Of course, Su Modie understood perfectly well that now was definitely not a good time to snatch it openly in public.
Although the group of villainesses under her command didn't fear Thor at all,
a single B-rank incarnation, Lux, who had returned from further studies at Kamar-Taj, was enough to beat a normal Thor senseless; however, she still had to show some respect to the God-King of the Nine Realms, Odin, sitting high upon his throne, and the entire power of Asgard behind him.
Moreover, Thor still needed to take this thing back to repair the Bifrost Bridge that he had personally destroyed.
This move could be considered legitimate, returning the item to its rightful owner.
There really wasn't any reason to object.
"Forget it..."
Su Modie curled her lips in Fisk Tower, a hint of cunning flashing in her eyes as she began to scheme in secret.
She would treat it as lending it to this Asgardian golden retriever to go home and fix the bridge.
Once the Bifrost Bridge was repaired, the Tesseract would only end up gathering dust in Odin's underground vault anyway; at worst, she would just find an opportunity later to pay a "visit" to Asgard and conveniently borrow it for a while.
Thor carefully took the briefcase containing the Tesseract.
Although this trip to Midgard could be described as full of twists and turns—
he had been backstabbed and mind-controlled, and his troublemaking adoptive brother had paid the heavy price of having an arm severed, but regardless, the mission to retrieve the Tesseract and Loki was finally successfully completed.
He walked toward the massive block of blood-ice freezing Loki, took the Tesseract out of the briefcase, and placed it inside a specially made Asgardian cylindrical glass container.
Just as he was about to twist the handle to open the portal, Thor's movements paused.
He turned his head, his gaze falling upon Lux, who was kicking small pebbles nearby.
"Luxanna," Thor spoke sincerely, "would you like to come to Asgard with me? I think my father, Odin, will be very curious about you. After all, in these thousand years, you are the first person besides myself who has been able to lift Mjolnir."
Hearing this, Lux's eyes immediately lit up.
This was truly exactly what she needed!
The Golden Palace Vault of Asgard hid many treasures; if she could take this chance to "stock up" a bit...
However, as a well-bred Villainess, Lux still very reservedly brushed her blonde hair behind her ear and declined with a smile, "Perhaps another time, Mr. Thor. When I have time in the future, I will definitely pay a visit."
As she spoke, Lux's peripheral vision glanced seemingly unintentionally toward a spot not far away.
On the rusted iron railing at the edge of the cemetery, a pitch-black raven had landed silently at some point.
It was quietly watching the scene with its deep, profound eyes.
Lux withdrew her gaze without showing any emotion.
Seeing this, Thor did not insist. He nodded and gripped both ends of the cylindrical container, giving them a sharp twist.
Accompanied by a roaring pillar of azure light shooting into the sky,
Thor and the Loki ice sculpture were instantly engulfed by the teleportation beam, completely vanishing from the spot.
Looking at the empty lawn, Steve took a deep breath of the chilly air and let out a melancholy sigh.
"What's wrong?" Lux blinked and turned to ask.
"I don't know if it's a good thing to let Loki return to Asgard like this."
Steve's brow was furrowed, his tone carrying a hint of heaviness and frustration.
"He's an absolute villain, a war criminal. Not only did he cause such destruction in New York, but he even killed Agent Makima... By all rights, he should remain on Earth to face trial under human law."
Hearing Steve say this, Agent Coulson, standing nearby, could only give a helpless, bitter smile.
"There's no other way, Captain."
Coulson explained, "After all, he is a god, Thor's own brother, and more importantly, the child of the God-King Odin. If we forcibly kept him on Earth for trial, it would be no different from making an enemy of Asgard."
"With humanity's current strength, we simply cannot afford such consequences."
"Director Fury made this decision with the bigger picture in mind."
Steve nodded in silence.
He understood the logic, but as an old soldier who had awakened from a black-and-white World of the 1940s, he still needed time to privately digest the cold and cruel compromises of interstellar politics in this "future World."
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit somber, Coulson timely shifted the topic. He turned to look at Lux, his eyes becoming fervent again: "By the way, Miss Luxanna, what do you think about what I mentioned earlier?"
"Huh?" Lux froze with a bewildered expression. "Consider what?"
Seeing Coulson's face instantly become extremely speechless, Lux scratched her head awkwardly, and only then did it dawn on her.
"Oh, oh, oh! I remember now! It's about joining the Avengers, right?"
She pressed her hands together and stuck out her tongue sheepishly.
"Well... I have to go back and ask my master first; I can't decide for myself."
"Master?!"
Coulson's pupils constricted sharply, and his heart nearly skipped a beat.
Enough monsters had already appeared today.
This little girl, who could manifest pillars of light with her bare hands and pummel Thor, actually had a master?!
What level of monster would that have to be?!
"Oops!" Seeing Coulson's huge reaction, Lux immediately covered her mouth, looking like a thief with a guilty conscience.
Oh no, she was so used to acting dumb; how did she accidentally let slip about Master Ancient One?
But... Master Ancient One is magnanimous; she usually just drinks tea and reads the newspaper at Kamar-Taj, so she probably won't punish me for such a small thing, right?
"Um... just pretend I didn't say anything! I'm leaving now! Bye-bye!"
Lux gave a couple of awkward chuckles, and fearing that Coulson would press her further, she raised her hand and drew a circle in front of her.
A portal of platinum-gold sparks instantly opened, and she stepped through like a startled little rabbit, making a quick getaway.
Leaving Steve, Coulson, and Banner—three grown men—standing on the wind-swept lawn, staring at each other in bewilderment.
...
On the other side, in the Presidential Suite on the top floor of Fisk Tower.
As soon as Lux stepped out of the portal, a wave of noisy heat rushed toward her.
One must know that before the Battle of New York, Su Modie already had as many as six permanent Villainess incarnations under her command, plus two Level 50 Summons who were used as maids and servants.
If it weren't for the fact that Fisk's suite was as large as a small indoor basketball court, it would have been overcrowded long ago.
Now, having survived the high-intensity bloody Battle of New York,
with a wave of her hand, Su Modie had summoned three brand-new Villainess incarnations in one go.
This caused the permanent population and combat power to soar by half, not to mention the summoned characters unlocked during the war.
Fortunately, those Summons were currently on cooldown after the Battle of New York a few hours ago; otherwise, if they were all brought out just for the sake of excitement...
the top-tier suite, which the Kingpin of New York's underworld had spent tens of millions to build, would probably turn into a chaotic marketplace on the spot.
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