After carefully putting away her spoils, Annie finally crawled out of her room upstairs. When she came downstairs, she found that aside from Uncle Coulson and Aunt Melinda, every member of the Avengers was gathered in the hall. What were they trying to do?
That struck Annie as strange. If they wanted to fight, hadn't they finished fighting yesterday? Those weird Chitauri bad guys could no longer move. They had all been defeated, and hadn't that charcoal-head director uncle said they could take a vacation? Why were these people all gathered here instead of going off to play?
But Annie didn't care about them! There was still some time before her bath and bedtime, so she planned to go play on the beach outside for a while. She didn't want to stay in the living room with a bunch of uncles!
However, just as Annie skipped toward the front door, Uncle Thor, who loved carrying a hammer, stepped in front of her and blocked her way.
"Huh? Weird blacksmith uncle, why are you blocking the door?" Annie warily watched Thor the blacksmith holding his hammer. He was blocking her way out, and that made her very unhappy. The living room was so big. He had to be doing it on purpose, right?
Hearing Annie's words, a vein twitched on Thor's forehead. He had said countless times that he was not a blacksmith, not a blacksmith! Why did this little girl insist on bringing it up every single time?
He was the crown prince! A prince! The first heir to the throne of Asgard! He was not some blacksmith with no status whatsoever! Sure, this hammer did look a little like a blacksmith's hammer, and its appearance was admittedly a little lacking, but his father had forged it for him. This was Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor, with supreme power!
"Little Annie! I've told you many times, I'm not a blacksmith! I am Thor, son of Odin! This is Mjolnir, and it can shoot lightning!" Thor suppressed his displeasure. He felt it was necessary to repeat himself and correct the distorted impression this little girl had of him.
"Oh? Is there a difference? A blacksmith's hammer that shoots lightning is still a blacksmith's hammer, so that makes you a blacksmith who shoots lightning, right?" Annie tilted her head and thought about it very seriously for a brief moment.
A blacksmith who... shot lightning?! Hoo! He couldn't lower himself to the level of a little girl. She was just a little girl... That was right! Thor took a deep breath and decided not to argue with this brat for now. Taking care of business was more important.
"Little Annie! If I remember correctly, you put away the Space Stone yesterday, didn't you? That belongs to the kingdom of Asgard! If you've had enough fun with it, how about returning it to me? It shouldn't remain on Earth. It will only bring disaster upon you!" Thor crouched down and stared into Annie's eyes, trying to persuade the troublesome little girl.
The Space Stone was one of the Infinity Stones, and so was the gem on Loki's Scepter! Yet what had puzzled Thor was that he had searched desperately for that scepter for two whole days, yesterday and today, without finding it. Could it have been damaged by the wreckage of the Chitauri mothership? That shouldn't have been possible! It was an Infinity Stone. It could not be destroyed!
"That stone is mine, mine!!!" Annie's eyes instantly widened, and she covered her little pocket with both hands, afraid that this uncle would try to snatch it from her.
What a joke! Annie felt that the Space Stone was loot she had painstakingly won in battle through her own skill. And he wanted to take it back? Absolutely impossible! Not through the door, not through the window either! No way, absolutely no way! If he dared try to take it by force, she would immediately set Little Bear on him.
"No! It isn't yours! That stone belongs to our divine realm. It has always belonged to the kingdom of Asgard." Thor immediately refuted her.
The Space Stone did indeed belong to Asgard. Though Thor did not know why it had ended up on Earth, it was unquestionably Asgard's property!
The ancient records of the kingdom stated it clearly. There was evidence for it! He was not making things up! Since the records said it belonged to Asgard, then it belonged to Asgard, whether anyone liked it or not! If the people of Earth refused to accept that, Thor could have someone bring out those ancient records for them to inspect—if they could understand them!
Now that it had been found, it had to be returned to its rightful owner and taken back to Asgard for safekeeping. His father had also sent him a message: the Space Stone had to be brought back without fail! That was an order from Odin, king of the gods, and Thor had to obey it unconditionally!
"Pah! It belonged to that bad guy Loki! I beat him, so now it belongs to me!" Annie glared angrily at Thor. If he dared say the stone belonged to his family again, she would set Little Bear on him.
"But the Space Stone truly was stolen from the divine realm. It should now be returned to its rightful owner, and it is dangerous!" Thor reiterated the issue of the Space Stone's ownership.
What Thor did not know was that Odin had hidden the Space Stone on Earth after defeating the Frost Giants long ago. At the time, Odin, king of the gods, believed that weak humans would never be able to use the Space Stone, so hiding it in the remote territory of Earth had seemed perfectly suitable.
What Odin had never expected was that in less than two thousand years, these weak, short-lived Earthlings, so fond of fighting among themselves, would develop to this extent. That made him wary! Thus, to avoid causing even greater trouble, he naturally wanted to reclaim the stone and store it somewhere else. That was why he had ordered Thor to bring it back at all costs.
"I'm still not giving it to you! What are you going to do about it?" The Space Stone was extremely important to Annie. No matter what, she would not hand it over. Anyone who set their sights on it was her enemy!
"You really won't give it to me?" Thor rose to his feet, staring intently at Annie as he quietly tightened his grip around his hammer.
"I won't!" Annie warily took two steps back and clutched Little Bear Tibbers tightly. She was ready to throw him out at the first opportunity. When dealing with brutes who fought up close, Tibbers was the expert.
