To be honest, Thor's timing in making his move was impeccable. Not only did he instantly send the Black Order members flying, but he also instilled a sense of fear in their hearts. Just before Thor attacked, the Black Order had already decided to abandon part of their mission and escape due to Proxima Midnight's intel about Robert's formidable power.
But being ambushed at this moment made them instinctively believe that Robert had found them and was launching an attack.
What made things worse was Proxima Midnight's immediate reaction. She didn't care about her injuries, her comrades, or even the Loki she was controlling. Without even checking who had called out Loki's name, she scrambled and rolled into the still-unstable portal.
"Damn it!" Corvus Glaive was the first to notice Proxima Midnight's actions. Her panicked escape only confirmed his suspicion that Robert was their attacker. Why else would Proxima Midnight flee so desperately?
Realizing this, Corvus Glaive quickly grabbed his wife, Midnight, and dashed towards the portal. On his way, he hesitated for a moment but still picked up the Mind Stone scepter. After all, the mission had already failed. If they lost the Mind Stone too, Thanos wouldn't spare them even if they made it back. Corvus Glaive had no desire to experience Thanos' wrath firsthand.
"I'm taking the Mind Stone scepter. Ebony Maw! Black Dwarf! Bring the Space Stone back! Hurry up!" Corvus Glaive shouted as he entered the portal, shifting the responsibility for retrieving the Space Stone onto Ebony Maw and Black Dwarf. After all, they were slower to react, so it was only fitting they handle the more dangerous task of retrieving the Space Stone.
"Motherf...!" Ebony Maw cursed as he realized what was happening. But when he looked over at Black Dwarf, who still hadn't grasped the situation, a glint of cunning flashed in his eyes. He sprinted towards the portal, shouting back to Black Dwarf, "Black Dwarf! You're closer to the Space Stone! Grab it quickly!"
"Huh?" Black Dwarf finally came to his senses, looking around in confusion and failing to see the Space Stone. Panic-stricken, he called out to Ebony Maw, "I can't see the Space Stone! Wait a minute!"
"What? It was right... Hmm?!" Ebony Maw turned back instinctively and realized the Space Stone had indeed vanished. As he looked closer, he noticed a small mechanical device quietly slipping away where the Space Stone had been.
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!" The thought flashed through Ebony Maw's mind as he instinctively tried to stop the device. But then, remembering the recent ambush, a sense of crisis washed over him.
Given his injuries and the fact that Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, and Midnight had already escaped, Ebony Maw knew he couldn't fight off their attacker alone. The best option now was to escape and leave the blame on Black Dwarf. If Black Dwarf couldn't retrieve the Space Stone, that was his problem.
Ebony Maw's thoughts raced as he yelled out to Black Dwarf, "There's a mechanical device over there! The Space Stone is inside it. Get it quickly! I'm outta here... damn it!"
Ebony Maw thought he was fast, but before he could dive into the portal, the blue light of the Space Stone was suddenly shrouded in gray mist, making the portal's power vanish instantly.
This unexpected turn of events left Ebony Maw fuming. He hadn't anticipated being abandoned, but he quickly realized that his only chance of escape now lay with the Space Stone.
"Ebony Maw, where's the mechanical device? I still don't see it…" Black Dwarf's confused voice rang out, making Ebony Maw's blood pressure spike.
"You useless idiot! Can't even do something as simple as this! What good are you?!" Furious, Ebony Maw flung Black Dwarf with a telekinetic shove, sending his massive form crashing toward where the mechanical device had been.
Unfortunately, like Ebony Maw, Black Dwarf couldn't locate the device either. If not for the fact that the Space Stone was genuinely missing, Ebony Maw would have thought he had imagined the whole thing.
"I didn't mean to…" Black Dwarf muttered as he struggled to his feet, nervously asking, "Does this mean we can't go back now?"
"Can't go back? Focus on staying alive first!" Ebony Maw snapped, dropping his hostility as he noticed Thor approaching with Loki and the Asgardians.
Earlier, Thor hadn't paid much attention to the situation because he was worried about Loki, who lay motionless like a puppet. This had greatly alarmed Thor.
To snap Loki out of it, Thor first resorted to his go-to method: a solid slap. But when Loki didn't wake, let alone retaliate, Thor grew even more concerned, fearing Loki might have been permanently damaged.
Joking aside, Loki might be the God of Mischief, but he wasn't supposed to be a fool. Even Thor, despite his past reputation, wasn't a fool anymore… right?
So Thor decided on a more extreme method. Using his command of lightning, he started stimulating Loki's brain.
