And just like that,
Loki disappeared.
The one responsible for the high-profile invasion of S.H.I.E.L.D. and turning the Dark Energy Joint Base into ruins had vanished completely.
Ever since the battle with Tony and Captain America, he had disappeared without a trace, as if he had never existed.
Two full weeks passed, and Loki didn't make a single move. He seemed to have evaporated from the face of the earth.
Completely "hidden from the world," without a single sign.
But the longer this went on, the more uneasy the Avengers stationed at the new base became.
No one believed Loki would just give up like that.
His inactivity likely meant he was hatching something big.
"I checked our satellites again. As always… nothing."
In the base's control center, Barton sat in front of a computer screen, tapping a few keys and shaking his head after checking.
"Stark, what about you?"
He turned to Tony, who was munching on snacks nearby.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s satellites were more advanced and had broader coverage than most intelligence agencies.
But compared to Jarvis, they still fell slightly short.
"Jarvis hasn't reported anything."
Tony's answer was unsurprising to everyone.
"So… that's it? Loki just… disappeared into thin air?"
Red Guardian shrugged, a hint of dejection on his face. "I still can't figure out how he pulled it off."
Even under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s satellite surveillance and Jarvis's monitoring, not even a fly could hide.How could someone like Loki disappear?Unless he had been holed up somewhere completely isolated, biding his time.
"Eric, we're talking about a god here."
Black Widow interjected. "Doing the impossible… that's what being a god is."
"What we need now isn't to admire someone else's brilliance while losing our own momentum," Red Guardian shook his head.
"Agreed. Couldn't agree more,"
The Playboy pointed at Red Guardian confidently. "Loki is indeed a god—but so what?"
"Don't forget, we already gave him a serious beating. Oh no—I gave him a serious beating!"
"I'd be happy to watch you do it again—but first, we need to find him."
"We will. I will."
After a brief back-and-forth discussion, everyone returned to their work.
Tony wasn't cut out for this kind of serious, monotonous atmosphere. He tried to make small talk, but everyone's enthusiasm was lukewarm.
Or perhaps, everyone was just too serious.
Especially Captain America.
"Stark, please, can you act seriously for once? This is a critical time!"
Captain America could no longer tolerate Tony's frivolity and spoke up.
"Exactly! That's why we can't give ourselves too much pressure."
Tony responded confidently.
"You boys can't just get along?"
Black Widow shrugged, muttering lightly, and got up to leave the room.
Where was she going?
Nothing more than to take care of biological needs.
Splash, splash, splash!In the restroom.
Having finished, Black Widow washed her hands at the sink, just like usual.
But suddenly, she froze—sensing something off.
Her breathing deepened slightly, her instincts tightening. She instinctively looked up—and her pupils constricted sharply.
In the mirror behind her, a man in a robe grinned at her.
Loki.
The thought flashed through Black Widow's mind.
She reflexively drew her gun and spun around.
But behind her… there was nothing. Not even a shadow.
???
What just happened? Did she imagine it?
A highly trained operative like her shouldn't see illusions for no reason.
Yet there was clearly no one there.
Puzzled, Black Widow quickly scanned the restroom—empty.
So… what was going on?
She looked back into the mirror.
Only herself. No one else.
Still, she didn't relax, keeping her guard up.
As she turned her head, she glimpsed something out of the corner of her eye—then immediately returned her gaze to the mirror.
Loki was standing beside her, his smile wicked and full of malice.
Whoosh!Black Widow spun around as fast as possible.
Smack!Before she could react, Loki's scepter pressed against her chest.
A silent wave of energy surged from the scepter. Her eyes went pitch black for a moment before returning to normal.
After that, she holstered her gun.
She was completely under Loki's control.
Loki casually retracted his scepter, a brilliant smile on his face.
"You know what I need you to do, don't you?"
Loki asked Black Widow confidently, as if everything was under his control.
"Tesseract," she immediately answered.
"Good."
Loki nodded approvingly.
Whoosh!And then, abruptly, he disappeared.
Just like in the Thor movie, when Loki suddenly appeared and vanished as Thor failed to retrieve his hammer at the S.H.I.E.L.D. temporary base.
It had to be said—gods truly have methods beyond the comprehension of mortals.
Controlled by Loki, Black Widow didn't overreact. She acted as if nothing happened.
She checked the mirror, straightened her appearance, and returned to the Avengers as if nothing had occurred.
Neither Tony Stark, the genius, nor Barton, who knew her well, noticed anything amiss.
Black Widow resumed her work with the team.
Everything seemed normal.
But then, as suddenly as Loki's disappearance, three days later, Black Widow vanished in the same way—taking the Tesseract with her.
This caught everyone completely off guard.
"Why would Natasha do this?"
"Why steal the Tesseract now?"
The control center became tense and heavy.
Barton, who knew Black Widow best, struggled to accept it.
