The nightmare Loki had imagined… never came.
Because the so-called "great Loki" was now lying on the ground like a dead dog—completely ignored.
Once Quicksilver opened the barrier and allowed everyone inside, Peter and the others immediately focused on the real problem:
How to shut the portal down.
Tony examined the scepter carefully, his eyes scanning the energy fluctuations.
"The scepter's energy signature is extremely similar to the Tesseract's," he said thoughtfully. "If we use it to interfere directly, we can disrupt the energy output. Even a slight deviation—just for a moment—would destabilize a system this complex."
He tapped the structure lightly.
"And once the energy loop collapses, the portal goes with it."
After finishing, Tony glanced at Peter, clearly seeking confirmation.
Peter, who already knew the answer, simply nodded.
"Same conclusion as mine. Go ahead—shut it down."
…
With that confirmation, Tony stepped forward, raising the scepter toward the core of the array.
"Wait."
Peter's voice suddenly cut in.
Tony paused, frowning as he turned back.
"What now?"
But Peter didn't answer.
Instead, he lifted his gaze—staring straight into the portal.
Through that swirling void, his awareness seemed to stretch across space itself, reaching far beyond Earth… into the depths of the cosmos.
And there—
He felt it.
A presence.
Violent.
Immense.
A will filled with fury, roaring across the void.
A soul—
Enraged.
"…Heh."
Peter's lips curled slightly.
"If you've got the guts… come here yourself."
He muttered the words under his breath.
Tony and the others exchanged confused looks, having no idea what he was talking about.
But on the ground—
Loki knew.
He knew exactly what lay on the other side of that portal.
And yet—
That being did not come.
Because he didn't dare.
Earth was not an ordinary planet.
It was a place filled with hidden power.
Centuries ago, Thanos had learned that lesson the hard way.
And now—
He wasn't ready to repeat that mistake.
But that didn't mean he would let this go.
Losing both the Mind Stone and the Tesseract—
And being openly provoked—
That was something the Mad Titan would never tolerate.
Peter gave Tony a slight nod.
"Close it."
Tony didn't hesitate.
The scepter touched the Tesseract.
Two energies—originating from the same source—collided.
For a fraction of a second—
The balance broke.
The entire system destabilized.
The energy sustaining the portal collapsed.
And the wormhole—
Began to close.
…
"…Finally."
Tony exhaled, lowering the scepter as the structure around them started to crumble.
The massive beam of light connecting sky and ground flickered, then vanished.
Relief had just begun to settle—
When suddenly—
Something surged out of the collapsing portal.
A warship.
A massive interstellar flagship burst through at the very last moment, forced through by Thanos's command before the portal sealed completely.
And the instant it appeared—
Every weapon on its surface locked into place.
Target acquired.
"—"
And then—
Fire.
"BOOM—!!!"
A barrage unlike anything Earth had ever seen.
This—
Was the true terror of interstellar warfare.
A coordinated volley from a cosmic warship.
If it had been an entire fleet, a single round could have wiped out a planet.
But even this lone ship—
A behemoth the size of a small city—
Was more than enough.
Hundreds—thousands—of cannons fired in unison.
The sky lit up with destruction.
This wasn't strategy.
This wasn't conquest.
This was—
Retaliation.
"Damn it!"
Peter's expression darkened instantly.
The warship focused nearly a third of its firepower directly on their position.
A storm of annihilation descended upon them.
In response—
A field erupted.
Invisible.
Unseen.
But absolute.
Peter's psychic force expanded outward, forming a massive barrier.
Six months of relentless training in high-gravity conditions—
All of it manifested in this moment.
Even attacks capable of sinking cities… of shattering continents—
Were stopped.
Held back.
But Peter wasn't relieved.
He was furious.
Because behind them—
There were others.
Cyclops.
Captain America.
Storm.
Further back—
Wanda.
Sona.
And beyond them—
Civilians.
…
Washington had fallen.
But it had not been emptied.
There were still people hiding in buildings. Families clinging to hope.
And now—
Under this bombardment—
They were gone.
All of them.
Peter clenched his fists.
For the first time—
He felt it.
Failure.
He had overestimated Thanos's restraint.
And underestimated his cruelty.
The Mad Titan had willingly sacrificed one of his own warships—
Just to deliver this message.
Just to strike back.
The bombardment continued.
Relentless.
This was only the first volley.
The ground beneath Washington had already been reduced to dust—
But that was just the surface.
If the attack continued—
The entire eastern seaboard could collapse.
The continental shelf itself could fracture.
It would be like detonating multiple high-yield nuclear weapons across the region.
And if a second volley came—
The devastation would spread even further.
…
At that moment—
Peter stopped holding back.
Everything he had built over the past six months—
Every ounce of strength—
Exploded outward.
"ENOUGH—!!!"
His roar shook the battlefield.
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T/N:
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