"Let's talk inside."
Shiller glanced at the car, and Thor's figure was no longer there. Clearly, this trouble was big enough.
No one knew better than Thor how much trouble mutants could bring. Asgard had only experienced Ragnarök once, while among mutants, events similar to Ragnarök could play out three times in a single day. First, destroy mutants, then destroy Earth, and finally the entire universe; there was nothing they dared not do.
As soon as they entered the Recovery Alliance Headquarters' lobby, Nick Fury came up. He was a tall white man with an eye patch, a serious face, and a loud voice.
"Long time no see, Erik, still as impressive as always." Nick paused before saying, "Come with me, they're already waiting."
Nick's words were clever. He exchanged pleasantries but didn't give Magneto and his group a chance to speak and directly led them inside, saying someone was already waiting. This avoided Magneto giving him a hard time.
The reason he didn't specify who was waiting, namely the X-Men, was mainly because these two mutant factions were ostensibly at odds, even though Magneto and Professor X had long reconciled. Nick, as a professional agent, still maintained his professionalism and wouldn't touch on any controversial topic.
In truth, both of these points were superficial. The real message Nick wanted to convey was "This place isn't safe."
After all, the relationship between Magneto and Professor X was well known at the top levels. If it were truly a completely safe territory of their own, there would be no need to speak so cryptically. Such nameless and faceless speech made it seem like they were guarding against someone recording and broadcasting everything to the public.
Magneto immediately understood the unsaid meaning. He instinctively looked at Shiller, as he was the only one here who could count as an outsider.
But he merely glanced and said nothing. They then moved to the conference room upstairs, where Professor X and the X-Men were indeed waiting. Besides them, important figures from the Recovery Alliance were all present, including Batman.
Thomas Wayne, this particular Batman, was unique, but in appearance, he looked no different from other Batmen. He stood there quietly, exuding an oppressive aura like any other Dark Knight.
Most members of the Justice League and The Avengers were present, and Thor was already seated at the center position. Except for Spider-Man, none of the Multiverse visitors had come, Shiller being an exception.
Shiller sat down next to Thor, where there was an empty seat seemingly reserved for him.
Thor whispered to him, "I still have doubts. If you speak looking at me, your voice won't be heard by anyone but me."
"Not bad," Shiller commented.
"So, are they gathering here to catch the real culprit?" Thor asked in a low voice, "I mean the real culprit, not Loki."
"Quite the opposite, it's precisely for Loki."
At this moment, a middle-aged man was brought in. He was unremarkable looking, slightly balding, with pronounced dark circles, clearly the chemist in question.
"I've checked his memories," Professor X said, "Loki used the Soul Wand to control him. He provided Loki with certain chemical compounds, and Loki added those substances into the feed, distributing them to fish in an underwater farm in the Atlantic, making them larger and more ferocious. These fish were then transported by Loki to Forward York City, where children ended up eating them."
It sounded like an explanation for everyone, but the only one completely unaware of the situation seemed to be Magneto, who had just arrived, while everyone else already had some established facts in mind.
Following this, Namor and Arthur, who had just been fighting, were also brought in. Their condition had improved a lot, without agents escorting them, they walked in on their own, though someone still followed them.
"It really was my farm where the incident happened," Namor said, "but I was entirely unaware. You can check my memories, or even go to the farm, I can take you. If Loki wanted to throw fish feed into my farm, what could I do? He's not of the Sea Clan but knows magic and teleportation; I couldn't possibly stop him."
"This matter has nothing to do with me," Arthur said, "I was just conducting business and selling farmed fish to humans. This guy suddenly approached me, accusing me of vicious competition, insisting that the recent sea routes I've opened were for transporting those problematic fish. But I actually started expanding the sea routes right after the Civil War ended, you can also check my memories, I have no objections."
Nick turned to look at Professor X, who seemed to be pondering, and said, "I'll only check memories related to this part, stay relaxed, it'll be quick."
In just a few seconds, Professor X recovered and said, "They truly knew nothing about the ferocious fish matter."
Namor glanced at Arthur and snorted. Arthur remained expressionless, looking as if to say "I really knew nothing from the start."
After examining the two of them, Arthur sat next to Batman. At this point, it was the turn of those who went to the bar that day to share their stories. The Human Torch and Franklin hadn't come, only Peter from this reality was there. He recounted his encounters in the bar.
Professor X also examined his memories, nodded, and said, "He told the truth, and he knew absolutely nothing about the matter before."
"Is there anything else?" Wolverine asked, "Perhaps, Thor..."
