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[Frog] Chapter 169: Loki Arrives on Earth
🕑 Added 2024-11-20 18:08:51 +0000 UTCInside S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nick Fury's desk was piled high with a mountain of documents. All of them had been collected by Hill, containing every piece of information about Alan. When Magneto was killed by Emperor, surveillance showed that Alan had returned home and hadn’t left since.
Nick Fury pressed the bridge of his nose, looking exhausted. In an effort to uncover the identity of Emperor, he had even gone to see Tony yesterday, but still came up empty-handed. Tony had no clue who Emperor really was.
“Alan, could you really be Emperor?”
Photos of Alan were scattered across the desk, representing various stages of his life. It wasn’t that Nick Fury was unwilling to believe Alan might be Emperor—it was just hard to accept. Not too long ago, they’d had a minor disagreement. If Alan really was Emperor, recruiting him to the Avengers would be an incredibly challenging task.
Meanwhile, the problem with the Brotherhood of Mutants remained unresolved. Mystique's whereabouts were still unknown. Only at times like this did Nick Fury feel that being the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was a thankless position. While conflicts in New York had always been a balancing act under his oversight, things had spiraled out of control after Kingpin’s death, with one thorny issue following another.
As Fury mulled over how to address the problems ahead, hurried footsteps echoed from outside, making him frown. Moments later, Hill burst through the office door with urgency written all over her face.
“Director, there’s an issue with the ‘New Pegasus Project’!”
Nick Fury’s already weary expression turned even darker at Hill’s report. Was this what they meant by misfortune never coming alone? Though countless profanities raced through his mind, he kept calm and asked, “What happened over there?”
“Dr. Selvig's research was proceeding as usual today,” Hill explained, “but then the energy from the Tesseract suddenly started to surge. According to Dr. Selvig’s data, if we don’t act quickly—”
Hill paused and then continued gravely, “The entire research base could be engulfed by the Tesseract’s energy surge.”
Nick Fury immediately stood up. “Get the helicopter ready. We’re heading there now. Inform Coulson and Barton to wait for me. Everyone else is to evacuate immediately!”
“Yes, Director!”
Under Hill’s orders, the two boarded a helicopter on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier and departed. Throughout the flight, Nick Fury remained silent, gazing out the window, deep in thought.
Meanwhile, far beyond Earth, in the depths of space, Ebony Maw stood facing the dark expanse, his wrinkled face breaking into a smile as he extended both palms. Suddenly, a cloud of blue-tinged energy appeared in front of him, swirling and growing larger.
Loki, seated on a nearby asteroid, sprang to his feet with excitement. “Is it ready?” he asked.
“Of course, Asgardian. Once the energy from the Space Stone inside the Tesseract reaches a sufficient level, the portal to Earth will open,” Ebony Maw responded.
“How long will that take?” Loki asked impatiently, his eyes darting to Ebony Maw. But when their gazes met, and he saw the murderous glint in Maw’s eyes, Loki looked away.
Ebony Maw sneered. “Asgardian, know your place. You are a failed contender for the throne. Our master pitied you and is allowing you to conquer this fragile little planet—letting you rule over it.”
Despite the rage bubbling in his chest, Loki lowered his head and kept silent, a response that pleased Ebony Maw. “Remember, even if you become the king of Earth, to us, you will always be a failed Asgardian.”
Hovering in midair, Ebony Maw waved his hand, summoning a gray, remote-like device, which floated over to Loki. “This is the control center for the Chitauri fleet. With this, you can command the entire Chitauri army. The spatial coordinates are also inside. Use the Tesseract to open the portal and lead the Chitauri to conquer Earth.”
Ebony Maw’s voice faded as he moved away, and only when he was out of sight did Loki grab the device. Though he glared after Ebony Maw with seething hatred, he muttered, “One day... you will bow before me.”
Holding the Chitauri command device in one hand and the scepter with the Mind Stone in the other, Loki’s expression shifted from resentment to excitement as he gazed at the growing portal.
“Thor, your beloved Earth... is about to become my kingdom. And that woman... I will present her head to you myself.”
