The public square in Stuttgart, Germany, became the first true stage for Loki's Chitauri-backed theatrical display of dominance, and an unexpected, chaotic first "field exercise" for the nascent Avengers. As Elias Thorne monitored via discreet Blackwood orbital surveillance (supplemented by Anya Petrova's S.H.I.E.L.D. intelligence feeds), Loki, resplendent in his Asgardian armor, his eyes burning with borrowed power and theatrical malice, easily subdued the German authorities. He used the Chitauri Scepter to force the gathered crowd to their knees, delivering a chilling monologue about humanity's inherent need for subjugation, for a ruler. It was a performance worthy of a god of mischief, perfectly calibrated to sow fear and demonstrate his (supposed) absolute power.
Elias's "Special Situations Unit" – Logan, Miller "Argent," and Wraith (Bucky Barnes) – observed from the periphery, cloaked and unseen, their orders from Elias clear: gather intelligence on the Scepter's capabilities, assess Loki's control over his mind-controlled pawns (Clint Barton/Hawkeye and several S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives), and only intervene if Loki threatened to cause truly catastrophic, unmanageable civilian casualties before the Avengers arrived.
Logan, his senses now finely attuned to energy signatures after his "Berserker Ascendant" evolution, noted the Scepter's disturbing aura. "Kid," he grunted through their private comm link to Elias, "that pointy stick Loki's waving around... it ain't just Asgardian hocus-pocus. Smells... wrong. Cold. Like something ancient and hungry. Makes my teeth ache."
Elias confirmed, his own esoteric senses resonating with Logan's assessment. "It contains a fragment of an... older power, Logan. A Mind Stone. It bends wills, amplifies malice. Observe how easily it controls Barton. We must secure it."
The Avengers' arrival was, as Elias had predicted, somewhat disorganized but undeniably impactful. Captain America (Steve Rogers), his shield deflecting Loki's initial energy blasts, engaged the Asgardian in a surprisingly effective close-quarters fight, his super-soldier agility and tactical acumen testing even the God of Mischief. Iron Man (Tony Stark), arriving in his new, sleek Mark VI armor, provided aerial support, his repulsor blasts forcing Loki to divide his attention. Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), having managed to shake off Hawkeye's initial Scepter-controlled assault during the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier lockdown (an event Elias also monitored with great interest, noting S.H.I.E.L.D.'s impressive, if vulnerable, mobile command capabilities), was fighting her way through mind-controlled S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on the ground, her skill and ruthlessness undeniable.
The missing Avenger, Thor, was still nowhere to be seen.
The battle in Stuttgart quickly devolved into a chaotic three-way mêlée: Loki and his mind-controlled agents vs. Captain America and Iron Man vs. the German police trying desperately to restore order. Elias's team observed, cataloging Loki's illusionary tactics, the Scepter's ability to project potent energy blasts and subtly influence crowds, and the nascent, often clashing, combat styles of Rogers and Stark.
Miller "Argent," his Legionnaire senses hyper-acute, noted a critical detail. "Creator, Barton is not just mind-controlled. The Scepter... it seems to be drawing on his latent frustrations, his resentments against S.H.I.E.L.D., amplifying them. It's not just puppetry; it's a corruption of will." This was valuable data for Finch's Mind Stone countermeasure research.
Then, just as Loki seemed to be gaining the upper hand, using his illusions to disorient Rogers and a focused Scepter blast to temporarily disable Iron Man's flight systems, a colossal, booming voice echoed from the heavens, accompanied by a deafening crack of thunder and a searing flash of rainbow light.
"LOKI! Brother! Your treachery ends NOW!"
Thor Odinson, God of Thunder, arrived. Not via a repaired Bifrost (Asgard was still largely cut off), but through a desperate, Odin-force-fueled dimensional breach his father had managed to momentarily tear open from Asgard, a one-way, one-time passage that had clearly drained even the Allfather's immense power. Mjolnir sang in his hand, crackling with cosmic lightning. He was magnificent, a true god of war, his eyes blazing with righteous fury.
[THOR ODINSON (PRIME CONDUIT) – RE-EMPOWERED (ODIN-FORCE ASSISTED TRANSIT). POWER LEVEL: TIER OMEGA (FULL ASGARDIAN MIGHT RESTORED). CURRENT OBJECTIVE: SUBDUE LOKI, RECOVER TESSERACT, RETURN TO ASGARD. Threat Level to Host Interests: Variable (Potential Ally against Cosmic Threats; Unpredictable due to Asgardian Loyalties).]
