Thor, still incredibly uneasy about the political situation in Asgard following his father's 'death', summoned the Bifrost and left Earth.
On the smoldering ruins of the small desert town, Agent Coulson was extending an official invitation to Meliodas and Hawk. Coulson understood clearly that this impossibly strong boy and this talking pig were visitors from another world. The key factor was that their attitude was not hostile toward humanity.
On Earth now, various extraordinary events were frequently erupting. It wasn't just S.H.I.E.L.D. dealing with the fallout; the established order of the entire world was facing unprecedented challenges. Meliodas and Hawk were undoubtedly high-value targets they needed to win over.
"Hey, Meliodas!" Hawk whispered, tugging at the boy's sleeve. "I overheard the bald guy talking. The booze in this world is supposed to be really good!"
"Is that so?" Meliodas smiled cheerfully. "Then let's go try it together."
Although he would have to leave Elizabeth and the tavern behind for a while, a brand new journey was calling to him. Besides, it wasn't like he couldn't find a way to bring Elizabeth along eventually.
Meliodas glanced briefly at the translucent system panel floating before his eyes, confirming his decision.
Coulson was overjoyed upon hearing their acceptance and immediately escorted his new, extraordinary consultants out of the ruins.
Time flew by quickly. A full year had passed since the New Mexico incident.
During this time, extraordinary events had frequently broken out across the globe. The ancient kin of the Dragon Clan began to emerge from the shadows, and at the same time, a brutal faction of humans calling themselves "Dragon Slayers" also made their presence known.
The leaders of the world's various nations finally realized just how terrifyingly deep the waters of this world truly were. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s self-appointed role as the sole manager of extraordinary events was increasingly disregarded by these new, hidden factions. S.H.I.E.L.D. strike teams began deploying frantically across the globe to maintain order.
But amidst all this global panic, two specific consultants were extremely bored.
"Meliodas, this Durian ice cream is so delicious!" Hawk cheered, happily licking a massive, foul-smelling cone.
"I think this Cilantro one is even tastier," Meliodas replied casually, tasting his own bizarrely green dessert.
On the bustling streets of New York, the Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins and the Captain of the Order of Scraps Disposal were leisurely window shopping. They had been on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s payroll for a year. During this time, minor skirmishes didn't require Meliodas's overwhelming power, and no major, world-ending incidents had occurred. This allowed the two of them to enjoy a long, peaceful vacation.
"Mr. Meliodas."
An anxious S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, who had been tailing them from a distance, suddenly jogged up to them. He spoke with a breathless sense of urgency.
"There is a Code-Red situation that requires your immediate deployment."
At the same time, a sleek, black S.H.I.E.L.D. sedan pulled up aggressively to them.
When Meliodas and Hawk arrived at the Director's office, Agent Coulson, Natasha Romanoff, and Steve Rogers—Captain America—were already waiting.
Seeing that the room was secure, Director Nick Fury immediately brought up a holographic file.
"Last night, a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. joint energy installation was attacked," Fury stated grimly. "Agent Clint Barton was mind-controlled and forced to defect. The primary attacker is this person."
Nick Fury pointed at the projection.
"Loki!" Hawk gasped, dropping his half-eaten ice cream cone on the pristine floor.
Hawk looked at the glowing photo with immense surprise. The person shown on the screen was indeed the 'God of Lies' whom the pig had electrocuted back in the desert.
"Yes. It is Loki," Fury confirmed, his single eye hardening. "Loki Odinson, the exiled Prince of Asgard. We don't know exactly why he suddenly attacked our secret base, but this can already be categorized as an extreme provocation. Or rather, a formal declaration of war."
A heavy silence fell over the room. This was completely different from their usual covert operations and intelligence gathering. This was an extraterrestrial invasion.
"So, what exactly did he take from the facility?" Steve Rogers asked, his jaw tight.
"The Tesseract," Fury answered bluntly.
"That thing should never have been pulled from the ice," Steve retorted, a flash of deep annoyance crossing his features.
The Tesseract had stirred up too much dark ambition in too many people, from the Red Skull to S.H.I.E.L.D. itself. Perhaps letting it sink into the crushing depths of the Arctic Ocean was the only right choice.
"Captain, now is not the time to debate historical policy," Fury interrupted, choosing not to argue the morality of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s weapons division. "We are facing an active invasion. And the enemy has already declared war on humanity."
Right or wrong, pointing fingers now was useless. What they needed to do was eliminate the enemy before Loki could open a portal.