Crackling sounds emanated from the portal as it expanded to a human-sized gateway. Without hesitation, Loki leaped through.
Far off, Ebony Maw, floating away, sensed Loki’s departure. He turned back for a moment before snorting and resuming his journey. Soon, he arrived before a massive throne and bowed slightly.
“My King, the Asgardian has departed for Earth. With the Chitauri army, conquering it should be swift. Once completed, three Infinity Stones will be within our reach.”
A colossal figure resting his chin on one hand slowly opened his eyes. In the darkness, a pair of purple eyes glowed faintly.
“It matters not. Let him test Earth’s strength first. Any word on Gamora?”
Ebony Maw bowed his head in shame. “We haven’t located Lady Gamora yet, but we believe we are close.”
“Good. Proceed to the next planet... Target: half the population...”
Before he could finish, four silhouettes emerged from the shadows behind Ebony Maw, kneeling in unison. “Understood!”
...
Asgard Palace.
Heimdall stood alone before Odin, reporting everything he had just witnessed.
After listening, Odin maintained his usual expression and said, "The Tesseract—come to think of it, I was the one who left it in Midgard all those years ago."
"That war..."
"Looking back now, it's still vivid in my memory."
Heimdall, standing silently beneath the throne of the All-Father, listened to Odin's recollection. He had also been part of that war.
It was that very war that defeated the Frost Giants and secured Odin's status across the Nine Realms.
Heimdall didn't question why Odin had left such an important artifact on Earth.
As a loyal subject, Heimdall was exemplary.
This was also why Odin trusted him so deeply.
After a long pause, Odin finally stopped reminiscing and looked at Heimdall, saying, "Heimdall, I have recently felt uneasy."
"Respected King, has something happened?"
Odin stood up from his throne and spoke slowly, "The seal on Hela seems to be weakening."
"The time for that person’s return is drawing closer."
Hearing this, Heimdall, who was usually as composed as ever, showed a rare change of expression: "My King, wasn't your seal supposed to hold for a while longer?"
"At least until Prince Thor matures?"
Odin shook his head and continued, "It is not certain yet, but perhaps it is just as well."
"Loki is also on Earth now."
"Thor will surely go to stop him, and the two of them..."
"They should test their sister first."
Heimdall raised his great sword, and a swirling rainbow energy enveloped the blade.
"The dark energy has already been gathered."
"I can transport Prince Thor to Earth at any moment."
"No rush. Let's first see if the humans can deal with Loki."
"My youngest son is far from weak..."
Odin's eyes grew deep as he gazed up at the Milky Way, his gaze seeming to pierce through the vast distance.
He watched the events unfolding on Earth.
In the underground lab of Project Pegasus.
Hawkeye walked beside Nick Fury as they listened to Dr. Selvig's report.
"In short, the Tesseract’s energy has become uncontrollable, and it seems to be forming a new wormhole..."
"No... not exactly..."
Selvig thought for a moment and added, "It’s more like it's opening a door."
"A door?"
Nick Fury's brows furrowed as he said, "Space traversal technology—that’s one of the areas I had you research, isn't it?"
"Wasn’t Project Pegasus originally set up to explore this?"
The initial goal of Project Pegasus was to study the Tesseract to develop a lightspeed curvature engine for interstellar travel.
Those plans ultimately failed, but they did give rise to one of the most powerful superheroes Nick Fury had ever known.
Now, hearing that Selvig had managed to make progress in this area again, Fury felt a surge of excitement.
Selvig glanced at Fury, "But this wasn’t our initial research direction."
"So the sudden emergence of this energy fluctuation is the most terrifying part."
"What's there to fear? It’s just opening a door, isn’t it?"
"If we could master this technology, it would be an unparalleled achievement for S.H.I.E.L.D., for this entire country, even the whole world."
"Your contribution would be monumental!"
Nick Fury painted an ambitious picture for Selvig, who responded with a disdainful smirk.
If this technology were really perfected, Selvig wasn’t sure it would benefit the world.
But for this powerful nation, it would simply become another means to dominate others.
Which, after all, was precisely what this country had always done—using its technological superiority to bully weaker nations.
