Daniel ignored Loki's stare and said, "Loki, your leader, Nick Fury, has been executed. It's not too late to surrender!"
Loki: "?"
Since when was Nick Fury my leader?
Loki scoffed: "It seems the one-eyed mortal's plan ultimately failed. What a pity."
He had to admit that Nick Fury was the most treacherous mortal Loki had ever met. Since being controlled, Fury had actively offered him all sorts of schemes, even going so far as to destroy his own headquarters.
Loki had been stunned at the time.
Am I the God of Mischief, or are you? How do you come up with bad ideas one after another, and more skillfully than I do?
"However, once the Chitauri army fully descends, all of Midgard will grovel at my feet. No one can stop me!"
Loki raised his scepter, looking triumphant.
Daniel pulled out his powerful magnet and tried to suck the scepter over, but got no reaction.
"Did you think I wouldn't guard against that trick?" Loki sneered.
He was the God of Mischief, after all. The same trick couldn't possibly succeed twice.
Seeing this, Daniel put the magnet away: "In that case, I'll have to fight like a mage. Perfect. I recently learned some new magic."
"With you, a third-rate mage?"
Loki was full of disdain. He raised the scepter, and the gem on the tip instantly shot out a blue energy beam.
BIU!
Daniel's figure flashed, deftly avoiding the energy ray. At the same time, he charged forward. An dazzling magic sword had materialized in his hand, and he rushed toward Loki at high speed, raising the blade to strike.
Loki immediately raised the scepter to block. The excessively bright light made him instinctively squint.
"More illumination magic?"
"This is a Magic Sword!"
Daniel immediately retorted, rapidly slashing the light sword, delivering a series of frantic, haphazard cuts at Loki.
Loki was forced back repeatedly by the savage strength, his hand stinging from the vibrations.
Daniel was about to press his advantage.
Suddenly, an arrow whistled through the air, heading straight for his head!
Daniel quickly tilted his head, and the arrow flew past his ear.
While it wouldn't have been hard for him to catch the arrow bare-handed with his reaction speed, having recently read DC comics, he knew one thing: never casually catch a weapon someone else throws at you.
Clearly, his decision was correct.
The arrow plunged deep into the wall behind him, then exploded with a BOOM, spraying shattered rock and smoke.
Daniel looked up toward the source of the arrow. On a distant rooftop, the long-missing Clint Barton (Hawkeye) stood at the edge, maintaining his drawing posture. It was clearly his arrow.
Loki seized the chance and swung his scepter, counter-attacking Daniel.
His close-quarters combat skills were not weak at all; after all, he was one of the Asgardian gladiator arena champions back in the day, with no cheating involved.
Daniel had to block Loki's attacks while simultaneously dealing with Clint's sneak attacks, and he was getting overwhelmed.
Deal with one person first!
Daniel made a quick decision and yelled, "Behold, my Ultimate Move!"
Loki, hearing this, assumed Daniel had a trump card. His eyes widened, fully concentrating, ready to counter Daniel's next move.
Unexpectedly, a blinding light flashed suddenly!
"Agh! My eyes!!"
Loki covered his eyes, falling for Daniel's massive trick again.
He took back what he said earlier. This guy was truly the most treacherous mortal he had ever met!
Daniel laughed heartily: "You fell for it! Eat this punch!"
The blinded Loki quickly raised his hands to shield his face, but Daniel suddenly delivered a kick to his abdomen, sending him flying backward.
Loki: "..."
First Nick Fury, now Daniel. He, the God of Mischief, felt like a rookie around these Earthlings.
He suddenly missed his simple-minded older brother. Thor never played petty tricks, which always gave Loki a satisfying sense of intellectual superiority—an ample supply of emotional validation.
Just then, another arrow whistled, quickly unfolding in mid-air to become a huge net, which it cast over Daniel.
