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Chapter 335: Loki's Return
2022-10-19 Author: Great Demon Spirit
In Stark Tower, people watched with strange expressions as a dazzling, stylish yellow sports car drove into the elevator. Under everyone's watchful eyes, the yellow sports car even performed a small drift, positioning its entire body horizontally within the elevator, with the shortest distance between it and the doors being less than a centimeter.
The whole maneuver was flawlessly executed in one fluid motion, a true aesthetic pleasure to behold.
The elevator went straight to the top floor, to Tony's private office. Its decor was comparable to a luxury villa, and most appealing to the Old Bartender was the vast collection of expensive liquors.
tony's Estate also had these wines, and even if it didn't, he could acquire them through various means. But the Old Bartender hadn't come here just to drink.
More importantly, he wanted to see his old friend in his final days. Tony was one of the few people he could get along with.
"Need me to find a few beauties for you?" Tony raised an eyebrow, joking.
The Old Bartender gave a bitter smile, propping himself up on the luxurious sofa as he sat down with difficulty. "Do you think my body can still take it?"
"Hey, old pal, I was just kidding. You didn't take it seriously, did you?" Tony wore a look of surprise that made you want to punch him.
The Old Bartender chuckled, an unhealthy pallor appearing on his face. He could clearly feel his life slipping away. The old man casually picked up a bottle from the liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass.
Bumblebee transformed into his human form, making gurgling sounds. After much practice, he could finally manage to make some noise.
"This is... alcohol? No different from my... lubricant." Bumblebee stared with wide eyes, the "eyelids" around his optics rotating several times. In an instant, a massive amount of analytical data flowed into his mind.
He extended two thick metal fingers and, after much hesitation, carefully pinched the tiny glass. Imitating the Old Bartender, he poured the contents into his mouth, even smacking his lips deliberately.
The Old Bartender let out a hearty laugh.
"A drinking artificial intelligence?" Tony looked astonished.
"He's not an artificial intelligence... Forget it, I'll tell you later. I came to see you about something else." The Old Bartender took a few small sips of the liquor before setting the glass down, not touching it again. A strange, sickly flush crept onto his face.
"Go ahead."
"That fellow, Agent Coulson, is he still trying to recruit you into some kind of Superpowered Squad?" the Old Bartender asked, glancing at the numerous armored suits arrayed around the room.
"Yeah, a Super Boy Team, but I'm not interested. The guy refuses to let me lead—I hate being led by others, and I especially hate being told what to do, particularly by men."
As Tony spoke, he cast a worried glance at the Old Bartender, genuinely afraid the old man might suddenly collapse.
The Old Bartender mulled it over for a moment before speaking slowly, "Actually, it's not a bad thing for you to join a team like that, but only on the condition that you can take the members and go independent, rather than becoming S.H.I.E.L.D.'s pawn..."
"You want me to join the team and then kick S.H.I.E.L.D. to the curb? Good idea." Tony mused, suspecting that this was not just the Old Bartender's idea, but Tony hoped he would do so.
In truth, Tony would have done something like this sooner or later. Once S.H.I.E.L.D.'s political nature was continuously exposed, the rich and powerful Tony would inevitably pull the Avengers away to operate independently, freeing them from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s shackles.
The Old Bartender soon changed the subject, seamlessly shifting the conversation. Taking a moment, he subconsciously observed Tony's forehead, as if trying to see through his skull, though it was merely out of simple curiosity.
...
In the vast expanse of space, a massive fleet advanced in silence.
This was the fleet of the notorious Chitauri. The Chitauri were Thanos's loyal lapdogs, having followed him for many years in destroying planets. Their reputation was already infamous.
Many hated them, but even more feared them.
The Evil God Loki, dressed in his Asgardian attire, wore a wicked smile. An inscrutable light glinted in his sinister eyes.
In his right hand, he tightly gripped the scepter.
"I thought Thanos would send the Black Order to assist me. I didn't expect him to send you..." A disquieting smile appeared on Loki's face.
"Shut up, son of Odin. A puny planet like Earth isn't worth making a big fuss over. Not only can we Chitauri handle it, but we can do it better than the Black Order! We Chitauri will prove our worth with a glorious victory—as for you, you're just a disposable pawn," the Chitauri Leader said in a deep voice.
Many of the Chitauri let out low laughs, making no effort to hide their disdain for Loki.
The son of a God-King, acting like a stray dog, hehehe...
"Are you jealous?" Loki wasn't annoyed in the slightest.
The Chitauri's laughter died abruptly, their expressions turning furious. The Chitauri here were all high-ranking officers of the Legion, fully armed in high-alloy armor. Their tall, burly figures were incredibly intimidating.
