"Stop right there. This area is off-limits. No further!" Armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents raised their weapons, trying to intimidate Thor and Liu A'dou.
But Liu A'dou wasn't going to be scared off by a couple of rifles. This visit wasn't for pleasantries anymore—they were firmly in the "force" part of "first words, then action." Without a word, Liu A'dou lifted his right hand, and the agents' weapons flew out of their hands.
The Force Technique—Disarm.
Thor let out a whistle. That move was flashy.
The guards, stunned by their sudden disarmament, found they couldn't move. All they could do was watch helplessly as Thor and the mysterious robed man walked right into the S.H.I.E.L.D. branch building.
Along the way, more armed guards charged in, but they were all dealt with by Liu A'dou and his Force powers. Still, Liu A'dou wasn't entirely satisfied. He hadn't yet had a chance to use his lightsaber. And without it, his act felt unfinished.
Luckily, S.H.I.E.L.D. delivered just the opportunity. As they passed the long corridor and reached the office area, two rows of guards blocked their path. Guns raised, safeties off—one pull of the trigger would unleash a storm of bullets.
"Loki must be just beyond them," Liu A'dou muttered, stepping in front of Thor. "Leave them to me. You go get Loki."
Thor paused for a moment. He was hesitant to harm humans, and worried about Loki, so he nodded. "Be careful. I'll be back soon."
"Nobody move!" one guard barked, voice shaking with tension.
"The ones who shouldn't move… are you," Liu A'dou said, raising his hand and freezing them all in place. "Go, Thor."
Thor nodded and slipped past the guards, heading deeper into the building.
Liu A'dou lowered his hand, releasing the stasis. "Thor's gone. Now we can take our time. Check your weapons—are you fully loaded? I'd really like to see just how strong Earth's warriors are."
"Arrogant punk!" the lead guard growled. The guy might be with Thor, but this attitude was too much. What did he mean by "see Earth's strength"? The nerve!
"If you're mad, go ahead and shoot. I won't mind." Liu A'dou had already pulled the hilt of his lightsaber from his belt. "You foolish Earthlings have no idea how vast the universe really is." Time to go full method actor. Liu A'dou completely slipped into his Jedi persona, speaking with the disdain of someone who truly believed they weren't from this planet.
VMMM—
The lightsaber ignited. Earth's history was about to remember this moment.
He slowly swung the blade, letting its glowing arc slice through the air. "Come on, then."
Meanwhile, Thor had reached a heavy steel door. He could feel Loki behind it. One swing of Mjolnir blasted the door open. "Loki!"
Inside, Loki stood on a raised platform in heavy restraints. Thick iron cuffs bound his wrists, chains locked around his neck, each controlled by guards on either side. These chains were electric—any movement from Loki, and a surge of voltage would zap him like a shrimp on a grill.
Surrounding the room were massive wall-mounted displays. On the other side of those screens sat government officials, questioning Loki remotely. They were too scared to be in the same room—he was a god, after all. If he had any strange powers, being face to face would be too risky.
Thor's expression darkened. This was a disgrace. Loki was still Odin's son—how could mortals treat him like this?
"Thor," Loki sneered, "I thought you'd let them humiliate me, let Asgard's dignity be trampled."
"Shut up, Loki!" Thor barked. He stormed forward and smashed the chains with his hammer. Then he turned to the cameras and spoke loudly: "I am Thor, son of Odin, representative of Asgard. Loki is my brother, also son of Odin. No matter what crimes he has committed, it is not your place to judge him."
The government officials frowned at Thor's tone. They were used to having the final say and didn't appreciate his righteous bluster. "Thor, this is Earth. Watch your words."
Loki stayed silent, curious to see what Thor would do next. These mortals had no idea what kind of offense they were committing. Back in the old days, this would have earned them a divine purge.
"Loki and the Tesseract will be taken back to Asgard by me," Thor declared. "No one can stop this. Remember, mortals, I'm the one who protected you from the Chitauri."
"Even without you, we had Iron Man and the Hulk," one of the officials on the screen replied, clearly unfazed. "We also had our military, which hasn't even been deployed yet. So I don't agree that you protected Earth. We protected our planet."
Loki laughed. He knew Thor's effort was pointless. A complete waste of time. These mortals didn't understand anything, yet they were full of arrogance. Did they really think some tech advancements made them unbeatable in the universe? Loki could hardly keep from laughing out loud.
Thor's face darkened even more. He snapped, "Your so-called protection was firing a nuke at a city, trying to kill both innocent people and the Chitauri in one go? Is this the kind of leadership ruling this nation?" The disgust in his tone was clear. "There's no room for negotiation. Loki and the Tesseract must come with me. You have no idea how vast and dangerous the universe is. The Tesseract is a power you cannot wield. It will only bring disaster."
The officials went silent for a moment. Then, a woman spoke. "Thor, we mean no harm. We don't want conflict with Asgard. But humanity is too weak in the universe. We need to make sure we have enough power to protect Earth."
"If Earth's ever in danger, Asgard won't turn a blind eye," Thor replied.
Suddenly, the screen changed. Now it showed footage of Liu A'dou swinging his lightsaber. He wasn't attacking—just defending himself with impeccable skill. Each shot fired at him was deflected with his saber, redirected to strike the agents' knees, disabling them without killing. These guards had been S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, until they were taken out by their own bullets.
"Thor," the same woman said, "the man you brought doesn't seem as peaceful as you claim."
"He's a Jedi Knight, not of Asgard," Thor explained, repeating Liu A'dou's cover story. "He's a guardian of order, an envoy of the Force. He's assisting me in retrieving the Tesseract. The whole universe knows it's on Earth now. You have no ability to protect it. Look at your so-called elites—none of them could even touch a Jedi's robes."
Thor kept his tone calm. "And the universe holds beings far beyond Jedi. If they come to Earth, you won't stand a chance."
"We still have Superman," one of the officials insisted stubbornly.
"The Chitauri have an army," Thor countered. "An army big enough to fill the whole solar system. Not even your Superman can defend Earth against that."
So Thor played the bad cop, and Liu A'dou the good cop—or maybe it was the other way around. Either way, they'd rattled the room. Especially after seeing the Jedi lightsaber technique—taking on twenty enemies alone and still holding back. If the universe was full of people like that, Earth was in serious trouble.
The discussion shifted. If other alien races were eyeing the Tesseract, there really was no way Earth could hold onto it. Their understanding of the universe was still far too limited. Each alien showing up was more powerful than the last. Who knew when someone even stronger than Superman might arrive? The Tesseract might be amazing, but only if they lived long enough to study it.
Honestly, these officials were out of their minds. They hadn't even considered Thor's strength seriously. It was only because Thor had grown calmer over time. If he'd still been the hothead from before, he'd have taken the Tesseract by force already.
These officials had completely misread Thor's goodwill as weakness. Just because he was polite, they thought they could push him around. As if everyone from Asgard was some pushover.
They were truly overestimating themselves. Even Liu A'dou, a walking cheat code, knew when to back down. He knew when to lower his profile, stay behind the scenes, and only show his cards when needed. Whenever he made a move, it was with a mask on.
Earth wasn't ready for swagger. It was still the time for patience and building up strength. But this country had no long history, no deep roots—just muscle, no wisdom. Maybe it was time aliens—real or fake—taught them a lesson.