Daniel easily sliced the net with his Magic Sword, then dispersed the light sword. He looked at the distant Clint and said, "I never thought that after all this time, we two S.H.I.E.L.D. sharpshooters would have another competition in this manner."
Though the distance was too great for Clint to hear Daniel's voice, he clearly understood Daniel's posture and gaze.
This was a challenge from one marksman to another!
Even under control, Clint's pride and competitive spirit as a top archer remained. He was determined to win this contest—it was a matter of a sharpshooter's honor and reputation.
He didn't hesitate, nocking another arrow and drawing the bow. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, focusing entirely on his target.
However, he then saw Daniel wave his hand, and an RPG rocket launcher instantly appeared on his shoulder, the dark muzzle pointed directly at him.
Clint: "..."
BOOM!!
A missile, trailing exhaust smoke, slammed into Clint's rooftop. A violent explosion erupted!
When the smoke cleared, Clint was nowhere to be seen, having been blasted to an unknown location.
Clearly, in this fair and just sharpshooter duel, Daniel had once again emerged victorious!
After taking care of Clint, the ADC, Daniel turned around and saw that Loki had silently crept up behind him at some point.
Loki gave an evil smirk, thrusting the scepter forward. The gem on the tip instantly glowed blue, hitting Daniel squarely in the chest.
"Foolish mortal!"
Seeing his sneak attack succeed, the corner of Loki's mouth curled up in a smug smile.
This scepter of his could control anyone—even someone with a strong will like Steve Rogers was no exception. Anyone touched by the scepter would immediately execute his commands.
And now, Daniel had clearly been hit and was a puppet to be manipulated at will.
Loki cleared his throat and commanded, "Now, obey my instruction: Kneel!"
He waited for Daniel to drop to his knees, and he already had his next line rehearsed.
However, after a wait, nothing happened. Daniel remained frozen in place, utterly motionless.
Loki frowned and commanded again, "Kneel before me!"
But Daniel was still unmoved, as if he couldn't hear the command.
Loki was puzzled: "What's wrong? Why isn't it working?"
Daniel blinked: "Maybe the battery died?"
Loki: "..."
He suddenly realized something was wrong, but it was too late. Daniel suddenly reached out and firmly gripped the scepter!
"Did you think I wouldn't guard against that trick?" Daniel sneered, throwing Loki's own words back at him.
He had known about Loki's ability to control others, so he had preemptively put on his Idiot Ring, instantly making him unbelievably smart.
"What!?"
Loki hadn't expected Daniel to be unaffected and immediately tried to yank the scepter back.
"Light Spell!"
A blinding white light burst from Daniel's hand again. Loki, caught off guard, was flashed again, allowing Daniel to seize the scepter.
"Despicable mortal! Is that the only magic you know!?" Loki cursed loudly while covering his eyes.
"How is that possible! Take this: Smashing Spell!"
Daniel roared, swinging the scepter with all his might. The scepter glowed with blinding white light and smashed down toward Loki with a terrifying whoosh.
Loki was terrified and hastily leaped backward, only to hear a deafening CRASH as the scepter pulverized the wall next to him, sending debris flying.
"Piercing Spell!"
With a flash of white light, Daniel immediately thrust the scepter forward like a spear.
Loki tumbled and dodged extremely clumsily, narrowly avoiding the sharp blow.
Daniel fought with increasing ferocity, loudly shouting various powerful-sounding magic names while swinging the scepter with incredible force. Every attack was accompanied by that signature blinding white light, lest anyone doubt the purity of his magic.
Loki could only passively duck, weave, and roll, dodging with great difficulty and feeling utterly repressed!
What kind of magic is this!?
It's clearly just a Light Spell plus a normal attack! All the output is just raw Strength!
Despite this, Loki was still being beaten senseless, and his proud illusion magic had no effect on Daniel either.
"Sleep Spell!"
Daniel seized a gap in Loki's defense, swinging the scepter and successfully landing a blow on his head. Loki immediately crashed to the ground!
