(AN: Enjoy!)
Asgard's Arena
The arena was alive with murmurs.
Thor stood on one side, red cape loose, Mjolnir resting easily in his hand.
He looked every inch the God of Thunder.
Opposite him stood Loki.
No green cape. No conjured blades. No illusions.
He stood with his arms crossed, posture relaxed yet precise, totally Vegeta's pose, chin slightly raised, eyes sharp, lips curved in a faint, knowing smirk.
The crowd didn't know what to make of it.
Odin raised Gungnir.
"Begin."
Thor hesitated.
"…Are you not summoning a weapon?" he asked.
Loki didn't uncross his arms.
"I won't need one."
A ripple of disbelief passed through the stands.
Thor frowned—then shrugged.
"Either way, I will see what exactly did that person gave you."
He charged.
Mjolnir whistled through the air, thunder roaring as Thor closed the distance in a blink.
Loki waited.
Waited.
At the last possible instant, he stepped aside—a simple sidestep, effortless, almost lazy.
Mjolnir passed through empty air.
Loki pivoted and delivered a single side kick.
Thor didn't even have time to brace.
The impact sent him flying backward, skidding across the arena floor, stopping exactly where he'd started.
Silence.
Absolute, stunned silence.
Frigga's hand rose to her mouth.
Volstagg blinked.
Hogun narrowed his eyes.
Fandral muttered something unfit for a royal arena.
Sif whispered, "That wasn't illusion."
Thor stood slowly, disbelief written plainly across his face.
Only Odin was smiling.
So this is it, he thought.
The power Arthas granted him, and it's just the beginning.
Thor shook himself once—and lightning answered.
"Again."
Mjolnir screamed.
Thunder wrapped itself around Thor as arcs of lightning snapped wildly across the arena floor.
The sky above Asgard darkened in answer to its prince, clouds spiraling as Thor leapt high, hammer raised—bringing it down with a force meant to shatter mountains.
From below, Loki looked up.
Unimpressed.
So slow, he thought.
I guess the power he gave me truly befits a right hand.
I'm going to enjoy this.
Thor descended.
At the very last moment, Loki moved—not backward, but forward.
He didn't block the hammer.
He blocked Thor's wrist.
The impact rang out like steel striking steel.
Thor's arm was knocked aside, Mjolnir veering violently to the left, lightning carving a scar across the arena floor.
Loki's right arm was already coiled.
He drove an uppercut straight into Thor's ribs.
The blow lifted Thor off the ground—but Loki didn't stop.
He jumped with him, twisting midair, and delivered a crushing kick that sent Thor flying across the arena like a broken comet.
Before Thor could even hit the ground—
Loki flickered.
He appeared beneath Thor's falling body, fist already rising.
Another uppercut.
Thor was launched skyward.
Loki was already there.
Both hands clenched together, fingers interlocked, arms raised high—forming his own version of a hammer.
He brought it down.
The sound was unmistakable.
A heavy, final crack echoed through the arena as Thor's body slammed into the ground.
Dust rose.
Loki landed lightly and walked back to his side of the arena, arms crossing once more, waiting.
When the dust settled, Thor was visible—bruised, breathing heavily as he struggled to push himself up.
"Yield, brother?" Loki asked calmly.
Thor's answer was a roar.
He pointed Mjolnir to the heavens.
Lightning answered.
It poured down into the hammer, thicker, brighter, more violent than before.
The air trembled.
The audience recoiled.
Loki's eyes gleamed.
He spread both arms wide, palms facing forward, fingers splayed. Ki surged instantly—brilliant, blinding—gathering between his hands as raw power condensed with terrifying speed.
Thor judged the charge—enough to test, but not to kill his brother—and swung Mjolnir forward.
Lightning erupted.
But before Thor could even finish the motion,
Loki shouted—
"Final Flash!"
A beam of blazing ki exploded from Loki's hands.
Divine lightning met foreign power head-on.
The collision froze the air.
Thunder screamed against light.
