The Hair-Plucking Little Annie

"Annie? What exactly were you doing a few days ago? Why did you suddenly leave without even saying goodbye?" Coulson still held a bit of a grudge over Annie abandoning him and Melinda a few days earlier and leaving on her own.

That day, after they found on the tracking device that Annie had gone all the way to Asia, the two of them had nothing else to do, so they led a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in occupying the now-empty New York Sanctum. They'd collected a whole pile of strange magical objects, along with some unusual "windows" whose purpose was unclear. But everything had been temporarily sealed away.

They still needed Annie, the professional mage, to help identify the items. Otherwise, S.H.I.E.L.D. might cause a disaster by researching them recklessly. The experts had already made it clear: this wasn't their field, and they had no idea how to handle the magical objects.

"A few days ago... I went to the other side of the Earth to watch a great show: a bunch of little mages fighting a Dark Monster. And the rarest thing was, those little mages actually won! Then I ate lots and lots of kebabs. You'll never guess how many I ate!!!" Just thinking about the kebabs made Annie feel nauseous.

It was all that hateful Red Robe Mage's fault. How dare she recklessly use one of the Infinity Stones, the Time Stone! Even Annie had been trapped in the time loop. If she hadn't managed to get out in the end, she might have been sickened to death by all those kebabs!

Fortunately, the time loop eventually ended. Annie had then followed them all the way back to their base, that place called Kamar-Taj! In the end, while they were away, she'd quietly and stealthily stolen the green Time Stone. Their defenses were so simple—they were completely useless against her! Of course, before leaving, Annie had also taken the opportunity to read some of the books in their library.

"The mages? You mean the people from Kamar-Taj? I really don't understand how they ended up fighting among themselves. By the way, have you met the Ancient One?" Coulson was curious about a group of mages turning on each other.

The damage inside the New York Sanctum showed that the fighting had been fierce. The Sanctum itself had been destroyed, and everyone inside had died. Now even Coulson couldn't help feeling that, whether in the Wizarding World or the ordinary world, struggles for power and armed conflicts were unavoidable. It was human nature: the force that drove humanity forward, but could also destroy it.

"One group wanted the power of the Dark World, and the other group wouldn't let them have it, so they fought. It's not that strange!" There were plenty of strange things in the world of mages. As far as Annie was concerned, they'd only disagreed over how to gain power. That was perfectly normal.

"Oh, and I should tell you: that Bald Mage called the Ancient One seems to be dead." While following them, Annie had heard the apprentices at Kamar-Taj discussing it. Apparently, the Space Master had died after being stabbed and then falling to her death.

After giving it some serious thought, Annie still felt the woman had deserved it! Who told them to fight in close quarters? Look what happened—she was dead! That was what happened to heretics who went too far, and to mages who insisted on close combat when it wasn't their specialty! How much safer it was to hang back and throw spells from a distance. Why had she insisted on getting up close and personal?

"Is that true? That's wonderful news! I think the director will be very happy to hear it." Coulson's eyes lit up when he heard the news. It really was good news for S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Earth's native mage organization, Kamar-Taj, had just been through a civil war. It was leaderless and had suffered heavy casualties! Perhaps it was time for S.H.I.E.L.D. to step in and try to bring them under its control? This was a great opportunity! Coulson thought it over and decided to write a report to the director that evening, so S.H.I.E.L.D. could discuss whether the idea was feasible.

"Annie, are you sure this thing—uh, this magic circle—can open a portal that'll take you home?" Having made up his mind, Coulson finally had time to examine the jumble of symbols Annie had drawn in an empty spot on the beach.

Annie had started working on it that morning. She said she'd gotten some inspiration from the library at Kamar-Taj! After spending several days thinking it over, she'd eagerly gotten to work today.

Apparently, by using all these strange lines and the gems placed at their intersections, then adding the Space Stone as the power source and focal point, Annie would be able to open a portal back to the Valoran Continent.

But Coulson had circled the magic circle for a long time, and he still didn't think it looked very reliable. These mysterious scribbles were so unscientific. At least the portal device Loki and the others had built had looked somewhat scientifically plausible!

"Of course, Uncle Coulson. It's only for one use, so it can be simple!" Annie continued etching the magic circle into the ground.

One reason she'd made it so simple was that she wanted to finish it as quickly as possible. She'd been away from home for a long time and couldn't wait to go back!

Another reason was that the magic circle was disposable. She wasn't like Loki, who needed to keep a portal open and expand it. She only needed it to let her pass through safely. So why make it more complicated than necessary?

