On the top floor of Stark Tower, Loki gripped the glowing scepter tightly, the tip pulsing with blue energy. He raised it over Kurogai's chest, ready to strike. But when the blade of light was less than a centimeter from Kurogai's heart—it stopped. The scepter simply refused to pierce through.
"Damn it… what kind of power is this?" Loki growled, his face twisting in frustration. No matter how much strength he poured into the blow, the weapon wouldn't move any further. Victory was right there—just a heartbeat away—yet it might as well have been on another planet.
"Loki," Kurogai said calmly, his expression unreadable. "Don't waste your energy. The gap between us is too great."
A faint distortion shimmered around him, bending the light ever so slightly. The scepter trembled uselessly against it. Kurogai knew the weapon's nature—its psychic control, its link to the Mind Stone—and he wasn't foolish enough to let Loki risk using it on him. Even if he was confident in his resistance, there was no need to tempt fate. After all, no one could predict what tricks Thanos might have hidden within the scepter.
"Why… why is this happening?!" Loki shouted, his fury echoing through the chamber. He had finally gained a weapon capable of turning the tide, yet it had betrayed him at the most critical moment.
"Sir, the space generator is ready!" Hawkeye's voice came from across the room. The circular device beneath the skylight hummed with power, a swirling vortex of energy waiting to be unleashed.
"Good. Start the sequence," Loki barked, tossing the scepter toward him. His anger cooled in an instant, replaced by a sharp, calculating focus. If brute force wouldn't work, he would return to his original plan—open the portal, summon the Chitauri, and crush his enemies under the weight of an alien army.
Kurogai watched silently, his gaze steady. "So that's it," he murmured. "You're using the Mind Stone's energy to power the Tesseract array. Clever."
He hadn't expected Loki to improvise like that. The Space Stone was gone—Kurogai had taken it long ago—so Loki had chosen to substitute one Infinity Stone for another. Risky, but undeniably creative.
"You can't stop me this time," Loki sneered, turning to face him again. "The portal is opening. The Chitauri will descend upon this world, and Earth will finally be mine!"
Kurogai smiled faintly. "I never planned to stop you," he said. "But… someone else might disagree. Your dear brother, for instance."
Loki froze, confusion flickering across his face. "What?"
"Look behind you."
As Kurogai spoke, a blur of motion streaked across the sky. Through the shattered glass windows, several figures approached at incredible speed—the Avengers. Loki's eyes widened.
Of course. He could bend weak minds to his will, but machines were another matter. While he'd been focused on the portal, Stark's AI, J.A.R.V.I.S., had already reported everything to its owner. Within minutes, the team had mobilized.
"Loki!" boomed a voice like thunder. "Your foolishness ends here!"
Thor and Iron Man were the first to arrive, descending through the storm clouds and landing hard on the tower's deck. The god of thunder's eyes burned with lightning as he looked at his brother.
"You defy Father's command and endanger this realm again! I will drag you back to Asgard myself!"
"It's not easy taking over my building," Tony Stark said coldly, his armor gleaming with energy. "You want it, you'll have to go through me."
The sky above roared open as the Tesseract array stabilized, tearing a hole through reality. One by one, Chitauri warships emerged from the rift, swarming into New York City. The chaos had begun.
"Give up, Loki!" Thor raised his hammer high, lightning crackling through the air. "Yield and face your punishment!"
Loki barely had time to respond before Mjolnir crashed into him like a meteor. He was thrown straight through the tower's glass façade, tumbling downward into the city below.
Thor leapt after him, shouting, "You leave me no choice, brother!"
Kurogai stood by the glowing device, watching as Iron Man shot out after them, repulsors blazing.
"Thanks for holding him off, Kurogai!" Tony called as he passed. "We'll handle the cleanup!"
Kurogai blinked, slightly amused. "Thank me? Huh… interesting."
It took only a moment for him to realize why Stark had said that. Earlier, Kurogai had requested temporary access to the top floor of Stark Tower for his research. Now, with Loki attacking, Stark must've assumed Kurogai had been helping protect the building.
"Well… misunderstandings happen," Kurogai murmured with a faint smile. Then his eyes shifted toward the portal. "But this—this is the real prize."
Hawkeye and several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents remained near the generator, weapons drawn, trying to defend the control systems. But they were no match for him. In seconds, Kurogai disarmed them, each motion precise and effortless, leaving the operatives unconscious on the floor.
The hum of the Tesseract array deepened, vibrating through the steel beams of the building. In the center of the device, the scepter floated in a column of blue light, radiating unstable energy.
Kurogai stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. "So this is what drives it… the Mind Stone."
He reached out, letting his palm hover above the containment field. The energy rippled at his touch, warping like water disturbed by a pebble. The power was immense—alive, even. He could feel the pulse of thought within it, whispering at the edges of his consciousness.
A lesser mind would have been consumed instantly. But Kurogai was not a lesser mind.
He exhaled slowly, adjusting the flow of energy around his hand. The barrier shimmered, then parted just enough for him to grasp the scepter's handle. When he did, the entire tower trembled.
"Impressive," he said softly. "No wonder Thanos wanted this so badly."
He turned toward the open sky, watching the Chitauri ships raining down over Manhattan. Iron Man's repulsor blasts flared in the distance, and Thor's lightning split the heavens in half. The city below was chaos—flames, sirens, and smoke painting the skyline in streaks of orange and blue.
For most, it was a nightmare.
For Kurogai, it was an opportunity.
He looked at the scepter again, its glow reflecting in his dark eyes. There was knowledge here—secrets locked inside the Mind Stone that could reshape everything he knew about reality. About the universe. About power itself.
A smile touched his lips.