Somewhere in the mountains.
A car suddenly rushed out from a lush rocky mountain, then split into two, two into four, four into eight, and each chose a direction to flee.
At the same time, the ground shook violently, and then began to collapse inward. The dense cracks on the ground caused by the earthquake spread in all directions with the mountainside as the center.
Beyond the roar of the earthquake, two armed helicopters rose into the sky, their blazing white searchlights chasing the speeding off-road vehicles along the cracked ground.
Flames were spewing from the helicopter's machine gun muzzle, and the air was filled with a hail of bullets whizzing by. They destroyed one vehicle after another exposed to the searchlight, but in the end they only destroyed one realistic phantom after another.
"Damn it, when did you people in the Midgard become so powerful? Or are you and that person special genetic mutations?"
In an SUV speeding along a deserted highway, a man wearing gorgeous and exotic clothes, holding a crescent-shaped scepter in his hand, his face hidden in the darkness, was sitting in the back seat. He was rubbing his aching chest and complaining to the driver.
"The power of technology." said John Garriott.
The man leaned forward, revealing his face in the light from the front seat. If Phil Coulson were there, he would probably recognize him from this face at the first moment.
Another prince of Asgard, Thor's younger brother, the ambitious Loki.
Loki's gloomy face held a hint of sarcasm. "Technology? Is that a joking term in your Midgard?"
"I'm serious, Boss." Garriott's expression didn't change at all, even his eyes didn't flicker. He answered while driving steadily.
"So, you're a cyborg, then? I have to admit, I always thought Midgard was a backward place, a remote, rural place no one wanted to visit. But it seems you're not without your merits." Loki slid back into the darkness of the backseat. He was feeling rather down, perhaps because of that dark journey he didn't want to recall, or perhaps because he had been forced to come to this, what he considered a backward and foolish place, for some purpose.
"No, Boss, it's the ring! The ring gives me powerful strength. This is a product of Heberon's technology. They have a lot of good things." Garriott raised one hand, revealing a simple ring on his finger under the light, and said seriously.
"A ring? I understand. Some kind of magical equipment? Asgard and the other nine realms also have similar equipment, and the powerful ones can even be called artifacts. For example, a certain old man's spear, or a certain rough man who will cause lightning and thunder as soon as he appears, and fights with a hammer. This is really an unexpected surprise. When I become the king of this planet, I want to meet that Heberon. I think since he is a craftsman like the dwarves, he can at least make me a gorgeous armor, right? Although I don't think his forging skills can compare with the dwarves who make artifacts." Loki nodded slowly in the darkness and said with his own understanding.
"You will get what you want. Dr. Eric Schavig and I will help you." Garriott turned his head to look at Dr. Schavig who was laughing in the passenger seat.
"Yes, yes. I can't help with the battle, but I can contribute all my knowledge. You have shown me a brand new world, which is so magnificent, beautiful and shocking. I am happy to help you achieve your goal." Dr. Shavig said with a smile.
"That's great, but now I want to ask, where are we going?" Loki looked at the darkness outside the window and asked.
"A secret base. Let's see which way the wind blows first, and then make an execution plan based on the target. Maybe we need to recruit some more people. Then we may need your scepter, Boss." Garriott answered calmly.
"Okay, please feel free to use it." Loki replied frivolously.
…
"what happened?"
Above the ruins, Nick Fury, in a black windbreaker, jumped down from a helicopter with his men and asked Hawkeye Clint, who was sitting on the edge of the ruins in a disheveled state.
"The Rubik's Cube is out of control." Clint stood up and looked at his superior.
"Tell me in detail." Nick looked at the completely collapsed, abandoned and damaged underground base, suppressed his inner anxiety, and said, "You were vague on the phone. Did the invaders steal the Rubik's Cube and kidnap Dr. Shavig? How did the invaders come?"
"The Cosmic Cube," Clint repeated. "The Cube's power suddenly went haywire, opening a portal and transporting a strangely dressed man wielding a crescent-shaped staff. He was skilled in a form of deceptive magic that disrupted vision and senses. Agent Garriott and Dr. Shavig were both controlled by the staff. All other researchers and agents present were killed."
"Agent Garriott has also been controlled?" Nick's face was rarely serious. This was a senior agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. No one knew how many connections and power a person who joined S.H.I.E.L.D. almost at the same time as him had secretly controlled. Even Nick, the director, was not aware of this.
"Agent Garriott attacked me." Clint looked embarrassed. "I didn't hit him."
"Are you sure they took the Rubik's Cube away?"
"Very sure."
"Do you remember the intruder's face?"
"It's a very memorable memory."
"Draw a sketch. No matter what, the Tesseract must be recovered," Nick said in a sinister tone. He didn't know if the former Kree had returned, but he knew the Tesseract must not be possessed or used by the invaders. Rather than let it fall into the hands of others, he would rather sell it to Luke, the black marketeer.
"Yes, sir!" Clint nodded.
"Since Garriott and Dr. Shavig are also under control, notify Agent Hill and track down the two around the world." Nick instructed Agent Phil behind him.
Phil turned sideways with his cell phone and called Agent Hill at the SHIELD headquarters.
"Agent Garriott is very familiar with SHIELD's methods. He himself is a hunter with extensive experience in counter-tracking. To be honest, many SHIELD agents' skills were trained and cultivated by him. I'm afraid that ordinary tracking methods will be useless to him." Clint expressed his concerns.
"Of course I know, but even if I know it's of little use, I have to do it. They can't hide forever." Nick's face was cold. He believed that it was only a matter of time before he found the other party's whereabouts. Before finding the other party, he had to gather all the combat power he could.
