Annie the Plunderer

"Annie? What exactly were you up to a few days ago? How come you just up and left without a word?" Coulson was still a bit sore about Annie ditching him and Melinda to go off on her own.

That day, after their tracking gear showed Annie had run off to Asia, the two of them, with nothing better to do, led a squad of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to occupy the now-empty New York Sanctum. They hauled in a pile of weird magical artifacts and some "windows" with unknown purposes. But those had all been temporarily sealed away.

They still needed Annie, the professional mage, to help identify them. Otherwise, if S.H.I.E.L.D. went poking around blindly, it could cause a mess. The experts had already made it clear: wrong specialty. They couldn't make heads or tails of those magical items.

"A few days ago... I went over to the other side of the world and watched a good show. A bunch of little mages fighting a dark monster. And the best part? Those little mages actually won! Then I ate a ton of grilled skewers. You guys will never guess how many I had!!!" Just thinking about those skewers made Annie's stomach churn.

It was all that damn Red Robe Mage's fault. He actually dared to misuse one of the Infinity Stones—the Time Stone! Even she got trapped in a time loop. If she hadn't gotten out in the end, she might've been sickened to death by those skewers!

Luckily, the time loop finally ended. Annie followed them all the way back to their base, that place called Kamar-Taj! In the end, while they were away, she snuck in and swiped that green Time Stone without anyone noticing. Their defenses were way too simple—useless against her! Of course, before leaving, she couldn't resist browsing through their library's collection of books.

"Mages? Those Kamar-Taj folks, right? Can't figure out why they'd have a civil war. By the way, have you met that Ancient One yet?" Coulson was still curious about the infighting mages.

From the traces left in the New York Sanctum, it was clear they'd fought hard. The whole Sanctum was wrecked, everyone inside dead. Even Coulson felt a bit wistful. In his view, whether in the magical world or the ordinary one, power struggles and armed conflict seemed unavoidable. That was humanity's deep-rooted flaw—both the drive pushing them forward and the root of their potential destruction.

"One group wanted power from the dark world, the other didn't let them. So they fought. Nothing strange about that!" The mage world had plenty of weird stuff. To Annie, this was just a disagreement over how to gain power—pretty normal, really.

"Oh, and let me tell you—that bald mage called the Ancient One seems to be dead." While tailing them, Annie heard the Kamar-Taj apprentices talking. Word was the Space Master had died, stabbed and then fell to his death.

After thinking it over, Annie decided he deserved it! Who told them to play melee? See? Dead now, overplayed it, right? That's what happens to heretical mages! That's the price of the wrong specialty and a love for close combat! Why not just hide at a distance and toss spells safely? Why charge in for a brawl?

"Really? That's great news! I think the Director will be thrilled to hear it." Coulson's eyes lit up at this. It was indeed good news for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Earth's native mage organization, Kamar-Taj, had just gone through a civil war. Now leaderless and battered, it was a perfect chance for S.H.I.E.L.D. to step in and try to recruit them! Coulson mulled it over and decided to write a report to the Director that night, so S.H.I.E.L.D. could discuss the possibility.

"Annie, are you sure this thing—uh, this magic circle?—can actually open a portal home for you?" Having made up his mind, Coulson turned his attention to the mess of scribbles Annie had drawn on the sandy beach.

Annie had been at it since morning. She said she'd gotten some inspiration from the Kamar-Taj library! After a few days of thinking it over, she'd jumped right into it today.

Supposedly, with these weird lines, the gems added at the nodes, and the Space Stone as the power source and array eye, she could open a portal back to Valoran.

But Coulson circled the array for a long time. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed sketchy. Those mystical scribbles were way too unscientific. At least the portal device Loki and the others built had some scientific basis!

"Of course, Uncle Coulson. It's one-time use, so it has to be simple!" Annie kept carving the magic circle into the ground.

She made it simple for two reasons. First: she wanted to finish it as fast as possible. She'd been away from home too long and couldn't wait to go back!

Second: it was a disposable thing. Unlike Loki, who needed to maintain and expand a portal continuously, she just needed it to let her pass through safely. So why make it complicated?

After the Battle of New York, thanks to Annie, American society and media had gradually changed their views on mutants. Many thought she was a powerful fire-wielding mutant. Since she'd saved New York from the Chitauri and countless lives, mutant policies had shifted a bit. Some senators were even discussing special legislation.

