The War Begins

By now, Barton, Loki, and the others had already left the base and arrived at the underground parking lot. The doctor climbed into the pickup truck with the case holding the Tesseract, while a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent took the driver's seat to drive them. Loki, meanwhile, sat directly in the cargo bed outside the pickup truck.

Hill looked at Loki, dressed so strangely and sitting in the cargo bed, and asked in confusion:

"Who's that?"

Barton kept walking as he answered, "I don't know either."

Because of Yakushi Kabuto's appearance, Loki had never gotten the chance to deliver that speech of his, much less introduce himself or the fact that he was from Asgard.

When Hill heard Barton say he did not know either, she assumed Loki was part of some secret personnel from the underground Laboratory and paid it no mind, turning to head back into the base. She wanted to see what equipment had yet to be evacuated.

Just then, director Nick Fury's voice came over the walkie-talkie in her hand.

Carrying Yakushi Kabuto over his shoulder, Nick Fury walked outside while speaking into the walkie-talkie.

"Hill, do you read me?"

The voice from the walkie-talkie was not only heard by Hill; Loki and Barton both heard it as well.

Loki immediately realized that the black man from earlier had not died.

In truth, there was something Loki found utterly puzzling. The last time he had come to Earth, when he repelled the Frost Giants here, hadn't black people been slaves on this planet?

Yet judging from the situation, these slaves seemed to have risen up and taken charge. What a planet with no Rules.

In that same instant, Loki sat up straight, the Scepter in his hand aimed in the direction of the female agent.

"Barton has turned."