"What happened?" Tony asked, his voice full of confusion. "We took forever to close that thing. What are you talking about?"
He looked at Natasha Romanoff as if she had suddenly lost her mind. The rest of the Avengers also turned toward her with puzzled expressions, clearly unsure what she meant.
"Nata, are you—" Hawkeye started to say, but he didn't get the chance to finish.
Natasha's face had already turned pale, and there was obvious anxiety in her voice.
"The World Security Council launched a missile," she said quickly. "It will reach New York in two minutes."
For a moment, everyone froze.
"H—holy—shit!" Tony cursed loudly.
His mind reacted almost instantly. Without wasting another second, he ignited his thrusters and blasted into the air, flying straight toward the roof of Stark Tower.
By the time Tony landed on the rooftop, Ethan was already standing there. The scepter and the Tesseract had both been put away, and the massive portal in the sky had shrunk until it vanished completely.
"Ethan!" Tony shouted urgently. "Can you open the portal again?"
Ethan blinked in surprise.
"You shouldn't be asking me that," he said. "You should ask Banner, or maybe discuss it with Dr. Selvig. I can't do it. What's going on? Don't tell me there's a bomb heading this way."
Tony stared at him strangely.
"You saw it coming, didn't you?" Tony asked. "And you still closed the portal?"
Ethan was stunned.
Wait… what?
In the original timeline, the World Security Council ordered the missile strike only when New York was already on the verge of collapse.
But now the situation was completely different.
Because of Ethan's presence, the Avengers had maintained the upper hand during most of the battle with the Chitauri. News coverage around the world had already shown that the heroes were steadily pushing the alien forces back.
So why the hell would the World Security Council launch a missile now?
Had those idiots lost their minds?
What Ethan didn't realize was something important.
In the original timeline, the Battle of New York lasted less than thirty minutes before the council ordered the missile strike.
This time, however, the battle had dragged on for more than two hours.
For the World Security Council, that long delay had been terrifying. Even though the number of Chitauri pouring through the portal had decreased, no one knew how many enemies existed on the other side.
The unknown was often the most frightening thing of all.
And perhaps, deep down, those council members had another motive.
If the missile destroyed the Chitauri, it might also eliminate Ethan and the Avengers along with them. After all, in their eyes, these super-powered individuals were just as dangerous as the alien invaders.
Especially Ethan.
The power he had displayed during the battle made many people deeply uneasy.
"I was just guessing," Ethan said quickly, waving his hands as if distancing himself from the idea.
"Damn it!" Tony shouted. "I'm going to intercept the missile and push it away from the city if I can. Ethan, take care of Pepper for me!"
His voice carried absolute determination.
If sacrificing himself could save New York, Tony Stark wouldn't hesitate for even a second.
That was who he was.
The moment he finished speaking, Tony prepared to fly off and confront the missile alone.
"Wait, Tony."
Ethan called out to him.
Tony stopped mid-step and turned back impatiently.
"What now? Hurry up, we're running out of time."
"I mean," Ethan said calmly, "did you forget that I can teleport?"
Tony blinked.
"If you really want to keep playing the hero, I won't stop you," Ethan added with a teasing smile. "I'll take good care of Pepper."
Tony stared at him blankly for a moment.
"Wait… I thought your teleportation couldn't carry objects," Tony said.
"Who told you that?" Ethan replied. "I just can't teleport living things. As long as it's within the limits of my strength, I can carry objects during teleportation. Otherwise, every time you saw me teleport, I'd show up completely naked."
Tony immediately waved his hand impatiently.
"Then what are you waiting for?" he snapped.
Ethan shrugged.
"I don't even know where the missile is right now. Let's wait until it actually enters New York airspace."
Tony almost choked on his own frustration.
Ethan's attitude was unbelievably relaxed.
"I'll have J.A.R.V.I.S track it," Tony said. "Just follow me."
Compared to Ethan, Tony definitely didn't have such a carefree mentality. If that missile detonated prematurely above the city, the entire New York metropolitan area would be wiped out instantly.
"Alright, alright," Ethan replied with a helpless sigh.
The two of them quickly flew toward the incoming missile.
"Tony, one more question," Ethan said during the flight.
"What?"
"Where exactly do you want me to teleport the missile?" Ethan asked. "How about the Pacific Ocean?"
Tony immediately rejected the idea.
"No. The yield of that missile is extremely high. If it detonates in the Pacific, it could trigger a massive tsunami. That would devastate cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, and possibly cause serious damage to coastal regions around the world. It would also contaminate the ocean on a massive scale. The consequences might be just as bad as detonating it in New York."
Tony paused briefly before continuing.
"The best option is Antarctica."
Unlike the Arctic, Antarctica had no permanent residents. The continental plate there was extremely stable, and a single nuclear explosion wouldn't cause any catastrophic geological shifts.
From a strategic perspective, it was the safest possible destination.
But Ethan immediately shook his head.
"Nope. Can't do that."
Tony frowned. "Why not?"
"I can't teleport to places I've never been before," Ethan said flatly.
After all, who randomly traveled to Antarctica for fun?
If someone wanted to see penguins, they could just go to the zoo. Ethan definitely had never visited the frozen continent.
Tony sighed.
"J.A.R.V.I.S, find the best location in the United States," he ordered.
"Understood, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S replied.
Three seconds passed.
Then the AI spoke again.
"Based on environmental modeling and casualty predictions, the optimal location is the Alamogordo Desert in New Mexico. Estimated casualties would remain under fifty."
Tony nodded immediately.
"The Alamogordo Desert in New Mexico," he said, turning to Ethan. "Can you do that?"
Ethan thought about it briefly.
He had actually been there before. The area was practically empty—almost no people, very few animals, and barely any vegetation.
If he remembered correctly, it was also where the United States had conducted its first nuclear test decades ago.
"Yeah," Ethan said. "That'll work."
Just then, the incoming missile appeared in their line of sight.
"It's all yours," Tony said.
Ethan nodded.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished.
The next moment, he reappeared beside the incoming missile.
Without hesitation, Ethan placed his hand on the massive weapon and activated his teleportation again.
Both he and the missile disappeared instantly.
Less than a second later, Ethan returned to Tony's side.
"Done?" Tony asked.
"Of course," Ethan replied calmly. "You can have J.A.R.V.I.S confirm it. I'm guessing a mushroom cloud should appear any second now."
Almost immediately, J.A.R.V.I.S's voice echoed inside Tony's armor.
"Sir, we have detected a nuclear detonation in New Mexico. Estimated explosive yield is approximately thirty million tons."
Tony's mouth twitched.
Back in World War II, the bombs known as Fat Man and Little Boy had yields of around twenty thousand tons. Due to the technological limitations of that era, their actual efficiency was even lower—closer to fifteen thousand tons in practical effect.
That meant the missile launched by the World Security Council carried the equivalent power of two thousand Hiroshima bombs exploding at the same time.
If that thing had detonated over New York…
Even Washington would have felt the impact.
....
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