After returning from X-Superman's consciousness space.
Bant stood frozen in place like a block of wood, eyes shut, brows knitted tightly together. He didn't move for a long while.
Even though the one who had stayed behind in the consciousness space was Expressionless Bant, the clones created by Dido's duplication ability shared an interconnected consciousness.
In other words, Bant's head was still filled with their endless chattering.
"Won't I develop a split personality if this goes on too long?"
Bant sighed.
Then he attempted to block out the voices of Enara, Oyana, and Expressionless Bant.
Just as Superman's abilities allowed him to hear every sound on Earth, the vast world had become unbearably noisy. Now, Bant faced the same situation.
He imagined himself as a solitary island, far removed from the clamor of the world.
Far from Enara and Oyana.
In an instant, the three arguing voices were yanked billions of light-years away as if by force. They became muffled and indistinct, as though filtered through a thin membrane.
Silence.
Bant let out a deep breath.
"Thank you, Martha."
Venom crouched in a corner, curled up, staring at Bant's strange behavior. He figured this guy was probably crazier than Deadpool.
After all, even Deadpool couldn't switch between personalities like this. Deadpool was ugly in a very consistent way.
Bant ignored Venom.
He strode out of the lab, intent on heading to HAMMER.
Searching for the symbiotes was important, but compared to the imminent arrival of the Chitauri fleet, it was nothing.
A dozen or so minutes later, aboard the HAMMER helicarrier, Norman Osborn sat at the conference table. He had barely gotten any rest. After hearing Bant's report, he wearily pinched the bridge of his nose.
"How did this happen so suddenly?"
Hill frowned as well.
They had all believed they had a year to prepare.
But now, even though so much had happened in the intervening two months, their preparations were far from sufficient.
"Wakanda just shipped the vibranium not long ago. The space station construction hasn't even started yet," Coulson added, brow furrowed.
"What about the satellites?"
Bant asked.
The Earth Defense Grid relied on four new artificial satellites to activate. Back then, figuring the satellites wouldn't need vibranium armor, Bant had instructed HAMMER to get a head start.
"Only two are completed."
Norman sighed.
Bant clicked his tongue softly and drummed his fingers on the table.
Two satellites. They couldn't even form a single face of the grid.
"With less than a week left, we can't just pull two more satellites out of thin air," Hill said grimly.
Hearing her words, Bant looked up.
"Not entirely impossible."
Hill: ???
Every person in the conference room immediately turned their eyes to Bant.
"How?"
"HAMMER has its own satellites, doesn't it?" Bant asked.
"Leftovers from SHIELD. Why?" Hill countered.
"If there's no time to build new ones, then we'll just retrofit the old ones," Bant stated. "Contact Tony. Things will go faster with his help."
Technically, using a Changeling could instantly remodel an existing satellite.
But a Changeling could only alter the basic structure, not upgrade the materials.
Bant couldn't use a Changeling to turn a standard satellite into something capable of withstanding Tesseract-level energy output. He'd have to use Fixits for a rapid retrofit.
He just couldn't do it fast enough alone.
He needed a partner.
"Time to assemble the Avengers again."
Natasha slapped her plump rear, swayed to her feet, and sighed.
"Only got a month and change off."
"Don't be so anxious, Granny Natasha. In a few more years, you'll be ninety. Wolverine only managed to hit ninety. I promise you can retire then," Bant said.
"I have no idea what you're talking about..."
Natasha threw her hands up, then sent out the assembly signal to every Avenger.
At this hour, almost none of the Avengers were asleep.
Peter, Matt, and a disguised Steve were all in Hell's Kitchen, tangled in nonstop fights with the chaotic gangs.
They were powerful. No one there could match them. But the gangs were like nests of cockroaches. Clear out one batch, and more would swarm in to take their place.
They were being run ragged.
So neither Matt nor Steve had time to answer their phones. Only Peter snatched a moment to pick up his communicator. Fighting while taking a call was old hat for him.
"Hello? What's up? Ratatatat..."
The sound of machine-gun fire came through the line.
"What? The Chitauri are coming? Got it, got it. I'll tell them..."
Then Peter yelled, "Wait, Cap, look out! Grenade!"
"BOOM!!"
"Beep. Beep. Beep..."
A burst of chaos, then the dial tone.
Hill sighed and hung up in resignation.
The last to answer was Tony. He was also burning the midnight oil. When he picked up, he immediately switched the call to a holographic projection. An AI avatar materialized before them.
"What do you want?"
