Slipping and Sliding the Green Giant (Revised)

As the Space Stone continued to supply energy, the interstellar portal above Stark Tower grew larger and larger, with more Chitauri pouring through like a flood, and even several of those huge Flying Reptiles squeezing out alongside them.

But once they emerged from the portal, they instinctively veered away from the rooftop below—perhaps having received warnings from their kin—and wisely steered clear of the battle between the two mages atop the building. Up there, the two were trading powerful magic fireballs and blue Arcane Orbs, and any Chitauri foolish enough to approach would first have to weigh their own worth; anyone with a functioning brain gave that spot a wide berth.

"Annie! Think of something, quick! The portal's getting bigger!!" Coulson pointed at the ever-expanding rift in the sky. He could clearly see the Chitauri Mothership and other warships in the other universe stirring restlessly inside the portal; maybe in a little while, they'd start trying to push through.

Coulson had already tried countless methods: shooting it with his pistol, lobbing grenades, throwing bricks, yanking wires, shoving it, prying at the base—all to no avail. He was this close to trying to short-circuit it by pissing on it or spitting on it.

Annie didn't even need to look to sense the disturbance from the portal above. She knew she couldn't keep dragging this out either; this endless back-and-forth where neither could land a decisive blow was starting to bore her.

After trading blows with this villain named Loki for a while, Annie had figured out the oddity of his Scepter. No matter how many powerful spells she threw, no matter how many times she attacked, the Scepter's magic never seemed to weaken. It was as if it had an inexhaustible supply of power, constantly feeding Loki the energy to maintain his shield. That made things no fun for her.

Thinking it over, Annie used a Flash to put distance between them! Since this stalemate couldn't go on, there was no point in wasting more mana on a pointless fight.

Hmph! She'd figured it out—that shield was practically designed to counter magic. Maybe it was another form of that legendary magic immunity? If so, Annie would have to try a different approach. If that didn't work, she'd just grab the Space Stone and run; she doubted he'd dare chase her.

"What's this, little girl? Giving up?" Loki, seeing Annie voluntarily Flash away after their prolonged struggle, assumed she was admitting defeat. He began to gloat.

"You see, don't you? My army is endless. Earth has no chance. How about this: kneel to me, and I'll share power with you. What do you say? As the strong, we were born to stand above mortals, to enjoy their worship and absolute authority! Submit to me, little girl!"

Loki had witnessed Annie's power firsthand! He secretly thanked his luck for having the Scepter forged from an Infinity Stone, which let him counter her completely. Otherwise, this really would have been dangerous.

"Heh heh! Who said I was surrendering? I've found a way to deal with you, but first, I have a question!"

Annie eyed his Scepter with envy. So what if he relied on that fancy stick to bully her? What was there to be proud of? Still, it was a shame such a good item was in his hands. She had to find a way to snatch it too.

"What question?" Loki asked instinctively, unable to imagine what trick the little girl could have left. A more powerful spell?

"Well, I need to ask: have you seen my bear?" Annie grinned at him with ill intent.

"What bear?" Loki blinked, confused. What was this girl playing at?

"So you haven't? Then let me show you! How about that? Heheheh~!" Annie tossed a fireball while simultaneously hurling her Tibbers at him.

"What is this girl trying to do?" Loki was baffled.

He certainly hadn't seen her bear, and her inexplicable act of throwing a toy left him bewildered. Still, sticking to the principle of meeting change with stillness, he summoned his shield to block the fireball, ready to counterattack during Annie's opening. After all, the Chitauri Mothership was almost here; he wasn't in a rush. Dragging it out meant victory would be his.

"Now! Quick, Tibbers! Come out and bite him!"

With Annie's sharp cry, the toy bear thrown above Loki erupted with intense magical fluctuations and rapidly expanded, instantly transforming into a massive Flame Giant Bear that slammed down hard onto Loki! The giant, blazing bear claw stomped straight through Loki's magic shield, and before he could react, Tibbers swatted his Scepter away. The Scepter spun through the air and tumbled off Stark Tower, lost somewhere in the debris...

"Aha! So much for your magic immunity! So much for your gloating! Gotcha, didn't I!"

Annie's eyes lit up at the sight of the Scepter flying off. She pretended to gloat while watching Tibbers beat Loki like a punching bag, but secretly cast an Invisible Puppet Spell, ordering the puppet to slip down Stark Tower as fast as it could. What was it going to do? Ahem! Annie wasn't telling!

"Oh! No!" With his shield shattered and his Scepter knocked away, Loki could only instinctively raise his arms to protect his head from the incoming bear claw.

Too bad! He didn't have the Hulk's strength, nor his physique! Tibbers' second claw sent him flying into a wall, then he dropped to the ground, where Tibbers planted a foot on his chest. Two swipes later, Loki was knocked unconscious, his body scorched and battered by Tibbers' flames. His long black hair was burnt into a tangled, sticky mess, reeking of burnt protein.

