American comics: Starting with Luke the Maker

Chapter 146: Loki's Invasion, Recruiting Troops [Optional Chapter]

Somewhere in the mountains.

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A car suddenly sped out from a lush, rocky area, then split into two, then four, then eight, each choosing a direction to flee wildly.

At the same time, the ground suddenly shook violently, and then began to collapse inward. Dense cracks, caused by the earthquake, spread out from the mountainside in all directions.

Accompanying the roaring earth was the ascent of two armed helicopters into the sky, their bright white searchlights chasing after the off-road vehicles speeding away along the cracked ground.

The helicopter's machine guns spewed flames, and the air was filled with a hail of bullets whistling past. They eliminated vehicle after vehicle exposed in the searchlights, but ultimately only destroyed illusions.

"Damn it, when did you Midgardians become so powerful? Or are you and that person special genetic mutations?"

Inside an off-road vehicle speeding along a deserted highway, a man in elaborate foreign clothing sat in the back, holding a crescent scepter in his hand, his face hidden in the darkness. He massaged his aching chest while complaining to the driver.

"The power of technology," John Garrett said.

The man leaned forward, exposing his face in the front seat's light. If Phil Coulson were there, he would probably recognize him immediately.

Asgard's other prince, Thor's brother, the ambitious Loki.

Loki's gloomy face carried a hint of sarcasm: "Technology? Is that some Midgardian joke?"

"I'm serious, BOSS," Garrett replied, his expression unwavering, not even a flicker in his eyes, as he steadily drove the car.

"In that case, you must be a cyborg? I must say, I always thought Midgard was a backward place. In my mind, it's a remote backwater that no one wants to come to, but it seems you're not without your merits." Loki retreated back into the darkness of the back seat. He was in a very bad mood, perhaps because of that dark journey he didn't want to recall, or because he had to come to this backward and foolish place for some purpose.

"No, BOSS, it's the ring! The ring gives me powerful strength. It's a product of Hebron's technology, they have a lot of good stuff," Garrett raised a hand, revealing a simple ring on his finger in the light, and said seriously.

"A ring? I understand. Like some kind of magical equipment? Asgard and the other Nine Realms also have similar equipment, some so powerful they can be called artifacts. Like some old man's spear, or some reckless brute who appears with lightning and thunder, wielding a hammer to fight. This is a pleasant surprise. When I become the king of this planet, I want to meet that Hebron. Since he's a craftsman like the dwarves, at least he can forge me a magnificent suit of armor, right? Although I don't think his forging skills can compare to the dwarves who make artifacts." Loki slowly nodded in the darkness, understanding in his own way.

"You will get your wish, Dr. Erik Selvig and I will help you," Garrett said, glancing at Dr. Selvig in the passenger seat, who was chuckling.

"Yes, yes, I can't help with the fighting, but I can contribute all my knowledge. You've shown me a brand new world, it's so grand, beautiful, and shocking. I'm happy to help you achieve your goals," Dr. Selvig said with a smile.

"That's good, but now I want to ask, where are we going?" Loki looked at the darkness outside the window and asked.

"A secret base. We'll see which way the wind is blowing and then make an execution plan based on the target. We might also need to recruit some people. We might need your scepter then, BOSS," Garrett calmly replied.

"Okay, use it as you please," Loki replied flippantly.

...

"What happened?"

On the ruins, Nick Fury, in a black trench coat, jumped down from the helicopter with his men and asked Clint Barton, Hawkeye, who was sitting on the edge of the ruins, looking disheveled.

"The Tesseract went out of control," Clint stood up and said, looking at his superior officer.

"Explain in detail." Nick glanced at the completely collapsed and destroyed underground base, and forced down the impatience in his heart, and said: "What you said vaguely on the phone was that the invaders stole the Tesseract and kidnapped Dr. Selvig? How did the invaders come?"

"The Cosmic Cube," Clint repeated: "The power of the Cube suddenly went out of control and opened a portal, transporting a man in strange clothes, holding a crescent-shaped scepter. He's very good at using a kind of deceptive magic that can disrupt people's vision and senses. Agent Garrett and Dr. Selvig were both controlled by that scepter. All the other researchers and agents present were killed."

"Agent Garrett was also controlled?" Nick's face rarely showed seriousness. This was a senior-level agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. No one knew how much connections and energy a person who joined S.H.I.E.L.D. at almost the same time as him secretly controlled, even Nick, as the director, didn't know.

"Agent Garrett attacked me." Clint looked embarrassed, "I couldn't beat him."

"Are you sure they took the Cube?"

"Very sure."

"Do you remember the invader's face?"

"I remember it vividly."

"Sketch it out. In any case, the Cosmic Cube must be retrieved," Nick said in a sinister tone. He didn't know if the Kree from the past had returned, but he knew that the Cosmic Cube must not be controlled and utilized by the invaders. Rather than falling into the hands of others, he would rather sell it to that black marketeer, Luke.

"Yes, sir!" Clint nodded.

"Since Agent Garrett and Dr. Selvig are also controlled, notify Agent Hill to track down the whereabouts of the two worldwide," Nick instructed Agent Phil behind him.

Phil took out his phone and turned to dial Agent Hill's phone at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

"Agent Garrett is very familiar with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s methods. He himself is a hunter with a lot of anti-tracking experience. To be honest, many of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents' skills were taught and trained by him. Ordinary tracking methods may not work on him," Clint raised his concerns.

"Of course I know, but even if I know it's not very useful, I can't not do it. They can't hide forever." Nick's expression was cold. He believed that finding the other party's whereabouts was only a matter of time, and before finding the other party, he would first gather the combat power that he could gather.