Of course, maybe it was more out of fear of Annie's power. Think about it—those powerful aliens, nearly a third of them taken out by Annie alone! She not only neutralized a nuke but single-handedly turned the tide and crushed the invasion! What kind of power was that? If mutant policies accidentally angered this little girl, how much destruction could she cause?

Remember that nuke the military launched? She just poofed it away. What could they use against her? And there were plenty more mutants out there! Think about the Mutant Brotherhood, always causing trouble. Their Electromagnetic King was no pushover either!

After lunch, Annie was still busy on the beach. Before long, the other Avengers, notified by Coulson, started showing up. He'd called them to say Annie might be going home today. If they didn't come now, who knew when they'd see her again?

The fastest to arrive was Thor, flying in with his hammer. He had to keep an eye on Annie—he was under orders to escort the Space Stone back to Asgard! Loki's scepter would have to wait.

Even now, the ruins hadn't been cleared. That massive alien debris was too huge and heavy to deal with quickly. It'd just have to stay there.

The others, including the Hulk, Banner, trickled in on S.H.I.E.L.D. planes. They were all heroes and Avengers members, so they had the privilege of calling in a few rides.

Once everyone was there, bored out of their minds watching Annie work, Tony suggested they throw a little party on the other side of the beach. They popped open champagne and started drinking.

"Hey, Tony, any progress on rebuilding Stark Tower?" the Hulk, Banner, asked, turning to look at Tony lounging on another beach chair.

"My God! Don't even bring that up!" Tony downed his champagne in one gulp, fuming.

He'd taken a huge loss in the Battle of New York. Stark Industries' landmark building was flattened. He just wished he'd bought insurance for it. Now he was still smarting!

The reconstruction funds hadn't been approved, compensation was nowhere in sight, and those damn bureaucrats might drag it into the next century! Worse, the shareholders might have to foot the bill themselves! And on top of that, the alien mothership debris was still sitting on that land! Who knew when they'd figure out how to move that massive thing?

"Thor, got a minute?" Seeing everyone else chatting, Coulson grabbed a glass of champagne and walked over to Thor, who was watching Annie work.

"What is it?" Thor looked at Coulson curiously.

"Here's the thing. The Director's planning to move against the internal traitors—the Hydra agents—soon. We want to wipe them out in one go. Could you lend a hand?" For some reason, Hydra was stirring. Director Nick Fury had sensed trouble and warned Coulson to stay on standby and coordinate with the Avengers.

"Sorry, Coulson! I can't interfere in Earth's internal affairs. If it's an external invasion, I'll step up without hesitation! But this is your internal matter... So, I'm truly sorry! Asgard will never meddle in your internal affairs. That's Father Odin's command!" Hearing Coulson ask for help with S.H.I.E.L.D. business, Thor quickly refused.

"Alright..." Coulson nodded, acting like it didn't matter, but inside he felt a bit down.

With Thor refusing and Annie likely leaving soon, the ones left to help clean up Hydra might be just Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain America, and Iron Man. Oh, and the unreliable Hulk. Tch. That looked pretty dicey! And Hill's New York Branch had taken a beating during the alien invasion—another headache.

"All done!" Annie cheered. The guiding magic circle was finally complete.

Now that the circle was ready, with the Space Stone's spatial power, the coordinates she knew from the Voodoo Lands, and the power of longing, plus the spell she'd picked up at Kamar-Taj, she should be able to open a portal, right? Maybe? Hopefully?

Okay, Annie wasn't all that confident either. Before, Thor had asked Heimdall, the all-seeing gatekeeper of Asgard, about Valoran. But even that all-knowing guy didn't know where it was. So this circle was Annie's last shot.

"Everyone, back off!" Annie shooed the partygoers away before getting down to business.

As she placed the Space Stone and activated the spell, pouring in magic, the circle slowly began to spin. The magical lines gradually drew out the Stone's power. With Annie channeling the coordinates through her magic, a misty barrier appeared above the circle.

"Is this the portal to Valoran?" Coulson and the others leaned in to look.

"A strange portal. I can't see anything on the other side. It doesn't make sense!" Thor stared hard for a moment, equally baffled.

