Chapter 281

No matter what others thought, Loki was thoroughly intimidated now. This isn’t how the script is supposed to go! Weren’t the people of Midgard supposed to loathe dark magic? Weren’t dark wizards supposed to hide their tracks as best they could, facing the risk of being burned alive if exposed?

So why could this guy walk right in and mingle with a bunch of righteous people? Had his intelligence become outdated? No way. It had only been three hundred years.

But on second thought, Loki felt that made sense. Nick Fury was an ambitious schemer who even dared to recklessly tamper with the Cosmic Cube. It was not impossible that he would employ a dark wizard whom ordinary people avoided like the plague.

People like him generally only valued utility—the value a person could create for their cause and ideals—and did not care too much about the methods used to create that value. Besides, he might not understand dark magic as well as he believed.

Still, Loki knew that people who wanted world peace had their limits. He walked to the edge of the glass wall and said, "Fine. He knows your magic is evil, but does he know you can summon creatures from outer space?"

Evenson froze at that. Seeing an opening, Loki continued, "A green meteor falling from the sky, turning into a flaming stone giant to fight the Destroyer."

"Heh heh…" Loki gave a malicious chuckle. "You and I both know that wasn’t one of your magical creations. It was a magical construct from outer space, summoned by your magic."

Seeing Evenson’s face covered in sweat, Loki pressed on. "They know your magic is evil, but do they know you can casually summon living beings from outer space?"

Evenson looked tense. His lips trembled twice before he said in a shaking voice, "Yes, they know. I told them."

"What?" Loki stood there dumbfounded. Was it really okay for a dark wizard to be this honest?

"All right, I’m done playing with you." Evenson wiped the cold sweat from his face, making Loki’s expression twitch again. He had realized that he had been completely played. "One of the basic conditions of cooperation is relative honesty, so I don’t mind telling them my secrets."

"And I can also tell you that not only does S.H.I.E.L.D. know about this, but soon…" A sharp gleam flashed in Evenson’s eyes. "The World Security Council, one of this world’s highest authorities, will also know that I can summon life from outer space into this world."

"I suppose you have nothing else to say to me." Evenson yawned. "What a boring conversation." Then he looked at Natasha. "Your turn."

Natasha stepped forward. "Do you know where Barton is?"

At that moment, a fighter jet flew alone at top speed through the sky, headed for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Helicarrier. Hawkeye Barton, who had become one of Loki’s most loyal lieutenants after being brainwashed by him, was aboard that aircraft, leading a fully armed elite combat squad.

He knew that to fulfill Loki’s mad ambitions, they would need a large number of cannon fodder. Fortunately, S.H.I.E.L.D. had made plenty of enemies over the years, so they were not hard to find. Soon, a group of people answered his call—and there was an unexpected bonus. One special person had joined the operation.

"We’re almost there, aren’t we, Mr. Barton? I’m getting a little impatient." A seductive female voice rang out inside the cabin.

"Almost." Barton answered coldly. The woman who had spoken stood at the cabin door with her back to him, holding a strange-looking sniper rifle. Her waist-length hair was tied into a ponytail that hung behind her. Her graceful figure was wrapped in a purple combat suit, its split sections exposing a large patch of skin on her back, where a huge black spider tattoo was visible.

This woman had approached Barton and the others shortly after Loki was captured. Once she had revealed and proven her identity, Barton had not doubted for a moment that she was not a S.H.I.E.L.D. undercover agent. The organization she had once belonged to had been opposing S.H.I.E.L.D. since before he was born—and now… even more so.

"Very good…" the woman said with satisfaction. "I can’t wait to settle that old score with S.H.I.E.L.D. And I can’t wait to strip that title from my junior."

Inside the Helicarrier, Loki and Natasha’s conversation seemed to be going very badly. After Loki declared that he would brutally kill Barton once his plan succeeded, Natasha became so angry that she turned around and began sobbing.

"Hey, don’t be sad. We’ll stop him." Evenson patted Natasha’s back, then turned and snarled at Loki, "Listen, Sarah isn’t here. Otherwise, she’d definitely hang you up and whip you."

"You… you…" Evenson’s words seemed to have the opposite effect. Natasha sobbed even harder and said between broken breaths, "You monster!"

Loki, however, was very pleased with himself. The frustration bottled up in his chest had finally been vented. In his delight, the words slipped out of his mouth. "The real monster hasn’t appeared yet."

"I see." Natasha suddenly stopped sobbing, turned around, and high-fived Evenson with a smile. There was not the slightest trace of grief on her face. "So you intend to use Banner. Thanks."

With that, she and Evenson turned and left, leaving Loki so furious he nearly spat blood. Seriously, if he were not afraid of falling, he would have wanted to scratch through the glass right then.

"Director, Loki’s target is Banner. He plans to use Banner." Natasha immediately informed Nick Fury through her communicator.

Evenson watched coldly from the side. He knew that while Nick Fury understood Loki intended to use Hulk, he had not figured out how Loki planned to use him. As a result, he would make the wrong response and push matters in an even worse direction.

But Evenson had no intention of stopping it. To unite these super heroes with their wildly different personalities, some things had to be endured. Without division, there could be no unity. Unless they realized that they could not face this crisis alone, they would not cooperate. Without being tempered in blood, their fighting spirit would not be awakened.

"I heard you have a way to break Loki’s hypnosis." Natasha asked on the way back. "How did you do it?"

"I had Melinda beat those unlucky bastards over the head." Evenson answered without reservation. "But that was only shallow hypnosis. It was completely different from what Barton went through this time."

"Then how do we break Barton’s?" Natasha pressed.

"You can beat his head as hard as you can. A simple, quick physical treatment."