Chapter 135: Loki Returns II
"Believe me, I wouldn't do that," Loki said, smirking as he turned around, noticing Fury attempting to sneak away with the Tesseract.
"You know," Fury began, "we have someone like Dave here."
"DO NOT SPEAK HIS NAME IN FRONT OF ME!" Loki roared, cutting Fury off, his voice echoing with fury. Fury stopped mid-sentence, startled by the outburst.
"You're afraid of him," Fury observed, his calm demeanor barely masking his concern.
Loki's face twisted in anger as he appeared behind Fury in a blink, punching him hard in the gut. "Keugh!" Fury coughed violently, blood dribbling from his mouth as he dropped to his knees.
"Forgive me," Loki said mockingly, crouching down to Fury's level. "I forget how fragile mortals are." He straightened, smirking as he reached for the Tesseract container.
"This is mine, by the way," he said nonchalantly, opening the case and retrieving the glowing Cube. With a wave of his scepter, he created a portal, summoning Widow, Selvig, and a few other enthralled agents to his side.
As they disappeared through the portal, Hawkeye rushed to Fury's side, helping him sit up. "What now, sir?" Hawkeye asked, his voice tense.
Fury grimaced, wiping blood from his mouth. "Call Dave," he managed to say before collapsing. Hawkeye immediately signaled for medical assistance as the chaos around them settled into an uneasy silence.
Elsewhere
Dave was meditating in his chamber, surrounded by an aura of calm, the faint golden glow of his Asgardian and Kamar-Taj training blending seamlessly. His senses sharpened as he felt a ripple in the world's energy.
"Something's wrong," he muttered, his eyes snapping open. The room seemed to respond, the air shifting around him. Before he could focus further, a communicator in the corner of the room activated, Hawkeye's voice crackling through despite the weak signal.
"Dave… it's Loki… He has the Tesseract. We need you. He's—" Fury's message cut off suddenly, followed by static.
Dave sighed, standing up and grabbing his coat. "Of course, it's Loki. Couldn't just take a vacation, could I?" he muttered. He stretched his hands, summoning A portal opened before him, courtesy of Kamar-Taj magic. "Time to see what Loki's been up to," he said, stepping through.
Arriving at the SHIELD facility, Dave met up with Maria Hill and Hawkeye, who greeted him with solemn expressions.
Dave glanced around, noticing people tending to the injured and collecting the fallen. The scene was grim. "What happened here?" he asked, his sharp gaze shifting between Maria and Hawkeye.
Hawkeye and Maria exchanged looks before Maria stepped forward to answer. "The World Council has been pressuring Fury to develop weapons capable of handling significant threats..."
"Like me?" Dave interjected, raising an eyebrow.
Maria hesitated before nodding. "Yes. Something like that," she admitted.
She handed him a file labeled "Tesseract Project." "This," she began, "is about the Tesseract cube—the artifact from Captain America's era."
Dave flipped through the file, his expression unreadable. "The cube that was recovered along with Captain America, frozen in the Arctic?"
Maria nodded. "We've been studying it ever since. At first, it was kept in a secure facility, but during one of our recovery operations, it was retrieved from the frozen sea while we were searching for Captain Rogers."
"And you've been using it to harness its energy?" Dave asked, his tone calm but laced with suspicion.
Maria sighed. "Yes. For years, we relied on its infinite energy for research and technological advancements. But there was an accident—a catastrophic explosion that killed everyone working on the project at the time."
Dave's eyes narrowed. "And now?"
"Recently, the research was resumed," Maria explained, her voice tinged with regret. "This time, it wasn't an explosion that caused the incident—it was someone else. Loki."
Continue," Dave instructed, his expression calm but focused.
Maria Hill took a deep breath before speaking. "The Cube opened a portal, we believe, and from it came Loki. He... mind-controlled Widow and Dr. Selvig, taking them with him."
Dave nodded, processing the information. "What else?" he asked.
Maria gestured toward Hawkeye. "We don't know much more, aside from what Clint overheard before Loki left."
Hawkeye stepped forward, his jaw tight. "As he was leaving, he mumbled something while holding the Cube: 'With this, my army can come here.'"
Dave folded his arms, his mind already working through the implications. "Well, I'm not surprised. Loki was most likely helped by someone. And he must have spoke of us, how we have so many people and such intelligent beings"
" A perfect planet from where one can harvest free labors, and its quite famous in outer space" Dave said, hiding loki real motives, the Infinite Stones.
" But why he would give away our planet?" Maria Hills asked.
"He hates Earth because we helped Thor," Dave continued, his tone sharp. "This is his twisted way of repaying that—two birds with one stone. Revenge on Thor and chaos for Earth."
He handed the file back to Maria. "So what now?" she asked, her voice steady but tinged with urgency.
"I'm leaving," Dave said bluntly. "Call me when Loki shows himself again."
Without another word, he created a glowing portal, stepping through it and vanishing. Maria and Hawkeye exchanged glances as the portal closed.
"At least he's on our side," Maria said, though her voice carried uncertainty.
Hawkeye nodded. "For now. But we've got work to do—starting with recruiting the others."
They both looked at the file in Maria's hand, labeled Avengers Initiative. The weight of what lay ahead hung in the air between them.
Dave returned to his home, not his Kamar-Taj study room. The quiet space brought a sense of calm, but he had other things on his mind. Grabbing his phone, he quickly dialed Tony.
"Hey, buddy! I was waiting for your call," Tony's voice came through, oozing his usual cocky charm. In the background, Dave could faintly hear the buzz of machinery and what sounded like someone—probably Happy—arguing with another engineer. "Please tell me you've landed yourself another one of your Devil Contracts or something equally dramatic."
*******
if you like my fanfic, and want to support me and read advance chaps, checkout my fanfic on Patreon :-
There are regular updates too.
patreon.com/FantasyLi
***