"A trap?"
Ben looked at Loki strangely, as if waiting for an explanation.
Loki's gaze shifted from the satellite to beyond the cosmos, his eyes perceiving the approaching Chitauri Beasts.
Then he said, "Once you activate the Tesseract, there's no turning back."
"The Tesseract will fully awaken, and then it can open the portal in reverse and descend upon Earth."
As he spoke, Loki's expression grew grim.
This was originally Thanos's mission for him.
If the War Lord hadn't made him realize his memories and mind were compromised, he would have truly become Thanos's puppet.
But after realizing he was being controlled, Loki did another foolish thing.
He went directly to Thanos.
This was why he had disappeared for so long and why he appeared so disheveled now.
Of course, he didn't meet Thanos himself, only encountered the Supergiant.
But even so, the Supergiant, wielding the Mind Stone, was not someone he could handle. If not for the Symbiote inside him awakening his consciousness at the crucial moment, Loki would have been controlled once again.
The price was the Symbiote falling into slumber and him being severely injured.
Although his altered memories were restored, the Supergiant had once again reached into his mind and stirred things up.
Loki fled in a sorry state, but he had inadvertently revealed to the Supergiant a method to open the gate from the other side of the universe.
After hearing Loki's words, Ben frowned slightly.
He didn't believe Thanos would come personally.
Because Thanos knew well that the Ancient One was on Earth, and Odin presided over the Nine Realms.
But conversely, even the Black Order would be formidable enemies.
Unlike the incompetent Black Order from the movies, Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive working together were not much weaker than Thanos.
And now there was the Supergiant, who never appeared in the movies.
It was clear this would be a fierce battle.
But on the other hand, if the Tesseract wasn't activated and the planetary shield wasn't raised, Thanos's army would still attack from space.
Then, Earth would face countless Chitauri and Thanos's main forces.
Activating the Tesseract, however, would not only provide Earth with a layer of protection but also limit the number of Thanos's forces that could reach Earth.
After all, without the aid of instruments, even if the Supergiant opened the Tesseract's portal from the other side, its diameter would likely only be one or two meters, not even large enough for a small Chitauri Beast to pass through.
"Don't worry, I have a way to deal with them."
If all else fails, there's Alien X!
Ben thought to himself.
But he also knew that Enara and Oyana had only agreed to discuss his proposal in a state of emergency, not that the proposal would necessarily be approved.
"That's where the problem lies."
Loki covered his face in despair.
"He already knows how powerful you are, so he'll find a way to lure you away from Earth."
He took a deep breath, like a criminal finally giving up his defense, all guilt and punishment falling upon his shoulders. He said powerlessly, "Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive went to capture Looma..."
"What?!"
Hearing this, Ben's expression turned grim.
Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive, that husband-and-wife duo, were incredibly strong. Working together, Looma might even struggle.
But Loki stated that Looma was doomed to lose, not only because her enemies were these two but also because there were countless giants.
"What exactly happened?"
Ben asked immediately.
Then Loki recounted his experiences since regaining his memories.
Including Bill's trip to Knowhere, and Looma separating from them and heading to Jotunheim alone...
Afterward, Loki intended to return to Earth to mock Thor's hairstyle in person, but he was discovered by Thanos on the way.
After the Supergiant controlled him, they extracted many secrets about the Galactic Plumbers from his mouth, and a conspiracy began to unfold.
Through Looma, Ben would be lured away from Earth, and then Earth would become Thanos's prize. No one on Earth, except Ben, could stop the Chitauri army and the Black Order!
Even if Ben could defeat Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight, it would all be too late.
Thanos would obtain the Infinity Stones, and the population of Earth would be drastically reduced under the Chitauri's assault.
As for the Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme, her duty was to counter threats from outside dimensions, so she likely wouldn't intervene in this matter.
Even if she stood up against humanity's extinction, only the Chitauri army would perish. Thanos saw these beings as expendable resources; he controlled the Chitauri Queen, capable of producing as many Chitauri as he desired.
As they spoke, Ben's Galactic Plumbers medal suddenly chimed.
"It's Looma's distress signal."
Ben glanced at it and opened the communication, revealing an image of Looma in the midst of battle.
"Benny—"
Her voice was drowned out by the wind and snow.
"There are two annoying blue-skinned people showing off their affection in front of me!"
Looma shouted as she fought.
It was clear she wasn't in a good situation, but Looma's pride prevented her from asking for help normally.
"Hurry up and come help me!"
The communication flickered and died.
