Chapter 5: Come forth, Tiberius! Bite them to death!

“So, mister!! Where are we now? Can you help me find my mommy and daddy?”

Annie was getting a bit annoyed by these two weirdos. She reached out and casually spun the Valoran Continent globe, looking at Coulson in the hope that he could point out exactly where this strange place was located on the Valoran continent.

Annie had always believed that after passing through that mist-like spatial portal, she must have been teleported to somewhere on the Valoran continent; she just didn't know the specific location. However, as long as she knew the exact position, Annie believed she would find her way home sooner or later. Yes, that was exactly it!

Besides, if this strange mister hadn't said he could find her parents, Annie didn't think she would have spoken to him for this long!

This strange mister looked stupid and bald; he wasn't fun at all! Most importantly, he had interrupted her eating her ice cream. The lady next to him was also very strange, keeping a sour face the whole time, even though Annie hadn't broken anything of hers! Hmph! Tibbles said she held hostility toward her and was suggesting either burning her to a crisp or letting it out to eat her in one bite!

“Uh,” Coulson said sheepishly, looking at the Valoran globe still floating and spinning on the table, “I don't think we are anywhere on this. Perhaps we won't be able to help you find your parents after all.”

As he spoke, Coulson pulled a tablet from his briefcase, operated it to bring up a 3D image of a terrestrial globe, and held it out in front of Annie. “Look! We are here right now.” Coulson pointed to the 3D globe on the screen, his finger landing exactly on New York on the American continent.

“Whoa?! What a magical moving image! Oh? Is it like that TV on the wall?” Annie looked at the tablet screen, then tilted her head curiously to look at the back of the device, but there was nothing there.

“It’s not a magical image, it’s computer technology. Hey! Don't tap it, you'll break it.” Coulson hurriedly reached out to stop her.

“Technology?” Annie thought about it. Maybe it was something like those robot monsters from the Yordles? But that technology was useless; one fireball and they would pretty much fall apart.

“This isn't Valoran.” Annie finally found the crux of the matter. On this magical computer, she saw no trace of Valoran. The 3D globe on it looked completely different from the Valoran globe; they must be two different planets!

“That's right! This is Earth.” Seeing Annie toss the tablet onto the table, Coulson hurriedly snatched it back; there were many important documents on it! It would be a huge hassle if it broke!

“Earth? How far is Earth from Valoran?”

“Well, I'm not quite sure myself. Maybe as far as the stars in the sky!”

Coulson organized his words, using a description he thought a young girl could understand. Coulson was now certain that this girl was some kind of extraterrestrial visitor! This was Coulson's first time coming into close contact with an alien, even though S.H.I.E.L.D. possessed quite a few alien artifacts!

As for exactly how far Valoran was from Earth, or where it was, Coulson felt that this question should be directed to NASA; perhaps they would know?

“As far as the stars in the sky? That's so far... I can't go home?” Annie felt a bit aggrieved. She bit her lower lip and tossed her spoon aside; she suddenly didn't want to eat ice cream anymore!

Because Annie's mother had taught her knowledge of astrology, Annie knew exactly how far the stars in the sky were. Even the furthest teleportation spell on the Valoran continent could not teleport her to any star near Valoran.

Worse still, Annie was not proficient in large-scale portal magic! If it were a short-to-medium range teleportation spell within a planet, she might be able to manage it if she thought carefully and tried a few more times, but an interstellar portal was definitely out of the question! Perhaps she could never go home? The thought of never seeing her mother again made Annie want to cry, and tears began to fill her beautiful emerald-green eyes.

Coulson looked awkwardly at the dejected little girl. Just as he was thinking about how to comfort her, a massive *crash* erupted from outside!

A Ford car smashed into the ice cream shop's floor-to-ceiling glass window. The glass shattered instantly, and the flying shards nearly injured the three people sitting there. The shop owner in the distance was not so lucky; a rolling tire tore off half of his head, splashing red and white everywhere. He was clearly dead!

