Helen's leap had the force of a small missile, and not just any missile, but an enchanted one capable of breaking through magical defenses. Loki was sent slamming into the wall, instantly filling the sturdy Stark Building's durable material with cracks.
As Loki landed, clutching his chest, he gave a harsh cough before dropping to one knee. He swallowed a bit, staggered to his feet, picked up Helen in his arms and corrected her: "Cough cough... I'm not your mom..."
Helen reached out her arms, mimicking the posture of wanting a hug, she then said, "Dad!"
"I'm not your dad either!" Loki retorted, exasperated.
At this point, Strange came forward, patting Loki's shoulder. He looked at Helen's face, then at Loki's, and then back at Helen's. He shook his head, clicked his tongue and walked away.
Letting out a deep sigh, Loki looked at Helen and found their faces were a good 80% identical. He wished to put Helen down but she suddenly lunged into his arms and wrapped around him like an octopus, refusing to let go.
"Let go of me, I'm not... let go right now! This is utterly ridiculous!" Loki struggled to detach her. However, Helen was not your average human little girl; her immense strength was terrifying.
Using his godly power, Loki attempted to remove her arm with a bit of leniency, but when he grabbed her, it felt like hitting a brick wall. The petite, baby-fat filled arm felt as solid as if it was welded onto Loki's body.
Loki clenched his teeth, exerting slightly more force, yet Helen remained unresponsive, diligently staring at him with her glittering big eyes. Loki took both his arms, gripping Helen's shoulders, trying to get her to let go. But a mere slight tug almost floored him instead.
Determined, Loki used all his strength to try and pry Helen off. Only to realize, it was not him being weak or not fully Asgardian at fault. It was simply Helen's strength which was incredibly overpowering.
Loki helplessly dropped his arms, looking at Helen who had hung herself onto him, he muttered, "What on earth do you want to do? Hurry down. What's the use of hanging on me?"
Just when he was about to continue, an angry yell resonated throughout the sky, "Helen Stark! How dare you..."
In a flash, Stark appeared in the middle of the lab. Seeing so many people around, he paused briefly, his gaze then landed on Loki.
Before Stark could say anything, Helen climbed vehemently on Loki until she was on his shoulder, hugging his neck. Then, she yelled out, "I did nothing! I just evolved again! You can't beat me up!"
Stark clenched his fist in frustration. He had already become aware of Helen's transcendence into godhood. Therefore, his desire to discipline her was genuine and unrestrained.
However, Loki was in the dark, thinking Helen was merely a young girl. Seeing Stark's fist heading towards him with full force, Loki quickly moved back, shouting out,
"Tony Stark! Have you lost your mind? She is your daughter!!!"
"Put her down! I must reprimand this lawless brat today!" Stark roared bitterly.
From the perspective of the multiverse, Stark had a clear understanding of how Helen stole electricity, absorbed it into her body, and transformed her life form instantly.
Like most men in this world, Stark also fantasized about having a sweet, adorable little princess for a daughter. They say that daughters are like little cotton jackets close to the parents' hearts, but those jackets are often not snugly fitted, occasionally letting in a cold breeze.
The extent of Helen's 'breeze', had already been classified as tattered rags. Born only a short time ago, she quickly passed through the most tender, lovable infant stage, entering a troublesome toddler life.
Moreover, evolution, which was a natural instinct for her, was caused by the destructive form of life within her. After having obtained an abundance of energy, she chose an unusual evolution path.
While being a demonic god had its drawbacks, it was much stronger than a human body. Plus, the evolution from doomsday was limitless. As long as you had a long-spanning life, she could gradually evolve to rid of all disadvantages until becoming a perfect life form in the truest sense.
This was Helen's normal instinct, but from Stark's perspective, this 'little rascal' was audacious to the point of recklessness, daring to steal electricity a few months after being born. He didn't even dare to think about what she would steal after one year.
