"All right, all right, this guy is doing it on purpose, no need to get upset."
Alaric comforted her.
"Ah! But I'm really angry!" Gwen swung her fist into the air.
"This man slandered me! Ruined my reputation!"
"As a superhero, it's easy to attract hatred, you'll gain a bunch of enemies out of nowhere, you have to get used to it. And doesn't that also prove your ability? You should take pride in it."
"So people talk bad about you too? Do you have a lot of enemies?" Gwen asked suspiciously.
"Hmm… Seems I don't."
At least for now, Alaric hadn't heard of anyone daring to openly speak against him.
"See!!" Gwen immediately felt even more hurt.
"Actually, one major reason why they're attacking you might be because you wear a mask. When you hide, people turn against you more easily. If you didn't hide your identity, I bet the people who love you would far outnumber those who hate you."
Alaric said that with a face like hers, she would definitely become popular!
She even had the potential to surpass Tony!!
"Then forget it." Gwen touched her face.
"Doesn't matter, haters are also fans."
"Thanks a lot."
Gwen rolled her eyes.
"Wow, your house is huge! Can I look around a bit?"
Gwen looked around the temple, her eyes lit up, her mood lifted.
Now she could only try to shift her thoughts from those stupid newspapers. She couldn't go beat up the editor just because someone slandered her!
That would only confirm the story that she's a villain.
"Sure, I'll give you a tour."
Alaric nodded and led Gwen to explore the temple.
...
Deep space, a massive spaceship.
"Master, the Cosmic Cube has awakened, our moment has come."
Ebony Maw stood before the tall figure on the throne and respectfully bowed.
"Give this to him, tell him not to disappoint me."
A black silhouette spoke and handed the scepter with a blue gem embedded in it to Ebony Maw.
"Yes, my lord!"
...
On an unknown planet.
Loki sat on a rock, waiting for something.
In front of him stood an army, and next to them a spaceship.
Loki cautiously watched the Chitauri, who claimed to be Thanos's subjects.
After falling from the Bifrost that day, he passed through a spatial rift, arrived in this unknown galaxy, and ran into a group of Chitauri.
They claimed to serve Thanos, and their leader was Ebony Maw.
Although Loki wasn't too familiar with the inhabitants of Titan, as the second prince of Asgard he had heard Thanos's name.
He had heard Thanos was an Eternal born on the planet Titan, cruel, ruthless, cunning, and tyrannical.
The stories Loki had heard described how Thanos conquered planet after planet and mercilessly slaughtered countless lives.
Known as a powerful conqueror.
Wherever Thanos appeared, death followed.
In addition, Thanos had two main forces: the Black Order, whose members were Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, Black Dwarf (Cull Obsidian), Ebony Maw, and Supergiant.
And his army, composed of the bloodthirsty Chitauri and Vanguard.
That's why Loki knew this wasn't someone to mess with.
Since this wasn't Asgard, Loki also didn't know how far they were from Asgard.
Initially, he wanted to escape from them as soon as possible and avoid trouble.
But when Ebony Maw, the leader of this legion, heard his name, he stopped him.
And very curiously asked how Loki ended up here, telling him he knew his true identity.
Because of that, Loki presented himself as a hero who wanted to end the war and destroy the Frost Giants once and for all for Asgard, but was betrayed by his brother and thrown into a spatial rift.
He also said he was willing to pledge loyalty to Thanos!
As long as Thanos was willing to lend him an army for revenge, he would agree to any condition!!
Loki thought Thanos surely wouldn't care about him, but unexpectedly received a positive response!
In return for Loki's loyalty, the condition was set: Loki must go to Earth and retrieve the Cosmic Cube. If he succeeded, Thanos would send an army to help him get his revenge!
When he heard that, Loki was thrilled!
Just the Cosmic Cube? He didn't care!
Loki cared much more about Earth!
Because he wanted revenge!
If it hadn't been for Alaric and Iron Man, he would have already dealt with Thor and taken the throne.
Because of that, Loki was obsessed with Alaric, holding a deep grudge.
Now that Thanos was ready to lend him an army, Loki of course had no objection to stopping by Earth first!
The only problem was: he wasn't a match for Alaric…
So he gave Ebony Maw a detailed description of Alaric's strength.
Ebony Maw listened, told Loki to wait, then returned to Thanos with a report and brought back a weapon.
"This is the Mind Scepter. Whoever touches it falls under your control. I believe even that Alaric you speak of won't be able to resist the power of the scepter."
Ebony Maw handed the scepter with the Mind Stone to Loki and explained how to use it.
"I am grateful to the great Thanos! I will definitely retrieve the Cosmic Cube!"
Loki grabbed the scepter with excitement. Now he had a weapon with which he could stand against Alaric!
He couldn't wait to see what it would look like when Alaric, under the influence of the Mind Scepter, became his obedient servant!
"I believe you. You will become the ruler of Earth."
"Of course!!"
"I'll help you open the gateway to the Cosmic Cube and send you to Earth."
Ebony Maw said and activated the power.
Even though he couldn't keep the portal open for long, it was enough to transport someone.
If Loki managed to open a stable passage using the Cube, their army would be able to enter Earth at any moment and begin the invasion!
As for the promise made to Loki about being "the ruler of Earth," Ebony Maw thought to himself: wherever their army steps, only death and destruction remain!!
And through Loki, they could easily obtain the Space Stone right under Odin and the Ancient One's noses!
Of course, if it failed, it didn't matter, Earth was already long on Thanos's list.
Only Odin's and the Ancient One's presence kept him from stepping in without hesitation.
But Thanos knew Odin wouldn't last much longer.
So he was patient and not in a hurry.
To fulfill his vision, he would gladly wait.
...
That evening, Alaric returned from Jane's and was just about to lie down, when he suddenly sensed that something, or someone, had arrived on Earth.
Not through the Bifrost, like Thor.
More like it had pierced space using a spatial rift or some kind of teleportation magic.
Alaric listened closely, turned toward the sensation, and flew in the direction of the source.