Loki's Location

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After Kai finished speaking with Tony, he teleported away with Steve. Steve knew Kai wasn't one to lie to him, but he still wanted to know where they were headed.

The two of them stepped through a portal and arrived in a massive command room. Standing at the center was Nick Fury, his single eye scanning the room, ensuring the surrounding agents were focused on their tasks. Maria Hill stood a step behind him, sharp and attentive.

Kai recalled Tony's teasing in the movie and smirked as he approached Fury. "Oh, standing here like this... Can you even see to your left?"

Fury and Hill turned at the same time. Fury, unfazed, simply asked, "What do you want?" He already suspected why Kai had brought Steve here—Coulson had warned him.

Hill, on the other hand, looked surprised. "How did you get in?"

Kai grinned. "Oh, I just walked in like this!" He strolled up to Fury, made a telescope shape with his hands, and closed one eye as if mimicking him. Unfortunately, Kai couldn't quite match Tony's effortless sarcasm.

The surrounding agents instinctively moved in to surround them, but Hill waved them off.

Fury sighed. He wasn't in the mood for Kai's antics. Instead, he turned to Steve. "What are you doing here?"

Before Steve could answer, Kai cut in. "We're here to get Steve's stuff back."

Fury frowned. "What?"

Just then, Kai's phone buzzed with a message from Gear. He had already scanned the helicarrier and located Steve's shield. Kai glanced at Fury, then disappeared.

He reappeared moments later in a warehouse, where he found the shield—and next to it, a new uniform. Kai glanced at it and muttered, "Wow… That's ugly."

Apparently, Coulson had designed it for Steve, adding his own "creative touch." Kai decided to spare him any comments. Shaking his head, he grabbed the shield and teleported back to the command room.

Fury barely had time to register Kai's disappearance before—whoosh—Kai was back in front of him.

Hill, having witnessed it firsthand, now understood exactly how Kai had gotten in.

Steve's eyes immediately locked onto his shield. He stepped forward, taking it from Kai, and instinctively held it up the way he always did.

Kai nodded. "That's more like it. Captain America without his shield? Unacceptable."

He was about to teleport them out when Fury spoke up.

"Wait. That shield belongs to S.H.I.E.L.D. You can't just take it."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? How is this a theft? Howard Stark made this for Steve. He was only asleep for a few decades, not dead. It still belongs to him. You're just using technicalities to guilt-trip him into compliance."

Fury opened his mouth, but Kai kept going.

"Besides, we're about to face an alien invasion. You want to leave Steve unarmed? What if something happens in battle because he doesn't have his shield? I'd say we're taking it *for the good of the Earth*."

Before Fury could argue, Kai grabbed Steve and teleported them away.

---

Just as they returned to the villa, Kai's phone rang. Tony's voice came through.

"Kai, we found Loki."

Kai paused, holding up a hand to stop Steve. "Where?"

Tony read the address off the screen. "28 Kuningstrasse, Stuttgart, Germany."

Kai smirked. "Got it. Wait for me. We'll go together."

He turned to Steve. "Time to go hunting."

Steve nodded. "I'm ready."

Before they could leave, Fury's voice came through the communicator. "You found the Asgardian?"

Kai replied casually, "That's right."

Without waiting for a response, he ended the call and turned to the team.

Everyone had taken the opportunity to gear up and was gathered on the lawn. Kai looked them over.

"Okay, no need to send the whole team for this. Loki doesn't deserve that much attention." His eyes landed on Ethan, Banner, Coulson, and Natasha. "You guys stay here and hold down the fort. Steve, Tony, and I will handle this."

Ethan hesitated, looking concerned.

Kai grinned. "Relax. I'm here. It'll be fine."

With that, he teleported away with Tony and Steve.

---

**Germany**

Hawkeye led a team into a hotel, while Loki walked into the lobby alone. With a few quick strikes, he incapacitated the security guards, then grabbed his target—Dr. Heinrich Sefer.

Loki pressed a device to the doctor's eye, extracting a perfect scan. Meanwhile, Hawkeye used the real-time model to bypass a retinal security lock, retrieving the item they needed.

Satisfied, Loki changed into his Asgardian armor and strode out into the city square. The crowd panicked, trying to flee—until Loki raised his scepter.

"Kneel," he commanded.

Some hesitated.

Loki slammed the scepter to the ground, his voice booming. "I said, *kneel*!"

The crowd stilled, exchanging uneasy glances, then slowly dropped to their knees.

Loki smirked.

"How beautiful," he mused. "Returning to your natural state. From the beginning, you were meant to be ruled. You've just been deceived into believing otherwise. But in the end… you will always bow."

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