— 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
.