Thor landed with a heavy thud, lightning still crackling around his hammer. His golden hair was messy, his armour dented, and bruises bloomed across his arms and face.
From the looks of it, Kakashi could guess that the Hulk had done a number on Thor.
"Warrior," Thor said, breathing hard. "It is good to see you again. Father sent me through the Bifrost the moment Heimdall saw Loki on Midgard."
Kakashi gave the thunder god a lazy side glance. "Your brother is causing trouble again. I am already regretting not finishing him the first time we met."
Thor's shoulders dropped. He bowed low, almost touching the floor with his forehead. "I know. I apologise on behalf of all Asgard. I will speak to Father and Mother. We will compensate your people for the damage."
"See that you do," a familiar gravelly voice echoed through the ruined deck.
Nick Fury stepped out from behind a half-collapsed wall like he had been waiting for his cue.
His coat was perfect, not a single scratch on him. Kakashi rolled his eye. Of course Fury had been watching everything on the cameras. The man probably had popcorn and he popped up just when the alien prince was talking about compensation.
Fury looked at Kakashi. No smile, no nod, but the tiny relaxation in his shoulders told the whole story. He was relieved.
Fury thought, 'As much as I hate admitting it, this guy is the only one I can count on when everything goes to hell. And the only bad habit he has is reading porn in public. It's good that he returned at such a right time. But how did he know that we were in danger?'
'Lets just hope with all the candidates of the Avengers gathered, he could handle them all without any problems. After all, he is going to be their leader of everything goes well.'
Carl who was being treating by a shield agent for his wounds felt a chill down his spine.
Steve Rogers walked in next with his shield still on his arm. He looked tired but unhurt. He intently looked at Kakashi.
Kakashi barely glanced at the man but was more focused on the star-spangled uniform.
'A soldier fighting in colourful spandex?' Kakashi thought. 'I thought Naruto's orange jacket was a crime against fashion. This is a war crime.'
Bruce Banner and Emil Blonsky were starting to wake up on the floor. Their eyes were clear again, no more glowing blue.
Clint Barton stayed asleep, face down, snoring softly. Kakashi figured the archer did not have Hulk-level healing, so he would stay out longer.
Kakashi did not waste time. "Do we know where Loki is? What does he plan to do with the Tesseract? Anything that can give us a lead?"
The room went quiet. Tony did not crack a joke. Bruce, still rubbing his head, was already pulling up screens to track Tesseract energy. Thor gripped Mjolnir tighter but said nothing. Even Fury kept his mouth shut.
Fury felt a tiny smile try to form on his face. He stopped it. He had chosen right. Kakashi Hatake was the perfect leader for the Avengers.
Kakashi looked at Thor. "Can't Heimdall tell you exactly where Loki is? I thought his eyes could see everything in the Nine Realms."
Thor shook his head. "Heimdall has lost him. Loki is using an old spell to hide from the All-Seeing gaze."
"Troublesome," Kakashi muttered.
Inside Fury's head, alarms went off. 'A single person who can watch everything happening across nine planets?'
That was every spy's dream. Fury suddenly wanted a very long meeting with this Heimdall guy.
Bruce spoke up, eyes fixed on the readings. "The Tesseract is active. Someone is pulling huge amounts of energy from it. I need more time to pinpoint the exact spot, but he is definitely still on Earth, and on this continent."
Kakashi closed his eye and thought fast.
All the pieces clicked together.
The Tesseract held the Space Stone. Loki could have used it to run away instantly, yet he stayed. That meant he was not trying to escape. He was preparing something big. Loki worked for Thanos.
'The space tone can be used to travel along space like a teleportation jutsu. He might be bringing Thanos here.' Kakashi thought
'But why...for revenge against Earth. No... Thanos is more concerned about collecting the stones from what I know.' Kakashi refuted that thought
Thanos wanted Infinity Stones. The Space Stone was already in Loki's hands. So why stay on Earth?
A cold feeling spread through Kakashi's chest.
There could only be one reason. Another Infinity Stone was on this planet.
He remembered what the Asgardians told him about Thanos, the mad titan. How he destroyed wherever he went.
If Thanos came for Earth, he would not send a small army. He would bring everything. Earth would burn. Billions would die.
'Its all an assumptions with the facts I know. But if it's true, Earth is in catastrophic danger.' Kakashi thought
The air around him grew heavy. The Mangekyō Sharingan spun open, slow and deadly. The pinwheel pattern turned.
'I would be damned if anyone made me leave my home for the second time.'
------Author Notes---------
Thankyou Birdie, Christopher Ryan Zellers, Dexter MS and moitrezaf for supporting me!
Y'all can now read the next 15 chapters of the fanfic on my pat*reon.
Also you can also now read exclusive one shots on it.
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