Marvel: Hunter

"Boom!"

Wherever the massive Leviathan passed, even a slight graze would be enough to bring a building crashing down. It was clear this thing wasn't just large and hollow—it was a true weapon of war.

"Look at this!"

Atop the Stark Tower, Thor still held hope for his younger brother. Grabbing Loki's scepter, he pointed it downward and roared, "Look around you!"

What had once been a prosperous New York City had now become a war zone.

Smoke rose in all directions, and the air was filled with the sounds of constant, echoing screams.

Loki, dazed after taking a few hits, panted heavily as he looked around, disbelief written all over his face.

"Do you think these things will stop with your rule?" Thor glared at Loki.

Too late.

Upon witnessing the full scale of the devastation, Loki looked regretful. "It's too late to stop it."

"No! Let's stop it together!" Thor insisted, sensing a flicker of change in Loki.

But in that moment—

Loki's expression shifted. Taking advantage of Thor's lapse in focus, he swiftly drew a small, sharp blade from his pocket and plunged it into Thor's abdomen.

Thor groaned.

Forged in Asgard, this blade had the power to pierce even the God of Thunder's defenses.

"Sentimental fool," Loki sneered.

As Thor collapsed, clutching his wound, Loki remained breathless but managed a disdainful smile.

He had allied with the Chitauri for this very outcome. In war, deaths were inevitable.

Especially those who defied him. Loki would show no mercy—he would slaughter them without hesitation.

To him, Thor's transformation—his aversion to war—was pathetic. Sentiment had no place in greatness.

But Loki had forgotten something.

His elder brother was a warrior.

A warrior forged in endless battles, dancing on the edge of death more times than he could count.

He had once stood on the brink of Asgard's throne!

A little pain like this couldn't take him down. He had only been stunned for a moment.

Now regaining his senses, Thor roared, smashing his fist into Loki's head, following through with a powerful strike that slammed Loki's skull into the nearby glass railing.

The glass shattered.

Thor grabbed Loki by the legs, lifted him, and slammed him into the ground.

"Peng!"

The brutal combo left Loki disoriented. The shattered railing beside him forced him to let go of the scepter. He rolled away, landing atop a Chitauri hover bike that swooped in below.

"Ah—!"

The Chitauri rider, reacting quickly, sped away with Loki in tow.

Thor, panting and wincing, yanked the small blood-stained blade from his side and tossed it aside.

The pain of seeing his younger brother—his own brotherwhom he had cared for—turn against him and attempt to kill him was almost worse than the wound itself.

In front of a tall building—

Natasha, Barton, and Steve crouched behind a battered taxi.

"There are still a lot of people trapped inside," Barton said.

Before the others could respond, a loud roar sounded. Several Chitauri on hover bikes blazed overhead, firing blue laser blasts that streaked across the street, detonating cars in their path.

With their trained eyes, the trio quickly spotted Loki standing atop one of the alien crafts.

"They need our help," Steve said, looking toward the fleeing civilians.

Just then, more Chitauri descended from the sky, landing on nearby cars and drawing weapons.

"We've got this. You go," Natasha said, pulling out her pistols and firing two shots.

"You two sure you can handle them?" Steve asked.

"Captain, we can handle them," Barton replied with a nod.

He turned, pressed a button on his high-tech bow, rotated the quiver on his back, and quickly selected a specialized arrow.

He loosed it at a Chitauri warrior. Mid-flight, the arrow deployed multiple small openings, firing a burst of miniature rounds like a precision micro-gun. The surrounding Chitauri were eliminated instantly.

Steve gave a confident nod and vaulted over the taxi, sprinting toward the besieged building.

...

Natasha, after downing another Chitauri, panted slightly. "Shit… If only that guy were here. Fury—damn him—always thinking about money at times like this!"

Her complaint echoed in Tony's ears.

Tony paused, blinking. "Right. J.A.R.V.I.S., get me Fury."

At S.H.I.E.L.D.'s command center, Nick had been monitoring the battle from a satellite feed.

The communication system had just come back online. Tony's message came through immediately.

"Tony, what's the situation?" Fury asked, his face grim.

"It's not good. Banner's missing," Tony said. "Fury, come on—why haven't you contacted him? You invited him once already, why not again now? You know we need him!"

Fury was caught off guard.

He knew exactly who Tony was referring to—a certain Bounty Hunter.

The last time they brought him in—for capturing Loki—the fee was three billion.

Now, with a full-scale alien invasion underway, the price would be no less than ten billion.

That was the kind of money only international corporations could muster. Even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s backers would need a considerable amount of time to consider gathering that kind of sum.

Of course, it wasn't impossible.

Given the stakes—global annihilation—even tens of billions would be seen as a bargain. The capitalists funding S.H.I.E.L.D. weren't fools. They might be greedy, but they weren't suicidal.

When it came to preserving their lives and assets, they were sharper than anyone.

Besides, S.H.I.E.L.D. was a global organization.

And that was the problem.

Because of its international scope, everything took more time—especially funding approvals.

A whole series of bureaucratic steps meant transferring funds could take ten days, maybe even half a month.

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