Chapter 113: The Chitauri (Part 1)

After getting up, Kaecilius stared at Daniel Davis with eyes full of rage. If looks could kill, Daniel might have been riddled with wounds at that moment. Despite Kaecilius's fury, Daniel just looked back at him with a calm expression.

The two men locked eyes for a long while before Kaecilius finally, albeit reluctantly, opened a portal and left.

"A savanna... is it Africa?" Daniel glanced at the scene on the other side of the portal, muttering to himself, "The Ancient One is like a max-level player carrying a bunch of noobs." Considering Kaecilius's level of power, it was no wonder he couldn't inherit the title of Sorcerer Supreme.

"Strange, why haven't you gotten into your car accident yet?" With this thought in mind, Daniel left the Mirror Dimension and returned to his villa.

Currently, Stephen Strange was living a very glamorous life. As a top-notch neurosurgeon, countless people sought his expertise daily. He had a near-perfect track record, even for complex surgeries like extracting bullets from the brain without any damage. His success rate was 100%, although this was partly because he chose only the cases he was confident about. For those with injuries too severe for him to handle, Strange would simply refuse to operate.

Take, for example, a man named Jonathan Pangborn, who was nearly paralyzed but later cured through the magic of Kamar-Taj. Jonathan, an African American, not only regained full health but also exceeded the physical capabilities of an average person, reaching the level of a professional athlete.

Jonathan had been struggling before, but after his return from Kamar-Taj, he leveraged his newfound physical prowess to turn his life around. Unfortunately, he was later reduced to his former state by Mordo, who drained all his magic and killed him.

After acquiring the Red Queen, Daniel kept tabs on important figures in the Marvel world through her surveillance. This was achieved via various cameras and even people's selfies. With modern technology, monitoring significant individuals was surprisingly easy.

"I thought the Ancient One would show up." After waiting a while and realizing the Ancient One hadn't appeared, Daniel picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Wong, it's me. I was attacked by Kaecilius." On the other end was Wong, the bald sorcerer from Kamar-Taj. Being fellow Chinese, they had a good relationship within Kamar-Taj. Though Daniel had left, it didn't mean he couldn't return. Over the years, he had visited several times, bringing many gifts and money.

The people at Kamar-Taj weren't particularly good at managing resources. While they were never in want, they were limited to a basic level of comfort. Just as successful alumni donate to their alma maters, Daniel also gave back generously.

Of course, if the Ancient One were to sell some of Kamar-Taj's artifacts, they would fetch astronomical prices. Those items were antiques, and it was said the Ancient One even possessed the legendary Excalibur—the real one, not replicas.

"Be careful. I'll inform the Sorcerer Supreme about this." After a brief warning, Wong hung up, likely to report to the Ancient One.

"That should be enough." Since the Ancient One hadn't shown up, Daniel figured it was better to report the incident proactively. After all, the Ancient One's absence could have many reasons. Even though the Ancient One was powerful, they weren't omniscient. Not even Odin or Thanos could achieve that.

"What? Kaecilius attacked the library?" A few days later, while inspecting his newly purchased comic book company, Daniel received a call from Wong, who informed him about the recent attack at Kamar-Taj and advised him to be cautious. Kaecilius had chosen a perfect time to strike, when the Ancient One, Wong, and other sorcerers were away, leaving Kamar-Taj vulnerable.

"I understand. You be careful too." Daniel was surprised by this development. According to the usual timeline, Kaecilius shouldn't have made a move this early. Stephen Strange hadn't even gone to Kamar-Taj yet.

Unable to figure it out, Daniel decided not to dwell on it. He had warned Wong because the previous librarian was killed by Kaecilius, and now Wong had taken up the role.

"The storyline seems to be getting chaotic. Well, with the Resident Evil crossover, things were bound to get messy." What Daniel didn't realize was that his seemingly effortless defeat of Kaecilius had prompted the latter to expedite his plans.

Kaecilius believed that Daniel's prowess came from secret teachings by the Ancient One, which he hadn't received. Thus, he attacked the library, stole the Book of Cagliostro, and tore out a page. If not for fear of the Ancient One's retribution, Kaecilius would have taken the entire book. At Kamar-Taj, other magical texts were accessible, but the Book of Cagliostro was forbidden.

Daniel decided not to worry about this. Even if Kaecilius gained Dormammu's power, he might not be able to defeat Daniel. And as for Dormammu, the Ancient One would take care of him. The power difference was too great; Daniel couldn't do anything against Dormammu at this point.

With that, Daniel put the matter aside and focused on his plans for the comic book company. His goal was to eventually break into Hollywood.

Movies were a highly lucrative industry, and for Daniel, it presented no significant barriers. Thanks to the Red Queen and the holographic system, he could effortlessly produce a visually stunning blockbuster. Plot didn't matter much as long as there were special effects. Animated films were the key.

Other companies couldn't replicate Daniel's approach because they lacked the necessary AI technology, which would be a tremendous waste of resources.