Knowing Loki's strong physique, Daniel didn't hold back, raising the scepter and landing over a dozen more "Sleep Spells."
Just then, Thor walked in, clutching his lower back and staggering. He happened to witness the scene and couldn't help but speak up: "Daniel, go easy on him. He is my brother, after all."
"Your brother is causing a global crisis on Earth."
"Uh, he's adopted."
Thor looked embarrassed, instantly cutting ties with Loki.
Daniel tossed the bump-covered Loki to Thor: "Keep an eye on your brother. Don't let him run off again."
Thor nodded solemnly: "Don't worry. This time, I'll discipline him severely. I'll use your method to properly educate Loki until he truly recognizes his mistakes."
As soon as he said this, Loki's body twitched involuntarily, as if triggered by some deep muscle memory.
After dealing with Loki, Daniel finally had time to examine the scepter in his hand.
[Loki's Scepter]
[Description: The weapon granted by Thanos to Loki for the invasion of Earth. The Mind Stone, one of the Infinity Stones, is embedded in the tip. Caution: The holder is highly likely to draw the attention of Thanos.]
Seeing this description, Daniel immediately understood the scepter's significance.
This Thanos clearly looked like the big boss behind the scenes. Even Loki had to obediently follow his orders.
Daniel tried to put the scepter into his game inventory. Predictably, just like Mjölnir, it couldn't be stored.
He didn't continue studying the scepter, instead opening his communicator and saying, "I have Loki's scepter. How do I shut down the portal device?"
Steve immediately responded: "According to Dr. Selvig, you need to use the scepter to interrupt the Tesseract's energy flow."
"Understood. I'm going to shut down the portal now."
Holding the scepter, Daniel was about to head toward the portal device, which was still outputting energy.
Tony's urgent voice suddenly cut in: "Wait! Don't shut down the portal yet! I just got a message from Hill. A nuclear missile is currently flying towards us. It's estimated to hit Manhattan and detonate within the city in less than three minutes."
Daniel was confused: "Who launched it?"
"The World Security Council—those scumbags. It was a decision personally made by the American side."
"Uh, are you sure it wasn't the Japanese side that made the decision?"
"I know what you're thinking, but no. They don't even have a seat on the Council."
"Alright."
Daniel was speechless.
When it came to incompetence, the American higher-ups truly never disappointed, with various unbelievable moves constantly emerging.
Launching a nuclear missile at their own city was unheard of.
Tony immediately continued: "I'm planning to push this nuclear missile through the portal. I absolutely cannot let it detonate in the city."
In the critical moment, Tony was proving to be remarkably reliable, willing to disregard his own safety to personally guide the nuclear missile into the portal.
But Daniel had no intention of letting him succeed.
If Tony sent the nuclear missile through the portal and detonated it, wouldn't all the kills from the Chitauri army on the other side be credited to Tony?
Looking through the portal, the scale of the Chitauri army on the other side far exceeded the vanguard forces on Earth. Perhaps less than one percent had even flown over yet.
Once the nuclear missile detonated over there, Tony's kill count would instantly skyrocket, allowing him to easily surpass Daniel and claim the top spot on the leaderboard.
Evil Tony Stark.
Not only does he pay-to-win, but he also tries to game the system to farm kills?
"BT, what's your status?"
Without a word, Daniel immediately opened communication with BT.
BT instantly replied: "Currently following your command to deal with the enemies attracted by Peter Parker."
Following the map indicator, Daniel quickly locked onto BT's position.
Looking into the distance, he saw Peter being chased for his life by a massive metal Leviathan, while BT had leaped onto the creature's back and was hacking at it with its Titan Sword.
Does this guy Peter just have a group taunt aura? He even managed to attract this huge thing.
"Forget him for now. Get to my location immediately."
"Understood."
