The nuclear bomb exploded beyond low Earth orbit.
There was no sound.
Only a burst of white light flared in the depths of black space, as though someone had struck a match. The light quickly died, and the clouds over Earth's surface kept slowly turning.
Above New York, nothing happened.
But amid the clouds, Thor suddenly lost his upward momentum.
"Boss!"
Yang Ming didn't answer.
His left hand was still poised to close the Anywhere Door, all five fingers rigid, while his right arm hung limply at his side.
The backlash from closing the Gate of Limit hit him all at once. Muscles tore throughout both arms, from his shoulders to his fingertips. Blood vessels bulged beneath his skin, and every breath carried fine flecks of bloody foam.
Thor caught him around the waist and positioned Mjolnir horizontally beneath their feet.
"Don't fall asleep!" Thor looked down at him. "You still haven't approved my time off!"
Yang Ming opened his eyes a sliver.
"You... no time off... for a hundred years."
"You're still keeping score at a time like this?"
"The books... have to stay straight."
Thor cursed and plunged back toward Stark Tower with him.
They pierced the low clouds and landed again on the wrecked rooftop helipad.
Thor dropped to one knee. Yang Ming slid out of his arms, and the moment his soles touched the shattered ground, his knees buckled.
Steve reached out to steady him.
"Don't move."
Yang Ming raised a hand and pushed Steve away.
"Manhattan."
"What?"
"Any Chitauri left?"
Tony was climbing out of his powerless Mark Armor. Sparks spat from the spot where Yang Ming had ripped out the helmet's signal cable.
He pulled off half his faceplate, his face covered in soot.
"You just came back from space, and that's your first