"All right!" Barton seemed to realize what had happened and spread his hands helplessly. "This kind of teleportation... is pretty interesting.
I'm not complaining, but it would be better if you gave us a heads-up first."
"Next time, definitely." Strange spoke nonchalantly. "Everyone's here. We can get down to business."
"Wait, we're still missing one." Stark interrupted. "Banner—the strongest Avenger—hasn't arrived yet!"
"Banner isn't on Earth. With my current magic, I have no way to bring him back from countless light-years away."
"He's not on Earth?"
Everyone exchanged looks, seemingly understanding why even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence network had been unable to find him.
They had assumed he was hiding in some corner of the map. They hadn't expected him to have run right off it.
"Do you know where he is?" Natasha asked.
"I don't, but..." Strange glanced at Gorr and Carter Slade. "They might."
"We do know, but we're not at liberty to say." Gorr was blunt.
"Don't worry about him." Carter Slade smiled. "He may not be on Earth, but he's doing quite well on another planet. He's a bona fide winner in life by now."
"How do you know?" Steve asked.
"Simple. We have people above us." Carter Slade spoke meaningfully. With someone backing him, he naturally had confidence in his words.
"Back to the point!" Gorr said seriously. "This universe is about to face a tremendous catastrophe. My lord commanded us to deliver this message to Earth's guardians, hoping to introduce some variables into this disaster."
"The disaster has escalated, hasn't it?" Tony rubbed his forehead. "It sounds even more terrifying than an Alien invasion of Earth."
"A few years ago, Loki led the Chitauri army in an invasion of Earth.
You may not know this, but the Chitauri army was loaned to him by a Titanian