Receiving Daniel's command, BT decisively abandoned the frantically fleeing Peter, leaped off the back of the metal Leviathan, and sped toward Daniel's location at full throttle.
Peter: "???"
Soon, BT's towering figure appeared on top of Stark Tower.
It lowered its head, its blue electronic eyes fixed on Daniel, awaiting the next instruction.
BT: [.]
Daniel: (o゜゜)o
"Remember to crouch whenever you see me from now on."
The corner of Daniel's mouth twitched; this perspective was too tiring.
After BT lowered its stance, he handed Loki's scepter to it: "Hold this. Wait for my command, and use it to shut down the portal device."
"Affirmative."
On the other side, Tony had locked onto the nuclear missile based on the information provided by Hill.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., route all energy to the thrusters!"
At Tony's command, the speed of his Iron Man suit instantly surged, and he quickly caught up with the whistling missile.
Just as he adjusted his posture, preparing to guide the missile, a familiar voice came over the communicator.
"Mr. Tony, catch me!"
Tony: "?"
Before he could react, he saw Daniel piloting yet another Chitauri flier, snatched from some poor soldier, charging straight at him. Daniel then jumped precisely onto the back of his Iron Man suit again.
Successfully recapturing his mount, Tony Stark!
"What are you doing?" Tony asked exasperatedly.
"I'm here to help you! I'll control the missile body. You focus on navigation and steering!"
"Fine! Hold on tight!"
With the countdown rapidly dwindling, Tony had no time to argue. He immediately flew toward the missile, carrying Daniel.
Daniel extended his hands and braced the missile, while Tony concentrated on adjusting the best flight path. He simultaneously activated all his weapon systems, clearing out Chitauri soldiers attempting to approach, ensuring the missile would not be prematurely detonated by any impact.
Under a hail of gunfire, the two pushed the devastating weapon, streaking across the New York sky, rapidly approaching the top of Stark Tower.
"Preparing to arrive directly beneath the portal!" Tony's voice came through.
"Okay!"
Daniel's GANTZ reinforced suit instantly activated. His muscles swelled, and he strained to push the nuclear missile in his hands.
Below his feet, Tony simultaneously pushed the Iron Man suit's thrusters to maximum output. The two worked together, forcefully turning the heavy missile and launching it vertically toward the portal high above!
Just as the missile was about to disappear into the portal's vortex, Daniel abruptly shoved with his foot!
"You—!"
Tony suddenly felt his suit lose control, pushed off its original flight path!
"BT, shut down the portal device!"
Receiving the command, the waiting BT did not hesitate, thrusting the scepter into the Tesseract's energy device!
Whoosh—!
The Mind Stone at the scepter's tip violently clashed with the Tesseract's energy. The huge blue beam maintaining the portal instantly flickered violently, then vanished abruptly, as if the power had been cut!
Losing its constant energy supply, the massive space portal began to shrink rapidly at a visible rate.
"No one is stealing this kill from me!"
Daniel yelled, his Whiplash Armor instantly covering his entire body. Thrusters on his legs and back spat out dazzling plumes of flame, giving him one last powerful push.
Clutching the nuclear missile tightly, he plunged headfirst into the swirling portal that was about to close completely!
The second Daniel's figure vanished, the portal disappeared as well. The sky returned to its normal color, as if nothing had ever happened.
"Daniel!"
Tony stabilized his flight and hovered in the air, staring in disbelief at the empty sky.
He couldn't fathom that, in the final moments, Daniel would choose to sacrifice himself, taking the nuclear missile completely away from Earth.
As for the sentence Daniel shouted before diving into the portal, Tony completely dismissed it as a joke—a hero's deliberate attempt to mask the tragedy in his final moments.
At the same time, all the Chitauri soldiers on Earth slumped to the ground, lifeless, as if collectively unplugged.
Even the metal Leviathan that had been chasing Peter for several blocks crashed, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Clearly, the battle for Earth's defense had ended in a victory for the Earth side!
