Loki only deduced that the Rainbow Bridge in Asgard would not be repaired so quickly, and he could use this time difference to occupy the Earth.
He could do whatever he wanted until Thor and Lock returned.
Unexpectedly, SHIELD had already arrived early and "deduced" that he had killed Lock.
At this time, the Black Widow, hovering in the sky in a Quinjet fighter, said:
"Steve, please stay away."
"Da da da da da da da da…"
The aircraft's machine guns spat twin tongues of flame, and countless bullets poured down.
The place where Loki stood was instantly swallowed in dust and smoke.
Following this, Iron Man's hand repulsors and micro-missiles rained down on Loki.
Loki was caught off guard and looked confused. Didn't I raise my hands and surrender? Why are you still attacking?
Could it be… my false surrender was seen through?
Fortunately, as a god, his body was not weak, so although he ached all over, he was unharmed. His cloak was torn to shreds, his image disgraced.
After all, even the Hulk's destructive strength could only knock him dizzy without truly harming him. His divine body was sturdy.
But Captain America was confused. This guy just raised his hands to surrender, right? Why are Black Widow and Iron Man still going at him so hard?
But at this moment, the ten-meter radius around Loki was filled with gunfire, explosions, and laser beams, so the Captain didn't dare approach rashly.
Loki grew angrier and shouted:
"Stop fighting! I surrender!"
The Quinjet's machine guns finally ceased. Black Widow lowered the aircraft, set it to autopilot, and leapt down at Loki from the sky.
Loki was furious. I even pretended defeat and raised my hands! You still want to bully me?
So, he raised his scepter and stabbed toward Natasha.
But just as he was about to strike her mid-air, Iron Man accelerated, body-slamming Loki and knocking him down.
Captain America saw it and, without thinking, rushed forward to help.
Very soon, Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Widow had Loki surrounded and besieged.
Iron Man attacked from the air.
Captain America held his shield, blocking Loki's divine light head-on.
Black Widow fought desperately, aiming at Loki's vital points, ignoring her own safety.
But her strength couldn't hurt Loki in the least.
Still, with Iron Man and the Captain's support, Loki was held in check.
Captain America shouted mid-battle:
"Hey, guy named Loki, didn't you say you surrendered? Why are you fighting back?"
Loki roared: "I already said I surrender! Why are you attacking?"
The Captain said, "If you don't fight back, we won't strike."
"Bah! As if I'd believe you! You must stop first!"
"You surrender, so you should stop first!"
"You are despicable! You stop first!"
"You surrender…"
"You are despicable…"
And so, their argument fell into an endless loop, with neither side yielding.
Loki thought the people of Earth were simply unreasonable. He had deceived gods and kings alike with false surrender, but here, these idiots ignored him completely.
He had tricked Thor, tricked Laufey, and even pretended to surrender to Dark Elves and Thanos. Only with Thanos had it failed—because Thanos was far too strong.
But here? His very first false surrender on Earth had failed, and he felt wronged.
If he raised his hands, he'd be beaten. If he fought back, he'd still be beaten.
This was not the style of a god of trickery!
Still, Loki and Iron Man were clashing for real now.
His frontal power was limited. Against Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Widow combined, he had no chance.
Only his divine body's resilience kept him from being overwhelmed immediately.
But he couldn't keep this up. Loki seized an opening, parried the Captain's shield, and sent a beam of divine light straight into Black Widow's abdomen.
"Zzz—"
The beam tore a wound as large as a bowl through her body. Natasha nearly split in half, collapsing to the ground.
"Natasha!"
Captain America was horrified, rushing to her side.
Iron Man said coldly, "Don't worry about her! Keep fighting! Don't let Loki escape!"
The Captain snapped back, "Do you have no humanity? She's our teammate!"
Iron Man sneered under his breath. "Hmph… old antique."
The Captain knelt beside Natasha, holding her hand.
"Natasha, hold on!"
He knew, with such a wound, survival was unlikely. All he could do was comfort her. Memories of fallen comrades in World War II surged back—blood, death, helplessness.
Natasha's face twisted in pain. "You… don't worry about me…"
The Captain gripped her hand tighter. "No! We're comrades! If you have anything to say, I'll remember it!"
"Let go… if you don't let go… I'll really die…"
"What?"
Thinking she was struggling with her last strength, he quickly released her hand.
Natasha painfully pulled a small vial of green liquid from her pouch and drank it.
Green light surged over her wound. In an instant, flesh and blood regrew, the wound sealing completely.
Only her torn clothes didn't recover—exposing her firm waist and stomach, glistening with sweat and dirt, strangely alluring.
Then she leapt back to her feet, fully restored, and charged Loki again.
The Captain blinked, stunned. "Uh… sorry, just now…"
No wonder Iron Man told him not to worry—there was a potion like this! And instead of helping, he had nearly killed her by holding her down.
He felt guilty. Was he so behind the times that he didn't even know of this miraculous potion?
"Stop talking nonsense! Come and fight!" Natasha barked.
Seeing her resurrected, Loki's heart sank. Where did they get such a broken potion? If this goes on, they'll revive endlessly while my wounds only pile up.
He had to retreat.
With a flash, he split into a dozen duplicates, scattering in all directions.
Black Widow flicked her wrist—three darts flew, dispersing three illusions.
The Captain's shield spun in an arc, knocking out five more.
Iron Man targeted the rest. His repulsors split into dozens of beams, covering every Loki.
"Ahh—!" Loki screamed as all the illusions vanished. The last real body was struck, sent tumoring
But by then, he was already ten meters away. With a few leaps, he climbed over the wall and vanished from sight.
—
On the return flight, Iron Man didn't fly solo. The three sat together in the Quinjet.
Black Widow said coldly: "With his strength, there's no way he could kill my husband."
The Captain blinked. "My condolences… but forgive me, who is your husband? Is he strong?"
"The photo you saw on the mothership. As for his strength…"
Iron Man sneered. "If he were here, even if you gave Loki a hundred doses of courage, he wouldn't dare step on Earth."
The Captain thought: So that's why so many posted his portrait… a fallen hero. But was that really the right picture? Shouldn't a fallen hero's portrait be solemn? That smile always felt strange…
Iron Man added, "If Loki's relying on his strength alone, even with magic to corrupt others, he couldn't take Earth. Not unless…"
The three shared a look.
"…He has helpers!"
The Quinjet accelerated toward the mothership. They needed to report to the Director to uncover Loki's conspiracy.
According to the original timeline, Loki should have pretended to surrender on this very fighter. But thanks to Lock's invisible influence, the timeline had been thrown far off course.
—
In an unknown realm, the Time Variance Authority stared at the Sacred Timeline. Another branch split off, making them dizzy.
The mysterious outlaw, the one who forced even the Time Keepers to intervene, had again disrupted Earth's timeline—without even being present, only by acting far away in the cosmos.
At this rate, the Sacred Timeline would collapse.
A crowd of TVA analysts gathered, trying desperately to devise a way to stabilize the Sacred Timeline… without offending the "noble outlaw."
---
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