Coulson and Melinda quickly looked toward the street outside, only to see two green monsters appearing out of nowhere, fighting violently. After the initial shock, they took cover and peered out, only to realize that the massive, muscular, green-skinned monster in the distance was the Hulk! Regarding this big, green fellow, Coulson could say he recognized him, as S.H.I.E.L.D. had a file on him.

If he remembered correctly, this green giant was called the Hulk, real name Robert Bruce Banner.

According to records, he was a genius nuclear physics doctor, but during an accident, he was exposed to massive amounts of radiation from a Gamma Bomb he had created while trying to protect a colleague, causing his body to mutate into the Green Giant!

The intelligence also stated that when his emotions fluctuated violently, he would transform into the mindless Hulk! What puzzled Coulson was: what on earth was the other giant, who was also massive and fighting the Hulk but had lighter green skin and a bony frame? Who was it? Was it another one of the military's creations?

Before Coulson could think further, the bony giant grabbed another car and hurled it at the Hulk, only for it to be swatted away by the Hulk's elbow. Unluckily, the flying car headed straight for the small ice cream shop where the three were sitting. The immense force of the two monsters caused the car's fuel tank to rupture; the sparks kicked up by the car hitting the shop door immediately ignited the full tank of gasoline upon impact, triggering a massive explosion along with the first car. A wave of heat and fire from the gasoline, along with explosion debris, rushed toward them...

It's... it's over...

That was the final thought shared by Coulson and Melinda. They never expected that a routine mission today would result in their inexplicable deaths at the hands of these two monsters! And to die in such a frustrating way, caught in the crossfire! Truly, being an agent was a high-risk profession! If they had known, they should have applied for an internal desk job much sooner!

“Hmph! I'm angry! The consequences will be severe!!”

Hearing Annie's voice from beside them, Coulson and Melinda, who had closed their eyes to await death, opened them in surprise to find that they were completely unharmed. Looking closely, they realized that the recent explosion had been blocked by a transparent, reddish film-like shield. The flames and heatwaves still raging in the shop could not affect the three people inside the transparent shield!

Was this also the little girl's ability?!

Melinda and Coulson exchanged a look. Ignoring the horror in their hearts, they couldn't help but look at Annie again. Did mutants have this many abilities? Perhaps, she really was a mage?

However, Annie didn't care what they were thinking. With Tibbles in her left hand and her right hand clenched into a tight fist, she began walking toward the exit. Annie was very angry! Extremely angry! Super angry!!

She had just learned that she might never be able to go home and never see her mother again! That had already made her feel miserable, aggrieved, and ready to cry!

But who would have thought that a hunk of metal would suddenly come flying in and kill the shop owner who made delicious ice cream! Before she could even figure out what was happening, those two giant beasts fighting outside relentlessly threw another hunk of metal! They must want to burn her to death too, right? That must be it!

This was simply unforgivable! Annie thought; it was always supposed to be her who burned others! And now, someone actually wanted to burn her to death?! Heh! Interesting! Annie thought: they must have never seen her little bear before, right?

“Don't go! It's dangerous, ah!” Seeing Annie trying to walk out of the shop, Melinda, having just escaped death, instinctively tried to pull her back, but she quickly retracted her hand, burned by the flames erupting from Annie's body.

Stepping outside the shop, Annie looked at the two hulking figures still trading blows not far away, and the street that had been turned into a chaotic ruin by them.

Annie took a deep breath and thought seriously. She decided it would be more reliable to let Tibbles handle it! She was a clean and well-behaved girl, after all; she couldn't get into a brawl with these two barbaric, hulking brutes! That would be far too unladylike! Even casting spells from a distance felt improper; for fighting and close-quarters combat, it was better to let her little bear take the stage. Besides, Tibbles had already been urging her!

And so, the decision was made happily.

“Come out, Tibbles! Bite them to death for me!”

“ROAR~!!!”

(End of Chapter)