But Tony and the others felt no joy. There was only heavy shock and sadness. Only they knew that this victory came at the cost of a teammate's self-sacrifice.
The "Kick Nick Fury's Butt Alliance" communication channel was silent for a long time, filled with a suppressive atmosphere.
Finally, Steve was the first to speak, his voice low and full of respect: "Daniel, my friend. He was a true hero."
"He was always a pain in the butt and never serious, but he was surprisingly reliable when it counted," Natasha said, her voice complicated.
"HULK ROAR!"
Hulk's deep growl came through the communicator.
"The Hulk is right."
Tony agreed, his voice betraying a rare sadness: "That guy Daniel, he didn't look like a good person—uh, his actions certainly didn't seem like a good person's—but I have to admit, he was a good person at heart."
"What! You're saying Daniel sacrificed himself!?"
Suddenly, a young, unfamiliar voice cut into the communicator.
Tony was startled: "Who is this?"
"Hello, Mr. Stark. I'm a new member Daniel recently added to the team. I'm Spider-Man."
After Peter joined the team, Daniel had given him the team's dedicated communicator.
He just hadn't realized there were so many big shots in the group. Even his idol, Captain America, was there. As a newcomer, Peter was trembling and hadn't dared to speak, lurking and secretly listening to the big shots' conversations.
It wasn't until he heard of Daniel's "sacrifice" that he finally spoke up.
Tony took a deep breath, confirming gravely: "I'm afraid so, kid. Daniel took a nuclear missile into the portal. He's not coming back."
"No, that's impossible. Daniel is so amazing, how could he sacrifice himself!" Peter couldn't quite believe it.
"It's the truth, kid."
Steve recognized Peter's voice—it was the young fan from the Captain America Memorial Museum.
He spoke to comfort him: "Daniel chose to sacrifice himself to protect the Earth. He is a hero to us all."
Tony said: "Agreed. Daniel was handsome, kind-hearted, humble, and very reliable. These are qualities we should all learn from."
Natasha chimed in: "Tony's right. So, I propose we make Daniel the Captain of the Avengers."
"HULK ROAR ROAR!" Hulk agreed.
Steve: "Daniel is the people's choice!"
Peter: "..."
Wait, is this Daniel you're talking about the same person I know?
Just then, Steve's voice returned: "That wasn't me just now!"
Natasha immediately clarified: "It wasn't me, either."
Tony was furious: "Dammit! Someone's imitating our voices! Let me see who the bastard is... Wait, Daniel?"
Tony was stunned. He realized all those voices were coming from Daniel's channel!
Which meant...
"You bastard! You're not dead!" Tony ground out through clenched teeth.
Daniel cheerfully replied: "I never said I died."
"Then why were you silent all this time?"
"I saw you were all chatting so enthusiastically, I couldn't bear to interrupt. Keep the compliments coming, don't stop! I'm a very accommodating person. I accept all praise, but I'll delete bad reviews."
Tony: "..."
The others: "..."
The team channel was silent for a moment. Tony then spoke: "I know an Arabic shawarma place nearby. I don't know what it tastes like, but I want to try it. Anyone want to join?"
The team members immediately responded and agreed.
Peter, the newcomer, also followed the crowd and joined the shawarma exploration team.
No matter how much Daniel shouted in the channel, no one replied. In less than a minute, he, the recently "sacrificed" hero, was completely irrelevant, and the topic of discussion had moved on.
Such a decline in social morals! The world is not what it used to be!
Daniel lamented the coldness of society, putting away the bowtie-shaped voice changer in his hand.
After sending the nuclear missile into the portal, he had immediately opened his map and furiously mashed the warp button, warping back to Earth just before the nuclear explosion.
At the same time, he also unlocked a new achievement.
[Congratulations to the player for unlocking the achievement: Peacemaker of the Atom (Wearing this title increases the player's deterrence factor against nations)]