Paris, France.
Wearing a long black coat that helped him blend into the crowd, Loki walked casually through the streets of Paris. He visited the famous Arc de Triomphe and spent time at the Louvre museum, and then made his way to see the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral. The cathedral had recently reopened in December 2024 after five years of restoration following the devastating 2019 fire, and its newly restored towers had just opened to the public in September 2025. Loki observed the streams of visitors entering the cathedral, marveling at how the French people had brought their beloved monument back to life.
As he walked through the crowd of tourists and locals, people seemed to have not noticed Loki at all. He would occasionally flicker in and out of visibility, disappearing and reappearing, yet everyone continued to do their own things without any reaction.
When Loki reappeared fully visible, he was already sitting comfortably in the restaurant on the Eiffel Tower. He politely asked the waiter for some dishes and sat there waiting patiently for them to arrive, turning his head to look at the scenic view outside the windows.
At this moment, someone unexpectedly sat down directly across from Loki at his table.
Turning around with curiosity, Loki looked at the other person carefully. It was a woman with a graceful and athletic figure, but Loki could clearly sense the astonishing superhuman power within her body. She was definitely no ordinary person.
Showing the evil god Loki's signature mischievous smile, he looked at her and said with amusement, "Are you a human super-powered person from France? Are you here to arrest me? I thought people on Earth were forgetful and no one would remember me after all this time."
Erica looked at Loki directly and said with composure, "The evil god Loki, the prince of Asgard, the man who almost destroyed New York completely, we will naturally not forget you. However, there is one thing you guessed wrong. I am not a super-powered person from France, and I am not here to arrest you at all. I am here to express our organization's sincere goodwill to you."
"Organization?" Loki leaned back casually in his chair and gestured for the waiter to serve him, then continued with interest, "I seldom receive goodwill from anyone, but an organization on Earth has shown goodwill to me. It seems that you are not the so-called superheroes then."
Leaning slightly forward on the table, Erica showed her graceful figure and replied confidently, "We are certainly not those hypocritical superheroes. I come from the Shadow Council, and I am here specifically to invite you to join us."
"Join?" Loki looked at Erica with a playful expression and continued dismissively, "Sorry, but I am not interested in joining your organization. I have always been a loner who works alone. The only time I have ever teamed up with someone, the results were not very good at all."
Erica, completely unfazed by Loki's immediate refusal, said persuasively, "Do not be so extreme in your thinking. Believe me, our Shadow Council is absolutely your best choice. The purpose of our organization is to enable members to help each other and leverage each other's unique strengths. If you want to achieve something significant on Earth, we are absolutely your best choice."
"Help each other. Then can you help me escape from that guy who is chasing me? If you can do so, I will go back with you and join you. There is nothing impossible about that," Loki said with a challenging tone.
As Loki finished speaking those words, the already gloomy Parisian sky darkened even further. The clouds above gradually thickened with alarming speed. A massive bolt of lightning suddenly shot out from the clouds, landing directly on the top of the Eiffel Tower and crashing down with tremendous force.
Hearing the deafening sound of lightning and thunder, Erica suddenly realized something. Her previously calm face gradually became solemn and serious. Clearly, she had also suddenly remembered who was pursuing Loki across the world!
"Mister Loki, please wait just a moment. I will notify the others immediately," Erica said urgently.
Without any hesitation, Erica pressed the small communicator on her ear and spoke directly into it, "There has been a problem with the mission. Thor, the God of Thunder, will arrive to capture the target if nothing unexpected happens. What should I do? Okay, I understand!"
After ending the brief call, Erica immediately looked at Loki and said reassuringly, "Mister Loki, our help will be here very soon."
As Erica finished speaking those words, a swirling portal suddenly appeared right beside both Erica and Loki. At that exact moment, a muffled crashing sound and a slight vibration echoed from the Eiffel Tower structure outside the window.
Turning quickly, Loki immediately saw Thor standing imposingly atop the Eiffel Tower, holding Stormbreaker firmly in his hand!
With a wicked grin spreading across his face, Loki gestured a mocking goodbye to Thor and immediately followed Erica into the portal, quickly disappearing from Thor's sight completely.
Watching Loki disappear right in front of him, Thor tightly grasped Stormbreaker in his hand with frustration. At this moment, a bolt of lightning suddenly fell from the sky and struck Thor directly. When the lightning disappeared, Thor, who had been standing on top of the Eiffel Tower, also disappeared without a trace, without attracting anyone's attention among the crowds below.
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At the same time, in a Shadow Council stronghold.
Loki walked out of the portal and looked around at the vast hall surrounding him. He said with genuine surprise, "What kind of place is this? It looks like it has quite a long and interesting history."
As Loki's words fell, Mordo, whose face was divided into two distinct parts by a vertical scar, walked out from the shadows beside him. He said directly to Loki, "This is one of the organization's many strongholds. The Shadow Council does not have a fixed headquarters, but it has many strongholds scattered across the world. Every time we hold a meeting, we will randomly choose one of them for security purposes. If you agree to join us, then when the meeting starts tomorrow, you will be a member sitting at this table just like us."
Loki followed Mordo's guidance and looked at the long table behind him, smiling knowingly and saying, "I think things have come to this point now, and I should have no real possibility of refusing, do I?"
"The strength of our Shadow Council is not much worse than that of the Avengers. You can join with complete confidence," Mordo assured him.
A third voice suddenly fell into the conversation, and the Mandarin walked out from a nearby passage. He came to stand beside Mordo and Erica, looking at Loki directly.
"Loki, we are all intelligent people, so I do not think many things need to be spelled out so clearly. If you help us, we will naturally help you too. As for how we can help you, that depends on your vision and ambition. For example, we could make you the future Lord of Asgard, and all you would have to offer in return would be a small favor."
Loki glanced at the Mandarin's dark green dragon-shaped hands with interest, then suddenly smiled and extended his own hand forward.
"If that is the case, then we will be happy to work together!" Loki declared.
The Mandarin extended his hand and shook Loki's firmly, nodding and saying, "This is a wise decision. Happy working together indeed!"
Loki's joining was a natural progression from there. The next day, at the Shadow Council meeting, the resolution to admit him was unanimously approved. After the unanimous vote was completed, Sebastian Shaw, through M.O.D.O.K.'s hidden observation, learned of the news and nodded in satisfaction. Now, with Loki operating in the shadows and M.O.D.O.K. embedded within the Shadow Council, Sebastian felt confident he could strike a fatal blow at the crucial moment, completely eliminating this formidable threat before Thanos arrived on Earth!
However, this is not the most urgent matter at the moment. The most important thing now is the upcoming Illuminati meeting. Sebastian plans to explain the full problem of Thanos at this meeting and seek further help from the other members. If he succeeds, then the most critical part of Sebastian's plan can really be put on the agenda.
Once the most critical part is successful, even if facing a lord of a dimension or a demon god, Sebastian will have the power to protect himself!
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