Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Cosmic Cube Lost
"Sir, would you mind putting down the spear?" Nick Fury asked, keeping his tone calm despite the clear threat Loki posed.
Loki surveyed his surroundings briefly, then, with a smirk, swung his scepter. A burst of energy struck Fury, sending him reeling.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The agents, prepared for trouble, opened fire, but their bullets barely fazed Loki. Despite his habit of getting smacked around by Thor—and by Sif when she wasn't sparring with Thor—Loki was still Asgardian, his Frost Giant lineage granting him resilience beyond any ordinary human's. Within moments, most of the agents around him were downed.
"Oh?" Loki paused, noticing Hawkeye slowly standing, attempting to resist. Loki leapt in front of him, pressing the scepter to Clint's chest. Instantly, Hawkeye's eyes shifted to a glazed blue, and he lowered his weapon, now fully under Loki's control.
Satisfied, Loki strode over to the trembling Dr. Erik Selvig. Fury, watching in disbelief, quietly slipped the Tesseract into a box and closed it, preparing to escape.
"Leave the box," Loki called, his voice commanding. "That's what I came for."
Loki straightened, addressing Fury and the remaining personnel. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Loki, from Asgard, here on a mission far beyond your understanding."
"Loki… from Asgard?" Fury murmured, realizing he knew more than most. "Are you Thor's brother?"
"Don't mention that name!" Loki spat, fury flashing across his face. "I am the true king of Asgard!"
"Alright, alright," Fury said, trying to keep Loki talking, "no matter who's king, we don't have any quarrel with you, right?"
Loki's smile turned cold. "Ants and your shoes have no quarrel, either. I bring you good news. Your so-called freedom has enslaved you. Surrender to me, your new god, and Earth will know eternal peace."
Great, Fury thought. Another self-important god with a messiah complex. He tried to keep Loki talking, hoping to buy time, but his plan fell apart as Hawkeye—now Loki's puppet—spotted the delay. Loki struck Fury, snatched the Tesseract, and strode away.
In the parking lot, Maria Hill spotted Loki, Hawkeye, and Dr. Selvig making their escape. She jumped into a vehicle and sped after them, quickly closing the distance with her expert driving and sharpshooting. Though she managed to block Loki's path temporarily, she couldn't overcome Hawkeye's enhanced skills and was quickly overpowered.
A loud explosion echoed through the area as Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, and a wounded Maria Hill regrouped, turning on their communicators to exchange updates.
"The Tesseract's been taken," Fury said, his voice grim. "We have casualties among the agents."
Hill crawled out of her wrecked car, calling urgently, "There are people trapped under the rubble. We need rescue teams immediately. I'm not sure how many survived."
"Summon the rescue teams. Evacuate and treat the injured," Fury instructed. Then, after a brief pause, he added, "And gather everyone who's not involved in the rescue. We're getting the Tesseract back. Coulson, return to base and issue a Level Seven Alert. This could be the start of a war."
"Understood," Coulson replied, "but the enemy's power level is far beyond our expectations. I'm not sure our current resources can handle him."
Fury paused, the weight of the situation sinking in. Finally, he replied, "Then it's time…to assemble the Avengers."
[Read up to 90+ chapter more on p@treon.com/goldengaruda]
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone