ã€ŠViltrumite in the MCUã€‹


 Chapter 1: Escaping Viltrum

    Time: Unknown. Location: Viltrum

    The nights on Viltrum were usually breathtaking with the shimmering lights from their high rising architectures. On this day, though, things were different. The metallic odor of blood hung in the air. Innocents'' screams and echoes overwhelmed the otherwise peaceful world. A dozen people sped into the woods in a blaze of haste.

    "Stop and hide," Frei''s right hand went up to his shoulder with a collapsed fist and whispered into his earpiece. The rest scurried into the shadows of Viltrum''s plant life as swiftly as possible. A short time later, two other humanoids flew directly past their heads, making no attempt to slow down or even look back.

    Some of his companions sighed in relief. In order to make sure there were no additional pursuers in the area, Frei waited a few seconds before commanding, "Let''s go!"

    Due to passing scouts overhead, the gang had a few closed calls on the way to their objectives. Flight was not an option since the Imperial army had placed various drones and military personnel out for them. Therefore, it was best to keep a low profile and do what was unexpected. They were searching for a spaceship that had been stowed away in dense woodland. It was the only way they could leave the planet. Even though Viltrumites could fly through space and hold their breath for a lengthy period, long-distance travel was impossible without the availability of advanced technology. And right now, they needed to get as far away from the Viltrum Empire as possible.

    Reaching the aircraft''s platform, the group had a moment of rest for their technician to deactivate the cloaking mechanism. But, before they could board the ship, the scout, Hilga, ran to Frei in a state of emergency and called for his attention.

    ''Sir, the imperial troops are closing in on the area. They found us." Her voice trembled with anxiety as she relayed the information.

    ''How? How did they know?'' His gaze drifted towards his ragtag group of rebels and stopped at another one of his crew, Sten. He was shivering and making a conscious effort not to meet Frei''s gaze. ''Fear? Of the Imperial? No. Of me. Why?'' He utilized his speed and dashed towards the young man. His iron grip held tightly onto the man''s neck with enough force to lift him off the ground.

    "Everyone, get on the ship!" He screamed. Stealth was no longer necessary because the enemies already knew where they were. After that, he switched his attention back to Sten. "Why?" He made the statement. He remembered training the man when he joined their rebellion. Only five hundred years old, Sten was timid, yet his mind was bright. Why did he do this? How could he do this?

    "Sir¡­They have¡­sister¡­ had no¡­choice." The boy whimpered. Familial connections would do that. Even on Viltrum, where individual might was valued, they still care deeply about their loved ones. That would change after tonight. Argall was their Emperor and a fool. His belief led their people to rapid conquest of the known universe. Frei was at one point a believer in their infinite might, but the destruction and pain they brought deterred him from the Imperial Army. That was when he met Thaedus, who showed him a different path, a different belief. The mean of the strong should not be to conquer and dominate but to guide and protect. He shifted his eyes towards his friend and mentor, Thaedus.

    They believed killing the Emperor would bring peace to their world, but they were so wrong. What left of the imperial ruling class stood together and branded them as traitors. They enacted a policy to cull the "weak" off the planet. So many of their kin died due to such ruthlessness. Men, women, children, elders, it did not matter. The rebellion had changed things for the worst. Thaedus was in shamble after witnessing such an event, but Frei and those under him still had trust in the man.

    ''Thaedus needed to live,'' Frei thought. Just like how he rallied them together, he would do so again in the future with the other species across the universe. Frei was no leader. He was a soldier, and he knew his duties. He ticked under his breath and threw the young Viltrumite away.

    "Leave. You''ll soon witness the extent of their mercy. Hold onto that hope and plummet into despair. I have no time for you." So many of his people had died tonight, he did not want to take Sten''s life. Sten fled at that. Frei had no doubt he would be executed when the Imperialists found him.

    "Sir, you should head on the aircraft." Aegel, his second in command, commented. It earned her a confused gaze from Frei.

    "We will hold them back. You are the strongest and closest to lord Thaedus. You have to snap him out of it." Aegel continued. Frei was furious now, but she had strong determination in her eyes.

    "Out of the question. Do you believe I would leave you behind? All of you, get on the ship. I will distract them" His anger took hold of him then. To him, they were like his own kids. He could not let them die just to save his own life.

    "Please, sir, we know what we signed up for. You have to leave now, or there would be no hope for the future." Aegel plead. Frei looked around himself and saw the faces of his comrades. Each and every one of them was trained under him. Some gave him a smile, and others nodded to his gaze.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Frei growled at that. He had seen these faces before. Their looks were filled to the brim with trust and belief. There was no other way out of the situation, and he had a mission to complete. "I''ll see you all soon. We''ll get a drink then." Frei proceeded to walk onto the aircraft with Thaedus.

    "You owe us drinks for the rest of eternity, sir." Another chimed in, which gave the group a brief instant of laughter.

    Before the door closed off, locking Frei and Thaedus into the ship, he heard Aegel''s voice yell out, "Alright, you country bumpkins! I better see each of you taking down ten of the imperial soldiers! Get¡­"

    With little time for grief, he brought Thaedus to the flight control. "Snap out of it, you old fool. Get yourself in check." Frei screamed.

    "Frei¡­what have we done¡­look at what they are doing to our people!" Thaedus said breathlessly.

    "We did this! So it''s time to fix it! You are our only hope!" Frei''s hands move quickly to activate the control systems. They needed to leave now before the entire force of the Imperial reached them.

    "I don''t deserve your lives. I don''t¡­." Thaedus whimpered.

    "Look at how pathetic you are right now. We made our own choices. Now be the leader you are supposed to be." Frei continued. The ship took off the ground a flew upward towards the never-ending expanse. Some of the imperialists flew up to stop them, but they were intercepted by his own people.

    "Right. Right. I got it." Thaedus held control of the co-pilot seat, and together, they drove the ship to the outer orbit of planet Viltrum. The stars greeted them with their full glory after they passed Viltrum''s atmosphere.

    "We have incoming. Two pursuing ships." Thaedus alarmed.

    "They won''t let us leave that easily, huh? Alright, I''m going." Frei said and walked away from the pilot seat.

    "What?" Thaedus asked in bewilderment.

    "Go get a fresh start. Rally others like how you rallied us. You better win against the empire. Do not let our death be in vain." Frei gave his commands. Speeches were never his things. Frei enjoyed concise words, but today, he triumphantly declared in pride.

    Like his soldiers before, a smile appeared on the man''s lips as he opened the hangar doors. The vacuum of space sucked out the air inside the ship with incredible force. However, they were Viltrumites. A little bit of wind would not phase them.

    Frei jumped out of the speeding ship, and his body carried him towards the pursuers. He could not let them reach the Hyperlane and chase Thaedus, so he did what he did best, fight. Frei pierced the first ship with his body. Friction against the fuel exploded the vessel into various fragments. Despite dealing some damage to himself, Frei was fast enough to avoid most of the explosion. On the other hand, the three soldiers inside the ship were not as lucky and sustained some injuries.

    He rushed again towards the other enemy aircraft, and the injured soldiers chased after Frei. They learned their lessons and navigated in a zig-zag motion to avoid his coming attack. He was not a beginner. His military achievements spoke for themselves. With a bit of maneuvering, he successfully destroyed the other ship. Although these soldiers had a better understanding of what he was trying to accomplish, they escaped the ship before the explosion. Frei was now surrounded by six fighters. They would try to overwhelm him with numbers.

    "Kingslayer, traitorous scum. Only the strong will remain on Viltrum. Your kind will perish under General Conquest." Mouth by one of the imperialists. However, Frei could not hear him. They were in the vacuum of space, what did he expect. The idiot immediately rushed towards Frei ahead of his peers. Frei dodged his unruly attack and pierced his chest with a fist.

    ''Young ones these days, no teamwork.'' Frei thought to himself.

    Four others rushed towards them then. One of the pursuers stayed back. Frei knew her face. This was Mavor, a peer of Frei back in his military days. They were around the same age, a few thousand years old, give or take a century or so.

    He dispatched the group of four soldiers with his fists. The older and more experience a Viltrumite was, the more powerful they were. This was key in his race''s makeup. However, Frei did not come out of the battle unscathed. He had a few bruises, cuts, and a broken bone on his leg.

    Mavor provided enough respect for a fellow soldier and waited until the battle was finished. Then, she floated towards Frei until they were only a few meters apart. She gave him a nod, and he gave one back.

    The two flew towards each other in a fury of blows. Despite appearing on equal terms, Frei was losing his stand fast. The previous injuries held him at a disadvantage. More bones were broken between the two sides. More violent. More damages.

    He needed to make it quick. More would come any seconds now. Both his hands held onto Mavor''s face, and yet both of hers pierced through his abdomens. He knew what she was going to do. She would split him in half if he was not quick enough. He used all his strength then, collapsing their head in a scene of gore and flesh.

    ''Pop,'' He thought. The vacuum of space did not allow for any sounds, yet he swore he heard it. The sound of skull, brain, and tissues meshing together under strain. Removing her hands out of him, he saw two holes in his body. He was losing consciousness swiftly. Soon, the imperialists will come, and he would be executed. Frei was too exhausted to fight. He had little energy left in him to wage another battle. ''Would I be able to heal from this?'' With closed eyelids, his mind wandered towards Thaedus. He had finished his saga, and the rest was up to his old friend.

    Something traveled across his body then. Strange electricity brought tingles to Frei''s skin as it flowed across his suit. He shot his eyes open, and the tingling was gone. What baffled him, however, were his surroundings. Frei was no longer floating in space, he was suddenly in a vast chamber with men circling him. They wore black and white garments with their face and bodily structures reflecting much of the Viltrumites. Some of them, soldiers Frei assumed, had metal weapons pointing towards him. It was hard for Frei to think about why Viltrumites would need such rudimentary armament. He lost his consciousness then and crashed into the floor. The final image he saw was of a silver eagle branding on one of the soldiers'' clothes.

 Chapter 2: Into The MCU

    Time: 2011 August. Location: Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility, Mojave Desert, Nevada, US.

    Dr. Erik Selvig had seen many things, one of which was even a Nordic deity from space. However, he had not anticipated a guy covered in bruises with two different bleeding wounds in his abdomens to emerge from one of the Tesseract trials. Erik hurriedly asked the medical staff in the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division to tend to the man''s injuries before dialing Nick Fury''s personal number to report the occurrence. Based on what he understood about extraterrestrial lifeforms, he decided it was preferable to remain on their good side than face their wrath later.

    ¡­

    After some time had passed, Nick Fury stood in front of the hospital bed, peering at the unidentified being peacefully resting in one of his facilities. Finally, his head turned towards Maria Hill and questioned, "Who is he?"

    "Based on our facial recognition program, he does not exist, sir," Maria responded in kind.

    "Alright. Then what is he?" Nick Fury''s brows wrinkled as he proceeded.

    "Based on the data collected from the Skrull''s and Captain Carol Danvers'' database, there are no alien species with resemblance to him except for humans. More than that, his skin and tissues are too durable to be extracted by any of our current existing technology. However, a sample of blood collected from the injures he suffered had been sent to one of our labs." Maria responded once again.

    Nick''s scowl deepened as he listened to Maria''s reply.

    "I want him monitored at all times. Transfer him to a secure location and notify me when he shows signs of waking up. Also, get that damn results from the hematologists." He exited the room after issuing his order.

    ¡­

    Time: 2011. Location: Unkown.

    Frei awoke from his healing coma a few days later, with his body almost restored to normal. Only crude monitoring gadgets could be seen by a pair of deep brown eyes as they ran around the room. He climbed out of bed and felt shackles and cuffs on his arms, legs, and neck. As soon as he saw the restraints, he laughed and pulled them free.

    Frei, who stood at his full six-foot-seven-inch height, proceeded to investigate the place he was in. The enormous piece of mirror opposite the bed piqued his curiosity. He approached the two-way mirror and checked on the glass.

    (A/N: Viltrumites do not have superhearing or supervision in the comics. However, Mark and Nolan could talk while flying at break-neck speed. It makes no sense, to be honest, but I''ll roll with the comics. Later on, they had the technology to enable telepathic communication when they were fighting in space. I doubt Frei has it right now.)

    Despite the fact that he couldn''t see or hear anything on the other side of the glass, he knew what it was. He was in the military before joining the insurgency. These people were watching him. Frei debated whether he should just fly out of here or go through the wall that separated them in order to startle the inhabitants. The military policy required that foreign life forms be subjugated and brought to their knees, but Thaedus taught him otherwise. His companion thought that each species had its own set of benefits and drawbacks. He should treat them with respect and decency as though they were equals.

    Frei could not return to Viltrum any longer. The Imperial army was out there to kill him. He hoped he would be able to reach Thaedus in time, but he had no idea where he was currently. After all, space travel was dangerous. First, he would cooperate with the locals, find out what they know about the cosmos and if possible, have them craft him a spaceship to return to his fight. A scientist or engineer, Frei was not. He was a warrior at heart, so constructing a spacecraft was out of the equation.

    His thoughts turned to the question of whether or not he should continue in the fight. However, before he could finish his thought, a guy with an eye patch and a distinct-looking woman entered the room through a previously locked door.

    "That was some costly equipment you just damaged there," Nick Fury said as he switched his focus from the bed to the stranger.

    "Where am I?" Ignoring the remark, Frei confronted the one-eyed local and her female companion.

    "Maria, what language is he speaking?" Nick Fury answered with a question, his view turned towards Maria Hill.

    "He''s not speaking any languages known on Earth, sir," Maria answered.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Frei did not understand what the locals said, and yet they ignored his question. ''Bravery or stupidity?'' Frei thought. Frei stared down at Nick Fury and pondered how they were not afraid of him. ''Do they not know of the Viltrumite Empire and its people''s might.'' He turned his view again towards the equipment in the room. They were pitifully primitive. He did a visible sigh. Frei now thought he was on some backwater planet with no connection to the intergalactic relations. It was good. He could not make contact with Thaedus but it might mean that Viltrum would not easily find him here. The language barrier was difficult; he had never had such a problem before. It was unusual to him.

    To help them comprehend where he came from, Frei pointed at himself and then to the sky. Nick Fury seemed surprised at that but recollected himself quickly. "I want some damn language specialist on this case. Teach him how to speak ours and maybe learn his language as well." His one eye still keeping caution on the alien. "Also set up some accommodation for this guy here in the meantime."

    "Yes, sir," Maria replied.

    Then he nodded to Frei and motioned to the bed. Frei realized what the man wanted. For the time being, he was inclined to follow. It was not a good idea to pit himself against these natives. He was safe, and Thaedus was capable of handling himself. It was preferable to stay quiet for a while and wait for the situation on Viltrum to settle down. Frei''s emotions, on the other hand, were out of control. He sat on the bed, allowing his mind to wander to the people he had left behind, the ones who had sacrificed themselves for his escape, and the political nightmare that was unfolding on Viltrum.

    The last few weeks had been calm compared to his time on Viltrum. Being part of the Rebellion did not allow Frei much time to rest. This was a vacation in comparison. Every day, someone would come to teach him their language, English, and he would teach them Viltrumese in return. He believed in equivalent exchange.

    The locals guide him to a different room, which he considers to be much larger and far more comfortable. They fed him three times a day, which he greatly appreciated. Human food was adequate, but it lacked the flavors of the greater galactic community. Frei didn''t mind where he was before in the medical room, but it was nice to regain some respect for his noble bloodline.

    The locals were constantly monitoring Frei. He knew it would not be easy for these humans to accept where he came from, and he allowed them to do so with the exception of the washroom. He broke all the monitoring devices he could find there. It was necessary to keep some of his dignity.

    Relative fluency of the English language came easy to Frei, partially thanks to the skillfulness of his teachers. With it being similar to his own language, there were few problems with his learning process. He was getting tired of his confinement and requested to his "teachers" or whoever was in charge to let him out to the outside world.

