Chapter 113: Loki's Arrival
Meanwhile, in the depths of a distant universe.
"The Tesseract has awakened. It is in the world of the diminutive humans."
"They wish to harness its energy, but only our allies can truly use it. Humans are delusional. He will serve as the vanguard, and our Chitauri army will follow close behind."
A tall, thin figure was respectfully reporting the situation to a massive figure standing with its back turned.
"Give him a planet. We want the entire universe."
Earth
An Underground Laboratory
"What's going on?" Nick Fury looked with confusion at the highly unstable Tesseract. The Tesseract was usually not like this.
"No one is making contact or transmitting information," the scientist (Dr. Selvig) said, looking at the data from the operating console.
"If someone is messing with it, it can't be one of our people, sir," Hawkeye said, crossing his arms.
"What do you mean?" Nick Fury asked, frowning.
"Didn't you say the Tesseract is a gateway to the universe? Gates are two-sided. If we can open it, naturally, the opposing side can open it too," Barton offered his understanding to Fury.
Soon, Barton's suspicion was confirmed. The Tesseract began to generate intense energy. A beam of light shot forward, opening a spatial gateway. The gateway then closed, leaving a figure in its place.
All personnel raised their weapons, cautiously observing the figure before them. The newcomer seemed ominous. Barton and Fury, standing at the front, stared intently at the figure.
The figure's features gradually appeared in the eyes of the crowd, revealing a cunning expression. This person was Loki, the God of Mischief!
Loki swiftly raised the Scepter in his hand and pointed it at Fury. A beam of light shot out.
"Watch out!"
Barton felt a dangerous premonition and tackled Fury to the ground, allowing them to evade Loki's attack.
Rat-a-tat-a-tat!
The surrounding agents began to attack Loki, but the attacks struck Loki without causing any reaction.
Loki leaped up. In mid-air, he raised the Scepter. The attack fired by the Scepter struck many agents.
Loki landed right beside an agent and instantly plunged the Scepter into the agent's chest, skewering him.
In a short while, all the agents were defeated by Loki. Loki scanned the area and saw Barton lying on the floor.
Barton quickly got up and pulled out the pistol from his thigh holster. Just as he was about to raise it, Loki grabbed his arm. Barton tried to break free, but he couldn't.
"You have some spirit."
Loki touched the Scepter to Barton's chest. The tip of the Scepter turned blue. Barton's eyes turned completely black, then immediately shifted to blue.
Fury witnessed all of this and realized something terrible was happening.
Taking advantage of Loki's distraction, Fury quietly retrieved the Tesseract from the platform, placed it into a briefcase, and was about to leave when...
"Put that down~"
Loki turned and looked at Fury, who was attempting to leave. There was no way he hadn't noticed Fury's small action.
Fury froze, pulling back the foot he had taken, and remained where he was.
"I still need that~" Loki said, referring to the case in Fury's hand.
"We don't need to make things so complicated over this," Fury said.
"Of course we do. I came all this way for it," Loki replied.
Fury turned his body to face Loki.
"I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose," Loki began his self-introduction.
"Loki? Thor's brother?" Dr. Selvig looked up at Loki.
Upon hearing Thor's name, Loki's face instantly darkened. He thought: Why does Thor's name have to come up even now!
"Our people have no quarrel with Asgard," Fury said, calming himself down.
"Ants and shoes also have no quarrel," Loki scoffed.
"So you intend to step on us?" Nick Fury sneered, slowly moving backward.
"I will bring you salvation—the salvation of freedom," Loki said, lost in his own world.
After speaking, Loki pointed the Scepter at Dr. Selvig's chest. "You will know peace."
And so, the doctor was also controlled by Loki.
"Peace? Is this what you call peace?" Fury said, looking at everything Loki had done.
At this moment, Barton noticed the energy buildup above and walked to Loki. "Sir, Director Fury is stalling for time. This place is about to explode, and he wants to bury us alive here."
"His method of controlling people is truly frightening," Fury's heart was bleeding. His own trained agent had betrayed him.
"He's right. This place is about to explode. It's only two minutes from the critical point," the doctor said, reading the screen data.
"Very well." Loki looked at Barton, signaling him to act.
Barton swiftly raised his pistol and pointed it at Fury.
Bang!
Fury was shot and fell, and Loki and the others grabbed the briefcase containing the Tesseract and hurried away.
Parking Lot
"Who was that man?" Agent Hill of S.H.I.E.L.D. asked, confused.
Suddenly, Fury, who should have been dead on the ground, got up as if completely healed and spoke through his communicator. "Hill! Barton has defected!"
Just as Hill received the news, Barton raised his pistol and pointed the barrel at her. Hill, using her agility, dodged the bullet and crouched behind a wall.
Barton tossed the briefcase to the doctor and immediately sped away in a car.
All the agents, having received the intelligence, got into their vehicles and began pursuing Barton and the others.
As time went on, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents caught up to Loki's group. Loki turned and raised the Scepter, destroying the pursuing cars one by one. They exploded inside the tunnel.
Boom! Boom! RUMBLE!
Hill, driving her car, took the lead, overtook Loki's vehicle, and hit the gas to get in front of Barton's car.
Barton quickly freed one hand and grabbed his pistol, firing at Hill. Hill was alone in her car and was forced to yield the road. However, the tunnel could no longer withstand the pressure and began to collapse. The cars following behind were buried inside.
Bang!
On Top of a Building
A helicopter hovered over the building.
"Sir, the rooftop has been evacuated. We need to hurry," Agent Coulson said.
Fury rushed to the rooftop and climbed into the helicopter. Shortly after the helicopter took off, the energy below exploded.
Even in the sky, Fury felt the shockwave of the explosion. Fortunately, they were airborne; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
From his vantage point, Fury saw Loki's vehicle speeding away underground.
Fury immediately directed Coulson to pursue them, blocking Loki's path. Fury pulled the pistol from his pocket. Bang! He fired a bullet toward Barton, who was driving.
Loki turned and saw Fury pursuing them, surprised that the man was still alive. He raised the Scepter and fired a beam of light.
Boom!
The helicopter was shot down. Just as it crashed, Fury and Coulson jumped out. Fury immediately got up after landing but could only watch helplessly as Loki sped away.
After all that effort, the result was the Tesseract being stolen, his agent defecting, and now he hadn't even managed to capture anyone.
Loki, who had just shaken off Fury and the others, didn't have time to celebrate before shadows began to materialize in front of them.
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