Apocalypse deliberately asked, "Why are you so concerned about him? And you even hid the fact that you have a husband from him. What exactly is your relationship?"
Black Widow's hurried breathing came through the phone. "Tang, Tang, show mercy. He's my good friend."
"A good friend? Don't tell me he's another one of your husbands?"
"No... no, he's just my colleague. We had a fake marriage before, but... that was for a mission. Nothing happened between us."
Apocalypse said, "Our marriage was fake at the beginning too, but everything that should have happened did happen."
"Th-this... we... we..."
In her panic, Black Widow had no idea how to answer.
The lying techniques she usually trained in were all for assassinating targets. No one had ever trained her to deal with such melodramatic romantic entanglements.
Besides, when she married Apocalypse, they had done everything they were supposed to do.
But when it came to her fake marriage with Hawkeye, who would believe her if she said nothing had happened? Put in his place, Black Widow would not have believed herself either.
Her bargain-bin "husband" had once stormed into S.H.I.E.L.D. and forbidden her from using her "seduction" skills. He was incredibly petty.
If she could not explain this clearly, Hawkeye might truly be in mortal danger. He might even tear down S.H.I.E.L.D. afterward.
Yet the more anxious she became, the more her brain froze.
"Tang, listen to me... Hawkeye has a wife and children..."
"Oh... are you asking me to wipe out his whole family? I'll only kill him. I won't kill women or children."
"No, no... that's not what I mean... Don't do anything yet... let me think..."
Hawkeye was dumbfounded as he listened. Was this really the Black Widow he knew?
Leaving aside whether this "husband" was real or not, Natasha, the more you explained, the more suspicious it sounded.
There had not been any danger to his life to begin with, but her "explanation" had created one.
Hawkeye had never seen Black Widow so flustered.
When they carried out missions, even at the brink of life and death, she was often calmer than he was. More than once, the two of them had escaped death thanks to her composure.
He had a wife and children, so at critical moments, he naturally had worries weighing on him and could not remain entirely calm. But she had never been like that.
Yet while speaking to this man before them, she was at a complete loss, terrified that he would misunderstand. Could he really be her husband?
Why had he never heard about him?
Seeing the teasing smile on Apocalypse's face, Hawkeye immediately realized that he was deliberately messing with Black Widow.
"Ah!" Hawkeye suddenly let out a "miserable cry" and shouted into the phone, "Natasha, if you don't explain this properly, you'll have to take care of my wife and children."
"Tang... don't do it. Hawkeye's children recognize me as their godmother. That makes you their godfather. Please don't hurt their father."
After panicking for so long, Black Widow finally forced out that excuse.
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Hawkeye's "miserable cries" continued without pause.
The more Black Widow listened, the more something felt wrong. Those cries were far too fake. She finally realized what was happening. "You two planned this together to mess with me? Just wait. Barton, I'll report you to your children."
"Hahahahahaha!" Apocalypse and Hawkeye burst into laughter together.
Black Widow gritted her teeth on the other end of the call, but the weight in her heart finally lifted. At least she no longer had to worry about Hawkeye being in danger.
When she wanted to ask how the two of them had met, she discovered that the call had already ended.
Black Widow stood there blankly with the phone in hand, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Her closest friend becoming friends with her husband should have been something worth celebrating.
But when she thought of how she herself had been the victim of their prank, she could no longer feel happy about it.
Apocalypse felt immensely satisfied. Hmph... you cheating woman. You have a husband, yet you didn't announce it to everyone on social media. If I don't teach you a lesson, you won't know who's in charge!
Apocalypse extended his hand. "Tang Tianqi, Natasha's husband."
Hawkeye shook his hand. "Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye, Natasha's friend."
Compared with Apocalypse's understanding of them, Hawkeye had countless questions in his mind. Just as he was about to speak, a roar suddenly came from the tent.
"No... Father, why? Why..."
Thor roared at the sky, filled with despair.
Having never suffered any setbacks, he had believed that retrieving the hammer would allow him to become Thor again.
Who would have thought that after passing through countless obstacles, when he finally gripped the hammer, there would be no reaction at all?
The blow devastated Thor. It meant that he was still unworthy of wielding the hammer.
At that moment, rain began to pour from the sky.
Thor knelt in the muddy water without moving, allowing rain and mud to splash over his body.
In the original story, Coulson had ordered his subordinates to drag Thor back to the interrogation room. But after Apocalypse's warning, he politely invited Thor indoors and handed him a towel and hot coffee.
"Hey, buddy, where are you from?" Coulson asked.
Thor looked despondent and did not answer.
"Are you the owner of this hammer?"
Thor shook his head and murmured. It seemed like an answer, but also like he was speaking to himself. "I'm still unworthy of being its owner. But I don't know what I did wrong. Why?"
After questioning him for a while longer and seeing that Thor only kept his head lowered in silence, Coulson had no choice but to leave.
Because Apocalypse was waiting outside.
Hawkeye followed him in. There was no time to ask about Black Widow for now. They would deal with the matter at hand first.
The surveillance room.
Apocalypse, Coulson, and Hawkeye watched the monitor.
Coulson asked, "Mr. Tang, is he the hammer's owner you mentioned?"
"Yes."
"Who is he?"
"Whatever kind of hammer that hammer is, that's what kind of person he is."
