The audience was absolutely losing their minds, the barrage exploding across the screen in a frenzy of comments. Loki's expression was one of pure irritation; his patience stretched thin.
"What Loki meant by that is obvious, he wants Tony under his control!"
"Damn! Tony, run already, hurry!"
"Stop playing dumb, Loki's already done with you!"
It wasn't just the audience reacting in alarm.
At that very moment, both the expert group and the chief had leapt to their feet, their attention locked on the screen. Loki's hand rose, his scepter gleaming ominously. If the scepter struck Tony, he would become Loki's pawn in an instant!
Then suddenly, the chief froze, his expression stiff as stone.
Johan was stunned into silence.
Tonio widened his already narrow eyes until they looked like saucers!
The entire expert group went rigid, as though invisible fingers had seized their throats.
Kasey couldn't contain himself, and the tablet in his hands shattered on impact with the floor, "Damn you!"
Inside the live broadcast room, viewers collectively gasped. The screen froze in that exact moment. All chat cleared. The atmosphere turned eerie, like a ghost had passed through.
[ Loki's scepter glows with a faint, sinister light as he drives it toward Tony's chest. One strike, and Tony would become Loki's servant. Loki's furious face twists with the anticipation of victory. ]
[ Ding! A crisp metallic sound echoes; Loki's triumphant smile vanishes in shock. He glances at his weapon, disbelief clouding his features. Again, he drives the scepter forward, but it meets the same resistance. Nothing happens. ]
[ "This is not possible!" Loki blurts in frustration. ]
[ Tony, calm as ever, spreads his arms and smirks. "Performance issues. Happens all the time." ]
The livestream erupted in chaos. After a brief pause, a tidal wave of laughter and mocking comments flooded the screen.
"Damn! I'm crying from laughter!"
"Right! I forgot, Tony's got the Ark Reactor in his chest!"
"Gan! Hahaha! So much for 'magic over science!'"
"Oh my god! This scene is legendary!"
"Loki's face, hahaha! He's so confused!"
"He poked him a second time?! I can't breathe!"
"Don't aim for Tony's core, Loki!"
"With half a brain, he wouldn't poke there again…"
"Tony's expression though, he looks like he gets it."
"Performance issues… even the Soul Scepter has them…"
"Is Loki even here to destroy Earth? He feels more like a comedian!"
"Bad connection!"
"I've never been this entertained in my life!"
"Thank you, Loki! Thank you, entire Loki family!"
"Tony's life highlight reel right here!"
"So all it takes is an iron plate to block the scepter's control?!"
"Loki's a god, why's he relying on science logic anyway?"
"Not scientific at all!"
"This is killing me!"
In the training ground, Kasey hurled the ruined tablet away, his frustration drowned out by laughter. Nearby, a group of extraordinary operatives were practically rolling on the floor.
He shot them a glare and barked, "Focus, you fools!"
"Loki's from Asgard! The guy has that much power, and yet… He's completely lost his mind, what a disgrace!" Elizabeth smirked, tears of laughter in her eyes. "God, Loki's even dumber than that wild boar you punched to death."
"Twice he tried it! Twice!"
"No way, brother, I have to laugh a bit longer!"
Kasey couldn't help it either, he clutched his stomach and laughed along with them.
Inside the Office of the Authority, the director exchanged glances with his experts. They, too, were struggling to hold back their laughter. The Chief was grinning so wide it nearly split his face. A disaster had been narrowly averted, comedic relief was welcome.
"There's still hope," someone muttered.
"Exactly. If Loki can't control Tony, his plan's already unraveling."
Sighs of relief echoed throughout the room.
In the Supreme Court, the tension finally broke.
The elders were pale but visibly relieved. They'd been terrified moments ago. From their perspective, even if Tony died, he could not fall under Loki's control.
"Still, this is far from over," an elder murmured gravely.
"Tony's just provoked him beyond reason."
"Completely enraged!"