The battle immediately escalated. Thor and Loki, two Asgardian princes, clashed with the power of gods, their blows shattering stone, their energies tearing through the Stuttgart square. Captain America and Iron Man found themselves struggling to merely stay out of the path of their divine conflict.
Loki, for all his cunning and Scepter-derived power, was clearly outmatched by a fully empowered, royally enraged Thor. Illusions shattered against Mjolnir's honest might. Scepter blasts were deflected by storms of summoned lightning.
It was during a particularly brutal exchange, as Thor disarmed Loki of the Scepter with a devastating blow from Mjolnir, sending the staff clattering across the damaged cobblestones, that Elias gave the order.
"Wraith. Now. Secure the Scepter. Disengage. Logan, Miller, provide extraction cover if Barton or any Scepter-puppets interfere. Avoid direct engagement with Thor or the other Avengers unless absolutely unavoidable."
Bucky "Wraith" Barnes, who had been silently observing from a bombed-out rooftop overlooking the square, his upgraded bionic arm a gleam of dark metal, moved with the speed and silence that had made the Winter Soldier a legend. While Thor was focused on pummeling a defeated Loki into submission, and Captain America and Iron Man were dealing with Hawkeye and the last of Loki's mind-controlled agents (who had been momentarily stunned by Loki's defeat but were now re-engaging with Scepter-less desperation), Wraith dropped from the rooftop, a black phantom.
He scooped up the Chitauri Scepter, its Mind Stone fragment pulsing with a cold, alien light, just as a dazed but still dangerous Clint Barton lunged for it. Wraith met Barton's attack with a single, brutal, non-lethal takedown, his bionic arm deflecting Barton's arrows, his human hand delivering a precise nerve strike that sent the master archer sprawling.
Then, Wraith simply... vanished into the smoke and chaos, the Scepter in his grasp, making his way to a pre-arranged Blackwood extraction point. Logan and Miller, seeing Wraith secure, melted back into the shadows without ever having to directly engage the Avengers.
[CHITAURI SCEPTER (MIND STONE FRAGMENT) – SECURED BY ASSET "WRAITH". OBJECTIVE ACHIEVED. Avengers/S.H.I.E.L.D. Unaware of True Acquirer.]
Elias allowed himself a small, internal sigh of satisfaction. Phase one of his Scepter acquisition was complete.
Thor, having subdued a seething, defeated Loki, retrieved his brother. Captain America and Iron Man, with Black Widow (who had finally arrived with S.H.I.E.L.D. reinforcements), managed to secure the now-leaderless Scepter-controlled agents, including a furious and disoriented Hawkeye. They searched desperately for the Scepter, but it was gone, vanished as if into thin air. Fury and Carter would be apoplectic. The world's most dangerous known alien artifact was now missing, its disappearance a chilling mystery.
Elias knew S.H.I.E.L.D. would suspect Loki had somehow retrieved it, or that another, unknown faction had intervened. The truth – that it now rested in the hands of the planet's most powerful, most secret organization – would remain his ultimate trump card.
The Stuttgart incident had been a resounding success for the Thorne Ascendancy. He had acquired the Scepter, gathered invaluable combat data on both Asgardian princes and the nascent Avengers, and further demonstrated the effectiveness of his covert operatives. He now possessed two potential Infinity Stone-related artifacts: the Tesseract (which Loki was about to "lose" again during his escape from S.H.I.E.L.D. custody aboard the Helicarrier, as per Elias's carefully implanted secondary suggestions into Loki's Scepter-corrupted mind – a plan designed to ensure the Tesseract also fell into more... manageable hands for Elias's future plans, likely Thor's, to be taken off-world for "safekeeping") and the Scepter itself.
His [Prime Essence Shard Reserve] now stood at [3.2/5.0] (the Stuttgart engagement yielded [+0.9 Shards] from Loki's Scepter energy echoes, the remnants of Hawkeye's mind-control, and the elite S.H.I.E.L.D. agents they'd fought – every scrap counted). He was steadily rebuilding his Shard reserves for the next major System evolution or Legionnaire creation.
As Loki was "captured" by the Avengers and taken aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, his eyes met, for a fleeting, imperceptible moment, a hidden Blackwood surveillance drone transmitting to Elias. A ghost of a smirk played on Loki's lips. The grand charade was proceeding perfectly. The invasion of New York was next. And Elias Thorne, armed with the Scepter's power and a terrifyingly accurate understanding of Earth's defenders, was ready to orchestrate the planet's most spectacular, most profitable "failure." The dawn of the Avengers was also, secretly, the dawn of Elias's deeper cosmic machinations.