The invasion of dimensional gods is the responsibility of the mages. I wonder if the mages are willing to lend a hand in this kind of invasion that may be from outside the earth? If there is help from the mages, it would be a great help to their mobility. Even if the other party doesn't help fight, as long as they can open a portal to this side when they find the other party and teleport the people he has gathered over, it would be a great help.

...

Inside an old house, a dim yellow light from a disc player scattered some of the darkness in the room. Bruce Banner looked at the little girl who ran away quickly and headed for the darkness, and then looked at the female agent Natasha Romanoff, whom he had met once, who appeared in the house, and his mood was complicated for a while.

"Is the child so young that you have to train her how to lie?" Dr. Banner stood there, looked back at the little girl who led the way and disappeared after tricking him over, and shrugged his shoulders and asked.

"It's their way of survival." Natasha walked to the table and invited: "Would you like to sit down and talk?"

"I don't think we have anything to talk about." Despite saying that, Banner still walked over and sat down opposite Natasha.

"We're here to ask for your help." Natasha's beautiful face was full of sincerity.

"Help? I thought you would lock me up. How many soldiers are ambushed outside?" Banner smiled and asked a sharp question that surprised Natasha.

"I'm willing to be more candid, so I can answer your question. But they are only used to control the worst situation. I hope you can understand." Natasha said softly.

"Indeed very candid, so what do you need my help with?" Dr. Banner put his hands on the table, somewhat interested.

"I need you, Dr., to use your expertise and knowledge to help find something."

"What will happen to me afterwards?"

"Afterwards, you are free to come and go."

"Won't you imprison me?"

"Of course."

"Can you make the decision?"

"It's the commander's intention. He has already settled all the troubles for you. At least while you are helping S.H.I.E.L.D. with work, a certain general with signs of resurgence has no mood for the time being, and will not come to bother you. You can think of it as a deal."

Between the back and forth questions and answers, Dr. Banner asked the last and most crucial question.

"It seems that you are indeed very powerful and have extraordinary energy. So, I have one last question, are you not afraid of me? There is a monster in my body that can lose control at any time. Being in the same space with me will make life safety impossible to guarantee."

"This is indeed a threat. If we say we don't care, I'm afraid that would be an insincere deception. But Dr. Banner, we may have a way to keep you relatively stable and calm, living like a normal person," Natasha said softly.

"Don't try to deceive me!" Dr. Banner suddenly stood up excitedly and shouted louder.

There was a fine rustling of footsteps outside the window for a while. Natasha was startled by the sudden outburst of the doctor, and her body leaned back against the back of the chair, but the next moment, she made eye contact with his still calm eyes, ignoring Dr. Banner's face that was approaching, and turned her head to press the earpiece communicator to give the people outside the order that everything was normal.

"You know, Dr., we won't tell such a transparent lie. No one can be sure about the future. What I can guarantee is that every conversation I have with you at this moment is true, without any false deception. We know that you have been looking for a way to restore your calm, or to live like a normal person, and we have a way. At least for now, it may be the most effective way."

After telling the people outside to retreat, Natasha raised her head and said to the doctor.

"How to prove it?" Banner forcibly suppressed the emotions in his heart, and slowly recovered his calm with the skills he had honed. He slowly sat down and asked.

Natasha took out a palm-sized jewelry box from her pocket, placed it on the table, and carefully pushed it towards Dr. Banner opposite her.

"What is this?" Banner asked cautiously while looking at Natasha, while reaching out to take the box pushed over by the other party.

"Something good that can calm you down," Natasha said. "Open it."

Dr. Banner opened the box, and saw that it looked like an ordinary ring box, and a ring inlaid with a soybean-sized sapphire came into his eyes.

"A ring?" Banner was stunned.

"Put it on." Natasha motioned Banner to take out the ring and put it on his finger.

Banner took out the ring with suspicion. The moment he touched the ring, he did feel an unusual tranquility, as if all the thoughts and distractions in his mind had been cleared. He didn't have to constantly control his emotions that might lose control at any time, because now he was full of a long-lost peace and relaxation.

Looking at Dr. Banner, who couldn't wait to put the ring on his finger, Natasha also breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.

"What is this?" Dr. Banner stroked the ring fondly, and said happily. Although he didn't know whether the ring was as magical as Natasha said, its effect did make him calm and peaceful.

"Hebron's latest technology product. It's very rare and very expensive, and even S.H.I.E.L.D. can't get many of them," Natasha explained: "It's not a gemstone, but a crystal of purified energy. It is consumable. This is the reward that S.H.I.E.L.D. has given for your help this time."

"Hebron? Maybe I should meet the inventor of this technology. Or would he be willing to give me a job?" Dr. Banner blinked. He knew that he should be happy at this moment after hearing this information, and the emotional fluctuations might be great, but under the effect of the ring, he was still very calm.

"Can we leave right away? They're in a hurry over there," Natasha stood up.

"Yes, I can just pack up a bit," Banner also stood up.

...

"What? You saw my brother? Where is he?" On a bustling street with neon lights flashing and still full of people even at night, Thor, dressed like a passerby on the street, holding a mobile phone in his hand, roared ecstatically to Phil on the other end of the phone.

"..."

"It's not clear on the phone? Then give me an address, I'll take a taxi over to find you," Thor said hastily.

...

"It seems that this prince has adapted well. In the past, he would have picked up his hammer and flown over. Should we send someone to pick him up? The taxi he took can't get here."

On the newly completed and tested S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, Nick looked at Phil, who hung up the phone, and said softly. Hearing this, Phil looked embarrassed.

"Sir, he flew over with a hammer," Phil corrected softly.

Soon, a message was sent to Nick's hands by the people below.

"Sir, there's an unidentified flying object approaching our position at supersonic speed. Impact is estimated in approximately three minutes. Shall we intercept?"

Nick and Phil exchanged a look.

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