On the monitor before them appeared a man with a horned helmet and a mischievous grin plastered across his face.
As expected, it was Loki who had captured their loved ones.
Speaking with an air of arrogance, Loki declared, "Mortals of Midgard, I shall be your king. I offer you this chance now—kneel before me."
"What an idiot," Tony muttered to Fury. "Director Fury, I don't have time to waste here. I need to rescue Pepper."
Loki, hearing Tony's words through the transmission, smirked. "Ah, Tony Stark. You're looking for someone, aren't you? She's here, with me. Oh, and by the way, I also have someone close to that big green brute and the little spider."
The camera shifted, revealing three women tied to chairs.
"Pepper!"
"Aunt May!"
"Betty!"
Tony, Peter, and Dr. Banner all recognized their loved ones immediately, their faces clouded with concern.
"Dr. Banner, don't get angry!" Coulson urged, trying to calm him down. "We'll figure out a way to get them back."
But seeing Betty held captive sent Banner's anger skyrocketing. His breathing grew heavy, and the telltale signs of a Hulk transformation began to surface.
"Dr. Banner, control yourself!" Fury warned. "This place won't survive if you let loose."
"Surprised?" Loki sneered, clearly enjoying their distress. "Oh, and Garus—yes, you—though I didn't have time to invite your friends personally, I've left some presents around your company. I hope you'll enjoy them."
Garus, who had been at the Azeroth Technologies Tower, immediately had Kingpin's men search the building's perimeter for these so-called "gifts."
As Garus watched the monitor, his gaze briefly landed on Betty. The glint of green in her eyes told him all he needed to know. He chuckled under his breath—this could get interesting. After all, Betty had once been exposed to Banner's blood, granting her the ability to transform into She-Hulk. Loki, for all his cunning, often had terrible luck.
"I suggest you don't interfere with my plans," Loki continued smugly. "Or your loved ones may face… unforeseen consequences. Hmm? What's with those faces?"
Boom!
A deafening crash echoed behind Loki. His expression shifted from smugness to surprise as a sharp pain radiated through his neck, followed by a powerful force striking his face. Before he could react, his body flew backward, shattering glass as he was hurled out of the room.
"Betty!" Banner shouted, piecing together what had just happened.
The previously restrained Betty had transformed into She-Hulk, her body now a hulking mass of green muscle.
Everyone stared in shock—except for Garus and Banner, who seemed oddly unsurprised.
"Dr. Banner… your girlfriend…" Steve Rogers stammered, his mouth hanging open.
"What the hell is going on?" Fury exclaimed, his single eye wide with disbelief.
In the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier's command room, Banner's agitation began to subside as he saw the unfolding chaos.
"Banner," Tony asked dryly, "did you… experiment on your girlfriend?"
"No!" Banner protested. "This was an accident. In Mexico, my blood got into her system. Usually, exposure to my blood results in death due to the mutation's intensity."
Meanwhile, Betty had maintained full control of her mind despite her transformation. She effortlessly tore through the ropes binding Pepper and Aunt May. "Get out of here," she told them firmly. "I've got a certain trickster to deal with."
Pepper and Aunt May exchanged stunned glances but didn't argue. They quickly made their way out of the chaos.
Tony and Peter both breathed sighs of relief, their worst fears temporarily alleviated.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., locate Pepper's position," Tony ordered, launching himself into the sky from the helicarrier in a burst of fire and light.
"Betty, get out of there!" Banner shouted, clearly worried.
"No! I'm going to crush that little weasel!" Betty growled, ripping a steel window frame from its mount and twisting it into a makeshift club.
Outside, Pepper and Aunt May barely made it to cover when Loki reappeared, striding through the chaos with his scepter glowing ominously. Blood dripped from his mouth, and his usually immaculate appearance was now disheveled.
"We should hide," Pepper urged, pulling Aunt May into a nearby wooden cabin.
Loki sneered, glancing at their hiding spot. "I'll deal with you later."
Despite his godly resilience, Betty's earlier surprise attack had cost him dearly. His face twisted with frustration as he muttered, "I am not losing to a mortal."
Crash!
Loki kicked the cabin door open, but before he could take another step, a powerful gust of wind slammed into him. Betty's improvised metal club clashed with his scepter, the sheer force shattering the wooden floor beneath them and sending Loki sprawling.
"I am an Asgardian god, you mortal!" Loki bellowed, though his voice carried a hint of unease. His hand trembled slightly as he gripped the scepter. Why am I fighting her head-on? I'm a mage, not a brawler!
Desperate to turn the tide, Loki conjured illusions, filling the room with identical copies of himself. "Let's see if you can figure out which one of me is real, you oversized brute!"
But Betty wasn't fooled. Her enhanced senses picked up on the faint tremor in Loki's injured hand. Without hesitation, she swung her club at the real Loki, sending him crashing through yet another wall.
The cabin finally gave way under the relentless onslaught, collapsing in a heap of rubble.
Back on the helicarrier, the Avengers watched the live feed from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s satellites as the video feed abruptly cut out.
"Director Fury, have we located them yet?" Banner asked anxiously.
"Satellite imagery is triangulating the area now," Coulson responded. A few tense moments later, he added, "Got it. The target is in Kansas."
The screen displayed a vast prairie where Loki was being repeatedly slammed into the ground by his leg. Betty's sheer strength left the landscape riddled with craters.
Loki looked utterly defeated—his helmet lay discarded, his scepter was nowhere to be seen, and his hair was matted with dirt and grass.
"Wow," Garus said, watching in awe. "Banner, your life is going to be… lively."
Banner could only respond with an embarrassed grimace.
"Let's go get that guy," Peter said eagerly, already inching toward the door.
"Wait for the transport, Parker," Fury barked, but it was clear that neither Peter nor Banner intended to stay behind for long.
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