After the Battle of New York, thanks to Annie, American media and society had gradually changed their attitude toward Mutants. Many people thought Annie was a powerful Mutant who could control fire. Since she'd saved New York and countless people from the Chitauri, policies toward Mutants had changed a little, and some lawmakers were now discussing legislation specifically for them.

Of course, perhaps the bigger reason was fear of Annie's formidable power. Just think about it: she'd taken down nearly half of a force of powerful aliens almost by herself! She'd made the nuclear bomb disappear and turned the tide single-handedly, wiping out the alien invasion! What an incredible feat! If Mutant policies accidentally angered this little girl, how much destruction might she cause?

Just think: the nuclear missile the military had launched had vanished with a whoosh. What could they possibly use against her? And there were plenty of other Mutants out there! Just think of the Mutant Brotherhood, whose members were constantly on the move, causing trouble. Their Electromagnetic King was powerful too!

After lunch, Annie was still hard at work on the beach. Before long, the other members of the Avengers arrived after being notified. Coulson had called to tell them Annie might be going home that day. If they didn't come now, they might not know when they'd see her again.

The first to arrive was Thor. He flew in a little while later, carrying his hammer. He had to be there to keep an eye on Annie when she left, since he'd been ordered to escort the Space Stone back to Asgard! As for Loki's Scepter, that would have to wait until next time.

The ruins still hadn't been cleared away. There was no good way to deal with that huge piece of alien debris anytime soon; it was simply too big and heavy! They'd have to leave it there for now.

The others, including Bruce Banner, arrived one after another on S.H.I.E.L.D. planes. They were all heroes and members of the Avengers, after all, so they had the privilege of borrowing a few planes for transportation.

Once everyone had arrived, the Avengers, with nothing better to do, watched Annie work for a while. Then Tony suggested they have a small party on a different part of the beach. The group opened some champagne and drank together.

"By the way, Tony, have you made any progress on rebuilding Stark Tower?" Hulk Banner turned to look at Tony, who was reclining in the beach chair beside him.

"My God! I'm going to lose it if anyone mentions that again!" Tony downed the champagne in his glass and grumbled angrily.

He'd taken a huge loss in the Battle of New York. The landmark building belonging to Stark Industries had been smashed flat, and he couldn't help wishing he'd bought insurance for it. He was still smarting over the loss!

The money for rebuilding hadn't been approved, and compensation was still nowhere in sight. Those damn bureaucrats might drag this out until the next century! The shareholders might even have to pay out of their own pockets! But that wasn't the worst of it. The alien mothership's debris was still lying on the property! Who knew when they'd figure out how to move such a massive chunk of wreckage?

"Thor, I need to talk to you!" Seeing that everyone else was chatting among themselves, Coulson took a glass of champagne over to Thor, who was watching Annie work.

"What is it?" Thor looked at Coulson in confusion.

"Well, our director plans to deal with the rebels who have infiltrated our organization—the members of Hydra. We intend to wipe them out all at once in the near future. Could you come help us when the time comes?" For some reason, Hydra was stirring again! Director Nick Fury had noticed the troubling signs and warned Coulson to remain on standby and coordinate with the Avengers.

"I'm sorry, Coulson! I can't interfere in your planet's internal affairs. If you were facing an external invasion, I'd gladly help! But this is an internal matter of yours... so I'm truly sorry! Asgard will absolutely not interfere in your internal affairs. It's an order from my father, Odin!" Hearing that Coulson wanted him to help deal with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s problems, Thor quickly refused.

"All right..." Coulson nodded, indicating that it was fine, though he felt a little down inside.

Now that Thor had refused, and Annie might be leaving soon, perhaps all they'd have to help wipe out Hydra were Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain America, and Iron Man. Oh... and the unreliable Hulk. Tsk! It really didn't look good! And Hill's New York Branch had suffered serious damage during the alien invasion of New York. That was another headache.

"All done!" Annie cheered. The magic circle she'd made for guiding the portal was finally complete.

Now that the magic circle was ready, she'd use the Space Stone's power, along with the space coordinates for the Voodoo Lands that she knew and the power of her longing. Then, after casting the spell she'd found at Kamar-Taj, she should be able to open a portal, right? Maybe? Probably?

All right, to be honest, Annie wasn't very confident either. Earlier, when Thor had escorted a prisoner back to Asgard, he'd specifically asked Heimdall, who stood at the gates of Asgard and was said to know everything. But unfortunately, even that supposedly all-knowing man didn't know where the Valoran Continent was. So this magic circle was Annie's last chance.

"Everyone, move back a little!" Annie impatiently shooed away the onlookers partying nearby, then got ready to do the real work.

