Perhaps it was his first time using the device, and Loki was startled by the destruction he had caused. However, he quickly recovered and grabbed Hawkeye, who was preparing to sneak up on him.
"You are very different."
With that, he lightly touched Hawkeye with the tip of his staff.
The gem on the staff glowed, and Hawkeye's eyes instantly turned black, then blue after a few seconds.
Loki was very satisfied with this and immediately used the staff's magic to control the surrounding agents and researchers one by one.
Just as Loki was indulging in the joy of controlling people, Nick Fury began to act, stealthily removing the Tesseract from the instrument, putting it in a briefcase, and preparing to escape.
After all, facing someone he knew nothing about, who possessed a staff of such destructive power, and being isolated and helpless, escape was the best course of action.
"Put it down."
A voice came, and Nick Fury's body froze for several seconds. Then he turned, drew his gun, shot, and dodged in one fluid motion.
Nick Fury was a good shot, and his few shots in his urgency hit Loki, but the handgun's power was too low to cause any damage.
From behind cover, Nick Fury, holding a gun in one hand and the briefcase in the other, shouted, "There's no need to be so tense."
"Of course, there is. I came all this way for this."
"I am Loki, from Asgard. I bear a great mission that you cannot comprehend."
"We have no quarrel with you."
Nick Fury spoke very loudly, deliberately slowing his pace, clearly stalling for time.
Loki, on the other hand, appeared nonchalant, but it was unclear whether he was truly indifferent or too foolish to notice.
"Ants have no quarrel with your shoes either."
"So, you want to crush us?"
In response to Nick Fury's words, Loki continued to deceive, "I have actually brought good news, a world without attachments."
"Attachments to what?"
Not only Nick Fury, but the doctor beside him was also immensely curious about this visitor from the heavens.
"Freedom. Freedom is the greatest lie in this world. If you accept this, your heart will find peace."
With that, he mercilessly plunged his staff into the doctor's body, controlling him.
"The peace you speak of makes me think of its opposite."
Just as Loki was about to continue brainwashing Nick Fury, the controlled Hawkeye reminded him from the side, "Boss, he's stalling for time. This place is about to explode. We'll be buried under hundreds of meters of rock."
Nick Fury added playfully, "Just like the pyramids of Egypt."
"Alright."
Loki shook his head and gave Hawkeye a look.
Receiving the order, Hawkeye unceremoniously drew his gun and fired at Nick Fury.
Nick Fury fell to the ground.
Loki walked past him arrogantly. Hawkeye and several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and researchers followed, with Hawkeye not forgetting to grab the briefcase containing the Tesseract.
By the time Nick Fury struggled to his feet and ordered a pursuit, it was already too late. Even though his deputy and a group of agents desperately tried to get the box back, they failed.
As a result, Nick Fury, back on the Helicarrier, immediately ordered the Avengers Initiative to begin.
Compared to the original story, the government's resistance to the Avengers Initiative was significantly less.
Captain America, who had recently been unearthed from the ice, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ace agent Natasha, the currently popular Iron Man Tony Stark, and the reclusive Hulk Bruce Banner were all conscripted by S.H.I.E.L.D. through various means.
At this moment, Loki raided a high-end hotel.
There was a banquet for many socialites and wealthy individuals at the hotel. After an old man was brutally killed by Loki forcing his iris scan on a table, the crowd panicked. They were chaotically herded to the plaza outside the hotel and controlled by four clones of Loki, gathered together.
Then came the Avengers' debut performance. They appeared one after another, protected the civilians, beat up Loki, and finally subdued him.
However, they failed to notice that among the rescued socialites, a few did not show much panic. On the contrary, upon seeing Loki and the Avengers, they immediately took out their phones to take pictures, and then hid back in the crowd, using the crowd as cover to send out information about the situation.
In the Holy Dragon Church in New York, a priest was preaching the true words of the Holy Dragon to his faithful followers.
Behind the church, in a dimly lit room, twelve people sat around a large round table. These twelve people wore black cloaks, their faces hidden.
One of them lightly tapped the table in front of him. The next moment, a holographic projection appeared in the center of the round table, showing Loki.
"According to intelligence from believers, Loki, the God of Mischief from Asgard, has descended upon Earth. His target must be the Tesseract in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s possession."
Another person added, "This is an opportunity for the Holy Dragon Church."
"As the Holy Dragon said, Loki is merely a scout. Soon, his vanguard, Karui, will descend upon New York. At that time, the Holy Dragon Church must react and use this opportunity to thoroughly open up the Holy Dragon Church's path in the United States, using public opinion to force the U.S. government to compromise."
Then, the twelve people discussed many other issues. Finally, one person stood up and announced, "Today's meeting is adjourned. After you leave, you must do your utmost for the Church, until death. The glory of the Holy Dragon will eventually shine."
"The glory of the Holy Dragon will eventually shine!"
The meeting ended, and ten of the eleven people left. The last person, the one who announced the adjournment, remained.
After everyone had left, that person turned to a hidden door in the room and tapped the wall a few times. The hidden door slowly opened, and a figure emerged.
This person was none other than Wu, the thirteenth apostle among Bai Qi's twelve apostles.
"Are all arrangements made?"
Seeing Wu, that person bent ninety degrees and said respectfully, "Yes, all arrangements have been made."
There was a rule among these twelve apostles: apart from Bai Qi and Wu, no one knew the true faces or identities of the others. Each meeting, they either wore masks or, as today, concealed themselves with cloaks.
The advantage of this was that even if a traitor emerged among the twelve, they could not collude with the other eleven, thus minimizing damage.
This was not Bai Qi being overly suspicious.
According to Wu, the main reason the twelve apostles were hunted down and defeated by the righteous mages in the past was that someone among the twelve had been exploited.