    The locals reacted promptly. The woman he met when he first awoke on this world knocked on his door and entered the room the following morning.

    "My name is Maria Hill. I''m here to lead you outside of the base." Maria said in Viltrumese. Surprise took hold of Frei. He did not think they could learn his language so quickly. Maybe there were more to these humans than he first believed.

    "They called me Frei. I appreciate your accommodations. Please lead the way." He spoke in English and gestured his hand towards the door.

    As they walked through the corridors, he saw waves after waves, people busying themselves and walking past him. It seemed like his arrival was not known to many people, even here, where he resided. The residents had no fear or curiosity towards his existence. He had half expected to see surprised expressions while walking out of the facility, yet few had any reactions towards him. Nonetheless, Frei did not care for it. He was getting what he wanted, and that was all that mattered.

    "Would you be able to indulge in my curiosity? What was it like where you came from?" Maria asked. Frei wondered whether this was an attempt at small talk or manipulation. During his stay with these people, S.H.E.I.L.D, he had revealed some information on Viltrum that he deemed trivial. He knew that the information would be passed down through the ranks, but he was willing to give that much. Frei had no doubt that this "Maria Hill" already knew of his planet. ''What game are you playing at?'' His view looking towards the woman.

    "It was a beautiful world. Our people were bestowed with strength from the cosmos, and we used them to protect the people in our empire." A lie he sprung to gain a positive relationship. There was no need to cast doubt on his people just yet.

    "And what about the people who are not in your empire?" Maria asked.

    Frei frowned at that. He was no politician nor spy so lying was not of his forte. He guessed that his slip of the tongue already gave the woman and her organization some answers to the question. "We let them be," Frei answered quickly, not wanting to let out any more information than he wanted. "How about this planet? Earth, you called it?" He went on the offensive.

    "We have our problems, but for the general parts, our nations worked together for the betterment of mankind. S.H.E.I.L.D serves to protect Earth from outside forces." Maria gazed over to him at those last words.

    ''Had I been too soft on them?'' Frei questioned in his mind. He had been more than civil in his acts, and now they had started to show their fangs at him. He would let it slide. They have been helpful enough to him, so he didn''t want to spit in their hospitality.

    "If you are worried about me, then I''ll tell you right now that I have no intentions of doing harm to your world, Maria Hill." Frei''s steps tread behind the woman. he did not know whether or not she believed him, but on some levels, he meant it.

    "We are grateful for that." She replied with nothing to show of her emotions.

    Before long, the two had exited the facilities to the outside. Frei, for the first time in a long time, was able to take in the pure air around him.

    "I''ll be back," he said to the puzzled agent.

    "What do you m¡­." Before she could reply, the alien shot off the ground towards the sky. Still staring at the direction Frei flew off to, she wrote down onto her notepad, ''subject has the ability of flight.''

    "We need satellite on the Viltrumite. I''ve lost sight of him." In her phone, she spoke.

 Chapter 3: The Big Apple

    Time: 2011 August. Location: Unkown.

    Frei soared above the clouds, feeling the wind rushing across his entirety. Memories of a distant past reminisced to the forefront of his mind. It had been so long since he could fly without restrictions. During the rebellion, flying was a danger in itself. There were a thousand and one ways for the imperialists to track the location of the flyer. Now, however, he was far away from Viltrum, and he would indulge in the more minor pleasures such as this.

    The SHIELD personnel had given him what they called "civilian clothing." He was wearing a white button-up shirt tucked into a beige khaki and black dress shoes. The outfit was breathable and easy to tear, unlike his Viltrumite full-body suit. The language specialist assigned to Frei told him that with his Viltrumite mustache, he looked like a "bodybuilding suburban father." Even Frei thought himself to look ridiculous in the outfit; however, it was essential to fit in with the humans. His military training of infiltration-subdue-conquer had helped him on the off-planet missions designated to him in his time as part of the imperial army, and it would help him now.

    He needed to get away from that agent, Maria Hill, as soon as possible. She was perceptive and determined. The words she spoke swayed his own to give out valuable information too quickly. They were good. For as primitive as they were, their manipulation was on par with the Empire''s finest.

    Frei took notice of his daily spotless living space. No doubt they had swiped a few of his hairs and drops of his blood from his previous wounds. He scoffed at the thought. Plenty had tried to decode Viltrumites'' genetics before. The earthlings were not the first and would not be the last. With previous attempts, few were able to use their DNA and create some sort of enhanced soldiers or Viltrumite clones. All of them, however, were widely inferior to the real thing. Frei had few worries on such matters, but it was something to keep in mind for the future.

    Something else occupied his mind now. He had felt a change in his body, slowly decreasing his strength and speed throughout his time on Earth. Thankfully it had stopped at one point during his stay with SHIELD. However, the flight he took just now confirmed his concerns.

    Frei needed to extend more of himself to fly at the speed that used to be effortless for him. ''Is it around fifty percent?'' Having his own power lowering to half was not something to ease through. This event was highly alarming. He would not even be able to fight against an Imperial high officer toe-to-toe, not even mentioning Thragg or his close confidants. His decrease in strength confirmed the need to lay low.

    Still deep in thoughts, the sounds of fire crackling came from behind him. Turning around, Frei saw a hooded figure wearing bright orange and yellow robes floating in the air. ''She could fly? Another species, perhaps? Enhanced humans?'' Frei thought.

    "Mr. Frei, you are a hard man to get in touch with." The figure said, lifting the hood to reveal a hairless woman.

    "Who are you?" He questioned.

    "I am what people called the Ancient One. I came bearing some answers to your current predicament." She said in a hurried voice.

    Frei allowed her to continue despite eyeing her for possible incoming attacks.

    "Your arrival had brought many changes to this world''s future." Her palms collapsed together with a spark.

    "We live in a universe contained in multiverses, metaverses, and the omniverse." An orb of energy emitted from her palms, duplicating with each of her words.

    "Due to reasons unbeknownst to me, one of the six singularities had deemed it worthwhile to bring you forth across the omniverse from your world to our own. The Viltrum Empire, you know, does not exist here." She raised both her hands, catching two of the thousands of brightly shining spheres.

    "That''s not possible" Frei''s mind was shattered with every piece of information.

    "Travelling across worlds? How? Why?" He continued.

    "We do not have much time. Your...friends are very persistent in finding you." Her words rushed to stop more of his questions from coming out. The Ancient One''s eyes darted upward towards the sky. Frei followed her action, but he did not see anything. He assumed SHIELD sent some sort of drones or satellites to find him.

    "You, your body, your mind, and your powers have now adjusted to the laws of this world. I am sure you have noticed." She gave a knowingly look towards Frei, which frightened the man. For the first time in his long life, something else other than the Empire scared him to the core. This woman, this Ancient One, knew more about him than he could ever imagine. It was not healthy to have all your cards laid bare for someone to see.

    "I have finished the task required of me. What you''ll do with your newfound freedom is of your choice. I hope you can make the right outcome" she finished her sentence and opened a circular portal to a strange wooden room. The Ancient One walked through her gate and gave Frei one last look. "We will meet again. Oh yes, one more thing. Please don''t tell them about me. It is not yet time."Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Breaking away from his frozen status, Frei rushed towards the woman for more answers, but the portal disappeared before he could even reach it.

    "WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN? TELL ME WHAT IT MEANS!" He yelled towards the sky with no response.

    The woman brought more questions than answers. He rushed off with his max speed to find some trace of the woman in the surrounding area, but his search was in vain.

    "Freedom? Could this be true? That is not possible." Frei muttered under his breath. He could not trust everything the woman said. He would first lay low and learn more about the planet. For now, he was still safe from Viltrum''s attention.

    His search for the Ancient One had brought him far away from where he started. Frei was now on top of a bustling city. From a distance, he saw a highrise with the words "Stark" placed mainly near the top. The man floated down to a hidden alley and walked towards the main street.

    Succumbed to the sea of people, passing by and living their lives. Frei felt the rhythm of the locals trying to find meaning in their own life amidst the dirty yet bustling human hive. Earth was much different from Viltrum. Their streets are filled with vehicles and busy bodies. Frei wondered how any of them could get anywhere in these traffic-ridden cities. On Viltrum, his people could fly, so few needed to walk on the ground. Walking became an activity for leisure and luxury. The streets were adorned with trees and beautiful pavement roads. Unlike the Earthlings, entrances on his planets were placed on top of the buildings instead for easy access by all those flying. Automatic vehicles were only used to transport the young, who had not activated their powers.

    (A/N: I''m taking some creative liberty here and thought upon how Viltrum architecture and society could be.)

    The first thing he hoped to do was read about this world''s history, customs and culture. By thinking about this as a mission, he could ignore the crisis that the Ancient One brought. He would process it later. Besides, reading was a pleasure he had picked up on one of his off-planet missions in the past. His "English teacher" had told him that there were numerous libraries across the world that he could enter for free, filled with paper books, especially in this nation called the United States.

    On Viltrum, everything was digitized, so occurrences of paper booklets were rare. Excited for this divergence, Frei tapped the shoulders of a young-looking woman near him.

    "Would you be able to tell me where the nearest library is located, young lady?" He asked

    The woman gave him a confused look at that and said, "Um, New York Public Library is at the next intersection right there between forty-second street and fifth avenue." She pointed towards a large marble building.

    "I appreciate your help" Frei walked off towards the guided direction.

    Behind him, the unknown woman was holding on to the hands of a ten years old boy.

    "Who was that aunt May? Your friend?" The boy asked the only parental figure in his life.

    "It was nothing, Peter. Just someone that needed help. That''s all." She answered sweetly to the young boy. Her thoughts hung on the words the strange man said, ''Young Lady? He didn''t even look much older than me."

    ¡­.

    Time: 2011 August. Location: New York City.

    Walking into the massive building filled with wooden tables, chairs, and bookcases. Frei attempted to move towards one of the bookcases but was stopped by a man. He wore a similar outfit to Frei, but he had a blue cardigan on top of his buttoned shirt and a name tag with "Carl" written on it.

    (A/N: You can search up the New York Public Library building. It looks cool.)

    "You have to show me your library card first." The man said towards him.

    "I don''t have such a thing on me," Frei answered as calmly as he could despite his rising annoyance.

    "Then you can sign-up for a free library card. I just need your ID." He continued.

    "I¡­" He tried to get a word in, but before he needed to, someone chimed in.

    "Mr. Wright, you forgot your ID card in the car." Another man walked up to him and handed him a piece of plastered card. The man looked to be around thirty to forty years old. Unfortunately, Frei could not pinpoint the exact numbers. He was still getting used to how short these people''s lives were.

    Taking a card in his hands, he showed it to the librarian. "Is this what you were looking for? Carl?" Frei said.

    "Ah yes, please come this way. I''ll make one for you in no time." The three walked towards the reception desk. Frei turned towards the newcomer and asked, "Did SHIELD send you?"

    "I am Agent Phil Coulson. I was tasked with helping you until Director Nick Fury arrived." Phil whispered. Frei nodded and looked towards the agent''s well-crafted black suit and back at his own.

    "Nice clothes, Phil Coulson." He added in, still taking sneak peeks at the finely tailored clothing of the other man.

    "Thank you, Mr. Wright." Phil replied, surprised at the alien''s interest in his fashion choice.

    "I appreciate you and your organization setting up an identification for me in your world." He continued. While he briefly handled the ID card before, he saw his supposed name on the piece of plastic. ''Felix Wright. How amusing.'' He thought.

    (A/N: Y''all think I''m not going to make an Ace Attorney reference? You were wrong!)

    "It is my pleasure." Phil Coulson replied with a nod of his own.

    After receiving his newly acquired ID card and a new library card, Frei selected a pile of books that interested him and brought them to one of the free spots in the reading area. Agent Phil Coulson sat down a few chairs away from Frei.

    Tuning out the surrounding, he got to understand this world better. Viltrumites'' processing speed was enhanced to match their capabilities. After a few hours, Frei got through a few piles of books and grasped a better understanding of Earth, humans, and their culture. He learned about the history of the US, their first superhero, Captain America, and the new occurrence of Tony Stark, owner of the building he saw earlier. Frei was particularly interested in the fictional section of the library. Leisure reading had never been high on Viltrum''s society, yet humans loved their genres of romance, fantasy, sci-fi, etc. He inclined to agree with their fascination with fiction.

 Chapter 4: The Pen and The Sword

    Time: 2011 August. Location: New York City, US.

    After a few more hours of intense reading, Frei, or Felix now, felt movements from Phil Coulson, which prompted his attention away from the fantasy novel he was reading about some hobbits and a ring. Phil stood up from his seat and greeted at the library entrance.

    Nick Fury entered the building with his black outfit and an eye patch which prompted a lot of unwanted attention. However, the man did not seem to care. Fury walked to the table with a suitcase in hand, briefly flashing his library card to Carl from earlier with hasty feet. To his own amusement, Felix thought of his meeting with the Ancient One. ''Do all bald people in this world hold untold powers?'' An interesting thought but one he knew that was wrong.

    Standing next to Felix now, Fury looked at the alien with half frustration and half amusement. "You said you would be back." He commented with a sarcastic tone.

    "I did not specify when, Nick Fury," Felix replied.

    "To us, you are an alien lifeform. I need to know where you are and what you are doing. For all we know, you could be the start of an invading force from outer space." Fury commented.

    "There is no invading force. It will be just me." Felix''s attention returned to the book. ''He had no idea how closed to home he was,'' he thought.

    Fury sat down on the chair opposite of Felix and continued, "How can we know that with you refusing to share details about your planet or your race?"

    "Do not play me for a fool, Nick Fury. I am sure you had collected enough specimens to benefit your own species." He glared at Fury now, warning him against going any further with this questioning.

    "Fine!" Fury returned, placing the black suitcase on the table on a disgruntled slam.

    A gray-haired woman behind him shushed at Fury, which prompted the SHIELD Director to turn his head towards her with stupid bewilderment.

    "Sir, this is still a library," Coulson added in, which gained Fury''s confused eyes on himself.

    Amused at the entire situation, Felix asked, "What''s in the box?"

    (A/N: WHAT''S IN THE BOX? WHAT''S IN THE BOXXXXXXX? NO NO NO WHAT''S IN THE FREAKING BOX? Did y''all catch that?)

    "More documents for Felix Wright, where you lived, where you were born, even your damn high school and university diplomas, the key to your own apartment in New York, Debit card and credit card for a bank account with enough to live your life for the next three years. Also a laptop and a phone with my number and Coulson''s number on it. He will be your point of contact if you need anything." Fury replied.

    "What''s the catch?" Felix asked. They would never provide these things for free. There is always a catch.

    "I see you are getting very fluent with our language. You come to work for us. I''m putting together a team of remarkable individuals to fight the battles that normal humans never could." Fury answered his questions, now with less attitude.

    An enticing offer, however, Felix had been a soldier for the most part of his life. Even with the rebellion, all he did was kill and train others to kill. He would not fall into such a trap ever again. Especially now that there was a possibility of freedom. Felix had looked at the star charts written in the Earthling''s books. Despite their lack of knowledge, he knew some fundamental differences between his world and this one. The universe did not match up. But again, he could not fully trust in their limited understanding of the galaxy.

    Felix''s own code of conduct did not allow him to take these "gifts" for free. He thought about it for a while and came to a conclusion, "One time. I''ll help you one time, and we''re done."

    "One time? ONE TIME?" Fury''s voice rising by the second.

    The old woman from before shushed the director once again. The one-eyed man turned around and said, "Mind your own damn business," to the woman, which startled her to grab her own belongings and switch to another table.

    "Do you know what I''m risking here to let your ass stay on this planet? One time is not enough." Fury got closer to Felix and whispered.