"Uh..." Coulson was speechless.
That riddle was enough to drive anyone mad, yet he did not dare press for an answer.
This Easterner before them put more pressure on them than even the director.
If he would not speak, who would dare force the issue?
Since Coulson had not discovered that the hammer was Thor's Hammer, Apocalypse did not wish to reveal Thor's identity yet either, lest it create unnecessary complications.
Still, Coulson and Hawkeye were frustrated.
Then Coulson remembered something. "Barton, how did you come in with Mr. Tang?"
Hawkeye said, "I fought him earlier..."
"Hiss..." Coulson sucked in a sharp breath. "You're still alive? Are you that strong?"
Hawkeye was speechless. Why did Coulson sound just like Black Widow? The first thing he asked was why Hawkeye had not died. That did not sound remotely like concern.
But remembering Apocalypse catching his arrow barehanded, he could only say awkwardly, "Mr. Tang recognized me and showed mercy."
"Oh..." Coulson naturally came to an "enlightened" realization. "Natasha told him about you, didn't she?"
Then he added, "Since you met Mr. Tang, apply to the director later for access to Mr. Tang's files."
"Shh..."
Apocalypse suddenly pressed his index finger to his lips, signaling them to be quiet.
On the monitor, Thor stood up and began speaking continuously to empty air.
Coulson and Hawkeye exchanged glances. Could this supposed hammer owner have split personalities and be hallucinating?
But Apocalypse knew that the God of Mischief—Loki—had appeared.
Loki was skilled in illusions. Invisibility was merely one of his minor tricks.
Yet the cold, sinister energy signature surrounding him was obvious.
It was extremely faint, almost imperceptible, but Apocalypse possessed three times the Hulk's strength. His five senses had been greatly enhanced, allowing him to barely detect it.
The moment Loki appeared, he delivered shocking news to Thor. "Father is dead."
"How is that possible? He was fine when I left."
"Father's natural lifespan had actually reached its end long ago. To rescue us from Jotunheim this time, he used too much divine power. After returning to Asgard, he fell unconscious and never woke up. He passed away peacefully."
Thor's eyes reddened. "I want to return and attend Father's funeral."
Loki shook his head. "Your exile was a condition for the truce with Jotunheim. Mother has forbidden you from returning. I have ascended the throne as king, and I cannot risk a war between the two realms by bringing you back. I only came to notify you."
Hearing this, Thor sobbed convulsively. His enormous body curled up, helpless like a child.
Not only was he unworthy of being Thor, but his father had died because of his own recklessness, and he had nearly started a war between two realms.
Thor felt deep guilt over his immaturity and impulsiveness.
He could not even attend his father's final funeral. All of it plunged him into overwhelming grief.
But Thor never imagined that all of it was a lie!
He could not imagine it, nor did he dare to imagine that his own brother Loki would lie to him with such things!
First, the Allfather Odin was not dead at all. He had merely fallen unconscious and was recuperating in a medical pod.
Second, the queen had never forbidden Thor from returning. Every word of it was a lie Loki had fabricated for a massive conspiracy.
Although he could not hear Loki's voice, Apocalypse knew the plot well. Combined with Thor's responses, he could roughly guess what Loki had said.
Before long, Apocalypse sensed that cold energy leave Thor's room and head outside.
When Loki reached the hammer, he tried to lift Thor's Hammer, only to find that he could not move it at all.
Somehow, Loki seemed to sense a mocking mental ripple. His gaze immediately turned sinister as he looked in Apocalypse's direction.
Apocalypse quickly closed his eyes. When he saw Loki trying to lift Thor's Hammer, he could not help laughing inwardly. With Loki's character, it would be a miracle if he could lift it.
He had not expected Loki to detect even such a faint mental fluctuation.
The eyes were the windows to the soul.
The moment Apocalypse closed his eyes, Loki's perception lost its target.
Apocalypse was not afraid of Loki. Loki's strengths lay in schemes and illusions; his direct combat ability was not particularly high.
In the original story's Battle of New York, Hulk gave him a brutal beating.
Later, on Sakaar, when Loki saw Hulk in the arena, he was so frightened that he wanted to turn and run.
It was clear just how deep Hulk's psychological shadow had become for him.
Apocalypse possessed three times Hulk's strength and had a calm mind. Even if Loki had illusions, he had nothing to fear.
It simply was not time yet.
Of course, if Loki came over on his own initiative, that would be another matter.
Fortunately, Loki was in a hurry to return and did not want to cause extra trouble. He did not come to investigate, allowing Apocalypse to avoid this disaster.
Apocalypse's strange behavior frightened Coulson.
Seeing Apocalypse act so cautiously and demand silence, Coulson felt as though he had encountered an opponent.
If even a monster like Apocalypse had to be so careful around someone, then if a fight broke out, none of the ordinary people present would likely survive.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. were not afraid of death, but that did not mean they wanted to become collateral damage in a battle between superpowered beings.
Coulson unconsciously drew his pistol and warily scanned the surroundings.
After a while, Apocalypse said, "He's gone. Put the gun away."
Coulson asked, "Who was he?"
Apocalypse gave Coulson a strange look. In the future, Coulson would die at Loki's hands.
"The one who just came was the man who will kill you someday."
Before you continue