Loki suddenly felt a twinge of pain in his teeth.

He'd been beaten by Steve before in New York.

To Loki, Steve was a very strange man. While the Hulk was understandable, this Captain America, whose physical abilities were still within the human realm, could trade blows with him, a god from Asgard, and not lose.

When he was truly riled up, he could even hold his own against his brother, Thor. Loki didn't understand this human, nor did he understand why he was here. But none of that mattered now.

No matter who was here, he was going to conquer Wakanda and its vast Vibranium reserves. No one could stop him, not even Lothar.

"I have no interest in you."

Ignoring Steve's glare, Loki twisted the rectangular box in his palm. With a flash of light, S.H.I.E.L.D. senior agent Natasha Romanoff, who had been controlled in Stark's mansion in Washington, appeared before Steve.

"Natasha?" Steve paused, stunned to see his comrade.

"Kill him." Loki gave the order. The empty-eyed Black Widow immediately charged at Steve, her former ally.

!!!

A shock ran through Steve's heart, and his body, honed by years of combat, instinctively moved to counter Natasha's attack.

The strategy for dealing with a troublesome "50/50" opponent like Steve Rogers was to throw a weak opponent at him. Due to his fighting style, his strength would be suppressed to his opponent's level, leaving him unable to focus on anything else.

"Weaknesses of the Avengers, Volume I: Steve Rogers", Author: Bruce Wayne.

This was one of the plans formulated by a mind-controlled Bruce Wayne after he'd analyzed the data on the Avengers members Loki had gathered. It was also why Loki hadn't killed Natasha Romanoff when he saw her back in the Washington D.C. mansion; he'd simply controlled her instead.

He had no desire for this human. He controlled Natasha simply to have a pawn to throw at Steve later. If Hawkeye Barton had appeared before him instead, Loki would have controlled him just the same.

"Natasha!"

"Natasha, wake up! It's Steve!"

"Do you remember me?!"

Entangled with the formidable Black Widow, Steve felt his shield become almost useless. He desperately tried to wake her from her mind control, but it was all for naught.

A dark turn makes you stronger; a good turn makes you weaker. The tireless Natasha's skilled joint locks and fighting style kept the famous Captain America completely tied up. Just as Bruce Wayne had predicted, Steve couldn't focus on anything but her.

"Alright, the annoying fly has been dealt with. Now, we can talk properly."

Loki put away the rectangular box floating in his palm, clasped his hands, and stepped past Clark toward the assembled Wakandan army, a wide smile on his face. "Now, kneel."

"I can spare you—"

Whoosh!

A sharp arrow flew past Loki's cheek. The smile on his face vanished, replaced by a coldness that saw human lives as nothing.

He twisted the rectangular box again, and two more figures appeared, standing in front of Loki as they fended off the overwhelming Wakandan military assault.

The Flash, Barry Allen.

Wonder Woman, Diana.

With the already-unleashed Clark, they formed The Three Tyrants of Annihilation. Unmatched speed, mixed with lightning, took out whole groups of soldiers. Unrestrained heat vision and an impervious body left a trail of torn bodies and splattered blood. As for Diana, under the power of her bracelets, countless limbs were torn and broken.

"NO!!!"

Far away, Steve Rogers, still held back by Natasha, watched with his eyes burning, his furious roar drowned out by the sheer terror on the battlefield.

Blood and gore filled the air. The long-peaceful Wakanda was reduced to a slaughterhouse by the full-force assault of The Three Tyrants of Annihilation. A slaughterhouse filled with the thick smell of blood.

The defenses were shattered. The Black Panther was insignificant. When the current Black Panther, T'Chaka, and his heir, T'Challa, were dismembered on the battlefield by lightning, heat vision, and a god's sword, the war was over in a mere seventy-seven seconds.

Steve Rogers lay on the ground, dumbfounded. The group led by Clark filled him with a fear he had never truly known.

"A God Among Men."

"In another universe, that's what they call Clark."

"Because his power is like an ancient god walking among mortals."

Stepping over blood and severed limbs, Loki waved a hand, ending Natasha's fight, and walked to a prone Steve Rogers, a demonic smile on his face.

Just to be safe, he had also brought The Flash and Wonder Woman to back him up. As it turned out, he had overthought things. The limitations of this universe's rules still existed, but on a planet where the magic core had been destroyed, Clark was still the same terrifying God Among Men.

"LOKI!!!" Steve's hysterical roar was cut short as Clark slapped him, sending him sprawling.

"If you must blame someone, blame Lothar."

"He's the one who let me access another level of power."

"Steve Rogers."

"An emperor from another universe will be here soon."

The figure in Asgardian armor walked to the fallen legend. He bent down, grabbed his hair, and forced his eyes to look up at him.

"Why are you doing this?!" Bound by Diana's Lasso of Truth, Steve demanded an answer.

"Why?"

"That's a good question. I'm looking for the answer myself."

Loki grinned, and a dagger that had appeared in his hand was plunged into Steve Rogers's heart without a moment's hesitation.

"My name is Loki, a god from Asgard."

"I have killed many people."

"You won't be the first, and you won't be the last."

"And finally, a piece of advice for you."

"War... is cruel."

With words as cold as a demon's, Loki twisted the dagger and severed Steve Rogers's head.

"Now, gather the Vibranium and start building the portal."

With his foot on the headless corpse in the star-spangled uniform and Steve Rogers's unseeing head in his hand, a cold-eyed Loki looked out at the distant, blood-red horizon and gave his command.

The figures trapped in the rectangular box appeared one after another, and under the command of Batman and Cyborg, they began the prelude to a cosmic invasion.

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