After being rebuked by the Chitauri leader, Loki found himself in a foul mood. He decided to wander into a nearby town—to properly admire the world and the subjects that would soon fall under his rule.
New York City was a metropolis that never slept. Even a town like Lesper Falls, far from the city center, glowed brightly after nightfall. Having shed the burdens of the day, people strolled through the streets, shopping and chatting, savoring the brief calm before sleep.
Clad in attire utterly unlike that of ordinary people and carrying a strangely shaped scepter, Loki should have stood out.
Yet no one noticed him.
They couldn't see him.
As a god, Loki had no intention of interacting with common Earthlings.
Truth be told, while humans lacked many talents, their ability to invent comforts and indulge in material pleasure rivaled that of any civilization. Loki walked leisurely, eyes flicking over the neon lights and bustling storefronts, quietly amused.
Thud!
Lost in thought, Clara suddenly felt herself collide with something solid—so hard her nose nearly twisted sideways.
Loki glanced down, surprised to find that his invisibility spell had vanished. Had physical contact broken the enchantment?
Moments earlier, Clara had been calculating her earnings for the day and hadn't paid attention to where she was going. The instant Loki's invisibility dropped, his sudden appearance went unnoticed—she had already crashed straight into him.
"I—I'm sorry, sir. I wasn't paying attention," Clara blurted out instinctively, apologizing before Loki could even react.
Rubbing her nose, she noticed the armor embedded into Loki's clothing. Of all things, she had managed to ram straight into metal.
Though Loki held humans in disdain, he was still a prince raised with refinement. He wasn't about to say anything unbecoming in front of a child who had sincerely apologized.
"It's fine," he said coolly.
…On second thought, wasn't a proper adult supposed to say something like "It was my fault—are you hurt?" After all, Loki hadn't exactly been watching where he was going either.
Strangely enough, neither of them found anything wrong with the exchange.
The blue gem set into Loki's scepter shimmered softly, emitting a mesmerizing azure glow. Clara's gaze was instantly drawn to it. A powerful urge welled up inside her—the overwhelming desire to reach out and touch it.
"What are you doing?" Loki snapped.
His sharp voice jolted Clara back to her senses. She realized her behavior had looked downright thievish.
"N-no, nothing!" she said quickly, forcing an awkward smile. "Your staff… it's just very beautiful."
Loki frowned slightly.
"What's this?" he asked, his attention shifting to the basket Clara carried.
Inside were neatly folded paper flowers. Loki had to admit—humans had a knack for creating curious little things.
"These are paper flowers," Clara explained eagerly. "Roses, baby's breath, lilies… they're all five cents each. Would you like to buy one, sir?"
"I am a god! I—"
The words slipped out before Loki could stop himself.
…That didn't sound right at all. It made him sound like the sort of rogue who took things without paying.
The problem was—he truly didn't have any money.
Clara stared at him expectantly, waiting for his next sentence. For a brief moment, they simply looked at each other in silence.
Just then, a middle-aged man in a black suit, briefcase in hand, walked past them.
Loki turned smoothly, pointing the scepter at the man's chest.
The man's brown eyes instantly shifted to the same watery blue as the gem on the scepter.
"Give all your money to her," Loki commanded.
"Yes, my lord," the man replied mechanically, pulling a leather wallet from his jacket and dropping it straight into Clara's basket.
"This is your reward, human child," Loki said. He took a single paper rose from the basket and walked away, disappearing into the crowd.
Magic.
Hypnosis.
Sorcery.
Clara stood frozen, staring at the scene, her mind exploding with thoughts.
The man in the black suit watched Loki leave and then turned, about to follow him.
"Sir! Where are you going?" Clara cried, grabbing his sleeve. He looked like someone with a family—surely he wasn't about to follow a sorcerer into the night?
The blue sheen in the man's eyes flickered once, then vanished. His pupils returned to their normal brown.
"Huh? What just happened?" he asked blankly. "Why are you holding onto me, little girl?"
Clara immediately understood—the spell had been lifted.
"Sir, you dropped your wallet," she said quickly, handing it back to him. "It fell just now."
"Oh! Thank you!" the man said gratefully. "I've been so busy lately, my head's been spinning. Here—this is for you."
He pulled out a five-dollar bill and offered it to her.
"No, sir, that's not necessary," Clara said politely. "But if you'd like… you could buy a few flowers. They'd make a nice gift for your wife and children. I'm sure they'd love them."
Just like that, Clara closed another solid sale.
As for that strange sorcerer…
She sincerely hoped she would never meet him again.
—
In a poor district of India, Dr. Bruce Banner was treating a patient suffering from a severe fever. Medical conditions here were primitive—without Banner's exceptional skill, the man would never have survived.
A girl of about ten ran into Banner's small clinic clutching money, begging for help. Her father had contracted the same illness. She led Banner to a crude wooden shack far from the city—then promptly climbed out the back window and vanished like a monkey.
Banner sighed.
"…I really should've taken the money first."
Agent Natasha Romanoff stepped out from inside the shack. The girl had been her doing—a means to lure Banner somewhere isolated. If Banner lost his temper and turned into the green behemoth, Natasha wouldn't be able to control the situation.
Dr. Bruce Banner was known by another name:
The Hulk.
Before Bruce was even born, his father had conducted experiments on himself, causing genetic mutations that were passed down to his son.
For over thirty years, Bruce Banner lived a relatively peaceful life. That changed during a scientific experiment when intense exposure to gamma radiation activated his mutation—transforming him into the Hulk.
When transformed, Banner lost control of his mind, driven only to smash and destroy, leaving chaos and fear in his wake.
The Hulk emerged when Banner's emotions surged—especially anger and a racing heartbeat. To prevent further devastation, Banner fled to underdeveloped countries, dedicating himself to helping the poor.
He had succeeded.
In India, he hadn't transformed in over a year.
But that peace was coming to an end.
The Hulk was uncontrollable—but Bruce Banner was a genius on par with Stephen Hawking. After the Tesseract was stolen, S.H.I.E.L.D. had no idea where to begin searching. Fury sent Natasha to find Banner for one reason:
The Tesseract emitted faint gamma radiation.
And no one on Earth understood gamma radiation better than Bruce Banner.
--------------
T/N:
Access Advance Chapters on my
P@treon: [email protected]/PokePals