The cross-section was mirror-smooth, wisps of eerie black vapor that made souls tremble emanating from it.
"Dark Thrust..."
A voice tinged with mild intoxication seemed to echo directly in their minds.
The entire world fell silent.
Thor—the God of Thunder of Asgard, Prince of the Aesir—looked at that vanished hilltop, then at Mjolnir in his hand, the hammer called "indestructible." For the first time, he understood what it meant to be "insignificant."
Tony Stark—Earth's smartest, richest genius—watched as his armor's displays flashed frantic red warnings reading "Unknown energy intrusion—system collapse imminent." For the first time, he understood what it meant to be "ignorant."
Just then, Captain America Steve Rogers finally arrived, piloting his jet.
He surveyed the bizarre scene before him—and his two teammates frozen in place like they'd been hit with a paralysis spell—completely baffled.
"...What happened?"
No one answered him.
Because Thor's and Tony's communicators were simultaneously broadcasting that devilish voice:
"Hey, you two clanky idiots, listen up."
"I'm telling you, if you disturb my meal again..."
"I'll melt your hammer and your tin can down into a new barbecue grill."
"My roasted pork knuckle is about to arrive."
By the time Cloud had contentedly finished his pork knuckle and amicably resolved the "family dispute" between Thor and Iron Man, everyone finally returned to the Helicarrier with their various complex emotions.
The cabin atmosphere was a hundred times more bizarre than when they'd departed.
Captain America Steve Rogers sat studying his vibranium shield with utmost seriousness, seemingly pondering how much of this supposedly "indestructible" shield would remain if that purple-black flame had even grazed it.
Thor sat in a corner clutching his recovered hammer, not saying a word.
Those blue eyes—usually brimming with confidence and pride—were now filled with confusion.
He was beginning to wonder if his vaunted "Power of Thunder," in that man's eyes, really was worth less than a barbecue grill.
Meanwhile, Tony Stark had completely transformed into a "question machine."
He bounced around Cloud like a monkey who'd discovered a new continent.
"Hey! Cloud! How'd you do that? That black flame doesn't conform to any known law of conservation of energy! Its entropy value is negative! That's not scientific!"
"Also, how did you teleport? Wormhole jumping? Space folding? Let me see your algorithm! I promise I'll just study it a little—won't share it with anyone!"
"Oh right, right—do you have any more of those Hadouken Burgers? JARVIS analyzed the residual energy and found seventeen unknown amino acids! This could revolutionize human nutritional science!"
Facing Tony's machine-gun questioning, Cloud simply sipped the tea Natasha had prepared for him, occasionally pulling a rice ball from Mai Shiranui's hand-made bento box and stuffing it into Tony's mouth.
"Mmph... mmph mmph... (This rice ball's flavor... is also very unique!)"
The entire return flight passed in this bizarre harmony of one person interrogating madly and another person feeding compulsively.
...
Helicarrier. Maximum Security Detention Cell.
Loki—the God of Mischief from Asgard—was confined in a circular cell made of specially reinforced glass capable of withstanding a Hulk assault.
Yet even imprisoned, he maintained his divine elegance and composure.
He sat in his cell, lips curved in a faint, all-knowing smile, like an audience member enjoying a theatrical performance, watching the "foolish mortals" outside.
Right now, outside his cell, a fierce argument was underway.
The Avengers' core members, along with Nick Fury, were gathered around a circular table, arguing heatedly about how to handle Loki and the Tesseract.
"We must research the Tesseract immediately!" Fury's single eye blazed with unquestionable authority. "Loki and his alien army could return at any moment! We need weapons capable of fighting them!"
"Weapons?!" Steve Rogers slammed the table. This old-fashioned hero's face was full of anger and disappointment. "Fury! You never intended to create energy! You just wanted to make weapons of mass destruction!"
"We're protecting the world, Captain!" Fury refused to back down. "Facing unknown threats, we can't pin our hopes on a few superheroes!"
"That doesn't justify sacrificing human conscience!"
"Hmph, how naive." Tony Stark sneered from the sidelines. "Counting on politicians and bureaucrats? Might as well count on me selling more suits."
"Watch your mouth, Stark! You're not part of this team!"
"Oh? That so? Then who are you counting on? The cosplaying musclehead over there?"
"Who are you calling a musclehead?!" Thor's temper flared too.
"You! I'm talking about you! Muscles grew into your brain!"
The argument escalated.
Everyone's most primal anger, suspicion, and pride seemed to be infinitely amplified by some invisible force.
Dr. Banner sat nearby, breaking out in cold sweats. He could feel the "big guy" inside him starting to stir.
Natasha watched alertly. She sensed something was very wrong.
And the architect of all this—Loki—sat in his cell, admiring his "masterpiece" with a pleased, self-satisfied smile.
Though S.H.I.E.L.D. had confiscated his Mind Scepter, the power of the Mind Stone upon it had already silently permeated the entire Helicarrier.
Like a master hypnotist, it had quietly drawn out everyone's most negative emotions and amplified them infinitely.
He would make these so-called heroes tear themselves apart through internal suspicion and conflict.
Just as Loki thought his plan was flawless, his gaze fell upon an "outlier."
Cloud.
From start to finish, this man whom Fury had designated "highest threat level" hadn't participated in any argument.
He wasn't even sitting at the conference table.
He'd dragged a chair to a corner not too far from the cell, holding a bucket of popcorn.
He was enthusiastically stuffing popcorn into his mouth while watching the "Avengers Internal Strife" drama unfold, his face lit up with an expression of "Oh oh oh, fight fight fight!"
He looked exactly like a moviegoer in a theater who loved watching drama unfold.
...
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