The arena shook as the two forces pushed against each other, neither yielding, the ground beneath them cracking under the pressure.
The audience stared in disbelief.
The Warriors Three exchanged stunned glances.
Sif whispered, "Is Thor… losing?"
For minutes, lightning and ki clashed—until the strain became too much.
The explosion came like the end of the world.
A shockwave tore through the arena, hurling debris, knocking spectators back in their seats.
When the light faded—
Loki stood.
He had been pushed back, boots carving lines into the stone, but he remained upright, cloakless, composed.
Thor lay on the ground.
Breathing hard.
Staring at the sky.
His eyes widened slowly as the truth settled in.
My brother… just won over me.
.
.
.
Clint's Home
The farmhouse was quiet in the way only a home with sleeping children could be.
Clint made sure to savor it.
He helped tuck the kids in, listened to half-finished stories, let one of them cling to his arm longer than usual.
He laughed more than he spoke.
Memorized the way the house sounded when everything was normal.
When night finally settled in, Laura found him sitting on the porch steps, staring out into the dark fields.
She didn't need to ask twice.
"Something on your mind?" she said gently, sitting beside him.
"You don't get that look unless you're carrying the whole world again."
Clint exhaled slowly.
"HYDRA." he said, letting the word do the work for him.
"They're everywhere. I'm worried that some of them might know about this house despite Fury's assurance to me that only him, Coulson, Hill and Natasha knows."
Laura nodded, reaching for his hand.
"Then you finish it. Eradicate them for good. That's how you keep us safe."
He squeezed her fingers, forcing a small smile.
"Yeah… that's the plan."
But it wasn't the same plan Laura was imagining.
Because Clint was thinking about something different than what he was saying.
And his decision has been made.
.
.
.
Elsewhere — Avengers Tower
The twins were both dead tired and fell asleep.
Wanda curled into the couch, exhaustion finally winning over adrenaline.
Pietro had claimed a chair, legs dangling over the armrest, out cold despite insisting he wasn't tired.
Tony stood nearby, tablet in hand, scrolling through holographic readouts.
"Reaction speed's insane," he muttered.
"Endurance needs work. Control—definitely control."
He glanced at Wanda.
"Mental barriers are… impressive. Untrained, but impressive."
He sighed, already designing simulations in his head.
"Still doesn't change the fact that they're too young for this." he told himself quietly.
Meanwhile — Elias' House
Elias sat on the edge of his bed.
The room was dim, lit only by the blue glow of the system interface hovering before him.
The weekly task had refreshed.
He stared at it longer than usual.
He'd seen absurd objectives before—find land suitable for the Frozen Throne, gather subjects, select royal guards, establish dominion or even find a companion.
This time however, the system seems to have grown tired of him not doing any of the weekly tasks.
A sharper sound this time.
Colder.
The system prompts.
He leaned forward and read it for a few and froze.
His shoulders stiffened. His jaw tightened.
His fingers curled into the mattress as the words burned themselves into his vision.
"…shit," he muttered while massaging his temples.
[Weekly Task Updated!
Due to host not completing any weekly tasks to catch up to his subordinate as quickly as possible, the system has exercised its right to amend the directive.]
Elias dragged a hand down his face.
"Of course you did," he whispered.
[Task Limit: 2
Task #1: Help defeat Thanos without sacrificing Iron Man
Details:
Future Avengers will visit your timeline tomorrow afternoon to borrow three Infinity Stones.
In their universe, you do not exist.
Therefore, no deviations occurred in their timeline.
Task #2: Defeat the Chitauri Invaders
Details:
Use the Space Stone and Mind Stone to travel to another universe
where the Battle of New York has already begun and casualties are present. ]
The task wasn't what made Elias curse. It was the punishment for not completing it.
[Punishment for non-compliance to Task #1:
Survive the Marvel Zombie Universe for 1 month.
Punishment for non-compliance to Task #2:
Assist the Yautja in their hunt in the Alien vs. Predator 1 Universe.]
His breath hitched.
"…nope."
Absolutely not!
