"I'm leaving. I'll find the Tesseract's location," Noah said before departing the base.
Events had already diverged significantly from what he remembered from the movies. Loki was replaced by Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight, and they had also taken the Tesseract.
The scepter with the Mind Stone in Corvus's possession had caused him some trouble, but fortunately, this time none of the personnel on the base fell under the Stone's control.
"Corvus and Proxima clearly aren't scientists. How do they plan to build a portal for the Chitauri army's invasion?" he wondered as he flew home.
In the movie, Loki used the scepter to control Dr. Erik Selvig, who then created the device to open the portal. But judging by their behavior, Corvus and Proxima didn't seem like the type to build such a device.
"Perhaps that pink guy who was with them is their scientist?" Noah recalled another figure: a cowering pink being standing beside Thanos's children. Most likely, that was their scientist, not just a random extra.
Why was he certain that Corvus and his companions were still on Earth and planning to open a portal for the Chitauri army? Because after they escaped with the Tesseract, he received a new mission.
[A-rank Mission: Defend Earth!]
[A powerful army watches Earth from the depths of space. Enemies from space plan to open a portal to bring their army through. Summoner, stop them or destroy the army if they invade.]
This mission appeared on his mission panel as soon as the portal created by the Space Stone opened.
Earlier, when he was observing the base from above and checking his panel, there was only a B-rank mission that involved securing the Tesseract. He assumed it was a standard mission that would conclude with retrieving the cube. But his goal was the mission related to the "Battle of New York," so he didn't accept it yet. When the portal opened, the mission he needed finally appeared.
"However, the Battle of New York might not happen at all. Loki chose Stark Tower's rooftop due to his nature, while Corvus and Proxima will likely open the portal in any random location as soon as they're ready."
The mission could be completed in two ways: either stop them before they opened the portal, or wait for the Chitauri army to invade and destroy it. Noah decided to choose the second path—more challenging, but potentially more rewarding. Besides, he wanted to study Chitauri technology.
In the movie, they seemed like a relatively weak enemy, but in reality, they would likely be much more formidable. After all, this was Thanos's army.
"I need to go home and try to locate them," Noah decided. He waved his hand, creating a portal before him, and returned home.
...
Whoosh~
A blue flash illuminated a deserted area, and three figures emerged from the light.
"Ugh..." The Kree scientist collapsed to the ground.
Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight stumbled out of the portal, slightly hunched over.
Clink!
A blue cube fell to the ground.
Corvus straightened up, walked over to it, and picked it up.
"We have the Space Stone. Are we returning to recover?" Proxima asked, glancing around the area and at the sprawled Kree scientist. Then she approached her husband.
"No, our task isn't just to retrieve the Space Stone. We also need to assess the strength of this planet. It's one of the Mad Titan's orders," Corvus said, clutching the blue cube in his hand.
"And what are we going to do now? That guy was incredibly strong. How many more like him are on this planet?" Proxima asked. If it weren't for the Space Stone, they would have already perished. This thought filled her with fear. She hadn't expected such powerful beings to exist on this small planet.
"His power was likely derived from the armor he wore. However, that technology clearly doesn't belong to this planet. We need to gather more information about its current state, and then open a portal for the Chitauri army," Corvus replied, glancing at the Kree scientist still lying on the ground.
"Kree, if you don't get up immediately, you won't have to get up for the rest of your life," he said menacingly.
The pink Kree tried to play dead, but his ruse was easily seen through. Corvus wasn't going to tolerate his behavior for much longer.
"M-my lord, I just haven't recovered from the teleportation yet," the scientist said, forcing a smile as he scrambled to his feet. His gaze immediately fell on the blue cube in the general's hand.
Now he finally understood what they were looking for. It was an artifact capable of traversing space. Its power was staggering. If it fell into the hands of the Kree Empire... No! The scientist dismissed the thought. He was too insignificant, and before him stood the subordinates of the Mad Titan himself. He needed to focus on survival, not impossible dreams.
"I have a task for you, Kree. If you fail, you will die a painful death," Corvus said, gripping the scientist's shoulder.
"Yes, my lord, what are your orders?" the Kree replied, trembling. He didn't know what they wanted from him, but the grinding of the general's armor made it clear: disobedience would lead to his demise.
"You said that if you had access to the Space Stone, you could open a portal large enough for the Chitauri ships to pass through. Now I have it. Did you lie to me?" Corvus asked, raising the blue cube.
The Kree scientist gulped, his face illuminated by the blue light. He had indeed said that earlier, but back then, his words were merely an attempt to save his life. However, now, if he admitted it was impossible, Corvus definitely wouldn't spare him.
"My lord, I need specialized equipment to assemble the portal device. We don't have the necessary resources here..." the scientist explained. Aboard the Chitauri ship, they had everything they needed to create the device. But now they were on an unfamiliar planet, and he couldn't create it out of thin air.
Corvus loosened his grip, looking around. They found themselves in a deserted, rocky area, with no signs of human habitation. It seemed the first step in their mission was to study this planet.
--------
You can read up to 200+ advanced chapters and support me at patreon.com/raaaaven
Daily +2 chapters updates