"That spear of his… not only can it attack, but it can also alter wills and control minds!" said Nick Fury, filled with deep wariness and gravity.
That kind of ability was just too terrifying.
For agents like them, it would be better to die a heroic death than to become someone else's puppet.
At this moment, whether it was Nick Fury, Black Widow, or Iron Man, they were all inwardly alert.
If they ever encountered this spear-wielding man in the future, they must absolutely avoid being struck in the chest by that spear.
While the spear man was controlling Barton and others, Nick Fury quietly "boxed up" the Tesseract, preparing to slip away unnoticed.
But obviously, that wasn't going to work.
"Put the case down!" said the spear man in a tone that allowed no argument. "I really need it!"
"No need to get so tense, right?"Nick Fury replied calmly to the spear man.
"Of course there's a need. I came a long way just for it!" the spear man said in a deep voice, then introduced himself: "I am Loki, from the divine realm of Asgard."
"Loki? The god of mischief and trickery?"Black Widow exclaimed again in surprise. "I thought that was just a myth."
"So… Thor is real, Loki is real—this world really is something else," said Nick Fury, his expression growing even more colorful.
"My premonition came true."Iron Man sighed in resignation.
The worst-case scenario had indeed occurred—the person on "the other side of the portal" wasn't a sorcerer from Earth, but an alien.
And not just any alien, but one straight out of myth and legend.
"Loki? You're Thor's brother?"
What surprised everyone was that upon hearing Loki's self-introduction, Dr. Selvig suddenly blurted out in shock.
From his reaction, it actually seemed like he knew Thor.
Because in mythology, Loki is said to be Odin's brother—Thor's father!
Which would make him Thor's uncle!
But according to Dr. Selvig, Loki was Thor's brother, meaning that Dr. Selvig must know the real Thor.
Otherwise, how would he know the true relationship between Thor and Loki, different from the myths?
"Dr. Selvig, this man doesn't seem ordinary."
Once again, Nick Fury mentally made a note of Dr. Selvig.
He hadn't expected that this unremarkable-looking old man, aside from being a top-notch scientist, even knew Thor.
Not just Nick Fury, Iron Man also silently started paying more attention to Dr. Selvig.
The name Thor had appeared multiple times in the answer options from the quiz system—highly likely a future ally of Iron Man.
And Dr. Selvig was currently their only lead to finding Thor.
But in front of Loki, Dr. Selvig was just a minion. Loki didn't respond to his words and continued negotiating with Nick Fury.
"We have no grudge against you!"Nick Fury said seriously to Loki.
"Ants don't have grudges against your boots either."Loki used a vivid metaphor.
"So you're saying you want to crush us?"
"No, I'm actually bringing good news—a world without burdens."
"Burdens like what?"
"Freedom! Freedom is the greatest lie of life. If you accept that, you'll find peace in your heart."
During his negotiation with Nick Fury, Loki casually took control of Dr. Selvig as well.
"Sir, Nick Fury is stalling for time. This place is about to explode—we'll be buried under rubble," said Hawkeye Barton, suddenly walking up to Loki.
"Indeed!"
Dr. Selvig chimed in from the side after checking the data. "The portal is starting to collapse—only two minutes left before total structural failure."
"Well then, fine."Loki looked at Hawkeye Barton.
Bang!
Barton didn't waste a single word. With brutal efficiency, he shot Nick Fury to the ground.
Watching from the screen, both Nick Fury and Black Widow had their pupils shrink slightly—Loki's mind control was terrifying.
Barton was Nick Fury's most loyal agent, yet now he had shot Nick Fury without even blinking.
But everything else about Barton's behavior seemed unaffected, as if Loki had only altered his allegiance—nothing more.
Just like that—
Loki, with Barton and others, snatched the Tesseract from Nick Fury's hands and swaggered right out of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s base.
Of course, Nick Fury wasn't killed by that shot—this old fox was wearing a bulletproof vest and quickly got up, lively as ever.
He personally led the remaining team members in chasing after Loki and his crew.
But—unsurprisingly—they failed.
In the end, the entire base was reduced to rubble, countless agents were dead or injured, and they could only watch helplessly as Loki escaped.
"Director! Do you copy?"
At this moment, Coulson contacted Nick Fury over the comms.
"The Tesseract was stolen by unidentified personnel. We've suffered casualties!"Nick Fury responded grimly.
"Hill?"
"Many are trapped under the rubble. It's unclear how many survivors there are," replied Agent Hill over the channel.
Nick Fury immediately issued a series of orders and deployments.
"Send out an emergency directive. Anyone not involved in rescue—go find me that case!"
"Coulson, return to base and issue a Level 7 alert. Based on what we're seeing, the war has already begun."
"What should we do?"Coulson asked in a serious tone.
At that moment, the camera gave a close-up of Nick Fury's face. He appeared deep in thought, solemn, as if he had made a critical decision.
The footage ended there.
Though the image didn't show Nick Fury's next move, everyone understood.
Next, Nick Fury would definitely summon the Avengers to retrieve the stolen Tesseract.
The room fell momentarily silent. The atmosphere turned heavy.
That video segment was long and carried vital information.
"There are two crucial questions."
"First, as a god from Asgard, why did Loki come to Earth to steal the Tesseract? What's his goal?"
After a moment of silence, Nick Fury spoke first, analyzing the situation with gravity.
Everyone looked at each other—wide-eyed, clueless. There simply wasn't enough information to answer that question.
But it was undeniably a very important question.
(End of Chapter)