Although Blaine had obviously just bragged and backtracked, he now claimed that he did it all for S.H.I.E.L.D.
After all, this was to ensure that Loki could be safely located and captured. Otherwise, he could have gone straight to Germany—but whether Loki would have been found then was uncertain.
Natasha Romanoff returned to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base in the fighter jet.
Blaine, on the other hand, remained seated, completely still.
"Natasha, is this the guy Fury sent here?"
Steve Rogers narrowed his eyes. "Is he reliable?"
Natasha nodded. "Bruce should've seen how capable he is."
"This guy..."
Bruce Banner watched Blaine from a distance, a shadow flickering in his eyes.
"Sorry..."
He clutched his head, struggling to suppress the tyrannical and warlike emotions welling up within him.
These emotions weren't truly his—they belonged to the Hulk.
After all, he had personally witnessed Blaine fighting Abomination, Hulk's great enemy, and defeating him with ease.
But at that time, Hulk had been "asleep." It hadn't been a face-to-face encounter.
Now, seeing Blaine while conscious, Bruce couldn't stop the Hulk's fury from rising. The Hulk's instincts were triggered, and he was itching to burst free from Bruce's body and challenge Blaine to a fight.
There was no helping it. The Hulk was simple and impulsive, lacking Bruce Banner's intelligence and restraint.
Today's Hulk was just a mighty beast.
In his mind, Blaine had stolen his prey—killed his prey. Not helped him, not shared the glory. Just taken it.
Fortunately, Bruce had been working on self-control during this period and was barely able to suppress the rage.
"...Something doesn't feel right," Natasha muttered.
She had seen Bruce transform into the Hulk before—and the signs were the same now. It gave her a headache.
Her two greatest fears were converging again.
As for Captain America, Steve Rogers, he was confused. He'd still been frozen in ice back when Blaine had rampaged through New York.
"Hmm. Let's rest for the night," Natasha said, shaking her head and walking away.
---
10:00 a.m., the next morning.
Blaine, who had been sitting motionless all night, finally moved.
He slowly raised his head and looked at a surveillance camera nearby. "Fury, we're heading to Stuttgart, Germany."
The previous night, Blaine had used his mental power to track the paper cranes. As expected, they crossed several borders before finally arriving in Stuttgart, Germany.
This was also the place where the party scene from the movie took place—and where Loki would soon appear.
Nick Fury, who had been watching through the monitor, nodded in acknowledgment. He turned to Steve Rogers.
The message was clear.
Steve Rogers nodded, donning his star-spangled uniform and shield, then joined Natasha aboard the jet.
The fighter jet took off quickly.
Watching the jet vanish in the distance, Fury said to Agent Hill behind him, "Focus the satellite tracking system on Stuttgart, Germany. If anything comes up, report it immediately.
Also, notify our contacts in Germany to arrange entry clearance. Give Natasha and the others a green light through customs.
Otherwise, the fighter might be shot down."
---
This time, Natasha was accompanied by an unknown agent seated next to the pilot.
There were only four people aboard the jet:
Blaine, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, and the unnamed agent.
Blaine remained seated with his eyes half-closed, silently using his telepathy to observe Captain America.
Just as he expected.
Captain America's physical stats weren't particularly high—about a 10. The super soldier serum wasn't that miraculous.
But it didn't matter. Captain America was a bug in the system. His raw stats were lower than most superheroes or villains, yet he always held his own thanks to his Vibranium shield.
That shield also had a strange "aggro" buff. Even villains who could easily defeat him would ignore everything else and focus on attacking the shield instead.
As Blaine continued observing Steve—
Steve was also quietly watching him.
For some reason, Steve instinctively felt Blaine wasn't a good guy. There was something off about his demeanor, like he was always scheming.
Maybe it was because Blaine was a Bounty Hunter who worked in the shadows, while Steve was the embodiment of justice and righteousness?
Or maybe... it was something else.
Either way, Steve's instincts were right.
Because—Blaine really was plotting something.
---
The journey from the U.S. to Germany takes about seven hours by commercial plane. But since they were flying in a S.H.I.E.L.D. fighter jet with clear airspace, the travel time was much shorter.
It would only take about four hours.
Of course, this was just an estimate. The exact flight time from New York to Stuttgart varies. But they wouldn't be off by more than an hour.
They departed at 10:00 a.m. U.S. time.
By the time they arrived in Stuttgart, it would be around 2:00 p.m. U.S. time. Factoring in the time difference between the U.S. and Germany, it would be about 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. local time in Germany.
Just in time for the evening.
1:30 p.m. U.S. time.
7:30 p.m. German time.
Only half an hour remained before Blaine and the others landed in Germany.
Back at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base, Nick Fury and Bruce Banner sat in the command center, monitoring potential Loki sightings around the globe.
"...Sir!"
At that moment, Agent Hill, who had been monitoring Stuttgart, rushed over to Nick Fury. "We've found Loki!"
"Where?"
Nick Fury straightened, placing his hands behind his back as he followed her.
Hill glanced at the satellite feed and traffic camera footage on her screen, then turned to him seriously. "Stuttgart, Germany. At a venue where a party is about to begin."
*************************************
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