In the past, even with Mjolnir's aid, Thor wouldn't have been capable of such delicate manipulation. Using lightning on Loki would have either severely injured him or turned him into a charred corpse.
But things were different now. After his ordeal with Hydra, Thor had fully mastered Mjolnir and the power of lightning, making such precise operations easy.
It's unclear whether Thor's lightning jolted Loki's brain awake or if Proxima Midnight's departure lessened her control over him, but after Thor's efforts, Loki did indeed wake up.
"Thor?!" Loki gasped in surprise as he regained consciousness. "Did you save me?!"
Loki still remembered being controlled, but he found it hard to believe Thor had the strength to not only save him but also break the mind control.
Although Loki had often felt resentful towards the Black Order, he knew their power far surpassed his own. Even with his mastery of illusions and other magic, the best Loki could hope for was to catch Black Dwarf off guard.
And even that wasn't a sure thing. Like Thor, Black Dwarf was incredibly tough, and Loki's attacks likely wouldn't do much harm.
As for Thor's strength, Loki acknowledged it was slightly greater than his own, but only with Mjolnir. Even then, Thor would only be able to take down Black Dwarf at most, not the entire Black Order.
Yet, as Loki's memory cleared, he distinctly recalled that Thor had sent the entire Black Order flying with a single strike of Mjolnir...
"Who else would it be? What happened to you? How did you get controlled?" Thor frowned, asking Loki in return.
"Damn it!" Loki instantly forgot about Thor's apparent increase in strength as the humiliating memory returned. Gritting his teeth, he growled, "Thor! Can you handle them? I want revenge!"
"Uh… they ran too fast. If the portal hadn't closed, these two would've escaped too. But no worries, it looks like they left the Space Stone behind…" Fandral pointed to Ebony Maw and Black Dwarf as he spoke.
"Just two left? No problem. I'll help you vent your anger!" Thor grinned confidently, raising Mjolnir as he led the group towards Ebony Maw and Black Dwarf.
"So, it's Asgardians we're dealing with. We don't really have any grudges between us…" Ebony Maw said cautiously as Thor and the others surrounded them. Now that the Space Stone was gone, and the portal was closed, Ebony Maw hesitated before attempting to negotiate.
"We invaded Earth, but I recall Asgard officially declared that Earth is no longer under your protection. So, there's no real need for us to be enemies, right?"
"No grudges?" Loki's eyes blazed with anger as he glared at Ebony Maw. "Say that again! Will you repeat to them all the things you've said about Asgard?"
"What things? There's nothing of the sort!" Ebony Maw denied vehemently, calmly addressing Loki. "Proxima Midnight was the one controlling you, not me. And you have to admit, we did find you wandering the universe in dire straits. We saved you, and our relationship was one of cooperation, even if you were at a disadvantage…"
"Bullshit!" Loki erupted, brandishing his daggers and charging at Ebony Maw.
"Bang!" Ebony Maw sighed, shaking his head as he casually sent Loki flying with a telekinetic wave. "This kid just never learns. I was in the middle of negotiating with your brother…"
"Whoosh!" Just as Ebony Maw finished speaking, a powerful gust swept towards him. His eyes narrowed as he raised his hand to deflect it, only to realize the wind's trajectory hadn't changed. His pupils contracted in shock as he quickly gathered nearby objects to shield himself.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Mjolnir surged forward like a meteor, smashing through everything in its path, unstoppable and relentless.
"If that hits me, I'll be severely injured if not killed!" Ebony Maw realized, hastily pulling Black Dwarf in front of him while dodging to the side.
"Hey!" Black Dwarf cried out in surprise, wanting to call out Ebony Maw's underhandedness, but he didn't have time as Mjolnir bore down on him. Forced to defend, he swung his massive axe at the incoming hammer.
"Clang!" The brutal clash sent Black Dwarf flying, nearly disarming him. Meanwhile, Mjolnir returned to Thor
's hand.
"Now's my chance!" Ebony Maw's eyes gleamed as he realized his only option was to grab Loki. If he could capture Loki, he could use him as a hostage to force Thor to activate the Bifrost and return him to Thanos.
With Loki as a bargaining chip, Ebony Maw wouldn't have to worry about Thor's threats. And as for failing to retrieve the Space Stone and Time Stone, he could always blame it on Asgard, claiming they still protected Earth.
"Buzz!" In that instant, Ebony Maw's mind raced, and he acted swiftly, directing a powerful telekinetic force towards Loki to seize him as his hostage...
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