I'm having a blast in Marvel!

Page 87

Steve stopped breathing.

"How long have I been asleep?" he asked, his voice trembling.

Chu Hang turned around and looked at him, his eyes filled with an indescribable emotion.

He spoke slowly.

"Welcome to the 21st century, Captain. You've been asleep for almost seventy years."

Chapter 100: Avengers Begins [Bonus Chapter]

There is nothing here. No light, no sound.

Loki's body floated in the darkness. The explosion of the Rainbow Bridge tore apart his shield, and the cold and vacuum were draining his last bit of divine power. His consciousness began to fade, and his body gradually stiffened.

Just then, a crack appeared in the darkness before him.

Beyond that opening lay a fleet. Monsters pieced together from meteorites and metal rested silently in the void.

Several dark figures flew out of the crack, grabbed him, and dragged him inside.

He was thrown before a throne. The throne was made of black rock, and upon it sat a gigantic shadow, as large as a mountain. Just the shadow sitting there made Loki feel breathless.

A gaunt alien walked up to him, his voice dry and hoarse.

“Prince of Asgard,” the creature said, “you desire the throne.”

Loki struggled to lift his head, his eyes filled with hatred: "I should have been king."

"We sense your hatred and your resentment." The voice was seductive. "My master is willing to give you a chance."

The alien extended a three-finger hand and pointed to the side. A scepter floated there, its top gem glowing blue.

"This scepter will give you power. And an army, the Chitauri. They will annihilate everything for you, and will only obey your commands."

Loki's breathing became heavier.

"What's the price?" He wasn't that stupid.

“It’s simple.” The alien forced a grim smile. “On Earth, there’s something called the Cosmic Cube. Your father hid it there. Bring it back, and in return, Earth is yours.”

"You will become a god of a kingdom."

Loki looked at the scepter. He thought of Thor, and of Odin's words, "No, Loki."

Hatred and ambition ignited.

He reached out and grasped the scepter. A surge of icy energy rushed into his body, healing his wounds and also penetrating his mind.

“I accept,” he said softly.

The shadow on the throne seemed to move slightly.

S.H.I.E.L.D. medical facilities.

Steve Rogers sat on the edge of the bed. He was wearing a gray tracksuit, issued by S.H.I.E.L.D. A pile of documents lay on the table in front of him, but he didn't look at them.

He just looked out the window.

Seventy years have passed, and the world has changed.

The building has a huge illuminated screen displaying advertisements he can't understand.

It all felt like an unreal dream.

Chu Hang pushed open the door and came in, with Nick Fury following behind him.

“Captain.” Fury walked up to him and extended his hand.

Steve glanced at him, then at Chu Hang, and finally shook hands with him. His grip was short but firm.

“Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Fury said. “S.H.I.E.L.D. was originally the Strategic Scientific Corps. Peggy Carter was one of its founders.”

Steve's shoulders stiffened at the mention of Peggy's name.

"Is she... okay?"

“She’s still alive,” Fury said. “But she’s old, Steve. We’re all old.”

Steve didn't say anything.

“I didn’t call you just to catch up.” Fury pushed a folder in front of Steve. On the cover was a capital A. “The world has changed, Captain. The threat we face is no longer Nazis with rifles. Some threats come from places we don’t understand.”

He glanced at Chu Hang.

“We need soldiers,” Fury said bluntly. “A leader. I’ve started a project called ‘Project Avengers,’ looking for a special group of people to fight the battles we can’t win. The world needs you, Captain.”

Steve opens the folder.

Inside were information about the Tesseract, the trouble Thor caused in New Mexico, and a report about a green monster called "Hulk."

He was getting a headache just looking at them. These things were even more outrageous than Hydra's energy weapons.

He was a soldier, but his war was over. He belonged to the past, to that black-and-white era. This colorful, complex new world had no place for him.

He closed the folder and looked at Chu Hang. His eyes were pleading for help.

Chu Hang walked over and patted Fury on the shoulder: "Alright, Director, I'll talk to him about the rest."

