked from the rooftop into the building, mechanical arms emerging from the floor to remove his damaged armor as he went.

Loki watched from the side, also making his way indoors.

“Are you here to surrender?” Loki asked.

“Actually, I’m here to threaten you,” Tony replied.

“Then you shouldn’t have taken off your armor,” Loki remarked.

“Care for a drink?” Tony walked to the bar, poured himself a glass.

“Stalling won’t help you. The Chitauri are coming—no one can stop them. What do I have to be afraid of?” Loki asked.

“The Avengers… We’re a team. The mightiest heroes on Earth,” Tony said, all the while discreetly strapping two bracelets onto his wrists.

“Let me introduce you: your brother, a soldier thawed from the ice, an expert in anger management issues, two top agents. And you, well, you’ve managed to offend them all,” Tony said.

“That’s my plan!” Loki declared triumphantly.

“Not very wise. Once they arrive, you’ll pay the price!”

“I have an army!”

“We have the Hulk!”

“Didn’t you lose that beast?”

“We also have Aquaman!”

“Aquaman? You mean Arthur’s here too?” Loki said, clearly remembering Arthur.

“Seems you two got along pretty well,” Tony teased.

Irritated, Loki grabbed Tony and threw him to the ground.

“Jarvis, now… initiate!” Tony called out as he got up.

Loki stepped forward, seized Tony by the throat. “You’ll all fall before me!” He lifted Tony and hurled him through the window.

At that moment, a hidden panel opened, and something shot out of the room, speeding after Tony.

It was the new Mark VII armor. Tony donned it mid-air and flew back before hitting the ground.

“You also made an enemy of someone—a man named Phil Coulson!” Tony announced, firing an energy blast at Loki and knocking him down.

The Tesseract, through the device, sent a beam of energy into the sky, opening a massive portal in the clouds.

Countless Chitauri poured through in spaceships.

Tony saw this and shot into the sky, firing at the Chitauri, who returned fire with their weapons. But they were too many. Tony’s shoulder compartments opened, launching a swarm of mini homing missiles. The sky erupted in explosions and fire.

People on the ground saw what was happening and fled in panic, but some Chitauri ships had already landed, attacking people and cars indiscriminately.

In an instant, Manhattan became a living hell—countless people perished under alien fire, and buildings and vehicles were destroyed.

Loki stood atop Stark Tower, gazing at the chaos, a look of triumph on his face. “The world will soon kneel before me!”

...

“Loki! Shut down the Tesseract, or I’ll destroy it!” Thor had arrived.

“You can’t destroy it. There’s only war now!” Loki raised his scepter, clashing with Thor.

At that moment, a colossal wave surged along New York’s shoreline, the sky above the sea darkened with thunder and lightning while the city remained under blue skies—a bizarre, foreboding sight that frightened everyone on the coast.

A massive wave crashed toward the shore, and atop it stood a man holding a golden trident. Suddenly, he soared into the city, and as he departed, the sea calmed and the storm clouds faded.

“Look! What’s that?”

“It looks like a man—with a trident!”

“Mommy, is that Superman?”

People on the beach stared in awe at Arthur’s disappearing figure.

...

A transport jet approached Stark Tower. “Stark, we’re at your three o’clock,” Natasha’s voice came through the radio.

“Did you go out for takeout? Head to Parker Avenue—I’ll draw them there and make you a target,” Tony replied.

Alien ships swarmed after Tony, firing relentlessly. He dodged and led them to Parker Avenue, where Natasha’s jet was waiting.

As Tony flew past, Natasha opened fire, blasting Chitauri ships out of the sky in a hail of gunfire.

But more alien ships kept pouring through the portal. Arthur, wielding his trident, arrived beneath the portal and unleashed blue energy at the descending Chitauri.

Natasha’s jet also reached the scene. Barton and Natasha spotted Arthur fighting aliens in the sky.

“That’s… Arthur? Fantastic! I thought he wasn’t back yet,” Barton exclaimed.

“I see Loki!” Natasha took aim at Loki, who was battling Thor, and opened fire.

Loki raised his scepter, firing an energy blast that struck their jet’s engine. The plane spiraled toward the ground.

From the portal burst a massive, whale-like creature flying through the air, its body protected by thick armor—the Chitauri Leviathan. Arthur’s energy blasts had no effect.

Determined, Arthur charged straight at the Leviathan. Chitauri soldiers swarmed its body, firing frantically at Arthur as he weaved through the air.

Arthur collided with the Leviathan’s head, driving his trident deep into its armored skull. The beast died instantly, crashing down onto the city. The Chitauri soldiers leaped off before it hit the ground, landing amidst the chaos below...