"No, Logan. Thor is the least likely to be on Loki's side," Professor X said. "Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to kill him."
Thor's fingertips suddenly paused. He seemed to understand Loki's intention. Overall, in the seafood incident, there were factors where he was negligent.
When you're a True God who can oversee everything within the Nine Major Kingdoms, any unexpected event here, especially one that harms others, you can't shirk responsibility. Thor is in this situation now.
Although he was unaware of this matter, being unaware itself is wrong—especially when you're supposed to be omniscient and omnipotent.
Ironically, in this entire incident—which wasn't supposed to be very harmful—the only real victim is a mutant, and mutants are notoriously difficult to deal with.
Facing mutants, Thor can't go head-to-head, otherwise, the Nine Major Kingdoms might not be enough, leading to a more severe civil war than the last one. So, how to appease the mutants' anger becomes a problem.
But suppose, all of this was orchestrated by Thor's nemesis Loki—a regular person might not know about the feud between Loki and Thor, but the upper echelon of mutants certainly does—and Thor killed Loki, then he essentially wouldn't have to bear responsibility.
Though there was some negligence earlier, he eventually took down the perpetrator, which can be seen as making amends, and this perpetrator was his brother, despite being a foe, there was some affection. He killed his brother; what more can one say?
When Wolverine heard Professor X say this, he stopped speaking. After all, it was impossible for Thor to do it, even though he had the responsibility of negligence and failing to oversee Loki. He eventually remedied it by his own hands; if they continued to press on, it would seem unreasonable.
"Time for you to admit your mistake," Shiller said to Thor softly.
"This is indeed my responsibility," Thor said solemnly.
But before he could say what he wanted to say next, Shiller once again softly reminded him, "Start from when you shouldn't have brought Loki back."
Thor couldn't help but glance at him; he moved his lips but didn't say anything, clearly somewhat reluctant. But seeing so many eyes on him, he still said, "Perhaps I shouldn't have brought Loki back."
"I don't want to say this, but..." Captain America said, "I'm glad you've recognized this point, and it's not too late."
"We once sincerely advised you," Natasha said, crossing her arms, "Bringing him back was beneficial to no one, and everything that happened afterward validated this point. Thor, don't destroy the home you chose."
Thor lowered his head and sighed heavily, seemingly agreeing with their words. But he also realized another intention of Loki's. Killing Loki didn't just quell the mutants' anger but also the Avengers'.
At that time, the entire Avengers strongly opposed Thor bringing young Loki back. When they saw Thor bring another Loki back, everyone's mood was bleak.
It's like in a game where you fight a monster, the process is very tough, enduring all sorts of mental and physical torture, using all consumables, trying countless times, and finally winning. But before you savor the victory's joy, the game crashes, the save is lost. Once you return to the game, the monster stands before you again, the whole torment starts anew, no one can hold back from giving a poor review.
The Avengers weren't exactly angry with Thor; they just were too tired to fight. Otherwise, they would've hammered the two brothers into minced meat. But once they slightly recovered, Thor became the True God of the Nine Major Kingdoms, leaving no outlet for their anger.
However, emotions don't naturally dissipate; they only get more concentrated with time, and this matter won't ever go away without a resolution.
Regardless of whether the Loki killed at Rebirth Alliance Headquarters was a clone or whether Thor truly killed him, it's actually unimportant. What matters is the attitude; at least Thor took some action and is willing to apologize for this matter, and that's enough.
"I am very sorry; my stubbornness has hurt many people," Thor further admitted. "I'll be more careful next time."
"Considering the God Clan's lifespan, your progress is quite fast," Bruce Banner nodded, "We should hold a coming-of-age ceremony for you."
The crowd laughed, the atmosphere finally lightened. Thor also smiled, but he didn't appear truly happy.
"I think we can now conclude," Nick Fury said. "Once again, we've thwarted Loki's scheme, and he has been killed by Thor. We should announce this to the public to prevent misunderstandings and boost the Rebirth Alliance's reputation."
"I'll contact the media to hold a press conference," Nick lowered his eyes and said, "All key personnel need to be present, get ready."
Thus, people began to leave one after another, but Thor remained seated. When everyone had gone, he said, "It's not Loki, but..."
"But everyone hopes it was him, including himself," Shiller said, looking at Thor. "He's helped you solve many troubles; you truly owe him for this."
"I'd rather there wasn't this issue," Thor stared straight ahead, "It's not like I can't do without him."
Shiller stood up, saying, "Go prepare for the press conference, and remember to make it convincing."