"So don't you think you're being unreasonable?" Natasha asked. "You said the Tesseract is dangerous… and now you're trying to pocket it yourself."
Her tone wasn't accusing, just confused. He warned S.H.I.E.L.D. not to touch it, but now he wanted the damn thing?
"There's a difference. S.H.I.E.L.D. with the Tesseract is like giving a kid a loaded gun."
Natasha raised a brow. "And you?"
"Me? It's like handing that gun to a perfectly trained soldier. One knows what they're doing. The other doesn't."
"So you're saying you know how to use the Tesseract?"
"Yes," Luke said without hesitation. "And by the way, you should resign. Retire. Because the coming years are going to be hell for a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."
"So what, I should retire and fool around with you? Go on your adventures to other worlds?" Natasha said as they walked side-by-side down the Helicarrier corridor. Her tone was light, a teasing edge.
"Yes," Luke replied casually. "That's exactly what I'm saying. And it's not fooling around. I'm telling you to get a life outside these dumb missions. Maybe even a family."
Natasha didn't stop walking, didn't slow, didn't change expression.
But internally, the word family hit a place she didn't visit often.
She wasn't built for that.
Trained since childhood, conditioned, sterilized — the Red Room made sure she never had that option.
She wasn't the type to dwell on it, but she knew the reality.
Luke didn't get a verbal answer, not at first.
Just a faint shift in her eyes — enough to show the thought landed, but she wasn't going to discuss it.
He waved a hand slightly in front of her. "Hello? Earth to Natasha."
Natasha didn't roll her eyes — she rarely showed things that openly — but she let out a quiet breath.
"You know," she said, her voice calm and steady as they continued through the Helicarrier corridor, "sometimes I envy you. You get to live freely. No constraints. No chains from the past following you everywhere."
For her, the past wasn't just memories — it was a record.
A bloody one.
If it ever became public, half the world would want her locked up or executed. Before she joined S.H.I.E.L.D, she did things she wasn't proud of… things she didn't talk about.
Luke shrugged lightly. "If you want, I can show you how to live freely."
She glanced at him, tone dry but curious. "Is that so? And what exactly do I need to do?"
"Trust me," Luke said simply.
"Okay. I trust you."
He checked her favorability in his system, seeing it flicker between 40 and 50.
Friends.
Just friends.
"Not enough. You need to trust me more."
Natasha stopped for half a step, giving him a sideways look.
"Why? What now — can you read my mind?" she asked, tone sharp but amused.
"Nope, I can't read minds. And—" Luke started to say, but he didn't get the chance to finish.
Two small holographic figures flickered into existence right in front of him — Red Queen and White Queen — visible only to him.
"We found that guy," both AIs announced at the same time.
Luke's eyes sharpened. "Oh? Loki? Perfect."
Luke grinned. "Good. Let's go beat that guy's ass."
Natasha blinked. "Beat whose ass?"
"Loki," Luke said casually. "Found him. Time to go."
***
Stuttgart, Germany
The night sky over Stuttgart glowed with festival lights — people dressed in formal attire moved in and out of a gala opera house. The atmosphere was lively, elegant… and completely unprepared for what was coming.
Inside, Loki walked through a crowd of startled guests, his blue-and-gold armor gleaming under chandeliers. His smile was polite, almost pleasant — right up until he stabbed a man's eye with a device.
Panic erupted instantly. People screamed. Some ran as they got scared by the scene. Others froze as Loki raised his arms and, with a sharp pulse of magic, multiplied himself into a dozen illusions blocking every corner.
"Kneel."
His voice carried through every corner of the plaza.
The echo was cold, commanding, almost hypnotic.
The people stumbled, terrified, bowing down as Loki looked over them like a smug king surveying a conquered nation. Fire reflected in his eyes, and he seemed to relish every second.
"Isn't this simpler?" Loki's voice echoed across the plaza as he strode confidently through the scattered crowd, watching people fall to their knees in fear. "Is this not your natural state? It is the unspoken truth of humanity… that you crave subjugation."
He savored the sight — men and women kneeling, heads lowered, trembling under his presence. It fed something dark in him, a twisted satisfaction he didn't bother hiding.
But amidst the dozens kneeling obediently, one man began to straighten. An elderly gentleman in a gray coat pushed himself upright.
Loki's steps slowed.
The old man's voice carried across the square, steady despite his age.
"We do not kneel for you."
The crowd stirred, confused and terrified. Loki's eyes narrowed slightly, irritation flickering across his expression as he turned fully toward the old man.
He tilted his head with amused disbelief. "You were made to kneel," he declared, as if stating a universal fact.
But the old man didn't budge.
"I know men like you," the old man said, voice firm. "There are always men like you."
A faint crack appeared in Loki's smile — the condescending mask slipping. Anger, cold and sharp, twisted in his gaze.
"Then there are no men like me," Loki countered, raising his scepter and pointing it directly at the old man's chest.
The crowd gasped.
The old man didn't blink.
He'd lived through enough tyrants to recognize another one when he saw him.
Loki's scepter hummed, the glow flaring bright—then he fired.
Boom.
A streak of blue energy tore across the plaza toward the old man.
But before the blast reached him, a shadow dropped from above.
A figure landed on the pavement with a heavy thud, sliding one foot back as he raised his hand. The beam hit an invisible force and stopped mid-air, frozen like it had slammed into a wall of solid light.
*****
A/N: If you'd like to read chapters ahead of the Webnovel release schedule, you can join my Patreon!
The Patreon version is already updated up to Chapter 164.
👉 patreon.com/Universal_Peace