    "As I said before, you''ve collected enough to benefit yourself. One time or nothing. My deal is on the table." Felix leaned back on his chair and waited for the other''s reply.

    Nick Fury thought to himself for a moment, his one eye intensely staring at Felix''s. "Alright. You owe one-time," He stood up from his seat. "Coulson, show Mr. Wright here to his new accommodations." Fury left the table to the entrance. "And pick up the damn phone when I call you," he said while passing Felix''s seat. A smile appeared on the Viltrumite''s face.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    ¡­

    Time: 2011 September. Location: New York City, US.

    It had been two weeks since Felix arrived in New York City. He had adopted this persona of Felix Wright quite smoothly. His physical appearance resembling a regular Earthling had helped immensely in his adaptability to their culture. Seeing his interests in the suits, Coulson had provided an address to a tailor shop called The Kingsman, where he purchased a few tailored outfits for his everyday usage. Apparently, the store is a branch of a company from the United Kingdom.

    Having star charts provided by SHIELD allowed him to finally let go of his past in Viltrum. The constellations and locations did not align with what he previously knew of his universe. Felix accepted his new identity and the new home he had found himself in. Although, sometimes, he would think about Thaedus and how he was doing and how Viltrum had become after Thragg took the title of Grand Regent. He could not do anything about it now, but old habits die hard.

    The apartment provided for him by Nick Fury had been more than exquisite. Its location nearby a bar with the name of McLaren''s Pub allowed him to easily enjoy the humans'' alcoholic drinks. Their food might be bland, but their alcohols are top notched.

    SHIELD was determined to have him monitored for the first few days through small recording devices. However, after Felix systematically searched and destroyed the bugs, they had opted to have human monitors on him from afar.

    Picking up the phone, Felix dialed Coulson''s numbers.

    "Mr. Wright, how may I help you?" Coulson greeted after picking up his phone. Frei had liked the name Felix Wright since he first adopted it. It seemed fitting now that he was forcefully shoved into a new chapter of his life. He decided to only refer to himself as such from then on.

    "Agent Phil Coulson, I would like to provide a proposition to SHIELD. If I remember correctly, you wanted to know more about alien lifeforms and their cultures." Felix answered.

    "Yes, should I come to your apartment, Mr. Wright?" Coulson asked.

    "No, I''ll wait for you at the coffee shop in front of the apartment building. It seemed like your agents are quite fond of its beverages, so I''m hoping to try them out for myself." Felix replied, a curl appearing on the edges of his lips.

    "Cough cough, ah yes, I''ll meet you there in thirty minutes, Mr. Wright." Coulson was taken by surprise. He did not think Felix would be that upfront about his monitoring conditions.

    ¡­

    Walking into the coffee store, the bells above the door chimed in joyful rings, indicating a new customer had arrived. Felix looked around the decors of the shop with antique furnishing and the sweet aroma of coffee in the air. His eyes turned towards two anxious men sitting near the window still and nodded at them. They burst into nervous chuckles and signaled back.

    Felix caught a mildly familiar shade of bright copper in the corner of his vision. The woman with auburn hair who had guided him towards the library two weeks ago was waiting for her turn near the cashier. He moved towards the woman and tapped her shoulders. An amused smile showed up on his face due to the similarity between the two events. The words "Excused me" escaped his mouth.

    The woman turned around in a surprising motion. Her face clearly showed confusion. Finally, after a moment of awkwardness, Felix spoke up, "I want to thank you again for showing me directions last time. It was very helpful."

    A flash of recognition ignited on her face. "You''re the young-lady guy," she said, which instilled a puzzled expression on Felix and a regretful look from the woman. Then, the awkwardness returned to the two.

    "Excuse me, what would you like to order?" the barista asked the two.

    "Please, I would like to repay you for the help you provided last time." Felix broke free of the mood first and urged the other.

    "Are you sure? It was really nothing." May questioned the man.

    "I insist." He said.

    "I would like a BLT sandwich and a hot coffee with milk and no sugar," May answered with a grateful look to Felix.

    "And you?" The barista turned towards Felix.

    "I''ll have the same." He replied.

    "Thank you for the lunch. It was really nothing before." She turned back to Felix now.

    "Still, a good deed should not go unrewarded," Felix commented.

    "I''m May Parker, by the way." Her hand reached out for a shake.

    Felix answered with his own hands moving forward. It was a very human way of greeting. "Felix. Felix Wright. A pleasure to meet you., Ms. Parker." He saw a wince from the other at his last words. It was a hint of pain, he wondered why it was so.

    "It is nice to meet you too, Mr. Wright. Are you new to New York?" She questioned, happily moving away from the greetings.

    "Yes, I just moved here two weeks ago. I am still getting used to the city." It was not a lie, after all.

    ¡­

    Their conversation continued with small comfortable talks until their orders came up. May had to return to work, but Felix spoke up before she left, "Do you come here often, May Parker?" Despite Felix''s mastery of English, he would sometimes revert back to calling people by their full names when his emotions took hold of him. This was not one of those occasions. He made sure to deliberately use her full name to avoid making her uncomfortable.

    "Almost every Tuesday for lunch," her smile brightened up, but there was restraint in her eyes.

    "Well, I do hope to see you again, May Parker." He finished and returned her smile with one of his own.

    Parker walked out of the shop, with Coulson entering the shop. The two men greeted each other and sat down on one of the tables inside the cafe. May''s eyes lingered at Felix for a moment, then she returned to her daily routine.

    "So, Mr. Wright, I see you are finally ready to build friendships with us, humans." He chuckled at his own comment, hinting at what he saw just a moment before.

    "Even Viltrumites need friends." Felix shrugged his shoulders. "Now to the important parts, take a look at these synopses." He shoved a piece of paper towards Coulson.

    The agent read the paragraphs with wide eyes. "Mr. Wright, are these¡­" Phil asked.

    Felix dropped two stacks of papers on top of the table from his suitcase and continued, "In these books are some of the experiences I''ve had throughout my years of service as a Viltrumite soldier." His hand caressed each of the stacks. "I transcripted and edited them into a couple of books to sell for the wider public. Help me publish them, and in the books, you''ll learn more about the species and races I''ve encountered." Felix finished.

    "I will talk to Director Fury about this, but our answer will most likely be yes." If that was true, these were a gold mine to SHIELD. Coulson would need to have a publisher company in his contact to look over the transcripts, but what was printing a few books compared to gaining knowledge of the vast expanse. Little did they know that the creatures in his books most likely did not exist here.

 Chapter 5: Dinner with May and Peter

    Time: 2011 November. Location: New York City.

    One would be surprised by the complicated process of publishing a book, even more so if you plan to print two. With the backing of SHIELD, Felix had signed his book deals with Lancaster Print and Publication, one of the large printing houses in the United States (A/N: Clearly fictional, don''t sue me). Then came the onslaught of legal risks identification meetings from Lancaster''s flock of attorneys, editing errors fixes, marketing brainstorm sessions, cover contracts with artists, etc. Needless to say, he had a lot to learn in the past few months.

    Despite his busy schedule, Felix was content with his current living situation. There was no longer any need to kill his own kin, hide from the Empire, or watch his peers and mentees die in front of his eyes. He sometimes questioned whether he deserved the peace that his interdimensional travel had brought. The guilt he felt for abandoning the Rebellion and Thaedus behind came to bite Felix in his sleeping hours. Viltrumite''s anatomy allowed him to stay awake for days on end without any significant problems to his health, which led to many sleepless nights of work for the alien.

    On to happier news, after weeks of spending consecutive Tuesday lunches with May, their relationship had become closer. They upgraded from calling each other by their last name or full name to first names basis. Felix was satisfied with having a friend to consult with for a more human perspective, not that she knew he wasn''t human. On the contrary, she believed his view was just of an eccentric foreigner. After all, Viltrumite''s guidebook on relationship depended on the compatibility of the species'' genetics and mainly focused on procreating strong half-Viltrumites. So it was nice to take things slow for a while.

    Felix learned of May''s situation, and subsequently, her nephew, Peter Park''s upbringing. May and her recently deceased husband, Ben, had raised an orphaned Peter since he was two years old. With Ben''s passing, she tried her best to take care of her nephew as a single parental figure. The Earthling''s custom of raising their own children was foreign to Felix. On Viltrum, newborns were brought to nursing centers and stayed there until seven years old. Then the Department of Education would take hold of them until they developed their powers and were ready to serve the Empire. Parental care was never a concern in his culture.

    Lost in thoughts, he almost missed what May was saying.

    "Yea, so Peter said he wanted to meet who I''ve been spending time with every Tuesday''s lunch. So we''re hoping you could come for dinner this Thursday," she said with expectation in her eyes.

    Felix was taken out of his headspace and stared at the woman in a blank expression.

    "Is that too soon? If you''re busy that day, it''s okay too. I could resch¡­." She blabbered in anxiousness.

    "May, I would love to," he responded, finally straightening himself out.

    May smiled at that and said, "Okay, it''s no big deal. You don''t have to bring anything. Just come at seven. I''ll have to get groceries after work that day. Also picking up Peter¡­." The woman went on with her own thoughts and worries.

    Felix listened to her, but his mind also drifted back to its own path. ''What do people do at dinners? Do I bring anything? Maybe Coulson would know,'' he thought.

    His hands went to his phone and texted Phil Coulson. Texting, a primitive method of communication, but he had gotten used to it in the past few months. He wrote, "What do I bring to dinner with a woman and a child?"

    Coulson sent a message back saying, "????"

    ¡­.

    After spending days researching and following Coulson''s lengthy advice, Felix concluded that human interrelationships were complicated. Holding a bottle of wine, some flowers, and early copies of his books, he knocked on the doors of the apartment.

    The door flung open and what greeted him was a surprised face of a ten years old child. Peter wanted to protect his aunt, and he believed he needed to be harsh on whoever was coming over tonight. Opening the door, however, he saw a massive figure of a man with a mustache. His facade of bravery was transparent for all to see, and it was waning quickly.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    "Hi..there, Mr. Wright.." Peter whimpered.

    Felix kneeled down to Peter''s eyes level and said, "You must be Peter. I''ve heard you like reading books." Few had been able to make Felix kneel, and yet here he was doing just that. His desire to impress May seemed to override the years of experience he had. "I brought you some from my latest works. I hope you will enjoy it." Felix continued, giving the packaged novels to the child.

    "Thank you, mister!" Then, like water under the bridge, Peter''s interests quickly turned to the gifts he received. He still thought the man was scary, but it was less so now. He then ran off to the sofa in the living room.

    May came out of the kitchen then, seeing Felix at the door, she rushed towards him, "Oh, you''re here already. Please, let me take your coat."

    "It''s alright. I can do it. You seemed occupied." He replied, looking at the apron covering her clothes. "I brought wine and flowers." He added, showing the two towards May.

    "You didn''t have to bring anything. Here, let me take them off your hands so you can hang your coat." She said, taking away the items. Felix closed the door, took off his coat, and hung it over the hangers near the door. "Thank you," he said.

    "Is there anything I can help with?" he gestured towards the kitchen. Since his departure from the SHIELD''s base, he learned how to do human chores around his apartment. He was happy to say that he could now take care of himself by Earthling''s standards. Cooking became a side hobby for Felix when he was not hard at work on his novels.

    "There are actually, Peter! Can you help Mr. Wright set up the table for dinner?" She said towards the boy.

    "But I got books to read!" The boy lifted one of Felix''s books up to show May from the sofa.

    May looked at the new books to Peter''s collection and back at Felix with a raised eyebrow.

    "It''s just some early copies of my books that''ll be available next year. You told me he liked books." He automatically defended himself. ''Was it not the right thing to bring?'' Coulson told Felix that showing off your own work is a symbol of confidence.

    May sighed at that and returned her attention to Peter, "Read it later! We have to eat dinner!"

    "Okkkk," Peter replied, slowly lifting himself up from the couch as a sign of defiance.

    A ringing of a cooking timer resounded from the kitchen.

    "Oh crap, Peter, hurry up! I hope you don''t mind." May looked at Felix, hoping that he would understand.

    "I offered. Do not worry. I got this." He commented.

    May returned to her kitchen at that and said, "It''ll be quick. It''s pretty much done."

    Peter came up to Felix and happily said, "Come, mister! We have to get the table ready, or she''ll yell at us."

    Felix nodded.

    ¡­

    Dinner went smoothly, with Peter doing most of the talking. The fear and awkwardness he showed earlier had completely disappeared as he questioned Felix about his books. Felix learned from the pair of nephew and aunt that spoilers were not welcomed to humans. Alcohol did nothing to his Viltrumite metabolism, but he enjoyed the taste. May seemed to think so as well since she refilled her glass a couple of times.

    After dinner, Peter rushed off to his room to continue his readings, leaving the Viltrumite and Earthling alone in the kitchen to deal with the dishes. Coulson said that Felix should offer to wash the dishes, so he did.

    "I didn''t know you would bring so many things. Thank you again for your gifts to Peter and also for the flowers." May said, standing next to the sink while Felix washed the plates, silverware, and cooking utensils.

    "It was not much. It is the proper etiquette I heard." He replied.

    "Peter seemed to like you. It''s rare to see him so happy since Ben passed away." She continued.

    "He is a bright child. He would grow up strong." Felix added while his hands were busy scrubbing off the remains on the pan.

    May let out a burst of slight laughter at his words, "Has anyone told you your ways of speaking is quite strange?"

    "Many since I came here." His eyes focused on cleaning the pan''s handle.

    "To New York City? Or to the U.S?" She added.

    "To the United States." He replied, carefully wiping so he would not destroy May''s things.

    Quiet overtook them then. Only the sounds of water rushing from the faucet and metal clanking onto one another.

    "I am done." Felix turned off the running water and turned his attention to May. A silent suffocating moment between them.

    "It is quite late." May took a step back with her comment.

    "Yes, I should go," Felix answered, noticing the hesitation in her movement.

    They walked towards the door, and he placed his coat back onto himself.

    "Thank you for dinner. It had been most pleasant coming to your home," Felix opened the entrance to the hallway.

    "It was great having you over. Peter loved you. I am glad you came." Her hand caressed her arm. Felix read it was a kind of unconscious movement in time of nervousness.

    "I''ll see you next week?" He spoke. Both of them stared intently into each others'' eyes.

    "Yes, for sure." She responded, briefly breaking off eye contact once in a while.

    "I hope you have a good night. Please tell Peter I said goodbye." Felix bid her fair well.

    "You too," and she inturns bid his.

    Felix left the apartment and returned to his own. Lying on his bed, he thought about the new emotions he had experienced. The Viltrumite had been through many things in his nearly two thousand years of life, but this was new to him. That night, his sleep was sound and no nightmare came to disturb him.

 Chapter 6: Start of the Year

    Time: January 2011. Location NYC

    Felix learned that human lives were complicated with the months he spent on Earth. In his entire life, this was the first time where there were no orders for him to follow, no battles to be won, and no war to be fought. Instead, he spent his days with mundane tasks of a "normal" human and learning about the species through the internet, books, and conversations with random strangers in Central Park.

    To be frank, this method of living was foreign to Felix. He was no stranger to hiding. He spent years avoiding the Imperial Regime but living in the open while pretending to be one of the humans was a unique experience.

    Viltrumites tended to bulldoze into whatever foreign planets they were sent to. However, Thaedus had believed differently. The man spent his time mingling with other species and lived amongst them in contrast to Imperialist directives and regulations. Felix had first thought that it was a ridiculous idea; however, he was now using a similar method on Earth, and it was perplexing.

    Life as a human was exhausting at times. Things like transportation were incredibly inefficient to Felix, but he had accepted the usage of public and private transport. It reminded him of the worst model of Viltrumite''s interstellar spacecraft, and yet humans needed to use them for daily needs.