As Annie placed the Space Stone and cast the spell, channeling in her magic, the magic circle began to turn slowly. The magical markings drew power from the Space Stone bit by bit. Then, as Annie used magic to enter the coordinates, a misty barrier began to appear above the circle.

"Is that the portal to Valoran?" Seeing it, Coulson and the others couldn't help coming over for a closer look.

"What a strange portal. I can't see anything on the other side. It doesn't make sense!" Thor stared at it for a while, just as baffled.

Ordinarily, a portal should let you clearly see the scenery on the other side, like the one Loki had opened! With this one, you couldn't see what was beyond it. Going through blindly would be dangerous! Nobody knew what might be waiting on the other side.

"Annie, I don't recommend going in. Maybe you should try a few more times?" Although he didn't always get along with Annie, Thor still voiced his opinion. He just didn't think the portal looked very reliable.

"No! It's exactly like the one that brought me here!" Annie carefully checked it again and confirmed everything was in order. She decided not to change anything. This was definitely the right portal. Now that she'd finally found hope of going home, she wasn't going to give up.

"Goodbye, Uncle Coulson! Aunt Melinda! Thank you for taking care of me all this time." Annie packed a few things and stuffed Tibbers into her backpack.

She went over and hugged Uncle Coulson and Aunt Melinda. Then she looked at the repaired Princess Annie sitting on the lawn and thought it over. She decided not to take it. It was simply too big to fit through the portal! And shrinking an airplane made of ordinary metal with magic would be too difficult! She'd have to leave it behind. After Annie had modified it so many times, it was a powerful magical airplane! Maybe it could protect Aunt Melinda and Uncle Coulson?

"Goodbye, everyone!" Annie turned and waved to the others. She was a little reluctant to leave the men she'd gotten to know, but compared with going home, they mattered a lot less to her.

"Oh, goodbye! Goodbye, Annie!" Melinda felt her eyes grow wet. From the moment she'd been assigned to take care of Annie until now, Annie had been like a daughter to her. With their parting so close, she really couldn't bear to let her go. Would they ever get another chance to meet? Maybe they'd never see each other again.

"Hey, little Annie, how about waiting a bit longer? Give me some time to make a probe and send it through first!" Tony, struck by inspiration, finally came up with a sensible idea.

"Goodbye, Annie, goodbye! Come visit if you get the chance!" Hulk Bruce Banner watched Annie walk into the portal and waved with tearful eyes. Annie's Little Bear had beaten him up plenty of times, but he still liked the clever little girl.

As Annie turned and strode decisively into the misty portal, the magic circle's energy channels slowly stopped working without her control. The misty barrier soon faded away.

"All right! That's that, and I should escort the Space Stone back to Asgard. Take care, everyone! If you need me, remember to contact me! If Earth ever faces an outside threat, I'll come fight alongside you!" After a while, Thor was the first to break the heavy silence. Now that Annie had left, it was his turn to go.

Without waiting for the others to react, he walked straight over to the magic circle Annie had left on the beach. The circle had been spent after one use, but the Space Stone should still be there. Thor remembered that Annie had placed it right in the center of the circle.

"This... That's strange!" Thor circled around the center of the magic circle, searching, but found nothing at all! Where was the Space Stone? He couldn't see it anywhere in the middle of the circle. Refusing to give up, he crouched down and dug around in the sand, making a large hole, but still found nothing.

"Where's the Space Stone?! How did it disappear?" The Space Stone belonged to Asgard. Thor had been ordered by his father, Odin, to bring it back and keep it safe once everything was over. But now, where was it? How had it disappeared?

Hearing Thor's question, everyone looked at each other, unsure what to say. They weren't exactly experts on magic.

Look: Tony and Banner worked in research and science, Coulson and Melinda were spies, and Captain America and Black Widow handled the fighting. And now Thor was asking them about magic! That was clearly outside their field. How could they know why the Space Stone had disappeared? He was asking the wrong people...

"Uh... If I saw right just now, I think Annie reached out and picked up the stone before she disappeared into the portal..." Hawkeye, whose eyesight was the best of the group, timidly raised his hand and spoke, sounding a little uncertain.

"What?!"

"That happened?"

"Ha! That's funny!"

Coulson and the others started discussing it among themselves. They couldn't believe little Annie had been so mischievous as to sneak something away before leaving!

"Annie!!!" Thor, thoroughly duped, couldn't help roaring at the sky.

On the day Annie left, the people of Asgard lost one of the Infinity Stones forever—the Space Stone. Perhaps they'd lost more than just a stone, though they might never know it.