Chapter 39: Little Annie, the Plucker of Geese

“Annie? Where on earth have you been these past few days? How could you just leave without so much as a word?” Coulson was still somewhat resentful about the fact that Annie had abandoned him and Melinda a few days ago to go off on her own.

That day, after discovering via tracking equipment that Annie had rushed off to Asia, the two of them, having nothing better to do, led a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to occupy the vacant Sanctum in New York. They had harvested a large collection of strange magical artifacts and some peculiar "windows" of unknown purpose. However, those items had all been temporarily sealed away.

They required the expertise of a professional mage like Annie to identify them; otherwise, if S.H.I.E.L.D. were allowed to research them haphazardly, it might lead to disaster. The experts had already stated that due to a lack of specialized knowledge, they were completely unable to make headway with those magical items.

“The last few days... well, I went to Earth to watch a great show! A group of little mages battling a dark monster. And the best part was, those little mages actually won! Oh, and I ate so, so many meat skewers. You guys could never imagine how many I ate in total!!!” Recalling the meat skewers, Annie couldn't help but feel a wave of nausea.

It was all because of that hateful Sorcerer in Red. He actually dared to misuse the Time Stone, one of the Infinity Stones! Even she had been trapped in a time loop because of it. If she hadn't made it out, she might have actually died from being nauseated by those meat skewers!

Fortunately, the time loop eventually ended. Annie had even tracked them back to their base—a place called Kamar-Taj! Finally, while they were leaving, she had stealthily snatched the green Time Stone right out from under them. Their defense mechanisms were far too simple; they were useless against her! Of course, before leaving, Annie couldn't resist browsing through various books in their library.

“Mages? You mean that group from Kamar-Taj? I really don't understand how they could have an internal conflict. By the way, have you met that Ancient One yet?” Coulson was quite curious about a group of infighting mages.

From the traces left in the New York Sanctum, it was clear the battle had been intense. The Sanctum itself had been destroyed, and not a single person inside had survived. Even Coulson felt a sense of melancholy; in his view, whether in the magical world or the world of ordinary people, the struggle for power and armed conflict seemed inevitable. It was a fundamental flaw of humanity—both the engine that drives human progress and the root that could lead to its destruction.

“One group wanted the power of the Dark Dimension, and the other wouldn't let them, so they fought. Nothing strange about that!”

The world of mages was full of strange things. In Annie's eyes, they were merely having a disagreement over how to acquire power, which was quite normal.

“Also, just a heads-up: that bald mage called the Ancient One seems to have kicked the bucket.”

While tracking them, Annie had overheard the apprentices in Kamar-Taj discussing it. Supposedly, the Sorcerer Supreme had died—stabbed and then fallen to her death.

Thinking about it seriously afterward, Annie felt the woman deserved it! Who told her to play melee? Look at that, she died because she messed up. That is the fate of a rogue mage, and the fate of someone who is specialized in the wrong field but insists on melee combat! How much safer would it be to hide in the distance and cast spells? Why insist on going up for hand-to-hand combat?

“Is that true? That is indeed good news! I think the Director will be very pleased to hear this,” Coulson’s eyes lit up. For S.H.I.E.L.D., this was indeed excellent news.

Kamar-Taj, Earth's native magical organization, had just undergone a civil war and was now leaderless and heavily depleted! Perhaps it was time for S.H.I.E.L.D. to step in and try to incorporate them? This was a golden opportunity! After a moment of consideration, Coulson decided to write a report to the Director tonight to discuss the possibility of this plan.

“Annie, are you sure this thing—uh, this formation? It can really open a portal to take you home?” Having made up his mind, Coulson finally found the mood to examine the array of strange symbols Annie had drawn on the sandy clearing.

Annie had been working on this since the morning, claiming she had gained inspiration from the Kamar-Taj library. After several days of contemplation and preparation, she couldn't wait to get started today.

It was said that by using these strange lines, adding gems to the nodes, and finally using the Space Stone as the power source and the array's eye, Annie could open a portal back to Valoran.

However, Coulson circled the formation for a long time, feeling it was somewhat unreliable. These mystical, nonsensical scribbles were simply too unscientific. At least the portal device Loki and his group had created looked like it had some scientific basis!

“Of course, Uncle Coulson! It’s a one-time use, so of course it has to be simple!” Annie continued etching the magic circle on the ground.

The reason she kept it simple was twofold: first, Annie wanted to finish the formation as quickly as possible. She had been away from home for a long time and was desperate to return!

Second, the formation was a single-use item. She didn't need to constantly maintain or expand a portal like Loki did; she only needed it to ensure her safe passage. Since that was the case, why make it complicated?