    The robust alien sat on a rusted metallic bench in Central Park, watching the varied groups of people go by in joy post-New-Year festivities. There were, of course, many positive things that he learned from the humans. Despite the constant chaos in their lives, they found comfort in the little things, which he adopted to his day-to-day schedule.

    One would be surprised by how much you can learn from just watching people going about with their lives. By paying attention to anything between what people were wearing, how they interacted with others, how they walked and what kind of lifestyles they had. Felix studied the social situations of body language as well as facial expressions and tones. On some fundamental level, it helped the Viltrumite in finding the pulse of the city better than any books could ever teach him.

    The late winter wind brushed past Felix''s dark long coat. He did not need to shield himself from the cold due to his physiology, but there was a necessity to blend in with the New Yorkers. In spite of the snowy scenery, the park reminded him of home. On Viltrum, the ground was always adorned with beautiful plant life for those who could afford the time to leisurely walk around. It was a luxury for few, and Felix was not one of those lucky ones. With his duties for the Empire and then for the Rebellion, he had to constantly commit time and resources to his responsibilities. It was different now. He had an abundance amount of time to do as he pleased when he was not working on his manuscripts.

    "Never thought I''ll see an alien brooding in the middle of Central Park," Coulson walked up to Felix with the afternoon light shining brightly on his face.

    Felix responded to the agent with, "Never thought SHIELD would be so brazen with my monitoring."

    "I''m not here on SHIELD business. Had something close by, so I thought I drop in for a second. May I?" Coulson pointed at the empty seat next to Felix.

    "Help yourself." He replied.

    The agent sat down on the cold metal. Both of them examined each others'' finely crafted clothing from Kingsman and nodded to each other. "I heard you''ve been here a lot. Every day, in fact, at exactly 5 PM."

    "It helps me understand humans better," Felix said with his eyes returning to the walking mass.

    "Did you do anything fun for Christmas and New Year?"

    "I had expected you to know that already with your organization constantly watching over my every move."

    "Just making conversations. Like I said, it''s my time off right now."

    "I enjoyed your celebrations. Although I had not expected your holidays to be so¡­commercialized."

    "Sounds like you''re getting used to living amongst us."

    Felix gave the agent a nod and continued his surveying. The two sat there in silence until Felix continued their conversation, "Tell me, your people traverse around the world without a given purpose. How do you live with such aimlessness?"

    The question took Phil Coulson aback by surprise. The alien was many things, but talkative was not one of his usual traits. Felix was asking him something that he was not prepared for. The man thought to himself and replied, "Well, we struggle to find purpose our entire life. Some find them early and pursue their ends to the best of their abilities. Some accepted religion and beliefs. Others may never find one, so their purpose is to discover a purpose. I personally believe that you find purpose by taking actions. You don''t find it through thinking too much."

    Felix nodded again to Coulson''s answer. Another new concept that he had to work through. Coulson''s belief provided much of what the alien had learned over the past few months.

    "I would like to ask you a question in return. How does "purpose" operate on Viltrum?" Coulson questioned to which Felix responded with "Our tasks and caste are assigned at birth. I was born from a line of warriors and so naturally I became one. Simple as that. There was no need to find myself or my purpose."

    "Is that so? And yet you are now an author-in-the-making. I don''t see you doing a lot of fighting," Coulson said with a slight grin plastered on his face.

    "It''s a means to an end," Felix grunted, not willing to give the agent the satisfaction.

    Coulson chimed with pride, "But I have to assume that you like your life on Earth so far."

    "It is new and different. There are many things that I dislike and many that I like."

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    "I can''t be certain about all the other species in the cosmos but that''s what it means to be human. Constantly shifting between the negatives and the positives." Coulson claimed.

    What the man said gave Felix a lot to think about. He wanted to understand how humans viewed their world and their place in the grand universe. With the limited time he spent in the U.S, he had only seen one side of the equation. There was a desire in Felix to see the other perspectives that were out there.

    ¡­

    Time: January 2012. Location NYC

    "...and may the dread wolf takes you," Felix ended his sentence then gently closed the book. The audience stood up from their seats and clapped their hands together in a mismatching rhythm.

    "I am grateful for all of you coming to support me. That was the end of the first chapter in my book, The Age of Basilisks. That concluded the read-out for this book launch event. Please enjoy the food that we have prepared for you." The people at Lancaster Print and Publication had thoroughly prepared his script for the opening night.

    Thanks to their online marketing, Felix gained somewhat of a fan base even before his books were released to the market. The people online had dubbed him a "hunky daddy," which he was pretty taken aback by when he looked it up on the internet. Human entertainments were far more advanced than what they had on Viltrum.

    The venue for the event was in a library, very poetic in a way since when he first arrived in NYC, Felix went to a similar location to find his barring. After the reading, people came up to him and asked loads of questions about the two books he was releasing. Social media was truly a powerful tool. Amongst the varied groups of humans, he saw a familiar sight of a red-haired woman and her nephew.

    "I''m glad you came," Felix trailed towards her with hurried steps and greeted the woman.

    "We kind of sneaked in halfway. I can''t miss such a big day."

    "Troubles at work?"

    "It''s a good thing actually. Last-minute batch of donations that needed to be sorted out. Nothing too crazy. Enough about me though. Congratulations!" May greeted back at the mustache Viltrumite.

    Felix replied, "I appreciate you coming here." He turned to the young boy and continued," I hope you find the event satisfactory, Peter."

    "Congratulation, mister!" Peter wiped his eyes as a small yawn escaped from his mouth. The event took place at night, and with the reading for his books, the release party had gone on for an hour or two.

    "It''s still a school night, so we might have to soon." May chimed in. Her hand caressed the boy''s hair.

    "I want to stay longer, Aunt May." Peter resisted.

    "That is a shame, but I understand education is important for a boy of your age," Felix explained to Peter, and the future spiderman reluctantly nodded.

    "Haha, I''ve tried to tell him that many times. Believe me. He better be thankful when he grows up." May chuckled at her own comment.

    "He will. I have no doubt that he knows how amazing his aunt is." Felix added with gentleness in his words.

    "Thank you. Truly." A slight shiver of vulnerability in her voice came to surprise both of them. It had been a journey for May throughout the years. With the passing of Ben, she had to take care of Peter all by herself. May toughened herself enough for the both of them, and she believed that there was no need for anyone else to break down that wall. However, there were cracks wiggling their ways through her defenses now. She wasn''t sure if she was ready for that.

    Their gaze met each other in a moment of stillness, but they quickly broke it off. Felix was the first to sever the silence between them, "How did you get here?"

    "I took the subway, my car broke down earlier in the week, so it''s still in the shop."

    "I''m sorry to hear that. But, please, let me drive you back. You took your time to come here after all." The Viltrumite had learned how to drive the primitive vehicle that humans used for transportation. It added some comfort for Felix when he traveled inside the city despite his ire for the thing.

    "Are you sure? You still have an event going on." May gestured towards the surrounding area.

    Felix took a look at his manager, Jay Petal. The man gave a questioning raised eyebrow back to him. "Yea, it''ll be fine," Felix mouthed.

    ¡­

    The two spent time talking about Peter and May''s work on the car ride back. May and Peter sat at the back of his car with the ladder having his head on his aunt''s laps. Peter was already millions of miles away in dreamland. While there were some more moments of silence between them, Felix enjoyed the conversation they had.

    "...Yea, so that''s why I don''t take the subway after 1 AM anymore. Oh, we''re here." May was immersed in her story but then she noticed their arrival.

    "So it seems."

    Either of them wanted to leave, yet they were both unsure of whether or not they could take the step forward.

    "Thank you for the ride. I''ll head back up with Peter now." May said her piece.

    "Do you need any help bringing him up?"

    "That''s alright. I''m pretty used to this. He runs out of energy all the time." May replied.

    Felix was not blind. He could see what was slowly developing between them, but he could not let it continue any further. He had lived thousands of years, and he would live thousands more. A life span of a human was incomparable to one of a Viltrumite. He did not want to push May into something like that, especially since she still thought of him as a regular human.

    Felix bid his farewell, "Have a good night. Tell Peter I said goodbye."

    "You too. Drive safe!" She replied, heading into her apartment complex.

 Chapter 7: Fall of Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility

    Time: 2012 May. Location: Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility, Mojave Desert, Nevada, US.

    Men and women rushed in waves to evacuate the SHIELD Facility with any pieces of equipment they could carry. Although the facility was in a state of panic, unknown to most assigned to the base, the Tesseract, a source of infinite energy recovered from the carcass of the Valkyrie ship, was emitting never seen levels of energy.

    Agent Maria Hill and Director Nick Fury exited the landed helicopter and approached Agent Phil Coulson.

    "How bad is it?" Fury quickly asked.

    "That''s the problem, sir. We don''t know." Coulson answered with worries weighing down his shoulders.

    With hurried steps, Coulson led Hill, Fury, and some soldiers through the facility towards the underground area of the base. On their way, running staff and technicians swiftly dashed towards the exists, carrying only the essentials with them.

    "Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago," Phil informed the two.

    "NASA didn''t authorize Selvig to do any more testing yet," Fury questioned in surprise.

    "He wasn''t testing it, he wasn''t even in the room. Spontaneous advancement." Coulson added.

    "It just turned itself on?" Hill asked the two with a frown.

    "We''ve seen something like this once before," Coulson said, silently implying towards the arrival of another alien from months ago.

    Nick Fury turned his head to Phil then, with one of his eyebrows raised, "that is not good news, Coulson. How long to get everyone out?"

    "Campus should be clear in the next half an hour," Coulson replied.

    "Do better. Maria, I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out." Fury''s attention went towards the other agent now.

    "Sir, is that really a priority right now?" She questioned.

    "Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone." Fury ordered aggressively towards his second-in-command.

    "Yes, sir. You two, with me." Maria ordered the two nearby guards. Their path diverged away from Fury and Coulson.

    The two entered the holding chamber of the Tesseract; complex machinery spaced widely across the flooring of the room. Metal contraptions and wire wares hold the Tesseract in place. Agent Clint Barton, Hawkeye, appeared to their side and guided them towards Dr. Erik Selvig.

    "Talk to me, doctor," Fury turned towards Selvig.

    "The Tesseract is misbehaving. We''ve seen the readings, the energy levels are much higher than the previous event." Selvig answered, still looking at a computer screen.

    "And what do you see, Barton." Fury changed his questioning towards the agent.

    "No one''s come or gone. The chamber is clean. No contacts, If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn''t at this end." Clint answered.

    "At this end?" Fury asked.

    "Yea, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides." Barton continued. All four men were staring at the Tesseract.

    "You think it''s an invasion force from Viltrum?" Fury asked again.

    "Sir, I highly doubt that''s the case. Frei had been in almost constant monitoring for the past months. There are no signs of him contacting any outside forces," Coulson turned down the idea.

    "If it''s not him, then who?" Barton chimed in.

    The Tesseract pulsed with energy as alarms rang loudly across the chamber. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a flash of lightning before the thunder. A beam of vortex energy shot out from the Tesseract and opened up a portal to unknown space. A figure holding a spear emerged from the black hole and examined his surroundings.

    The man quickly pointed his spear towards the four men, and blue light shot out from his weapon. They dodged out of the way just in time before a sapphire burst exploded onto the equipment. SHIELD agents fired their guns freely onto the figure, but bullets seemed to bounce off him. The man then dashed towards his attackers, dispatching them with ease with his spear.

    Barton was recovering from the attack, but before he could react, the figure tapped his spear onto his chest. Clint''s eyes grew black along with his mind. No longer under his control, Barton stood up straight in a salute to the foreign entity.

    As the strange man continued to convert SHIELD agents to his side, Fury took the Tesseract from its holdings and placed it into a secured case before trying to leave the room.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "Please don''t. I still need that." The man abruptly said, which stopped Fury from his movement.

    "I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose." He continued.

    "Loki? Brother of Thor?" Now recovered from the attack, Selvig, on his feet, spoke up. His word seemed to strike a nerve on Loki, which he, in turn, placed his scepter onto Erik Selvig''s chest, controlling the man''s mind.

    "We have no quarrel with your people." Fury said.

    "An ant has no quarrel with a boot," Loki responded.

    "You plan on stepping on us?" Fury asked back, urging the Asgardian to continue. He needed to stall for time, and the facility was rigged to blow if any major problems were to arise. In his arrogance and self-importance, Loki believed himself to be a savior of humanity from the burden that is freedom.

    "Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us," before Fury''s plan could come to fruition, Barton intersected.

    "He''s right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe a few minutes before this goes critical." Selvig added in agreement.

    "Well then¡­" Loki turned his eyes toward Barton, and without any hesitation, the agent shot Fury in the chest. Loki, Clint, Erik, and the turned SHIELD personnel exit the room, grabbing the case with the Tesseract with them.

    Minutes later, Fury and Coulson woke up from their unconsciousness. Coulson was recovering from the initial impact of Loki''s scepter and Fury from being shot in the chest. He always wore a bulletproof vest under his jack thanks to his paranoid personality. The director informed his people of the enemies leaving the facility with the Tesseract. Then hurried himself, together with Coulson, out of the base before it blew. Despite their best efforts, the attack came too much of a surprise. Loki was able to escape with the cube and Fury''s agents.

    "What do we do?" Coulson asked, still limping.

    "It''s time we call in that one favor." Nick Fury stood there and looked up towards the night sky. On his face is a sign of hope.

    ¡­.

    Time: 2012 May. Location: New York City, US.

    Another few months passed by in a blink of an eye, Felix had come to truly enjoy the life he had on Earth. With the launch of his books, he was now able to enjoy the luxury that came with it. Being a minor celebrity in the sci-fi community had made his desire for privacy come a little harder to come by but SHIELD proved their resourcefulness in the matter.

    Landing on the roof of his apartment complex, he carried the grocery he purchased from his ¡°trip¡± to France. The flight across the Atlantic Ocean had cost him an hour. He spent much of his free time exploring the known world and learning about the perspectives that other countries could provide for him. His conclusion was ¡°humans are complicated.¡±

    May was going to come over for dinner today. She said she was able to find someone to look over Peter for the night so she would come to his apartment. Felix was not an idiot. He knew what this could entail considering his regular passing to hers and Peter¡¯s place. He had hoped to take their relationship to the next step but he did not want to overstep their boundaries. Over the months, he had thought about the consistent problem of their lifespans. However, casual relationships were something that humans enjoyed during their free time. A committed relationship was a luxury that neither of them can afford right now.

    A ring came from his SHIELD-provided phone then. His deep brown eyes and heavy eyebrows frowned at the caller''s name. ''Nick Fury,'' Felix read. It was a strange occurrence. Since his meeting with the director in New York Public Library, he had only come in contact with SHIELD through agent Phil Coulson. So Fury must have been desperate if he was to call him now.

    He placed the paper bags of cheese, grapes, and wine gently onto the ground. His calloused hand ran through the dark brunette hair with patches of gray and white, signifying his age. He picked up the phone and brought it to his ear with his other free hand.

    "Nice of you to finally pick up the phone, Mr. Wright." Furry had an annoyance in his voice. Felix picked up another emotion as well, hope.

    "What is it?" He replied monotonously.

    "We need your help. The world is at war." Fury answered, too tired to comment on Felix Wright''s unenthusiastic mood.

    "Can it wait?" Felix continued with no indication of interest.

    "Are you asking me if the fate of the world can wait?" The annoyance in Fury''s voice was growing.

    "I''ve lived through a few dark ages and some supposed end of days. It can wait." He replied.

    (A/N: Thank you Geralt from Witcher TV Show for that beautiful line.)

    "You can but humanity can not. I''m sending you the coordinate and a dossier on who you''ll be working with. Don''t be late." Done with the alien''s antics, Fury hang up the phone.

