Chapter 224: For the Glory of the Northern Gods!
On the Quinjet, the intimidating music of "The Ritual" continued to play.
Natasha, with a charming smile and her legs crossed, softly spoke to the self-proclaimed god in front of her, "Loki, Loki, little Kiki... Why did you suddenly appear and attack those innocent people? You should have known that attacking ordinary people on Earth would attract the attention of the police, the military, us Avengers, and even Clark's wrath. This doesn't seem like something the God of Mischief would do."
"I'm really, really curious. Won't you tell me, please?"
While shamelessly acting cute, she also casually played with an anti-wolf taser, turning it on and off, its electric sounds crackling.
Faced with Black Widow's cute act mixed with threats, Loki was filled with disdain.
If it weren't for that life-threatening music affecting him, would he be afraid of a mere anti-wolf taser? Remember, he is the brother of Thor, the God of Thunder. Even the electrical discharge from Thor's inadvertent play as a child was a million times more terrifying than this! However, the situation was beyond his control. Under the enhanced pain from "The Ritual" music, he did not want to experience being tased a second time.
Oh my!
Too intense! Watching Black Widow ready to zap him again, her eyes darting between his legs, Loki felt an urge to wet his pants.
You're not mortals; you're devils! As Loki hesitated whether to risk fabricating a lie to deceive this frighteningly astute woman, a loud thunderclap suddenly resonated in the clear sky.
"Boom!"
As the sound of Thor rang out, Loki instinctively moved back, amusing Black Widow, "So the self-proclaimed god is actually afraid of thunder?"
Loki snorted, "I'm not afraid of thunder; I just dislike the guy who makes it."
Hearing this, Clark frowned, and finally, the music of "The Ritual" stopped.
Then, the Quinjet shook slightly as if it hit something, but quickly stabilized.
As Captain America wondered what had happened and Mindy prepared to go outside to check, a familiar BGM suddenly echoed in everyone's ears.
"I am Thor, the God of Thunder, for the glory of the Northern Gods!"
Received +23333 impression points from Thor Odinson!
There he is, my big nephew has arrived.
I must say, his timing couldn't be worse! Although Thor is an ally, his arrival means we can't continue interrogating Loki.
Instructing Hawkeye, who was piloting the Quinjet, to open the rear hatch, Clark called out, "Nephew, since you're here, come in and let's talk."
Clark's voice wasn't loud, but it carried well under his energy, reaching Thor outside the plane and everyone inside as if spoken right beside their ear, clear but not harsh.
"Uncle Clark," Thor entered through the hatch and immediately turned his stern gaze upon Loki. After glaring fiercely at his disappointing brother, he turned to Clark, "Loki is from Asgard, and I apologize for the trouble he has caused you. But I still hope you'll allow me to take him back to Asgard."
Clark frowned at this, "Didn't Odin send you to help on Earth?"
"I'll help when needed," Thor declared, "But I can first take Loki back to Asgard, then return to assist in the battle. With the Bifrost, it shouldn't take long."
Thor looked at Clark with a request in his eyes, showing more respect than his usual impulsive demeanor from the movies.
Clark gently shook his head, explaining, "You must know the current situation on Earth. Thanos's subordinate, Supergiant, is already here, hiding somewhere, plotting. Loki showing up now clearly knows some inside information."
Apologizing to Thor, Clark continued, "I'm sorry, Thor. For Earth's safety, I can't let you take him until this crisis is over."
Clark's reasoning was solid, and even Thor, with all his fondness for his wayward brother, couldn't argue.
After a moment of hesitation, Thor fiercely grabbed Loki's throat, "Loki, you cannot continue making mistakes! Tell us what you know, and then come back to Asgard with me!"
After seeing Thor, Loki regained his defiant courage. His mischievous smile returned, "I won't say anything. And even if I did, do you think Earth's forces could withstand Thanos's assault?"
His gaze arrogantly swept over everyone, finally resting on Clark, "Just wait for your demise, or prepare to submit to me. When the time comes, I will show divine mercy and forgive your current impudence."
"What did you say?" Mindy, who had a short temper, already had her energy spear pointed at Loki's throat, "Say that again, you bastard!"
"Bastard?" Loki scoffed, "The mutants of Earth are the real bastards!"
Natasha, who had been carefully observing Loki's expressions, noticed a fleeting triumphant look in his eyes when he spoke those words, "Oh, I see now. Your target is the mutants!"
Loki's expression stiffened.
Delighted with her realization, Natasha turned to Clark, "It must be true, they are targeting the mutants!"
Confident in Natasha's skill in extracting information, Clark immediately said, "The mutants are scattered around the world, but there are only two places with a large concentration of them. One is S.H.I.E.L.D.; Natasha, contact Fury immediately to increase vigilance, no... go there directly, you must secure that place."
"The other is 'Afterlife,' the mutant sanctuary. I'll contact Daisy..."
"And Loki, take him to S.H.I.E.L.D. too, under Fury's custody. Also, contact Matthew; his abilities can counter Loki's."
Upon knowing the enemy's target, Clark immediately devised a strategy. His concern wasn't so much for the mutants, but a matter of principle; whatever the enemy wanted was likely beneficial for them and harmful to his side.
No matter their plan, thwarting it at all costs was the way to go!
Watching Clark issue orders, Loki's heart crumbled.
What did I say for that woman to guess the truth?
Is she a devil? Ignoring Loki's baffled face, Clark pulled out his phone to call Daisy. Her ringtone was a pleasant English song, a Cinderella and Prince Charming type story, or maybe something like a clichéd drama about a tyrannical CEO falling in love. He couldn't remember the specifics, just that it seemed to be the theme song of some popular soap opera.
Clark wasn't in the mood to appreciate the song, but after several minutes of no answer, an automated voice said, "Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later..."
After hanging up, Clark called Pepper. In the S.H.I.E.L.D. team arrangement, Daisy, Pepper, Tony, and Matthew worked together, so he thought of Pepper when he couldn't reach Daisy.
Hopeful, he called, but the answer was, "Daisy went to visit her family after lunch and isn't at the Avengers' base."
That girl, unavailable when needed... Wait a minute! Clark's eyes lit up.
Daisy went to the relocated "Afterlife," but shouldn't there be equipment there blocking all electronic signals? Yet when he called Daisy, the system said, "Temporarily unavailable" instead of "Phone is off or out of service area."
Could it be...
Realizing a disturbing possibility, Clark hung up and raised his arm, commanding, "Qingfeng, use S.H.I.E.L.D.'s satellite system to globally search for Daisy's phone signal and project the nearby scenery to me."
"Right away, sir."
Qingfeng responded efficiently, taking less than half a minute to project the image of a scene of ruins onto Clark's wrist device.
Just as suspected, "Afterlife" was in trouble!
Loki's appearance in Stuttgart was a diversion.
Truly deserving of his title, the God of Mischief.
Quietly memorizing the current state of "Afterlife," Clark retracted the projection and instructed, "Follow my previous orders. Tony, you're the best fighter here; would you join me in a trip there?"
Leaving Thor behind was a tactical decision; his straightforward nature made him an excellent fighter but potentially problematic near Loki.
Two figures in red capes flew out of the Quinjet. Clark pulled out the Tesseract, opened a portal to "Afterlife," told Thor to follow, and stepped in first.
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