Stuttgart, Germany.
Outside the grand banquet hall, the plaza glittered with well-dressed guests enjoying a pleasant evening. Classical music flowed from inside, mingling with the crisp fizz of champagne bubbles.
Then—
The music stopped.
A black Quinjet sliced silently across the night sky, like a razor cutting through velvet.
A figure descended from above, landing heavily atop the central sculpture in the square. He wore an exaggerated golden horned helmet, a flowing green cape draped behind him. At the tip of his scepter, a dim blue glow pulsed like a malevolent eye.
Loki.
The chatter died instantly. Dozens of eyes turned toward him, confusion shifting into unease.
The next second, panic ignited like a fuse.
Loki savored the transformation. He loved watching elegant smiles freeze into horrified screams. With a casual flick of his scepter, a beam of energy shot out and struck a parked police car.
Boom!
Flames swallowed the vehicle. The explosion hurled several slower runners off their feet. Screams turned hysterical as the crowd scattered like a kicked anthill.
"Kneel!"
Loki's voice, amplified by magic, crushed all other noise.
He stepped lightly down from the statue, as though descending from his throne. Around him, more than a dozen identical illusions materialized, encircling the terrified civilians.
"You were born to be ruled," Loki declared, pacing with aristocratic grace. "You crave power, yet fear true freedom. Kneel before me. That is your natural state."
Most people collapsed, trembling, onto the cold pavement.
Only one elderly German man remained standing. His body shook uncontrollably, but his eyes burned with defiance.
"We will not kneel to men like you," he said in German, voice steady.
Loki's smile vanished. He raised the scepter, blue light aiming at the old man's chest.
"Brave old fool," he murmured.
The energy was about to fire—
A red, white, and blue blur dropped from the sky.
Bang!
With a heavy impact, Steve Rogers blocked the beam with his vibranium shield. The force drove him back half a step, cracking the stone beneath his boots. He straightened, shield raised like a mountain between Loki and the old man.
"The last time I was in Germany," Steve said evenly, cold steel in his tone, "I saw a man standing above everyone else. We didn't get along."
Levi landed beside him, dusting off his shoulder.
"He's right," Levi said, eyeing Loki up and down. "And that outfit? Outdated. Way too dramatic."
Loki regarded them with disdain.
"A soldier… and his pet," he sneered. "You dare challenge a god?"
All the illusions raised their scepters simultaneously, blue light flashing.
Steve lowered his center of gravity, scanning for attacks. Levi frowned.
In his energy perception, the illusions were hollow shells—no substance, no core.
"Steve, they're fake."
Before he finished speaking, the real Loki moved—not toward them, but toward the kneeling civilians. He lightly tapped several backs with the butt of his scepter.
Their eyes went blank.
They rose and lunged at Steve and Levi like soulless puppets.
"Don't hurt them!" Steve shouted, forced to block and shove rather than strike. He was immediately restrained by ordinary people he couldn't fight seriously.
Levi targeted the source.
He locked onto the nearest Loki, preparing to freeze him in space—
The figure dissolved into green light.
At the same time, another Loki appeared silently behind him, scepter thrusting toward his spine like a venomous snake.
Levi spun and punched.
His fist passed through air.
Physical attacks were useless.
He tried to lock on again—no tangible anchor. For the first time, Levi felt resistance.
All his powers—regeneration, strength, spatial manipulation—were grounded in physical laws.
Loki wielded magic.
A domain Levi had never touched.
"Your power is unusual, mortal," Loki said leisurely from a distance. "But before true Asgardian sorcery, you are a savage with a stone axe."
The scenery twisted instantly.
Skyscrapers vanished, replaced by towering, warped trees. The stone plaza turned into flowing crimson lava. Enormous serpents burst forth, hissing and snapping.
"Illusion!" Steve warned.
Levi knew it too. Yet the heat on his skin felt real. The stench of sulfur filled his lungs. This wasn't mere visual trickery—it assaulted the senses directly.
His Willpower Barrier kept his mind clear, but he couldn't dismantle the spell.
He could see through the trick—yet remained trapped inside it.
The frustration irritated him deeply.
He needed that power.
Then—
Blasting rock music shattered the atmosphere. AC/DC's guitar roared like a chainsaw ripping through the illusion.
A red-and-gold streak descended with blazing thrusters.
Tony Stark.
Hovering midair, the Mark VI's weapons compartments opened—shoulders, arms, back—dozens of launch ports locking onto Loki below.
"Everybody step aside," Tony announced over external speakers. "Party's over. Reindeer Games, surrender now. My patience isn't great."
JARVIS ignored the illusions entirely, locking onto the strongest energy signature.
The real Loki.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Repulsor blasts and micro-missiles rained down, engulfing Loki in fire.
The illusion shattered.
Reality snapped back.
Loki tumbled from the smoke, cloak scorched, helmet askew.
"Insignificant metal toy!" he roared, firing a violent beam at Tony.
Tony barrel-rolled midair, dodging as machine-gun fire suppressed Loki.
Now.
Levi's eyes sharpened.
"Cap—cover me!"
Steve didn't hesitate. He hurled his shield in a precise arc, knocking the mind-controlled civilians unconscious with carefully measured force.
With Loki's attention locked on Tony, Levi moved.
He shot forward like an arrow, crossing dozens of meters instantly.
Loki sensed the threat and swung his scepter sideways.
Levi didn't dodge.
The Mind Stone–infused scepter struck his chest.
His Adaptive Armor flashed blue, instantly recording the energy pattern.
The force hit.
He didn't budge.
His hand clamped onto Loki's wrist.
Cold. Solid.
System data streamed across his mind.
[Target Locked: Loki Laufeyson (Asgardian/Frost Giant Hybrid)]
[Available Abilities:]
1. Frost Giant Physiology (A-Rank)
2. Mind Scepter Manipulation (S-Rank) – Requires possession of the scepter
3. Innate Talent – Greatest Mage of the Nine Realms (SSS-Rank) – Supreme magical aptitude; unparalleled comprehension of energy, runes, dimensions, and mental forces.
That one.
"Copy talent: Greatest Mage of the Nine Realms."
A vast torrent of information flooded Levi's consciousness.
Not spells.
Understanding.
The foundational logic of energy, runes, dimensions, mental force.
In an instant, he learned a new cosmic language—and mastered its grammar.
The world changed.
All within a second.
Loki tried to channel magic to blast him away—only to find Levi had already stepped back.
"The game's over, little prince," Levi said calmly.
Loki sneered and cast illusions again.
But now—
They looked crude.
Levi could see the fine green energy threads extending from Loki's true body, like puppet strings forming each illusion.
He could even see unstable nodes—tiny distortions caused by Loki's agitated state.
"Third one on the left, Steve," Levi said casually. "That's the real one."
Steve moved instantly, shield smashing down.
Loki barely raised the scepter to block.
Clang!
At the same time, Tony's repulsor blast struck the scepter. The weapon flew from Loki's grasp.
A shadow appeared behind him.
Levi.
A clean chop to the back of the neck.
Loki collapsed without a sound.
Silence.
Tony landed, faceplate lifting.
"Well. That was easier than expected," he shrugged. "Alright—who's hauling the cosplay enthusiast home?"
Steve picked up the Mind Scepter, expression grave as he felt its cold, malevolent power.
Levi remained where he stood, hands slightly open, eyes closed.
He could feel it.
The free energy particles in the air.
The city's electrical grid.
Even the flowing power inside Tony's arc reactor—
All of it had become readable lines of text.
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