After the Battle of New York, thanks to Annie, American media had gradually changed its perception of mutants. Many believed Annie was a powerful mutant capable of manipulating fire. Because Annie had saved New York from the Chitauri and saved countless lives, policies regarding mutants had shifted slightly, and some lawmakers were even discussing specialized legislation.

Of course, perhaps it was more due to the deterrent of Annie's immense power. Just think about it—that powerful alien force was nearly wiped out by Annie alone! Not only did she stop the nukes, but she single-handedly turned the tide and annihilated the alien invasion! What kind of overwhelming power was that? If the policies regarding mutants accidentally provoked this little girl, how much destruction could she cause?

Considering how she had effortlessly made the military's nukes vanish, what else would they have to deal with her? Not to mention there were many other mutants out there! Think about the Mutant Brotherhood that caused chaos every day; their Magneto was incredibly powerful too!

...

After lunch, Annie was still busy on the beach. Before long, the other members of the Avengers arrived after being notified. Coulson had called them, saying that Annie would likely be going home today, and if they didn't come now, they might not know when they would see her again.

The fastest to arrive was Thor, who flew in with his hammer in hand. If Annie was leaving, he had to be there to keep watch, as he was tasked with escorting the Space Stone back to Asgard! As for Loki's scepter, that would have to wait for another time. The ruins had not yet been cleared, and there was no easy way to deal with that massive piece of alien wreckage; its size and weight were simply too immense. It would have to remain there for now.

The others, including Bruce Banner, arrived one after another via S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft. Since they were heroes and members of the Avengers, they had the privilege of using a few planes for transport.

Once everyone had gathered, the bored Avengers watched Annie work for a while. At Tony's suggestion, the group held a small party on another part of the beach, drinking champagne and fine wine.

“By the way, Tony, do you have any leads on the reconstruction of Stark Tower?” Bruce Banner asked, turning to look at Tony, who was lying on a nearby beach chair.

“My God! If anyone mentions that again, I’m going to lose it!” Tony said resentfully, gulping down his champagne.

He had lost big in the Battle of New York. The landmark building of Stark Industries had been leveled to the ground. He only regretted not buying insurance for the building; it still hurt his wallet!

The reconstruction funds hadn't been approved, and compensation was nowhere in sight. Those damn bureaucrats might drag this out until the next century! He might even have to pay out of his own pocket as a shareholder! That wasn't even the worst part; the most important thing was that the debris from the alien mothership was still sitting on that plot of land! Who knew when they would find a way to move such a massive object?

“Thor, I have something to tell you!” Seeing that everyone else was chatting amongst themselves, Coulson walked over to Thor with a glass of champagne.

“What is it?” Thor looked at Coulson curiously.

“It's like this: our Director intends to move against the internal infiltrators—Hydra. He plans to wipe them out in the near future. Could you lend a hand when the time comes?” For some reason, Hydra was becoming restless! Director Nick Fury had detected ominous signs and warned Coulson to be on standby and maintain contact with the Avengers.

“I am sorry, Coulson! I cannot interfere in the internal affairs of you humans. If it were an external invasion, I would do so without hesitation! But since this is an internal matter, I truly cannot! Asgard will absolutely not interfere in your internal affairs; that is the command of my father, Odin!” Hearing that Coulson wanted him to help with S.H.I.E.L.D. business, Thor quickly declined.

“Alright...” Coulson nodded, acting as if it were no big deal, though he felt a bit dejected.

With Thor's refusal and Annie's imminent departure, the only ones left to help clear out Hydra might be Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain America, and Iron Man. Oh, and an unreliable Hulk. Tsk! It looked like things were going to be quite tight. Furthermore, Hill's New York division had suffered significant losses during the alien invasion, which was another headache.

“Alright, it's finished!” Annie cheered. The guiding magic circle was finally complete.

Now that the circle was done, by using the spatial power of the Space Stone, combined with the spatial coordinates of the Voodoo Lands she knew and the power of thought, and by activating the spell she obtained from Kamar-Taj, she should be able to open the portal, right? Maybe? Possibly?

Well, in truth, Annie wasn't entirely confident. When Uncle Thor was escorting prisoners back to Asgard, he had specifically asked Heimdall—who was said to be all-knowing—for her. Unfortunately, even the all-knowing one didn't know where the continent of Valoran was. Therefore, this formation was Annie's last chance.

“Everyone, move back a bit!” Annie grumpily shooed away the onlookers who were partying nearby before preparing to do the real work.

