[Nick Fury, having just regained his footing, stared incredulously at Barton, who had betrayed him in an instant. While Loki was busy controlling others, Fury quickly removed the Tesseract from its apparatus.]
[He placed it in a specialized case and attempted to slip away unnoticed, but Loki was aware of his actions: "Please don't. I still need that."]
[Fury kept his back to Loki and said, "This doesn't have to get any messier." Then he slowly turned to face him.]
[Loki introduced himself: "Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."]
[Selvig, who had been checking on the injured female researcher, turned and said, "Loki? Brother of Thor?"]
["We have no quarrel with your people."]
[Loki raised his eyebrows at this: "An ant has no quarrel with a boot."]
["Are you planning to step on us?"]
["I come with glad tidings, of a world made free."]
[Fury regarded Loki coldly: "Free from what?"]
[Addressing Fury's question, Loki replied calmly: "Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart..."]
[As he spoke, he swiftly turned and pressed his scepter against Selvig's chest, instantly bringing him under control. Looking at the entranced Selvig, Loki continued, "You will know peace."]
["Yeah, you say 'peace,' I kind of think you mean the other thing," Fury retorted.]
[Meanwhile, Barton observed the unstable energy gathering above them and approached Loki: "Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us."]
[Though his intentions were exposed, Fury remained composed. He knew Barton was under Loki's control. He simply tilted his head: "Like the pharaohs of old."]
[Alerted by this, Selvig checked the readings and confirmed: "He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical."]
["Well, then..." Loki glanced at Barton, who immediately drew his weapon and shot Fury, causing him to collapse. Barton retrieved the case as he followed Loki out with the other controlled personnel.]
[Selvig tactfully took the case from Barton and carried it himself.]
"That shot must have been excruciating. Though not fatal, taking a bullet is still incredibly painful!" George turned to his wife Helen with a knowing smile.
He spoke from experience. As a police chief, he had faced numerous life-threatening situations and knew firsthand how it felt to be shot. Even with a bulletproof vest, the impact was agonizing.
Helen rolled her eyes at him. Their child was present—it was inappropriate to discuss such matters where their young son could hear!
Sensing his wife's disapproval, George realized his comment was unsuitable and smiled awkwardly.
"Loki keeps talking about bringing 'glad tidings,' but what he's really saying is that everyone will lose their freedom," observed the 2nd Gen Spider-Man, Peter, cutting straight to the meaning behind Loki's words.
"Obviously he wants to conquer Earth, but I don't understand his motivation. If he can't be king of Asgard, he'll settle for ruling Earth instead?"
Gwen couldn't comprehend Loki's thinking, but she had no doubt he was a supervillain. If Loki appeared before her, she would certainly teach him a lesson about Spider-Man's capabilities.
[Led by Barton, the group reached the upper level. Barton indicated the vehicles in the garage and said to the unsuspecting Hill, "We need these vehicles."]
[Hill initially had no reason for suspicion, until she noticed Loki with his scepter seated in the back of a truck. She sensed something was amiss: "Who's that?"]
[Barton answered dismissively without turning: "He didn't tell me."]
[Hill contained her growing suspicion. She recognized something was wrong but didn't voice her concerns. She turned to walk away.]
[At that moment, her comm unit activated with Fury's urgent message: "Hill, do you copy?! Barton is..."]
[Hill immediately realized the danger and rolled forward for cover. As she predicted, Barton fired several shots at her. While Hill remained pinned down, unable to return fire effectively, Barton jumped into the vehicle, accelerated, and drove away.]
[Hill attempted to stop them with her sidearm, but her shots missed, and she could only watch as Barton and the others escaped.]
[In the underground laboratory, Fury struggled to move, wounded but mobile. His bulletproof vest had stopped the bullet, but the impact left him in considerable pain.]
["They have the Tesseract! Shut them down!"]
[Hill immediately commandeered another vehicle and pursued Loki's group. The tunnel was filled with various military vehicles, and a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents followed close behind, firing at Loki's convoy.]
[Loki, observing these mortals who dared to resist him, stood up and aimed his scepter. He fired an energy blast that destroyed the pursuing vehicle's passenger compartment.]
[The damaged vehicle immediately veered into the wall before ricocheting across the tunnel and finally overturning. The agents in the following vehicle pushed past the wreckage and continued the pursuit.]
[Meanwhile, the portal in the underground laboratory grew increasingly unstable. Fury ran faster, fearing he would be buried if he delayed any longer.]
[The intensifying tremors caused agents transporting equipment to stumble and fall. Recognizing the urgency, Coulson shouted, "No, leave it. Go!"]
[Barton's team was speeding away when Hill suddenly emerged from an intersection ahead. She executed a handbrake turn, positioning her vehicle to block Barton's path.]
[The vehicles collided and began pushing against each other, but Barton's truck had greater momentum and forced Hill's car backward. Hill drew her weapon and fired, shattering the truck's windshield. Barton responded in kind, returning fire.]
[Coulson climbed into a vehicle, activated his comm unit and reported, "We're clear upstairs, sir. You need to go!"]
[Fury rushed through the exit doors toward a waiting helicopter. As the aircraft lifted off, the ground beneath began to fracture.]
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