Marvel: Hunter

In fact, from Loki's perspective, Blaine seemed like the easiest one to deal with.

Although the intelligence on him was vague—just a few blunt phrases—Loki had already learned that Blaine once accepted a contract to kill Tony Stark, but backed out after Tony offered a higher reward.

From this, Loki inferred that Blaine wasn't someone who followed through with missions out of honour or reputation. No, this was a man who cared only about profit.

And to Loki, that made him the ideal type of person to manipulate.

Because as long as you offer the right incentive, he won't stand against you.

Sure enough, Blaine's actions had confirmed Loki's assessment. Just days ago, Blaine accepted a mission from S.H.I.E.L.D.—then immediately turned around and took another assignment to steal from them, leaving one of their bases in utter disarray.

That incident solidified Loki's belief in Blaine's nature.

That's why Loki hadn't taken any specific action against him. In fact, back in Germany, he had even considered recruiting Blaine.

After all, someone that powerful would be a great asset in an invasion of Earth—just like Dr. Selvig, who had helped initiate the attack.

Unfortunately, what Loki hadn't anticipated was that Blaine would reject his offer.

Worse, Blaine had joined forces with S.H.I.E.L.D. to fight the Chitauri invasion.

This completely blindsided Loki.

He'd assumed that Blaine, like himself, would prioritize his own gain over any so-called "greater good."

Could it be that this damn Hunter—this Earthling—actually felt some sense of loyalty to the planet?

But if Blaine could read Loki's thoughts at that moment, he would probably weep.

Loyalty? To Earth? What loyalty?! This wasn't even the same Earth from his past life. He'd only been here a few months—how could he possibly feel attached to it?

If it were invaded, then so be it. As long as there was profit to be made, what did it matter?

As for why Blaine had turned Loki down earlier? Well, first of all—just look at what Loki was offering. None of it interested Blaine. Second, Blaine had been mid-mission, and Loki—who had been the mission's target—had suddenly declared the contract invalid.

If he had the chance, Blaine would've loved to watch both sides raise their bounties and outbid each other again. Unfortunately, the system deemed it too overpowered and banned it.

What could he do?

If that "exploit" hadn't been patched, Tony Stark might've started bidding billions every minute just to keep himself alive. Blaine wouldn't even need to take missions anymore.

Loki frowned, momentarily lost in thought.

Taking advantage of this distraction, Clint Barton—stationed on a nearby rooftop—drew an arrow from his quiver, aimed with deadly precision, and fired.

The arrow streaked through the air across a hundred-meter distance—aimed directly at Loki's head.

But just before impact, Loki caught the arrow with one hand.

"You dare shoot me?"

He held the arrow in his left hand and glared toward Barton with a smirk.

"As a god..."

But the thought hadn't even finished forming when—

BOOM.

The arrow exploded in his hand.

The Chitauri glider Loki had been standing on was obliterated in an instant, launching him into the air and blasting his armored body toward the top of Stark Tower.

At that moment, Hulk was still busy smashing enemies and didn't notice Loki's unfortunate flight, so he missed the opportunity to humiliate him—again.

Even so, Loki reacted quickly. Injured but alert, he retrieved his fallen scepter from the rubble and summoned another Chitauri hovercraft.

Climbing aboard, blood running down his forehead beneath his horned helmet, Loki grinned and muttered:

"Thank you~"

"Shit!"

Barton swore under his breath. He hadn't expected that his attack would hand Loki back his greatest weapon—the scepter capable of mind control.

The situation had just become much worse.

Loki, now airborne once again, suddenly crossed paths with Natasha, who was piloting another commandeered Chitauri glider midair.

The two locked eyes.

"Ah, crap..." Natasha muttered.

Loki's smile widened. The scepter glowed as he charged it with energy—then fired.

Natasha reacted instantly. She abandoned the Chitauri glider beneath her feet and leapt into open air, aiming for the rooftop of a nearby building.

But things didn't go as planned.

The glider behind her exploded like a bomb, and the resulting shockwave sent her tumbling off course. Disoriented, she spun midair, completely losing her trajectory.

There was nothing close enough to grab.

She wasn't superhuman. She hadn't mastered mythical martial arts that let her fly or change direction midair. She didn't have Spider-Man's wall-crawling, web-slinging tricks.

She was just a highly trained human.

Not Monkey D. Luffy—she couldn't extend her arm ten meters and pull herself to safety.

And from this height?

Yeah… this would be fatal.

"...Shit!"

For the first time, panic flashed through Natasha's eyes.

She wasn't afraid of death.

But she was afraid of a pointless one.

"Natasha!"

Clint and the others noticed what was happening.

But Tony Stark—at that moment—was being swarmed by Chitauri. They seemed to know he was likely to attempt a rescue, so they relentlessly pursued and distracted him.

The only Avenger nearby was Hulk—but he couldn't fly.

Thor and Spider-Man were battling Leviathans farther away. They couldn't reach her in time.

And Steve Rogers and Clint Barton? They couldn't fly, jump, or web-sling. They were just as grounded as she was.

There was no one left to save her.

"Natasha!"

Tony's voice crackled through the comms, tight with panic.

Was the team about to lose another member?

Phil Coulson had only just died. Had all those silent promises to do better meant nothing?

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