Thor, Tony, and Steve stood in a tense three-way standoff. Loki watched from the sidelines, thoroughly amused. If Hong Fei hadn't been locked in his "Best Actor" state, he might've sidled up to Loki for some casual commentary.
Meanwhile, Dr. Erik Selvig—a scientist with knowledge but no power—edged backward slowly, hoping to slip away unnoticed.
Luckily for him, no one paid attention. When the silence between the three strangely dressed men stretched too long, Loki broke it with a smirk. "Why don't you introduce yourselves?"
"Shut up, Loki!" Thor roared without turning.
Loki shrugged, unfazed.
"I am Thor, son of Odin, the God of Thunder!"
Steve frowned at the declaration, but Tony let out an exaggerated scoff. "Seriously? The God of Thunder wields a—what, a glorified mallet?"
Loki's smile froze. He took several silent steps back. Thor's grip on Mjolnir tightened. Lightning crackled along the hammer's surface, arcs of energy lashing the air. A bolt struck Tony's armor mid-flight, sending him crashing to the ground.
"You'll regret that insult!" Thor bellowed, soaring upward before hurling a thick pillar of lightning downward.
Tony rolled onto his back, gauging the 400% power surge. He fired his Pulse Cannon—twin beams from his palms, another from his chest—all three converging on Thor. But the God of Thunder, wreathed in crackling energy, tanked the blast and kept descending. Mjolnir's electricity twisted violently around him.
Steve stopped hesitating. He lunged, planting himself between Tony and Thor, shield raised. His body coiled tight behind the vibranium disc—
CLANG!!!
The shockwave shredded furniture and blew out every window in the apartment. The city below flinched as a blinding light erupted overhead, forcing onlookers to shield their eyes.
When the glare faded, Thor stood beside Loki, staring at Steve with open disbelief. Tony groaned, pushing himself up to help Steve to his feet.
Steve flexed his shield arm, breathing hard. "We don't have to fight."
Thor gave a stiff nod. "Fine. Leave."
"Not happening." Steve's gaze flicked to Loki, then Hong Fei. "He's being controlled by your friend here."
Thor's brow furrowed. "Loki?"
Loki feigned hurt. "You trust outsiders over your own brother?"
Steve blinked. "Wait, you're brothers?"
Tony rubbed his temples. "I'm officially lost."
An awkward silence settled. Finally, Thor seized Loki's shoulder. "Enough games. I know your tricks. He's my friend too. Whatever you've done to him—end it. Now."
Loki sighed dramatically. "If you insist, brother." He stepped toward Hong Fei, hand outstretched. "Always the obedient younger sibling..."
Seeing this, Steve, who had seen the video, immediately opened his mouth. "Wait, you—"
Loki's palm slammed into Hong Fei's chest, hurling him through the window. Thor roared, grip tightening on Loki—
"Hold up!" Tony yelled. "He can fly!"
Loki's form shimmered, already fading from sight.
Thor spun instantly, slamming his electrified hammer down to interrupt the magic. The impact sent Loki crashing to the ground. When they turned, Hong Fei had already taken flight, disappearing into the distance.
"I'm going after him!" Tony launched upward—only for Thor and Steve to yank him back down mid-air, each gripping an arm.
"No need!" they shouted in unison.
Steve added calmly, "If Loki controlled him, watching Loki means we'll find him easily."
Thor nodded. "Exactly my thought."
Tony barked a laugh. "Oh, I heard you both! He's your friend now?" He turned sharply to Steve. "Captain, I didn't expect you to play favorites too."
Steve met his gaze steadily. "Not favoritism. Trust."
"Same," Thor rumbled.
Tony's voice turned razor-sharp. "Neither of you remember being stabbed by him? Captain, need I remind you he stole the Tesseract right from under us?"
Steve considered this. "I haven't forgotten. But now I believe Loki's part of a larger scheme."
Thor glared at the twitching god on the floor. "How long have you truly been on Earth?"
"And what about your dramatic breakup earlier?" Tony pressed. "Or was that fake too?"
"That happened," Steve admitted. "But things aren't always—"
"Save it, Stark. We'll discuss this later." Steve's earnest look silenced Tony momentarily.
Tony finally nodded. "Fine. But if your explanation sucks, I'm calling collusion."
Thor hefted his hammer. "Accuse my friend again and—"
"Enough!" Steve stepped between them. "Priorities. Who is Loki really?"
Tony gestured wildly. "Are we doing this here? My place or S.H.I.E.L.D.—take your pick."
