(AN: Thanks for patiently waiting. I've read one of the comments saying not to rely too much on AI, and I agree. Never planned on doing so, but there are just some scenes that I really need help with. Anyways, enjoy!)
High above the chaos of Manhattan, on the battered surface of Stark Tower, the wind howled through broken glass and twisted steel.
The portal still raged overhead, pouring out the last remnants of the Chitauri invasion, though their numbers had already begun to thin.
A sudden blur cut across the rooftop
Two bodies slammed hard against the roof's surface right next to the machine running the portal.
Thor, Loki, and the scepter.
They skidded across the ground, sparks flying as they came to a halt near the edge.
"Brother—!"
Thor groaned, pushing himself up on one knee, Mjolnir-less but still very much in the fight.
He glanced toward Loki, who lay momentarily stunned, his scepter clattering beside him.
Not far from them, Erik Selvig stirred, clutching his head as if waking from a long nightmare.
"The… the device…" Selvig muttered, blinking rapidly as clarity returned to his eyes.
"The portal—it can be closed."
Thor turned immediately.
"Speak, my friend. How?"
Selvig pointed weakly toward the core of the machine.
"The scepter… It's the key. It can shut it down. There's a failsafe—Loki designed it… or—" He winced.
"Or made me design it."
Static crackled through Thor's ear.
"Thor, you copy?" came the voice of Steve Rogers.
"I hear you."
"We heard everything. Can you handle it?" Thor didn't hesitate.
"Aye. Leave it to me."
He strode forward, grabbing the scepter in one hand, lifting Selvig with the other.
"Show me."
Selvig staggered beside him, pointing urgently.
"There—right there. The core stabilizer. You need to strike it with the scepter—precise angle, or it won't—"
Thor didn't wait for the full explanation.
With a roar, he drove the scepter straight into the mechanism.
A surge of energy exploded outward.
The portal above flickered.
While this was happening, Loki stood.
Slowly. Carefully.
His sharp eyes locked onto the figure seated upon the conjured throne—silent, unmoving, watching everything as if it were a play beneath him.
Loki approached, boots echoing faintly against the metal rooftop. There was no arrogance in his steps now—only caution… and curiosity.
"You…" Loki began, voice measured.
"You freed me."
Elias didn't answer.
"Why?"
Still nothing.
Loki frowned, irritation flickering.
"You had me at your mercy. You stripped me of control, of power—yet you did not kill me. Not even imprison me." His grip tightened slightly.
"That is clearly not mercy. What exactly do you want with me?"
Finally, Elias moved.
Just slightly.
His gaze shifted toward Loki, eyes calm… distant.
"Nothing at all. It's just that you... are burdened," he said simply.
Loki's breath hitched.
"With glorious purpose."
Silence fell, and Loki froze.
Those words were his.
He had spoken them to Thor. To Midgard's leader, who tried to stop him when he first came through the Tesseract.
And now… this man said them as if they were true.
"…What do you mean exactly?" Loki asked, quieter now. No mockery or arrogance.
Elias didn't even look at him fully. His gaze had already drifted back to the sky, to the fading chaos above.
"In time," he said calmly, "you will understand it yourself."
Loki stared at him. Viewing him as something… incomprehensible.
.
.
.
Down below, amidst the rubble and smoke, the remaining Avengers regrouped.
Tony Stark landed with a hard thud, his suit sparking slightly as he glanced up toward the tower.
"Okay," Tony said, pulling off part of his helmet, "we need to talk about that guy."
"Agreed," Natasha Romanoff replied, wiping grime from her cheek as she followed his gaze upward.
"Because I'm not adding 'necromancer' to today's list without a discussion."
"Necromancer?" Clint Barton muttered.
"We're just going with that now?"
"What else would we call him?" Tony shot back.
"He raised a flying army of dead civilians that laughed while tearing aliens apart."
"Zombies," Clint shrugged.
"They weren't zombies," Bruce Banner added, already back to his naked human form.