"Are you provoking us?" The Leader shot to his feet, walked over, and jabbed a finger hard into Loki's chest. The immense force made Loki grunt. "Remember your place. Lord Thanos is only bestowing you this chance to prove your worth out of respect for Odin. Conquering a tiny planet like Earth still relies on us Chitauri. Even if I were to kill you right now, Lord Thanos wouldn't say a word."
Loki brought his scepter up horizontally. The practiced motion gave him the momentary illusion that he was still holding the Spear of Eternity, ruling over Asgard. After a fleeting trance, a sinister look crossed his face. "You can try. Thanos gave me this scepter personally. You can't possibly be unaware of what that implies. I need your army, and you need me, someone who is familiar with Earth."
Loki squeezed out a sincere smile. "I believe we can get along."
The Chitauri remained silent for a while before nodding reluctantly, agreeing with some frustration. For some reason, their master favored Loki, and there was nothing they could do about it.
No matter what they did, they couldn't shake Loki, let alone kill him. Otherwise, Thanos's volatile and vicious temper...
The Chitauri dispersed one by one, each casting a cold, disdainful glance at Loki before their figures gradually vanished from the hall, leaving him alone.
The smile slowly faded from Loki's face, replaced by a grim and indifferent expression. He looked down at the scepter and narrowed his eyes. With his vast reserves of knowledge and recent experiments, he had more or less figured out what this thing was.
The scepter itself was a treasure, no doubt, but what was more important was unquestionably the gem embedded at its tip.
The Mind Stone.
As a prince of Asgard, and with an age of fifteen hundred years, the knowledge he had been exposed to was unimaginable. Even without ever having truly touched something like the Infinity Stones, he had a detailed understanding of them.
Danger and opportunity coexisted—that was the nature of the Infinity Stones.
"Thanos gave this Infinity Stone to me..." Loki murmured, his eyes flickering. He never minded assuming the worst of others, especially when it came to Thanos.
His lean figure slowly rose. Loki began to walk with a noble air, his grip on the scepter tightening unnaturally.
He already knew what he had to do. Thanos was no fool, and neither was he.
Only the Chitauri were. That bunch of arrogant idiots, their minds filled with nothing but loyalty to Lord Thanos, were, at best, nothing more than laughable weapons.
And Thanos had plenty more weapons just like them.
(end of chapter)
2022-10-19 Author: Great Demon Spirit
In Stark Tower, people watched with strange expressions as a dazzling, stylish yellow sports car drove into the elevator. Under everyone's watchful eyes, the yellow sports car even performed a small drift, positioning its entire body horizontally within the elevator, with the shortest distance between it and the doors being less than a centimeter.
The whole maneuver was flawlessly executed in one fluid motion, a true aesthetic pleasure to behold.
The elevator went straight to the top floor, to Tony's private office. Its decor was comparable to a luxury villa, and most appealing to the Old Bartender was the vast collection of expensive liquors.
tony's Estate also had these wines, and even if it didn't, he could acquire them through various means. But the Old Bartender hadn't come here just to drink.
More importantly, he wanted to see his old friend in his final days. Tony was one of the few people he could get along with.
"Need me to find a few beauties for you?" Tony raised an eyebrow, joking.
The Old Bartender gave a bitter smile, propping himself up on the luxurious sofa as he sat down with difficulty. "Do you think my body can still take it?"
"Hey, old pal, I was just kidding. You didn't take it seriously, did you?" Tony wore a look of surprise that made you want to punch him.
The Old Bartender chuckled, an unhealthy pallor appearing on his face. He could clearly feel his life slipping away. The old man casually picked up a bottle from the liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass.
Bumblebee transformed into his human form, making gurgling sounds. After much practice, he could finally manage to make some noise.
"This is... alcohol? No different from my... lubricant." Bumblebee stared with wide eyes, the "eyelids" around his optics rotating several times. In an instant, a massive amount of analytical data flowed into his mind.
He extended two thick metal fingers and, after much hesitation, carefully pinched the tiny glass. Imitating the Old Bartender, he poured the contents into his mouth, even smacking his lips deliberately.
The Old Bartender let out a hearty laugh.
"A drinking artificial intelligence?" Tony looked astonished.
"He's not an artificial intelligence... Forget it, I'll tell you later. I came to see you about something else." The Old Bartender took a few small sips of the liquor before setting the glass down, not touching it again. A strange, sickly flush crept onto his face.
"Go ahead."
"That fellow, Agent Coulson, is he still trying to recruit you into some kind of Superpowered Squad?" the Old Bartender asked, glancing at the numerous armored suits arrayed around the room.