Fury nodded and left.

They were the only two people left in the room.

"Don't listen to his empty promises." Chu Hang pulled up a chair and sat down, saying casually, "To put it simply, aliens are coming to steal our things, and S.H.I.E.L.D. can't handle it, so they want you to be their human shield."

Steve was a little confused by his statement.

“A lot has happened in these seventy years.” Chu Hang looked at him. “We won World War II, and then we confronted the Soviets for decades without going to war. Later, we had computers and the internet. Now everyone has a little gadget called a mobile phone, which allows us to talk to the whole world.”

He paused for a moment, then lowered his voice.

"Howard died in a car accident. Dugan and the others all died of old age. Peggy... she got married and started a family. Almost everyone we knew is gone."

Steve clenched his fist under the table.

"So, now it's just us left?" he asked.

“And Logan. That guy’s alive and well, just not quite right in the head,” Chu Hang said. “Yeah, it’s just us old fogies left.”

He looked Steve into the eyes, very seriously.

“I know you feel abandoned by the whole world. Yes, that’s true. But so what? You’re a soldier, Steve. A soldier’s job is to obey orders and protect the country. Now, it’s about protecting this planet.”

"Your war is not over yet."

Steve looked at Chu Hang, at this comrade-in-arms who, like him, had been forgotten by time. The confusion and loneliness in his heart seemed to find an outlet.

He picked up the folder again, and his expression changed.

“I need a uniform,” he said.

Deep underground in New Mexico.

The dark energy research facility jointly established by S.H.I.E.L.D. and NASA.

This is one of the most heavily guarded places on Earth.

The Cosmic Cube, placed in the center of the laboratory, emitted a faint blue light.

Dr. Eric Shavig and several scientists were recording data. Hawkeye Clinton Patton leaned against the second-floor railing, like a shadow, watching everything.

Suddenly, all the instruments started alarming.

"The energy readings have exceeded the limit!" a scientist shouted.

The light from the Cosmic Cube grew brighter and brighter, like a blue sun. A surge of energy erupted, causing the entire base to tremble.

"Doctor, what's going on?" Hawkeye asked through the communicator.

"I don't know! It seems... to be responding to something!" Dr. Eric stared at the Rubik's Cube in horror. "It opened a door by itself!"

As soon as he finished speaking, space distorted in front of the Cosmic Cube, and a blue vortex appeared.

A figure emerged from the vortex.

He wore Asgardian green armor and held a scepter with a glowing tip. A wicked smile played on his lips.

“Found it.” He looked around, as if surveying his own territory.

Hawkeye reacted the fastest, immediately drawing his gun: "Put down your weapons and surrender immediately!"

Loki chuckled dismissively. He raised his scepter and unleashed a beam of blue light. Hawkeye rolled away, the beam striking the wall behind him and blasting a large hole in it.

The agents rushed up and opened fire on Loki.

Loki simply stood still. The bullet stopped half a meter away from him, as if hitting an invisible wall, and then clattered to the ground.

He walked slowly over, and with each swing of his scepter, an agent flew out.

He walked up to Hawkeye. Hawkeye was about to retaliate when he grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up.

“You have a brave heart.” Loki looked into his eyes and pointed the tip of his scepter at his chest.

Hawkeye's eyes suddenly went blank.

He released his gun and stood behind Loki like a loyal guard.

Loki used the same method to control Dr. Erik.

"Doctor, you'll help me, won't you?"

“Yes,” Dr. Eric replied expressionlessly.

“Very good.” Loki walked up to the Tesseract, took it off the device, and put it in a briefcase.

"Sir, the base is collapsing!" a controlled agent reported.

"Let's go then."

Loki, accompanied by his newly acquired servants, headed towards the exit.

Minutes later, Nick Fury's helicopter arrived. What he saw was a massive sinkhole collapsing from the inside, with blue energy engulfing everything.

Coulson and Maria Hill rushed out of the rubble and helped him up.

"Where's Hawkeye?" Fury asked.