Let's rewind forty minutes.
The Quinjet gradually rose into the clouds, emitting a loud hum. Banner sat in the back of the cockpit, his hands clasped together on his knees, his thumbs unconsciously circling.
For some reason, ever since the fighter jet took off, he had been experiencing intense heart palpitations, as if something bad was about to happen. The Hulk within him was also starting to stir. He desperately suppressed his emotions, took out his phone, and tried to dial Lin Xiao's number again.
"Beep... beep..."
The busy tone sounded, but the call didn't connect.
Banner sighed and put his phone back in his pocket.
"Don't be nervous, Banner." Steve sat opposite him, holding his shield, his smile reassuring. "The security level on the mothership is the highest. We just need you to come up and do a Spectrum. Once we confirm that Loki can't contact the outside world through the Tesseract, I'll take you back."
Banner forced a smile and nodded.
"Alright then, I'll go down right away after this is over."
Steve, listening from the side, touched his nose somewhat awkwardly. Soon after, the two stepped off the Quinjet and into the isolation zone.
Unbeknownst to them, the detention area of Helicarrier had already turned into a one-man stand-up comedy show.
Loki sat in the reinforced glass cage that was said to be able to imprison gods, his hands handcuffed. Far from showing any sign of the dishevelment of a prisoner, he appeared as relaxed as if he were watching a show. He was firing a barrage of attacks at a young agent standing guard outside.
"You know, you Midgardian are really interesting. You only have a few decades to live, but you always like to make everything very complicated." Loki leaned forward, his eyes full of sincerity.
The agent rolled his eyes, gripped his gun tighter, and didn't utter a single word.
Loki wasn't annoyed; he closed his eyes slightly. Suddenly, his nose twitched, as if he'd detected a different scent in the air. What was that?
Banner, that kind old man who hides a giant green monster, has boarded the ship.
Loki narrowed his eyes, a delighted smile curving his lips. To be honest, when he learned from Hawkeye that Banner had become Lin Xiao's man, he was somewhat disappointed that Banner hadn't joined S.H.I.E.L.D.. He likened his plan to preparing a rich soup. In this great show, the absence of Hulk was like missing a key ingredient; the flavor was slightly diminished, but still barely palatable. However, this shapeshifting monster, for some reason, had appeared, making the soup even more delicious.
"Interesting, very interesting."
Loki opened his eyes, his green light blazing brightly. He grabbed at the air with both hands, and the scepter that had been taken away appeared out of thin air. The glass cage hummed under the strain, and cracks instantly spread across it like a spider web. The agent turned around in horror, about to call for help.
Loki gently placed his index finger to his lips, making a "shh" gesture.
The next second, the agent was horrified to find that his mouth had vanished into thin air. He stared in horror at Loki, watching the green light blaze brightly on his hand. The next second, his eyes rolled back, and he fell straight down.
"A weak mortal." Loki slowly walked over, kicked the unconscious agent, used his scepter to pry open the shattered glass, and stepped out gracefully.
The alarm shattered the tranquility of the mothership.
At the end of the corridor, a dozen fully armed agents rushed over, their energy guns emitting a blinding blue light. Loki didn't even dodge; he simply slammed his scepter on the ground.
"Bang!"
The leading agents were instantly pierced by the rebounding laser, and before the rest could react, a halo flashed from the blue gem at the top of the scepter. The mortals holding guns froze, dropped their weapons, and stood in two rows like puppets.
"This game is getting more and more interesting," Loki said with a soft laugh, adjusting his collar.
"No, your game is over."
A man wearing a blue mask and carrying a shield strode out from the other end of the corridor and stood firmly in front of Loki.
Loki stared at that face, and suddenly an extremely inappropriate background music started playing in his head.
"Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump..."
Loki frowned, shook his head vigorously, and shook off the annoying auditory hallucination. He pointed at Steve, looking puzzled, "You... who exactly are you? Why do you have your own sound effects when you appear?"
Steve ignored his trash talk and charged forward, shield in hand.
Loki swung his scepter, unleashing an energy wave. Captain America took the hit with his shield, the shockwave sending him sliding backward seven or eight meters, leaving two scorch marks on the alloy floor with the soles of his shoes, but he stubbornly didn't fall.