"Coulson, I need you to handle Stark. Get him on board," Fury ordered rapidly. "Natasha, you need to go to India and bring in the big guy. Meliodas, Captain, you're our primary strike force. Effective immediately, S.H.I.E.L.D. is entering a Level Seven alert."
[Stuttgart, Germany - Königstraße]
Loki appeared outside the gala without any attempt to hide his presence. Following him, naturally, were the pursuers sent by S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Kneel before me!" Loki commanded, slamming his glowing scepter into the cobblestone as the terrified crowd cowered before him. "It is the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. You were made to be ruled—"
Unfortunately for Loki, the vanguard S.H.I.E.L.D. had sent to pursue him this time was not Captain America.
Loki's grand, theatrical moment of showing off was brutally shut down almost immediately.
[Skill: Hip Attack!]
A familiar sound, followed by a familiar, soft nightmare.
*WHAM!*
A flying pig's plump rear end slammed violently right into Loki's aristocratic face.
Loki stumbled backward, his nose bleeding. The surge of sheer, unadulterated fury was instantaneous. The so-called 'rules of engagement', the grand speeches of kingship, the theatrical subjugation of Earth—Loki cast it all aside in a heartbeat.
He now had only one singular, burning thought:
'I am going to slaughter this damned pig!!'
"Help! Help!!" Hawk shrieked, landing on his trotters and scrambling frantically backward. "Meliodas!! Save me quickly!"
The murderous intent in Loki's green eyes was entirely unconcealed. Every hair on Hawk's body stood on end as the pig retreated, shouting loudly for his overpowered bodyguard.
Loki swung his scepter with lethal intent. A massive, blue energy blast erupted from the Mind Stone, streaking directly toward the fleeing pig.
At this moment, Loki's gloomy, humiliated expression finally eased into a sadistic smile.
'Turn into a roast suckling pig!' Loki thought gleefully.
"Full Counter."
A calm, cheerful voice echoed through the plaza.
Looking at the massive energy blast flying toward the pig, the smile on Loki's lips instantly froze. He realized, a microsecond too late, that the pig didn't travel alone.
A short blonde boy casually stepped in front of the blast, swinging a broken blade.
The blue energy hit the sword, instantly swelled to double its original size, and violently rebounded straight back at Loki.
KABOOM!
The explosive backfire was instantaneous. The golden horned helmet was blown clean off, clattering across the cobblestones, and Loki's body slammed brutally through a concrete wall.
"I apologize," Meliodas said calmly, resting his sword on his shoulder as he walked up to the groaning, semi-conscious god in the rubble. "But Hawk is a very important companion to me! So I can only trouble you to fall down."
The epic battle for Stuttgart ended just that suddenly. The power gap between the two was simply too comically large.
[The Skies Over Europe - S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet]
Successfully bringing a handcuffed Loki onto the stealth jet, Natasha (in the pilot's seat) and Steve Rogers looked on as if the absolute ease of the capture was somewhat expected, given Meliodas's file.
However, the journey back to the Helicarrier was not destined to be smooth.
Suddenly, the sky outside the cockpit roared with gale-force winds, and massive forks of lightning flashed ominously in the clouds.
Loki, strapped to a seat in the back of the jet, showed a sudden expression of genuine anxiety. Beside him, Hawk's pink pig nose twitched violently, sniffing the ozone.
"Thor!" Hawk squealed, his eyes lighting up. "It's Thor coming!"
Hawk greatly valued the very first friend he had made on Earth. Since Thor had returned to Asgard, the man and the pig hadn't seen each other for a long time.
THUD.
Something massive landed on the roof of the Quinjet. The rear hatch was violently ripped open from the outside, and Thor, flanked by crackling lightning, stepped aggressively into the cabin.
"What exactly do you think you are doing, Loki?!" Thor bellowed, completely ignoring the Avengers. He grabbed Loki by the throat, hoisting him out of his seat. "You will return to Asgard with me to face judgment!"
"That might not be possible, buddy," a cheerful voice interrupted. "He's our prisoner right now."
Just as Thor was about to drag Loki out of the open hatch, Meliodas casually reached out and grabbed the Thunder God's massive wrist.
Meliodas had long wanted to spar with this so-called God of Thunder. Ever since that night in the desert, when Thor used a single, massive lightning strike to instantly destroy the Destroyer—a 'kill-steal' where Thor didn't even bother to pretend it was a fair fight—Meliodas felt his own previous brawl had been made to look like a clown show.
Meliodas looked up, his green eyes glinting with excitement. It was time for a rematch.
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