No father would let their daughter take such risks, and Helen had no signs of repentance. When she saw Stark coming, she turned and ran.
Now, Helen was clinging to Loki, who was unsure of what was happening. He instinctively dodged Stark's attacks, while Peter was explaining the situation to the others in the background.
After listening to Helen and Pikachu's scheme, Shiller shook his head, seemingly dissatisfied. But on the other side, the drama with its complicated moral relations had escalated to a heated stage.
Loki didn't have such patience to just take hits without fighting back. When he fought back, Stark got even angrier.
If we must describe it, it's like a child causing trouble and getting caught by one parent, while the other parent goes all out to protect the child. Originally, the parent who caught the child wasn't that angry and would have settled it with just an admonition. But once the other parent sided with the child, it only stirred up more anger.
Such was the situation between Stark and Loki. Eventually, both got quite heated. However, Stark, who had a sufficient amount of magical energy, was a strong fighter. Even without advancing to a level above the cosmos, he possessed a battle strength at the apex of an individual universe.
A normal Loki had difficulty fending off Stark in this condition. Thus, he had to light up his halo and descend in the form of the Goddess of Glory. Of course, Helen was still clinging to him when he descended.
But the moment the Goddess of Glory descended, it alerted another person, Thor, who was handling official affairs in Asgard.
Thor, the God of Light, also had the strength of an individual universe's peak. Hence, he could sense any powerful forces descending in this universe. Sensing Loki's aura, he frowned slightly in confusion.
Given Loki's strength, he wouldn't need to light up his halo unless he was in danger. Conversely, if he did light up his halo, it meant he might be in trouble.
Thinking of this, Thor anxiously grabbed his long spear and quickly rushed to Loki and Stark's battlefield.
He arrived just in time to see Strange trying to mediate in mid-air. Strange pleaded earnestly, "Tony, I know you are angry. The child made a mistake, it's okay to let her know, but you can't just fight with Loki. It doesn't solve anything..."
"Loki, you've got to understand Tony too. Childhood education is crucial and can't be neglected. He might have been a bit impulsive, but it's all for Helen's sake..."
Hearing these words, Thor quickly deduced the current situation. Helen probably made a small mistake, Stark tried to teach her a lesson, Loki protested, and then the two started fighting.
In Asgard, disciplining children calls for toughness. Thor himself got his fair share of beating from Odin, and Frigga hardly objected. But from the perspective of the child's mother's family, Thor was somewhat unsatisfied with Stark's actions.
Even if the child needed correcting, violence against the child's mother was not right, was it? Look at the situation now. Loki had to hold Helen in one hand and fend off Stark's attack with the other. Wasn't this an outright scene of domestic violence?
Just then, Helen noticed Thor's arrival. With a "whoosh," she darted over to him and clung to him like an octopus.
Thor looked down to find Helen's bright, wide eyes staring back at him.
Though Thor had a hot temper, he was a kindhearted man who had a soft spot for the vulnerable. Even when dealing with the nearly grown Peter, he was more patient, let alone the young Helen.
He immediately raised his long spear and shouted, "Tony! Stop this! You can't fight in front of Helen, it will affect her negatively..."
With the fight breaking out amongst the three, Strange stepped back. He returned to the New York skyline where Shiller was waiting, they went back to Stark's lab, then spirited away Peter and Pikachu to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s office.
"Alright, the first phase of the plan has failed. We definitely can't steal the electricity now, and besides, this way of stealing electricity is too slow. Just now, when I was fighting with Venom using Gray Mist, I felt his internal energy reserve, and it's... not much..." Shiller spoke in a rather disgruntled tone instead of an indifferent one.
"So why did you have me bring Thor into the battle?" Strange asked.
"That's the second phase of the plan."
After Shiller finished speaking, the three of them huddled together again. Meanwhile, Peter, who was standing aside, shuddered. He touched Pikachu in his arms, then said,
"My intuition tells me someone is about to be really unlucky."