"What is going on?" A sharp, furious shout erupted.
Clutching the Mind Scepter, Loki was practically screaming, his voice hoarse. Gone was the composed demeanor of a noble prince... instead, he now resembled a hysterical shrew.
An hour earlier, with the combined efforts of HYDRA and Hawkeye, Loki had been successfully rescued from the Helicarrier. Along the way, they had plunged S.H.I.E.L.D. into utter chaos. The Hulk and Thor had clashed violently, nearly tearing the already precarious ship apart.
In the end, one had leapt off the vessel and vanished, while the other had been thrown into Loki's former prison cell and sent into freefall from nine thousand meters. Nick Fury must have been tearing his hair out trying to manage the aftermath.
The so-called "world's mightiest team of superheroes" had collapsed in mere moments, crumbling without any outside interference.
This had been exactly what Loki wanted; to keep S.H.I.E.L.D. too preoccupied to interfere while he activated the Tesseract and ushered in the vast Chitauri army.
But when Loki regained his freedom and prepared to execute the final step of his plan, his mind-controlled loyal hound (Barton) delivered devastating news: the Tesseract, along with Dr. Selvig, had disappeared.
The shock was like a bolt from the blue, leaving Loki utterly dumbfounded.
"Useless fools! My grand scheme..." The Asgardian prince was so furious, he could barely speak.
He had orchestrated this entire performance... stealing the Tesseract, surrendering himself to S.H.I.E.L.D., manipulating and dividing the Avengers. All that remained was to open the portal to the stars, and he would have been crowned the sole ruler of this planet and bathed in adoration.
It should have been a flawless play, ending with him wearing a crown and receiving the worship of billions.
But now, the critical prop, the Tesseract, was missing. It was like being on the verge of victory in a hard-fought game, only for the screen to go black at the last moment.
The sheer psychological whiplash sent the Asgardian prince tumbling from the clouds into the mud. For a moment, he couldn't even process it...
Without the Tesseract, he couldn't summon the Chitauri. Worse, he had failed the task given to him by that cosmic tyrant.
The thought of facing that wrath made Loki shudder violently, a chill creeping up from the depths of his heart. He had never imagined it would end like this.
"Who took the Tesseract?" Loki demanded sharply.
He had to recover that cube, or the consequences would be unthinkable. If he angered that Titan, not even Odin could save him.
As the Chitauri elder had once threatened, there would be no place in the universe for Loki to hide.
"The Sentinel," a HYDRA operative answered.
Loki's face twisted in confusion. He hadn't been on Earth long and had never heard that name. The only figures he was familiar with were S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Avengers.
HYDRA had provided detailed intelligence, allowing the Asgardian prince to craft a meticulous plan targeting each Avenger.
"A dangerous individual," Barton explained, "S.H.I.E.L.D. has no records of his origins or identity. His first appearance was during a battle where Spider-Man was in danger, where he displayed overwhelming power. Nick Fury classified him as a high-level threat, on par with the Hulk. And later, during the Hulk's rampage in New York, it was the Sentinel who stopped him. No one knows his motives. Even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s full investigation turned up nothing. It's as if he doesn't exist."
"Damn it all!" Loki cursed under his breath.
He hated this loss of control. Not even knowing who his opponent was felt like punching air, leaving him grasping at nothing.
The Asgardian prince who had always relished his role as the mastermind was now experiencing the same frustration of being toyed with while unable to trace his adversary.
Just as Loki was stewing in fury, the Mind Scepter in his hand suddenly vibrated. His expression darkened as he sank into the mental realm.
In the barren wasteland of his mindscape, the spectral figure of the Chitauri elder materialized amidst jagged rocks. His serpent-like gaze locked onto Loki, dripping with malice and mockery.
"You have kept us waiting too long." The cold voice was thick with displeasure.
The Chitauri army had been ready for some time, yet Loki had failed to send the signal.
Loki hurriedly explained, "There was an unforeseen complication–"
"Thanos is disappointed," the elder cut him off sharply, the phantom form stepping closer, "He granted you the supreme scepter, an unstoppable army, and yet you couldn't even accomplish this simple task."
Loki tried to defend himself, but the elder's frigid stare silenced him. The Chitauri commander had long coveted the scepter's power, eager to wrest control from Loki's hands.
To the inscrutable cosmic tyrant, there was only one objective; the Tesseract.
But Loki and the Chitauri elder had very different priorities. They were not titans standing among the universe's mightiest. This planet's abundant resources, the division of the Nine Realms, these were the spoils they fought over...
Loki sought to conquer Earth as a stepping stone to the Nine Realms, while the elder desired plunder to strengthen his own forces.
Their ambitions were irreconcilable...
"I need more time–"
"Time is a luxury you no longer have," the elder sneered triumphantly, "Thanos is already on his way. Upon my counsel, he has decided to take matters into his own hands."
Loki's mind reeled. If the Mad Titan intervened personally, what credit would there be left for him?
"You wretched stray," the spectral figure taunted, voice dripping with disdain, "You'll soon be put back in your place."
The Chitauri, who revered strength above all, despised Loki's kind... those who climbed by deceit and honeyed words. They bowed only to true power.
As the Iron Chancellor of Germany once said, "The truth is only within the range of cannons." The same principle held in the vast cosmos.
The Chitauri submitted to Thanos because none dared defy the Mad Titan's will.
"I am the future king of Asgard!" Loki roared, clinging to his last shred of dignity.
"Asgard?" The elder's grin turned sinister, "There will be no Asgard. Thanos has decided to pay your father, the so-called All-Father, Odin, a personal visit."
The illusion shattered, but the elder's words lingered like an icy current seeping into Loki's bones.
Panic flickered in Loki's eyes. His grip tightened around the scepter as he instinctively looked toward the distant sky.
Somewhere out there was Asgard...