Loki still held a degree of respect for such mortals. He was preparing to fire again when suddenly, the sound of something cutting through the air came from the corner.
"Whoosh!"
Loki instinctively tilted his head, and an anesthetic needle was precisely inserted into the side of his neck.
Loki swayed, incredulously pulled out the needle, and turned to look at the side where a secret agent in a suit, with a kind-hearted look, was standing behind the control panel, holding up an extremely comical wristwatch.
"Ouch!" Loki clutched his neck, suddenly feeling half his body go numb. "What the hell is this? How do you mortals have such a hidden weapon!"
Loki didn't know that it was the " Conan's Tranquilizer Watch " that Lin Xiao had previously forced on Coulson, along with a note that read, "Aim the watch face at your face, press the right side, and you'll hit your target instantly."
Just as Loki was feeling dizzy, Steve charged at him again. His Vibranium Shield slammed heavily into Loki's chest with a whooshing sound.
Loki was sent flying, rolling half a circle on the ground before getting up. He shook his head violently, his green pupils surging with barely suppressed rage. How could he, a god, have been tricked?
"Damn mortals! Die!"
The light at the top of the scepter suddenly surged, and a beam of energy several times thicker than before shot straight at Coulson.
Coulson's heart stopped in fright, but he had no time to dodge. Just as the energy beam was about to hit him squarely, a bright light suddenly appeared on his neck. A semi-transparent magical shield appeared out of thin air, swallowing Loki's energy beam whole and turning it into starlight that dissipated.
[ Magic Shield Talisman ] is from World of Warcraft, a B-grade item that can block magic damage once every 40 seconds, but cannot block physical damage.
Loki's eyes widened, completely dumbfounded.
"This was also given to me by Lin Xiao. I didn't expect it to actually work." Coulson wiped away his cold sweat and touched the amulet around his neck that he thought was ugly but Lin Xiao had forced him to wear.
"Ridiculous!"
Loki flew into a rage and raised his scepter once more. A second beam of energy instantly condensed, this time with even greater and stronger power, filling the air with a burnt smell. The magical shield was still cooling, and large beads of sweat slid down Coulson's forehead. He reached into his robes and clutched something dark and heavy. Lin Xiao's ultimate trump card—he truly didn't want to use it unless absolutely necessary.
Just as Loki was about to swing his scepter...
A loud "bang!" rang out.
Loki was thrown through the air as if he had been hit by a heavy truck, flying two meters before crashing heavily into the metal wall.
The corridor fell completely silent.
The air rippled like water where Loki had just stood. A silver-gray Cloak was lifted, revealing a face with red hair and red lips.
Natasha tidied her hair, shook the Invisibility Cloak in her hand, and stepped on Loki's fallen scepter with her high heels.
"Surprised, right?" Natasha looked down at the kneeling god. "He specifically instructed that when you kick him, you must kick him in the face."
Loki scrambled to his feet, leaning against the wall in disarray. His emerald scepter had been snatched away, and he'd been further humiliated by a series of "mortal gadgets." His eyes were fixed on Coulson and Natasha when he suddenly burst into laughter.
"Good, good, good." Loki raised his hands as if applauding. "You've put on a good show for me, mortals of Midgard. Lin Xiao's props are indeed quite interesting."
He bowed slightly, a chillingly cunning smile playing on his lips.
"Then, I'll also give you a big gift."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a deafening roar echoed from the distance of the mothership.
"Roar!!!"
The sound carried an extremely pure ferocity and destructive power, causing the corridor lights to shatter and crackle all over the floor.
"That voice is..." Steve's expression changed drastically.
Loki snapped his the Snap, laughing like a child who had pulled off a prank, "Oh, by the way, just so you know, my men teased that big green guy earlier. He seems to have a bit of a temper."
After saying that, he turned and jumped into the ventilation duct, disappearing.
In the control room, the Hulk had completely lost his mind.
He smashed the row of flashing indicator lights on the control panel with his fists.
In this chaotic environment, no one paid attention to a bespectacled researcher. With a blank expression, he carried the briefcase containing the Tesseract and, taking advantage of the fact that all the security systems were occupied by Hulk, turned and walked into the emergency exit.
The mothership's engines roared loudly, and the ship began to tilt and fall uncontrollably.
At this very moment, over New York, a man in a red bodysuit is flying towards them, cursing and swearing.