Chương 67: Chapter 67: Ambushing the ADC 

"You said your abilities wouldn't lose control," Nick Fury said coldly, his back turned to Luke as the young man strolled casually into the conference room. 

'Look at this guy trying to act like a badass mob boss,' Luke mentally rolled his eyes. 

Ever since he had utilized the AllSpark to condense his dark energy into stable crystals, Luke could completely bypass the Ancient One's protective wards and casually unleash massive amounts of dark energy whenever he pleased. It was no exaggeration to say that even if a nuclear bomb went off right next to him, he could instantly burn enough dark energy to survive completely unharmed. 

Luke spotted a comfortable chair and casually took a seat. 

"The Mind Stone scepter briefly interfered with my consciousness. Besides, my Shadowkhan didn't lose control. Did anyone actually get hurt?" 

Luke summoned two Shadow Ninjas to give him a highly professional, deep-tissue shoulder massage. He then casually kicked his feet up, resting his brand-new leather shoes directly on Megatron's metallic shoulders. 

(Boss Vibes.jpg) 

He had to admit, Megatron's dwarf-form was the absolute perfect height for a footstool. Incredibly comfortable! 1

Megatron shot Luke a furious, deeply humiliated glare, but quickly shook his head and began silently observing the layout and technology of the S.H.I.E.L.D. conference room instead. 

Fury turned around, fixing his single eye on Luke. "You seem remarkably unconcerned about us now. Is it because you finally feel you have enough power to ignore S.H.I.E.L.D.?" 

Luke nodded honestly, glancing over at Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff, who were quietly watching the drama unfold. "Yeah, pretty much. I possess more than enough power to completely ignore any official government authority on this planet, so I really don't feel the need to restrain myself anymore." 

"So, what's next? Are you going to set some grand, villainous goal? World domination?" Fury asked, his voice dripping with suspicion. 

"I literally own an entire dimension. Why the hell would I waste my time trying to conquer this tiny mudball?" Luke scoffed. 'Who actually wants to deal with the administrative nightmare of ruling Earth?' 

Fury's expression grew incredibly strange. 'He owns an entire dimension?!' 

"Are you not an enhanced human/mutant?" 

"Did I ever explicitly say I was?" Luke offered a bright, cheeky smile to the stunned Director. 

Surprise, motherfcker!* 1

"Then what exactly are you? Are you a so-called 'god' like the Asgardians?" Fury pressed, his eye practically boring into Luke, desperately trying to read his micro-expressions. 

Luke was completely done hiding. It was like that old saying: 'If you don't have power, you don't get a seat at the table. If you have overwhelming power, everyone rushes to build a table around you.' 

His current power level was absolute. He didn't need S.H.I.E.L.D. to cover for him anymore; S.H.I.E.L.D. needed him to keep the world balanced. 

"I'll tell you the truth. I'm a transmigrator from a parallel universe. I hopped onto a shady interdimensional bus, ended up in this universe, and immediately got snatched up and forced to cling to the coattails of a terrifyingly powerful cosmic entity." 

Luke finally spoke his deepest secret out loud, feeling an immense, cathartic sense of relief. 

But hearing the answer, Fury's perfectly crafted, stoic expression completely shattered. This revelation was infinitely more absurd and terrifying than anything he had anticipated! 

Fury glanced nervously at the security cameras mounted in the corners of the conference room, suddenly feeling a massive migraine coming on. 

'Parallel universes exist?! What level of classification does this even require?! How am I supposed to prevent this information from leaking?!' 

'Actually, knowing how heavily infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. is, this information has probably already leaked!' 

(Meanwhile, in the Triskelion, Alexander Pierce nodded thoughtfully as he watched the live security feed.) 

Fury shot Natasha a sharp, desperate look. Natasha nodded, instantly understanding the severity of the situation, and quickly left the room to physically lock down the surveillance servers. 

'Hopefully, the HYDRA agents haven't leaked this yet. Otherwise, Amazon is going to start offering 'Isekai Reincarnation' premium shipping tomorrow,' Luke joked mentally. 

"How can you possibly prove you are from a parallel universe?" Fury demanded. 

"That's a ridiculous question. It's like asking me to prove that I am myself. But since you asked, here's some evidence: this tiny robot right here." Luke lightly tapped his heel against Megatron's chassis. 

"This guy is a native organism from a completely different parallel universe. Oh, and fun fact: his universe also has an Earth, but it's significantly safer than this one." 

Megatron, recognizing an opportunity to demonstrate his usefulness, immediately projected a highly detailed, 3D holographic presentation summarizing the history of Cybertron and the AllSpark. 

Fury rubbed his temples. 'Great. Another Level-10 classified extraterrestrial anomaly file to write.' 

"So... what exactly do you want to do now?" Fury asked, a rare hint of genuine nervousness bleeding into his voice. 

'Wow. The paranoid pirate is actually scared of me.' 

Luke shook his head. It seemed his true Demon God form and the massive Shadowkhan army had genuinely terrified the Director. And honestly, it made sense. 

