Come forth, Tibbers! Tear them to shreds!

"So, uncle! Where are we now? Can you help me find my mom and dad?"

Annie was getting a bit annoyed by these two strange people's questions. She reached out and idly spun the Valoran Globe, looking at Coulson, hoping he could point out exactly where this strange place was on the continent of Valoran.

Annie had always believed that after crossing through that misty barrier-like space door, she must have been transported to some part of Valoran—she just didn't know the exact location. But once she knew, Annie was sure she could find her way home eventually. That was right!

And honestly, if this weird uncle hadn't said he could find her parents, Annie felt she wouldn't have talked to him for this long!

This weird uncle looked both dumb and bald, and wasn't fun at all! Worst of all, he'd interrupted her ice cream. The aunt next to him was also strange, always wearing a sour face—it wasn't like Annie had burned anything of hers for no reason! Hmph! Tibbers said she was hostile toward Annie and was suggesting either burning her up or letting him out to eat her in one bite!

"Uh..." Coulson looked at the Valoran Globe still floating and spinning on the table, and said awkwardly, "I think we're not anywhere on that thing. Maybe we can't help you find your parents after all."

As he spoke, Coulson pulled a tablet from his briefcase, tapped on it, brought up a 3D image of a globe, and held it out in front of Annie. "Look! We're right here." Coulson pointed at the 3D globe on the screen, his finger landing right on New York's location on the continent of America.

"Huh?! Such a magical image! Oh? Is it like the TV on the wall?" Annie looked at the tablet screen, then tilted her head curiously to check the back of the device, but there was nothing there.

"That's not... a magical image. It's computer technology. Hey! Don't hit it, it'll break." Coulson quickly reached out to stop her.

"Technology?" Annie thought for a moment. Maybe it was like those robot monsters the Yordles made? But that kind of tech was useless—one fireball and it would fall apart.

"This isn't Valoran..." Annie finally caught the key point. On this amazing computer, she didn't see any trace of Valoran. The 3D globe on it was completely different from the Valoran Globe—they had to be two different planets!

"That's right! This is Earth." Seeing Annie toss the tablet onto the table, Coulson quickly retrieved it. There were still a lot of important files on it! If it broke, that would be a real hassle!

"Earth? How far is Earth from Valoran?"

"Well... I'm not really sure. Maybe as far as the stars in the sky!"

Coulson organized his words, using what he thought was a way a girl could understand. By now, Coulson was certain this girl was some kind of alien visitor! This was the first time Coulson had been in close contact with an alien, even though S.H.I.E.L.D. had quite a few alien artifacts!

As for how far Valoran was from Earth, or where it was, Coulson figured that question should go to the Federal Space Agency—maybe they would know?

"As far as the stars in the sky? That's so far... I can't go home?" Annie felt a bit wronged. She bit her lower lip, tossed her spoon aside, and suddenly didn't feel like eating ice cream anymore!

Because Annie's mother had taught her about astrology, Annie knew just how far the stars in the sky were. Even the longest-range teleportation spell on the continent of Valoran couldn't reach any star closest to Valoran.

Worse still, Annie wasn't skilled in large portal magic! If it was a short-to-medium-range teleport within a planet, she might barely manage it if she thought hard and tried a few times, but an interstellar portal was definitely out of the question! Maybe she could never go home? The thought of never seeing her mother again made Annie want to cry, and tears had already begun to fill her beautiful emerald-green eyes.

Coulson awkwardly watched the little girl, head down and silent. Just as he was thinking of how to comfort her a little, there was a loud crash outside!

A Ford car smashed into the ice cream shop's floor-to-ceiling glass. The glass shattered on impact, and shards sprayed inward, nearly hitting the three seated people. The shop owner farther away wasn't so lucky—a rolling wheel tore off half his head, splattering red and white everywhere. He was clearly beyond saving!

Coulson and Melinda quickly looked out at the street. Two green monsters had appeared from somewhere and were locked in a fierce brawl. Shocked, they took cover and looked closer, only to realize that the huge, muscular figure with the green head was the Hulk! Coulson recognized this big green guy—S.H.I.E.L.D. had a file on him.

If he remembered correctly, this green giant was called the Hulk, real name Robert Bruce Banner.

According to records, he was a genius nuclear physics Ph.D., but in an accident, while protecting a colleague, he was heavily irradiated by the Gamma Bomb he had created, mutating into the Hulk!

The intel also said that when his emotions fluctuated violently, he would transform into the mindless green giant Hulk! What puzzled Coulson was: what was that other giant, equally huge, wrestling with the Hulk—slightly lighter green but bony all over? Who was it? Was it another creation of the military?

Before Coulson could think further, the bony giant grabbed another car and hurled it at the Hulk, but the green giant knocked it away with an elbow. Unfortunately, the flying car hurtled toward the ice cream shop where the three were. The two monsters' immense force ruptured the car's fuel tank, and the sparks from the car crashing into the shop door ignited the full tank of gasoline, causing a massive explosion along with the previous car. The flames, heat wave, and blast fragments rushed toward them...

This is it... we're done for...

That was Coulson and Melinda's last thought. They never imagined that a routine mission today would end with them dying at the hands of these two monsters! And dying such a frustrating, collateral death! Truly, being an agent was a high-risk job! If they'd known, they would have applied for a transfer to internal affairs long ago!

"Hmph! I'm angry! And the consequences will be severe!"

Hearing Annie's voice beside them, Coulson and Melinda, who had closed their eyes waiting for death, opened them in surprise to find themselves completely unharmed? Looking closer, the explosion had been blocked by a shield that looked like a thin, red, transparent film. The flames and heat still raging inside the shop couldn't affect the three within the transparent shield!

Was this also this little girl's ability?!

Melinda and Coulson exchanged a glance, ignoring the shock in their hearts, and looked at Annie again. Did mutants have this many abilities? Maybe she really was a mage?

But Annie didn't care what they thought. With Tibbers in her left hand and her right hand clenched into a fist, she walked out of the shop. Annie felt very angry today! Extremely angry! Furious!!

She had just learned that she might never go home, never see her mother again! That already made her feel terrible, wronged, and on the verge of tears!

But then, out of nowhere, a metal hunk flew in and killed the shop owner who made such delicious ice cream! Before she could even figure out what was happening, those two fighting giant beast-men outside threw another metal hunk at her! They must have wanted to burn her to death too, right? That had to be it!

This was absolutely unforgivable! Annie thought: it was always her who burned others! And now someone wanted to burn her instead?! Hah! Interesting! Annie figured they must have never met her little bear!

"Don't go! It's dangerous! Ah—!" Seeing Annie about to step out of the shop, Melinda, who had just narrowly escaped death, instinctively tried to grab her, but the flames erupting from Annie's body burned her hand, forcing her to pull back.

Stepping outside, Annie looked at the two big brutes still trading punches not far away, and the street they had turned into a wrecked ruin.

Annie took a deep breath, thought it over seriously, and decided it was better to let Tibbers handle it. She was a good, clean girl—there was no way she was going to brawl with these two savage beast-men! That would be so unladylike! Even casting spells from a distance wasn't proper. For fighting and close combat, it was better to let her little bear take charge. Besides, Tibbers had been urging her to do it for a while now!

So, that was settled.

"Come out, Tibbers! Bite them to death for me!"

"ROAR!!!"