    Returning the phone to his side, Felix sighed. A method of showing resign from an unavoidable event that he picked up from May. The Viltrumite then called the woman to inform her about his unavailability for the evening. He already knew that he would get an earful after his return for ditching her.

    ¡­.

    Time: 2012 May. Location: SHIELD Helicarrier.

    Inside the meeting room on the Helicarrier, Nick Fury was having a "chat" with the World Security Council, an international council formed of politicians from some of Earth''s most powerful countries to function as oversight for SHIELD.

    "This is out of line, director," A councilor said. "You''re dealing with forces you can''t control." The man continued.

    "You''ve ever been in a war, councilman? A firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control?" Fury refuted. He doubted any of these politicians had ever fought in a war. Ever fought for what they proclaim with pride. Fury knew war like the back of his hand, and he was determined to win this one.

    "So the Viltrumites are invading our world?" The counselor asked.

    "The enemy is not a Viltrumite. He''s Asgardian." The director fixed their misconception. As astonishing as it was, there were now four alien races that humans had contact with, Kree, Skrull, Viltrumite, and Asgardian.

    "Are you saying that this Asgard is declaring war on our planet?" The mystery man spoke.

    "Not Asgard. Loki." Fury answered.

    "He can''t be working alone. What about the other one? His brother." A councilwoman added.

    "Our intelligence says Thor is not a hostile, but he''s worlds away. We can''t depend on him for help either. It''s up to us." Fury''s voice beamed with confidence.

    "Which is why you should be focusing on Phase 2. It was designed for exactly thi¡­." The previous man spoke.

    "Phase 2 isn''t ready. Our enemy is. We need a response team." Fury interjected with his hands moving behind his back.

    "The Avengers Initiative was shut down." The councilman eagerly chimed.

    "This isn''t about The Avengers." Fury quickly responded.

    "We''re running the world''s greatest covert security network, and you''re going to leave the fate of humanity to a handful of freaks." The voice was full of disdain.

    "I''m not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people may be isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need." Fury''s words came from his most profound admiration for Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel.

    "War isn''t won by sentiment, Director." The other man said once again. His disbelief was clear in the tone of his voice.

    "No, it''s won by soldiers." Fury finished.

 Chapter 8: Ant, meet Boot

    Time: 2012 May. Location: SHIELD Helicarrier.

    The quinjet carrying Captain Steve Rogers and Phil Coulson descended onto the giant carrier floating in the water. SHIELD personnel concerned themselves with strapping down jets and containers for the eventual takeoff. Natasha Romanoff, SHIELD agent and the black widow, walked towards the two bodies that had just exited a plane.

    "Agent Romanoff, meet Captain Rogers," Coulson introduced the two towards each other. He gave the red-haired woman a brief look, unsure of how his military position would fit into this new age he found himself in. "Ma''am," Rogers nodded.

    "Hi," Romanoff replied, then turned to Phil, "They need you on the bridge. They''re starting face-trace." Natasha didn''t need to fraternize with Rogers or others soon to come; She made sure to do her homework before revealing herself to any of these men. Her mission was simple, observe and report. Each of them had a weakness that she could use to pry information out of them.

    Coulson excused himself and left to his task. Steve saw the glimpse of Bruce Banner behind some SHIELD staff and called out, "Dr. Banner." Which caught the attention of the good doctor. Rogers offered a hand as he walked closer. He was raised to be polite and old habits die hard.

    "Oh, yeah, hi. They told me you''d be coming." Banner greeted, accepting the handshake from the infamous Captain America.

    Banner saw Romanoff''s eyes darting at the sky like she was searching for something. Finally, he asked in jest, "are we waiting for someone?" Romanoff turned towards Banner and smiled. The change in her expression did not go unnoticed by Rogers either.

    A loud sound of wind cracked through the midday sky from above the helicarrier. Then as abrupt as it came, it stopped. The two men looked up then and saw a floating figure slowly drop down onto the deck of the ship in front of them.

    "Gentlemen, meet Felix Wright, also known as Frei," Romanoff chimed, which gained the attention of the Viltrumite. Felix''s first impression of the agent was her confidence. The two men tensed up from his abrupt arrival, but she did not seem bothered one bit.

    "You weren''t in the dossier," Felix said, analyzing the foreign woman.

    "Think of me as just another SHIELD agent," Romanoff replied, still with her carefree demeanor.

    "Your entrance seemed to cause quite a ruckus, Mr. Wright," Rogers gestured towards their surroundings and gave out his hand. The crowds of personnel had now momentarily stopped to watch at the alien. This, Felix was familiar with. Everywhere a Viltrumite went in his galaxy, they brought fear along with them.

    "Humans are not accustomed to my kind yet, Captain Rogers," Felix responded and courteously exchanged the human custom. He nodded towards Bruce with a greeting, "Dr. Banner."

    "Your ability to fly is astonishing. I''m curious about how it works," Bruce said nervously but with a child-like interest in his eyes. He was a man of science. To defy gravity without any necessary equipment was unbelievable to the man, almost impossible. Felix Wright was a puzzle for which he wanted answers, but he would not let his curiosity take hold of him. Bruce had the unfortunate experience of being a lab rat, and he did not wish it upon anyone else.

    The dossier showed Felix the transformation Banner could take. Becoming a raging green beast, he pondered how he would fare against such a thing. Would the good doctor be his prey or his predator? His warrior blood remerged after months of docility, but he promptly ignored it.

    "I am sure SHIELD thinks the same. I heard you turn green." Felix said with a bit of humor to ease the anxiety in Banner.

    "Amongst other things," Bruce replied, slightly more nervous than before. It seemed like Felix''s attempt at humor was subpar.

    "You might want to step inside in a minute. It''s going to get a little hard to breathe." Romanoff interjected, amusement in her face. There was some pride in knowing what others do not. Felix was curious as to why she said so, and it appeared the other two shared the same curiosity. Sounds of mechanisms churning against one another rang out from the depth of the helicarrier.

    "Is this a submarine?" Rogers asked, puzzling over the current event.

    "Really? They want me in a submerged, pressurized, metal container?" Banner continued the line of questioning.

    Curiosity drove the three towards the edge of the deck while Romanoff stood back and waited for their surprised faces. Eventually, the propellers emerged from under the water and lifted the entire ship off towards the boundless sky.

    ¡­.

    Natasha led the newcomers inside the bridge, the helicarrier''s control center. With everything ready, set and go, Fury and Hill directed their gazes away from the glass consoles and onto their guests.

    Seeing them shifting towards him, Felix acknowledged, "Agent Hill, Director Fury."A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    "Gentlemen¡­" Fury was about to say something but was cut off by Steve Rogers pulling out his wallet and giving the one-eyed man a ten-dollar bill. They had met each other before, first when he had just woken up from his seventy-year slumber and the latest when he was recruited for the current mission. Rogers had made a bet of ten bucks with the director that nothing could surprise him anymore. The alien from space and the flying carrier had proved the captain wrong.

    Amused and satisfied, Fury headed towards the nearest person, Felix. "I''m glad you could make it, Mr. Wright," the director smiled.

    "What now, Nick Fury," Felix asked. The overall mission was simple, retrieve the Tesseract from the Asgardian called Loki, but the details were less concrete.

    "We have a present for you, Mr. Wright," Fury said. Out of all the things Felix expected, this was not it.

    "Coulson will lead you to it," Fury continued.

    Felix was unsure what the director''s game was, "Another way to get me into your debt?"

    "Take it as another sign of good faith," The one-eyed man answered and walked away to Banner.

    Phil Coulson came afterward with a broad smile, "Felix. It''s been a while."

    "Indeed, I appreciate your help with my more¡­intimate matters. It had been most valuable." Felix replied. Compared to when the Viltrumite first arrived on Earth, the two men could now talk more easily to each other.

    "I take it''s going well then?" Phil smiled slyly.

    "I''m surprised you don''t already know." Felix''s responded with genuine disbelief.

    "It has been a busy few months, and I try to avoid your romantic endeavors. That''s for another department." Coulson said with compassion. ''A spy with a heart? Astounding." Felix thought and raised an eyebrow.

    "Don''t worry. I still keep an eye on you here and there. Now come, I think you''ll like this," Coulson said with excitement dripping from his words and swiftly strode to one of the many entries.

    "What is this gift Fury spoke of?" Felix asked, walking behind the agent. The two saw Agent Romanoff and Dr. Banner leaving to locate the Tesseract by tracking significant gamma radiation emissions on their way out.

    "I can''t tell you just yet, but I worked on it myself." Phil intended to keep it a secret for a little longer. The two entered a different room outside of the bridge. Phil''s face was full of eagerness when he pointed Felix at a container on the metallic table.

    Not wanting to let the man down, Felix walked to the box and opened it. What met his eyes was an armor adorning the Viltrumite''s insignia with an accompanying helmet. It was not his original suit when he came to Earth since it had been torn to pieces from his battle with the Imperialists. This was newly crafted. Felix''s hands brushed on the metal of the helmet with care.

    "I thought you would like to keep your privacy," Coulson added. Felix did not need to hide his identity before as a soldier, but it was different now. He had a life he cherished. His time with the rebellion showed that anonymity would prove to be helpful.

    "Thank you." Felix briefly said, which prompted a smile from the agent''s face.

    "I''ll leave you to it. Come back to the bridge after you change. I have to go get my vintage cards signed Captain America." What Coulson said gave Felix a confused expression.

    "What? He''s a national hero." Coulson continued and left the room on hurried feet.

    ¡­.

    Returning to the bridge with his new suit on and the helmet in hand, Felix saw Coulson and Rogers buddying up near the conference table. The two turned their heads back, facing the alien.

    Rogers inspected Felix''s new outfit and asked Coulson, "Does everyone wear a different uniform?"

    "Something like that, captain," Phil answered and asked Felix, "What do you think?"

    "You outdid yourself. It is a good fit." Felix responded.

    "Not half bad, right? I took your sizing from the tailor shop after all." Phil flung back. The two men of taste nodded to each other knowingly, leaving Rogers to guess which tailor they were referring to. Kingsman was the best, after all.

    Before Rogers could inquire about the tailor, an agent at one of the panels yelled towards them, "We got a hit on Loki. Stuttgart, Germany!"

    After exiting the main controls, Fury motioned at Felix and Steve, "You two are up." Fury did not know Felix''s full extent. The alien could do it by himself, but he didn''t want to show all his cards just yet.

    "Do you want him dead?" Felix asked.

    "Not before we get the Tesseract. I need you to bring him back here alive for interrogation." Fury replied.

    "Understood," Felix added. His mission was simple enough.

    "Avoid any civilian casualty if you can. I don''t want any damn international incident on my desk." Fury''s statement aimed at Felix more so than Steve Rogers. Felix nodded in reassurance.

    "How are we getting there?" Steve questioned, but then he looked at Felix and continued, "How am I getting there?"

    "Romanoff and a pilot will take you. Your uniform will be in the quinjet." Fury answered.

    ¡­.

    Time: 2012 May. Location: Stuttgart, Germany.

    About an hour later, Felix arrived at the mission location from the SHIELD helicarrier. Rogers and Romanoff lacked behind by a little bit. Seeing Loki from above, Felix informed the quinjet, "I have sight on Loki."

    "Do not engage. We''ll be arriving soon." Romanoff spoke through the earpiece installed in the suit. Fury specified it so he could contact Felix in case of an emergency. A sly move on the director''s part.

    Felix thought that SHIELD truly underestimated his powers. Even with only half of his strength, he doubted that subduing the "space-god" would be a problem. Down below, the egotistical Asgardian had commanded a group of humans to kneel before him. Felix saw an older man refusing to bend before the false god.

    "I''m going in." Finally, Felix had had enough of Loki''s antics, which very much reminded him of the late Viltrumite''s Emperor, Argall.

    "Again, do not engage, Felix. We''re almost there." Romanoff ordered with more aggression.

    Before Loki could pulverize the old human, something smashed him onto the pavements, cracking stone and rippling the Earth beneath them. The force that made contact with the godling brought the might of Thor''s hammer to his mind. Unfortunately for Loki, Felix was not his brother, and he had no sentiment for the adopted prince. So, the Viltrumite continued to mercilessly pummel Loki until he lost his consciousness.

    The quinjet arrived shortly after, hovering above the crowd of people. Those inside the jet could hear Felix''s voicing his victory, "He''s down."

    Romanoff quickly reported back to the helicarrier, "I think we need to make some updates to Felix Wright''s file."

    Steve Rogers dropped down next to the alien and looked at the motionless Asgardian. Then, he turned towards Felix and asked, "Is he dead?"

    "No," Felix replied, examining the Stuttgart Square in amusement. He had flown to Berlin before for sightseeing, but it appeared there were still many places he should visit. A slight wheeze of air came out of the collapsed Loki''s mouth.

    Rock music came on loudly from the quinjet''s speakers, and a man wearing a red full-body metal armor landed next to the two. Tony Stark spoke, "It seems like I missed the party."

 Chapter 9: The Poisonous Dream

    Natasha and the pilot sat in the front of the jet as it returned to the helicarrier, while Felix, Steve, Tony, and Loki sat in the back. The prince of Asgard was still deep in his beauty sleep, his scepter safely tucked away in a locked container. Felix didn''t feel the need to rush now that Loki was in their custody and decided to stay inside the hangar with the rest of the crew.

    "So let me get this straight, all men on Viltrum have a mustache?" Stark asked. Unlike Banners who had his curiosity in check, Tony Stark was unruly. He wanted answers no matter who or what he offended.

    "Yes," Felix validated.

    "Were you born with them?" Stark continued with a snicker. For the billionaire, it was a funny image to have.

    "No," Felix responded with a steel expression.

    "You''re not very fond of talking, are you?" Stark asked again, pestering Felix''s patience. The alien didn''t answer, and silence took hold between them.

    Felix''s answers were meant to discourage Tony from asking any more questions, but the man kept going on and on. Then, finally, there was blessed silence.

    "I don''t like it," Rogers said, breaking out of his quiet thoughts. Felix cursed at his early celebration. The captain stood up from his seat opposite to Felix and gazed at the unconscious Loki.

    "What? Not a fan of facial hair?" Stark jokingly said.

    Steve ignored the urge to ask whether bad humor ran in the Stark family and explained, "It''s too easy."

    "Considering that we have Hercules over here," Tony pointed at the sitting Felix, "I''ll take the easy win."

    "It shouldn''t be that easy. Why was he alone?" Rogers added. Fury had mentioned that a few of SHIELD personnel were altered to Loki''s side. Steve was perplexed as to where the missing agents were.

    "You think he wanted to get caught?" Felix asked.

    "I don''t know, but it''s odd," Rogers responded in kind.

    While the three were conversing in the back, Natasha contacted Fury about the successful capture of Loki and his scepter.

    "Is he saying anything?" Fury radioed in with Natasha responding, "He''s unconscious."

    Fury let out a sigh and continued, "just get him here. We''re low on time."

    Lightning flashed outside the quinjet and brought a fiery thundering roar with it. Loki sprung awake, catching the attention of occupants in the transport. The Asgardian examined in confusion at the people in his surroundings.

    Another thunder sounded near the quinjet. "Where is this coming from?" Natasha asked still with her attention towards the sky. There was no rain nor storm in their path, and yet, she saw bolts of lightning flashing through the glass windscreen.

    Loki looked down at his chained hands and finally understood his position. However, before he could speak up, more deafening thunders rumbled in the air. The prince flinched from the sounds while his eyes darted upward.

    "What''s the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" Rogers quipped, noticing the Asgardian''s wariness.

    Loki responded with "I''m not overly fond of what follows."

    A loud bang of something landing on the quinjet caught everyone by surprise. Quickly putting his helmet back on, Stark walked towards the back entrance of the jet. Then, in a mixture of arrogance and curiosity, he opened the hangar doors to which Thor, the god of the storm, landed with his hammer, Mjolnir, in hand.

