— 360 Kilometers Above Downtown New York
A crimson glow stretched across the distant horizon, forming a breathtaking, forty-thousand-kilometer ribbon of light.
Looking down from low Earth orbit, one could truly grasp the vastness of the planet—and the insignificance of a single person.
'So… this is what I'm protecting?'
With a soft smile, the girl marveled at the thought as she plunged through the atmosphere, tracing a sleek, glowing arc against the sky.
The Halo-7 Orbital Equipment Station, originally designed for advanced microwave power transmission experiments, also doubled as a supply depot for Kagura Hitomi.
Naturally, its inventory included various external modules for the White Moon combat suit.
Now, clad in a specialized protective module, Kagura was re-entering Earth's atmosphere.
Turbulent air currents roared around her, the friction igniting streaks of fire along the surface of her White Moon suit.
The Valkyrie Re-Entry Module, an additional protective system, shielded her from the searing heat while automatically adjusting her flight posture.
As the altitude indicators in her holographic display plummeted, the last traces of twilight disappeared beyond the horizon.
Kagura plunged into the endless New York night, becoming the brightest meteor in the sky.
"Communications and navigation systems are operating normally. Landing coordinates are being adjusted."
J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice came through her earpiece.
"I must say, Miss Kagura, your atmospheric re-entry technique is truly breathtaking. Quite the spectacle."
"Hehe! Right?!" Kagura grinned. "Figuring out the heat shielding took a lot of effort!"
As she continued descending, she shifted her posture within the clouds.
Spreading her arms, she transitioned from a head-first dive to a controlled glide, slowing her descent.
The White Moon suit's aerobrake system deployed—two crystalline, snowflake-shaped wings unfolded from her back, glowing with a soft, ethereal blue light.
At the same time, ion thrusters on her wrists and ankles activated, adjusting her trajectory and reducing speed.
As the scorching heat dissipated, the shimmering skyline of New York emerged through the thinning clouds.
"Landing coordinates confirmed. Airspace is clear. Visibility is optimal. Preparing for touchdown."
Kagura reported her status over the comms.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of Stark Tower, Tony Stark stepped out onto the balcony, staring up at the dark blue sky.
"…You've gotta be kidding me."
Pepper Potts, standing beside him, chuckled. "Surprised?"
"I figured she'd come down in some kind of spacecraft. But no—she just jumped?!"
Pepper smiled wryly. "Technically, she did mention having a specialized landing module. She just… left out the part where it's built into her suit."
"'Not bad'?" Tony Stark raised an eyebrow.
"Not bad?! Do you realize how dangerous that was?! At those temperatures, if anything—anything—went wrong, she'd be vaporized in seconds!"
Pepper simply shrugged. "Well, it looks like Hitomi is someone who doesn't make many mistakes."
"No! This is me worrying about her!" Tony huffed, his eyes locked onto the rapidly descending figure.
"Right now, I have the overwhelming urge to drag her inside, lock her in a closet, and give her a serious talking-to."
"She's not a little girl anymore, Tony."
"She's nowhere near mature in my book," Tony shot back.
"A mature person wouldn't just jump from low Earth orbit! A mature person would, at the very least, wear a fully equipped Iron Man suit. That would be remotely reasonable."
Pepper couldn't hold back a laugh. "Honestly? You two are pretty much on the same level of reckless genius."
'WHOOSH—!'
'THUD!'
With a final burst of blue ion flames, Kagura landed gracefully on Stark Tower's helipad.
'Click!'
The disposable re-entry protection module detached automatically, activating its retrieval process.
The spent components compacted into a cube of reinforced vibranium composite—ready for recycling at Rhode Island Industries.
Kagura placed her hands on her hips, inhaled deeply, and grinned.
"Landing successful!" she declared proudly, flashing a victory sign. "Whoa! That was amazing! So this is what an orbital skydive feels like!"
'WHACK!'
Tony Stark smacked her lightly on the head.
"Amazing?! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?!"
"Waaah!" Kagura clutched her head. "Mr. Stark! What was that for?! QAQ"
Pepper sighed. "Alright, you two—enough bickering. We have a celebration to get to."
She smiled. "Tonight is a historic moment—the first successful long-distance microwave power transmission in human history. That's something worth celebrating."
Tony crossed his arms. "Fine. But we're not done talking about this, young lady."
He motioned toward the entrance.
"Now, get inside. And please tell me you're changing out of that suit before dinner. That skintight outfit might be functional, but it's definitely not appropriate for a party."
"Got it, got it!" Kagura laughed, heading inside.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., where's my stuff?"
"Your luggage from Rhode Island Industries is stored in Room 63. The composite material recovery unit has also arrived."
J.A.R.V.I.S. added, "Additionally, Cortana has left you a message."
Kagura froze. "…Cortana?"
Since when did those two AIs start working together?
She switched channels.
"Cortana, what's up?"
"First off, congratulations on successfully completing the microwave transmission experiment, Master."
Cortana's voice was calm—but then, her tone shifted.
"Unfortunately, we've received an Argos-class reconnaissance alert. Level 7. A suspected spatial warp energy signature has been detected in the western United States."
Kagura expression hardened.
"…So it's starting."
A Level 7 warp signal in the U.S. West Coast? There was only one likely source: S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Tesseract Research Facility.
And if that was the case… the reason was obvious.
Loki had just used the activated Tesseract to open a portal.
He had arrived.
'Knew it. Even after our little chat, that motherf-cker still went ahead with his plan.'
Fine.
If Loki wanted to invade Earth, he'd have to play by her rules.
This wasn't his universe—this was her battlefield.
She smirked, dismissing her White Moon suit and slipping into a tank top and denim shorts.
As she pulled up Cortana's report on her holographic UI, she issued her next command:
"Activate Griffin Security Directive 17-A."
"Priority level: MAXIMUM. Establish immediate contact with Natasha Romanoff. Execute Pre-set Mission Plan #1."
"Confirmed, Master."
Kagura narrowed her eyes. "And send J.A.R.V.I.S. the emergency cutoff protocol for the Arc Reactor. If any unauthorized energy source tries to interface with it, he's to shut it down immediately."
While she highly doubted Loki would get far enough to mess with Stark Tower's reactor, it was always best to be prepared.
She had planned everything for this moment.
Loki was walking straight into her trap.