After a moment of thought, Meng Ran spoke on behalf of everyone, his tone cold as he addressed Thor:
"Loki can be taken back to Asgard by you, but we have conditions."
"The condition is that he must never appear on Earth again."
"If I ever find him causing trouble on Earth again, no matter whose son he is, I will crush him to dust."
Thor nodded at Meng Ran's words and then reassured them, "Rest assured, Loki will be imprisoned in Asgard and will never be able to leave."
In truth, Meng Ran had no intention of letting Loki off so easily, and the others likely shared the same sentiment.
However, facing Asgard, Earth was still the weaker side. Meng Ran and the rest of the Avengers had no way to directly punish Loki.
Everyone understood this, so no one objected to Meng Ran's condition. They knew this was the best possible outcome for now.
With the Loki situation resolved, the next matter was the Cosmic Cube and Loki's scepter.
Given the immense power contained in both, the group ultimately decided to hand them over to Thor to take back to Asgard for safekeeping.
Honestly, Earth simply did not have the capacity to safely possess such artifacts.
As the saying goes, "The innocent can still be accused when in possession of great treasures." With Earth's current strength, keeping these artifacts here would inevitably attract the attention of other powerful civilizations.
So handing them to Asgard, a strong force capable of maintaining the stability of the Nine Realms and renowned throughout the universe, was the wisest choice.
With these matters settled, it was finally time for the event Tony had been eagerly anticipating: the barbecue.
The Avengers and Star Alliance members headed together to the Middle Eastern barbecue restaurant Tony had mentioned.
The restaurant was just a few blocks from Stark Tower, located in a reasonably busy area.
Although the recent battle had caused some damage, the owner and staff had taken timely refuge and had no casualties.
As the Avengers and Star Alliance arrived, the owner and staff returned to check on the restaurant.
Truthfully, seeing the unusually dressed Avengers and Star Alliance members, they were somewhat dumbfounded.
They hadn't expected the restaurant to still have business in such circumstances—and that customers would actually come by.
"You are…?" Tony asked, noticing the owner and staff at the door.
"I-I'm the owner of this restaurant," the man stammered.
"Are… are you here to eat?"
The owner was nervous at first, then curiously asked back.
Tony immediately realized who he was talking to: "Oh! You're the owner! That explains why the place seemed empty."
"Can we still eat here? Do you have enough ingredients?"
The owner nodded: "Yes, we just received a delivery today. But I'll go check the kitchen just in case."
He then led the staff to the back. Moments later, he returned:
"What would you like to eat? I checked, and our ingredients weren't affected, so we can serve normally."
Hearing this, Tony and the others placed their orders. They dusted off some surfaces and moved a few overturned tables together to make one large dining table.
Under these unusual conditions, the Avengers and Star Alliance members had their first "team-building" meal.
After fighting side by side, everyone had grown slightly more familiar with each other.
Unlike the Avengers, the Star Alliance members all wore masks to conceal their identities—even while eating.
Meng Ran, Gwen, and Peter had battle suits obtained from the system. With a thought, they could adjust their masks to cover only the upper half of their faces, leaving their mouths free to eat.
Meng Ran also had Venom partially covering him, making him even more mysterious—a black void inside his hood.
As they ate, the food disappeared into the darkness, as if thrown into a black lake without a ripple.
The remaining two, Liu Xiu and Harry, wore armored suits designed by Harry. They removed the lower half of their masks to eat.
Seeing the Star Alliance members being so careful while eating, avoiding revealing their identities, the Avengers couldn't help but curiously observe.
This mysterious demeanor only piqued their interest further—they wanted to know who might be behind the masks.
"Can you stop staring at us?"
"This feels weird… like a gorilla in a zoo being watched," Meng Ran said hoarsely while eating.
The Avengers coughed or averted their eyes to hide their embarrassment.
Seeing their awkwardness, Meng Ran didn't comment further. He simply looked at Dr. Banner, who seemed to have lost his appetite, and asked:
"Dr. Banner, after such an intense battle, aren't you hungry?"
"You don't seem to have much of an appetite," he added.
Banner forced a small smile and explained, "I just… recovered. Still feel a bit uncomfortable. Transforming from an ordinary human to a giant and back isn't easy.
"It feels a bit like motion sickness. So I'm still adjusting."
Tony, chewing on some meat, nodded: "Honestly, I had a similar feeling the first time I flew with my completed Iron Man suit. Exciting, but uncomfortable… like motion sickness, makes you want to throw up."
Soon, the conversation shifted to experiences of motion sickness, and the earlier tension in the air gradually dissipated. The atmosphere began to feel lively and relaxed.