Ada had caused a major incident. But surprisingly, she wasn't punished. She kept her role as acting director. Even Hydra didn't seem too angry about the destruction of the alien gear. It kind of made sense. Back during World War II, Hydra had already built energy weapons using the Tesseract. They went toe-to-toe with Captain America's special unit. So now, this bit of alien tech probably didn't impress them much. What they really cared about was the Tesseract itself.
That topic was hot. Debates about it dragged on for days with no conclusion in sight.
Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agents were still being interrogated, which rubbed both Tony and Banner the wrong way. That wasn't how you treat heroes who'd just saved the world. Tony was straight-up pissed. Banner felt like he'd been played—again. They'd promised to leave him alone once the Tesseract was recovered, and clearly, that promise meant nothing.
Only Thor seemed relaxed. He was still eating and drinking like nothing had happened. But even that mood didn't last long. Because today, without asking him, the U.S. government had taken Loki away for a private interrogation. That made Thor furious.
Loki had been a central figure in the invasion, just as important as the Tesseract. The government wanted him to spill everything. They also wanted to know if the Chitauri would launch another attack. Fear had set in—especially among the top brass. They worried another wave of aliens could descend at any moment. And with or without the Avengers, Earth wouldn't stand a chance.
They assumed Loki wouldn't be honest with Thor around. Maybe they suspected that gods had their own loyalties, that they wouldn't tell humans the whole truth. So they took him away in secret.
To Thor, it was an act of betrayal. After fighting tooth and nail to save New York, this was how they treated him?
"My old friend, why so angry?" came a calm voice as Liu A'dou watched Thor sweep everything off the table in a rage.
Thor flinched. He thought he was alone in the room. He turned around and saw someone wearing a dark brown hood, a long coat that concealed everything, and beneath it, a light gray robe tied with a leather belt. A strange cylindrical gadget hung at the waist.
The voice was familiar, but the outfit threw him off. He was sure he didn't know anyone dressed like that. "Who are you?"
"Old friend, you've already forgotten me?" The man dropped his hood. "It's me—Liu A'dou."
"Liu?!" Thor's eyes widened. He hadn't expected this visit. "Well, I'll be damned! Long time no see!" He stepped forward and gave Liu a bear hug. Good friends deserved a good welcome.
"Thor, you haven't changed a bit. But you, my friend, should be ashamed. You've been on Earth this whole time and didn't even come see me. So I'm here to drink with you today." Liu A'dou grinned.
Yep, he came all this way just to catch up. Even the best friendships fade without effort, and Liu didn't want that. He'd snuck into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s guest housing just to share a drink with Thor. As for the Jedi robes? That was just his fanboy side showing. He still wasn't over the lightsaber hype, so he'd made himself a Jedi outfit—just for fun. Sadly, nobody in this world recognized Jedi.
Thor looked a little troubled. "Liu, I'm really not in the mood right now."
"I can see that. What happened? What's got you so worked up?" Liu asked. After a battle like that, he figured everyone would be celebrating. Clearly, he underestimated how messy things had gotten.
Thor vented it all—Loki being taken away, the lack of trust, the frustration within the Avengers. He didn't hold back.
In the movies, it always seemed simple—fight a battle, eat some shawarma, then everyone parts ways. Loki and the Tesseract would be taken back to Asgard by Thor, end of story. But clearly, in real life, not everyone was ready to let go of the Tesseract. And who could blame them? That thing was a super energy source. With it, one could build weapons of mass destruction or power an entire nation with clean energy. Who wouldn't want that?
"I see…" Liu A'dou thought to himself. Those people weren't wrong either. Precisely because things were so unstable now, they didn't want to give up the Tesseract. No one was willing to let go of their last trump card. But at the same time, they were stuck worrying that the Tesseract might attract another disaster.
The Tesseract had become a double-edged sword. Knowing how to balance the risks and benefits required serious caution.
"Liu, you're clever. Got any ideas?"
Liu A'dou stroked his chin. It was simple. "Very simple. We find Loki. Go straight to the point. Let Asgard make its stance clear: take Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard."
He had it all worked out. The Tesseract couldn't stay in America.
"You're coming with me?" Thor asked.
"Of course. We're friends. But before we go, we need to set some ground rules," Liu said. He couldn't reveal his true identity, so he decided to pretend to be a Jedi when facing those officials.
He shared his made-up backstory with Thor. The god of thunder could only shake his head and laugh. Liu was something else. In such a short time, he'd come up with a flawless Jedi organization complete with history, values, and mission. If Thor hadn't traveled across the Nine Realms, he might have believed it was real.
But he didn't quite get it. "Why not just tell them who you really are? You're my friend. That makes you a friend of Asgard. Why hide?"
Liu smiled. "Because it's fun."
Thor didn't get what was fun about secrecy, but he respected his friend's wishes and agreed to go along.
Finding Loki was easy. Just a quick hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s systems revealed that he'd been taken to their New York branch.
Thor stretched out his hand, catching Liu off guard. "Thor, what are you doing?"
"Carrying you, of course. I'm not taking one of your slow earth vehicles. Even Asgardian horses run faster than that," Thor said, tossing in a jab at human tech.
Liu facepalmed. "No need. I've learned how to fly recently."
"Oh?" Thor raised a brow, clearly curious.
Liu knew it was time to show off. He ignited his Microcosmos, and his body slowly lifted off the ground. "I wouldn't lie to you."
"Liu, you're becoming harder and harder to understand," Thor muttered. On Earth, people didn't fly. Even in Asgard, only a few gods could. Thor himself needed Mjolnir to fly. But Liu? He flew without help. It shattered everything Thor thought he knew about humans.
Exactly the reaction Liu was hoping for. He grinned. "Let's go. Let's see who gets there first."
Now that was fun. Thor loved a good race. He spun Mjolnir and took off like a rocket. Liu shot after him, quickly catching up.
They exchanged a look midair. Thor was stunned by Liu's speed. Liu, on the other hand, thought Thor looked hilarious flying while gripping his hammer.
"I'm faster," Liu said as he zoomed a little ahead.
Thor couldn't let that stand. He poured divine power into Mjolnir, accelerating. The two of them raced neck and neck across the sky.
To New Yorkers below, it just looked like two contrails streaking past. Most assumed it was a pair of jets.
"Dead even." They landed almost simultaneously, both chuckling as they hit the ground.
Liu pulled up his hood. The two of them walked toward the building side by side.