"The nuclear missile has been launched."
"Time until detonation: two minutes, thirty seconds."
The meteorite dissipated. Thor grabbed Loki and shouted, "Look up! Look around you! Look at what you've done!"
Loki's gaze wandered over the ruined city. His expression was unreadable. Faced with Thor's accusations, his throat bobbed, and his voice came out somewhat hoarse. "It's too late. You can't stop it."
"You can't hold off an endless army forever, and he won't allow it, either."
"Who is he? Who gave you this scepter?"
Thor released his grip, and the scepter clattered to the ground, rolled twice, and stopped.
When Loki had fallen from the Bifrost, Thor had thought he would never see him again. He had long since accepted his younger brother's death and had even held a funeral for him in Asgard.
If Heimdall hadn't spotted Loki on Earth, Thor wouldn't have believed what he was seeing.
Loki had actually become a killer and destroyer invading another Earth.
"Loki, it's not too late to stop now. Otherwise, this entire city will become a casualty of this war," Thor pleaded earnestly.
Tony had told him how powerful the nuclear missile was. Human weapons might not pose much of a threat to Asgardians like them, but the damage such a weapon could inflict on civilians was devastating. He couldn't imagine what this city would look like if a nuclear bomb really exploded here.
Loki muttered to himself, then suddenly laughed, his voice bleak and sorrowful. "There's no way. When I designed the Space Transmission Device, I left no way out."
Thor's face darkened at those words.
"No, there is a way."
"Dr. Selvig."
Selvig, who had previously vanished somewhere, had finally broken free of the magic's control. He gave them some welcome news. "Loki's Scepter draws its energy from