As Annie placed the Space Stone and activated the spell, injecting her mana, the magic circle began to rotate slowly. The magical runes gradually drew power from the Space Stone, and as Annie used magic to input the coordinates, a misty barrier began to appear above the formation.

“Is that the portal to Valoran?” Seeing this, Coulson and the others couldn't help but lean in to watch.

“It is a very strange portal. I cannot see anything on the other side at all. It is quite illogical!” Thor stared intently for a while, also feeling perplexed.

Normally, a portal should be like the one Loki opened, allowing one to clearly see the scenery on the other side. A portal like this, where the destination is obscured, was dangerous to enter blindly, because no one knew what lay on the other side.

“Annie, I wouldn't recommend you walk in. Perhaps you could try a few more times?” Although he didn't always get along with Annie, Thor voiced his concern. He simply felt the portal was unreliable.

“No! It's exactly like the one that brought me here!” After checking carefully one last time to confirm there were no errors, Annie decided not to change anything. This was definitely the portal. Now that she finally saw the hope of going home, Annie wasn't going to give up.

“Goodbye, Uncle Coulson! Auntie Melinda! Thank you for taking care of me all this time.” Annie packed some belongings and stuffed Tibbs into her backpack.

She stepped forward to hug Uncle Coulson and Auntie Melinda. Looking at the repaired Princess Annie plane parked on the grass, she decided not to take it. It was too big to pass through the portal! And it was too difficult to use magic to shrink a plane made of ordinary metal. She would have to leave it behind. After her many modifications, it was quite a powerful magical plane! Leaving it might even help protect Auntie Melinda and Uncle Coulson.

“Goodbye, everyone!” Annie turned and waved to the others. She was a bit reluctant to leave these uncles she had grown to know, but compared to the prospect of going home, they held a much lower priority in her heart.

“Oh, goodbye! Goodbye, Annie!” Melinda felt her eyes welling up. From the moment she was ordered to look after Annie until now, Annie had been like a daughter to her. Now that the parting was at hand, she truly felt the loss. She wondered if they would ever meet again. Perhaps they never would.

“Hey! Little Annie, how about waiting a bit? Give me some time to make a probe and send it through first?” Tony Stark had a sudden idea and finally thought of something reliable.

“Goodbye, Annie, goodbye! Come back and visit if you have time!” Bruce Banner also waved with misty eyes as he watched Annie walk into the portal. Although he had been beaten several times by Annie's little bear, he still liked the clever little girl very much.

As Annie turned and resolutely walked into the misty portal, the energy circuit of the magic circle, having lost Annie's control, slowly came to a halt, and the misty barrier dissipated.

“Alright! My business here is done, and I must escort the Space Stone back to Asgard. Take care, everyone! If you need me, remember to send word! As long as Earth faces an external threat, I will certainly come to fight alongside you!” After a moment, Thor was the first to break the heavy silence. Since Annie was gone, it was now his turn.

Without waiting for a reaction from the others, he walked straight to the magic circle Annie had left on the beach. The formation was now useless after its one-time use, but the Space Stone should still be there. Thor remembered that Annie should have placed it in the very center of the array.

“This... this is strange!” Thor circled the center of the magic circle for a while, but strangely, he found nothing! Where was the Space Stone? He saw no trace of it in the center of the array. Refusing to believe it, he even knelt down and dug in the sand for a bit, creating a large hole, but still found nothing.

“Where is the Space Stone?! How did it disappear?” The Space Stone belonged to Asgard, and he was under the command of his father, Odin, to bring it back for safekeeping once the matter was concluded. But now, where was it? How could it be gone?

Hearing Thor's question, the others looked at each other, unsure of what to say. They were not experts in matters of magic.

Think about it: Tony and Banner were researchers of science; Coulson and Melinda were agents; Captain America and Black Widow were fighters. Now Thor was asking them about magic—it was clearly a mismatch of expertise! How could they possibly know why the Space Stone had vanished? He was asking the wrong people.

“Uh, well, if I didn't see wrong just now, I think I saw... before Annie disappeared into the portal, she seemed to reach out and grab the gem,” Hawkeye, who had the best eyesight among them, weakly raised his hand and described what he had seen with some uncertainty.

“What?!”

“There was such a thing?”

“Ha! Interesting!”

Coulson and the others began to discuss it fervently. They hadn't expected little Annie to be so mischievous—even when leaving, she didn't forget to swipe something?

“ANNIE!!!” Thor, having been played so hard, couldn't help but roar toward the heavens.

On the very day Annie left, the Asgardians lost the Space Stone, one of the Infinity Stones forever. Perhaps, what they lost was more than just a gem, but they might never know.