Earth returned to peaceful days.
To the surprise of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers, Loki, who had escaped from the Sky Carrier, vanished without a trace. Tony had originally guessed that his target might be Stark Tower, which housed an Arc Reactor. After all, it was the perfect place to activate the Tesseract—located in the heart of Manhattan, with such a conspicuous landmark serving as the stage for his arrival.
Nick Fury cast a net around the area, but a week passed without any sign of Loki. If the Tesseract had not truly been stolen, they would have almost believed that the assault on the Sky Carrier had been nothing more than an imagined hallucination.
The predicted catastrophe that would destroy the world had simply vanished into thin air. S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers could not help feeling bewildered and disappointed. After several days of tense activity, it all seemed like a joke.
Banner, who had been enraged by Hawkeye Barton and plunged to the ground after wreaking havoc, returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. Thor, however, had vanished just like his brother, leaving no trace behind. This made the Black director suspect that the brothers had already taken the Tesseract back to Asgard.
In truth, his guess was not wrong. Thor had indeed been taken back to Asgard by Odin, where he actively prepared for the arrival of the Chitauri army. As for Loki...
After receiving word that the Cosmic Overlord had personally descended, the Asgardian Prince, skilled in schemes and trickery, went to pay his respects of his own accord.
In the vast, boundless darkness of space, an endless torrent of steel cut through the void like a mighty army on the march. Loki stood at the prow of a Chitauri warship, gripping an ancient dark-gold scepter.
"Asgardian, don't try any more tricks.