Steve's jaw tightened at the mention of S.H.I.E.L.D., but he conceded. "S.H.I.E.L.D. then. Thor?"
Thor hoisted Loki over his shoulder. "Your world, your rules."
As the trio departed, Dr. Selvig peered from his hiding spot. The ruined living room stood empty. He exhaled in relief—then froze. The Tesseract still glowed in its device.
After steadying himself, he contacted Hong Fei. "They're gone."
"Are you unharmed?"
"Yes. But Mr. Hong... they left the Tesseract."
"What? They didn't take it?"
"Didn't even glance at it."
A pause. Then Hong Fei's voice hardened. "Stay put."
Minutes later, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents swarmed the building below as Hong Fei warped Selvig back to the manor via space portal.
Selvig wrung his hands. "What now, Mr. Hong?"
Hong Fei studied the Tesseract, brow furrowed. Tony's team ignoring the Cube made no sense—unless the Mind Stone had compromised them.
He extended his palm. Green energy coalesced above it. "Loki left a message for me, telling you to continue your research and for me to be ready to rescue him at any time. So you don't need to worry for now. Continue with your work, but you can't stay here. Tomorrow, I'll have you find a new place in Manhattan."
Selvig bowed. "Understood."
Loki's way of doing things seemed to have no method, giving the impression that he was completely unreliable. Of course, it was also possible that he was accustomed to not trusting anyone easily, so even though the Mind Stone controlled Hong Fei and Dr. Erik Selvig, he didn't reveal his plans completely, but instead gave instructions that seemed to have no rhyme or reason.
However, Hong Fei was still able to infer some of Loki's thoughts. Thor's raw strength was extremely powerful. If he really erupted, let alone Loki, even with Steve and Tony added to the mix, they wouldn't be able to hold him back.
Perhaps Loki had guessed that Thor would come looking for him before he even arrived on Earth, because Asgard had a "clairvoyant," Heimdall. This might explain why, after Loki descended, he didn't immediately urge Dr. Erik Selvig to complete the research and then open the space portal to summon the Chitauri army. Because he needed to confuse Thor first, and then find a way to eliminate this foreseeable obstacle.
Secondly, he also spent a lot of time learning about things on Earth. Just like with Hong Fei, he saw what Hong Fei had done in the past, and even knew that Hong Fei could fly. These things were confidential even within S.H.I.E.L.D., but don't forget that Loki was highly proficient in illusion magic, while S.H.I.E.L.D.'s understanding of mystical magic was almost zero.
In other words, what Loki was doing now was similar to Hong Fei—both were pretending to be captured. And the main reason Loki did this was to buy more time for his future plans and to eliminate some difficulties in advance. To get back to the point, Loki certainly wouldn't keep him waiting too long, otherwise the Master Thanos behind him wouldn't agree.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
After Loki was brought back to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, interrogation revealed that he had arrived on Earth via the Tesseract. Fury immediately asked about the whereabouts of the Tesseract. Then Thor, Tony, and Steve looked at each other. They had really forgotten about that just now.
Loki smiled on the sidelines. Thor, who knew him best, immediately said, "Loki, are you causing trouble again?"
Loki looked innocent, "I didn't do anything." Thor looked at his flawless expression, but his heart was still filled with suspicion.
Fury's brow furrowed deeply. After thinking for a moment, he said, "We had better not stay here. Let's go somewhere else."
Subsequently, everyone boarded a quinjet and went out to sea, landing on an aircraft carrier.
Loki was locked in a cage, and Coulson guarded him without leaving a step. In the conference room, Fury gathered quite a few people. Thor, Tony, Steve, Barton, Matt, and Luke.
Barton turned his head to look and asked, "Officer, is Natasha not back yet?"
Fury: "Natasha is still abroad on a mission. I have already arranged for her to find another heavyweight member. I believe she will be able to return soon."
Tony: "What is this for? Haven't we already caught the person? That... hmm, stowaway?"
"It's not that simple, Mr. Stark." Fury's expression was heavy, "Based on our past understanding of the Tesseract, it should be a gateway to the other end of the Universe, and Loki, who you just captured, obviously confirmed this point."
Steve glanced at Fury lightly, then looked at Thor, "Thor, do you know what he wants to do?"
Facing everyone's gaze, Thor nodded slightly. "He has an army under his command. It doesn't come from Asgard, nor does it come from any Planet I know. Now, he is preparing to lead this army to invade Earth."