An army of immortal, regenerating, hyper-lethal shadow assassins that could casually spawn in the tens of thousands was more than enough to completely destabilize global politics. The Shadowkhan out-populated the standing militaries of several small nations, and their combat effectiveness was high enough to legitimately threaten the United States. 

In Fury's tactical estimation, subduing a few hundred Shadowkhan would require a fully mechanized infantry battalion. But facing tens of thousands of them simultaneously? Unless S.H.I.E.L.D. resorted to carpet bombing major cities or dropping tactical nukes, the Shadowkhan were completely unstoppable. 

They were infinitely more dangerous and difficult to eradicate than HYDRA. 

And looking at Luke's completely relaxed demeanor, Fury was absolutely certain that the boy was no longer threatened by nuclear weapons either. 

If Luke went rogue, the only asset S.H.I.E.L.D. had that could potentially stop him was Carol Danvers. But then again, what if the 'terrifyingly powerful cosmic entity' Luke mentioned was Carol? In Fury's mind, Captain Marvel was the absolute strongest being in the universe. 

"Relax, Director. I highly doubt he's another Johann Schmidt," Steve Rogers suddenly spoke up, defending Luke. Despite the terrifying demonic display earlier, Steve's instincts told him Luke was fundamentally a good person. 

'Right. At least he isn't the Red Skull,' Fury thought, managing to stabilize his spiraling anxiety. 

Maria Hill walked briskly into the room. "Director, Loki has been secured in the containment cell. Thor is currently attempting to interrogate him, but it does not appear to be yielding any results." 

Fury glanced at Luke, who was currently looking the picture of absolute, lazy innocence, and decided to prioritize the immediate, world-ending alien threat. 

"Tell Thor to step out. I'll go see if I can pry some intelligence out of the bastard." 

Fury quickly left the conference room. Hill escorted Steve and Luke out and led them toward the main bridge. 

"Thanks for vouching for me back there," Luke smiled at Steve as they walked. 

"It's nothing. Like I said, I can tell you aren't like Schmidt," Steve smiled warmly. "Agent Coulson mentioned that you were the one who essentially pinpointed my location in the ice. How did you manage that?" 

"Oh, an old man told me." 

'An old man???' 

Steve looked deeply confused, but Luke didn't elaborate, stepping through the blast doors into the bustling command center. 

"Hello, Dr. Banner!" Luke greeted the incredibly nervous, awkward scientist standing near the tactical displays. 

"Uh, h-hello. I'm sorry about the... incident earlier. Thank you for resolving it," Banner stammered, pleasantly surprised by Luke's friendly demeanor. He had expected the terrifying 'Demon God' to be significantly more arrogant. 

"Don't worry about it. The situation just escalated beyond my expectations, and the scepter messed with my emotions," Luke said, gesturing for Banner to sit down at the conference table. 

Luke immediately summoned several Shadow Ninjas to give Banner a highly professional, relaxing massage. 

"Oh... wow. That actually feels incredibly good," Banner sighed, the intense, creeping anxiety of being on a heavily armed military vessel slowly melting away under the expert kneading of the ninjas. 

Steve took a seat on the opposite side of the table, and Luke quickly assigned a few ninjas to him as well. However, recognizing the super-soldier's enhanced durability, Luke ordered the ninjas to apply significantly more pressure. 

"Their technique is fantastic," Steve noted, genuinely impressed. "Ever since I took the serum, normal human masseuses just don't have the strength to actually work out my muscle knots. The only thing that ever worked was a massive mechanical massager Howard built for me." 

Seeing everyone relaxing, Luke casually drew a Sling Ring portal. Several ninjas walked through, carrying trays of iced sodas, coffees, and a massive assortment of snacks. 

"Honestly, the world has changed so rapidly, I have no idea if I'll ever truly adapt to it," Steve murmured, staring blankly at the literal portal to a convenience store. He was far too polite to ask how the magic worked, but the sheer absurdity of the modern era was clearly overwhelming him. 

"The era is always changing, Captain. But as long as you learn to enjoy the current era, you have successfully adapted to it." 

Luke spouted his absolute nonsense philosophy with complete, unwavering conviction. Surprisingly, Steve looked thoughtful, slowly nodding as he grabbed an ice-cold Coca-Cola and took a long drink. 

Banner politely declined the soda. He hadn't consumed any heavily caffeinated or sugary drinks in years; he couldn't risk the elevated heart rate. 

"Hey, Uncle!" Thor suddenly walked into the command center, looking incredibly depressed. It was clear his interrogation of Loki had been a complete failure. 

"Have some water. Take a break," Luke said, gesturing to a chair. 

Seeing the Asgardian's massive, heavily muscled frame, Luke summoned a massive Troll Ninja to stand behind Thor's chair. Given Thor's absurd, god-like durability—capable of being violently smashed through concrete by the Hulk without taking any real damage—only the raw, brute strength of a Troll Ninja could provide an adequate massage. 

A holographic screen suddenly popped up on the table, displaying the live security feed from Loki's containment cell. 

"The Director has initiated the interrogation. Let's see if we can analyze Loki's linguistic patterns for clues." 