"Zombies don't… coordinate like that. Or fly."
Tony pointed at him. "Definitely not Zombies, they're worse."
Steve stepped forward, eyes still fixed on the rooftop.
"He helped," Steve said firmly.
"Whatever he is—he helped us win."
Natasha crossed her arms.
"Accidentally. Or intentionally?"
"That's exactly the problem," Tony added.
"We don't know."
Clint let out a breath.
"He also ended the invasion with a bow and arrow."
Tony turned.
"Don't remind me. I have a bow guy, and he doesn't do that."
"Not sure if I can do that too. I mean, how can an arrow travel through a vacuum of space? His wasn't even an arrow to begin with." Clint complained.
Bruce hesitated before speaking again.
"He raised them… but didn't control them. Not directly, at least. And then… he just made them disappear."
Natasha's eyes narrowed.
"So he can create an army… and dismiss it just as easily."
"Yeah," Tony said. "That's not exactly comforting because it just means he can summon them back just the same."
A brief silence settled between them.
Then Clint spoke again, more quietly this time.
"Some of those people… the ones he raised…"
Steve looked at him.
"They were dead," Clint continued.
"For a second… it looked like they were aware. They were talking normally one moment and laughing crazily the next."
Bruce frowned. "That's… not possible."
"Neither is any of this," Tony gestured vaguely at everything.
Natasha tilted her head slightly. "If he can raise them… can he bring them back properly?"
That question lingered heavily. Steve's jaw tightened.
"We don't assume anything," he said firmly.
"We don't jump to conclusions, and we don't start asking for miracles we don't understand."
Tony sighed. "So what's the play, Cap?"
Steve looked back up at the tower.
At the man sitting on that throne, as if none of this mattered.
"We ask him directly."
Natasha raised a brow. "You sure about that?"
"Yes."
"And if he doesn't like questions?" Tony added.
Steve didn't hesitate.
"Then we find out why."
Clint glanced up, squinting slightly. "You think he's a good guy?"
Steve paused.
"…I think," he said slowly, "he has the potential to be one."
Tony exhaled through his nose.
"Great. So we're basically recruiting a walking apocalypse to our volatile boy band."
Natasha smirked faintly while looking at Bruce. "Wouldn't be the first time for me."
Steve took a step forward.
"Let's go," he said.
"We talk to him and figure out what he wants."
"And if what he wants is a problem?" Tony asked.
Steve's eyes hardened just slightly.
"Then we deal with it."
Above them, the portal flickered violently
Moments from collapse.
A surge of energy rippled through the rooftop as Thor drove the scepter deeper into the core of the machine. The metal frame groaned under the strain, blue light flickering wildly as the portal above destabilized.
"Is that supposed to happen?" Erik Selvig shouted over the rising hum.
Thor tightened his grip, lightning crackling faintly along his arm. "You said this would close it!"
"I said it should!" Selvig snapped back, ducking as a spark burst from the console.
"Try angling it—slightly to the left—no, your other left!"
Thor adjusted, gritting his teeth. "You Midgardians and your imprecise instructions!"
"Just hold it there!" Selvig urged.
The machine shrieked.
Above them, the swirling portal flickered violently—then began to collapse inward, the edges folding like a dying star.
Thor gave one final push.
With a thunderous boom, the portal snapped shut. Silence followed.
Not absolute—but compared to the chaos moments before, it felt like the world had taken its first breath again.
Thor pulled the scepter free, stepping back as the machine powered down completely.
"…It is done," he said, exhaling.
Selvig leaned against the console, letting out a shaky laugh.
"Remind me never to build something like that again."
Thor glanced skyward, then down toward the city. The invasion was over. But his gaze slowly shifted back to the throne.
Loki stood a few paces away from Elias, pacing like a caged thought given form.
"This is absurd…" Loki muttered, running a hand through his hair.
"I tried to conquer a world, I am defeated, freed, and now—now I am expected to simply… what? Reflect?"
He turned sharply toward Elias.