He said it impatiently, his gaze flicking sideways to catch sight of Bant. "I've already pushed the armor to Mark 45. Even built a few big boys."
"See? I told you having the blueprints ready in advance would pay off."
He still remembered the time Bant had mocked him for locking himself away so long without producing a single new suit.
"Right. I thought about that remote-control idea you mentioned. We could upgrade the AI. If you've got time..."
"No time, Tony."
Bant cut him off.
"Our trouble's almost here."
He briefly outlined the situation. Tony immediately started firing questions.
"I thought we had a year? Where'd Bambi get that fake intel?"
He scanned the room, then asked,
"Where's Bambi, anyway?"
"He's not here."
"Alright, just get over here. I can't handle this by myself."
Bant disconnected the call. Truth be told, he didn't know where Loki was either. After they parted ways at the park, Bant hadn't paid any attention to him.
At that moment.
Somewhere in Northern Europe.
Loki stood alone at the edge of a cliff, staring out over the endless sea, lost in thought.
He was deeply troubled.
Ever since that last conversation with the Warlord, Loki had sensed something was wrong.
His memories had discrepancies.
In his recollections, he hated everything. He hated Odin for favoring Thor because of blood. He hated Thor for being born mighty. He hated that the throne of Asgard would never be his. He hated that Bant had become a king on Sakaar...
In his memories, he envied and resented Bant, because Bant had achieved what he himself could not.
But after he arrived on Earth and met Bant and Thor face to face, he realized that wasn't true at all.
He discovered that when actually standing before Bant, there was no resentment in him whatsoever. His soul offered its genuine fealty.
He hadn't stayed on Sakaar to work for him out of forbearance and a desire for future revenge. He had done so out of true acknowledgment.
But why?
He was a god!
How could he possibly acknowledge a mere mortal?
Could this Sakaarian king truly be different?
Loki thought back to what Bant had told him that day: When the day comes that you no longer care about being worthy, perhaps that will be the day you truly are worthy.
Could that be the reason he had acknowledged him?
The one who never sought to be king became king as a matter of course. The one who craved it, sought it, yet was denied it.
"Your suspicions are correct."
Just then, a voice echoed in his mind.
Following it, a mass of green, slimy substance emerged from beneath his skin.
A symbiote.
Last night, when Venom and the other symbiotes had fled, they had split up. But none of them had forgotten the mission: find Thor, the God of Thunder.
Loki had detected these extraterrestrial visitors.
At first, he assumed the Chitauri had arrived and went to investigate immediately. Instead, he'd stumbled upon this symbiote crawling out of its escape pod.
And then, it bonded with him.
The green symbiote hadn't expected such luck itself. Fresh off the ship, and it ran straight into an Asgardian.
"My previous host possessed immense psychic power. I replicated his abilities. I can sense it. Your memories, your mind, they have been tampered with."
The symbiote spoke.
"The power behind it is formidable. Perhaps I can help you. But you would need to grant my power entry into the deepest reaches of your psyche."
"Don't even think about it!"
Loki refused coldly.
The mind and soul were the most sacred parts of a living being. He would never, ever bare his most intimate secrets without reservation to some symbiote of unknown origin.
"I'm keeping you around only as a contingency," Loki stated.
Under normal circumstances, he would never allow this slimy symbiote to parasitize his noble, divine body.
But Loki still didn't know how he'd been controlled in the first place. What kind of person had the power to tamper with the mind of the greatest sorcerer in the Nine Realms?
If that entity tried to control him again, then this symbiote would serve its purpose.
"Whoever it is, don't imagine for a moment you can make Loki your puppet!"
"Whoever you are, do not dream I will ever submit!"
Loki declared icily.
The symbiote tilted its head and tore down his bluster.
"But your soul doesn't think that way."
Loki fell silent.
Because he knew the symbiote was right.
His soul had acknowledged Bant. Acknowledged the King of Sakaar.
Seeing his silence, the symbiote didn't press the point. It shifted topics.
"Regardless, I am an Agent of the Cosmos. I want to save every life on this planet, prevent them from being slaughtered by the Chitauri. And you, you want to break free from control and take revenge on the arrogant bastards who did this to you. We should cooperate."
"The Chitauri are about to reach Earth. We must find your brother, Thor, the God of Thunder, quickly. He is the only one with the power to oppose the Chitauri armada."
Loki let out a scoff.
"He can't even lift a hammer. He's useless."
"Besides, I need to find myself first..."
/-\
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