The moment Loki's words left his mouth, the Chitauri General crossed dozens of meters in an instant, appearing right in front of him. His right claw nearly pierced Loki's eyes.
"I don't mean to threaten you," Loki said quickly, backing down. "But as long as the portal remains unopened, your army isn't under my command. Everything you're saying is just talk."
The Chitauri General, having been provoked, retracted his hand and began circling Loki like a predator. "Asgardian, go wage your war," he hissed. "But if you fail, and the Tesseract falls into the wrong hands, we will find you, no matter where you hide."
"Do you think you know pain?" the General whispered in Loki's ear, his voice low and menacing. "Compared to what he can do, pain is like the sweetest honey."
With that, the Chitauri General slapped Loki in the face. In an instant, Loki's consciousness was sent hurtling back to his physical body.
Once Loki's mind returned to his body, his eyes flickered with unease. He knew that, if not for his alliance with Thanos—a figure who commanded fear across the galaxy—he wouldn't dare return to Earth so brazenly. Especially not with that creature still there, the one who had destroyed the Destroyer so effortlessly.
Yet, from overhearing Harvey's conversation with Tony Stark, Loki had deduced that Harvey wasn't entirely committed to Earth. His involvement in the last incident seemed to be merely a result of Tony Stark's interference. Still, if Earth was destroyed too much, it could potentially draw Harvey's attention.
For now, Loki would wait and see if the Chitauri army was as powerful as they claimed. As for the General's threats, Loki dismissed them. He had already planned his escape route well before the battle began. One of his fundamental rules was always to secure his safety first.
After all, only if he survived could his schemes continue.
Meanwhile, Steve Rogers had arrived on an aircraft carrier, having been transported by jet.
"Fetch the Captain's gear," Agent Coulson ordered as soon as he stepped off the aircraft.
Although his rank wasn't the highest, Coulson held considerable authority.
"Right away, sir," a soldier responded promptly, heading off to carry out the order.
As Steve descended from the jet, a striking woman with red hair and a tight-fitting outfit approached.
"Agent Romanoff, this is Captain Rogers," Coulson said with a smile, introducing the two.
Though Steve had read up on his fellow agents, seeing this beautiful woman in a red top and form-fitting pants, accentuating her curves, caught him off guard for a moment.
"Ma'am," he greeted politely, maintaining his composure.
"Hi," Natasha Romanoff replied casually, acknowledging Steve with a brief nod. She then turned to Coulson. "They're looking for you on the bridge. Facial recognition tracking has started."
"Great. You two get acquainted. I'll catch up with you later," Coulson said, excusing himself and walking away.
"Natasha Romanoff," she introduced herself with a charming smile, extending her hand. "S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and a member of the Avengers Initiative."
"Captain Steve Rogers, ma'am," Steve responded, shaking her hand firmly before releasing it with gentlemanly grace.
"When we found you frozen in the ice, it caused quite a stir," Natasha said, walking beside him. "A lot of people were happy about it."
"A lot of people? Does that include you?" Steve asked with a slight smile, a playful tone creeping into his voice.
"Of course," Natasha replied smoothly, though inwardly, she was unmoved. The return of Captain America meant another reliable teammate for the Avengers, someone who could make her missions easier.
At that moment, Steve noticed a man with curly hair approaching and shifted his attention. "Dr. Banner," he called out.
"Hey," Bruce Banner greeted, his tone friendly as he stepped closer. "I heard you were joining us."
"I heard you can help find the Tesseract," Steve replied, shaking Bruce's hand.
"And I assume you've heard… other things about me?" Bruce asked nervously, wringing his hands.
"As long as you keep him in check, there won't be any problems," Steve said, reassuring him with a smile.
"You must think this is all pretty strange," Bruce remarked, glancing around, trying to deflect from the subject of the Hulk. "Coming from your time."
"Honestly, aside from a few strange things here and there, most of it feels oddly familiar," Steve replied, deciding to follow Bruce's lead on changing the topic.
The two men continued walking, chatting as they went.
"Gentlemen, maybe you should take this conversation inside. It'll be hard to breathe out here soon," Natasha interrupted with a hint of impatience in her voice.
Just as she finished speaking, the sound of the flight deck being cleared echoed around them, accompanied by mechanical rumblings from within the ship.
"Is this… a submarine?" Steve asked, noticing the mechanical noise paired with the distinct sound of water displacement.
"A submarine?" Bruce repeated, his anxiety surfacing again. "So, they want me to sit in a pressurized metal tube underwater?"
As they spoke, they reached the edge of the deck, where the sight below made them stop in their tracks. A massive whirlpool churned in the sea beneath them, and slowly, a colossal object began to surface, revealing itself to their astonished eyes.