If possible, he'd rather believe it was all a misunderstanding.
But the surveillance footage clearly recorded her every move.
Using the trust of her teammates, she executed a clever ploy to temporarily distract everyone and successfully take the Tesseract.
There was no disputing it.
"Natasha really is a born spy. She fooled all of us."
Red Guardian sighed. "I wasn't wrong—she's the best at what she does."
"No, Eric, I believe Natasha must have a reason for doing this."
Barton defended her resolutely. "She must have her reasons, sir!"
He approached Nick Fury to argue Natasha's case. "You know Natasha, right?"
"Barton, that's not important right now."
Fury shook his head. "What matters is she took the Tesseract."
"Exactly. We need to find Natasha and get the Tesseract back!"
Captain America confirmed firmly.
Fury then made a series of arrangements and deployments.
Once things were temporarily settled, he walked out casually.
He headed to the coffee machine in the lounge to get a cup of coffee.
"It's Loki."
Tony Stark, who had barely spoken before, calmly approached.
"Loki has a way to control minds, doesn't he?"
The journal had already foreshadowed this crucial detail.
During the original Battle of New York, Barton had been mind-controlled by Loki and almost blew up the Helicarrier.
So Black Widow's sudden betrayal now clearly suggested Loki was behind it.
Seeing the defenses around the Tesseract, Loki knew he couldn't take it by force. So he controlled Black Widow—an inside job, a spy-style maneuver.
"If you were under Loki's control, you wouldn't reveal it in front of me."
"So you're likely not mind-controlled, right?"
"But considering Loki is the God of Mischief, no one can predict his thoughts. So I can't be sure either."
Fury's voice floated over as he got his coffee.
"Exactly—that's Loki's brilliance."
Tony nodded. "I can't be certain you're not controlled. In fact, I can't guarantee anyone in the room isn't."
That's why Fury and Tony hadn't mentioned this crucial intel to the others.
"Loki wants us to distrust each other. And he succeeded."
Fury filled his cup and didn't say more. He tossed the coffee into the trash and walked away without explanation.
No one, including Tony and the Avengers, knew where Fury went.
So where did he go?
After some thought, Fury approached one person:
Satan—or Zhou Cheng.
Recently, Fury had considered hiring Satan to track Loki.
Loki's actions were too serious to ignore.
If mishandled, it could trigger a catastrophic alien invasion.
With S.H.I.E.L.D. and Jarvis unable to locate Loki, the only possibility seemed to be the enigmatic Satan.
But as S.H.I.E.L.D. director, Fury didn't like outsourcing unless absolutely necessary.
Until now. Black Widow's betrayal made him realize the urgency.
He had to find Loki—fast.
And considering the Avengers guarding the Tesseract could also be under Loki's control, he couldn't rely on anyone else.
So Fury approached Zhou Cheng.
Zhou Cheng was surprised and curious. What trouble had Fury encountered this time?
"Seventeen days ago, this person stole something from S.H.I.E.L.D."
Fury explained the situation, showing Zhou Cheng relevant photos.
Zhou Cheng's face remained calm, but inside, he was immediately intrigued.
Loki?
So what Loki stole was undoubtedly the Tesseract.
Had the Battle of New York already begun?
The deviations in the world had been so extreme, Zhou Cheng barely recognized it.
Yet the Battle of New York still occurred.
"Satan, name your price. I need you to retrieve it."
Zhou Cheng pondered—should he accept Fury's request?
Why not?
Moments later, he happily decided to take it.
Based on his abilities, defeating Loki was no problem at all.
Why not take the money?Beating up Loki wouldn't cause him trouble.No Avenger who had fought Loki had been retaliated against by Loki or Asgard.
Could stopping the Battle of New York and foiling Thanos draw Thanos's attention?
Zhou Cheng didn't think so.Even if his identity leaked, what then?Thanos never dealt lethal blows to the Avengers, except Vision and Loki under specific circumstances.
So, no hesitation.
"One billion. Same rules as always—prepayment, then I begin."
Even for S.H.I.E.L.D., this was astronomical.
But Fury knew he had no leverage. He could only try to raise the funds.
Zhou Cheng, however, didn't care.
After Fury left, he recorded his thoughts in the journal.
Tony, resting in the lounge, saw the new journal entry:
Loki still stole the Tesseract from S.H.I.E.L.D.—unexpected, yet expected.So many things have deviated in this universe, yet the Battle of New York happened as scheduled.After all, this is Marvel's first true big event!Without the Battle of New York, what would Marvel even be?No—if Fury gets the money in place, the Battle of New York really might not happen!Honestly, my feelings are a bit complicated.So many iconic moments in New York!Iron Man carrying the nuke, Hulk pounding Loki—so classic.It's a shame if it's gone.But Captain America shouting "Hail Hydra" shouldn't be missing, right? Haha, that's a classic moment too.
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