Normally, a portal should be like the one Loki opened—clear enough to see through. This one, with no visibility, was dangerous to enter blindly! Who knew what was on the other side?

"Annie, I wouldn't go in if I were you. Maybe try a few more times?" Despite their rocky relationship, Thor voiced his concern. He just felt this portal was unreliable.

"No! It's exactly like the one that brought me here!" Annie double-checked everything and decided not to change a thing. This was the portal. Now that she finally saw hope of going home, she wasn't giving up.

"Goodbye, Uncle Coulson! Aunt Melinda! Thanks for taking care of me." Annie packed up her things and stuffed Tibbers into her backpack.

She stepped forward and hugged Uncle Coulson and Aunt Melinda, then glanced at the repaired Princess Annie resting on the lawn. After a moment's thought, she decided not to take it. It was far too big—there was no way it would fit through the portal! And a plane made of ordinary metal would be far too difficult to shrink with magic. So it would have to stay! After all the modifications Annie had made, it was a formidable magical aircraft. Leaving it behind might even help protect Aunt Melinda and Uncle Coulson.

"Goodbye, everyone!" Annie turned and waved to the others. She felt a little reluctant to leave these uncles she had come to know, but compared to going home, their place in her heart was much further down the list.

"Oh, goodbye! Goodbye, Annie!" Melinda's eyes grew moist. From the day she was ordered to look after Annie until now, Annie had been like a daughter to her. Now that parting was imminent, she truly felt reluctant to let go. Who knew if they would ever meet again? Perhaps never?

"Hey, little Annie, how about waiting a bit longer? Give me some time to build a probe and send it through first to scout?" Iron Man Tony had a sudden flash of inspiration and finally came up with a sensible idea.

"Goodbye, Annie, goodbye! Come back and visit if you have time!" The Hulk, Bruce Banner, watched Annie step into the portal, his eyes also moist as he waved. Even though Annie's little bear had beaten him up quite a few times, he still really liked this clever little girl.

As Annie turned and resolutely walked into the misty portal, before long, the magical array's energy circuit, no longer controlled by Annie, slowly ground to a halt, and the misty barrier dissipated along with it.

"Well! This matter is settled. It's time for me to escort the Space Stone back to Asgard. Take care, everyone! If you need me, remember to send word! As long as Earth faces threats from outside, I will definitely come and fight alongside you all!" After a moment, Thor was the first to break the oppressive atmosphere. Since Annie was gone, it was now his turn, Thor the God of Thunder.

With that, without waiting for anyone else's reaction, he strode over to the magical array Annie had left on the beach. The array was now abandoned after a single use, but the Space Stone must still be there. Thor remembered that Annie had placed it at the very center of the formation.

"This... how strange!" Thor the God of Thunder circled around the center of the magical array for a while, searching. Strangely enough, he found nothing at all! The Space Stone? At the center of the array, he saw no trace of it. Refusing to believe it, he even crouched down and dug in the sand for a while, scooping out a big pit, but still found nothing.

"Where is the Space Stone?! How is it gone?" The Space Stone belonged to Asgard. This time, he had been ordered by his father, Odin, to bring the Stone back for safekeeping once everything was over. But now, where was the Space Stone? How could it be missing?

Hearing Thor the God of Thunder's question, everyone exchanged bewildered glances, momentarily at a loss for words. None of them were particularly skilled in matters of magic.

Look at them: Tony and Banner were researchers into science; Coulson and Melinda were in the spy business; the Captain and Black Widow were responsible for fighting; and now Thor the God of Thunder was asking this bunch about magic—clearly a mismatch of expertise! How could they possibly know why the Space Stone had disappeared? He was asking the wrong people...

"Uh... well, if I didn't see wrong, I think I saw Annie reach out and pick up the stone just before she disappeared into the portal..." Hawkeye, who had the sharpest eyes among them, weakly raised his hand and somewhat uncertainly described what he had just witnessed.

"What?!"

"Really?"

"Ha! How amusing!"

Coulson and the others began to murmur among themselves. They hadn't expected little Annie to be so mischievous, swiping something on her way out!

"ANNIE!!!" Thor the God of Thunder, thoroughly played for a fool, couldn't help but roar up at the sky.

On that day of Annie's departure, the people of Asgard forever lost one of the Infinity Stones—the Space Stone. Perhaps they had lost more than just a stone, but they might never know.

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