"He's quite fast."
Loki's notification was, to some extent, a surprise to Lothar.
Was the second prince of Asgard so obedient?
Did he really not have any tricks up his sleeve?
Lothar was a little skeptical. Although Loki was not Odin's biological son, Lothar saw a strong resemblance between them, especially that irritating demeanor. Would such a person really hand over the Space Stone so easily?
Loki's unexpected move rendered Lothar's backup plan useless.
"It must be because of you, Your Highness Lothar."
"Loki was frightened by the unparalleled power you displayed, Your Highness."
"He can clearly recognize the huge gap between himself and you, so he dares not harbor any secret intentions."
The Other, with a permanent smile, was quick with his flattery. He had been waiting for this moment for over a thousand years.
Lothar, long accustomed to The Other's demeanor, said nothing. Instead, he got up and walked toward Thanos's location. Before leaving, he needed to notify his adoptive father.
"Wait a minute, Woz, what are you doing here?" Suppressing his inner joy, The Other saw another robot cat standing beside the side hall butler, Gaitz, after Lothar left. Woz was Lothar's dedicated combat AI assistant. The Other found it strange. Normally, Woz wouldn't be in Gaitz's territory.
"I'm having Gaitz update my final program information," Woz replied without looking up, holding a book titled, A Complete Collection of Commendation Speeches for His Highness Lothar.
Having been away from this universe for over a thousand years, it needed Gaitz to update some of its hardware and information. After all, it couldn't exactly bother Thanos or Lothar, could it?
"What is this?"
"A Complete Collection of Commendation Speeches for His Highness Lothar? Woz, why do you have this book?!" Upon seeing the title, The Other's internal alarm bells went off. Danger! Extreme danger! Was this little bitch Woz trying to steal his job?!
'Oh, you motherf...'
"Didn't you, Mr. The Other, willingly transcribe this for me?" Woz batted its innocent big eyes, its adorably honest face a mask of feigned ignorance.
"This is my job," The Other ground out.
"Actually, during the time you were away from His Highness Lothar, I was the one who sang his praises."
"In other words, this is also my job."
Closing the book, Woz, whose final hardware update was complete, fluttered its short legs and hopped off the chair.
The Other felt that his position was being challenged, and he might even be in danger of losing his job.
"I am the professional one." The Other left in a huff. He had to return to the Chitauri homeworld and rally his troops. After over a thousand years, this was the first time he had ever felt a sense of a workplace crisis.
Just as The Other left the Black Quadrant, Lothar arrived before Thanos.
"Father."
Lothar bowed respectfully to the figure on the throne.
"What is it?"
Thanos, who was reviewing a planetary observer's report, paused and his gaze fell on Lothar.
"Loki has found the Space Stone, and he will soon open a spatial portal."
"On Midgard?"
"Yes," Lothar nodded.
"I see. I will handle the Ancient One," Thanos said. His son's plan for revenge was about to begin, and he, as a father, would naturally lend his full support.
"I will not disappoint you, Father." A bloodthirsty glint shimmered in Lothar's eyes.
'Odin, wash your neck and wait.'
....
Earth, U.S.A., New York City, Times Square.
The streets were bustling, but not with the usual excitement and noise, it was with frantic running and screaming.
Loki, fully prepared, brazenly displayed his godly visage on all the large screens in Times Square. The followers he had brought from the dark energy facility were clearing the area, or rather, forcing everyone to their knees.
To kneel before him.
"I'll say this one last time."
"Kneel!"
"Now, kneel before me."
Loki, holding the Mind Stone scepter, stood atop a Times Square building, his voice carrying throughout the entire district.
Boom!
Boom boom boom!!!
Sudden explosions, which instantly destroyed parts of the streets, caused the humans who were still hesitating to discard the last of their defiance and kneel before Loki on the top of the building.
"This is truly amusing."
Loki, looking down from his perch, closed his eyes and savored the gentle breeze on his face, his smile growing more unrestrained.
"Loki!!!"
Bang!
A fierce and powerful bolt of lightning descended from the sky. Thor, clutching Mjolnir, landed gracefully on the rooftop, without kicking up a single stone shard.
"My dear brother, we meet again."
Loki, completely unfazed with someone to back him, turned around, his eyes on the man before him. The brother he had grown up with—Thor.
"Come home with me, Loki."
"Father knows you're alive."
"Trust me, this time, you can return to Asgard in broad daylight, as a son of Odin." Thor was filled with a mix of emotions upon seeing his brother, whom he thought had died beneath the Rainbow Bridge, alive and well before him.
He knew his brother was just misguided and had strayed from the right path. He wasn't beyond saving. And he, Thor, as Loki's brother, wanted to save him.
"No, I am not a son of Odin, Thor."
"I am Laufey's son. I am the king of the Frost Giants of Jotunheim!"
A blue light flashed on Loki's exposed skin.
"Excuse me, you two, but we're not terribly interested in your family drama right now." A brightly painted red man, Tony Stark, also descended from the sky, his flamboyant voice clearly unacquainted with the harsh reality of the situation.
"Hand over the Tesseract, Loki."
"Otherwise, you're going to have a very bad day." Barton, Natasha—the S.H.I.E.L.D. duo—along with the unstoppable Hulk human form, Dr. Banner, and the former symbol of America, Steve Rogers, pushed open the rooftop door. They were out of breath, clearly having run up the emergency stairs. Guns were raised, the dark barrels aimed at the defiant Loki.
"The Tesseract?"
"My apologies, but before you, it was already reserved by a terrifying entity." Faced with this team led by his brother, Loki still had the audacity to adjust his clothes.
"Lothar? Who is he, Loki? Why are you involved with him?" Thor's expression turned serious as he swung his hammer.
"How rare. You, who never read the secret tomes, know about Lothar. Let me guess, Odin, that old, biased fool, told you, didn't he?" When he mentioned Odin, Loki's eyes suddenly became incredibly dark.
"Loki!"
"You want to know who he is? Why don't you ask him yourselves?" Loki's playful gaze swept over everyone present before he tossed the Mind Stone scepter into the air.
Zing!
As if receiving a command, the stone at the tip of the scepter suddenly emitted a brilliant light!
BOOM!!!!
A tremendous energy shockwave erupted from beneath Times Square, tearing open a massive hole in the blue sky. Outside the hole, countless alien warships were poised for battle.
"What is that?!"
An infinite number of spaceships flew through the hole and floated over New York City. Then, like stars orbiting a moon, they ushered a single figure into the world's view.
"Rejoice!"
"For you are graced by the presence of the great son of Titan! The esteemed Lord of the Chitauri! His Highness, Prince Lothar!"
"Now, is the moment of the king's arrival!"
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