"What exactly is it you expect me to do?"
Elias didn't answer immediately.
Loki scoffed lightly. "Because if the answer involves returning to Asgard—"
"It does."
'including knowing you were the reason your mother dies.' Elias thought.
Loki froze.
"…No," he said flatly.
"Absolutely not. I am not going back there to be judged, mocked, imprisoned-"
"You need to see it again," Elias interrupted calmly.
Loki's expression darkened. "I have seen enough of Asgard to last several lifetimes."
Elias finally looked at him, gaze steady.
"And yet," he said, "you understood nothing."
That struck deeper than Loki expected. He opened his mouth, then stopped.
Elias continued, voice even. "You call it a prison. A place of judgment. But you've never once looked at it without trying to prove something."
Loki's jaw tightened. "And what is it you think I'm meant to find there?"
Elias leaned slightly back on his throne.
"What you were meant to be."
Loki looked away, conflicted.
"…And if I refuse?"
Elias shrugged faintly. "Then you remain what you are now."
That answer… lingered.
A metallic whine cut through the air as Tony Stark descended onto the rooftop, boots locking into place.
Behind him, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, and Clint Barton followed closely; they all hitched a ride to get there together.
Moments later, Thor arrived as well, Selvig in tow.
They formed a loose semicircle around Elias.
Elias glanced at them once, then rested his chin against his hand again.
"Well," he said casually, "this is new."
His gaze swept across them.
"All of you, gathered like this… makes me feel like the bad guy." A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"You clearly want something, what is it?"
Steve was the first to step forward.
"First," he said firmly, "thanks for the help."
Elias gave a small, noncommittal nod.
Steve continued.
"The invasion's over. So now we need to know—what are your plans?"
"And the people you raised," Steve added, voice tightening slightly.
"What happens to them? Can they be brought back… properly?"
Every Avenger tensed slightly as they watched and waited.
Elias noticed.
For a brief moment, a thought crossed his mind—how easily he could end this. Every single one of them, standing here, cautious and ready…
They wouldn't stand a chance.
He could take this world, rule it, or break it.
But…
He exhaled softly. That wasn't exactly like him. It never was since the beginning.
"I did try," Elias said finally.
Their attention sharpened.
"The spell I used—it was meant to bring the dead back. Alive." He shrugged slightly.
"It failed."
Bruce frowned. "Failed how?"
"You saw the result," Elias replied simply.
"They became undead called deadites. Not alive but not dead either."
Natasha's eyes narrowed. "So there's no way to fix it?"
Elias shook his head.
Steve lowered his gaze briefly, processing.
Then he looked back up.
"…And you?" he asked. "What's your plan now?"
Elias leaned back fully this time.
"I'll be here for a week," he said casually. "After that, I go home."
Tony crossed his arms. "That's it? No grand scheme? No 'I'll return and judge your world' speech?"
Elias glanced at him. "Disappointed?"
"A little," Tony admitted.
Elias smirked faintly. "Whatever happens in that week…" He shrugged. "Even I don't know."
That didn't exactly comfort them.
A sudden glow lit the sky.
All of them turned.
A streak of blazing light descended rapidly, cutting through the clouds like a comet.
It slowed, then landed right in front of Elias.
The ground cracked slightly under the impact as Captain Marvel straightened, golden energy still radiating faintly around her.
Her eyes immediately locked onto him.
"So," she said, voice calm but sharp, "I heard you raised the dead."
Tony blinked, glancing between them. "Okay—before we continue—who's the glowing new addition?"
She didn't look away from Elias.
"Captain Marvel," she said simply. "I'm with Fury."
That got their attention.
"He called me in," she continued. "Said there's someone here using… what did he call it?" A faint smirk.
"Voodoo capable of raising the dead."
Her gaze hardened slightly.
"SHIELD wants answers."
A small pause.
"And honestly," she added, taking a step closer, "so do I."
The rooftop fell silent again.
All eyes were on Elias.
End of Chapter