[Selvig's words made Nick Fury somewhat concerned: "Where's Agent Barton?"]
["Hawkeye? Up in his nest, as usual," Selvig raised his thumb and pointed to the elevated platform behind him.]
[Barton was leaning against the railing, observing everything below.]
["Agent Barton, report," Fury's voice came through the comm. Barton immediately stood up and descended via a rappelling line.]
["I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things," Fury admonished him.]
[Barton walked alongside him: "Well, I see better from a distance."]
["Have you seen anything that might set this thing off?" Fury gestured toward the Tesseract.]
[Just then, a female researcher alerted Selvig: "Doctor, it's spiking again."]
[Barton appeared equally perplexed by the situation: "No one's come or gone. Selvig's clean. No contacts, no I.M.s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end."]
[Barton crossed his arms as he studied the Tesseract. His choice of words caught Fury's attention.]
["At this end?" Fury echoed, considering the implications.]
["Yeah, the Cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? Doors open from both sides," Barton shrugged as he looked at Fury.]
[Meanwhile, Selvig continued his attempts to stabilize the Tesseract, without success: "Not yet."]
[Suddenly, the Tesseract emitted an energy pulse, with arcs of power surrounding it. Even Coulson and Hill on the upper level noticed the disturbance.]
[Barton and Fury watched the Tesseract with grave expressions as energy streams converged toward it from all directions.]
[The concentrated energy caused the Tesseract to fire a beam that struck the platform in front of it, immediately creating a swirling blue portal.]
[The portal erupted with light that swept across the entire facility. Fortunately, the energy pulse wasn't destructive, and everyone remained unharmed. As the light faded, a figure was revealed crouching where the portal had formed.]
[Blue energy surrounded his body, producing wisps of white vapor as it gradually dissipated. Several armed security personnel cautiously approached, weapons raised.]
[Loki revealed a sinister smile as he slowly stood. A light sheen of sweat covered his forehead, indicating that this method of travel had been somewhat taxing for him.]
Loki, watching from his prison cell in Asgard, couldn't help but grin at his own grand entrance. When he had received the Mind Scepter, he had hoped for an equally impressive arrival.
Unfortunately, Thanos, fearing the failure of his plan, had altered the instructions. Loki had no choice but to comply, choosing to infiltrate Earth covertly.
Erik Selvig observed the Tesseract's energy discharge and recalled experiencing a similar phenomenon during his experiments. At the time, he had assumed he'd accidentally triggered the Tesseract.
In reality, Loki had used this method to slip onto Earth undetected, concealing his arrival from everyone.
Remembering how Loki had controlled his mind filled Selvig with hatred. Loki's actions had cost him his research privileges on the Pegasus Project, preventing him from further studying the Tesseract—the universe's greatest treasure.
[Loki stood holding the Mind Scepter, surveying everyone present. Fury immediately called out: "Sir, please put down the spear!"]
[Hearing this, Loki glanced at the Mind Scepter in his hand, seemingly amused that Fury couldn't comprehend the artifact's significance. He fired an energy blast directly at Fury.]
[Barton quickly pushed Fury aside, and they narrowly avoided the attack.]
[The security personnel immediately opened fire on Loki, but their bullets proved ineffective. Loki leaped forward, stabbing one guard with his scepter and knocking another to the ground.]
[Two agents in the corridor fired at him, but Loki hurled throwing knives with deadly accuracy, killing them instantly. He then directed an energy blast at the female researcher who had spoken earlier, before using his scepter to strike the guard he had previously knocked down.]
[Barton crouched with his pistol drawn, firing at Loki alongside two other agents. The bullets struck Loki's face but failed to penetrate his defenses. Loki returned fire with an energy blast that killed the two agents behind Barton.]
[Only Barton's quick reflexes allowed him to roll away from the attack, saving his life.]
[Loki kicked a nearby agent, sending him flying into the wall with lethal force. He surveyed the room, noting that all S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel were either dead or incapacitated.]
[As Barton rose from the floor, Loki appeared before him. Barton attempted to raise his weapon, but Loki seized his left arm. Loki's strength far exceeded Barton's, rendering his resistance futile.]
["You have heart," Loki observed as he pressed his scepter against Barton's chest. The Mind Stone emitted a blue light that spread through Barton. His eyes momentarily darkened before his pupils took on an eerie blue glow.]
[Satisfied with the successful control, Loki released him. The enthralled Barton calmly holstered his weapon and stood awaiting instructions.]
Barton covered his eyes, finally understanding why the Sky Screen had shown that his mind had been controlled long ago. It was Loki who had enslaved his will!
"Damn Loki!" he cursed inwardly.
Thor, seated nearby, heard Barton's exclamation and smiled awkwardly. He intended to return to Asgard to question Loki about these events.
Loki had never mentioned receiving the scepter from the Chitauri. Clearly, his brother had concealed many truths from him. Thor was determined to discover the full story, even if it meant making Loki taste the "iron fist of love."
Jane stood beside him with a reluctant expression. Thor's return to Asgard wasn't solely to confront Loki, but also to safely separate the Aether particles and the Tesseract. Since Loki had aligned himself with Thanos, he might have revealed secret passages into Asgard.
To prevent these powerful artifacts from being stolen, Thor would return them to Asgard. This decision was made for Earth's protection. The current state of Earth's defenses couldn't withstand another alien incursion, and the Dark Elves' invasion had already caused widespread panic.
Yet Thor recognized that storing everything in Asgard wasn't entirely secure either. After all, Frost Giants had previously breached Asgard's defenses.
No one could predict whether Thanos's army might similarly infiltrate Asgard, so Thor had decided to find an alternative storage location for one of the artifacts—a mission that would undoubtedly require significant time.