Another Chu Hang

Steve fastened the case.

The scepter lay quietly inside, the yellow light of the Mind Stone flickering across the inner walls. He pulled out the Space-Time GPS, pressed a few buttons, and prepared to leave.

A voice came through the communicator.

"Wait."

Natasha.

Steve tightened his grip on the edge of his shield. "What is it?"

"Loki got away," Natasha said.

"What?"

"The 2012 Tony fell in the hall, and the Tesseract flew out. Loki picked it up and vanished." Natasha's voice held barely suppressed fury. "I was chasing Rumlow just now and didn't have time to keep an eye on him."

Steve's thoughts spun.

The Tesseract was gone. They couldn't get the Space Stone. With that thing in hand, Loki could go anywhere in the Nine Realms—Jotunheim, the depths of space, even some planet no one had ever heard of. There was no way to catch him.

He tapped his earpiece. "Tony?"

"I saw it." Tony's voice came from the other end of the communicator. "That unlucky version of me was knocked over by Thor, and the Tesseract rolled to Loki's feet. But I'm over at the Sanctum and couldn't get there in time. Steve, we need to change the plan."

Steve rushed out of the room.

He looked down through the shattered floor-to-ceiling window. His 2012 self was standing with Thor, talking, while an empty case lay on the floor. Loki was gone, and so was the Tesseract.

"Damn it."

Steve rarely swore. But this time, he did.

The air in the center of the hall suddenly warped.

A rift appeared out of nowhere, its edges flashing with golden light. The 2012 Avengers all stopped moving—shields, armor, and gun barrels turned toward the rift at the same time.

Someone stepped out of it.

A black trench coat. A