"How is that possible?!" Natasha's eyes widened, her professional composure completely gone.
She had been far from the battlefield during the Battle of New York, unable to get close, but she had personally watched Loki get vaporized by a single punch from Lothar when he tried to sneak attack him.
Yet here he was, and with something new in his hand.
"Ah, the familiar air."
"It's been a long time, Agent Natasha Romanoff."
Loki closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the fresh air before opening them and smiling at her. This was one of the Avengers who had bound him.
"You're not dead?"
"Of course not. I told you, I am a god. And gods are not so easily killed." Loki, returning for revenge with powerful new aid, was all smiles, which sent a shiver down Natasha's spine.
She instinctively backed away, only to hear the harsh scrape of metal behind her.
"?!"
She turned to see the evolved robot, Ultron, walking toward her. No, to be precise, he was walking toward Loki.
Natasha watched in disbelief as Ultron slowly passed her and knelt before Loki.
"What is going on...?"
"Read the contents of this chip and then build what's inside it."
"Yes."
Ultron's electronic voice was cold, but to Loki, it sounded like music. It was so satisfying.
Loki stretched languidly, quite pleased with Natasha's expression. It gave him a great sense of accomplishment.
"You know, I really should thank Tony Stark."
"Without this thing he built, it would have been quite difficult for me to set up the portal by myself."
"Wait."
"A portal?"
"What do you mean?" Natasha asked, confused, glancing at Ultron as he read the chip.
"Exactly what it sounds like. I want to bring a few people over to play with Lothar."
Loki, having successfully completed his mission through trickery, was incredibly relaxed. He had finally seen how terrifying Darkseid's true form was—how he could so easily lock on to Earth, the universe's most stable energy field. He had also found Ultron, the most advanced piece of technology on Earth, and used it to send himself here without a sound.
This power was a world apart from the avatar of Darkseid that Mera, the princess of the underwater kingdom of Xebel, had told him about.
"How about it? Care to join me, Agent Natasha Romanoff?"
Loki was eager to make his former enemy his subordinate.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I refuse."
A wary Natasha rejected him without hesitation.
"What a pity, then." Loki's expression didn't change, but his tone was laced with regret.
Whoosh!
A beam of light shot from the cube in his hand, piercing through Natasha's forehead. The beautiful agent's head snapped back. Her eyes widened, and a mix of shock, terror, and despair flashed in them, replaced finally by an eerie, tranquil stillness.
"Access S.H.I.E.L.D. resources and assist Ultron in building the portal as quickly as possible," Loki commanded, having controlled Natasha with a vastly weakened form of the Anti-Life Equation.
"That will be difficult. Four-fifths of S.H.I.E.L.D. members have died mysteriously, and the Helicarrier carrying the headquarters personnel was just attacked. High-ranking officials, including Nick Fury, are missing. S.H.I.E.L.D. is currently in a state of paralysis."
A blank-eyed Natasha explained everything, making Loki's brow furrow. What was going on? The once-mighty S.H.I.E.L.D. was paralyzed? Even that scoundrel Nick Fury was missing?
Loki felt a sense of complicated frustration. He hadn't even made a move yet, and S.H.I.E.L.D. had already disappeared.
"Never mind. Just use your channels to help Ultron build the portal as soon as possible," Loki said, waving his hand, no longer dwelling on it. The terrifying Darkseid was still watching him.
To be honest, Loki never expected that the Earth he once looked down on would be the most stable energy point in the entire universe. According to Darkseid's calculations, only Earth could handle the energy disruption that would be caused by his true form emerging from a portal. Though he didn't know why, Loki understood the simple truth: Don't ask questions you don't need to.
He fiddled with the cube in his hand, and a blue light shone onto an empty space in the rubble. A beautiful figure holding a golden trident was released from the cube.
"Before that, Lothar, why don't you have a taste of the surprise I've prepared for you?"
"I'm very much looking forward to seeing you kill Mera with your own hands."
Loki's hopeful words hung in the air above the ruins. The queen of the seas, Mera, dressed in gilded robes and holding a golden trident, slowly opened her beautiful eyes.
....
"Alright, what do you want to talk about?"
Centauri Galaxy, Black Quadrant's Side Palace.
Because Hela had said she had something important to tell him alone, Lothar didn't report directly to his foster father Thanos after getting off the ship. Instead, he went to his own private palace.
The Other took Pietro and Wanda to the logistics manager, Ebony Maw, to complete their official registration, and Woz stayed on the ship to continue his repairs.
In the side palace, besides the butler Gaitz bustling in the kitchen, there was no one else.
Bang!
Hela closed the door behind her.
The smart lights automatically turned on at the sound of the door closing, illuminating Lothar and Hela's faces.
"I like you, Lothar."
Hela, who had never been one to beat around the bush, got straight to the point. She stared directly into his eyes, stepping closer.
"...And?" Lothar was suddenly flustered at the confession. Especially as Hela continued to close the distance, he was at a loss for how to respond.
"And do you like me?"
"I'll count to three. If you don't answer, I'll take it as a 'yes.'" Hela held up three fingers as she moved closer.
"Three... one. Good."
Hela was satisfied, having skipped the number two. Lothar was shocked by her rare "shamelessness." What's so "good" about that?
"What do you want to talk about?"
"If it's just these boring questions, I'm—"
"Let's get married, Lothar."
Lothar's annoyed voice cut off as his pupils constricted.
"...What???"
"I said,"
Slap!
Hela's pale arm brushed past Lothar and landed on the cold wall.
"Let's get married."
Hela stood tall, further restricting his space. At this close distance, Lothar could feel her every breath.
"Mmph?!"
Seeing that Lothar didn't respond for a long time, Hela kissed his slightly dry lips without warning.
Lothar's red tail, which had been wrapped around his waist, suddenly went limp and hung down.
"Meow..."
The orange cat, who had been secretly snacking on a beam in the palace, blinked its large eyes. It peeked its head out to look at the two lovebirds below, then looked down at its own dried fish.
"Meow..."
The cat's round face drooped. Its tail swayed weakly.
Suddenly, the dried fish in its mouth tasted like sawdust.
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