    Stark moved towards the uninvited guest but was quickly thrown away by the might of Thor''s hammer. Flung onto Steve, the two men fell to the ground due to the sudden impact. Thor proceeded to rip Loki out of the harness that was restraining him to the seat. Felix''s and Thor''s eyes met quickly before the gods jumped off the hangar.

    Standing up from the flooring, Tony Stark mumbled, "Now there''s that guy," and once again moved to the opened entrance.

    Natasha flung her head around and asked, "Another Asgardian?" to which Steve continued, "Think it''s a friendly?"

    "Doesn''t matter. If he frees Loki or kills him. The Tesseract is lost." Tony responded.

    "Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Steve yelled out. His experience with the Howling Commandos back in the 1940s had taught him much about the potential of cooperation.

    Tony, on the other hand, preferred working alone. "I have a plan." Stark was at the door now, his head tilted back to Rogers, "Attack." He then took off in pursuit of the Asgardians.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Felix stood up from his seat upon Rogers'' baffled face and asked the captain, "Do you need a lift?"

    ¡­.

    Dropping Loki down fiercely onto a mountain, somewhere in Europe, Thor peered at the brother he thought to be dead. Loki whimpered and laughed at the painful impact, "Argghh, first the brute, and now you."

    Not having any of Loki''s demeanors, Thor questioned, "where is the Tesseract?" and full of sarcasm, Loki replied, "I''ve missed you too."

    "Do I look to be in a gaming mood?" Thor was determined to get an answer out of him. He knew such a powerful instrument should not be allowed in the hands of his estrayed brother.

    "Oh, you should thank me." Loki continued with mockery in his tone, "With the Bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the Allfather have to muster to conjure you here? Your precious Earth."

    Dropping his hammer, Thor lifted Loki to his eye level and said, "I thought you were dead." Thor''s voice was shaking and fervent. Despite all he had done, Loki was still a brother to Thor. To god or man alike, family was everything.

    "Did you mourn?" The God of Mischievous asked with rare genuine curiosity. Yet, deep down, behind the anger, pride and disdain was a boy who longed for his family.

    "We all did. Our father¡­" Thor answered but was quickly interrupted by Loki, "Your father." Venom in his voice as he was let free from Thor''s grip. The words affected Thor heavily, and the strength left his hands while his gut tightened.

    "He did tell you of my true parentage, did he not?" Loki added as he walked away, building a figurative and literal distance between them.

    Thor called out to his brother, "We were raised together, we played together, we fought together," emphasizing their bond, "Do you remember none of that?"

    "I remember a shadow. Living in the shade of your greatness." Each word out of his lips filled with scorn. "I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I was and should be King!" Loki yelled back, stopping in his steps.

    "So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights," Thor responded while moving closer to his brother, "No, the Earth is under my protection, Loki."

    Loki laughed at Thor''s speech, then spoke, "and you''re doing a marvelous job with that."

    "The humans slaughter each other in droves, while you idly tread." Loki''s eyes beamed with purpose, "I mean to rule them. And why should I not?"

    "You think yourself above them?" Thor asked.

    Believing it to be natural evident, Loki retorted, "Well, yes."

    Thor moved even closer then, trying to correct his brother''s twisted thoughts, "Then you miss the truth of ruling, brother. Throne would suit you ill."

    Loki smashed his hand against Thor''s armor in anger, shoving his brother out of his way. Then once again, he stepped away from Thor, "I''ve seen worlds you''ve never known about!"

    "I have grown, Odinson, in my exile!" Aggression in his declaration, "I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it¡­."

    "Who showed you this power? Who controls the would-be-king?" Thor closed the distance between them with haste. Worries filled his mind at Loki''s master.

    "I am a king!" Loki yelled, offended by the idea that Thor implied.

    Thor grabbed on to his brother and yelled, "Not here! You give up the Tesseract. You give up this poisonous dream." All his emotions laid bare in desperation to gain back his brother, "You come home."

    Loki was stunned by Thor''s show of affection, but his ambition had turned into an obsession. He mocked with shaken head, "I don''t have it."

    Thor''s patience waned against Loki''s constant refusal to change. With his hand extended, Mjolnir returned to Thor. The god of thunder motioned to a threatening pose, stealing his heart to beat the information out of him if need be.

    "You need the cube to bring me home, but I''ve sent it off I know not where." Loki urged on, to which Thor replied, "You listen well, brother. I¡­." Before finishing his sentence, Iron Man descended from the sky and smashed against the god. Both figures soared away from the mountain top.

    Tanking the attack, Thor slid onto the dirt ground, glaring at Tony Stark. Then, with Stark landing a few feet away from Thor, the god warned, "Do not touch me again."

    Tony responded with "Then don''t take my stuff."

    Seeing the human''s ignorance, Thor cautioned on, "You have no idea what you''re dealing with. This is beyond you, metal man. Loki will face Asgardian justice."

    "He gives up the cube, and he''s all yours," Stark spoke up, "Until then, stay out of the way."

    Tony turned his back to Thor and walked towards Loki up on the mountain. Thor decided he had enough of the human and sent Mjolnir flying onto Tony''s back, sending him flying across the woods. Ironman shook off the debris left on his armor and scowled back at the god of thunder. The battle ensued with the two smashing against each other.

    Thor called down a bolt of lightning and discharged lightning towards Stark. Receiving the full brunt of the blow, Tony''s AI, Jarvis, informed him, "Power at four-hundred percent capacity."

    "How about that?" Stark blasted out a powerful beam with the sudden surge of energy, knocking Thor away. The fight entailed with neither side gaining too far of an advantage.

    A vibranium shield made impacts with both fighters and returned to Captain America''s out-reaching palm. "That''s enough!" Rogers loudly ordered, but the clash was long from over.

    Felix hovered over Loki away from the mayhem, content with stopping the god if he was to attempt escaping. However, Loki just sat there watching the entire battle to much of Felix''s dismay.

    With suspicion in him, the Viltrumite asked, "You''re not running?" Loki spun and faced Felix. "I knew it is futile to do so," he smiled in response, massaging the wounds he received at Stuttgart Square.

    Felix thought it was strange. Maybe the theory Rogers mentioned before was more accurate than they thought. Before long, Loki spoke up, "Barton told me about you, foreigner. You hit harder than what they give you credits for." The dossier had included information on Loki''s use of the scepter to turn SHIELD agents to his biddings. Mind control was unfamiliar territory for Felix.

    "Why stay idle when you have all the means to conquer this world?" Loki voiced with a polite smile on his face.

    "I have no need for the duties and responsibilities of a king," Felix replied with little interest.

    "Then join me. While I free this world of their freedom, you''ll have whatever you want. A fair exchange, is it not?"Loki despised the person in front of him. Everything is given to him from birth, just like his brother. They had strength and power, but they did nothing with it while he had to scheme, to beg, and to cheat for his dream. However, if Loki can persuade the Viltrumite, he will be of significant assistance.

    "No." Felix had fought to dethrone a king; he would not serve another. He saw a flash of anger on the Asgardian''s face, but it quickly faded, as Loki continued, "An unfortunate outcome."

    Loud chimes of metal hitting metal exploded from the battle below, accompanied by harsh waves of energy and bright lights. The three men dragged themselves up from the ground and examined the devastation they had inflicted on the forest. "Are we done here?" Rogers finally asked.

 Chapter 10: Attack on The Helicarrier

    Time: 2012 May. Location: SHIELD Helicarrier.

    When Loki was brought back to the helicarrier, SHIELD personnel led him into a cage that would drop him thirty-thousand feet to the ground if he "misbehaved." Nick Fury, that wretched man, had dared to call him an ant. The human couldn''t even recognize his betters when Loki was right in front of him. It did not matter. Loki''s plans were coming to fruition; even now, Barton and his men were on their way here to unleash the Hulk on SHIELD. The scepter would be back in his hands. Soon, Earth would recognize his greatness and bow down to their king.

    Loki had no doubt that his brother would have spoiled his plan to bring the invading Chitauri force to Earth by now. Thor was a constant annoyance in that regard. Natasha Romanoff came to bargain for Clint Barton''s life, but she did not know that her dear friend had told Loki everything he needed to know about her.

    "What will you do if I vow to spare him?" Loki sat in a chair built into the cage. His eyes was drawn to Romanoff''s expressions.

    Romanoff stood in front of the reinforced glass and taunted, "Not letting you out."

    "Ah, no." He allowed his words to hang and continued, "but I like this. Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one man?"

    "Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that. I''m Russian¡­or was." She laughed a little at her joke.

    "What is it you want?" Loki asked which Natasha reluctantly answered, "It''s really not that complicated. I''ve got red in my ledger, and I''d like to wipe it out."

    "Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Drakov''s daughter? Sao Paulo? The Hospital fire?" Loki walked closer towards the red-haired agent, and his aura grew more and more intimidating, "Barton told me everything. Your ledger is dripping, it''s gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything?"

    "This is the basest sentimentality." He snarled, "This is a child at prayer. Pathetic."

    "I won''t touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you! Slowly. Intimately." Loki''s mouth spewed venom with every word. He was leaning on the glass now, his face almost touching the cold surface, "In every way, he knows you fear! And when he''ll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I''ll split his skull! This is my bargain, you mewling quim!"

    "You''re a monster," Natasha faltered under Loki''s words. She turned away from him, not dared look into his eyes.

    Loki had a wide grin on his face now, admiring his work, "no, you brought the monster."

    "So, Banner. That''s your play," Romanoff recovered from her facade and faced Loki.

    In bewilderment, he muttered, "What?"

    Romanoff called into her radio and relayed, "Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, I''m on my way. Send Thor as well.

    "Thank you for your cooperation." She walked quickly out of the room with her task accomplished.

    Loki was stunned as agent Romanoff left the cage meant for Banner. He, the god of mischievous, was manipulated by a human, an unthinkable situation. Nonetheless, it no longer mattered. The green beast would be brought forth, and his schemes would come into fruition any time now, but he had another thought.

    Banner was a mindless monster not worthy of his control. For this brother, Loki would leave Thor to helplessly watch his beloved Earth falling under his control. The Viltrumite, however, he could use him. As much as Loki hated Felix Wright, if he were to gain control of the alien, no one could stop him. There was a new chess piece to his plans.

    ¡­.

    Felix was standing on the bridge, watching SHIELD preparing for war. An invasion from outer space was coming, and he was curious how they would battle this unknown force. When he came to Earth, Felix did not plan to fight another war, but he gave his word, and he would see it through.

    "Hey Mustache Man, we have something that you might like to see. Come to the lab." In Felix''s helmet, Stark spoke.

    "Tony Stark, how did you get into this channel?" Felix asked in surprise into his earpiece.

    "I used my charms," Tony replied, but the Viltrumite stayed in silence, waiting for an honest answer.

    "I broke into the SHIELD mainframes, and now I have all of their secure files," Stark announced.

    "Very well. I''m on my way." Felix ended and walked away from the bridge.

    ¡­

    Tony and Bruce had begun working on the scepter''s mechanics at the SHIELD''s laboratory. The technology Tony brought to find the Tesseract took time to complete, giving them a limited window to focus on other research.

    Nick Fury hurriedly walked into the room and directed towards Tony, "What are you doing, Mr. Stark?"A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    "Kind of been wondering the same thing about you," Tony mused while staring the man dead in the eyes.

    "You''re supposed to be locating the Tesseract." There was a clear annoyance in Fury''s voice. His technician had told him that they had a leak in their system. Without needing to guess, Fury immediately headed to confront the perpetrator.

    "We are. The model''s locked and we''re sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we''ll have the location within half a mile."

    "And you''ll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss. What is PHASE 2?

    "PHASE 2 is SHIELD uses the cube to make weapons," Rogers answered, walking into the room. He placed a Hydra weapon he found in SHIELD''s storage room when he was snooping around on the table. His head turned to Stark, "Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow for me."

    Feeling the need to calm the situation, Fury did what he did best, lie "Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we''re¡­."

    "I''m sorry, Nick," Stark cut in before the director could finish. He turned the monitor around so the others could see what was clearly on display, a SHIELD missile blueprint made using energy collected from the Tesseract. Stark grinned, "What were you lying?"

    "I was wrong, director. The world hasn''t changed a bit." Rogers shifted away in disappointment.

    During the heated conversation, Felix entered the lab, completely oblivious of the tension in the room. He had an idea of what Tony was going to show him, but he wasn''t sure. Felix had little understanding of the planet when he initially arrived. He doubted SHIELD would make much success with their research, given how long it had taken the other planets to comprehend Viltrumite''s DNA. Earthlings were neither technologically advanced nor desperate enough. Felix wasn''t so sure now. An invasion from space could have pushed Earth''s leaders to take drastic steps and rely on forces over which they had no control.

    Seeing the Viltrumite entering, Stark called out, "Ah Felix, just the man you want to see. Take a look at these."

    "Stark. Don''t." Fury pleaded.

    Felix could see files on theoretical cloning processes and supersoldier serum synthesized from Viltrumites'' blood on the screen. When he realized that they were already starting to decode his DNA, he was taken aback. It appeared that Viltrumites and human genetics were disturbingly similar, with around 99% compatibility. His blood contained the genetic map to humanity''s evolution, which the World Security Council eagerly utilized in their plots.

    Felix growled at Fury and said, "How do you even hope to control them, Fury?"

    "You''re restarting the supersoldier program?" Steve added in.

    Thor and Natasha entered the lab at that precise moment. Natasha''s gaze was drawn to Banner.

    Banner glared back at her, enraged. "Did you know about this?"

    Not caring about their argument, she said, "You might want to think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?"

    "I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed," Banner''s frustration directed to the agent.

    "Loki is manipulating you," She felt the need to urge the doctor. She didn''t know how or when Loki planned to trigger the transformation.

    "And you''ve been doing what exactly? I''m not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy. I won''t even touch the ethicality of creating sentient alien clones but I''d like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction." Bruce had his hands firmly holding onto the table.

    "Because of them," Fury said, pointing at Thor and Felix.

    "Us?" Thor asked. Felix, despite not saying anything, also stared at Fury for an answer.

    "Last year, Earth had two visitors from outer space that could individually level a small town with ease." Fury''s eyes darting between the two foreigners, "We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."

    "I have no desire to conquer Earth. Viltrum is far removed away from your world." Felix defended himself.

    "And Asgard wants nothing but peace with your planet," Thor added in.

    "Are we supposed to just believe you on that? Besides, you''re not the only people out there, are you? And, you''re not the only threat. The world''s filling up with people who can''t be matched, they can''t be controlled."

    With his predictions becoming a reality, Felix felt anger rise in him due to SHIELD''s hubris, "Like how you''re planning to control the clones?"

    "You had an idea of what we were doing, Wright. You didn''t have a problem with it before, so why now?" Fury questioned.

    "Because now I know you have the means and causes to do it," Felix replied.

    "It''s just an idea. A theory. It''s a work in process." Fury cut off Felix''s warning.

    "What will you do after you win your war? What will you do to the clones after they have outlived their purpose?" Felix moved closer to the director.

    "What would you have me do? Stay idling while forces beyond humanity''s power play house on the planet?" Fury refuted. Unknown to the people in the room, the scepter pulsed with blue light, almost gleeing at its own ability to manipulate and escalate the situation.

    "This" Thor emphasized the word, "Your meddling with the Tesseract, with the Viltrumite, with forces you can''t hope to control is what drew Loki and his allies to Earth. It is the signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war."

    "A higher form?" Steve asked with worries.

    "You forced our hand! We had to come up with some¡­." Fury turned his ire to Thor.

    "Alien genetics and nuclear deterrent! Cause that will calm everything right down." Stark interjected with his sarcasm.

    "Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?" Fury said.

    "I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor scoffed at the bittings of the people around him.

