Blaine approached the five corpses.
They were all dressed in dark red ninja uniforms, with crossed darts and katanas strapped to their waists.
Their identities were already quite obvious — they were ninja assassins from the Hand.
Blaine randomly selected one of them, squatted down, and tore off the mask.
It was an Asian face with two thin mustaches. He looked somewhat like a florist, but not quite — more like a rooster with claws.
His clothes were intact, and there were no visible wounds. However, his face was twisted in agony, his eyes bulging, and a trace of lingering fear remained.
Members of the Hand undergo rigorous training from childhood. In terms of physical endurance and mental fortitude, they're almost superhuman compared to ordinary people.
You can kill them, but you can't make them afraid — they're not afraid of death.
You can torture them, but they've already endured the worst tortures imaginable. They won't betray the Hand over a little pain. Even if they survived by yielding, the Hand would hunt them down without mercy.
That's why people who understand the Hand often call them "mad ninjas." The name fits — they're utterly insane.
Yet now, this group of ninjas — even in death — had expressions of terror frozen on their faces.
It was clear they had experienced unimaginable torment before dying.
And not physical — but mental.
Blaine's mouth twitched. He took out the Bow of Elements and incinerated the bodies one by one, eliminating any evidence.
"Alright, let's go."
Blaine rubbed Gali's head, took her hand, and headed back to the villa.
The Hand had clearly found his location.
He also understood that they had probably issued a kill order against him.
But it didn't matter.
If one came, he'd kill one. If two came, he'd kill a pair.
Not to mention Gali — even Blaine alone could easily take care of these ninjas, who were nothing more than highly trained humans.
When things settled down a bit, he might find a chance to have a little "talk" with Madam Gao.
In the following days, Blaine and Gali spent their time relaxing.
Games, singing, swimming, playing ball…
Although Blaine had done all this before, doing it with Gali was a completely different experience.
The only issue was that Gali truly lived up to her reputation as omniscient and omnipotent — she could play anything, even invent her own games on the fly.
Sometimes, being all-knowing wasn't a good thing.
While Blaine and Gali were enjoying their peaceful days…
Elsewhere in the United States — at a S.H.I.E.L.D. base.
Not long ago, an urgent directive had been issued ordering all S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel to evacuate in an orderly manner.
Nick Fury had just arrived at the base by helicopter.
As his personal aide, Phil Coulson had been waiting for him.
"What's the situation?"
All around, agents were executing emergency evacuation protocols.
Wearing his trademark black trench coat, Nick Fury walked briskly toward the underground base, questioning Coulson beside him.
"Four hours ago, Dr. Selvig detected a surge of energy from the Tesseract," Coulson replied.
"The space agency never authorized any testing," Fury said calmly.
"There was no test. The doctor wasn't even in the room," Coulson explained. "It activated on its own."
"What's the current energy level?"
"It's rising. When we confirmed the doctor couldn't shut it down, an emergency evacuation was ordered."
"How long until everyone's out?"
Fury looked tired. A lot had happened recently — monsters, bounty hunters, a storm on a Manhattan dock… and now this — the Tesseract.
"Another thirty minutes, tops," Coulson answered.
"Make it happen," Fury said with a nod, and headed toward the lab with Agent Hill, where the Tesseract was held.
Coulson stayed behind to continue coordinating the evacuation.
"Sir, I don't think evacuating is going to help much," Agent Hill said as she followed Fury.
"What, should we let them sleep in their beds?" Fury shot back.
He knew full well that evacuation was pointless. If the Tesseract's energy continued to rise unchecked, it could wipe out the entire planet. No place would be safe.
"If we can't stabilize the Tesseract, I fear—"
Fury cut her off. "Unless it's the end of the world, we do what needs to be done. Now make sure the second-stage prototype is relocated, and get all related equipment out. Move."
"...Yes, sir," Hill replied, though she looked a little defeated. Fury was right.
Suddenly—
The Tesseract began to flicker violently, emitting massive surges of energy.
The entire S.H.I.E.L.D. base — and the ground beneath it — shook violently.
Fury's eyes widened as he rushed into the lab.
"Doctor, what the hell is going on?!"
"The Tesseract is emitting interference and radiation uncontrollably!" Dr. Selvig said in a panic, staring at the rapidly changing data on the monitor.
Before he could say more, the Tesseract began to pulse even harder. Violent energy ripples filled the air. A low hum grew into a loud buzzing as the energy condensed—
And then, at its peak, a vortex formed in the center of the lab.
A massive space wormhole slowly opened before their eyes. Beyond it — a vast, endless starfield.
Everyone — Fury, Dr. Selvig, the agents — stood frozen, stunned.
And then—
The wormhole collapsed inward violently.
In its place stood a lone figure, half-kneeling on the floor.
Slowly, the figure stood up. He was dressed in strange, ceremonial armor, and held a scepter in his hand.
It was Loki.
The sight of him stunned everyone.
"...!"
"Sir, please put down the spear," Nick Fury said, turning to face the intruder.
Loki stared blankly at the scepter in his hand, then slowly aimed it at the armed agents in front of him.
The scepter glowed. With a sudden hum, it unleashed a blast of energy.
The attack caught the agents off guard. Gunfire erupted in response, but it was useless. Loki barely flinched, and within seconds, he had taken them all down.
Then he turned the Mind Stone-embedded scepter toward Hawkeye, Clint Barton, just like in the movie.
A pulse of energy surged outward and struck Barton's chest.
"You are special," Loki said quietly.
Barton's eyes gradually darkened.
Slowly, he returned to his original state.
Seeing this, Loki smiled faintly at the corner of his mouth, retracted the scepter, and moved on to control the next agent.
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