The mages were responsible for dimensional demon invasions. I wondered if they would be willing to lend a hand in an invasion like this, which could be from outside the Earth. Having the mages' help would be a huge boost to their mobility. Even if the enemy wouldn't offer any assistance, simply opening a portal upon discovering them and transporting their assembled forces would be a significant help.
…
Inside the dilapidated house, a dim light from a DVD player dispelled some of the darkness. Bruce Banner watched the little girl fleeing quickly into the darkness, then glanced at the female agent Natasha Romanoff, whom he had met once before, who had appeared in the house. His emotions were mixed.
"A child this young is going to be trained by you to deceive people?" Dr. Banner stood where he was, turned around and looked at the little girl who had led the way and disappeared after deceiving him, and asked with a shrug.
"This is their way of survival." Natasha walked to the table and invited, "Would you like to sit down and talk?"
"I don't think we have anything to talk about." Despite saying this, Banner walked over and sat down opposite Natasha.
"We are here to seek your help." Natasha's beautiful face was full of sincerity.
"Help? I thought you were going to lock me up. How many soldiers are lying in ambush outside?" Banner smiled and asked a question that Natasha found sharp.
"I'm willing to be honest, so I can answer your questions. But they are only used to control the worst situation. I hope you can understand." Natasha said softly.
"That's quite frank indeed. So what do you need my help with?" Dr. Banner put his hands on the table and asked with some interest.
"Doctor, I need you to use your expertise and knowledge to help me find something."
"What will become of me afterwards?"
"You can come and go as you please afterward."
"You won't imprison me?"
"certainly."
"Can you decide?"
"That's what the commander meant. He's already helped you sort out all the trouble. At least while you're working for S.H.I.E.L.D., the general who's showing signs of reinstatement isn't in the mood for the time being and won't bother you. You can consider this a deal."
As the two asked and answered each other, Dr. Banner asked the last and most crucial question.
"It seems you truly possess extraordinary powers and abilities. Well, I have one last question. Aren't you afraid of me? There's a monster inside me that could go haywire at any moment. If you're in the same space with me, your life won't be safe."
"This is indeed a threat. If we say we don't care, I'm afraid that would be an insincere deception. But Dr. Banner, we may have a way to keep you relatively stable and calm, and live like a normal person." Natasha said softly.
"Don't try to deceive me!" Dr. Banner suddenly stood up excitedly and shouted in a louder voice.
Suddenly, footsteps could be heard outside the window. Natasha was startled by the doctor's sudden outburst and leaned back in her chair. But the next moment, she met his calm gaze. Ignoring Dr. Banner's approaching face, she tilted her head and pressed the earphone communicator to give the people outside normal instructions.
"You know, Doctor, we won't lie like that. No one can be sure of the future, but what I can guarantee is that every conversation I have with you right now is genuine, without any falsehood or deception. We know you've been searching for a way to calm yourself down or live a normal life, and we have a solution. At least for now, it's probably the most effective method."
After asking the people outside to step back, Natasha looked up and spoke to the doctor.
"How to prove it?" Banner forced himself to suppress his inner emotions, and little by little he regained his composure using the emotion control skills he had honed. He slowly sat down and asked back.
Natasha took out a palm-sized jewelry box from her pocket, placed it on the table, and carefully pushed it towards Dr. Banner opposite.
"What is this?" Banner looked at Natasha and reached out to take the box she pushed over, asking cautiously.
"Something good to calm you down," Natasha said. "Open it."
Dr. Banner opened the box and saw that it looked like an ordinary ring box. A ring inlaid with a sapphire the size of a soybean came into his sight.
"A ring?" Banner was stunned.
"Put it on." Natasha gestured for Banner to take out the ring and put it on her finger.
Banner took out the ring doubtfully, and the moment he touched the ring, he indeed felt a unique tranquility, as if all the thoughts and distractions in his mind had been cleared away. He no longer had to constantly control his emotions that might get out of control at any time, because now he was filled with a long-lost calmness and relaxation.
Looking at Dr. Banner who put the ring on his finger impatiently, Natasha breathed a sigh of relief.
"What is this?" Dr. Banner said happily, caressing the ring lovingly. Although he didn't know if the ring was as magical as Natasha said, its effect did calm him down.
"This is Heberon's latest technological product. It's extremely rare and expensive, and even S.H.I.E.L.D. can only obtain a limited quantity." Natasha explained, "It's not a gem, but a crystal of purified energy. It consumes energy. This is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reward for your help."
"Hei Bolun? Maybe I should go meet the inventor of this technology. Or would he be willing to give me a job?" Dr. Banner blinked. He knew that he should be happy after hearing this information, and his emotions might fluctuate greatly, but under the effect of the ring, he remained calm.
"Then can we leave right away? We're in a hurry over there." Natasha stood up.
"Okay, I'll just clean it up." Banner also stood up.
…
"What? You saw my brother? Where is he?" On the bustling street with flashing neon lights and a constant flow of people even late at night, Thor, dressed like a passerby and holding a mobile phone in his hand, was shouting ecstatically to Phil on the other end of the phone.
"…"
"Can't explain it clearly over the phone? Then give me the address and I'll take a taxi to find you." Thor said hurriedly.
…
"It seems the prince has adapted well. In the past, he would have come flying over here with his hammer in hand. Should we send someone to pick him up? His taxi won't make it all the way here."
On the S.H.I.E.L.D.'s newly completed and tested helicarrier, Nick looked at Phil who had hung up the phone and whispered. Hearing this, Phil looked embarrassed.
"Sir, he flew over with a hammer." Phil corrected in a low voice.
Soon, a message was delivered to Nick by his subordinates.
"Sir, there's an unidentified flying object flying towards us at supersonic speed. It's on collision course in about three minutes. Do you want to stop it?"
Nick and Phil looked at each other.