Marvel: I Trade Devil Fruits for Power

A bold idea flashed through Abomination's mind. As a soldier, he possessed a unique tenacity and intuition for combat. He sat down on the ground, gently stroking a rock. Everything has its own inherent vibration frequency, just like this stone! Its frequency was quite peculiar, fluctuating constantly under the impact of the massive sea waves. Yet, Abomination persisted, struggling to find that elusive resonant frequency.

Qin Xiao watched this, stunned. What is he doing? Why is he petting a rock? Is he actually attempting resonance? I only mentioned resonance in passing! With your "brute force" style, compressing and focusing the shockwaves is progress enough. Playing with resonance? You've got to be kidding me.

As time ticked by, Abomination's expression grew savage. "ROAAR!" With a roar, he stood up and gripped the rock he had been studying. "Shatter!" A white glow flared on his hands, and the stone was pulverized into dust.

Abomination looked angry, but Qin Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. I thought he'd actually become a genius. It was just an illusion. This is the Abomination I know. If Abomination had become like Dr. Banner—someone who treated Devil Fruit development as effortlessly as eating and drinking—Qin Xiao would have felt uncomfortable. Having someone that intelligent by his side felt wrong. Just then, an influx of energy gathered in the sky.

Nick Fury's recent days had been difficult. Dr. Banner had placed him under immense pressure. Just then, Agent Hill walked into his office.

"Hill, what is it?"

"There's a file you need to see."

Fury took the documents and reviewed them carefully. The more he read, the deeper his frown became. An unmonitored earthquake had occurred near an isolated island in the Pacific, triggering a small tsunami. Originally, that wouldn't have been a surprise, but the subsequent intelligence was critical. A massive influx of energy was gathering in the sky—data identical to the incident in New Mexico.

"Is someone from Asgard descending again? Why lock their target onto this specific island? Agent Hill, have you found anything special about this island?" Fury demanded.

"We pulled the most recent satellite footage," Hill said, swiping a screen in front of them. A projection appeared. It was an aerial view showing three figures.

"Devil Envoy! Blonsky! Wolverine!" Fury recognized them instantly. It was Qin Xiao and his "Devil Apostles."

"Exactly. And this energy surge is centered directly above them," Hill concluded. "We feel there is something unusual about this. We should send a team to investigate."

"Have Coulson take the airborne unit and head to the island immediately," Fury decided. "We must know what is happening there."

"Understood. I'll arrange it," Agent Hill turned to leave.

Asgard... are they planning to contact the Devil again? Did they reach an agreement last time? They chose such a remote place to meet. But what about the sudden earthquake on that island? Is there something on that island that both gods and devils need? Will they clash? Fury was plagued by doubts, but with so little intel, he couldn't even formulate a solid theory.

Meanwhile, Qin Xiao also noticed the energy gathering above.

The Bifrost! Suddenly, a rainbow-colored bridge descended onto the island. In the blink of an eye, a sturdy figure wielding a hammer appeared before him.

"Hey, Devil Envoy," Thor greeted him first.

"Thor, why are you down here? Are you here to deliver the clothes I commissioned?" Qin Xiao asked.

"The clothes are finished, but the Destroyer armor is still under construction. I didn't come to deliver items this time; I came to bring you news," Thor said, his expression looking unnatural.

"What is it? Did you decide to break the contract and stop providing the Destroyer armor?" Qin Xiao frowned. Asgardians shouldn't be that low-class, even if he didn't strictly need it.

"No, no, that's a minor detail. I'll bring it to you when it's ready. What I want to tell you is that my brother, Loki, has escaped," Thor admitted, looking embarrassed.

"Loki escaped?"

"That's right. Loki escaped."

"Are you joking?"

"I'm not joking."

"He was in your dungeon! How could he just run away?" Qin Xiao wasn't shocked by the concept, but he was bewildered by the execution. Was the Asgardian dungeon a sieve?

"Uh, well, the truth is... it was my fault. One day, Loki told me he realized his mistakes and wanted to apologize to Father and Mother in person. I was so happy to hear he'd changed that I brought him out. Do you know Loki's titles?" Thor changed the subject abruptly.

"God of Mischief, God of Lies, God of Deceit... stop deflecting. What happened after you brought him out?" Qin Xiao steered him back.

"Right. Loki is a little liar. After leaving the dungeon, he conjured a clone without me noticing. I was too busy being happy about my brother's change to realize he was slipping away. By the time I brought him to Father and Mother, they saw through it immediately. His real body had already fled Asgard."

"Didn't you send people to hunt him down? Heimdall can see where he fled, right?" Qin Xiao was curious. This wasn't a case of a destroyed Bifrost; the bridge was intact, and Heimdall was on duty. If they knew he'd run, why not just Bifrost him back? Why come all the way down here to tell him?

"Uh... I don't know what method Loki used, but he escaped Heimdall's sight. We suspect he has left the Nine Realms."

Qin Xiao's expression grew strange. Left the Nine Realms? Won't he end up meeting Thanos and then invade Earth?

"Since he's left the Nine Realms, why worry about him? Why tell me?"

Thor looked even more awkward. "Well, it's like this: last time, I ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit you provided, which allowed me to regain the power of the God of Thunder. Even Mother made a deal with you and ate a Devil Fruit. I told these stories to Loki. He said that if he ever left his cell, he would definitely come find you to see if he could have a Devil Fruit of his own. I thought he was joking, but now I think he really might come for you. I came to ask if you could help capture him."

Thor revealed his true purpose: he wanted to use Qin Xiao as bait.

"No problem. Don't worry, leave it to me," Qin Xiao agreed readily.

But that wasn't what he was thinking. Loki, that gloomy, scheming guy, would definitely want to test his mettle against him. Last time, Qin Xiao had dismantled Loki's plan and destroyed the Destroyer armor. They were effectively enemies. If Loki came, it would be a clash.

More importantly, if they met, Qin Xiao would find a way to make Loki eat a Devil Fruit. That confrontation would be the real show. And if he did make Loki eat one, he certainly wouldn't tell Thor. He preferred to sit back and watch the chaos unfold. S.H.I.E.L.D. was powerful now—Tony, Banner, Black Widow, and now Betty. They were a handful.

With such power, how could Loki even open a space portal? Help Thor catch Loki? Not a chance. Qin Xiao was actually looking forward to Loki's arrival. If Loki pushed S.H.I.E.L.D. to the brink, he could just "recommend" even more Devil Fruits to them. It would be grand.

Thor, hearing Qin Xiao's agreement, finally smiled. "I'll be grateful. That's all I came for, so I must go."

With that, Thor's hammer began to spin wildly. Whoosh! In the blink of an eye, Thor

vanished from sight