Pfft! This guy was pathetically weak! Such a frail constitution—out cold after just two hits! If it weren't for that magic-immunity shield, Annie would have roasted him long ago, right? Tibbers curled his lip in disdain.

Whatever! He rarely got to come out! This guy was at least an Asgardian god, so Tibbers might as well enjoy stomping him a few times. He'd never had the chance to trample a demigod before. So Tibbers stepped forward and gave him two more solid kicks. Satisfying, but too fragile—couldn't take a hit.

"Stop! Annie, please, don't kill him!"

Thor, who had survived his fall from the tower, had just managed to climb back to the rooftop. Seeing this scene, he quickly called out to stop her. Even though his brother Loki had committed a grave crime, Thor didn't want him killed here. At the very least, he should be taken back to Asgard to face their father Odin's judgment.

Tibbers, having enjoyed his stomping, had one paw pinning Loki's chest and the other raised high, ready to deliver a killing blow! But hearing Thor's plea, he turned his head to look at Annie with questioning eyes. If his master Annie nodded, he'd swipe down and tear the demigod's head off.

He only obeyed Annie's commands. As for that guy with the hammer? Tibbers didn't care who he was! He was itching to kill the demigod beneath his paw. Even if this demigod was weak and pathetic, he was still a demigod! When he got back to the Shadow Realm, he'd have bragging rights, wouldn't he? "One day, I, Tibbers, killed a demigod!" See? That sounded impressive!

"Huh? Let him go? Why!" Annie was reluctant to release that villain! Looking at the city reduced to rubble, she'd seen so many people die because of him. She wanted Tibbers to eat him!

"Please, Annie!" Thor didn't dare use force, only begged bitterly. After all, Loki was his brother!

"But..." Annie was still unwilling! She barely knew this guy named Thor; why should she listen to him? No way!

"Hey! Can you two stop arguing? Look! Their mothership is coming through!"

Coulson was about to lose it! He quickly interrupted their dilemma. What time was this to be debating? Loki was already pinned by Tibbers; he wasn't going anywhere! They could kill or spare him later! Right now, the alien mothership was coming through! Could the Avengers please show some professionalism?

"Whoa!" Annie looked up to see the massive Chitauri Mothership's head already poking through the portal. She groaned—this might have gotten out of hand. That mothership was huge...

"How do we shut it down?" Coulson hurriedly led Annie and Thor to stand before the Space Device. Thor's hammer and Annie's fireballs couldn't scratch it. It was protected by a sturdy shield! The Space Stone's power was being continuously drawn out to maintain and expand the portal above.

"According to the doctor who built it, only Loki's Scepter can shut it down!"

Coulson added quickly. He'd already tried shooting it and blowing it up with grenades up close, but nothing worked. And now they had to find Loki's Scepter? Who knew where Tibbers had knocked it! By the time they found it, the Chitauri army would probably be through.

"Maybe we don't need to go through all that trouble. Tibbers! Your turn!" Annie's eyes darted as she secretly infused Tibbers with some special Arcane energy, vaguely similar to that of Loki's Scepter.

"Roar~!" Tibbers reluctantly abandoned his prey, leaped up, and swiped the Space Device and its shield into pieces. He figured Annie didn't want him killing that demigod for now.

"The Space Stone!" Seeing the device destroyed, Thor finally relaxed. But as he spotted the shattered fragments and the glowing cube, he realized what it was.

"Come back! Aha~!" Annie quickly used a Mage Hand to snatch the glowing cube as it flew off, pulling it into her grasp. Finally, she had it in her hands, and she grinned triumphantly.

"Oh! No! Look up! We're doomed!" Coulson wailed, pointing upward.

With the Space Device destroyed and the Space Stone no longer powering it, the space tunnel immediately collapsed and shattered. The Chitauri Mothership, which had barely pushed its head through, was severed by the collapsing portal. Explosions erupted from the break, and the entire mothership's head came crashing down toward Stark Tower.

At the same time, with the space tunnel closed and the mothership destroyed by the spatial rupture, the Chitauri soldiers and giant flying insects rampaging through New York City suddenly lost power and control, collapsing to the ground...

In the end, Coulson didn't die. Annie's Mass Teleportation Spell saved them all. Standing at a distance, staring at the massive wreckage ahead, everyone felt a sense of relief. It had been brutal, but Earth had won! That was something to celebrate—except for one person: Iron Man, Tony Stark!

"God! That was my building!!!" Tony lifted his Iron Man Suit's faceplate, staring blankly at what was left of Stark Tower, now a pile of rubble under the Chitauri Mothership's bow.

The unlucky Stark Tower and the surrounding buildings had all been flattened by the falling alien mothership fragment. Luckily, it was just a small piece of the mothership's head. If half the mothership had come down, all of New York would have been destroyed. The thought made everyone shudder.

"Excuse me... did I miss something?" After the battle had ended, Bruce Banner, arriving late on a beat-up motorcycle, looked at the devastated streets and the motionless aliens lying around, and asked the team awkwardly.