    "Do you not see our need to defend against outside forces?" Natasha asked in defense of SHIELD''s plans.

    "Not like this. Shut down the research while I''m still being civil, Nick Fury" Felix threaten the director.

    "Or what? You''re going to destroy the planet?" Fury replied, which silenced the room.

    / Ding /

    The sound of the locator relieved the tension in the lab. Natasha trailed Banner as he walked over to the monitor screen on the other side of the room.

    Felix stayed silent for a moment and said, "I''m getting some air. We''re not done with this, Fury. You''re walking on a tight rope." Then he made his way to the door.

    "You and Thor are needed here for Banner." Fury spoke up, putting a halt to Felix''s progress.

    "What?" Banner asked with his attention still on the monitor.

    "Do you treat your champions with this much distrust?" Thor said.

    "They''re not my champions," Fury added.

    Natasha replied, "Loki is aiming to wake the hulk," which brought frowns upon everyone''s faces.

    Bruce was too focused on the locator now and could not hear what the agent just said. "Oh my god," the doctor breathlessly commented after seeing the location of where the Tesseract was.

    / Boom /

    The helicarrier was rocked by a series of explosions. The force from the discharge separated everyone in the lab. Felix, floating over the destroyed floor, noticed Banner and Natasha down one or two floors. Bruce was clearly fighting to keep the "other guy" under control.

    Felix noticed Fury gradually rising from the ground. The two people locked their glances at each other. The Viltrumite saw Fury mouthing, "You owe me." Then, with a heavy sigh, he swiftly plunged towards Banner and Natasha.

 Chapter 11: The Breeze before The Storm

    Romanoff and Banner crashed down onto the lower equipment room after the sequence of explosions. The Doctor twisted and turned in desperation to hold the beast back in its cage. As Natasha struggled to break free of the debris on her feet, she shuddered, "Doctor¡­.Bruce, you gotta fight it." Her tone and words shifted to better calm the changing Banner, "This is just what Loki wants. We''re going to be okay. Listen to me."

    Regardless, before she could continue with her persuasion, she felt the weight on her ankles disappear. Looking in the direction of the source, Romanoff saw the Viltrumite hovering over the ground, observing Bruce.

    "Leave," Felix warned Romanoff, his furious tone carried over from the earlier conversation. He was going to help SHIELD with this Hulk problem, and then Fury would feel the ire he earned.

    Natasha rose from the ground and spoke, "You have to get him out of the helicarrier." She took a concerned look towards Banner and then fled from the area, not wanting to add fuel to the fire.

    Banner finished his transformation now as he angrily roared. With Felix being the only one in his sight, the Hulk rushed towards the man. Felix swiftly dodged to the side as the monster ran past him. Hulk stopped himself from the momentum caused by his enlarged body then turned back to the Viltrumite, but Felix was upon him now. His fist collapsed onto the Hulk''s chest, sinking deeply but did not break through the green skin. The impact threw Hulk backward almost lifted him off the air.

    Felix continued to flood the other in a fury of fists. They both traveled through pipes and metals then onto walls and equipment. Destruction ensued as the two passed through varied rooms in the one-sided onslaught. The pair crashed onto the aircraft port, startling groups of SHIELD personnel.

    Hulk fell to the ground with his body slightly submerged in the concrete. The beast dazedly propped himself up and swapped at the Viltrumite. He hovered a touch off the ground as he swerved to avoid the untrained and predictable attacks. As Felix went in for another punch, the Hulk grabbed onto one of his arms, struggling to hold it in place as the alien increased the strength in his limb. With the other, the green entity took hold of the man''s head, attempting to crush it. Yet, Felix brought his free hand to assault the beast''s wrist. In a painful motion, Hulk''s joint bent and snapped. He screamed in excruciation while letting go of the other''s head.

    A quinjet from outside the hangar shot its machine gun at the two in pure fright, to which the bullets bounced off both entities. With Felix''s attention turning away from the green beast, Hulk used the opportunity to swing a hit at the Viltrumite''s head. The fist collided and shifted Felix''s position by a foot or two despite not drawing blood.

    Felix thought the Hulk was just a mindless living symbol of anger, he did not know the creature could make use of the open distraction. "It was a good hit," he mumbled. In response, Felix kicked Hulk with enough force to send him off onto the jet. Unfortunately, the cockpit collapsed from the inhuman weight and instantly killed the pilot as both the vehicle and the beast plummeted towards the ground. With the opportunity to let off some steam finished, he landed on the ground and thought of his next course of action.

    Felix had finished his end of the bargain and beyond. Despite his constant graciousness, Fury spat on his face. Enough was enough. The Viltrumite then made his way to the bridge, where he expected Fury would be.

    ¡­.

    Nick Fury was instructing his agents after Rogers and Stark had restored the engine that went offline during the attack. Despite their various containment plans for Loki, he had escaped their grasp and murdered many of SHIELD''s agents, including one Phil Coulson. Fury was grieving for his personnel, but he knew there was no time. The Chitauri were coming and they still had no idea where the portal would be open. The one good news he had was that Hulk had been sent off the helicarrier without too much damage for SHIELD, however, the Viltrumite''s apathy for his people''s lives was concerning.

    Fury saw Felix entering the bridge in a dominating manner. The danger was coming his way. "Mr. Wright, I understand your¡­." Fury attempted to calm the alien, but Felix rapidly sped towards the director and grabbed hold of his neck.

    Felix lifted the one-eyed man from the ground as he struggled to hold onto the Viltrumite''s arms so the force did not solely lie on his neck. Everyone in the room drew their weapons towards the foreigner now, but Fury held his hand out as an order to stand down.

    The alien floated from the bridge and crashed through the reinforced glass panels at the front of the helicarrier with ease, bringing along the director. Dangling over the intense drop and with a hand on his throat, Fury whimpered, "Frei¡­.Coulson¡­was killed¡­.avenge¡­him."

    Felix''s eyes lessened in their intensity for a little bit but gained new wrath in them. Coulson was the closest thing he had on Earth to a friend, but people die. In his own long life, he had seen death at its best and at its worst. The Viltrumite spoke, "Are you trying to manipulate me with his death? Even now, you are a slimy venomous snake."

    "No¡­Earth is in¡­danger¡­new¡­deal¡­" Fury''s tone more desperate now, the feeling of wind rushing at thirty-thousand feet in the air made for a good motivator.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    "No more deals. No more bargains. I have no more tolerance for you. Now, you listen to me," Felix warned as his grip tightened, "I have seen the best you could mutter up. It is laughable." His words filled with superiority.

    "You will erase your research. I do not care how. If I ever get a whiff of anything that''s even close to Viltrumite blood, there is nowhere in this world or any others, you and your appalling organization can hide from me." Felix gave his threat and threw Fury back into helicarrier.

    "I''ll be watching you, Nick Fury." He ended and flew off back to his apartment in New York City.

    Fury landed on the ground as his agents helped him back up to his feet. The director caressed his now bruised neck and stared at the direction the Viltrumite just left in with worrying thoughts.

    ¡­.

    In the detention center where Loki was held and the place where Phil Coulson was killed, both Stark and Rogers stood. Like what Coulson was to Felix, Stark felt the same to the agent. He considered him a close friend, and he did not have many of those left. Rogers broke the silence between the two, "I''m sorry. He seemed like a good man."

    "He was an idiot." Tony looked at Rogers.

    "Why?" Rogers had a confused look, "For believing?"

    "For taking on Loki alone." Stark walked towards Rogers now.

    "He was doing his job." Rogers refuted. His eyes intended to match that of Tony Stark.

    "He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have¡­." Tony stuttered, still recounting the situation to see if there was anything he could have done differently.

    "Sometimes there isn''t a way out, Tony." Rogers knew that sometimes, we have to make sacrifices so that others can be safe. He made his choice by crashing the Valkarie into the ocean, and Phil Coulson made his choice by confronting Loki.

    "Right. How did that work for him?" Tony replied with anger rising up in him once again.

    "Is this the first time you''ve lost a soldier?" Steve tried to comfort Tony in the only way he knew how.

    "WE ARE NOT SOLDIERS! I am not marching to Fury''s fife!" Stark turned towards the captain, frowning into his deep blue eyes.

    "Neither am I! He''s got the same blood on his hands as Loki does. Right now we''ve got to put that aside and get this done. Now Loki needs a power source, if we can put together a list¡­." There was nothing Steve could do but move on. There was a threat out there, and they needed to stop it.

    Stark stared at the dried blood on the walls. This must have been where his friend died. He gathered what the man would have felt, alone in this massive room while he was bleeding out. Did Coulson believe in them, as Steve said, or was he regretting his decision? Stark cut in before Steve could finish, "He made it personal."

    "That''s not the point," Steve moved on, but Tony maintained his argument, "That is the point. That''s Loki''s point. He hit us all, right where we live. Why?"

    Rogers thought over the questions for a second and added, "To tear us apart."

    "He had to conquer his greed, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That''s what he wants. He wants to beat us and he wants to be seen doing it." Stark mulled over the thoughts of Loki. They were so similar and yet contrasted each other in so many ways. "He wants an audience." He continued.

    "Right, I wasn''t able to see it but Felix saw his act at Stuttgart," Rogers replied.

    "Yeah. That''s just a preview, this is opening night. Loki''s a full-tilt diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built in the skies with his name plastered¡­." Stark made a breakthrough. He realized now where Loki would want the portal to open. "Son of a bitch!" He yelled and left to inform the others.

    ¡­.

    Felix slumped down on his couch with his helmet off, recounting the events that just happened. He had only wanted to finish his debt for SHIELD, and yet he learned that the organization was working on decoding his DNA and possibly creating Viltrumite clones to match their needs. It was incredibly stupid of them. The Earthlings surprised him against his initial assessment of the planet''s technological growth. It seemed that advancements were only kept secret by those in power from the general public. In their current path, they might destroy themselves before anyone else had the chance to do so.

    Furthermore, according to the Ancient one, he was the only Viltrumite in this universe. Was it now his responsibility to recreate Viltrumite Empire that he had fought so hard against? Viltrumite and humans'' genetics were so closely similar that his offspring would be almost a hundred percent his race. His stature sunk further into the comforting chair.

    "It was so much easier in the past," Felix mumbled. He had a purpose, had a mission during his time on Viltrum. Everything was so simple back then, and he just needed to do what was required of him. Now, everything was muddled. Felix had to face the consequences of his actions without any guidelines from others like him. He had not felt this lost since he defected from the Imperial army. The death of Phil Coulson added a more somber mood to his mind. The agent was a good friend despite his task to monitor Felix. Coulson was an honest man, unlike Nick Fury. Felix took a deep breath. All he wanted now was to go have that dinner he missed with May Parker.

    A ring from his phone brought him out of his thoughts. The caller was unknown, which made Felix reluctant to answer the call. However, before long, he picked up the phone.

    "What took you so long, Hercules? Tried calling you through the comms but you weren''t there," Stark''s voice could be heard from the other side.

    "What do you want?" Felix replied.

    "We found out the location for Loki''s invasion. We''re on our way." Stark urged.

    "I have no part to take in your crusade, Stark," Felix replied with total annoyance in his tone.

    "Lots of people''s lives are at stake here. So even if you don''t care about humanity, then you will at least care about the locations on those SHIELD labs that studied your blood?"

    "Did Fury set you up for this?" Felix''s voice is filled with wrath now.

    "What? No. We all hate that guy." Tony groaned in response.

    The Viltrumite continued, "Where?"

    "The SHIELD facilities? This is hardly the ti...." Tony replied, which was swiftly interjected by the other, "Where is the portal?"

    "Ah right. It will be at my tower in New York City." Stark answered.

    Felix widened his eyes in surprise and darted out of the building, grabbing onto his helmet. There was only one thing in his mind now, the safety of May and Peter.

    "Hey? Are you there? Hey! At least confirm if you''re coming!" The Ironman chimed in confusion from the phone left behind in the apartment.

 Chapter 12: Battle of New York (1)

    Time: 2012 May. Location: New York, US

    It had been just a special Saturday morning for Maybelle Parker. On these rare occasions when she did not have to work on the weekend for the Salvation Army or FEAST (Food, Emergency Aid, Shelter & Training), she wanted to spend as much time with Peter as possible. The boy was growing up so quickly, and she only had a couple more years until all he cared about was getting a date with a girl. So the two decided to be productive for once in their escapades and went grocery shopping for the upcoming week.

    May had been looking forward to having dinner with Felix yesterday. She even got her friend to look after Peter for the night, but the man canceled just a few hours before the date. Despite her slight annoyance that he would definitely hear about from her, she knew that it must have been important for Felix to do so. During the months they got to know each other, he had never missed a single Tuesday lunch at their favorite coffee shop, The Talon.

    Coming back to the apartment with both their hands full of bags, Peter begged, "I heard JL of America is on Brave TV now. Can we watch it, aunt May?"

    (A/N: My ass hoping to not get sued or anything)

    "Is it that one about those superheroes? One who dresses like a b¡­." May replied to her nephew while putting the bags on the ground and unlocking the entrance to their place. Opening the door, she saw a black-haired man wearing a weird dark green outfit standing in their living room. May''s gaze shifted behind the intruder and saw her window broken to pieces. She quickly threw the keys at the man and rushed down the hallway towards the stairs with Peter. In the corner of her eyes, she saw the keys pass right through him.

    Peter, still stunned from being suddenly dragged away, asked, "What''s going on?"

    "It will be ok, Peter. We just have to go out for a bit more." She tried to stay calm for her nephew, but she started to panic now with what she saw. She thought it was some sort of kidnapper coming to get them. What shocked her more was that the man walked out of the corner they were heading to.

    "There''s no need to run," Loki said with an arrogant grin on his face, walking closer towards the two in a slow and eerie manner.

    Holding onto the terrified Peter, May anxiously thought of any possible escape plans as the man approached them. Finally, May muttered, "Who are you?"

    Loki answered her, still with his signature arrogance, "Let''s just say, I''m a friend of a friend."

    Seeing the fire extinguisher to her left, May took hold of it and sprayed the intruder while he was only feet away. As a result, the corridor was engulfed with fire extinguishing agents in puffs of white and gray.

    ¡­.

    Felix flew to May''s apartment to warn her about the incoming attack. However, upon arrival, he saw the shattered remains of what was used to be a window. Entering the room, Felix immediately caught a glimpse of a bloodied vintage Captain America trading card on the coffee table. He had heard Coulson talk about his card collection a couple of times during their scheduled meetings. Curling his hand into a fist, Felix directed his glare towards the Stark Skyscrapper.

    (A/N: Changing what happened in Avengers a little bit. I know the cards were in his locker and not his jacket. Fury just added random blood on it to push the Avengers (Dick move btw) but I''mma says Loki took some to spite the avengers later, which was right now.)

    ¡­

    Tony arrived at Stark Tower, where Selvig activated the CMS portal device, holding the Tesseract. The instrument was in its initial starting sequences. Pounding waves of energy emitted from the cube as rings of machinery rotated to their own chaotic patterns.

    "Sir, I took off the arc reactor. The device is already self-sustained." His trusty AI, Jarvis, announced in his ears. To his amazement, Loki even used his own reactor to jumpstart the device and now, it didn''t need the energy anymore. Having an alien invasion was worrisome enough, but the bad news kept stacking against the Avengers.

    "Shut it down, Dr. Selvig," Tony warned through the speakers of the suit.

    "It''s too late! It can''t stop now. He wants to show us something! A new universe." Selvig chuckled and lifted his arms in delight. In his face, he had the appearance of a child who had received comfort and reassurance from his parents.