Elias closed his eyes.
When he opened it again, it was a determined face.
"The system's at it again," he said quietly.
He exhaled through his nose.
"No Iron Man death… join the real battle of New York…"
Then a bitter smirk crept onto his face.
"And if I say no, I get zombies and aliens."
He sat up sharply.
"Yeah. No."
The air behind him chilled.
A familiar presence responded to his will.
"Kristen," Elias said aloud.
Shadows folded, coalescing into a poised figure at the foot of the bed—eyes sharp, posture flawless, power restrained but unmistakable.
"Yes, my lord?"
"Prepare everything," Elias said, voice steady now. Focused.
"We train until midnight."
Kristen inclined her head.
"In what area, my lord?"
Elias' eyes flicked back to the glowing tasks.
"All of them!" he replied.
Elias made sure to take advantage of his leveling system which prompts him everytime he learns something.
[Rewards:
Kill Rewards:
• 5 EXP — Chitauri Soldier
• 10 EXP — Outrider
• 10 EXP — Chitauri Rider
• 20 EXP — Leviathan
• 20 EXP — Gorillas
• 20 EXP — Sakaarans
• 30 EXP — Black Order
• 50 EXP — Future Thanos
• 50 EXP — Alternate Loki
Defeat Rewards:
• Chitauri Army — 1 EXP per body
• Thanos Army — 2 EXP per body
• Black Order — 3 EXP per body
• Loki — 10 EXP
• Thanos — 25 EXP
Task #1 Completion Reward: ???
Task #2 Completion Reward: ???]
With that kind of motivation, I think even Tony can make his new element baddasium without watching his dad's video.
.
.
.
Next Day — Afternoon
New York City, Manhattan
A street where everything was quiet.
No screaming.
No overturned cars.
No civilians passing by.
No Chitauri drop-ships clawing through the sky.
Just an empty stretch of Manhattan, cordoned by time itself or by a certain villain who doesn't want to be one.
Then—
A blue flash tore reality open.
Four figures emerged from the distortion, boots scraping asphalt as the air snapped back into place.
Tony Stark straightened first, nanotech rippling briefly across his chest before settling.
Steve Rogers scanned the skyline on instinct, shield already in hand.
Bruce Banner—Professor Hulk—adjusted his glasses with a massive green finger.
Scott Lang looked around, brow furrowed beneath his helmet.
"…okay," Scott said slowly.
"Either we overshot the invasion, or New York finally learned its lesson."
Tony frowned.
"FRIDAY? I'm not getting Chitauri signatures. Or aliens. Or giant flying whales."
Steve turned in a slow circle.
"This isn't right."
That's when they saw him.
At the far end of the street, where the shadows pooled unnaturally, a lone figure stood waiting.
A man in a dark robe, hood pulled low over his face.
The fabric moved as if touched by a wind that didn't exist anywhere else.
He wasn't hiding.
He was expecting them.
Bruce squinted.
"Uh… guys? I don't think that's a local."
The figure stepped forward.
Each footfall was calm.
Measured.
Then he spoke.
"Tony Stark."
Tony stiffened.
"That's usually how bad conversations start."
"Steve Rogers."
Steve's grip tightened on the shield.
"Bruce Banner," Elias continued, his gaze briefly flicking to Hulk's form.
"Or should I say… you finally figured it out."
Bruce blinked and didn't answer or was unable to as the stranger looked at the last man he didn't address.
"And Scott Lang," Elias finished, a hint of amusement creeping into his tone.
"You're shorter than I expected. In both forms."
Scott pointed.
"Hey!"
The hooded man stopped a few feet away and raised his head just enough for his eyes to catch the light.
Calm.
Sharp.
"Relax," he said evenly.
"If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't have finished blinking."
Tony's nanotech crept a millimeter up his neck anyway.
"Comforting."
Elias inclined his head slightly and spread his hands sideways
"Welcome to a timeline where the Battle of New York never happens. At least—not like you remember."
Steve stepped forward. "Who are you?"
End of Chapter