Natasha had finished securing the surveillance servers and returned to the bridge, taking command of the tactical display. 

The group focused intensely, watching the two master manipulators—Fury and Loki—engage in a high-stakes battle of wits and acting. 

On the screen, Fury glanced pointedly at the four Nightbats hanging silently from the corners of the cell ceiling. "It seems your 'Uncle' knows you quite well. He knows exactly how to neutralize your parlor tricks." 

Loki offered a venomous smile. "Parlor tricks?" 

Fury knew Loki was just as cunning and manipulative as he was. He walked over to the cell's control console. 

"Are they? Do you actually know how this cell functions?" Fury activated the controls, opening the floor vent beneath the glass cage, attempting to heavily intimidate Loki by threatening to drop him 30,000 feet out of the sky. 

Loki glanced down at the massive, swirling drop, then carefully stepped back into the exact center of the cage. 

Seeing Loki's caution, Fury smirked fiercely. "Now you understand who's the boot, and who's the ant." 

"I must admit, for an ant, you have an impressive survival instinct," Loki smiled smoothly, recalling how Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight had brutally ambushed the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. "You survived being impaled multiple times by Proxima's spear. I am merely curious if your blood is green." 

Seeing Fury's expression darken significantly, Loki pressed his advantage. "I am quite fond of this cage. It is secure, durable, and features an emergency ejection system. However... I highly doubt this was originally constructed for me, was it?" 

Loki turned his head, staring directly into the security camera. His eyes seemed to glow with a strange, highly manipulative malice. 

In the command center, Banner watched Loki's piercing stare. He felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of intense anger and irritation bubbling in his chest. However, a year of intense, daily meditation allowed him to quickly suppress the rising irritation. 

Noticing Banner's subtle tension, Luke gestured for the ninjas to massage slightly harder, drawing Banner's attention back to the physical sensation. 

"Relax. Loki specializes in playing mind games. He's intentionally trying to provoke everyone," Luke said calmly. 

Seeing that Fury had completely lost control of the psychological interrogation and was now firmly on the defensive, Luke casually reached over and muted the audio feed. There was no point in letting Loki continue sowing discord among the team. 

"So, what actionable intelligence did we actually gather?" Steve asked, confused. 

"I have no idea. Loki's mind is a labyrinth; no one can ever truly guess his intentions," Thor sighed heavily. "However, I do know he commands an army called the Chitauri. They are a ruthless mercenary force that does not answer to Asgard or any civilized world." 

Thor paused, his expression darkening. "My mother believes the Chitauri were gifted to him by the Mad Titan, Thanos. After all, it was Thanos who 'rescued' Loki from the void after he fell from the Bifrost. As for why Thanos is aiding him... it must be for the Space Stone. The artifact you call the Tesseract." 

"Ah, the classic 'beat up the kid, and the angry parent shows up' trope," Luke muttered. 

"We can actually reverse-engineer his objective based on his recent actions," Natasha said, pulling up a new data window on the table. 

"During the gala in Stuttgart, Loki violently extracted biometric retinal data from a specific target. While we were focused on Loki, Clint Barton utilized that retinal data to bypass a heavily secure vault and steal a massive quantity of highly refined Iridium." 

"What does Iridium do?" Banner asked, completely unfamiliar with the specific element's applications. 

"It's used as a stabilizing agent," Tony announced, walking into the command center with Coulson. 

Tony looked around at the incredibly relaxed, spa-like atmosphere. "Are you guys throwing a party? Saturday, go find a wall socket and recharge." 

Saturday nodded mechanically, finding an inconspicuous corner and plugging a massive power cable into the Helicarrier's main grid. 

Tony walked over to Luke, grabbed a chair, and snapped his fingers, demanding his own massage ninjas. 

"With a sufficient quantity of Iridium, they can perfectly stabilize the Tesseract's energy output. That means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. They can open it much wider, and keep it open indefinitely," Tony explained. 

The group nodded thoughtfully, grasping the severity of the situation. 

"So, we still have absolutely no idea where they are hiding the Tesseract?" Luke sighed in exasperation. 

"Exactly. It looks like we're going to be searching for a while," Tony replied. 

"Then go back to the lab and start researching! Don't waste time loitering in here!" 

Luke ordered two massive Troll Ninjas to physically grab Tony by the armpits and haul him out of the chair. 

"Hey! Put me down! Where is the laboratory?!" Tony yelled, struggling helplessly against the Trolls. 

Banner definitely didn't want to be carried by the giant shadow monsters, so he quickly stood up and practically sprinted out of the room to lead Tony to the lab. 

"I'm going to take a walk on the flight deck. Get some fresh air," Luke announced, standing up and stretching. 

'The enemy ADC is about to initiate a brainless tower dive. Time to set up a gank.' 

(League of Legends terminology: ADC = Attack Damage Carry / Hawkeye. Gank = Ambush). 

As Luke casually strolled out of the command center, dozens of pitch-black shadows silently detached from his silhouette, rapidly sinking into the floor and spreading like a virus throughout the entire Helicarrier.