"Yeah, a Super Boy Team, but I'm not interested. The guy refuses to let me lead—I hate being led by others, and I especially hate being told what to do, particularly by men."
As Tony spoke, he cast a worried glance at the Old Bartender, genuinely afraid the old man might suddenly collapse.
The Old Bartender mulled it over for a moment before speaking slowly, "Actually, it's not a bad thing for you to join a team like that, but only on the condition that you can take the members and go independent, rather than becoming S.H.I.E.L.D.'s pawn..."
"You want me to join the team and then kick S.H.I.E.L.D. to the curb? Good idea." Tony mused, suspecting that this was not just the Old Bartender's idea, but Tony hoped he would do so.
In truth, Tony would have done something like this sooner or later. Once S.H.I.E.L.D.'s political nature was continuously exposed, the rich and powerful Tony would inevitably pull the Avengers away to operate independently, freeing them from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s shackles.
The Old Bartender soon changed the subject, seamlessly shifting the conversation. Taking a moment, he subconsciously observed Tony's forehead, as if trying to see through his skull, though it was merely out of simple curiosity.
...
In the vast expanse of space, a massive fleet advanced in silence.
This was the fleet of the notorious Chitauri. The Chitauri were Thanos's loyal lapdogs, having followed him for many years in destroying planets. Their reputation was already infamous.
Many hated them, but even more feared them.
The Evil God Loki, dressed in his Asgardian attire, wore a wicked smile. An inscrutable light glinted in his sinister eyes.
In his right hand, he tightly gripped the scepter.
"I thought Thanos would send the Black Order to assist me. I didn't expect him to send you..." A disquieting smile appeared on Loki's face.
"Shut up, son of Odin. A puny planet like Earth isn't worth making a big fuss over. Not only can we Chitauri handle it, but we can do it better than the Black Order! We Chitauri will prove our worth with a glorious victory—as for you, you're just a disposable pawn," the Chitauri Leader said in a deep voice.
Many of the Chitauri let out low laughs, making no effort to hide their disdain for Loki.
The son of a God-King, acting like a stray dog, hehehe...
"Are you jealous?" Loki wasn't annoyed in the slightest.
The Chitauri's laughter died abruptly, their expressions turning furious. The Chitauri here were all high-ranking officers of the Legion, fully armed in high-alloy armor. Their tall, burly figures were incredibly intimidating.
"Are you provoking us?" The Leader shot to his feet, walked over, and jabbed a finger hard into Loki's chest. The immense force made Loki grunt. "Remember your place. Lord Thanos is only bestowing you this chance to prove your worth out of respect for Odin. Conquering a tiny planet like Earth still relies on us Chitauri. Even if I were to kill you right now, Lord Thanos wouldn't say a word."
Loki brought his scepter up horizontally. The practiced motion gave him the momentary illusion that he was still holding the Spear of Eternity, ruling over Asgard. After a fleeting trance, a sinister look crossed his face. "You can try. Thanos gave me this scepter personally. You can't possibly be unaware of what that implies. I need your army, and you need me, someone who is familiar with Earth."
Loki squeezed out a sincere smile. "I believe we can get along."
The Chitauri remained silent for a while before nodding reluctantly, agreeing with some frustration. For some reason, their master favored Loki, and there was nothing they could do about it.
No matter what they did, they couldn't shake Loki, let alone kill him. Otherwise, Thanos's volatile and vicious temper...
The Chitauri dispersed one by one, each casting a cold, disdainful glance at Loki before their figures gradually vanished from the hall, leaving him alone.
The smile slowly faded from Loki's face, replaced by a grim and indifferent expression. He looked down at the scepter and narrowed his eyes. With his vast reserves of knowledge and recent experiments, he had more or less figured out what this thing was.
The scepter itself was a treasure, no doubt, but what was more important was unquestionably the gem embedded at its tip.
The Mind Stone.
As a prince of Asgard, and with an age of fifteen hundred years, the knowledge he had been exposed to was unimaginable. Even without ever having truly touched something like the Infinity Stones, he had a detailed understanding of them.
Danger and opportunity coexisted—that was the nature of the Infinity Stones.
"Thanos gave this Infinity Stone to me..." Loki murmured, his eyes flickering. He never minded assuming the worst of others, especially when it came to Thanos.
His lean figure slowly rose. Loki began to walk with a noble air, his grip on the scepter tightening unnaturally.
He already knew what he had to do. Thanos was no fool, and neither was he.
Only the Chitauri were. That bunch of arrogant idiots, their minds filled with nothing but loyalty to Lord Thanos, were, at best, nothing more than laughable weapons.
And Thanos had plenty more weapons just like them.
(end of chapter)
