The "guy who makes thunder" that Loki mentioned — everyone at the scene knew exactly who he meant.
It could only be the focus of everyone's attention this time: Thor, the God of Thunder.
Crackle! Boom!
The camera cut to a sky filled with thunder and lightning. A Quinjet was weaving through the clouds.
Suddenly, a figure dropped from the heavens and landed directly on top of the jet.
The man wore a red cape, had long golden hair, rugged features, and a chiseled body that looked like a bodybuilder's. Wasn't he the caped hero who briefly appeared in the Battle of New York?
Just as everyone had suspected.
"That guy really is the God of Thunder!"
A flash of insight crossed Nick Fury's single eye as he muttered to himself, while memorizing Thor's appearance.
He planned to sketch a portrait of Thor once he got back — to prepare for finding him in the future.
Boom!
With Thor's landing, the Quinjet shook violently as if hit by a boulder.
Inside the jet, Captain America and Iron Man staggered and nearly fell.
Without hesitation, Iron Man put on his helmet, walked to the cabin door, and pressed a button to open it.
He clearly wanted to go check out the situation.
Boom!
The jet shook again — Thor had flown in from outside and slammed hard onto the floor.
Iron Man was just about to stop Thor, but before he could do anything, Thor smashed him to the ground with a hammer strike.
Then Thor walked over, grabbed Loki, swung his hammer rapidly, and took off into the air.
"This guy really knows how to make an entrance!" groaned Iron Man, climbing to his feet.
"Another one from Asgard?" asked Black Widow, who was piloting the jet, glancing back.
"Is he... one of us?"Captain America speculated aloud.
"Doesn't matter. Whether he lets Loki go or kills him, we'll still lose the Tesseract," said Iron Man. With that, he prepared to fly out and chase after Thor.
"Stark, we need a plan!"Captain America called after him.
"I have a plan — attack!"
Iron Man fired back the line and flew off, ignoring Captain America.
Captain America could only shake his head helplessly, grab his shield, and leap off the jet after him.
From their conversation, it was easy to infer that this took place after Loki had stolen the Tesseract from S.H.I.E.L.D.
Apparently, Loki had hidden the Tesseract somewhere. Though S.H.I.E.L.D. had captured Loki, they hadn't been able to get him to reveal its location.
And just at that crucial moment, Thor appeared and took Loki away.
Onscreen, the footage continued.
Thor, after grabbing Loki, threw him onto a mountainside.
"Where is the Tesseract?" was his very first line.
Clearly, Thor knew exactly what Loki had been up to on Earth.
"Long time no see, brother," said Loki, dodging the question.
"Do I look like I'm here for a family reunion?"Thor shouted angrily.
"After the Bifrost was destroyed, do you know how much dark energy Odin had to summon to get you back to your precious Earth?"Loki sat up and smirked. "You should be thanking me."
"The Bifrost — the mythological bridge connecting Asgard and Midgard... it's actually real," murmured Nick Fury, visibly shaken.
Even with all his experience, it was hard for Nick Fury to stay composed upon discovering that all those ancient myths were true.
"Midgard?"Black Widow asked, confused.
"It has another name — Earth," explained Iron Man coolly.
He hadn't been much of a mythology guy before, but after the first quiz, he had done some serious cramming.
Black Widow nodded.
"'Precious Earth,' huh... maybe we can try reaching out to Thor,"Black Widow added thoughtfully.
From Thor and Loki's exchange, it was obvious that Thor's attitude toward Earth was the complete opposite of Loki's.
"Loki, I thought you were dead!"
Thor was visibly emotional as he grabbed Loki again.
"Did you mourn me?"Loki responded, completely unfazed.
"We all mourned you — even our father!"
"Your father,"Loki corrected, then countered, "Did he tell you about my true origins?"
"We were both raised by him. We grew up together, played together — have you forgotten all that?"Thor shouted.
Nick Fury and the others looked at each other. From the sound of it, Loki wasn't Odin's biological son. More like... adopted?
If Odin had deemed Loki worthy of adoption, then he clearly wasn't ordinary either.
"I've always had a shadow in my heart. I've always lived in your shadow!"
"I'll never forget — it was you who cast me into the abyss!"
"Who am I? I was supposed to be king!"
Loki burst out in emotional accusations toward Thor, filled with grievance and fury.
"So you think conquering Earth will make up for your pathetic inferiority complex?"Thor shot back coldly.
"No. I will protect the Earth I love!"Thor declared with conviction.
"Hahaha, you're doing a great job of that!"Loki sneered mercilessly. "Humans are killing each other in droves, and you stand by and do nothing! I step in to rule them — and I'm the problem?"
"You think you're superior to humans?"
"Of course I am!"
"You don't even know what ruling means, little brother. The throne is a burden you can't bear!"
"So~"Black Widow shrugged, "Looks like the reason Loki invaded Earth might be because he got screwed over back in Asgard? Maybe... lost out on the throne?"
Even if they didn't know all the details, Loki's outburst gave them some clues.
"So Loki lost the throne and decided to play king on Earth — makes a twisted kind of sense," said Nick Fury, now looking deeply concerned.
They'd always wondered why someone from Asgard would help the Chitauri invade Earth.
Now, it seemed they finally had a thread to pull.
(End of Chapter)