Looma didn't have much time for a proper call.
Seeing this, Loki leaned against the wall as if he had used up all his strength, collapsing completely and saying dejectedly, "It's all my fault..."
"If I hadn't betrayed the Galactic Plumbers' intelligence, perhaps..."
Hearing Loki's words, Ben felt the situation was dire, but not as catastrophic as Loki imagined.
He connected to Sakaar's communication, and the person who answered was Caiera.
"Caiera, can the Galactic Plumbers immediately send support to Looma?"
In the image, Caiera looked troubled. "From the Galactic Plumbers to Jotunheim, even with the engine Princess Looma built, it would still take several days to arrive."
"Caiera, tell him about our situation too!" Brunnhilde, clad in silver battle armor, squeezed into the frame and said sternly, "Sakaar has also been attacked!"
"Thanos has gone this far," Ben immediately frowned, asking with concern, "Can you handle it?"
Caiera quickly replied, "Don't worry, King of Sakaar."
"Rather than an invasion, it's more like the attackers want to keep us occupied."
Sakaar was essentially Ben's home base. It was clear Thanos knew this, which was why he invaded Sakaar. He hadn't deployed a massive force here but had secured all the Great Portals, preventing Sakaar's fleet from leaving.
Hearing that Sakaar could handle the situation, Ben breathed a sigh of relief.
At least he didn't have another place to support now.
He quickly made a decision.
"Loki, open the portal to Jotunheim."
No matter what, Looma had to be saved. Although Looma was a muscular Amazon with four arms and four eyes, she was still his girl, and no one else was allowed to bully her!
"But, if we do that, Earth will essentially be lost..."
Loki shook his head.
"Even you can't bring Looma back immediately."
Jotunheim was a dimension, and Loki couldn't precisely teleport Ben to Looma's side.
He knew that once Ben left Earth, the Supergiant would immediately try to reverse the opening of the Tesseract's portal and steal it.
Earth on one side, Looma on the other – Thanos wanted to see Ben's choice.
Loki's idea was to abandon Looma.
This way, as long as Ben was still around, they would have a chance to win.
"I won't abandon Looma," Ben shook his head, then smiled slightly and said, "Besides, who says Earth will lose just because I'm not there?"
"Who else can stop the Black Order?"
Loki asked incredulously, waving his arm and pointing to the heroes fighting in the cosmos.
"Rely on them?"
"But even just a vanguard of the Chitauri has them fighting tooth and nail!"
"If I'm not mistaken, that soldier can no longer lift Thor's Hammer, right?" Loki clearly guessed.
If Captain America could still lift the hammer, he wouldn't have waited this long to use it.
"Or rely on Thor?"
"He lost his Divine Power long ago, and with it, the pride of a god. Do you know what's on his mind right now?"
"To spend his final days with the new nurse he met, Jane Foster, before the world ends. Rely on Odin?"
"He's long since become old and timid, constantly worried about the so-called Ragnarok and hiding in the Celestial Palace, afraid to go out..."
Ben spoke a good word for Odin.
"He's just using his power to suppress a more terrifying danger."
But Loki didn't listen.
"I don't know what kind of king he is!"
"But no matter what, who else can stop them?"
He had almost gone through everyone he knew, and there was no one to count on.
Except for one person he hadn't thought of.
"You missed one person."
"Who?"
Loki asked immediately.
He didn't know what kind of person could possibly stop this crisis.
Then he saw Ben's finger pointing in his direction.
Loki froze.
He instinctively looked back, only to find nothing behind him.
At this moment, he realized that Ben was pointing at him.
"Me?"
An absurd expression appeared on his face, and he also pointed a finger at himself.
Me fighting the War Lord, is that for real?
"Of course, you."
"How am I supposed to fight them?" Loki thought Ben had gone mad.
Didn't he know his own capabilities?
Who was it that arrested me and used me as a sandbag in New Mexico back then?
Then, he saw Ben take the Casket of Ancient Winters out of his backpack and simultaneously detach the Cosmic Cube from the machine.
Immediately after, Ben handed both items to him.
"You're..."
Loki froze.
"Awaken the Cosmic Cube, open the path to Jotunheim, then activate the Planetary Shield and kill that giant Chitauri Beast..."
"Loki, don't you want to know why I became the King of Sakaar?"
"You're going to say this now?"
Ben ignored him and continued on his own: "To be precise, I didn't become the King of Sakaar, but the hope of all Sakaarans, their savior."
"I think you can do it too."
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