[ Tony, still calm, mutters: "Performance problems… this situation's quite common, five out of…" ]
[ Bang! Before he finishes, Loki seizes him by the chin and slams him hard onto the ground. ]
[ Tony groans but struggles to his feet, murmuring into the comms: "Jarvis, get ready." ]
[ As soon as he's upright, Loki storms forward, seizing his chin again. "You will all bow to me!" he snarls. ]
[ Tony ignores the threat and shouts, "Eject!" ]
[ A hatch in the hall bursts open, but Loki hurls Tony out a shattered window at the same moment. Tony plummets from dozens of stories up, glass shards trailing in his wake. ]
"Ah! He's falling from that high?!"
"And he ditched his armor!"
"Lying trough! He's dead meat!"
"Why is this glass so fragile?!"
"He wasn't mind-controlled, but now he's about to die!"
All eyes followed Tony's descent in horror. The situation was critical.
"Wait, that red thing, is that Mark 7?!"
"It's heading straight for him!"
"Faster, come on!"
[ A crimson suit pod rockets from the hatch, slamming Loki aside before diving after Tony. In mid-air, the pod disassembles, transforming into a humanoid suit. Jarvis locks onto the locator ring on Tony's wrist. ]
[ A red light flashes, target acquired. The armor snaps onto his arm, then assembles over his torso and legs. The suit fully encases him in seconds. ]
[ Just before Tony hits the ground, the helmet seals shut, thrusters ignite, and a deafening blast halts his fall. ]
[ Boom! Tony lands in the lobby, the gleaming new armor catching the light. ]
The livestream went wild.
"Tony Stark is a legend!"
"Whoa! Mark 7 doesn't even need manual assembly anymore?!"
"He's been cooking up secret tech!"
"I thought he was dead for sure!"
"So stylish, I need a suit like that in my life!"
"I heard the Federation's already developing something similar…"
"Good thing this building's tall. If it was short…"
"This tech is not any normal tech! Otherwise, Tony would've died from a bug!"
At the Norland R&D base, Guerino stared at the chaotic barrage, face flushed. Everyone knew the Federation was working on similar suits. But… they hadn't even cracked the new elements yet. And that wasn't their only hurdle.
Over at Ashton's lab, progress on the Ark Reactor was crawling. No one could say when a working model would see the light of day.
Guerino glanced around at his exhausted colleagues. He couldn't find the words.
"Maybe… we're just not strong enough. If we were, we'd have something tangible by now."
Meanwhile, at the Human Potential R&D Center, Ashton shifted his gaze from the monitor to the star-strewn sky. His expression was distant, unreadable.
After a long pause, he murmured, "Tell me, what truly sets the people of God apart from us mortals of the Earth Era?"
Everyone froze, exchanging confused glances. Why was the Chief asking this now? Asgard was powerful, yes. Other realms, too. But the R&D Center had never considered them a focus. Based on fragments of knowledge gathered over the years, these beings were fundamentally different from humans.
"Sir… what are you getting at?" someone asked cautiously.
Ashton chuckled softly. "It's just a thought I had."
Straightening in his chair, he swept his gaze across the room, "Think about Thor. Why can he wield the power of lightning, but no one else can? An ordinary body would be reduced to ash from a single strike."
Someone ventured, "Perhaps their physiology is fundamentally different from ours?"
Ashton tilted his head. "Then why do they look exactly like us?"
No one could answer. He leaned back, voice slow and deliberate.
"We know genetics defines much of who we are. There's even a theory that personality itself is encoded within our genes." He paused, his words thick with implication, "Do you think gods have gene fragments too? If so… if we could extract and transplant them into humans…Couldn't we unlock powers like Thor's?"
The silence in the room was deafening. Faces turned pale, eyes wide. It was a terrifying thought. But also… genius.
The Terra Federation's genetics research was already deep. They'd mapped genes linked to numerous diseases and had even begun clinical trials involving targeted gene modifications. If divine genes could be found and analyzed… If they could be used… Who could say how far humanity's potential might go?