Chapter 97 - After the Battle

Stark Tower, New York.

After the Conversation with Amora. 

I left Amora behind, even though my heart told me to do otherwise. We didn't spend much time talking, so the Avengers were still at the Tower. I entered the apartment and saw them all sitting on the couch, each with a drink in hand, enjoying their beverages. I also saw Professor Erik drinking alone at the minibar, I thought it best to leave him be for now.

The only one not sitting was Loki, who was still unconscious on the floor.

"So, finally everyone is here. Have you taken care of your crazy woman?" Tony asked, still wearing his armor and taking a sip of his drink.

"Amora never intended to help Loki in his fight, but I've already resolved that matter." I replied.

"So, we just need to imprison Loki." Bruce said, having reverted his transformation and wearing a new set of clothes, presumably given by Stark.

I also grabbed a drink for myself and then sat down with them.

"No mortal prison can hold Loki." Thor said.

"I agree, it would be better to take him to Asgard, where he can pay for his crimes." I said.

"I believe it would be better for everyone if he was no longer on Earth." Steve spoke for the first time.

"And never come back." Tony added.

"And the Tesseract?" Tony asked.

"It's too dangerous to stay in Midgard, I'll take it to the vaults of Asgard, where it should never have left." Thor said.

"I highly doubt that the higher-ups will simply accept this." Natasha said.

"The same higher-ups who almost destroyed the city with a bomb?" Tony asked sarcastically.

"Give Loki's scepter to them as compensation, that should ease things a bit."

A suggestion of mine, since the scepter is completely useless now. Of course, only I know this. I also think that the Tesseract should stay in Asgard for a while.

"So. What now?" Clint asked.

"I think we shouldn't separate, in case a threat like this reappears we should stick together." Steve said.

"I fully agree with the Captain, in fact, I'm already thinking right now about various plans for our base of operations. All built and financed by Stark Industries, of course."

"Genosha will also help."

We kept talking until the S.H.I.E.L.D/Hydra agents arrogantly arrived trying to take control over the Tesseract and Loki. Their arrogance was easily shattered when Thor made the sky thunder, causing all the agents to run. He then took Loki and the Tesseract and went to Asgard, I don't doubt that he'll return later today to meet with Jane.

Natasha and Clint returned to S.H.I.E.L.D, probably to report to Fury. Tony mentioned something about going to meet his girlfriend and flew out of the Tower, taking Bruce with him. Steve also said his goodbyes, mentioning that he needed a bath. I also thought the day was too long and I needed a good rest. So, I returned home.

POV: Baldur

Royal Castle Chambers, Genosha

One day after the Battle of New York

"Despite the destruction confirmed to be an extraterrestrial attack, the notable heroic acts of the group known as the Avengers have become a cause not only for consolation but for celebration."

On a holographic screen in front of me, news from various parts of the world is being broadcast. It must be said that the chaos generated by this incident was much greater than shown in the few seconds of the film. All nations of the world went on full alert, fearing an attack against them. In some places, people thought this was the end of the world and took advantage of it to act accordingly. Fortunately, the images taken by survivors of New York of us fighting the invaders made them believe in victory, although many were against us. Some even blamed us for the destruction in New York.

The reporter who is reporting on the events of the battle then begins to show images of Genosha's ships in direct combat with the invaders, and then the reporter reported.

"We now have confirmation that one of the members of the Avengers, best known as Viking, is also the King of the secret nation of Genosha. They were responsible for containing the enemies, thus saving many lives. Even entering American territory without their permission, the President thanked this action and even made a formal request for the King of Genosha to go to the White House."

I turn off the hologram in front of me, returning my room to silence. There was no way for me to keep the "invasion" of my men a secret. The American government logically did not take this matter lightly. I even received information that some military and politicians wanted to use this event as an excuse for a nuclear attack on us. I'm sure their President also considered this, but he did not take this action because of public opinion favorable to us.

This is not to say that they did not try to take advantage of us. The military and S.H.I.E.L.D tried to loot the wreckage that fell to the ground from our fallen jets. Of course, they were not successful, we were ready for this event, but it was really problematic. I was almost giving the order to end anyone who tried to stop us.

The only good thing in this whole story was the Mind Stone that is with me now. Odin probably knew about this, but he must have thought that it would be safer with me than in Asgard. I spent the last few hours studying the stone without finding a good way to use it. If it were the Power Stone, it would be perfect for me. Amora would probably be a perfect user for the Mind Stone. Any being with psychic power would kill to get their hands on it. For me, it is not very useful, I never had much skill in this area. I also started a new project to create a body for the stone, in my opinion, this is the best way to protect it.

"The reports are complete, sir." Alice informs me.

"Show me."

The information on the losses suffered by the battle appears in front of me. A total of two hundred jets participated in this battle, we lost seventy-six jets, and twenty pilots who could not eject.

"Heavy losses." I say out loud.

Amora gave the order for the troops to retreat, thus creating a delay, and as the number of enemies was greater than expected, we had this result. There is always death in war on both sides, but these numbers could have been smaller if it weren't for Amora's betrayal. That's why I told everything to my people. She not only has to regain my trust but also the trust of her people.

"Did the mages make any move?"

"They are operating normally, sir."

The group of mages was essentially an organization created by Amora. She has complete control over them, which is why I sent Alice to keep an eye on them. The news of what happened to her and me has already spread throughout my country. Many were shocked to learn of their queen's betrayal, and this shock soon turned into anger. It must be said that they all agreed with my decision, with some even thinking that I was too kind.

The wizards were the only ones I needed to worry about, but I don't think they will take any rash or foolish action to try to restore their leader to her rightful place.

I look around the room where we both slept for many years, and now I am alone here. This feeling makes me want to fly from here and go in search of her, but it also makes me doubt my decision, even though I know it was the right one.

The Avengers have returned to take care of all their affairs. Thor took Loki to Asgard, where he was placed in his personal cell in Asgard's prison. After that, he immediately returned to Earth to fetch Jane, who was happy to hear that Erick was now well. Stark didn't become paranoid about the near-death experience, so he was acting normally. He began to build a base for the Avengers with Bruce, and I also shared some of our technologies to improve the base-building process.

Steve was "hired" by Fury to lead a rapid response team, a team composed of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best agents. All these agents work for Hydra, except for Natasha, of course. Hawkeye, unlike her, decided to take a vacation because of the brainwashing.

So the only pending issue at the moment was Magneto's announcement, which was to happen tomorrow. The preparations are already complete, so I'm not having much trouble with this matter. Now I'm focusing my energy on preparing for the events of the second Thor movie. Without Amara's help, all my plans have to be revised.

"Sir, I have obtained the information about the previous research you requested."

"That was faster than I thought."

"Agent Phil Coulson's body was taken to a secret S.H.I.E.L.D facility codenamed Guest House. I couldn't get much information about what kind of base this was. The only information I could recover is that there is only one project being studied at this base, with the acronym T.A.H.I.T.I."

"This information is enough, thank you, Alice."

Now I'm sure that the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D series happens in this universe, which also means that I will be able to get the last element to build my weapon using the corpse of the Celestial. The T.A.H.I.T.I project is also something that makes me curious, resurrecting the dead and healing fatal wounds using the blood of a Kree, but the symptoms acquired by using this drug are very problematic, making me lose the desire to study it.

(In any case, next year, I will be able to acquire what I want.)

I get up and go to the window of my room, from where I can see my entire kingdom. Next year, the events of Thor 2 will begin. If it weren't for the warning from my future self, I wouldn't have placed as much importance on these events as I do now. Another war is approaching, one much larger than the attack Loki started.

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