At the same time, Nick Fury issued the call.
Avengers Assemble.
But the response was… sparse.
-----
S.H.I.E.L.D. – Video Conference
"Tony," Fury said, his one eye heavy with exhaustion on the screen,
"the Avengers need to regroup. This is a global crisis."
"Regroup?"
Tony Stark, already in armor, was standing on Vought's launch platform, calibrating equipment. Behind him, trainees were lining up, fully geared.
"Nick, I already have a team. Look at these kids—they are humanity's future."
"And besides," Tony sneered,
"do you even know where the aliens are? Or is your plan to show up after humanity gets wiped out and call it revenge?"
"Tony—"
"Gotta go. Busy saving the world."
The connection cut.
Fury turned to another screen.
"Steve?"
Steve Rogers was tightening the straps on a nervous trainee's shield.
"I'm sorry, Director Fury," Steve said calmly—but the disappointment was unmistakable.
"In New York, you only realized what was happening when a nuke was already overhead."
"And this time?"
"You don't even know who the enemy is."
"I can't turn my back to an organization I don't trust."
"I'm staying with these trainees. They need me."
"The Avengers…"
Steve paused, then finished quietly.
"…are outdated."
The screen went dark.
Silence filled Fury's office.
Finally, Clint Barton quietly wiped down his bow.
"I'm still here, boss."
Natasha Romanoff sighed, kicking her boots up on the desk.
"Me too. I'll admit the blond egomaniac has frightening charisma—but I still prefer working with people I know."
The door opened.
Bruce Banner stepped in, awkward as ever.
"Uh… I saw the news. I figured I should help. I mean… last time I kind of trashed New York."
Fury looked at what remained of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
A man.
A woman.
And a monster.
For the first time, the fall of the Avengers felt real.
-----
Vought Mobilization Center
"You chose this path."
Antony waved his hand.
Several guards carried in black metal cases and snapped them open.
Cold mist poured out.
Inside—rows of green syringes, perfectly aligned.
T-VEX.
"What is that?" Tony leaned closer, armor scanning the vials.
"Gamma radiation? No… the energy signature's wrong."
"It's the trump card."
Antony picked one up and held it high.
"Vought Life Sciences' latest breakthrough—T-VEX."
"The Hulk experience card."
Gasps rippled through the room.
"For twenty minutes," Antony continued,
"your strength increases by at least twenty times. Near-total invulnerability. Enhanced powers."
"What's the cost?" Steve asked sharply.
"There is one," Antony admitted.
"When it wears off, you'll be weak as hell. And—maximum two doses per day."
He tossed a syringe to Steve.
"This is your insurance. If you're about to die—inject it."
"And it's also your weapon."
Antony turned to the trainees.
"A standard Dark Elf is ten times stronger than a human. With this—
for 20 minutes, you're the hunters."
"Two each. Don't get greedy."
Distribution was swift.
Every trainee secured the green vials into their suit slots.
Even Tony Stark quietly stored two inside his armor.
-----
Svartalfheim – The Dark World
A land without color.
Endless ash.
Dead wind.
The sky looked like a filthy rag stretched across the horizon.
"This is your plan?"
Loki sneered at the massive black cross-shaped mothership ahead.
"I thought after New York your brain might've grown a wrinkle."
"Shut up, Loki," Thor said, gripping the pale Jane Foster tightly.
"Stick to the plan."
They stood atop the dunes.
Malekith, ruler of the Dark Elves, descended slowly from his ship.
His corpse-pale face was marred—half intact, half scorched black by lightning.
A gift from Thor.
Behind him stood the mountain of muscle—
Algrim. The Kurse.
"Asgardians," Malekith growled, rage barely contained.
"You dare step into my realm?"
"I'm here to end this!" Thor roared.
Then—
Loki struck.
A dagger plunged into Thor's side.
Thor cried out and collapsed.
Jane screamed.
Thor reached for Mjolnir—
Loki severed his arm.
A perfect betrayal.
A show.
Designed to make Malekith lower his guard… and extract the Aether.
It worked.
Malekith's eyes burned with greed as he approached Jane.
The power he'd dreamed of.
He raised his hand. Dark magic enveloped her.
"AAAAAH—!!"
Jane floated upward as red fluid, like living silk, was ripped from her eyes, ears, mouth.
The particles gathered—condensing into a restless crimson sphere.
"NOW!!" Thor roared.
He surged to his feet.
"LOKI!!"
"Didn't need the reminder, you idiot!"
Illusions shattered.
Lightning erupted.
Mjolnir called down the storm.
"BOOOOM—!!!"
At the exact moment the Aether left its host—before Malekith absorbed it—
Thor's hammer smashed into the energy sphere with godly force.
An explosion tore through the wasteland.
Dust settled.
Thor gasped, staring ahead.
But the Aether hadn't vanished.
It fragmented—countless red crystal shards suspended in the air—
then regrouped.
But it looked… thin.
Incomplete.
Malekith extended his hand.
The Aether flowed into him.
Power surged.
Then—
"What?!"
Malekith's eyes snapped open, filled with fury.
"Only half?!"
A gnawing hunger screamed inside him.
"WHERE IS THE OTHER HALF?!"
His roar shattered stone.
"The other half?" Thor laughed triumphantly.
"I destroyed it, you dark-skinned bastard!"
Malekith stopped playing.
The Convergence was near.
"Kill them."
"KILL—!!"
Algrim moved.
Like a living siege engine.
He charged Thor.
Thor hurled Mjolnir with everything he had.
BANG!
Thor's blood ran cold.
The hammer—unbreakable across the Nine Realms—
was swatted aside with one hand.
And in that instant, Thor understood.
This battle… had just turned lethal.
--------------
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