    Stark aimed his hands toward the CMS and fired beams of condensed energy. However, the energy from his boosters shattered with a deafening crack against the device''s protective force field. Selvig fell backward on his back from the dissipating power. Down below, citizens of New York looked up at the tower to investigate where the sound came from. Tony stared in disbelief at the unharmed device.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    "The barrier is pure energy. It''s unbreachable. The Mark VII is not ready to be deployed." Jarvis advised to provide some level of explanation to the shocked Tony.

    In a hurried mood, Tony replied, "Skip the spinning rims. We''re on the clock."

    Tony landed his suit and went through the gauntlet and unsuited himself. The machinery sprung to life as each piece of armor was taken off with precision. Loki looked up at him from the other pathway, smiling. They proceeded to move into the penthouse.

    Loki walked in, holding the scepter. Tony casually walks down the steps towards the bar. He saw an unconscious child and a woman he had never seen before. Tony pointed at the two and asked Loki, "You''re low enough to take hostages now?"

    "Please tell me you''re going to appeal to my humanity," Loki responded with a shrug of his arms, keeping eye contact with the man throughout the exchange.

    "Uh¡­actually, I''m planning to threaten you." Tony brought himself towards the bar in his unarmored clothing.

    "You should have left your armor on for that." Loki was perplexed as to why Stark had taken his armor off. He was completely unaware of what the other was intending.

    "Yeah, it''s seen a bit of mileage. You''ve got the blue stick of destiny. Would you like a drink?" Despite his nonchalant demeanors, there were weights to Tony''s movements.

    Loki retorted, "Stalling me won''t change anything." He finally understood how this human could be so unconcerned with the current situation. He knew it was a facade, a front that Stark put up towards him. Whether it was deception or manipulation, Loki knew it well.

    "No, no, no! Threatening. No drink? Are you sure? I''m having one." Tony opened a bottle of his high-end scotch and poured it into a beautifully crafted glass.

    "The Chitauri are coming, and nothing will change that. What have I to fear?" Despite his own worries, he played himself up to match the human.

    "The Avengers!" Tony replied with some emotion now. He allowed himself to show at least that much but Loki just looked at him in confusion. He continued, "It''s what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. `Earth''s mightiest heroes'' type of thing."

    "Yes, I''ve met them."

    "Yeah, it takes us a while to get any traction. I''ll give you that one." The emotional shield Tony had gone back up, humor, sarcasm, and self-importance. Not letting the god time to chime in, Tony proceeded, "But, let''s do a headcount here. Your brother, the demi-God; an outlandish brooding alien; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you''ve managed to piss off every single one of them."

    "That was the plan."

    "Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they''ll come for you."

    From underneath the bar table, Tony pulled out a colantotte bracelet, the honing device for his new armor, and placed it on his wrist.

    "I have an army." He positioned himself over the two sleeping humans and stretched his scepter towards them, flicking his sight between Stark and the sky outside the penthouse.

    "We have a Viltrumite." Tony deflected back with a beaming smile on his face.

    In Stark''s penthouse, Felix smashed through a glass pane and fractured the marble floor from his landing.

    "Great timing, but you could have used the doors," Tony winced a little from the damages to his newly finished flooring and pointed towards the two large entrances to the balcony.

    Felix spoke without glancing over his shoulder at Tony. "I am not in the mood, Stark."

    "What did you do to the nice man, Loki" Tony raised an eyebrow towards the Asgardian.

    With his scepter still hovering over May''s and Peter''s heads, Loki stood tall, challenging Felix to make a move. "I never thought you would fraternize with these humans, Frei."

    "How?" Frei growled. Much like what it had done in the SHIELD Helicarrier, the mind stone that resided inside Loki''s weapon emitted its compulsion towards Felix. The scepter flickered with light, silently rising the urgency in the Viltrumite''s mood once again.

    "You''ll be surprised what you can find once you''re in SHIELD''s database." Tony chimed in. He and Felix shared a look then. Felix''s eyes seemed to urge the billionaire for some sort of distraction.

    "Let them go." Tony''s voice was more serious now, "There''s no throne. There is no version of this where you come out on top."

    "I would beg to differ." Suddenly, Loki''s face lit up with a faint grin.

    "Jarvis now!" Tony yelled as the Mark 7 Ironman armor burst out of its holdings towards the billionaire. Loki weaved to dodge its trajectory, which Felix used to speed himself towards the god. His hands reached out to rip the god''s heart out from his body. However, no flesh was torn from Loki''s body. Instead, the Viltrumite''s fist passed right through the illusion. Felix willed himself towards May and Peter with widened eyes only to see Loki with his scepter in hand. The cold steel of the scepter touched his chest, expanding a deep blackness over his irises and scleras. Felix swayed back and forth, swinging his head to fight against the effects of the scepter.

    The CMS device outside on the balcony sent blue light beams into Manhattan''s afternoon sky and opened up a massive doorway to the cosmos beyond its walls. Following that, waves upon waves of Chitauri fighters descended onto New York.

    Felix smacked himself on the side of the head a few times in resistance, but the outcome was unavoidable. The alien''s irises changed to a throbbing blue haze after the darkness had vanished from his vision. Felix''s posture straightens into a saluting position as if he was expecting commands from his new master.

    The laughter of a mad man could be heard after that from Loki. The twisted grin he had on spoken as if his victory was guaranteed, "They actually escaped, you know? Humans can be so clever that way. It matters not. Now, I have an army and the Viltrumite, Stark."

    With the final touches of his armor completing their assembling, Tony stood in a stunned expression, unsure how to proceed. Connecting his communication device with the rest of the team, Tony pleaded, "I am going to need some support up here."

    "We''re a little busy," Natasha replied. Rogers, Barton, and her had arrived on the streets below to defend civilians from the waves of Chitauri soldiers. She was going to ask for a raise after this was over. There was no cause in her contract with SHIELD when she signed on about fighting an invading force from space.

    "Well, we''re about to get a lot busier," Tony responded and took off to the sky, hoping that he could divert Felix''s attention from the people below.

    "I want him dead." Loki looked at the intimidating mustached man which nodded back towards the Asgardian. Felix flew after Ironman swiftly after that.

 Chapter 13: The Will and The Means

    Time: 2012 May. Location: New York, US

    Felix opened his eyes to see the face of an old friend, Thaedus. The two sat on a bench amongst leisure people surrounded by trees, stone pavements, and high-rise buildings. He noticed Viltrumites with pleasant smiles soaring over the park to their different destinations. Something that Felix hadn''t seen before since he last remembered.

    "Can you believe it? The reforms are working perfectly. I had no idea the council would fold so easily after Agnarr''s death." Thaedus said, running his hand over the prideful Viltrumite mustache. The older Viltrumite was admiring the positive results of their rebellion. Felix could hear noises of small critters and buzzing conversations from the others around them.

    "How is this possible?" Felix questioned in stunned expression as he busily surveyed around the calming park.

    "I asked myself the same question from time to time." Thaedus rose up from his seat, and contently stared at the bright afternoon sky. "The rebellion succeeded, Frei. We did it."

    "No, this isn''t right." The usual stern expression from Felix''s face was no longer anywhere to be seen. Instead, there was an apparent panic in his eyes now. This was not real. He recollected the jarring and unnatural anger that led him to attack Loki without planning. Felix had felt something similar before on the helicarrier.

    Thaedus stood with his face turned away from his friend. There was something ominous about his stilled stance, but Felix could not fully comprehend it. The older man continued, "it isn''t? No, it isn''t. This was not how it ended. Did it?"

    Silence took over their surrounding now. Nothing could be heard except for the unsettling quietness. Felix shifted his sight to examine everything else in his vicinity. But they were all frozen in time. In a tense motion, everyone''s eyes were on him now, except for Thaedus. From the ground or the sky, their dead cold gazes stared deeply into his own soul.

    "Why did you abandon us, Frei," Thaedus abruptly spun towards Felix and spoke in a harsh unfamiliar tone, "How many people have died for you? How many people have died because of you? Did you think you can just up and leave everything in someone else''s hands?"

    A pair of palms, cold enough to freeze the sun over, attached themselves onto Felix''s shoulders as he violently shuddered to break free in naught, "And here, on Earth, you hid your powers like a rat in the sewers for months. Why are you hiding?" Thaedus''s form shifted from one to another, cycling through each and everyone Felix knew in the past and present. The faces melted and reshaped in a horrific combination of flesh and bones.

    ''Why?'' Felix asked himself. He wanted, no, needed a breath. He told himself that it was only for a moment of respite. Earth provided for him a new normalcy that was both unfamiliar and comforting. Away from his duties. Away from his responsibilities. However, like any other world in the grand universes. Peace was never long-lasting.

    "Look at you now. Weak, pathetic, and a coward." The entity that was Thaedus said, closing itself onto Felix. He could feel its decaying breath embracing the warmth of his skin.

    The hands squeezed his shoulders harder, almost crushing Felix in their grip. He winced at the force, but he felt the weight quickly lifting off his body as his eyes closed. The pair of brown eyes snapped open their view where the scenery around them had changed, morphed into a twisted ruin of the world Felix had once fought for. He stood on top of mass corpses spanning beyond the edge of sight to the horizon. With the sudden transition, he took a step backward in dread. The crunches of bones beneath his feet sent alarms spiking through his entirety. Yet, despite his trials to hover off the ground, nothing happened.

    "You have no power here, Frei. I am your fears made real." The voice echoed through the land of death and destruction. Its haunting words gritted like nails on stone, screeching with monstrous sounds.

    Felix knew this was a trick of Loki and of the scepter that he wielded, but there is truth in the deception. The last time he stood up to fight against the empire, he had made Viltrum much worse than what it was before. So when he came to Earth, he opted to stay in inaction and secluded himself from Earth''s crises. He only did what was required of him to complete his promise with Nick Fury. However, Felix now saw that it was not the right decision either.

    Whether it was Viltrum or Earth, he could not shun from away from the misfortunes at hand. He needed to regain the will and the means to change the status quo of either. He saw the powerlessness of its people while those with powers like the Ancient One stood idly by and watched the chaos unfold. Felix had the capabilities to change that here, and he did nothing with it. Now, Felix would use the strength he had to bring up Earth''s defenses and its heroes. Then when the right time came, he would turn his ideals back onto Viltrum.

    Loki''s facade held him captive in his own mind, then he would break out of it with his sheer will. Felix crashed his fists onto the corpses in the hope of breaking the mental cage, but again, nothing seemed to happen. The entity laughed hysterically at his futile attempts.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Since his actions are negated to the torment he was experiencing, Felix brought the damage onto himself. If there were no hosts, then the parasites would die. Felix pierced his own chest with his hand in a final desperate attempt to break free.

    "What are you doing? No. Stop." The voice cried out. The agony in its voice gave Felix all the reassurance he needed.

    His fingers gripped themselves onto his heart, and with all of his might, Felix ripped out his heart off through the skin, muscle, and ribcage. The Viltrumite''s body collapsed onto the pile of corpses with a bright glistening smile.

    ¡­.

    Tony Stark soared towards the open sky at the top speed his new Mark 7 could mutter. Felix would be upon him soon, and while he was confident in the latest model of his arsenal, he knew that he could not hold the alien for long.

    "I''ll need that direct communication line to Felix''s helmet again, Jarvis." Tony requested.

    "Already patched through, Sir." The A.I replied, "On your six."

    Tony swung around and blasted Felix with his anti-tank missiles as swiftly as he could. Despite not severely damaging the Viltrumite, the explosion allowed Tony seconds to dodge out of Felix''s trajectory. The sudden gush of wind notified the man of his closed call.

    "Is there any way we could talk this out?" Tony jested, hoping to buy some time to think of a way out of the fight.

    The scepter had consumed Felix''s mind, but not all consciousness was the same. While the take-over had rendered the Viltrumite under Loki''s control, his psychic refused to submit, causing Felix to a more feral state. He remained silent and rushed towards Tony with mind bending speed. Thanks to the fast processing of Jarvis, however, he was able to escape the strike mostly intact. The other''s fingers scraped the exterior of the metal helmet, leaving two distinct marks on the newly coated golden finish.

    "Come on, straight for the face? We''ll do this the hard way then." Tony protested and directed the mounted lasers on his arms to Felix. The condensed heat broke through the alien''s armor and swiftly seared the flesh on Felix''s left shoulder.

    Growling in pain, he glided towards Tony once more. However, Felix caught the iron man''s leg in his fierce attacks this time. The Vitrumite''s iron grip strangled the metal and machinery as Tony struggled to kick and punch Felix away. The thrusters burst to pull Tony free of Felix''s hold with all their force. The two tugged in opposite directions as armor stripped off Tony''s legs like paper tearing. At that moment, a hammer strike swatted Felix on his side, and he reluctantly let go of the billionaire from the pain.

    "What took you so long?" Tony yelled out through the speakers. Thor arrived in the knick of time and floated down to his companion''s height level.

    "My brother happened. How did you anger the Viltrumite, metal man?" Thor questioned back to Tony.

    "Your brother happened," Tony replied to which Thor gave a knowingly nod. The two turned their attention back to Felix, who had now recovered from the previous blow.

    "Felix, we are on your side!" Thor yelled out to the wrathful mustached man.

    "Right, like I haven''t tried that already," Tony responded sarcasm even in this situation.

    The fight ensued with the two strove to incapacitate Felix while he aimed to kill them. However, Tony and Thor soon realized that they could not hold back at all since the man''s durability and fierceness was nothing to scoff at.

    "How do we break him out of this spell?" Thor asked as he pulled Tony away from one of Felix''s attacks.

    "Natasha freed that archer guy by beating him unconscious. We have to hit his head hard enough." Tony was sweating from the various near-death experiences he had just had. "I''ll be the decoy, just make sure to get that hit ready." A plan formed in his mind, and he quickly relayed it to Thor.

    Tony glided away from the god of thunder and murmured, "I can''t believe I''m doing this." Then he turned to Felix and screamed, "Hey! Come and get me, big guy! You should consider shaving that mustache!" Flairs of energy beam discharged from his palms.

    Thor raised his hammer upward as dark thunderous clouds formed in unison. A lightning bolt shot from storm onto Mjolnir, charging it with the flow of electrons from a negatively charged body to a positively charged body.

    The untamed Felix charged Tony in a flash yet milliseconds before he could reach the billionaire. Thor jumped in with his hammer above his head, aiming to strike with all his strength. The Viltrumite instinctually raised both arms to catch the devastating blow before contact despite their efforts.

    A resounding boom expanded outward with enough force to push Tony any from the others. The hammer lodged onto Felix''s chest, causing damage to the man but missing his head. With both sides holding onto Mjolnir, Thor quickly let go of his hammer. Before understanding what had happened, the mind-controlled Felix plummeted onto the ground, crashing through an entire apartment complex. Unsure whether they had succeeded or not, Thor and Tony descended to investigate the aftermath.

    Felix was fixed between the ground and Mjolnir. He thrashed and clapped the Earth to break out of his prison in his feral state. Shockwaves and quakes from his attempts reverberated as the rest of the building collapsed due to the sheer force of his movements. Before the dust storm swallowed the scene, Thor saw his hammer swayed little by little in disbelief.

    "By Fenrir''s teeth." Thor prayed under his breath, "Get ready, metal man. It''s not over yet."

    Despite his tattered armor, Tony took his battle stance and replied, "We really need to work on all these name-callings, Thor."

    The cloud of particles covered their sight while the thunderous struggles of Felix continued to rage on. Nothing came out to swipe at them when the dust dissipated before the noise died down from the surroundings to their benefit and shock. Felix slow floated off towards the two, holding Mjolnir in his hand. Both of the men crunched in their bodies, with Thor more bewildered than Tony. The Asgardian unconsciously cursed," Shit of a Bilgesnipe!"

    The two waited for the strikes to come, but their attacker only glided slowly towards them, covered in dust and dirt. The three were now only inches away from each other. Felix flipped the hammer so that its handle pointed at Thor and said, "I think it''s time to clean up this invasion."