The Beginning of a Tragedy

The North Atlantic was calm and placid. The Quinjet flew at full speed just above the water, its wake stirring rings of ripples and leaving behind two distinct trails.

Its cabin carried two passengers of crucial importance. To put it bluntly, they might bear the vital task of saving the world.

One was a war hero who had slept for seventy years, while the other was a green giant capable of destroying half of New York when angered.

"We’ll reach headquarters in about forty minutes. Dr. Banner and Captain Rogers are both here."

Coulson ended his communication with headquarters, casually removed his headset, and turned to look at the two men talking.

"I always thought you were a character from the comics. When I was little, schools often organized trips to World War II museums. Every patriotic education class played footage of you…"

Banner, seated in his chair, was quite interested. Ever since he had chosen to remain with S.H.I.E.L.D., he had not lost control and transformed for a long time. The Hulk inside him seemed as though it had never existed.

Fury had kept his original promise as well. He only had Banner participate in the Tesseract’s secret research as a scientist and made no excessive demands of him otherwise. This gradually eased Banner’s initial wariness.

"I heard you once planned to replicate the serum used on me?"

Steve clearly was not good at conversation. With one sentence, he plunged the atmosphere into an awkward silence.

The Gamma Rays experiment accident was a scar in Banner’s heart. He had been fortunate enough to survive, but he had also been forced to share this human shell with another beast.

"That was an accident. Dr. Banner was a victim too." Coulson smoothed things over and continued, "You were the first successful superhero in history. Many people hoped to recreate Dr. Erskine’s great achievement. The military invested heavily but never succeeded. In the end, Umbrella created the Super Soldier."

"Actually, when Dr. Banner doesn’t transform, he’s a lot like Stephen Hawking," the middle-aged agent deliberately joked.

Banner forced a smile, while Steve looked confused. As an old man who had slept for seventy years, he had no idea who this "Mr. Hawking" Coulson mentioned was.

"Dr. Banner, do you have any way to track the Tesseract?" Seeing the silence linger, Coulson had no choice but to change the subject.

"That depends on how many spectrometers you can find. If you use enough of them, calibrate them to Gamma Rays, and set up a tracking algorithm, then after identification and filtering, we should be able to narrow down the target over a broad area."

Banner thought for a moment. He was an expert in Gamma Rays. The Tesseract itself was an energy source that constantly emitted faint interference radiation, so locating its approximate position would not be difficult.

The Quinjet passed through the clouds, swaying slightly from the turbulent air before rapidly diving down and finally landing on a massive aircraft carrier.

This was the Sky Carrier that Nick Fury had spent a fortune building. Its antigravity engines, personally designed by Stark, could lift the steel behemoth ten thousand meters into the sky. It carried dozens of fighter jets and cruise missile launch systems, along with optical camouflage background-reflection panels, making it like an invisible ghost.

The Sky Carrier’s mobility and concealment were enough to make it S.H.I.E.L.D.’s new headquarters. Like a city in the sky that would never fall, it overlooked the planet and watched for the slightest movement anywhere.

As the Avengers gradually assembled, Loki—the one who had caused all this turmoil—stood alone in thought, gripping a scepter set with a blue gemstone. It was a generous gift from that great being, a treasure as precious as the Tesseract.

The gem on the scepter emitted a faint glow and, in an instant, carried its owner into another world—a bleak, dim, and frigid space.

"The Chitauri are beginning to grow restless. You need to open the gate connecting the stars as soon as possible." Amid jagged strange rocks, a blurry shadow gradually came into focus.

"Tell them to prepare. I will lead the army in a great war."

Through the gem glowing with cold light, Loki’s mind conversed with the Chitauri Elder. Within the projected illusion, he became once more the handsome prince in an antlered helmet and magnificent robes.

"War?" The Chitauri Elder was dismissive. "Against those weak Earthlings?"

As far as they knew, Earth’s civilization was backward and barren, not worth mentioning at all. Otherwise, Lord Thanos would not have sent the Chitauri army as the vanguard. If their opponent had been the Nova Corps or the Kree, powerful civilizations renowned throughout the universe, that great being might have sent the Black Order directly.

Loki sneered inwardly. He could not be bothered to tell those arrogant, self-important Chitauri that Earth was far more dangerous than they imagined. For instance, that golden figure in New Mexico had defeated the strongest armor in the divine realm in a single stroke. Even Thor, after regaining his divine power, had been no match for him.

In the Chitauri’s eyes, Earth was merely one of the Nine Realms protected by Asgard, a primitive planet steeped in ignorance and barbarism. Once their army descended, victory would come easily.

"You shameful failure. If Lord Thanos had not placed the scepter in your hands and granted you ancient knowledge and new ideals—you would be nothing more than a stray dog!"

The Chitauri Elder was full of disdain. He could not understand why that great being had entrusted leadership to this deceitful Asgardian.

"I am the ruler of a nation! The King of Asgard! I was betrayed…"

Loki’s face twitched as he instinctively protested. Unable to accept Odin’s deception, he had taken an enormous risk to seek an audience with the infamous Cosmic Overlord.

Now that he possessed the Chitauri army, all he needed to do was offer up the Tesseract and conquer Earth. He could then use Chitauri biotechnology to seize vast resources and populations, produce an endless supply of cheap cannon fodder, form an invincible army, conquer the Nine Realms, descend upon Asgard as its sovereign, and retake the throne.

"Your ambition is insignificant and childish. Our sights are not limited to Earth, but set on the broader world the Tesseract will reveal." The Chitauri Elder looked coldly at Loki. "Go win this war, Asgardian."

"Remember, if you fail and do not obtain what Lord Thanos wants, then forget about conquering the Nine Realms. There will no longer be any corner of the universe where you can hide. No matter where you flee, we will find you…"

"When that time comes, I will make you howl. I will show you what true unbearable agony is!"

Amid the Chitauri Elder’s harsh warning, the illusion collapsed. Loki returned to the real world, gripping the scepter in his hand as his body trembled slightly.

The Asgardian Prince had embarked on a path with no return. He knew full well how many planetary civilizations lay buried behind the Cosmic Overlord’s fearsome reputation. Countless corpses were enough to pile into mountains that blotted out the sky and fill vast, boundless oceans.

Wherever the Black Order went, half the population of that planet would be exterminated. Women, children, the elderly—none were spared. Their brutal reputation was widely known.

Loki hurriedly rose. Using the scepter, he had controlled S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Hawkeye, Barton, and through him found one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s mortal enemies—Hydra.

They were temporarily hidden in a secret base. To use the Tesseract to open a gate and summon the Chitauri army, they needed to create a stable reactor and rely on a powerful energy source with sustained output to achieve the Quantum Tunnel effect.

All of that required a great deal of equipment and manpower. Fortunately, the secret organization bearing the Hydra beast as its emblem could provide exactly that.

"Dr. Selvig, how much longer do you need?" Loki asked.

"We still lack iridium to build the reactor. It can create antiprotons. That stuff is in high demand, and it’s hard to find even on the black market," the mind-controlled Selvig replied.

His and Barton’s consciousnesses were both trapped within brilliant halos. Multicolored energy seemed like invisible threads, restraining their actions.

"I know where to find it." Barton took out a compound bow, his eyes reflecting a cold gleam. "Umbrella."