"Enough, I’m not a naïve child anymore. No need to sell me dreams."
"First, evacuate everyone from the lab. If the Tesseract’s energy becomes uncontrollable..."
"No, Doctor."
"I believe there’s no issue. Perhaps this is the Tesseract’s true potential."
Nick Fury coldly interrupted Selvig.
At that moment, Hawkeye, who had remained silent until then, spoke up with a pointed comment:
"Fury, have you considered something else?"
The rare interjection from Hawkeye caught both Selvig and Fury's attention, and they turned to look at him.
"What do you mean, Barton?"
Hawkeye looked at the increasingly intense glow of the Tesseract and said, almost as if by instinct,
"Doors... always go both ways."
Buzz!
Before the words had even settled, a powerful surge of energy radiated from the Tesseract, instantly knocking Fury and the others to the ground.
Moments later, a beam of energy erupted from the Tesseract, striking a spot not far away.
The blue-tinged smoke swirling around the beam expanded rapidly with its impact.
The group, still sprawled on the ground, stared in shock at the scene unfolding before them.
...
Dr. Selvig, in particular, widened his eyes as if murmuring in disbelief: “No... This is impossible.”
“How could the energy of the Tesseract be forcibly activated...?”
The energy wave that had knocked Nick Fury and the others to the ground instantly spread across the entire island. It surged outward until it reached the farthest edges, where it stirred up a layer of sea waves before finally coming to a halt.
New York.
In the Sanctum Sanctorum, the Ancient One, who was holding a string of prayer beads while calmly brewing tea, suddenly tightened her grip. One of the beads shattered instantly.
Ancient One looked toward the direction of the sea with a complicated expression. After a moment, she spoke: “Greed...”
“Will inevitably lead to disaster.”
Meanwhile.
“Jarvis, prepare for the remote trial of Mark 7. I've already equipped the infrared calibration.”
“Is it ready?”
Tony had both wrists fitted with the infrared calibration devices, raising his hands slightly as he waited for Mark 7 to fly over and assemble around him.
But Jarvis didn’t respond.
“Jarvis?”
Tony called tentatively, but there was still no reply from Jarvis.
“Okay, I hope you’re not experiencing some inexplicable bug again.”
“No, sir,” Jarvis finally replied. “I detected a peculiar energy fluctuation just now, so I began an immediate search for its specific location.”
Hearing Jarvis’s explanation, Tony asked curiously, “What kind of energy fluctuation?”
“More important than me testing Mark 7?”
Jarvis responded, “I’m not certain, sir. However, based on the wavelength of the energy, it bears a significant resemblance to the new arc reactor in your chest.”
This revelation made even Tony pause, unsettled: “What?”
“Have you pinpointed the location?”
Jarvis, with a hint of disappointment, said, “No, sir. It appears to be in a location that is shielded from external detection. Finding it in a short time frame is proving difficult.”
Tony rested his chin on his hand and pondered for a moment before saying, “Could it be those people up there...”
“Doing some kind of research again...”
New York International Airport.
Gwen and Alan stood in the waiting lounge, facing Anna, who was preparing to fly to Germany.
“Safe travels, Cousin Anna!”
“Have a pleasant journey!”
Alan also bid her farewell with a smile.
Anna waved happily to the two of them before heading off to check in for her flight.
Watching Anna’s departing figure, Gwen spoke up: “The search warrant and arrest order were approved early this morning. So, Cousin Anna is heading to Germany first and will return once everything over there is handled.”
Alan nodded.
He also knew that George and his team had planned their operation for early the next morning, with thorough preparations in place. They were set to take down Oscorp Industries in one decisive move.
“Alan, do you think I should go help my dad and the others tomorrow?”
“If they run into that Green Goblin again, they might not be able to handle him.”
Alan nodded. “Yes, go ahead. But make sure to stay safe.”
“Hm?”
Suddenly, Alan looked up in another direction within the airport, a hint of confusion in his heart.
“This energy fluctuation...”
“What is it...?”
...
Comments
Lord Of the Mysteries
Where did thefrog go ?