Despite the advanced technology in the Marvel universe, its animation industry lagged behind the world Daniel came from.

While Daniel was engrossed in planning his next steps, in a massive, secret underground facility, the bald one-eyed man, Fury, appeared silently with Hill. They took an elevator to the lowest level.

"Why are there unexplained fluctuations?" Fury asked, staring sternly at Dr. Selvig.

"We're not sure yet. It just started happening suddenly." Dr. Selvig led Fury, Hill, and Hawkeye into a highly futuristic laboratory. He pointed to a large machine housing the blue Tesseract, which was emitting strange energy.

Because of this energy field, Selvig couldn't stop the experiment, and shutting down the power source was impossible due to the Tesseract's near-infinite energy supply.

Fury, with his large, single eye, observed the phenomena closely and then turned to Selvig. "What are your theories about this?" As a top agent, Fury had considerable technical knowledge, but this situation was beyond his expertise.

"My theory is that someone might be using the Tesseract on the other side," Selvig replied. He had significant accomplishments in astrophysics, capable of calculating the convergence points of the Nine Realms.

"The other side?" Fury looked puzzled after hearing Selvig's explanation.

"Yes, according to my research..." Selvig began to elaborate but was interrupted when the Tesseract suddenly glowed intensely. A portal-like tunnel appeared before them, and a figure stepped out.

"Loki." Seeing the figure, Fury and Selvig were momentarily stunned. Hill and Hawkeye, however, reacted immediately, pointing their weapons at Loki, as did the other agents present.

"Loki, what are you doing here?" Fury demanded.

Loki ignored him and turned to retrieve the Tesseract from the machine.

"Loki, put that down."

"Put it down? This isn't something mortals like you should possess." With the Tesseract in his left hand and his scepter in the right, Loki sneered at Fury, indifferent to the weapons aimed at him.

"Are you Loki? Where's Thor?" Selvig asked. He was concerned about Jane Foster, his student, who was distraught over Thor's absence and neglecting her work.

"Thor?" Loki shifted his gaze to Selvig, then tapped him on the chest with his scepter, causing Selvig to look at him with reverence.

This sight shocked Fury and the others. "Take him down, but don't hurt the doctor," Fury ordered. Just as he finished speaking, Hawkeye fired an arrow.

"Is that all?" Loki effortlessly deflected the arrow with his scepter. Before Hawkeye could shoot another, Loki appeared beside him and tapped his chest with the scepter.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Hill fired repeatedly at Loki, but the bullets passed through him, hitting the wall behind. Loki's body vanished.

"Eliminate them," Loki's voice echoed from his previous position.

"Fire!" The agents finally reacted, but before they could shoot, Hawkeye had already taken them down with his arrows. This secret research facility had only four agents nearby, with the rest stationed above.

"What now, Director?" Hiding behind a pillar, Fury and Hill were at a disadvantage. They knew Hawkeye's skills and had to deal with Loki, who was potentially more dangerous.

Meanwhile, Selvig placed the Tesseract into a special case.

"Kill them."

"Yes."

Following Loki's order, Hawkeye readied an explosive arrow. Seeing this, Fury pressed a button on his suit. As he did, the facility's alarms blared, signaling an evacuation. A self-destruct system had been prepared to bury the Tesseract deep underground in case of an emergency. After the collapse, they could always dig it out later.

Pressing the button, Fury saw Hawkeye's explosive arrow heading their way. He and Hill quickly dove for cover. Initially planning to attack, Hawkeye stopped upon hearing the alarm and alerted Loki.

"Let's go." Loki, heeding Hawkeye's warning, decided to

 leave. However, Fury and Hill weren't going to let them escape easily. Both drew their guns, but Hawkeye's next arrow forced them to dodge again.

"Damn it, pursue them." Despite knowing how formidable Hawkeye and Loki were, Fury and Hill gave chase. They couldn't let the Tesseract fall into their hands, and with the facility about to explode, they had to evacuate quickly.

Above ground, there were no more obstacles for Loki and his group. The personnel had already started an orderly evacuation upon hearing the alarm.

"Director, what's going on?" As Fury sped away from the facility, punching the steering wheel in frustration, Natasha Romanoff's voice came through his earpiece.

The self-destruct sequence was linked to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters, prompting Black Widow to rush over in a Quinjet.

"Loki showed up, took the Tesseract, and Hawkeye is compromised. Track their vehicle immediately."

"The tracking signal is lost."

The vehicles had built-in trackers for such emergencies, but Fury hadn't anticipated Hawkeye's betrayal. With his skills, disabling the trackers was a breeze.

"Understood. Natasha, I have a task for you. Find him and bring him in." Fury took a deep breath, regaining his composure, and instructed Natasha to locate Bruce Banner.

"Director, is that...?" Hill, in the passenger seat, was shocked by Fury's order. She understood his intentions.

"It's time. Once you get back, start tracing their movements." Fury and Hill didn't wait long before two Quinjet jets arrived, each taking them away.

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