On the open sea, a massive battleship cruised steadily through the waves.
A low engine roar rolled in from the sky, and the crew on deck couldn't help pausing to look up.
Two fighter jets spiraled down in a clean approach and landed smoothly on the deck.
"Agent Romanoff. This is Captain Rogers."
Coulson stood beside his idol, Captain America, introducing Black Widow.
"Hello, ma'am."
"Hi." Natasha nodded, then glanced at Coulson. "The engine's acting up. I need you to go check something."
"Got it." Coulson jogged off without hesitation.
Natasha watched him go and smiled at Steve, her mouth twitching into a faint smirk.
"Digging you out of the ice was a real headache. I honestly thought he'd faint from excitement the second he saw you."
"Mr. Banner!"
As they walked forward, they spotted a familiar figure.
Steve greeted him first. He'd reviewed the files Fury provided, and Banner was in there.
Of course, it was the raging green version.
"Hey." Banner shook his hand. "Good to meet you."
"I hear you can find the Tesseract?" Steve smiled, sounding relaxed.
"There are other rumors too." Banner rubbed his hands together, the guilt in his eyes refusing to fade.
That look people gave him, like he was a monster, hadn't lessened in the slightest. Not even after he took down Abomination.
"I only care about the Tesseract," Steve said with a small smile.
"This must all be pretty unfamiliar to you."
They strolled across the carrier, talking.
Then a deep mechanical rumble swallowed their voices.
"What's happening?" Steve asked.
"Is this a submarine?" he added, puzzled.
They reached the edge of the deck.
A massive whirlpool formed out of nowhere on the sea's surface.
At the same time, three more whirlpools opened around the ship.
The water churned away, revealing enormous rotors.
Then the entire battleship began to rise, transforming into a colossal flying craft.
"Engage stealth mode."
Fury issued the command from the command center, then had everyone brought inside.
"Just now, we picked up a faint gamma radiation trace and narrowed it to a specific zone. We're pulling surveillance from that area now."
As Fury spoke, the huge screen shifted.
A lean, hard featured face appeared.
Fury's eyes widened as he stared at the image. His voice dropped.
"Found him."
Then he gave them a quick rundown of Loki's identity.
"Captain, I'm going to need you on this," Fury said to Steve, sincere and direct.
"It's what I'm supposed to do," Steve replied.
At an opera house, Vincent was strolling around leisurely with Autumn Summer, who had already taken off the armor.
"This is your plan?" Autumn's face was full of confusion.
Getting the armor at first, fine, she could understand that.
But now?
This just looked like sightseeing.
"Relax." Vincent chuckled softly and patted her hair. "The pastries here are pretty good. Want to try one?"
He lifted a small cake from a silver tray and offered it to her.
"…Fine."
Autumn took it helplessly and tried a bite.
What was happening was completely different from the scene she'd imagined, but as long as Vincent was here, she felt confident.
Suddenly, the crowd erupted into chaos.
A tall, thin man casually dropped the bodyguards with his cane, slammed a wealthy patron onto a table, and pressed a prepared device onto the man's face.
A scream tore through the hall.
Loki's task was done.
But he had no intention of leaving yet.
Golden light flashed around the crowd, and several illusions appeared, sealing everyone in.
"Kneel!"
Loki roared, his divine pressure sweeping the hall.
People began to waver. One after another, they dropped to their knees.
"Good." Loki sneered at them, savoring the rush of dominance. "Isn't this your nature? Your slave instinct. How does it feel, now that it's been dragged into the open?"
"That's… Loki? The one behind all this?" Autumn blurted, recognizing him immediately.
"Shouldn't we stop him?" She tilted her face up, looking at Vincent.
"No." Vincent smiled faintly, taking a bite of his cake. "Someone will show up."
"It's good."
In the crowd, an elderly man slowly stood, staring at Loki with calm contempt.
"And who are you supposed to be?"
Loki froze for a beat, then smiled. "I am beyond all."
The old man shook his head, unhurried. "There's always someone stronger. There are always higher mountains."
In an instant, Loki's smile vanished.
He turned to the kneeling crowd, voice heavy with authority.
"Look at this old man. Doesn't he seem… different?"
Blue light flared from his scepter.
"Then let me offer a small punishment. A lesson for the rest of you."
Panic flickered across the old man's face as he watched the blue glow shoot toward him.
Boom!
A burst of sparks flashed.
Loki's expression shifted, surprised.
"Who did that?"
As the elderly man stumbled, Vincent caught him and helped him back up.
Vincent glanced toward the sky, annoyed.
"You're late."
Loki's displeasure returned immediately. "Mortal. Did you not hear me speaking to you?"
"Me?" Vincent pointed at himself, smiling. "Just a passerby."
Loki actually laughed in anger, eyeing the striking Eastern face in front of him.
"Then pass by properly."
Blue light surged again, a beam blasting straight at Vincent.
Vincent flicked his hand lazily and knocked the energy aside.
He pushed off the ground and launched forward like a cannon shot.
Bang!
No hesitation. Vincent's fist slammed into Loki's helmet.
Loki's vision flashed white, his skull ringing like it had been struck by a speeding train, and his whole body flew backward.
"Pfft!"
Loki steadied himself, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and glared.
"What an insult. You're stronger than that hammer swinging Asgardian."
He forced himself upright, staring at Vincent.
Forget trading blows.
That first collision alone told Loki everything.
He was absolutely not the opponent here.
Faint golden light shimmered over Loki's body. The Trickster God's regal outfit vanished in an instant.
Loki dropped to one knee and slowly raised both hands.
"I surrender."
Thud!
A blue figure dropped into the center of the hall.
Vincent looked at the newly arrived Captain America with a flat expression.
Seriously? That late?
What was S.H.I.E.L.D. doing?
Then the entire opera house filled with noisy commotion, and a cocky voice echoed through the air.
A familiar, punchy soundtrack followed.
Vincent looked up.
A streak of red cut across the sky, and a red themed suit of armor traced a perfect arc before landing smoothly on the floor.
"Oh?" Tony's voice carried an amused bite. "The reindeer got taken down?"