Nick Fury arrived at the door. Naturally, there was no need for disguises. Abel and Tony boarded the invisible Quinjet and headed straight for the Helicarrier.
Under Fury's leadership, everyone gathered in a conference room aboard the Helicarrier. Black Widow Natasha Romanoff, the Hulk Bruce Banner, and Captain America Steve Rogers were already present, waiting.
As Fury, Tony, and Abel walked in, Tony and Abel took seats together. They remained silent, allowing Fury to take the lead. He spoke gravely: "Everyone, the situation has escalated to an emergency. Just three hours ago, Loki and his men stole a rare metal—iridium—from Germany. According to S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists, iridium can..."
Before Fury could finish, Tony interjected, "Iridium can be used to form antiprotons, which—combined with the power of the Tesseract—could..."
Tony trailed off as Fury continued, "We have reason to believe Loki intends to open a wormhole and bring aliens to Earth."
"Correction!" Abel's voice drew everyone's attention. At this point, there was no harm in revealing more details. "Not just aliens—an entire army. Well-equipped and extremely dangerous."
"Xiao, how do you know that? Do you have some kind of intelligence source?" Steve asked, frowning.
Abel shook his head. "No intelligence source—just divination magic."
As he spoke, glowing runes materialized in the air, circling above the conference table like celestial bodies, emitting a faint blue light.
Steve stared at the floating runes, his expression skeptical. "Magic... Sorry, but I don't think we have time for jokes right now."
He immediately noticed the strange looks from the others. Before he could respond, Abel chuckled. "It's fine. No one believes it at first—but that doesn't stop me from locating Loki."
Abel stretched out his hand, and the runes spun rapidly. Then, with a flick of his wrist, an archery glove materialized in his palm. He tossed it into the floating runes, where it hovered in midair.
By using something of Hawkeye's, Abel could locate him—and, in turn, find Loki's whereabouts.
Moments later, Abel withdrew the runes, and the glove fell back onto the table. He looked up at the others and announced, "I've found Hawkeye. He's with Loki. Their location is..."
With a wave of his hand, glowing energy formed latitude and longitude coordinates on the conference table. Tony quickly checked his phone and pinpointed the location.
"That bastard..." Tony muttered under his breath.
"What is it, Tony?" Fury asked, instantly alert.
"They're in New York."
"New York? Coulson, set course for New York—immediately!" Fury barked.
As Fury gave the order, Abel stood up and addressed the team. "In five minutes, I'll take you all directly to New York."
Most of those present already knew Abel could use portal magic, except for Steve and Bruce. Natasha immediately got up and headed to the equipment room to gear up. Though still unsure, Steve followed suit, retrieving his uniform and shield.
Three minutes later, both had returned, fully prepared.
Abel turned to Bruce. "Dr. Banner, are you coming with us?"
Bruce shook his head. "No. If I go with you, Loki won't be your only problem."
Abel nodded in understanding. "Fair enough."
With Steve and Natasha ready, a ring appeared on Abel's left hand. He raised it, conjuring a glowing portal. Stepping through with Steve, Natasha, and Tony, they vanished from the Helicarrier and reappeared on the rooftop of a skyscraper in New York.
"This... So we really are in New York," Natasha murmured to herself.
Without hesitation, Abel opened another portal leading to his underground lab. From within, two suits Tony had made for him flew out, encasing him in black-and-white armor with a matching hooded trench coat. As he pulled up the hood, the suit activated, glowing faintly with blue energy.
At the same time, a fiery streak shot down from the sky—Tony's Mark VI armor. The suit landed before him, its back opening up. Tony stepped inside, the armor sealing around him.
With preparations complete, Tony turned to the group. "The target is inside that abandoned building ahead. No people, no cameras, no security systems—I have no idea what's happening inside, so stay alert.
I'll go in first!"
With that, Tony blasted off toward the six-story building.
Abel turned to Steve and Natasha, summoning his wand. With a flick, both were enveloped in black smoke along with Abel, allowing them to move undetected into the abandoned building.
The smoke dispersed, revealing them inside the structure. Steve and Natasha exchanged astonished glances.
Abel's voice rang in their ears. "I'm going ahead. Be careful—Loki's forces have mind control abilities. Don't end up like Barton."
Before Steve or Natasha could respond, Abel transformed into a streak of black mist and darted away, following the magical energy he had sensed.
Exchanging one last nod, Steve and Natasha moved out, heading toward the location Tony had marked.