Ten thousand meters up. Blue sky, white clouds, clear weather all around.
Alex shot through a cluster of clouds, scattering them apart, then blazed on at full speed.
The communicator in his ear crackled with the voice of Wakandan Prince T'Challa.
["Great Conqueror, the target is three hundred miles to your east, at an altitude of nine thousand meters, below your current position."]
Alex gave a satisfied nod. Three hundred miles was nothing to him, barely a blink. In moments, he had the target in his sights, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.
After handing Caitlin off to the Wakandans for protection, Alex had ordered T'Challa to use their technology to track down the Helicarrier.
In the Avengers film, after Loki packaged himself up and surrendered to the team, he'd been brought aboard S.H.I.E.L.D.'s flying fortress. That was where his scepter, with the Mind Stone embedded in it, would be taken away by Banner and Stark for study.
The scepter was exactly what Alex had come for.
With Wakandan technology backing him, he found the Helicarrier without breaking a sweat.
Alex scanned the interior and immediately found what he was looking for.
He spotted the one-eyed Nick Fury. He spotted the red-haired Black Widow. He spotted Iron Man, Banner, Captain America, Loki, all of them.
"Perfect timing."
He smiled, then dropped toward the Helicarrier.
———
Down below, inside the ship—
The reinforced cage originally designed to hold the Hulk now held Loki instead. The Asgardian was pacing inside it when he suddenly stopped, a faint smile crossing his lips.
"Not many people can sneak up on me."
He turned around. His gaze settled on a woman in a black fitted leather suit. Black Widow.
Natasha stood with easy composure, "You expected me?"
Loki's smile widened, "Of course."
"No matter what torture that old man puts me through, you always show up right on schedule. Like an old friend."
"I'm genuinely touched."
He spread his hands, the smile not reaching his eyes.
"I want to know what you did to Barton," Natasha said.
Loki shrugged one shoulder, "I simply opened his mind."
She stepped closer, "And when you win, what happens to Barton then?"
Loki laughed softly, "Don't tell me you love him?"
At that moment, something made Loki pause. He tilted his head up and glanced at the ceiling.
"What is it?", Natasha asked.
He looked back at her, expression shifting with quiet amusement, "Nothing. I just have a feeling things are about to get a lot more interesting."
"Now, back to the question."
"Do you love him, Agent Romanoff?"
———
On the command bridge, Nick Fury suddenly heard alarms. Thor and Agent Phil Coulson both looked up.
"Director," Agent Maria Hill, sharp-featured and tall, turned from her station, "We're detecting a fast-moving object on an intercept course."
Fury hadn't even responded when the forward panoramic viewport shattered. A dark shape rocketed through and hung in midair.
The one-eyed director of S.H.I.E.L.D. raised a hand to brush debris off his shoulder, then looked up. A blond man floated before him.
A crimson cape billowed behind him like living flame. His armor was black at its core, traced with golden lightning patterns.
Then the man spoke, "Good morning, gentlemen."
Alex looked around the bridge. The director with his eyepatch. Agent Hill with her sharp posture. The muscular Thor. Coulson, whose hairline was clearly in retreat.
"Feels like I walked into a movie," he muttered to himself.
Then, with a smile, "Don't mind me. I'm just here to pick something up."
Without looking back, he pointed a hand down at one of the agents below, "Don't move. For your own sake."
The agent had been reaching for his sidearm. Alex had already seen it.
Fury's voice came out low and firm, "Sir. Everything on this ship is government property. I don't believe you have any right to take it."
Alex clasped his hands behind his back and laughed, "I think you may have that wrong, Director."
"I'm not a citizen of this country, so I really don't see why I should be bound by your laws."
"And as for government property, well," He tilted his head, "Your country took everything it has from the people who were here first."
"So you see, there's no such thing as government property."
"There's only one truth."
"The biggest fist makes the rules."
With that, Alex drifted toward a far wall, the one that sat in a direct line with the room holding Loki's scepter.
"Stop him!"
Fury's voice cracked across the bridge. He drew his pistol and leveled it at Alex.
Before any other agent could raise their weapon and fire, Alex turned his head. A sweep of golden light cut across the command room in a long arc, slicing through the bridge and throwing the whole space into chaos.
But then Thor lunged, muscles driving him forward like a battering ram, one fist already swinging toward Alex's head.
Alex raised a hand, fingers spread, and caught the punch flat in his palm.
A shockwave rolled outward in a ring.
Thor's expression shifted.
Alex spoke quietly, "Doesn't hit as hard as Superman."
His eyes lit up with golden light. A wall of blazing, searing radiance thundered out. Thor barely got his arm up in time. The heat scorched straight through it, and the kinetic force behind the blast sent him flying.
After knocking Thor back with the heat vision, Alex flicked a scan onto him.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
— Name: Thor Odinson (God of Thunder)
— Life Level: 7 (Divine Race)
— Status: Surprised
— Talents: Superhuman Strength, Superhuman Speed, Superhuman Durability, Lightning Mastery
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
'Life Level 7.'
Alex took a slow breath.
Thor was a full two levels above him.
But… he watched Thor shove wreckage aside and climb back to his feet.
Alex thought about it, 'Maybe Life Level isn't an absolute measure of strength. Maybe it is relative. Higher level generally means stronger, but it isn't the whole picture.'
That was just a guess. He'd need more evidence.
He stopped thinking about Thor and drove himself forward, straight through the wall.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Wall after wall caved in. Moments later, Alex arrived in a room.
Tony Stark and Dr. Bruce Banner had dropped into crouches, backing away toward the far end. Tony spotted the scepter on the table nearby and moved toward it. A beam of gold light swept across the floor in front of him, cutting him off. Alex's voice followed.
"Stay put, Playboy."
"Or do you prefer genius, billionaire, philanthropist?"
Tony watched the red cape drift past him and straightened up, "Didn't expect you to know so much about me."
He glanced at Banner, "I like this guy."
Banner just made a helpless face.
Alex crossed to the display case and reached out, picking up the scepter. At that moment Thor burst through the hole Alex had made in the wall, bellowing across the room.
"Put that down."
"It doesn't belong to you!"
Alex smiled pleasantly, "It doesn't belong to you either, Your Majesty."
"Oh, that's right. You're not king of Asgard yet."
The room's automatic door slid open. Steve Rogers walked in, holding some unfamiliar weapon, "Look what I found."
He took in the room. The wall with a hole punched through it. Alex standing there with Loki's scepter in his hand. Steve's voice dropped, "What's going on here?"
Rapid footsteps from outside, then Black Widow came through the door, "Watch out! Loki's real target is Dr. Banner!"
"Wait, what is all this?"
Alex looked around at the assembled heroes and laughed, "Everyone's here. Perfect."
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