Thus, one wanting to take it and the other refusing to give it up, the two simply stood there glaring at each other. The atmosphere was tense, and it looked as though they might start fighting at the slightest disagreement! The other Avengers in the hall had no idea what to do.
"I'm saying, can you two calm down? Strictly speaking, the Tesseract should belong to S.H.I.E.L.D.!" The moment Coulson finished speaking, the two people confronting each other turned and glared at him. Seeing Thor's dark expression and Annie's tense little face, Coulson immediately backed down.
"Fine, it's yours." Coulson shrugged. S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't afford to offend either of the two before him, so since they couldn't provoke them, they might as well let them argue it out themselves!
Still, it was no solution to let the two continue confronting each other like this. If they really started fighting, it would be terrible. The Avengers had just defeated the Chitauri, only to immediately begin fighting among themselves. That would not sound good if word got out! After thinking it over, Coulson felt he needed to step in as a mediator. He absolutely could not let them actually fight.
"Since neither of you can settle this for the moment, could you listen to my suggestion?" Coulson had just come up with an idea that might resolve the conflict between them.
"What do you want to say?" Thor turned to look at Coulson, while Annie also frowned at him.
"It's like this, Thor. May I ask why you insist on taking back the Tesseract—uh, the Space Stone? Why do you have to take it back?" To solve a problem, they first had to identify its core. Seeking common ground while setting aside differences was the best solution.
"It belongs to Asgard, and this stone is dangerous. If left alone, it could easily bring disaster to Earth again! Think about the Chitauri this time. What if there is another time, and another after that? Are you certain Earth can resist threats from other advanced civilizations in the universe?" Thor went straight to the point. This was also why Odin wanted the Space Stone back and properly secured. It could no longer be left on Earth unchecked.
"All right, that is true. You Asgardians have the right idea. This is indeed an issue worth taking seriously." After saying that, Coulson turned to Annie. "Then, Annie, why do you want the Space Stone?"
"Because I already know that it was the culprit that brought me to Earth! I need it to open a Teleport gate and go home. If he tries to take it, I'll beat him up!" Annie firmly stated her reason. Tibbers had long been ready, and he could hardly wait to fight this guy called Thor.
When it came to going home, Annie was certain she was not mistaken. Since this stone could bring her here from the Voodoo Lands, it could definitely send her back as well! Of course, she first needed to find the right method. She already had some idea of how to do that. She knew there was a Bald Mage on Earth who was deeply skilled in spatial magic. She would be right to find her when she had the time!
"You can really use the Space Stone to go home? If that is the case, then you do have priority in using it." Coulson paced back and forth twice before quickly making up his mind.
"How about this? I have a proposal: let Annie use the Space Stone first. Once she opens a Space Gate and returns home, Thor can take it back to Asgard for safekeeping. What do you think?" Coulson thought his proposal was brilliant! It would fulfill Annie's wish to go home without making things too difficult for Thor, since he was acting under orders from his father Odin.
"Mm! That's a very good idea. We think it'll work!" The onlookers in the hall—Banner, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and the others—nodded in approval.
"Don't look at me. I couldn't care less about something like the Space Stone!" Iron Man Tony waved a hand, unwilling to offer any comment. Whether the little girl took it or Thor did was none of his business. All he could think about right now was rebuilding Stark Tower.
"That really is a good solution. What do you think, Little Annie?" Thor considered it and felt that the proposal was good and workable. It would also effectively avoid a violent clash between the two sides. Besides, he truly could not bring himself to snatch something from a little girl.
"Then let's do that for now!" Annie bit her finger and gave an ambiguous answer. She did not say yes, nor did she say no. For now, that was that!
Annie also felt that if they fought, she was not afraid of this strange blacksmith, but he had a lot of people behind him! She had heard that their kingdom of Asgard was very powerful and had the Bifrost, which could send armies anywhere at any time. If they truly fought, she might be the one at a disadvantage in the end... In that case, she would have to outsmart them! Hmph, they wanted to steal her things? That hammer-wielding bad guy would never get his way. Just wait and see!
"Oh, right! There's one more thing, Little Annie. Loki's Scepter, that Staff—have you seen it?" Thor suddenly remembered something else.
Since the matter of the Space Stone had more or less been resolved, only Loki's Scepter remained. The scepter itself was not important. What mattered was the Infinity Stone on it! That was another troublesome object. If it could be found, it also had to be brought back to Asgard and kept under close guard.
"Didn't my Little Bear Tibbers knock that thing flying? You can't find it now, so you're blaming me?" Annie shrieked like a little fox whose tail had been stepped on. He actually had his eye on that Staff too? He really was a bad thing!
Hearing Annie say that, Thor awkwardly scratched his head and walked away. He had personally witnessed Annie's pet Tibbers knocking Loki's Scepter away! Coulson had also been one of the witnesses. When it came to this matter, they truly could not blame Little Annie.
The only one to blame was Thor himself for not looking for it immediately. At the time, all he had wanted was to plead for Loki's life. Who could have known that wreckage from a Chitauri mothership would fall afterward? In such a vast field of ruins, finding a Staff was indeed difficult. Who knew where it was buried now? They could only search slowly... Hopefully, the S.H.I.E.L.D. workers clearing the rubble would inform him promptly once they found it.
(Tibbers: I don't know anything. None of you come asking me! I just want some peace and quiet right now!)
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